The Awful Truth:

Sunday
(Sometime in the afternoon):

I stand before the full length mirror behind my bathroom door and eye my naked form with a smug grin. Oh, I know I look good physically and I’m very much well-endowed…for my age at least…but that’s not what’s got me grinning like a fool at the moment. Yes, you guessed it. It’s my brand new tattoo that seems to blazon like a dark beacon upon the relatively paler flesh of my left hip (as much as I’d like to go au naturel when it comes to tanning, I think I’ll pass on that offer for now).

Howard had done a great job in capturing just what I had envisioned in my mind. The font used was a combination of Gothic and Kanji (at least it looked that way to me), and he had made the Y in my initials curl around the D in Duo’s. He had wanted to add some other kind of design around it, but I had insisted he leave it that simple. So even if my pants were tugged down accidentally someday, not many people would be able to decipher what it was and if they did, it wouldn’t be too embarrassing to explain. I could always say it’s the initials of my grandparents or of my parents or something.

I caress it gently, feeling my face darken with color as I suddenly imagine Duo ‘discovering’ just where I had put this. I can almost feel his strong fingers touching it like I am. I moan and close my eyes, my breathing becoming rapid and a bit harsh to my ears as I imagine the wicked glint that would come into his eyes and the curl of those full lips and his husky voice saying…

‘Would you like me to kiss it, Heero?’

And I’d probably go…

“Yes…yes…touch me, Duo…kiss me…”

And then his tongue – that pink, hot, delicious thing – would begin to trace the outline of the letters and my hips would jerk in response and I’d forget how to breathe or how to think and I’d feel as if all the blood in my body is rushing to my head and down to my cock. I’d probably scream as he nips and grazes it lightly with his teeth and my knees would weaken and then he’d say…

‘You taste so good, Heero…’

And I’d say, “No…not as good as you do, Duo. I want to see your tattoo…”

And then he’d smile and then he’d pull down his pants and I’d see my name written with heart shapes or something all over it. And he’d look shy and he’d say…

‘Oh, Heero…please don’t be upset. I couldn’t help myself. I love you so much! Please, make mad, mad love to me!’

Okay, that’s stretching it a bit (and that’s not the only thing that seems to be ‘stretching’ either). I hadn’t even realized I had closed my eyes, but opening it now, I can see the obvious and I raise a brow as a few thick drops glisten beneath the fluorescent lights in the room. I wrap my fingers around the needy length and begin to pump slowly in time to fantasy number one million.

Oh, god. I only hope Duo masturbates just as much as I do to him because this is seriously beginning to get a bit embarrassing.


__


Later on that evening:

“You.”

“Hello, yourself, Heero.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Look, haven’t we kept our silence long enough? Let me in, will you? I’ve apologized ten million times already…”

“Ten million times too little if you ask me,” I say around a snort as I get ready to close the door in his face. “Thanks to you, I’m looking at a month’s suspension…possibly.”

“Isn’t that better than being expelled completely?”

“Nothing is better than anything!” I almost scream…and then check to see if my pants are still tight enough. I don’t think I’m ready to reveal my new body art just yet.

“Did you lose weight?”

I blink in surprise and gape at my dark-haired friend in confusion. “Huh?”

“Hmm…” Wufei places a hand beneath his chin and really stares at me, making me feel even more uncomfortable…as well as reaching for the drawstring of my sweatpants to make sure they are as secure as ever. “Something…different about you…”

“Yeah, well there’d be something different about you too if you just realized that your life has taken a complete three-sixty from its original course.”

“Never going to forgive me, are you?”

“Not for as long as I live, asshole.”

He shrugs. “Fair enough. Can I come in now? Trowa and Quatre went to get some food for us.”

“Quatre? I thought he was grounded.” And just why am I still letting him in?

Wufei peels off his jacket and hangs it neatly in my closet as he takes off his shoes and stretches his arms over his head. He looks like he’s lost weight as well. I guess this whole mess has taken its toll on us.

“He was…still is…” Wufei explains as he walks into my bedroom cum living room. He sits on the floor and begins to flip through channels with a small yawn. “But his dad said it was cool enough for him to visit us for a while.”

“Ah…”

“Ah what?”

“Ah nothing.” I scowl. Shit, why are they all here? I had plans to go see Duo and…

“Aren’t you going to get that?”

“Get what?”

He looks at me as if I’ve grown an extra head and then it dawns on me that my phone is ringing off the hook. Reaching for it quickly, I only have the time to notice that my front door is being opened again and the familiar figures of Trowa and Quatre are making their way in. Great. Pizza night and I have run out of plastic forks and plates.

“Hello?”

“Heero?”

“Duo!” Oh man, did I just sound that excited or happy or both.

“Hey.” He sounds flustered as well and that’s all good with me. “I was just wondering if I could come over. I’ve got something I want to…”

“Come!” I interrupt almost desperately causing my friends to gape at me in bemusement. Turning my burning visage away from them, I speak a bit more quietly. “That would be cool. Uuum…all the guys are here so…”

“Really? Awesome! I’ll be there in let’s say…ten, okay?”

“Okay…and uum…Duo?”

“Yeah?”

“Come alone this time, will you?”

“Huh…oh…” He snickers. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll be alone. Andre’s out of town anyway.”

“Ah…” But the dull hum of the dial tone fills my ear, causing me to curse softly. It’s obvious that Duo’s still hanging around that guy and it’s really beginning to irritate me.

“Was that Duo?” Quatre asks as he begins to pass around the cans of root beer. He tosses mine to me as I fall onto the bed and watch my friends settle around my coffee table, while some show on dangerous stunts is being televised. I think that brings many bitter memories for us because Wufei switches the channels quickly and now we’re watching some anime show called ‘Gundam Forever’. Man, whatever will they come up with next?

“Yeah, he’s coming over,” I reply as I raise the cold can to my lips. I drink thirstily, trying hard not to show my excitement, but as usual, Trowa (who’s too damn observant for his own good) eyes me wearily.

“You look happy.”

I try to frown as I lean forward to take a slice of pizza from the opened box. I see they had thoughtfully bought four boxes tonight. “What do you mean?” I ask as carelessly as I can.

“Duo’s coming. You’re happy,” he says flatly as he chews. “That’s not the Heero I know.”

Wufei smirks, his eyes still glued to the screen. A green looking mecha is currently dicing its way through an army of other robot-like gundam things. “Heero’s changed. Next thing you know, he’s going to say he’s gotten himself a tattoo.”

I sputter into my drink and begin to pound my chest as the pizza goes the wrong way. Wheezing through my words, I reply with a ‘What are you talking about?’

“I want to get a tattoo,” Quatre says with a wistful look as he toys with the green peppers on his slice of pizza. “But if my dad found out…”

“He doesn’t have to find out,” Trowa says quietly. “There are tons of places you can have tattoos and no one has to see them…unless you willingly show it to them, that is.”

Man…is it beginning to get hot in this room or what? I keep quiet and allow the conversation to swirl around me. It’s best if I don’t say anything or I’m sure I’ll put my foot in my mouth somehow. Ah, the leader of the good guys on the TV is seriously kicking butt now. I wish I could ride that gundam thing he has. It looks so…cool.

“Earth to Heero!”

“What is it now?” I ask with barely concealed impatience.

“We were just asking what kind of tattoo you’d like if you could get a chance to have one,” Trowa says and with all three pair of eyes trained on me, I feel like I am in the middle of a sauna. My tattoo seems to burn a hole right through my pants and for one moment, I am tempted, so damn tempted, to show them what I have imprinted a few inches away from my left butt cheek.

“Uuumm…well…I….”

The sudden low chime of my doorbell is a blessing in disguise and I quickly get off the bed with a grateful smile and an inner sigh of relief. No one bothers to come after me, thank goodness, and in mere seconds, I find myself face-to-face with a grinning Duo. He’s dressed in a large but rather loose red sweater as it seems to hang off his shoulder a little revealing the tattoo he had gotten from Howard for the concert. Unfortunately, the sweater covers up his waist and butt (which was in a pair of blue jeans that fit him just perfectly) and any questions on if he had gotten another tattoo done will have to be answered at another time.

“Hey, Heero,” he greets as he suddenly leans forward to press his warm lips against mine. I am too shocked at the bold move to react much. But Duo has a way of coaxing me into anything (surprise, surprise) and as I feel my hand tighten around the door knob, my lips part to accept his tongue willingly. I’m not sure if he had wanted to deepen the kiss, but I had already initiated it and there is no turning back now. I close my eyes and moan softly as I feel that teasing hot length of his invade and take me with no apologies whatsoever. I taste him hungrily, knowing that we could have gone further last night, but had both chickened out at the last minute. Of course, it didn’t help that my friends are just a few feet away and any of them could catch us doing this…but goodness, this is heaven and I don’t think I want to get off my cloud just yet.

“Hey, Heero! Did you die out there?!”

Or not.

With a final lick and a gentle suck on Duo’s lower lip, I release him (or was that the other way around) and open up the door a bit wider to let him through. My knees are a bit shaky but I think I’ll survive, if I just take a quick trip to the bathroom that is. I hope I don’t look like I’ve just been thoroughly kissed by someone else. The guys have said that my expressions are a bit too easy to read these days.

“You coming in or are you just going to keep standing by the door?”

I blush in embarrassment and close it, before noticing the small brown bag in Duo’s hand. “What’s that?”

He winks and slips out of his sneakers. “A little something to spice up the night. Let’s go.”

He makes his way into the room and I remain standing with concern and faint anticipation stirring somewhere within the pit of my stomach.

A little something, huh? Oh man…I sincerely hope I survive this one.


__


9.30pm

Apparently, it’s a Gundam Forever marathon.

And I think I’m feeling a bit tipsy.

Damn it, Duo! You know I don’t do well with alcohol!

“Awww hell no!” Duo suddenly screams and I wince and bury my face within my pillow. Oh, my head…it aches…

“Now, if I were the pilot of that gundam, there’s no way I’d let them see me entering enemy territory like that!”

“I still say that there isn’t enough ammunition in the OrangX32,” Trowa chimes in with a wave of his hand. He’s just as engrossed in the damn show….they all are! Who cares about a bunch of stupid robots flying about and firing random shots? I say annihilate the whole bunch by self-detonating and we’ll get on with the show!

“Hmm…perhaps,” Quatre observes as he opens up the webpage devoted to the program. “It says here that OrangX32 is the prototype for Icon13XS2 and that Orang and Icon will have a possible showdown in Episode 32…”

A thunderous roar of ‘NOOOOOOOOO!’ from the others has me wailing in disbelief. Cries of ‘Don’t spoil the damn show for us!’ and ‘Quatre, you bastard! Gimme that laptop!’ and the subsequent struggles to get said laptop and something crashing in my room has me finally snapping.

“ALL RIGHT! SHUT THE HELL UP…ALL OF YOU!”

It’s a rather comedic scene – if you aren’t me at this time, since I’m in a rather foul mood. Quatre and Duo seem to be hung in mid-air – Quatre trying to protect my laptop and Duo making a dive for him. Wufei’s frozen in his quest to catch Duo as his arms are wrapped tightly around the boy’s upper thigh and Trowa had been trying to prevent another cup from crashing to the floor while holding onto the bottle of vodka, Duo had brought it.

Ah fuck it all.

“Don’t…don’t you guys even feel any remorse?” I croak out thickly as I try to stagger to my feet. My room is spinning at a rather alarming rate but I have to say my speech now or they’ll never listen to me. I try to balance myself on the bed and place my hands upon my hips and try to glare at them. “Tomorrow…tomorrow…” I hiccup and try to squash down the giggle and first signs of my lunch from coming up. “We should…should be in school, right? But noooooooo, we’re all stuck ‘ere…drinking and having fun.”

Oh god…maybe I should just go to the bathroom now. I really don’t feel so good.

“We…might…never get to school again…anywhere! And I want…I want…”

Oh hell…I can’t even remember what I’m about to say. I sink back to the bed and curl up in a fetal position, really struggling not to give in to my drunken tendencies. But I think my little incoherent speech had sobered them up, because they all sit back down to the floor slowly with looks of contemplation or remorse on their features.

The ending theme song (rather catchy) for the show comes on and it’s the only thing that fills the, otherwise, dead silence in the room.

“Treize says we should get an answer tomorrow,” Wufei says quietly as he picks up the remote to ‘mute’ the TV. “He did assure us we’d only get a suspension.”

The others nod softly. “I’m going to miss classes to be honest,” Quatre confesses with a sheepish look. “I even went as far as having my uniform cleaned and ironed just to remember that I wouldn’t be able to attend tomorrow.” He flushed in embarrassment and I figured it would be best to keep my mouth shut on that subject since I had done the same thing to my uniform since…well…last Thursday.

“I plan to visit the school tomorrow,” Trowa announces. “Not to go inside…” he adds quickly as he notices the quizzical looks we give him. “Just to…well…you know…”

“We’re not allowed to be within 100 feet of the school grounds until we get word of what’s going to happen to us, remember?” Wufei interrupts with a wan smile.

That sends us into deep thought again and we feel even more miserable than before.

“I still don’t know why you joined us, Duo,” Trowa finally asks in bemusement as he turns to face the silent brunette. “You could have just walked away and let us handle this.”

I pin my gaze on the braided boy and realize that I am holding my breath for his answer. I try to gather moisture in my mouth as a hooded look comes into his gaze. He raises his knees to his chest and leans against the bed. His hair brushes my feet and I find myself wiggling my toes a little to toy with the thick tresses.

“It’s simple,” he says softly before his lips quirk into a small smile that has my friends enraptured. At least, I think they are…could be just my mind playing tricks on me. “It was my choice. I wanted to be with you guys.” He shrugs as if that’s the most rational answer in the world. “I chose to be with you all and that’s that.”

There’s that word again.

He chose to be with us.

Just as he had chosen to be with me.

Does Duo’s past or background have something to do with that word? It had been his choice to come to Fujisaki. His choice to go the distance to be next to me. His choice to risk his future to be with us. It was his decision and it hadn’t been dictated by anyone else. He had gone with his gut reaction or instinct or whatever you want to call it and so far, it’s led him through some pretty interesting outcomes. He is in Fujisaki although he had swindled his way in. He has gotten me…and now my friends. Now what?

“Wow…” Wufei whistles softly as he seems to eye Duo in a whole new light. Actually, there is a light in Wufei’s eyes that I’m not beginning to like very much and to my chagrin the same ‘light’ seems to be reflected in Quatre and Trowa’s eyes as well. What the hell…?

And as if my inner torture isn’t enough, Quatre leans forward to embrace Duo in a hug!

“You are a true friend, Duo,” he says quietly. Okay, Quatre. I think you can let him go now….
“That was a selfless and courageous act…”

“Yeah, man,” Wufei says as too leans close to take over from where Quatre has left off. I sit up a little as I watch his arms make their way around Duo’s neck. Fuck! My head still hurts, but I’ll be damned if I sit here and watch them all fondle and molest Duo in my presence.

“I want to be just like you when I grow up,” Trowa adds with a smile. He leans forward and dares to place a kiss on Duo’s forehead! Oh, now that’s just crossing the fucking line!

And before any of them can say anything, I move forward quickly and try to wedge myself between them without being too obvious. I could always say that I had slipped off the bed.

Unfortunately for me, that’s not the only thing that slips off.

The cold draft that hits my lower backside does a very good job of sobering me up quickly. For a moment, I lie suspended at a rather awkward angle between Duo’s lap and my bed while my sweatpants slide even lower.

Somebody please maim or kill me now!

“Hee…Heero?” someone asks in surprise as I groan and bury my face against Duo’s sweater. I can feel fingertips on my skin and with a fierce yank; I tug my sweatpants back up and still refuse to look at them.

“Was that a….a…uum…?”

“It’s called a tattoo,” I grumble although it does sound muffled. I’m still literally talking to Duo’s chest and it smells great by the way. I don’t even want to know what he’s thinking right about now. “Got a problem with it?”

A heavy silence falls upon us and I’m seriously counting the seconds until my life ends, but instead, I feel Duo’s arms wrap themselves around my waist almost protectively. I can literally hear the grin in his voice as he says quickly (and somehow breathlessly),

“It’s a matching tattoo we both got at the concert on Saturday,” he says and then shifts a little to pull up his sweater. By this time, I’m sitting up as well to see, my curiosity having gotten the better of me. Sure enough, he’s grinning, but looks flushed and extremely pleased about the situation. He begins to unzip his pants and all of us begin to look uncomfortable.

“Eh…Duo…” I begin and then cough. Shit, my voice sounded so thick and needy…and I really wish my dear friends would stop ogling at Duo’s abs so intently.

“It’s okay,” he says around a laugh. “I wore underwear today.”

I blush…hell, we all blush as he lowers his pants a little to reveal his tattoo to us. I catch my breath and feel the world suddenly spin out of control around me. My heart is pounding so fast, I think I’m going to die of a heart attack if I’m not careful. However, I can’t help the giddy pleasure that surges up my spine as I stare at the initials that have been done in pretty much the same way I have mine. The only difference is the small words written below it. I can’t really make out what they are, but that’s the least of my worries right now.

Duo and I have almost the same tattoo! The same! Can you believe that?!

Oh man, I am so happy right now. In fact, I’m so happy that I could just…

“HEERO!!! That’s a new pair of jeans, you bastard!”


~End Period Fourteen~