Being Played
by kebzero
"Hey, Heero - what do you say to a little one-on-one, huh?"
Heero looked up from the computer screen, glared at his roommate. "What-"
"Basketball," Duo grinned back at him.
Frown.
"Hey, you were the one that suggested we get involved in extracurricular activities, so that we didn't stick out too much here."
Brows closing momentarily, then relaxing again.
Half a smirk. "What, afraid you'd lose, tough guy? Think little, old me would trash you in an honest ballgame?"
That was it. Curse Duo for knowing his weak spot for challenges. He snatched the ball out of Duo's hands. "You're on."
"Great - hey, wait."
Heero stopped, already halfway to the door. "Now what?"
Duo nodded towards his chair, where two pairs of white shorts and red tank tops lay. "We need to change first. That's the team uniform. There's tryouts later today, so I signed us up and got these. Don't stick out, remember?"
Another quick frown. Heero put the ball aside, and pulled his standard green tank top over his head. He tossed it over on his bed and grabbed one of the red shirts.
Duo had pursed his lips during the brief second Heero's eyes were obscured. As Heero reached for his spandex, Duo snatched one of the white shorts and the remaining red shirt, and headed for their bathroom, unlike Heero desiring some privacy before changing. Even so, as he turned in the doorway, he caught a glimpse of the moon as spandex came off. With a slight gulp, he finally closed the door.
---
Heero attacked, not for the first time. Duo immediately moved to block him, and even though Heero was quick to turn his back on Duo, waiting for an opening, he found none. Frowning, he made a break for it, following the curved line in the hopes Duo wouldn't be able to follow. In one quick move, he bolted left, bounced the ball once, turned as he jumped up, tossed the ball-
Only to see it smack against Duo's palms and bounce harmlessly onto the court. Duo went after it immediately, and their roles were reversed.
Heero hated to admit it, but Duo was rather good. He was glad nobody were there to witness this, though. He didn't want to add to the list of people he had to kill.
A moment's hesitation was enough for Duo to get past his defenses, leap for a shot-
Even though Heero made a jump backwards, desperately trying to deflect the ball, it was no use. He couldn't gain the height in time, and he had enough with landing on his feet and hands, rather than his rear. The ball went through the hoop, and landed right next to his right hand. Heero glared at it, then at Duo, who was snickering.
"Too much for ya?"
Scowl. Heero snatched at the ball, went back out on the court to prepare his next attack. Duo had just evened the score again, and their allotted time was fast coming to an end. Half an hour, that was the agreement. Only a few minutes left now.
He moved closer, and Duo put on an effective guard, reaching wide to block Heero's every way of attack. The half-embrace was on the border of legality in blocking, but there was no touching. Any bumps between them was unintentional, and mainly due to Heero's movements.
To Heero's frustrations, Duo was perfectly able to keep up with him. Steeling his resolve, Heero decided to intensify his efforts. He was not going to lose to this scatterbrain who'd followed him here. The boarding school cover was his idea, damn it. He couldn't stand a copycat, nor a tagalong. If it wasn't for the fact he still owed Duo...
Another attack. He jumped right, Duo following, then shifted his foot in mid-air to jump back left, two steps and a bounce, turned to the hoop-
And damn if Duo was not there - worse, Heero had already committed himself to the shot, and even as he fell backwards he made a shot, saw Duo leap for it, deflect it, suddenly realize his next problem-
They fell. On gut reaction alone, Heero grabbed at Duo's waist, saw Duo's arms sprawl, prepare-
Impact.
Concrete hurts.
Duo had been able to land on hands and knees, now lying on top of Heero. Heero, by having clung to Duo, had reduced the impact of his backside to the concrete. Even so, he covered up a wince, suspecting he'd get a few impressive bruises over the next few days. As it was, all he could do was frown up into Duo's face, blaming him for their little outing, even more so for the fall. Had Duo not gone for the ball, or kept such a close guard, he would have been able to land on his feet. With Duo inbound for a landing on top of him, Heero's original plan of falling back on one leg, jump away and regain balance was scratched; Duo's weight would have twisted his leg for sure, if not broken something. Duo had reacted quickly enough to avoid crushing him, at least.
Grin down. "Sorry about that... didn't mean to..." The words trailed off, and the grin wavered. Duo merely looked him in the eye, his gaze soft compared to Heero's harsh return glare. Duo leaned in, closer-
"Duo, what-"
They kissed. Or rather, Duo kissed Heero, not giving the other a choice in the matter, retreating before Heero could give more than surprise as a reaction. He hovered for a while, waiting for Heero's next move.
That hadn't been an accident. The fall hadn't been an accident. Duo had seen what was going on, but had let this happen, had let them fall... Had trapped him - kissed him. Heero's frown lingered for a minute, then faded away into sullenness. "...why?" he finally asked.
Duo smiled faintly. "Because I wanted to... Because I hoped you wanted to, too..."
Perplexed by this, Heero wasn't sure how to respond.
Duo sighed, got to his feet, offered Heero a hand in getting up too.
Heero looked at the offering, then frowned, slapped it away in refusal and got up on his own. He looked at Duo's scraped hands and knees. Again, the frown wavered. "You're injured..."
Duo cocked his head to one side, looked at Heero, glanced down at his palms. "What, this? Those are just scratches. I'll put some antiseptic on it when we get back. It doesn't even bleed, so no biggie."
"But-"
"Wanna play some more, Heero?"
Heero thought it over, considered repeating his concerns over Duo's scrapes, considered questioning him about the kiss. He'd never thought Duo might-
No, that wasn't the real problem. What was, was that he didn't think he would... like it.
He opened his mouth, intent on answering Duo's questions - not just the one he'd actually spoken, but he never got that far. A new voice interrupted them, as well as the bouncing of a basketball - their basketball.
"Huh, what are two short squirts like /you/ doing here? The tryouts are for real guys, not midgets like you two." The tall, gangly guy ran one hand through his black curls, kept a steady rhythm on the ball with the other. Another big, dark-haired fellow stood beside him, albeit substituting some of the height for muscle, punching one fist into his other palm.
Duo huffed at the sight, turned a grin to Heero. "What do you say, Heero? Wanna work with me and cream these guys in a quick two-on-two game?"
The tall guy stopped bouncing the ball, grabbing it with both hands, snorted. "As if you could even score a single point..."
Heero glared at the guy, more than willing to focus all his frustrations on the new target. "I'm with you, Duo." He glanced at Duo from the corner of his eye, dared a short-lived half-smirk, and mumbled "All the way..."
He didn't wait to see if Duo had heard the latter, but immediately focused on the task at hand, starting an assault. There would be time to talk things out with Duo later.
As the game unfolded, soon enough going decidedly in their favor, Heero did notice that the coach had come down to the sidelines to observe the game. He smirked. Perhaps a place at the school team wasn't such a bad idea. It wasn't as if they were going to stay long enough to really be noticed, anyway. Besides, there was something to hiding in plain sight.
Even so, he was definitely beginning to feel the effects of the fall. His back hurt, and he imagined Duo's hands weren't exactly enjoying grabbing the ball, either.
If Duo ever wanted a second kiss, Heero hoped he'd just have the nerve to ask.
The answer was a given.
|