23-Jun-2001
Category: Humor, Shounen-ai, Sap
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: 1+3, 2+5, 4+Catherine?
Warnings: Minor citrus of a yaoi-itic nature. Not anything that should gross anyone out. Also it's a touch sappy, with minor angst.
Feedback: C&C
Notes: Dang-it! I say I'm never writing another story to a finish (in my mind) series/timeline and I go and do another one ANYWAY! This is a sequel, side fic or whatever you want to call it to: 'Housewarming' (which was a sequel to: Too Late? which was a sequel to: Hunter, which was a sequel to: Deuce). All can be found at GW Addiction or my website if you don't want to wade through the archives here.
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters belongs to Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu Agency and are only being used for non profit entertainment purposes.
Trowa awoke to the sound of a vacuum cleaner. Normally, Heero vacuuming wouldn't bother him except for the slight hangover he had from the party they had the night before. He quietly chuckled to himself, "Guess the 'no baka' rule has taken the morning off."
He rose out of bed and staggered to the bathroom to grab some aspirin and get up for the day. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep if Heero was on a cleaning jag.
When Trowa met up with Heero, he saw the dark haired man on his hands and knees furiously trying to force a stain to surrender itself on the carpet. "Heero, I think we'll need a carpet shampooer for that, not that I'm complaining," Trowa said with a smile, "I rather enjoy the view."
Heero turned to glare, but only a little at his lover. "Promise me we will never subject this house to another party again. Duo is dangerous."
"Mess get made at parties, Heero. But okay, no more parties. Besides I think threatening to leave Duo hanging on our roof by his braid did temper him from more destruction," Trowa grinned.
"True, but he still managed to find a way for the police to show up!" Heero grimaced.
"Thus according to his definition it was a perfect party."
"I'll wager he's not feeling quite so perfect this morning," Heero laughed.
Whoever thought the sun was a wonderful invention for getting people up in the morning had never met Duo with a hangover. After coming up with every curse he could think of to make the room go dark again and failing, he opened a reluctant eye and sat up in bed. It took him a minute to register that this wasn't his bedroom. It was too neat. It could only be Wufei's.
Duo shook his head, very slowly. 'Of course, it's Wu's. He wouldn't let me drive home after Heero and Trowa's party. Maybe he wanted to play Dr. Chang, renown psychoanalyst some more. There was no need, I was on my best behavior. Seeing Heero with Trowa wasn't anything horrible. I think they are meant for each other,' he thought as he pushed his bangs out of his eyes. 'Ah, he was probably just being good friend Wufei.'
Wufei opened the door to the bedroom quietly, as he walked in with painkillers and a glass of water. "I figured you'd probably need these," he said handing the items over to Duo.
"Damn, here I was thinking you were here to ravage me," Duo smiled evilly looking for Wufei's reaction. He didn't react. Duo sighed. "I miss the days when I could make your nosebleed."
Wufei laughed. "It's your fault you know. Every lewd suggestion you ever made has long since desensitize me to your baser thoughts." However, the Chinese man did have a faint blush on his face.
Duo liked looking at the blush. "It's just a challenge for me to come up with something more crude, I guess." He swallowed the pills down with water and continued to stare at Wufei. Then he patted the space beside him on the bed and directed Wufei to sit.
Wufei sat down next to Duo. "Now what?"
"Why am I here?" Duo asked. "You were driving us home. You could have dropped me off at my apartment, why here?"
Wufei shrugged his shoulders, a bad habit he had picked up from hanging around Duo too long. "It was late and I didn't feel like driving all over the place. Besides, what if I dropped you off and you promptly fell out of a window or something? You were pretty drunk last night."
"Oh wait!" Duo said with alarm. "I didn't do something really embarrassing to hurt Heero or Trowa, did I?"
"No, you didn't. You just broke their furniture is all," Wufei said with a smile.
Duo smiled, "Oh, if that's all, then that's fine. As long as I didn't proclaim deep love for Yuy or suggest a ménàge à trois with Trowa, then all is cool."
Wufei shook his head. "Did you want to do any of that?"
"No. Come on, you've seen them together. They are very cute together, but sometimes ..."
"Sometimes it hurts all the same?" Wufei asked.
"No one else spotted that did they?" Duo asked nervously.
"No one but me. To the rest of the party you were just manic Duo," Wufei said as he took the other man's hand.
"Manic Duo?" Duo laughed, "Oh nice! Thanks heaps, Wu-bear!"
"You're welcome. Now do you want for me to try and darken the room some so you can get more rest?" Wufei said, releasing Duo's hand and starting to rise from the bed.
"No. It's okay," Duo said, pulling Wufei back down on the bed. "Let's stay here on the bed for a while."
"Duo," Wufei said exasperated.
"I'm betting you slept on the couch last night, right?" Duo said. "Why didn't you stay here with me? Were you afraid I would jump you or something?"
Wufei flushed. "The couch is perfectly comfortable. I figured you needed your rest."
Duo held on to Wufei's hand, pulling it close to his chest. "I'm rested now," he said with a teasing voice before kissing the knuckles on Wufei's hand.
Wufei stared back in shock. "Du-- Duo! Stop that. Let go."
"Not until you promise to lie here with me for a while. Don't go hiding in the next room, okay?" Duo asked, as he continued to kiss Wufei's hand.
"Okay, okay," Wufei managed to squeak out, embarrassed that Duo was making his body react in ways he wanted to keep private. "Just let go."
Duo released the hand and pulled back the covers. Wufei reluctantly got under the covers and was laying rigidly on his back. Duo slid close to Wufei and whispered in his ear, "Relax, I'm not going to do anything."
Wufei released the breath he was holding, and found that he was a little disappointed that Duo wasn't planning any further assault on his senses. "Why not?" he asked before he realized he had said anything.
Duo laughed. "Do you want me to?"
Wufei looked confused. "What?"
Catherine and Quatre were enjoying a cup of coffee at Quatre's estate and comparing notes.
"Well, much as I hate to admit it, they did look ... happy," groused Catherine.
Quatre nodded sympathetically. "I agree."
"It took me years to get used to the idea of Heero and Trowa together. I had even started to like the wanker before he screwed Trowa over," Catherine said. "Is it wrong of me to want to make sure he doesn't hurt him again?"
"Not at all," Quatre said. "There's something about Trowa that's always seemed a little fragile ... I know he was a good soldier--one of the best, but still..."
"Yes, that's it, something fragile that shouldn't be trifled with and he went stampeding through his emotions," Catherine said getting her ire up.
"Catherine, that's over with now. They've worked it out," Quatre said placating his friend. "And as you said, they looked really happy together."
"They did," Catherine sighed, "Sorry for sounding like a bitch. I get a little protective of Trowa."
"Really? I've never noticed," Quatre laughed. Soon Catherine joined him in the laughter.
Carpet stains were long forgotten as Heero pumped in and out of his long legged love. Breathlessly Heero said, "Only you can find ways to divert me from cleaning up."
Trowa panted, "There's always time for cleaning ... later!"
"Wufei, if you're serious, I'd be more than happy to--" Duo said seriously with a hint of a warm smile.
"I ... um," Wufei stammered, turning beet red in the face. "You're hung over and ..."
"I'm not THAT hung over," Duo said in his sexiest voice. He pulled Wufei close for a kiss.
"But ... but ..." Wufei continued to stammer.
"Yes, I think your butt is very nice," Duo joked as he captured Wufei's lips. The kiss was tender and full of passion. There was a sweetness to it that once the kiss was broken, Duo felt suddenly very shy.
Wufei looked at him strangely. "What?" he asked when he couldn't figure out why Duo was acting this way.
"Anyone ever tell you that you're too good for them?" Duo asked, blushing.
"Never. I've been called hard-headed, stubborn, arrogant, chauvinistic, self-righteous ..."
Duo silenced him with another kiss. "And perfect," he said, deciding that must be added to Wufei's list.
These sweet kisses would be the ones to change a longtime, loving friendship into something more.
"Catherine, you are a unique soul," Quatre said as they went for a walk on the grounds. "You somehow managed to be both nurturing and almost unforgiving at times."
"What a sweet thing to say," Catherine said, mildly surprised by this turn of conversation. When she met with Quatre this morning, she thought it was just to compare notes then go their separate ways. It wasn't like they were the best of friends or anything. Yet, hours had passed and she still was here, listening to Quatre. "Should I be insulted?"
Quatre flushed. "I didn't say it to be mean, but it's true. You have a wonderful caring nature, but when we met years ago, I thought you would launch some of your knives at my head."
"It was war, Quatre. All I knew was the war did nothing but hurt Trowa. He was already a quiet person as it was, but he had been robbed of his memories of his past and everyone. The last thing he needed were people from that war torn past pulling him back into the fight."
"But if he hadn't, he may have never recovered his memories," Quatre said quietly.
"Maybe that wouldn't have been a bad thing," Catherine responded. "At least at the time."
"I thought at the time you might have hated me. I thought you knew I was the one who robbed him of his memories, you were so hostile."
"I didn't know until you told me much later," Catherine shook her head. And even then I couldn't help but feel that there had to be something going on for you to do that."
"The amazing thing to me was even after Trowa recovered his memories, he still forgave me," Quatre said with sadness.
"Trowa's a person who forgives a lot easier than I do," Catherine remarked. "So how long did it take before you forgave yourself, Quatre?"
"I can't forgive myself," Quatre laughed bitterly. "Must be why I'm so protective of him."
Catherine pulled the man towards her for a tight embrace. "Maybe it's time to start forgiving yourself now," she said softly in his ear.
Heero and Trowa reluctantly put their clothes on and went back to the task of cleaning up the house.
"Estimated damage?" Heero asked.
"Not too high. We need to replace a lamp, shampoo the carpet ... What's that smell?" Trowa asked distracted from his damage report. He let his nose lead him to the sofa. After lifting cushions and finding nothing, he pulled the sofa away from the wall. "How the hell did THAT get there?" he asked bewildered.
"What?" Heero asked, moving to stand next to his lover. He was that it was what looked to be half eaten sushi. "Better check behind other furniture also."
A quick inspection found other bits of food not quite as large or smelly as the sushi. "Did people think we had a cat or something?" Trowa wondered aloud. He looked up at Heero to see his 'no parties ever' look flash on his face. Trowa smiled. "Okay, you've finally convinced me. No more parties."
The phone rang as they started vacuuming up the food items that couldn't be picked up by hand.
Heero answered. He saw on the videophone Duo, who looked damp like he just got out of a shower. "Ohayo, Duo," he said with a hint of danger.
"Heero! Come on, man! You can't be mad at me right?" Duo replied smiling, with a hint of nervousness.
Trowa walked over after turning off the vacuum to smile at Duo. "He's joking with you, Duo."
Heero said gruffly, "He broke our lamp."
"There's a new one on the way even as we speak," Duo reassured.
Trowa and Heero looked at each other with a panicked expression.
"This lamp wouldn't be some strange ecchi thing would it?" Trowa asked gently. Both Heero and Trowa had a box full of items that Duo thought were great gifts that made both men shudder. Although there was the one time they had a blackout in their apartment and the only candle they had in the place was the sperm candle that Duo gave them as a gift their first year together. It may have looked stupid but it was functional.
"You guys are no fun!" Duo blustered. "I swear it's tasteful ... okay it's going to be tasteful. Wufei will help me out."
"Nice to be asked Maxwell," Wufei said out of visual range.
"Ah come on, Wu, you know they don't trust me as it is," Duo whined with a smile. "Don't go encouraging them!"
Wufei stepped into view. He also had the damp look of someone just out of the shower. "I promise it won't be ugly or hentai in any way, shape or form," he said with a hint of a smile.
Trowa laughed. "Okay, we trust you, Wufei."
"Oi!" yelled Duo.
Heero looked at everyone with a bewildered look. "If you fail in this task ..." he said.
Duo laughed, "No worries, Heero. Ninmu ryoukai and all that jazz."
"We'll see you later," Wufei said as they hung up.
Trowa still was still snickering. Heero looked puzzled.
"What?" Heero finally asked.
"Looks like Duo and Wufei are moving along in their relationship that's all. I didn't think they'd ever figure it out," Trowa said.
"Well if it's any consolation, I was the one who told Duo that Wufei cared for him more than as a friend. Of course, it was said during an argument. So I guess it would be a bad idea to remind him of that, huh?" Heero said.
"It would be a very bad idea," Trowa smiled.
Quatre pulled away from Catherine finally. He couldn't believe she let him literally cry on her shoulder as he mentally relived the pain that he never let go of from the war.
Catherine smiled, with eyes bright from tears she also shed for him. "Feeling better?"
Quatre nodded, "Yes, I ... thank you Catherine."
Catherine kissed Quatre's forehead. "You are most welcomed, Quatre. I'm only glad I was here to help."
He hugged her briefly and kissed her cheek. "You helped more than you could know. Will you be in town for awhile? Or will you be off traveling with the circus soon?"
"Well, I find when Trowa's not in the circus with me, I don't have the same need to perform, much to the Circusmaster's ire. I'm on leave, I guess you could say, until I 'snap out of it' as CM likes to say," she giggled.
"Would you like to stay here with me then? There's plenty of room and I rather enjoy your company," Quatre said smiling.
"What and not make Heero suffer with me staying with him and Trowa?" Catherine said with a laugh. "Actually, I think it would be nice to stay here with you for a while. But only as long as I can force Trowa and Heero to left me stay in their house every now and then. I've got a crazed Japanese man to keep in line you know."
Quatre found himself laughing as well. "Those sound like acceptable terms to me. Now whether Heero likes them ..."
"I don't care what Heero likes, or haven't you figured that out yet?" Catherine smiled evilly. "Yes, I would like to stay here."
The phone rang again at the Yuy-Barton residence. Trowa answered this time, trying not to spill his cup of coffee, not with Heero on a cleaning rampage.
His eyes got wide at the picture before him. Quatre was sitting at his desk with Catherine sitting in his lap. "Quatre? Catherine?" Trowa asked incredulously.
"Hi Trowa, we just thought we'd thank you for last night," Catherine said.
"We had a really good time," Quatre added.
Trowa sat stunned, his cup of coffee tilting at an angle that was about to stain the rug. Heero saw the carpet's impending danger and called out to his lover. "Trowa, watch what you're doing!" Heero walked over to take the cup from Trowa and drink some of the contents out. He turned to see what had Trowa speechless. He started to choke on the coffee.
"What's going on?" Heero said between gasps. The choking fit shook Trowa out of his shock and he began to pat Heero on the back.
"Nothing's going on," Catherine said with a smirk and a quick glance to Quatre. "We were just thanking you for the wonderful party. And I was about to tell Trowa that I'm going to be staying here with Quatre for a while."
"You are?" Trowa and Heero asked simultaneously.
"Yes, she is," Quatre answered for her.
"What about the circus?" Trowa asked, trying to sound less surprised.
"I'm on leave. You're not the only one who can walk away whenever they want, you know," Catherine replied.
"Oh," Trowa responded.
"Catherine, we should probably leave the lovebirds alone for now, don't you think?" Quatre asked the woman in his lap.
Catherine flashed a slightly hentai smile. "Yes, I guess we should." She turned to the smile at Trowa and Heero. "Bye for now."
"Goodbye Catherine," Trowa said as she severed the connection.
Once the call ended Trowa turned to Heero. "Just what did you put in that sushi last night?"
OWARI
Ah, did I mention that I blame Cass for getting me thinking about these stories again?
(:./babaca/partyafter)
