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" Watching"Written By: Helen
Warnings: AU, OOC, Sap, WAFF Pairings: 2+1, 1+2 Spoilers: None Archives (Please Ask First): Primarily: Deb’s
Gundam Wing Diaries Rating: PG Author's Notes: For Hatsukoi 2004 contest. Theme:
“Firsts” Special Thanks: Deb, who goes above and beyond her “duty” as a beta. I’m forever grateful to you!
Watching Duo leaned against the school entrance gate waiting for his rather questionably sane friend to appear. He swore that ever since they had transferred to their new school and she had made some friends with the “popular” kids, Relena had been nothing short of obsessive. *And* with one of them in particular: a Japanese boy who went by the name of Heero Yuy. With a sigh, the braided teen supposed that he couldn’t blame her since Heero was *the* most popular guy in school. Not to mention the fact that he also had a little fixation on his attractive, unruly haired classmate. Relena was one of the first people he'd told about his sexual orientation because they’d been friends since middle school. Ever since then, they would keep a look out for guys for each other and jokingly point out which boy would suit whom. But Duo knew that when the time came, Relena would be the first choice, due to the simple fact that she was a girl and he wasn’t. Heero would probably never notice him. Not that any other 'obviously-straight-as-an-arrow' guy would anyway. “Oh well… I don’t have a chance,” Duo said with another sigh. “A chance? To do what?” “GAH!” Duo jumped away from the gate and came face-to-face with his long time friend. Bright cerulean eyes glanced at him innocently from under honey colored bangs and Duo quickly shook his head. “N-Nothing! Nothing at all,” the American said while forcing out a laugh. “Hmm… all right. Whatever you say, Duo,” Relena said before grabbing his wrist. “Come on, let’s go!” She started to drag him towards the bus stop. “Wait a minute! Wait just a minute!! Where are we going?!” Duo yelled out, trying to keep up with the energetic girl. “You’ll see when we get there,” Relena said quite mischievously. As they boarded the large bus, neither of them noticed a pair of cobalt blue eyes following their every movement. ~*~*~ “You want me to what?” Relena sighed. They were inside a gift shop downtown and Duo was being difficult. “I said, ‘Help me pick out a birthday present for Heero. Or have you forgotten that tomorrow is his birthday?” she asked the braided boy. “How *could* I forget if you were reminding me 24/7 for the past 2 weeks?” Duo told her, folding his arms. In truth, Duo had known about Heero’s birthday before Relena had. He had just happened to overhear some of the other girls at school gossiping about it last month and wondering what they were going to get the Japanese teen. Duo would love to give something to his object of affection as well, but a present coming from a boy wouldn’t compare to all those from the girls. Relena was one of them after all. “You’re both guys so I think it’s more likely he’ll like the present that you’ve picked rather than the one I’ve picked out. I think I would end up giving him something like this after all,” she said, holding up a teddy bear hugging a red heart with the word “LOVE” in the middle. Duo’s eyebrow twitched. “Riiight… Like *any* guy would be caught dead with that thing in their room,” Duo said, eyeing the said bear with mild disgust. It was… *so* sappy and cute that it verged on teeth rotting. He wondered why girls liked that kind of stuff. “If I were to give him something…” Duo said, putting his hand under his chin to think. Since Relena was so eager with the idea, he might as well pick something *he* would have given to Heero. At least then he could let himself think that Relena was merely delivering his present to Heero. “A wristwatch,” he stated after a moment of silence between them. “A wristwatch?” Relena repeated, giving him a funny look. “Well, unlike you girls, we boys like things that are useful. I haven’t seen Heero wearing a watch. He might want one so he doesn’t have to depend on the clocks at school that usually don’t even work half the time.” The blonde girl nodded in understanding. “I see… So! Onto the watch shop!” And Duo found himself being dragged out the door. ~*~*~ The bell rang, signaling the end of another school day. Duo packed up his things and headed out into the hallway when he saw Relena dragging Heero away, presumably so the other girls wouldn’t find him for a while. //Man, Relena sure has a lot of practice dragging people everywhere.// Duo smiled and then it disappeared. //She must be giving him her present,// he thought, his eyes lowering to the floor. Dejectedly, he walked out to the school entrance like he always did to wait for Relena and her good news that Heero had accepted the watch. And perhaps her feelings for him. ~*~*~ “Where *is* she?” Duo muttered, glancing back towards the school for the umpteenth time. The campus was almost empty of students. Duo checked his newly bought watch, realizing that he had been waiting there for almost an hour. Sighing to himself, he ran a finger over the small piece of film covering the glass of the watch. He didn’t know what had possessed him to buy a watch matching the one Relena had bought while Relena was busy having Heero’s wrapped, complete with a violet ribbon. When he asked why she hadn't chosen a pink one, since he knew very well about her… fondness with that color, she only shrugged and said that it was too cliché on the blue paper she'd picked out. At that moment, a thought struck him. Maybe Heero had taken Relena home, or worse yet, they'd gone out together and Relena had forgotten to tell him not to wait up! Anger and jealousy rose up inside him and he lifted his fist, shaking with rage. “That… little…” he growled. “That little?” Duo jumped at the sudden echo from behind him and spun around. He met with the cobalt blue eyes of Heero Yuy; his own widening in shock. “Heero, hi…” Duo greeted the other nervously, his fist loosening into an awkward wave. “Waiting for someone?” Heero asked while giving him a small and somewhat amused smile. Mesmerized, Duo tried to form a coherent sentence. “Ye-Yeah. I’m waiting for my friend… Relena that is.” “Relena? She left a while ago,” the Japanese teen told him, checking his new gift. The braided boy swallowed and made an effort to hide his own watch from Heero’s view. “Really? Figured she’d leave me hanging.” Duo grinned nervously. “Well, I’ll see you around.” He turned around to head for home but the other’s voice stopped him. “Can I accompany you?” The braided boy blinked incredulously. “Eh? You mean, to my house?” Heero nodded, still smiling and making Duo’s knees go weak again. “Sure. I mean, why not?” They both walked side-by-side towards Duo’s house. At first, Duo didn’t know what to say to the attractive teen. Usually all the girls at school surrounded Heero so he could only glance and admire from afar. With him being so close, it was like a dream come true. As they continued down the street, the tension between them lifted gradually and Duo was able to talk to the other boy as if they were best friends. Laughing and joking, the braided American didn’t notice that they had already reached his house. “Thanks, Heero,” Duo said grinning. “That was better than listening to Relena any day.” When he registered what he'd just said to Relena’s 'possible-but-more-than-likely boyfriend', he slapped his hand over his mouth. “Sorry!” he apologized, but all Heero did was laugh. “It’s okay.” Relieved, Duo smiled and looked up at his house. “Well, I guess I better head inside. See ya.” Duo smiled and gave the other a short wave before striding up his walkway to the front door. But before he could put the key into the lock, a hand suddenly grabbed onto his wrist, clasping around his watch that he had forgotten to keep hidden. Surprised, the braided teen turned his head to see Heero. He didn’t even hear the Japanese boy walk up to him. “Duo…” the unruly haired teen said, not meeting his eyes. “I want to thank you for my birthday present.” Before Duo could ask what he meant, Heero leaned in and pressed a short but awkward kiss to his lips. Then he was gone, walking away from him as quickly as possible. Duo stood there frozen, one hand still on the doorknob and the other reaching up to touch his mouth with fascination. //Did Heero Yuy just… kiss me?// he wondered dazedly. His mind still swirling with unanswerable questions, he managed to get the door unlocked. He immediately went upstairs to his bedroom and fell backwards on his bed. He reached into his pillowcase and pulled out a snapshot of Heero he’d taken months ago when the unruly haired teen wasn’t watching. It was his first day of school and he was about to snap a picture of Relena at the school entrance but Heero happened to walk by and he snapped him instead. Looking at the picture of Heero’s profile, Duo touched his lips again, still burning with feeling and smiled. But he thought about what Heero had told him. Birthday present? Why was he thanking *him*? Relena was the one who gave it to him; wasn’t she? ~*~*~ “You did what?!” Duo shouted into the phone, causing the person at the other end to quickly jerk it away from her ear. “Calm down, Duo. It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” Relena’s voice came back. “But…” “No buts! It’s not my fault you didn’t realize it sooner.” Duo smacked his forehead. She was right; he *didn’t* realize it. Asking him to pick out the present, wrapping it with the violet ribbon, dragging Heero away to give it to him… Okay well that was expected but what he didn’t expect was for Relena to tell Heero that HE had a crush on him! “So, I saw Heero walking home with you. Did anything happen?” Duo could almost hear the self-satisfied smile in her tone of voice. “Don’t act smug.” Relena laughed. “I’m not acting. I *am* smug.” “Relena…” Duo growled out. “Ah! I have call waiting. Why don’t we finish this at the café near your house in an hour, okay? Bye Duo!” “No, wait! Rel- ” *click* The braided boy resisted the urge to crush the phone in his hand as anger rose within him. Now he would have to deal with this with her later. ~*~*~ Duo sipped his cappuccino and glanced back at the door to see if he could spot his frustrating friend. Relena had said an hour and, checking his watch, she was 10 minutes late. He sighed and sipped at his cup again. “Duo?” The braided teen paused as he heard his name. That voice was too low… He turned around, half-expecting and half-dreading whom it might be. “I’m sorry. Did I keep you waiting?” Heero asked. “Waiting? No, no. Not at all.” He watched as the unruly haired teen took off his jacket and sat down on the opposite side of the table. A waitress came over to take his order but Heero waved her away, indicating he didn’t want anything yet. When she left, Heero folded his hands and looked at Duo. “So, Duo. What did you want to tell me?” Duo blinked in confusion. “Tell you?” This time Heero was the one confused. “Yes. Isn’t that why you asked me to meet you here? Well, that was what Relena said.” “Relena?!” Duo’s outburst caused Heero to stare at him in surprise. The braided teen crossed his arms and looked away, angrily. //*Now* it all makes sense… Relena’s been playing matchmaker!// But then all his anger escaped out in a single exhaled breath as he realized that thanks to Relena, Heero was finally *talking* to him and quite possibly liked him as well. He glanced up to see the other boy looking at him, concerned. “Ah… sorry, Heero. I’m okay.” Duo brushed his bangs back with one hand, letting them fall back onto his forehead. “I don’t know what Relena told you today, but I had nothing to do with some of things she said.” The other blinked. “Oh…” Heero whispered. “No wonder.” The braided teen looked at the other boy before getting up. “Heero. Why don’t we take a walk and get this straightened out?” ~*~*~ They made it to a small park a few blocks from Duo’s house. It was empty of children and parents alike for the sun was already low in the sky, casting dark orange rays into the area. Both teens were sitting side-by-side on one of the long benches under the large tree. Duo had kept silent after Heero finished relaying what Relena had told him since she'd given him the wristwatch. He was picking the end of his braid, a usual habit whenever he was thinking or nervous. Now he was both and Heero looked over at him, waiting for a response. “Okay, well… all of that is true.” A pause. “More or less,” Duo finished. //Relena certainly was good at leaving out important details to make it *seem* all true,// he thought angrily to himself. The watch *was* his idea and he *was* “shy” (as she worded it) about giving Heero a present due to the competition with the other girls as well as his little crush on him. Not to mention the fear of what implications the present might have given. “So… you do have feelings for me?” The quiet question snapped Duo out of his thoughts and he glanced over at the unruly haired boy who was looking almost shy, totally unlike how Duo had known him to be at school: popular and confident. “Yeah,” he answered quietly. “So do I,” Heero told him, a bit unnecessarily. “It’s just… for a long time I wanted to meet you. I think it's because you were so easy to pick out with that braid of yours. I would always glance up and there it was, swinging behind a…” He paused, trying to find words that didn’t sound too sappy. “…A very attractive teen,” Heero finished. “But I could never get close enough to talk to you.” He smiled at the speechless American. “You were just too out of reach to me.” ”*I* was?!” Duo blurted out, finally regaining his voice. “You were the popular one!” Heero chuckled. “I suppose. But it seemed like I could attract the attention of everyone but you.” A sad, reminiscing expression crossed the Japanese boy’s face. The braided teen reached out and tentatively touched the other’s shoulder. ”That’s not true.” The smile returned with those words. “I know that now.” Duo smiled as well and a silence fell upon the two teens as Duo removed his hand from Heero. Soon the air between them became awkward and Heero’s voice was the first to break the still air. “It’s getting pretty late,” he said, noting the dark sky. “Want me to walk you home?” The braided boy laughed. “This sounds like the end of a date.” Heero let out a low chuckle. “I suppose it does,” he agreed. He hesitated for a split second before adding, “But… one day, I’ll invite you out for a real one.” Surprising Duo with that promise, he smiled at the other teen, feeling much better himself. Suddenly, everything seemed right in the world. Owari Next Chapter |
