He'd thought that trudging over to the kitchen for some more Cheesy Puffs would've alleviated the boredom a bit but then realized that he'd seen his kitchen far more times than any other room in his apartment and therefore the scenery was a bit less than thrilling.

Well, the new bag of Cheesy Puffs, all shiny and new, that was pretty thrilling.

Not as thrilling when he was all done though.

He sagged on the couch, playing idly with his bathrobe sash. This was sad. Duo was -- well, at the age where he was trying to hide just how old he was -- with a deadbeat job and a crappy apartment. And on top of that he was currently watching a Veggie Tales marathon.

For the fourth time.

Duo was getting the feeling that his life was crap. And that he had to move on. Or at least move it into the garbage, because his crap life was stinking up the entire place. But the garbage was pretty stinky too, Duo wouldn't really want to live there. And now Duo was thinking about what life would be like living in the garbage can.

"Yeah, definitely time to move on," Duo said aloud to himself, reaching for another handful of popcorn. "But maybe after this next part. I love that pickle."

The next day, Duo enrolled himself in the nearby gym, forking over the exorbitant fee and hoping that it would be worth it. Well, that it would be worth it and that he would be able to figure out just how to use all the shiny, high-tech machinery that was in there. Duo peered into the room through the glass doors that led into the gym, wary of all the bodybuilders lifting weights in the back of the room. He spotted all sorts of odd exercise machines that people were using with ease (well, not so much ease as pained expressions but Duo figured it was all the same when it was a gym).

It didn't really look like a gym.

It looked like a torture chamber.

"I wonder if all those old sadistic kings who liked to torture people in the dungeons would want to see this. People who pay to be tortured. Huh."

Duo still had to sign a few forms and get his picture taken for the membership card, so he couldn't technically go in and exercise. At least, that was what he thought. The nice lady at the desk who'd registered him had said that he could go in if he wanted, to get a feel for the gym, but Duo figured he'd be able to get a pretty good feel just by looking around.

With all the 'getting a good feel' type of things being discussed, Duo was lucky he even remembered what they'd been talking about in the first place.

"Were we still going on about the gym or did this conversation move towards groping people?"

So, Duo was looking around the place like an idiot and hoping that no one could see what he was doing. They obviously could, if all the odd glances he was doing a pretty good job of ignoring said anything.

"Okay, time to formulate a plan to newer, better me." Duo sat down on a nearby bench, resting his head against the wall. "Step one: join a gym. Check. Step two: actually go to gym." He sighed, looking at all the sweaty people working out (he could already hear their agonized grunts). "This is gonna be harder than I'd thought."

Duo caught another odd glance, this time from the registration lady, and as he nodded to her and walked out of the building, he muttered, "Step three: stop talking to self."

Duo went straight home after that, and had looked up tips on the internet about how to stay fit and keep going to the gym and felt he was ready to "begin the process," as the expert online had called it.

He needed a gym buddy. A few minutes later, he was on the phone, propping his legs up on his desk as he called.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Quatre?"

"Who else would it be?"

"Is it so wrong to want to make sure?"

"Shouldn't you know whose number you're dialing?"

"...damn. I have no answer to that."

"Ha! What is that, the third game in a row that I've won? You need to work on your comebacks, Duo." Duo imagined Quatre stretching in his chair, a triumphant look on his face.

Quatre was a bit of an oddball, to put it lightly.

When Duo had first met him, it was his first day at work, and Quatre had been the one assigned to show him around. Their first conversation had gone pretty much like the one they were having at the moment. See, Quatre had wanted to be a stand-up comedian ever since he was little. He was an especially big fan of improvisational humor, and he watched a lot of old improv shows where they played all sorts of odd games. 'Questions Only' was his current favorite, and the name of the game pretty much gave it all away.

And, as Duo was learning, it was not as easy as it sounded.

"So, what's up, Duo?" Quatre asked.

"I need a gym buddy."

"A what?"

Duo rolled his eyes. For someone that wanted to go into a comedy area where one had to be lightning-fast at thinking up funny things, Quatre sure wasn't quick on the uptake.

"A gym buddy. Someone who goes to the gym with you. Preferably someone who is close to you and won't be scared off by all the sweat. So, a friend. A buddy even. In fact, I think that's why they call it a gym bu--"

"You're going to the gym?" Quatre interrupted Duo, sounding incredulous. Duo bristled on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, why not?"

"It's just...you...you're not really the gym type," Quatre explained, slowly, as though he thought Duo was quite possibly insane.

Duo thought Quatre was just an idiot. "There's a 'gym type'? And what kind of person falls under the 'gym type,' huh?"

"Oh, I don't know. Someone who doesn't spend their Friday nights watching a rerun of Veggie Tales while eating a humongous bowl of popcorn, maybe?"

Duo blinked, and stared at the phone for a moment. "...it wasn't a humongous bowl. Medium-sized. At most. Besides, how did you know I was watching VT?"

"Because I was too, of course. Nothing good is ever on on Fridays!" Quatre said, nonchalant. "The one day anyone actually has time to watch something and there's absolutely nothing on."

"I know, what's up with that?" They reflected on this for a moment. "So, you going with me or what?"

"I suppose. What gym?"

Duo shrugged and read the name off of the registration papers he had yet to fill in. "Nateha Recreation Center?"

"Oh! I have a membership there already!" Quatre exclaimed, and Duo could hear the smile.

"Uh...really? You don't seem like, well, the 'gym type'."

"Oh, yeah?" Quatre sounded mocking. "And, pray tell, what is this 'gym type'?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but I don't think puny stick-figure blondes fit in it," Duo snickered, grinning.

"...I don't think I want to be your gym buddy anymore."

"Okay, okay." Duo sighed, and continued in a flat voice, "You are very buff. And muscular. Really the epitome of the so-called gym type. So gym typeish, in fact, that I hear people call you Mr. Gym Type. That's just how gym-type you are. Your gym type brings all the boys to the yard -- are you ever going to stop me?"

"Hmm, I may be the gym type but you certainly need to work on your groveling skills. But alright. I suppose I can be your geeby," Quatre relented, laughing.

"My geeby?" Duo asked, raising an eyebrow, even though Quatre couldn't see it. "What is that, a geeky gerbil?"

"G.B., gym buddy."

"Ah, I see. Because those three syllables were just too much effort to say, you had to shorten it a bit, huh?"

"Put a sock in it," Quatre said good-naturedly. "Are you going tomorrow, then? What time should we meet up before work?"

"I guess..." Duo sighed reluctantly, then thought about what time they had to be at work. Since Duo and Quatre worked at the same place, Duo thought that they could probably just take turns driving each other to and fro. "How about I pick you up at eight?"

There was a slight pause on Quatre's end. "It takes ten minutes to get to my place and then the gym."

"Yeah..." Duo wasn't seeing Quatre's point.

"Duo, by the time we get there we'll only be able to exercise five minutes before packing up to get to work by eight-thirty. And that's without a shower."

"I figured we'd start out small, Quatre. We don't want to sprain anything."

"Duo!" Quatre laughed. "Alright, how about you pick me up at seven and then we stop at eight-ten to take showers and go to work? I'll pick you up the day after that, and so on."

"Okay, okay." Duo sighed again.

"I can already tell you're going to be a wonderful geeby. So bright and upbeat." Quatre's eyeballs sure were making a lot of sound, Duo thought, because he could hear them roll all the way in his apartment.

In a non-creepy way, of course. Well. Then again, whatever Quatre liked to do in private was his own business. Eye rolling, gym typing, whatever.

"'Bye, Quat. See you tomorrow."

"Goodbye, Duo. Oh, and Duo?"

"Huh?"

"Don't be late."

It was Duo's turn to roll his eyes. He wondered if Quatre could hear them. Was it a squishy noise, or a sort of sandpapery sound, or...

"I won't be late, Quat."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, man! I won't be late."

Duo was late.

"Shit," was the first thing he said as an amused Quatre stood behind the door. "Sorry, Quat."

"Oh, it's alright," Quatre said, glancing at his watch. "You're only a few minutes late. I just knew there was no way you'd actually be on time so I wanted the opportunity to lord this moment over you for the rest of your life." He smiled sweetly and stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind him and locking it. "My life is now complete."

Duo restrained the urge to strangle his best friend. No use getting a geeby and then killing him.

Unless he found a new geeby...hm.

Nah. Too much work.

"So, off to Nateha's, then?"

Duo nudged Quatre with his shoulder and said, in his best perky voice, "You betcha!"

Quatre merely blinked at him. "Happiness really doesn't suit you."

"Screw off," Duo replied good naturedly, opening the apartment building's door for his friend. "Ladies first," he said, smirking.

"Hm, yes, immaturity fits you so much better!" Quatre smirked right back at him as he exited, Duo shaking his head as he followed after the other man.

No wonder they were such great friends.

"Uh...how do I even get on one of these things?" Duo scratched his head, frowning at the machine he was currently standing in front of.

Quatre was standing next to him, head tilted in curiosity. "I have no clue."

"Alright, what about this one?" Duo gestured towards the one next to the exercise machine he'd been pointing at.

"No idea."

"And that one?" Duo asked, pointing to the next thing in line.

"...Duo, that's a vending machine."

"Heh, I know." Duo grinned at Quatre, putting in money and punching in the numbers for a bottle of water. "I was just trying to see if you would take pity and give me money to buy something with."

"Damn, I'm going to feel that tomorrow," Duo groaned, easing off of the stationary bicycle. Quatre nodded in agreement from the treadmill, turning it off and then stepping down, swaying slightly on his feet.

"I know what you mean," Quatre complained in response, one hand supporting his back. "Not only have I just run two miles, it feels like I ran it while on a sailboat in the middle of The Perfect Storm."

"Ugh," Duo grunted in sympathy.

They wiped off the machines with some paper towels and disinfectant provided by the gym staff and hobbled over to the locker room to shower quickly before going to work.

"I smell awful," Quatre remarked, crinkling his nose. Duo snorted tiredly, slowly taking off his shirt with exaggerated effort.

"What else is new?" He grinned weakly.

Quatre glared at him, following suit. "I would hit you if it didn't take so much energy."

"It's the thought that counts," Duo reassured him, and they stuffed their clothes into some free lockers, shuffling off to the showers.

"We're so weak," Quatre said offhandedly, as he stepped into an empty shower and closed the curtain.

"Thanks for rubbing it in," Duo replied, but with no bite (too tired), turning on the hot water. He heard Quatre do the same thing, and they both sighed a relieved "ahh!" at the same time.

"This is the life, huh?" Quatre shouted over the sound of the water spray. Duo massaged his arms and squirted out some soap to wash himself with.

"Yeah, you won't be saying that tomorrow," Duo promised darkly, already planning on swinging by a drugstore to get a heating pad and maybe some Tylenol after work.

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic," Quatre sing-songed. "I feel loads better already!"

"Just for that, I'm not going to give you a single pill," Duo muttered, wincing as he felt a slight pull in his leg, deciding that Quatre's could be donated to himself.

"What?" Quatre called out.

"Nothing, my most wonderful geeby," Duo mock-simpered. "You ready to go? We gotta get to work."

"Yes!" And with that, Quatre turned off his shower and whipped open the shower curtain, finding Duo with his towel already wrapped around his waist, waiting for him. Quatre smiled, and patted Duo's shoulder. "Don't you feel so refreshed?"

Duo shielded his eyes from Quatre's cheerful bum, groaning in protest. "Not that refreshed. And, for that matter, not that drunk either."

Quatre then proceeded to start a towel snapping-fest, and they went on with that for a few minutes while getting ready for work.

One of the recreation center's employees was walking by and thought that a few girls had wandered into the boys' locker room by accident. All that high-pitched squeaking and whatnot.

"Ah, well," she said indulgently. "Best not to embarrass them."

The next morning, Quatre begged off from geeby duty, groaning about his arm muscles the entire time. Duo snickered and tried not to think about how much it hurt his abs to laugh.

"You're canceling? C'mon, Quatre, what kind of geeby are you?" Duo held back another snicker. It somehow made him feel better just to hear that Quatre was in pain as well. Misery loves yadda yadda.

"Shut up," Quatre moaned, obviously in pain. "I tried five times just to get out of bed!"

"You're up already?" Duo was surprised. Damn. Quatre was doing better than he was. He'd tried seven times and he was still firmly on his backside, having given up a long time ago.

"No. I'm not up. That's the point. After five tries, Duo!"

"Oh." Duo felt much better again.

"I suppose you're already up and at 'em, right?" Quatre asked after a moment. "Sorry about not being there for you...maybe you should find a better geeby."

Did Quatre sound...guilty? For not being a better geeby of all things?

"Oh, no, Quat! I'm still in pain, too. So don't worry. You're a great geeby," Duo quickly said, nodding emphatically despite the fact that Quatre couldn't see him anyway.

"Ha! I knew it! I knew you were just as out of shape as I am!"

Duo hung up the phone as Quatre started cackling.

"Damn it, I need more friends," Duo grumbled, and he hauled the blanket back over his body (not without a grimace or two) and went back to sleep.

"Hey, Quatre?" Duo was calling his coworker up, seeing as they had different cubicle locations. "Can you come over here and do me a favor?"

"What kind of favor?" Quatre's voice sounded tired. Duo would've laughed at him if he didn't feel so tired himself.

"Nothing sexual."

"...good, because I was so worried," his friend replied dryly.

"Just get over here, will you, Snarky McSarcasticpants?" Duo demanded, hanging up the phone. A few minutes later he could see Quatre walking over slowly.

"What took you so long?" Duo asked, smugly leaning back in his chair (not that it was very comfortable, but it was better than standing up like Quatre was).

Quatre glared at him. "You know what!"

"Yeah, the weight of carrying around all that sarcasm in your pants must be pretty hard," Duo said sympathetically, grinning up at the other man.

"Oh, shut up, Duo." But Quatre was grinning, too, and he leaned against Duo's desk. "So what was the favor?"

"Can you hand me that pen?"

Quatre blinked, then looked at where Duo was pointing. On the far corner of his desk (which was not all that big) was an empty coffeecup where several pens and pencils were. Quatre looked back at Duo, who was already looking back at Quatre with an expectant look on his face.

Lots of looking involved, all around.

"You called me on the phone to ask me to pick up a pen that is on your desk a mere foot away?" Quatre asked, looking an odd cross between bemused and indignant.

Duo nodded thoughtfully. "...yeah."

Quatre threw the pen into Duo's lap, shaking his head as he left.

"Why didn't I think of that when I needed to reach over to get a pen?" Duo heard Quatre muttering as he walked back to his desk. He chuckled and picked up his pen, going back to filling out some forms.

Life was so sweet. (Well, not really, as he had an ache in his bum and a tight pain in his upper thighs and it hurt every time he tried to move basically anything, even his pinky finger, but if he sat really still and didn't think about it too much, life was pretty sweet. For the moment.)

Duo found Quatre staring glumly at his lunch a few hours later, in the building's cafeteria.

"What's up, Quat?" Duo sat down opposite his friend, plunking his food in front of him.

"Do you think I eat too much?" Quatre sighed.

Duo stared at Quatre's plate. A veggie burger with some fries on the side.

"Uh. No." Duo's eyebrows furrowed together in concern. Quatre loved veggie burgers and fries. There had to be something wrong if he was questioning his taste.

"What was that pause as you said 'uh'?" Quatre blinked. "You do think I eat too much, don't you!"

Duo held his hands up in peace, shaking his head. "Man, I said 'uh' because most days I think you eat way too little. What brought this on?"

Quatre sighed again. "Sorry for snapping at you. But you know what I heard as I was buying my food?" He leaned in conspiratorially and Duo automatically did the same.

"What?"

"Some girl was talking to her friend saying -- 'want to split a small salad? They've got way too many calories for just me to handle'." Quatre pulled back and (yes, again) sighed. "And here I am with a huge plate of fries."

"They're only medium-sized, Quatre," Duo said, alarmed at the other man's despondent attitude. "Get a grip on yourself. Besides. They're girls. We're very manly and need more protein to sustain that...you know, manliness." Duo shrugged.

"Oh, don't sound like such a pig, Duo," Quatre chastised, but he was smiling again. "I feel badly for that girl. I should donate some of my fries or something to her."

"Yeah, Quat! You know what, we should! Any idea what her name is?"

"Well, no."

"...what she looks like?"

"Her back was turned?"

Duo rolled his eyes and just gave Quatre a look. "Okay, here's the plan. You: hang out around the salad bar tomorrow and wait for her, then I'll creep over with some hamburgers or something and we'll surprise 'em."

Quatre raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his seat as he adjusted his suit jacket. "What if they think I'm trying to hit on her?"

"We're not so much hitting on her as we are planning to put a hit on her. A hamburger hit, even." Duo smirked, giving Quatre a look over. "Besides, there's not much chance that she'll think you're interested. Or interesting, for that matter."

Quatre sat up straight, frowning at Duo. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just kidding, Quat. She'll think you're the hottest thing since electric heaters," Duo replied earnestly. "I'll even look up some pickup lines for you. How could she resist?"

"Especially with you to look up pickup lines for me," Quatre added dryly, picking up a fry and eating it.

Duo shrugged, preening a little as he watched Quatre eat, smiling.

Maybe he would look up some pickup lines for Quatre. Not that he was curious or anything. But maybe they would work. Well, they would be funny to laugh at in any case. Plus, they were going to the gym tomorrow (he assumed that they would get over the pain and soreness by then) and there was no telling who he might meet.

"Duo, we're late! Open the damn door!"

Duo finally cracked it open, grinning at the look on Quatre's face. His blonde friend had been outside banging on his door for the past ten minutes as Duo leaned against it on the inside, snickering at Quatre's inventive curse words. One wouldn't expect it from Quatre and all, but he could get pretty ingenious with all the damn's, hell's, and various other swear words that were present in his vocabulary.

"Have you been awake all this time?" Quatre demanded, incredulous.

Duo nodded, handing Quatre his mug of coffee. "Yup."

"...I cannot believe you." Quatre took a rather angry sip at the now lukewarm coffee, shaking his head bitterly (or was that just at the taste? Duo liked his coffee black every now and then).

"Nah, I think you can. Plus," Duo said, leaning in conspiratorially, "I think you liked it. Gotta let off steam somehow, you know. Now, whether my neighbors feel the same way, uh, yeah, we'll figure that out later." He took the cup from Quatre and went inside to place it in the kitchen sink, breezing by the other man as he walked out the door and closed it, locking it in a smooth move. "Now, you ready to exercise or what?"

Quatre was still shaking his head (in disbelief, now, Duo decided). "I think you need to get laid."

Duo tossed Quatre a surprised look over his shoulder. "Such language. Next time I should record everything you say and give the tape to your sisters. They'd kill you."

"Of course they wouldn't. They're the ones who are always telling me the same thing, that I need to de-stress." Quatre grinned as he got into the car. "Besides, where do you think I got all those swear words from?"

A few minutes with the leg-stretching thing and then a few more with the arm muscle-building whatsit and they were ready to get on the treadmill. A half an hour later, they got off and wobbled their way over to an open space in the gym that was known as the Cooling Down Area, or CDA, and flopped onto the floor. Quatre and Duo laid down for a moment before dragging themselves up and down in some sit-ups. Quatre was just about to wheeze that he was ready to go shower and get to work when he saw Duo's attention was caught by something in the gym.

"Oh, god." Duo stopped suddenly in the middle of a stomach crunch.

Quatre awkwardly eased himself up, wincing slightly. "What? Got a cramp?"

"Well, duh, but -- but that's not it." Duo was staring at something, and Quatre instantly started craning his neck to see. Abdominal pain was nothing in the face of curiosity.

"What is it, Duo?"

"It's --" Duo cut himself off, interrupting his own words. "I don't think I can handle seeing --"

Quatre was extremely confused now. But still in a curious way. He scanned the gym in the general direction that Duo was looking at. "What are you talking abou-- oh, my. So the gym doesn't have just old guys..." Quatre had finally struck gold, and found what Duo had been staring at. A man, about their age, with messy brown hair and strong-looking arms and were those dark blue eyes? and -- Quatre suddenly frowned, putting his hand on Duo's arm.

"Duo? What's wrong?"

It was usually Duo who noticed these things first (and, admittedly, Duo had) and was the one harping on about what a knockout that one guy or this man over here was. And yet, Duo wasn't making a bit of sense, and he might have been drooling a bit, sure, but only in pure shock.

"That's..." Duo inhaled shallowly and looked away, his hands balling and fingertips pressing hard against his palms, closing his eyes briefly. "That's Heero."

"Who's --" Quatre started, then blinked. "Wait, Heero? The guy that you were constantly mooning about to me, who you never let me meet, that you were going to move in with --" He cut off and glanced away from his friend sympathetically. "The one who made you all..."

"...messed up?" Duo chuckled softly. "Yeah. Sure." He laid back down on the floor, and went back to his crunches. Quatre watched his friend carefully for a few moments.

"You're not going to go talk to him, Duo?"

Duo grunted as he finished a set of twenty. "What is there to say?"

Quatre frowned, concerned. But he didn't even know what had happened between Heero and Duo, and he knew his friend. If he tried to pry, Duo would just clam up even more.

Sure, he knew what would happen if he tried to pry. Still never stopped him from actually doing it.

"But, I mean...you were really into this guy, I know you were, and...maybe things have changed --"

"People don't change," Duo scoffed, stretching, still subtly making sure that Heero didn't catch sight of him.

Quatre stared at him, hard. It wasn't the Duo that he knew, who was all snarky sarcastic humor, grinning at something or other. It was bitter biting Duo, who apparently had cemented the thought that people didn't change into his brain.

"You've changed," Quatre said to himself, but he was sure Duo heard it.

It is cold outside his cocoon of blankets and Duo feels the sting of cool air on his face. He snuggles more deeply into bed to try to submerge his head in the nest of warmth the rest of his body is enshrouded in. There is a warm body pressed close to his back and Duo sighs contentedly when a warm hand reaches across Duo's body and rests against Duo's stomach. A kiss presses to his bare arm, a gentle nudge for Duo to wake up, but for some reason Duo is reluctant to open his eyes.

The hand starts moving downward in another ploy to get Duo up and at 'em -- in more ways than one -- and traces teasing patterns down Duo's thigh.

Duo squirms, twisting to tell his bedmate off when he's distracted by a kiss.

"Mmm," Duo whispers, the early morning air making him quiet, "I didn't know you liked morning breath a la Maxwell."

Heero snorts, brushing his cheek against Duo's in quiet affection. "I am not so sure about that yet. Perhaps I need another taste," he replies, pressing his mouth against Duo's again, rolling Duo on top of him.

Duo breaks away from Heero after a brief moment to explore the expanse of bare skin he's currently lying on top of, swiping his tongue down Heero's neck and chest to plant a light kiss on a nipple.

Heero groans when Duo starts flicking his tongue. "Duo...you're torturing me."

"I aim to tease -- ah!"

Heero decides to show Duo just what he thinks about that statement by pushing Duo underneath him and quickly moving down the length of Duo's body to take Duo's hard cock into his mouth.

Duo approves.

Damn.

Duo woke up slowly, not wanting to extricate himself from the dream. He stared at the clock. It was only one in the morning, and he was wide awake.

"More's the pity," Duo muttered, clambering out of bed. He wouldn't get any more sleep after that dream.

He padded down the stairs and swung into the kitchen, grabbing a jumbo bag of chips, a bag of mini-doughnuts, and a king size chocolate bar from his secret stash, not even bothering to get a bowl as he parked on the couch in front of the television.

"I do love Lucy," Duo muttered, and settled in for an early morning of old sitcom reruns. He opened the bag of chips and sighed.

"--uo! Duo! Duo! We're late!"

Duo groaned, trying to block out the incessant noise. Who the hell -- oh.

Quatre.

He sighed. There was no avoiding this, then. He got up from bed -- or, at least, what he thought was bed. Why was he laying facedown in a pile of chips on his couch? Was that salsa on his foot?

Some days Duo really didn't know about himself.

"Shut up, Quat," Duo said, plastering himself tiredly against the door and speaking through it. "It's too early..."

"Early?! We were supposed to be at the gym a long time ago, buster! Now throw on your gym clothes and let's go!"

Duo winced. Even through his solid wood door Quatre was loud.

"I don't want to go today, Q. Go by yourself, alright?"

"What? No! If I have to suffer, you're going down with me!"

"What a thoughtful friend," Duo muttered. He relented and unlocked the door, Quatre barreling in at the absence of Duo's weight against the door.

"Oh," Quatre, gasped, almost crashing into the couch, "Warn me before you do that!"

"Mmph," Duo grunted, walking past his friend and flomping back down onto the cushions, arm carelessly thrown over his eyes.

Quatre watched him wordlessly for a moment before switching his attention to the mess in the living room. He quietly started to pick things up, grimacing at all the junk food. Throwing some things away, Quatre returned from the kitchen to sit next to Duo's now slumbering form.

"'Ro..."

Quatre started at the quiet murmur, glancing toward Duo, who was shifting comfortably on the couch.

"Huh..." Quatre exhaled in a huff, poking Duo in the shoulder affectionately. "I suppose you really do care for him."

He sat there for awhile, waiting for Duo to get up again, thinking up a plan. By the time Duo snorted awake, Quatre was armed and ready.

It was time to give Heero a call.

"Okay, I let you mope today, but tomorrow you are getting up bright and early and going through our daily torture with me." Quatre slid into the seat opposite Duo in the cafeteria, biting into an apple.

"Yeah, I'm really lookin' forward to it, Q, thanks." Duo rolled his eyes, stealing a fry from Quatre's tray. "Besides..."

"'Besides'?" Quatre prompted, raising a fine eyebrow. He had a feeling he knew what was coming.

Duo opened his mouth, then blinked and shook his head. "Nothing, nevermind."

"Really?" Quatre asked, surprised. "You're not...you know, changing your mind about going to the gym because of a certain ex?"

"Hell, no," Duo replied, but Quatre knew he'd thwacked the old lady with a bag. Punched the boxer in the groin. Hit the nail on the head, whatever. "I mean, who is he to just run into my gym huh --"

Quatre neglected to interrupt and mention that Heero might have been going there longer than they had.

"-- I mean, I am completely over him! I don't need some midget bodybuilder dictating my life --"

Okay, Quatre thought, Heero wasn't that short from what Quatre had seen. And Quatre was sure that Heero wasn't short in the other most important department either.

The intelligence department, of course.

Then again, the idiot had dumped Quatre's best friend. That hadn't been well thought out.

"-- and seriously, who wears spandex anymore? It's like screaming 'hello, I'm gay, feel free to pump this' to the world --"

On the other hand, as Quatre watched Duo rant and rave, waving a new carrot around to emphasize his points, unwittingly splattering ranch all over their clothes, Quatre had to wonder if Heero had been the smart one.

Quatre started when Duo brightened at a sudden thought. "Hey, let's try the stationary bicycles tomorrow!"

"Excitement," Quatre replied dryly. "You just want to show off your long legs, don't you?"

Duo threw a carrot at him. "I got it, I'm flaunting it."

"Hey! That had dressing on it!" Quatre wrinkled his nose at the feeling of sauce all over him.

Duo handed him a napkin.

Quatre kicked him underneath the table, taking the napkin and wiping the ranch dip off of his chin. "So, you're done hurling insults, are you?"

"For now." Duo leaned back in his seat smugly.

"He wasn't all that big anyway," Duo added as they threw their food away. Quatre nodded complacently and waited until Duo's back was turned before rolling his eyes and sighing.

"I saw that." He pointed his finger at his temples. "My drama queen senses tingled."

"You would be the expert on that, wouldn't you," Quatre replied dryly, and Duo was pushed out of the cafeteria with a yelp.

The next morning, Quatre had a very bad feeling about it all. Duo didn't seem to have any qualms about going back in the gym, but Quatre was beginning to. Duo was acting very...odd.

"Duo..." Quatre gave his friend an odd look. "Are you quite alright?"

"Yeah, Quat, I'm fine! I am pumped up, even!" Duo replied, dropping down to do some spontaneous push-ups to Quatre's surprise. The blonde scratched his neck confusedly, watching as Duo hopped back to his feet.

"Okay..." He continued to stare at Duo as though his friend had just declared he was going to enter a beauty pageant and undergo a sex change. Sadly, with Duo's odd behavior, Quatre wasn't ruling those out as possibilities.

Duo was about to walk out of the locker room and head on into the gym when Quatre poked him in the shoulder. Duo turned back around. "Wha?"

"You're going to go out there as Macho Man, also known as M&M Duo, aren't you?" Quatre asked flatly, recognizing the disturbing thing that was happening in front of him. "Duo, you really don't have to prove anything to this guy..."

"And I'm not. I'm just..." Duo coughed and tried to position his arms in a manly way as he stood in front of Quatre. "I'm just making sure that he knows how over him I am."

"Right." Quatre rolled his eyes. "I think we all know by now. You're practically in a backbend, that's how over him you are. Really, Duo, you're so over him you should become a yoga teacher."

Duo rolled his eyes right back at his friend. "Thanks for the encouragement and support, old pal. I can always count on you, friend of mine."

Quatre gave him a dark look. "Duo, you know I am always here for you. And I always will be. For god's sake, I wake up early every morning to go to the gym with you. I'm usually the treadmill while watching the news type, you know that! Not the...sweaty muscle gym bunny that you," Quatre said, prodding an accusing finger into Duo's chest, "are pretending to be!"

"I'm not pretending anything!" Duo protested, swatting Quatre's finger away from his chestal area. "I'm only, uh, getting into character!"

Duo nodded vehemently at Quatre's incredulous stare.

"Duo, this isn't a fourth grade play! We put on A Midsummer Night's Dream, not A Midmorning Gym Nightmare! I know you have an entire vocabulary of tough guy grunts and all, but that is hardly Shakespeare --" Quatre stopped when he heard Duo snort. "What? What is it?"

He shrugged, smirking tightly. "Heero's the one with the vocab of a disgruntled pig. Actually, he mingles it in pretty well with his normal talk. People never realize he only goes into irritated hog mode when he doesn't like the person he's talking to."

Quatre quieted, laying a hand on Duo's arm. "Duo, really. Drop the act like fifth period drama class. That part of your life is over now."

"Yeah," Duo laughed dryly, "now I'm just a couch potato that pigs out on everything that's non-healthy."

"Hey, what's wrong with that? ...and what is it with you and the pig references? Seriously," Quatre said, now steering Duo out the door to the gym, "you really need to work on your animal humor. Broaden your prospects, Duo."

"I can always count on you for good advice, Q," Duo simpered.

"You know, we can come back at a different time from now on if you want," Quatre whispered to Duo as they pedaled on their bicycles.

"Avoidance is not key," Duo whispered back, taking a hand off the handlebars to wipe off some sweat from his brow. "Speaking of, why do we hold onto the handlebars even though we don't really need to navigate?"

"I don't know, it makes us look more realistic?" Quatre shrugged, shaking his head to get the hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah, but who's watching us bicycle in place? Plus, it's not like we're going to fall off if we don't hold on, either."

"Hm...maybe it stretches our arms?"

Duo glanced at Quatre sideways. "Are we going for the elongated limbs look? Is it 'in' or something?"

"Do I look like I read Seventeen? Don't answer that," Quatre warned under his breath.

"Why, what are you going to do to me if I do?" Duo gave Quatre his best innocent look before giving in to snickers.

"Well, like you said, I don't need my arms in order to pedal this bicycle. I can put them to better use." Quatre cracked his knuckles mock-threateningly. "I don't think you want to bring this on."

"Oh, it's on," Duo said, working his neck around in a circle the way he'd seen the ghetto girls do it. "I'm going to get all up in your bicycling grill."

"What?" Quatre stopped pedaling for a moment, still whispering. "What are you talking about?"

"Uh." Duo stopped too, using the momentary break to rest for awhile. "You know, don't get all up in my grill?"

"Isn't your grill your face? Why would my face be bicycling?"

"Oh, really? I didn't know that. While we're on the subject, what does 'fronting' mean, anyway? How do you front someone?" Duo asked, glad to have an opportunity to ask. Not that he'd picked such a great expert to question.

"Well, I don't know." Quatre thought for a moment. "If you don't show anyone your back?"

"Why on earth would you show someone your back?"

"I don't know! Why not?"

"Q, you are the oddest person I have ever met -- why are we talking in whispers again?" Duo put his hands on his hips, quirking an eyebrow in confusion.

Quatre smoothed his t-shirt down as he resumed pedaling. "So that he," Quatre illustrated unnecessarily as to whom he was talking about with a quirk jerk of the head, "doesn't overhear. Also, it kind of camouflages just how hard I'm breathing right now. I am panting, how do bicyclists do it all day long?"

"I have no ide--"

"You know, I can hear you two talking," a voice interrupted. Duo and Quatre froze as a clank of metal seemed to echo in their ears and Heero's face came into view as he sat up from where he had been lifting weights. He raised his eyebrows at the two of them and Duo could swear he was taunting them.

"Hm. Hello, Mister Yuy," Duo said stiffly, focusing his attention back to his bike as he resumed pumping his legs as he pedaled.

Quatre gave Heero a jerky nod before emulating Duo, both pretending to be unaffected by Heero's presence.

"Hello, Duo," Heero replied easily, ignoring their attempts to, well, ignore him.

Duo kept pedaling, trying to look as though he couldn't hear Heero over the whirring of their bicycles. Even though he could. Loud and clear. And he sure as hell could hear Heero snort.

"Duo, I know you can hear me."

This only pissed Duo off more, and he looked around blankly in front of him as though he had sensed a noise, then shrugged and went back to exercising. Blocking out the sound as much as possible, he started humming as Heero chuckled, amused now.

"Duo, you're being silly."

Quatre shot Duo furtive looks, as all three knew Duo was only dragging the facade out.

"I thought you said avoidance isn't key?" Heero quoted back to him. Duo closed his eyes in response.

"What do you want, Yuy?" Duo ground out, pedaling ever faster.

"You're...doing well? And Hilde, too?" Heero asked hesitantly, ignoring Duo's question. Duo glared back at him.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I do well? You think I can't do well without you, is that it? Well, I'm doing very well. I'm so well I'm swell. I'm a swell well. I could be a natural spring of delicious water, that's just how well I am. And Hilde's doing very well, I think. Last time I heard from her she was in some exotic country with her hubby."

Heero blinked, but his expression warmed in a way that would have tipped Duo off as to something being off kilter if he had not been so busy with other matters.

At the moment, Duo was kicking himself inwardly for the slight ramble and made a mental note that Quatre's stares were quite effective for making one feel like an alien being that had just landed on planet Earth and that in future sticky situations he shouldn't even look to see if Quatre was lending him silent support.

Most obviously Quatre was not.

Unless Quatre supported aliens.

But Quatre probably didn't.

Then again, Quatre supported a lot of weird things.

Wait, if Quatre supported him, then did that make Duo an alien?

"--o? Duo, are you listening to me?" Heero's voice was asking, bringing Duo out of his otherworldly thoughts.

"Of course," Duo said, feigning attention. "But Quatre wasn't, care to bring him up to speed?"

Quatre aimed a kick at Duo's thigh. And he got a bulls-eye. Duo clenched his jaw and shot Quatre an annoyed look.

That was going to bruise.

Quatre would be supporting a bruised alien friend. Wouldn't he be pleased.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go to dinner with me," Heero said.

In fact, Quatre probably liked to beat up aliens. He wasn't an alien supporter at all. He was against aliens, wasn't he, he wanted to use them as his own little punching bags, the mean little -- ...what?

"What?" Duo asked, leaning back on his bicycle, grateful for the fact that it was quite stationary and down to earth, unlike Duo, the bruised space alien. "You want to -- what?"

"Dinner." Heero's lips were twitching upward, the bastard. "You. Me. Food intake." He gave in and grinned a little. "What do you say?"

"Oh, I can't," Duo found himself saying before he could even think about whether or not he could. "I want to remain faithful."

Heero's brow was creasing as he frowned, confused. "Faithful? I thought you said Hilde was married?"

"Yeah, she is." Duo gave Heero an odd look for the random question. "But I have to remain faithful, too. To my..." Duo thought for a moment. He couldn't really say the truth. 'Yes, I want to remain faithful to my nightly routine of late-night television shows and bowls of extra-butter popcorn'. "To Quatre," he blurted out, grasping at straws. Grasping at very unamused straws as it seemed to be, once Duo caught a glance of Quatre's glowering expression. He bowled on anyway.

"Quatre here is my significant other." Duo looped an arm awkwardly around Quatre's shoulders, the latter of which looked more and more creeped out as things progressed.

"Wait, what?" Quatre asked incredulously, the same time Heero said, "He is?"

"Er, yes, we're -- we're lovers -- okay, no, we're not." Duo and Quatre separated from each other quickly with a shared grimace. "But he is listed as my person to contact in case of emergency." Duo shrugged at his friend. "Close enough."

Heero merely stared at Duo. "I see."

But it was pretty clear that Heero didn't. He could've been blind in his left eye with a milky film over his other for all he saw.

"So...dinner?" Heero asked, raising an eyebrow. "If Quatre approves, of course," he added dryly, nodding in Quatre's direction. Quatre nodded quickly. Stupid alien-bruising traitor.

"I don't know, Heero, I have a lot going on..." Duo said, giving Quatre a subtle shut-up look.

"For example?" Heero asked, tilting his head to the side in curiosity.

"Uh. Lots," Duo replied indignantly, trying to think of one thing that wouldn't sound pathetic. "You know, just the normal social...stuff."

"No, I don't know." Heero looked at Duo expectantly. "Care to enlighten me?"

"No," was Duo's flat answer.

Heero, to his dismay, merely laughed. "Duo, I really want to catch up with you. Please," he added earnestly.

Duo ground his teeth suspiciously, cursing his inability to make up an excuse not to go.

"Duo, you really have no excuse not to go," Quatre piped up, eager for his opportunity to play matchmaker. Duo stared at him incredulously.

"What gives you that idea? Like I said, I have stuff that I need to do, and --"

"Duo, you just said outloud that you couldn't think of any excuses not to go," Quatre replied slowly, the creeped out look returning to his features.

"Oh." Duo cursed his apparent inability to think his thoughts quietly.

"You always were a verbal thinker," Heero said, nodding.

"Huh?"

Heero and Quatre both were getting that freaked out look now. "You...you just said 'damn my inability to think my thoughts quietly'."

"Oh." Duo decided to lay off the cursing for awhile.

"Dinner? My place, I'll cook. Do you..." Heero hesitated for a moment, "do you still remember where I live?"

"Yeah, of course," Duo immediately responded, a little bemused as to why Heero even needed to ask. Not like he had a defective memory or anything -- it wasn't until he'd caught Heero trying to hide a smile that he figured out his slip-up. What stalker would remember their ex's address?! "I mean, uh, I might need directions..."

"I doubt those will be needed," Heero said, smirking. "I'll see you tonight, eight o'clock. Oh," Heero caught himself, "make that seven, I know how you like to go to bed early on Friday nights."

His smirk widened into a smile and he got up from the bench, swinging a towel over his shoulder. "See you tonight, Duo."

"Yeah, uh...see you -- what?!" Duo stared at the spot Heero had just vacated. "Quatre, did that really just happen?"

"Yeah." Quatre patted Duo's arm. "I'll go to your place after work to help you pick out what to wear."

"Why? It's just a dinner." Duo tentatively started to pedal again, still trying to register everything that had just happened. "I'm not some girl with millions of wardrobe choices. I'll just put on a shirt and jeans."

"That's what you always say, but you inevitably end up calling me to ask if a shirt looks good on you. And it's not like I would know, since I can't exactly see you!"

"What?" Duo sputtered, glaring at his friend. "I don't always call you!"

"Yes, you do. It'll be way easier if I just go over in the first place. Besides," Quatre added with a shudder, "you might end up wearing that one horrible leopard print silk shirt you're so fond of."

Duo blinked at Quatre. "What's wrong with the shirt?" He asked in a small voice. "...actually, didn't you buy me that shirt?"

"It was a joke, Duo! I didn't know you'd actually wear it!"

"Quatre, you bought me an article of clothing! What else was I supposed to do with it?"

"Use it to mop the floor?"

"Is that what you use on your floors?!"

"...Maybe."

Duo bonked his head on the handlebars of his bike. "This is going to be a horrible day, I can feel it."

"Quatre, I don't think I can do this."

Duo stood in front of his bathroom mirror, frowning and leaning on his toes in order to see more of how he looked. Quatre stood slightly in back of him, shaking his head at Duo's preening.

"Why not? I thought you said it was 'just a dinner'."

"Yeah, well, I also thought the leopard shirt was good-looking." Duo sighed and poked at his current shirt's collar. "Go figure."

Quatre nodded thoughtfully. Duo had a point.

"Q, you're not supposed to agree with me, you're supposed to comfort me." Duo blew an exasperated breath of air through his mouth. "Do I need to buy you the BFF Manual or something?"

"Oh, sorry." Quatre nodded reassuringly. "You'll be fine, Duo. It's just some food. With your ex. The one that you were heads over heels for only for him to cut off the relationship with yo--"

Duo threw a sponge at Quatre's head, grabbed from the bathroom sink. "You suck."

"Okay, ew, I don't even want to know what you use that to clean." Quatre made a face and peeled it off of his shoulder. "I'm just kidding, Duo. This dinner will go over just great and you'll be thanking me for years to come that I made you do this."

"What -- you're not making me do anything!"

"Uhhuh, sure. So that's why I had to unplug the phone cords, take your cell hostage, and guard the door and windows so that you wouldn't try to weasel out of it?"

"Yes." Duo stuck out his tongue at Quatre. "I hate you."

"Come on, now, Duo," Quatre said, smiling slightly. "What kind of a geeby would I be if I didn't make you do this?"

Duo sighed. He hated know-it-all friends. But he was a saint and welcomed all sorts of lost souls so he supposed that he could accept Quatre's know-it-allness and move on. Eight Fold Path and all that.

"Fine. But for the record, I really hate you."

"Yet you still put me on your Christmas list, hm...I seem to be getting mixed signals here."

Duo glared at Quatre until they both snickered, bumping each other with their shoulders as they fought to squeeze through the bathroom doorway together, laughing.

"Okay, so. Braided hair?" Quatre started to rattle off the essentials for Duo's date that night, ticking off a finger as he went.

"Check." Duo inspected the tail of his braid. "Is that a split end?!"

"Red shirt that is actually somewhat flattering?" Quatre continued, ignoring Duo's surveying of his own hair.

"Check," Duo said, still poking at his braid.

"Black pants?"

"Chec-- Quatre, how the hell am I going to forget my pants?" Duo demanded, giving Quatre an evil look.

"Hey, stranger things have happened. Remember the rubber chicken incident?"

They both paused for a moment, thinking about that year's Thanksgiving.

"Hmm. You're right. Carry on."

"Where was I? Oh, yes -- fancy watch that doesn't actually work anymore?" Quatre asked, rolling Duo's sleeve up for a moment to see if it was on.

"Check."

"Socks?"

"Check."

"Underwear?"

"Quatre!"

"Condoms, with and without lube?"

"Quatre!"

"Extra underwear in case of, ahem, spills?"

"..." Duo stood in the middle of the room, flabbergasted. "What...what exactly are you expecting here?!"

Quatre shrugged innocently. "Just trying to help you be prepared. I slipped the condoms in your pants pocket, and you can tough it out in a difficult underpants situation, right?"

"...I am never asking you over to help me prepare for a date ever again."

"Fine!" Quatre sniffed, flinging himself down on the couch. "It's not like I don't have better things to do."

Duo gave him a knowing look at that one.

"What? I do!"

"Like what?" Duo sniggered. "Or, rather, like who?"

Splotchy color started creeping up in Quatre's neck and face. "Never you mind."

"Oh, shit!" Duo sat down next to Quatre excitedly, poking the other man's thigh. "There really is someone?!"

"No!" Quatre protested, hiding his face with a pillow. "There's no one!" He exclaimed, muffled.

"There is!" Duo crowed triumphantly, playfully trying to tug the pillow away from Quatre's face. "I can't believe it! Cute li'l blondie is getting some?"

"So what if I am?" Quatre groaned, wrenching the pillow away from his own face in order to pelt Duo's face with it. Priorities, check.

"Ooh, is he hooooot?" Duo singsonged in between Quatre's pillow-thwaps, allowing himself to be beaten to a pulp. "Are you going to introduce me?"

"No, I don't hate him that much," Quatre retorted, smothering Duo for a moment before letting go and sitting back on his heels. He sighed.

Duo rose and sat up as well, quirking an eyebrow. "I know that sigh. It's the exhale of doom. Tell Auntie Duette what's going on."

"Well, Auntie, the thing is...I can always tell what he's thinking. Even though he's quiet most of the time, and he doesn't say much...I can read him. It's quite eerie," Quatre admitted, resting his chin on his hands. "And lately, even though he doesn't come out and say it...I know what he's been thinking."

Duo waited a beat, laying a hand on Quatre's. "What is he thinking?"

Quatre sighed. "He's thinking 'I love you'."

"Oh." Duo thought about this for a moment. "Is that bad?"

"Yes? No?" Quatre sighed once again. "I don't know, Duo."

Duo patted his hand. "Have you talked about this with the guy?"

"No!" Quatre looked wide-eyed at this. "He hasn't even said anything, Duo! Maybe it's just -- wishful thinking, or...something."

"Uhhuh." Duo did not look impressed. "Quatre, go see him tonight. Just surprise him and talk to him about all this. Hey," he added once he saw that Quatre was about to interrupt him with a negative reaction, "if I can get off my ass for a night to face someone who took my heart and kung-fu'd it to little tiny bits, you can get off yours to talk to someone that sounds ready to give you theirs."

Quatre sighed. "Do I have to?"

"Come on. I mean, what kind of a geeby would I be if I didn't make you do this?" Duo grinned as Quatre shot him a reproachful look.

"Fine." Quatre huffed and glared at Duo reproachfully, but it didn't have the edge to it that would have made Duo think it was serious. Quatre softened all the way a moment later. "Thanks, Duo."

"What are geebies for?" Duo flashed a grin that soon gave way to a sigh. "Anything else you want to sit and talk about for awhile longer?" He asked hopefully, smiling sheepishly.

"No," Quatre laughed, "and you're not using me as an excuse! Come on, we've got lives to change. Our own!" He pulled Duo off of the couch, patted his clothes down, and then pushed his friend to the doorway, pulling the door open and pushing him through that as well.

"But what if I don't want anything to change?" Duo whined, only half-joking.

Quatre handed him his mobile and raised an eyebrow. "I'd buy you a nose job at the doctor's A.S.A.P., since it'll be growing with that lie."

Duo groaned even as he dug around his pockets for his keys to lock the door. "That was bad, Quat," he said, rolling his eyes and grudgingly walking down the hallway. Quatre followed, grinning.

"It's a gift and a curse."

They gave each other reluctant looks once outside the building, both dragging their feet despite all that Quatre had said.

"Ring me as soon as you get back, alright?" Quatre said, slowly walking to the streets to flag down a cab.

"Yeah, yeah, you got it," Duo sighed, making his way over to the parking lot to climb into his car. He unlocked the door and climbed inside, bracing his hands on the steering wheel and taking some fortifying breaths.

With one last look upwards at his apartment, he locked the doors, buckled himself in, and backed out of the lot.

It seemed to take less time than what Duo remembered to get to Heero's place. He was there before he knew it, sadly. Time really did fly when one didn't want to get to their destination.

A few minutes later he was pulling into Heero's driveway and turning off the car, getting the feeling that he was extremely, extremely stupid as he stared at the garage door in front of him. Duo hadn't been to Heero's house ever since they'd broken up, not even for the toilet papering/egging that Quatre had suggested when he'd confronted a miserable Duo huddled up in bed the morning after everything had happened.

Duo shook his head slightly, dispelling the memories from his head. Now was not the time to think about the past. He was unfortunately stuck in the present. Duo unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, nervously locking the doors and slamming the door shut to announce his arrival.

The door opened before Duo even rested foot on the top step of Heero's porch, and it made him feel a little bit more comfortable to know that Heero was just as nervous as he was.

Not that Heero showed it one bit on the outside, the bastard. Here Duo was, fidgeting and making good use of his deodorant while Heero stood in the doorway, looking perfectly at ease and welcoming.

"Hello, Duo," Heero said warmly, ushering Duo inside the house. "Right on time for once." Heero's tone was teasing as he leaned against the wall, giving Duo a look that made him feel even more jittery.

"I am always on time!" Duo protested, taking off his coat and hanging it up on the coat rack that he didn't have to look for to know where it was. "You were the one who always made us late," Duo added.

"I was, wasn't I." Heero sounded wistful now, and Duo kicked himself mentally for bringing the past up when he'd specifically told himself not to. That was what he got for not listening to himself.

"So," Duo said, urging a bright tone into his voice, "what's for dinner?"

Heero smirked. "Hungry already? Well, you will need your energy." And he walked off into the kitchen without another word, leaving Duo to gape after him like a buffoon.

Okay, that wasn't his bad that time. Heero was the one bringing up the past now.

Duo firmly clicked his jaw shut and marched into the kitchen with Heero. Well, if Heero wasn't nervous, he shouldn't be either. He was going to charge into that kitchen with Heero and make normal convers--

Duo barely set a toe on the tile in the kitchen before he slipped on a rag on the floor, and almost toppled onto the floor. Catching hold of the counter, Duo quickly wrenched himself up before Heero could turn around, pasting what hopefully looked like a relaxed smile on his face.

"You don't need to help, the dinner is almost done," Heero said, glancing over his shoulder to smile at Duo. "Go ahead and make yourself at home in the living room."

"Okay," Duo replied quickly before hightailing it out of Heero's shiny death trap of a kitchen, carefully watching his step this time.

He plopped down on Heero's couch and looked around, eyes roving the entire place to see what had changed since he had left.

Not much at all, Duo mused. It was all just as familiar as the sound of Heero's voice was, and Duo found himself relaxing into the couch, for some reason relieved by the lack of change. It was dependable, the consistency of the furnishings, just as...just as Heero was.

Was.

Duo rubbed his temples. He couldn't let the past bleed into the present; what was done was done. Heero had left him, and Duo was the better off for it.

"Really, I am," he said aloud to himself, nodding vigorously. "Oh, who am I trying to kid?" Duo groaned.

Heero walked in at that moment and gave Duo an odd look. "What?"

Duo's head snapped up and he tried on his best confused expression. "What?"

"I said 'what'," Heero clarified, still looking at Duo in a slightly suspicious manner.

"What 'what'?" Duo blinked and mentally dusted off his halo.

Heero just stared at Duo before shaking his head. "Dinner is ready."

"Great!" Duo leapt to his feet and bounded into the kitchen, a confused looking Heero trailing behind.

"I made angel shrimp pasta." Heero sat down at the table and smiled softly at Duo. "You like shrimp, right?"

"Uh...I don't think I've ever had it," Duo admitted, seating himself opposite Heero. "Just never came up on the menu, I guess."

"I hope you enjoy it."

Duo grinned in response and picked up his fork, twirling it in some noodles and bringing it to his mouth. "Mm, it's delicious! Much better than the French toast incident a few years back." Duo shuddered at the memory. "Ketchup and cinnamon is just not a good combination."

"I didn't know." Heero shrugged, as though it was a mistake anyone could have made, squirting ketchup on perfectly good French toast. Duo shook his head.

"You said the same thing after spreading jam on some garlic toast." Duo paused in eating and gave Heero a flat glance. "Good times, huh?"

Heero smirked. "The best."

"Hey, remember that time when you tried to make chocolate chip waffles?"

Heero finally looked up from his food to roll his eyes but instead they widened in alarm. "Duo --"

Duo read the concerned look on Heero's face mistakenly and kept talking. "Don't be embarrassed, Heero, it's just a story. Anyway, you made them from scratch, followed the recipe I gave you to the letter --"

"Duo," Heero tried again. "Duo, I think you're --"

"-- And it wasn't until after I ate one that you realized you'd put raisins in the waffles rather than chocolate chips --"

"Duo!" Heero interrupted forcefully, ignoring Duo's startled look. "I think you're allergic to the shrimp!"

"What?" Duo blinked, confused. "Why is that? I feel fine."

Heero shook his head impatiently and went around the table to grasp Duo's arm, pulling him into the bathroom. "Look." He nodded towards the mirror.

"Okay, but I really do feel fi-- holy shit!"

Duo felt his face, which was puffing up like a balloon. "What the hell? I'm allergic?!" He turned to Heero incredulously. "Did you somehow know this? Was this a disturbingly elaborate plot to poison me or something?!"

"No, of course not!" Heero glared at Duo. "Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, you're impossible to read!" Duo threw his arms up in the air in exasperation and marched out of the bathroom, stomping out into the hall and grabbing his jacket, grabbing the doorknob and wrenching it open.

Or he tried to wrench it open. Duo glared at the doorknob, jiggling it and pulling. It didn't budge an inch.

"Okay, what the hell." Duo turned to Heero, who was watching helplessly. "Is this all part of your evil plan? Were you just trying to make me poofier so that you'd have more to eat or something?!"

Heero winced and silently stepped forwards to twist the knob and push outward.

Duo sighed and merely walked outside. It was not his night.

"Wait, Duo --" Heero closed the door and locked it, now suited up in his own jacket as well. "I'll drive you, I don't want anything more to happen to you in case you get worse."

"It's fine, Heero." Duo eyed him suspiciously. "Besides, you might decide to poison me further by sprinkling shellfish all over my car seat or something."

Heero rolled his eyes and snorted despite himself. "Don't be an idiot. Please, let me drive you." He unlocked and opened the passenger door, tilting his head in invitation.

Duo looked towards his car longingly but he sighed, knowing Heero would be the safest choice. He climbed in reluctantly and let Heero shut the door for him, buckling himself up as he poked at his puffy cheeks.

"Ugh." Duo shuddered.

"There's a convenience store just around the corner, I'm sure I'll be able to find you something." Heero started the car and drove out, casting a glance to his side. "You'll be alright."

Duo almost snorted. It was just a little allergy, and he was about to say so when he caught the look on Heero's face.

Worry.

For him.

Duo quickly looked away, directing his gaze to the window.

He ignored the warm feeling that was spreading in his body and stayed quiet.

"Are you feeling alright? Duo?" Heero looped Duo's arm around his shoulders, bracing the other man so that he would stay upright. Duo lolled around, smiling dreamily up at Heero.

"Hmmmmm?" Duo hummed in question, leaning heavily on Heero. "Of course I feel alright, Heeeeero...why wouldn't I?"

Heero frowned, supporting Duo out of the store. As soon as he'd bought the medicine, Duo had ripped off the childproof cap with no difficulty and started chugging it. Heero managed to pull it away quickly but not until after some damage had already been done. Duo had been like this for hours.

He stared at the mess at his side, Duo giggling every few minutes and smiling giddily.

On the plus side, he did seem to be getting better.

"Duo, I'll just take you home tonight and drive your car over to your place later, alright?" Heero said gently, finding a park bench nearby and slowly lowering Duo onto it. "Feeling better now?"

"Mmhmmm," Duo replied, tilting his head upwards and grinning dumbly. "Thanks, Heero. I can always count on...you," he said, emphasizing his point by poking his finger hard into Heero's chest on the word 'you'. "I always knew I was right about you."

Heero pried Duo's finger from his chest. "Right about what about me?"

Duo waved his hands around vaguely, dismissing Heero's question. "Oh, y'know."

Heero raised an eyebrow and took the little medicinal syrup bottle out of Duo's hands, pocketing it. "I think you've had enough of that. And no, I don't know. Tell me."

"You knoooow," Duo dragged the syllable out, laughing at the sound. "You're too good to me. Too good for me. I don't deserve you." He poked Heero in the chest again. "You know that."

"What?" Heero moved away from Duo in order to get a better look at the other man. "Don't say that."

"Why not? S'true." Duo quieted, sniffling a little in the cold air. "S'what I always think when I'm with you. It's why I never introduced you to any o' my buddies. I don't want 'em to think the same thing."

"Duo," Heero said softly, hand landing on Duo's knee. "I have never thought that. And neither would anyone else." He shook his head. "It's not true."

"Really?" Duo grinned mushily again. "Okay. Where are we going nooow? Shopping? More dinner? Dessert?"

Heero rolled his eyes. "Let's just get to your apartment, okay? I think we've had enough food for tonight."

Duo happily allowed himself to be pulled off the bench, launching into a long description of foods and what condiments not to pair them with, Heero by his side, nodding faithfully. They came upon Duo's building quickly and Heero helped Duo up the stairs, stopping at Duo's apartment.

Heero gently rummaged around Duo's pockets, fishing for keys. Duo snorted and drunkenly tried to push him off, saying, "No fair, pervert, trying to feel me up when I'm all allergic..." He threw his arms around Heero's neck and nuzzled the skin he found there. Heero coughed slightly, trying to go on with his task, but ignoring Duo was impossible when he was being affectionate, whether under the influence of medicinal drugs or not.

He at last found the keys and pulled them out, indulging Duo (or rather, himself) in a slight hug before he pried Duo's arms away and unlocked the door. He supported a stumbling Duo to the couch, and Duo easily flopped over, Heero hastily cushioning Duo's head with his hand before Duo might haphazardly bang his skull against the hard backs of the couch.

"--eero? Where did you go, 'Ro?"

Having momentarily left to fetch a blanket, when Heero returned Duo was pawing at the couch's cushions, languidly looking around for him.

"I'm right here, Duo." He threw the blanket over Duo and tucked him in, feeling a bit like an odd mother hen.

"Okay. Night night."

Heero's mouth tugged upwards affectionately. "Goodnight, Duo." He started to walk out when Duo said, "wait!"

"What's wrong?" Heero immediately turned around and checked to see if Duo's allergies were getting worse.

"Don't I get a goodnight kiss?" Duo smiled sleepily up at him, expectant. Heero hesitated, but he walked around the couch and gave Duo a small kiss on the mouth.

"Sweet," Heero said softly when he pulled away. "I'd forgotten how sweet you taste."

Duo shrugged limply, snuggling deeper into the couch. "That might just be the muffin I had earlier. Sorry, I know you don't like poppyseed. Either that or the sweet, sweet meds --"

Heero cut him off, leaning forward once more for another brief kiss. "Goodnight, Duo."

"Night, Heero." Duo flashed Heero a small smile before closing his eyes and easily slipping into sleep, the medication wearing him down.

Heero took Duo's keys and cast a long glance backward at Duo before closing and locking the door. He would drive back to his place, drive Duo's car back to Duo's parking lot, and then catch a cab back home. It had been a long night, but, as Heero remembered Duo's kisses, it had been worth it.

That had gone well.

Duo sat morosely at an elegant table by himself, thinking over the night's happenings. He hadn't managed to get away from Heero despite his endeavors to escape suffering through any more humiliation in his presence than Duo had already amassed in that short time period. Instead, Heero had carefully tucked Duo in the passenger seat of his car and then speeded his way to the local drugstore to get some meds to counter the swelling. A few hours later he'd found himself facedown on his couch, where he'd apparently conked out from the medication, with no recollection as to how he'd gotten home.

Duo hadn't been that sick since the morning after he'd confessed that he was gay and that Heero was his boyfriend to Hilde, his former roommate and ex-best friend. Duo had always known that Hilde had a crush on him -- was maybe in love with him -- and hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings, but it had just spilled out. He'd drunk himself into a stupor once Hilde had packed up her stuff and moved out.

Duo shook his head to dispel the thoughts and tried to remember more of last night. Everything was mostly in a haze, but he did unfortunately remember the important parts. Duo groaned at the memory of the drugged-up kisses.

Confused, embarrassed, and most of all hungry, Duo threw a random blanket that he had no recollection of draping over himself off and got right up and out the door to his favorite store.

Knil's Kake Shop.

They were open pretty much all the time since they were on hand to deliver to anyone that needed a cake A.S.A.P. It had a certain comforting, familiar feeling, so Duo always -- and only -- went there when he was completely depressed. Sadly, that had gotten to be pretty often ever since Heero had given him the kaputz on their relationship, and the workers there had come to know Duo's long face and connected it to his usual.

Knil's specialty -- a double double mocha chocolate chip supreme, a large chocolate cake with mocha frosting and chocolate chips throughout. They had them readymade at all times, and Duo ordered one -- not just a slice, but an entire cake to veg out on.

He carried the cake and a couple of forks and napkins (as well as a complimentary glass of milk) to an outside table and dug in, glaring at anyone that walked by, putting some extra oomph into his dark look when it was a happy couple.

Duo was almost finished with three-fourths of the cake, half of the milk downed when a hand on his shoulder startled him out of his cake reverie.

"Watch it, I've had a really bad night an--" Duo started as he turned around to face his interrupter when he realized who it was. "Uh...Heero?"

Heero nodded, panting a little. "I've been looking for you all over the place." He looked around the little cake shop. "I should've known you'd come here."

"Why's that?" Duo wanted to know.

"Because." Heero smiled slightly. "This was the place I ordered your birthday cake from that year I threw you a party." He snorted. "You ate about three pieces."

Damn. So that was why it felt so 'familiar' all those times. No way he was coming back here any more now that he knew. Duo pushed his plate back and grumbled, "only three?"

Heero chuckled, but Duo hadn't been joking.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked, waving at the empty chair that sat opposite of Duo.

Duo lifted his shoulders noncommittally, trying his best to look nonchalant.

"Thank you." Heero pulled the chair out and sat down, clasping his hands on the table with a glance at Duo's cake. "You eat all that?"

Duo gave him a withering glance. "Do you see anyone else here?"

Heero shrugged it off. "I must've caught you early on, you're usually on the second by now."

"What?" Duo shot Heero a startled look. "What do you mean?"

"Oh," Heero looked sheepish, "just that...I walk by sometimes and I...see you here."

Whoa. Duo blinked at the news. So Heero was even more pathetic and stalker than he was! What a revelation! Duo gave himself a mental pat on the back. At least he didn't grab his set of binoculars and perch on a tree outside Heero's house to spy on Heero's every move like Heero no doubt did. Why, Duo...Duo only...only holed himself up in cake shops (that didn't even know how to spell the word 'cake' for goodness' sake) and ate entire baked goods in one setting.

Uh...Duo supposed he wasn't all that well off either.

"So...you've been stalking me." Duo stared flatly at Heero, fighting the urge to grin, drawing out Heero's discomfort for as long as possible.

And all those times he'd thought he'd seen Heero, Duo had just chalked it up as wishful thinking brought on by the sugar haze!

"No, of course not." Heero shook his head. "I just took the longer way to work sometimes so that I passed b--" It was too late, Heero had caught Duo's expression and he sighed, relaxing into a slight smile. "Tease."

"But of course!" Duo relented and grinned. "We're an odd couple, aren't we?"

Heero blinked in surprise at that, and Duo had to backtrack to figure out why.

"Uh, I meant --"

"We're a...?"

They stared at each other as they both started talking.

Duo sighed. "That's...not what I meant."

"Ah." Heero nodded, relieved and -- disappointed? -- at the same time. Duo filed that thought away for later. Heero had always been easy to read, easier than Heero himself thought.

"Anyway, uh...sorry about last night."

"Don't worry about it." Heero shrugged. "If anything, I should be apologizing. I had no idea you were allergic --"

"I know," Duo cut what would be Heero's apology off. "I didn't know either," he said, snorting, "I mean, I had no idea I was allergic, either. I guess it's true what they say about learning something new everyday," Duo added dryly.

Heero chuckled. "You always had great timing."

"God, Heero, when are you going to forget about that one time you got an ice cream cone for me and I somehow walked smack dab into it?!"

"Actually, it was twice." Heero raised his eyebrows. "I'd have thought once was enough, but you really do like your raspberry chocolate chip."

Duo scowled. "The second time was your fault."

"Well, then. I apologize for standing in plain view for you to walk into me. It was entirely a mistake on my part," Heero replied wryly, not at all apologetic.

"Yeah, it was, and don't you forget it!" Duo stuck his tongue at Heero, who laughed in response.

"Duo, I really am sorry -- about the dinner, not the ice cream," Heero said, smirking. "That was a horrible date, and I apologize."

Duo waved his hands dismissively at Heero. "Stop it, I know you didn't mean to poison me. ...I think." He laughed when Heero made a face at him, grinning at the product of his bad influence. "Why don't you make it up to me?"

"How?" Heero asked cautiously, raising an eyebrow. "And does it involve food?" He added, smiling when Duo grimaced.

"No food. Well, maybe a little." Duo smiled hopefully. "We'll have a proper date -- now if you have the time."

"A date, huh?" Heero frowned, thinking it over. "I don't know, I'm not sure I'm entirely up to another possibly deadly experiment with you." Duo caught the teasing look in Heero's eyes and snorted.

"It's only ever deadly for me!" Duo protested. Heero immediately sobered and Duo inwardly kicked himself.

"Look, Duo..." Heero glanced down at his lap, knowing what he was about to say was all for the best. "The night before...you said something, and it's true."

Duo bit his lip nervously, mind racing to try to remember what he'd said. "Heero, I was all drugged up, I probably didn't know what I was saying --"

"But you were right." Heero met Duo's gaze head on. "You don't deserve me."

Duo blinked, gaping. That wasn't quite what he'd been expecting. "What?"

"You don't deserve me," Heero repeated, looking back up at Duo. "You deserve much, much better."

Well, that was much better -- and much worse, now that Duo thought about it.

"What are you talking about?" Duo asked incredulously. Surely Heero was joking. Duo was the one that kept wreaking havoc on Heero's life, the one that Heero would definitely be better off with. Duo should've stayed on his couch. His potato chips probably missed him.

"That day that I left you -- I should have explained what happened instead of just telling you to go." Heero shifted slightly, folding his hands in his lap. "That day, I had run into Hilde, and I talked to her." Heero glanced down at the floor then back at Duo. "She told me you had been seeing her behind my back, and that you were living together and planned to get married. She showed me her ring and everything."

Duo leaned backwards, reeling. "What -- Hilde said that?" He slumped in his chair when Heero nodded gently, shaking his head. "I...don't know what to say. I wasn't seeing her at all, but we were roommates. I thought we were friends, too. But..." He looked up at Heero and leaned forward. Heero braced himself for what he knew the next question would be.

"Heero -- why did you believe her?"

He winced at Duo's hurt tone, looking apologetic. "I don't know, Duo. I am sorry. I know I shouldn't have -- but at the time, I had been..." Heero shrugged, shooting Duo a measuring glance. "I had been looking for an engagement ring for you, and I suppose I had been more worried than usual about our relationship. What she said just cut me more than it would have."

Duo wondered for a brief moment if it was good exercise for the mouth muscles to open and shut the jaws often. He was certainly gaping and then closing his mouth with an audible click every five minutes these days.

"You were going to ask me to...?" He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

"Yes." Heero answered simply.

"Damn." Duo leaned back in his chair for support. "...damn."

"I apologize," Heero rushed, looking pained at hurting Duo. "I shouldn't have believed her, Duo, I'm sorry --"

"Damn right you shouldn't have believed her!" Duo glared at Heero, but half-heartedly. "But I don't blame you." He grinned slightly at Heero's blatantly hopeful expression. "And you know what, my offer still holds. Why don't we forget the past ever happened and start over?"

"There's a nice little diner around the corner where we could eat lunch together..." Heero trailed off, raising his eyebrows in question.

"No shellfish?" Duo mock-gagged a little, snickering as Heero shook his head emphatically.

"Completely safe," Heero assured Duo, smiling in response.

"Famous last words?" Duo grinned and got up, pushing his chair in and a waiter immediately came over to put the rest of the cake in a leftovers container, just in case he might need it later. "Alright, I'll give you another chance."

As Heero lit up with a pleased smile and led the way, Duo glanced at the plastic box that contained the rest of his unfinished cake and picked it up. He passed a trash can and thought -- what the hell? -- and tossed the cake in there, flashing Heero a bright smile.

Hopefully from now on, he would never have to eat another bite of cake again.