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"Coffee Shop Encounters"Written By: Ashkara Disclaimer: I sadly enough do not own them. Sigh. Rating: PG 13 Warnings: definitely an AU, Pairings: 1+2, 3+4, 5+SP, 6+IW Summary: Quatre Winner, the young CEO of Winner
Enterprises, meets and befriends four college students at Roberto's
Cafe. They turn out to be exactly what he needs to turn his life around. "Coffee Shop Encounters" CSE-5: Cappuccino Wufei looked dazed as he walked into Roberto’s
on a chilly, breezy autumn day. His two friends, talking animatedly
with Roberto at the counter, looked up in shock. Whatever could possibly
make Wufei look so shell-shocked? The Chinese didn’t even say a real hello to his
three friends. Confused, cloudy obsidian eyes met Roberto’s brown
as Wufei asked, “May I have a green tea, please?” The Cajun clucked but moved mechanically to fix the
requested tea, his eyes, like those of Quatre and Trowa, never leaving
Wufei’s face. He set the cup down in front of his distraught
customer. “Dere’s your tea. Now talk, boy!”
Wufei blinked confusedly. “What?” Trowa tried this time, “Oh come on! What’s
wrong, Fei? Tell us!” The Chinese student took a long drink and sighed appreciatively,
staring down into the warm liquid. “If I tell you… you have
to promise me something.” Quatre’s interest was piqued. “What would
that be?” “Maxwell doesn’t hear a word of this. Is that
clear?” Wufei finally looked up again, his eyes glinting in a
strange mix of desperation and uneasiness. Trowa and Quatre both nodded agreement, but the green-eyed
student was not surprised to see that Roberto made no such move. Surprisingly,
Wufei didn’t notice. Wufei took another sip of his tea. “It’s like
this- I got a phone call today from Sally Po, you know, the doctor
woman." Roberto chuckled beneath his breath- he could already
see where this was headed. The Chinese continued, “She invited me to a party,
as her date.” Roberto could barely control his laughter at the face
Wufei was making- it looked as though the world was ending, by the
boy’s expression! Even Trowa smirked as he asked, “And is
that a bad thing?” Wufei threw a glare at his friend. “I’m going
to make a damned fool of myself! And Maxwell will never let me live
it down…” Quatre grinned at the Chinese. “So I take it that
being with Sally doesn’t bother you, then?” That stopped him. Wufei turned an interesting shade
of pink. “She just wants a friend along- it’s not that she
could possibly like me, or anything like that…” The Chinese boy looked down into his tea again. “What
do I know about dating? Look at who my best friends have been-
Heero, Duo, you guys- I’m always the odd one out!” Roberto laughed out loud again. “All you need is
charm, boy!” Wufei shot Trowa a dirty look as the green-eyed young
man fell into another giggling fit. Quatre gave the angry Chinese
a placating smile. “You have plenty of style, Wufei. You just
need to relax and remember that not all women bite.” Roberto nodded. “An’ try not to step on her
when you dance!” Wufei went white. “I’m going to have to dance?!
No way- impossible! Not happening…” Trowa didn’t laugh this time- it was too obvious
that Wufei was truly torn up over this whole idea. “I hate to
say it, Wufei, but you’re going to have to ask Duo for help on
that one. I’m sure he will help…” *** Duo stared at his friend incredulously that evening
as they congregated at Roberto’s after class. “And your
response was…” he prompted. Wufei hung his head, not wanting to be laughed at by
the American. “I said yes,” he replied in a low voice. He looked up, surprised, when not a moment later he
heard Duo give a small sigh. The braided student looked to be deep
in thought, staring into his soda with a slight frown. “Okay…
so you already have the clothes and the look…” Wufei nearly choked as he forgot to breathe. “You’re…
not going to make fun of me?” Duo looked shocked at the idea, though everyone could
see the humour glinting in the depths of his violet eyes. “Fei!
Romance is a serious thing! I mean it- definitely not a laughing matter…”
They let him ramble on for a few more moments before
Quatre interrupted, “And he needs to learn how to dance, too.”
That stopped Duo, and a grin finally broke over his
face. “Now that I can definitely help with!” he crowed.
“You’ll have to help me with the formal-like stuff, Quatre-
never bothered with that myself- but I love to dance and I’d
love to see what a sexy man like Wuffie can do on the floor…”
Wufei blushed a deep red. “Maxwell, I’m going
to kill you…” Heero merely grunted a “hn,” and held Duo
closer against his side. The braided boy turned to Quatre excitedly. “We
could maybe practice at the gym, or the Rec room at the Home…”
Quatre gave his friend a smile. “How about a ballroom
at my place? Hell knows I don’t use them for anything otherwise…”
Duo’s face lit up anew. “Sounds great! Wow-
at Winner Mansion!” He changed tracks quickly. “So then…
we’ll need to make sure you’ve got the right clothes, flowers
would be nice, cologne…” Wufei snorted. “You’re making this sound like
a real date, Maxwell.” Even Heero smiled at that. “Wufei, everyone here
knows how you feel about Doctor Po, so cut the act, okay?” Wufei had the decency to avert his gaze as he blushed
bright red. *** Wufei glared at the braided boy as he bounced on his
feet, ready to begin the lesson. It was two days to the party, and
the five of them were gathered in one of the “smaller” ballrooms
in Winner Mansion. It was still bigger than the first floor of most normal
sized houses. Duo’s grin was bright and mischievous. “Okay,
so I’ll dance the girl part and Heero will lead, okay?”
He got a nod from his partner- Heero was pretty much okay with anything
that let him hold onto Duo. The braided boy smiled at Wufei. “So this is the
jitterbug. Real easy- the steps are: step, step, rock-step!”
He repeated the steps over again several times as he and Heero began
to dance slowly- Wufei’s eyes were glued to the movements of
Heero’s feet. He was vaguely surprised when Duo stopped and turned
to him. “Okay- it’s your turn.” It felt strange to be dancing with Duo, but Wufei gradually
began to relax, his eyes still on his feet… Duo’s voice intruded on his mental counting- “No-
look up! Sally doesn’t want to stare at the top of your head-
she’ll want to look you in the eye. Trust me- if you relax, you
won’t have any problems!” They started dancing again. Wufei was as stiff as a board, and Duo looked to Quatre
or help. The blond carefully took hold of Wufei’s shoulders from
behind and began to mimic the steps, rocking the Chinese boy to the
proper rhythm. By the end of the evening, Wufei was thoroughly worn-out
and truly wondered at how the other couple could still be dancing
after so long! Under-arm turns, swivel steps, kick turns, tucked turns,
five different dips, parallel turns and kicks, slide steps, basic
Lindy Hop… He knew he’d never remember it all. Still, Heero and Duo had been impressed- Wufei had done
wonderfully, and they were fairly certain that with a little more
practice, he’d be ready for the big night. They sincerely wished
him luck. *** Wufei fidgeted as he tried to stand still, wincing as
Quatre tugged on his tie again. The blond millionaire had gone through
his closet earlier that day and selected his clothes for him- he was
surprised the young man hadn’t gone as far as choosing his underwear
for him- supplementing the outfit with a tie of his own. Now, as he
stood in front of his full-length mirror, he sighed as he allowed
the enthusiastic blond to oversee the final details of his preparation.
He had to admit that he looked good. Quatre had opted
to make him keep his hair down for the evening, so that it fell in
a silky swoop to just past his shoulders. He had never thought of
wearing it like that before- it blew into his face and tickled his
nose- but it looked… surprisingly decent. They charcoal grey suit had been specially tailored
for him- Wufei’s family put a lot of emphasis on appearances-
and the tapered look emphasised his broad shoulders and tiny waist
and behind. His shoes were polished until they nearly shone, his shirt
was neatly pressed, his collar straight, tie properly tied, cologne
applied, red handkerchief sticking out of his breast pocket…
He turned to his friends with apprehension clearly written
on his face. “I’m going to screw this up.” Duo rolled his eyes for what seemed like the millionth
time that evening. “No more of that! You look great, smell even
better, and you’ll be just fine as soon as you relax a little!”
Trowa nodded his agreement. “Just treat her like
a lady and enjoy yourself.” Wufei nodded, but still felt butterflies in his stomach
like he had never felt before. “I won’t know what to say-
she’s a woman! I don’t know what she’ll want
to talk about…” Heero snorted. “She’s an extremely smart woman
who’s as witty as you are. Relax.” He looked at his watch and reached for his keys with
hands that should have been shaking. “It’s time for me to
go…” He stopped to see the encouraging smiles on his friends’
faces one last time. “Thanks.” He left. They waited until the door closed behind him and his
footsteps disappeared outside before all four collapsed into a laughing
fit. Duo clapped his boyfriend on the back. “What do you think?”
Heero grinned back at him. “He’ll relax after
she slaps him around a little.” Quatre giggled. “Those two are perfect for each
other!” *** Wufei rang her doorbell and nervously clutched at the
flowers- she was going to hate them- she was going to laugh at him,
she was… The door opened. She was beautiful. He felt a blush rising in his face as he stared- Sally
had pulled her hair into a tight bun, tendril-like curls escaping
to frame her face softly. She was wearing a black dress that clung
to her shapely body, outlining soft curves and showing just enough
skin to be classy, but not scandalous, sweeping in a swish of long
skirts to the floor. He smiled at her. “Hi, Sally.” She stared in turn. She had always thought Chang Wufei
to be rather good-looking, his ascerbic wit only adding to his charm,
along with that cute little scowl… But to see him like this,
with his hair loose like that… She felt her pulse racing
and fought furiously to control it. “Hi, Wufei! You look great!”
He blushed even darker- that was supposed to be his
line! “So do you- Here!” He handed her the flowers, pulling
them from behind his back with a flourish- The guys had been right- she was easy to talk
with. By the time they reached the party, he was perfectly relaxed,
holding her door and smiling like a fool as she took his arm and they
walked into the room- He grinned as he heard the music starting up again-
I’m just a gigolo, And everywhere I go. People know the song I’m singing… He grinned confidently as he lead her onto the dance
floor and took her body into his arms. He could do this- this was
easy. This was one of the best evenings of his life! *** She shivered a little as they went out onto the balcony,
and Wufei immediately shed his jacket and slipped it over her shoulders.
Sally smiled- the jacket was warm with his body heat
and carried a hint of his cologne. She gave him a warm smile. “I
never thought you’d accept my invitation, Wufei.” He felt himself blushing. “I hadn’t planned
on it, truly…” She laughed. “Really? But here you are…”
He looked her deep in the eyes. “Can I be completely
honest?” She felt a shiver run through her that had nothing to
do with the chilly breeze. “Please do…” He sighed and looked out into the night. “I had…
wanted… to ask you out before. I just… I never could.”
She gasped as those eyes swung around and pinned her
where she stood. “I was too nervous.” He held out his hand-
She took it and felt another rush as he gently pulled
her closer. “What are you thinking at this moment, Wufei?”
He gave her a rather charming smile. “I was thinking
how nice it would be to kiss you right about now.” Sally gulped for air- was he reading her mind? Was this
for real? “I… I agree with you.” “You do?” The question was accompanied by
a smirk that, Sally could have sworn, was stolen straight from one
Duo Maxwell. Wufei was leaning closer to her, warm breath ghosting
over her slightly chilled skin as she felt herself leaning closer,
too, her eyes slipping closed- Wufei had kissed other women before, but nothing had
ever compared to this! She tasted sweet and spicy at the same time,
cool lips and warm, generous mouth, gentle, caressing tongue, supple,
warm body pressed against him as his arms encircled her and he felt
hers going around his neck as well. Both were flushed as they pulled back from the kiss,
breathless, practically shimmering with excitement and elation. Wufei’s
arm around Sally’s waist tightened gently. “We should try
this again sometime, Doctor.” She laughed. “Sounds like fun to me.” They kissed again before he took her arm and lead her
back into the party. Somehow, neither of them remembered much of the
rest of the night. *** Quatre, Duo, Heero and Trowa were all practically humming
with curiosity as they waited for Wufei to show up the next evening.
They hadn’t called him- they figured he got in late, anyway,
yet the waiting was killing them! The blond grumbled, absently allowing Trowa to move
in closer against his side. “He knows what we’re going through-
he’s doing this on purpose…” Trowa chuckled. “Relax, Quat.” He kissed the
other on the forehead gently. “Patience is a great thing…”
“And I don’t have any! Where is he,
already?!” Heero chuckled and nuzzled Duo’s ear affectionately.
“And I thought you were bad…” Quatre shot him a dirty look. “I heard that, Yuy!”
Duo was about to give a saucy reply when the door opened
a rather smug-looking Wufei strolled into Roberto’s with a swagger.
The four were up in a flash, even Trowa’s patience
gone as he watched his friend’s face and body language. He reached
Wufei first. “You twit! We’ve been waiting here, and you
have no idea how bad Quatre has been…” Duo was next, “How’d it go, Fei? You’ve
gotta tell us…” The Chinese waved off all questions until he was seated
at the bar, smirking at Roberto as he ordered a cappuccino. He finally
turned back to his friends. “Gentlemen, you are all entirely
too nosey!” Heero looked at the other boy’s smirking face incredulously.
“Spit it out, Chang, or I’ll let Duo ask all the questions
he’s been secretly storing in his mind all day…” Duo turned to look at his Japanese lover incredulously.
“How did you know…” “Hn. Not difficult, baka. I know you…”
Roberto waved for his assistant to take over at the
bar as he took a seat with the group of five. “Alright, now you
better talk, boy, or Roberto’s askin’ de questions, too!”
Wufei finally shrugged. “What can I say? Pleasant
evening- she looked beautiful, we had fun, we’re going out again
on Saturday- that’s about it.” “That’s it?” Roberto asked, not believing
it for a moment. “If you tink anyone here believes dat, boy…”
Wufei laughed out loud, shocking them all into silence.
“She’s… God, she’s incredible! And she
smells, good, and feels good, and… Wow!” They all smiled- it was nice to see Wufei so happy…
“Exscuse me, but is this a ‘Guys Only’
party?” a voice asked from behind Trowa’s shoulder, and
they watched Wufei’s eyes brighten by a fraction as he turned.
“As if you’d care if it was, Sally!” She smirked as she grabbed a chair from a nearby table
and pushed in between Trowa and Wufei to sit down. “You got that
one right, Chang! I thought I’d find you here…” Roberto chuckled as he stood and walked away slowly-
Wufei was kissing his new girlfriend. “Oh! Will you two just get a room?” he heard
Duo asking, his laughter barely held in check. “Hn. Sounds like a good idea. What do you say,
Sally?” “It has merit, Wufei…” Roberto smiled as he watched the two leave. It was about
time! owari |
