Author: Raz
Pairings: 1+2+1
Rating: R
Warnings: sex talk, AU, possibly OOC, probably jumpy scenes
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing! :)
Notes: Written for the Online Romance Contest 2006 :)
Feedback: razberrycreme@hotmail.com
To see the 1P manga by ASIA, click here.
The Moment
"Good morning, this is Winner Industries, what can I do for you?"
Heero resisted the urge to fidget.
"Sorry that he's making you wait."
He blinked, glancing over to where the voice came from. The girl smirked, covering the mouthpiece of her headset secretively. "See, this is Duo's way of playing hard to get." She winked, then turned back to her monitor, answering another incoming phone call. "...no, I'm sorry, Mr. Winner won't be available then..." Hilde grimaced, adjusting her headset again, looking at Heero and making a face. "Mr. Bennet, I'm sorry, but- oh, for god's sake - Duo! Take line five for me! He's pissing me off, and it's not like you're actually doing work anyways."
"Thanks, Hilde, thanks a lot. See if I give you a Christmas present." Duo glared at her. Hilde only smiled back.
"That's alright, sweetie, I was going to guilt trip you into giving yours back to me anyways - Hello, Winner Industries, how may I help you?"
Duo made a face at her and punched the button on the phone (which still had a few flashing lights on it, despite the fact that he had been doing work, thanks). "Yes, sorry, Mr. Bennet, the call must've been dropped. Uhhuh. No, really. Yes, as soon as I'm done talking to you I will definitely tell our technicians to get on those faulty phone wires." Duo rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet on the table. "Look, dude, you can either keep on bitching and this call is just gonna keep on dropping, or you can tell me another day that'll work for you." He suddenly grinned. "Monday at eight? You bet, thank you."
Duo leaned over and swiped a pencil from Hilde's colorfully-decorated pencil holder and wrote it in, ignoring Hilde's look of consternation, and finally acknowledging Heero's presence.
"Hey. You the newbie that I'm supposed to show around?" Duo didn't hide the fact that he was sizing Heero up, a dubious look sweeping up and down.
"Yes, I'm Heero Yuy." Heero grimaced out a forced smile. "How do you do."
"Sorry, man, I don't divulge those secrets until at least the second date." Duo grinned at the blank look on Heero's face, getting up from behind his desk. "C'mon, I'll give you the tour. You only really need to know a few places anyway."
Heero followed reluctantly, shaking his head. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all...
~*~
This had definitely been a bad idea.
"And have you seen his...!"
"Oh, most definitely. He was bending down to figure out how the watercooler worked, and mm..."
"Really? I went there earlier and it wasn't working..."
"Yeah, that's because I rigged it so that it would shoot water all over him..."
"What? Why would you do something like that?!"
"Think about it! Heero with his front all wet, wiping his hair back..."
Heero sighed, finishing the code he'd been writing. So that was what had happened. He'd had to borrow a shirt off of Duo, who'd laughed at him the entire time. Heero had been trying to ignore the two bubbly maids all afternoon. He was just about to turn around and shut the door when his computer made a slight beep. Wondering if there'd been an error in the code, he frowned at the screen.
Accept IM from SexySecretary02?
"What the..." Heero raised an eyebrow, quickly checking the windows open on his PC. Had he accidentally clicked a pop-up sex ad while distracted? Heero groaned, clicking through his Internet browsers. He could just imagine what his new employer's reaction would be when someone (probably Duo) showed him a bill with 'SEXFANATICS.ORG' as the company demanding money.
And wouldn't it just be his luck that he'd just ran the program where Mr. Winner could easily track down which computer it came from? And he'd been so proud of it, too.
Well, that was it. Heero sighed. He was never going to do something innovative and forward-thinking ever again.
He frowned, staring at his blank desktop. There hadn't been any sex ads. So how did anyone besides the people at work know his username? Unless...
With a great feeling of dread (and thoughts of his resignation letter), he cautiously clicked 'OK'.
SexySecretary02: having trouble with the ladies?
Heero coughed. He wasn't having trouble! He really wasn't...well, except for that time when Irina made him check for wiring problems with her computer for half an hour, crawling around on his knees, and then finally emerging to find that he'd accumulated a crowd, with Duo standing right next to Irina, high-fiving her.
yuyheero: I was not having trouble.
Okay, maybe a few - hindrances - with the female staff. But that was all.
SexySecretary02: took you long enough to reply. what, did you think I was from a sex company or something?
Well, there was just no answer to that, really.
SexySecretary02: Oh my god
SexySecretary02: You did, didn't you
yuyheero: 'SexySecretary02'? Can you blame me?
SexySecretary02: uh...yeah. I can. but that's okay, I forgive you
SexySecretary02: besides, now you have to give me makeup sex ;)
Heero about choked on his own breath, mouse drifting temptingly over to the 'Block' option on AIM.
SexySecretary02: kidding, kidding - you must really think you've stumbled onto a porn site now
yuyheero: ...
SexySecretary02: insert witty comeback there, huh? anyway, if you want to get rid of the girls, all you need is ask
He debated his choices. On one hand, he really needed to concentrate on the new program he was working on for Winner Industries, and for the past ten minutes all he'd been doing was gnash his teeth (he wouldn't be surprised if his dentist asked why his teeth all seemed significantly shorter on his next visit). But on the other hand, did he really want to owe Duo a favor? He seemed nice enough on the tour, just very...
yuyheero: ...I'm asking.
He waited for a reply, but it didn't say that Duo was typing, so he looked outside his office. Heero could see Duo beckoning the girls over.
"Hey, ladies - guess what I've got?" Duo leaned closer, a mischievous smile on his face. "When you two pulled that water stunt, I took pictures. And, Heero changed in front of me, so you know what that means." He paused dramatically, and looked at a point a little ways off from the girls' foreheads. "Naked torso shots. In the lobby, better get your copies before everyone else takes them!"
Duo grinned evilly, giving Heero a thumbs-up.
~*~
yuyheero: ...do you really have pictures?
SexySecretary02 wants to make a direct IM connection
Connected
Image 63% uploaded...80%...100% complete
Heero exhaled slowly, jaw clenching as he clicked the 'Block' button on the IM window. He could hear Duo laughing in the main lobby with the other secretaries, and could just barely hear Hilde asking him what he'd done now. Heero got up from his chair and closed the door, sighing.
He'd better schedule that dentist appointment soon.
~*~
"I didn't peg you for the easily-embarrassed type."
Heero plucked a stirrer from the pile next to the coffeemaker, making a note to ask someone to tidy it up (give them a change from gawking at him all the time).
"I'm not," he finally replied.
"Bullshit." Duo was grinning. "You turned twenty shades of red at those pictures."
Heero sipped at his coffee, shrugging. "I believe that was in anger."
"Oh, it was, was it? Then I'm sure you'll handle it perfectly well when I say that at the charity auction at lunch today, a date with you went over pret-ty well."
"What? What auction?" Heero made a mental note to start going to the cafeteria more often. He'd brought his lunch to eat while working that day, knowing that he had a big workload ahead of him.
"Duh, the charity thing that we do every year. We always auction people off for dates."
"And you? Were you auctioned?" Duo snickered, much to Heero's dismay.
"Hell, no. Besides, the people here wouldn't be able to afford even an hour with moi." Duo winked.
"...are you sure you don't work for a porn company on the side?" Heero regarded Duo skeptically.
"Ha, wouldn't you like to know. Anyways, the thing is on Sunday night, alright? Don't forget!" Duo waggled a finger at Heero. "I know you're supposed to have a photographic memory and all, but this is important."
"What?! But I didn't even agree to it!"
"Heero..." Duo looked disappointed. "You helped raise over a thousand dollars for the local orphanage. You can't just take that back. Think of the kids..."
Oh, goddamn it.
Heero sighed, throwing his empty cup away. "Who won?"
The secretary grinned, and for a split second Heero contemplated paying all the money to the orphanage himself, and screwing the date.
"I did," Duo said simply, turning on his heel and walking away.
Heero blinked. He went straight back to the coffeemaker, grumbling as he got another cup - he was going to need the caffeine.
~*~
He'd never dreaded a weekend so much in his life.
Heero fidgeted in front of the mirror, wondering if he'd overdressed. He'd debated all day whether it was casual, or semi-casual, or semi-formal, of casual-formal, or...In the end, he figured that since he'd gone for over a thousand dollars, he might as well get his share of the food.
Especially since he'd found out that all of the money was exclusively from the sales of the pictures Duo had taken. Heero had been wondering where Duo had gotten all the money.
ding dong
Heero quickly did a last minute check. Did he have everything? Wallet, just in case? Keys? Pepper spray, also just in case? Yup, he had everything. Every single thing. Didn't have a reason to be holding up at all. Nope. Didn't need to keep standing in front of the mirror. Anytime now, he was going to walk over to the door and answer it. Yes. ...anytime now. Okay, well, he could probably check his things again. Who knew, maybe he had a hole in his pocket or something.
Except, he didn't.
ding dong
Couldn't Duo tell that Heero was still quadruple-checking his belongings? How inconsiderate.
Heero sighed and walked over to the door, squaring his shoulders. He might as well get it over with. He opened the door, relieved to see that Duo had dressed up, too, in a wine-red shirt and black suit. They were almost wearing the same things, except that Heero had opted for a blue shirt at the last minute.
Duo gave out a low whistle. "Wow, Heero, you clean up nice." He smirked. "Probably should've brought my camera along..."
"You and your camera have done more than enough damage, thank you." Heero closed and locked the door, thinking about how many locks he'd had to get installed on his door (the girls kept picking them, although where they got the lockpicks he didn't have a clue) and the blinds he'd installed (the curtains were purposefully see-through before). It made a man wonder who'd decorated his office in the first place.
Heero eyed Duo suspiciously.
"What?" Duo blinked innocently. "Do I have something on my face?" Heero shook his head, and started walking towards the elevators briskly, ready to get the evening over with.
"Nervous, huh?"
Heero pushed the 'down' button, glaring at the metal panel. "No."
'Hmm' was Duo's only reply, and he continued to stare at Heero even as they stepped into the elevator, studying him the entire ride down. Heero stared straight ahead, reminding himself every now and then to breathe.
Duo opened the door for Heero, a small smile back on his face as he got out his keys. Duo brushed against Heero when he walked over to the driver's side, and as he passed, he whispered, "Just in case you were wondering, I'm nervous, too."
Duo unlocked the doors and Heero slid in, feeling just a little less anxious while buckling in his seatbelt. They talked about work in the car, and several times, Duo would catch Heero watching him intently, eyes half-closed, as though trying to savor and memorize the moment at the same time. It was a weird feeling, and Duo kept his gaze on the road from then on, uncertain of what it might mean.
~*~
"No way - I can't believe you did that!" Duo gaped at Heero, his mouth still full of unchewed food. "A striptease?!"
How the conversation had been turned onto this topic Heero had no idea. How Duo had managed to coax the story out of him at all was a mystery. He hadn't had that much to drink, had he? Heero glanced at his glass, wincing. Oops. They hadn't even ordered alcohol.
Heero wondered if Duo had slipped something into his drink.
He shrugged lightly in embarrassment, leaning forward to close Duo's mouth with an audible click of teeth. "It was for charity."
"Ah." Duo snickered. "Getting a sense of déjà vu, huh?"
Heero swallowed thoughtfully. "I suppose. I'm a real sucker for charity, so this isn't the first time."
"I'll bet." Duo's expression softened. "That's really sweet."
Heero ducked his head, staring at his glass of water. Definitely drugged, that had to be it.
"It was nothing."
"No, it's really nice of you to do all of this. Even if I guilt-tripped you into it." Duo suddenly looked pretty guilty himself.
Heero sat silently, wishing that he'd think of something that could comfort his...friend.
"Duo, are you okay?"
"I have to go," Duo said abruptly, hesitating slightly as he got up. "I-sorry. I'll pay you back tomorrow, I promise. I just...I can't do this."
Heero watched him leave silently, signaling the waiter. He quickly paid for the dinner and got out of the restaurant, taking off his jacket and loosening the collar of his shirt.
Good thing for that quadruple check at least, Heero thought to himself pathetically as he hailed a cab.
~*~
"Okay, what's up between you two?" Hilde finally asked when she'd managed to corner Heero in the supply room.
"What- what do you mean?" Heero cleared his throat, busying himself with rearranging the stacks of sugar packets.
"Uh, hello, I'm not dead yet. I do have eyes and ears, and they do work relatively well." She rolled her eyes. "Something happened between you and Duo, am I right?"
"Well, yes, but...no." Heero moved on to the cream. "Nothing really happened."
"Heero, this is probably the place where I convince and cajole until you tell me what's up, but seriously, I only get five minutes' break, and I really need to pee, so you need to spill - before I do, that is." Hilde laughed at Heero's grimace. "C'mon, maybe I can help."
"I doubt it." Heero leaned against the counter. "We went on the date thing yesterday night, for the auction-" Hilde interrupted him, confusion creasing her brow.
"Wait, wait - what auction?"
"You know, the charity auction, where people bid on other people for dates, and the money goes to some orphanage," Heero replied impatiently. "Duo said you bid on someone, too-"
"Nooo..." Hilde interrupted again, ignoring Heero's look of irritation. "There was no auction. I mean, there was, but we don't auction people off - we give up antiques and let people have at it. And this isn't happening until Christmas."
"Then what, he tricked me into a date? Why would he do that...?"
"Heero, get a grip - and a brain, please. Duo is crazy about you. He really, really likes you. And I mean really. One time, he even came in and told me about what he'd done in the shower while thinking of you. I am saying extreme detail here, like how he soaped himself up and then-"
"Hilde!" Heero had his hands out protectively, eyes wide. "Try to keep conversations at work at least PG thirteen, okay?" Hilde smirked.
"What about outside of work?"
"Hilde!" He rubbed his temples, wondering what he'd gotten himself into. "Just...what's the point? Even if he does - did like me, he obviously doesn't now."
"Oh, honey, Duo's not the type to fall out of love so easily." She smiled at Heero's startled look. "Yeah, I said it - L O V E, that's what I'm talking about. So what are you going to do about it?"
"Well, I-"
"And Heero, I do still have extra copies of those photos."
"Ah...then apparently I'll listen to your evil plan and comply the best as I can lest you blackmail me?"
Hilde punched his arm playfully, grinning. "Now that's what I like to hear!"
~*~
There was a knock on his door, just as Hilde had said there would be. Heero looked up and saw Duo, who seemed jittery, a small frown on his face.
"Hey - can you look this over?" He walked into the office, taking small steps.
"Sure." Heero stood up from his desk, reaching out to take the file and closing around Duo's fingers instead. His other hand grasped the folder, and he smiled casually at Duo, who was staring at their intertwined fingers as though he couldn't quite understand what was going on. Heero took advantage of his coworker's confusion and tugged Duo towards him, lips brushing the side of Duo's cheek as he leaned in. "Thank you," Heero said softly, his breath ghosting over Duo's ear, finally letting go and sitting back down at his chair.
"Uh...sure," Duo managed, wearing a dumbfounded look on his face. Heero nodded and started looking through the papers, a red pen in his hand for corrections. He looked up a minute later and saw that Duo was still standing there.
"Something else?" He asked, after a pause.
"No...no, there isn't. Well - Heero, are we- okay?"
Heero forced himself not to soften, instead tilting his head. "Why wouldn't we be?"
"Hmm...right." Duo smiled half-heartedly. "Gotcha."
Heero watched Duo walk out of his office, leaning back in his chair as he slowly allowed himself to relax. This was going to be harder than he'd thought.
~*~
"I think I liked him better when he was shy," Duo mumbled, yawning as he dropped his headset on the desk, resting his head on his arms. He'd told Hilde about the weird moment, and Hilde shared her piece of news - that Heero had been hitting on all the girls that day, even the ones that usually fainted even if he came within a foot of them.
"Not me. He's even sexier than before, don't you think?" Hilde piped up.
"Stop smirking at me, Hilde, I put pepper in your coffee." Duo glared in her direction, taking a triumphant sip from his own.
"Nah, that's cool, 'cause I switched mine with yours while you were busy with loverboy."
"...God really hates me, doesn't he." Duo groaned and put his head back on his arms.
Behind his back, Hilde winked at Heero, who had been lingering in his doorframe, watching the exchange.
'Good job,' she mouthed.
Heero grinned. And now for phase two...Heero mentally cranked up the charm (which, admittedly, probably didn't amount to much). He'd probably have to resort to taking off his shirt, but he would consider it muscles well-flexed if he got Duo back.
~*~
"Okay, what is your fucking problem?!" Duo slammed the door behind him. "You said we were fine, damn it."
Heero placidly thumbed through the papers he held in his hands, raising an eyebrow. Duo rolled his eyes, growling slightly.
"You've been flirting with everyone at the office lately!" Duo palmed his bangs, forcefully brushing them out of his eyes, which were accusatory, trying to pierce through Heero's calm exterior. "I thought you were different..."
"I don't think you have any right to judge." Heero moved closer to Duo, closing the gap between them. "You were the one who ditched me at dinner."
"I told you, I had to go!" Duo exhaled resignedly. "What do you want from me?"
"Just you." Heero stepped closer, hand going out to Duo's cheek, just barely kissing Duo on the mouth. "But that's too much to ask for right now, isn't it?" He left Duo behind, closing the door after him.
Duo breathed in, leaning heavily on the desk inside the messy room, ignoring the pen that was digging into his hip, the papers getting crinkled underneath him. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, almost smiling slightly.
"About time someone stopped running, I guess."
~*~
SexySecretary02: alright, fine, you got me
yuyheero: I know.
SexySecretary02: meet you at your office after work? and then maybe we can go to my place?
yuyheero: See you then.
Duo bit his nail, re-reading the IM on his screen, deleting his reply a few times before hitting enter.
~*~
SexySecretary02: FYI, you're lucky I'm not doing this with my side porn industry - it would've cost you at least five hundred a minute
The sound of Heero's laughter echoing into the main lobby made Duo smile, and he closed the IM window, relieved.
~*~
"FINALLY!" Quatre suddenly sprang up from his chair, fists thrown up in the air in triumph.
Hilde looked up from her computer and grinned, holding her hand out smugly. "Pay up, Winner."
Quatre eyed her. "What do you mean? You didn't win, I did."
"Nooo, they're not retired yet!"
"Is that what I said? I could've sworn that it was something more like-"
"Yes. That's what you said, Quatre."
"Such insubordination," Quatre said to himself darkly, going into his pocket. "Wait!" Quatre brightened. "It's not the weekend yet either! Fork it over, Hilde."
She scowled, opening up her purse, then pausing. "But, Quatre, if we both got it wrong, doesn't it mean that we both don't win?"
"Nice try, Hilde," Quatre said, smirking. "You're not going to get out of it that easily. You didn't win, and I didn't win, so that means-"
"I did." Trowa neatly took the money from their hands, rounding the corner with his mail cart. Hilde and Quatre gaped after him, their empty palms grasping air. They turned to stare at each other.
"...think it's too late to fire him?" Quatre mumbled to Hilde.
~*~
"So, what do you think?" Duo sat on the porch railing, his feet dangling. "Great view, isn't it?"
Heero was too busy making sure that Duo wasn't about to go plummeting to his death to even glance over at the sunset. "Duo, get down from there..."
Duo looked over at his lover questioningly before smiling. "Worrywart. Here." He gently tugged Heero over, folding Heero's arms around his torso so that Heero could hold him back in case he did slip. "Now, stop frowning, and check out the killer colors."
Heero looked downwards instead, figuring it to be at least ten stories before ground. "Great choice of words, Duo."
"Shut up." Duo brought Heero's hand to his cheek, kissing the palm. "I like you, even if you are a grumpy, overprotective, dorky guy. And you squeeze the toothpaste out weirdly. And you get up way too early. And-"
The tip of Heero's finger pressed Duo's chin soothingly, turning Duo's head towards him for a kiss, tightening his hold on Duo's waist.
"I like you too," Heero said, so close that his eyelashes gave Duo a soft butterfly kiss.
"Stay with me for awhile, okay?" Duo reached backwards to play with Heero's hair, his other hand on Heero's arm.
"I won't ever leave."
"Okay, Heero, now that was kind of stalkerish. I mean, points for effort and all, but really, this could make going to the bathroom pretty awkward."
"Now who's the one ruining the moment?!"
"You already ruined it yourself, you can't blame me for anything, man."
"...don't make me push you off the railing, Duo."
"What, and make my trip to the sex shop all for nothing? Well, fine, but it ain't my fault if you don't get any tonight...whoa! Where are we going? Let go of me! Heero, we were going to watch the sun set! It was supposed to be romantic, damn it!"
"Shut up, Duo. You're ruining the moment."
OWARI