Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Blue Lightening ❯ Surprise! ( Chapter 9 )

Duo glanced at the clock in the bottom right hand corner of his screen. Solo should be back from work any minute, and he still hadn't managed to check his mail. Preventers apparently had a lot of cases that they would like expert advice on, which meant a lot of reading for him, as he had to know every detail of a case to make a reasonable decision.

He quickly dived into his mail box, sorting through junk and chain-mail. The Preventers tasks were automatically relegated to another folder, so this was all personal junk. Then one address caught his eye; QRWsndrck@g-bois.com.

He opened the mail, and smiled.

 

//Hi there, old friend!

T and I have finally decided to make it official, and of course you're invited! He says I have to wear the dress, but we're trying to convince him that he has the legs for it!

You are invited, of course, and please feel free to bring a guest. Maybe that lovely young lady you met in transit?

If dress is going to be a problem, please contact me and something will be arranged. I look forward to seeing you on L4 soon! The ceremony will take place on the 31st of next month. A shuttle will be prepared for you, tell me where and when you want it! I'm taking full advantage of my status.

Q

PS. You must wear at least one article of clothing that is NOT black!!//

 

Duo was grinning like a maniac as Solo strolled in the door. The blond smiled at him and walked over to hug him from behind. “Somethin' good?”

“We're going to a wedding.”

“Huh?”

“A wedding. Two of the other pilots are getting married, and I'm invited. I was told to bring a guest, so you're coming too.”

“Me?”

“Uh huh.”

“But where?”

“L4.”

Solo pulled away, shocked. “It'll cost…fuck!”

Duo smiled, taking his hand and rubbing his thumb over the back of it. “No, Q's sending us his own shuttle.”

Solo's eyes widened, then his face fell. “But I ain't got nothin' to wear.”

“He thought of that. It's a while to get to L4, so I'll ask him to get us picked up the day before... then we can steal his credit card and get clothes there. We'd have a helluva time getting' good stuff here anyhow.”

“That seems a bit wrong, gettin' him to pay fer us.”

“He's a bloody billionaire, he can take it!”

Solo looked uncomfortable, but nodded. “Ok. I'm gonna take a shower. Is Rosie cookin' fer us tonight?”

Duo shook his head. “Nope. I thought we could order in tonight. I'll do that while you shower, kay?”

“Kay.”

X

Solo shut the bathroom door and turned the shower on before he allowed himself to shudder. A wedding! Streetrats didn't belong at no weddings! He'd mess up somewhere and cause no end of trouble...

But the look on Duo's face when he had been planning it out had been great, the Kid hadn't looked that happy ever, and Solo found that he was falling in love with Duo's true smile. Duo smiled all the time, but it rarely reached his eyes. When it did, he looked like a little angel.

He had to go, for Duo's sake. To make him happy. Maybe he could stay out of the way in a corner… Duo had said that some of the other pilots were orphans too, right? So maybe if he stayed with them and avoided the rich people he would be ok….

He quickly stripped and stepped under the warming spray, letting it warm his tense muscles. After all, he thought as he rubbed soap into a lather, Duo wasn't about to let anything happen to him and even if some rich folks did look down their noses, it wasn't like that was anything new.

Still, as soon as he was done with the shower, he decided to go and see if Duo was in the mood for snuggling; he could do with a little comfort. The customers today had been grouchy because of the fault in the weather systems causing a perpetual cold rain that soaked anyone brave enough to step outside. Some of them had got rowdy, causing the bouncers to step in, and others remembered him from Blue Lightening and had sat at the bar making suggestive comments about cold bedsheets and lonely nights.

Yes, he could really do with a hug, he decided, rinsing shampoo out of his hair. He cut the water and groped for a dry towel, quickly rubbing himself off and walking into the main room, heading for the clothes chest and a pair of clean boxers. Duo looked up as he entered and smiled.

“I called the pizza place, the guy's coming here. I'll go down and get it, seeing as I'm dressed.”

“Cool.”

Duo's look turned wistful as Solo tilted his head to one side to towel his hair. “Can I brush your hair out for you?”

“Sure,” Solo said with a smile. Looked like Duo was in a cuddly mood after all. He moved to sit in front of Duo on the sofa, and passed the brush up to him. A few seconds later, Duo started to run it through his blond hair, stroking his fingers down after each brush stroke.

“Ya only do this `cause ya like petting me,” Solo accused, smiling.

“So what if I do? Ya like bein' petted.”

“S'not the point.”

“I'm done now anyway. Come on up here you, tell me how work was.”

Solo climbed up onto the sofa and settled Duo's head against his shoulder, one hand toying with the tuft at the end of his braid. “Was… nasty. Rain's got all the customers riled up. Coupla near fights.”

“That don't normally bother you.”

“Coupla guys from `Lightening too.”

“Ah.”

Duo snuggled closer, one hand coming up to toy with the end of a lock of hair lying on his chest in much the same fashion that he was playing with Duo's braid.

“I missed ya, little one.”

“Not so little anymore,” Duo challenged, looking up into his eyes. Solo smiled.

“No, you're not.”

Duo opened his mouth to say something more, but was interrupted by the bell.

“Pizza!”

Duo was out the door in a flash, leaving Solo staring after him and wondering exactly where they were going. They'd passed friends some time ago, exchanged friendly kisses before now and they cuddled a lot. But the light in Duo's eyes a moment ago… well, neither of them were children anymore.

X

Duo licked the last of the sauce he had been dipping his crusts in off of his fingers and groaned contentedly. “Man, that was nice.”

“Uh huh.”

Duo took a large swig of mountain dew to clear his mouth, then passed the large bottle to Solo who finished it off and thunked it down decidedly on the table. “Feel like some music?”

“Ok. From the computer?”

“Where else! Do you see a stereo system around here?”

“I thought ya could make one from chewing gum, spent matchsticks and an old hairband.”

Duo laughed and punched Solo lightly on the shoulder. Solo caught his fist and tugged, causing the ex-pilot to loose his balance and topple on top of the blond. Duo surprised himself with how much he wanted the contact; his mind and body has supplied him with about 50 ways to stop this situation from the moment his fist was caught, but he had ignored all of them in favour of the feeling of Solo's warm, smooth skin against his own.

He found himself breathing quickly and staring into a pair of violet eyes that almost matched his own. He blinked. The eyes crinkled a little at the edges.

“Kiss me, you idiot.”

X

It was the sort of night that didn't really stay whole in your memories, Duo thought afterwards. There were tastes, snatches of sensation, whispered words that stuck in his memory. If he really concentrated, he could probably give a blow by blow account of the physical aspects, but the mental, the emotional? A much more fluid concept and one which he found himself contemplating as he stared at the ceiling two nights later.

They had continued sharing the same bed and were as close as they had ever been, but Solo had suddenly become a mystery to him. Duo knew that this made no sense; he'd been able to read him easily before and one night of passion did not completely change a person. So why all the inscrutable looks?

Duo closed his eyes and made a heroic effort to keep from groaning. They needed to talk. But how to tell Solo that without making it seem like a bad thing? He tore his gaze away from the ceiling and fixed it on his bedmate. Solo lay curled on his side, breathing lightly. Duo drew a gentle finger down the curve of his cheek.

“Time to wake up, sleepyhead. We need to figure where we're at.”

“Mmm?” Solo mumbled sleepily, opening his eyes.

Duo smiled. “You look so adorable when you wake up,” he murmured, leaning forward on impulse and kissing Solo on the nose. Solo wrinked his forehead and rubbed at his nose, which gave him the resemblance of a disgruntled five year old.

“M'not adorable,” he insisted with scorn.

“Whatever you say, So'. We need to figure where we're at.”

Solo sighed. “I know.”

“First off, I liked it. I have no problem with doing it again, maybe makin' it a regular thing. Makin' us a regular thing.”

Solo blinked. “Really?”

Duo was shocked. “You thought I wouldn't want to? Why the hell not?”

Solo blushed. “You're beautiful, Duo. Ya could have anyone ya wanted. Ya got no reason to be picking a mucky ex-rat like me.”

Duo frowned. “I'm a mucky ex-rat too, ya know. And there's neva bin anyone, not no-one, like ya, So'. Yer stuck wi' me.”

Solo gave an odd little moan and Duo found himself with an armful of blond. He smiled, and stroked a hand through his partner's long, loose hair. Solo muttered something against his chest, the sound so muffled even his trained ear couldn't pick it out.

“What was that?”

Solo raised his head a little. “I said, speak proper,” he chided, before ducking down again and wrapping his arms a little tighter around Duo. “One of us gotta be civilized fer this weddin' of yours.”

X

The days and weeks leading up to the wedding tore by far too quickly for Solo's taste. Going as Duo's official partner steadied his nerves a little, but there were gonna be famous people there! And that guy who'd saved the world, the one Duo called a suicidal soldier-freak. He'd thought about playing ill, but the memory of the look on Duo's face when he'd announced that they were invited stopped him. He couldn't do that to the kid.

Besides, getting some nice clothes might be fun.

There was a breeze as the door opened and a Chinese man wearing a leather jacket, long black hair pulled tightly into a ponytail, strode in and walked up to the bar.

“What'll it be?” Solo asked, smiling. The guy had dangerous eyes, moved like a dancer which suggested martial arts skills and probably had more than one concealed weapon. Definitely someone to be nice to.

“Orange juice and lemonade.”

Solo nodded and turned to get a glass. Obviously someone who wanted to keep his wits about him as well. “Been on L2 long?”

“How do you know I don't live here?” the man countered, sounding slightly suspicious. Solo stifled a laugh.

“Too well dressed, ya accent tells me you're from L5 an' I've lived here all me life an' never seen ya. My guess is that you're either visiting someone, here on business or pickin' something up.”

The stranger raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his drink. “You're good.”

Solo shrugged. “Had to be. So, why are you here?”

“Picking someone up. Or someone's.”

“They in trouble?” Solo asked, wiping down the bar and wondering if it was anyone he knew. Surprisingly, this question made the man smile.

“They might be. They're going to a wedding.”

Solo blinked. Then blinked again. Puzzle pieces were snapping together in his mind and he tried not to drop the glasses he was tidying away.

“Are you all right? You just went very pale,” the man said, looking concerned. Solo leaned carefully against the bar.

“Ya wouldn't be here fer Duo?”

Instantly the man's eyes narrowed and he was on his guard again. “Yes.”

“You're early.”

Suspicion turned to confusion.

“You're not s'posed ta be pickin' us up till t'morrow.”

The man sat down again and picked up his drink. “Us?” he questioned.

“Yeah, Duo's takin' me. What's ya name, by the way?”

“Chang Wufei. And I thought he was going with Hilde?”

“Hilde? He ain't contacted no-one called Hilde. Gimme a sec, I'll get him to come here.”

“All right.”

Solo went into the back room and picked up the phone. Duo answered on the second ring.

//Yo.//

“It's me.”

//Solo! What's up? Something wrong?//

“Come down to the bar, willya?”

//Sure. Why?//

“Got a surprise for you.”

//Ok… I'm on my way.//

Chang Wufei was still sitting calmly at the deserted bar sipping on his drink. Solo got himself a glass of water and pulled a can of Mt. Dew out of the `fridge for Duo.

“He still drinks that crap?”

Solo nodded. “Yep. Addicted ter the stuff. I tell `im he'll rot `is teeth, but he won't listen.”

Wufei laughed. “He never listens. You sound like you know him pretty well. Are you related? You've got the same eyes.”

“No, we're not. As fer how I know him… it's his story to tell. I dunno if he'd want ya knowin'.”

Wufei nodded. “Fair enough. Does he live far from here?”

“Not very.”

Right on cue, Duo burst through the door. “What's my surprise?” he called, heading for the bar. Then he caught sight of the new occupant. “Wuffers!”

“It's Wufei!” Wufei protested, although he succumbed to the bear hug. Solo laughed, and pushed the can of soda towards the exuberant brunette. Duo leapt up to sit on the bar and pulled Solo into a hug as well, nuzzling his cheek a little before pulling away.

“You're early, Fei,” he commented as he opened the can.

“That's what your friend told me.”

“How'd you know Solo was coming?” Duo asked, his eyes narrowed.

“He didn't,” Solo said, leaning on his elbows next to Duo's hip. The ex-pilot's hand fell naturally onto his shoulder and Solo leaned in slightly, enjoying Duo's solid warmth.

“He figured it out on his own,” Wufei said, his dark eyes taking in their position. “From surprisingly few clues.”

“Aw, Solo's always been good at figuring stuff out.”

“How do you know each other?”

“We… he looked after me when I was a kid.”

“Looked after you? I thought you grew up in a church or something. The outfit said as much.”

Duo tensed a little and started to toy with Solo's ponytail. The blond didn't mind, but he didn't think that it would help Duo's nerves all that much. “That was after the plague,” Solo said. “Me an' Duo were before that, from when he was about four.”

Wufei nodded and finished his drink.

“Would you like another?”

“No thank you.”

“Where're ya stayin'?” Duo asked, sliding off of the bar.

“Speak properly,” Solo muttered as he put Wufei's money in the till.

Wufei snickered. “No where yet.”

Duo turned to Solo. “Mind if he crashes on the sofa?” Solo smiled.

“Nope.”

“Ok. Come stay with us.”

Wufei smiled. “Thanks. I had considered crashing in the shuttle, but I think staying with you would be nicer.”

“Rosemary will wanna meet him, you'd better tell her there'll be one more fer dinner.”

Duo nodded. “Yeah. Hey, got anythin' ya need to do, Wufei?”

“I was considering paying a visit to the Preventer base here.”

“All right. I'll take you there after we've introduced you to Rosemary, she might cook you something authentically Chinese if you're lucky. So' don't get off for another couple of hours, but you're not on the late shift tonight, are you?”

“No, cause we're leavin' tomorrow.”

Duo smiled, leaned over the bar and brushed a quick kiss across the blond's lips. “See you later!”

Solo watched as Duo dragged Wufei out of the bar by the arm. Wufei had been all right. His name had come up before, Solo remembered. He was one of the other pilots. Well, if the worst came to the worst and Duo disappeared somewhere, he could probably turn to Wufei if he needed backup. Maybe this wedding wouldn't be too bad after all…

X

“You're living together then?” Wufei said casually as they took the bus back from the Preventers office. Duo's eyes narrowed.

“Yes. Problem?”

“No, I just never realised…”

“What,” Duo said defensively, “That I was gay?”

“No, that you had loved ones to go back to.”

“I didn't, I thought he was dead. The plague he mentioned? I thought he died in it.”

Wufei nodded. “You seem… close.”

“We are. Very. Problem?” Duo asked again.

“Not with me. “

Duo smirked. “How's Sally?”

Wufei put a hand to his forehead and groaned. “I think she wants to get engaged or something, and I'm her latest victim!”

“She likes you, it's a good thing.”

“Maybe I should follow your example and love men.”

“That would make most of the Gundam pilots, which reminds me… Heero?”

“He's been mostly moping since you left. Hopefully, seeing you happy will perk him up a bit.”

“Heero? Moping?” Duo asked incredulously.

“Well, the normal person wouldn't call it that, but… yes. Moping.”

“I thought he and Relena…”

“So did we all. But no, not as far as I know.”

“This is our stop!”

The two ex-pilots jumped out of the bus and Duo took off at a fast walk. “You armed?” he asked softly.

“Yes.”

“Good. This is an iffy time of night… a little early for any real trouble but bein' prepaired never hurt no-one. Or no-one of any importance at any rate.”