Shin Kidoseki Gundam Wing isn't mine. Yeah. Please write, you know the drill. (Suzaku1f@aol.com) --Kitsune-chan

Conflicting Obsessions: Part Six

Duo Maxwell finally found it safe to peek out from under the covers. Trowa and Quatre were still rolling in giggles, and Wufei was smirking in a way that surely was not healthy. After the insane laughter and teasing he was subjected to, the horror of the night seemed to be a distant dream. Heero was nowhere in sight, but loud whining was floating from the general direction of the kitchen. And where the howler monkey some referred to as Relena was, Heero was bound to be. Not by choice, of course, by force.

One irritated look was cast at the two boys on the floor, and Duo "accidentally" threw his covers on top of them. He heard Quatre squeak in surprise and then pleasure as Trowa took advantage of their hidden position. Duo strode out of the room with Wufei fast on his heels.

In the kitchen, Heero was seated at the counter and Relena was heatedly pacing in front of it. She was babbling angrily about the difficulties of planning dinner party seating arrangements. 'I swear, if Heero were one prone to expressions, he'd be wearing one of long suffering. Lords knows I would be.'

Duo grabbed a glass of orange juice and plopped down on the chair next to Heero. He frowned as the Wing pilot showed no acknowledgement of his presence.

"Hey! Hee-chan!" That earned him a slight wince. "What's up with you? You're acting even more sullen than usual!"

"You have a mission coming up. Quatre will update you on it," the nasal monotone voice didn't answer Duo's question. At least, that didn't seem to be an answer to Duo. The Japanese boy pushed his chair away from the counter and disappeared from view around the corner. Duo heard Quatre meep in protest. A door slammed. Quatre and Trowa stumbled into the kitchen with sheepish expressions on their faces.

"I... heard I have a mission?" Duo asked, sensing a tension in the room, but from whom, he didn't know. Quatre looked up as he poured himself some tea.

"Oh! Yes! You're to infiltrate an Oz base..."

Oo-~~~-oO

Heero Yuy leaned against the door of his shared bedroom. After a few minutes, he locked it and walked further into the relatively small room. Duo's comforter was on the floor. The blanket was scooped up and carried over to Heero's bed. He buried his face in it, inhaling the scent of Duo. 'Baka...' He wasn't quite sure if he referred to the cheerful pilot or himself. Both worked. He hugged the blanket to himself and lay down, closing his eyes. This was one of the few moments in which his resolve wavered, shaking aside the control of the Perfect Soldier. 'What should I do? Is it too late to keep him from going on the mission? I want... I want him to stay with me... forev-*No*! You were not bred for this weakness, Heero Yuy! You were trained as a weapon. Weapons don't feel. Weapons aren't this weak. I am *not* a failure! But Duo... It hurts so much. I want to tell you, let you make the hurting stop...' He stared at the empty bed across from his as the part of the blanket near his cheek became damp.

Oo-~~~-oO

Quatre Raberba Winner added a bit of honey to his tea, having turned down the beers that Duo had pulled out. He sniffed happily at his cup and waited for Duo to comment on his mission. A long arm slid behind his shoulders, pulling him to snuggle into the green turtleneck the same shade as Trowa's eyes. He was glad that Relena had left immediately after she found that Heero had locked his door. She didn't seem to know how to stop whining, it was really quite irritating.

"So... I'm supposed to get all buddy buddy with this old dude so I can get money?" the normally excited voice seemed a little confused. Not that confusion was uncommon to the braided boy seated across from him.

"No. You're supposed to get buddy buddy with this old dude so you can get confidential information," Quatre said patiently. Duo nodded thoughtfully.

"Oh... but wouldn't money help? Oh, I guess we don't have time for the old geezer to die. And it would look a little suspicious if he died right after he made an heir," the American concluded. "About how long would I be gone?"

"Maybe six months at the most, really as long as it takes for you to get close enough to access the information we need."

Quatre took a hesitant sip at his tea and found it cool enough to drink. He sat back, enjoying the feeling of the hot liquid going through him.

Oo-~~~-oO

Duo Maxwell watched as Trowa stood up. Heavy Arms's pilot bowed shortly to the other pilots to excuse himself. He then meandered toward his bedroom, giving a coy glance over his shoulder at Quatre. The blonde's eyes lit up. Just a minute or two after Trowa disappeared, Quatre excused himself. Much to Duo's amusement, he nearly ran to the room.

Duo turned back in time to see Wufei take a very large chug of his beer, a suspiciously wet glimmer in his eyes. Duo leaned forward, concerned, and was quickly discouraged by a fair imitation of the Wing pilot's patented glare. He shrugged and attempted at a conversation to save the Chinese boy's dignity.

"So Wu-man, what's the status of justice in our civilization today?" Duo caught a flash of gratitude in the other boy's eyes before that gratitude was overwhelmed by fanaticism.

"As a matter of fact, justice is nearly dead! Why, the other day..."

Oo-~~~-oO

Duo Maxwell jimmied the lock on his door open with practiced ease. It was unfortunately quite often that Heero locked him out, and the Japanese boy had not responded to the knock on the door. 'Must be asleep. I'll be quiet so I don't disturb him.' He himself doubted his ability to stay silent for periods of time longer than a few minutes. Sighing at himself, he swung the door open. The room was dark. Duo softly closed the door and padded to his bed. His covers were not there. 'On the floor? Not there either.' He finally looked at the sleeping body. It always made him giggle how Heero scowled even in his sleep. There was the blanket, clutched in the Japanese pilot's hands and fluffed against his cheek. 'Like this, he's almost... cute! I guess he must have been cold, and that was more convenient than pulling down his own covers. How selfish.' The braided pilot stood over Heero, a soft smile on his face. He gently reached down to pull his comforter away. "Gyu..." Heero protested quietly, his frown deepening until Duo let go. Asleep or not, he had a death grip on that blankie. Duo gave in to temptation. 'I don't have any blankets, and it's sooo cold! It must be just above seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit, I'll positively freeze! There's nothing to be done for it, I'll have to share Heero's bed and comforter! Oh, the sacrifice!' He cackled evilly to himself, but quietly so as not to awake the other boy. He checked the thermometer on the bedside table, confirming his estimate at the temperature. Once Duo was in his pajamas, he crawled into bed. He knew he would have bruises in the morning, but this would be so worth it. He curled up behind Heero, who turned toward the warmth. He was still cuddling the blanket. 'He reminds me of a little kid when he's sleeping! I guess it goes to show that we've all been forced to grow up too soon.' His thoughts were torn away from such depressing matters by a warm, long body pressed against him. A blush rose to his cheeks as very interesting dreams came back to tease him. He meeped and grabbed part of the comforter, trying to ignore the warmth next to him. He now doubted the intelligence of his decision; he didn't think he would get any sleep that night.

Oo-~~~-oO

Heero Yuy's first impression on waking was that of a familiar and loved scent. The immediate reaction was to get closer to the warmth and scent. His eyes flew open as his body met the supple one of his fellow pilot. He stared at the softly sleeping boy, and the fluttering lashes, the upturned nose, the chestnut bangs swept to the side. He sighed silently, his heart clenching. Then he *pushed*.

"What the hell?!" Duo exclaimed as he fumbled to a standing position on the floor. Heero quickly took in the blue silk pajamas that clung to the boy's figure from static cling. "What did you do that for? It wasn't my fault! You're the one who stole my blanket! I would have gotten really cold!"

"....." Heero only scowled at him and pointed to the thermometer on the bedside table. It read seventy-eight degrees. Duo colored; he hadn't expected to have his bluff called. Not one to hang around when he's been bested, Duo rushed out the door.

Heero stood and smoothed the bed out. He froze as he ran his hands over the soft flannel blanket. It wasn't his fault he hadn't been paying attention to Duo. Soft cheeks had been flushed so nicely, the long rope of hair flying and violet eyes aflame. 'What did Duo think? Could he have guessed why I had the blanket? Damn...' He shook his head and left the room in search of breakfast.

In the kitchen, Quatre was pouring tea and coffee. Duo sat at the counter, staring at his freshly brewed cup of coffee.

"What would you like for breakfast?" Quatre asked brightly.

"Anything you want." Sulky.

"Are omelets okay?"

"Sure, why not..." Just the pouting tone of Duo's voice did wonders for Heero's libido. And hearing the braided boy say 'Anything you want' certainly wasn't helping his self-control. It wasn't much of a problem, however; he had been trained against these temptations. He shrugged to himself and entered the small room.

Oo-~~~-oO

Quatre Raberba Winner furrowed his brow in concern. 'What could possibly make Duo so upset?' Realization hit him like a freight train as the obvious cause of the problem pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Good morning Heero..."

"Hn."

'Terrific. Now I have two comatose bodies in my kitchen and now relief in sight. Trowa-kun rarely speaks out loud, and Wufei will probably get worked up over something to do with Heero. They tend to do that to each other...' He looked up to see Trowa and Wufei enter the kitchen.

Oo-~~~-oO

Chang Wufei watched in dismay as Quatre threw his arms around Trowa's neck, smiling and exclaiming his happiness at seeing the taller boy.

"Good morning Quatre," Wufei said softly. Quatre turned to him, all smiles and twinkling eyes. He waved his spatula at the Chinese boy. The blonde was wearing an untucked sky-blue oxford shirt and grass green pants. 'With his pure sunshine hair, he's like a spring day.' He resignedly pulled out a chair across from Duo. 'So beautiful... And so taken.'

Shenlong's pilot ducked as an omelet came flying over his head to land neatly on Duo's plate. The American nodded his thanks to Quatre and started to eat. 'What got into him? Heh, did Heero jump him? You'd think he'd be happy... Should I mention it?' He instead settled to watch as Quatre ran over to take Heero's plate, shirttails flying. 'He's so full of life!' Wufei smiled softly, and then turned to catch the stack of pancakes hurtling through the air at him.

"So, who is going to drive Duo to the airport? He's leaving for Moscow today," Quatre made a feeble attempt at conversation. Wufei raised his hand like a schoolboy, volunteering. Duo rose and tossed his plate to Trowa, who placed it in the sink. He then left the room quietly, presumably to pack a few possessions and clothes.

Oo-~~~-oO

Chang Wufei checked his watch. He had gotten Duo to the airport with half an hour to spare. The American had cheered considerably on the drive over. He had rocked the motorcycle back and forth by his loud singing and dancing, enough so that Wufei had threatened to make him walk the rest of the way. He cast an amused glance at the Shinigami pilot registering at the flight arranger. The woman was clearly smitten by the animated boy in front of her, she couldn't help but smile at him. Duo seemed to have that effect on people.

"Thanks for the ride, Wu-man! I'll see you in a few months I guess!" Duo chirped at him. Wufei stared for a moment.

"All right. You have everything?" Duo nodded and flounced off. Wufei watched him go. He could tell where the American went by the braid flying into the air above the crowd and where the disturbance was the greatest. Wufei laughed to himself, shaking his head. 'That boy! I can see why they sent him. None of the rest of us would be able to pull it off. Trowa is too quiet to get close to anyone, Heero's too psychotic. I am between those two, and Quatre would feel too guilty at the deceit to be able to hide it.' He turned and left to go back home.

Oo-~~~-oO

Duo Maxwell giggled wickedly to himself as he lovingly fingered the diamond bracelet he had snatched from a stuffy old woman in the airport. He settled back in his seat, pawing through his loot-filled backpack. 'I shouldn't steal anymore, but hey! Old habits die hard. And those old bitches deserve it, they never give a thought to anyone around them.' The violet eyed boy sighed and curled up in his large, first-class airplane seat. He had originally had a coach ticket, but he had charmed the stewardesses. One of the first-class passengers was a no-show, so they let him have the man's seat. 'I wonder that this guy is like? How am I supposed to get close to him if all I know is his name?' He stretched and yawned when a stewardess offered him a drink and peanuts for the tenth time in as many minutes. The other stewardesses giggled and whispered with each other, comparing him to a cat.

"Would you like a soft drink? Or pretzels? Or peanuts? Anything you want!" a blushing stewardess who seemed to be maybe eighteen asked. All of them positively melted at his smile and acceptance of the offered pretzels. 'I could really get used to plane flights, heh heh.' The stewardesses had to go to the back of the plane for landing, however, and Duo prepared himself for landing.

End of Part Six!

Author's notes: Sorry, this chapter is really just fluff, and the next part will probably be mostly fluff, but it's important fluff! I swear! Please write! Suzaku1f@aol.com --Kitsune-chan