Falling Sideways + Part Two (cont)

+

Relena's home was set against the ocean with a large terrace hanging over the calm waves. The beach was small, dotted here and there with rocks big enough for three or more people to sit comfortably on. The heart of the party was located in the large recreation room and spilled out on the veranda. Music flowed from the expensive stereo system set into the wall. People gathered in clusters, some around the refreshments, some poking at the many dials on the stereo, some playing with the gaming system connected to the wide screen television and still more grouped together just talking and laughing.

Duo and Heero wandered in, walking close together. Immediately, Quatre spotted them and waved them over to where he, Wufei and Trowa were standing.

"Hey, guys!" Duo said, smiling widely. "All decked out for the party atmosphere, I see."

"It's a great party, too," Quatre said, returning Duo's smile. "Relena knows how to do this right."

"Indeed she does," Wufei agreed. "The punch is excellent."

"That's spiked," Trowa said, his face bland.

"As I said," Wufei replied, taking another sip, "excellent."

"You're priceless, Wu," Duo said, laughing.

"Of course I'm priceless, Maxwell," Wufei agreed. "There's only one of me."

"We hope," Duo said.

"Duo, Heero!" Relena said, making her way over to them. "You guys look wonderful, when did you get here?"

"Just now. Place looks spiffy," Duo complimented her.

Relena had taken the hint from Scoops and draped white and black lights across her ceiling, leaving trails of varying lengths dangling down. More lights were being used as curtains for the doorways. Shiny streamers glinted in the breeze and fiber optic lamps were set in various alcoves along the wall, turning slowly in circles.

"Thank you," Relena said, beaming. "Have a drink and enjoy yourselves, I have to go say hello to everyone. I swear, you miss one person and they think you've snubbed them. Oh, I'm pretty sure the punch was spiked about ten seconds after the party started, but the cans of soda in the fridge are safe if you want that."

"Sure thing. Once you've done your rounds, track us down from some chitchat," Duo said.

Heero gave her the small quirking of his lips that counted as his smile. "Thanks for inviting us, Relena," he said, catching the sideways glance Duo threw him.

Relena smiled and moved to say hello to the newest batch of people that had just wandered in. "Oh, I forgot," she said quietly, turning back to Heero. "It's fine for you and Duo to go anywhere in the house that's not locked," her gaze flickered over to the hallway where the stairs led to the second story quickly before she continued on her way.

Heero just barely managed to cover his surprise at Relena's statement. Duo, half listening to Quatre and half listening to Relena, broke out into a wide grin.

"Duo?" Quatre said.

"Huh? Oh, sorry man, I was thinking about something."

"Do share, Maxwell. You are grinning like the Cheshire cat," Wufei said calmly.

"I think I'm gonna get some of that punch and say hi to everyone. You coming, Heero?" Duo said.

Heero blinked, putting a halt to his wildly careening thoughts. "I would like a glass of water," he said to Duo as they weaved through the crowd.

"Not water, punch," Duo corrected.

"Why punch?"

"Because you have to at least try the punch. It's one of those unwritten rules."

Heero looked unconvinced.

"Maybe I just want to get you tipsy," Duo said, making a face.

"If you do that, it will ruin our plan."

"Ooooh, will it now?" Duo said, his eyes glinting mischievously.

Heero took the glass of punch Duo handed him and took a drink, swallowing past the lump in his throat. Duo raised his own glass to his lips, taking a long drink and looking around. Heero watched the muscles in his throat work, letting his gaze trail upwards to where Duo's lips touched the rim of the cup.

Heero frowned; he was staring again. It was just Duo drinking a glass of punch.

"Hey, hey, there's Hilde and Dorothy. C'mon, Heero, let's go mess with 'em a bit," Duo said, turning around and coming face to face with Heero's scowl. "Whoa, man, what's up with you?"

Heero smoothed the frown from his face with effort. "What did you say?"

"I said, let's go talk to Hilde and Dorothy," Duo said, frowning a little. "Where were you to?"

Heero grunted something unintelligible.

"Eh?"

"Didn't you want to talk to Hilde?" Heero asked.

"Yeah, I did," Duo said, still giving his friend an odd look.

"Were you planning on shouting across the room?"

"Nope," Duo replied and started walking towards the two girls with Heero.

A few hours later, a crowd had gathered around the widescreen television, watching a video Relena had pulled out. It was a humorous little movie done up by the school's film club, featuring the goings on about the school. Almost everyone in the school showed up on the screen once, and there were lots of laughs and comments.

Heero sat in one of the beanbag chairs, Duo sitting on the floor in front of him leaning back against it. One arm was draped casually on the seat, resting lightly against Heero's leg.

Heero resolutely kept his eyes on the screen. Despite his best efforts, he found them wandering back again and again to look at Duo. For some reason, he was hyper-aware of the body heat coming from the braided boy and seeping through the material of his pants.

Duo gave his leg a little nudge. Heero glanced down and Duo shot a glance at the terrace doors. Getting to his feet, Heero picked his way out of the room and into the cool night air.

Duo waited several minutes. When he caught Relena shooting him furtive glances from the couch, he rose and trailed after the Japanese boy.

"Heero?" Duo asked, peering around the terrace and not finding his friend.

"What took you so long?" Heero asked from right beside him.

"Shit!" Duo hissed, jumping. "You scared me!"

Heero was leaning against the wall beside the door, almost completely hidden in a small niche in the wall. He made a vague grunt.

"I was waiting to see if anyone noticed," Duo said, choosing his words carefully. Relena was sneaky enough to have found a way to listen in on their conversation.

"Did they?"

"Nope," Duo said with a smile.

Heero took it to mean that someone had indeed seen them both leave.

"Follow me," Duo said, taking Heero by the hand. He led them down the winding staircase to the long strip of sand.

The ocean lapped quietly at the shore as they walked, Duo glancing back at the house every now and then.

"What are you doing?" Heero asked.

"There's a spot I saw from the veranda earlier that'll be perfect. You can't see a lot of detail, but it'll work great for what we have in mind."

Heero wondered if what he had in mind was anywhere near what Duo was thinking. He had a feeling it wasn't.

"Here we go," Duo said, much too soon for Heero's liking. The braided boy sat down on a flat-topped rock, pulling Heero around in front of him to stand between his legs. Duo's face was a few inches lower than his, forcing him to look up at Heero.

"Move a little closer," Duo said, tugging on Heero's hand. "I'm sure Relena's leaning halfway off the balcony trying to get a good look at us."

Heero complied, then asked, "How long are we going to stay here?" He was trying hard to not stare down at Duo. It wasn't doing him any good. If he didn't look at Duo's face, he was looking at the pale skin of his arms and how the muscles bunched and flowed with each movement.

"I dunno. I'll let you know when I figure it out." Duo turned his head to the side a bit, squinting at the house. "Oh, yeah. There's someone up there. Ten bucks says it's Relena. Give me your hands." Duo didn't wait, slipping his hands down the length of Heero's arms and placing his friend's hands on his hips. "Come here."

"She saw you follow me," the shorthaired boy guessed as Duo pulled him closer and wrapped his arms around Heero's neck. Duo was so close now, the warmth of his body and the scent of his skin filling and overwhelming the Japanese boy's senses.

Duo turned back to the other boy, grinning sheepishly. "Yep."

Heero gave Duo a half-hearted glare. His friend smiled recklessly, dipping his head down and returning the glare with that half-pout he did so well. A breeze blew the loose strands of his hair back, leaving his face clean and open.

He looked down at Duo, watching the light and shadow play over his face. He thought about the warmth radiating from his friend's body and the feel of the lean muscles underneath his hands. He thought about how easily Duo made him smile and how much he loved being around him. And then he thought about how much he loved . . . .

"Heero . . ." Duo said, watching the other boy's face gradually change. "Are you going-"

Closing the distance between them, Heero pressed his lips lightly to Duo's, cutting off the end of his sentence. His eyelids fluttered, then slipped closed. Heero hesitated, realizing that the soft warmth against his mouth and the sharp intake of a breath of air belonged to Duo. His already rapidly beating heart seemed to speed up, sending blood and heat rushing though him. The hands on his shoulders tensed and relaxed and then Duo tilted his head to the side, closing his eyes and rubbing his lips against Heero's.

Acting without thinking, Duo parted his lips, ghosting his tongue over the Japanese boy's mouth. Heero drew in a shuddering breath. Encouraged, Duo did it again, starting to lean back and drag Heero with him.

Heero responded to the pressure on his shoulders, taking one hand away from Duo's waist and bracing himself against the rock. He brought his leg up, sliding it over Duo's and half-kneeling above him. The braided boy kept falling backwards until he lay flat on the rock with Heero pressed tightly against him.

Heero's lips parted of their own volition. Duo took the opportunity and slipped his tongue deep into the other boy's mouth, tasting him. Heero groaned when Duo pulled away, tangling his hand in Duo's hair and plunging his own tongue passed the braided boy's lips, stroking Duo's tongue and biting at his full bottom lip. Duo tasted like oranges, warmed by the sun.

Duo's heart was pounding wildly against his ribs, his pulse thundering in his ears. He bent the leg Heero wasn't straddling up at the knee, rubbing it against Heero's body. Moaning into his friend's mouth, he nipped greedily at his lips.

Heero broke away, trailing his lips over Duo's jaw and lower, closing his mouth over the soft skin of the other boy's neck. Duo arched his back, baring his neck for Heero to taste. The cobalt-eyed boy bit down gently, then traced the mark with his tongue. Pulling back, he rested his forehead against Duo's collarbone, breathing heavily.

Duo lay beneath him, gradually opening his eyes and staring up at the sky. His breathing was ragged, his lips still tingling with the sensation of Heero's mouth pressed to his. Swallowing and licking his lips, still tasting Heero on them, he looked down at Heero's bowed head.

"Wow . . ." Duo said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'll bet that sure as hell was convincing," he added softly.

Heero stayed very still, not moving except for the deep breaths his body forced him to take. His clothes had grown tighter, the material pressed against his groin by Duo's body. The thought sent tiny thrills traveling up his spine.

"Very," he said dryly, but his voice came out deeper and rougher than normal.

"Okay," Duo said, trying to pull himself together. "We're going to get off this rock." He took a deep breath, catching a small hint of Heero's scent. Closing his eyes, he tried to slow his rushing thoughts.

Heero nodded, slipping his arms underneath Duo and lifting him up. Duo let out a surprised yelp, wrapping his legs around Heero's waist and holding tightly onto his shoulders to keep himself from falling. Freeing one hand and using the rock to brace himself, the Japanese boy lowered them both carefully to the sand with Duo still holding him tightly.

+

"Damn it!" Relena hissed, yanking the set of opera glasses away from her eyes.

"What?" Quatre asked, looking from the girl to the rock she was glaring at. "What happened?"

"They just went on the opposite side of the boulder, I can't see them anymore."

"See who anymore?" Wufei asked, strolling out onto the terrace.

"Heero and Duo were making out on top of that rock over there," Quatre said nonchalantly. "Things were just getting good when they decided to get down on the sand. On the OTHER side of the rock."

Wufei's brow creased. "You were watching?" he asked, stunned.

"Of course," Trowa said from where he sat on a patio chair. "Although Relena did get very greedy over the binoculars once Heero was straddling Duo."

Wufei started to sputter.

"Wufei?" Quatre asked. "Are you alright?"

"No, I am not!" Wufei said indignantly. "How could you do this!? And you call yourselves FRIENDS!"

"Wufei," Relena began as Quatre paled visibly.

"No, I do not want to hear it," he said, glaring at her. "Next time, you will not leave me out of this. I am appalled that you didn't even THINK to ask me if I wanted to see." He crossed his arms over his chest, still glaring mightily at the lot of them.

They all stood frozen, eyes wide and gaping at the Chinese boy.

Then Trowa started to laugh.

+

Heero sat on the sand, his back against the rock with Duo sitting on his thighs. His hands were hot against Duo's back as he held him. Duo leaned forward, resting his head on Heero's shoulder. Then the braided boy started to chuckle. Heero glanced at him quizzically.

"I guess the joke's on us, huh, Heero?" he replied, letting his hands drop down from Heero's shoulders to tangle in the webbing of his own shirt.

"I'm not joking," Heero said softly.

Duo looked back up at him, dark lashes shielding his eyes. Heero was lost in Duo's face, watching the play of emotions behind his eyes and only catching the tail end of what he was saying.

". . . you mean?"

"I mean that I didn't kiss you to convince anyone that we were a couple," Heero said, his shoulders tensing.

"Why did you?" Duo asked quietly.

". . . because I wanted to . . ."

Duo was silent, listening to the rhythm of his breathing match Heero's.

"I think I . . ."

"That's enough, Heero," Duo said suddenly.

Heero's eyes widened.

"I . . . I already know," the chestnut haired boy said, getting to his knees and moving closer to Heero while still straddling him. "It just took me a while to figure it out." He placed his hands lightly on Heero's chest, looking down at the Japanese boy.

"It's strange," Heero said, watching his hand run up and down the length of Duo's braided hair.

"What is?"

"That everyone else was right all along," Heero said with his little half-smile.

"We aren't going to tell them that, though, are we, blue eyes?" Duo said, lowering his face closer to Heero's.

"No," Heero breathed against Duo's lips seconds before they closed over his own.

end

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Blue: That's it, all done.
Duo: Only two parts?
Blue: Yeah. They're long parts.
Duo: . . . and no lemon?
Blue: *flat look*
Wufei: Is that all you can think of, Maxwell?
Trowa: You were the one who was upset that the rest of us deprived you of the pleasures of voyeurism.
Quatre: I can't believe you said that.
Blue: What Wufei said? It's not that unbelievable. *grin*
Quatre: No, I meant Trowa.
Heero: *tiny smirk* Pleasures of voyeurism.
Duo: *leer* Trowa is keeping secrets.
Blue: Not if I can help it. *smiles evilly at Trowa*
Trowa: Damn.
Blue: You'd think that by now, you'd know better.
Duo: *wryly* You'd think we'd all know better.
Blue: Hush, you.

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