|
"A Little Less Normal"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.
Warnings: AU, Yaoi, Lemon, Language, Angst, Romance Pairings: 3x2, 1x5, past 3x4 Summary: Trowa Barton starts a new job and intends to start a new life, free of complications like falling in love with your boss. But life doesn't go as planned, and Trowa struggles to find balance between work, love, and handsome strangers. A/N: This fic will feature several different pairings - and probably not the ones that you expect after a first glance. This is told in third person POV, but it will switch to different characters with each chapter. While not a crossover, I definitely want to acknowledge that the TV series, "Dirty Sexy Money" and the movie Two Weeks Notice both influenced me to write this. I would appreciate any feedback, whether it be negative or positive, criticism or lavish praise. Lavish praise preferred.
"A Little Less Normal "
When Trowa arrived at his office at seven on Friday morning, he wasn't surprised to see that his desk phone was blinking red, showing unheard voice mail. He sat down and listened to them. The first was a pleasant surprise. "Hope work is going well. I promise not to bother you on this number often – but I wanted to let you know that I will be in town next month for a gala at the MET and for a few meetings. We should catch up." Quatre's voice had definitely been a nice way to start off his day, but the next message had erased whatever positive feelings Trowa had. "This is Wufei Chang. Executor of Odin Yuy's will. I have been informed that you are the…marginally qualified lawyer now representing Heero Yuy. Call me this morning between eight and eight fifteen so we can discuss the details of this afternoon's reading." The man's voice practically oozed disdain. Trowa scowled at the phone and wondered what he could have possibly done to offend someone he had never even met. Trowa next checked his email, completely unsurprised to see the half dozen emails from Heero, each with a different subject line and a different set of questions and directives. It took Trowa until nearly eight to respond back to each of the emails with all of the information Heero had requested. He briefly debated waiting until eight twenty to call Wufei Chang, but decided against it. He had, apparently, already upset the man enough. "Chang here." "This is Trowa Barton." "Yes, I know. My phone – much like any in the modern world – has caller ID." Trowa rolled his eyes and mentally prepared himself for what was sure to be a fantastic conversation. "I'm glad that you called, actually. Mr. Yuy wanted me to discuss the particulars of the reading with you, and –" "You left it a bit late, then, to be calling me this morning," Wufei interrupted. Trowa frowned. "I'm sorry, have we met previously, Mr. Chang? Or is there something I have done to give you such a negative impression of me?" The line was silent for a moment. "Thus far, you have done nothing to provide me with a positive impression. I've seen your resume, and I'm not as impressed with your qualifications or good looks as Mr. Yuy obviously is. If you want my regard, then you will have to work for it." Trowa briefly wondered if it was important for him to have Wufei's regard, but decided that it would definitely not be in his or Heero's best interests if Trowa had Wufei continued to despise him as much as he clearly did. "May I ask what details you wanted to discuss?" Trowa asked, injecting his voice with calm indifference. "I anticipate there being rather…negative reactions to some portions of the will. I have only had the documents released into my custody this morning, and the late Mr. Yuy stipulated that the will was to be fully disclosed only with both of his sons, his wife, and at least two senior board members present. As such, I am unable to give Heero any advance notice of what the will contains." That didn't sound ominous at all, Trowa thought sarcastically. He wondered if Wufei was playing it up for a sense of drama. "Is there any reason to believe that Mr. Yuy will be… displaced?" He asked. Wufei laughed harshly. "Yes, every reason, in fact. But not… not entirely. Mr. Darlian and his daughter will also be present at the reading today, and they will also likely have negative reactions. Assuming, of course, that Heero's reprobate brother manages to drag himself to the reading and we can even do it." Trowa frowned. After a day of hints about the character of Heero's brother, he was immensely curious to meet the man in question. "Was there anything else?" He asked. "No. Just be prepared to do your job, beyond your fullest abilities." Trowa could practically hear the sneer in the other man's voice. "Thank you," he said, ignoring the insult, and hung up the phone before Wufei could respond. Trowa spent the rest of the morning buried in legal paperwork, trying to understand the structure of the board, and examining all of the appointments and demotions that Odin Yuy had made in the months before his death. He wanted to be as prepared as possible to defend Heero and protect him from whatever disaster Wufei was predicting. It was twelve-thirty when he heard a knock on his door. "Enter," he called out, not bothering to look up from the papers in front of him. Sherisse had already stopped by several times with notes from Heero, and he assumed she had returned with yet another. "Have you taken a lunch break yet?" Trowa, startled, looked up at the sound of Heero's voice. "Er, no. I lost track of time." Heero smiled slightly. "Well, as your boss, I insist that you take one." "Now?" Trowa asked. Heero nodded. "With you?" Trowa asked with a slight grin. "I don't insist on that part, but if you would like to…" "Yes, thank you." Trowa packed away his glasses and made a pathetic effort to organize the papers. "What are you working on?" Heero asked as they took the elevator down. "Trying to figure out how your father's mind worked," Trowa admitted. Heero chuckled. "Good luck with that. After thirty one years, I've given up." They left the building and Trowa fell into step beside Heero, wondering where they would go today. "Japanese okay?" Heero asked as he navigated a path through pedestrian traffic. "Okay," Trowa said. "If all goes well today, we should be able to leave the office at three and make it to the house in Southampton by four-thirty for the reading of the will." "Do we think your brother will be on time?" Trowa asked. "I hope he will. Mother is already suffering enough as it is – I'm not sure she could handle dealing with the anxiety from this reading AND his bad manners." "Thomas Darlian and his daughter will also be present?" Trowa phrased it as a question, even though he knew the answer. Heero shuddered. "Yes. Relena. I won't ask you to do this often – but please, please do NOT leave me in a room alone with her. I literally cannot be held responsible for my actions if I am subjected to her attentions for too long." Trowa arched an eyebrow, amused by the break in composure from Heero as he discussed Relena. "Old girlfriend?" He guessed. "She wishes," Heero muttered and shook his head. "She just can't accept that her dream of being Mrs. Heero Yuy is never going to happen." "Oh?" Trowa asked in amusement. Heero nodded miserably. "When she found out I was gay it almost broke her heart. And then she seemed to just…pretend that I wasn't. Or that I was confused. For my twenty-fifth birthday I went into work and she was sitting on my desk, completely naked, a pink bow around her head." Trowa couldn't help but chuckle. "The idea has merit, just not with her as the present," Heero continued. "I'll make a note in my planner to procure a handsome, naked man and a bow for your birthday, then," Trowa joked. Heero looked at him, a smirk on his face. "Hn." "And Thomas Darlian?" "Definitely not an option for my birthday present!" Heero spluttered. "No, I meant in relation to Relena's hopes and dreams." "Oh. He's nurtured them since we were children. He's worked for my father since before I was born, and his dream has been to have Relena marry into this family. " "So he's not your biggest fan, then." "Ah, no." "Why doesn't she try to marry your brother?" Heero was silent for a moment, and then shook his head. "That would be…something to see. I'll have to suggest it next time she starts to go on and on about how beautiful our children would be." They arrived at the restaurant and Heero ushered Trowa inside. Without even speaking with the hostess, Heero led the way to the center of the restaurant, where, on a raised dais, the sushi bar was installed. Trowa paled as they neared and the smell of raw fish assaulted his nose. He should have known, when Heero suggested Japanese, that he hadn't meant cooked Japanese food. They sat and Trowa tried to look away from the glass display cases. He looked down at his hands to avoid the rows of raw fish. And then he realized that the entire bar was actually an aquarium, with goldfish happily swimming over translucent black rocks under his hands. Trowa started to feel nauseated. "Your usual or something new?" One of the sushi chefs asked Heero as he held out menus to the two men. "The usual, please," Heero said and waved away the menu. The chef held one out to Trowa, and he reluctantly accepted it. He glanced through it for a moment, searching for vegetarian options. When the chef came back, Trowa ordered the asparagus roll and the potato roll. "I've been in two different meetings this morning with Senior Vice Presidents who feel that I need to promote Darlian to Vice-Chairman of the board," Heero said. Trowa arched an eyebrow. "He works fast. The will hasn't even been read yet, and he's already making a move to gain more power." Heero shrugged. "I'm not surprised. And… they had a point. If my father actually did name me as Chairman in his will, that leaves the position of Vice-Chairman unfilled." "Which makes it an excellent bargaining tool for breaking Darlian's support on your board," Trowa pointed out. "True. Very true." Heero sighed. "I can't shake the feeling that Odin changed his will in some way to punish me." "Why would he want to punish you?" Trowa asked. Heero barked a harsh laugh. "I can't even begin to list the reasons." Heero shook his head. "None of it matters now." Their food arrived, and Trowa focused his gaze on his own plate, trying to ignore the bright reds and oranges of raw fish on Heero's plate. Mechanically, he forced down his lunch. "Have you spoken with Wufei yet?" Heero asked. Trowa choked on his food. "Yes," he managed, after taking a sip of water. "He, ah, outlined a few concerns about the will." Heero looked amused. "Made a good first impression, huh?" Trowa grimaced. "Not…exactly." "He's a bit much when you first meet him. Well. I suppose that technically you still haven't met him yet." "I'm filled with joy at the prospect of meeting him for real, then," Trowa muttered. Heero chuckled again. "This afternoon I have a few more meetings with board members," Heero said to change the subject. Trowa nodded. "And I've got several more documents I want to look over before the reading." "Excellent. Hopefully we'll be prepared for whatever traps Odin has set for us." The rest of the meal, and the walk back to the office, was spent in a companionable silence. Once back at the office, they parted ways and Trowa buried himself in the paperwork on his desk for the next few hours. When Heero stepped into his office at three, Trowa had packed his briefcase, but left his glasses on, anticipating that Heero might want him to look over something on the drive over to his mother's. Heero smiled slightly when he saw Trowa, and Trowa felt his own lips curving upward in response. "Yes?" He asked, wondering what had put Heero in a good mood. "Nothing. Just – I ah, appreciate how intellectual you look in those glasses." Trowa blinked as he tried to decipher the comment. Was Heero…flirting with him? "Hopefully Wufei Chang will agree with your assessment," Trowa muttered. Heero laughed. "He already does." Trowa filed that information away. They took the elevator down to the garage, and were ushered into the waiting car by Heero's driver. "I received a call from my brother. He's going to be at least half an hour late." Trowa frowned. "All the same, everyone else will be there. So Darlian will use the time to make a case for being named my Vice-Chairman, now that he's sent every last one of his lackey's to me today to plead his case." "Who else are the other potential candidates for the position?" Trowa asked. Heero shrugged. "My mother used to be the Vice-Chair until she resigned and I was appointed. She has the experience, and the investment in the company, after all." "You don't sound thrilled about the idea," Trowa pointed out. "My mother has always been a supporter of Darlian's. I'm not sure giving her that level of authority would be helpful." "Hm. What about other board members?" Heero shook his head in the negative. "No. Too much history with them." "Your brother?" "Definitely not. Knowing him he'd donate the company to some orphanage or lose it in a poker game." "And what about Wufei Chang?" He asked. "If Wufei wasn't Henry Chang's only son, and the Vice Chairman of Chang International, he would be an ideal candidate." "Hm. Then for now, we don't have a likely candidate." "No, not for now." Heero settled back against the seat and slanted a look over at Trowa. "Any chance we can just flee the country instead of attending this?" He asked. Trowa grinned. "And where would we go?" "I'm sure your old boss, Quatre has a private island or two he could loan me." "Yes, well, that still leaves the matter of who would inherit Yuy Inc." Heero groaned. "Fine. We'll stay. But I wasn't kidding about not leaving me alone with Relena." "I have it recorded in my notes as imperative." Heero arched an eyebrow. "Imperative to not leave you alone," Trowa clarified. "Thank you." Heero closed his eyes and Trowa allowed himself to relax back into the seat. He looked Heero over, noting that he had changed since this morning. Before, he had been dressed in a tan suit, but now he wore a black suit, white shirt, and blue tie. It was somber and austere, and yet it only seemed to emphasize Heero's chiseled features and well-defined body. "You're staring at me," Heero said, his eyes still closed. Trowa flushed at having been caught ogling his boss. He tried to think of an explanation for why. "I'm sure the reading won't be as bad as I think it will be. Don't be too concerned." Trowa allowed himself to relax, and he forced his gaze away from Heero. "It's my job to be concerned," he pointed out. "Fair enough." The traffic was light, and they managed to make it to the house just at four-thirty, at least half an hour before Heero anticipated the arrival of his brother. Once inside the enormous mansion, Heero ushered Trowa towards a door off of the main entrance hall. "We'll be meeting in the library," he explained as he opened the door. They were greeted by a room filled with people. Most of them Trowa instantly recognized as lawyers, from their Blackberries and netbooks to their legal pads and expensive, ill fitting suits. Heero walked over to greet an older blonde woman seated on the leather sofa at the center of the room. "Mother," he said and kissed her on the cheek. She accepted the kiss and lifted a hand to smooth Heero's tie. "Your brother called. He will be late." "I know, he called me this afternoon. He had a meeting." "A meeting that couldn't have been rescheduled?" This question came from the Chinese man standing behind the large, mahogany desk that seemed to dominate the room. Trowa was willing to bet that this was Wufei Chang. "Wufei. Please." The Chinese man scowled, but nodded and turned his gaze to Trowa. The scowl became more pronounced. "I presume that you are Trowa Barton." "Yes, a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Chang." Trowa crossed the room and offered his hand. Wufei stared at him, as though contemplating whether or not to soil his hand by touching Trowa. Eventually, he shook Trowa's hand in a brief, excruciatingly tight embrace. "Yes, well, I trust you are at least marginally prepared for this meeting?" Trowa forced himself not to roll his eyes. "Mother, may I introduce Trowa Barton? He's the legal counsel I have hired to assist with the transition and to serve as the new family lawyer." Heero propelled Trowa towards his mother, one hand on his shoulder. Heero gave his shoulder a squeeze before he released him. "Celia Yuy," the woman said and held out a well manicured hand. Trowa shook it gently and gave her a bland smile. He could see where Heero had inherited some of his features – her eyes were the same blue as his, and her lips were also full and wide. "While I hope that you won't need my services often, please know that I am prepared to do whatever I can to assist you and this family," he said. She smiled faintly, as though pleased with what he said. "Would you like a refreshment? Anita can bring you tea, coffee, water." She gestured vaguely to the uniformed maid standing silently by one of the doors leading out of the room. "Water would be wonderful," he said. "I'd like some coffee, please," Heero spoke up behind him. Anita nodded and left the room. "And this is Thomas Darlian, and his daughter, Relena," Heero continued the introductions, gesturing to a brown haired man and a blonde woman who was currently looking at Heero with naked adoration. Trowa glanced at Heero and couldn't help the upward twitch of his lips. Heero rolled his eyes and threw himself into a chair at the antique card table in one corner of the room. Trowa followed him and sat in the chair to his right and started to unpack his laptop and his notepad. Wufei walked over as the room started to hum with low conversation. "Enjoying yourself so far?" Wufei asked casually. Trowa looked up at him. "Yes," he responded. Wufei scowled at the lack of elaboration. "I hope he's doing something to earn his keep aside from looking like a GQ cover model," Wufei muttered. Trowa swallowed back his urge to laugh and remained silent. "Yes, he is. Oddly enough, he's every bit as competent and qualified as I knew he would be." Heero said with an arch look. Wufei glared at Trowa. "Wufei. How is Meilin?" The glare was transferred to Heero. "She's doing wonderfully. Burning through money and refusing to let Zhu Li live with me. Thank you for inquiring." Wufei stormed off. "That's a handy trick," Trowa muttered. Heero gave Trowa a half smile and then thanked Anita as she deposited their drinks at the table. "Who are Meilin and Zhu Li?" Trowa asked. "His ex-wife and their daughter. Meilin currently lives in… I think it's Lisbon at the moment. She has full custody of Zhu Li, so, even though she moves around every two or three months, Zhu Li hasn't seen Wufei in two years and hasn't been enrolled in the same school for an entire semester since she last lived in New York City." Trowa winced, feeling a slight pang of sympathy for the prickly Chinese man. Then again, he certainly couldn't blame Meilin for keeping herself and her daughter away from Wufei. "Relena doesn't seem too bad," Trowa said. Heero gave him a patronizing look and then groaned as he looked past Trowa. "You summoned her," Heero accused as Relena rose from her seat beside her father and crossed the room. She sat down on the other side of Heero. "Oh, Heero, is there anything I can do for you? During this difficult time?" She reached out and wrapped her hands around Heero's right hand. "Relena, I'm in the middle of discussing an important matter with Trowa, perhaps –" "Oh, of course. How silly of me. I haven't even properly introduced myself." She freed one of her hands and held it out to Trowa. "I'm Relena Darlian. I'm so happy that Heero has someone he can rely on to support him as his lawyer. In fact, Daddy and I were just speaking about you. Didn't you work for Quatre Winner?" Trowa shook her hand and then nodded. "Yes, I did." "Oh, that's lovely. Daddy was just saying that he wanted to schedule a meeting with you. Perhaps you could take this time to speak with him?" She smiled widely and made it clear that he was dismissed. "I'm sorry, Ms. Darlian, but Mr. Yuy and I really are in the middle of a sensitive discussion. I will be happy to arrange a meeting with your father after the reading." Relena's smile faltered slightly and then froze. "Of course." She stood and leaned in to kiss Heero on the mouth. "Remember, Heero, anything you need." She walked off and Heero let out a breath. "Thank you," he said. "No thanks needed. It's my job." Heero smiled faintly. "No, managing Relena is definitely not in your job description. If it was, I'd be paying you a lot more than I currently am." "In that case, I might need to re-negotiate my contract," Trowa said with a smirk. Heero shook his head and was about to speak when Trowa's phone started to ring. He frowned and was about to decline the call, when Heero spoke up. "Answer it, we've still got time before this will start in any case," Heero said. "Thank you. I'll only be a minute." Trowa stood and left the room. He answered the call as he closed the library door behind himself. "Trowa Barton." "If you ever want to see your suit again, you'll be at McClaren's tonight at nine." Trowa rolled his eyes at Duo's attempt to sound menacing. "I'm fine, thanks for asking, hard day at work, but productive. What am I doing later? Sure, it would be nice to go out for a drink later." He said, ignoring Duo's threat entirely. Duo chuckled. "See how boring that is? My way is much more entertaining." "Much more crazy," Trowa corrected. "Anyway, my bad day is about to reach world record shitty in the next ten minutes, so it would be nice if I have something to look forward to tonight." Trowa almost asked what was bothering Duo, but he heard a car pull up outside of the house. "I've got to get back to work." "But we're on for tonight? Nine? McClaren's?" "Sure," Trowa agreed and hung up the phone. A moment later, the front door opened. Trowa prepared himself to meet Heero's brother. Duo Maxwell walked in.
~ * ~ tbc... |
