LSE 7-8-03
(Make a Wish!)
rated: PG13 - language, content
shounen-ai/yaoi
Make a Wish!
-
Unaware of the intent gaze directed at him, Heero bent to collect his
fallen fork and stared at the pronged silverware before applying it
back to his eating, ignoring Quatre's disapproving gaze. With great
difficulty, Duo pulled his attentive stare away from Heero's spandex-
clad bottom, which had been presented so seductively to him moments
before with Heero's fetching of the fork. Boys with asses that fine,
Duo thought to himself, shouldn't be allowed in tight spandex unless
they're willing to entertain the idea of...
"Huh?" he said eloquently, realizing the other four pilots -- Heero
I've-got-a-cute-butt Yuy included -- were staring at him waiting for
some response to...
"I asked, any idea what you're going to do tomorrow, Duo?" Quatre
repeated, suppressing a smile.
"Oh," Duo paused, "nothing, actually. Sad as that is..."
"But it's your birthday," Quatre pointed out, as if Duo had forgotten.
Duo shrugged uncomfortably, not wanting to admit he had no special
plans lined out. His eighteenth birthday, making him legal for
cigarettes, alcohol, porn and sex. All of which sounded like a great
way to spend his birthday. Unfortunately, he had no one to do any of
the activities with, and an evening of being by himself, drinking,
smoking, watching porn and whacking off didn't hold appeal. In fact,
it was a downright depressing way to spend a birthday.
So far, the only bit of birthday-celebration he'd received was this
dinner... but they always ate dinner at Quatre's once week. They
hadn't even remembered it was Duo's birthday tomorrow until he
reminded them. Quatre had apologized and offered to have the cook
make a cake, but Duo, not wanting to impose on the cook (who did,
after all, have a fine possession of big sharp knives) had declined.
Now he wished he'd accepted. He'd never actually had a birthday cake
before.
Technically, he'd never actually had a birthday. The date chosen to
serve as his birthday was the day he'd met Heero. Unfortunately, that
also happened to be Relena's birthday, as he later found out. However,
he liked the Heero-connection and kept the stupid date.
"You guys want to do anything?" he asked suddenly, looking hopefully
at Quatre, then slowly shifting his gaze to include Trowa, Wufei and,
finally, Heero. Duo wouldn't mind an evening of drinking, smoking,
porn and sex with a certain Perfect Soldier (who was already 18) but
he knew if he dared suggest any of those activities to Heero,
collectively or singularly, he wouldn't live to see nineteen.
Quatre shook his head, genuine apology written across his face.
"Sorry, Duo," the small blond said, "I have to attend an important
business meeting."
"Me too," Trowa added softly, which was no surprise. Duo had known
for sometime now what exactly lay between those two. Not that they
tried to hide it.
"I have Preventer's work to deal with, Maxwell. Vital work."
"Wu, tomorrow is Saturday... don't you get weekends off?"
The Chinese boy shook his head sullenly, "Several agents are out with
the flu, so we're under-staffed," his tone suggested it was entirely
those agents' faults for ever daring to get sick. Weaklings.
Duo turned a hopeful face towards Heero, even though he knew the
chances of Heero ever...
Chocolate brows raised in answer, "Yes."
"Yes you're busy? Duo clarified.
"No, I am free."
"Heero?"
The Japanese boy's eyes narrowed, "What?"
Duo shook his head in disbelief, unable to comprehend that Heero was
actually considering a ... date? "How about dinner?"
"Fine."
He couldn't help it. Duo broke into a silly grin. A date, with Heero!
This was going to be the best birthday ever!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Duo arrived at the chosen restaurant exactly five minutes early. The
place was classy, but not to the point he'd have to sell a kidney to
afford anything. Amazingly enough, Heero had suggested the restaurant.
Duo still couldn't quite believe his luck, but wasn't about to
question that fate saw fit to deliver him the ultimate birthday
present. Too bad Heero wasn't going to pop naked out of a cake. Now
that'd just plain kick ass.
Heero had even made the reservations. Duo smiled to the hostess, who
smiled back, and sat on one of the couches by the door. "I'm meeting
someone," he told her, and she nodded, seeming almost vaguely
disappointment. Duo grinned, unable to help himself from feeling a
giddy excitement.
He looked out the restaurant doors, eagerly waiting to see Heero's
black jeep to pull up and be whisked away by the valet. Classy indeed.
Five minutes passed, and Duo fully expected ever-punctual Heero to
walk in the double-glass doors at any moment. Of course, his watch
was probably fast...
A small girl, fluffed out and dressed in a prim, pink, frilly dress,
stared at Duo from the relative safety of her mother's leg. Duo smiled
brightly at her and waved. To his great shock, the girl, who couldn't
be more than five or six, lifted one hand as if to wave... and then
flipped him off.
Duo edged further down his couch, pointedly looking away from the
demon-child, who was now tugging on her mother's sparkly cocktail
dress and demanding fresh blood. Actually, the girl was asking if the
restaurant made pancakes, but... same thing. Duo wouldn't mind
pancakes himself, actually... his stomach grumbled in agreement.
Where was Heero? This wasn't like him to be late. Maybe he'd gotten
lost, or traffic was bad. But... Heero had suggested the restaurant
to begin with, and Duo knew traffic wasn't bad. Maybe Heero had
spilled something on his shirt and had to do emergency stain-fighting.
And maybe little aliens came and abducted him...
Heero was late. How late? Duo looked at his watch, then around the
restaurant for a second opinion. "Excuse me, miss?" he asked, snagging
the hostess as she passed, "what time is it?"
"Twenty past six," she replied before hurrying over to the
demon-child, who was protesting loudly she wanted pancakes. Heero
was twenty minutes late. That's okay, Duo thought to himself, good
thing we chose to eat at six and not later.
When the hostess returned, she paused slightly, seeing the anxious
look on the young man's face as he stared out the glass towards the
street. His face suddenly grew hopeful and he sat up, straining to
see the vehicle passing. As soon as he got a good look at it, however,
his face fell and he sat back, looking crushed. The hostess approached
him smiling sympathetically, "Sir? Would you like to be seated now?"
"I... I'm waiting for someone..."
"Would you care to wait at the table? For the rest of your party?"
Nodding miserably, Duo gestured to the reservation book on the
hostess's podium, "It's under Yuy..."
"For two?" she asked, eyeing him with greater interest.
He nodded, sending one last glance at the street outside before
following her through the restaurant. The tables were covered in
floor-length white tablecloths and boasted both a single long-stemmed
rose in a vase and a tall taper candle. Duo stared in amazement;
Heero chose this sort of restaurant? His spirits rose, and he
reminded himself any one of a thousand good reasons could have
delayed Heero.
When the waiter came, Duo explained he was waiting for someone and
sipped at his water glass, looking out at the restaurant. The table
was set back in one of the corners, secluded and almost... romantic.
The butterflies in Duo's stomach seemed to almost giggle.
Twenty-five minutes later, the butterflies were gone and replaced by
a twisting knot of worry in the pit of Duo's middle. Heero was now
over forty-five minutes late. And, as the waiter told him for the
third time, there had been no phone calls for Duo or messages. Duo
sunk into his chair, staring at the flickering candle and the way
it's light bounced and glimmered over the red rose.
"Happy birthday to me," Duo whispered, leaning forward to twirl the
rose in its vase, "happy birthday to me..."
"Would you like to order now...?" the waiter asked hesitantly.
Duo shook his head slowly, "No, I...I'm waiting for someone..."
Something had to have happened to Heero. Something bad. Something...
Or he just wasn't coming. Duo should have known it was too good to be
true. What was he thinking? Heero Yuy for a dinner date on his
birthday? Of course things fell through. Heero was probably on crack
at Quatre's and, realizing what he had done, stayed home tonight.
When the waiter came back, Duo shook his head once more and stood,
"I'm sorry I guess... I guess he's not coming..."
"Oh. I'm sorry, sir."
Digging out his wallet, Duo set some money on the table before turning
to leave. He just wanted to go home. Maybe there was a message waiting
for him at home. Or not. Heero wasn't coming. Ever. This whole thing
was a mistake. How could he have ever expected Heero to actually...
Shaking his head at his own stupidity, Duo stepped out to the sidewalk
and handed the valet his ticket without making eye contact.
I will not cry.
...until I get into the car.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
As the engine slowly died out, Duo remained in the car, staring up at
the dark apartment building. Alone, on his birthday. Just like all the
times before. But, it hurt so much more... With a sob, Duo rested his
forehead against the steering wheel.
"Hee... Heero," he cried, hugging his arms over his chest. What had
made him think Heero would ever actually come? On a date, with him?
Lifting his head with a loud sniff, Duo wiped his cheeks in vain,
flicking away silver tears even as more fell. He couldn't go into the
building like this. What if someone saw him?
Not that it mattered.
A fresh sob broke through even as Duo laughed darkly at the situation,
of him worrying about someone in the building seeing him cry. Why
should he care? ...what if Heero was just now getting to the
restaurant? He should go back and check...!
"No," Duo said loudly, "I won't!" He had to accept that Heero just
wasn't going to ever feel the same way... "For God's sake, Maxwell,
the boy won't even talk to you! What made you think he... he could..."
Sniffling, and vainly scrubbing at his cheeks to quell the shimmer of
tears from overwhelming him, Duo got out from his car. He stared at
the reflection in the window, noting with vague disgust the red
rimming around his eyes. Even as he stood there, more tears fell,
tracing twin paths down his cheeks.
Turning away, he started up the walk and into the building with his
head held low to avoid having to look at anyone. Just make it
upstairs, Duo told himself, then you can order cheap take-out and
make yourself fat on ice cream. He brushed his face with the back of
his hand in the elevator, sniffling still, but more or less having
stopped sobbing. After pressing the floor button he crossed his arms
over his chest and stared blankly at the numbers above the door.
Anything to keep from thinking about...
Take-out and ice cream, Duo promised himself. Double-fudge marshmallow
caramel ice cream. Chow mein. Egg rolls.
...Heero.
The elevator gave a soft chime before the doors slid open, Duo
bringing himself back to reality enough to shuffle wearily down the
hallway towards his apartment. Just a bit further...
Leaning his forehead up against the door with a sniff, Duo fumbled
out his key before remembering he had left it unlocked. Maybe someone
had come and taken all his things. That'd just be a perfect end to a
miserable night. With a sigh that nearly turned into a sob, Duo pushed
open the door and stepped inside, reaching for the light switch.
"SURPRISE!" several noises shouted when the lights flickered on.
Duo dropped his keys in shock, unable to fully comprehend the four
smiling faces before him. "Happy Birthday!" Quatre beamed, rushing
forward and pulling Duo fully into the apartment as Trowa quietly
closed the door behind them.
"Huh... wha...?" Duo sputtered, staring first at Quatre, then Trowa,
then Wufei (who managed to look somewhat festive with a shiny blue
party hat on his head, despite a sulking glare on his face) and...
"Happy Birthday," Heero said softly with a rare smile.
Duo laughed hesitantly, shaking hands rising to brush his cheeks in
embarrassment, flicking away the few remaining tears. "I... I don't
know what to say... Thank you," he whispered, swallowing back a
rising urge to burst into hysterical tears. Too many emotional ups
and downs.
"I'll go get the cake! C'mon, Trowa. Wufei, you can get the
champagne!" Quatre said brightly, all but dragging the two pilots
from the room and towards the kitchen.
Duo stared fixedly at the banner slung over the doorway, determined
not to start bawling with Heero standing right there. "I'll go help
Quatre," he mumbled, moving away...
A strong, gentle hand closed over his arm, pulling Duo back. "Baka,"
Heero chided, and suddenly Duo found himself being... hugged. Too
stunned to do anything but stand there in Heero's arms, Duo grabbed
for control, failed, and silently cursed as tears trickled down his
face.
"I'm sorry."
"...huh?" Duo lifted his head to find Heero staring at him with an
expression he'd never seen on the normally stoic pilot.
"For standing you up. Quatre wanted it to be a surprise."
"Oh. It... it's okay," he mumbled, trying to hide his tears from
Heero and wishing he could think of something coherent to say. One
hand lifted off from Duo's back, lifting the boy's chin to meet
Heero's eyes. Duo froze, held by that cobalt gaze and rendered
powerless.
With surprising kindness, Heero brushed tears from Duo's damp cheek
and offered a slight, hesitant smile. "Can you forgive me?"
"S...sure. Yeah... No problem," Duo whispered, still caught in Heero's
stare and thoughts fluttering helplessly around, unable to offer
anything more than shocked disbelief. Maybe he'd fallen asleep while
driving and went off a cliff, and this was heaven and...
Soft lips.
Kiss.
"...Hee -- Heero?" he managed, pulling away slightly in shock. They
stared at each other, Duo in disbelief, and Heero hesitantly;
hopefully. Cobalt hues questioned, seeking some assurance from
amethyst and offering apology.
In answer to the unspoken question, Duo lifted his head and return the
kiss, slowly. Heero's arms tightened around his waist as Duo circled
his own arms over the other boy's neck, their bodies melding together
as the kiss lengthened and deepened. Fire. Heero.
"...or we can just skip the cake and have an orgy. Maxwell! Yuy!"
They jumped apart at the sound of Wufei's voice, twin sets of guilty
eyes glancing over at the Chinese boy. Trying not to laugh and
failing, Quatre brushed past the irate Wufei with the cake carried
out in front of him. "Everyone, sing!" he called, bursting into song.
Cheeks hot in embarrassment, Duo snuck a quick look to Heero to find
the soldier staring right back. Singing. And, slowly, one lid fell
closed in a suggestive wink, which startled Duo so much he let out a
squeak before hastily looking back at the candles on the cake. Who
knew that Heero Yuy was so... so...
"...to you!" they finished, Quatre being the only one putting forth
any real energy to make the song worthwhile. "Make a wish!"
Duo quickly blew out the candles as Quatre cheered and Wufei popped
open the champagne. Quietly, Heero snuck up behind Duo and, under the
pretense of examining in the cake, leaned in close to whispered,
"What did you wish for?"
"If I tell, it won't come true!"
Heero blinked in response, giving a light scowl that Duo merely
laughed at, swatting him lightly on the shoulder. "If you must know...
I wished for another kiss just like that," Duo admitted, staring at
Heero hopefully, heart thudding madly in his chest.
"Hn. That can be arranged."
...
"Oh, for the love of... Yuy! Maxwell!"
Ignoring Wufei's protests, Duo and Heero took their time before
parting breathlessly. Brushing aside some of Duo's bangs, Heero's lips
quirked into a small smile.
"Happy Birthday, Duo."
-
-
Author's Notes: Wow. I wrote this a year ago and just now unburied
it from my stack of WIPs. I remember starting this on my birthday
after getting stood up... -- only my birthday didn't end like Duo's did!
What can I say, I'm a sucker for a happy ending.
This is just a silly little piece of fluff, but I like it. Working on Fly on Broken
Wings for so long has made me crave 1x2 desperately.
Ahh! 1x2 is such bliss.
(one last note! I'm aware that in Japan the age for all the naughty
things Duo craves is actually 20. However, I picked 18 because that's a
more common number around the world, and the GW world seems to be more
a globilization of society than based off Japan or even America)
Feedback/reviews are very much appreciated!
copyright 2003 - Gundam Wing and characters copyright other people.
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