Wrong Number, Gundam Wing, for stagesoflove
Title: Wrong Number
Author: Ellie Biel
Fandom: Gundam Wing
Characters/pairing: Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy
Warnings: AU
Notes: Written for stagesoflove, Stage 1: Attraction and as an attempt to tackle the second definition of attraction that was provided during Round 1.
Duo could blame himself for having such sloppy handwriting, but it was easier to say it was Quatre's fault. He'd scribbled down Quatre's new phone number in a hurry - he'd swear that his friend had a radar that told him just when Duo's bladder was painfully full, because he never failed to call him right at that very moment Duo was nearly racing toward the bathroom. Now that he was no longer shifting his weight from one foot to the other like he'd been two days ago, he had no idea if that was an eight or a nine at the end.
It had to be a nine, he decided, one with a hurried little tail at the end from the haste with which he'd dropped the pen after he'd finally gotten Quatre off the phone.
He was completely caught off guard when he dialed and heard the monotone greeting "Pizza Pizza." If the voice on the other end hadn't sounded so different from Quatre's, he'd have assumed it was a joke, that his number had shown up on Caller ID and that Quatre had somehow known that Duo wasn't sure if he'd dialed correctly.
"I'm sorry," Duo said. "I think I have the wrong number."
"You're not trying to reach the hospital, are you?"
"What? No. Just looking for a friend." He smiled. "Sounds like you get wrong numbers a lot."
"Usually from people calling Saint Anthony's. Their number ends in a six; ours ends with a nine."
Duo glanced at his handset. "Ah, I see how that would happen. The six is right on top of the nine."
"Right where it belongs."
"Well, yeah, they do sort of put the keys in numeric order."
"There's that, too." The stranger sounded amused, and Duo couldn't help thinking that this was what women meant when they talked about a bedroom voice. It was definitely feeling warmer in the apartment.
"I'm sorry to have bothered you," Duo said, gripping the receiver tightly.
"No bother at all. Like you said, I get it all the time."
For some reason that didn't make Duo feel any better. "Uh huh. So, hey, I'd better get going. I told my friend I'd call him so we could get together for lunch today." There was no reason for him to share that much information. All he had to do was apologize, which he'd done, and hang up. He moved the phone to his other ear.
"Does your friend like pizza?"
"My friend will eat anything you put in front of him," Duo laughed. "Especially if you're paying for it."
He would swear he could hear the guy smile. "If you're near Emerson Street, bring him to Pizza Pizza. Tell them Heero sent you and they'll give you fifteen percent off."
"Heero, huh. That you?"
"Guilty."
"OK, Heero. Maybe I will."
There was a moment of silence, and Duo thought he must have had hit the flash button by mistake.
"Are you a vegetarian?" A pause, and then, "or your friend?"
"No."
"Good. I highly recommend the meat lover's."
"OK. I'll be sure to tell him."
"Twenty."
"Twenty?"
"Twenty percent off, but that offer is only good for today."
"I'll keep that in mind." Duo was glad he was using a cordless phone, because with all the pacing he'd started doing, he was sure he'd have the cord wound around his torso several times by now. After getting his braid knotted that way a few times, he tried to avoid corded phones at all costs.
"Thank you for calling Pizza Pizza. Have a nice day."
Duo stared at the phone in his hand, his mind processing that the phone call, if one could really consider it as such, had ended. He hit the Talk button twice and dialed what he hoped was Quatre's number, making sure to press the eight this time.
"Hey, Duo!" Quatre sounded quite cheerful today.
"Hey." Duo started playing with the seam of his wallpaper, where it was just starting to lift. "You hungry?"
"You offering to buy?"
"Sure."
"Where we going?"
Duo flicked at the wallpaper a few times. "You know, Quatre, I've just developed a craving for pizza..."