Disclaimer:  I don't own Gundam Wing, or its characters
(Darn!) and I don't own the song "Yonder Blue", which was
written by Christine Lavin.  Because I am feeling very
unoriginal at the moment (and my muse refuses to help me
with titles), I'm just naming the fic after the song.

Warnings:  Shonen ai, 1+2, implied 3+4, sap

Ramblings:  Well, this is only the second Gundam Wing fic
I've ever written, and it's a good deal sappier than the
first.  As for Solstice, SkyEye, PlaidDragon, and Duo's
Chick, all of whom encouraged me to write this, ::points an
accusing finger::  I BLAME YOU!!!!!
Hee hee.  Just kidding.  Actually, I'm grateful to you guys
for the encouragement and advice.

Yonder Blue
By Rapunzel
(rapunzel800@hotmail.com)

   [I see on the news it's raining in London
   Forty-six degrees
   I hope you packed your raincoat darling
   A scarf to protect you from the chilly breeze
   I'm looking at the balmy Pacific
   A kick line of palm trees
   Oh, you're in London, it's raining
   Forty-six degrees]

Duo stared out the window at the ocean and the beach as the
taxi drove by.  Instead of being impressed with the scenery
of the coast of California, as he normally would have been,
Duo merely amused himself by counting the palm trees they
passed.  It wasn't that he found the view displeasing; he
just wished that he had someone to share it with.  A very
specific someone...

Duo shook his head; he must have been getting more
sentimental as he got older.  Odd, he'd always thought that
the exact opposite would happen.  But then, the war had made
it hard for him to revel in romantic thoughts.  Now that the
war was over, and he didn't have to worry about an imminent
OZ attack, he had more time to think about his life with
Heero.  Unfortunately, that also meant that he had more
time to dwell on the problems.

The most immediate problem was geographic.  Duo had been
sent to attend a conference on the west coast of America,
while Heero was in England.  They talked over the phone,
but Duo would have much preferred to see Heero in person. 
Several times, he had considered calling up his boss and
requesting that next time he was sent to attend
conferences, he be allowed to take Heero with him.  To
distract himself from such useless notions, he thought of
his conversation with Heero the previous night.

"Hi, Heero," he'd practically purred when he'd heard the
other's voice.

"Hi Duo.  Running up the phone bill again, baka?"

Duo had grinned.  "Nope.  This one's on the company, not
me."

Heero had snorted.  "I guess this would fall into the
category of extra company spending.  Isn't that what the
conferences you're going to are about?"

"Yup.  Ironic, isn't it?"

"So, aside from the conferences, which I know you think are
boring, how is it there?"

"Great!" Duo had said.  "I'm working on my tan."

"Lucky devil," Heero had replied.  "It's pouring rain over
here."

"I thought you liked the rain."

"I do, but too much of it can be depressing."

"Well, try to stay dry, koi.  I don't want you to catch a
cold."
`
"Hn."

Sitting back in the taxi and remembering, Duo smiled to
himself and wondered if it had stopped raining yet where
Heero was.  He supposed he could always check the weather
report later.

   [I read in the paper it's foggy in Paris
   They forecast scattered showers
   I picture you standing in a light drizzle
   At the base of the Eiffel Tower
   I am due to arrive in Vancouver
   In about a couple of hours
   Oh, you're in Paris, it's foggy
   Expecting scattered showers]

The next day, Duo was still pensive.  Of course, he still
had lots of time on his hands to be pensive.  He was now
sitting on a plane headed to Vancouver, where his next
conference was scheduled.  Happily, this was one of the
last ones.  He'd been away from Heero for over a week now,
and he was starting to feel almost lonely.  Of course, he
still talked to Heero on the phone.  Heero was heading to
the old city of Paris that day.  /I guess I should be
jealous,/ he thought, /having Heero go without me to what
has been know as one of the most romantic cities on Earth
for hundreds of years./  It had been a little harder to be
jealous when Heero had informed him that the weather in
Paris wasn't much better than it had been in England. 
However, Duo realized that Vancouver wasn't exactly
promising sunny skies either.

   [Half the world away are we
   I worry about you constantly
   Are you dry?  Are you warm?
   Are you safe from the storm?
   Are you taking your vitamins regularly?]

Looking down at the clouds below, Duo wondered for the
thousandth time where Heero was at that moment and what he
was up to.  Not knowing for a week whether or not Heero was
warm enough or comfy enough was driving him nuts.  He'd been
spoiled after the war by having Heero almost constantly
nearby, since there were no missions to take him away. 
Again, he seriously considered asking his boss to let them
travel together the next time he went on a business trip. 
What made this course of action more difficult was that he
didn't really have an official excuse to take Heero with
him.  After all, they weren't really married.

   [I'd trade all I've got to be with you
   That's something you have not asked me to do
   So I travel around
   I barely touch ground
   When you call from yonder blue]

Duo sighed.  That was one of the aspects of his
relationship that bothered him the most.  He and Heero
lived together, but as far as the law was concerned, they
might as well have had nothing to do with each other.  It
made Duo frustrated to see Trowa and Quatre already married
(or legally joined as a couple, to use the official term,
since there were still people who hated to dignify such a
relationship with the title of marriage), while Heero was
still too shy to bring up the subject.  Duo frowned.  Well,
shy wasn't the right word for Heero.  He wasn't shy, but he
still had a hard time breaking the his training when it
came to emotions.  He had never really made any emotional
commitments before he and Duo had become involved.  His
only loyalty had been to Dr. J, and above all, the mission.

Duo also tread warily around the subject of marriage,
partially because he was worried about scaring Heero off. 
However, he had begun to realize that he wanted to be
recognized as being married to Heero, and that if he waited
for Heero to bring up the subject, he would probably be in
his sixties at least before that ever happened.

Duo continued thinking along these lines as the plane
landed in Vancouver.  /What to do, what to do,/ he mused as
he got off the plane and went to look for a phone so he
could call Heero.

   [The pilot says it's warm and sunny in New York
   The skies are crystal clear
   I'm descending from the west, you're descending from the
east
   Please let this be our year]

Duo hurried through the terminal, looking for the right
gate number.  Outside, the weather seemed to reflect his
mood with its sunny skies and gentle breezes.  Finally!  He
was going to see Heero again after a week of absence.  It
was odd how when he was with Heero, a week hardly seemed
like any time at all, but when they were apart, it seemed
like an eternity.

   [I can't wait to see your face
   Hold your sweet body near
   Oh, it's warm and it's sunny in New York City
   The skies are crystal clear
   The future looks rosy
   Let's get cozy
   Hey stranger!  Over here]

Finally having found the right gate, Duo waited impatiently
for the passengers to disembark.  When they did, he scanned
the crowd until he spotted the familiar tousled dark brown
hair.  As soon as he'd seen it, he was off and running.  He
went into a flying tackle, and had glomped Heero before the
other even had time to realize what was happening.  Duo
straightened up and grinned.

"Miss me?" he asked.

Heero responded with his typical "Hn."

"Is that a yes 'Hn' or a no 'Hn'?" Duo teased.

Instead of answering verbally, Heero grabbed him around the
waist, pulled him over to a relatively private corner, and
kissed him.  "Does that answer your question?" he asked.

Duo nodded emphatically.  Then his smile faded and he took
a deep breath to steady himself.

Heero observed the change.  "Is anything wrong?" he asked.

Duo shook his head, then wordlessly pressed something into
Heero's hand.  Heero brought his hand up to look at it.  It
was a small black box.

"Duo, this isn't what I think it is... is it?"

Duo shifted nervously.  "Well, that would depend on what
you think it is, now wouldn't it?"  The he grinned.  "Well,
you can open it and see after we get your baggage and head
outside, okay?"

An evil smirk crossed Heero's face, and he handed the box
back to Duo.  "Uh uh.  I'm not going to accept it unless
you present it to me properly.  Knowing you and your love
of comfort, I think I'm correct in assuming that you'd
rather kneel on the carpet in here than on the pavement
outside."

"Well, okay.  If you put it like that…"  Duo took a deep
breath, then dropped to one knee and opened the box to show
the simple ring inside.  "Heero Yuy, will you marry me?"

"Hai."  Heero had never been one to beat about the bush.

Duo was thrilled.  He jumped up, embraced Heero, and gave
him one of the biggest, sloppiest kisses know to man.

"Get a room!" somebody yelled at them, and they broke
apart, blushing and reflecting that their little corner of
the terminal was not quite as private as they would have
liked.

Duo took one look at Heero's crimson face, and burst out
laughing.  "Come on," he managed in between chuckles. 
"Let's get your luggage."

And they walked off together.

Fini

Author's note:  I always read fics where Heero presents Duo
with a ring, so I decided to do it the other way around. ^.^