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"Permanent Press"Written By: t-shirt Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Fluff *nods*, sap *yeppers!*, WAFF *you
bet’cha!*, slight angst, moderate lemon Pairings: 1x2, 3x4 Summary: A young man with big dreams finds more than he bargained for when a handsome stranger walks into his local laundry mat. "Permanent Press" Ch 1 Life in the city hadn’t been all he’d thought it would be. The job was ok but it would take time to climb up through the ranks and achieve a position that would truly challenge and reward him. In the meantime he was stuck at entry level, living in a two room apartment and doing his laundry in the local public mat. It wasn’t too bad really but he hated the waiting and reading only distracted him moderately from the fact that he was tied to the washing machine until it finished running its cycle. One day, he’d have his own laundry room and a large screen TV on which to play his favorite video games while cleaning his clothes. He sighed glancing at his watch again and groaning when only five minutes had passed. How long did it take for one load of clothes to wash anyway? *Ching* The sound of the door opening drew his attention as it was an uncommon noise at that time of night. His job usually required some amount of overtime making it impossible to get to the mat before seven or eight in the evening. It usually meant he was free to do his clothes in peace but that was not to be the case this evening. When he saw the young man carrying a full basket under his arm his heart skipped a beat and he quickly looked away. The guy was gorgeous, absolutely stunning and it made his pulse quicken to think he would be spending time with him even if it was just waiting for his clothes. It was always so hard to tell if a guy would be open to another guys advances though so he kept his gaze friendly when he looked back to the newcomer but he was busily stuffing his clothes in a dryer and he wondered if maybe his own dryer had broken. He certainly looked like someone that could own their own machines. Everything from the tailored, high necked shirt to the comfortable shoes bore the mark of a well managed life. Everything except the hair but that was one of the cutest things about him. It was dark and unruly, the kind that refuses to stay tamed no matter how much gel was used but it gave him a roguish appearance that was sexy beyond reason and made Duo’s back teeth sort of ache when he looked at him. His observation was interrupted however, when his clothes suddenly stopped spinning and demanded his attention. The new guy paused to look at him when he stood giving him the opportunity to offer a friendly smile but none was returned so he didn’t brave the silence choosing to attend his wash instead. His neck burned as if there were eyes upon him but he didn’t dare turn around to confirm the feeling. It was probably his imagination, an overactive longing to have it be so but when he finished extracting his clothes into the rolling cart provided by the mat and turned the guy was indeed looking at him. “Is that all you have?” he asked indicating the small load of wash in Duo’s cart. “It’ll get me through the week,” Duo smiled feeling somewhat self conscious about the scant items. “We can share if you want,” the guy offered setting his empty basket on the table behind him. “It’s only half full. We can split the cost.” Well, it made sense but he wasn’t so sure how he felt about having his boxers tumbling around in high heat with this guys BVD’s. Still, it was a generous offer and saving money was always a good thing. “You’re sure you don’t mind?” he asked moving forward. “It makes sense,” the guy shrugged. “Thanks,” Duo smiled offering his hand. “I’m Duo.” “Hiiro,” the guy returned before helping him add his clothes to the machine. “Did you’re dryer break down or something?” Duo asked fishing out his share of the money. “No,” Hiiro revealed doing the same. “Then why…” Duo began stopping abruptly. “Sorry,” he chuckled dropping his coins into the dryer. “It’s just you didn’t have to wash anything so I thought maybe you’re dryer broke down or something.” “I wash them at home and dry them here,” Hiiro explained adding his money before reaching for the heat setting. It took Duo a moment to realize why he’d paused and offer a grateful, “Permanent press, please.” Hiiro chose the proper setting then turned and headed for the seat beside Duo’s bag. Uncertain of exactly what to do next Duo moseyed over and sat down next to him feeling terribly awkward before remembering his book and reaching for it like a life line. “You read Stallington?” Hiiro inquired looking at the cover of the text. “You’re familiar with her work?” Duo smiled. “I did my final thesis on her theory of existential irrelevance,” Hiiro replied. “What was your major?” Duo asked delighted by the discovery of a common interest. The book was forgotten in light of enjoyable conversation as they spoke of their recent college years and the subjects they had studied. Hiiro was a quantum warp engineer, a career closely paralleling Duo’s dreams of creating the first, active trans-dimensional gateway between Earth and the colonies. However, they had barely gotten to talk at all it seemed when the dryer chimed. “Do you come here often?” Duo asked while they separated their clothes. “On occasion,” Hiiro replied smirking when he handed him a pair of his black, silk boxers. Duo blushed furiously taken aback by the oddly flirtatious behavior as he took the warm garment and felt the heat travel well past his hand when Hiiro’s fingers brushed against his palm. “Maybe I’ll see you again some time,” Duo smiled heaving his basket onto his hip. “I’ll look forward to it,” Hiiro smiled and suddenly it seemed it was time to part company. Reluctantly Duo turned away but he couldn’t help the secretive little smile that curled his lips at the thought of getting to see the handsome Hiiro again. It seemed like more than he should even dream but the hope that perhaps he might be interested in more than sharing a dryer had already seeded in his heart and he looked forward to their next meeting with great anticipation. When he got back to his little apartment the first order of business was putting his clothes away but he couldn’t stop thinking about Hiiro and all the things they’d talked about. It still amazed him that they had so much in common, seemed almost too good to be true but he quickly pushed those thoughts aside. Stranger things had happened so there was no reason not to believe that the connection he’d felt would grow into something more substantial. Of course, that was if Hiiro was interested. He certainly seemed to enjoy his company and Duo sighed wondering if maybe he was reading more into it than there was simply because it was what he wanted but his thoughts were stalled when he pulled a pair of dark blue briefs from his basket that he’d never seen before. “Hiiro?” he gasped dropping the underwear and blushing like a boiled lobster in spite of the fact that the owner was nowhere nearby. He laughed at himself picking the garment up again to have a better look. Carson Leer’s, a designer label no doubt since he’d never heard of it. Turning them over he noticed the high thread count and quality elastic then gasped softly when a hand written number came into view along the back of the waistband. A series of numbers to be exact, the sort one might use to call someone on the vid phone if they had a reason. Perhaps to tell them that they accidentally took home their BVD’s by mistake. He grinned and picked up the phone only to fall into his easy chair and laugh at himself. It seemed so stupid when he thought about it but… they were his brief’s and since they did use the same laundry mat it only stood to reason… He sighed heavily and rolled his eyes forcing things into perspective. It was just a phone call to tell the guy he had his stuff. Heart tamed and deep breath behind him he dialed the phone and felt the need to take another when his pulse began to race the moment Hiiro picked up the phone. “Hello?” “…………” “Hello?” Gods! Why wouldn’t his throat work!? “Duo?” “Hey!” he gasped in sudden surprise. “How’d you know it was me?” “I’m missing a pair of briefs,” Hiiro chuckled. “Do you always write your phone number on your underwear?” Duo laughed along. “Of course,” Hiiro replied sounding as if he’d taken a cozy seat. “It seems no matter how hard you try when you use a public mat they invariably get lost. So I put my number inside all my clothes.” “That’s very sensible of you,” Duo smiled. “I could bring them along next time I do laundry if you want.” “When will you be there?” Duo thought about it wondering if he could scrape together another load by the next day but even if he stripped his bed it wouldn’t make a load. “Day after tomorrow?” he replied in an inquiring tone. “It’ll be sheet day.” “Great,” Hiiro replied. “I’ll bring mine along; maybe we can split the cost of the dryer again.” “Sounds good,” Duo smiled curling up in his chair. “I never have enough to fill one of those monster machines up anyway.” “Me either,” Hiiro laughed softly. Duo tried to think of more to say but the subject seemed to have petered out leaving him with nothing to utter besides, “Well… I guess I should let you go.” “Are you busy?” “No,” Duo smiled feeling unreasonably giddy. “You mentioned solar anomalies in regards to spatial configuration,” Hiiro eagerly commented. “But I didn’t get to ask how you intended to use it to manipulate the space/time continuum.” “Well,” Duo grinned sinking deeper into his chair as he began to detail his theories. It was so nice to have someone to talk to outside the office. Even at work he often had difficulties making others understand his idea’s though he didn’t think they were so very radical. They said trans-dimensional travel was impossible and he knew it wasn’t. All he needed was the chance to prove his theories and put them into practical use but no matter how hard he’d tried no one seemed willing to take him seriously. No one until Hiiro that is and he made up for everyone else quite easily. He understood Duo’s idea’s, could talk to him on the same level and even had some theories of his own that closely paralleled Duo’s work. It was almost as if the heavens had sent him his very own angel, someone that believed in his dreams with almost the same conviction as himself because he shared them in the most intimate way. His throat was dry and his eyes falling closed against his will before he realized they’d been talking for over five hours and resigned to the fact that the day was over. “Duo?” Hiiro gently intoned as his conversation partner had gone strangely silent. “Sorry,” Duo yawned. “Shit,” Hiiro sighed. “Is it really after two?” he laughed. “Sorry, you probably have work tomorrow.” “Yeah,” Duo sighed comfortably. “But it’s ok. I was enjoying myself. Don’t you have to work too?” “I don’t have to go in early,” Hiiro replied leaving a long pause before quietly adding, “Guess I’ll go then.” “All right,” Duo smiled cuddling the phone. “Will you be able to wake up on time?” “Hm?” Duo yawned again. “Sure, my alarm could raise the dead.” “Oh,” Hiiro replied. “Well… goodnight then.” “I’ll see you…” Duo yawned hugely. “…tomorrow night.” “Tomorrow?” “It’s already today,” Duo snickered. “Oh,” Hiiro chuckled. “Right. Tomorrow night then.” “Good night, Hiiro,” Duo smiled. “Good night, Duo,” Hiiro replied and Duo giggled when he put down the phone feeling almost as if he’d been tucked in. The morning came much to swiftly as the necromancer alarm clock shattered a damn nice dream in which Hiiro was reading him poetry in a field of red flowers but it meant he was that much closer to the next evening so he pulled himself out of the chair he’d fallen asleep in and stumbled off toward the shower. The water massage stopped the ache in his neck for about an hour until he got to work and was faced with a pile of paperwork that was no doubt supposed to keep him out of trouble. Sighing heavily didn’t deplete the workload any so he grabbed a cup of stale coffee and settled in. However, his conversation with Hiiro had sparked some new idea’s that were begging to be researched and an hour later the mundane reports of the day had been forgotten in favor of assessing new information. “Maxwell! Have you finished updating the QED yet?” “Mr. Yantz!?” Duo gasped startled by his supervisor’s sudden appearance. “Um… no, sir,” he replied guiltily as he shuffled through his desk in search of the bi-weekly report. “It’s a fifteen minute update,” Yantz grumbled. “What in the hell have you been doing?” Duo tried to shut down the many windows he had opened before his boss saw but the effort was futile as the man pushed his way behind his desk. “What in the hell is that?” he asked reading the heading ‘The Static Moment’. “Are you surfing the net?” “No!” Duo snorted. “I was just doing a little research.” “’Switchback Acceleration?” Yantz read with utter incomprehension. “It’s a means of…” “I don’t care what the hell it is!” the man growled. “You shut that shit down and do your job or I’ll find somebody who will!” “This is my job,” Duo sighed. “If you’d just let me…” “You ain’t no big wig yet, boy,” he was cut off. “I will be,” Duo insisted. “What you’re gonna be in delivering mail if you don’t stop day dreaming and do the work,” Yantz warned heading for the door. Duo sighed deeply rubbing his palms over his face as he door shut. It was always like that, no one ever listened or cared about actually doing anything. All they wanted was to shuffled the papers for the day and go home to their vid’s at night. His eyes fell on the phone as Hiiro’s number burned in his mind but before he could dial he realized how needy he was being and replaced the receiver. He would see him the following night and that would have to do. It was crazy to get so worked up over a guy he’d just met, he knew that as well as he knew his name but something about Hiiro just felt so right somehow. He’d been attracted to guys before of course but it had always ended badly. Either the guy wasn’t into men or all he wanted was a romp in bed but Duo wasn’t the type that fell for that sort of move. He wanted something real so he’d waited holding his hope for a true companion close to his heart but whenever he thought about Hiiro he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he’d finally found one. At the very least he’d certainly met someone that understood him better than anyone ever had before. Whether he became a lover or not he felt he’d at least made a friend. ~ * ~ tbc... |
