Duo Maxwell stood with his fingers laced through the chainlink fence, staring across the parking lot at the giant husk of a building. Night was approaching swiftly, but it was still light enough for a sniper to spot an individual moving across such a large open space. Still light enough for a shot to bring death to Death, or to allow an enemy to sight and identify him as a future mark.

Gotta love the black clothes in a situation like this, the pilot thought as he flipped his jacket back far enough to push his braid under the coat. With one last careful scope of the area, he tucked a large paper bag under his arm and jogged across the cracked and uneven asphalt. He traversed the space without incident, but winced as the steel door creaked open, the telltale sound amplified in the quiet of the enveloping night.

It was cold inside the abandoned warehouse, and dark. There was electrical power, but he and Heero had limited its use to the very back of the old building, where the light would not be seen from the streets. Duo wound his way through the labyrinth of narrow hallways, stepping over girders and cables, glad that Death was gifted with excellent night vision.

The two pilots had discovered the warehouse several nights ago after a joint mission, and declared it perfect as a place to conduct the major system overhaul due on both mechas. Four huge bay doors opened on the back of the building, each revealing a space adequate for a gundam and its pilot. Heero and Duo had each claimed a hanger, and returned this afternoon to get down to business.

The work was complex and detailed -- just what each of the young men loved. They labored in adjoining rooms, Duo singing to himself, Heero silent. They made contact with each other rarely, hollering through the wall only once or twice to request a needed-but-absent tool or circuit board.

As the day waned, the Shinigami pilot finally succumbed to his growling stomach. Heero the Mighty, of course, was oblivious to such trivial needs as food. Duo dispatched himself for supplies while his counterpart continued to work on Wing Gundam.

And he was still at it, Pilot 02 judged from the metallic clanking that grew louder as he took the last couple of turns. He slowed, though, when he heard a voice amongst the maintenance noises. He frowned in concentration. It was Heero, carrying on a conversation with someone. Had they been found? Had one of the other gundam pilots arrived?

Nerves on edge, Duo crept forward. He could see Wing Gundam, bits of circuitry and wiring exposed, but there was no sign of its pilot. Heero was curled inside somewhere toward the top, Duo judged from the noise, working and talking. Heero. Talking. It just didn't compute. Something was definitely wrong.

Food and hunger now forgotten, the pilot silently set the paper bag on the floor, out of the way in case he should need to run for it, or run for Heero. He cocked his head and listened. What the fuck was going on? Heero didn't sound stressed out, or worried. He sounded like a regular guy, just chatting. Of course, Heero was not a regular guy. Heero did not chat.

Duo took another step forward. He was close enough now to make out the words. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop, only check out that everything was okay.

Then he heard his own name. Heero was talking about Duo.

Now he was most definitely was eavesdropping. He quieted his breathing and squinted his eyes, as if that could help him hear. Heero was discussing the previous night's mission.

"Yeah, he's a damn good pilot, I have to admit. You know how I was trained hours and hours in flight simulators, and even more in mechas. But even with all that coaching and conditioning, there are still times when Duo is better than I am."

Duo's eye flew open in surprise. Heero thought he was as good -- or maybe even better -- than he was?

"I know he hasn't had as much training. He has no finesse, but he makes up for it in determination, courage, and ... bravado. It's like he thinks he can't be killed. I guess that's why he calls himself Death. I think piloting a gundam is intuitive for him. He's a natural."

The pilot in question smiled, holding very still, struggling to catch every delicious word. This was too juicy to miss!

"Eh? No, he's not a natural when it comes to that. He learned the hard way."

Duo leaned forward, straining to hear another voice. Who in the hell was Heero talking to?

"Yeah, we had sex again. And again."

Nani! Heero the Iceberg was discussing their sex life? Oh, this was just about all he could take. Duo had to fight to keep himself still. Only his strong desire to hear what came next kept him from charging out into the hanger.

"Okay, okay. I told you about the night up on the hill behind the school. Well, I kept thinking about it over and over for the next couple of days. During classes, walking down the halls, lying in bed. All I could think of was how his lips felt, and how he touched me. It was so distracting, it was terrible.

"At least I haven't had any missions to worry about -- nothing to think about except him. I knew I wanted more, but wasn't quite sure what to do about it. I was pretty damned happy when he showed up at my door again."

Heero hadn't been the only one whose motor was racing nonstop after their escapade on the hill. It had been all Duo could think about for 48 hours. He'd tried to resist, really he had. After all, wasn't it Heero's turn to show a little initiative? But, hormones finally won out over pride, and he'd presented himself at the door of Heero the Great. It had been a good decision. He hadn't regretted his bow to teenage horniness.

"We went at it as soon as the door closed. We were naked and on the bed in seconds. God, Wing, he brings something out of me that I never knew was there. He makes me kind of ... crazy. I've never lost control like that with anyone else."

What was that? Did he say Wing? He was talking to his gundam? Duo's normally quick reasoning skills clicked double time, and he decided it made sense. Who else would Heero the Silent confide in?

The tension eased from Duo's body as he truly internalized that nothing was amiss. He slipped off his jacket, crossed his arms and took a small step sideways to lean against a post, preparing to listen as long as possible. Oh sure, it was wrong to listen to a private conversation. Sister Helen certainly wouldn't have approved. But, when else might he get an opportunity to hear what Heero the Stoic really thought? This was too good to miss.

"We spent a long time kissing and groping and touching, and using every square inch on that little bed. And then he asked me to take him again, but this time he wanted to be on his back. It was good -- incredibly good. I could reach him better -- touch him, and kiss him, and stroke him better than when he was on his hands and knees.

"Yes, another fine lesson. Like I told you, Wing, that baka is one good teacher."

Duo flinched. Lesson? Is that how Heero thought of him -- as some kind of private sex-ed teacher? The pilot's cheeks flamed, but only for a second before the street-kid's self-defense mechanism kicked in. Hell, it was okay. They were just fucking cuz it felt good, right? He turned to leave. He'd heard enough. He'd heard too much.

But, as he took the first step, a few more words drifted down, reaching his ears before he could get away. They made him freeze in his tracks.

"He was so beautiful, Wing. When he was lying there, that ridiculous hair all undone, spread out over the pillow and the bed -- only because he knows I like it that way. And his face when he looked up at me, when he came. It made me feel so .... "

Duo stood, still frozen in mid-stride. Beautiful? Did Heero the Surly just call him beautiful? It took a minute for the words to register. Is that what he really thought? Well, why in the flaming hell didn't he ever say so? Would it be so damn tough?

"Yeah, I know I said he's a baka. He talks too much, he jokes around too much, and he's really irritating. But even so, Wing, it's like there's something missing when he's not there.

"Kuso, I don't understand the way he makes me feel. Maybe it's just that he does make me feel. That's never happened before. Not really. Damn Dr. J anyway."

Duo turned back, closing his eyes against the burning sensation that suddenly bit at the backs of his eyes. Damn. How many times did he have to remind himself? He knew Heero's background, or could at least figure it out. He doubted that the guy had ever been loved in his whole life. He'd never had a Solo, or Father Maxwell, or Sister Helen.

Patience, he counseled himself yet again. This was going to take patience.

"We did it again last night. After watching him under me like that, I had to know what it was like. I wanted him to take me. I figured I had to ask if I was gonna get it, so I tucked a blanket under my arm, marched to his door, and asked if he wanted to go for a walk. By the look on his face, he was surprised."

Astounded was more like it, Duo mentally replied. He'd thought for a second he was hallucinating. He'd gathered his wits together quickly enough to come back with, "Are we going to have sex?" That had actually earned him a chuckle -- short, and quiet, but for Heero the Phlegmatic, it may as well have been a belly laugh.

The voice continued from inside the gundam.

"'Sure. If you want to,' I told him. We went up to the hill because we don't have to be so quiet up there.

"It was different this time because it was so dark. No moon, no stars. We could barely find our way. I spread out the blanket, and he started kissing me right away, but I pushed him back. I told him this was my walk, and I was in charge."

A shiver ran down Duo's spine as he heard those words, just like it had last night. It had been thrilling to at last have Heero take charge.

"I undressed him, but it was so dark, I had to kind of feel my way around to find the buttons and such...."

Yes, he had, and what a damned sexy experience that had been. Pulling at his clothes, brushing and feeling around, it had been exquisite torture for Duo to stand there and do nothing, until Heero's wonderful, callused hands had gotten inside his shirt. He'd surrendered to those hands, gliding over his chest and back, the whole scene made even more erotic because he could hardly see. It was almost as though a phantom touched him, barely more than a shadow. For Duo, it was all exploring fingers, heavy breathing, and the heady scent that was uniquely Heero.

Mmm. Listening, Duo's stroked his hands over his bare arms, relishing the memory of that touch.

"...and then I told him to turn around."

No! That wasn't right. Duo had to bite his tongue to keep from correcting the storyteller. Heero had been kissing Duo's jaw, licking and nipping up to his neck, nuzzling his ear when he'd whispered, "Your hair. Please?" Voice so full of need. It still amazed Duo that his hair inspired such lust in his fellow pilot. Not that the guy would ever admit it, of course.

Duo'd turned around then, allowing Heero to take the leather wrap from his braid, and he'd again tied it around his wrist, even in the dark repeating the movement that was fast becoming a ritual between them.

"...I stripped down, then, and pulled him back against me. I'd been thinking about doing that for a long time, Wing. Y'know -- pressing my body up against all that long, thick hair. It was like leaning into a silk waterfall. I rocked against him, and God knows, I could have come just like that, it felt so damn good.

You weren't the only one, Duo thought. He'd moaned and pressed himself back into that luscious, hard body, rocking slowly against the erection rubbing along his ass, desperately wishing to be free of his pants. He finally ...

"... got kinda weak in the knees, so I pulled him down onto the blanket, and got him out of the rest of his clothes.

"Y'know, Wing, this sex thing still surprises me -- what Duo calls the pleasure of it. For me, it's more like hunger. I didn't expect to be so hungry for him every time, so fired by his kisses, so excited by his voice. I never thought that I would crave his hands on me. Do you suppose sex is always like that, or is it like that just because it's Duo?"

The listening pilot stood very still, silently urging Heero to say more, to say the words he'd been hoping for. But, it was not to be. Heero hadn't come so far so quickly.

"We touched and kissed and wrestled around on the blanket, and I finally told him what I wanted. I told him to take me. I wanted to be fucked.

"I don't know what his reaction was cuz it was too dark to see his face. He was quiet so long, at first I thought he would say no, but finally he agreed."

Not on your life, Duo thought. He hadn't for a second considered denying that request. He'd simply been too stunned to react any quicker. His brain had taken half a minute to believe the input from his ears. Never had Duo even imagined that Heero the Control Freak would ask for such a thing. Once he'd actually believed his own ears, he'd had to hold his breath for several seconds to control the surge of lust that almost sent him over the edge prematurely.

"How was it? It was ... weird. Physically, it was amazing. Duo did it right, like the good teacher he is. He seemed to be really worried that he'd hurt me, though, as if a little bit of pain like that would bother me.

"No, the weird part was the way it made me feel -- totally vulnerable. I was lying on my back with my legs over his shoulders, and he was thrusting into me, and it felt like I'd completely surrendered to him. I suppose I had. I'd handed him control. It was harder than I thought it would be, and for a half a second, I almost asked him to stop.

"But then, I heard this long, shaky sigh, and I felt his hands on my hips, and I remembered that this was Duo. I was safe with my Duo. That was when I started to relax and really enjoy it."

A chill ran through Duo's body, chasing over his arms, making the hairs stand up. Had he heard right? Had Heero said, "my Duo"? He grinned, hugging himself tightly, willing himself to be still so that he could hear what came next.

"Like I said, it was amazing. His cock inside me was just incredible. And now I know why he tilts his hips when I'm inside him. Just the right angle, and I saw more stars than I've ever seen in space. Between that, and listening to Duo make those noises of his, I came harder than I'd ever come in my life. I was damn glad we were outside, because I out-and-out screamed.

Ayyii, had he ever, Duo thought, feeling a stirring in his groin at the vivid picture the other pilot was painting. Heero had arched up and yelled, totally abandoned to passion. It had been so goddamn sexy. Duo had gone right over the edge after him. Just thinking about it was firing his horniness meter up, racing toward high.

"Would I do it again? Maybe. Well, yeah, but only with Duo. I couldn't give that to anybody else.

"I don't know, Wing. I think I'm finally starting to figure out the sex part, but not the feelings that go with it. Odin told me to live by my emotions, but I don't know what those are. At least not when it comes to Duo."

Damn. Well, it was progress, Duo supposed, that Heero at least admitted the sex was different from the emotions. Patience. Enjoy the sex and bide your time, he told himself. Show him how you feel, but don't say the words yet, or you'll scare him off. He'll figure it out. Heero the Superbrain wouldn't take too much longer, he was sure of it. Soon, he would realize what was there, waiting for the two of them, if only the war didn't steal it away.

Maybe then, Heero would whisper the sweet words into his ear. Maybe then, Heero would explain why he hadn't offered to return the leather tie from Duo's braid -- why it still circled the Perfect Soldier's wrist. Maybe then he would admit that it was no longer sex, but making love.

Patience. In the meantime, Duo was having a difficult time deciding which needed attention first -- his growling stomach, or the demanding ache at his groin. Either way, he would share with Heero. He stepped forward and called out in his finest baka voice, "Oi, Heero! I've got something for you!"

Heero's head appeared, scowling down at him from behind the edge of an access panel high up on his gundam. Duo gifted him with his best evil grin.