Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell ❯ Aftermath, Part 2 ( Chapter 17 )

The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell - 17/?

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Note: This fic was written in response to Nova Una's challenge to the 1x2ML 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 as I see fit. Gratuitous insertion of red herrings throughout.

Spoilers: None for GW, quite a bit for Pretty Woman.

Disclaimer: I don't really need to be Captain Obvious here, do I? No ownership, no money being made, yadda yadda. Written for fun, not profit.

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

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Chapter 17 - Aftermath, Part 2

Duo was feeling slightly unsettled about his self-gratification in the shower as he buttoned his shirt and cuffs. Hadn't he gotten satisfaction the night before? What more could he have wanted?

He hated questioning himself, so he shelved that thought and headed out to the suite where he found Heero eating breakfast at the small dining table. Apparently the man could move pretty damn quietly when he wanted.

"The laptop will be arriving today," he said, walking past Heero and seating himself at the desk. He turned on the portable computer and watched it boot, casting sideways glances at Heero on occasion.

Heero didn't respond. He simply took another bite out of some sort of multigrain bread that he'd lightly smeared with butter. His tongue lapped at a tiny bit of stray butter, leaving a faint sheen on his lips. He didn't bother to look at Duo but grunted his acknowledgement.

Duo found himself staring and forced his attention back to his computer, watching the desktop load and then opening his e-mail program. He had noticed a distinct lack of ads touting a cure for his sexual dysfunction the past two days.

He cleared his throat.

"When it arrives, please insure that it meets all the specifications you provided." A slight emphasis was placed on 'you.'

Another grunt.

"If there is any software you wish to load onto it, please do so. There are numerous web sites from which you may download various progr-"

Heero's head turned and those eyes, a pair of intense blue flames, bored a hole into his forehead. Apparently Duo had just insulted him.

Damn, the man looked good even when he was pissed. Duo didn't often get the benefit of seeing those eyes open and alert before Heero inserted the contacts, and the fact that they were flashing with anger did nothing to sway Duo's opinion that they were, as he'd noted the previous evening, temptation eyes. Like the glow of a Bunsen burner, gradually increasing the temperature of various additives to promote a chemical reaction...

"I'll be at the office all day today," he said, surprised to hear a slight tremor in his voice. He wondered why he felt the need to explain himself to Heero as he continued. "You're on your own once the laptop arrives and you've loaded all the appropriate software onto it. You do remember my criterion?"

Heero's gaze remained unblinking. It was slightly unnerving.

"Right," Duo cursed himself for his need to fill the awkward silence. Wasn't this why men went to hookers in the first place, to avoid the whole 'morning after' awkwardness? Other than the obvious reasons, of course.

He glanced at his watch. "Well, then, I'd best be going." He stood, picked up his jacket from the back of his chair, and hesitated. Heero's attention had returned to his breakfast, and Duo watched in rapt fascination as an orange slice was brought to Heero's lips.

Heero licked the sticky juice off his fingers as he used the other hand to turn a page in the book he'd borrowed from Duo that first night. Duo hadn't even noticed it lying on the table.

Duo opened his mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say. He left the room silently.

~~~~~~

Quatre was back in good spirits the next morning. He felt bad snapping at Trowa the previous night, but he hadn't wanted to admit that he'd suddenly felt a connection to Heero, something he hadn't felt since...since he'd introduced Heero to his world.

He'd regretted it ever since.

It was often hard to tell when what he was feeling were his own emotions. Sometimes he'd swear he could literally taste the waves of sentiment that others emitted, and it colored his perceptions at times.

It wasn't reliable, and the fact that he couldn't always count on it had originally made him think 'it' was just an odd reaction to alcoholic beverages, but then it had happened when he was completely sober and he'd had to admit he was stumped. It wasn't often that it happened without the benefit of alcohol, but enough to indicate it was more than a rather intense 'buzz.' The effects of booze just made it feel worse, amplified, even.

He didn't want Trowa probing. There were things that he'd rather not admit to. He enjoyed the taller man's company, had found the time spent at the bar conversing with him a refreshing change from the nightly performances he gave others. Perhaps things could have been different between them if they'd met under different circumstances, but it was hard to build a friendship that was based on lies. He'd done the same with Heero, but somehow that was different. He colored slightly.

He had to stop dwelling on things that couldn't be changed and get his game face on before any of the regulars came in. He had a nagging feeling that something was brewing, and wanted to be ready for it.

He said a silent prayer of thanks that Trowa had acted as if nothing happened and pasted a bright smile on his face as the brunette unlocked the door and counted out the money for the lunch crowd.

~~~~~~

Duo and Wufei were passing sheaves of paper back and forth across a long table, with Duo occasionally typing something into his computer and then leaning back to announce what the latest bit of info he'd unearthed was.

He noticed that Wufei, despite his dedication to the project at hand, didn't seem as tightly wound as he usually did. Now and then Duo would swear a smile was teasing the corners of his mouth.

Finally it dawned on him, and he slapped Wufei on the back. That got his partner's attention, as he'd known it would. It wasn't something he was in the habit of doing, but he couldn't resist this time.

When Wufei growled at him, he laughed. "Wufei, you look more like a pissed off kitten than an enraged tiger. So, I take it you did the mattress mambo last night?"

Wufei scowled at his crudity.

"It is none of your business when I make love to my wife," he said scoldingly, but the hint of softness in his eyes lessened the severity of his expression.

"Hey, it's a guy thing," Duo said, holding up his hands placatingly. "You're not the only one who-"

'got lucky last night,' his mind supplied, but his throat suddenly constricted and he couldn't get the rest of the words past his lips.

"-still has the hots for his wife after ten years of marriage," he said instead.

"Three."

Duo waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, but you've known each other since the womb, am I right?"

Wufei shook his head, but the faint smile was just a little bit wider.

"Take a look at the financials on the company from Nevada," he said.

Duo knew he'd been neatly put in his place and pulled the report across the table, then chuckled.

"Rather self laudatory of them, don't you think?" he said, reading the name at the top.

"It's a family name," Wufei said. He placed a pair of wire rimmed glasses on his nose and scanned the NYSE listings for the company's ticker symbol.

"Hmmm." Duo had had enough with family names, thinking of the Peacecrafts once again. Wufei's precise motions as he'd removed his spectacles from their case and carefully cleaned them before donning them reminded Duo of Heero's elegant dining habits at the Samurai, which also made him think of the more seductive eating style he'd unconsciously used that very morning. Which in turn made him think of-

"Duo."

Duo looked up.

"Have Janet investigate any legal activity that Zodiac has been involved in over the past two years."

"Still think Peacecraft has a chance with Khushrenada?"

Wufei took a moment to answer, his tentative smile wavering. "I like to have all the facts. Where there's smoke, there's fire."

That thought niggled at the edges of Duo's consciousness. It seemed like there was another company that merited investigation, one that they were overlooking, but perhaps he was just unsettled after all that had happened with Heero.

"Janet," he repeated.

Wufei looked at him with slight disapproval on his face. "One of the paralegals. Extremely bright, real knack for ferreting out information."

"Right." Duo had no idea who he was talking about.

Wufei licked a finger and paged through another stack of information, the subtle smile back on his face.

Duo rubbed his chest and stood up. Wufei seemed to have forgotten he was even there, although whether lost in thought about the Peacecraft issue or something more pleasurable, Duo wasn't sure.

~~~~~~

"Miss Relena?"

Relena looked up at the wizened face of their family servant. She supposed 'butler' was as good a term as any, although he was more like family. He served in any capacity they needed, and Relena often considered him more like a favored uncle than something as impersonal as an employee.

"Yes, Pagan?"

He seemed a bit uneasy, and Relena felt the frown beginning to form on her face, before she forced herself to smile. She didn't want Pagan to think she was upset with him.

He bowed slightly, and that's when Relena knew he was really agitated. He hadn't done that since she was six.

"There are visitors..."

"I am expecting him," Milliardo's voice interrupted. "Send him to my office." He paused in the doorway. "Bring coffee." He paused in the doorway, then added softly "please."

Relena had latched onto the word "visitors." Milliardo said he was expecting HIM, and to send HIM into the office. Not THEM.

Pagan still looked hesitant about returning to the foyer, so Relena placed her napkin on the table and stood. The look of relief he gave her was tangible.

An older gentleman with hair whiter than her brother's and a neatly trimmed beard stood regally by the doorway. Several feet away a hooded figure stood with the person's back to Relena, apparently admiring the tiny figurines that adorned a bookshelf near the entrance.

"This way, sir," Pagan said, gesturing toward the hall leading to Milliardo's office and leaving Relena to deal with the mysterious guest.

The person turned and lowered the hood. Pale blond hair and piercing eyes were revealed, and the girl's smile made Relena immediately wary.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Relena Peacecraft," she said with chilling politeness. She extended a hand in greeting. "My name is Dorothy Catalonia."

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As Duo approached the legal department, he could hear faint strains of music coming from one of the smaller offices.

He found himself wondering why he didn't know that some employees liked to listen to the radio while they were working. It wasn't a surprising fact, but just one of those little insignificant details that he used to pride himself on picking up. He found that, if you remembered one small thing when meeting a new person, and managed to work it into the next conversation you had with them, without being obvious about it, it fostered the illusion of true interest in them as a person.

He tried to recall a single thing about anyone he'd spoken to the previous day, and the only thing he could remember was his annoyance at being waylaid when he'd attempted to follow Heero.

That wasn't exactly true. He could also recall, with perfect clarity, the way Meiran's eyes had flashed before she'd gone after Wufei, replacing the sad look that had been there when she'd asked him if he was happy.

He'd always assumed that Meiran and Wufei were happily married, but he didn't think he'd ever seen Wufei looking quite so pleased with himself as he was this morning, not even when they managed to successfully close multi-million dollar deals, not even when he purchased the Ferrari.

He should have noticed things like that about his partner, if no one else. He didn't like the idea that his observational skills were slipping.

~~~~~~~

"...and then he told me that SHE was better in bed!" A file drawer slammed shut before a large tome was dropped onto a nearby table. "And WHY do we keep reference books in the filing cabinet?"

"We don't," came the calm reply. "You put it there because it matched some filing system known only in your universe."

The blond girl who had been ranting sat down next to the book and sighed. "It's just so frustrating, you know?"

The shorthaired redhead seated two desks away from her didn't respond, busily typing a report from the notes in front of her.

"Well, we're through," the blonde added, needing no encouragement. She poked at the book she'd just retrieved. "It's not like I expected an engagement ring or anything," she muttered. "Just honesty. If we were just going to be fuck-a-buddies, that would have been fine, but I'd have been a damn sight more careful if I'd known he was boffing his way through the ranks."

The steady clacking of keys was the only sound that greeted that pronouncement.

"Maybe I should do the same. Except I'd set my sights a lot higher than someone in ACCOUNTING!" Her voice made the last word seem like an epithet.

She smiled wistfully. "Know who I'd love to do it with?"

A quiet snort greeted that comment.

"Duo Maxwell."

The redhead looked up. "You've got to be kidding."

"NO! I mean, I can dream, can't I?"

"He's our boss. Scratch that. The boss' boss' boss."

"So? Have you ever looked at him?"

"When would I have found time to do this gawking?" the shorthaired woman gestured to the mountains of paperwork surrounding her.

"God, his eyes! And all that HAIR," the blonde replied, undeterred. "You just know he'd be aggressive in bed, too."

The sound of someone clearing his throat made them both look up.

The blonde's face flamed, but she managed to squeak out, "Good morning, Mr. Maxwell, what can I do for you?" If she realized the number of ways that question could be interpreted, considering her last statement, she gave no sign of it.

He looked from her to the redhead and back again. The slightest bit of uncertainty graced his features briefly before he looked at the woman who was seated at a computer.

"Janet?"

The redhead shook her head. "Nadia." She tilted her head toward the red-faced blonde. "That's Janet." A steady gaze at Duo, then she added, "I'm just a lowly intern."

To say Duo was surprised was an understatement, but he turned and smiled at the woman he'd come to see.

"Wufei has asked me to pass along an assignment to you. Are you up to the task?"

Her face, although still slightly flushed, took on a look of determination. "Shoot."

"See what you can find in terms of any sort of legal activity involving Zodiac over the past two years."

"How refined do you want the search? Property acquisitions, criminal activity, dissolution of marriages among the CEOs, number of employees applying for dog licenses?"

He glanced at Nadia, who shrugged. "She could do it, too," she offered.

His attention was drawn to the small stereo. It was on a long table that also housed a coffeepot and several pastries.

"Do you mind?" he asked, gesturing to the table.

"No! No, not at all. Help yourself," Janet said. He reached for a mug and his hand hesitated at the next song that played.

Janet showed the first real sign of discomfiture. "Mr. Maxwell? It is okay for us to have the radio playing, isn't it?"

"Duo," he said. "Only jobs that require you to wear a paper hat maintain the outdated opinion that respect is accorded based on how one is addressed."

He thought he heard the tiniest snort from Nadia, making him think of Heero, but Janet beamed at him.

"Duo," she said, nodding happily. Then she launched into the benefits of music on the workplace, citing various studies.

"Of course, if the musical selection is forced upon the workers," she added, pulling out another file from somewhere on her desk as she chattered. "Then it causes agitation, which defeats the purpose. Everyone's preferences are different, and it's relaxing only if the listener perceives it as such."

She paused in her search to hit one of the preset buttons. She grimaced slightly as yet another love-gone-wrong song played.

"Janet's determined to disprove the theory that the radio DJs are out to get her by playing torch songs on every radio station," Nadia commented.

This time the snort came from Janet, who hit another button and groaned as the strains of BJ Thomas' "Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" emitted from the speakers. The button was rapidly pressed again, and an ad for a local car dealership made Janet look over at Nadia and stick out her tongue.

Duo was nearly dizzy from the exchange, but he was admittedly impressed that Janet seemed capable of carrying on a conversation while retrieving information. He suspected that none of her actions were random, either.

Which also made him realize that he was putting his faith in Wufei's opinion of the paralegal.

"Janet," he said, taking a deep breath. "I'm sure Wufei would be happy with everything up to but not including the dog licensing." She grinned at him broadly, the feral gleam in her eye completely at odds with the ditzy appearance she gave when he'd entered the room.

He bade them a good morning and took his leave. His head was practically spinning.

He closed the door behind him with a sigh of relief.

tbc

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NYSE - New York Stock Exchange. The ticker symbol refers to the three or four letter abbreviation used to identify various securities. Actually, there are a few companies, such as AT&T, that have one letter ticker symbols. Ticker symbols were devised in the 1800s for use by telegraph operators. The one-letter designations were saved for the most active stocks at the time, which were primarily railroads. Look, yet another useless bit of trivia for you!

And speaking of useless trivia, Janet and Nadia got their names from the very nice ladies who sent me e-mails encouraging me to enlarge my (nonexistent) penis! I need someone like Heero to take care of my own abundance of spam! <G>