Okay, all so maybe this romance thing will be little bit longer than I'd anticipated. Sue me. I'm trying to make it as short as I can, but it's tough! Be patient. The action is coming soon. –Lady PhoenixDagger *//.^*
I don't own Gundam Wing, Shinigami-kun or Wal-mart. Wal-mart isn't actually mentioned in this story, but one can never be too thorough, ne?
*****
"You like her, don't you?" Cathy's voice held a note of smugness and her face was triumphant. Duo, who had Shinigami-kun in his hands, merely looked at her like she was insane.
"Are you nuts or something? I have no idea what you're talking about." Duo pushed open the door to the upstairs bathroom and deposited his sooty charge next to the sink.
Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Cathy leaned against the door. "Duhhh, genius…. Misty."
"No way! She and I are just friends!" Red-faced, Duo waved his hands in front of himself like he was trying to shove the notion away. "We're buds! Chums! Cronies, even!"
Cathy shot him one of those Looks women are so good at using on men.
Duo sighed. "Oh man, is it really that obvious?"
"Painfully obvious."
"Geez." His blush still firmly in place, the Great Shinigami pulled a facecloth, a bottle of shampoo, and some liquid soap from under the sink. Glumly, he sat on the closed toilet and watched Shinigami-kun poke curiously at the bottles with the butt of his scythe. "D'you think she, maybe, like, I dunno…like me back?"
"Brother, if you're anything like me, then you're a shoo in!" Shinigami-kun squealed from under the washcloth. "Face it, bub, we're both adorable!"
Duo grinned. "Can't argue there." He noticed then that Shinigami had pulled off his hat and shoes and was working on his shirt, which was quite the chore, seeing as he had a relatively huge melon head, barely any arms and a pair of wings to work around. "Ah, Cathy?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you mind leaving me and Shinigami-kun alone for a while?" The rosy blush that had finally left Duo's face quickly returned with a holy vengeance. "He looks like me, you see and with him having to get naked and all…" He trailed off, leaving the rest to Cathy's imagination.
To his irritation, she began to laugh. "Okay, okay," she said, catching Duo's irritated look. "I have to get ready for work tonight anyway."
"Where do you work?" Shinigami-kun asked, his voice muffled by his shirt, which still refused to go over his head.
"Just a drugstore downtown."
"Do you like it there?" With a grunt, Shinigami-kun gave a great yank and finally got his shirt off. Sighing, he leaned over to go to work on his pants, but was immediately stopped by a red-faced Duo.
"Yeah, I guess. It's not the circus, but it's okay." Cathy made a face. "My boss is a pervert, though."
"Oh, really?" A dangerous glint entered Duo's eyes. "What's his name?"
"Don't even think about it, Duo Maxwell," Cathy admonished. "He hasn't tried anything –yet. And if he does, then his ass is all mine." On that thought, she left the bathroom, leaving Duo and Shinigami-kun alone.
Muttering various colourful words about women in general under his breath, Duo plugged the sink and let it fill, not trusting the size of the whirlpool bath as something safe for someone who could easily fit in a teacup. He squirted in some liquid soap and moodily watched the water froth and foam. Shinigami-kun watched this happen in what could only be called supreme awe. Finally, Duo tossed in a clean sponge for the tiny reaper to float on.
"Go on, buddy." Duo nodded at the sink. "She's all yours."
Not to be told twice, Shinigami-kun stripped off his pants, undid his sooty braid and jumped in, leaving Duo to sit on the closed toilet and brood.
So, Cathy knows I've got a thing for Misty. So what? Duo blew out his bangs with a gusty sigh. It's not like that's a huge crime or something. I'm allowed. And she said she'd go with me to the semi-formal. Maybe that means she likes me back or something.
But what if she knew my past? Would she even be my friend if she knew what I've done?
Calm down, Shinigami. Just let the past go.
Sighing again, Duo watched his tiny friend paddle around the sink, his chin resting in his hands. Presently, Shinigami-kun got bored with swimming and hoisted himself onto the edge of the sponge, kicking his tiny feet and looking up at Duo through drippy bangs.
"Duo?" Shinigami-kun asked.
"Yeah?"
"What's Misty like?"
Duo smiled. "Well, she's short-"
"Like me?"
"Uh, not quite." He thought of Misty's tiny frame, barely hitting four-foot-eleven. "Close, though. She has short red hair and green eyes and these really small hands and-"
"Is she pretty?" interrupted Shinigami-kun for the second time.
Duo's smile became a wide grin. "Yeah, she's really pretty. And fun, too. And she's a bard."
"So?" Shinigami-kun grabbed the corner of the facecloth on the counter, dunked it in the bath water, and vigorously used it to investigate the contents of one ear. "What's a bard?"
"Uh…it's kinda like a musical magician. Misty can use any singing voice –or voices- she wants and she can play any instrument she can get her hands on."
"Like your heartstrings?" Shinigami-kun asked slyly.
"Hey, shut up!" Since when did magical fallout get so cocky? Duo flicked the sponge, making Shinigami-kun fall squealing into the soapy water.
*****
"You like him, don't you?" Cathy smirked as Misty's gaze fell involuntarily on the counter at Cathy's till. It was about seven o'clock at the drugstore where Cathy worked and Misty was there, doing some last minute makeup shopping for herself and the rest of the girls before the semi-formal. Cathy scanned in another tube of lipstick and sing-songed: "You like Duu-o Maa-axwell!"
"I do not!" Misty cried as Cathy rang more items through, still smirking. "I mean, what with Keep business, and my studies and homework and Walker's plague and-"
"He likes you back, you know."
Misty's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "No way!"
"Yes way." Cathy hit a few buttons on the till. "That's twenty-five thirty eight altogether."
Misty fumbled a ten and a twenty from her wallet and slapped them onto the till. "Did he say so?"
Cathy nodded.
Misty's smile nearly took in her eyes. "All riiiiiiight!" she whooped, pumping her fist in the air. The man being rung in at the next till shot her an alarmed look and before grabbing his purchase and hurrying away. Cathy grabbed Misty's free hand and stuffed the change into it.
"Misty!" she hissed. "Stop that! People are staring!"
Misty stopped crowing with delight. "Oh, well," she said, grabbing her plastic bag of makeup goodies and stuffing the change into her pocket. "Duo likes me."
A sound not unlike "The Phantom of the Opera" being played by a mosquito orchestra trilled in the air. Shifting her bag to the other hand, Misty pulled out the cell phone Zach and her parents made her carry when she went out. "Hello?"
"Misty? Where are you?" The strained voice of Marrigan Broman came over the line, sounding frayed almost to tears, even under a soft overlay of static.
"I'm at the pharmacy, mom." Awkwardly, Misty pulled her car keys from her other pocket, her instincts telling her to get home as soon as possible. "What's the matter?"
"Oh, Misty." Strong, brave Marrigan Broman sounded like she was ready to burst into tears. "It's Walker."
Misty's stomach flip-flopped. "What happened?" Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Cathy looking worriedly at her.
Marrigan's voice quavered. "We're here at the Keep. Come home as soon as you can. Walker had another near-fatal attack."
*****
See? See? I told you!! Good stuff lurks among the romance!
Ja ne, minna-san!
--L.P.D. *//.^*