Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Winning Duo ❯ Chapter 14
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Calic0cat 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 02.19.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 02.19.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
*****************************
Title: Winning Duo
Chapter: 14/?
Author: Calic0cat <calic0cat@fastmail.fm>
Story Started: Jan. 2003
Genre: Yaoi, Romance, Humour, Angst
Pairings: Working towards 1x2x5; 3x4; 6x9; others may be implied
Rated: NC-17
Warnings: OOC, Swearing, Shifting POV, Threesome
Archives: At Mediaminer.org under Calic0cat. Anyone with archive permission for my other fics can help themselves; anyone else, please ask.
Disclaimer: Duo and Heero and the rest of the GW gang aren't mine. This story is. Nuff said.
Notes: Starts one year after Endless Waltz. POV changes frequently.
'Thinking'
"Speaking"
*** Time passing or scene change
Author's Notes: I usually write 1x2x1, so a 1x2x5 is a first for me (well, writing one is - I've been reading them for quite a while now, that's the *only* threesome I actually *like*). Feedback is appreciated.
#################################################
Duo headed for the shower gratefully. It would be nice to get the last traces of sunscreen off of his skin and to cool down. Getting out of his too-hot outfit and having a refreshing shower would do wonders for his mood. Though the simple fact that Heero and Wufei had actually noticed something was wrong *and* offered to help fix it had already improved the way he felt.
The sharp sting of water hitting his sunburn made Duo wince a bit, but he couldn't entirely regret having gotten burnt. Not if it meant getting a little attention from the men he loved. 'And isn't that damn pathetic? They offer to do your laundry and get you some sunburn cream and you're delighted. Pathetic, Maxwell. Absolutely pathetic.'
Duo sighed as he unfastened his braid to wash his hair. Sure, Heero and Wufei had paid attention to him. But judging by the way things had been going so far, that probably meant that they'd come back and ignore him for the rest of the day. Was he really expecting too much of them? What if neither of them was *capable* of the kind of consideration he was hoping for? 'I don't think I'm asking that much... It's not like I'm expecting roses and champagne and poetry or something, after all... I'd just like to have them carry on an actual fucking *conversation* with me once in a while, for god's sake.'
Though a few caring touches like Wufei's light touch to his cheek earlier wouldn't exactly hurt, either. Duo *liked* to touch and to be touched. Liked the reassurance of simply having someone close. And other than holding him on the dance floor at the ball, Fei's touch to his cheek was the only time either of them *had* touched him. Well, unless you counted Heero grabbing his elbow at the park and he didn't. *He* was the one who'd pulled them all close enough to touch during Heero's explanation at the restaurant. They'd gone right back to sitting a good arm's length away from him once everyone came back from washing up.
Noin's cautionary words about making sure that he could be happy with them came back to Duo with painful clarity. Which would be worse - returning to L2 alone, knowing that they both said they loved him even if they didn't show it - or staying with one or both of them on Earth but never having his needs in a relationship truly fulfilled? Duo turned off the shower with a vicious twist. Neither option was very appealing, frankly. But maybe those were the only options he would end up with. After all, neither Heero nor Wufei had *ever* been overly fond of physical contact with *anyone* as far as he knew. He, on the other hand, craved it. One of the very, very few things he actually *missed* from his street gang days was the comfortable, secure feeling of waking up in a warm tangle of gently breathing bodies. Knowing that, at least for the moment, he was not alone.
When the gang was first taken in by the church, before Father managed to find homes for most of them, it used to drive Sister Helen crazy to walk into the dorm area and discover half a dozen kids sleeping in a tangled heap on a couple of mattresses on the floor instead of in their own beds as they were supposed to be. She never did understand why they didn't appreciate each having their *own* bed. She didn't understand that, on the streets, "alone" meant "dead". The kids had eventually given up on trying to explain and just made sure that they were up and the mattresses back where they belonged before she came around in the morning. Better to get a little less sleep than to sleep alone.
After the others were gone to new homes, Duo had finally resorted to sleeping *under* his bed. Sleeping on top had made him feel too vulnerable once he was alone in the dorm. Father had caught him under there one morning and had simply smiled sadly and gently ruffled his hair. Sister Helen was sweet, but Father... Duo sometimes wondered exactly what *his* background had been like. He *understood* in a way that Sister simply wasn't able to.
Duo finished drying off before carefully replacing the cross around his neck. He fingered it absently, caught up by the memories.
It had been worse after the church was gone. He had been a little too well-fed to safely join a new street gang. A little too pretty. And he'd discovered that, while "alone" did not *necessarily* mean "dead" on the streets, it wasn't damn far off either. He'd learned to sleep in short snatches, never hole up in the same place twice, always keep moving, keep running. It had been tough to go back to being dirty and hungry after getting used to being clean and well-fed. But he'd discovered it was safer to stay as dirty and smelly as he could stand. The hunger there wasn't much choice about, so he'd simply got used to it all over again. The toughest part had been getting used to being completely alone. Not that he ever *did* really get used to it.
Joining up with G and the Sweepers had been a relief. Not only was there actually enough to eat, the Sweepers lived in *very* tight quarters. It was almost impossible to be alone, day or night. And he'd only had to pull his knife once to convince someone that "no" meant "no"; he hadn't even had to actually cut the guy. A far cry from life on the streets.
Then Operation Meteor had gotten underway, and he'd been back on his own again. Deathscythe was the only constant in his life. And he'd spent more nights than he cared to remember curled up in Scythe's cockpit, trying to convince himself that as long as he had his Gundam, he wasn't really alone. He'd been desperate for a friend. Had hoped that the other Gundam pilots would be like the gang - support and comfort for each other. That he wouldn't have to be alone.
'God, I was a naive idiot,' Duo thought in disgust. He winced as he impatiently yanked the brush through a tangle. 'And then I compounded the idiocy by falling for Heero and Wufei. I thought maybe...'
Yeah, he'd "thought" alright. Thought that maybe if he could work his way into one of their beds, it would be the first step to working his way into their heart as well. That maybe he wouldn't have to be alone through the whole war and if, by some unbelievable miracle, they actually survived to see that elusive thing called "peace", he wouldn't be alone to figure out how to survive in such a radically changed world. And if they hadn't survived, as seemed much more likely - hell, Heero had already come damn close to dying by that point - they would at least have lived life to its fullest. Teenage hormones and a desperate wish to *belong* were a dangerous combination. 'Idiot. You're just damn lucky you didn't fall for somebody with less honour and more lust, Maxwell.'
Oh, he'd eventually become friends with Quatre and Trowa. The two of them and his occasional contact with Howard and the Sweepers had been the only things keeping him going at times. But Quat and Tro had been very close right from the start, best friends almost from the moment that they met. The closest *he* had come to a "best friend" so far was Hilde. And he had far too many secrets from her to really let her qualify for the position. He'd hoped...
Yanking the brush through another tangle with complete disregard for the amount of breakage he was causing, Duo told himself firmly that his eyes were watering from pulling out the tangles. Nothing else.
'Oh hell, admit it. You'd hoped either Heero or Wufei would be up to being a best friend as well as a lover. Or better yet, that they'd both qualify for both positions. Keep dreaming, Maxwell. You're asking too much.'
Duo set his brush aside and left his hair down to finish drying. He didn't like sleeping with it loose because it would be a tangled mess when he woke up; but if he braided it while it was still this wet it would never dry. Since it would be a while yet before the guys could possibly get back from doing the laundry, he might as well take a nap. Maybe then he would feel a little more up to dealing with this whole mess.
***
Heero and Wufei entered the suite quietly. Since Duo was not in the sitting-room, they headed towards the open door of his bedroom. "Duo..." Heero began, only to cut off his words abruptly at the sight before him. Duo was sprawled across his bed, sound asleep, hair spread all around him. Barely noticing that Duo was only wearing a pair of boxers, Heero's gaze fixed on his very red arms and face. Silently, he backed out of the room, Wufei following suit.
"I hate to wake him but that sunburn really needs to be treated," Heero murmured quietly.
"It looks worse than I had thought it was," Wufei said. "We were not out in the sun all *that* long. But then, he *is* very fair-skinned to start with."
"I don't think he will feel like going out for supper. Maybe we should order something delivered, then wake him and tend to the sunburn just before it arrives?"
Wufei nodded his agreement. "Perhaps pizza?" he offered.
"If I remember correctly, the only things he doesn't particularly care for on pizza are anchovies and pineapple..." Heero said as he moved into the kitchenette to check the small bar fridge. "Damn. I'd hoped there would be some juice or sports drinks in here... He'll want pop with the pizza but he's probably a bit dehydrated so I'd like to get something else down him first..."
Wufei closed his eyes, trying to visualize the contents of the vending machine he'd passed on his way back to the room. "I *think* there were sports drinks in the vending machine down the hall..."
Heero emerged from the kitchenette with the ice container in hand. "We need ice anyway, so I'll check the vending machine while I'm out there."
"Shall I go ahead and order the pizza then?"
'Probably half to three-quarters of an hour for the pizza to be delivered and it shouldn't take more than half that time to get Duo's sunburn tended to...' "Yes, you might as well," Heero answered.
"Anything you don't want on it?" Wufei asked.
"Mushrooms," Heero mumbled, embarrassed. J would have fed him nothing *but* mushrooms for a week if he'd ever mentioned not liking them. Soldiers were supposed to eat what was given to them without question. Personal preferences didn't enter the picture. But there was something about the very thought of eating *fungus* that just turned his stomach.
Wufei raised one eyebrow slightly, then admitted, "I don't particularly mind those, but I'm with Duo on the pineapple - ugh."
As Wufei turned to look up the phone number for the pizza place, Heero picked up the key and left to get the ice. Thankfully, Wufei was correct and there *were* sports drinks in the vending machine. Heero picked out several flavours in the hopes of getting Duo to drink several over the course of the evening.
Sunburn and dehydration frequently went together. And Duo's fatigue could be a sign of that. 'Or just a sign of the stress he's been under...' Heero thought unhappily.
Considering that both he and Wufei were *supposed* to be trying to make Duo happy, they didn't have a very good track record so far. 'We're just going to have to try harder,' Heero decided. An instant later, he realized, '*We*? Why *we*?' As Heero tried to shift the drinks and ice container around to free up a hand to unlock the suite door, it swung open for him and Wufei caught the ice container just before it fell. "Thanks, Wufei."
"I thought you might need a hand," Wufei answered, closing the door again once Heero was inside.
As Heero set the drinks down on the coffee table while Wufei took the ice away to put it in the fridge, Heero thought, 'That's why. We make a damn good team. I'd rather work together with Wufei than compete against him...' Waiting for Wufei to return before they went in to awaken Duo, Heero wished there was a way that all of this could work out without anyone ending up getting hurt. Because if Wufei loved Duo anywhere close to as much as he did, one of them *was* going to be hurt when Duo made his choice. Badly hurt. And if Duo still loved them both, that would hurt *him* too.
Assuming, of course, that Duo ended up choosing *either* of them. Which might be a rather large assumption, considering how badly they were doing at making him happy.
***
Duo reached for another slice of pizza, trying very hard to keep a goofy grin off his face. And it *was* difficult not to grin from ear to ear. It seemed that his concerns over being ignored for the rest of the day were completely unfounded.
From the moment he'd awakened to soft voices, Heero and Wufei had been making it quite clear that they *were* paying attention. The soothing aloe cream that Wufei had applied to his sunburn with a feather-light touch and the sports drink that Heero had gently insisted on him drinking had only been the beginning. Then Wufei had appeared with his brush and offered to brush his hair out for him. And Heero had braided it, doing a very neat job much to his surprise.
Next had come the revelation of the clothing they had purchased for him. He'd been a bit uncomfortable over accepting it at first, finally giving in on the condition that they let him pay them back later. They had resisted, insisting that it was their fault that he needed the clothing, but eventually had compromised by letting him pay a third of the cost.
Then the pizza had arrived. And the best part of the evening quickly followed. They were actually *talking* to him. Filling him in on what they'd been doing over the past couple of years. Describing their apartments. Talking about working for Preventers. About how bizarre it had been to take orders from Une at first, but how totally natural it now seemed. About how difficult it was to work with some of the other Preventers, former Oz or Alliance soldiers twice their age who nevertheless were lower-ranking than Heero and Wufei. Telling little stories about strange, amusing, or even aggravating things that had happened at work.
Heero let Wufei take over the conversation while he ate another slice of pizza. They were taking turns talking and Heero was surprised just how easy it really was to find things to discuss. Watching Duo's eyes sparkle as he listened to Wufei recounting a mission they had been sent on to check out a factory that was reportedly building mobile dolls only to discover that it was in fact a *doll mobile* factory - making baby mobiles consisting of half a dozen tiny stuffed dolls - Heero was simultaneously delighted that they were finally making him happy and disgusted that they hadn't done this sooner.
"You should have seen Une's face when Heero presented her with a 'sample'," Wufei chuckled.
Heero raised one eyebrow and said, "Well, that was nothing compared to the look she got when you suggested that it would look lovely hanging over her desk..."
Duo laughed so hard he fell off the chair.
Wufei exchanged a satisfied smirk with Heero. 'It's nice to hear Duo laugh again. It truly does not take a great deal to make him happy... Why then have we been doing so *badly* at it up till now?' Wufei wondered.
Duo picked himself up off the floor and wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes. The thought of Une with a baby mobile hanging over her desk... Oh, man...
As he prompted Heero for more details, the thought crossed Duo's mind that he really *should* be doing as he originally intended and telling the two of them about his past. But... Things were going so well right now. And he really did not know how they would react to his revelations.
What would Wufei, raised in the lap of luxury, think of him once he knew Duo had practically grown up dining on scraps from other people's garbage along with whatever he could manage to steal? What would Heero think once he found out that Duo had kept his virginity only by keeping himself filthy and smelly, by running fast and hiding well, by frequent and vicious, sometimes even deadly, use of his knife?
How would the two of them, thoroughly educated in a broad range of topics starting from a young age, react to the news that the time he had spent hiding out in schools during the war added up to more hours than he had ever spent in a school in his life? That while G had crammed university-level physics and chemistry down his throat along with specific topics in human physiology and other subjects, the gaping holes that left in his education were filled only with what he'd managed to teach himself from books? That he had just - finally! - managed to fill in enough of those gaps to get his General Equivalency Diploma?
Duo didn't know. And suddenly, now that things were going so much better, he was afraid to find out.
'If they ask, I'll tell them. I won't lie about it. But I won't just volunteer it either,' he decided guiltily. At least not before the end of the week. If - when? - the time to make a choice arrived, he would *have* to tell them first. He couldn't go into what he considered a life-long commitment with a secret that big hovering in the background. A lie of omission was still a lie. But by delaying his explanations, he would at least have this week to remember if they were unable to accept him after hearing about his past. 'So enjoy every moment of it, Maxwell. It might be all you ever have...'
#################################################
Title: Winning Duo
Chapter: 14/?
Author: Calic0cat <calic0cat@fastmail.fm>
Story Started: Jan. 2003
Genre: Yaoi, Romance, Humour, Angst
Pairings: Working towards 1x2x5; 3x4; 6x9; others may be implied
Rated: NC-17
Warnings: OOC, Swearing, Shifting POV, Threesome
Archives: At Mediaminer.org under Calic0cat. Anyone with archive permission for my other fics can help themselves; anyone else, please ask.
Disclaimer: Duo and Heero and the rest of the GW gang aren't mine. This story is. Nuff said.
Notes: Starts one year after Endless Waltz. POV changes frequently.
'Thinking'
"Speaking"
*** Time passing or scene change
Author's Notes: I usually write 1x2x1, so a 1x2x5 is a first for me (well, writing one is - I've been reading them for quite a while now, that's the *only* threesome I actually *like*). Feedback is appreciated.
#################################################
Duo headed for the shower gratefully. It would be nice to get the last traces of sunscreen off of his skin and to cool down. Getting out of his too-hot outfit and having a refreshing shower would do wonders for his mood. Though the simple fact that Heero and Wufei had actually noticed something was wrong *and* offered to help fix it had already improved the way he felt.
The sharp sting of water hitting his sunburn made Duo wince a bit, but he couldn't entirely regret having gotten burnt. Not if it meant getting a little attention from the men he loved. 'And isn't that damn pathetic? They offer to do your laundry and get you some sunburn cream and you're delighted. Pathetic, Maxwell. Absolutely pathetic.'
Duo sighed as he unfastened his braid to wash his hair. Sure, Heero and Wufei had paid attention to him. But judging by the way things had been going so far, that probably meant that they'd come back and ignore him for the rest of the day. Was he really expecting too much of them? What if neither of them was *capable* of the kind of consideration he was hoping for? 'I don't think I'm asking that much... It's not like I'm expecting roses and champagne and poetry or something, after all... I'd just like to have them carry on an actual fucking *conversation* with me once in a while, for god's sake.'
Though a few caring touches like Wufei's light touch to his cheek earlier wouldn't exactly hurt, either. Duo *liked* to touch and to be touched. Liked the reassurance of simply having someone close. And other than holding him on the dance floor at the ball, Fei's touch to his cheek was the only time either of them *had* touched him. Well, unless you counted Heero grabbing his elbow at the park and he didn't. *He* was the one who'd pulled them all close enough to touch during Heero's explanation at the restaurant. They'd gone right back to sitting a good arm's length away from him once everyone came back from washing up.
Noin's cautionary words about making sure that he could be happy with them came back to Duo with painful clarity. Which would be worse - returning to L2 alone, knowing that they both said they loved him even if they didn't show it - or staying with one or both of them on Earth but never having his needs in a relationship truly fulfilled? Duo turned off the shower with a vicious twist. Neither option was very appealing, frankly. But maybe those were the only options he would end up with. After all, neither Heero nor Wufei had *ever* been overly fond of physical contact with *anyone* as far as he knew. He, on the other hand, craved it. One of the very, very few things he actually *missed* from his street gang days was the comfortable, secure feeling of waking up in a warm tangle of gently breathing bodies. Knowing that, at least for the moment, he was not alone.
When the gang was first taken in by the church, before Father managed to find homes for most of them, it used to drive Sister Helen crazy to walk into the dorm area and discover half a dozen kids sleeping in a tangled heap on a couple of mattresses on the floor instead of in their own beds as they were supposed to be. She never did understand why they didn't appreciate each having their *own* bed. She didn't understand that, on the streets, "alone" meant "dead". The kids had eventually given up on trying to explain and just made sure that they were up and the mattresses back where they belonged before she came around in the morning. Better to get a little less sleep than to sleep alone.
After the others were gone to new homes, Duo had finally resorted to sleeping *under* his bed. Sleeping on top had made him feel too vulnerable once he was alone in the dorm. Father had caught him under there one morning and had simply smiled sadly and gently ruffled his hair. Sister Helen was sweet, but Father... Duo sometimes wondered exactly what *his* background had been like. He *understood* in a way that Sister simply wasn't able to.
Duo finished drying off before carefully replacing the cross around his neck. He fingered it absently, caught up by the memories.
It had been worse after the church was gone. He had been a little too well-fed to safely join a new street gang. A little too pretty. And he'd discovered that, while "alone" did not *necessarily* mean "dead" on the streets, it wasn't damn far off either. He'd learned to sleep in short snatches, never hole up in the same place twice, always keep moving, keep running. It had been tough to go back to being dirty and hungry after getting used to being clean and well-fed. But he'd discovered it was safer to stay as dirty and smelly as he could stand. The hunger there wasn't much choice about, so he'd simply got used to it all over again. The toughest part had been getting used to being completely alone. Not that he ever *did* really get used to it.
Joining up with G and the Sweepers had been a relief. Not only was there actually enough to eat, the Sweepers lived in *very* tight quarters. It was almost impossible to be alone, day or night. And he'd only had to pull his knife once to convince someone that "no" meant "no"; he hadn't even had to actually cut the guy. A far cry from life on the streets.
Then Operation Meteor had gotten underway, and he'd been back on his own again. Deathscythe was the only constant in his life. And he'd spent more nights than he cared to remember curled up in Scythe's cockpit, trying to convince himself that as long as he had his Gundam, he wasn't really alone. He'd been desperate for a friend. Had hoped that the other Gundam pilots would be like the gang - support and comfort for each other. That he wouldn't have to be alone.
'God, I was a naive idiot,' Duo thought in disgust. He winced as he impatiently yanked the brush through a tangle. 'And then I compounded the idiocy by falling for Heero and Wufei. I thought maybe...'
Yeah, he'd "thought" alright. Thought that maybe if he could work his way into one of their beds, it would be the first step to working his way into their heart as well. That maybe he wouldn't have to be alone through the whole war and if, by some unbelievable miracle, they actually survived to see that elusive thing called "peace", he wouldn't be alone to figure out how to survive in such a radically changed world. And if they hadn't survived, as seemed much more likely - hell, Heero had already come damn close to dying by that point - they would at least have lived life to its fullest. Teenage hormones and a desperate wish to *belong* were a dangerous combination. 'Idiot. You're just damn lucky you didn't fall for somebody with less honour and more lust, Maxwell.'
Oh, he'd eventually become friends with Quatre and Trowa. The two of them and his occasional contact with Howard and the Sweepers had been the only things keeping him going at times. But Quat and Tro had been very close right from the start, best friends almost from the moment that they met. The closest *he* had come to a "best friend" so far was Hilde. And he had far too many secrets from her to really let her qualify for the position. He'd hoped...
Yanking the brush through another tangle with complete disregard for the amount of breakage he was causing, Duo told himself firmly that his eyes were watering from pulling out the tangles. Nothing else.
'Oh hell, admit it. You'd hoped either Heero or Wufei would be up to being a best friend as well as a lover. Or better yet, that they'd both qualify for both positions. Keep dreaming, Maxwell. You're asking too much.'
Duo set his brush aside and left his hair down to finish drying. He didn't like sleeping with it loose because it would be a tangled mess when he woke up; but if he braided it while it was still this wet it would never dry. Since it would be a while yet before the guys could possibly get back from doing the laundry, he might as well take a nap. Maybe then he would feel a little more up to dealing with this whole mess.
***
Heero and Wufei entered the suite quietly. Since Duo was not in the sitting-room, they headed towards the open door of his bedroom. "Duo..." Heero began, only to cut off his words abruptly at the sight before him. Duo was sprawled across his bed, sound asleep, hair spread all around him. Barely noticing that Duo was only wearing a pair of boxers, Heero's gaze fixed on his very red arms and face. Silently, he backed out of the room, Wufei following suit.
"I hate to wake him but that sunburn really needs to be treated," Heero murmured quietly.
"It looks worse than I had thought it was," Wufei said. "We were not out in the sun all *that* long. But then, he *is* very fair-skinned to start with."
"I don't think he will feel like going out for supper. Maybe we should order something delivered, then wake him and tend to the sunburn just before it arrives?"
Wufei nodded his agreement. "Perhaps pizza?" he offered.
"If I remember correctly, the only things he doesn't particularly care for on pizza are anchovies and pineapple..." Heero said as he moved into the kitchenette to check the small bar fridge. "Damn. I'd hoped there would be some juice or sports drinks in here... He'll want pop with the pizza but he's probably a bit dehydrated so I'd like to get something else down him first..."
Wufei closed his eyes, trying to visualize the contents of the vending machine he'd passed on his way back to the room. "I *think* there were sports drinks in the vending machine down the hall..."
Heero emerged from the kitchenette with the ice container in hand. "We need ice anyway, so I'll check the vending machine while I'm out there."
"Shall I go ahead and order the pizza then?"
'Probably half to three-quarters of an hour for the pizza to be delivered and it shouldn't take more than half that time to get Duo's sunburn tended to...' "Yes, you might as well," Heero answered.
"Anything you don't want on it?" Wufei asked.
"Mushrooms," Heero mumbled, embarrassed. J would have fed him nothing *but* mushrooms for a week if he'd ever mentioned not liking them. Soldiers were supposed to eat what was given to them without question. Personal preferences didn't enter the picture. But there was something about the very thought of eating *fungus* that just turned his stomach.
Wufei raised one eyebrow slightly, then admitted, "I don't particularly mind those, but I'm with Duo on the pineapple - ugh."
As Wufei turned to look up the phone number for the pizza place, Heero picked up the key and left to get the ice. Thankfully, Wufei was correct and there *were* sports drinks in the vending machine. Heero picked out several flavours in the hopes of getting Duo to drink several over the course of the evening.
Sunburn and dehydration frequently went together. And Duo's fatigue could be a sign of that. 'Or just a sign of the stress he's been under...' Heero thought unhappily.
Considering that both he and Wufei were *supposed* to be trying to make Duo happy, they didn't have a very good track record so far. 'We're just going to have to try harder,' Heero decided. An instant later, he realized, '*We*? Why *we*?' As Heero tried to shift the drinks and ice container around to free up a hand to unlock the suite door, it swung open for him and Wufei caught the ice container just before it fell. "Thanks, Wufei."
"I thought you might need a hand," Wufei answered, closing the door again once Heero was inside.
As Heero set the drinks down on the coffee table while Wufei took the ice away to put it in the fridge, Heero thought, 'That's why. We make a damn good team. I'd rather work together with Wufei than compete against him...' Waiting for Wufei to return before they went in to awaken Duo, Heero wished there was a way that all of this could work out without anyone ending up getting hurt. Because if Wufei loved Duo anywhere close to as much as he did, one of them *was* going to be hurt when Duo made his choice. Badly hurt. And if Duo still loved them both, that would hurt *him* too.
Assuming, of course, that Duo ended up choosing *either* of them. Which might be a rather large assumption, considering how badly they were doing at making him happy.
***
Duo reached for another slice of pizza, trying very hard to keep a goofy grin off his face. And it *was* difficult not to grin from ear to ear. It seemed that his concerns over being ignored for the rest of the day were completely unfounded.
From the moment he'd awakened to soft voices, Heero and Wufei had been making it quite clear that they *were* paying attention. The soothing aloe cream that Wufei had applied to his sunburn with a feather-light touch and the sports drink that Heero had gently insisted on him drinking had only been the beginning. Then Wufei had appeared with his brush and offered to brush his hair out for him. And Heero had braided it, doing a very neat job much to his surprise.
Next had come the revelation of the clothing they had purchased for him. He'd been a bit uncomfortable over accepting it at first, finally giving in on the condition that they let him pay them back later. They had resisted, insisting that it was their fault that he needed the clothing, but eventually had compromised by letting him pay a third of the cost.
Then the pizza had arrived. And the best part of the evening quickly followed. They were actually *talking* to him. Filling him in on what they'd been doing over the past couple of years. Describing their apartments. Talking about working for Preventers. About how bizarre it had been to take orders from Une at first, but how totally natural it now seemed. About how difficult it was to work with some of the other Preventers, former Oz or Alliance soldiers twice their age who nevertheless were lower-ranking than Heero and Wufei. Telling little stories about strange, amusing, or even aggravating things that had happened at work.
Heero let Wufei take over the conversation while he ate another slice of pizza. They were taking turns talking and Heero was surprised just how easy it really was to find things to discuss. Watching Duo's eyes sparkle as he listened to Wufei recounting a mission they had been sent on to check out a factory that was reportedly building mobile dolls only to discover that it was in fact a *doll mobile* factory - making baby mobiles consisting of half a dozen tiny stuffed dolls - Heero was simultaneously delighted that they were finally making him happy and disgusted that they hadn't done this sooner.
"You should have seen Une's face when Heero presented her with a 'sample'," Wufei chuckled.
Heero raised one eyebrow and said, "Well, that was nothing compared to the look she got when you suggested that it would look lovely hanging over her desk..."
Duo laughed so hard he fell off the chair.
Wufei exchanged a satisfied smirk with Heero. 'It's nice to hear Duo laugh again. It truly does not take a great deal to make him happy... Why then have we been doing so *badly* at it up till now?' Wufei wondered.
Duo picked himself up off the floor and wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes. The thought of Une with a baby mobile hanging over her desk... Oh, man...
As he prompted Heero for more details, the thought crossed Duo's mind that he really *should* be doing as he originally intended and telling the two of them about his past. But... Things were going so well right now. And he really did not know how they would react to his revelations.
What would Wufei, raised in the lap of luxury, think of him once he knew Duo had practically grown up dining on scraps from other people's garbage along with whatever he could manage to steal? What would Heero think once he found out that Duo had kept his virginity only by keeping himself filthy and smelly, by running fast and hiding well, by frequent and vicious, sometimes even deadly, use of his knife?
How would the two of them, thoroughly educated in a broad range of topics starting from a young age, react to the news that the time he had spent hiding out in schools during the war added up to more hours than he had ever spent in a school in his life? That while G had crammed university-level physics and chemistry down his throat along with specific topics in human physiology and other subjects, the gaping holes that left in his education were filled only with what he'd managed to teach himself from books? That he had just - finally! - managed to fill in enough of those gaps to get his General Equivalency Diploma?
Duo didn't know. And suddenly, now that things were going so much better, he was afraid to find out.
'If they ask, I'll tell them. I won't lie about it. But I won't just volunteer it either,' he decided guiltily. At least not before the end of the week. If - when? - the time to make a choice arrived, he would *have* to tell them first. He couldn't go into what he considered a life-long commitment with a secret that big hovering in the background. A lie of omission was still a lie. But by delaying his explanations, he would at least have this week to remember if they were unable to accept him after hearing about his past. 'So enjoy every moment of it, Maxwell. It might be all you ever have...'
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