Moments of Haven Part 112
First Date
It was because he had his eyes admiring Heero as the man stretched that he noted the unexpected blemish on one of those fine arms. He waited for those arms to be lowered before he pointed accusingly at the mark. "Hey, that one's not mine. You been cheating on me, Heero?"
"Excuse me?" Heero looked blankly at him for a couple of seconds before he looked down at his arm to see what Duo was talking about. "The bruise?"
"Yeah." Duo's answer was teasingly belligerent, up until he started having second thoughts. "Um. Well, not that I'm bragging about putting bruises on you or anything, because, you know, abusive relationships suck, so don't take this the wrong way, but... hey, if anyone's gonna put bruises on you, it's gonna be me."
Heero raised his eyebrow.
"I mean, not that I want to put bruises on you. Not that I have any right to. Because you totally have the right to stand up for yourself and... um..." Duo spied the suppressed smile in the corner of Heero's mouth and whacked him on the shoulder, conscientiously avoiding the site of the bruise in question. "Oh shut up."
Heero just shrugged and waited until the corners of his mouth returned to their regular position before he made his reassuring answer. "You're the only one that ever managed to score a bullet in me during the war."
Duo grinned and held up two fingers. "Twice, baby, and don't you forget it."
"And you lay claim to me and my skin," he further rationalized on Duo's behalf. "And, I suppose, the capillaries beneath that skin. So you just want to protect your territory."
"Yeah, that's it." He ran his fingers down the skin of Heero's arm, surveying his domain. "Only it sounded a lot sexier before you got to the capillary part."
Heero wasn't sure why. Maybe he had gotten too specific and had to pull back a notch? "The blood in my veins? That runs through my heart?"
"Okay, now that's not sexy. That's just romantic bullshit."
Alright, try again. This time, with more sex. "The blood that powers my erection?"
Duo had only the time for a blink before he exploded into a guffaw. Since Heero was conveniently standing right next to him, he used him as a support, or perhaps slightly more than a support since he draped himself liberally over him. "Okay, I like where you're going with that one."
Heero smiled with a smug satisfaction.
Speaking of blood rushing south... Duo pulled himself off his partner with an effort and got back to the point. "I know this one is mine." He fingered the bruise from last week, nearly gone now except for a few odd spots. Then his hand slid over to the discolored spot a few centimeters over, just starting to discolor. "This one is fresh. One of your kids score a hit on you? Or was that a valid block?"
"A valid block, thank you very much." The kids were good, growing especially well under his tutelage... but not that good.
"Do you...?" Duo trailed off, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Hmm?"
He shook his head. "Let's get going."
The light jog out to the community rec center was just more warm-up for them. They passed the twenty or so minutes in companionable silence, breathing in the cool night air and sleepy suburban atmosphere. With the far superior Preventers facilities at their disposal most weekdays, they didn't come out here as often, but there was something to be said about the more intimate environment, and the chance to wind down after a long day.
They were, as expected, the only ones there that night. As planned, they headed over to the mats and dropped their bag on the edge. Their light jackets followed shortly, and they squared off across from each other in the center of the padded ring.
Duo asked a question he had not asked before. "You do this every day. You sure you want to do this now?"
Heero did not even bother lowering his guard. "I -teach- every day, Duo. I don't spar. Besides... I thought we needed the practice." He ended his sentence with the slightest uptick in inflection, shading it with questioning undertones.
"Yeah, I know..." A firming of his stance indicated that Duo put the matter behind him and was prepared to begin.
They exchanged hesitant blows at first, looking to find a rhythm. After a couple of teasing feints, Duo pulled back for a moment to laugh nervously. "I feel like we're on a first date or something."
It didn't take Heero too much time to process that since he hadn't gotten into the zone yet himself. He let out a tense chuckle in agreement. "Yes, that's one way of putting it." His head cocked to the side as he considered it. "Did we ever have one of those?"
"What, a first date? Not really." Duo's grin was lopsided. "This gonna be it?"
"This?" His initial response was to answer negatively, of course, but a few seconds of thought led him to reconsider. "I get to go home with you tonight?"
"Hey, I don't go all the way on a first date. Now if I like you, you might score some goodnight kisses from me." He laughed again, this time feeling much more comfortable. "But you're gonna have to prove yourself to me first, buddy-boy."
The banter was familiar. It spread to their sparring. Increased confidence had them picking up speed, though experience had them admitting to themselves that they were keeping things light deliberately.
The comfort lasted a few rounds, but in time, Heero took a step back between exchanges. "You're distracted.'
Duo could have argued the point, but on the mats, that kind of effort seemed a waste of breath. Heero wasn't accusing him of a poor performance. There was nothing to get prickly over. The statement of fact was merely an accurate statement of fact. He tried to shrug it off. "Meh, you know. Got a lot of stuff buzzing around in there tonight." He gestured vaguely at his head. "Just one of those nights."
"Need help purging it?"
"Isn't that what this is?" He went for a quick jab.
The strike was deflected, and Heero did not move for a follow up. "No, that's just putting it off for another time.'
Duo dropped out of a ready position. "It really needs to be put off for another time. Got a lot of contradictory things going on in there. Nothing to worry about yet. Just sit back and let it simmer for a bit. It'll be done when it's done."
"Do I at least get a preview?"
Maybe just a taste. Heero had a little something to do with it all, so maybe that entitled him to a little something. He picked through the ingredients in his mind and found a few crumbs to offer. "Do you... Can you see yourself doing this every day?"
"Doing what?"
"Like... the whole teaching thing and stuff. And not, you know, just daily, but... over and over. I'm... I don't know where I am on it yet. It's not bad so far, but I kind of think I'd go crazy if I had to do it day in and day out, no end in sight. Hell, I'd probably go crazy doing anything that's the same, day in and day out. Well, except maybe you. I could do you day in and day out. ...In... and out..." He blinked away the visions that sprang to mind. "Ahem. Sorry, got distracted there."
Heero sported a faint smile on his lips, amusement tinged with bewilderment. "You're in an interesting mood tonight."
"Yeah, maybe. I'm..." He sighed. "Like I said. I don't have answers yet. I like the regularity, I don't like the regularity. I want to do something more exciting, I don't want to do something more exciting. I wanna... don't wanna. Just wondering where the future will go, I guess. Classes are winding down. It's been a blast, and I wouldn't mind teaching another one. Just maybe... well, I don't know what. Don't push me."
"I'm not."
Oh fine, the simple response forced him to acknowledge that it was the simple truth. "Do you... do you wonder, too?"
The moment of silence before the small nod convinced Duo of the sincerity of the answer. "I do. Probably in a slightly more organized and philosophical way than you do... but I do."
Duo smiled for him. "And one day soon, maybe we'll wonder together. But not quite yet. I've still got some prep work to get done before that day rolls around." Considering that to be the end of the matter, he settled his feet back into position for another round.
Heero wasn't quite done yet. He stayed contemplative for a few extra seconds before sharing the thought that struck him. "Do you think... we'll wonder in the same direction?"
"I... was avoiding that possibility." He let his shoulders slump a little bit. "But... do you think it'll be okay?"
Heero looked him up and down and in the eye before nodding. "It'll be okay."
Duo didn't consider himself to be the kind of guy that required comfort and security, but the comfort and security that Heero doled out in droves with just that expression on his face made him think that maybe he didn't require it, but there was nothing wrong with wrapping himself up in it and hunkering down, right? "We'll make it okay."
Heero nodded again, confident in their ability to align the future with their wishes. They'd done it once, they could do it again, this time with the advantage of scale on their side. "We'll make it okay."
"Good. We... Good." Instead of finishing his thought, he opted instead for holding his fist out.
Heero looked at it for a couple of seconds before he figured out what he was supposed to do. He sealed the deal with a bump of their knuckles.
"Okay, then." Duo took a deep breath and let it out loudly. "Now that I'm all undistracted for the moment... we gotta get back to your interview."
Interview? Oh. "I have to leave you in good enough shape to give me those good night kisses, you know."
"You totally lose if you throw the match."
"I don't think I'm at an advantage here."
"Consider it a part of the interview: judging how well you overcome adversity. Come on, now. Let's fight."
OWARI
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