New Year Resolutions

New Year Resolutions | Growing Attraction - What Resolution?

Title: New Year Resolutions
Author: Bane
Warning: AU (not sure), Fluff (definitely), PWP (lost it completely)
Status: Complete - Pairing: 6x2, implied past 1x2
Summary: Duo makes a resolution on New Years.

Disclaimer: I don't' own the characters, and I don't make any money from them. I also promise to return them more or less in one piece if only a little sticky.

Authors notes: I'm bored. It's New Years Eve. It's snowing. I can't drink. I'm dyslexic (this will hopefully explain my terrible grasp of the English language). I'm petrified! Need I say more?

Well it's almost the end of another year and here I am again, stuck at work with the rest of the sad and the lonely. To be honest that's a bit unfair on some of the poor souls stuck in here tonight. Some of them were just unfortunate, but some volunteered for this. Can you believe that; some people volunteered to be stuck in this bloody drafty building while the rest of the city celebrates the start of a new year? This is my second year; believe it or not I even volunteered to do Christmas this year as well.

I can hear you all asking why the life and soul of the party spent Christmas and now New Year working. Okay, I'll tell you. I don't have a life any more, well not one I wish to talk about anyway. At least not for the last two years. So now, I give my time so that someone with a family and a life can spend it with their loved ones. What can I say; I'm a big softie? Yeah right, as if anybody would believe that. I suppose you want the truth. The truth is that I can't stand to be around them any more, all happy families and the rest of the festive crap, so that's why I'm sat in my office at Preventors HQ, clutching a paper cup full of cheap whiskey stolen from someone's locked draw. Well old habits die-hard.

When I look up at the clock, it's just turned eleven, and I have another seven hours before I can leave here, to go home to my empty apartment, my empty fridge, and my empty bed and most important of all, my empty life. I lift my plastic cup and give a silent toast to my self-pity and misery, and before you say anything, I think I'm entitled to a little self-pity. Ah fuck it; if I stay here, I'll just drink myself stupid, so with great reluctance I pick up my pilfered bottle of whiskey and head down to main reception to spread some good will and cheap cheer.

Well all the lost souls have found each other, and we're now all clutching a cup of my god-awful whiskey and eyeing the clock while silently counting down the last minutes of the year. In half an hour we will all smile, shake hands, and say the usual pleasantries then head back to our little holes and hide for the rest of the night.

So I'm now sat on the front desk having a one way conversation with someone I only vaguely know via Trowa, and they haven't a clue who I am, and they aren't really interested in what I have to say. So, it doesn't take much to distract me from our conversation. Outside the snow has started to fall again and it seems very quiet out on the street so the arrival of a huge black limo rather catches my attention, and it seems like I'm not the only one to notice our unexpected visitors.

Two heavily coated figures clamber out of the car and speedily head towards the doors, and I almost burst into a fit of the giggles as I watch our security guard fumble with the keys in his haste to open the doors. I then give up completely and laugh out loudly when he is knocked onto his fat ass when the doors burst open and our visitors storm in with snow following in their wake.

I suddenly feel very self-conscious, when I realise that everyone is staring at me like I've just sprouted a second head. This is not good so I straighten my face and slide off my perch and head towards our new arrivals.

"Sir, this is unexpected." I look up at my commanding officer to find his attention firmly taken by the bundle in his arms as he begins to rearrange the wrappings and I catch a quick glimpse of something brown. After a moment, he seems happy with his work and leans in towards me, allowing me better access to his precious bundle.

"Duo say hello to Martinus." So, the thing has a name. I've been trying to avoid this for the last few weeks but it appears that my luck has finally run out. I give Zechs what I hope is a sincere smile before I pull back the blanket to peer into a pair of huge blue eyes haloed by soft brown curls. My stomach lurches one way and my heart rips in two all over again as I clearly see the father reflected in the child. I can feel my smile slowly sliding off my face as I lift my eyes to look at Noin, who is now reaching for the baby.

"He has his father's eyes." My words sound lame, even in my own ears. Noin just gives me a smile as she pulls the blankets tightly around the baby again then lays a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Yes he has." Her reply is short and I'm not even sure if I'm meant to hear it, then she turns her attention back to Zechs. "We should be going Zechs or we'll be late, and I don't want to spend the rest of the night with your sister breathing down my neck."

I almost start laughing again as I watch Noin as she nearly reaches the doors before she realises that Zechs hasn't moved. He's still standing in front of me with a look I've never seen before, well not on my commanding officer's face anyway.

"Zechs, Relena's going to be really pissed if we're late." To emphasise her point she looks up at the clock on the wall and its just gone quarter to twelve.

To everyone's amazement and my own Zechs just shrugs off his heavy overcoat and throws it past me to land on the front desk, revealing a black frock coat which seems unusually plain for our prince to be wearing, then turns his attention to Noin, who now has a ridiculous smile plastered across her face, as if she already knew this was coming. "Take my nephew back to his parents and give them my apologies."

"And what am I supposed to tell them?" Noin is still smiling at me and it's beginning to get uncomfortable. "That Uncle Milliardo has other engagements."

"Tell them I'm on a mission, tell them what you like Lu; you've never had a problem lying for me before. Tell them anything you want, just keep them off my back and."

Zech wasn't allowed to finish, Noin's parting words cutting him short as they echo around the reception. "Yeah, yeah and you'll buy me a blood orange for Christmas Zechs, just like always." Any retort he had planned dies on his lips as the doors close behind Noin with a loud bang. I have to give him credit though; he's quick on his feet.

"So Duo, have you anything to drink around here?" My attention is suddenly back on the platinum blonde in front of me and I have to admit that Zechs' voice is rather sexy. Aaaghh, don't even go there Duo Maxwell, I mentally kick myself into gear and away from those kind of thoughts. Instead, I turn to regard the cheap whiskey and my abandoned paper cup.

"Well its wet, does that count Sir?" I watch him reach for the cup and sniff its contents then have to slap my hand over my mouth to stifle the snort of amusement when his face screws up in disgust. Carefully he puts the cup back down then looks at me with a rather devious twinkle in his pale blue eyes. Yes another one with blue eyes, worse luck. I'm beginning to feel uncomfortable again.

"You can drop the sir, I'm not on duty," I can feel my face getting hot as he looks around at every one else before turning back to me. "Then again neither should you be on duty Duo, you worked last year and Christmas."

Shit, it would appear that someone has been paying attention to my sorry life. Well it's time for me to make my excuses. "Well you see Sir..." I stop suddenly very aware of those blue eyes again, this time they're glaring at me as I look up but he's also trying to hide a smile. "Um, sorry Zechs, but you see Dalton's wife just gave birth to twins and..."

I'm stopped by Zechs waving his hand at me. "Quit while you're ahead Duo. I know why you're here, and I don't wish to see you demean yourself by trying to lie to me. Anyway I thought Duo Maxwell never tells lies." Fuck am I that readable. I let myself fall back against the desk and try to avoid looking at him, instead turning my attention to the other people hanging around reception. Most of them have a plastic cup in their hands now and are looking up at the clock expectantly. I quickly glance over Zechs' shoulder and see that there are only five minutes left.

"Here," my attention is yanked back to Zechs who is holding out a small brass tumbler in my direction. I give him a sheepish grin and take it. Then watch as he pours himself a drink from a hip flask that he has produced seemingly from thin air. "This is better than that paint stripper you were drinking."

"What's the difference?" Well I have to ask, it's my nature, plus it used to piss Heero off something rotten, but then I remember who it is I'm talking to and it not Heero.

To my delight, Zechs just rolls his eyes at me and points at the clock behind him, but I think this means that the guy has a sense of humour under all that princely façade. "You'll find out soon enough." Everybody in the building has started to count down the last few seconds.

Five, four, three, two, one, then deafening noise and I have to lean in really close to hear Zechs, which is good and bad all at the same time, because I can smell his aftershave and whatever he uses on his hair, and its going straight to parts of me which I would rather remained dormant for the next few minutes. The last thing I need is to embarrass myself, as if I haven't done enough of that over the past few years. "Happy New Year Duo, may you find it more to your liking than previous ones." I let him tap his tumbler against mine but he's completely lost me with what he has just said.

"Yeah Happy New Year and all the rest to you to Zechs." I lift my drink to my lips and knock it back in one go then regret it straight away as I start to cough as it burns its way down my throat. I cock one watering eye in Zechs' direction to find him demurely sipping at the contents of his own tumbler, yet again trying to hide a smile.

"Here have another, but might I suggest you take it more slowly, otherwise you'll be flat on your back after another one." Again, the hip flask has appeared from nowhere and I allow him to refill my tumbler, but this time I give my drink a weary look before taking a small sip. "See it's much better if you just take small sips." God, Zechs is talking to me like I'm a child, just as Heero would.

I don't have to sit here and take this crap, so I politely put my drink down and reach out my hand towards Zechs, which he takes and politely shakes. "Well thanks for the drink but if you'll excuse me I have to be getting back to my office." My voice sounds like that of a petulant child and I cringe slightly as I walk past Zechs, well aware that he is staring at me as I disappear round the corner.

I quicken my pace and soon find myself standing outside my office, which I quickly enter, and shut the door behind me. It's only when I sit down and put my feet up on my desk that I remember that I've left my half empty bottle of whiskey in reception. Maybe I should go and get some coffee instead, I mean I've still go nearly six hours to get through and I can feel Merquise's bloody Sanqian brandy going straight to my knees.

I'm pulled from my deliberations by a gentle knock at my door. I quickly rise, yank the door open, and to my surprise find Zechs holding my unfinished drink out for me. "You left this."

I just turn around and leave him in the doorway then I remember my manners. "Would you like me to call your driver?"

"No, not yet, I was hoping to stay a bit longer." Is it just me or does Zechs sound nervous. "Actually Duo I came here to ask you a question." He moves into the room and puts my drink down beside me on my desk. I pick it up and take a small sip to show that I'm a forgiving kinda guy. In truth, I need the drink so who's to know.

"Ask away, but I warn you if I don't like the question I won't answer it, that way I don't have to lie to you." Zechs actually has the decency to blush when I mention the bit about lying, but he recovers quickly shrugging his shoulders in response as he perches on the edge of my desk.

"You heard me perfectly well Duo." He's right, I did, and I can't help but smile at the question even if it is ridiculous.

"Yes I did, but it's not what I was expecting, I thought you would ask me something serious like am I going to attend the Christening."

"Well since you broached the subject, are you?" I don't even bother opening my mouth I just shake my head. "That's what I thought, so back to my original question."

I haven't given it any thought so I spout out the first thing that comes to mind. "Yeah, I have made a New Year Resolution. Not to fall in love with blue eyed men." To my surprise Zechs doesn't start laughing, instead he looks at me with a slightly sad smile.

"Any particular shade of blue or do you mean all blue in general?" Yet again, I find myself staring into Zechs' icy blue depths. Shame really.

"Because. Ah fuck you know why Zechs." I just glare at him daring him to say more; instead, I ask him the same question, in the hopes of getting him to bugger off all the sooner. "So what's yours?"

His brow creases slightly in thought, before he speaks. "Very well, I think my Resolution this year is to prove that not all blue eyed men are complete bastards." Well that's definitely not the answer I was expecting. Peace throughout the colonies and earth, maybe but proving that not all blue eyed men are complete twats. I don't think so.

"So how do you propose to accomplish that Zechs?" Perhaps it's stupid of me to ask him, but I desperately want to see where this goes.

So I shouldn't be surprised when he leans forward and kisses me gently on the lips. Like I said I'm not surprised but it still makes me blush when he pulls back to look at me. Fortunately, he looks just as flustered. "I was hoping that you might be able to give me a few pointers Duo."

"Well I'm still working on bringing total peace to the colonies and earth, but Une and I no longer fight and Relena's now happy. Why the sudden need to know?" He almost looks quite indignant that I should ask.

"Well I'm lucky if I can keep mine till the end of January." I reach out my hand and let it slide around the back of Zechs head and start to pull him back to my mouth, and he comes willingly. As our lips meet for the second time, I begin to wonder whether I should tell him that this one might not last the week never mind the month.