[call me, call me]

Title: Call Me, Call Me
Author: Link Worshiper
Pairings: 1=2
Stuff: Heero POV, fluff, drabble-wannabe, not beta-read
Disclaimer: Maybe, secretly, in an alternate reality you don't know about, I own Bandai!

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Even at the late hour, the untamable thrum of Times Square was hardly muffled by the descent down the stairs. I shed my Preventers jacket, which I've taken to wearing even off-duty because of its practicality, and draped it over one arm, about to open my mouth to comment on the warmth until Duo beat me to it.

"God, it's like a furnace down here," he lamented from the stair above me as he followed me down. I could feel the air moving behind my neck as he batted his forearm back and forth in a desperate attempt to cool down a little. "Heero, don't you think it's hot as balls down here?"

Had we not been in such a public place, I might have solicited him with a glib comment, but I elected to save it for when we got back to our hotel.

It was no less crowded down here than it was above ground, really - and no less quiet, either. I was able to pull out snippets of at least six different languages amid the unintelligible chorus of voices and the moaning whine and chug of train wheels on the tracks. Both of us had to push through the thick throng of other people to even get to the turnstiles, and even then, it was a matter of picking the right time to swipe and go lest we get run over by someone trying to exit through the same gate.

I finally managed to slip through, but once I was standing in the middle of the large atrium, I suddenly became very aware of the fact Duo was no longer behind me. Frantically, I turned a 360 in search of his tall figure and a familiar flash of braided hair but was instead greeted by an endless stream of anonymous colour and shape. How did he get snatched away from my side like that?

Beneath the loud clamour, I suddenly became aware of a new sound. It was such a loud, steady drumbeat, I wondered how I hadn't noticed it before. Moving a bit further from the turnstiles, I realized there was a large congregation of people all clogged around one section of the tiled wall. I was overtaken with a wave of relief. Knowing Duo, he'd probably gotten distracted and curious about the goings-on over there. I had to admit I sort of was as well.

I pushed my way through the shapeless mass of people, elbowing my way between two businessmen, a small family and some tourists on my way to the front. I tried calling Duo's name, but my voice was swallowed by the swelling hubbub around me. The fast moving rhythm that had attracted me to the spot in the first place was growing steadily louder as I approached the center of the gaggle, thudding in time with my racing heart beat as I grew steadily more panicked. What if Duo wasn't here after all? There were any number of ways he could have deviated from this central location without me.

A wolf whistle sounded from somewhere nearby; "Show us your moves again, braid boy!" came a shout.

The familiar tones of his baritone voice peaked up above the noise in response: "Let's kick the beat - and!"

I began to push more frantically until there was no one obstructing my view. The crowd had circled itself around a band of three drummers with skin like dark chocolate and clothes the colour of fire, and right there in the middle of them, banging on one of their large plastic buckets, which he had tucked between his legs, was none other than Duo. His entire body bobbed with the rhythm of the pulsating sound, one moment stomping his feet in time with the music, the next clapping together the borrowed drumsticks he had in each hand. He seemed too lost in abandon to notice me standing right in front of him.

Suddenly, he stopped, joining the sticks together in one hand and slamming the bucket onto the ground. The drummers suddenly cut off their banging as well, looking on curiously as they watched their impromptu band mate slowly straighten. "There you are, Heero," he said softly, though I think I was the only one who heard him beneath the confused murmur that had risen up from the people around me. "I couldn't find you after we passed through the turnstiles together."

I frowned, though I did feel an acute anxiety that he'd now be able to hear how loudly my heart beat for him as he approached me. "You got separated from me," I intoned gravely. "You should have called out to me."

His teeth glinted in the fluorescent lighting as his lips curled back into that classic Maxwell grin of his. "I did," he said.

I stared at him and he stared right back at me, waiting, I suppose, for me to reply. I was incapable of coherence, though. Maybe my heartbeat would be answer enough.

"Well, at least you heard me and you came," he said with a shrug after a few more moments of dumb silence. He grabbed my hand and started to pull me away from the crowd, careless of the attention we were getting. "When I realized you weren't with me anymore, all I could think was, 'What can I do to get me to you?' and it felt like the war again. Then I saw those guys and... yeah...." He seemed a little sheepish, but the amusement was still twinkling in his eye. "It still was fun, though! You missed me break dancing!"

Until then, I'd been more focused on our joined hands, but his last comment forced me to stop for a moment. "You break dance?"

He stopped to blink at me curiously. "Yeah. Doesn't everybody?" That dangerous grin was pulling at the corners of his mouth again. "Maybe I'll show you some time. I'm real flexible."

The wink he tossed at me made my thighs tingle, and I could only wonder if he was suggesting what I hoped he was. I wasn't granted much time to dwell on it, though, because just then, he started pulling me towards the platform with urgency, saying something about our train arriving. I, for one, was in no rush anymore. I didn't even care which train we took back, so long as we could ride it together.

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End

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I suck at drabbles. *putters off to eat, put off homework and probably play FFXII*