Pairing: 1+2

Warnings: shounen-ai, sap, fluff, Heero POV, probable OOC

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or the boys. Much as I wish I did.

Summary: Duo's eyes are not purple. Heero muses on this fact.

Notes: Takes place after the wars, hence the OOC behavior from Heero. This was written because I wonder the same thing that Heero does. Namely, where do people get the idea that Duo's eyes are purple?

Top of the Sky

I've never understood why people always say his eyes are purple. They're not. He laughs at me whenever I bring it up, tells me it doesn't matter. They're only eyes, he says. Well, maybe. But they're still not purple.

Go outside on a blazing hot day in the middle of August. Look at the sky and keep looking up and up and up, and there, at the very top of the sky, is the color. His color. It's the only way I can describe it.

I only discovered it by accident, really. We were on Earth, on vacation, on the west coast of North America. California, to be precise. It was the middle of August, and he was determined that we would try something called "roller-blading," which involved a sort of boot with a row of wheels on the bottom. I told him he was insane. He looked at me. I gave in immediately.

At the rental place, strapping the "roller blades" onto my feet, I asked him how, exactly, I was supposed to keep my balance in these things. He told me it was easy, like ice-skating, only on land, and to stop being such a sour-puss (his words, not mine). I glared at him. He grinned and said I was cute when I glared. I growled. He laughed, bright and vibrant, reminding me of why I was even doing this in the first place, and hauled me to my feet.

I got the hang of the sport fairly quickly, as always, and soon we were off to a set of paved trails in the hills near the city. The hills were a golden-brown in the heat of late summer, studded with live oaks. We went along easily side-by-side for a while, then he pulled ahead and started showing off, and I got completely distracted by the scenery and tripped over my own feet. Yes, that's right. I fell on my ass while staring at his.

And while he stood there laughing at me for being such a klutz, I sat where I had fallen, staring up at the top of the sky, completely mesmerized by the color. I must have zoned out a bit, because the next thing I knew, he was right in front of me, crouched down, and waving a hand in my face. I blinked at him, and he smiled.

"Hey, buddy. There you are. You were off somewhere else for a moment there." He stood and held out a hand to help me up. I took it, but instead of getting to my feet, I pulled him down next to me. He gave me an amused, affectionate look and opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted him.

"Did you know," I said conversationally, "that your eyes are exactly the same color as the top of the sky?"