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"The First Five Times"Written By: Clara Barton Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. The following
is an intellectual exercise with no intention of profit. That said,
these characterizations, words, and situations are mine. Please ask
before reprinting. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: angst, language, sexy times Pairings: 3x2/2x3, 1x5, past 2x5 Summary: After five months in a 'friends with benefits' relationship with Duo, Trowa is asked to pretend to be his boyfriend for Duo's ex's wedding. A/N: For Crafty Companion, who requested a few
text posts using 3x2. I decided to combine all of them into one fic,
which you maybe intended anyway? ( (text): .a bottle of vodka. My
place. now,(text) pants optional,(text) wanna be my plus one for my
ex's wedding? And pretend to be in love with me?).
"The First Five Times"
Chapter Five Ironically, I had been to a wedding before as a fake boyfriend. One of my regulars, who visited the club and made use of my private services, had asked me to go with him to his sister's wedding two years ago. Apparently, his ex-wife was friends with the groom and he wanted to rub her face in the fact that he had come out. Of course, she hadn't even shown up to the wedding, and the entire afternoon had been a tedious series of greetings and me covertly checking my phone to see just how much longer it would last. Maybe I should start advertising that as one of my services - stripper, prostitute, fake boyfriend for hire. Not that Duo had hired me, and I really didn't want to associate him with any of that. And, of course, there was the glaring reality that I wanted, very much, to be his real boyfriend. I had the mildest of hangovers Saturday morning, and I had no problem letting Duo make me breakfast and, smirking, insist on feeding it to me in an imitation of what I had done for him the other night. I could tell, from the way he kept biting his lower lip, that he was uneasy about his confession from the night before, that he was worried I had decided to judge him for it after all. "Duo." He lifted an eyebrow, his mouth full of food, since he had decided to feed himself every other bite of the omelet he brought me. "You owe me a serious sex marathon after today." His expression smoothed out and he grinned at me. I knew him well enough, after all of these months, to know that if I tried to belabour the point - if I kept insisting he was amazing - he would just dig in his heels and start to doubt my words even more. The best thing to do was to change the subject, to show him I hadn't changed my mind about him at all. He swallowed his food and waggled his eyebrows at me, in the comically suggestive expression that he somehow managed to make look attractive. "Like the kind where I keep you naked in my bed all day? Or the kind where we have sex on every surface in my apartment - not the fucking countertops," he added hastily when my eyes lit up. I smirked and shrugged one shoulder. They both sounded appealing. "Oh, that reminds me," he said, interrupting my decision-making, "one of my kid's parents works for the Dodgers and scored me some tickets for a game next week - it's an afternoon game, think you can make it?" I had to raise an eyebrow. "How the hell does a sex marathon remind you of a patient and baseball?" He grinned and chuckled ruefully. "Oh, just - trading favors or whatever. I saved his kid's life and he got me baseball tickets. You're saving my dignity, so I'm getting you lots of sex." "Right." He gave me a look, which I returned. Predictably, Duo looked away first, grumbled as he stabbed the fork into the last piece of omelet and then held it out to me. I ate it and watched him get up from the bed, wearing only my briefs because they had been the closest. I heard him go into the kitchen and rinse off the plate before putting it into the dishwasher. He came back into the room and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at me, still naked and tangled in his sheets. "We could just skip this whole thing," I suggested, running my right hand down my chest and abs before giving my soft cock a lazy tug, "and start the sex marathon right now." "That's tempting," he sighed, and then scrubbed his eyes with his palms, "but I... It's something I want to do. Well, I don't fucking want to do it. But I feel like I need to, if that makes sense?" It didn't - if I was in his place, I would have wanted nothing to do with Heero and Fei ever again. But this was Duo. Of course Duo couldn't just turn his back and make a clean break. I shrugged and then held out my hand. He crossed over to the bed and took it, and smiled softly as he looked down at our hands, his skin so pale compared to mine. "You did this - it's one of the only things I remember, except for how much it fucking hurt. When I got shot? You held my hand and kept telling me how fucking stupid I was." "You were," I grumbled, and tugged until he crawled into my lap. I let go of his hand and ran my fingers over the still-pink scar several inches above his left hip. He wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed my forehead. "We should get moving," he said eventually. "You still need to go back to your place and get your suit, and-" "A suit? You never said anything about me having to wear a suit." He looked down at me, incredulous, and then shook his head when he saw my smirk. "I've never seen you in a suit," he said, a gleam coming into his eyes. "I've never seen you in a suit," I pointed out. He chuckled and got off my lap, standing beside the bed and stretching. I looked him over, and it was very difficult to resist the urge to just pull him back to me. "Just think of all the fun we'll have tonight getting out of the suits," he said, noticing my attention. That was something I could look forward, to, at least, and I comforted myself with that thought as I finally got out of the bed and dressed, forgoing my underwear. I kissed him as I left, just an absent-minded brush of my lips over his as I stuffed my wallet into my back pocket and then let myself out. It was still early, so I didn't encounter much traffic on the drive back to my apartment, which meant I had the time to take a long, leisurely shower. We had never gotten around to it, last night - by the time Duo had dragged us out of his bed, we had had only enough time to pull on clean clothes, for me to try and fail to do something about my hair and wipe the semen off my stomach. I hadn't complained then, but it felt good to finally shower now, and by the time I finished, my hangover had faded. I put on coffee to brew as I dealt with my hair and dressed in the suit I had laid out two days ago, just to make sure it was wrinkle-free. It was navy, and I paired it with a white dress shirt and a sage green tie. Duo had mentioned the wedding was at a country club, and I wasn't sure how formal or informal this would be. I had a mental image of the rest of the guests in khakis and blazers, and Duo and I, walking in wearing suits, drawing the attention of everyone else. Whatever. I was used to being looked at, and if Duo was going to wear a suit, I would too. By the time I finished my coffee, Duo arrived at my apartment, and I had to smirk as I opened the door and looked at him. He looked good, of course, his slim-cut suit sculpted to his body perfectly. But he also looked like he was going to a funeral - the suit was black, as was his tie, and I was sure that, had this been an evening wedding instead of an afternoon one, he would have worn a black dress shirt as well. It amused me, but it also reminded me of how much this was going to hurt for Duo - and, by extension, for me. I knew it was too much to hope that he could just get over them and think about me. Heero was his childhood friend, and Fei - Fei had been there for some of the worst parts of Duo's life, had stood beside him and loved him, and then left him and taken Heero with him. That wasn't something Duo could just get over. "Nice suit," he said, reaching out to tweak my tie. I smoothed it back down and grabbed my keys, locking the door behind us as I followed him to his car. "Yours too," I told him, admiring the way the trousers clung to his ass when he put his hands in the side pockets. "It'll look better off, though," I decided. He smirked at me over his shoulder, and I smirked back. We were, unfortunately and predictably, stuck in traffic. It was one of the things I despised about LA, and one of the things that I had never been able to get used to. Duo, on the other hand, seemed perfectly content to lean back in his seat, drum his fingers on the steering wheel in time to a song on the radio, and creep along at five miles an hour. By the time we arrived at the country club, the ceremony had already begun, and I could not bring myself to regret missing out on the first ten minutes of it. We squeezed into seats in the back row of the chairs that had been spread out on a lawn overlooking a water feature of the golf course, and, as I had imagined, most of the guests were in khakis and blazers or sundresses. They all looked so dull, and I wondered how many of these people had been Duo's friends - wondered if he had been like them, before. He sure as hell wasn't now. I also had to wonder what kind of person wanted to get married beside a golf course, and how Duo had ever dated - or been friends - with someone like that. I looked to the front, where two dark haired men in slate grey suits stood in front of a dark robed minister of some kind. One of the men had long, black hair loose around his shoulders, and standing to his right was a tall, attractive asian woman in a lavender dress who looked vaguely familiar. Standing beside the other man, on his left, was a blonde haired woman in the same style of dress. I found it interesting that neither had best men - but then, Duo probably would have been Heero's, whichever he was. I also had to wonder what their bachelor parties had been like. Beside me, Duo's eyes were riveted on the two men, his lips slightly parted, his expression unreadable. I found myself watching him, as the ceremony droned on, looking for reactions to the words being spoken by the two men to each other. He closed his eyes when Heero said his vows, and I watched his throat work with the effort to swallow back his emotions before he was able to open his eyes again. And even then, there was a shimmer to the violet that made me reach out and take his hand in mine. He looked over at me, startled, but then offered me a weak, grateful smile and squeezed my hand before letting go. He sat up straighter in his chair as the other groom started to speak. As Wufei Chang accepted Heero Yuy to be his- I looked away from Duo, my gaze drawn to the profile of the man speaking, and I felt my stomach plummet to the ground. Holy shit. No. But it was. It was Wufei - and the woman beside him, I now realized, was Meilin. The woman who had hired me to strip at her cousin's bachelor party. No fucking way. This could not be happening. I had encountered clients in public before - regulars from the club once or twice, who had blushed and looked away; and the men who paid to fuck me, or have me fuck them. It was always awkward, always involved both of us being embarrassed, and usually me doing my best to avoid coming into physical contact with them and looking away until the encounter ended. Once a man had been in line ahead of me, at the grocery store, with his son and daughter, and had recognized me as the prostitute he had fucked in a hotel room two weeks before, and he had introduced me to his kids as a work friend. But I had never, ever been in a situation like this. As the two men kissed and smiled at each other and started down the aisle, holding hands and looking for all the world like the most content men on the planet, I realized that I was utterly fucked. This wasn't like standing in line or riding the bus or sitting in the waiting room at an office - this was a wedding, and there was still the entire reception to get through. There was virtually no chance that I could get through this without having to meet Wufei. Fei, I thought, angry at myself - angry at Duo for only ever referring to his ex by the nickname, even though it would have meant nothing to me before this week. After the couple passed us by, the guests rose from their chairs and started to talk to each other, and I saw someone head our way. It was the blond haired man from Wufei's party that night. He was smiling at Duo, his entire attention on the other man, and I tried to ease away from his side. "Quatre!" Duo threw his arms around the man and they embraced warmly. "Duo, I'm so glad you came!" Quatre pulled away from the hug far enough to look Duo over. "You're looking well! How have you been?" "Oh, you know, good," Duo shrugged. "What about you? How's work? Still chained to your desk, or has Zechs finally convinced you to take a vacation or two?" Quatre rolled his eyes and was about to respond when he saw me. His smile shifted immediately into a confused frown. Duo followed his gaze to me. "Oh, sorry - Quatre, this is Trowa. Trowa, this is Quatre. I went to school with him - and Heero and Rey." Quatre continued to stare at me, and I felt my face turn red. Duo looked between us, raising his eyebrows in concern. "Guys?" "Sorry," Quatre shook himself and then smiled again. He held out his hand to me and I took it, shaking it cautiously. "How did you two meet?" Quatre asked, not letting go of my hand. "Funny story, that," Duo rubbed at the back of his neck. "I got shot and -" "You got shot?" Quatre dropped my hand, his full attention on Duo and I breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, it was... you know, one of those things." Quatre was scowling, and if I hadn't been so busy trying to formulate a plan to vanish, I would have been scowling as well. Getting shot was not just 'one of those things.' "Duo -" "It was, like, forever ago. And I lived. So, you know, whatever. But I met Trowa and we've been... together," he stumbled a little, looking to me for backup, "ever since." Right. I was his fake boyfriend. I couldn't really be his fake boyfriend and vanish - but if I was recognized as the stripper from his ex's bachelor party, would that really help anything? Duo slid an arm around my waist, and I gave in, draping one arm over his shoulders and pressing my lips against his hair. Quatre stared at us. "Oh. Oh. Wow. That's... well, I can't say that it's great since you were shot, but I'm glad you found each other." "Me too," Duo said. A cluster of sun dress clad women descended on us in that moment, as well as a tall man with long blond hair and Duo steered us immediately in the opposite direction. "Whew. That wasn't so bad, eh? Nice thing with the whole -" Duo gestured at his hair, where I had kissed him. I had done it before, when we were in bed or sitting on the couch or cooking together. It had always felt so natural, such an easy expression of affection and - And how the fuck had I deluded myself into thinking I was fine being friends with benefits for the last five months? "Of course," Duo continued, oblivious to my inner turmoil, "Quatre was like, the easy one. Let's just hope Mei is too busy to fuck with me - and Relena. And... Heero and Fei..." Duo sighed and he looked as miserable as I felt. "You can do this," I assured him, though the words had little effect on me. He could get through this reception - he could get through anything. Me, on the other hand... I was still fucked. The reception was indoors, in a large banquet hall that had been filled with six-person tables spread out to leave a large, open spot for dancing in front of a large, rectangular table set up for the wedding party. Our seats were thankfully near the back of the room, and I found myself praying that the grooms never made it over to us. Of course, prayers work better if you believe in whoever or whatever you're praying to. I almost made it, too. Heero and Wufei made a dramatic entrance and everyone stood and clapped while they had their first dance, then they sat at their table and Meilin and the blonde haired woman, Rey, Duo whispered to me, made speeches that had most of the crowd laughing, but just had me wondering how Duo had fit in with these people. Actually, I could easily see him and Meilin as friends - it was the country club set, Heero's friends and family, that really threw me. Meilin, though, spent her entire speech relating embarrassing stories about Wufei, a few about Heero, and one that I was positive Duo had told me already. She was sassy and clever - definitely Duo's type of person. After the toasts the buffet tables were opened up and music turned on and the guests began to mingle on the dance floor or in the buffet line and I wondered if I could suggest to Duo that we make an early night of it. But just as I was leaning over to suggest that very thing, Wufei and Heero walked up to our table. Duo's eyes narrowed and his hands clenched into fists under the table as they approached. I looked at them, at Heero, for the first time, and Wufei, for the second. And I finally let myself picture Duo and Wufei together. Heero and Wufei made a good couple, there was no denying it. They seemed relaxed in each other's presence, their bodies turned towards each other in the way that some couples do. But I could so very easily see Duo and Wufei standing side by side - they would be gorgeous together, and I had no doubt that Duo would tease Wufei out of his stick in the mud attitude that Meilin had hinted at. And Wufei, of course, had been there by Duo's side during the early days of his recovery. Why, I had to wonder yet again, had things ended between them? Of course, my curiosity about that was nothing compared to my abject fear when Wufei's dark gaze swept over me. He stopped dead, two steps from our table, and Heero stumbled into him. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, his face turning an interesting shade as his features screwed up into a grimace. "He's my date," Duo spoke up after a moment, when I didn't. When I couldn't. "Your date?" Wufei turned his gaze from me to Duo. "Yeah, the invitation said I could have a plus one and -" "You brought a stripper as your date to my wedding?" To call the silence that fell after that question awkward would have been the understatement of the century. Maybe the millenia. Heero looked over at me, his blue eyes narrowed, and it was clear Wufei had related the events of his bachelor party to his now-husband. While part of me appreciated that they had that kind of relationship, a bigger part of me was irritated that even more people knew - people who weren't Duo. Yet. Because there was no way he wasn't about to realize it. "You -" Wufei ran a hand over his face and shook his head while giving an exasperated sigh. "You paid him to be your date. Duo, I cannot believe you had to -" "I didn't pay him to be anything, Fei. He's my fucking boyfriend." It was clear, from both Heero and Wufei's expressions, that they thought Duo was lying. I was pretty certain kissing the top of Duo's head wouldn't convince these two in the same way it had convinced Quatre - and it definitely wouldn't deal with the fact that Wufei had outed me. "You're dating a stripper," Wufei phrased it as a statement, but it was dripping with sarcasm. I decided that, everything else aside, I did not care for the way Wufei talked to Duo - as if he expected the worst from him. I had to wonder how the hell he had been Duo's sponsor, how the hell Duo had managed to get sober in the face of so much doubt and disapproval. "You kinda lost the right to care about who I date a long time ago," Duo said, his voice tight. I saw the words have an impact on Heero, more so than Wufei. He looked away from me, at last, and I saw his shoulders slump slightly. So he, at least, regretted losing Duo's friendship. "But are you actually dating him or -" Duo stood up from his chair, reaching down to grab my hand and haul me to my feet. "Congrats and all that shit. Hope you two are happy forever. My presents on the pile with all of the other crap - silver wrapping paper because they were fresh out of the fuck you novelty paper." And with that, Duo turned on his heel and walked away, dragging me after him. He was silent as stormed through the country club, past waiters and golfers and a wide eyed Quatre. He remained silent while we waited for the valet to retrieve his car, and once we were in the car he glared silently ahead as he navigated traffic. It wasn't until he parked in front of my apartment that he spoke up, and even though I had known it was coming, I still found myself wincing at his tone. "What the fuck was Wufei talking about when he called you a stripper? And why did Quatre recognize you?" I figured I should treat this like pulling off a bandaid. Just... say it all at once. I also figured I shouldn't look at him while I said it, because I really, really didn't want to see the judgement in his eyes. "I am a stripper. I lied when I told you I tended bar at Exiles. I strip there. And I work for Hollywood Strippers - Meilin hired me for Wufei's bachelor party, which is where I met Quatre. And her. And Wufei. Obviously." "Obviously," he agreed, his voice so empty of emotion it was hard to believe it was his voice. We sat in silence, until I finally worked up the courage to finish pulling off the bandaid. "I'm also a prostitute." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him turn to stare at me in horror. "You - you and Wufei -" "No!" I turned and shook my head. "No. It was just - I only stripped, for him. That's all it was." Some of the distress eased from his face, but not all. "You... never told me," he stated the obvious. "Were you going to?" That question cut me deep, and I took too long trying to come up with a response that he wouldn't hold against me. "Right," he let out a shaky laugh and ran a hand through his bangs. "Well, fuck. Ha. I mean - nevermind. Jesus fucking Christ, Trowa!" The anger in his voice, the betrayal, had me lashing out. "You never told me, about your -" "That is not the same fucking thing!" He said, his voice savage. He was right to be upset at that tactic. He was also right. It wasn't the same thing. He had had a dangerous habit that could have killed him - that did kill his brother. This was my job. "I don't do that shit anymore! So unless you... gave up sex work in the last few days, then -" "Give it up? It's my job." We stared at each other, both of us angry now, both of us so far from agreement that I knew it was only going to get worse. Eventually, Duo swallowed and looked away. "I should go." Which meant I should get the hell out of his car. I did, hesitating to close the door, and I heard him sigh. "I'll - I'll call you or..." he trailed off, and I knew it was because he didn't want to lie to me. "Don't bother," I bit out, and slammed the car door shut. He drove off, leaving me standing alone and glaring after him, and I couldn't decide which of us I was more pissed at. -o- ~ * ~ |
