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"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 17 - These Are The Days Of Our Lives Zechs sat head in hands at the table. "Tell me again, in simple words, why it was that I came home last night, my first night out with my woman in weeks without a bunch of teenage boys hanging around us, to find mayhem-MAY HEM-in my sanctuary." "Heero was going to kill me, I thought," Quatre began. "I was not that out of control." Heero glared for a moment at anyone daring to look at him, but when it was Zechs his eyes slid to his hands. "It sure felt that way to me," Quatre insisted. "You all were out of control, it seems plain to me-" Zechs put in. "He shouldn't have tried to strangle me with Duo's braid," Heero explained. "No, he shouldn't have, but--" Zechs started to say but was interrupted my a very assertive Quatre. "Well, he shouldn't have been sitting on Trowa's head with a knife at his throat!" "Look, we only got the one drummer. You know how hard it is to replace 'Fei? Bass players are a dime a dozen," Duo said. "Fuck you," Trowa growled. "Well, I might have had that chance if you didn't keep barging in on me," Duo countered. "Please, Duo, keep that to yourself," Zechs muttered. "You think I'm the problem? Man, Chang's a virtual chastity belt around my neck!" Trowa growled. "Um, I think you gotta bigger problem if you think that's where those get worn, bud," Duo said in a serious tone. Zechs sighed and stood. "Resolve this yourselves, then, but you owe me two hours of slave labor." "It was that damninable cat!" Wufei announced. "Six... SIX baby cats are now lodging in MY room. My clothes are spoiled! I can't sleep for all the noise." "Oh, so that's why you were shacked up with Miss Po last night?" Trowa asked. Wufei's mouth fell open. "Okay, for that, JUST for that, I will personally drive 'Fei to town and buy him the best underwear," Duo said. "Celebration." "Buy me--? Oh, you will pay for what I choose, Maxwell!" "Fine, be a prude. Hey, Zechs, can I borrow your Hog?" Zechs pulled the keys from his pocket and tossed them over his shoulder. "What the hell..." He paused at the kitchen door. "The rest of you clean up the house. Make it serene and spotless." "Cool," Duo said, tossing an arm familiarly over Wufei's shoulder and marched him out the door. "This is going to be great." Shopping with a prickly, arrogant Wufei Chang wasn't great, but it wasn't too bad either. Duo gave him the forty dollars he'd held onto since Heero gave it to him after the drug-deal-gone-bad incident (Heero hadn't actually made the man eat it all as he had said) and waited outside the shop on the fancy motorcycle eyeing the passing girls and boys and accepting the envious glares with joy. Zechs owned some classic, cool rides, but this was his favorite. And it beat cleaning house. Wufei made his purchases and they stopped for refreshments. "Six, really? What do they look like?" Duo asked over coffee. "Nothing much." "Aw, c'mon--" "They all look alike. I didn't look at them too hard. Besides, Sally said it will be a few days until they fill out properly and week until they open their eyes." Wufei cut into his pie. Duo caught his eye. "You like her, huh? I think she's pretty cute. That sparring you two do sure pays off. Nice figure." "How would you know?" Duo's eyes narrowed defensively a moment. "I'm gay, not blind. Pretty's pretty, be it a boy or girl. I can appreciate them both." Wufei stared then looked away. "If you say so. I can't imagine doing... anything with another male. And with Heero?" He scrunched up his face at the picture of Heero and Duo his mind had made, and washed away the image with a swallow of tea. "He is fuckaliciously hot," Duo said. Wufei held up a hand blocking more input. "Too much." Duo clamped up with a smile and finished his stack of cookies in silence. The two friends hung out just long enough to avoid participating in the cleanup task at home, considered it a male bonding time, and left it at that. The ride home was direct and without incident, having achieved everything they had set out to do. (o) After the "fight," the band had fewer than two weeks to prepare for the Sanc Kingdom Battle of the Bands. What had appeared to be a long, lazy summer at the outset had turned out to be a short, action-packed one. The band practiced at home, intently, but their time wasn't completely work-filled. For one thing, Duo had learned to swim and identify several plants by their blossoms. "Hey, I won't drown now if I fall in a lake, but if I do, I want these hydrangeas marking my grave, got that?" The pounding Heero gave him for that not-so-funny remark unleashed more of their pent up passions. Duo found his attraction for Heero had developed into a deeper need for his company. From experience, though, he knew better than to dream of having some kind of a "meaningful relationship." His life wasn't a fucking romance novel, and what Heero was feeling-- beyond the discovery and joy of unlimited excellent teenage sex at his beck and call-- was all purely up to Duo's imagination, because words of love and devotion weren't forthcoming. With Quatre's mood improving under Trowa's undivided attention and Heero's disposition lightening under Duo's ministrations, the band adjusted to home life and serious musical work. They had downtime, like when they ate, and sometimes with their friends. The breakfast table had become a battleground of wits. It always helped to have Relena present to keep the conversation intelligent. One morning, Relena shook her packet of Nutrasweet into her tea and stirred as she related the highlights of her job and accomplishments. "...And the State Senate approved measures that will benefit every Sanc citizen, whether they live near a landfill filled with waste, whether they hunt or fish, whether they drink water or breathe air," she said. Her smile glowed with satisfaction. "We're making great progress!" "Uh, huh."Duo said, totally unimpressed. "That belongs on a bumper sticker so it's always moving off into the distance getting tinier and less and less significant, which it is." "That's untrue. We do good work!" she insisted. "It sounds good," Quatre said diplomatically. Duo rocked his head back and forth indecisively. He shoveled eggs onto his plate, had second thoughts, put half back, and then settled on one piece of crispy bacon and a single slice of toast. "I guess," Duo said. "Okay, you do good work, Relena, I'll give you that. You are a good person and aim high. The folks you work for put most of the money they collect into purchasing land and developing conservation areas." "It's light-years better an organization than the Earth Liberation organization Dorothy works for," Quatre said. "Well, there are people who believe in ELF's causes, too. ELF depends on individual contributors for funds," Relena said. Duo laughed. "Man, that's not going to hold up under the jeweler's eyepiece, 'Lena. You ever see their website? They say they accept donations of cash, stock, or other financial assets. So, there's a tax-exempt foundation making a plea for corporate securities, on behalf of a group that claims to exist without any structure. Talk about a lack of ethics." "I don't know about that." "You should know your facts, ma'am," Duo said, tipping his invisible cap. "And for your information, ELF headquarters, such as it is, is on L2, which is how I know stuff about them, like how a pal of Treize Khushrenada's, acting for OZ, has personally contributed to several of the radical environmental groups to get a free pass from ELF militants." "Oh, that can't be!" " Want an example? Okay. While a small neighborhood park was being cleared to build an OZ-owned slag-heap of some kind, the local radical environmental group, also part of ELF, called L2FIRST, ignored what was going on and instead busted their asses protesting mining on some nearby satellite. A fucking rock! When a protester was asked why the group did not take on the park-destroying guy, he said-and I quote-'We can't. That's where our money comes from.'" "Pass the berries," Trowa cut in. "Why?" Quatre asked him. "You don't like them." "I put fruit on top of my waffles, because I want something to brush off," Trowa said, smiling. "Gives me something to do." "We can leave the table and find something else to occupy your...hands," Quatre suggested. Trowa looked at Quatre from under his heavy hank of bangs. "Eat, then I'll hammer you on the tennis court." Wufei sputtered into his tea as he attempted to breathe and swallow simultaneously, and choked anyway. Duo pounded him on the back. He couldn't believe Trowa would say something so deliberately suggestive as that in front of Relena, however, she didn't seem to read into his comment anything beyond its face value. "I will look into what you say, Duo." Relena promised. "And pass it along to Dorothy." "You do that." "She likes you, you know." Trowa dropped his fork and, to Duo's surprise, picked it off the floor before Quatre could, dropped it in the sink, and picked a new one from the drawer. It was an uncharacteristic amount of effort extended by the lanky youth, who normally would have made do with his spoon rather than move. And Duo noticed he wasn't the only one watching Trowa's activities. Quatre couldn't keep his eyes off him. How cute. "I like her, too," Duo said. He leaned over his plate and scooped up a forkful of scrambled eggs. He was eating slowly, not chugging down his food and over-stuffing himself. He had had enough upchucking-- for whatever reason-- and, he reasoned, he didn't have to worry where his next meal was coming from. He could come back anytime to sample more. Relena sniffed. "Don't be dense, Duo. I mean, she like-likes you, lots." Duo looked up from his plate. "Um, I'm gay, Relena. I don't go around wearing a banner or anything, but I never hide or lie about it. Oh, man, from the look on your face I can see you hadn't figured I was serious when I told you before. Sorry. I mean, I'd go for her if I wasn't, and, well, if I could get past her job and all. Next time I see her I'll let her know, in a nice way." "But you were flirting." "That's the way I am. It's being friendly my style. I like girls, but I don't date them or sleep with them, okay?" "She'll be disappointed," was all Relena said. As she continued to mull over the information, Duo figured she was all right with it. He judged her to be a reasonable, level-headed young lady. Unfortunately, perfect for Heero, Duo added in his head. When he tuned back in, she was chattering about how everything at the music contest would work out. Their band was wonderful and would win because their music was special. "Not like that awful rap stuff." Duo disagreed. "Not so bad..." "If you listen to rap music, you're more likely to use alcohol and drugs and to behave in an aggressive manner - at least according to a new study by the nonprofit Sanc Institute for Research and Evaluation. And if you don't believe me, just look at how rap music and rap performers are being used in promoting alcoholic beverages," Relena said. Duo stared at her. "I think you stunned him," Wufei said. "She made a good point," Duo conceded. "It fits in with what I know." Relena assured them that Zechs was on their side with only their best interest at heart. "Treize is backing off and giving us a fair chance to beat him. That just shows that he is noble at heart. And when he leaves OZ, the foundation will collapse." Duo's expression was mixed, but his eyes were hardened amethysts. "That 'backing off crap' is just a diversionary tactic. He's getting us to focus on that while we ignore his main attack." "Another one of Maxwell's famous laws," Wufei drawled. "He has laws?" Trowa asked. "They have nothing to do with controlling his behavior. Rather arbitrary, I'd say," Wufei said, being as stuffy sounding as possible. "And what's that?" Relena asked Duo, ignoring the others. Trowa turned to Quatre. "Catherine called. She's coming over. I told her I needed to talk." Quatre nodded. "You're going to tell her you have a gay boyfriend?" "You, if it's okay." Quatre's face changed, the smile faded. Further discussion was cut off when Quatre turned abruptly toward the door with a sharp cry. "Oh! No!" His hands flew to chest and the blood fled his face. Trowa lurched out of his chair to catch hold of Quatre and lend him a stable support. Duo mused how the friend had become attuned to Quatre's empathic reactions and wondered if love would affect such dramatic changes sometime in Heero. "Quat, what is it?" Duo asked, hoping the bad vibes had nothing to do with more L4 tragedy. He didn't need more sorrow in his life. Lucrezia Noin ran into the room, waving the house phone at Duo. "It's for you! Sorry, Lady Une lost her cell phone and has been on this one all morning." Duo stood and took the phone, "Howdy. Hilde? Slow down. What?" He stopped his pacing and dropped to the floor, back to a cabinet, feet flat on the tiled kitchen floor. He sat like that, silent and still for several moments. He spoke with a soft voice. "I'll file a flight plan for the next available shuttle." Heero was on his feet. "Duo--?" "Don't tell me not to come. He's like a brother, damn it!" he shouted into the phone. Tears trickled from Duo's eyes, inflaming his irritability all the more. "They can't stop me from attending his funeral!" He sniffed back the tears and wiped his face with his arm. "Well, if they're baiting me, then they'd better be ready for what's coming!" He shouted the last words into the receiver as Heero swept it out of his grip. Wufei and Trowa were on their feet ready to pin Duo to the floor, if necessary, to keep him from running off. Duo, however, seemed to have lost his fighting spirit, slid all the way, and lay listlessly flat on his back, eyes closed. "Is this Hilde? You still on the line? Yeah, Heero here. What happened?" Heero demanded. He listened and nodded. "Agreed. You have my word." When he hung up, Heero remained in place to collect his thoughts. The others wisely kept silent, waiting. "I'm sorry, Duo." Duo nodded but otherwise made no move to get up. To the others, Heero explained. "Hilde and Solo and a few other of the Sweepers have been part of a resistance movement on L2, opposing the syndicate." He didn't say whether or not Duo had been at one time or not. "There was a rally. Hilde believes now that it was staged by OZ, because it turned violent fast. Duo's... good friend...the man ...the singer at the L2 club... Solo, died early this morning of injuries sustained in a firefight. Hilde believes-" "Treize killed him as sure as gold," Duo bit off, "as a signal to me to back off and lose this contest." "So he did recognize you on L4," Wufei guessed. "Or L2," Heero muttered. "Although I don't know how." (o) Duo moaned and rolled to his side, his grief cracking his brave front. Heero helped him to his feet, and walked him to his room. He'd need Zechs' cooperation to heal Duo, but for now he had to convince the singer to stay with him. No one was taking off on his own again, especially not Duo, Heero decided. Especially not Duo! The Battle of the Bands was only days away! Heero stayed with Duo the rest of the day, holding him in his room, not talking, but listening. Accepting loss was so much a part of Duo's life that Heero thought he was doing pretty good, and then he walked off to the bathroom and Duo broke down. He believed Heero was abandoning him. Heero hauled him along. They showered together and maintained constant contact. He took Duo to bed, early, and lay wrapped around him, pressed as close as possible, skin to skin, all night long. Heero hardly slept a wink, but knew Duo did, and that was all that mattered to him. When Quatre brought them a tray of tea and crackers, he told him the visit with Trowa's sister had gone well. She had accepted Trowa's sexual preference announcement and their relationship. Catherine loved them both and wished them well, as he related it. Heero knew Quatre had left out the heartbreak, the warnings, and the hard words, and felt grateful. Right now, he didn't want to hear about the bloody details. Quatre was the most sensitive and generous man Heero knew. He wished he could be more like him to help guide Duo. As if Quatre could read his mind, he said, "You are doing fine, Heero. If you can get him to eat anything, that would help. He won't want to, but he needs to. I know. I still haven't much appetite, but Trowa... makes me eat." He blushed when he said his lover's name and Heero turned away, muttering "thanks." The next day, late in next afternoon, Heero had the keys to Zechs' SUV, no driver's license but a promise to 'be careful', and Duo on his arm. The others saw them off at the end of the driveway. Heero chose a CD, turned up the volume, and opened the skylight. The cooling breeze blew his hair gently, but the air was still warm. The soft jazz instrumental music floated on the air around them; the car was carried with the tide, rising with the waves- it was like a dream as they surged ahead into the falling sun. Duo sighed, wordless, smiled, and leaned his head back on the seat. "Where are we going?" he thought to ask. "The Inn at the Top of the World." "That's nice," he said as if he thought Heero had made it up. The continuous rise in altitude was noticeable as they wound their way up a mountain road. Every so often, the switchback revealed a breathtaking view of the Sanc kingdom valley below. The car decelerated past a row of neatly pruned tea rose bushes as Heero turned into a nearly full parking lot. Duo straightened in his seat as he read the sign. "You were serious!" "Yes." "Just you and me... for dinner?" "And the sunset." "Thanks, Heero. I've never been to place like this. No one's ever-" "Good," Heero said. "Then I'm the first." The popular club was reminiscent of an old, big-city jazz club. The walls were lined with black velvet curtains, antique jazz posters, and photos of local legends. The large open interior space provided for easy sight lines in crowds and offered first-rate acoustics. A small ensemble provided the evening's liturgy. "This is an instrumentalists' chapel," Duo said, awe struck. Heero leaned toward his ear so he could be sure to be heard. "Zechs told me that generations of jazz fans have met here, including his father." On this night, young players were injecting life into the local scene. The place was unique, from its hidden-away, mountain-road entrance to the diverse crowd it attracted. A waiter led the pair into the dining room, winding his way toward the picture window, where a reserved table awaited them. "If you were looking to impress me," Duo said. "You have." "I want you," Heero said as a blush tainted his cheek bones, "to know how much you matter, to me. And how massively thankful I am that you decided to stay here and not go to L2 after what's happened." "S-Solo was a part of my life, Heero, but a part that was over," Duo said. "Now it's just even more 'over' and never coming back." "I can't compete with a memory." "Don't need to," Duo said firmly. "Staying alive, winning this contest is what Solo would have wanted me to do. And so is choosing you to fall for. He always said I should go for the best." Heero's blush deepened with the setting sun. He hadn't expected Duo to say that, to be so open in public and to reveal his carefully kept feelings, not like that. He knew he should say something more in return. Whatever drove him to gravitate towards Duo in the first place, lust most likely, was now being replaced by something stronger and more enduring. If he put a word to it, it would be "love," but not yet. "The best deserves the best," Heero said with a wry smile. (o) At the start of summer it seemed that the contest was decades in the future. Light years, even. After the traumas and the partial "healings", there was little time to do much else than practice, tighten their act, and choose the numbers they would use in the contest. The last days dwindled to one, and then that passed. Now the Sanc Battle of the Bands was about to begin. Ready or not, Gundam Wing had arrived. "Here we are," Zechs said. He shouldered an equipment bag. "Sanc's largest concert hall." The building façade looked ancient. Grand. Duo took a moment reveling in the grandeur. He noticed the details of the construction as the dome rose overhead tile after tile, brick after brick, herring-boned in place to be self-supporting. "Looks like the perfect place for a band battle, doesn't it?" "Grab something," Heero said with a nudge. Duo wrestled a gear bag and two cymbals out of the van. "'Fei? You have that dolly completely loaded?" "Yes." It was loaded with drum cases that Sally Po struggled to keep balanced until Wufei could secure the bungee cord holding them in place. Duo guessed he was embarrassed to rely on a weak woman for assistance and would start snarling momentarily. Instead, the drummer surpized him by conducting himself civilly. "Thank you," Wufei told her. "I have it under control now. You had best go if you a want decent seat." "Catherine and Lucrezia are saving me a seat so I don't have to rush. But I can see you want to manhandle this alone, so I'll see you later," she said, kissing him in public for the first time. Duo hoped Wufei would be able to keep his mind on his drumming after that indignity, and hid his smile. But, once again, Wufei surprised him. Wufei embraced her and returned the kiss, if only briefly. "I'll look for you in the crowd," he promised. Trowa had Quatre's keyboard stand under one arm, the keyboard under the other arm, and his bass in his hand. Duo thought Trowa was really outdoing himself. Good, for him. Quatre was doing good, working through his feelings and dealing with the death of his father. He'd written to a few of his sisters and they had written back. Duo hoped they'd come visit him soon. But Trowa! He had never seen Trowa put out so much effort to impress Quatre before, and wondered if he had changed as much as Trowa and Wufei had over the past few weeks. Quatre helped Zechs load another dolly with amplifiers. "Got it!" Quatre shouted. "I can wheel this as is." He drew beside Heero and kept pace with him. Heero carried his guitar and a bag of cables in one hand and his amp, which must have weighed more than fifty pounds, in the other. He made it appear to weigh five. Duo skipped to catch up to them, where he could overhear their conversation should his name pop up. "Heero, I just wanted to tell you that I'm really happy for you." "Hn." "For you and Duo." Heero shook his head. "What do you mean?" "At first, I kinda envied you. Duo seemed to pick you right off and I was a little attracted to him. But now, things are different. I can see he's right for you and you for him, and I have someone who suits me. Well, someone I love and loves me, too. You love Duo, don't you?" Duo was dying to know what Heero had to say and then again, he didn't. He liked Heero, and from what Heero had told him, he liked him, too, but Duo was experienced enough to know gay lovers came and went pretty fast-the younger the faster. Solo had carved out a place in his heart and life, not that he would have admitted it to anyone, especially Heero. His death left a big hole to fill. Whether Heero wanted to expand his role to fill that gaping hole, to fit Duo's needs, was yet to be known, but for now, with the big contest minutes away, Duo didn't need a rejection from Heero to break his confidence. Best to hold onto some stupid dream. Duo slowed his gait, putting distance between himself and Heero's reply. Zechs gestured for them to get moving. When they stepped inside the main concert hall the effected nearly gagged him. The entire interior was painted to within an inch of its life brilliant lemon yellow. "Anybody bring sunglasses?" Duo asked, making a face. "I wish," Heero said stoically. Duo tried not to show his disappointment with Heero's indifference, figuring the guy was probably nervous about the contest. Instead, he turned to a harried-looking hall assistant, who had just joined them and was frantically flipping through a clip board of schedules and instructions. "Gundam Wing?" "That be us," Duo said. "Thank God. Yes, I found you. This way," the young man said combing through his stringy, blond hair, and then leading the band to the correct staging area. They were instructed to leave their instruments in place until one hour before they were scheduled to play. At that time, they could complete their setup and conduct a sound test. They should stick to the schedule precisely and would get no second chances should they miss their turn. "Any questions?" "No." Zechs could read the timetable as well as anyone else. "Super," the man said with an exhausted sigh. He turned on a heel and dashed off in search of his next assignment. Someone was testing a microphone already; Duo could hear the whine of feedback in the distance. Canned music snapped on and off. Apparently, solo singers using backing tracks, or prerecorded music for accompaniment, were squeezed between contesting bands. Duo strained to see who was up. From the nervous giggling of one girl as she clicked around on stage in too-high heeled sandals and pulling at the too-short hem of her clingy, sparkly dress, Duo guessed she was about to put her skills to the test. He wished her a silent "good luck." Since the team had half an hour to wait, Zechs urged them to wander around, while he stood guard over the equipment. "Don't listen to the competition," he warned them, adding, "And stay out of trouble." "Yeah, yeah," Duo waved as they took off. "Tell that to Mr. Trouble!" "I need to get water," Wufei said. "Refreshments thataway," Duo pointed, having established the whereabouts of all food sources upon entry. "I read the article you told me about," Wufei said to Duo. "About the recording businesses relation to the underworld. I found it distressing." "What was that?" Quatre asked. "Several officials on L2 said the police were investigating whether Miss Mariemaia Khushrenada's music career was fueled with money from Mr. Khushrenada's drug trafficking. Apparently, they are still trying to put them together." "It's so blatantly obvious-- the drug trafficking and money laundering," Duo said with a wave of his hand. "He has followed the principles of mob figures and corrupt corporate organizations rather than the honest business models to build Romefeller Recording. He worked his way to the top of OZ's drug-dealing world, negotiating with every low-life drug maker, allegedly using profits from record deals to buy heroin and turning it around for street sales on L2. More than enough to start up a record company." "Them's a lotta big words, Maxwell," Trowa whispered. "Careful 'round here with what you say." "I gottem when I need'em," Duo defended, then Trowa's warning sunk in. Who knew how many Treize supporters were running the contest? "Oh, yeah." Luck was with them. Near the refreshment counter, they found some café tables and rounded up five chairs. Heero and Wufei ordered water in covered cups with straws then sat to people watch. Duo smiled at Heero as he chose the chair beside his. They could hear the performances in the background, but not very well. Trowa winced. "That band's not going to make it." "Not even in tune," Quatre agreed. "We shouldn't listen," Wufei said. "It's bad luck." "I'm going for a soda," Duo said. He stepped the short distance to the counter, when he overheard someone talking to Heero. "Gundam Wing?" a pretty, young girl asked in a way that managed to sound insulting. "Gundam's a metal and where are your wings? Ha, ha, ha..." Heero shrugged. Duo's smile turned smug. They had run into Epyon, apparently, and the girl had chosen to pick on the least communicative band member. Good luck, babe. The petite, pretty girl whipped her ponytail over her shoulder. "Is this seat empty?" Heero answered in the stoniest tone Duo had ever heard. "Yes, and this one will be too if you sit down." "How rude! I don't suppose you even know who I am, do you?" Duo noticed that the girl hadn't sat down, though. His chair was still empty. Heero replied flatly, "You are Mariemaia Khushrenada lead singer of Epyon." "You'd better make room for us," a human mountain in leather intoned. Mariemaia was tiny, but the rest of the band was huge, physically. Four, tall, blond, hunks hovered near her that looked like a cross between an uber alles athletics club and a biker's gang. Duo estimated that any one of them could pound him into a grease spot. It might take them a little longer with Heero, but that was an insignificant detail. A fight wasn't what they had come for today, so Duo stepped up with a cheery demeanor. "Hey, we were just leaving. Here, have my chair for starters. I knew you were decent guys, well-connected with people and who really care about great music." The expression on the nearest blond slab of meat, read: "You are stoned or raving mad. Kill." So, Duo surveyed the area for an escape route, being sharp enough beat a quick retreat before getting a beating. Trowa had Quatre by the elbow and was guiding him away from their table. Heero, however, stood, or sat actually, his ground. "Oh, absolutely!" Mariemaia said, flushing with pleasure at being thought both decent and well-connected, Duo supposed. "You are so right about that." One of the lugs brushed up against Duo, and said, "You read my mind, about the leaving part." "Can you read mine?" Heero growled, standing so that the other man would have to knock him over to get closer to Duo. "I'm no mind reader. Don't need none." Duo could see a clear evacuation path lining up from where they stood to where they needed to go, fast, and the other three members of their band already withdrawing. He pulled on Heero's shoulder, steering him in the direction he wanted, then said to the ham-fisted bloke, "Look, don't go to a mind reader; go to a palmist; I know you've got a palm." And while the dude worked that one over in his head, Duo made his exit, pulling Heero along behind him. "Move!" By agreement, none of them talked about the incident when they gathered around their equipment with Zechs. They had met their competition and survived. No bother distressing Zechs. He was all business and in his 'happy place", which was fine with them. "Here come the stage hands to help with the setup," Zechs announced. "Quatre, let them do the heavy work now. We don't want you to drop an amp on your foot. Heero, that goes for you too. Put everything down and let them... okay, your guitar is different. You can carry that. Fine. Trowa? Oh, what the hell. It's your back." Because their band was already highly ranked, but had no charted CD, Gundam Wing was in the intermediate trials; skipping the preliminary selection process many other bands had had to go through the day before. Even so, they had two songs to perform, two chances to prove themselves worthy to proceed to the finals. They took their turn, first knocking out a loud, raucous rocker demonstrating one end of their range. Duo's honest and emotional, round and unabrasive rock vocals proved to be a welcome relief among singers with much less talent. The guitars and drums were loud and unrelenting, showcasing an amazing amount of energy and drive that was not really cock-rock, rather just a very 'bodily' sound. Heero's ass-kicking guitar symphony brought the audience to its feet and Duo wailed like a rock Caruso to end their first song with a memorable performance. Gundam Wing pulsed out passion, heat, fury, and power, and they progressed to the semi-finals. For their next performance, they chose to demonstrate that they had also easily mastered the ballad form. Wufei led off with a bongo drum sound, softening it more with a scratchy cha-cha. Quatre and Trowa came in with full cords, leaving Heero room to pick out an alternate tune. He would sing with Duo and simplified his guitar work accordingly. Duo emoted the introspective words with expression: "Sometimes
I get to feelin' The
days were endless, we were crazy - we were young Impeccable harmonies were the major highlight, chanted over a moody acoustic backing, and they actually sounded heartfelt: "Those
were the days of our lives Beautiful, and then they had vocal hooks, too, like when Duo sang alone, "When
I look Followed by Heero singing: "You
can't turn back the clock; They continued to trade off lyrical lines as if in conversation, with Duo asking, "Ain't that a shame?" Other bands would kill for that chorus-- an artistic range of silky, young voices perfectly suited to the rather upbeat, distinctive chords of the song-possibly more than a few listeners were harboring murderous thoughts, but the rest were in awe. "Cuz
these are the days of our lives Duo's voice faded into the interlude of guitar against dreamy cords. Heero was possibly only a minor guitar god, with just two hands and ten fingers, but somewhere in the middle he played wonderful outbursts of licks and vibratos, showering the audience with an opus of sounds. Heero was actually playing to entertain the listeners, not just to show off his abilities or it would have gone over the top. And Duo danced. Just Duo and his braid weaving around his band mates including them in his party on stage. The song ended with a return to the tight, evocative harmonies. "Those
were the days of our lives The music stopped and Duo sang alone, piercing the heart of everyone in the audience: "When
I look Then he turned, casting his glance meaningfully over Heero and whispered the repeat: "I still love you." There were no lingering doubts that Gundam Wing had blown everyone away, or that Epyon remained their most threatening opponent. They had made it to the finals, at last, and all was well. Mostly.
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