By Carol Edwards aka Eternal Spark
Email: dreamerisle@hotmail.com
Revised: Monday, May 21, 2001
Pairings: As of this moment, 1x3, 6x4, 5+Sally Po, ?x2
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is not mine!! WAAHH!! THE HORROR!!! But the other characters are! HEHEHE!!!
Warning: ^^ Okay, this chapter does have language!!!!
Dedication: Yes! I'm dedicating this chapter to Novea Rikuo, who is currently my muse!!! (Seeing Novea getting embarrassed is my specialty!! Giggle), my cousin Steve who is an absolute nutcase as my beta reader and who could forget my little sister Silverfox who is a great writer in her own right and who helped me rpg scenes with me online! I love that girl!
Special Notes: (#) represents thoughts
The lovely sounds of pots clang throughout the kitchen performing a rhapsody of lovely smells. Music danced in the air while the artist worked and telling from the aromas within the room, this was no ordinary show. The presentation set before him had to be an act of love and judging from it, it could only be the work of a master chef. But who could that be? Who could be performing such artistry in such a kitchen and alone. None of the Winner's regular or kitchen staff was in the house at the moment, all of the members sent away the night before.
But within this kindly mansion...only a few boys were within...or should I say Gundam pilots....
"Why are you so mean to Duo, Wufei!!"
The muscular frame of an ebony haired Asian youth jumped nearly 10 miles out of his skin! From the eyes of the viewer, all you saw were colors of black and white as he jumped down from the chandelier landing on his feet with the grace of a panther. Turning, gazing at his unwelcome visitor, the teenager viewed the person behind him, feeling the full force of a glare aimed directly at him like an avenging angel. He didn't even hear the blonde teenager approach. Being around this group of guys, he knew that he was starting to lose his touch. Wufei sighed before he spoke. "I was only teasing, Quarte. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"
"Because...he's my best friend and..." Quarte paused, his thoughts rambling knowing that he shouldn't be telling Wufei this but he had to tell someone. "He's lonely."
"Lonely?!" Wufei yelled before he could stop it. Now this piques his curiosity. As much as that American talked, not to mention all the practical jokes the guys all suffered under him. "How the hell could that baka..." Words halted in mid flight as a blue-eyed glare wicked enough to burn a hole in the wall faced him. UH Oh! Time to change tactics real quick. "...Uh? okay..." Wufei replied smiling defensively, "Maxwell lonely? We are talking about the same personStrange colored eyes, Long braid..."
"Think about it, Wufei-kun." Quarte replied pointing a finger at the Asian chest's for emphasis, "Heero's with Trowa, I'm with Millardo or rather I want to be and you and Sally are an item. Where does that leave Duo?"
Eyes as deep as midnight blinked, totally aware of the words being thrown at him. There was a time when he even asked himself that same question. It wasn't until Sally approached him while paying a visit to their safe house, a night when he was injured from a fight yet again. The injury was a simple break in two places nothing much to worry about but she fussed with him the whole time and he was the one that was hurt. Yes...it was a fact that he didn't even like her that much...but the more they argued...which eventually led to talking...he suddenly felt comfortable around her. All the rants, calling her an Onna' were probably endearments in his own way since that was all he knew. Especially being married to Meiran, the heartless harpy from hell...a fact which none of the other pilots knew...yet. "Yes..."he thought, starting to get upset at Quarte's accusations but he nipped that in the bud because once Quarte started, there was no stopping him. The funny part about the whole ordeal was...Quarte's words rang true within his heart and his soul...a soul confused even if he was dating Sally. Strange thoughts about his sexuality confused him though he wouldn't admit that just yet. "So...what do you want me to do about it? Hmmm....fix him up on a blind date or something?"
Quarte thought a moment, blinking at that idea. "A blind date? Hmmmnnn...that's not a bad idea..."
Wufei's eyes widened in fear. "No! Hell no! Duo would not go for that, Quat and you know it!" He had to stop him before that blonde boy's mind started rolling on hyper-drive! Wufei knew he would end up the victim for Duo's antics if the braided boy knew that it was him who thought of the idea. Pictures of a prank war flashed across his mind, sending a shiver up and down his spine from the mere thought of agreeing. Even he, the fearless pilot of Nataku, feared Duo's ruthlessness for revenge. He saw it every time Duo got into Deathscythe, ready for action. The fury of the self-proclaimed Lord of Death was relentless, more vicious than a pit bull terrier and stubborn as hell to stop. Even he had to admit that the boy was a genus when it came to destruction.
~***~
While Wufei tried hard to persuade Quarte not to interfere in their friend's love life, as he was supposedly asleep upstairs, Duo was slowly coming back to consciousness in his very comfortable bed with ebony satin sheets. The lithe teenager sighed in his sleep. Usually his dreams were haunted by nightmares of death, screams and carnage but lately they were filled of dark ebony eyes and majestic wings. Silent whispers plagued his ears as if someone was searching for him for a very long time. Usually these dreams consisted of warm exotic locations and perfumed scents of jasmine and sweet milk, lingering in the air. Within these odd dreams, someone was watching himhe could feel it. Something black was always gazing at him from the corner of his eyes yet the moment he turned, it would disappear as an apparition would. The effect was always the same, forcing him to wake up, soaking in a cold sweat and very sticky.
Yet...something else was in his dreams...something that resembled a very large cat...a very large black cat...like his stuffed panther Shinigami.
Absently, he grabbed for something, his hands reaching for his Shini as he fought himself not to get up. If not for Quarte's dinner party, Duo would have remained in bed for the rest of the day. Slowly, lovely violet orbs opened blurring from the dark colors of the room.
A slight rustle was heard and Duo found himself attuning his senses more without fully opening his eyes.
Someone was in his room again. Maybe a stray cat came through the kitchen door again while everyone was asleep. Opening his eyes more, violet focused on something on his bed...Something whose chest was rising up and down in a steady pace.
Chest?!?
Amaryllises eyes widen in shock! Duo saw the thing' if you could call it a thing on his bed. From the appearance of it, the thing looked like a tiny teenaged girl around his age, about 7 inches long, with black cat ears on top of her head and a warm golden complexion. Her short glossy black hair tapered off on her swan-like neck and as his eyes traveled further down her back, a tail 3-½ inches in length lazily swayed from side to side. Duo's eyes shrunk to violet dots and covered his mouth trying not to scream. "What the fuck..."
It was at that point, Shini yawned, sitting upright on the comfortable bed, slowly wiping the sleep out of her eyes. Huge hazel gold eyes blinked a moment, looking up curiously, gazing into a sea of violet...stormy violet, so deep it was changing to black as fear rose within its depth.
Shini blinked into awareness. This was not a good sign. She had to relax her young master before he panicked. Deciding on a simple approach, the little cat maiden smiled, her golden dimples showing cutely on her heart-shaped face as she said "Hello master!"
Faster than Deathscythe swung his thermal sickle, Duo scrambled out of that bed running directly to the bathroom, slamming the door.
Shini sweatdropped as she watched the boy flee, crossing her legs in an Indian stance. "That went as well as expected" she replied, shaking her head. Instead of staying on the bed, she decided to look around the room of her new home as she waited until the master came back.
~***~
Meanwhile, at the bathroom sink, Duo turned on the facet and was splashing large qualities of water on his face. Water splashing all over and soaking the floor didn't even cross his mind. He didn't even care about wetting his hair or anything. Just was too terrified to go back into his bedroom at the moment.
"It was just a dream!" he rattled on, trying to convince himself as he continued staring into the mirror that that thing in the room was just a figment of his imagination. "Yes! That's right! You did not see or hear that thing in the room talking to you!"
Feeling reassured he smiled at himself, grabbing the towel from the side and began wiping his face as he turned to the bathroom door to leave. The door creaked a little as it opened and Duo peeked just to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary. It appeared that nothing was there. He sighed, a breath of relief, wiping his brow for emphasis and walked back into the room. The thing was not there...just a dream.
"Damn! I got my shirt wet! Gotta get another one." He ran to his drawer pulling out a black poet shirt and a white undershirt. Wet clothes flew in the air, thrown across the room into the hamper with the basketball skills he was known to have. He never saw the little maiden flutter into his hair as he gradually pulled the black shirt over his head and he thought nothing of it until he felt something pull his braid and heard soft words whispered into his ear, "You are so silly, master!"
Duo's hands went straight to his hair, grabbing at whatever was there and the moment he felt something, he frowned in anger. "No! No! I'm not going crazy!" Pulling his hands forward, right in front of his face, stood the little cat maiden, smiling like there was not tomorrow.
"Sweet Mary, Mother of God!".
"You say the funniest things, Master Duoseque!" the little maiden replied.
Duo looked at it confused. "What?!" he screamed, and then lowered his voice. "That's not my name! And what the heck are you!"
Shini just continued smiling at him. "Yes it is, Master. And as for who I am, I am Shinigami, your eternal servant. Guardian of his majesty Duoseque Michel Maxellus!"
The looks coming from Duo at the little cat girl was enough to commit her in a sanitary! She had to be crazy! But then his mindset changed drastically. It had to be a prank from the guys. Running around the room, he started searching for microphones, sensors, or any type of device to detect his actions as the little cat maiden watched his actions. "Okay...I get it! You can come out now!!" He yelled making sure someone hurt him.
Shini looked at him confused. "Huh?! Who do you want to come out?"
Duo laughed at the little maiden, continually looking around the room. "This is an interesting toy, Quarte! And with the puppet talking without supervision is cool!"
Shini blinked. "Supervision? Puppet?" Something was really wrong if her master didn't recognize her. "I am no puppet, master! See?" and she then proceeded to give him her tail. "Here! Pull it."
Duo was weary at first but then of his better judgement, gently yank on the tiny tail and the maiden yelled at him. "HEY! NOT SO HARD!"
Shini watched as the boy, her beloved master Duoseque who was calling himself Duo, faint to the floor like a sack of potatoes. "By Aladdin's Carpet, What have I done!" She gently slapped Duo's face but he wouldn't get up. Suddenly she heard footsteps at the door again and flew to the closet right before a strange tall boy with green eyes and rust colored hair covering his right eye entered the room.
"Duo? Are you..." Trowa's soft words stopped the moment he saw his friend's body on the floor again. "Not again." He grumbled as he kneeled down. Lightly, he began slapping the unconscious boy on the face. It was hard to tell if he was breathing with his pale complexion.
After a few second, Duo's eyes finally blinked groggily at the French/Spanish youth. "Hey! Stop it already!"
"Are you okay?" Trowa replied, slowly helping Duo onto his bed so he could sit up. "I found you unconscious on the floor!"
Duo grabbed Trowa suddenly, staring into his face like a madman. DID YOU SEE HER?!"
Trowa blinked, his green eyes showing confusion within it depths. "Her? See who?"
"SHINIGAMI! She's flying around in here!"
Sweatdropping, Trowa stared blankly with his uncovered eye at the braided boy before him. "Are we talking about your stuffed panther again, Duo.?"
Duo shook his head, from side to side, franticly! "No! I'm not!" He felt his voice raising, trying to make the boy understand. "She's flying around in here!"
"Who?"
"Shinigami!"
Okay...Duo must have hit his head a little too hard when he hit the floor that first time. "Your stuffed panther is flying around in your room?"
"No!" the frantic boy screamed again, "Look! There's this midget cat girl with wings flying around in here calling her Shinigami and me her master! You've got to believe me, Trowa!"
The one green visible eye stared into Duo's violet ones. "A midget cat girl?"
"Uh Huh!" Duo nodded his head with his braid bouncing up and down.
"...flying around in your room?"
"Yes! She's got black hair, gold eyes and kinda cute I might add but that's beyond the point!"
That was too hard to believe in Trowa's mind. "UhDuo?"
"Yes?" Duo replied blinking, calmly.
"Did you eat anything today other than that glass of Pepsi?"
Duo frowned, staring hard at the uni-banged boy in disbelief. Trowa didn't believe him. He could feel it from the way the boy was looking at him. They knew he never lied. Why didn't he believe him?
# Well think, Duo, would you believe what you're saying? You sound like a lunatic! #
He had to think a sec. He may talk a lot, cause havoc wherever he went but he did not lie. That was his chosen rule. He may run and hide but he would never lie! "Look Trowa...it may sound off the wall, but there was something flying around in here! Something with wings and was talking to me right in my face!"
Trowa just placed a hand on Duo's shoulder. "Alright, I believe you."
"No you don't!" Duo exclaimed, grumpily, folding his arms across his chest and pouting so adorably. It was such a cute sight that Trowa had to giggle, lifting his hand to his face and softly chuckling behind them. "Come on downstairs." Trowa began gently pulling his friend towards the door, deciding the hyper boy needed some air. "I need your help setting up the table and just a little extra help on something else."
"Help?" Duo questioned, pausing before they walked out the door. "With what?"
"Well..." Trowa replied, raking a hand through his bang, "I've invited a special friend of mine to dinner."
"Friend?" Duo thought curiously, "Who? Catherine?"
Shaking his head in disagreement, "No...not Cathy. It's a surprise, Duo...for Quarte."
"Quarte?" Now that perked his interest. "You didn't get Zechs did you?"
Trowa blushed in spite of himself. How the heck did he guess that?
"So I was right." Duo replied nonchalantly. The look on Trowa's face was priceless; his shocked eyes caused Duo to giggle. "What? You think I didn't know about them? Oh please!" his violet eyes glowing mischievously as his lithe arms crossing over his chest for emphasis, "Quarte gets stars in his eyes by the mere mention of that name." Smiling, he winked at his comrade. "I won't tell ...I promise..."
And with that, the two boys walked out of Duo's bedroom, Duo cracking the door just a little as they ventured down the stairs. They didn't see the side closet door crack open, showing a very determined flying cat girl who was still smelt the essence of her master in the room.
"Don't worry, Master Duoseque..." the little maiden whispered, her angelic wings flapping as she folded her arms across her ample chest, "You will remember everything...once I'm through with you."
~***~
The house was in full swing. Duo was in the dining room putting the final touches on the table, setting places for six, when the doorbell rung. Placing the forks down to the side, he paused a moment to go get the door but Quarte was already at the door praying it was the flower setting he ordered earlier. Boy was he surprised when he saw who was on the other side.
"Good evening, Little one."
If the temperature in the house were 90 degrees, it would have had no comparison on what Quarte felt at that moment. The angelic looking boy, crimson from head to toe, stared at the secret object of his desire before him. Total shock registered across his face! Allah was looking down on him that night because his prayers were answered. He didn't expect Zechs to be at his doorstep. Trowa walked over to the door since both parties had lost their tongues staring longingly gazing at each other.
"YO SEXY! Come on in, ole man!! Glad you could make it!"
Millardo blinked those beautiful azure orbs at his friend. "Old? Who are you calling old? I'm only 21, Trowa."
Quarte couldn't help staring at the two in shock. The Lightening count and his fellow Gundam pilot, Heavyarms were friends? When the heck did that happen? This was a mystery that Quarte had to solve as he followed the pair into the livingroom. Duo was snickering up a storm at the reaction from his beloved friend. He turned back to the table looking at his accomplishment. "See!" as he silently spoke to himself, "I wish they would stop treating me like an idiot."
#But you act like one#
"I do not!" he yelled at himself. "It's just for presentation purposes. I've been through enough pain to last a lifetime." He was so in thought he didn't even hear Wufei calling him from the kitchen.
"MAXWELL!!"
"Huh?" he zoomed around, whipping his hair, having it whap him square in his eye! "OW!!"
Wufei blinked a moment, not saying a word as he went to help the injured boy. He took Duo's arm, guiding him to the kitchen.
"Sit down a sec" Wufei spoke, guiding Duo to a chair, "Let me look at it."
Without the slightest resistance, Duo allowed the quiet Asian boy to search his face for any permanent damage. He waited, trying not to squirm much, waiting for the insult to come. Moments past and still no insults just gentle hands feeling his face. Wufei stepped away, going to the sink and wetting a hand towel with cold water. He then came back to Duo, placing the cool cloth on his brow.
"Itai!"
"Careful" Wufei replied holding the cloth to Duo's left eye.
"I am! I am!" For a hyper boy, who had the attention span of a tick, Duo actually sat therequietly. No rantingno raving. The room was as quiet as it could be. Dishes of food settled on the counter, cooling in their various corning wares. The voices of their comrades could still be heard from the other room. Duo grumbled in spite of himself, grabbing the end of his braid, feeling the satiny softness of the combined strands. "I oughta cut this shit off"
Wufei stared at him, annoyed that even a statement like that would enter the braided boy's mouth. To even be coming from his mouth was blasphemous. Wufei tried to picture a version of Duo with short-cropped hair and punted that vision into hyperspace. "Are you nuts?!" he yelled as the words spilled from his mouth. He blinked not believing he said it out loud. "ErI mean"
Thank goodness Duo wasn't really listening to him, sitting with his head bowed, steadily playing with his braid feeling sorry for himself. "Heero thinks it's impractical and a nuisance. Even you hate it"
"No I don't."
"I suppose I'll cut it like Quat's..."
Wufei shook his head in disagreement. "Naah" he replied knowing Quarte's haircut would not fit Duo one bit. "Don't cut it. You wouldn't be Duo without it."
Duo stopped, shocked by Wufei's admission about his hair. His violet eyes lifted to stare into Wufei's chocolate eyes causing the Asian youth to blink in confusion.
"What?" Wufei replied.
"Wufei" Duo smiled slightly. "AWWWthat's the nicest thing you've ever said! I'd hug you, but my eye hurts." He patted the cloth to his sore eye for emphasis.
Wufei blushed and Duo blinked in amazement. "Oi, Wuffywhat's wrong with you? You're all pink? Does touching boys make you have nosebleeds or something?" Duo was in the teasing mood at the moment. He knew Wufei was straight and no matter how he felt about Wufei, he would respect the lad and his relationship with Sally.
Wufei coughed, yelling "No!" and decided to get some ice, walking over the refrigerator. Duo leaned back in his chair. His eye felt a lot better. " Aw! It's okay! A little whiplash wouldn't kill me, Wufie." He replied, getting up from his chair and walking over to Wufei. Wufei didn't suspect a thing as a hand to come in contact with his butt, smacking sharply across it. He stutters his indignation at the braided boy running out the door as Quarte walked into the kitchen.
"Wufei, Sally's here!" Quarte announced gleefully. Wufei ran out the kitchen then, hot on Duo's heels before he started messing with his girlfriend.
Quarte giggled watching Wufei argue with Duo from the kitchen door as his "Chester" danced around Sally for protection from the big bad Chang Wufei. Letting the door swing closed on its own, Quarte went to his cordless and began dialing a combination of numbers. A smooth voice came on the line and Quarte smiled in spite of himself. "Hello, Treize? It's meQuarte. I need you to do me a favor"
TBC
