Author: Jei
Warnings: Duo develops quite the potty mouth when he's agitated.
Pairings: 1+2
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Drama around a six-pack. A shift in the new year.
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
New Year's Shift
Heero stifled his yawn as he rang the doorbell, doing a quick little shakedown of his posture to make sure he looked ready to hang out before Duo opened the door. He ritually presented the six-pack of beer he held before being let into the apartment. "Hey. What's on tap tonight?"
"Hm?" Duo blinked at him first, then over to the silent TV. "Oh, man, I surfed the schedules, but it's all crap. And to make it worse, it's like half crap we've already seen. I think the stations are still trying to recover from the holidays. Thought we'd do a backup plan tonight."
"Sounds good to me." He set the six-pack down on the dinner table and seated himself casually in one of the chairs. "Sorry I couldn't make dinner today."
Duo took a plate he'd left on the table and brought it over to the kitchen sink. 'Yeah, well you should know better than to take the New Year's shift. You know you'll have to catch up on all the crap that's been piling up."
Heero shrugged. "Someone has to do it."
"Yeah, but most people are smart enough to slack on that shift and let everyone else deal with their own shit when they come in on Monday."
He shrugged again, this time with a slight smile. "Not my MO."
"People will take advantage of that, man." Duo's expression darkened for a moment before he wiped it from his face. "You ate, right? Otherwise--"
"I'm covered, thanks."
"Oh." Duo put down the loaf of bread he'd half picked up, then fussed with a couple of apples, standing them up straight and neat.
Heero leaned an elbow on the table top and rested his chin in his hand, watching Duo for a few seconds before speaking up with a somewhat bemused expression on his face. "What's up?"
"Huh?"
"You're fidgeting. Something's on your mind."
"Am not." He slid the cup in his hand into the cupboard and shut the door behind it with a defiant air. "A guy can clean up once in a while."
"On a Friday night? Our Friday night?"
"Hey, maybe I thought you just needed some time to settle in or something. You look tired, and I know you got home late last night."
Heero shook his head. "Hanging out is settling in, not sitting down and zoning out by myself. I have tomorrow off, anyway. It's no big deal."
"I mean, if you want to just go home and catch some z's--"
"No," he answered firmly. "You want to tell me what's on your mind?"
"Nothing," Duo replied with more obstinance than not. "Sorry for giving a shit."
There was no arguing when he got this way. Heero knew that. Luckily, he also knew he could outwait Duo with some degree of success. Resigned to not finding out what the problem was at this time, he stood and stretched a little. "So what's the backup plan?"
Duo stared at him for second. "Oh, well I thought we could -- man, just what the hell, Yuy?"
Heero blinked at the sudden change in tone. "I beg your pardon?"
Annoyance was written plainly across Duo's face and in his posture. "Just... what the hell?"
Blinking again seemed appropriate once more.
Duo rubbed his hand across his face in frustration before hardening his stance. He marched right up to Heero and growled. "You know what Quatre said to me today?"
Blink. "Wha--"
"He told me to stop hurting you. Me." He waved his fingers at himself. "Stop hurting you." He jabbed his finger at the middle of Heero's chest. "Now what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
Heero's somewhat bewildered smile froze. "...You may have to ask Quatre--"
"I did ask Quatre. Know what he said?"
"I--"
"He said he knew I didn't mean it, but either way, I had better get my head out of my ass and do something about it." His fingers applied more force this time to Heero's sternum, pushing him back a step against the table. "Now what the hell did he mean by that, huh?"
"I--"
"What the hell does he know that I don't?!"
Heero took a breath to try to get a word in edgewise, but once it became clear that Duo was going to give him the space to do it, he exhaled and took the opportunity to consider his words more carefully. "Duo...." He paused, reached out a hand without breaking eye contact and groped for the cardboard carry-box beside him. His hand came back with a beer and managed to get it between them.
Duo's eyes narrowed before he snatched the bottle, twisted the cap off with a semi-violent gesture and chugged a good third of the beer within. "Don't think you just got out of telling me, Yuy."
He had entertained no such thought. He was simply glad to have gotten Duo to back up a couple of steps. "I just think there's no need to be so... agitated."
"Agitated? Do not even get me started on agitated, Yuy." Duo took a more moderate swig of his beer this time, but his glare was not abated in any way. "So 'fess up."
Heero nonchalantly stepped to the side to give himself room to back up without hitting something, just in case. "It's... not that important."
The force of Duo's glare multiplied. "Not. That. Important? You didn't deny it, Yuy. So just tell me what the fuck?"
He sighed. "He shouldn't have said anything."
"You're still not telling me."
"It's... you shouldn't be bothered by it."
Duo grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him. "Shouldn't be bothered by it?! I find out that apparently I'm 'hurting' my friend somehow, and you think I shouldn't be bothered by it? That it's not important?! What the hell kind of person do you take me for?"
Heero's eyes widened. "I didn't mean--"
"Yeah, well apparently, I don't mean to, either, but that doesn't change a goddamn thing, now does it?"
"Duo..." He touched the hand gripping his shirt and coaxed Duo into lowering it.
Duo backed off again and closed his eyes for a moment as he took a deep breath. "Just tell me, dammit. You should tell me these things, Yuy. I know you've got this 'just suck it up and deal with it' attitude, but come on, man. If I'm doing something to hurt you, I wanna know. You think I...? What the hell kind of person...?" He shook his head sharply. "You'd be happier if I just dropped this, wouldn't you?"
After a moment of hesitance, Heero nodded a bit ruefully.
"Yeah, well, tough luck. Someone tells me I'm hurting one of my best buddies, and you don't want to tell me what I can do to fix it. Don't be so cruel, man. Have some pity on the poor guy and tell me what I'm doing to him."
Heero pondered the request in a silence made tense by the way Duo drank casually from the bottle in his hand while staring fixedly at him. A long minute slid by before he finally spoke. "For the record, I just want to reiterate that he shouldn't have said anything. Quatre should not have said anything."
Duo's response came swiftly. "Yeah, he should have. Actually, you should have."
"Fine," he conceded grudgingly. He wasn't really agreeing so much as moving on. "Maybe I should have. But it wasn't his place to do it for me."
"Yeah, okay, fine, whatever. I can get pissed at him later. Just tell me already."
"As long as we're clear that--"
"Yeah, okay! Sheesh!" Duo nearly splashed the beer out of his bottle with his wide gesturing and set the bottle down on the table to avert making a mess. The force he used in doing so nearly caused another errant splash. "I get that you think this is a bad idea, okay? I take full responsibility for forcing you to tell me. Okay? Good enough?"
"I..." Heero started confidently, but ran out of steam rather quickly. He stared somewhat blankly at Duo as he tried to find the words to continue.
Duo made an exasperated sound. "Okay. Fine. Let me start you off. Let's start with last night's party. Good party, wasn't it?" He waited patiently for Heero's slow nod. "Yeah, Trowa knows how to throw 'em. Booze, streamers, good times for all, yeah? Chilling with friends, counting down the seconds, letting loose. Remember that?"
Heero nodded again, even more slowly than the last.
"Okay. About half hour later, you take off 'cuz you had to go to work today. Said you enjoyed yourself, though, and looked it, too. And then Quatre butts his nose into things. So what went wrong?"
He licked his lips a little nervously. "Nothing went wrong, Duo." The glare he received in response was vicious. He looked down at his socks for a few seconds to steel himself. "You just... through no fault of your own... have no idea how much I wanted to kiss you right then. When that clock hit midnight."
Duo sat down abruptly, his eyes wide. He bumped the table with his hip on his way to the chair, causing it to scrape harshly a few centimeters across the floor.
Heero peeked up at him through his bangs. "Obviously, I'm very right about that."
"Uh... You...?"
He smiled wryly. "Like I said, it shouldn't bother you. Quatre shouldn't have said anything."
If it had been Heero's intent to say something that would spur Duo into action, he was successful. Duo surged out of his seat to grab the front of Heero's shirt again and give him another good shake. After some incoherent spluttering, he shook Heero again. "Goddammit, Yuy! Why the hell do you keep things like this to yourself?"
He was unable to keep another edged smile from his lips. "Just my nature, I suppose."
"When you know... you know damn well I've been looking... It's not like I'm not available! God damn it all, Yuy, why the hell wouldn't you have just said something?"
With a sense of déjà vu, Heero reached up to loosen Duo's hands from his shirt again. "You've... never seemed interested."
"What?" Duo's tone slid further into incredulity, which to Heero was far better than more irritation and outrage. "How could I be interested if you never let me know there was something to be interested in? It's not like you ever flirted with me or something."
"Yes, I did."
The way he said it, sort of quickly and quietly and glancing to the side as he did, made Duo pause. "...I don't remember that."
Heero continued to find something fascinating just over Duo's shoulder. "...You thought I was practicing."
"...Now that you mention it..."
"...And then you tried to give me pointers."
There was a moment of blissful non-recollection before the memory sprang on him and sank its teeth in. He winced. "Um, yeah, okay. I think I remember now. Ouch."
Heero shrugged it off. "Not really a bad response, compared to the other possibilities."
Duo felt compelled to defend himself, and strangely, Heero as well. "Well, I didn't mean like you totally sucked at it or something. I think I just thought it sounded like, well, like something you might say if you were trying to pick up your guy friend or something, and not something you could use on that hot chick at the bar."
Heero's shoulder moved in a short, silent chuckle. "For good reason," he said softly.
"...For good reason," Duo echoed to himself, thinking through all the ramifications.
Heero gave him a good half minute before he shrugged and stretched a little. "Well. It's getting late. I guess I should be going." He hesitated. "I'll... see you next time, Duo."
Only silence trailed him out the door. He got down the stairs and out the front of the building before he finally let himself release his breath loudly, but before he could contemplate his next move, his cell phone rang. He fished it absently out of his pocket and answered automatically. "Hello?"
"You get your ass back up here right now, Yuy! You hear me?"
He turned his head slowly and glanced up to the window of Duo's apartment. Duo was standing in the window, blinds shoved to the side so he could throw out an annoyed expression that made it down to sidewalk level. They locked stares for a few seconds. "Loud and clear," Heero answered, snapping his phone shut. With Duo's glare watching him the whole time, he didn't have time to hesitate outside.
Inside was no better. Duo was waiting in the hall, door open, arms crossed. He pointed inside his apartment, and after Heero entered obediently, he nearly slammed the door shut behind them. Then he redirected his finger to point at the sofa. "You're not going anywhere. Now you just sit there and shut up until I figure this out."
Heero sat. He opened his mouth to speak, but upon seeing Duo's stern expression, he subsided. After two minutes of watching Duo pace, he reached out to the coffee table in front of him. A second, opened bottle of beer sat there next to Duo's cell phone. Heero helped himself.
It took a minute for Duo to notice. It was followed by another five seconds of staring. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
He met Duo's look evenly. "Thought maybe I'd want to be drunk for this."
Duo knew damn well that Heero pretty much only drank to humor him, and that Heero rather surprisingly wasn't very good at holding his liquor, especially when he was tired. After another silent contest of wills, he marched over, snatched the beer, and chugged the rest. "If anyone gets to be drunk, it's gonna be me."
"Want me to get you another one?"
"No! I want you to...!" He cut off his words with a harsh shake of his head, unable to even articulate what it was he wanted when he had no clue himself.
Heero sank a centimeter lower in his seat with an almost petulant air. "Told you I shouldn't have said anything."
With an explosive sigh, Duo collapsed onto the sofa next to him. "Goddammit, Yuy. You've always said, what was it, you're what girls always call 'emotionally unavailable'?"
He nodded.
"Because of me?"
"Well, depending on how you look at it. Even if I didn't have you, I'd probably still be 'emotionally unavailable'."
Duo caught himself gritting his teeth and made the conscious effort to stop. "I'll take that as a yes. And I've been... hurting you because I've been totally oblivious?"
Heero shrugged. "Not really. You know Quatre's a little drama queen. Especially when he's been drinking." When all he heard from Duo was a few more splutters and aborted responses, he sighed, letting out a hint of frustration. "Look, it's my business whether I love you or not. My business, and mine alone. You really, really don't need to be bothered by it. I'm not going to impose anything on you."
Duo held up a finger again, this time in warning. "Don't go throwing around the L word so casually, man."
His eyes chose Duo's cell phone to settle on. "...You know I don't do casual very well, Duo."
"...Well, fuck." Duo flopped back on the couch. "Get me another beer, Yuy. Hell, get one for yourself, too. Hell, just bring the whole damn pack."
Heero made the right decision and did as he was told.
With another half bottle of beer in his belly, Duo shook his head. "You are such a fucked up little shit, you know that?"
"I would phrase it a little differently, but--"
"I mean, me? Me, of all people? Damn, but you're not right in the head. You're just not right."
Heero carefully wiped a drop of condensation off the bottom of his bottle before it had a chance to drip and dried his finger on his pants. "Maybe."
Duo glanced sideways at him before banging his head lightly against the back cushion of the sofa. "Fuck, I'm not doing a very good job of fixing the not-hurting part, am I?"
"You don't need to fix anything, Duo," Heero assured him quietly. "I understand that things aren't that simple. Things like this... don't just get 'fixed'."
"Holy fucking shit."
They sat in a silence that was strangely more comfortable now, but in no way did it resemble a good settling point. "Sorry I broke your brain," Heero offered.
Duo waved the apology off. "Nah, not like you didn't warn me. You warned me. Damn. Remind me to listen to you next time." His next swig of beer was a distraction. The next after that was thoughtful. "So, when you said 'kiss', did you mean, like, goddamn he's hot and I wanna jump his bones'? Or...?"
Heero half-shrugged. It would have come off as just a bit shy, if Duo had been watching instead of staring at his beer. "He's happy. I'm happy... he's happy."
"Oh." Duo couldn't decide how he wanted to parse that, but one thing seemed clear. "You're a simple guy, Heero."
"I try to be."
"I'm... not."
"Not usually."
"You've got crappy taste."
"No, I don't."
Duo couldn't readily think of something to say to that.
A little bit later, there were five empty beer bottles sitting in a neat little clump in the middle of Duo's coffee table. Heero's feet sat on the table as well, a safe distance away from them while their owner snoozed.
Duo's feet were busy pacing the living room. They stopped every once in a while to allow their owner to look over at Heero. Duo alternated between staring and glaring, unable to decide which one he wanted to stick with. His feet eventually decided that he wanted to be in closer proximity to Heero, and they carried him over haltingly to Heero's side.
He sat gingerly on the edge of the sofa, turned toward Heero, and couldn't stop his hand from rising to touch Heero's cheek experimentally. He watched in fascination as Heero responded unconsciously with lazy nuzzling. It was only after the warm fuzzies hit him in the gut that he remembered he wasn't supposed to be enjoying it like this. He pulled his hand away quickly. Heero's nose wrinkled grumpily, but he didn't wake.
Duo threw himself back into more pacing, his thoughts cavorting wildly around him. They appeared to be having a great time, much to Duo's disgust. After they had thoroughly repelled each and every one of his attempts to settle them down, he scowled and dropped down heavily on the sofa. He was unbalanced enough that he landed more closely to Heero than he had anticipated.
The impact woke Heero with a start and a sleepy sound. "Huh?"
"I'm drunker than I thought," Duo muttered to himself. A lightbulb turned on in the distance. "Yeah, yeah, that's it. I'm drunk. Drunk off my ass. Totally incapacitated. Off my rocker. I'm thoroughly drunk and not responsible for my actions. Right?"
"Um. Right?"
"Right." He nodded firmly. The room didn't tilt on its axis as he did so, but he pretended that it did.
"Oh." Heero yawned. "Am I drunk, too?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever," he answered distractedly, still concentrating on willing himself into a drunken stupor.
"Good." Heero gave him a half hug with the arm previously draped over the back of the sofa and pulled him close to lay a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Good night," he murmured, shortly before settling back in and falling asleep.
Duo's eyes stayed wide and unblinking long enough for them to start to sting. When he realized it, he blinked hard, as if he wanted reality to reassert itself. Reality failed to comply. "Ah, fuck it," he muttered to himself. 'Fine, whatever. This is me totally refusing to take any responsibility for the actions of my body tonight. You hear that, body? You're on your own. I'm just going to go over there and sulk in the corner.' He put his mental fingers in his mental ears and started humming a mental tune very loudly. His body was not particularly disturbed by this turn of events, and in fact took advantage of the fact that his mind had taken a leave of absence to relax into a tipsy daze against his dozing companion's side.
He mentally rolled his eyes and kept the humming up until he finally fell asleep.
OWARI
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