CHAPTER EIGHT:

The sharp clap of thunder followed by the brilliant flash of lightening, caused Heero to bury himself deeper within his blankets. There was no way he was going to class under this condition. No way he was going to class today…period. He peeked his head out of the dark covers and glared at the object of his predicament.

The laptop gazed back innocently.

Heero’s frown deepened. “I did not enjoy the kiss, you hear me?! I did not!” As if to emphasize his vehement denial, another loud thunderclap finished off his sentence. Groaning weakly, he covered up his face again and tried to will his stubborn body under control. It was exactly five hours and twenty-two minutes since he had kissed Duo and his mouth still tingled and burned with the memory. He had kept telling himself that he had only done it to make the other boy shut up.

Nice way to get him to do that, Heero. That was the only plan you could come up with? You could have covered his head with a pillow. Or even run out of the room. But, nooooo, you just had to do that, didn’t you?

“That doesn’t mean that I liked it.”

Big fat liar.

A knock on his door snapped him out of his reverie. He sat up on his bed and stared at the black door with his heart pounding fiercely now. He felt his mouth go dry and he had to swallow to work up some moisture into his parched throat. He hoped and prayed it wouldn’t be…him.

“Who…?” He cleared his throat, angry to find his first attempt at speaking, sounded like a frightened school girl’s squeak. “Who is it?”

“Oi! It’s me, Duo! You forgot something in my room last night. So being the friendly guy that I am, I decided to bring it back to you.”

Heero blinked and thought frantically. What did he leave in Duo’s room? He had the laptop that much was certain. So what the hell…?

“Are you going to open up or not?” came the laughing voice.

Duo was mocking him. He probably thought that Heero was too chicken to face him after last night. Well, Heero was not about to allow that to happen. Slipping out of his bed, aware he was still clad in his outfit from last night, he opened  the door to face the smirking face of his rival. Quick eyes spanned the casual t-shirt with the words ‘Black Sabbath’ written on it in gothic-like letters and the blue jeans that hugged lean hips and thighs. Duo, apparently, liked going about on bare feet too. Heero raised his eyes and stared into amused violet depths. He had to grip the edge of his door knob to support his knees, which had threatened to give way. It was a major miracle his face hadn’t lost its composure yet. He still looked calm and detached.

“What do you have to give me?” he asked coolly.

Duo, who had been leaning beside a wall, straightened up and grinned. “Aren’t you going to invite me in? After all, you got a good look at my place last night…without my permission.”

“Give me what is mine and go away, Duo. I am warning you.”

The grin turned into a smirk. “Or what? Are you going to hit me? Or lemme guess, try to kiss me again? Tsk, never knew Heero Yuy, would have to resort to such cheap methods to get me to give something up.”

Heero bristled and growled softly, his grip on the doorknob threatening to snap the damn thing off its hinges. “What do you mean by that?”

Duo placed his hands on his hips and stuck his face within inches of the other boy. “I mean that if last night’s display was supposed to be a kiss, then you are sadly lacking in that department, buddy.”

“Are you trying to say that I am not a good kisser?” Heero couldn’t believe they were actually having this conversation. This whole thing was turning out to be one weird dream sequence. He watched Duo raise an eyebrow and he suddenly felt like he had to defend himself. He hated the fact that Duo had not enjoyed it as much as he had…

I DID NOT ENJOY IT!!

“Well…you said it, not I,” Duo said casually, his braid flipping to the front of his shirt. He twiddled idly with the end of it and tapped the…flashlight he had been holding against his thighs. Heero wondered why he hadn’t noticed that before. Duo was too distracting.

“Look, I do not have the time to do this…”

“Gosh, your room is pretty dark. Why don’t you open up the windows or something?’

And before Heero could say another word, Duo had pushed past him and had now begun making his way towards the closed cream-colored drapes. Flinging them open, both boys were faced with furious winds and rain that rattled strongly against the window panes.

“Bleh…what a day, huh?” Duo said. “And here I was planning to enjoy my horse-riding lessons.”

Heero found that he was looking pretty stupid holding out the door for a boy that was apparently not planning to leave anytime soon. Closing the door shut, with his heart still filling his throat, he closed his eyes and counted slowly to ten to get his bearings in order. He could handle this. He could stay alone in a room with his mortal enemy and not choke…

“Did you do this?! Wow!”

Heero opened his eyes and stared at Duo in disbelief. “What the fuck are you doing there?! That is private!”

He made a mad dash for his portfolio, but Duo sidestepped him nimbly, holding the large black book above his head. Laughing gleefully, he watched as Heero tripped over his couch and landed gracelessly upon it. Ignoring the look of death that was thrown at him, Duo flipped open a page and stared at the drawings.

“For someone who is so concerned about privacy, you sure know how to invade someone else’s.”

Heero finally got the idea. “If you are trying to punish me for coming into your room last night without your permission, then you have gotten your wish. Now give me back my portfolio.”

“Hmm…nice apples. Nope, Heero, my friend,” Duo replied easily, his eyes still pinned on the book. “You have never dealt with a Maxwell, ne? I do not forgive that easily. You had no right coming into my room. I would have given the stupid thing to you anyway; when I felt like it, but, no, you had to come into my room and invade my space….not to mention that pathetic display you put up as well.”

“Fuck you.”

Duo peeled his eyes away from the book and stared in mock shock at the furious figure before him. “I beg your pardon, my sensitive ears didn’t quite catch that. What did you say again?”

Heero clenched his hands into fists and growled out softly. “I said fuck you, Maxwell. Get the hell out of my room, now!”

“And if I don’t?” Duo asked, his own fury rising. He dropped the portfolio to the ground and stared evenly back at the blue depths that blazed before him. “You cannot do anything to me, Yuy. I will crush you like the little bastard that you are. And I wonder how the school authorities are gonna take the news that the almighty Heero Yuy hacked into their systems and disarmed the alarm system AND had the guts to steal from another student! That won’t look too good on your resume, I can assure you of that!”

“YOU STOLE MY LAPTOP FROM ME, FOOL!!”

“OH, YEAH, WELL YOU…YOU…ALMOST RAPED ME LAST NIGHT! HA!”

Heero’s jaw dropped at the accusation, his face going from crimson to pale in seconds. Duo looked a bit mystified at his statement, but that didn’t stop the look of irritation on his face. He watched in growing bemusement as Heero walked away from him to stand beside the window. He noticed the shaking shoulders and blinked. Was the other boy…crying?

“Umm…hey, Heero, look…I didn’t mean…”

His words were cut short as the laughter burst out of the brown-haired boy’s mouth. Rich laughter filled with mirth that sent shivers of awareness down Duo’s spine. Shivers that were quickly replaced with anger.

“What the fuck is so funny?”

Heero wiped a hand across his eyes and spun around to face Duo. “You are. Of all the stupid reasons to give…it had to be rape, ne? And I thought you were an original. How lame.”

“Are you calling me stupid?!” Duo bellowed. He was going to punch someone’s lights out in seconds.

Heero smirked and folded his arms. “Actually, I am.”

“Why, you good for nothing…” With the same speed that had surprised the others at the cafeteria table, Duo struck out a fist to punch into the smirking face before him. His goal was never attained, however, for an even faster one had captured his hand. Duo blinked in disbelief and tried with the other one, only to have the same thing happen. His hands were now gripped tightly within Heero’s and both boys were now engaged in a stalemate. Heels dug into the ground, teeth bared, breaths coming out harshly, eyes burning with something they both knew was more than just hate.

“I will fucking kill you, Yuy,” Duo grit out coldly.

“Not if I kill you first,” Heero responded in kind. And in a sudden move, he kicked out a leg and sent Duo sprawling to the floor. Not to be outdone, Duo stuck out his own leg and ended up sending Heero sprawling across him. Trying to stumble to his feet, Heero tried to flee the mad clutches of the angry boy beneath him. Duo didn’t think so. Clutching a fistful of the green tank top, the accompanying rip of material filled the silent room. Duo stared blankly at the piece of green cloth in his hand, while Heero eyed the tattered remains on his body.

“An eye for an eye, Maxwell.”

And before Duo could think, he watched as Heero reached for his prized t-shirt and unceremoniously ripped it from scruff to hem, successfully exposing his chest in the process. A gasp of shock went through Duo before the shiver from the cold chill in the room followed. He sat up and stared at the remains of his shirt, clutching them together as if hoping they would somehow miraculously be fixed back again.

“You goddamn bastard. That was my favorite shirt!”

“Tit for fucking tat, Maxwell. This was my favorite too!”

Both boys sat on their haunches and glared at each other. Sweating and quite aware of their current state of undress, which did nothing to hide their state of arousal, Duo stood up abruptly and tried to walk away…which was proving to be quite the painful experience. He had to release himself or he would explode in mere seconds without doing a thing.

Heero couldn’t even trust himself to move. He eyed the perfectly shaped figure before him and had to stifle a moan as the memories of being close to Duo’s bare skin last night filled his mind. Before he could stop himself, he choked out the next words that wouldn’t stop running around in his head.

“What did you mean by my pathetic display last night?”

Duo stiffened and licked his lips. “Which part? Coming into my room or the kissing part?”

“You know what I am talking about, Maxwell.”

Oh, Duo knew all right, but he wanted to prolong Heero’s torture a bit more. “Look, I know you are not the greatest when it comes to things of the…sexual side, Yuy. After all, everyone knows how repressed your family is, so, yes…I will say that on the scale of one to ten, your kissing ranks in the low ones.”

Heero felt like he had been slapped, but he hid it carefully. He was glad Duo wasn’t looking his way, or the tell-tale blush of mortification would have been a dead give away. “You seemed to enjoy it last night.”

It was Duo’s turn to blush. “What makes you say that?”

Heero stood up and walked towards the now frozen figure. With a smirk on his face, he trailed light fingers down the braided boy’s back, smiling as the responding gasp and shiver accompanied his actions. “You said I was pathetic, right, Duo?” He whispered huskily, as he leaned in to place a light nip against the exposed neck. An unwilling whimper escaped Duo’s lips as his eyes closed. His lips parted as he felt Heero’s strong hands press themselves against his hips. He groaned as the lean body behind him ground slowly against his own backside, Heero’s lips continuing the slow torture of kissing his neck.

He tried to make a coherent sentence. “I…I…fuck!”

Heero had reached forward and had now placed his hands against the bulging evidence of Duo’s arousal. The sharp buck from Duo caused him to thrust in response and before long both boys danced against each other in movements that were nothing short of erotic. Twisting his head around, Duo seized waiting warm lips with his in what must have been a mind blowing one to both of them. Wrapping an arm around Heero’s neck and sinking his fingers into the unruly brown locks, they continued their forbidden dance, their kisses becoming more frantic as they gradually approached their peak. Heero stroked the hardened flesh through the coarse cloth, wishing he could do more than that, the pressure of Duo’s taut cheeks against his own member caused him to increase his motions.

Oh, god, he was going to come. Releasing his lips from the swollen ones before him, he squeezed his eyes shut as the heady rush of his release came flooding out in a whirlpool of heightened emotions. “Oh…god…” He whispered in an awe-inspired voice, as he felt the sticky wetness fill his shorts and run down his thighs. In mere seconds, Duo released his own essence, watching with dazed eyes as it soaked his jeans and spread its warmth into Heero’s palms. Both trembling and unable to stand up any longer, they collapsed to the floor still entangled within each other’s arms. Panting and trying to get their breaths back, they both gazed at the ceiling for answers.

Finally, Duo spoke up. “You could have at least taken my pants off. How the hell am I supposed to leave this place now without everyone ogling at me?”

Heero tugged softly at the braid and whispered into Duo’s ear, hoping that what he would say would not make him sound too needy. “You don’t have to leave…yet…”

Duo stiffened and blinked. Raising himself up, he lay above Heero and stared into the flushed face. “What do you mean by that?”

“I meant…” Heero tried to say again, as he noticed the frown on Duo’s face.

Kuso! He doesn’t like you remember, Heero? He was only doing this for payback! Get a fucking grip!

“Forget it.”

“Huh? Oof…hey, take it easy! You don’t have to push me so hard!”

Heero had pushed Duo off him and was now making his way towards his closet. Grabbing an extra t-shirt and a pair of jeans, he tossed them to Duo without looking at him. “Put those on. They should fit you.”

Duo caught the clothes and stared at the back of the silent Heero. What was the major turn around for? Heero had wanted him to stay and he would have…or would he? It suddenly seemed like everything was going in a blur. One minute they were about to rip each other’s heads off, the next minute they were doing the ‘Lambada.’[1] Sighing deeply, he changed into the offered clothes, gently inhaling the unique scent that was Heero within the soft cotton.

“I am finished,” he said quietly as he noticed that Heero still hadn’t turned around to face him. Sighing again, Duo picked up his clothes and made his way slowly to the door.

Aren’t you going to ask me to stay? his mind begged feverishly.  Don’t make me walk out this door. We could be…

“See you around, I guess,” he mumbled softly and listening to the muttered ‘Hn’ that was his reply, he stumbled out of the now claustrophobic room with burning eyes.

As soon as the soft click of the door shutting was heard, Heero finally slumped his tense shoulders and sank to the floor in defeat, and with a choked sob, he lowered his face into his palms and silently cursed his family name.

~&~&~&~&~&~

Duo made his way blindly down the hallway. He ignored the greetings and smiles that were thrown at him. He didn’t want to see anyone at this moment. All he felt like doing was burying or locking himself away in his room and never coming out again. He felt like a total and complete fool. It had taken him nearly an hour to work up the nerve to even go to Heero’s room this morning. He had had the perfect plan. Steal a quick kiss and then vanish again. No sweat, right?

So much for that…

He had gotten more than he had bargained and it suddenly felt like his heart had been ripped into tiny pieces. Damn that bastard, anyway! Who the fuck needed him?!

 He was just about to open up his door when strong hands placed themselves upon his shoulder.

He snarled and raised furious eyes to lash out at the person, when he came face-to-face with knowing green eyes. “Leave me alone, Trowa. I just want to be alone for a while.”

“I understand,” came the calm reply.

“What the fuck do you know?!” Duo spat out in derision. “You don’t know what it’s like to be me! I don’t need any of your mentor bullshit, right now! Okay?!” He was furious to find the tears streaking down his cheeks. How could he display this much weakness? “I just want to be left the fuck alone!”

Withdrawing himself angrily from Trowa’s hold, he opened up his door and slammed it behind him. Sinking to the floor, he buried his face in an arm and pounded his free hand into the floor.

It just wasn’t fair.

~&~&~&~&~

Quatre whistled happily as he came down the hallway towards Duo’s room. Since no one was going to class today, he had decided to spend the day with Duo and maybe get Wufei…except that Wufei had threatened to use him as a punching bag and that plan had been scratched out quickly. Hoisting the bag of CDs and books/magazines, he stopped short as he noticed the still figure of Trowa beside Duo’s door.

Rushing towards the taller boy, Quatre looked worried. “Is everything all right, Trowa? How is Duo? Is he okay? Is he sick?”

Trowa smiled softly at the frantic look on the blond’s face and shook his head. “Duo has some issues he has to solve on his own. He will not be accepting visitors for some time…I think.”

“Oh…”

Trowa noticed the long face and placed a reassuring hand upon Quatre’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, I am sure he will snap out of it soon. Are those CDs I see in there?”

Quatre managed a small smile and nodded. “Yeah…Duo likes to listen to them, so I thought I would bring them over to him. But I guess I will have to take it back…”

“You don’t have to.”

“What? Do you mean…?”

Trowa shrugged and motioned toward his rooms. “I have a CD player. You can come and hang out with me if you want.”

Quatre blinked at the offer, a small blush dusting his pale cheeks. “Umm…if I am not too much of a bother then…sure! Why not?”

A light chuckle escaped the junior’s lips as he led the freshman into his room. Giving one last look at Duo’s door, he hoped the American wouldn’t hide too long in his misery.

~&~&~&~&~&~

“Good afternoon. I am Amanda Barnes and this is the news at noon. And now our top story. In the ever winding tale of family feuds and hate, the ongoing saga between the Maxwells and the Yuys seems to have  no end  in sight. Earlier today, there was a deadly shootout between members of each faction. Believed to have begun by a Yuy, one witness claimed that the young man had pulled a weapon and had fired it point blank into the taunting Maxwell. Police are yet to confirm the names of the family members, but as of right now, it is believed to be the nephew of David Maxwell and a cousin of Odin Yuy. Both David and Odin were asked to comment on this incident, but we have gotten no word or statements from their lawyers. Remember to keep it posted on your local channel, for further updates on this case…”

~&~&~&~&~

“You sent for me, sir.”

“Yes, Murasaki. Prepare a jet for me. I think I will pay my son a little visit.”

“Hai!”

~&~&~&~&~

“Mr. Maxwell, sir.”

“Is the private jet ready for take-off?”

“Yes, sir. Everything is ready to go. Mrs. Maxwell is already in the limousine.”

“Good.”

With a heavy sigh, David Maxwell walked sedately to the windows, his eyes never seeing the pelting rain outside his window.

I hope you kept your promise, son. You don’t know how much I need you now.