Coffee Shop Encounters CSE-10: Coconut Frappucino
Quatre and Heero shared twin looks of concern as they stood at the door of the Hope Home. They could hear Duo's voice inside, yelling at someone in a tone he had frankly never used before the incident.
It was because of this that Heero had, finally, turned to his friends for help. The man he loved was so... different. It hurt Heero to admit that he needed help; it hurt a lot. But here they were.
The door was opened by a strained-looking Relena, but her pinched look dropped as her eyes lit on Heero. "Thank God you're here! I don't care what it takes - take him upstairs and screw it out of him if you have to, but calm him down!"
The two young men followed her quickly through eerily quiet hallways. "What was it this time?" Heero asked in a low voice.
Relena shook her head. "Two boys were playing cowboys and Indians, and one pretended to shoot the other... you can guess what happened from there." She stopped before they could enter the kitchen, though, and turned to Heero. Quatre felt a jolt of unease running through him as Relena refused to meet their eyes. "Heero, you should know this, though I haven't told Duo yet... Our bosses understand that he's been through a... regrettable experience. But if he doesn't get his head back on straight..." She sighed heavily and lifted misty eyes to meet his. "They're talking about removing him from this post. They'll take the Home away from him."
Quatre put a steadying hand on Heero's shoulder as a tremor passed through the Japanese teen. Heero seemed to lean into him for support, and it shook the blond to see it. He nodded to Relena with a solemn look on his face. "Thanks for telling us, Relena. We'll try."
"I know you will." She gave them both a trembling smile before she opened the kitchen door -
"Geez, it's gonna take me forever to clean this mess up! You should have been more careful! Look what you did!" The first thing Quatre saw as he walked in was a small child holding the remains of a carton of milk in his hands, having spilt nearly all of it onto the floor.
The boy's lip was quivering. "I'm s-sorry, D-duo..."
The tone of voice must have snapped the braided teen back to himself - Heero and Quatre watched as the snap faded out of Duo's blue eyes, to be replaced by compassion and guilt. "Louie... God, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to yell, I really didn't..." In a second, Duo had tripped over the wet floor and snatched the boy - Louie - up into his arms, holding him tight as both squeezed their eyes shut and tried not to cry...
Relena made a show of closing the door, trying to let Duo know that someone was there. "Whoa! Looks like we have a little mess to clean up here!" She pointedly ignored Duo and turned to one of the assistants. "Hilde, do we have any paper towels?"
Grateful for the break, the dark-haired woman nodded. "Sure do! I'll be right back..." She left quickly out into the storage room.
As Duo set his young charge down, Heero approached him and gave him a little smile. "Hi, Duo."
"Heero!" The braided teen tried to smile, but it was obvious to all who saw him that he was barely managing it. He threw his arms around his fiancé's neck and held on to him tightly.
Quatre watched the two with pity in his eyes. He could clearly see what Heero'd told them about, now. "Hey guys? I think Duo's jeans got splashed - why don't you go get changed? Relena and Hilde and I can take care of this... can't we, girls?"
The two nodded in support.
Heero gave his friend a smile of gratitude as he led Duo out of the room.
~*~
Duo sank down onto his bed, trembling with tears. Heero shook his head as he turned back to shut the door. It was completely unfair! Duo was one of the nicest, most caring, most wonderful people in the world! How did he deserve to have his life torn apart by a bunch of gun-toting morons with the gall to rob orphans?
He walked back to the bed and gently took Duo's white face in his hands so he could look directly into his eyes. "You wanna talk about it?"
Duo's mournful eyes were enough to make Heero's heart leap into his throat. "I fucked up again, Heero. It w-was nothing, b-but I got so angry... They were j-just kidding around. And I yelled at them. I made them cry."
Heero rocked his fiancé gently against his chest with Relena's words running through his head. This place had become a part of Duo's heart, and losing it...
They had faced this once before. Losing was simply not an option.
Heero lowered them both until they were lying side-by-side on Duo's bed, and brushed chestnut brown bangs back out of the young man's eyes. "Duo, listen to me. What happened... I know it has been hard for you. I just want you to know... I'm here, okay? You need to talk. You need to let what's eating you out because it's tearing you apart, and it hurts everyone around you to see it happen."
The two held each other tightly and, as Heero buried his face in Duo's hair, he swore it to both of them. He would get them through this. He was going to get Duo's smile back, whatever it took.
~*~
Late that evening, Roberto wandered over to the table where Quatre Winner and Trowa Barton sat alongside Iria and Milliardo, all four with sad, pinched looks on their faces. "I hate to say it, but we're gonna close soon. Anyting I can get you?"
Quatre shook his head. "No, thanks Roberto."
The Cajun looked around; there was really no one else left in the café, so pulled a chair over and sat down. "Tell Roberto whas' wrong, eh? Mebbe I ken help."
Quatre shook his head. "I don't know that any of us can, Roberto. It may be too late already for that."
Roberto sat back with a knowing look in his eyes. "Dis's about Duo, isn't it?"
Trowa looked up and nodded. "Relena told us all today - their superiors have been talking about taking the Home away from Duo unless he gets himself back together."
"Shit." Roberto grimaced. "Dat... oh, dat would not be good."
Iria shook her head. "There's something more to it than he's letting on, even to Heero, and I think that's the real problem. He had a difficult past and he's been badly hurt before. I'd never have expected this from him." Milliardo took hold of her hand and squeezed it.
Trowa nodded his agreement. "We need to get him to relax and to talk, but nothing's working. I'm out of ideas."
Roberto tapped his chin as he thought about it. "Hmm. Mebbe a change of scene? He's dere every day wit' such a stressful job... mebbe if he took a vacation."
Milliardo's eyes lit up at the idea. "Maybe... My father owns a large estate on Grenada in the Caribbean. He's never there in the summer, though - he only goes there in the wintertime for a break. D'you think Duo might want to go there?"
Quatre shook his head. "Not without Heero, and Heero needs his summer job to help pay for next year."
Iria smacked her little brother in the shoulder. "You can fix that! You've been complaining about hacker problems for a couple months now. You could hire him on as a part-time contractor to evaluate your system and propose a solution when they get back, and pay him more than enough for a semester!"
Quatre rubbed at his shoulder and shot his sister a mock glare. "You don't have to beat me up about it, Iria..."
Eyes twinkling in amusement, Trowa reached around Quatre to rub the offended shoulder. "Could you really do that, Quatre?"
The blond shrugged. "I suppose I could. Heero might not like the idea too much, though."
Roberto laughed. "If you tell him it's for Duo's sake, he'll do it, you know dat."
Milliardo rolled his eyes. "Let me call father first and make sure he's not planning on going down there, then we can make the arrangements and talk to the guys."
Trowa held up his hand, though. "Does Duo even have any time off?"
Iria nodded. "Sally and I had actually talked about trying to get him out of there a while ago. He never takes time off - he probably has a whole month of leave or more saved up. That shouldn't be a problem."
~*~
Heero stared at Wufei in shock, and the Chinese boy was absently glad he'd chosen to talk to his friend in the safety of his room, rather than in public. Any second now, Heero was going to...
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, QUIT MY JOB!?"
He cringed. That.
Wufei was aware of how the others backed away, and he silently vowed revenge for it. "Heero, just stop and hear me through for a moment, okay? You've been trying very hard to help Duo - we ALL have - but it is not working. He goes back to that place every day and tries to act normal, but something's different. And we don't know what; he won't tell us."
Heero hung his head. "I know! And if I could change that..."
"That's just it," Quatre said, chiming in and stepping up to Heero's side. "Maybe what he needs to get it out is a change of scenery. A change of pace. If you could get him to relax physically and mentally, maybe he'd tell you what's wrong."
The Japanese student looked up at his friend. "I'd do it in a heartbeat, Quatre. But I can't. I can't afford to quit. I need the money..."
Quatre smiled. "I have a solution to that, too. Heero, would you be interested in some real contract work?"
The Japanese boy's blue eyes snapped indignantly. "I don't need your charity, Quatre..."
"It isn't charity, Heero!" the blond snapped back. "I wouldn't insult either you or Duo like that! I'm offering you a job because I need your skills! Computer technicians are hard to find!"
Heero sat down, taken aback by Quatre's fierce reply. "What... what kind of job?"
~*~
"Duo."
The braided boy looked up from where he was sorting laundry. "Yeah?"
Heero moved closer to him and took the green t-shirt from his hands and set it aside. "Duo, I know this is probably going to sound stupid, but... would you like to go on a vacation?"
Blue-violet eyes widened in surprise and confusion. "Heero? Be serious, Heero."
"I was perfectly serious," the Japanese replied, holding tightly to Duo's hand and quickly grabbing the other. "I haven't taken a break in a long time, and heaven knows you never take breaks, and I was thinking..."
Duo pulled away. "This has to do with the shooting."
Heero looked away. After a long pause, he replied, "Yes, it does. And I want you to go on vacation with me."
Duo shook his head, hands trembling a little as he reached for the laundry. "How many times do I have to tell you guys that I'm doing okay...?"
"No, you're not," Heero countered, grabbing another piece of laundry from Duo's hands and tossing it aside. "You always told me you didn't lie. Well, you're not being completely honest with me. Something is bothering you, and everyone knows it. You don't sleep well anymore, you've been getting short with the kids, your attention span is... Duo, listen to me!"
He pulled them both over to a set of chairs next to the small table in the laundry room and sat them down. "I'm worried about you, Duo. I almost lost you to a dumbass with a gun, and now I feel as though I might be losing you again, and that scares me. I thought that maybe...
"I thought we could get away from here for a while and have some time for just us," he said, eyes downcast.
Duo caught his breath. Part of him wanted to be angry with Heero - he was a grown boy, and he didn't need a keeper! The other part was so touched by Heero's actions, though...
He knew he was not the same, and it was driving Duo crazy. In that one moment, his life had been turned upside-down, and he knew his friends had been trying to help. He knew Heero had been trying to help and, looking at him now, he could see that his inability to do so was killing him slowly.
Duo searched Heero's face. "What about your job?"
The Japanese shrugged. "Quatre's offered me a position at WEI that would more than cover what I need."
"Quatre!"
"Duo, please," Heero said, squeezing the other's hands to keep him in his seat. "Milliardo's father owns an estate down in the Caribbean that he's not using, and he's offered to let us go there for a couple weeks. You'd love the beach, I know it."
Duo's eyes grew wistful. "I'd love to see a beach, the ocean... what about the kids?"
"Relena volunteered. They're covered."
A small smile began to form on Duo's face. "Quatre, Relena, Milliardo... you're all in on this together, aren't you?"
Heero smiled back. "Iria has it all set up to fly us down to Trinidad, and to take one of the Winner family yachts from there to Grenada. All they're waiting for is you. Will you join me?"
"Oh, of course I will silly!" As Heero engulfed him in a big, warm hug, Duo closed his eyes tightly and squeezed back. God, what did I do to deserve people like this in my life?
~*~
If Duo's feet touched the ground once as he ran from the car to the yacht, Heero was unaware of it. He simply allowed his fiancé to drag him along by the hand. A little abuse to his arm was easy to deal with, if it meant Duo would smile again.
And he was beaming.
The captain of the crew met them with a smile and a handshake. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am Captain Douglas Bree. Welcome aboard!"
Duo shook the man's hand enthusiastically. "Pleased to meet ya!"
Heero shook the man's hand in a calmer manner as Duo bounced off into the ship. "Heero Yuy."
Captain Bree shook his head, smiling, as they both heard an excited yell from inside. "Miss Iria said you two were taking a needed vacation."
Heero rolled his eyes, but humour was evident on his face. "The way he's acting, we should have done this a long time ago."
~*~
Cool winds blew in through the west-facing doors of the estate's second dining room.
They had arrived just in time to get cleaned up before dinner. The boat ride had been on of the most thrilling experiences of Duo's life, and Heero had been drawn into his enthusiasm like a moth to a flame. Both had read up on Grenada before going there, of course, but they still hadn't been prepared for the beauty of the island, bathed in the rays of a setting sun. Duo had fallen silent in open admiration, and Heero'd taken advantage of it to wrap his arms around his fiancé from behind and simply hold him close.
Now, they were staring out over the water as the sun turned it to gold and sipping cocktails. Duo leaned his head against Heero's shoulder comfortably. "I'm really glad you talked me into coming here."
"Me, too." Heero leaned down a little and lightly brushed Duo's lips with his own. "It's beautiful."
Duo smiled and laced their fingers together as he took hold of Heero's hand. "You know there are volcanoes here."
Heero laughed. "Yep. And crater lakes that Milliardo said we had to see. These are going to be a busy two weeks."
Duo turned to look up into Heero's face - his fiancé's eyes seemed to glow in the dim light. "I can't believe you quit your job to come here."
Heero kissed him again, and he sighed into it, lips parting easily for a deeper kiss. As he pulled back, Heero bumped their noses together. "It sucked, anyway."
"That's my Heero!" He stood up and stretched lazily. "Hey - what would you say to a walk on the beach?"
Heero stood up and took hold of the hand wearing his ring. "Let's go."
~*~
Duo was yawning as they finally made it back up to their room. "You never told me it was so much fun to race the waves in to shore," he grumbled, smiling.
Heero smirked. "Wait until we go back there tomorrow morning - the water should be just the right temperature for a swim."
Duo collapsed backwards theatrically. "This place is so cool."
Heero quickly stripped down to his boxers and neatly placed his clothes on a nearby chair before he turned to his fiancé and reached for his hands. "Up you go! We need to get those wet jeans off of you..."
Duo let him pull off his shirt, but then wrapped his arms around Heero as the other boy reached for the fastenings of his jeans and began to open them. "It's your fault," he whispered hotly against Heero's ear, "You're the one who pushed me into the water, mister..." He caught Heero's face in his hands and pulled him close for a long, deep kiss.
Arms closed tightly around him, and he smiled against Heero's lips as he felt hands in his hair, loosening it from its braid and gently combing through it. Duo shimmied out of his jeans and kicked them away, not breaking the kiss.
Heero finally pulled back. "You know, it's still pretty early, Duo..." He raised an eyebrow and gave a pointed look at the bed.
"I'm all yours, Heero. Always." Both young men laughed as Heero lifted his fiancé into his arms and carried him over to the bed, setting him down gently.
He lay down next to the long-haired boy and pulled him into his arms until Duo was lying partially on top of him. "I love you, Duo."
Cool air wafted in through the open door as Duo's lips came down over his again.
~*~
"Duo! Wait, you need some... D'you want to have a sunburn so bad that I can't touch you in bed for a month?" Heero shouted after the boy who was running at breakneck speed towards the water.
Duo stopped dead in his tracks and turned back around to stare at him. "It's not too hot, Heero!" he yelled back.
Heero shook his head and grabbed up the sunblock before he walked down to Duo, who was pouting prettily, one foot tapping in the sand. He uncapped the bottle and squirted a nice amount into his hands. "Duo, that's just because of the wind. Trust me; you're going to be thankful I did this." Without giving his fiancé time to protest, Heero began smearing the coconut-scented stuff over Duo's back.
The long-haired boy was practically purring as he trailed his hands lower, touching the waistband of Duo's swim trunks. Heero couldn't help smiling. Duo was so damn cute...
Blue-violet eyes shot open, though, as those hands disappeared, only to reappear moments later, trailing up his thighs. "Heero! God, we're in public..."
"Baka!" Heero chided gently. "I'm putting lotion on you, not feeling you up!"
"Coulda fooled me..."
Heero smirked as he stood again and squirted more lotion into his hands, opting to slap it right onto Duo's chest this time, instead of warming it in his hands first -
"Whoa! Hey, that's cold..." Duo's words of protest faded into another purr as Heero rubbed the lotion over his chest, caressing him gently but enticingly, and in plain view of the entire beach! The long-haired boy was forced to bite back a moan.
It was over far too quickly, but before Duo could truly set in for a good pout, Heero handed him the bottle. Duo stared at it, then looked back up at Heero with the beginnings of a smirk on his face. "Let me guess. I get to put this stuff all over you now, right?"
Heero nodded, smiling, and Duo laughed and grabbed his hand, tugging him back up towards their towels and the semi-privacy provided by a hug beach umbrella.
He knelt in front of Heero to start with his legs and, eyeing the growing bulge in the Japanese's swim trunks, quickly decided that going to the beach was one of his favourite activities.
~*~
It had been a tough 20 minutes of hiking, but as Duo and Heero stared up at the churning waterfall before them, they decided it had been well worth the effort.
Concord Falls and its surrounding forest were the latest in their discoveries - over the past few days, they'd been to St. George's and explored the old town and its picturesque harbour, they'd gone to the spice mills, the hot springs, the grand etang... And still they'd found the time to spend at least an hour on the beach every evening, before sundown.
Heero was discouraged, though. Every time they'd come close to talking about the attack and whatever it was that was still bothering Duo, the long-haired boy had found a reason to get away from it. As beautiful as the world was around them, Duo's silence on the one important issue was casting a shadow over everything.
He looked at his fiancé - Duo was entranced by the falling water, blue eyes wide in his tanned, relaxed face.
It was time to end the standoff.
Heero stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Duo from behind. "Duo?"
"Hmmm." Duo leaned back in his arms comfortably. "This is so perfect, Heero."
"Duo, I want to talk to you about something," Heero said, "and I think you know what it is."
"Heero..."
The Japanese student's arms tightened around his fiancé as Duo attempted to pull away. "Duo, it isn't good for you to hide it from us all. We love you, Duo. I love you, and I feel as though... It hurts to see you in pain and to know I can't do anything about it. Duo, talk to me."
Duo's arms came up to cover Heero's around his waist. "It isn't you, Heero, it's just..."
Heero de-tangled them and led Duo over to a fallen tree trunk next to the water. "Tell me."
Duo was silent, staring down at the water. Heero reached out, tilted Duo's chin up and carefully removed the dark glasses that were hiding the long-haired boy's eyes. "Duo, I'm here for you. Talk to me."
Duo's eyes finally sought his, wide, troubled. "On the day of the attack... You know I'd just been out for a walk with Relena. I was so depressed, Heero! She told me I had to have faith - that you'd be back to me, but I was afraid to believe it..."
Heero's hand sought and found Duo's taking hold of it tightly.
Duo continued, "When we got in... and those guys were there... Heero, they could have taken anything else from us, anything! But he tried to take my ring, and..."
Heero's stomach plummeted, but he didn't let go.
Duo's breath hitched. "The only reason I fought him was to keep my ring - it was the last thing I had from you, our promise to be together, and I thought I had lost you already."
Heero forced himself to talk. "If it's anyone's fault, Duo, it's mine..."
Duo shook his head. "No, Heero, you don't get it. I did it. I put an entire house full of kids at risk because I didn't have enough faith in you, in us. I just don't know anymore, Heero. I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know if I can stay where I am if I can't keep a hold on my feelings, I don't know..."
A shiver ran down Heero's spine. "Tell me."
Duo's tragic eyes glistened with tears. "Heero, how can I take care of all those kids when I put them in danger so selfishly? I should have believed in you - I should have let them take the ring and I should have been more worried about all those kids..."
Heero pulled Duo into his arms and held him tight. "Duo, I gave you no reason to have faith in me. I ran out on you and hurt you - I did that, not you! We've both made mistakes, Duo, and we'll make more of them in the future. The most important thing is to learn from them, and to lean on each other for support when we need to because I'm not just me anymore, and you're not just you. We're us."
Duo shook his head. "The kids..."
"The kids are fine, Duo," Heero said gently. "Think about it - if they had one thing left from their parents and someone tried to take it from them, I think they'd all fight to keep it. You've been there, Duo - they understand. They still love you, and they want their Duo back."
A glimmer of hope began to show in Duo's eyes. "You think I can still do it?"
Heero resisted the urge to crush Duo against him, knowing that the other boy needed to hear this and needed to assimilate it himself. "A person would have to be a complete moron not to see how much you care about those kids, and criminally stupid to separate you. You made a mistake, Duo, okay. But that's only human, and no one loves that place like you."
Heero reached out and brushed stray tendrils of hair that had escaped from Duo's braid back and out of his face. "Have faith, Duo, faith in us." He leaned closer and kissed his fiancé.
Duo lost himself in the kiss, clinging to Heero like a lifeline, shivering as strong arms wrapped around him and crushed the two of them together. Us. Believe in us...
Duo smiled to himself as they broke the kiss and Heero leaned into his chest. He stroked his fingers through his fiancé's hair and felt the burden on his heart lift - Faith.
~*~
The two wandered down to the beach late that night and walked in companionable silence. The breeze was warm and gentle under a clear night sky, accompanied by the persistent sound of waves crashing onto the sand.
Duo wrapped one long arm around Heero's shoulders and smiled to himself as his fiancé automatically leaned into him. Gently, he pulled them both to a stop. "Heero?"
"Hm?"
Duo stroked the fingers of his right hand through Heero's soft hair. "I've been thinking... there's a lot wrong with the system, isn't there?"
Heero's eyes were indigo in the moonlight as he looked up curiously into Duo's face. "Yes..."
Duo gave him a small smile as he began to toy with the buttons of Heero's plain white shirt. "Well, I was thinking that maybe... if I took a couple more government classes, I might be able to work for the department as something more than an Administrator after graduation. That way I could help a lot of kids, all over the place."
Heero sucked in a deep breath. "Wow - that's quite a decision. You'd have to put up with rude people, though - like that dickhead senator..."
Duo snorted. "I can live with that. Heero, just think of how I might be able to change things from the inside!"
The Japanese boy finally smiled - it was clear to him, watching Duo's animated face and bright eyes, that he meant this, and it wasn't just because he felt he'd lost his nerve. He really believed in it, and that made all the difference. "It sounds like a great idea, Duo. Just do us a favour and don't ever run for President."
"Why not?"
Heero grinned as he pulled Duo's body against his. "Because a million people would take pictures of this, and I want it to be private, thank you very much." He kissed his fiancé, sucking on his lower lip before he slipped his tongue into the warm cavern of Duo's mouth.
Duo moaned into Heero's mouth, hands balling in the now open shirt hanging from the Japanese's shoulders. Releasing the shirt just long enough to push it back off of Heero's shoulders, he trailed fingertips down the other boy's sculpted chest and abs to the waistband of his jeans and popped the button.
"Duo!"
The braided boy smiled innocently. "Care to go swimming with me, Heero?" He stepped back and peeled off his own shirt, dropping it to the ground as hands flew to open and push down his own jeans, leaving him clad in nothing but the black silk boxers he'd put on that morning. Without another word, he took off running for the water and right into it.
Heero stared after his fiancé in disbelief. Had the boy really just stripped out on the beach and...
SMACK!
His eyes widened. The sodden mess that had slapped onto his chest... were Duo's boxers. That thought alone was enough to bring a growl of need to Heero's throat, but then other boy's voice had a sexy burr to it as he called, "Coming, dear?"
Fuck it - he's got the right idea. At least I think so! With one last look up and down the beach to make sure they were alone, Heero stripped completely and ran down the sand.
OWARI
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