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"Recycled Valentine "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, male/male pairings, language Pairings: 1x2, 3x4 Summary: A Valentine's Day themed romance encompassing all the young men Thanks to Waterlily for all the editing and humor
to keep me going "Recycled Valentine " Chapter 6 He placed the takeout and pastry boxes on a stump by the door and listened. Yes, voices were raised. Duo was arguing and desperate sounding! Heero rattled the knob. Locked! He figured that it was a good, stout, solid-wood door, but that wouldn't stop him! He backed a few steps and took a running leap. Wood splintered around the locking mechanism, metal groaned and screeched, and then the door flew open. Heero's adrenalin-heightened senses kicked in as he cast about for the locations of the two men, their condition, and, illuminated by a vivid imagination, prepared for immediate and, if the situation called for it, deadly force. "FUCK!" It was Duo's voice he heard exploding angrily over his own surprised grunt and the soft lilt of music playing in the background. Candles flickered around the main room. Duo stood arms encircling a taller man. Heero reactions ran purely on instinct, the only thing purely unrehearsed about the entire night. He had finally achieved spontaneity, but sadly not with the desired results. He attacked, yanking the other man away from Duo. Duo came on to him yelling and shouting, hurtling strings of vulgarity that left Heero a little dazed. His assault petered off; what had fueled it had dispersed with Duo's heated words. Duo, his voice dripping with scorn and his eyes accusing, demanded that he leave and never come back, giving no room for error in interpretation. Stunned to the core at how events had unfurled and his plans had been wasted, Heero was unable to accept what had transpired. He vacillated for a moment to let the orders sink in and hardened his voice, "All right." Heero didn't remember the drive back. He became aware of his whereabouts when he stopped in his own driveway. His head throbbed, his stomach clenched into a tight, painful ball, and he wiped at the sudden moisture in his eyes. Duo had other men in his life, at least one other man, and he'd been too busy with that other man to even see Heero. He'd brought him his favorite take-away. Duo had yelled at him, ordered him to get off the premises! The other man was still there. In the candlelight. Listening to nice music. Basking in his, Heero's, Circle of Duoness! He threw himself onto his bed and lay staring up at his ceiling. All the happiness he'd felt the last time he'd lain there, now completely drained away. An empty husk. How could he have let this happen to him? He knew he wasn't meant to love or be loved! What a fool he'd been! He let himself think about Duo, dwell on all the "what if's" one last time and then closed off that part of his brain. Over. Never again. If he'd had a stick, he would have beat himself black and blue, as it was he just retreated into his own dark, safe, lonely world where he couldn't be touched or hurt again. After indulging his inner child for an hour, he blocked the calls to his cell for everyone except the very tip top of his business phone tree and checked his calendar for appointments. Nothing that couldn't be put off. So, he put himself into an emotional lockdown, faked composure, and sent an update to his line men at TechSolutions indicating he was not coming in the next day and that he would apprise them of his return date. In the meantime, they could call him for emergencies only. With his duties settled, he stripped off his clothes and slid between the sheets to brood until he could fall asleep. He couldn't sleep. His over-active brain conjured up a mental picture show of the events of the day like a shaky newsreel. A miserable one. "Romance," he sputtered in a scornful noise and lay there like one of his old spaghetti westerns: to languish, be remaindered, and die in the penny pile. An honest death. When he awoke to find he had not died, Heero called in to work letting them know he was taking off the remainder of the week, and returned to bed where he lay and stared and brooded some more. His appetite was gone so he missed a couple more meals. By dinner time, he felt he should keep up his strength regardless of aversion to food. He blindly scanned menus from his favorite take-outs and chose one at random, called, and placed an order. When the doorbell rang an hour later, he couldn't remember what he'd requested. He opened the door prepared to hand over a few bills. "You ordered Chinese?" He did a double-take to make certain the man was who he thought he was. "Wufei...Chang? What the hell are you doing here?" "Delivering your dinner. My treat. Are you going to let me in, or not?" "Suit yourself. I'm not in the company mood, though." Heero didn't seem to know what to do with the cash in his hand, so he left it on the small table by the door, where it looked messy and out of place. Wufei pushed his way past. "Where do you want to eat?" "I don't. You can leave that in the kitchen, then go." "You can offer me tea," came Wufei's voice from the bowels of the empty living room. Heero liked tea and he felt thirsty thinking about it, so he agreed. While he filled a teapot with loose leaf tea, the other man joined him to watch. "You and Winner are the only people I know who don't resort to teabags. I mean that in an appreciative way." The other man was off topic, employing small talk probably to put him at ease or put him off his guard, Heero decided. He grunted and set the water to boil. "How long were you out there watching my house?" "Not all that long. The cashew chicken isn't bad, by the way." Heero checked the contents of the boxes. "There isn't any." "I know. I ate it." "You ate my dinner?" "Technically, since I paid for it, it was my dinner," Wufei said, maintaining an irritably mild tone. "And I'm sharing the rest. Go ahead and dig in." Glaring at Wufei was far more fulfilling. "I don't know what Winner pays you but I hope it covers the lawyer you're going to need for invading my privacy. What have you got there?" Wufei shook his head with a disapproving, "Tch-tch. You recognize, certainly, one of your own surveillance devices? Winner let me borrow it. Excellent piece of equipment. As soon as you called Lee's Bamboo Palace, I captured the call and picked up the order myself, circumventing the need for a delivery boy and providing for my meal at the same time." Heero was still staring at the listening device, hardly listening to his best friend's head of security. A laugh bubbled up and came out as a short bark as he tried to stifle his reaction. "You used one of my products that I gave to a friend to spy on me?" He shook his head and sank onto a stool at his kitchen bar. "He's that worried?" "What do you think? He pressed his hands over his heart and fainted! He couldn't reach you. He cried." "Fuck." Heero buried his face in his hands. "I forgot about him." "Apparently. Well, you look fit, no broken bones or oozing wounds. I'll report back that you didn't blow yourself up, which, by the way, is what Quatre said it felt like." Heero shook his head, anguish lining his forehead. "No. I didn't. Nothing happened like that." "You and Quatre are so connected, Yuy, that you are killing him with whatever is making you so miserable. So fix it or get out of town for a while. Take a vacation. Invite ... Duo to go with you and cheer you up." "No. That's...over." It was either the desolate look on his face or the pain in his voice or the most likely reason: more of Quatre's interference, but Wufei appeared to understand what had happened. He put a hand on Heero's shoulder. Heero tried to shake it off, but the grip tightened until it almost hurt. "I thought Quatre was having a heart attack." Wufei's voice hardened. "I called for emergency medical help, which embarrassed him when he came to and had to explain-to me, not to them. I should have known, but had neglected my duty to be well informed of his empathic sensitivity." The hand on Heero's shoulder became crushing. "You knew. He was your best friend. You knew what your fit would do to him and, yet, and yet you blocked his calls!" The commanding hold released, and Heero straightened, but other than that never flinched. He hadn't thought about the effect of his grief on his best friend. He hadn't thought Quatre could feel his pain so acutely in any case. He'd just wanted to be left alone. "I'll call him. Tell him I'm sorry." "Yes you will. You will also talk to Duo," Wufei commanded, his tone imperious. "Stay out of this." "He called Quatre when he couldn't get in touch with you. It was fortunate because the conversation helped Quatre understand what had happened to you-which was fortunate for you because otherwise he would have sent me here this morning to break down your door to find you. Nice job on that door, by the way. He sent photos. Are you sure you didn't drive your car through it?" "Good bye, Wufei." "I'm leaving. Don't forget to call and hope both your friends forgive this dishonorable behavior." Wufei turned on a heel and marched to the front door, took the pile of bills Heero had scattered on the table. "Reimbursement," he said and left. Heero reset his cell phone to accept incoming calls, but he didn't call Quatre right away, preferring to sit in gloomy, self-imposed, silence. He knew Wufei would report back immediately that Heero was alive and well and that he had followed all Quatre's instructions, passing on whatever messages he'd been told to. No rush to call him. It was more important that he clamp down on his emotions so as not to give his friend anything to "read" and become upset. His cell alerted him it an incoming text from Wufei, "Call him!" The excessive nag was too much. Heero flung the phone at the wall where it ricocheted into the trash basket. He'd retrieve the memory chip later if it was broken; there was too much valuable information on it to lose. The smell of food drew him into the kitchen, but the chilling noodles killed his fragile appetite. He ended up tossing the take-out and going back to bed. (o) The next day he woke up to the sound of someone rapping at his front door. He tried ignoring it, but the persistence angered him enough to propel him up out of bed. "I'm not home," Heero said through the thin barrier. "I'm not letting you just retreat into your shell and slam the drawbridge without at least one attempt at figuring you out-!" He opened the door a crack and interrupted, "-Operculum." A non-smiling Duo looked back at him. "What the fuck?" "Water snails close their openings with an operculum. I was correcting your mixed metaphor." Now Duo was frowning in earnest. "Maybe I was wrong about you." "You probably were...are." "But I promised I'd do this. Can I come in?" Promised who, Heero wondered, but only for an instant? It wasn't the time for careful deliberations. He felt the overwhelming desire to take the other man in his arms and kiss him back into the past. About a week would do. But he didn't think that was going to happen. "Heero?" After Duo had told him to leave, get out of his house and never come back, never call him, never, ever try to contact him, he didn't know what to do. It was no easier keeping Duo at arm's length now than it had been to not become involved with him in the first place. He had no power to fight the attraction and steeled himself against such charm as Duo could lay on him. Heero opened the door all the way and stepped aside. "I can't think of what more you need to say to me." "Oh, no? Well, you aren't the creative thinker I took you for then," Duo snapped and for a second, Heero thought he might take a swing at him. But the man sighed resignedly and relaxed the fists at his side. "Can we sit someplace?" Heero gestured toward the living room and the couch. "Tea?" Duo shook his head, "No thanks." "Beer?" Heero asked uneasily. "Something stronger?" "You got something stronger?" Heero closed his eyes to think. "No." "Right. Nothing for me, then." Heero gave up the pretense of not caring. He cared. He cared a lot about what Duo thought, what he felt, and it was making him sick. "I-I'm so-orry. I didn't m-mean to... I was t-trying to just act and not p-plan-" Heero simply stammered into stillness, his childhood impairment returning. Duo held up a hand. "Nope! You'll have to wait your turn. I made the effort to come here. I got a short introduction all prepared, and then I wanna hear your side of the story. I promised Quat to listen first, but, well, that's not me." "You've talked to Quatre, I know. Wufei came here to yell at me and tell me that." "Well, yeah, when I couldn't get a hold of you, I called him." He sighed and ran a hand over his braid before tossing it back over a shoulder. "Lemme tell this how I want." Heero nodded, sat back, and folded his hands in his lap. "All right." "I was mad at you." "I could tell." Duo's eyes glared at him, reminding him to shut up. "I was considering filing charges for a minute there then I saw the bags by the door. God, 'Ro... dinner and dessert and..." Duo wiped his eyes with the back of a sleeve. "I figured you'd come by with good intentions." He sniffed, obviously having a hard time talking, but Heero didn't interrupt him. "By morning, I cooled off a bit and tried the calling thing and eventually resorted to Quat, well, both of his watchdogs, 'Fei and Tro', who invited me over." Heero rubbed his face. He needed to shave. He must look terrible. "After I got over the shock of Quat's fancy digs, I noticed he was a wreck. Wufei said he'd just gotten up after a night medicating himself for a migraine, and that I could stay a few minutes only. Quatre wanted information and was very... quiet. Trowa's presence was more felt than heard, if you know what I mean. He was trying not to seethe while comforting his boyfriend." Boyfriend? How nice. Heero could imagine the scene. "So I told them what happened, from my point of view, and then Quat told me a few things about you, convincing me to have this chat. He was positive there was a major misunderstanding going on and that all was not lost. As he put it, "Where there's love, there's hope." Love. The word hovered in the air between them, filling the space. "It sounds like something he'd say," Heero whispered. "That guy is something else. I wasn't sure about him. Some of the things he'd say about you when we were having those coffee shop meet-ups, like your zoning out during conversation to some dream world. It seemed a little harsh. But he's just got a funky sense of humor. He really loves you, man. And he's riddled with guilt over this, blaming himself." "But... How-?" "Apparently, he believes your problems with trust stem from how he treated you in the past. Oh, yeah, he knows all about how you...felt about him and...whatever." Heero didn't like that Quatre had revealed such a sensitive topic to anyone, Duo especially. "He shouldn't-" "Maybe, maybe not. It's a done deal now. Water under the bridge. As I see it," Duo went on, "I ran the gauntlet with your friends; now you owe me an explanation." Heero had had time to pull his thoughts together and arrange a proper reply. What came out was still a stumbling ramble. "I wanted to be more ... spontaneous... not so predictable." "You succeeded," Duo muttered. "Ah, your turn, yeah, sorry, go on." "I decided to surprise you with dinner." "Uh, huh. And how many hours did you spend arranging your schedule, calculating distances, choosing the food-?" "Days!" Duo laughed, but only a shadow of his good humor was in it. "Do you get how that fucks the fucking spontaneity out of things?" Heero's face fell and then reformed into a scowl. Duo still sounded very angry with him. "I can't just do impetuous! B- but I did try to do something unexpected." He'd tried so hard to do something from his heart, something good. "You shoulda looked at the text I'd sent." "I was too distracted." "Have you read it yet?" Heero blushed and shook his head. "No. The phone's not...operational currently." "Oh, well, it was then. You could have called ahead, checked your messages, knocked." "I was just so-" "'Single minded' the term you're looking for?" Heero nodded and stared down at his hands, finger locked so tightly that his knuckles shone white through his golden tan. "Preoccupied and excited. It slipped my mind until I reached your house. There was another car in your driveway. Then I did call." "And went nuts." "It was dark and you sounded... troubled and I heard the other voice and I thought you were in trouble. I-," Heero felt disgusted with himself now that he had to explain what certainly was a wrong assumption. "I thought I was saving you from unwanted advances." Duo sighed. "Right. I can't get how what I was telling you could have been misconstrued that way, but go on." "I broke in." "Impressive, but a hell of an expensive fix." "I'll pay for it!" Heero offered, thinking of the thousands of dollars as nothing if it would help re-gain Duo's favor, even a little. "You bet you will." "And there were c-candles!" Heero's voice broke in anguish. "And if you'd read the text I'd sent, you would have known that a tree limb had fallen, and I'd lost power, but perhaps a man with your superior observational skills might have noticed that the street lights were out on my block?" It had been awfully dark. Heero shook his head. "And soft music drifted out and there was a man there and you were... holding him. And I thought... I thought...there was someone else in your life." And what if there was? You had no right to... Oh, Jesus Christ, Heero..." he hesitated while moving closer and placing a hand on Heero's leg. "Okay. Listen. He was my ex. We've been close since breaking up. He came over to tell me that his parents just died in an accident on L2, leaving his younger sister and brother with only an elderly, maiden aunt to care for them. He always wanted to go back there anyway. I didn't, which was a part of our not being right for each other. He was pretty messed up and I was comforting him." "Oh." Heero felt very, very bad about everything. "He came to tell me he was going back to L2 to take care of his sister and brother and wanted to give my car back." "The SUV." "Yeah. I hadn't needed it as much as he had after we went our own ways, so I gave him the papers. But he couldn't take it to L2, wouldn't need it either, so he returned it." "I see." "Then, in the morning- And don't you dare ask me if we slept together or I am outta here for good, got that? Okay. Good. You gotta learn to trust me, 'Ro, or we got no future. I told you I don't lie, and I don't. I know we aren't like completely a couple, but we were on that track, right?" "Yes." Only derailed temporarily? Could he hope? "Okay. So, in the morning I drove him to the Shuttle Base and saw him off. Aaaaand that's the whole story." "I feel so... foolish," Heero said. "The phone conversation, darkened windows all played right into my delusion." "'Ro, you're a remarkably inventive person with a crazy flair for the melodramatic." There it was again. He wanted to stop feeling so wretched and Heero thought he sensed an optimistic tone from Duo. "I was rash and made a stupid mistake. I hope I didn't hurt...him." "Him? Oh, Solo. Naw, he was freaked out, sure, scared the crap outta him, but no harm, no foul there." "And I'll pay for any damage." "Yeah, you said that, but, well, to tell the truth, I got some work buddies coming over to re-frame the door and the insurance is paying for everything. Heh, heh... funny thing there. The adjuster came out pronto to case the place, you know, falling limbs all over? He said it had to be a tree that did that to the door. No man coulda done it. Who was I to tell him different? So, actually, it ain't costing me shit." "I want to make it up to you, if that's possible?" Duo cracked a smile. "That's right. I did say you'd pay. Hm. I'd had you pegged for a desk jockey, but now that I know you've got this hidden strength of ten men or something I'll tell you what." "Anything!" "You shouldn't leave yourself wide open like that. It gets my evil side all excited." The smile went crooked, and, suddenly, Heero really wanted to meet Duo's evil alter ego and get him all hot. "Anyway, you can help me lug tree limbs around to clear the place and chop some firewood." "I can do that." "Tomorrow's Sunday. I'm taking the day off." "I-I will too. I can come whenever you want. I'll call first!" "Hey, don't go all soft on me now, Yuy." "Please, call me Heero." "'Ro. Come over whenever. No need to call this time; I'll be expecting you." "Fine."That was a relief to Heero who just remembered his trashed phone might not still be operational. Duo leaned in and tapped Heero's knee. "We all make mistakes. That's a part of being human. I over reacted and so did you. You have a shitload of insecurities I wasn't aware of." Heero frowned at that. "I'm not insecure-" "Yeah, you are. It's okay. I know you and I both like to be all macho, but be honest with yourself and admit the truth and move on." Duo's eyes remained riveted to Heero's until Heero sighed and nodded, giving up that argument. "I do want to move on... with you," Heero said haltingly. "So do I! See? Now we're communicating." And Heero understood. He'd been seeing the other man in a fog of fantasy, but now the pretense had been stripped away and they were looking at one another in a new way. He felt as if a suffocating veil had been lifted from his spirit. A fresh start! Heero started to make plans. "I'll bring us...lunch when I come," Heero said. "Okay. Hey, what you brought the other night? That sure looked good, even cold." "I can bring it again." "And don't forget that dessert thing." "I won't." "Good." Duo's smile widened. "It's way too soon for makeup-sex, but do you think we've come to the kiss-and-makeup part yet?" Heero wasted no time with a comment. His lips crushed onto Duo's and he wrapped him in an embrace meant to keep the Duo right where he had him. Not that he felt Duo was trying to get away. Duo crawled over him, settling across his lap with his legs draped over the length of the couch. No, it didn't seem like Duo was leaving soon. "The tuxes!" Heero shouted, sitting upright and tumbling Duo to the floor. An arm shot out in time to catch Duo's fall and lower him gently to the rug. "I put yours in my car to deliver it and forgot it!" "Eh, we'll get them later." "I'll get it." Heero was pulling on shoes. "I've forgotten three times already. I'll be right back. Give me a moment and do not move!" "Four!" Duo called after him. "Counting this time." At the door, Heero looked back. "No moving." Duo took a deep breath and said in an off-hand manner, "If I were dancing naked in here would you still run out on me?" Heero stuck his head back inside, to watch a broad grin split the other man's face, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Why don't you try me?" To his disappointment, Duo didn't start undressing before his eyes. "Oh, man, forget I said that." Duo laughed and hid his blushing face with his bangs. Heero returned to the couch, dress clothes pushed to the background for now. "Remind me about your tux when you leave tonight. Don't let me make it five times." He meant for the joke to return them to the lighter mood they'd been enjoying, but he could feel the change in the room's atmosphere, if Duo's thoughtful expression wasn't clue enough that he wasn't done with their issues, any or all of them. "We don't know much about each other, you know," Duo remarked. He sat part on, part off the padded arm of the couch. "You can sit next to me." Duo shook his head to the negative. "You dumped me before. I'm being cautious this time." Heero didn't want to search for deeper meanings, but he could hear them in Duo's words and in his own reply. "You dumped me. I let you down, and you weren't hurt." "You broke my fucking door, Heero." "Better a door than a heart." Quatre had once told him that some people needed to talk out their problems while others preferred avoidance and internalization, making themselves sick in order to avoid dealing directly with them. Duo seemed to want everything out in the open where it could be picked at until the flesh was flayed. Heero shook his head free of that disturbing image. Heero knew he fell firmly into the latter category, wanting more than anything to cover up the pain with a bromide of insecurity and move on fast. "True. And now I know you meant well, but think about it!" No, please, I'd rather not. Heero hoped his sorry expression said what he couldn't articulate. Duo went on, "It could have been someone's head. I respect that you didn't commit a homicide, when you clearly had the ability to do so. I'm still trying to get past that, you know." Homicide! He wasn't a law-breaker; in fact, he'd never so much as jay-walked! "I'm not insane!" "If I didn't believe that," Duo's voice softened to a near whisper, "we wouldn't be having this conversation." "You could have called the police," Heero said aloud. That awful realization saddened him; he'd come so close to losing control. "Naw, me and cops aren't on the best of terms. I woulda busted yer chops good, if you'd hurt anyone. And that would have been the end of... something promising." Duo fell over so that his head settled on Heero's leg. When Heero looked down it was into a pair of large violet-blue eyes, and then there was a pouty mouth to reckon with. His fingers brushed away a few stray hairs from Duo's cheek, caressed along the strong jaw as the beautiful eyes shuttered closed, and gently skimmed over the full lower lip. He wanted to feel those lips on his and return to where they'd left off. Duo reached up and pulled him down, mouths meeting, making one wish come true. They both moved out of the awkward position until Heero aligned himself beside and partway on Duo. More comfortable, yes, but his body screamed for friction, pressure, more, more, and then he felt a nudge. "Um..." Duo said breathlessly, "Hey, 'Ro?" "No." Heero buried his face in the hard chest beneath him and squirmed. They grunted and gasped and twisted and turned, fighting for dominance or fighting to get under control. This time Duo pinned him by the wrists, asking, "You think I wanna stop?" "You seem to," Heero replied petulantly. "Well, I don't much, but, if you will recall, we-that's you and me both- did agree to avoid the hot'n'heavy till after the party. And I believe we can stick it out." Unless I mess up again and we break up first, Heero thought. He said aloud, "Sure. Okay." He felt sulky and needy but couldn't find the words to express all that so his face fell into a glower. "Aw, don't be like that," Duo said lightly. Heero pushed off the couch and helped Duo to his feet. "I'm glad you came over and talked." Duo cuffed his arm in a friendly way. "C'mon, smile. We got tomorrow together and after that-." "Ugh," Heero moaned, "I missed work." Several days. "I'll be busy most of the week." He'd miss Duo terribly, but instead of trying to verbalize that, he let his body language do the talking. He stepped toe-to-toe with the other man and rested a hand on his shoulder. What he wanted was to hold his braid, but he wasn't sure Duo would like that. Duo, meanwhile, comfortably kept up a constant patter. "-the week'll fly by, and then the party! See? It'll be here and over in no time." Duo swayed and wound his arms around his waist and swayed some more. "Think we can dance in the palace and not clot the crème de la crème?" Now! Heero grasped the swinging braid, wrapped it around his wrist, and used it to guide Duo's back to the wall. "Um, whatcher doin'?" Duo looked at him through eyes like- Ponds, Heero filled in. No, pools. Bigger. Lakes! A tiny smile crooked his lips as he spaced his arms to either side of Duo's head, pausing just long enough to guide the braid over Duo's chest. "If you have to leave so soon, I want you to take this with you," he said hoarsely, and then lowered his lips onto the smiling ones. A few minutes later, Duo departed, leaving Heero panting for more and ever so much happier than when he'd arrived. He watched him from his porch until Duo's SUV disappeared around the block. Back inside, his head cleared; Heero could think straight. The worry was gone, a weight lifted, and he felt optimistic again. He updated his electronic notebook, replied to messages from work, and the last one from Quatre-a quick "I am OK. He is OK." Maybe everything would turn out all right. Or not. The fluttering in the pit of his stomach acted up as he anticipated the next day. The reality of missing work doused his upbeat mood with a stale wash of tension. He showered and shaved and stripped for bed, all of which added to overall feeling of calm and the jitters subsided. When Heero climbed into bed, his cell buzzed, vibrating like crazy in the trash basket where he'd thrown it days earlier; at least it still worked. He answered, "Hello?" "Five!" Duo's voice chortled over the airwaves. Just hearing Duo's laugh made him break into a grin. "That's five-FIVE- times you forgot! Anyway, bring my clothes tomorrow, heh, heh!" "Five times. Oh." Heero relaxed into a smile. "And lunch and dessert. I'm making a note of that as we speak. I never used to be so forgetful." "Real-ly?" Duo drawled out. Heero guessed he was begging for a compliment, and so he gave it. "You... you are just... you make me so... I- I-" "Yeah, I know. I like you, too." "Yes." "G'night then." "Tomorrow." Heero rolled the word over his tongue, loving the hope the word brought him. He hung up and opened his notebook, typing: replace scratched phone. He wasn't feeling drowsy yet, so he reached for his western, unfolding the dog-eared page which marked his place, and read with pleasure: "The bullet cracked through the glass window of the door separating one cabin from another. Red blossomed from the back of a passenger, a dark-haired man with a head shaped like a potato, and a gun fell from his hand."
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