I do not own any characters in Gundam Wing. but I do own a Trigun poster that constantly falls off of my wall! ^_^

“What’s wrong, Heero?” A red-haired boy taunted. “I always thought you were tough, but you’re too chicken to have this one drink.” A small cup was pushed across the table to the brown haired, blue-eyed pilot. The cup was filled to the brim with a brownish liquid.

“I don’t want it.” Heero said flatly. His dark eyes flared at the classmate who sat across from him. “That’s tequila. I don’t need to get drunk off my ass.”

“Yeah, but it could be funny.” A lively voice spoke up from behind Heero. Duos brushed his long, chestnut brown braid aside and sat down next to him. “Damn that’s alotta boos.” Duo flashed Heero one of his trademark smiles. “Don’t worry, though. One drink ain’t gonna kill you.”

“Hn.” Heero glanced at the drink, then back at Heero and scowled.

“I’ve had two beers and I’m fine.” Duo said proudly. “Here.” He nudged the drink closer to Heero, and finally the Perfect Soldier picked up the cup. He tilted his head back and swallowed the drink with one gulp.

For a moment, the room spun with a nauseating, repetitive movement, then everything went black.

“Oh, kuso!” Duo cried as he knelt down next to an unconscious Heero. “Heero? Heero, wake up!” He slowly lifted Heero’s head onto his lap. “Heero, come on, wake up!”

“Uhn?…” Heero slowly opened his eyes and looked, dazed, at Duo.

“Daijoubu ka, Heero?” Duo asked. Heero only blinked. “Diajoubu desu-ka?” He tried again.

“Aa.” Heero managed as he shakily sat up.

“You drank that too fast.”

“Aa.” Heero let out a choked cough and threw up in Duo’s lap.

“Ewww! Shit!” Duo groaned, getting sick himself at the sight of Heero’s dinner on his clothes. “What the hell else was in that tequila?”

Heero let out an intoxicated giggle as he stood up. “Whoa.” He moaned. “That sure…” He staggered a few steps, collapsed against Duo, and laughed again.

“Are you alright, Heero?”

“Hai.” Heero said, making a pathetic attempt to walk steadily. “Hey look, a kitty.”

“Nani? Heero, there’s no—“

"Hey! Heero!" Duo called as he watched the Japanese pilot disappear. "Shit."

Heero pulled away from Duo and chased the invisible cat through the crowd.

Duo grumbled several crude words as he pushed through the drunken crowd in search of Heero. A blonde girl tripped and fell against his chest. Duo caught her by the arms and held her up. Her breath smelled a lot like beer.

"Gomen nasai..." The girl mumbled slowly.

"S'okay." Duo answered. "Have you seen Heero?"

"Hee...ro?...He's chasing the kitty!"

Duo frowned. "Oh...kay..." He gently pushed the girl away. "Why don't you go look for the kitty too?" The girl giggled and wondered off in another direction. Duo started his search for Heero again.

After bumping into several more classmates, Duo heard a soft moan from somewhere by a wall. "Heero?" He pushed past two older boys and found Heero sitting against the wall with his head between his legs and his shaking arms clasped tightly around them. "Heero!" Duo pulled him to his feet and Heero instantly sagged against him. "Are you alright?"

"I feel sick." Heero murmured shakily, coughing as if he were about to vomit.

"Come on, you need some fresh air." Duo helped Heero to a balcony door and slid it open. As soon as they stepped outside, Hero staggered to the rail and threw up over the side.

Heero felt like absolute shit. His legs were wobbly and his stomach was relentlessly forcing out the alcohol until he didn't think there could possibly be any more. His arms were trembling as he tried to get a firm grip on the rail and he had to keep his eyes closed because he was so dizzy. With a loud cough, Heero threw up again and this time he kept his head down.

After several moments, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Heero opened his eyes and glanced up. Duo was looking down at him with a concerned look that he had never seen from the American before. Heero wanted to laugh, but the thought made his stomach hurt and he felt the wave of nausea come on again. The worry in Duo's violet eyes somehow made him feel somewhat better. "Fun didn't last long, ne?" He said gently.

"N--" Heero was cut off by a sudden fit of coughing and warm liquid rushing through his throat. He fell to his knees shaking badly and lowered his head between his legs again. Duo frowned, he had never seen Heero so sick. He knelt down by him and put a hand on his back.

"Did you drink anything else?" Duo asked, keeping one comforting hand on Heero's shoulder.

"Screwdriver." Heero choked. "I thought it was orange juice."

"Aa." Heero sat up but kept his head down for a few moments. Finally, he managed to look at the long-haired pilot. "You wanna go home?" Duo asked.

"Hai."

"You think you can hold off on spewin' for about ten minutes?" Heero tried his best to nod and let Duo help him to sand and walk to the car. He wasn't really able to control his own legs, so Duo was practically carrying him. Duo put Heero in the passenger seat, then got in the driver's seat himself and started in the direction of the Gundam pilots' safe house.

"You've never gotten drunk before, have you?" Duo asked jokingly. Heero muttered an unintelligible answer. “Huh, I’ll bet you’ve never even had a drink before.” Duo looked nervously for a response, but Heero said nothing. “Hey, Heero, are you okay?”

Heero still didn’t answer. Duo shook his shoulder hard with one hand and tried to stay steady on the road with the other. When Heero still didn’t give a reply, Duo pulled over and turned on the dome light and the emergency break.

Heero had passed out and his head was angled back against the seat. Duo slowly leaned over to Heero and gently tilted his head forward. “There. At least now you won’t choke to death if you puke.” He ran his fingers along Heero’s cheekbone and smiled. “Daijoubu.” Duo said faintly as he started the car again.

Unfortunately for Duo, Heero woke up and threw up on his shoes as soon as they got home. Duo managed to get him upstairs and into his room without getting any questions from Trowa, Quatre, or Wufei. Heero went straight to the bathroom and Duo started going through Heero’s drawers looking for clean clothes. Eventually he pulled out a big tee shirt and black sweatpants, then walked into the bathroom.

Heero was leaning against the bathtub, right next to the toilet in case he got sick again. He looked at Duo as he walked in. “Who threw up on you?”

Duo sighed. “You did.”

“Oh,” Heero moved his head forward a little with a soft moan. “Didn’t know you had this much patience.” He choked. Duo smiled. At least Heero could display some signs of life considering how ill he was.

“Here, I brought you some clean clothes.” Duo held them out and Heero took them with a shaking hand.

“Thanks.” He whispered as he took of his filthy green muscle shirt. Duo was staring, paralyzed at Heero’s bare chest when there was a knock at the door.

“Huh?” Duo opened the door; a short blonde-haired, blue eyed boy was standing there with a concerned look on his face. “Quatre?”

“I heard you guys come in.” He said with a polite smile. “You were kinda loud. Are you two alright?”

“Hai.” Duo said with a yawn.

Quatre noticed the vomit on Duo’s pants and shoes. “Are you sick?” He asked. “I could call for a doctor if you’re—“

“Iie. Daijoubu. Heero just…” Duo winced as he heard Heero cough in the bathroom. “Heero had a little too much to drink at a party.”

“Oh.” Quatre blinked in confusion. “Does he need any help?” Duo almost laughed. This was the kid who probably wouldn’t even recognize alcohol if it hit him in the face, much less ever drink the stuff. Duo had somewhat expected Quatre to scold him, but the Arabian boy only seemed more concerned. “Is he okay?”

“He’s completely wasted.” Duo said. Quatre looked blank, so the American dumbed it down a bit. “He’s really, really drunk. Don’t worry though, once he stops puking…and gets over a major hangover…Heero will be back to his normal, over-secretive self.”

“Okay.” Quatre still looked confused, but a warm smile crossed his face anyway. “Call me if you need any help. Goodnight.”

“Right. G’night, Quatre.” Duo closed the door and Quatre stood motionless in the hallway for a moment.

“What’s a hangover?” When he heard no answer, he shrugged and walked away.

Duo’s mouth dropped open when he walked into the bathroom. Heero was standing up; he had taken off his shoes and socks and was working on his tight shorts. “Heero, what are you doing?”

“Taking a shower.” Heero mumbled half-consciously. He didn’t seem to have the coordination to get his shorts off, so he simply gave up and turned on the water.

“Hold on.” Duo said loudly. “You can’t take a shower alone right now. You’re way too drunk, you can barely stand. If you pass out in there, you’ll be in deep shit.” He tried to block out the true reason he had said that. Heero blinked at him, had a final struggle with his shorts and surprisingly won, then staggered into the shower without even bothering with his underwear. “Hey!” Duo stared dumbly at the waving shower curtain for a moment, trying to convince himself that if he went in there, it was out of concern for his friend’s safety and not his own pleasure. After a quick, heated internal debate, Duo finally stripped down to his underwear and followed Heero.

“Nani?!” Heero gasped in anger and shock when he saw Duo. “What the hell are you doing?!” He demanded. He almost seemed like his normal self except for the dull unawareness in his dark eyes. It was quite obvious that something was wrong when Heero spun around to look at Duo and slipped. His right hip slammed into the side of the tub, but Duo managed to grab one arm and pull him up before he hit his head.

“Daijoubu.” Duo said in a soft, unsure tone. Heero stood up straight and looked at him, displaying no emotion whatsoever. He seemed to be looking right through Duo. The tension growing between the two was so great that the braided pilot almost didn’t catch Heero when he lost his balance again.

Duo whimpered as Heero’s warm body pressed limply against his. He placed a hand on Heero’s shoulder and the Japanese pilot looked up. Their eyes met for a long moment, each utterly captivating the other. Duo swallowed hard as Heero pulled himself up, it was difficult for the American’s eyes not to falter. They were so close he could feel Heero’s breath on his face. Although it contained the pungent smell of alcohol, Duo still took pleasure in the fact that it was Heero’s breath. His attention was so fixed on the Perfect Soldier that he hardly noticed the water streaming down on them. He had one brief thought that it was cold, but his attention went back to Heero. Duo didn’t care about anything else right then. The silence between them was unnerving, but whatever Duo was feeling inside at the moment, it made his nervousness disappear. He opened his mouth to speak, but Heero turned away. Duo frowned and lowered his head.

“Dammit.”

Heero quickly finished washing without giving Duo another look or saying a word to him, then he stumbled out onto the slippery bathroom tile. Duo sighed and looked up at the ceiling until he noticed his teeth were chattering. The water really was cold. He stepped forward and turned off the shower, then the water, which had been nothing but cold. He almost slipped as he stepped onto the floor, but Heero didn’t seem to notice him. The Japanese pilot only wrapped himself in a towel and walked out into the bedroom.

Duo scowled and kicked the side of the tub in frustration. This was just as things always were. Heero was ignoring him just as he almost always did. Even with him drunk Duo could not get Heero’s attention. Duo grasped the nearby towel rack until his knuckles turned white, trying to cool off his temper.

“Iie. I shouldn’t be mad at Heero.” He said softly. “He barely knows what he’s doing.” He paused. “But it’s not that different from usual, I should be used to the rejection by now.” Duo ran a hand slowly down his dripping wet braid until he came across the rubber band. He pulled it out and slipped it around his wrist, then undid his braid. His incredibly long hair fell past his waist in a mess of thick, tangled strands. He put a towel around his shoulders and walked into the main room.

Heero was standing near his bed, struggling to pull on the sweatpants Duo had found earlier and running a constant stream of curses under his breath. The American watched with interest, absently running his fingers through his soaking hair. Heero finally got the pants on and fell backwards onto his bed. He looked over at Duo and let out an impressed laugh.

“What?” Duo asked.

Heero sat up and leaned his bare back against the wall. “I’ve never seen your hair down before.”

Duo smiled, pleased almost beyond words that Heero had given him some amount of attention. “Do ya like it?” He asked with a sheepish grin.

Heero blinked confusedly. “Aa.” He said finally. Duo grinned proudly at the approval and again ran his fingers through his hair. He continued for several minutes, using his fingers as a comb. “You wanna borrow some clothes?” Heero’s voice broke the silence. Duo looked at him strangely.

“Huh?”

“All you have on is underwear.” Heero pointed out. Duo pulled the towel around his body tighter and blushed bright red.

“Oh yeah.” Duo murmured. He wondered over to Heero’s dresser and pulled out a small pair of dark green sweatpants. They were a little big, but they somehow stayed at his waistline. Duo walked to Heero’s bed and sat down next to him. He put his hands behind his head and started re-braiding his hair. Heero lay back and watched Duo’s quickly moving fingers until finally he smiled.

“How do you do that?” Heero muttered.

“Huh?”

“You have fifteen…no, sixteen fingers when you’re braiding your hair…So fast.”

“Yeah?” Duo put the rubber band in, secured it, then rolled onto his side to face Heero. “Fastest fingers in the West.” He said with a laugh.

Heero smiled a little drunkenly then laughed out loud. Duo smiled back and sank freely onto Heero’s covers. A long time passed and neither pilot said a word. Duo’s arms slowly rose to wrap around Heero’s shoulders and the braided boy snuggled a little closer. Heero hesitated for a moment, then slipped one arm around Duo’s back. Duo leaned in more until his head was on Heero’s shoulder.

“Heero…” Duo spoke up in a whisper.

“Hmm?” Heero groaned, his head was beginning to hurt badly. Duo said nothing and Heero started to lose his patience. “What is it, Duo?”

Duo took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Ai shiteru.”

Heero’s eyes became very wide at that. “What?!”

“I…I love you, Heero. I think I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you. I don’t know what I’d do without you…”

Heero said nothing.

“I understand if you think it’s weird or gross or something. If you do, I’ll just leave and you won’t ever have to speak to me again.”

Still the Perfect Soldier didn’t reply. Duo started to sit up, but a strong arm pulled him back to the bed.

“Iie.”

Duo sighed and let his head rest on Heero’s shoulder again. He desperately fought back the tears that were stinging his eyes but it was to no avail. They overflowed and streamed down his cheeks and onto Heero’s shirt. His small body shuddered with quiet sobs until two arms wrapped around him. One gently stroked his braid and the other held him tight at Heero’s side.

“Daijoubu.” Heero said softly. “ I thought boys didn’t cry.”

Duo sniffed loudly, but was too embarrassed to answer. Heero’s arms tightened around the American’s shoulders and he gently kissed him. Duo sniffed again and hugged Heero, clasping his arms as tightly as he could.

“Duo…” Heero said softly and with a hint of actual kindness in his soft tone.

“Hai?”

“Ai shiteru ta.”

Duo gasped in a combination of disbelief and overwhelming joy. “Yuh…You mean it?”

Heero kissed him again, this time on the lips. That answer was sufficient enough for Duo. He sighed happily and went to sleep, his head resting on Heero’s shoulder and his arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

The next morning, Heero was awakened by the sunlight shining on his face from an open window. He slowly opened his eyes and instantly wished he hadn’t done so. His head hurt terribly and the light made it seem like someone was holding a flashlight inches from his eyes. With a deep groan, Heero started to roll over, but a weight on his shoulder stopped him. He looked down, Duo was sleeping there with one arm still on Heero’s chest.

Heero actually smiled, it had been a long time since he had done so out of joy or love; so long that he could not remember. He had never expected Duo to say it first, Heero did not even know the American had felt that way about him. He brushed Duo’s ragged bangs aside and kissed his forehead.

“Ai shiteru, Duo.”

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