|
"Band of Steel"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, shounen-ai, yaoi in later chapters,
some language, drugs Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3 Summary: With the Sanc battle of the bands contest on the horizon, do the GW boys need the exciting singer from L2 to give them the winning edge? Other credits: Songs are credited in the chapters they are used. Recognition should go to the late Mitch Hedburg for a couple of his wonderful one-liners used. In chapters 7, 11, 12, 15, 17, and 18, dialog from the anime was incorporated directly into the storyline. Acknowledgment goes to someone else for the 'cats are gay', 'knowing color names is gay', and other gay jokes sailing around the Internet. And the New Age affirmations are not mine, but may seen and heard everywhere, even in the GW universe. (Original version 2007 - this is the rewrite version
2009) "Band of Steel " Chapter 10 - I Thought You Were My Boyfriend The band had time to walk to dinner, rest, and change clothes before they would have to setup their equipment, do sound tests, and then wait until it was their turn to perform. Trowa couldn't help but smile as he watched Duo come alive in his old stomping grounds, the sinkhole of colonies, L2, as he himself felt increasingly sluggish. "It's a great night, warm for a change, so we eat outside," Duo announced. Quatre looked relieved. "Al fresco? Wonderful idea, Duo. The blue skies and balmy breezes of summer call to me 'Come outside'!" "What blue skies?" Wufei grumbled. "Leave the boy his fantasies," Zechs said. "I know the gritty urban landscape here is far from bucolic, however, just pretend." Wufei's expression meant he would allow for no flights of the imagination. His eyebrows raised; his chin tilted upwards. He was above it all even though he was the shortest of them all. "Eating outside means sharing meals with gasping buses, honking horns, car fumes and the occasional deafening rip-roar of a motorcycle. Our view? An up-close view of the parking lot at best. The ambiance--?" "It's loud," Heero pointed out when a cement truck rumbled past and set off a car alarm. Trowa chuckled quietly at his unimaginative band mates and heard Quatre's muted laughter at his elbow. He leaned toward him, nudging the shorter boy, and was rewarded with a smile. God, he was beautiful! He heard Zechs' audible sigh over the squeal of a braking car as a biker lived to see another day. "Still, for many, sitting outside on a cloud-free afternoon is preferable to being indoors." "You can't control who is walking by. I like a little privacy when I eat," Wufei continued. "That's okay, it's not for everyone. It bugs me when someone walks by and stares at my food as if they hadn't eaten in a week," Duo said. "I hadn't even thought of that," Wufei said. He looked as if he'd already eaten something which had soured in his mouth. "I don't see any of these... establishments braving the urban elements and setting up street side seating. In particular, this one at which you're stopping. Maxwell? Stop! Why are we going around the back?" "We are getting food at the back of the restaurant. Cooked up and sold to us at the back step in boxes costs less. You know, no fancy table service or table cloths to pay for." "No kidding?" Trowa asked, perking up slightly. He hoped food would help pull him out of his growing torpor. He never had much energy, but travel made it worse by disrupting his sleep cycle. Or maybe Chang's attitude might force him to action, like using him for a punching bag? "They even have a two-tiered, take-out pricing on to-go orders where you supply your own boxes. 'Course, we don't have anything so we'll have to ask for a few extra supplies," Duo explained. They put in orders for sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes, Chinese pot-sticker snacks, bread and bottles of pop, cheaper than from the machines at the hotel. Zechs requested napkins, but plastic utensils were not to be had. "'Sokay," Duo assured him. "I'll pick some up." Duo peeled off from the rest when the band got back to the hotel. "Go ahead upstairs. I'll mee'cha." Trowa watched as Duo danced away. He was so full of energy and burned it off physically or by talking, it seemed, whereas Trowa was by nature laconic. He needed very few words to express his thoughts. He was, in fact, just about as opposite from Duo as possible. Trowa thought that was probably why he liked the guy, apart from his being walking, talking sex with a braid. Trowa smiled as he thought about Duo all the way to the room he and Duo were sharing. He maneuvered around a questionable wet stain on step number three and skipped over the thirteenth with a glob of gum, or something that looked very much like pink bubble gum. There, he leaned against the door and waited. Further down the hall, Quatre looked lost, staring expectantly in the direction they expected Duo to appear. Heero stood outside his room staring hard at the window at the end of the hall as if a courtyard with tables and chair might materialize suddenly. Zechs leaned against the wall to examine his finely manicured fingernails. "Dear God save me, what is this!" Wufei broke into a string of Cantonese that ricocheted against the hard walls. Glaring at his shoe, he was the picture of indignant misery. Quatre handed him one of his linen, monogrammed handkerchiefs. "Here. And if it doesn't come off with just that, I have some nail polish remover that will do the trick." Then he tagged on a sweet smile that could sweeten anyone's day. "Nail--?" Wufei growled the rest and shook his head angrily. He rubbed harder at the glunk. Trowa hoped he would rub a hole clear through past the sole of his foot so that maybe the glunk could suck out his blood. He smiled a wicked little smile, imagining a bloodless zombie Chang at the drums, and met Quatre's eyes watching him. For a moment, he was certain the beautiful blond boy shared his every thought. They didn't have long to wait before Duo joined them, tote bag in hand. When he reappeared with knives, forks, spoons, and plates clattering together in the bag, Trowa guessed he'd put his thieving skills to work in the hotel's kitchen, but said nothing more than to recommend that Wufei "chill down." Heero hadn't moved from his spot, even as Duo stood toe-to-toe in front of him. He simply asked, "Where are we eating this?" Heero's fingers caressed the canvas bag, touching Duo's in a manner that could have been interpreted as accidental. Trowa couldn't see what Duo's other hand was doing, but it made Heero shudder. "This way," Duo said, his voice low and husky, and led the pack to the window. Amid Wufei's cries of outrage, "You're behavior is disgusting. You can't possibly expect us to eat outside on this... unhygenic--," Duo opened the window, climbed out and lowered the fire escape. "-- and the air alone---!" "I said, 'chill'." Trowa squashed Wufei into the wall on his way to the window. "And, while you're on the subject, you shouldn't push any of us toward dating the ladies, dude. Note that the fewer of us in the competition, your chances sky-rocket." Wufei cast him a baleful look, but Trowa turned away and climbed through the window behind Duo. "Cool choice, dude." "That's our balcony?" Quatre asked, leaning out tentatively. "Yep," Duo gestured expansively. "You got plenty of space if one or two sit on the stairs above and two below. Great view, too." Zechs and Heero were next, followed by a nimble Quatre, and an unenthusiastic Wufei. As the food circled the group, drinks opened, and napkins unfolded, the mood improved. When Duo revealed a bottle of whiskey in the bag with the utensils, no one turned down a slug in their sodas, and the mood elevated even more. A haze of industrial smog resulting from inoperative air scrubbers clouded the distant view of the smokestacks and gray slab buildings. Ugly view, but the location afforded them privacy, was free of charge, and was relatively quiet. Good enough for the mellowed out musicians. Zechs and Quatre were too well-bred to be anything but polite about Duo's homeland. Zechs had a natural grace that allowed him to appear at ease anyplace, even on a run-down hotel fire escape on L2. Quatre smiled nervously and guarded his food cautiously after Heero killed a thieving rat with a soda bottle, and tossed it over the railing. Heero appeared amused more than anything, even curious and attentive as Duo related tales of his youth, seriously abridged for Quatre's benefit, Trowa supposed. Chang, appeared to have the most problems disguising his distaste with his surrounding, so Trowa decided that he needed to be brought down a notch. "So, Chang, did you tell Maxwell how you liked the flight here?" Trowa asked. He cast Duo a quick glance and winked. "The flight was uneventful. Why bring that up?" Wufei asked. Chang seemed evasive to Trowa, and he bet that the beady-eyed glower meant he'd hit a sensitive spot. Good. Hit him again with a little reminder. "Oh, you'd questioned his piloting skills before," Trowa said. Now Chang was stiff, his flushed face turned away as if he was concentrating on the dreary view. Quatre, Trowa noticed, was squirming on his hard seat. Probably hating the bad vibes and about to smooth things out. "Maybe he slept through the whole ride?" Quatre said. "That would mean he was very relaxed and so Duo must have done a good job to put him at ease that way." Yep. Cover for the asshole. "He's a competent pilot. I'll give him that," Wufei said, accepting the "out" Quatre had given him. "Thanks, 'Fei. Mighty generous of you," Duo said with as much grace as he could, and polished off his drink in one gulp. Yeah, right. To Trowa's delight, though, Duo wasn't going to let Chang off so fast. Duo's eyes twinkled with mischief. "So I missed the match. You know, the sparring match you and Sally had the morning after the party? How'd it go?" "Fine." "I woulda gone, but 5:30 in the morning is just too fucking early, ya know?" Wufei's eyes popped and he choked on his bite of food. Trowa wondered how Duo knew the time or had guessed, and he bet Wufei was wondering too. In fact, Trowa wondered what the couple had been doing in the gym at that hour. "That is early, even for you," Zechs remarked. "Quite an out of the way place too," Duo continued since Wufei was incapacitated. "You're pretty buff. I'll bet you could kick the feet out from under her faster than she could bat her long, pretty eyelashes, then with a dashing move, have her flat, back on the mat, panting--" Duo panted as an example. Heero smiled and stared away as if the secrets of the universe could be read out there, and avoided the ruckus around him. Zechs looked like he wanted to join him out there...somewhere far away. Quatre shook his head side-to-side warning Duo, stop. Wufei gulped his drink and was recovering quickly. Trowa decided to act before he exploded. He cast about for a topic and settled on the first thing that came to mind. "So, Zechs. How are you at fortune telling? Is the band going to flop here?" Trowa asked for a change the topic. "Glad you asked." Zechs withdrew a small book from his shirt pocket. "I've been pondering this for some time. Perhaps you all can give me your own unique perspectives." He flipped through a few pages, settling on one, and said, "It says here that the future of human beings is 'to become a functionary of the time continuum and to retain the unique psycho emotional character of his/her language streams. This is a wondrous destiny and unique intergalactically. As the individual becomes stronger in the establishment of pure or transcendental consciousness, he or she rips the fabric off the cloak of awareness and arrives at a point in which original interpretation of dimensional existence begins.' That's what Ms. Sussman has to say on the subject." Trowa shook his head and rose to his feet. "Damn. You lost me at 'time continuum'. Do real people call it that? I dunno. I'm gonna take a nap." "I was listening and I don't think I got past us being 'unique intergalactically'. Is that even a word?" Duo asked. "It all depends on whether or not you give a rip about dimensional existence in the first place," Heero said. "All I know is: no more rats, no more excitement. I'm ready to sleep, too." Quatre balanced a cup of silverware on top of a pile of used napkins and empty boxes. He passed one armload through the window to Trowa, who stood waiting. "I have to leave you, too, Duo." "Ah, go ahead. I'm coming," Duo told him. "Zechs and I will take care of the rest." "I have the bottles," Zechs said as he climbed over the window sill. "I only hope the afterlife brings enlightenment. This one is quite disappointing." And with that, Wufei huffed off to his room. As everyone moved to their own beds to rest or sleep for a few hours, Trowa lingered at the window, giving the scenic outlook one last gaze in an attempt to discover some new meaning in life or, failing that, at least some motivation to move. Maybe Chang had a point. The murky vista was uninspiring. Nothing compelled Trowa to move on to the next undertaking, but since it was only resting, Trowa ambled over to his bed and fell across the lumpy mattress. He had slept on much worse. Fatigue oozed from his pores. Air travel made his head feel as if it were stuffed in a tissue box; the warm air enervated him; all the blood in his body fled his brain to focus on the digesting meal. (o) Duo was up before his alarm sounded; at least, when Trowa awoke Duo was digging in his overnight bag and the clock showed it had been shut off. Trowa's eyelids were still heavy, but he watched as the other boy removed his makeup kit and laid out his clothes for the performance. He decided to remain in bed as long as possible, preferring the horizontal to the vertical, lethargy to activity. It didn't hurt that he had a live strip tease performance for entertainment as Duo undressed. Trowa could appreciate a hot young body, even if it wasn't his to touch. He wondered if Heero accepted that he'd fallen under Shinigami's spell or if he was still pretending to be uninterested. It was the job with the makeup that was a marvel. Nothing flamboyant, Duo had gone at that makeup case with the eye of a surgeon. Outliner like a scalpel, lip-liner incised. Blusher like the real thing. Against his pale complexion, the makeup would make Duo's features pop on stage. "Hey, Tro, time to get dressed." Duo stood there dressed again as only he could; meaning, he looked undressed. Skintight leathers worn low on his hips and a torn t-shirt. Jacket in hand. Braid neatly lined down his back. "Bring a coat or something. It will get cold in the night cycle. Temperature controls are shit here. Uh, plus I'm taking a change in case I start to steam in these pants." Trowa made no attempt to hide his arousal as he threw back the covers. He figured a guy like Duo must be pretty used to the effect he hadon other gay men. This made him smile again, thinking about how differently he acted around Quatre. Yeah, he knew the slender blond was sending out hints, and those stolen kisses had been sweet, but he wasn't sure he wanted to be the one to taint him. Quatre just seemed so pure, while Duo was as sullied as he. One of these days, though, Trowa knew he would break down and give into his drives. Yeah, sure. Quatre was like sex with a brain. Trowa groaned. He could hardly get up off the bed. He shook his head and pulled himself together. There was work to be done. "Okay, man," Trowa said, stretching out the kinks. "I'm checking on the others," Duo said as he left the room. Trowa rinsed his face with cold water then shuffled over to his clothes bag. He thought about Quatre and how his sister, Catherine, was infatuated with him. He wondered if there was a chance for them, if Quatre might return her feelings sufficiently to one day marry her. That might go a long way to mending the rift in the Winner family, returning Quatre to the fold, and his considerable wealth. That would be good for Quatre. He didn't belong in this hard world of harsh realities. As tough as it had been so far, Trowa knew he'd have to continue fighting his urges and keep Quatre distanced-a friend only. There was no way Catherine would have a thing to do with Quatre if she discovered Trowa had been his lover. Damn, life kept getting complicated. Trowa rinsed out one of the empty soda bottles and filled it with cold water. It was cheaper and more refreshing than drinking soda while playing, and he always got thirsty under the lights. He examined the pill container he'd ripped off of Zechs containing the drug which had knocked out Wufei so fabulously on the plane, and considered testing the anti-anxiety medication's libido-lowering side effect on himself. "Nah," he muttered, "I'd probably fall asleep on the stage-- that would be cool. Yuy'd flip for sure." Trowa stuffed the medication in his pocket. Never know when he might want to drug the arrogant drummer, though. And even with the anti-drug pledge, Trowa bet that didn't include silencing Chang. Which brought up drugs again. Drugs were legal and readily available on L2. Oh, man. How was he to keep Duo clean-- and Quatre?! Those two could get into so much trouble here, he thought, moaning aloud again. Change of shirt, a rake through his bangs, and Trowa was ready to rumble. Man, he hoped they could keep Duo out of trouble. He was on his home turf and Trowa had never felt more out of it than on L2. How was he to keep watch over him and Quatre both? Split up the work. Trowa hoped Heero was up to the challenge. (o) They setup their equipment in the back staging area and ran sound tests with the house technician, stopping before the "no compromises" anal-planned-within-an-inch-of-its-life-perfectionist Heero and the "close enough" by-the-seat-of-his-pants sound man came to blows. After that, they had a short wait until the club opened and the opening acts began. The technician cranked up the sound system playing recorded hip-hop music then left the stage. Wufei would not leave the vicinity of his drum kit positive that anything left unguarded would be stolen instantly. Trowa thought he was probably right. Heero remained near his guitar, probably for the same reason as Wufei, although he didn't put it that way. The band wore black jeans, or leather in Duo's case, with varying dark shirts, mostly in the shade of black. This made them disappear when the lights were out, which was why Trowa nearly passed by Duo and Quatre seated close together on stacks of dead amps lining the back stage area. "Hey," Duo called out. "Trowa? Are you all right?" Quatre asked. "You seem a little lost." "After effects," Trowa said, finding his own box to sit on. "I haven't woken up yet, I guess. What time is it?" Quatre shrugged. Only Zechs wore a watch. "We got some yet. Doors are open and the first to arrive are already dancing. This place gets busy fast. Popular hangout." Duo said. "So you've been here before?" Trowa asked. He thought Duo looked on edge and distracted. "Oh, yeah, you probably played gigs here." "Yeah, played here," Duo said. Could he possibly be nervous? Trowa's eyes followed Quatre's slim form as he peeked out at the dancers already crowding the floor. He thought Quatre was beautiful for about the millionth time already. "Wow! They are certainly an energetic bunch out there." Both Trowa and Duo joined him for a look. Trowa absolutely had to look at something besides Quatre's ass. "That's krump dancing, a really emotive kind," Duo said. "Very visceral and gymnastic," Quatre said. "Aggressive and raw... and fast," Trowa observed. "Yeah, faster than most mortals will ever move," Duo said with a laugh. "It's an expression of feelings, tapping them, getting 'amped.'" Duo pointed to the far side. "Now, that's called clown dancing, the goofy looking group over there locking, popping, mock stripper dancing, and anything else that makes 'em laugh." "Exhausts me to watch," Trowa said. "You are pretty laid back," Duo observed, "which is cool for a bass player. Drummers can be hyper assholes, guitarist anal perfectionists, but bassists gotta be..." "Indolent sloths." Wufei appeared out of the dimness. "Would you watch our valuables, while I fill my water bottle?" "Sure," Trowa said, smiling. "I'll take me an hour to crawl over there, though." Quatre piped up. "So that makes singers egotistical exhibitionists and keyboardists-" "Perfect," Trowa whispered as he loped off to sit at Wufei's throne. Duo smiled after him. "Looks like you got an admirer, Quat." Trowa froze in place, turned and over his shoulder shouted back to Duo. "You haven't seen Zechs have you?" "He was looking for Lady Une, who was going to come hear us, I think," Quatre offered. He looked up at Trowa's face briefly then down to his hands. God, you are beautiful, Quatre. Trowa swallowed, hoping he hadn't said that aloud, wishing he had a larger vocabulary, and then said, "I'd better go find him." "Guess that makes us the guardians of the royal drum kit, Quat," Duo said with lively amusement in his voice, the kind Trowa never had, but appreciated. Trowa needed the cooler outside air to wake him up. Like Duo had warned, the temperature had dropped dramatically from the nearly tropical feel on the fire escape. He walked a short circuit around the building and found Zechs milling around the back. "Hey." "Trowa? You guys ready for your big L2 debut?" "Yeah, you?" "I was hoping to stumble upon Lady Une," Zechs said, adding quickly, "We discussed a tryst, but not a romantic one. Don't worry." "I wasn't." "Pretty confident of you." Trowa shrugged. He didn't think he had any power over Une's heart; what's more, he didn't care. Realizing that truth, triggered his smile reflex-- a small one. It wasn't worth the effort to care. "Maybe she didn't want to draw attention in Treize territory," Trowa offered. "Possibly, if you believe Duo's paranoia." "You don't?" Trowa asked. "I don't want to," Zechs said. "Let's go in. She can find me inside. I want to hear the show." Trowa followed behind the taller, older man to whom he owed his current comfortable lifestyle and future happiness. He wished Duo wasn't distracted by what seemed to be more than the usual pre-performance jitters. He worried about Quatre, who seemed sensitive to all their feelings. How were they to get through this gig this way? He tracked down Duo and thought the singer looked like he might be coming down with something. "Do you know the warm up band?" he asked. "Dunno. Name doesn't ring a bell, but then names change. 'Course, I don't recognize the equipment set up on stage either." Trowa watched as Duo's smile vanished and his lips lost their color beneath the lip gloss. He cast a keen green eye across the stage, over the audience, and back, but he was unable to determine what caused Duo's concern. He guessed it was a person in the crowd. "Who?" Trowa asked, succinctly, but Duo didn't answer. Yuy materialized beside them. Zechs, Winner, and Chang watched from the other side of the backstage as a man the age of Zechs, and nearly as tall, sauntered out of the audience and hopped up onto the stage, remote microphone attached to his shirt collar. Trowa knew instinctively that man was the "who." Heero caught Duo's arm as he sank into him, weak-kneed. Confirmation. "Hey, Solomon Betts here tonight doin' the intros. Yeah, all's good when I'm here, but when I'm not...all "bets" are off." He waved off the groans and cheers alike then went on warming up the crowd as more people joined the crush. "So, here's tonight's test question. Ready? Okay. Which of the following does not belong in this list: herpes, gonorrhea, or a condominium in sector 12 on L2?" "The condo!" was shouted from the audience. "Nope, gonorrhea. It's the only one you can get rid of." Trowa shook his head. "Shit, his jokes are as bad as yours." Duo swallowed hard and whispered, "Solo, he was our leader." "Your... band? That guy and you and... Hilde, right? You were all in a band called Sweepers... together?" Heero asked. Duo nodded mutely. So that was it. Damn. Solo's voice overriding whatever he would have said. "Anyone who can guess what I have in my hand can have sex with me tonight." "An elephant!" someone shouted from the back. Solo thought a moment, pushed a fall of ash-brown, chin-length hair behind an ear, and then said, "Close enough!" "Hey, speaking of sex-" Solo broke off, turned, and stared directly at Duo a moment before turning back to the audience. "I noticed a few familiar faces in the hall tonight. There's Howard and Hilde just comin' through the door. Yo, Howie!" He saluted the couple, then said, "Me and Hilde are with the band startin' us off. But, seein' as another lost soul's with us tonight, maybe I can talk him into joining us for one number, kinda a Sweeper's reunion e-vent?" Heero shifted next to Trowa to get closer to Duo. "You don't have to do it. Just wave or something and bow out." Trowa could feel the tension building between Duo and Heero. When he looked across the stage, he caught Quatre's eyes and saw the worry there as well. Zechs was not pleased either. "Come on," Solo was grinning at Duo now. "Yer not afraid you've been forgotten already?" Trowa could tell this guy knew all the triggers to set off Duo. They must have known each other well and long. Duo snorted and shook off Yuy's hand. "No biggy. I'll just do one song for the fans and it'll be over." Duo stepped out and into the lights of the front stage. The crowd roared, voices soaring, shouting in mass approval. Trowa guessed by the spirited and relieved looks on the faces of Duo's former band mates that his being there was welcome and that his leaving had been hard for them. The Sweepers band may have broken up, partially. They may not have wanted to tour off L2, but they hadn't wanted to lose Duo. Hilde wrapped him in a hug, whispering something in his ear. Duo pointed backwards where his other current band members were standing out of sight and she nodded before dragging him to stand up front beside Solo and take a bow. The old Sweepers band tuned briefly while Solo and Duo stood joking with the crowd, Solo's arm draped all too familiarly and intimately over Duo's shoulders. Hilde picked out a piano solo, a melancholy tune. Trowa watched Duo's reaction, and from where he stood it didn't look to him like Duo wanted to sing the song, but Solo tossed him a microphone as he picked up his guitar. Solo's voice was low and level. "You
told me you loved me Duo and he were to trade off lines. It was Duo's turn. He didn't sing, so Solo continued after a skipped measure, increasing the words' impact. "I
know you don't love me, Duo must have felt uncomfortable. Trowa was, and he wasn't on stage being studied by hundreds of expectant kids awaiting his reaction as his ex-lover-- and Trowa was very sure Solo and Duo had been that-- sang a heart-breaking, accusatory song in his face. "Damn," Heero growled Just in time, Trowa caught his arm. "Don't go out there." The two young men locked eyes. "Yuy, let him handle this." Duo jumped into the song, taking a higher harmony, and belted out the chorus: "I
thought I was just the guy for you and it would never end. I thought you were my boyfriend." This time Duo continued on, singing the next verse. His voice cracked with feeling in just the right parts, but he avoided direct eye contact with the other singer. He was performing for the crowd, not for an ex-lover, and Trowa hoped Heero saw it that way, too. "...Should
I freak out? Solo came in on the chorus again, their voices blending well, and bringing tears to the audience. Trowa sighed thinking that they had probably been a killer duo and wondered why Solo hadn't wanted to travel with Duo. Or was it that Duo had wanted to get away from the overbearing older guy? "I
thought I was just the guy for you and it would never end. The names struck Trowa like head on collision with a semi. He swayed. He felt Heero's arm on his shoulder steadying him. Solo and Duo-how weird was that? The music was coming out of a down turn into a minor key. "
...Wishing
you were here to keep me from the sleeping How could Heero not be thinking Duo was replacing Solo with him back Earth-side, Trowa wondered? He felt his stomach churn and wished the song would hurry up and end. The key changed, the piano trilled, and the chorus repeated as upbeat as it ever had been, but this time with Hilde coming in to echo part of the lines in a mournful tone. "I
thought I was just the guy for you and it would never end. It would take a miracle to put the band into the mood to perform once this was finished. Trowa could see Wufei frowning for whatever reason, and there were plenty to choose from. He wouldn't like the obvious and overt homosexually; Duo being the part of it; Duo singing with another band, especially his past and popular one, it appeared; or the implied relationship between Duo and Solo and its effect on Yuy. Quatre appeared alternatively angry at whatever it was Chang was grumbling in his ear and worried about Yuy's reaction. And to top it off, Zechs was suddenly missing. "Love
or not, I've always got ten guys on whom I can depend... Trowa checked his side. Heero had been staring at the club clock, but now looked over at him. "It's time for us to go on." Trowa answered with a curt nod, and then moved back to where his bass guitar was resting on a rack. At this club, the keyboards, amps, and drum kits were setup on rolling platforms, which could be easily moved into place when the bands switched places. The cables were wrapped around the amps so all Trowa would have to do is carry his bass and plug it into the pickups to be ready. The only thing left to move were the microphone stands, and those could be moved in seconds; the two bands were sharing the house mics and sound system. Chang and Winner followed their lead, preparing for their debut performance on L2. The song was winding down (but not fast enough) entering its death throes, as Trowa imagined it. "I
thought I was just the guy for you and it would never end. Whether the song was done or not, Duo acted professionally and took his cue from Trowa's downbeat. He motioned for "cut" to the old sweeper band and stopped singing with one last note held out... "I thought you were my boyfrieeeeeeeeend." Duo bowed. The end. At last. The audience screamed and stomped, wanting more. Duo still had the mic. He waved in his new band as Hilde helped roll off her band's equipment, quickly making room for Quatre and Wufei. Solo tottered from foot to foot, as if he meant to say something, but was stymied by Duo's behavior. He was playing the audience and ignoring the older boy. "Hey thanks, really, thanks for the welcome home. Yeah. It's great to be back, too!" Duo shouted. The crowd howled. "Sure it is, flyboy!" one funny guy yelled. "Okay, so it's not great, but this place is cool, right? And you guys, yeah, you're a terrific audience tonight." The folks cheered loudly. Duo was loved by his fellow L2-ers and he fed off of that love to acquire his energy. "And thanks, Solo, for the chance to do a sing-a-long." Duo took a quick look as the band behind him, which nearly ready, testing the hook ups and tuning up. Solo had no choice but to slink off-stage and out of sight. "All right! We are Gundam Wing and welcome to our world. Now, don't worry. No matter what, you'll only be here with us in our world for two hours. We're stuck with it." He grinned and the audience roared their approval, more than willing to play along with him. "...Anyway, those are our principles. If you don't like them, I have others. Um, Groucho Marx said that," Duo turned around, waiting for a ready signal from the band. Trowa started a bass line, and the show was underway. Duo tore into the first song, blowing everyone away, proving he was even more spectacular with a great band behind him. Without pausing, they ended one piece and started the next. Duo warbled and wowed without pause. Then the next and the next. Before the break, Duo introduced the other members of the band: "Wufei on drums, Quatre on keyboards, Trowa on bass, and my Heero on guitar." Trowa's head jerked up in time to see Heero jolt like he'd touched a live wire. "My" Heero? Had Duo really said that? Had he meant to? "So, we'll all be back in about twenty. Don't leave!" Duo shouted, waving to the crowd which might do just about anything, but not leave. Trowa swilled back the last of his water bottle and cast about for a fountain to refill. "How's your throat, Duo?" "Fine. I learned fast how to sing into a microphone. Let it do the amplification. Saves me." Trowa took one step toward the hall. "Anybody see Zechs?" "He whispered something about Une and meeting her," Wufei said. "Too bad he couldn't catch our act. I think the audience likes us." "They do!" Quatre exclaimed. He energetically launched into a rhapsodic retelling of the emotional response he sensed from the crowd during the performance. Trowa hung around just to listen to his voice and soak up his positive energy. Refreshed, somewhat, yet still Zechs-less, the band returned to the stage for the second part of the gig. More patrons had entered the club in the meantime. The noise was unbelievable. The lights flickered as the sound man turned up the volume on the amplification. Air circulation sucked; at least, it would have helped if it had. The first song began, Duo launching into the song the moment the first measure began. Heero held up a hand, calling a halt to the song. Duo closed his mouth and turned around to look at Heero. The audience fell silent. "Eh?" "You're not supposed to sing," Heero explained, his tone flat making it difficult to tell if this was a joke or he was serious. "We play first to get in some solo time and you don't sing." "Don't sing?" Duo looked horrified. "It's a song. You think they wanna listen to you guys do just instrumentals?" "Yes," Heero said. "Ha! That's pretty funny. I'm the singer, I sing, you play, together we make be-uuuuu-tiful music." Duo slithered up close to Heero and batted his eyelashes. Heero shook his head. "Ah, don't be so hard, man. Just start over and I'll sing real nice and pretty..." Duo continued along this vein, combining meaningless chatter with begging. Heero kept turning away, attempting to avoid Duo's direct pleas and look serious despite a smile threatening to ruin the effect. It didn't help that Quatre was giggling, Wufei was hiding his face behind a cymbal, and Trowa had collapsed on one knee, shuddering with repressed laughter. Heero finally stepped up to the mic and said, "Shut up, Duo." Duo clammed up, blinked, and stood, hands over his mouth. They made the perfect comic and straight man act and the crowd adored them. "Better," Heero told him as he started the introduction over, this time with a long musical interlude before Duo was allowed to join in. To show their approval the audience screamed and stomped their feet to the music, and Trowa wondered for the hundredth time where it was that Zechs had gone.
The Magnetic Fields: "I Thought You Were My Boyfriend" Many thanks to Jess-eklom for providing me with the "if the other guys aren't interested in girls, Wufei's chances sky-rocket" line.
|
