"No choice." Heero silently cursed his lover for a stubborn idiot with an unerring sense of bad timing. "The mission."

"Show me! Show me where it says I have to enroll in another goddamn boarding school!" Duo reached for Heero's laptop, only to have his hand slapped away.

"That base is just offshore from the academy. Where else can we observe so easily?" Heero clenched his fist. He would never actually have hit Duo, but the threat normally made his lover back down, or at least quiet down. Not this time. Duo was rushing full speed into a genuine temper tantrum.

The boy kicked the wastebasket, using words Heero would have to look up later. He got the general idea, though. He also thought that most of Duo's suggestions were probably anatomically impossible.

"I don't understand you."

Duo whirled, his braid flying around him like a whip. "I don't wanna go, that's all."

Heero sighed and snapped shut the lid of his laptop. He closed his eyes for a second, wishing that Duo had at least a basic grasp of logical reasoning. "All right. Tell me."

"I said, I don't want to..."

"Yes, I know that's what you said. But even you usually have reasons for your behavior." Not always good ones, but reasons. Heero folded his arms, gazing calmly at the small bundle of energy wreaking havoc on his own side of the room. "I think you're overreacting."

"Overreacting?" Duo threw his pillow, and Heero dodged the fluffy projectile. "You're going make me go to some stuffy academy full of rich kids in dumbass uniforms, live in some stupid dormitory with a house-mother-from-hell hovering over us all the time, probably not even get to share a room with you, and you think I'm overreacting?"

"You're right, I am going to make you go. And yes, I still think you're overreacting." Heero smiled faintly. He ought to be angry at Duo, but his flushed cheeks and mussed hair gave Heero other ideas. He looked forward to winning the argument so that he could soothe Duo's wounded pride later. "If it will make you happy, I can make sure we're assigned to the same room."

Heero raised his eyebrows, expecting a grudging acceptance of the compromise. But Duo turned his back, crossed his arms, and stared in sullen silence out the window at the sea, crawling and shimmering in the autumn sun just beyond the rocky shore.

Enough. Time to find out what this is really about. He stood, silently crossed the room to stand behind Duo. Lifting the long, brown braid, he lightly kissed the back of Duo's neck.

"Heero, you son of a bitch, get away from me."

Heero let the heavy braid fall from his hands.

Duo jerked away from the other boy. "You're usually not so obvious, you know that?"

"Obvious?"

"Damn straight. You only get affectionate when you want something from me. Not that I mind, usually -- I'll take it any way I can get it. But today, it's pissing me off."

That was stupid and clumsy. Sometimes he failed to remember exactly how sharp Duo's mind was. With a sigh, he sat on the edge of the bed.

"It's not the only time. But it has its uses."

Duo still wouldn't look at him. "You're a bastard."

"Quite possibly."

Duo's shoulders sagged, and he pressed his forehead against the window. "Why do I bother trying to argue with you?"

"I don't know," Heero said agreeably. "You never win."

Duo returned to Heero, laying his head on his lover's shoulder. "Please?" he asked, his voice plaintive, his violet eyes wide and pleading.

"Who's obvious now?" Heero tugged affectionately on Duo's braid. He didn't actually mind his lover's attempt to manipulate him, even though he knew that Duo's meekness was always intended to wheedle something out of him. Too bad I can't give in. No matter how nice it would be to have you behave yourself for a change.

"I'm sorry. It's only for a little while."

"Yeah." Duo flopped back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Heero observed him for a time in silence. Warm afternoon sunlight dabbled gold across Duo's fair skin and chestnut hair. His braid looped over his shoulder, lay across his chest and stomach, where the end twitched with each breath. Heero watched the faint movement with fascination.

He's so beautiful. I forget, sometimes, how beautiful he is. Heero sighed with satisfaction. And he's mine. That's the best part of all.

Then his attention wandered to Duo's face. With surprise, Heero noted that his chin quivered almost imperceptibly, his lip trembled until he stilled it by catching it in his teeth.

"You're truly upset about this. Why?"

Duo stretched, arching his back like a sleepy cat, but the lazy deliberation of the movement didn't deceive Heero. He knew Duo hadn't relaxed a bit.

"I just hate those places. They're everything I'm not."

Heero smiled. That, at least, he understood. "I don't fit in there, either. But we do what we have to do."

"See?" Duo rolled over, lifting himself on his elbows to look at Heero. "It doesn't bother you. You don't care what they say about you or think about you, you just give 'em your 'I'm-going-to-kill-you' stare and go on." Duo collapsed again, resting his cheek on his bare forearm. "But it bothers me."

Heero lay down next to Duo. Fortunately, the work he'd been doing could be put off a little longer without any danger. He could coax Duo out of his mood -- It's necessary. He has to be at peak efficiency for the mission -- and still complete the crucial arrangements in plenty of time.

"So," he began, knowing very well that this was an appropriate time to use some foolish endearment, but still not quite able to manage it. At least not out loud. He'd been practicing to himself, but it still sounded false to his ears. "What exactly bothers you? What can schoolchildren say that could be so disturbing?"

Duo's eyes grew soft and unfocused. Heero read the look, knew that it meant Duo saw something from his past that still hurt. "Maybe I'm more afraid of what they might say." The violet eyes sharpened, cleared. "Bet that doesn't make much sense to you, does it?"

"No," Heero admitted. He combed through Duo's disheveled bangs with his fingers. "Don't let them trouble you. If they hurt you, they'll have me to deal with."

Duo smiled at him, finally, snatching his hand and pulling him close. Heero allowed the embrace, letting Duo settle into his arms. His slight lover cuddled against him, wrapped his arms around Heero's waist. He felt Duo's breath warm through his shirt and petted the brown head resting on his shoulder. He'd learned to recognize Duo's need for reassurance, even though he didn't truly comprehend it. He'd also learned to enjoy it.

"Heero, I love you, but you don't have one bit of imagination, do you?"

"It's a waste of energy to fear what might be. And what is can either be dealt with, or it cannot. Worry is..."

"Inefficient." Duo finished his sentence, having heard it many times already -- to no effect, as far as Heero could tell. "I know." He sighed, toying with neck of Heero's tank top. "Must be nice, not to worry. You never have nightmares, either. Y'know what? Having an imagination pretty much sucks."

Heero didn't answer. Sometimes he had vaguely disturbing dreams, but nothing like the night terrors that ripped apart Duo's sleep. Too often, Duo's nightmares left him shaking and sweating, clinging to Heero as if he were a life preserver. When that happened, he felt helpless, unable to comprehend his lover's wordless terror. Heero wound a strand of gold-streaked hair around his finger. What do you see that I can't?

He waited, but Duo seemed to have finished talking. "Is that all?"

"Is what all?" Duo looked up at him, his wide eyes feigning innocence.

Never lies, indeed. "Is that the only reason you don't want to attend school?"

Duo hesitated, caught between his proud vow and his obvious desire to keep something hidden. "No, it's not. And I'm not going tell you why, so don't ask."

"All right." Heero continued to twine his fingers through Duo's hair.

Duo nuzzled against Heero's hand. "Do I have to go to all those stupid classes, though? Can you fix me up with a schedule that's, like, gym, lunch, and study hall?"

Heero traced his forefinger over the shell of Duo's ear, satisfied by the shiver he evoked. "It won't hurt you to sit through something more rigorous than that. And it will draw someone's attention if you aren't carrying a full academic load."

"Heero..." Duo twisted to look at him. If Heero didn't know better, he would say that was panic in those lovely eyes. "Please, please, PLEASE don't put me in those classes. I'll get kicked out, you know I will. I can't help it. And that'll draw attention, too. I mean, what if they decide they need to call my father or something? They'll find out my records are fake. And then they'll ask questions, and --"

"Hush." Heero stopped the frantic tumble of words with a finger against Duo's lips. "You most certainly can help it. Just keep your mouth shut. You don't have to entertain everyone."

"C'mon, can't you do this one little thing?" Duo begged. He pressed their bodies together, wriggling suggestively. "I'm going. You won. It's the least you can do."

His hands began to roam over Heero's body. Ahhh...he always knows just how to do that. In spite of his resolution, Heero felt a current of physical excitement surge through his groin.

This is getting ridiculous.

"Stop trying to distract me." He pushed the boy's hands away, glaring at him, his mouth a stern line. "No, I will not do this 'one little thing.' I'm not going to risk a mission for your whim."

A tiny tremor worked its way across Duo's lower lip. Damn him. "...not unless you can give me a very good reason."

Something in Duo seemed to crumble in the face of Heero's severity. He sat up and twisted his braid in his hands, refusing to meet Heero's glare. A faint wash of color stained his cheeks.

Heero frowned. He liked to think he'd seen beneath the manic mask Duo presented to the rest of the world, but this was a Duo he didn't know, uncertain and awkward.

"Duo? What is it?"

Duo suddenly seemed terribly young and small. In a tiny voice, he said simply, "I can't read."

"What?" Heero sat up. "Don't be ridiculous! Of course you can --" Heero stopped, frowning. Had he ever seen Duo with a book in his hands? No, but he thought that was merely Duo's inability to sit still long enough to do anything as pedestrian as reading. But surely... "What about your orders?"

"Voice." Duo lowered his eyes, but Heero had seen the shame in them. "I didn't want anyone to know. Didn't want you to think I'm stupid."

"Duo." Heero hoped his voice sounded comforting. "You are not stupid." Maddening, yes, entrancing, endearing, frustrating, and annoying as hell. But never, never stupid. "But I don't understand how...why not?"

"When was I supposed to learn? I was kinda too busy staying alive to go to school, y'know. Went for a little while, when I was at Maxwell Church, but I kept getting in fights and it didn't work out. Sister Helen tried to teach me, but she didn't have a chance to do much, just letters," he said with the tiny catch that always found its way into his voice when he spoke of Maxwell Church. "And after that, it was the same story. Too busy just trying to get by."

Of course. Duo's life had been a struggle for survival, not a constant training exercise like his own.

Duo tossed his head, swinging his braid like a pendulum, trying to look as if he didn't care. "And anyway, where I'm from, not many people can, so I never worried that much. Then I started hanging out with you guys, and all of you know how...well, I just kept my mouth shut about it. It's not like it's a big deal, except when we get dumb orders like this."

The whole thing still didn't make sense to Heero. "But what about information you steal from OZ? You have to be able to read to do that."

Duo laughed. "Heero, I don't get those kinds of missions. 'Sneak in, blow it up.' That's what I do. I'm not the hacker you are. No one expects me to be. I don't do the intelligence stuff, and honestly, I'm happy to leave that to you. I can pilot Deathscythe every way to Sunday, and there's not a surveillance system made that I can't sneak over, under, or around. When I go for a target, I get it. What else do I need to know?"

"How did you learn to fly your Gundam?"

Duo shrugged. "Wasn't that hard. I just memorized everything. I learn quick when I can get my hands on things -- show me something once, and I remember how to do it. And I can understand maps and diagrams and stuff, and the words I need to know, like "low fuel." Professor G made sure of that. But I can't figure out those huge textbooks they give us -- and I've tried, honest I have! I don't want to sit through all those classes, always afraid the teacher will call on me, and then everyone will find out how dumb I am." His shoulders hunched a little, making him look as though he were warding off an expected blow. "That I'm just an ignorant piece of street trash after all."

"Stop it!" Heero shook Duo gently. "No one talks about you that way where I can hear it. Not even you." But he thought about Duo's words, and a puzzle suddenly resolved itself. "That's why you get yourself kicked out of class, isn't it? It's better to get thrown out for being a pain in the ass than it is to sit there and have people think you're stupid."

"That's pretty good for a guy with no imagination." Duo grinned, but it faded quickly as a thought apparently occurred to Duo. "You won't tell the others, will you?"

Heero lifted Duo's chin. "If you are assigned to a mission with any of them, I'll have to. Idiot, it's pure luck that no one's gotten killed or captured already because of your silly pride."

Genuine chagrin flooded over Duo's face. Heero knew that he would have died himself before he put one of them in danger. He sighed, never able to stand seeing his lover in misery for long.

"I'll do this much for you. I'll teach you to read myself." Heero smiled faintly at the thought of his little student snuggled against his side every evening. Too bad, really, that he's so bright. How long can I make the lessons last?

Duo threw his arms around Heero, nearly crushing the wind out of him. "You're the greatest, Heero Yuy. I knew I could count on you." He covered Heero's mouth with enthusiastic kisses.

Heero enjoyed the velvet warmth for a moment, then disentangled himself from Duo's grasp and climbed off the bed.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

He knelt and dragged a box from underneath the bed. "We may as well start right now."

"Now?" Frustration pushed Duo's voice into a whine. "Do we have to?"

"Yes." Heero sorted through the dog-eared titles. Duo leaned over the bed, watching him.

He peered into the box. Heero expected the curiosity -- sometimes, he thought Duo must be part kitten. But something else made his mouth twist just a little, like he'd felt a sudden pain.

"Those all yours?" Duo reached down, drew a finger across the slick jacket of a novel.

"Hn. Who else would they belong to?"

"Didn't know you liked to read so much. What is all this stuff, anyway?" He started to pick up one of the books, but then pulled his hand away. He clenched his hand into a fist, and the storm clouds returned to his face.

This is going to be much touchier than I thought.

Heero pulled a book out of the box and climbed back on the bed beside Duo. "It's a distraction." Smiling faintly, he said, "And lately, I've had other distractions."

"Is that all I am to you, a distraction?"

Duo's voice sounded petulant, but Heero could tell he'd pleased him. He piled the pillows behind himself and leaned back. "That's one of the things you are to me. Now come over here."

"You're kidding." Duo fidgeted as if he were sitting on something uncomfortable. "You've got to be kidding."

"I'm not kidding." Heero's voice turned serious. "Duo, this is important. If you can't read, it's too dangerous for you to work with the rest of us."

Duo's eyes widened. "Don't say that!"

"Then come over here and let's get started."

Pouting, Duo obeyed. Heero opened the book. "I want you to pick out the words you already know on this page."

"Fine." Duo crossed his arms, his mouth sulky.

"And ask me to tell you the ones you don't know."

"Fine."

Heero smiled. "You get a kiss for every word you can read. And I get one for every word you ask me."

Duo began to look interested. "I don't remember school being much like this."

"Maybe if you'd gone to class..." Heero grabbed the end of Duo's braid and tickled his lover's chin with it. "Now read."

Duo looked at the page and confidently read the first word. "The." He smirked and tapped his lips with his finger. "Right here, Yuy."

Heero took Duo's hand, turned the boy's arm over, and kissed his wrist. "I didn't say where you got the kiss."

"No fair."

"I'm the teacher, so I make the rules." Heero pointed to the second word of the title. "Keep going."

Duo's forehead creased with concentration as he sounded out the next word, stammering a little and looking up at Heero, his eyes questioning -- and a little fearful.

"That's exactly right. Very good." Heero sucked lightly at Duo's earlobe, making the boy squirm.

"That was a nibble, not a kiss." Duo swallowed audibly. "That's not the same thing."

"It's the same thing in my class."

"Where do I get the next one?"

Heero turned the page. "Keep reading and find out."

Duo struggled through a few more words, and Heero rewarded him each time, kissing the back of Duo's neck and behind his ear until he trembled.

"I don't know this one." Duo pointed a slim finger at the word.

"Don't you?"

Duo sighed. "Okay, okay. What's this word, Heero?"

"Comfortable." Heero lifted Duo's chin, tilting his head back. "As in, 'are you comfortable?'"

"Don't I get to pick where you get your kiss?"

"Huh-uh. Told you, I'm the teacher, and I'm in charge. Now kiss me, and make it good, or you get detention."

Duo pressed his mouth firmly against Heero's. Duo knew how to kiss, undoubtedly. Warm, ripe lips moved against his, and he tasted them, sweet and oh-so-wonderfully willing, but something was missing. Heero opened his mouth slightly, encouraging Duo to deepen the kiss. Duo pulled away.

"C'mon, lover, it was just one word. You didn't think you were gonna get it all for that, did you?" He grinned at Heero's frustration.

Damn him. And he says I always win.

"Hn. Keep reading."

Together, they managed a few more paragraphs. Both boys were panting -- and trying to pretend they weren't -- by the time Duo reached the middle of the page. Heero could tell his little scholar enjoyed the game, although his pride kept him from admitting it. But they had deliberately teased each other, laughing, touching, as Duo stumbled through the children's story.

At the bottom of the page, Duo stopped. "I don't get this part at all, Heero."

"Try." Heero breathed against the other boy's neck, smiling slightly as he wriggled.

"I am trying." Duo shook his head, twisting away from Heero. "Cut it out. I can't think."

Heero watched as Duo struggled to sound out the words, his frustration growing visibly. His chin set stubbornly, then his whole body tensed as he labored over the passage. Suddenly, the smaller boy's temper flared again, and he snatched the book out of Heero's hands, flung it against the wall.

"This was a stupid idea. I told you I couldn't do it." He scrambled off the bed, jerked open a dresser drawer, and started emptying his sparse belongings.

"Duo?" Heero followed, grabbed his lover's slender wrist and twisted him so that they faced each other. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm clearing out." Duo struggled, but Heero didn't release him. "Let me go, damn it!"

"What are you talking about?" Heero felt dazed. Trying to keep up with Duo's mood shifts left him dizzy. "You were doing fine, and..."

"I wasn't doing fine! I can't even read the first page without fucking it up." Duo's voice broke. He tried uselessly to free his wrist from Heero's grasp, then stopped fighting abruptly and ducked his head. "Look, it was a nice try, Heero. Thanks. But I-I guess --" He took a deep breath. "It's no good, me trying to hang with you guys. You're right. I mean, what if the only way to get a message to you was to write it down? Or you had to send one to me? We'd all be screwed. I-I'll just do what I was doin' before, on my own. It'll be okay, I'll still be there in a fight if you need me, and..."

"Hush." Heero rubbed his thumb over his lover's wrist. "You're babbling."

"Heero, please..."

"Duo...I know you can read this..." Heero pulled his lover close, released his wrist to slide his arm around Duo's waist, anchoring them together. With his other hand, he held the smaller boy's head still, then took his mouth in a long, slow kiss.

He felt Duo tremble, and he pressed his advantage. Heero's free hand slid over the curve of Duo's hip to grasp the firm muscles of his buttock. He pulled Duo closer against him, waiting for his muscles to relax infinitesimally, for him to give himself to Heero's embrace. Heero kissed him again, more deeply than before, until Duo sagged against him, arms going around his neck.

Heero had long since lost the clumsy awkwardness of the first time they'd made love. They'd gone at it with only the vaguest of ideas about what they wanted, somehow fumbling their way to mutual satisfaction. But like everything else he did, Heero drove himself to perfection in this arena, too. After that first, furtive time, he'd studied. Asked questions. Read everything on technique he could find. Practiced...

He laid Duo back on the bed, deftly undressing him. Duo blushed faintly -- it had surprised Heero to discover that his lover felt rather shy about his body. He supposed it shouldn't have, when he considered that Duo's habitual dark, loose clothing covered him from collar to boots except for his forearms. And his hair...Heero smiled, pushing Duo's bangs out of his face so that he could see his eyes. Always hiding behind something... The afternoon sun burnished Duo's ivory skin to a warm patina, and when he pulled his arms in as if to cover himself, Heero caught his wrists and pushed them back against the bed.

"Don't. I like to look at you."

Duo turned his head a little and muttered, "Don't know why..."

"Hn." Because you're beautiful, and I love you... But he couldn't make himself say it. Actions were so much easier to learn than words. Heero kissed Duo's cheek, then that spot just under his ear until he felt the slender body under him shiver again. "This is why..."

Heero had studied Duo's body, too, carefully mapping in his memory what gave him the most pleasure, where he could be firm, where Duo was so sensitive that the lightest touch seemed almost painful in intensity. Duo's eyes fluttered then closed, and he whimpered, wriggling under Heero's hands and mouth. Slender arms slid around Heero's neck, fingers tangled in his short hair. He rubbed his cheek against Duo's, his hands seeking those places that always made Duo produce the most wonderful noises -- small and breathless, as though he tried to contain them, but hungry, pleading for more. Finally, Duo opened his eyes. He slid one hand down to tug at Heero's shirt.

"You, too."

Heero sat back long enough to wriggle out of his own clothing. Duo watched him, grinning eagerly, then held out his arms as soon as Heero was naked.

"C'mere, lover. Want you bad."

Heero smiled, too. He pounced on Duo, and they rolled across the bed. Duo's mood seemed to have lightened again, because he made love with careless abandon, laughing and squealing until Heero had to hold his hand over Duo's mouth.

"Shhh. The walls aren't that thick."

Duo nipped at Heero's hand as he took it away. "Don't care. Don't care if the whole world hears me. Want the whole world to hear me..."

This time, Heero stopped him with a kiss that left Duo groaning. For a moment, Duo lay still, his eyes closed, swollen lips parted a little. His breath escaped in a soft "ohhh." Heero traced his mouth with his fingertip, then drew a line over Duo's chin, down his neck. He following the line with his mouth, and when he paused to suck on the hollow of Duo's throat, Duo murmured, "You can keep going..."

Heero did. It didn't take long before Duo begged for release, and Heero's own need overpowered his control. You feel so wonderful...never knew I could feel so good until you... Heero lost himself in Duo, in the sight and taste and feel of him until his senses coalesced into a single white-hot moment. Dimly, he heard Duo crying his name, felt the legs wrapped around his waist tighten their grip as Duo's blunt nails clawed at his back. Then even that awareness faded in the dizzying heat of his own climax.

Afterward, Duo draped over him, head pillowed on his chest. Heero lay still, savoring the few moments of quiet, playing idly with the end of Duo's braid. Duo smiled, eyes closed, and turned his head a little to kiss whatever patch of skin he could reach without having to move.

Heero screwed up his courage. I can do it. I can tell him what I'm thinking...what I'm feeling. But every time he opened his mouth to say it, he couldn't make the words come out. After a few minutes of struggling, he rolled over and reached for the book.

"Are you ready to try again, love?" Not bad. Even though the last word had come out in a near-whisper.

"Mmm...always. Ohhh..." Duo made an exaggerated, disappointed frown. "You mean the book..." Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Wait a minute. W-what did you call me?"

Heero blinked and said hesitantly, "...love?"

"You...you mean that?" Duo sat up, staring. "You love me?"

Heero started to give Duo the listing of all the arguments that seemed to support his realization that he loved the garrulous little pilot. But the vulnerability in those ridiculous violet eyes stopped him. In the end, all he said was, "Yes. I love you. But...you didn't know?"

"How was I supposed to know? You never said..."

Heero hid his face against Duo's hair. "Duo...sometimes you have to read between the lines..."

Duo sniffed audibly, then gave Heero a half-shy smile. "You mentioned...trying again?"

"I did, didn't I?" Heero rolled over to straddle Duo. He ran his hands over Duo's chest, marveling. "...your skin...it's like silk..."

Duo blushed, but he smiled. "Never touched silk..."

Heero lifted Duo's hand and pressed it to his lover's chest, then guided it so that he stroked his own body. "It feels like this..."

Duo blinked, then grabbed Heero's hand and pulled him down. He wrapped his arms around Heero's neck. "God...I love you, too, you know..."

"...I know..." Heero let him hold on, just as he did when Duo wakened from a bad dream. Then he reluctantly pulled away a little. "Ah...look at the time. The rest of your lesson is going to have to wait until I finish my work." Heero kissed Duo, then eased himself off his lover. He pulled on his clothes and sat down at his computer.

Duo got out of bed and leaned over his shoulder, sighing happily. "At this rate, we're never gonna finish this book."

Heero smiled as he easily broke into the school's student records. "Yes, we will...love." Having said it once, he felt like repeating it as often as he could work it into the conversation.

Duo's mouth pursed in a pout that made Heero want to begin their lesson all over again.

"Don't you want to make it last?"

Heero turned his head and kissed that dangerously distracting, pouting mouth. "I'm not worried."

"Why's that?"

Heero turned back to his computer, smiling conspiratorially as he typed in fields on a form. "I'm signing you up for a class in Russian novels."