He goes running

AN: I really don't know what to say about this fic, it kinda had its way with me. I try to guide it, but it does its own thing. Bah!

Warning: there may or may not be a hint of Yuri later. I'm still deciding. 1x2 Ref to 1x6


Duo POV

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I rose just before sunrise, as I had the day before. Opening the door to the porch, I took a deep breath of sea air, and watched as the sky grew lighter, sharp pinks and oranges chasing away the purples and blue remaining from the Tahitian night. The sunrises here are absolutely breathtaking.

While my companions in the next room slept off the alcoholic haze of last night, they missed heaven unveiling itself before me. There was really only one thing lacking that would make the scenery perfect, and if yesterday was any kind of pattern…yeah, here he comes.

And there was the main reason the girls in the next room were completely unwelcome in my suite at this moment, that and their ability to talk endlessly without stopping for air. He was perfection, running shirtless across the sands. The early morning sunlight was just beginning to put the slightest sheen on his muscular chest.

The beach house we were staying in was close enough to the beach that I could see every crease of hard muscle churning under the passerby’s body weight as his workout carried him away from my doorway. This is only my second morning on this island, but I’d already found my mission during my stay here: find out everything there is to know about this beach god, and arrange a meeting. It’ll take some work; I mean, I don’t even know his name. I don’t know if he’d be interested in me; hell, I don’t even know if he’s interested in men. For all I know, he’s as straight as a ruler’s edge, but there’s only one way to find out. And if he is straight, then I’ll set him up with one of the girls.

Hilde and Noin are my closest friends, so when they were stressed out from their jobs and the harsh winter weather, I suggested a vacation. One month later, here we are, spending the first week of February in Tahiti. None of us has a special someone to worry about, so alerting their bosses that they were cashing in their unspent vacation time from the last year was the only thing that kept us from the beach.

Lucrezia Noin is a bit frugal, and complained about not having had time to save for the trip. Hilde and I knew her too well for that to work, though. We just offered to cover for Lu if she needed extra cash; thing is, she’s been saving her entire life. Her savings account is more padded than ours. The offer did it. Her independent streak took offense, and here we are.

My job? Nah, I’m my own boss, and I make my own schedule. I’m the epitome of the computer geek, and I dabble in just about everything. I create software programs for companies; I lend myself out as a tech as needed. I even run security for a couple of pretty big corporations. Nothing big there, I just whipped up a program that is a nightmare for potential hackers. I check my own work by trying to hack in and making adjustments to the program as new developments arise. I love my work.

But the girls needed a little r&r, and I didn’t mind the thought of sprawling on a beach instead of burrowing into a coat, so here we are. Last night we hit the bars, partying like we were in college again; granted, we are only a few years out, so its not much of a stretch. The girls decided to sleep in, and knowing them…I’d lose a limb if I tried to wake them before lunch. No big, though. I don’t need a whole lot of sleep to function, and I’m a sucker for an oceanic sunrise.

The prince of the beach is just a bonus, a gorgeous incentive to wake up.

Yesterday morning, I hung around a few minutes to see if he’d pass back by on a return trip or if what I saw was the return trip. This morning, I was up earlier, and I saw no footprints as evidence of a previous passing, so I’m assuming I didn’t hang around long enough yestermorn. Like that? Yeah, I tend to make up words occasionally. Shakespeare did it, why can’t I? As long as I get the major point across, right? Plus, Hilde and Lu tend to get a kick out of teasing me for it. Now apparently instead of just saying fictional words, I think in them, too. Fun.

Well, I’ve had my fun admiring the scenery while standing by in the doorway. Now its time to see if I can be scenery for the current object of my obsession. How? Well, I normally start my day with a routine that settles my spirit a bit. I tend to be a bit hyper at times, so I’ll wake up and perform a yoga routine or go through a tai chi form. Its great for the body as well. I’ve really toned up, not that I ever had a problem in that department, but it lets me center and start the day right.

Normally these exercises are done within the confines of my living room, but I think it would be very beneficial to practice with the sound of the surf echoing my movements.

And if beach boy happens to return, then maybe I can get a better gauge of him. I might even be able to see what hotel he is staying in. It’d be easier to stalk him if I had a better scope of the situation, more information needed.

I threw on a tee shirt with the sleeves cut out and a pair of loose swim trunks that hung low on my hip bones and fell to just above my knees. I have great legs, they are actually two of my favorite body parts, but guys wearing extremely short shorts in America means either you’re over fifty or gay. I definitely fall in the latter category, but I do not like to advertise openly to anyone interested. It saves me a lot of trouble, and usually a fist fight or two. Plus, the girls tend to tease me about showing too much skin. They are just jealous that I have better legs than them, and I don’t even have to shave. Ha!

Anyways, I became the picture of casual beach wear and trotted out to the beach. Yeah, I said trotted; I’m sure you’ll deal with it.

So here I find myself, staring out across the blue horizon, feeling the sun begin to bear down on me. I took a couple of deep breaths, stripped the shirt off my shoulders, and assumed the correct posture to begin. I decided to do a tai chi routine this morning in the sands because yoga, while incredibly great for flexibility and static strength, is not something I want to do on the beach without a couple of towels between me and the grains of sand.

In my hurry to get to the sands before my beach boy returned, I forgot a towel. Tai chi is like a really slow kata. I’ve never officially researched it, but I think it’s a form of Kung Fu, its focus is internal, channeling and controlling the energy of the body in a slow progression of body movements.

And you stay on your feet, very handy on the beach when you’re towelless. Another fictional word, yeah…don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I concentrated on the feel of my body moving through the salty air with sounds of sea in accompaniment. I felt my bare feet sink into the sands and the energy of my body and surroundings infuse my being.

So intoned with the inner senses was I, that I almost missed his return. Correction: I would have missed his return had he not tripped and landed on his face in front of me.

There’s one sequence of movement in the form where your foot takes a big, dragging step backwards and you pivot until it becomes your front foot, and you essentially end up in a really deep lunge. Its an incredibly difficult sequence especially when paired with the next movement, and it just so happens that it’ll dig up a pretty big mound of sand. A mound that, for whatever reason, caused the object of my obsession to land almost quite literally in my lap. Yippee!

I snapped out of my trance-like state, almost tripping over myself to get to him. Granted, I’m not quite sure whether my intention was to help him up or pin him down. Rawr! But it turns out that it didn’t matter because he was on his feet before I made my mind up.

“Oh, hey! Sorry about that, are you ok?” I asked congenially. I stuck a hand out to help him up then felt pretty stupid when he just looked at it because the action was too late and he was already standing. I guess I’m processing at sub par speeds.

“I’m fine.” Lordy! His voice was sexy, deep, and rumbled through my body like I was dancing too close to the speakers at a club.

He turned around and resumed jogging. I scrambled to think of something else to say and came up short. I was really depressed until I looked down and spotted something in the sand.

Something close to elation shot through me as I picked up what could only be his hotel key card.

“Hey! Hey, you dropped your key!” I shouted and started walking towards him, careful not to meet the same fate in the turmoil of sand that surrounded me.

He stopped and turned back towards me. As he approached, I stuck my hand out again. “I’m Duo Maxwell.”

“Heero Yuy.” He shook my hand, transferring grains of sand from his earlier fall. It didn’t really matter; my hands got sand on them when I reached down to pick up his key.

Heh, I probably could have left that tidbit out, but I guess I was still pretty in-tune with my surroundings and their effect on me.

I handed him the key after noting which hotel he was staying in. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I said with an easy smile.

The god nodded and said, “Likewise.” Then he was on his way again.

And I was left admiring his ass as he continued down the beach. Giddy, I turned to head back inside, not even remembering until later that I hadn’t finished my morning routine. Now, I was itching to fire up my computer, do a bit of hacking into the Hotel Marquis’s guest list and find one: Heero Yuy.

As I walked over the sands back to my room, I brought up the image I was gifted with and went all gooey. God, he was gorgeous. Big blue eyes that speared me clean through. Blue-blue, not sky blue; yeah I know… weird way of describing it. His eyes were like the deepest blue the ocean gets, so blue its just short of black. I guess you could almost call them navy, but who has ever heard of navy eyes? Whatever you want to call the color, I wanted to fall into their depths and drown forever.

His face was beautiful. Golden skin, bronzed from the sun. Big, almond shaped eyes that gave me the clear idea that he was no native. Though, I guess I should have realized that with the hotel key; I already told you, I’m a bit slow this morning.

No, his heritage is eastern: Japanese, Vietnamese, or I even had a Filipino friend that had a similar bone structure. He was definitely not Chinese or Korean, I’ve had enough experience with the eastern cultures to recognize some versus others, but the best way to find out was just to ask. I know the old saying about what happens when you assume.

I entered my room and put an ear to the connecting door to see if the girls were stirring. Nothing, still out cold, so I fired up my computer and started searching.

Apparently, Mr. Yuy was here on business. Maybe my job wasn’t as good as his if it sent him to Tahiti. A little research into whose paying the bill let me know where to go. Turns out, my obsession is a lawyer for a man who owns several hotel chains. This man is looking into expanding his chain to our current location, so Heero is probably here to negotiate the sale of another hotel to be refurbished or torn down to make way for his client’s hotel of choice.

He had been here since Wednesday, but the meetings that had been set up weren’t set to begin until Monday. I guess the last few days had been spent scoping the beach front property and researching the successful locations and what not.

A lawyer? Yeah, my job is definitely better. But if I ever get caught hacking where I shouldn’t be, he would come in handy.

And best of the best: we live in the same state! His house is only about a two hour drive from mine. Yes, I looked. Maybe you don’t understand my level of interest; when I say “object of my obsession” I ain’t joking.

I’m not scary, stalker crazy or anything. Odds are, he’ll never even know what I’ve been up to the past half hour or so, but I fully intend to investigate his level of interest in me.

Closing out my searches, I jumped in the shower to rinse off really quick. I figured he’d be breakfasting about now (he had been running for at least an hour…that shit takes sustenance to do), but I was still a bit queasy from the alcohol consumed the night before.

The day was glorious, and it hadn’t really started yet. Most others seemed to be on island time because the beach was still pretty clear. I decided I’d wander a bit, let my feet carry me where they will. There were a couple of ideas floating around in my head on potential new computer games. I had come up with a few ideas that were incorporated into some RPG’s that hit the market and cleaned up. I got quite a bit of money for donating my ideas, and I confess, there were a few other ideas I’d come up with that I was sitting on. I told you; I’m the epitome of a computer geek. I wanted to design my own game, all on my own.

See if my ideas were good enough to stand alone. I’m pretty sure they were, but if they weren’t I still had the talent to make a living without it. But throwing ideas around, putting together this game kept me occupied.

So I re-braided my hair. Yeah, I said braided. I’ve always had long hair, and the reasons for that are none of your damn business. It tends to get in the way if I don’t braid it back. Plus, in this salty air with breezes blowing frequently, can you imagine how many knots I’d get? Not fun. I’ll probably get knots in my bangs, too, but I’m getting edgy. I gotta move, you know?

I threw on a pair of old jeans. They fit me really well, tight around the rear, but loose enough in the thighs that I could move freely without getting my balls caught in the denim crease. That is a very important trait in good jeans. The only draw back of them is that the old pair is a little too short. But I cut them off just below the knees and packed them. Perfect for the beach, right? I thought so. Add a pair of sandals and I’m on my way out the door again, my key in the back pocket.

I was shirtless again; the beach god did me the favor of running around shirtless. I figured I’d do the same, even if I wasn’t expecting to see him, a pay it forward type of thing. Plus, I was here to work on my tan, might as well get to it.

I found the edge of the ocean, where the waves find their max reach, and traveled the line in the surf. I let my mind wander making sure to keep my feet on that line. Once a bigger wave came up and soaked my sandals, so I stopped, took them off, and kept walking.

The sun began to hit me really hard, stinging the left side of my body, so I turned around and started walking back the way I came, balancing things out. I had no clue how far I’d walked, but I figured I had quite a ways before I got back if the singe in my skin had anything to tell me.

I lost myself in my thoughts again, trying to rearrange plot twists and align timelines the characters of this potential game would follow. I never wrote anything down; I didn’t really need to. Once I got things settled the way I liked them, I’d repeat what I’d accomplished in my mind until I had a chance to settle it on the computer.

So involved in my own thoughts was I, that I tripped over someone in my way.

I let out a not-so-muffled curse because, in the space of two seconds I felt a sharp pain in my leg, stepped on someone’s limb trying to regain my balance, and got a mouthful of sand as I landed hard on my face.

To be honest, I think I got a mouthful of sand because of the not-so-muffled curse. I guess whoever’s up there has a twisted sense of humor and decided to use sand instead of soap. I’d take soap any day, at least then you’re not worried about chipping a tooth every time you close your mouth.

Smile perty for me, boy! Sorry, I’m a bit crazy, and my thoughts echo that.

I turned to apologize to the person I’d just used as a step stool, though I really just wanted to rail at them. I mean what the hell? Who just sits in the surf like that? Yeah, there are low, beach chairs made specifically for you to sit with your feet in the sand as the waves come in. That still doesn’t mean I wanted to take fault for what was embarrassing and fairly painful. I mean, I could feel something dripping down my leg that was too thick to be sweat. I hit my leg on the armrest of that stupid chair.

So I took a deep breath, swallowed the complaints that wanted to bubble out my throat, and turned to apologize for stepping on them, but a familiar voice stopped me.

“Are you alright?” God his voice, alone, was enough to tighten my groin.

Ok, so ‘turn’ isn’t the correct term. I really had to roll over and sit up before I could face him. “Yeah. Sorry about that, man.” I said as I brought my leg close to inspect the cut. I didn’t bother looking at him, I knew it was Heero. Plus, I tend to go a bit stupid when I look at him. A bit? Schyeah, ok so I tend to got a lotta stupid.

There was sand all over my cut, and the trail of blood had changed directions now that I had changed positions. It stung, and it’d take forever to get it cleaned up properly, not to mention keeping it clean in this setting.

I looked up at him and grinned. “You think one of us is destined to always land on their face when we meet, or do you think it ends now that we’re even?”

He smirked, and I felt my abs tighten at how sexy he looked with that expression on his face. “But we’re not even, not until you draw blood.”

“Oh, don’t say that.” I looked around like I was paranoid, but I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. It sort of ruined the effect, but oh well. “You never know who is listening. Besides, it was my fault. I got sucked into my own little world and wasn’t paying attention to where I was going”

“But it was my fault you had such a rude awakening.” He didn’t seem to mind that one of my legs, the unharmed one, was still draped over his, or maybe he was just too polite to mention it.

I felt like a bit of a fool, but I couldn’t stop smiling. “Lets just call it even and pray we can keep our footing. How does that sound?”

I watched his brow furrow as he focused on the blood coming from my leg. I guess it was deeper than I thought because it hadn’t really slowed yet. Not good.

He ignored my question. “You need to take care of that pretty quick. Where are you staying?”

I looked around and tried to orient myself. “One of the beach houses the Oceanfront rents out, are they very far from here? I haven’t really kept track of how long I have been walking.”

Heero looked down the beach. “About a quarter mile would be my guess, farther than I’d feel comfortable letting you walk with your leg still dripping like that. My room is right behind us; let’s get your leg cleaned up, then you can finish your walk.”

“Alright.” I stood up, and swayed a bit.

When did it get so hot out here? It felt like steam was rising from my hair. I felt a bit woozy and tried to cover it up by keeping the mood light.

“If you wanted to get me up to your hotel room, you should have just asked. But I’ve got to warn you, I’m not that kind of boy.” I mimicked a girl’s voice complete with the batting eyelashes.

Closing my eyes felt really good all of a sudden. Strange feeling with the image of perfection standing before me.

He shook his head, but I might have fooled myself into seeing that sexy little smirk on his face again. “Apparently you are, since you’ve agreed.” His voice was flat as he motioned me forward with a hand gesture while the other tucked his chair under his arm.

“Nope.” I disagreed, shaking my head a bit too much and making the woozy situation worse. “I only agreed to use your room to clean my leg. Besides, you’ve got me trapped; I’m too lightheaded to refuse your offer.” Oops, hadn’t meant to say that. Ok, Duo, no more talking for you until your head settles.

Heero caught my arm, and pulled me to face him. He studied me for a minute while I tried to regain myself. “Hn. Antiseptic and a bottle of water for you before you’re allowed to go. I think the heat of the sun plus the loss of blood are having a bad effect on you.”

For some reason I found this funny and started laughing. God! I’m acting like I’m drunk! Can’t I be allowed to have at least one meeting with this god of a man without embarrassing myself? Please!?!

He dropped the chair he had pinned between his body and his arm and spun me quickly, jerking my arm to get me walking. It was really rude and made me stumble, but it also made him sling one of my arms over his shoulders to support me better. When he wrapped his arm around my waist, I forgot all complaints about the rough handling.

I don’t really remember the trip up to his room. My focus only came back when I was plopped into a sitting position.

His voice rang through my head pretty clear. “Are you ok to sit still for a moment?” He tested my balance by tentatively pulling one hand away from supporting my arm.

My focus was coming back a bit, though I was still a bit woozy. I squeezed my hands against the seat of the chair. Toilet? Why the hell did he set me on the toilet? But then Heero turned around and I heard the shower turn on.

Confusion reigned until he turned back around and started talking. “You’ve got sand all over your wound. We need to get it cleaned off.”

Ok that made sense, but I still think I need to sit down; something is not right with my head. I feel like cotton is stuffed in the entire upper half of my body. But my limbs are really heavy, and cotton is not. Wait, did that make sense? The cold porcelain beneath my hands finally sunk into my awareness, and I remembered I was sitting down. Shit!

He lifted me up and slung my arm over his shoulder again. By some work of magic, he managed to keep me upright and I soon felt water burn across the cut. I’m not sure how long it took, because I began to hear my pulse in my head. It wasn’t pleasant; it felt like someone was playing drums on my temples. And when I find the bastard, I’ll kick his ass. But I think I need to sit down first.

It was still really hot, but the cool, running water helped a bit. I didn’t realize how much it helped until I was dragged away from it. Then the water on my leg seemed to sizzle and boil against my skin. Not good.

All of a sudden I was falling; I blindly reached out and grabbed the nearest thing to me, which happened to be Heero, but my hands found nothing but air. Why the hell was he letting me fall? Then my back hit the softness of a mattress, and I realized why. He then walked around to the other side of the bed.

I was curious as to what he was doing, but I didn’t have enough control over my head to make it turn to follow his movements. I felt lousy; I’m talking a three times roadkill feeling here. But at least I feel a bit more coherent.

And lying down was a marvelous feeling. A strong hand gripped my hurt leg and lifted it up pretty high. Good thing I was flexible. Wait, what the hell is he doing that for? I opened my eyes, (when had I closed them?) and saw him lowering my leg onto two stacked pillows. Ah, understood, elevation to slow blood flow to the leg.

My leg was still bleeding, but it was clean now. The water/blood mixture trickled down onto the white pillow and left a pink stain. I objected to this; I was ruining his pillow.

But before I could voice my objections, Heero was back. He set a white box down on the foot of the bed, and handed me a bottle of water.

“Drink.” He opened the cap for me and pushed the bottle towards my mouth.

Come to think of it, I was really thirsty, and it tasted beautiful. Strange as it seems looking back on it, it felt almost like I was drinking something sacred, it tasted that amazing.

I was so focused on the taste of the water that I barely noticed the burn of the antiseptic Heero was applying to my cut. I lifted my head to watch what he was doing, but his back was to me and blocking my view. Convenient.

The important part of that last sentence is that I could actually lift my head now. I didn’t really notice this until I felt the strain on my neck from trying to see through my nursemaid. It wasn’t working, so I let my head drop and continued to drink my water.

When did bottles get so small? I finished my water entirely too quickly, but my head was much clearer now. I actually trusted my thoughts to be coherent enough not to embarrass myself if I spoke to Heero.

But I didn’t really know what to say. He got up and walked away anyways, so my dilemma was postponed until he came back carrying two more waters. This man is amazing.

Can I keep him? Please?!?

Fat chance, Maxwell. The next time he sees you, he’s going to turn and run. Fuck! I really screwed this up, didn’t I?

He had pulled up one of those cushy excuses for an office chair that hotels provide you with, and handed me one of the bottles in his hand.

“Better now?” His voice was soft as he reached for the empty bottle I had unknowingly dropped.

“Much. Look, I’m really sorry for this. And I’ll get out of your hair…” But apparently he wasn’t paying attention as he cut me off.

“How much water have you been drinking since you got here?” He never looked at me as he spoke, just turned and threw the bottle into the trash can on the other side of the room. Perfect shot.

Let’s see…I drank a lot last night, but it wasn’t water…Shit! Maxwell you are a fucking idiot. I forgot to hydrate after all the alcohol I drank last night, then I go work out in the heat. Add salt to the wound: I go for a walk on the beach, in the heat without so much as a sip of water or a bite to eat. I’m a fucking idiot.

I guess my face reflected my thoughts because Heero chuckled. It was a nice sound, and if I wasn’t so fucking irritated I would have enjoyed it much more.

“You’ll be fine. Just stay there for a bit, don’t try to sit up yet. You won’t like the results.” He said as he stood and turned away again.

This time I watched him walk around the side of the bed, pulling the chair with him. He sat down at the desk provided by the hotel and started looking over some paperwork that had been stashed in his briefcase. Course, this didn’t interest me, what did, however, was his computer.

Shit! His was top of the line, the newest development in processors, fast and faster. Expensive, and I had no doubt that if I played around on it, I could figure out exactly how much he paid for it. It was the exact model that sat in my room, and I itched to see how far the similarities stretched.

Granted, my computer is how I make my living, its gotta be a step above all those wanna-be hackers out there. This guy is a lawyer, what does he need this model for? Outbidding people on Ebay?

I started to roll over so I could get a better look at his equipment (take that how you want it), but then I remembered my leg was still propped up.

“Hey, Heero?”

“Hn.” He didn’t even raise his eyes from the paper he held.

“Do you think I can take my foot off your pillows now?” I wiggled my toes for emphasis, and just because I could, but he never looked. Sad, my toes are cute, too! They don’t dance for just anyone.

Speaking of bare toes…What happened to my sandals? Probably still on the beach with his stuff. Oh well, I’ll get them on the way out.

“That should be fine.” Not a flit of emotion in that statement. Hmmph!

I leaned forward, ignored the slight watery feeling that accompanied the movement of sitting up, and pried the pillows out from under my legs.

You know the underwater feeling you get when you’re slightly buzzed? Yeah, that seems to be my only remaining symptom from earlier. This means I could leave pretty soon, but I have a glorious excuse to be in the hotel room of my current obsession. Milk it, honey!

“Whoa!” I used the slight weight of the pillows and my exertions of moving the weight of my legs as an excuse and toppled off the side of the bed. I landed on the pillows, so it was actually a pretty fun trip to the floor.

Yeah, it was pretty ‘damsel in distress’ pathetic, but I would be willing to wear the froofy princess dress if it meant I could feel his hands on my skin again.

“Duo, are you alright?” He came running around the bed and knelt by me. HA! Take that paperwork! I smite thee!

I was shaking, trying hard to hold in my laughter, but it was just too much. He seemed really concerned for me until he realized the reason for my trembling shoulders.

“Hn. I told you not to try to sit up yet.” His voice was cool, but his hands were warm on my bare chest.

“Hey!” I tried to sound indignant, but I was still laughing too hard. “I got the go ahead about the pillows. YOUR go ahead. You can’t pin this completely on me.” I was breathless with laughter and the feeling of his touch.

“True.” Man, this guy needs to learn how to lighten up.

He helped me back on the bed. Would it be a sin if I held on to him, pulled him on top of me, and sucked his lips down my throat? Wow, that was a weird image, and it just made me laugh harder.

Heero probably thinks I’m nuts.

Between the two of us, we managed to get my legs under my body, and I was capable of taking responsibility for most of my body weight. We maneuvered me (that sounds funny) back onto the bed, and Heero walked back over to the desk.

Drats!

“What are you working on?” I rolled over to face him, still not sitting up, and propped my head up with my elbow sinking into the mattress. Can’t let my healthy status slip yet, can I?

“Work.” He responded matter-of-factly.

“Hmm, that has ‘classified’ stamped all over it.” I replied jovially, in attempt to pull him out of his paperwork. “So, I take it you are in town on business not pleasure.”

No answer was given. “You do know its Saturday, right? You’re not supposed to work on the weekend, especially in the islands. The natives might lynch you.”

“I don’t think that’s the traditional form of punishment here.” He speaks! But he still has his nose in that stupid document.

A change in tactics then. Let’s taunt him a bit. “Hmmm, work-freak, dour expression, inability to laugh… I’d guess you are a lawyer.”

His head jerked up, and he looked right at me. Yup that worked! “How did you…?”

“I’m just that good.” My expression on my face was cocky, I know, I couldn’t help it.

Those deep blue eyes narrowed on me, and I knew I had won when he opened his mouth. “What is it you do, again?”

Uh-oh, I hope he’s not onto me, but I still had a smirk on my face. I’m pretty sure he had no idea of my apprehension. But in case he did, I brought both of my arms underneath me and pushed up to sitting. If he did notice anything, he’d probably chalk it up to nervousness about sitting upright again.

“Just about anything you want me to do on a computer. I’ve done tech stuff before. My current meal ticket is doing security for some hotshot corporations in New York who have the crazy notion that rabid hackers have their sights set on their boring files. I’m also designing a new computer game in my spare time.” I spoke after I got myself comfortable sitting in the middle of his bed.

His face took on a curious expression. “Wait, you do computer security?”

I raised an eyebrow; I had just said that hadn’t I? “Yeah.” I drew the word out to emphasize how pointless I thought his question was.

“In New York? And your name is Maxwell?” Man, I thought lawyers were supposed to be quick on the uptake.

I clutched a hand to my chest and faked a hurt look. “You’ve forgotten my name so soon after you got me into your bed. How callus you are, Mr. Yuy!” My voice dropped in timbre, and I continued after I caught his glare. “Yes, and yes.”

“Maxwell Technology Services? That’s you?” He looked pretty shocked. I guess he underestimated me. I understand. I’m too pretty to be smart. Sigh You’d think I’d get used to it. Ok, so that was sarcastic…I’m not that arrogant. Really.

“When the need hits, yeah.” I couldn’t help the smile on my face, he just looked so shocked.

“One of my clients just hired you.”

I admit it; I wanted to impress him more. Maybe it’d get him in my bed sooner. I knew exactly the client he was referring to, but well, I dropped another name just to see his eyes. “Just hired me? You work for Winner? He’s a hot ticket in the business industry; you must be damn good to work for him.”

Yeah, his eyes got bigger, and his mouth dropped open just the slightest bit (Yum!) before he composed himself and corrected me. “No, I meant with Peacecraft & Peacecraft.”

“Not bad, they are pretty high up the ladder as well. You’re no fool to have landed that position with their company at such a young age.”

He nodded to acknowledge the compliment, but he was looking at me differently than he had before. I think he just realized there was something more substantial behind the jester’s mask. Good thing, too, because I’m lethally close to drooling over this man.

My stomach rumbled loud enough for both of us to hear. Oops, my bad.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m fiercely hungry. You interested in lunch, or am I on my own?”

He reached over, picked up his watch, and checked the time. I thought that was too much work, since his computer was sitting right next to him with the time displayed in the bottom corner. But, hey, no one asked me.

“I didn’t realize it was so late already.” He looked uncertain about the prospect.

“Hey, even super lawyers have to eat, right?” I was trying to nudge him towards my opinion, but I wasn’t sure Heero was nudgeable. (If I have to warn you again about my tendencies, we’re in trouble)

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.” I refrained from rolling my eyes at his statement. Food? Hurt? Impossible.

“You been on the island long?” Again with the unnecessary questions, well unnecessary if I want to let him know that I researched him. Not bloody likely.

“Since Wednesday.” He had turned back to his paperwork, but this time it was to put it away and hit the commands to make his computer sleepy.

“Then you know some good places to eat.”

“A few.” He pulled on some shoes as I watched him move. Gods above, he’s the embodiment of sex. Muscles ripple under his conservative, lawyer-sheik, beachwear. Wow, that’s an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one, but he makes it work.

“Sounds good, you lead on this one.” I stood and once again noticed the absence of my sandals. “But do you mind if we stop by the beach and grab my shoes? I’m assuming you left them down there with your stuff when you carried me up here.”

He winced; obviously he forgot about our stuff. Then he looked at me. I got chill bumps as his gaze traveled across my body. Never mind lunch, I’ll have Heero a la carte. Sadly, it wasn’t on the menu…yet.

“You’ll need a shirt where we’re going.” He turned around and walked past me.

I smirked. “Then I changed my mind. That place doesn’t sound fun at all.”

He just looked at me, and I just smirked back. Whew, if looks could kill…I don’t think he would’ve even bothered burying me. His look continued only seconds until my stomach growled again. I saw him smirk at my predicament.

I scowled down at my stomach. “Traitor.”

He actually chuckled at me. I don’t see him as a person who laughs easily, but I’ve gotten two baby laughs (I don’t really count chuckles as full fledged laughs) in half a day. Not bad.

As I was scolding my stomach and its horrid timing, something landed and draped itself over my head. I pulled it off and inspected it. It was a shirt, nothing too extravagant, just a plain navy tee.

But it was so soft, baby blanket soft. I looked up, but Heero had his back to me.

“We are not the same size, but that one is a little tight on me, so it shouldn’t be overly big.” His voice was a little muffled, and he spoke quietly, so it was hard for me to make out exactly what he said.

“Thanks.” I’m not quite sure where the serious air came from; things were light and fluffy only seconds ago, and I struggled to regain it after I slipped the shirt on. It felt wonderful against my skin, by the way, and it was covered in the scent of his detergent and his aftershave. Stars, but he smelled delicious.

It was glorious wearing his shirt. “You just saved me a trip back, and I think my stomach would have held me hostage by that time.”

Oh, and he was right; it was a little big, but it didn’t look like I’d been swallowed whole. “No problem. Are you alright wearing your sandals, I don’t think we wear the same size shoe.”

My stomach just went a little queasy. Ok, so Heero is the hottest guy I’ve seen in about…ever, but I’ve got a little problem with feet. If I’m comfortable around someone, I don’t mind being near their bare feet. If I’m really comfortable with them and the feet look pretty clean, I can touch them with effort.

But I have a real problem with people touching my feet, and sharing shoes is like rubbing our feet all over each other. No thank you.

“My sandals are fine, don’t worry about it.”

He looked back over his shoulder at me. “Lets go.”
________________________________

TBC


WARNING: This is a re-post, the fic was currently posted under another pseudonym that I used with other Anime fics. I switched the fic to this account to keep my GW stuff together. I apologize if you have concerns about the authenticity of this fic, but I can prove authorship if need be.

AN: This is my first 1x2. I wanted something more ‘fun’ to counter the seriousness of Merc…plus, I wanted to write another lemon in the near future. 1x2 is Not my favorite pairing, but lets face it, none of the other pilots could pull off that personality.

I hoped you liked my version of Duo...well, my AU version of Duo. My series version of Duo is much darker. Maybe someday I'll have time to write it out. Hoped you enjoyed it so far. Peace.