Winter Wishes

Not that he'd ever think of acting on that crush. Every time that Duo had ever gotten close to the Japanese pilot, Heero had backed off big time. Sometimes they were best friends, almost close to pushing their relationship to the next level, but then before it could get there, Heero would distance himself. Duo wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want that kind of relationship or if it was something else entirely. Unfortunately, neither of them seemed comfortable enough to actually ask the other and recently they had been on hiatus. So, going sledding seemed to signal that Heero was once again pursuing his friendship with the braided boy.

Heero watched Duo pull on his black winter jacket, then wrap a long gray scarf around his neck. The scarf, with a pair of matching gray gloves and wool hat, had been a present to Duo from Wufei. This was the situation that had caused Heero more headaches over the past year than any mission ever had. It was obvious to Heero how much the Chinese pilot liked Duo, though the Deathscythe pilot himself seemed totally oblivious to the entire situation. Heero and Wufei themselves had grown rather close over time and the last thing Heero wanted to do was upset his dark eyed friend by pushing his relationship with Duo. This left Heero in quite a bind, keeping one boy happy seemed to upset the other, leaving the Japanese pilot to seesaw between them.

"Ready!" Duo chirped, breaking Heero out of his daze. "We'll see you guys later! Remember, we're all gonna go ice skating tonight!"

Duo flew out the front door as Heero pulled his jacket on as well, leaving him in the room with the other three pilots. Quatre and Trowa sat snuggled together on the couch, the little blonde's head laying in Trowa's lap fast asleep as the retired circus clown prepared another letter for his sister. The two looked absolutely perfect together and it amazed the Japanese pilot that they had yet to admit it to each other. Quatre seemed to be waiting on Trowa to make the first move, which was probably the reason why they weren't together yet. Trowa was not known to be the most ambitious person in the world. Hopefully, their little skating session later would help.

On the other side of the room sat Wufei, curled up next to the fire, reading a book. Heero couldn't help but notice how beautiful the Chinese boy looked right then, his hair uncharacteristically down, softening his face, dressed his traditional white attire. It was so rare to see Wufei so completely relaxed as he was now, concentrating on the book before him and totally unaware of the dark haired boy gawking at him from across the room.

"Heero! C'mon!" Duo called back into the house before slamming the door again.

Wufei looked up, meeting Heero's eyes briefly before breaking the contact. He didn't want him to see the jealousy and fear that he knew his eyes would betray. He knew that if Heero wanted to, he could have Duo, and though he knew how happy that would make the American, he couldn't help but wish he was in Heero's place. No matter how hard he tried, Duo just didn't seem to notice. He was too busy trying to get Heero's attention.

Heero headed out the door as Wufei turned away, meeting Duo outside. His smile showing Heero how happy he was just to spend time with him. Heero felt the corners of lips turn up at the thought. Being close to the American always seemed to do that to him and there were times he seriously considered taking their relationship further, to the level that Duo obviously wanted. But no matter what happened, he refused to hurt the Chinese boy, even if that meant pushing Duo away again.

Duo pulled the huge plastic disk sled up the hill, his braid swinging back and forth and trailing behind him like a tail. Heero followed behind him, not quite as eager as his friend, but having fun none the less. They'd finally found a hill that Duo deemed appropriate for sledding and the braided boy was running ahead to make the first run himself. Heero watched as Duo made it to the top of the hill, his braid snapping around and hitting him in the face as he turned to face Heero, grinning. Heero couldn't help but smile back.

"Go ahead and make a run. I'll take the next one."

"Sure thing!" Duo nodded happily and plopped down on the sled.

Heero paused in his climbing to watch as Duo got himself situated upon the huge disk, planting his feet in front of him to keep himself in place. As soon as he was ready, he was off, flying down the hill with a whoop as he picked up speed. Heero's smile faded as Duo reached the end, moving quickly up another small hill and flying into the air. Heero watched helplessly as the sled flew out from under Duo, sending to him crashing to the ground, flat on his back.

"Duo!" Heero cried as he raced down the hill.

Duo lay in the snow, staring up at the clear blue ski as his breath came back to him. Damn, that hurt. He'd had the wind knocked out of him before and he'd fallen from high places, but all those times had been when he'd been expecting it and he'd been a little more prepared. Suddenly, the sky disappeared from view as Heero's face appeared above his own.

"Daijoubu des ka?"

Duo shook his head to the side, indicating the opposite of the answer he spoke.

"Hai, hai."

Heero frowned as he held two fingers in front of Duo's face.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

Duo smirked, despite the small headache he was quickly developing. Any time spent with Heero was time well spent and a little pain certainly wasn't going to stop him.

"Four."

The frown on Heero's face moved quickly to a sigh of relief before proceeding on to a scowl.

"Baka. Be serious."

The braided boy laughed as he tried to sit up, ignored the dizzy feeling that the action brought about and turned to face his friend.

"Why? Ya worried about me?"

Heero pouted as he took Duo's hand, pulling the boy up onto his feet again. He definitely didn't want to be made fun of, so he would never admit how scared he had been of the American getting hurt. After picking up the sled, he began to make his way up another part of the hill, never letting go of Duo's hand.

"Oh, no, Heero. Don't think I'm gonna do that again. I don't consider getting the wind knocked out of me to be fun."

Heero continued to pull Duo behind him as he plodded up the snow-covered hill, his grasp on Duo's wrist preventing him from escaping.

"We're not gonna go down the same side. You flew into the air because the hill at the bottom acted as a ramp. It won't happen again if we avoid it."

Duo shook his head in disbelief as he continued to climb.

"No way. Uh-uh. There is no way you're getting me back on that sled."

Heero turned as the reached they top and gave Duo a small smile before situating himself on the front of the sled.

"Get on."

Duo raised an eye-brow as Heero spoke.

"What?"

"You heard me, now get on!"

Duo looked skeptical for a moment before giving into his desire to wrap his arms around Heero's waist as he sat down on the sled behind the Wing pilot. After snuggling into the back of Heero's neck for a moment, Duo squeezed his arms, indicating he was set.

"Ready?" Heero asked as he felt Duo's arms tighten over his stomach.

"Hai! Just don't get me killed," Duo laughed nervously.

"I would never hurt you," Heero whispered to himself, his voice fading into the winter wind.

Heero lifted his feet onto the sled and pushed off, sending them speeding down the hill. Both boys laughed as the cold wind rushed through their hair, burning their cheeks and making their eyes water. Each time they hit a bump, Duo clung to Heero, more for the pleasure of just holding him then from the fear of flying again. As the sled made it to the bottom of the hill, Heero tumbled to the side, pulling Duo with him into the snow, both boys laughing loudly.

Duo turned to face Heero, propping himself up on his elbow as they laid there in the snow, side by side. Heero quieted as he noticed the silence and looked up to find Duo staring down at him through his snow covered bangs. Absentmindedly, the Wing pilot removed one of his gloves, and brushed Duo's hair out of his face, allowing those beautiful violet eyes to meet his own. His hand swept across Duo's cheek, the warm of it burning on the frozen skin as Heero pulled away.

"Hee-chan?" Duo asked quietly as Heero pulled his glove back on.

"Hmm?" Heero answered, not even taking the time to snap at Duo for the nickname.

"Can I tell you something? Will you promise not to get mad?"

"Of course," Heero answer, slightly perplexed by the seriousness Duo had suddenly taken on.

Duo bit his lip nervously, not really sure how he wanted to go about this, but certain that he was sick of playing games.

"I... I wanted to tell you that... that I like you. I like you a lot..."

Shit, Heero thought. He'd been trying his best to avoid this. He should've recognized that this was coming, but now it was too late. Maybe he could pretend he didn't understand.

"I know, Duo. I like you, too."

Duo sighed in annoyance.

"That's not what I mean. I, I really like you..."

Heero closed his eyes, silently wishing there was some way he could get out of this position without hurting anyone.

"I know..."

Duo watched Heero in confusion. The Japanese boy didn't seem mad or annoyed or any of the emotions that Duo thought would come with his declaration. Instead, Heero seemed upset and was acting as if he was trying to ignore it altogether.

"Are... are you ok with that?"

Keeping his eyes closed, Heero nodded an affirmative.

Duo pressed his lips tightly together in thought, waiting a few moments before speaking once again.

"Do you... like me?"

Heero hesitated again before nodding again. Lying would be stupid and hurt Duo's feelings, one of the many things he was trying to prevent from happening.

Now Duo was really lost. If he liked Heero and Heero liked him, then why did the Japanese boy lying before him act as if something was wrong. It was a problem that was too perplexing for Duo's limited knowledge of situation, so he just followed along with his line of questioning, hoping to understand whatever bit of information he was missing.

"Umm... Can I kiss you?"

To this, Heero shook his head with a quick negative, causing Duo to back away, slightly hurt at the positively of the answer. Before he could move far, Heero grabbed his arm, holding Duo immobile beside him. Duo watched as Heero opened his mouth and closed it several times, trying to find the right thing to say unsuccessfully and finally shaking his head again, this time at himself in pure frustration.

Duo had spent an incredible amount of time around Heero the past year and truly considered himself an expert at understanding the Japanese boy's silence. He had learned from past experience that, when Heero acted like this, there was probably more than he was seeing and he needed to rephrase the question in order to get a better answer. Trying a different approach, Duo tried again.

"Do you... want me to kiss you?"

This time Heero nodded quickly, producing a small smile from Duo. Now he knew that though Heero wanted it, he wouldn't allow it...

"Why can't I? What's wrong? What aren't you telling me?"

Heero stayed silent, keeping his eyes closed in hope that he wouldn't vent his frustration in the form of tears.

"Heero, you're gonna have to say something! I can't understand silence as well I would like to and you're not giving me anything to work off of! What's going on? Please, I can't take anymore of this 'being friend, getting close' and then you backing away again. What... why..."

Duo trailed off as he lay down next to Heero in the snow. There was nothing else he could say. He'd tried everything he knew of and was currently out of ideas. Not that he was planning on giving up, he just had to wait and think, though maybe that should wait till later. The snow was cold and melting under the warmth of their bodies, turning to water and beginning to soak through their clothes. If he was going to be sitting for a while, it would be better to move to a much warmer place. Before he had a chance to move or come up with any other ideas, Heero finally spoke up.

"Duo... Have you ever thought about Wufei?"

Duo blinked, trying to figure out what this had to do with kissing Heero.

"In what context? What does this have to do with the price of beans in China?"

Heero let out a long puff of air. How could Duo not know? How could he have not seen it? He might as well tell him, though he knew Wufei would kill him for it if he found out and things didn't go well. Though, from Heero's point of view, things couldn't possibly get any worse.

"Everything, Baka. Do you know how upset he would be if he found out? Do you have any IDEA how much he likes you? Do you know how HARD I have been trying to avoid this situation? I really... I really like you. A lot. But Wufei... I can't hurt him like that, Duo. I just... I can't."

Sitting silently, the entirety of the situation finally upon him and swirling through his head. At one point in time, he had liked Wufei; just as much as Heero, in fact. But then the Chinese boy had always seemed so inaccessible... so removed... so STRAIGHT, that he decided it was better to just forget it. He hadn't really noticed how much Wufei had opened up over time, even though he really should have. Now that Heero mentioned it, everything seemed so blatantly obvious that he felt like an idiot for not seeing it to begin with.

There had to be some sort of solution, though. Every problem had one, or at least that's how Duo thought. He knew that he was being overly optimistic at the first one that came to mind, but he knew it wouldn't hurt to ask...

"Heero... What do YOU think of Wufei?"

Heero was slightly taken aback by the question, trying to figure out what Duo had cooked up in this short amount of time. Instead of attempting the impossible, he decided to answer the question as truthfully as possible and wait for the braided boy to explain the significance of his inquiry later.

"I like him."

"Like you like me?"

Remembering his observations from earlier in the day, Heero found an answer he himself wasn't expecting.

"Yes, I think so... though I didn't notice it till you asked."

Duo propped himself up again, so that he could see Heero's face as he asked his next question.

"Would you ever consider a relationship with both of us? At the same time?"

Heero's eyes grew as the meaning of the question became clear and he was able to see where this was now going.

"Duo, I've never had a relationship with ONE person, let alone two."

"That's not what I asked Heero, and just so you know, neither have I and I seriously doubt that Fei has either."

"I... I don't know. Maybe. I don't really know how he feels about me. I don't think that I could enter a relationship where the feelings weren't mutual in all directions."

Duo smiled and leaned down towards Heero, his face only inches away as he gazed into deep cobalt eyes.

"So you would try it, if I could arrange it?"

Heero shivered as he watched mischief mix with violet, the cold air totally forgot from the depths of their conversation.

"Hai."

The smile turned predatory as Duo leaned closer, the breaths mingling and their noses almost touching.

"So if Wufei wouldn't be hurt, and we could all be together, happy, could I kiss you?"

Heero's eyes glittered as he whispered the answer, a small smile creeping onto hip lips.

"Hai."

The distance between them closed, their lips finally meeting in a passionate kiss that attempted to melt the surrounding snow. Clumsy in their inexperience, they made up for it in enthusiasm, loving the taste the other gave them so willingly, so lovingly. Taking the initiative once again, Duo slipped his tongue across Heero's lips, begging for entrance and quickly receiving it. After several minutes of exploration, the two broke apart, panting for air, their breath creating little white clouds in front of their faces.

Duo smiled and climbed to his feet after placing a quick kiss on Heero's nose. Offering a hand, he pulled the other boy up to stand beside him, wrapping his arms around him as they met.

"You do realize we can't do that again until we talk to Wufei, don't you?" Heero spoke up.

"Yea, that's why we need to do it as soon as possible," Duo laughed.

Heero nodded as he picked up the sled and started dragging it up the hill once more.

"Would tonight be ok, after the ice skating?"

"Yea, that would work!" Duo agreed as he ran up the hill after Heero.

"Good. And now that that's settled, more sledding."

Duo laughed as he glomped Heero, jumping onto the sled behind him.

"More sledding then!"

And they flew down the hill once more...

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