Chapter Text
Schbeiker Scrap and Salvage
L2-V10328
207 January 2
Duo leaned forward toward the wall mirror as he straightened the silver chain that held Saint Jude around his neck. [1] He then pulled the short braid, which now trailed just to the middle of his back, through the chain loop and let it fall against his back. It hit him lightly between his shoulder blades.
Standing upright once more, he caught Heero’s reflection in the mirror, loitering at the door to the bedroom. “You can come in, you know,” Duo chided. “It’s your room too.” He watched Heero glance down the hall before ducking inside and quietly shutting the door behind him.
Hilde had created this space for them years ago, after the war. It had been the first real ‘home’ either he or Heero had had after the conflict, one which they had cautiously embraced in their own ways. He remembered coming in from the scrapyard one day to find the room filled with actual furniture, actual beds, a gift Hilde refused to accept payment for...or resell, apparently. Duo had been certain Hilde would have repurposed the space by now, but she had left it alone, as if they had only gone off-colony for a short time to joyride rather than spend years breathing Earth oxygen.
Now, Duo watched Heero’s reflection cross the familiar room and close the distance between them. He wrapped his arms around Duo’s waist from behind and ducked his head to rest his cheek against Duo’s shoulder. For a moment, neither said anything, and Duo could feel Heero breathe where the other man’s chest met his back. Dropping his hands from the silver chain to the forearms that pressed against his stomach, Duo asked gently, probing, “You okay?”
Heero was silent for a long time. But then he mumbled, the words rumbling against Duo’s own ribs, “I don’t want to go back.”
Duo didn’t want to either—the respite, however brief, from the churning maelstrom that was the ESUN had been...nice. But reality was calling them back down to Earth and no matter how much they struggled against it, time ticked onward to their shuttle’s departure.
When Duo didn’t reply, Heero turned his head to kiss his shoulder and he let his eyes close before the Heero’s gaze could find his own. For a moment, he had the crazy urge to disappear into the wilds of L2, to take Heero’s hand in his and run ...from the duties and responsibilities, the social moorings and the politics that seemed to occupy such prime real estate in his brain in present times.
But he knew it was an impossibility. He liked it too much, to his surprise. Some vindictive part of him enjoyed out-maneuvering the assholes that bred themselves into the ruling elite. He took too much joy watching decorum strangle them as they ceded authority to some up-jumped L2 street kid. It fueled some starving, sinister part of him; something which he doubted he’d ever admit aloud.
With a sigh, Duo turned in Heero’s embrace and slung his thin arms over the other man’s broad shoulders. He rested his chin on Heero’s shoulder and glared out at the room. As much as he liked the pace of Brussels, he liked being this close to Heero a lot better. The man was solid against him, and gave his cluttered mind a safe place to tune out. Even now, Heero’s fingers had shifted from their place at his waist to chart courses along the knots along his spin, drawing another sigh from Duo.
“When will I get to see you again?” Heero asked him. The question sounded hesitant, sad.
Unseen by his other half, Duo grimaced. “Depends,” he replied. He felt Heero tense against him.
“On?”
Duo steeled his nerves for the conversation he had waited too damn long to have and, by way of answer, asked, “Do you want to keep doing this, whatever ‘this’ is? The Experiment, I mean.”
“Yes.” The answer was prompt and sure.
Duo smiled. “Me too,” he said and he felt the tension begin to bleed out of the man pressed against him. “I figure...maybe we don’t have to keep it a secret anymore, ya know?” He paused to worry his lower lip for a moment, but continued before Heero could say anything. “Maybe...maybe we wouldn’t have to advertise or whatever, with flash bulbs and neon lights, but….I wouldn’t mind being introduced as ‘the boyfriend,’ if the situation allows.”
After a beat, Heero pulled back to look him in the eyes and Duo found it difficult to hold that steady gaze. He was therefore surprised when Heero lowered his eyes first, his attention drawn to the silver pendant that rested in against Duo’s chest. “Does...does this mean I also get to be ‘the boyfriend’ sometimes?” he asked, his voice startlingly soft. Uncertain.
There was something painful about that uncertainty, something Heero wouldn’t share. Duo craned his neck to press a quick kiss to Heero’s forehead and settled his hands on Heero’s arms, feeling the biceps twitch under his fingers. “Of course. That’s kind of the standard operating procedure, after all.”
“Are you sure?”
At this Duo’s grin widened. “As sure as a guy can be when he’s dating his own wingman.”
Heero raised his eyes then and gave him a small smile. The sight made Duo’s heart hurt in a strangely pleasant way.