Road Trip 2/?
by zillie
category: AU College (though they're not in school at the moment), 1+2 get together fic (because there's a new idea. . . ;)
pairings: none, yet. . . isn't it sad? I shall have to write more. Soon.
disclaimer: don't own gw, don't own duo or heero. . . though if anyone wants to give me a nice birthday present I'd certainly take them! There's plenty of room in my closet. . . . don't own the lemonheads, 'come on feel' or 'big gay heart' either. warnings: gratuitous meg ryan references. . . sorry 'bout that. Battlefields. Evan Dando. Think that about covers it.

Road Trip + Part 2

Time: 11:13 am.
Place: route 95, near Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Music: the lemonheads, 'come on feel'

It was about an hour before Heero worked up the courage to open his mouth.

"You have a lot of cds."

Duo chose that moment to switch lanes; Heero tightened his grip on the door and clamped his mouth shut again.

"Yep!" Duo said cheerfully. He had seemed sort of uneasy with Heero's silence up until that point-the simple comment seemed to relax him. Heero wondered if he was the kind of person who simply couldn't be quiet. . . and if he might drive a little slower if there was conversation.

It was worth a try.

"You like music?"

Duo shrugged. "Doesn't everyone?" He glanced over-which did not stop him from slipping into a lane on his other side at the same time. "Besides, Hilde's dad owns a little book and music cd-mostly used. I just take advantage of the family discount."

"Are you and Hilde related?" Heero asked, curious. There were several of Duo's relationships that he. . . wondered about.

"Nah. But we've been best friends forever, and since I'm all but alone in the world," Duo sighed dramatically, "they keep an eye out for stuff they know I'll like." He smiled over at Heero, who was torn between appreciating it and wishing that the boy would keep his eyes on the road. "Feel free to look through them."

Heero considered. . . that would, after all, mean unlocking his hands from the door handle. At this point he wasn't sure that they even would come off.

"Hn," he said.

"God, Relena is so bloody slow," Duo griped, glancing in his rearview mirror. "This could get old, fast."

"Your car. . . moves well." Heero wondered if Duo had any idea how diplomatic he was being.

"Yeah. I tinkered with the engine. When I'm at home I do mechanic work-have since I was fourteen." Duo flourished a hand, wiggling his fingers. "I have a way with machines. There aren't many old Bugs that can do 120 on the open road."

Heero's fingers, just beginning to work free, clamped reflexively around the handle again.

"Ah! That's my exit!" Duo crowed happily, and moved four lanes to the right. In two and a half seconds.

"Exit?" Heero managed a minute later, when his mouth had stopped being quite so dry. "But I mapped the route-there should be no variation until we reach Baltimore, with a possible detour outside of Washington. There is no exit in. . . ," he looked over at the sign as Duo exited, "Fredericksburg."

"It's our first rest stop," Duo explained kindly, his eyes on the rearview mirror. "I don't see them. Ah, well, we'll beat them there." He looked over at Heero, his hand easily working the gearshift. "Haven't you ever been on a road trip before?"

Heero considered. There had been stealth training. . . survival training. . . missions. . . but nothing like this. "I don't think so."

Duo laughed. "Well, then, you're long past due. Just keep in mind that getting to where you're going isn't the point."

"It isn't?"

"Nope," Duo said, and executed a u-turn that effectively silenced Heero-his teeth were so deeply buried in his tongue that it took him a few minutes to get free.

+

They drove past a McDonalds that, Heero pointed out, would have restrooms. . . two dozen restaurants. . . a mall. . . a Seven-11 that, when Heero gestured to, Duo promptly burst out laughing. "Oh, God," he gasped, eyes tearing. "I forgot about that."

"The Seven-11 is funny?"

"Not the seven-11," Duo said, still laughing. "It's the fact that you have that little convenience store, and then, right next door, a parking lot the size of Kansas." He convulsed in laughter again; Heero began calculating how long he would be conscious when Duo ran them into a tree. At this speed, the impact would probably be enough to make it fairly quick. . . .

"You don't think it's funny?" Duo asked. "Two hundred parking spaces for one Seven-11? You don't think it's rather optimistic of them?

"It's a commuter parking lot," Heero said. "Says so on the sign."

"But still. . . you don't. . . ?"

Despite himself Heero smiled, and Duo cackled with glee. "Yeah! You do have a sense of humo-uh."

"Just don't tell anyone else and I might let you live," Heero said in his usual monotone.

Duo smiled again. "You're assuming a lot here."

Heero looked at him quizzically.

"I'd be willing to be that half an hour ago you would have been more worried about you. Surviving, that is. This car trip."

He hadn't realized that his apprehension had been that obvious. "Maybe I was just afraid that Relena would catch up with us."

"I thought you guys were friends."

"We are." And they were-that was the problem. "That doesn't mean that I like being chased by a pink BMW. You don't get the feeling that we're being tailed by Secret Agent Barbie?"

He was absurdly gratified by Duo's laugh, and silently applauded himself. He had made a joke. After only an hour in the other boy's company. It felt good. For the first time since Quatre had talked him into this scheme-what had he called it? Revenge part two?-Heero relaxed.

+

They reached a battlefield and Duo turned left, down a small bumpy road. Relena's car, Heero noticed, was nowhere in sight; if Duo had not still been laughing, he might have mentioned this. He wasn't sure if the other boy was still amused by his joke, by the seven-11, or by something else, but he wasn't about to ask. He had a feeling it could be detrimental to his psyche.

Instead, he looked out the window. There were fields on either side of the road-historically preserved slaughtering grounds from the Civil War. "Why do Americans save their battlefields?" he asked.

He felt Duo's glance on the back of his head.

"They seem to build things everywhere else. Why do they leave these massive fields just lying around? Are they uncomfortable living where people have died?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"But people die everywhere." He tapped the window. "There's nothing here. People come to see this?"

Duo nodded. "Lots of them." He shrugged. "I'm no shrink, or sociologist, but I'd guess that there are a couple of reasons. Patriotism. Morbid curiosity. Maybe because war makes things seem simpler. It's funny, because when you study war in school, every war up until Vietnam is primarily about glory and patriotism and honor. Everything since is about corrupt politics and dying innocents."

"I don't think that the people who died here during the Civil War thought it was fun," Heero said.

"No," Duo said, "I suppose not." He leaned forward to peer at the coming road. "I think this is it."

In the silence after Duo's turn-during which his heart had stopped-Heero noticed the lyrics of the song currently playing.

::I don't need you to suck my dick or to help me feel better about myself::

Curious, he leaned forward-noting with relief that his heart seemed to be working again-and bumped the song back to the beginning.

Duo looked uneasy.

"What's this song?"

"Uh. . . it's called Big Gay Heart."

"Hn," said Heero.

It hadn't even gotten past the first line ::take a look into some big grey eyes:: when Duo swung with relief into the parking lot of a diner. "Here we are!"

+

The hostess grinned at Duo when they walked in. "If it ain't Duo! Where's Honey?"

"Hilde," Duo said, and peered out the window. "She should be here before too long."

"Who's your friend?" the woman-Noel-asked, smiling at Heero. "He's cute."

"Heero, Noel. Noel, Heero. Noel makes the best pie in the world," Duo said.

"And nobody enjoys it quite like Duo does!" Noel announced proudly, then looked out the window behind them. "Is that car pink?"

+

"You go too fast."

"You were going too slow. There's no fun in that," Duo retorted. Hilde glared at him. "Just because we're not all speed maniacs-"

"Just because I like to enjoy myself-"

"Here you go!" Noel sang, delivering four plates to the table. On each rested an extremely large slice of pie. She smiled and stood there, obviously waiting for something.

Duo smacked his lips. "Noel's apple. You must have gotten my email."

"Just the way you like it, honey, with the crumbly topping and the ice cream on the side. Now go ahead."

Heero looked at Relena, who appeared as bemused as he himself felt. Hilde, on the other hand, was grinning opening.

Duo looked over at him. "It probably bears mentioning that the first time that Hil and I came by here, we had just seen when Harry Met Sally for the first time. Which includes, among other things, a road trip."

Heero shrugged. He'd never seen the movie.

Relena paled.

Hilde laughed. "It probably also bears mentioning that Duo can never say no to a bet."

Relena got whiter.

Duo took a huge forkful of the pie and waggled his eyebrows at them-and at the roomful of people waiting for his first bite. "Here goes!" He stuck the fork in his mouth.

And had an orgasm.

At least Heero was pretty sure that was what was going on-there was some gasping, some moaning, a whispered 'harder' that nearly had Hilde falling into her pie with laughter, a lot of panting, a little thrashing, and finally, a "yes! Yes! Yes!"

Heero wondered if anyone would notice if he dumped his ice cream down his pants. Probably not, he decided-they were all too busy waiting for Duo to take his second bite.

+

"And you thought only women had multiple orgasms," Duo said with a grin as he unlocked Shinigami.

Hilde, waiting for Relena to unlock Barbie, whacked him. "You're such a perv."

"Hentai desu!" he agreed cheerfully.

She transferred her bright smile to Heero. "We'll see you before too long, Heero-hope you survive it!"

Heero nodded. "I hope so as well."

"Though I might die in the time it takes you guys to get there," Duo joked, and ducked into the car before Hilde could hit him again.

Heero noticed that as soon as they were back in the car Duo changed the cd.

[part 1] [part 3] [back to Zillie's fic]