Jealousy and Mistletoe (A Christmas Story)
By: LadyDraco
Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters contained within. They are the property of the creators, Bandai, etc. I stand to make not profit from this so don't sue. Also, this story contains shonen ai. If you are uncomfortable with that, please leave now.
Summary: What could possibly be worse than being dragged off to Relena's for a Christmas party? But events at the party leave both Heero and Duo feeling hurt, and when Duo runs away and doesn't return, will Heero ever have a chance to see him again? Or is Duo lost to the snow? Whatever happened to the "Happy Holidays"?
A/N: Ah, nothing better than a good old-fashioned fluff story to get you into that holiday spirit, ne? Anyway, this is my bit of holiday cheer to spread to you all. I hope you enjoy it. And now, a special holiday season Under the Mistletoe Productions is proud to present…
Jealousy and Mistletoe
(A Gundam Wing Christmas Story)
Part the First: The Party
"Duo, take those bells off or stop jingling them around. That's really irritating," an annoyed Heero said, glaring at his braided friend. Duo pouted as he unwillingly took off the necklace of silver bells that hung gracefully around his slender neck. Heero released Duo from his glare and turned towards the window.
"Heero," Duo whined. "You're never any fun, not even during the holidays. You need to lighten up, man. Enjoy yourself once in a while. I mean, here we are, going to Relena's big Christmas party, and you can't even pretend you're excited."
Little did Duo know, that was precisely the point. They were in a taxi on the way to Relena's big Christmas bash. Heero didn't really mind the holidays, even if he did think they were a bit over-rated, but was not one for large social events, especially involving Relena. She had invited all of them to the event, and, of course, Quatre and Duo had jumped at the idea of a party. (Although, Quatre had accepted more out of politeness.) Now, instead of spending a quiet evening at home, here he was in a taxi with an overly happy Duo, on the way to a party full of yuppie socialites. It wasn't something he could really enjoy. He sighed in resignation and pressed his head to the cold window.
Heero watched as the stores full of bright lights whizzed past his vision in a blur of commercial holiday cheer. Then the cab slowed suddenly, and Duo burst out in excitement, causing Heero to jump ever so slightly.
"We're here! We're here!" Duo squealed in anticipation. He was bouncing up and down in his seat like an exuberant child as the car neared the large, black, metal gates leading up the long driveway to the Darlian mansion. And as they neared the house, pulling into the driveway, Duo was about ready to leap out the door. Heero held his fellow pilot back with considerable effort. He gave an exasperated sigh, sometimes Duo could be so juvenile.
"Here you are, Sir," the taxi driver said, tipping his hat to Heero, giving Duo an odd look.
"Thank you," Heero said without a hint of sincerity, still trying to keep hold of Duo. "How much?" The driver was a little stunned at the coldness of Heero's tone before he found the will to speak again.
"That'll be eighteen fifty-three."
"Here." Heero handed the driver a twenty, "Keep the change." He said before being pulled away by Duo who stared like a young child at the big house full of blinking lights and colorful ribbons and other various decorations. His violet-blue eyes seemed to twinkle as much as the glistening snowflakes that were beginning to fall all around them.
"Hooray!" Duo shouted, as the second cab carrying Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei pulled up next the two boys. He ran to the cab and flung open the door, dragging out a clearly miffed Wufei and an emotionless Trowa. He was about to drag Quatre out too, but Trowa stopped him so Quatre could pay the taxi driver. When they were finished, they watched the cab pull out of sight, then turned together to face the glorious view which awaited them.
"Oh wow!" Quatre exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "It's so gorgeous." Trowa touched his shoulder and nodded his quiet agreement, giving Quatre a secret smile. They could all feel the Christmas magic in the air. Well, almost all of them.
"Well," Duo said impatiently, shoving everyone towards the doors. "Let's go inside. We didn't come here just to stare at the house." Quatre giggled and the rest managed a little smirk. Duo could be so adorably impatient sometimes.
They walked up the marble steps and stood on the porch of the house. The grand colonial columns reached their arms longingly upward as if to catch the falling snow. It was an amazing place befitting its owner. Duo looked around wildly, as giddy as a schoolgirl. That's when he noticed the mistletoe.
"Oooh!" he gushed, reaching up to grasp the small plant, ripping it from its hanger on the doorframe. "I'm gonna get me some kisses tonight." He grinned wickedly, turning towards Heero. "You want to be lucky party guest number one, He-chan?"
"No," Heero stated rancorously. He shot an unhappy, and possibly slightly embarrassed, look to Duo, who just rolled his eyes and made a small humph which Heero knew meant: "God, you're no fun!" Quatre laughed quietly to himself, ringing the doorbell. A butler immediately answered
"Right this way," the stern butler said politely showing them inside and taking their coats. The long hallways echoed with chattering, music, and laughter. "Miss Relena has been expecting you. The party is taking place in the main hall," the butler spoke again, pointing to a small set of doors at the end of a lengthy hall.
Duo immediately took off down the hall, clutching his mistletoe in one hand. Excitement seeped out of every movement, as his braid swished wildly behind him.
"No wonder he's always the life of the party," Trowa noted, his eyes following the hyper boy. They followed him to the end of the corridor and watched in wonderment as Duo slowly opened the doors. The noises grew louder, and soon Duo had thrown open each door, leaving the other pilots to gaze at the room's majesty.
"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Quatre admitted. Duo just gasped. The room was gigantic. It had a lofty ceiling and smooth wooden floors of a deep cherry below. Lavish chandeliers hung from several places and curtains maroon taffeta draped from the tall, thin windows. A wide staircase split into two parts and spiraled upwards to a higher balcony above the room, garlands of pine ornamented with little red berries twirled gently around the banisters. A stage lay off to the right where a small orchestra was merrily playing festive holiday music. All around were people dancing, talking, laughing, and enjoying themselves.
Heero finally managed to remove his eyes from the dazzling scene of holiday festivity so that he might talk to Duo, but he was nowhere to be found. Heero guessed he'd probably headed straight for the large buffet table, then on to make his usual cocky show of appearance. Sometimes Heero hated the way Duo just wandered off. He had such an easy time talking to people, even perfect strangers. It was like Duo had a natural born gift for talking to people, drawing them into conversation effortlessly. Heero usually felt better with Duo at gatherings such as this because Duo was a sort of protection for him. Protection against strangers, Relena, and general unfamiliarity. He wished Duo could just stick around more often. He sighed but wishing wouldn't get him anywhere. He'd be on his own for most of the night and there was nothing he could do about it, so he'd just have to make do with what little social graces he had. He was about to head out into the throng when he was stopped by a figure in front of him.
"Hello Heero!" Relena trilled. "Glad you could make it." Heero gave an annoyed sigh as he glanced at Relena. She was wearing a gown of red crushed velvet with puffed sleeves and a large bow on the back. Her hair was done up in an ornate bun of twist and curls on her head decorated still more with holly leaves. Ever the little princess, Heero thought. She moved over to greet Quatre and Trowa with a warm hug, inviting them in. Wufei followed close behind but avoided their hostess. Now she was left with Heero in the doorway.
"I really am glad you could make it Heero." she smiled coyly. "It means a lot to me."
"Whatever." Heero brushed her off.
"Well," Relena said a little coolly, but still with a hint of warm enthusiasm. "Why don't you come in? Enjoy the food and music. Oh, and there are some people who are just dying to meet you."
"Hn."
"Hey Relena," a blond girl in a black cocktail dress called out across the room. Relena turned to answer her.
"What is it?" she called back.
"We need some help over here with this. Do you mind?"
"Not at all! I'll be right there!" She turned back to Heero. "Well I have go," she said disappointedly, looking rather guilty.
"That's fine," Heero said indifferently. He really didn't care if she left. Well, no, that wasn't true. Heero preferred that she leave. He needed to find Duo, and it wasn't going to help him at all if she was hanging all over him, introducing him to this person and that.
"Well," she winked. "Try to enjoy yourself at least a little bit. Let the holiday magic capture you, Heero. And don't forget, you owe me a dance!" She winked again and hopped off to aid her friends.
"Holiday magic...dance…" Heero mumbled quietly. He decided then that it would be in his best interest to make himself scarce. Fast.
He walked into the room, hoping to head towards the wall with the buffet table against it to get Duo, but he was again stopped, this time, by a most unexpected person. "Zechs?" Heero queried, as he stared straight into the eyes of his former enemy.
"Merry Christmas, Heero Yuy," Zechs said elegantly, cocking his head ever so slightly to the left.
Heero raised a quizzical eyebrow as he gazed at Zechs suspiciously. Heero tensed, ready for anything that might happen. Zechs saw the subtle change that came over the young pilot; Heero was ready to fight him.
"Oh Heero," Zechs smiled at him engagingly, "It's Christmas. I've simply come to attend my dear little sister's party, and seeing as the spirit is so jolly, I figure we should just put our differences aside for the moment and act as civilized gentlemen." Heero's eyes narrowed, and Zechs saw the disbelief which lurked behind those cobalt shields.
"Hn," was Heero's only answer. Zechs looked slightly distraught as he grabbed two glasses of wine from the tray of a passing waiter. He presented one of the glasses to Heero.
"Here. An offering of peace, just for this evening. I wouldn't want my dear sister's lovely gathering ruined by our feud. So what do you say? Shall we continue on as acquaintances?" Heero had his doubts but accepted the glass anyway. He wasn't sure what Zechs was up to but Heero was sure that he, indeed, would do nothing to ruin Relena's party. He decided to play along with Zech, for now.
"I guess," came his curt reply.
"Splendid," Zechs said with a smile. "Let us go up to the balcony and chat for a while. I'm sure we have many a thing to talk about." And with that, he put an arm around the uncomfortable Heero's shoulders and led him up the stairs to the grand balcony overlooking the festivities. Heero looked helplessly around for Duo. Of course, he was inconveniently nowhere to be found.
Once on the balcony, Zechs insisted they take a table. Then, seated, he began to talk to Heero about his ambitions and hopes and dreams, hoping Heero might take the bait and share his own. No such luck; Heero remained silent.
"Heero," Zechs commented. "You're awfully quiet. Please, share in this happy holiday and talk with me. It's terribly difficult to keep up a one-sided conversation, you know." Heero just stared at him, fidgeting nervously with his empty wine glass. He didn't normally drink (although Heero Yuy was no light-weight when it came to drinking), but somehow he had to match Zechs. Something in his competitive side eclipsing his better judgment.
Zechs gave him a strange look. "Perhaps you would like a little more wine?" No response. "Waiter! A glass of wine for my friend here and two shots of your finest whisky!" More silence. The thought that kept rolling through his slightly groggy mind was, why the generosity? No matter, Heero knew he had to just keep quiet and play along.
"So..." Zechs began again. "Let me tell you about all these old Earth battles I watched as a child..." Heero fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat, and the waiter brought the alcoholic beverages Zechs had requested. Meanwhile, the party continued on below them.
Several drinks later...
Zechs was asleep on the table snoring slightly, dreams of sugar plums dancing in his head (or whatever it is that Zechs dreams about) while Heero leaned back against the chair, his cheeks very flushed and eyes slightly glazed over.
"Damnit," he whispered to himself. "I never drink that much. Why did I have to show Zechs up like that?" He rubbed his head and watched Zechs snore softly. In the short time they had been seated in the balcony, they had managed to drink three shots of hard liquor and several glasses of red, white, and blush wines. Zechs had rambled on about his war strategies, childhood memories, glorious battles he had fought in, and numerous other equally boring stories while Heero pretended to listen.
Now he shifted his weight towards the edge of the balcony, looking over at all the people below. He saw Trowa and Quatre dancing in the middle of the floor, and Relena was talking to some delegate, bourgeoisie-looking people. There was a small commotion to the left of his vision, he turned his head to see what the commotion was. That's when he saw Duo... and the mistletoe.
"Hey!" Duo called out merrily, slightly flushed and tipsy, he ran around to various guests (mostly girls) holding the mistletoe above their heads. "Give Shinigami a kiss for free!"
Heero glared at Duo. How could he? Duo knew that he and Heero had something going. Hadn't Duo that very night asked for a kiss? Was that his idea of a joke? Did a kiss mean nothing to him? Now he was cavorting around kissing anyone and everyone, and a kiss was not something Heero took lightly. How could Duo do such a think without even considering his feelings? Granted he didn't show his emotions very often, but that didn't mean they weren't there to be trampled on.
Heero stood up abruptly, swaying a little as he did so. Once he centered himself, he made his way towards the stairs, leaving the sleeping Zechs to dream his drunken visions. He held on to the cold banister to support him down the stairs until he safely reached the bottom. Again, he started out across the floor to the middle of the room to give Duo a good piece of his mind. Things seemed such a mess to him in his current state. Suddenly, when he thought things could get no worse, Relena managed to pop out of nowhere and ruin the situation further.
"Hey Heero!" she said gleefully as she hopped over and hugged him, pulling him onto the dance floor very unwillingly.
"Stop Relena, I've got to..." Heero protested.
"Oh nonsense! What you need is a nice slow dance!" Relena turned her head to a nearby friend and whispered something secretly in her ear. The girl giggled and ran off towards the stage. In an instant, slow, passionate music began to play.
"No."
Relena pulled him into a slow dance, placing his arms around her waist and hers around his shoulders. Guests began to back away to watch the hostess of the party enjoy herself, but it gave Heero a fantastic view of Duo. He grew angrier as each person kissed his Duo again and again. It had to stop. He would make it stop!
His cobalt eyes followed Duo as he made his way around the room. Each kiss, each flirtatious gaze, every time Duo brought the mistletoe above his head just made Heero's fury and sense of betrayal rise. But before he knew it, the song was over. And Relena was staring into Heero's eyes. The room had grown quiet. She looked up at him with a sort of twinkling want in her eyes, and then lifting a bouquet of mistletoe high above their heads smiled.
"Merry Christmas Heero Yuy," Relena said, rather breathy, as she reached for Heero's head. The next thing he knew, they were in a full lip lock as Relena pulled him tight.
A gasp echoed from the crowd as they pulled away, and Heero's cheeks reddened at the utter embarrassment. He looked around the room to see surprised eyes. Trowa, Quatre... and then Duo! But there was something different in Duo's soft eyes. They were big and glassy, almost as if a piece of glass were holding back his tears. His facial expression showed not only astonishment, but something else as well. Could it be jealousy? Heero found himself almost smirking. He had made the Great Duo Maxwell jealous! Now Duo could see what it felt like. But then Heero noticed Duo hide his eyes behind his bangs and walk off rather quickly, dropping his mistletoe on the ground.
"Quatre?" Heero mouthed looking over at Quatre, who had seen the whole thing. He looked very worried and shook his head. He immediately took off after Duo. Heero wanted to follow as well, but was stopped by Relena tugging on his arm. Obviously she and the crowd had been too engrossed in the current affair to notice anything else.
"Let's take a picture," someone cried out. The guests moved in closer, crunching the delicate mistletoe under foot, and lifted the two off their feet. They carried them over to a chair, placing Relena in Heero's lap. Then several people took pictures, gooing and chatting over the "cute couple." Heero thought he was going to be sick. Lucky for him, perfect soldiers do not get sick.
When the terrible fiasco was over, Heero told Relena her brother was drunk and quickly managed to sneak off as she went to see him. He practically sprinted down the corridor, grabbing his coat as he dashed out the door. He had to stop suddenly, so that he didn't run into Trowa who was holding an open coat. Quatre came running up to them, and Trowa embraced Quatre with the coat.
"Thanks Trowa," Quatre said smiling. "Heero... I'm sorry. Duo ran away. I couldn't keep up with him, and now I can't find him anywhere...he didn't even take his coat. He'll freeze to death out there. Heero, you have to go find him." Heero only shook his head.
"Where's Wufei?" he finally managed.
"He's home."
"Aa." Then Heero bounded off the stairs, throwing his coat on as he ran into the snowy night.
Half an hour later, there were still no signs of Duo. Heero had called Wufei at home, then checked all of Duo's favorite hangouts. He had even called Wufei again. Now it was past midnight and there was still no sign of Duo. Heero walked home, extremely disappointed.
Now, it was not like he and Duo were actually IN a relationship. It's just that... Heero knew he felt better with Duo by his side, whether he wanted to admit it or not. The same went for Duo, or at least that's what he'd said. So he just wondered why Duo would do such things. He was only getting back at him for the whole mistletoe bit. Duo would have done the same. Right? And it's not like he had wanted to kiss Relena. She forced him.
He walked into the safe house. Everyone was back from the party, everyone except Duo. Now they all stared at Heero, a slight look of disappointment in their eyes. Quatre was the first to speak.
"Did you find him?" he asked, very worried.
"No," Heero replied quickly.
"It's dangerous for him to be out in the cold. Heero... why did you do it? How could you do it?"
"I..." Quatre's words weighted in his mind like a lead weight. How could he have done such a thing? Was he really that cold? Was he really that mean? No. He had some feelings. Especially towards Duo. But he had to say something to Quatre. Something that would not worry him too much. "He'll be back."
"I guess." Quatre was obviously doubtful. Very doubtful. If only Heero knew how right Quatre was.
He took off his shoes and went upstairs to bed. Christmas was coming soon. Quatre had insisted they all be together for the holidays, and Heero was sure Duo would come back, if not for him then certainly for Quatre. Plus, Duo was a big boy. He could take care of himself.
Heero went to bed, planning to buy presents for all the next day as well as continue his search for Duo. That night, he dreamt of a beautiful boy with long chestnut hair and entrancing violet eyes.
Unfortunately Quatre was right, and Duo would not return for six days.
A/N: Chapter 2 coming soon!