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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 4 - I'm Shakin' Trowa loped after Heero, stopping outside the gym door. "Wait." Heero dropped his hand from the door knob, taking a defensive posture. "What do you want?" he asked. "I just want a moment with him," Trowa said, shaking his long bangs to the side then pausing to catch Heero's eyes with his own. "Then he's all yours." Heero's deep blue eyes pierced his a second then looked askance. "I don't know what you mean." "Sex with a braid? Oh sure you do, or else you're denser than I think. Or...? Should I invite him to my room tonight, since you're not interested?" Trowa didn't often tease Heero, but he felt the solemn guitarist deserved it for not coming clean the night before. Trowa could see the obvious signs of attraction as well as anyone else with a libido. He knew Heero was drawn to the comely singer, and yet had denied it to his face. Well, avoided acknowledging it. Asexual, indeed! And if he didn't get Heero to stake his claim soon, he wasn't sure that Quatre wouldn't fall hard for the singer. Trowa was positive he couldn't compete with the brazen, glamorous, and sexy kid for the attention of the refined Winner un-heir, nor did he believe he had a chance with Duo should Quatre make a stab at romancing the singer. But then, he wasn't fool enough to dream he truly had a chance with Quatre, regardless of what Quatre may have implied at the concert, and whether or not Duo was in the equation at all! His best scheme, and the least work he decided in the end, would be to spur Heero to action and remove the Duo threat. Heero, he knew, could act impulsively. He could also break his arm, or neck-- no, most likely his leg, that way it wouldn't impede the band's progress. Heero snorted at him and said something to the effect of, "Don't push your luck." He strode away down the hall, missing the hanging pictures by mere inches with a reckless swing of a fist. "Only take a minute," Trowa said one more time, then entered the gymnasium. He grabbed the door handle and nearly pulled Chang out the door as it swung open into the hall. Wufei and Duo at the end of a heated exchange. This could be interesting, Trowa felt. Not that he thought the drummer was remotely gay, but more resolute guys than Chang had fallen into the arms of less attractive boys than Duo; however, it was unlikely. "Barton. Excellent. You may direct Maxwell to the practice room when the time comes. I have other things to attend to." Without waiting for a reply, Wufei tucked in his stinger and "wasped" off. "What'sup?" Duo asked. Trowa checked out the toned chest and faint film of sweat under his bangs. "Getting a workout?" "Naw, just a run. You here for some exercise?" "Verbal only." Trowa's eyes flashed a humorous warning before hiding one behind a shield of bangs. Duo appeared amused by his suggestiveness. "'Kay. So, you got ten tries to guess what I'm all about." "Don't need ten." Trowa watched the other boy's eyebrows disappear upwards under the heavy fringe of bangs. "You doing drugs?" "I used to do drugs. I still do drugs. But I used to, too," Duo replied with a waggle of eyebrow. Trowa chuckled. "Right. "You bring drugs with you?" "Not much." "Okay, with me, but just keep them away from Winner." "You mean Quat? You his big bro or something?" "No, he's very inexperienced, not like us." Trowa looked down at the slightly shorter boy as he veiled his eyes behind a shank of hair. "He gets...down about what happened to him; what brought him here. He has a source. He nearly OD'd couple times." Duo absorbed the information then nodded. "Gotcha. So, you and him got something going on?" Trowa had scarcely even considered it, although, now that he knew Quatre was gay, he could wish. Duo smiled in a way that made him uncomfortable at first but then charmed him into confessing. He had sought Duo out to question him and warn him off Quatre, but he found that he was opening up to him and revealing his own well-kept secrets. "No." "But you wish you did, huh?" Duo pressed. "He's sweet, for sure." "He's rather pure and clueless for the most part." "Yeah, I figured that. I may have gone a little overboard with the teasing earlier. So, ah, you're protecting your turf here, right?" Trowa nodded. "Possibly." "Not looking for a little action on the side." Trowa shrugged noncommittally. "Okay," Duo said without much expression. "So, why aren't you washing the family car and working in your dad's shop?" "No family, 'cept a sister still in the circus." "No kidding? The circus? You grew up in a circus? How cool is that?" "Um, to not me. OZ syndicate mercenaries attacked our caravan. I don't remember it at all. Guess the ringmaster missed a payoff. Our parents were killed, but my sister remained with the remnants of the performers, who were like family." "You didn't?" Trowa shook his head. He hadn't even shared this much with Heero, Wufei, or even Quatre. "Mercenaries kept me; trained me. When I was twelve, another circus came to town and I struck out on my own and joined up." When he looked back at Duo, the boy's eyes reflected the pain and loss of innocence he'd known. "My luck-- this new circus turned out to be the same one I'd grown up in. Catherine claimed me and took me in." Duo shook his head. "What were the odds of that, huh?" "Pretty low, I have to agree. I'm lucky." "Yes, you are. That's cool. So, what did you do in the circus?" "Everyone does lots of things. I took care of the animals. Feeding the lions was my favorite job. I performed on the tightrope...other stuff, like clowning around... throwing knives." Duo appeared to be impressed. Trowa knew he wanted demonstrations and more details, but one look at the clock flashing digitally on the wall and he knew they'd have to go immediately. "I have a few keepsakes." "A whip? I always wanted to be a lion tamer just to get a turn at cracking that whip." Trowa chuckled. "No, um, we should go." "That time already? Okay, I'm kinda excited to see the studio." Trowa thought many things excited Duo, but none of them were really him, regardless of how he flirted. No, Duo was looking for a challenge, he bet, and Heero would be one. He closed the door behind them. He felt a tug on his shirt and turned to see what Duo wanted. "How can you stand it? I wear t-shirts. I can't wear turtlenecks. Wearing a turtleneck is like being strangled by a really weak guy. All day! If you wear a backpack and a turtleneck, it's like a weak midget trying to bring you down." Duo grabbed his own neck and made gagging sounds, bending over backwards so that Trowa thought he might lose his balance and fall. He caught him by the shoulders and lifted him back into an upright posture, taking care not to step on the braid dragging on the ground. "You're exaggerating," Trowa said, but he smiled, too. "You think so?" Duo laughed. Trowa shrugged, and then said in a droll aside, "I saw a human pyramid once. It was very unnecessary." Duo nearly busted a gut from laughing so hard. (o) Heero was tearing into a series of heavy, devastating riffs with the ferocity of a machine-gunner taking on the oncoming enemy. He'd cranked up the amplifier to ear-splitting volume heedless of the other band members filing into the studio, and launched into another attack on their nervous systems. Quatre ignored him in favor of switching on this keyboard and setting tabs on the humming synthesizer already warming up. Wufei conducted crash tests on his cymbals, testing the resonance of his newest acquisition against the others. If he could distinguish any difference over the cacophony of other noise, Quatre would be surprised. From what he could sense, both band mates were disturbed. Quatre could guess who was at the root of their moodiness, but not why, exactly. When Duo and Trowa entered together, laughing at some shared joke, Duo's arm draped casually over the taller boys shoulders, they were accompanied by the sour whine of guitar and a deafening racket as one cymbal stand fell over onto the hard linoleum floor. Oh, yes. Even a non-empathic person could figure out the "who" part of the problem. Quatre felt a tug in his chest seeing Duo so familiar with Trowa. Maybe it was just as well, Quatre tried to convince himself. He wasn't experienced enough for someone like Shinigami, possibly, but he wasn't an innocent by any means. He simply felt like a kid next to the worldlier singer. Trowa, he knew, had had an exciting life on the road in the circus, and was better equipped to handle the handful Duo was proving to be. Just being gay wasn't enough. He wondered if he had any attributes besides his good looks to attract anyone but perverts. Maybe drugs. Quatre sighed, disappointed. He had hoped to build on his friendship to make it something more with the quiet Trowa. He wished to be outgoing like Duo, at least to attract Trowa, but it wasn't meant to be. Trowa broke apart and dialed Heero's amp down a couple notches in passing. He rolled up a few cables and restrung new ones in a different configuration. He slipped on head phones, took up his bass, plugging a cable into the end, and proceeded to tune up. Not one word. He was the only one completely untroubled in the room. The singer, Quatre noted, was slightly agitated and he wondered why. Duo seemed content studying his surrounds, although he surreptitiously sneaked a quick glance over to where Heero was thrumming two notes over and over. Quatre watched as Heero stopped punishing his guitar and, instead, now tracked Duo's progress around the room. Duo was examining a piece of equipment then moving to the next in a determined fashion. Heero scratched his forehead then scraped the ragged-cut brown hair across it in a boyish gesture. His features softened and a smile teased at the edges of his lips. He gave the impression that he'd been waiting for ages for just such a person as Duo Maxwell to come along so that he could get down to the business of living. Oh my. Wufei didn't seem to like Duo at all. Trowa and Heero looked like they might both be attracted to him, and when Quatre was honest, so was he. Maybe Duo wasn't going to be a good fit for their band. He closed his eyes and concentrated on banking up barriers in his mind against the onslaught of emotions moving like warring rivals, clashing onto his bruised psyche. When he checked again, he was pleased to note that Trowa no longer seemed interested in what Duo was doing in the room. He was concentrating on tuning and adjusting his cable leads. Time to get to business, then. Quatre played an arpeggio leading into one of their songs. Trowa met his eyes and they shared a smile as he answered with the matching bass line. He repeated the notes, establishing the rhythm. Wufei righted his stand and came in on the next measure with both the snare and bass drum accompaniment. Five measures and one repeat later, Heero joined in, and the practice began. Duo politely listened, tapping his foot, but otherwise staying out of their way while they concentrated on instrumentals. When Quatre started to sing, Duo sat on an amplifier near enough to watch. Quatre knew his voice was nice, but still not as emotive as Duo's. He became self-conscious and sang even worse, although no one, not even Heero, commented on it. They ran through a dozen songs, giving Duo a sample of their range, then broke for sodas. Quatre was first to ask him what he thought. "You sound terrific; better than I'd expected, though I don't know why I didn't think your band was going to be great," Duo began. "Your equipment is fantastic. I don't even know what all that mixing board can do, but I'd love to get my hands on it." Wufei smiled smugly. The mixer had been his choice, and Quatre bet he'd never admit that he didn't know how to use all the features yet either. Wufei beckoned Duo closer. "This is my new raw-china cymbal. You can see the quality in the metal here, but you can hear the difference, and that's what's important," Wufei told him. "Here, give it a try." Quatre couldn't believe what he'd heard. Wufei never allowed anyone to touch his kit. His throne was his, well, throne! Trowa pretended to clean out his ears as if he hadn't heard properly, and glanced at Quatre to include him. Quatre hid his smile behind a hand, leaned behind his wall of amps, and signaled that his ears were damaged as well. When Trowa chuckled, his insides felt warm and bubbly and the room brightened. "Man, that's bright with trashy power!" Duo said enthusiastically. Wufei beamed. "Penetrating. It cuts through fast, doesn't it?" Duo slammed and pounded for a few minutes on the drum set, pronounced it "awesome," before moving on to check out Trowa's sleek red bass. "Cool." Duo leaned over the instrument and studied it closely. Trowa shrugged. "I like it. Warwick Corvette Double Buck Electric." "Are those two massive MEC humbuckers?" Duo asked. "Yeah. When they get nestled close in the center of the body like that, it completely covers the sweet-spot most basses miss completely." "Cool pickup and electronics package I gotta say. Never seen anything this good before." Trowa glowed. "Yeah, gives it its outrageous attitude and identity. Zechs funded this. I never could have laid out over a grand for this without his backing. Take a look at Yuy's sweet axe, speaking of impressive." Duo was happy to oblige. He looked over the smooth black finish, the slick, ebony fret board, and high quality chrome hardware, and whistled. "This is one armed and dangerous axe, 'Ro. This pickup array is amazing. Does the neck extend through the body?" "Yes. Maple neck fitted with twenty-four extra-jumbo frets. There's a Seymour Duncan TB-4, an ESP LH-200, and an ESP SS-120 pickup-standard on the Stephen Carpenter Signature from ESP." Heero cracked a smile and allowed Duo to touch his beauty that cost the bon viveur Zechs almost three grand. Somehow Duo had managed to say the right things, assuage the ill feelings, and smooth the ruffled feathers of the conspicuously vain peacocks in the band. Quatre let down his guard, testing the waters, and was pleased to feel warmth and good feelings proliferating. He relaxed and joined in the fun, thinking that possibly this new member might work out after all. They messed with a couple songs and Duo pointed out how one sounded like one he knew. With some work, they figured out the instrumental parts to dance-rock song by Rooney, which was only a few years old, and ran through it a few times until they were comfortable to add the singer. "I've
forgotten what it feels like to feel normal Duo pulled the lyrics off the top of his head, making them up along the way if he had to, if he'd forgotten the real words. As long as the scansion was right, he was cool. "I'm
sha sha shakin, sha shakin' Heero laughed at the mess ups probably because he wasn't fond of the song, but Duo was dancing and shaking and carrying on in a very funny manner. For the last verse, Quatre joined in and keep the lyrics close to true. "I'm
supposed to feel better. The others harmonized, some, but at least they lent their voices to the chorus and brought the song to an outrageous end. It was fun. For Duo, piloting was a job; music was fun. "I'm
sha sha shakin', sha shakin' Zechs wandered in toward the end, bells dangling from his belt tie jingling soft music as he walked. He clapped and congratulated them on ruining a perfectly good dance tune. After that they played a couple more, testing what Duo knew already and what would make their "sound". Zechs made a few suggestions they approved. The problem was that they needed a real show stopper to end a set or place right before a break to ensure the audience goes wild. "I know one, but I sing it in Japanese, or mostly, not that the words make much sense. It's a dance tune, so it'll get folks on their feet, but I can make it hot." "I do not doubt that you can," Zechs said. "Dream and give yourself permission to envision the you that you choose to be." "Yeah, somethin' like that," Duo said. Even Quatre was sometimes mystified by the new age philosopher, ex-prince of Sanc. "Do you have a rainbow room, too?" Zechs laughed aloud at that. "No, Duo, I have something much better, a Transformation Oracle to inspire you to self-reflection and clarity." "No shit!" Duo said as if he might have to see that one for himself someday. "I'll show you sometime, if you're interested," Zechs offered. Quatre amused himself by watching Heero and feeling the waves of conflicting emotions strike and begin fighting inside his head. It was as if Heero wanted to be in two places at once-- one, as far from Duo as possible, and the other, anyplace as long as he had Duo to himself. "Give me the title and recording artist and I will download it. From there I can get a midi of the music, get it charted out for us to read through," Heero said without consultation. "I can improve the translation as well." Duo patted his pockets, searching for a paper and pen, but came up short. Zechs lent him his, although, Heero seemed irritated that he didn't have writing supplies on him to loan out, too. While Duo was scribbling, he was also talking. "I don't know, 'Ro. My Japanese is pretty good, but you being a native speaker and all... okay. And, ah, don't bother with a keyboard part." "Hn," Heero grunted, as if he wanted to say more, but he didn't, and then Duo had moved on. Quatre cringed as if Heero's onslaught of resentment had become physical and struck him. He hadn't suspected Heero harbored such strong emotions before. Then Duo locked eyes with him. He wondered what Duo had in mind for him, and didn't have long to wait. "Can you dance, Quat?" Quatre nodded. "I've had lessons since I was five." Trowa cleared his throat. Wufei snorted. "He does not mean ballroom dancing, Winner." "Like whatcha do at clubs," Duo said, tearing off the sheet of notepaper. "I-I've never been out clubbing." Quatre's cheeks burned. "The nightlife is dangerous in the parts of town where the youth-oriented clubs are located," Zechs said. "I strongly advise against it and rarely go myself." "No way to get there either," Trowa said. "No city buses come out here and none of us have transport, except Zechs, of course." Heero snatched the now-neglected paper out of Duo's fingers. Quatre watched the lines deepen between his brows and then his face flushed. While Quatre knew he looked young and naive when he blushed, Heero looked uncomfortable and guilty with red cheeks. Quatre was stunned when he realized what lustful feelings just flooded Heero's mind. His hands flew over his mouth to keep from laughing. Duo seemed able to charm chuckles out of Trowa, haul humor from Wufei, why not lure lust from Heero? Quatre laughed at his own stumbling alliteration attempts then considered what Duo had said. Dancing? Without thinking further than where his own drives were taking him, Quatre looked directly at Trowa and said. "You can teach me." Trowa gazed at him with a traumatized, dead-fish-eye expression. "He can help, but you and I gotta work out a little routine for that song," Duo said. Quatre thought that might be fun, if Heero didn't drown him in the pool first. "Okay," he said in a feeble, at best, imitation of himself. Wufei made a point of checking his watch. "We haven't much longer until dinner. We should practice while we can." "Very well, then," Zechs said. "I'll be on my way to run errands. See you at dinner." After he left, the band returned to practice. Duo stayed out of the way as he had done before, until his opinion was asked. Quatre was pleased the singer could keep a low profile when the situation called for one. Still, he could also tell that Duo was itching to get his hands on Wufei's drums again, so he invited him to sit on a chair close to the synthesizer and pointed out the different "voices" he could set for each song. In that way, the afternoon passed into evening. It was nearly dark when Zechs came to collect them for dinner. They were putting away the instruments and shutting down the power when he entered the practice room. "You're still here? Dinner's waiting." "Coming," Quatre said. He knew the others thought it was unnecessary to answer, but he had been taught to reply to his elders; being polite was ingrained in him. "Noin's joining us. We rented movies." To Duo, Zechs added, "My girlfriend." "Does that mean we're supposed to hang around or get lost?" Duo whispered to Heero. "That means," Zechs said, his eyes betraying his good humor at the question. "Well, I'd like it if you stuck around long enough to meet her. She wanted to catch your act. She is the one who told me about you." "Oh? She follow the L2 music scene?" "To some degree you might say she follows all the music scenes. She's a scout for Treize Khushrenada." "The Treize of Romefeller Recording Industries?" Duo snarled. "Lucrezia Noin? That Noin? You know OZ syndicate owns Romefeller, don't you? They rip off the artists royally while laundering drug money." Zechs' lips drew back in a dry-as-gin grin. "How imaginative you are! Romefeller Recording is the largest label anywhere, but they are completely legitimate." "Not on L3 or L2," Duo said. "Go there and I can prove it." This was not the time for arguments, Quatre thought. "Didn't you suggest we try for a Meteor Music label if we win the contest?" he asked. "When you win it, you mean," Zechs corrected him. "Yes, if that meets with Mr. Maxwell's approval?" "Meteor? Yeah, they're cool." His demeanor was serious as he entered the formal dining room. "I meant what I said, Zechs, and I do not lie." Another argument avoided, Quatre thought with a resigned sigh. But just barely. (o) Noin and Zechs excused themselves and left the dining room. They hadn't been gone a minute before Duo brightened and caught Heero's eye. "I don't know if I can take any more Rasa recordings." "You haven't even caught the energy healing videos," Trowa said. "Or my favorite, the 'Near Death Experiences of Kun Jen'," Quatre said with a twittering laugh. "So, you guys up for a night on the town?" Duo asked. "You heard what Zechs said," Heero answered him. "What did you have in mind?" Trowa asked. "Unless you can materialize a car, 'in your mind' is where the night out will remain." Wufei folded his arms across his chest and looked annoyed when Duo didn't instantly perform magic before his eyes. "That's what I thought." A dangerous gleam shone from Duo's eyes. It sparked Heero's smoldering libido. He wanted Duo to look at him with that predatory passion. He jumped at Quatre's choked gasp at his side. He wondered if Winner could read his mind at times. That was a disturbing thought. "Twenty minutes. Change clothes and meet in the garage anyone who wants to come along." Duo's smile promised everything. Heero was surprised that nobody challenged the singer or argued at all, but then they were probably just as curious and shit-faced bored as he was. Quatre lingered a moment, but only until Trowa nudged him upstairs. Wufei was already gone. That left Heero standing alone with Duo. He stared at Duo. Sex with a braid. He'd like sex with a braid- any way that sounded, he liked it. Then they were inches apart. If Heero leaned, he'd touch the other boy. He wanted. He throbbed with the wanton desire to touch him. "You have a clean shirt I could borrow?" Duo asked. "Yes." You can take anything you want. "Your room upstairs?" Heero dipped his chin once and led the way, climbing the stairs. He didn't know what to say. If he opened his mouth he'd tell the sexy singer how much he wanted to see him naked. He might get the wrong idea. Was there a right idea? And, was Duo talking again? "We're about the same size. Quatre's close, too, but I didn't want to get stuck with a pastel shirt, ya know? Don't get me wrong. I think he looks great in them, but he's blond and I'm not. Trowa's arms are too long, and 'Fei would expect me to return his washed, ironed, and starched." Heero chuckled. He was right about them all. "And me?" "I just wanna see what your room looks like." Heero did a double take. He looked at him, shook his head, and looked again. He thought possibly that Duo was joking, but then again he might have been serious. As he opened the door to his room, Heero thought about what clothes he owned might in any possible way interest Duo. He needn't to have concerned himself even that much, though, he discovered. Duo found the closet and rifled though with total abandon and complete ease. He found Heero's favorite black shirt and pulled it out. "This one's for you," he said. He dug out a dark, shimmering, blue shirt. "Okay? No, maybe we should switch. This one's probably your fav." "Actually, the black is," Heero said. "I don't even remember having the blue." He waited. Heero wanted to watch Duo take off his t-shirt. And he did. Right there and then. He just ripped it off over his head, pulled that damned long braid through, and let it drop to the floor. "I'll need that back sometime," Duo told him. Heero assumed he meant the discarded t-shirt. He put on the blue shirt, not making a show of it, just one arm then the other. Heero watched with a trained eye measuring his progress second by second. Heero wanted to be that shirt. "I look okay?" Up close Heero could tell Duo's legs were longer than his, but that his own torso was longer. The shirt looked great on the slender singer. His eyes were large, but now they were breathtakingly huge. He was looking deeply into Heero's eyes as if he thought he could look the right way and see himself as Heero did. "No, you look better than okay." "Ah, thanks. We only have a few minutes. I'll help you." Heero's eyes were glued to his animated face as Duo's clever, quick fingers unbuttoned his shirt. He shuddered under the touch so light, so fleeting, so unlike what he had expected. Those hands were strong and calloused from piloting, but the fingers were gentle as they flickered over Heero's chest as he opened the shirt and along his hard, muscled arms as drew it off. Heero mourned the loss of them when Duo was done and tossed him the black shirt. Duo bounced on his bed and lay back, stretching out, leaving Heero to button his shirt on his own. He managed two. He wanted to cover that tantalizingly poised body with his own and press him into the mattress. "Your workouts paid off," Duo said. "Your shoulders are great. All your upper body is." He sat up, leaning back on his elbows and looked at Heero from beneath his bangs. "I imagine you keep the rest in good shape, too." Heero felt those rare-colored, violet-blue eyes burn through his clothes. He was naked; at least, Heero really wanted to be naked, with him like that, now. He couldn't move, even to tuck in his shirt. Duo's shirt was open, exposing a pale slice of skin and his bellybutton. "Well," Duo said cheerfully, hopping to his feet. "We'll have to pick up from here later. Time to put on your dancing feet." This time Heero caught the quick-moving boy by his arm before he dashed out of his room. "What do you mean?" "Huh? Ah, time to go, right?" "Not that. The other." "I should get my shirt back, and give you yours." "That's not what you meant." Heero wanted to hear his voice asking, or telling, it didn't matter which-- begging would be nice, and he settled on that. He wanted the other boy to want him here. If he did. He hadn't tried to remove Heero's vise-like grip from his arm, but his gaze traveled from Heero's face to the hand and back. Heero loosened his hold and ran his hand palm up, feeling the sinewy muscles of Duo's arm until it rested on his shoulder. "I'm not cheap, but I am on special this week," Duo said in a low voice like rich molasses that continued to fire Heero's imagination. His smile and wink indicated that he was joking, a little. It would be up to Heero to discover how much. "When we get back, we can come up here," Heero countered. Whatever Duo was offering, Heero was taking. He'd take anything. He was drowning in an excess of his own wants, but parched for a genuine connection to them. "Really? You mean that?" Heero nodded. "I want you." Duo grinned. "Well, damn." Heero had no idea that the other boy solicited all three of his band mates, even if in jest, and that only he had accepted the offer. It wouldn't have mattered. Right then all that mattered to Heero was how he felt for him, that mind-slamming need to touch, to kiss, to be with Duo Maxwell. (o) The five boys gathered at the entry to the garage then opened the door for Duo to see what was there. The band van blocked most of the view, but it was obvious the place could hold a fleet of vehicles, which it did. He was awed. They all had been when they had arrived, one at a time. There was a male bonding over the sporty Jaguar, the durable Ranger, and the Harley, while they discussed the dinner company. "You don't like her?" Heero asked. "Noin? Nah, she's cool, but if she doesn't know what her boss is really up to..." he hesitated uncharacteristically "... She doesn't strike me as being dense." "She's nice," Quatre stated as truth. "Okay, I'm not fond of the girlfriend, but I've never had one, so she's probably fine as far as they go. I will say this for the guy though, he has one sweet ride." "But it's his, not ours and he won't lend us the keys to any of these," Quatre said. "We have tried," Trowa put in. Wufei added nothing. It was the BMW sedan Duo chose because it looked good and could hold them all. They watched as he pulled out a lock picking tool from his braid and in seconds, popped the door locks. "'Ro," give it some gas when I say." Duo had the hood open and hot-wired the engine moments later. "Keys, shmees, ya know? Who needs them?" "You're stealing Zechs' car!" Quatre said in a gasp of real shock. He stole my heart, Heero thought to himself. "I'm a thief," Duo admitted. "Yes you are," Heero muttered. "I would like it if four people did a cartwheel all at once... so I can make a cart and have a ride, but...heh, heh... there's this instead. Ya take what you can get. So, anybody know the way to town?" Yes, they did.
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