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" Headlines"Written By: Dùlin Fic #2 In the Thirty Kisses Arc Archive: This arc is archived on this site with permission. Do not reproduce it anywhere without permission. Pairing : D+4, mentions of 1x4x1 and DxR Theme : #2 – News Rating : PG-13 Warnings : Post-EW (around AC 202), mentions of Yuri and Yaoi, fluff … Disclaimer : Those yummy boys belong to Sunrise and Bandai. Which are not me. Dedicated to my Cozz !
" Headlines"
AC 202, L4 colony cluster The vidphone on Quatre’s desk rang in spite of the fact that Quatre had given orders that he didn’t want to be disturbed. The blond tycoon frowned at the machine, then sighed and almost dropped the report he had been trying to read on his desk. If the phone was ringing, it meant that the person calling had his personal number. And not a lot of people had that number. He decided to take the call. Some distraction, any distraction would be welcome right now. It was kind of difficult to concentrate on anything when you knew you would be going home to an empty bed for a while. “Hello ?” “Quatre, darling, it’s a pleasure to see that you still know how to use that ringing thing on your desk !” “Good afternoon to you too, Dorothy”, Quatre said with a grin. “It’s been a long time.” “Well, you know, that ringing thing works both ways. You can use yours to make mine ring, occasionally.” Quatre couldn’t help laughing. To his own surprise, he had developed quite a close friendship with Dorothy. Once he had gotten over the ‘she ran me through with a sword’ phase, he had discovered an intelligent girl who could use sharp words as well as sharp swords. Being Relena’s assistant fulfilled her need for action in the high spheres of politics and satisfied her ambitions, at least for the moment. And she and Quatre now loved to engage in fiery, passionate debates over any kind of subject. “If you expect me to apologize for not calling you every day …” “Oh, I most certainly wouldn’t dream of it, sweetheart. I was just wondering if you had seen the headlines today.” Quatre frowned. “You’re calling me to ask if I read the newspaper this morning ?” “Why, yes”, Dorothy answered with a far too innocent look on her face. Quatre knew that look. He had worn it so many times that he would have recognized it anywhere. “Well, I did.” “I’m not talking about the ‘L4 Financial Times’, Quatre honey. And if that is the only thing you read in the morning, no wonder Heero …” “Dorothy”, Quatre interrupted firmly. “What do you want ?” She smiled at him very sweetly. “Just open the last issue of ‘Famous’, sweetie.” Quatre blinked. “I don’t read ‘Famous’, Dorothy.” Quatre had to give her that, she actually managed to look genuinely surprised. “Why not ?”, she asked mock-indignantly. “Because I don’t see the point in reading weekly gossip about people I know, especially when I know it’s not true”, Quatre explained patiently. “That’s such a petty reason for not reading weekly gossip, Quatre”, Dorothy laughed. “Just open it.” “I just told you I don’t read that piece of crap, Dorothy”, Quatre insisted, a bit irritated. “And where would I find it anyway ?” “It’s on your desk, honey. And if it weren’t I would trust the fact that you know where normal people buy newspapers, right ?” “What do you mean it’s on my desk ?”, Quatre asked, staring at the vidphone’s monitor incredulously. He rummaged through the papers scattered there until he found a heavy glossy magazine still in its wrapping. And there was his name and address on it. “Dorothy, what did you do ?”, Quatre asked menacingly, almost baring his teeth at the blonde girl. “I got you a subscription. Now open it.” “Why should I ?”, Quatre protested, still looking decidedly unhappy. “Because if you don’t I’ll nag you. Plus, I paid two years full in advance for that, and an extra to make sure that issue was delivered to you as soon as it would be printed. Don’t I deserve some thanks for that ?” “I fail to see the link between you getting me a subscription to ‘Famous’ and me thanking you, Dorothy.” “That’s because you haven’t opened it yet”, she answered right away, shooting him a meaningful look. With a sigh, Quatre gave in and tore the plastic wrapping around the magazine. If Dorothy wanted him to look at something, he knew he wouldn’t have any peace until he would have looked at it. It was in those occasions that he understood why his friends were wary of him when he asked something with his sweetest smile and shiny eyes. Sometimes, he was wondering if Dorothy wasn’t some sort of karmic revenge for all the times he had used his looks to get his way. Or, the cover of this week’s issue of ‘Famous’ was some karmic revenge for something really bad that he had no idea he had done, he thought. It was a picture of Heero and Relena. They were sitting in a restaurant, looking deep into each other’s eyes. Relena had her hand on Heero’s, and there was a close-up on the gold band on Heero’s ring finger. The headline spelled ‘Perfect Romance ?’ in big pinkish letters across the cover. Add to that the small comment just below the close-up that read ‘The Yuy-Peacecraft secret match’, and you had the reason why Quatre never bothered to read that kind of thing. “It’s getting worse”, he said a bit flatly to Dorothy as he finally looked at her again. “And it’s getting a bit old.” “You don’t say. I think it’s very amusing.” “No wonder you do. But honestly, Heero will be pissed when he finds out.” “I think ‘pissed’ is quite the understatement, Quatre dear.” “Yeah, well, you’re not the one who has to deal with it, lucky you. Tell me again why he has to volunteer for guard duty every time he hears she’s going anywhere that’s more than fifty miles away from the Sank Royal Palace ?” “Just read the article, honey. It’s all in it, their hidden romance, the way that had to conceal their forbidden love from prying eyes … Seriously, if Heero is messing with my girl, I will be pissed, Quatre. And that’s an understatement.” “If your girl is messing with my husband, I will be far more than pissed, Dorothy.” They grinned widely at each other. “I think it’s high time I made an honest woman out of my girlfriend, don’t you think, Quatre ?” “Most definitely”, Quatre agreed. “Then the papers can have glossy speculations about our double dates and all.” “It’s going to be great ! You will be my best man, won’t you ?” Quatre stared at her, mouth gaping. “Dorothy, are you quite sure that you want me to be your best man ?” “I insist.” She was smiling, a quiet smile that rarely graced her face when Relena was not around. “Well, if you insist … It’s an honor, Dorothy, and I accept.” “Thanks, it makes it easier, since Relena already asked Heero to be hers.” “What ?” “What did you think they were doing in that restaurant, honey ? Well, I have to go. You give a kiss to Heero from me, okay ?” “Same to Relena”, Quatre answered a bit dazed, before hanging up. He shook his head, and his gaze fell on the gaudy cover of the magazine. The picture was grainy, but he traced the outline of Heero’s face on it with a finger nonetheless, before rolling the magazine and throwing it in the trash can where the wrapping already was. Then, he picked up his phone again. “Hello, I’d like to speak to Agent Yuy please … Yes, it’s important … Thank you. Heero ? It’s Quatre. I just got good news …” OWARI |
