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"The Band"Written By: t-shirt Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU/Romance, Angst, fluff, mention of
the inappropriate fondling of a minor (brief/past incident), sap,
my corky humor , ^_^ Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5x????? Oh my! Summary: Hiiro and Duo discover the road to success
is sometimes as easy as simply following your heart. "The Band"
Ch 2 ‘Hey! Wufei!’ ‘You guys sound great!’ the Chinese boy shouted over the din as the boy’s prepared to take their first break of the night. ‘Thanks,’ Duo said bouncing down the stairs as the energy of the set was still coursing through him infecting every living thing that it touched in much the same way. There had already been two fights and one raid on the back parking lot that turned up several very embarrassed couples in compromising positions. ‘Come on!’ the long haired boy shouted shaking off the many hands that were trying to reach out and touch him from the crowd as he led his clique back to Jo Jo’s office which was the only place they could get a moments peace. ‘Whoo! Damn, I love it when the crowds fired up!’ he laughed popping up on top of the owners desk, his entire body fidgeting and moving about, fingers tapping his drink, toes taping the chair he’d rested them on. ‘You really know how to work the crowd,’ Wufei grinned. ‘Feels more like they’re working me,’ Duo chuckled. ‘Hey, but you liked it, huh?’ he added jumping up from his seat to pace. ‘Did you notice the second song in the third set? That’s what I’m talking about, man! It needs more sound, a heart beat. You could really bring out the soul in that one with your base,’ he rattled. ‘Is he always like this?’ the Chinese boy laughed. ‘Inevitably,’ Trowa replied. ‘He hasn’t even had his coffee yet,’ Hiiro chuckled. ‘Oh, ha ha,’ Duo mocked but the fake laugh turned very real very quickly and he found his ass on the desk top again. ‘But seriously, man. Can’t ya feel it? It’s like its just screaming for more right? Think you need to tweak the lyric’s on the end of the second verse too,’ he told Hiiro who wrote most of the words for the band. ‘They’re ok like they are but it feels lacking somehow. Oh... and Trowa... what in the hell was that little ad lib at the end of `The Mercenaries Dream`? It totally rocked, man!’ ‘Thanks.’ ‘Felt that one in my tail bone! Think you can remember it for next time?’ ‘Sure.’ ‘Get the hell of my desk!’ ‘JO!’ Duo barked happily jumping from his perch to sling his arms around Jo’s rather thick neck for a woman. ‘What’dja think? We packed the place right? Told ya we could…’ ‘Duo.’ ‘Oh, right,’ the braided boy grinned sheepishly releasing the six foot tall figure. ‘But ...’ ‘Yes, yes, you were brilliant,’ Jo told him smiling in a way that just screamed `move along`. ‘Is this your newest member?’ was asked in a tone much too deep to support the long lashes and blue eye make up on the face it had originated from. ‘We hope so, huh Wufei?’ Duo grinned. ‘Looks promising,’ the Chinese boy replied. ‘Wonderful,’ Jo smiled moving behind the desk. ‘Perhaps with some hard work and a new arrangement you’ll start to sound like a real band.’ ‘Damn it, Jo,’ Duo sighed. ‘It’s coming along,’ Jo smiled understandingly. ‘Can I help it if I have high expectations?’ ‘We might have a keyboard too,’ Duo suddenly gushed apparently happy with the idea that this person expected more from them. Trowa and Wufei looked curious but there was no time for any further discussion as Hiiro stood announcing their break to be over. ‘We’ll talk about it after the set,’ Duo grinned bounding toward the door. He’d been disappointed that Quatre hadn’t shown up so far but there was still hope. Hope that was brought to fruition when he spotted the blond boy standing quietly at the bottom of the stairs while they got ready to play. ‘Hey Quat!’ he shouted over the fill in music that was blaring from the speakers. ‘Come on up!’ CRASH*TWANG*RATTLE*THUMP Duo turned to regard his blushing drummer as he scrambled to right his fallen equipment. ‘What is he doing here?’ Trowa hissed through his teeth in an attempt to keep is irritation over this development between the two of them as Quatre climbed the steps. ‘He plays keyboard,’ Duo replied curiously while they continued to clang together in the green eyed boy’s effort to re-erect them. ‘He’s classical,’ the auburn hared boy retorted clearly agitated both by the blonde’s presence and the stubborn symbols. ‘Yeah, but with a little practice…’ ‘Hi,’ Quatre smiled. CRASH*BANG*CLATTER Duo just watched in stunned amazement as Trowa tossed his sticks and went after his equipment with a long suffering roll of his emerald eyes. ‘Wow,’ the blond interjected into the silence. ‘You guy’s really pack them in,’ he smiled. ‘Don’t let it intimidate ya,’ the long haired boy smiled retrieving one of Trowa’s run away symbols. ‘Oh, it doesn’t’ the blond boy assured him. ‘I’ve played for much larger audiences than this,’ he told him absently turning his attention to where Hiiro was donning his guitar. This meant that he missed the drop jawed expression on Duo’s face. ‘It has a wonderful sound,’ he smiled at the Japanese boy. Hiiro just nodded. ‘Your drummer is amazing too,’ he told Duo. ‘Does he always play half naked?’ ‘Ummm.’ ‘You could use more base though. Do you mind if I record the second half?’ ‘Uh…’ ‘Yes,’ Trowa grumbled stomping by the pair to re-set his equipment once again. ‘Not at all,’ Duo smiled `accidentally` bumping into Trowa and knocking the symbols over for a third time. Quatre just laughed as the taller boy scrambled after them. They didn’t see the blond boy again until band class on Monday which really kind of disappointed Duo since he’d wanted to hear his opinions after the show. ‘Hi, Duo,’ Quatre smiled after class had ended. This being their last class of the day they were allowed some free time to play around and practice if they wanted, a privilege Duo and his friends had always blatantly abused. ‘Hey, what happened to you after the show?’ Duo asked. ‘You totally missed the after party, man.’ ‘Sorry,’ the blond boy apologized making him wish he hadn’t picked on him. ‘Here, I made some changes in the arrangement,’ he told him handing him a disk. ‘I hope you don’t mind.’ ‘Uh...’ ‘There’s nothing wrong with Hiiro’s arrangements,’ Trowa grumbled from his seat nearby. ‘The music is wonderful,’ Quatre agreed. ‘But it lacks discipline. No offense,’ he smiled at Hiiro. ‘None taken,’ the Japanese boy returned. ‘What in the hell do you mean `none taken`?’ Trowa groused. ‘This guy waltzes in and...’ ‘That’s Duo’s score,’ Hiiro cut him off. ‘Then I can see why it was so wild and free,’ the blond boy chuckled while Duo blushed. ‘I just... tamed it a little. Scrap it if you don’t like it,’ he told them turning to leave. ‘Hey,’ Duo called after him. ‘Don’t forget rehearsal after school and congrat’s on bagging the solo for the concert,’ he smiled. ‘Thanks,’ Quatre smiled before leaving. ‘What is your problem with him?’ Duo asked the moment he was out of ear shot. ‘Why do we need some spoiled little rich kid messing with things?’ Trowa grumbled. ‘He’s a professional,’ Duo countered. ‘He’s an over educated, over bearing, spoiled, little rich boy that thinks he can just march in here, take all the solo’s and get anything he wants by just shaking his pretty little ass!’ the taller boy growled crossing his arms in a huff when he’d finished. Duo just stared at him dumbfounded before he leaned over so he could see Hiiro behind him. ‘Did you notice he had a pretty little ass?’ he grinned. ‘Oh, shut up!’ Trowa snarled jumping from his seat so fast he dragged the little desk with him. ‘You know what the hell I mean! Never mind,’ he growled snatching his jacket off the hanger by the door. ‘Count me out today, I gotta go help Cathy clean the damn garage anyway,’ he grumped making a hasty exit as Duo finally allowed the chuckle in his throat to rise up and escape. ‘I think our little skin beater has a wee little crush,’ the long haired boy giggled packing away his timbrel. ‘It doesn’t bother you?’ Hiiro asked. ‘What?’ Duo shrugged. ‘’Cause it’s a guy?’ he asked receiving a nod. ‘Not really,’ he answered. ‘It’ll be hard if Quat’s not interested I guess,’ he reasoned. ‘Come on... we can get a head start and check out the changes Quatre made,’ he told him shouldering his bag. ‘Hey, guys! Wait up!’ Wufei called jogging to catch up, his base lugging along at his side in its case. ‘Hi, Fei,’ Duo smiled. ‘Coming to join us after all?’ ‘What’d he just call me?’ the Chinese boy asked quirking a brow at Hiiro who just chuckled. ‘Well, you look a little fey,’ Duo grinned opening the door on his van so they could put their stuff inside. ‘You calling me a fairy?’ the Chinese boy groused playfully almost spraining his wrist as he jerked on the passenger side door which hadn’t opened since Duo bought the beat up, old van. ‘Maybe we should by him a skirt,’ Duo grinned at Hiiro. ‘Come’re pretty boy,’ Wufei challenged. ‘I’ll show you who needs to be wearing the …’ CREAK*CATHUNK! ‘Hey, it budged!’ Duo smiled at his Japanese friend as he stood with the door open and ummm grinned? at Wufei. The Chinese boy looked at him and the crumpled door handle in his hand nervously before crawling in the van. Hiiro ended up sacrificing his belt to the van door since now it refused to stay shut before they got underway. ‘Damn, that kid really knows his stuff,’ Wufei observed as they listened to the disk Quatre had given them during the ride to Hiiro’s. ‘He’s even accounted for the base parts,’ Duo added. ‘Wonder who he got to back him up while he put this together,’ he mused. ‘It sounds kinda strange with other people playing it huh?’ ‘Your vocals are what make it work,’ Hiiro interjected pointing out the lack of a vocalist on the disk. …and we... sailed the starlit sky.. on a wing and a prayer and a demons sigh… and it really doesn’t matter just how hard they try... they’ll never chain us down... no I’ll never be alone... just as long as I have youuuu… Duo sang the lyric’s that Hiiro had written along with the music when he’d first composed the tune while humming at the wheel of the van during a road trip the year before. ‘Jo was right,’ Hiiro smiled. ‘It sounds a lot better this way.’ ‘Lets see what we can do with it in the studio,’ Duo smiled launching into the song again as they pulled up beside a cute little red convertible at a red light. ‘Hey, look!’ the boy sitting in the passenger side, one Cliff Randell by name and not exactly one of Duo’s favorite people. ‘It’s the tambourine man!’ the boy jeered laughing with the blond girl by his side for a moment before he suddenly found himself on the receiving end of some very volatile violet eyes as Duo had jumped out of the van without a second thought and attacked him. ‘Shit!’ Wufei gasped following Hiiro who was already out of the van and pulling Duo off the shrieking boy. ‘Let go!’ Duo snarled trying to get to him but Hiiro had him around the chest. ‘You’re insane!’ Cliff shouted in a terrified voice cowering in the seat against his shocked companion whose blue eyes were staring intently at Hiiro. ‘I’ll kill you, you smart mouthed, little fuck!’ Duo growled suddenly snapping his head back and smacking Hiiro in the face almost gaining his freedom in the process but the Japanese boy just managed to hang on. ‘Get the hell out of here!’ Hiiro told them doing his best to hold onto the squirming boy. The girl took the hint though and drove off. ‘Settle down!’ the Japanese boy growled shaking Duo so hard it rattled his brains enough to calm him. ‘Let go,’ he told him in a much calmer yet still restrained tone. ‘No.’ ‘Let go!’ Duo demanded squirming again but it was no use as Hiiro only tightened his hold. ‘What in the hell was that all about?’ Wufei asked. ‘Old rivalry,’ Hiiro explained. ‘Let go,’ Duo said again. ‘No.’ ‘Damn it.’ Wufei could only watch as the violet eyed boy slowly, very slowly began to relax and return to the calm, happy person that he’d know up till then. Hiiro refused to lesson his grip until he was completely relaxed and compliant again and when he did Duo didn’t bother pulling away from his embrace. ‘Sorry,’ the braided boy sighed leaning back into his friends strong arms. ‘You ok?’ Hiiro asked daring to move his hand enough to brush the boy’s thick bangs from his violet eyes. Duo nodded turning enough to lay his forehead against Hiiro’s and close his eyes. ‘He just pisses me off,’ he told him needlessly. ‘Umm, guys?’ Wufei interjected. ‘We’re in the middle of the street,’ he reminded them looking very embarrassed for having had to say it. ‘You drive,’ Duo said tossing the startled Wufei the keys. The Chinese boy didn’t say a word when the two of them piled into the passenger side seat together, Hiiro draping an arm around him and pulling him close as Duo rested his head on his shoulder. Cliff’s comment hadn’t been kind but Duo’s reaction was something on the severe side in his opinion. An old rivalry Hiiro had said. It made him wonder just what had transpired between the two boys in the past. Duo’s eyes had slide shut by the time they arrived at Hiiro’s place. Wufei couldn’t help but watch the pair out of the corner of his eye as the Japanese boy gazed silently down at him. He looked up and smiled softly at their Chinese companion confirming the raven hared boy’s suspicions but from the look in his clear blue eyes it was obvious Hiiro really didn’t want Duo to realize just how much he really cared so they left it at that. Once they were inside the little garage that served as a studio for the band the entire incident appeared to have been completely forgotten. ‘Quat! Hey, man come on in,’ Duo smiled at the blond boy an hour later. ‘Hi,’ Quatre returned nodding in greeting to the others. ‘Trowa’s not here?’ he asked noticing his absence. ‘He had some other stuff to do,’ Duo explained. ‘I don’t think he likes me very much,’ the blond boy chuckled picking up Duo’s timbrel for inspection. ‘Oh, I think he’ll warm up,’ Duo grinned flashing Hiiro a knowing glance. ‘We liked the work on the arrangement,’ he told him. ‘Wanna hear what we’ve done so far?’ ‘Thanks,’ the blond replied. ‘Are you aware of this timbrel’s origin?’ he asked holding it out for him. ‘Umm, Sister Helen gave it to me when I was twelve,’ the long haired boy informed him. ‘She’s a generous soul,’ Quatre chuckled. ‘You ... like it?’ Duo asked amazed that he’d even give it a second glance. ‘That’s the insignia of the House of Kinko Kurasawa,’ Quatre informed him pointing out a small carving on the inner side of the aged wooden hoop. ‘Who?’ Duo asked. ‘He was a komuso of the thirteenth century that spent his life gathering the thirty six pieces of the kinko ryu honkyoku’ Hiiro explained. ‘A ... komuso?’ Duo asked studying the little carving more intently. ‘A zen monk of Japan,’ Wufei went on. ‘If that’s really from that era it’s got to be worth…’ ‘Thousands,’ Quatre tossed in. ‘But then… why would she give it to me?’ Duo wondered thoughtfully. ‘Because you bring it to life,’ Hiiro told him. Duo played with renewed vigor that night and they all ended the evening very happy with the work they’d done in spite of their missing drummer. J had left cakes and tea in the kitchen for them which they devoured hungrily, Duo dropping a new pack of the specialized batteries the man was always grousing about on the table before following Hiiro out to the garage to retrieve his timbrel. Contrary to his usual carefree treatment of the little instrument tonight he bothered to wrap it in a cloth lovingly tying it securely to protect it. Hiiro went to a corner and extracted an old hat box from a pile of junk offering it to the long haired boy who accepted happily laying his treasure within. Having tucked it into its new home safe and sound he smiled and turned gasping softly as Hiiro was standing not an inch behind him in the darkened garage. ‘Are you ok?’ the Japanese boy asked choosing to look at the hat box behind him instead of at the boy himself. ‘Uh... yeah... I’m fine,’ Duo replied through a suddenly dry throat. ‘You shouldn’t let Cliff bother you so much,’ Hiiro told him fighting the urge to lift his gaze. ‘I know,’ Duo replied sounding nervous and frightened all of a sudden, his violet eyes darting from the door to the floor and back again. ‘Duo…’ ‘I’d better go,’ the braided boy cut him off slipping sideways out from in between him and the counter, the case firmly clasped in his hand as he headed for the door. ‘I still gotta take Wufei home,’ he reminded him. Hiiro didn’t move or turn his head when the door shut behind him. He only stood silently, his blue eyes squeezed shut for a long moment then slowly he opened them and went to join the others. The next day all Duo could talk about was the new arrangements and how much the new sound was going to open things up for them. He couldn’t wait for Jo to hear them that weekend and absolutely refused to hear any of Trowa’s grumbling on the matter. The tall boy finally just sulled up and sat apart from them listening but refusing to contribute which was fine with Duo since all he’d done so far was grouse. By the time they made it to the studio after school to try out some of the new stuff they’d been talking about Trowa had been firmly put in his place and refused to talk to anyone at all save Hiiro which meant there was a lot of one word conversations going on. ‘Let’s try that one again,’ Duo told them. Quatre had brought along a very nice electronic keyboard and proven his abilities spanned a much wider genera than just classical music which really only served to make Trowa even pissier. ‘You think you could actually keep time this time?’ the long haired boy reprimanded their muscular drummer. ‘If you don’t like the way I play then get him to do it!’ the tall boy barked pointing at Quatre. Finding out he had been the one to play all the instruments on the demo disk he’d made hadn’t improved Trowa’s demeanor towards him at all. ‘Actually, I don’t play drums,’ the blond piped in smiling shyly into Trowa’s surprised emerald eyes. ‘But I’m afraid I have no sense of timing at all,’ he told him blushing softly. ‘But then... how did you…?’ the taller boy asked dumbfounded by the idea. ‘I use an electronic pulse devise,’ Quatre told him pulling the little thing from his pants pocket. ‘It thumps,’ he explained. ‘I can feel it against my leg but I don’t need it when there’s a drummer like you,’ he smiled replacing the device. ‘Like... me?’ Trowa blinked. ‘You’re better than it,’ Quatre explained. ‘You don’t slow down when your batteries get weak,’ he chuckled. ‘There’s nothing more embarrassing than playing the William Tell Overture in a steadily declining beat,’ he laughed. ‘When did that happen?’ Duo asked. ‘Last year,’ the blond boy sighed. ‘At the summer concert with the London Symphony Orchestra.’ Wufei let out a long, sustained whistle. ‘What the hell’re you doing in a garage in Sanc?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Quatre shrugged. ‘I guess father thought I needed a break from the pressure,’ he told them. ‘This is much nicer anyway,’ he smiled directing it once again at Trowa whose upper lip twitched in response. ‘Well, alright then,’ the taller boy said breaking into a huge grin, the long fingers of his right hand twirling his drum stick expertly as his right foot counted off the lead in and suddenly the entire garage was filled with a back beat rhythm that inspired Mrs. Undon into an all out war with the side of the garage before the night was over. They found pound cake and orange juice waiting for them on the kitchen counter that night and an extra little gift of a box of strawberry pocky for Duo by way of thanks for the batteries which the boy shared anyway while they discussed the nights work. All went well until Quatre suddenly piped up with… ‘You need a ride home?’ ‘In that?’ Trowa asked pointing at the canary yellow Corvette Quatre had driven that day. ‘Oh, I forgot,’ the blond boy amended. ‘You have your bike, right?’ He hadn’t even finished speaking before the keys to said bike skittered to a halt in front of Wufei. ‘You need a ride right?’ the taller boy asked. Wufei grinned. ‘Wanna drive?’ Quatre smiled holding out his keys which were snatched out of his hand so quickly he barely had time to chuckle as Trowa ran out the door. ‘See you guys tomorrow,’ the blond boy smiled before leaving. ‘He gave him the keys,’ Duo said deadpan. ‘Think he’ll ever get to drive again?’ Wufei wondered. ‘I doubt he really wants to,’ Hiiro interjected and all fell silent. ‘Well,’ Duo finally broke the silence. ‘That takes twenty minutes off my drive. You ok on the bike?’ he asked. Wufei just looked at him like `please`. ‘K... see you tomorrow then,’ he said managing to slip out the door before Hiiro had time to slip out of his chair and see him off. ‘You wanna talk about it?’ Wufei asked seeing the disturbed expression on his face. ‘No,’ was the only response he received. ~ * ~ tbc... |
