"Pay
me!"
---------------------------------------
Asuka squinted behind his sunglasses as he
stalked across to the Gundam Hangar, stubbornly refusing to slow down or walk
softly, despite the fact that every step was sending a dagger of pain through
his head. He'd be damned if he was going to let a stupid hangover
win.
Loud music throbbed as he opened the personnel door, and he stopped
short, his habitual scowl deepening.
Dan.
Fuck. I can't
find the prick when I want to break his oversexed, hormonal little neck, but as
soon as I give up on the idea, here he is!
For a moment, he
considered either turning around or going back to Plan A ('Kill Dan'); then he
tightened his jaw and stepped into the hangar, closing the door behind him.
If I wouldn't let a hangover change my plans, I'll be screwed before I let
him change them! And I don't get screwed; I'm the one who does the
screwing.
...
Argh! I don't need to start thinking
about that! I'm pissed off, not horny!
Hoping that the Gaulish pilot
would take the hint and leave him alone, Asuka walked straight to his Gundam. He
really didn't need Dan's style of teasing just now, and might be forced to do...
something... if the other teen started in on him. What that 'something' would
be, he had no idea.
"Hey, Suka-babe," Dan carolled in a disgustingly
cheerful voice. "What? No 'hello, Dan' or a good afternoon
smooch?"
Oh, you know you're pushing it, Asuka seethed,
starting to unlock the access panel on Morkeleb's right leg. New record; less
than ten seconds before the innuendos begin. If the little tease just
meant them, I'd have a decent reason to beat him up, or...
whatever.
"Here I am giving you my best wink-and-wiggle, and you
aren't even going to look?" From the sound of Dan's voice, he was
mock-pouting.
"Shut up and let me work."
"Like you need to tweak
Morkeleb's systems any more!"
"Like you need to tune
Starthrasher," Asuka retorted, not looking around. "Hide out in here all night,
did you? Coward."
"Geez, you're still moody. Guess you still
didn't get some, eh, Suka?"
Dan sauntered over and leaned on Morkeleb's
leg, apparently deciding to tempt fate-- and Asuka's temper-- as far as
possible.
I am in no mood to put up with this shit. Briefly, Asuka
considered the various tools (and hidden weapons) he had available, debating
which would be best to throw. He was actually reaching for a large adjustable
wrench that was already looking a bit battered, thanks to previous attempts at
Dan-killing, when he paused and thought again, mouth curving into a smirk.
No. That's what he expects me to do-- hell, it's what he wants me to
do. He wants me to blow up at him, so he can taunt me some more and then
walk off laughing while I'm stuck in a shitty mood for hours. Fuck
that.
What's the last thing he'd expect me to do?
The
smirk widened.
"You're the one who acts like he's hard up for some, Dan,"
Asuka purred, voice low and dangerous as he turned to fix the other pilot with a
narrow-eyed stare.
"EH?" Dan almost choked, eyes wide. He'd been poised
to either dodge or deliver another single-entendre line, and was definitely
not prepared for the look on Asuka's face. He's... he's actually
smouldering at me! he thought incredulously, standing frozen in shock
as the Glacin pilot took a long, slow step towards him. Damn, I didn't know
he could look so... so deliberately sexy! Accidentally sexy, sure, obliviously
sexy, dangerously sexy, but sexy on purpose?!
"What's wrong, Danny?
Can't handle it when someone gives back the same as you hand out?" Grabbing
fistfuls of Dan's shirt, Asuka shoved him against Morkeleb's leg and kissed him,
hard and demanding; then he pulled back and looked at him, surprised to discover
that he was feeling vaguely disappointed and hurt by the stunned Gaul's lack of
response. "Tease," he growled, starting to push away.
Dan's hands
clutched at Asuka's shoulders, holding him in place. "It's not teasing if I
follow through, Suka," he whispered, leaning forward as if to return the kiss.
"Gonna make me happy?" he murmured, grinding slowly against Asuka's groin.
"Gonna fuck me until I can't sit down?"
Asuka growled wordlessly, hands
yanking open the fastening on Dan's slacks and diving inside. Okay... pissed
off and horny...
-----------
"I say, Christy!" Jay
waved cheerfully as she and Quatre approached the hangar doors. "Going to work
on Hades? We're visiting Dyscalculia, so we could make a sort of group study
session if you like. Or group maintenance session. Group show and tell? Explode
and tell? Whatever!"
Christy blinked, then looked at Quatre and raised an
inquiring eyebrow.
"Jay offered to show me the Division By Zero system,"
he translated politely.
"Yes, that's what I said!" Jay pouted, slightly
miffed. "At least, it's what I meant."
"Right. I'm not actually
planning to do much," Christy said, waving her cast in explanation as she typed
a code into the keypad and opened the door. "I'm just going to run the
automatic-- WHOA!"
"What? Oh. Oo-er!"
Quatre 'eep'ed and backed up
a couple of steps, blushing furiously.
"Hey! Guys! Get a room!" Christy
yelled, grinning.
"Fuck," Asuka growled, directing a full force 'Glare of
Death' at the unwelcome arrivals as he extracted his hand from Dan's
pants.
"Looks like not yet, Suka" Dan said breathlessly, licking
at Asuka's ear and slowly pumping his hand a few more times before reluctantly
removing it from the Glacin's pants, eliciting a quiet groan from him. "Not
long, though... come find me later, hm?"
"Hn!" Asuka yanked his jeans
into place and stalked out of the hangar, reddened bite marks standing out
against the pale skin of his throat, totally oblivious to the fact that he was
leaving his Gundam with several access panels hanging open.
Dan took a
little more time and care over getting his clothes adjusted, then strolled
casually towards the door. He was smiling calmly, but a certain strained look
around his eyes indicated that he was not happy about the
interruption.
"You have such bad timing, Christy," he sighed,
brushing past her with a wink and then grinning at a very embarrassed
Quatre.
Jay looked expectantly at Christy, humming something cheerful
under her breath.
"What? Oh! Oh, damn, that's right..." The Theran pilot
scowled and dug into her bumbag, pulling out a crumpled wad of credit notes.
"Fifteen... twenty... here," she growled.
"Thank you, love," Jay
said brightly, snatching the notes and stuffing them down her non-existent
cleavage. The lack of pockets in her outfit (knee-length bike pants and a lacy
chemise, tucked in) was obviously not going to be a handicap. "I must remember
to find Mel; she owes me twice as much. Don't bet against the psychic,
what?"
"If they'd just held out for one more day..." Christy
moaned.
"I think you might all have a gambling problem," Quatre said,
trying to sound stern and not succeeding.
"Well, you wouldn't let us
coach them," Jay pointed out reasonably. "What else were we going to do? Holding
up score cards would've been a bit obvious, don'tcherknow."
Christy
abruptly chuckled, a considering look appearing in her eyes. "Tell you what,
Blondie... I'll bet twenty that Wufei gets Mort into bed first."
Jay
snorted, folding her arms and producing crinkling paper noises from her chest
area. "Have you not been looking at pilot 01? My money's on Heero getting
Beautiful first. Quatre? Care to put some dosh in the pot?"
There was a
long pause.
"...I'll bet that Heero will be the first to self-destruct,"
Quatre offered.
"You're on," Christy chuckled.
"With the proviso
that you can't win if you self-destruct before him," Jay added quickly,
glaring. "Unless everybody else agrees that it was a necessity!"
"HEY! I
would not blow up Hades for a lousy twenty
credits!"
----------
Around a couple of corners and in a
relatively private spot, Asuka was relieving stress by swearing viciously and
banging his head on a metal pipe. I should have just stayed there and kept
going! he snarled to himself, headbutting the pipe one last time, producing
a small dent. They would've left soon enough! And if they didn't, I could fix
that. I could still fix them, I've got my knives... no, psycho girl would
find some way to take me with her, and Jay runs too fast. Quatre then... no, his
boyfriend throws knives too. Damn. An 'accident'? Hmmm... not satisfying enough.
Screw it, they can all live. I have better things to do.
...so why
the HELL am I standing here and getting all pissed off when I've got someone to
stalk?!
'Later', huh? he thought, stamping out onto one of the
base's main thoroughfares and glaring around. Soldiers scattered as the look on
his face registered. It's been five minutes; that'd damn well better be
'later' enough, because as soon as I get my hands on Dan I'm going to see if he
really can deliver. Even if we're in the middle of the Officers'
Mess.
Hm. Now there's an idea... or in Trei's office. On the desk.
While he's having a meeting!
'Not teasing if I follow through', is
it? Asuka picked a direction at random and stalked off, beginning a mental
list of Dan's possible hiding places. And what do you call making me
look for you instead of just turning up naked in my room, hah? You're not
going to be able to sit down for a week if I have anything to say about
it!
* * * * *
Wufei sighed in relief as he pulled open the
hangar door and stepped inside, out of the bright sunlight that had been doing
such a good job of restarting his headache. It was early afternoon now, nearly
eight hours since he'd woken up, and a couple of extra-strong painkillers and a
lot of water had done a pretty good job of getting rid of his hangover.
Even so, he was still feeling a bit... 'fragile' was a good term, he thought...
and he wasn't stubborn enough to stay outside when he could be inside, feel
better and do something constructive.
It was fairly obvious that
someone had been doing something with Dyscalculia-- Jay, he thought; the
maintenance crews would never have left it with the cockpit and half of the
access hatches open, wires and cables forming a lopsided web between it and the
hangar's diagnostic equipment-- but nobody was in the hangar now, and Wufei
relaxed a little, one hand rubbing lightly at his temple. And some people
deliberately inflict hangovers upon themselves on a regular basis, he
thought incredulously. How could any sane, rational being continue a pattern
that has such painful consequences, no matter how much fun being drunk
is?
...I think I just answered my own question. He chuckled
quietly to himself as he moved across to Nataku.
He'd intended to power
up Nataku's systems and run some diagnostic programs, more because it was
something he always did than because he thought it was actually necessary.
Instead, he found himself just standing in front of the Gundam, looking up at
its calm metal face.
I used to do this a lot. Every time a mission
went wrong, every time I failed somehow, I decided that I wasn't worthy... that
I shouldn't fight any more... and I'd stand in front of Nataku and tell her to
reject me. Part of me seriously expected an answer. I honestly did think for a
while that Meiran's spirit...
Was I begging her to reject me, or
daring her to, I wonder?
A faint smile appeared on his face. Then
Fa'shien seduced me, and actually got me to start believing I had a right to
live my own life and enjoy it. I still have no idea how he managed to keep a
straight face, the first time I woke up in bed with him; my expression must have
been absolutely priceless!
I also have no idea how he got
me there in the first place. I can remember everything that happened that night,
but I still can't work out how he got from asking my opinion of an old
manuscript to kissing me... let alone how he did it without me putting him
through a wall. He always could get me to relax.
The smile faded.
Then he died with the rest of my clan, and I closed myself off again. And now
I'm trying to open up, but this time I'm trying to seduce instead of
being seduced, and I've got no idea if it is going to
work!
Is this how Fa'shien felt when he kissed me that first time?
Before he knew whether I'd kiss back or try to kill him?
I wish I
could work out how he got me into bed. I could try the same thing on Duo. And
Heero... I think I startled him yesterday, when he handed me the can. At least,
it looked like startlement, not rejection. A bit of embarrassment, too...
Perhaps I should try to get him alone?
"So this is where you got to,"
Heero said from behind him.
Wufei managed not to jump or yelp, but he was
positive his heart skipped at least three beats. How did he do
that?!
"You looked pretty serious," the Japanese pilot continued,
walking towards him. "What's up?"
"...Just thinking," Wufei managed,
swallowing past a lump in his throat. I think of getting him alone, and here
he is! Kuan Yin, bodsitthava, I know you like to smooth the path of lovers, but
this is a bit much!
Heero smirked. "You do a lot of that, don't
you?"
"It does tend to be a good idea," Wufei said dryly, starting to
relax. "Besides, I seem to have fallen into the habit." He doesn't seem to be
upset or angry--
"It's a habit I'm trying to develop myself," Heero
purred, reaching a comfortable conversational distance and then taking one more
step. "For example, I spent a fair amount of time yesterday thinking about
this."
Taking Wufei's face gently between his hands, he leaned in
and kissed him.
The surge of relief was so strong that Wufei's knees
nearly buckled and he swayed forward, clutching at Heero's shoulders for support
as he returned the kiss. I didn't ruin it-- I didn't scare him off-- I got it
right!
"Yeah," Heero whispered, breathing raggedly as he wound his
arms around Wufei and pulled him closer. "I definitely need to think some more
if this is what it gets me."
Wufei laughed breathlessly, one hand sliding
down Heero's back to caress his rear. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of
opportunities to practice--"
"Geez, did someone let a hormone bomb off in
the hangar today or something?!" Christy exclaimed, pushing the door open. "And
what is it about guys that they can't get a room and snog in
private?"
"You have to admit, it'd be much less fun if we couldn't
watch," Jay pointed out, peering around Christy as the interrupted couple leapt
apart. "Oh, foo! They stopped..."
"I have only one thing to say," Mel
announced, walking in behind her teammates with a huge grin on her face.
"Ladies... pay me!"
Jay shook her head sorrowfully as she stuck her hand
down the front of her chemise and rummaged around for some cash. "Heero, if
you'd just shown a little resolution and gotten Pretty Face into bed first, I'd
have enough money to buy you all the sake you wanted!"
"I want to know
why 'Fei-fei didn't get his act together first," Christy grumbled, unzipping her
bumbag. "This makes twice today I've lost-- hey, that's right! The bet said 'in
bed'! They aren't screwing, so the bet's still on!"
"You three were
laying bets?!" Wufei exclaimed, aghast.
They ignored
him.
"I say, good point," Jay said happily, stuffing notes back into her
lingerie. "Heero, be a good boy and get Duo first, would you?"
"No way!"
Mel insisted. "The bet on Asuka and Dan said 'in bed' too, but we paid off on
kissyface! If this bet's still on, that one is too!"
"Yeah, but there was
groping involved in the other one," Christy pointed out. "They had their hands
down each others' pants! That was more than just 'kissyface'!"
"So, we
walked in on this pair too early, that's all," Mel said stubbornly. "Another ten
minutes, max, and you would have seen all the gropage you wanted."
"She
may have a point, too, what?"
"Jay, whose side are you on?"
"Well,
both sides end up with me losing money, don'tcherknow, so I'm actually kind of
neutral here. Unless the boys want to keep going with the kissyface, in which
case I'm on the side that stays here and watches."
"I'm not sure whether
I want to just drop dead right now, or kill all the witnesses and pretend
nothing happened," Wufei growled, covering his eyes with one hand. He wanted to
turn and look at Heero, to see how badly the Japanese pilot was taking this, but
somehow he couldn't summon up the courage. I think this is the most
embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me. I'll be lucky if I can get Heero
to speak to me, let alone kiss me again; it's got to be at least as embarrassing
for him! he thought despairingly. And the moment was going so
well--
"Heh."
Eh?
"Heh heh heh."
*snicker*
That sounds like... Heero?
Wufei dropped his hand
and watched incredulously as Heero burst out laughing. The three female pilots
also stared, completely forgetting their argument over the bet.
"I say,
that's not at all the reaction I was expecting," Jay muttered, blinking
uncertainly behind her smudged glasses.
"Yeah," Christy agreed. "It
doesn't involve a gun pointed at us..."
It's the first time I've ever
seen him laugh for real, Wufei realised. Not a snicker, not a snort, not
just 'hn' and a smirk... not that weird cackle he does sometimes in battle. He's
really laughing!
Well, at least somebody thinks this is
funny.
Heero wheezed slightly as the laughter trailed off, still
snickering occasionally as he wiped his eyes. "Just ignore them," he advised,
reaching out to snag Wufei's hand and pulling him close again. "It won't make
them go away, but it might make you feel better." He planted a quick kiss on
Wufei's mouth, then moved towards the door into the pilots' quarters, tugging
the Chinese teen along with him. "Come on. We need to talk...
again."
"And anybody who thinks they're just going to talk is
welcome to buy a couple of major public landmarks from me, cheap," Mel said,
grinning. "Pay up!"
"Bugger," Christy muttered, digging into the bumbag
again.
"You know, Christy, I'm going to have to charge you for using my
trademark," Mel told her, holding out her hand.
"How'd you know they'd
grab each other first?" Jay asked curiously, passing Mel her winnings. "I was
sure Heero would grab Braid Boy first; they both really want him, but
Heero comes across as more, um, forceful,
don'tcherknow."
"Hormones," Mel said happily, starting to count her
money. "Never underestimate the power of hormones."
"I say, I like that!"
the Vaterean girl exclaimed. "It needs something more, though. Hmm... I know!
How about 'Never underestimate the power of hormones in people who have really
big stompy machine thingies with guns'?"
The other two pilots just looked
at her for a moment, then turned and started to walk away.
"I know, I
know," she grumbled, trailing after them. "I should stick to 'Don't bet against
the psychic'..."
----------
"You realise they're going to assume
we jumped straight into bed," Wufei muttered.
"Let them," Heero shrugged,
shutting the door to his and Dan's room behind them. "There's nothing we can do
to prevent it, short of killing them, so why worry about it? Besides," he added,
reaching out to cup Wufei's cheek gently, "they'll be right soon enough. Won't
they?"
Wufei could feel a blush heating up his face and neck as he nodded
wordlessly, one hand lifting to cradle Heero's hand against him. "When did the
roles change?" he asked softly, half to himself.
"Hm?"
"Well, I
was under the impression that I was the one chasing you," he explained,
trying to keep his voice dry and amused. "I took you by surprise. Now you're the
one surprising me..." ...and I'm blushing! This is
ridiculous!
"Well, you know me," Heero replied, grinning wickedly.
"Once I decide on a target and finish my preliminary tactical evaluation, I can
be very aggressive." The grin softened as he continued, bringing his other hand
up to brush a fingertip over Wufei's lips. "Like I said, I finally got my act
together and did some thinking, yesterday. I decided... I don't mind sharing Duo
with you. I don't mind sharing you with Duo, either. It's an
attractive idea, actually. It, er, certainly made for an attractive mental
picture... Did you know you're blushing?"
"Yes, I know," Wufei
growled, feeling his face heat up even more. "I was hoping it wasn't
visible!"
"I like it," the Japanese pilot chuckled. "Duo's probably going
to say it looks cute."
"Assuming we ever get him into a position where
he's likely to see it!" Wufei groaned, tossing up his hands and sitting on the
edge of Dan's bed. "I thought it would be harder to convince you to consider a
relationship, but at least you know one's being offered!"
"That is
our problem, isn't it?" Heero sighed, sitting on the floor and leaning back
against his own bed, deliberately putting a little space between them so they
could concentrate on the problem at hand. "I think we have two options. One,
keep going the way we have been and hope he works it out, or two, get him alone
and just tell him."
"If we go with option two, do we leave him
room to bolt?" Wufei asked, half-seriously.
"I think so. If he bolts,
either he'll think it over and come back, or it wouldn't work
anyway."
"Excellent point."
"I prefer option two," Heero admitted,
"but it's possible I'm being too impatient. After all, a week and a half-- less
than that really-- isn't a very long time to spend trying to gently seduce
someone!"
Wufei coughed, half-hiding a grin behind one hand. "Well, I've
seen it done in three hours, but..." Heero raised an eyebrow, and Wufei waved
his other hand dismissively, coughing again. "I'll, ah, tell you about it some
other time. You're right, it is faster than what's usually considered
'normal', but is this really a normal situation? We were shocked into realising
how we felt about Duo because we were afraid he was going to get killed. We're
going to start missions again soon, so any of us could be killed, we've
always known that. I'd rather tell Duo and hope he takes it well than keep
wondering if we're going to lose our chance before he works out what we're
trying to do. Even if we just tell him then back off, we'll have a better chance
of 'gently seducing' him if he knows what's going on!"
"...Right. So. How
exactly are we going to do this?"
"After dinner?" Wufei suggested. "The
temperature drops around then, so he usually ducks into his room to get changed.
We could follow and get him alone. It's more private than the hangar at least,"
he added wryly.
"Good plan." Heero nodded decisively. "That's what we'll
do."
"Now we just have to work out what we're going to say."
There
was a long pause as they both thought; then Heero let his head drop back onto
the mattress, draping one arm over his eyes. "Ugh. Can't we just draw him
pictures?"
* * * * *
"Tell me again so I can be sure what we're
checking for, Mel," Christy said flatly.
"Why?" Mel poked at the hangar's
keypad, typing in the long security code. "I've already told you three
times!"
"Tell me again, so that I can be sure I have all the details
right when the nice men in white coats come to take you
away."
"What details? We're checking for a trend!" Mel carefully
eased the door open a crack, then flung it open with a crash. "A-HA! ...Damn.
They're not here."
Folding her good arm over her cast, Christy started
tapping her foot. "An explanation would be good about now."
"I was hoping
to catch Trowa and Quatre necking," Mel sighed, looking at the empty hangar.
"You know the saying, 'Once is chance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is a
trend.' If we walked in here three times in a row and found cute guys making
out, that would be a trend, and the thing about trends is that they continue.
See?"
"So... you were hoping that we'd eventually get to the point where
there would be cute guys making out every time we walked into the
hangar?"
"Yep."
"Well, apart from the fact that the version I
heard of that saying goes 'three times is a conspiracy,' and your logic is weird
by even Theodorian social theory standards, it's a good idea."
"Hey,
Chaos theory mathematics proves weirder things true all the time!" Mel
protested, pulling the door closed as they walked off. "Just ask
Jay!"
"You're lucky you didn't lay a bet with her about
this..."
Behind them, in the hangar, everything was quiet; then there was
a faint sound of machinery, and Heavyarms' cockpit hatch opened. Quatre peered
out, hair and clothes slightly mussed.
"I knew it was a good idea to get
out of sight," he muttered. "They never would have let us live it
down..."
"Never mind that now," Trowa told him, taking his hand and
pulling him back inside. The hatch closed, and there was silence in the hangar
once again.
* * * * *
After dinner, Duo was shivering as the
pilots got back from their mess. "This is ridiculous, you know?" he complained,
rubbing at the goosebumps on his arms. "You bake during the day, and then as
soon as the sun goes down you could make ice cubes on your window sill. Can't
this place make up its mind what temperature it wants to be?"
"This sort
of thing happens in deserts, Duo," Christy pointed out. "I don't like it much
either..."
"I know, I know," he grumbled. "Low humidity, no clouds to
trap the heat, no large bodies of water to reradiate it, yadda yadda yadda. It's
still ridiculous! I'm going to get into something warmer, guys; back in a
sec."
As Duo jogged out of the common room towards the bedrooms, two
pairs of eyes tracked him; then Wufei and Heero exchanged a quick look, and got
up to follow.
--------------------
End 'Warped
Mirrors'
chapter 12
--------------------
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