Satanira- Awake again!
Duo- Yay! Let's get started!
Satanira- Okay!
Heero- I'm going to kill you all one of these days...
Satanira- Sure you will, Hee-chan.
Heero- Don't call me Hee-chan!
Satanira- Sheesh, but you're a grouch....
To J- Glad to please, luv. Yeah, I figured that's how someone as honest (or blunt, depending on your point of view) as Duo would love. BTW, here's a virtual life-sized Duo plushie for being the first reviewer for the story! gives plushie
Quatrina sighed quietly, fighting the urge to take out her gun and start randomly shooting Maganacs.
It was really very tempting, considering thirty-eight of the thirty- nine in the large room with her were shouting loud enough to give her a migraine.
"Rashid, please calm them down." She begged plaintively, rubbing her temples. "My poor head can't take much more of this."
"SHUT UP!" Rashid yelled, achieving the desired effect of silence with a minimum of pain on Quatrina's part.
"Thank you." Quatrina said, smiling at the tall man before turning to the rest of her bodyguards. "Now that you've all elected to cease acting like rabid dogs, can we take turns here, please?"
"You're really a girl?" Muhammad asked from the middle of the group.
"Yes, I'm really a girl." Quatrina assured him, smiling tolerantly. "Always have been, always will be."
"And this does not change the fact that Lady Quatrina saved us." Rashid added. "We still owe her our lives, and I won't tolerate anyone saying differently. Am I understood?"
"Sure!" Abdul seconded. "In fact, I admire her even more now for putting up with thirty-nine clumsy men following her around like we've been doing!"
"And she has yet to kill any of us!" Someone else added.
"Well, that was easy." Quatrina remarked to Rashid as the others went back to what they normally did in the mornings. "Now for the hard part."
"And that would be?" Rashid prompted.
"Getting Duo to talk to me."
Duo paced his small apartment, glancing from the clock to the door to the fire escape every now and then. The girl he'd confessed his love to not twenty-four hours ago wanted to talk to him.
"Man, I am such a loser." He groaned quietly to himself, wondering why the hell he was actually waiting around to embarrass himself even more instead of running screaming out the nearest exit. "I'm a stupid loser." He added.
Then the doorbell rang, and it was too late to do much of anything but face the music and hope it wasn't too off key.
"Coming!" Duo called, trotting to the door and opening it slowly. "Hey, Q." He said. "Rashid." He added nervously upon seeing the dark, burly man. "Come on in."
"Thank you for the ride, Rashid." Quatrina said, smiling sweetly. "I'll call you when I'm done, okay?"
"Fine by me, Lady Quatrina." Rashid said, bowing slightly before turning and leaving.
"So you've gone from Master to Lady, huh?" Duo said in a forced cheerful tone. "That's quite a status change."
"And it feels like it, too." Quatrina joked back, walking past him into the living room. "Oh, my god!" She exclaimed, dropping her purse in feigned surprise. "Duo, you have a floor in here!"
"Har, har, har." Duo grumped, looking her up and down. "I said it once, and I'll say it again. You are a looker!"
Quatrina blushed the same pink as her pale denim skirt. It stopped halfway to her knees, partially exposing two perfectly rounded thighs. She also had on a loose white sleeveless blouse and white sandals, and the bag she'd dropped matched her skirt.
"And you're a flatterer." Quatrina finally managed to say. "I know for a fact that I'm plain, as girls go."
"The hell you are." Duo countered, throwing himself into his overstuffed black leather recliner. "You're a knockout, Quat. There's no getting around it. Not only that, you're a natural knockout."
She gave him a LOOK, and he decided it was time to shut his big mouth before he stuck both feet in it.
"I take it you remember why I wanted to talk to you." It was a statement, not a question, but Duo felt compelled to answer anyway.
"Yeah." He sighed, motioning for her to take a seat on the couch. "I'm sorry if I wierded you out or something, but I have no control over my mouth when I'm drunk."
"So you aren't in love with me." She was so completely unemotional and business-like it was scary.
"No! I mean, yes! I mean... dammit, that's not what I meant!" Duo growled in frustration, wondering why girls had to be so damned difficult.
"So you do love me." She said evenly.
"I..." Duo, for once, found himself without words. He pushed himself to his feet and began pacing furiously. "What the hell does it matter, anyway? You're a princess, Q! I'm a street orphan! This isn't some fucking fairy tale! Life doesn't let this stuff work!"
"Why not?"
"Because!" Duo yelled. "First off, your brother hates my guts! He'll think I'm using you, I know it! And so will just about everyone! And you can do a hell of a lot better than me, that's for sure! And-"
"And what if I don't want to do better?" She asked softly, cutting through his tirade.
"What?" He demanded, turning to stare at her.
"What if I don't want to do better than you?" She repeated, standing up so that, with her heels, she was looking him straight in the eye. "What if I don't give a damn what my brother thinks? What then?"
"Hold it right there!" Duo yelled, waving both arms like a runway guide. "Are you saying you like me here or something?!"
"Tell him what he's won, Johnny." She said sarcastically. "Yes, I like you. As more than a friend. Now will you tell me how you feel about me, or do I have to go Zero on you?"
"Stop with the scary talk! Okay! I give! I yield! I love you! If you tell anyone, I'll cry like a little baby!"
"There, was that so hard?" Quatrina asked with a soft smile.
"Yes." Duo pouted.
"Okay, now prove it."
Duo blinked at her for a full five seconds before he registered what she was saying. "You've now officially stopped making sense." He said.
"Prove that you love me. Kiss me." She elaborated.
"Making sense again." Duo said timidly, sternly telling his heart that it had absolutely no right to be beating so damned fast just because the real life woman of his dreams had just ordered him to kiss her. It, of course, blew raspberries at his brain for being stupid and picked up the pace a little.
"Will you?"
"Gimme a minute here. My brain and heart are in the middle of hurling insults at each other, and my-"
Apparently not a very patient girl, Quatrina decided to take the initiative and kissed him first, instead of the other way around. After a stunned moment, Duo did what any guy would do in his position; he returned the gesture with interest.
Quatrina hummed softly to herself, staring out the window without really seeing what was there. Tonight was her first official date with Duo, and she hadn't been able to stop daydreaming about it all day. Granted, it was just a movie and anywhere she wanted to stop afterward, but it was a dream come true for her. For just about the first time in her life, she was able to be completely truthful about her feelings toward a certain longhaired ex-pilot, and that was all she really cared about.
"Princess Quatrina?" Zechs had insisted she move back into the Peacecraft palace; she wasn't particularly happy about it, but it was what her big brother wanted.
"Yes, Maria?"
The tiny brunette servant smiled at Quatrina in a way that said she knew what was on the blond's mind.
"Princess Quatrina, there's a gentleman here by the name of Duo Maxwell. He says you're expecting him?"
"Thank you, Maria. Send him up, please?"
"With pleasure, Princess." Maria said, her eyes sparkling as she curtsied and left the room. As the door closed, Quatrina could have sworn the maid added a quiet 'good luck.'
In almost no time, Maria returned with Duo in tow and practically threw him into the room before running off, presumably to do her chores.
"Hey, Quat!" Duo said cheerfully, grabbing the tiny blond in a bear hug. "Man, this place is huge! How can you stand it here? There's a reason I moved out of your last place, and it wasn't because Wufei holds grudges way too long. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" The brunette jumped up and down eagerly, grinning like a hyperactive maniac.
"Calm down, Duo!" Quatrina exclaimed, grabbing her bag, which Duo immediately snatched. "Hey! What are you doing?"
"Making sure you have no money on you." Duo said, rummaging through the contents of the small denim purse, removing two cards and a wad of bills and putting them down on the dresser. "I'm paying for everything tonight, am I understood?"
"Yes, sir." She said with mock subservience, smiling. "But if we don't hurry, we'll be late for the movie."
"Ack! You're right!" Duo yelled. "We gotta get goin!"
Satanira- Yay! Wow, can you believe I wrote this whole thing in less than a week?
Duo- And that's impressive... how?
Quatrina- She means all three chapters were written at a rate of about a chapter a day.
Duo- Oh.
Heero- You're all insane.
Satanira- Why, thank you, Hee-chan!
Duo- Yay! Let's get started!
Satanira- Okay!
Heero- I'm going to kill you all one of these days...
Satanira- Sure you will, Hee-chan.
Heero- Don't call me Hee-chan!
Satanira- Sheesh, but you're a grouch....
To J- Glad to please, luv. Yeah, I figured that's how someone as honest (or blunt, depending on your point of view) as Duo would love. BTW, here's a virtual life-sized Duo plushie for being the first reviewer for the story! gives plushie
Quatrina sighed quietly, fighting the urge to take out her gun and start randomly shooting Maganacs.
It was really very tempting, considering thirty-eight of the thirty- nine in the large room with her were shouting loud enough to give her a migraine.
"Rashid, please calm them down." She begged plaintively, rubbing her temples. "My poor head can't take much more of this."
"SHUT UP!" Rashid yelled, achieving the desired effect of silence with a minimum of pain on Quatrina's part.
"Thank you." Quatrina said, smiling at the tall man before turning to the rest of her bodyguards. "Now that you've all elected to cease acting like rabid dogs, can we take turns here, please?"
"You're really a girl?" Muhammad asked from the middle of the group.
"Yes, I'm really a girl." Quatrina assured him, smiling tolerantly. "Always have been, always will be."
"And this does not change the fact that Lady Quatrina saved us." Rashid added. "We still owe her our lives, and I won't tolerate anyone saying differently. Am I understood?"
"Sure!" Abdul seconded. "In fact, I admire her even more now for putting up with thirty-nine clumsy men following her around like we've been doing!"
"And she has yet to kill any of us!" Someone else added.
"Well, that was easy." Quatrina remarked to Rashid as the others went back to what they normally did in the mornings. "Now for the hard part."
"And that would be?" Rashid prompted.
"Getting Duo to talk to me."
Duo paced his small apartment, glancing from the clock to the door to the fire escape every now and then. The girl he'd confessed his love to not twenty-four hours ago wanted to talk to him.
"Man, I am such a loser." He groaned quietly to himself, wondering why the hell he was actually waiting around to embarrass himself even more instead of running screaming out the nearest exit. "I'm a stupid loser." He added.
Then the doorbell rang, and it was too late to do much of anything but face the music and hope it wasn't too off key.
"Coming!" Duo called, trotting to the door and opening it slowly. "Hey, Q." He said. "Rashid." He added nervously upon seeing the dark, burly man. "Come on in."
"Thank you for the ride, Rashid." Quatrina said, smiling sweetly. "I'll call you when I'm done, okay?"
"Fine by me, Lady Quatrina." Rashid said, bowing slightly before turning and leaving.
"So you've gone from Master to Lady, huh?" Duo said in a forced cheerful tone. "That's quite a status change."
"And it feels like it, too." Quatrina joked back, walking past him into the living room. "Oh, my god!" She exclaimed, dropping her purse in feigned surprise. "Duo, you have a floor in here!"
"Har, har, har." Duo grumped, looking her up and down. "I said it once, and I'll say it again. You are a looker!"
Quatrina blushed the same pink as her pale denim skirt. It stopped halfway to her knees, partially exposing two perfectly rounded thighs. She also had on a loose white sleeveless blouse and white sandals, and the bag she'd dropped matched her skirt.
"And you're a flatterer." Quatrina finally managed to say. "I know for a fact that I'm plain, as girls go."
"The hell you are." Duo countered, throwing himself into his overstuffed black leather recliner. "You're a knockout, Quat. There's no getting around it. Not only that, you're a natural knockout."
She gave him a LOOK, and he decided it was time to shut his big mouth before he stuck both feet in it.
"I take it you remember why I wanted to talk to you." It was a statement, not a question, but Duo felt compelled to answer anyway.
"Yeah." He sighed, motioning for her to take a seat on the couch. "I'm sorry if I wierded you out or something, but I have no control over my mouth when I'm drunk."
"So you aren't in love with me." She was so completely unemotional and business-like it was scary.
"No! I mean, yes! I mean... dammit, that's not what I meant!" Duo growled in frustration, wondering why girls had to be so damned difficult.
"So you do love me." She said evenly.
"I..." Duo, for once, found himself without words. He pushed himself to his feet and began pacing furiously. "What the hell does it matter, anyway? You're a princess, Q! I'm a street orphan! This isn't some fucking fairy tale! Life doesn't let this stuff work!"
"Why not?"
"Because!" Duo yelled. "First off, your brother hates my guts! He'll think I'm using you, I know it! And so will just about everyone! And you can do a hell of a lot better than me, that's for sure! And-"
"And what if I don't want to do better?" She asked softly, cutting through his tirade.
"What?" He demanded, turning to stare at her.
"What if I don't want to do better than you?" She repeated, standing up so that, with her heels, she was looking him straight in the eye. "What if I don't give a damn what my brother thinks? What then?"
"Hold it right there!" Duo yelled, waving both arms like a runway guide. "Are you saying you like me here or something?!"
"Tell him what he's won, Johnny." She said sarcastically. "Yes, I like you. As more than a friend. Now will you tell me how you feel about me, or do I have to go Zero on you?"
"Stop with the scary talk! Okay! I give! I yield! I love you! If you tell anyone, I'll cry like a little baby!"
"There, was that so hard?" Quatrina asked with a soft smile.
"Yes." Duo pouted.
"Okay, now prove it."
Duo blinked at her for a full five seconds before he registered what she was saying. "You've now officially stopped making sense." He said.
"Prove that you love me. Kiss me." She elaborated.
"Making sense again." Duo said timidly, sternly telling his heart that it had absolutely no right to be beating so damned fast just because the real life woman of his dreams had just ordered him to kiss her. It, of course, blew raspberries at his brain for being stupid and picked up the pace a little.
"Will you?"
"Gimme a minute here. My brain and heart are in the middle of hurling insults at each other, and my-"
Apparently not a very patient girl, Quatrina decided to take the initiative and kissed him first, instead of the other way around. After a stunned moment, Duo did what any guy would do in his position; he returned the gesture with interest.
Quatrina hummed softly to herself, staring out the window without really seeing what was there. Tonight was her first official date with Duo, and she hadn't been able to stop daydreaming about it all day. Granted, it was just a movie and anywhere she wanted to stop afterward, but it was a dream come true for her. For just about the first time in her life, she was able to be completely truthful about her feelings toward a certain longhaired ex-pilot, and that was all she really cared about.
"Princess Quatrina?" Zechs had insisted she move back into the Peacecraft palace; she wasn't particularly happy about it, but it was what her big brother wanted.
"Yes, Maria?"
The tiny brunette servant smiled at Quatrina in a way that said she knew what was on the blond's mind.
"Princess Quatrina, there's a gentleman here by the name of Duo Maxwell. He says you're expecting him?"
"Thank you, Maria. Send him up, please?"
"With pleasure, Princess." Maria said, her eyes sparkling as she curtsied and left the room. As the door closed, Quatrina could have sworn the maid added a quiet 'good luck.'
In almost no time, Maria returned with Duo in tow and practically threw him into the room before running off, presumably to do her chores.
"Hey, Quat!" Duo said cheerfully, grabbing the tiny blond in a bear hug. "Man, this place is huge! How can you stand it here? There's a reason I moved out of your last place, and it wasn't because Wufei holds grudges way too long. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" The brunette jumped up and down eagerly, grinning like a hyperactive maniac.
"Calm down, Duo!" Quatrina exclaimed, grabbing her bag, which Duo immediately snatched. "Hey! What are you doing?"
"Making sure you have no money on you." Duo said, rummaging through the contents of the small denim purse, removing two cards and a wad of bills and putting them down on the dresser. "I'm paying for everything tonight, am I understood?"
"Yes, sir." She said with mock subservience, smiling. "But if we don't hurry, we'll be late for the movie."
"Ack! You're right!" Duo yelled. "We gotta get goin!"
Satanira- Yay! Wow, can you believe I wrote this whole thing in less than a week?
Duo- And that's impressive... how?
Quatrina- She means all three chapters were written at a rate of about a chapter a day.
Duo- Oh.
Heero- You're all insane.
Satanira- Why, thank you, Hee-chan!