Author's Note: For those of you who've been planning Milliardo's demise...he's not all bad...

Heero's POV

The Wedding Planner Part 31
Tempers

As the Jaguar pulled out of the driveway, tires squealing, I turned a vicious glare on Milliardo. "You stupid, fucking son of a bitch!"

He shook his head stubbornly. "Yuy, I swear I didn't have the valet mess with the car. Do I look that stupid--or that desperate?"

"Where Duo's concerned, I'd put nothing past you!" I snarled back.

"I don't have to shanghai my dates!"

"Dates as classy as Duo? Sure you do! I'm just glad he was smart enough to see through your childish game."

Let me say, at this point, Mill had a good four or five inches and twenty or thirty pounds on me, but I was ready to deck him for the way he'd tried to play Duo...and even more for how much he embarrassed me in front of him. It was bad enough Duo was mad at Milliardo; but he was pissed at me, too.

"If I want to seduce Duo Maxwell, I can damn well do it without stooping to trickery," he growled back at me.

"I told you to stay away from him and I meant it!"

Apparently having heard all the shouting, Relena came walking down the path to the garage, frowning questioningly at us. "Mill? Heero? What's wrong?"

"Your slimy brother had someone loosen the distributor cap on Duo's car so he could sucker him into accepting a ride home in the Sex-mobile," I snapped out icily, and if looks could kill, both Mill and I would have been in critical condition by then, the way we were glaring at one another.

Relena's mouth made a little "oh" and she glanced at the driveway. "Where's Duo?"

"He left," growled Milliardo.

"Thank God!" I exploded. "Duo's not stupid enough to fall for childish shit like that."

"I tell you, Yuy. I had nothing to do with it!" Milliardo insisted. "Maybe Pargan has the hots for your pretty wedding planner and was hoping you'd send him home in the limo."

Relena giggled nervously. "Come on. It can't be that bad. Duo wasn't really angry, was he?"

"No, actually I think livid would be a more appropriate word," I told her. "Or perhaps furious." Yeah, considering he'd told Mill and me to go fuck each other. And, by the way, I don't think I'd ever heard such a non-stop string of profanity out of Duo's mouth. I mean, he'd throw in a colorful curse when the occasion warranted it, but he really tore Milliardo a new one. Me, too, for that matter. And, by the way--ouch!

"For Heaven's sake," she huffed. "At the very least he should have been flattered if he thought that Mill was interested enough to want to spend more time with him."

"Well he wasn't," I spat coldly.

Relena sighed deeply, turning and heading for the house. "Come on in for tea," she suggested. "And don't feel too badly, Mill. You're probably better off not bedding someone from the streets of L2."

Both Milliardo and I were on Relena's heels in an instant.

"Goddamnit, Relena, I told you not to insult Duo because of where he's from!" I snarled.

"What do you mean 'better off?'" Milliardo spoke up. "'Lena, he was gorgeous! Better than you described...and delightfully charming. Damn it, I wanted him!"

"Well you can't fucking have him!" I snapped absently, part of my anger still directed at Relena. "And Relena, I swear if you don't stop making cracks about L2--"

"Oh stop it both of you!" she exploded, throwing her hands in the air. "I did it--all right? Me. I had Walter tell the valet to make sure the Jag wouldn't run this afternoon."

Milliardo and I both turned on Relena, cornering her just inside the foyer of the house.

"What do you mean--?"

"Do you know what you've done?"

"You stupid, meddling idiot!"

"If he quits--!"

"Oh, relax!" she huffed irritably. "He won't quit. We have a contract. And besides, if he thinks it was Mill who did it, he has no reason to quit." She headed for the terrace, and her brother and I both tagged along, not done chewing her out for her childish manipulations.

"How about the fact that you introduced them?" I pointed out.

She gave a small, smug smile. "As Duo pointed out, Walter was the one who actually introduced them..."

"Then how about the fact that he'll never give me the time of day again?" demanded Milliardo. "You went to all the trouble to 'fix us up' and then blew it by going overboard! You stupid girl!"

I resisted the impulse to slap her for her flippant attitude. "Goddamnit, Relena, you can't just fuck with people like that!"

She sat on one of the plush lawn chairs, tossing her hair over a shoulder, looking irritatingly complacent.

Milliardo was pacing angrily, no doubt unhappy that he'd missed out on the conquest of a lifetime. "I'm going to call him and tell him what you did, Relena. I won't have him thinking I'd stoop so low..."

"As if you wouldn't stoop so low?" I sneered.

"Would you two just relax?" Relena demanded. "Why are you fighting? He'll get over it. He's from--"

"Don't say it!" I snapped, turning a perfectly livid glare on her. "Or I swear to God, Relena, I'll go back to the penthouse and stay there until you apologize to him personally."

"As if--" she scoffed.

"Yuy's right!" Milliardo interjected, though I neither needed nor wanted his help. "Duo's being from L2 is irrelevant. He's gorgeous."

She turned an affronted look his way. "Mill, you can't seriously think I'd have introduced you to Duo if I'd known where he came from. He's not good enough for you."

"Why not?" I cut in, so incensed by her stubbornness that I couldn't hold my tongue. "He was good enough for you after you had a few drinks."

"He told you?" she demanded.

"Told you what?" Milliardo asked.

"He didn't have to," I said vaguely, ignoring Mill's question and focusing on Relena. "You all but told me yourself--and when I confronted him about it, he was honest with me, which is more than I can say for you!"

"So now you'd take his word over mine?" she demanded.

"Yes, I would," I retorted. "He's not the one who sabotaged someone's car just to fix her brother up."

"I was doing him a favor," she huffed. "He's gay and from L2--it's not like he could do better."

"Y'know what?" I snarled. "I'm out of here. Call me when you grow a conscience," I suggested, turning away and heading for the door.

"Heero!"

I ignored Relena's miffed-sounding yell, and stalked down the hallway towards the foyer, only to nearly bump into Walter, who was carrying a jacket folded neatly over one arm.

"Mister Yuy, sir. Mister Maxwell left his jacket by the garage. Pargan just brought it in."

"I'll take that," Milliardo volunteered, walking up from behind me and taking the jacket from Walter. "I'd be happy to drop it off to Mister Maxwell, when I apologize for my sister's foolishness."

I snatched it back out of his hand. "You'll do no such thing! You stay the hell away from Duo!"

"It's a free country, Yuy. I'll go where I please," Milliardo said curtly.

I shoved the jacket back into Walter's hands. "Hang this in the hall closet. I'll let Duo know it's here and find out when and where he'd like it dropped off."

"Very good, sir," he said with a puzzled glance between Milliardo and me. Refraining from comment, he took the jacket and walked quickly away.

"Is there a reason I shouldn't return Duo's jacket?" asked my future brother-in-law, giving me a narrow look.

"You barely know Duo. There's no reason for you to take his jacket to him, except that you want to get in his pants."

"Of course I do. So do you."

I gaped at him, wondering how he knew something I was still trying not to admit to myself. "You--you don't know what you're talking about!" I managed rather weakly. "I'm not gay!"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Then explain why you're so bent on keeping me away from him."

"Because he's a nice guy, and he deserves someone who's not just out for a good time."

"And who says I am?"

"Your track record, Mill. It's not exactly a shining example of commitment." Come to think of it, Relena and her brother were two peas in a pod.

"Perhaps it's time I changed that."

"Not with Duo," I asserted. "You can't just make him an experiment in fidelity for you!"

"And if I said I had genuine feelings for him, and that I wanted to pursue a long-term relationship? Would that change your mind?"

"No. First you'd have to prove you'd changed your ways, and I don't think you can do that, Mill! Besides, you don't even know him well enough to know what kind of relationship you want with him."

He gave a wry snort. "Face it, Yuy. You don't want me with him because you want him for yourself."

My fist took him squarely in the jaw, sending him staggering back a few steps. But once he shook it off, he gave me an infuriating smirk. "Hit a little too close to the mark, did I?"

"Drop it, Milliardo."

"If you want him, Yuy, you'd better make a move, or be prepared to get in line," he warned.

Make a move? Was he actually suggesting I go after Duo when he knew damned well I was engaged to his sister?

His smiled turned almost teasing. "Then again, what was it he said as he was leaving? Not a bad idea at all, was it?"

I had to think for a minute, and when I recalled Duo's parting words, I know I blushed crimson. "You've got to be joking."

"Fair's fair," shrugged Milliardo. "'Lena hit on your wedding planner--what's wrong with her brother hitting on you?"

Mill had always been a quick study. And clearly my little tirade at Relena had alerted him to the fact that she'd tried something with Duo. But to suggest that it gave him the right to hit on me--?

"I have to get out of here," I muttered, turning sharply in the direction Walter had gone. I made it out to the garage and into my car before I realized my hands were shaking. Damn it! Milliardo was right. At least about one thing. I did want Duo for myself. All the rationalizing about how Milliardo wasn't good enough for him was just that--rationalizing. I wouldn't have been happy seeing anyone with Duo.

How unfair was that? I was engaged. Duo was my wedding planner. And to top it all off, he had no idea I might be interested in another guy--he thought we were friends. I couldn't exploit his trust by hitting on him. I couldn't even formulate words to tell him how I felt, because it was so wrong in so many ways.

I needed to talk to Wufei. My blunt-as-a-rock friend always seemed to be able to help me sort through my confusion. Surely he'd be able to guide me through this. He always knew what to do. In fact, usually he beat me over the head with what I should do. Why not now, when I needed help the most? I felt a little euphoric rush of hope that if I bared my soul to my closest friend, he'd be able to tell me exactly what to do about my rapidly deteriorating situation.

~*~

When I got to his place, Wufei was sitting out on the porch railing, leaning lazily back against one of the posts, as if he'd been waiting there just for me.

"How'd you know I was coming?" I asked as I walked up the sidewalk, calmer than when I'd left the estate, but in no less inner turmoil.

"Relena called Sally to rant about something. From the small part of the conversation I overheard, I figured you'd come here," Wufei said with a shrug. "Now, could I get your version of things? Sally only gave me an overview of what she got, and Relena tends to have a somewhat--skewed--perspective."

I climbed the steps and took a seat on the top one, turned sideways so I was facing Wufei. "Did she mention that she invited Milliardo to join us for the day?"

He winced just slightly. "She might have said something of the sort." He quirked an eyebrow at me. "How did that go?"

"I-I don't really know. They seemed to get along okay."

"I meant, how did you feel about it?"

"About--?"

"Seeing Duo fixed up with Relena's brother."

"How did I feel?"

He fixed a stern look on me with those intense onyx eyes. "For Christ's sake, Yuy, you're having wet dreams over the guy. Don't tell me you could watch him parade around with Milliardo and feel nothing!"

"I'm not having--if I did, it was your fault for putting the idea in my head!" I snapped defensively.

"You're a grown man, Heero. I can't make you think something. I can only tell you what I observed about your behavior. Now, why is it that having Relena try to fix Duo up bothers you so much?"

"Milliardo isn't good enough for Duo," I said flatly. "I've told you what kind of a playboy he is. And you know Duo's history--he can't possibly want to be another notch on Milliardo Peacecraft's bedpost."

"Maybe after two failed engagements he'd rather have sex than relationships," Wufei shrugged, clearly playing Devil's advocate.

"You wouldn't say that if you heard how he talks about them."

"Them?"

"Solo and Alex. They meant the world to him. And he misses those relationships so much it's just--heartbreaking."

Wufei's eyebrows rose a bit higher. "I don't recall him talking about his fiancés at the bar last week." Then a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. "When did you see him again?"

"Last night. We had Chinese take-out at the beach," I admitted. "We talked. That's all we did."

My friend was grinning far too much for it to be innocent amusement.

"What?" I demanded, scowling at him.

"Just--wondering if you might've changed your answer to one of Duo's twenty questions," he smirked.

"You're an asshole, 'Fei," I snarled. "And no! We did not have sex on a beach you small-minded prick!"

"Did you think about it?"

"What if I did?"

"Then you ought to ask yourself why you thought of it," came the infuriatingly calm reply.

"Because he's fucking gorgeous, 'Fei, remember?"

"I know you do. You've mentioned it often enough. Often enough that it's about time you faced up to the attraction you have for him."

"I've faced up to it," I said hotly. "It's just that I don't know what I can do about it. He's--I'm--already engaged." I rubbed my forehead wearily. "I don't even know if I'm gay, or bi, or just the most fucked-up individual ever. But I feel like if I don't do anything...if I never say anything...I'll be making a huge mistake." I looked up pleadingly. "What should I do?"

There. I threw myself on Wufei's mercy; begged for his advice.

He drew a slow breath, wrinkling his forehead in thought. "Well...damned if I know."

TBC...

 

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