Seven Days of Spring Break by ELLE

Well, here it is, spring break is over. ='( I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who took time to read this little ficcie which was meant to be a fun romp through different country pastimes and turned into an emotional overload so near and dear to my heart. It sure has meant a lot to me to be able to share it with you. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. =)

Saturday | Day Eight | Heero Leaves Duo for Ithaca

When Heero awoke he was still pressed up against Duo and he smiled against his bare skin, being very careful not to move as he listened to the sound of Duo breathing, feeling his chest rise and fall gently. Then he realized there was another body pressed up against his back and the hand thrown over Duo's ribs was pressed up against something soft and furry and he realized he was in the middle of a literal dog pile. And although he couldn't have ever imagined being okay with dogs in the bed, for some reason it just made him smile more. And when he felt a smaller paw stretch into his shoulder and a light purr hum in his ear, he nuzzled deeper into Duo's neck, happier than he'd ever been in his entire life. It was just so... cozy. So quaint. So perfect. Part of him felt like graduating and running back here the day after and screw the plan, screw the LSAT, screw Cornell and his J.D. and his whole future – he could figure out a new one right here, in this bed, with Duo by his side.

Though as much as he wanted to believe he could do that, he knew that in the end he wouldn't, but he let himself pretend for the time being so that he could have this one moment of pure happiness.

Duo shifted next to him and sighed. Heero kissed his shoulder and neck and he shivered and tried to pull Heero closer to him although they were already flush against one another.

"Feels good," Duo murmured into Heero's hair. Heero felt a thrill shoot through him and he pressed himself against Duo's leg.

"Yeah," he breathed back, stroking his fingers across Duo's cheek, grasping the back of his head and bringing his own face up to kiss him softly. Duo shifted onto his side so that they were pressed against each other chest to chest, their hard dicks meeting between them as they ground their hips, each movement eliciting soft, needy moans.

"When is your flight?" Duo asked between kisses and pants and Heero took a moment to answer, his brain clearly preoccupied.

"Twelve forty-five," he finally succeeded in remembering the vital information.

"Shit." Duo pulled away and breathed for a minute while Heero's hands found his ass and playfully pressed his hips against Duo's. Duo glared ineffectually and stroked a hand through his hair, though the bangs fell right back into his face. "Quat will want to leave here by nine and it's already almost eight."

Heero didn't care – he didn't want to hear it, he didn't want to be logical. For one goddamned minute he just wanted to do what Duo had espoused to him all fucking week and live in this moment and here he was being forced to rush through it to catch a plane back to his miserable, lonely life a whole world away. He kissed Duo again and though the other man gave in for a moment, he was quickly backing away once more and Heero tried not to pout.

"We could take this to the shower and kill two birds with one stone," Duo offered with a sly smirk and Heero nodded, grabbing him and pressing him against his own body, kissing him with renewed passion.

"Okay!" Duo announced as he forced their separation for a third time and sat up. "Bruno, Sandy, Shini, Nani, Heavy – all y'all out!" He began pushing disgruntled animals out of the bed so that they could get out themselves. "Sorry, but I got a special guest this morning," he explained to them, running hands over any fur he could reach as he stood and Heero's eyes raked over that toned body and the glorious erection jutting out as he climbed out from under the sheets too.

"You can get back in the bed now," he called to them over his shoulder as he went to start the shower and Heero padded after him.

Duo had released his hair and it began to fall apart in magnificent waves down his back and Heero stared helplessly as he watched nimble fingers finish parting the braid. He wondered if Duo would let him help wash it. He wondered if Duo intentionally intended to ruin showers for him forever, too.

They stepped under the warm spray together and fell immediately back to kissing. Heero's hands ran through Duo's hair, wetting it thoroughly, loving the luxurious feel of it between his fingers. He brought his lips to Duo's ear and whispered for him to turn around. He complied, gathering his hair over his shoulder as Heero pulled the other man's body up against his own, fingers finding nipples as his teeth ran over the back of Duo's neck. Duo moaned his name and that was all the motivation Heero needed to bring his hand around the Duo's hard cock and start stroking it tenderly.

Duo threw his head back over Heero's shoulder and kissed him as his hips bucked forward. Heero held him steady with an arm across his torso as his breathing became ragged and his knees weakened as he came. He returned the favor by pressing Heero up against the tiled wall and kissing him hungrily while jerking him off.

And they kissed while lathering each other's hair, feeling each other's bodies with needy fingers, both of them knowing that every moment was just one step closer to their last and they didn't want to acknowledge it, just wanted to feel and touch and memorize each piece of each other.

But eventually they were toweling off and Duo was braiding his hair quickly and Heero running a brush through his own, both of them throwing on their clothes from yesterday and exchanging heated kisses every time they were close enough to lock lips.

Once they were fully dressed, Heero pinned Duo against the door, kissing him and holding him so close he could feel the braid saturating the back of his shirt and his own arms but he didn't care. He didn't want to go. He didn't know how he was going to force his feet forward and out that door and out of Duo's house and out of Duo's life. Not now that he found him. Not now that he knew he could feel this good.

"I can't do this," he whispered, tears threatening as he buried his head in Duo's neck.

"Yes, you can," Duo whispered back, kissing his cheek and rubbing comforting hands on his back.

"No – you don't understand, you don't know what it's like for me," he argued pitifully, crushing Duo's body to him now but Duo didn't complain. Instead, Duo kissed his temple and held him back just as tightly.

"This isn't the end," Duo replied quietly. "This is just the beginning. You have your whole life in front of you and you can do anything you want with it. Think about that. Anything."

But the only thing I want is to stay here! Heero wanted to shout it at him, wanted to beg him for asylum, beg him not to make him leave the first place his heart felt truly whole. But he couldn't. He couldn't ask that of a man he had, for all intents and purposes, just met. He couldn't abandon four years of an Ivy League education in the last two months. He couldn't just give up his goals to move in with a mechanic, his two dogs and three cats, in a backwater hick town where they'd be 'the gay couple' and expect to find any kind of lasting happiness.

If he was truthful with himself, he knew it simply wasn't fair to expect Duo to be responsible for all of his happiness. And once he admitted that, he knew then what it really was that Duo had been trying to tell him this whole time. Just as he couldn't expect one person to bring him happiness, he had to stop placing the blame for his sorrow on other people too. It wasn't his mother's fault he was sad, although he never did learn how to cope with her death and he would've been undeniably more whole had she lived. And it wasn't his father's fault, either, although his emotional and physical abandonment was a deep scar on his heart he wasn't sure would ever truly fade. And it certainly wasn't Milliardo's fault for being a shitty boyfriend who didn't understand how to show him love, although he probably should've gotten out of the relationship sooner so that it didn't affect him so greatly psychologically.

He understood then that while all those things made him who he was, they didn't inherently have to make him depressed. He had to be responsible for his own happiness. He had to choose to move beyond these obstacles in his life and find a sense of purpose and fulfillment of his own. Duo did. Duo was able to forgive those who hurt him so that he could find a place here for himself to be happy. He didn't let the homophobia or the lack of career options or the crushing reality of the small town he lived in get him down, although he clearly struggled with it at times. No. Instead he went mudding, and camping, and smoked the occasional joint, and rebuilt cars and clocks, and surrounded himself with friends and animals, and found ways to make his life enjoyable in spite of the negativity surrounding him.

And if Duo could do that, given the complete lack of options he was faced with, then certainly Heero had to try, had to make some effort to do the same. He still wasn't sure he even knew how to be happy... but it was time for him to take responsibility for that. It was time for him to stop blaming others and make himself happy because he was truly the only person who could.

He released his death grip on Duo then and pulled back to stare at him honestly for a minute. He was still the most handsome man he'd ever seen. He was still funny and charming and dateable and he was still pretty much everything Heero could ever imagine wanting in a man. He was still going to be a big fat 'what if' in the grand scheme of his life. But that was... okay. Yes. Okay.

"Thank you." The words were choked with emotion when Heero said them but he didn't care. He pressed his lips to Duo's one last time and he felt Duo's body tremble underneath him. And when he pulled away they exchanged hesitant smiles and Duo squeezed his hand before they both acknowledged that their moment was over. But Heero knew, it was a good one.

He texted Quatre as they climbed into the truck and got a quick, relieved reply. It felt a little weird to sit in that truck which he'd originally seen as a foreboding piece of junk and think about how much he'd learned over the past week sitting in that very seat. Although he wanted to reach out and hold Duo's hand, he stopped himself, but not out of fear or anxiety or anything that would've stopped him earlier this week. It was just that now they had said everything there was to say and there was no reason to make this any more difficult than it had to be.

When they pulled up to Quatre's, the rental car was already in the driveway and they both looked at it with a wash of disappointment. Heero turned to look at the man who'd come to mean so much to him and Duo smiled a little and brushed Heero's half dry bangs back from his eyes, tucking them behind his ear in that sweet, endearing way his mother had. But then they were heading into the house and Duo wrapped Quatre into a hug when he saw him in the foyer.

"Y'all get rained out at the drive-in last night?" Heero heard Duo ask but Quatre's reply was lost on him as he ascended the stairs to get his things. Quickly he changed shirts, brushed his teeth, and threw his toiletries into his bag haphazardly. He stared at the bag, the room, thought about everything he'd felt since he'd arrived here that first day, picked up by Duo on the side of the road, that wide and friendly smile welcoming him home despite his inability to realize it at the time.

After his brief moment of reflection he grabbed his luggage and completely untouched laptop bag – Milliardo would never believe that, he realized with a hint of amusement – and wandered back down to pack his stuff into the car. Quatre and Duo were exchanging quiet words in the hallway and Heero gave them their privacy. Thankfully, before he had a chance to finish his internal debate over how best to go back inside and interrupt them, they were walking out to find him.

"You ready, Heero?" Quatre asked carefully and Heero shrugged. As ready as he'd ever be.

"Yeah."

"It was great to see you again." Quatre smiled warmly at Duo and Duo smiled back easily and slid his hands into his pockets self-consciously. "It was a lot of fun. You know I'll call when I'm in town this summer."

"Yeah, it'll be great," Duo replied carelessly before stepping closer and throwing a punch at his shoulder. "Was great to see you, too. Great."

And then Quatre was moving to the car and Duo was climbing into the truck and Heero watched both of them, torn as to what he should do. But when he heard the ignition in the truck turn over he made his last move without a second thought, walking up to it before Duo could shift it into reverse, and tapped on the glass, pointing to the locking mechanism. Duo raised his eyebrows curiously and unlocked the door but before he could do anything else, Heero threw the door open, stepped up on the doorframe, and pulled him into one last searing kiss. He focused on every tiny detail – the smell of his skin, the taste of his lips and mouth, the warmth of his neck under his hand as he drew him in close, the way his body melted under him, completely capitulating to his touch.

"'Ro," he breathed softly as their lips separated just slightly and Heero nuzzled his nose against Duo's, gently, his own lips ghosting across Duo's once more as he fought the urge deep within him to stay despite knowing and accepting that he couldn't.

"You were wonderful," he murmured before placing one last short, chaste kiss on the lips he never wanted to have to stop kissing and jumping down from the vehicle.

Duo stared at him like an apparition about to disappear – and in a way, Heero knew that he couldn't blame him for that. It was accurate. But as Heero stepped backwards and away from the truck, Duo shut the door, and there was no going back now – the door separated them just as effectively as the 900 miles between them did.

Duo raised his hand and Heero returned the minor, understated gesture before watching the pick-up roll down the drive way and out of his life. It hurt to watch a man he owed so much to leave, but he took a deep breath, held it, and let it go. There was nothing he could do, no reason to hurt, and he reminded himself forcibly that he shouldn't try to find a reason either. Duo had showed him nothing but tenderness. They had an amazing time together. There was no pain or sorrow, nothing negative to hold on to this time – just pleasant memories of a man who taught him how to love again.

He smiled a little, just a slight upturn at the corners of his lips, and slid into the passenger seat, feeling Quatre's curious eyes on him. They didn't say anything to each other for a while, not until they were on the highway. But he knew it was only a matter of time before Quatre's inability not to pry got the best of him.

"I can't believe you, Heero Yuy!"

Heero turned to see the huge smile splitting Quatre's face and was surprised as he was expecting admonishment.

"I never thought in a million years that you would have it in you to seduce my best friend from high school in seven days." Quatre's laughter filled the small car and Heero stared out the window, irritated.

"It wasn't like that," he growled, a bit angry and a bit hurt to have such a fundamental, formative moment in his life reduced to nothing more than sexual attraction.

"Oh, Heero," Quatre replied more sympathetically. "I know. I'm just surprised, that's all. You have always been so serious. I honestly worried you and Duo wouldn't get along."

Heero thought back to how he felt when he'd first arrived, how irritated he was to be stuck in the mud in a place so backwards they didn't even have cell phone signal – remembered how he muttered curses and regretted coming at all – and he thought that was a fair enough assessment.

"He's..." Heero hesitated as he searched for the right word. "Unforgettable."

Quatre smiled at him. "Are you going to keep in touch with him?"

Heero blinked twice, unable to believe he'd never really considered that. He had been so enamored with him, so stuck in that moment that it never occurred to him they could keep talking, that they could be friends. And he didn't even get his number. Not that he couldn't ask Quatre, it would just be embarrassing, and –

But then he chuckled when he remembered that Duo had that part figured out from the very beginning when he programmed his number into his phone in case he ever got 'stuck' again. Oh, if Duo only knew just how stuck he would be...

"Yeah, I think I will," Heero answered as he unlocked his phone and scrolled through his contacts when he got a tiny little inkling of an idea that filled him with a giddy sort of excitement like he'd never felt before.

He selected Duo's name and typed the thought quickly into a text message.

You should come up for our graduation in May.

Heero stared at the message a moment, his heart pounding in his chest, and forced himself to hit send before he could chicken out.

"You never know, you might see him again," Quatre teased lightly, likely noting how anxious he was.

"I hope," Heero replied, his voice barely a whisper as he clutched the phone in his hand, turning it over, waiting for a response.

"Sure, why not?" Quatre's optimism was less infectious than he would've liked. "Stranger things have happened."

At that moment his phone vibrated and he unlocked it quickly, taking a shallow breath as he opened the text.

Yeah, I think I'd really like that.

The warmth that filled his gut as he read those simple words spread through him and unfurled into a grin that was completely uncontainable.

"Yeah," Heero agreed, much to Quatre's surprise. "Stranger things have happened."