Heero stared at Duo’s nude form as he rubbed sand against his skin, reveling in the way the grainy flesh felt against his fingertips. He smeared more sand into the thick hair, snickering to himself when he thought about his lover’s vanity, and let his palm drift all the way down Duo’s back. Heero smiled slightly to himself, drinking in the sight of his beloved sleeping next to him, both of them completely naked on a beautiful, abandoned beach, which appeared to be slowly falling into the ocean.

Heero, after smashing more sand into Duo’s hair, propped himself up on his elbows and idly kicked his legs as he surveyed the empty area. Judging by where the sun sat in the sky, he estimated the time to be around seven in the morning, give or take half an hour, and contemplated what to do for the rest of the day. Should they go back to the colonies, now that Relena’s celebration party was over? Should they take Quatre and Trowa’s invitation to join them at one of the estates? His eyebrows furrowed as he thought about that. Even Wufei said that he would join them a few weeks before heading back to the Preventers. This could be enjoyable.

“Hey you.”

Heero turned, surprised but not showing it, to his companion. “Yes Duo?”

“What ‘cha making that face for? Constipated?”

Heero could only snort in response as he watched Duo’s amethyst eyes twinkle with humor. “No, I’m not. Just... thinking.”

“Oh. You’re thinking about Quatre’s offer, huh?” Heero nodded. “Well, I think we should go. It will be fun. Besides, even Wu accepted, and if HE says yes, then we definitely must go.”

“....”

“Great! So it’s settled then. We’re going.”

Heero tried to glare, but lost the will at Duo’s smile. “Fine. I’ll let Quatre know we’ll be joining them. We can met up with them tomorrow.”

“Alright! Good Heero, then we can make a pit stop by Hilde’s... wait a minute. Did you put sand in my hair?”

As innocently as possible, he said, “No.”

“Don’t lie to me. There’s a big chunk of it practically melted in.”

“No.”

“Are you SURE you didn’t put sand in my hair? Cause if you did, I’m going to shave your head bald when you’re asleep!”

“Duo, why would I do something like that?”

Duo gave him a skeptical look, but faltered after a minute. “Fine. I guess I just rolled around a lot or slept on my back or something.” He shrugged. “Um...Heero, can I ask you something?”

The mentioned boy raised an eyebrow. “Duo, we’ve been together for a year now, and you still have to ask if you can ask a question?”

He scowled. “Fine fine, I’ll just spit it out then. Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

Duo rolled his eyes. “Oh please! Last night at Relena’s party, for celebrating a year after Mariemaia, you had just finished your speech on the price of peace. When you got done, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house--well--two dry pairs. Trowa and Wufei wouldn’t be caught dead with any liquid on their faces. Anyway, I told you that I was proud of you and that I love you and you threw me on the table and ripped my clothes off before I even had a chance to blink.”

Heero blushed. “Oh. Yeah. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. *I* certainly wasn’t sorry.” He grinned. “I loved it actually, but I don’t think Zechs and especially Relena appreciated seeing my ass viewed from that angle. Well, maybe Zechs did appreciate it, but that’s beside the point.”

“Hn.”

“Of course, I’ve never seen that much blood sprout from someone’s nose before. Wufei always manages to teach me new things, no matter what the cost to him.”

“Hn.”

“Or that Trowa even laughed! The way he was roaring, I thought one of his lions was roaming around.”

“Hn.”

“And Quatre was too cute trying to cover us up with his tuxedo jacket. Oh yeah, when you call him, tell him I’m sorry about sticking my foot in his mouth. It was an accident. He kinda got in the way when I was trying to do your favorite pretzel position-”

“Duo!”

“Yes stallion?” He waggled his eyebrows.

“What was your question?”

“Huh? Oh yeah! Why did you do that? I was caught by surprise, you know? You’re usually the one who worries about how we’re perceived in public. But that was all shot to hell last night, and in front of Relena’s parliament no less.”

Heero shrugged slightly. “Well, you told me you loved me with all your heart and soul.”

“Yeah, well, that’s because I do! I tell you all the time. What’s that to do with anything?”

Heero held one of Duo’s hands between both of his. “Well, I know that I don’t say it back to you often because...it’s not enough, but at the same time it’s too much.”

“Huh?”

Heero sighed. “Telling you I love you doesn’t compare at all to how I really feel about you. It’s like trying to shovel this beach with a spoon. It’s not enough for me to just tell you. But then me trying not to touch, kiss, and love you when you’re around me is like putting the sun in a bottle. It’s impossible to do. The bottle’s not big enough. It can’t hold all of the sun in.”

Duo’s eyes watered with inexplicable joy as he pounced on Heero, kissing the boy passionately. They spent the rest of the day making love on the deserted beach, the only other witness to their bonding being the sun, which smiled gently down on them.

(end)