Saturday night - Christmas eve

Duo looked up as Heero entered. He hadn't heard Heero approaching at all, something which he attributed to the bare feet.

Sitting back on his heels he patted one of the sleeping bags and smiled. "Care to come and get warm?"

Heero reached for the only boxer shorts he owned, the ones Duo had given him, that were sticking out of his knapsack. He pulled the towel off to hang it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs they'd pulled into the room, pulled on the shorts, and noticed the hairbrush on the floor next to Duo.

He flicked his eyes from the brush to Duo.

Duo caught the glance and settled back a little more comfortably on the floor.

"Be my guest," he said, holding up the hair tie.

Heero sat cross-legged behind Duo and began running the brush through the long strands. It smelled just like his own hair and he couldn't resist rubbing a lock between his thumb and fingers before resuming the brush strokes. When Duo's hair was free of tangles, he eyed it carefully before attempting to divide it into three equal sections.

He was quiet at first, lip caught between his teeth as he figured out how to work with hair as long as Duo's, and once he'd determined that the braid wasn't going to be off center or made of one very thick segment and two wispier ones, he cleared his throat.

"Thanks."

Duo would have nodded his head but he knew from experience that that generally wasn't a good idea when people were trying to braid his hair.

"You too," he said instead, closing his eyes and relaxing.

Halfway down his fingers stilled and he straightened his legs, straddling Duo and wrapping both arms around him. He rested his chin on Duo's bare shoulder and began stroking Duo's belly with his thumb as they watched the fire. He was probably going to have to start the braid all over again but he liked the way Duo's hair felt, pooled in his lap and tickling his abdomen. It was probably easier to work with when it was wet but he thought Duo might be more comfortable going to bed if his hair was dry and that was more likely to happen if his hair remained unbound for a while.

He turned his head so his nose was against Duo's neck and he breathed deeply.

"I love you, you know."

The feeling of Heero's body so close to his own was even more warming than the fire to Duo and he sighed a little, shuffling back to rest more comfortably against Heero.

Bringing a hand up to cover one of Heero's, he gave the digits a small squeeze.

"I love you too."

He ran his fingers through the unbound strands of hair and kissed Duo's shoulder before resting his cheek on it. He closed his eyes and continued finger-combing Duo's hair in silence, just savoring the warmth of Duo's body next to his own.

He would have been content to stay like that all night, but he finally released Duo's hair, although not before placing his hand back over Duo's chest and stroking with his thumb again. It took all of the willpower he possessed to pull away and crawl back toward their bags.

Heero reached into one of the outer pockets, fingers closing on a small thin box. Item retrieved, he moved back behind Duo, wrapped his arms around him again, and let it drop into Duo's lap.

Duo was surprised at how bereft the loss of Heero's warmth at his back made him feel. When he returned the first thing Duo did was twist his fingers in with Heero's.

The second thing he did was look down at what Heero had dropped in his lap. He smiled.

"Chase the Ace?" he asked, dropping his free hand down to pick up the pack of playing cards and holding them almost as tightly as he did Heero's hand.

"Mmm." Heero closed his hand around Duo's and gave it a squeeze before flipping the box open and sliding out the top card with his thumb.

During their stay in Las Vegas, they'd found a gift shop that sold decks of cards, all previously used in hotel casinos, all with a corner either clipped off or with a hole punched through it, and they'd amused themselves searching for decks from as many casinos as possible. The best finds were the ones, like this deck from the Sands, from casinos that were no longer in operation. It had become a scavenger hunt of sorts and each time they entered a gift shop, the hunt for decks they didn't own yet began anew.

He turned the card over. "Looks like you're right," he murmured, showing Duo the ace of spades before flicking it onto the rug. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "one year ago, I realized I loved you." He stroked the side of Duo's neck with his knuckles. "I suspected it sooner, but I knew for sure the day you brought Cooter back."

Duo stared at the card lying face up on the floor. Heero always had a purpose behind the smallest things he did, even if it wasn't quite apparent.

Leaning back against Heero, Duo slipped another card out of the box and turned it over.

The two of spades.

Without a word he passed it to Heero.

Heero flicked the card against his nail a few times and then let it fly toward the other one.

"Two years ago, I was writing an essay explaining why I wanted to further my education at Albert Johnson. I said that the formalized education and the syllabi were only part of what would shape my future. That it was the people I'd meet and the ability to adapt, to make it up as I went along, that would take care of the rest."

"Making it up as you go along can be a good thing," Duo said, leaning his head back a little more against Heero.

It wasn't guaranteed but from the number and suit of the cards, Duo thought it was a fairly sure thing that they had been laid in order. Tipping the cards into his hand and splitting the pack in half he shuffled them for a little while before smoothing them back into an orderly pile and selecting the top card.

Five of diamonds.

"Five years ago I was working behind a bar and wondering where my life had gone wrong," he said. "All of my friends had gone to university, studying to be doctors and lawyers. I could have gone, but I didn't want to. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life." He sighed, looking down at the card in his hand before flicking it to land on the other two.

"I still don't."

Heero fanned the cards out and picked one at random.

Seven of clubs.

"Seven years ago I joined the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Back then I had no doubts where I'd end up after college or what I was going to do with my life." He flicked the card to join the others and nuzzled the side of Duo's neck. "A lot's changed."

Duo closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of Heero's breath against his neck. He drew a card blindly, just opening his eyes long enough to see what number.

"Three years ago I was still working behind that bar. I served a guy one night who was pretty chatty and started telling me all about the time he went abroad to study, how it had broadened his horizons... made him realise how much he had to be grateful for... all that shit."

Duo sighed and turned his head to one side, nuzzling Heero back as best as he could. "Funny how it works out sometimes. The guy changed my life and I didn't even know his name."

Heero swallowed. "He changed mine too." He closed his eyes and buried his nose in Duo's hair, reaching for a card blindly and opening one eye long enough to peer at the pip in the corner.

"Four years ago the old man and I made it official and he became my legal guardian before I turned eighteen."

Duo didn't speak but raised his hand to cover Heero's and squeezed it reassuringly.

Selecting his card he took a glance and frowned a little. "Ten years ago... I was just beginning my A levels in school because mam wanted me to. I was upset because I'd wanted to leave school and doss around like a few of my friends were doing, before getting an apprenticeship somewhere. Instead I ended up doing another two years of school and getting my act together."

Heero smiled into Duo's hair and picked another card. "You, wanting to be footloose and fancy free at fifteen. I don't believe it." His tone of voice said quite the opposite.

He turned his card over and flicked the eight of hearts onto the rug.

"Eight years ago," he cleared his throat before continuing, "I rode a motorcycle for the first time. It was actually more of a dirt bike. Big sand lot, lots of us waiting to get a turn. I didn't get to ride it for long but it was enough to respect the size and power of something that much smaller than a car."

Duo winced a little and furrowed his brow. Picking up the pack he turned the cards face side up and shuffled through them for a little while until he came to the four of hearts. Sliding it out he flicked it to the growing pile on the floor and arranged the rest of the cards back into the neat pack they'd been in.

"I'd gone out to a club for the night with some friends. Just your regular club, bit of rock music, some drinks... I was having Coca Cola because I'd driven... just a typical saturday night out. It was about three in the morning," He cleared his throat and shifted a little. "The road I was driving down was a dual carriageway, a back street country thing with roundabouts dotted along it. Notorious for the street racing with the kids."

He ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat again. "I saw the headlight ahead... I didn't notice anything weird about it until the kid ran out to flag me down. I nearly drove past too, thought it was a hoax.

"They'd been riding pillion, one helmet between them. Missed the slowdown signs for the junction... the place was notorious for accidents --"

Duo laughed shortly and fisted his hand. "They'd gone right over the roundabout, hit a low branch of a tree. I gave my phone to the kid, got him to call an ambulance... no point though."

He opened his eyes. "Never got my phone back. Never owned one since."

Heero could feel the back of his eyelids prick and he wrapped both arms around Duo, squeezing as hard as he could. "I'm sorry." He dropped his chin on Duo's shoulder.

He hadn't known. Maybe in the end it wouldn't have mattered. Over the years Heero had taken a number of spills, but all of them had been done in vacant lots where it had been just him and the bike. He'd wanted to practice, to feel confident that he could correct for any situation he could think of. Sudden stops, swerving around obstacles, loss of traction - by the time he'd put himself through the paces again and again his leather jacket was gouged in spots and one of the sleeves had started to separate, but he'd satisfied himself that in most circumstances, he had the ability to react safely.

It wouldn't be the same in practice and Heero had always known that, but after some of the stories he'd heard he knew he was far better armed than some of the riders he knew.

Life was short, after all, and even back then he'd had a sense of mortality and the desire not to make life any shorter.

He rubbed his hand up and down Duo's arm and determinedly reached for the deck.

Like Duo had before him, he turned the cards so they were facing him and fanned them out, thumbing one card in front of another until he found the one he was looking for, the only one that let him set the date. The wild card.

He set the rest of the cards aside. There was really no need for them now.

Heero handed the card to Duo and ran his hand through his hair before getting to his feet and walking to the fireplace. He propped his elbow on the mantle and his head dropped forward until it came to rest against his forearm.

Staring at the hearth, he tried to sort it out in his head. He wondered how much he truly remembered and how much was blunted by the passage of time, but although the details surrounding it were often fuzzy there were parts that were as clear now as the day they'd happened.

"Seventeen years ago." Heero took a deep breath. "Back then we were living in a one-bedroom apartment. I remember the kitchen." He swallowed. "Christmas Eve. We made popcorn, drank egg nog, ate cookies shaped like trees and covered with sparkly green sugar. I got my presents that night, a couple of cheap die cast cars and a stuffed animal. A blue ox. Like Paul Bunyan’s.” He made a small snuffing noise. "Probably was a cow, but it was Babe to me.

"We went out to dinner that night. It was a big treat. Happy Meal, real McDonald’s French fries, and a thick chocolate shake. We were walking home and like always she told me not to let go of her hand, only she had to because she noticed my shoelace was untied. It was only a block from the apartment but she didn’t want me to trip and fall. I remember her hat and the red ball on top of it while she was bent over my boot.

"It happened so fast." He sucked in a breath. "The next thing I knew she was lying on the ground and I couldn't do anything but hold my mother's hand while she died."

Duo pushed himself up from his seat on the floor, walked over to Heero and wrapped his arms around him from behind. There wasn't a lot he could say to that, and even less that he wanted to.

That Heero had trusted him enough to tell him meant a lot and he rested his chin on Heero's shoulder and leaned his head in a little.

A small touch on Heero's arm resting on the mantle was all it took to coax Heero to turn around in his embrace.

Heero wrapped his arms around Duo in return and breathed deeply. He felt sapped of energy and the only thing keeping him from sinking to the floor was the strength of their embrace. Eventually he pulled his head back and lifted a hand to cup Duo's cheek.

He didn't think he could possibly love Duo any more than he did right now.

Heero slid his hand down to Duo's neck, to where he could feel the pulse under his thumb, and without warning he leaned forward to kiss Duo as hard as he could.

Duo let his eyes shiver closed with Heero's touch and kissed him back. He squeezed his arms in tight, pulling Heero in hard against him.

Duo's body was solid against his: firm, warm, and Heero could feel Duo's heartbeat as if it was his own.

He parted his lips and invited Duo's tongue inside to tangle with his own. His fingers crept behind Duo's neck and buried themselves in the loose hair at his nape. There was the familiar rush of warmth in his gut, the building of desire, and the hand not entangled in Duo's hair was at his lower back, dipping lower until he reached the waistband of Duo's sweatpants.

Heero's fingers crept under the elastic and he cupped Duo's ass to pull him closer.

Duo needed little invitation and let his tongue slip inside Heero's mouth to run against the roof of it lightly.

He slid a leg between Heero's and pushed up hard, using his hand to press against the small of Heero's back.