Archiving: Just ask.

Warnings: Songfic

Blame: All mine. I need a Muse. Unless Yoko's still hanging around, or my grandmother... =)

Comments: I don't own Gundam, that's Sotsu, Sunrise, Bandai and a half a dozen other corporations. Nor do I own "I Love My Computer" (that's the band Bad Religion) or "Rebel, Rebel" (that would be David Bowie). Please don't sue me: all you'll get it a pile of yaoi GW manga! =)

Friendly Fire by Shinigami's Demon

//Duo's thoughts// {{Heero's thoughts}} ::song lyrics::

"Heero, are you going to eat *something?* or not? I cooked."

"Hn. More reason for me to stay away, then. I'm busy. Go away."

Duo kicked Wing with the rubber sole of his combat boots. Heero looked up from his laptop. "Fine, then," he said. He jumped down and jogged over to the door, then turned to the huge white machine and looked up to where the Japanese pilot would be. "Don't expect any leftovers!"

He was ticked off. Royally. //Nobody's *ever* insulted my cooking before, not the kids at the orphanage, not the Sweepers, not ever Professor G. Even the crew of the Morning Star liked my cooking. So nobody's going to get away with it if they rag on it, not even Heero bloody Yuy.//

But the problem with revenge lay in getting Heero away from his Gundam and his laptop long enough to rig something. Duo had wanted a little bit of companionship: after leaving Howard and the Morning Star, but Heero seemed to have grown into that seat. He wasn't even coming out to eat: the plates Duo left out for him at mealtimes today had gone untouched, and Heero's brief glance and sharp words had been all the attention he'd paid anything outside of Wing and the laptop all day long. //It's like he's in love with the damn thing. The computer sees more of him than I do, and it looks like we've wound up as bloody partners! Wait a minute...//

The day's first grin spread across his face. //Gundam plus laptop equals idea.// He had the knowledge, and he had the equipment. Now all Duo Maxwell had to do was wait.

Heero staggered out of Wing: he'd spent the day almost unmoving while searching system after system for a tiny but critical error in the diagnostics and not only was he rather hungry, he was stiff from the lack of motion. He almost regretted turning down Duo's offer of food, but shrugged it off. Maxwell wasn't terrible, but he was no chef. Still, the sun would rise in the west the day Heero Yuy apologized to that braided loon.

First things first: food, then rest. Just after he found the problem, Doctor J sent him a mission briefing. It was for two Gundams, preferably. Did he know that Heero and Duo had wound up paired off? He hadn't said anything specific, but Heero had caught the hint the old engineer's tone that that would be an option only if the circumstances were desperate and they really weren't. It didn't matter, though. That was one order he had no intention of following: a second pilot could provide backup and an escape route. The option was there, at least. {{But did it have to be Duo Maxwell? Why couldn't it have been one of the others? He gave me a list of how to contact them: maybe I should. No, Duo's annoying, but he is at least adequate.}}

Heero's entrance woke Duo, who was on the couch, with a jump. The braided pilot grimaced and laid his head back down and the other went into the kitchen. Of course, Duo had put away the food but not cleaned up. He'd mentioned that once, after trying one of Heero's experiments. "I'll cook," he had said, "and it's your choice if you eat or not but you're cleaning up regardless, got it?"

{{I'm not going to ask for cooking lessons from him. J never taught me how to cook well: as long as it meets nutritional needs, why bother with taste or appearance?}} Heero pulled out the remains of last night's beef stew and heated it up: while that was going he started on the dishes. A movement caught his eye: Duo was at the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Can't sleep, not with all the racket you're making down here, " Duo half-mumbled."Gonna go sleep with Death..."

Heero could believe that: Duo was a better burglar alarm than most machines. The boy would wake up at the slightest noise or movement: his danger sense was even more finely tuned than Heero's, almost hyperactive. Just like Maxwell himself. {{What kind of training did *that* to him?}} But it was an interesting choice of words, he thought, considering them.

"Hn." He went back to the dishes. Duo, outside, smiled and started humming just loud enough for Heero inside to hear.

The next day dawned and Heero rose a minute before the alarm clock buzzed. {{Buzz off,}} he said to himself: he'd picked that one up from Duo lately and allowed himself a slight smile in amusement at its usage now. Not bothering with the green tank top, he went outside to go fix Wing. The suit glowed white in the light that leaked through the camouflage netting, with the colors all the brighter for the damp rain that had fallen during the night. He quickly climbed up to the cockpit and started up the laptop.

But instead of the usual startup screen, there was a blank blue one. The Gundam's viewscreens flashed on, although the mech itself did not activate, and the same blank blue showed up there as well. On all four screens simultaneously a big yellow smiley face popped up in the middle and stuck its tongue out. Music began playing, a very heavy techno mix, and he recognized the odd verse that Duo had hummed last night on his way out the door: it was the lyric melody.

::I love my computer::

::You make me feel all right::

::Every waking hour::

::And every lonely night...::

{{Duo...}}

::I love my computer::

::for all you give to me::

::predictable errors and no identity::

::And it's never been quite so easy::

::I've never been quite so happy::

Heero listened to the song: it was strange, but not all that bad. And if Duo had gone to the time to set this up, there was probably a reason. Considering the content, most likely it was a message.

::All I need to do is click on you::

::And we'll be joined in the most soulless way::

::And we'll never ruin each other's day::

::'cuz when I'm through I just click::

::and you just go away::

Still, he mused, a funny little half-smile on his face, it didn't change the fact that Duo had tinkered with both the computer and the Gundam.

::I love my computer::

::You're always in the mood::

::I get so turned on::

::when I turn on you::

{{Duo, omae o koroso.}}

::I love my computer::

::You never ask for more::

::You can be a princess or you can be my whore::

{{Would that be a reference to Relena?}} That thought definitely amused him.

::And it's never been quite so easy::

::I've never been quite so happy::

::All I need to do is click on you::

::And we'll be joined in the most soulless way::

::And we'll never ruin each other's day::

::'cuz when I'm through I just click::

::And you just go away::

::And you just go away::

Duo came out of nowhere, sat on the open hatch cover with an unrepentant grin on his face. Heero scowled and tried to hit a few keys, but the keyboard was locked: so was the power switch. Maxwell started snickering quietly.

::The world outside is so big::

::But it's safe in my domain::

::Because to you I'm just a number::

::And a clever screen name::

"You're not going to be able to do anything, not until the song plays out. I would have made the hatch lock you in, just so you'd hear the song, but I wanted to see your reaction." Duo said smugly.

::All I need to do is click on you::

::And we'll be together for eternity::

::And no one is ever gonna take my love from me

::'cuz I've got security::

::Her password and a key::

"A password is hardly secure: I've broken enough of yours to know."

Heero raised a brow: the Gundam's screens winked off and the laptop's normal bootup scrren showed. Pressing a few keys proved that it had unlocked and it was a safe bet that the power key was, as well. Heero got up from the chair and unhooked the laptop from Wing's systems.

"You set it up," he said, indicating the vacant seat, "so now you can take it apart, along with any other cute little pranks you might have put in."

"Oh, you liked that one, heh?"

"Not particularly."

Duo set to work, chatting as he accessed the program codes. "If you're wondering why, then I'll explain my reasoning. You think I'm hyper: ok. But we're supposed to be partners, if only for the sake of the missions we keep getting handed." Long fingers flew over the keyboard. "You need to get the stick out of your ass and relax a little. And get the hell away from the computer! How is this supposed to work if we don't know each other? How can either one of us know the other if you spend all your time on the bloody computer? There: done. And I didn't add any other tricks in there," he added hastily. He got up. "And there was one other reason." Standing on the platform, he was just Heero's height and hard amethyst eyes burned into Heero's darker ones. "Don't you ever insult my cooking again." Then he left.

That night Heero came to dinner when called, and had seconds. It was his version of an apology, the closest he would get to actually saying it. Duo understood.

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