Maybe it was something in the air.
Or in the water.
Or goddammit, maybe it was something about the feel of spandex and cotton molding to his body and reminding him of times he would rather forget. Whatever it was, Yuy was very much aware of the fact that he did *not* feel like his normal self. All he knew was that he had to find Heero and smack some sense into him. It was almost scary, the way that he was able to easily slip back into a "ninmu" mindset, allowing his years of training to simply take over and control him. Yuy didn't like it, but he didn't have much of a choice.
He'd never be able to track down and subdue Heero without being on the level with him. As it was, Heero probably had the edge, especially if he was running in psycho!uberseme!mode. Yuy didn't have a mode!shift that could compare.
Hn.
He was just going to have to fight dirty.
He didn't mind.
Yuy ghosted down the hallways, allowing instinct and training to lead him where he needed to go. It wasn't a clear plan of attack, more like a gut-feeling that had him moving through the twisting hallways of Castle Anthrax with ease and deadly grace. Finally, he turned a corner and was faced with a dead-end. At the end of the corridor was a single door, dim light shining between the crack of the door and the floor. Well, now certainly wasn't the time for a polite knock and invitation.
Yuy kicked the door in.
He dropped into a tumble, rolling through the doorway and ending up in a crouch, his pistol in his hands. A good thing too, because immediately after the door splintered under his kick, the sound of a gunshot had echoed through the room. If he had stayed in place, Yuy would've been dead. As it was, he was low to the floor, his pistol trained unerringly between the eyes of his counterpart, who had a similar pistol trained on Yuy.
"Hi!" Yuy chirped, a smirk on his lips. "Sorry 'bout the mess. I was a little preoccupied."
Heero snarled something but didn't lower his gun. "What the *hell* are you doing here?"
Yuy 'tsk-ed' and shook his head. "Aaaawww... someone hasn't been monitoring the In-Castle feeds very closely."
Heero scowled. "I know *why* you are here. What I want to know is why you are so persistent in trying to find me."
Yuy smirked again. "Why, to beat your ass in, of course!"
"Funny words coming from you, Bottom Boy."
"Ah, well. I could've said that I was going to make you face justice or something, but then Wu-chan would be angry with me. Now how about we lose the guns and beat each other with bare hands? It's much more... satisfying."
Heero snorted and holstered his weapon in the back of his leather pants. "You will not be successful."
"In what?" Yuy asked, tucking his gun in the back of his spandex. "Kicking your ass?"
"No. In making me go back."
Yuy laughed and Heero looked confused. "Who says I'm going to make you go back? I just said I was going to kick your ass!"
"You are not going to force me to return?"
The spandex-clad boy shook his head. "Why should I? If you're gonna be a dumb prick, it's your choice. That just means there's more Duo for me."
"*What*?!" Heero snarled, his hands fisting at his sides.
Yuy shrugged carelessly, smirking at the jealousy playing across Heero's face. "What are you so surprised about? If *you're* not sleeping with Duo, *somebody* has to. And Max has been hogging him lately. It's only fair that I get a turn."
Heero shook his head in denial. "You... you can't... you're a bottom."
"Point being?"
"Duo is, too."
"Who says a guy can't change? I mean, if this place is gonna fuck me up and give me seme tendencies, I say go with the flow, ne? Besides, now I know why you always make fun of me. Duo is such a *tasty* piece of ass. Oh, God... I think I'm gettin' hard now just thinking about him under me, just begging for me to--"
"SHUT UP!" Heero screamed, launching himself across the the room and slugging Yuy across the face. "Don't you dare speak about Duo like that! He belongs to *ME*!"
Yuy staggered but managed to keep his feet. He looked up, Prussian eyes throwing sparks as they narrowed on his counterpart. "Yeah, well you have a helluva way of showing it. Besides, I'm you so he belongs to me, too."
Heero visibly snapped, moving to attack. Yuy thought it was surreal as he brought his hands up in defense. He could read every single one of Heero's moves and counter them easily. It really was like dancing in front of a mirror.
"You." Jab. Block.
"Are." Sweep. Jump.
"NOT." Elbow. Dodge.
"*ME*!" Tackle. Oops.
Yuy landed heavily, the air rushing out of his lungs as Heero landed on top of him. He managed to grab Heero's hands in time though, before the other Japanese boy could latch them around his neck and throttle him. The two boys continued to grapple, rolling across the floor and struggling to pin the other down. A flurry of punches, scratches, and chokeholds passed between the two.
"What's the matter, Heero?" Yuy gasped out, straddling Heero's chest for a moment and socking him across the jaw. "Afraid Duo's gonna like me better that *you*? Actually that's not so hard. Duo likes *everyone* better than you."
Yuy was on his back again as Heero flipped them, and grit his teeth as Heero punched him again.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Heero yelled, a blow punctuating his words. "You're not me! Duo's not like that! You don't know anything!"
With a curse, Yuy managed to buck Heero off of him and rolled away, breath rasping in his throat. Heero seemed a bit off balance, so Yuy rushed him, pinning the leather-clad boy against a desk and hitting him again and again.
"What the hell would you know? You're the bastard who leaves him all the time! You're the one who treats him like shit! You're the one who hasn't got his head on straight! You stupid bastard! What the hell would you know about anything you selfish, stuck-up prick?!?"
A hard elbow to his stomach winded Yuy and he staggered back, arms across his middle. Heero was breathing heavily, clutching one elbow in his hand, leaning against the desk and eyeing Yuy warily.
"That's why I left," Heero said softly. The light of madness disappeared from his eyes and an empty, *hollow* look replaced it.
Yuy's head snapped up (he ignored the voices in his head that complained at the sudden movement) and he snarled. Launching himself across the room again, Yuy's right hand drew back, fingers curled into a fist, ready to smash into that arrogant face. Heero looked up at him blankly, not flinching from the attack. Yuy -- shocked -- wavered, opened his hand at the last minute and slapped Heero so hard that the leather-clad boy dropped to his knees and the loud 'CRACK' resounded through the room.
"You stupid bastard!" Yuy shrieked again.
Heero placed on hand against his stinging cheek and closed his eyes. "You said that already."
Yuy hauled Heero up by his collar, shaking him. He was disturbed by the way Heero had automatically turned so complacent; he just hung in Yuy's grip like a limp ragdoll. Yuy dropped him again and Heero just remained slumped on the floor, staring at nothing.
"... you stupid bastard..." Yuy repeated, the words catching in his throat and almost choking him. Then, for no reason at all, Yuy burst into tears. The traced a hot trail down his face, stinging against the bruises and cuts in their path.
Heero looked up, confused. "Why are you crying? You beat me up. Isn't this what you wanted?"
"You... you... you..." Yuy swallowed his tears and looked hard at his counterpart, bruised and beaten on the floor. "Don't you know *anything*?! Don't you know much it rips Duo apart when you leave like this? Don't you know how much everyone *hurts* when you act like this?"
"I told you. That's why I left. Do you think I *enjoy* being a bastard to Duo? Don't you think that it rips out *my* heart, too, whenever a bunny plinks or the plot makes me act so cold to him? I can't do it anymore. I can't rip his heart out like that in fics and expect him to love me like nothing happened outside of them."
"But that's exactly what he needs! What you BOTH need! Goddammit, why the *fuck* can't you let yourself be happy for once? You're such a... a... a..."
"... stupid bastard?"
"YES!"
"Because I'm Heero Yuy," Heero shrugged.
Yuy restrained his scream of frustration, but it was a very near thing. He forced himself to take deep breaths and count to 10... well, he made it to 79 before he could look at Heero and not want to kick his ass again.
"Well," Yuy said, breaking the silence, running one hand across his face and frowning when it came back tinted red. "We're both a mess, bleeding all over the place. Do you know how hard it is to get blood out of spandex?"
Heero snorted but said nothing.
Yuy crossed his arms and looked down at Heero, still sitting on the floor. "I didn't have sex with him, you know."
Prussian eyes snapped up and caught his, and Yuy could read the relief in them. "You didn't?"
"Nah... very hard to resist though. Especially when he's all snuggled against you and stuff."
Heero glared. "I thought you didn't have sex with him?"
"No sex... I didn't say we didn't *sleep* with each other, though. Or that we didn't mess around."
"Hn."
"He misses you."
Surprised Prussian eyes looked up at him again. "Why?"
Yuy scowled. "Haven't you been paying attention?! He misses you, baka! He wants you to *prove* to him that you aren't a--"
"-- stupid bastard."
"YES!"
"That seems to be the theme for the day. Hn."
"Does that mean you're going back with me?"
A fine brow arched. "I thought you said you were just here to kick my ass?"
"Yeah, well I did that already. And I didn't say I wouldn't go with you if you changed your mind."
"Hn."
"Well?"
"You go back. I... have to think about some things first."
Yuy huffed in exasperation. "Baka. I'll go. But if you aren't back tonight, I'll make sure Duo can't walk for a *week*."
"Ryoukai."
