Blood, Sweat and Tears Part 22
Duo woke with a start at the sound of tires screeching around the corner and the wail of a siren. Quickly rising from his bed to peer out through his window, he looked down to the street as a car was being chased down by a police vehicle. People that had been crossing the street at the time cried as they ran out of harm's way.
Just as quickly as the scene began, it ended when both cars peeled around the other corner at the end of the block. With the sirens fading off in the distance, the running back sighed deeply, "God, I can't wait to get these kids out of this place."
Yawning widely, Duo stretched and changed into a black T-shirt and blue jeans followed by his black slippers. Hilde and Solo were also emerging from their room, obviously woken by the car chase as well given their disheveled looks. Together, they all headed downstairs and quietly went about preparing breakfast.
As she and her 'brother' worked on scrambling the eggs, Hilde sensed his tension and reassured quietly, "Just a few more months of this, Duo. Then we can finally put all of this behind us."
"It's still not soon enough for my liking," the running back frowned. His 'sister' rested her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. To his other side, Solo gently nudged him with a small smile. Finally, the tension began to ebb just a bit thanks to those simple, understanding gestures.
Little Hope decided to walk in at that moment, rubbing her tired eyes. Quickly spotting her, Duo stopped his work and scooped her up with a smiled, "Hey, munchkin." The child brightened and wrapped her small arms tightly around his neck. Kissing her cheek, the running back rested his chin on her shoulder and closed his eyes. Silently, he willed his worry over the safety of his family away.
* * * * * *
That Monday, practice had just wrapped up and Duo was waiting for his teammates to wrap up in the showers. Humming to himself as he took his time removing his gear, he looked up at the sound of footsteps approaching the room. On his way past the doorway, Trent peered in and nodded firmly to the running back, "Nice work today, Maxwell."
Waving to the defensive coach, the running back grinned, "Thanks, Trent." The young man disappeared on his way to towards Zechs's office. His eyes violet widening at a sudden thought, Duo all but jumped to his feet and ran out into the hallway. "Hey, Trent! One sec!" he called just before retreating target turned the corner.
As the braided athlete approached, the blonde coach turned to face him with a patient look. "I don't mean to pry," Duo began, "But I noticed that you don't wear a wedding band and you keep referring to your 'in-laws'."
Laughing, Trent replied, "Well, they're my in-laws through my sister. She married into a real peach of a family that I try to avoid like the plague. I've been enjoying the life of a full-fledged bachelor for two years now." Tilting his head, he asked, "Why the sudden interest?"
With a grin widening on his face, the running back answered, "Weeeell, I happen to know a beautiful young woman I would like to introduce you to."
"You mean like a date?" the coach blinked in surprise.
Shaking his head, Duo stated, "A night out, which is a big difference. She really needs a chance to get out and see the world a bit." He raised his hands and vowed, "I promise that there is no commitment expected other than maybe a nice dinner or something."
Trent chewed in the inside of his cheek as he mulled over the idea. "All right," he agreed. "I suppose that there is no harm in that." Folding his arms, he commented, "She must be something special for you to be going through this trouble."
Nodding, the American grinned, "She is." He extended his hand and said sincerely, "Thank you for this, man. I promise that you won't regret it."
Firmly shaking the offered hand, the young coach chuckled deeply, "I'll have to take your word on that." All business, he inquired, "So, how can I get a hold of her to work out a time and place?"
"That's easy," Duo replied with a grin, "Just ask for Lady Une when you call Yuy's house. She works and lives there. I'll give her a heads up that you'll be reaching her so that she's not totally caught off-guard."
Content with that, Trent nodded firmly, "Very good. I'll be in touch, then." That said, the blonde young man turned and headed around the corner on his way to the coaches' office. Still smiling from ear-to-ear, the running back ran in the other direction for the locker room.
* * * * * *
Gasping sharply, Lady Une nearly dropped the plate that she was drying as she spun in her braided friend's direction with wide eyes. "A date!?" she exclaimed. "But... but I haven't been on a date in ages!"
Slowly approaching her, Duo gently gripped her arms and reassured her, "Now, I never said the word 'date', do don't look at it that way. This is just a chance for you to get out, try something different." Raising an eyebrow, he smirked, "And do you really think that I would set you up with someone that wasn't a good guy?"
Unable to help giggling at that, the young maid shook her head, "No, of course not." The humor faded as the arms at her sides fell away and she frowned deeply, "It's just... I don't even know what I'm supposed to do when we do go out."
Very gently brushing back the long bangs from her brown eyes, the running back smiled sadly, "Because you've never given yourself a chance to enjoy yourself. You're so worried about looking after Heero that you forgot that you deserve to be happy, too."
"He's right," a familiar voice spoke up suddenly from the kitchen doorway. Both Lady Une and Duo turned in shock to find Heero standing there, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. Pushing himself from the doorway, the quarterback locked eyes with the young woman and said quietly, "It's about time you did something for yourself for a change."
With a deep sigh of relief, Duo smiled to the quarterback in appreciation for his support. Heero's reaction was the one he was the most uncertain of. Biting her lip, Lady Une was at odds with herself as she whispered, "I'm nervous."
A small grin tugged the team captain's mouth. "Don't be," he shrugged simply. "It's not nearly as scary out there as you think." At that testimonial spoken from personal experience, the young woman finally eased and smiled. His chest swelling in pride at hearing those words from his teammate, Duo have him a wink.
Taking a deep breath, Lady Une nodded firmly, "Okay." She nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone rung at that moment. Nervously reaching for the hand-held phone on the counter, she placed the receiver to her ear with an almost weak, "Hello?"
Slowly, her smile returned as she greeted, "Yes, this is she. And you must be Trent. Duo was just telling me about you." A moment later, she laughed, "Oh no, he only had good things to say. Oh... tomorrow night at about six?"
Heero and Duo shared an amused look as they listened in on one half of the conversation. "Sure. How should I dress? All right. Well, thank you. I will see you tomorrow, then." Quickly hanging the phone back onto its cradle, Lady Une beamed, "Well, that was not as bad as I thought it would be."
"You see?" the running back cheered while rubbing her arm. "You're going to have a great time tomorrow." His smile grew as she wrapped her arms tightly around him in thanks. Returning the embrace, he chuckled deeply.
As she neared the quarterback, the maid asked softly, "Are you sure that you're all right with this? If you would rather I stay-"
Cutting her off, Heero shook his head, "Why would I not be fine with this? You know that I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. Now you can finally take care of yourself." His long-time friend hugged him tightly with a whispered 'thank you.'
When they pulled away, Lady Une giggled, "I'm so excited! I need to start thinking about what I'm going to wear to dinner, how to fix my hair, maybe I should go and get a manicure before hand. And then there'..."
Her words trailed off as she walked out of the room, verbalizing the laundry list of things she needed to do for her night out. Snickering, the two football players shook their heads in amusement. Looking to his housemate, Duo commented quietly, "She never would have agreed if you hadn't insisted. That was nice of you."
"Well, you're right," Heero shrugged. "She needs this." Lowering his gaze, he frowned, "Ever since... the accident, she's been shut in here along with me. To be honest, it was pretty selfish of me to not have insisted on something like this sooner."
Quickly picking up on the signals, the running back stated softly, "She was the closest thing to your parents that you had after."
Clearing his throat roughly, the Japanese youth nodded, "Yea." Slowly raising his head to meet his friend's violet eyes, he all but whispered, "I was actually afraid that I might lose her, too. Pretty stupid, huh?"
Duo smiled sadly and replied just as softly, "No. I think it says a lot of how much she means to you... especially now that your own needs are being set aside so she can be happy. But you know she'll always be here for you." On his way out of the room, he squeezed his teammate's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, 'Ro."
Heero gave him a small grin and asked, "Do you still have that video game you rented?"
"Sure do," the American answered. Violet eyes widening, he gasped, "Don't tell me you're actually going to play video games instead of working out in the gym on a practice night! That's unheard of!"
Raising an eyebrow, Heero snorted, "Well, if you're that afraid of getting your ass kicked, I guess that I could always hit the treadmill instead. I certainly wouldn't want to make you cry."
With a mischievous smirk, Duo growled deeply, "You're on, Yuy."
* * * * * *
The following evening...
Trent walked up to the Yuy household dressed in a sharp suit with a bouquet of a half-dozen roses in his hand. After pressing the doorbell, he adjusted his red tie. When the door opened, Duo's braided head poked out and he grinned widely, "Hey, coach." Stepping aside, he offered, "Come on in and get comfortable."
As the blonde entered, the running back got a good look at him and all but turned giddy. All day, he wasn't sure who was more nervous over this date- Lady Une, Heero or himself. Seeing that Trent was taking this one-night out seriously enough to bring flowers dress up was more than exciting.
Heero rose from the couch that he was sitting on when the defensive coach entered. They exchanged handshakes and polite greetings. "Lady Une should be down in a minute," the quarterback advised.
"Actually, I'm ready now," the young woman's voice called from the entranceway. When the three young men turned, their eyes widened at the sight that awaited them.
Dressed in a scarlet red, V-neckline silhouette dress that hugged her slender and stopped just below her knees, Lady Une stepped into the room. Her hair was swept up and secured by a gold clip in the back with her loose hair falling back in ringlets. Subtle makeup made her face glow and the strapped, gold heels on her feel gave her just a little extra height. The simple gold necklace, diamond bracelet and droop earrings were the finishing touch to the striking image that she made.
Just behind the maid, Quatre was smiling like a proud parent. Heero, Duo and Trent remained frozen in their places with their jaws nearly falling slack. The running back heard the defensive coach breathe, "Wow." Finally shaking himself from his stupor, the coach stepped forward with a wide grin. "My Lady," he greeted as he took her hand and bent to kiss the back of it.
Practically glowing, Lady Une smiled, "Very nice to meet you, Trent." She looked to Heero and Duo almost nervously for approval. The quarterback smirked and nodded as his braided teammate winked and gave a thumb up to the young woman.
Hands suddenly shaking, Trent held up the bouquet and sputtered, "I-I... uh... I thought that you might like these."
"Oh, they're beautiful," the maid gushed as she accepted the plastic-wrapped display. After a long smell of their fragrance, she gave the coach a soft and sincere, "Thank you."
Clapping his hands together, Duo announced, "Well, kiddies, you better get going while the night's still young!" Raising a finger, he warned, "Don't go doing anything that I would do." Trent and Lady Une snickered and shook their heads.
As he bent as the waist in a bow, the coach offered an arm and asked, "Shall we?" Nodding, his date slipped her arm in his. On their way out, Quatre took the flowers with a kiss to his friend's cheek.
When the door closed, Duo nudged the agent in the side with a smirked, "Nice work with the look, pal. I almost didn't recognize her."
Shrugging, Quatre chuckled deeply, "Well, having more than a dozen sisters does come in handy once in a while. You get to learn all kinds of otherwise useless things about makeup and jewelry... along with other things that I dare not mention regarding the joys of being a woman." He shuddered at that last comment.
The running looked back into the living room and found Heero staring out the window as Trent's car pulled out of the driveway and away from sight. Gently, he asked, "You holding up okay, there, 'Ro?"
Looking away from the window to meet his friend's eyes, the quarterback nodded quietly, "Yea. I think so. Just this whole moving on and letting go and moving on things is... challenging at times."
"Yea," Duo nodded in a way that let Heero know he really did understand. "But you'll be amazed how much better you feel when you accomplish that." He turned on his heels and slipped from the room to give his teammate some privacy, his braid swinging behind him.
Alone with his thoughts, Heero sighed deeply and looked out the window once more, silently marveling at how Maxwell seemed to always know what to say. While it was nice to have that in his life, it was not helping the emotions that he was constantly confused over when it came to the mysterious running back.
* * * * * *
On their way to the front porch, Lady Une bowed her head a bit and said softly, "I had a lovely evening tonight, Trent. Thank you."
The young defensive coach smiled, "I did, too." Actually, he was amazed at just how good a time it was. Over their dinner conversing, he found to have quite a bit in common with the young woman. It'd been a long time since he was smitten so quickly with someone.
When they reached the front door, Trent lowered released the arm in his own and suggested, "Maybe we can go out again sometime? Like maybe this Friday?" He nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other and swallowed roughly in anticipation.
Quickly looking up to meet his eyes, Lady Une grinned brightly as she nodded, "I'd really like that."
"Great!" the young man replied excitedly, releasing the breath that he had been holding. "Maybe we could try something that we can dress a little more comfortably for," he smirked as he loosened the tie around his neck with a dramatic wince. "Maybe a movie or something?"
Chuckling deeply, the maid answered, "That'd be perfect." She took a deep breath and swayed on her feet a bit. "Well, good night," she managed nervously.
Trent sighed deeply, "I take it that you're not one to kiss on the first date, huh?" He forced a pout and blinked his eyes in a way that had his date laughing.
As she managed to contain herself, Lady Une shook her head regretfully, "I'm afraid not, though it's not for lack of interest in doing so. It's just a rule that I set for myself to keep from rushing things."
A warn chuckle bubbled from the coach's chest as he winked, "Well, I'll have to make sure that I earn it the second time around." With a hand at his waist, he bowed and said quietly, "Have a good night, my lady." Straightening himself, he turned to head back to his car.
Just before he could step off the porch, the young woman spun and called, "Trent!" He paused and was almost facing her once more when she was all but running towards him. "Oh, to hell with that rule," she muttered before pulling him in for a fierce kiss as her eyes drifted closed. It took her shocked date a moment to return the gesture.
Once the kiss ended, Trent was wide-eyed and grinning like a stunned loon. Clearing her throat, Lady Une's cheeks were burning as she smiled sheepishly, "Well... good night."
Gently brushing the side of her face, the coach whispered, "Good night, Lady Une."
"Anne," she breathed. At his surprised look, she giggled, "I don't normally let many people know my real first name since Anne Une sounds pretty silly together." [1]
Trent's smile only grew. Tilting his head a bit, he smiled wistfully, "Actually, I think it's beautiful... like you." Gently taking the surprised young maid's hand in his, he kissed the back of it and told her quietly, "Until next time, Anne."
The smooth departure he had envisioned was lost when his watery legs all but tripped on his way down the porch steps. Barely managing to keep himself upright when he reached the bottom, he laughed along with Lady Une. Waving to each other, they turned and parted ways.
Nearly the moment she stepped into the house, the maid was all but bombarded with questions as Heero, Duo and Quatre rushed up to her. Still giddy from her experience, Lady Une sighed deeply and sat at the couch as she went over all of the details of the dinner and dancing. At the end of her story, she giggled and pressed her hands to her reddened cheeks. "I feel like a school girl, again," she laughed. The trio of accomplices shared looks of relief and satisfaction at her excitement.
Kissing each of her friends' cheeks good night and thanking them once more for all of their help and support, she hummed to herself and stepped lightly out of the room while mimicking one of the waltzes she learned that evening.
Heero fell back into the sofa with a small smile and a deep sigh. Beside him, Duo did the same and patted his leg as he asked, "Now, wasn't the look on her face worth that little bit of letting go."
Unable to help his smile from growing a bit, the quarterback chuckled deeply and nodded, "Yea. It was." And maybe... just maybe he could get used to the feeling.
TBC...
[1] After much debate and many replies to my question regarding Lady Une's first name. Anne was mentioned as being a fandom creation and I really liked it, so I am using it as a funny way of explaining why she would prefer to be called 'Lady Une' as opposed to Anne Une.
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