20-Jul-2000
Here you are, part 9!
Wufei: About time..HEY! I'm not in this chapter. In
fact I haven't been in this story except for the first
part or two. What's with that!?
Pern: Gomen Wufei, but this fic is mainly about Heero,
Duo, Trowa and Quatre.
::Wufei sulks:: Oh come now Wufei...don't pout.
Wufei: I want to be in the fic.
Pern: *sigh* Look if I promise to let you have
another part will you let me post this?
Wufei: Maybe.
Pern: Wufei.
Wufei: Oh...as long as I get another shot at being in
this fic.
Pern: Fine, done. Now onto to the story!
Warning: slight OOC, 1X2, 3X4 implications.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Video Girl Ai.
Please don't sue.
Relena smiled as the waiter led them to their table. She was finally on a date with Heero Yuy. Heero had arrived in a stylish black limousine sporting a pinstriped suit, fedora and a bouquet of carnations for her.
Although the flowers were nice, she suspected that his friend with the braid had told him that she didn't like roses. Sneaky Heero, she thought.
Having a friend who works at a magazine find out stuff you're too frightened to ask yourself less you give your feelings away. Still, she wasn't knocking the fact that she was at a fancy restaurant with him. Oh, he looked so handsome in his suit. He even pulled out her chair for her.
They hadn't been seated more than about five minutes when she noticed Dorothy and Trowa walk in. They were seated on the far side of the room from Heero and herself.
Dorothy obviously didn't see her because of the potted plants and the great pillars that held the ceiling up. Relena found that a relief because as much as she liked her friend, Dorothy could talk your ear off if you let her. Tonight wasn't for friends; tonight was for Heero and romance.
She took a sip from her water glass and opened her menu.
"What looks good to you?" she asked pleasantly.
"Hn?" Heero murmured studying the salad column.
Relena sighed. Maybe this was going to be harder than she thought.
"I'm thinking chicken how about you?"
"Pork."
"Pork? Hum. I don't know. This one with rice and green beans sounds good."
Heero wasn't really listening. He'd seen Trowa and Dorothy and was wondering what they were up to. Was Trowa's date going as well as his? He didn't know, but for some reason he did. Maybe it was a result of all that the Video Boys had been doing to get them to communicate more, but Heero felt that he should be concerned about his brother.
Quatre had told him that the best way to have a good romantic relationship was to have a good family relationship with Trowa. So the Video Boys had made sure that both brothers were at every meal.
Even if they didn't talk, they could at least sympathize over how today's experiment in cooking had gone. Duo really shouldn't be allowed near the rice cooker again without Heero's supervision.
The thing had nearly exploded. Good thing Trowa grabbed the fire extinguisher. Heero tried not to remember Quatre's disaster with the spices.
Too much curry can be hazardous to your health, especially if jalopeno peppers, tabasco sauce, black pepper, ground ginger, basil and those tiny burn-your-mouth-in-an-instant peppers are mixed in too. He and Trowa had spent that evening in the bathroom near the toilet commiserating.
Upon reflection, Heero realized that it was the most time he'd spent with his brother in years. As soon as he thought about Duo and Quatre, he remembered that this was their doing and that they wanted him and Trowa to succeed. Dutifully he rounded up his stray thoughts and locked them away. Relena was his only concern now. She was saying something about drinks, he better answer.
"I think I'll have the chicken with sesame sauce and a glass of ice tea. The dinner comes with a salad. I would like to know what is in the chef's choice. If there are radishes, I'll have to decline." Relena said.
"You don't like radishes?" Heero inquired. Relena shook her head.
"No, they just never settle well with me." She replied glad that Heero had graduated from answering questions to asking them.
"That's too bad. Are you ready?"
"I think so."
"Waiter." Heero called as the man came around. "We're ready to order now."
From the far side of the room Trowa caught a glance of Heero and Relena through the plants. He was glad that his brother's date was going smoothly, at least that was what he was hoping. His, on the other hand, was shaping up to be a disaster. From the moment he and Dorothy had sat down in the limo, she'd talked of very little that did not concern Relena Darlian.
Trowa was beginning to get the impression that Dorothy actually preferred Relena to men period. That going out with him was just a front, that she was denying the fact that she might be lesbian. If that were the case, then Dr. J would have to find a girl to win Dorothy's heart.
"Trowa?"
"Yes?"
"You've been very quiet. I was wondering what you were thinking." Immediately Trowa recalled Quatre's lessons in wooing.
"I was thinking about your eyes and how they remind me of the sky. So clear and refreshing yet can change quickly to a storm. My eyes are so dull, they seem dead compared to yours." Dorothy was speechless. She'd never had a man talk about her eyes. It was romantic.
"Is that all?" she inquired leaning forward. Trowa shook his head.
"I was thinking that they sparkled as if lit by an inner sun. A sun I can't see except in the brightness of your eyes. They are very beautiful."
"T-Trowa." She stammered. Suddenly she was blushing.
She turned away from him and put her hands to her cheeks. Embarrassed warmth filled them and it was several minutes before she could face him again. In the intermittent silence, Trowa continued to watch Dorothy and recanting his earlier thoughts about her.
Maybe she did like men, if that was the case, then he still had a chance.
Quatre lay in his bed. The lights were off and Duo wasn't in the room. He was downstairs watching TV. Quatre was glad for the silence, but found no peace in the darkness. Instead he found confusion and doubt. What was wrong with him? Why had Trowa's little strip tease bothered him so much? He felt his groin tighten as he thought about it again and shut his eyes quickly.
No, no. This wasn't right. He was a Video Boy, he didn't have such feelings of attachment. No. No.
Willing the vision of Trowa to go away, he found he couldn't. Instead it changed to Trowa removing all his clothing and standing in Quatre's mind completely naked.
He'd never seen Trowa naked, but he had a good imagination. And right now his imagination was running away.
Quatre curled into the fetal position and tried to slow his breathing. A soft whimper escaped his lips. No. I'm a Video Boy and I only have three days left after tonight to be here. I can't get involved with anyone.
The door opened and Duo slipped in. Quatre tried to remain quiet, but something alerted Duo and he turned on the lights.
"Quatre, are you okay?" Quatre peered out from under the covers.
"No." He confessed. "I... I had an incident with Trowa this afternoon."
"What sort of incident?" Duo asked coming to sit on the bed. Quatre sat up and began to tell Duo of what had transpired earlier. He saw Duo wince.
"You're not the only one having problems. Quatre, I think I like Heero."
"I think I like Trowa." Quatre admitted. Duo sighed heavily and flopped backwards. Quatre moved his legs so that Duo had a soft mattress to land on.
"What are we going to do? We are so messed up because of their VCRs. I mean, I... I don't know what to do. I doubt Heero likes me. He hardly knows me, I hardly know me. Quatre, does it hurt you as much as me?"
"Yes." Quatre replied knowing what his fellow Video Boy meant. "I've never had feelings like this before. We're part of a video. We have no feeling other than what we've been programmed to have, yet because of this accident, we're experiencing things we never would have otherwise. It's like we're humans."
"Yeah, but humans don't vanish when their tapes reach the end." Duo growled. "They get to go on with their lives. I think I'm experiencing what humans call misery."
"You and me both. I wish it would go away."
"But it won't." Duo pointed out.
"No. It won't." They stayed silent for several minutes before Quatre spoke again. "I wish we didn't have to leave."
"Maybe they'll check our tapes out again."
"That doesn't mean we will come out again." Quatre said.
"You're right. We don't even know what will happen when our time is up. Will we be sucked back in without any memory of this or will we remember and be ineffective at our jobs?"
"I don't know." Quatre brought his knees up and rested his chin on them. "I wish I understood how and why this happened."
"You know, maybe nothing will happen and we'll get to stay." Duo said hopefully.
"And then we get to watch them live happily with Dorothy and Relena." Quatre stated. Duo frowned.
"What if we sabotaged their relationships?"
"Duo! We can't do that! Trowa and Heero are relying on us to help not hinder!"
"It was just a suggestion. I guess it was a poor one." Quatre sighed.
"We'll just have to do what we were rented for. Get them dates. That's our purpose."
"I don't want to do it anymore."
"Neither do I really."
End Part 9
~Tigress Pern
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