For Plaid- cause she gave me the bunny!! Not betaed cause Bri isn't home- so forgive if there are mistakes. Oh- and I borrowed some characters from Saiyuki. But I put them back after.
This was supposed to be a small funny bit set anywhere along the timeline, but these guys have a way of making me do a little more- this was really supposed to end several sentences before it did, but... well, when has this drabble ever followed the rules?
Something Furry Drabble 4
Smoke Shop
Duo leaned on the counter, his eyes on the door. How long was this going to take? When was Heero going to be back?
"Relax," Sally put a gentle hand on his head as she walked by. "I promise, he'll be okay."
"I know," Duo managed a smile for her. "It's just- Grandmother- she's..."
"Untrustworthy," Wufei filled in as he moved around the store, lighting incense to drive out the musty smell. It had been raining off and on for weeks and since the building was old, it tended to smell damp at this time of year.
"Exactly. And I don't like that she insisted on seeing him alone..." Duo bit off the rest. Heero could protect himself- but Duo knew what the Pride was like. He wanted- needed to be there to watch his mate's back.
"He'll be back soon," Sally soothed.
"Do you know what she wanted to see him about?"
Sally shook her head. "Not exactly- but he'll come back in a bit of a temper."
Duo wondered if she was being strictly honest with him. He'd learned that Sally tended to tell you what she thought you needed to know- but not everything she knew. She said it was too hard for people to know exactly what was coming- and sometimes things changed and went different ways so she wasn't always sure either.
Still...
"Damn," Wufei paused by one of the holders. "This is the last stick."
"We don't have more in stock?"
"No. We never carry much anyway, not with that smoke shop down the street." For some reason Wufei was frowning, Duo wondered why.
"I thought smoke shops only carried things that people smoked," he said and Sally nodded.
"Usually yes. This one sells anything that produces smoke- anything you can burn. Incense, candles, smoke bombs- and all the other stuff too- cigars and that sort of thing. The owner is very literal."
"Well- then can't we just go get some incense from them?" He suggested and Wufei glared at him.
"What an excellent idea!" Sally's smile was mischievous and Duo wondered what he'd wandered into. "Wufei, why don't you go down there and get some?"
"Are you insane, woman? Send Duo."
"Do you really think Heero will like me sending Duo? Especially if that red-haired guy is on duty? Why don't you go? He likes you."
"Because he's never on duty when I go down. It's always that blond demon."
"There's a demon in the smoke shop?" Duo asked incredulously.
"No," Sally laughed. "He's not a demon- he's actually-"
"He IS a demon." Wufei snorted. "I am not going down there."
"I'll go." Duo slid out from behind the counter. "How much should I get?"
"Just a couple of packages." Sally opened the petty cash drawer. "Wufei knows what to get."
"I'm not going."
"You're going with Duo so he knows what to get next time." Sally tucked the money in Wufei's pocket and nudged him towards the door.
"You can go with Duo." Wufei tried.
"Nope. I need to be here to answer a call." Sally turned to Duo and winked. "Make sure to take the umbrella and don't let Wufei get into a fight this time." The phone shrilled and she sauntered off to answer it.
Duo blinked at her. How the hell was he supposed to stop a dragon from fighting??
Wufei sighed, defeated. "Let's go."
~*~
"So... why is this place so bad?" Duo asked as they headed down the street.
"It's not always bad, it just depends who is on shift." Wufei tilted his umbrella back a little and nodded at the small storefront. "Let's hope the gods are on our side today."
The front of the store was decorated with colorful banners and cheerful signs; the windows were covered with painted clouds that showed glimpses of the things to be found inside.
Once inside, Duo was overwhelmed by the smells of the goods on the shelves and so it took him a moment before he saw the blond man sitting behind the counter at the back of the store, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"What the fuck do you want?" He growled and Duo felt Wufei tense beside him.
"Why do the others even let you sit in here? You have no customer service skills." The dragon retorted. He yanked two bags of incense off a shelf and slapped them on the counter. "We're out. Sally sent me."
"With a guard I see. What's wrong, dragon? Doesn't she trust you out on your own?" The man blew out a stream of smoke and eyed Duo. "I hope your boss pays you extra for this sort of thing."
Wufei snorted, smoke curling from his nostrils. "Just ring us up so we can get the hell out of here."
"In a minute." The blond man stubbed out his cigarette and then took his time lighting another. Then he inhaled deeply and blew out more smoke. Wufei clenched his fists and smoke poured from his nose. Between the two of them, Duo was sure he'd be coughing from all the smoke soon. What was going on?
The door chimed behind them. "What the hell? Why is it all smoky in here? Did you set the store on fire again?" A voice rang out and Duo turned to see a red haired man- the one Sally had been worried about?- striding in with another man on his heels. "Oh-! Hey Wufei. Long time no see."
"Gojyo." Wufei turned slightly away from the blond to acknowledge the greeting. The third man slipped behind the register and picked up one of the packages on the counter.
"Shall I ring you up? Is this all you need?"
"Yes, thank you, Hakkai." Wufei nodded and turned his glare back to the blond. "At least some people realize that they need to be polite to their customers."
The blond snorted and picked up a newspaper. "Ignore him," Gojyo advised. "We do. Who's your friend?" Gojyo leaned over the counter, letting his gaze wander over Duo.
"Duo- Heero's mate." Wufei said shortly and Duo nearly laughed when the red head moved quickly backwards, almost bumping into the blond in his haste.
Hakkai handed Wufei his change and his two packages. "Thank you. Come again."
"Or not," the blond muttered and Duo grabbed Wufei's arm as the dragon's mouth opened to utter a retort.
"Thanks!" He said and pulled Wufei back towards the door.
Once out in the rain-scented air, Duo drew in some deep breaths, trying to clear the smoke from his lungs.
"What was that all about?" He demanded of the dragon. Wufei snorted and opened his umbrella.
"Ex-boyfriend," he said quickly and walked down the street.
Duo scurried to follow. "What?!"
"Ex- look. I don't want to get into it."
"Well, he was sort of rude- I can see why you dumped him."
"I didn't dump him- he took up with this mon- with a younger man." Wufei snorted again and shook the umbrella.
Duo decided to keep his mouth shut. He followed Wufei down the street and back into the store. Sally was waiting behind the counter- Heero beside her.
"There you are," he smiled at the two of them. "Have a good time?"
Wufei handed Sally the packages. "I am going to the back and sending in an order for more incense." He stalked towards the back and Sally bit her lip.
"So, guess he and Sanzo still don't get along, hm?" She asked Duo and he laughed.
"Oh they get along- like a house on fire."
"Lots of smoke and noise?" Sally laughed and went to finish filling the rest of the incense holders.
Duo moved around the counter and leaned against Heero's side.
"What did grandmother want?"
Heero sighed and tugged on the end of Duo's braid. "She had a little proposal for me. I'll talk to you about it later."
Duo felt a chill. "Why not now?"
"Cause I am still trying not to get angry." Heero put his cheek against Duo's head for a moment and sighed. "I'm glad you weren't there."
Duo didn't reply, he just brushed a kiss over his mate's shoulder and wished that he had been. What had his grandmother demanded this time?
OWARI
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