Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chimaera ❯ Chapter 68 ( Chapter 68 )

See previous chapters for disclaimer, warnings etc.

Chapter 68

The morning came all too soon for Duo. His eyes fluttered open and he lay for a moment, Heero was still spooned against his back, their legs entwined, arm draped over his stomach. Soft, warm breath whispered over the skin of Duo's neck and shoulders as Heero slept on. Duo smiled to himself, this was heaven. He gave a contented sigh, happy to simply lie there and savor the intimacy. Heero would be leaving with Wufei that evening on the assignment and whilst the operation should only take four to six days, including traveling time, to Duo it was more like four weeks. He really didn't want Heero to go but he kept his thoughts to himself. He knew he would only have to say the word and Heero wouldn't go, he'd tell Une where to put her job and happily stay at home with Duo.

Not that it would do them both much good. They couldn't afford to be without a job or income. Already most of their savings had gone on buying things for the baby. The words 'barefoot and pregnant' came to Duo's mind and he snickered softly to himself. No, he would keep his mouth shut. Heero loved his job at Preventer, it gave him a sense of worth, doing something to protect the peace they had fought so hard for and there was no way that Duo was going to take that away from Heero.

The slight shift of weight behind him alerted Duo that Heero was waking up. He managed to push himself around, untangling his legs from Heero's and lie facing his lover. "Morning, Hee-chan." Duo placed a kiss to Heero's nose.

Heero wrinkled his nose. "Morning, little mother. Did you sleep okay?"

"Once sunshine here decided to settle down after its aerobic workout, yes, I managed to sleep well," replied Duo.

"Sunshine?" Heero questioned.

Duo snickered. "Pet name," he replied.

"Aa." Heero decided not to question further, some things were better left alone. Instead he reached for a kiss, morning breath or not, he had missed waking up with Duo beside him these past few days. "Hungry?"

"Is the Pope catholic?"

"Scrambled eggs okay?"

"With some chives?"

"Hai."

"And a little cheese?"

"Okay."

"Made with cream and milk?"

"Hai, cream and milk."

"Some gherkins too?"

"Pardon?" Heero raised his head in mild shock. "Gherkins?"

"Yeah. I just have this urge to have some gherkins with the scrambled eggs, cheese and chives." Duo gave him a sheepish grin.

"I suppose you want all this on toast? Or would Ryvita crackers do?" Heero was attempting to be sarcastic but when he didn't get a reply he stared at his lover.

"Would you mind?"

"Duo! You hate Ryvita crackers... don't you?"

"I used to, but now..." Duo trailed off and lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry, Heero. I can't explain it myself, all I know is that that's what I want."

Heero gave a long suffering sigh and ran a hand through his messy hair. "If scrambled eggs with cheese, chives and gherkins on Ryvita crackers is what you want then I'll make it for you," he said softly, then turned away to get out of the bed. "Just don't ask me to join you. I'll stick with toast I think."

"Thanks, Heero. You're the best."

"More like the baka," muttered Heero as he reached for his robe and put it on, tying the sash firmly around his waist. "Do you want me to bring it up here or would you rather eat downstairs?"

"I'll come down, I hate crumbs in the bed sheets," replied Duo as he began to ease himself from the bed. "But first I gotta go pee."

Heero snickered softly. "At least there is some justice as Wufei would say." Then in a louder voice he said, "Give me a call when you're ready to come down and I'll help you."

Duo had heard the soft mutter and gave Heero the finger as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Heero laughed and went to start on breakfast.

~ * ~

True to his word, Heero made Duo his scrambled eggs, with milk, cream, cheese, chives and gherkins. He even put a little butter on the Ryvita crackers before piling the concoction on top. Duo had wolfed it down, a happy smile on his face whilst Heero had done his best to refrain from turning green and disappearing into the bathroom.

Once the breakfast dishes were cleared away and Duo safely tucked up on the couch, Heero went through to the study to finalize the virus program he'd been working on for the assignment. Once he'd downloaded all the information from the suspects he would upload the virus and prevent them from accessing anything at all on the data base. Then it was up to Wufei and the rest of the team to take the operation from there. Satisfied that he'd gotten all of his necessary data on the discs, Heero shut down the computer and wandered into the lounge room to see what Duo was up to. He found his lover with a box of tissues, tub of Crunchie ice cream and mug of coffee still sitting in the lounge with tears streaming down his face watching a movie.

"Duo?" Heero asked a little uncertainly. "Are you all right?"

Duo looked up at his partner and grabbed a handful of tissues, wiped his face and blew his nose. "I'm fine, Heero," he blubbered through his tears.

Now Heero was alarmed and crossed the small space from door to couch in a flash. "What on earth is wrong?" he asked as he knelt on the floor beside Duo.

Duo helped himself to a large spoonful of ice cream and wiped at his tears again. "Nothing's wrong, Heero."

"Yes, there is or else you wouldn't be sitting here crying and stuffing ice cream down your throat."

"I'm fine, Heero, really. It's the movie... it always makes me emotional." Duo waved towards the television.

Heero immediately recognized it as 'Sleepless in Seattle', one of the pre colony romances; he'd sat through it a few times with Duo before but never known it to have such an alarming effect on his lover. "But Duo..."

"Shhh... They're about to meet for the first time," Duo told his partner, eyes riveted to the screen, silver trails still tracking down his cheeks. Without looking, the spoon dipped back into the ice cream and brought another generous amount to his mouth.

Heero sighed. "Hey! I thought I said no sneaking into the ice cream?!" Heero could have sworn that he'd hidden the tubs in the large freezer, he'd even gone so far as to put a lock on the thing knowing Duo's sweet tooth at the moment. Damn! He'd forgotten just how good Duo was when it came to stealth and lock picking, he hadn't heard a thing and his braided boyfriend would have had to pass right by the study door to get to the kitchen. Shit, he needed to re-evaluate his own skills; he must be getting lax if he could let Duo slip by him that easy. Heero reached forth to take the tub of ice-cream from his partner before he made himself sick. Already he could tell at least three quarters of the tub had gone. Just as he was about to grasp the tub it was snatched away and he found himself looking into a pair of glaring violet eyes.

"Don't you dare!" growled Duo. "This is my ice cream and I'm keeping it.," he stated flatly.

"But, Duo. You'll make yourself sick if you keep eating it like that." Heero said.

Duo wrapped his arms defensively around the tub of ice cream. "No way, back off, Yuy."

Heero decided it was probably best to let the whole thing slide and leave Duo to his ice cream. He really didn't want a scuffle with his lover. He made a mental note to ask Sally next time he saw her just how long Duo's hormones would be out of synch for. "Okay, Duo, you can have your ice cream; but can I at least have a taste?"

Duo's eyes suddenly changed, gone was the cool glare, replaced by a soft tenderness and the spoon found its way into the tub again, this time pressing against Heero's mouth which opened up to receive it. "All you had to do was ask, Heero."

Heero resisted the urge to throttle Duo, instead he accepted the spoonful of ice cream, knowing he was lucky to get that and probably wouldn't see a second one.

He was right.

The movie finished and along with it the tub of ice cream and the coffee. Duo picked up all his used tissues ready to put them into the trash. "I love a good old fashioned romance movie," he said to Heero who had sat beside him for the final bit and then blew his nose.

"Hai, they are good," Heero replied softly and looked at the clock. "I need to go pack my stuff, Wufei will be here in another four hours and Trowa and Quatre should be here somewhere in the next two."

"I'll come and help," replied Duo as he began to stand, shuffling himself forwards on the couch. Heero stood and offered him a hand up, which was gracefully accepted.

"I'll put the rubbish in the bin, you go on ahead, Duo." Hero picked up the empty ice cream tub, frowning a little as he did so. He made a mental note to let Trowa know about Duo's sudden craving for ice cream and warn him of the dangers of trying to take it away once Duo got a tub into his clutches.

Duo headed out towards the stairs, moving slowly whilst Heero disappeared in the direction of the kitchen and the trash bin. Catching his lover half way up the stairs, Heero put an arm around Duo's waist, partially to assist his partner and partially to reassure him that Heero cared about him. With Duo's bouncing hormones, insecurity could raise its ugly head at any time and Heero wanted to let his lover know at all times that he was loved and cherished.

Arriving in the bedroom, Duo lay on the bed whilst Heero fetched his duffle from the closet. "How long you going to be gone for again?" Duo asked as Heero unzipped the duffle.

"Should only be a week maximum. Less if everything goes okay." Heero opened out the bag and disappeared back into the closet.

Duo had been trying not to think too much about Heero's leaving but now, watching his lover pack, he had to face the reality. He tried to squash the feelings of depression that were welling up inside him. Heero didn't need to see that, he needed to see a happy Duo, then he could go and complete his assignment without worrying that his partner was moping around. Heero needed to have a clear head and stay focused at all times, if his thoughts kept straying back to Duo then the assignment could be compromised. No, Duo would slip on the jester's mask once more, there would be time for sadness once Heero had left, no doubt Mother Quatre would be there to comfort him.

Duo was shaken from his thoughts as Heero reappeared from the closet with an armful of clothes and dumped them on the bed. Forcing the smile to his eyes, Duo looked at the pile as Heero began to stuff it into the duffle. "You going for a week or a month?" he chuckled.

"Huh? I thought I said a week, Duo."

"Could have fooled me. You're packing enough shit for a month there, Hee-chan." Duo nodded to the pile.

Heero gave him a sheepish look. "Guess I'm not thinking properly," he replied.

"Shove over, Heero. That's no way to pack your bag." Duo shifted to sit on the bed and pulled out the crushed clothes from inside the duffle. "These will all end up creased if you just stuff them in like that," he chastised. "I can't have you going away and wearing wrinkled clothes, people will think that no one owns you," he continued to mutter as he began to neatly fold the clothes and pack them into the duffle.

Heero watched, an amused smile on his face. "Since when did you become so domesticated?"

"Someone has to look after you, Yuy, 'cause you certainly don't and I don't want the other agents thinking I don't look after you either," Duo shot back as he folded a shirt.

"Anyone would think we were married the way you're carrying on, little mother," Heero teased. Although he had to admit, the thought did appeal.

Duo snorted. "Yeah, me the pregnant wife and homebody, I soooo can't see that," he replied haughtily and shoved Heero's jeans into the bag a little harder than he'd intended.

Heero wrapped his arms around Duo's waist and rested his hands over the swollen belly, pressing himself against Duo's back and kissing the nape of his neck. "Well, you do have the pregnant and nagging bit down to a tee, not to mention the looking after me part, so I guess all that's missing is the ring."

"I am not a female, Yuy!"

Heero snatched a quick grope. "Nope, you're certainly not female, but you are pregnant and you do look after me. I love you, Duo with all my heart and soul. When I get back from this assignment... Will you ... Would you......?."

"What, Heero? Come on, spit it out."

"Will you let me make an honest man out of you? Would you marry me? I'd really like for our child not to be born out of wedlock and there is no one I'd rather spend the rest of my days with. Would you have me, Duo?"

Duo's hands trembled and he let the shirt slip from his nerveless fingers. He felt like he'd been sucker punched. Never had he ever dreamed of anything like this happening to him. Heero wanted to marry him? The tears burst forth from his eyes and he was unable to move for a moment, frozen in place as his mind struggled to keep up with his ears.

"Duo? Are you okay?" Heero was a little concerned,. Duo had gone completely silent, which was extremely unusual. Just as he was about to let go of his partner, he felt Duo move in his arms and he released his hold to let the American turn around and face him.

Duo shifted and brought himself to his knees, facing Heero who was still standing at the side of the bed. He edged a little closer to the edge of the mattress and wound his arms around Heero's neck, all the time his amethyst eyes locked with cobalt, never dropping the eye contact. He felt Heero's arms curl around his waist again and then he was pressed against Heero, not as close as he would have liked, the baby taking up a bit more room between them now. The tears rolled down his cheeks but he didn't care to wipe them away, they were tears of happiness and he was content to let them run.

Keeping his eyes firmly on Duo's, Heero searched those swirling depths for some hint as to what was going on inside Duo's head. There were so many different emotions playing through the violet eyes of his lover that it was hard to guess what Duo was thinking. "Duo?"

"Shhh... Of course I will marry you, Heero. I love you too, so much that it hurts and I'd be honored to be by your side for the rest of our lives, however long or short they may be."

Tears ran from Heero's eyes as well as he leant forward and kissed Duo. "Thank you, little mother. You've made me the happiest man alive. I promise to take care of you, love you and look after you. You'll never want for anything, Duo," Heero whispered as he rested his forehead against Duo's.

Chuckling lightly Duo gave Heero a quick peck on the lips. "You say the wedding vows during the ceremony, Heero. Not now." Duo moved forward and captured Heero's lips in a deep and torrid kiss, one born of love, lust, desire and need, telling Heero just how much he was cared for.

Breaking apart, Heero's eyes were darkened and his kiss swollen lips eager for more. "When I get back from the assignment we can make plans, you tell me what you want and if it's within my power to do it for you then I will. I want you to have a wedding to remember, Duo. I want it to be special, hold a meaning for you, something you won't forget."

"In that case I don't think we had better let Quatre in on it, at least not until all the arrangements are made," snickered Duo.

"Good point," replied Heero. "Now come here so I can kiss you senseless."

Duo was only too happy to let his lover have his way and eagerly leaned in to partake of Heero's lips again when his belly began to move, as the baby decided that now was a good time to exercise its limbs. "Great timing, sunshine," muttered Duo.

Heero laughed and took his kisses anyway. Just as Duo was beginning to melt under his onslaught so the doorbell rang.

~ * ~

tbc.....