"Defying Gravity"

A Romance in Three Parts

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, yaoi, some language

Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3

Summary: A multi part story of romance starting with a turning point vacation, developing throughout a dangerous UC mission, and moving ahead through the unexpected challenges of a summer vacation.

"Part Three: It's Another Vacation"

Duo skipped down the steps into the bright sunlight, clutching their piece of paper as if it were a treasure map. Washed in his smile of joy, Heero felt cleansed to the soul and was tempted to give him a kiss, but there were quite a few people around and he didn't want to cause a riot. They walked together, close, shoulders almost touching along the avenue of the beach town. Heero grabbed hold of his hand in observance of the occasion. No one seemed to notice except a scruffy-haired, guy in baggy cargo shorts and a filthy T-shirt.

"Fucking queers," he said as the pair passed.

But there were two of them and only one of him.

"Fucking breeder," Duo said. "If anyone would want to."

Nothing could really depress either of them that morning.

"Where are we headed?" Duo asked.

"Shopping," Heero told him. "We didn't bring enough clothing for two more weeks at the beach house."

"Okay."

Heero made a point of getting Trowa more underwear, shorts, and shirts too. Sally and Wufei could take care of themselves, but Trowa would most likely wear the same clothes for the duration, without washing. He never did the wash. Quatre and Duo took care of clothes, and right now Trowa wasn't even taking care of Trowa. He hadn't shaved since Quatre had gone. If it wasn't for Jimmy staying in the cottage with him, Heero guessed he'd skip eating, and probably getting up, too.

After that, choosing clothes took less time than expected, mostly because Heero made them shop in only the one store and kept reciting items off a made-up menu to Duo.

"Roasted chicken lapped in a butter-wine sauce, sautéed mushrooms with..."

"Sounds good. I'm done. C'mon, let's eat."

"Hurry and pick out your clothes, then," Heero told him. Heero picked out a couple things for himself. "I have to try them on."

"Go ahead," Duo said with a smile and returned to the stacks of t-shirts.

Heero knew he shouldn't be so worried. Duo was capable of taking care of himself, but he was also in a vulnerable state. There were times when he just wasn't all Duo. Heero concentrated on what he was doing and found that the shorts he had chosen fit well, better than his old ones, so Heero decided to buy two, if he could find another pair in a suitable color.

First thing he did as he exited the fitting room was locate Duo. It wasn't hard. Duo was laughing and holding up an atrocious flowered shirt. He turned when the salesman looked over his shoulder, taking his hand off Duo's arm, and said something. Heero eyes met the salesman's eyes and held them in a death grip, splintering off razor-sharp shards, and sending them flying at the man's head and heart-- then he blinked away his lethal thoughts.

"Whaddya think, 'Ro? Should I get this?" Duo asked, chuckling.

"If I were dead, yes." Heero's eyes never left those of the salesman.

"Maybe your...friend... would like you in this one," the salesman said. He leaned into Duo unnecessarily as he reached for a pair of hanging shirts. "There's even one like it for him in green."

As in green with envy? Heero's eyes narrowed.

"It's soft," Duo said, fingering the fabric.

"It's silk," Heero said. He could tell from the sheen. "Too much care. I prefer a cotton blend. Possibly rayon."

"Ah, a man who knows his materials and what he wants."

Heero cut off further word sparring with the clerk. "I have what I want, unless you can find me an identical pair of shorts to these in tan or olive."

"Olive? I'll see what I can find." The clerk took off on his mission, leaving Duo alone with Heero.

"I'll use that fitting room now." Duo smiled then quickly turned away.

"Try this," Heero suggested.

"Pink? No way."

"It's coral. You can wear orange tones."

Duo stared at the shirt. "Like a sunset. Sure, okay. Gimme it."

Heero studied Duo as he jaunted off with his clothes, humming a tune. His eyes caught sight of the belts and an idea stuck him. By the time Duo came out to model the coral shirt with a pair of dark blue cutoffs, Heero had formulated a plan to take care of his possessive streak.

"Not bad?" Duo asked as he rolled up the long sleeves to the elbow. His braid swung past the belt display, slapping the metal rack, and attracting Heero's iron-hard eyes to him magnetically.

The salesman was back with Heero's olive shorts. "That color is marvelous on you."

"Ring everything up. He'll wear those out. I'll cut the tags." Heero clipped off orders in a cold, metallic tone as if he was handling the rank and file at the office. Those belts had given Heero an idea. He was going to have to do some research when they got home to find just the right product, and fit for Duo.

"You seem preoccupied," Duo commented once they were outside again.

"Hn." Heero realized he was and had to stop concentrating on his new project. "Fish place up ahead good for you?"

"Any of the ten places we already passed looked good to me; but, yeah, let's go there."

Duo sailed into the restaurant looking like a proud bridegroom and grinned at the hostess seating them. Duo had wanted to take the signed form to show Quatre, but Heero had insisted they stick with the schedule. After Duo had sipped at his crisp, white wine and gnawed at a couple breadsticks, Heero explained what Duo had forgotten: that Quatre was on L4 and no longer in a relationship with Trowa. To cheer Duo up, Heero mentioned buying a camera next.

(o)

Quatre had invited his personal secretary and another man their age working in the financial office for dinner at a nearby restaurant to catch up a bit with what he had missed. Kalil's name meant "best friend" and in a way the young secretary to the heir to the Winner Corporation was that to Quatre while visiting his home land. Both men had known Quatre in their youth, their fathers were employees of his father, but hadn't been close childhood friends. They were chatting about mundane things, when Kalil had to bring up that topic.

"So you are going to marry, huh?"

Quatre choked on his drink as the other two smirked.

"Who told you that? I haven't even said yes yet!" Quatre said indignantly.

"Like you are going to say no! Another one bites the dust," Nasir (whose name meant "the helper") said.

He looked down on Quatre with mock pity. Both co-workers sniggered stupidly, and Quatre wished again for a table someplace else with other friends. But this was home now, he reminded himself, and he'd better get used to his new place in it.

"But I never thought Quatre would be the one to marry first. You remember how he used to stay away from the girls. He didn't even look up when one passed by," Kalil said with a grin.

"Yeah! You remember the love letter a girl once gave him? Quatre was so nervous he told the poor girl that he had no feelings for her. She was so heart broken!" Nasir added.

"Yes, and I also remember how you went to console her. A bit too much consolation, I think. Now, shut up and eat silently. Or else you're the one paying the bill," Quatre snapped.

That shut them up. They were aware that he'd been a Gundam pilot, a hero who had defended their colony, which carried a lot more weight than the threat not to cover the meal. As thankful as he was for their cowed behavior, he wished for friends he could joke with without touching on painful memories, or ones who could find words to ease the pain they caused.

"So, outside of work, how are things?" Quatre eventually asked after a few minutes.

"Nothing special. Unemployment. Corruption," Kalil replied.

"You remember that tall guy whose father worked in personnel? His name was Tariq, the 'night visitor'," Nasir asked.

"Yes, the one with large glasses. Why?" Quatre said.

"Well, he's living with another man on L2, his boyfriend," Nasir said in a small voice so the other patrons nearby wouldn't overhear.

"He was gay?" Kalil asked Nasir in surprise.

Quatre never thought that Tariq could be gay, but then he had awful gaydar. He waited for the "other guy" to make the first move. Even with Trowa. Although he asked Trowa out the first time, it was only after Trowa had made it clear he was interested. He fought back tears, shielding his eyes from the other men at the table. Thinking about Trowa hurt so bad.

"Yeah, even I couldn't believe it at first. I mean, he looked really normal," Nasir said again under his breathe as if they were planning to assassinate the Federation President.

"Well, gays are normal people," Quatre commented timidly. "It doesn't matter if he's gay or not. He was a nice guy and very smart."

"Easy for you to say since you have been abroad for years. But you know how it is here. It must have been a real shock to his parents," Kalil said.

"Shock is an understatement, mate. His mother was admitted to the hospital for one week. His father is still telling everyone that he doesn't have a son," Nasir filled them in.

"You're kidding!" Quatre exclaimed. "His parents loved him very much. I remember once, when his father was awarded a prize for his service, he gave the gift money to Tariq and hugged him in front of everyone. He was really close to them."

"But a gay son is hard to accept. His parents aren't able to show their face to anyone. Last week they moved to another city," Nasir said.

The bite of curry turned to tasteless dust in his mouth; Quatre suddenly lost his appetite for good.

(o)

Duo waved the piece of paper in Chang's face. "Step one!"

He smiled and nodded. It didn't look particularly impressive, no gold-deckled edge, no fancy font and just a scrawled signature at the bottom which looked something like 'rat' (Mr. Rhatt, mousey to the last), but Chang expressed pleasure, because he could see how excited Duo was. "Congratulations."

"So when is it to be?" asked Sally.

"And where?" asked Wufei.

"Well, it can't be for at least fifteen days," Heero said. "That's how the law stands unless there are exceptional circumstances."

"Exceptional circumstances?"

"Yes, the first same sex civil partnership in this country was carried out a day after the order was issued because one of the partners was terminally ill. He died a day later."

"That's so sad," said Sally.

"So, we wait for a fortnight and then the revels begin," said Wufei. "You gays are noted for your exquisite taste in decoration. It'll be a grand affair, no doubt."

Duo was too buoyed up to care what the guy said, or even that Wufei had dropped a rare joke on him.

"Flowers everywhere, a three piece chamber orchestra, lots of yummy food," suggested Sally. She drank her herbal tea from the Styrofoam cup and made a face. "God, this is nasty stuff. It had better calm my stomach. I look as terrible a I feel, don't I?"

No one was stupid enough to touch that comment without bomb squad gear.

"You had your chance to put on a show at your wedding," Heero said. "Not for us. Sandwiches and a glass of sparkling wine-- colored water for you, if anything."

"Callous bastard," Sally said. She poured the nasty tasting tea onto the sand.

"Tight wad," said Trowa. "There'll be a crowd. Better feed them."

"Just a few close friends," Heero insisted.

"Relena, Hilde, and Dorothy are coming; I won't be the only female there."

"Of course," Duo said. "And I'm thinking of asking Lady Une. Smile!"

"Don't you dare!" Sally cried and hurled her empty cup at him. "Put that camera down!"

He snapped her picture and ran.

(o)

"Think of the cost at the Hilton," Heero said.

"Think how Trowa and Quatre would love it," said Duo.

"Just tell me who it is that is getting married?" Heero said, sighing and not wanting to go into the Trowa-Quatre break up again.

"We are."

"And we are poor, Duo. Very, very poor."

In the end they put off making a decision and, cuddled together on the bed and watched an old black and white movie. It wasn't sentimental or sad; instead, it was frightening and bloody. Then the phone rang.

Heero took phone call. "Heero. Yeah, who is this?"

"Did they hang up on ya?" Duo asked.

"Yes, like the other day, when you took that call."

"Huh?" Duo straightened up. "Don't give me any shit, Heero."

"I'm not. That is the second call. Someone knows where we are and is trying to reach us."

"Why?"

Heero shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay," said Duo.

"The Maguanacs can set up a trace or review records of the incoming calls. They handle the Winner corporate security," Heero added just in case Duo hadn't remembered who they were.

"That's a lot of trouble for a couple crank calls."

Heero nodded and, instead, rang Commander Une and told her about the mysterious phone calls both he and Duo had received.

"I agree that it must be more than a coincidence," said the commander. "I'll look into it."

She wasn't overly concerned, he could tell. In fact, her calm attitude made him rethink his call. He was over reacting, just as Duo had after his long UC jobs. The commander must think he was a whining sniveler.

"It's probably nothing," he conceded. It was time to forget about it and concentrate on the sexy man at hand.

Chapter11

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