author: trixie
disclaimer: nope.
summary: Heero thinks he knows what he wants. (1 + 2)

notes: for dacia, for her request on fic on demand. not 100% to specs, *sweatdrop* but hopefully, close enough. ^_~

Hello

He didn't remember ever meeting him for the first time. He worked on the third floor, though, and he did remember some of the secretaries gossiping about how they heard that he was gay. He hated rumors, and he hated the way that office folk gathered around gossip like vultures, but he started to look at him in a different light after that.

Heero wouldn't mind it at all if he were gay.

Still, Heero didn't make unnecessary trips to the third floor, or sit at home, watching TLC and eating ice cream, picturing what their bedroom might look like. He had hobbies, and a job to do. If at night, sometimes, he sat and stared at the words on the pages of his book as they bled into the background, well, he wasn't thinking of Braid Boy, as he was dubbed by the secretary pool.Heero didn't know what to think about at all.

+

The copier broke down. Such a simple thing, but people complained about it for hours. No copier, they claimed, so they couldn't do anything. There was a copier on every damned floor. Heero skipped the fourth floor, because that was where the very talkative girl with the bows in her hair was. He didn't think there was anything significant about going to the third floor.But he was there, making copies. He apologized, and even offered to let Heero get in the middle of his copies. He had several things he was doing at once, though, and Heero didn't want to disturb his organization. He told him that the fifth floor copier was broken, so this was a shorter wait, anyway. They chatted, and joked about copiers and dependency. As soon as he was done, he cleared the space for Heero.His braid jiggled a bit as he moved. It looked really heavy, and thick. Heero wanted to touch it, but obviously, he couldn't.

He went back upstairs to his office, and he realized he still didn't know his name.

+

Christmas was busy, and he kept getting phone calls from his ex. She was getting married in the spring, and she wanted to see him before Christmas. She was persistent, and aggravating. She always had been. She made him think about things that he used to have but didn't anymore. They were school friends, really. He never had sex with her, or even had his hand under her bra. She was nice, and he had needed a friend. She had fallen in love with him, and he had liked that feeling, so even though it wasn't right, it was comfortable.

He had dinner with her, and listened to her talk about her new love. He stirred his soup, and thought about his dvd collection and his model cars. He walked her home, and kissed her on the cheek. She insisted on giving him a Christmas present, even though he had nothing for her. It was a rare model that he had wanted to build.

She knew him well.He walked home, and put the model in the back of his closet. He would rather she had given him handkerchiefs. Something noncommittal and useless that wouldn't make him feel like if he had just tried a bit harder with her, he might be happy now.

+

He'd forgotten that the elevator was on the fritz. He was in a hurry to get back to his office after some training. He wasn't worried about it. A bit of patience was all that was required. He hadn't even noticed who was on the elevator with him. He normally stared at the numbers above the door of an elevator to avoid conversation.

He looked a bit nervous. He kept punching the buttons, and chuckling. He smiled at Heero, and apologized, saying he 'was no good in small spaces.' Heero said something that was intended to be comforting, and smiled. He smiled back.

Heero thought he had a beautiful smile.

They were trapped for only fifteen minutes, but he made it seem like more when they got out.Heero did learn something. One of his coworkers called him Duo.

+

Heero hated daydreams. They were a sign of a distracted mind. They were a sign that he wasn't focused enough.

He hated sexual dreams, period. They mocked him, he felt. He wasn't obsessed with sex. He didn't need his subconscious to taunt him. It was all unnecessary.He walked past Duo in the hall, and nearly reached out to tug on his braid.

Clearly, he needed to take up meditation or something.

+

Rainbows were ugly. He hated gay pride anything, but he went to the parade, simply out of political guilt. He should be doing something, after all. One day, implausible as it might seem, he might want to get married. So he went, but he stood sullenly off to the side where he could judge everyone.

He saw Duo there, with a tall man with longish, black hair. They seemed to be arguing, and Duo was being backed into a wall. The tall man raised his arm, and Heero rushed forward without thinking. Of course, he only confused things, because he didn't know what was going on. There was more arguing, and the tall man threw up his arms and stomped off.

Heero blushed, and faced Duo. He apologized for interfering, but Duo just shrugged it off and smiled. Heero put his hands in his pockets, and then took them out again. He cleared his throat, and asked Duo if that was his boyfriend. Duo laughed, long and hard, and then told Heero it was his brother.They got churros together, and made fun of the floats. Duo turned to him suddenly and asked him name. When the sun was setting, and they were heading back to the subway, they held hands for a minute. Duo's eyes sparkled as they were about to separate, and he asked Heero if they could have lunch together.Heero went home grinning. At lunch, he decided, he would ask Duo out. And when they went out on their date, he would kiss Duo.

When he fell asleep, he saw Duo's eyes sparkling at him, and slept well.

end