Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell ❯ Dominoes ( Chapter 18 )

The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell - 18/?

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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 18 - Dominoes

Instead of going to the conference room where he and Wufei had all their notes spread out, he returned to his desk and locked the door behind him. He passed the light switch without turning it on, then sat down and put his feet on the desk. He leaned back in his luxury model executive chair and steepled his fingers together on his chest.

He was unsettled. Again. He might as well just get a sign with the word on it in big block letters and an arrow pointing at him that he could carry around all day.

He closed his eyes and tried to go over the morning's events, and could not remember a single thing he'd read pertaining to the Peacecraft takeover.

He could, however, remember Wufei's look of pure happiness, Janet's seemingly inane chatter, Nadia's subtle sarcasm, the way Heero had ignored him that morning.

The way Heero had NOT ignored him the previous night.

To his horror, he realized he could recall very little of what it had actually felt like to fuck Heero.

He took a calming breath. He could remember the tight channel enveloping his shaft, the sight of Heero's body swallowing him bit by bit. The clenching of those muscles around his cock as Heero came, causing him to release his own load into the latex barrier.

It had been different than fucking a woman, although how much was due to overcoming the societal taboo of the act and how much was due to actual differences in the physical sensations, he wasn't sure.

He supposed it would have felt exactly the same if he'd ever talked Hilde into giving anal sex a try. Other than the lack of a prostate gland, he was sure the anatomy of males and females, when it came to the rectum, couldn't be all that different.

He noted with disinterest the clinical terms in which he was thinking about it. Heero had explained the entire prepping thing to him in much the same fashion, so it was only to be expected that his own post-coital analysis would follow a similar vein. No pun intended, he grimaced.

Why had it seemed that something was lacking? Was he trying to deny that he'd enjoyed it, or had he actually been...disappointed?

His hips had thrust forward repeatedly as he'd given into the need to fuck Heero senseless, to reassert his dominance.

Because, after all, hadn't he recognized that he had to get around Heero's own need for control?

He didn't like feeling guilty, didn't like the feeling that he'd let Heero down in some way. Heero's pleasure was secondary, after all. His reward was monetary.

Except that he'd promised to make it good for Heero, and at the time he'd said it, he'd meant it.

He'd climaxed because he knew that he'd caused Heero to let go and allow himself to orgasm. He could admit that much. Had Heero really let go, however? Just when he thought he had the man figured out, he felt like he was back at square one. He was running out of time.

He was eager to see what Heero had come up with for a laptop design.

He rubbed at his eyes. Heero was both fascinating and maddening beyond belief. What was that whole cold shoulder thing this morning? A slap in the face for botching his mission? Hilde had never driven him to near fits the way Heero seemed prone to.

Understanding Heero was more difficult than getting Peacecraft to cave in, but it shouldn't take this much of his conscious thought. He had bigger fish to fry, profits to be made. Priorities to be adhered to.

Janet told Nadia she suspected he'd be quite aggressive in bed. That had actually smarted, considering how he'd managed to hold his temptation at bay until he'd entered Heero's body, and then had given in to it with a vengeance.

Mentally reliving the sexual experience from start to finish, his groin didn't stir at all, but just thinking of Heero eating that orange made his mouth go dry.

He got up and grabbed a bottle of water from the cubic refrigerator in the corner, then sat back down. He twisted the top off and took a long swig. He had to get back to Wufei. Soon.

Janet was the paralegal Wufei had praised. From a physical standpoint, she had 'blonde bimbo' written all over her. Her chatter with Nadia had seemed to emphasize that point.

Yet Wufei said she was bright. Her intern seemed to have a certain amount of reluctant respect for her. And she'd been all business, even when she should have felt like cowering under a chair after being caught dead to rights speculating on her boss' sexual prowess. Even when she started on that odd tangent about music, she still seemed to know where everything was. A paradox.

He'd made a rash determination of her abilities before getting to know her. How long had she been working there? How many other employees did Wufei know that he didn't?

He didn't expect to know everyone in a company this size, but suspected that Wufei just might. Granted, his partner tended to take care of the West Coast business more often when the two of them weren't both needed, but still...

Duo hated introspection. He'd managed to get this far without second-guessing himself. His fingers started peeling at the label on his water bottle.

He couldn't quite shake the disappointment he'd felt every time he pictured Heero's impassive face that morning.

He thought of Wufei's pleased little smile again.

Duo had been satisfied last night, but Wufei had looked *sated*.

He sat there for a while, not ready to go back and face that expression on his partner's face just yet.

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The laptop arrived around lunchtime. Heero had spent the morning lost in memories, standing on the balcony the whole time, except for a brief excursion to the bathroom and to shower and dress before the computer arrived.

He was dressed in a loose tank top and a pair of soft, distressed looking jeans that likely had each and every rip and frayed edge specified on paper somewhere for strategic placement.

He felt strangely human for the first time in days. Maybe months.

He wondered how Quatre was doing, if they'd been thrown out of their apartment for nonpayment of rent, if Trowa was still acting like his big brother without being obvious about it.

When the phone rang, this time he answered it. The concierge informed him that a delivery had arrived and Heero bade him to have it sent up.

Despite all that had happened lately, and not so recently, he felt a frisson of excitement at the project before him. Duo had said to create his dream laptop computer, and once he'd accepted the single specification, he'd gone about doing exactly that.

He rubbed his hands in anticipation.

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A young woman with light brown hair stared at her lab results and shook her head. She was missing something. Her medical background either wasn't sufficient enough to properly analyze something this complex, or she was simply unable to extrapolate what they needed from the available information.

She reached up and removed several pins from her hair, letting it fall from the tightly wound bun she'd created earlier into two thick braids. Her fingers scratched the back of her head where the sudden release of pressure made her scalp itch.

She picked up the report again, skimming the first few lines, then reached for the phone with the other hand.

When her call was answered, a monotone voice greeted her. "Thank you for calling the Saint Rose Dominican Hospital's Siena Campus. How may I direct your call?"

The woman forced a smile onto her face, hoping her voice didn't betray her weariness.

"Dr. Iria Winner, please."

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Heero opened the boxes, his eyes eagerly scanning the contents and comparing each item to the accompanying invoice. He compared everything on that piece of paper to his own mental checklist, and grinned when he got to the smaller box. He practically tore into it, then withdrew a large leather wallet. He opened it up and lovingly stroked the tools nestled within the static proof lining.

He set it aside and cleared off the table. His eyes were flashing with a desire that hadn't been there the night before as he unloaded each component and placed it gently on the wooden surface before him.

He gave Duo's opinion of the computer only a passing thought as he threw himself into the task of assembling some pieces and slightly modifying others.

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Duo returned to the conference room to find Wufei chewing on the end of a highlighter. He couldn't recall a time when he'd noticed that nervous habit, and once again wondered how much life had been slipping him by. He tamped that thought down immediately. He hadn't spent the last fifteen minutes denying that he'd indulged in some soul searching just to start the whole process all over again.

"Ready for lunch?" he asked.

Wufei looked up, the glasses slipping down his nose and giving him the appearance of a disapproving school marm. Duo grinned.

"What?"

"Just thinking how cute you look right now."

"You'll look even cuter with my foot up your ass," Wufei muttered. "Did you-?"

"Janet is on it, never fear. She sends her love, by the way."

Wufei shook his head, not the least bit fazed by Duo's blatant teasing. The ringing of the phone drew both the attention of both of them, but as Duo was the one standing, he walked over to hit the speaker button.

"Maxwell."

"Duo, is Wufei available?" Meiran's voice boomed over the surround sound speakers. Duo winced. He'd forgotten they'd had those installed. One more item to go on the list of things he was oblivious to.

"Meiran," Wufei said, his voice amazingly calm. It was his professional voice. Duo glanced over and saw small lines of worry creasing his partner's face.

Interesting.

"Are you free for lunch today?"

Wufei swallowed once, glancing at Duo. Duo nodded.

"Yes."

"Want me to meet you there?"

Wufei nodded, although she couldn't see him. Duo thought he looked downright relieved.

"I would appreciate it."

"Give me twenty and I'll pick something up on my way," she said, and with that the connection was terminated. Duo turned the phone off and looked at Wufei speculatively.

"What?"

"You really need to increase your vocabulary, Chang," he said lightly. "I don't suppose we'll get much done the rest of the day, do you?" He started gathering his copies of the prospectuses and detailed company histories he'd been perusing earlier.

Wufei frowned. He looked ready to protest, then his expression returned to neutral. He hated to admit it, but they needed a break, and he needed to address some more pressing matters. "No, I don't suppose we will."

Duo would have sworn there was a look of sheer panic in Wufei's features just before he snapped his briefcase closed.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," he said, then picked up his briefcase and left Wufei in the conference room alone.

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The phone behind the bar rang, and before Trowa walked over to answer it, Quatre piped up from the table where he was once again ensconced in a game of chance, "tell her I'm not here." Trowa frowned briefly, although Quatre couldn't see him. "Tell her I moved to Guam. Tell her I enrolled in cosmetology school. Tell her I joined a traveling circus."

Trowa answered the phone before Quatre could continue his list of excuses for Quatre's sister, who he had no doubt was the person on the other end of the call.

He told her that Quatre was unavailable, and agreed to give him a message.

Then he noticed the increased anxiety in her voice, and found he couldn't hang up right away.

Quatre was in a heated debate with the other men about whether they were going to play Follow the Queens or Spit in the Ocean. While the blond gambler argued, his hands were busy shuffling the deck, forming a bridge, and letting the cards waterfall into his fingers before repeating the process. He didn't notice that Trowa had not yet placed the phone's receiver back on its base.

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Duo had unrealistically expected he would leave the building immediately, but he was detained several times by numerous lackeys. Some had legitimate, pertinent questions that only he or Wufei could answer, but others were merely making poorly disguised attempts at sucking up. He felt a bit vindicated that he was still able to tell the difference.

Meiran was entering the building when he reached the lobby.

She had a look of determination on her face, and hoped that look was reserved for her spouse and not for him.

She approached him with one of her patented smiles. It was an expression that showed she was genuinely happy, but also up to something as well.

"Duo," she greeted him, going so far as to embrace him firmly. When she released him, she slipped a brochure into his hand and flashed that smile again. She patted him on the cheek twice before heading to the elevators.

He looked at the handbill he held and shook his head. Then he looked at it again and smiled.

tbc

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Yes, Follow the Queens and Spit in the Ocean are both variants of poker.

I know, I know. Hurry up and post chapter 19. Well, now you have to wait! I had most of this written earlier today, but now I have nothing but a big blank screen to go on! Unless you count my index card crib notes...