Bedtime Story
by Granate
granate: ok once upon a time
granate: there was a young man who lived alone and mostly kept to himself.
granate: his name was heero
granate: he lived a quiet life, could do most of his work from home.
granate: and did. because he wasn't very social
granate: he only went in to the office and saw people maybe once a week or so
granate: and there were occassional outings for shopping and other things
granate: despite this, he did not feel lonely
granate: because his upstairs neighbor was a bit on the noisy side
granate: he liked to sing and stomp around
granate: it was almost like having a roommate, except none of heero's things got moved, none of his food got eaten, and he really didnt have to interact with the person
granate: it was ideal
granate: and his neighbor could sing pretty well. he really liked to belt in the shower. heero rose earlier, so he always heard all of it
granate: once upon a time, there was another young man. his name was duo.
granate: he owned a bike shop and worked hard and had lots of friends
granate: and he was very happy because, for once
granate: he had a downstairs neighbor who didn't complain about how loud he was!
granate: he seriously entertained the idea that this guy must be deaf
granate: or never there
granate: but anyway, it was ideal
granate: one morning
granate: heero was at his desk and the water went on upstairs.
granate: a while ago, he had started keeping track of the songs his neighbor sang. just for fun and boredom and curiosity
granate: this morning, he made a little check next to "Teenage Dirtbag" and noted that his neighbor had, yet again, gotten the words wrong.
granate: "'drives an IROC' not 'drives on my rock'" he muttered to himself as he sipped his coffee
granate: (haha self-reference!)*
granate: quite sudenly, there was a loud THUD from upstairs
granate: alarmed, heero put his mug down and looked at the ceiling
granate: he waited
granate: there was no more singing
granate: just the water running
granate: heero shifted in his chair
granate: and waited
granate: and still, it was quiet upstairs
granate: no muttering or swearing or slamming the water off
granate: just silence
granate: without a second thought, heero got up and bolted to his door
granate: he took the stairs two at a time
granate: his heart hammered as he knocked on the door upstairs
granate: "anyone there?" he shouted, listening to the water that still ran from inside
granate: "hello?" he shouted, pounding on the door.
granate: there was no answer so he tried the knob
granate: miraculously, it was open so he dashed inside
granate: the bathroom door was locked, and he spared just a moment to be puzzled by the logic of someone locking the bathroom door but not the front door before kicking the bathroom door open
granate: the shower curtain had been torn down and was loosely held in the hand of the person lying unconcious on his back in the tub
granate: heero shook him
granate: there was no response
granate: heero shook the man harder and his face twitched a little
granate: "are you ok?" heero asked, relieved
granate: eyes blinked open, revealing deep indigo and deep, deep confusion
granate: "uh.. i think I fell," duo said fuzzily
granate: "I think you did too," heero replied, "you were unconsious."
granate: duo rubbed his head. "uh, not to be rude because I could have drowned in here, but who are you and do you think you could shut the water off please?"
granate: "Oh, ah," heero said, not sure whether to answer first or do as asked.
granate: he shut the water off. the emergency was over, he was coming to his senses a bit. he reached for a towel. "My name is heero yuy, i live below you," he said as he gave duo the towel
granate: "oh. OH! Well, nice to meet you, heero. I'm duo maxwell," duo said as he sat up and draped the towel over himself. "...this is kind of an awkward way to meet," he chuckled embarrassedly, "hey, wait a sec, did you... break down my door??"
granate: Heero adjusted the collar on his shirt. "well, it was locked," he tried to explain
granate: "I heard you fall from downstairs," heero added lamely.
granate: "and so you came charging up here to see if i was ok?" duo asked, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes.
granate: heero noticed for the first time that his hair was long. very long and clinging to his skin.
granate: "uh yes" he answered self-consiously
granate: "Wow, i dont know what to say," duo said as he tried to push himself to stand up.
granate: he lost his balance and reached for the wall
granate: heero caught him before the wall ever had a chance
granate: "heh, you're fast," duo chuckled as he turned red in embarrassment
granate: "you might have a concussion," heero said seriously
granate: "I think i'll be all right," duo insisted
granate: "if you get bad head aches or lose conciousness again, even for a little while, you should see a doctor," heero instructed
granate: "i'll remember that," duo said and stood on his own. "Uh, would you like a change of clothes? you're soaked," he noted, looking heero up and down.
granate: heero looked down at himself
granate: he was indeed soaked
granate: "oh" he said
granate: duo twisted his long hair into a rope in attempt to tame it as he waited for heero's answer
granate: "i can go back to my place like this," he shrugged
granate: "no no, it's no trouble! i'll lend you some clothes!" duo insisted
granate: holding the towel at his waist, he went down the hall as fast as he was able and dug out some clothes he thought might fit the other man
granate: "here!" he said and shoved the clothes at heero. he was glad heero hadnt run off yet, he needed to create an excuse to see him again!
granate: he ushered heero into the bathroom and closed the door behind him just enough so that he could still peek
granate: "you can leave the wet ones in there, i'll take care of them," he said through the door
granate: "thanks," heero said as he exited the bathroom
granate: duo grinned to himself, liking the way heero filled his clothes. especially, he couldnt help noticing, the jeans
granate: heero was hedging toward the door and duo followed, saying "thanks again for saving me."
granate: heero turned just the slightest shade of red. duo deicded he like making the other man a little uncomfortable
granate: "it was no big deal," heero all but stammered
granate: "no, seriously! you can drown in two inches of water! it's true!" duo exclaimed
granate: "oh. well. um. i'm glad i could be there then," heero said quickly
granate: "i'm glad you could be there too," duo replied, moving a little closer and grinning when heero backed into the doorframe
granate: heero groped for the door knob and wrenched the door open
granate: he paused a moment and looked down at his sock feet
granate: "andyousingreallywell," he muttered before darting down the hall and disappearing around the corner
granate: Duo thought his face was going to break he was grinning so hard. "I'll bring your clothes down when they're dry!" he called after the other man
granate: heero retreated back to the safety of his own apartment and tried to get back to work.
granate: there was more singing from upstair now.
granate: songs he hadn't heard before.
granate: ones with decidedly dirty lyrics
granate: he pretended to be too busy to change into his own clothes
granate: and then that night, he pretended to be too tired to change into pajamas
granate: the following day, duo hummed to himself as he folded up heero's clothes and put them in a neat pile.
granate: he grabbed a few condoms and stuffed them in Heero's pants pockets. on the way out, dry clothes under one arm, he snatched the bottle of wine from the fridge.
granate: he would have to thank his savior, after all.
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