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"Wish Upon a Star "Written By: Waterliliylf Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. All rights
remain with Bandai, Sotsu and associated parties. No profit being
made here. Rating: R Warnings: sap, angst, fluff, AU Pairings: 3x4 Summary: When you wish upon a star, it makes no
difference who you are, unless you're the heir to the Winner business
empire. So when you do find a means of escape, how long can you hold
on to the fantasy, and the man of your dreams, before reality takes
over? "Wish Upon a Star "
Chapter 23 'Here you go.' Zechs pulled into the car park beside the Botanic Gardens, and handed Duo's bike out of the car; not the sweet sports car but an old hatchback he'd borrowed from his butler. That was fair enough; he obviously hadn't wanted to scratch his baby's paintwork. 'Thanks for driving me all the way up here. I could've just cycled.' Zechs grinned. 'Not at all. I did my best to wear you out before we even got out of bed this morning; it's only fair that I act as your chauffeur. I'm a little disappointed though. I was harbouring lovely visions of you in skin-tight lycra.' 'Dream on.' Duo gave him a quick kiss and a fleeting glance down at himself. No lycra; just torn jeans and a faded, washed-out t-shirt. 'This isn't the Tour De France; it's a mountain biking trail. I'll probably be covered in mud after the first mile.' He pointed up at the hills behind them. 'Not much point putting on nice clean clothes.' 'Well, don't hurt yourself. And don't get lost up in the wilderness.' 'Hardly wilderness,' Duo grinned. 'Don't you ever come up here? There are some great hikes.' 'Not really my thing.' Zechs pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. 'But if you're going to come home all muddy and sweaty, you may possibly need someone to wash you clean this evening before we go out?' 'Might do.' Duo looked up into those warm blue eyes. 'Though actually, I'll be clean before you see me. Remember? I have to go to work for a couple of hours this afternoon. Is there a plan for tonight? It might be nice just to stay in.' 'Hmm, tempting.' Zechs bent his head to give him a much longer kiss. 'Not tonight though. I thought I'd told you; I've got tickets to a film premiere. Or would you rather go somewhere else?' 'No, it's fine. I just forgot.' He vaguely remembered Zechs saying something, but he was incredibly good at multi-tasking and his hands had been doing something that made it impossible to concentrate on what his mouth was saying. 'And I love going to the movies. What's the film again?' 'I have no idea.' The blond gave him an indulgently amused smile. 'No one goes to those sorts of things to see the film; they go to be seen themselves.' 'Right.' There'd probably be more photographs in the tabloids then, and shit, he'd have to see if Quat could lend him a tux or something. 'It'll be fun,' Zechs told him. 'There's a champagne reception first; if it's boring, we can leave after that.' That kind of negated the whole point of going to the cinema in Duo's opinion, but then this was probably all part of Zechs' job. He needed to keep a high profile. 'Actually, that sounds quite appealing. We can just stay long enough to meet a few people and then I'll take you home and entertain you for the rest of the night. How does that sound?' 'You really want me sleeping at your place again? Third night in a row?' 'Very much so. Although I can't promise how much sleep you'll get at.' Zechs looked at his watch. 'I'd better go, Duo. Have fun with Heero.' Don't say stuff like that. God, I'm turning into a nymphomaniac! I've got the most perfect boyfriend on God's earth and I'm fantasising about his best friend. The best friend in question turned up five minutes later, and every fantasy sprang back into life. Heero was wearing dark blue cycling shorts and a skin-tight vest. The outfit left a lot of skin on display, and nicely accentuated what little was covered. 'Good morning.' Heero pulled to a halt, sweeping off his helmet to reveal that his hair was even messier than usual. 'Am I late? I'm sorry.' 'Nah, I'm early. Zechs dropped me off.' 'In the Ferrari?' Heero's eyes widened. 'He must be crazy about you if he risked getting its paintwork scratched.' 'He's not that crazy about me,' Duo chuckled. 'He borrowed his butler's car. That's a cool bike you've got.' Heero grunted. 'It's all right. The hotel concierge hired it for me. What model is yours?' Duo grinned. 'An original Maxwell 2000. I built it myself, pretty much; found most of the parts in scrap-yards.' Heero looked impressed. 'I'd like to have a ride, if I may later?' Clean, pure thoughts, Maxwell. He's probably straight. 'Sure. Which way do you want to go?' 'I looked up some routes on line last night. There's a long trail that goes through the hills and back by the coast, if you don't mind spending most of the day out here.' 'Sorry, I can't. I had a text from Trowa earlier. He and Quat want to stay out at Prospect Point for the day, and our part-time girl can't really hold the fort for the whole day alone. I told him I'd go in the afternoon for a few hours. We can do one of the shorter trails.' 'That's fine. I think you know your way around better than I do. Any preferences?' Shit. 'Uh, I was thinking we could head up to Pine Peak.' Duo pointed. 'That's the tallest hill. It's a pretty hard slog to the top, but there's a couple of nice view points when you get there, and the trail down is amazing. Zig zags straight down through the forest.' 'That sounds great.' Heero took off like they were in a race; Duo was tempted to try to take over for a second and then decided to save his energy. Anyway, cycling along behind at a more leisurely pace gave the perfect opportunity to ogle his ass. Ahem, admire the beauties of nature. And Heero Yuy's ass was one of them, for sure. Heero was waiting for him a few minutes up the trail. Duo felt a quick little jet of irritation that the other man obviously felt he had to wait and then noticed Heero's upraised hand. A small chestnut-brown doe and her fawn crossed the path a few yards up. 'That was amazing!' Heero's smile was beautiful; totally awe struck. 'I can't believe we're only a short drive from the city and there are wild animals.' 'Yeah, it's cool isn't it? I've seen deer a few times before, and rabbits and squirrels and sometimes a fox.' 'Sorry I took off like that. It's a while since I've been on a bike, apart from the exercise bike in my gym.' 'No places like this on L4?' Duo pulled out his water bottle and took a long swallow. There weren't on L2 but L4 was by far the wealthiest of the colonies. Heero made a face. 'There are artificially created environments. Some of them are rather good, if you haven't seen the real thing. When Quatre's free, we sometimes go biking or horse riding in the desert, but it's not so much fun alone. I cycle to work sometimes, but there's too much traffic usually.' 'I cycle everywhere,' Duo told him, taking another swig of water, watching Heero take out his own canteen and do the same. 'Of course, that's partly 'cause I don't have a car! You ready to go on?' The trail was wide enough in places to cycle side by side, and they rode together to the top, stopping now and then to take another drink. . 'D'you mind if we stop for a minute before heading down?' Duo pulled over to one side and dismounted. 'I swear, I'm not usually this much of a wuss, but I had a late night last night.' Heero nodded, propping his bike against a tree trunk, and walking over to admire the view. 'I forgot; Zechs said you were planning to go to a nightclub after dinner. Did you have a good time?' 'Well, the music sucked, and most of the people there were total posers, and you do not even want to know how much a drink cost.' Well, Heero probably wouldn't care; he had a successful business of his own. 'Otherwise, it was a blast.' 'Zechs made you buy your own drinks?' Heero teased. 'That doesn't sound like him.' 'No, he didn't. He ordered a bottle of champagne that cost more than I'd spend on food in a month.' Heero grinned and rummaged around in his small backpack. 'I'm sorry I can't offer you champagne but do you fancy a snack?' 'Sure!' Duo chose an apple and a handful of trail mix from the bag Heero held out. 'You really came prepared.' 'Fresh air always gives me an appetite.' Heero found a rock to lean his back against and flopped down, breaking an orange into segments. 'This is such a beautiful place. You're lucky to live here.' 'I know,' Duo said sincerely. 'I don't come up here often enough, actually. Like you said, this is more fun with someone else and Tro and I hardly ever get to be off the same day, with the shop and all. We do try to make it in the summer sometimes, when the evenings are longer.' He tore his glance away from Heero's outstretched bare legs, and looked down at the city before them. 'I'll have to bring Zechs up here sometime.' Heero grinned around his muesli bar. 'I'm not sure if he's all that into the great outdoors. Not this sort of thing anyway. I dragged him out cycling once and he bitched for hours afterwards about how tangled his hair got.' 'Oh.' Duo scarfed down the last of the raisins in his hand. It didn't matter. No one said couples had to have all the same interests. He and Zechs liked sports cars and they were very compatible in bed, and they liked each other. That was plenty. Going back down the mountain was sheer fun. They were both out of breath, muddy and sporting scrapes from tree branches when they finally reached the bottom. 'That was so cool!' Duo gasped. 'God, nothing like that for an adrenalin surge, is there?' Heero grinned. 'Piloting your own plane, galloping a fast horse cross country and really good sex. They're the only things I can think that come close.' Duo gulped, suddenly crimson. He'd never thought Heero would come out with a line like that. Obviously, not all Quat's friends weren't as sweet and innocent as he was. Then again, he already knew that. Zechs certainly wasn't. He took a long swallow of water to cool down, noticing Heero was doing the same, and the way his throat muscles moved as he gulped the cool liquid. 'So…are you, um, seeing anyone right now?' 'You?' Heero quipped, giving Duo a long look, and then grinning. 'Sorry. I have a terrible sense of humour. No, I'm single at the moment.' Bah. He was still no closer to knowing whether the man was gay or straight. Not that it remotely mattered or anything. 'Ah, I'd better get going actually. I told Middie I'd try to get to the shop by one, so she could go and get lunch.' 'You don't have to go home and change?' 'I've got a change of clothes in my rucksack. There's a cold shower by the visitor's centre, so I'll just go and sluice off first.' Heero frowned slightly. 'You shouldn't have a cold shower while you're overheated. I have a better idea. Why don't you come back to my hotel and use my bathroom? Then I can drive you to the shop?' 'Oh, no, you don't have to go to all that trouble for me. Seriously, it's fine.' 'We are not having this conversation again,' Heero told him. "It is no trouble, you were gracious enough to spend your morning off keeping me company, and I'm planning to go to Wish anyway this afternoon. The other night, I told Trowa I'd upgrade the security system on his computer.' 'OK, then,' Duo grinned at him. 'If you really don't mind, that'd be great.' 'Of course I don't mind. It's the least I can do for Zechs' boyfriend.' Oh. Well, that was all it was then. Just being nice to his friend's partner. Stupid to think anything else. They were both quiet as they loaded the bikes into the back of Heero's car and drove off; somehow the sparkle had gone from the day. 'Wow.' Duo tried not to gape as they walked through the hotel foyer. 'Are you a gazillionaire like Cat?' 'Nowhere near it,' Heero assured him. 'I'm only staying here because Quatre gave me his suite. Do you really like it? I think It's all far too overdone; all the crystal and gilded furniture. I'm terrified that if I stand still for long enough, someone will try to cover me with gold leaf, or drape handmade lace over me.' Duo burst out laughing, wondering if the place would be to Zechs' taste. 'Yeah, it is pretty grotty actually. Those paintings are truly dire.' 'I know. I far prefer yours.' He slid a door open. 'Here we go. The bathroom's just through here.' 'Wowsie!' Duo gaped at the sunken bath and the enormous, walk-in shower. 'If I get into either of those, you might never get me out again.' Heero laughed. 'No problem. Take your time.' 'Can't,' Duo said regretfully. 'I really have to be back at Wish sometime this century. Plus my hair always takes ages to wash and dry.' 'I can imagine.' Heero grinned at him. 'You do realise you've got a fair amount of forest in your braid?' Duo groaned, reaching around to feel his hair bristling with twigs and leaves. 'Yeah, that always happens. It's OK. Most of them will fall out once I unbraid it.' Heero slid one hand down the long braid, gently disentangling an oak leaf and placing it on the corner of the bath. 'You have enough kindling here to start a fire. Right, I'll leave you to it then. There's no rush.' 'OK.' The shower was glorious, if not quite glorious enough to distract Duo from thinking about the man in the bedroom outside, in all his lycra-ed perfection. Bad thoughts, Duo. The worst, worst thing was that it wasn't just physical any more. That could have been shrugged off easily enough. Of course a healthy young guy was going to have a certain reaction to that level of physical beauty. It was normal. But he liked Heero a lot. They'd had fun racing down the mountain, no quarter given or expected, but still keeping an eye on each other. And it had been nice just sharing snacks and talking and admiring the view. Heero didn't seem to be the sort to put on an act; he was happy being himself. It was good, Duo told himself firmly, that he got on well with Zechs' friend. Only a good thing. And stupid to fantasise about that messy, tousled hair and what it might look like after sex, or the way those blue eyes glowed when he laughed. Stupid. Heero had ordered room service by the time he finally dragged himself away from the shower, and dressed. There was a table holding platefuls of sandwiches and a platter of pastries and sliced fruits. 'I was starving,' he looked up and smiled at Duo. 'I thought you probably would be too.' 'You really take looking after your friend's boyfriend pretty seriously, don't you?' Duo commented, biting into a roast turkey sandwich. It wasn't all that great; the turkey was a bit dry and some mayonnaise or something would have been nice. 'Ah.' Heero put down his own salad roll, picked it up again, and shredded some lettuce on his plate. 'Is that what I said to upset you earlier? I didn't mean to.' 'You didn't upset me,' Duo said quickly. 'No. Of course not. I just got the impression that somehow things had changed. You were very quiet on the way here. Never mind, I should go and shower. Enjoy your lunch.' 'Thanks.' Duo picked at his sandwich, appetite vanished. This was all just…too much. He couldn't work Heero out, not remotely. Middie ran off to lunch as soon as they got to Wish, after giving Heero a quick once over. 'It's great to meet you. Duo said you were gorgeous with amazing blue eyes, but I though you were blond.' 'No, that's Zechs,' Duo said quickly. 'He's my boyfriend. This is Heero; he's a friend.' 'Nice friend.' She winked at him. 'Bye, Heero. It was nice to meet you.' 'Sorry about that,' Duo offered Heero a somewhat embarrassed smile. Heero grinned at him. 'It was a natural enough mistake. And I do have blue eyes, after all.' 'You do, yeah.' And they were utterly gorgeous; a warmer, deeper blue than Zechs'. Duo had seen icebergs on TV; ice could look blue in certain slants of sunlight. Zechs' eyes were like that. Heero's were like a deep, tropical sea, that you could dive into and swim forever. Oh, God. He wasn't sure which of them had moved, or both, but Heero's eyes, and all the rest of him were suddenly way, way too close, and Heero's long fingers were tilting his chin upwards. 'Zechs said you had violet eyes,' he murmured. 'I thought he was just exaggerating but it's perfectly true.' 'Yeah, it kind of depends on the light,' Duo muttered. 'And your mood, hmm?' Heero's eyes were incredible, totally focussed on him. Duo swallowed. 'Probably. Uh, Heero, we shouldn't…' 'I know.' The door banged open and Duo practically leaped away. Oh, shit. It was Hilde; of course it bloody well was; barging in just when he'd almost been about to kiss his boyfriend's closest friend. No, it wouldn't have happened. One of them would have remembered in time that they weren't supposed to do stuff like that. Surely. She gave Duo a wink and Heero a blinding smile. 'It's really nice to see you again, Heero.' 'You, too. Hilde, isn't it?' 'That's right. Duo, wait 'til you see what I've got!' She flourished the newest copy of Talk of the Town in his face. 'Look!' Duo looked at it warily. 'I'm not in there again, am I?' 'No. Not you this time.' She flicked it open. The photograph was crap; the sort you got if you used your camera's longest zoom, and then maximised it on a computer. If you didn't know who they actually were, it could have been any two men; one blond, one tall and dark. 'Oh, crap.' Duo groaned. 'Tro's going to go apeshit when he sees this. They were trying to be all discreet.' 'You knew Cat was Quatre Winner?' Hilde demanded. 'You knew Tro's new squeeze was this mega-tycoon person! I can't believe you never said! What happened to us telling each other everything?' 'I only just found out for sure yesterday and he asked me not to tell anyone,' Duo said absently. He was looking at Heero. 'How bad is this for Cat? Quatre, I mean.' 'Not good. Well, you're from the Colonies; you know what it's like.' 'But they're not even doing anything!' Hilde, who'd lived her whole life in liberal Sanque, objected. 'They print way worse pictures than that! You can't even see it's Tro and Cat really. What's the big deal?' 'It's a big deal on L4,' Duo told her. 'Plus he comes from this really conservative family. I guess they'll be pretty bummed over this.' Heero nodded. 'Very much so.' 'Yeah, but they'll never know,' Hilde said. 'I mean, what're the odds of them seeing some crappy tabloid from Sanque?' 'They'll know.' Heero said it very positively, taking out his phone. 'Excuse me. I need to call Quatre.' Hilde had the grace to wait until he'd gone into the stockroom and closed the door before whooping. 'Duo Maxwell! What's all this about?' 'Oh, don't.' Duo collapsed on the beanbag beside the counter and hid his head in his hands. Hilde grinned. 'Should I apologise for interrupting? It looked like you two were about to go at it like horny weasels!' 'Well, we weren't. Nothing happened.' She looked sceptical. 'Stop looking so guilty then.' Duo lifted his head. 'I wanted it to. I wanted him to
kiss me and I've got a boyfriend and he's amazing, and I shouldn't
be having thoughts about Heero.'
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