| Once more, I post a piece after vanishing off the face of reality. Did anyone miss me? Someone must since I received at least three requests this week alone for more of this. Oh well, even if you didn�t, I still write on�� And yes, ladies and gents, Heero FINALLY gets the message in this one! He figures out Duo likes him! �� Sort of. Well, he�s got more of a clue then before. And it�s only taken him, what�� two ten-chapter Books and six chapters of a third! Yeah! He�s *no* so dumb! Title: Soft Beginnings 7/? (Book Three in the Stumbling Steps Arc) Author: Lady DarkAngel Ladydarkangel_1 @ yahoo.com Archive: Lady DarkAngel's Gundam Wing Fanfiction Library http://www.geocities.com/ladydarkangel_1/index.html, Darkflame�s (if she�ll take it�.) and anywhere else is fine, just ask me first Category: Yaoi, angst, sap Pairing(s): 3x4, 1+2 (Finally!) Disclaimers: Gundam Wing or Shinkidousenki Gundam Wing is copyrighted and trademarked by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency and associated parties with all rights and privileges. The characters were used without permission for the purposes of entertainment only. This is not meant for sale of profit. Any characters not created by those listed above are mine and hereby considered the sole property and copyright of the author. Anyway, I�m just a poor college student. So can I play with them? I promise I won�t break them�... much. Rating: PG-13 Warnings: As always, minor: language, Heero mental torture, verbal significant other abuse, Quatre in the kitchen�� I think we all get the point Feedback: Kami-sama, YES!!! Ladydarkangel_1 @ yahoo.com (ignore the spaces); any and all comments are welcome like the sweet ego-sustainers they are. The doorway stood open and forbidding in front of him, the dark opening daring him to enter and mocking his inability to do so. Frozen stock still, the Wing Zero pilot tried to wrestle his rampant thoughts down back to where they belonged. Duo�d thrown him a fast one that never in a million years he�d have seen coming and as a result, he got it right upside the head. Dazed and confused, he tried to make sense out of what he had just heard. <�Hottie.� He said that checking me out every morning was a good thing. Well, he implied it really but�� Checking out means admiring one physically, I know that much. Does this mean that�� Duo might possibly be�� He�s attracted�� Interested in�� *ME*?!?> This idea was revolutionary. Mind-shattering. Soul-stunning. Iconoclastic. Impossible. He vehemently shook his head. <IIE!!! Just because he�s gay doesn�t mean he�s automatically interested in me! That�s absurd! He hasn�t shown any interest in me�� has he? I don�t think the jokes and innuendos he throws around were meant to be serious. I�ve never taken them seriously. I�ve never thought�� considered�� imagined�� hell, even dreamed about *anything* like that!> Wait. That last part wasn�t true. A vision floated up before his eyes. Duo fading from a field of overly-and-unnaturally-bright flowers, desperately whispering silent words to him in vain. Trying to get him to understand. <Understand�� what? Was this it? Is this the knowledge I needed to know? Was this what the Duo in my dream was trying to tell me?> Feeling oddly exposed, he snorted. <Even if it�s true, what does this mean to me? Does it mean anything? *Should* it? He�s my friend and partner and it seems to be important�� to him��> A sigh. <Even as just a joke. If it�s true. If I understood right. If I don�t fuck it up�� what will this mean?> From inside, he heard Duo snicker. He must have been just behind the door. �What, did I blow your mind or something that you�re still standing out in the cold? Or was it just a minor fuse? Hey, honey, I broke the Heero! Go get the insurance! Tsch, it can�t be that easy.� A few seconds of silence and then, �Oh come on! Don�t tell me your reality�s so fragile that I managed to break it with *that*!� �Wha��� �That�s better. It�d be a sad thing if that�s all it took to freak you. I�ve got WAY better material and it�d be a shame if it all went to waste.� ���� The cobalt-eyed boy couldn�t think of a thing to say. He came inside to see the braided boy smiling mischievously at him, leaning casually against the wall. �Yeah, like finally getting around to asking you why you wear *black* spandex. If you were planning on showing off, why not go the whole way and pick a lighter color so we can get the whole picture?� Now he knew what to say. �Omae o korosu.� An unfamiliar warmth flushed through him. �Yeah, yeah. I�ve heard that before.� Duo paused. �You�re�� pink. In the cheeks.� �No, I�m not.� �Yes, you are. You�re blushing! It�s faint but it�s there. I actually got you to blush! Sugoi! I�m *good*.� �Duo��� �Alright. I know; �Shut up, baka!�� Heero reached out an arm and caught him. �Actually, I wanted to say it�s nice to see you happy again. I did not mean to upset you earlier.� �Yeah��� Duo gave him a searching look. �Yeah. Well. Poetic justice, then. The cause is the cure. No biggie. S�not like I won�t live.� �No, but now that you feel better�� I feel better.� Before the braided boy could respond, a loud and lightly annoyed voice was heard. �And just where the *hell* have you two been?� Quatre stood framed in the kitchen doorway, hands on his hips and looking thoroughly peeved. �You�re late! We waited for you for *hours* but since you selfishly decided to take your own sweet time getting here, we came to the conclusion it, and YOU, weren�t worth it. So we ate and didn�t particularly care to leave you much. But what is there is pitiful by anyone�s standards. Your dinners are beyond cold; they�re solid ice!� Shaking a finger at the guilty parties, he gave them his best pissed-mommy glare. �It�s nothing but skimpy re-heated atomic leftovers for you, buckos!� �Atomic, huh? Does that mean we�ll mutate?� Giggling at his friend�s uncharacteristic behavior, he fake-growled and put up a monster-like pose. �I am Duo-zilla! Long live the Eternal Curse of the Japanese!� �You got that right��� Heero grumbled. �Baka.� �Till the day I die.� Duo promised, winking at his partner. �Enough chit-chat. Get your asses in the kitchen. NOW! You�re going to eat and you�re going to *like* it!� He began to advance upon them menacingly and Duo shrank behind Heero in mock-fear. �Better listen to the blonde, gentlemen. He worked hard on this one and was quite peeved that you decided not to show up. You�re lucky he hasn�t gotten the metal spatula out yet. Trowa got whacked for being late.� Trowa�s voice came through rather muffled. �It was less then 5 minutes! Not even three! Certainty not enough to warrant the HUGE lumps I got!� �I *told* you 7 o�clock! Bastard! Just because I love you doesn�t mean I tolerate that kind of disrespect! You *knew* I wanted you here for this! And I tried SO hard too!� �Disrespect?! What disrespect? Just because I didn�t run to be the first one to taste your experimental jambalaya isn�t a reflection on our relationship. Definitely not a negative one at that.� �Don�t take it personally, Trowa. You know how it gets around spicy foods. Your lover�s just pissed because he�s got heartburn taste-testing. He�s weak in the face of anything culinary, especially when he�s experimenting. He won�t admit he doesn�t know what he�s doing so he just keeps adding things till it takes the top of the cupboards. He�ll calm down after he stops spitting flames.� �NANI?!?� With that, the Sandrock pilot turned right around and marched back inside. �Wanna say that to my face, jerk? Or aren�t you brave enough?� The smarmy grin could just be *heard* in �Fei voice. �TUMS, Winner? Or perhaps Maalox is more your speed?� The various noises that emerged from the kitchen served to amuse the American and confuse the Japanese. He stared as his partner chuckled insanely as the bangs, curses and exclamations of anger/pain/surprise wafted by. �That�s so cute. Lover�s spat.� Heero blinked. �Lovers? Quatre and Trowa are��� Duo rolled his eyes. �Well, duh. And where have YOU been? No, *don�t* answer that; I�m sure that I don�t *want* to know. They�ve been a pair for some time now. Would have thought you of all people would notice.� He hadn�t noticed. Well, he had seen that they tended to pair off often and worked well together, but the thought had never occurred to him. The facts that they meshed well, that they were extremely concerned for each other and that they balanced the other out well were there; he just never made the connection. <I missed it. But how? Now that I know, it makes sense�� damned hindsight bias. I should have noticed; it�s so blatantly obvious��. Now.> As he watched Duo walk by into the fray, he was struck by the thought that the description could apply to them as well. He wondered as he followed his foolhardy friend into what sounded like a prime candidate for Dinnertime from Hell, <What else have I missed that�s so obvious?> (TBC��) *snickers insanely* Jeez, I wonder�� Lady DarkAngel ---------- �Neesan to Misuzu and A-chan Chibi Duo's Babysitter Moderator of Duo's Sugar Intake Keeper of Duo's Nice Rear-end Co-Keeper of Shinigami's Wings (with Meela) Keeper of Heero's Homicidal Intentions Keeper of Quatre's Teacup Keeper of Trowa's Mask Keeper of Wufei's Sense of Honor Co-Keeper of Duo's Chatter (with Tomanaiya) Co-Keeper of Heero's "Hn" (with Tomanaiya) Co-Writer of Wufei's Rants (with Tomanaiya) Leader of the Inspirationally-challenged Muses: Alisande, Rynvi, and Kiagara Co-Keeper of real-life hamsters named Heero Yuy (Hee-chan) and Shinigami Eagle Vision (Shini Eagle)(with Tomanaiya) Keeper of the Hit List Proud Owner of two sets of chibis: Chibi Angel Duo and Heero in leather (twins of Tomanaiya's) and Chibi Angel Duo and Heero in black flight gear with stripes from the final GW episodes Acting GOD in Charge of The Anime Muse Adoption Center and WSCT of the AMAC Proud member of SDDI, the Society of Defending Duo's Intelligence Member of the Society Against the Complete Bastardization of Heero Yuy Occupant of the Happy Hentai House Master Hacker of the Shinigami Organization Assistant Mob Psychologist for the Shinigami Organization Founding Member of Saa-EEP!!! Happy to be a member of the DuoML Member of 1x2, 2x1 Fan Club and ML Many more MLs but you don't want to know... Lady DarkAngel's Gundam Wing Fanfiction Library www.geocities.com/ladydarkangel_1/index.html |