Dese Peeps Ain’t Mine!

~*~*~*~

Adrenaline 1 - The Question:

Five salt shakers rested peacefully on the table beside just as many shot glasses; and just as many bottles of Tequila; in front of just as many chairs; which held just as many pilots; who were all just as many varying degrees of drunk. Housed in one of the Winners’ many getaway estates, the five pilots just wanted to relax, and with no missions they’d decided to go all out.

“Whose turn was it?” Quatre asked woozily, fighting desperately to keep from toppling out of the chair.

Slightly more sober than the rest of them Duo beamed, “It’s Trowa’s!”

Trowa shook his head, “No, it’s Quatre’s.” He argued unable to stop shaking his head in that negative motion, but firm in his conviction.

Quatre’s blond beauty lit up with that discovery and he quickly eyed his comrades (as best he could in his drunken state) trying to decide who to pick on. Unsurprisingly, he turned to Trowa and asked The Question. “Truth or Dare?”

Trowa decided to live life dangerously, though he just couldn’t see how it could be dangerous when Quatre was involved. “Dare.”

“I dare you to . . . “ he paused dramatically, “show us your . . . “ the other boys leaned in closer wondering if Quatre had the guts to actually say it. Quatre looked around the table gleaning eager nods of approval from his fellow pilots. Trowa gulped. “Show everybody your . . .” Quatre leveled his angelic blues on Trowa’s face and said, “Other eye.”

The room was instantly greeted with raucous cheers of approval. “Yeah Quatre!!”

Trowa’s expression instantly turned panicky. “But, it, I can’t. It’s my mystery!”

“You know what the consequences are,” Heero stated, his blue eyes glassy from his overindulgence thus far.

“Justice, damn it all!” Wufei yelled. He still wasn’t entirely certain how he’d gotten involved in this but if he had to be sociable; talk, play, and frolic with others then by Nataku everybody else did too.

Duo grinned. “One straight or two salted?” he giggled.

Trowa stared at his untouched salt shaker and sighed gustily before picking it up and sprinkling the spice on his wrist.

“OHH!” Duo exclaimed, “He’s going to do it everybody!”

Trowa licked the salt and then flipped back the shot. “That’s one,” Quatre replied, intently watching. Trowa finished off the second shot and glared daggers at everyone.

“Secrets are secrets,” he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest in a pout.

“Heero, it’s your turn,” Duo replied, grinning like a maniac now that Trowa had been thoroughly punished according to the rules of the game.

Heero looked over his victims, carefully selecting and rejecting, before his Prussian blue eyes landed on a very satisfied Wufei. “Truth or Dare?”

Wufei’s dark orbs widened in shock. Usually they picked on Quatre, they weren’t suppose to pick on him. “But . . .”

“That’s not an option,” Duo chirped. Grinning madly as Wufei leveled a dangerous glare his way.

“There is just no justice in this world,” Wufei muttered before answering, “Dare, damn it all.”

Heero’s face remained bland. “I dare you to do ten push-ups . . . “

“Man!” Duo interrupted, “that’s not so bad.”

“Shut-up and let me finish baka.” Heero said smacking Duo in the back of the head. “Now then, I dare you to do ten push-ups with Duo . . . under you.”

“Yeah,” Trowa and Quatre agreed, “that’s a good one, Heero.”

Shenlong’s pilot stood so fast his chair fell over. Immediately shrieking at the top of his lungs. “NO IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA YOU UNDERCOVER FREAKS. THERE IS NO JUSTICE I TELL YOU, NO JUSTICE!!!!”

Duo was still in shock but he gradually snapped out of it to add his objections to that particular dare.

Heero listened highly amused though it didn’t show. Then he stated--quite reasonably too, “If you don’t want to do it Wufei, take the shots and get it over with.”

Wufei sweat-dropped. He remembered the last time he’d drank tequila quite vividly, and he refused to run naked through the snow around the building again—never mind that it was the middle of summer now, it was the principle of the thing. “Duo, lay down.”

Duo stared in awe as Wufei gathered his honor around him like a shield, keeping a stiff upper lip. He was agreeing to this . . . ? Well count your blessings and quit stalling, he immediately thought and slipped out of his chair to the floor. “Do you want me on my back or front?”

Laughter promptly filled the room and Duo sweat-dropped. That hadn’t quite sounded the way it was suppose to. “Anou . . .” he began.

“Silence,” Wufei commanded. “I don’t care, just do it so we can get it over with.” Wufei placed his fingers to his temples and began to massage them gently as more laughter followed that statement. “I’m sorry head, you shouldn’t have to think of these things . . .” he mumbled hoping to placate the throbbing membrane in his skull.

Duo chose to lay on his back and watch first hand as Wufei proceeded to fulfill the dare. Wufei settled over him with his hands on either side of head, his feet pressed together between his legs. And down he descended.

“One…Two… Three…” The other three Gundam pilots kept avid watch as they counted. “Eight…Nine…Ten.”

Wufei promptly stood up and marched to his room, much to the others collective dismay. “Hey Wufei where are you going?” Quatre called after him.

“To find some justice damn it.” Wufei answered, his back ramrod straight, the door slammed.

The game really was no fun without Wufei shouting about justice at every turn so the other pilots packed up shortly after that, each carrying their own respective bottle of tequila to their rooms.

~*~*~*~

Adrenaline 2 - The Response:

Duo was worried. Well maybe not worried, but definitely concerned. It was late at night, the tequila had finally left his system after a light nap, and he wasn’t tired anymore. Just concerned.

Why had WuFei gotten so upset about a simple dare? Granted that particular dare would have upset any straight, justice spouting teenager but all he had to do was take the shots and be done with it. He hadn’t been forced to do anything, but he had . . . Why?

Not that he was complaining. He would love to have WuFei over him, preferably sweaty and naked doing push-ups of a different kind, but it was not to be. He doubted WuFei had ever thought along those lines, let alone thinking of doing it with another guy. He was such a loner, anything needing another person to be done was in all likely-hood a foreign concept to the China-man. But Duo could fantasize . . .

Shinigami’s avatar arose from his bed and padded quietly toward the door, opening it on silent hinges. WuFei’s room was up the hall from his, and looking that way he saw his room light still on from under the door. He wondered briefly if WuFei would mind his company, but he knew the answer to that. WuFei always minded his company, so this time shouldn’t be any different. Duo tiptoed up to WuFei’s door and knocked softly. There was a muffled curse, but the door opened anyway, with a very disgruntled China-man peering out at him.

“What?” WuFei whispered, his vexation plain.

“Can I talk to you?” Duo asked his voice just as soft.

WuFei gazed heavenward, obviously asking his favorite goddess for patience, before motioning for Duo to come in.

* * * * *

WuFei gazed at the ceiling, thinking of the braided idiot that he’d been dared to do push-ups over earlier that evening. Being honest with himself he could say that he hadn’t minded the dare in the least bit. But that was the problem. He hadn’t. WuFei had refused to admit it to himself but now it seemed pointless, he liked the idiot. WuFei refused to say a name, nor would he say the other word and associate the name he refused say with it either. That would finalize it, make what he felt more real, and he didn’t want to.

Ever since his wife had died he’d thought that he would be incapable of lo—liking another as much as he’d loved her, much less a boy. There was just something about him though, his endless chatter, how he bubbled with life though he always associated himself with death, his smile and beauty, and thick chestnut braid, and how his sparkling amethyst eyes danced with expression and a joke only he knew the question and answer to. One did grow accustomed to it. He was everything Meiran was not; yet he was everything WuFei found himself wanting, needing.

WuFei sighed to himself, it was a shame he hadn’t admitted his feelings a few hours before. To what end he did not know, only that he would have stayed and played the stupid game simply because Duo was there. That, and the fact that they all loved seeing him squirm and Duo whine and complain. Damn, they could have been dared to do much more.

The soft knocking brought him out of his thoughts and he glared at the door wondering who would be up at this hour. WuFei rose from his bed and opened the door. . .

Well think of the damn devil, he thought, but immediately corrected it, he’d been thinking of Death.

“What?” he asked, making his voice a harsh whisper.

“Can I talk to you?” was Duo’s request.

Somehow WuFei managed to keep a smile off his face as he looked heavenward and thanked Nataku for this unexpected gift.

* * * * *

Duo stood as WuFei sat on his bed and pinned him with his ink black eyes. “So, what’s on your mind?” WuFei asked, feigning disinterest.

You, Duo thought, but asked, “Did you find your ‘justice’?”

WuFei’s lips briefly tilted upward in a self-mocking smile. Duo didn’t know the half of it. “I found something,” he answered. WuFei fell silent for a second but then impulsively asked, “Duo, have you ever . . . been . . . or rather have you ever held someone in high regard?”

Duo blinked at Nataku’s pilot. Was he asking what Duo thought he was asking? “Do you mean if I’ve ever been in love?” WuFei’s brow furrowed fleetingly, but he nodded nonetheless. “Well, yeah.” Duo replied, wondering what had brought this on, could WuFei—impossibly—be in love with someone, or just thinking along the same lines he’d been thinking along tonight.

The Chinese pilot bit his lip, but then watching Duo intently questioned, “Did this person love you back?”

Shinigami’s pilot met WuFei’s eyes squarely. “I don’t know.”

WuFei immediately picked up on the present tense of Duo’s speech, he’d been speaking in past. So Duo lov—ahem--held someone in high regard now, but didn’t know if his feelings were reciprocated. “Who?”

At that Duo displayed his usual manic grin, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Is it that girl . . . I think she’s called Hilde?” WuFei asked. D

uo smirked, so WuFei was interested in who he was in love with, well it was about time. “No, it’s not Hilde.”

“Enemy or ally?”

“I’m not telling you. It’s late and I’m going to bed.” Duo turned on his socked heel, and headed for the door . . . Needless to say he was a little surprised to find himself on his back across WuFei’s bed, his braid wrapped securely around the Chinese pilot’s fist.

Duo was shocked, he hadn’t even seen the boy move. Privately he hoped that WuFei didn’t do everything that fast . . .

“Oh no, you are definitely saying,” WuFei declared with a tug for emphasis. “Is it enemy or ally?”

Duo gritted his teeth at the momentary pain and scowled at Nataku’s pilot.

“Don’t tell me that the gods have finally answered all our prayers and struck you dumb, Maxwell?”

Duo pouted at that comment, his bottom lip poking out so adorably WuFei had to fight the urge to suck on it. “Ally,” Duo muttered.

WuFei considered this and then queried, “Male or female?”

Duo looked positively affronted. “WuFei!”

“Keep your voice down,” WuFei hissed clamping a hand over his mouth. “Answer the question.”

WuFei didn’t know what had possessed him to ask but he just had to know, he eagerly awaited Duo’s answer, though not one of his thoughts crossed his face.

Duo’s pout worsened, the justice-loving freak was being terribly unfair. Besides that they didn’t really have any male allies that were attractive enough to blame his attraction on. Life just wasn’t fair . . . ohh, the irony of it all! “Male,” he muttered, well, all freaks come out in the dark so it wasn’t his fault if WuFei’s tender sensibilities were bruised or broken.

WuFei raised an ebony eyebrow. Well that little revelation was unexpected but welcome, it meant he still had a chance. “Pilot or politician?”

“Damn it, WuFei! Let go of my hair, I don’t have to tell you shit.” He tried to squirm a way, but WuFei held fast to his braid.

“Pilot or politician?”

He hated him. How could he ever have claimed to love this cruel bastard. “Pilot,” Duo gritted through his teeth. Ooohhhh!!!!! He raged internally.

WuFei blinked in surprise. This was much easier than he’d anticipated. There were only four choices left. “Trowa?” A glower was his answer. “Alright no.” He thought a second, “Heero?”

“Like even!” Duo spat out.

“Quatre?”

Duo remained silent. He couldn’t tell WuFei the truth, better to let him believe what he wanted. His brow furrowed in consternation, no, he wouldn’t tell.

WuFei eyed Duo’s perplexed expression and sighed softly. So that was it then. “Quatre,” he murmured as if getting used to the idea. Duo loved Quatre who was undoubtedly in love with Trowa . . . or was he? He gazed into Duo’s lovely amaryllis eyes; they would not meet his own for more than a second.

“Can I go now?” he queried, a tremor caught in his voice?

WuFei loosed the braid he’d been holding in a tighter grip. “Yeah.” He watched with impassive sloe eyes as Duo exited the room. And after the soft click of the door closing he allowed himself to lay out on his bed and hold his pillow to his aching chest.

~*~*~*~

Adrenaline 3 - The Choice:

WuFei felt like hell. He had no excuse for his emotional state due to the fact that he’d avoided drinking anything the prior night. He felt the way did for a reason as simplistic as Murphy’s Law. He was in lo—um he felt a certain way about someone who was beyond reciprocating his feelings.

Duo loved Quatre, of all people. Why the happy clairvoyant? Why not someone he could compete with, like perfect soldiers Trowa and Heero, it wasn’t extremely difficult to exhibit more emotion than those two over trained androids. His thoughts fixated on that, as he directed himself toward the kitchen. He didn’t really feel like eating but on the off chance that Duo sat at the breakfast table, he decided it would behoove him to pretend he had some purpose there.

Duo wasn’t in attendance much to WuFei’s dismay. However Duo’s crush sat at the kitchen table in the same position as he sat last night, only he held a mug of some foul smelling concoction instead of a tequila bottle. WuFei wasn’t feeling very charitable with the blonde boy. Hell he’d recently realized he had no future with Duo on account of said blonde’s existence, and he couldn’t honestly consider himself too happy with the arrangement.

“Quatre?” WuFei stated. His voice was more a bark and the hung-over Arabian winced at his tone. In some small petty way that action satisfied the China-man no end.

“What,” Quatre whispered. “And don’t ‘feel’ so much, my head hurts and I can’t filter it out,” he complained, eyeing WuFei with accusing bloodshot blue eyes.

“Do you love Duo?” WuFei queried, his voice a tad softer in guilty difference to Quatre’s condition.

“Of course,” Quatre stated, causing WuFei’s eyes to narrow suspiciously. “He’s my friend,” the blonde finished and sipped the drink in his grasp.

“That all?” The Chinese boy questioned.

“Yes . . .” Quatre felt WuFei’s relief at that statement and decided to impart a bit of information WuFei might find appealing. “Besides, Duo loves you.”

WuFei was already shaking his head negatively. Quatre countered by nodding positively. “You’re going to argue with me?” he asked, placing a hand over his heart and then WuFei’s. “I know these things,” he assured Nataku’s pilot, and the Chinese boy nodded in agreement.

It was official; he hated clairvoyants.

Duo frowned at the ceiling of his room. Aside from being a partial idiot he was also a partial liar. True he’d left WuFei to draw his own conclusion but he hadn’t corrected him, which undeniably made him the culprit. /Damn it why didn’t he tell him?/

He could be mistaken but there seemed to have been some relative interest in his answer to the question. Maybe . . . Maybe he was hoping there had been. Duo closed his eyes and groaned his frustration.

The pillow beneath his head was savagely jerked out from under him and slammed into his face with a forceful displacement of air. Duo shot up from his reclining position and wrenched the pillow from his face to see WuFei sitting superior at the foot of his bed. His arms were crossed over his well-muscled chest and he displayed ‘that’ smirk on his face.

“I like kisses,” he stated.

Duo gaped at him, wondering what bearing that tidbit of information had on his being whacked with a pillow. “So?”

“And I like cuddling . . . naked,” WuFei continued. He uncrossed his arms briefly, only long enough to push Duo’s bottom lip up from where it dangled precariously in his shock.

Duo’s mouth formed a small o; his cheeks highlighted pink. “Oh?”

WuFei nodded confirmation. “And I like to hold hands and play in people’s hair, and whisper absolutely nothing of import but unbearably sweet words in ears. Like Wo Ai Ni . . .”

“But what are you trying to tell me?” Duo demanded, WuFei had moved closer, and taken his sweaty palms in his grasps.

“I’m saying I’d like to do those things with you,” WuFei said.

“What’s Wo Ai Ni mean?”

“It means I love you, and you don’t love Quatre,” WuFei’s onyx eyes peered at Duo’s amaryllis ones. “Right?”

Duo nodded, his smile radiant. “I like kisses too,” he replied and WuFei’s mouth met his.

~Owari