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"Going the Distance"Written By: Clara Barton Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. The following
is an intellectual exercise with no intention of profit. That said,
these characterizations, words, and situations are mine. Please ask
before reprinting. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Angst, language, violence, sex, AU Pairings: 1x2x3 Summary: Duo Maxwell has just signed on to join Team Gundam Wing, an upstart League of Legends team looking to win the World Championships. Duo Maxwell, the first openly gay professional gamer. Duo Maxwell, the guy hated by almost all of Reddit. Duo Maxwell, the guy whose own brother hates him. Duo Maxwell, the guy who really just wants to find a team that doesn't hate him. A/N: This fic is an AU that has the boys playing
professional League of Legends. I'm going to try my best to not get
bogged down too much in game terminology or things like that, but,
well, I WILL reference the game and try to explain as much as I can,
as I go. I'm also way too lazy to make up "new" teams for
the league, so I will be using existing teams and players, with the
exceptions of Team Gundam Wing, Zodiac Gaming, and the Valkyries.
So… I will be referencing real people and real teams. "Going the Distance" Chapter Thirteen "Has anyone ever thrown up on the stage before?" Duo asked. Quatre gave him a sympathetic look, Wufei looked disgusted and Heero looked over at him in concern. They were in the all too familiar holding room, waiting to go out there for the first games of the Spring Playoffs, waiting to fight for their dream of going to All Stars. Waiting to fail miserably. Duo decided that he really needed to stop looking at Reddit. After Treize's accident and the subsequent replacements on ZG, Reddit had come alive again with hatred for Duo. He still had fans - still actually had a following of people who extended past Hilde, Heero and Trowa now - but ZG fans and Duo-haters vastly outnumbered them. Threads were posted about ZG's crushed hopes, reminding everyone that it was Duo's fault ZG hadn't made it to World's last year and now their chances might be ruined again. Those reminders brought up fresh waves of hatred for Duo, and they inspired other posts about TGW getting the easy matchup and having luck on their side. Posts about Duo's inability to play the game as well as Solo did, posts comparing Duo to Ralph, posts with graphic drawings of Duo bending over his keyboard while getting fucked in the ass by a TGW teammate or of him on his knees, surrounding by the TGW team while they jacked off onto his face. But the posts that got to him the most were the ones calling him out for his lack of ability, the ones that said he would embarrass himself during Playoffs, that he would finally prove to his team and the League community just how useless of a faggot he really was. He was convinced they were right. The playoffs weren't like the regular season. During the regular season, each team played two, three or four games every weekend, but always against a different opponent. For the Playoffs, the top six teams competed for a ticket to the All-Star game in best of five game series. Which meant that teams had the chance to adapt to Duo, to his tactics, to his teammates, over the matter of an hour instead of a few weeks. It meant that Duo had to have multiple tactics, multiple strategies, and it meant he needed to be prepared for his opponents to capitalize on his weaknesses over and over again. "Why?" Relena spoke up. "Did you want to be the first?" Duo glared at her and she smiled back sweetly. It actually helped settle him a little bit. "We're going to be fine," Quatre insisted. He walked over and gently shook Trowa awake. Trowa had gone back to his preferred pre-game nap time and Duo wondered what that meant - did it mean that Heero felt confident and relaxed so Trowa didn't need to stress out? Did it mean that Trowa was so freaked out he had stayed up all night pacing his room and was so tired he needed to nap? Probably that was only Duo. Probably, Heero and Trowa had spent the night... however they usually did. Duo wondered if they liked to cuddle, if they liked to share the same bed to sleep in or just for sex. Trowa stood up and stretched and Duo fought very hard to look away, but Trowa caught him and his lips twitched into a slight smile as he sat back down on the couch. "Look, we made it to the quarterfinals. We're one of the best teams in the North American League and we can win these Playoffs." Quatre looked at each of them in turn. "It's not going to be easy. Nothing about this season has been easy. But we can do it. Just remember, we only need to win three games against Curse. We can lose two and still win. We can lose the first one. We can lose the second - we can lose and still win. We can make mistakes and still win. But this game is as much about our mental state as it is about our skill. So just - whatever you have going through your head, whatever you think you need to prove - put it aside and just focus on this team and these games. None of the rest of it matters." Quatre was giving Heero a hard look when he said this, and Duo felt like a bit of a selfish asshole. He had been spending all of his time and energy worrying about himself, but Heero had been the target of a fair amount of Reddit shit as well. Everyone compared him to Zechs and they said Zechs was better, that Heero was carried every game by Trowa, and that Heero was going to prove to everyone just how bad he was during the Playoffs. That last season had been a fluke, that this season had meant nothing and Heero was garbage. Duo looked over at Trowa and saw that he was also looking at Heero. Heero sighed and nodded, and he might have been responding to Quatre's words, but he was looking at Trowa. Trowa nodded back and relaxed into the couch. "Wufei." The surly man looked up from his philosophy book. "You have to commit to team fights. You have to go in with Duo, you have to be with us. We need you." It was a little risky, calling Wufei out like that, but the expression on Quatre's face was fierce as he held Wufei's dark gaze. A muscle in Wufei's jaw jumped. "We cannot win without you," Quatre continued. "You're a key member of this team. Today isn't about you - it's not about whatever you feel about Ralph or about Duo. This is about our team. It's about us and we need you with us." Wufei sighed, but he nodded. "Is this the part where you say All for One and One for All?" Relena asked. Quatre rolled his eyes, but then he smiled. "Actually. Yeah. Everyone. Come on. Stand up and get in here." Quatre stood in the middle of the room and held his hand out. The rest of the team, including Sally and Relena, gathered around him with varying states of reluctance and they stacked their hands together. "Almost no one thought we would make it here. There are a lot of people who hate us for being here today." Quatre smirked. "Fuck them." That startled a laugh out of Duo and Relena, and most of the others smiled. "We made it here. We belong here. We're going to win here. All for One and One for All!" They did the stupid hand raising thing and Duo felt a little stupid, but also kind of excited. Someone knocked on the door. "Okay. Let's go out there and do this," Quatre said. -o- He didn't vomit on the stage. And despite Quatre's assurances that they could still lose two games and win, Duo was relieved that TGW had won it in a clean sweep, winning three games in a row, because he wasn't sure if he would have been able to come back from a loss and not start to feel his nerves and doubts set in again. Curse were good guys - they congratulated the TGW team and told them to keep kicking ass and after shaking their hands and taking a victory stroll across the stage while the fans chanted, TGW went backstage to pack up their gear. They were done for the day, and even though they had only played three games instead of a full set of five, Duo felt exhausted. So much fear and adrenaline had been pumping through his body all day -and all night before - that at this point he was kind of amazed he was still standing. He hadn't been able to sleep last night, and he wasn't entirely sure if he would be able to tonight, but he knew he needed to try. ZG would be taking the stage soon, for their best of five series against Complexity, and Duo hoped they made it home in time to see some of the games live. As the other guys made a sweep of the holding room to make sure they hadn't left anything behind, Duo took a detour to the bathroom. He was usually pretty good about not drinking too much caffeine on game days - nothing was worse than sitting in a chair for an hour while trying not to think of how much he needed to piss - but today he had failed miserably. He had pounded a few Red Bulls with Quatre that morning, and another between games, and while he had managed to stay awake, he felt jittery and his bladder felt very, very full. The bathroom was empty and Duo gratefully took advantage of the nearest urinal. A piss shouldn't feel this good, or give him this much relief - but it really did. The door opened and Duo looked over to see who had stepped into the bathroom. Solo. The looked at each other, and Duo could see Solo debating with himself over whether or not he should just leave. But Duo finished up at the urinal and walked towards the sinks. That seemed to decide things for Solo and he walked towards the urinals, giving Duo a wide berth. Duo found himself lingering as he washed his hands. He wanted - "Good luck out there," he said. Solo looked over at him, his face confused for a moment, but then he glared. "Oh fuck right off, Duo." "What?" "Don't give me that shit. My team is screwed - you know it, everyone knows it. So don't give me that good luck bullshit when you're going to laugh your ass off while we lose." Duo shook his head. "No. Solo - I hate that you guys don't have Treize. I don't want you to lose." "Bullshit. You're telling me you want us to beat you?" "No," Duo had to say. Solo nodded and walked towards him. "Right. So don't feed me that garbage. Don't tell me good luck when you want me to lose." "That's not -" "Is there a problem?" Ralph stepped into the bathroom and glared at Duo. "No," Solo sneered. He arched an eyebrow at Duo. "Fine. Fine." Duo pushed past Ralph and out of the bathroom. He hadn't spoken to Solo in nine months and what were the first words his brother said to him? Oh fuck right off, Duo. That seemed about right. He met up with his team outside, where they were signing autographs, and he worked hard to keep the scowl off of his face. Hilde ran up and threw herself at him, and Duo just caught her, staggering backwards as he did so, and she kissed him on the mouth. "I'm so proud of you!" She shrieked. Duo hugged her tightly. Fuck he needed her at that moment. Hilde seemed to sense something was wrong. She let him hold her but after a moment she patted his shoulder. "Okay, stop molesting me in public. Your fans are going to be jealous." With a sigh, Duo let go and turned back to the line of kids wanting his autograph. "So...I didn't have any plans for tonight and I thought I would invite myself over to the TGW house. I can make spaghetti, since I seem to recall that being someone's favorite food to eat when they have feelings, and maybe I can spend the night, because it's been a while since I had a good cuddle and -" "Please," Duo interrupted her. "Yes, please." It sounded like the only good thing that could happen after what he had just gone through and he wanted to make a petition to grant Hilde sainthood. She grinned at him and kissed him on the cheek. A few cameras and phones flashed at that, capturing the moment. Duo snorted and gave her a look. "Now everyone's going to say I've turned straight and I'm a hypocrite. You've just given Reddit a whole new reason to hate me." Hilde rolled her eyes. "Stop. Reading. Reddit." -o- Hilde made enough spaghetti for everyone, and they gathered around the dining room table to eat and talk through the games that day. While Hilde was cooking, Duo set up his laptop in the kitchen so that they could watch the ZG and Complexity games. The first game had been a win for Complexity, but it had ended before they got home. The second game was already half over when Duo tuned in, but they were able to watch ZG manage a close victory. The third and fourth games, however, were blowouts by Complexity. "Speaking as a fan girl and not a member of another team," Hilde said to Wufei, "my favorite part of game three was when you and Duo completely destroyed Quas level one at the start of the game." Wufei actually smirked. Actually forced his mouth to go in a position that wasn't a frown. "It was my favorite part as well. Ralph and I used to do early kills like that." Oh. Right. Wufei was happy because it reminded him of the good old days with Ralph. "Yeah," Hilde agreed. She had bluntly hip checked Quatre away from the seat beside Wufei and taken it herself, and she leaned closer to him. "It's been great to see you and Duo grow as partners, though. You're such a strong top laner - and he's so unpredictable in the Jungle - I feel like most teams don't know how to deal with the two of you." "We don't know what to do with the two of them," Sally muttered, earning glares from both Duo and Wufei. "Today was the first time the two of you communicated perfectly and coordinated. I'm proud," she added. "And I hope we see more games like the ones today." Quatre nodded in agreement. "We were all great. I'm so proud of us." Quatre looked like a kid who had just opened up his Christmas present and discovered it was exactly what he had asked for. Duo and Heero worked together to clean up after the meal, while everyone else migrated to the living room to watch their games and relax. "You okay?" Heero asked Duo as they finished loading the dishwasher. Duo looked at him in surprise. "Yeah. Of course." Heero arched an eyebrow, an expression Duo was more used to seeing on Trowa's face, and he wondered if Heero had picked it up from him. "You played great today," Heero said. "So did you. That triple kill in game two - seriously, one of the coolest things I've ever seen." Heero smirked slightly, but he didn't look that excited about the memory. "Are you okay?" Duo asked him. "Yeah. Of course," Heero echoed his earlier answer. Duo rolled his eyes. "It's nothing. Just the same old shit with my brother and - and I'm terrified of letting you guys down and I'm sick of being a faggot," he added, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Heero looked at him for a long moment and then he hugged him. Duo was startled, and he stood frozen for a moment before he even thought to hug Heero back. "Every day I play I have to prove I'm not a joke, or that I'm not some wannabe Zechs," Heero confided, his breath hot on Duo's neck and Duo hugged him a little tighter. "I should be happy with the games today. I should be celebrating. But all I can think about is the fact that Zechs got a pentakill today and had more kills and already Reddit and Twitter are saying I've stolen his place in the spotlight and I'm not good enough to suck his dick." Duo swallowed hard. He'd seen that comment, navigating between the games and Reddit while Hilde cooked, and he had signed in, ready to defend Heero, but as he started to type he realized it would only make things worse. Dick comments were usually directed his way, for obvious reasons, but it was a common insult directed to other players as well. There was no need to call someone out for it if it would only make things worse. "Dude, why would you even want to suck his dick?" Duo asked, trying for humor because he could think of nothing else to say. Heero chuckled and he pulled away from the hug. It was clear they both felt a little awkward after the prolonged contact, and Duo cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sorry about your brother," Heero said, his voice low. Duo shrugged one shoulder, ready to brush it off again, but Heero glared at him. "He hasn't said a word to me in nine months until today," Duo confessed. "And... I ran into him in the bathroom, before their games, and I told him good luck and he told me to fuck right off. He thought I was being an asshole or -" "You wouldn't do that," Heero interrupted him, frowning. "You aren't an asshole." Duo had no idea why it hurt to have Heero say that, to know that about him, but it did. He nodded, because he wasn't entirely sure his voice would come out the way he wanted it to. Someone cleared their throat, and both Duo and Heero turned to see Trowa leaning against the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room. He was frowning slightly, a concerned look on his face as he took in the two of them. "They're waiting on you two before we start the games," Trowa said, his voice neutral. Heero nodded and started towards him. Duo followed. "Tired?" Trowa asked him. Duo shrugged. "Yeah. But I don't think I could sleep yet." "Too bad." Duo gave him a questioning look. "I've got my phone with me. I was hoping to get a photo of you and Heero cuddling on the couch in your sleep this time." -o- "Hey, guys, they need Duo, Heero and Trowa onstage." Duo didn't even bother to check his groan of frustration. They were back in the holding room, waiting to take the stage for their semi-final games against TSM. Complexity and Cloud 9 had just finished their games, and Cloud 9 had won, sweeping Complexity to make it into the final series tomorrow afternoon. Duo had actually joined Heero in his usual pre-game custom game and the two had been doing a one versus one, Heero warming up on his favorite champions and Duo trying out a few ideas he had seen Korean players using recently. So far, Heero was managing to hold his own, and the kills were even. Trowa had pulled up a chair and was sitting between them, watching in amusement. It was probably the most relaxed Duo had felt before a match all season. It helped that he had gotten a decent amount of sleep last night - he had fallen asleep on the couch, but this time both Heero and Trowa had as well, and Duo had woken up with Trowa's head on his left shoulder and Heero's on his right. He tried to ignore how good it felt, the warmth and firmness of their bodies pressed against him and sat there for a few minutes, grateful that everyone else was still focused on the games, before he nudged them awake. Hilde then provided excellent cuddle time, spooning with him in bed like they used to do, and she didn't push Duo to talk about Solo or any of the other things bothering him. He appreciated that - he had always appreciated how Hilde wouldn't push him at times, but then at others, she really would. In the morning, she had teased him and made him promise to wear the lucky Pokemon boxers, and despite his memories of Heero and Trowa making fun of them, Duo complied with the request. They were, in fact, fairly lucky considering that he hadn't yet lost a game while wearing them, and he'd had sex with Jason the day he wore these - the only sex he had had since Alex. Of course, Relena stepping into the holding room and announcing that Duo, Heero and Trowa were needed onstage before their games did a lot to wreck Duo's good mood and relaxation. "For an interview?" He had to ask. She gave him a look. "I don't know. They just told me to grab you guys and take you out there. Just - it'll be fine. You know they do these live interviews in front of the audience sometimes. And you'll have Heero and Trowa there with you." Which should have been comforting, but now Duo was thinking about Heero, about the shit he had to deal with, and he really didn't want him to have to go through a live interview either. "Come on," Trowa said and stood up, a resigned look on his face. "Let's get it over with so we can beat TSM." The three of them followed an event staffer out to the stage and down into a clear portion of the floor near the audience. Duo looked around and felt some of his nerves coming back. The place was packed and many fans were holding up signs to support their favorite teams and players. The fans screamed when they saw them walk out and the feeling was surreal. Jatt, one of the League employees and a caster for their live streams, was standing there waiting for them, a microphone in hand, and Solo stood beside him. They were chatting, Solo making some joke that Jatt laughed at, and Duo was reminded once again that the world loved his brother, that the League community loved him, and that - holy shit. Two event staffers stood just to the side, each of them holding two trophies in their hands. "Hey guys," Jatt greeted them and waved them closer. "We wanted to do the Spring Split awards before your games start. Just, come stand over here beside Solo and we can get the cameras rolling." Duo stared. He heard the words, but he didn't quite understand them. Heero nudged him forward, bumping his shoulder against Duo's. Trowa stood beside Solo, sparing a glare at the taller blond man before turning to face the cameras set up on one side. Heero and Duo fell in beside him, and Duo was grateful that he didn't have to stand beside Solo, as immature as it felt, he appreciated the space between them. "Okay, here we go guys - big smile!" Jatt coached and they all looked at the camera and smiled. "Alright, I am here with the top players of the Spring Split to hand out the player achievement awards!" Jatt said and the audience behind them cheered. "For the fourth split in a row, Solo is the MVP," Jatt continued and Solo accepted his trophy. Duo and Solo used to joke that they should just rename it the Solo award. No other player had won it since he started playing. "The rookie of the Spring Split is Duo!" Duo accepted his own trophy and had to stare at it. He wasn't the only rookie this season, several teams had added new players - and the Valkyries were an entirely new team. He hadn't thought much about these awards, and he definitely hadn't thought he could win one. "For the second split in a row, Trowa has had the most kill assists, and also for the second split in a row, Heero has the best kill-death-assist ratio in the league. Congrats to you guys for your amazing work!" The audience cheered again and they all hefted the trophies above their heads. "Solo - how does it feel to be the MVP yet again?" Jatt asked and held the mic out to Solo. Solo took it and grinned. "It feels great! It means a lot to me to be part of ZG - the best team in the league - and to have the support of the best fans in the world!" More cheers from the audience and Duo fought to keep from rolling his eyes. "And Duo - it looks like you are following family tradition. Your brother was Rookie of the Season his first spring as well." Duo nodded and accepted the mic from Solo. "Yeah, it feels great to win this award," he agreed. "Do you have anything to say to your fans and your critics?" Jatt added. Duo stared at him. Really? Did Duo have anything to say? Jatt made a gesture, encouraging him to speak. Fuck it, Duo decided. "Yeah," he said and turned back to face the camera. "I want to say thank you to all of my fans, all of the TGW fans, for supporting us. This is for you guys - you're the best. I also want to say that this award is for me, but it's for all of the other kids out there like me. The kids who are different. The kids who get harassed for being gay or black or for being a girl. Or for being a gamer." Duo held the trophy up higher. "This is for us. Because we are different, but we're just as good as anyone else and we're freaking awesome." There was a moment of dead silence, and Duo was pretty sure it was the sound of his professional career going down the toilet. But then the audience started to clap and then to cheer. A few people started to chant his name, and for a few minutes it was too loud for Jatt to continue the interview. Duo sincerely hoped he didn't ask him to say anything else, because his throat was completely constricted and he really did not want to cry. He felt Heero and Trowa both give him one armed hugs and the audience cheered even louder. "Well, we are out of time - but I think we can all agree that these guys deserve these awards!" Jatt awkwardly finished up the interview and Duo had to laugh. After the cameras cut, Jatt held out his hand and Duo shook it. "Well said, man," Jatt said. "Well said." Duo nodded, grateful and still not really able to speak. "You guys should head up to the stage for your games," Jatt continued. "Good luck out there." Duo, Heero and Trowa waved at the crowd, earning more cheers, and then walked back up to the stage. "I'm a little jealous," Trowa muttered as they walked towards their computers. "Shit. I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to speak," Duo slapped his forehead. "I just - I had to say it." Trowa gave him an amused look. "No, I'm jealous because now you're going to have all of these Reddit fanboys trying to get your attention." Heero nodded, a sour look on his face. "And we were your fanboys first. Before you started giving cool speeches." Duo laughed, and maybe it was a little hysterical because he still couldn't believe he had just done that, but it felt good, especially when Heero and Trowa smiled at him. -o- "You know that dream of showing up to school naked?" Wufei looked at him like he was crazy. "No." Duo arched an eyebrow. "You seriously never had that dream?" Wufei shook his head. "Of course not. That sounds idiotic." Duo sighed. "You are not normal, man." Wufei smirked. "Of course not. I'm different and I'm just as good as you." Duo rolled his eyes. His teammates had started teasing him almost immediately about that - as soon as Heero, Trowa and Duo joined them at the computers after the interview, Quatre made a joke about Duo giving a different kind of speech than he had expected, and they had all laughed and then Quatre had said they could celebrate later, but right now it was time to focus on winning. And they had - they had swept TSM in three games and the crowd had gone crazy and Duo had felt so on top of the world, standing on the stage, hugging his teammates while the audience went crazy. And today, the day of the final series, to decide which North American team went to the All Star Games in Rio, had started with Sally taking a different route to the studio, with Relena showing up with purple streaks in her hair because she wanted to try something different and now Wufei was teasing him too. It felt good. It felt amazing. As they sat at their computers, waiting for the first game of the final series to start, Duo tried to relax. He forced himself to draw in a deep breath and calm down. "Speaking of different," Heero said over the headset, and Duo reflected that after ten weeks of playing with him he really shouldn't still find his voice so damn sexy, "I checked Reddit this morning." "Dear God why?" Quatre demanded. He had always been very vocal in his opposition to it - he very rarely checked it and even less frequently commented on threads. "Because I wanted to see what people said about our chances of winning." "And?" Duo asked. This morning he hadn't wanted to look at Reddit, hadn't wanted to come crashing back to the gay-bashing reality of the internet. Relena had shared a few Twitter comments with them on the drive home last night, picking positive ones that had them all laughing and smiling, but Duo knew that there were likely to be just as many negative things said about his speech as there were positive. "It looks like people think we're going to lose," Heero said and he sounded... happy? "How is that different?" Wufei demanded. "It's not," Heero admitted and Duo had to laugh. Heero smirked at him. "I just wanted Duo to laugh. He had that 'I'm going to fuck up everything' look on his face again." Duo looked at him, and he didn't even bother to hide his appreciation for Heero. Heero held his gaze until Duo had to look away because his amusement and appreciation started to go in a different direction, because Heero was hot as hell in his Gunnar glasses, smirking back at Duo, and Duo needed to not think about that, about how sexy Heero was or the way Trowa looked at both of them with that fond, amused expression that did weird things to Duo's stomach. -o- "You are covered in glitter," Relena laughed and reached for Duo's hair, trying to pick pieces out. Duo grinned. He was. They all were. The entire team had stood on the center stage while the audience cheered for them and glitter was dumped on them from the ceiling. Duo had watched this moment so many times over the years - had watched teams with the Spring Split, the All Stars, the Summer Split, World's - had watched them laugh and cheer and sparkle from all of the damn glitter dumped on them and he had wanted that, had wanted to stand here. But he had honestly never thought it would happen. Relena and Quatre hugged Duo hard enough that it was difficult to breathe, but Duo honestly didn't care if he did die at that moment. He felt like he had achieved the impossible. "We're going to Rio!" Quatre shouted into Duo's ear. Duo nodded and tried to free himself from their grip. Even Wufei looked happy, exchanging high fives with Trowa and waving to the audience as they cheered for them. Duo finally escaped from Quatre and Relena, who just hugged each other instead, and he managed to hug Heero. Heero hugged him back, and maybe it was a little too tight, a little too close and too intimate for a national audience, but Duo put his head next to Heero's. "You were amazing," Duo said into his ear and he felt Heero shiver. Heero nodded and Duo pulled away to smirk at him. There was a piece of glitter just above Heero's left eyebrow, and Duo had to fight his urge to reach out and brush it away. Trowa came up and Duo hugged him as well. He hadn't realized just how strong Trowa was, until he felt his arms around him, or how good he smelled, even after seven hours on that damn stage, and Duo had to pull away quickly before his thoughts took a turn for the extremely inappropriate. It took almost an two hours to leave the studio. Quatre and Wufei had to give a post-game interview while everyone else worked to pack up their gear, and then they spent over an hour signing autographs. Duo was caught completely by surprise when Jason walked up to him and asked for an autograph. "What - what are you doing here?" Duo asked. He hugged Jason and Jason laughed and hugged him back. "Relena got a ticket for him," Jason said when he pulled away. "I saw your speech yesterday." Duo blushed. "Yeah, I..." "You were great. You are great," Jason told him. He shrugged. "I'm happy for you." "Thanks," Duo said. "That - that's really nice to hear." He thought about Alex, wondered what he was doing, and he doubted that he would show up at a League game and tell Duo he was happy for him. Or that he was great." "You should come back to our games," Jason said. "I miss hanging out with you." Duo hesitated at the look in Jason's eyes. It was hard to tell if Jason was just being friendly, or if he was actually flirting with Duo. "I - we're going to be crazy busy with practices for All Stars and the Summer Split," Duo said. Jason shrugged. "Can't blame me for trying. Congrats on everything." Jason turned and walked back into the crowd and Duo hoped he wasn't being an idiot. He was a good guy, he was funny and he - he wasn't right for Duo. Duo sighed. Jason wasn't right, because Duo couldn't keep his eyes or his mind off of two of his teammates. It was midnight when they got home, and everyone was still grinning, still laughing and giddy from the victory, but it was clear that everyone was also exhausted. They stood in the kitchen for about half an hour, talking and winding down, before Quatre called it a night and everyone drifted off to their rooms. Wufei actually shook Duo's hand before going into his own room, thanking him for being his teammate, and it was weird enough that Duo stared at his hand long after Wufei's door was closed. Only Trowa chuckling made him look up. Trowa and Heero were standing in the door to their room, and Trowa had that same fond, amused expression on his face again and Duo shrugged and grinned back. "Come on," he said and walked towards his own room, closer to them and away from Wufei's room, "you have to admit that was a pretty rare occurrence. Wufei thanking me for being his teammate." Heero nodded in agreement. "Speaking of rare occurrences," Trowa said, his voice low, "I've never had sex with an All Star before." "Me either," Heero said and turned towards him. They looked at each other for a long moment, and then Heero smirked and stepped close to Trowa, pressing their bodies together and kissing him. Duo momentarily forgot how to breathe. Holy hell. Walking in on the two of them having sex was one thing - watching them stand there and kiss right in front of him - it was by far the most erotic thing Duo had ever seen. He could feel himself actually getting hard just looking at them, at the way Trowa's lips fit over Heero's and his hands cupped Heero's ass and pulled him even closer. "What about you?" Trowa asked when he pulled away from Heero, his lips dark and wet. "What?" Duo looked between them, saw the bulge of their erections in their track pants and he literally had no idea what Trowa was talking about. Trowar arched an eyebrow. "Have you ever had sex with an All Star?" "Oh, uh, no." Trowa nodded. He looked back down at Heero and ran his right hand across Heero's jaw, down his chest and abdomen and to Heero's groin, squeezing his cock through the thin material of his pants. Heero shuddered against him. "I guess it's time to change that," he said and smirked. Heero pushed Trowa backwards, into their room and kissed him again. Duo stood in the hallway, unable to look away from Heero kissing Trowa, from Trowa pulling off his own track jacket and then lifting his jersey over his head, exposing his lean chest. "Coming?" Trowa asked, looking past Heero to Duo. ~ * ~ |
