So it's been more than a month since I updated this and it's short and filled with grammar problems and missing words. I really hate this chapter and it's only half done. It has none of the sap that I was totally going to do, I have to wait until next time because if I try to write it now it'll take another month. Well that's my rant, I hate the end of the school year with all my finals and final projects. But at least I got something out right? I've totally not been able read all my favorite stories or review for them, I'm such a slacker. So this is it, I don't like and I don't expect you to. Don't worry though we get right back to Heero-Duo interaction next time, and I'll try not to take a freaking month to update it. The title is a song by Maroon 5, if anybody wanted to know. So uhm...enjoy!

These Boots Were Made for Racing

Tangled

Duo stretched out on the couch, he had to force himself to not go back out the door and yell at Heero a little more, the big fat jerk. He tried to clear his mind but images of Heero and that blonde making out over a cup of coffee in some non descript hotel lobby kept plaguing his mind. He stared out the window on the other side of the room, memories of the day on the beach floating back to his mind. All the times he had got Heero practically grinning, how close they had been while Heero showed him how to surf, all the jokes the songs the secrets shared. Why did Heero have to go and ruin the best day he had ever had? Well that wasn't entirely true Heero wasn't totally to blame, that damn blonde was. He sighed, that wasn't true either if he hadn't overreacted when he saw that girl in the hallway Heero wouldn't be trying to get back at him like this. Yeah he wasn't blind, knew why Heero was going out with the girl and even though he was glad that it wasn't because he was madly in love with her that still didn't change the fact that Heero was going out with her. He noticed a cheerful little bluebird land on the windowsill and start singing his little heart out in the beautiful morning sun. Duo picked up a magazine off the coffee table, rolled it up, and threw it at the window scaring the bluebird so bad it forgot how to fly for a second. 'Teach you to be so damn happy.' Duo thought as he watched the bird fly away crookedly, to which the bird replied telepathically 'As soon as I see you get in your car I'm crapping on it,' but since Duo couldn't talk to animals he just went back to moodily staring out the window.

When Quatre came in and saw the sour mood Duo was in he cautiously closed the door to the room they shared and slowly approached the braided mechanic sitting across the couch with his arms crossed defensively in front of his chest. Quatre paused when he reached the couch and Duo didn't even look up. The blonde pushed the sullen boy's feet to the side so he could sit down and he heard Duo let out a deep sigh. Yep, Heero Yuy was in deep shit. A few feet away Quatre noticed a stray magazine lying spread out on the floor under the window.

"Well I tried Quatre, guess I was better off before. See, I was right all along. Never let your guard down people are just waiting to stab you in the back." Duo unfolded his arms and swung his legs off the couch. Quatre could sense that if he let Duo leave now then he would never be able to coax the boy back out of his shell. So he put his plan into action right away.

"Duo I think you need a break from all this. Clear your head and stuff. I'm going to go see the owner of that club we went to if you want to come along. He has one of the best pool tables I have ever seen and he's never been beaten. Want to put him in his place?" Quatre was grasping at limbs he knew that Duo wouldn't go unless he wanted to no matter how enticing Quatre made it sound. Duo had a mind of his own and never did anything just because someone else was doing it. Duo was silent for a long time and Quatre started to think that he was never going to answer him.

"I can't believe he's going to go out with her after all that fight he put up about not liking her." Duo said and Quatre sighed. He had hoped to distract the boy from thinking about all that. But he forgot that Duo was not one to be sidetracked easily, especially when something was bothering him.

"I happen to know that he cancelled the date, so can we go out now?" Quatre impatiently tapped his foot as he said this and Duo finally caught on to what the blonde was trying to do. But instead of being his usual evil self and continuing to be hopelessly absorbed in his topic choice, he gave in and let Quatre distract him from all these annoying thoughts.

"Yeah let's go meet your friend, he sounds interesting."

Somewhere in the far corners of space and time, also known as the city park, Heero and Trowa met Wufei and the plans that would alter the rest of their lives were put into action.

Treize's house was as extravagant and large as you would expect it to be based on his club. Duo gawked awkwardly at all the marble statues and huge windows. The garden was fantastic, at least what he could see of it through the gate. Quatre was still trying to figure out which button he pressed on the intercom that would open the gate. He had been at it for nearly fifteen minutes and nothing had even creaked a little. Duo however was having a very relaxing time taking in the scenery and enjoying the curses stringing from the cute little blonde's mouth. After a few minutes a voice cracked over the intercom and Quatre nearly jumped out of his seatbelt.

"There's a password to open the gate, but if you tell me your business here I may be able to buzz you in." Quatre smiled at Duo, it was one of those 'I feel like an idiot' grins that only Quatre could make look cute.

"My name is Quatre Rebarba Winner. I'm here to see Mr. Kushrenada." They waited a few seconds while static cracked over the intercom. Then the voice of the old man was back.

"Mr. Winner, well that's a horse of a different color. Sorry I've always wanted to say that and we don't get many visitors that aren't the press." Duo was cracking up in his seat, he knew he liked this guy Treize's boyfriend, but he got the very distinct feeling that he was going to really enjoy the company of Treize himself too. And if the guy was a jerk then at least he would get to wander around in a freakin' awesome house. The gates swung open and Quatre drove Duo's car onto a long driveway that lead up to the front of the enormous estate. An old man met them at the marble steps that lead up to a huge front door. Duo assumed this was the old man from the intercom.

"Hey buddy nice digs, eh?" The old man smiled politely at Duo.

"Yes, and it's even better when you don't have to pay for, of course I do have to scrub the toilets so I suppose there's a bit of a trade off." Duo chuckled but the old man kept a perfectly straight face. Duo wanted to laugh even harder but the lack of joviality from the rest of his company and he was holding back as best as he could.

"Mr. Winner and Mr. Maxwell I assume." Duo was shocked that the old dude knew his name, but then again it seemed that this Treize guy was aware that they would dropping by so maybe Quatre had called him up or something. Quatre nodded to the old man and he smiled then cleared his throat.

"Master Kushrenada will be expecting you in the billiards room as per requested. If there's anything you need please ask, I live to serve." The old man turned towards the front door and Duo was left on the marble porch clutching his sides almost in pain trying to stop the laughter. The old man was so serious, but the stuff he said was so priceless. He opened the huge door easily enough and they all walked inside. Duo whistled at the expansive hallway and expensive decorations. There was a huge marble staircase to their left but they passed it and headed to the back.

"Welcome to Oz and the Emerald City. We ran out of the precious stones so next week we're painting the marble green. Follow me young masters." Duo gripped his sides and tried not to burst out laughing. How did Quatre keep a straight face? The blonde must have been here before and was used to it. Even better though, how did the butler keep a straight face while he said all this stuff? The butler suddenly turned around and stared right at him, he snapped up and tried his best to stop snickering. God he was failing miserably, maybe it wasn't too obvious.

"I'm sorry I'm not quite right. Anyway we're here and Master Treize is waiting for you." The butler opened the door to a large room, but it wasn't the type of room Duo was expecting at all. He and Quatre walked into an enormous green room with plants and huge windows. It was filled with sunlight and it was beautiful. The butler bowed and shut the door but Duo hardly noticed the old man's retreat he was so shocked by the unusual room. He finally noticed the pool table and his mouth dropped. It was a jungle themed iron and brass piece of art. The legs twisted like squat palm trees and metal palm leafs folded back around the pockets. There were intricate jungle scenes with bronze animals carved in the sides. The chairs were leather bound and had elephant heads on the front of each arm with their trunks traveling down the length of the chair. There was even a little bar in the far corner of the room that had the same bronze jungle look. It was very artistic, Duo was sure he saw a pattern of the juxtaposition of elements. Like the old meets new of the nightclub and now the steel engineering meets natural beauty of this room. Quatre smacked Duo's arm and the braided boy stopped gawking at the room as the sound of deep sophisticated chuckle reached his ears. Duo suddenly noticed that there were quite a few people in the room, how he had missed that was anyone's guess. He was just so taken aback by the amazing atmosphere in this room. A tall elegant man with well-groomed light brown hair and stylish beach clothes stepped out from beside a really tall beach plant. A woman and a girl were standing over on the other side of the room near another set of leather chairs. The woman looked severe with her hair pulled into twin tight buns and a small frown lines permanently etched into her features. The girl next to her was the complete opposite. She had a big smile on her face and waved to the boys when they looked at her. Her short wild hair was died an interesting shade of purple but it looked good on her. Duo thought she looked cool but he couldn't place the slight unease he felt. Maybe it was the ritzy house or the frowning woman next to her, or maybe it was that she was smiling just a little too wide even though the smile it didn't really reach her eyes.

"Quatre Winner, it has been too long. I trust the family is well." Treize smiled warmly and shook the young blonde's hand then turned to Duo and did the same.

"Treize this is my best friend and world class race car driver Duo Maxwell." Quatre introduced politely. Eck, small talk. Not one of Duo's favorite things in the world.

"Of course you are, I recognized you right when you walked in. How could I not with that practically legendary hair." Duo smiled nervously and wrapped the end of his braid around his fingers.

"I would like to introduce you to Lady Une. She and I used to run Oz Corp together, but the company and I had a difference in opinions and now I co-own the nightclub, but Quatre already knows all this." It was Quatre's turn to smile nervously, he was sometimes shocked by the way Treize just put everything out in the open and always had. He wasn't anything like the normal secretive businessman. Duo smiled, in his own way Treize was just as unusual as his butler. He looked like he would be a stuffy aristocrat, and his tone of voice was reminiscent of the apathetic noble class of older days. But the words that came out in that smooth tone were nothing like those that would be expected from a stuffy noble. He spoke his mind and Duo respected that.

"And this is my coworker Hirde, she's young but she has great talent." There was a smile on the young girls face when Une said this that sent chills down Duo's spine. She winked at Duo and he groaned internally, he hated it when flirty girls were thrust at him with no warning. He thought Quatre was taking him here to hang out with that this nightclub owner. Not some scary woman and her horny assistant.

"Duo, Quatre told me you came here to beat me at pool on my own table. I must tell you now that you have no chance." Treize's cool confidence added to his impressive presence. That's what the guy had: presence. You couldn't help but feel in awe of him and you couldn't understand why. But nothing intimidated Duo Maxwell, except the occasional puppy eye from Quatre turned up to full power. The braided driver just smirked his cocky grin and grabbed a pool cue from the wall.

"Never underestimate your opponent." Duo quipped, and Treize smiled ambiguously at the boy.

"Wise advice." The older gentlemen acquiesced and he too selected a cue from the collection on the wall. "Let's make this a team game, Lady would you like to be my partner." The scary woman with glasses looked like she had been insulted and if Duo didn't already dislike both the girls he would have then.

"I would love to be on your team Duo." Piped up the spunky purple haired girl standing next to the wicked witch. If this was Dorothy then Duo wished she'd just click her giddy little heels and fly home. She was cute and all but man did she give him the creeps, there was something almost sinister in the gleam in her eyes. He smiled politely at the girl and she grabbed a cue off the wall then raced over to him.

"Looks like it's you and me then Quatre. I'm sure if we work together we can be victorious, just as we were in getting me out of my contract with Oz. I still can't believe you went into engineering when you have such an uncanny gift for talking circles around the heads of the business world." Treize spoke freely to the group of strangers in his house. Duo's head snapped up at the familiar company name, but he kept his mouth shut. This man either had a lot of power in his corner or a lot of blind confidence. Duo wasn't sure which option he preferred.

"Yeah Q can manipulate the best of them, but he's even better at manipulating complex machinery. And I totally didn't mean that in a sexual way, well not completely anyway." Duo chuckled at the beet red color that filled Quatre's face.

"Duo!" The blonde admonished, but it only made Duo laugh harder. Even Treize couldn't hold back a small snickered when he watched the two interact. Very few could get Quatre flustered, the only one he knew that could do that was a certain beautiful surfer. The club owner turned to Duo with a small smile on his lips.

"You know you remind of . . ."

"If you say me I'll have to smack you, he's cute but he's got nothing on my calves." Came a seductively deep voice from the doorway where stood the tall blonde beach boy that Duo had met the night before. He looked exactly the same except a few more articles of clothing. That luxurious blonde mane fell wildly around him

"Hey, I have kick ass calves." Duo stuck his tongue out at the newest guest.

"Zechs, you finally came." Treize smiled warmly at the blonde in a way that made Duo's stomach clench with loneliness. The man look at the blonde with the deepest love Duo had ever seen in someone's eyes. Duo looked around the room, most people were smiling at the newcomer, but Lady Une was glaring at him with more malice than Duo could have thought possible for one person to have.

And it made him boil over with rage.

"Sorry, that crusty old surfer had me cleaning up his shop just 'cuz I walked in with some sand on my feet." They were so different and yet so perfect for each other. This must be why Treize had such an affinity for designs involving opposing forces that mixed perfectly. For some reason Duo thought of Heero and he realized that he wasn't really mad at the boy and he was tired of being alone. For a second he wanted to just leave the mansion and go find Heero, but he put those thoughts aside and said hello to his old friend from the beach.

"Well then, we were about to have a game of pool but I still seem to be partner-less." Treize said in mock irritation. Lady Une's frown only deepened and Duo wondered why the woman didn't have deep set wrinkles from all the scowling she did. Duo just realized what a strange crowd he had gotten to be friends with. Who would have guessed that a street rat without a name would grow up to be friends with the richest heir on the planet, the ex-CEO of the largest company in the U.S. and a beach bum that was way to obsessed with hair. He must have recently become a collector of oddities or something because this had to be the most eclectic group ever to be gathered in one room.

"Well I'm out, I've never been good at this game." Quatre said to everyone but Duo's surprise. Duo knew that Quatre was secretly a very competitive and that the blonde knew his chances at beating the young driver were small. Not that Duo was full of himself but he and the blonde had played many times and it just wasn't pretty. Poor Quatre was just happy when he got to hit a ball.

"Zechs, will you do me the honor?" Treize extended his pool cue to Zechs and the blonde looked at it like it was the most phallic gesture, but he didn't look offended. On the contrary he winked seductively at his boyfriend while he grabbed the tip of the cue.

"Not until you put a ring on this finger." Zechs smirked and wrapped an arm around his boyfriend's waist while he took the pool cue from him. "Oh you mean for the game. Well teaming up with you ought to be better than getting my ass kicked by you." Zechs laughed a little and Treize pulled another cue off the wall.

"And it is such a nice ass, it would be a shame to mar it." Duo joked playfully. Treize smiled as Zechs shook his butt a little while he walked around the pool table.

"Well then, it's settled. Let's get down to business." Treize shook his head at his boyfriend's antics. This was why he loved this man, he had no fear and was always true to himself everyone else be damned.

"Your table, you break." Duo said and he leaned on his cue stick.

"Nonsense you are my guest, you do the honors." Treize offered politely and Zechs nodded his in emphatic agreement.

"Suit yourself." Duo strolled over to the other side of the pool table where most of the balls were gathered. He racked them up with a little flare then strutted back around to line up his cue ball. He took it to the corner, he got more power in his shot from an angle. He cracked his knuckles, popped his neck, leaned way over the table, lined up his shot and sent the fall flying across the table. It hit the perfect triangle of colorful balls at the other end and they scattered. Three went in, two of them were stripes and Duo's gloating smirk said it all. His perfect break had the group in awe, even Treize quirked his finely arched eyebrow. Which was his equivalent of the "Oh shit" that Zechs had just muttered.

"Guess we'll take stripes." Duo said with that cocky smirk firmly in place. Hirde walked over to his side and proudly took hold of his arm smiling proudly up at him. The familiarity with which she treated him was both cool and creepy. He wasn't sure yet if he wanted to befriend the girl or slowly back away then make a run for it. Street instincts from his younger days were firing like Peter Parker's spidey sense. There was something going on though with her that was dulling his senses, he usually had an uncanny judge of character but this girl was sending all kinds of mixed signals and he couldn't tell what she was all about, and that freaked him out.

"Duo's had a bit of practice at this game." Quatre added with a subtle hint of sarcasm.

"You grow up on the streets, you learn to play its games. I made a lot of money hustling people with this. Fed a lot of the guys." Duo walked around and lined up his next shot. He put a little English on the cue and sent it into one of his balls, which ricocheted off another one of his striped balls and went into the side pocket while it sent the one it hit into a corner pocket. Hirde giggled and Zechs' mouth dropped. Treize looked curiously at the braided boy.

"Where are you from?" Treize asked calmly but Duo caught something in the old man's eyes. But he spoke so casually that you almost couldn't stop yourself from spilling your guts like he was your lifelong friend or something. But Duo was a master at using nonchalance as a weapon and he didn't think Treize was dangerous, just curious.

"West Coast, the Valley." Duo's response was curt and Quatre walked over to stand close to Treize. He was trying to give him the signal to back off this topic, but the CEO had never understood how to keep his mouth shut.

"Ah the Valley, one of the areas Oz Corp was responsible for." Treize commented offhandedly and Duo understood the look he had seen in the man's eyes. Guilt.

"Yeah I wasn't going to say anything, but those guys were the main reason that our district was impoverished. That company promised jobs and resources, but they took what they could from us then shut down the factory. It was a chemical factory and a lot of the clean up was done quickly and carelessly when it shut down. A massive outbreak of disease swept our district and we were too poor to get the vaccine. A lot of people died." Duo didn't mean to rub it into the guy's conscience, but he had a feeling that Treize already knew all this anyway. In fact with the way the man had been directing the conversation, Duo wouldn't be surprised if Treize had somehow already known that he was from that district.

"Yes, I remember that incident, I believe I cited it as a prime example when I quit. Though sadly I had many examples to choose from. I believe some of you did get that vaccine though didn't you?" Treize's curiosity had a very human element in it that Duo wouldn't have expected from a businessman. It was as though Duo's answer would affect the man on a personal level.

"Yeah from and anonymous donor." Duo thought he saw relief briefly pass over the man's face, it was well hidden but Duo was an expert at reading people's subtleties. It made him great at poker, he could pick up tells almost immediately.

"It was you?" Duo said it as more of a statement than a question and Treize looked impressed, he was sure that the only person who knew was Zechs, which meant that the boy had been able to guess. This boy would have made a very impressive businessman with that kind of intuition. If he and Quatre had gone in together, Treize was sure they would have been an unstoppable team. Perhaps they could have even given Dr. J and Oz Corp a run for their money.

"Yeah Treize couldn't stand all the nasty shit that went down at that place. I mean that damn company makes up nearly half the world's economy, and it can't bother to take care of its people." Zechs spat out angrily and Duo got the feeling that's the blonde surfer had personal experience with the 'nasty shit' that company did. Whether he had been a victim or another employee was unclear to Duo but there was definitely some kind of personal vendetta.

"And the owner of that company is just damn creepy. Evil scientist, that's what he reminds me of. I wouldn't doubt it if the old guy had an army of genetically engineered children that he sent out to do his bidding." Zechs shivered dramatically.

"Dr. J is a little off his rocker, but mad scientist…I'd believe it." Treize shrugged but something in his eyes told Duo that the guy wasn't just joking. Duo looked around at the rest of the group and decided that every one else was ready to drop the conversation about the company.

Duo lined up his next shot and easily sank another ball, leaving just two more but they were difficult shots. He would either have to use three walls or try a lot of spin to get either shot. It must be the conversation screwing up his focus, it was a pretty touchy subject after all. And that name, Dr. J. Why did that sound so familiar? He was sure he had heard it somewhere before.

"You know I get the feeling that you like to ask questions that you already know the answers to, Mr. Kushrenada. For example, I think you knew exactly where I came from. How?" Duo asked bluntly much to Quatre's frustration, he had brought Duo here to take his mind off his troubled past but it just seem to be in the cards. Treize, on the other hand, only looked even more impressed by the boy. This boy's amazing natural talent was inspirational. He had been putting off his final plan for taking out Oz Corp, but maybe it was about time to seek retribution for the thousands out there with pasts just like Duo's or even worse.

"The way you talk, it's not exactly an accent but it's recognizable if you've spent enough time down there." It was a half cryptic answer that Duo didn't feel like pushing. His past was already becoming too entwined with this that man that he barely even knew. He didn't have to worry about that though since their conversation was in abruptly interrupted.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to make a phone call." Came the chilling voice of Lady Une. Her eyes glowed deadly behind her glasses and her tight hair pulled her eyes making her glare twice as sharp and scary. She walked ramrod straight with very determined footsteps. The door swung closed heavily behind her and Duo cringed. Zechs walked over and patted Duo's shoulder.

"Don't let her get to you." He said smiling ruefully. "She's just a lot of hot air, mind you she can be very frightening, but I'm her main target so you have nothing to fear."

"Why are you her target?" Duo asked and Zechs' smile turned practically lecherous.

"When Treize worked for that horrible company, she was another one of his colleagues. She was madly in love with him. I don't blame her, but he never returned the feelings. She couldn't let go though and when I started at the company she immediately hated me because Treize and I got along so well. Then when we started dating she set her heat seeking missiles on me. But don't worry she's nothing I can't handle." He smiled and winked at the braided racer. Duo smiled back at the blonde surfer. So he had worked for the company, what a change in lifestyles.

"So how about we get back to the game, I've got you right where I want you." Zechs said, he was trying to get off of this grim topic of conversation and Duo was happy to comply.

"You were planning on loosing miserably to me." Duo goaded, he could use a change in subject this was just a little to invasive for his tastes.

"Just take your shot." Zechs said in mock irritation.

"You're funeral." Duo shrugged and walked around the edge of the table looking for the best way to line up this very difficult shot.

Hirde watched Lady Une walk out of the room. The tension in the air had been palpable all afternoon. It made her nervous that the Lady was already reporting to Dr. J. Not to mention that she looked even more pissed off than usual. Was she going to tell him that Hirde wasn't doing her job? But that just wasn't true, she had been studying Duo's every move very closely. She had searched for information about the boy that she could use later on. She already had the fake suicide note planned based on the tiny bit of info the boy had given away about his past. She had also noticed that the boy had a strong competitive spirit and she knew exactly how she could use that to her advantage. Dr. J had told her all about the little blonde's school project. Killing this kid was going to be a walk in the park.

Okay so boring right? but it's just set up stuff, next chapter sap! Sap galore...muahahaha! Hmm... I'm out of crap to rant about, so review and yell at me and stuff. It'll be good for us all. Theraputic. Man I didn't even use a song in the text that I could explain, oh well guess my ranting is done for now, but I shall return. That was meant to be said in Venture Brothers Dr. Orpheas voice. Okay see ya next chapter.