" Winning Duo "

Written By: CalicOcat

Genre: Romance, Humour, Angst

Pairing: None yet, working towards 1x2x5; others may be implied

Rated: NC-17

Warnings: OOC, Swearing, Shifting POV

Archives: At Mediaminer.org under Calic0cat. Anyone with archive permission for my other fics can help themselves; anyone else, please ask.

Disclaimer: Duo and Heero and the rest of the GW gang aren't mine. This story is. Nuff said.

Notes: Starts one year after Endless Waltz. POV changes frequently.

'Thinking'

"Speaking"

*** Time passing or scene change

Author's Notes: I usually write 1x2x1, so a 1x2x5 is a first for me (well, writing one is - I've been reading them for quite a while now, that's the *only* threesome I actually *like*). This fic is courtesy of Quin, my romance/humour muse. Feedback is appreciated.

" Winning Duo"

Part 7

As the announcer called each 'bachelor' forwards and announced the winner of the bachelor's time, Duo fervently wished he'd talked to Zechs prior to his walk. The time he'd wasted trying to figure out what Heero and Wufei were up to would have been far better spent trying to figure out how he was going to handle being sufficiently open and responsive to encourage each of them without making the other jealous or discouraged.

Noin's reminder that he had barely seen them in two years and needed to get to know them all over again was also worth keeping in mind. Duo doubted that either of them would have changed so drastically that he would no longer love them but it was entirely possible that he would not measure up to whatever memory of him the two of them were interested in. There was very little about either Heero or Wufei that he did not know - he had made a very close study of each when he was trying to catch their attention during the war and had continued to keep a close eye on them even after giving up. He knew their favourite foods and colours, the way they liked their coffee or tea, the kinds of books they read, and a million other little details.

Duo knew that Dr. J had "acquired" Heero at a young age after the death of his mentor, an assassin named Odin Lowe. He knew that Heero's training had been far harsher than his own, particularly when he was "retrained" to "purge undesirable emotions" after some sort of "unfortunate incident" as it was referred to in J's computer files. He also knew that Heero would have been extremely annoyed to find out Duo had hacked his way into said files. Particularly since the security on them was clearly of Heero's own design.

As for Wufei... Well, Duo knew that Wufei had been married to a girl named Meiran at the age of fourteen and that she had died soon after, defending the colony against an Alliance attack. He knew that Wufei had been raised as a traditional Chinese scholar, with all the widely varying training that implied. He knew that most if not all of Wufei's clan had been killed when the colony self-destructed to avoid being used by the Alliance as leverage against Wufei.

Oh, Duo was no doubt missing some details of Heero's and Wufei's lives, but he knew a great deal about them. He had continued to keep a watch over them after they both joined the Preventers. Nothing too nosy - he wasn't *stalking* them, after all - but just a close enough watch that if either of them ever needed help, he would know about it. And he didn't want a repeat of the Mariemaia incident. Discovering that one of his loves was on the wrong side of a rebellion had been a nasty shock. He had often wondered whether things would have gone differently if he had been keeping a closer eye on Wufei right after the war. Since then, he had kept a cautious watch over *all* of his friends in fact, wanting to be sure that he would be ready to
intervene if any one of them seemed to be having problems adjusting to peace.

Duo was less certain how much Heero and Wufei actually knew about *him* however. The real him, that is, not just the flirtatious joker who piloted the Gundam Deathscythe. Neither had seemed to pay very much attention to him at all unless it was to complain about something - his eating habits, his music, his talking, the amount of hot water he used in the shower, the way he dressed, the way he behaved...

Pushing the unwelcome memories aside for now, Duo started forward in response to the announcer calling his name. Heero and Wufei came forward in their turn, yet another photo was taken, and then they were
all hurried off the stage to make way for the next set of bachelor and winner. Since the winner was now supposed to lead the bachelor out onto the dance floor, Duo was curious as to how the two were going to
handle this. And the entire week, come to that. Would they continue to cooperate, or would they revert to competing? Were they genuinely interested in *him*, or had the competition itself become more important?

Heero had been relieved to see a somewhat happier expression on Duo's face when the announcer called him forward. It wasn't the ear-to-ear delighted grin of welcome that he would have liked to see, but it was
definitely better than the weak smile Duo had given them right after the auction.

As the three of them stepped off the stage, Heero reached for Duo's hand to lead him out for the first dance. Wufei had - reluctantly - yielded it to Heero. But only in exchange for the right to the *last* dance of the night. Heero started to take the lead, then hesitated. 'Maybe I should let Duo lead?' Uncertainly, he asked, "Duo, would you rather lead?"

Pleasantly surprised at the offer, Duo smiled and shook his head slightly. "Nah, that's okay. Maybe the next dance?" If Heero intended to dance more than once with him, that is. Heero had never been too fond of attending school dances when they were hiding out during the war. It had been rare that he take the floor for even one dance let alone more. Though it certainly wasn't because he didn't know how to dance. Duo had spent more than one school dance fantasizing that it was *him* being swept around the floor in Heero's
arms, not Relena or whatever lucky girl had finally managed to drag him out on the floor.

"Sure," Heero responded to Duo's query, enjoying the startled but happy smile he received in return. Pulling Duo into his arms, Heero had to consciously remind himself to take things slow. 'Holding him like this feels so very right. All I really want to do is pull him so close that we touch from head to toe and never let go...'

Held in Heero's arms and with the implied promise of more time spent in that fashion, Duo was fighting a losing battle against his traitorous body. It wanted to sink into Heero's arms and melt against him, making the most of the moment in case this was the most he would ever have from Heero. But Noin's warning lingered in his mind. If he *did* meld himself to Heero, would Wufei interpret that as acceptance of Heero and rejection of him? Where did he draw the line between encouragement and making his choice final? Where would *they* draw the line? Duo suddenly felt like he was walking Trowa's tightrope at the circus. The slightest wrong move could lead to disaster.

Basking in the wonderful feeling of having Duo in his arms, Heero realized once again just how much he had missed the many casual touches Duo used to give him in a day. He had taken them for granted at the time, only missing them when it was too late, when he had pushed Duo away one time too many. It wasn't just the flirtatious touches that he missed, either. Sure, he missed Duo leaning over his shoulder, shirtless, and speaking to him in a husky voice, breath tickling Heero's ear. But he also missed the friendly clap on the
back after a basketball game. Heero knew he needed to tell Duo all of those things. However he also knew that this was not the time or the place. That would have to wait until they had some privacy. Generous
and forgiving as Duo was, Heero expected his explanations and apologies to be accepted. But not necessarily without a little shouting along the way. Particularly because he had spent so long waiting in hope of Duo making a second attempt rather than approaching Duo himself.

As the dance ended, Heero reluctantly released Duo. The next dance belonged to Wufei. Who wasted no time in claiming it.

Duo offered Wufei a slight smile as the change of partners took place. "Thank you," he told Heero before the blue-eyed boy walked away. Then Duo turned his attention to Wufei.

As Wufei pulled Duo into his arms for their first dance together, he wanted nothing more than to crush the other boy against him tightly. It had been so long since he'd had the opportunity to touch him... But he was uncertain how Duo would react to being pulled too close. It would be presumptuous in the extreme to assume such a gesture would be welcomed after how vehemently he had rejected even the most casual
contact from Duo in the past.

Much as he dreaded bringing up the subject, Wufei knew that he owed Duo an explanation for his disgraceful behaviour back then. This, however, was neither the time nor the place for such a discussion.
The opportunity would, in fact, probably not arise until his first day alone with Duo. Which might be just as well, since he had yet to figure out how to explain his behaviour without sounding as if he was excusing it. There really *was* no excuse for it. There were any number of ways that he could have *politely* discouraged Duo had he genuinely not been interested, and an equally large number of ways that he could have explained that - while not uninterested - he was not currently prepared to begin a relationship. As it was, his behaviour had been thoroughly unbecoming a member of the Dragon clan.

Duo was uncertain whether to be glad or disappointed that both Heero and Wufei had maintained a very formal distance while dancing with him. Both of them had also passed their dance in almost complete
silence. While Duo certainly did not want to launch an in-depth discussion of their past behaviour or present intentions in such a public setting, a little light social conversation would have been nice. If they were waiting for *him* to start a conversation, they would be waiting a long time. Neither of them had ever been willing
to listen before, let alone carry on an actual conversation with him, and petty though it was, he was determined not to be the first to start talking now. If one of them started a conversation and showed
signs of being interested in what he had to say, then he would talk. Otherwise - well, it would be a hell of a quiet week.

As the evening wore on, Duo realized with a mixture of amusement and dismay that he was apparently not going to get a chance to dance with anyone else. After each dance, either Heero or Wufei was right there
waiting to claim him from the other for the next one. He was pretty sure he had seen a few people start to approach to cut in, only to meet either Heero's death-glare or Wufei's haughty, intimidating glare and turn away again. When Zechs came up to them on the dance floor and asked to cut in, Wufei's sharp answer of "No" was the last straw.

Gracefully disentangling himself from Wufei's hold, Duo said quickly, "Yes, of course." Ignoring Wufei's sputtering protest, Zechs swept Duo into his arms - rather more closely than either of his previous partners - and spun them out into the midst of the crowded ballroom floor.

"You're letting them walk all over you," Zechs warned Duo as they danced. "They're both possessive as hell. Do you really want to let them get away with it? Keep in mind that you could very well be setting the ground rules for your future here."

Duo hesitated. On one hand, it was nice to know that they wanted him that badly. *Belonging* was a feeling that he craved all the more for having so little experience with it. None of the potential adoptive families he had been sent to while at the orphanage had ever wanted to keep him, so the knowledge that both Heero and Wufei wanted him to belong to them was extremely enticing. On the other hand, he was his own person and even if they were actually *in* a relationship with him - which neither of them *was* as of yet, nor had either of them openly indicated to *him* that they even *wanted* such a thing - he had no intention of letting them control his every move. While a *mutual* belonging - "he's mine and I'm his" would be wonderful and welcomed, he was *not* about to be treated as a possession. "No," he answered decisively. "Mind if I borrow Noin for the next dance?"

"Not at all," Zechs grinned. "But you'll have to ask *her* to be sure - I wouldn't *dare* answer on her behalf!"

"Smart man," Duo commented drily.

***

Several dances later, Heero and Wufei watched from the sidelines in dismay as Trowa handed Quatre over to Cathy and stepped into Duo's arms for the next dance.

"Dammit, Chang, why did you have to go and answer *for* him?" Heero grumbled discontentedly. He was all the more displeased because Relena and Dorothy had each dragged him onto the floor for one dance.
He had intended to only dance with Duo all evening. Now it was starting to look as if he'd be fortunate to get even *one* more dance with him.

"I can't help it if Merquise wouldn't back off with just a glare," Wufei protested. "And he was the *last* person I wanted claiming Duo for a dance."

"It still would have been better than answering for him," Heero said, shaking his head slightly. Duo was too independent to let that pass. "But then I guess we *were* both being a bit..."

"Possessive? Overbearing? Pushy?" a voice offered from behind them.

"Merquise," Wufei snarled as he turned to face the voice's owner.

"Chang," Zechs responded mockingly. "You and Yuy were acting like complete assholes. Didn't it occur to you that Duo might like to dance with some of his other friends? You don't see Trowa or Quatre death-glaring anyone who tries to cut in on *their* dances, do you? No, of course not. *They* have a healthy relationship. None of this nonsense of 'mine' without even asking the one you're claiming if they *want* to be claimed." Shaking his head, the tall blond advised them succinctly, "Grow up." Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away.

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Chapter 8

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