"New Year's Eve"
(Fic 2 in the Holiday Arc)
Written By: Vega-Lume
Disclaimer: I do not own the G-Boys they
belong to some other very lucky people, I do however like to play
with them and I do promise to put them back when I am done. Not for
profit, just for fun.
Started December 2nd 2015 Completed December 22nd 2015
Warnings for the entire Arc: Yaoi, OOC-nes, sap, a smidge of angst
and mention of citrus (if you look really, really hard)
Beta: Shenlong (thank you!)
Pairing: 1+2x1 (or however
you want to put it)
For Shenlong (Deb)
Summary:Heero and Duo spend
a quiet evening getting reacquainted.
Note: You may need to read
the Christmas story (part 1) to understand some of what is going on
in this story.
Note: I know that this is
several days late but the muse demanded that I work on the other holidays
first. I started Thanksgiving and next Christmas, finished St. Patrick’s
Day, and Valentine’s Day, and was half way through the 4th of
July before the muse let me finish this one, now all I have to do
is figure out what it wants me to do for Halloween and I’ll be
all set.
Fic 2 in the Holiday Arc
"New Year's Eve"
“Thank you,” the young
woman said as she pocketed her tip then tucked the insulated carrier
under her arm, “Happy New year.”
“Same to you,” Duo replied
and watched the girl hurry to her car and drive away before shutting
the door. He carried the pizza through to the bedroom and climbed
in next to Heero.
“Is it still snowing?”
Heero asked as he spread out a towel so the grease from pizza box
wouldn’t stain the bedspread.
“Yep, it looks like it’s
going to stick too,” Duo replied. “I’m not looking
forward to starting the New Year by shoveling snow.”
“I’ll do it,” Heero
stated as he settled against the headboard with the pizza on his lap,
“You have a flight to catch.”
Duo didn’t miss the odd tone
in Heero’s voice. “I’m not leaving until the 3rd,”
Duo reminded him, “And I’ll be back by the 8th, weather
allowing.”
“I know,” Heero replied
but he still sounded a little worried.
“I love you and I am coming
back,” Duo assured him with a kiss, “I’m only going
back to get my things from Hilde’s house.”
Heero smiled at Duo’s reassurances
and leaned in for another kiss, then opened the pizza box so Duo could
get a slice.
Snuggled under the comforter in
front of the fire place they ate their pizza and watched the live
broadcast of New York City’s, New Year’s Eve party on the
TV.
“You know,” Duo said
suddenly, “this time last year I never would have dreamed I would
be here like this with you.” Heero turned so his attention was
focused on the other man. “What were you doing last year?”
“I was sleeping,” Heero
replied honestly. “I was doing double shifts like I did this
year and had just spent the evening crammed into a crawlspace trying
to find a kitten. By the time I found the thing it was well after
midnight and we were both wet and half frozen. I took the cat back
to the shelter then I came home, took a shower and slept until noon.”
“How did you even end up
here anyway?” Duo asked curiously. “I mean, this town is
practically off the map.”
“After I quit Preventer I
traveled around a bit, not really able to settle,” Heero explained.
“My flight had a layover at the airport here, but before I could
make my connection all the fights were grounded due to the weather.
It was early October and no one was prepared for it so there were
thousands of travelers just stuck. They offered us hotel rooms in
the surrounding area and I ended up here.”
“You just decided to stay
then?” Duo asked.
“No, not at first,”
Heero replied, “I had been here three or four days when the snow
finally let up enough for me to want to venture out, so I went to
the Asian market because it was the closest shop to my hotel. They
were hiring and on impulse I applied, I was hired almost on the spot.”
“How did you end up working
for the County then?”
“A few weeks after I started
working at the Asian market, the person I had been hired to replace
came back so I wasn’t needed there anymore but they let me stay
on until I found another job. The County was hiring for several public
safety positions, animal control seemed challenging enough and the
pay was good.” Heero laughed “I was considerably over qualified
for the position so they wanted me to join the Sheriff’s office
but I flat out refused.”
“Didn’t want to be a
cop?” Duo teased.
“Hell no, I left Preventer
to get away from that, however I do still work for the Department
of Public safety. So I carry a weapon and there is still a chance
that I may be called to detain or arrest someone, even though I’m
technically just an Animal Control officer.”
“What…” Duo began
then tried again. “What really made you quit Preventer?”
“There was no mission, no
J. forcing me to stay. I was only there because I kept going back,”
Heero replied honestly, “When I realized that I didn’t have
to be there, I left.”
“That’s kind of how
I felt when I quit too; I basically said ‘fuck it’ and walked
out right after lunch, leaving two open cases and enough unfinished
paperwork to bury an elephant. Une wasn’t happy about it but
I didn’t care. Besides, I never really felt safe without you
there to watch my back.”
Heero set what was left of the
pizza aside and settled against Duo’s shoulder, “I’ve
missed you but I really think my leaving was the best.”
“I know,” Duo replied.
“Your mind wasn’t focused on the job anymore, if you had
stayed you could have gotten hurt on a mission or we would have kept
arguing and probably ruined our friendship forever.” He felt
Heero nod. “The time apart has been good for us.”
“How did you end up going
back to L2?” Heero asked, taking the second to the last slice
from the box.
“I had quit Preventer without
another job or anything to fall back on. I did have some savings but
I knew they wouldn’t last long so I had to find another job and
ended up working at Mc Donald’s.”
Heero snickered, nearly choking
on his bite.
“Yeah, that was pretty much
Hilde’s response when I told her,” Duo said when he heard
Heero laugh, “Once she could breathe again she offered me a job
at the yard, the attic room in her house, three meals a day and good
pay. She even offered to pay for my ticket to L2, so I accepted. Her
husband is an OK kind of guy though he doesn’t seem to like me
very much.”
Heero was surprised, “Why
doesn’t he like you?”
“I think he thinks that there’s
more to my relationship with Hilde than there really is,” Duo
explained, “Plus I think he’s a little scared of me, a former
Gundam Pilot and all that. But she’s family and I love her like
a sister and I’d do anything for her, but he doesn’t understand.
I’m no threat to him unless he tries to hurt her, then I’d
kick his ass.”
“I’d probably help you,”
Heero said, he kind of felt the same way towards Lindy.
“A ‘you hold him and
I punch’ sort of thing?” Duo asked with a laugh.
“Exactly,” Heero replied.
“Eric would probably piss
himself if he knew we were talking about him like this,” Duo
said as he leaned past Heero to grab the last slice of pizza. He ate
a few bites as they watched some popular female artist that neither
of them had heard of singing a song on an outdoor stage, wearing nothing
more than a bathing suit despite the fact that it was about 12 degrees
out.
“Why are all the girls dressed
like that?” Heero asked nodding towards the TV; then he took
a sip of his Pepsi.
Duo secretly dropped his last
pizza crust on the floor for Bear who was lying on his side of the
bed; she quickly swallowed it down, just as she had done with all
the others.
“Most of the time talent
has nothing to do with it; if you don’t look the part then no
one will buy your stuff.”
“It seems to me that catching
pneumonia is something a singer would want to avoid.”
Duo snorted his Mountain Dew and
Heero hurried to grab a napkin for him. “Thanks,” Duo said
after blowing his nose. He glanced at the clock, just ten minutes
to go. “I’m gonna go refill my cup,” He said as he
slid from the bed. “You want anything else?”
Heero passed him the empty box.
“No, I’m all set, but I got you another present,” he
said, “It’s in the tree.”
They had given each other several
more gifts over the past week so Duo didn’t think it strange
at all for another gift to appear. Heero had done it first, buying
Duo a radio so he had music to listen to during the day. Duo had countered
with a first edition of one of Heero’s favorite books that he
had found by chance in a small shop in town. Then Heero had bought
him a few outfits so he had more changes of clothes, in return Duo
bought a new microwave for them to share as Heero’s old one had
looked practically Pre-Colony. After that everything they bought was
something they shared, a larger dresser for the bedroom from Heero,
more towels and dishes from Duo, so there was enough of everything
for two people to share.
Duo simply smiled as he took the
pizza box away; throwing it in the trash can in the kitchen. He refilled
his soda cup from the large bottle on the counter then walked through
the darkened living room to where their Christmas tree still sat,
lights twinkling merrily.
Heero had said on, not under so
he stepped close, looking over the branches carefully. Then he spotted
a small, unwrapped white box near the top just below the star, it
was quite small and Duo didn’t have a clue as to what could be
in it that would be enough for them to share. Leaning in he plucked
the tiny box from its resting place, but as he lowered his hand he
looked down just in time to see Akuma burst from her hiding place
in the tree.
“Geeze!” he shouted
as he scrambled backwards, soda sloshing over his hand as he tried
to avoid her claws. He thought he was victorious until his legs hit
the sofa and he fell back, the biting sting of a single nail catching
the skin on his belly, then she was gone, skittering away on the smooth
floor.
“Duo, are you okay?”
Heero called from the bedroom door.
“Cat got me again; I’ll
be back in a minute,” he called back, “I made a bit of a
mess when I spilled my drink.”
The hall light clicked on first,
then the living room light followed and Heero was there, “Do
you need the first aid kit again?”
“No, I don’t think it’s
that bad,” Duo replied as he lifted his shirt to look at the
damage, finding only a single, tiny puncture above his navel. “If
I wanted my belly button pierced I would have gone to a shop,”
he said sarcastically and lowered his shirt again.
Standing up, Duo set the gift
on the side table next to the sofa then went to the kitchen with his
now empty cup. Setting it on the counter he grabbed a rag to wipe
up the soda only to find that Heero had beat him to it and was already
crouched before the tree with a roll of paper towels. They worked
together to mop of the mess then Duo filled his cup again, picked
up his gift and shut out all the lights before going back to the bedroom.
“Did you open it yet? Heero
asked as Duo stripped off his damp shirt and put on a new one.
“Not yet,” Duo replied,
his voice muffled by the shirt covering his face. “I wanted to
wait until I was back in here.”
Clothes changed he climbed back
in the bed and picked up the box. He was about to open it when Heero
suddenly stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“Wait just a moment?”
he asked nodding towards the TV. There was less than a minute until
midnight.
“Okay,” Duo replied.
They sat together quietly until
the countdown reached 10 then they counted aloud along with the crowd
on television.
“3, 2, 1, Happy New Year!”
They said together then leaned in for a kiss as ‘Auld Lang Syne’
played in the background and the crowd cheered.
Duo didn’t notice that Heero
had taken the box and opened it until they broke the kiss and he looked
down to see a glittering platinum band, very similar to Heero’s
engagement ring, resting in a blue velvet ring box.
“I thought it would be nice
if we each had one,” Heero said as he took the ring from the
box and slid it on Duo’s finger. He placed their left hands together,
his own a little darker and just slightly smaller than Duo’s;
they looked nice together.
Duo entwined their hands then
used his free one to gently grasp Heero’s chin, turning his face
so he could kiss him again.
“Happy New Year, love,”
he whispered when they stopped for breath, their foreheads touching.
“Happy New Year,” Heero
replied, and then kissed him again.
Owari
On to
Part 3 of the Holiday Arc
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