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"Fireworks"Written By: Yanagi Disclaimer: I don’t own the Gundam Boys.
I just borrowed them Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 6x5 Summary:An anniversary celebration includes more
than one type of fireworks for Heero and Duo. "Fireworks " TODAY
Heero agreed but kept his peace. It was the first anniversary of the founding of Mina Hur. It was still under construction and conditions weren't great, but they had reached optimal conditions for this stage of construction. So Quatre wanted to have a celebration, even though construction was going to be on going for years. This was all well and good but it put a strain on several of the stations facilities, mostly accommodations. There were still very few hotels or restaurants on station. Not that it was that hard to get to the next station over. It was only about an hour by shuttle, which ran every four hours, twenty-four hours a day. Things were lining up nicely but this did put most of the burden of arrangements on Duo and Heero. Wufei was still hip deep in work; beside still working on the statutes and ordinances to rule the colony, he was the only superior judge. Trowa was Quatre's chief assistant and personal secretary. So the arrangements all fell on Duo and Heero's shoulders. Not that they minded that much. It was just that Quatre needed to quit changing his mind. Duo's phone rang. Heero wondered what obscure, 20th century rock song it was this time. Duo grinned at him saying, "Thunderstruck by AC/DC," then turned on his phone and said, "Yeah. Speak to me." As he listened, he began to scowl. After a few more minutes he snarled, "We'll be there in about 45 minutes, make sure we find warm bodies when we arrive." He snapped his phone shut and grumbled, "Well, that shoots that in the foot. One of the construction crews fucked up an install. We have to go rescue them. The spoke crumpled in the middle before they could get it in place. We'll have to get our Gundams and go cut the spoke out, tow the sealed chamber into a loading dock, then cut into the chamber to get the men out. Come on." Heero just snarled. There were several problems with construction that were nothing more than bean counters interfering where they shouldn't. This was sure to turn out to be an instance of that. It was annoying as hell, as well as being dangerous. Quatre was doing his best to put a halt to such things but it was taking time to get it through heads that cutting corners wasn't acceptable. That was one reason why most of the people on the station were still living in barracks, eating in cafeterias and enduring rationing of bathing water. There were no pets allowed yet, nor children. Those women who did become pregnant were offered several options: terminate, quit, go to a WEI position on Earth or another colony, or take leave on another colony until the child was born then return leaving the child with the other parent. This raised the ire of several different 'human rights' organizations, but the contract was clear; there were no facilities for children and likely not to be for several more years. It just wasn't safe for children or pets on the colony yet. There was way too much construction going on. Heero grumbled, "Fucking tight assed piece of shit," as he tugged on his new Gundam suit. The new suits came in two parts: a modified undergarment which contained cooling coils, and other more intimate comfort equipment. The old suits had been uncomfortable, confining and frankly stank. These would be washed after every use and the over suit sterilized. But they were still a bitch to get on. Duo tossed him a small gold can. "Here. You know it helps. I don't know why you won't use it." "Sweat. You know I sweat like a pig. It turns that stuff into little pills and they get into the damnedest places." Heero shimmied his shoulder, trying to get the tight neck to slip over it and into place. He snarled as it stuck. "Damnit, Heero, let me." Duo tugged the garment into place and kissed Heero on the cheek, causing him to grin. "Now what I want to know is why they put the zip in the back?" He tossed the long zip string over Heero's shoulder. Heero cleared his throat with a significant look at Duo's groin. "Ahem. Hard on ... unguarded zip. Do the math." Duo grimaced. "Never mind. And might I just say ... ouch!" He accepted the zip cord that Heero tossed over his shoulder and snapped it to its retainer. "Ok, I'm ready. And if that powder isn't working, we need to figure out something. If it doesn't help you, it probably doesn't work for a lot more people." They hurried out the door, soft colony slippers making no noise on the hard deck plates. It didn't take them long to get from the Gundam Compound, as their quarters were called, to the suit docking bays. They darted into the complex and headed for their Neo-Gundams, met on the way by crews who geared them up with headsets and various other bits of equipment. They wriggled into their outer suits at the feet of their machines and quickly did the obligatory checks. Duo scrambled up the line into Neo-Deathscythe while Heero made his way to Neo-Wing. They were ready to go in less than fifteen minutes, including their safety checks, equipment checks and launch rundown. They walked out of the towering gantries that supported the mecha when they were powered down, and moved to the launching racks. Heero opened the channel to Duo. "02 this is 01. Do you read?" A soft ding signified the end of his communication. This was much better than having to say 'over' at the end of each comment. Heero and Duo had done the programming to shorten communications and help keep the load on the comms system down. "Five by five. Auto launch or walk out?" Duo hated auto launching. This was a procedure where the feet of his gundam were locked into 'boots' on a track. The track would then drag the mecha toward the launch bay door, picking up speed as it went. It released just as the Gundam reached the door and the giant machine would be thrown out into space. At least, that was the theory. Duo had had a really bad experience where one of the launch boots hadn't opened. It had torn Deathscythe's leg off and put him out for two hours. The concussion had kept him flat for three days and out of combat for a week. He hated auto launch. "I'll auto. You go ahead and walk out. Watch out that you don't fire up your verniers too soon. Wouldn't do to scorch Mr. Marshall's deck." "Damn straight. But my auto launch is capable of handling two suits at one time." Duo laughed at the disembodied voice of Mr. Marshall. "No thanks, Marshall. I'll just walk off the edge. Hate auto launch." "Have it your way, 02. But you're missing a treat." Heero launched with a whoop of glee. He had to admit that the rush of an auto launch was fun. Duo just walked to the edge of the bay and stepped out into space. He fired up his verniers and swooped away after Heero. It took a bit more power this way but Neo-Deathscythe had plenty to spare. Unaware that their channel had been opened to a public broadcast, Heero and Duo began to do what they did best, fly their Gundams. The first thing they had to do was get to the broken spoke. This meant that they had to make their way around the belly of the round central hub, through a maze of supports and guy wires, over to the opposite side of the station from the bay. It would have been easier to fly around in open space, but they didn't have time. It would take longer to get clearance and get the other traffic out of the way, and this way they weren't interfering in the regular business of the colony. So they wended their way through the mess, Duo swearing a blue streak every time he had to dodge some bit of drifting something. After ten minutes of maneuvering, Duo announced, "Ok, who the fuck is responsible for all this mess? We should be recycling, people. There's even some titanium out here." CenCom replied, "Sorry, your path goes right through recycling holding. It's not marked on the charts so no one thought to say anything. I'll get on it." "See that you do." Heero's dry tone told everyone more than strangers would think. He was pissed. He didn't like mess or waste, and this was both. The recycling station was in for a checkup, H&D style. After more swearing and maneuvering, they were in position near the crumpled spoke. They were glad to see that the guy wires were still in place, just loosened. Duo pulled a huge wrench from the tool box that was one of the main reasons they'd had so much trouble getting into position. "Ok. I'll retighten the wires, 01. You let me know if there are any additional stress fractures." "Right, 02. Get on it. There's a leak somewhere. Not big but it's a concern." "Well, fuck." The CenCom tech felt it behooved her to reprimand them for language. "Language, gentlemen. This is an open channel." What she got back was not what she expected. "Fuck you. You don't like my language, turn me over to a Gunny and go change diapers or something." The tech glanced over her shoulder at her supervisor. The supervisor just snarled. "Never mind their fucking language. This isn't the military, or even a civilian installation. It's a construction site. Get over yourself." "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." The Com tech sighed and returned to her board. She was quitting as soon as her contract allowed. She wasn't used to this sort of thing. She'd thought that constructing a colony would be an adventure. It had turned out to be a hot mess. She was living in a barracks with fourteen other women, some of them on a construction crew. She was eating in a mess hall. The food was good but very common. She hadn't had a single date with a cute construction worker. They were mostly confined to other areas of the colony, not by regulation, but by logistics. Crews seemed to be divided by skill. Internal construction workers were mostly women. Their smaller frames and hands made them very good at wiring and plumbing. Men seemed to mostly gravitate to the heavier outside work like laying deck plates and moving completed sections into place. Most of the men were housed near the docking bays and most of the women were housed near the warehouses. It just made sense. Dating between construction crew members was common, but dating between crews and support personnel wasn't. Support personnel weren't off limits, by any means, but they were 'civilians' while construction crew members were not. They didn't have the same world view and that put up barriers that just didn't come down easily. The Com tech lady was not only barking up the wrong tree, she was in the wrong forest entirely. She was also a constant irritant. Now that she had her attention back on the true mission, she realized that there was an additional problem. "Gentlemen, where exactly are you planning to take the section when you get it detached?" Heero replied, "Holy fuck! You mean to tell me you haven't found us a berth yet? Where the hell is your head?" He paused to glance at a monitor over his head that showed him an image of Duo. Duo looked back then snarled, "Get your head out of your ass and find us a bay this bastard will fit into. Move it." They could hear some heavy breathing over the open channel. Duo barked, "And make sure we can close the damn doors and that they'll seal." The tech didn't bother, that wasn't her job. Someone in the background began typing. The click-clack of the keys was annoying, but everyone else in the room shut it out in favor of the broadcast. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duo checked carefully. He didn't want to cut into the sealed off section. After checking the spoke to find the seams of the safety sections, Duo marked where he was going to cut, then had Heero double check him. This was a luxury that, today, they could actually afford. During the wars, they'd had to do similar things on the fly and just hope for the best. Now, they had the time to measure, check and double check before doing something irreversible. Heero agreed with Duo's measurements so they got out their cutting tools -- low powered laser cutters -- but they were only low powered compared to the beam sabers they were used to wielding. It took a few minutes to get everything set up to begin cutting. That was when they found out that someone hadn't recharged the batteries since yesterday when they'd used their cutters. Duo didn't get a chance to start swearing. Heero beat him to it. Blue air was the least of concerns now. "Someone bring us charged batteries. Now! We'll start clearing a path to the bay that someone has found for us." The tone of Heero's voice said that someone had better have the coordinates of a bay ready for them. A male voice gave station coordinates to what he thought was an appropriate bay, ending, "If it's not, I have another bay that is even larger, but it's farther away. If you've got a leak, we need to make this quick." Duo grumbled. "I just wish we could talk to the people inside." There was silence for a few moments then Duo continued, "Well, shit, smack my ass and call me Auntie. Someone get a contact mic. What the hell was I thinking?" Heero replied, "Not. Thinking that is. But neither was I. A contact mic jacked into the system will solve a lot of our problems. Someone get one here, ASAP." There was the sound of someone scrambling to obey. That was one of the things that they all hated about the arrangements here. None of the suits, except for the six massive Gundams, were combat suits. The rest were construction suits and didn't have nearly the console space of the Gundams. This meant that they didn't have more than one vid screen. That lack meant that there weren't any extraneous cameras in the CenCom room. They had no way of seeing what people were doing there. The scrambling sound was most likely someone running to get batteries. Why? No idea. They should have been on a different com channel, telling someone to get them and bring them out. Duo swore, Heero swore. The Com tech sighed and gave up. It only took the tech a few minutes to get someone on the internal system. He had left the com center as there was no direct connection. He called down to the bay where the suits were kept and told them to get new, charged batteries to the two pilots, now. He didn't wait to hear an acknowledgment, he just scurried back to his desk. He had ships of his own to keep track of. It took a while to get the equipment they needed and both Heero and Duo spent that time getting things out of the way so they could get to the bay as quickly as possible. The crew trapped in the section was sure to be running out of air by the time they got there. When the contact microphone arrived, Duo stuck it to the section with bonding gel then opened it on a new channel. He was happy to hear someone say, "I heard a big bump. That means they're getting ready to cut. I just hope they know where the pressure seals are." Duo had also put a loud speaker on the section, gluing it down the same way. "Hey! I'm sure we know where the seals are. You good for air?" The disembodied voice replied, "We had several air tanks in here for the cutting torches. Smells pretty rank but we've got enough oxy for six or seven days. And water and food too. We were installing emergency supply pods." "Jesus on a mop stick. Someone loves you guys. That's good. We're going to cut out the section you're trapped in, move it to a bay and cut you out. It's going to get bumpy." The voice replied, "Fuck bumpy. Our real problem is ... there's no port-a-potty in here. We're using ..." the voice was over ridden by Duo's maniacal laughter. "Fuck you, Maxwell, laugh it up, you jackass." But there was plenty of laughing in the background. Tension relieved, they returned to the rescue. It took them over an hour to cut the section out of the strut. They took that long because they could. They could have done the job in half that time but they risked creating a breach in the rather 'delicate' seals between the compartments. All colonies were paranoid about leaks and breaches so they had safety zones, areas that could be sealed against leaks. They were double hulled with air locks and all the safety features needed to protect people until they could be rescued. The sections of a strut were half safety zones, half not. Once the blast doors had sealed the safety zones were easily cut out and moved. All this, due to Quatre's paranoia, was standard in any WEI colony or other space based construction. Now the whole colony got to see one of the reasons why the Gundams were so feared. The two young men moved with a grace and economy of motion that made the huge machines seem half their size. Their communications were short, to the point and infrequent. The sight of Duo handing a cutting torch off to Heero without even looking was something. When they got the section clear, Heero whipping the towing cables halfway around the section, trusting Duo to catch them, was awe inspiring. The cables soared through space with deadly, elegant grace. Everyone knew that if Duo missed them, they'd damage his Gundam severely. But he didn't and the section was soon being maneuvered into the bay prepared for it, with much swearing and a bit of threatening. The sealed section didn't object to the swearing or man-handling. It took them a bit to get the section positioned the way they wanted it, but they finally locked it into place and began the process of closing the main pressure doors. After that, it was almost thirty minutes before there was enough atmosphere in the bay to allow the acetylene cutters to work. They still needed oxy but ambient atmosphere helped control the torch. Then it was another dangerous dance as Heero handled the hoses and lines to the torch while Duo cut into the compartment. He had to be very careful not to heat the interior too much. It wouldn't do any good to cut the men out if they cooked in the process. It took nearly an hour to finish the job as they had to stop about every ten minutes to allow the hull to cool. Finally, Duo announced, "Well, there you go, guys. Your own personal door to freedom." He carefully wedged 'his' fingers into the cut and pulled out the section. It wasn't very large. There was no reason to cut half the hull out, so all he'd done was cut a square about eight feet by five feet into one end of the section. Cutting the double wall outer hull wasn't an option but cutting into the end, through the safety seal, was fairly easy. It also allowed for an easy fix later. The men climbed out of the section, glad to be free and alive. One of them said, "No one dies today." Duo's voice rang out over his external speakers. "That's right! No one dies today. One more day." He did a little dance, making all the people in the bay, or watching over the feed, gasp in awe. Heero chuckled over his open com. "That's my lover. No one else can make a Gundam dance." He moved to the bay doors to wait until the bay was clear and they could be opened again. Duo walked up beside him and draped one arm over his shoulder, careful to avoid the wing attachment joints. "Hello, there, pretty. Wanna do bad things with me?" The sigh that sounded over the com channel was loud. "Duo no baka. Later, but yeah." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They returned to their own docking bay at an easy pace. They realized that they were being followed but knew it was only nosey reporters and private pilots who were following them out of curiosity. Duo rode his zip line down to the deck and pulled his helmet off. One of his handlers took it from his hands before he was really aware. Another started unzipping and unclasping the fastenings on his pilot suit. He was soon free of his suit, stripped down to the 'long-johns' that comprised the cooling suit he wore under it. "Thanks, guys. Please, please, sterilize that thing good. I swear, no matter how hard you try, it still stinks." Duo hated the smell of a dirty suit. It reminded him too much of the many times they'd all worn suits for days at a time; fighting, running, flying, then fighting again. One time, he'd actually gotten 'bed sores' from wearing a dirty suit for so long. "Hey, Duo. What's wrong?" Heero, out of his suit as well, rubbed Duo's shoulder gently. "Bad old memories. Suit smell." Duo shrugged, rubbing his cheek against the back of Heero's hand. "Well, come home. I'll help you forget." Heero's expression could only be called a leer. Duo responded with a kiss, a quick peck on the cheek. Heero snarled. "Kiss or don't. That bird peck wasn't worth the effort." Duo laughed. "I'm no bird." He then proceeded to deepen the second kiss until it looked like they were trying to devour each other. Someone finally wolf-whistled and shouted, "Go home! Spare my blushes." Heero yelled back, "Your blusher was broken before you were 16, you old fraud." Laugher rang out around the bay at that. People turned back to their work, ignoring the two as they ambled easily out of the bay. Heero ran a weary hand through his sweaty hair. "I need a shower. Here or home?" Duo tried to fluff his bangs and failed. "Here. We both stink too much to be wandering the corridors. Besides, I really want out of this cooling suit. It's sticking to things I don't want it to." Heero snickered, "Need help with that?" "No, you ass, I don't need help with it. Other things, yes." Duo poked Heero in the side with stiffened fingers, making him twist away with a yelp. They entered the shower room, laughing together. It didn't take them long to shed the cooling suits, which were taken away to be laundered. They took a quick shower, the sort that Duo called a lick and a promise. Duo sighed happily. "Far cry from the old days, right? Remember how hard it was to get our cooling suits washed?" Heero snickered, "Really. I would have loved to have seen the look on some old lady's face if she'd gotten a good look at one." He reached for a terrycloth shower robe. "Yeah, and a shower robe? I'd have killed for one." Duo took the robe from Heero's unresisting fingers. "Remember that ratty kimono that 'Fei had for a while?" "Yeah, I do. What happened to that? There was some sort of ... thing over it, if I remember." Heero started unbraiding Duo's hair. "Yes, there sure was. Trowa mistook it for cleaning rags and used it to finish cleaning his weapons. 'Fei had a fit. Seems his mom made it for him. It was one of the few things he had left. Trowa was really upset." Duo looked a bit sad over that. "Ouch. I never did figure out why Tro' got him that fancy kimono. Now I know." He dropped the last of the things out of Duo's braid into the shower basket. "All done." Duo fluffed his hair, trying to dry his scalp a bit, then gave it up. He was going to have to wash it. "Thanks, Heero. I wonder if I shouldn't wait until we get home to wash this mess." One of the few real comforts on the colony was the Gundam pilots' quarters. Quatre had created a compound within which they had private quarters. One of his sisters had dipped into her private fortune to furnish it. One bathroom contained a special sink for washing long hair. That was how they finally wound up wandering through the corridors of Mina Hurr in bathrobes, damp bare feet and smiles. They collected a lot of smiles and a few amused salutes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When they got into the foyer of their quarters, Heero just scooped Duo up and carried him, laughing hysterically, into the bathroom. Duo landed on his feet, still laughing, and scurried to turn on the shower. His hair, which was still down, swirled around his hips like a curtain of silk. Heero couldn't help his smile. Duo never left his hair down, except when he felt very safe. He'd taken to leaving it loose more and more often. And he was so very beautiful when he did. Heero had to snicker just a bit to himself. Duo was everything a Gundam pilot should be, which included excellent marksman, explosives rank AA, deadly at hand to hand and expert with anything with an edge, not to mention the way he piloted anything that flew. No one who wanted to live could possibly call him girly. But he was beautiful. In the way a well-honed edge on a perfect katana was beautiful. Duo called, "Heero! Wake up! You're brooding again." "Not. Just marveling at the fact that ..." he flushed a bit, "... you love me as much as I love you." "You better believe it." Duo grabbed Heero's hand and dragged him into the shower. "Now get your stinky self in here." Heero stepped into the big shower unit and pushed a button on the wall. This decanted a dollop of body wash into his palm. He happily set to work 'de-stinkifying' his lover. As he ran his hands over Duo's lithe body, Duo did the same for him. Both of them marveled at the wonder that was the other young man. It took them a while to get acceptably clean, with a great deal of happy groping and stroking in the bargain. After the shower, Duo settled into the chair in front of the sink. Heero wet his hair and applied shampoo. He carefully worked shampoo through the locks and over Duo's scalp. Duo moaned in pleasure as Heero massaged his scalp. "Oh, man, I'll give you about a week to stop that." Heero cheerfully announced, "You always say that." "And I always mean it." Duo relaxed as Heero began the rather lengthy task of rinsing and conditioning. From the look of it no one would suspect that both young men were 'panting for it' as the saying goes. Foreplay comes in all forms, including washing hair and chatting about vernier adjustments. After a thorough comb out, Heero braided Duo's hair into a lose braid that would allow it to dry quickly. Then they wandered into their living area to flop down on the couch. Heero sighed, "Well, that really went well. No one died today." He ran a hand over Duo's cheek. "Yeah, no one died. But I'm going to have a real looksee into why what happened happened. Who's cutting the wrong sort of corners and why?" Duo turned his head to suck Heero's index finger into his mouth. Heero rolled his eyes in pleasure as Duo tongued the tip of his finger, still sucking on it. "Mmmmm. Un ... Quatre is going to have a fit. We need to do a sit-rep ASAP." Duo sighed, "God, I love it when you get all soldiery." "Idiot." This led to Duo chasing Heero around the living room, yelling, "Call me an idiot, will you? I'll fix you." Heero led him into the bedroom, tackled him and threw him in the general direction of the bed. This might have annoyed any other lover. It just made Duo cackle madly and roll back to his feet. He tackled Heero back, which led to them both landing on the bed. It didn't take them long to shed the bathrobes and get down to business. Duo grabbed a tube from the bedside table and handed it to Heero. "You're top." "Sure?" "Yes." Duo grinned and spread his legs, eagerly welcoming his lover. Heero wasted no time slicking his fingers and thrusting two of them into Duo. "Heero, I don't need all that." Duo squirmed impatiently. "I know you don't. But I enjoy it and so do you." Heero calmly pinned Duo to the bed with a hand on his chest as he continued to work his fingers in and out of Duo's willing body. "So shut up and enjoy." "Make me." Duo pouted at Heero. Heero immediately leaned down and kissed Duo, effectively shutting him up. Duo moaned into his mouth as Heero's questing fingers found their target. It didn't take Heero long to have Duo reduced to a quivering mess, ready to take him. He moved carefully into position making Duo grab at his shoulders. Muscles flexed as Heero drove into Duo in one firm, smooth stroke. Duo moaned in pleasure as Heero moved smoothly. Muscles flexed harder as Heero continued to move in and out of Duo. Duo clutched at Heero's shoulders and wrapped his legs around Heero's waist. Finally, Heero shuddered, cried out and stiffened. Duo moaned loudly, tightened his legs around Heero and then slumped. He accepted Heero's weight on his body with a sigh. "Good?" "Hn." "Glad." Duo dropped a kiss on Heero's sweating temple, rolled them over and dragged the covers over them. They were soon asleep. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOMORROW Duo rubbed his face. "This sucks so bad." Heero eyed the disaster that was once a very organized disembarkation. "No plan survives first contact with the enemy." "Too true. But they're not supposed to be the enemy. They're Q's sisters." Duo gave the milling mass of blondes a cautious glance. "The same sisters that infuriated Quatre so much that he turned his back on them. Right?" Heero scowled as an older sister got in the face of a hapless baggage handler. It seemed that he wasn't handling her luggage to her satisfaction. Heero smirked as the man got offended and told her if she didn't like the way he was doing his job, she could do it herself. He then stalked off, leaving her with a pile of suitcases and no one to carry them for her. This was a constant bone of contention with outside contractors, visiting executives and the few tourists allowed up. They didn't understand that the whole colony was effectively one giant construction site. Most of the people at any debarkation point were unpaid volunteers, working on their own time. They were paid by the tips they received. The visitors were unfailingly rude, cheap and annoying. They often got left on their own with a pile of luggage, despite the constant reminders to keep their bags down to the limited two plus carryon. Certain executives and sales men were allowed more due to the need to bring up reports, paper work and samples. Other than those people, no one was allowed more than two bags; and they had to fit into the measuring device located at the boarding area. Most bags didn't fit. Many people brought three or more bags. Duo eyed the pile of bags with a jaded eye. "Now, why the hell that woman needs that many bags for a stay of three or four days, no one seems to know. Even the few women I've asked can't tell me." Heero shrugged. "Not like we didn't tell every single person that they are only allowed two bags. I really want to know how she got that many past customs dirt side." Duo scowled, "Bribery, pure and simple. We need to find out who took it. They need firing so bad." Heero nodded. "You're right. But ... we do need some way to get this mess cleaned up." Duo's chin sank to his chest as he thought about that. Logistics was one of his specialties. "Well, the easy way would be to have someone sort all the luggage at the gate and just have it delivered. Charge them a hefty fee for each bag, no matter whether it's over limit or not. People just don't seem to get it. We don't have time or resources to cater to some stuck-up, senior VIP or social maven." Heero agreed with Duo, so he got on his radio and alerted CenCom, the central communications people responsible for all communications on the station. This included radio, vid feeds, dispatch for everything that flew, and inter-colony phone set up. He asked them to put out a call on every personal radio for people who were off duty and wanted to earn some extra money. He wanted them to come help sort luggage and get all the prima donnas out of the gate areas. This resulted in a swarm of tough construction workers, male and female, swarming the gate areas. They sorted the baggage without a care for the complaints and objections of the owners of said baggage. It didn't take more than thirty minutes for the baggage and owners to be led or carried away, some might even say shanghaied, by the workers. Duo stayed upright by courtesy of Heero's shoulder. The only reason Heero wasn't laughing hysterically was that he had better control of himself than Duo. The sight of one older, very stout matron trailing behind a huge, very black stevedore demanding he put her things down was funny, especially when she tried to pull on him. He'd glanced at her like she was a yapping, annoying puppy then continued on with a shrug. The entire port was cleared in record time, the passengers taken to their destination with luggage in tow. The stevedores would be paid from the excess baggage fees collected by the airlines. Duo eyed Heero for a moment then said, "Quatre is not going to be happy. Most of his sisters are here, so what do we do?" Heero looked grim for a moment. "I've got a list of the sisters he'll see and the ones he won't. Trowa made it up. I arranged for the 'good' sisters to be quartered near us. The others are on the other side of the colony. Best I can do. But the invites to the private ball are all sent out and set in stone. Anyone not on the list will not be admitted. Jesus Christ couldn't get in without an invitation." Duo snickered, "Well, that's good. But what about ... all the rest." Heero laughed. "We're putting on a show, all six of us. Wufei and Milliardo managed to get some time off for it. There are several very boring tours that all attendees are required to take. If they all want to know how to build a colony, they'll learn, whether they want to or not." His malicious smile let Duo know that all the reporters who had been tearing at them for the last year were going to get an education, no matter their objections. Most of the rest of the day was annoying, to say the least. The reporters didn't like the tours, even though their editors did. The sisters who weren't allowed contact with Quatre were constantly trying to evade the guards. The sisters who were allowed contact sneered at those who weren't. Quatre smiled in a strained sort of way and finally retired to his quarters at noon and refused to come out until the ball. The sisters who were in contact with him left him alone, the sisters who weren't continued to make nuisances of themselves. Quatre put up with it for most of the morning, until he retreated at noon. He finally gave up on them completely when two of his older, more insistent sisters managed to get into the Residence during lunch. He issued orders that no one who was not on what Duo called the 'OK list' was to be allowed anywhere near the Residence, Quatre or the other pilots. In fact, if they got too persistent, they were to be removed from the colony and not allowed back on. If they didn't take all their things with them, the property was to be distributed to second hand shops or spaced. Quatre told Heero. "Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday." Heero slugged him in the shoulder. "Ow!" "You're not hurt." Heero smirked at Quatre. "We only have three hours before our display. Why don't we go on down to the launch bay? No one can get in there except for pilots, mechanics and handlers." "Good idea." Quatre gave Heero a harassed look, grabbed a jacket and headed off with both Heero and Duo on his heels. As they walked down the corridor to the hanger bay and their Gundams, Duo stopped to speak to people. He asked about this one's health and that one's girl or boy friend. He complimented others on their hair, clothing or some accomplishment. He garnered smiles and passed along the information that some of Quatre's sisters, as well as some of the VIPs, were persona non grata. His eyes twinkled with mischief all the while. Heero and Quatre shared glances and sly smiles. No one could murder a reputation quicker than Duo. Trowa, meanwhile, was realizing that this First Year celebration was putting more pressure on Quatre than was good for any of them. He made a few calls calmly telling organizers that Quatre was not available for their event. He cherry picked them and cancelled anything that he was sure Quatre wouldn't enjoy. His muttered, "Fuck them if they don't like it. Who the hell owns the whole shooting match anyway?" making his secretary smile behind a stack of files in her arms. Trowa cut the events down to the display today, the ball tonight and a family reunion sort of thing tomorrow from noon to 2pm. He decided that was more than enough public exposure for the richest man in the solar system. He sent the particulars to Duo and Heero. Duo eyed his comsys with a happy expression. Heero noticed, of course and asked, "What's got you looking so happy?" "Trowa. He cut out all the crap Quatre agreed to attend and now it's just the display, ball and reunion tomorrow. Great." He tucked the small unit away with another grin. Heero tugged him into a one armed hug while addressing Quatre. "And you're not to add a single thing. Got me?" His glower equaled some of his war time efforts. Quatre held up a hand. "Ok, ok. Put that glare away. And, Duo, that look ... please." Duo just nodded his head once. "Ok, but no re-adding stuff. You're stretched thin as it is. Delegate, delegate. I'm gonna tattoo that on your right hand." Quatre grimaced. "I think tattoos are against my religion." Duo just snorted and activated the door to the hangar bay. "Yeah, right. Mount up." The three of them went through the process of getting into skin suits, pilot suits and gear. They went up the zip lines into their Gundams and exited the bay in good order. They were met by Milliardo and Wufei, who had used the other exit door to prevent clogging or bottlenecking at launch. Wing glowed against the back drop of darkest space and points of light that were stars. Deathscythe, on the other hand, was black against black. The only way anyone could see him was by not seeing stars. Shenlong, Heavyarms, Sandrock and Milliardo's Epyon all took stations around the colony. The six pilots had arranged it this way so that everyone got a decent chance to see the mock combat between two Gundams. Heero and Duo were matched against each other. Milliardo was matched against Wufei, and Quatre was matched against Trowa. Most of the people watching had never seen the destructive potential of a Gundam, and they really wouldn't today. The combat was limited to hand-to-hand and paintballs. Rockets and bullets posed too great a danger to the colony and shipping, but the mock battle was to be a true clash of titans. There was also the fact that every Vid station who could mount a camera on a ship had done exactly that. They swarmed around like bees, only kept from getting in the way by beacons that marked off the combat arenas. Any ship found inside that area would be fined heavily by Mina Hurr. It worked, sort of. The first thing the Gundams did was chase the last offenders out of the arena by shooting at them. This wasn't as bad as you'd think. Duo had made buster rifles that fired paint balls. Any ship tagged was due a fine for anything the local dispatch could think up. Many people were in for a rather nasty surprise. Many people were saying that the Neo-Gundam wasn't as powerful as the old Gundams. In one way they were right. The Neo-Gundam was lighter because Neo-Gundanium was lighter, but the verniers were more powerful and that made even more difference. The group positioned themselves and waited. When they got the signal, all hell broke loose. Duo gave his trademark war cry and zoomed into battle, firing paintballs in an arc in front of Heero. Wing veered off, reorienting so that his new path was 'upward'. One problem pilots had in space was there was no up or down. As Duo put it, every direction is just a new up. This put off a lot of very good pilots. They were great for regular piloting, supply runs, tourist transport and that sort of thing, but put them in combat and they'd be dead in two seconds. Heero blasted into a new vector as well, bringing Wing into position to use his buster rifle. The paint balls soared through space with a velocity that made several experienced combat pilots cringe. They didn't make contact with Wing. They exploded into vapor just as they crossed the electronic boundaries that had been set up. "Missed! Try again, lover." Heero laughed with sheer joy at the rush of combat, mock though it was. He unloaded a full clip at Deathscythe and managed to clip one wing tip, but full contact was avoided when Duo threw his Gundam into a suicide spiral that put him out of range and behind Heero. Duo drew his double bladed beam scythe and attacked, swinging at Wing's vernier pods. This beam scythe was also 'safety-ed.' All it would do was leave scorch marks. And it did, huge marks, but they were faint. A disembodied voice announced, "Minor cosmetic damage." Duo swore loudly as he dodged a return attack from Wing's beam saber. Then things got really hot. Everyone said it was impossible to fire a buster rifle left handed. Both Heero and Duo proved this wrong as they attacked each other with blasts from their rifles and slashes and stabs with sword or scythe. They moved so fast that the announcer actually gave up on trying to comment. He just yelled, "Oh, my God! What a show! What a battle!" over and over again. The flurries of blows and rifle blasts left smoking spots on the Gundanium armor of both Wing and Deathscythe. Heero swore loudly in Japanese as he realized that his buster was out of charge and paint balls, and his saber was also exhausted. Duo cackled with glee and attacked, just as his weapons hit the same state. He was also, as the ancient saying went, out of gas. So they went at each other bare handed. It was amazing what could be done with a mecha in the hands of a really great pilot. And Heero and Duo were both the best there was. Fighting hand to hand, in zero-G, was something to see. The effect was lost on most of the audience as the laws of physics made it impossible to box in space. The force of a punch was converted into velocity at once so it was wrestling or nothing. So the two machines ripped and tore at each other, clutching at whatever limb was closest to hand until, finally, Wing got Deathscythe in a head lock. After about ten seconds the match was called a win for Wing, and Wing released Deathscythe. Duo's genial, "Well, fuck, that's one for you Heero." was broadcast by a relieved producer. He'd had his hands full trying to censor the swearing and finally, he'd given it up and just let the profanity fall where it might. Heero replied, "One, of many. You're still up on me by about six. Meet you in the docking bay." "Right behind you." While the announcer explained that all the Gundams would be docked and the pilots would take time to clean up before they were to join their admirers in the ball room, the pilots made their way to the docking bay. All the handlers were well aware of what was going to happen next. They just went about their jobs, stripping Heero and Duo down to the skin suits and carrying the outer suits away for cleaning. This left the two pilots alone in their lobe of the bay. They were all glad for the three lobed arrangement of the bay as it provided the pilots with some modicum of privacy, especially when the emergency doors were closed. Once the crew had cleared the area, Duo pounced on Heero. "God, Heero, that was fantastic." He scooped Heero up and dumped him onto a console. Luckily it was shut down and flat. It didn't take Duo but a second to have them both stripped down to skin. He hooked his elbows beneath Heero's knees and doubled him up on the console. Heero didn't resist, he just pushed something into Duo's hand, ordering, "Use this!" Duo clutched at it, muttering, "Right, right. No dry fuck. Sorry." Heero grabbed Duo's shoulders and dragged him down on his chest. "Shut the fuck up." Duo slicked himself up quickly, dropping the empty tube on the floor. "Damnit! I have to be in you, now!" Duo didn't bother with prep, they had sex often enough that it wasn't necessary. They did it because it felt good. Now was not the time for stretching and finger play. Heero relaxed and accepted as Duo thrust into his body in one hard blow. He groaned softly, "Damnit, Duo," as Duo began to fuck him. This was no gentle love making, it was rough, hard and fast. Heero sweated and strained, holding Duo's shoulders in a grip that would leave bruises. Duo pounded into Heero, pulling on his knees to keep from knocking him over the back of the flat console. It was more of a wrestling match than anything romantic. It only took a few seconds for Heero to come, shouting incoherently, with Duo right after. Duo collapsed onto Heero's chest with a groan. "Oh, man. That was fantastic." Heero held Duo until they both caught their breath, then he pushed him upright. "Get off, you great lump, you're heavy." Duo swiped sweat off his forehead. "Sorry. Come on, we better get cleaned up and head for the ball." They were startled by vicious swearing in Taiwanese. Duo smirked at Heero. "Looks like someone else got some." Heero snorted. "Amazing how a bit of mortal combat can get things going." "Really. You ok?" Duo shot Heero a concerned glance. "Perfect Soldier." Heero smirked at him. "I'm fine. Let's get showered, my ass is leaking." Duo snorted then laughed. Heero laughed too and ran to the showers, with a still laughing Duo on his heels. It didn't take them long to get showered and get Duo's hair mostly dried and braided up again. Then they went in search of their clothing. In this case, all the pilots were wearing the fancy dress uniform called 'Best Mess Dress.' Why? No one knew, but Milliardo said this particular class, which Preventers issue listed as Class AA /Fancy Dress, had been copied almost directly from the United States of America Marine Corps Blue Dress A of the 2000AD calendar. Duo eyed the ribbon and medal filled breast of his jacket then grumbled, "Well, I'm glad we have a dresser." He fingered a starburst medal for a moment. "I'd never get all this mess on right." Heero also eyed his jacket for a moment. "Me neither. I can't believe we have so many awards that it takes a trained professional an hour to get them all on the rack properly." A voice behind them barked, "Will you two get on with it? We're going to be late." Wufei gave Heero a sour look. "Would you believe it took me three seconds to get Milliardo to allow me privileges and nearly thirty minutes to get him into that damned uniform?" Duo raised an eyebrow then snickered and asked, "Who's got more fruit salad? Heero or Milliardo?" Wufei looked at Heero's 'salad plate' then shrugged, "Not sure. They've both got enough for a battalion. Come on." They finished getting dressed, with a bit of help from Wufei, who admitted that he'd simply asked the dresser to help him. That same dresser was still with Milliardo, trying to tame his long, silver-blond hair, which was to be worn loose for the evening. Wufei wore his hair in the same ponytail as during the war, only it was longer now and not as tight. He smirked at Duo. "What's in your braid?" Duo smirked right back. "About the same as in yours." Heero winced. Duo's habit of keeping C-4, prima cord, detonators, lock picks and a garrote in his hair could be a bit unnerving. He'd been vaguely aware that both Wufei and Milliardo had picked up the habit. "Ok, fine. Let's get going. And no blowing me up." There was a bit of good natured grumbling but Wufei agreed that they did need to go. He went to collect Milliardo while Duo and Heero went on to the ballroom. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When they entered the ballroom, the Steward announced them, "Major Yuy Heero and Major Duo Maxwell, Retired." As a courtesy they were accorded the rank at which they had retired from the military. The Steward offered them a salute, which they returned, and stepped back. They headed for the reception line to stand next to Quatre and Trowa. Neither one could help the smug, self-satisfied 'I got some' expressions on their faces, especially as they could tell that their fellow pilots were left hanging for some reason. Duo started to say something but was interrupted by the arrival of Wufei and Milliardo. They both looked very military in their BMD with a 'plate of fruit salad' on their chests. Milliardo was especially fine as he had left his hair down, a symbol from Old Sanq that he was peaceful. His rather unhappy stiff smile said otherwise. Duo leaned around Heero to ask, "What's got that look on your face?" Milliardo replied, "Ran into one of Quatre's sisters. She was ... shrill. Wanted to know why she wasn't invited to the ball as family." Wufei interjected in obvious disapproval, "She was very loud." The doors were then opened to the general invitees and the reception line took their attention. They all hated reception lines with a passion; shaking hands and making polite small talk with people they didn't, or barely, knew was a trial for all of them. It was especially bothersome when some ass wanted to argue a point of law with Wufei, and since Wufei was the senior judge of the colony for the foreseeable future, there were plenty. It took everything the other pilots had to keep the line moving, and that included the efforts of Quatre. The attendees were divided into two groups: family/friends and general acquaintances. Family and friends came in first, were announced and went directly to the line to either join it or progress down it and into the ballroom. The general acquaintances did the same but had to wait until the first group were in the ballroom. The only real problem was that there were nearly twice as many general acquaintances as family and friends. Unfortunately, this group also included those of Quatre's sisters that he was on the outs with. This led to all sorts of annoyances including crying, ranting, swearing and one attempted slap. This was foiled by Trowa, who simply stuck his forearm in the way. The slap hit him on the bony outer arm so the sister just wound up hurting her hand. This led to crying and her escort giving them an apologetic grimace as he took her away. They were all beginning to show the strain by the time the line ended and they could move into the room for hors d'oeuvre and drinks. Quatre looked worn thin and Trowa was looming behind him. It had taken nearly an hour to see them this far into the night. Duo demanded that Heero dance with him so they twirled off to the strains of a Viennese waltz, Duo's braid trailing behind him like some sort of odd snake. People stared. The staring didn't bother any of them anymore so they all danced, happily trading partners amongst themselves after each dance. They also danced with a few of Quatre's sisters and some politicians or their wives. Duo was his usual sparkling self while Heero was stoically polite. Wufei, Trowa and Milliardo were politically correct while Quatre just looked more annoyed with every dance. The only time he didn't look annoyed was when he was dancing with one of the other pilots. After about three hours, or near midnight colony time, Quatre finally slipped into a small alcove and flopped down on a couch. Trowa joined him, loosening his tie. "I'm bushed. I swear, if one more person tries to persuade me to finance some crazy invention or scheme, I'm going to shoot them." Quatre flinched slightly as someone reached over his shoulder. Since it was Duo's hand holding a flute of champagne, he just took it. "Thanks." Duo flopped down beside Quatre, making both of them bounce. "I'm going to shoot the next man or woman who asks me, 'How did a kid like you get to be a Gundam pilot?' I'm ... like twenty-five." He frowned slightly. "I think." Heero joined them, sitting in a chair near Duo. "Me, too. One more panting, horny, toppy idiot pinches my ass and I'm breaking their arm." Duo snorted into his drink. "Really? Man, whoever did that must have been really, really drunk, on really good, strong drugs, or terminally stupid." Heero scowled at Wufei, who just settled elegantly on a nearby chair then said, "One of each. He's just so cranky because they were either fat, or ugly, or both. Add that to stupid, drugged or drunk and it's really off putting." Milliardo settled behind Wufei in a chair of his own and draped one arm over his shoulder. "Really. I say we start instructing the caterers to cut some people off after two drinks, or throw them out. Depending on attitude, of course." Quatre agreed then smirked at Duo. "Maybe we should just handle it ourselves? A little stress reduction, if you know what I mean." Duo nodded. "Good idea. Heero, with me." Heero just stood up and followed Duo out. He knew what Duo was going to do. What they should have done when Quatre thought up this cockamamie idea. Duo relieved one of the security detail of his radio and Heero smirked as he produced one from his pocket. As they were now on official business, instead of dancing, they both put on their covers. They began to circulate through the crowd of dancers, discretely followed by members of security. They tapped people on the shoulder and quietly requested that they leave the ball for whatever reason. Being drunk or on drugs, legal or otherwise, was a big one; another reason was just being obnoxious. Not loud, several very nice people had voices which naturally carried. One very soft voiced man was nearly tossed out on his ear. He was the kind that made catty remarks of the sort that everyone knew were rude but he could claim that were just taken the wrong way. He left in a huff, declaring that no one here had a proper sense of humor. People nearby nearly applauded. It didn't take long for the two to clear out the undesirables, and black list them on the colony. Duo grinned cheerfully while crowing, "So cool, man. I've always wanted to do that." Heero nodded, "Eminently satisfying, but ..." He grinned at Duo. "I'm sick of this shit. Let's sneak out." "Ok, where are we going to go? Back to quarters?" "Nope. Let's go up to the viewing room and screw." Duo grabbed Heero's hand and dragged him off to do exactly that. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALWAYS Duo carefully locked the viewing room door. This shouldn't have been possible but Duo did it. The first thing they did was get rid of their uniform jackets, boots and covers. Heero settled on one of the U-shaped seats that faced the viewing windows. "Well, one down and I don't know how many to go." Duo joined him with a sigh. "There's going to be an anniversary celebration every year as long as Q's around. You know that." "We better start planning the next one soon, then." Heero grinned at Duo. "But enough of that. Come here." He dropped a small tube on the floor near his feet and held out his arms to Duo. Duo crawled into Heero's arms and snuggled down. "What are we doing here? Other than preparing to love each other into oblivion?" Heero hugged Duo gently. "Well, remember how much we enjoyed the fireworks on Earth?" "Mmmm, yeah. Pretty." Duo remembered well. It had been some sort of anniversary. There had been a big party with lots of good food and, when it was completely dark, fireworks. Duo had loved them. Heero had to admit that pretty explosions were high on his list too. Heero smirked. "Chang had a hell of a time keeping it secret from Trowa ... and you." Heero tapped the end of Duo's upturned nose with one finger. "Mr. Nosey." Duo snapped his teeth in the general direction of Heero's finger. "Ok, but ... fireworks in space? How does that work?" "Oxy booster." This was all the information that Duo needed. Oxy booster was exactly that, anything that needed oxygen to burn needed this booster to work in the vacuum of space. Heero glanced at his watch. "It's about to start. The display will only last for about ten minutes." Duo sighed. "Should I unlock the door? Really don't want to." "No, the display is being broadcast on MHN1. We're not even supposed to be in here. The chances of something happening are slim to none. You know how some bureaucrats are. But ..." He smirked happily. "We usually ignore them. This is no different." Duo snickered into Heero's chest for a moment. They had all objected to the restrictions the insurance company bean counters tried to put in place. Most of the restriction requests had been refused by Quatre. Some couldn't be, like this request to keep people from 'exposed' positions, since ESUN had jurisdiction. It could turn into a real pain in the ass. So they settled down to watch the fireworks from their position of advantage. The music started and Duo slipped a hand under Heero's shirt. Heero pressed his hand over Duo's with a smile. He kept his hand there, feeling the warmth of Duo's flesh pressed to his, all through the display. They ooo'd and aaah'd at appropriate places. Chang had gone to considerable trouble and they appreciated the beautiful display of bombs, mums and Catherine wheels. Duo grumbled, "That didn't last long enough." when the last bomb burst, sparkling away to nothingness against a velvet black background. "No, it didn't. I bet it's a lot better next year. This year was a sort of teaser." Heero stiffened as Duo pinched his nipple. "And speaking of teasers." "Mmmm. I'm terrible, I know." Duo kissed the side of Heero's neck. "Perhaps I should be punished?" "You probably should." Heero caught Duo's wrist and held it for a moment. "But ... I'm inclined to be merciful." Duo just twisted his wrist from Heero's grasp. "You're really scary, ya know?" Then they couldn't keep it up another second and burst out laughing. Heero finally managed to regain control of himself and demanded, "Who's on top?" Duo shrugged, jigging them both. "Don't remember. I think I went last, but who's keeping track?" Heero fished around in his pants pocket, pulling his pants off in the process. He finally produced a coin. Mina Hurr had had a few problems with vending machines being jiggered by hackers so they'd converted them all to coin operated machines that no one seemed to be able to break. So there was pocket change. Heero resorted to one of the oldest methods of choosing. "Flip you for it." "Ok." Duo leaned back to watch the flip. "Heads." Heero flipped the coin but managed to fumble the catch. "Shit! That hasn't happened to me in years." Heero started to go after the coin. "Never mind. 69 sounds fine to me." Duo wriggled out of his pants, then dropped his shirt on top of them. Heero's last bits of clothing followed Duo's and they were soon curled around each other. Duo moaned softly while Heero panted harshly between sucks. It didn't take them long to give up on that endeavor. Heero flopped onto his back with a chuckle. "That never really works the way you'd expect, does it?" "No, I get so engrossed in what you're doing that I forget to return the favor." Duo patted Heero's chest. "Me too. So we either give a rotten deal or get one. Lay on top of me." Heero easily dragged Duo onto his chest. "Mmm. I do like that." Duo managed to object, "I'm too heavy," between kisses. Heero snorted softly then replied, "You ain't heavy, you're my lover." Duo laughed at that then announced, "I see your coin. Wanna know what it landed on?" "Nope. Don't care. I think I'm sore. You catch this time." Heero easily flipped Duo onto his back. "I'll even help." Duo yelped a bit halfheartedly. He knew Heero wouldn't hurt him but it was a bit disconcerting to be man handled when his brain was occupied. "Hey! Easy there. Don't mishandle the merchandise." Heero chuckled in a rather evil way and bent over Duo. He deep throated Duo with a soft slurp. Duo moaned, "Oh, my god. Heero!" He whined in need as Heero gripped the base of his erection to keep Duo from coming too soon. Heero glanced up at Duo, who threw his head back in ecstasy. Heero returned to his work, leaving Duo a limp mess. When he finally pulled away, Duo groaned, "Heero." Heero wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then slid up Duo's body to kiss him breathless. Duo pushed Heero away gently. "Man, I need oxygen. That was wild." He panted for a moment then whimpered as Heero took a nipple into his mouth to suck and nibble on it for several mind blowing seconds. Then he switched to the other while he pinched the first one gently. Duo went out of his mind, writhing and biting his lips to keep from screaming. Heero pulled away a bit. Duo lifted his legs, baring himself to Heero. "Now! I need you, now!" Duo hooked his legs around Heero, heels digging into his ass and flexed. His powerful leg muscles forced Heero into him. Heero didn't resist, although he could have. It felt too good to be buried in Duo's hot, tight warmth. "Fuck! Duo, take it easy." The rest of anything he might have said was lost to mindless motion. It only took seconds for both of them to fall over the edge into orgasm. They wound around each other, panting softly. Duo grumbled at the mess then demanded, "When the hell did you lube us?" Heero gave him a very smug, self-satisfied look. "You get amazingly oblivious when I'm sucking your nipples." He fished the mashed tube out of the cushions and tossed it in the general direction of a trash can. "And I always get the kind I can open one handed." Duo lay back down, cuddling up against Heero. "We ought to unlock the door." "Why?" "Don't know, but ... well, what if someone wants to look at the stars or something?" Heero poked Duo into a more comfortable position. "There're ... eight observation rooms. Screw 'em." They settled down to watch the stars, shuttles and transports in their age old dance around a new colony. Duo yawned, "I always get a kick out of watching this." Heero laughed and snuggled down a bit more. "I always get a kick out of watching you. Sleep. We'll be up and running soon enough." ~ * ~
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