A/N: Hey, guys I wrote this story a few months ago on a whim and then forgot about it (aside from reading it myself a few times). Figured I should post it here. I do not own Gundam Wing or anything that makes money (much to my sorrow, lol). Let me know what you think, I like reviews! -kye p.s. ff killed my hyphens so i'm reuploading. fun. -k
dinnerdate
"...in other news," the news anchor muttered gravely as the camera zoomed in on her. "The rumors about the defense minister's son, three year old Zachary Miles, have been confirmed this afternoon. According to channel twelve's sources, the little boy was picked up from his pre-school by his nanny, and..."
Duo looked across the house as he heard a car pulling up, then grinned. He looked around a second time to make sure he hadn't left anything out and switched the tv to a music channel as he stood.
"Fucker," Trowa muttered, glaring up at him. "I was watching that."
"I think Heero's here," Duo retorted, moving across the house to look out the kitchen window. "You think he's compensating for something?" Duo added when he realized the beast of a silver truck was indeed his friend's. It was an extended-cab with a full bed, and probably used up just as much fuel as electricity.
Trowa snorted, moving up behind Duo to look out the window himself-and guffaw.
"How did I not wake up for that this morning?" Duo added, turning to pull the fridge open and grab a beer. "How did you?"
"It sounds like the haulers," Trowa pointed out, moving in after Duo to grab his own beer and eat a few more fries from the pan sitting on top of the stove.
"I guess," Duo muttered as Heero slid from the truck. "Maybe he's bad in bed..."
"Maybe his dick's tiny," Trowa retorted.
"Wouldn't that be the same thing?" Duo asked wickedly, then bounced down the hall to pull the door open as his friend moved by the kitchen window. "Hey!"
"Hey," Heero returned, undoing the last of the buttons on his long-sleeve shirt. "Can I borrow your bathroom?" he extended a leg to show his slacks. He had a wad of clothing in one hand.
"Sure," Duo agreed, moving back out of his way. "You look fancy," he added in amusement. "Nice truck."
"Relena wants me to pick up some wood tonight," Heero explained. "I figure we can run and do that-if you don't mind-then go find somewhere to eat. Hi, Trowa...listen, I'm sorry about this morning."
"I'm sorry about this morning," Trowa returned, glancing back out at the rig. "I didn't realize you were here."
Heero smiled slightly at him, then ducked past him into the bathroom.
"Why did he decide to come visit us on the day he had stuff to do?" Trowa asked quietly as he looked to Duo. "Is that weird to you?"
"He's in half a penguin suit," Duo retorted. "He's obviously only got half a brain."
Trowa snickered.
It didn't take Heero long to change, and he emerged in a pair of jeans and dark blue t-shirt. He was trying to juggle a wallet, his phone, and something else with the clothing, and he stopped at the island to set it all down and start shoving things into his pockets.
A firearm.
Duo blinked.
"Nice piece," Trowa muttered, moving forward to look at the weapon.
"It's loaded," Heero warned, tucking the holster down the back of his jeans. "It drives Relena nuts that I have it with me, too," he added, taking it carefully and checking the safety. "She told me I should use a smaller and more civil caliber."
Trowa smirked at that.
"I pointed out that lighter calibers can't get through Kevlar...she didn't appreciate that."
Trowa outright laughed, genuinely amused. "Am I invited to this little foray?" he added, gesturing at Duo. "He's been talking about you all day, you know."
Duo gave him a look.
Heero gave them both skeptical looks in returned, pulling his phone out. He started typing when a white screen blossomed across the large display, then snorted. "Uh...sorry, yeah...sure, feel free," he gestured toward his truck. "It has the room."
"I gotta know," Duo noted, grinning happily at him...and measuring about two inches in the air between them.
Heero blinked at that as Trowa started laughing, then considered Duo's face. It obviously took a moment for the meaning to register, and he gave Duo a very level look.
"That's a big truck, Yuy," Duo pointed out. "That's a huge truck."
Trowa laughed more.
"I happen to haul heavy," Heero returned, folding his clothing back up. "I'm not any smaller than you."
Duo snickered at that, looking to Trowa, then turned toward his room. "Let me get my jacket."
"Grab mine?" Trowa asked. "It's on the dryer."
"Alright," Duo returned, disappearing. It only took him a moment to reappear, tossing Trowa's jacket at him and moving toward the front door and messing with his pockets.
"Thanks," Trowa started after Heero, flicking off the kitchen light. "Where are we going?"
"I need to hit Jenner's and get six posts," he said the words a bit sarcastically. "Don't forget."
"What for?" Duo asked, allowing him to lead.
"She...we have this African Gray..." he hesitated a moment. "A parrot," he added, looking back at them. "His name is Siksik...he likes watching it snow. She wants to build him a little warm-hut on our patio...and what that really means is I'm building a warm-hut on the patio."
They grinned at him as Trowa climbed into the backseat and Duo the front.
"So I need to pick up the nuts and nails and stuff, a bit of glue..." he thought a moment. "I suppose I should probably get some dowels, too."
"And then we get food?" Duo hazarded, buckling as he considered the controls of the monstrosity they were sitting in.
"Uh...yeah," Heero grinned. "This should actually take more than five minutes, and it's on the way. Food's on me," he added, resting his arm across the back of the passenger seat to crane around and check the road. "Yell if you see a car coming at us," he added, considering Trowa's expression.
Duo sniggered, leaning over to press his mouth to the inside of Heero's elbow.
"Hey," Heero muttered, moving his arm a bit before noting the mischief. "Do you feel better now?" he focused back on the road.
"Yeah, sorta," Duo agreed with a smirk at Trowa. "We have a friend who was totally hitting on me, always does that...I usually bite."
"Thanks for abstaining," Heero noted dryly as he straightened out on the road and switched around to sit right. "That's the only problem I have with driving this thing around. I usually parallel park because it's easier to get out."
"You could have," Trowa noted, indicating the street in front of their house.
"Yeah, but this road isn't nearly wide enough for me to do that comfortably."
"So...we go spend an hour at the home repair place...then get take out?" Duo asked happily.
"I swear it'll only take ten minutes," Heero retorted. "Well...unless there's a line. If there's a line I'll just drop it all and come back later or after work tomorrow."
Duo grinned more at him, looking back to Trowa. "I bet we're done in five, then."
x x
The evening progressed more like Duo'd initially figured than not. They were in the hardware store a good half hour with Heero apologizing every few minutes. For all that he said he'd drop the stuff and leave, they did end up waiting in line.
"So we're both just kinda waiting in this bar," Duo added quietly, "and this girl walks by..." he glanced back at Trowa in amusement. "We both kinda moved at once to call her, and she looks back at us...and you can see her smirk..."
Heero raised his eyebrows at that as he tossed the smaller packages onto the counter for the teller.
"I glare at Trowa and he glares at me, but we invite her to sit down...so she's being all hot and easy...for both of us."
Heero pulled a tag off one of the posts so the woman could scan them.
"She obviously thinks she's going home with both of us, but we're doing the whole evil look thing...one of us has to back down..."
"Is this story appropriate for public?" Heero demanded skeptically.
Duo laughed, looking to the woman a moment, winking at her. "You wanna hear what we did, huh?"
She tried to control her blush, shaking her head without looking at him.
Duo laughed more, obviously amused as he gestured at her to Trowa.
"I'm sorry," Heero apologized to the girl, passing her his card. "I didn't realize they were in a bawdy mood."
She gave him an embarrassed look, muttering that it was fine under her breath. It only took her a moment to finish the purchase as Trowa and Duo muttered to each other and sniggered.
"I'm really sorry," Heero persisted as he took his receipt and started from the store. He gave the guys with him a pointed look.
"We did a double-hit," Trowa informed him loud enough for her to hear.
Heero closed his eyes, raising his face toward the ceiling as they started for the exit.
Duo laughed wickedly, smacking Trowa.
"She was hot," Trowa shrugged innocently at me. "She wanted it...what?"
"Classy," Heero noted sardonically.
Duo started laughing again, as if that comment made it all worth it. The conversation continued on in that vein as they moved to the truck again, and with both of them there, it only took a second to load the posts, and Duo bounced to the front seat while Trowa ran the cart across the aisle.
"We didn't really do a double," Duo informed him happily. "The guy I was waiting to talk to showed up and Tro ditched me."
Heero gave him a look.
Duo grinned more as Trowa slid in.
"So...if I take you to food, you aren't going to horrify our waitress with these... uh...stories are you?"
Duo cackled. "He's embarrassed! Trowa!"
Trowa grinned wickedly at his friend, then gave Heero an almost contrite look. "Sorry? We'll be good?"
Heero sighed almost resignedly, starting up his monstrous vehicle.
x x x
Wufei dropped into his seat at his desk, the resignation taking over as he rubbed at his face with both hands.
Quatre sighed. "Why did you leave it lying around?" he asked tiredly. "You love that damn firearm, so why didn't you have it on you?"
"I set it down to toss the guy into the lock-up again, and when I turned around...it was gone," Wufei repeated for the hundredth time. "G. O. N. E., gone. I asked everyone there and no one even knew what I was talking about..."
"Why did you set it down," Quatre persisted.
Wufei sighed irritably, gesturing his friend off as he folded over onto the desk. He'd been questioning a couple men about a drug smuggling ring, and one of the guys had turned violent on him. He'd knocked him down, but his cohort had tried to make a stand. He'd taken that man down while the rest of the guards gathered up the other...and he'd made the evidently fatal mistake of setting his firearm down on the watched counter near the entry of the jail-area.
The woman who'd been watching the desk had turned around to talk to someone, and when she'd turned back around...it was gone. It had, evidently, vanished into thin air.
The thing about it was, the firearm had been a gift to him from his only remaining uncle. The man had given it to commemorate Wufei's acceptance into the Preventer's after he'd finally finished his frickin' therapy.
...and it was gone.
Wufei thudded his forehead against the desk.
"Stop that," Quatre chided, smacking his shoulder as he moved to sit at his own desk. "You'll give yourself another headache."
"A worse headache," Wufei corrected.
"A migraine," Quatre agreed dryly.
Wufei dropped his head over to consider the guy skeptically.
"You're giving me one is all."
Wufei sighed, moving his arms to pillow his head. "This is bullshit."
"We'll find it," Quatre reassured him. "Someone will probably turn it into lost and found, right?"
"I guess," Wufei sighed heavily.
"What's going on?" Heero asked curiously, moving into the office. "You geniuses realize it's seven at night, right?"
"Hey!" Duo called energetically, moving in behind them. "You two are both still alive?" he laughed. "You seem to have all your appendages, too! Good on ya!"
Quatre smiled a bit at that. "Hi, Duo."
"I'm gonna go kidnap Heero's bird," Duo explained, moving around to pat the top of Wufei's head. "You gonna make it?"
Wufei pushed himself up half-tolerantly and glowered at the man. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm kidnapping the bird," Duo repeated, dropping into one of the rolling-chairs in the middle of the room.
"Yeah, someone sleeps in until two in the afternoon," Heero noted wryly. "And doesn't understand that there are people who are tired at eight."
Duo laughed at that. "I told you we could just meet up tomorrow."
"And I told you that I have to build the damn thing tomorrow."
"I told you I'd help tomorrow."
"Quit saying tomorrow," Quatre muttered.
Duo and Heero grinned at him.
"What's going on?" Wufei added, considering the guy with interest. He didn't seem like the beaten lover. "Where's Trowa?"
"I'm here," Trowa muttered, moving into the office and waving back the way he came. "I got waylaid mid-approach..."
"Weapons search?" Wufei demanded dryly.
Trowa blinked at him, then focused and nodded at Quatre.
"I just saw your rig here," Heero added to Quatre. "Thought I'd come remind you that you're supposed to go home and not sleep in the office."
"The couch looks comfy enough," Duo noted, bouncing over to flop onto it.
"You need to give me your cell," Quatre muttered with a yawn, looking around his desk for a pencil or pen.
"Don't got one, Q-man," Duo returned. "I suck at paying the bill and decided that having it dead half the time means it's a waste. How much do you think I can get for an African Gray on the black market?"
"More than twenty if it's four and smart," Wufei noted dryly. "And isn't Siksik like...three now?"
"He argues," Heero agreed happily.
"Sweet," Duo noted to Trowa as he moved back to the chair. "Quick cash."
Trowa grinned at him.
Quatre and Wufei cast Heero brief skeptical looks.
Heero grinned at them, then shook his head. "I really did just come up 'cause I saw your rig...your phones died again, by the way."
"Mine did like...three hours ago," Quatre shrugged. "I don't have my charger here anymore."
"What happened to it?" Duo asked...from where he was spinning in the chair.
Trowa reached over and grabbed the back of the thing, giving Duo a dirty look.
Duo grinned back.
"I took it to my girlfriend's," Quatre sighed. "I'll get it tonight, I suppose."
"If you ever get there," Heero reminded.
"I know, I know," Quatre muttered irritably, waking up his computer. "I need to finish up some shit here...it'll take five minutes."
"So he has a half hour before he finishes," Duo informed Trowa. "How far away you suppose the girl lives?"
"Five minutes," Quatre returned. "So I'll be there in an hour."
Duo laughed.
"You should come to my place," Heero suggested. "We're gonna go kill an hour at the house before I chase them off so I can sleep."
"Have you called Relena about that yet?" Wufei demanded.
"She asked if I should pick up some beers," Heero agreed. "I told her to wait until Friday."
"You see his truck?" Duo appealed to Wufei. "Is it just me or does it suggest compensation?"
Quatre snickered from where he was focused on his computer.
Heero gave him a look.
Duo grinned at all of them.
"Alright...we're going back to my place...the invitation's open," Heero persisted to Wufei.
"No...I'm dead-dog tired. I need to go home."
"Alright...we should meet up this weekend," Duo noted, bouncing out of his seat. "Come to our place?"
Trowa sighed.
"Well...maybe Heero's again," Duo muttered without missing a beat. "Our place is small."
Quatre turned to look at the man a moment, then looked to Trowa.
"Let's go," Trowa muttered, turning and disappearing back into the hall.
"Gracious as ever," Quatre noted dryly, looking around to Wufei. "We'll see...about this weekend," he added to Duo.
Duo's happy bubble fizzled out and he frowned at the blond, then the Asian. "I...we haven't talked in like a year," he said quietly.
"We like you well enough," Quatre noted almost under his breath.
Duo frowned at him, glancing to Wufei-Wufei wasn't meeting his eyes at all. "Oh...alright," Duo said quietly, stepping back. "Sorry for...interrupting."
"Duo..." Wufei started.
Duo disappeared as well.
Heero closed his eyes a moment, taking a long slow breath. "Great," he said quietly. "Nice, guys."
He turned and also left.
Quatre frowned after them, looking around to Wufei.
"I'm going home," Wufei noted, not looking at him, either. "Good night."
x x
"Siksik, hush..."
Duo tilted his head as he heard Relena.
"Siksik...hush..."
"Siksik," Heero called, "hush."
"Hero!"
The voice still sounded like Relena.
"Hero...scratch?"
"You want a scratch?" Heero muttered, moving into a warmly lit room. They'd entered into an open foyer that had a hallway that led back to a backyard. The room was on the left side of the front.
"Scratch Siksik?"
Duo followed him into the room to see a grey bird stretching its neck out at Heero...and one of its legs behind.
"Hi, Siksik," Heero muttered, moving over and rubbing at the back of its head with his nails.
"Hi, Siksik," the bird echoed in Heero's voice.
Duo grinned.
"Scratch," the bird added happily, nuzzling at Heero's hand. "Hi, Hero."
"Hi, Siksik," Duo muttered, stopping near Heero.
The bird blinked at him, moving a step closer and scuttling back two steps. He spotted Trowa...and moved closer two steps before dancing back again. "Hero?"
"It's okay," Heero reassured the animal, offering his wrist. "That's Duo," he indicated Duo.
"That's two," the bird mimicked...in Heero's voice.
"Duo," Heero repeated.
"Two," the bird said again.
"He understands that concept?" Trowa asked blankly as Relena giggled.
"Oh, hi, Relena," Duo muttered, stepping back to see the woman sitting comfortably on a couch. She had her feet drawn up to her rear, and was reading a newspaper. "How are you?"
"I told my bird to hush and he proceeded to echo me for fifteen minutes. You?"
Duo grinned at her.
"He's too smart for his own good," Heero noted dryly to Trowa. He focused back on the animal. "Copy...Duo."
"Duo," the bird said almost grudgingly.
"Good bird!" Heero muttered, moving over to reach into a bag. "You want a treat?"
"Treat?" the bird echoed. "Duo? Duo treat?"
"Well...you said it right," Heero muttered, rolling his eyes to Duo.
"Siksik, hush," the bird muttered in Relena's voice.
"That's right," Relena agreed. "You're noisy."
"Noisy," the animal muttered, then looked skeptically to Trowa...and took a nut from Heero.
"Trowa," Heero returned.
The bird made a sort of clicking sound, "owa."
"Good enough," Heero noted, giving it another nut.
"Duo...treat?" the bird looked back to Heero.
"No, you said it good," Heero retorted. "You're noisy," he moved his wrist. "Do you want me or not?"
The bird leaned down and rubbed its beak against the back of his hand...then stepped over onto the wrist.
"Hi, Siksik," Heero muttered, leaning down so the bird could bite at his ear.
"He always greets the bird before me," Relena noted happily. "Hi, Trowa. How are you guys?"
"Pretty good," Duo returned, moving around to drop into the recliner nearer her. "How are you? How's married life treating you?"
"I can't complain," she returned...then blinked as Siksik hopped and glided from Heero's wrist to her. "Hi, Siksik," she muttered.
"Duo," the bird informed her happily, climbing carefully up her leg to her knee. He clicked his beak at her, then looked at Duo in an oddly angular way. "Duo..."
"Hi, Siksik," Duo repeated, grinning at the bird.
"Yes," Relena agreed, scratching between the animal's wings a bit. "That is Duo...and Trowa...and Heero. Who am I?"
"Mommy," the bird returned...in Heero's voice.
Relena laughed, scratching at him more. "He likes to mimic us specifically...and," she added pointedly toward her husband. "Has been asking for Daddy for an hour or two."
"You can tell he so wants me," Heero noted dryly, indicating the bird on Relena.
"Duo," the bird informed him, perking up. "Treat."
Duo snickered.
"You should have pointed out he said it right before just giving it to him," Relena informed her husband.
"I realized that," Heero noted dryly. "Belatedly, I admit, but I did realize that."
Relena grinned.
"Here," Heero muttered, leaning over so the bird could hop onto his wrist. "How was your day?"
"Hello?" Siksik sang out happily in Relena's voice. "Hi, baby...uh-huh...uh...uh..." he made a laughing noise. "You did? You got the posts? Hi, Siksik..."
Heero focused on the bird pointedly, starting to pet it.
"It was fine," Relena returned. "He was copying a conversation my maid had earlier, too," she added to Duo. She grinned as Trowa sat on the chair nearer the cage. "When he decides he likes how something sounds he mimics it...and we used to get a good laugh out of hearing our end of the conversation repeated back at us. It's a bad habit."
"I almost died," Heero noted, looking around to them. "One day I invited my boss over for supper...but evidently..."
"Shush," Relena muttered, kicking at him as her cheeks colored.
"We were being loud," Heero noted dryly to the males, indicating the ceiling in the far corner of the room with a jerk of his head. "Our room is up there, and he sleeps here," he indicated the cage.
Duo snickered wickedly.
"He likes Relena's voice...a lot," Heero noted.
Relena laughed embarrassedly, kicking at him again.
"Yeah, I almost died," Heero repeated. He considered the grinning males a moment before looking back to Relena. "They're gonna sell Siksik on the black market for twenty."
"Siksik?" Relena asked happily. "What am I gonna make you?"
"Friiiied chicken," the bird informed her happily.
Duo started laughing.
"Friiied chicken," the bird said again, turning to look better at Duo. "Dip you in hot grease first!"
"That's right," Relena encouraged him happily, making kissing noises at him. "That's a good bird..."
x x x
"Hey! I thought you fuckers weren't comin'!" Roger, the...area manager...muttered happily as they entered the building.
"We're just late," Trowa retorted, cracking his neck as he stretched out his arms. "You got me anything?"
"I got you three," Roger noted, looking them both over skeptically. "And you," he indicated Duo. "Nicolo has been waiting for you since ten."
"Oh has he?" Duo leveled Trowa with a long look.
"I can't help what you'll do," Trowa returned, popping his knuckles.
"Go find Nicolo before he decides not to like you," the guy suggested to Duo, then walked off with Trowa in tow.
Duo sighed, moving through the gate and grabbing a sucker from the basket on the desk. The sound of the crowd was loud to his left, and he walked along behind the stands while gathering himself. The area he was in was for the fighters themselves and their guests. It was all fenced off from the main stands, and had little...insets...that went right up to the cage. Those little nooks had various forms of seating, including booths to eat in and chain-link ceilings-the cage itself was made of chain-link. There were a few people in the ones nearer the doors, but the back area seemed empty.
"Yield!" Jerry, the referee, shouted delightedly from the center cage. "He yielded!" the man was laughing as half the crowd booed.
Duo stuck the sucker in his mouth, looking around at the various fighters waiting to go in. He smirked as Ry came into sight, sitting near some goon that probably had a gun.
"Dave!" the guy jumped from his seat and darted forward. "Holy shit, where have you been?"
"Not here," Duo noted pointedly, considering the bruising along the guy's cheek. That hadn't been there the night before. Chances were, that was what Trowa had meant when he said the guy wouldn't be telling him to back off anymore.
"Where's Trent?" the guy muttered, looking around nervously as the goon shifted his stance.
"He's getting in the ring," Duo returned, pointing across the way.
"You fuckin' with me?" someone shouted from behind him. "I've been trying to get in all night!"
Duo turned to consider him a moment, then smirked and gestured Ry off. He turned and moved into an empty nook as the guy trying to bitch followed him, and jangled the wall hard.
The regular patrons weren't allowed into the area behind the stands, so the only way to get to those areas was to be...special. Jerry, who'd been talking to Trowa, turned to look at him curiously.
Duo shoved the man against the fencing, which made him turn on Duo.
"Ooh!" Jerry perked up instantly. "Oh! We have a contender for Bauer!"
Trowa ran a hand through his hair as he studied the guy-Jerry's words had caught his attention, and he turned back to Duo uncertainly.
Duo shrugged at everyone who was looking at him, keeping his elbows tight to his sides as he spread his hands.
Trowa crooked his finger to the guy, who hesitated a moment, then turned and darted toward the ring entrance.
So...Trowa had four fights lined up.
Duo smirked at his friend, backing out of the nook. There were some nights when you couldn't get near the cage at all because of the people the contenders had brought in-and then there were nights where the contenders had their own nooks around the thing for their few friends.
"You sure that's a good idea?" Ry asked nervously as Duo rejoined him.
"I don't give a shit, Ry," Duo returned, moving off toward the area Nicolo took for himself and stopping at the entrance to the thing.
"David!" Nicolo looked up to him with interest. "I forgot you were coming tonight...please excuse me," he un-tucked the napkin from his shirt. "I have a guest."
Duo looked to the Asian guy sitting with Nicolo, then dropped down next to his... friend. "I've had a busy night," he noted, pulling the sucker from his mouth. "Running behind schedule."
"Or did Trenton forget to tell you I wanted to talk to you," the man stated it more than asked. "Good evening, I trust?"
"Same shit, different bird," Duo returned, smiling tightly at the guy who was glaring at him. It wasn't anyone he'd seen before.
"This is my friend Fakun," Nicolo added. "Fakun, this is David. He's who I was telling you about-best around."
"I thought he'd be more punctual," Fakun noted, still staring into Duo's face.
"I come when I please and I leave when I please," Duo returned easily, rolling the sucker around in his mouth a moment before smirking. "I take what jobs I please. Nick would love to control me...but as it is...it's as I please."
The guy looked him over again, more appraisingly-his eyes kept returning to Duo's mouth.
Duo turned his head very slightly to Ry and indicated the man with his head. "I think Fakun wants a sucker, huh?" he muttered.
Ry nodded, turning and disappearing up the way.
Duo looked back to Fakun and Nicolo-Nicolo looked about three times as annoyed as usual. Duo had to figure that he'd try to get Ry to do something and the guy had refused. Other than that, the guy hated when Duo called him Nick.
"If I gave you a case of glocks," the Asian muttered, "how long would it take of you to...dispose of them for me?"
"How long ago did you steal them?" Duo returned levelly. "How much are you wanting for them? Are they cleaned? Are they in any way...unique?"
"They were given into my possession," the man said slowly, "approximately a year ago-Nicolo has suggested this is a good length of time. We'll have to discuss the worth...and your personal mark-up...the serial numbers have been removed, and other than that they're like any other hand-gun in the market."
Duo considered him a moment as Ry moved up beside them and rolled the sucker he'd grabbed across the table...and passed another to Duo.
Duo flashed him a grin in appreciation, then looked out at the match. He sighed, sliding his chair back and moving around to the chain-link. "Hey!"
Trowa hesitated before delivering a blow that would probably put the man in the hospital.
"He yielded," Duo noted. "Don't be naughty."
Trowa smirked at him, dropping the guy to the mat. He moved across to their section, leaning forward and nodding a bit as he wrapped his fingertips into the chain-link.
Duo raised his sucker so his friend could taste it as the crowd continued cheering behind. "Don't be doing anything permanent, stupid-ass," he muttered. "We can't bring attention to ourselves."
"What's the news?" Trowa returned, licking at his lips.
"Nick's friend there is trying to play god-father," Duo returned, sticking the sucker back in his mouth. "I'm debating if I'm gonna bother agreeing or not."
Trowa tilted his head to look the man over, then focused past him. "Ry!"
"Hey, Trent," Ry muttered, grinning almost hesitantly back at him. "Good fight."
"Shit...I kicked his ass," Trowa retorted. "Don't compliment if you're not even watching...and you," he added to Fakun. "Watch your attitude. You piss David off and shit starts going wrong."
The guy blinked at him.
"I have money on you, Trent," Nicolo noted. "I'll give you a cut if you don't disappoint me."
Trowa laughed, nodding so Duo'd pass the sucker up again, then turned away as the cleaning-crew finished sanitizing the mat.
Duo stuck the sucker back in his mouth, moving to drop next to Nicolo again-the serving woman had brought him plate of fries, and he regretted not having noticed her.
"He your lover?" Fakun asked, jerking his head toward Trowa.
Duo guffawed at that, rolling his eyes.
Everyone thought that...he knew the sucker thing was an odd quirk...
"Uh, no," Nicolo said quickly. "Don't pursue that or you won't like where it ends."
Fakun blinked at the guy with interest.
"So," Duo added, setting the sucker on the plate and starting to eat the fries. "Let's get to the part of why my mark-up means jack-shit to you...I'm currently more interested in that than what you want for them."
"I told him not to take that route," Nicolo noted, focusing back on his food almost happily. "Don't look at me."