August 9, 2001
Part eight, at last. I _will_ finish this fic, even if it gets so long-winded that no one's reading at the end. *lol* It will be done.
- Bianca -
Sweet All Over
Pairings: 6x2, 13x1, 4x3, 5xMeiran
Archive: GW Addiction, I guess. *gulps* This is my first solo story
in almost 6 months.
"You know," said Duo, rolling his eyes, "my friends are really screwed up." Around them, the darkness of the night provided a kind of veil against the prying eyes of Duo's brother, Solo. Though the driveway of Duo's house was a less than romantic rendezvous point, it would have to do until Zechs could find more time away from work.
"And why would that be?" asked Zechs, his eyes twinkling in a way that let Duo know that he knew exactly what he meant.
"Take Trowa and Quatre, for example. They're madly in love, and they seemed like the perfect couple. Then Trowa decides that he wants to get married--don't look at me! I didn't put the idea into his head!" Duo rubbed playfully against his date's cheek, glad that the damn styrofoam neckbrace had finally been laid to rest.
"I didn't say a word," said Zechs, wrapping his jacket more tightly around them.
"Either way, I'm watching you," said Duo, winking. "Anyway. As if that's not screwed up enough, Quatre--who's kinda spoiled, but not enough so that you can tell right away--doesn't really take it the best way. So they're not together. Which sucks, because when we made the schedule, they were still a couple, so most of their shifts are together. I just wish they'd just go back to the way they were."
"Maybe it's for the best," said Zechs, staring up at the stars. "Some relationships just weren't meant to last. They were so different..."
"Different?" said Duo, snorting. "Hells no; are you kidding me? It's like the same soul in two bodies." He paused, slowly drawing away. "But that's not what you mean, right?"
"Duo--"
"I get it," he said, inhaling slowly, "Quatre's got the moola and Trowa doesn't. Isn't that what you were trying to say without saying it? Jesus." Duo tossed the blanket from his lap and scrambled out of the car.
"I didn't say that--"
"You were thinking it, though." Duo waited for a denial, and his face fell when it didn't.
"And what about you?" said Zechs, after he'd waited a moment too long to speak. "You seem kind of eager to write them off. Do you really think I'd ever pass judgment on someone like that? God; I just meant that Trowa's quiet, and Quatre is so...personable."
"Kinda like you and me," said Duo, resting his arms on the door of the convertible.
"Is that what this is about?" said Zechs. "Jesus, Duo. I didn't go into that stupid store to buy chocolate, and you know it. It has nothing to do with money."
"Wrong," said Duo. "Money makes the world go round."
"What is with you tonight?" Zechs's face had become tightly drawn; the moon made his cheekbones appear stark, gaunt, as if he hadn't been fed in months. "I should be sleeping right now; I've got to wake up for a meeting in seven hours, and you've been nothing but a jerk all night." He started his engine, staring straight ahead at the empty street, but Duo said nothing.
After a minute, he turned the car off and got out.
"You were supposed to stop me," he said, wrapping his arms around Duo's waist and rocking them both gently from one foot to the other. Duo struggled for a moment before melting bonelessly.
"This is really twisted," said Duo, resting his head against Zechs's shoulder. He smelled like Tommy cologne and sea salt, and the mixture was making him a bit dizzy. "Can't any of us keep it together?" he joked. "We're like those freaks from Rent. Or maybe those freaks are like us. Or maybe art imitates life imitates art."
"Maybe," said Zechs, "you should show me how to climb the trellis to your bedroom so I don't break my neck on the way up." Duo started at first, but his eyes narrowed to slits, glittery slivers that were only visible when he tilted his head back.
"I like the way you think," he said, and guided them around the back of the house.
"You see," said Meiran, "I know how men think. Men are all about their wangers."
"Wanger?" Trowa raised a single eyebrow, but decided against saying anything else. Instead, he took a sip of the green tea Meiran had brewed for him and politely gagged into his napkin. In the Zen garden, Wufei was moving around stones into a cornfield pattern he'd seen on the X-Files, just to annoy Meiran.
"You know..." She laughed. "Their packages? Family jewels? That's what men think with. You shouldn't be insulted by Quatre..."
"Yeah," said Trowa, "just pissed."
"I don't know about that," said Meiran. "Worse things could have happened. He could have cheated on you with a hussy, a loose boy."
"There are no loose boys in town," said Trowa, mildly irritated. "Except for Duo, and he's not loose so much as a flirt. He'd probably flirt with a rock and interpret moss as a sign of interest. He never holds back; just goes for what he wants..." He smiled.
"Uh-oh," said Meiran. "You're not...like...in love with Duo, are you?"
"Of course not," said Trowa. "But I can admire his strong points, right?"
"Right," said Meiran. "I mean, it's like with Wufei and I. I can admire his strong points, and understand his faults." Trowa hid a smile behind a cough. "Like, for example. I can see that he's a fair man, that he's always true to his system of justice, without liking the fact that he had an affair with a woman right under my nose."
"An affair?" Trowa raised his eyebrows, nose wrinkling. "I couldn't see Wufei doing that."
"So he didn't actually have an affair," said Meiran. "But he was looking; I know he was!"
"At who?" asked Trowa. "Who in this town wouldn't pee their pants just thinking about what would happen if you caught them with Wufei?"
Meiran frowned at him.
Trowa hedged a bit. "Sally?"
"...Maybe," she said, her plump lips folding into an unattractive pretzel shape. "Maybe that little floozy in a little red Baywatch bathing suit was hanging all over him when he was a lifeguard at the beach, and maybe he didn't look too disgusted."
They shared a mutual sigh. The clock struck two quietly; Trowa had to go in to work in an hour.
"Men," said Trowa sadly, "they think with their wangers."
"Boo!"
"Aah!"
Duo laughed as Heero jumped half a foot into the air, nearly dropping the bag of chocolate icing he was using to decorate little toffees with. "Hearts," said Duo, grinning knowlingly, "nice." Dorothy had given Heero complete artistic license, mostly because she knew the boy couldn't draw a stick figure for beans. The hearts were lopsided and often didn't close, resembling w-shaped breasts.
"Go away," said Heero, glaring through Duo.
"Aw, what's the matter?" teased Duo as he stroked the fine hairs on Heero's neck. "Poor baby didn't get any sleep last night? Grumpy 'cuz you didn't get your beauty rest?"
Wufei stuck his head through the delivery window and glared at them. "You two shut up. We've got customers." He looked down at the toffees and his lip curled in disgust.
"Don't say anything, or I'll draw penises on the toffees," said Duo.
The Chinese boy's cheeks flared red as he stoically ignored Duo's laughter.
"That's the best way to get him to shut up," said Duo as they began kneading cookie dough with floured hands. "Talk about sex, or talk about Meiran, especially."
"I don't even know why they're married," said Heero. "Relationships are a pain."
Duo paused. "So that's what's bothering you," he said. "What happened? You two're really cute together. Even if you're not as cute as Zechs and me, you had potential. I mean, you worked well together. And I know that you liked him. So what gives?"
"Nothing," said Heero, pounding the dough with clenched fists.
"Nothing," said Duo, trying to hide his smile, "right." He let out a long sigh. "I hear Treize's running with Mueller from Ocean Avenue," he said, resuming his kneading. He was watching for Heero's reaction, however, out of the corner of his eye.
Heero bit his lip.
"I couldn't care less," he said. "He's a stupid jerk anyway, and he doesn't know anything. All he thinks about is..." He coughed. "He's just a jerk. He thinks he knows everything, but he doesn't know anything."
"We've already established that fact," said Duo. "Stars or moons?"
"Not sure," said Heero, examining the cookie cutters. "Wufei! Stars or moons?"
Wufei's head appeared at the delivery window again, dark eyes darting about suspiciously. "Stars or moons what?"
"Did Dorothy want star or moon cookies?" said Duo.
"Like I know," he said. "Ask Heero. She left instructions with him, as usual. Second time this week she's had a hair appointment with Relena." They took a moment of silence to roll their eyes at Dorothy's girlfriend, then continued their bickering.
"Did not," said Heero, color rising to his cheeks. "What is wrong with you today, Wufei? It's like you're trying to pick a fight with me or something. Is that it? Huh?" He grabbed a handful of yellow batter and flung it at the Chinese boy. "Well, you can take your stupid cookies and shove them--"
Duo took him by the arm and guided him from the kitchen and into the bathroom.
Wufei calmly picked dough from his forehead and popped it into his mouth. "Needs more butter," he mumbled to himself.
"All right, here we go," said Duo, gently tipping Heero forward until his face was completely submerged in cold water. He counted to five, and brought him back up. "Feel better?" Grabbing a paper towel, he dabbed the moisture from Heero's face.
Heero nodded a yes, but he still looked miserable. "I don't like him anymore," he said, desperately. "I really don't."
"I believe you," said Duo, brushing Heero's wet bangs from his face.
"It's just--" He swallowed hard, rapidly blinking the excess water from his eyes. "I don't know; we were kissing and then...then I told him I wanted to go home and he got angry with me. And we both said things... I'm not trying to blame it on him, or anything like that."
"Right," said Duo, trying his best to be supportive and having no idea how. "But you feel bad about it."
"Of course," said Heero. "I didn't ask for him to be angry."
"What'd he say?" Duo wasn't sure if he had the right to ask, if he should even _be_ asking, but figured he might as well give it his best shot. "You don't have to tell me; it's just..." He hesitated. "Maybe there was some truth in what he said, you know?"
"You're taking his side," said Heero.
"No; I'm not on anyone's side." Duo sighed. "There _are_ no sides. It's not like war, or one of your stupid computer games. Treize isn't your enemy. Just because he said some stuff, and you said some stuff--"
"Stuff?" Heero laughed, shaking his head in denial, and refused to meet Duo's eyes. "He tried to say that I push people away."
"You do," said Duo, stroking Heero's hair like one would a kitten's mussed fur. "God, you do. You act like everyone's out to get you. No one in this entire town knows you like I do, and I only know what I do because I nag you until you tell. Don't make people earn the right to be with you. That's egotistical, and..." He kissed his temple tenderly. "That's not the Heero that I know."
"You just said that you don't know me," said Heero, but he was smiling a little now. "Make up your mind, silly."
"Mind made up," said Duo. "I know more than I thought, I guess. And I know," he added, taking Heero's face in his hands so the other boy was forced to look into his eyes, "that you like Treize a lot. And that he likes you too."
"How can that be true?" asked Heero. "You said that you saw him with someone else."
"You can go with other people and still be thinking about someone else," said Duo. "For once in your life, Heero, fight for what you want. Do something!" He moved Heero's head up and down in a nod. "Good! Knew you had it in ya," he said, grinning.
Then Duo left Heero alone in the bathroom, and Heero knew that he wasn't going to get anymore help from his long-haired friend.
Dorothy sprung it on them right after Trowa arrived for his shift. "There was a problem at the bank," she said, making a face, "and you won't be getting paid until next week. Deal with it." Duo groaned, but didn't dare say anything. The last time he'd complained about his paycheck, Double D had forcefed him cherries, pits and all.
Wufei, however, wasn't about to let it go. "I've got rent to make, Dorothy," he said. "I need this money. You make over five thousand dollars on a slow day. Why can't you just give us the money out of cash reserves?"
Her ice blue eyes darted from Wufei to the ceiling, where they stayed for the remainder of the conversation. "Taxes," she said.
"What about a loan?" he tried.
"Out of the question," said Dorothy, her back stiffening.
"For God's sake," said Wufei, throwing up his hands. He untied his apron and threw it to the ground. "My shift's over," he said, slamming the kitchen door.
"So," said Duo. "Look's like it's gonna be a fun day for all of us." Beside him, Heero shook his head.
"I'm out," he said, hanging his apron on the hook. "See you guys tomorrow."
"Well," said Duo, turning to Trowa. "Anything better with the Q man?"
"No," said Trowa. "But it doesn't matter. Nothing matters with...him. There's other guys in the world." Duo smiled half- heartedly as he took his place at the counter. "We're out of white caramels," he noted in a monotone. "I'll go get some."
"Okay," said Duo, brow creased with worry as he watched his friend shuffle to the rack with all the trays of chocolates. "What can I get you--Zechs!" Ignoring the five people behind his boyfriend who didn't look so pleased by the speed of service, he leaned over and brushed his lips against the blonde's.
"Hello," said Zechs, running a hand through his short locks. "I thought I'd drop by with a bit of news." Duo cringed.
"You still sound like my father," he teased, leaning his elbows on the counter, knowing that it made his dark blue eyes appear even larger. "So, what's the news? Market correction over?"
"Almost," said Zechs. "My parents are having a dinner party tonight; nothing overly formal. They told me to bring you by."
"Really," said Duo, taken aback. Then he lowered his lashes slowly, a trick he'd stolen from a character in a book by Edith Wharton. "I'd love to. What time?"
"I'll pick you up at seven o'clock; wear whatever." He sighed. "I don't suppose I could grab a box of marzipan pieces? I'm not exactly in the boss's favor after I was late for the meeting this morning."
"Sorry about that," said Duo. "We shouldn't have--"
"Excuse me!" At the end of the line, a ginger-haired young man waved his arms. "Can we hurry up the sweet talk, please? I've got important business to attend to."
"Hey, Treize!" Duo winked, laughing as a strange expression crossed Zechs's face. "Don't be jealous," he said, before pulling him down for a deep kiss. Zechs stumbled a bit as Duo released him to get his candy, knees suddenly weak.
"So you talked to him?" said Treize. Once the ginger-haired man had made it to the counter, he'd refused to leave, so Duo was chatting with him while he served the other customers. Duo let out a little groan and reached into the lolly jar to console himself. "Did he say anything...you know..."
"Anything ego-boosting?" said Duo around his lollipop. "You mean like, 'Oh, Treize is such a gorgeous god, I want to lick him all over--'"
"Not quite, though that would be most welcome," said Treize, laughing. "More like, 'I wish Treize would call me so he can apologize for being an ass'. So..." He started as he looked into the case and saw toffees decorated with hearts. "Those are some...interesting shapes."
"Heero drew them," said Duo, and then regretted admitting it. Treize's eyes lit up, a slow smile spreading over his lips. "It's nothing, just...nothing. Besides, I don't think you're the one that needs to do the apologizing."
"Are you kidding me?" said Treize. "I laid into him like there was no tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if he went home and designed a computer game whose victim has my face." He rested his head against the glass counter.
"Then why'd you say it?"
"I don't know," said Treize. "Just...frustration. Frustration and exhaustion, and I've never had great control over this tongue of mine. At times, that's a good thing..." They exchanged grins. "And at others, it's less than becoming. Maybe I was moving too fast."
"Maybe not," said Duo, trying to sound mysterious. "Maybe it's time our little baby bird was thrown out of the nest if he doesn't wanna learn to fly on his own."
"Duo," said Treize.
"Okay, okay," said Duo. "You ask me, it's about time someone chewed him out for being an anti-social bitch." He laughed. "If I had the guts..."
"If you had the guts?" prompted Treize.
"Nothing, just--Dang. It's about time. And it's better coming from you. He doesn't like many people, but he likes you. A lot. And, it's like, he was just admitting it to himself and then-- wham! It's better coming from you than us, you know? More to lose." He laughed again and took another suck of his lollipop. "Listen to me. I don't know what I'm saying."
"No," said Treize, "it sounds about right."
Duo smiled at a blonde woman who was eyeing the truffles. "They're good, ma'am. This guy bought five hundred dollars worth." She sniffed at him and clutched her wallet tighter to her chest.
"I just...what should I do now? You know him better than I do."
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" sighed Duo. "I really don't know him better, I just don't give up and eventually he gets tired of fighting."
"Is it really worth the fight?" mused Treize aloud. "There are others--"
"Don't give me that shit," said Duo, slamming a box of truffles on the counter. "Fifteen seventy, ma'am," he said, smiling. He accepted a twenty from her and shoved her change at her. "Not you. Don't you start with that 'I don't know' crap. Not after you've done everything short of a tapdance to get him to like you. That's just the easy way out."
"We're not talking about marriage," said Treize, so quietly that Duo was afraid that he'd offended him. "It won't be forever."
"You act like he thinks that's what's going on."
"I don't know what he's thinking, and that's half the battle!" he said, growling. "With anyone else, this wouldn't be a problem."
"Right," snorted Duo. "Shit, these little fucking kids put their sticky hands all over the counter." He grabbed a damp cloth and began scrubbing at the mess. "It wouldn't be a problem 'cause you wouldn't be interested in them, and you know it. You're a pretty cool guy, but you're probably picky as hell when it comes to who you wanna be with. Don't deny it."
"I'm not denying it," said Treize, in such a way that Duo knew he was bitching on the inside. "But that still doesn't tell me what I should do."
"I'm not trying to," retorted Duo. "All I'm saying is that Heero's not a very aggressive person when it comes to... You know." Treize did know. "So, if he happens to apologize, you better accept graciously and get on with your thing."
"Sure," said Treize. "Accept graciously."
"You got it," said Duo. "Now shoo. The Love Doctor's got a double shift today, and there's still another patient waiting in the kitchen for counseling."
"So," said Trowa as Duo strode into the kitchen with a wide smirk stretched across his face, "are Treize and Heero going to get back together?" Duo shrugged, still smiling, and sat on the counter. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," said Duo, running a finger over the large muscle in Trowa's arm. "Just...tell me, Trowa. Has anyone ever told you what incredibly sexy green eyes you have?"
Trowa blinked. This was erratic behavior for Duo, especially now that he was with Zechs. "I don't know," he said as he tried not to think of all the times Quatre had gushed about the specific shade of jade he possessed.
"Or," said Duo, breathing heavily in his ear, "what a cute butt you have?"
You're not with Quatre anymore, Trowa reminded himself. Still, it felt very wrong to hear such things coming from someone other than the blonde. "Stop it, Duo."
"What's the matter?" asked Duo, grinning wickedly. "Still got it bad for Quatre?"
"My feelings for Quatre are non-existent," he said.
"Just keep thinking that," said Duo. Then, "You going to the block party tonight?"
"No," said Trowa.
"Hey, glad to hear it," said Duo. "See you there!"
"Are you sure?" said Meiran, frowning into the phone. In the living room, Wufei sank down behind his copy of 'The Feminine Mystique' and tried to pretend that he wasn't listening to his wife's conversation. Betty Friedan; kisama, he thought, lips puckering.
"Well, I'll agree on this one. I sure as hell don't know what to do with him. He acts like someone gave him a lobotomy and accidentally scooped out half his brain."
"Exactly. Well, Wufei went to talk to Quatre--"
"He didn't tell you?"
"That's Wufei for you. Always leaving out some critical piece of information."
"Yeah, whatever. You think what you want to about him, and I'll do the same."
"I'm not being too harsh! He's my husband, and I'll gossip about him how I like."
"So what about you? Going to the party? I heard there's going to be Ball Park hotdogs; your favorite."
"What do you mean, how did I remember? How could I forget the time you came over to our house for dinner and ate two dozen hotdogs, then puked into the neighbors' pool?"
"Yeah, yeah. Enjoy your dinner with Zechs's parents. Bye, Duo." Meiran let out a heartfelt sigh and began leafing through her New Woman magazine. Wufei had thoughtfully bought a subscription for Christmas, claiming he was tired of being looked at strangely for purchasing 'women's things' at the newsstand.
"You can stop listening now, Wufei."
He cringed, but kept reading. And this onna thought that _women's_ spirits were being crushed by marriage!
End Part Eight
part nine could be a long time coming.
Bianca
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