by Alleyprowler
Heero paused by the safehouse kitchen to get a bottle of water before he went to the hangar to patch up Wing's crippled left arm. While he was rummaging around in the refrigerator, he thought he heard a noise...a suspiciously familiar noise that made him forget about Wing.
He went to investigate. The noise came from a dark corner of the kitchen. As he'd expected, he found a small blond pilot sitting curled up on the floor, trying not to cry too loudly. Heero knew Quatre cried a lot when Trowa was gone, but that didn't mean he liked it. In fact, he disliked it intensely. He found the other boy's tears...disturbing. He wanted to do something to stop it, but he didn't know what.
What would Duo do? He asked himself.
Hug. Duo liked to hug. Duo believed that hugs cured everything. Therefore, Heero should hug Quatre. Mission accepted.
Quatre jumped and gasped as he felt two steel-muscled arms wrap themselves tightly around his shoulders. He'd had his face pressed against his knees, but now he looked up with tear-filled eyes to see who was assaulting him. "Heero?"
Those tears. Heero didn't like them. The hug hadn't been enough.
What would Duo do?
Talk. Duo liked to talk. Duo believed that talking about things was healthy. Therefore Heero should make Quatre talk. Mission accepted.
"Do you want to talk about it...Q-bean?" He asked, remembering one of Duo's many nicknames for the blond.
For a long moment Quatre sat frozen, staring at Heero with an expression that Heero couldn't interpret. It involved very wide eyes and an open mouth; he would ask Duo about it later. Heero stared back calmly, prepared to wait forever if necessary. Quatre should talk. Duo would have seen to it that he did.
Eventually Quatre remembered to breathe again. "I-I just miss Trowa." He said, and another tear slipped down his cheek.
Damn. Talking wasn't doing any good.
What would Duo do?
Touch. Duo liked to touch. Duo believed that touching someone was a good way to make them feel better. Therefore Heero should touch Quatre. Mission accepted.
Heero reached up and gently wiped away the offending tear. With his other hand, he rubbed Quatre's back. "Trowa is fine. He's with Duo and Wufei. They are all competent soldiers. You know that." He gave Quatre another hug just for good measure.
Quatre just sniffled and wiped his eyes. Obviously something more was required to get rid of the tears.
What would Duo do?
Kiss. Duo liked to kiss. Duo believed that kissing an injury would help it mend faster. Therefore Heero should kiss Quatre. Mission accepted.
Heero took Quatre's chin in his hand and forced him to look up. Huge blue eyes full of unshed tears made Heero feel that...disturbance again. He couldn't afford to be disturbed. It would compromise mission readiness.
With that decided, Heero leaned forward and pressed his lips to Quatre's.
Instantly, Quatre shot to his feet with a loud (and decidedly uncharacteristic) curse. "What in the hell do you think you're doing, Heero? Gah! I can't believe you did that!" He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. "What the hell's gotten into you? Can't you reign in your damn hormones for the duration of one single mission? Crap, Duo's going to kill both of us..." and on and on he ranted while Heero's lips slowly curved up into a smile. "What the hell are you smiling at, Yuy?"
"You're not sad."
"No, I'm freaking pissed!"
"You aren't crying any more."
"Of course I'm not--" Quatre stopped cold. Realization dawned in his eyes. "I don't know whether to thank you or kick your ass into next week."
Heero's smile broadened by a fraction of a millimeter. "Mission complete." He picked up his abandoned tool box and went out to repair his wounded Gundam.