fic - two degrees : 10

Two Degrees : 10
Part 10

Duo drew up short on the threshold of the kitchen.  Heero was waiting for him in front of the electric kettle, blocking his access.  With a glare, Duo closed half the distance between them, but Heero didn't move out of the way.  "Excuse me," he said stiffly.  "My water has boiled."

Heero stood his ground relaxedly.  "The proper temperature for brewing your cup of coffee is rather short of boiling.  It'll wait."

"For what, exactly?"

"I think we have something to talk about."

"Oh?  Seems like I might have to brush up on my coffee brewing technique before we have that conversation."

Heero's lips pressed together into a flat line before he loosened up again.  "We had a moment last night."

"If you say so."

His irritation was expressed in a brief flare of his nostrils.  "You seemed alright with that.  Until you weren't."

"Hm."  It was a sound that was neither agreement nor denial.

Heero just looked steadily at him.

Duo knew that, if push came to shove, he would crack first, so he charted his withdrawal from that edge carefully.  "I know eavesdropping is a bad habit..."

Heero rewarded him by stepping to the side.  He would earn no points for keeping Duo from his caffeine, now that he'd decided to cooperate.

Duo advanced with a dignified nod.  He measured his grinds with perhaps more care than he'd normally take, to buy himself some extra time while he picked his words.  "But I happened to overhear... Trowa mentioning to Quatre... that... you've expressed an interest in sex recently."

Not the words Heero had been expecting.  He frowned faintly, because he also hadn't been expecting Trowa to share that information.  "...And?"  Duo was concentrating fiercely on his pour, leaving Heero to ponder it on his own.  "...You suddenly thought I might just... have considered you a convenient target of opportunity?"

Duo stared fixedly at his coffee as it dripped into his mug.

His hands were no longer occupied with the kettle, so Heero edged closer to him, until they were nearly touching shoulder to shoulder.  "Duo.  No one but you... has ever stirred such an interest in me."

They were close enough that Duo's involuntary twitch caused them to touch.  He jerked away from the contact slightly, but then held himself still, and after a moment, eased back into his original position.  "Something change?"

A small shrug, another brush, there and gone again.  "I just started noticing our little moments."

"Moments?"  Duo detachedly observed that that came out a little breathy.

"We've had more than one."

"Oh.  I... Well, I didn't think you'd noticed."

"Oh, well, I didn't.  And then I did."

"Ah.  And, uh.  What do you plan to do, then, now that you've noticed?"

"I suppose the first thing I should do... is make sure we're on the same page about this."

"Oh.  Right."  The practicality knocked the breath back into him.  The gears in his brain started turning properly again.  "Sorry about... last time."

"Hm."

"'Spose the ball's in my court now, eh?"  He gave Heero a quick kiss on the cheek as declaration of intent before busying himself with finishing up his cup of coffee.






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