"Just Ducky"

Written By: Kaeru Shisho

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: AU, male/male pairings, language

Pairings: 1x2, 3x4

Summary: When Trowa Barton and Wufei Chang adjust to college life, Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy learn to balance work with their changing relationships.

A/N: My deepest thanks go to the kindness of Snowdragon and WaterLily for editing and encouraging me.

"Just Ducky "

Chapter 4 - Working it Out

"Man who stand on hill with mouth open will wait long time for roast duck to drop in." --Confucius

"He's not available, but I am."

"Uh, huh."

I was hiding in the second bedroom, door cracked so I could hear them. I wasn't a wuss, but I'd promised 'Fei I'd let him sound Tro' out a bit first and bring him up to speed on the facts before bounding into the ring together.

"Come in. Sit. Tea?"

"No, Chang. Was Duo here last night?"

"He was. He was a mess."

"Uh, huh. He lied to me about his job; he tell you that?"

"Naturally it came up and he regrets the lie. It's against his nature, you know, but I don't blame him at all."

"Oh, naturally. He couldn't possibly have screwed up. Let me talk to him, Chang."

It was a good idea to let 'Fei give him the run down. I might have punched my boyfriend in the mouth, the smartass.

"His was more a sin of omission. After all, he could only keep it up because you weren't interested enough to ask him more about what he was doing all day. You might wonder why he came in early from work, whatever the job had been, and why he was so ticked off."

"He found some kids screwing in our bed." Heh, he hadn't thought about my getting home early at all, except how it had interrupted his party.

"Disgusting!" I loved getting that little bit of moral support from 'Fei-man. "Didn't that bother you?"

"Yeah, sure it did. You think I knew they were there?"

"It doesn't matter what I think, but, no, I don't think you'd let anyone desecrate your room that way, purposely. And I don't think Duo thinks you let them, either. That doesn't change the fact that they were there and at a time when he needed-"

"Get to the point. What happened?"

"He was fired." I could hear Wufei sipping at his tea, allowing for a long dramatic break.

"Why?"

"Men at a table made provocative comments and touched him inappropriately." Another pause while Trowa waited for the other shoe to drop. "That's where he got the bruises and split lip a week or so ago, if you recall."

I'd kinda lied about that too.

"I remember. He said it was an accident at work, at the garage."

"Garage? I don't suppose you ever paid him a visit there?" Silence. "Of course, you were busy. Well, the vile men at the restaurant were ex-OZ."

Trowa mumbled something I couldn't make out, but he sounded mad. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"I think he would have, had you been home, but you weren't and I would guess he found it too embarrassing to talk about in the light of day. The point is, later those men complained to the restaurant owner about Duo. They'd wanted to press charges, but I'm going out on a limb here by saying he must have paid them off."

"OZ and money go hand in hand and is more likely than OZ getting the police involved."

"Especially if there were witnesses. Duo mentioned a bartender who helped him out."

"I doubt he'd put his own job on the line for him, though," Trowa said. "So the boss fired him because he defended himself after being hit on at Adolph's?"

"And then the man propositioned him."

"Run that by me again."

"He told Duo he could offer him a lucrative deal in another line of work and...touched him in a manner that left no question as to what that line of work was." Duo could hear Wufei set down his tea cup and Trowa's tread on the floor.

"I'll kill the motherfucker."

Then a scuffle near the condo door.

"No you won't. That's just the kind of knee-jerk reaction I'd expect out of you, though. How you ever tamed lions is a mystery -"

"Argh!" Trowa must have slammed a fist into the wall from the sound. "Where is he? I need to talk to him."

"Yes, you do, but you should cool down and think a moment about what it is you ought to say. Duo's been through a lot. For a man not to have a suitable job he can be proud of is a terrible blow to his ego. And though he's seemed happy enough, the cost to his-"

"I was too busy with my own shit to notice." Now Trowa let out an anguished grunt. "He didn't need to hide all that. Not from me."

"We all hide things, Barton. We must learn to shoulder our own burdens and let others do the same. We're men, not weak women needing a shoulder to cry on every time something doesn't go our way. His actions were perfectly justified, up until he lost his self control in the house and-"

"He and I aren't that way. We talk and shore up-- is he still here?"

It was time for me to put in an appearance, now that Trowa was all softened up and ready to listen to me, so I stepped into the room. "Yeah, babe, I'm here."

"Jesus!" He ran into my arms and buried his face in my hair. "How did I miss all the clues? Are you all right? He didn't... do anything...bad--?"

"Nah, it's more what he said and how cheap he made me feel."

"You're not cheap. You're anything but."

"You bet. You had to go in with me for a house and everything, heh, heh..."

"Oh, Duo-come back home with me?"

"Okay-" I'm easy that way with Tro'. I want that special closeness back. I love him.

"Thank Buddha! Go, go, go! I have a mountain of books to read and essays to write and I can't very well accomplish a thing with the two of you blubbering away in my living room. And we have afternoon classes! I won't condone lateness."

"Fuck classes," Trowa said with his arm firmly wrapped around me as we exited the room.

"Uh, uh, Tro'. I won't letcher screw up things now because of me. We got time to make up and get you some lunch before you have to leave."

"I like the making up part," he said in a low, hoarse voice that made the hairs prickle on the back of my neck and my nether regions react instantly.

I noticed the linens had been changed in the seconds before my head hit the mattress. Good. I didn't know what he'd done with the ruined ones, but they weren't to be seen and the room was neat as a pin.

"I couldn't sleep here alone," Trowa said. "I slept out on a couch, when I could sleep."

"Sorry for all the mess up."

"Me, too."

"I just couldn't tell you about the stupid job. I was sure I'd get something good in no time and then it would all be a wash. But there's nothing! I'm waiting on lists, failing tests for licenses, and the unions want me to do everything short of signing over my first child to join up!"

"We'll think of something." He wasn't thinking, though, he was lathing my neck and ear with his tongue.

"Uh, huh."

"We got money enough for awhile. You'll be my kept man. Umm, I like that-"

Not that we solved anything that day, but we did live through our first real fight and come through with our relationship intact. It bothered him that he was safe in classes while I was out wandering the streets getting hit upon, which wasn't how it was, but he was awfully cute when he was jealous and possessive.

I guess we knew we had to survive these little problems just to strengthen our bond for when the big ones came along. Yeah. If I was really being honest with myself I'd admit that we hadn't really solved anything. We never actually talked about it, not as we should have. We just dived straight in to the sex. But we were learning how to do this and the fight had scared us both.

Love suddenly felt like a fragile thing.

(o)

A few days later, it was Wufei looking harried at our door.

"It's Yuy. He's on his way here."

"Okay. That's a good thing, 'Fei-man."

"Not--," he began to explain, then clammed up. His hair, usually held back onion-skin tight in a ponytail, had come loose at the sides and he stopped to swipe at them and tuck them behind his ears.

"What'sup?" Trowa asked as he joined us in our living room after putting away the dishes from dinner.

"Heero's coming to visit," I explained.

"Hey, that's goo-" But Trowa didn't get a chance to finish that thought.

"Not visit. Stay!" Wufei practically wailed.

"Isn't that what you wanted? You haven't changed your mind and not told him, have you?" Trowa looked about to crush the living day lights out of our not so frail friend. When had he become so protective of Heero? I thought it was rather bizarre since Trowa had despised Heero for the way he'd treated me.

"No! Don't be absurd! Of course I want him here. That was the plan, but-"

"Ain't got all day, Chang," Trowa pushed.

"He's quit Preventers!" His eyes darted about the room looking for something safe to land on.

"Want some tea?" I asked, guessing.

"Yes, please, if it isn't too much trouble."

"It is," Trowa said snidely, "but for you anything."

Loved his sarcastic sense of humor. Loved his eyes. Loved his body pressing into mine. Loved Trowa, but right now Wufei looked miserable or stunned or both.

"Hey, leaving that agency isn't so bad. I mean, there's that ever-present danger always lurking in the dark streets, hanging over a guy. He'll be safer doing something else." I was sure that was true.

"But WHAT?! Look at you! Heero's no better suited to find a job around here than you, worse even! Can you imagine him waiting tables? Dear Buddha!"

Imagine, Heero the waiter: "Coffee? Do not ask for cream or sugar, or I shall have to kill you. Black? Mission accepted."

"The old bull in a china closet problem," I said. Secretly, I was pleased that Wufei thought I was more capable at something than Mr. Perfect, even though I was currently unemployed.

"Sooner or later they'll both find work they like and that pays good. Don't worry and more importantly, don't let him see how worried you are."

I shot Trowa a look. "You hiding your concerns about me from me?"

"Like I could do that," he muttered. "I'm talking about Chang. Grow some balls, 'cause you know Yuy's aware of what he's just done."

"Burned some bridges, I'd imagine," I put in, although, now that I was thinking about it, I wondered how much of a brave front Trowa was putting on and how really hard his adjustment to school was. Or maybe he hid a lot of his feelings rather than face them?

"Nuked continents, more like it."

Wufei just sighed and gazed out the window. "I suppose I can appear confident."

Unless you are worried about actually living with the guy now that it's too late to change you mind?

"Push come to shove," Trowa said, "he and Duo can beg Winner for a job."

"We can NOT!" This was an old touch point between us. I did not want to use my friendship with Quat as a crutch. I could make it on my own, and I would. "I'm sure 'Ro doesn't wanna go crawling to Quat. There'll be something."

Unless Une gets him blackballed for leaving-but I didn't say that. I didn't need to say it; we were all thinking it.

After that the two schoolboys buried their nose in their books. Too bad; I figured Wufei had more on his mind than his boyfriend's lack of employment, but now I was pretty much cut out of the conversation.

(o)

Idle little me was home Friday when Heero arrived, this time without the nice rental car but in a cab. He called up and by the time I'd run down, he'd unloaded five bags from the cab's trunk. I dashed out to meet him and help to carry in his belongings. Reluctantly, it seemed, he let me take a couple of the smaller bags and then led the way in as if he were carrying air. Man, he was ripped. As he got older the man just got stronger and his muscles more defined.

"When's the rest of your stuff coming?"

"This is it. I sold everything else."

"Oh? Well, just as well, I guess. Wufei's got the place filled anyway and he's such a prick about his décor."

Heero looked at me for a moment, straight-faced, then he cracked a minute smile. "He is that."

We both chuckled. And waited for the elevator to open out on my floor before he added, "But you must admit he has good taste."

"Expensive taste."

"As a result of his settlement."

Say wha? Okay, I had to go with the flow here to get Heero to spill the beans. "Not much of one."

"You are joking, of course. Relena saw to it that the only surviving member of L5 received the entire insurance settlement for its destruction. He's set for life."

I nearly passed out. 'Fei had not said a thing to Trowa or me, but he had to Heero. I wondered-- "Quat and Zechs must feel the competition. Ya know, a new millionaire in town?"

"I wouldn't think so. He just told me."

Ah, a lover's secret. Yet, Heero assumed he'd shared it with me. Time to clue 'Ro into the truth of the situation. "Don't let him know you told me then," I said.

"Why n--? No, you tricked me into telling you about that!"

"I didn't know what you were going on about!"

He resisted the urge to put me to death I think because I looked so darn pathetic these days. And then he wilted.

"I quit Preventers and I sold my things for shuttle fare and to pay Chang some of my portion of the condo down payment. You can't imagine how it feels to-"

"Lemme guess- how it feels to depend on someone for help? Something like that? You ask the guy who's outta work, fired, kicked outta my house and business before--?"

"Sorry, Duo, I get it. You have had it tough."

"You can do this," I told him.

"All right. Let's say I can. But," he stared at me a second, "what if he thinks I quit my job and am now taking advantage of his hospitality because of his money?"

"Then he doesn't deserve your friendship!" I blurted out. "You don't really believe that though. You may be weird, but you aren't shallow. You were gonna live together way before you knew about this settlement, right?" God, I hoped so.

"Yes. He just told me after my visit last week. I called him when I got home, and then he told me the news. The next day Une called me to her office. The decision had come down that I couldn't transfer and I handed over my badge and quit on the spot. It didn't occur to me how that might look."

"Of course not. You aren't devious, and he knows that. And he was perfectly aware of Une's lack of cooperation letting you transfer Earthside."

"Yes. I know."

"He ought to be flattered. You gave up your career for him."

That made him smile fractionally. "I'm not used to being out of work yet. I feel purposeless."

"Well, join the club. It's not something I can get used to but it'll be cool with you guys." I grinned to reassure him. "I gotta warn ya 'bout 'Fei, though, he's so nervous about you coming and moving in with him that Trowa said he forgot his schedule and went to the wrong classes twice this week."

I heard a long moan. It was coming from Heero! "Are you trying to make me feel worse?"

"No, I meant he's excited about you coming. He really, um, cares for you." That sounded so dumb.

"I-I admire him... greatly."

"Good." Grief! And then I got stupid and started to pry. "I hope there's more to it than that. He seems crazy about you." Or just plain crazy...

"I believe so." Then the conversation took a distressing turn. He blindsided me with, "He likes to engage in... physical activities."

"You talking the gym or the bedroom?" Heero blushed an honest-to-goodness face-burning flush of crimson. "Okay, I get he's normal that way for a super-repressed, just out of denial, gay guy. Cool, I guess. I mean, you're cool with that, right?" What a God-awful discussion to have with Heero Yuy!

Heero nodded. Once.

"You are, um, attracted the same way, right? I mean, it all works out between you, ah. Geesh, I'm really bad at this."

Then I felt his hand on my shoulder squeezing. "No, you're not. You've always been like a guide, showing me the way. And I'm very lost right now."

Aw, shucks.

Oh, Lord, I hoped he wasn't going to ask for sex-ed guidance!

"You'll be fine. 'Fei's got a good heart and so have you (now that you've discovered it). Just trust one another and if in doubt, tell him the truth. He really does think the sun rises and sets with you. We all did."

"It's not the war anymore," he spat. "I'm just a novice at life."

"Welcome to my world," I laughed. I felt a little crazy happy. Heero wasn't this perfect guy living the dream. He was just as screwed over as the rest of us. Wufei, however-man, he was rich? No wonder he'd been acting loopy lately. He could live like a prince and have the perfect soldier for a bed warmer-not that I was jealous or anything.

"Was Trowa your first lover?"

"My--?" Another unexpected shift in gears! "Heero! That's pretty personal."

"I know."

But he needed to talk to someone about this. It might as well begin with me. "I'd been living with Hilde. We were almost married, 'Ro, what do you think?"

"Oh, I forgot."

"Trowa and I were lucky, actually. Once we figured out how we felt about one another, not a quick and easy thing, mind you, things just fit into place for us, so to speak. We were both experienced, so the mechanics weren't too hard to work out. And Trowa's, um, talented." My turn to blush, not with embarrassment so much as excitement just thinking about how our bodies loved being together. "I'd been proud of my business and all I'd managed to achieve, but I had been lonely on L2."

"And Trowa makes you happy."

"Very."

"I hope," his deadly blue eyes stared at his hands, "I can make Wufei just as happy."

"Me, too." And I meant that. When had Heero decided to become my friend? I guess I had Wufei to thank for that.

Just then, Trowa and Wufei burst into the house. Heero jerked around. His eyes locked onto Wufei's and I swear everyone held their breath. I don't know what we were waiting for.

Heero stood. "Thank you for letting me share-"

Wufei nodded. "My pleasure."

Aw, c'mon guys. I nearly laughed they were so nervous.

Trowa leaned into Wufei and whispered into his ear, to which Wufei frowned. "I will, but not with you two watching. Yuy, I have a meal planned for this evening, if you'll come this way?"

"Of course. Thank you." Heero turned to me and said in parting, "I enjoyed our talk today and look forward to continuing our discussion."

"Sure, pal. Anytime."

Tro' raised one single eyebrow in question, but said nothing. He was good at that strong silent act.

(o)

The next day, I told Trowa about 'Fei's inheritance over lunch. Feeding him was one way to make him take a break from studying.

"I'd say he was one lucky dude, but--" Trowa's expression looked pained, as he probably relived his own losses. I know before he became a Gundam pilot, he'd watched his mercenary encampment blown to smithereens. "--to witness the total destruction of your home colony? I don't know if you can put a price tag on a thing like that."

"Someone did and Relena sat on them until they gave it over to 'Fei."

"Handy."

"Yeah, well, we're doing okay, aren't we? With the Vet benefits and your scholarship?"

"We cut rather deep into your money."

"But the big down payment on this place keeps the monthly payments low. Worth it completely. I'll get another job and we can start saving for a trip."

"A trip?" He grunted. "Where to?"

"To visit Catherine."

"Uhhh," he groaned. "She wasn't going to contact you. She promised."

"I sent her a note and she sent an invitation."

"Sent you one."

"Sent us one." I passed him another of Quat's homemade pickles. Oh, I know he didn't make them; some poor Maguanac slaved over a hot stove to put them up.

"You know how I feel about the circus, Duo."

"We can stay in a hotel in a nearby city, have her meet us there. We never have to step a foot inside a tent."

"I'll think about it."

"Go ahead. It'll be a long time before we can afford to shuttle anyplace."

"Now I'm glad we're poor," he said, but he was smiling.

"You are terrible," I told him.

"Only at writing," he said, and I could tell his mind was shifting back to his class work.

(o)

This time we didn't see Heero and Wufei until Sunday at dinner, which I cooked, but that was it. Busy, busy.

"We were arranging furniture," or so they said. Maybe testing out the bed, was my guess. I wasn't worried because Heero helped me in the kitchen long enough to say he was happy and winked. Well, good sex and food was the key to a happy man.

Trowa's cell phone interrupted desert, this time a peach and blueberry cobbler. "Hey." There was a long suspension of Trowa's side of the conversation, while he listened to the caller. "Winner," he mouthed to me. "Uh, huh. Yeah, yeah... yeah? That would be cool. I will. Bye."

I figured it was another discussion group wanting to assemble here, but I was wrong.

"That was Quatre," Trowa said, taking his seat.

"How's he doing?" I asked.

"Good. His company has condos they lease out to employees coming into Sanc, and he's coming for a visit."

"Alone?" Wufei asked.

"No, with Zechs. He's got some interviews as a possible future grad student."

"See what you started?" Heero said to Trowa. "This is good."

"Thanks. And when the fall fruit runs out I can do this with apples and pears."

Wufei set down his spoon with a clatter. "All right, Barton. What else did Winner tell you?"

"Is there a problem?" Heero asked.

"Not exactly."

"'Kay, Tro'. What'sup?"

"He's giving a Halloween party. Big thing around here, he said. Costumes and all."

Heero sat back. "That's not so bad, is it? He's not expecting us to dress up."

"Yes, yes he is and there's a theme."

"Which is--?" asked Wufei irritably.

"The Circus."

Chapter 5

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