[FIC] Half-time 1/3 (Games Series)

[catscradle]

For those of you interested in the continuation of the on going twists of the mega alternate universe spin off series from hell, here's the next installment. . .


Title: Half-Time
Series: Games
Authors: DaMoyre and Stephanie
Archive: GWAddiction (www.gwaddiction.com) and if she chooses,
Steelsong (www.steelsong.com)
Pairings: 1x2x3/3x2x1 threesome!
Rating: R (for language!)
Warnings: angst, language, hints of yaoi and shonen-ai
Disclaimer: We don't own GW. You know the drill.
Feedback: Always welcome!

NOTES: This fic takes place right after Evening the Score and is an alternate storyline from the one established with other fics in the series. The Unexpected Match storyline will hopefully continue soon - whenever bonne and I can find the time in our crazy schedules. ;;^_^)

~*~

Weeks had passed since that first casual encounter with Heero and
Trowa. That night seemed now so far away, so remote, yet so palpable.
That night that had marked the beginning of something, something that
would not go away. It could have, perhaps, if Duo had not been so
obsessed with repeating the experience. If he had kept himself from
interfering between Heero and Trowa, if he had only let go...

But Duo Maxwell did not know how to let go. Not when he felt himself
used. Not when he felt himself cheated. And no matter how hard he'd
tried to take the situation lightly, the truth was, he felt the sting.

He had been determined to even the score of this game that Heero and
Trowa had started. And so he had...or so he thought. He'd managed to
seduce Heero, and in the past few weeks, their sexual encounters had
increased in frequency, and if he was honest, they had also increased
in intensity. But Trowa had not joined them again, not after that
second time.

Over the last few weeks, Trowa had become more distant and detached -
if that was even possible. Duo couldn't figure out what had changed,
and why all of a sudden Trowa seemed to be playing by a different set
of rules.

It didn't really matter.

With, or without Trowa, sex with Heero was the best kind he'd ever
had. He couldn't lie to himself. This little game of seduction had
gone a little further than he'd have liked. It was not merely about
the physical experience. He felt a connection with Heero. Perhaps it
was the fact that they were both Gundam pilots, that they both knew
about war, and and about death. It was only logical that they would
find what little solace they could in each other's arms.

So why then, wasn't he at peace? Why couldn't he enjoy Heero's
company without feeling a heavy weight on his chest?

It was certainly more than he'd have expected at the beginning of
this little charade. The fact that Trowa and Heero were still very
much a couple didn't really bother him. What *really* got to him was
Trowa's indifference, his silence and cold demeanor, the way he
carried himself, with that ever-present aura of perfection that
enervated him to no end.

And it wasn't like he hadn't tried to get closer to Trowa. He had
tried what he could. Friendly conversation. Not so friendly
confrontations. He had even tried seduction, but nothing seemed to
work to break down Trowa's ice barrier. It was beginning to get very
uncomfortable being around him.

Trowa would not bother with him, and it was almost as if Trowa
was 'permitting' Heero to use Duo as a side entertainment when he
wasn't available. Duo hated the idea, and whenever he thought about
it, he realized that he was trapped in a no-win situation.

Who had really thought that anyone could come out of this game as a
victor?

As much as Duo would have liked to send Trowa very far away, he knew
that was impossible. Sometimes they even had to work together,
although he avoided being partnered with him.

On those rare occasions, Duo had tried pushing a little, hoping to
get a positive response from the taller pilot. Nothing worked.

Fine.

It was Trowa's choice, after all, and Duo had stopped trying to get
closer to him. Instead, he'd opted to antagonize him whenever
possible.

Just a new phase of their game.

~*~

Duo sneered as Trowa walked ahead of him. His gait was swift and
graceful, despite the roots, and branches that covered the forest
floor. One could barely hear him as he walked. He seemed as agile as
a deer leaping through the underbrush. In contrast, Duo made as much
noise as possible without having cymbals tied to his knees. He had
taken to crunching over twigs and kicking up dried leaves as a means
to pass the time. Almost an hour had passed before Trowa decided to
halt his pace and turn to look at Duo. His eyes narrowed on him in
irritation.

"Oh, finally!" Duo's voice carried an edge of sarcasm as Trowa
finally acknowledged him. "I thought you would never notice that I
was still here." He sighed softly and stretched his arms behind his
back. "We've been walking for a while. I think we should stop here."

Trowa turned back to whatever path he had paved in his own mind's
eyes and continued his brisk pace. "No. A little further ahead. And
stop making noise."

"A little further ahead?" Duo rolled his eyes and ran to catch up
with him. "What's the difference, Trowa? We're in the middle of
nowhere! Just trees and trees everywhere! And I'm not going to stop
making noise! Do you realize you have not said a word for the past
THREE hours!"

"Ninety minutes," Trowa corrected. "There is a river up ahead. We can
trap some fish." He stopped again and regarded Duo for a moment "Then
if you're still intent on making noise, we can just radio Oz with the
location of our camp."

Duo glared at Trowa and shook his head slowly in disgust. "Maybe I
*should* radio Oz with our location! They might at least have
*something* to say!" He pushed Trowa aside, this time walking ahead
of him. "I hope this river is close by and that you actually know
where you're going." He trudged onward, muttering under his
breath, "It's only my fucking luck that I'd be stuck with this guy
again..."

"We wouldn't be here if I didn't know the area." Trowa said, glancing
back at Duo for a moment. He had somehow gotten ahead again and Duo
made a mental note to keep a better eye on him. "I've been assessing
our surroundings and our next move." He paused for a moment as
though considering his words. "I haven't had time to talk."

"You never have time to talk." Duo shrugged. "So, how far are we from
this river?"

Trowa said nothing for a minute, seeming to be caught up with some
noise in the distance. Only when he seemed satisfied that nothing
had followed them, turned his attention back to Duo. "Not far," he
said.

"Not far..." Duo repeated softly. "Well, that's really helpful!"

They continued on for fifteen minutes, in silence once again, until
Trowa finally pointed out a small clearing to Duo. The river was only
a few feet beyond it. "There. We can rest there for a while."

"All right," Duo nodded in agreement, "that sounds good." He tiredly
made his way to the clearing, dragging his feet the rest of the way.
He let his knapsack fall from his back as he sat on the ground. "So
how come you know your way around here?"

Trowa sat down next to him and crossed his legs. "I scanned the area
as we flew over it and memorized the flight map. I spent a lot of
time camping in forests before I left for L3."

"You *memorized* the flight map..." Duo smiled a little and shook his
head.
"I should've known! Very impressive, Trowa! I guess we could just
throw away our compass now, huh?"

Trowa had obviously missed the joke, as he replied, "I don't think
that would be wise."

"Well, I meant with the map in your head..." Duo tried to explain,
only to be countered with Trowa's blank stare. "Forget it, wasn't
important." He took his cap off and brushed his bangs back to wipe
the sweat from his forehead. "I still don't know why you chose to
spend the night in the woods! We should have just hidden the Gundams
and gone back to the town for the night."

"The town is occupied, it was too risky." Trowa unlaced his boots and
dumped out a few rocks that had managed to lodge themselves inside.

"Not if we didn't attract attention to ourselves," Duo
countered. "But whatever. I just want it to be tomorrow and get this
mission over with."

Trowa pulled his bag over and began taking out a few supplies. "Think
about the moment, and not about what hasn't happened yet."

"The moment... oh yeah!" Duo lied back on the ground and rolled his
head from side to side. "At the moment I'm stuck in the middle of
nowhere...and all I really want is a nice meal and a place to sleep."

Trowa gave him a cursory glance as he put together a small fish
trap. "War is seldom comfortable, Duo."

"No kidding! But you seem to like making it even *more*
uncomfortable!" Duo shot up and gave Trowa an accusatory glare. "We
could be in town and get rested for tomorrow...but instead we're
here."

"It's an unnecessary risk, Duo." Trowa set the netting down and
looked out over the river. "We'll find food and rest here."

"I suppose it could always be worse," Duo mused. He opened his
backpack and pulled out a few crackers. "Want some?" he offered as he
nibbled on one.

Trowa shook his head. "Later." He stood and took the fish trap over
to the riverbank and began to set it up.

Duo watched Trowa attentively, as he had never seen anyone set a fish
trap that way. "Have you actually caught fish with that before?"

Trowa turned to him. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just curious," Duo shrugged and continued nibbling on his
cracker. "I never fished before."

Trowa finished setting the trap and sat back down next to Duo. "They
don't have artificial lakes in the L2 colonies?"

"Oh, they do," Duo told him, "but you probably wouldn't want to eat
anything that lives in there..."

Trowa nodded. "I've heard about the conditions on L2."

"Yeah." Duo sighed. "It's pretty bad. If you accidentally fell in
one of those lakes, your body would probably start to rot. So no
fish in L2."

Trowa became silent for a long time. He pulled his knees to his chest
and once again seemed to gaze out over the river, his thoughts
seeming as elusive as the running water. He suddenly asked, "Will you
stay on the Earth when the war is over?"

"Hmmm..." Duo stirred, jarred out of his own musings by the question.
He ate the last piece of cracker and shook the crumbs from his
hands. "Maybe. It's nice here. It's probably even nicer in peaceful
times..."

Trowa nodded. He turned his gaze back to the forest, seeming to
survey the area around him as though he heard a noise again.

"It's just birds, Trowa," Duo said quietly.

Trowa lied back against the ground, tucking his knapsack under his
head. "I've never known it to be peaceful."

Duo looked up at the sky and sighed softly. "When the war is over, it
will be better...even if it's not completely peaceful. It will be
better..."

Trowa stared up at the trees, and as was his growing habit during
this trip,
he remained silent for long while before answering. "Perhaps."

Duo studied Trowa as they lay there, it wasn't often one had a chance
to observe Trowa in a reflective moment. If he wasn't giving an
order, Trowa either ignored you or stared at you blankly. But now,
Trowa was thinking. And he almost seemed... peaceful. He didn't seem
so edgy and cold when he was like that. In fact, at that very moment,
Trowa was almost likable. Duo wondered what he was thinking about...
the fish, the mission, or Heero?

Heero.

Duo felt himself tense only thinking of him. And it was there, that
bitter taste in his mouth that was becoming so familiar. He could not
let his guard down and be distracted by Trowa's facade. They were now
fighting two wars. One together, the other against each other.

It was a war game... and he would not be the one to fall in combat.

Duo shook his head, clearing the thoughts from his mind. Whatever
Trowa's game, he wouldn't let it get the best of him. He already had
Heero, didn't he? The Perfect Soldier.

Trowa's shell couldn't be so much harder. He was certainly colder...
but harder? Soon he would have to give in... or give up.

"So," Duo cleared his throat, "how long do you think it will take
before we catch some fish?" he asked, making his voice sound as
casual as possible.

Trowa closed his eyes. "Not long. We've probably caught some already."

Duo sat up on his elbows and looked over to where Trowa set the traps.
"So... why don't we get them out?"

"I'm tired, Duo," Trowa said, and then he turned over on his
side. "We just hiked for nearly two hours after a mission. The fish
aren't going anywhere."

Tired? So Trowa *did* get tired. But it was time to eat, so the
manifestation of Trowa's human side was rather poorly timed. "I'm
tired too... but I'm also hungry! Aren't you?"

Trowa opened his eyes and sat up. "No. Go bring the trap back if
you're hungry. You can start cleaning the fish."

"All right." Duo got up and wiped his hands on his pants. "But you
have to show me how to clean these. I never fished before, remember?
Are you going to make a fire? Or are we eating sushi tonight?" he
grinned.

"I don't know," Trowa looked up again. The habit was beginning to
make Duo nervous. "I saw a few Aries flying over head about an hour
ago. A fire would not be a good idea right now."

Duo grimaced and sat back down. "Forget it then. I'm not eating raw
fish." He pulled his backpack over to him and rummaged for more
crackers.

"It's not bad once it's cleaned, Duo," Trowa said in some poor
attempt to convince him that eating half-dead, bacteria-infected,
slimy fish was a *good* thing.

"Ha!" Duo laughed and made a face. "You *are* joking, right?"

"No." Trowa shook his head. "I've done it before when there's been
nothing else to eat and the wood is too wet to build a fire. You just
have to be extra careful when you clean them."

"Yeah, and remember to pack a shit load of wasabi! Uh-uh...no way! It
won't be the first time I skip dinner. The crackers will do for me."
Duo hurried through his bag looking for anything better than what
Trowa offered. He knew he had a half eaten stick of beef jerky
*somewhere*. "You can eat as many raw fish as you like," he shuddered
as he said it. "I can't believe I followed you here! I should have
stayed in town..."

"I wouldn't have let you."

Duo blinked. "What did you just say? You wouldn't have *let me*!" Duo
threw his head back and laughed, finding Trowa's statement as amusing
as it was infuriating. "Trowa... I think you're hallucinating, buddy!
You wouldn't have 'let met'! The next mission is tomorrow, and for
your information, what I do between now and the time of the
assignment is *none* of your business."

Trowa stared blankly at him. "You know the location of my Gundam," he
said.
"You know what direction I left in. Leaving you to wander the town
alone is also..." he hesitated for a moment and regarded Duo
carefully, "an unnecessary risk."

"Unnecessary risk..." Duo mimicked. "Just stop right there okay! It's
not like I was going to get myself caught! Do you seriously think
that only your plans are infallible!"

Trowa folded his arms over his knees and rested his head over them.
He seemed so casual, as though he were discussing nothing more
important than sports or a book. It was unnerving. "You can't
guarantee that you would not get caught." He spoke softly in his
toneless voice, which somehow also managed to sound lyrical. Did
everything about him have to be accented with a touch of that
infuriating superior grace of his? "You've been caught before. We
can't risk it. You're here now, so stop complaining about it."

Duo sighed, exasperated by this recent round with Trowa. He was
impossible! Worse than Heero in so many ways. "I'm not the only one
who has been caught, in case you don't remember! It must be that none
of us is as *perfect* as you!" he spat.

Trowa turned his head away. "Stop it."

"Next time remind me to trade assignments with Quatre or Wufei. I
never want to be stuck with you again!" Duo crossed his arms and
scowled at Trowa, who turned back to face him.

Trowa extended his long slender hand toward the river. "Wufei would
have dumped you in there by now."

Duo glared at Trowa and bit his lower lip. "Whatever." He lied back
and covered his face with his cap. He was seething. And he was hating
himself for letting Trowa get the best of him yet again. He could
keep his cool...show Trowa he wasn't the only cold bastard in the
group.

Duo took a deep breath and kept his eyes shut. It was only a few more
hours till he could get away from this. All he had to do was survive
this overnight in the woods, and in the morning, they would
accomplish their mission and it would all be over.

He swore to himself he would *never*, under any circumstances, be
partnered with Trowa again. If he had to intercept mission
assignments, or even murder Dr. G, he would gladly do so. But never
again!

Trowa was a self-serving, arrogant, bastard who always thought
himself superior. Duo still remembered what Trowa had done to his
Gundam, and he also remembered that heavy punch he'd given him back
in the Oz cell. This wasn't just a silly little game. This was war.

How the hell could he have thought that Trowa might be an okay guy?
Why in the world had he even tried getting close to him? Christ, why
had he even *fucked* this guy! He was the coldest son of a bitch
he'd ever met!

What the hell was wrong with Heero that he could be with this guy?

Heero...

Duo felt his heart bolt inside his chest. It was that name...it
always came to Heero.

Duo heard a soft rustle of dry leaves and shot up, grabbing his gun
and trying not to panic that they had been discovered.

But it was just Trowa. Duo hadn't heard him leave, but now he was
coming
back with his arm loaded with branches.

Duo blinked a few times and put his gun away. "What are you doing? I
thought you said we weren't going to make a fire."

Trowa set the twigs down and began to arrange a small fire pit. "We
have an
hour before nightfall. Go get the fish."

Duo stared at him for a minute, not sure how to take this new turn of
events. Maybe Trowa was offering a sign of peace between them for
now. Trowa was always practical, it wouldn't do for his partner to
hate him before flying a mission. But whatever the case, he was
offering cooked food, and Duo was hungry.

He stood up and walked over to the fish traps and pulled them out.
They wiggled and squirmed in the netting, gasping for breath...or
rather water. He understood their plight, in this game he found
himself in, Duo felt the same way.

He knelt down next to Trowa and pulled out a pocketknife. "You caught
quite a few here. Let's see if I can figure out how to clean them."
He stared at them for while, waiting until they stopped moving to do
anything.

Trowa placed his hand over Duo's and took the pocketknife from
him. "Watch over the fire and keep it going. I'll gut and clean them."

Duo nodded and let go of the knife. He had never done this before,
and Trowa would be much faster. Trowa took the fish from Duo and
swiftly sliced them, dumping the guts, tails and heads out on the
ground. He bundled the edible remains up in a handkerchief and took
them to the river to wash. When he was done, he placed the fish in
front of Duo, who watched intently everything that he did. "You can
cook them," Trowa said.

Duo looked at them for a moment, deciding on the best way in which to
cook the fish. He picked up a long stick and inserted it through the
open end, which used to be the head, until it poked through where the
tail once was. He looked at Trowa to see if he was doing it right,
but Trowa said nothing. When he was satisfied with his own method, he
repeated the job for each fish. He held one of them over the fire for
himself and handed one of them to Trowa, who took it and did the same.

They ate in silence.

(to be continued)