Author: Jei

Warnings: Yaoi

Pairings: 1+2

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.

Notes: A more socially awkward and perhaps impulsive Heero than I usually write, but it's drabble length and therefore I don't care.

Impulse

As he arrived by Heero's side, he snapped his fingers near Heero's head, not close enough to startle, but enough to make his point. "Hey. You're looking tense all of a sudden."

Heero didn't move for a couple more seconds, but when he did turn his head to look at Duo, his expression was more pensive than blank. His gaze shifted over Duo's shoulder to watch the retreating back of the co-worker that had just been speaking with Duo. "You know... every time another person asks you out... I'm afraid you're going to say yes."

Duo blinked a couple of times before glancing back at the person he'd just turned down. "Why's that?"

Even after the object of his visual focus disappeared around a corner, Heero kept staring off in that direction. "Because... I don't want you going out with them."

"Uh, well, luckily I don't want to go out with them either. Otherwise I'd be saying yes, obviously. But, uh... thanks for backing me up... I guess?" When Heero said nothing, he tried again. "Okay, maybe I guessed wrong. Why were you afraid I'd say yes again?"

"Because... I don't want to lose you."

It was turning out to be a strange day for Duo Maxwell, but that wasn't something too unusual for him. He took a slow, deep breath and prepared to wade right into the thick of things. "Aw, I wouldn't be one of those idiots who ditches all his friends once he hooks up with someone."

Heero shook his head softly. "I would lose you."

He tried again. "No way, Heero. You wouldn't lose me. You're stuck with me." He slung a companionable arm over Heero's shoulder and gave him a little shake as he started guiding them toward the parking lot. "You know what a packrat I am. I keep everything..." Heero was leaning into him ever so slightly, but it was enough for him to notice when Heero usually walked so straight and strong. "Heero...?"

They walked a few more steps before Heero shrugged off his arm and stopped to turn to face him, a resolute look in his eye. "I'm tired of being afraid, Duo."

"Wha--?"

"If I were the next person to ask you out, would you say yes?"

There was a word other than 'uh' just on the tip of his tongue, but it got lost for a while, the way he got lost in Heero's intense expression. "Uh... Yeah. Yeah, I would." They stared at each other for a few more silent seconds, as if rather unsure of where to go next. Duo scraped something coherent together. "I... kinda woulda asked you out maybe, 'cept... well, I didn't really think you'd go for it."

Heero kept the steady look up for a few heartbeats more before it faltered and he looked away again. "I'm... not really sure if I would, either. I just know that... I don't want you going out with anyone else. If you're going to hang out with someone, I just... rather selfishly... would prefer that person to be me. I don't want you to need anyone else. I want to be that person for you. I want..."

Duo reached out and squeezed his bicep reassuringly before slowly pushing them back along their original path. "Yeah. I get it. I... want that, too, except I never really had to worry about it like you did, I guess, since I, uh, don't really seem to have much competition for that spot in your life. But hey, honestly, you never really had that much competition either."

It was Heero's turn to speak, but it was a little while before he did. "I don't think I want what those others want. I want to be... with you. By your side. At your back. I want to be the person you turn to. The person you come home to. The person..." He shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't really know what I want, beyond that."

Duo smiled as he reached out and shyly threaded their fingers together. "Do you want this?"

Heero stared at their conjoined hands for a bit before nodding. "Yes. I think I do."

"That's a good start. We'll figure out the rest."

OWARI

 

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