Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. (But in 8-10 weeks, I'll be owning a DUO PLUSHIE!!! )

A/N I know, I know, only one chapter this update, but seriously, in the time it took me to write this chapter, I can usually put out two or maybe even three. I have never had a chapter that was so freakingdifficult to write. To all you Quatre fans, I'm sorry that he's used mroe as a plot device than as a character, but this is all from Duo's perspective, and I think that with all he's gone through, he's allowed to be at least a little selfish! (And maybe if people ask REALLY nicely, I can bring him back later on in the story... )

Oh, and I finally know where this story is going (yeah, it did take me this long to figure it out) but I'm still open to suggestions.


Chapter Twenty-One: Saturday and Night

I got up at nine the next morning to get ready to go hang out with Quatre. I took a shower and got dressed. I combed out my hair and braided it and then looked at myself in the mirror. Quatre was probably going to be wearing his usual button-up shirt and vest and khakis, and I hoped that my sweater and nice jeans wouldn't look too casual in comparison.

I went into the TV room and zoned out for a while watching Saturday morning cartoons. I was happy I was going to be seeing Quatre again, but that joy was overshadowed by the fact that he was going to be taking Jericho out on a date that night. I should be the one taking Jericho out, I thought. Not Quatre.

It was funny, really. I mean, there I was, jealous of Quatre of all people. And I was jealous of him over a girl. I hadn't even realized that Quatre had discovered girls yet.

I eventually got bored with Bugs Bunny and Roadrunner, and I headed downstairs to the kitchen. Jon was loading the dishwasher while Diana flipped through a cookbook.

"Hey, Duo, how does shrimp scampi sound for dinner tonight?" Diana asked me as I opened the fridge, looking for something to eat.

"Sounds fine," I replied.

"Okay, good." She marked the page she had been looking at and closed the cookbook. "So, what's on your agenda for the day?"

"I'm going out with a friend," I replied. "I'll be home around four."

"What friend?" Jon asked. "Jericho?"

I shook my head. "You don't know him, but you'll meet him when he gets here."

"Alright."

I pulled the cookbook towards me and began flipping through the pages. The food looked really good, and I recognized some of the recipes as stuff that Hilde had used to make. I wonder if Jericho's a good cook, I thought.

After a while, Diana looked up from what she was doing. "Was that a car in the driveway?" she asked. I shrugged. She stood up and went into the front hall. I heard her make a strange noise that sounded an awful lot like surprise, and then she reappeared in the kitchen doorway. "Duo, do you know anything about the limousine that's parked in our driveway?"

I glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Jeez! It's noon already!" I cried, jumping up.

The doorbell rang. I hurried to answer it with Diana and Jon following close behind. I opened the door and there stood Quatre. He had grown a little taller since I had seen him last in September, and his shoulders seemed slightly broader than I remembered. He still had the same big blue eyes and platinum-blond hair, though.

"Duo!" he cried at the same moment I cried "Quatre!"

We embraced, and for a second I forgot to feel unhappy about his date with Jericho. It felt so good to see one of my friends from the colonies again.

When we let go, I turned to Diana and Jon. "Diana, Jon, this is Quatre Rababa Winner. Quatre, these are my foster parents, Diana and Jon Christopher."

"Nice to meet you," Quatre said warmly as he shook hands with them. "I've heard a lot about you from Duo, and I express the deepest thanks of all our friends for what you're doing for him."

Diana and Jon smiled at him. "What are your plans for the day?" Jon asked.

"Just showing Quatre around town. I was thinking maybe we could go the museum. I'll be back by four though," I told them as I pulled on my coat and boots.

"Alright. You boys have fun," Diana said. "See you later!"

The limo Quatre had come in wasn't incredibly big, but it still was obviously a limo. A couple of neighborhood kids were standing along the sidewalk, peering at it as we got in. Quatre smiled at them and waved. They all backed away shyly.

"People around here aren't really used to seeing things out of the ordinary," I told him as the chauffer shut the door behind us.

He laughed. "Then how have you survived here?"

"I avoid most people," I replied.

"Oh."

We drove to the mall and got out, telling the chauffer to come pick us up in an hour. We walked around the mall, looking at different stores and talking. Quatre told me about how his family business was going. He was turning into quite the businessman. Apparently the company was expanding and starting a branch on Earth, which was why he was on Earth in the first place. He told me that Trowa's circus troop was doing very well, and that Trowa was becoming very well known for his acrobatics. Heero worked for the Preventers, and his permanent assignment was to guard Relena. WuFei was also working for the Preventers, and there were whispers of him and Sally becoming an item in the near future. I didn't see it happening though; those two were arguing every time I saw them together. Zechs and Noin had disappeared somewhere—presumably together—a few days before, and no one had heard anything from them since.

"They probably eloped," I said grinning as we stopped to get fruit smoothies.

"That is the general consensus," Quatre said, returning my grin.

After the mall, Quatre and I went to the local museum. They had a lot of exhibits on the native people of the area, and Quatre spent a lot of time looking at those displays. I had already been to the museum with my history class, so I explained stuff to Quatre that he didn't understand. I didn't tell him that Jericho had done the same thing for me when I had first visited the museum. In fact, I was trying really hard not to think of Jericho because it just reminded me that she was going out to dinner with Quatre that night.

"Duo, are you all right?" Quatre asked. "You're awfully quiet today."

"Oh, I'm fine," I replied, giving him a big smile. Like many of my smiles, I knew it was fake but he didn't. "I was just thinking about someone."

Quatre put a hand on my shoulder. "We all miss Hilde, Duo. And we all miss you. You should have seen the fit Heero threw when Lady Une first announced that you were being sent to Earth. I thought for sure he was going to shoot her."

I raised my eyebrows. "He threw a fit over it?" I hadn't even realized he had cared that much about me being sent away.

"Yeah," Quatre said. "He got really mad, and yelled at Lady Une, saying how the last thing you needed was to be pulled away from us when we were your family. It took me, Trowa, and WuFei to hold him back."

"Wow. I didn't know about that," I said, looking at the floor.

"We figured it would just make the move more stressful for you if you knew how upset we all were over it."

I was speechless. I was the last person I would expect Heero to throw a fit over.

"Hey Duo, what's this exhibit of?" Quarter asked, walking over to another display case.

"Those are weapons," I answered, assuming Jericho's role once again.

Much to my dismay, four o'clock did finally roll around and sooner than I would have liked, we were pulling into Jericho's driveway.

Quatre and I got out of the car and went up the front walk. I rang the bell, and Megan answered the door.

"Hi Duo," she said as she let us in. "Jericho should be down in just a minute. Who's your friend?"

"Megan, this is my friend Quatre Rababa Winner. Quatre, this is Jericho's mom, Megan Van Buren."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Van Buren," Quatre said politely as they shook hands.

Jericho appeared at the top of the stairs. She was wearing a black ankle length skirt that had a slit up the side, and a red Chinese style blouse. She had done her hair up into a bun with a pair of fancy chopsticks. She was putting earrings in as she came down the stairs. She looked beautiful.

"Hey Duo," she said smiling. "How do I look?"

"You look…you look amazing," I said, my eyes wide. I took a deep breath and tore my eyes from her. "Jericho, you remember Quatre right?"

"Yes, of course I do," she said with a smile, extending her hand to him. "How could I forget him? Nice to finally meet you in person, Mr. Winner."

"Please, call me Quatre," he said, taking her hand and kissing it. Jericho blushed and I nearly gagged. I had never thought Quatre would have been the cheesy-romantic type.

"So, Duo, where are we going out to dinner?" Jericho asked, turning back to me.

I smiled slightly. "You're slightly mistaken, Jericho. I'm not the one taking you out. Quatre is."

Jericho looked from me to Quatre, confused. "What?"

"I called Duo last night, and asked if he would set up a date for you and me," Quatre explained. "He said you would probably enjoy it. Do you still want to go?"

Please say no, I silently begged.

"Well, yes, of course!" Jericho said, beaming at him. "I'm flattered that you want to take me out to dinner."

"Please, Miss Jericho, I'm the one being flattered by your acceptance," Quatre said, smiling back.

I had a feeling I really was going to be sick. Only one thing was keeping me from throwing up there and then, and it was the fact that Quatre was being sincere. He really did like Jericho a lot.

"Shall we go then?" Quatre asked.

"Yes, of course," Jericho said with a nod.

I watched as Quatre helped her into her coat and opened the door for her. It was almost too much for me to handle.

We went outside and walked to the limo. "You know what Quatre, I think I'm gonna walk home."

Quatre laughed. "Don't be silly, Duo. Let me give you a lift home."

"Nah," I said, shaking my head. "I don't wanna be a third wheel. I'll just walk home."

"Oh, Com'n Duo," Jericho said, taking me by the wrist and pulling me towards the limo. "Ride with us! I've never been in a limo before!" She was smiling, and she looked so pretty with her hair and her earrings, that I really wanted to say yes if it meant I could spend just a few more seconds staring at her.

But instead of saying yes, I pulled away from her grasp. "No!" I snapped. Then, taking a deep breath, I said more calmly, "Thanks for the offer Quatre, but I'm serious. I'll just walk home."

Quatre frowned, and I knew I had hurt his feelings by refusing his offer, but that couldn't be helped. "Okay Duo, if that's what you want."

We embraced and said farewell. "I'm not sure when we'll see each other again, Duo," Quatre said, looking somewhat sad. Then he leaned in closer to me. "But I'm sure that if Miss Jericho and I hit it off, you and I will see plenty of each other."

"Sounds great Quatre." God, at that moment, I really just wanted to throttle him.

I stood on the Van Buren's front walk and watched as Jericho and Quatre got into the limo and drove off. When I was sure that they were well out of sight, I let out a small cry of anger and frustration and kicked a nearby tree with all my might. I felt something in my foot pop and winced in pain.

"Are you all right Duo?" I heard Megan's voice call from behind me.

I whirled and saw Megan and David standing on the porch, staring at me with worried expressions. They had seen me kick the tree. I felt the blood rush full-force to my face. "Y…Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "I was just…uh…Just checking the integrity of this tree trunk." I reached out with my foot and lightly kicked the tree again. "Yep, this, uh…this tree is, uh, is definitely up to code. I can tell the local landscaping inspectors that they don't have to worry about this one…I'm gonna go home now."

I turned and limped as fast as I could away from the Van Burens' house.

When I got home, Diana was just putting dinner on the table. "We're eating early tonight because Jon and I are going to go see a movie later. You'll be alright being along here for a couple of hours, right?"

Sighing, I nodded. "I'll probably just spend the night on the computer anyway, doing research for school…or something."

Dinner was really good, but I didn't eat too much. Every time I looked at my plate, I thought about Jericho and Quatre sitting in some nice fancy restaurant, sipping alcohol-free wine and flirting up a storm. Quatre would probably be entertaining her with his stories of growing up as the only boy out of thirty children, or stories of his friends the Maguanac Corps. Jericho was probably hanging on his every word, her face glowing in the candlelight and the light bouncing off her earrings. Knowing my luck, I thought, she's probably falling for him already.

"Where does that leave me?" I mumbled, not realizing I was speaking out loud.

"What was that Duo?" Jon asked, breaking of the sentence he was saying to Diana.

"Nothing," I said quickly. "I was just thinking about homework, that's all."

"Are you feeling alright, Duo? You've hardly touched your shrimp scampi," Diana observed.

I opened my mouth to tell her what was bothering me, but I decided against it. After all, I didn't have to tell them about my love life if I didn't want to. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not hungry. Quatre and I ate a late lunch." It wasn't really a lie. We did have large fruit smoothies around one o'clock, and I was still somewhat full from that.

"Oh, well, if you want, you can be excused. I'll put the leftovers in the fridge and you can heat them up when you get hungry, okay?"

"Okay." I got up from the table and went up stairs. I sat down at my computer and logged on to my messaging system.

To my surprise, WuFei was logged on as well. Turning on my web cam and putting on my headset, I opened a new message window. "Hey WuFei! What's up?"

I knew my message was accepted because I received a video link back from WuFei's computer. The thing though was that it wasn't WuFei on the screen, but Sally. And she looked like she was wearing a dress! She smiled warmly at me. "Hi Duo. How are you?"

My jaw dropped. "Sally! What are you doing on WuFei's computer? Does he know you're using it?" I asked.

She chuckled. "He told me I could use it to check my e-mail while he gets ready to go."

"Go?" I asked. "Go where?"

"We're going to the theater tonight. They're performing Shakespeare's Hamlet," Sally explained. WuFei suddenly appeared behind Sally, dressed in a suit and tie.

"Wait a minute," I cried. "You mean you guys are going…together? As in on a date?"

WuFei raised an eyebrow and leaned in towards the computer. "Yes Maxwell, that is what some people call it."

My jaw dropped even further. What was the world coming too? WuFei and Sally were together? The Apocalypse must be near! I thought.

"Sorry to cut this transmission short, Maxwell, but we're supposed to meet Heero and Relena in half an hour. We need to leave. We'll talk again soon," WuFei said. He closed the connection before I could even say goodbye.

I sat staring at the screen in a daze. Sally and WuFei together? No way! Heero and WuFei agreeing to go on a double date? DOUBLE NO WAY!

"Duo! We're leaving," Diana called from downstairs. "We'll be back around ten."

"Okay," I called back. "You kids have fun!"

I heard the front door close and I was alone.

I sighed and checked my e-mail. Nothing new. I stared at my computer for a moment, thinking. I was bored and trying not to think of Jericho. On a whim, I went to the website for Trowa's circus. I smiled when I saw that Trowa and Catherine were one of the main attractions now, and the opening page of the site was mostly a huge picture of them. I checked the show dates and saw that there wasn't a show that night. I haven't talked to Trowa in a while, I thought. Maybe he'd like to talk for a it.

I dug around in my desk until I found Trowa's phone number. I dialed it and waited eagerly for him to answer.

"Hello?" a female voice answered.

"Uh, hi, this is Duo Maxwell, I'm a friend of Trowa's. Can I please talk to him?"

"Oh, hi Duo! This is Catherine. And I'm sorry; he's out on a date this evening. Is there a message I could give him for you?"

"Um, no, not really. I just sort of called just 'cause I was bored and wanted to talk. If you could tell him I called, that'd be good. He doesn't have to call me back, though."

"Okay," Catherine said, and she sounded like she was smiling. "I'll tell him for you. Thanks for calling Duo. Nice to know that you're not dead."

I forced a natural sounding laugh. "Yeah, well, it's not that easy to get rid of me. Talk to you later Catherine."

"Bye," she said. We hung up.

Groaning, I put my elbows on my desk and put my head in my hands. I couldn't believe my luck! Not only was one of my best friends out on a date with the girl I liked, but the rest of my best friends were out on dates themselves. Even my foster parents were out on a date, and they were old! Well, okay, they weren't old, but they were older than me.

"Why me?" I asked the silence of the house. "Why is it always me that this happens to?"

Since I had nothing better to do, I got out my English assignment and went down to the front room. Benny was asleep on the couch. He woke up and looked at me when I came in.

"Hey Benny buddy," I said, plopping down onto the couch next to him. "Wanna help me read for English?" He answered by licking my hand.

I smiled and settled down to read. We were starting a new unit in English, and we were going to be reading a bunch of short stories and a novel by a man named Ernest Hemingway (1). Our homework over the weekend was to read a packet of information on Hemingway's life.

The beginning of the reading assignment wasn't that bad. In fact, at some points it was down right entertaining. One thing that got me laughing really hard was that Hemingway's mother dressed him as a girl for the first four or five years of his life (2). However, the reading went south for me when it started talking about Hemingway's love life. Apparently, the guy fell in love with a nurse during the First World War, and when that didn't work out, he moved on and got married. In fact, he got married four times (3).

I threw the packet down in disgust. "Hemingway was a chauvinist jerk and he still had more luck in his love life than I do!" I looked at Benny. "I'm a nice guy, right Benny? I mean, I should have girls falling over themselves trying to get to me, right?" Benny looked up at me, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, and he appeared to be smiling. I couldn't tell if he was agreeing with me or laughing at me. I reached over and petted his head. "But then why is it that Quatre…Quatre…is out on a date with Jericho? Am I really that pathetic?"

Benny looked away from me for a minute, then jumped off the couch and trotted into the dining room, almost as if he was saying, "I don't think you want me to answer that."

I watched him go into the dining room. Man's best friend? I thought. Yeah, right.


(1) Ernest Hemingway is my favorite author, and I think everyone should read at least one of his books. I suggest The Old Man and the Sea or some of his shourt stories to start off with. However, be warned: he definitely has…special…opinions on women.

(2) It's true! As an adult, Hemingway was the ideal "macho man", going on safaris and killing things for "sport". However, as a little kid, his mom dressed him in dresses and ribbons. Heh, no wonder he wanted to kill things so much when he was an adult. He probably had a lot of pent up rage from that…

(3) Yes, he did marry four times. I know what you're thinking: PICK A GIRL AND STAY WITH HER! Well, like I told you, he had…special…opinions on women.


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