Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Winning Duo ❯ Chapter 12
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Calic0cat 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 02.15.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 02.15.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
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Title: Winning Duo
Chapter: 12/?
Author: Calic0cat <calic0cat@fastmail.fm>
Story Started: Jan. 2003
Genre: Yaoi, Romance, Humour, Angst
Pairings: Working towards 1x2x5; 3x4; 6x9; others may be implied
Rated: NC-17
Warnings: OOC, Swearing, Shifting POV
Archives: At Mediaminer.org under Calic0cat. Anyone with archive permission for my other fics can help themselves; anyone else, please ask.
Disclaimer: Duo and Heero and the rest of the GW gang aren't mine. This story is. Nuff said.
Notes: Starts one year after Endless Waltz. POV changes frequently.
'Thinking'
"Speaking"
*** Time passing or scene change
Author's Notes: I usually write 1x2x1, so a 1x2x5 is a first for me (well, writing one is - I've been reading them for quite a while now, that's the *only* threesome I actually *like*). This fic is courtesy of Quin, my romance/humour muse. Feedback is appreciated.
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Heero ignored the sting of soap in the shallow cuts as he washed his hands. They were nothing - not even worth mentioning, really. But Duo was correct that a public place such as an amusement park tended to carry a lot of germs and bacteria and *any* break in the skin had the potential to pick those up. It would be extremely foolish to end up with an infection because of something so minor.
His eyes automatically lifted to the mirror as he heard the door to the restaurant swing open. 'Wufei.' Hastily dropping his eyes again, Heero pretended to be busy concentrating on his hands. He had no idea what Wufei's reaction had been to everything he had said, nor was he certain whether some sort of reaction on his own part was required in response to Wufei's explanation.
Entering the washroom with the first aid kit in hand, Wufei caught the quick flash of blue in the mirror as Heero spotted him and dropped his gaze. He had worked with Heero long enough to catch the very slight defensive hunch of Heero's shoulders. It was a rare sight, but on the few occasions that a mission had gone bad, he *had* seen that reaction before. Usually just before Chief Une lit into them with some exceptionally caustic summation of their shortcomings. 'Duo was right. Heero *is* concerned about what I think of him.' The thought was surprisingly warming. He had learned to respect the former Wing pilot for his determination and dedication to his duty long before the war ended. Knowing that Heero thought highly enough of *him* to actually care about his opinion meant a lot to Wufei.
Setting the first aid kit aside for a moment, Wufei quickly washed his own hands and turned to catch Heero's wrist before he could leave. "Let me see those," he ordered, firmly tugging Heero back to where he had set down the first aid kit.
Startled cobalt eyes flashed to meet Wufei's dark ones. "It's nothing, Chang," Heero said defensively.
"You'd say the same thing if you had three bullets in you, Yuy," Wufei replied drily. "In fact, you *have* said the same thing under those circumstances. Now let me take care of those." Heero could have easily pulled free of his grasp, but instead he allowed Wufei to turn his hands over and take a look at the palms. 'Nothing major, certainly, but considering where we are, a little disinfectant and antibiotic cream would not be a bad idea,' Wufei thought after a quick examination.
Heero held perfectly still as Wufei efficiently cleansed his hands. It was far from the first time that Wufei had treated his injuries. Partners automatically took care of each other's scrapes and cuts that were too minor to be worth bothering Sally's staff over. But the fact that Wufei was bothering to do so now, when they were *not* on Preventers business and after Heero's revelation of a past that he was himself ashamed of, was reassuring. Hesitantly, he asked, "Did Duo make you do this?"
"Duo suggested that your hands should be taken care of and I agreed," Wufei answered. Raising his gaze as he finished his task, he added firmly, "Had I not been willing, I would not have done so."
Heero ducked his head in acknowledgement and quietly offered, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Yuy," Wufei responded briskly. Handing the kit to Heero, he told him, "Just return that to one of the staff, please."
Heero nodded and started towards the door.
Wufei hesitated. He did not wish to overstep the boundaries of his relationship with Yuy, yet at the same time he felt the need to make his own reaction to Heero's past clear. Just as Heero pulled the door open, he came to a decision. "Yuy?"
Heero looked back questioningly.
"Heero... J was an honourless bastard. His pupil, fortunately, is his complete opposite, a man that I am proud to work alongside of." Wufei turned abruptly to needlessly rewash his hands and signal that the subject was closed. When he glanced at the mirror a moment later, the door had soundlessly closed and Heero was gone.
***
Seeing Heero returning to the table, Duo rose to take his own turn washing up. Noticing that Heero seemed a bit disconcerted, Duo asked, "Heero - you okay?" 'Shit, I hope sending 'Fei after him didn't backfire...'
Heero met Duo's eyes and answered, "I'm fine." Since Duo didn't look too convinced, he added more firmly, "Really," and managed a slight half-smile. He *was* fine, really. Just a bit - confused. Even if Wufei was *not* disgusted by his past, he would not have expected Wufei to be quite so nice to him after hearing that Duo had fallen in love with him first. 'Either he is very confident that Duo will choose him over me or he genuinely considers me a friend and wants to try to preserve that friendship no matter who Duo chooses.' He *hoped* it was the latter, for more reasons than one. Heero was reluctant to use the term "friend" to describe *anyone* without them having called him a friend first, but Wufei was one of the small group of people that he trusted and respected.
Duo decided that Heero *did* mean it - he seemed more confused than upset. "Okay then. Back in a few."
Much to Heero's relief, the waiter arrived at the table with their first course at the same time as Wufei returned, and by the time the beverages and salads were sorted out, Duo was back again. Heero didn't really know how to react to Wufei right now and would rather not be left alone with him until he had some time to figure that out.
Duo tried to keep the conversation on "safe" topics throughout the meal, staying well clear of any discussion of feelings or the past. He tried instead to find out a little more about Heero's and Wufei's *current* lives. Trying to drag conversation out of the other two, however, was exhausting. And his own thoughts kept spinning in circles. He understood why they had acted the way they had, really he did. He still wished they'd handled things a little bit differently, but he could empathize with them to a certain degree.
But while accepting their apologies was fairly easy, forgiving them - *really* forgiving them, deep down inside - wasn't quite so simple. No matter how much Duo still loved them. That would come with time and with actions proving that they really meant what they had said. For now, he would simply have to make do with *wanting* to forgive them and hope that would be enough to really give them a fair second chance.
As for forgetting - hah! - fat chance. Duo would *love* to just be able to forget how they had treated him. To start over with a clean slate. In fact, before today he had thought that he *had* forgotten most of the hurt. That he could honestly "forgive and forget". Wrong.
The events of the morning had made that perfectly clear. All those past incidents hadn't been forgotten. They were just buried out of sight, waiting for something to happen that would bring them back to him as fresh and painful as when they first happened. And part of him was a bit resentful that Heero and Wufei seemed so sure that his acceptance of their explanations and apologies and his offer of a chance to prove themselves meant that the past was gone and forgotten. They sure as hell weren't falling all over themselves to keep up their end of the dinner conversation. Something that was disturbingly familiar.
'Didn't I promise myself that I wasn't going to do this?' Duo thought wearily. 'That I *wasn't* going to be the one doing all the talking? That unless they made the effort to start a conversation and showed some real interest in what I had to say in response, I wasn't going to bother either?' Yes, he had. But - that was before the explanations and apologies...
Did giving them a second chance mean *him* making all the effort again? Glancing from one silent dinner companion to the other, Duo realized with a sinking heart that perhaps that *was* just what it meant to both of them. He had given up on conversation partway through the main course, and here they were starting dessert and neither of them seemed to have even noticed the silence that had descended on the table.
Duo sighed and poked at his cherry cheesecake a couple of times before giving up. He'd lost his appetite again.
Wufei had managed to respond to Duo's comments a few times early in the meal, but his thoughts kept returning to his and Heero's explanations and Duo's reactions to them. When it came right down to it, he had to admit Heero's story was more compelling than his own. Heero had far more excuse for his behaviour. And his behaviour had never been as bad as Wufei's in the first place. '*I* criticized and insulted. Yuy may have criticized Duo, but never in as personal or scathing a manner as I did. For the most part, the worst Yuy was guilty of was ignoring Duo. And Duo fell in love with him first. Why would Duo ever choose me over Heero?'
By the time he finished his main course, Wufei had himself fairly thoroughly convinced that he had little chance of winning Duo for himself. He was unenthusiastically toying with his dessert when the clatter of a fork drew his attention. He looked up just in time to see Duo pushing his untouched dessert away from him. 'Damn. And I was so sure I'd remembered correctly. I'm *sure* he likes cherries and I thought I remembered him liking cheesecake too. Guess I must have been wrong...'
"I'm sorry Duo, do you want to trade?" Wufei asked. "I thought you would like cherry cheesecake, but I guess I was wrong. You can have my Black Forest cake if you'd like..."
"No, this is fine. Guess I'm just not very hungry," Duo answered dispiritedly.
Abruptly becoming aware that Duo and Wufei were speaking, Heero realized with a sinking feeling that he had zoned out again. He had been so busy worrying away at his confusion over Wufei's earlier behaviour that he had eaten his entire meal without paying any attention to it or anything else going on around him. 'Damn J and his concentration training,' Heero thought bitterly. 'Short of someone pulling a weapon out, I don't notice a damn thing once I get focussed on something.' Any form of danger, anything that his subconscious picked up as a threat, would penetrate his consciousness immediately no matter how tightly focussed he was on something. Anything else, though - such as casual conversation - slipped right on by.
One look at Duo's face told Heero that something was wrong. A second look at Wufei's told him that Wufei had picked up on that too but seemed to have no better idea than himself as to what the problem was. 'Duo looks - discouraged,' Heero thought with concern. 'And maybe even tired.'
Wufei jumped slightly as his ankle was kicked rather sharply. He raised his head to ask Yuy just what the hell that was for, but before he could, Heero jerked his head sharply to indicate Duo, who was currently using his fork to draw patterns in the cherry sauce on his cheesecake. Wufei looked back at Heero and raised his shoulders slightly in a shrug. He didn't know what the problem was. What the hell was he supposed to do about it?
Heero stifled the urge to sigh. He had hoped Wufei would have some idea how to handle this. So far, *nothing* was going according to plan. Maybe... maybe it was time to forget about their plans. He couldn't see how any of them were going to enjoy an afternoon at the theme park with the way things were right now.
"If everyone's done eating, we might as well go," Heero said. "Duo, why don't you go on ahead while Wufei and I take care of the bill? We'll meet you outside."
Duo shrugged, "Okay." Might as well get on with the "fun". However they were going to manage to actually *have* any at this point.
Following Heero over to the cashier, Wufei watched Duo leave the restaurant. Something was very definitely wrong. He just didn't know *what*.
After splitting the bill, Heero caught Wufei's elbow before he could leave. His own uncertainty over how to deal with Wufei was completely forgotten in his concern over Duo's dejected behaviour. "Do you have *any* idea what's wrong? He seemed to be in a reasonably good mood right after our explanations, but *something* obviously went wrong during dinner..."
"I don't know," Wufei answered, shaking his head slightly. "I'm not even certain exactly when his mood changed. I noticed it when he pushed away his dessert, but..." Wufei hesitated, then admitted, "I'm afraid that I was somewhat - distracted - during most of the meal, so the problem may have started earlier than that. Did something come up in the conversation that upset him?"
"No... I don't think so..." Heero said, trying to remember exactly what had been discussed. "I was a bit distracted as well, but I don't recall anything that should have upset him. I know that he was asking some questions about our current lives..." 'Duo asked where I was living and I answered "an apartment". He asked how I liked working for the Preventers and I answered "it's okay"... Shit. And I don't think Chang's answers weren't much better...' Heero realized abruptly. "Fuck. Wufei, when he asked you where you were living, what did you say?"
"In an apartment in the Preventers housing complex," Wufei answered, wondering what that had to do with anything.
"And when he asked about your job?"
"That it was quite satisfactory."
"And that's it?"
"Yes..."
"And *my* answers consisted of 'an apartment' and 'it's okay'," Heero groaned. "Chang, we just fucked up again."
Wufei closed his eyes in dismay, replaying the entire meal - or at least what he recalled of it - and realizing unhappily that Heero was correct. "And not only did we give him completely meaningless answers to *his* questions, we didn't bother asking him any in return..." he muttered in disgust.
Both of them looked out the glass restaurant doors to where Duo was standing in the shade waiting for them. He had his braid over his shoulder and was fiddling with it again which was definitely *not* a good sign.
Heero sighed. "I think it's time to ditch our plans. Today is obviously a complete write-off. I don't think any of us will enjoy spending the afternoon here, so we might as well head out.
"When I checked in with Une this morning regarding working tomorrow, she told me that she had you and me down to do a preliminary security review of a conference centre here in California for a big trade summit that's coming up next month. And the day after that, she has us down to do some training and demonstrations for a couple of Preventers branch offices out here. After all, she can't schedule us for any real field assignments when we have Duo along since he isn't an active Preventers agent. So we don't have to head back to Sanc just yet. Why don't we get a suite at a hotel and try to finish hashing this whole mess out?"
"I believe that would be a wise decision. But... perhaps we should ask Duo what *he* would prefer rather than making any plans on our own? He *may* still want to stay for the afternoon..." Wufei's voice trailed off doubtfully. Duo did not seem in the mood for riding roller coasters at the moment. But perhaps asking his opinion would help to make up for their inconsiderate behaviour during dinner.
Heero nodded in response to Wufei's observation. As the two of them exited the restaurant and headed towards Duo, Heero thought, 'Chang's right. And maybe... maybe we should rethink our plans for the entire week... Duo's the important one here, after all. Maybe we should let *him* decide how he wants to spend our week together.' Tuesday and Wednesday were at least partially committed since he and Wufei had agreed to work, so they would have to follow through with that much of their plans. But if Duo did not wish to join them, he really shouldn't have to. And as for the rest of the week... Well, he would have to double-check with Wufei before bringing up the subject, but he intended to let Duo choose what to do with *his* days no matter what Wufei decided. Even if Duo chose to spend the time with Wufei rather than him.
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Title: Winning Duo
Chapter: 12/?
Author: Calic0cat <calic0cat@fastmail.fm>
Story Started: Jan. 2003
Genre: Yaoi, Romance, Humour, Angst
Pairings: Working towards 1x2x5; 3x4; 6x9; others may be implied
Rated: NC-17
Warnings: OOC, Swearing, Shifting POV
Archives: At Mediaminer.org under Calic0cat. Anyone with archive permission for my other fics can help themselves; anyone else, please ask.
Disclaimer: Duo and Heero and the rest of the GW gang aren't mine. This story is. Nuff said.
Notes: Starts one year after Endless Waltz. POV changes frequently.
'Thinking'
"Speaking"
*** Time passing or scene change
Author's Notes: I usually write 1x2x1, so a 1x2x5 is a first for me (well, writing one is - I've been reading them for quite a while now, that's the *only* threesome I actually *like*). This fic is courtesy of Quin, my romance/humour muse. Feedback is appreciated.
#################################################
Heero ignored the sting of soap in the shallow cuts as he washed his hands. They were nothing - not even worth mentioning, really. But Duo was correct that a public place such as an amusement park tended to carry a lot of germs and bacteria and *any* break in the skin had the potential to pick those up. It would be extremely foolish to end up with an infection because of something so minor.
His eyes automatically lifted to the mirror as he heard the door to the restaurant swing open. 'Wufei.' Hastily dropping his eyes again, Heero pretended to be busy concentrating on his hands. He had no idea what Wufei's reaction had been to everything he had said, nor was he certain whether some sort of reaction on his own part was required in response to Wufei's explanation.
Entering the washroom with the first aid kit in hand, Wufei caught the quick flash of blue in the mirror as Heero spotted him and dropped his gaze. He had worked with Heero long enough to catch the very slight defensive hunch of Heero's shoulders. It was a rare sight, but on the few occasions that a mission had gone bad, he *had* seen that reaction before. Usually just before Chief Une lit into them with some exceptionally caustic summation of their shortcomings. 'Duo was right. Heero *is* concerned about what I think of him.' The thought was surprisingly warming. He had learned to respect the former Wing pilot for his determination and dedication to his duty long before the war ended. Knowing that Heero thought highly enough of *him* to actually care about his opinion meant a lot to Wufei.
Setting the first aid kit aside for a moment, Wufei quickly washed his own hands and turned to catch Heero's wrist before he could leave. "Let me see those," he ordered, firmly tugging Heero back to where he had set down the first aid kit.
Startled cobalt eyes flashed to meet Wufei's dark ones. "It's nothing, Chang," Heero said defensively.
"You'd say the same thing if you had three bullets in you, Yuy," Wufei replied drily. "In fact, you *have* said the same thing under those circumstances. Now let me take care of those." Heero could have easily pulled free of his grasp, but instead he allowed Wufei to turn his hands over and take a look at the palms. 'Nothing major, certainly, but considering where we are, a little disinfectant and antibiotic cream would not be a bad idea,' Wufei thought after a quick examination.
Heero held perfectly still as Wufei efficiently cleansed his hands. It was far from the first time that Wufei had treated his injuries. Partners automatically took care of each other's scrapes and cuts that were too minor to be worth bothering Sally's staff over. But the fact that Wufei was bothering to do so now, when they were *not* on Preventers business and after Heero's revelation of a past that he was himself ashamed of, was reassuring. Hesitantly, he asked, "Did Duo make you do this?"
"Duo suggested that your hands should be taken care of and I agreed," Wufei answered. Raising his gaze as he finished his task, he added firmly, "Had I not been willing, I would not have done so."
Heero ducked his head in acknowledgement and quietly offered, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Yuy," Wufei responded briskly. Handing the kit to Heero, he told him, "Just return that to one of the staff, please."
Heero nodded and started towards the door.
Wufei hesitated. He did not wish to overstep the boundaries of his relationship with Yuy, yet at the same time he felt the need to make his own reaction to Heero's past clear. Just as Heero pulled the door open, he came to a decision. "Yuy?"
Heero looked back questioningly.
"Heero... J was an honourless bastard. His pupil, fortunately, is his complete opposite, a man that I am proud to work alongside of." Wufei turned abruptly to needlessly rewash his hands and signal that the subject was closed. When he glanced at the mirror a moment later, the door had soundlessly closed and Heero was gone.
***
Seeing Heero returning to the table, Duo rose to take his own turn washing up. Noticing that Heero seemed a bit disconcerted, Duo asked, "Heero - you okay?" 'Shit, I hope sending 'Fei after him didn't backfire...'
Heero met Duo's eyes and answered, "I'm fine." Since Duo didn't look too convinced, he added more firmly, "Really," and managed a slight half-smile. He *was* fine, really. Just a bit - confused. Even if Wufei was *not* disgusted by his past, he would not have expected Wufei to be quite so nice to him after hearing that Duo had fallen in love with him first. 'Either he is very confident that Duo will choose him over me or he genuinely considers me a friend and wants to try to preserve that friendship no matter who Duo chooses.' He *hoped* it was the latter, for more reasons than one. Heero was reluctant to use the term "friend" to describe *anyone* without them having called him a friend first, but Wufei was one of the small group of people that he trusted and respected.
Duo decided that Heero *did* mean it - he seemed more confused than upset. "Okay then. Back in a few."
Much to Heero's relief, the waiter arrived at the table with their first course at the same time as Wufei returned, and by the time the beverages and salads were sorted out, Duo was back again. Heero didn't really know how to react to Wufei right now and would rather not be left alone with him until he had some time to figure that out.
Duo tried to keep the conversation on "safe" topics throughout the meal, staying well clear of any discussion of feelings or the past. He tried instead to find out a little more about Heero's and Wufei's *current* lives. Trying to drag conversation out of the other two, however, was exhausting. And his own thoughts kept spinning in circles. He understood why they had acted the way they had, really he did. He still wished they'd handled things a little bit differently, but he could empathize with them to a certain degree.
But while accepting their apologies was fairly easy, forgiving them - *really* forgiving them, deep down inside - wasn't quite so simple. No matter how much Duo still loved them. That would come with time and with actions proving that they really meant what they had said. For now, he would simply have to make do with *wanting* to forgive them and hope that would be enough to really give them a fair second chance.
As for forgetting - hah! - fat chance. Duo would *love* to just be able to forget how they had treated him. To start over with a clean slate. In fact, before today he had thought that he *had* forgotten most of the hurt. That he could honestly "forgive and forget". Wrong.
The events of the morning had made that perfectly clear. All those past incidents hadn't been forgotten. They were just buried out of sight, waiting for something to happen that would bring them back to him as fresh and painful as when they first happened. And part of him was a bit resentful that Heero and Wufei seemed so sure that his acceptance of their explanations and apologies and his offer of a chance to prove themselves meant that the past was gone and forgotten. They sure as hell weren't falling all over themselves to keep up their end of the dinner conversation. Something that was disturbingly familiar.
'Didn't I promise myself that I wasn't going to do this?' Duo thought wearily. 'That I *wasn't* going to be the one doing all the talking? That unless they made the effort to start a conversation and showed some real interest in what I had to say in response, I wasn't going to bother either?' Yes, he had. But - that was before the explanations and apologies...
Did giving them a second chance mean *him* making all the effort again? Glancing from one silent dinner companion to the other, Duo realized with a sinking heart that perhaps that *was* just what it meant to both of them. He had given up on conversation partway through the main course, and here they were starting dessert and neither of them seemed to have even noticed the silence that had descended on the table.
Duo sighed and poked at his cherry cheesecake a couple of times before giving up. He'd lost his appetite again.
Wufei had managed to respond to Duo's comments a few times early in the meal, but his thoughts kept returning to his and Heero's explanations and Duo's reactions to them. When it came right down to it, he had to admit Heero's story was more compelling than his own. Heero had far more excuse for his behaviour. And his behaviour had never been as bad as Wufei's in the first place. '*I* criticized and insulted. Yuy may have criticized Duo, but never in as personal or scathing a manner as I did. For the most part, the worst Yuy was guilty of was ignoring Duo. And Duo fell in love with him first. Why would Duo ever choose me over Heero?'
By the time he finished his main course, Wufei had himself fairly thoroughly convinced that he had little chance of winning Duo for himself. He was unenthusiastically toying with his dessert when the clatter of a fork drew his attention. He looked up just in time to see Duo pushing his untouched dessert away from him. 'Damn. And I was so sure I'd remembered correctly. I'm *sure* he likes cherries and I thought I remembered him liking cheesecake too. Guess I must have been wrong...'
"I'm sorry Duo, do you want to trade?" Wufei asked. "I thought you would like cherry cheesecake, but I guess I was wrong. You can have my Black Forest cake if you'd like..."
"No, this is fine. Guess I'm just not very hungry," Duo answered dispiritedly.
Abruptly becoming aware that Duo and Wufei were speaking, Heero realized with a sinking feeling that he had zoned out again. He had been so busy worrying away at his confusion over Wufei's earlier behaviour that he had eaten his entire meal without paying any attention to it or anything else going on around him. 'Damn J and his concentration training,' Heero thought bitterly. 'Short of someone pulling a weapon out, I don't notice a damn thing once I get focussed on something.' Any form of danger, anything that his subconscious picked up as a threat, would penetrate his consciousness immediately no matter how tightly focussed he was on something. Anything else, though - such as casual conversation - slipped right on by.
One look at Duo's face told Heero that something was wrong. A second look at Wufei's told him that Wufei had picked up on that too but seemed to have no better idea than himself as to what the problem was. 'Duo looks - discouraged,' Heero thought with concern. 'And maybe even tired.'
Wufei jumped slightly as his ankle was kicked rather sharply. He raised his head to ask Yuy just what the hell that was for, but before he could, Heero jerked his head sharply to indicate Duo, who was currently using his fork to draw patterns in the cherry sauce on his cheesecake. Wufei looked back at Heero and raised his shoulders slightly in a shrug. He didn't know what the problem was. What the hell was he supposed to do about it?
Heero stifled the urge to sigh. He had hoped Wufei would have some idea how to handle this. So far, *nothing* was going according to plan. Maybe... maybe it was time to forget about their plans. He couldn't see how any of them were going to enjoy an afternoon at the theme park with the way things were right now.
"If everyone's done eating, we might as well go," Heero said. "Duo, why don't you go on ahead while Wufei and I take care of the bill? We'll meet you outside."
Duo shrugged, "Okay." Might as well get on with the "fun". However they were going to manage to actually *have* any at this point.
Following Heero over to the cashier, Wufei watched Duo leave the restaurant. Something was very definitely wrong. He just didn't know *what*.
After splitting the bill, Heero caught Wufei's elbow before he could leave. His own uncertainty over how to deal with Wufei was completely forgotten in his concern over Duo's dejected behaviour. "Do you have *any* idea what's wrong? He seemed to be in a reasonably good mood right after our explanations, but *something* obviously went wrong during dinner..."
"I don't know," Wufei answered, shaking his head slightly. "I'm not even certain exactly when his mood changed. I noticed it when he pushed away his dessert, but..." Wufei hesitated, then admitted, "I'm afraid that I was somewhat - distracted - during most of the meal, so the problem may have started earlier than that. Did something come up in the conversation that upset him?"
"No... I don't think so..." Heero said, trying to remember exactly what had been discussed. "I was a bit distracted as well, but I don't recall anything that should have upset him. I know that he was asking some questions about our current lives..." 'Duo asked where I was living and I answered "an apartment". He asked how I liked working for the Preventers and I answered "it's okay"... Shit. And I don't think Chang's answers weren't much better...' Heero realized abruptly. "Fuck. Wufei, when he asked you where you were living, what did you say?"
"In an apartment in the Preventers housing complex," Wufei answered, wondering what that had to do with anything.
"And when he asked about your job?"
"That it was quite satisfactory."
"And that's it?"
"Yes..."
"And *my* answers consisted of 'an apartment' and 'it's okay'," Heero groaned. "Chang, we just fucked up again."
Wufei closed his eyes in dismay, replaying the entire meal - or at least what he recalled of it - and realizing unhappily that Heero was correct. "And not only did we give him completely meaningless answers to *his* questions, we didn't bother asking him any in return..." he muttered in disgust.
Both of them looked out the glass restaurant doors to where Duo was standing in the shade waiting for them. He had his braid over his shoulder and was fiddling with it again which was definitely *not* a good sign.
Heero sighed. "I think it's time to ditch our plans. Today is obviously a complete write-off. I don't think any of us will enjoy spending the afternoon here, so we might as well head out.
"When I checked in with Une this morning regarding working tomorrow, she told me that she had you and me down to do a preliminary security review of a conference centre here in California for a big trade summit that's coming up next month. And the day after that, she has us down to do some training and demonstrations for a couple of Preventers branch offices out here. After all, she can't schedule us for any real field assignments when we have Duo along since he isn't an active Preventers agent. So we don't have to head back to Sanc just yet. Why don't we get a suite at a hotel and try to finish hashing this whole mess out?"
"I believe that would be a wise decision. But... perhaps we should ask Duo what *he* would prefer rather than making any plans on our own? He *may* still want to stay for the afternoon..." Wufei's voice trailed off doubtfully. Duo did not seem in the mood for riding roller coasters at the moment. But perhaps asking his opinion would help to make up for their inconsiderate behaviour during dinner.
Heero nodded in response to Wufei's observation. As the two of them exited the restaurant and headed towards Duo, Heero thought, 'Chang's right. And maybe... maybe we should rethink our plans for the entire week... Duo's the important one here, after all. Maybe we should let *him* decide how he wants to spend our week together.' Tuesday and Wednesday were at least partially committed since he and Wufei had agreed to work, so they would have to follow through with that much of their plans. But if Duo did not wish to join them, he really shouldn't have to. And as for the rest of the week... Well, he would have to double-check with Wufei before bringing up the subject, but he intended to let Duo choose what to do with *his* days no matter what Wufei decided. Even if Duo chose to spend the time with Wufei rather than him.
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