AN: YAY! (Squeezes Chapter) This one was so much fun to write! And I said I'd warn you in advance so I am: the next chapter is LEMON! That's chapter FIVE not this chapter. You could skip it and not miss any major plot developments but why would you be reading R rated fiction unless you wanted the yummy yaoi, ne? Hope you haven't lost interest in this story. Writing is slow at the moment which is due to my distinct lack of free time and general good mood. I have to be in a kind of dead-pan glaze to write. Enjoy!


Chapter Four:

Duo met the others at the elevators at nine as organised and grinned smugly at them.

"We've decided that we all hate you." Wufei smirked dangerously.

"Naw, it's not all that bad now, is it?" Duo smirked back. He surveyed his masterpieces and felt he'd done a good job with each one down to each little detail, "Lime green's not so bad on you, now, is it, Trowa?" The perfect soldier, poker-faced and detached said nothing, "Goes well with the shirt." The shirt in question was a beetroot purple-pink.

"You're evil, pure evil." Quatre said defensively.

"Not pure evil... just a little." Duo replied mischievously and then added, "To the drinks!"

"We look like a bunch of fools." Wufei growled.

"Don't worry, we won't be the only ones."

"What do you mean by that?"

Duo only gave him a sly smirk and a tilt of the head as they all boarded the elevator. He pressed in the floor number on the panel and the small, mirrored room whirred steadily into motion. They each studied their own reflections on the walls in silence. Duo smiled as steadily as the journey and fixed his hat at a slightly jauntier angle.

As the doors slid open onto the bar floor, loud ethnic-urban dance music poured down the hall and into the elevator. Duo grabbed Heero's wrist firmly before he could reach for the panel again and dragged him out. The others followed cautiously albeit intrigued.

"Why do I get the impression that I'm going to severely regret tonight?" Heero grumbled, adjusting his scarlet collar to hide a little more of his face, praying they wouldn't blend before long.

"Is this all your doing, Maxwell?" Wufei asked, delving his hands further into his PVC pink trench coat and surveying the decorations as they neared the bar. Brightly coloured masks and streamers littered the walls. Duo caddishly shrugged at him and turned the corner through open glass doors into the bar room.

A live band was playing on a raised platform in the middle of the bar. They wore masks similar to the ones adorning the walls of the hall and the three un-paned walls of the bar and the bar itself and a moat of a dance floor surrounded them. A number of energetic people flamenco-ed their way on it. The band consisted of tall dark Hispanics with acoustic guitars, drums, singer and keyboard. The music itself was rhythmic, intricate, tuneful, and original.

The bar was packed, not uncomfortably, with people dressed in theme or out, but the former reigned somewhat. The five of them were most certainly not out of place. They relaxed. Duo was already heading for the bar before the others could take in the spectacle.

"I refuse to let any of you order the boring old stuff! We're all having cocktails, I don't care what kind, as long as it's multi-coloured and alcoholic." He said as he waved a hand at the barmaid. Quatre cleared his throat meaningfully, "No, I don't care, Cat, you're having at least one drink. You can all go back to the boring stuff when you're plastered enough not to care."

The barmaid sauntered over amiably and asked for their order.

"Five of anything that is multicoloured and alcoholic." Duo smiled.

"There's a list of cocktails and punches just behind me, sir." She smiled back beneath a half-masked face, or was it a half-faced mask?

"What do you recommend?" Duo's smile broadened.

"Personally?" She raised a hand to the rather low collar line of her dress thoughtfully, obviously flirting. Duo nodded so she continued, "Well, I love Chariots of Fire but a popular one tonight is Midnight Cowboy." She paused and licked her glossed red lips, "But in my spare time I do a little fortune telling, I could read your... and your friends' palms to decide your perfect drinks if you like?"

Duo raised his eyebrows at his waiting companions who looked back at him, amusement evident on their faces.

"Yeah, why not. Can't hurt now can it?" Duo grinned back at the barmaid.

"I don't bite." She smiled like a temptress and extended a well-manicured hand across the bar, leaning forward over the worktop to expose a little more cleavage. The five of them pulled up stools.

She went to Wufei first who looked fairly bored with idea. No doubt he didn't admire the novelty of fortune telling and obviously found the "skill" farcical and nonsensical. She ignored his disdain, however, and after a few moments exclaimed, "Black Belt!" And started to fix up a drink, her back turned to them. She had finished her work not a minute later and ran the slender glass filled with a mahogany coloured liquid across the bar to Wufei.

"Don't drink it yet." She said softly and winked, "Wait for your friends. I want a joint reaction." She then turned to Quatre and took his hand across the bar. His cheekbones took on a rosy hue as she stared intently at his palm and ran a painted red fingernail down its' lines, "Angeles Mist!" She repeated the drink-making process with different ingredients. A tall cocktail glass glided across the polished surface to Quatre. Its' contents were a mixture of pale orange and creamy yellow; a pineapple slice adorned the rim.

Next she turned to Trowa and was finished with his order just as quickly. "Knightsbridge" found its' way to Trowa, a vaguely green misty concoction with a slice of lime in a wine glass. Then was Heero's "Pernod and Black", which was thick and black in a taller wine glass. She at last turned to Duo and took his hand in cool fingers.

"Ah yes, perfect. Chariots of Fire it is!"

Not long after a flaming red drink made its' way to Duo's outstretched hand.

"Drink up and enjoy!"

The five stared fearlessly at their drinks and then pressed them to anticipating lips. A murmur of pleasure rang only moments after their first sips. The barmaid clapped her hands together in glee.

"I told you! Now try eachother's!" She fizzed excitedly. They reluctantly swapped drinks. Duo almost spat Wufei's out: to him it was revolting. The others received similar reactions to one another's.

"I told you! You all have very strong characters that prescribe strong drinks. As you are all also very different individuals the drink for you is very different from the drink of your friend. Those are on the house but any more you want you'll have to pay for... and believe me, you'll want more!"

"Actually anything we buy tonight is on Mr. Balking. You can check if you must. The name's Maxwell." Duo said politely, sniffing his cocktail happily.

"That's an interesting talent you have! You must be a valuable asset to any bar!" Quatre was impressed by the woman's extraordinary skill.

"Actually when I applied for the job I didn't tell them about my hobby. I don't get paid any extra, but the tips make up for it and more!" She beamed, fiddling with a lock of blonde, wavy hair.

"I'll bet they do." Duo sipped his drink.

After an hour and a number of other drinks the music began to sound incredibly appealing. Duo, taking advantage of the situation stood up off his stool and took hold of Quatre's elbow.

"Hey."

He had only seen Quatre drunk once before when he took him out for a bar crawl and wasn't entirely uncertain that that was the only other time the blonde had been drunk. At that time they had ended up at some seedy club, dancing inappropriately with a heated mass of sweaty bodies. What a bad influence he had on the innocent young man. One hidden secret had been discovered that night though: Quatre knew how to dance and was actually good... stunningly, professionally good. Duo assumed that it must be his rich-boy background and all those balls and ballets. No wonder the poor boy wore pink.

"Hey, Quatre?"

"Mn?" Quatre swivelled himself around and attempted to fix Duo with a quizzical look, still sipping 'Sex on the Beach' through a straw.

"You wanna come join me on the floor?" Duo grinned at him imploringly.

"Duo! I needed to talk to you!" Quatre cried, putting down his drink.

"Okay, but we can do that and dance, right?"

Quatre shook his head the straw still in his mouth. After noticing he put it away and nodded, "Okay." He sat there for a few moments looking at Duo, "What you mean now?"

"Yes! Come on!" Duo pulled him down off his stool and dragged him off into the midst of moving bodies.

"Well, you see I wanted to ask you about..." Quatre tried to say as Duo dragged him into a free space, "...When did the band change costume?"

"It's a different band. What were you saying?" Duo said, feeling the rhythm that Quatre had already picked up.

"I like your hat."

"Thanks. No, Quatre, you said you wanted to talk to me! About what?"

"Hum..." Quatre looked up at the decorated ceiling trying to recollect, "Oh, yes! Well, I was worried, you see."

"Quatre you always worry, that's no news." Duo sighed, he wasn't drunk enough to stand Quatre's vagueness, in fact he was only just verging on tipsy, but Quatre was hushing him with hand signals and a peeved face.

"Shush! I was saying that I was worried about you and this whole thing."

Duo gave him a bemused look.

"DON'T give me that! You know exactly what I'm talking about! You've been a rack ever since Heero proposed to Miss Relena." Quatre poked him sharply in the ribs.

"A wreck." Duo corrected him.

"Exactly! You know it was as har' a decision for him to make as for you to han'le but you've got to stop beating yourself up about it. You said you' be okay, that you' un'erstood but it's..." Quatre swallowed and wrapped his arms around Duo in a tight hug, "It's obvious to everyone that you're not. You can try to laugh it all away in front of us but you forget that we're the ones that know you the best."

"Quatre I-"

"You don't talk to me anymore. I want to help you. I want to be there for you." Quatre buried his face in Duo's shirtfront. There was a pause as they stood still on the floor as other dancers brushed past them, "You're so skinny." Quatre pulled back, his bright blue eyes wet but smiling.

"Thanks." Duo said softly, giving Quatre's shoulders a quick squeeze before releasing them. His own eyes were bone-dry.

"No, I mean it! You're all skin and bones." Quatre prodded his ribs again.

"I always have been!" Duo shrank away, falling back into the beat of the music.

Quatre frowned and made a suspicious noise before perking up as the band started a new piece, "Oh, I love this song!"

A weird rendition of Ryuichi Sakamoto's 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence' was starting up with original lyrics by the new band. It was catchy and easy to get into but Duo was no longer in the mood for dancing.

"Is it alright if I leave you to it? I need a break."

Quatre nodded cheerfully and leaning on Duo's shoulder lest he fall over added, "Can you send Trowa over here?" Duo grinned knowingly, gave him a jazz-style spin and headed off in the direction of his vacated seat at the bar.

When he neared, a gaggle of LBDs (Little Black Dresses) with long stockinged legs sprouting out underneath revealingly and hair of varying lengths and shades growing out of the top barred his view of his seat and undoubtedly claimed it. He squinted his eyes in disapproval and stalked up to them.

"Ladies." He cleared his throat. They parted slightly to face him so he ceremoniously bowed his hat to them, "Evening. Would it be to much trouble for me to return to my seat?"

"Oh, you're cute." One of the LBDs said imperiously.

"Thank you, madam." Duo smirked wickedly, 'madam' looked horrified. He caught sight of his three other companions: the obvious focus of the gaggle's attention. Wufei was gripping his glass a little tighter than usual, Trowa was trying desperately to detach himself from the situation, and Heero glared at him meaningfully.

"I leave you alone for ten minutes and you're already flirting with whatever wench will set eyes on you." Duo cried stalking up to him and his occupied seat, "Do I make you that desperate every time I leave? Or was it because I didn't give you a goodbye kiss?"

Without warning Duo reached forward, put Heero's whiskey glass to one side, cupped his face in his hands and pressed into him with a ridiculously intrusive kiss, tongue assaulting his mouth vehemently. When he finally withdrew Heero's face was flushed from shock.

"Now, don't do it again." Duo said sulkily and straightened Heero's tie.

The LBDs had retreated considerably.

"Sorry for the misunderstanding!" Duo grinned at them and sat down in his recently vacated seat. They muttered a few apologies and drifted off down the bar.

"That wasn't necessary." Heero grunted, not looking Duo in the eye.

"Fun though! Besides, I'm sure Relena would rather it was my tongue down your throat than those bimbos. Trowa, Quatre wants you," Duo sucked at the roof of his mouth and tasted, "Mmm... Scotch."