Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Fear of dying ❯ I touch myself ( Chapter 3 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: CltcCat and Foxxy 
Bars and Karoke
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 02.24.2009 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 202 | Status: Completed
Bars and Karoke
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 02.24.2009 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 202 | Status: Completed
Required disclaimer: We do not and never will own Gundam Wing. We do not profit from the characters. If we wrote Gundam Wing it would be longer, more involved, and too soap opera-ish.
Authors: Foxy Mcgee and Cltcmistress.
**WARNINGS!**: This chapter contains drinking, swearing, and touching. No lemon, though. Just some groping, molesting, and a little bit of dry humping, vulgar language, and fun. You've been warned... enjoy! :D
xoxo
Trowa stood behind Duo, watching him sing and dance to the song on his music player. He didn't notice the taller pilot standing behind him, so Trowa stood closer to him, waiting to be noticed.
"Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you?" Duo danced around the kitchen to the music. "It's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it, so tell me WHY CAN'T I breathe whenever I think about you?" He continued to groove to the music, oblivious to everything outside his work at the moment. Placing another dish to dry on the rack he smiled and turned up the volume on the player. "Isn't this the best part of breakin' up? Finding someone else you can't get enough of, someone who wants to be with you too." He lifted another dish and continued to sing loud and proud. Best way to avoid contact with others? Annoy them till they flee in fear, that's what he says. "Here we go, we're at the beginning. We haven't fucked yet, but my head's spinning. WHY CAN'T I BREATHE whenever I think about you? WHY CAN'T I SPEAK whenever I talk about you?" [1]
Trowa blinked, then placed a hand on Duo's shoulder.
"High enou-- AAAHH!!!" Duo jumped a mile in the air and managed to catch the plate before it crashed to the floor. "JESUS TROWA!" He yanked the earphones out and stared at the pilot with one hand clutched to his chest. "If you were trying to give me a heart-attack, you did a damned good job!"
Trowa had a small smirk on his face as he took the plate from Duo's hand. "Interesting music taste." He placed the dish on the rack and looked back at Duo. "Have a minute?"
"Uh, yeah." He stopped his music and turned the water off. "And there's nothing wrong with Liz Phair. I happen to like that song." He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the counter. "What's up, Tro?"
"I could ask you the same." He leaned against the counter as well.
Duo clenched his jaw for a moment before recovering his mask. "Whatcha talking about? I know I don't normally do the dishes, but it shouldn't be that shocking. I do know how to do chores."
"I meant you and Quatre." He turned to the other pilot. "Whats up?"
He turned around and went back to lifting clean dishes from the water and wiping them with a towel before putting them on the rack. "Did he come talk to you or something?"
"Or it could be the fact you are obviously avoiding him." Trowa took a dish out of Duo's hand. "Do you plan on stringing him along forever? He doesn't deserve that."
His hands clenched the edge of the counter and he stared at the water. "No he doesn't. And no I don't plan on avoiding him forever. It's just- Things are complicated, ok?"
"How complicated could it be? You practically have him at your feet, Duo. He'd do anything you ask." Trowa crossed his arms.
He glanced over at the taller pilot. "It's complicated ok? I never should have done anything in the first place." The braided pilot turned around and folded his arms again. He frowned at the spot on the floor that always seemed to make itself so interesting in moments like this.
Trowa sighed. "But you did. And he cares. You need to figure it out. What are you so afraid of?"
He chewed on the inside of his lip and glared at the floor. "A lot of things. Death. Myself." Duo took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I'm afraid of Shinigami claiming another life."
Trowa raised an eyebrow to this. "What?"
"Never mind." He shook his head and sighed. "Just forget I said anything." Pushing away from the counter he tossed the dishtowel back on the counter. "Thanks for the heads up, Tro. I'll keep that in mind."
"What are you going to do?"
He smirked over his shoulder as he headed out. "I'm going to invite him out for a couple beers and some karaoke."
Trowa's eyebrow shot up again and he shook his head.
xoxo
Quatre looked around the bar and mentally kicked himself again that night. Just why did he let Duo talk him into coming out for karaoke? Duo had been doing all he could to avoid him lately, so why was he suddenly inviting him to karaoke? "And you said the others all told you they were busy? You couldn't just come alone?" He winced as the singer on stage hit, or missed depending how you thought of it, a shrill high note.
"No, I couldn't." Duo picked up a beer and handed it to Quatre. "Shut up and drink with me."
He took the beer and downed a third of it in one gulp. If he was going to be here all night, he'd need all the liquid steel he could get. "Alright. I don't know why you find it so amusing to listen to drunks slaughter songs on stage though." Quatre's eyes wandered back to the stage as the song mercifully ended and a new singer stepped up. Thankfully she didn't look as far gone as her blonde friend was.
Duo winced as the next singer hit a bad note instantly and down a shot. "I have my reasons." He followed with a beer before sliding a shot to Quatre. "Drink. The night is young, we're getting drunk."
Quatre lifted the glass to his nose and made a face at the bitter smell. "What is it?"
"Tequila. It won't kill you." Duo flashed him a grin before downing the rest of his beer.
"Where's yours?" He raised an eyebrow. "When you said 'we' that indicates you plan on getting drunk as well. So where's your shot?"
"I already drank it." Duo waved at the bartender to lay down two more shots. He grabbed one up and smiled at Quatre. "Let's do this." He downed the shot and chugged another beer.
"Fine." He tossed back the drink and paused for a minute, letting the liquid run over his tongue. "Hmm. I like that." He smiled and reached for the shot, held it in salute, then downed it as well. "Those are good."
Duo couldn't help but grin as a warm feeling passed through his body. "Mhm." He sipped on a beer this time, glancing at the blonde from the corner of his eye.
Quatre finished off his beer and started another. By the time he was half way done with it and two more singers had made their attempts at singing he was starting to feel a bit warm and fuzzy. "Let's have another shot." He waved to the bartender and took another swig of his beer, watching Duo over the bottle.
Duo grinned around the bottle in his mouth and waved at the bartender. "Give me a shot of your cheapest, nastiest whiskey."
"And then two shots of your finest." Quatre smiled. "On me. We'll take turns choosing drinks." He felt his cheeks get warmer as he took another drink of the beer, finishing it off.
"Are you sure you can handle much more?" Duo took the whiskey shot and down it, without a shudder. "You've put away a lot of alcohol and I can honestly say I'm drunker than shit."
The blonde gave Duo a wicked grin. "Oh, I am feeling pretty buzzed and happy. But if you want me drunk, I need about four more shots and two beers." He smiled as he downed the bad whiskey and held out the other good shot to his friend. "To holding our liquor and having some fun?"
Duo held the shot up with a wobbly hand and smirked before he down it. "I think you're going to out drink me."
Quatre squinted in an attempt to bring Duo's face into focus more. "Hey. Hey, Duo." He snickered to himself as he reached forward to grab the pilots knee and get his attention. "I dare you to go up there and sing a song."
Duo leaned towards Quatre, putting a hand on the blonde's shoulder to keep himself from falling off his bar stool. "Totally..." He grinned. "If you go first."
"Really?" He sat up in surprise but quickly regained his composure. "Well alright then." Sauntering up to the dj he wrote his song on the slip and returned to the table for another drink as he waited for the current singer to finish.
"Here I go!" He downed the shot and grinned at Duo as he stepped up to the stage. The music queued up and he did his best to sing on pitch as the words changed colors on the screen. "Let me ask you... Hey! Have you heard of my religion? It's call the Church of Hot Addiction and we believe that God has lust for everything." He grinned as he started to feel that last shot make his way through his system.
"So give it, just give it, just give it to me." He thrust his hips back and forth and began dancing up on the stage, the hoots and hollers from the other bar hoppers pushing him on. "Tonight I'm the drug you can't deny. Tonight Q-U-A-T [2] gonna get you high. My light is electric. Hey, hey, hey!" Quatre bounced all over the stage. He was pretty proud of how he sounded and he started to feel braver as the song continued. Might as well let his buddy know just why he picked it anyway. Besides, liquid courage was only liquid nothing unless you used that courage.
"Just let me tell you. Hey, you gotta get the Cobra bless now. You're really only selling sex now." He leaned over the edge of the stage and grinned as he stared at Duo at the table. "But I can pay the price you charge for what I need." He winked and returned to his dancing around the stage. "Because I, I've got a nasty new compulsion. And you've already got a notion of what I need. So give it, just give it, just give it to me." [3]
Duo's mouth dropped open at the blonde's lyrics and he found he couldn't take his eyes off Quatre. The more the song progressed the more his mouth dropped open. He was completely shocked, and secretly - a bit aroused. He shut his mouth and took a huge gulp of beer.
Quatre grinned proudly as handed over the mic at the end of the song. Picking up his beer he downed the last half in one gulp and waved for another. "You're turn. I do believe we had an agreement." His eyes glinted as he smirked and took a drink of the new beer. "Two more shots of tequila. I think my friend here needs some liquid steel in his spine." He gave Duo an insolent grin and offered him the drink.
Duo downed his shot, followed by the rest of his beer. As Quatre had been singing, he'd put in a request for two songs and he definitely needed the liquid courage. He waved another shot over, downing it for good measure before he climbed up on stage.
"I'm not afraid of standing still, I'm just afraid of being bored, I'm not afraid of speaking my mind, I'm just afraid of being ignored, I'm not afraid of feeling and I'm not afraid of trying... I'm just afraid of losing, And I am afraid of dying. Without you, yes I do and I hope that you do too." He glanced at the blonde as he sang, hands gently cupping the microphone. The crowd cheered, happy to have two decent singers in a row and Duo smiled.
"I'm not afraid of looking ugly - I couldn't care what they say, I'm not afraid of happy endings, I'm just afraid my life won't work that way." He gave Quatre a meaningful look. "I'm not afraid of forgiveness I absolve you everything, I'm not afraid of lying... But I am afraid of dying. Without you yes I do and I hope that you do, too. Without you yes I do. Without you all I do is sit and think about you. Without you yes I..." He let the music fade out as he smiled at the blonde downing another shot he'd carried on stage with him. Let him dwell on that for a minute, Duo had a better song up his sleeves. [4]
Quatre almost forgot he had be holding a beer in his hands and caught it before it slipped through his fingers to the floor. Afraid? He's actually afraid something bad happening? The words sunk into his mind in a way he was sure they probably wouldn't have if he'd been sober. "So that's what it's all about?" He watched the braided pilot as he sang and stared, seeing him in a new light. Who would have thought of Duo actually being afraid of something? A small smile played at the corner of his mouth as the song ended and Duo took the shot between songs. "Huh." He shook his head and smiled then finished off his beer. Waving for just one more he settle back to see what this next song Duo had in store was.
Duo gave the blonde a saucy wink, at least, he hoped it was Quatre and he hoped it was saucy, he was way too far gone to tell. He started swayin his hips then began to sing in time with the music. "I love myself I want you to love me, when I feel down I want you above me, I search myself I want you to find me, I forget myself I want you to remind me."
Duo grinned as he seductively slid his hand from his chest down past his stomach, keeping his eye's locked with Quatre's. "I don't want anybody else, When I think about you I touch myself. Ohh I don't want anybody else oh no, oh no, oh no." He walked across the stage, swinging his hips and running his free hand up his body. The crowd was going wild the dirtier he got and Duo obliged them.
"You're the one who makes me come running, you're the sun who makes me shine, when you're around I'm always laughing... I want to make you mine." He crawled across the stage on his hands and knees, sliding to the floor in front of Quatre. "I close my eyes and see you before me, think I would die if you were to ignore me, a fool could see just how much I adore you, I get down on my knees I do anything for you." He slid to his knees, running his hand up the blonde's thigh and pulled himself up to straddle him. He was so into his song he didn't hear the crowd cheer and let out cat-calls.
"I don't want anybody else, when I think about you I touch myself.. Ooh I don't want anybody else... Oh no, oh no, oh no..." Duo was singing into Quatre's ear now, make sure as he slid further up that their hips were grinding together. [5]
Quatre inhaled sharply as Duo climbed into his lap and started singing in his ear. His face was hot and he was sure it was as red as the shirt Duo was wearing. That he may have been able to handle by itself. But when Duo's hips began gyrating into his, that was it. He had just enough mind to toss some bills back at the bartender who growled something about taking the show outside before he grabbed Duo's wrist and hauled him toward the door. "We gotta get home...."
Duo gasped as the cool night air hit his skin, but it didn't keep him from jumping onto the blonde and pushing their lips together. He pulled back and nibbled on Quatre's ear and whispered. "Stay with me tonight."
He shivered as Duo whisptered, the pilot's breath hot on his ear. "Duo, we're both smashed. Don't ask me that right now, I don't know if I have the will to say no." He closed his eyes and leaned back, holding Duo up by his waist with one arm.
Duo hopped up, wrapping his legs around the blonde and and gave a feral grin. "That's what I was hoping for." He leaned in and gave Quatre another kiss, nibbing on his lips as he pulled back.
Another shudder ran down his body as Duo clung tighter. All thought of fighting him off fled as his hips met the braided pilots and he pressed his fingers into the brick wall behind him. "Alright. The taxi's waiting though. Let's get back home." He put his arms around Duo's waist to hold him steady long enough for his feet to touch the ground, then guided him into the backseat. Telling the driver where to go he turned and faced Duo, admiring the violet eyes that seemed to pierce him to the core. "If it will make you happier, I'll stay."
xoxo
Quatre managed to prop the door open long enough to drag Duo in through after him. The braided pilot was barely standing, and for that matter he wasn't much better. However, despite the hour, Duo was serenading him with another rendition of his performance of "Touch Myself." He had to suppress giggles as he propped him against a wall and made sure to lock the door. "Duo, shush. You're gonna wake the whole hou--ouse." He wobbled mid-sentence and caught himself on the wall next to Duo. Maybe that last shot or two or four wasn't such a good idea...
Duo busted into giggles as he slid down the wall with his face. "Hey Quat?" He looked up with a grin from his sprawl on the floor.
Quatre suppressed a giggle of his own and looked down. "Yeah?"
"I gotta tell you something." Duo managed to pull himself to his feet and mustered up the most serious face he could. He reach out and grabbed Quatre's cheek and sang softly to the blonde. "Yours is the first face that I saw, think I was blind before I met you, and I don't know where I am, I don't know where I've been, But I know where I want to go. And so I thought I'd let you know..." He brought his forehead to the blonde's, dropping to a whisper, but still singing. "Yeah, these things take forever, I am especially am slow, but I realized that I need you, and I wondered if I could come home." He continued to sing as he pulled the blond closer to him, so he was holding Quatre to his chest. "So if you want to be with me with these things there's no telling, we just have to wait and see, but I'd rather be working for a paycheck, than waiting to win the lottery. Besides maybe this time it's different, I mean I really think you like me." [6]
Quatre felt a twinge in his chest as Duo pressed his hands to his cheeks and then hugged him to his chest. He smiled and closed his eyes and just stood there listening to the pilot sing him another song. What was it about music that could hold so many emotions and thoughts, and put those things into words when all else failed? He sighed and let Duo continue to hold him and whisper the song in his ear as he took that moment to savor how close they were. Things may no progress for some time. But at least he knew Duo wasn't going to run away again. He wrapped his arms around his friend's waist and smiled into the fabric of his shirt.
Trowa came around the corner, after hearing noises in the hallway and he paused, eyes on the two drunk pilots hugging in the hall. Duo was holding Quatre, swaying softly to the song he was singing. Trowa watched silently as Quatre hugged in closer to Duo and felt a sharp twinge, jealously mixed with sadness. He bit his lip then turned away and moved silently down the hall, Quatre had made his choice and Trowa would respect it, no matter how much it tore him up inside.
Duo glanced up, scanning the hallway, but he saw nothing. He could've sworn he'd seen someone watching them a moment ago, but he wasn't so sure it wasn't the alcohol playing with his mind.
Quatre hugged onto Duo and looked up at him. "Duo?"
"Nothin'" He smiled down at the blonde. "Bed?"
"Yes." He nodded and did his best to head down the hall without too much more noise.
xoxo
Something was tickling Duo's face and he wrinkled his nose trying to pull back from it, but some else warm held him still. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself with a face full of blonde hair. It seemed Quatre had managed to climb up on him and fell asleep like a koala bear with his face buried in Duo's neck.
Not that he minded were the blonde was, but if he kept breathing on his neck like that, Duo was going to throw him onto the floor and strip him naked. "Quat... Quatre, wake up." He rubbed his face with his hand, trying to wipe the grogginess from his brain. He felt like a gundam crushed his head and briefly wondered if Quatre would feel the same.
No. It took a moment before he realized he hadn't spoken out loud. Finally Quatre was able to make his mind form the words around the mild throbbing of his headache. "No," he muttered and buried his face more. He was warm and comfortable and he had no intention of waking enough for the light to make his headache worse.
Duo ran his hand through the blonde hair in front of him. "How 'bout water and tylenol for breakfast?"He chuckled a bit as the blonde managed to worm in closer.
"How about coffee and some pancakes instead?" He hugged his arm tighter around Duo and sighed. "I'll be fine in a bit, I just need food and five more minutes."
"I can't handle five more minutes of you breathing on my neck with your hips pressed into mine, Quat." Duo sighed as he tried to move his trapped hand.
"Mrrrrmmmm..... Fine." With a grumble he pushed away from the braided pilot and rolled to cling to the pillow.
Duo used that opportunity to roll over and sprawl on top of the blonde. "You are so comfy."
"Hmm. So were you, but you ruined that." Quatre smirked into the pillow and snuggled back into the curve of Duo around his back. "But you are right. I'm sure you at least need some aspirin for breakfast."
"Naw, I'm not doing so bad now that I'm moving." Duo sat up and stretched, running a hand through his messy hair. "Ugh... bar smell." He shook his head. "I'm going to grab a shower, then I'll make breakfast, alright?"
Quatre stretched as well and yawned. "Mhmm. That sounds good." He stood and felt his back pop as he arched backward with another large stretch. I'm going to take a shower as well and I'll see you in a few then." Quatre slipped from Duo's room and watched the floor as he trudged down the hall. He looked up just as he ran into someone else. "Trowa!? Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."
The taller pilot's hands shot out and grabbed the blonde as he plowed into him. "It's ok, Quatre." He dropped his hands quickly.
"I, uh... Sorry about last night. We were kinda loud when we came in from the bar." He smirked and leaned against the wall, running a hand through his hair.
"Not as loud as you'd think. Rough night?" He leaned back against the opposite wall to study the blonde.
"Yeah. We both had a few shots too many and it was a while before we got to sleep." Quatre blushed slightly and chuckled the memory of Duo singing to him long into the night. He had no idea the range of music that was in Duo's playlists.
"Oh." Trowa looked down at the spot on the floor that Duo himself had looked at many times. "Well I didn't mean to keep you."
"I'm the one who ran into you." He flashed a smile and ran a hand through his hair again. "I'm going to hit the shower real fast. I feel sticky and gross. See ya later, Trowa." Turning to head back to his room he paused and glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, and thank you for our talk. It really helped and I appreciate your insight." He smiled again and disappeared into his room.
Trowa knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help feel resentment towards Duo. He waited until the blonde was gone before releasing the breath he'd been holding.
Quatre closed the door and smiled as he hummed one of Duo's songs to himself. He went into his bathroom and started the water to heat up then came back and began to lay out his clothes on the bed. That's when he noticed the spot of yellow. "A daffodil? Where did you come from?" He lifted the flower to his nose and smiled. [7] It was certainly too cold outside for it to come from the garden. His smile grew as he remembered Duo had gone out with Trowa to the store for 'some stuff' as he said after they had the fight on the roof. "That was sweet of him." It made sense after karaoke last night. He took the glass from beside his bed, filled it with water and put the flower in. "I better hurry before Duo burns the pancakes."
xoxo
Quatre bounced into the kitchen and sat at the table. "That smells amazing Duo! Are they almost ready?" He watched as Duo flipped the pancake over and checked on the eggs. "I'm starving."
"Yep. This is the last one." He turned and smiled at the blonde, flushing slightly as the memory of him singing 'I touch myself' flooded back into his head.
"Fantastic!" He smiled when Duo came over and set the plates on the table. "How's your head?" Quatre gave him a questioning look as he reached for the pancakes and put some eggs on his plate. "Did you take something for it?"
"Tylenol... Listen, Quat..." He poked around at some pancakes he stacked on his plate. "Sorry about the little bar incident, if I embarrassed you..."
"I think we both did our fair share of embarrassing the other. It's not like I didn't get up on the stage and dance as well." Quatre snickered and took a drink of his orange juice. "Besides, I dared you. I think that basically counts as asking for it."
"Yeah, and you sure were asking for it, weren't you?" Duo couldn't help but grin. "Are you free this evening?"
He felt is face go red at Duo's words. "Yeah, I kinda was. What's up this evening?"
Duo grinned again. "Trowa's going to pick up Wufei and Heero, we'll probably decorate the tree, then those three will probably run by the store. They had to get a few last minute things. I thought maybe we could drink some eggnog and cuddle or something."
"Eggnog?" He raised an eyebrow and frowned. "What's that?"
Duo stared at him, then blinked. "Gawd, Quat... you don't know what eggnog is? Next you'll be telling me that you don't know what peppermint oranges are, either. And it's just not Christmas without them."
xoxo
Thank you for reaing! We had a ton of fun writing this chapter, more than ever and we hope you enjoyed it, too. We gave an extra hour out of our sleep-time to write the bar scene. And we laughed gleefully the whole time. We've love it if you'd review and tell us how it was.
A/N: If you want to see what happens next, read Christmas Secrets.
[1] "Why Can't I?" Liz Phair
[2] The song actually says "G-A-B-E" but we changed it to "Q-U-A-T" for the story purposes.
[3] "Church of Hot Addiction" by Cobra Starship. Just the thought of Quatre singing "I've got a nasty new compulsion" had me in giggle fits for hours.
[4] "Fear of Dying" Jack off Jill
[5] "I Touch Myself" Divinyls
[6] "First Day of My Life" Bright Eyes
[7] Remember that scene.
Authors: Foxy Mcgee and Cltcmistress.
**WARNINGS!**: This chapter contains drinking, swearing, and touching. No lemon, though. Just some groping, molesting, and a little bit of dry humping, vulgar language, and fun. You've been warned... enjoy! :D
xoxo
Trowa stood behind Duo, watching him sing and dance to the song on his music player. He didn't notice the taller pilot standing behind him, so Trowa stood closer to him, waiting to be noticed.
"Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you?" Duo danced around the kitchen to the music. "It's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it, so tell me WHY CAN'T I breathe whenever I think about you?" He continued to groove to the music, oblivious to everything outside his work at the moment. Placing another dish to dry on the rack he smiled and turned up the volume on the player. "Isn't this the best part of breakin' up? Finding someone else you can't get enough of, someone who wants to be with you too." He lifted another dish and continued to sing loud and proud. Best way to avoid contact with others? Annoy them till they flee in fear, that's what he says. "Here we go, we're at the beginning. We haven't fucked yet, but my head's spinning. WHY CAN'T I BREATHE whenever I think about you? WHY CAN'T I SPEAK whenever I talk about you?" [1]
Trowa blinked, then placed a hand on Duo's shoulder.
"High enou-- AAAHH!!!" Duo jumped a mile in the air and managed to catch the plate before it crashed to the floor. "JESUS TROWA!" He yanked the earphones out and stared at the pilot with one hand clutched to his chest. "If you were trying to give me a heart-attack, you did a damned good job!"
Trowa had a small smirk on his face as he took the plate from Duo's hand. "Interesting music taste." He placed the dish on the rack and looked back at Duo. "Have a minute?"
"Uh, yeah." He stopped his music and turned the water off. "And there's nothing wrong with Liz Phair. I happen to like that song." He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the counter. "What's up, Tro?"
"I could ask you the same." He leaned against the counter as well.
Duo clenched his jaw for a moment before recovering his mask. "Whatcha talking about? I know I don't normally do the dishes, but it shouldn't be that shocking. I do know how to do chores."
"I meant you and Quatre." He turned to the other pilot. "Whats up?"
He turned around and went back to lifting clean dishes from the water and wiping them with a towel before putting them on the rack. "Did he come talk to you or something?"
"Or it could be the fact you are obviously avoiding him." Trowa took a dish out of Duo's hand. "Do you plan on stringing him along forever? He doesn't deserve that."
His hands clenched the edge of the counter and he stared at the water. "No he doesn't. And no I don't plan on avoiding him forever. It's just- Things are complicated, ok?"
"How complicated could it be? You practically have him at your feet, Duo. He'd do anything you ask." Trowa crossed his arms.
He glanced over at the taller pilot. "It's complicated ok? I never should have done anything in the first place." The braided pilot turned around and folded his arms again. He frowned at the spot on the floor that always seemed to make itself so interesting in moments like this.
Trowa sighed. "But you did. And he cares. You need to figure it out. What are you so afraid of?"
He chewed on the inside of his lip and glared at the floor. "A lot of things. Death. Myself." Duo took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I'm afraid of Shinigami claiming another life."
Trowa raised an eyebrow to this. "What?"
"Never mind." He shook his head and sighed. "Just forget I said anything." Pushing away from the counter he tossed the dishtowel back on the counter. "Thanks for the heads up, Tro. I'll keep that in mind."
"What are you going to do?"
He smirked over his shoulder as he headed out. "I'm going to invite him out for a couple beers and some karaoke."
Trowa's eyebrow shot up again and he shook his head.
xoxo
Quatre looked around the bar and mentally kicked himself again that night. Just why did he let Duo talk him into coming out for karaoke? Duo had been doing all he could to avoid him lately, so why was he suddenly inviting him to karaoke? "And you said the others all told you they were busy? You couldn't just come alone?" He winced as the singer on stage hit, or missed depending how you thought of it, a shrill high note.
"No, I couldn't." Duo picked up a beer and handed it to Quatre. "Shut up and drink with me."
He took the beer and downed a third of it in one gulp. If he was going to be here all night, he'd need all the liquid steel he could get. "Alright. I don't know why you find it so amusing to listen to drunks slaughter songs on stage though." Quatre's eyes wandered back to the stage as the song mercifully ended and a new singer stepped up. Thankfully she didn't look as far gone as her blonde friend was.
Duo winced as the next singer hit a bad note instantly and down a shot. "I have my reasons." He followed with a beer before sliding a shot to Quatre. "Drink. The night is young, we're getting drunk."
Quatre lifted the glass to his nose and made a face at the bitter smell. "What is it?"
"Tequila. It won't kill you." Duo flashed him a grin before downing the rest of his beer.
"Where's yours?" He raised an eyebrow. "When you said 'we' that indicates you plan on getting drunk as well. So where's your shot?"
"I already drank it." Duo waved at the bartender to lay down two more shots. He grabbed one up and smiled at Quatre. "Let's do this." He downed the shot and chugged another beer.
"Fine." He tossed back the drink and paused for a minute, letting the liquid run over his tongue. "Hmm. I like that." He smiled and reached for the shot, held it in salute, then downed it as well. "Those are good."
Duo couldn't help but grin as a warm feeling passed through his body. "Mhm." He sipped on a beer this time, glancing at the blonde from the corner of his eye.
Quatre finished off his beer and started another. By the time he was half way done with it and two more singers had made their attempts at singing he was starting to feel a bit warm and fuzzy. "Let's have another shot." He waved to the bartender and took another swig of his beer, watching Duo over the bottle.
Duo grinned around the bottle in his mouth and waved at the bartender. "Give me a shot of your cheapest, nastiest whiskey."
"And then two shots of your finest." Quatre smiled. "On me. We'll take turns choosing drinks." He felt his cheeks get warmer as he took another drink of the beer, finishing it off.
"Are you sure you can handle much more?" Duo took the whiskey shot and down it, without a shudder. "You've put away a lot of alcohol and I can honestly say I'm drunker than shit."
The blonde gave Duo a wicked grin. "Oh, I am feeling pretty buzzed and happy. But if you want me drunk, I need about four more shots and two beers." He smiled as he downed the bad whiskey and held out the other good shot to his friend. "To holding our liquor and having some fun?"
Duo held the shot up with a wobbly hand and smirked before he down it. "I think you're going to out drink me."
Quatre squinted in an attempt to bring Duo's face into focus more. "Hey. Hey, Duo." He snickered to himself as he reached forward to grab the pilots knee and get his attention. "I dare you to go up there and sing a song."
Duo leaned towards Quatre, putting a hand on the blonde's shoulder to keep himself from falling off his bar stool. "Totally..." He grinned. "If you go first."
"Really?" He sat up in surprise but quickly regained his composure. "Well alright then." Sauntering up to the dj he wrote his song on the slip and returned to the table for another drink as he waited for the current singer to finish.
"Here I go!" He downed the shot and grinned at Duo as he stepped up to the stage. The music queued up and he did his best to sing on pitch as the words changed colors on the screen. "Let me ask you... Hey! Have you heard of my religion? It's call the Church of Hot Addiction and we believe that God has lust for everything." He grinned as he started to feel that last shot make his way through his system.
"So give it, just give it, just give it to me." He thrust his hips back and forth and began dancing up on the stage, the hoots and hollers from the other bar hoppers pushing him on. "Tonight I'm the drug you can't deny. Tonight Q-U-A-T [2] gonna get you high. My light is electric. Hey, hey, hey!" Quatre bounced all over the stage. He was pretty proud of how he sounded and he started to feel braver as the song continued. Might as well let his buddy know just why he picked it anyway. Besides, liquid courage was only liquid nothing unless you used that courage.
"Just let me tell you. Hey, you gotta get the Cobra bless now. You're really only selling sex now." He leaned over the edge of the stage and grinned as he stared at Duo at the table. "But I can pay the price you charge for what I need." He winked and returned to his dancing around the stage. "Because I, I've got a nasty new compulsion. And you've already got a notion of what I need. So give it, just give it, just give it to me." [3]
Duo's mouth dropped open at the blonde's lyrics and he found he couldn't take his eyes off Quatre. The more the song progressed the more his mouth dropped open. He was completely shocked, and secretly - a bit aroused. He shut his mouth and took a huge gulp of beer.
Quatre grinned proudly as handed over the mic at the end of the song. Picking up his beer he downed the last half in one gulp and waved for another. "You're turn. I do believe we had an agreement." His eyes glinted as he smirked and took a drink of the new beer. "Two more shots of tequila. I think my friend here needs some liquid steel in his spine." He gave Duo an insolent grin and offered him the drink.
Duo downed his shot, followed by the rest of his beer. As Quatre had been singing, he'd put in a request for two songs and he definitely needed the liquid courage. He waved another shot over, downing it for good measure before he climbed up on stage.
"I'm not afraid of standing still, I'm just afraid of being bored, I'm not afraid of speaking my mind, I'm just afraid of being ignored, I'm not afraid of feeling and I'm not afraid of trying... I'm just afraid of losing, And I am afraid of dying. Without you, yes I do and I hope that you do too." He glanced at the blonde as he sang, hands gently cupping the microphone. The crowd cheered, happy to have two decent singers in a row and Duo smiled.
"I'm not afraid of looking ugly - I couldn't care what they say, I'm not afraid of happy endings, I'm just afraid my life won't work that way." He gave Quatre a meaningful look. "I'm not afraid of forgiveness I absolve you everything, I'm not afraid of lying... But I am afraid of dying. Without you yes I do and I hope that you do, too. Without you yes I do. Without you all I do is sit and think about you. Without you yes I..." He let the music fade out as he smiled at the blonde downing another shot he'd carried on stage with him. Let him dwell on that for a minute, Duo had a better song up his sleeves. [4]
Quatre almost forgot he had be holding a beer in his hands and caught it before it slipped through his fingers to the floor. Afraid? He's actually afraid something bad happening? The words sunk into his mind in a way he was sure they probably wouldn't have if he'd been sober. "So that's what it's all about?" He watched the braided pilot as he sang and stared, seeing him in a new light. Who would have thought of Duo actually being afraid of something? A small smile played at the corner of his mouth as the song ended and Duo took the shot between songs. "Huh." He shook his head and smiled then finished off his beer. Waving for just one more he settle back to see what this next song Duo had in store was.
Duo gave the blonde a saucy wink, at least, he hoped it was Quatre and he hoped it was saucy, he was way too far gone to tell. He started swayin his hips then began to sing in time with the music. "I love myself I want you to love me, when I feel down I want you above me, I search myself I want you to find me, I forget myself I want you to remind me."
Duo grinned as he seductively slid his hand from his chest down past his stomach, keeping his eye's locked with Quatre's. "I don't want anybody else, When I think about you I touch myself. Ohh I don't want anybody else oh no, oh no, oh no." He walked across the stage, swinging his hips and running his free hand up his body. The crowd was going wild the dirtier he got and Duo obliged them.
"You're the one who makes me come running, you're the sun who makes me shine, when you're around I'm always laughing... I want to make you mine." He crawled across the stage on his hands and knees, sliding to the floor in front of Quatre. "I close my eyes and see you before me, think I would die if you were to ignore me, a fool could see just how much I adore you, I get down on my knees I do anything for you." He slid to his knees, running his hand up the blonde's thigh and pulled himself up to straddle him. He was so into his song he didn't hear the crowd cheer and let out cat-calls.
"I don't want anybody else, when I think about you I touch myself.. Ooh I don't want anybody else... Oh no, oh no, oh no..." Duo was singing into Quatre's ear now, make sure as he slid further up that their hips were grinding together. [5]
Quatre inhaled sharply as Duo climbed into his lap and started singing in his ear. His face was hot and he was sure it was as red as the shirt Duo was wearing. That he may have been able to handle by itself. But when Duo's hips began gyrating into his, that was it. He had just enough mind to toss some bills back at the bartender who growled something about taking the show outside before he grabbed Duo's wrist and hauled him toward the door. "We gotta get home...."
Duo gasped as the cool night air hit his skin, but it didn't keep him from jumping onto the blonde and pushing their lips together. He pulled back and nibbled on Quatre's ear and whispered. "Stay with me tonight."
He shivered as Duo whisptered, the pilot's breath hot on his ear. "Duo, we're both smashed. Don't ask me that right now, I don't know if I have the will to say no." He closed his eyes and leaned back, holding Duo up by his waist with one arm.
Duo hopped up, wrapping his legs around the blonde and and gave a feral grin. "That's what I was hoping for." He leaned in and gave Quatre another kiss, nibbing on his lips as he pulled back.
Another shudder ran down his body as Duo clung tighter. All thought of fighting him off fled as his hips met the braided pilots and he pressed his fingers into the brick wall behind him. "Alright. The taxi's waiting though. Let's get back home." He put his arms around Duo's waist to hold him steady long enough for his feet to touch the ground, then guided him into the backseat. Telling the driver where to go he turned and faced Duo, admiring the violet eyes that seemed to pierce him to the core. "If it will make you happier, I'll stay."
xoxo
Quatre managed to prop the door open long enough to drag Duo in through after him. The braided pilot was barely standing, and for that matter he wasn't much better. However, despite the hour, Duo was serenading him with another rendition of his performance of "Touch Myself." He had to suppress giggles as he propped him against a wall and made sure to lock the door. "Duo, shush. You're gonna wake the whole hou--ouse." He wobbled mid-sentence and caught himself on the wall next to Duo. Maybe that last shot or two or four wasn't such a good idea...
Duo busted into giggles as he slid down the wall with his face. "Hey Quat?" He looked up with a grin from his sprawl on the floor.
Quatre suppressed a giggle of his own and looked down. "Yeah?"
"I gotta tell you something." Duo managed to pull himself to his feet and mustered up the most serious face he could. He reach out and grabbed Quatre's cheek and sang softly to the blonde. "Yours is the first face that I saw, think I was blind before I met you, and I don't know where I am, I don't know where I've been, But I know where I want to go. And so I thought I'd let you know..." He brought his forehead to the blonde's, dropping to a whisper, but still singing. "Yeah, these things take forever, I am especially am slow, but I realized that I need you, and I wondered if I could come home." He continued to sing as he pulled the blond closer to him, so he was holding Quatre to his chest. "So if you want to be with me with these things there's no telling, we just have to wait and see, but I'd rather be working for a paycheck, than waiting to win the lottery. Besides maybe this time it's different, I mean I really think you like me." [6]
Quatre felt a twinge in his chest as Duo pressed his hands to his cheeks and then hugged him to his chest. He smiled and closed his eyes and just stood there listening to the pilot sing him another song. What was it about music that could hold so many emotions and thoughts, and put those things into words when all else failed? He sighed and let Duo continue to hold him and whisper the song in his ear as he took that moment to savor how close they were. Things may no progress for some time. But at least he knew Duo wasn't going to run away again. He wrapped his arms around his friend's waist and smiled into the fabric of his shirt.
Trowa came around the corner, after hearing noises in the hallway and he paused, eyes on the two drunk pilots hugging in the hall. Duo was holding Quatre, swaying softly to the song he was singing. Trowa watched silently as Quatre hugged in closer to Duo and felt a sharp twinge, jealously mixed with sadness. He bit his lip then turned away and moved silently down the hall, Quatre had made his choice and Trowa would respect it, no matter how much it tore him up inside.
Duo glanced up, scanning the hallway, but he saw nothing. He could've sworn he'd seen someone watching them a moment ago, but he wasn't so sure it wasn't the alcohol playing with his mind.
Quatre hugged onto Duo and looked up at him. "Duo?"
"Nothin'" He smiled down at the blonde. "Bed?"
"Yes." He nodded and did his best to head down the hall without too much more noise.
xoxo
Something was tickling Duo's face and he wrinkled his nose trying to pull back from it, but some else warm held him still. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself with a face full of blonde hair. It seemed Quatre had managed to climb up on him and fell asleep like a koala bear with his face buried in Duo's neck.
Not that he minded were the blonde was, but if he kept breathing on his neck like that, Duo was going to throw him onto the floor and strip him naked. "Quat... Quatre, wake up." He rubbed his face with his hand, trying to wipe the grogginess from his brain. He felt like a gundam crushed his head and briefly wondered if Quatre would feel the same.
No. It took a moment before he realized he hadn't spoken out loud. Finally Quatre was able to make his mind form the words around the mild throbbing of his headache. "No," he muttered and buried his face more. He was warm and comfortable and he had no intention of waking enough for the light to make his headache worse.
Duo ran his hand through the blonde hair in front of him. "How 'bout water and tylenol for breakfast?"He chuckled a bit as the blonde managed to worm in closer.
"How about coffee and some pancakes instead?" He hugged his arm tighter around Duo and sighed. "I'll be fine in a bit, I just need food and five more minutes."
"I can't handle five more minutes of you breathing on my neck with your hips pressed into mine, Quat." Duo sighed as he tried to move his trapped hand.
"Mrrrrmmmm..... Fine." With a grumble he pushed away from the braided pilot and rolled to cling to the pillow.
Duo used that opportunity to roll over and sprawl on top of the blonde. "You are so comfy."
"Hmm. So were you, but you ruined that." Quatre smirked into the pillow and snuggled back into the curve of Duo around his back. "But you are right. I'm sure you at least need some aspirin for breakfast."
"Naw, I'm not doing so bad now that I'm moving." Duo sat up and stretched, running a hand through his messy hair. "Ugh... bar smell." He shook his head. "I'm going to grab a shower, then I'll make breakfast, alright?"
Quatre stretched as well and yawned. "Mhmm. That sounds good." He stood and felt his back pop as he arched backward with another large stretch. I'm going to take a shower as well and I'll see you in a few then." Quatre slipped from Duo's room and watched the floor as he trudged down the hall. He looked up just as he ran into someone else. "Trowa!? Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."
The taller pilot's hands shot out and grabbed the blonde as he plowed into him. "It's ok, Quatre." He dropped his hands quickly.
"I, uh... Sorry about last night. We were kinda loud when we came in from the bar." He smirked and leaned against the wall, running a hand through his hair.
"Not as loud as you'd think. Rough night?" He leaned back against the opposite wall to study the blonde.
"Yeah. We both had a few shots too many and it was a while before we got to sleep." Quatre blushed slightly and chuckled the memory of Duo singing to him long into the night. He had no idea the range of music that was in Duo's playlists.
"Oh." Trowa looked down at the spot on the floor that Duo himself had looked at many times. "Well I didn't mean to keep you."
"I'm the one who ran into you." He flashed a smile and ran a hand through his hair again. "I'm going to hit the shower real fast. I feel sticky and gross. See ya later, Trowa." Turning to head back to his room he paused and glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, and thank you for our talk. It really helped and I appreciate your insight." He smiled again and disappeared into his room.
Trowa knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help feel resentment towards Duo. He waited until the blonde was gone before releasing the breath he'd been holding.
Quatre closed the door and smiled as he hummed one of Duo's songs to himself. He went into his bathroom and started the water to heat up then came back and began to lay out his clothes on the bed. That's when he noticed the spot of yellow. "A daffodil? Where did you come from?" He lifted the flower to his nose and smiled. [7] It was certainly too cold outside for it to come from the garden. His smile grew as he remembered Duo had gone out with Trowa to the store for 'some stuff' as he said after they had the fight on the roof. "That was sweet of him." It made sense after karaoke last night. He took the glass from beside his bed, filled it with water and put the flower in. "I better hurry before Duo burns the pancakes."
xoxo
Quatre bounced into the kitchen and sat at the table. "That smells amazing Duo! Are they almost ready?" He watched as Duo flipped the pancake over and checked on the eggs. "I'm starving."
"Yep. This is the last one." He turned and smiled at the blonde, flushing slightly as the memory of him singing 'I touch myself' flooded back into his head.
"Fantastic!" He smiled when Duo came over and set the plates on the table. "How's your head?" Quatre gave him a questioning look as he reached for the pancakes and put some eggs on his plate. "Did you take something for it?"
"Tylenol... Listen, Quat..." He poked around at some pancakes he stacked on his plate. "Sorry about the little bar incident, if I embarrassed you..."
"I think we both did our fair share of embarrassing the other. It's not like I didn't get up on the stage and dance as well." Quatre snickered and took a drink of his orange juice. "Besides, I dared you. I think that basically counts as asking for it."
"Yeah, and you sure were asking for it, weren't you?" Duo couldn't help but grin. "Are you free this evening?"
He felt is face go red at Duo's words. "Yeah, I kinda was. What's up this evening?"
Duo grinned again. "Trowa's going to pick up Wufei and Heero, we'll probably decorate the tree, then those three will probably run by the store. They had to get a few last minute things. I thought maybe we could drink some eggnog and cuddle or something."
"Eggnog?" He raised an eyebrow and frowned. "What's that?"
Duo stared at him, then blinked. "Gawd, Quat... you don't know what eggnog is? Next you'll be telling me that you don't know what peppermint oranges are, either. And it's just not Christmas without them."
xoxo
Thank you for reaing! We had a ton of fun writing this chapter, more than ever and we hope you enjoyed it, too. We gave an extra hour out of our sleep-time to write the bar scene. And we laughed gleefully the whole time. We've love it if you'd review and tell us how it was.
A/N: If you want to see what happens next, read Christmas Secrets.
[1] "Why Can't I?" Liz Phair
[2] The song actually says "G-A-B-E" but we changed it to "Q-U-A-T" for the story purposes.
[3] "Church of Hot Addiction" by Cobra Starship. Just the thought of Quatre singing "I've got a nasty new compulsion" had me in giggle fits for hours.
[4] "Fear of Dying" Jack off Jill
[5] "I Touch Myself" Divinyls
[6] "First Day of My Life" Bright Eyes
[7] Remember that scene.