Wag The Dog:

 

Achoo!

 

Damn…must be getting a cold…

 

He felt something soft and ticklish beneath his jaw and reaching out quickly to swipe it off, he almost got bitten by the startled cat. He had accidentally tugged on Coco’s tail and naturally the pet had not been very pleased. Hissing in displeasure, she jumped off the bed and walked out of the room without giving the contrite boy another glance. Duo groaned.

 

Great way to start off the day.

 

He was just about to get off the bed, when he felt the familiar warmth of his partner beside him. A small smile came to his lips as the unique scent of Heero filled his nostrils. He had never woken up before Heero…well, there was one time he had, but that was only because he had had to use the bathroom, so that didn’t count. This was the perfect opportunity for him to see what his lover looked like in the wee hours of the morning. He turned around slowly, so as not to wake him up, his smile widening as he realized that the Japanese boy was also completely naked. Duo was just about to lean in close to steal a soft kiss when the image of a taller man with malicious brown eyes had him sucking in a harsh breath.

 

Rei. Heero’s cousin.

 

Fuck!

 

It all came back to him now. Rei had paid a surprise visit yesterday. Duo had sensed that he wasn’t liked. Heero had come home. They had gotten into an argument. Heero had left with his cousin.

 

And I was left alone.

 

He swallowed the bitterness that welled up his throat and in movements that had given him his reputation as a ‘thief’, Duo slid out of the bed carefully and made his way into the bathroom. He locked the door and sat down heavily on the toilet seat, his head pounding with conflicting emotions that coursed through his body. What was he going to do now? What were they going to do now? He, honestly, couldn’t see Heero turning down the chance to go back to his home and even though the ex-pilot had claimed that he would not forsake Duo, the American still had his doubts.

 

Things were about to change around here and they might not be for the best.

 

__

 

 

There was a long silence at the other end of the line and Rei Hayakawa could feel the sweat break out on his skin. His hands trembled a little on the receiver that was held in a death grip against his ear as he waited with abated breath for an answer.

 

Finally, that familiar resonant timbre of the older man’s voice, which never ceased to send chills down Rei’s spine, was heard. “So, what was his final decision?”

 

“He…he said we ought to give him some time to think about it, sir. But he did say that he will be there by the end of next month at least,” he added quickly as if hoping that it would appease the other man.

 

Takeshi Hayakawa gave a curt nod in approval, before asking curtly. “And his bride? Did he show you anyone of importance in his life?”

 

An image of the long-haired man he had met in Heero’s apartment filled Rei’s mind and he cursed inwardly. He couldn’t open his mouth to say that Heero had a ‘boyfriend’. He could already envision Takeshi’s reaction and the last thing he needed was to garner the man’s wrath.

 

“Rei…”

 

“Ha…hai,” came the weak stutter as Rei struggled with his thoughts before blurting out quickly. “He does have someone of importance, sir.” He left it at that, hoping that Takeshi wouldn’t want to know more. Unfortunately, the old man was as stubborn as his grandson.

 

“What family does she come from, Rei? I did not send you there to give me half-hearted replies. So speak.”

 

/He has a name. It’s Duo. /

 

What kind of information was that? It wasn’t as if Rei had gone out of his way to ask Duo about himself. He hadn’t cared to know and he still didn’t care to know. And so thinking quickly, he replied with an enthusiasm he did not feel inside.

 

I’m extremely sorry about this, Heero-kun. But, I have to do this for your sake.

 

“She comes from the Peacecraft family, sir. According to my sources, she is from a very…”

 

“I have heard of the Peacecrafts, Rei,” came the sharp interruption. There was another long silence as Rei counted inwardly to calm his pounding heart. A drop of sweat fell into his eyes and he wiped it away quickly. When he got to the number fifty, Takeshi gave a harsh cough before apologizing gruffly.

 

“That is good, Rei. It will be good to see my future daughter-in-law, don’t you think?”

 

“Ye…yes, sir…”

 

“Then make sure she is well taken care of,” Takeshi instructed. “I would like some pictures of her, if that is possible. I believe it is only right that we get to see what she looks like now, isn’t that right, Rei?”

 

Pictures? Pictures?! Was Takeshi trying to get him killed? But as usual, he found his lips forming the words of compliance again.

 

“Yes sir. I will have them taken and sent to you as soon as possible.”

 

The head of the Hayakawa household gave another lung-wrenching cough and Rei winced at the sound of it. His grandfather was obviously not feeling too well and he had a feeling that the need to see Heero married before his death was of utmost importance.

 

Your grandfather needs you now, Heero. Surely, you can grant an old man his dying wish.

 

“Thank you, Rei,” Takeshi muttered gruffly. “And make sure you do not fail, understood? Or you know what happens to you, ne?”

 

The young man knew only too well. “Yes, sir. I understand.”

 

And hanging up the phone slowly, he reached for the nearby phone book on the nightstand. He had a lot of work to do now.

 

__

 

 

Heero’s long string of dreamless nights was finally broken by one of him standing in the middle of a lush forest. He was holding a small carry all bag and he had no clothes on – which was somehow not surprising to him. Was he lost? No, not really. He knew where he was. He just wasn’t sure of how he had gotten there. His feet began to move of their own accord and he found himself moving through the thick foliage as if he had been there all his life. The foliage burst out to a clearing and his eyes widened in surprise as he was met with the largest picnic he had ever seen in his life. Everyone, and he meant everyone, he had ever seen or met in his life were all sitting around in groups, drinking and laughing in merriment. What was more surprising was that his family - he was yet to meet - were also there. He could see his grandparents talking to Dr. J and G respectively, about Gundams of all things. He rubbed his eyes warily as he spied Trowa, Quatre and Wufei all playing a very unexplainable game of Twister with Treize, Zechs and Rei. He could also see Yoh, his mother, and Odin playing with some of his young cousins.

 

No one seemed to have noticed the naked teenager standing in their midst and he really didn’t care for them to notice him either. He was looking for someone and that someone wasn’t there. His frantic gaze drifted from one group to another. More cousins, more enemies, more ‘friends’…where was Duo? Where was his partner?

 

A soft meowing sound had him staring at his feet quickly. Coco was rubbing herself against his legs and as he reached down for her, she darted out of reach and began to make her way towards an area that he had failed to notice. He called out for her, but he couldn’t even hear his own voice. He began to run in an attempt to catch up, but ended up falling to the ground in his haste. The laughter was faint at first, but it slowly gathered momentum as he sat up in embarrassment. They were all laughing at him. Everyone had finally noticed and they now stood in a rough circle around him. Their faces grew hazy. They seemed to grow longer, the sounds of their derisive laughter becoming maniacal by the second as they grew louder and louder.

 

Duo…Duo…Duo!!!!

 

He held his hands to his temples and squeezed his eyes shut, willing, fighting away the torment. He couldn’t take it anymore! And just when he thought he would go mad with the noise, a gentle hand on his shoulder had him looking up with hope in his eyes.

 

Duo! You came!

 

“Sorry, Heero,” the image of Duo said. And as Heero watched with dawning horror, he could see that his lover was holding onto the arms of a smiling young woman. “Sorry, Heero,” Duo said again, his lips curving into a wide grin. “Relena and I are getting married now. We don’t need you anymore. So why don’t you just go away?”

 

“Yeah, Heero. Just go away…go away, Heero,” Relena taunted. And as if it was a cue of some sort, everyone picked up the chant and soon the sounds of ‘Heero, go away’ had the boy parting his lips to give a blood curdling scream of terror.

 

“Noooooooooooooooo!!!!”

 

“Shut the hell up, Heero! Do you want to wake up the entire neighborhood?!”

 

His eyes flew open and for a brief moment, Heero could only stare at the dishelved boy standing above him with a toothbrush stuck in his mouth and a scowl on his handsome visage. He could feel something hot sting the back of his eyes and he idly wondered if those were tears of relief or happiness or just both. He wasn’t in some crazy forest with people that mocked him. He was back in his apartment. He was with…

 

“Duo…” he whispered thickly, as he rose up slowly from the bed, hands reaching out for the other boy. “It’s…it’s really you, isn’t it, Duo?”

 

The Deathscythe pilot blinked slowly as he allowed his lover’s trembling hands to caress his face. The scowl he had had was replaced with one of understanding as he raised a hand to clasp Heero’s. He moved closer to the Japanese boy, allowing Heero’s body to fall into his arms as they held each other tightly. There were no tears. Just a quiet support that both had come to depend on in times like these. For how long they remained that way was anyone’s guess.

 

Duo had just rinsed his teeth for the final time in the bathroom, when Heero’s ear-splitting cry had had him running out in panic. He knew that Heero had nightmares every once in a while, but they had been rare lately and they had never really been this bad. The Japanese boy was trembling like a leaf in his arms and Duo fully expected him to finally burst the well of tears, that had been held within him, any time soon.

 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked softly against the dark, silky locks, while tossing the toothbrush aside. Do you want to tell me what happened last night, Heero?

 

Heero gave a soft nod against Duo’s chest and began to slowly recount all the events of his dream as accurately as he could. When he got to the part of their former comrades in war playing Twister with Treize, Duo had chuckled a little, but it was soon turned into a gasp of surprise as Heero brought up the scene of he and Relena being…married? Now, that was a stumper.

 

Heero finished his tale and neither could say a word. Only the dull sounds of someone starting up his car below their window outside, broke the heavy silence. Finally, Heero pulled away gently to stare into his lover’s eyes. They both had the same question in their gazes, but neither was willing to be the first to bring it up.

 

With a low groan, Duo released Heero and sat down on the bed. He could feel his partner shift beside him and soon both boys were side-by-side with a million and one questions hovering over their heads.

 

“I’m no dream expert, Heero,” Duo finally began softly as he stared at his hands. “But…I think that dream of yours means something. Don’t you?”

 

Heero stared at the patterns on their rug blindly. Didn’t all dreams having meanings? “I…I think so…”

 

“So…maybe it just means that, well…you know…” Duo shrugged and tried to smile, but it came out rather weakly.

 

“Don’t even think about that, Duo,” Heero muttered thickly as he ran shaky fingers through his hair. “Don’t even think…”

 

“Oh, it’s not me marrying Relena,” came the quiet interruption. Duo’s voice sounded too husky. And the American still hadn’t looked at Heero all this time. “It’s…it’s you, Heero and you know it too.”

 

“Duo…”

 

“Don’t, Heero. Please don’t make it any damn harder than it should be.” Duo took a deep breath and rose to his feet quickly. He smiled again and this time it looked a little more genuine. “I did a lot of thinking in the…eh…bathroom and I figured out a way we can do this without giving each other too much grief.”

 

Heero watched mutely, trying so desperately to read behind that damn smile. Sometimes, Duo could be too good at the pretend game. And even though they had been with each other for a year, the American could still place that mask on and continue to fool him.

 

Seeing that he had Heero’s undivided attention, Duo began to speak quickly. He had to get this out before he lost his nerve or have Heero change his mind for him. “You see, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I figured that it would be a great idea for us to you know…be away from each other for a while. Now, don’t get me wrong,” he added quickly as he held his hands up to ward off the Japanese boy’s protests. “I don’t like this anymore than you do, but for the sake of our sanity, we are just going to do this, okay?”

 

God, this sucks. I’m in so much pain inside, it’s fucking unreal.

 

He saw the blank look on his lover’s features and cursing himself inwardly, Duo fell to his knees, hands reaching for Heero’s to clasp them tightly. He caught Heero’s glazed blue depths and tried to make his partner see reason.

 

“I know you don’t like it, Heero and I don’t either.” He stopped and took a much needed breath. He couldn’t cry now. Crying was something that was done alone if it was absolutely necessary. There was no need to start bawling in front of another being just because you felt like crap inside.

 

Self-loathing will get you nowhere, kid, he thought ruefully. But, at the same time, Duo hated himself for doing this to Heero.

 

“I know you…”

 

“I am going with you, Duo,” Heero said in a dangerously low tone. The glazed look was gone from his eyes now and it was replaced with that glint of determination that Duo knew as obvious stubbornness.

 

“Now, listen here, Heero…”

 

“No, you listen, Duo Maxwell. I think I’ve given you a chance to speak and so far all I’ve heard is bullshit.”

 

“What the fuc…?”

 

But Heero wasn’t finished yet. His scowl deepened and he continued coldly. “It’s either you get on that fucking plane with me to Japan or we cancel the entire thing right now. I don’t really give a damn either way, do you understand?”

Duo blinked in surprise as he slowly rose to his feet. “Man…I always knew you had some sort of craziness inside of you, but this is ridiculous. I’m going to let Coco out now. Maybe you need some time to…hey!”

 

He found himself thrown to the bed and before he could say a word, Heero had straddled his waist, effectively rendering Duo immobile. The American cursed and tried to throw his partner off, but all he could come up with was a weak groan of pleasure as he felt his lover’s very erect cock brush against the rising tent in his pants.

 

Damn. How could he concentrate on their fight with this in the way? This was not a very good time to be thinking about screwing Heero’s brains out. Not a good time at all.

 

“Could you get off me, Heero?” he asked in a tight voice, as he tried to avoid looking into the other boy’s eyes. He winced as he felt the pressure on his wrists increase and the added one on his nether regions as his wicked partner had realized just what effect his body was having on Duo.

 

Heero leaned close to whisper softly against his lover’s parted lips. “Not until you say you are coming with me, Duo.” Their warm breaths mingled as the heat between them continued to rise at a rather alarming rate.

 

This…is…not…good…

 

The American writhed and then wished he hadn’t. With each movement of his body, Heero’s moved as well and the bulge in his pants was now making it so tight, Duo was sure it would rip a hole right through the cloth. Heero was killing him.

 

“Just say it, Duo,” came the thick whisper in his ear, as Heero’s lips trailed light, teasing kisses along the now fevered flesh. “Kami, you smell so good when you’re about to come…”

 

“Shut…shut up,” Duo whimpered softly as he arched his neck and closed his eyes. Shut up and fuck me like there’s no tomorrow and then run into Relena’s arms and play the damned role of the perfect son.

 

Heero’s tongue licked its way down the strong curve of Duo’s jaw. It toyed with the light swell of his lover’s Adam’s apple. It lingered over the full lower lip, his teeth grazing the soft skin gently enough to draw blood.

 

Duo was really about to come in his pants now.

 

“Damn…damn it…damn…just…”

 

“Just what, Duo?” Heero asked teasingly, as he released a wrist to guide Duo’s hand to his throbbing erection. He groaned at the feel of his lover’s hand on his hot flesh, his mind already too far gone with thoughts of satisfying their lustful urge now. All thoughts of Rei and his family flew right out the window. None of that mattered right now. Only the boy beneath him was more than enough to make him feel alive again.

 

I love you, Duo. Nothing and no one is ever going to change that…

 

“Heero…”

 

Forever and ever…

 

“Heero…the…”

 

“I love you, Duo,” he muttered thickly as his lips sucked hard on the succulent skin beneath him. He vaguely heard his lover’s sharp intake of breath, before he was pushed away none too gently.

 

Duo was trying very hard to gain some sort of control of the situation as his body continued to scream for what Heero had to offer. But something else had to be taken care of right now.

 

“The…the phone, Heero,” he finally gasped out weakly, eyes firmly glued on his lover’s swollen lips.

 

Heero sat upright with a dazed look on his features. “The…phone? Oh, shit!” Sure enough the faint buzzing sound that was slowly permeating through the thick haze that had clouded his mind, became clearer. He rolled (and very reluctantly too) away from Duo’s body to reach for the black object beside their bed.

 

He all but barked into it. “Hello?”

 

Duo sat up slowly, his lower lip caught between his teeth as he watched his lover carefully. He raised a brow in question. And as Heero’s face began to host a light frown of concentration, he paused long enough to mouth one word quickly.

 

‘Relena.’

 

That name was enough to make him wince inwardly. And as Heero turned his face away to continue the one-sided conversation, Duo could feel the cold claws of loneliness take a hold of his heart all over again.

 

 

 

 

TBC…