For Merith, who donated to the tsunami relief fund and requested this
Duo was smiling. Ordinarily, Heero would not have considered this cause for concern. In fact, had this been a normal Duo smile he would probably have been smiling himself. Not just because there was something infectious about his partner's expressions, although there certainly was, but because something about a smiling Duo tended to make Heero's stomach feel peculiar.
He'd wondered about that at first, but the only person he felt comfortable enough discussing such issues with was Duo himself, and somehow it felt even more peculiar to think about raising that kind of subject with one's boyfriend of two weeks. Besides, it probably came under the heading of what Duo would call 'girly stuff,' and as such was to be avoided.
Heero knew a lot of things about Duo now, and one of them was that he hated to be associated with anything in any way feminine. It was the hair, Heero thought; for some reason a lot of people seemed to think that anyone with hair that long ought to either behave like a woman or actually be one.
Another thing he knew about Duo � one that had been obvious almost from their first meeting, actually � was that the kind of smile he was wearing now boded no good for anybody. Obviously, something had happened to upset him, and now he was plotting methods of murder. Heero had thought that he was a good assassin, but Duo had an imagination. It was almost enough to worry him sometimes, if he hadn't known that Duo detested violence just as much as he himself did. One of the universal results of having grown up with it, Heero suspected.
Picking another mission-report folder from his desk, Heero eyed his partner surreptitiously from the corner of his eye. Duo wasn't even pacing; he'd come in from the break-room without the coffee he'd left to fetch, and was sitting behind his own desk staring at nothing with that smile on his face. The toothy one that terrified interns five years older than them. Probably wasn't the best time for Heero to admit to the mistake he'd made last night, then�
"Duo?" Hesitantly, Heero pushed his chair away from the desk and scooted himself over towards his partner. Partner of four years, if you counted the wars; roommate of two years, and boyfriend of two weeks. Not yet lover; it was weird enough adjusting to the change in their relationship as it was, and neither of them were quite confident enough to initiate anything serious.
"Huh?" Duo started, sitting bolt upright for a moment, head whipping round so fast that his hair thumped against the back of his chair. Heero had to squash the impulse to take hold of the long plait and soothe it as though it were an actual appendage; he'd often thought that a pissed-off Duo resembled nothing quite so much as a bristling cat. Complete with tail.
Damn, now he was having to fight off a grin, and Duo was regarding him suspiciously.
"What? Yuy, stop giving me that damn look." He jabbed an accusing finger at Heero, then huffed in disgust and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms and glowering.
"Sorry." Heero wasn't, of course, but he'd learned a certain amount of diplomacy in the past few years. "What happened?"
"What do you mean, what happened?" Duo's scowl drew even further down, his eyes narrow indigo slits of irritation. "Nothing happened. Why should anything have happened? I'm fine."
"Hmm." Heero looked him up and down for a moment, wanting to say something like 'you are' but not quite sure it would be welcomed in Duo's current mood. "You went to get coffee, remember? And you came back looking like someone put a scratch in Deathscythe's paint. What happened?"
"Hmph." Duo looked away, but Heero could see that his mouth was twitching now. Carefully, he scooted his chair a little closer, tugging at Duo's sleeve until the other man unbent enough for Heero to take his hand.
He liked this. Even when Duo was in a terrible mood, holding Heero's hand always seemed to relax him. True to form, after a few moments the hand he held relaxed, settling into his like seal to matrix. That peculiar little shiver disturbed Heero's stomach again, but he ignored it, focusing on Duo's face even as his thumb painted abstract designs across the other's palm.
After a long, silent moment, Duo sighed, twisting to face Heero but leaving their hands entwined. "It was just Chen again � talking shit, as usual."
"Ah." Heero frowned, considering the older Preventer. The man had been a minor Alliance officer, and seemed to be one of those who resented being upstaged by younger Agents. "The Gundam Pilot thing again?" It certainly wouldn't be the first time the man had disparaged the five of them and how they always seemed to get the 'good assignments.' As if risking their necks to root out entrenched rebel groups across the Colonies and Earth could be considered enjoyable. Heero would much rather have been the agent researching the mission than the one carrying it out these days.
Duo laughed mirthlessly. "Yeah, what else is new. I nearly punched him; had to leave Fei to deal with the bastard."
Heero frowned. Anything that provoked his Duo to violence had to be serious. "What did he say this time?"
Duo waved his free hand dismissively, but his eyes were still narrowed. "Just some shit about how anyone could have piloted a Gundam given our 'opportunities'." His voice was thick with contempt on the last word; Heero closed his eyes for a moment, finally understanding.
"Ah." He paused for a moment, would have spoken again but was beaten to it.
"And I'm damn fucking tired of all this Perfect Soldier shit!", Duo exclaimed, on a roll. "Either they use it as an insult or they actually believe it!"
Heero laughed; he couldn't help it. "I'm hardly perfect," he commented dryly. "If I was, I wouldn't have washed the sheets with your red shirt last night."
Duo blinked at him, momentarily startled, then groaned theatrically. His eyes, though, had softened into something approaching laughter. "You mean we have pink sheets?"
"I'm afraid so," Heero muttered, still somewhat disgusted with himself. "Anyway, Chen smokes, doesn't he?"
"Huh? Yeah," Duo said slowly, peering confusedly into Heero's eyes as though they could communicate by telepathy. Sometimes it seemed like they could.
"Good." Heero squeezed Duo's hand in his, interlacing their fingers comfortably. "Want to go set the sprinklers off in his office?"
The sound of Duo's laughter was even brighter than his smile.