It's the Thought That Counts, GW, for stagesoflove
Title: It's the Thought That Counts
Author: Ellie Biel
Fandom: Gundam Wing
Characters/pairing: Duo, Relena, Duo/Heero
Warnings: AU
Part 1: Shuttlecock
"I still can't believe you're wearing that."
"What's wrong with it? It's hot out and this is comfortable."
"You're going to give the wrong impression."
"It's very sweet of you to worry," Relena said, patting Duo's cheek, "but I'm not the one who needs to impress."
"Ha," Duo said, tying off the end of his braid. "I've already impressed. You, on the other hand, look like you were attacked by a cotton candy machine. No matter, though. We both know you're only going along for the ride because it would have been rude to leave you out."
Relena untied the bow on the front of her halter and picked up a pair of scissors to snip it off. "I'm only going along because you need a ride."
"You could always let me borrow-"
"No."
"Well, then," Duo said, flinging his braid over his shoulder. "Shall we?"
Relena really had considered declining the invitation and letting Duo get to know Heero one on one, but he'd complained so much about his last few dates that she was getting a little worried. It was hard to say whether Duo was expecting too much or if his taste in men was getting worse the longer he went without sex.
She knew he hadn't, because whenever Duo got lucky, he sang along with the radio, and not just the ones he liked or the ones they'd sing a duet to as they drove, but to every single song that played whether he liked it or not.
She wondered if she could convince him to go with her tomorrow to pick out a new outfit for work, just so she could crank up the car stereo on the way over.
Heero was already there, waiting for Duo - no matter how much she teased Duo she knew that Heero could have cared less if she'd shown up or not - and she made a mental point in his favor for punctuality. Two, actually, considering that there had been no set time which meant that Heero had no way of knowing when they'd be here - or if at all.
He wasn't alone, either, and the cute, if sullen, friend of his didn't look terribly happy to be there. She was tempted to mark Heero's total up to three for thinking of her and unofficially arranging a blind date, but she'd wait on that until she found out more about the sort of people Heero hung around with.
She wasn't sure what she expected them to talk about. That was one of the problems with first dates, unless you were friends with them first. Then there was the question of who would be left at the table and who would pick up the order when it was ready, but Heero took care of that by asking his friend, who he'd introduced as Wufei, to help him carry the food back.
"How much would it cost me to get you to take Wufei over to the paddleboats?"
"That depends. Am I just taking him there or am I expected to get on one with him?"
"I've got twenty bucks. How far will you go for that amount?"
"When you put it like that, Duo, you make it sound so dirty."
"Hey, I only want you to give me and Heero some alone time. What you and Wufei decide to do when you're on your own is up to you."
"They're on their way back," she murmured, and she smiled sweetly at him and reached over the table to pull a bit of lint from his hair.
"How long has that been there? Why didn't you tell me before we left?"
"Hope you like chili cheese fries," Heero said, putting a plate of them in the center of the table. "If not, Wufei has the plain ones."
Duo looked at her nervously and she felt a little sorry for him. He was worried he was going to go from Mr. Smooth to Mr. Wearing My Lunch. She snagged one of the fries, dragging half a tablespoon of chili along with it. If she dropped any of it on her lap, she'd just add a new short set to Duo's debt.
Once they'd squared away their drinks and burgers, Heero took care of breaking the ice, asking Relena if she'd restored the Camaro herself or if it had looked that good when she bought it.
She kicked Duo under the table before he could react to the first part of that question. "Actually it was neither. I won it in a raffle."
"With a ticket I bought you," Duo pointed out.
"For my birthday!"
"You bought her a raffle ticket for her birthday?" Wufei asked.
"I was broke," Duo said defensively, "and it was for a good cause."
"It's the thought that counts," Heero reassured him, "and it worked out in the end. It suits you," he said to Relena.
"Why thank you, Heero," she said. He had four, or maybe it was five, marks in the Pro column and none yet in the Con. She'd only finished half of her burger but she set it down and wiped her hands carefully on her napkin.
"Wufei," she said. "I've been looking forward to going on the paddleboats all week, and I'd ask Duo only I think he'd rather have someone else's company."
Duo was shaking his head and mouthing threats at her and Wufei rolled his eyes, but he tossed his napkin on the table and stood.
Heero's friend was willing to help him out. That meant either he owed Heero a favor or he liked him an awful lot. That point could go either way, but she was willing to give Heero the benefit of the doubt.
"Make sure you wear your lifejacket," she told him, and then she and Wufei left them alone.
She glanced over at her car as they headed toward the lake and decided that she'd use that twenty dollars Duo owed her to get it washed and waxed, and then maybe she'd scare him by telling him she'd decided to have it painted pink.
Wufei held out the lifejacket for her to slip her arms into and then assisted her into the paddleboat. She waved to Heero and Duo as she and Wufei pedaled backwards to move the boat away from the shore so they could turn it around. She could be wrong as they were a good distance away, but it looked like Heero had moved a little closer.
She was definitely going to blare the car stereo tomorrow.