The flashing images flying from the television set illuminated two deadened eyes. The owner was curled up in a broken sofa, his hand picking at some of the stuffing oozing out of the upholstery of the armrest. The off-white fuzz danced along his fingertips until, losing interest, he brought that hand to curl around the body in his lap. Dipping his head momentarily, Duo Maxwell placed a gentle kiss on top of his best friend's head, inhaling the sweet scent of vanilla shampoo as an added benefit. Heero Yuy remained perfectly still in Duo's arms, seemingly refusing to respond to the gentle signs of adoration coming from his partner.
The flicker lights danced in every direction to ghost along the shadows hiding in the corners of the dark room. Duo smiled as Heero's head tilted to the side and fell onto his chest, the movement caused by the braided pilot's shift of discomfort. At the edge of the sofa, Duo's steel-toed boot made little tapping movements against the hardwood floor, going up and down... up and down. When the teenager had begun the obnoxious tapping in hopes of getting Heero riled up, he had practically scoffed when his shoe fell into something sticky.
Mustn't let that faze me.
He can't catch on to my game.
The shoe fell back into whatever it was that was collecting on the floor of their current hotel and was removed just as easily. Duo had, after much consideration, given up trying to figure out what he was sticking his boot into, but the only thing that immediately popped up into his mind was somebody's gum. It took him just a couple of minutes of deep thinking to realize that holding Heero was more important than dropping him to figure out if something was possibly ruining the bottom of his shoe.
What kind of friend would that make me if I disregarded him for myself?
A woman danced across the screen in a health commercial, her hair hanging suspended in mid-air as she glanced at the camera. The advertisement for the diet pills popped up onto the screen, a chuckle beginning to form in the pit of Duo's stomach as he watched. Getting a better grip of Heero and pulling him further into his lap, Duo released one hand and snatched up the remote. A shaking finger pressed the mute button four times so that it was changed from mute back to mute, a considerable waste of time. Heero ignored all of this, his face resting along the fabric of Duo's coat, one of his hands bent between both their bodies.
Duo tapped his foot once - up, down - before dragging his eyes away from the TV to take in Heero's current position.
"You don't look comfortable, buddy."
He slid one arm down Heero's body to grab onto the leg that had managed to slide off the couch. Duo hooked his arm under the knee and tugged Heero back onto the couch, sighing as the hand between both of them scrunched up further with the movement. Leaning back into the sofa, Duo used his free arm to move Heero's hand away from harm. The warm body in his arms was just a little too warm for comfort, causing Duo to shiver with annoyance.
He tapped his foot once - up, down... that's all.
The liquid clung to the bottom of his shoe again like it had been for what seemed like an eternity. Duo placed a soft kiss on the top of Heero's still head, nestling his face in the soft mass of his friend's rich brown hair, inhaling the enticing scent of vanilla. He tried to ignore the feeling of the liquid, instead occupying himself with spending time with a friend.
He tapped his foot once - up, down... the wild flashing from the television distracting him for just a moment.
Duo pulled Heero up into his lap, chuckling when Heero's head fell back to rest on his shoulder. The braided pilot tilted his head to the side to lay his head against Heero's, closing his eyes to block the erratic flashing out of his line of vision.
He tapped his foot once, the red liquid stretching out to cling to the bottom of his shoe as he lifted off the ground again. The strand of red broke off of the rubber and fell back to land in its puddle, waiting to try again.
Duo tapped again, stealing another drop even as another slid down Heero's badly cut leg and over a bare foot, leaking onto the floor. The red slid over Heero's tan flesh, spilling over his foot and beginning to inch towards his toes. The little red streams of blood danced over the arch of his foot to fall onto the floor, seeking some form of escape.
Duo tapped again, vanilla dancing across his senses as he watched the flashing lights through his closed eyes.
Heero's head shifted with the movement of Duo's tap, blood spilling down the curves of his face from the gash in his forehead. His nose ended up buried against Duo's neck, and despite the lack of air Duo felt, the braided teenager could almost image Heero taking notice of his strawberry shampoo like he had noticed Heero's vanilla. Duo lifted his hand up and ran it along the smooth curve of Heero's jaw line, ignoring the slick feeling of blood on skin as he did.
He tapped - up, down.
He tapped - up, down.
He tapped once more, leaving his foot down in the puddle of his best friend's blood.
Snuggling up against Heero, Duo inhaled the sweet scent of vanilla and held it for just one blissful second.
Breathing out softly, Duo opened his eyes and watched the flickering lights of his sadness.