"Oh, good Mercutio. You were a friend to me [1]." Duo spoke dramatically, waving his arms for emphasis.
"You said it wrong." Heero trailed along behind him, walking at a slower, and less distinguishable, gait.
"To be, or not to be, that is the question."
"Get thee to a nunnery [2]."
"Since the youth will not be entreated, his own peril on his forwardness []." Duo grinned. "Is 't possible that on so little acquaintance you should like her? That but seeing you should love her? And will you persever to enjoy her?"
"Neither call the giddiness of it in question, the poverty of her, the small acquaintance, my sudden wooing, nor her sudden consenting; but say with me, I love Aliena." [3]
"You, my friend, are just plain too good." Duo grinned. "Come on. We can probably get through the rest of the
boxes before dinner time."
They had endured a silent and sad lunch, through which Hilde had sniffled, and Duo had cried out inside to comfort her. Only Heero's hand on his arm had kept him from trying to reveal too much, and Meiran had managed to keep things going fairly smoothly. They had left the women at Meiran's car and said goodbye.
Duo opened the door to the SUV. "What do you think we should have for dinner?"
"Whatever you like, I suppose." Heero kept walking, his feet carrying him away from Duo and the vehicle. Violet
eyes widened.
"Where are you going?" Blue eyes turned to stare through him, their depths well guarded. "I mean, I…I don't know what I mean. You're welcome to stay at the apartment with me."
"Hn." Heero turned and resumed his stride, leaving Duo to stare after him in confusion.
"Heero, wait." He jogged to catch up with him, squeezing between his front bumper and the fender of the car in front of him. "Listen, if you ever need a place to stay, my apartment is open. I'd give you a key if a I had a spare, but feel free to buzz me, no matter what time it is. You're always welcome." Blue eyes looked at him for a moment, evaluating his words and expression. "Stop by and see me anytime."
"Hn." He turned around and resumed his walk. "See ya around." He threw the words over his shoulder.
"Sure." Duo sighed and turned back to his car, pausing when his gaze fell on a figure down the street. He squinted, trying to ascertain if it was whom he thought it was. After a moment, he grinned. "Detective Chang."
~~~~~_____~~~~~
Wufei looked down at his watch and cursed silently to himself. He should have known better than to agree to a personal favor, but he owed Meiran a lot, and this was the only thing she would ask of him. "Hello, Detective." He groaned inwardly, turning with a glare to meet violet eyes.
"Mr. Maxwell." He turned back to the store front and crossed his arms, purposely dismissing the younger man. He didn't really need to have the loud-mouthed idiot hanging around. After his stunt from the day before, he wouldn't put anything past him. Taking the kid home had been dangerous, and he was actually rather surprised to see him still alive.
"Should I call you Detective Chang, or can I call you Wufei?" The black-haired man stiffened, turning black eyes back to the intrusive brunette. There had definitely been a flirting tone in his voice.
"Detective Chang will work." Duo smiled, chuckling quietly under his breath. "What are you doing here?"
"Me? I just got done having lunch with…" He trailed off uncomfortably, looking away for a moment. "With a few friends."
"Meiran?" Wufei asked dryly. He already knew that they had had lunch together. He'd followed behind Meiran to meet the boy that he was supposed to protect for the afternoon. "I do hope, Mr. Maxwell, that you're not attempting to lead her on."
Another laugh. "No, Detective. She's just very friendly. I'm pretty sure that she knows that I have no romantic interest in her."
"Why not?" Duo looked at him in surprise. "She deserves to be happy, Maxwell. Since I can not do it, I will help her find someone who does."
"Oh. She's very nice, very pretty, and all of that, but she's not my type." Duo answered the question simply, glad that the Chinese man had explained. He had sounded very brotherly, and he was glad to note that there had been a lack of jealousy in his voice. Even if he wasn't into guys, Duo wouldn't have to worry about seeing him with a woman.
"Hn." He rolled his eyes at the response, but was quickly diverted when a blonde walked through the store entrance, carrying a small box. "Are you ready to go, Quatre?" Duo swallowed, his gaze riveted. Blue-green eyes met his, and the boy frowned, blonde brows furrowing in confused recognition.
The boy recovered first, turning to Wufei with a weak smile. "I'm ready. Thank you, Wufei." His his turned back to the stranger, a gentle smile tilting the corners of his mouth. "How are you?" He extended one small, pale hand. Duo stared at it, then offered his own, bringing the fragile limb to his mouth to kiss the skin on the back tenderly.
His gaze locked on Quatre's, he smiled. "Duo Maxwell at your service, Master Quatre." The blonde smiled, withdrawing his hand with a blush. Wufei took his arm and gaze Duo an odd look.
"Good day, Mr. Maxwell." He pulled the boy with him, scanning the distance between them and the car, leaving thoughts of Duo behind.
[1] I like Shakespeare, though the man had an odd sense of humor at times. The lines are taken from several different plays. The first is supposed to be Romeo and Juliet, but the line is more of a reference to the play, not one taken from it.
[2] Hamlet
[3] As You Like It.
End Note: I was given a really good idea in a review, and I thought I'd run it past all of you. Sivy suggested that I do a 'Chose your own Romance' type story, where I have four different endings to the plot. However, I don't really think that I could manage a 2x3 to go along with this plot, so the decision is up to you. Would you like to have 3 different endings, one 1x2/2x1, one 2x4/4x2, and one 2x5/5x2? I haven't even managed to include poor Trowa, so any pairing with him is out at this point, sorry 2x3 fans.
Tell me what you think. I'll need at least ten 'yes' reviews/emails to even think about doing something that's going to take up this much time.
