Author: Sorceress Fantasia
Warnings: Duo POV, AU (our time), humour, some sap
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: 1+2, R+1
Disclaimer: I was going to buy the ownership papers for the GW gang, but the dog next door ate my cheque book. While I try to calm myself so I won't go over and mutilate the damn thing, I'll have to say that I do not own GW in any way. I own this fic though.
Thanx to Lily Kalanoa for beta-ing! ^^
Author's note: If this isn't the first time you've read this fic, then you've probably already noticed that some chappies have changed. I've been revising the previous chapters to correct the grammar and characterizations. However, there aren't enough changes to warrant a complete reread. Just thought I'd let you know. /grins/
Seventh Heaven Series Part 29a
The Dinner Part 1
I peer at Solo. Hmm, doesn't seem like he's planning anything. I mean, there's no indication that he's got something in for me at the restaurant. No conniving grin, no excited steps, no nothing. But then again, Solo's the king of pretense. You can never tell what he's thinking.
Everything is just so... coincidental. Heero's gonna be the same restaurant, and I've promised to be his 'pretend boyfriend'. At the same time, Solo's taking me there for a birthday treat. What if Solo was setting me up with Heero? It's actually kinda possible, since I know for a fact that they're both students of the same school and Solo did mention to me once about this classmate he has and how he's got the potential to be a good boyfriend to me.
I stifle the urge to laugh out loud. Just thinking about it is tickling my sides. So let me just round it up so I know I've got it right: Heero is the guy who's been hitting on me and also the one I've been semi-dating for a while now; at the same time I have this evil big bro who's hell bent on not letting me choose my boyfriend so he tries to scare Heero off. Then, Solo finds a potential brother-in-law in one of his classmates, who may also be Heero, and is currently trying to set us up. Simply put, I'm dating this guy whom my brother is not happy about and setting me up with. Sounds fantastic, doesn't it?
Anyway, in the midst of my thoughts, my brother drags me into the restaurant he was talking about the other day. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was walking, so I nearly overshot. The place actually looks kinda nice, even though it seems like they're trying to skimp on the lighting so I can hardly see the decor. Maybe it's to enhance the appearance of the servers. Fine. It's for couples to get all mushy on each other. I'm still not happy about Heero coming here.
"Hey, Duo," Solo says suddenly. "I gotta answer the call of nature, so you go find yourself a seat first, okay? Be back in a few!"
He scampers off before I can say anything. If I know him well enough, he's probably off to the kitchens to charm the brains out of some chef or waitresses to get some discount. Or maybe he's going to a secluded spot so he can call the guy he's matchmaking me with. Oh joy.
"Hi sir! How many of you are there?" a well-dressed waitress asks.
"Erm, two." I hope there isn't more.
"Come this way, then!"
She leads me away quickly, and I'm almost hard pressed to follow while dodging the number of tables and chairs cluttered around, not to the mention the servers doing their infamous balancing acts. But when she stops, I just can't help but blink. I think that when God saw my profile for today, he said, "Hey, this Duo's been a good little boy recently. Let me give him a little reward." And then he stamps the word 'coincidence magnet' on my photo.
"Heero?"
"Duo?" He's just as surprised to see me, I think. After all, we're both 15 minutes early for our respective appointments. Not that he even knew I was supposed to come to this restaurant as well.
"Erm, thank you, but I'll just sit here," I say to the girl, pulling out a chair. She shrugs and flutters off like a butterfly. I can almost see the petals drifting along behind her. The place is kinda busy today, so it seems that it'll take a while before someone can take our orders.
"Hi, you're early," Heero notes with a hint of nervousness. Only to be expected, since this is the closest to a real couple type of date we've had. Even though it's not real. Yes, I'm still grumpy about it. At least Heero looks good today; not that he doesn't always look good. He just looks especially good today. Blue dress shirt and black slacks may be a bit too simple for some people, but Heero looks like a Greek god in these. His hair is still a hopeless mess, but I actually like it that way. Makes it all the more tempting to run my fingers through it... Suddenly, a thought comes to me. Just whom is he trying to impress tonight? His blind date? The merry matchmaker?
"You're early too," I reply curtly, already pouting inwardly. "Where's your friend?"
"He's not here yet. At least, I haven't seen him. But we're early, so I'm guessing that he won't be here until another..." -he glances at his watch- "ten minutes. But why don't you order something first if you're hungry? It's my treat."
"It's okay, I can wait." Even so, I'm giving the dishes the restaurant offers an appreciative glance. The pictures in the menu look really good. Oh, and here's that green curry Solo's been telling me about. And you get to choose how spicy you want it? Let me see... Hmm. One chilli icon means 'mild'. Two icons mean 'medium', and three means 'very hot'. There's a fourth one beside the green curry. I'm guessing it's either 'very, very hot' or 'not for the faint of hearts'. Okay, tongues.
Beside us, a group of Asian looking diners yelled, "As spicy as you manage (1)!"
"By the way, where's your brother? I thought he was supposed to take you out for dinner?"
Heero's question knocks me out of my drooling fest.
"He is, and he chose this place. Strange huh? Oh, and he's busy in the men's room," I answer casually. Then my earlier thoughts come back to me and I look up from the leather-bound menu. "You know, we could have the weirdest situation here."
He blinks, and then narrows his eyes suspiciously like he is waiting for me to take off screaming into the hills. "Why?"
"You see..." I clear my throat for the dramatic effect. "My brother is giving me a treat tonight, but I have a feeling he's asking a friend of his to come over to see me as well. And you're pretty much in the same situation, aren't you?"
Heero chuckles. "We could do a double-date. You and me, and then the two mysterious others."
I snicker at the suggestion, but this tiny little voice in my mind tells me that I may be laughing at myself. After all, the 'two mysterious others' could very well be Heero and me again. Then another voice answers, "Nah, it can't be that coincidental. What? You think we're in a soap opera?"
"Solo!"
"Wha?" I blurt out, when Heero suddenly waves at someone behind me.
Heero looks at me with a strange gleam in his eyes that I can't really decipher. I think it's a combination of awkwardness, nervousness and sheepishness. "Oh, it's my friend. He's here. It's strange though, I don't see his brother with him..."
Oh god. I turn around, and for this split second, it feels like I'm doing it in slow motion and everything around me just freezes. Yeah, kinda like the movie 'Matrix', and the camera is panning around. Crap. I don't feel too good all of a sudden. The voices inside my head start speaking again, and I'm pretty sure that the one that spoke last is saying, "Okay, it's official; you're the star of the newest drama serial on the block! And maybe you'd want to knock the scriptwriter out?" And the other voice, the more practical one, is rolling on the ground laughing.
As long as it seems, I think it took around a second for me to turn and see Solo strutting happily over to Heero and me.
Had I guessed it right all along? Alright, the big showdown is now. Suddenly, I see lights blaring and lasers flashing. And then a girl with a mike is standing on the stage, which actually looks more like a boxing ring all of a sudden. She flashes a smile, and waves at the crowd. Then, she points to a corner of the ring and announces, "And there in the corner is Solo Maxwell! He's the typical bad-ass brother who's over-protective of their younger siblings and hence takes great time and effort to choose a good boyfriend for his brother! Today he's up against Heero Yuy, the guy who's wooing his brother without his prior permission!"
The crowd roars and cheers and throws popcorn at each other. Heero and Solo are fluffing up their boxing gloves, blue and red respectively. They glare at each other, and Solo punches the air in front of him in rapid succession while Heero just ignores him. Hey, is that Howie passing a towel and bottle of water to Solo? And what is Shini doing there with him, barking his head off?
"And just who are they fighting for? It's Duo Maxwell, the shy little boy who's dating Heero despite his elder brother's displeasure! Look at him! Ain't he just a cutie pie?" she swoons.
The lights turn towards me, and I finally understand what they mean by being in the limelight. The crowd cheers even louder than before, and it's raining popcorn and soda. God... I just want the ground to swallow me up.
Solo turns to me. "You're not dating this guy! He's not done with my checklist yet!"
"Duo, let me just knock his lights out and we can go on that date I promised you a while ago. It'll be quick," Heero coos.
As suddenly as the mental image comes, it goes away and reality comes crashing in.
Hoo boy.
"Oh, I see you've found yourself a nice table, huh Duo?" Solo smirks at me and slides into the seat beside mine. "And you're already getting acquitted with Heero!"
I blink. Or I maybe I'm gaping, gawking, double gawking. My jaws can be slack and my eyes may be popping, but I've got no idea. Shock, it seems, is cutting off the electrical supply from my brains to all my organs. So all that I've been imagining is real? Heero is the guy Solo was talking about and setting me up with? And also the same guy who Solo's been yelling at through the phone whenever I fail to pick it up before he does?
"Wait a minute. You know Duo?" Vaguely, I hear Heero's voice. Not to mention the confusion. Oh, it's enough to fill up an Olympic sized swimming pool, I think.
"Of course. He's the younger brother I was telling you about," Solo replies so casually, for a minute there, I thought he was talking about the weather. Or maybe even the food. Anything but this... whacked up relationship we three share.
I think I see lightning flashing across the sky and the sky's rumbling. It's like one of those classic movie moments where this enemy you've been fighting against for ages suddenly turns out to be your father. Or something like that.
"He's Duo? The Duo you were telling me about the other day?"
Romeo, oh Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
"Yea, of course. I seriously don't think there's any other people named Duo out there, is there?" Solo laughs.
If only you knew, my dear brother... If only you knew.
"Seriously, I think our parents were just too lazy to think up of proper names... Well, at least they didn't call us 01 and 02. That would have been a riot!"
Newsflash to you, bro. There's gonna be one in a minute or two.
I think Heero's thoughts are around the same line. He must have figured out the sheer absurdity and maybe a tad tragic situation that has ensnarled all three of us. That and Solo's my brother, also known as the evil brother who sifts out unwanted (in his opinion, that is) phone calls. We peer at each other, and I see that little, almost non-existent nervous grin on his face. Just how are we gonna break the news to him? He's gonna flip, that's for sure...
"I would introduce you two, but it seems like you're already getting along! Still, just in case all you've been doing is casting moony eyes at each other," " - he wags a suggestive eyebrow - "this cute one here is my younger brother, Duo," - he points to me - "and this is Heero Yuy, my classmate."
Both of us nod, but I'm pretty sure it's just reflexes.
"Maybe you two should introduce yourselves?"
Showdown time, I guess. Hmm, how would I phrase this? Solo, meet Heero Yuy, my good friend and maybe soon-to-be boyfriend who asked me to be his pretend-boyfriend tonight so he could reject your brother, who happens to be me as well. Interesting, huh? Maybe I should add a smile to that.
I look at Heero, only to see him blush. While I'm trying to guess why he's blushing, I feel a warm hand clasping my own under the table. Now it's my turn to blush. Heero's hand (I hope so, because otherwise it'd be my brother) rubs mine gently, his thumb caressing my palm. I give his hand a squeeze, hoping that he'll catch the hint. After all, he's the one meeting his future in-laws so he should be the one talking.
Thankfully, he does.
But instead of talking to Solo about the peculiar situation we're in, he turns to me with an out-stretched arm.
"Hello, Duo. I'm Heero Yuy."
What the hell?
"Erm, I'm your brother's classmate and partner for a business project... Erm... anything else you want to know?" he asks sheepishly.
Sheepish? I'll show you murderous. And shouldn't you rephrase that question to 'anything else I don't know?' Gods, Heero, is my brother so scary that you don't even dare to tell him the truth? I mean, what's the worst he could do? Swallow you up and use your bones to pick his teeth? Then I steal a glance at Solo, who's grinning from ear to ear, looking as satisfied as the merry matchmaker should be at a successful pairing. He mouths a 'Go bro!' with a little hand gesture, thinking that I'm too shy to reply. I wonder what he would say when he finds out that Heero and I have been semi-dating for the past couple of months.
And suddenly, I have a newfound respect for Heero's act of preservation of both our heads. As angelic as Solo can look when he wants to be (did I ever mention that he was president of the drama club during his secondary school days?), I know very well that he's probably the furthest thing from an angel when he gets mad. And boy will he get mad when he finds out the truth...
So I play along with Heero's line; we'll find a better time to inform Solo of our relationship. Probably with a letter addressed to him, so we won't have to see steam come out of his ears.
"Hi, I'm Duo. Solo's brother. I'm still in junior college, but I'll be going to a university next year."
"Damn right!" Solo interrupts. Pointing to me, he says to Heero, "He's usually got pretty good results, but I reckon he'd do even better with a bit of tutoring. Maybe you could offer your services? It'll give you two some time alone to know each other better..." He wags his eyebrows again suggestively before issuing his standard warning, "But nothing too much, I tell you."
Heero is completely caught off-guard. At least, that's what I gather from his wide eyes. Then again, I'd be too, if I didn't know my brother so well. When he's keeping me 'safe' from other guys and gals, he will do anything to deter the potentials. I think he'll fight them off with a toothpick if he had to. So it's almost a given that when he's trying to pair me up with someone, he'll do it with the same amount of enthusiasm and passion.
"Erm... sure. He can call me if he needs help."
"Exchange your numbers then! Go on!"
"We'll do it later, Solo," I reply. He'll probably see that we already have each other's numbers stored in our cell phones if we were to do as he says.
Immediately, his eyebrows shoot up to almost illegal levels. "What? There's going to be a date between you two later already?"
"Well, you want us to date, don't you?"
"True, true... Well, can't say anything against that. After all, I do believe that you two will make a wonderful couple. Cute and sweet definitely goes well with handsome and smart. Just remember one thing though: you have to be home by 9 pm. Heero, I'll hold you to that task."
He nods dumbly. All of a sudden, I'm tempted to just lean over and tap Heero's head to see if it will nod like one of those doggy ornaments I saw in a store some time ago. They were really cute, the way their heads nodded repeatedly when one little tap. Seeing Heero's amazement, I decide to give in to temptation.
As I'm leaning in, I suddenly feel a push on my back, like someone just had knocked into my chair. I feel myself propelling forwards, and that is not a good thing... because Heero is right smack in front of me. In just a second, his arms are wrapped around me (probably to stop me from falling) and my head is nestled in the crook of his neck, safe for the moment. Vaguely, I hear Solo yelling at someone to be more careful when she's walking around. But that feels kinda otherworldly; maybe I'm just too comfortable like this. We should do this more often, really.
Solo coughs a bit to grab our attention. I turn, still leaning against Heero. My brother's frowning already; apparently, he's not happy to see me get too close to Heero. I wonder if he'll burst a vein if I tell him I've kissed Heero on his cheeks before?
Probably.
So as comfortable as Heero's arms feel, I guess we'll have to keep our hands to ourselves for a while.
"You all right?" he asks, his warm breath caressing me.
Slowly extracting myself from his warmth, I look up to him and answer, "Yeah. Thanks."
By another stroke of well... luck, my lips meet the corner of his mouth. Apparently, Heero had been looking down to see if I'm really okay.
This time, Solo coughs much louder; I can almost believe that he's gonna cough his lungs out. Quickly, Heero and I spring apart before we get yelled at.
God, you love so much I can just cry whenever I see your benevolence showered upon me. But please, can you hold back the 'coincidence magnet' stamp just for a moment here? At least when Solo's around?
Suddenly, Heero's hand grabs mine again and gives it a squeeze. I look into his eyes. What is that look? Determination, love, hunger, and a bit of everything else. Oh Heero, don't tell me you're gonna do what I think you're gonna do.
"Solo?"
Oh yes he is.
"I think there's something you should know."
Good start, Heero. Go on! I give you my moral support! Go Heero, go! Great, now I see myself dressed up as a cheerleader and waving those bushy pom-poms. What's with my head today anyway? Is it true that people go a bit crazy when you're faced with a life-changing revelation?
"What?"
"Duo and I already know each other."
Solo narrows his eyes. "Before today?"
"Yes."
Heero, there's something called beating about the bush. There's also something known as tact. Do you have to be so honest?
"How?"
"We... met on a bus ride. And then I asked him out for dinner. So..." Heero trails off, leaving Solo to fill in the blanks himself. Not a good tactic, Heero.
"WHAT?"
See? I told you! Solo's been trying to keep me away from potential girl/boyfriends for so many years because he's too imaginative! Who knows what he filled into the blanks!
Anyway, that shout from Solo pretty much makes us the center of attention in the restaurant and everyone turns to stare at us. I will myself to melt into a puddle of goo, or whatever that will make my blush indiscernible. I quickly raise a hand and wave frantically at a waitress.
"MENU PLEASE!" It's not my best idea, but if it can get everyone to think we're just discussing what to eat and not the strange relationship and revelation unfolding here, I'll do it.
Heero thrusts one at me with a knowing and sheepish smile. In my haste to get rid of attention, I had forgotten that there're two very neatly leather-bound menus on the table.
If embarrassment had levels, I'd be at the top.
*****
After the waitress flutters off (is there something in the uniform these girls wear?), Solo hisses at Heero, "So you mean you're the guy who's been calling Duo recently?"
"...Yeah." Heero's answer is curt, but not because he's being rude or anything. I think he's nervous because he's grabbing my hand (still under the table, of course) rather tightly. I actually feel kinda guilty for this; it's like we're playing footsie without our legs. Before my brother, no less.
Solo's frown deepens. He's never liked things getting out of his control; it's a control freak thing so he's never let me understand. But one thing I do understand is that he's not happy about this. It's like... a volcano gathering enough magma underneath the ground, just waiting for the right moment to explode and spill all the lava so he can burn everything in his path. In this case, Heero.
I think I'd better say something.
"Solo, actually..."
But he cuts me off.
"So that's why I've always thought that voice on the phone sounds a little familiar," he sighs.
It's our turn to be shocked.
"You knew?" we chorus.
"No," Solo snaps. Like I said, he doesn't like to be out of control. "Maybe I'd guessed, but I never thought it would really be you."
"Well," I try to lighten the tension with a little chuckle, "everything's been one big coincidence, I guess."
Heero nods sagely, opting to not say anything lest he gets yelled at again. It's really not fun being in the line of Solo's questions, because he fires them so quickly you'll get the feeling you're standing in front of the firing squad. It's really freaky.
Then, just when I thought things are gonna be okay (okay as in no volcano eruptions), Solo gets an unholy gleam in his eyes. He turns to Heero and fixes him with a glare. Heero gulps.
"So that day when you were talking about a Mars bar, you were talking about Duo? I do recognize the colour combination you were talking about, you know."
Heero gulps harder, and I frown. Me? A Mars bar? How in the world do I qualify as a chocolate bar? Just a minute. Didn't I try to feed Heero a Mars bar some time ago (2)? ...How sexy and erotic is that? And now I know why he stared at me then like I was crazy.
I pull my mind out of that memory just in time to see Solo look at Heero strangely. Crap, is he gonna blow up? If he does, there's not gonna be much of Heero to be picked up. My brother's temper doesn't flare up a lot, but when it does, he makes a tiger look like a kitten.
"I don't want to know what you're thinking of when you eat that."
Both of us blush hotly again.
"But Solo, it's no big deal, right? I mean, everything's okay! He's the one you picked out to be my date, and since we know already know each other you tried introducing us, this whole thing works!" I try.
"Duo, he thinks of you as a chocolate bar."
"And a delicious one at that."
I turn to my side. Did Heero just say that? I think he did, because he's blushing to the root of his hair, and Solo's glaring at him like he wants to mutilate something. Or maybe wants to rip something apart.
"Delicious?" Solo repeats, drawing out every syllable. He narrows his eyes, and that murderous gleam is surfacing again. "Do you mean to tell me that you've... had sex with my brother?"
"No!" Heero and I yell.
And that's the cue for a waitress to come traipsing with a dish of something. We pause in our discussions of the state of my virginity because for some reason, no one ever talks when the waitress comes over. That's the way it goes for every drama serial, movie, sit-com in the world, and since my life is strangely reminiscent of one right now, we have to adhere to the rules too.
After she leaves, we continue. Again, another rule. I don't particularly look forward to this, really, because that last statement is gonna take quite a bit of explaining. No, scratch that. Make that a hell of a lot of explaining. Not to mention I want to listen to what Heero has got to say too.
"What I mean is... erm... delicious in terms of looks," he blubbers. Then, it's like an idea suddenly hit him and he nods frantically. "Yeah, that's it. Deliciously beautiful."
Great save, Heero. Now let's see if my brother buys it. I turn to peer at Solo, who's wearing this 'yeah, right' expression on his face. Apparently, Heero will not make a good salesman.
But somehow, Solo doesn't kill Heero on the spot. But I think it severely increased the amount of KP Solo has for Heero. Erm, KP as in Kirai points, which is basically the degree of dislike. The higher the points, the more dislikable the person is. It's kinda like playing role-playing games, actually, where the characters have hit points (HP) and magic points (MP). That sort of thing. I've no idea where my brother came up with this idea, but he did and I think he keeps a mental scoreboard for this. Last I remember, that ditzy cheerleader who kept calling Solo at home got a KP of at least 900 (3).
I wonder what is Heero's score now. But judging from Solo's face, it can't be too good.
Suddenly, he turns to glare at me. His expression basically says, "Lie to me, and you're going to eat Howie's beef stew everyday for the rest of your life." What a bloodcurdling threat. Even if I don't die of indigestion, I'll die from horror.
"Did you two ever do anything that involved the study of human anatomy?"
"Of course not!" I hiss back in a harsh whisper. I cannot believe I'm having this conversation in public. If any of my friends ever get wind of this, I'll never live it down. Teasing is one thing, gloating is another. I think I'll hang myself if I see posters (highly possible if it's Mueller) and banners advertising my... erm, uncharted territories.
Solo turns his glare to Heero, who only manages a quick and somewhat vigorous shaking of his head.
"So what have you done? Groping? Kissing? Walking hand in hand?"
Our clasped hands under the table immediately spring apart with mutual agreement.
"None of the above!" Heero answers and I nod.
My brother sweeps the both of us with a suspicious glance, and then to our surprise, he grins.
"Good, good... Then I guess you can date my brother."
Wha? Did he just say what I think he did? He gave permission? He actually gave permission? How many times has that happened in my lifetime? I think that's the first time ever.
Apparently, Heero shares my confusion and astonishment.
"I can date Duo?"
"Yes, but you're on probation for three months. If after three months you're still living up to my expectations, you can continue dating my brother. But if you don't, you can kiss him sayonara forever. Figuratively speaking, of course. Try kissing him before I approve..." he trails off with an evil smirk and a crack of his knuckles.
Why am I getting the idea that Heero's applying for a job? Yeah right, Heero the soon-to-be office drone is in the room of the interview board, which consists of only Solo.
I hate Solo. Really, I do. God, did I do anything bad in my past life?
"And just before I forget, you can have this. It's a list of rules," Solo says, passing Heero a slip of paper.
Heero takes it tentatively and unfolds it. I lean in to peer at the rows of words, and suddenly, I feel like I have a sweatdrop above me. I think I should be looking for a hole to hide in now. And maybe dig another one to hide Solo's corpse. Who does he think Heero is? Moses reincarnated?
The five commandments of dating my younger brother by Solo Maxwell:
1. Thou shalt not take him to discos, clubs or whatever establishment that serves alcohol like it's water.
2. Thou shalt not let him take any alcoholic drinks. Not even one sip.
3. Thou shalt not let him stay away from home after 9pm. He has to be safely escorted home by 9pm when out on dates.
4. Thou shalt not show him any pornography. That includes movies, magazines, books, photos etc.
5. Thou shalt not engage in any form of hanky panky with him.Please read all rules above as many times as you need to get it into your mind because you might be asked to memorize them as and when I feel the need. Take note that I do not tolerate idiocy, so that means if you break any of the rules, you'll find yourself in deeper shit than you ever can imagine.
But before I can yell at my brother, another waitress skips over with a couple of our orders. According to the laws of all drama serials, movies and sit-coms, we shut up immediately. Moral of the story: when you have something important you need to discuss, never do it in a busy restaurant because by some cosmic law, the waitresses will flounce on by at the exact moments when you want to say something.
When she leaves, Solo leaps right back into the fray without giving me a chance to shout my piece.
"I must say, though, I was pretty shocked that you think of my brother as chocolate. For that, it's an increase of 20 KP. And for dating my brother before approval, another 50 points. So right now, you have 70 KP. That's pretty good, since it's the lowest ever for someone hitting on Duo. And just for your information, if you get more than 1000 KP, you're off-field. Red card! No second chances!"
I roll my eyes.
"KP?" Heero asks.
"Kirai points."
"Oh."
He doesn't get it.
*****
Soon, all of our orders are on the table and we dig in. But it's one of the most awkward dinners I've ever had I can hardly taste anything. I'm more likely to be a mechanical chewing and swallowing device at the moment. I peer at my brother from under my bangs. He brings smugness to a new level, I swear. And Heero is pretty much in the same situation as I am. Or maybe worse. Not that I can blame him.
Dinner drags on unbelievably long.
*****
Solo orders dessert just when I thought dinner is over. Damn.
*****
When the waiter comes over with our dessert (I think it's called red rubies (4)), Heero suddenly blanches with what I think is an 'oh, god' exclamation.
I look up, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Okay, nothing out of the ordinary except for the weird, fork-like eyebrows on the blonde girl. Wait a second. Isn't that Dorothy? I look at Heero again, and try to follow his line of sight. It's not on the blonde girl though; it's on what's beside her.
Alright, who. Heero's staring at the girl beside Dorothy with something akin to fear. Why, I wonder? Is that girl gonna eat him up and swallow his bones? Judging from the look on her face, maybe that's what she wants.
The girl flits over to our table, and Dorothy just sort of... trails behind her with an apologetic smile. Then she spies me, and her smile turns into a crooked grin.
"Hi Heero! What a coincidence! Dorothy and I are just here for dessert because we heard so much about it; I didn't think we'd find you here!" she singsongs. "And you're having the thing I wanted! Why don't we share it?" And she promptly plops herself into a spare seat beside Heero.
I growl under my breath and look away.
"Hi Heero, Solo and Duo. What are you three doing here together?" Dorothy asks with amusement peppering her voice.
At that moment, the other girl finally seems to notice that Heero's not the only person at the table.
"Oh! Hi Solo, I didn't see you! And who's that beside you?"
Is it just me, or did Dorothy's grin suddenly widen? And the smirk on Solo's face seems to match hers. They're definitely scheming something; I just know it. Solo had that same smirk when he tricked me into eating the pizza he made.
He answers smoothly, "Oh, hi Relena, hi Dorothy. This is Duo, my younger brother. He's actually having dinner with his boyfriend, but I tagged along for the free food."
Oh, so she's called Relena. She's like an octopus, the way she touching Heero. An alarm blares out in my mind. Warning! Runaway octopus from the local sushi bar! If you find her, please call this number. Either that, or she's Doctor Octopus' sidekick. Now, just where is that red and blue clad Spider when you need him?
...Wait a minute. Backtrack, backtrack. What did Solo just tell her? Me, having dinner with my... boyfriend?
Heero's jaws drop, and if I weren't so shocked myself, I would laugh.
"Boyfriend? Oh, where is he?" Relena asks eagerly. I have a feeling that she won't be so eager when she discovers the truth.
Dorothy's already hiding her snicker behind a hand, and Solo's grin merely widens. He's like a cat ready to pounce on the canary.
"There, right beside you. Heero's dating my brother now. Simply marvelous, isn't it?"
A blush spreads across Heero's cheeks like a flower blossoming, and a genuine smile tugs at his lips. He looks just the way he did when I kissed him before I left his house the other day. I can't help but smile back at him, and he takes my hand under the table again.
Relena sputters, "Wha... wha... what?" Her eyes seem ready to bulge like those of a goldfish.
Solo doesn't answer but the Cheshire smile is still on his face. I highly doubt that it can be wiped off. Now the canary's in his mouth, and if he opens his mouth, feathers are gonna spew out. As it is, I think I can see a speck of yellow stuff in the corner of his lips.
Dorothy snickers quietly and cuts into the conversation expertly like she's done this a lot. "C'mon Lena, let's go. You wouldn't want to play gooseberry, now would you?" -she turns to my brother- "And you're Solo, isn't it? There's this really nice brownie they serve at the shop around the corner..."
Is she...? Yeah, I think she is. Dorothy can see the 'we want a peaceful dinner' neon sign on Heero and my forehead. Not to mention the 'alone' at the end of that sentence in bold and caps locked. Apparently, my brother sees it too, so he agrees wholeheartedly, if not a little gung-ho, pushing his chair away from the table.
Before I can protest (not that I really want to), Dorothy and Solo are dragging Relena out of the restaurant. I think the girl's too shocked to do anything but let herself be dragged along by the arm like some doll. You know, the type made of wood, has one broken leg and messy hair. And also the type bratty little girls like to flail around like weapons. Poor thing. Still, even if she weren't so shocked, I have a feeling she wouldn't stand a chance against the combined forces of Dorothy and Solo.
*****
Finally, we're alone. Just me and Heero. Well, that and three bowls of dessert. Solo settled the bill before he left, luckily, otherwise I'd be spending the rest of the night doing the dishes in the kitchen.
But since Solo had the sense to pay up first before abandoning me here, I may be spending the time laughing with Heero about the entire relationship between the three of us instead.
Yeah, that seems like a great idea right now.
Before I can laugh like some maniac though, an irritating ring tone disrupts my concentration. Whose cell phone is that? And what an unpleasant ditty this guy chose for his ring tone. It's much too shrill. Then again, whatever disturbs me is unpleasant. Alright, so I'm cranky. But I think I'm entitled to more of the crankiness that's allotted to every human being today.
Yet at the same time, I'm excited. My brother, the same guy who's starred as the terminator (he thinks it's pest control) in the story of my love life up to this point, has just gave me the go-ahead to date Heero! And the best thing? I like Heero. So it's not like one of those classical love stories where this dad and mum combo betroths their daughter to a rich guy, but the girl is in love with someone else. Wufei told me that they've got loads of stories with this kinda storyline in Chinese society; it's not always the same, but there's always someone betrothed and something broken. I think that's what he told me. Can't be sure, since I was too busy trying to fend Sally off. She was still pissed at me for trying to sic an attached guy onto her back then.
So I've still got it good in a way.
Hey, just whose cell phone is it? Why isn't he picking it up?
As though to answer my question, Heero's eyes suddenly widen and he digs into his pants pocket frantically. He fishes out a cell phone that's blaring that horrendous ring tone and he quickly answers it. I blink. Oh yeah, Heero just changed his cell phone a couple days ago; that's why I've got his new number in my cell now.
"Ah yes... I will, don't worry. Duo will be home by ten... Erm, ye, yes... Really? Oh, I see... Alright, bye."
He leaves his phone on the table this time, and I nearly whistle in appreciation. I remember seeing this one in an advertisement on the papers just the other day. It's pretty new, and has all the functions the R&D section of whatever phone company it is came up with stuffed inside. Nowadays, cell phones are not just cell phones anymore. They're cameras cum computers cum radio cum cell phone. Not to mention you can download images and ring tones from the Internet as well. It's simply amazing what people can do nowadays. We can store century's worth of information into a computer chip that's the size of my fingertip and they still cannot cure the common cold.
Amazing.
Who called Heero anyway? But then again, who else can it be? I sigh. It has to be him. No one else would set a curfew on my date. That control freak... Sometimes, I wonder what I would have done to him if he weren't my brother.
"Heero, was that Solo?"
He gives a weird grin that looks like a bomb had just been dropped on his head. Must be something Solo said.
"Yeah. He... well, usually it should be nine, but since he was with us for so long, he just wants me to bring you home by ten tonight. Otherwise it's 800... KP." He frowns at the unfamiliar word. "It's Kirai Points, right?"
"Right. Basically, just do what you've been doing and you won't get more points," I explain with a roll of my eyes. "And be thankful he's not giving you scores as a friend, because otherwise, you'd be in a really perilous situation. It's like you go to an arcade and they give you tickets for playing a game, and you use those tickets to exchange for toys and stuff. For Solo, 50 KP means you're horrible, 100 KP means you're really getting on his nerves, and 200 KP means he's gonna knock your lights out. He did that once, actually."
Maybe I should learn the art of conversation: say the right thing at the right time, and leave unsaid the wrong things at the tempting moment. Now Heero looks freaked out.
"Erm... he also said that it's your birthday this Sunday... You wanna come out with me? We could, you know, celebrate it together?"
I feel the beginnings of a genuine smile tug at my lips, the first in a couple of hours. "You think?"
"Yeah," he answers softly with a smile, and strangely enough, it feels as though his voice is the loudest thing in the entire place. "I think we could."
He slides his hand over mine again and gives it a light squeeze. I wonder what are we now? Are we officially dating? We've not said the words yet, but Solo's given us the green lights and in his mind, we were already dating before tonight. So I guess we're getting there now, any moment.
But now that I think back on everything we've done together and all the time we spent with each other, it's actually kind of like dating already. We just didn't say it, but the things we did already make us seem like a couple to everyone else. Sylvia and Marie are the most vocal advocates of that fact, I think, but the others do notice it as well. I don't think best friends would hold hands all the time or cuddle in front of a TV the way we did.
And now that Heero's met Solo as my boyfriend, I think it's official. After all, that is kinda like meeting future in-laws.
I wonder what Heero thinks about this though. He likes me; this much I know. But is Solo going to scare him off? They're classmates, for cripes sake, and they're gonna work together for projects. And now that I think of it, Heero is the one Solo's working with for the big business project. My brother's got lots of opportunities to scare him off.
Firming myself, I look up. I think I should ask him instead of imagining things up. My imagination is much too wild for reality.
However, when I'm about to say something, he looks me in the eyes and I'm awed. I've always been a great lover for eyes; they're certainly not the windows to one's soul like they claim, but it's where I see things I don't hear. And now I'm seeing what I wanted to see.
Adoration.
I smile at him, knowing I've got a blush tingeing my cheeks at the realization. Heero's smile makes my heart swell.
He'll tell me, soon enough. Maybe he'll finally take action this Sunday, when we go on our first official date. And I'll save the answer up for my birthday present. I just know it'll be the best I ever have.
Not to say this dinner date, the birthday present Solo set me up for, isn't a good one.
As much as I hate him for dabbling in my love life, I've finally got something to thank him for.
"Duo? Where do you want to go this Sunday?"
"Anywhere is fine," I answer.
Definitely, as long as I'm with you. Heero, will you be my boyfriend?
TBC...
(1) That's me, when I was in a Vietnamese restaurant in Australia. It was still like drinking plain water though. /sweatdrops/
(2) Reference to part 17.
(3) The idea of Kirai points comes from the manga 'Full Moon wo Sagashite'. It's extremely amusing. ^^
(4) Red rubies are actually water chestnut covered in a red, rubbery substance, and it's served on top of crushed ice.
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