Heero's POV
The Wedding Planner Part 15
Revelations
When Maxwell pulled the Jag up in front of the house, I was almost sorry our little outing was over. It had been an eye-opening sort of day, and I was reluctant to see it end.
He leaned back in his seat, tipping his sunglasses up onto the top of his head. "So, y'think you an' Relena will want a horse-drawn carriage?"
"I know I will," I replied firmly.
"So convince the little missus," Duo suggested with a smirk and a wink. "She wasn't sure she liked the idea. I told her it's a really classy way to arrive at the ceremony and reception. Romance itself."
"But you bribed me not to tell her how--romantic--a carriage ride is," I deadpanned.
The expressive eyes narrowed fractionally. "I bribed you to leave off one single, stupid little detail that would have been a total misrepresentation."
I smiled smugly. "It's good to have blackmail material, Maxwell."
He gave a little huff of frustration that was actually kind of adorable. "Don't make me pry secrets out of Relena," he cautioned. "Y'know, 'girl talk' kind of stuff. After all, she does think of me as a confidante."
I wasn't sure how to take that. I couldn't imagine Relena telling him anything...intimate ...about us, but you never know. Sometimes she had a big mouth, especially if she'd had a glass or two of wine.
He must have read the fleeting expression of doubt that crossed my face, because he wore a smug look. In the next instant, however, I wiped it off his face with a single comment. "Yeah, you 'girls' sure stick together, don't you?"
He wasn't sure I was joking, a fact I grasped when I saw the wounded look cross his face. "Y'know...just when I thought you weren't a total asshole--" he began.
"Kidding, Maxwell!" I said hastily. "I was just kidding. Geeze, and you say I'm the uptight one?"
He blushed at that, ducking his head and giving a sheepish grin. "Sorry," he muttered almost under his breath. "Just--I'm not used to you being--"
"--something other than a complete prick?" I finished for him.
He shrugged slightly. "Yeah." And he raised a steady look to me. "I have to get used to that idea first. Then maybe I'll know when you're joking around."
He had a point. In spite of our pleasant day, and some teasing banter, we had a long way to go to be considered anything more than casual acquaintances. It wasn't fair for me to expect him to know whether I was serious or not when I made a wisecrack.
"Fair enough," I conceded. "Thank you for--" For one of the most enjoyable afternoons I've had in months...for introducing me to horses and carriage rides...for reminding me I don't enjoy ice cream nearly often enough. "--a very interesting day, Duo. I had no idea planning a wedding involved so many activities."
"You had fun?" he asked, almost as if he were translating what I said.
"I had fun."
He gave me that brilliant smile of his. "Then I did my job well today," he concluded, starting up the car. "See you and Relena tomorrow...that is, if you'll allow me around her again?"
"I'm sure if I'm there to supervise, it'll be fine," I said with a smirk and a shrug, wanting to keep him on his toes just a little bit. "But no hand-kissing!"
He laughed and shook his head, putting the car into gear. I thought I heard him mutter something about my still being a prick as he drove off, but I couldn't be sure.
~*~
Relena was out on the veranda, thumbing through some wedding magazines when I arrived. She looked up with a smile. "How did it go?"
"Fine," I said noncommittally. "Maxwell and I had a little chat about our misunderstanding, and I think I've made my expectations clear."
She wasn't sure how to take that, and frowned at me. "You were polite?"
"I was absolutely charming," I said dryly. "Honestly, Relena, we cleared the air a bit, and I think he'll work out just fine."
She positively beamed at me, and I walked over to lean to kiss her. But she recoiled just as I got close, wrinkling her pert little nose. "What is that smell?" she demanded.
"Smell?" I looked down at my clothes, knowing I'd done nothing so strenuous that I should be sweaty or smell unpleasant. I lifted the front of my shirt, giving it an experimental sniff. "Oh." I gave Relena a slightly sheepish look. "Horse. You smell horse on my shirt. I got kind of close to one today."
"Ew!" she exclaimed, waving a hand in front of her nose. "It's vile, Heero. You should go shower."
"I will," I assured her, taking another deep breath and finding the horse scent not entirely unpleasant. In fact, Scythe had been nice enough to rub his muzzle on my chest after I gave him his carrot, and the smell brought back a fond memory.
"What are you smiling about?" Relena asked with a grimace, turning back to her magazine.
"Nothing."
I started to lean down for that kiss again, but she put a hand squarely on my chest, pushing me back. "Not until after you shower and change," she said firmly, glaring. "And now I need to go wash my hands!" She stood up, dropping her magazine on the table.
Just before she walked through the door, she paused and turned to give me a quick smile. "Thank you so much for fixing things with Duo," she said with that gracious, diplomatic tone I knew so well. "He's quite irreplaceable."
"Anyone can be replaced," I said out of reflex, knowing even as I said it that I wouldn't want to trust my wedding to anyone else.
Relena cocked her head as if considering my words, and then just shook it and walked away.
I realized I still had a hand across the part of my shirt that smelled like horse, and dropped it to my side, before heading for my shower.
~*~
I'd washed, changed, and was on my way to the dining room to join Relena for dinner, when Walter caught up to me.
"Sir? You have a call from Mister Chang."
"Ah...in my office," I said quickly, guessing at the purpose for his call, and not wanting Relena to be hanging over my shoulder for the conversation. I closed the door behind me before walking over and picking up the phone. "Hello?"
"Yuy? Chang here. I got what you wanted."
"You don't sound thrilled about it," I commented, noticing a certain somber tone to his voice.
"Let me just say, if you let Relena fire him over this, you're a cold-hearted bastard."
Whoa. What brought that on? "Over what?" I asked carefully.
"Duo Maxwell...presumably born on L2..."
"Presumably?"
"He was an orphan. Grew up on the streets and in the Maxwell Church Orphanage."
"Oh."
"Shall I go on?"
"Why not?"
"I'd think the fact that he's from L2 would be enough to convince Relena he's--unsuitable," Wufei said with a hint of scorn. I couldn't tell who it was directed at.
"Probably," I conceded. "But it doesn't convince me."
"Excuse me?"
"I said--"
"I heard what you said," Wufei interrupted. "I thought you were the one who wanted to be rid of him. All you needed was enough negative information to convince Relena."
"I--may have been hasty," I admitted rather grudgingly. "I mean, if I fire him without a fairly legitimate reason, I could end up facing Winner's legal team. I don't want that."
There was a skeptical snort on the line. "Lawyers have never frightened you, Yuy. What is it?"
"I just--he's not as obnoxious--some of the time."
"Some of the--? Did you hit your head today, Yuy?"
I growled slightly. "Can it, Wufei. Is there more I need to know about Maxwell, or are we done?"
"Do you really want to hear the rest?" came a weary-sounding voice.
"I do."
"Maxwell came to Earth seven years ago to attend college. He studied sports medicine, working part-time as an EMT, which is when he met Winner. According to the newspaper article, he saved Winner's life...something about anaphylactic shock..."
"I remember that!" I said in surprise, vaguely recalling a story some years earlier about the event. I'd forgotten the EMT's name, but no one could forget the fact that someone saved Quatre Winner. News like that made headlines.
"He was engaged to a childhood sweetheart from L2...Solo Maxwell, another orphan...apparently they'd both taken the name of the Maxwell Church as their surname."
"Solo?" I frowned thoughtfully.
Wufei coughed delicately. "Yes, Mister Solo Maxwell, and Duo Maxwell were engaged to be married when Solo suddenly fell ill and died. Duo dropped out of school, and Winner checked him into a clinic to be treated for depression. After a few months, he went back to school, graduated, and moved to Seattle, where he again took a job as an EMT. His next fiancé, Alexander Woods, was a firefighter...who died in a high-rise blaze less than a week before their wedding date."
"Duo's gay?" I said in amazement.
"Considering he's been engaged twice, both times to men, I'd say yes," Wufei commented dryly.
"Then all the flirting with Relena's been--for nothing?"
"I'd guess he was doing it to gall you," came an amused response. "Frankly, Yuy, you can be quite amusing when you're peeved."
"Bite me, 'Fei," I snarled, recalling Duo's comment about how entertaining it was to bait me. I decided I never wanted those two to meet.
He chuckled quietly. "Do you feel better now?"
"About what?"
"About the odds of Relena running off with the wedding planner."
I wanted to reach through the phone and throttle him. "I never thought she'd-- Ah, fuck! Are you finished yet?"
"There's a bit more. After Woods' death, Maxwell lost his job due to some, indiscretions. It seems he became a bit unstable, and was accused of gross negligence when his drinking on the job caused some sort of an accident. I couldn't get the details, but it must have been fairly serious."
After that, he'd had some trouble with the law; Wufei ran through a list of arrests. There were two for drunk and disorderly, one for drunk driving, and one for assault. Each time he'd been bailed out by Quatre Winner, and defended by a Winner family attorney.
Then there was more time in a rehabilitation facility...first for alcohol abuse and then once again for depression. But considering he'd had two fiancés die within weeks of their weddings, it was fairly understandable. It was also paid for by Winner Enterprises.
"So, are you going to tell Relena and let her fire him?" Wufei asked quietly. I sensed a slight rebuke in his tone.
"I--no," I replied. "How could I? There's nothing there that anyone wouldn't have done if faced with the same tragedies."
"Relena wouldn't care," Wufei pointed out.
"Well, I do."
"I'm glad to hear it," Wufei said candidly. "I'd have been disappointed in you if you could condemn a man for breaking down after that kind of loss."
Not only could I not condemn Duo, I felt like a complete heel for being so hostile to him. In light of this new information, I found it remarkable that he was as charming, upbeat, and cheerful as he was. It awed me to imagine the man's resilience. He'd come through tragic circumstances, and yet seemed happier than anyone I'd ever known. It was--amazing.
"I have to go, 'Fei. Thanks." I put down the phone, my mind in a whirl, and headed for the dining room.
TBC...
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