[FIC: Heero/Duo - stages of love, night]
title: eight-ball in the corner pocket, author: merith, theme: times of day - night, rating: PG-13, warning: BL, language
notes: written for the fall '06 stagesoflove, this is the fifth and final story for this theme. ~ ♥ ~ Dawn ~ ♥ ~ Noon ~ ♥ ~ Afternoon ~ ♥ ~ Evening ~ ♥ ~
After staring at the bedroom ceiling for a few hours, I gave up trying to sleep. Counting sheep wasn’t helping, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to get up and boil milk as if I was a colicky toddler. Heero had fucking kissed me, and I was lying there dreaming about it like a teenaged girl with her first crush.
Two out of three there wasn’t all wrong.
What had me still thinking hours later, wasn’t so much the kiss itself as what exactly Heero meant by it. Up until today, Heero had just been Heero - my roommate and partner, my all around best friend (and sometimes if I thought about him while taking care of business, well, he wouldn’t have ever found out).
And fuck me if I couldn’t still feel his kiss on my cheek.
Across the hall from my door was Heero’s bedroom and I found myself ghosting it open moments later. His room was dark but for the faint light that bled through the blinds; barely enough to put some shape to shadow, and allowed me to avoid running into anything. It’d been awhile since I was last in Heero’s room. I wasn’t surprised to find little had changed.
He was asleep, like any normal person would be at two in the morning. But I couldn’t help that little feeling of disappointment. Had the kiss meant less to him? On the other hand, it wasn’t often I had the chance to watch Heero sleep. Outside of when he had the flu last fall, and camped out on the couch for three days running. This time it was different and I wanted to wake him up just to tell him good night. Let him know I was thinking about him.
Any real ideas of me waking him were shot to hell, though. Heero started stirring, and I froze like a rabbit before a fox. And with the temptation to run just as strong. His eyes snapped open, and only then did I move - toward the bed, not away from it.
“It’s just me,” I whispered, stopping only when my legs touched the mattress.
Heero rolled up on an elbow, and I could almost see the look on his face. “Duo?” his voice was soft in the dark. “Is something wrong?”
I was shaking my head, answering his question still in a whisper. “Nah, just couldn’t sleep.” Heero was going to start thinking I was a head case, coming into his room while he slept. I almost left then, but I had to know. “What-what’s the idea?” I sort of stammered out. “What was with you today?”
The bastard actually laughed. But he moved to the edge of the bed and sat up. “I guess you could say I… did what you are always doing.”
“I’m always… what?”
“Have a seat, Duo.” And he patted the sheet next to him. His voice was getting softer, and even if his face was more shadow than light, I could tell he wasn’t looking at me. I sat, but farther down the mattress than where Heero wanted me.
“Tell me, Duo, how long have we been working together?”
Well, that wasn’t what I expected. “Almost three years,” I said immediately. “Five if you count the time during the wars and between.” He was looking at me now, and I was watching him.
“In the past couple of months, I noticed that…” his indrawn breath was audible, and I was holding mine. “that we seemed closer to each other than any one else.”
I gave it a moment and nodded. “Yeah…” the word was elongated on my tongue.
“There hasn’t been a single time I can remember when you haven’t pointed out a sunrise or a sunset to me.” I felt his hand touch my thigh, feel for my hand, and I let him take it. “And then I found out that you only shared them with me.”
“So.” My only rebuttal was a gruff whimper from a throat that felt too dry and a tongue suddenly too large for my mouth.
“So, I realized that the things you did with me meant something more,” his hand tightened in mine, and I was back to holding my breath. “Something you never said.”
Heero fell silent then, and I started breathing again. Maybe not so normally, but I was very aware of the air going in and out of my lungs. Time past, a minute, or two. Quite possibly five or even ten. His hand gave mine a squeeze, a quick tightening and release, and then Heero sighed.
“Go back to bed, Duo. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
My hand tightened on his before it could slip away, and I was shaking my head. “No.” My throat closed off with that word but I turned toward Heero anyway.
“Duo?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I was saying softly, scooting closer to where he sat, close enough to touch him. “So, what now?” My right hand swung up in the air between us.
“Nothing.” Heero shrugged, and shifted. His knee pressed against mine.
“But,” my hand flapped the air again, “what about us? It’s going to change.”
Heero’s other hand caught mine and he held them both between his hands. “It will. We will.” He sounded so sure.
“You’re my friend, Heero. I don’t want that to change.”
“So, it doesn’t have to. We’ll still be friends,” and now I heard the amusement in his voice. “Just friends who share more than most do.”
Oh yeah. There was that. I nodded, even if Heero couldn’t see it. It was already getting too weird as it was. Heero yawned, and I jumped up. “I… I should go back to bed. Let you sleep.”
He was letting my hands go, slowly, but still. “Ok, Duo. We’ll talk tomorrow, alright?”
“Sure,” I said, but I was still standing by his bed, and he was sliding his legs back under the covers, starting to lie down again. “Oh,” I said, coming closer and leaning down toward him. My hand slid up his arm, over his shoulder and cupped his neck. “And Heero,” lightly whispering now, I felt the breath leaving his mouth just before I kissed him. It wasn’t long and lingering, or even a passionate kiss. But it was my lips on his, and it was more than I’d ever done.
For a moment after, I thought my heart was going to stop. And judging by the racing pulse under my thumb, Heero wasn’t unaffected either. I smiled, feeling so much better now that we’d had this little talk. Straightening up, and letting my hand slip down from Heero’s neck to brush over his chest, I added softly, “Good night.”
Without waiting for Heero to say anything, I turned on my heel and left.
Of course, my exit would have worked so much better if I hadn’t run into the door on my way out.
notes: written for the fall '06 stagesoflove, this is the fifth and final story for this theme. ~ ♥ ~ Dawn ~ ♥ ~ Noon ~ ♥ ~ Afternoon ~ ♥ ~ Evening ~ ♥ ~
After staring at the bedroom ceiling for a few hours, I gave up trying to sleep. Counting sheep wasn’t helping, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to get up and boil milk as if I was a colicky toddler. Heero had fucking kissed me, and I was lying there dreaming about it like a teenaged girl with her first crush.
Two out of three there wasn’t all wrong.
What had me still thinking hours later, wasn’t so much the kiss itself as what exactly Heero meant by it. Up until today, Heero had just been Heero - my roommate and partner, my all around best friend (and sometimes if I thought about him while taking care of business, well, he wouldn’t have ever found out).
And fuck me if I couldn’t still feel his kiss on my cheek.
Across the hall from my door was Heero’s bedroom and I found myself ghosting it open moments later. His room was dark but for the faint light that bled through the blinds; barely enough to put some shape to shadow, and allowed me to avoid running into anything. It’d been awhile since I was last in Heero’s room. I wasn’t surprised to find little had changed.
He was asleep, like any normal person would be at two in the morning. But I couldn’t help that little feeling of disappointment. Had the kiss meant less to him? On the other hand, it wasn’t often I had the chance to watch Heero sleep. Outside of when he had the flu last fall, and camped out on the couch for three days running. This time it was different and I wanted to wake him up just to tell him good night. Let him know I was thinking about him.
Any real ideas of me waking him were shot to hell, though. Heero started stirring, and I froze like a rabbit before a fox. And with the temptation to run just as strong. His eyes snapped open, and only then did I move - toward the bed, not away from it.
“It’s just me,” I whispered, stopping only when my legs touched the mattress.
Heero rolled up on an elbow, and I could almost see the look on his face. “Duo?” his voice was soft in the dark. “Is something wrong?”
I was shaking my head, answering his question still in a whisper. “Nah, just couldn’t sleep.” Heero was going to start thinking I was a head case, coming into his room while he slept. I almost left then, but I had to know. “What-what’s the idea?” I sort of stammered out. “What was with you today?”
The bastard actually laughed. But he moved to the edge of the bed and sat up. “I guess you could say I… did what you are always doing.”
“I’m always… what?”
“Have a seat, Duo.” And he patted the sheet next to him. His voice was getting softer, and even if his face was more shadow than light, I could tell he wasn’t looking at me. I sat, but farther down the mattress than where Heero wanted me.
“Tell me, Duo, how long have we been working together?”
Well, that wasn’t what I expected. “Almost three years,” I said immediately. “Five if you count the time during the wars and between.” He was looking at me now, and I was watching him.
“In the past couple of months, I noticed that…” his indrawn breath was audible, and I was holding mine. “that we seemed closer to each other than any one else.”
I gave it a moment and nodded. “Yeah…” the word was elongated on my tongue.
“There hasn’t been a single time I can remember when you haven’t pointed out a sunrise or a sunset to me.” I felt his hand touch my thigh, feel for my hand, and I let him take it. “And then I found out that you only shared them with me.”
“So.” My only rebuttal was a gruff whimper from a throat that felt too dry and a tongue suddenly too large for my mouth.
“So, I realized that the things you did with me meant something more,” his hand tightened in mine, and I was back to holding my breath. “Something you never said.”
Heero fell silent then, and I started breathing again. Maybe not so normally, but I was very aware of the air going in and out of my lungs. Time past, a minute, or two. Quite possibly five or even ten. His hand gave mine a squeeze, a quick tightening and release, and then Heero sighed.
“Go back to bed, Duo. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
My hand tightened on his before it could slip away, and I was shaking my head. “No.” My throat closed off with that word but I turned toward Heero anyway.
“Duo?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I was saying softly, scooting closer to where he sat, close enough to touch him. “So, what now?” My right hand swung up in the air between us.
“Nothing.” Heero shrugged, and shifted. His knee pressed against mine.
“But,” my hand flapped the air again, “what about us? It’s going to change.”
Heero’s other hand caught mine and he held them both between his hands. “It will. We will.” He sounded so sure.
“You’re my friend, Heero. I don’t want that to change.”
“So, it doesn’t have to. We’ll still be friends,” and now I heard the amusement in his voice. “Just friends who share more than most do.”
Oh yeah. There was that. I nodded, even if Heero couldn’t see it. It was already getting too weird as it was. Heero yawned, and I jumped up. “I… I should go back to bed. Let you sleep.”
He was letting my hands go, slowly, but still. “Ok, Duo. We’ll talk tomorrow, alright?”
“Sure,” I said, but I was still standing by his bed, and he was sliding his legs back under the covers, starting to lie down again. “Oh,” I said, coming closer and leaning down toward him. My hand slid up his arm, over his shoulder and cupped his neck. “And Heero,” lightly whispering now, I felt the breath leaving his mouth just before I kissed him. It wasn’t long and lingering, or even a passionate kiss. But it was my lips on his, and it was more than I’d ever done.
For a moment after, I thought my heart was going to stop. And judging by the racing pulse under my thumb, Heero wasn’t unaffected either. I smiled, feeling so much better now that we’d had this little talk. Straightening up, and letting my hand slip down from Heero’s neck to brush over his chest, I added softly, “Good night.”
Without waiting for Heero to say anything, I turned on my heel and left.
Of course, my exit would have worked so much better if I hadn’t run into the door on my way out.