Why five dates? Oh, Duo knew why he tortured himself in this wholly unique way. It was because there had been times, in the past, when he had waited two dates, or even three dates to give the okay to hop into bed only to be totally disappointed by the aftermath. So he vowed to himself that the next guy would have to wait at least five dates before Duo would give the signal that they could go further than just kissing.

And it was his luck that it would be at that point in his life that he would meet Heero Yuy, the hottest man he had ever laid eyes on. Talk about being tested!

The street was dimly lit and the lawn was still dotted with winter snow when Heero stopped in front of Duo's small house.

Duo smiled and started to open the door. "You want to come in for a drink?"

Heero looked surprised. "You're inviting me in?"

Duo smirked. "Don't you think it's about time I did?"

Heero shrugged and unbuckled his seat belt. "I never gave it a thought, actually. I figured you would invite me in when you wanted to."

Duo stepped out of the car and rubbed his gloved hands together. "Well, I want to."

Duo didn't know if Heero caught the intended double entendre but he held out his hand for Heero to hold and together they walked up to the door.

Gloves came off and jackets were hung up as they stepped inside the house. Duo went directly to the fireplace and quickly built a fire as Heero sat down on the overstuffed couch.

Duo stood and dusted his hands off on his jeans. "What can I get you?"

"What do you have?"

"I have some soda, some wine, some beer...want something a little harder?"

Heero smiled. "Some wine would be great."

"White or red?" Duo asked as he headed for the kitchen.

"Red," Heero replied as he stood to look at the mantle above the fireplace. There weren't many pictures there, but what ones there were usually featured people other than Duo, some in jumpsuits like Duo wore in his garage and some where people were in suits. Heero wasn't surprised that Duo knew a lot of diverse people; indeed, Duo seemed to make friends with everyone he met.

Heero felt Duo's presence as he stepped up behind him. A glass of red wine appeared at his elbow and he took it, sipping lightly from it. Duo looked at the picture of the two people at a restaurant and laughed.

"That's Trowa and Quatre. I've told you about them before. This was taken only slightly before Quatre dumped that whole glass of red wine all over the table. I've never seen him look so mortified!"

"And who are these two ladies?" Heero asked, pointing to a picture of two beautiful women in cargo shorts and tank tops.

"Ah, Lucy and Sally. We were pals during high school. This was taken during a campout we had right after we graduated. Haven't talked to them in months. You've just reminded me I should call them," Duo smiled and took a long drink of wine before wrapping his free arm around Heero's waist.

Heero kissed the top of Duo's head. "You're a unique person, Duo."

"Unique good or unique bad?" Duo asked teasingly.

"Unique good," Heero murmured as their faces grew closer together. "Unique very, very good."

In the morning, the bed was warm and the sun was shining through the slats in the blinds. Duo Maxwell was sleepy, sore, and altogether fulfilled.

And when he looked at the dark head resting on the pillow next to him he couldn't help but think that this time, he hadn't made a mistake. This time, it had been completely worth the wait.