Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Under Pressure ❯ Love Of My Life ( Chapter 1 )

Author's Thing: Well, hello everybody. This is me, Kimiki, with another interesting story for you. Just as a warning, this will be my first attempt at a yaoi, and any reviews, be them flames or compliments, will be read carefully and processed for future reference. I appreciate you taking time out of the day to read this fic, and so I will stop my blabbing and move on to the real reason your here: THE FIC!

Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing, Don't own Queen. They belong to their respective owners, so don't even think of trying to sue me. You won't get a dime. Maybe a nickle, but not a dime. (The pizza shop and the Le family are of my own creation)

Title: Under Pressure

Summary: Duo Maxwell is just a simple pizza worker, trying to survive life in NYC. But, what happens when a job assignment brings up old memories? Will he embrace the new chance fate has presented to him, or will he turn tail and run? 1x2x1

Rating: Let's just make it R, just to be on the safe side…

Chapter Rating: PG. 13

Warnings: Not really. This IS a GW fic, so you should know by now that cussing will be involved. I don't know if I will use `fuck' yet or not, but… well, maybe in the last chapter… (^^) (that can be interpreted however you like…)



CHAPTER ONE: LOVE OF MY LIFE

// Love of my life - you've hurt me,

You've broken my heart, and now you leave me,

Love of my life can't you see,

Bring it back, bring it back,

Don't take it away from me, because you don't know-,

what it means to me.



Love of my life don't leave me,

You've taken my love, you now desert me,

Love of my life can't you see,

Bring it back, bring it back,

Don't take it away from me because you don't know -

what it means to me. //



(Love of my life, by Queen)



Sighing, Duo Maxwell pushed stray bangs from his sweaty brow. He might want to cut them after work. They were starting to grow below his lashes, causing the strands to hang annoyingly before his eyes at this very moment. Growling softly, he angrily swiped at the chestnut colored hair, before returning to his work in the pizzeria's small kitchen.

He had worked at the small restaurant for the past ten weeks, ever since leaving him. Even though he had willingly shared everything about himself and his past to his new friends in this town, that was the only thing that they did not know about. `And that they will never know about', Duo thought to himself, nodding his head in one resolute jerk, causing his bangs to fall in his face once more.

"Agg!" the man yelled, dropping the ingredients for the pizza that he was currently making in favor of attacking his long bangs.

"Duo? Are you okay?" a feminine voice asked. Looking at the dark-haired girl, Duo broke into a smile and assured her, "I'm fine An!"

Shaking her head, An returned his smile in full force and walked towards the boy. Her pale skin and dark hair were the largest contrast that was noticeable on a first glance, but the eeriest look about the eighteen year old girl, Duo thought dully, was the pair of bright blue eyes that she had. `Much like another's eyes…', Duo thought slowly before shaking his head rapidly to end his thoughts on that particular subject.

Leaning over him, An asked, "And, what, pray tell, are you doing on the ground Duo? Mom and Dad didn't give you mop duty tonight, did they?"

Glaring playfully at her, Duo asked in a fake, indignant voice, "Of course they did! Why do I even put up with the Le family?!"

"You know that you love us Duo." An told him seriously, extending her hand for the braided boy before her. Staring at the thick hair, An thought back to when the older man had first turned up at their small restaurant's door.



(((FLASHBACK)))



I t was raining outside, An noticed dully, using her damp rag to clean her family's restaurant's tables. Even though she lived in New York City, it seemed that her life was in a monotonous routine. She would get up, go to school, come straight to the pizzeria after school and work till nine. Sighing, she began her quick, circular motions over the round table-top once more when the small bell located above the main door chimed, signaling that it had been opened. Turning to see if it was a new customer, An widened her eyes when she saw a very cute man standing there.

He had loose and baggy clothing covering his body, almost as if he was trying to hide from the world, yet they could not disguise the thin, yet strong form from An's sharp eyes. His shoes appeared to be falling apart before her very eyes, and she could see that one, the left shoe, was missing its lace, resulting in the tongue of the shoe to poke out a bit.

But the most prominent features that caused the girl to gasp in shock were his hair, eyes and face.

`His hair!', An thought jealously, unconsciously running her own, long fingers through her short locks. The rich, chestnut color shone in the light, the raindrops dripping from the tied-off tip of the boy's braid to splash on their concrete floor. Yes, he had a braid! Eyes widening as she took in the length of the braid (it fell all the way to the bottom of that nicely formed ass!), An raised her eyes to meet inquisitive and… laughing purple eyes? But, upon a closer inspection, An was able to detect a faint hint of sadness etched into his laughing face and unusually colored eyes. `Almost everything about this guy is unusual!', An thought, placing her rag in her apron's pocket at the man raised his hands to show her a damp sign.

It was the sign that her father had placed outside, just that morning!, An realized with a blink of her eyes. The old owner of the pizza shop had gone and hurt his back, so the pizzeria was missing its cook. Deciding to hire a temp, they had posted the sign in hopes of applicants coming in and applying.

`Well, now,' An mused. `I didn't think I would be so lucky as to get such a cute temporary co-worker.' A small smile graced An's face as she walked to the young man, offering him her right hand. Shaking his hand, she said, "Hello. I am An Le. My father owns `Under the Fire'. Are you here for the job, or did the sign just blow down?"

Smile widening a bit at this girl's sense of humor, the man told her, "No, I am here for the job. Whom do I speak to about it?"

"Follow me. I'll take you to my mother's office." An instructed him, taking the sign and placing it and her rag on the counter behind the cash register. Opening a door with the sign "Employee's Only" above it, she ushered the man inside after her. Walking towards the back of the well-lit hallway, she knocked on a wooden door before opening it and telling its only occupant, "There's a man here to see you about the job offer Momma."

"Fine, fine. Send him in." a middle-aged woman with graying hair instructed while she waved her hand in the general direction of her teenage daughter, while staring at the computer screen in front of her. Turning to smile at the nice looking man, An nodded and told him, "Go on in. Good luck."

"Thanks." he said sincerely, giving her a small wave as he entered the room confidently, his left shoe threatening to come flying off his foot with each step. Shaking her head with a small laugh, An closed the door firmly, returning to her clean up duty, leaving her mother to interview the twenty-some-odd-old man.



(((END FLASHBACK)))



Slightly shaking her head again as Duo took her offered hand and pulled himself to his feet once more, An smiled as she thought of his first few weeks at the restaurant. He had almost broken every plate that they owned, and each time he had supplied the family of three with a comical excuse. Once, it was because his hair had been caught in a closing door, catching the new worker by surprise. Another was because he had tripped over a thrown back chair that a customer had `purposefully placed in my way!' (as Duo had so phrased it…). And the third time because the oven had beeped loudly, scaring him and causing him to jump in surprise, thus sending countless plates to their demise. The whole Le family knew that Duo was low on cash, and they didn't want the poor twenty-two year old (as An had later found his age to be) to go hungry, so they had been kind and only charged him half the price of the plates. He had become like a son for the two adults, and he was like an older brother to An. A very funny and cute older brother, but an older brother all the same.

After the awkwardness of the new job had been overcome, Duo had taken to the job like a duck to water. He was a wonderful chef (which meant that he could easily work in the kitchen), very smart mathematically (which meant that he could work the register), and he could strike up a conversation with anyone from a Hell's Angel biker to a nun. In other words, he was a great change for the small pizzeria, giving the place a new burst of energy.

But, An had slowly noticed the way that Duo didn't look at her, or any other girl for that matter! At first, she had written it off as the man thinking of her as a younger sister. Then, she had thought that he might not be wanting to settle down into a family just yet. But, she had finally faced up to her assumptions of the real reason and had confronted him on the issue one night when business was slow. Looking him straight in the eye, An had asked the man quite bluntly, "Duo, are you gay?"

Blinking, the man had stuttered, "Well, I, uh, uhm…"

"I knew it!" An had exclaimed, smiling at him with a huge grin on her face. "Well, `I guessed it' would be more appropriate. Or, `I assumed it'. You just never looked at any of the girls that came in here in any rude or perverted way! But, you would always leave you gaze on the guys for a bit longer…" Leaving her sentence to hang in the air, An smirked when she saw her friend blush a brilliant red. Throwing an arm across his shoulder (in doing so she had to stand on her tip toes, for Duo was a bit taller than she), she stated, "Aw, don't worry about it! I like guys too!"

Giving the girl a deadpan look, Duo stated flatly, "Yeah. You're a girl. You are supposed to like guys."

Blinking at him, An removed her arms and stepped back from the man a bit. Looking into his eyes, she asked softly, "And, where is it written that girls have to like guys and that guys have to like girls? Hmm? Where Duo?"

Looking away from the girl's piercing gaze, Duo narrowed his eyes at some bitter memory from the past and mumbled, "Where I come from…"

Blinking, An was about to ask the man what he meant by that when the shrill ring of the telephone broke through the silence of the room. Grabbing the handle from its cradle, An asked in a perky voice, "Hello, Under the Fire, An speaking. Oh, Mr. Chang! You need a number thirteen? Large? Delivered? Okay, do you still live at the same residence? You do? Great! The pizza will be there in 45 minutes. You know the price? Yes, I know that you two eat from us often. Thank you for calling!" Smiling, An replaced the phone to its original spot and turned to place her commanding eyes on Duo. Giving the boy one of her infamous looks, she watched him retreat into the safety of his kitchen, to begin the work on the large, number thirteen pizza. Smirking, An strode into the restaurant and began waiting on the tables that were currently being occupied.



((()))((()))((()))



A s Duo drove to the apartments, he remembered his "argument" with An only fifteen minutes earlier.



(((FLASHBACK)))

< br>
"An! I am not going to be degraded into a delivery boy!" Duo had protested, stomping his foot to make his point even clearer. Glaring at the older boy, An had stated quietly, "Yes you are. My car is in the shop, and mom has to work. Daddy can't be driving for a few more weeks now. That leaves you to do the job Duo."

"Aw… Damn!" Duo had stated, winking to the girl to show that he was just kidding. Hey, this job gave him money, and he would be damned if he had to sleep out on the streets again. That had been hell when he was a kid, and he sure didn't want to have to live through that again! Grabbing the cardboard box that held the hot pizza inside it and stuffing it inside the thermal container, the man started to the back door before facing An once more.

"Hey An," he asked, "Why did you agree to deliver to this man's place? Cuz, we don't usually do deliveries around here…"

"Yeah, I know, but he's a very good customer, and he is friends of the family." An explained, clasping her hands in front of her jeans in the position that she usually took when telling Duo some well known fact about her family. "Some thing about his dad being friends with my dad. Or his mom being friends with my mom…" Trailing off, An shrugged and motioned to the door. "You have fifteen minutes to get to his flat, or else the pizza is free! Scat!"

"Fine fine!" Duo protested jokingly as he ran out the back door and to his '96 Mazda. Opening the driver side door, he placed the pizza on the passenger side of the car and placed his keys into the ignition. Turning the keys several times, Duo let out a small whoop of joy as the car came to life. Driving out the back drive he quickly came to the stoplight at the nearby intersection and found himself thinking the last few minute's happenings over in his head.



(((END FLASHBACK)))



"Hmm…" Duo wondered aloud, "Chang… Chang… Why does that name sound familiar? Like, I should remember it or something… Hmm…" Looking up hurriedly from his musings, Duo saw the light change quickly to green, and he shifted the gears of his car and took off towards the apartment complex where this Chang person lived.



((()))((()))((()))



Walk ing up the steps of the fancy apartment's exterior, Duo came to the address that An had given to him and rang the brass doorbell that was located on the side of the door. Shifting from foot to foot, Duo placed a smile on his face as the door began to open. However, when the person met his purple eyes, Duo found that he was having a hard time breathing, or even thinking of how much money this guy was supposed to pay him. His memories were coming back from the tiny hole that they had been hiding in, and they were attacking his mind with a vengence. Closing his eyes, he thought back to when he had first seen this man's face…

He had been in Houston, Texas, happy and waiting for his lover to come back from New York, where he was receiving training for his job. Duo didn't mind, since the time away would be short, but he did miss the body beside him at night. The other side of the bed seeming to be an empty, gaping hole where his lover should have been. Shaking his head, he had turned to face his computer screen, waiting for the picture of his partner to show in his mail box. The other man had promised to send him a picture each day, so that Duo wouldn't get lonely or anything. Duo had agreed and was now waiting for the first picture to download. As the pixels became harder and harder to define and the picture finally cleared, Duo felt his throat clench and become dry as he took in the picture that had been sent to him.

His partner was smiling, as he would only smile for Duo, a smile that showed his love for the man who lived with him. His hand was resting on the chair placed in front of him… And sitting in that chair… Sitting in that chair was the man who was now standing before Duo, at the apartment complex. That man.

Chang Wufei.