Part 62
Curled in the corner of the love seat in his room, Duo yawned hugely and let his book slip from his fingers. Five minutes till midnight. Heero still wasn't back from his latest MRO assignment.
Well, logic dictated that sooner or later, he wouldn't make it within the 48-hour window. Duo didn't consider it breaking a promise; Heero couldn't control all the variables of his trips, regardless of how hard he tried.
He uncoiled from the sofa and headed for bed, shedding his soft robe as he went. Heero would be here when he awoke, the Banshee was positive of that. It was only... Well, he missed his goodnight kiss...
And his goodnight hug.
And Heero's fingers threading their way through his hair.
And the reassuring feel of Heero's hard, warm body against him.
And Heero's powerful arms holding him, protecting him...
::One more word, and we'll need a cold shower!::
Duo groaned to himself. ::Conversations with the inner idiot!::
::Give it up, you twit! He loves you! He tells you a dozen times a day!::
::Shut up, brain. It's bedtime; just go to sleep. Tomorrow is another day.::
::And we're a tap-dancing aardvark!::
Duo had about decided to bang his head against the wall a few times to quiet the disobedient voice in his head when a real voice caused him to jump.
"Hey, baby. I made it."
Heero!
Duo spun around to find his Wyvern standing in the doorway, still in his traveling clothes, looking tired, but grinning all the same.
The clock on the desk said 2358.
"Heero..." he sighed. He stepped into the dark-haired man's open arms. "I figured I'd see you in the morning."
Heero squeezed him tight, then relented enough to kiss him tenderly. "You will, but I wanted my goodnight kiss," he murmured warmly.
"I'm glad you're home..."
"So am I..."
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Duo peeked around the open door, peering into the spacious laboratory. He wanted to be sure Heero was there before he went in. The five Wizards who worked in the lab were a little on the extreme side for Duo's comfort; they tended to pounce at him, which made him rather edgy in their presence. And they were forever trying to involve him in their experiments.
"Duo!" cried a voice almost in his ear. He jumped a foot, upward and sideways, and cracked his shoulder on the doorframe.
"Um... Oh. Hi, G. I... uh... didn't see you there..." he managed to squeak out, all the while trying to get around the odd-looking Wizard.
The man grabbed his arm, dragging him eagerly into the room. "We haven't seen you in ages! You must be very busy in Investigations! You should come down with Heero more often! Would you like to see what we're working on?"
Duo opened his mouth several times, but never got a break in which to reply. He rubbed at his shoulder, wondering if it would be a bad bruise. On his other side, another Wizard materialized, beaker in hand.
"Would you like to try this? We're hoping it will counteract a number of detrimental potions."
"NO! I mean... I haven't taken any potions... I'm not -"
"BACK TO YOUR BURNERS! UNHAND MY BANSHEE!"
Duo exhaled his relief as Heero appeared before them. The Wyvern pulled him from between the two Wizards, glaring fiercely.
"You lay hands on him again, and I'll have you drawn and quartered, cleaned, cooked and served for dinner!" Heero snarled.
"Sorry, Heero. I just wanted to make him feel at home," whined Wizard G.
Wizard H tried a return glare. "It won't hurt to taste it!"
Heero leaned forward slightly and turned up the power on his glare. "Use. The. Rats."
Wizard H gulped, and scurried after Wizard G.
Heero watched them narrowly, then turned to Duo.
"Are you all right? I'm sorry they bothered you."
"I'm fine, Heero," he replied with a smile. "They just startled me. They keep sneaking up on me. And why does H always want me to taste something?"
Heero smirked grimly. "They're naturally sneaky." He led Duo to a desk on a raised platform and offered him the chair. "H is the potions expert. I don't know why he won't just use the rats; he offers his concoctions to everyone. He's going to poison someone one day." He glanced at Duo and snorted at his wide-eyed expression. "Never eat or drink anything in this lab, baby. I do not want to lose you."
Another Wizard, O this time, approached carefully. "Um... Heero? I think I've finally worked the bugs out of that spell. Would you like to observe?"
Heero got to his feet, but motioned Duo to stay. "It's safer here; trust me."
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"Wish you didn't have to go out again..."
"Verlaine is writing the contracts to come due quarterly from now on."
"And that means...?"
"That if I have to do this again, it'll be for a week once every three months, instead of scattered all over the calendar."
"Hm... A whole five days once a quarter against two days out of ten all the time. Sounds like a better deal."
"It is. Until we get another shape-shifter on staff."
"So, why are you the only one?"
"Just the way it works sometimes. True shape-shifters tend to be less than thrilled to work within the structure of the department."
"And that means...?"
"I threaten to eat the idiots, but I don't actually *do* it. Other shape-shifters are not necessarily so lenient. And many more are just not intimidating enough."
"Oh."
"I've let the IchiBan know that there are openings, should any of my kin be interested."
"Another Wyvern on staff? Could we handle that? Would Wufei be able to handle that?"
"Oh, Wufei is always up for a fight."
"Yeah, he is, isn't he... Hey, we only have eleven hours before you have to leave again. Shouldn't we be storing up kisses?"
"Why, you are absolutely right, my exquisite little kissing bug! Come here."
"Kissing bug?! Hee~ro!"