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"Free Falling"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU, rated for language, yaoi pairings Pairings: 2x1, 3x4 Summary: Duo searches for the key to happiness and love while free falling through life A/N: I couldn't have done this without Waterlily's
invaluable editing "Free Falling" Chapter Four "...How far will I go? Despite the foundation, I am falling ... Where am I heading? Could you grant me a haven? ... Don't keep it from me! This is a free fall! This is a free fall! ..." I was singing along with a tune chosen by the pilot who'd been flying this rig before me, and noticing how the song fit my life. Carrying my L5 scrap load for recycling into new colony construction material on L4, gave me some uninterrupted, quiet time to think. Living with Heero had been my first experience sharing a home with anyone. Visiting Quatre in a mansion with servants or living across the hall from Hilde really did not count as communal living. Heero, on the other hand, had shared a place with another man and had a bad experience. I know he didn't want to repeat that failure and even if he didn't think I'd try to kill him, there had to be a voice in the back of his head warning him about the new, untried guy. I knew this because in listening to that voice of reason, Heero had taken sex off the table from the outset. We'd bent that rule some, but I know he was waiting for a sign in order to trust me completely. This all added up to why I had been so eager to make things work. I wasn't leaving L5 feeling Heero would have thrown me out if I hadn't folded a t-shirt right or anything, but I felt as if I was still on temporary loan to Heero and continuing to fly a test pattern until I'd earned my stripes, which in this case was sex rights. I wasn't feeling like I was leaving my home to go home, either' I was leaving Heero's place to go back home. What was I to expect, though? I'd only been at Heero's place for two weeks and now was going back to where I'd been living for more than a month. The more I pondered the idea of "home," I realized I didn't feel particularly drawn to my L4 apartment either. Notably, I didn't immediately go to my place when I got into L4. Of course it was late, after midnight, and at that hour the buses would be running irregularly enough to get me to my apartment around two AM. If I was to get my cargo unloaded on time the next day, I'd have to get in line for docking space no later than 7:00 AM, meaning I'd have to get up no later than 6:00 AM. Since I no longer relished getting up to meet a day's work after only four hours rest, I'd probably ignore the alarm and oversleep, and that would trigger an even later start unloading the junk the next day, which meant an especially long day, and, frankly, it all sounded unappealing, so I camped out in the carrier ship at the spaceport. It was not the first time I'd done this; I had slept onboard like this before. The ship was a Winner Corporation Sustaining the Universe scrap collecting carrier vessel with the craft designator: WinSustain2796. She lacked creature comforts and was cramped, but I'd certainly stayed in worse places under more dire circumstances during the war. Besides, I reminded myself before dropping off to sleep, I'd be first in line for unloading in the morning, making the confined accommodations more appealing. "Looky'ere it's Maxwell! Missed you, darling." This was said by a very deep, masculine voice accompanied by kissy sounds from around the port. "Well, I didn't miss your ugly mug, Stevie." I shouted. "Anyway, get used to it again, 'cause I am back in town for a fortnight." "Nice shit!" Yelling up at me from the giant hydraulic lift was Dave. "Where you been to get quality scrap like this?" "This is genuine top grade L5 super structure," I said. "I hear the rebuilding's going good there. How's it look?" That was Evy. She was always looking for a better place to live. "Bleak, empty, safe. You have to have a job to get in and behave or they throw you out. But I like it." I smiled and shrugged off the reason why. The unloading and moving around of the entire load took me through lunch and well into the dinner hour. Dave was newly married and rushed out to see his wife. Stevie and Evy and I stuffed ourselves with burgers, fries and beer at the local dive, before heading our separate ways. Easy as it was to fall back into my routine, when I reached the apartment building the inhospitableness of the place struck me, not the familiarity: empty and messy in a hollow, pointless, dirty, cluttered and disordered kind of way. Was this home? I was, in fact, disgusted by the muddle I'd left the place in. Maybe seeing it through a beer bottle would help? Possibly some noshes to go with it, too. Out of habit I turned on the TV as padded my way to the starkly supplied fridge. My foot pulled out of its sock. "Ugh, what's with that?" I unpeeled my sock from the sticky floor, vaguely remembering the time I spilled some juice. One peek inside the refrigerator was as good as a long look. "Nothing edible or drinkable there." I rustled up some microwavable popcorn and started cleaning while waiting for it to pop. I found a pen and paper and started a list of provisions. I collected the trash strewn about the counters and took out the garbage. I washed, dried and put dishes away, those that didn't have to soak in the sink longer. "Next time I'll do that before I leave," I promised myself. "How hard would that be?" The third time the floor cost me my sock was the last; I marched to the janitor's room and borrowed a mop, bucket, and cleanser. I turned on my music, which I resolved was a MUST have for my next trip to L5, to make the quiet bearable and wished Heero was there to help-- not see the mess, just be there to keep me company. I realized what I was really looking forward to was going back to Heero's apartment. To Heero. "Hello! I hear your music. You back Duo? You should have called!" "Hilde?" Before I could drop my mop, she bounded into the kitchen, and into my arms. "I missed you," she said between girlfriend-to-boyfriend type kisses. And since I couldn't honestly say the same thing, I didn't. I did like her and liked holding her, but I hadn't missed her. I'd been busy! "C'mon over. We can celebrate. I got a relatively new movie to watch." "Sounds great," I said. "Sure. I just gotta finish this corner and return the mop." "I've never seen you clean anything," Hilda said. I posed, mop and bucket at each side, and grinned. "I am not losing socks to the floor anymore. Okay, I'm done. Let's go before I think about cleaning the bathroom." "Smells like bleach in here. We can go to my place while it dries." "Okay." "What happened on L5?" she asked as we sank with familiarity born of repeated past experiences onto her worn couch. "I collected scrap near—" "Don't give me crap about work." And she sounded annoyed to me, too! "O-kaay." It was "scrap" not "crap" anyway... "Or 'okay' me. Duo, we haven't seen each other in two weeks and you're mopping the damn floor before calling me? What's up with that?" I guess I should have called her and let her know I was back. It just hadn't occurred to me. Looking back on it, when it came to close relationships, I had a lot to learn. "It was dirty?" I avoided her swipe at my head with a duck to the right. "Hey, I got tomorrow morning off and I was gonna take a shower, clean first, then call, all right? But my sock was glued to the floor so I had to clean it." "Then you were going to call? As your girlfriend, I deserved a call first thing." "Shower first and then call. Hey, I've been working since six this morning without a break." "Oh, poor baby." That got me the sympathy I deserved, and from there our conversation degraded into a make-out session, which led to a half-hour break to shower, separately. I had to force myself not to see the mold growing on my tiles or I'da been up all night sterilizing the bathroom. I met her back at her place, where she had candles burning in the bedroom. The sex was awesome because I hadn't had any for so long and I swear I blocked Heero from my mind completely and on purpose. Before I fell asleep, I rolled out the door and stumbled into my own heap of blankets. Then I thought about Heero, whispered to his pretty face a "goodnight," and crashed. When I woke up the next day, reached for Heero, and found him gone, I honestly thought for a split second that I'd open my eyes, get up, and find him starting breakfast in the kitchen. But it wasn't his bed, it didn't smell like his fabric softener, and it wasn't his room, because it looked like shit had moved in and set up house. Artificial sun streamed in, so it had to be near noon, and maybe the darkness of night had hidden some of the evil, but in the light of day-- "God Damn! Whatta hell-hole!" I was lucky not to have a skin rash from the seedy sheets. One look at the shower stall and I nearly puked. That was close enough to actually being ill, so I called in sick at work for the rest of the day, got dressed, grabbed the list of things to buy, and went out for a walk. My walk took me past a coffee shop for a bite and sip, and then it was shopping at the local drug store. I bought cleaning supplies that I could carry and what I thought couldn't be borrowed and took them home. I tackled the bathroom first, which was good because I was in top form right then. It was a big brute of a job, and later, worn out and needing a rest there wouldn't have been a chance in hell I would have gotten the job done. My only concession to my immediate needs was to order pizza as I was wiping out the sink. One nasty job completed, I ripped off the sheets and gathered towels and hauled them to the laundry room. While the load was washing, I dashed out to pick up the order. I needed the fresh air and the break from breathing cleaning fumes. I wondered what Heero was doing, what security issues he had to deal with today, what he was going to prepare for dinner, or with whom? Did he miss me or fall back into his previous habits, see his other friends? He did say he had friends, although not many and I didn't meet any of them, even at work. I could sure see how he'd have problems trusting folks after having a fellow agent turn on him that way. But he and I seemed to get along fine. Real good. I considered ringing him up to chat, but didn't, believing he'd consider that was lame, and it would be. He got along fine without me before. No reason smothering him. I paid for the pizza and made to go home, but the smell of the cheese and sauce drove me nuts, so I decided to just eat it at the shop after all. I asked for water and some napkins and ate the pizza outside on a sidewalk table and washed it down with bottled water. When I was a kid on L2, a table and chairs left outside would have been stolen in under ten minutes, tops. Without much seriousness, depth or insight, I wondered if it would ever change there and flashed a carefree smile at passersby. I felt deeply happy with my life. Then I remembered the wash and remaining work waiting for me back at my apartment. I could have crammed the remaining pizza slice in my mouth so as not to waste anything, but instead I remembered what Heero'd taught me. I packed up what I hadn't eaten and headed back. Something for later. Heero would be so proud of me. As I stepped into the laundry room, my cell phone buzzed. "Hey." "Hiya, you okay? Stevie told me you called in sick today." "Hilde? Yeah, well, don't tell the boss, okay? I just needed to get some food and rest." "Good idea. You were a bit off last night, if you know what I mean. Hey, our connection's breaking up." "Yeah, basement walls block the signal. I had nothing clean to wear, which is why I'm talking to you from down below. I'm doing the wash." "I'll call you later when I get home." "Okay, later." I was a bit "off" last night? What had she meant by that? Was that off personality-wise or in bed, I wondered. And I can tell you, guys don't wanna worry about their performance in the sack. No, sirree. So, in order to stop thinking about that possible shortcoming, I buried myself in cleaning activities. Between diligent washing, drying, and folding four loads of laundry, I borrowed the vacuum and cleared out the worst of the dirt from the bedroom and front room. As industrious as I was, though, I still found a way to chew her words over and over and wonder about my sexual prowess. Heero hadn't complained with what he'd gotten, and that had just been a prelude, so to speak. I came to the conclusion that it was just as easy to tidy up a bit as to live in squalor, and I was certain I'd been as good in bed last night as ever. Problem was, once I got started cleaning it was hard to find a cutting off point. Not everything could hang in the closet when I only had two hangers and I didn't want to put my neat rectangles of clothes on the old rug like I'd used to, so I piled my wardrobe in orderly stacks on the bed. Obviously I couldn't sleep in it that way. I needed something to hold my folded clothes. I was also sweaty and dirty. I was not going out like that. Heero never did. So I stripped, showered, and dressed first. This time, my walk around the blocks of my neighborhood proved void of solutions. No one was unloading gently-used dressers to the streets these days. I checked my list, and decided to shop for groceries, at least. That's when I saw the milk crates stacked at the back. They were strong and clean; they would work for clothes. I ended up negotiating with the manager, and I got six crates. It took a couple trips to carry both the crates and the groceries home, but it was worth it when I had a refrigerator full of food and a decent bedroom to live in. I stood in the short hallway and scrutinized the results, asking myself, "Would I invite Heero inside?" That was my quality test. I decided "Yes, I could," and felt very accomplished. "Duo Maxwell!" I nearly jumped out of my skin. Hilde's voice jangled my teeth. I was going to have to change the lock my door and not give out the key. Or maybe ask Hilde nicely to telephone first? "Back here." Hilde stood in the doorway arms akimbo. "I tried calling and I got worried when you didn't answer. It's seven o'clock! What are you doing?" "Cleaning house?" I looked around my room and smiled. "Done for tonight. If you haven't had dinner I can start something," "My... God." "At your service, heh heh... What? I'm not promising anything fancy. I was thinking noodles with Thai peanut sauce?" "My... God... You have been domesticated." I didn't like the sound of that. It reeked of taming and breaking and I'd undergone no such demeaning changes, but I was also not in the mood to argue. I really wanted to try out the new brand of chili oil I'd found. Even at the small market in this neighborhood, I had more product choices than at the largest shop I'd found on L5. I wanted to call Heero and have him come up with a list of things I could look for. Stock up for the next trip. "Your sink's empty. You have food in your refrigerator!" Hilde kept walking about stating the obvious. It was getting on my nerves. "What did you do to the real Duo Maxwell?" There really wasn't any civil way to answer that one. "Why don't you put on some music, relax, while I get dinner ready." I could feel her eyes on me for a few seconds. "I'll do that. Okay." We had dinner watching TV on the sofa. "This is good. Who's the girl?" Girl? Smart as a whip, I reckoned that she meant the "girl" on L5 domesticating me. "There's no girl, honest. There isn't even a woman working crew. Just time on my hands and not much else to do." Not a complete lie, but close to it. "Oh." Her calculating glance softened and she wisely dropped the cross-examination. "Well, it smells better in here now and the food's good." "Yep." Yes, it was. After that rough beginning, she and I fell back into our friendly ways. We slept together a couple more times, but not every day. We were comfortably close. But one thing I didn't tell her about was Heero Yuy. Hilde was a clever girl who'd chase the leads in no time. Mystery girl would morph into mystery boy. I would have to admit to her that I was obsessed over another boy and he was Heero Yuy, because I wouldn't change so dramatically for just anyone. Only for someone important. I wasn't even ready to acknowledge all that to myself. Or accept it. (o) A day short of two weeks later and impatient to see Heero, me and my scavenger vessel were cruising for docking space on L5, when I got a call from the traffic controller. "Greg here. WinSustain2796, come in." "Maxwell here, whatsup, Greg?" "A piece of derelict colony structure broke loose and is in free fall orbit with substation 344. Impact in four hours unless you can maneuver it elsewhere." "Well, I was looking forward to a little R&R (and a lot of Heero), but what the hell, right? Download the coordinates and tell'em I'm on my way. How many people are out there?" "Couple hundred. Half have been evacuated and the rest will be by the time you get there, so no lives are at stake." "Just umpteen billion dollars worth of equipment, huh?" I asked. I was on my way with an ETA of fifteen minutes. It gave me time to get a visual up and think about how to stop and move a piece of junk the size of the Sanc palace, its grounds, and most of the surrounding countryside. "Holy shit! That's big." "You'll have help in the way of an advisor from Preventers, whose shuttle should be hailing you any moment. Good luck, Maxwell. Traffic control over and out." "Thanks, Greg." Preventers? I wondered if the satellite substation was one of theirs. I was about to find out. "WinSustain2796. This is Preventers Agent Yuy on your left. I can guide you in. I also have some ideas as to how to hook and move this." "Heero! This is Duo! Turn on your visual. Hey! How cool is this, huh? I feel so much better knowing I got you at my back here in case I gotta go outside." "Duo! You are a day early." "Good thing, huh? We ain't got much time to save this baby, so we'll haveta visit later, 'kay, bud?" "Affirmative, ah, Duo." "See? Calling me 'Duo' ain't so hard, right?" "It wasn't that; it was you calling me 'bud'." "Don't like that? Fair 'nuff. I'll stick with 'Ro, that okay?" "Yes." "Glad that's settled. Anyway, so looks like we got inflatable over hard, load-bearing core. "Yes. I have determined that the core can be reduced to a tensile stabilizer by removing the internal trusswork. The truss is made of modular, graphite-composite shelf units with universal attachments." "Uh, huh. So in layman's terms, how do I remove the trusswork in space?" "There are two release points. Using the mobile arm, you can reach them both. The first is nearest the station, which means you begin there. My shuttle craft is fitted with bump-guards, so I can supply additional thrust." "Umm, thrust. Yeah, gimme some of that." "Duo—" "Just lightening things up. So the composite structure is flexible but also high-load?" "Yes." "Good. I'm going in. Tell me about release points. What do they look like?" I wheeled my garbage truck (that's how I visualized my craft, which had the form and handling of the unwieldy ground-bound gig) between the space junk and its distant target. Heero buzzed his sleek little spacecraft through a gap in the debris and aimed at a complicated structural interface. "Hook the mechanical arm onto the lever and pull." "That shiny bar with the dent and abrasions?" "Yes, if it's damaged you'll have to apply additional force, but in the process you'll divert the approach angle. I have the range of movement calculations ... downloading to you now... I believe the parameters are scalable to your mechanical arm." "Got'em', Ro. They're fine, but you know I'll probably have to wing it. No worries. I've been trained and certified with this baby." "It is my job to guarantee the safety of the station, you realize." Heero paused and we exchanged meaningful glances from afar. "I trust you." "Good. Where will you be when I release the lever?" "At the other lever." He rattled off the precise position, which appeared on my 'notes' area of the communication monitor. "When pulled simultaneously, the latches enable the structural folding mechanism and it collapses. My craft has an arm with limited motility. It can hook and hold, but I'll rely on you to provide the pull. When the release is complete, as I said, I can provide propulsion to help you move the material to a safe location." "First things first. I'm going for the lever." Using the arm's camera system, I could use my fail-safe hands-on method for deployment. There was a lot of silence while Heero positioned his craft out of my sight to search for his own lever to grab hold of. "Lever secured, 'Ro." "Rodger. This vessel's arm is shorter than specified. Going in closer." The seconds ticked away. Every moment the floating hunk of colony structure sailed nearer to the satellite substation. One good yank and I could jolt it into a new heading. A few seconds of thrusters and it would be clear of its target, but until Heero was ready I couldn't risk ramming the structure into his ship. So, I waited. We had used up half the time until imminent collision. "Lever secured. Counting down?" Heero said, giving me control of the timing. "Okay, 4...3...2...1...engaging arm." Nothing budged. "Cranky thing. Thrusters low power—" "Got it!" I shouted, relieved. I did not have a plan B if it hadn't worked. I don't know what I expected to happen next. I had never collapsed a skeleton. The lever had finally yielded yet nothing appeared to be happening. "So? Now what? Is it collapsing?" "The locking mechanism is disengaging throughout the structure. It takes a minute. Detecting rib movement. I have to move. I will join up with y—" "'Ro?" Silence. "Heero? Heero! Damnit, come in! Lost contact!" My first instinct was to race, or in my awkward slug of a vessel, lumber to his side. I checked the monitor for his position, a blip on the screen. "I don't have a visual on you, 'Ro, or communications, but I think I located you." Ah, shit. I couldn't go after Heero. The structure was still moving on a collision course as it continued to fold in upon itself. I had to move it and now! I redeployed my vessel's mechanical arm at a safer attach point and hoped that I could get to Heero later. It wouldn't do him any good if I failed to move this hunk of junk out of the path of destruction. I fought back my rising fears, stomping down all those useless pictures of "what might be his problem" and engaged the thrusters. "Full throttle," I said, in case he could hear me. "I'm towing us toward the hangar." I signaled the traffic controller. "Greg? You still there? This is Maxwell--." "Maxwell on WinSustain2796? Status." "I'm towing this hunk of junk because we collapsed the interior structure and I think Heero, that is the Preventer agent assisting me, is trapped inside it. I lost com with him, have no visual, but he's on the monitor." "I don't want that debris near the launch site," Greg said. "But I gotta get to a portal opening! Fine. I'm not letting him go, though. You'll just have to send out some tugs. I'm freeing the agent and bringing in his ship before moving this piece of shit. Four tugs can hold its position, right?" "Affirmed. Four manned tug crafts requested, Maxwell. You're a real pain in the ass, you know?" "Safety first and this'll pose no threats to anyone." "Costs." "Hey, if I hadn't stopped this thing when I did, remind me where it would be and the costs incurred then." "Right. Just for you, Maxwell, the tugs are launching. First one is approaching you." "Thanks, Greg. See'im." I answered the hailing tug craft and we exchanged ideas on how to proceed. Tug operators are real pros. Totally undaunted by the size of the massive hunk of colony I was hauling, the other tugs joined in and buzzed about deploying towlines and securing the mass. They were limited in what they could do, though. It would take dozens of them to match my thrust power and hold the hunk of junk in place. They certainly couldn't have handled the job without me. If I hadn'ta shown up when I had and with the scrap un-collapsed and moving, the tugs would have had absolutely no chance diverting it from the satellite. "WinSustain2796—you can disengage." "Thanks guys. Oh, ah, call me Maxwell, 'kay? I got your positions here. I'll try not to hit any of you." I explained my plans as I pulled my craft's arm free of its grip and drew it clear of the surrounding material. "Here's where I'm going. There's another ship stuck in here someplace I gotta free." "Maxwell? Tom, here. I've got a visual on the other craft. Tail section trapped and com array crushed." That explained why Heero's communication had shut down. I wheeled past another tug, giving him as wide a berth as possible, and saw Tom's tug in the distance. He resembled a spider hanging from his silk, except he wasn't hanging. "How about the pilot? Can you see him?" "Positive. We are exchanging hand signals. He says 'status good'. Friend of yours?" "Tom, you've got no idea how you just made my day. Yeah. He's a buddy." I slowed to a crawl as I came upon Heero's little ship. The tail and left side were embedded in the deflated shell. "What I'm gonna do is run a tether line to the nose and use that to tow him into the hangar after I cut him free. Any way you can signal him to hold on tight a little longer?" "I'll get the message to him. You cut. He's suited up so the ship's integrity might already be in peril." "He's with Preventers. It's precautionary probably, but I'll take that into consideration." I looked up the schematics for his little ship. I needed to know when I started cutting that I wasn't going to slice into his craft. I didn't want to add sudden decompression to his troubles. With the dexterity of a seasoned Western cowpoke, I lassoed me a space ship using my mini arm and attached tethers. The "smart" tips homed in on the ship's toggle points, the rings for my hooks built just for this purpose, fastened onto the ship's chassis, and then signaled me when I had my man secured. Next, I conjured up specs for the material I'd be cutting through. Even though I'd been transporting and cutting up the stuff for weeks now, I had been using a massively more powerful tool which hadn't the precision I needed now. Knowing the composition of those layers was the only way I could choose the right incising tools. The inflatable shell of a colony structure was a spectacular innovation. Created out of about two dozen layers that get folded and compressed around the core at launch, the whole thing would then get inflated and deployed in orbit later. First layer I'd come to would be the external thermal-protection blanket insulator. It was shiny and blinding when it caught the light, but posed no problem for cutting. Successive layers of Nextel and open cell foam made up the debris shield. Space debris and small meteorites would shatter when they hit the shield, losing energy as they penetrated the layers, but it was no sweat for my blades to rip it apart. A structural restraint layer of woven Kevlar sandwiched the energy field. If the field were enabled and powered up, there'd be no way I could cut through it with anything but a real Gundam. But this hunk of crap wasn't attached to any power supply, so it wouldn't present a problem. After that came air-pressure bladders made of Combitherm and the innermost layer of a fireproof Nomex, which also acts as a scuff and scratch barrier, and could be cut with a pair of scissors. All right! That analysis took me all of 39 seconds. I chose the biggest, baddest blade with laser targeting and started blasting. Here's where my years wielding Deathscythe's weapons really came into play. I employed many of those skills as I whipped the mechanical arm about, selecting the proper blades, and sliced and diced my way through the shroud. I carved out the tiny ship's encased tail, letting foam core and Nomex float free around me. I ignored my debris mess and concentrated on the task at hand. I risked one quick glance at the pilot's window and thought maybe I'd spotted Heero. Good enough. Over the com unit I heard a few "oohs and ahs," which I assumed to be exclamations of awe over my super skills, because it was followed up by a round of applause when Heero's ship broke free. I heard the "beeps" warning me that the tether was fully loaded. I could almost feel the taut line in my own grip wanting to reel Heero in to safety, but not yet. "Greg, got it free. I'm on my way. Condition of the smaller craft, unknown, but the com's down, tail's smashed, and the pilot's okay." I hoped the pilot was still okay. "Hanger 3 ready for WinSustain2796 towing a damaged Sprite 3400. You have priority one. Proceed with reduced speed, Maxwell." Like I would zip through full throttle? "Gotcha, Greggie." The entry was perfect and as I eased into my berth and prepared to tighten the towline, bringing the craft close alongside, Greg's voiced startled me. "Cut your tether! The Sprite's got power and he's parking." "Cool," I said, breathing easier with that news. Heero was piloting his ship, captain to the end. "Thanks. I'm getting out and checking on the other pilot first, then I'll go relieve your tugs." "Rodger, Maxwell. Seals closed. Air pressure normal in twenty." I waited for the in-ship gauge to indicate I could enter the hanger without space gear, and then bounded out, down the catwalk, and over to where Heero's crumpled ship was docked. I saw him looking out the foggy glass and gave him a grin and thumbs up. "Hey!" "Hey, yourself," he said, removing his helmet. As he climbed out of the cockpit, I caught his arm, and helped him to the floor. Looking him over, I could see that he was pale and clearly shaken, and then he was in my arms. "Thanks." He whispered that in my ear and then kissed me. And it wasn't an arms'-length brotherly peck either. No, baby. It was filled with lots of stored passion for sure. Amid a few wolf whistles and a torrent of laughter, he let me come up for air. "Missed you." "Yeah." I smiled at him, pointedly ignoring the voices around me, especially the one in my head that kept warning me to push him away. "Next time get your ass outta the way faster." "Affirmative," he said with a smile. "Next time when you leave L4, call me. I'll meet you." "You did meet me!" Heh, heh... All's well that end's well, as they say. Sadly, I couldn't have advertised any better that day that I was an ex-Gundam pilot and flaming gay - whether or not I was. But then, after going back out and moving the gigantic hunk of L5 shit to a staging area-- for removal by me, of course, in a few weeks-- I had Heero to go home with. And that was great. We made an awesome pair. (o) "What's in the bag?" Heero asked. He carried in the heavier one by choice—things from my other place. "Speakers and music. Something of mine, to share." "Music. Yes, that would be nice. You like music, then?" "Yep. All kinds, which you'll find out." I offered to make us dinner, which was eggs and toast, all I felt like cooking. Heero was happy to eat whatever I made. He'd gotten a little banged up and I think terribly frightened. He called me his best friend and already said he'd missed me every hour I'd been gone. He'd thanked me for the save multiple times already and I'd hinted what might be the perfect end to our day and I think he agreed. "Go on, shower, relax a little. I got dinner under control," I assured him. "Thanks." He held my eyes a second then left. I heard the water turn on and off a little later, and then he padded back into the kitchen. I had my back to him, but I could feel the tug on my braid. "Don't ever cut this off," he told me. "Why's that--?" I flipped the eggs in the skillet then turned around. He wore a kimono open in front and had my braid wrapped around his dick. It looked so hot I nearly creamed my shorts right then and there. "Okay," I said in a gasp then got control of my voice and brain enough to add, "I promise not to cut it off. And I'll keep my hair too." His eyes bugged out and then he erupted in throaty laughter. That was hot, too, and I joined him. "Don't stop cooking. We'll need the fuel." His voice was husky and driving me nuts. I guess I'd run the gauntlet and passed. Duo Maxwell was getting some tonight. I over-cooked the eggs just thinking about sex with Heero. In a way, I was relieved that Heero and I had become good friends. He'd known what we needed. He had insisted we have a firm foundation on non-sexual grounds before anything physical happened between us. If he had let me touch him that first night, we would certainly have had sex, and maybe it would have taken up longer to get to the more meaningful stuff. Of course, I wasn't thinking that at the time. That deeper introspective stuff came later on. All I was thinking about as I scooped the rubbery eggs onto plates was "score!" All I was thinking about centered on the sex we were going to have. He kissed me, whispering, "You saved me again. You saved my life. I trust you. I trust you with my body and my heart." That kind of trust both excited me and, honestly, would have troubled me, but right then getting physical fast overpowered everything else I was thinking. I don't remember tasting the food, eating it, or cleaning the dishes. He was freshly showered wearing a loose kimono robe in dark blue, like his eyes, and nothing else. I knew that. I thought about that a lot, which is why I wasn't paying attention to the dinner. "Come with me," he said when the last dish was dried and put away. He held my hand and led me. I don't think he'd ever walked while holding my hand before and I found it extremely sexy, like just about everything else. We walked to the bedroom, and for a few quiet moments we stood in front of the bed watching the play of glittering streetlights filter through the curtains. I watched his kimono fall to the floor to reveal that toned body I'd come to idolize. "Here, I'll help you." He pulled my sweatshirt over my head, moving my braid, stretching the neck to avoid my nose, taking what felt like a meticulous amount of trouble. But then, he crushed our bare torsos together as we kissed. "I've been dreaming about this since you left," he said. "Yeah," I whispered, "me, too." "Good." Oh, yeah, and it was good. So good. His hands ran down my back and under the elastic waistband of my sweatpants. He kneaded my ass and drew me closer. My cock was excessively hard and I could feel the steady pulse of his, trapped between us. Also trapped between us were my pants. "Let me get rid of these," I said. The pants fell to my feet and I kicked them to the side, rotating my hips in an erotic way and dancing in place. "God," he whispered. "Fucking exhibitionist." His voice was barely audible across the few feet of carpeting that separated us. "You're beautiful, the most beautiful man I've ever seen." "I was just thinking pretty much the same thing about you," I said and I meant it. "I've never seen you hard before." "Oh." I climbed onto the bed and drew the covers up to my chin. "Show's over." "Tease," he growled and quickly joined me under the light covers. I wrapped up in him and our lips met in a deep kiss. Heero's lips left mine, traveling from my mouth and along my jaw line to swish up over my left cheek, and then lightly over my eyes. My eyelids fluttered involuntarily as his lips caressed them. "You can't imagine how much I've wanted this." "Yeah, I can. I've been aching for it, and you know it, asshole." He chuckled. I think he liked being a control freak, and I didn't mind it much, but I'd had to wait. "What'sup?" "Looking at you." He planted his elbow on a pillow and gazed down at me. Music drifted in from the living room, something soft, slow. He looked my way with a curious expression. I waved a small remote control in the air and he smiled again. He blinked. "Music. Nice. I'm glad you're making this your home." "I missed my tunes." "I don't want you to miss anything while you're here." "I wanted to inject a little romance." "I find 'trust' romantic." He kissed my braid and rubbed his chest with it. "I think you find my hair hot, too." "Yes." He used the tip to tickle my chin. "I'm ready!" I insisted. "This time we're both ready." Whatever. 'Nuff said. I let him get the last word in as he crawled over me and pressed all that hard muscled chest onto me and ground his erection into mine. As he adjusted himself, I spread my legs, lifted and locked them around his hips, and let the gentle rocking of our bodies drive us both crazy. His tender, tentative kisses turned supercharged. I opened my mouth and his tongue darted in, skipped over my teeth, and plunged into my throat. It was so sudden I almost gagged, but resisted the need to protect myself and let him invade me as deeply as he desired. It was as if I were drugged into submission by his touch. I used my legs to pull his body against mine, and then released him a little, only to pull him back again. By doing so, I nudged us deeper into a rhythm of thrusting, and melding into one. My body floated on this erotic cloud and then I was yanked back to full awareness as he brought me to the brink of orgasm. Heero broke off and rolled to his side. Why had he stopped? I wanted him in me -and now- he wasn't even on me! I wanted to give myself to him, which was a big deal since ordinarily I'd have preferred topping. "What did I do wrong?" "Slow down, Duo. I-I can't. We need more time." "No more time. I want you in me." I know I sounded sulky. I felt sulky. "I know." Maybe he misunderstood. I put my needs out there. "Fuck me, Heero." He kissed me softly on the cheek. "Let's take it slow," he whispered. "You may be asking for more than you can handle." "You gotta be kidding," I muttered under my breath. I reached down under the sheet and ran my hand over his abs, feeling his firmness, letting my fingers wander though his pubic hair. I grasped his cock and moved my hand along it, marveling at how something so hard could feel so soft. My fingers circled it, barely, and my thumb ran across the oozing tip. I stopped and looked questioningly at him. "I saw it before, remember? In your office. It's sizable, but I can take it." Knowing what a man likes to hear, I added, "It's perfect," as I looked down at my full hand. "'Sides, I don't want you for your cock." "Yeah?" "Well," I grinned, "not just for your cock." He leaned over to kiss me again. Our bodies pressed together and he rolled over me again. I couldn't get over the wonderful sensation of his body on mine, the weight and substance of his muscular torso pressing into, fitting, meshing with my own body. But I was also not ready to give up. "I really want you in me." I said it again. It bore repeating. He pulled back a little and looked deeply into my eyes. "It'll happen, Duo, but not tonight, okay?" "Why not tonight?" "I don't want to start off hurting you. For now I just want to enjoy you." That all sounded so hot I moaned with need. "Oh... God, 'Ro... I don't usually beg, ya know, but I've been fucked before." "Yeah, right, by a guy with a small cock. That doesn't make you ready for me." "How do you know about the size of Quat's dick?" "I have superior evaluation skills. From afar." "Uh, huh. Well, I can take it." "I want us to start out slow. I want to share... my feelings." Feelings. This had to do with all that deeper stuff related to his waiting thing. This wasn't just a guy in bed, this was a guy sharing a bed with me and offering to share with me a whole hell of a lot more. I was one lucky guy, but I didn't fully appreciate what he was offering. I didn't know what to make of that at the time, more precisely. I was pretty much an opportunistic kind of guy, but being a fast learner, I was adapting. Still... I'd let him run our sex life so far, and, honestly, the little bunny Duo was tired as hell waiting for determined, turtle Heero to catch up. "Well, I guess I won't argue with that." I could, oh I sooo could, but I wouldn't, er... didn't. "It's not a race." "No?" I groaned. In my mind it kinda was. I was hurtling toward that finish line hell bent on completion. "There's other things I can do." His voice was filled with the makings of a real workout. Never argue with a sexy, naked man that wants to make you feel good. He lowered his lips to mine again, kissing me gently, slowly and thoroughly, and our bodies begin to move again with a thrust against me and me rising to meet him. We were both moaning even with our mouths pressed together and our tongues deep in each other's mouth. Take me, I begged with my body, despite the fact that I'd heard him say he wouldn't. Heero had said he wanted to assure me of his feelings. I wanted him to know I wanted him too. I'd experienced some of those same emotions with Quatre, but I'd lost him and moved on. I wasn't sure what my feelings for Hilde were. It was good to have someone who desired me, but if she wanted more from me, meeting her demands would be impossible. I wanted something with Heero and he expected something from me. I decided that I was willing to be patient and shoulder whatever he wanted me to. He'd be worth waiting for. This all passed through my mind in a nanosecond. Then pure pleasure and lights blew out any lingering rational thoughts. There wasn't any place for our sex juice to go, so it just pulsed out of us, mixing, melding, bonding. "Oh, Duo," Heero finally moaned as he lifted his mouth from mine. "You are so—" "Yeah," I said, reaching behind him to press my hand into the back of his head and eased him down against my shoulder. He nuzzled into my neck, his mouth still wet and hot. He moved lower, pressing into the curve of my shoulder. "You, too, babe." "I'm worn out." "Me too," I whispered. "Thank God we have all weekend." "Oh, yeah," he managed to whisper. "Thanks for coming early." "I'd say we came together! Heh, heh... Ah, don't hit! Heh, heh... I know what you meant." "Idiot... Too tired." I wasn't, so I had a minute to stare at him and think. I wondered if Heero had had a plan once I'd gotten here in his house, his bed. Heero always had a plan. Quat was a schemer, Heero a planner, and the rest of us kinda just reacted. So, what had been Heero's plan for us? What had made him think I'd fall for him? Oh, Quat possibly lead him on. Had he used his nasty, sneaky little "space heart" to worm its way into mine and read "Duo likes Heero" inscribed on the bloody walls of my heart? Otherwise, just because I'd fooled around with Quat didn't mean I just fall in with Heero's deeper relationship bullshit, did it? Not at all. I might have chosen the couch or found another place to live. Then there was Heero's pretty strong start-- the car, the drive, the dinner and the desire to kiss me—that he shut down, his pursuit of me alternately running hot and cold like my faucet on L2. Could it be that Heero was just as confused about what he wanted as I was? I sure hoped so. I didn't want to be the only clueless one. I felt a change in the rhythm of his breathing and I knew he was asleep. I lay there for a long time, feeling his weight on me, loving it, not wanting to move, not wanting to risk waking him. He grunted and moved a little so his shoulder slid off me to my right. He lay with his face pressed into the sheets before rotating my way. Eyes shutting off that penetrating gaze and scowl gone, he looked like the young guy he really was. I drifted off to sleep, peaceful, complete, our lower bodies cemented together with our drying sweat and come, well satiated for the time being. A/N: Credit the introductory song "Free Fall" to In Flames
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