Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Two Can Play ❯ Complications ( Chapter 3 )

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

Disclaimer: For the four *billionth* time, they all are not mine.

Author's Notes: Don't ask me where this story came from because I have
no idea. It's probably the after effect of breathing in all the bug
spray my brother and I perfumed my room with, trying to kill a
cockroach. That stuff is lethal. Anyways, I hope things in this story
aren't too wacky and that characters aren't too out of sync. We killed
the bug, by the way. One down, literally trillions to go. Orginally,
this story was posted as twelve parts at a different site. I hope you
like it.

Dedication: To my friends. My support system.

****

Two Can Play

Part Three

by Kristen Elizabeth

****

"...come all ye faithful...joyful and triumphant, oh come ye, oh come
ye to...

"Why do we frequent the only bar on Earth that plays actual Christmas
carols?"

Quatre looked down at his hot tea and tried to think of an answer for
Heero. "If it were up to me, we wouldn't be at a bar."

"Yes, but Quatre, the ladies look at us funny when we go to the tea
room." Trowa smiled when Quatre gave him a reprimanding glare. He
picked up his peppermint Schnapps. "Here's to decking the halls and
Duo, too."

"I'll drink to that." Heero lifted his beer before taking a long
swallow. "I swear, he's just gone a step too far this time."

"You know, I have to say I'm really uncomfortable with this whole us
versus Duo thing." Quatre shook his head. "It's unsettling."

"Well I'm not happy with how far he's taken this bet. From the moment
we agreed to it, he's been pushing the boundaries. All right, so he
gave me a rash that lasted for four days. I could handle that. But to
put Relena in a humiliating situation with her brother..." Heero's
hand tightened around his beer bottle. "I'm ready to call the whole
fucking thing off."

Quatre dunked his tea bag up and down. "I guess we never realized how
precious his hair is to him."

"It's not the hair", Heero declared. "Well, it's a lot about the hair.
But it's mostly about him and me. Ever since we met it's been a
constant struggle for superiority. Who's the better pilot, who's the
better soldier." He took another swallow of beer. "Sometimes I think
we're only friends because if we were enemies, we'd destroy each
other."

"I don't know if I agree with that", Quatre replied, thoughtfully.
"You're doing a pretty good job of destroying each other under the
guise of friendship."

Heero was quiet for a minute. "You know the crazy thing? I don't want
to fight with him." He gave his friends a hard look. "I'm just drunk
enough to say this, so I want you two to be just drunk enough..." He
amended his statement for Quatre. "...and just nice enough to forget I
ever did." Heero took a breath. "He was the first friend I ever had.
He's my best friend. And I don't want to lose that over something like
this."

"So..." Trowa lifted his drink. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to tell Relena about the bet."

Trowa shook his head. "You're not going to tell her about the bet."

"And why do you think that?"

"Because...there's no point in her getting hurt unnecessarily." He
downed the last of his peppermint liquor. "The solution to your
problem is simple, Romeo. She has a balcony. You have the skills of a
rock climber. There's nothing stopping you."

Heero set his beer down. "Trowa...don't you think that if it were that
simple, I would have thought of that a long time ago? The balcony is
out of the question. Her security system is unpenetrable. I should
know...I fucking designed it!!"

"Then you should know its weaknesses", Quatre reasoned. "A midnight
interlude is very romantic, Heero."

"Duo knew. Somehow, he knew." Heero picked his beer back up. "It's
like he can read my mind....like he knows just when I'm about to win.
And then....he pounces."

"You're giving him far too much credit." Trowa pulled out his wallet
to pay for the drinks.

Heero ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe I should just let him win,
if it's this damn important to him. Relena and I will sleep together
someday....so what if it's after Christmas instead of before? As for
the panties..." He took a breath. "I've done worse things."

"That doesn't sound like Heero Yuy." Trowa handed the bartender some
money. "Backing down from a mission?"

"Relena is not a mission", Heero informed him. "She's...."

"The woman you love?", Quatre supplied.

"And as the woman you love, can you really live with knowing that you
let Duo keep you away from her?" Trowa clapped a hand on Heero's back.
"I saw her when she came to you in the ballroom, Heero. Breathless in
anticipation and virginal eagerness. And I know how she looked when
you came back down ten minutes later. Hair spilling around her
shoulders, lips swollen..."

Quatre studied him with a teasing look in his eye. "Are you sure
you're gay?"

Heero scowled. "I get what you're saying, Barton. And you're
absolutely right. I don't care what the cost...Duo is *not* keeping me
from being with her." He tipped his head back, swallowing the last of
his beer. "Tonight, after this damn ball, I *will* be spending the
night with Relena."

"That's the spirit", Trowa said, approvingly.

"Thanks for the drink. I owe you." Heero grabbed his coat and quickly
left the bar. There was a minute of silence after he left.

"To answer your question, Quatre.....yes."

Quatre took a nervous sip of his tea. "But how do you know for sure?
Sometimes I even ask myself..."

Trowa took the teacup out his hand and entwined his fingers with the
smaller man. "When I'm next to you, I want to be in bed, making love
to you."

"Yes, but is that lust or love? As we've learned from Heero, they're
not necessarily the same thing."

"It's both", Trowa replied. "They're not the same, but they're
undeniably linked." The pad of index finger caressed the back of
Quatre's hand. "I could show you..."

Quatre gracefully pulled his hand back. "I don't remember either side
winning this bet yet. So neither you nor Duo have won your bet,
either. Which means, neither one of us has won *our* bet." He smiled.
"If Heero can wait, so can you."

Trowa sighed in defeat. It looked as though he'd be spending another
night alone. His hand curled around his empty glass. One way or
another, this bet had to end....and fast.

****

"Oh god!!! Oh god....Duo!!! Harder....please....Duuuu...." The last
syllable lost to the throes of passion, Hilde collapsed onto Duo's
sweat-slick chest. He hit his own peak, releasing himself deep inside
her body. They lay in a boneless heap for several long, content
minutes.

Finally, Hilde propped herself up and looked down at the satisified
expression on his face. "Welcome back, little Duo", she whispered.

Duo pulled her down, tucking her into his arms. "He's very glad to be
home", he replied, truthfully.

She laughed and kissed his neck. "I suppose we have Heero to thank for
this."

"No, no, no. He had nothing to do with this, babe", Duo assured her.
"Trust me."

Hilde shifted on top of him. "You know, it's been awhile since you've
mentioned him", she said, sleepily.

"So?"

"Well..." She nuzzled his ear. "He is your best friend." Duo made a
non-committal noise in reply. Hilde opened her eyes. "You two didn't
have a fight, did you?"

Duo stroked her back. "I wouldn't exactly call it a fight."

"What would you call it then?"

"You're going to get mad if I tell you..."

She lifted an eyebrow. "After a line like that, I'll be even more mad
if you *don't* tell me."

He gave in. "Heero and I sort of made this bet. About Relena." He
continued before Hilde could interrupt. "Neither one of us have any
intention of hurting her, I swear. We just have this bet going that
Heero won't be able to...um...sleep with her before Christmas."

"Oh Duo..." Hilde's voice was thick with disappointment.

"I know what you're thinking. That it's stupid and childish."

"Amung other things."

Duo held up his hands. "You don't understand, Hilde. I can't let him
win this one. And it's not just my hair." She gave him a puzzled look.
"If I lose the bet, I have to cut my hair. But it's more than that.
It's like..." He paused, searching for the words. "He always wins,
Hilde. No matter what...I've never been able to beat him."

"I wasn't aware there was an ongoing war between you two", she said,
dryly.

"There's not. Not really. But I always feel like no matter what I do,
I can't ever measure up to him. He's the Perfect Soldier and I'm..."

"Throwing away the best friend you've ever had over your stupid
pride", she finished for him.

Duo blinked. "Ouch. Retract your claws for a second, babe, and try to
see it from my point of view."

Hilde's eyes narrowed. "I don't think I can do that. See, I'm a woman.
I'm programmed to think differently. The only person who's point of
view I can see is Relena's. And I see someone who could be so
massively hurt and betrayed by this that she might never recover."
Hilde sat up, straddling Duo's waist. "Duo...do you love me?"

"Of course I do. But what..."

She covered his mouth with her hand. "Would you do anything for me?"

"Mphfm..."

"Would you call off this ridiculous bet before you end up hurting the
person who least deserves it? And in the process, will you salvage
your friendship with Heero?" She lifted her hand from his mouth to let
him answer.

"Heero won't back down from the bet." Duo grabbed her hips and rolled
her over until she was underneath him. "I guarantee it."

"Then..." She nipped his neck, inflicting the perfect combination of
pain and pleasure. "...you'll just have to be persuasive."

Duo's hand cupped her between her thighs, touching her flesh, still
wet with their ecstasy. "I can't say what Heero will do..." He slid a
finger into her warmth. "But I'll try...."

Hilde threw her head back and arched her hips to meet his fingers.
"Promise?"

He moved down her body to replace his fingers with his tongue. "I
promise...."

****

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas....just like the ones I used to
know...."

Relena bypassed the carolers without a second glance. They could dream
of a white Christmas. She was stuck with dreams of the things she
seemed unable to do with Heero.

Noin approached her side. "I swear, the lines get longer every year."
She held up a shopping bag. "But it's worth it to have found the
perfect gift for your brother."

"I'm sure he'll love it", Relena said. "Do you know what he's getting
you yet?"

"I have a sneaking suspicion it's jewelry." Noin smiled. "What about
you? Have you found a gift for Heero?"

Relena shook her head. "Everything I think of seems so....trite.
Meaningless." She shrugged. "I told you....hardest person to shop for
in the entire world."

Noin chose her words carefully. "What about the other thing?"

"Ask my brother", Relena replied, darkly.

"Oh, he already told me", Noin assured her. "I didn't get a word in
edgewise, as a matter of fact." She turned her head to look at the
younger girl as they walked through the open air shopping center.
"Don't tell me you're going to let that stop you."

Relena lifted her shoulders. At the bidding of a Santa with a bell,
she dropped a few coins into a red bucket for charity. "The more I
think about it, the more I think Milllardo might just be right."

"Oh.." Noin shook her head. "Don't let him hear you say that. I have
enough trouble keeping his head from swelling."

"I am a policitian. And as such, I have a greater responsibility to
the people I represent. I can't deny that and pretend like what I
do...how I conduct myself...doesn't matter."

Noin put a hand on her arm, bringing them to stop. They were a
motionless island in the streams of holiday shoppers. "Relena, you are
not a slave to your position."

"I know." Confused tears flooded her eyes. "I want to be with Heero
more than anything. But maybe all these setbacks happened for a
reason. Like the fates are trying to tell me that what I'm doing is
wrong. Not morally wrong, but *politically* wrong."

"Politics should never be a factor in matters of the heart", Noin said
softly.

Relena wiped away a tear. "Please don't make this harder for me than
it is. I already face the daunting task of telling Heero."

"Telling Heero...what?"

There was a pause. "That I can't make love with him."

****

****

The place, the main hallway of Preventer Headquarters. The time, two
PM. The event, a face off.

Heero and Duo stood at opposite ends of the hallway, daring each other
to make the first move. Their coworkers passed them by with strange
looks, but the men ignored them.

It was the stand off to end all stand offs. And neither man was
backing down.

Wufei poked his head around his cubicle. "They haven't moved since
they got back from lunch break."

"There's too much goddamn pride between them." Trowa fed a document
through the shredder. "If one of them pulls a weapon, start worrying."

"Wait a minute. Yuy moved." Wufei watched carefully as Heero reached
into his back pocket. "I think he has a gun."

Trowa shredded another document calmly. "If he starts shooting, call
Une."

"It's a..." Wufei tilted his head to the side. "It's just his beeper.
He's turning it off....putting it back into his pocket..." Wufei
snorted. "And the stand off resumes."

"While I appreciate the running commentary, this is getting a little
old", Trowa said, finishing off the last of the documents. "Five
dollars says Maxwell makes the first move."

"You already owe me a hundred", Wufei reminded him. "What's another
five?"

Trowa stood up and glanced over the cubicle wall. "Looks like I win.
Maxwell's walking towards him."

"I'll be damned..." Wufei squinted. "They're talking....talking....and
now....hey, where are they going?", he balked. "They're leaving!"
Trowa lifted his shoulders.

"What's going on with Duo and Heero?" Sally Po approached their desks.
Unwillingly, Wufei breathed in deeply. Whenever Sally was around, the
air smelled like jasmine.

"Trust me..." Trowa sat back down at his desk. "You don't want to
know."

She shrugged and tossed a file onto Trowa's desk. "The reports from
the field nurses. Une wants you to include them in your main report
and have it on her desk in an hour."

"An hour?", Trowa repeated.

"Did you forget we have to close up shop early today for the ball?"

Trowa reached for the reports. "I had almost managed to."

Sally gave Wufei a coy stare. "I had a nice time the other night. I
didn't know you liked seafood."

"There are many things that you do not know about me, woman."

"And if you keep calling me 'woman', I won't be sticking around long
enough to find out any of them." Smiling sweetly, Sally turned on her
heel and walked away.

Wufei watched her go. He tried to keep his eyes on the back of her
head, but his gaze slipped down to her shapely buttocks, shown off to
dangerous perfection by her Preventer uniform. He blinked. "Did you
see that?! She's impossible!!"

"Well, my friend...." Trowa shook his head sadly. "So are you."

****

"All right. I'm only going to say this once, so listen up." There was
a pause. "I'm sorry."

Heero's face showed no change in emotion. "For...?"

Duo gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry for giving you a rash. I'm sorry for
sending Millardo after you. I'm sorry for betting on your sex life."

"That was more than once, you realize." Heero lifted his chin.
"Apology accepted."

As his friend pushed past him into his office, Duo recanted. "You
know..." He raised his voice. "...you have some stuff to be sorry for
too!"

"If you are referring to your temporary celibacy, I regret that I had
to resort to that." Heero walked around behind his desk. "But you
pushed me, Duo. Too far."

"Yeah, well..." Duo crossed his arms over his chest. "What are friends
for?" Heero began rearranging things on his desk. "Actually...that's a
good question. What *are* friends for? What is our friendship for? Can
you answer that, Heero? Can you tell me why we're friends?? And if you
can't tell me that, then can you please explain how our friendship
turned into a massive struggle for superiority?"

Heero lowered his head. "This wasn't ever about my sex life, was it?"

"Not really. I just really wanted to win this time. Personally, I
*want* you and Relena to have what Hilde and I have. But when you
threatened my hair...and then it seemed like you were going to win so
easily..." Duo shrugged. "What can I say? My competitive side took
over."

"The thing is....it's not about winning anymore. Hell, it's not even
about us anymore. We were treating Relena like some kind of concession
prize." Heero sat down. "Which is why I'm going to tell her all about
the bet. I couldn't sleep with her and keep this secret."

"Heero...am I still your best friend? Even after all this shit?"

Heero blinked. "I guess so."

Duo nodded. "Good." He walked over to Heero's desk and reached out,
smacking Heero's forehead with the palm of his hand.

"What the hell was that for?!", Heero yelled.

"For being an idiot", Duo replied. "Why would you tell her now? The
bet's off, Heero. No one won. And if you keep your mouth shut, no one
will lose. More importantly, no one will get hurt. You'll sleep with
Relena, Trowa will get two hundred bucks of my hard-earned cash and if
what Quatre said when he was half-asleep at his desk the other day is
true, he'll get laid, to boot." Duo spread his hands. "Everyone will
be happy! Life goes on!"

Heero rubbed his forehead. "I couldn't live with the guilt."

"Ah, fuck the guilt! Guilt is selfish, Heero. It's saying that
something you did in the past is more important to you than the people
around you in the present. You gave up guilt the first time you told
Relena you loved her. I gave it up when I asked Hilde to marry me.
Don't go piling it back up again."

"The bet is still there, Duo. It still hangs around. If Relena ever
found out from anyone else, even in casual reference, I'd lose her.
I'd rather tell her and risk everything than lose her because I was
too much of a coward to say it to her face."

Duo moved his hands in time with Heero's lips. "Blah, blah, blah.
So...the bet's still on, huh? Fine then..." He reached for the
scissors on Heero's desk. "I forfeit." Closing his eyes, he pulled his
braid over his shoulder and with one quick movement, snipped off a
little less than an inch of his hair.

Heero looked at the tiny bits of hair that fluttered to his carpet.
Duo's eyes were still tightly shut; his face was scrunched up as if he
were in terrible pain. Unable to stop himself, Heero began to laugh.

Duo cracked one eye open. "You're laughing...?"

Holding his sides, Heero continued to laugh. "You didn't...even
reach...the rubber band!"

"Hey!" Duo's face relaxed. "That was a massive fucking step for me!! I
just cut my hair for the first time in my entire life!!"

Heero tried to collect himself, but the sight of Duo holding the
scissors indignantly was too much. Duo threw them back onto his desk;
he laughed harder. Finally, he cleared his throat. "That was amusing",
he said with a perfectly straight face.

There was a half second pause before Duo burst out laughing. Heero
joined him and for a brief moment, any person passing by would have
been hard pressed to believe that at one time, the men were considered
two of the most dangerous in the entire world.

Duo wiped his eyes. "So, you're not going to tell her?"

"I won't tell her", Heero conceded. He shook his head, still smiling.
"I just don't want to lie to her."

"Lying by sin of omission." Duo examined the end of his braid. "It
only gets you ten Hail Mary's."

"And that means....?"

He dropped the braid. "Not as severe."

"Right. Sure." Heero thought for a moment. "I still have one question.
How did you know about the ballroom?"

Sheepishly, Duo went around to his side of the desk and reached
underneath it, extracting the metal transmitting-recording device. "We
already called a truce", he reminded Heero. "If you punch me, I'll
have to punch you back."

Heero grabbed the device and turned it over in his hands. "Did you
record everything?" Duo nodded. "Some of what goes on in here is top
secret, Duo. Classified even to you."

"Well, I didn't listen to *everything*."

"I'm going to have to destroy all the tapes. Where are they?"

Duo scratched the back of his head. "In the security kiosk at the
conference hall."

Heero lifted his jacket from around his chair. "Let's go." As they
left the office, he stopped dead in his tracks. "You asked Hilde to
marry you?"

****

"But Mr. President, eliminating the interplanetary passport would only
make it easier for people like fugitives or runaways to hop from
colony to colony. They'd be invisible forever!"

Relena stifled a yawn as she listened to the Minister of the Interior
engage in a heated debate with the President. She glanced at her
watch. Five more minutes before she could get out of there.

Quatre didn't need to glance over to see her. "You're fidgeting...",
he informed her, teasingly.

"I know." Relena looked down at her lap. "What I don't know is why."

"Virginal anticipation?"

Relena's head whipped to the side. "Quatre Raberba Winner! That is
completely unlike you to say something like that!"

"I don't know quite when I accquired this reputation as the world's
biggest prude, but I'm getting rather bored with it." Quatre raised
his chin; his eyes never left the stage as though he were actually
listening to the closing arguments.

She sat back in her seat. "I suppose people just...put you on a
pedestal because of who you are."

"And what's that? The heir to the Winner Industries fortune?" Quatre
watched the war raging on the stage. "Do those same people know that
I'm a gay ex-guerilla warrior?"

"If you have a point...arrive at it."

He finally turned his head to look at her. "How people see us is a
reflection on how we see ourselves, Relena."

"And that means...?"

"If *you* think you're a whore, you'll think other people think you're
a whore and you'll be a whore. If you think you're a normal woman in
love..."

She sucked in a breath. "You've been talking to Lucy, haven't you?"

"I did call Miss Noin when you skipped the morning meetings to go
shopping", he admitted. "So...should I avoid Heero tonight or are you
going to listen to reason?"

****

Duo flipped on the lights in the security kiosk. "The recorder's over
there."

Walking across the room, Heero picked up a device. "This?"

"No, that's my link to the com system." He looked it over. "The red
light is on. Someone's using it."

Heero frowned. "Well, who has the earpiece today?"

"Quatre, I think. He's at the conferences with Relena."

His best friend's face lightened. "Relena...I wonder if she's wearing
her bulletproof vest." Without hesitation, Heero turned on the
device's speakers and brought the microphone up to his lips. Flipping
a few switches, he activated it. Within seconds, he could hear
everything Quatre heard.

****

"It's not that simple, Quatre." Relena bit her lip. "You wouldn't
understand."

"What I understand is that Heero Yuy, the emotionless soldier I met in
the middle of a war has fallen in love. With you." Quatre took her
hand. "Don't throw that away for anything. Not for your brother, not
for your people and not because of whatever warped ideas of morality
you've had pounded into your brain by years of Sunday School."

"Oh, you should talk! I've studied Islam...I know that your religion
is even stricter about these things than mine!" She wrenched her hand
away. "This has nothing to do with god. I can't be with Heero for many
reasons, the least of which is morality."

Quatre flexed his fingers. "What happened to being ready? What
happened to knowing that he was the only man for you? When did this
all get so serious??"

The speeches were ending. All around them, senators and statesmen
rose, applauding. Relena stood up. "It's always been serious, Quatre.
Why do you think I haven't slept with him yet? When I told him I was
ready, I was just fooling myself into believing that it really
*wasn't* all that serious. But...it is." She turned to leave, but
stopped and turned back around to face him. "Did you know that he's
only told me he loved me once? And that was two years ago. I need to
hear the words, Quatre. They remind me that I'm not some mission that
he's already accomplished."

"Trust me on this one, Relena." Quatre smiled softly. "You're not."

"Yes, well..." Relena looked down at her hands. "It'd be nice to hear
that every once in awhile. Excuse me...I have to get ready for this
damn ball."

Quatre watched her go with the saddest look on his face. Sighing, he
reached for his coat, preparing to leave.

"Is that it?" An all too familiar voice resounded in his ear. He
clapped a hand to the side of his head as the voice continued. "Are
Relena and I over?"

"Heero...", Quatre replied, quietly. "She's confused."

"I'm confusing her?"

"Everything is confusing her. Her job, her brother, her sexuality.
You're one of the things in her life, Heero. Right now, you're taking
a back seat to the rest of it all."

"But I don't want to be in the backseat."

Duo's voice was distant over the com link. "Unless she's in it with
you..."

"It's your job to help her sift through all of it." Quatre's tone was
calming.

Heero hesitated. "By telling her I love her? I thought she
understood...I don't want that one word to get abused by repeating it
all the time."

"Well, I think you need to drag it out of the closet every now and
then, Heero."

Duo snickered. "Out of the closet....get it? You don't get it?
C'mon...Quatre, you get it, right?"

"I get it." Quatre sighed. "Tonight is your opportunity", he told
Heero. "You have to show her that you love her and that it's not just
about sex. Can you do that?"

Two floors below, Heero nodded. "I can do that. But I'm going to need
help." He turned to look at Duo. "Are you as good at getting two
people together as you are keeping them apart?"

Duo rubbed his hands together eagerly. "You're damn right I am.
Heero....stick with me and you'll get laid." Quatre began to laugh.
Heero raised an eyebrow. Duo sighed loudly. "Oh, you know what I
meant!!"

"Get Trowa and Wufei, Quatre. And call Noin while you're at it. Duo,
you get Hilde...I'm going to need her for this. We'll meet at the
Christmas tree in the ballroom at eight sharp."

"See you then." Quatre removed his earpiece.

Heero pulled the microphone away from his lips. "Let's go."

"You know what I meant, right?" Duo chewed on his lower lip. "'Cause I
seriously have never thought about you like that." Heero ignored him
and turned to go. "Just like I'm sure you've never thought of me like
that, right?"

"Are you asking me if I think about your ass?"

"Do you?"

"Only in the context of kicking it repeatedly."

Duo nodded. "That's as it should be."

Heero rounded a corner and they stepped into the main hallway. "You
know...I think you get stranger every year, Maxwell."

His best friend nodded happily. "It's my yearly resolution. To be more
of a pain in Heero Yuy's..." He stopped when he noticed Heero was no
longer walking beside him. Duo looked back over his shoulder.

Heero was staring across the room. Duo followed the path of his gaze.
It lead straight to Relena.

She stood in the middle of a clump of diplomats, a plastic smile fixed
upon her face. Duo walked back to Heero. "Why don't you go talk to
her?"

"The time for talking is over. Tonight is about action."

Duo nodded. "It does speak louder than words. Well, except maybe three
little words."

"I love her", Heero said, never letting her leave his sight. "I refuse
to lose her."

"Well..." Duo swung an arm around Heero's shoulders. "That's what you
have us for. By the end of this night, you will make all her doubts
disappear. And when you wake up in the morning, she'll be tucked in
the crook of your arm forever." Duo grinned mischieviously. "I'd bet
my life on it."

****

To Be Continued