Nani! Out of tolerance limits? Heero Yuy frowned at the readout. He took such care with Wing Gundam, he couldn't imagine that a key system like communications would malfunction. He again punched in the code for a complete system diagnosis. He had to confirm the problem before he would believe it.

He sat back in the pilot seat, closed his eyes and drifted as he waited for the results. The perfect soldier was at one with his friend, his Wing, the only entity in the universe that he could confide everything to. Today, his gundam seemed to exude a certain curiosity.

"Hm? No, I don't think I'm any different today."

Heero deliberately relaxed, recalling the 24 hours since he had last checked on his mecha. Such an unexpected whirlwind. Wing seemed to probe his mind, inquisitive as always.

"Okay, okay," Heero conceded. "I guess some things have changed. I'll tell you what happened.

"I've been holed up in this warehouse, waiting for orders from Dr. J. It's not too bad. There's electricity, and I scrounged around the building for some furniture, so it's set up pretty good now except for water. I have to carry it from the building next door.

"Well, I was on my way back to my hideout with a carrboy of water when I turned a corner and saw someone walking toward me. Even though he was only a couple of meters away, I couldn't see him well because of the shadows.

"My instincts kicked in -- you know how it is. I was half a second from knocking him cold when he stepped into the light and a certain grin registered in my subconscious. That grin plus the black clothes. I almost passed out from shock. It was Duo!

"'What are you doing here?' I asked. He told me he was waiting for mission orders. He'd been sent to these coordinates, and told to wait for future communication. He's in the same situation we are.

"He asked if I was alone. I nodded, staring at him, still not believing that he was there. It's been so many months since I've seen him. Months of oh-so-carefully not thinking of him that tapped into every iota of self-discipline Dr. J ever taught me. Suddenly, it was over. He just stood there, staring at me and grinning.

"I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, but it didn't help. I could smell him. Not anything bad -- only that odor that's uniquely Duo. It enflamed me. So much for self-discipline.

"My eyes were still closed when I felt his arms wrap around me, felt his lips on mine. Oh, by all the gods, Wing, it felt so good. All the denial ended. I was so suddenly free, it took me a minute to respond. It didn't seem real until I was able to untie his braid, and sink my fingers into his hair.

"We stood in the hallway forever, kissing and groping and moaning, until some small noise brought me back to reality and I noticed where we were. I finally broke off and looked into those beautiful violet eyes. I felt like I was falling into them, they were so deep. I said, 'Come with me,' and pulled his hand.

"I led him to the room I'd fixed up, complete with a mattress on the floor. It wasn't exactly the royal palace, but we didn't care. I thought for a second that I should talk to him -- ask him if he was okay, or what missions he'd been on, but I couldn't make myself do it. All I wanted to do was lay him on the bed, touch him, feel his skin under my fingers, and hear those wonderful noises he makes.

"I stripped him down, and I started to shiver as his fingers cruised over my body. It was so intense. I didn't even think as I said the words. I heard them for the first time as I said them out loud. 'I love you, Duo.'

"I don't know who was more shocked -- him or me. The words came from somewhere deep inside me. It was something I had not confessed, even to myself, for an eternity of days. I have to tell you, Wing, it scared me a little, and that's a feeling I'm not used to. It made me more than a little uncomfortable. I didn't know what to do. I pulled away, sitting up beside him on the mattress.

"Eh? Sure, we'd said those words when we last saw each other, but that was when we were going our separate ways -- not knowing if we'd ever see each other again. It was a moment of heartache, when I said what I thought I should say. I'd said the words, but were they true? My mind was a mixed up bunch of emotions that I couldn't figure out, so I'd decided to label it love. Now, here it was, brought to the surface again. I buried my head in my hands because I didn't want him to see my confusion.

"Do you know what my Duo, my wonderful teacher, did? He curled around me and touched me so softly. He said it was okay. He said 'We don't have to figure it all out right now. Just relax, and let me make love to you.'

"And that's what he did, Wing. It was slow and sweet and seemed to go on forever. I'd almost forgotten how he moved when I touched him, and the way he ignited my skin with his kisses. It seemed like he spent hours going over every inch of me, like he was exploring some unknown territory. Finally he covered my body with his and we rocked together until I thought I would scream from the pleasure of it. I'd started to shake again by the time he rolled off me.

"Then he asked me to take him. He lay on his back and spread his legs, waiting for me.

"The look in his eyes as I entered him took my breath away. It was total surrender, and trust, and love. Something welled up inside me, Wing -- and I knew then that I felt the same way. I knew the feelings I saw on Duo's face were reflected on mine. I'd only been too scared to admit it to myself. But my braided baka taught me, once again.

"I know now that I love Duo Maxwell. I've loved him for a long time.

"Well, he was arching toward me as I moved inside him, meeting every thrust, making those incredible noises that drive me crazy. It was a heady feeling, taking him as I realized I really was in love with him. I was gasping and holding his hips so hard, I know I left bruises. It went on and on until the pleasure exploded in us both. We seemed to hang together at that perfect point of ecstasy for close to forever, but eventually I collapsed on top of him, and he held me for a long time.

"I told him then. I told him I loved him, and I was sure of it. He kept running his fingers through my hair, and told me that he knew. He understood. He told me that he loved me, too. My teacher is so much wiser than I am.

"We did talk for a while, and I found out what he'd been doing. His missions have paralleled mine in a lot of ways. We think all five of us pilots are still alive. Between the both of us, we've seen the other three in the last few weeks. It's good to know that we all still fight for the colonies, even if the colonies don't want us any longer.

"We spent the rest of the night touching and kissing and making love. I'm sure we slept some, but we were so tangled up together, it's hard to sort out. All I know is that it was wonderful.

"But that was for one night. I know that we have to go our separate ways, and I'll have to package up that love and hide it deep down inside me where I won't find it. If I don't do that -- if I allow myself to think about him day after day, I'll go crazy. Who knows when we'll see each other again. Or if we'll see each other again. In some ways, I think it might have been better if I hadn't seen him at all. It just makes it harder."

Heero sighed as he sat up to check the video screen before him.

"Aren't you done with the diagnostics yet, Wing?"

"COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS OUT OF TOLERANCE," flashed across the digital readout.

Almost simultaneously, a voice called from below. "Hey, Heero!"

The gundam pilot stuck his head out the cockpit hatch to find Duo, hands on hips, gazing up at him. "What do you want?" Pilot 01 asked.

"Throw down the cable!"

Heero complied, tossing the ground cable down. Soon Duo sat on the doorway hatch, rubbing his oily fingers on an already dirty rag. "Looks like I won't be getting mission orders anytime soon. Shinigami's communications systems are all messed up."

The Wing pilot raised his eyebrows questioningly. That was certainly a coincidence. "Really. Wing's system is out of tolerance limits, too."

"Sunspots, I suppose," Duo shrugged.

"Hn. Maybe." Heero was suspicious. Although Wing could not deliberately give a false answer to a direct request for information, it was not beyond the mecha's capacity to be devious. And the gundam had certainly curious about the pilot's lovelife. He wondered....

At Heero's prompting, Duo moved so that he could see the screen by looking over his shoulder. "Wing, did you know that Duo and Shinigami were here before I told you?" Heero asked.

"AFFIRMATIVE."

Just as he'd suspected. Heero shook his head and smiled to himself. "What is wrong with your communications system?"

"COMMUNICATIONS OUT OF TOLERANCE LIMITS."

"Yes, you've told me that. If you can't tell me what the trouble is, I'll have to spend all night going over the system to find the problem. I probably won't even get to bed."

There was just a fraction of a time lag before the response. "COMMUNICATIONS INPUT INTERFERENCE."

"So, now you're saying there's nothing wrong with your systems? The problem is with incoming messages?"

"AFFIRMATIVE."

Duo chuckled. "Have you been in contact with Deathscythe's systems?" Pilot 02 asked.

"AFFIRMATIVE."

Heero decided it was time to be blunt. "Are you and Deathscythe scheming to keep Duo and I here together?"

The screen was again slow to display a response. After several seconds it read, "ERROR PROCESSING REQUEST. RESUBMIT."

Duo started to laugh as he wrapped his arms around Heero from behind, but the perfect soldier had to try again. "Are you two scheming to keep Duo and I here longer?"

This time the reply flashed instantly. "ERROR PROCESSING REQUEST. RESUBMIT."

"I bet you could ask until you're blue in the face, and ol' Wing here would continue having trouble processing your request," Duo said.

Heero nodded, grinning. "When do you anticipate the input interference to resolve?" he asked, trying to decipher how long he and Duo were to be held hostage. Not that he minded, of course.

"MINIMUM TWO DAYS STANDARD."

"Well, well, whatever shall we do for two whole days?" Duo asked as he squirmed his way around the pilot's seat and plopped onto Heero's lap.

"We could plot all our individual sightings of enemy activity for the last two months." The perfect soldier, of course, managed to say this with a straight face.

Duo lifted an eyebrow. "Or?"

Heero considered a moment before answering. "Or, we could test the ergonomic design of this chair for intense, frenzied activity."

"Frenzied activity? Oh, I like that idea," replied Duo, leaning forward for kiss.