---------------------
  X'mas AC198 Part X
~ A Moment of Haven ~
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	Duo spent another minute staring at the ceiling before glancing 
down again at the head resting on his shoulder.  Nope, still asleep, 
more or less.  Heero had been stirring for more than five minutes now, 
shifting and wrinkling his nose and sighing softly, and Duo had been 
patient this entire time, but no longer.  He moved.

	Heero adjusted his position.

	He used his outside leg to stroke his foot down Heero's calf.

	Heero smiled faintly and snuggled a little.

	With a frown of annoyance, he tapped his fingers lightly against 
Heero's forearm, using a random pattern at first, and then spelling out 
'wake up, dammit' in morse code.

	Heero shifted his arm with a shrug before Duo got to finish his 
message.

	Duo was used to Heero's ways.  He had learned to tell when Heero 
was truly was asleep, and when he was faking it.  Alas, Heero was not 
faking it.  Well, desperate times called for desperate measures.  He 
took a hold of his ponytail and started tickling Heero's nose with a bit 
at the end.  When Heero shook his head to get away from the intruder, 
Duo followed.  The moment Heero's eyes blinked blearily open, Duo tossed 
the hair aside and smiled with bright innocence.  "Good morning, Mr. 
Sleepypants!"

	There was more blinking, some of it in confusion, before Heero 
rolled onto his back and tried to orient himself.  "What time is it?"

	Spending another second of his life to wax romantic on whether 
Heero was staring at the same spot on the ceiling that he had just been, 
Duo checked the clock that was on his side of the bed to confirm the 
time, and maybe make it look like he hadn't been staring at that thing 
mere minutes ago.  "Almost oh-nine-twenty."

	Ugh, indulgently late by Heero's standards, especially since it 
hadn't been particularly late when he had fallen asleep.  He made a 
sound of disapproval and rubbed at his eyes.

	Duo smirked safely out of view before wiping the expression away 
and leaning solicitously toward his boyfriend.  "Feeling okay this 
morning?"

	Heero lay quietly in place, assessing his condition.  Once he 
had accounted for all parts of himself, he pulled himself upright with a 
suppressed groan.  "I'm... fine."

	"You don't need to go throw up or anything?"

	"I do need to use the toilet, but only for what it's supposed to 
be used for."

	It was probably an age-old tradition to use the toilet for 
regurgitating the contents of one's stomach after a drunken binge, but 
he supposed that wasn't its primary use.  "And you should thank me for 
that.  If I hadn't had you chug so much water, you probably wouldn't be 
waking up feeling decent."

	"I'm not thanking you for that.  What makes you think I wouldn't 
be feeling decent without you?"  Heero wasn't really one for feeling 
ill, after all.

	"You can't prove that."

	"But you can't... Never mind."  He rubbed the back of his neck.  
He wasn't at the top of his game right now, and he needed to be if he 
wanted to deal with Duo-logic.

	Duo offered at least some sympathy, doing his duty by rising up 
for a sideways hug and replacing Heero's hand with his own.  "Do you 
need an asprin or something?"

	Heero transformed his soft sigh of contentment into something 
indicating the negative.  "No, I'm fine.  Head will probably clear up 
once I get up and about.  Stomach'll probably settle down with some 
breakfast."

	"Quatre had more to drink than you did, you said?"

	"Yeah... he won more games."  He chuckled tiredly.  "Of course, 
that could possibly be because there were a few times he insisted I 
allow him to capture my pieces."

	Take a piece, take a shot.  "Sheesh.  He was really intent on 
getting trashed?"

	"I don't know if he started out with that intention, but... 
that's what happened."  It had seemed like just a small rebellion to 
begin with, but he supposed the conclusion ought to have been obvious.

	"I don't suppose the hangover will teach him not to do it 
again?"  Duo shifted behind him, a better position from which to both 
massage and molest.

	While certain that he had only a mild hangover, Heero found 
himself wondering what a major hangover would be like.  "What, you mean 
you aren't going to sit back and enjoy laughing at him?"

	Duo kissed the back of his neck.  "Well, I'll laugh if he's 
hungover, but I'm not laughing if he drags you down with him."

	He snorted.  "I'm a big boy, Duo.  I can take care of myself."

	Duo squeezed him.  "I know.  And I'm sure it wasn't like you 
didn't know what was happening.  And it's not like we caught you guys 
doing anything wild and crazy.  And it's not like you guys were out at a 
bar in a base full of Ozzies or something.  Still..."  Duo squeezed him 
again, this time with perhaps a pinch of possession.  If someone was 
going to get Heero drunk, it was going to be Duo, and it was going to be 
in the privacy of their own home, where they could take advantage of 
that carefree cuddliness and make mad drunken love or something.  That 
would be acceptable.  As long as it wasn't their first time together.  
That would be unacceptable.

	Heero patted his arm.  "Your concern is appreciated.  If perhaps 
unwarranted.  And I will warn you right now that I will take your 
concern into consideration in the future, but should the need arise for 
this sort of thing to happen again, I won't guarantee that it won't."

	His nose wrinkled.  That sounded unpleasantly like something 
from their discussions when Duo had managed to get himself smacked with 
a faceful of drugs.  As much as he loved that their independence and 
autonomy was a functional part of their relationship, he preferred to 
keep instances of this to a minimum.  "...Maybe we should just make sure 
the need doesn't rise at all."

	"That would be an excellent idea."  Mmm, and oh yeah, Duo 
continuing to run a hand through his hair and massage his scalp was an 
excellent idea, too.

	Duo obliged without prompting, musing to himself as he did so.  
"Man... didn't some famous businessman up in L1 somewhere jump off the 
top of his office building recently?"

	"Yeah."  It had been in the news a few weeks ago.  Everyone had 
thought his life was great, and then bam, the next day the guy was dead, 
suicide note, affairs in order, the works.  No foul play or insurance 
fraud suspected.

	A phantom chill ran down Duo's spine, and he gave up the rubbing 
to slip his arms around Heero's waist and cuddle him from behind.  
"...I'm glad you're not a businessman, Heero."

	"What, do I have a predisposition for suicide and other 
self-destructive actions, do you think?"

	A moment of stunned silence hung in the air between them before 
Duo whacked his partner up the side of his head with an exasperated 
sound.  Exasperated, and yet at the same time, scared.  He didn't like 
thinking about those things.

	Heero chuckled, seeing humor instead, and half turned to 
reinstate the embrace.  Though he enjoyed the way Duo nuzzled petulantly 
at his neck, at length he had to disrupt the process.  "Duo..."

	"Mmm?"

	"I really do need to use the toilet."

	Duo laughed into his skin, waiting for it to get under control 
before he lifted his head and pushed playfully at Heero's shoulder.  
"Fine.  Go."

	Heero pecked him on the lips.  "Be right back."

                              ************

	He expected a certain amount of teasing, perhaps even 
harassment, from Duo.  He looked forward to a bit of sympathy, or at 
least empathy, from Heero.  But he knew life sucked when even Wufei and 
Trowa were looking down at him with barely contained amusement.  Well, 
he'd kick their asses later.  The opportunity would surely present 
itself one day.  One day after he'd had his cup of tea.

	"Gooooo~d morning!" Duo sang loudly as he entered the kitchen, a 
mellow Heero following in his wake.  "For some of us, more than others, 
I see."

	Lifting his middle finger in retort was tempting, but now that 
he no longer had inebriation to blame for such behavior, he locked it 
down.  He didn't think Duo would mind, but that wasn't a good road to 
start traveling.  If he got used to that sort of freedom, who knew when 
it could accidentally erupt during an important meeting?  He did lift 
his head from his arms, however, to evaluate the condition of his 
partner in crime.  With a pout, he noticed that Heero seemed to be doing 
pretty well.

	Trowa noted it, too.  "You're looking well off."

	Heero shrugged without turning to look at the speaker.  Instead, 
he studied Quatre's face.  Eyes a little pink, but not completely 
bloodshot.  Circles underneath.  Sour expression.  But not truly 
miserable.  Maybe Duo had something to worry about after all; the 
experience for the both of them did not seem harsh enough to serve as a 
deterrent.

	"Well, of course," Duo crowed triumphantly.  "It was nothing a 
little me couldn't cure."

	Yep, that brief make-out session they'd had before coming down 
sure had helped take the edge off things.  Heero patted Quatre 
consolingly on the shoulder.

	"Little, huh?" Trowa murmured.

	Duo manfully ignored him in favor of picking on Quatre.  "You're 
not looking too perky this morning."

	"Wait 'til I've had my tea," Quatre grumbled back, waving 
vaguely at the kettle on the stovetop.  He wasn't watching it, but it 
still seemed like it was taking bloody forever for it to boil.

	"That probably won't help that much," Heero advised, perching on 
the stool next to him.  "You need to rehydrate.  Caffeine's just a 
diuretic."

	"What, your little friend tell you that?" he groused.

	"No, biochemistry told me that."

	Duo was generous and broadened his range of teasing.  "You're 
such a nerd, Heero."  Granted, it was a sexy kind of nerdiness, but it 
was still nerdiness.

	"How so?"

	"Uh, last night?  You guys were playing chess, only you somehow 
managed to turn it into a drinking game?  Remember that?"

	"It was a drinking game.  I didn't think those were nerdy."

	"Oh, they're not," Duo assured him.  "Drinking games are 
time-honored, quite masculine things to play.  But the fact that, of all 
the drinking games in the world, you had to play one over chess?  Yeah, 
that's nerdy."

	"I am not a nerd," Heero insisted calmly.

	Duo slipped behind him to whisper loudly into his ear.  "Yeah, 
you are."

	"No, I'm not.  I can't be a nerd.  Nerds don't have hot 
boyfriends."

	Duo blinked at him for a couple of seconds before breaking out 
into amused laughter.  "Whoa, smooth comeback, Yuy!  High five!"

	Heero obediently slapped the upheld hand, but shook his head.  
"I don't think you're supposed to be high-fiving when you're the 
recipient of the comeback."

	"As your best bud and wingman, I salute you with a high-five.  
As your totally hot boyfriend, I'll just sneak in a snog..."  He closed 
in a few centimeters before remembering their audience, causing him to 
veer off.  He left his arm loosely around Heero's waist, though.  
"...later."

	Trowa snorted.  "Don't let us stop you."

	Oh, well now he definitely wasn't doing it, now that he had 
Trowa's permission.  "Why should we give you guys a free show?"

	"Oh, finally!" Quatre huffed as the kettle began to whistle at 
last.  He slithered off his stool toward the stovetop.

	"Show, huh?" Trowa said musingly.  "How much do you normally 
charge per night?"

	Heero surreptitiously slid his hand over the hand resting on his 
hip and squeezed before Duo could retort blisteringly over the 
implication.  It wasn't as if Duo hadn't set that one up himself, after 
all.  "I think we have an equal-value, bartering thing set up between 
us."

	After a frowning second, Duo took the out and nudged Heero in 
the shoulder with his free hand.  "Don't think I've forgotten your 
little 'gotta give some to get some' comment."

	Heero turned partially in his seat to look at him.  "Hm?  Did I 
say that?"

	"Yeah."

	Quatre snickered as he removed the tea bag from his mug.  "Sure 
did."

	"Oh."  Heero returned to the forward position thoughtfully.  
"Hm.  A well-turned phrase, then."

	Duo cuffed him on the back of the head.

	"The two of you were surprisingly articulate last night," Wufei 
put in, vouching for them in some sense.

	"Hey, why not?  We didn't drink that much."  Quatre's words in 
no way reassured Duo.

	"Who cleaned up out there?" Heero asked.  They had passed by the 
site of last night's infamy on the way out and found it neat and tidy.

	"I did," Wufei said.

	"You shouldn't have.  We would have cleaned up after ourselves."

	Wufei waved his concerns away.  "I volunteered for the task.  
Between cleaning up the room, or cleaning up Winner, I thought the room 
sounded the more appealing of the two."

	"Hey!" Quatre piped up, feeling a little better now that he had 
some tea in him.  "I wasn't that bad."

	Duo made a wry sound.  "I'm surprised Trowa let you get away 
with that."

	"I won the poker game," Wufei stated.  "I claimed that right as 
a part of my prize."

	Heero had figured as much.  If Duo had won, Heero would 
certainly have heard of it.  If Trowa had won, Duo would probably have 
felt obliged to say something to that effect as well.  Since he had 
heard nothing of the outcome, Heero deduced it must have been Wufei.  
"These guys didn't pay up last night?"

	"No, not yet.  Maxwell spun some excuse--"

	"Hey!"  Duo gave reasons, not excuses.  "I just thought maybe 
the others would like to watch or something.  Thought it would be nice 
of me to give them the chance to gloat or something.  Not my fault we 
got totally sidetracked."

	Trowa scratched at his chin.  "How much do you figure cleaning 
up Quatre was worth?"

	Wufei tapped the countertop in thought.  "I'll give you fifty 
for that."

	"Half off?" Duo asked.  "Score."

	"I didn't say anything about you, Maxwell."

	"What?  I cleaned up Heero!"  And he got a light nudge in the 
ribs with an elbow for that, too.  As Quatre had said, it wasn't as if 
they had gotten completely trashed the night before.

	"He was your responsibility."

	"Well, I could have left him to you!"  He got another nudge in 
the ribs, this time harder.  Duo rubbed his attacker's shoulder.  "I'm 
not saying I would've.  I didn't.  I'm just saying I could've."

	Heero grunted.

	Wufei had a clear memory of the previous night's events.  "You 
said quite plainly that Heero was your responsibility.  Since I was not 
left to caring for him, the fact that you cared for him in no way 
negates any part of your debt."

	"Come on," Duo whined.  Push-ups were nothing, but it was the 
principle of the matter.  "It's gotta be -something-.  I'll concede that 
Heero wasn't as bad off as Quatre there."

	"I wasn't that bad off," Quatre muttered into his mug.

	Duo hadn't actually witnessed much of Quatre's drunken splendor, 
but he imagined it must have been more severe than Heero's.  He turned 
to Trowa for the evidence.  "You're the only one that was sober enough 
to remember.  How bad was he?  Did you have a rough time with him?"

	"Rough?"  Trowa spent a few seconds in thought.  "No, it wasn't 
rough.  It was... interesting."

	Quatre spluttered suddenly into his drink.  "Sh-- ...oot.  That 
didn't really happen, did it?"

	Naturally, Duo pounced on the opening immediately.  "What didn't 
happen?"

	"I thought for sure that was--"  He stopped suddenly, realizing 
how much potentially damaging information he was giving away.  Between 
breaths, he composed himself, though the tips of his ears were still 
pink.  "Well, Trowa.  You were sober enough to remember.  Did that 
happen?"

	"Did what?" Duo interrupted.  "Did what?  Did what?"

	Trowa ignored him and answered Quatre's question.  Sort of.  
"Did -what- happen, Quatre?  I don't know what you're talking about."

	Quatre stared at him for a while, trying to figure out whether 
Trowa was covering for him, or if really nothing had happened.  In the 
end, he went back to quietly sipping his tea, though not without the 
occasional suspicious look out of the corner of his eye.

	"Did *what* happen?!" Duo cried.



_________________________________________
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last modified : 5/28/2006 03:57:52 PST