There was little formality in their greeting. Duo just raised an eyebrow, "You look like shit."

He always had been too damn perceptive. Heero grunted. "Too much space, not enough sun."

"Don't be an ass. I can tell a spacer from someone who's pushing his limit. What'd you do, get shot?"

Heero narrowed his eyes; then realized the action was lost behind his dark glasses. "I didn't come here to be nagged."

Duo pointed to the duffle slung over Heero's shoulder. "So why did you come here?" Suddenly he shrugged and turned, jerking his thumb toward the parking area visible through the glass doors. "Forget it. I can already guess, though I'm not sure if I should be flattered or insulted that I'm your last resort."

Heero stopped, Duo's back to him. "I can leave."

"Not a chance. I don't know precisely what happened to make you want to come to me, but now you're here, I'm keeping you."

"You make me sound like a stray." Strangely relieved, he couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Duo didn't turn around, though he did lift his hand in a half shrug. "Hmmm, I wonder why."

Heero stared at the other man's back as he walked off and then shook his head, chuckling slowly. Carefully adjusting his duffle, he followed after.

The road to Duo's place was rough.

"Are you hungry?" Duo looked over at him, eyes seeming to note the thinness of Heero's frame, then he turned away in time to steer around a huge pothole. "Damn typhoons, constantly washing away chunks of my road."

Heero considered the benefits of taking his medication on a full stomach as opposed to an empty one. "I could eat."

"Good, cause I can feed you." Duo didn't speak again for the rest of the ride.

Heero gratefully dumped his bag on the bed Duo had indicated and gently massaged his shoulder. The knife wound was deep, the man had been aiming for Heero's throat and only by rolling slightly had he been able to redirect it below his collarbone. The doctor had said he was lucky it'd missed a lung.

He'd fled the concerned questions and well wishes. It was his third incident that month. Heero wasn't quite sure what had led him to Duo, other than he felt safe. They hadn't spoken in two years but when he'd called to say he was landing the next day, Duo had immediately said he'd be there.

There was blood on the bandage and he sighed. The bathroom suddenly seemed twice as far and he lay back on the bed, eyes closed. He'd take care of it in a few minutes. For the first time in a long while, he relaxed. He could hear Duo in the kitchen talking to the monstrosity of a cat that had greeted them at the door.

Duo had told him it's name, something big . . . T-Rex. Rex for short.

A persistent sound woke him up. Duo was standing in the bedroom doorway, fingers tapping on the frame. He hadn't tried to approach and for that Heero felt the last bit of anxiety slip away. He sat up, fingering his shoulder and wincing. "Damn."

"Need a hand?" Duo held up a roll of gauze.

Heero stared at him and staggered up, reaching toward Duo for balance. "Yes, but tell anyone and I'll kill you."

Duo just laughed.

All the best beer comes in green bottles. Tsingtao, Carlsberg, Lowenbrow and Heineken. I'm telling you, green is the way to go." Duo used his fork to point at the bottle of Tsingtao in front of him.

They were eating some kind of local dish. Heero could identify the meat as roasted pork though the beans were unfamiliar. He finished chewing and then picked up the beer, holding it in the light to look at. "I thought it just made the beer smell like skunk."

"Nah man, that's only the clear bottles like Corona. Mind you, Corona's pretty good too. Especially with that dash of lime, but for my money nothing beats a good pale lager on a hot day.

Heero nodded and took a drink, holding the liquid in his mouth for a moment before swallowing. "Not bad. Kind of fizzy."

Duo held his hand out and Heero passed the bottle back. "You probably shouldn't mix that with whatever meds they've got you on."

Heero shrugged and then winced. Duo shook his head. "Dumb ass."

"What are you going to do about it?" Heero stared at him defiantly.

Duo just looked at him and then stood to clear their plates. "What do you want me to do?"

Heero watched as he left the room.

Duo checked his bandage again that night, commenting on the other signs of previous encounters. Heero held still as Duo explored his skin, eyes tracking the fingers traveling over his body. He didn't resist when Duo stripped off his shorts, just stood there and let him see the marks.

"You're awfully hard on yourself."

Heero choked out a laugh. "And here I thought that everyone else was hard on me."

The room was dark, only lit by a sliver of light through the window. When the door opened, Heero shifted slightly to the left. "I figured it out."

Duo made a humming sound in response and Heero smiled. "I need you. Just be you."

Carefully, Duo pulled back the covers and slid down, gently kissing the areas of Heero's body he'd traced earlier. "Okay."