Love's Labours Lost Chapter 4 (page 2) by Stella and Rose

[blackrose]

Lionsgate Apartments (and the two "perfectly normal" partners)


?Vash, I swear, I?m going to kill you.?

?What?d I do, now??

?You used all my hair gel!? Van yelled, fighting for control over his disobedient mane in front of the bathroom mirror while lecturing Vash at the top of his lungs. ?When you run out, you go to the store and buy some more, you don?t use up all of mine so that I have to run around with a tangled mop like Heero does.?

?I comb my hair,? Heero interjected, pushing passed Vash and Van in order to grab his bottle of aftershave.

?With what,? Fanel groused, ?an egg beater??

?Wow, someone?s in a mood. Heero, you didn?t tell us part of the pact was surviving Van?s PMS,? Vash complained.

?Oh, you haven?t seen PMS until you?ve lived with all my sisters,? Quatre said, looking stricken at the mere memory. ?Did you know that when several women live in the same house, their cycles all sync together??

The three other men just gaped at their CFO. ?What??

?All of those women, including my mother, PMS-ing at the same time. My dad and I would go on camping trips and stuff the weekend they would start.?

Vash swallowed hard. ?Okay, first of all, that is way more than I ever wanted to know. Second of all, you?re right, Quatre, I think that would actually qualify as being worse than Van?s PMS, seeing as how his is just a nasty case of ?Post-pact Malice and general Surliness?. But not by much.?

?Fuck you, Vash. And what the hell kind of acronym is that? It should be PMGS.?

?Well, this sounds like it?s going to be a pleasant evening,? Heero commented from the hallway. ?We?d better get moving.?

Vash ran to Heero?s side, straightening his posture and flipping up his hand in a mock salute. ?Boss, I request that we hire a prostitute to cure Van of his dysfunction and waive the proviso in the pact??

?Denied.?

?Ugh! Damn. What about a porno mag??

Heero?s hand found its way to his temple, tugging at the skin around his eyes. ?Vash, you?re giving me a headache. Go stand outside until we?re ready to go.?

?But it?s cold!? His friend?s blue eyes repeated the request. ?Yikes. Scar-ey. I?m going, I?m going?.?

*****

?Well, look who?s here. Surprise, surprise. Ya know, if I followed you around like this, Miss Reporter, you?d have me arrested for stalking.?

Meryl Stryfe adjusted her scarf, catching Vash watching her absent-minded movements. ?Hey, what are doing??

?Huh??

?I see the rat didn?t get you this time, eh??

?Nah, Took the elevator.? Wow, she?s got pretty eyes?

?And you know, you have yet to fill me in as promised, and I?m not letting you off the hook. So, the least you can do is tell me where you?re all headed this evening??

?Dinner...? Vash managed to answer, snapping out of his trance.

?I think there?s more to the story than that.?

?Ummmmmmm?.No. Cool it, reporter girl. We?re just going to dinner. The four of us. People need to eat, you know.?

Familiar voices drifted out into the chilly night air. ?We?re going to be late.?

?Don?t want to keep the girlfriend waiting, eh, Heero??

?Van, it is a business meeting. Where the hell did Vash get to??

Meryl pursed her lips and shot her tall companion a contemptuous stare. ?Just the four of you, huh??

?Eh heh heh heh. And a business associate,? Vash added, sheepishly inching around the corner of the building in order to join his friends. ?Awwww, no, Miss Meryl, you can?t follow us. The guys are already suspicious. If I tell you who it is, will you leave us alone, just this one time??

?Maybe,? the reporter leered at the software tester. ?If you tell me who she is.?

?Miss Relena Peacecraft.?

?What??

?Oh man, keep your voice down, ok. Listen, I have to get go-?

?So, is there any truth to the rumor that Mr. Yuy and Miss Peacecraft are an item??

Vash came to a screeching halt. ?What rumor??

?The one I just made up.?

?No? he seethed, rising to his full height and glowering at Meryl. ?There?s no truth to it at all.? Vash couldn?t help but feel like he was lying. ?We?re meeting for dinner to go over some licensing contract changes and that?s all.?

?Uh-huh,? Meryl nodded. ?Then why not meet with MISTER Peacecraft??

?Uhhhhh, because he?s still in Seattle??

?No way, Mr. Vash. He arrived in New York City this morning first thing. And by the way, you?re a terrible liar.?

Vash slouched. He should have known better. ?Okay, off the record??

?Off the record,? Meryl promised.

?You want a story, right??

?And you want out of this pact.?

?And my friends to be happy,? he added.

?Uh-huh.?

?And I want out of this pact.?

Meryl rolled her eyes. ?We?ve established that, yes.?

?So,? Vash confessed, casting his long shadow over Meryl?s in the gloom of the alley, ?he had dinner with her the other night, and came back all kind of?strange?.?

?Strange like how?? she asked.

?I don?t know, just absent minded, kind of dazed?not focused. Which is highly unusual for Heero. Not like him at all, in fact.?

?Okay.?

?And this morning, I caught them exchanging emails. Nothing telling, just sort of friendly, but not too friendly.?

?Not too friendly,? Meryl repeated, fighting the urge to reach for her notebook. ?Okay.?

?So I thought I?d see just exactly how friendly she thought they were.?

?Vash, tell me you didn?t.?

?Uh-huh. And I sorta sent her a couple of emails using his account, hinting at a bit more of a romantic interest and she took the bait. But then I kinda goofed??

The reported tilted her head, as if still attempting to figure him out. ?Goofed??

?I wrote her back, and was trying to back track a little, only I think I made it worse.?

Vash flattened himself against the frosty brick wall, watching helplessly as Meryl advanced. ?How could you make it worse??

?Well?you see? my typing?s never been the best?.? He chuckled, plastering an impish grin across his face. He could tell Meryl wasn?t buying it.

?What did you do??

?Well?I meant to say ?I?d love to meet you there, but I have other plans?.?

?All right,? The woman agreed. ?That sounds pretty harmless.?

Vash balked. ?Only when I read the quoted reply, apparently I sent ?I love you and I can?t wait to tell you in person?.?

?You did what?!?

?Shhhhhhh!?

?How is that a typo?? She demanded in a loud whisper.

?Really, really bad typing?? Vash whimpered.

Meryl shook her head. ?You?re dead. You realize that, don?t you??

?I know,? Vash admitted. ?How?s your cooking? Can I come live with you??

?No.?

?In my defense, reporter girl, I think he truly is in love with her.?

?After one little dinner date?? Meryl shook her head.

?It was a dinner not-a-date,? Vash corrected. ?But yeah. To be honest I?ve never seen him like this. That?s also one of the reasons I wanted to go with him tonight ? to observe them together. I?m pretty sure I?m right, though. As long as she?s genuine in her affection for him as well, I wish them joy ? and hopefully soon. If he?s in love, he can call off this stupid pact before the weekend and I?ll be cruising home in style on the company jet.?

?You think he?ll be that easily swayed??

?I?m hoping.?

Meryl gave him a doubtful look.

?All right,? Vash sighed, slinking along the wall and heading towards the front of the building. ?No, he probably won?t be. But that?s where my efforts will come in handy. Some flowers, a few more love notes?if I can get Van and Quatre to help me, we?ll have them eloping to Vegas by next weekend.?

?Really?? Meryl questioned.

Vash?s lip quivered. ?Oh God, I hope so. If not, I don?t know what I?m going to do!?

[Misato]

This fic's turning out cute! I just knew that Heero was going to do something to screw up their first meeting ^.^ That in the elevator - smooooth. My guess about how this is going to turn out is the pact's going to be off...because if you keep writing about everyday like you are, this fic is going to be 100+ chapters for threee years...The exchanges between Heero and Relena are cute, bring me more, please! I'll go off and try to find this play in Tales From Shakespeare so I can see what happened there!