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Slice of Life	By : Starla_Q Category: Gundam Wing/AC > General Views: 1313 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of it's characters. I do not make any money off of this story, adultfanfiction does not make any money off of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
Chapter 14: Killer Night

Quatre got a text from Heero asking to come over. "...oh. Hang on guys," he said and went to open the front door, Heero was apparently right outside.

Missy knew it would take him a few minutes, they were upstairs, and she wanted to try something. "I want to do a little experiment on Quatre."

This quickly drew Duo's attention away from the prospect of foxy boxing. "Experiment?" he asked, his straw reaching the bottom of the beverage.

"I had an notion. Just keep being okay with waiting for your drink, alright?" she said, not wanting Quatre to know.

He nodded, "If it'll keep him upright, I'm in." Duo wasn't looking to carry Quatre around the school tomorrow, because heaven forbid he miss a day due to a hangover.

"I think this 'temper' of his is a little deeper than that," she said, not wanting to sound like she was trying to torment him, only test him. "Maybe if he saw first hand his own triggers, he'd be able to deal with those 'panic' moments better."

"Alright, but be careful," he pushed his newly emptied glass away. "The guy doesn't ask for much, so he's used to getting it." He didn't think Quatre to be selfish, but, set in his ways.

"Exactly. I think depriving him of that 'control' is going to cause an episode," she returned to her lax position in the chair, "It's a hunch." Leaning forward was hard to do with a corset on. "Like you said...marbles, losing them...bad. Best to know what you're up against." She caught her breath.

Duo took notice, "You don't have to keep wearing that." He got his drink, pleased she went through with the agreement; playing along with her little game was his way of saying 'apology accepted'.

"I'll be fine." She hoped she wasn't overstepping her boundaries with her host, this was a risky test. Quatre was smart, he would be able to notice her acting. She had to be careful.

"If you think it'll help, I'll go along with it. You seem to be really good at reading people," he tossed a compliment her way.

She smirked, "What makes you say that?"

"When I sat down at your bar, you knew exactly what I was going to do right away." He meant he was going to flirt with her but didn't get the chance.

"You talk about it like you'd succeed," she nipped playfully at him. "Don't you think that maybe it happens to me a lot, so I treat everyone with disdain and mistrust because I assume they're hitting on me?"

"You can't really be that vain," he said and laughed it off.

"You wanna' bet," she said without a hitch, "I don't just point out other people's behaviors, I'm aware of my own too. I'm a manipulator."

"I always did like honesty," he made another pass.

"Let's see how honest a response we get from Quatre, not me," she dodged the pass.

Duo began wondering if this was how Hilde felt when he turned her down. It kind of sucked. 'Great,' he thought to himself, now she was on his mind. "Chilly," he said.

"Bring a coat," Missy smirked, noticing the facial expression he made. What idea had popped into his head? Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

Quatre returned with Heero and they caught him up on nearly everything; he got a chuckle out of Duo handling customer service. Back to serious, "That's just great," he folded his arms, "We can't rule anything out. This might not be a girl, they could be using a pseudonym to gain sympathy."

"I hope so," Quatre said as he arranged the ice pack to his hand. He was forced to finish his drink with his non-dominant hand, it was annoying.

"If that's the case, who's to say there's one person using the number to make deals then?" Missy suggested as she noticed Quatre messing around with the salt on his glass. "Could you guys wait five more minutes for the next one? I need a breather," she stretched back in the chair again, allowing her lungs to taste the sweet oxygen they craved.

They kept talking and time passed, five minutes exactly. Again, the one under the knife began to fidget. Missy and Duo intentionally steered the conversation so it lasted a bit longer. By the end of it, there was no salt left on the rim of Quatre's glass. "I think there's still some in the bottom," Missy joked.

He laid the glass down, "Sorry, it's been thirteen minutes," he said without doubt.

Duo checked his phone and his brow quickly knitted, "It has been...exactly," he said as he looked over his shoulder to see if there was a clock on the back wall. There wasn't any. "How'd you do that?" he asked because he didn't see Quatre take his phone out at all.

He shook his head, "I don't know. It felt like thirteen minutes...fourteen by now."

Duo checked the time again, it was going to switch in two seconds, "That's freaky."

"It's neat," Missy said. Her interest was at it's peak, "How come it's bugging you?"

"Oh no, it's not. You just said you'd do it, and didn't...I thought I'd remind you." He wasn't angry, he was actually confused as to why this conversation was happening.

"He's not bringing it up," she pointed to Duo, who had no response.

"...what are you trying to pull?" he asked, becoming suspicious of her intention.

He was too quick for her and figured her plot out right away. "I'm suggesting you take it easy on a weekday," Missy said, quickly covering it up.

"Then why offer to begin with?" He was getting agitated, they could hear it in his voice.

She shrugged, "Wasn't thinking."

The amount of calculations that went on in his head were astounding, both his friends were there to witness it too. A nearly unnoticeable head twitch to the side, twice, and he lowered his brow any number of times, eyes searching from side to side. "But-" he tried. They had seen Quatre calculate situations in his mind on many occasions, but the fact it was a 'predicted behavior' on Missy's part was what made it interesting.

She held up five fingers, "Give me five more minutes, I think you should mention the manga, it's got to be a lead," she continued on, "The store cameras might have picked up someone buying it. This volume's only been out a week."

"Wait. What store?" Heero asked.

"Right; I knew we left something out," Duo said. They got caught up with talking to Quatre, they forgot to mention an important fact. He showed Heero the copied art from the professional piece.

Heero laughed, "Are you serious?" he couldn't describe the amount of joy he felt.

"How's that funny? They can mass produce in a matter of hours," Duo asked.

"Think about it; we've come across a lot of people who were paid for these jobs, right? There's a word for this...why can't I think of it?" Heero thought more, it was on the tip of his tongue.

"Plagiarism?" Missy suggested.

"Not that one, though it is plagiarized; it's, when you lie about what a job would be for..." He thought back to class time; apparently he was the only one who took law. "Misrepresentation. If we find who ever's doing this, do you realize the amount of people who could claim damages? We've got them." He was thrilled with the new development.

"I never even considered that." Duo cupped his mouth with a hand as he spoke though it, "That's got to be at least a dozen people." If they were going to bring the hammer down on this person, they were looking at some serious fines, maybe even jail time.

"Even better than that," Missy added, "If there was more than one person involved, it is a conspiracy, and that's an even bigger legal issue."

Finally an end was in sight. "We should find a way to let them know we've got them in a tight spot; they might be willing to stop all this if we clearly state our position." Heero was enjoying the politics, they could see it in his face.

"When did you take an interest in the legal sciences?" Quatre asked.

"When pillow talk with the wife got stale," Duo snarked. He was booted under the table. "Ow! Worth it," he claimed as he rubbed his knee.

"Celebration drink?" Missy asked.

"It's only been three minutes," Quatre said, knowing he was playing on his own impatience. They laughed.

Again, he was spot on. "That's so cool," Duo was amused.

"It guess it comes from spending prolonged periods in space," Heero added, "You subconsciously learn to use other time cue's to get by."

"I keep forgetting you've all been to space. I'd love to go someday," Missy said from behind the marble surface, "Heero, would you like a drink too?" She was ready to start mixing again, having all she needed from Quatre at the moment.

He considered it, "What are you making?"

"Well, we've got something hot, something sweet," she thought about what other style of drink she could make with the vodka, "How about...something sour?" She prayed he didn't notice the jab she made at his usual demeanor.

He didn't, "I'll give it a try." A sour drink sounded interesting and as good a choice as any. "I have to drive home tonight, so only a single." He made a crack back, apparently noticing the jab after all.

She laughed lightly at herself. Someone had to have told Heero the story from Thursday, because she saw him leave before Duo was leveled. "No prob," she got to work. The three drinks were colored chocolate brown, vibrant red and a lush violet. "Bloody Mary with tobasco, Black Russian and finally, Purple Haze."

"Some of these names..." Heero took a sip, it was puckering and zingy. Regardless of it's ridiculous name, it was delicious; he was definitely going to order one the next time he drank.

"I know, but it's appropriately named. After a few you start to feel kind of hazy," she smirked.

"Aren't you going to have one?" Quatre asked, fanning his mouth. She wasn't kidding, there was no skimping on the hot sauce.

"I play for keeps, one drink won't do. Thanks though," she said, knowing her own limitations. After she felt there was enough support there for Quatre, she headed out. Leaving him alone with Duo might have been grounds to enable each others drinking; with Heero to serve as their anchor, they should have been fine. Should have.

"We need to plan something for the weekend," Duo suggested. He wanted to invite Missy over again, hoping to get some 'time spent' with her. He couldn't help but notice how taken she was with the whole set up at Quatre's pad, it was perfect.

"That reminds me. I forgot to mention this yesterday," for he was too pissed, "Trowa's got free tickets to the circus this Saturday."

Quatre's eyes perked up, "Circ de Soleil?"

"Yes. He said there's enough for each of us to take someone. Wufei's got work that night, so he gave up his tickets; we've got two extra." Duo suggested they bring Yumi and Kumi, the girls he met on the subway. It was considered as an option. Making plans and basking in the fortune of the comic problem being solved was a good feeling.

From the hallway, Naibun wondered if Quatre was in any trouble. She couldn't make out what they were saying from beyond the door. She saw his fist yesterday, today it was worse, but she was unable to bring herself to ask him about it. In lieu of mentioning anything she cleaned up a storm and tidied the bar again, like yesterday, so she could keep an eye on him.

She even stopped Missy on her way out to ask what happened to him. She said he only punched a locker, not a person. It still wasn't enough to calm her. 'Should I go back in?' she thought, not wanting to intrude on 'guy time'. Checking her watch, she took note that it was the end of her shift and debated if she should leave. The last time she left Quatre with alcohol, he drank himself into the ground.

She heard one thing from the other side of the door. "I kind of want another," Duo's voice said after slurping as much as he could from of the base of the glass.

"I don't know how to mix," Quatre said and followed Duo to the counter.

"I'm heading out in a bit," Heero said.

"You got somewhere to be?" Duo asked as he rounded the corner of the bar, a slight sway in his step.

"I have papers to write," he said. They weren't due for a week but he wanted to work on them each night to lighten his assignment load. It was the only way he could balance work and school.

Duo shooed the idea away with a hand gesture and grabbed the vodka, "They can wait." He proceeded to fill a shot glass. "What was the other thing she ordered, er, added, to this?" His words slipped.

"Check the covers..." It was then that Quatre realized how neurotic he was when it came to upkeep. He looked at the caps of the bottles and saw the one that had a tiny dribble down the side. "This one," a strange name, kahlua, "I can't pronounce it."

"Vodka and ka-loo-ah...a shot of each, fill the rest with the milk. Simple." He didn't filled the shot glass properly. The rule of thumb to pour a shot was to measure 'a pinky fingernail length to the top of the glass'; his tempted surface tension at the rim. After mixing that up, he was feeling adventurous and explored the rest of the bar. Thinking too much about Hilde made him slide into depression, he couldn't afford that. Duo needed a distraction. Then he saw it. Tempting fate, he plugged in the karaoke machine. "You got Queen on this thing?"

"Not happening," Heero denied him, trying to defy it.

"It might not even work properly," Quatre tried to back up the notion, all the while knowing the machine was in fine working order. He prayed Duo didn't find the new single he added the other day titled 'One Week'.

He pressed buttons and fired up the rather large, colorful jukebox style machine. "I saw the sticker on the back, it was made in the nineties, it's gotta' have Queen! Come on, sing Bohemian Rhapsody with me!" He wasn't listening.

"Should we stop him?" Quatre asked, feeling the same level of concern for the amount of 'drink' in his glass.

Heero got an idea, "Alright, I'll do it. Only if you give me that thing you concocted," he attempted to barter.

Duo dropped what he was doing and took Heero's shoulders in his hands. "Are you kidding?" he asked, shaking him gently, "Tell me you aren't."

"I'm not. And so help me, if it leaves this room-"

"-It won't," he was ecstatic. "Why do you want this?" he tried to take a sip but had it snatched away.

"You still have to ride the bus home," Heero pointed out and moved the glass further away from him.

"Stingy. Can't you drive me?" He was sure Heero was only having one drink and that was a while ago.

"Can't," he said and finished Duo's drink, so he couldn't drive. Relena had banned Duo from her car if he was drinking and he didn't have the heart to tell him.

"Fair enough...but," he looked saddened, "Does that mean...you're going to make me ride the bus...alone?" He spoke from behind two clenched, frightened, fists. His eyes had all the charm of a lost puppy.

"It's the last bus for the night. You won't be able to come back for the car," Quatre said to Heero.

He sighed, "I'll ride with him if you can take the car to school tomorrow. Do you mind?" Quatre nodded in agreement. Heero was was sure he already told himself that this wasn't going to become a habit, yet here he was, offering sympathy, yet again. He felt he'd gone soft. With a huff he began to scroll through the menu of the retro looking machine, "Let's get this over with."

"It's happening!" Duo cheered, barely able to contain his enthusiasm. No one felt confident enough to hit the high 'c' in Bohemian Rhapsody, so they went with 'Killer Queen' instead. It suited the mood. They had one more shot before they hit the last few songs of the night. Vodka burned and tasted horrible.

After a few more songs, not all Queen, it was time to go wait for the bus. Heero made the mistake of finishing Duo's drink so he didn't have to drag him home, but now he found it kind of hard to walk. "Shouldn't have had that shot," Heero said.

"You're wasted," Duo said as he steadied his friend on the sidewalk, Heero had begun to meander off of it.

"Shut up, it was your mix that did this," he said and sat with him at the bus station. They still had a few minutes before the last run of the night happened, the trick was, staying awake.

"I was gunna' finish'it," he snickered, "Sounded like I said 'shit'."

"And you know why? Because you're drunk too," he threw it back in his face.

"I am...so, when were you talking to Relena today?" he asked, trying to squeeze information out of Heero while he was still tipsy.

"We talked after'school. She wanted help looking for this person, people, the comic guy, girl, whatever. She let me keep the car as a thank you for running her around." Duo's hand was rotating, hoping to keep him going, "Thaat's it," he nodded, "Nutin' else to tell for now."

"For now? Does that mean you'll tell me later, or that it hasn't happened yet?" he asked.

"...neither of those answers work for me."

"You're saying it happened already, but you don't want to tell me," he laughed.

"You and Trowa...can both piss right off," his words didn't sound angry, they were calm and tired. He also couldn't wipe the smirk off his face; just remembering the night was enough to make him grin.

It was a grin that didn't go unnoticed. "Are you going to ask her to go to the circus with you?" he kept at it, trying to get a rise out of him.

He foiled Duo's plan, "Already done; called'er a couple days ago."

"The hell? It's no fun when you don't fight back," Duo laughed. It was about time Heero had some fun; and drinking on a school night was a sure sign of becoming 'more fun'. He looked at his watch to check the time, but he couldn't make it out. His vision had blurred into double. He covered one eye and read it, still no use.

Their ride finally got there. Even though it was the last run of the evening, the bus was cramped. Only two spots were left to sit in and they were above the heater. The heat made Duo dozy and he kept nodding off on Heero's shoulder, to which he would receive a sharp poke in the head.

When they finally got to Wufei's, Duo immediately collapsed on the couch, taking up the whole thing. Heero tried to move him over some, but couldn't and gave up almost immediately. He backed up and unintentionally went over the arm of a nearby chair. He rolled with it because he landed on a soft seat, however, a comfortable position to lay in was impossible to find. His head was being propped up by an unwilling right wrist and it kept slipping off his fist as he tried to sleep the dirnks off.

Not eating anything, drinking booze and then going to school the next day was hard, and it got worse. Overnight, another comic was released. This time Duo got his wish, he was the star of the new piece. Sadly, he was not paired with a voluptuous young lady, he was paired with Heero, who was playing the role of 'the unwilling, slightly drunk, straight guy'. "I'll tear them a new one!" Duo bellowed in the empty lunch room; it was still morning and they were in there to talk in private.

"Remember, they're female; you said you wouldn't hit a girl," Quatre tried to calm him with rational thought.

His teeth gritted together, "I know what I said, and I don't care! I'm gonna' slap the hell out of that bitch when I find her!" he said and rearranged the ice pack on his head, "As soon as I'm done dealing with this headache." All his yelling hurt.

"Do you know what's worse?" Heero asked, head down on the lunch table, not trying to move it too much. "They were on the bus with us." The setting of the book was at the back of the vehicle they rode home the night before. Whoever they were, they were dedicated, and getting closer.
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Slice of Life