Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Music's Calling ❯ A Hairy Situation ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Duo turned to his friend with a serious expression as he held the picture to his chest, “Tro, would... would you freak out if you found out someone you knew was in love with you?” He winced and looked quickly down at his lap... that hadn’t been what he was going to say! Where did that even come from?! But his mind answered his own internal question: he wanted to know if Trowa was going to freak out about /him/ being in love with him.

Trowa blinked at him for a second, “I really couldn’t say. I also couldn’t tell you that the ‘freak out’ would be good or bad if it did happen.” Trowa wasn’t really sure where this was going, but he hoped it was somewhere he’d like.

Duo froze, he didn’t know? Well that was reasonable; it was a rather random question after all. But then he saw something flash through Trowa’s eyes, yearning? Was he dreaming? Yeah! That was it, Duo Maxwell was asleep. He stood up abruptly and replaced the photo on the mantel before turning back to Trowa, “Could I use your phone? I need to call Colonel Une and let her know that I basically failed my mission.”

Trowa blinked again and gestured down the hall Duo had come out of earlier, “Yeah sure, there’s a secure line in my office just around the corner at the base of the staircase.” He’d hoped that Duo was going to say that he was in love with him and that’s why he’d asked, but from the worried expression on his face and the way the braided man went all business with him, apparently he’d guessed wrong. He sighed and leaned back into his couch fiddling with the brush in his lap after Duo disappeared down the hall.

Duo raced from the room his tangle of wet hair soaking his borrowed shirt currently forgotten, he took a few seconds once he reached Trowa’s office to catch his breath. He couldn’t believe he had said something like that! Then just abruptly changed the subject, could he be any more of a jackass? Face-palming he sat down in the very nice leather chair behind Trowa’s gigantic hardwood desk and picked up the phone. He dialed his boss and waited for his lecture:

<i>Ring, ring, ring~</i>

“Hello?” The voice on the other line seemed extremely confused.

“Sorry Ma’am, this is Duo. I’m reporting in.” There was a muffled crashing sound on the other end followed by mad scrabbling and Duo knew he was in for it.

Another line picked up and WuFei let him have it, “Where the hell are you Maxwell? That damn ship you were <i>supposed</i> to be on came in yesterday. Without you! They said you’d deserted.”

The fact that WuFei was obviously more worried about him then mad gave Duo a moment of pause before he could summon an answer. “I’m currently at Trowa’s...”

There were several intakes of breath and Duo could picture the smiles on their smug little faces for which he rolled his eyes, though he couldn’t banish the blush. “So, how did you end up there?” Une asked him, with obviously suppressed delight. Duo really hated it that his boss could see right through him, especially since he initially hated her so much...and she didn’t like him either. Being on opposite sides of a war does that.

“Those pirates marooned me on a rock which I thought was in the middle of nowhere. The little outcropping I was on didn’t stretch enough in any direction to tell me what was behind me. I was out there for two days. Then today I heard music, and Trowa singing. At least that’s who I thought it was, I seriously thought I was hallucinating, but apparently not. I started singing along and now here I am.” Duo bowed his head, “Saved by a guy who doesn’t even do things like this anymore.”

“Bullshit.” WuFei’s voice hit him like a physical slap, “Just because Barton no longer works as a Keeper of the Peace doesn’t mean he has stopped saving people who are in need.”

“Yes I heard he just left from another session of trying to convince Quatre that all Dorothy needs is his attention once in a while.” Une murmured.

Duo had to smile at that, Quatre was pretty thick sometimes. Suddenly both of them lit into him about hooking up with Trowa since he was there. Duo hit his head on the desk several times before resting it there and singing, “And if you ask me if I love him, I’d lie.”

Both of his antagonizers fell silent. “Well you’ll need time to recuperate I’m sure. You must be massively sunburned.” Une started.

“Thanks for reminding me, now I hurt all over.” Duo groaned.

Une simply laughed at him, “So you have time off until you feel ready to work again. We just won’t give you any more undercover missions. You did after all request to never do them. And now I know why.”

Duo glared at the phone as it clicked in his ear, his boss having hung up on him.

While Duo was using his phone Trowa had gone upstairs and grabbed the man’s clothes and thrown them in the wash, he had left the brush on a side table in the hallway between his office and the living room. He came back up from the basement with a load of his own clothing to fold just as Duo emerged from his office. Duo’s back was too him as he shut the office door and headed back toward the living room, “Hey.”

Duo jumped and spun to face him with wide eyes. Trowa grinned, “Sorry. I put your cloths in the wash, the hair brush is on the table next to you.” Trowa flowed up the rest of the stairs and walked past Duo to the set that led upstairs while the long haired man turned to find the brush.

Taking the brush in hand Duo simply followed Trowa up the stairs, though he stopped in the doorway when Trowa headed into his bedroom. It was a sprawling room with huge floor to ceiling windows that looked out onto a balcony and the beach. There was a huge four poster bed taking up the middle of the wall to the left, there was a door not far away from it that Duo guessed was the master bathroom. There was a large bureau against the wall opposite the side of the bed which Trowa dropped the basket of clothing in front of.

“You can come in you know.” Trowa’s voice startled him yet again and he flinched slightly and looked up from the man’s ass to his face...which was smirking at him.

Duo blushed and entered the spacious room, “You’re whole house is seriously amazing. Thanks for helping me out by the way.”

Trowa simply smiled, “It’s my pleasure. You gonna need help with that mess?”

It took Duo a moment to register the question as he had been watching Trowa fold and put away his laundry. “Mess?”

Exasperated Trowa rolled his eyes and turned to face Duo, “You’re hair.”

“Right.” Duo brought the brush in his hand up to eye level, “You sure this brush can handle it?” He asked jokingly as he began to brush out the ends of his hair, wincing when it snagged on a snarl. He sat down on the floor abruptly and started to attack the knot in his hair.

Trowa smiled and finished putting his clothes away before moving over behind Duo and sitting down. He grabbed the brush and yanked it out of tightly gripping fingers earning him a hiss of pain and a glare, “Let me, you’ll go bald yanking at it like that.”

“Jerk.” Duo sniffed but turned his back to Trowa and let him brush out his hair.

“You say the sweetest things to people who are just trying to look out for you.” Trowa leaned forward and kissed Duo’s cheek as he worked the brush through his drying hair. They sat that way for long moments as Trowa got all the tangles out, then several more as he enjoyed just sliding the brush through the silky mass. For Duo’s part he was in shock for a while after the kiss on the cheek, his snarky remark to Trowa’s response to being called a jerk failing to remain with him after the light brush of lips on his skin. Then he was nearly lulled to sleep by the brush in his hair - his jaw cracking on a yawn is what brought him back to reality. Trowa chuckled lightly, “Sorry, I’d forgotten it was so late. And you’ve had a rough couple of days. There’s a spare room just across the hall. Or...nevermind.” Trowa shook his head and stood.