"NO WAY!!! I AM NOT GONNA DO THAT!!!!!!!!"
"Duo..."
"I said NO!!!! There is no way in Hell you are gonna get me to do that!!"
"Duo, the mission..."
"If it’s so damn important to the mission then why don’t you do it! I will
NOT!!!!!"
"You’re the one that has the best chance of pulling it off."
"Thanks, I feel so special. NO!!"
"Duo, stop acting like a child!"
"Heero, what part of the word ‘no’ don’t you understand!!!??!!!"
"Duo...!"
"No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"
"Duo, you’re getting unreasonably worked up over this simple little thing!"
"I DON"T GIVE A FUCKING DAMN!!!!!!!! I CAN GET AS UNREASONABLE ABOUT THIS AS I
WANT TO, DAMMIT!!!!!!!! AND I STILL SAY NO! AND YOU CAN JUST FUCK OFF YUY AND FIND SOMEONE
ELSE TO DO THIS!!!!!"
*crack!*
Duo looked up incredulously from the floor at Heero. His cheek was now sporting a Heero
Yuy signature handprint. Heero was glaring down at him, cobalt eyes blazing.
"H...Heero?"
"You are being extremely unreasonable. You are the best one for the job. Can you
really see Trowa, Wufei, Quatre, or myself pulling this off?"
"Quatre maybe..." Duo suggested hopefully.
Heero glared at him.
"Ok, maybe not. But...it’s embarrassing! And degrading! I do NOT want to do
this!"
"You’ve gotten that point across quite vocally. Now, are you gonna do it or do
we have to abort the mission?"
"Ok, I’ll do it," Duo muttered, still holding a hand to his cheek.
"But just for the record, I do NOT..."
"Duly noted."
"Well, you don’t have to sound so damn smug about it!" Duo snapped. Heero
nodded and left Duo to tend to his face.
"I really hate him sometimes..." the braided boy snarled as he went searching
for an ice pack.
* * *
Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei looked up as Heero entered the
room.
"So...will he do it?"
"Hai."
"Is he alright?" Quatre asked worriedly.
"He’s fine."
It was now that Duo stalked out of the other room with an ice pack held against his cheek.
He stormed through the middle of the group and down the hallway. They heard his door slam.
Trowa raised an eyebrow at Heero. Heero shrugged.
"He was getting hysterical."
"Aa."
Quatre looked even more worried. "What did you do?"
"Slapped him. It worked."
Wufei glared at Heero. "Not fair," he muttered.
"What do you mean, Wufei?"
"I knew I should have been the one to talk to him."
Quatre looked confused. "Why?"
"I could have slapped him." Something that sounded suspiciously like a snicker
came from Heero’s direction.
"And not only does he get to slap the boy, he gets to see him extremely embarrassed.
It’s just not fair! There is no justice in the world!"
Trowa was fighting a grin and Heero’s snicker was almost audible. "You got your
sisters’ things?" Heero asked the still worried Quatre.
"Yeah, I got them. I’m pretty sure that they’re the right size. Duo will
have to try them on to be sure. I also got some of my sisters’ makeup and things like
that. It will make it more believable."
Heero nodded. "Good, I have the PE excuse on his records and a single room for each
of us."
Wufei sulked. "Not fair...Wait a sec! Quatre, did you say he has to try them
on?"
"Yes, to make sure that the clothes are the right size."
Wufei’s expression turned gleeful. "I’m getting a camera!" With that
he dashed off in the direction of his room. The three pilots left gave his back a strange
look.
* * *
The class was eyeing the two newcomers speculatively.
The guy was alright looking, but few of the boys felt that they needed to seek out his
friendship. The other though... She was not as tall as the boy, but she made up for her
lack of height by her lithe grace. Slender and willowy, she had pale skin, brilliant
indigo eyes, and a long braid of chestnut hair. And legs...! The girls were taken with the
boy’s looks, but almost unanimously voted to befriend the girl. She seemed a bit
uncomfortable... The teacher looked at his class and indicated to them to quiet down.
"We have two new students." He motioned for them to step forward.
"Heero Bakudan desu," the boy said in a chilling tone.
The boys decided that they had been right and wouldn’t go out of the way to befriend
him. Many of the girls were put off by the coldness.
"Hellan Káji desu," the girl announced cheerfully in a soft, husky, melodious
alto.
The girls firmed their resolve to befriend her and the boys were now smitten. The teacher
nodded and pointed out a couple of desks in back that were empty. The two walked over and
seated themselves to take notes.
* * *
Duo had never been so grateful to hear a school bell as
now. He was thoroughly uncomfortable in these girls’ clothes. He was so going to get
Heero for this...! He was wondering just how to do this when there was a tap on his
shoulder. He turned around to see a group of girls smiling at him.
"Hellan-chan?"
"Yeah?"
The girl who’d tapped his shoulder smiled warmly and motioned to the group behind
her. "We just wanted to make you feel welcome. My name’s Chari, and these are
Karu, Tena, Keka, and Toru. We thought we’d help you get around this place on your
first day. It’s an awfully big school."
"Um...thanks." Duo knew he was blushing and silently cursed his fair complexion.
The girls giggled. "Oh, don’t be embarrassed," Chari said. "It’s
perfectly natural to feel a bit ill at ease in a new school, especially one this big. Come
on, what’s your next class?"
Duo looked at his schedule. "Looks like it’s English."
"Room 324?"
Duo nodded. Chari smiled again. "Good! That’s my next class, too. The teacher is
a real witch though!"
Duo grinned as he was led off by Chari and the others. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad
after all...
* * *
Heero looked over in Duo’s direction and fought down a snicker. The position was familiar; Duo surrounded by a group of girls, but this time they were only interested in his friendship. He was grateful that he seemed to have put enough ice in his voice to discourage any that wished to befriend or flirt with him. There would be few distractions to his part of the mission. Duo wasn’t so lucky though... Heero watched the boys leaving the classroom; they all had their eyes on Duo, or Hellan-chan as the case was. Heero found himself biting down on another snicker as he headed to his next class. He couldn’t wait until lunch...!
* * *
Duo sighed as they reached the cafeteria. He was
starving! He wondered if Heero had the same lunch period as he did. He figured he would,
Heero was in almost every single one of his classes. He had finally figured out why -
Heero didn’t want to miss a moment of his embarrassment. Sadistic bastard!
"Hellan-chan? Daijoubu desu ka?"
"Hmm? Oh, hai."
"I was wondering if we had the same PE class. We’re swimming now."
"Oh, I’m out of PE."
"Why?"
"Deadly allergy to chlorine. One immersion could very well kill me."
"How terrible! Oh well, here’s our usual table. I’d be pleased if you sat
with us."
"Hai, of course!"
Duo looked for Heero and finally spotted him at a table in the corner, alone. The other
boy met his eyes from across the room and his mouth quirked up. Duo decided to stay on
this side of the room. Heero was looking far too amused at his position. He stuck his
tongue out at the Japanese pilot and got in line for food. When he was seated once more at
the table with the group of girls, he wondered how long this mission would take. As nice
as it was not be hounded by the girls for once, he knew he’d miss the flirting. And
the uniform was driving him nuts! He sighed, turning his attention back to what the school
claimed was beef and ate his meal in silence until his tablemates started giggling. He
turned to see what they were giggling at and saw a group of obviously nervous boys heading
in their direction. He grinned, he’d never been in that position since the girls had
always flocked to him.
"Hellan-chan, you are so lucky!"
Duo blinked. "Huh?"
"Taski-kun and his friends are coming over to see you!"
"What makes you think they’re coming over here to see me?" Duo tried to
calm his internal alarms at the very uncomfortable realization that was just beginning to
reach his conscious thought.
"Because they always wait for us to go over there before meeting us halfway."
She was right, as he found out seconds later. The group of boys paused at his end of the
table and began introductions. He listened to them with half an ear while trying to think
of some way to get out of this. Perhaps he wouldn’t have to give up flirting... He
shot that thought and looked over in Heero’s direction. The Japanese pilot’s
shoulders were almost shaking with suppressed laughter at him. Duo felt a surge of anger
at the sight before thinking up a wonderfully twisted idea... He excused himself from the
boys’ attentions as soon as he politely could and walked over to Heero’s table.
He sat himself on the table, feet on the chair in front of them, and crossed his legs,
smiling at Heero’s dumbfounded expression.
"Heero-kun," he said in his best, most convincing falsetto. "Would you like
my dessert?"
Heero’s eyes meet his in startled recognition of what he was doing and Duo grinned
evilly.
"Payback time, Heero..." he whispered for Heero’s ears alone.
* * *
Heero found himself fighting all out laughter as the
group of boys descended on Duo. He was slightly surprised at the American’s flash of
anger when their eyes met, but dismissed it. Something told him, however, that Duo would
not leave it there. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Duo crossed the cafeteria,
idly wondering what the boy was planning on doing. When Duo sat down on the table, a flash
of unease traveled down his spine. And when the boy had crossed his legs in the most
feminine manner, he’d gone into a small stage of shock.
"Heero-kun," he heard as if through a barrier.
"Would you like my dessert?"
He suddenly realized what the braided maniac was doing and looked up, hoping he was wrong.
He wasn’t.
"Payback time, Heero..." The whispered sentence sent a chill through his body.
Heero inwardly groaned and wished to whatever gods truly existed that the American was
just teasing him. He met indigo eyes that sparkled with mischief and the knowledge of how
to take the most complete revenge on Heero that he could and knew that he was now doomed.
His usual tricks wouldn’t work on Duo, he knew them all and was used to ignoring
Heero’s coldness. Heero suddenly was struck with the way to get back at the other
pilot. Play along. He smiled and was gratified to see Duo look wary.
"Why thank you, Hellan-chan. I think I would." He took the cupcake from
Duo’s now lax hand and bit into it, grinning at the boy’s shocked expression.
Heero leaned back a little, so that everyone could see his acceptance of the gift. Perhaps
Duo would leave it there... But no, this was Duo, the pilot of Shinigami. And he would not
give up.
"You think to beat me at my own game?"
Heero wisely stayed silent. Duo’s wide grin made him wary in turn. The American
snagged the chips from Heero’s tray and began munching on them. Heero drew in a quick
breath as ‘Hellan-chan’ showed every evidence of being perfectly comfortable
with him, giving the impression that they had known each other a long time…and that
they were maybe more than just friends… Heero forced himself to relax and play along,
knowing that it was really his own fault for this situation. If he hadn’t been so
obviously amused at Duo’s predicament...had maybe helped him out...then perhaps Duo
wouldn’t have taken such a twisted revenge... He decided that after this mission was
over, he was finally going to make good on his threats and kill the idiot. Unfortunately,
that seemed such a long ways away...
* * *
Duo wasn’t quite sure how he made it through that
lunch period, but somehow he did. And so did Heero. He wondered where this would lead. He
didn’t deny his attraction to himself, but he’d never quite thought about a
situation like this! Yes, he wanted Heero, but he’d never actually done anything
about it. No flirting, no innuendo (well, maybe a little), no teasing (of the erotic
nature, anyway), and, most importantly, no letting Heero find out. Duo knew that Heero
would probably kill him, or at least call him a pervert and drop his friendship. The guy
was so...well, not butch...but definitely very masculine. There was no way he would ever
feel the same way towards Duo. ‘Hmph. I’m lucky to be his friend, much less
anything else.’
"Hellan-chan! How dare you!?"
Duo whirled around to face Chari, hoping he hadn’t burned all his bridges with the
recent performance. He was relieved to see that she didn’t look mad, just
exasperated.
"Yeah?"
"How dare you not tell me!"
"About what?"
"You and Heero-kun! C’mon, spill!"
"Ano..."
"Why didn’t you tell me!?"
"You never asked." She gave a frustrated puff before looking at him disgustedly.
"I can’t believe you! No wonder you weren’t interested in the other boys!
But not a word about something this juicy!" Chari shook her head in mock
disappointment. "And here I thought we were friends..."
"Chari-chan! You wound me!" Duo gave a mock agony pose, hand to his heart, then
he stopped at her laughter.
"It’s just...well, something that we just don’t really talk about."
Chari rolled her eyes, then grinned at Duo. "Well, you’ll just have to make it
up to me."
"How?"
"Give me all the juicy details!"
"Chari-chan!" He hoped he wasn’t blushing as badly as he thought he was.
She just giggled again and Duo changed the subject until they had to part for their
different classrooms. He gave a sigh of relief as he collapsed in an empty seat in the
classroom. He hoped that the day would soon be over...
* * *
Heero was annoyed with himself. Why had he gotten into
such a situation? He wasn’t quite sure, it was very disconcerting. And it didn’t
help that the other boys were sending him what they obviously thought were Glares
‘o’ Doom TM. He wasn’t bothered by their animosity, but it was getting
tiresome. He reached the locker room before anyone else and began to get dressed when he
heard voices.
"I can’t believe it! A hot new chick comes to school and she’s already
taken!"
"Yeah, and by that new guy. It’s really not fair."
"Tell me about it! He’s probably known Hellan-chan for a long time. He had a
head start on everyone!"
"And how could she fall for such a...jerk!? I mean, it’s like he was a statue or
an ice cube!"
"Brrr! Really! I’d think that a girl like that would have better taste!"
"I’m sure she does, she’s probably just scared of him." There was the
sound of laughter at the innuendo of the first half of the sentence and the following
conversation was even more unnerving.
"I bet she’s a great kisser!"
"Oh yeah! I would give my right eye for a piece of that!"
"And those legs...! Damn, she’s so fucking gorgeous!"
"And sexy! The way she moves...it kinda makes me wanna jump her, ya know?"
"Oh yeah! That guy doesn’t deserve such a delicious treasure! She’d
probably love to have some more human guys paying attention to her."
"Yeah! Who knows, maybe one of us will get her!" The last sentence was said as
the group entered the locker room. They all paled when they saw that Heero was there and
blushed as some of them realized that he must have heard the conversation. Heero gave them
all a Look and walked out into the gym. He knew that they were planning on making his life
more difficult than it already was. Silently he cursed Duo and hoped that the day would
pass quickly...
* * *
Duo headed to the cafeteria for supper. He knew that to
keep up the charade he’d have to sit with Heero. This wasn’t necessarily a bad
thing except that he also knew that Heero was mad as Hell about the whole farce. He’d
overheard some of the boys talking about beating Heero up and hoped that they didn’t
actually try it. As he entered the cafeteria he spotted Heero at the table he’d been
at earlier. Only Duo, who had made the ability to read Heero’s body language into an
art form, could tell that the Japanese boy was royally pissed. He stifled a sigh and got
in line for the alleged food. He joined Heero a few minutes later, since he had gotten
here earlier than the big rush. He looked at the other boy’s face and hoped that
Heero would manage to keep his temper in check. Otherwise, this could get extremely
unpleasant.
"Ohayo, Heero."
"Ohayo, Hellan."
‘So far so good, he hasn’t threatened to kill me yet...yet being the operative
word here...’
"So, how was your day?"
Heero Looked at him and Duo swallowed convulsively. "That bad, huh?"
Heero snorted. Duo decided to finish his supper as quickly as he could, then head to his
room.
* * *
Heero looked after the retreating form of Duo as he
left the cafeteria. He wondered how the boy had learned to read him so well. No one else
had noticed, but Duo had reacted like he knew just how ticked off he was. He also wondered
why Duo’s hand had unconsciously gone to his cheek after he’d given Heero a
close look. Heero remembered that that was the cheek he’d slapped before. There was
no mark, there hadn’t been any even later in the day after the slap. But… He
shrugged those thoughts off and decided that he would visit Duo tonight so that they could
talk without being interrupted or overheard. It would be a simple task, the harder one
would be to keep from strangling the American pilot for this entire mess. It wouldn’t
have been fair to Duo. He deserved a much more...elaborate and...excruciatingly painful
death. After he finished his supper he retreated to his room, noticing the calculating
looks he was getting from both male and female students. The boys were analyzing their
chances of taking him out of the way and the girls seemed to be checking out why the
beautiful, cheerful, sweet ‘Hellan-chan’ had fallen for him. He made his way to
his room and set about doing his homework until everyone was asleep. He headed for the
girls’ wing of the dormitories, slipping from shadow to shadow until he reached
Duo’s door. The lock was a simple one and took less than a minute to pick open. He
entered the room cautiously and shut the door behind him, locking it again. He then turned
to the room’s occupant. And stared. Duo was sprawled over the bed, dressed in a long
nightshirt and a pair of loose shorts. The blankets were mostly kicked to his feet and
left the majority of his long legs exposed. But that wasn’t what made him stare. Duo
had his hair down. Heero had never seen it down. He knew it had to happen sometimes so
that it could be washed and brushed, but he’d never really thought about it. He
realized that the chestnut waterfall was longer than he’d assumed, reaching unbound
to about his knees, or a little longer. The moonlight falling from the open window
silvered the entire scene, making it almost surreal. The boy he knew as Duo Maxwell, the
American pilot of Shinigami, existed no more. This person in the bed was a creature of
Faery, a fey beauty that was not wholly of this world. An angel in disguise... He shook
himself free of those unsettling thoughts and crossed the room to kneel at the side of the
bed. He placed his hand over Duo’s mouth prior to shaking him awake, knowing that the
boy’s automatic response was to talk, but found that he needn’t bother with
shaking him. Duo’s eyes snapped open at the touch of his hand and he froze, ready to
attack his assailant.
"Duo, it’s me," Heero whispered, removing his hand.
"What are you doing here?" Duo whispered back.
"We need to talk."
"You know, we’ll be in deep shit if anybody catches you here."
"No one’s gonna catch me here. You know better than that."
"So what do we need to talk about?"
"What the Hell did you think you were doing at lunch?"
"Getting revenge, what else?"
"Well, thanks to you, Hellan-chan, the greater portion of the male student body is
out for my blood."
"Deal with it. Besides, it’s your own fault."
"Oh, how so?"
"If you hadn’t been acting so smug, I wouldn’t have felt the need to take
revenge. Well, not as badly, anyway."
"Why’d you have to pick something this twisted?"
"You didn’t have to play along."
"Well, I figured that it would be the best way to get back at you!"
"Never, ever, try to beat a flirt at his own game. It only leads you into
trouble."
"I’m finding that out."
"Serves you right!"
They both froze as a knock on the door sounded. Duo cursed quietly and started braiding
his hair up as he walked to the door.
"Heero, hide yourself, dammit!"
"Where?!"
"Under the bed, I don’t care, just get out of sight!"
Heero swore as he slid under the bed. ‘This has got to be one of the most
embarrassing missions I have ever had the misfortune to be given.’ He heard Duo
answer the door and placed the other voice as belonging to the girl who had been helping
Duo out earlier, Chari.
"Hellan-chan? Are you alright?"
"Hai. Why?"
"I thought I heard voices."
"I must have been talking in my sleep."
"Ok. Go back to sleep, then. I’ll see you in the morning. Oyasumi nasai."
"Oyasumi."
Then the sound of the door closing and the lock clicking into place. Heero gratefully slid
out from under the bed and brushed the dust off of his clothes. He looked up to see Duo
yawning and sitting down on the bed, his hair still braided. He wondered why he felt
disappointed... Duo looked puzzled about something, absently chewing on his bottom lip,
his eyes far away. Heero found himself watching the boy minutely. There was something
about the way the moonlight shadowed his face that made him think of his earlier musings.
He started when Duo suddenly smiled widely, his eyes glittering with mischief.
"What?"
"Hmm? Oh, I was just thinking about the upsides of this particular predicament."
"Oh?"
"Well, for one thing, we have an excuse to talk in whispers in the hallway. Another,
we have an excuse to hold hands and stay together as much as possible. And third, we have
an excuse if any of the students catch us out of our rooms at night."
Heero blinked, he hadn’t thought of it that way before...
"Besides, OZ will be looking for two boys who are best friends and seem to spend an
indecent amount of time with each other. They won’t be expecting a boy and a girl who
are romantically involved. And neither will Relena. Am I right?"
Heero gave Duo a wordless growl, but didn’t deny the fact. Duo’s grin grew to
its usual proportions.
"You should probably go now."
"Hai. Oyasumi...Hellan-chan."
"Oyasumi!"
Heero slipped back to his room and pondered the conversation. Duo did have a point, this
gave them the excuse to stay together to work on the mission. He found his mind wandering
back to the picture of Duo’s sprawled form bathed in moonlight. He tried to banish
the image, but it refused to leave. He finally gave up on it and let himself think about
it. He wondered how it would feel to run his hands through Duo’s chestnut hair...
* * *
After Heero left his rooms, Duo unbraided his hair. He shivered a little as he remembered how Heero’s eyes had seemed to linger on it before Chari had interrupted. That lingering look had prompted him to keep it braided for the rest of the visit. He had seen Heero’s swift glance when he’d almost undone the braid as he walked back to the bed and he knew he hadn’t imagined the flash of disappointment that the pilot had failed to mask completely. He giggled to himself, happy with the world for the first time in a long time. He wondered if this would ever amount to anything. He didn’t think that he was that lucky, but he’d sure as Hell enjoy it while it lasted. Duo knew that Heero was probably going to kill him when they were done with this mission, he figured he’d live each day as if it was his last. Who knew, it might be. Duo shook his head clear of such pointless thoughts and curled up under the sheets, dwelling pleasantly on the sight of Heero’s lingering glance that had almost been as heated as a physical touch. He sighed. He wondered how it would feel if Heero ran his hands through his hair...
* * *
Heero woke up in the morning feeling the need for a
very cold shower. He couldn’t remember his dreams clearly, except they had involved a
long fall of chestnut hair... He shook his head and briefly wondered if he should have
sent one of the others on this mission, but dismissed the idea since it required his
expert hacking skills. And the thought of Duo flirting, even in revenge, with one of the
others made his stomach feel queasy. Not that he was happy that Duo was flirting with him,
mind you, but... He finished his shower almost as frustrated as when he’d started it.
At least his body’s reaction had been calmed. He hoped that Duo hadn’t seen him
looking at his hair, if he had, Heero wasn’t sure how he could face the other pilot
over breakfast. He sighed and got dressed in his uniform, heading for the cafeteria when
he was presentable. He collected his breakfast and sat down at his table, watching for
Duo. The American walked in a few minutes later, yawning. Duo collected his breakfast and
joined Heero at the table. The boy seemed to be in a very good mood.
"Morning, Heero!"
"Why are you so damned cheerful this morning?"
"I had a good night’s sleep. How come you’re so grouchy this morning? Even
worse than usual."
Heero gave the braided boy a glare and growled, "I had a rough night’s
sleep."
"Well, don’t take it out on me, dear!"
"Dear?!?!"
"Well..." Duo began with a grin, seeming to take an unholy amount of glee at
Heero’s obvious discomfort. "We are involved...so I see no reason not to call
you ‘dear.’ Besides, you blushed. There’s no way I’m gonna let an
opportunity like this pass."
Heero blinked. He had blushed?! He found that he was blushing even worse now that he knew
it. Duo was watching him squirm with a smile. He had the sudden urge to smack that grin
off his face, but resisted the temptation. His mind suggested a few ways that he could get
back at the other boy, but most of them involved more than just words... He felt his face
and neck heat to an even more deep shade of red. He just put his face in his hands and
prayed that this mission would be over soon...
* * *
Duo was finding it hard to keep from laughing at
Heero’s discomfort. He was blushing! Heero the Perfect Soldier Yuy was blushing
because he’d called him dear. This situation was turning out to be more fun than he
had originally expected...! He watched as Heero’s face and neck turned a deeper shade
of scarlet and wondered what on earth had been going through the boy’s mind to cause
such a betrayal of training. Not that Duo couldn’t think of a few things that could
make Heero blush, but... He found himself joining Heero in embarrassment as his mind
conjured up all sorts of...interesting scenarios, most of them involving little clothing
and silk scarves...among other things...[1]
"Morning lovebirds!"
Duo stifled a snicker as Heero almost growled at Chari.
"Morning Chari! Didja sleep well?"
"Better than you, I daresay." She gave Duo a knowing look, conveying the message
that she knew he hadn’t been talking in his sleep.
Duo blushed. "Uh...ano...um..."
Chari laughed and grabbed his arm. "C’mon, Hellan. We don’t want to be late
for class!"
"But class doesn’t start for another 15 minutes!"
"We need to have a little chat...You don’t mind, do you Heero-kun? It’s
just some girl-talk."
"Not at all. See you later, Hellan-chan."
"Of course, Heero-chan. Later!"
"..."
Duo gave the now scowling pilot a peck on the cheek and let himself be dragged off by
Chari. He knew that Heero was really going to kill him when this was all over, but it was
worth it just to see the look of shock on his face... He had the feeling that he was
grinning idiotically, but he didn’t care. He had actually managed to kiss Heero! On
the cheek, yes...but it was a start! He looked over at Chari and was surprised to see that
she was watching him carefully. He raised an inquiring eyebrow at her, she seemed to be
getting her courage up to say something. He wondered what she could be nervous about
asking. His curiosity was soon answered. And of all the questions...
"Hellan, he doesn’t treat you very well, does he?"
"Nani!?"
* * *
Chari looked at the new girl, Hellan was such a
sweetie. She was so naïve sometimes, but very nice. She also had a sense of humor and a
very good appreciation of the ridiculous. Chari honestly wondered what she could see in a
guy like Heero Bakudan; a colder, more heartless bastard she’d never seen. But it was
so obvious that Hellan was in love; she fairly glowed when he was around. Frankly, it made
Chari a little sick after seeing how he treated her; like a possession that he made the
token showing off of, but anything beyond that - like actual affection - was lacking. And
last night, she’d seen the bruise on Hellan’s cheek, a vague palm-like shape,
and a few things had clicked in her mind. Number one, Hellan was head over heels. Number
two, Heero had no clue that she was in love with him. Number three, Heero hadn’t a
scrap of real feeling for her. And number four, Hellan wasn’t going to tell his sorry
ass off. Chari decided to get the full truth from Hellan first, before jumping to the
wrong conclusions.
"Hellan, he doesn’t treat you very well, does he?" She watched the other
girl’s features turn toward her in shock.
"Nani!?"
"Well...?"
Hellan’s eyes clouded for a moment in pain before the cheerful mask slipped back in
place. That moment of pain was all that Chari needed to confirm her suspicions. "What
would give you such an idea?"
"He hit you."
Hellan’s eyes widened and her hand stole up to her cheek.
"Didn’t he?"
Those indigo eyes seemed almost to small to hold the amount of emotion that they did.
There was pain and sadness, longing and mourning, love and fear, anger even, in those
eyes. Chari felt somehow humbled by the ageless and ancient look of those unmasked eyes.
Once more, she resolved to help this strange girl out, even if the man she loved deserved
a bludgeoning to the head for the pain he’d caused the one woman who loved him more
deeply than life itself. Then the joker mask was back in place and a sunny smile replaced
the wearied expression. "Chari...it’s nothing. C’mon, we’ll be late
for class!"
Chari followed her into the classroom, fully resolved to talk to Heero sometime soon. And
he was not going to like what she said!
* * *
Heero watched as Chari dragged Duo off, still annoyed
by Duo’s use of ‘chan’ in connection with himself. He found himself
thinking back to the slight brush of the other boy’s lips against his cheek and
wondered why the sensation stirred up such a confusing set of feelings. If Duo had truly
been the girl he was playing, Heero knew - however uncomfortable the knowledge made him -
that he would have had no problem with this charade...and that it might not have stayed a
charade for long... In fact, he was finding it extremely hard...he blinked...er, difficult
not to think of Duo in... interesting...um, positions...that... uh...he killed the
hormones that were waking up with a vengeance as if trying to make up for lost time.
‘He wants you!’
‘It’s just a game!’
‘You want him!’
‘He’s just a friend, there’s no way he could possibly...!’
‘Ha! You admit it!’
‘I admit nothing!’
‘But wouldn’t it be wonderful to stroke his hair...to feel him cuddle against
you, wanting to be held by you...sitting in your lap with his head tucked under your
chin...curled up next to you in a soft bed, panting with desire...whispering sweet words
of love into your ears...pleading for more...?’
‘Yesssss...oh gods, yes! It would...’ Heero caught himself there. ‘But
it’s not going to happen, he’s just a teammate, nothing more, nothing less.
He’s my friend and I refuse to fantasize about something that will never in a million
years happen. He’s had girls following him everywhere we go and he’s never
fallen for any of them. And where the experienced ones have failed, I hardly think that I
will succeed.’
‘But what if he’s been waiting for you?’
‘He would have let something slip, I’m not that oblivious!’
‘Uh huh, yeah right. And he’s better at hiding things than you give him credit
for.’
The bell rang. ‘Shit, I’m late for class! It’s all your fault!’
The hormones smirked. ‘Just think about it, you were spending all that time arguing
with us when you could have been-’
‘SHUT UP!’
The hormones slunk back to the dusty corner they’d emerged from, sulking. Heero
sighed. This was going to be a very long mission...!
* * *
Duo grinned to himself, carefully masking the
expression from his partner. A few days had gone by since they’d entered this school
and Duo had never had more fun. It was just hilarious to see Heero’s reactions to the
usual things that an ‘involved’ couple did. He was finally able to give into
those silent urges that were always present whenever he was around Heero. It was a
wonderful release! He now had permission to stroke back the other pilot’s hair when
it fell in his eyes, to call him Heero-chan and dear and all sorts of pet names, to hold
his hand in the hallway and lean against his arm...it was the most pleasurable mission
he’d ever been given! On the other hand, it was a sort of torture to be able to do
these things but still be unable to tell Heero how he felt about him or show him any true
emotion. It was a constant struggle. Duo knew that Heero was not happy in this position
and that he would probably make good on his constant threat after this mission was over.
It was hard to keep everything inside and sometimes he found himself suppressing tears and
a few times being unable to. Chari had caught him sobbing a few times and had asked what
was wrong, but Duo couldn’t tell her. He wasn’t quite sure, really. It was sort
of a combination of Heero’s coldness, his proximity, and the ability to show
affection with the inability to let Heero know it was real and not some twisted game. He
sighed as he left the classroom and decided to take the outside path to the cafeteria. It
was such a nice day out that it seemed a waste to spend it inside. Duo was walking by the
library, when he felt someone behind him. He walked a little quicker, having a bad feeling
about this. He’d almost reached the cafeteria when someone called his name.
"Hellan-chan? Wait up a sec."
Duo turned around slowly. He had recognized the voice as belonging to Kito, a bully and
one of the boys who refused to take ‘no’ for an answer when it came to
‘Hellan-chan.’ He suddenly felt his arm being grabbed roughly and pulled behind
his back. He cursed silently and struggled. Duo then found himself pressed against the
brick wall of the building behind him, the impact making his breath release in a whoosh.
"What...!" He suddenly stopped as a knife was pressed to his throat. He
swallowed, eyes wide. He couldn’t believe this was happening! Kito grinned smugly.
"If you make a sound or try to get away, I will have no problems with nicking that
perfect skin of yours. Get the idea?"
Duo nodded, licking his lips nervously. Kito’s eyes flashed with lust and he pressed
his lips to Duo’s fiercely. Duo fought the urge to gag. Kito’s eyes narrowed and
he slapped him on the opposite cheek from Heero’s bruise. The force cracked his
temple against the wall and he saw stars for a moment.
"Now you play nice, Hellan-chan. If you know what I mean..."
Duo nodded again, feeling truly ill. Kito once more lowered his lips to Duo’s and
this time Duo reluctantly participated. He didn’t know which he wanted more; for
Heero to come and rescue him or for Heero never to find out about this...
* * *
Kito moaned, thrusting his tongue into Hellan-chan’s warm mouth. He had been right about her, she was a talented kisser. And so sweet...! She was totally wasted on that Heero, she needed someone who would appreciate her considerable talents and charms. And that person was certainly not Heero Bakudan! He couldn’t wait to take her! Or, since her mouth was so talented... He snickered and never really knew what hit him as a strong hand pulled him away from Hellan-chan and he found himself looking into pair of pissed-off, ice-blue eyes.
* * *
Heero was a little concerned that Duo hadn’t
appeared for lunch yet. He was usually one of the first to arrive. Heero decided to ask
Chari if he had been held after class.
"Chari-san?"
The girl turned around, surprised. "Heero-kun, what is it?"
"Was Hellan-chan kept after class? She’s usually here by now."
"No, she wanted to take the outside shortcut since it was such a nice day."
"Arigato." He walked outside, not really knowing why, but having the conviction
that Duo was in trouble. He was right. Heero saw a boy pressing a girl against the brick
wall of the library, kissing her. He would recognize that braid anywhere. Heero found that
he was seeing through a red haze that suddenly descended on his vision. He snarled
silently and stalked over to the two. When he was closer, he saw that the boy was Kito and
he was holding a knife to Duo’s neck. He pulled the boy away from Duo with a swift
jerk, growling. He looked at Duo’s wide frightened eyes and bright red cheek and said
coldly, "Move."
Duo moved out of the way as Heero slammed Kito into the wall. He calmly snatched the knife
from the boy’s hand and clenched the handle tight enough to crack it. He smiled
grimly as he snapped the blade against the brick wall and handed the now useless object
back to the boy.
"Stay away from Hellan-chan, bastard!" He gave Kito a few solid punches, barely
keeping himself from seriously injuring or killing the boy. Kito’s eyes were wide
with terror as Heero grabbed his collar and picked him a good half-foot off the ground.
"If I ever catch you near Hellan-chan again," he began in a quiet voice,
dangerously cold, "I will personally beat you into a bloody pulp. And that goes for
anyone else who tries to hurt or harm her in any way. Got it?"
Kito nodded and Heero let him drop to the ground, turning to Duo. "C’mon, lets
get you to the nurse’s office. That looks nasty."
"Heero?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
Heero looked at him and burned as he saw the red mark on Duo’s cheek was starting to
turn black and blue already.
"Perhaps I should make it more clear that you’re mine."
"Huh?!"
Heero just picked the startled boy up in his arms, freshly bruised cheek against his chest
so that passers-by wouldn’t see it. He felt Duo relax and nodded, carrying him to the
nurse. However, he had to go through the cafeteria. He sighed and let a bit of his anger
show, hoping it would be enough to stop anyone from trying to get in their way. As he
walked in the door with Duo in his arms, the cafeteria went silent. He stalked through the
students without a word and out the door.
* * *
Chari stared after the retreating form of Heero. Hellan
had been in his arms and he had looked really, majorly, pissed! For a moment she angrily
wondered what the hell he thought Hellan had been doing when there was the sound of the
outside doors slamming open. She gaped. It was Kito, and he was sporting a black eye, a
bloody nose, a swollen jaw, some major bruising, and a very stunned expression.
"What happened?" someone asked the dazed boy.
Kito just shook his head and stumbled towards the doors. Chari’s eyes narrowed as she
spotted the handle of a knife in his pocket, it looked cracked.
"You threatened Hellan-chan, didn’t you?" she asked him calmly.
The entire student body held its collective breath. Kito shook his head, but the guilt in
his eyes was plainly seen. There was a muted growl, boys and girls both. Hellan-chan might
not be available, but she was sweet and kind and anyone who threatened her deserved to get
the shit beaten out of him. A few of the other boys got up and surrounded Kito, their
expressions angry. Chari almost felt sorry for him. Almost, but not quite. The scum
deserved it. The boys turned as a unit to ‘escort’ Kito to the principle’s
office. Chari smirked at the bully’s expression. Then she sighed and gathered her
things together. She would visit Hellan-chan later and find out what happened. If the boy
had done anything...! She thought about it for a moment then came to the conclusion that
if Kito had done anything truly nasty to Hellan, he would have not been in any shape to
move. For once, Chari was glad of Heero’s possessive nature. But she still needed to
have that talk with him...!
* * *