Notes: The arc begins between one and two years after Endless Waltz. Duo POV in this story.
Life With Heero Arc Part 62
Impulse Part 2
Duo didn't even have time to recover from his surprise before Heero was drawing back and apologizing, "Gomen, Duo. I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Before he could gather his wits, Heero was gone.
Duo stayed where he was for a few moments, thinking about how to handle this. Evidently, he hadn't just been imagining things. Which meant that the two of them had been dodging this issue for a while now. He would never have made the first move himself because he did not want Heero to think he was headed for a repeat of the incident with Relena. Their friendship was too important to both of them to risk that. 'But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see how much more there could be between us...'
Reaching a decision, he headed out of the reception hall and towards the conservatory. He had a pretty good idea where he would find Heero.
One look at the dejected slump of Heero's shoulders as he sat staring down into the fishpond told Duo that his best friend was afraid he'd just messed up. He walked up behind Heero and sighed. 'Where to begin...' "I'm not mad, you know," he started, dropping his arms over Heero's shoulders and clasping them loosely around him. He rested his chin on top of Heero's head. "We've been dancing around this for a while now, haven't we? Sooner or later, somebody had to break the stalemate. And I sure as hell wasn't about to risk making you think I was gonna pull something like Relena did, so it wouldn't have been me."
Heero lifted one hand to lay over Duo's. Duo released his light clasp and let Heero lace their fingers together.
"I... I just don't want to lose what we already have," Heero admitted softly. "And I don't know exactly what I'm feeling. Just that, somewhere along the way, things changed. We're still best friends, but..."
"I know," Duo nodded. He slipped free of Heero and joined him on the bench, leaning against his shoulder and reclasping their hands. "I don't know for sure what to call it either. I know what I'd like to call it - but I'm a little bit afraid to try and pin it down like that...
"I always thought that someday I'd just meet someone and boom, just like that, I'd know I was in love. This... this is different. It just sort of snuck up on me. There's definitely love in there - but there's a lotta different kinds of love... And there's definitely attraction too. And a whole lotta other stuff besides that."
Duo fell silent for a few minutes before finally saying, "Does it really matter what we call it? Why not just enjoy it... Explore what we're feeling a little... Take our time. There's no rush, no deadline. If it seems like things are moving too fast, getting out of control, we can just slow down again."
Heero sighed, "Okay."
For quite some time, they simply sat there on the bench, leaning against one another. Enjoying each other's company without the awkwardness that had been interfering lately.
The sounds of the wedding reception were faintly audible in the distance, muted by the steady murmur of the pond's waterfall. The frogs started up their croaking again now that the area was quiet. Occasionally, there would be a small splash from the fish in the pond.
Duo thought about suggesting another kiss. But really - he wasn't too sure that either of them were ready for that tonight. Instead, he slipped his hand out of Heero's and wrapped his arm around Heero's waist. After a moment, Heero slid an arm around him as well, drawing the two of them just a bit closer together.
No, he didn't think a kiss was necessary right now. 'This is pretty nice just like it is...'
TBC...
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