Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell ❯ Regret, Part 1 ( Chapter 13 )

The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell - 13/?

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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 13 - Regret, Part 1

"You can't, or you won't?" Milliardo asked, his eyes glittering. He expected his teeth would be ground to the bone by the time this 'conversation' was over.

"My dear Milliardo," Treize said, the very picture of poise. "As I said yesterday, friends and business do not mix. Did I not attempt to provide you with some assistance, without getting personally involved?"

"They don't have enough capital yet! They're a small family business!"

"And Peacecraft Corp is not?" He sighed. "Milliardo, think of the big picture. You have to see that they also have been building up their fortune, little by little..."

"And it's taken them generations!" He didn't have that kind of time, not if he wanted the company to be around for any future Peacecrafts.

"They have a solid reputation, as well," Treize continued, as if the interruption had never happened.

He wanted to pull out his hair, he really did. He'd forgotten how utterly maddening Khushrenada could be, which was surprising considering how angry the man had made him during their phone conversation the previous day.

Treize saw that there was no arguing with his friend. "You will see that this really is for the best, Milliardo," he said almost sadly. "Perhaps not in the immediate future, but you will."

Milliardo Peacecraft watched him walk away, just like that, to mingle with a few others that were good enough to share the same air. He'd just been dismissed. He struggled to tamp down the rage that flowed through him.

This was for Relena, his inner voice pleaded to Treize's retreating figure.

Relena. His eyes left Khushrenada and returned to his sister, who was still speaking to Maxwell's...friend. He didn't know what game the man was playing, but he didn't like the idea of his sister getting too chummy with the enemy.

That was one thing he had control over, at least.

~~~~~~~

Wufei was seeing red. Treize Khushrenada. Not only that, but there was that word, burning into his brain again. Whore. Meiran had called him that, and it was all Khushrenada's fault.

He knew he would be making a colossal mistake to confront the man now. The bastard was so damned gracious. When Treize's closing arguments had been given, Wufei knew then, before the jury returned from their deliberation, that his client was going to jail, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

And the man later came over and shook his hand, telling him that he made a convincing argument, and likely would have won if he'd only had the full story.

The story his client had withheld from him.

He'd have preferred it if Khushrenada had gloated, but the man had to compliment him instead. He'd given Wufei pause to think.

If he'd only had the full story.

His ire continued to climb, and he was barely aware of anything around him other than Khushrenada, who was walking away.

Which left the other source of his anger within striking distance.

The whore.

~~~~~~~

"Relena!"

Relena's head whipped around at the sharp tone of her brother's voice, then turned to face Heero.

"I apologize, Heero," she said. "He tends to be a bit...overprotective..."

Heero shook his head. "I understand."

She peered at him curiously. "You really do, don't you?" She smiled broadly, then leaned over and planted the lightest of kisses on his cheek. "Thanks."

He watched her walk away. He understood Milliardo Peacecraft's concerns perfectly.

"How much is she paying you?" came a caustic voice at his right.

Heero turned slowly and met Wufei's challenging stare. He refused to be baited. Would not be baited...

"Not half as much as your wife," Heero said, just before Wufei's fist connected with his jaw.

~~~~~~~

"I'm really sorry, Meiran," Duo said. "I didn't mean to crank him up, you know."

He didn't like that slightly disapproving look on her face. She sighed, and shrugged.

"I think I have the answer to one of my questions, Duo," she said, and from the sad look on her face, he knew which one she was referring to. Then she murmured, almost too softly to be heard, "Love and justice aren't the only things that are blind."

Duo saw the instant her face flushed scarlet, and he looked over to see Heero's head snap back from Wufei's punch. What had he missed?

Meiran was livid, he could tell. Heero touched his mouth, which most likely had a split lip, and without a word, turned and walked away. Where the hell did he think he was going?

Duo looked from Meiran to Wufei to Heero, and she solved his indecision for him.

"Go, Duo. Chang is mine."

~~~~~~

Relena and Milliardo traveled home in silence. She chewed on her lip the entire way, trying to decide how to approach what she wanted to say.

Maybe she'd been tiptoeing around her brother for far too long. She wanted to be treated like an equal partner, didn't she? That meant she had to sometimes say things that weren't going to make him happy.

And is he happy now, Relena?

He threw his keys on a table near the door, knocking a vase of flowers over. It shattered on the floor, and he deliberately walked over it, grinding the broken pieces into dust.

"Milliardo," she said firmly, surprised that her voice was steady.

He turned and glared, then shoved his hands in his pockets, waiting.

"Why haven't you -" she faltered. Be strong, Relena, she coached herself. "Why haven't you contacted Father to see if he had any ideas?"

"He won't always be here, Relena. I have to learn sometime, don't I? Now that I'm a civilian and all."

Great. Now he'd be carrying around TWO scraps of paper for self-flagellation purposes for God knew how long.

"I'm a grown man, Relena. I will not run to daddy just because of a minor setback."

It was more than a minor setback, and they both knew it. But that was what she'd hoped he'd say.

"Then you shouldn't go running to your friends, either," she said, then turned and walked as calmly as possible to her room, resisting the temptation to bolt out of there before he lost his temper.

~~~~~~~

"What the hell was that all about?"

"This doesn't concern you, Meiran," he warned.

"The hell it doesn't! I'm your wife, and what concerns you, concerns me! We're partners as well as lovers, Chang!"

He looked around, embarrassed at the attention they were drawing.

"Meiran..."

"No, this time YOU listen to me. I have gone out of my way to fulfill my role, perpetuating this ludicrous, outdated concept of the decorative, supportive wife in the background. I did it because I respected you, Chang, and if that's what it took for others to respect you, so be it. How unfair I was to both of us. Respect comes from within, not from the prattling of others - and the funny thing is, I don't really regret having to swallow my pride, because I acted as I felt was right at the time. Remember pride, Wufei? Remember passion? My GOD, Wufei, do you even remember how to live?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Fuck that," she said, and Wufei could not remember a time in his life when she'd once uttered that word. "Why not? Because I'm a woman? Because I'm not sucked into this big bad...Corporate World," she wiggled her fingers in the air for emphasis. "I won't understand, he says," she spoke to the crowd that had gathered around them.

She turned back to her husband, her black eyes blazing with anger. When she spoke again, her voice was low, and very deadly.

"I cannot even tell you how very much you hurt me, Chang." She gathered herself a bit, then turned to smile airily at everyone, but not before Wufei saw a faint sheen over her eyes.

"Must be time for my Prozac," she exclaimed, her voice sounding high pitched and nothing like her normal level tone. Ditzy. Several of them nodded in understanding, making Wufei wince. Was this what he had reduced her to? Couldn't they see that there could not be a single person less in need of an antidepressant than the woman he'd married? Did they really think she was only an ornamental wife?

"What the hell are you all looking at?" he roared, making them scurry away. Most likely discussing how he'd probably missed his Prozac dose, too.

Where the hell was Duo?

Oh, that's right. He went chasing after 'Heero.'

His reputation was most likely in shambles now. He'd kill Duo for this later.

Right after he got over the intense, inexplicable feeling of jealousy he suddenly felt for his friend and partner.

~~~~~~

Duo tried to catch up to Heero, but found himself slowed in his progress by an elderly gentleman whom they'd had business dealings with in the past. Duo struggled to remember the man's name. Dermail. The man had a vendetta against them, of course. Duo wasn't too concerned about the man's veiled threats. That had been a rather successful coup, he thought, but he couldn't help the involuntary chill in his body as he remembered the man's granddaughter, who had taken her place in the meetings as if she were the one in charge, an amused, gloating smirk omnipresent on her face. She had hair that rivaled Peacecraft's and a rather morbid sense of humor, if he remembered correctly. Not to mention eyebrows that looked like they were parasitic entities feeding off their host.

By the time he shook Dermail, Heero was nowhere to be found.

~~~~~~~

If he thought their last argument was bad, this one had to be the worst. Wufei decided he'd give Meiran half an hour, then go to the apartment.

He'd sit and wait in that damn car for half an hour, that double damned car where Duo had made his first step in getting in way over his head. The car was evil, not to mention a symbol of materialism at its finest. If he hadn't trusted his partner with his very life, he would have gladly killed him for stealing it. It wasn't that he'd worried that anyone else had taken it. Parts on the black market would be difficult to get rid of, and anyone driving the car itself would attract immediate attention.

Including himself. He never used to want that. Here he was, driving a car that bragged that he was disgustingly wealthy and arguing with his wife in the most public of places. What better way to attract the attention he supposedly didn't want?

It was a good thing he hadn't had a weapon with him, because he was sure he'd have very calmly killed Khushrenada. Or maybe not so calmly.

Except it really wasn't Khushrenada's fault he'd lost that case. He just had a better attack. He had the benefit of an entire team of attorneys who been relentless in digging up facts that Wufei's client had not revealed to him. It was impossible to come up with a valid defense strategy when you kept getting blindsided by the words "new evidence has come to light."

It wasn't Khushrenada that he hated, it was his very rude awakening to the fact that people lied. To him.

Then he started reviewing all the people he'd defended throughout his very brief career, second guessing each and every one of them. How many criminals had he sent back on the street?

It had been his job to find out all the pertinent information, and instead he'd taken his client's word, believing in the man's innocence up until that last crushing bit of evidence was presented. He could still picture the look on the defendant's face when he'd turned to stare at him. It was one of 'oops, did I forget to mention that?' As if he'd half expected to be convicted in the first place, but wanted to spend the county's tax dollars on a long, drawn out court battle.

He'd never told Meiran why he hadn't been able to continue in that line of work, leaving her to believe that it was Khushrenada dealing him that deathblow. Even knowing that he'd probably saved a few innocents from incarceration did nothing to assuage the doubt and self-loathing he'd felt for being naive enough to believe an accused criminal.

When had he started keeping things from Meiran? Had they started drifting apart even before then?

He couldn't imagine being where he was now if not for Meiran's anchoring him to the good things in life. She kept him from getting too caught up in the lure of money, or so he'd thought. She was defiantly, stubbornly, loyal, if not to his beliefs, than most certainly to him, as a person, as a man. That she still thought he was worth saving was beyond him.

And he'd made her cry.

He leaned his head into his hands, and wept unabashedly.

~~~~~~~

What had he expected, really?

Heero ran his hand once over his jaw and lower lip as he walked, unsure of where his feet were taking him. Damn, Chang packed a hell of a wallop. He wondered if it was going to discolor. It had been a while since he'd had anyone actually land a punch to his face.

He supposed he'd been asking for it. He felt bad for Meiran Long, for making the insinuation he had. She hadn't played a role in what was going on, and it had been uncalled for. She was an innocent bystander.

Wasn't she?

Heero was beginning to wonder if there were any innocents at all in this game. Relena, perhaps, and he'd like to think Meiran as well.

He refused to feel guilty. He hadn't provoked Wufei. He knew damn well who was responsible for Wufei's finding out what he did for a living. He touched a hand to his hairpiece. What had he been thinking to agree to go to a place like that? At least skulking about darkened street corners, people weren't likely to remember him.

He'd gone out, in broad daylight, in the company of a man who he knew damn well was going to be the center of attention a good portion of the time. Had gone into a situation without knowing exactly what he was getting into, or who might be in attendance.

Had to show off on the target range. Great way to keep a low profile. He might want to hire a skywriter next time.

He had wanted to haul off and belt that smug bastard, Wufei, though, but he'd known from the moment the man appeared at his side that he would be considered in the wrong. The last thing he needed was to have witnesses and police involvement. And really, what provocation had he been given.

He thought back on his conversation with Duo that first night.

'I don't trust anyone.'

'Neither do I.'

Apparently not even himself.

The worst part was that he should have been angry at Wufei because of the slight he'd given Relena, who was undeserving of such a crude comment, but to be honest, his reaction had been because he'd felt downright insulted.

If it bothers you that much, Heero, then why...

He clamped down on that thought. He'd thought he had everything figured out, hadn't he? Give Duo Maxwell a price so exorbitant, he'd be sent on his way, and then he could return to Quatre and Trowa and the bar and the apartment and Hollywood Boulevard and the nameless, faceless johns. Familiar territory.

Duo had called his bluff.

He found that his feet had carried him to a bus stop, and he started laughing, a manic sound that had others staring.

He didn't have as much as a single dime in his pockets.

~~~~~~~

Wufei opened the door with a sense of dread. It had been well over a half an hour, hours past that, in fact, but it had taken him this long to summon the courage to go back and face her. Part of him was afraid she'd be gone when he got there, even though he knew that she'd never do something as cowardly as sneaking off in the night.

She was lying on her side on the couch, her back facing him. It was a subtle statement. Keep away. I refuse to speak to you right now.

Maybe ever.

He sighed and turned to the bedroom. He'd try to talk to her in the morning.

He'd probably still be awake then, anyway.

~~~~~~

Duo had given up on the idea of trying to track down Heero. He wasn't about to go traipsing all over Los Angeles on a whim.

What did he care where Heero was, anyway?

The fact that he'd not lived up to his part of the bargain, that's what. He'd paid Heero half the money up front, and therefore he should at least get half the agreed upon time. He wasn't counting that first night, so by rights, Heero owed him at least another half day. If it had been any other service provider, one with a written contract, he'd have demanded a hell of a lot more than that, insisting that the terms of the contract be carried out or all funds would need to be returned. Breach of contract.

There was nothing left to do but return to the hotel.

He decided that he really, really hated Duke Dermail, and suspected it had little to do with the man's megalomaniacal attitude. The man hadn't changed one bit since they'd last done business with him. He was slowly trying to rebuild his empire, but that attitude wasn't going to serve him well now that he was starting practically from scratch. Money could buy a lot of things, including tolerance, but Dermail didn't yet have the kind of money that would help people forget how much of an asshole he was.

Duo was glad he and Wufei had pulled the rug out from under that man's company a year ago.

Damn glad.

tbc