Before and After by Agent Midnight
-B.D.-
Heero stiffled a yawn and sat up, glancing curiously at his alarm clock. Satisfied to see that he had woken up approximately ten minutes before his alarm was supposed to go off, the Japanese youth stood up with a small smirk and headed towards the bathroom.
-A.D.-
Heero growled viciously and slammed a pillow over his head, trying to block out the god-awful noise coming from his bathroom. His alarm blared into life, and before Heero could stop himself, the clock slammed into the wall and shattered into numerous pieces.
The noise continued to stream happily from the bathroom, blocking out the sound of Heero's slightly-pained scream.
-B.D.-
Heero walked into the bathroom at exactly 6:15 in the morning, and turned the water on in the shower. The stoic youth flossed his teeth as the shower water warmed up, and then he ditched the floss into the small waste basket next to the clean sink. The boy stripped himself of his clothing and hopped into the shower.
Six minutes later, Heero turned the shower off and pulled the towel into the shower stall with him. Drying off carefully, he made sure he wasn't dripping and stepped out of the shower.
The boy finished toweling himself dry on the small mat outside the shower, then he moved back to the sink.
Heero brushed his teeth for three minutes, and walked fully naked out into his bedroom.
-A.D.-
Heero stepped carefully into his bathroom, eyeing the floor with distaste. After dismissing the idea of going and putting non-slip boots on, the boy slowly stepped onto the wet tile floor and nearly slid. Gripping the sink like a lifeline, he managed to brush his teeth and then he half-tripped to the shower.
Heero growled when he realized that he had little-to-no shampoo left, the soap was on the shower floor, and the water came out scorching cold. Heero held in a yelp as the cold water hit his chest, but he sucked it in and bathed quickly.
The towel was soaking wet and on the floor, outside the shower. Heero held it at arm's length, watching the delicate drips that fell off of it.
Grumbling, Heero stepped out of the shower, dropped the towel onto the floor, and carefully made his way to the bedroom.
-B.D.-
A plate sat on the kitchen table consisting of scrambled eggs, a piece of buttered toast, and some individually cut fruit. A glass of milk sat just above the plate, and to the side was a folded napkin with the proper utensils that were needed.
-A.D.-
A plate sat on the kitchen table consisting of scrambled eggs, jellied toast, bacon, pancakes cut into fours, an eggo waffle dripping with butter and syrup, biscuits, strawberries, and half an orange. Just above the plate sat a bowl of Honey Combs cerial, a string of grapes, and a cherry. Beside the bowl was a can of Coke.
The silverware was strewn across the table, obviously having been tossed carelessly.
-B.D.-
Heero stared around his neatly organized living room. After having reassured himself that everything was in its normal attended place, he allowed a small smile and sat down on the couch.
The remote sat on the lamp table right next to the couch, and Heero grabbed it. Turning the television on, he flipped to the news channel and settled down to watch the headlines.
-A.D.-
Heero grimaced as he watched the cartoon coyote fail yet again in catching the road runner. He sighed and rested his head in his hand, eyes drooping down with boredom. On the television, the coyote held up a sign as he hovered mid-air before making the trip down the cliff.
"If that were me, I'd have already killed that damn bird." Heero mumbled to himself, sighing.
Laughter filled the living room, and Heero rolled his eyes.
-B.D.-
Heero lay in the middle of his bed, an equal amount of bedding on either side of him. The ceiling fan was off; the way he liked it. His pillows very fluffed exactly the way he liked them to be.
Sleep found him quickly.
-A.D.-
Heero pulled on the blankets experimentally, and was rewarded with a swift kick to the shin. Gaping in surprise, he tried to get enough blanket to cover anything on his body, and he barely managed to dodge another kick. Eyes narrowing, Heero took a handful of the blankets and yanked hard.
Yelp.
Thump.
"Owwie..."
Heero covered himself with the blanket, smiling.
"That was mean!!"
Rustle.
Stomp, stomp, stomp.
Click.
Heero's eye twitched as the ceiling fan came to life.
The door slammed shut.
-B.D.-
Heero opened his closet to see all of his shirts hanging nicely according to color, size, and style. Pulling out a regular t-shirt, he pulled it on over his head and headed back towards his living room.
-A.D.-
Heero threw piles of clothes around, searching for his shirt. Growling violently, he stood up.
"Where's my shirt??"
Silence.
The Japanese youth sneered.
-B.D.-
Heero sighed as he closed his laptop.
"Saturday..and I have nothing to do."
The boy tapped his fingers gently on the desk.
-A.D.-
"It's Saturday! Shut up!" Heero yelled, trying to get his voice to be heard above the loud heavy metal blaring through his house.
"Come on, Heero. Don't be a prude!"
Heero snorted in annoyance and listened to the music.
"I can be a prude if I want to." Heero mumbled.
-B.D.-
Heero shivered and pulled the blanket further around his shoulders. Giving up, he lowered himself down onto the couch and tried to fight back the cold of the room.
"Damn heater. Always has spectacular times of breaking."
-A.D.-
"Ooh, man, it's cold.."
Heero nodded in agreement.
After some shifting, two bodies were gently resting against each other, seeking body heat.
"That's better.."
Heero nodded again.
-----
-B.D.-
Heero stared out the window, watching the snow cover the ground. The window began fogging up from the cold outside, and Heero turned his head away to gaze around his empty house, with its empty cleaness.
"Maybe I should call someone.."
-A.D-
Heero picked up all the clothes on the couch, dully noting that most were not his, and he put them in a laundry basket. Moving around the junked up house, he grimaced in disgust.
Walking down the hallway and entering the kitchen, he stopped as he saw his best friend sitting at the table. Seeing the junk food that his friend was eating, Heero almost commented on how unhealthy it was.
His friend's eyes drifted up to meet his own.
A smile was sent to him.
Heero returned it.
-B.D.-
Heero nibbled on a piece of fruit absently, staring around his kitchen.
"Maybe I should get a smaller apartment."
-A.D.-
Laughter warmed the house, and Heero tried to find the source.
The laughter continued.
Heero walked around the house and was shocked when the guest room's door opened.
"Looking for me, sexy?"
Heero snickered as he was pulled into the guest room.
The door shut.
-B.D.-
"-Hey, Heero. Glad to hear from you.-"
"Yeah, hey. Trowa, do you think I should get a smaller apartment?"
"-I think you have a nice apartment. Why get a smaller one?-"
"It gets kind of lonely here..I think it's too big."
-A.D.-
"I love this place!"
Heero looked around his big apartment.
"Yeah, me too." Heero smiled.
Duo Maxwell turned shining eyes towards Heero.
"And I love you.."
"I love you, too, Duo. Now, shut up."
Duo leaned over and kissed Heero.
Heero knew that that there were empty food cartons in his kitchen, wet towels in his bathroom, clothes in his living room, shoes in his hallway, cds in his bedroom, empty shampoo bottles in his shower. He knew all of this.
But..
As he kissed his lover, all of these things faded into nothing.
Duo was with him now, and that's all that counted.
--End