Duo's POV
The Wedding Planner Part 18
Fresh Starts
Heero had a great laugh. It was a far cry from his occasional dry chuckle. And hearing it for the first time put a smile on my face I couldn't seem to suppress. I had a silly impulse to try to find ways to make him laugh like that more often...it was so damned infectious.
He paused, turning his head at the sound of pattering feet on the stairs just inside the door, and then looked back at me. "Are we okay?"
Well, shit. He'd just dug up every dark secret and painful memory in my past--or at least, like he said, the ones that were a matter of public record. And then he told me he didn't care about any of that. He still wanted me as his wedding planner...and friend? How was I supposed to take that? I wanted to ask for a minute to get my head around it, but I nodded numbly, forcing one of my trademark grins. "Sure."
He didn't look entirely convinced. The guy could already read me like a book, and I wasn't sure I liked that at all.
Then Relena came striding out the door, looking as fresh and smart as always. "Well, what's so funny out here? I heard laughing." She walked right past Heero and over to me, holding out a hand.
I glanced at Heero as I took it, searching for a trace of jealousy in the deep blue eyes. And when I saw none, I gave her hand a brief, polite kiss, releasing it rather quickly.
I saw the flicker of surprise in her eyes, and knew she sensed a change in my demeanor. But it was Heero on the receiving end of her suspicious look. "Heero?"
"Ah, Duo just said something funny," he replied quickly, walking over and giving her a peck on the cheek. "Shall we go?"
Relena looked at me, and I gestured towards the door. "I hope you ate a light breakfast. We're going to visit a few kitchens and sample the work of the chefs you were considering for your reception."
"That sounds lovely," she said, still with a slightly worried expression on her face.
I resisted the impulse to smirk. She probably thought her fiancé had browbeaten the hell out of me the day before. Not that he hadn't tried. And I was still a little shell-shocked that now he professed to want to be friends. We'd have to see how that went.
As we walked down the hall, Relena eased up next to me, putting a hand around my arm. "Did everything go all right yesterday?"
"We had a great time," I assured her, leaning closer in a conspiratorial way. "He's not so bad, really. I'm beginning to see what you see in him."
I know he overheard me, and a quick glance out of the corner of my eye proved me right, as there was the faintest hint of a blush on his cheeks. Shit. Watch it, Maxwell, or he'll be reading you the riot act about flirting with him, instead of Relena.
Relena gave a quiet laugh, tightening her grip on my arm. "I'm so glad you two are getting along now."
"Me, too."
We walked out the door with me in the middle, Relena clinging to my right arm, and Heero at my left side. When we got to the limo, Pargan had the door open, and both Heero and I stood back to let Relena get in first. I gestured Heero to go next so he'd be sitting beside her, and I took the window seat, once again getting a brief flash of a wary look from Relena.
I knew I was behaving differently, and so did Relena. But I doubted she knew the reason. In fact, I wasn't sure I knew it myself. It wasn't just the fact that if Heero chose to tell Relena about my checkered past, she'd drop me in a heartbeat, either. But now that I knew how much my flirting had bothered him, I didn't have the heart to keep it up.
Yeah, I know, pretty pathetic, huh? I mean, the guy and I had one civil day together, and all of a sudden I was struck with an irrepressible urge to be nice to him. And that's after finding out the nosey son of a bitch went snooping into my past.
But there was something about the thought of a hotshot business exec like Heero Yuy being insecure about his fiancée's fidelity that made me not want to exploit it any more. I mean, sure, while he was being an asshole, I had no problem returning the favor. But now that we'd settled those differences, I couldn't in good conscience keep screwing with him that way. He'd said he wanted to be friends, and well, frankly, I don't toy with my friends. I might tease, and taunt, and harass...but only in good fun. I never would deliberately try to hurt a friend.
I settled into the seat, passing some menus to Heero and Relena, and then letting my mind drift as I looked out the window.
Heero knew about Solo and Alex. That bothered me more than I cared to admit. I'd spent so much time trying to tuck their memories away in the back of my mind so I wouldn't feel the sense of loss as keenly...or as constantly. And now they were right back in the forefront of my thoughts.
Heero had just made those old wounds fresh and raw again. I kind of wanted to take a rain check on the whole day and just go home and cry. Yeah, I know...not a very healthy way to handle it. Not very masculine, either. So instead, I kept my chin up, and my smile pasted firmly on, and tried like hell to act like nothing was wrong.
I didn't really care that Heero knew about the visits to rehab or the arrests. I'm sure if it was spread out in the tabloids it'd lose me a few clients...but with Quatre Winner backing me, I felt reasonably safe from complete ruin.
But by the same token, I felt a little--naked. He knew about my most painful memories--the lowest points in my life. And I still knew next to nothing about him. Part of me wished he'd accepted my offer to have Quatre take over the account. I was uncomfortable with the shift of power in our relationship; he suddenly held all the cards. While I don't consider myself a control freak, I do like to have a certain--balance--in my friendships. I wasn't at all sure I could be friends with him, under the circumstances.
"Duo?"
Relena's voice drew me back to the task at hand, and I caught a concerned look from both her and Heero.
"Hm?"
"Are you feeling all right?" she asked, leaning around Heero to look closer.
"Ah, fine," I assured her. "Just a bit tired." That was pure, unadulterated bullshit. And while I don't make a habit of lying, I will occasionally indulge in the small, white variety.
Relena seemed satisfied with that, and started prattling on about the menu choices and how much flexibility there was.
Meanwhile, Heero's sharp blue eyes fixed a knowing look on me. Damn him! He knew I was brooding about the shit he'd dug up.
I quirked a brief, wry smile at him. Yeah, you fling my past in my face, then say it doesn't matter, and then talk about being friends, and you expect me to just roll with it? And what was up with saying "I want you" the way you did? I know you're straight, but shit, man...that made my heart skip a beat. Gimme a minute to catch my frickin' breath.
He gave me more than a minute, though. He hardly said a word during the long ride to our first stop, while Relena and I chatted about the menu selections. When he finally did speak up, it was to flatly refuse to allow escargot on the hors d'oeuvre menu.
"But Heero, we always have them at the international affairs," Relena pointed out.
"I know," he said with an almost imperceptible grimace. "I don't want them at our reception."
"Everyone loves them..."
"I don't. I hate them."
"Then you don't have to eat them," she said coolly.
"No, I don't, because there won't be any," he asserted, meeting her haughty glare with one that would have made me wince if it were directed at me.
"Duo, don't you think--?" Relena began.
"Leave him out of this!" Heero said sharply. For a moment I thought his irritation was again directed at me...as if he resented his fiancée looking to me for support. But I was reassured by his next words that it was Relena he had issues with...not me. "The menu should consist of things we both enjoy, Relena...not whatever's fashionable." Well look who found his backbone at last!
She looked appealingly at me, and I shrugged apologetically. "Honestly, this is something you two have to decide on your own," I hedged. Personally I hated snails with a passion. But as Heero had said, it wasn't my problem. And, for fuck's sake, it shouldn't be their problem, either. I mean, who fights over one silly hors d'oeuvre? Not that I wasn't glad he'd started standing up for what he wanted. Relena needed to be denied once in a while, as spoiled as she was.
Her ice-blue gaze went back to her fiancé. "Oh, for crying out loud, Heero...it's one little item on the menu."
"It's one I don't want," he said implacably.
She set her lips in a thin line, and turned her face away deliberately. "We'll discuss it later," she said flatly.
Heero gave a frustrated sigh and folded his arms across his chest.
I wondered how badly I'd get hurt if I threw myself out the door at fifty miles per hour. I just wanted out of the whole discussion, though I had a momentary impulse to blame myself, in part, for Heero's stubborn attitude. Had my calling him "whipped" made him feel he had to prove otherwise? I wanted to speak up and assure him that giving in on one ridiculous hors d'oeuvre wouldn't make him less of a man.
But then again, I suppose he had to draw the line somewhere. And frankly, a decisive, resolute Heero Yuy was a damn sexy sight.
"Relena's decided against the carriage," he said quietly, his tone emotionless. But I swear I could sense the disappointment in it. "She doesn't care for the smell of horses."
"The what?" I bit back my instinctive reply, taking a moment to reformulate one. "Well, perhaps I should take her to Hilde's stable for a trial run," I offered. "Honestly, the day of the wedding, the horses will have been bathed and cleaned within an inch of their lives, and the carriage and harness are freshly scrubbed."
Relena wrinkled her nose, and shook her head firmly. "I don't care how clean and perfumed they are...I'm not arriving at my wedding behind smelly creatures like that. When Heero got home yesterday, he stunk to high heavens."
I smirked at Heero in a conspiratorial way. "Good thing I didn't take you to the place they keep doves."
"Oh, God!" Relena burst out. "No birds, Duo. We discussed that. I'm not having a bunch of glorified pigeons released over my guests."
I didn't bother to remind her they were snow-white doves and were released well away from the guests or anywhere they might make an unpleasant mess. "I was kidding, Relena. And even if you wanted doves, a trip to the aviary wouldn't be required. That's something that can be handled with a phone call or two." Frankly the carriage could have as well, but I was trying to convince her she'd like the horses, which was why I'd intended to take her to the stable the day Heero decided to assert his authority.
In retrospect, I was glad he'd been the one to accompany me. If Relena was as fussy about the horse smell as she seemed, the trip to the stable would have been an unmitigated disaster.
I tried to catch Heero's eye, to let him know I'd keep working on Relena about the carriage. If it was something he really wanted, I was confident I could persuade her to at least consider it for the arrival at the ceremony, if not the reception.
But he was focused on the menu again, stolidly ignoring both of us, and I decided to just keep my mouth shut and let him cool off.
TBC...
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