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"Convincing Heero"Written By: Hemlock Inyx Disclaimer: This chick does not own any of the
Gundam Wing characters because they belong to Bandai and Sunrise.
I am borrowing them for this fict and will return them
in good (if somewhat sticky) condition. I also don't own Nora Robert's
Convincing Alex, on which this fict is heavily based (well more like
a fusion/translation). This fict is written out of love and not for
profit, don't sue. Thanks and enjoy! Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU Romance/Cop Drama, Cross-dressing/drag,
humor, romance, some OOC-ness, language, and murder- not main characters.
Pairings: 1x2, 4xC for added interest. More pairings
to come. Summary: Heero is a cop, Duo is a cross-dressing man who writes for a daytime soap opera. The pair meet when Duo is arrested doing 'research' for the soapie.
" Convincing Heero" Chapter 6 Heero like the way Duo looked. It took a certain panache, he supposed, to be able to wear a jade-toned shirt with bright blue slacks, particularly if you were going to add hot-pink high-tops. But Duo pulled it off. Everything about him was vivid. Heero supposed that was why he'd gone to Duo's office to apologize and ended up asking him out. It was probably why he hadn't been able to get Duo, or the idea of taking him to bed, out of his mind since he'd met him. For himself, Duo took one look at Zechs Merquise's bar, Lower the Boom, and knew he had a relaxed, enjoyable evening in store. There was music from the jukebox, a babble of voices, a medley of good, rich scents. The tangle of pear-shaped gemstones at Duo's ears swung as he turned to Heero. "This is great. Is the food as good as it smells?" "Better." Heero gave a wave in the general direction of the bar as he found them a table. As usual, the bar was cluttered with people and thick with noise. Since his sister had married Zechs, Heero had made it a habit of dropping in once a week or so, and he knew most of the regulars by name. He grinned at the waitress who stopped at their table. "Hey Lola. How's it going?" "It'll do, cutie." Resting her tray on her hip, Lola gave Duo the once-over. Then turned to give Heero an assessing look. Though less than ten years Heero's senior, Lola had taken on a maternal interest in him. And it wasn't often that Heero brought a date into the bar, much less anyone else. Heero hoped that she wouldn't be too shocked to see him with a drag queen. He also hoped when Noin and Zechs figured it out they wouldn't run to tell their parents. Heero was still hoping to break it to them gently….sooner…or later. Still checking out Heero's current 'lady', Lola shifted her tray against her hip. "So, what can I get you?" "Tequila." Duo dropped his bag in the empty chair beside him with a thunk. "Straight up." Heero only lifted a brow at Duo's choice. "Give me a beer, Lola. Noin around?" "Upstairs. And she better have her feet up." She gave the ceiling a scowl. "She'll probably sneak down here before the night's over. Can't keep her away from the boss." "What's Rashid's special tonight?" "Paella." Her eyes lit with appreciation. She'd sampled some herself. "He's been driving Relena crazy, making her shell shrimp." "You game for that?" Heero asked Duo. "You bet." As Lola wandered off, Duo propped his chin on his hands. "So, who's the boss, who's Rashid, and who's Relena?" "Zechs is the boss." Heero gestured toward the tall, long-haired, blonde man working the bar. "Rashid's the cook, this Arabian giant who'll fix you the best meal this side of heaven. Relena's Zechs little sister." Duo nodded. He liked to know the players. "And Noin is married to Zechs." After a long study of the man behind the bar, Duo smiled. "Impressive. How'd she meet him?" "She was Relena's Public Defender after I busted her for attempted burglary." Duo didn't blink or look shocked, he simply leaned a little closer. "What was she stealing?" Heero was vaguely disappointed that he hadn't gotten a reaction. "Electronics-and doing a poor job of it. Relena was tangled up with a gang at the time. This was about a year and a half ago." Absently Heero toyed with the square-cut aquamarine on Duo's finger, watching it catch the light. "Relena was still a kid when Zechs went off and joined the marines as her mother died. Anyhow, when Zechs came back a few years ago, his father was dying, and the kid was chin-deep in trouble." "This is great." Duo beamed up at Lola as their drinks were served. "Thanks." The smile did it. Lola sent Heero a look of approval, one he was most grateful for, before she swung by the bar to report to Zechs. "Don't stop now." Heero lifted his mug of beer. He knew very well that Lola was giving Zechs a sotto voce rundown of her impressions and opinions of his choice of companion. "You want to hear the whole thing?" "Of course I do." Duo sprinkled salt on his wrist, licked it, then tossed back the tequila with all the flair of a Mexican bandit. While he sucked on the lime wedge Lola had brought with the drink, he grinned at Heero. "I like the zing." "How many times can you do that and live?" "I haven't tested it that far." The liquor left a nice trail of heat down Duo's throat and into his stomach. "I did ten once, but I was younger then, and stupid. So keep going." Duo leaned forward again. "Zechs came back after seeing the world and found his sister in trouble." "Well, Relena was tangled up with the Cobras…." Heero begin. By the time their paella was served, he was enjoying himself. It always polished a man's ego to have someone's complete and fascinated attention. "So that's how I ended up on the point of having an Irish-American-Japanese niece or nephew." "Terrific. You've got a flair for storytelling, Heero. "Naturally." Duo smiled at him. "Of course, your material's first-rate, too. I'm a sucker for happy endings. I can't have many of them in my field. Once we tie things up, we have to unravel them again, or we lose the audience." "Why? I thought most people went for the happy ending." "They do. But in soaps, a character loses the edge if he or she isn't dealing with some crisis or tragedy." Duo sampled the paella and sighed his satisfaction. "That's why Elana's been married twice, had amnesia, was sexually assaulted, had two miscarriages and a nervous breakdown, went temporarily blind, shot a former lover in self-defense, overcame a gambling addiction, had twins who were kidnapped by a psychotic nurse-and recovered them only after a long, heartrending and perilous search though the South American jungles." Duo took another glorious bite. "Not necessarily in that order." Before Heero could ask who Elana was, Lola was setting down fresh drinks. "You watch 'Secret Sins'?" she asked Duo. "Religiously. You?" "Well, yeah." Lola shrugged, knowing there were several patrons in the bar who'd rag her about it. "I got hooked when I was in the hospital having my youngest. He's ten now. That was back when Elana was a first-year resident at Milbrook Memorial and in love with Jack Banner. He was a great character." "One of the best," Duo agreed. "Brooding and self-destructive." "I was really sorry when he died in that warehouse fire. I didn't think Elana would ever get over it." "She's a tough lady," Duo commented. "Had to be." When someone called her, Lola waved to them to wait. "If it hadn't been for her, Storm would never have gotten himself together and become the man he is today." "You like Storm?" "Oh, man, who wouldn't?" With a chuckled, Lola rolled her eyes. "The guy's every woman's fantasy, you know? I'm really pulling for him and Jade. They deserve some happiness, after everything they've been though. Jeez, all right, Harry, I'm on my way. Enjoy your dinner," she said to Duo, and hurried off. Duo turned to Heero with a smile. "You look confused." Heero only shook his head. "You two were talking about those characters as though they were real people." "But they are," Duo told him, and scooped up some shrimp. "For an hour a day, five days a week. Didn't you ever believe in Batman, or Scarlett O'Hara, Indiana Jones?" "It's fiction." "Good fiction creates its own reality. That's entertainment." Picking up the saltshaker, Duo grinned. "Come on Heero., even a cop needs to fantasize now and then." Heero looked him over long enough to make Duo's pulse dance. "I do my share." Duo swallowed the tequila, but its zing paled beside the one that Heero's quiet statement had streaking though him. "You'll have to tell me about that sometime." Duo glanced around at the sound of piano music. Against the far wall was a huge upright. A slim, sandy-haired young woman was caressing blues out of the keys. "That's Relena," Heero told Duo. "Really?" Duo angled his chair around for a better look. "She's really good." "Yeah. She talked Zechs into putting a piano in the bar about a year ago. Noin and Merquise tried to get her to go back to school, get more training, but no dice." "Some things can't be taught," Duo murmured. "Looks like. Anyway, she still works in the kitchen with Rashid, and comes out and plays when the mood strikes." "And has every young man in the joint mooning over her." "She's just a kid," Heero said quickly-too quickly. With his tongue in his cheek, Duo turned back. "Younger woman have their own appeal to the experienced man. In fact, right now Ted is embroiled in a passionate affair with Jessica-who's ten years his junior. The mail is running five to one in favor." "We were talking about you." Duo only smiled. "Were we?" Zechs walked over to slap Heero on the back. "How's the meal?" "It's terrific." Duo held out a hand. "You're Zechs? I'm Duo." "Nice to meet you." Zechs kept his hand on Heero's shoulder after giving Duo's hand a quick squeeze. "You must be the Duo Noin ran into down at the station." "I must be. You have a great place here. Now that I've found it, I'll be back." "That's what we like to hear." His blue eyes sparkled with friendly curiosity. "Heero doesn't bring his ladies around very often. He likes to keep us guessing." Duo couldn't help but respond to the humor in Zechs eyes. "Is that so?" "Ease off Merquise," Heero muttered. "He's still sore at me for stealing his sister." Heero sent him an arched look. "I just figured she had better taste." Heero lifted his beer. "Speaking of which." Heero gestured with the mug. Duo saw Zechs eyes change and, recognizing love, his heart sighed. It didn't surprise him when Noin came to the table. "What's this?" Noin demanded. "A party, and nobody invited me?" "Sit," Zechs and Heero said in unison. "I'm tired of sitting." Ignoring them both, she turned to Duo. "Nice to see you again." She took a deep, appreciative sniff. "Rashid's paella. Incredible, isn't it?" "Yes, it is. Heero was just telling me how the two of you met." "Oh?" Noin's brow lifted. "Why don't you join us and give me your side of it." Twenty minutes later, Heero was forced to admit that Duo's casual friendliness had gotten Noin to sit down and relax in a way neither he nor Zechs would have been able to with their demanding concern. For a man who was full of energy and verve, Duo had a knack for putting people at ease, Heero noted. A gift for listening to details and asking just the right question. And for entertaining, Heero mused-effortlessly. It didn't surprise Heero that Duo was able to talk music with Relena when she was called over to join them, or food with Rashid when Duo asked to go back into the kitchen to compliment him on the meal. Heero wasn't surprised when Duo and Noin made a date to meet for lunch the following week. Though his stomach did knot a bit the thought of what they might talk about. "I like your family," Duo stated as they settled into a cab. "You've only met a fraction of it." "Well, I like the one's I've met. How much more do you have?" "My parents. Another two sisters, and their husbands, and four kids between them all. What about you?" "Hmmm?" "Family?" "Oh. I was an only child. Do they all live in New York?" "All but Sylvia." Heero toyed with the tip of Duo's braid. "You don't talk about yourself." "Are you kidding?" Duo laughed, "I never stop talking." "You ask questions. You talk about things, other people, your characters. But you don't talk about Duo." Duo should have known a cop would notice what most people didn't. "We haven't had that many conversations," Duo pointed out. When he turned his head, his mouth was close to Heero's. He wanted to kiss Heero, Duo thought. It wasn't merely to distract him. After all, he had nothing to hide. But Duo didn't speak, only moved his lips to Heero's. The fingers at the tip of his braid lifted to the base of his neck, changing the angle of the kiss and the mood of it. It was light and friendly only for an instant. Then it darkened, deepened, lengthened. Mixed with taste, the texture, were hints of what was to come. There's a storm brewing, Duo thought dizzily. And, oh, he'd never been able to resist a storm. Duo's heart was knocking by the time Heero's lips moved to his temple. "You know how to change the subject, Maxwell." "What subject?" Heero's hand slid to Duo's throat, cupped there. He felt the pigeon beat of Duo's rapid pulse. They rhythm of it was as seductive as jungle drums. "You. Now I'm only more curious." "There's not that much to tell." Uneasy and confused by the sensation, Duo drew back as the cab pulled to the curb. "Looks like we're here." Duo slid across the seat while Heero paid the driver. His knees were a little weak, Duo realized. Another first. Heero Yuy was going to require some thought. "You don't have to walk me up," Duo said, surprised that it unnerved him to see the cab pull away and leave the two of them alone on the shadowy sidewalk. "Which means you're not going to ask me in." "No." Duo smiled a little, running his fingers up and down the strap of his bag. But Duo wanted to. It was amazing to him just how much he wanted to. "I think it would be smarter if I didn't." Heero accepted that, because the choice had to be Duo's. And the prospect of changing Duo's mind along the way was tremendously appealing. "We'll do this again." "Yes." Heero closed a hand over Duo's restless one, brought it to his lips. "Soon." Duo felt something, a small vague ache centered in his heart. Confused by it, he slipped his hand away from Heero's gentle grip. "All right. Soon. Good night." "Hold it." Before Duo could turn away, Heero took his face in his hands, held it there for a moment before lowering his mouth to Duo's. The pressure was whisper-light, persuasive, invasive. Even as Duo responded, the kiss had that odd ache spreading. Helpless, Duo brought his hands to Heero's wrists, clinging to them for balance. Though Heero's mouth remained beautifully gentle, the pulse Duo felt beneath his fingers raced in time with his own. Then Heero let him go, stepped back. Heero's eyes stared into his. "Good night," Heero said. Duo managed a nod before hurrying inside. There was something about Duo, Heero thought as he waited patiently for the light to come on in Duo's apartment. Something. He'd just have to find out what it was.
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