Author: Zazu
Rating: PG
Warning: AU
Pairing: 1+2+1
Summary: Heero and Duo's new reason for enjoying morning runs.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, nor do I own the characters. I have borrowed them here for some fun and creativity, and this is not for profit. I do, however, own the plot mentioned here and any instances that you may find similar to real life events are purely a coincidence.
Author's Note: Beta-read by Deb!
Running into You
Heero woke three minutes before the alarm clock rang, as he did every morning. Switching off the clock, he stretched and yawned, running a hand through his unruly hair before he padded to the bathroom to perform his morning duties. Emerging from his room some time later, he drank a glass of water and snagged his keys before he slipped into his running shoes and headed out for his daily run. He expected to be home in an hour, enough time for him to shower and get dressed for his first class of the day.
Crossing through the gates into the large park close by, he felt his heart beat a little faster, not only because he had been running for some time, but because he could always expect to see something...someone, in the park despite the early hour. Sure, there were many others; people walking their dogs, other runners and joggers and morning exercisers, but they weren't the one Heero hoped to spot. Slowing to a jog, Heero continued to look ahead; searching for the person he'd seen every day on his daily run for the past three months. Maybe today he'd have the courage to speak up, if the opportunity arose.
It was odd though; he was three quarters of the way through the park and he had yet to come across the other runner. Turning around he jogged backwards, scanning the area in case he had missed his daily glimpse of the runner.
~*~
Duo breathed in the morning air; he could smell the rain on the ground from the night before. Rather, it was the rain from the earlier hours of the morning; he knew because the sound of the raindrops against his window had awoken him. Still, it had stopped, which gave Duo enough reason to go for his daily run. He never went when it was raining too hard; the rain always mussed up his hair. He'd only moved into town three months ago, having transferred to the local school along with his only aunt. He was in his senior year and hadn't wanted to move, but his aunt had gotten a promotion which required a transfer and Duo knew that the promotion meant a lot to his aunt.
Of course, at first it had helped to find the park, somewhere for Duo to do his daily run without the smog of traffic and having to stop at every traffic light, (of course, they always turned red when he reached them and he looked strange jogging on the spot), but within the week he'd found something else making his morning run worthwhile.
Eye-candy for exercising motivation; to Duo Maxwell, exercise couldn't get any better. Today, however, was a little different; he'd promised his classmate that he'd go to school a little earlier to go over a couple math questions before their quiz in first period. There hadn't been any reason to get up earlier for his morning run; he wouldn't see those piercing blue eyes anyway; the other runner clearly kept as strict a schedule as Duo himself.
Slipping his water bottle from the belt at his waist, Duo twisted open the cap and poured the water into his mouth. Tipping his head up as the sun filtered through a cloud, Duo sighed; in a minute he would have to head back and forego the chance of spotting the other runner today. Tomorrow, he promised himself, he'd see the other runner. Hey, maybe they'd even get a chance to talk or something and become jogging partners.
Maybe more than running partners.
Turning around, Duo decided to give it another two minutes. It meant he'd have to skip the jog and do a run all the way back home, but it didn't really matter. A minute later, the sound of odd footsteps had him frowning a little, trying to distinguish what it was. Turning around, Duo's eyes widened when he saw someone running backwards and closing in fast.
"Hey!"
The figure whirled too late and collided with Duo, the momentum causing the two people to fall. Duo's water bottle spilled onto himself, some of the water flying upwards as he fell.
"I'm sorry!" The other person shifted, lifting a head with damp hair up from Duo's chest. Duo came eye to eye with the blue eyes he had just been thinking about. He tried to reply, but found himself too winded. Mr. Blue-eyes scrambled up and quickly offered a hand.
"Just a sec," Duo gasped, shifting up onto his elbow as he tried to catch his breath. He was winded from the impact of falling, and the knowledge that he'd literally run into the person that served his motivation to do a morning run every day. Mr. Blue-eyes was a little flushed but Duo reasoned that it could have been from running. Tugging his wet shirt from his chest, Duo shifted and accepted the offered hand.
"I'm really sorry. I should have been watching where I was going."
"It's all right," Duo replied. "Fancy actually running into you, Mr. Blue-eyes." Mentally, he smacked himself for letting his mouth slip.
Lips quirked. "The name is Heero Yuy...I think I ran into you."
"Duo Maxwell," Duo replied. "Don't worry about it."
They stared at each other for a long moment before Duo suddenly looked down at his waist-belt, lifting the attached watch. "Shit, I'm going to be late." He looked up and grinned a little. "So, I'll see you around the park?" he asked as he capped his bottle.
"Every morning," Heero replied.
"Okay. Have a good day!" With that, Duo turned and ran towards home. Turning around, he waved at the still-standing Heero before he faced forward again and turned up the speed.
Exercise did get better he thought as he ran; it does when your eye-candy motivation and you could become running partners. Eventually, maybe more than that, but for now, running partners was good enough for him.
~*~
Heero could have smacked himself for not paying attention to where he was going, but once he saw who he had run into, he was immediately grateful that he'd been taking one last scan before turning around. In his mind, he could still hear the startled yell before he had collided with a firm, toned body.
The water that had spilled onto the white t-shirt had further emphasized the toned body, causing Heero to gulp and rein in his hormones. When his eyes met the face of the person he'd run into, his heart almost stopped.
He'd hoped for a chance to meet the runner he'd seen every day, and now he'd literally run into him.
Names were exchanged and all too quickly, Heero was watching the other young man run in the opposite direction. A braid swung about in motion, making Heero's hand itch to touch it.
He turned when Duo had disappeared from sight and tugged at the back of his shirt. It was originally damp with his sweat, but some of the water from Duo's bottle had flown up and landed on his back.
It was almost like sharing a drink.
Heero shook his head to clear it as he picked up his pace and ran towards his own home.
It was a little too early to be thinking about things like shared drinks.
But Heero was happy to begin with sharing his morning run.
OWARI
Back to Zazu's Fanfictions Page