1x2 ,fluffy as hell warning
"He's brooding."
"How can you tell?"
"He keeps stopping and just... staring."
"Staring is brooding? He could be thinking about lunch... cleaning his gun... nice ,neat, properly detailed mission reports... lots of things."
"Maybe why he left Relena's security detail?"
Duo frowned at Trowa. "Maybe, but I don't ask why you moonlight as a circus clown, and I'm not going to ask Heero why he... well... gave up his complete and utter devotion to keeping Mizzzz Relena safe, to come and work for Preventers with us."
"Why not?"
"Why don't I ask why you're a part time clown?" Duo hedged.
Trowa glared from under his bang and then looked very wise. "Sometimes, it's not about what we need, but about what we need to run away from."
"Thank you, Mr. Confucius," Duo muttered sarcastically as he rolled a pencil back and forth over the table under his hand nervously. His eyes peeked over the top of his computer work terminal at Heero, who was staring off into space again, at his own desk across the room, and looking... lost.
"I was really sure there were going to be wedding bells," Duo muttered under his breath.
"Everyone else was very sure of that as well," Trowa replied as he pretended to look through several information chips on Duo's desk. "Maybe that didn't go as expected?"
"Why not?" Duo wondered sourly. "They were perfect together and she really, really loves him."
Trowa pocketed the chips and said softly,"It's possible that everyone had expectations that proved to be false."
"Yeah?" Duo turned thoughtful. "What are the odds of that?"
"I don't bet on life, it's too unexpected," Trowa told him and then went back to his own desk.
"I know that better than anyone else," Duo said to himself with a pained grimace.
Duo stood, made a big deal out of stretching, and then walked over to Heero's desk as if something had just occurred to him.
"Hey," Duo began, "I was wondering... You're new to the area, and all... Probably don't even have a place yet... Every good soldier likes to recon his surroundings.... so... why don't we hit the town after work and I can show you the sites?"
Heero stared at him, dark blue eyes intense under dark brows. Duo felt as if he were being examined and weighed down to the sub-atomic level. "You want to know why I'm here. Why don't you just ask?"
Duo rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Ah... well... not polite?"
Heero frowned and then said, "Reality didn't measure up to Relena's expectations of me."
Duo puzzled over that and then grunted."Well, you're a hell of a lot more useful here with Preventers."
Heero nodded in agreement and then tried to go back to his work.
"Heero?" Duo persisted.
Heero froze, staring down at his desk, and then he went into motion again, something decided. "A date is fine. Tonight. Eight o'clock."
"D-date?" Duo stammered.
Heero's blue eyes looked amused as they raised to his again. "That is what you were asking for, wasn't it?"
Duo grinned. "Yes, sir!" he exclaimed, but then thought of the implications of that. "Uhm, just to be clear... this is a guy/guy/date kind of date? You do know I'm gay, right? I mean... if you're not, and you think this is just some beers and a bar kind of thing... You know... a guy/guy/friend kind of date... Uhm...God! I've wanted to ask you out since... since forever! I just didn't think... you know... Uhm..."
"Eight o'clock," Heero said firmly, a smile playing on his lips.
Duo looked flustered and then nodded. "Yeah, eight..."
Duo sat down at his desk again, dazed. Trowa rolled his chair close, worried.
"So? What were you talking about?" Trowa demanded.
Duo swallowed hard and then grinned. "Dating.... I have a date with Heero."
"A guy/guy/friend kind of date?" Trowa wanted to know with a wide eye. "Or a guy/guy/date kind of date?"
"What?" Duo asked, completely glazed and staring at Heero with a smile.
Trowa sighed. "Never mind..."
End