Chapter 4---Oblivious

Duo handed his son his coat as they finished getting ready to go to Quatre's so they could find the park that was holding the picnic. Liam frowned angrily as he completely ignored his father because he had been forced to wear the tan khakis with a blue and white polo shirt. He absolutely hated khakis and he thought even less of polo shirts and hated that he was doing it because the people at Quatre's picnic were too stuffy to let a kid just have fun.

"You can't ignore me forever Li." Duo said trying to hide his smile from his red headed son. Liam turned his head away as Duo bent down to button up the light jacket. "I love you anyway and besides it's not my fault you have to wear this hideous outfit." Duo said as he finished getting his son ready.

Duo ran to his room leaving his son in the living room as he quickly changed into casual tan khakis and a close fitting white polo shirt himself. He quickly braided his hair and put a clasp at the end so that no frays would show. He had washed himself with frankincense and myrrh this time and he carried a sweet tangy aroma that was nearly edible. Walking back out Duo put on some white sneakers and smiled at his still frowning son.

"If you keep frowning you're going to get frown lines by the time your six." Duo said with a chuckle as Liam pouted in an irritated fashion. Duo leaned over and kissed his son on the forehead and gave him a light hug despite his son's behavior. "I love you even though you're being a grouch." Duo said with a smile.

"And I love you even though you're making it impossible to have fun outside!" Liam said a vague smile passing over his face as he and his father said their ritual. Whenever one was angry or irritated at the other they would say they love them anyway this way no matter what the last thing out of each other's mouth would be something good to remember. Duo ran his fingers through his son's hair affectionately as he picked up his son for a quick hug.

"DAD!" Liam yelled as he felt his father place a light kiss on his forehead. Duo chuckled as he set his son down. The pair walked out of the apartment quietly as they went to get into Duo's car.

Liam jumped into the little vehicle and immediately turned on the radio when Duo turned on the car. The two long haired guys steadily laughed and sung to the random songs that came from the little radio. They smiled and laughed, Liam's sweet innocent laughter ringing in Duo's ears, while Duo's warm soothing smiles and chuckles imprinted itself into the mind of one little boy.

"I see Uncle Quatre!" Liam yelled loudly in the car his young voice rising over the music. Duo laughed as he saw his blonde friend wave back at his son with Danae in his arms. Duo frowned as he saw what Danae was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt. He knew Quatre's parties very well and he knew that allowing Liam to go dressed like that was an impossibility that probably went beyond the possibility of Liam not noticing that he had to wear "dressy" clothes and she didn't.

"DAD! Why isn't Danae all dressed up!" Liam yelled outraged. His vibrant amethyst eyes turned to look at his father indignation blazing. Duo shrugged as he turned into Quatre's driveway and noticed that Quatre was fully dressed and ready in beige pants that were excellently cut with a pale blue dress shirt tailored to seem both casual and formal, but Trowa like his auburn haired daughter was wearing jeans and a shirt.

"Hey Li!" Danae said brightly as she jumped from her father's arms and ran towards Liam who was getting out of the car in a huff. Liam turned around his eyes warring between showing anger and showing joy as he saw one of his best friends. Deciding on joy the two children ran into Quatre's house laughing and playing a game of tag.

"Hey Q, what's going on?" Duo asked as he raised an eyebrow at Trowa who had followed the children back into the house.

"You love me don't you?" Quatre asked with a smile his blue eyes beginning to implore Duo for something the long haired man knew he wasn't going to like.

"No you don't Q, no! Whatever it is, the answer is no!" Duo said backing up as he suddenly found his arms full of a blonde Arabian man with the most heartbreaking blue eyes that he had ever seen.

"They turned the picnic into a more formal adult thing, and so we couldn't find a babysitter and so Trowa can watch the kids, but you can still go with me, because then I won't be bored. I love you so much Duo!" Quatre said quickly as he hugged his friend again. Duo sighed audibly as he hugged his friend back, he hated going to Quatre's stuffy events and he hated that Trowa seemed to always be able to get out of them and replace himself with one braided friend of his. Duo frowned, he would get that one eyed monster back for this one, and if Quatre was already begging then that meant it would be really boring.

"No." Duo said turning around as if to get back into the car. He absolutely hated those events when the people were all stuffy and boring, last time he had made a sculpture out of forks, napkins, and those strange spork things. Quatre hugged his friend harder and Duo knew sadly that he wouldn't resist the little blonde, he never could probably because Quatre was Satan, it was either that or he was a total softy. Duo smiled at his thoughts as he once again hugged his friend and nodded his head in a defeated manner.

"Thank you so much Duo. Trowa can watch the kids and we can go, we only have to be there for two hours and then we can leave." Quatre promised in a pleading tone.

"Alright Q, no problem we can go, but after two hours we are leaving, period. Do I make myself clear?" Duo said with an eyebrow raised his tone not allowing for any argument. Quatre nodded with a huge smile as he motioned for Duo to get into the green Mercedes that was waiting for them. Duo sighed as he turned to get into the car suddenly finding himself being hugged again.

"Quatre, I already…." Duo started before he realized that he was being hugged by his red headed heart. "Did Uncle Trowa tell you what's going on?" Duo asked as he picked his son up with a smile.

"Yup, Uncle Trowa said we are going to the amusement park and you're going to go to some boring corporshun thing." Liam said stumbling over the word corporation. Duo smiled as he hugged his son tightly for a moment and then set him back down.

"Yup, I let Uncle Quatre trick me into going to another boring meeting thing, but you go have fun at the amusement park, and remember to be good and listen to uncle Trowa." Duo warned remembering the one time his son and Danae had tied Trowa up on the porch and left him there for an hour.

"Ok Dad, I will be good. I will even win you one of those bears for your bed." Liam said brightly running back towards the house chasing a sudden flash of auburn whom Duo assumed to be Danae. Duo smiled as he thought of his son who always seemed to be thoughtful even when it wasn't expected, Liam was definitely a giving young child.

"You ready Duo?" Quatre asked mildly trying not to sound as if he was forcing Duo. Duo smiled inwardly he was going to make Quatre regret this and possibly get a pair of leather pants out of the deal. He chuckled ominously to himself as he put on a slightly hurt and irritated look on his face.

"I guess Q, I mean you know it's not what I thought it was, but for you I'd do anything." Duo said dramatically his amethyst eyes looking sincere. Quatre looked at his friend briefly with a slight smirk as he realized Duo wasn't really angry with him.

"Don't you go trying that guilt trip on me, last time you did I ended up buying you an Armani suit!" Quatre said with a laugh as the two men got into the car and lowered the top. Duo laughed as he remembered why Quatre spilling coffee on his suit just before he went to the college admissions office, but what he had forgotten to tell the blonde Arabian was that he was already accepted and was simply going to get a personal tour. Quatre had been both relieved and livid when he found out especially after a very sharply cut three thousand dollar suit had been delivered to Duo's home.

"Q you're the one who assumed..." Duo said laughing as he ducked a lightly slap from Quatre who was grinning brightly. Duo laughed with his friend as they continued down the road his mind trying to figure out what he was going to do for the next two hours to make time go by quickly.

"Here we are." Quatre said lightly as they turned into the bright park. It was a beautiful day actually with the bright sunny sky that was cooled down by the bright fluffy clouds and the moderate wind. The park was splendid with lush green grass that looked like it had just been cut and fixed, knowing Quatre and his company it probably had been Duo thought with a smile.

On the field there was a nice assortment of picnic tables filled with people dressed casually and eating politely. Quatre grabbed a blanket and umbrella while Duo grabbed the foldable chairs that he had got Quatre after a very dirty beach trip that had resulted in both men picking grains of sand from their pants for a whole day.

"Mr. Winner, welcome you as always are throwing a fantastic event." A man with brown hair said enthusiastically causing Duo to force himself to restrain a remark about bootlicking.

"Darius we are at a social event, call me Quatre." Quatre said in a friendly tone as he laid his hand on the man gently and moved towards the people with Duo right behind him. Darius nodded as he turned to walk towards another executive.

"Just got here and the bootlicking has already started." Duo snickered causing Quatre to slap him playfully before they chose a spot that was shaded by a tall tree. Duo smiled as he looked at the tree thinking of how Liam would love to climb the heavy and strong branches which hung out powerfully and looked as if it were holding out an invitation to be climbed. Duo promised himself that he'd bring Liam here just to climb that tree.

"Now I have to go mingle and make people love Q even more." Duo thought to himself with a smile as he realized he'd probably ruffle more than a few of the pompous executives and their sniveling yes-men. He walked to the food table and grabbed himself a plate and began filling it up with some of the bright green grapes and lush pieces of watermelon that seemed to be bursting with flavor.

Reaching for a piece of grilled chicken he turned around as Larry one of Quatre's decent employees that actually didn't mind disagreeing and showing his own opinion, called him. "Oh damn, I'm sorry." Duo turned back around as he realized he had bumped into another person and by the sound of the sudden thump had probably made them drop their plate. He found himself slightly speechless however when he found himself swimming in brilliant blue depths.

"Hey it's Mr. Blue Eyes." Duo said with a bright smile as he found himself staring at Heero. Duo bent down to pick up the piece of chicken and various fruits that had fallen to the ground and threw them away as he grabbed another plate and began to fix Heero another one.

"Guess once a server always a server." Duo said with a smile as he handed Heero the newly made plate. Heero stood still watching Duo carefully as if judging if he were there or as if he was wondering what to do with the long haired man.

"Thank you. I guess we were going to the same event." Heero said a bit awkwardly causing Duo to snicker.

"I think you should be a detective, you definitely have a knack for figuring out the most obscure things and making them seem obvious. Heero frowned as if trying to figure out what to say next.

"Don't think so hard Heero, I was messing with you come on sit with me while I eat. I actually do eat sometimes you know, I swear I'm not a waiter all the time." Duo said brightly as he went towards the little lawn set that he and Quatre had brought with them.

"You know I didn't even ask if you had a little set or something." Duo said suddenly realizing he had possibly dragged Heero away from a date or something.

"I'm not here with anyone and I was going to sit back with a group of colleagues, but…well I'd rather sit with you." Heero said a little stutter slipping in before he finished his sentence.

"Too stiff over there." Duo said with a smile as he nodded towards the group of young employees sitting at a table somehow managing to look as if they were dressed in suits despite the fact that they weren't.

"No, but I'd at least have a reason to get stiff with you." Heero muttered before he could stop himself. Duo looked over at him quickly his eyebrow rising in question.

"Did you say something Heero?" Duo asked lightly wondering if he had heard the man speak, he was finding that Heero wasn't a very talkative person. Heero nodded in the negative as they began eating their food while watching and waving at various people.

"So what do you do for the company anyway?" Duo asked as he chewed on a piece of grilled chicken his purple eyes sparkling with curiosity and sparking a strange feeling in Heero. The blue eyed man looked at the braided man for a brief moment watching as the sun painted his face with golden rays and giving his chestnut hair an almost reddish hue. He had never seen someone he'd call stunning or radiant, but Duo seemed to have something different, he seemed so bright and full of life that it just came from every pore.

"Earth to Blue-Eyes!" Duo said with a laugh as he watched Heero blink almost owlishly as if being snatched from a dream. Heero ducked his head in an attempt to hide the flushing of his cheeks. "Where was your mind at Heero?" Duo asked with a smile.

"On how beautiful you are." Heero said softly without thinking. Duo blinked slightly wondering if he had heard the statement then decided he had to have misheard.

"I work as the chief programmer for the company." Heero said in a small voice forcing Duo to strain to hear the fairly silent youth. "I graduated from Harvard University and went to work for an architectural firm right out of college, I found that it was to my liking, it was a perfect blend of art and solitude." Heero said in an uncharacteristically long sentence.

"Wow, I didn't know you knew that many words." Duo said with a huge smile when Heero finished talking earning himself a glare.

"Baka!" Heero said reaching over to swipe at the laughing man whose amethyst eyes seemed to sparkle with mirth.

"That's cool Heero, I absolutely love art. It's my life I love the way it feels when you're looking at a piece of art. It's like you can feel the soul of the painter just running through your veins." Duo said with a tinge of awe in his voice as he thought of some of his favorite painters the names of Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, and then he remembered with a great fondness the unknown painters that he knew were amazing in their own special way.

"Art is so energetic and so full of everything that in my opinion expresses the best of humanity." Duo said with a huge smile as he talked. Heero watched him with a small smile talking when he wanted to say something, but enjoying just watching and listening to the braided man whose very voice seemed to excite interest.

"Duo!" Quatre interrupting the debate Heero and Duo were having on the quality of oils over water colors. Duo looked up barely as he continued his conversation with Heero. Quatre smiled briefly as he turned away thinking that Duo might not want to leave even though it had been three hours. Perhaps he and Heero would enjoy the fireworks show he had ordered to be done for the picnic.