I'm posting this one now cause I feel bad for makin ya wait so long.
Enjoy!
~*~ chapter 10
~*~
All suited up in their gear, the four friends were in the garage getting their bikes ready. They hadn't really said much since the talk they had with the old guard.
Maybe because they were all trying to understand it.
They thought everything made since, the way Chance seemed to be the subject of everything.
But still....
It was quite a bit for one, still rather young, woman to go through.
As Heero was pondering over it, his gaze flickered up to where Duo was working quietly on his bike. ~He seems to have taken everything rather well...~ "Hey Duo." he called out suddenly.
Everything stopped at the sound as Duo looked up from his work and all eyes turned to him.
"What up, Hee?" he asked in his normal carefree tone.
"You seem to be handling everything pretty well..." Heero started.
Duo grinned. "Of course, why wouldn't I?" he asked casually.
Heero was going to ask, but Wufei beat him to it. "You mean to tell me that nothing D just told us bothers you in the least? I thought you were starting to have some sort of feelings for Chance." he said, and sounded confused.
His violet eyes glinted evilly and he smiled. "I do have feelings for her.... Even more so than before.." When he saw their lost looks, he chuckled and explained. "I lied a few times, guys. I have been in this city before. You know, when I go out on my own on my other bike. I cruise around the city for a little excitement." He looked over at his own bike, then at the busted one that Chance had left out from their first encounter. "I know a few people around here..." Duo then looked up and grinned evilly. "And I've heard all about the whole poison rose story."
They stared at him blankly.
"So you...." Trowa trailed off.
Duo nodded. "Hn, yep. Now that I finally know who the poison rose is, I know exactly what I'm dealing with. And I know exactly how to deal with it." He turned his back to them and moved to put away the things he had been using. "Don't worry guys, I know what I'm doing now." he said smoothly.
"Who knows what they're doing?" a light voice suddenly asked.
The four turned quickly around to be greeted by teal eyes and black hair.
"Chase! Hey buddy! What's up?" Duo asked cheerfully, betraying nothing.
The kind racer smiled at the greeting. "Nothing much. I just got here. Chance should be here any second. She's showing off her new bike to Mr. Douglas out front." Chase told them, but wondered what they had been talking about.
Duo doesn't give him a chance to wonder long. "Cool. Hey, you ready ta hit the track? I'm sure you can finally give Hee-man there a run for his money." he winked at him.
Chase blushed lightly, and looked over at Heero. "Well, I'll certainly try to."
The stoic rider let a small smile slip on to his face. "I have no doubt you will."
Just then..
"Hello hello hello! How is everyone today? Ready to get your asses handed to you, hm?" Chance laughed as she pushed her bike inside the garage.
Four of the five young men froze when they saw her.
The dark haired woman instantly noticed their tension, and her teals eyes looked over them carefully. She could plainly see a look of uncertainty that she knew all too well. "Well, don't everyone answer at once. What's wrong, that scared of me??" she laughed as she lowered the kick stand.
Duo was the first to snap out of it. "Of course not. Death fears no one. I'm just looking at the sweet new ride you were able to con outta Neil." he answered calmly, grinning like he always did.
Chance looked at him in suspicion, but went on. "Yeah, I would think by now he would know better than to try an' beat me at a game of chance." she quipped lightly. Not wasting any time, she turned to her brother. "Well, we better get suited up, huh? You go on ahead. I hafta check a few things first." she told him.
Not noticing anything out of place, Chase smiled cheerfully. "Okay. I'll go ahead and get your gear out too." he offered politely as he turned for the locker room door.
"Yeah, thanks. I'll be in there in a minute...." Chance called out after him. Once she saw the door close behind him, she turned to the others. "Alright, no games, and you better not play dumb... What did he tell you?" Chance asked in a low tone that almost sounded threatening.
Heero Trowa and Wufei were surprised that she knew, but Duo seemed perfectly clam about it. "Who tell us what?" he asked innocently.
Glaring daggers at him, Chance walked up to him, grabbed on to his black chest protector, and pulled him forward roughly. "I said no fucking games...." she growled out. "Now what did that damn geriatric tell you?"
"Oh! You must mean Mr. D out front." Duo said lightly as he gently removed her hands from his chest guard. "He was just filling us in on a little of your reputation, Chance..." Duo raised his hand and slowly moved a finger to where it was touching the rose tattoo under her collar bone. "Or should I say Poison Rose?" He pushed her back slightly with his finger.
Her teal eyes grew wide for a moment, but she then turned away from him and grunted. "Damn old man never could keep his mouth shut....." she grumbled as she made her way to the door her brother went through.
They watched her walk away, but Duo never could leave well enough alone. "What's this? No threats to beat our asses in the ground if we tell anyone? I'm quite shocked." he said with a short laugh. He crossed his arms and waited for her reply, almost eagerly.
But to his surprise, Chance began laughing. It was a few seconds before she calmed down and shot a smirking glare over her shoulder. "I would think by now it should go without saying..." Chance turned to the group, smirking rather evilly at them. "Hmm... Now that you know, it's a whole new ball game... And now all of you are involved whether you want to be or not. You'll either play along, or you faces will be plastered on the back of a milk carton with, 'have you seen these people' written above it." she joked lightly.
The others were still quiet, but Duo wasn't about to be scared off. "Is that a threat?"
She shook her black head. "Oh no. That was a warning. I'm the best friend you could possibly have in this city. And I look out for my friends here. I'm merely saying that if you're not careful you could be in a lot of trouble. I suggest you keep whatever anyone told you to yourself. Especially the Poison Rose thing." She turned back to the door. "Say it around the wrong person and it could get you killed." With that she walked through the door and closed it behind her.
Duo stared at the door for a moment. "Damn! She is hot when she gets threatening..." he said to himself, several images flying through his head.
The others shook out of their quiet mode, and blinked at the braided rider. "What exactly is your attraction to her? Sure she's good looking, but, in case you haven't noticed, everyone we've talked to about her all tell us that she's bad news, and we could get shot, if not killed, just by being near her!" Wufei exclaimed, and stood closer to Trowa.
Looking back at the Chinese, Duo grinned widely. "That's exactly why I like her. I've finally found me an actual challenge..." He glanced at the bike that the black haired woman brought in, then at the door she had walked through. "And I plan on meeting it head on." he stated proudly.
Heero watched the wheels turning in his friend's head, and knew what he was up to. "Duo... You're not going to be happy until you tackle her to the nearest bed, are you?" he accused calmly.
The careless biker shrugged, and laughed. "Bed, table, floor.. Whatever works." he mused. Suddenly he turned around to the three behind him. "Guys, I've decided that I'm gonna quit my little romps around the city... I'm gonna try to win Chance over." he told them honestly, but also being honest with himself.
Three jaws nearly hit the floor.
"What?! Duo, you're not serious.." Wufei stuttered out, unable to comprehend it.
Duo nodded firmly. "I am, Wu. This is it.... I think I've finally found what I want, and it's Chance."
Trowa was in a similar state of shock. "But, Duo... You just met her two days ago...." he pointed out, wondering why Duo was making such a rash decision.
He shook his head, which made his long braid swish behind him. "Doesn't matter. Guys, all my life I've been looking for something that would make my life better. Something that would twist it around, and make everything seem new again. I get that feeling when I'm with her." Duo said, still feeling that way.
Heero knew how his friend felt, and felt the same thing with Chase, but he was still going to be cautious. "Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked seriously, not wanting Duo to get hurt.
Duo nodded his head. "Yep. I want to find out everything I can about her. I don't care what it takes. I'll do anything."
Trowa and Wufei couldn't believe this. "You're really going to try and get Chance to be your lover?" the dark eyed rider cried out, wondering if his friend had snapped.
"Why not?" Duo asked in a laugh.
"I don't know, but she seems to be the live fast, love fast, and dump them faster kinda person to me." Trowa pointed out, also wanting his friend to be careful.
Yet again, the braided boy shrugged. "Hey, that might be true, but I'll never know if I don't try." He turned away from them and headed for his bike. After lifting up the kick stand, he started to wheel it out of the garage.
But before he was gone, he looked back and grinned at his friends. "Besides, I'm not know for my long term relationships either."
"But, Duo, you've never had any long term relationships." Heero reminded him, unable to recall of any.
Duo winked at him. "Exactly." And he left out of the garage.
Now staring after him, the three young men left behind were at a loss.
"Hmmm..." Trowa shook his head and sighed. "I do believe it was much better when the two of them were arguing... But now.. I think it's going to get much worse before it even remotely looks better." he thought aloud.
Heero and Wufei nodded and agreed.
This was only the beginning.
The calm before the storm.
~*~*~*~
"Why do we even try?!" Wufei exclaimed as he stormed into the stands of the track.
Trying to hide his amused smirk, Trowa followed his lover. "Wufei, you just have to accept the fact that those four are in a completely different league than the two of us." he pointed out as an attempt to calm him down.
It didn't work.
His anger still flaring, he stomped away, and, once he reached the middle of the stands, sat down dejectedly. "But still! We're on the same damn team as Heero and Duo, then these twins show up, and we're blown out of the water because we have no chance in hell to keep up with them!" the Chinese growled out.
Moving to him, Trowa sat close to Wufei and wrapped his arms around him. "Now calm down. So Chance and Chase are better than us. It doesn't matter. As far as I'm concerned, those two are exactly what this team needs. On and off the track." he stated calmly, meaning every word.
Black eyes blinked in curiosity. "What do you mean?"
Loving the confused look, the taller rider leaned over and kissed the tan forehead. "Haven't you noticed, love? Look at Heero and Duo." He pointed out to the tracks. "Have you ever seen Heero actually push himself that hard in order to keep his lead over Chase? And Duo is actually thinking out what he's doing so he can get ahead of Chance. They are being challenged by those two, and they're trying to push their skills further in order to meet it." Trowa then looked back and gave his lover that special smile that was only meant for him. "And they've fallen in love with them because of it. I've never seen Heero so happy, and Duo's never been this determined and passionate."
Wufei listened quietly, and had to admit that he did see everything that he was talking about. "I understand... They're going through the same thing we did..." He looked up into those deep forest eyes. "They're trying to prove themselves to each other. They want to meet them on a level playing field and bare everything..." He suddenly smirked. "Duo more so in the literal sense."
Trowa chuckled lightly and held him closer. "Yes, Duo's a bit more focused on the bed play of the relationship than anything else, but I do believe that he was telling us the truth. He sees something in Chance that he can relate to better than anyone. You heard what the others told us. Chance was an abused orphan, and she's probably still that way. Duo can relate a great deal with that." the taller one said with hint hint of sorrow in his voice.
His lover also knew what he was thinking. "What do you think happened to her for her to be placed in an abuse shelter?" he asked softly.
"I don't know..." He pulled him closer to where the Chinese was leaning against his chest. "I'm not sure that I want to know."
Snuggling closer, Wufei sighed deeply. "I suppose that it's probably best that we don't know... Duo doesn't like to think about his past, I doubt Chance is much different..." he mumbled, and felt safe in Trowa's warm arms.
Smiling down at him, Trowa placed another kiss on the top of his head. "Yeah... You know there's a good side to our situation..." he trailed off.
Wufei lifted his head and looked at him curiously. "What's that?"
Trowa leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Since we can't keep up with them, they probably won't mind if we leave them to their practices while we continue on with other practices of our own...." he said in a hot whisper.
Eyes going wide, a grin began to form on his tan face. "What kind of practices?" he asked innocently.
"The kind where we can keep up with each other very well..."
"Shower rooms?" Wufei suddenly offered, eyes hopeful.
Trowa laughed at his eagerness. "I was actually thinking of one of the offices. There's a nice large couch there and I thought we coul-Woah!"
He was jerked to his feet as Wufei hurriedly led him out of the stands.
Almost tripping at the way he was being dragged along, Trowa laughed at Wufei. "Are we a bit too excited?!" he asked in amusement.
Wufei glanced back at him as he ran, an evil gleam in his eyes. "I've been wanting to get you alone for too long now. Those guys out there should be busy for another two hours, and I'm taking advantage of it!" he growls out playfully. Right after that was said, Wufei pulled his lover through the doors that exited the stands.
They were going to have some fun in their free time that the twins had bought for them.
~*~ TBC
I had to give those two a moment. ^_^
Don't worry, they'll all have moments.
Later
Enjoy!
~*~ chapter 10
~*~
All suited up in their gear, the four friends were in the garage getting their bikes ready. They hadn't really said much since the talk they had with the old guard.
Maybe because they were all trying to understand it.
They thought everything made since, the way Chance seemed to be the subject of everything.
But still....
It was quite a bit for one, still rather young, woman to go through.
As Heero was pondering over it, his gaze flickered up to where Duo was working quietly on his bike. ~He seems to have taken everything rather well...~ "Hey Duo." he called out suddenly.
Everything stopped at the sound as Duo looked up from his work and all eyes turned to him.
"What up, Hee?" he asked in his normal carefree tone.
"You seem to be handling everything pretty well..." Heero started.
Duo grinned. "Of course, why wouldn't I?" he asked casually.
Heero was going to ask, but Wufei beat him to it. "You mean to tell me that nothing D just told us bothers you in the least? I thought you were starting to have some sort of feelings for Chance." he said, and sounded confused.
His violet eyes glinted evilly and he smiled. "I do have feelings for her.... Even more so than before.." When he saw their lost looks, he chuckled and explained. "I lied a few times, guys. I have been in this city before. You know, when I go out on my own on my other bike. I cruise around the city for a little excitement." He looked over at his own bike, then at the busted one that Chance had left out from their first encounter. "I know a few people around here..." Duo then looked up and grinned evilly. "And I've heard all about the whole poison rose story."
They stared at him blankly.
"So you...." Trowa trailed off.
Duo nodded. "Hn, yep. Now that I finally know who the poison rose is, I know exactly what I'm dealing with. And I know exactly how to deal with it." He turned his back to them and moved to put away the things he had been using. "Don't worry guys, I know what I'm doing now." he said smoothly.
"Who knows what they're doing?" a light voice suddenly asked.
The four turned quickly around to be greeted by teal eyes and black hair.
"Chase! Hey buddy! What's up?" Duo asked cheerfully, betraying nothing.
The kind racer smiled at the greeting. "Nothing much. I just got here. Chance should be here any second. She's showing off her new bike to Mr. Douglas out front." Chase told them, but wondered what they had been talking about.
Duo doesn't give him a chance to wonder long. "Cool. Hey, you ready ta hit the track? I'm sure you can finally give Hee-man there a run for his money." he winked at him.
Chase blushed lightly, and looked over at Heero. "Well, I'll certainly try to."
The stoic rider let a small smile slip on to his face. "I have no doubt you will."
Just then..
"Hello hello hello! How is everyone today? Ready to get your asses handed to you, hm?" Chance laughed as she pushed her bike inside the garage.
Four of the five young men froze when they saw her.
The dark haired woman instantly noticed their tension, and her teals eyes looked over them carefully. She could plainly see a look of uncertainty that she knew all too well. "Well, don't everyone answer at once. What's wrong, that scared of me??" she laughed as she lowered the kick stand.
Duo was the first to snap out of it. "Of course not. Death fears no one. I'm just looking at the sweet new ride you were able to con outta Neil." he answered calmly, grinning like he always did.
Chance looked at him in suspicion, but went on. "Yeah, I would think by now he would know better than to try an' beat me at a game of chance." she quipped lightly. Not wasting any time, she turned to her brother. "Well, we better get suited up, huh? You go on ahead. I hafta check a few things first." she told him.
Not noticing anything out of place, Chase smiled cheerfully. "Okay. I'll go ahead and get your gear out too." he offered politely as he turned for the locker room door.
"Yeah, thanks. I'll be in there in a minute...." Chance called out after him. Once she saw the door close behind him, she turned to the others. "Alright, no games, and you better not play dumb... What did he tell you?" Chance asked in a low tone that almost sounded threatening.
Heero Trowa and Wufei were surprised that she knew, but Duo seemed perfectly clam about it. "Who tell us what?" he asked innocently.
Glaring daggers at him, Chance walked up to him, grabbed on to his black chest protector, and pulled him forward roughly. "I said no fucking games...." she growled out. "Now what did that damn geriatric tell you?"
"Oh! You must mean Mr. D out front." Duo said lightly as he gently removed her hands from his chest guard. "He was just filling us in on a little of your reputation, Chance..." Duo raised his hand and slowly moved a finger to where it was touching the rose tattoo under her collar bone. "Or should I say Poison Rose?" He pushed her back slightly with his finger.
Her teal eyes grew wide for a moment, but she then turned away from him and grunted. "Damn old man never could keep his mouth shut....." she grumbled as she made her way to the door her brother went through.
They watched her walk away, but Duo never could leave well enough alone. "What's this? No threats to beat our asses in the ground if we tell anyone? I'm quite shocked." he said with a short laugh. He crossed his arms and waited for her reply, almost eagerly.
But to his surprise, Chance began laughing. It was a few seconds before she calmed down and shot a smirking glare over her shoulder. "I would think by now it should go without saying..." Chance turned to the group, smirking rather evilly at them. "Hmm... Now that you know, it's a whole new ball game... And now all of you are involved whether you want to be or not. You'll either play along, or you faces will be plastered on the back of a milk carton with, 'have you seen these people' written above it." she joked lightly.
The others were still quiet, but Duo wasn't about to be scared off. "Is that a threat?"
She shook her black head. "Oh no. That was a warning. I'm the best friend you could possibly have in this city. And I look out for my friends here. I'm merely saying that if you're not careful you could be in a lot of trouble. I suggest you keep whatever anyone told you to yourself. Especially the Poison Rose thing." She turned back to the door. "Say it around the wrong person and it could get you killed." With that she walked through the door and closed it behind her.
Duo stared at the door for a moment. "Damn! She is hot when she gets threatening..." he said to himself, several images flying through his head.
The others shook out of their quiet mode, and blinked at the braided rider. "What exactly is your attraction to her? Sure she's good looking, but, in case you haven't noticed, everyone we've talked to about her all tell us that she's bad news, and we could get shot, if not killed, just by being near her!" Wufei exclaimed, and stood closer to Trowa.
Looking back at the Chinese, Duo grinned widely. "That's exactly why I like her. I've finally found me an actual challenge..." He glanced at the bike that the black haired woman brought in, then at the door she had walked through. "And I plan on meeting it head on." he stated proudly.
Heero watched the wheels turning in his friend's head, and knew what he was up to. "Duo... You're not going to be happy until you tackle her to the nearest bed, are you?" he accused calmly.
The careless biker shrugged, and laughed. "Bed, table, floor.. Whatever works." he mused. Suddenly he turned around to the three behind him. "Guys, I've decided that I'm gonna quit my little romps around the city... I'm gonna try to win Chance over." he told them honestly, but also being honest with himself.
Three jaws nearly hit the floor.
"What?! Duo, you're not serious.." Wufei stuttered out, unable to comprehend it.
Duo nodded firmly. "I am, Wu. This is it.... I think I've finally found what I want, and it's Chance."
Trowa was in a similar state of shock. "But, Duo... You just met her two days ago...." he pointed out, wondering why Duo was making such a rash decision.
He shook his head, which made his long braid swish behind him. "Doesn't matter. Guys, all my life I've been looking for something that would make my life better. Something that would twist it around, and make everything seem new again. I get that feeling when I'm with her." Duo said, still feeling that way.
Heero knew how his friend felt, and felt the same thing with Chase, but he was still going to be cautious. "Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked seriously, not wanting Duo to get hurt.
Duo nodded his head. "Yep. I want to find out everything I can about her. I don't care what it takes. I'll do anything."
Trowa and Wufei couldn't believe this. "You're really going to try and get Chance to be your lover?" the dark eyed rider cried out, wondering if his friend had snapped.
"Why not?" Duo asked in a laugh.
"I don't know, but she seems to be the live fast, love fast, and dump them faster kinda person to me." Trowa pointed out, also wanting his friend to be careful.
Yet again, the braided boy shrugged. "Hey, that might be true, but I'll never know if I don't try." He turned away from them and headed for his bike. After lifting up the kick stand, he started to wheel it out of the garage.
But before he was gone, he looked back and grinned at his friends. "Besides, I'm not know for my long term relationships either."
"But, Duo, you've never had any long term relationships." Heero reminded him, unable to recall of any.
Duo winked at him. "Exactly." And he left out of the garage.
Now staring after him, the three young men left behind were at a loss.
"Hmmm..." Trowa shook his head and sighed. "I do believe it was much better when the two of them were arguing... But now.. I think it's going to get much worse before it even remotely looks better." he thought aloud.
Heero and Wufei nodded and agreed.
This was only the beginning.
The calm before the storm.
~*~*~*~
"Why do we even try?!" Wufei exclaimed as he stormed into the stands of the track.
Trying to hide his amused smirk, Trowa followed his lover. "Wufei, you just have to accept the fact that those four are in a completely different league than the two of us." he pointed out as an attempt to calm him down.
It didn't work.
His anger still flaring, he stomped away, and, once he reached the middle of the stands, sat down dejectedly. "But still! We're on the same damn team as Heero and Duo, then these twins show up, and we're blown out of the water because we have no chance in hell to keep up with them!" the Chinese growled out.
Moving to him, Trowa sat close to Wufei and wrapped his arms around him. "Now calm down. So Chance and Chase are better than us. It doesn't matter. As far as I'm concerned, those two are exactly what this team needs. On and off the track." he stated calmly, meaning every word.
Black eyes blinked in curiosity. "What do you mean?"
Loving the confused look, the taller rider leaned over and kissed the tan forehead. "Haven't you noticed, love? Look at Heero and Duo." He pointed out to the tracks. "Have you ever seen Heero actually push himself that hard in order to keep his lead over Chase? And Duo is actually thinking out what he's doing so he can get ahead of Chance. They are being challenged by those two, and they're trying to push their skills further in order to meet it." Trowa then looked back and gave his lover that special smile that was only meant for him. "And they've fallen in love with them because of it. I've never seen Heero so happy, and Duo's never been this determined and passionate."
Wufei listened quietly, and had to admit that he did see everything that he was talking about. "I understand... They're going through the same thing we did..." He looked up into those deep forest eyes. "They're trying to prove themselves to each other. They want to meet them on a level playing field and bare everything..." He suddenly smirked. "Duo more so in the literal sense."
Trowa chuckled lightly and held him closer. "Yes, Duo's a bit more focused on the bed play of the relationship than anything else, but I do believe that he was telling us the truth. He sees something in Chance that he can relate to better than anyone. You heard what the others told us. Chance was an abused orphan, and she's probably still that way. Duo can relate a great deal with that." the taller one said with hint hint of sorrow in his voice.
His lover also knew what he was thinking. "What do you think happened to her for her to be placed in an abuse shelter?" he asked softly.
"I don't know..." He pulled him closer to where the Chinese was leaning against his chest. "I'm not sure that I want to know."
Snuggling closer, Wufei sighed deeply. "I suppose that it's probably best that we don't know... Duo doesn't like to think about his past, I doubt Chance is much different..." he mumbled, and felt safe in Trowa's warm arms.
Smiling down at him, Trowa placed another kiss on the top of his head. "Yeah... You know there's a good side to our situation..." he trailed off.
Wufei lifted his head and looked at him curiously. "What's that?"
Trowa leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Since we can't keep up with them, they probably won't mind if we leave them to their practices while we continue on with other practices of our own...." he said in a hot whisper.
Eyes going wide, a grin began to form on his tan face. "What kind of practices?" he asked innocently.
"The kind where we can keep up with each other very well..."
"Shower rooms?" Wufei suddenly offered, eyes hopeful.
Trowa laughed at his eagerness. "I was actually thinking of one of the offices. There's a nice large couch there and I thought we coul-Woah!"
He was jerked to his feet as Wufei hurriedly led him out of the stands.
Almost tripping at the way he was being dragged along, Trowa laughed at Wufei. "Are we a bit too excited?!" he asked in amusement.
Wufei glanced back at him as he ran, an evil gleam in his eyes. "I've been wanting to get you alone for too long now. Those guys out there should be busy for another two hours, and I'm taking advantage of it!" he growls out playfully. Right after that was said, Wufei pulled his lover through the doors that exited the stands.
They were going to have some fun in their free time that the twins had bought for them.
~*~ TBC
I had to give those two a moment. ^_^
Don't worry, they'll all have moments.
Later