Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell ❯ Fugue ( Chapter 23 )

The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell - 23/?

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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. Excessive use of flashbacks.

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 23 - Fugue

//"I hate my name," she announced out of the blue.

"Why is that?"

"Just don't like it. It's ugly."

"I think it's a beautiful name. It means 'hope.'"

"Bleah. Gag me," she stuck two fingers in her mouth to illustrate her disgust.

She eyed him speculatively, one of those looks that he just knew meant she was plotting something.

"Hope, huh?"

"Yes."

"Well, 'Niiiiisaaaan," she said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "YOU have a Japanese nickname. Perhaps I need one, too."

"You're not Japanese," he pointed out.

She laughed. "Neither are you, remember? 'I was BORN here. That makes ME an American.'"

She had him there. She knew it, too.

"So tell, me, 'Niisan, if 'hope' is so darn pretty, how do you say it in Japanese?"

"Depends on the exact meaning of 'hope' you're looking for. Esupowaaru, hoopu, nozomi..."

She wrinkled her nose in disgust again. "Those are even worse! Esp-oh-war-oo? And hoopu? You're making that one up!" The gagging gesture was back, and he laughed lightly.

"How about koumyou?"

"'Niisan!"

Her annoyance had him getting into the game a bit more. This time he provided a brief explanation of each word.

"Kibou, aspiration. Omoi, desire. Kitai, anticipation. Sokai, cherished ho-"

"Back up. What was the last one?"

"Sokai."

"Before that."

"Kitai?"

"Kitty?"

"Kitai," he corrected.

"Kitty," she affirmed.

He laughed. "All right. Kitty."

He didn't tell her that he actually thought that, to him, the name Ichiru would have fit her best.//

~~~~~

Duo awoke slowly, feeling both tired and well rested. He was aware of something faintly tickling his hip.

He was lying on his side, and the tingling sensation turned out to be Heero's knuckles grazing his skin. Heero was lying on his back with his head facing to the right, away from Duo. His right elbow was bent and his forearm was across his eyes, but his left arm was outstretched toward Duo, causing the slight brush against Duo's body.

Duo propped himself up on his elbow and just looked at Heero, at the gentle rise and fall of his chest, at the way his bangs covered part of his arm and the way the sheet was draped over his lower body haphazardly. He was almost disappointed to see that Heero wasn't sporting any morning wood.

The slight movement caused by his repositioning made the hand at his hip twitch. Heero's fingers curled toward his palm and the brief physical connection they'd had was broken.

Duo reached for Heero's hand, but just as his fingers prepared to gently pry open Heero's hand, he thought better of his actions and slowly withdrew his own. He was afraid if he made contact, he might be tempted to act irrationally. At this point in time, he could not afford that weakness.

As a result of his preoccupation the day before, he'd gotten very little done, and he had a sinking feeling that Peacecraft had more in the wings than either he or Wufei suspected.

~~~~~

Meiran woke up to find Wufei already out of bed and in the kitchen. The smell of coffee brewing drew her to the kitchen.

Wufei was seated at the kitchen table, a mug at his left hand, a few papers strewn across the surface in front of him. He looked up as she entered and couldn't help but smile at her rumpled appearance, not all of which was due to sleep.

"Egomaniac," she said affectionately, leaning over to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Been up long?"

"Not long enough," he sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes tiredly. She glanced at the clock. It was four in the morning.

"Come back to bed," she said.

He managed to leer at her despite the tiredness in his eyes, and she smacked him on the back of the head.

"To SLEEP, you insatiable beast."

"You didn't seem to be complaining last night - ow!"

She had one of his ears pinched in her fingers. "I seem to remember this worked pretty damn well when your mother did it," she teased. "Now do I have to lead you all the way to bed by your ear, or are you coming quietly? And if you dare make one crack over my choice of words, this ear might not stay attached to your head."

He reached up and wrapped his fingers around her hand and squeezed lightly.

"I will attempt to provide my body with another opportunity to recharge," he said, his eyes teasing but his tone serious.

"Good. I might have uses for that body of yours later tonight," she said with a light nip on his ear before releasing it.

Wufei was looking forward to that evening with a mix of excitement and trepidation, and he decided that perhaps it would be a very good idea to allow himself a sufficient amount of sleep while he had the opportunity. He was reasonably certain he could afford the luxury of one more hour.

~~~~~

Duo stood under the shower, letting the warm water cascade over him. He was almost reluctant to wash the scent of Heero from his body, and he allowed himself a few minutes to relive the events of the night before.

He hadn't forgotten the tidbits of information he'd gleaned from Heero, nor the man who had confronted Heero at the gallery, but for the moment, he was content to let the water rinse away the confusing parts of the previous day, leaving him feeling slightly euphoric.

It wouldn't last, but he was going to enjoy it while it did.

~~~~~

Quatre woke up to an empty apartment as he had for the past five nights. Had it been that long since he'd practically shoved Heero in the direction of that Ferrari?

He had known the moment he saw it that something was going to come of it. He optimistically hoped that it was a positive 'something,' and had also known that, of the two of them, Heero was the one better equipped to handle it.

If he'd known that Heero wouldn't have come back that night, he might have thought twice about his actions.

He'd been certain, when he lost all that money in the poker game that night, that they wouldn't need to worry about coming up with the rent money. He hadn't the slightest clue where these funds were magically going to come from, but he'd known all the same.

The envelope Heero had left for him at the Regent Beverly Wilshire reception desk had been the relief they'd needed, and yet he wondered if it was worth the price being paid.

He hated waking up alone. He and Heero had their own bedrooms, if the tiny closet-sized spaces could be considered 'rooms,' but it had been reassuring, having another presence in the apartment. He missed that sense of belonging, and then berated himself for it. He'd given that up to come to California, after all, hadn't he?

He suspected, as he had when he'd first met Heero, that perhaps the two of them were more alike than most people assumed.

Maybe Trowa would be at the bar earlier than usual. He liked to have things ready for the increased business that the weekend brought and was meticulous about being prepared.

Quatre decided to take a shower and head over there. He could use the company right about now.

~~~~~

Heero was on the border between sleep and wakefulness, and he was currently reliving the previous afternoon when he'd given Duo a backrub as he pored over the documents he was holding.

It triggered a long forgotten memory, and the recipient of his massage morphed into a figure seated at a computer instead of an armchair. The hair was much darker, and was half pinned to her head with the rest of it trailing down her back.

//"GOD, Yuy, that feels too damn good. You really have magic hands, you know. And I'm not just saying that because you could snap my neck right now."

He smiled slightly and increased the pressure he was using to knead the tight knots of muscle in her neck and shoulders. She groaned as he found a particularly stubborn one.

"Damn," she repeated. "Marry me and do this to me every night."

He shook his head, even though she couldn't see. "What about your boyfriend?" he teased lightly.

"The title is far too generous," she said derisively. "And said 'boyfriend' is a major jackass, no pun intended," she added, letting her head slump forward and closing her eyes.

"You're not going to get much work done with your eyes closed," he pointed out.

"Fuck work," she said, sighing blissfully as his hands moved to another mound of tension.

"You don't mean that," he said.

"No," she sighed. "I don't. You know me too well."//

~~~~~

He drifted further into REM sleep. The dream transitioned from that not-so-distant memory to another. One from another time. A younger, more carefree time, when it had still seemed as if the world just might be his oyster.

~~~~~

//"When we get married, 'Niisan," she said. "I want to go someplace tropical."

It had become her mantra, a symbol of better times to come. 'When we get married' was a euphemism referring to some undefined turning point in their future. After she graduated. After he came home from wherever he was heading off to this time. A utopian, unattainable future, something like winning the lottery. Possible, but not very probable. She still said it whenever she was feeling particularly stressed, although it had taken him a while to recognize the correlation between those words being uttered and the level of tension she felt.

"What about Elmo?" he asked, referring to her 'boyfriend du jour.'

"Eldon, you jerk," she said, swatting him lightly. "I think you owe me for that," she said, turning her back to him and lifting her hair from her neck pointedly.

He sighed. He never should have given her that first neck massage, because it had become his penance every time he pissed her off, and sometimes she'd look for a reason to make him do it.

No matter how flimsy the reason she gave, he always gave in. He enjoyed seeing the tension ebb from her body, tension that he hated to admit he didn't always recognize, despite their closeness. He liked knowing he was responsible for removing the weariness she felt at times. Liked the feeling that he was making her world a little bit brighter somehow.

His hands went to work immediately. "Tropical, you say?"

"Mmmm."

"Rather uninspired, don't you think?"

She peeked at him from beneath the cascade of hair she was holding. "Uninspired?"

"Everyone goes someplace tropical for their honeymoon. It's trite."

"I'll give you my fist 'trite' upside the head in a minute," she threatened. "OW!"

"You're too tense," he said. "Stop fighting me."

"I wouldn't fight you if you weren't so damn bullheaded."

"Watch your mouth," he chastised.

"I'm not ten anymore, 'Niisan," she said. "I think I'm old enough to cuss now and then."

"I think I'd like to go someplace adventurous," he said thoughtfully. "Like rock climbing or bungee jumping or bull fighting."

"Now THERE'S a romantic honeymoon," she said sarcastically. "Nothing like taking your life in your hands to get that adrenaline rush. Not very complimentary for the bride."

"But if you're my bride, I'm already taking my life into my hands."

"You're a real asshole, 'Niisan, anyone ever tell you that?"

He finished rubbing her back and planted a light kiss on the top of her head.

"All the time."//

~~~~~

When Duo walked from the bathroom to the shower, he glanced at the bed, expecting to find it empty.

He was surprised to see Heero in the center of the bed, clutching one of the pillows to his chest. The sheets were hopelessly twisted around his legs.

Duo was filled with an indescribable emotion at the sight, and he took two steps toward the bed before reminding himself that he'd already let too much time go by without making any real progress on the Peacecraft deal.

Maybe Wufei's Janet had come up with some pertinent information by now. He was ready to be grateful if she'd found some traffic violations, at the rate things were going, but he was more inclined to believe Wufei was merely grasping at straws.

He supposed he should have stayed at the office yesterday instead of leaving early, but he knew that he had been too wound up to get anything done. It had seemed that Wufei was in much the same predicament after Meiran's phone call. If they'd stayed and tried to work, they'd either have fed off each other's anxiety or killed each other, and it was unlikely that they'd have gotten anything constructive done.

Then again, what did he know. Wufei seemed to be full of surprises lately.

~~~~~

//...the blood flowed from her body, looking like a crimson storm, as the convenience store manager just stood there, shrugging his shoulders. "Kids these days," he said.

Her life force was leaving her, and no one was doing a thing to stop the bleeding. He tried to reach her, tried to stop what he knew was inevitable, but there were too many people in the way, blocking his access.

Despite the growing crowd, he could see her eyes, open and glassy and staring at nothing, her mouth open as if she had attempted to cry for help at the end.

And the blood...so much blood...//

~~~~~

"NO!" Heero woke to the sound of the cry forced from his lips and sat up abruptly. His hands were shaking and he brought them to his face slowly, staring at them as if they belonged to someone else.

When Duo came to the door to see what the commotion was, Heero had his face in his hands. His fingertips were buried in his hair.

"Heero?" he asked, his voice hesitant, as if he weren't sure what his role was in this situation.

Heero glanced up from his hands and grimaced slightly. "Sorry," he said. "Banged my elbow on the headboard."

Duo looked at him and Heero wrapped his arms around himself, hoping that his body wasn't shaking as badly as it felt it was. He rubbed one of his elbows almost as an afterthought.

"I ordered a breakfast that should meet your dietary fiber requirements," Duo said, attempting to inject humor into the awkward silence that had fallen.

"Thank you."

"You...have enough time to take a shower, if you'd like, before it arrives," Duo offered, gesturing toward the bathroom.

Heero nodded, and waited for Duo to exit the bedroom before trusting himself to get out of bed. He nearly fell to the floor before realizing his legs were entangled in the sheets.

He made his way to the bathroom unsteadily and ran the water as hot as he could tolerate it. Once the shower spray was on, he stepped under it and turned the cold down just a fraction more.

He had to wash off all the blood.

The worst part was, he hadn't even been there when she died.

tbc