Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ 1 Blood on the Window ❯ Sweet Nothings ( Chapter 32 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Duo laughed delightedly as Jesse muttered in his ear, then turned and studied his eyes, replying.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but with the way the little brunette chick was reacting under their gaze, I was sincerely curious. Relena snuggled into my arms as Kayla yawned and climbed into Duo's lap, whispering in his ear as she also looked at the woman.

When we'd first seen her, I'd wondered if she were the woman…Rebecca, that Duo had been telling me about, but after a few flippant comments from Duo about Jesse finally getting laid, I had to figure it wasn't the same female. For one, the leader of Marionette was a fully mature woman. This girl in front of us barely looked old enough to be in the club.

Kayla smiled, sliding out of Duo's lap and extending a hand to pull Relena out of her seat, then started for the bathroom-the woman, evidently noticing my nod for her to follow them, was a moment behind.

"What are you two doing?" I demanded of them, studying them both. Ever since that concert where Duo'd played at being Jesse's boyfriend, the pair had been incredibly naughty. Nearly every night Duo was trying to hoist Jesse into some woman's bed, and though he hadn't succeeded, I was beginning to get very interested in playing as well.

"I'm getting him laid if I can manage it." Duo replied easily, shaking his head, "He said it's been three years."

I blinked at Jesse.

"Would you not tell him that shit?" Jesse snapped at him.

Duo laughed evilly, "Why? If he starts helping me, you'll be in someone's bed tonight. Did I ever tell you how I met Kayla?" he flashed me a grin, "Do you realize I didn't know her name until about twenty four hours after I started sleeping with her?"

Jesse stared at him in something like horror.

"I think you ought to look into some constructive sin," Duo added, flashing me a highly amused glance.

I grinned at him and Jesse snorted.

"Well?" Wufei demanded, bouncing up to the table with flushed cheeks, grabbing Duo's drink and downing half of it.

"Nothing yet." Duo replied, "Jesse's playing at pre-teen psychology."

Wufei lowered the cup to glower at the guy.

"You two are the biggest pains in the ass…" Miguel muttered, joining Wufei and grabbing another cup.

"And how would you know about him?" Wufei returned, his eyes glowing.

Miguel exchanged a mock-startled look with Duo, "Um…uh…"

"How would you know how big he was?" Wufei pressed, placing his hands on his hips.

"How would you know?" Jesse demanded of Wufei.

"How wouldn't he know?" I muttered, smirking at Duo.

Duo started laughing, taking his cup, "Why do I deal with you lot?"

Wufei laughed, then focused on Jesse again, "What the hell are you doing? She wouldn't still be here if she weren't interested."

"And how do I know she's here for me?" Jesse snapped, "I'm not the only guy at this table."

"You're the only single guy at this table," Wufei replied with a withering look, taking the cup from Duo again, "You should get another of these."

"Or," Duo offered sarcastically, watching Wufei drain his cup, "You could try a new approach…get your own."

"You have money to burn and you love me." Wufei replied, giving him a look before he pulled at Miguel's hand and they disappeared into the crowd again.

Duo laughed, looking to me and shaking his head.

"Now, boys," Relena muttered, sliding next to me again, "We're all going to dance. Jesse, you will dance with Amanda."

Jesse looked slightly nervous.

"I get to dance with you?" Duo asked her eagerly as Kayla and the woman reached the table.

"If you want to sleep alone tonight." Kayla replied happily.

Duo laughed, sliding out of the booth to tackle his girlfriend with a kiss, "I don't think so."

Kayla started giggling and I found myself being yanked at.

"Just a second," I muttered to Relena, lifting my cup to my mouth and taking a drink before grabbing Jesse's wrist firmly and pulling him bodily after me.

He was going to dance if I had to hold my gun to his head while he did it.

.

"Kay?" I muttered, sitting next to Kayla on the couch, studying her eyes as she beamed up at me. She'd spent the night with me again-a feat much easier to pull off when I had my own room. It did help that Trowa and Alex had stayed over at Hilde's, though.

"Yes'm?" she asked me happily, climbing into my lap and pulling her blanket over us. It was a bit chilly in the living room.

"Um…" I muttered, feeling my gut wrench slightly, "Uh…"

"What?" she protested, her sweet expression changing to amused, "You should see yourself."

I smiled at her, "You don't know what I'm thinking."

"We can't fuck on the couch, that'd be disrespectful to Relena."

I started laughing at that. The thought had been in a far-corner of my mind, and was definitely not what was giving me butterflies.

She giggled, nuzzling me a moment before straddling me and studying my eyes, "What's got you so serious this morning?"

"I wanted to ask you something."

"All right," she returned completely willing to wait me out.

I took a deep breath, meeting her eyes, "Do you want to get an apartment with me?"

She broke into giggles, leaning down and kissing my throat.

I waited a moment, not sure what she really thought of the idea.

"It's past April first," she muttered finally, sitting back to study my eyes, "So this isn't a joke, is it?"

I smiled at her slightly and shrugged, "I can laugh it off if you want me to."

She beamed at me suddenly, her eyes lighting with complete pleasure, "I think that would be fun." she muttered, hugging me, then bouncing on me, "And then I can tell my parents!" she exclaimed, bouncing off of me and darting up the stairs.

I blinked after her in amazement.

"I think that's a yes," Heero informed me from the kitchen door, "I'm fairly positive, anyway."

I recovered myself from my near jump, blinking at him. I hadn't heard him in the kitchen at all, so I hadn't been expecting to be overheard.

"Now, next time you decide to ask her something like that, be romantic about it." he crossed the living room to sit on the long couch, offering me a cup of coffee, "Because that's the kind of thing all the ladies talk about, and you want your lady to have the better mate." he winked at me, "You want your lady to be able to lord over all her 'friends'," he made air quotes, "That her boyfriend or husband loves her enough to swallow his pride."

I laughed at that, sipping at the cup and rising to my feet, "Think about it a moment, Heero," I muttered, starting up the stairs, "I was the one who told you that."

Heero started laughing.

.

"I know, but…this one has two rooms." Kayla muttered, "If we get that then Nat can come visit us every now and then…or Quatre…"

"He's moving back in two months." Duo reminded her. The pair were in Duo's bedroom with a newspaper, and had been all day.

I grinned, leaning against my door-jamb as I sipped at the cocoa Duo'd made me before he came back upstairs. He'd been moving around in a haze for the past few hours, you could ask him for anything and he'd do it before going back into his room, even if Kayla weren't there…not that she'd left for more than an hour.

"Look, this one has a huge living room," Duo protested, "And a large bathroom…and a half-bath."

"What could we do with a half-bath?" Kayla returned curiously.

"That way I don't have to disturb you if you're in the bathroom." Duo explained, "Or if the kids are around they won't have to wait."

"Why not get two bathrooms?" she muttered with an obvious smile in her voice.

Duo giggled at her-seriously, "Isn't that a bit much, sweetie? We really don't need two bathrooms."

"But you can afford it," she muttered teasingly at him.

"I can," he agreed, "But why do that? It'll be you and me…and every now and then there'll be a visitor."

"What about kids?" she asked suddenly, changing track at the speed of light, "If we buy a large house we can be prepared for kids."

"I don't want to buy a house yet," he protested, grinning, "Do you even know how many kids you want?"

I grinned at that.

She giggled, "As long as they're yours, I don't really care."

Duo laughed and I could tell they were kissing.

Okay, that was cute. Kayla really was cute.

"For the time being…a year or two…how about an apartment?"

"Are we going to get married?" she demanded.

"Eventually," Duo agreed easily.

That one caught me.

"How long away is that?"

"I don't want to stop you if you find something bigger and better," he explained, "So…maybe three years."

"And if I find something once we're married?" Kayla teased.

"I'll have to get rid of it," Duo muttered ruefully.

Kayla started giggling again.

"Heero, you can join our conversation." Duo added suddenly.

I jumped guiltily, ducking into my room and shutting the door as he laughed.

"What are you doing?" Relena asked, blinking up at me from the book she was reading.

"I was listening to the love-birds." I replied, setting my cup on her nightstand and crawling over her to cuddle against her back, "They're being cute."

"I wondered why you just stood there." she muttered, adjusting the book so I could also read it, "It's just been describing the palace at Riverview," she informed me, "It's big and opulent…like the Sanq palace used to be."

"That's cool." I muttered, pausing in my reading to meet her eyes.

She shrugged, "But boring."

I smiled at her.

"Now hush," she ordered, "And cover us, I'm cold."

.

"This place reeks of domesticity." I noted vaguely to Hilde. She'd brought me a drink, but had been helping Kayla, Relena, and Alex in the kitchen.

"It's nice." Hilde muttered at me, taking a deep breath.

"It's relaxing, at least." I muttered, kissing her and smiling at her.

"Yeah." she giggled, "I think this place will be the haven." she looked around the room.

"What do you mean?"

"For fights." she explained, "Duo is only getting a one-roomed place."

"I wonder if Duo will set Quatre up when he's done with Jesse." she muttered to me, watching into the room, "He seems to be enjoying this."

I grinned, "Duo's amusements have always been questionable."

Hilde giggled more and winked at me, rising to her feet and moving into the kitchen again.

Kayla was sneezing as she dashed into the living room, giggling madly as she plopped next to me on the couch.

"Bless you." I muttered, blinking at her.

She giggled even more, shaking her head at me and rubbing her nose, "I have no idea what that was." she muttered, "Thanks, though."

I nodded, startled. Kayla had never really talked to me before so I had no idea what to think.

She took a slightly relieved breath before looking around the room and rising to her feet again, moving into the bathroom, "Why aren't you out back?" she added as she popped her head out the door, "They're all out there playing with knives."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh."

She giggled, "You say that like you don't agree."

"I'm not so amused by knife-throwing." I explained, "I'm better than they are."

She laughed delightedly, her hazel eyes flashing with amusement, "Conceited, are we?"

"No more than Duo."

"Duo's not conceited!" she protested instantly.

I laughed more, "You don't know him quite as well as you think, trust me. He's full of himself."

"Hey now," Kayla giggled, "Only I can talk shit about him."

"No, only the siblings can say mean things about the brother," I countered, "He's my brother, it's my right."

She giggled more, moving back into the kitchen.

"Apa!" Alexia squeaked, running to me.

"Yeah?" I asked, blinking at her.

She cupped my face, studying my eyes, "I love you."

It took me a long moment to realize what this was about-and that was when Relena moved into the room, "Alexia!"

Alex broke into naughty giggles, pulling her hands away.

She had flour to her elbows.

"Alex!" I protested, "You little monkey! What did you do that for!"

She broke into giggles and darted into the kitchen.

"What?" Relena asked me blankly.

I looked up at her, "Huh?"

"What did you say?"

"Huh?"

"You were speaking Spanish." she explained.

I blinked at her, "I was?"

She smiled at me, moving across the room and starting to dust flour off my shirt, "You've got it all over your face. Why aren't you outside?"

I realized slowly, that there would be no respite for me if I stayed in the living room.

"I'm…going…out now." I muttered, grabbing my drink and moving to the pile of jackets by the front door and hopping out it before anything else could be said to me.

"You have…flour…on your face." Duo noted to me, blinking at me.

"I also have a six year old mischief maker." I explained.

He grinned at me, offering me a knife, "Show them how it's done."

.

I yawned largely, realizing that I was awake and turning my head to meet Miguel's eyes. He was studying me.

"What?"

"Good morning." he muttered, kissing me lightly.

"Morning." I replied, covering my mouth as I yawned again and sat up slowly, "I'm so tired…"

"It's six." he explained easily.

I turned to blink at him.

"My alarm." he explained, pointing at it, "I forgot to turn it off."

I realized why I'd woken up, then listened to the house around me. I could hear Heero and Relena talking quietly, and then there was Kayla.

"Well…Duo's doing something Kayla really likes." Miguel muttered, listening as well, "So maybe that was what woke you."

"I have no idea." I muttered, frowning, "God, I need to go back to sleep."

He leaned forward and kissed me again, "I have to get ready for work."

"All right."

"Who's going with you to work tonight?"

"I think it's Duo's turn." I muttered, shaking my head, "I wish they'd wouldn't bother any more."

"Really? You know the night they did, Jun would come back."

I sighed, shaking my head, "That's beside the point."

He grinned, kissing me again and climbing off the bed, "I'll get home at about three-thirty."

I yawned again, nodding as I stretched out under the blankets again.

"I love you."

I opened my eyes to look at him and smile, "I love you, too."

It was the first time he'd just said that to me. We weren't having sex or anything special…he'd just said it. He'd never done that before…

I wondered if my urge to gossip to Relena about it was something I should ignore.

He smiled at me, pulling clothing out of the closet before pausing at the door to the room and look at me again before disappearing out it.

.

Quatre laughed quietly, covering his mouth with one hand, "That's just funny." he muttered.

I tsked at him, "It is not, it's cute."

"No, its funny." he countered, "Wufei is my friend-an equal. Hearing that he talks to you like you talk to me amuses me endlessly."

I gave him another look, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that you're a woman and he's a man," he returned.

"And you listen to me!" I protested at him, "If you listen to me, aren't you just as bad?"

He laughed again, his eyes sparkling, "Don't make me answer that, Relena."

"Are you on break?"

I looked up to my supervisor and nodded, "I've got five minutes."

"All right." the guy left the room.

"If I knew you'd laugh at him about it, I wouldn't have told you."

Quatre grinned at me, "Relena, he told you and only you. There's a reason for that."

I pouted at him.

"I'm not going to say anything to him-like I say anything to the guys about what you tell me."

"Oh please," I countered, "I heard you asking them all what they were planning on doing."

"So you knew Heero really thought you didn't want to get married?"

I smiled slightly at him, "I kinda thought that was the case, so I did some constructive deceit."

He laughed at that, shaking his head, "I'd always known women were devious, Relena. I think you're just evil."

I laughed at that.

"So what's going on with everyone? Those jackasses never call me for anything." he pouted.

"Duo's got his head in the clouds," I reassured him, "It's only been a few days since he asked Kayla to move in with him. He's still recovering from the shock. He'll probably think of it some time this weekend when he's out partying with Jesse."

He rolled his eyes, "And what's going on with them setting Jesse up?"

"I don't know." I admitted, "I don't think Jesse wants to be set up."

He grinned at me, then turned his head with a frown, "Someone's at the door." he informed me, "I'm gonna go."

"Who is it?"

He sighed, "People from my father's estate. They're trying to insist on giving me more money. The cost of living has went up again."

I grinned at him, "Just set the money aside in an account for Marlea."

"They did that for me." he muttered, rolling his eyes, "Just a second!" he snapped at the door, "I've got a few hidden accounts around the world for eventualities…but…"

"Just spend the money, Quatre." I muttered, frowning at him, "Buy yourself something nice."

He shook his head at me, meeting my eyes, "I live in upper middle class on my weekly allowance. If I allowed them to give me more money then they'd suck me in." he made a disgusted noise, "Go away!" he shouted, "I'm on the phone."

I laughed at him, "Just go." I muttered, grinning at him, "My break's up anyway."

He made a face at me, "You suck."

"I love you, too, darling." I muttered with a wink, disconnecting.

Some day he was going to have take control of that company. He'd been taking enough classes for it

"Misses Darlian." my supervisor muttered with a slight frown, "You've had your fifteen minutes.

I blinked at him, then looked back at my screen and the report I'd been typing up, "And I'm working again, so what's your issue?"

He blinked at me.

I grinned at him,

"Lindsay…"

I brushed him away again, "Don't bother me, I'm working."

.

I glared after the man who was stuffily offended again. They'd gotten me to take classes, they'd gotten me to take money, and they'd gotten me to sign a contract saying that at thirty I'd take the fucking company off their hands. I wasn't conceding to them anymore. I didn't care if my sisters had set them up to it, I didn't want to deal with my sisters-not anymore than these men who came by.

Actually, I'd rather deal with the estate than the siblings.

"Daddy!" Marlea muttered, running in the front door and stopping to beam at me, "I got an invitation to a birthday party!" she informed me, her blue eyes sparkling with delight as she ran up to me and thrust the small envelope into my hands, "It's Becky's birthday on Monday, so she's having a sleep over tomorrow! Can I go? Can I, can I?"

I blinked at her, "That's awfully short notice." I noted.

She thought about that.

"Not enough warning." I clarified.

She pouted at me, "But I want to go!"

"Are we supposed to call?" I asked, opening the card to read the information inside. Becky had evidently copied what her mother or father had written in. It was cute.

"She said she'd call us," Marlea explained, "Because she said that Becky lost the invitations for a while."

"I see." I muttered, nodding at her and moving to sit in my chair again.

"I have homework." she informed me happily, "My teacher said we don't have to turn it in until late next week."

I grinned at that.

"But I wanted to go play with Melissa. Her mommy isn't making her do her homework until Sunday after the party." she bounced slightly at me.

I grinned at her, "All right. Stay near the house, though."

"'kay." she muttered, tossing her backpack onto the couch.

"Excuse you, little girl." I muttered, raising my eyebrows at her.

She broke into giggles, "Oops, I forgot." she took her backpack and disappeared down the hall.

There was nothing like a little girl to help you feel better.

Lea came back into the living room, then thought a moment before blinking and running across the room to give me a hug and a kiss, "I'll be outside."

"Keep your jacket on." I ordered, smiling at her.

"'kay." she darted out the door.

I sighed, sitting back in my seat to stare at the ceiling. The only problem with living so far away from my friends without working was how lonely it was during the day.

There was a pounding at the door and I could tell it was Tim, "Come in!" I called, wondering why he was off early. He normally worked until six in the evening and it was only three.

Tim swaggered into the living room, tossing his work things on the back of the couch and tilting his head at me, "We finished the job." he explained before I could ask, "You been outside yet today?"

"Couple times."

"You leave the house at all?"

"Couple times." I repeated.

"You ready to go do something?"

"Lea's playing."

"Let's get her and blow." he muttered, stretching before popping his neck, "My old lady's being a hag again, so I want to avoid home a bit."

"Shouldn't you be needing to stay home?" I asked skeptically, "I'm sure she knows you're avoiding her."

He flashed me a grin and shrugged, "Take me out to dinner?"

"Fine." I muttered, rolling my eyes, "Where's your girl?"

"I haven't gone home yet."

"Well go get her, shit." I shook my head at him.

He laughed, shaking his head at me, "Not yet."

"So what did you want to do?"

"Actually, nothing." he replied, moving across the living room to the kitchen, "I just think it's unhealthy of you to sit around this shit-hole all day."

"This shit-hole, as you so fondly named it, costs more than all your bills together, is surrounded by children for my daughter to play with, and is cleaner than that thing you call a wife could imagine."

He smirked at me, grabbing one of his beers from the fridge, "It's still shit."

I shook my head at him, "And as for my health," I said pointedly, looking at his can, "I think I have one up on you."

"I meant mental health, Quatre." he replied, toasting me, "And a few beers a day cover my mental health happily."

I laughed at him, "So what about the other few you have after that?"

He shrugged, "Those are my physical health."

I laughed again, shaking my head.

He plopped on the couch, kicking off his work boots and sighing as he studied me, "So what'd you do today?"