Elaborate Games
Chapter 1: Hide and Seek
Her eyes washed over the crowd. Her prey had escaped… again. This time onto a crowded street. He was nowhere to be seen. He had won the game… for now.
He stood in the doorway of the pub, inconspicuous, unnoticed. She couldn't find him in the sea of people. And he wanted it to stay that way. At least… for a little while. He laughed. He knew, in his heart, that she would slink through the crowd, end up behind him, and scare him half to death and win their little game. The question was when.
In an elaborate game of hide-and-seek, there are two players. A woman, lean and agile, blending into a crowd. A man, tall and cunning, cringing in a doorway. He chanced a look round the corner. His eyes caught the hint of her cropped, black, curly hair and searching blue eyes. He ducked back behind the corner. It was just the hint she needed. She saw his trademark hairstyle retreat around the wall and smiled. I have you now, Shinigami.
He slunk into the shadows of the doorway, knowing fully that her beautiful eyes had pegged him. His capture was inevitable now. But escape… He walked into the pub and sat down at the bar. The pulled his unmistakable hairstyle over his shoulder in an attempt to hide it. An attempt to blend in. He looked around the bar. It was dark and mysterious… perfect. Just like he himself was. There were pictures around the room of newspapers and places – it looked like the owner's junk shop. Pieces of scrap metal clung to the light fixtures and gave the place a… homey feel. At least, for him, it did. He looked at the bartender, whose back was towards him. "Hey, barman, who owns this place?"
"I do," the bartender turned and looked at the speaker. "Duo?"
"Wufei?" the pair stared at each other in disbelief. "You own a bar?"
"Yes, well, since I quit the Preventers."
"When did you quit?"
"About a year ago. It got quite… unscrupulous. What are you doing now?"
"Actually, right now?" he leaned over the bar, "I'm hiding from my wife."
"You're married?"
"Yeah, to Hilde. You mean no one told you? We eloped right after the war."
"No. Why're you hiding?"
"'Cuz it's fun when she finds me," he said with a giant dopey grin on his face. Sudden realization crossed Wufei's face and he rolled his eyes and smiled. "You've changed, Wufei. What happened?"
Wufei leaned on the bar. "The damn Preventers switched partners around six months before I got the hell out of there. Just when I had gotten used to Sally… those bastards…"
"Who, Wufei?"
"Noin. Lucrezia Noin. For six months I spent most of my time in a cockpit with Lucrezia Noin."
Poor sap… Duo thought. He shook his head and looked at the door quickly. "But I thought she and Zechs were…"
"They switched the partners, Duo. Rumor had it that Zechs and Noin were getting a little… close between missions. They would turn off the video on the vidphone. It was bad… and then I got stuck with her," he sighed and looked around the bar. "And now I'm here."
"It's probably for the best that you got the hell out of there then," he checked the door again for Hilde and didn't see her. He turned back to Wufei and laughed.
"What's so funny, Maxwell?"
"My wife hasn't found me yet."
"Do you want to come behind the bar and hide?"
"Dude, can I do that?!" he stated, standing.
"Why not, Maxwell? It's my damn bar!" Duo quickly got up and ran behind the bar. He immediately picked up a glass and a towel and started to 'dry' the glass, in an attempt to look inconspicuous. Then he dropped the glass.
"Omigod! Dammit!" he muttered curses and started to pick up the pieces of the glass.
"Duo," Wufei touched his shoulder, "you've got shoes on, right?"
Duo straightened up. "Well, yeah, of course I…"
"Then just leave it. It's just some glass. Nothing a couple ex-Gundam pilots can't handle."
"I'll get it, Wufei," Duo quickly stated, ducking.
Wufei heard the ding of the door, a signal that he had a customer. He looked up and saw a short woman scanning the room. Ah, Duo's wife, he thought. "Can I help you, Ma'am?"
"Yeah," she said, seating herself in Duo's vacated seat, "get me a mug of your finest."
Duo grinned from his position on the floor. "That's my girl," he whispered.
Wufei picked up a glass and poured a nice full mug. On his way to hand it to Hilde, he kicked Duo in the stomach and tripped. Duo groaned and Wufei regained his balance, somehow saving the entire mug of beer.
"What was that?" Hilde asked, taking a gulp of beer and trying to see over the bar.
"What was what?" Wufei countered, buying himself some time.
"You tripped and something went 'ugh.' What was it?"
"Oh, that. Just mice."
"Okay," she said, taking another sip. "Umm, have you seen a man come in here…"
"Honey, lots of men come in here."
"Yeah, but this one has braided hair. He's hard to miss."
"Not recently," Wufei lied.
"Well, if you do, tell him his wife is looking for him and she can't wait to find him," she said sensually as she sauntered out the door.
Wufei kicked Duo. He stood, somewhat cringing from his blows to the stomach. He picked up the mug, still half full with beer, and drank the rest. He sighed. "My Hilde."
"Uh, Duo? I'm supposed to tell you that your wife is looking for you."
"I friggin' heard her. I think I'll go now, Wufei. See you later?"
"I'll be here. See ya!"
Duo walked back around the bar and to the door. He opened it, turned, gave his little peace sign wave and walked out. Wufei smiled and picked up the mug. "See you, Maxwell. This one's on the house.:
Duo returned to his hidden wall and pressed against it, turning his head to the street. Searing pain tore through his brain and he turned back around to grab whoever had just pulled his braid. He snatched their wrists and stared at the culprit's face. "I told you never to do that."
"Well, well, Duo," Hilde answered, "I win."
"No, you don't."
"But I found you."
"But I caught you."
"Nuh-ah," she argued. Suddenly, Duo was handcuffed. He smirked.
"No way."
"Way. You're with me, buddy."
Hilde led her handcuffed Duo into a waiting taxi and to their house by the scrap yard. She tied a silk blindfold over his eyes and laughed. "I told you – you can never win this game." She practically shoved him on to their couch. "You just stay there, Shinigami, whilst I change in to something more comfortable."
He heard the door to their bedroom close and he grinned, reaching his hands into a hidden back pocket of his pants. He pulled aout a small piece of metal and used it to pick the lock of the cuffs. He felt the lock click and smiled again. He put the makeshift key away just as he heard the bedroom door open again.
"Alright, Duo. What did I tell you about trying to hide from me?" Hilde asked in a suspicious tone.
"I don't remember. Maybe you could fill me in…"
"No, babe, that's your job." She abruptly straddled his lap.
"Oh really…" he answered. He swiftly grabbed her hips and ripped the blindfold off in one motion, using the silk to bind her hands behind her back. Then he saw what she meant by 'more comfortable' – it was the lacy lingerie that he had given her the day after the last little game. A game he had lost. But now he had won. "Now who won the game?"
"No way," she argued, struggling against her bonds. They held her fast.
"Way. Now we play by my rules. Let the games begin."