Duo's POV

The Wedding Planner Part 42
Nightmares

I was halfway to the freeway before the deliciously hot feeling of Heero's lips faded from mine.

I was on the entrance ramp before my hands stopped shaking.

And I was pulling into the parking lot of The Circus by the time the shock began to wear off and total despair set in. That was also about the time I gained control of my raging hormones and the tightness in my jeans faded.

God, what a kiss that had been! Between the waves curling around my feet and the wind in my hair, and Heero's thigh pressed up against me...I could've died happy at that very moment. I wished it had never ended...but naturally the instant those burning lips left mine, sanity reasserted itself, and I realized I was in the arms of a guy whose wedding I was planning. A really, really hot guy I wanted to have throw me down in the sand and fuck me senseless. It's small wonder I drove for nearly half an hour before I shook off the effects of the passion he'd awakened.

Of course, the slowly dissipating heat of lust left in its wake huge waves of guilt.

I was a fucking homewrecker! Here Relena and Heero were perfectly happy, and I came along and got the hots for the groom and fuckin' stole him! I was going to rot in Hell...and the sooner the better.

No--wait--he kissed me--right? I didn't start it, did I? I mean, shit, I thought the guy was straight. Why would I start anything? Come to think of it, wasn't he straight? He was engaged to a woman, for Chrissakes. That usually indicates a preference for the opposite sex. So what was that kiss all about anyway?

"Vodka on the rocks," I told Trowa, slumping into a chair at the bar.

"V-vodka?" he echoed in surprise.

"On the rocks," I repeated carefully, giving him a warning glare.

"Uh--just a minute," he mumbled, turning away and fumbling behind the bar for a moment. "I'll have to go in the back for clean glasses."

He disappeared into the kitchen and a moment later I realized he'd just been stalling for time when Quatre came sauntering out of the bathroom.

Shit. Busted.

"Hey, Duo," Quatre greeted me cheerily, plunking down on the bar stool next to me.

"Heero kissed me," I said flatly, knowing there'd be no way around the impending conversation.

Quatre promptly slid off the other side of his stool into a heap on the floor.

"Trowa! Where the fuck is that vodka?" I demanded. "Get your sorry ass out here and pour me a drink!"

Quatre dragged himself back to his feet, gesturing Trowa away when the bartender dared peek around the kitchen door. "No, Duo," he said firmly. "No vodka."

I glared at him, pointing a shaking finger in his direction. "You! You're the one who made me stay on the account! I asked you to take over. I begged you not to make me keep going to the Hell House. But no! You insisted you had to have your best goddamned wedding planner for the Peace-fucking-craft account. And now look what's happened!"

"I'm not sure exactly what's happened," Quatre admitted, frowning in confusion.

"I told you. Heero-fucking-Yuy...fiancé of the pretty pink princess herself fucking kissed me."

Quatre glanced around the nearly-empty bar, taking in the one or two gawking customers, and then grabbed my arm in a firm grip. "Trowa! I'm taking Duo home!" he called to the closed kitchen door.

The auburn-haired bartender stuck his head out again, apparently assessing the wisdom of putting in an appearance. "D'you need help?" he asked cautiously.

Quatre turned a stern look my way. "No. Duo will behave," he said firmly, as if informing me of the fact. "I think he just needs a quiet place to calm down and think things through."

I allowed him to pull me to my feet and begin dragging me towards the door. "I don't want to go home, Quat. I want to stay here and drink until I pass out," I told him firmly.

His aquamarine eyes slid down the length of my body, taking in the sandy, rumpled shirt and braid, the faded jeans which were still wet almost to the knees, and my bare feet. "Duo...you're barefoot."

"No shit?" I said dryly.

"Where are your shoes?" His gaze bored into mine. "Have you been drinking already?"

"Just soda," I assured him. "And I think I dropped my sneakers into the ocean when Heero fucking walked up and fucking kissed me!"

I was verging on hysterical again, as the memory of those delicious, burning lips returned to torment me.

"Later, Trowa!" called Quatre, firmly steering me out the door and across the parking lot to my Jeep. He stopped several feet away from it, staring. "Is that a giraffe?"

"Long story," I sighed.

"We have time. Give me your keys."

I fished the keys out of my pocket and climbed in the passenger side, shoving the giraffe into the back seat so that its neck was sort of diagonally across my seat and still stretched out the window.

Quatre got in and started Scythe up. "Start talking, Duo."

So I did. I told him about my bright idea for Heero to take Relena on a romantic day trip, and her ridiculous refusal. And then I told him about feeling kind of responsible and deciding to take Heero sailing out to Fun Land.

By the end of my pitiful story Quatre was stifling his chuckles as he drove, and I was stifling the urge to throttle him.

"You think it's funny that an engaged client kissed me, Quat?" I demanded. "An engaged straight client?"

"No--I'm having trouble getting past the part where you sailed the giraffe across the bay," he admitted. "I'll worry about the kiss later."

"I hate you," I sighed, slumping down in my seat. "Where are you taking me?"

"My place."

"Why? I'm not drunk."

"I'm not convinced you won't still try to get drunk," came the quick answer. Quatre shot me a sidelong glance. "Do you want to promise me you won't?"

I folded my arms across my chest, glaring straight ahead. Why the fuck had I gone to The Circus? I should have known either Quatre would be there, or Trowa would refuse to serve me. There were plenty of other bars in the city.

Granted, few of them would have let me in barefoot. But I think my waterproof bag was stashed under the seat, and my spare pair of footwear was in it. Now that I was thinking a little more clearly, I realized I could have come up with other options.

"Duo? Are you even hearing me?" Quatre cut into my thoughts.

I looked up with a scowl. "Wasn't listening."

"First off, you need to get a grip on yourself," he suggested. "It's not the end of the world. So Heero kissed you. It's not like you didn't want him to."

Yeah, I'd wanted it all right. I'd wanted that and a lot more. I just hadn't expected to get it...ever. I'd flirted with Heero all day, sure that he would never make a move, since he wasn't gay. Shit--he'd even flirted back. And I'd thought it was all a game--a little harmless, sexually frustrating fun. But now--? What did it mean?

"Duo? Duo!"

"Sorry--tuned out for a minute," I muttered absently.

We were almost to Quatre's penthouse by then, and suddenly my cell phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket as if it were a poisonous snake, wincing at the name on the caller i.d., Yuy.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I shut it off quickly, tossing it into the back seat.

"You'll have to talk to him sooner or later," Quatre predicted.

"No, I won't. I quit," I said flatly.

"You quit?"

"I told him he couldn't do that to me, and that I quit," I told my boss.

"Couldn't do what to you? Kiss you?"

"No. Fuck with my head," I growled. "It's some stupid mind game, Quat--some fucking experiment or something. I don't even know what it is. I just know I can't deal with it--whatever it is."

Quatre sighed. "Maybe it's not a game. Maybe he likes you."

"Maybe you're an idiot. He doesn't like me. Remember? We almost came to blows when we first met." I saw the twinkle in his eyes and hastily added "--and not the good kind."

The bastard chuckled. The little blonde shit actually chuckled in the midst of my personal crisis.

"Oh, Duo." He pulled into his parking garage, and drove up a few levels to the Winner section, where an array of very nice cars were lined up. And he parked my worn-out, battered old Jeep right there in the middle of them. "Think your giraffe will be safe enough here?"

I snorted. Safe? In the middle of Winner-land? "No shit, Sherlock."

I pulled my bag out from under the seat and fished out the dry pair of sneakers, stuffing my still-sandy feet into them. Then I followed Quatre to the elevator and up to his penthouse, my mind lapsing into the comforting numbness it seemed to find when my capable friend took charge of things. He really was a comfort to have around, even if he was a snide little smart-ass at times. Frankly, I was a snide little smart-ass, too.

"Tea?"

"Whiskey."

"I think chamomile," he countered, traipsing into his kitchen and starting the water, while I flopped bonelessly onto his couch, throwing an arm over my face for theatrical effect.

"What do I do?" I muttered wearily.

"For Allah's sake, Duo. It was just a kiss," he sighed.

Just a kiss, indeed! How about the kiss to end all kisses? The most amazing kiss of my life?

God, what a kiss. I could almost feel Heero's lips against mine again, his tongue sliding effortlessly into my mouth, his arms slipping down my sides and taking hold of my belt loops to pull me against his hard, muscular body. And speaking of hard...

I groaned aloud. "Goddamnit, Quatre...I can't have him!"

"Yes, Duo," he said patiently, over the clinking of a teaspoon against glass. "You've said that before."

"So what the fuck am I supposed to do?"

"Have some tea," suggested my ever-so calm friend, setting a steaming cup of tea on the coffee table next to me.

I shifted my arm so I could peek through a slitted eyelid at the tea. "You didn't spike it with tranquilizers this time, did you?" It wouldn't be the first time the devious little wretch had drugged me. After Alex died, it had happened on more than one occasion, when I'd gone so long without sleep that Quatre feared for my health.

"Chamomile tea is a natural relaxant," he told me, shoving my legs aside and sitting next to me.

"So's whiskey," I pointed out.

"Not really. It's a depressant." Quatre gave me a knowing look. "Given your history, it would be a bad idea."

"I've had worse ideas." Like making friends with Heero, for instance. How in Hell could I have been so stupid? Thinking I could spend time with him without falling for those deep blue eyes and that enigmatic personality? What an arrogant, cocky little jackass I was!

He picked up the cup and held it out to me, and I struggled into an upright position so I could drink it without spilling all over his crushed velvet couch.

"Aw, man. I'm getting sand all over your nice furniture," I moaned, scowling down at my grubby jeans.

"No problem," he assured me, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm having it cleaned next week anyway," he added with a perfectly devilish smirk. "After all the time Trowa and I have spent on it--"

I sat up sharply. "You better be fucking joking, Quat!" My eyes were instantly drawn to every smudge or stain on the bluish-grey fabric.

He gave a delighted chuckle. "You are so easy to bait, Duo!" His aquamarine eyes danced with mirth.

I scowled in return. "Sure. Kick a man when he's down."

"You aren't 'down'," he assured me. "Just a little shell-shocked right now." He watched me finish my tea, and gathered up the cup. "Why don't you go lie down in the guest room?"

"But you haven't told me what to do about Hee--Yuy," I protested. Maybe if I tried to stick to last names I'd be able to avoid drifting off into a recollection of that breathtaking, soul-searing kiss.

"We'll talk tomorrow," Quatre suggested. "I have an eight o'clock meeting with Trowa's sister, who, as it turns out, is getting married next spring. It shouldn't take me more than an hour, and when I get back, you and I can talk over breakfast. Now you need to get to bed."

"D'you honestly think I can sleep?" I demanded.

"Sure," he said smugly. "The very minute the risperidone kicks in."

"You little fucker!" I snarled, twisting around to glare heatedly at him. "You said you didn't drug the tea."

"No. I merely said chamomile tea is a natural relaxant," he replied with meticulous logic. "But it's probably not nearly enough to calm you down when you get like this."

"Get like what?" I growled.

He tapped the side of his head knowingly. "I've been your best friend a lot of years, Duo. I know your moods. Right now you're wound so tight it's a wonder you don't implode."

"Well that's a lovely graphic image," I muttered, smacking my lips a little to try to figure out why I hadn't noticed the aftertaste of the drug. "Honey. You covered it up with honey, didn't you?"

He shrugged modestly, looking a bit smug. "That's beside the point, Duo. Right now you need to go get settled for the night. D'you want me to have Trowa go to your apartment and bring a change of clothes over?"

"How long are you gonna keep me here?" I asked sulkily.

"You can go home after we have breakfast."

"Then if you let me borrow some sweats to sleep in, I won't need anything from my place," I grumbled.

"How about your cell phone? Last I saw it was in the back of the Jeep."

"And it can stay there. I don't want to talk to that--that straight, engaged sonofabitch."

Quatre laughed quietly. "Obviously he's not straight. But that's a subject better discussed after you've slept off the shock of finding it out."

I sighed deeply, knowing he wasn't going to let me keep obsessing about the kiss. And the dose of risperidone would probably ensure I didn't dream about it either--a fact I had mixed emotions about. It had been a truly dream-worthy kiss. And Heero was every bit as delicious as I'd imagined he'd be.

"Duo?"

I blinked, looking at Quatre rather blankly. "Oh. Were you talking?"

He grinned and shook his head. "Go on and get comfy before the pills kick in any further, or you won't make it to the guest room. And frankly, this couch isn't very comfortable."

"For sleeping, or sex?"

"Either."

"Aw, Quat!" I shoved myself off the couch, taking a wary step back. "Did you two seriously do it on the couch you just let me lie on?"

"I'll never tell," he replied cryptically. "But either way, it got you up. Now go dig yourself out some sweats. Bottom right-hand drawer in my dresser. And there's a brand new toothbrush in the medicine cabinet of the master bathroom. I just went to the dentist last week and got one I haven't switched to yet."

"Thanks mom," I sighed sarcastically, yawning as I began to feel the effects of the sleeping pills.

"Sleep well," he urged.

Right. Like that was ever gonna happen again.

TBC...

 

To The Next Chapter

To The Previous Chapter

Back to Snowdragonct's Fanfictions Page

Back to Guests Fanfictions Page

Back to Main Page