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"In Plain Sight"(or “The Hardest Job Fate and Destiny Were Ever Handed”)Written By: Honor Disclaimers: I own Gundam Wing, pigs can fly,
people can breathe underwater, and it’s perfectly safe to blow-dry
your hair while in the shower. Pairings: 1x4, existing 2x3 Rating: R. Spoilers: Nope Warnings: AU, romance, yaoi, lemon, some language,
Heero panicking Author’s Insane Ramblings on no particular
topic: "In Plain Sight" (or “The Hardest Job Fate and Destiny Were Ever Handed”) Chapter Four: Baby Steps
A little too brightly, truth be told. He was really hoping that a stack of clothes were waiting in plain sight, and that Quatre was doing something elsewhere so Heero could get through this without showing any skin. That hope was immediately dashed when he walked into Quatre’s room. The blond was standing in front of his closet, holding up two shirts in either hand, head cocked. “Hm…you’d look good in either color…hey Heero, which one do you like?” It just figured that the blond was a clothes horse. Heero sighed and pointed to one at random. He didn’t care what color the shirt was, as long as it fit him okay. Quatre handed him the dark blue shirt and nodded to the jeans and boxers sitting on the bed. “I think those should fit, we’re practically the same size. Oops, socks.” He knelt near the bottom drawer of his chest of drawers, rummaging around for two matching socks. Quatre was actually just hiding his face. He could not believe just how well those baggy clothes Heero wore had hidden just how well built he was. It had taken every ounce of willpower the blond possessed to act normal and not fall into a puddle of drool. Heero took advantage of his distraction and quickly yanked on boxers and jeans. Phew. Cover was a good thing. He tossed the towels aside and shrugged into the shirt. Quatre was right, they were pretty close to the same size. Everything fit perfectly. Quatre turned around with matching socks in hand, and whatever cool he had vaporized. “Good gravy!” Mouth agape, his eyes traveled slowly from head to toe, then back again. Heero shifted under this intense scrutiny. “Quatre, what are you doing?” “You…do you have any idea just how gorgeous you are?! Put you in the right clothes, and suddenly you’re a stud muffin.” Quatre’s mouth twisted into a thoughtful hum. “I wonder how you would look in black…” He had no idea what Quatre was rambling about. Him? Gorgeous? He was scrawny and too short, everyone said so. He watched in bemusement as the blond quickly tore through his closet again, unearthing a black shirt. “Here, put this on.” Heero just stared at him. “What’s wrong with this?” “Nothing, you look really good in that, I just want to see how you look in black.” Quatre grew impatient and started yanking on the shirt himself. “Come on, Heero.” Humor the crazy person, Heero told himself. He slid out of the blue shirt and put on the black. “Whoa. You look even better in black. I wonder how you would do in red…” Heero rolled his eyes as Quatre dove back into his closet. This, he had a feeling, was going to take a while. + “…he sees Heero half naked and all wet and yummy from the shower, and his only reaction is making Heero his own moving mannequin?” Fate sighed. “I thought it would be easier after Heero actually started trusting him.” “So did I.” Destiny scowled darkly. “That’s it! I’m tossing them into a room butt naked and locking the door! Mother Nature can handle this one!” Fate thought that was pure genius and pulled out his cell phone, calling up Mother Nature herself. It took only a moment to explain the situation, and the people involved. “Well?” Destiny demanded when Fate hung up. “She said, and I quote, ‘No way Jose.’” “Rats.” + After being threatened with strangulation, Quatre finally left Heero alone (but not before he put the black shirt back on his friend) and agreed to cook breakfast. Iria was dead to the world asleep (she was on the night shift at Harwood Hospital, and didn’t revive until one or two in the afternoon) so she wasn’t awake to warn Heero that Quatre trying to cook anything was a disaster waiting to happen. Heero had to find out the hard way. “Hm…how about French toast and bacon?” Heero really didn’t care as long as it was food. It was nearly ten and he was starving. “Okay. I’ll do the bacon.” He’d never done French toast, so it was up to Quatre to do that. Quatre started scrambling around for the ingredients. He clambered up on the counter to reach the top shelf of the pantry, and the syrup. He unfortunately couldn’t quite reach…and the syrup slipped from his grasping fingers and fell straight to the floor. “Uh…oh…” Heero looked around and saw the remains of a rather large bottle of syrup spread over most of the kitchen floor. “Quatre, have you ever heard of a step up?” Quatre gave him a sheepish smile. “We don’t have one.” “Chair?” Heero parried. “…I thought I could reach it.” Heero sighed. “Stay put. If you tried to get down you’ll get glass splinters in your feet.” He navigated his way to the back door and slipped on his shoes before going back into the kitchen. He cautiously made his way to Quatre’s side, side stepping the worst of the mess as he moved. “Come on, I’ll get you out of here.” Quatre slowly put both arms around Heero’s shoulders. Heero acted like picking him up wouldn’t be a big deal, but Quatre knew from experience that picking up your own body weight was no laughing matter. Heero slid an arm around the blond’s waist and another under his knees, easily pulling him off the counter and into his arms. Quatre gasped as his body left the solid surface of the marble, staring at Heero with wide eyes. “What, didn’t think I could do it?” “You’re a lot stronger than you look, let’s just put it that way.” Quatre relaxed a little as Heero turned and started picking his way out of the kitchen. Adopting a southern falsetto he batted his eyelashes. “Oh my heeeero.” Heero glared at him. “You keep that up and I’ll drop you on your ass.” Quatre laughed, but behaved. He didn’t want to pick glass shards out of certain tender bits of his anatomy. The kitchen was cleaned up quickly and Quatre started to hunt for another bottle of syrup. Heero picked him up by the waist and sat him on the counter. “How about you stay there and just give me directions.” Quatre stuck his tongue out at him. “Are you trying to insinuate that I am untrustworthy in a kitchen?” “No, I am insinuating that you’re a kitchen hazard. I’ll cook.” “And what am I supposed to do while my guest is making breakfast?” “Sit there and try to look decorative.” Quatre gave him a squinty-eyed glare. “You’re going to pay for that comment, Heero Yuy.” “Hn.” “Don’t grunt at me. I can be downright devious when I need to be.” “Quatre,” Heero replied patiently as he pulled out another bottle of syrup from the pantry, “the fact that I’m here, cooking breakfast, should be ample proof that you are devious.” “...yes, it is isn’t it?” Quatre beamed innocently. Personally, Heero wouldn’t have him any other way. + Monday morning had to come, and school started on schedule just like usual. Quatre was ecstatic that Heero actually joined them out on the grass for lunch without being dragged or blackmailed into it. Duo gave him an enthusiastic hug just for showing the initiative, which Heero put up with only a roll of the eyes. “Heero, out of curiosity, why do you say ‘Ja’ whenever you leave?” Quatre twisted around to face him, propping his chin in one hand. “I thought Japanese people said ‘sayonara’ when they say goodbye.” “Sayonara is a final goodbye,” Heero explained. “It means you never expect to see that person again. I use ‘ja’ because it has the same connotation as ‘later’.” “Oh. That’s cool.” Wufei looked up from his book and asked in fluent Japanese, “Is your mother or your father Japanese?” Everyone slowly turned to stare at him incredulously. “Wu, since when do you know Japanese?” Duo demanded. “Both Chinese and Japanese use the same kanji—we just pronounce things differently. I studied it as a matter of course.” “…my father is American,” Heero finally answered. He made a mental note to not insult someone within Wufei’s hearing, just in case they wanted a translation. “That explains the blue eyes,” Quatre murmured thoughtfully. “But you don’t live with your parents, do you? I thought you said you lived with an aunt.” For the moment. Heero nodded curtly. The bell rang and everyone grudgingly got to their feet, heading back into class. Quatre was quiet on the way, thinking hard. He’d noticed that even when Heero hadn’t really wanted to be friends, he’d been very reluctant to leave and return to his aunt’s house unless it was absolutely necessary. His reaction now to the subject was just as closed off as usual. Quatre received the distinct impression that Heero really wasn’t comfortable living with his aunt. And that gave Quatre an idea. + Quatre picked Heero up from work (something that was beginning to be a habit) and then to Great Wall (another habit). Also according to habit, they went to Quatre’s house after that to hang out and finish off whatever homework they didn’t do in class. It took a lot of patience, but Quatre managed to wait until the timing was right. They were on the love sack again, The Italian Job playing. As the credits started to roll, Quatre dug out a key from his pocket and handed it to Heero. Heero accepted the key in confusion. “What does this go to?” “The house.” “…why?” Heero asked softly. “I know you’re not comfortable at your Aunt’s house. You never go there unless you absolutely have to. So I want to give you a place where you can be comfortable, a place where you can kick off your shoes, and leave your jacket on the banister. Don’t hesitate to use it, okay?” Heero’s heart was aching in his chest. Home. What Quatre had just described was home. Did he even know what he was offering? “You…do this for all your friends?” “No.” Quatre saw the change in those dark blue eyes, and knew that he was finally getting his message across. “Then why me especially?” Quatre chose his words carefully. He could make it or blow it at this point and he really didn’t want to blow it. “It’s very important to me that you’re happy.” Heero’s hand closed over the key until it pressed sharply against his skin. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know how to respond. No one had ever offered him what Quatre was offering him, as badly as he had wanted it. Quatre didn’t need a verbal response. He could see the answer in Heero’s eyes. And he wanted so badly to hold him at that moment that he couldn’t deny the urge. Hesitantly he reached out, brushing messy brown hair away from Heero’s face. Time slowed and the air grew heavy with anticipation. Quatre shifted closer, slowly leaning in until his lips brushed Heero’s. The contact barely had more substance than air, but it carried an electric current that jolted both of them. Heero caught his head roughly and pulled him back in, kissing him with all the pent up hunger and need for affection in him. Quatre sank into him, kissing him back, wrapping both arms around the other’s waist to mold their bodies together. The key fell from Heero’s hand to lay trapped between them, right on their hearts. + “…it worked?” Destiny demanded incredulously. “THAT worked?!” “Why are you questioning it?” Fate cried, already in the middle of his victory dance. “Celebrate!” Linking arms, they danced away, leaving the newly minted couple some much needed privacy. ~*~*~*~
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