(Gundam Wing fic) Paint it Pastel, 1-3/? (5/R)
Taking a breather from The Dark Knight and diving into GW again. This is a fic I've thought a lot on, but haven't written on since 2005. Oooh. Yay, me. Anyway, here are chapters 1-3, and I'll be adding more shortly.
Warnings/disclaimers/etc.: Standard disclaimers apply. I originally wrote this under the pen-name Sailor Zoisite, the Wannabe Shinigami; if you've read it before, I'm not plagiarizing, it's my own work. Later chapters will be longer (I have a 3k word minimum these days).
Chapter 1
One person in a king-sized bed should be the eighth deadly sin.
There was far too much room. Too much space in which to wallow shamelessly, luxuriating in the barely-awake feeling of a morning well-spent sleeping in as long as Duo-ly possible, feeling the warmth of the sunlight through the blinds, the near-stuffiness of the room in mid-morning.
Relena rolled over onto her stomach and threw one leg across her blankets and the body pillow next to her, cuddling it close and heaving a great big yawn as she nestled deeper into her covers. A sin, indeed.
***
Wufei leaned his head against the headrest and glance out of the corner of one dark eye at Duo.
"We're going where?"
"Relena's flat."
"To do what?"
"Paint it."
"And she . . ."
"Doesn't know."
"And this is . . ."
"Perfectly acceptable. She'll love us for it. I might get laid."
Wufei pursed his lips gently and pondered his next words. What came at the end of Duo's sentences didn't always have to do with what came at the beginning. "Do you do this often? By whom?"
"Never. Some girl I met at the club. Hey, look, she's still in bed. Awesome."
Wufei glanced up as Duo pulled his truck into the driveway and killed the engine. Relena lived in a rather upscale area of the town; her living room was probably as big as his apartment, but then, most living rooms were. Preventers housing was crap.
It had to be the top story. Then again, the buildings were only two storeys high, but still. It was the principle of the thing. Wufei sighed and unbuckled, then paused only slightly when he saw Heero and Trowa standing by the doors. Trust Duo to cause as much havoc with as many people's lives as possible. He'd never even formally met Relena. Well, nine on a Sunday morning was as good a time as any, he guessed.
"---room tannish-red shades, and her bedroom maybe in blues or greens, what do you think?" Duo was saying as Wufei got to the little group.
"I think she'll blow a gasket if you bring puce anywhere near her home," Heero remarked. Trowa started laughing.
"Trowa, it wasn't that funny," Duo half-snapped with a slight grin. Trowa sniggered once more, then fell silent. They flashed their badges at the doorman, who opened the doors with a nod and ushered them through. The dismay he must have felt at seeing them decked out in coveralls and olds shirts, jeans and sneakers, all well-worn, torn and stained, hauling painting gear for an entire house between the three of them, didn't register for an instant.
High class, indeed.
***
Relena roused briefly; she could have sworn she'd heard her front door open. There was no more noise, and besides, only Heero and her brother had keys, and they both called ahead. She nestled back down, asleep again almost before she stopped moving.
***
Duo grinned and surveyed the living room. It was spacious, with very little furniture. Not that Relena went without; everything she had was functional, practical, and probably cost more than Wufei made in a year. A couch, a set of armchairs, a coffee table and four tables did little to fill up the space of her living room. And Wufei had been right. It was bigger than his apartment.
"Right," the long-haired man said softly. "Let's get the furniture moved." He, Heero and Trowa started moving with much purpose, and Wufei lagged behind.
She had real hardwood floors. Redwood, if Wufei had any guess. Aside from the palatial living room, her kitchen was gigantic. It even had a real fireplace big enough to roast a hog. True, a middle-sized one, but a hog nonetheless. It was all warm browns, tans and reds in the kitchen, making it cosy and rustic, and there was plenty of evidence that the woman cooked.
In fact . . .
Feeling slightly guilty, Wufei sidled over to a gently steaming pot on the stove and lifted the lid a bit. The aroma that met his nose made his stomach clench and his knees go weak. Spaghetti sauce. Not just any spaghetti sauce, either. This had been simmering for at least a day, and it was full of good meat and chunks of tomatoes and other ingredients and . . . Wufei inhaled deeply and closed his eyes to savour the aroma even better. Cinnamon. The woman knew how to use cinnamon in cooking. He was in love.
He snorted to himself with a smile and set the lid down again, lest he ruin her sauce, and poked around a bit more. This high-class, straight-out-of-Better Homes and Gardens North American Southwestern Edition-kitchen was well-used and well-loved. There were herbs hanging up to dry, and more growing in pots and dishes around the place. The dining room was good-sized; about a quarter the size of the living room, making it half again the size of the kitchen. It was done in whites and pastels, though not much of those, making it very fresh and open. White lace curtains moved gently in a slight breeze and the cedar table gleamed in the light. The chairs matched, with white cushions that went with the white tablecloth.
She certainly knew how to colour-coordinate, Wufei mused. That was, if she'd had any hand in it. He filed through his library until he found her book and glanced through it, then nodded and wandered back into the living room. She lived alone, so it wasn't a roommate's doing.
Then again . . . He leaned against the wall as he watched the three other men work. They certainly seemed to know what they were doing.
"I think you lied to me, Duo," he called out. Duo glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "I think you've been redecorating Miss Darlian's home for her."
He got an unabashed grin. "Yeah, you caught me. She'll yell when she gets up, but don't worry. She doesn't mean it, or she'd have gotten a restraining order against me by now."
Wufei let out a chuckle and moved to help Trowa with the couch. Duo was already laying out plastic to cover the floor, and Wufei took in the obnoxious shade of gray the walls were. They definitely had to go.
"Why not go with a mixture of the kitchen and dining room colours?" he asked.
Duo paused, then bit his lower lip. "So they blend together?" he asked. Wufei grunted an affirmative. "Hey, you know, that works! I don't have much of either one left; I was going to send you for more." He got a glare and laughed. "Right. Okay. Let's do that. Heero?"
The Japanese man shrugged and crouched over the paint cans, counting and wiggling his fingers. Duo started directing Wufei and Trowa, and together they worked to move the living room's furniture and pictures to the middle, where their work on the walls would be undisturbed.
***
Relena finally gave up on sleeping and opened her eyes to the sounds of male laughter and the sweet, toe-curling smell of her mother's spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove. She inhaled deeply and then rolled her eyes, debating on yelling at Duo, but figured it'd do more harm than good and anyway, at least she didn't have to paint her flat alone.
She got up and pulled a robe on, then padded to her door and opened it. She belted the robe as she walked down the hallway, then paused and smiled as she entered the living room.
"What's that palace of yours got to say about heat sensors?" Duo was asking. She shook her head. He just wanted to blow things up, he really did.
"Let me look."
That was a voice she hadn't heard before, and Relena turned to the speaker. He was Asian, with tanned skin and glossy black hair. His features were strong, proud, and he held himself with a self-possession that had nothing to do with bravado or arrogance and everything to do with strength and competence. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, then let his breath out slowly and opened them again. Relena frowned as she worked around Duo's question and the man's behaviour.
"Northeast tower, dragon statue in jade . . ." He rambled off technical jargon that would have gone completely over Relena's head in any case, but she was staring now, her mouth open in shock.
"You have a memory palace?" she blurted out.
***
"You have a memory palace?"
All three men turned sharply at the surprised and surprising soprano from the hallway. Trowa grabbed his shirt and pulled it on quickly, Heero paused mid-stroke, Duo turned with a quizzical expression on his face and the man with the palace looked at her with raised eyebrows, flushing a little.
"Relena, this is Wufei. Wufei, Relena. He's with us," Duo said helpfully.
Relena ignored him and fixed Wufei with a penetrating stare, pushing away from the wall and coming at him. Wufei swallowed and tensed, very sorry he'd poked around her kitchen.
"You have a memory palace?" she repeated.
He blinked, then his mind caught up with events. He coughed. "Ah, yes. Yes, I do. You've heard of them?"
"Is today the day for dumb questions, or what?" Heero asked irritably. "Come on, the paint's drying."
Relena forgave them the intrusion into her space and focused on Wufei, who looked uncomfortable, but also curious.
"I've read about them," she answered. "I'd like to know more. Tell me?"
"Of course," Wufei replied. He blinked at her again, then cleared his throat. "Of course," he repeated.
Chapter 2
Wufei wasn't looking at Relena's ass. The jeans she'd slipped into had designs on the back pockets, and he was trying to figure out the Celtic knotwork. Besides, they were pretty.
His gaze moved up, over the curve of her back as she knelt on her hands and knees to paint one corner, as the other three had strictly forbidden her to do much heavy work. She'd submitted with a well-practice eye-roll, which left the curve of her neck open to Wufei's viewing. He tilted his head as he finished his perusal, then turned back to the counter where he'd been tasked with cutting up celery for a snack and came face-to-face with a slightly pointed, furry cream-and-gray head sticking out of the open cupboard.
Wufei yelled in surprise and jumped back, and the animal squealed and then chittered angrily at him before leaping out of the cupboard and scrambling across the room. It hit Relena just as she'd completed her hasty turn at the sound of Wufei's shout and started chittering at her, and she cradled the creature gently, crooning to it as she stroked and fondled the silky pelt.
"Nimitz! Oh, you poor thing! Did he scare you?"
"Did I scare it?!" Wufei gasped, holding one hand to his chest. "What in Buddha's name is that thing?!"
She glared at him and huffed, rubbing her cheek against it's long, sinuous body. "His name in Nimitz," she said a bit coldly, "and he is a ferret."
Wufei glared back out of reflex, then closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. He held it a moment, then slowly let it out and smoothed his expression as he opened his eyes again.
"All right," he said calmly. "All right. He startled me. I apologize for over-reacting."
It wasn't as stiff as Relena had thought it would be. She nuzzled Nimitz some more as he decided that now was the time to play dead and flopped over in her hands, then smiled all of a sudden and stood up.
"Okay. You're forgiven. I'm sorry I snapped at you." She walked up to Wufei and held Nimitz up a bit shyly. "Friends?"
Wufei looked down at the 'dead' ferret, which was starting to snore, and couldn't resist the urge to smile. "Friends," he confirmed, and reached up to gently scratch the critter's ears. "Nimitz, eh? He's got the right colouring, too."
Relena blushed and shrugged, beaming down at the ferret. "I admit, I used my position, money, and popularity shamelessly to hassle some poor breeder into breeding him just for me." She giggled.
Wufei raised an eyebrow, amused despite his best efforts. "He's a splendid specimen, I'm sure."
Her gaze flicked up to his face and then down again, cheeks heating once more. "He's my baby," she said simply. "Now, how about that celery and peanut butter?"
Wufei rolled his eyes and turned back to the kitchen. "I'm almost done."
He saw Relena sling Nimitz over her shoulder and follow him. "I'll help. They'll be grouching at me to take a break soon, anyway."
"Why is that?"
He knew the instant it left his mouth that it was the wrong question. Relena went very still for a moment, her slender shoulders tensing, and Nimitz raised his head as he felt his mistress' discomfort.
"My apologies; knowing all three of them, it was a stupid question." Relena looked at him sharply with guarded eyes and Wufei gave her a hesitant grin. "After all, if they're intent on painting your whole house --- excuse me, apartment --- with or without your permission, it's fairly obvious they have something to prove by it." A flash of a smile crossed her lips at the poke at her apartment, and Wufei shrugged. "I, however, have absolutely nothing to prove and thus am quite content to cut celery." She was starting to smile, and he tried one more time. "Besides, they're such babies at work, they must need to baby you as much as possible to make up for it, if that's even possible."
Relena broke into a real grin and laughed just a bit, and Wufei relaxed. He didn't know how or why, but he'd hit a sore spot and resolved to watch his tongue much better from now on.
"Now, about a memory palace," he offered, lilting his voice to make it a suggestion, and had the satisfaction of seeing all of Relena's tension melt away as her eyes lit up.
***
Duo, Trowa and Heero relaxed as Wufei and Relena disappeared into the kitchen, the ferret changing hands, absorbed in the conversation about memory palaces.
Duo blew out his breath noisily. "That could have been bad."
"He handled it well," Trowa pointed out.
Duo shrugged and glanced at Heero with a raised eyebrow.
Heero returned the shrug. "He'll do fine. She's wearing tighter pants."
This made the other two grin. "She doesn't realize she does that, does she?" Duo asked. It was rhetorical, but Heero and Trowa both shook their heads. "Oh, well. Back to work."
Chapter 3
Relena came out of the bathroom with a towel on her head and Nimitz in the towel. The cream-and-gray ferret was burrowed deep into the soft cloth, holding some treat or other in his paws and nibbling delicately on it as he watched the proceedings from his perch. Wufei's three companions treated it as normal, so Wufei himself merely shook his head and then flushed when Relena caught his eye and winked.
"When I first got him, he'd followed me into the shower and then crawled out," she told him, "and when I went to wrap my hair up, I found him in the towel. It's been his spot ever since."
"Does he bathe with you often?" Wufei cringed a bit as soon as the words left his mouth, but Relena just grinned.
"Oh, yes. Every time. He doesn't always get washed --- too much and his skin gets too oily, you know --- but he loves baths. Now, how about some lunch, boys?"
Wufei fell silent as the other three voiced their enthusiastic agreement, pondering the woman in front of him. She was remarkably different around people she was comfortable with, and it intrigued him. He sat silently at the table as she served them, head lowered slightly as he watched her move. She had an easy, approachable manner, playful and laughing with her friends. It was . . . freer than her public persona, which was what most everyone knew.
"You're awfully quiet," she said suddenly, and Wufei raised his head and eyebrows as he looked at her.
"He's just shy," Duo snickered.
Wufei glowered at him briefly. "There is no shame in being shy," he stated in a low voice.
Relena twinkled. Wufei had read the description, but never actually witnessed it, yet he was fairly sure that Relena was twinkling. It was in the tone of her smile, the way her eyes crinkled up in it, the look on her whole face.
"But what if you want to get laid?"
Duo glanced at Relena quickly, but she was still twinkling at Wufei, who dragged a hand down over his eyes and then rolled them upward, mouthing what was probably a prayer for patience.
"Some girls like quiet men," Relena murmured demurely. Duo gave her a Look and then rolled his eyes and waved his fork dismissively.
"Yeah, sure, whatever."
Wufei may have been a tad uncomfortable with the conversation, but Trowa was turning an interesting shade of red and Wufei arched an eyebrow. He saw Relena's eyes widen out of the corner of his eye and his lips tugged up at one corner.
"How's Catherine?" he asked.
The look Trowa shot him was thankful. "She's fine. Decided that she wants to study anthropology."
Wufei let the conversation roll around him, savouring the meal. Relena was a good cook. Better than good, in fact, and he said so.
He had the pleasure of seeing the blush rise to her cheeks. "Thank you," she said softly, smiling.
"Thank you," he replied. "This is the best meal I've had in ages."
The blush deepened. "Now you're just teasing me," she protested.
"I am not. I can't cook, myself, and generally eat in the mess hall."
"But, Wufei, most everything's better than the mess hall."
"Duo . . ." He hesitated. It was rude, after all, to use strong language in front of a lady.
"Shut the fuck up, Duo," the lady cut in. Wufei blinked and she turned scarlet. "Uhm . . . I'm sorry." It was a whisper and Relena covered her face with both hands. "It just kind of . . . happened."
Duo choked. "Yeah," he coughed, "I hate it when that happens."
"I've had enough of your sexual innuendo, Duo," Heero said sharply. "Cut it out."
Duo sketched a mock salute and peered around, then nodded in satisfaction. "I'm pretty good at this decorating business," he said.
Relena made a face as she tried to suppress her smile. "I refuse to comment."
"Go on, be good to my ego. It needs it."
"It needs to be taken down a few notches," Wufei stated, then pointed with his fork. "You missed a spot."
"What? Oh, fuck."
In the upper corner by the door was a vaguely triangular patch of the same dreary gray that three quarters of Relena's living room still was, glaringly obvious against the pristine white of the dining room walls. Wufei and Relena shared a triumphant smile as Heero berated Duo for his language and Trowa chuckled softly.
"You've got a good eye," she murmured as the others started arguing.
She'd scooted her chair closer to him and Wufei shrugged. "I need one," he replied. "Having a memory palace helps, as well."
Her eyes lit up again. "And you can use anything to start with, correct?"
He nodded. "Any structure you wish, provided you can memorize it completely. I would recommend starting small; you don't need an actual palace right away, because you'll be adding rooms and trinkets."
"That makes sense. So . . . start with a room you know, and memorize it. Then you put something --- say a speech --- next to, oh, this spoon, and pass through the room and pick it up when you need it."
Wufei took a quick drink of milk and dabbed at his lips. "Yes, or it can actually be the object. Personally, I use books." She raised both eyebrows after a brief hesitation, and Wufei hid a smile when he realized that she couldn't raise just one and had tried. "I have a book for everyone I know, or know of, that is . . . customized, you might say, to what I know of them, and I put what I know about them inside. It was what was easiest for me to do when I was younger."
"So . . . an annoying shade of puce for Duo, then?"
They both laughed and ignored the sudden silence from their companions. "Not quite puce, I would say, but certainly his cover is . . . eye-catching. When I learn something new, or have a new observation or whatnot, I just add it in. Some books are thinner than others, naturally." And her was getting bigger all the time, he didn't add. Maybe she already knew it.
Relena was fascinated. All the reading on the subject of memory palaces that she'd done had just confused her; it was much better to talk with someone who had one.
"Could a place be used?" she asked suddenly. "Not a room, is what I mean."
"As in a lake or a forest?" Wufei shrugged. "Whatever you like. I've never tried that . . ." He frowned as he thought about it, then smiled and shook his head. "I'm certain it could work; my knowledge of swimming and such is kept in an ornamental koi pond, so as long as you memorize everything about the place, I'm sure it's possible."
Relena flushed at his approving look. "Let's hear it for innovative thinking."
Wufei chuckled. "Nothing less than what I'd expect from you."
Relena blushed deeper and then cleared her throat suddenly, sitting up straight and turning back to her meal. Wufei decided a kick was too much and so prodded himself for making her uncomfortable. He took to his own meal, glancing up in time to see Duo making a questioning face and gesture at Relena. He didn't see her response, but filed it all away neatly. The day was getting . . . interesting.
Claws dug into his jeans and he jumped, scooting his chair back a bit as Nimitz wormed up into his lap and placed his front paws on the table, leaning forward to sniff at Wufei's spaghetti.
"Nimitz!" The ferret pulled back at Relena's sharp tone, and she sighed. "Look, Stinker, you don't get human food. You know that."
Nimitz endeavored to look as pathetic as possible, rubbing up against Wufei's chest and butting him in the chin with the top of his fuzzy head, making pitiful noises.
"Don't give in," Relena told him. "No matter what sort of tricks he tries. He knows the rules. His food is in the kitchen."
"In the cupboard?" Wufei asked as he gently removed a sulking Nimitz from his lap and set him on the floor.
"Sometimes. That's his nest. He's got a dish by the window." She sighed and bit her lower lip gently, frowning into her food. "I can't stay up late, guys," she said. Somehow, 'guys' didn't sound quite right coming from her upper-class accent. "I've got an extra-early day tomorrow."
"What time should I come over?" Heero asked.
"Two."
Duo cringed. "Dear God, Relena, two in the morning? We don't get up that early!"
"Well, I've got things to do tomorrow. The Foreign Minister is ill, so I have to take his meetings as well as mine. It's called responsibility, Duo."
Duo just made a face at her and Wufei raised a mental eyebrow at her sudden irritability. Relena was certainly multi-faceted.
She shook herself and stood up. "Well, then, shall we get started? I'm sure we can get the living room done today." It was an almost forced cheerfulness and Wufei frowned, a bit perturbed, but he got up with the rest of them and started gathering dishes.
"I can do that," Relena insisted, laying a hand on his arm.
Wufei tilted his head slightly toward her as he reached for a glass and offered her a smile. "I don't mind; two people are faster than one."
There was a moment of perfect stillness in the room as Relena looked at him flatly, her considerable mind working behind her cornflower-blue eyes, then she took a deep breath and nodded as she let it out slowly, smiling a bit.
"All right," she murmured. "All right. Thank you."
The other men shook off their sudden tenseness and Wufei continued to gather plates and take them into the kitchen, his brain working over-time. He and Relena were silent as they rinsed the dishes and loaded the dishwasher, and when they re-emerged into the living room ten minutes later he still had no idea what was triggering his companions' odd behaviour. They followed Duo's direction and by eight had gotten most of the room done.
"Out, out, out!" Relena shoved playfully at Duo. "I'm sure you'll all be back next Sunday, so go. Two, remember? That means I get up at one."
"Good Lord, go to bed," Duo grumbled.
Relena laughed and threw her arms around his neck to give him a kiss on the cheek, then did the same to Heero and Trowa. She turned to Wufei and flushed a little, just across the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheeks, and shifted her weight to one side.
"Ah, will you be coming with them next week?" she asked.
Wufei shifted a little, himself, and nodded. "If there's no objection."
"Good. It's a holiday next Monday, so we can all stay up late. I'll rent movies. Does that sound good?" The last was said to all of them, and since the other three agreed and Wufei had no social life to speak of, he didn't see anything wrong with it. "Good. I'll see you all then. Goodnight!"
They said their goodbyes and Wufei followed Duo out to his truck, Heero lagging behind to talk with Relena.
"So . . . not what you'd expected?" Duo asked casually.
Wufei raised an eyebrow as he buckled up, then shrugged with a slight smile. "I'm not sure what I'd expected. It was a pleasant experience."
"Yeah, you two seemed to hit it off real well."
"Why don't you just say whatever you're trying to get at?"
Duo pursed his lips and stared at the road. Finally, "Any interest on your part?"
Wufei had been expecting it. Duo was painfully obvious at some things. "Would it clash with an interest on yours? Or anyone else's?"
He got a glower. "That's not what I asked."
"But it's relevant. I don't chase women my friends are interested in."
Duo snorted. "Somehow, you and the phrase 'chasing women' just don't fit." He shrugged. "No, no one else is interested. Are you?"
Wufei stared at Duo, fighting a surge if irritation. "I wouldn't mind getting to know Relena better. She's a very interesting person."
Duo just grunted and concentrated on the road, and Wufei couldn't get a word out of him the entire trip back to his apartment.
***
Heero watched Duo, Trowa, and Wufei walk down the stairs, then turned to Relena and hugged her tightly. She returned it, smiling when he tilted her chin up to frown down at her.
"What was that about?"
"What was what about?"
He frowned harder. "Wufei." Relena raised both eyebrows. "You got on rather well with him."
"I get on rather well with anybody I choose to," she replied, then sighed at the look on his face. "He's nice, all right? And he's got a memory palace, and he's good to talk to, and he listens. He's not what I'd expected him to be like."
"Do you like him?"
"Good God, Heero, I've only just met him!" She softened her words with a smile and kissed his lips quickly. "I wouldn't mind getting to know him better, but you know I don't need romance right now. Especially right now. Hmm?"
Heero stayed still a moment or two longer, then nodded. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay." She leaned against her doorway as he caught up with Trowa, who had lingered behind. "I love you, Heero," she called softly.
He paused and turned back to her, then smiled. "I love you, too, Relena."
***
And, there you have it. So far. I'll be adding more, little by little.
Anyway, if you want to know more about memory palaces, read "Hannibal" or just Google it. This also gives a very basic overview of them: http://mappa.mundi.net/cartography/Palace/
Warnings/disclaimers/etc.: Standard disclaimers apply. I originally wrote this under the pen-name Sailor Zoisite, the Wannabe Shinigami; if you've read it before, I'm not plagiarizing, it's my own work. Later chapters will be longer (I have a 3k word minimum these days).
Chapter 1
One person in a king-sized bed should be the eighth deadly sin.
There was far too much room. Too much space in which to wallow shamelessly, luxuriating in the barely-awake feeling of a morning well-spent sleeping in as long as Duo-ly possible, feeling the warmth of the sunlight through the blinds, the near-stuffiness of the room in mid-morning.
Relena rolled over onto her stomach and threw one leg across her blankets and the body pillow next to her, cuddling it close and heaving a great big yawn as she nestled deeper into her covers. A sin, indeed.
***
Wufei leaned his head against the headrest and glance out of the corner of one dark eye at Duo.
"We're going where?"
"Relena's flat."
"To do what?"
"Paint it."
"And she . . ."
"Doesn't know."
"And this is . . ."
"Perfectly acceptable. She'll love us for it. I might get laid."
Wufei pursed his lips gently and pondered his next words. What came at the end of Duo's sentences didn't always have to do with what came at the beginning. "Do you do this often? By whom?"
"Never. Some girl I met at the club. Hey, look, she's still in bed. Awesome."
Wufei glanced up as Duo pulled his truck into the driveway and killed the engine. Relena lived in a rather upscale area of the town; her living room was probably as big as his apartment, but then, most living rooms were. Preventers housing was crap.
It had to be the top story. Then again, the buildings were only two storeys high, but still. It was the principle of the thing. Wufei sighed and unbuckled, then paused only slightly when he saw Heero and Trowa standing by the doors. Trust Duo to cause as much havoc with as many people's lives as possible. He'd never even formally met Relena. Well, nine on a Sunday morning was as good a time as any, he guessed.
"---room tannish-red shades, and her bedroom maybe in blues or greens, what do you think?" Duo was saying as Wufei got to the little group.
"I think she'll blow a gasket if you bring puce anywhere near her home," Heero remarked. Trowa started laughing.
"Trowa, it wasn't that funny," Duo half-snapped with a slight grin. Trowa sniggered once more, then fell silent. They flashed their badges at the doorman, who opened the doors with a nod and ushered them through. The dismay he must have felt at seeing them decked out in coveralls and olds shirts, jeans and sneakers, all well-worn, torn and stained, hauling painting gear for an entire house between the three of them, didn't register for an instant.
High class, indeed.
***
Relena roused briefly; she could have sworn she'd heard her front door open. There was no more noise, and besides, only Heero and her brother had keys, and they both called ahead. She nestled back down, asleep again almost before she stopped moving.
***
Duo grinned and surveyed the living room. It was spacious, with very little furniture. Not that Relena went without; everything she had was functional, practical, and probably cost more than Wufei made in a year. A couch, a set of armchairs, a coffee table and four tables did little to fill up the space of her living room. And Wufei had been right. It was bigger than his apartment.
"Right," the long-haired man said softly. "Let's get the furniture moved." He, Heero and Trowa started moving with much purpose, and Wufei lagged behind.
She had real hardwood floors. Redwood, if Wufei had any guess. Aside from the palatial living room, her kitchen was gigantic. It even had a real fireplace big enough to roast a hog. True, a middle-sized one, but a hog nonetheless. It was all warm browns, tans and reds in the kitchen, making it cosy and rustic, and there was plenty of evidence that the woman cooked.
In fact . . .
Feeling slightly guilty, Wufei sidled over to a gently steaming pot on the stove and lifted the lid a bit. The aroma that met his nose made his stomach clench and his knees go weak. Spaghetti sauce. Not just any spaghetti sauce, either. This had been simmering for at least a day, and it was full of good meat and chunks of tomatoes and other ingredients and . . . Wufei inhaled deeply and closed his eyes to savour the aroma even better. Cinnamon. The woman knew how to use cinnamon in cooking. He was in love.
He snorted to himself with a smile and set the lid down again, lest he ruin her sauce, and poked around a bit more. This high-class, straight-out-of-Better Homes and Gardens North American Southwestern Edition-kitchen was well-used and well-loved. There were herbs hanging up to dry, and more growing in pots and dishes around the place. The dining room was good-sized; about a quarter the size of the living room, making it half again the size of the kitchen. It was done in whites and pastels, though not much of those, making it very fresh and open. White lace curtains moved gently in a slight breeze and the cedar table gleamed in the light. The chairs matched, with white cushions that went with the white tablecloth.
She certainly knew how to colour-coordinate, Wufei mused. That was, if she'd had any hand in it. He filed through his library until he found her book and glanced through it, then nodded and wandered back into the living room. She lived alone, so it wasn't a roommate's doing.
Then again . . . He leaned against the wall as he watched the three other men work. They certainly seemed to know what they were doing.
"I think you lied to me, Duo," he called out. Duo glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "I think you've been redecorating Miss Darlian's home for her."
He got an unabashed grin. "Yeah, you caught me. She'll yell when she gets up, but don't worry. She doesn't mean it, or she'd have gotten a restraining order against me by now."
Wufei let out a chuckle and moved to help Trowa with the couch. Duo was already laying out plastic to cover the floor, and Wufei took in the obnoxious shade of gray the walls were. They definitely had to go.
"Why not go with a mixture of the kitchen and dining room colours?" he asked.
Duo paused, then bit his lower lip. "So they blend together?" he asked. Wufei grunted an affirmative. "Hey, you know, that works! I don't have much of either one left; I was going to send you for more." He got a glare and laughed. "Right. Okay. Let's do that. Heero?"
The Japanese man shrugged and crouched over the paint cans, counting and wiggling his fingers. Duo started directing Wufei and Trowa, and together they worked to move the living room's furniture and pictures to the middle, where their work on the walls would be undisturbed.
***
Relena finally gave up on sleeping and opened her eyes to the sounds of male laughter and the sweet, toe-curling smell of her mother's spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove. She inhaled deeply and then rolled her eyes, debating on yelling at Duo, but figured it'd do more harm than good and anyway, at least she didn't have to paint her flat alone.
She got up and pulled a robe on, then padded to her door and opened it. She belted the robe as she walked down the hallway, then paused and smiled as she entered the living room.
"What's that palace of yours got to say about heat sensors?" Duo was asking. She shook her head. He just wanted to blow things up, he really did.
"Let me look."
That was a voice she hadn't heard before, and Relena turned to the speaker. He was Asian, with tanned skin and glossy black hair. His features were strong, proud, and he held himself with a self-possession that had nothing to do with bravado or arrogance and everything to do with strength and competence. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, then let his breath out slowly and opened them again. Relena frowned as she worked around Duo's question and the man's behaviour.
"Northeast tower, dragon statue in jade . . ." He rambled off technical jargon that would have gone completely over Relena's head in any case, but she was staring now, her mouth open in shock.
"You have a memory palace?" she blurted out.
***
"You have a memory palace?"
All three men turned sharply at the surprised and surprising soprano from the hallway. Trowa grabbed his shirt and pulled it on quickly, Heero paused mid-stroke, Duo turned with a quizzical expression on his face and the man with the palace looked at her with raised eyebrows, flushing a little.
"Relena, this is Wufei. Wufei, Relena. He's with us," Duo said helpfully.
Relena ignored him and fixed Wufei with a penetrating stare, pushing away from the wall and coming at him. Wufei swallowed and tensed, very sorry he'd poked around her kitchen.
"You have a memory palace?" she repeated.
He blinked, then his mind caught up with events. He coughed. "Ah, yes. Yes, I do. You've heard of them?"
"Is today the day for dumb questions, or what?" Heero asked irritably. "Come on, the paint's drying."
Relena forgave them the intrusion into her space and focused on Wufei, who looked uncomfortable, but also curious.
"I've read about them," she answered. "I'd like to know more. Tell me?"
"Of course," Wufei replied. He blinked at her again, then cleared his throat. "Of course," he repeated.
Chapter 2
Wufei wasn't looking at Relena's ass. The jeans she'd slipped into had designs on the back pockets, and he was trying to figure out the Celtic knotwork. Besides, they were pretty.
His gaze moved up, over the curve of her back as she knelt on her hands and knees to paint one corner, as the other three had strictly forbidden her to do much heavy work. She'd submitted with a well-practice eye-roll, which left the curve of her neck open to Wufei's viewing. He tilted his head as he finished his perusal, then turned back to the counter where he'd been tasked with cutting up celery for a snack and came face-to-face with a slightly pointed, furry cream-and-gray head sticking out of the open cupboard.
Wufei yelled in surprise and jumped back, and the animal squealed and then chittered angrily at him before leaping out of the cupboard and scrambling across the room. It hit Relena just as she'd completed her hasty turn at the sound of Wufei's shout and started chittering at her, and she cradled the creature gently, crooning to it as she stroked and fondled the silky pelt.
"Nimitz! Oh, you poor thing! Did he scare you?"
"Did I scare it?!" Wufei gasped, holding one hand to his chest. "What in Buddha's name is that thing?!"
She glared at him and huffed, rubbing her cheek against it's long, sinuous body. "His name in Nimitz," she said a bit coldly, "and he is a ferret."
Wufei glared back out of reflex, then closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. He held it a moment, then slowly let it out and smoothed his expression as he opened his eyes again.
"All right," he said calmly. "All right. He startled me. I apologize for over-reacting."
It wasn't as stiff as Relena had thought it would be. She nuzzled Nimitz some more as he decided that now was the time to play dead and flopped over in her hands, then smiled all of a sudden and stood up.
"Okay. You're forgiven. I'm sorry I snapped at you." She walked up to Wufei and held Nimitz up a bit shyly. "Friends?"
Wufei looked down at the 'dead' ferret, which was starting to snore, and couldn't resist the urge to smile. "Friends," he confirmed, and reached up to gently scratch the critter's ears. "Nimitz, eh? He's got the right colouring, too."
Relena blushed and shrugged, beaming down at the ferret. "I admit, I used my position, money, and popularity shamelessly to hassle some poor breeder into breeding him just for me." She giggled.
Wufei raised an eyebrow, amused despite his best efforts. "He's a splendid specimen, I'm sure."
Her gaze flicked up to his face and then down again, cheeks heating once more. "He's my baby," she said simply. "Now, how about that celery and peanut butter?"
Wufei rolled his eyes and turned back to the kitchen. "I'm almost done."
He saw Relena sling Nimitz over her shoulder and follow him. "I'll help. They'll be grouching at me to take a break soon, anyway."
"Why is that?"
He knew the instant it left his mouth that it was the wrong question. Relena went very still for a moment, her slender shoulders tensing, and Nimitz raised his head as he felt his mistress' discomfort.
"My apologies; knowing all three of them, it was a stupid question." Relena looked at him sharply with guarded eyes and Wufei gave her a hesitant grin. "After all, if they're intent on painting your whole house --- excuse me, apartment --- with or without your permission, it's fairly obvious they have something to prove by it." A flash of a smile crossed her lips at the poke at her apartment, and Wufei shrugged. "I, however, have absolutely nothing to prove and thus am quite content to cut celery." She was starting to smile, and he tried one more time. "Besides, they're such babies at work, they must need to baby you as much as possible to make up for it, if that's even possible."
Relena broke into a real grin and laughed just a bit, and Wufei relaxed. He didn't know how or why, but he'd hit a sore spot and resolved to watch his tongue much better from now on.
"Now, about a memory palace," he offered, lilting his voice to make it a suggestion, and had the satisfaction of seeing all of Relena's tension melt away as her eyes lit up.
***
Duo, Trowa and Heero relaxed as Wufei and Relena disappeared into the kitchen, the ferret changing hands, absorbed in the conversation about memory palaces.
Duo blew out his breath noisily. "That could have been bad."
"He handled it well," Trowa pointed out.
Duo shrugged and glanced at Heero with a raised eyebrow.
Heero returned the shrug. "He'll do fine. She's wearing tighter pants."
This made the other two grin. "She doesn't realize she does that, does she?" Duo asked. It was rhetorical, but Heero and Trowa both shook their heads. "Oh, well. Back to work."
Chapter 3
Relena came out of the bathroom with a towel on her head and Nimitz in the towel. The cream-and-gray ferret was burrowed deep into the soft cloth, holding some treat or other in his paws and nibbling delicately on it as he watched the proceedings from his perch. Wufei's three companions treated it as normal, so Wufei himself merely shook his head and then flushed when Relena caught his eye and winked.
"When I first got him, he'd followed me into the shower and then crawled out," she told him, "and when I went to wrap my hair up, I found him in the towel. It's been his spot ever since."
"Does he bathe with you often?" Wufei cringed a bit as soon as the words left his mouth, but Relena just grinned.
"Oh, yes. Every time. He doesn't always get washed --- too much and his skin gets too oily, you know --- but he loves baths. Now, how about some lunch, boys?"
Wufei fell silent as the other three voiced their enthusiastic agreement, pondering the woman in front of him. She was remarkably different around people she was comfortable with, and it intrigued him. He sat silently at the table as she served them, head lowered slightly as he watched her move. She had an easy, approachable manner, playful and laughing with her friends. It was . . . freer than her public persona, which was what most everyone knew.
"You're awfully quiet," she said suddenly, and Wufei raised his head and eyebrows as he looked at her.
"He's just shy," Duo snickered.
Wufei glowered at him briefly. "There is no shame in being shy," he stated in a low voice.
Relena twinkled. Wufei had read the description, but never actually witnessed it, yet he was fairly sure that Relena was twinkling. It was in the tone of her smile, the way her eyes crinkled up in it, the look on her whole face.
"But what if you want to get laid?"
Duo glanced at Relena quickly, but she was still twinkling at Wufei, who dragged a hand down over his eyes and then rolled them upward, mouthing what was probably a prayer for patience.
"Some girls like quiet men," Relena murmured demurely. Duo gave her a Look and then rolled his eyes and waved his fork dismissively.
"Yeah, sure, whatever."
Wufei may have been a tad uncomfortable with the conversation, but Trowa was turning an interesting shade of red and Wufei arched an eyebrow. He saw Relena's eyes widen out of the corner of his eye and his lips tugged up at one corner.
"How's Catherine?" he asked.
The look Trowa shot him was thankful. "She's fine. Decided that she wants to study anthropology."
Wufei let the conversation roll around him, savouring the meal. Relena was a good cook. Better than good, in fact, and he said so.
He had the pleasure of seeing the blush rise to her cheeks. "Thank you," she said softly, smiling.
"Thank you," he replied. "This is the best meal I've had in ages."
The blush deepened. "Now you're just teasing me," she protested.
"I am not. I can't cook, myself, and generally eat in the mess hall."
"But, Wufei, most everything's better than the mess hall."
"Duo . . ." He hesitated. It was rude, after all, to use strong language in front of a lady.
"Shut the fuck up, Duo," the lady cut in. Wufei blinked and she turned scarlet. "Uhm . . . I'm sorry." It was a whisper and Relena covered her face with both hands. "It just kind of . . . happened."
Duo choked. "Yeah," he coughed, "I hate it when that happens."
"I've had enough of your sexual innuendo, Duo," Heero said sharply. "Cut it out."
Duo sketched a mock salute and peered around, then nodded in satisfaction. "I'm pretty good at this decorating business," he said.
Relena made a face as she tried to suppress her smile. "I refuse to comment."
"Go on, be good to my ego. It needs it."
"It needs to be taken down a few notches," Wufei stated, then pointed with his fork. "You missed a spot."
"What? Oh, fuck."
In the upper corner by the door was a vaguely triangular patch of the same dreary gray that three quarters of Relena's living room still was, glaringly obvious against the pristine white of the dining room walls. Wufei and Relena shared a triumphant smile as Heero berated Duo for his language and Trowa chuckled softly.
"You've got a good eye," she murmured as the others started arguing.
She'd scooted her chair closer to him and Wufei shrugged. "I need one," he replied. "Having a memory palace helps, as well."
Her eyes lit up again. "And you can use anything to start with, correct?"
He nodded. "Any structure you wish, provided you can memorize it completely. I would recommend starting small; you don't need an actual palace right away, because you'll be adding rooms and trinkets."
"That makes sense. So . . . start with a room you know, and memorize it. Then you put something --- say a speech --- next to, oh, this spoon, and pass through the room and pick it up when you need it."
Wufei took a quick drink of milk and dabbed at his lips. "Yes, or it can actually be the object. Personally, I use books." She raised both eyebrows after a brief hesitation, and Wufei hid a smile when he realized that she couldn't raise just one and had tried. "I have a book for everyone I know, or know of, that is . . . customized, you might say, to what I know of them, and I put what I know about them inside. It was what was easiest for me to do when I was younger."
"So . . . an annoying shade of puce for Duo, then?"
They both laughed and ignored the sudden silence from their companions. "Not quite puce, I would say, but certainly his cover is . . . eye-catching. When I learn something new, or have a new observation or whatnot, I just add it in. Some books are thinner than others, naturally." And her was getting bigger all the time, he didn't add. Maybe she already knew it.
Relena was fascinated. All the reading on the subject of memory palaces that she'd done had just confused her; it was much better to talk with someone who had one.
"Could a place be used?" she asked suddenly. "Not a room, is what I mean."
"As in a lake or a forest?" Wufei shrugged. "Whatever you like. I've never tried that . . ." He frowned as he thought about it, then smiled and shook his head. "I'm certain it could work; my knowledge of swimming and such is kept in an ornamental koi pond, so as long as you memorize everything about the place, I'm sure it's possible."
Relena flushed at his approving look. "Let's hear it for innovative thinking."
Wufei chuckled. "Nothing less than what I'd expect from you."
Relena blushed deeper and then cleared her throat suddenly, sitting up straight and turning back to her meal. Wufei decided a kick was too much and so prodded himself for making her uncomfortable. He took to his own meal, glancing up in time to see Duo making a questioning face and gesture at Relena. He didn't see her response, but filed it all away neatly. The day was getting . . . interesting.
Claws dug into his jeans and he jumped, scooting his chair back a bit as Nimitz wormed up into his lap and placed his front paws on the table, leaning forward to sniff at Wufei's spaghetti.
"Nimitz!" The ferret pulled back at Relena's sharp tone, and she sighed. "Look, Stinker, you don't get human food. You know that."
Nimitz endeavored to look as pathetic as possible, rubbing up against Wufei's chest and butting him in the chin with the top of his fuzzy head, making pitiful noises.
"Don't give in," Relena told him. "No matter what sort of tricks he tries. He knows the rules. His food is in the kitchen."
"In the cupboard?" Wufei asked as he gently removed a sulking Nimitz from his lap and set him on the floor.
"Sometimes. That's his nest. He's got a dish by the window." She sighed and bit her lower lip gently, frowning into her food. "I can't stay up late, guys," she said. Somehow, 'guys' didn't sound quite right coming from her upper-class accent. "I've got an extra-early day tomorrow."
"What time should I come over?" Heero asked.
"Two."
Duo cringed. "Dear God, Relena, two in the morning? We don't get up that early!"
"Well, I've got things to do tomorrow. The Foreign Minister is ill, so I have to take his meetings as well as mine. It's called responsibility, Duo."
Duo just made a face at her and Wufei raised a mental eyebrow at her sudden irritability. Relena was certainly multi-faceted.
She shook herself and stood up. "Well, then, shall we get started? I'm sure we can get the living room done today." It was an almost forced cheerfulness and Wufei frowned, a bit perturbed, but he got up with the rest of them and started gathering dishes.
"I can do that," Relena insisted, laying a hand on his arm.
Wufei tilted his head slightly toward her as he reached for a glass and offered her a smile. "I don't mind; two people are faster than one."
There was a moment of perfect stillness in the room as Relena looked at him flatly, her considerable mind working behind her cornflower-blue eyes, then she took a deep breath and nodded as she let it out slowly, smiling a bit.
"All right," she murmured. "All right. Thank you."
The other men shook off their sudden tenseness and Wufei continued to gather plates and take them into the kitchen, his brain working over-time. He and Relena were silent as they rinsed the dishes and loaded the dishwasher, and when they re-emerged into the living room ten minutes later he still had no idea what was triggering his companions' odd behaviour. They followed Duo's direction and by eight had gotten most of the room done.
"Out, out, out!" Relena shoved playfully at Duo. "I'm sure you'll all be back next Sunday, so go. Two, remember? That means I get up at one."
"Good Lord, go to bed," Duo grumbled.
Relena laughed and threw her arms around his neck to give him a kiss on the cheek, then did the same to Heero and Trowa. She turned to Wufei and flushed a little, just across the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheeks, and shifted her weight to one side.
"Ah, will you be coming with them next week?" she asked.
Wufei shifted a little, himself, and nodded. "If there's no objection."
"Good. It's a holiday next Monday, so we can all stay up late. I'll rent movies. Does that sound good?" The last was said to all of them, and since the other three agreed and Wufei had no social life to speak of, he didn't see anything wrong with it. "Good. I'll see you all then. Goodnight!"
They said their goodbyes and Wufei followed Duo out to his truck, Heero lagging behind to talk with Relena.
"So . . . not what you'd expected?" Duo asked casually.
Wufei raised an eyebrow as he buckled up, then shrugged with a slight smile. "I'm not sure what I'd expected. It was a pleasant experience."
"Yeah, you two seemed to hit it off real well."
"Why don't you just say whatever you're trying to get at?"
Duo pursed his lips and stared at the road. Finally, "Any interest on your part?"
Wufei had been expecting it. Duo was painfully obvious at some things. "Would it clash with an interest on yours? Or anyone else's?"
He got a glower. "That's not what I asked."
"But it's relevant. I don't chase women my friends are interested in."
Duo snorted. "Somehow, you and the phrase 'chasing women' just don't fit." He shrugged. "No, no one else is interested. Are you?"
Wufei stared at Duo, fighting a surge if irritation. "I wouldn't mind getting to know Relena better. She's a very interesting person."
Duo just grunted and concentrated on the road, and Wufei couldn't get a word out of him the entire trip back to his apartment.
***
Heero watched Duo, Trowa, and Wufei walk down the stairs, then turned to Relena and hugged her tightly. She returned it, smiling when he tilted her chin up to frown down at her.
"What was that about?"
"What was what about?"
He frowned harder. "Wufei." Relena raised both eyebrows. "You got on rather well with him."
"I get on rather well with anybody I choose to," she replied, then sighed at the look on his face. "He's nice, all right? And he's got a memory palace, and he's good to talk to, and he listens. He's not what I'd expected him to be like."
"Do you like him?"
"Good God, Heero, I've only just met him!" She softened her words with a smile and kissed his lips quickly. "I wouldn't mind getting to know him better, but you know I don't need romance right now. Especially right now. Hmm?"
Heero stayed still a moment or two longer, then nodded. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay." She leaned against her doorway as he caught up with Trowa, who had lingered behind. "I love you, Heero," she called softly.
He paused and turned back to her, then smiled. "I love you, too, Relena."
***
And, there you have it. So far. I'll be adding more, little by little.
Anyway, if you want to know more about memory palaces, read "Hannibal" or just Google it. This also gives a very basic overview of them: http://mappa.mundi.net/cartography/Palace/