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"Fractured"Written By: The Plotting Housewife Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai, Sotsu
and associated Parties. This work is written for pleasure not profit. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Mystery, Weirdness, Psychological, thrills
and chills, Dark, Horror Pairings: Duo Maxwell, Quatre Raberba Winner,
Trowa Barton, Heero Yuy, Chang Wufei Summary: Duo
has a habit of challenging his fellow pilots to an arm wrestling match
as a way to settle rifts, though on principle, he makes an exception
for Quatre. He breaks his own rule one night after failing to convince
the blond to change their dinner menu. Turns out, it was a bad idea,
but not for the reasons he'd originally thought. He has no idea what
happened, but he does know one thing for certain: It was not worth
the price of a lousy cheeseburger. "By Its Cover " Duo’s obsession with settling a disagreement by instigating an arm wrestling competition was quickly becoming exhausting, not to mention a little embarrassing when he persistently got his ass handed to him. The last beer? Wrestle for it. The last slice of pizza? Wrestle for it. The next in line to use the bathroom? Wrestle for it. Control of the remote? Wrestle for it. His unwavering losing streak went unbroken for a good two months as each match went to Heero, Trowa, and Wufei declaring victory, leaving Duo to nurse his wounded pride until the next round. Quatre often watched these matches unfold with a sense of morbid fascination. From the moment Duo slammed his elbow onto the nearest table and provoked his opponent with a snarky quip, to the moment he was bested by the other three pilots’ superior strength and was forced to concede. “You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” Quatre finally had to ask despite his better judgment because it was painful to watch his friend repeatedly run headfirst into a brick wall. On a cold and rainy Friday evening in March while heading into the kitchen to order their weekly takeout, he found Duo sitting on a stool by the counter with a sour look on his face. He lifted the phone off the cradle and ran his finger down the list of phone numbers pinned to the bulletin board on the wall. “I mean, are you a masochist, or something?” When he received no answer, he turned and leaned against the counter, tapping the phone’s antenna against his lips. “Duo.” The boy’s head jerked up and he blinked at Quatre as if he just realized someone else was in the room. “Huh?” “Why are you doing this?” “Doing what?” “What are you trying to prove?” Duo scowled and picked at his fingernails. “Not trying to prove anything. I’m trying to win.” “You haven’t won once in two months.” “Thanks for reminding me.” Quatre hesitated for a moment, not sure he even wanted to ask. “Why don’t you ever challenge me?” Duo seemed taken off guard by the question, but it lasted for only a few seconds before his mouth quirked and then he doubled over, dissolving into a fit of hysterical laughter. Quatre folded his arms over his chest and waited for him to recover, trying not to feel insulted. “Oh, Quat,” Duo wheezed, wiping tears from his cheeks. “That’s adorable.” Quatre narrowed his eyes. “What’s adorable?” “I can’t challenge you.” “Why not?” “Because,” Duo exclaimed, as if that was an adequate explanation. When Quatre merely raised a brow, he sputtered and waved his hands around like the answer was obvious. “Use your words, Duo.” “Because that would be like challenging a chick!” Indignity wrapped itself around him like a cloak, insulating his righteous fury. “Excuse me?” “Well, no offense, buddy.” “I’m not a “chick”,” he hissed through clenched teeth, wishing now that he’d never even asked. He should have known it was a bad idea. “Maybe not technically, but -” “Maybe not technically?” “Look, Quat. I ain’t trying to insult you, or nothin’. You’re just…y’know.” Quatre was too far gone to turn back now. “I’m just…what, Duo?” He pressed, voice low and threatening, just daring the other boy to dig himself in deeper. “You - you’re just - I mean - you -” He tipped his head back with a defeated sigh, knowing full well he was about to say something that would piss Quatre off to the point where “cold shoulder” wouldn’t even begin to describe the polar atmosphere inside the house for the unforeseeable future. Still, he wasn’t going to lie. The truth will set you free, was what Sister Helen always said. Then again, Sister Helen didn’t have to confront the scandalized blond. He surrendered himself to the high probability that he would spend the next week sleeping in the garage and avoiding Quatre at all costs and by extension, Trowa as well. It was surreal to witness the normally placid boy transform into a hulking column of bulging muscles, ready and willing to twist your body into a pretzel at the slightest hint of distress from Quatre. Of course, while Trowa could physically turn you into his personal Rubix Cube, it was Quatre you had to worry about. Trowa could crush your skull with his bare hands, but Quatre knew how to make you disappear. Eradicate every trace of your existence until even your own mother was convinced you were only a figment of her imagination. But mental and intellectual prowess didn’t make a person physically strong which was a requirement for arm wrestling. And quite frankly, physical strength was not something Quatre was blessed with. Sufficed to say, Duo didn’t challenge him because he was afraid of snapping one of the boy’s spindly arms and he wasn’t keen on a vengeful Trowa using him as practice mat. ”Quat, I know you ain’t actually a girl, but…you’re pretty damn close. I don’t want to end up hurting you, or something. That’s all.” There. The truth was out. Now, he could only wait and see if it would indeed set him free, or earn him a one way ticket to the nether world. Quatre stared at him in contemplative silence for several minutes and then, to Duo's surprise, he shrugged and turned back around to locate the phone number to the pizza place. He chewed his lip as he watched the blond dial the number, wondering if he should press the issue to try and gauge if Quatre was actually okay with that, or if he was simply pretending he was. "You're not mad?" "Why would I be mad?" A red flag waved frantically somewhere in Duo's mind though he wasn't sure why. Cautiously, he said, "I just figured that would piss you off. Y'know...being compared to a girl. I don't mean any offense by it. It's just that -" "It's fine, Duo. Don't worry about it. I understand." "You do?" The blond sighed and looked at him over his shoulder. "Yes. I get it. I know I'm not as strong as you guys and that's fine." "Well, hey. I'm not saying you're not strong. Just, you got the brains, but not the brawn. It's not a bad thing." "I know." Relieved, Duo leaned against the counter beside him, his gaze following the length of Quatre's finger. "Where ya ordering from?" "Pizza King." Duo's mouth turned down at the corners. "I wanted Burger Hut." "So? You can get Burger Hut when it's your turn to pick." "Oh, come on, Quat! Just this once?" Quatre paused his dialing and looked up at his friend as if he was considering. Duo felt a surge of triumph and maybe even a little smugness, knowing how easily Quatre could be swayed, especially by him. He clasped his hands in front of his face, not too proud to beg if it got him what he wanted. "Please? Can we get Burger Hut? Can we get Burger Hut? Can we get Burger Hut? Can we get -" "No." He stopped short, blinking at the blond in surprise. Well, that was a first. Quatre usually always gave in with a resigned, but good-natured smile. "But -" "No." "Quat -" "No." He was fully aware that he was on the verge of stomping his feet like a petulant toddler and was rather proud of his self control, though he was still unable to control the whine in his voice. "But, why?" Quatre pressed the disconnect button and turned to face him. "Do you really want Burger Hut?" "Yes! Yes, please. I'll do anything." "Anything?" "Yes! Yes, anything!" "Okay." Quatre set the phone down and walked around the counter, plopping down onto one of the stools. Duo watched with a deepening sense of dread as he realized what he'd just consented to and kicked himself for being so stupid. Quatre thumped his elbow on the counter and held his hand up, staring at him with grave intensity. "Wrestle me for it." Duo's mouth opened and closed, at a momentary loss for words. "Quat, you know I can't do that." "Yes, you can. It's easy. You just sit down right there, take my hand, and -" "I don't want to hurt you." Quatre eyed him sharply. "Do you want Burger Hut, or not?" Damn. Was there really anything to debate? Quatre's delicate bones, or his favorite hamburgers. The choice was obvious unless you knew how much Duo loved Burger Hut. But did he love Burger Hut enough to get pummeled by Trowa for breaking Quatre's arm? Was it worth the price of spending the next three months in a body cast? Was it worth that sacrifice? "Alright, Blondie. But don't say I didn't warn ya." He slid onto the stool across from the other boy and grabbed his hand, wincing a little as he felt the birdlike bones in Quatre's slender fingers. He placed his other hand over their joined ones and smirked, "You still have time to back out, y'know. Either way, it's Burger Hut tonight, but I can make it much less painful for you." "You're pretty confident, aren't you?" Duo tightened his fingers around Quatre's hand and leaned forward. "Remember, when you place the order, I like the Triple Hut Burger Combo with cheese, extra onions, and all the fixins'. Don't forget the extra onions like Fei did last time." Quatre's lip curled up in a sneer. "Just do the countdown." "Okaaaaay." He shifted on the stool until he found a comfortable position and blew out a deep breath, pushing away the lingering doubt. Quatre asked for it so he had no one to blame for any injuries but himself. "Alright. On your mark. Get set...go!" WHAM! Duo stared, dumbfounded, at his arm which now lay flat against the counter, pinned down by Quatre's. The blond wiggled his hand, trying to extricate it from the other boy's frozen grip. He finally wrenched it free and reached over to close Duo's gaping mouth. "Well," he said cheerfully. "Better luck next time, buddy. I'm going to call Pizza King now." He chummily slapped Duo's shoulder and all but skipped around him to get to the phone. "But...but how? How is that even possible?" Quatre shrugged. "It's simple really." "What is?" "Duo, there's more to arm wrestling than just the size of your muscles. It also takes cunning and quick reflexes." "But I'm - you - I have - fuck." He dropped his face into his hands, defeated. "I don't believe this." Quatre wrapped an arm around his shoulder, though Duo was too depressed to shrug it off. "All this time, you thought you were losing because Heero, Trowa, and Wufei were stronger than you. You were so sure I didn't have a chance because I'm not as strong as you. It never occurred to you that I probably had other ways of making up for that. Brute force only gets you so far, Duo." Despite his disappointment and humiliation, he let out an astonished bark of laughter. "Fei was right about you." "How so?" "One time I asked him who he'd rather run into in a dark alley. Satan, or Treize." "And?" "He said, as long as it's not Winner, I really don't care. I didn't understand it at the time. When I asked him if he cared to explain, he said if I didn't already know why, I would eventually." He shot the blond a wry look. "Remind me never to get on your bad side." Quatre grinned and ruffled Duo's bangs. "Tell you what. I'll order the pizza and I'll place an order for the triple cheese combo at Burger Hut for you." "Really? With Mountain Dew?" "Allah. Yes, with Mountain Dew. Good grief." Quatre lifted the phone and punched in the number. "I'm surprised you're not diabetic yet." "D'awww! You're the best, buddy." "Yeah, yeah." Quatre pressed the phone to his ear and shooed him out with a flick of his hand. He strutted from the kitchen with a puffed out chest and wide grin on his face and promptly bounced off Trowa's chest as soon as he stepped into the living room. "Oh. Hey, Tro. What's shakin'?" Trowa's eyes flitted up, glancing into the kitchen for a moment before turning his gaze back to Duo. "You do realize the only reason you're getting your way is because Quatre chose to do something nice for you, don't you?" "Uh...yeah. Sure thing, dude." He took a sideways step, intent on maneuvering around the immovable wall of muscle that was Trowa. He stumbled when an iron grip clamped around his arm and looked up to see fiery green eyes leveled on him in a way that forced him to take an involuntary step back. "What the hell, man?" Trowa leaned forward and spoke in a soft, but sobering tone. "If I were you, I wouldn't underestimate him again. I would also stop trying to manipulate him into doing what you want." "I'm not manipulating him," he argued, feeling uncomfortably on the spot and defensive. "You are. You take advantage of his generosity, knowing he likes you enough to humor you. But that's all he's doing. Humoring you. If you think he doesn't know what you're doing, think again." Trowa lifted a hand and tapped his temple with his index finger. "He knows far more than you realize." "Why are you telling me this?" Trowa shrugged his broad shoulders. "Consider it a heads up. For your own good." "Yeah. Okay, Tro. Thanks for the advice, brother." He turned to leave, feeling weirdly out of sorts and suddenly in need of a little solitude. He made it four steps before Trowa's voice stopped him in his tracks. "You might want to take this seriously." "For Christ's sake, man! What is your problem? It's just dinner! He asked me why I never challenged him to arm wrestle. I told him why and then I asked if we could get Burger Hut instead. He insisted we wrestle for it, he won, and now he's getting the pizza. I don't know why he chose to order Burger Hut for me. He just decided to." "Quatre never "just decides" to do anything, Duo." "What are you saying?" "I'm saying, you are getting your way because Quatre sees a reason to indulge you. Everything Quatre does has a well thought out strategy behind it." "Yeah, I'm his friend. He thinks I'm a swell guy." Trowa's mouth quirked slightly, barely imperceptible, but oddly, it made Duo feel as though he was being pitied. "Keep telling yourself that," he said cryptically and spun on his heel, disappearing into the kitchen. Duo remained frozen in place, confused and unsettled. It felt as though he was missing something vital, but couldn't imagine what it could possibly be and he wasn't even sure he knew how to ask for it if there was. He was torn between locking himself in his room for the night, or seeking out Heero, or Wufei for some answers. Ultimately, he decided he was too spooked for human interaction at the moment and headed towards his room, belatedly realizing something unprecedented had just happened. For the first time in his life, he had no appetite.
End.
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