Author: Sorceress Fantasia
Warnings: Heero POV, fluff, some sap, AU (our world and time), mildly obsessive Relena
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: 1+2, 3+4
Disclaimer: GW's a great anime, so obviously I don't own it. FFX2 is a great game, so obviously I don't own it either. Playstation 2 is a great game console, so obviously I don't own it too. Wait, I own a Playstation 2, but I don't own the company producing it. This fanfic is strange, so obviously I own it.
Thanks to Dark Tenchi for beta-ing!
Seventh Heaven Series Part 13
A Normal Day
Another day at university. Another boring day.
Sigh. Life has become as interesting as a calm lake. Monotone, flat, boring. All I can see is a pool of water that I'd rather drink than admire.
I readjust the strap of my backpack, and start walking towards the parking lot. Quatre and the others are waiting for me; we're bound for his mansion (no matter what he thinks, that gigantic thing is a mansion!) for a project that's due in two months. I swear; Quatre's just too enthusiastic about this. Maybe he's luring me to his Playstation 2 so I can help him with FFX2 (1), since he bought the Japanese import when he knows close to nothing about the language.
He can be so impatient sometimes.
"Heero!"
I cringe. That voice... I turn around, and not in the least bit surprised, I see Relena coming my way. Of course I'm not surprised. How could I, when I had seen her loitering around my lecture hall earlier? God, I even had to squeeze my way into a crowd leaving the lecture hall and move with them so she wouldn't notice me. Apparently, it didn't work. I'll have to consult Trowa on how he can stay around at Quatre's mansion for so long and not get noticed by anyone else.
Ninmu... shippai.
"Heero! I went to your lecture hall earlier to look for you, but you weren't there! Where were you?" she huffs in mild irritation, pouting slightly.
"I... rushed out to look for someone."
"Oh. Anyway Heero, you remember this new restaurant I told you about the other day? I haven't been there yet. Why don't we go together?"
Is it just me, or she coming closer and closer? I gulp. "Why don't you go with Dorothy?"
She smiles in a way that reminds me of a mother admonishing her 5-year-old kid. "Don't be silly. You don't go for a candlelight dinner with your friend!"
"Candlelight... dinner?"
"Of course! What did you think it is?"
"I... I, err..." Shit. How am I going to get out of this?
"Hey! Relena!"
Relena spins around, and we both notice the guy coming towards us. I think I've seen him before, but I can't remember his name. Black hair, brown eyes, bespectacled... Looks familiar enough.
"Oh hi. Is anything the matter?" Relena asks sweetly, but I catch the confusion in her voice. I don't think she knows this guy either.
"Dorothy's looking for you. Said it's absolutely imperative that you meet her right away."
"Oh..."
He gestures to the back, shrugging. "I think she's still somewhere near the café."
"Okay. Thank you. Erm, Heero, we'll talk about this some other time. Bye." And she scampers off.
When she has finally disappeared within the shadows of the corridors, the guy turns back to me with a smirk. "She's persistent, isn't she?"
I blink. Was he helping me get rid of Relena? "Well..."
"You don't have to be embarrassed. Some girls are like that. They'll tag along everywhere even when they're not welcomed. I see dozens of girls like that every year here." He snorts, and rolls his eyes.
"Thank you..." I stutter, trying to put a name to his face. "...Solo."
Right, this guy's in my lecture and a couple of my classes. We're taking the same course. That slacker of a prodigy. Never pays attention in class, seldom hands up his work on time, yet he still passes his exams with damn high scores. I think he does that on purpose, just so he can grin smugly at our professors.
"Hey, no sweat. Just be careful of that lady," he says, and leaves without another word.
I sigh. I would if I could. It's not like I want her to stalk me. But like Solo had said, Relena's pretty persistent. In fact, I think she gives that word an entirely new definition. After all, she's been after me since we were in junior college. Sometimes I think she came to this university just because I'm here. From what I know, most Peacecrafts are into politics, and as good as our university is, it just doesn't offer a degree in that.
With a shrug, I head for the parking lot again. The guys should already be waiting for me. If I go any later, Quatre and Trowa might just start making out (they're borderline exhibitionists) and Catherine might just drive off alone and leave me to share a car with the lovebirds.
Sharing their car can be a nightmare. More than once, I've had to tell Trowa to keep his eyes on the road instead of on Quatre. On other occasions, I've been forced to remind Quatre that the handbrake is not where he thinks it is.
It's a wonder Trowa still has his license.
*****
Quatre stretches his arms, and slumps back on his seat. "Well, I think we should stop here. We've done quite a bit already, and the project's not due for another two months!"
"Glad you're aware of that. Doing it so early..." Catherine grumbles, and grabs her can of orange juice for a long gulp.
"It's better to do it early than rush through it later when we haven't got time," Trowa answers, and grins when his boyfriend beams at him.
"Fine. So Quatre, you can go set up your Playstation now. That was your true intention, wasn't it? Get us here and hammer on your games," Catherine says off-handedly as she slams the now-empty can on the table.
We all know Quatre too well.
"If you say so, Cathy!" he laughs innocently, and heads for the game room.
We shrug at each other, and follow him. Settling down on the large beanbags, we wait for the game to load up. I sigh when the opening credits start. Bingo. It's FFX2.
"Quatre, that's Japanese. Are you...?" I start, rolling my eyes already.
He just gives me that angelic smile, start blinking like a doe, and nods.
"Fine... If you want me to help translate the text, you'd better feed me well!"
"Of course! You guys can stay over for dinner!"
"You kidding?" Catherine asks incredulously. "Any one of those ten-course dinner will make me put on ten pounds!"
Girls. Too little food, and they gripe about abusing their stomachs. Too much food, and they grumble about getting fat. Luckily, I've devised a method to prevent Hilde from complaining about that. I always tell her that if we can't finish our dinner, I'll keep them in the fridge so we can heat them up for dinner the next day. But my sister's terrified of leftovers; she thinks there's a whole colony of new organisms growing on them. Therefore, I always manage to get her to finish eating her share, no matter how much I cook.
"But Cathy, you're too skinny. You should eat more!"
Trowa. Big mistake.
"I'm not skinny! I'm slim! There's a difference!"
"What difference?"
"Skinny implies that I'm just a bag of bones, which I absolutely am not! Slim means that my figure's just fine," she explains, stretching her sides to show her waist.
Quatre nods wholeheartedly, like he really understands. He has no reason to not know it; having 29 sisters tends to do that to you. Then he turns back, and starts the game. Within seconds, a movie sequence rolls across the screen. Yuna, the female protagonist, begins a catchy tune and dances on stage (2).
"See?" Catherine exclaims, pointing at Yuna on screen. "That's what I call 'slim'. Like me."
Some girls... Once they get onto a topic, they won't drop it until everyone agrees with her. Catherine is, unfortunately for us, one of those girls. That's why I've never dated a girl.
Suddenly, all three of them turn and stare at me, wide-eyed. Shit, I think I just said that last sentence aloud.
"Heero... I think..."
Crap, even Trowa's looking at me funny.
"You're destined to be with Duo."
I think I just fell off my chair. And that's a good thing, because I can hide my face which is undoubtedly red like hell from them. But my butt hurts tremendously. Oww.
"Hey relax, Heero! What I mean is... you sound like you've been waiting for him," Trowa clarifies, and gives me a hand.
"Oh! That reminds me! Heero, how was your date with Duo the other day?" Quatre pauses his game, and stares at me.
I clamour to my feet, eyes darting around for a shovel so I can dig a hole and just dive in. No, no such luck. But then again, I think that even if I really dig a hole, my friends would just haul my sorry ass up and continue to interrogate me. And Quatre would charge the repairs to my bill.
"Like that," I murmur.
"Like what?"
"Just like that! We talked! That's all!"
"And? Surely, there's more! You can't be blushing just because of that? Or are you really that shy?"
"We just talked! What else could we do?"
Quatre blinks at me and leans over to Trowa. He plants a peck on his cheek, and turns to look expectantly at me. Trowa and Catherine are staring a hole in me.
"No! We didn't do that!" My feet are kind of numb; I think all my blood just went to my face.
Trowa puts an arm around Quatre's waist and pulls him close. He then wraps the other arms gently around his boyfriend as well.
"No! Didn't do that either!"
He removes one hand.
"No!"
He removes the other hand and just takes Quatre's hand into his.
"No..."
Catherine grips her fists tightly and looks upwards. "Fine, the kiss is too much for a serious first date. But you didn't even take his hand? You're pathetic!"
The blood vessels on my face are protesting of work overload. I can just hear it.
"Wait a minute. Did you... hold his hand... on /another/ date?"
Can my face get any redder? Yeah, I think it can, from the way the guys are staring at me.
"Erm... yeah."
"When?"
"Yesterday... met him in a park..."
"And?"
"While we were playing with his dog... I sorta took his hand for a while..."
They cheer. Loudly. Wildly. Crazily. Like their favourite soccer team just scored.
"Way to go, Heero!"
"Atta, boy!"
"Good for you!"
The interrogation goes on for quite a while, with all of them giving me expectant looks as I spill out the details on my so-called date. Why are they so... damn excited about this? So fine, I've never been in a relationship before. Big deal. I mean, there're tons of people out there who haven't dated before. There's bound to be. Quatre turns back to his game halfway through, but Catherine continues prodding me for juicy details. Trowa gazes at me, occasionally asking a question or two. His questions usually complement Catherine's. It's no wonder they're cousins.
Suddenly, Quatre turns back to me.
"Hey Heero, what is Yuna saying?" he asks, pointing at the television screen.
I reply without hesitation. "She said that you're too nosy and you should stop poking into your friend's business."
"Hey!"
*****
I look at the phone with trepidation. To call or not to call...? Hmm... That is such a stupid question; of course I'm calling. But please, oh almighty gods out there, please let Duo pick up the phone! Let his brother be away or something!
Picking up the phone, I dial the familiar set of numbers. Familiar because I've been memorizing it. How many times have I dialed that number with the phone still on the cradle? C'mon, I don't want to call up the wrong people. It'd be so bothersome to the poor people on the other side of the line. Fine, so I'm getting mildly obsessed.
Ring... ring... ring...
"Hello? Who's there?"
Thank you, god. "Duo?"
"Heero?"
"Right. It's me. I'm just calling to..." Hear your voice, I thought. "...confirm that we're hanging out together again, right?"
"Yeah. Where do you wanna go?"
Is it just me, or is he smiling? I'm hoping... I'm hoping... I'm hoping...
"Erm... why don't we catch a movie?"
"Okay. Can we go to the cinema over at Queen's Plaza (3)? You know where it is?"
"Yeah. We can meet there, outside the ticket booth. Which movie do you want to watch?"
"Hmm... we can decide when we're there."
"Right. So... when are you free?" Tomorrow! Tomorrow please!
"I'm not free tomorrow, I think."
Why? Damn... I'm starting to sound melodramatic. Anyway... The day after tomorrow! The day after tomorrow! Please!
"I can make it the day after tomorrow though. Is that okay with you?"
Yes! Yes! Yes! "Sure! I'm free on that day!" If I'm not, I'll make sure I'll be free.
"So, we're meeting outside the ticket booth of the cinema at Queen's Plaza the day after tomorrow. Is that right?"
"All correct. Time?"
"I'd say... sometime after 12pm. How about 1pm?"
"That's fine with me," I answer, flopping onto my bed.
"Alright then. So... were you worried about calling?"
"Worried? About what?"
"My brother!" he asks, laughing out loud.
I snigger. "A little. He's rather... intimidating."
"Oh, he does that to /everyone/ asking for me. Well, nearly. Some of those I've flat out told him that it's impossible for anything to happen between us. Others... are my long-time pals or relatives. He knows them well enough," he chuckles lightly.
I know I'm not in the second category. I can't be. Not when I've known him for what... a little over a fortnight? And my mother once went through our family tree using a large photo album, so I know I have no relatives with Maxwell as their last names. Then... the first category... Am I in it? His brother didn't pick up this time.
"Your call... I had to stay beside the phone so he wouldn't beat me to it!"
Nobody wipe that goofy grin on my face. Nobody pinch me.
A few more minutes of small talk later, I hang up the phone and just lie in bed, grinning away. I might be slow, I might be dense, but even I can tell that this relationship is making some headway. Kawaii little Duo-chan...
Feeling lightheaded, I reach out for my mug on the nightstand. I don't even sigh when I notice it's empty. With a grin, I grab it and head to the kitchen to fill it up again. As I'm filling it, Hilde shuffles into the kitchen as well.
She doesn't notice me at all. Instead, she heads straight for the refrigerator and proceeds to rummage within it while puffing on a stick of pocky. Should I tell her that her diet is not going to work if she keeps on snacking? No, I think I'll get some good karma and let her stuff herself a bit. Lately, she's been eating too little.
Finally, she slams the fridge door shut and looking up, notices my existence for the first time.
"Yikes! Heero, can't you make some noise to let me know you're standing there?"
I don't answer.
And she takes a closer look at me.
"Are you alright?"
"Of course I am! Why shouldn't I be?"
"You look stupid with that grin."
"..."
"..."
Usually, this is where I pounce on her and threaten to limit her cell phone talk-time, but I'm feeling generous.
"Do I?" I reply mysteriously, and waltz back to my own room.
As I shut my door, I can hear Hilde talking to Wufei over the phone.
"Wufei? Can I stay over at your place tonight? I think Heero's finally gone off the far-end..."
OWARI
(1) Short for Final Fantasy X-2. Currently, the English version of the game has not been released yet. So, the one Quatre has is in Japanese. Just a little reference to our world. Err... I don't own it.
(2) This is the real opening sequence to the game.
(3) Yes, I made up the name of this shopping complex.
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