Author: Merula
Pairings: 1x2
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Yaoi, Sap
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is not mine.
What Happens in Vegas
"You know what they say about this city, Heero?"
I took a deep breath and got a better grip on Duo's waist. The room was only a few more steps down the hallway, I was sure we could make it.
Duo tripped over my foot, sending us both into the wall.
Maybe we wouldn't make it...
"No, what do they say?" I pulled him a little closer and wondered if Wufei had made it to his room yet. It really wasn't fair that I got stuck hauling Duo to ours, and yet Sally had managed to get both Trowa and Quatre to help her get Fei to their room.
Course, when we had left the bar, Duo hadn't seemed to be badly off- not like Fei...
"They say you can do anything here and get away with it. People do crazy things, and it doesn't follow them home..."
Ah, maybe that was why Wufei decided to challenge Duo to a drinking contest... temporary insanity. I sure as hell hadn't understood it...
Duo tripped again, and I finally gave up trying to have him walk down the hall. I scooped him up in my arms- I could easily carry him the rest of the way. I could see the door to our room- it wasn't that far.
Duo settled himself comfortably against my chest, resting his head on my shoulder. I almost wanted to slow my pace down a little so I could enjoy it... then I mentally smacked myself for being that pathetic.
"D'you ever do anything crazy Heero?"
"Sure I do." I answered automatically. We had reached the door- I just needed to get the key out of my pocket. I set Duo down, intending to lean him against the door, reconsidered that when I figured out what would happen if it opened, and instead leaned him against me.
"Nooo you don't. Like what?"
I very nearly answered that I had been crazy enough to fall in love with him, but I had a bad feeling that even drunk, Duo wouldn't take that news well.
"I'm your partner right? Une said I had to be half-crazed to take on that job." Key found, I ran it through the lock and opened the door.
Duo blinked at me. "That's not the same!"
"That's not what your former partners said."
Duo made a face as I scooped him back up. Once inside, I put him on the bed that was closest to the bathroom, and fetched the trash can to put beside him. If even half the glasses on the table had been his- he was not going to be feeling well in a few hours.
I started pulling off his shoes. "I don't know what the hell you and Wufei were thinking- you're going to have a hell of a hangover at the ceremony tomorrow."
"I'll be fine..." Duo muttered, closing his eyes. "All I have to do is give Quat the ring... right?"
"Right." At least I thought so. I hadn't been to a lot of weddings.
I put Duo's shoes next to the bed and then I went to the bathroom to see if I could find some aspirin.
As I dug around in my case, I wondered again why Quatre and Trowa had chosen here of all places to get married. They could've literally gone anywhere- why pick Sin City itself?
Unless they were closet Elvis fans...
I found some aspirin, got a glass of water and went back out to Duo. His eyes were tightly shut, but he moaned a little when I poked him in the shoulder. I sat down beside him on the bed and waited until one of his eyes cracked open.
"C'mon," I helped him sit up, got the aspirin and water into him, and hoped sincerely that some of it would take effect before he started getting sick. "Why in the hell did you take Wufei up on that stupid challenge?"
I meant it rhetorically, not thinking he'd answer. "Was bored," Duo muttered.
"I thought you'd fine something crazier to do than that," I told him, feeling guilty. I hadn't known Duo didn't like gambling. I should've asked if he wanted to go with me to look at the art gallery one of the casinos had.
Course, I had assumed that Duo would want to gamble like the others, and so had gone off by myself- only to return a few hours later to find Quatre and Trowa at a blackjack table, Sally playing pachinko, and Wufei and Duo completely drunk in one of the bars- Wufei had in fact, passed out cold on the table.
"Wanted to do something..." Duo laid back down obediently He frowned at me. "Did you go do something crazy?"
"I went to the art show," I answered quietly and his eyes slid half closed again.
He snorted. "Doesn't count..."
"Well, at least I can still walk," I teased. "You should've tried something else."
"Wanted to... but..." He yawned.
"Well, we're here til Sunday. I'm sure you'll be able to try something before then."
His hand reached up and grabbed my collar. "You think so?"
"Yes."
He was frowning again. "And what goes on here, stays here?"
"That's what you said."
He yanked on my collar, pulling me down until I was nose to nose with him. It happened so fast that I couldn't think to speak before his lips met mine.
His kiss was rough, forceful, as if he expected me to protest...
Not that I was going to.
I kissed him back, just as roughly, just as fiercely, and when I pulled away I found him blinking at me in shock.
Not exactly the reaction I had hoped for...
"You taste like a bar," I told him, freeing my collar from his hand.
"You kissed me." He said, still blinking.
"You started it." I pointed out and got up from the bed, hoping that he didn't notice I was shaking. I retreated back to the bathroom and leaned against the sink, closing my eyes.
Duo was drunk. He might not have been slurring his words, but the alcohol on his breath had been enough to make me feel lightheaded, and his equilibrium was off. His judgment had to be off too. He had meant that as a joke, trying to throw me off... I knew it. After three years of being Duo's partner in the Preventers I knew him rather well.
All I could do was hope that he'd have forgotten it in the morning.
When I managed to pull myself together and go back out into the main room, Duo was fast asleep.
I made myself breathe a sigh of relief. If he'd been that close to passing out- there was a good chance he wouldn't remember any of that tomorrow.
~*~
"Heero? Heero! Wake up!"
I cracked open my eyes and found Duo leaning over me, grinning.
It took me a minute to realize what was wrong with this picture. He was freshly showered- I could smell his shampoo, dressed- the bright blue of his shirt was a bit blinding, he looked wide awake and ready to meet the world...
But wasn't he supposed to be in bed with a hangover?
"Heero? You awake?" He leaned closer to me making me blink. "We're supposed to meet the guys for breakfast soon!"
"Are you even hungry for breakfast?" I asked, pushing him back so I could sit up.
"Starving! So hurry up and let's go down!" He bounced up from my bed and sprawled out on his own.
Wondering how the hell he'd managed to avoid a hangover I slid out of bed and headed for the shower. Maybe things would make more sense after an application of hot water... I grabbed clothes from my suitcase and headed into the bathroom.
I showered, shaved, brushed, flossed... and when I was dressed and ready to go out I still had no clue as to why Duo seemed to be suffering no ill effects- unless he was one of those fortunate individuals who never suffered a hangover. He had been pretty drunk last night after all... I was sure of that.
Fairly sure....
Duo was on the phone when I exited the bathroom. "Uh huh, got it. Yeah, we'll be there...." He looked up at me and smiled. "Okay, got it. Bye!" He dropped the phone in the cradle. "That was Trowa. I guess all of Quatre's sisters and Cathy showed up this morning and wanted to eat right away. So he and Quatre have already eaten. Sally had to order in since Fei didn't feel like eating this morning, for some reason..." his smile widened. "So, we're on our own until we leave for the ceremony this afternoon."
Why did that make my stomach flip? "Sounds good. What would you like to do?"
"I told you," he got to his feet and poked me in the arm. "Breakfast. After that..." His voice dropped a little. "Well, I think we should find something sinful to do..."
"I thought you didn't like gambling," I told him as I pulled my shoes out from under the table and slid them on. "Even in Sin City I'll bet it's hard to find sin this early in the day..."
I stood up and found Duo standing right beside me.
"You think so?" He asked and reached out to run his fingers over the collar of my shirt. "I can think of several sinful things to do... without even leaving this room."
My mouth went dry.
He remembered...
I reached up to pull his hand off of my collar. "I'm sure, but I think you wanted breakfast first?"
He resisted my efforts to get free, pulling me closer still. "I can always order room service if you'd rather." His voice changed, growing rougher. "Or I could just have you..."
A moment later and I was flat on my back on the bed, Duo's mouth on mine, his hands pulling at my clothing.
I gave back as good as I got- I pulled at his clothing, returned his kisses, opened my legs at his touch...
We never did get to have breakfast....
~*~
It wasn't quite twilight, the sun was on it's way down, and the landscape looked as if it was touched with gold. The light illuminated the red rocks, making them glow, haloing the couple that stood in front of the celebrant.
Quatre and Trowa surprised me. Instead of a small wedding chapel- or one of the ones attached to a casino- or presided over by 'Elvis', we drove out of the city a little ways to a place called The Valley of Fire.
As we stood there watching the ceremony, I no longer wondered why they had chosen this place for their wedding. This place was beautiful, in a stark and dramatic kind of way, and it seemed more appropriate than a formal wedding chapel would have. The two of them stood smiling at each other as they recited their vows in clear voices.
I looked at the small group of people surrounding us. Wufei was wearing a pair of very dark sunglasses, but he stood upright beside Sally, his arm around her waist. I wondered how much support Sally was supplying... and how much had he had drank last night if he was still hung over?
Cathy and some of Quatre's sisters were there, flowers in their hair, smiles on their faces. A few had tears sparkling in the corner of their eyes.
Duo caught my eye over Quatre's shoulder and winked. I tried valiantly to control the blush I could feel rising up in my face.
We'd spent the entire morning in bed... and the memory of it was enough to heat more than my face. I still couldn't believe that Duo had been willing... well, way more than willing- practically demanding...
It had only been Trowa's phone call asking us why we hadn't arrived for lunch that got us out of bed, into a fast shower and out of the hotel room.
Duo handed the ring to Quatre with a smile, even as I gave Trowa the one for Quatre. The two of them exchanged rings as their sisters sighed happily.
"You may now kiss your spouse..." The celebrant ended with a grin.
Quatre gave Trowa the most mischievous look. Trowa's back was to me, so I missed his expression, but a moment later he was bent over Quatre's arm in a firm lip lock.
I had to bite down on my lip to keep from laughing. Duo didn't even try to suppress his laughter. The women simply applauded. I saw Wufei wince at the noise.
~*~
"That was a terrific ceremony," Duo said as he sat down on the edge of the bed to kick off his shoes. "Not what I was expecting at all..."
"I thought Elvis was going to make an appearance," I agreed.
Duo laughed. "Not even at the reception! Still, not like Wufei didn't add to the movie star glam- did he ever take his glasses off?"
"Not once. How much did he drink last night?"
Duo grinned. "Well... all of his drinks," he made a fast motion with his hands, "and about half of mine."
"You switched his glasses?" So that's how he'd done it. He hadn't been that drunk at all! So why...?
"Of course!" He flopped down on the bed and looked at the clock. "So... when does our flight leave tomorrow?"
"Nine," I pulled off my tie. "You have about twelve hours left to do something sinful."
"Only twelve? Have to make them really count then..." He gave me an arch look. "Actually... I think it's your turn to do something sinful. Surely you can think of something?"
I could- I just wasn't sure if Duo was amenable. He seemed to sense my hesitation and set out to show me that he was.
I caught the piece of clothing he tossed at me and dropped it on the floor. "I have a few ideas..."
"Really? Come here and let's talk them over then."
I joined Duo on the bed and kissed the curve of his mouth. "I'd rather show you."
He hummed against my throat. "Please do..."
We nearly missed the plane.
~*~
I walked into the office Monday morning feeling a little apprehensive.
Funny how the Vegas ads never explain how you are supposed to leave everything in Vegas... especially if you work with the people you did some of those things with...
The plane ride home hadn't been bad- we had sat by Sally and Wufei, rehashed the wedding, teased Fei about his hangover... but then we had gotten off the plane and went our separate ways with only a 'See you tomorrow!'
How could I sit in our office, look at my partner and not think about this weekend? How could I leave it behind?
But Duo wanted it that way. He'd stressed the point all weekend. What goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas... and if he wanted it that way, then I would have to accept it.
Duo gave me a grin when I sat down at my desk. He was sorting through the mail. "Morning," he said and tossed me a few envelopes.
I returned the greeting and picked up the envelopes. "Anything interesting?"
"All quiet at the moment," he replied and turned to his computer. "Just have to catch up on all the paperwork."
I took that for the hint it was and booted up my own computer. As it loaded I opened up the envelopes- most were junk- but the last one had a postcard in it.
The picture on the front was the Vegas sign- the back was blank. I looked up to find Duo watching me.
"Couldn't resist bringing something back," he said with a smile. "A memento of the best time in my life."
Best time? Did he mean...?
"I thought you were going to leave it all behind you."
"Only if I have to forget it, and for the record- I'd rather not." He leaned over the desk. "Do I have to? Are you planning on forgetting?"
Thank god. Relief swept over me. "I don't think I could."
OWARI
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