It left Heero feeling alone, which was pathetic so then he got angry and spent the weekend knocking holes in a wall for a "renovation" but really was just an excuse to imagine a Sam-faced-figure that he could smash a hammer through.

And to make matters worse, he didn't have a clue who the fuck this Sam character was.

"Have you met Sam?" He broached the topic as carefully as he could, not wanting to indicate too much interest but also not wanting anyone to know how little he knew about some guy who was obviously very important to Duo.

"Oh my God!" Sally gushed, "Yes! He is just the sweetest and the way he kisses Duo is absolutely adorable!"

Heero stiffened and carefully unclenched his fists. "I see."

Actually, if he never met the guy it would probably be for the best because he'd likely break his nose.

It wasn't like he could lay any claim to Duo, any way. Heero had never taken the initiative to express his growing feelings and as far as Duo knew, they were best friends and nothing more. If Heero wanted more, dreamed of more, bought a house with more rooms than he'd needed in the hopes that some day he'd get his shit together and actually do something...well it was all too late now, wasn't it?

Perhaps not.

Heero had always been determined and when he set his mind onto a task, nothing could stop him. The first step would be to collect information.

"You know, I don't think you ever told me about how you two got together." Heero pushed a muffin toward Duo, making sure it was the one without blueberries.

"Nothing that special," Duo answered between sips of coffee and swallows of muffin. "I read about him in the paper."

"The paper?" He sounded casual, right?

"Yep, he was in the classified ads."

The spray of coffee that shot out of Heero's mouth ruined both their muffins and narrowly missed Duo's slacks.

Perhaps not quite as casual as he'd hoped.

"Did you hear that Sam climbs into bed with Duo every night?"

Normally Heero did not stoop so low as to partake in office gossip but considered this a vital element to completing his mission and continued to fiddle with the creamer while two ladies from the acquisitions department chatted at the break room table.

"Yes! Apparently, Duo usually goes to bed first but after a few minutes, Sam always wanders in and burrows under the covers, snuggling against Duo's chest."

The first woman, he thought her name was Sandra Something or other, sighed. "I would love to snuggle up against that chest myself."

Heero beat a retreat before things got too graphic.

A couple days later he tried the direct approach again. "So, Sam..." He was about to ask how well Duo thought he knew the guy when he was cut off.

"That's right! You've never met, have you? I'm so sorry, Heero! You should come over for dinner after work today. I'll grill us some burgers and you can meet him, I know you guys will get along great."

The chance to spend more time Duo outweighed the Sam factor and Heero decided he should probably figure out the opposition before he planned any further. "Alight. Tonight, then."

The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow but when they finally reached Duo's apartment, Heero dreaded the moment the door would open.

For his part, Duo was practically vibrating in excitement and when the door swung open and a small creature burst out to twine itself between Duo's legs, he almost didn't even notice.

Until Duo pushed them inside and then pointed down, "Heero Yuy, I would like you to meet Sam. Sam, this is Heero."

Heero stood in the middle of the living room staring at the cream colored cat sitting on the floor staring back.

"This is Sam." It wasn't a question, though he'd have plenty of those in a minute.

Duo just beamed and crouched down to scoop the animal up. "Yep! He just turned two last month and is certainly living up to the term 'terrible twos' he's a little troll at times."

As if to illustrate his point, the cat, Sam, bumped his head against Duo's cheek and then scrambled up to drape itself across Duo's shoulders, still staring at Heero the entire time.

"So." He realized he was pointing a finger accusingly and dropped it. "So."

Duo gave him a puzzled look, "So?"

"So Sam has been a cat this entire time? I've been eavesdropping, smashing walls and generally going crazy over a cat?" Heero felt the last of his control slipping and collapsed on the sofa, head in hands. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Wait, what?" There was a thump as the cat jumped off of Duo's shoulders and he crouched down in front of Heero. Gentle fingers carefully pushed at Heero's chin until they were looking each other in the eyes.

"Why didn't you say something?" Duo asked him softly.

Heero shrugged, "I don't know, I like being your friend so I thought that was good enough and then I thought it was too late and suddenly it seemed horrible."

"You idiot." Duo shook his head in exasperation. "All you ever had to do was . . ." he leaned closer, his breath ghosting over Heero's lips. "This," and then lips met and Heero realized he really was an idiot but Duo was very smart so it didn't matter.

And he could live with Sam. Just as long as he got first dibs on Duo in bed.