Tori: This fic is for Duo and Duet whose birthdays I'm writing this a day in between.
Kegawa: Looking back, that was probably the least comprehensive sentence ever written.
Tori: Okay. In laymen's terms… Duo's birthday: February 28 (a.k.a. yesterday) and Duet's birthday March 02 (a.k.a. tomorrow) and today is March 01 (a.k.a. TODAY!)
Ke: You just read that off a calendar!
Tori: *bows head contritely* Forgive me for plagiarizing the calendar…
Disclaimer
I do not own Gundam Wing, or the months of February and March.
Also, I do not own the numbers 28, 01, or 02.
You know, I don't
think I even own a calendar…
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MST of a WEBSTER Dictionary
Trowa skimmed the last page of the book he was reading and closed it silently. He needn't peruse it, for he'd already read it twice before, same as every other book in the house. Well, almost every other book… His eyes shifted to the low table in front of him on which rested a fat paperbacked volume. To any avid reader, its girth would have been tempting, but on further inspection one would notice the words "WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY" in boldface printed across the cover.
Delicately, he picked it up and opened to the first page. "…1994 edition?" he mused, trying to recall in his mind the history books he'd read with A.D. dates. He came to the conclusion that it was a very long time ago, at least one hundred and ninety-five years, and sighed. Maybe it would be good for a laugh.
Before he finished skimming the obsolete "Computer Terms and Definitions" at the beginning, Duet walked in an sat across from him, arms crossed.
"Problem?" the banged boy questioned, dog-earing the page and shutting the book.
"Jerk, baka, shoulder belt, and sweet popcorn" were the only words he could make out before she turned and, in the very un-ladylike fashion she had adopted, spat in a potted plant.
"So, find any more books in this God-forsaken literature-fearing sand trap?" she asked very casually. Of course, she was referring to the Magunac desert base they were staying at which was a bit too warm for her tastes and didn't bother with books past instruction manuals and children's textbooks, both of which they had deigned to read.
"Just a dictionary," Trowa replied and hefted the glossary as proof. She stood and walked over to his chair, leaning on the arm rest.
"Better than nothing, I suppose," she groaned, draping herself across the top of his chair and peering over her arm at him expectantly. They had read many books this way, one reading out loud to the other or simply reading over each others shoulders.
He coughed and opened back up to the first page. "Just read the weird ones. We don't need to hear about articles and nouns." Trowa nodded in agreement and skipped to the first interesting-looking one.
"Abase: to bring low; degrade; disgrace."
She snorted and peered at the book harder. "Betcha' I can find a better word."
"Alright, but you have to go in alphabetical order."
And so it became a game.
"Here's one. Abeyance: Temporary extinction. How can you be extinct temporarily?" Duet quizzed and Trowa smirked.
"Yeah? Try Abiogenesis: the doctrine that living matter may be produced by non-living matter."
"The idea that an electric shock to protein caused the beginning of organisms? Pbbth. Common accepted theory back in the primitive ages. How old is this book?" Trowa shrugged. The corners of his lips twitched upwards. "More like the theory that Heero will have kids… Here's one for you. Abstinence: a keeping from the indulgence of the appetite, especially from intoxicating liquors or sex."
"I know that, baka-chan!" Duet snatched the dictionary away and bonked him on the head with it, but it didn't stop his suppressed laughter.
"Hmmm… Now I gotta find a good one… HA! I'm in the dictionary!"
"I said you couldn't skip ahead! Did you go all the way to 'B'?"
"No, Trowa. No, I did not." Here, in a very mature fashion, she stuck out her tongue. "I meant Ace: a single point on cards or dice; a distinguished airman who has destroyed many enemy planes."
Trowa took the volume back from her and skimmed the page. "Acrocephalic: high-skulled." The two looked at each other.
O.o
o.O
"…moving right along… Aerolite: a meteoric stone; a meteorite." When Trowa didn't make any response, she looked up. "Sorry, that just made me feel special," Duet explained, and he smiled again.
"Acceptable. But try this on for size. Agnostic: one who disclaims any knowledge of God or of anything but material phenomena."
"A moron?"
"No, an atheist."
"I fail to see the difference."
"You Catholics…"
"I wouldn't talk, you door-to-door religion salesman."
"Duet, I'm Jewish. That's Jehovah's Witnesses…"
"Oi, gomen nasi, Jew-chan." Duet smiled and Trowa had to laugh. She knew he'd choose her over his religion any day, but she wasn't going to push too hard.
"I know. Let's both become Jews for Christ and call it even! ^___^"
By now, the banged boy was shaking with laughter. "Remind me not to mention any more religious definitions," he managed before surrendering the dictionary.
"Alexandrine: a line with six stresses."
"I don't get it…"
"As opposed to a Thomasine with five stresses," Duet said confidently.
"You're just making that up… Here's one!" Trowa jabbed at the page with his index finger. "Alkali: a substance, as potash and soda, which…" He didn't get any further as Duet fell off the arm of the chair laughing.
"Potash…" she giggled, "Potato hash…"
"I thought you'd like that one."
A hand reached up from the floor and he placed the book within its grasp obligingly.
"Allah: the Arabic name for God," came Duet's muffled voice from the carpet. The book suddenly appeared above the armrest again. Trowa took it and slid off his chair onto the floor next to her.
"Aluminum: a light metal silvery-white in color. Isn't that what they make OZ suits out of these days?"
"Seems like it…" the braided girl replied, toying with the switch to the gas fireplace until she had a good-sized flame going. The desert might have been hot during the day, but it was insanely cold at night.
"Hmmm…" she purred, scanning the pages. "Ah! Amiable: lovable,; sweet-tempered." Duet leaned her head on Trowa's shoulder and handed the book back to him.
"Amour: a love intrigue," he replied without missing a beat.
"Amuse: to entertain; to beguile."
"Angel: a divine messenger; a spirit."
"Apotheosis: a deification; a placing among the gods."
"Ar-" Trowa ended Duet's sentence mid-definition by placing a quick kiss on her rose-petal-pink lips.
"Ai shiteru…" he whispered and her cheeks flushed crimson.
"You said no skipping around," Duet teased, poking him in the chest.
"Fine then…" With one hand, Trowa flipped through the pages. "Assumption: act of assuming; the thing assumed; the taking of any person into heaven."
"Assure: to confirm; validate or verify."
Duet lay back across Trowa's lap and folded the dictionary on her thumbs. He smiled down at her, pushed the book away, and leaned in to kiss her again. She clasped her arms around his neck and pulled him down next to her on the soft carpet. Eventually, they fell asleep that way, entangled in one another on the floor of Quatre's library in front of the blazing fireplace.
Heero came in looking for them the next morning only to find them still asleep in each other's arms. He leaned down and picked up the dictionary lying next to them.
"Must have been a good book…" he murmured, tossing it back onto the floor and leaving the two in peace.
~Owari~
Tori: I'll have Duo's part later on, but I need to go to work now… *yawn* It's too early… ^___^* Couldn't sleep!