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"Jazz Bata"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, Fluff, WAFF ^-^, Sap, mild
angst, mild language, mild lemon, ditzy Relena (background support/tiiiny
little part) Pairings: 1x2, indication of 5x6 Summary: A quite, young musician with a bright future gets his world rocked by a newbie vocalist. "Jazz Bata"
Ch 3 There was only one path left to him and though he wasn’t keen on listening to his fellow guitarist gloat he knew he wouldn’t be getting any sleep until he had settles things between him and Duo. The Carousel was a popular teen hang out complete with concession stand and a video arcade. The auditorium was fully enclosed, air conditioned and often doubled as a ball room or wedding hall when it wasn’t crawling with giggling, sixteen year olds. Hiiro pushed his way past a group of chittering kids pulling his ball cap down a little to make sure they didn’t recognize him. This wasn’t exactly his target audience but one never knew when or where a die-hard fan might pup up. He had waited until late in the evening hoping to forego the experience of mingling with the ‘in crowd’ any longer than necessary so when he caught sight of Duo on stage he was surprised to find him looking fresh and energetic as he danced across the stage. It was a little disturbing to see him in the airy, fashionable attire but white looked as good on him as black and the open shirt was sexy as hell in spite of the small line of loose ruffles peeking from beneath a tan vest. Hiiro’s eyes traveled down the sublime figure snorting amusedly when he saw the laced, rawhide boots that Relena used to wear sometimes on stage. It looked like Zechs had simply dropped Duo in his sisters old costume but she had never filled it out quite like Duo. Hearing Duo sing the monotonous hip-hop brought with it mixed emotions. On the one hand, he proved to be more than capable of delivering the canned lyric’s in an interesting way that had the crowd screaming for more but his voice lacked the rich timbre from before. He was singing but it bothered Hiiro that he wasn’t feeling the music. He shook his head as he made his way toward backstage realizing he was mentally criticizing someone he’d come to apologize to. If Duo was happy singing this type of music that was fine, he’d just say his piece and bow out with his self respect intact. He was already waiting in their dressing room when the band arrived, Wufei tossing him a dark scowl before Zechs beamed a bright smile and hugged him so hard his feet left the ground. “Hiiro!” he crowed setting him back on the floor but his eyes were seeking out Duo who was looking anywhere but at him. “You should’ve told me you were coming! We could’ve had you cameo!” “You’re Hiiro Yui!” a slight blond boy beamed, his blue/green eyes still alight with adrenalin and Hiiro had to pull his eyes away from the pale skin of his chest before he was hugged again. His stomach clenched to find that Duo had finally looked at him but the glare wasn’t exactly the expression he’d hoped to find. “Oh, sorry!” the blond boy laughed backing away apologetically. “It’s just… I have all your albums. I love your music.” “And you are?” “Quatre’s our new keyboardist,” Zechs explained wrapping a long arm around the smiling young man. “Nice to meet you,” Hiiro offered peering over their shoulders at Duo who was once again completely ignoring them. “So,” Zechs grinned happily glancing at Duo as well. “What did you think of the concert? Not bad, huh?” “Oh, Duo!” Quatre enthused suddenly turning on the braided boy. “You were incredible! I didn’t know you could dance like that!” Dance? Hiiro was suddenly sorry he’d missed so much of the show. “Just doing my job,” Duo chuckled tolerantly disentangling himself from the exuberant blond. “From what I heard,” Hiiro cut in tentatively. “You did it very well.” Duo paused and even Quatre came down a little from his stage rush as a strange quite fell. Hiiro felt a band of steel loosing from around his ribs when the longhaired boy’s lips curled ever so slightly and he replied, “Thanks.” “I wanted,” Hiiro began then flashed an uncomfortable glance around the room. “Could I speak to you for a moment?” Zechs laughed ushering Quatre toward the door as he warned, “Just don’t get any idea’s. He’s a member of Oz now and there’s no way we’re going to let him get away!” Duo chuckled and tossed a towel at the door as it closed then turned to face the awkward silence. The words were right there on his lips but Hiiro couldn’t seem to get them to spill. Duo looked at him expectantly wondering if he’d swallowed a blow fish or something from the way he was teetering on the edge of bursting then Hiiro sighed heavily and glanced at where Wufei was quietly packing away equipment. “Fei.” Duo sighed impatiently calling the Chinese boy’s dark eyes to him but he looked none to pleased with the silent dismissal. Hiiro’s stomach crept a little closer to his spine when he stopped on his way out and laid a soothing hand on the braided boy’s cheek, his thumb moving silkily over his plump bottom lip as Hiiro’s mind scrambled for the meaning behind the action. Part of him was beyond elated at the idea that Duo might be more than friends with his drummer as it would open certain doors for his own aspirations but on the other hand, if he was already in love… Duo confused him a little more when he rolled his eyes and gently pushed the hand away, his expression both grateful and annoyed as Wufei shot Hiiro a look of warning before he left the room. “I’m sorry,” Hiiro began meaning it in so many ways he knew Duo would need more clarification to understand but the braided boy simply smiled. “Don’t sweat it.” “Duo… wait,” Hiiro persisted following to reclaim the longhaired boy’s attention. He knew a brush off when he saw it and there was no way he was going to be satisfied with mock forgiveness. “Really, I never meant to hurt you.” “Exactly how does that make it better?” Duo snipped turning back to him. “No one ever means it do they?” Hiiro stepped back unable to comprehend the underlying pain in his words. Had he really cut him so deep? “Duo… please… I was dead wrong, I admit it…” “Damn right you were!” Duo growled but then the anger just seemed to disappear. What was left behind was decidedly more disturbing however, and Hiiro felt his blood run cold when he saw the emptiness in those beautiful, violet eyes. “Don’t worry about it,” Duo sighed turning away from him again. “No,” Hiiro pressed on reaching to touch his arm and regain his attention again. “I misjudged you…” “Par for course,” Duo laughed pulling away from the touch. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Hiiro watched him move about for a minute before the question finally burst from his lips. “Why are you doing this?” “Why are you still here?” Duo countered irritably. “You can’t be happy singing this crap,” Hiiro countered trampling the little voice inside that was screaming this was none of his business. “So I should come work with you?” The pain laced into the words sent a chill down Hiiro’s spine but he was too deep to back down. “I’d play with you any day,” he confessed marveling at the truth of the statement. “But what’s important is what you want. I heard you out there, that’s not music…” “It’s fun,” Duo cut in haughtily. “The kids love it.” “But you need more…” “What the fuck do you know about what I need?!” Hiiro back peddled in the face of Duo’s sudden rage but stood his ground. “I heard it!” he shouted surprising his companion to the point he was the one backing away. “In the studio that day! I felt it! Everybody did! You’re better than this!” Duo’s entire demeanor suddenly changed and the smile that curled his lips set Hiiro’s spine ablaze. He backed off feeling the need to move forward so powerfully it frightened him but then Duo was closing the distance and everything started to spin. “I know what you felt,” he purred and Hiiro swallowed hard as long fingers moved smoothly up his chest effectively pinning him to the wall with nothing more than a touch. “I felt it too, when you played,” he confessed leaning into Hiiro’s suddenly fluttering chest, his fingers coming to play gently along his jaw and Hiiro tried to press himself right through the wall in his effort to get away from the temptation before he did something… bad. “It was dark,” Duo breathed close enough that Hiiro felt the heat of his words wash over his mouth and groaned as it seeped down his throat and pooled in the smoldering warmth between his thighs then suddenly the bubble burst as Duo pushed forward and crushed their hips together as he hissed on a heated thread, “Decadent.” Hiiro’s hands rounded his ass with no conscious thought as to what he was doing, his mouth hungrily seeking the union hovering so near. He moaned in utter rapture when Duo shuddered and melted into him, his body softly rolling in his arms in a way that begged to be worshiped leaving the Japanese boy with the longing to do just that… for a very, very long time… then suddenly he was pulling back, the effort seemingly hampered by some invisible force that held them together but he managed to put enough distance between them to speak. “This could be good,” Duo breathed softly rolling his hardened interest into Hiiro’s hips again. “Incredible,” the Japanese boy agreed distractedly. “We could have it all.” Hiiro moaned is agreement and claimed another kiss, his mind too deep in the fire to feel anything but Duo’s heat. “You’re first vocal album,” the braided boy went on enticing waves of pure pleasure so deep inside Hiiro’s body he barely managed to comprehend the odd quality of his tone until he breathed into his mouth, “And great sex on the side.” “What?” he hissed pushing the longhaired boy back a little but the passion in his eyes was tainted by something shameful and laced with pain. “Duo…?” “That’s what you wanted wasn’t it?” Duo said pulling away from him. “No…” Damn it, that wasn’t true. “Yes, but…” Wufei’s timely arrival left him wondering if the drummer hadn’t been listening at the door but he was more concerned with the sudden wall that had slammed down between him and Duo. “You’re right about one thing,” Duo told him slipping comfortably into Wufei’s protective shadow. “I do need more but I’ll get it my way.” “I never meant for you to…!” “Not everyone’s for sale,” Wufei cut in laying a warning hand on Hiiro’s chest to stop his advance. The Japanese boy matched his glare but made no move to challenge him then they were gone and he was left feeling worse than he had when he’d arrived. Duo must’ve been seriously mistreated by the system; that was the only explanation that made any sense because he certainly never insinuated he expected sexual favors in order for Duo to work with him. He cursed knowing full well he’d taken every opportunity to devour the beautiful boy visually since the first time they’d met wondering again what sort of abuse he’d had to tolerate in the pursuit of his dream. His visit had been made in the hope of severing the connection between them so he could get on with his life but ended up complicating things even more. He sighed deeply and grumbled his displeasure with the situation as he made his way back his apartment. ** “Hiiiiiro!” “Relena?” What was she doing at the studio? He turned to find the girl decked out in golden ribbons and a bright, pink tutu as she bounded down the hall toward him. “Isn’t it wonderful!” she enthused daring to glomp him in the middle of the hall. His eyes reflected how he felt about her overzealous affection when he turned them toward the smirking face of Dorothy as she gracefully brought up the rear. “What?” he asked gently pushing the jubilant girl back toward her friend, Dorothy’s ebony pants suit bearing a striking contrast to Relena’s colorful costume. “Didn’t Zechs tell you?” the girl giggled making quite the announcement as she revealed, “I’ve got my own band!” Hiiro blinked. “Une finally got a clue and gave us the go ahead! Now we can put Pretty in Pink on the top of the charts!” Hiiro sidestepped another hug flashing Dorothy a heated scowl when the girl smirked at him again. “That’s great,” he replied moving his guitar case in between himself and the pink clad terror of GWR. So that’s what had happened. Une had gotten rid of the pair and managed to save Zechs from his sister’s wrath at the same time. Pretty slick. “It’s amazing!” Relena gushed bouncing on her feet. “Our debut is this Saturday. You just have to be there!” “I have plans.” “Nooo,” the girl whined. “Can’t you get out of it? Just this once?” The coy quality of her voice strengthened his resolve a hundred fold. “Sorry,” he replied in mock regret as he opened the door to studio number five. “But I’m sure you’ll knock them dead.” Her face brightened considerably at his encouragement and suddenly she was bouncing again. “I’ll make sure you get a copy of the CD!” “You do that,” he half smiled shooting Dorothy a semi grateful glance when the girl reigned in her counterpart and guided her down the hall. “Bye!” Relena called back just as the door closed and sealed him safely inside the darkened room. Or so he thought until a gentle whisper reached his ears. “Stop.” “You don’t mean that.” That was Duo’s voice… and Wufei? “Duo…” “We’ve got time…” Hiiro’s temperature flared the moment he heard the intimate quality of the exchange. “Stop,” Wufei hissed clearly wishing he was saying something else. “Why do you always play hard to get?” Duo pouted. Where were they? He couldn’t see them but he could feel the heat between them. “This isn’t what I want,” Wufei forced from his throat and Hiiro’s mind supplied him with a resounding ‘yeah, right!’ “Everybody wants some,” Duo purred making the Japanese boy’s groin pulse with desire he quickly tried to put a lid on. The quite that followed brought with it a desperation to flee so strong he suddenly found his hand on the door but his guitar had smashed into the wall in his haste and given him away. “Who’s there!?” Wufei barked. “I’m sorry!” Hiiro rushed to explain as soft light flooded the room. “I ducked in here to hide from…. Relena.” The name fell so softly from his lips they barely heard him but the sight of Duo in low rider jeans with his shirt pushed halfway down his shoulders was more than his mind could handle. Damn! He looked good enough to eat but the reality that it appeared Wufei was already having a bite came crashing back quickly enough. Duo righted his shirt with a casual dignity that both impressed and confused the Japanese boy but Wufei wasn’t looking all that composed for once. “Think I’ll take a shower before the interview,” Duo commented letting the gentle timbre of his voice wash over Hiiro as he smiled and glided by. The image of Duo standing in a hot shower, his long hair down and wriggling in lively ringlets over that sumptuous body forced Hiiro’s eyes to close but he heard the amused chuckled vibrate in Duo’s throat as he passed through the door and disappeared. “I am sooo sorry,” he began feeling the enormous energy slowly seep from within him. “Don’t bother,” Wufei sighed sounding as relieved as Hiiro as he chuckled and confessed, “He almost had me that time.” “I really didn’t know anyone was in here…” “Relax,” Wufei cut in smoothing his rumpled hair back into its tight ponytail. “He wouldn’t have gone through with it anyway.” This hit Hiiro as an odd thing to say. “I thought you were…?” Wufei shook his head and Hiiro felt a weight lift from his chest he’d had no idea was even there. “But he was…” “He does that now and then,” the Chinese boy sighed tucking his shirt in. “It’s a defense mechanism of some sort. He just wants to see if I’ll turn him down.” “And?” Hiiro prompted needing to know more. “If you hadn’t shown up he might have finally won,” Wufei laughed but there was a dark edge to it that made Hiiro think he really didn’t want Duo to win this particular prize. “What happened to him?” he asked back stepping when Wufei’s black eyes hardened. “Never mind,” he added contritely. “It’s none of my business.” “No, it’s not,” Wufei agreed collecting himself to leave. “But just for the record lets just say Duo doesn’t trust easily. You might want to keep that in mind next time the little head takes over for the big one.” Hiiro was still stuck on the ‘next time’ portion of the comment long after Wufei had left. Gods in heaven what he wouldn’t give to get another chance with Duo but from what he had learned he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. His mood improved throughout the day as his mind began to form a plan. If Duo had a problem trusting others, even Wufei who was obviously devoted to him beyond any normal boundary, then he would simply prove to him that he was trustworthy. The only problem was it would take some amount of exposure in order to enact his plan and at the moment his days where frightfully… Duoless. The first order of business was to change that. ** “What are you doing here?” Hiiro did his best to look as casually unaffected as possible as he went about setting up his equipment. “Since when do you sing jingles?” he asked absently forcing his eyes to remain on the task at hand. “Une asked me to do it,” Duo informed him sounding suspiciously ill at ease. “She must be hard up,” Hiiro chuckled shrugging off the heated glare his companion shot his way. “It’s not like her to use someone of your abilities for something this simple,” he explained grateful that he believed in the words as Duo’s eyes softened. “Said she needed range,” Duo shrugged fumbling with the lyric sheets on the stand in front of the mic. “You guy’s take ten to warm up,” Otto called over the speakers then disappeared beneath his console to do god knew what in the array of endless wires and switches. “Have you had a chance to look over the material?” Hiiro asked sitting down to fiddle with his Fenders already perfect tuning. “It’s not that complicated,” Duo snipped belting out a quick ’Life begins at fiftyyyyy’ before rolling his eyes and shuffling his pages. Hiiro grinned unable to stop the expression in spite of his resolve not to upset his braided partner during their short time together. It had taken to much effort and cost him dearly to convince Une to insert him into Duo’s schedule and he didn’t want to mess it up but it seemed he would have to try harder when Duo’s brow knitted crossly. “What?” Hiiro let the chuckled pass his lips and picked out the music that went with the line as he explained, “You even make that corny shit sound good.” Duo blinked then shrugged it off replying, “Nice of you to notice.” “You want to run through it once?” Hiiro asked already playing the lead in. Duo nodded picking up the changes easily then suddenly he was singing and Hiiro couldn’t contain his smile. It was short and stupid, a sappy attempt to coerce senior citizens to take up residence in the Lazy Day’s Retirement home but Duo’s voice was clear and true and left as lasting an impression on the Japanese boy as the first time he’d heard it. Otto was grinning at them from behind the glass of his little world when they finished flipping the record light on to let them know he was ready whenever they were so they ran through it again. However, Hiiro wasn’t happy with the first set and insisted they do it a second time. However, even with his covert attempts to stay in Duo’s presence and listen to him sing the morning flew by much too quickly and before he knew it they were wrapping it up and saying their goodbyes. “This was fun,” he smiled offering Duo a hand he didn’t take. “I would think commercial jingles would be below you,” he commented instead leaving Hiiro with the impression he thought him a snob. “It’s all part of the job,” Hiiro explained smiling internally when Duo’s brow creased thoughtfully at the comment. “I’m not much for the public scene,” he went on tucking his beloved guitar away. “But you’re good enough not to have to,” Duo admitted. “As long as I get to play I don’t mind.” “Sounds like a cop out to me.” Hiiro paused to consider him, his eyes following Duo’s distant gaze as he looked past the papers before him. “There’s no shame in taking what you want either,” he commented. “Not with talent like yours.” “You have to know what you want to take it,” Duo snorted then turned to look him over. The smile that blossomed on his lips frightened Hiiro a little but he was bound and determined to hold his desire in check and look at the big picture. “Zechs said your preferred music is smooth jazz?” “I find it soothing,” Hiiro confirmed taking note of the mild interest. “Do you listen?” “I listen to everything,” the braided boy snorted again. “It just seems like a waist,” he added looking him over again. “You could be out there setting the world on fire with what you can do.” “I guess it just comes down to what you really want,” he countered daring to take a step closer. “This is enough for me. I like to keep things simple… comfortable.” “No raging groupies to keep you warm?” Duo smiled sending a red flag the size of Kansas up in Hiiro’s mind. “I don’t see anything warm about what they have to offer.” He was feeling his temperature rise however, with every fluid movement of Duo’s body as he slowly turned and let his knees fall slightly open. “Maybe you’re just looking at the wrong ones,” he purred and Hiiro watched his hand move gracefully up the smooth denim covering his shapely thigh and made a quick revision to his plan. Duo squeaked when he stepped forward, his hand snaking purposefully around his waist to pull him close as he crushed their mouths together in a kiss that left the braided boy panting and shaking like a leaf. “I’m not playing your game,” Hiiro told him firmly. “I want you so bad my damn teeth hurt just looking at you and you know it,” he growled releasing him in favor of snatching up his guitar and heading for the door, his need to make Duo understand burning inside him as he left him with the thought, “What you choose to do with that information is entirely up to you.” ~ * ~ tbc... |
