Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ A Not So Straight Flush ❯ One ( Chapter 1 )

A Not So Straight Flush

By Anne Olsen

Rating/warnings this chapter: This Fic has been rated in accordance with the approved TTFF Rating System.

OK (Oz/Kiwi spelling/grammar etc) - PG - Sexual refs, suggestive language, angst, humour.

Pairings: 2+4, 3x4, 2+1

Author's notes: This fic is part of the 'Outlasting Time' arc, which is obviously being written way out of order. For more information and to read the other stories in the series check out the following

http://www.angelfire.com/ab7/shadesandechoes/outlastingtime.ht ml

Summary: When Duo visits Quatre, and they join Alimah Winner in a game of strip poker, more is revealed than either of them had initially anticipated. (A sidefic/prequel to 'At Your Side'.)

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu Agency. I promise to return the boys when I'm finished.

Thanks to: Bast, Raletha and Sakura for beta reading, comments and support. And of course to Raletha's HTM for his fun smart-arse comments. ;)

Feedback to: anneo@paradise.net.nz

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Chapte r One

AC 196

"So when are you guys moving in together?"

Quatre turned from the window, the flash of pain marring his expressive features hidden quickly under a facade of puzzlement. "What?"

"Don't play the innocent, Cat. This is me you're talking to. And we both know that whole routine is a load of crap." Nothing worked quite like the direct approach, Duo had figured before asking the question. Something was troubling his friend big time, the signs were there loud and clear. And judging from Quatre's reaction, as he suspected, that 'something' involved one Trowa Barton. "So, as I said," Duo repeated his question. "When are you guys moving in together?"

"We're not," the blond mumbled, "at least not in the foreseeable future."

Okay, now we're getting somewhere, Duo thought. On the surface Quatre projected his usual cheerful, if somewhat emotional persona. But since Duo's arrival at the Winner home several days previously, he'd been growing more and more distracted. Duo waited a moment for Quatre to offer more information but when he didn't, prompted him with another question. One guaranteed to produce an answer. "Tro not as good in bed as you anticipated?"

"Duo!" Quatre blushed, his cheeks turning a cute shade of pink before his mouth turned up in a smile. "The sex is great," he confirmed, his eyes glazing over wistfully. "Trowa's fantastic, umm, I mean…"

Duo laughed. "That look says it all. Okay, so if that's not the problem, what is?"

"Who says there's a problem?" Although Quatre's tone was defensive, his eyes were sad.

"You're distracted. There's something bothering you, something big, and the last time we'd talked you two had finally got it together and told each other how you felt." He shrugged. "Doesn't take a genius to work it out. Now shoot."

Collapsing with a sigh on the end of the king sized bed, Quatre rolled onto his stomach, chin resting on his hands. "I guess you're not going to leave me alone until I tell you?"

"Nope, got that right." Duo's expression softened before he reached out to place a hand on his friend's shoulder in a gesture of support. "You've always told me problems are easier to deal with if they're shared. Isn't it time you started doing that yourself?"

For a moment Quatre said nothing, but then pulled himself into a sitting position, crossing his legs under him. "When we're together, it's great, Duo, more than just great. When we make love, Trowa touches me in places I didn't know existed." Quatre rolled his eyes. The sexual implications of what he'd just said were more than an invitation for Duo to pass on those comments he could never resist. "I don't mean physically," he paused, smirking, "well that too, I hadn't realised how great it would…"

"Great sex. Okay, got that." Duo interrupted. So that's definitely not the problem.

His comment was followed by an awkward silence, in which Quatre seemed to suddenly find a need to examine in detail the intricate pattern on the duvet. Finally his friend spoke, but Duo could tell it was an effort. "I know he loves me, Duo. I can feel it in here," Quatre placed his hand over his heart in a familiar gesture, and Duo nodded his understanding. "I also know he misses me as much as I miss him when we're apart." His voice dropped to a whisper of reflected pain. "But whenever I bring up the subject of moving in together, of making our relationship more permanent, he…it scares him." Quatre sighed. "He doesn't even want to be seen with me in public."

"Aw, Cat. I'm sure that's not true." Duo waved a hand in the direction of Quatre's heart. "That space-heart of yours… How accurate is that thing anyway? I mean, c'mon, you thought Tro was dead, and he wasn't. Maybe you're wrong about this one too."

"I'm not wrong," Quatre said quietly, wrapping the edge of the duvet around his fingers until his knuckles grew white. "I wish I were, and I don't understand why, but I can't ignore it. I want to be with him. And I thought he wanted to be with me."

Duo shuffled along the bed and, placing his hand under Quatre's chin, moved his head up until their eyes met. "I'm sure he does." What the hell was wrong with Trowa, he wondered. Couldn't he see what he was doing to Quatre? "Any idiot can see you guys are both head over heels for each other."

"Maybe he's embarrassed to be seen with me?" Quatre turned his head away with an apologetic smile. "I've worked through all the possible scenarios and it's the only one which makes sense. I haven't told my family about my sexual preferences yet, and I'm not sure Trowa's told Cathy either." He sighed. "I was going to tell them, but…the only person I've felt like this about is Trowa, and…I know this sounds crazy but I think I'd love him even if he was a girl." Quatre's laugh sounded strained. "Do I want to tell my family I'm gay, when I'm not even sure myself? I'd do it for Trowa but," Quatre shrugged, his tone becoming cold in an attempt to apply logic to a situation he had no control over. "Why should I if he's not prepared to do it for me?"

"Have you asked him?"

"What?" Quatre seemed surprised by the question and Duo rolled his eyes.

"Have you asked Tro if he's prepared to do it for you?" Did he have to spell it out? "He's not a mind reader, Cat."

"I never thought he was," Quatre shot him a glance which would have made a lesser man cringe but Duo ignored it. "Have you asked Heero how he feels about you?"

Wincing at the comment, Duo swung his legs over the bed, and sat on the edge to collect his thoughts. "That was low and you know it."

"I'm sorry," Quatre shifted to sit next to him. "I shouldn't have said it." He put his arm around Duo's waist, and turned to face him, moving closer until Duo could feel his breath caress his cheek. Cinnamon, vanilla and green apple, he decided, allowing the mixture of spice and shampoo flow over him. Quatre shifted to place a hand on his knee. "You're a good friend, Duo." He smiled, but the earlier sadness hadn't left his eyes.

A good friend wouldn't be reacting this way in response to the fact you've just put your hand on my knee.

"A good friend who still thinks you need to talk to your man." Duo headed the subject back to where it needed to go. "You guys talk, right?" He rose to his feet, and poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher on the bedside cabinet, using the action to put some distance between himself and Quatre without looking obvious.

"Yes, we talk." Quatre seemed surprised at the question. "What sort of question is that?"

Rolling his eyes, Duo sauntered over to the window glass in hand, and lifted the curtain to peer outside for a moment before turning back to Quatre and continuing. "Get real, Cat. If you guys talked properly you wouldn't be in this mess." Quatre opened his mouth to protest. "And don't give me that look, or the list of excuses I know you're gonna run through."

"Okay, I won't then." Quatre pushed a stray lock of hair off his face, his eyes glazing for a moment before he spoke again. "I don't want to push it, Duo, but it's getting harder and harder to keep going like this. When I suggested the long distance scenario I'd decided that snatched moments together were better than not being with him at all. But now…" His lips turned into a guilty smile. "My sister's getting married in a few weeks, and I know I'm not going to cope. Damn it, I'm not even coping now."

"Yeah, I can understand that."

Quatre stood, walked over to Duo, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I had another reason for inviting you to stay." He blushed, his next words coming out in a rush. "The loneliness was getting to me, and I thought having a friend… having you here might help."

"And here I was thinking you were only interested in my good looks and witty repartee," Duo joked, but then dropped his joker's façade when he saw Quatre's reaction. "Aww, Cat, drop the guilt trip. It doesn't suit you. You needed a friend. I came. No big deal. You close to this sister?"

To his surprise Quatre shuddered. "No. Ever since I took over WE, Ghazal's been trying to convince me I'm not experienced enough for the position, and that her fiancee would be only too happy to provide his obvious expertise to make up for it." He sighed. "And lately they've gotten this brilliant idea into their heads that I need setting up with a nice girl. One with a suitable social background of course. Nothing less would do for the Winner heir."

"Oh God, their reaction when they meet Tro is gonna be…" Duo's voice trailed off.

"Exactly." Quatre's grin was wicked to say the least. "Part of me is looking forward to it, but…" The grin slipped. "Trowa doesn't want me to tell my family about him, so there's not much I can do about it." He shrugged. "All those couples at the wedding, and my sisters all doing their best to set me up with someone when all I want is Trowa. And he's not going to be there. He doesn't want to be there. Obviously this is more important to me than it is to him." Quatre paused. "And I sound selfish, don't I? Well damn it, I feel selfish. Is that so very wrong?"

Before he realised what he'd done Duo pulled Quatre into an embrace. "No, it's not wrong. You have every right to feel the way you do." He took a step back awkwardly, trying not to dwell on how much he'd enjoyed the closeness between them, the feel of Quatre's head resting on his shoulder, and the softness of his hair under his fingers as he'd stroked it in an effort to offer comfort. The other boy had leaned into the embrace the same way he'd leaned into that kiss they'd shared last year. For God's sake, Maxwell, he chided himself. Cat's a friend. He's in love with someone else…and so am I.

Placing both hands on Quatre's shoulder, Duo took a deep breath. "You know you can't go on like this. Neither of you can. You need to take the bull by the horns," he grinned, "or in this case the Gundam pilot by that weird hair of his, and have it out with him."

"Trowa's hair isn't weird," Quatre protested. "It's cute." Duo fought the urge to snigger. He'd heard Trowa called a few things, but cute wasn't high on the list. Then again, Quatre had seen a side of him none of the others had. Quatre shot him a filthy look before continuing. "I was going to say sexy, but I thought I'd told you enough about our sex life." He poked out his tongue good-naturedly.

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were in love with the guy," Duo joked, and then mentally kicked himself for the tactless remark. "Sorry, Cat. That was tasteless, under the circumstances."

To his surprise Quatre answered him with a genuine smile, something he hadn't seen much of over the previous few days. "It's true though, Duo. You don't need to apologise for the truth. I do love Trowa, and I've always believed it's important to fight for what's important to you. That's the reason I fought in the war, after all. I almost lost Trowa then, I'm not prepared to take the chance again. I can't and I won't. It's strange how I can find the courage to fight an army of mobile suits, and yet I can't for this."

"It's a different kind of courage," Duo pointed out. "You're concerned about Trowa's reaction because you care about him. And that's a very good thing. It wouldn't surprise me if he's got issues that are making him react like this that he's not telling you about for the same reason. One of you has to make the first move, and if he won't, it's down to you."

"Another one of your tactical manoeuvres?" Quatre raised an eyebrow before both of them laughed.

"Hey, it worked the last time. Don't knock it until you try it." And one of these days, he'd learn to practice what he preached.

"We've arranged to meet on L2 next month." Quatre sighed. "That week can't come fast enough."

"If it doesn't, I wouldn't wait." Duo wasn't sure Quatre would last the distance. He wasn't coping now. This wedding and those sisters of his with their well-meaning matchmaking were only going to make it worse. "You know where the circus is. Go see him, have it out. The sooner you do, the better you'll both feel." Duo shrugged. "What's the worse that could happen? Tro loves you, he's probably as scared about this whole scenario as you are."

"I'm not scared!" Quatre paused. "Well, yes I suppose I am. And you have a point. Thanks, Duo." He moved away from the window, leaned over the bed to puff up the pillows, before making himself comfortable and stretching out much the same way Duo had earlier.

"Hey, no problem," Duo replied. He joined Quatre to lie beside him on the bed, linking his fingers behind his neck before resting his head on the second pile of pillows, enjoying the softness under his head.

For several moments they both lay there silently, content in each other's company until Duo became aware of the fact that he was being watched. "What?" he asked. "I knew it, there's a spot on my nose you're too polite to tell me about."

Instead of laughing at his attempt to lighten the atmosphere, Quatre shook his head, wriggling further up the mountain of pillows in an effort to get more comfortable. "There's a spot, Duo, but it's not on your nose." Quatre paused. "It's in your heart."

"Huh?" Duo decided to play dumb, hoping it might distract Quatre from where he hoped this line of questioning wasn't going.

"Don't even try it, Duo. This is me you're talking to. And we both know that whole routine is a load of crap." Touche. Typically, Quatre was throwing the whole direct approach Duo had used earlier, right back at him. "How long have you been working next to Heero?"

"Two months, twenty six days," Duo replied, frowning. "And I guess I just gave myself away with that anal amount of detail, right?"

"Yes," Quatre admitted. "But it's obvious even without that."

"Obvious to whom?" Duo didn't want the answer but the question was out of his mouth before he'd even realised he'd asked it.

"Obvious to me." Quatre frowned. "I wouldn't talk about this to Trowa, if that's what you're worried about. We're friends, Duo." Blue eyes clouded over in a storm of doubt. "I thought you trusted me."

"I do," Duo confirmed. "I told you that space-heart isn't one hundred percent reliable," he joked before backing down. "Okay, so I had a momentary flash of doubt. A guy's allowed to do that from time to time. I'm sorry." He shifted his hands to lay them on his chest, studying intently the way the fingers curled around each other, although his mind was somewhere else entirely. "He's cute when he's clueless, you know. Heero I mean."

Quatre nodded after Duo glanced in his direction. "He'll be even cuter when he's not clueless. Heero has a compassionate side to him, Duo, and he cares about people." There was a moment's silence. "He tried to help me in Sanq even though he was fighting his own demons."

"Help you? I thought you told me in that cell that Heero was the one going through the emotional turmoil?"

"I suppose you could say I caused quite a lot of that turmoil," Quatre's eyes glazed over, and he bit down on one lip, while he remembered. "It was an uncertain time, and difficult to work out the best way to fight. Most of the black and white had been replaced by shades of grey." He stopped, noticing the accusing look Duo was giving him.

"We both had our own problems." Quatre fiddled with a shirt button, winding a loose piece of cotton around it. "Heero doesn't show a lot of what he feels, and I guess I show too much. The first few days were difficult, but manageable, and then…"

"And then..?" Quatre seemed very uncomfortable all of a sudden. Either that or he was dealing with memories he didn't want to face. Sanq. Oh shit. Just after the whole ZERO fiasco. "Cat, don't worry about it. If it's something you don't want to talk about now, we'll talk about it one day when you do, okay?"

"Thanks, Duo," the relief in Quatre's voice was obvious. "So when are you going to follow your own advice and talk to Heero?" The brightness in his tone as he asked the question was forced, but Duo pretended not to notice.

"When the time is right," Duo shrugged. "Heero is still coming to terms with living a so called normal life, I can't swing this on him without warning. Hell, what if the way I feel about him is one sided? I'd feel like an idiot, and run the risk of losing the friendship of someone I care about. It's not worth it."

"Are you sure about that?" Quatre shook his head sadly. "It took me a long time to get up the nerve to tell Trowa how I felt for much the same reasons. Don't make the same mistake, Duo."

"I still have to work with the guy," Duo knew how pathetic the reasoning sounded aloud, but some part of him needed to go through the motions anyway. "Heero's not exactly in touch with his emotions. Even if he works out how he feels, how's he gonna know what to do with it?"

"It?" Quatre didn't attempt to hide his smirk.

"His…" Duo blushed, something he didn't do often. "Oh shit, did I just say what I think I did?"

"Yes." The twinkle in Quatre's eye made him feel even more embarrassed. "I'm sure Heero's not as clueless as you think he is. About his emotions, I mean. And he's come a long way since you first met him." His expression grew serious again. "There's something between you and Heero. I can feel it. But you have to act on it, and acknowledge it. Do you want to spend the rest of your life wondering what if? You've just told me to talk to the man I love. Isn't it time you laid your cards on the table and did the same?"

"But it's different for me," Duo protested, noticing the familiar posture his friend was adopting, the slight stiffening of his back, the way his brow creased into a frown. Quatre was in strategy mode. He was screwed. Nothing he said now was going to make a damn bit of difference, because Quatre would see the holes in his arguments and ever so nicely point them out. Inwardly he shrugged. Maybe Quatre was right, and it was time to do something? Working with the guy he loved and feeling frustrated because he wasn't sure he was ever going to have the relationship with him that he craved was getting harder with each passing day.

"Why is it different?" Quatre's tone was a mixture of curiosity and disbelief.

"Well…" Duo stalled for time while he worked through the most feasible scenario. "You guys weren't working together. If you'd made a mistake you could still go your separate ways."

"That wouldn't have made his rejection any easier to take," Quatre remarked quietly. "You could always ask to be reassigned and given another partner. The Preventers are a large organisation, with branches on the colonies as well as Earth."

"Well I kind of like living on Earth, I've gotten attached to it." Duo shrugged. "Besides, I'd have to explain to Une why I wanted the transfer."

"That's just an excuse and you know it," Quatre's tone was still quiet, but firm. "Sometimes you have to take a chance if you want to live life to the fullest. It's the difference between living and existing. Being with the person you love, or forever being alone."

"I don't want to be alone," Duo admitted, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I've lost too many people I care about already. It's taken me a long time to realise I couldn't hold myself responsible for losing them, but this isn't the same." If I lose Heero because I'm honest with him about how I feel, I'll have no one to blame but myself. He glanced up to meet Quatre's gaze, unable to hide what he knew was reflected in his own - fear of rejection, and the anticipated loss of a good friend. "At least this way I still have him as a friend. I can't endanger that, Cat, it's too precious."

Quatre pulled himself up on his elbows, before sliding closer to Duo. He gently reached over and ran a finger across Duo's cheek, before letting it rest on his lips to ensure his silence while he spoke. Duo shivered, part of him enjoying the unexpected touch, the other part scared that he did. "Friendship is precious, Duo, but love is even more so. This is killing you slowly inside, just as much as not telling Trowa I want something more permanent is killing me. Don't leave it until it's too late. Please promise me that." He removed his finger from Duo's mouth, seemingly unaware of the sense of loss the action provoked.

God, Maxwell, what the hell are you doing? "I promise," he said, absently noting the slight shake in his voice. "But you have to promise me you'll have it out with Tro." Duo hooked his pinky around Quatre's.

"I promise," Quatre replied, his tone not as firm as it had been, his own finger gripping Duo's to finalise their pact. "I'll do it when the time is right," he amended. "After the wedding."

"Of course," Duo agreed. "And I'll tell Heero when the time is right."

"Duo…" Quatre sat bolt upright, his tone suggesting he was less than impressed with the proviso.

"Yeah, okay. You tell Trowa first, then I'll think about telling Heero." Duo shrugged. "Sounds fair enough to me. One of us has to practice what they preach." He broke into one of his trademark grins. "I'll be there for you, and then when you and Tro get it together, you can return the favour. So in other words, I'll tell him after you've sorted out your own love life."

For some reason Quatre didn't agree with his reasoning. "Provisos aren't part of the deal," he protested, frowning. "I'm supposed to be the strategist here, not you."

"Aha," Duo pointed out. "Stealth, not strategy. Sneaked that one on you before you saw it coming." He moved quickly out of harms way before Quatre could react but wasn't quite quick enough to totally avoid the pillow shot in his direction. "Your aim's off, Winner. What's the matter? Scared to take me on without a Gundam to back you up?"

The tips of Quatre's ears turned an interesting shade of pink, and the tone in his voice suggested he meant business. "I could take you on and win any day, Maxwell."

"Yeah, sure you could," Duo ducked, but not soon enough, as the second pillow caught him in the stomach. "Hmmph," he muttered, pretending to stagger before dancing out of reach again.

"Care to wager a bet on that?" Quatre asked, not bothering to hide his smugness.

"I didn't think you were the gambling type," Duo smirked, glad his ploy to change the subject was working even better than he'd hoped.

"Gambling?" interrupted an amused female voice and both boys turned in the direction of the bedroom door.

"Why doesn't it surprise me to see you here?" Quatre muttered under his breath at his sister's words. He frowned. "How much of that conversation did you overhear?"

"What conversation?" Alimah Winner's tone was that of pure innocence but Duo believed that act even less than he did when her brother used it. He'd only met her the day before, but had been impressed with her sense of humour and wit. Quatre had taken her very direct enquires regarding Trowa's health, wellbeing, and a few other attributes, which even Duo had raised an eyebrow over, in his stride, matching her comments with several choice remarks of his own. Apparently verbal sparring was something they did often, and after several minutes Duo had pulled up a chair, content to watch, learn, and enjoy the fun. His only regret was that they hadn't thought to provide popcorn before they'd started.

The blonde woman rolled her eyes. "All I see are two boys having a pillow fight." She grinned. "Are you sure it's not past your bedtime?"

"Ali," Quatre protested. "Play nice, Duo's a friend."

"Yes, I can see that," Alimah glanced between the two boys and laughed, before shaking her head in mock disbelief. "I just hope you two were better shots behind the controls of your Gundams. Amazes me the reputation you pilots had during war. If the public could only see you now…"

"Well that's not going to happen, so I wouldn't worry about it," Quatre glared at her.

Duo had been surprised that Alimah had known who he was when they'd been introduced. He'd been under the impression that none of Quatre's family had known about the part he'd played during the war as a Gundam pilot. From what he'd gathered from the short time he'd been on L4, the Winners weren't a close family. Although it was something Quatre didn't want to discuss, he had, however, admitted that Alimah was one of the few Winner sisters who knew he'd piloted Sandrock, and one of the fewer still who had supported his decision to do so. Apparently the story Iria had told her brother about all his sisters being behind him, had been just that, a story. She hadn't had the heart to tell him that most of them didn't know, and that most who did sided with their father. In hindsight, this had probably been a smart decision on her part. It sucked being an orphan, but he suspected it would be worse living with the knowledge that your family, who supposedly loved you, were less than supportive of the stuff that really mattered. Quatre hadn't taken the news well when he'd finally discovered the truth. He'd insisted it didn't matter, but Duo could tell it had. The bitches had better accept Trowa and his relationship with their brother, but Duo suspected that Quatre had already resigned himself to the fact that most of them wouldn't.

"Cat's different when he's fighting bad guys, Ali," Duo drawled. "I know I wouldn't want to go up against him in battle."

"Well, I still think of him as my baby brother," Alimah ruffled Quatre's hair, making a point of ignoring the snort of disgust from him. "You're cute when you're embarrassed," she told her brother, with a grin. "Not as cute as that boyfriend of yours, though." Alimah winked at Duo. "I think poor Trowa's still under the illusion I haven't worked out that he and my brother are an item. Poor deluded darling. All the flirting over the dinner table when he stayed, all the noises coming from Cat's bedroom. Tsk tsk. Subtle, my arse."

"Alimah Winner…" The slow blush creeping over Quatre's face ruined any effect he was attempting to achieve regarding the tone of disapproval in his voice. "You promised…"

"Oh," Alimah smirked, "so I did. But pretending to be clueless doesn't extend to Duo though, right? After all he's an observant young man, aren't you, Duo dear?"

"Yeah, very observant." Duo returned the wink, and then dropped his voice to a whisper, enjoying the response he was provoking from Quatre. "What noises coming from Cat's bedroom?"

"We were talking," Quatre protested indignantly. "It wasn't long after I got home and I wasn't in much of a state to…" His voice trailed off.

"Where there's a will there's a way," Duo pointed out. "And between the two of you I would think there's one hell of a lot of will power."

"Duo!" Quatre pretended to bury his face in his hands. "I don't believe this. You're," he pointed at Duo, "my friend and supposed to stick up for me against my cruel big sister."

"Yeah, true," Duo admitted. "But hey, this is so much more fun. I don't get to see you squirm like this very often, and I have to admit I'm enjoying it."

"We'll see about squirm," Quatre muttered. "I still figure I could take you on and win." A slow smile crossed his lips, after he repeated his earlier challenge. "Ali was only complaining the other night that we don't play cards as often as we used to. You up for a game, Duo?"

"Sure, why not?" Duo shrugged, hiding his grin. This should be interesting. Strict sheltered upbringing, how good could these guys be? He mentally rolled his eyes. Amateurs. "What's your game of choice? Snap? Go fish?" he asked, unable to resist teasing his friend.

Quatre's eyes flashed dangerously. "Poker," he stated.

"That's an interesting choice," Duo commented. "Sure it's not out of your league?" He glanced between the two siblings, noticing Alimah's look of amusement. Okay, what am I missing here? "I'm in if you are." He paused. "Must warn you though, I play to win. I mean I'd hate to take all your money, even though the idea of being worth billions is kind of appealing."

To his surprise both Quatre and Alimah laughed. "Who said anything about playing for money?" Quatre asked.

"Okay, not money," Duo shook his head. "Don't tell me you guys still play for plastic counters. I thought you were past that, Quatre. Obviously I was wrong."

"You'll find out soon enough," Quatre told him, still grinning at some private joke. "What's the matter, Duo? Don't you trust me?"

"Nope."

"I told you he was observant, little…" Whatever she'd be about to say was silenced by a glare from Quatre. "I'll go find the cards, and turn up the air conditioning." She smirked. "I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

Before Duo could ask what she meant by that cryptic remark, she was gone, leaving the two Gundam pilots alone in the room. What the hell did she mean by that, and what was so damned funny? Duo groaned. Why did he suddenly get this feeling he'd just been manipulated into a situation he was going to regret?

The patently innocent look Quatre was giving him wasn't helping. Yep, he was screwed.

TBC