So Here It Is...

[by Firefly]




Oh but it's good to be back home for Christmas- not that I don't like uni, but to have a full-size sofa again? Bliss. Anyway, I did some writing while I was away, and while I realise this is a little late- well, there's still snow all over the country, and it's not the new year, so I figure it counts. So belated Season's Greetings, whichever celebrations you party to. And yes, the title is, ahem, borrowed, from a well known song. So that means that none of this belongs to me at all.

Warnings: This is really quite mild. Shounen ai, most definitely. 1x2. Implied hormonal action, but you don't see a thing, it's all insinuation (mainly 'cos I can't do it. Believe me, if I could, I would). Much gratuitous sap. Now I'm gonna stop before the intro becomes longer than the fic! See J, I did it! Now stop nagging!

***********************


/ Come on Duo, where the hell are you? /

Heero fumed as he fought his way through the snowstorm, attempting to hide his anxiety even from himself as he sought to find the area where he thought he’d seen Deathscythe come down.

Over there! A hulking shadow, barely discernible against the gloom, but to someone looking for it... a beautiful sight.

/ I suppose it’s too much to ask that baka hasn’t cracked his damn skull. /

"Duo!"

"Heero? Over here!"

The voice came from his right. He ran towards it, or at least, stumbled as quickly as was possible through the ever-thickening layer of snow on the ground. Suddenly Duo was right in front of him. Heero slid to a stop and looked at his partner, searching him for any injuries.

"Gee, it’s nice you’re pleased to see me, koi." Duo deadpanned.

With a start, Heero realised that his face was still frozen in a scowl. Quickly he resumed his habitual expressionless mien, but not before he let his relief show in his eyes for Duo to see. He had learnt over the last few months how important his partner considered such things, and he did his best. It made Duo happy. He had found it hard, initially, going against his training, but every time he found it easier, and more... pleasurable.

Heero thought about the box in his backpack, and almost smiled.

"Hee-chan, it’s freezing out here. Are we anywhere near the safehouse?"

"No. Thanks to your Gundam completely failing and then crash landing-"

"Oi! There’s nothing wrong with Deathscythe! It’s the new software. It’s fine, it’s just a little... quirky."

Heero thought back to half an hour ago, when he’d seen Deathscythe fall out of the sky for no apparent reason and the horrible moments when he’d thought Duo wouldn’t be able to land the damn thing safely...

"Quirky?!"

Duo had the grace to look a little shamefaced. Maybe this letting-the-emotions-show thing was a good idea, after all.

"Okay, so it needs a little work. Sorry. So where are we?"

"A little under a hundred miles east of the safe house." Duo’s face as it fell was almost comical. Heero waited, then decided to take pity on him.

"However, I did see what looked like a building a short distance from where I landed."

"Then what are we waiting for? Lets go!" Despite his determined cheerfulness, Duo’s face as he set out was pale, and Heero reviewed his earlier opinion that his partner was unharmed. He fell into step next to Duo and took his arm. That was when he realised that the idiot was shivering all over.

"Duo, you’re freezing and your clothes are soaked."

/ Oh great, you sound like you’re accusing him! Dumbass! /

"In a snowstorm? What are the odds?" Duo shot back at him. One look at his friend’s closed face made him regret it.

"Gomen, koi. Let’s just get to this place soon, huh?"

"And hope it has central heating."

* * * * *

"So how far did you say this place was?"

"Not far."

"Um, Heero?"

"*Yes* Duo."

"I don’t think I can make it that much further."

"Why?" Heero stumbled to a halt and drew Duo close as he took a running jump at the nearest conclusion. "Are you alright? You weren’t injured and not telling me?"

"Nah. That’s your trick. Just so cold..." Duo forced out. To Heero’s overactive imagination, his voice sounded weaker, and he was so pale- "Jus’ wanna sleep..."



"Hey! What was that for?" Duo asked indignantly while rubbing his red and smarting cheek.

"Stay awake, it can’t be that far. Take my arm." Heero held out the offered limb.

...

"Duo, take my arm, it won’t bite."

...

"And I mean it this time. Duo?" but the pilot was staring past his worried partner, straight over his shoulder. A grin was slowly plastering itself across his face.

"Heero, look behind you. Do you see what I see?"

* * * * *

A few minutes later the two exhausted boys were standing in the doorway of the ski-cabin that was their salvation.

"Well, it’s standing." Duo sounded a little forlorn.

"It’s better then being outside. You find blankets, I’ll see if there’s any food." But even by Heero’s Spartan standards, the cabin was a little... deserted. Bare. Empty. Old. Cold. A last resort-

/ It’ll just have to do. Duo needs rest before he can go any further, and it’s getting darker outside. Even a place like this should have some tinned food, in case bakas like us get caught out here in a snowstorm. /

And sure enough, in the kitchen Heero found tins of food. Baked beans and pineapple chunks.

/ Well Duo should feel right at home. /

Heero made his way back into the main room and stopped short at the sight before him. Duo had found some blankets and was making them into a bed. With his braid undone to dry, he looked so...

/ You’re staring at him like a lovestruck idiot. Stop before he notices you, baka! /

Right.

"Dinner."

It was all he could think of.

* * * * *

A short time later the boys were feeling a little fuller and a lot warmer. Getting all those wet clothes off had helped. But...

"Duo. You’re moping."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are t- I’m not going to fall for that. There is something wrong."

"Not really. Nothing that can be fixed, anyway. It’s just this time of year makes me a little... tired."

"I noticed."

"Really?" For a moment, Duo’s face lit up in a smile, but as quickly as it came, it was gone again.

"Aa. So I did a little research."

"You did?" Duo looked a little perplexed. "That’s really... huh?"

"Duo, close your eyes."

"Hee-chan, what are you up to?" Now he looked suspicious as well as perplexed. So cute...

/ Stop. Focus. /

"Nothing. Just do it?" Heero gave his best impression of the Duo Patented Puppy dog Eyes Look that never ever ever worked on him. Ever.

It didn’t seem to be having the desired effect though. In fact, far from complying, Duo was... laughing?!

Hn.

The Death Glare still worked.

Making sure Duo wasn’t peeking- he was like a little kid when it came to things like this (and just about everything else)- Heero reached into his bag and drew out a parcel which he deposited in Duo’s lap.

"Open your eyes." It was said softly.

Duo did as he was told and looked down, wonderingly. In his lap was a present. It was crudely wrapped, as if by someone who knew what it was supposed to look like, but hadn’t a clue how to go about it. But it was bright, with little puddings all over the paper, and all tied up in red and green ribbons. Duo looked up at his friend with eyes that were a little brighter than usual.

"Merry Christmas, koi." Heero still spoke softly, and there was a tender look on his face that only Duo was ever permitted to see. "It’s a family holiday, right?"

The present wasn’t opened for a while.

* * * * *

But when it was, it turned out to contain a cooking book,

"Are you trying to tell me something?"

"Aa. Last month you burnt a salad."

Massage oil,

"So this would be for the both of us, huh?"

"Aa."

And,

"Mistletoe, Heero?"

Heero just smiled.

* * * * *

Some time and calorie expenditure later, Duo prodded his semiconscious partner awake.

"Hey, Hee-chan, what do you say when we get back, we cover Nataku in tinsel?"

Heero blinked.

"Tinsel?"

* * * * *

And far above the slumbering pilots... um, far above them, anyway...

Well, it was the first time he’d ever delivered a computer bug as a present, and it certainly hadn’t been easy to get it in the sack, but it was what they deserved. And needed. They had been good boys, after all.

...Merry Christmas!




So, C&C? Pwetty pwease?

Firefly



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