| Disclaimer: I don't own any Gundam stuff in any way, shape or form Warnings: 1+2 ,OOC, yaoi ,yuri (mentioned), language *** = scene change/and or time change Self-Help Relena shook her head and threw her hairbrush across the room angrily. Heero merely stepped aside and let it clatter to the floor. "Heero, I don't know how many times I've told you I'm not after you anymore. I told you.. you don't have to stick around! Dorothy takes very good care of me, and I don't really need a bodyguard anymore! Don't you have somewhere else to go?" Relena ranted, frustrated tears in her eyes. "Quatre has invited you to come work for him, will you go?" Nodding without emotion, Heero stopped eximaning his gun and quickly left the room. Walking down the hall, he made a mental inventory of all he would take with him. Clothes.. weapons.. the few odds and ends he had picked up... and the necklace Duo had given him. Looking down at his chest, his lips twitched slightly as he pondered the silver cross that hung there. It served no purpose.. yet he couldn't make himself get rid of it. Hn. Entering "his" room, he packed quickly, trying to take as little time as possible. If Quatre wanted him for a job, there was no time to waste. Maybe this new job would make him feel useful again.. or just make him feel something. Shrugging the bags over his shoulders, he left without a backwards glance. *** Leaving the transport, he carefully walked up the marble steps to the office building Quatre was currently using as his headquarters. Heero frowned slightly at the pastel decor, and ignored the friendly smiles of several of the women behind the desk. Pulling the paperwork out of his small leather briefcase, he handed them silently to one of the secretaries. She took them without comment and called up to Quatre, letting him know that his new employee was here to see him. "Please! send him right up!" Quatre's cheerful voice sounded over the intercom. Walking towards the elevator, he automatically pressed the button for Quatre's floor. Turning to stand towards the back of the conveyance, he felt an electric tingle as he looked at the person to his right. Black clothes draped loosely over a well muscled frame as a long braid seemed to move on it's own, twitching and moving at the slight vibrations from the floor. Clutching the crucifix in his hand, he almost said something, but stopped when the elevator came to a halt, watching with a strange expression as the man he had been observing walked out, nearly bouncing down the hall with energy. Shaking his head, he finally came to Quatre's office, and was ushered in by a familiar face. "I thought you'd be here." Heero said, looking Trowa over carefully. Trowa had the same look he had always had, save for the smile that hovered around his lips. When Quatre spotted them, he ran towards him and engulfed him in a hug. Shocked, Heero half lifted his arms, not sure what to do. "I didn't think you'd make it! I'm glad you could! We need a lot of help with the computer systems you know.. seems like someone is always hacking into them." Almost babbling, Quatre watched Heero carefully, noting the same lack of emotion that his friend had possessed during the war. Something had to be done. Motioning to Trowa subtly, he expressed his concerns with a poignant look. Ever an observant one, Trowa went to get something off of a shelf while Quatre went over what he needed Heero to do. "Hn. Mission accepted." Heero stated, picking up the paperwork and placing it carefully into his briefcase. "I will report tomorrow at 08:00 hours." Turning to leave, he felt a strong hand decend on his shoulder. Trowa looked carefully into Heero's eyes, making sure he had the blue-eyed one's complete attention. "Here, I think you can use these. They helped me a lot." Handing Heero a small black case, he released his grip, allowing Heero to turn and leave. *** Unlocking the door to his new apartment, he sighed in relief. Quatre's obsession for pastels had been left out when he had chosen Heero's new abode. Neatly putting up his few belongings, he explored the area, looking at all the effort that had been put into it. Clean lines were accentuated only by a few tasteful decorations. A set of swords adorned one wall.. a collection of guns stood in a rack by the fireplace. The bare wood of the floor even felt right somehow. Walking to the kitchen, he discovered a full stock of food was already in place. Heero almost smiled as he explored the bedroom. It had obviously had been designed for more than one occupant. The king size bed dominated the room, though there was space left over for two dressers and accessories. Shaking his head, he sat on the matress, almost wishing he had someone to share it with. Setting the last of his bags beside him, he suddenly pulled out the black case Trowa had handed him. Opening it carefully, he found a selection of CDs. Looking at the title carefully, he found they were all labeled "Self Help" Hn. Well, Trowa had suggested it, and of all the Gundam pilots, Trowa had been most like him in temperment. Popping open the cd-changer that occupied a wooden shelf, he put in all five of the cds and hit the play button. Laying down on the bed, he crossed his arms behind his head and listened half-heartedly to the sound of waves and seagulls that filled the air. Well.. it was peaceful.. if monotous. Lulled almost into sleep, he hardly payed attention as soft words started to work their way into the music. "You have many emotions, though they may be deeply hidden. There is something inside of you that you love, and you need to let that love out.." Played softly into Heero's dozing ear. Finally falling completely asleep, he left the music on to whisper to him all night. *** "Here's your desk and computer. You have one of the newest machines in the building, and if you need anything for it, just write up a request and submit it to the finance department." Smiling professionally, she backed out of the spacious cubicle. "If you need anything else, the head of computer security has the space next to yours. He should be in within an hour." Nodding absently, Heero carefully powered up his computer. He could get a good layout of the system before his superior got in to give him his mission. Absorbed in his work, he stopped only when blaring loud music shot through the thin walls to break his concentration. Scowling, he stood and went over to meet his supervisor. Knocking on the wall, he stared as the black-clad form bent over to drop his bag to the floor. "Yeah yeah, I know.. I'll turn it down in a minute. I had to do something to stay awake last night! You wouldn't believe the holes I found in the new software they sent us!" Turning around, Duo stared at Heero in suprise. "Man, I should have known you'd be the specialist they hired! It's great to see you!" Pulling Heero into a hug, he thumped him on the back soundly before returning his attention to putting his stuff away. "I'm sure as hell glad you're here. I've been doing most of the work around here by myself." Feeling a strange sensation in his stomach, Heero stared at the annoying baka.. who somehow didn't seem that annoying anymore. "I took a look at the software that is on the system.. and I saw some definate security breaches." Walking over to Duo's computer, he pointed out several design flaws. Watching Duo out of the cornor of his eye, he suddenly felt weak.. almost dizzy. "Ok, go ahead." Duo nodded, grinning. "This is what we get paid for, get in there and have at it!" Finally turning down his music, he settled into his chair, turning his full attention to his work. Returning to his desk, Heero started working, concentrating while half-listening to Duo's music.. It really wasn't all that bad. *** Stepping out of the elevator, Heero returned to his apartment. Leaning against the wall, he unlocked the door, stopping to stare as he saw Duo walking down the hall. "Do you need something?" Heero asked him as he drew near. "Yeah, about eight hours of sleep." Duo said with a yawn. "I can't believe how much progress we made today. Lucky thing there are always people too curious for their own good, or we'd be out of a job in a week." Walking over to the door next to Heero's, he fumbled a key into the lock. "I'm beat, but I'm still hungry, want something to eat?" Heero suprised himself by nodding agreement and following Duo into his apartment. Looking around at the comfortable clutter, Heero almost smiled. Some things never change. "Want help?" He asked, working to clear off the stack of magazines that littered the table. "Nah, I got it." Duo answered with a smile, pulling a pan out from under the stove. "So, what happened to your job guarding Relena?" "Dorothy." Heero said, stacking more papers over on the coffee table. "They decided to make an item of it, and Dorothy is the jealous type. Besides, there was no reason to stay." Helping Duo set out the dishes, he wondered at himself. Just why was he being so open? "Oh well, Her loss." Duo smirked with a strange gleam in his eyes. "I'm certianly glad to have you back!" *** Taking the extra food Duo had pressed on him back to his apartment, Heero put it in the fridge for breakfast, and sat down to think. He felt odd... Getting up and looking in the mirror, he stared at his reflection, he saw something different. The hard, cold planes of his face seemed less defined.. more relaxed. Something that was almost a smile hovered around his lips. And his eyes....... seemed to show something was different. No longer icy, they stared back at him with a sparkle? Yes... sparkle. Hmm. Walking into the bedroom, he sank into the matress, trying to make sense of what was happening. After about an hour, he still had no clue what was going on. Rolling over, he felt something hard dig into his side.. oh.. it was the cd case. Blinking, he bolted up, staring in wonder at the black plastic. Could it be? With possibly his first real smile, Heero got up and turned on the CD player. *** When Duo made it in to work the next morning, he was greeted by several suprises. First, the "wall" between Heero's desk and his own had been removed. Second, their desks had been pushed closer together, within easy speaking distance. Third, Heero was already there, listening to his radio with every semblance of enjoyment. "Hey Heero, are you feeling ok?" Snorting, Heero smiled. "Baka." He said fondly, while still moving slightly in time to the beat. Looking at Duo, he couldn't help but wonder if this was the feeling he'd been missing all this time. Remembering a few of the words that his subconsious had been absorbing while asleep, he thought he was beginning to understand. "This will make it much easier to work together on these problems. We're used to working as a team after all." Duo nodded, shocked at the smile on Heero's face. That smile transformed Heero from being drop-dead gorgeous to irresistable. Pulling his chair closer, he took a few moments just to stare. "Hey Heero... would you like to go out for dinner tonight?" Biting his lip, he waited for his friend's fist to hit his face. "Sure... but there is one condition." Heero said in a serious voice. "What?" "You have to help me decorate my apartment." *** Dinner had gone better than Heero had ever dreamed of... he felt so alive.. so open.. so ... happy. Laughing inwardly at himself, he followed Duo up the stairs to his apartment. As he opened the door, he felt the other man put his hand on his shoulder. It felt right. As Duo laughed at the bare interior, he watched, mesmorized as the energitic figure started jokingly taking measurements around the room, writing on an imaginary pad. "Ah, this is terrible! It all must go!" he snickered, holding his sides. "It's just way too... you!" Duo walked over to the far wall with a serious look in his eyes that belied his laughing. "And here.. we need a doorway! This wall just looks to empty without one!" "Hn." grabbing Duo, he dragged him away from the wall. "Come on, you still have to decide what to do with the bedroom." Heero almost grinned evilly as he enjoyed the look of shock on his friend's face. Oh yes... this was definately what he was missing. Pulling him over to the bed, he grabbed a stub of pencil and a notebook, handing them over. Looking around the room carefully, Duo set the pencil and paper next to him. "This needs nothing." With an attempt at a carefree grin, he ran his fingers over the velvety covers. "It's perfect just as it is... Why Quatre made you a little love-nest." Joking, he laughed again, obviously thinking Heero couldn't see the hidden hunger in his eyes. "So........ what do you have in the way of music?" Duo walked over and pressed the play button. As the sound of waves filled the room, Duo picked up the black case in disbelief. "Self-Help??" Heero smiled lazily and deliberately pulled off his shirt. "Yeah, you're supposed to help yourself." Walking over, he pulled Duo over to the bed. "You know something, I really do need to help myself." Wrapping his arms around the gorgeous one, Heero brought his lips to Duo's in a burning kiss. When they finally had to stop to breathe, he pulled off Duo's clothes roughly, showering the exposed flesh with kisses. Duo's moans filled the room, almost drowning out the soft sounds of surf washing against a distant shore. *** Heero walked into Quatre's office on Monday with a large, satisfied smile and a band of gold encircling his finger. "Hey Trowa.. thanks for the CDs. I think everyone can use that kind of help." Smiling happily, he handed the black case over and headed towards work. "Hey Love, which CDs did you give him?" Quatre asked, curiosity burning in his eyes. Trowa contrived to look innocent as he put the case back onto the shelf. "Just the ones I listened to after the war.. when we first started going out." Smiling, he thought of the labels he had removed from the CDs: "How to be the Perfect Lover" |