The Wedding Date Part 3
"Sir -- wake up sir. We'll be landing in less than an hour. If you need to use the facilities or would care for coffee or tea, now's the time."
Heero blinked awake to see a smiling stewardess leaning over him. He was mortified to realize that Duo's seat was empty and he was sprawled far enough into it to indicate he'd probably been lying back against the other man.
"Oh, thank you," he managed in a voice gravelly with disuse. "Did you say there's tea available?"
"Yes, sir. I'll be right back with a cup." The flight attendant pattered off, and a few seconds later Duo dropped back into the seat, wiping a damp paper towel over his face.
"G'morning," he said brightly. "Or, afternoon or whatever." Duo leaned into Heero's personal space to look out the window. "What time will it be when we land in Sanc?"
"It will be almost noon. They are several hours ahead of us in time zones."
"So -- what's the plan, anyway?"
"We'll book you on the first available flight back home," Heero replied. "There's usually only a small fee for changing the time of a flight, and I'm certain Quatre's sister will square it away with your boss."
The stewardess came back with Heero's tea, and a cup of coffee Duo must have requested before making his trip to the washroom.
"Sure you don't want me to tag along to the wedding?" Duo asked between sips of coffee.
"Quite." Heero couldn't even imagine the level of embarrassment he'd have to endure to pretend to be gay for an entire weekend. It just wasn't worth it.
"I'm pretty good company," Duo added.
"No thanks."
"She already paid for my time --"
Heero glared. "I said no."
Duo subsided, apparently sulking for the next ten or fifteen minutes as they finished their drinks and the stewardess came by to gather up the cups and napkins. But when she threw in a reminder to have their possessions stowed away and the seat backs in the upright position, Heero recalled the impending landing, and felt an all-too-familiar tightness in his throat.
He immediately leaned his head forward against the back of the seat in front of him, trying to steady his breathing and clear his head.
"You okay?"
Heero shook his head, too rattled to lie.
"That's right," came a self-deprecating voice. "You said you don't like landings." A warm hand settled on his shoulder, pushing him back into his seat. "Just close your eyes, why don't you, and concentrate on my voice, hm? I'll talk ya right through it."
"How --?"
"Trust me," Duo said soothingly, his voice dropping to a deep, calming tone. "I spent a summer working at a kids' camp. I am the master of distraction."
"I doubt you can --"
"Shh! Don't argue with me."
One of Duo's hands slipped around the back of Heero's neck, massaging it firmly, fingers threading up into the dark, unruly hair and stroking his scalp as well.
"Just focus on your breathing. In and hold it. Then out again --"
Heero let himself be talked down, gradually steadying his heart rate and breathing.
"An' buckle up your seatbelt while we're at it," Duo threw in, maintaining a steady neck massage that drew Heero's attention away from the change in the engine's pitch.
Heero automatically fumbled with his lap belt and drew it taut, then resumed clearing his mind and letting the comforting stroking on the back of his head lull him into a more relaxed state.
He was aware of their descent, feeling the change in angle, as well as the increased roar of the engines, but he was too busy wondering how Duo knew exactly where to press and massage his tight neck muscles to relieve the tension so well, to worry much about it.
"How'd you learn this --?" he murmured, his attention more on Duo than on what was going on around them.
"My friend Hilde. She's a massage therapist. Great at finding knots in your muscles and working them out."
"I'll bet," Heero mused. "You -- seem to have some talent yourself --"
"Why thank you, Mister Yuy," Duo replied with a chuckle. "Glad to be of some small service."
Then the wheels touched down, and the plane began to decelerate sharply. But Heero simply gripped the armrests and focused on the comforting hand stroking his neck. It really did feel nice -- and amazingly soothing.
"Guess what?" Duo asked, leaning in so his warm breath ghosted across Heero's cheek. "We're on solid land now. You can relax for good."
And just like that, Heero did, sitting up and blinking, even as the hand slid away from his neck and he keenly felt the loss of its warmth. "Thank you," he said with a genuine smile, turning a grateful look to the braided man beside him.
"Did it help?" Duo asked, a teasing glimmer in his dark eyes.
"Very much," Heero admitted.
"You've really got issues with flying, don't you?"
"As I said, just the takeoffs and landings. Being in the air doesn't cause me nearly as much stress -- though I admit, I dislike placing my life in the hands of some pilot whose qualifications I know nothing about."
"Ah -- control freak," Duo said without accusation.
"No -- I just --"
"-- don't like putting your life in someone else's hands. That's being a control freak," Duo said with a shrug.
"It is not!"
All he got in reply was a skeptical snort, but he let it drop, because they were taxiing to the terminal and it was time to start gathering up their belongings and preparing to disembark the plane. If all went well, he'd be rid of his vexing companion in less than an hour's time.
Of course, all did not go well.
"What do you mean there are no flights out tonight?" Heero demanded of the ticket agent, after she delivered the bad news.
"Not 'no flights,'" she amended. "No seats. I'm telling you, sir, with the royal wedding this weekend, the airlines have cut back on departures and are concentrating on the incoming trips. Many of the planes are going to wait the weekend, for the expected slew of departures on Monday."
"But he needs to get back to the States tonight!" Heero insisted, gesturing to Duo, who was half-turned away, looking curiously at their surroundings.
"I'm sorry, sir. There are simply no seats available until Monday -- and that's only because you've got a return ticket. If you were trying to book a flight, you'd probably have to wait until Tuesday."
"This is ridiculous. Is there no way to ask someone to exchange tickets or something?"
Duo caught Heero's arm, tugging him away from the counter. "Give it up, man. She's not gonna budge."
"But you can't stay here --!"
"Doesn't look like I've got a choice," Duo shrugged, looking aside at Heero as they made their way to a less congested area. "Don't sweat it. If you can loan me a few bucks for a hotel room, I can hang out there until it's time to fly home."
Heero sighed, realizing there wasn't any other option. "I guess I can spare it," he admitted. "At least until I take it out of Quatre's hide for getting me into this mess."
Duo chuckled, heading for an information kiosk that listed car rentals, taxi service, and hotel accommodations.
And things promptly went from bad to worse.
"What do you mean, there are no hotel rooms available?" Heero demanded, when the frazzled-looking attendant delivered the very bad news.
"All booked up," she said apologetically. "There's not a vacant room in any hotel in the city."
"How do you know that?"
She gestured to her computer screen. "We've got the latest data in our system, and there are just no free rooms -- anywhere."
Heero rubbed his forehead, feeling a stress headache originating behind his eyes. "This is ridiculous!"
Duo tugged at his arm. "C'mon, Yuy. Give the girl some room," he suggested. "We can grab a cup of coffee and plan our next move."
"No, we can't!" Heero argued, even as he allowed Duo to lead him away. "Relena was sending a limo to pick me up. He's probably sitting outside right now, waiting for me to show."
"Well, let's go then."
"What?"
Duo stopped, turning to face him. "Obviously, I'm gonna have to tag along with you this weekend. There's no other choice."
"You can't!" Heero said in horror.
"Why not? Obviously, you've got a place to stay. I can bunk with you."
"No, you can't."
"Again -- why not?" Duo asked. "I'm not talking about going to the wedding. I just need a room to hang out in."
"Yes, but the room I'm staying in for the weekend is at the groom's mansion," Heero explained. "Relena's brother?"
"Oh."
"I'd be perfectly fine with you sharing it, if I were staying at a motel. But this is different." Heero ran a hand back through his hair, rendering it even messier than before. "Quatre's sister was going as my date, and no one would have thought a thing about us sharing a room. We'd planned to have one of us use the couch and the other the bed, which was fine. But you can see there's no way that would work with you. Obviously, I can't claim you're my girlfriend --"
Duo eyed him speculatively. "No, but you could claim I was your boyfriend --"
TBC...
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