Splendor Restored 11/13+E
Author: BadMomma
Warnings: AU (my first), limey
Pairings: 1x2x1, some mention of 3x4, OCs
Rating: R for language and some sexual situations
Disclaimer: Own them, I do not.
Archived: GWA, Under the Bridge
Feedback: Craved, greatly appreciated and always answered.
Notes: See Chapter 1. Heero POV
Summary: A Renovations Consultant finds more than just old buildings of interest on his new job site when he gets tangled up with the resort's Program Director.
11Breaking
Ah, the Employee Break Room – what a godsend. I can wait in there for Marquise to call me. Better that than to have to sit in his anteroom and deflect coy looks from his secretary. The place should be empty at this time of morning. Maybe I can get a little work done while I wait.
I breathe a sigh of relief at finding the room as vacant as I anticipated, thankfully making my wait more comfortable. Like most other places in this old resort the room has a homey, welcoming feel to it, and I have to wonder again at that since it hasn't been someone's home for so many years. Yet it still looks more like someone lives here than it does a break room; so unlike the one at my office. The couch along the wall seems a little worn but extremely comfortable, the fabric slightly faded, the back and side cushion broken in but not beaten down, and three matching throw pillows nestled invitingly among them.
The kitchen counter in the corner opposite the door is clean despite being cluttered, with a wood block for knives, a jar with cooking spoons, an eclectic collection of mugs and cheerful dishtowels on nearby hooks. Tucked neatly in one corner sits the coffee maker, which, void of any brewed coffee, has been left clean and orderly, the empty basket left to dry on a towel beside it.
There's a set of canisters on the counter, which, upon inspection, reveal ground coffee, tea bags, sugar, powdered creamer and cookies. There are several frames hanging on the walls, typical of what you find in those bed-and-bath stores, with quaint vignettes proclaiming the virtues of good housekeeping and good upbringing.
There are a couple of round tables in the center of the room with matching chairs. Each one has a napkin caddy with matching salt and pepper shakers at its center, placed neatly on cloths that match the dish towels on the counter.
I put my bag down in the corner by the couch and take another look around. Definitely homey. So much so that I have to resist the urge to throw myself across the sofa and take a nap like I used to when I was in college. I shake my head at my urges. I think being here, spending so much time with Duo, is making me nostalgic.
I decide to make use of the small bathroom to give myself a once over and maybe splash some water on my face. If I'd known Marquise would be running late this morning I would have taken a little more time getting ready. I'd woken up almost an hour later than usual and had rushed through my morning routine. All along, I couldn't help but curse my lateness, but never once cursed the reason why: Duo.
The bathroom gives off that lived-in vibe as much as the rest of this place. It even has a shower stall in the corner, the curtain a quaint fish motif. While staring at my reflection in the mirror, re-knotting the tie I'd haphazardly thrown on this morning, I hear the door to the break room open, followed by the shuffling of feet.
"Come on, come on! Told you nobody'd be here."
"Damn it, let go of me!"
Duo?
"Stop your whining and get in here, mister." I hear the door close and the lock engage.
"Christ, Hilde! That's a little unnecessary!"
Ah, of course.
"I don't want any interruptions. Now spill!"
"Spill? I told you already, there's nothing to spill, alright?"
"Bullshit Duo! I know you went out with him last night. So what happened?"
"Jeez Hil, don't make such a big deal outta nothing. We didn't /go out/. We just hung out for a while after dinner."
I hear a chair being pulled at one of the small tables.
"Uh-huh. Right." I hear another chair being pulled back. "That's why Carl says you guys booked from the dining room about five minutes after The Girls finished dinner. And nobody – and I mean /nobody/ – saw either of you after that! And anyway, Lucy says you didn't get back to your room 'til almost three in the morning. By my calculation, that leaves about six hours unaccounted for. Don't frickin' tell me there's nothing to spill!"
Six hours! Damn, I hadn't realized we were together that long.
"I don't need this shit, Hil. Don't need you trying to make something outta nothing. No - thing - hap - pened. OK? And why would Lucy be up at that hour, anyway? What the hell? Do you have people keeping tabs on what I do in my free time?"
"Don't worry about why Lucy was up at that hour; just give me the details!"
"Ain't no details to /give, Hil! We just walked around for a while; out to the tennis courts, then down to the boardwalk. Then we just sat there and talked. That's all."
She laughs heartily and says something in response but it is too low for me to hear. It is followed immediately by the sound of Duo, presumably, pushing his chair back in a huff.
"You are one sick, perverted, little…"
"Bitch?" She offers and laughs heartily.
"Your words, babe, not mine."
There is silence. I can only imagine that they're staring each other down. I wish I had the courage to crack open the door and see what's going on in there. The silence lasts so long that I'm wondering if maybe they've gone. My hand is reaching for the door knob, when it's brought home to me that they haven't left.
"So?"
"So, what?"
"So did you?"
"Hilde!"
"Don't 'Hilde' me. You're hot for him! You said so yourself. So did you?"
Oh! My! God! He told her he's hot for me?
"I already told you, nothing happened, Hil."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
"Absolutely nothing?"
"Hil cut the crap."
"No kissy-kissy? No touchy-touchy?"
"Damn it Hil, I said stop! You know what, I'm sorry I said anything to you, 'cause you don't know when to quit. I'm going to go work now. Just do me a favor and stay the hell outta my way for a while, OK? And when you're off your little 'let's fuck with Duo's head' routine, give it another day and then get back in touch."
"Hey? Hey!"
There's the scuffle of people moving about and I hear the lock click back on the door.
"Hey, wait a minute! I was just teasing. Man, Duo, you've got it bad for this guy."
"Fuck off, Hil; I told you to leave me alone. Now get the hell out of my way, because if I have to frickin' toss you on the couch to get out of here, I will."
"Duo! I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you… Look I'm sorry, OK! I didn't realize this was bugging you so much. You must reeeally like this guy!"
"Hilde!"
"No, Duo, I'm serious. No more teasing, I swear. You really do like this guy? A lot, huh?"
"Yeah, OK, I do."
"Aww, that's great little brother! But why are you so bummed? He's a damned fine specimen, if I do say so myself, and you know I've got good taste in men."
"Yeah well… then guess I should wish you the best of luck, because obviously no amount of wishing's gonna help me. Catch my drift?"
"Uhn-uh, no way bro. I saw what I saw. And I've most definitely seen him checking you out on several occasions. Maybe he's shy?"
"Shy my ass, OK! He's not interested."
"Did he say that?"
"No he didn't say that!"
"Then how do you know?"
"I just do, so drop it."
"No, I will not drop it! You like this guy. What makes you so damned sure he doesn't like you right back?"
"You forget, I've taken that walk before – with quite a few dates in the many years I've been here."
"Yeah, and?"
"And… they're either the romantic type and eventually succumb to the mood, or just plain horny and the minute they realize nobody's gonna see, they're all hands. There was no touching, Hil, and /definitely/ no kissing last night. Trust me. Not interested. Case closed."
"Oh come on, just give him a little more time."
"He had six hours! You counted yourself, remember? How much more time do you want? Look, guys don't beat around the bush like that, like girls do. A guy wants something, he goes for it. Heero didn't go. End of story."
"Oh? And did /you/ go for it?"
"No, after Saturday night I decided to let him set the pace. And he didn't seem very receptive. I kept… giving him openings and… and he didn't… react."
"Well maybe he didn't realize that they were /openings/."
"It's hopeless, Hil. He's not interested. It happens, you know, implications or not, he might just be straight."
"Aw come on, little bro, don't give up yet. What've you got to lose?"
There is a short pause before he answers. "My heart, Hil, and possibly my sanity too. Mr. Z said he'd be here for the duration of the project. That's at least another six or seven months. I don't think I can do this! I just need to figure out a way to back off on my involvement in this thing because I can't keep hanging around him so much and not… not…"
There are a few seconds of silence before she asks, "Not what Duo?"
"Not… want him so much, damn it." I hear movement and then the door opens. Before it shuts again he says one more thing to her. "I'm not really mad at'cha, you know? Just, let's not talk about it for a little while, OK? You can come by later if you want, when you're done with work."
"I'll be there, promise."
Holy shit! I find myself sitting on the lid of the toilet without realizing I'd sat down. My body feels like it weighs a ton and I can't seem to get my thoughts organized. I think I'm in shock. Not at the thought that he might like me - that much I'd pretty well figured out already - but that… damn! He must really like me. And damned if he mustn't have been thinking and wanting the same things I'd been the night before.
We'd spent six, awesome, torturous hours just walking, sitting, talking and getting to know each other better when we could have been – holy shit! I remember deciding to sit on my hands a little while after reaching the boardwalk because I'd been afraid of making a grab at him. Damn, and he wouldn't have minded if I'd made a pass at him one of the millions of times he leaned in to bump shoulders with me or pushed sand off the edge of the planks by my thigh or… God above! I could have done what I'd wanted most desperately when he turned to face me, sitting with both feet up on the planks next to me, knees bent and spread wide, while I watched his hands run up and down his calves. I could have fit myself into the 'v' made by his legs, pushed him onto his back and devoured him from the top down. Eagerly. And he would have responded! Shitshitshit! Talk about body language!
I am so lost in my mental gutters that I practically fall from my perch when I hear the door to the break room open and close again. Hilde must have just left. I straighten myself up and leave my little hidey hole. My cell phone rings while I'm still going over the 'what ifs' and I let loose a prayer of thanks to unknown deities that it hadn't gone off any earlier and given me away.
Seeing that the call is from Dori and not Marquise, I ignore it. I need a few minutes to compose myself, and probably a bit longer than that to figure out just how I am going to handle this. I want him – badly – but I have to be careful going about getting what I want. He is probably not too thrilled with me right now and will likely try to avoid me for a while. Their words come back to me in a rush and I take a deep, steadying breath so I don't buckle under the implication.
/What've you got to lose/
/My heart, Hil/
Damn! If he's afraid of losing his heart, then he might as well, considering I've already lost mine. Damn, shit and double-damn. I'll probably only be here another six or seven months. What happens after that? I have a good job, a home and a roommate to return to. I have friends he's never met. People that depend on me. I have a life and, unlike his, it isn't here. Could I give it up to stay with him? Would he give his up to come with me? What the hell am I thinking? We barely know each other and I'm worrying about who'd be uprooting? What if that isn't what he wants. How am I so sure it's what I want?
One thing's for sure, I want him: Yes. Bodily, lustfully, I want and want badly, but I care about him too. I like him and not just for his looks. I don't want to hurt him, my physical needs and desires are not more important than his feelings. I really need to give this some thought.
I punch up the number to Marquise's office and tell the secretary that I need to reschedule my meeting with him. It will likely take me the rest of the day to resolve this.
I slip like a thief from the break room and make my way back to my rooms, avoiding any place he is likely to be.
I need time. I need to think clearly.
Damn, but I need to kiss him!
TBC