"That's because Duo's the only one who's willing to race against him." Heero switched the cell phone to his other ear so he could fish his wallet out of his pocket. "He's back tomorrow afternoon sometime. Which reminds me, I need to bring in his mail tonight, it's been a few days."

Quatre chuckled in his ear. "You'd better hope he didn't get a lot of mail over the last few days, Duo's mailman takes a full box as a personal affront to his position. The last time his box got too full it looked like the mail nazi used a pile driver to compress it all into the back of the box so he could put the new mail in."

"Duo's gotten a bigger box since then so I think I'm all set." He took a step forward in line, pulling a few bills from his wallet. "I'm next in line so I'm going to let you go. Tell Trowa I said 'hi'."

He listened to Quatre's farewell before he hit the end button on his cell and slipped it into his pocket. He'd intended to grab a sandwich and some coffee before going home to collapse after his hellish day, but now he'd make a detour to Duo's to bring in the mail. Hell, maybe he'd even take the time to stop at the grocery and pick up some milk and bread so Duo would have it when he got home.

Changing his plan, he ordered a ham and cheddar on rye and an iced coffee for there and took a seat in the window. He watched pedestrians on the street as he ate, letting his mind wander. Duo had been gone for two weeks and it had taken him by surprise how much he'd missed the guy. Sure Duo was his best friend and they spent a fair amount of their free time together, but Heero hadn't realized how much of their lives they'd shared. Over the last two weeks he'd spent more time than he'd willingly admit, even to himself, how much Duo affected him. The fact that he was attracted to the man wasn't news to him, but the depths of his feelings... Heero looked down at the basket containing his half eaten sandwich and sighed. Even if he wanted to let Duo know how he felt he had no idea where to start.

Taking another bite of his sandwich he chewed slowly and watched out of the corner of his eye as two young women with strollers took up the table next to his. They both had large mugs of hot coffee and talked in quiet voices as their babies slept.

"So he comes home the other night with flowers. Flowers!" One said with a snort. "Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment but what I'd really like would be for him to empty the dishwasher without me asking and maybe putting in a load of laundry."

"I know! He brings flowers and thinks that's going to do it! When will he realize that nothing is sexier than a man doing housework? All he has to do is pick up the living room without me nagging and I'd be putty in his hands!"

Heero finished eating and stacked the trash in the basket to throw away. He glanced at the women, completely not understanding them -- it was much easier being into men.

Balancing the bag on his hip, Heero opened the door to Duo's apartment and stepped inside. The mailbox had reached critical mass, but he'd managed to collect it before the mail nazi took out his frustrations on Duo's bills. He kicked the door shut with his foot and set the bag on the cluttered kitchen table, pulling out the mail and adding it to the already toppling stack before unpacking the groceries he'd picked up for Duo's return.

Bread, milk, orange juice, and one of those precooked rotisserie chickens that Duo liked so much. Heero figured it would give him something to munch on if he got home too late to cook and too tired to deal with ordering out. He wondered for a moment if other friends would've done this, or if Duo would see it as something more. Did he want Duo to see it as something more? He rubbed his hands over his face and groaned out loud. He had no idea what he was doing.

Crossing his arms he went to the streaked kitchen window and looked outside. He was man enough to admit that he wanted something more, and damn well wanted Duo to want it too. Maybe he'd ask Duo to go out somewhere with him when he got home. Dinner? Movies? Pool hall? But they did all that stuff anywhere, how would it be any different? Maybe he should buy him flowers... Heero groaned again, resting his forehead against the glass remembering the irritation in the women's voices as they talked about flowers. He thought people liked flowers.

Turning from the window he looked around Duo's kitchen. Sure the place was a pigsty, but it had always been a pigsty and Heero had gotten used to it. Frankly he barely even saw the mess anymore when he came over. His eyes moved from the scuffed linoleum to the cluttered table, to the sink with two-week-old dirty dishes. Maybe Duo would appreciate it if he cleaned?

Heero took off his jacket and draped it on the back of a kitchen chair and set to work. Things rapidly spiraled out of control. Washing dishes and cleaning the clutter off the table led to vacuuming the living room and dusting bookshelves led to alphabetizing Duo's CD collection and doing laundry. Before Heero knew it, it was already past midnight and he was kneeling on Duo's bathroom floor cleaning the grout between the tiles with Duo's toothbrush. Heero seriously hoped Duo had another one.

His back ached and he was dirty and sweaty by the time he felt the job was done. Duo's apartment had never looked like this and for a moment Heero felt a bit uneasy that he'd taken his tidying too far. He yawned loudly and tried to rub the knots out of his lower back. It was almost 2:30 in the morning, he'd hit the wall, and the thought of driving home made him want to cry. Figuring Duo wasn't due home for at least twelve hours Heero decided to take a hot shower and just crash in Duo's bed -- it's not like Duo would care either way.

The water was hot and the soap smelled like Duo. It was comforting to be here and for the first time since Duo left Heero wasn't feeling lonely. There, he admitted it, he was lonely without Duo -- any other epiphanies were going to have to wait until morning, he was exhausted. Toweling off, Heero pulled back the freshly changed sheets on Duo's bed and slid naked between them. He was asleep before he even had a chance to think of how erotic it was.

Food then sleep? Sleep then food? Duo didn't think he could handle any decisions more complicated than that at the moment. The computer conversion had taken up almost every waking moment of the last two weeks and all he wanted to do was crawl into his own bed and sleep for the next two days. He'd managed to snag an earlier flight and even the two hour delay at LAX was worth it once he was sliding his key into the lock. He tossed his bags on the floor near the kitchen table and immediately went to the refrigerator praying he had something inside that was still good.

"God, Heero, thank you!" Duo's voice was loud in the silent kitchen as he pulled out the new carton of orange juice, opened it, and drank directly out of it. The fact that Heero thought to buy a few things for his return warmed him. Hell, just the fact that Heero thought of him in his absence made his heart beat harder in his chest. Duo returned the carton to the fridge and shook his head -- he had it bad.

Turning towards the kitchen table he noticed the neat stacks of mail on the surface. It took him a moment to notice that he could actually see the surface, and another moment to realize that Heero had picked up the clutter. He grinned goofily at that, thumbing through his mail, suddenly looking forward to waking up in the morning and calling Heero to tell him he was home early. He didn't really need to sleep for the next two days.

Kicking off his shoes towards the front door, he happened to look at down at the kitchen floor and noticed it had been washed. Heero had washed his kitchen floor? Had he even washed the thing once since he'd moved in? He shrugged, figuring Heero must've spilled something on it, and made his way into the living room. It was then that he started to question Heero's sanity since his departure. The living room was cleaner than he'd ever seen it and for a surreal moment he wondered if he'd wandered into the wrong apartment. Wait, no, there were his books, his CDs... his CDs all in their proper cases and neatly organized on the self.

"No way!" Duo chuckled in disbelief, suddenly wide-awake. Now he actively searched through the living room for signs that Heero had been there. If it had been any one else he would've been more than annoyed at such an invasion, but the fact that Heero had done it. Duo thought it was sweet.

Until he found his toothbrush sticking out of the top of the bathroom trash, destroyed. He picked it up and looked at it dumbly for a moment, unable to fathom what the man had done with the toothbrush. Until he noticed the bathroom floor... maybe he should be worried, Heero might have snapped for real this time.

He was seriously contemplating calling Heero and waking his ass up to make sure he didn't need a visit to the rubber room when he walked into the bedroom and his mind short circuited. He was the one that needed the rubber room, he'd somehow returned home to find himself smack dab in the middle of Goldilocks and the Three Bears only his house had been repaired as opposed to destroyed, and the person in his bed was more Bear than Goldilocks.

Grabbing onto the doorjamb, Duo took in the smooth planes of Heero's chest and stomach as he looked at the man sprawling in his bed. Heero was lying on his back with an arm draped over his face, the sheet draped low enough to let Duo know that the man wasn't wearing anything besides his skin. He'd come home to find Heero Yuy, naked, in his bed... this better be reality or he was going to wake up pissed off.

Duo wondered for a moment what Heero was doing here, had actually started to think about it, when he stopped himself short. Now was not the time for thinking, now was definitely the time for action -- if he thought about it too much he'd ruin the moment. Thinking was overrated.

Stripping quickly, he let his clothes drop to the floor as he moved towards the bed. This might not be what Heero had intended, but there was absolutely nothing Duo could do about it now, he'd never felt happier to be alive. Lifting the sheet he slid in next to Heero, stopping when he was close enough to feel the warmth radiating off the man's bare skin. Afraid the dream would end before he got to touch, Duo reached out and ran the tips of his fingers over Heero's chest. He watched Heero's lips part as a small sound was uttered, and trailed his fingers lower across his flat stomach. The muscles in Heero's stomach flexed and he contemplated repeating the same touches with his tongue when a strong hand took hold of his fingers.

He looked upwards and met Heero's wide eyes. "Duo?"

"I got home early," Duo answered, pulling his hand out of Heero's grasp and resting the flat of his hand against Heero's chest. He could feel the man's heart pounding but was also aware of the lack of tension in his body. Heero was still relaxed. He offered a small smile and licked his lips. "If I had known I was going to find Papa Bear in my bed I would've come home sooner."

"Duo, I --"

Oh no, there was going to be none of that, Duo had no patience for explanations or apologies. He pushed closer, noting the sharp inhalation when Duo's erection pressed against Heero's hip, and stopped any further words from forming with his mouth. If Heero had any reservations they were gone when their tongues met. Duo didn't need an explanation, Heero's body was telling him everything he needed to know. They'd deal with the talking part after he'd slept, his brain was fried and it was questionable if he could form a coherent sentence.

Duo wrapped his arms around Heero and rolled them both over. Heero pulled away slightly and looked down at him, his eyes heavy lidded and expression filled with awe. When he opened his mouth to speak again, Duo shook his head. "Later... just touch me."

Heero answered with a throaty groan as he got to work. Duo would never tease Heero about his work ethic again. Hands stroked and touched him in all the right places until he feared he'd just spontaneously combust. Sure he'd done his best to return the affection, but it was becoming increasingly difficult as he was rendered into a puddle of aroused goo. There was nothing beyond sensation as their bodies joined. Duo was vaguely aware of whispered promises and satisfied moans as they moved together, struggling to get closer, deeper, and hotter until Duo arched up against Heero with a loud gasp. He'd never in his life come so hard.

When Heero's weight pressed solidly against him Duo could hear soft murmurs of love uttered against the crook of his neck. Duo kissed Heero's temple before nudging him to move so he could breathe. Heero rolled and Duo went with him until their positions were changed. Heero looked happier that Duo had seen him in a long time, but despite this he could still see the questions and insecurities in his eyes. Duo couldn't help but smile.

"It's nice to know you missed me as much as I missed you," Duo said softly, touching Heero's cheek with his fingertips. "If I had known I'd be greeted like this when I got home I'd have gone a long time ago."

"Hmm." Duo could see that Heero's eyes were already shutting as strong arms pulled him closer. There was no way his body could argue as he rested curled up in Heero's arms and let sleep take him.

Heero woke to sunlight shining on his face. There was a brief moment of disorientation before he registered the weight against his chest and last night came back to him. Opening his eyes he squinted against the sunlight streaming in Duo's bedroom window and looked down at the man in his arms. This was all so wonderfully strange.

Duo stirred against him and lifted his head. The sun brought out golden highlights in Duo's hair and the vivid depths of his sleepy eyes. "Morning, Papa Bear."

"Does that make you Goldilocks?" Heero teased, brushing the loose strands of Duo's hair out of his face.

"I think I'm more Prince Charming," Duo laughed, kissing Heero's chin. "So what happened here last night?"

"You don't remember?" Heero asked cautiously, trying to hide the sudden alarm he felt.

"I don't mean finding you in my bed, or the amazing sex, Papa Bear, I mean the Cinderella thing." Duo propped his head in his hand and searched Heero's face with an amused expression. "My apartment has never been so clean."

Heero shrugged and offered a sheepish grin. "I was trying to figure out how to tell you how I felt about you, and..."

"And?" Duo prodded, enjoying this a little too much.

"I'd overheard some women talking and they said something about finding a man who cleans sexy," Heero muttered, feeling silly. "I didn't really mean to do all that, it sort of got out of hand."

Duo laughed and kissed him. "All you have to do is stand there and I'd think you're sexy, although being naked in my bed is a plus."

"So, you're okay with this?"

"As long as you promise never to defile my toothbrush like that again."