| -Duo�s thoughts- ~Heero�s thoughts~ Angel by Pilot02 Part 4 �So, Heero, how long till we get to the house, huh? I�m hungry, is there anything there to eat?� Duo asked, trying to get a reaction out of the other angel more than information. �Not too much longer, and yes, there is food,� Heero answered, trying not to explode at Duo. ~How much can he talk? Oi, I wish he�d be quiet for a while.~ As if hearing Heero�s thoughts, Duo remained quiet for most of the rest of the trip, only occasionally asking questions or making remarks. Most of his attention was focused on his thoughts, which were attentive to the lean-bodied angel in front of him. Duo snapped out of his near-daydream when he ran into the focus of his thoughts. �Ehehe, sorry �bout that, Heero. Wasn�t paying attention to where I was going,� Duo said, blushing faintly. -Oh man, I must look like a total fool to him� Talk about bad first impressions; first I go off on a rant, then I daydream about him� Not good�- �I asked you a question, but you didn�t answer. What kind of food do you like?� Heero asked again, slightly annoyed. �I like anything that doesn�t squirm when I cut into it; that�s not a pleasant feeling when ya swallow,� Duo said grinning, seeing if he could get a reaction. He did, but it wasn�t what he was expecting. Heero paled considerably, then ran off the path and vomited. -SHIT!! I forgot, they don�t joke about that stuff like we do! Heh, bad first impressions my ass; talk about bad impressions, period. Man, if I do happen to have a chance with him, I�m going to totally ruin it before we even get to the safe house! Why do I always have to talk so much? Gah� Open mouth; insert foot.- Duo moaned inwardly, looking heavenward while he buried his face in his hands. He then followed the ill light angel. �Hey, man, you okay? I didn�t mean to�uh, make ya sick or anything. Just, back home, we�talk about stuff like that�I �I�ll try not to talk about that kinda stuff anymore, I, uh, I�m really sorry�� Duo stammered, looking at the ground while playing with the end of his braid; he was suddenly unable to say the simplest things as he found himself the center of Heero�s attention. The blue-eyed angel was looking up at Duo, who was, for once, truly sorry. His violet eyes gave away the emotional turmoil he was going through at the moment, and Heero saw this. ~Well, I was going to go off on him, but he really is sorry, so I won�t make him feel any worse.~ �That�s okay�I just wasn�t expecting that�You don�t have to change for me, I�ll be fine. Just act how you always do.� Heero said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. �There should be a stream somewhere around here, I�d like to go there first and get cleaned up and get a drink, if that�s agreeable with you,� he stated, more than asked. Duo nodded, and they started off on the trail once again. �Sure, man. That�s fine. I can imagine I�d like to do the same if I were in your position� I mean, after throwing up and all�and I am a bit thirsty myself. So where is this stream, Heero? And how do you know where everything is? �Did they give you a map? Cause they didn�t think about giving me one, I guess they thought I�d automatically have knowledge of the place or something. Who knows? Maybe they wanted me to get lost so you could come to my rescue. Oh, and about that, thanks for comin' to find me, if it wasn�t for you, I wouldn�t be here right now, and you wouldn�t be�giving...me�a thoroughly evil glare� I mean, not that it�s truly evil or anything� It�s just�� Duo trailed off when he realized that maybe the glare was telling him to shut up. -*sigh* I wish I knew what to say to the guy without acting like I�m an idiot�- �No, baka, I wasn�t given a map. I�ve been here for about three days now, they figured that it would be beneficial to the mission if one of us was given time to get used to the surrounding area. I don�t think that it was just so that I would have a chance to play hero,� Heero answered, seeming to not notice the humor in his choice of words. He continued, �And the stream is about five or ten minutes that way,� he pointed in a direction, �depending on how fast we walk.� �Ok, that�s not too far.� Duo�s train of thought then decided to continue along the track it had been on earlier. Without warning he was talking again, though this time he was a lot more serious. �Heero, do you think I�m an idiot?� Heero, apparently taken by surprise as a result of the straightforward question, halted in his tracks. �What?� Was his reply as he turned to face Duo. �No, no�Keep going, please, I just wanted to ask you.� Heero did as was requested, and the pair started off again. Duo then continued. �Most everyone I�ve met has thought I�m an idiot, and they don�t keep it from me, either. I was just wondering if you thought I was an idiot. If you do, then just tell me, and I�ll understand. It�s not like I haven�t been called that before.� Heero could tell that the dark was upset, but he didn�t quite know what to say, so he didn�t speak. �I would, though, like you to answer.� ~What am I supposed to say?!?! He�s practically begging me to call him stupid, but I don�t want to! I wish Sally had taught me more of their ways instead of the human�s ways when I was younger�Maybe if I joke with him, he�ll feel better�Well, it�s worth a try�Couldn�t hurt� too much.~ Heero, making up his mind, threw a reply over his shoulder as he tensed subtly, waiting for the dark�s reaction. �Well, not an idiot, but a few short of a dozen.� Heero mentally begged that the chestnut-haired angel wouldn�t be offended. Someone in Heaven seemed to answer his prayer as Duo laughed quietly, then retorted with a comment of his own. �Ah, some say the lights are on, but no one�s home.� The two threw equally creative remarks back and forth at each other; Duo laughing in between talking and listening, Heero�s face splitting into a radiant smile. �A few cards short of a deck.� �Aww, Heero! Be a bit more creative, will ya? You just used one exactly like that!� Duo said, grinning. �I mean, you could go on forever with ones like that. For example, �a few wolves short of a pack,� �a few zebras short of a herd,� �a few geese short of a gaggle.� Ya get the point, I hope, because I�m out of animal groups.� Duo grinned sheepishly. �Alright, how about this? There physically, just not mentally.� �The wheel�s there; the hamster�s dead and buried.� After the dialogue was over and both boys were out of witty remarks, they had reached the beginning of the stream, which originated from a hot spring. Duo glanced at the spring, then back at Heero before making up his mind. He took off his backpack and languorously (1) stretched his wings out with a yawn. �Hey, Heero, I�m gonna get this mud offa me, okay? Is the hot spring safe?� He asked as he took off his shoes. �Yes, the spring is safe, but it is rather warm. It�s not deep either, only about three and a half to four feet at the deepest. The water comes in from several small holes around the sides,� Heero answered as he splashed water up on his face and drank from the stream. He sat up and moved away from the stream to sit beneath a tree. He got comfortable just in time to see Duo start undressing. He pulled off his shirt and pants, and tossed them over next to his backpack. His socks soon followed suit. Heero found himself staring avidly at the other angel�s inadvertent show. He could feel himself being turned on by the display, but, as Duo was reaching for his boxers, he seemed to remember that Heero was there, and used his wings as a sort of privacy screen. As he watched the braided one slip into the water, Heero thought, ~Damn those wings�~ * * * After Duo was cleaned up, he got out of the water and wrapped his wings around him like a robe. Grabbing his clothes, he walked back to the water and dumped them all in. He washed them as best as he could, then laid them out on the rocks near the spring. Wanting to brush his hair, he walked over to his bag and dug the brush out, then began attacking his mass of chestnut hair. When that was done, he parted it into three sections and quickly put it into his trademark braid. Heero watched all of this in awe of the beautiful being in front of him. �Duo, we can�t wait all night for those to dry,� he said, glancing at the soaked garments before returning his gaze to the dark angel. �Okay, okay. Don�t worry, I can speed it up,� Duo said, holding one hand palm-up in front of him. He concentrated, closing his eyes. Slowly, a small flame appeared in his hand; it flickered and grew. Once he had a nice sized flame in his hand, Duo opened his eyes and grinned at Heero. �I�ve done this before, don�t look so afraid. I�m not gonna mess anything up.� He turned his attention back to the flame in his hand, and raised his hand up to his face. He blew into the fire as one would do to hot food before eating it, and the flame shot across the clothes, effectively drying them and scorching an unfortunate chipmunk in the process. �Ehehe� Well, at least I didn�t catch the forest on fire,� he said, kicking some leaves over the carcass with his bare foot. Turning quickly, he grabbed his clothes and put his boxers on while under the cover of his wings, then spread them out as he put the rest of his clothes back on. Heero sighed with disappointment. �Okay, Heero, we can go now. I mean, if you�re ready, that is. You ready? I�m ready.� The braided angel babbled incessantly on as he waited for Heero�s response. �That�s fine. Let�s go then. If we leave now we should be able to get to the safe house before it gets much darker,� Heero said as he helped gather Duo�s things up. He picked up Duo�s bag and handed it to him. ~Hn. Must�ve been a trick of the light. There�s no way he just blushed�~ The two continued on the path to the safe house in a semi-companionable silence, until Duo finally gave in to his urge to talk. �Um, Heero, about your earlier question, about what food I like� Well, I like angel food cake.� (1) *shudders* The evil thesaurus made me do it!! I wouldn�t do it on my own; I can't even pronounce it!! ^_^;; |