Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The D.C. Saga ❯ The D.C. Saga, Part Thirty-Two ( Chapter 32 )

Title: The D.C. Saga, Part Thirty-Two

Warnings: This is not a Mary-Sue. I swear to all that is holy that this is NOT a Mary-Sue. Technically, it's not even a self-insert, because hey, it's not Nomi! Reiko, my dear, wonderful Reiko, is now the new girl. She'll be mostly how she is now, and I promise that she won't interfere with any of the set relationships that I have-i.e., 1x2, 3+/x5.

And here's a little more to it, if anyone really cares-it's what Reiko and I thought up together. Yes, she will get with Quatre, but no, they will not stay together. There's another pairing she has in mind (yaoi, naturally-it's US) that we're going to do, but that's not for a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong time...^^

Archives, since there are new ones:

Calic0cat's site: http://www.calic0cat.freeservers.com, under guest fics.

The Vault: (PowerGoddess' site) http://www.templeofthegoddess.com/files/gwyaoi.html.

Himiko's site: http://www.iridescent-dreams.net/gw/index2.htm, under FanFic Archive.

MediaMiner: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/src.php/u/74964.

FanFiction.Net: http://www.fanfiction.net/~nomi.

LiveJournal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/panicqueen (I have it enabled as friends-only at the moment because of certain er...problems...but if you have an lj and you want me to friend you, just ask! I love having new friends. ^^)

GreatestJournal: http://www.greatestjournal.com/users/panicqueen (I will be putting them all up there very soon, for public viewing.)

Thanks for suffering through all that! ^__^ On with the fic!
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"Hi, come on in. My parents aren't here, obviously, but you can have your pick of rooms."

Duo stared at the small, pretty girl that had just opened the door. She was smiling happily and he couldn't help but to...well...stare. She seemed very normal, so he knew there was a catch.

"Thank you very much," Quatre spoke up for them all, shifting his pack on his back to distribute the heavy weight. "We're sorry for barging in on you like this."

The girl shook her head and stepped to the side. "No, no, don't worry about it. You're not barging in on anything. My name's Reiko, by the way."

The boys trooped in and took a good look around the quaint two-story house they were going to be staying in for a while. The foyer was narrow and they had to go single-file just to get through with the heavy packs, and it opened up into a high-ceiling, wonderfully open living room. To the left they saw a neat winding staircase that led to the upper floor of the house, and also a walkway which looked like it ended with a couple of rooms. In the living room was a giant big-screen TV, digital cable....and a few gaming systems.

Duo was at one of these immediately, ignoring what appeared to be a baseball game on TV. "Mind if I play?" he asked, turning to look at Reiko happily.

"How about in..." She checked her watch, then her eyes fell to the baseball game. "Two minutes. Wagner's about to strike them out."

Duo blinked, glancing at her t-shirt-Houston Astros-then to the TV screen...where apparently the pitcher she was talking about, Wagner, was playing for Philadelphia. "Uh..."

"Yeah?" she asked, sitting next to him as the others entered the room. Heero went and started checking all the bedrooms, closets, and windows to make sure that everything was safe, a little puppy in his arms. He'd finally broken down and accepted the gift, though he hadn't named him yet. Duo thought it was absolutely adorable the attention Heero gave to that little puppy. D.C. was not a happy camper, but she still had Duo, so all was well.

"You're rooting for the other team?"

"No."

"But that guy...the pitcher..."

"Oh, he used to be an Astro, but they were stupid and traded him. I don't cheer for the Phillies, I cheer for Wags."

Duo blinked again. "So I should cheer for him too?"

This earned him a very bright and pretty smile. "Please!"

"Okay. Yay, um, Wagner, whoo hoo..."

Reiko laughed and swatted him playfully. Duo relaxed so fast he didn't even realize he was doing so. He felt remarkably comfortable around her, which was highly unusual. It took him many months to feel so close to Heero.

The others had disappeared somewhere, he realized, even Trowa and WuFei. But that wasn't surprising-the two quiet pilots had stuck together pretty often these days. And Quatre was still in the room, but he was being strangely silent.

"Hey, Quat-come sit down and chat a bit," Duo called out, and he was surprised to see the Arabian's cheeks flush a brilliant shade of crimson. "You okay, Quatre?"

Reiko turned to look up at the blonde, smile on her face, and Quatre seemed to blush even more. "Yes, I'm fine. Forgive me for being rude..." He sat down next to Duo, back straight and hands in his lip, eyes fixed on the screen though the American had a feeling that Quatre wasn't exactly watching it. Especially since his wide blue-green eyes kept shifting to Reiko.

Duo really enjoyed the little of the game he saw, and sweet Reiko seemed ecstatic when he admitted that he'd like to see another one, if any would be on.

"Oh yeah, definitely," she gushed to him, an hour or so later, when all the boys had grouped together in the living room. "There are games on all the time-if I can get tickets, you guys want to go?" She turned and addressed the others, receiving only a slight smile from Trowa, a slight glare from WuFei, a blush from Quatre, and a minimal shake of his head from Heero.

"Can't. Too dangerous."

Reiko gave him a challenging look. "And you've never gone out in public before? Ever?"

"Of course we have, but-"

"Then can't you disguise yourselves?" She looked at them all, then gave a huffy sigh. "Come now, you're very intelligent young men, I'm sure you can devise a way of making yourselves appear different."

"I think it sounds nice."

The other four boys turned to look at Quatre, who seemed in a near-permanent state of redness. "What? It does! Baseball. It's...very normal. Normal kids go to baseball games."

He knew he'd struck a cord in them all-being normal was something that was unattainable for them, and the thought of having a chance at it was compelling. But Heero was adamant. "No baseball games."

"Just one?" Quatre persisted, but all he got was a heated glower. He finally nodded and turned to Reiko, smiling apologetically. "Can we at least watch them on TV?"

Reiko, who obviously hadn't realized that Heero was their leader before them, nodded a bit belatedly. "Yeah, sure. They're always on my TV. Come on upstairs, I'll show you the games I've downloaded on my computer. You might like them, Quatre."

So the blonde left with their new hostess, and Heero immediately looked at Duo. "No baseball games."

The braided boy held up his hands. "I know, I know! No baseball games."

"None. You aren't going to a baseball game with her."

"I know!" Duo was starting to get a little bit pissed off. "What, you think I'm some child that can't listen?"

"I'm just saying-"

"I know what you're saying. I heard you the first, second, and third times. No baseball games." He looked Heero in the eye, noticing in the back of his mind that WuFei and Trowa had slipped away, leaving the two of them alone. "Don't treat me like I'm some sort of kid, Heero."

"Duo, I didn't-"

"You did. You don't have a right to."

There was a quiet pause as their gazes held steady, almost electrically so. Then Heero moved from his spot curled up in the chair and sat on the floor in front of Duo, all without breaking eye contact. Finally, the Japanese boy sighed a little. "I apologize."

Duo relaxed instantly. "Good."

Heero quirked a very small smile and glanced at the TV. "Quatre seems to like baseball."

"Or Reiko."

"Or maybe both."

Duo laughed and punched his shoulder. "I bet you're right. He blushed a lot, didn't he?"

"Looked like a setting sun," Heero agreed, eyes bright. He leaned in a little and brushed a strand of hair away from Duo's cheek. Duo, for his part, turned red.

"You look like Quatre," the messy-haired boy said, earning himself another playful punch. He grabbed Duo's hand and brought him forward, their lips touching briefly before parting. Heero stood. "I'm going to go get things settled in the room. Are you coming?"

"Maybe later," was the dazed reply, and Heero gave him what could be considered a warm smile before padding off. Duo sat for a few moments in wonder, touching a finger to his lips, which he noticed were slightly chapped. He'd have to fix that before the next kiss.

Which also surprised him. He actually anticipated Heero kissing him again. It would be...nice...if he received another sweet kiss like that. Just gentle and tender, nothing extravagant. Extravagant was not something Duo was prepared to deal with.

He hopped to his feet and went to the kitchen for a glass of water before heading outside and climbing the roof like a demon monkey, enjoying the view and the cool breeze in the hot air.

Reiko was a nice person, he mused. Very cool, sweet, and funny. He liked her a lot, so them staying there wasn't going to be torture. Besides, she was pretty cute.

He laughed while he took another sip of water. She's fiery, though. Quatre really has his work cut out for him...

Speaking of Quatre...he was going to need to get revenge for that crucifix stunt. The American was positive that the blonde boy had done it, so revenge was definitely in order.

Snickering, Duo realized that payback was indeed a bitch...

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A/N: Please read and review. ^__^ Thanks. And sorry for the wait! I promise it won't be so long till the next one.