Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Under Pressure ❯ Funny How Love Is ( Chapter 5 )

Author's Notes: Hope that the whole `Under the Fire catching on fire' thing didn't confuse to many people… But, come on, you know that you liked how Heero saved Duo's ass… (smiles evilly) Also, finals are, to quote my beta, going to rape me, so I had to study extra hard to try and bring up my grade (yeah, like that worked…). So, here is the delayed update! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: By now, I know that I do not own Gundam Wing. I do, however, borrow them time to time and then return them to their owners much happier… (hentai grin) Queen is in no way, shape or form mine.

Title: Under Pressure

Summary: Duo Maxwell is just a simple pizza worker, trying to survive life in NYC. But, what happens when a job assignment brings up old memories? Will he embrace the new chance fate has presented to him, or will he turn tail and run? 1x2x1

Rating: Let's just make it R, just to be on the safe side…

Chapter Rating: R, because of a little masturbation on Duo's part…

Pairings: 2x2, past 12

Warnings: This chapter was just used to get from one part of the story to another… Kind of a filler chapter, but you still need to read it! It has important stuff for the plot!

CHAPTER FIVE: FUNNY HOW LOVE IS…

Funny how love is everywhere just look and see

Funny how love is anywhere you're bound to be

Funny how love is every song in every key

Funny how love is coming home in time for tea

Funny, funny, funny

Funny how love is the end of lies when the truth begins

Tomorrow comes tomorrow brings

Tomorrow brings love in the shape of things

That's what love is, that's what love is

Funny how love can break your heart so suddenly

Funny how love came tumbling down with Adam and Eve

Funny how love is running wild and feeling free

Funny how love is coming home in time for tea

Funny, funny, funny

From the earth below to the heavens above

That's how far and funny is love

At any time, anywhere

If you gotta make love do it everywhere

That's what love is, that's what love is

Funny how love is everywhere just look and see

Funny how love is anywhere you're bound to be

Funny how love is every song in every key

Funny how love is when you gotta hurry home `cos you're late for tea

Funny, funny, funny how love is

Tomorrow comes tomorrow brings

Tomorrow brings love in the shape of things

At any time, anywhere

If you gotta make love do it everywhere

That's what love is, that's what love is

(Funny How Love Is, Queen)

Passing through the throngs of people, Duo weaved his way to his subway, waiting for the transportation device to arrive. Following him, Heero stood behind a large group of Czechoslovakians, who were reading the `Home' section of the newspaper. Casually peering at the paper, Heero discovered that they were looking for a house as the subway pulled into the station.

Climbing into one of the compartments, Duo grabbed the pole that was attached to the ceiling and blinked when he thought he saw a man with messy brown hair board the same compartment that he was on. But, when he looked again, the person, if there ever was one, had disappeared in the mob of bodies currently on the subway. Shaking his head, Duo watched as the lights whizzed by, and the subway slowed to a stop, only to lurch forward again after people had gotten off and onto it. Finally, he arrived at his stop and the braided man carefully maneuvered his way to the doors, accidentally running into an old lady as the tram suddenly slid to a stop. Apologizing, he exited once the doors were open and was on his way home.

Watching Duo move, Heero also made his way to the doors, stopping by the old lady and asking her where the person with the braid had gone.

"Well," she told him, "I think that that young lady just went to the North Exit. But, why on earth do you want to know?"

Ignoring her question, Heero nodded his thanks and told her over his shoulder, "Oh, and that wasn't a girl. It was a man." As the partially Asian man exited the subway, the old lady remarked to herself, "They don't look like brothers… So, why should the second one care where the first one went…? Unless he's-" Suddenly, the tram's doors slammed shut and the subway took off down the tracks, kicking up stray papers and bags in the wind.

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Walking past the modest looking apartment buildings, Duo felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand up in apprehension , and he had the sneaking suspicion that he was being watched. Or followed. Or both. Resisting the urge to increase his pace, he casually placed his hands behind his head, elbows sticking up in the air. Turning a corner, he looked at the street that he had just been on, only to find it empty. Wondering if he was going crazy or being paranoid, the long-haired man continued on his way to his apartment.

Coming out from behind his hiding place, Heero stood beside the large, blue mailbox as the braided man disappeared into the other street. `That had been too close for comfort!', he thought as he began to follow the American.

Turning onto his street, Duo briskly walked to his building and opened the door, keeping it from slamming behind him at the last minute. Running up to the stairs two at a time, he came to an abrupt stop at his door and quickly unlocked it, intent on getting inside his new home as soon as possible. Slumping against the door, the tired man wearily made his way to his bed, falling into a fitful slumber as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Staring at the apartment building impassively, Heero Yuy looked at the paper in his hand and carefully folded it and placed it into his back pant's pockets. Turning, he pulled his cell phone from his other pocket and pushed the speed dial button number five. Hearing the tone ring a few times, he was rewarded when Julie, Wufei's secretary, answered. Identifying himself, he asked her to place Wufei on the phone and asked the Chinese man, "Wufei? What time does Under the Fire open?"

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Groaning, Duo threw his arm over his eyes, trying to keep the rising sun's light from his eyes. Why hadn't he pulled the curtains over the windows last night? Opening his eyes, the braided man groaned once more as the events from the day before flooded his memory in a rush he had never before quite experienced.

He had gone to work, taken the orders of Wufei Chang and HIM, gone down memory lane and had apparently let the pizza's burn. Then HE had saved him from the smoke and small fire, then he had made his way home, all the while feeling like he was being followed. He had run into his apartment and immediately gone to sleep, forgetting to cover the window with the curtains. Sighing, Duo pulled his body from the comfort of the mattress. Rubbing his eyes, he dragged himself into the bathroom and turned on the water, allowing it to become warm. Pulling his shirt from the previous day from his body, the long-haired man began replaying what he remembered from the fire incident in his head.

He had been sitting on the floor, trapped in his memories, when the smoke must have been coming from the oven. Hee-chan- No, Heero Yuy- must have gone in and grabbed him, taking him to the help that was at the fire truck. Blinking, Duo thought to himself, `He had to have held me close. And, I guess that he must not harbor any hard feelings. Does he not care that we broke up?' Musing on how the stoic man had to have carried him, Duo blushed as he realized that his ass must have been right in his face. Slipping his pants from his hips, the braided man began remembering the feel of that body beside him at night. And above him. And- `Okay Duo,' the man thought to himself, `End those thoughts right now. What was I thinking of again?' Tugging on his boxers, Duo found that there was a slight bulge between his legs and sighed, pulling the underwear from his body and then kicking them to the floor. Stepping into the shower, he hoped that he wouldn't have to turn on the cold water and began to lather his hair with shampoo. Rinsing, he grabbed his conditioner and worked it thorough the long strands, then carefully washed it away. Soaping his body, he quirked an eyebrow when he saw that his cock was still standing proudly. Returning the bar of soap to its dish, the man took his wet erection into his soapy hands and began pumping, trying to find release. Right before he relieved himself into his hands, however, he found the image of a certain half-Japanese man invading his thoughts, and found said man's name fly from his mouth as he let loose in his hands. Sagging as the warm semen was swept into the drain, Duo leaned against his shower walls and asked himself, "Why can't I forget him? Why?"

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"Thanks Julie. Tell Wufei please. Goodbye." Pushing the `end' button, Heero disconnected the call to Wufei's secretary and began to gather his things for his morning jog. After he had made sure that Duo had gotten to his apartment, he had walked home and gone about his business of just sitting at his apartment and going through files from work before showering and going to sleep. Walking to his bed, he pulled the sheets and blankets tight and pulled a green tank top from his shirt drawer and a pair of black spandex from another drawer. Removing his boxers (for that was all that he had been wearing), Heero pulled the other clothes onto his body and grabbed a pair of socks from his sock drawer and walked into his kitchen.

Grabbing a health food bar, Heero pulled a pair of old, yellow tennis shoes onto his feet and walked out his door, closing it behind him. Jogging outside, he began to pass other apartment buildings, making his way to the nearby coffee shop for his morning coffee. He usually didn't do morning jogs… Hell, he hardly ever jogged, period. But, this morning he had wanted to work off some stress, and so he had called Julie to tell her that he would be coming in at lunch. Walking into the shopping center, he thought to himself, `This is where Duo now lives, in this area… Hn. There's the Starfucks…' Blinking, he shook his head and thought hurriedly, `StarBUCKS. StarBucks, damnit!'

Entering the coffee shop, Heero ordered an espresso with a double shot. Quickly drinking it, he threw the cup into the trash can and began jogging down a random street. Not paying attention to his surroundings, Heero stood found that he was on the street where Duo's apartment was. `And, speak of the devil…' the jogging man thought to himself as he ducked behind a tree, looking across the street at the long- haired man that was walking there, `There he is. Must be going to work…' Watching as the braided man passed him by without even noticing, Heero found that he was thinking back to the fateful day when he and Duo broke up.

(((FLASHBACK)))

After walking off his anger, Heero had returned to the apartment to apologize to Duo. There had obviously been some misunderstandings, and he was willing to try and work it out with his braided lover. However, by the time that he had gotten back, Duo had left and taken most of his belongings. Collapsing on their bed, Heero had held his head in his hands, silent sobs wracking his body. For the next few days, he had been depressed, moping around the apartment, but on the third day he had decided to rid the apartment of all traces of the long-haired man. So, being the logical person that he was, he had decided to start in the bedroom they had formerly shared.

After going through the closet and dresser drawers, Heero opened the bedside table and found and old, beat up blue notebook. Not knowing what it was, he had opened it and found that it was filled with Duo's neat, but thin, handwriting, covering the many pages with the inner thoughts of his ex-lover's mind. Reading the entries (Hey, Heero has no sense of privacy), the half-Japanese man found that his ex-lover had suspected him of cheating on him after Heero had sent him that first picture. Reading the detailed description of that photo, Heero found that he remembered that particular picture. The company had needed a photograph of both himself and Wufei, and so the two of them had posed for the hired photographer. Heero had liked the picture well enough to send it to Duo, yet the other man seemed to have made some assumptions from the simple photo. Standing hurriedly, Heero began to call each of his friends, who were also Duo's friends, trying to find out if anybody knew where Duo had gone.

Finally, he had called Quatre Winner's house and was told by the blonde that the long-haired man had taken a plane to New York. When he asked Quatre where he was living, the blonde man had told him that he honestly didn't know. The person who he had asked to give Duo an apartment owned several buildings, so he didn't know where he was staying. Thanking him, Heero had hung up and had stared at the braided man's belongings, a single tear sliding down his cheek and falling onto the bed comforter on which he was currently sitting, quickly evaporating into the air.

(((END FLASHBACK)))

Coming back to the present moment, Heero found himself walking to the apartment building that Duo had entered yesterday, and he was soon climbing the flight of stairs to the correct apartment door, surprised that he was able to remember the address that was on the paper that Melissa had given him only the day before. Twisting the doorknob on the apartment door, Heero felt the lock resist him and sighed. Not knowing why he was doing this, he searched the ground for anything to pick the lock with. Finding a paper clip on the ground, he quickly unlocked the door and entered the apartment, mindful to lock it behind him. Walking around the rooms, he finally came to stand by the sofa. Sitting on the soft cushions, Heero grabbed the remote and began channel surfing, eventually drifting to sleep as the Jeopardy theme song was playing on the TV.

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Riding the subway home (Dave was still broken), Duo thought back to yesterday's walk home and hoped to himself that he wouldn't feel like he was being followed tonight. Walking to his apartment, he sighed as he remembered how kind the Le family had been about the small fire. He still had his job, and all he had to do was pay for a new oven, but that was fine with him. Walking the flight of stairs to his apartment, he pulled his keys from his pocket and tiredly opened his door. Walking to the back of his sofa, Duo jumbled over the back and landed on the lumpy cushions.

But, weren't cushions supposed to be soft?

And, were they supposed to grunt when you jumped on them?!

Quickly turning his head, Duo found himself suddenly face- to- face with the one and only Heero Yuy.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" he demanded of the blue- eyed man below him.