Two Princes (1 OR 2 xR), 8/15
Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2004 6:14 pm
We're getting closer to a resolution! Or are we?? *evil grin* Two dates, not together...but what will the outcome be? Hmmm...
Oh, and I HAD to do it. I just HAD to. You'll see what I mean when you read the chapter. ^^ This chapter is a little longer, but I had a lot of ground to cover.
Much thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far! ^__^
Two Princes
A pseudo-songfic, loosely based upon the song "Two Princes" by the Spin Doctors
by Sara
Pairings: 1 or 2 xR...does bringing in a fourth person even out the odds?
Chapter 8
A week had passed since Heero had left Relena's office in a rush. Though he had returned to the estate that evening, as he had promised, he had put a distance between himself and Relena since then. He knew that the distance was hurting Relena, no matter whom she was dating, and knew he had to do something about that. So after work a week later, he had gone home to his apartment, rather than the estate, and was now pondering the vidphone with a definitive sense of unease.
After finding Hilde's phone number in his pocket, he had spent some time in contemplation of what his next move should be. After all, she had given it to him, and she had told him to call her, if he needed to. He had decided that, perhaps, in this situation, he would benefit from the input of an unrelated party to the matter, and had decided that since she had already volunteered her phone number, Hilde would make an excellent candidate. Besides, he had heard Duo rambling on, occasionally, about talking to Hilde about this or that, so she must be good at these sort of things.
Then why was he so nervous?
He thought about this for a moment. He assumed that it was, perhaps, because most people do get nervous when calling someone of the opposite sex for the first time. Though most of the time, those nerves were because the caller had feelings for the callee, and he most certainly did not have feelings for Hilde.
Thinking this made him feel infinitely less nervous. No, he did not have feelings for Hilde. She was a nice girl, and very friendly, but he really did not see her as anything more than that.
He twisted the paper idly in one hand. Besides, she was living with Duo, right? He snorted softly. He wouldn't be surprised one bit if those two were actually a couple. The idea that they considered themselves as close as siblings baffled him. He had always thought the pair would make an excellent match for each other.
He shook his head ruefully. Listen to me! he thought angrily. Dorothy has definitely been hanging around my office far too much lately. Her gossipy influence has begun to wear off on me.
At the thought of Dorothy, he grew angry, and with his anger, grew determined. He decided that part of these problems were her fault. After all, it wasn't until she started meddling with things that Relena started dating Duo, right? The two must be connected somehow.
He hit the 'on' button forcefully, and punched in Hilde's number.
The phone rang once, twice. Heero seriously considered hanging up. The phone rang a third time. Heero suddenly wondered if anyone was home. Then a disquieting thought crossed his mind. What if Duo answered? What would he say? His thoughts were scrambled as someone answered, and the connection was established.
"Hello, Maxwell and Schbei--oh, hi Heero!" It was Hilde. Her face brightened, and he found himself relaxing. "How are you? I didn't expect you to call!"
Heero suddenly was struck speechless. "I--"
Hilde's eyes narrowed. "Oh, dear. This is about Relena and Duo, isn't it?" She barely paused long enough for him to nod. "Well, don't say any more. We really can't have a good conversation over the phone. This is best discussed in person, right?"
Heero could only nod dumbly, totally caught off-guard.
"That's what I thought. We'll just have to meet somewhere and discuss this in person." She paused for a moment. "Okay, I know. Do you know that little coffeehouse over on Ninth Street? The one near the overpass?" Heero nodded again. "Good. That's a good place to go. I'll meet you there in...hmm...how's three hours for you?"
Heero finally found his voice. "Fine...but I..."
Hilde waved off his protests. "Don't say another word, Heero. We can discuss it at the coffeehouse, okay?" She smiled brightly. "I'll see you in a few hours!" She waved cheerfully, and severed the connection.
Heero could only sit there, stunned, staring at the vidphone. "Well...that was easy..."
. . . .
Duo dashed into Hilde's bedroom, fumbling with the cuffs of his shirt. "Hilde, have you seen my--" He pulled up abruptly as he encountered Hilde's outstretched arm, a tie wrapped around her fist. Duo sheepishly took the tie from her, mumbling his thanks.
"Going out tonight?" she asked, smiling.
Duo grinned. "Yeah. 'Lena's got tickets to some concert or something, and she wanted me to come along. Figured it'd do me some good to get a little culture." He looked at her as if noticing her for the first time. "What about you? You're certainly gussied up."
Hilde snorted. "Hardly." She peered into the mirror, fussing with her hair.
"Got a date?"
"Sort of." She opened her eyes as wide as she could as she fiddled with her eyelash curler. Duo pulled up a chair and sat down on it backwards. He never tired of watching Hilde get ready for an evening on the town. He was always amazed that she could put on so much makeup and still come out looking natural, not painted.
The eyelash curler, in particular, was one if his favorite curiosities. He peered at her, head tilted to one side, as she methodically curled the lashes of one eye, then the other. He snorted softly as she set the curler down on the vanity.
"I still can't see how that contraption works," he muttered.
"Doesn't matter. You don't have to use it. And don't you let me catch you playing with it again, all right? The dog does not need his eyelashes, or any other hairs, for that matter, curled. Not to mention how gross that is." She picked up her mascara, twisting the brush in the bottle and leaning forward, her mouth gaping to make her eyes open wider.
Duo shrugged. "Would you prefer I curled my own eyelashes?"
Hilde snickered. "You wouldn't," she said, pausing between eyes. "You're scared of the curler."
Duo muttered something incoherently under his breath, and fumbled with his tie. Hilde glanced away from her own face to look at his reflection in the mirror and sighed. "Here, let me help." She turned from the mirror and fiddled with his tie, knotting it deftly.
"You never told me what you were doing tonight on your date," Duo said stiffly, trying to keep still as Hilde fixed his tie.
"It's not a date. I'm meeting someone for coffee. He wanted to talk, and I figured it would be better if we met in person, rather than talking on the phone." She tugged at his tie, satisfied that it was perfect, then sat back down, facing the mirror. She picked up a tube of lip gloss and began dabbing it on her lips.
Duo raised his eyebrows. "He?" He grinned. "It is a date. Who's the lucky guy?"
Hilde shrugged. "Just someone I know," she replied coolly.
"Do I know him?"
"Maybe." She blinked at her reflection in the mirror, satisfied that her makeup was perfect. She stood up again, and turned to regard him. "If I have a good time, maybe I'll tell you who it was. If not, you'll never know."
Duo pouted. "Aw, why won't you tell me? Don't you trust me or something?"
"Not especially."
Duo made a face at her. Hilde giggled. "Aren't you going to be late for meeting with Relena? Where are you two going, anyway?"
Duo checked his watch. "Nah, I've got a good 20 minutes before her car gets here. And we're going to some classical music thing, I think. She said she had tickets to some artsy concerty-orchestra thing, and she wanted me to go along. She says Heero can't sit still for those things, and she couldn't find him, anyway. Said he left right after work for parts unknown."
An interesting expression crossed Hilde's face. "And what about you? Remember that time I dragged you to that outdoor concert in the park? You complained so much I vowed never to do anything like that with you, ever again!"
"Yeah, but that was boring."
"And this won't be?"
Duo heaved a huge sigh, and gave Hilde a defeated look. "I'm only doing this for Relena," he said. "I'm gonna try as hard as I can to not fall asleep or fidget too much."
Hilde raised one eyebrow. "You are going to try to not sleep or fidget? You sleep and fidget during programs that you love! I've even seen you dozing off at monster truck rallies!" She shook her head.
Duo shrugged, and looked uncomfortable. "Yeah, well, I...kind of want to do this for Relena...to prove to her that I'm not totally uncultured..."
Hilde's expression softened. "How much of that is for Relena, and how much of it is to show the people around her that you can act cultured?" Hilde knew about what had happened at Le Chanson.
Duo looked away. He was silent for a moment. "I'm doing this for Relena," he said, but his voice didn't have much heat behind it. He squared his shoulders defiantly "And I don't care what anyone else thinks of me."
Hilde smiled. "Good," she said, and narrowed her eyes slightly. "Because you won't be doing anyone any favors, including yourself, if you try to be something you're not."
Duo nodded slowly. The doorbell rang. He glanced at his watch, surprised.
"Whoa, he's early today," he said, and gave Hilde a quick hug. "Take care of yourself tonight. I don't want to have to beat up anyone for hurting you." He grinned, and winked as he dashed out of her bedroom. A moment later, Hilde heard the front door slam as Duo exited the house.
She gave the mirror a final, calculating look, then checked her own watch. She walked downstairs and reached for her purse, and picked up a piece of paper that had been sitting next to it on the counter. She studied the name and address of the cafe that she'd written on the paper earlier, and tucked it in her pocket.
She carefully locked the door behind her as she set out to meet Heero.
~~
Relena gave Duo a quick kiss when he got into the car. She settled back into her seat, smiling at him.
"So where are we going tonight, Princess?" he asked, curiously.
"The ESUN Philharmonic is going to be doing a performance here tonight, so I took advantage of the opportunity, and picked up a couple of tickets." She patted her purse. "I usually bring Heero along with me to these events, but I can't seem to find him anywhere." A troubled expression crossed her face, and Duo frowned.
"What's wrong?"
Relena shook her head. "He...well, I told you that he stormed out of my office last week, that day when we met for lunch. Right after I got back after lunch he left, saying something about how he was sorry he hadn't told me sooner, though he didn't tell me what he hadn't said sooner." She shrugged. "Then he said he needed time to think, and left in a rush." She studied her hands. "Then he did come back, later that night, but he's been really cold and aloof to me, ever since. I don't understand." She looked up, fixing Duo with a beseeching gaze. "And now tonight, he took off again, before I could even tell him about this concert. Was it something I said or did?"
Duo raised both eyebrows. He understood Heero's actions all too well. But should he tell Relena, or let her find out on her own? Before he could censor his thoughts, he found himself blurting out a reply.
"Hey, 'Lena, don't worry about it. I mean, Heero's disappeared before, and he always comes back, right? Plus, now he has to stick around you, because he's your security guard and all. I'll bet he'll be back home tonight, after this concert."
Relena looked up, her expression hopeful. "Do you think so?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Duo swallowed around the lump in his throat. He knew that expression, that tone of voice. Relena really did love Heero, despite everything he'd ever done to her. Where could a guy like Duo compare? Still, he forced a smile, for Relena's sake. "Yeah, I think so."
Much to Duo's surprise, Relena leaned over and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Duo," she said, her voice muffled. "You always seem to know what to say to cheer me up. What would I do without you?"
Duo swallowed his shock and grinned crookedly. "You'd probably be a lot more worried over Heero's whereabouts, and would be attending this concert alone," he quipped. Relena pulled back and smacked his shoulder lightly.
"You behave," she said, her expression brightening slightly at the distraction. "I have a feeling that I'll have enough trouble keeping you from making a scene at this concert."
Duo started. "Uh..." Had she talked to Hilde? He had to think fast. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "But I like classical music!"
Relena gave him a look that clearly telegraphed her disbelief. "Why do I not believe you?"
"Hey, 'Lena, you know I don't lie." His mind worked furiously as he tried to remember the last time he'd listened to classical music. Aside from that agonizing concert in the park last summer, that is. Well, there was that one car commercial...that wasn't so bad...and that was classical, right? "I do like classical music!"
Relena just stared. "Uh huh." Her eyebrows arched. "I don't mean to be skeptical, Duo, but I'll believe it when I see it...."
. . . .
Hilde fidgeted slightly in her seat, and checked her watch for the umpteenth time that evening. She nervously scanned the cafe, searching for a familiar mop of tousled sienna-colored hair. She didn't find it.
Her first instinct was to worry. Had she written the time down wrong? She was fairly certain that she'd said three hours. Maybe he misunderstood her?
She forced herself to calm down, and took a deliberately slow sip of her coffee. The hot liquid burned at her lip, which distracted her for a moment. Maybe he got lost, she thought to herself. After all, she hadn't really given very good directions. In fact, she hadn't given directions at all. It was entirely possible that he was still trying to find the place.
She set her cup down, and scanned the cafe again. A slight feeling of unease filtered through her veins. Maybe I was too forward this afternoon. After all, not many girls just ask a guy they barely know out for coffee, right? But this isn't a date!
Her expression hardened. That bum better not have stood me up! If he does, I'll hunt him down and wallop him myself. I don't need Duo's help for that!
She cast her eyes downward. What was she doing here? Why was she at this restaurant, waiting for a guy who was, according to popular belief, joined at the hip to one Relena Dorlian? It didn't matter that Duo was out on a date with Relena right now. She cradled her coffee cup between her hands carefully. As if I would attract his attention, anyway, she grumbled inwardly. I'm nothing special. Not when compared to Relena. Not when compared to anybody.
How long had she waited here, anyway? She checked her watch again. Twenty minutes. Heero was twenty minutes late. Not all that much, in the grand scheme of things, but long enough for her to have some serious doubts about the whole thing. Maybe I'm making a mistake....
She reached down to grab her purse, but was distracted by the metallic scrape of chair legs against the cobbled floor. "Is this seat taken?" a deep, familiar voice queried. Hilde looked up sharply to meet the deep, slightly troubled eyes of Heero.
Hilde dropped her purse. "Heero! You're here!" A happy grin crossed her face. "I almost thought you forgot there for a moment, and was about to leave."
Heero nodded thoughtfully. "I almost didn't show up," he admitted matter-of-factly.
Hilde frowned. "Then why did you?"
Heero shrugged slightly. "Because it would've been in poor taste to stand you up."
Hilde's eyes narrowed. "Well, by all means, don't put yourself out at my expense!" she hissed, her sadness replaced by anger. No wonder Relena was out with Duo, if this was the attitude Mr. Heero Yuy presented to the world! She didn't stand up to leave, but rather waited, wanting to see what his reaction would be.
Heero stared at the tabletop for a moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was so quiet Hilde had to strain to hear it.
"You can leave, if you want to," he said. "I don't deserve anything less than that."
Hilde stopped up short. She settled back into her seat. "I won't leave," she finally said, her anger beginning to ebb. Whatever his reasons had been for almost not showing up, there was definitely something deeper going on. "I'm not leaving, not until I hear your side to all of this."
. . . .
Duo studied the program for the tenth time in as many minutes, and stifled a groan. He had no idea what song the orchestra was playing. He didn't recognize any of the titles, nor did he recognize the songs themselves. All the titles were either in French or Italian, from his estimations.
He shifted around in his seat as inconspicuously as possible. The last time he had tried to get more comfortable, Relena had elbowed him in the ribs and told him to behave himself.
What had he gotten himself into? The music wasn't horrible, by any means. The first song had actually been kind of good. What had it been called? He peered at the program. He couldn't decipher the title. All he knew was that there had been a lot of drums in it, and it had been loud. He liked loud. Loud was good. It was better than this fruity, la-la dancing fairies music that the orchestra was playing now.
By his estimations, an hour had passed since that first song, though it felt like a lot longer than that. The only reason he knew that it had only been an hour was because he had been checking his watch regularly for that span of time so far.
After apparently deciding the audience had heard enough loud, cheerful music, the orchestra must have decided that the next best thing to play was softer, soothing stuff. Duo was getting progressively sleepier, and it was becoming a challenge to keep from nodding off.
Desperate to stay awake, he fixed his gaze on the conductor. The guy looked for all the world as if he had just been discharged from the looney bin that morning. He had already pointed out the man's wild, unkempt electroshock-therapy hairstyle to Relena, who had shooshed him, afraid someone would overhear.
The conductor looked for all the world as if he, too, was being lulled to sleep by the soft, delicate melody. He bent over the podium, whipping his conductor's baton through the air lazily. Duo wished fervently for another fast-paced song, like the first. During that one, Duo had been convinced that there had been a fly buzzing around the podium that the conductor had decided needed to die, judging from the wild gesticulations of the conductor.
The mental image of the conductor batting angrily at an errant fly reminded him of too many days spent watching Bugs Bunny cartoons, and he could feel hysterical, boredom-induced laughter bubbling up in his chest. Despite all his best efforts, a quiet, rebellious guffaw forced its way past his lips. This earned a glare and an elbow in the ribs from Relena.
"Duo, please," she hissed, her expression flickering from exasperated to pleading.
Desperate to hold it back, he broke his attentions away from the conductor, and found himself watching the bows of the violinists in the front row of the orchestra. They were all perfectly synchronous with one another. Duo had to admit that this in itself was quite impressive. It was almost as if someone had tied the bows together and was controlling them with invisible string, like an orchestra marionette.
The effect of the bows moving together was almost hypnotic, and the combination of the slow song and the synchronous bows was too much. Duo's head lolled back gently, and his eyes closed. I'll just catch a couple of winks, he thought to himself.
The next thing he knew, Relena was elbowing him in the ribs furiously. People around him were applauding, and he dazedly added his own applause. Still, over the noise of clapping hands, he could clearly hear Relena's whispered comments.
"Duo! Stop that! You were starting to snore!" Her face was contorted with anger, though it was obvious she was holding the greater part of her fury in check.
Duo grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, 'Lena," he mumbled, abashed. "Didn't mean to doze off."
Relena sighed, and glanced at her program. "Duo, we are down to the last song, and I doubt that even you could fall asleep during this one. But even if you can fall asleep during one of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, I doubt anyone will be able to hear you snoring over the music. But please, please...can't you behave for just this little bit?" Her expression was pleading.
Duo scratched at the back of his head. "I'll try my best, 'Lena," he said, and they turned their attention back to the stage.
The conductor turned to face the audience, and started rambling on about how grateful and happy he was to see all of the people in attendance. Duo studied the floor. There was more applause, the conductor bowed slightly, and turned back to the audience. He raised his baton. Duo stifled a yawn. Relena sighed heavily.
Then the music started.
. . . .
Duo sat quietly in the car, studying the carpet at his feet. Across from him sat Relena, arms crossed, in stony silence. Her gaze was fixed on a point somewhere past the window, and most definitely not on him.
He shifted uncomfortably. Relena hadn't said anything since leaving the concert hall. A small, rational part of his brain told him that he really should say something, or at least attempt an apology. He cleared his throat.
"Um, 'Lena? I...er, I'm sorry..."
"Duo, I am not speaking to you right now."
He threw caution to the wind. "Aw, come on, Relena! I tried my hardest! I don't do stuff like this very often."
Relena fixed him with a calculating gaze. When she spoke, her voice was dangerously quiet. "Duo, I do believe I recall hearing you saying something earlier tonight about liking classical music."
"Hey, I liked the first song!"
"And you fidgeted endlessly through the rest of the concert!"
"I didn't fidget that much."
"Oh, yes you did. You checked your watch 73 times, the program 95 times, made that dreadful comment about the conductor's hair, and spent more than half of the concert with your head against the back of your chair, heaving these big, gusty sighs and staring at the ceiling. When you weren't fidgeting, you were sleeping!"
"You counted me?"
"I couldn't help it! You were being so distracting, I could barely concentrate on the music. I wouldn't be surprised if the only way we're allowed back in that orchestra hall again is if we pay for box-seat tickets."
"See? The music was boring. Even you weren't paying attention, if you were so busy counting me!"
"I did like the music. This program had some of my favorite songs in it. But it was obvious to everyone within earshot that you personally didn't care for the program, because you told me how bored you were every five minutes or so!"
"Well, they weren't all bad, I guess. The last song was pretty good, too."
Relena glared at him. "Oh, I could tell. There aren't very many philharmonic orchestras that are used to getting quite the style of standing ovation that you gave them."
"What's wrong with giving an enthusiastic response?"
"Duo, audiences at orchestra concerts do not whistle loudly and yell, 'Go, Team!' if they are impressed with an orchestra's performance!"
Duo finally lost his patience. "Well, I'm sorry, Princess! I tried, I really did. But I'm not used to doing these kinds of things, being around these kind of people, listening to this kind of music! I responded in the only way I know how!"
"All I wanted was to show you a little bit of the things I enjoy..."
"And you did, 'Lena. And don't think I didn't enjoy it. But don't you get mad at me for reacting in the only way I knew how! It's not like you were coaching me in concert etiquette or anything!"
Relena was silent for a moment, and Duo thought she was angry beyond words. When she finally spoke, her fists were clenched, but her voice was calm and even. "Perhaps I should've...foreseen this," she commented.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Hilde told me about the concert in the park."
Duo's ire abruptly subsided. "She...she did?" Relena nodded. "And you took me to that concert anyway?"
Relena shrugged slightly. "I wanted to see how you would act, around me," she said, her tone not quite apologetic. "I wanted to see if you would try harder to behave because you were around me, or if you would still be Duo."
Duo eyed her with curiosity. "What were you hoping I would do?" He raised his eyebrows. "Did I pass the test?"
"Duo, if I had decided you reacted in the wrong way, you'd be walking home right now."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I like being with you because you are Duo, not because you try really hard to impress me. If I wanted to be with someone who just wanted to impress me, I'd date one of the bureaucrats I have to deal with every day.
Duo laughed, and the tension broke. "Does this mean you're not mad at me any more?"
Relena gave him an appraising look. "Oh, I'm still mad," she said evenly. "You really did make a scene tonight, and embarrassed me. But I'm glad that you didn't try to be anyone other than Duo."
Duo looked at her, his expression reflecting realization. "This is in revenge for the fishing trip, isn't it?"
Relena blinked, surprised. "Revenge? What--oh. The fishing trip." She laughed. "No, it was not in revenge."
Duo grinned. "Good," he said, "then that means you have to make this up to me."
Relena looked faintly nervous. "What do you mean, 'make this up to you'?"
Duo only grinned enigmatically. "Oh, I'll think of something."
~*~
TBC
As always, C&C is greatly loved and appreciated. ^_^
--Sara
Oh, and I HAD to do it. I just HAD to. You'll see what I mean when you read the chapter. ^^ This chapter is a little longer, but I had a lot of ground to cover.
Much thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far! ^__^
Two Princes
A pseudo-songfic, loosely based upon the song "Two Princes" by the Spin Doctors
by Sara
Pairings: 1 or 2 xR...does bringing in a fourth person even out the odds?
Chapter 8
A week had passed since Heero had left Relena's office in a rush. Though he had returned to the estate that evening, as he had promised, he had put a distance between himself and Relena since then. He knew that the distance was hurting Relena, no matter whom she was dating, and knew he had to do something about that. So after work a week later, he had gone home to his apartment, rather than the estate, and was now pondering the vidphone with a definitive sense of unease.
After finding Hilde's phone number in his pocket, he had spent some time in contemplation of what his next move should be. After all, she had given it to him, and she had told him to call her, if he needed to. He had decided that, perhaps, in this situation, he would benefit from the input of an unrelated party to the matter, and had decided that since she had already volunteered her phone number, Hilde would make an excellent candidate. Besides, he had heard Duo rambling on, occasionally, about talking to Hilde about this or that, so she must be good at these sort of things.
Then why was he so nervous?
He thought about this for a moment. He assumed that it was, perhaps, because most people do get nervous when calling someone of the opposite sex for the first time. Though most of the time, those nerves were because the caller had feelings for the callee, and he most certainly did not have feelings for Hilde.
Thinking this made him feel infinitely less nervous. No, he did not have feelings for Hilde. She was a nice girl, and very friendly, but he really did not see her as anything more than that.
He twisted the paper idly in one hand. Besides, she was living with Duo, right? He snorted softly. He wouldn't be surprised one bit if those two were actually a couple. The idea that they considered themselves as close as siblings baffled him. He had always thought the pair would make an excellent match for each other.
He shook his head ruefully. Listen to me! he thought angrily. Dorothy has definitely been hanging around my office far too much lately. Her gossipy influence has begun to wear off on me.
At the thought of Dorothy, he grew angry, and with his anger, grew determined. He decided that part of these problems were her fault. After all, it wasn't until she started meddling with things that Relena started dating Duo, right? The two must be connected somehow.
He hit the 'on' button forcefully, and punched in Hilde's number.
The phone rang once, twice. Heero seriously considered hanging up. The phone rang a third time. Heero suddenly wondered if anyone was home. Then a disquieting thought crossed his mind. What if Duo answered? What would he say? His thoughts were scrambled as someone answered, and the connection was established.
"Hello, Maxwell and Schbei--oh, hi Heero!" It was Hilde. Her face brightened, and he found himself relaxing. "How are you? I didn't expect you to call!"
Heero suddenly was struck speechless. "I--"
Hilde's eyes narrowed. "Oh, dear. This is about Relena and Duo, isn't it?" She barely paused long enough for him to nod. "Well, don't say any more. We really can't have a good conversation over the phone. This is best discussed in person, right?"
Heero could only nod dumbly, totally caught off-guard.
"That's what I thought. We'll just have to meet somewhere and discuss this in person." She paused for a moment. "Okay, I know. Do you know that little coffeehouse over on Ninth Street? The one near the overpass?" Heero nodded again. "Good. That's a good place to go. I'll meet you there in...hmm...how's three hours for you?"
Heero finally found his voice. "Fine...but I..."
Hilde waved off his protests. "Don't say another word, Heero. We can discuss it at the coffeehouse, okay?" She smiled brightly. "I'll see you in a few hours!" She waved cheerfully, and severed the connection.
Heero could only sit there, stunned, staring at the vidphone. "Well...that was easy..."
. . . .
Duo dashed into Hilde's bedroom, fumbling with the cuffs of his shirt. "Hilde, have you seen my--" He pulled up abruptly as he encountered Hilde's outstretched arm, a tie wrapped around her fist. Duo sheepishly took the tie from her, mumbling his thanks.
"Going out tonight?" she asked, smiling.
Duo grinned. "Yeah. 'Lena's got tickets to some concert or something, and she wanted me to come along. Figured it'd do me some good to get a little culture." He looked at her as if noticing her for the first time. "What about you? You're certainly gussied up."
Hilde snorted. "Hardly." She peered into the mirror, fussing with her hair.
"Got a date?"
"Sort of." She opened her eyes as wide as she could as she fiddled with her eyelash curler. Duo pulled up a chair and sat down on it backwards. He never tired of watching Hilde get ready for an evening on the town. He was always amazed that she could put on so much makeup and still come out looking natural, not painted.
The eyelash curler, in particular, was one if his favorite curiosities. He peered at her, head tilted to one side, as she methodically curled the lashes of one eye, then the other. He snorted softly as she set the curler down on the vanity.
"I still can't see how that contraption works," he muttered.
"Doesn't matter. You don't have to use it. And don't you let me catch you playing with it again, all right? The dog does not need his eyelashes, or any other hairs, for that matter, curled. Not to mention how gross that is." She picked up her mascara, twisting the brush in the bottle and leaning forward, her mouth gaping to make her eyes open wider.
Duo shrugged. "Would you prefer I curled my own eyelashes?"
Hilde snickered. "You wouldn't," she said, pausing between eyes. "You're scared of the curler."
Duo muttered something incoherently under his breath, and fumbled with his tie. Hilde glanced away from her own face to look at his reflection in the mirror and sighed. "Here, let me help." She turned from the mirror and fiddled with his tie, knotting it deftly.
"You never told me what you were doing tonight on your date," Duo said stiffly, trying to keep still as Hilde fixed his tie.
"It's not a date. I'm meeting someone for coffee. He wanted to talk, and I figured it would be better if we met in person, rather than talking on the phone." She tugged at his tie, satisfied that it was perfect, then sat back down, facing the mirror. She picked up a tube of lip gloss and began dabbing it on her lips.
Duo raised his eyebrows. "He?" He grinned. "It is a date. Who's the lucky guy?"
Hilde shrugged. "Just someone I know," she replied coolly.
"Do I know him?"
"Maybe." She blinked at her reflection in the mirror, satisfied that her makeup was perfect. She stood up again, and turned to regard him. "If I have a good time, maybe I'll tell you who it was. If not, you'll never know."
Duo pouted. "Aw, why won't you tell me? Don't you trust me or something?"
"Not especially."
Duo made a face at her. Hilde giggled. "Aren't you going to be late for meeting with Relena? Where are you two going, anyway?"
Duo checked his watch. "Nah, I've got a good 20 minutes before her car gets here. And we're going to some classical music thing, I think. She said she had tickets to some artsy concerty-orchestra thing, and she wanted me to go along. She says Heero can't sit still for those things, and she couldn't find him, anyway. Said he left right after work for parts unknown."
An interesting expression crossed Hilde's face. "And what about you? Remember that time I dragged you to that outdoor concert in the park? You complained so much I vowed never to do anything like that with you, ever again!"
"Yeah, but that was boring."
"And this won't be?"
Duo heaved a huge sigh, and gave Hilde a defeated look. "I'm only doing this for Relena," he said. "I'm gonna try as hard as I can to not fall asleep or fidget too much."
Hilde raised one eyebrow. "You are going to try to not sleep or fidget? You sleep and fidget during programs that you love! I've even seen you dozing off at monster truck rallies!" She shook her head.
Duo shrugged, and looked uncomfortable. "Yeah, well, I...kind of want to do this for Relena...to prove to her that I'm not totally uncultured..."
Hilde's expression softened. "How much of that is for Relena, and how much of it is to show the people around her that you can act cultured?" Hilde knew about what had happened at Le Chanson.
Duo looked away. He was silent for a moment. "I'm doing this for Relena," he said, but his voice didn't have much heat behind it. He squared his shoulders defiantly "And I don't care what anyone else thinks of me."
Hilde smiled. "Good," she said, and narrowed her eyes slightly. "Because you won't be doing anyone any favors, including yourself, if you try to be something you're not."
Duo nodded slowly. The doorbell rang. He glanced at his watch, surprised.
"Whoa, he's early today," he said, and gave Hilde a quick hug. "Take care of yourself tonight. I don't want to have to beat up anyone for hurting you." He grinned, and winked as he dashed out of her bedroom. A moment later, Hilde heard the front door slam as Duo exited the house.
She gave the mirror a final, calculating look, then checked her own watch. She walked downstairs and reached for her purse, and picked up a piece of paper that had been sitting next to it on the counter. She studied the name and address of the cafe that she'd written on the paper earlier, and tucked it in her pocket.
She carefully locked the door behind her as she set out to meet Heero.
~~
Relena gave Duo a quick kiss when he got into the car. She settled back into her seat, smiling at him.
"So where are we going tonight, Princess?" he asked, curiously.
"The ESUN Philharmonic is going to be doing a performance here tonight, so I took advantage of the opportunity, and picked up a couple of tickets." She patted her purse. "I usually bring Heero along with me to these events, but I can't seem to find him anywhere." A troubled expression crossed her face, and Duo frowned.
"What's wrong?"
Relena shook her head. "He...well, I told you that he stormed out of my office last week, that day when we met for lunch. Right after I got back after lunch he left, saying something about how he was sorry he hadn't told me sooner, though he didn't tell me what he hadn't said sooner." She shrugged. "Then he said he needed time to think, and left in a rush." She studied her hands. "Then he did come back, later that night, but he's been really cold and aloof to me, ever since. I don't understand." She looked up, fixing Duo with a beseeching gaze. "And now tonight, he took off again, before I could even tell him about this concert. Was it something I said or did?"
Duo raised both eyebrows. He understood Heero's actions all too well. But should he tell Relena, or let her find out on her own? Before he could censor his thoughts, he found himself blurting out a reply.
"Hey, 'Lena, don't worry about it. I mean, Heero's disappeared before, and he always comes back, right? Plus, now he has to stick around you, because he's your security guard and all. I'll bet he'll be back home tonight, after this concert."
Relena looked up, her expression hopeful. "Do you think so?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Duo swallowed around the lump in his throat. He knew that expression, that tone of voice. Relena really did love Heero, despite everything he'd ever done to her. Where could a guy like Duo compare? Still, he forced a smile, for Relena's sake. "Yeah, I think so."
Much to Duo's surprise, Relena leaned over and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Duo," she said, her voice muffled. "You always seem to know what to say to cheer me up. What would I do without you?"
Duo swallowed his shock and grinned crookedly. "You'd probably be a lot more worried over Heero's whereabouts, and would be attending this concert alone," he quipped. Relena pulled back and smacked his shoulder lightly.
"You behave," she said, her expression brightening slightly at the distraction. "I have a feeling that I'll have enough trouble keeping you from making a scene at this concert."
Duo started. "Uh..." Had she talked to Hilde? He had to think fast. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "But I like classical music!"
Relena gave him a look that clearly telegraphed her disbelief. "Why do I not believe you?"
"Hey, 'Lena, you know I don't lie." His mind worked furiously as he tried to remember the last time he'd listened to classical music. Aside from that agonizing concert in the park last summer, that is. Well, there was that one car commercial...that wasn't so bad...and that was classical, right? "I do like classical music!"
Relena just stared. "Uh huh." Her eyebrows arched. "I don't mean to be skeptical, Duo, but I'll believe it when I see it...."
. . . .
Hilde fidgeted slightly in her seat, and checked her watch for the umpteenth time that evening. She nervously scanned the cafe, searching for a familiar mop of tousled sienna-colored hair. She didn't find it.
Her first instinct was to worry. Had she written the time down wrong? She was fairly certain that she'd said three hours. Maybe he misunderstood her?
She forced herself to calm down, and took a deliberately slow sip of her coffee. The hot liquid burned at her lip, which distracted her for a moment. Maybe he got lost, she thought to herself. After all, she hadn't really given very good directions. In fact, she hadn't given directions at all. It was entirely possible that he was still trying to find the place.
She set her cup down, and scanned the cafe again. A slight feeling of unease filtered through her veins. Maybe I was too forward this afternoon. After all, not many girls just ask a guy they barely know out for coffee, right? But this isn't a date!
Her expression hardened. That bum better not have stood me up! If he does, I'll hunt him down and wallop him myself. I don't need Duo's help for that!
She cast her eyes downward. What was she doing here? Why was she at this restaurant, waiting for a guy who was, according to popular belief, joined at the hip to one Relena Dorlian? It didn't matter that Duo was out on a date with Relena right now. She cradled her coffee cup between her hands carefully. As if I would attract his attention, anyway, she grumbled inwardly. I'm nothing special. Not when compared to Relena. Not when compared to anybody.
How long had she waited here, anyway? She checked her watch again. Twenty minutes. Heero was twenty minutes late. Not all that much, in the grand scheme of things, but long enough for her to have some serious doubts about the whole thing. Maybe I'm making a mistake....
She reached down to grab her purse, but was distracted by the metallic scrape of chair legs against the cobbled floor. "Is this seat taken?" a deep, familiar voice queried. Hilde looked up sharply to meet the deep, slightly troubled eyes of Heero.
Hilde dropped her purse. "Heero! You're here!" A happy grin crossed her face. "I almost thought you forgot there for a moment, and was about to leave."
Heero nodded thoughtfully. "I almost didn't show up," he admitted matter-of-factly.
Hilde frowned. "Then why did you?"
Heero shrugged slightly. "Because it would've been in poor taste to stand you up."
Hilde's eyes narrowed. "Well, by all means, don't put yourself out at my expense!" she hissed, her sadness replaced by anger. No wonder Relena was out with Duo, if this was the attitude Mr. Heero Yuy presented to the world! She didn't stand up to leave, but rather waited, wanting to see what his reaction would be.
Heero stared at the tabletop for a moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was so quiet Hilde had to strain to hear it.
"You can leave, if you want to," he said. "I don't deserve anything less than that."
Hilde stopped up short. She settled back into her seat. "I won't leave," she finally said, her anger beginning to ebb. Whatever his reasons had been for almost not showing up, there was definitely something deeper going on. "I'm not leaving, not until I hear your side to all of this."
. . . .
Duo studied the program for the tenth time in as many minutes, and stifled a groan. He had no idea what song the orchestra was playing. He didn't recognize any of the titles, nor did he recognize the songs themselves. All the titles were either in French or Italian, from his estimations.
He shifted around in his seat as inconspicuously as possible. The last time he had tried to get more comfortable, Relena had elbowed him in the ribs and told him to behave himself.
What had he gotten himself into? The music wasn't horrible, by any means. The first song had actually been kind of good. What had it been called? He peered at the program. He couldn't decipher the title. All he knew was that there had been a lot of drums in it, and it had been loud. He liked loud. Loud was good. It was better than this fruity, la-la dancing fairies music that the orchestra was playing now.
By his estimations, an hour had passed since that first song, though it felt like a lot longer than that. The only reason he knew that it had only been an hour was because he had been checking his watch regularly for that span of time so far.
After apparently deciding the audience had heard enough loud, cheerful music, the orchestra must have decided that the next best thing to play was softer, soothing stuff. Duo was getting progressively sleepier, and it was becoming a challenge to keep from nodding off.
Desperate to stay awake, he fixed his gaze on the conductor. The guy looked for all the world as if he had just been discharged from the looney bin that morning. He had already pointed out the man's wild, unkempt electroshock-therapy hairstyle to Relena, who had shooshed him, afraid someone would overhear.
The conductor looked for all the world as if he, too, was being lulled to sleep by the soft, delicate melody. He bent over the podium, whipping his conductor's baton through the air lazily. Duo wished fervently for another fast-paced song, like the first. During that one, Duo had been convinced that there had been a fly buzzing around the podium that the conductor had decided needed to die, judging from the wild gesticulations of the conductor.
The mental image of the conductor batting angrily at an errant fly reminded him of too many days spent watching Bugs Bunny cartoons, and he could feel hysterical, boredom-induced laughter bubbling up in his chest. Despite all his best efforts, a quiet, rebellious guffaw forced its way past his lips. This earned a glare and an elbow in the ribs from Relena.
"Duo, please," she hissed, her expression flickering from exasperated to pleading.
Desperate to hold it back, he broke his attentions away from the conductor, and found himself watching the bows of the violinists in the front row of the orchestra. They were all perfectly synchronous with one another. Duo had to admit that this in itself was quite impressive. It was almost as if someone had tied the bows together and was controlling them with invisible string, like an orchestra marionette.
The effect of the bows moving together was almost hypnotic, and the combination of the slow song and the synchronous bows was too much. Duo's head lolled back gently, and his eyes closed. I'll just catch a couple of winks, he thought to himself.
The next thing he knew, Relena was elbowing him in the ribs furiously. People around him were applauding, and he dazedly added his own applause. Still, over the noise of clapping hands, he could clearly hear Relena's whispered comments.
"Duo! Stop that! You were starting to snore!" Her face was contorted with anger, though it was obvious she was holding the greater part of her fury in check.
Duo grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, 'Lena," he mumbled, abashed. "Didn't mean to doze off."
Relena sighed, and glanced at her program. "Duo, we are down to the last song, and I doubt that even you could fall asleep during this one. But even if you can fall asleep during one of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, I doubt anyone will be able to hear you snoring over the music. But please, please...can't you behave for just this little bit?" Her expression was pleading.
Duo scratched at the back of his head. "I'll try my best, 'Lena," he said, and they turned their attention back to the stage.
The conductor turned to face the audience, and started rambling on about how grateful and happy he was to see all of the people in attendance. Duo studied the floor. There was more applause, the conductor bowed slightly, and turned back to the audience. He raised his baton. Duo stifled a yawn. Relena sighed heavily.
Then the music started.
. . . .
Duo sat quietly in the car, studying the carpet at his feet. Across from him sat Relena, arms crossed, in stony silence. Her gaze was fixed on a point somewhere past the window, and most definitely not on him.
He shifted uncomfortably. Relena hadn't said anything since leaving the concert hall. A small, rational part of his brain told him that he really should say something, or at least attempt an apology. He cleared his throat.
"Um, 'Lena? I...er, I'm sorry..."
"Duo, I am not speaking to you right now."
He threw caution to the wind. "Aw, come on, Relena! I tried my hardest! I don't do stuff like this very often."
Relena fixed him with a calculating gaze. When she spoke, her voice was dangerously quiet. "Duo, I do believe I recall hearing you saying something earlier tonight about liking classical music."
"Hey, I liked the first song!"
"And you fidgeted endlessly through the rest of the concert!"
"I didn't fidget that much."
"Oh, yes you did. You checked your watch 73 times, the program 95 times, made that dreadful comment about the conductor's hair, and spent more than half of the concert with your head against the back of your chair, heaving these big, gusty sighs and staring at the ceiling. When you weren't fidgeting, you were sleeping!"
"You counted me?"
"I couldn't help it! You were being so distracting, I could barely concentrate on the music. I wouldn't be surprised if the only way we're allowed back in that orchestra hall again is if we pay for box-seat tickets."
"See? The music was boring. Even you weren't paying attention, if you were so busy counting me!"
"I did like the music. This program had some of my favorite songs in it. But it was obvious to everyone within earshot that you personally didn't care for the program, because you told me how bored you were every five minutes or so!"
"Well, they weren't all bad, I guess. The last song was pretty good, too."
Relena glared at him. "Oh, I could tell. There aren't very many philharmonic orchestras that are used to getting quite the style of standing ovation that you gave them."
"What's wrong with giving an enthusiastic response?"
"Duo, audiences at orchestra concerts do not whistle loudly and yell, 'Go, Team!' if they are impressed with an orchestra's performance!"
Duo finally lost his patience. "Well, I'm sorry, Princess! I tried, I really did. But I'm not used to doing these kinds of things, being around these kind of people, listening to this kind of music! I responded in the only way I know how!"
"All I wanted was to show you a little bit of the things I enjoy..."
"And you did, 'Lena. And don't think I didn't enjoy it. But don't you get mad at me for reacting in the only way I knew how! It's not like you were coaching me in concert etiquette or anything!"
Relena was silent for a moment, and Duo thought she was angry beyond words. When she finally spoke, her fists were clenched, but her voice was calm and even. "Perhaps I should've...foreseen this," she commented.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Hilde told me about the concert in the park."
Duo's ire abruptly subsided. "She...she did?" Relena nodded. "And you took me to that concert anyway?"
Relena shrugged slightly. "I wanted to see how you would act, around me," she said, her tone not quite apologetic. "I wanted to see if you would try harder to behave because you were around me, or if you would still be Duo."
Duo eyed her with curiosity. "What were you hoping I would do?" He raised his eyebrows. "Did I pass the test?"
"Duo, if I had decided you reacted in the wrong way, you'd be walking home right now."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I like being with you because you are Duo, not because you try really hard to impress me. If I wanted to be with someone who just wanted to impress me, I'd date one of the bureaucrats I have to deal with every day.
Duo laughed, and the tension broke. "Does this mean you're not mad at me any more?"
Relena gave him an appraising look. "Oh, I'm still mad," she said evenly. "You really did make a scene tonight, and embarrassed me. But I'm glad that you didn't try to be anyone other than Duo."
Duo looked at her, his expression reflecting realization. "This is in revenge for the fishing trip, isn't it?"
Relena blinked, surprised. "Revenge? What--oh. The fishing trip." She laughed. "No, it was not in revenge."
Duo grinned. "Good," he said, "then that means you have to make this up to me."
Relena looked faintly nervous. "What do you mean, 'make this up to you'?"
Duo only grinned enigmatically. "Oh, I'll think of something."
~*~
TBC
As always, C&C is greatly loved and appreciated. ^_^
--Sara
