Ooosh. Finally done with Part V. It'll be posted in two parts
Pairing(s): 13x6x13 (pre-established), 1+2+1, more to come
Warnings: Uhm... strange happenings, innuendo, ... craziness, the usual...
Link to Prologue
Link to Part I
Link to Part II
Link to Part III
Link to Part IV
Part V
[New York - Thursday evening]
Trowa had had enough. Heero had been avoiding him for the last week, and Trowa was heartily sick of it… so he invited himself over to Heero’s apartment, bringing with him Heero’s forgotten belongings, from the quasi-sleepover they’d had with Duo over the weekend, as his convenient excuse for being there.
Knocking on the door, he waited - somewhat impatiently - for an answer. “Where the hell is he?” Trowa grumbled. “He’s rarely ever out, especially after 5.”
Banging on the door a bit harder, and then allowing his recalcitrant friend another chance to answer, Trowa called out to him. “Make me knock again, and I’ll just pick the lock, Heero. You know I can and will.”
That got him a response. “Don’t mangle the lock like you did last time.”
Trowa huffed. “I did not.”
The sound of the bolt being pulled echoed in the hall.
Trowa opened the door himself, when it became clear Heero was not going to, and walked into Heero’s inner sanctum - the apartment few ever saw. It was rather austere and boasted little color. Most everything was black and white, brown, or some shade in between.
Heero had already reseated himself at his computer, and was typing furiously, the sound a constant low clattering background underlining his silence.
Trowa leaned casually against the wall. “How long do you plan on ignoring and avoiding me?”
Silence.
“I’m not leaving. Not until I get a response, anyways.”
“Hn. Suit yourself.”
Trowa shrugged and walked into the kitchen, puttering around and starting to cook a light dinner. “Fine, then. We’re having spinach and liver for dinner.”
Heero blanched a little. Trowa knew he hated that food with a passion and had come armed, it seemed. “Don’t even try it. I can kick your scrawny butt out of here. I have before.”
Trowa smirked. “’Cause I let you.”
Heero’s eyebrow rose. “Right…” Warily eyeing Trowa, Heero acquiesced after a tense moment. “You fight dirty. Bastard. What do you want from me?”
“A straight answer. Why have you been avoiding me this week?”
“I’ve been working. Not avoiding you.”
“Bull. You just don’t feel like going to this party of Duo’s.”
“That’s beside the point. I’m not avoiding you. I’m working on a very complicated algorithm for the new processor I’m designing.”
Trowa rolled his eyes and turned back to the stove, continuing to set out ingredients on the counter.
Heero’s hands clenched, and he ground out, “Put those away. We’ll order out.”
“I fail to see why I should. You’ve yet to give me a good reason to.”
The programmer sighed. “That’s because there is no ‘good’ reason. Only work.”
“Well, as long as it’s only work, you’re coming with me to Duo’s get-together.”
“I can’t abandon this now. I’m finally making progress!”
“You and your code. I swear, you treat that machine of yours better than most guys treat their girlfriends. It’s - ”
“Pathetic, I know.” Heero cut him off. “Now, why is this get-together so all-important? Hm?”
“Because you need to get out more, and this is the perfect chance for me to drag you out of this little access terminal of yours.”
“I don’t see why I would need to get out more. I’m perfectly happy living as I do.”
“Beside the point. I’m taking you with me. End of story.”
Heero growled at him, but could see no alternate way out that would not involve pissing Trowa off more than he was already. “Fine.”
Trowa smirked infuriatingly at him. “Alright, then. I’ll pick you up here at 09:00 tomorrow morning. Bring your drivers license. I’m not driving the entire way. Oh, and a passport, we’ll have to cross the border.”
~+~
He’s late. If he’s not here in five minutes, I’m going back upstairs. Let him go himself. Heero was fuming. Trowa was stuck in traffic somewhere. Of course, he also knew that, were he to give up and go back indoors, Trowa would arrive not a minute later. Murphy’s Law was most definitely real, and seemed to plague him more than it did most other people.
I get the feeling that the Fates like throwing obstacles at me… For some reason everything that pertains to my life and happiness has some kind of stumbling block built into it. Even such things as being dragged off to Canada against my will. As if in answer to the thought, Trowa turned the corner, and pulled up in front of him.
A window was rolled down. “Need a ride?”
“Hn. Not really.”
“Oh, just get in. We don’t have all day.”
As he got in the car, Heero replied, “Easy for you to say. I’ve been sitting here waiting for you for the last ten minutes.”
“Heh. Sorry about that. I ran into an accident on the way over. Two of three lanes were closed off.”
Dryly, Heero quipped. “Typical.”
Trowa shrugged. “It’s New York. Almost no one pays attention. You know that.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“True. Now, would you rather we split the trip into two- or three-hour segments? It’s gonna be a long ride.”
“Two. I doubt I’d have the patience to deal with the idiots on the road for much longer than that. You know how I am.”
“Right, then. Well start the non-existent timer once we get out of the city. We’re taking I-95 north, until we reach the border. Then from there we have to find route 2, and follow the signs to Charlottetown. Once we get that far, I have more specific directions to the house.”
“Hn. I’m going to sleep for a bit.”
“’K. I’ll wake you in an hour and 45.”
He got a mumble in reply.
~+~+~+~
[Boston - Early Friday morning]
Duo woke in a good mood. Today was going to be great. He had it all planned out. All he had left to do was but the paintballs.
Tossing the rest of the equipment and the duffel bag with his clothes into the trunk of his car, he started it, ran through his mental checklist, ran back for his passport, and then headed out. As he merged onto I-95, he turned on the radio, singing along with it, sucked in by the catchy tune. “Alo, Salut, sunt eu, un haiduc, / Si te rog, iubirea mea, primeste fericirea...” I wonder what language that is… Little did he know, it was to be stuck in his head for the rest of the afternoon.
~+~+~+~
[Trois-Rivières - Late Friday morning]
Quatre had just finished putting away the breakfast dishes and packing a light lunch, when Wufei came down the stairs with both their duffel bags.
“Are you ready to go, Quatre?”
A nod. “In a moment. I need to grab a couple of things from my study.”
“Right. I’ll put these in the car in the meantime. You taking the food?”
Just then, a loud rumble of thunder interrupted the conversation. “Ponchos too, I think.” Quatre added. “Just in case.”
“A good idea. It will likely start pouring in a minute.”
With that they parted, dashing off to take care of things as quickly as possible, hoping to beat the rain that they knew was coming.
Quatre ran to his study, grabbed his drivers license and a book to pass the time with in the car, and then darted back out to the kitchen, grabbed their packed lunch, and sped to the car.
Just as the car doors slammed shut, the first few drops of rain fell. They watched for a moment, panting slightly, before Wufei, who’d ended up in the driver’s seat in the confusion, started the car and pulled out of the driveway.
“If all goes well we should be there in 5 hours or so. I say we switch off at Fredericton.”
“Sounds good to me, Wufei.”
~+~+~+~
[Charlottetown - Late Friday afternoon]
Treize was wandering the gardens, enjoying the sunlight, when Zechs appeared, seemingly out of thin air, hoping to startle him. Treize simply raised an eyebrow.
“Still trying to breathe life back into that old trick?”
“Of course. You know me. I’m nothing if not stubborn.”
“Our guests are supposed to start arriving in pairs in the next few minutes.”
“… Nervous?”
“Not really. … Ok, a little. Mainly hoping that they can find the house alright.”
Zechs did his level best to hide a smile. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. You gave them very detailed directions, love.”
Treize sighed. “I just want this to go well.”
“It will. Don’t fret.”
They both heard the sound of the approaching motor clearly long before the car came into view.
“I wonder which of them it is.” It was impossible to determine which of the watching men had spoken.
When the car came into view, they could clearly see a blonde at the wheel. Treize and Zechs exchanged a look.
“This ought to be interesting,” Zechs murmured.
“Got that in one,” Treize replied.
The two of them walked over as the car pulled up in front of the house, mentally preparing to greet their newly arrived guests. Treize stood a short ways off to one side, Zechs flanking him, as they waited for their guests to alight. The blonde driver stood, and looked around, before allowing his clear blue gaze to settle on his hosts. Treize smiled.
“Welcome to Charlottetown. I’m Treize, and this,” he gestured, “is Zechs.”
The blonde motioned to the dark-haired one to come stand beside him. “My name is Quatre Winner. This is my close friend Chang Wufei.”
Treize started. “Winner? I had no idea Duo knew you.”
“Oh, he does, no doubt about that. Why so surprised to see me?”
Zechs blinked. “I think I’ve missed something.”
Wufei wryly added. “You’re not the only one.”
Treize rolled his eyes. “Duo managed to get me hooked on some internet chess forum not so long ago.”
“I think I see where this is heading. He somehow slipped my name into the conversation, didn’t he?” Quatre seemed amused.
Treize nodded. “Yes, but I had no idea he knew you.” Shaking his head, he sighed. “Zechs? You of a mind to help me to get my revenge on Duo later?”
Zechs smirked. “Why not.”
Wufei snickered. “Mind if I join in on the fun?”
Treize grinned. “Certainly. Quatre? You feeling mischievous?”
A blonde eyebrow winged up. “Mischievous? I’m feeling downright wicked.”
Treize laughed outright at that. “Shall we take this to the patio, and discuss our righteous anger over drinks?”
Everyone agreed. Duo had something coming. They plotted, and discussed options, not coming to a unanimous conclusion, and eventually just sat back to mull over the dilemma.
It was to be Zechs that eventually came up with the idea that was to blossom into a full-blown, fearsome monster.
“How to you three feel about water balloons?”
They all blinked and stared at him.
“I’m serious. It’s something of a classic, but I’m sure we could adapt it to work.”
That sparked a discussion over what exactly should go into the balloons. They eventually came to a conclusion.
“Chocolate syrup it is, then.” Quatre smirked evilly. “This is going to be fun. Who’s going to be on stand-by with the hose if it gets out of control?”
Wufei volunteered, snickering. “Duo won’t know what hit him… and maybe we can clue in the other guests, whoever they are, if they arrive before Duo does.”
Zechs exchanged a look with Treize as they realized that the next guests could be heard approaching.
Treize murmured, “Speak of the Devil… I think they’re about to arrive. One of you go make the balloon, in case it’s Duo. The kitchen is through the patio doors and to the left. You should find the syrup on the shelves above the counter.”
Quatre nodded, and rushed inside to do that while Wufei darted off for the hose. Treize and Zechs took their positions near the driveway, and waited patiently.
As the car pulled closer, Treize and Zechs could see that there were two people in it… and neither had a braid. Zechs motioned to Wufei to get his attention, then shook his head ‘no’, hoping Wufei would get the message.
Wufei looked a little disappointed, but lowered the hose to the ground, and walked casually out to join them. Mockingly, with a melodramatic gasp, he asked “Duo’s the last one here? Whatever shall we do?”
Zechs grinned evilly, “Oh, I don’t know, perhaps we’ll corrupt these two and get them to join in our plan to dive-bomb Duo.”
Wufei smirked back at him. “Fair enough. Oh, here they come now.” They’d stepped out of the car, and Wufei could see that one was tall and had very strange hair that covered one side of his face, while the other fairly radiated intensity with his dark blue eyes and oriental features. He stepped back behind the hosts, to let them do the talking.
Treize and Zechs greeted the newcomers as they had Wufei and Quatre.
With a smile, Treize spoke first. “Welcome to Charlottetown. I’m Treize, this is Zechs, and behind us is one of the other guests, Wufei. Our other guest is wandering the kitchen looking for snacks, I believe. I’m sure you’ll meet him in a moment.”
The tall one with the strange hair smiled. Quietly, he spoke. “My name is Trowa Barton. My friend, here, is one Heero Yuy.”
Wufei blinked. “Waitaminute. Yuy … as in, the programmer, Yuy?”
The intense one nodded. “Hai. That would be me. Why?” He looked a little puzzled.
Wufei grinned at him. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad.”
Heero gave him a look. “Hn.”
Trowa was glancing back and forth between them. “You two know each other?”
Both of them shrugged.
“Sort of. I’ll explain later,” Wufei replied. To Treize and Zechs he added, “I’m going to go find our shy friend. I’ll be a moment.”
Zechs looked amused. “Right. Tell him to stand down, while you’re at it?”
Trowa raised his visible eyebrow in a request for the story behind that comment.
Treize snickered, and decided to indulge them. “Alright, alright, I’ll spill.” He took a deep breath and launched into the tale of what had transpired from the time Wufei and Quatre had arrived to the present moment. Trowa looked amused, and Heero smirked.
Trowa spoke for both of them. “Any way we can join in the fun? It’s high time Duo got a taste of his own medicine.”
Zechs decided he liked them. “I don’t see why not. Shall we take this inside, Treize? We can discuss it in the kitchen with the others whilst we await our braided friend’s arrival.”
Treize nodded and led the four of them inside. Quatre looked somewhat surprised to see Heero. He blinked, and stared for a moment.
“Do I … know you? I have this strong sense of déjà-vu.”
Heero seemed startled as well. “I’m … not sure. This is weird.”
Trowa intervened. “And about to get weirder, I’d imagine. I find I’m almost dreading what will happen when Duo arrives to add his own flair to this odd mix.”
Treize nodded. “You have a point, but at least it’ll be anything but boring.”
Zechs laughed. “Life around Duo is never boring.”
Wufei dryly added, “He makes certain of that with his jokes. I would well know.”
Second round of introductions over, they all sat down at the kitchen table, and had a war council. It was eventually decided that Trowa would be the lookout, Heero and Quatre would climb up to the roof to lie in wait with the balloons, and the rest would run damage control on the ground. All that remained was to put the plan into action, and quickly, as they probably didn’t have much time left to prepare.
On reaching this realization, Heero and Quatre leapt into action, filling balloons, and Trowa headed off to scout out the best spot from which to watch and signal the house, for which purpose they’d given him a small mirror. Wufei went out, ostensibly to wander the gardens, and Treize joined Zechs on the patio, maintain the appearance of waiting to greet their last guest.
They didn’t have to wait long. Trowa, up in a tall oak just inside the property, spotted Duo not five minutes later, and used his mirror to let the others know, though he knew they would soon hear Duo’s car. Once Duo had passed him, he gracefully jumped down, landing, catlike, and sprinting towards the house, and the amusement he knew was soon to ensue. He thought better of joining Treize and Zechs, settling instead with Wufei, who had somehow missed getting the message, not knowing where to look.
~+~
Duo was happily anticipating the paintball fight he was planning to incite, and had turned up the boom box he’d taken to keeping in the passenger seat of his car, since his radio was a piece of junk. He’d popped in one of the cds he’d bought on his soujourn to New York. Some band called Green Day. I like this cd… wonder if they’ve got any more floating around somewhere. Must remember to look it up at some point. He grinned, singing along, having already mostly memorized the words. “ Do as I say not as I do because / The shit's so deep you can't run away / I beg to differ on the contrary / I agree with every word that you say…”
With that thought in mind, he turned into Treize and Zechs’ drive, noting the two familiar cars already there. So, they beat me here. Wonder what they thought of Treize and Zechsy.
He could see Treize and Zechs standing at the door, waiting for him, and wondered why they weren’t entertaining the others. Odd… Where are those four?
Duo pulled up and parked his car, turning off the music, and sat there for a moment contemplating his longtime friends. They weren’t moving. They have something up their sleeves… but what?
After a minute of contemplating the possible outcomes of getting out of his car, he gave in, and bowed to the inevitable. I am not going to sit in this car all afternoon fearing the mere possibility that Treize has an ace up his sleeve… Of course now that I’ve given in and decided to move, the trap will likely trigger. He sighed and opened the door resolutely…
And caught a face full of… chocolate?! What the Hell? Another chocolate-bomb hit him square in the chest.
Duo sighed, resigned to his fate, but no more missiles hit and he dared open his eyes. He could hear Treize and Zechs snickering even as he did so. Licking his lips, Duo inquired, “You have a particular reason for covering me in chocolate?”
Quatre shouted down from the rooftop. “Of course not, we just felt like randomly making you sticky and scrumptious-looking.” Heero rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help agreeing that Duo did look edible like that…
"Well, I suppose we could lick it off of you, but then, that would not be proper in a public setting, now would it?" added Zechs.
Duo goggled. “What?! You… but… I…”
Heero grinned at Quatre. “Now I’ve seen everything. Duo, speechless?”
Duo had glanced up on hearing Quatre’s shout, and now glimpsed the two of them lounging up there. Shaking his fist at them, he called, “Just wait! I’ll get my revenge!”
Sardonically, Quatre quipped back, “Oh no, I’m so scared.”
Duo grinned at him. “And you should be. I’ve come armed.”
Treize blinked. “Now, why does that sound ominous…?”
Zechs shrugged. “Because we’ve known Duo entirely too long.”
Duo turned to them. “You two are on my hit-list too, you know. I know for a fact that you engineered this… travesty.”
Zechs hid behind his taller lover. “It wasn’t me, I swear!”
Treize sighed. “Maybe we should get you cleaned up.”
Duo smirked evilly. “No. First we’re playing my game, since you went and got me all dirty, first thing.”
A bit warily, Wufei spoke up from where he was lounging against the house. “What game?”
Trowa, standing beside him, muttered. “I don’t think I want to know.”
Duo cheerily announced, “You’ve all just volunteered yourselves to play with me. Quat, Heero, get your asses down here or they’re forfeit!”
Grumbling, Quatre took the stairs. Heero surprised everyone, taking the direct route down by using a nearby trellis, uncaring of the roses’ thorns.
Trowa gaped. “Heero! What the hell are you on!?”
“Nothing. I just didn’t feel like bothering with four flights of stairs.”
Duo rolled his eyes. “Alright, Geek-Boy, you’re first.” He handed Heero what looked like an army-issue flight suit. “Put it on.”
Heero looked at it dubiously. “What is it? Why? And how do you know it’ll fit?”
Duo sighed. “Just do it.”
Heero shrugged, and went inside to put it on, as directed, not really seeing the point of picking a fight over something trivial like this.
When he reemerged, Duo grinned. “Great.” He looks even better in spandex than I’d thought he would… Oy! Bad! Must not go there… not in public, anyways. “Ok, Zechsy, you’re next.”
Zechs let go a long-suffering sigh, and just submitted himself to the indignity. “Just give it here.” He followed suite, though reluctantly, and walked back outside wincing every now and then. “Damnit all, Duo, couldn’t you have found a tighter fit?!”
Duo snickered. “I tried.”
Wufei looked amused.
Treize’s expression was a little strained. Damn you, Duo, are you trying to make me jump him in front of everyone?!
“Wu, get your skinny butt over here.”
Wufei grimaced. “Fine, fine,” he growled.
Quatre chose to forego the embarrassment of being called forth, and walked up with Wufei. “I’ll just take mine too, while you’re at it, Duo.”
Trowa noted Duo’s disappointment at not being able to tease them as he had the others, and decided to just go get his flightsuit-thing, whatever it was supposed to be for. He glanced at Zechs, who looked rather uncomfortable, and was tugging at the crotch of his suit at random intervals. He simply walked up to Duo, and held out his hand expectantly. Duo rolled his eyes and handed him a suit, then tossed one to Treize and grabbed one for himself and yelled, “Last one changed is a lazy spaz!”
Trowa exchanged a look with Quatre and Wufei, and then shrugged and followed Duo. The others followed him, wondering why Duo was putting them through this.
Once he was changed, Duo dashed back outside to check on Heero and Zechs. Seeing that they had yet to strip back out of the suits in disgust, he handed them a couple of vests with what looked like targets on them.
Heero looked at his with a feeling of foreboding. “What are these for?”
Zechs simply held his at arms length.
Duo smirked at him and pulled a paintball gun out of the trunk of his car briefly, before letting it fall back into the cluttered depths.
Heero’s eyes widened. “I should have guessed. You’re trigger-happy enough. Crackshot?”
Duo gave him a devilish smirk. “No comment.”
The others all trooped out at the same moment, just then. Duo handed each of them a vest too, and waited impatiently for them to put it on.
Looking confused, they did as they were told, though a few grumbles could be heard.
“Why are we human targets?” Wufei demanded.
Warnings: Uhm... strange happenings, innuendo, ... craziness, the usual...
Link to Prologue
Link to Part I
Link to Part II
Link to Part III
Link to Part IV
Part V
[New York - Thursday evening]
Trowa had had enough. Heero had been avoiding him for the last week, and Trowa was heartily sick of it… so he invited himself over to Heero’s apartment, bringing with him Heero’s forgotten belongings, from the quasi-sleepover they’d had with Duo over the weekend, as his convenient excuse for being there.
Knocking on the door, he waited - somewhat impatiently - for an answer. “Where the hell is he?” Trowa grumbled. “He’s rarely ever out, especially after 5.”
Banging on the door a bit harder, and then allowing his recalcitrant friend another chance to answer, Trowa called out to him. “Make me knock again, and I’ll just pick the lock, Heero. You know I can and will.”
That got him a response. “Don’t mangle the lock like you did last time.”
Trowa huffed. “I did not.”
The sound of the bolt being pulled echoed in the hall.
Trowa opened the door himself, when it became clear Heero was not going to, and walked into Heero’s inner sanctum - the apartment few ever saw. It was rather austere and boasted little color. Most everything was black and white, brown, or some shade in between.
Heero had already reseated himself at his computer, and was typing furiously, the sound a constant low clattering background underlining his silence.
Trowa leaned casually against the wall. “How long do you plan on ignoring and avoiding me?”
Silence.
“I’m not leaving. Not until I get a response, anyways.”
“Hn. Suit yourself.”
Trowa shrugged and walked into the kitchen, puttering around and starting to cook a light dinner. “Fine, then. We’re having spinach and liver for dinner.”
Heero blanched a little. Trowa knew he hated that food with a passion and had come armed, it seemed. “Don’t even try it. I can kick your scrawny butt out of here. I have before.”
Trowa smirked. “’Cause I let you.”
Heero’s eyebrow rose. “Right…” Warily eyeing Trowa, Heero acquiesced after a tense moment. “You fight dirty. Bastard. What do you want from me?”
“A straight answer. Why have you been avoiding me this week?”
“I’ve been working. Not avoiding you.”
“Bull. You just don’t feel like going to this party of Duo’s.”
“That’s beside the point. I’m not avoiding you. I’m working on a very complicated algorithm for the new processor I’m designing.”
Trowa rolled his eyes and turned back to the stove, continuing to set out ingredients on the counter.
Heero’s hands clenched, and he ground out, “Put those away. We’ll order out.”
“I fail to see why I should. You’ve yet to give me a good reason to.”
The programmer sighed. “That’s because there is no ‘good’ reason. Only work.”
“Well, as long as it’s only work, you’re coming with me to Duo’s get-together.”
“I can’t abandon this now. I’m finally making progress!”
“You and your code. I swear, you treat that machine of yours better than most guys treat their girlfriends. It’s - ”
“Pathetic, I know.” Heero cut him off. “Now, why is this get-together so all-important? Hm?”
“Because you need to get out more, and this is the perfect chance for me to drag you out of this little access terminal of yours.”
“I don’t see why I would need to get out more. I’m perfectly happy living as I do.”
“Beside the point. I’m taking you with me. End of story.”
Heero growled at him, but could see no alternate way out that would not involve pissing Trowa off more than he was already. “Fine.”
Trowa smirked infuriatingly at him. “Alright, then. I’ll pick you up here at 09:00 tomorrow morning. Bring your drivers license. I’m not driving the entire way. Oh, and a passport, we’ll have to cross the border.”
~+~
He’s late. If he’s not here in five minutes, I’m going back upstairs. Let him go himself. Heero was fuming. Trowa was stuck in traffic somewhere. Of course, he also knew that, were he to give up and go back indoors, Trowa would arrive not a minute later. Murphy’s Law was most definitely real, and seemed to plague him more than it did most other people.
I get the feeling that the Fates like throwing obstacles at me… For some reason everything that pertains to my life and happiness has some kind of stumbling block built into it. Even such things as being dragged off to Canada against my will. As if in answer to the thought, Trowa turned the corner, and pulled up in front of him.
A window was rolled down. “Need a ride?”
“Hn. Not really.”
“Oh, just get in. We don’t have all day.”
As he got in the car, Heero replied, “Easy for you to say. I’ve been sitting here waiting for you for the last ten minutes.”
“Heh. Sorry about that. I ran into an accident on the way over. Two of three lanes were closed off.”
Dryly, Heero quipped. “Typical.”
Trowa shrugged. “It’s New York. Almost no one pays attention. You know that.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“True. Now, would you rather we split the trip into two- or three-hour segments? It’s gonna be a long ride.”
“Two. I doubt I’d have the patience to deal with the idiots on the road for much longer than that. You know how I am.”
“Right, then. Well start the non-existent timer once we get out of the city. We’re taking I-95 north, until we reach the border. Then from there we have to find route 2, and follow the signs to Charlottetown. Once we get that far, I have more specific directions to the house.”
“Hn. I’m going to sleep for a bit.”
“’K. I’ll wake you in an hour and 45.”
He got a mumble in reply.
~+~+~+~
[Boston - Early Friday morning]
Duo woke in a good mood. Today was going to be great. He had it all planned out. All he had left to do was but the paintballs.
Tossing the rest of the equipment and the duffel bag with his clothes into the trunk of his car, he started it, ran through his mental checklist, ran back for his passport, and then headed out. As he merged onto I-95, he turned on the radio, singing along with it, sucked in by the catchy tune. “Alo, Salut, sunt eu, un haiduc, / Si te rog, iubirea mea, primeste fericirea...” I wonder what language that is… Little did he know, it was to be stuck in his head for the rest of the afternoon.
~+~+~+~
[Trois-Rivières - Late Friday morning]
Quatre had just finished putting away the breakfast dishes and packing a light lunch, when Wufei came down the stairs with both their duffel bags.
“Are you ready to go, Quatre?”
A nod. “In a moment. I need to grab a couple of things from my study.”
“Right. I’ll put these in the car in the meantime. You taking the food?”
Just then, a loud rumble of thunder interrupted the conversation. “Ponchos too, I think.” Quatre added. “Just in case.”
“A good idea. It will likely start pouring in a minute.”
With that they parted, dashing off to take care of things as quickly as possible, hoping to beat the rain that they knew was coming.
Quatre ran to his study, grabbed his drivers license and a book to pass the time with in the car, and then darted back out to the kitchen, grabbed their packed lunch, and sped to the car.
Just as the car doors slammed shut, the first few drops of rain fell. They watched for a moment, panting slightly, before Wufei, who’d ended up in the driver’s seat in the confusion, started the car and pulled out of the driveway.
“If all goes well we should be there in 5 hours or so. I say we switch off at Fredericton.”
“Sounds good to me, Wufei.”
~+~+~+~
[Charlottetown - Late Friday afternoon]
Treize was wandering the gardens, enjoying the sunlight, when Zechs appeared, seemingly out of thin air, hoping to startle him. Treize simply raised an eyebrow.
“Still trying to breathe life back into that old trick?”
“Of course. You know me. I’m nothing if not stubborn.”
“Our guests are supposed to start arriving in pairs in the next few minutes.”
“… Nervous?”
“Not really. … Ok, a little. Mainly hoping that they can find the house alright.”
Zechs did his level best to hide a smile. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. You gave them very detailed directions, love.”
Treize sighed. “I just want this to go well.”
“It will. Don’t fret.”
They both heard the sound of the approaching motor clearly long before the car came into view.
“I wonder which of them it is.” It was impossible to determine which of the watching men had spoken.
When the car came into view, they could clearly see a blonde at the wheel. Treize and Zechs exchanged a look.
“This ought to be interesting,” Zechs murmured.
“Got that in one,” Treize replied.
The two of them walked over as the car pulled up in front of the house, mentally preparing to greet their newly arrived guests. Treize stood a short ways off to one side, Zechs flanking him, as they waited for their guests to alight. The blonde driver stood, and looked around, before allowing his clear blue gaze to settle on his hosts. Treize smiled.
“Welcome to Charlottetown. I’m Treize, and this,” he gestured, “is Zechs.”
The blonde motioned to the dark-haired one to come stand beside him. “My name is Quatre Winner. This is my close friend Chang Wufei.”
Treize started. “Winner? I had no idea Duo knew you.”
“Oh, he does, no doubt about that. Why so surprised to see me?”
Zechs blinked. “I think I’ve missed something.”
Wufei wryly added. “You’re not the only one.”
Treize rolled his eyes. “Duo managed to get me hooked on some internet chess forum not so long ago.”
“I think I see where this is heading. He somehow slipped my name into the conversation, didn’t he?” Quatre seemed amused.
Treize nodded. “Yes, but I had no idea he knew you.” Shaking his head, he sighed. “Zechs? You of a mind to help me to get my revenge on Duo later?”
Zechs smirked. “Why not.”
Wufei snickered. “Mind if I join in on the fun?”
Treize grinned. “Certainly. Quatre? You feeling mischievous?”
A blonde eyebrow winged up. “Mischievous? I’m feeling downright wicked.”
Treize laughed outright at that. “Shall we take this to the patio, and discuss our righteous anger over drinks?”
Everyone agreed. Duo had something coming. They plotted, and discussed options, not coming to a unanimous conclusion, and eventually just sat back to mull over the dilemma.
It was to be Zechs that eventually came up with the idea that was to blossom into a full-blown, fearsome monster.
“How to you three feel about water balloons?”
They all blinked and stared at him.
“I’m serious. It’s something of a classic, but I’m sure we could adapt it to work.”
That sparked a discussion over what exactly should go into the balloons. They eventually came to a conclusion.
“Chocolate syrup it is, then.” Quatre smirked evilly. “This is going to be fun. Who’s going to be on stand-by with the hose if it gets out of control?”
Wufei volunteered, snickering. “Duo won’t know what hit him… and maybe we can clue in the other guests, whoever they are, if they arrive before Duo does.”
Zechs exchanged a look with Treize as they realized that the next guests could be heard approaching.
Treize murmured, “Speak of the Devil… I think they’re about to arrive. One of you go make the balloon, in case it’s Duo. The kitchen is through the patio doors and to the left. You should find the syrup on the shelves above the counter.”
Quatre nodded, and rushed inside to do that while Wufei darted off for the hose. Treize and Zechs took their positions near the driveway, and waited patiently.
As the car pulled closer, Treize and Zechs could see that there were two people in it… and neither had a braid. Zechs motioned to Wufei to get his attention, then shook his head ‘no’, hoping Wufei would get the message.
Wufei looked a little disappointed, but lowered the hose to the ground, and walked casually out to join them. Mockingly, with a melodramatic gasp, he asked “Duo’s the last one here? Whatever shall we do?”
Zechs grinned evilly, “Oh, I don’t know, perhaps we’ll corrupt these two and get them to join in our plan to dive-bomb Duo.”
Wufei smirked back at him. “Fair enough. Oh, here they come now.” They’d stepped out of the car, and Wufei could see that one was tall and had very strange hair that covered one side of his face, while the other fairly radiated intensity with his dark blue eyes and oriental features. He stepped back behind the hosts, to let them do the talking.
Treize and Zechs greeted the newcomers as they had Wufei and Quatre.
With a smile, Treize spoke first. “Welcome to Charlottetown. I’m Treize, this is Zechs, and behind us is one of the other guests, Wufei. Our other guest is wandering the kitchen looking for snacks, I believe. I’m sure you’ll meet him in a moment.”
The tall one with the strange hair smiled. Quietly, he spoke. “My name is Trowa Barton. My friend, here, is one Heero Yuy.”
Wufei blinked. “Waitaminute. Yuy … as in, the programmer, Yuy?”
The intense one nodded. “Hai. That would be me. Why?” He looked a little puzzled.
Wufei grinned at him. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad.”
Heero gave him a look. “Hn.”
Trowa was glancing back and forth between them. “You two know each other?”
Both of them shrugged.
“Sort of. I’ll explain later,” Wufei replied. To Treize and Zechs he added, “I’m going to go find our shy friend. I’ll be a moment.”
Zechs looked amused. “Right. Tell him to stand down, while you’re at it?”
Trowa raised his visible eyebrow in a request for the story behind that comment.
Treize snickered, and decided to indulge them. “Alright, alright, I’ll spill.” He took a deep breath and launched into the tale of what had transpired from the time Wufei and Quatre had arrived to the present moment. Trowa looked amused, and Heero smirked.
Trowa spoke for both of them. “Any way we can join in the fun? It’s high time Duo got a taste of his own medicine.”
Zechs decided he liked them. “I don’t see why not. Shall we take this inside, Treize? We can discuss it in the kitchen with the others whilst we await our braided friend’s arrival.”
Treize nodded and led the four of them inside. Quatre looked somewhat surprised to see Heero. He blinked, and stared for a moment.
“Do I … know you? I have this strong sense of déjà-vu.”
Heero seemed startled as well. “I’m … not sure. This is weird.”
Trowa intervened. “And about to get weirder, I’d imagine. I find I’m almost dreading what will happen when Duo arrives to add his own flair to this odd mix.”
Treize nodded. “You have a point, but at least it’ll be anything but boring.”
Zechs laughed. “Life around Duo is never boring.”
Wufei dryly added, “He makes certain of that with his jokes. I would well know.”
Second round of introductions over, they all sat down at the kitchen table, and had a war council. It was eventually decided that Trowa would be the lookout, Heero and Quatre would climb up to the roof to lie in wait with the balloons, and the rest would run damage control on the ground. All that remained was to put the plan into action, and quickly, as they probably didn’t have much time left to prepare.
On reaching this realization, Heero and Quatre leapt into action, filling balloons, and Trowa headed off to scout out the best spot from which to watch and signal the house, for which purpose they’d given him a small mirror. Wufei went out, ostensibly to wander the gardens, and Treize joined Zechs on the patio, maintain the appearance of waiting to greet their last guest.
They didn’t have to wait long. Trowa, up in a tall oak just inside the property, spotted Duo not five minutes later, and used his mirror to let the others know, though he knew they would soon hear Duo’s car. Once Duo had passed him, he gracefully jumped down, landing, catlike, and sprinting towards the house, and the amusement he knew was soon to ensue. He thought better of joining Treize and Zechs, settling instead with Wufei, who had somehow missed getting the message, not knowing where to look.
~+~
Duo was happily anticipating the paintball fight he was planning to incite, and had turned up the boom box he’d taken to keeping in the passenger seat of his car, since his radio was a piece of junk. He’d popped in one of the cds he’d bought on his soujourn to New York. Some band called Green Day. I like this cd… wonder if they’ve got any more floating around somewhere. Must remember to look it up at some point. He grinned, singing along, having already mostly memorized the words. “ Do as I say not as I do because / The shit's so deep you can't run away / I beg to differ on the contrary / I agree with every word that you say…”
With that thought in mind, he turned into Treize and Zechs’ drive, noting the two familiar cars already there. So, they beat me here. Wonder what they thought of Treize and Zechsy.
He could see Treize and Zechs standing at the door, waiting for him, and wondered why they weren’t entertaining the others. Odd… Where are those four?
Duo pulled up and parked his car, turning off the music, and sat there for a moment contemplating his longtime friends. They weren’t moving. They have something up their sleeves… but what?
After a minute of contemplating the possible outcomes of getting out of his car, he gave in, and bowed to the inevitable. I am not going to sit in this car all afternoon fearing the mere possibility that Treize has an ace up his sleeve… Of course now that I’ve given in and decided to move, the trap will likely trigger. He sighed and opened the door resolutely…
And caught a face full of… chocolate?! What the Hell? Another chocolate-bomb hit him square in the chest.
Duo sighed, resigned to his fate, but no more missiles hit and he dared open his eyes. He could hear Treize and Zechs snickering even as he did so. Licking his lips, Duo inquired, “You have a particular reason for covering me in chocolate?”
Quatre shouted down from the rooftop. “Of course not, we just felt like randomly making you sticky and scrumptious-looking.” Heero rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help agreeing that Duo did look edible like that…
"Well, I suppose we could lick it off of you, but then, that would not be proper in a public setting, now would it?" added Zechs.
Duo goggled. “What?! You… but… I…”
Heero grinned at Quatre. “Now I’ve seen everything. Duo, speechless?”
Duo had glanced up on hearing Quatre’s shout, and now glimpsed the two of them lounging up there. Shaking his fist at them, he called, “Just wait! I’ll get my revenge!”
Sardonically, Quatre quipped back, “Oh no, I’m so scared.”
Duo grinned at him. “And you should be. I’ve come armed.”
Treize blinked. “Now, why does that sound ominous…?”
Zechs shrugged. “Because we’ve known Duo entirely too long.”
Duo turned to them. “You two are on my hit-list too, you know. I know for a fact that you engineered this… travesty.”
Zechs hid behind his taller lover. “It wasn’t me, I swear!”
Treize sighed. “Maybe we should get you cleaned up.”
Duo smirked evilly. “No. First we’re playing my game, since you went and got me all dirty, first thing.”
A bit warily, Wufei spoke up from where he was lounging against the house. “What game?”
Trowa, standing beside him, muttered. “I don’t think I want to know.”
Duo cheerily announced, “You’ve all just volunteered yourselves to play with me. Quat, Heero, get your asses down here or they’re forfeit!”
Grumbling, Quatre took the stairs. Heero surprised everyone, taking the direct route down by using a nearby trellis, uncaring of the roses’ thorns.
Trowa gaped. “Heero! What the hell are you on!?”
“Nothing. I just didn’t feel like bothering with four flights of stairs.”
Duo rolled his eyes. “Alright, Geek-Boy, you’re first.” He handed Heero what looked like an army-issue flight suit. “Put it on.”
Heero looked at it dubiously. “What is it? Why? And how do you know it’ll fit?”
Duo sighed. “Just do it.”
Heero shrugged, and went inside to put it on, as directed, not really seeing the point of picking a fight over something trivial like this.
When he reemerged, Duo grinned. “Great.” He looks even better in spandex than I’d thought he would… Oy! Bad! Must not go there… not in public, anyways. “Ok, Zechsy, you’re next.”
Zechs let go a long-suffering sigh, and just submitted himself to the indignity. “Just give it here.” He followed suite, though reluctantly, and walked back outside wincing every now and then. “Damnit all, Duo, couldn’t you have found a tighter fit?!”
Duo snickered. “I tried.”
Wufei looked amused.
Treize’s expression was a little strained. Damn you, Duo, are you trying to make me jump him in front of everyone?!
“Wu, get your skinny butt over here.”
Wufei grimaced. “Fine, fine,” he growled.
Quatre chose to forego the embarrassment of being called forth, and walked up with Wufei. “I’ll just take mine too, while you’re at it, Duo.”
Trowa noted Duo’s disappointment at not being able to tease them as he had the others, and decided to just go get his flightsuit-thing, whatever it was supposed to be for. He glanced at Zechs, who looked rather uncomfortable, and was tugging at the crotch of his suit at random intervals. He simply walked up to Duo, and held out his hand expectantly. Duo rolled his eyes and handed him a suit, then tossed one to Treize and grabbed one for himself and yelled, “Last one changed is a lazy spaz!”
Trowa exchanged a look with Quatre and Wufei, and then shrugged and followed Duo. The others followed him, wondering why Duo was putting them through this.
Once he was changed, Duo dashed back outside to check on Heero and Zechs. Seeing that they had yet to strip back out of the suits in disgust, he handed them a couple of vests with what looked like targets on them.
Heero looked at his with a feeling of foreboding. “What are these for?”
Zechs simply held his at arms length.
Duo smirked at him and pulled a paintball gun out of the trunk of his car briefly, before letting it fall back into the cluttered depths.
Heero’s eyes widened. “I should have guessed. You’re trigger-happy enough. Crackshot?”
Duo gave him a devilish smirk. “No comment.”
The others all trooped out at the same moment, just then. Duo handed each of them a vest too, and waited impatiently for them to put it on.
Looking confused, they did as they were told, though a few grumbles could be heard.
“Why are we human targets?” Wufei demanded.