Disclaimer: Gundam Wing, mine? Why... I don't know what to say! How sweet of you! I just... no one's ever given me anything like this before! What? You mean... it's not for me? It wasn't ever mine? How... how rude!
Authors notes at the end of the chapter.
To Seduce Trowa
Of Boyfriends and Cheaters
* * *
Duo walked through the door of their two bedroom apartment, and stopped short at a sound he hadn't heard in a long, long time.
Sex.
Heero 'Perfect Turn-off' Yuy, was getting laid.
Now, where was the fairness in that? It had been almost a year since Duo had met anyone he felt comfortable enough with to do the horizontal mambo, and he comes home early from work one day, tired and sweaty, to discover his best friend and one-time lover was having some.
Heero Yuy.
The man who couldn't even flirt if a mission depended on it.
He really needed some ice cream.
Duo dropped his gym bag from his shoulder and trudged to the kitchen, ignoring the moans as he passed Heero's bedroom door and heading straight for the little freezer to their refridgerator.
Meat. Frozen veggies. Ah, there it was. Haggen Dass. The good stuff.
Thud, thud, "Ooh!"
Duo's eyes widened and he stared back down the hallway at Heero's door. The stoic pilot had never been that loud during sex. Not even sex with Duo (which Duo was sure was very sound provoking). Shaking off a very weird feeling, Duo walked back through the kitchen to grab a spoon, and plopped down onto a kitchen chair to think.
Heero had been acting more than a little odd that day. Jittery during an office meeting. Throwing paranoid glances around. And then... yes, he remembered Wufei saying something about Heero leaving early from work.
Early?
Heero Yuy?
Very curious indeed.
A slow smile spread over Duo's mouth as the sounds from down the hall loudened and quickened. Heero would really have to keep a hold on this guy. He seemed to bring out the best in him.
"Quatre!"
Duo's spoon hit the table at Heero's high pitched yell, and he stared blankly ahead for a moment.
Quatre.
Quatre Winner.
Why that lying, cheating, using little bastard!
* * *
The next morning featured something that rarely happened in the post-war years. Duo Maxwell was up early. It wasn't that he couldn't get up early, it was just that usually, he preferred to sleep in, but today he had something he really wanted to do.
He wanted to talk to Quatre.
Well, that wasn't exactly true. If he were going to be totally honest, what he really wanted to do was yell at Quatre. Throw things at him. Ask him what the hell he was thinking of, cheating on a perfectly adorable guy like Trowa Barton. A wonderful guy like Trowa Barton. A screamingly georgous and obviously emotionally sensitive guy like Trowa Barton.
All night long his thoughts had been alternating between the best ways to punish the seemingly innocent and caring little blond for deceiving the man he was supposed to love, and trying to decide which way would be the best way to break it to Trowa.
Duo looked sympathetically into the shocked and nearly watering emerald green eyes of the circus performer, his voice coming out softly and soothingly, "He wasn't good enough for you, anyway..."
Trowa burst into tears.
Er... nope.
Duo looked sympathetically into the shocked and nearly watering emerald green eyes of the circus performer, his voice coming out softly and soothingly, "There are other fish in the sea."
Trowa burst into tears.
That wasn't going to work, either.
Duo looked sympathetically into the shocked and nearly watering emerald green eyes of the circus performer, his voice coming out softly and soothingly, "If it'll make you feel better, we can go back to your place and I can comfort you much more nicely."
There was a pause, and Trowa's head tilted, before he shrugged indifferently and hauled an irritatingly happy Duo Maxwell off in the direction of his apartment.
Hmm... Duo shook his head roughly. That wasn't going to happen. But he'd been disgustingly elated at the thought that this secret crush he'd harbored on one of his closest friends' boyfriend could go beyond something he thought about only in private, and never admitted to a soul in the fear of hurting Quatre's feelings.
Duo snorted derisively. Quatre's feelings were the last things on his mind today.
Thoughts of what he could have with Trowa had distracted Duo all night long, and his sleep wasn't helped along by the fact that every few hours the lovers in the next room woke and started all over again.
He was thrilled for Heero, that he'd found someone he could be so... loudly... open with (even if said someone was going to die by Shinigami's wrath that morning), but he'd been in wonder that the new couple hadn't even interrupted their love-making to emerge from Heero's room to get dinner last night. He was certain that they'd come out this morning, though, as he and his partner had a mission to go on.
So here he sat at this ungodly hour, coffee maker burping quietly on the counter behind him, head resting on his palms, elbows braced on the cold table top of their cozy little kitchen, eyes glued to the open doorway.
There was a creak of floorboards, an soft yawn, and there he was.
Looking for all the world as if he should be clutching a big brown teddy bear, thumb in his mouth, rubbing his eyes with his fist, was Quatre Reberba Winner. Business-man-extraordinaire, ex-soldier, Preventer consultant, seemingly innocent angel. Cheating, lying, little bastard.
He was wearing what Duo recognized as one of Heero's old dress shirts, a few of the top buttons un-buttoned in his obvious haste to put something on, the shirt skimming his thighs. It looked as if he'd paused to throw on day-old, deep red boxers. He blinked, and damned if he didn't actually reach a curled fist up to rub the sleep from his eyes. "Duo?"
Duo's expession, void of any smile, didn't change.
* * *
Quatre abruptly pulled from sleepiness to wakefulness at the uncharacteristic look on Duo Maxwell's face. He fought the urge to take a threatened step back into the hallway, but was brought up short by the scrape of the empty chair facing Duo's, sliding out thanks to a kick from the overly serious braided joker.
Crap.
Duo was usually a happy-go-lucky sort of guy, and any change in his routine meant big trouble. Duo didn't drop that expression for anything less than deadly serious reasons, and he was looking at Quatre with something akin to real anger deep in those violet depths.
Not good.
"Sit."
That tone of voice was reminescent of earlier Heero Yuy, and Quatre didn't argue, he simply sat and stared unblinkingly at his old friend.
"I think you've got some explaining to do, Blondie."
Quatre frowned slightly in confusion.
"Come on, Quatre, I know it's early and you've haven't gotten much sleep-" at this, Quatre blushed deeply, "-but I think you can drudge up enough of your thought processes to let me in on why you spent last night in Heero's bed."
Quatre raised an eyebrow, and then narrowed his eyes, not liking Duo's tone of voice, "I don't see how that's any of your business, Duo." And then he pulled short and blinked at Duo in dawning realization, "Oh, no. You still have a thing for Heero?"
Duo blinked, his angry mask dropping for a moment. It was his turn to look confused. "Heero? No, we're just friends, wh-" he broke off again, and growled, re-adopting his pissed expression, "I was referring to Trowa!"
"You have a thing for Trowa?"
Duo spluttered for a moment, then sighed angrily and stood up to grab a coffee mug, and pour Quatre a cup. "Here, drink. Maybe then you'll be able to carry on a coherent conversation."
He slammed the cup down in front of a stunned Quatre, who looked up at him bemusedly after a moment. "You know I don't drink coffee, Duo. Perhaps you'd better be a little clearer on what you're trying to say?"
Another growl met him in response, and Duo placed his fists on his hips, "What I meant was; How dare you cheat on Trowa with Heero like this?!"
There was stark silence for a moment, and then Quatre scooted the cup of coffee to the edge of the table towards Duo, "I think you need this more than I do, and I'll forgive you for thinking I'd do something like that. Trowa and I broke up months ago."
Duo's face grew blank and his hands dropped listlessly to his side.
"You... broke up?"
Quatre nodded.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Duo's fingers wrapped around the coffee mug, and he pounced back into his chair opposite a now relieved Quatre.
"I... we didn't really tell anyone."
Duo nodded sympathetically, "was it one of those horrible break-ups?"
Quatre shook his head, allowing himself the indulgence of ruining his posture by leaning forward onto the table to continue his conversation with one of his closest friends. "No, it was mutual and it was time for it to happen. We both sort of fell out of love with each other, and I'm not so sure it was real love anyway. It was kind of easy to go back to being just friends. But it hurt, you know? I didn't want to talk about it with anyone else, and I don't think he did either. He was my first love after all."
Duo nodded, sipping at his coffee, then grinning at Quatre as if nothing had happened at all between them, "I'm still pissed you never told me. And when did you and Heero start dating?"
Quatre turned a bright red, then looked down at the table-top, tracing a pattern with his finger. "Um... we haven't actually been dating. We haven't actually gone out on a date..."
Duo blinked in surprise. From what Duo had seen of Quatre's relationship with Trowa, the young heir was the traditional sort. The couple had dated for quite a while before they'd taken that final step, and they'd both been terribly nervous and unsure about it at first.
Quatre hastened to finish his sentence, "... we just sort of ran into each other yesterday morning and decided to meet for lunch and then we... came back here instead of going out to eat, and then Heero had to go back to work for a meeting, while I canceled my hotel reservations and extended my stay in town, and then he came back and..." he trailed off, blushing (if possible) even more deeply.
Duo raised both eyebrows and stared at Quatre. Then his face dissolved into a cheeky grin. "You must be really hungry. And I can't hardly believe it. Someone's finally managed to relax Heero enough so that he'll sleep later than me."
Quatre blinked, his face regaining his normal color. "What are you talking about? Heero left hours ago. He said you two had a mission for the preventers to go on."
Duo's mouth opened to respond, then he choked and looked down at his watch in horror.
Crap, he was late for work.
* * *
Okay... *whew, long chapter* first and foremost, I'll apologize if any of my author's comments on the teaser upset anyone (and pause to ask Ponderosa what the difference between a signed review and an unsigned review is, anyway. It never mattered to me either way.) Next, to reassure that this will not be a 'sextravaganza' (although I have indulged in this chapter enough to make our supporting couple of Heero and Quatre overly horny. Hey, they're still young men.) And last, See? Duo and Quatre are friends. No worry. Had to be done for the teaser, though. Thanks, ever so much. And I'd be thrilled if you'd review the first chapter. I promise it won't take so long for the next to come out as it took this one.
Love,
Goddess Blue