Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell ❯ Trust ( Chapter 12 )

The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell - 12/?

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Note: This fic is a response to Nova Una's challenge to write a Gundam Wing/Pretty Woman fusion fic with Heero in the Julia Roberts role and Duo in the Richard Gere role.

Warnings: AU, yaoi, coarse language, violence, angst, citrusy situations, suggestive dialog, significant (read that as major, MAJOR) deviation from Pretty Woman script.

Spoilers: None for GW, oodles for Pretty Woman, to an extent.

Disclaimer: I don't really need to be Captain Obvious here, do I? No ownership, no profit, yadda yadda. Written for fun, not profit. Don't own any of the brand names mentioned herein.

Edulcorate (verb) - To free from harshness (as of attitude); to soften

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Chapter 12 - Trust

Duo introduced him to a dark-haired couple. They were of similar ethnic background, as they both had eyes so dark they were almost black. Heero would venture a guess that they were Chinese.

"Heero, this is Wufei Chang and Meiran Long," he said, and once again Heero was forced to shake hands. It was a little easier to share the gesture with the woman. She seemed to focus much of her attention on Duo after she acknowledged Heero with a quick but firm grip and a smile.

Wufei was looking at him appraisingly. It was exceedingly awkward to be addressed by first name only when the others were introduced using their full names. It emphasized the differences between them all.

Once again Heero wondered why it bothered him.

Meiran said something to Duo, who laughed in response. Wufei, Heero suspected, would like nothing more than to make him submit to a full interrogation. He obviously wasn't very trusting, although in this case Heero couldn't say he blamed the man.

Especially when he realized that Duo was standing just a little too close to him. He could feel Duo's elbow brush against his sleeve as he gestured toward some of the booths set up.

Meiran's eyes lit with excitement. "Wufei!" she said, finally diverting her companion's attention from Heero. "An archery range!"

Wufei's expression actually softened the tiniest bit. "You'll have to excuse my wife," he said. "She just took up the sport, and now seems to think that she has a chance of beating me."

Heero didn't miss the underlying message that said in big neon letters HANDS OFF.

"Shut up, Wufei," she said amiably. "Put your money where your mouth is. Nice meeting you, Heero," she added. "I'm sure we'll see you two after I finish kicking his ass."

Wufei snorted and allowed himself to be dragged over to the impressive selection of recurve bows provided.

Duo nudged Heero with the same elbow that had made contact earlier. "Let's go watch Wufei lose, because he does it so gracefully," Duo said with a laugh, indicating he meant just the opposite.

As they approached the area cordoned off for spectators, Duo noticed Heero's attention momentarily diverted by the rifle shooting range, and he slowed.

"Hey, Heero," he said, a gleam in his eye.

Heero hated that gleam. He raised an eyebrow in query.

Duo motioned towards the men who were good-naturedly teasing each other about their prowess with their weapons, the light-hearted banter obviously full of insults about each other's manhood.

"Ever handled one of those babies before?"

Heero's throat constricted, and he was horrified to feel his head nod slightly.

"Good. I'd like to see just how well you 'measure up' to these boys here."

Heero wanted to protest, wanted to refuse, but he was already treading on thin ice with Duo, and he nodded again, then walked over to peruse the available firearms.

Duo wiped his chin of imaginary drool, as his mouth watered just watching Heero's bold strides. How the hell had someone like Heero ended up as a prostitute? He moved aggressively, as if daring anyone to come anywhere near the outer limits of his personal space. He supposed it was a real turn-on for some men, but he couldn't help wondering how the hell Heero drummed up enough business with that attitude. Well, this was Hollywood.

His pants seemed to be a little tight as he watched Heero handle the rifles, his fingers almost caressing the slender metal barrel as he checked its sights. He knew how slim yet strong those fingers were. He had to force himself to visualize the woman they'd encountered earlier butt naked before the slight discomfort abated.

Heero wasn't all that impressed with the Kimber 22 Classic, although it was an admirable firearm. His attention swung to the Cooper that had just been replaced on the gun rack. He glared down one of the shooters who was reaching for it, and the man covered up his fear by commenting that it wasn't the gun, it was the marksman, that really made the difference.

Heero picked up the 57-M and felt the familiar weight in his hand. It wasn't like the Remington 700 he was more familiar with, but it would do.

Despite his trepidation at stirring up old memories, he couldn't help but feel a bit of that familiar thrill he vaguely remembered.

He moved to the table containing protective gear. The ear plugs were disposable, which gave him some small measure of relief, ironic considering what he'd been allowing in other orifices of his body, then carefully placed the muffs over them to avoid disturbing the hairpiece he was wearing.

He glowered at the range officer, making him, as well as some of the other men who were in line, shrink back somewhat, and thereby placing him at the front of the line. There was a momentary delay while the targets were re-papered, and he cursed his weakness in checking for Duo out of the corner of his eye during the wait. Then the target was ready, and he focused on that instead.

He released the safety, pulled back the bolt, and took his sighting shot. He was off by about half an inch, as far as he could tell from this distance. He made the necessary correction, then fired the remaining four rounds right in the center of the target.

He shot another dark look at the person who'd subtly insulted him earlier, and handed the rifle to next individual in line, not caring that the man was already holding one. The ear muffs were tossed onto the table where he'd obtained them.

He stalked away from the makeshift range, ignoring the stares he was getting. He was angry at the rush of excitement that he'd felt with the Cooper in his hands, angry at Duo for putting him in such an awkward position, angry at the circumstances that brought him where he was now.

He didn't care if Duo was pissed. He didn't want to talk to him right now.

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Duo whistled in appreciation at Heero's shooting accuracy. He was certainly full of surprises. He had seemed uncomfortable at the idea of handling a gun, but he'd obviously had experience. What had Heero been involved in? Was it even legal?

He wanted to laugh. Prostitution wasn't exactly legal, either, and yet Heero was doing that. What kind of moral fiber was someone like Heero made of? Fine time to ask that question, after he'd been rooming with the man for the past few nights.

He still had three more days after today to find out, if he wanted to. And the more glimpses he got into Heero's psyche, the more he wanted to.

He decided to let Heero sulk for a while. Speaking of sulking, he looked around for his friends. He should find out whether or not Meiran had shown Wufei a thing or two. As he'd hinted to Heero, Chang was not a very good loser.

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He found Meiran first, and she was alone, telling him all he needed to know. A victorious Wufei Chang would be have been rubbing it in for a while longer.

"He's intriguing," she said without preamble.

"Who?" Duo asked, knowing full well whom she meant. And she knew that he knew, which is why she punched him in the arm.

"Ow! I thought women only did that slapping across the face thing," he protested.

"As if I'd let you get off so easily," she said, and blushed as Duo leered at the double entendre. "You are so lucky Wufei isn't here to rein in that perverse sense of humor you have." She punched him again.

One thing Duo really liked about Meiran is that she knew when to let things drop. She could have pursued the Heero question, but she didn't. Instead, they fell into a light-hearted discussion of various people there, and Meiran provided the insight gained from playing the part of a vapid wife. Duo never ceased to be amazed how well she pulled it off, because, to him, she always seemed so tightly wound at these functions. She had her own set of opinions, but never got on a soapbox about them. She had tact.

If he and Hilde had worked out, would he have done the same to her? He couldn't picture Hilde tamping down her vibrant personality, for love or money. Ironic turn of phrase, he noted.

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Heero didn't know how Duo could stand it. This was a parody of a county fair, full of people with more money than they knew what to do with it. The rifle selection seemed to cover a good number of .22 models straight out of Rifle Shooter Magazine. Sure, the men had been enjoying themselves, but that wasn't why they'd attended. He wondered whose faces they envisioned on the targets as they took aim and fired, then decided he didn't really care.

"Heero!"

His thoughts were interrupted by a chipper voice, slightly muffled. He removed the ear plugs and turned to see the source of the voice. She was calling to him from the dog show stage.

A fucking dog show. What wasn't going on as part of this godforsaken event? Next you knew there would be horse-riding poodles set up somewhere.

He recognized Relena Peacecraft immediately, and his features slowly relaxed. She had been pleasant company the other night, and he walked over to join her.

"It's so nice to see a familiar face," she said, shooting a look over her shoulder at her brother, who was standing several yards away and shooting him a look that promised severe retribution if anything untoward happened to Relena.

"He has been a bear all day," she whispered, then looked as embarrassed as if she'd revealed a family secret. Heero glanced at Milliardo again. It was obvious the man was in a foul mood, and he was pretty sure he knew why.

"Your hair looks nice down," she commented, and he reached a hand to the black strands. He'd noticed Duo's look of disappointment, and near disapproval, that morning, but he felt more comfortable with certain features concealed. Besides, surely Duo had to realize they might run into the Peacecrafts here? It would bring up a whole new load of questions if Heero showed up with Duo, looking nothing like he had the first time they'd met. Not that he cared what Duo thought, one way or another.

"Thank you," he said, letting his hand drop back to his side. "Are you enjoying yourself?" he inquired politely.

She kept looking at her brother every ten seconds, and Heero couldn't help but feel sympathy for the girl's plight. Suddenly her whole body tensed, and Heero flicked his eyes to the side briefly to see Peacecraft talking with another gentlemen, one who was dressed smartly in what could only be considered the epitome of business casual, and yet still carried an aura of class and sophistication.

"Are you alright?" he heard himself ask.

"I'm not sure yet," she said, returning her gaze to his. She sighed. "I am sorry, Heero. Things have been...tense."

He nodded in understanding. Duo had certainly done nothing to help that particular situation, either.

"He keeps things from me," she said, almost as if speaking to herself. "He expects me to trust him, but he keeps me in the dark. Like I'm not strong enough to handle the truth. It's painfully obvious that he's getting desperate, and I fear he's going to make a horrible mistake, and hate himself for it. But I'm supposed to go blithely along with what he thinks is right, because I am too young or naive or weak to be dragged into this. It's my company, too, and I have every right to be informed just as much as he does. How can I trust him when he keeps so much from me?" she added softly.

"Do you?"

She looked at him sadly. "Would you call me crazy if I said yes? To trust someone who doesn't even trust himself?" She shook her head, laughing a bit, but looking on the verge of tears. "How can I not trust someone who has my best interests at heart? Do I think he will necessarily make the right decision in the end? No. But I do trust that he will do what he perceives will secure things for my future. And in the end, that's all that really counts." Her eyes swung to Heero, her gaze steady and unwavering. "I don't always agree with my brother, and sometimes I don't think I like him very much, but I will always trust him and I will always love him."

She must have noticed the pensive look on Heero's face, because she asked, "is something wrong, Heero?"

He smiled at her then. "No. You just remind me of someone I used to know."

Relena opened her mouth to ask for more, but decided that she had her hands full with one man trapped in the past and certainly didn't need to discover she'd managed to find a second one to worry about. The two of them watched as the first entrant in the novice category was trotted out on the stage.

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"Are you happy?"

Duo started at Meiran's sudden question.

"You donate a large sum of money every year to various youth organizations. Wufei has complained about your hesitation a few times when a business acquisition might negatively impact certain housing developments. Other than that, I've never seen a couple of businessmen as ruthless as you two."

Duo's eyes swung toward hers. She looked contemplative.

"ARE you happy, Duo? Is that what this thing with Heero is really about?"

"Hilde thinks I might be gay," he said.

"I'm not sure if you're trying to make a very poor joke, or trying to pawn off your misery on a sudden attack of self exploration. What are you trying to find, Duo? " she pondered. "Why don't you volunteer your time rather than your money? Is it an investment you can't afford?"

I take back what I was thinking about you earlier, Duo thought. Don't push it, Meiran.

He could have kissed Wufei for his sudden appearance.

"Nice of you to join us," Duo said. "Done licking your wounds yet?"

Wufei opened his mouth to reply, then asked, "what is he doing talking to Relena Peacecraft?"

Duo looked in the direction in which Wufei's gaze was riveted, and saw Heero and Relena standing rather closely. Heero reached up to touch his hair and then said something. Eventually he even smiled at her.

Wufei was cursing. "Damn it, Duo, what have you gotten yourself involved in? Fraternizing with the enemy? It's obvious he's a plant! You didn't tell him what your amazing comeback plan is, did you?"

Duo didn't care for the implication that he was that stupid. He whirled on his partner and snarled in a voice just loud enough for his partner to hear, "he's a fucking WHORE, Wufei, satisfied now? I picked him up in YOUR CAR, by the way, and I even let him drive it. What more do you want to hear? Want me to tell you that we managed to find a way to fuck in the backseat, but that I think we managed to wipe it clean before you got the car back?" He calmed a little, and shot an apologetic glance at Meiran, who could only hear parts of what was being said. "Sorry. Listen, he's not involved in any industrial espionage. He's just a prostitute I picked up on Hollywood Boulevard the other night, after Hilde broke up with me. End of story. Trust me on this, OK?"

A myriad of emotions crossed Wufei's face; disbelief, anger, horrified indignation. He turned toward Heero and Relena again. Then he noticed the elder Peacecraft standing a short distance away, and his heart stopped.

"Who the hell is that with Milliardo Peacecraft?"

Duo looked at him incredulously. "What? Wufei, I know you subscribe to Business Week; his smiling mug was right on this week's cover. What's the matter, Meiran and you too busy exercising your marital privileges the day that issue arrived?"

He could sense the tension in Wufei and didn't think he was making things any better, but he had never seen his partner look so very stricken.

"Who is it?" Wufei repeated, gritting his teeth.

He knew who it was, knew very well who it was, but needed someone to confirm it for him; needed to hear it. Needed to know that the man responsible for his most crushing legal defeat was, in fact, standing there, calm as anything, speaking with the owner of a company they were trying to overtake.

"Geez, Wufei, it's the CEO of Zodiac..."

Meiran's voice interrupted him.

"Treize Khushrenada."

tbc

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OK, who didn't see that one coming?

Other notes: Cooper's Model 57-M does have a bolt action repeater, and I was tearing my hair out just to verify that it meant exactly what it sounds like, that the rounds could be fired after the bolt was pulled back the first time until the magazine was emptied. Phew!