Title: Exercising an Option
Author: Gina Lin Genre: Romance, Action/Adventure Pairings: 1+2, 3+4, 5+S, 13+6, various Warnings: Language, Citrus, Yaoi Rating: R Archived: S_E Updates, FF.net
Chapter 7
"Mommy, are you coming to my daycare today?" asked Matthew, eating something colorful and crunchy drenched in milk. His large brown eyes were almost obscured by long dark brown bangs.
"Kid needs a haircut," thought Sally, reaching over to ruffle his hair.
"Was I supposed to?" she asked, turning around to put a change of workout clothes in her sports bag.
"MO-OM!" said Matthew, drawing out the second syllable in protest. "I gave you a note last week. This morning is the play. I'm the second president of the Untied Stakes, John Adams."
Sally bit her lip to keep from smiling. "That's 'United States' baby," she corrected gently.
"I'm five, Mom," he said, folding his arms and glaring at her. "Give me a break."
"Break granted," said Sally. "What time?"
"11:00," Matt recited, "That's just before lunch. Then, you're post ta eat lunch with me at daycare."
"Okay, 11:30 it is," said Sally. "I have an early appointment, but after that, I'm free until noon. I'm sure I can ask Lucrezia to cover for me til I get back."
"I like Lu," said Matt. "She's pretty."
"Did you have a good time with her last night?" asked Sally.
"We played 'Go Fish', and she let me win," said Matt.
"How do you know she let you win?" asked Sally.
"Because I won every game," said Matthew. "Since I'm just a kid, I figure she let me win."
Sally chuckled. "Okay card shark, get your backpack, and I'll drive you over to daycare before work."
"Lu said you're working with that kung fu guy," said Matthew. "That's who you had dinner with last night."
"He's just another client, baby," said Sally. "He got hurt, and it's my job to help him get better."
"Is he nice?" asked Matthew. He had his Yu-Gi-Oh backpack on, and was bouncing on the balls of his feet, ready to go.
"Oh, I don't know," said Sally, remembering her impressions from the other night.
"He's not nice?" pressed Matthew.
"To be honest," admitted Sally. "I couldn't tell. He didn't say much to me."
"Maybe he was nervous," said Matthew, following his mother to the car.
"When I get nervous, I can't talk good," he said.
"Are you nervous, sweetie?" she asked him, opening the car door on the passenger side
"A little," he said, sliding in. "I hafta say two things, and I hope I don't mess up. Darn play, anyway." He scuffed his sneakers along the carpet in the car.
"Mom?" he asked, looking at her.
"What?" she asked back, looking both ways before she backed out of the driveway.
"Don't call me sweetie and baby in front of the other kids, it's embarrassing."
She laughed. "All right, I promise. I'll call you muffin head."
"MO-OM!" he protested. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heero awoke feeling something wet being dragged across his face.
He scrabbled for his gun under the pillow.
"You're not gonna shoot my dog, are you?" asked Duo, leaning upon the doorjamb wearing baggy gray sweats and a wife-beater tee.
Rusty barked and jumped down off the bed.
"Excuse me, Heero, is it?" he asked. "I gotta let my dog out before he busts a bladder."
"Aa, nani?" said Heero fuzzily, and stopped groping under his pillow for the revolver.
"What's that?" said Duo, cocking his head.
"Okay," said Heero, "Sorry. No, I'm not going to shoot your dog."
"Nice to know," said Duo, turning around and walking down the hall with Rusty trotting along behind. Heero levered himself out of bed with a grunt and followed them.
Duo opened the front door and Rusty bounded out onto the front lawn. In a few minutes, he and Rusty came back, Rusty's fur slightly damp from the morning dew on the grass.
"The security guards will be looking for me," said Heero.
"We need to go talk to Trieze," said Duo. "He's not that bad of a guy. The worst thing that can happen is that they'll send you packing."
"The blond one," said Heero, "Zechs, I don't think he likes me."
"Don't worry about it," said Duo. "You could stay with me, if you want. I mean, if they ask you to leave the inn."
"You don't even know me," Heero said, frowning.
"I go with my gut where people are concerned," replied Duo. "And Rusty likes you, that's good enough for me. I'm still alive, you didn't shoot me or anything." He gave an uneasy chuckle.
After a long moment, Heero nodded. "All right, if they ask me to leave, I'll stay here with you. I told Wufei I'd be here with him."
"You guys are good friends?" asked Duo, walking into the kitchen and pulling out plates and utensils from various cabinets and drawers.
"Yes," said Heero. He sat at the other chair at the small kitchen table. "Since the Army."
"I hope you like scrambled eggs," said Duo.
"Fine," said Heero.
"You're sort of the master of the monosyllable, aren't you?" asked Duo.
The other man simply looked at him.
"It's okay, you don't have to say anything," said Duo. "Just making an observation." He put a large spoonful of eggs on the other man's plate.
They ate in silence for a few minutes.
The doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," said Duo unnecessarily. Heero kept eating.
He opened the door and blinked as Harrison and another blond security guard who's name Duo couldn't remember greeted him.
"Is Mr. Yuy here?" asked Harrison with minimal politeness.
"Yeah, he's here," said Duo, sticking out his chin and narrowing his eyes at the larger man. "I invited him to spend the night."
Harrison's eyebrows went up at that, but he persisted.
"Mr. Yuy assaulted one of my staff, and he's armed. Are you aware of those facts?"
"Yep," said Duo. "Maybe if you guys weren't so busy playing Nazi Storm- troopers, this kind of shit wouldn't happen."
"You gotta big mouth, Maxwell," growled Sanderson, pushing his face near Duo's. "Give me half a reason, and I'll shut it for you, permanently."
"You need to get your gorilla a muzzle, Harrison," said Duo. "And some mouthwash," he added, scrunching up his nose delicately. "Whew!"
"Quiet, Sanderson," said the other man tersely. "I'll handle this."
"Are you willing to come with us, Mr. Yuy?" asked Harrison. Heero had come to stand behind Duo.
"Not particularly," said Heero neutrally. "And, you're violating this man's rights by questioning him without proper authorization." Duo gave the other man a surprised glance, but said nothing.
Harrison colored a little. "I'll have to take this up with Mr. Kushrenada," he said tightly as he turned to leave. Sanderson muttered something darkly under his breath.
"You do that," said Heero.
"Bye, bye, boys" yelled Duo cheerfully. "Come back again and we'll play Twister."
"You do have a big mouth," said Heero, after Duo closed the door, laughing.
"Ah, I hate those badge-heavy idiots," said Duo. "Bunch of dumb-ass cop wanna-bes."
"I take it you've gotten on their bad side before this?" asked Heero.
"I have a problem with authority figures," said Duo, grinning.
"Still," he said, sobering. "We'll have to tell your side to Trieze." He frowned.
"We'd better get going then," said Heero. "They might not be cops, but they probably know how to call one. I did assault Sanderson last night. I probably could claim I was provoked, but it's still assault."
"I'll get dressed," said Duo. He went down the hallway and into his room.
Heero went to the bathroom in the hallway and after relieving himself, looked briefly at his rumpled appearance in the mirror over the sink.
Shrugging, he stepped out and waited for Duo to reappear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harrison was standing stiffly in front of Trieze's large marble topped desk when Duo sauntered in, followed by Heero. Sanderson was nowhere to be seen.
"Well, Duo," said Trieze pleasantly. "I see you found our missing guest."
"Before you answer that, Duo," said Heero, suddenly, "I'd like to apologize to your employee, Mr. Sanderson. I simply lost my temper because he attempted to restrain me when I wanted to leave the premises. I shouldn't have done that. You can ask me to leave, and we'll call it square."
Trieze raised one eyebrow. "I see." He thought a moment. "That certainly sounds like a more charitable solution than the one Harrison suggested a bit ago."
"Which was?" asked Heero levelly.
"To call the local police and have you arrested and charged with assault," said Trieze smoothly.
"I wouldn't recommend that if I were your attorney," said Heero coolly.
"Why not?" asked Trieze in a faintly amused voice.
"Several reasons," said Heero. "I can practically guarantee that if I leave, Wufei Chang and his other guests will leave too. Bad for you financially, and not exactly good publicity for your establishment either. Also, even if I'm charged with assault, it's a misdemeanor. I spend one night in jail, pay an insignificant fine, and we're back to where we are right now in 24 hours."
"Do you play chess, Mr. Yuy?" asked Trieze, leaning back in his chair.
"Yes," said Heero, his glance not wavering.
"I bet you're good at it," said Trieze finally.
"Harrison, bring your man in here immediately. Mr. Yuy is going to offer an apology to him, he's going to accept, and that will be the end of this unpleasantness. Do I make myself understood." There was an unmistakable touch of steel in the man's voice.
"Yes, Mr. Kushrenada," said Harrison.
"I think Mr. Sanderson needs a short vacation," added Trieze, as Harrison turned to leave. "He sounds like he's a bit stressed."
"Understood, sir." Harrison left.
"Duo," said Trieze, turning his chair slightly to look at him.
"Is this the part where I get fired?" asked Duo, fiddling with the end of his braid nervously.
"No," said Trieze smiling. "I was merely wondering how you got involved in this rather interesting situation."
"I was out walking my dog and noticed Heero in front of my house," said Duo. "We talked a bit and I realized he was probably locked out of the inn, so I invited him to spend the night in my guest room. End of story."
"I see," said Trieze thoughtfully.
"Are you gonna ask him to leave?" asked Duo impulsively.
"I doubt it," said Trieze. "But, I won't deny that things have become complicated."
"I'd rather stay with Duo," said Heero, suddenly. "Then, I can come and go as I please."
Duo looked surprised for the second time that morning.
"That would be a solution to this problem for all of us," admitted Trieze.
"If it's all right with you, of course," he said to Duo.
"I'm fine with it," said Duo.
"I'll have Mr. Yuy's things moved into your place by noon, then," said Trieze. "Give Millie at the front desk a key, will you?"
"Sure," said Duo. "Can I go now? I have an eight thirty appointment."
"Certainly," said Trieze.
Duo got up to leave. "See you later, then?" he asked Heero.
Heero nodded. "Later."
"You were quite fortunate to run into Duo last night, Mr. Yuy," said Trieze, after Duo had gone.
"Heero," said Heero. "Call me Heero."
"Very well, then, Heero," said Trieze.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in," said Trieze, the humor gone from his voice.
Sanderson came in, flanked by Harrison. There was a scowl on the blond man's face.
"Harrison has briefed you on the situation, Sanderson?" asked Trieze.
"Yessir," said the man sulkily.
Heero stood. "I apologize for hitting you," he said clearly. "It was uncalled for and it won't happen again."
Silence. "Well, Sanderson, do you have a reply for my guest?" There was no mistaking the subtle emphasis on the word 'my' by Trieze.
"I accept your apology," said Sanderson stiffly.
Heero offered his hand. Sanderson glared at it for a second and they carefully shook hands.
"That's the end of it, then," said Trieze sternly.
Heero bowed his head slightly and turned to leave. Harrison and Sanderson close behind.
When they left Trieze' office, Sanderson turned around. "Don't let me catch you out alone, Yuy," he hissed. "I'll be handing you your ass."
"Anytime," said Heero levelly, turning to go up to his room. "Anytime."
"Sanderson!" said Harrison sharply. "You're already in enough trouble, knock it off."
Sanderson gave Heero a final glare and turned towards the exit.
Author: Gina Lin Genre: Romance, Action/Adventure Pairings: 1+2, 3+4, 5+S, 13+6, various Warnings: Language, Citrus, Yaoi Rating: R Archived: S_E Updates, FF.net
Chapter 7
"Mommy, are you coming to my daycare today?" asked Matthew, eating something colorful and crunchy drenched in milk. His large brown eyes were almost obscured by long dark brown bangs.
"Kid needs a haircut," thought Sally, reaching over to ruffle his hair.
"Was I supposed to?" she asked, turning around to put a change of workout clothes in her sports bag.
"MO-OM!" said Matthew, drawing out the second syllable in protest. "I gave you a note last week. This morning is the play. I'm the second president of the Untied Stakes, John Adams."
Sally bit her lip to keep from smiling. "That's 'United States' baby," she corrected gently.
"I'm five, Mom," he said, folding his arms and glaring at her. "Give me a break."
"Break granted," said Sally. "What time?"
"11:00," Matt recited, "That's just before lunch. Then, you're post ta eat lunch with me at daycare."
"Okay, 11:30 it is," said Sally. "I have an early appointment, but after that, I'm free until noon. I'm sure I can ask Lucrezia to cover for me til I get back."
"I like Lu," said Matt. "She's pretty."
"Did you have a good time with her last night?" asked Sally.
"We played 'Go Fish', and she let me win," said Matt.
"How do you know she let you win?" asked Sally.
"Because I won every game," said Matthew. "Since I'm just a kid, I figure she let me win."
Sally chuckled. "Okay card shark, get your backpack, and I'll drive you over to daycare before work."
"Lu said you're working with that kung fu guy," said Matthew. "That's who you had dinner with last night."
"He's just another client, baby," said Sally. "He got hurt, and it's my job to help him get better."
"Is he nice?" asked Matthew. He had his Yu-Gi-Oh backpack on, and was bouncing on the balls of his feet, ready to go.
"Oh, I don't know," said Sally, remembering her impressions from the other night.
"He's not nice?" pressed Matthew.
"To be honest," admitted Sally. "I couldn't tell. He didn't say much to me."
"Maybe he was nervous," said Matthew, following his mother to the car.
"When I get nervous, I can't talk good," he said.
"Are you nervous, sweetie?" she asked him, opening the car door on the passenger side
"A little," he said, sliding in. "I hafta say two things, and I hope I don't mess up. Darn play, anyway." He scuffed his sneakers along the carpet in the car.
"Mom?" he asked, looking at her.
"What?" she asked back, looking both ways before she backed out of the driveway.
"Don't call me sweetie and baby in front of the other kids, it's embarrassing."
She laughed. "All right, I promise. I'll call you muffin head."
"MO-OM!" he protested. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heero awoke feeling something wet being dragged across his face.
He scrabbled for his gun under the pillow.
"You're not gonna shoot my dog, are you?" asked Duo, leaning upon the doorjamb wearing baggy gray sweats and a wife-beater tee.
Rusty barked and jumped down off the bed.
"Excuse me, Heero, is it?" he asked. "I gotta let my dog out before he busts a bladder."
"Aa, nani?" said Heero fuzzily, and stopped groping under his pillow for the revolver.
"What's that?" said Duo, cocking his head.
"Okay," said Heero, "Sorry. No, I'm not going to shoot your dog."
"Nice to know," said Duo, turning around and walking down the hall with Rusty trotting along behind. Heero levered himself out of bed with a grunt and followed them.
Duo opened the front door and Rusty bounded out onto the front lawn. In a few minutes, he and Rusty came back, Rusty's fur slightly damp from the morning dew on the grass.
"The security guards will be looking for me," said Heero.
"We need to go talk to Trieze," said Duo. "He's not that bad of a guy. The worst thing that can happen is that they'll send you packing."
"The blond one," said Heero, "Zechs, I don't think he likes me."
"Don't worry about it," said Duo. "You could stay with me, if you want. I mean, if they ask you to leave the inn."
"You don't even know me," Heero said, frowning.
"I go with my gut where people are concerned," replied Duo. "And Rusty likes you, that's good enough for me. I'm still alive, you didn't shoot me or anything." He gave an uneasy chuckle.
After a long moment, Heero nodded. "All right, if they ask me to leave, I'll stay here with you. I told Wufei I'd be here with him."
"You guys are good friends?" asked Duo, walking into the kitchen and pulling out plates and utensils from various cabinets and drawers.
"Yes," said Heero. He sat at the other chair at the small kitchen table. "Since the Army."
"I hope you like scrambled eggs," said Duo.
"Fine," said Heero.
"You're sort of the master of the monosyllable, aren't you?" asked Duo.
The other man simply looked at him.
"It's okay, you don't have to say anything," said Duo. "Just making an observation." He put a large spoonful of eggs on the other man's plate.
They ate in silence for a few minutes.
The doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," said Duo unnecessarily. Heero kept eating.
He opened the door and blinked as Harrison and another blond security guard who's name Duo couldn't remember greeted him.
"Is Mr. Yuy here?" asked Harrison with minimal politeness.
"Yeah, he's here," said Duo, sticking out his chin and narrowing his eyes at the larger man. "I invited him to spend the night."
Harrison's eyebrows went up at that, but he persisted.
"Mr. Yuy assaulted one of my staff, and he's armed. Are you aware of those facts?"
"Yep," said Duo. "Maybe if you guys weren't so busy playing Nazi Storm- troopers, this kind of shit wouldn't happen."
"You gotta big mouth, Maxwell," growled Sanderson, pushing his face near Duo's. "Give me half a reason, and I'll shut it for you, permanently."
"You need to get your gorilla a muzzle, Harrison," said Duo. "And some mouthwash," he added, scrunching up his nose delicately. "Whew!"
"Quiet, Sanderson," said the other man tersely. "I'll handle this."
"Are you willing to come with us, Mr. Yuy?" asked Harrison. Heero had come to stand behind Duo.
"Not particularly," said Heero neutrally. "And, you're violating this man's rights by questioning him without proper authorization." Duo gave the other man a surprised glance, but said nothing.
Harrison colored a little. "I'll have to take this up with Mr. Kushrenada," he said tightly as he turned to leave. Sanderson muttered something darkly under his breath.
"You do that," said Heero.
"Bye, bye, boys" yelled Duo cheerfully. "Come back again and we'll play Twister."
"You do have a big mouth," said Heero, after Duo closed the door, laughing.
"Ah, I hate those badge-heavy idiots," said Duo. "Bunch of dumb-ass cop wanna-bes."
"I take it you've gotten on their bad side before this?" asked Heero.
"I have a problem with authority figures," said Duo, grinning.
"Still," he said, sobering. "We'll have to tell your side to Trieze." He frowned.
"We'd better get going then," said Heero. "They might not be cops, but they probably know how to call one. I did assault Sanderson last night. I probably could claim I was provoked, but it's still assault."
"I'll get dressed," said Duo. He went down the hallway and into his room.
Heero went to the bathroom in the hallway and after relieving himself, looked briefly at his rumpled appearance in the mirror over the sink.
Shrugging, he stepped out and waited for Duo to reappear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harrison was standing stiffly in front of Trieze's large marble topped desk when Duo sauntered in, followed by Heero. Sanderson was nowhere to be seen.
"Well, Duo," said Trieze pleasantly. "I see you found our missing guest."
"Before you answer that, Duo," said Heero, suddenly, "I'd like to apologize to your employee, Mr. Sanderson. I simply lost my temper because he attempted to restrain me when I wanted to leave the premises. I shouldn't have done that. You can ask me to leave, and we'll call it square."
Trieze raised one eyebrow. "I see." He thought a moment. "That certainly sounds like a more charitable solution than the one Harrison suggested a bit ago."
"Which was?" asked Heero levelly.
"To call the local police and have you arrested and charged with assault," said Trieze smoothly.
"I wouldn't recommend that if I were your attorney," said Heero coolly.
"Why not?" asked Trieze in a faintly amused voice.
"Several reasons," said Heero. "I can practically guarantee that if I leave, Wufei Chang and his other guests will leave too. Bad for you financially, and not exactly good publicity for your establishment either. Also, even if I'm charged with assault, it's a misdemeanor. I spend one night in jail, pay an insignificant fine, and we're back to where we are right now in 24 hours."
"Do you play chess, Mr. Yuy?" asked Trieze, leaning back in his chair.
"Yes," said Heero, his glance not wavering.
"I bet you're good at it," said Trieze finally.
"Harrison, bring your man in here immediately. Mr. Yuy is going to offer an apology to him, he's going to accept, and that will be the end of this unpleasantness. Do I make myself understood." There was an unmistakable touch of steel in the man's voice.
"Yes, Mr. Kushrenada," said Harrison.
"I think Mr. Sanderson needs a short vacation," added Trieze, as Harrison turned to leave. "He sounds like he's a bit stressed."
"Understood, sir." Harrison left.
"Duo," said Trieze, turning his chair slightly to look at him.
"Is this the part where I get fired?" asked Duo, fiddling with the end of his braid nervously.
"No," said Trieze smiling. "I was merely wondering how you got involved in this rather interesting situation."
"I was out walking my dog and noticed Heero in front of my house," said Duo. "We talked a bit and I realized he was probably locked out of the inn, so I invited him to spend the night in my guest room. End of story."
"I see," said Trieze thoughtfully.
"Are you gonna ask him to leave?" asked Duo impulsively.
"I doubt it," said Trieze. "But, I won't deny that things have become complicated."
"I'd rather stay with Duo," said Heero, suddenly. "Then, I can come and go as I please."
Duo looked surprised for the second time that morning.
"That would be a solution to this problem for all of us," admitted Trieze.
"If it's all right with you, of course," he said to Duo.
"I'm fine with it," said Duo.
"I'll have Mr. Yuy's things moved into your place by noon, then," said Trieze. "Give Millie at the front desk a key, will you?"
"Sure," said Duo. "Can I go now? I have an eight thirty appointment."
"Certainly," said Trieze.
Duo got up to leave. "See you later, then?" he asked Heero.
Heero nodded. "Later."
"You were quite fortunate to run into Duo last night, Mr. Yuy," said Trieze, after Duo had gone.
"Heero," said Heero. "Call me Heero."
"Very well, then, Heero," said Trieze.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in," said Trieze, the humor gone from his voice.
Sanderson came in, flanked by Harrison. There was a scowl on the blond man's face.
"Harrison has briefed you on the situation, Sanderson?" asked Trieze.
"Yessir," said the man sulkily.
Heero stood. "I apologize for hitting you," he said clearly. "It was uncalled for and it won't happen again."
Silence. "Well, Sanderson, do you have a reply for my guest?" There was no mistaking the subtle emphasis on the word 'my' by Trieze.
"I accept your apology," said Sanderson stiffly.
Heero offered his hand. Sanderson glared at it for a second and they carefully shook hands.
"That's the end of it, then," said Trieze sternly.
Heero bowed his head slightly and turned to leave. Harrison and Sanderson close behind.
When they left Trieze' office, Sanderson turned around. "Don't let me catch you out alone, Yuy," he hissed. "I'll be handing you your ass."
"Anytime," said Heero levelly, turning to go up to his room. "Anytime."
"Sanderson!" said Harrison sharply. "You're already in enough trouble, knock it off."
Sanderson gave Heero a final glare and turned towards the exit.