Walking the Tightrope – Chapter 03

Author: Asuka Kureru (asukasama@ifrance.com)
Homepage: http://asukasama.free.fr
Series: Gundam Wing
Warnings: Yaoi, romance, sap, love triangle, threesome, heavy lime to nearly full lemon, dunno yet; the POV is shifting between the boys.
Beta-reader: My Ara-love ^________^
Couple (trio?) : 1+2+5, 1x2x5x2x1 and diverse combinations ^__^
Disclaimer: They're sharing, why can't we do the same? ;_;
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Wufei was the first to burst through the opening between the bushes, into the little house's yard. As such, he had exactly one second to catch, through the window, the forlorn, dreamy-sad expression Heero had on his face. Then the daydreaming boy's head snapped up, and he jumped out of his seat, startled. Wufei slowed down, surprised to have gotten such a reaction from someone who was usually much more aware and much faster to catch onto what was happening around him. Yuy had to have been deep in thoughts…
Then Duo ran out of the wood after him and jumped on his back, making him stumble forward and desperately try to catch his balance before he kissed the ground. When Wufei straightened back up, the curtain was balancing before the empty window and Heero was opening the back door and mock-glaring at them, one hand on his hips.
"Are you coming in, or do you intend on camping in the yard?"
"Yeesh! We're coming mom!" Duo called back, tightening the hold his legs had on Wufei's waist.
They entered the house, Duo still on Wufei's back and refusing to get off. He only relented when Wufei made as if he was going to fall back on a wall.
"Meanie!" pouted Duo, acting childish only for the reason that he got to Wufei easier that way.
"I am not a horse… And if I hear the word stallion pass your lips you're sleeping in the tub."
Duo laughed out loud, eyeing the man in a way that showed that he was considering making a very lame remark on that. But Wufei scowled and raised a menacing hand on him, and so the chestnut-haired boy shrugged, and after having stuck out his tongue at him, Duo turned to Heero.
"Hey, Heero, didja finish your report?"
"Yes," answered the Japanese boy, shrugging. It should have been obvious. If he hadn't he would have been working on it still.
"Long time ago?"
"No. Ten minutes, maybe fifteen, I don't know," answered the Japanese, indifferent.
He was lying of course. He had been sitting at the window for at least one hour and a half.
Wufei was staring at him, pensive, serious, slightly frowning. Heero just knew that he knew. He scowled slightly at him, asking him to stay silent. The raven-haired pilot frowned in response and shrugged imperceptibly, as if to say that it wasn't his problem.
"So you weren't too bored then? Good!" said Duo, slinging an arm over his shoulders and kissing him on the cheek.
He knew damn well that he was acting clingy, even more so than ever, especially with Heero. Damn, even after they had gotten together he hadn't kissed him as much and as often. But he hadn't found any other way to reassure the Japanese teen that he wasn't going to abandon him. Heero was altruist, but so insecure sometimes.
Heero walked back to the living room and his laptop, his braided lover still leaning on him. Wufei followed, Heero having signaled to him with a nod.
"No, I wasn't… By the way, Wufei, I'll need you to go over Trowa's report and tell me if your version of your last joined mission differs significantly. Oh, and Quatre says hello."
"Really? What's up, did he say?"
"He's in hiding, like us. I don't know where. A little boring I guess."
"… Bet it is. But then, it's a little dead at the moment," commented the chestnut-haired teenager.
They read Quatre's email, each smiling their version of an affectionate smile. He had one part for each of them, thoughtfully asking about their health and having a friendly comment for everyone. Wufei decided to type his answer in the same mail as Heero's, but Duo declined, saying that he preferred to answer later, because it would be a lengthy mail. Heero and Wufei shared a look. Duo didn't want them to read what he would be typing, which meant he was going to tell Quatre about the three of them. Bah, it didn't bother them, it was not as if Quatre would permit himself to judge them, and the man was their friend. And life was short, especially when you were fighting in a war.
In the middle of these serious considerations, Duo's stomach suddenly growled, startling them all.
Heero smirked, and Wufei shook his head, appalled. The boy had wolfed down an innumerable amount of junk food during their outing.
"You not hungry, guys?" asked the braided one sheepishly.
"Not yet, but I could eat," answered Heero, who had barely eaten anything at noon and nothing at all since.
"Guess since you're gonna be answering Quat's mail, I'm cooking tonight… Be afraid, be very afraid!!" he exclaimed, striking a pose.
The boy disappeared into the kitchen, all too aware of the awkward silence that had fallen on the little room between them. It couldn't be wise to leave them alone together. But they were mature, responsible. It was not as if they would tear off each other's heads. No, that was not what made him wince; it was that they were always so unsure around each other, skittish nearly, afraid of offending, of being offended, of being the one to tip off the balance of that strange tightrope walkers act they were performing without any security net.
Maybe it was not wise, but he could not always be between them. He could not, and he would not. It was not healthy for their relationship, for him to be the focal point like that. They needed to learn to communicate as Wufei and him had communicated on their date, as Heero and him had been for a long time now, to get past their fears and really talk about what was really important, deep down. And they would not do that as long as he was there, because they would always be paying attention to what he wanted to hear and what they wanted to say to him, not what they needed to say to and hear from each other. This relationship was so much more frail than any normal one, thrice as much. They couldn't take things in a normal way. They had to establish a basis whose solidity would withstand all trials.
He felt bad for abandoning them together, really he did. But it was just necessary.
He hoped Quatre would be able to give him some good advice on that… once he had passed the surprised state. Well, if was not as if the Arab would be disgusted, he knew Duo's feelings about the two Asian pilots and he had never said one thing.
Well, yes, one thing only.
'Taking all odds in account, the five of us will probably not have more than one year left to live. By all means, Duo, if you can find something good even in the middle of the war, go for it. You don't have anything to lose, and everything to gain, and we have sacrificed enough already…you deserve to be happy even for a short while. And even if you think you don't deserve it, don't you think the people you killed will count far more in Hell than the fact that you had your heart open wide enough to give it to two people that were even more lonely than yourself?'

He had pounced on Quatre after that sentence, so relieved, so happy, so embarrassed by the heart-to-heart talk and wanting to put an end to that girly stuff.
It was not an absolution, not really. But knowing that the only people he cared about didn't disapprove of his abnormal love… It had been as good as one. And while the idea of his lovers dying was intolerable in his mind, he had envisioned his own already. Heero and Wufei could at least support each other in their grief, if ever Duo…
He shook his head. He didn't want to think about that. He was behaving as if their whole fate, their life and death, was depending on one little moment in the living room together. They were like every couple. They had a right to a certain level of mistakes before having to call it quits. It was not that important if he was not always with them.
Whistling, the boy with the chestnut braid began to dig out the things he would need to make something vaguely edible for tonight. The gods knew it was something he needed to concentrate wholly on if he ever wanted to succeed.
+
The two Asian teens glanced at each other. Heero was standing beside the table, a step behind Wufei who was sitting in front of his laptop. The black-eyed boy prepared to type his answer.
"…Wufei…?"
"Yes?" answered the Chinese boy, frowning faintly at the strange way his name had been said. He turned back and glanced at the teenager.
"… Don't tell him… about…You know," muttered Heero, glancing at the window.
"I wasn't planning on it," answered the Chinese boy, haughty, annoyed that the other boy would believe that he was going to tattle, especially something like that.
He saw that Heero was looking at the floor, barely a hint of incertitude behind his usual impassive expression.
"I just don't want him to worry…" he muttered.
"I will not tell him," repeated Wufei, this time more comprehensively. "I …understand."
Heero lifted his head and stared at him for a lengthy minute.
"You did the same too, didn't you? Before you were with us," blurted the short-haired boy with a sudden certainty.
Wufei shrugged. It was embarrassing, admitting that he had been pining over Duo to the point where he had been waiting by the window, torturing himself with visions of the both of them laughing, hugging, kissing. Lost in their little world where there was only place for two.
And now Heero felt the same way. Felt… excluded. Forgotten.
Wufei felt a pang of pain at the thought. Because of him Yuy half believed that he was being replaced in Duo's heart. And the man was still not protesting against Wufei's presence in his lover's life, he could see that in his deep blue eyes. They were still accepting, not a touch of hostility toward Wufei in them. Just a small bit of annoyance, some wariness maybe. But no hostility. No rejection. Because Duo loved him, Wufei, and Heero just wanted Duo to be happy.
He felt a mix of admiration and shame, when he thought about it. And gratefulness, for the selfless gift he had bestowed upon the two longhaired boys. Admiration that he would be willing to go to such length, would be willing to let an occasion to his lover to be with someone he could, maybe, learn to love more than himself… not that Wufei thought that it would or even could happen, but it was still a possibility that the Japanese teenager had to have envisioned. Shame, because he didn't know if he could have done the same… No, he knew, now more than ever, that he wouldn't have done the same. Wufei would never had intervened between a committed couple, and Heero and Duo were that… But if he had even known beforehand that Yuy had also been interested in Duo and that Duo could chose him as well as the other Asian teen, he would have fought to be the one, would have tried with all his might to get chosen. But he was sure, just sure, that Heero would probably just have tested his commitment to Duo, and then let himself be erased from the picture, because, Wufei just felt it without knowing why, he believed that it would be better for Duo if he was not fought over…
…He could see now that it WAS selfless, and he had always known that Heero Yuy was the most selfless of all the Gundam Pilots, with the exception of Quatre maybe, because he was the only one to have nothing to gain in this war for himself or his people, and nothing to avenge, which had been Wufei's own reason to begin fighting. But it also was a hint, somewhat, that the Japanese pilot didn't really feel that he was someone that great to have a relationship with. That he felt that, between a relationship with Chang and a relationship with him, he would not be the better choice. He loved Duo and knew that Duo loved him, but… If Duo really, really wanted to leave, he would not try to hold him back. He would just let him leave, only making sure that Duo knew that he would be waiting for him.
Wufei felt shame. Was it love, knowing that he himself would fight tooth and nail to keep Duo, while Heero would be willing to set him free, or was it possessiveness?
But on the other side, was it really only selfless love, or was it also lack of confidence in his own worth from Yuy?
Anyway, he really held the other Asian in high esteem. Very high esteem. The man gave another definition to the word honor. He didn't want to see him hurt if he could prevent it.
"Did you… have fun, today?" asked Heero, trying hard to sound casual. He didn't want to come off as intrusive or as suspicious, just a friend wondering.
Wufei felt awkward when he answered that all had gone fine. They fell silent, and Wufei typed his answer to Quatre, grateful for the distraction it gave him, then he got up to let Heero launch the program that would send it. The Japanese boy didn't sit down for that, just leaned over the chair to type some things then shut down the computer. When he turned away, he blinked at Wufei, surprised that the other hadn't gone yet to find Duo in the kitchen.
"Look, Yuy, I had been meaning to talk about something with you."
"Yeah?"
Wufei's cheek had a slight blush on them, but he seemed serious and determined, so Heero decided not to comment on it.
"You remember the… The Night?"
Heero snorted. Even just listening, you could know that there were quotations around that word. 'The' night.
"How could I forget…?" he mused, lifting an eyebrow sarcastically.
"You remember our experiments, then," asked Wufei, more cutting than he had intended at first.
Heero blinked, then felt his face go a little warm. He remembered, no problem about that. He nodded, slightly, a little embarrassed.
"We need to tell Duo about what happened. The kisses I mean. I understand why we didn't talk about it with him at first, because he could have read into it the wrong way…"
"The wrong way?" asked Heero, lifting a surprised eyebrow, wondering if he should feel pissed. They had been kissing, and it had been good. He didn't see which thing Duo could have understood wrong.
"That we were into each other as much if not more than into him," answered the Chinese boy. "In that moment it wouldn't have been good at all if he had believed that… But still, now we should tell him. I don't feel good hiding it from him, even if it's not that important now. I don't want to hide anything from him. Imagine if he discovers it after a while. I don't know how he would react…"
"You're right," groaned Heero, wincing. "If we don't tell him he is going to think that we had a reason to hide it, and then…"
"It's agreed then?"
Heero nodded. Then he laughed, a little, tensely.
"It's strange…"
"What is strange?"
"Do you remember how it felt, that night?"
Chang blushed bright red.
Heero was blushing too. "That is exactly what I meant," he said casually, gesturing to Wufei's cheeks then his own.
"What do you mean?" asked Wufei testily.
Unfazed, Heero stared him right in the eye. "It seems so strange now to think that we kissed that way… and even more than that, we enjoyed it. Now I can't even imagine being with you that way, but we did it already. It is very strange."
Wufei mumbled something unintelligible under his breath that sounded like a curse.
"I had been trying to forget," he remarked. "It is very embarrassing, now, you know."
Sadly for him, having his head lowered, he missed the sudden devilish gleam that passed in Heero's deep blue eyes, a bratty side of him that Duo had needed months to dig out, but that, now that it was unveiled, appeared quite often and without warning. Therefore, the poor Chinese pilot was totally unprepared to feel him lean forward, his mouth brushing against his ear.
"What is so embarrassing to remember? My hard on, or yours?"
"Yuy!!!" exclaimed the shocked boy, jumping back, eyes wide. "Are you feeling well?" he asked suspiciously, trying to beat down the full blush covering his whole face and neck.
"Sorry," said the boy, not looking very sorry at all. "But you have to admit, it's strange that we're not even thinking that way about each other again, when we had been so… well, you remember. Now I don't even understand how I even found the courage to get you in that bed with me, even less how we ended up kissing…" Heero shook his head, looking honestly astonished.
"Maybe because you were set on seducing me into hooking up with the both of you, and I was too surprised to think about what we were really doing," answered Wufei with a snort, looking away to hide at least part of his blush.
"But still… I wonder… Does it still…?"
Wufei was opening his mouth to ask what he was wondering when he looked at Yuy. And then he turned red… well, redder.
"…You too?" he forced himself to ask. He had realized that he had been wondering if the way he had reacted to the boy had been a fluke. It still bothered him, to have had his body feel that way with someone other than Duo.
Their eyes met. They stared at each other, then Heero nodded and stepped closer.
They were both headstrong and prone to take the lead, but with each other, it was not quite working. Kind of intimidating, neither knew why. Shyly, they approached each other. They had a few false starts before even the first contact, and for a while after that contact, neither did much. Heero began vaguely moving his lips, but he was so tense and bothered by what Wufei might think that he didn't do much and not that well, shaming himself even more.
"This isn't working," announced Wufei after a while. He looked away, intensely embarrassed. It had been very stupid. Now he was going to be embarrassed in Yuy's presence even more than before.
Heero bit his lower lip thoughtfully. "You're right. I feel much too tense to really get into it, and we can't prove anything in one sense or the other if we jump apart as the slightest provocation."
"Sorry if the idea of kissing you makes me nervous," retorted Wufei, only half joking. "You're just not Duo…"
He stepped to the side to go to the kitchen, thinking that it was better they abort the experiment. It didn't seem to be going anywhere.
"Hey.."
"Yes, Yu… Heero?"
He had to think intimate, in-ti-mate. The man was his lover's lover, apart from becoming his lover as well, they couldn't very well get more intimate than they were. He couldn't continue calling him by his family name. He had been doing so, and it was wrong, because he knew that it was his way of keeping his distance even when they were talking about important stuff. Heero. Not Yuy; Heero.
"We could try to pretend that the other is Duo, you know… Just to see?"
Wufei frowned thoughtfully, and let his eyes slide half-closed. To imagine being kissing Duo.
He lifted a hand to brush against the other's skin. Not quite the same feel, the same velvet, but with a little bit of imagination…
Heero stepped closer, just close enough that their body-warmth mingled, and tentatively lifted a hand to Wufei's hip, barely pressing against it. He closed his eyes, chasing away a lock of raven hair, imagining the soft and pliant silk of Duo's hair instead of Wufei's straighter and slightly thicker hair, then leaned forward, pressing his lips against Wufei's softly.
Soft was not going to work, he realized right on. In soft kisses it was an exchange, but he could not really pretend that Wufei was Duo in that case, because he knew Duo's exact way to respond to soft kisses and there was no way in Hell anyone could offer the same display. So he just went with the more insisting approach, pressing firmly against the other boy.
Duo… Being with Duo…
Wufei was startled when Yuy's hand slid from his hip to his back, to firmly press him against his hard body. The Japanese's other hand slid from Chang's cheek to the back of his head, making him tilt it, and before Wufei could think about protesting, Heero had invaded his mouth and was exploring it, insistent, overwhelming, nearly passionate.
Ok, he was not doing that bad, but Wufei didn't appreciate being so easily dominated. Sliding both hands in Yuy's thick hair to interlace his fingers behind his skull, giving himself a way to maneuver the other boy's head, he kissed back as passionately, trying to push the inquisitive tongue back into its own mouth and to do a little bit of exploring as well. He gained a little bit because of the surprise, but then, Heero got over his surprise and fought back to regain the lost ground.
There was no way either one of them could still imagine they were with Duo, but neither one seemed to care.
Wufei moaned when Heero's fingers tangled in his hair, near to his skull, and pulled slightly. The Japanese boy tried to use the new angle to kiss Wufei deeper, but the Chinese one was not disposed to be so easily conquered and bit down on his tongue, not hard enough to cut, but enough to immobilize it quite well. Heero opened his eyes to look into black ebony depths, shining, laughing, and quite visibly making fun of him. He stared back, his hand pressing their bodies tighter together, and Wufei released his hold slightly, just a second, when he felt their bellies press together, just long enough for Heero to save his tongue and leave Wufei's mouth to begin to kiss a path down his jaw. The Chinese boy gave a strong yank to his own double fistful of hair to redirect the brown-haired teenager's face upward, and plastered his mouth against Heero's, his tongue going to run against the other boy's palate. Heero moaned into his mouth, half from pleasure and half because he wanted to laugh at Wufei's combativeness, and pushed him back to the wall, his palm running up and down along the black-haired boy's spine. The slight impact made them separate for a second, and they stared into each other's eyes for a short while.
"It's strange, don't you think?" mused Wufei, sounding quite puzzled. His lips were swollen and a few strands of ebony hair fell into his face.
"What?" asked Heero, not really listening to him, just looking at the way his lips, colored coral by the kissing, were moving with the words.
"Us… like that. The…"
Without warning, Heero attacked his mouth again and they pushed against each other, nibbling, grinding. Their tongues danced against each other, slick with mixed saliva. They separated again shortly, this time to enjoy the hands burying into hair, symmetrically.
"…The passion… With Duo it is passionate too, but more like we're working together to have the most… pleasure, but when we kiss… You and me… it's like… hmmm… like a competition… To see which one … can give the other more…"
"You know, you're right," chuckled Heero, nibbling on Wufei's ear and blowing on it alternatively, "but…'Fei?"
"Hmmm?"
The blue-eyed boy smirked at him and licked the tip of his nose, provocatively.
"Shut up and kiss me."
The Chinese boy gave him a ferocious glare and assaulted his lips with a renewed passion. He was going to make him BEG.
+
Duo dried his hands on a towel and carefully surveyed what he had prepared. It looked good, and smelled great. For once, he was happy with himself about cooking something that wasn't breakfast. He threw the towel on the back of a chair and walked to the living room, where the others had been the last time he had seen them.
"Guys? Dinner's rea…"
They were on the opposite side of the room, between the couch and a disturbed chair, Heero backed against the wall, his wrists pressed at head's height by Wufei's hands, closed tight around them. As for what Wufei was doing, Duo could only see black hair, but from the angle and the way Heero was panting and biting his lips, the Chinese boy was actually doing something interesting to his neck, or ear, maybe. And they were huddled up and rubbing against each other as if trying to get into the other's skin.
"oh gods…"
Wufei whirled around, aghast, and Heero gasped as they heard him. As they saw him at the door, the black-haired man paled and the brown-haired one flushed violently. They looked like fish out of water. Duo coughed to cover the nervous laugh he felt bubbling up his throat.
They seemed to think he was going to kick their asses. True, he was a little miffed at this. But to be entirely truthful, Duo's main problem was not jealousy of any sort, but the fact that he felt so turned on, it was going to hurt if it lasted any longer. If he had listened to himself, he would have jumped on them both and nailed them on the nearest available flat surface. But the guilty looks they were giving him were so horrified, and the way they were carefully not looking at each other more revealing than anything: they had not intended for that to happen between them. And they were suddenly remembering it.
"Kitchen. Now."
He did not have the voice to say anything more.
Meekly, they obeyed, following him in silence and looking ready to try to fit into the first mouse hole they could find in the walls, at the slightest provocation.
They sat down at their places, still looking down.
Wufei glanced at Duo, who was observing the both of them in an undecipherable way, opened his mouth to give an explanation, then thought better of it and closed it before lowering his head once again, hiding behind his hair.
"So. Had fun?"
Heero winced, and Wufei's shoulders slumped.
"Hey, guys, look at me."
It took some time, but they did it, eventually. Duo waited patiently for them to look at him before beginning to talk.
"Mind telling me about it?"
"We were… testing, that's all…"
"Testing?" repeated Duo, incredulous. "That's quite lousy as far as explanations go, you know."
They winced.
"It's my fault," Heero said suddenly, lifting his head to look at Duo in the eyes. "Before you came back from your mission, when we were talking about sharing you… Well, when we were perfecting some details… We talked about the fact that it would be awkward that one of us had to leave when the other wanted alone time with you, and we… Just to see if we… really had to. Leave I mean. Well… We tried to see if we could tolerate each other at least, maybe even become interested in each other in that way. More like, I convinced Wufei to try."
Wufei snorted, then disguised it as a nervous cough. Convinced? He had kissed him silly without any warnings.
"I see," Duo said noncommittally.
"And today, it was just like before, we… got talking about it. It's tense between us, we're not at ease with the other. And it's strange, because we were really close for a moment that night."
"So you checked to see if the closeness would come back."
"Yes…" sighed Heero, looking down once again. It sounded so stupid, said like that.
"Hey, guys… I'm not angry. Really, I'm not. Miffed, maybe, that you didn't tell me that you were willing to experiment with each other, because I was sure that I would have to find a way to… have intimacy with one of you without making the other feel abandoned or jealous, but I'm not angry. Ok?"
They glanced at him, as if wanting to reassure themselves that he was being truthful.
"How could I be angry with you?" he said with a shaky laugh. "That's the damn most arousing display I've ever seen. I'm surprised I didn't make my pant seams burst with the speed I popped a boner."
He laughed at their blushing faces and spluttering.
"Just one thing, guys."
"Yes?"
"If you ever, ever want to experiment again, TELL ME! I don't mean, ask me to participate, you have the right to want to try alone, the both of you… After all I do have you both for me alone. You have the right to ask me to share too. Ok? It's more fair like that. But tell me that you want to, if only so I don't get totally floored when I walk in on you. Whatcha think? New rule? You talk about it before deciding you want to try being intimate again, and you warn me?"
"… ok with me," agreed Heero.
Wufei nodded his assent. He wasn't sure if he would try "being intimate" with the other pilot again, not too soon anyway. Being caught by Duo had badly spooked him, especially the way the braided boy hadn't even shown any hints on his thoughts about the matter at first. He had been sure Duo was furious at them, so furious that he couldn't even utter more than two words. It had terrified him, to know that maybe they were both going to be kicked out of the braided pilot's life.
"While we're talking about this… As for… threesomes. In bed I mean. I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet. I mean, I'm not even sure I want to have that kind of relationship with Yuy…no offense."
"None taken," answered Heero in a careful tone.
"What I mean, is, yes, I can … react to him… but I am not the kind of man who jumps anyone he likes to watch."
"You mean, you watch me?" asked Heero, bewildered.
Wufei glared to hide his sudden flush. "As if I had a choice. If you didn't show off so much with your spandex shorts…"
"Hey!"
"You do show off, if I don't have a choice in seeing it or not, I might as well enjoy it!" protested Wufei, in a totally un-Wufei-like display.
"I do not show off!"
"Oh, and what do you call strutting around with spandex glued to your body from waist to thighs? Anyone can measure your butt crack, Yuy, and as for the package, I don't even want to talk about the way it's displaying it! It's even more provoking than being nude!"
Heero flushed violently. "Hey!"
Duo burst out laughing, his shoulders shaking violently as he was desperately trying to breathe. The two Asian boys looked at him, startled out of their argument.
"Gawds…Sorry, guys, but you're getting so sidetracked here…"
Wufei coughed, surprised himself at having gone that far just to prove his point. "I just meant that I don't do casual sex. If there isn't at least some feelings behind it, I don't want to do anything."
Heero pensively considered his plate. So, Wufei didn't feel anything for him… apart from friendship? He felt… disappointed. That was it, disappointed. He didn't know why exactly, but that was what it felt like, somewhat.
A bronze-skinned hand touched his wrist, and he looked up.
"I don't mean that I don't … like you, Yuy, I do. But… it's enough to make out, I guess, you know… mess around a little, try… experiment… but I'm not sure if it's enough to go all the way. Do you see what I mean?"
Heero stared at his deep black eyes. They were staring back, earnestly trying to make him understand something…
Wufei felt attracted to him, physically, but if they let themselves go with what their hormones and bodies told them, and just had sex, he would feel bad afterward, because it would have been just animal mating, not something expressing anything, not something worth anything. Heero didn't know if you had to be in love to make love, but at least you had to have feelings of a more tender nature than mere friendship, and that was the only thing between them as of yet, if even that.
The Japanese boy nodded slowly, showing that he truly understood.
"I never had a relationship of any sort before Duo, you know…" he muttered apologetically.
"I know it, Yuy. Don't worry about that. You'll see, whatever happens between you and me, we'll make this thing work," said the Chinese boy in a low, intense voice.
"Yeah…" agreed Duo in a soft voice. "We communicate at least, and that's the only thing that is really important. As long as we talk about things, we can't make mistakes. Well, we'll make some, it's unavoidable, but not important ones anyway, and nothing irreparable. And if we do make mistakes… we'll just talk about it until we fix it. Ok?"
"Yeah", answered Heero with a small smile. "Like us at the beginning…"
"Exactly like that," Duo agreed, beaming. "Boy, did we get into arguments or what?"
"You had problems?" asked Wufei, surprised. They had seemed to be so perfectly in tune when, coming back from a mission, Duo had told him that Heero and him were together now and would it bother him? Of course he had said no, it didn't, but it was not entirely true. Not for the reason Duo had been asking though. But they had looked so happy…
"We just had trouble telling each other what we really wanted, that's all… We learned to communicate well enough quite fast. We'll just have to do that again. Promise to talk when something's bothering you?"
"Promise," the other two boys said at the same time.
"I promise too. Anywayyyyz…"
"Yes?"
"You still need to pay me back for the stunt you pulled in the living room."
The two dark-haired boys blinked and glanced at each other.
"You gave me the shock of my life. And Wufei, you made out with Heero when I haven't even gotten into your pants yet. I want compensation."
"But…" spluttered the boy.
"No buts! You were nibbling at his neck and rubbing against him! And I only pawed you a little through your pants, and I am your official boyfriend ! I. Want. Compensation."
"Okay," agreed Wufei, sighing. "What do you want?"
"Hmm… You'll have to do something for me. I'll let you know when I know what I want. And Heero, the same goes for you. I didn't see you trying to get out of his clutches too hard…"
"… ok, ok… " sighed Heero to pacify the guy.
"Hey, now that I think of it… What are you to me?" Wufei asked Heero, thinking of Duo's 'official boyfriend' statement.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Duo's my boyfriend. You're Duo's lover. But you and me…? What do I call you? I can't just call you a friend either. Sally is a friend, and there's no way I'm sharing anyone with her!"
They snickered, then became serious once again.
"…I just need a name, I guess," shrugged the black-haired boy.
"… Partner?"
"It's vague…"
"It's perfect for a still evolving relationship, then," answered the Japanese, ending the conversation by beginning to dig into his plate. "Damn. Another rule."
"Err, yes?" asked Duo, lifting a surprised eyebrow.
"We wait until AFTER dinner for our serious conversations."
"What?"
"I hate eating cold."

[WTT 2] [WTT4]