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"Chances"Written By: Honor Disclaimers: Ain’t mine. Ain’t gonna
be mine. I’ve just permanently borrowed them, no worries! Warnings: No spoilers, no timeline. AU, Romance,
lemon, some language (not much) Rating: NC-17 (maybe) Pairings: 2x1, 3x4 and 5xM established Author’s Notes: Drumroll, please! *crickets
chirp* Ah, yeah…anyway, here is the sequel to Take a Chance.
To all of those beautiful, wonderful people who C&Cd me, arigato!
*huggles* I truly appreciate it. If you wish to do the same to Chances,
I’m certainly not going to complain! And now, Lights! Camera!
Action! *emphasis* //phone conversations// " Chances"
Chapter Eight: Unconditional Man cannot obtain anything without first sacrificing
something. In order to obtain anything something of equal value is
required.
Quatre wasn’t about to go to that land of wonder. Heero had already tried—and failed—to wake the sleeping boy in his bed. And since it was Quatre who kept insisting that Duo needed to be up, the Japanese teen had handed the challenge over to him. Now Quatre was staring down at Duo in growing frustration. He had tried shaking, yelling, ice cubes down his back, and bouncing on the bed. There had been no effect. Not even a twitch. Not willing to go back downstairs in defeat and facing Heero’s ‘I told you so’ Quatre sat on the edge and pondered the problem. After a moment inspiration hit, he flew back downstairs, then returned with a carefully borne cup of steaming coffee. Like a matron delivering smelling salts to a wilted debutante, Quatre wafted the smell in front of Duo’s nose. It took a few seconds, but gradually Duo stirred. “Uhhh.” Quatre took this as a positive sign. “Duo, I have a cup of coffee. You have to sit up though to drink it.” “Cof—e?” “Yes, Duo. Coffee.” There was this dazed smile sketched on Duo’s face as he stirred slightly. With help from Quatre he managed to sit halfway up and accept the mug. Three mouthfuls of the blessed liquid later, he cracked open one eye. “Q?” Quatre was happy to see something approaching intelligence on his friend’s face. “Yes Duo.” “What’s on your head?” Quatre blinked at him for a moment, the question not registering. Then he sighed. This morning he hadn’t had time to do anything more than throw on some clothes before coming over. Heero’s voice on the phone had demanded speed. Because of that he had pulled a cap on to hide his disheveled hair. “It’s called a hat, Duo.” “Uh.” Duo apparently needed more liquid intelligence to compute that anomaly. He drank another sip from his mug, eyes fastened on the baseball cap. “You don’t wear hats.” “That is a false assumption, considering that I’m sitting on Heero’s bed wearing one. Are you in any shape to move now?” “Ah. Um.” Duo drained the mug, eyes more alert. “Yeah, I think so.” “There’s more coffee in the kitchen.” Just in case that failed to tempt Duo away from the warm bed, Quatre added casually “And Trowa is in the middle of cooking breakfast.” “Really?” Duo perked right up, nose moving like a bloodhound following the scent of steak. “What did you have to promise him in order to get him in the kitchen?” “Several exotic favors that includes chocolate, whip cream, and handcuffs. Get moving. I want my French toast.” Duo bumbled his way out of bed, his body still adjusting to the concept of moving this early in the morning, and threw on a pair of jeans that Quatre tossed him. He had them pulled on and was buttoning the top button when it hit him that the jeans fit a little too well. “Q…are these yours?” “Yes, they are. I thought that Heero and Trowa’s things would be a little too big for you.” Quatre rolled his eyes. “I’ve borrowed things from them before. I always feel like a kid because I have to roll up the cuffs so much.” Duo nodded wryly. “Gotcha. Thanks, man.” He threw on the shirt Quatre handed him as well, beginning to feel somewhat human. “Not a problem.” Quatre led the way downstairs, Duo close behind. The tantalizing smell of French toast, eggs, and coffee wafted throughout the first floor of the house. Duo followed them in a trance, smiling slightly. Heero looked up, eyes softening when he saw Duo come in. “Sit.” Duo obeyed the gesture gladly, eyes fastening on the plate of French toast that Trowa was carting in their direction. Without missing a beat he loaded up four slices onto his plate, poured syrup over it, then bowed his head in the fastest recital of the Lord’s Grace that he had ever uttered in his life. When the first bite hit his taste buds, Duo slumped a little in pleasure. Dreamily he looked across the table at the tall teen sitting there. “Tro…will you marry me?” Trowa almost spit out the orange juice in his mouth. When he managed to swallow it down, he was forced to swallow down his laughter as well. “Duo, as tempted as I am by that offer, there are at least two people that would kill me. And they’re both sitting at this table.” Heero eyed his brother in annoyance, then his boyfriend. “Besides,” Quatre added calmly, rather entertained by the glare Heero was using, “Heero is just as good a cook. You just have to bribe him into it.” Duo popped another forkful into his mouth, chewing and looking at Heero thoughtfully. “Is that so? Hm…” Scooting closer he popped his chin on his hand, elbow on the table, and smiled innocently at Heero. “So, lover-boy…what sexual favors do I need to promise you in order to get food?” Heero eyed him sideways, fighting a smile. “Are you usually this fickle?” “Yup. I’m an erratic little butterfly.” Heero closed the remaining distance between them, tracing the edge of Duo’s jaw lightly with two fingers. “Give me a promise of fidelity and promise to call me Master, and I’ll cook whenever you ask.” Duo grinned a little. Bantering around with Heero was fun. Meekly he let his eyes drop. “Yes, Master.” “Ah…guys?” Quatre was sitting in his chair, taking in this scene with a mixture of feelings that he couldn’t begin to untangle. “Do Trowa and I need to go somewhere else to finish breakfast?” Heero ignored the question for a moment so that he could run a light kiss over Duo’s mouth. Then he pulled back and gave a pointed stare in Quatre’s direction. “I hope you now understand exactly what I’ve been putting up with the past year.” Quatre blinked. He and Trowa shared a look of dawning comprehension. “Oh.” Trowa shrugged slightly, giving his brother an apologetic look. “Sorry.” Heero waved this away. Duo grinned. “Yeah, no big, guys. After all, he has his own sex bunny to play with now.” Giving him an exasperated look, Heero tried to return to his cooling toast. “You couldn’t have phrased that better?” “Words ain’t my thing.” Duo refuted casually. “Then why is it that you can’t be quiet?” “I’m practicing!” Growling something in his native tongue, Heero focused back on his breakfast. Duo snickered but follow suit, letting his boyfriend eat. After all, Heero would need his strength later… After Duo had cleaned his plate, ate seconds, and polished off three cups of coffee, he felt like he could tackle the world. Since everyone else was close to finishing, he started to clear the table. Quatre shifted in his chair, gathering up his plate and utensils. “Quatre.” There was a definite note of warning in Trowa’s voice. The blonde shifted a glare in his lover’s direction. “I can handle clearing a table. I’ll let Duo load.” Trowa considered this then shrugged. Duo, of course, followed this exchange with great curiosity. “Hey, Q. Wanna fill me in?” With another glare at Trowa, Quatre continued his aborted move into the kitchen. “Trowa doesn’t trust me in a kitchen. At all.” “Uh-huh.” Duo took this in, eyes sparkling with possibilities. “So…what kind of disasters did you cause to get that kind of reaction?” Trowa shifted around to watch them. “We have a new dishwasher and a microwave. Does that answer your question?” Duo started grinning. “Nope. I want details.” Quatre gave a death glare to his lover, silently promising retribution if he uttered one more word. Heero rolled his eyes at the scene, moving away from the table and shutting Duo up with a kiss. “I’ll tell you later.” Duo didn’t really want to leave this alone. Quatre was blushing and looked highly discomfited, Trowa was on the edge of grinning, and he was just sure that there was a juicy story behind this. Getting the story from Heero was a good second option, however, so he tapped down his curiosity and continued to load the dishes in. “Kay. So Q, why’d you wake me up so early?” Quatre lifted an eyebrow on this. “Nine o’clock is early?” “Anything before noon on a Saturday is early for me.” “Hm.” Quatre shared a glance with Heero, looking for approval. When he got it, the blonde answered carefully “Heero called me this morning and filled me in on last night’s…events.” Duo flinched. “Oh.” “Since I’m the one studying pre-law, he thought I might know of a way to get you out of your aunt’s control. Or I should say, of quietly getting you out of her control.” Turning to Heero for confirmation, Duo searched the face in front of him for some clue as to how to react to this. “Is this what you meant last night?” “In a way. I only really thought about it last night when you were asleep. I can’t let you go back, koi. I won’t save you today only to throw you back into a den of wolves tomorrow.” “Oh.” Duo was quiet a moment, processing this. He hadn’t really thought everything out last night. His brain had been tired of thinking rationally and had insisted on just enjoying the sensation of being held by Heero. Forcing a smile onto his face he looked at Quatre. “You probably haven’t thought of anything yet.” “Not true. I have thought of a few things, but I’m not sure if any of us have the ability to implement them. Speaking of which,” Quatre had the most peculiar smile on his face “I need to borrow your laptop, Heero, in order to do some research.” Heero hesitated a moment before nodding. “It’s on the coffee table.” Duo stared at his boyfriend in shock. He was letting Quatre touch his laptop? Whoa. He was serious about this. By the time that they had finished tidying up the kitchen, Quatre was already on the computer and completely focused on his search. Duo went upstairs to grab a shower and the other two sat on either side of the blonde as he researched. A cellphone rang. Heero reached for his own before he realized that it wasn’t his ring tone. Then he remembered that he had grabbed Duo’s this morning and pocketed it, not wanting the other boy to be woken up. Pulling Duo’s phone out he flipped it open. “Yes?” //Heero?// Meiran’s voice was surprised. //Where’s Duo?// “In the shower.” //You rat! Don’t tell me he stayed over last night! I didn’t think you’ve gotten that far yet!// Heero rolled his eyes. “We didn’t do anything, Meiran. He’s in trouble.” Whatever feminine outrage Meiran was emanating disappeared at that point. //What kind of trouble?// “The kind that I can’t explain over a phone.” //I’ll be there in ten minutes.// Heero had no doubt that one of those minutes would be used to call Wufei and an order issued to meet at Heero’s house. With a sigh he hung up and pocketed the cellphone. “That was Meiran.” “And she’ll be over in ten minutes?” Quatre guessed, eyes not moving from the screen. “Hn.” “I thought so.” Quatre sat back with a sigh, rubbing his hands together idly. “During breakfast I had a flash of inspiration. And reading what I have only confirms it. The only thing that I know of that can transfer Duo quietly out of his aunt’s care is for him to be married.” Heero froze. Married? “It’s legal to marry at seventeen?” “In this state, yes.” Quatre looked at Heero with a somber face. “How far are you willing to go?” Heero restlessly moved to his feet, pacing a little in front of them. Since the first time he saw Duo he had wanted him, badly. And if it meant protecting him, Heero would marry him in a heartbeat. To be perfectly honest, he would have married him without any hint of danger whatsoever. In this case, it wasn’t Heero who might throw a spanner into the works. It was Duo. With a sigh he stared at the carpet beneath his feet. “It isn’t up to me.” Quatre blinked. Not the answer he had been expecting. “You’d do that?” Heero nodded. With another flash of insight, Quatre relaxed slowly against the couch. “This is more than an ‘I like’. You’re in love with him.” Silence. “Whatever it takes, Quatre.” Heero answered softly. “I’ll do whatever it takes to see him happy.” “There’s a bit of paperwork and blood work that needs to be done.” Quatre replied carefully. He felt like he was navigating a landmine. “I think we should be able to have both of you married tomorrow afternoon, though, if we start working on it now.” “Understood.” There was a sharp knock at the door before Meiran barged through, Wufei at her heels. They had made it in six minutes. “—doubt that it can be serious enough for you to pull me out of bed like this! Or for you to enter without invitation!” Wufei was saying, exasperation clear in his voice. “Shut up, Chang! Heero, what’s going on?” Despite himself Heero smiled at the two. Something about the sheer amount of energy that they always seemed to carry around with them broke the somber mood. “There’s a story behind it. The short version is that someone is after Duo, and he can’t return home because of it.” Wufei stopped trying to get his point across with Meiran and looked up, senses alert. “Have we thought of a solution?” “Yes.” Wufei moved with Meiran to the loveseat and sat down. “Continue.” It was Quatre that answered, seeing that Heero wasn’t comfortable in doing so. “We’ve been trying to find a way to remove Duo from his aunt’s control, but quietly. We don’t want anyone to know what we’re up to until it’s too late to back out. The only thing that I could think of was to have Duo married.” Meiran’s head snapped around to look at Heero. “Did you agree to this idea?” “Yes.” “And Duo?” “Doesn’t know about it yet.” Trowa answered quietly. “I think we should leave him and Heero alone to talk about it when Duo comes down.” “Good idea.” Wufei agreed. “Assuming that he agrees, is there anything we can do to help?” Quatre smiled ruefully. “There’s about a dozen places that we need to be at, all at once in order to pull this off before tomorrow. I can give you a list of things that need to be picked up.” “Done.” Meiran gave him an analyst’s salute. Duo came down at that moment, still putting the rubber band in place at the end of his braid. “Hey! It’s the lovebirds. Whatcha two doing over—oh crap. Sorry, Mei Rei, what with all of the commotion last night I forgot that we were going to that movie today.” “Don’t worry about it.” She assured him. “I called here to change times on you when Heero picked up.” Duo’s smile dimmed slightly. “Ah, then you probably know what’s up.” “Not really. He just said that there was some trouble.” Quatre gave Heero a shooing gesture, mouthing ‘go talk to him’. Heero nodded in acknowledgement, swallowing nervously. “Duo. I need to talk to you.” Now that he was awake, Duo picked up on the tension in Heero’s shoulders. Whatever it was, it was serious. Duo nodded slowly, propping his smile back into place. “Sure thing.” “Out on the porch.” Heero continued, putting a hand on the small of Duo’s back and guiding him through the kitchen onto the back porch. Duo settled on the banister of the back porch, drawing a leg up near his chest and hugging it casually. He watched as Heero paced back and forth, head lowered and hands rubbing against his upper arms absently. Duo studied this with alarmed fascination. Whatever was brewing in Heero’s mind had to be serious to get an actual fidget out of him. Heero finally stopped, back toward Duo. “Quatre has an idea.” “And you don’t like it.” Duo guessed. “No. Yes. I—” Heero cut himself short, snarling. “I hate words. I don’t have any skill in using them.” Duo had no response to that, so he shrugged. “It’s not a life or death thing, man.” “Yes, it is.” Heero drew on some inner resolve and turned to face Duo squarely. “I want you to understand that it was his idea, but that I want it. That I agree to it.” “Heero, you’re scaring me here. Just what did Quatre think up?” “The only option that we have to quietly take you out of your aunt’s control is for—” Heero swallowed hard “for you to be married.” Silence. Duo started to shake his head violently. “Uh-uh. No way. I’m not putting ANYONE in that position.” Heero’s earlier statement slid back into Duo’s mind and he stopped the rant before it could really begin. “Wait, you said you agreed to this…plan. What exactly made you agree to it?” Heero started pacing again, running a hand roughly through his hair. “I don’t know how to explain—” “Oookay. Start at the beginning.” Heero turned from his pacing and propped himself on the balustrade with his hands. “The first time I saw you, I wanted you. And the more I saw, the more…intense that feeling was. I’m no good with words, Duo. I tried to show you what I wanted. It’s only recently that I realized that you need words. You’re like Quatre. You thrive on them. I had planned on telling you, and then everything went wrong…” Duo released a breath that he hadn’t realized he had been holding. Oh. So that was why Heero had acted the way he had. And how much of an idiot was Duo for not piecing the puzzle together sooner? “Let’s forget the last two days. Tell me now.” Heero relaxed a little. He turned his head to meet Duo’s eyes, a little flicker of anxiety crossing his face. “I want you with me.” The simplicity of that statement went straight to the heart. A slow smile took over Duo’s face. “Ditto.” Heero answered that smile with one of his own. After a moment reality set back in and the smile faltered. “Duo, I’d marry you in a second if it meant protecting you. But that isn’t the reason why…I don’t want this to be a marriage in name only. I’ll understand if you need time to think or—” Duo hopped lightly from his perch and slid his arms around Heero’s shoulders, tilting his head to press against Heero’s forehead. “Heero, you know why I’ve been avoiding any kind of commitment?” “No.” “I wasn’t sure how much it would mean to you.” Lightly he caressed the face in front of his. The word ‘yes’ stuck in his throat for some reason. And a ‘you betcha’ was hardly romantic enough for the situation. Finally his sense of humor saved him. “I should warn you, I’m a very active sleeper.” “Yeah I know.” Heero bent slightly and pressed a light kiss to Duo’s mouth. Duo didn’t get the chance to return that sweet kiss. Meiran burst through the door and looked back and forth between the startled pair. “Well?!” “Meiran!” Wufei came out right behind her. “I told you to leave them alone!” “Be quiet! I want to know if Duo agreed!” Duo laughed, he had to. It was either laugh or strangle Meiran. “Sweetheart, we’re sitting here all wrapped up around each other, and you’re wondering what my answer was?” “Good.” Was her only reply. “Now, where are we going to get the rings?”
Duo: Finally! Now we’re getting somewhere! ~ * ~ |
