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Conversations with Trowa Duo was singing. He was singing surprisingly well, in fact. You couldn’t tell from his normal speaking voice -- especially because he was usually screaming at the top of his lungs -- but he had a wide range and was able to project his voice in a deep, resonating tone. [Closer, I wanna feel you The stage and audience was dark -- pitch black -- except for a spotlight which was focused on him. He was swaying back and forth with the beat of the music -- slowly, sensually and quite skillfully. His hips and legs were encased in black and leather, molded to the length of his powerful legs. [Tender, that kiss of yours The pants were hip-huggers, the low-slung waistline revealing glimpses of the smooth, tanned flesh of his stomach. [In holding you tight The shirt he wore was a fitted black silk dress shirt with a collar, but it had been left unbuttoned except for two buttons mid-chest, to tease you with glimpses of skin in all the places where it *wasn’t* clinging to his chest. [Oh darling we’ll melt in together Over it all, he wore a white trench coat that skimmed the floor, brushing the toes of his black calf-high lace-up boots. His hair was down, let out of its usual braid, and it seemed to glide and ripple over his clothes and skin like silk caressing flesh, keeping time with his hip-jerking movements. [Absolute love] He had a chain wrapped twice around his chest and torso and then down the lengths of his arms. He looked like danger. One hand gently caressed the microphone stand as he sang. He looked like sin. The other hand slowly dragged over his chest: the smooth skin, the silk of the shirt, the metal chains. He looked like sex. He looked like the rock star Nanjo Koji. Which was fortunate, considering that was whom he’d decided to dress up as this Halloween. The pilots had accepted an invitation to one of Quatre’s sister’s Halloween parties. It was a fairly large party and had an equal mix of every-day people, politicians, actors, actresses, musicians, and the like. The Gundam pilots were fairly reassured that they wouldn’t be recognized. Not to mention the fact that everyone was in costume tonight. Quatre’s sister had set up a karaoke stage, the only condition being that what you sang had to be related in some way to your costume or character. Duo had no problem with this considering the profession of his "character." Duo wondered if Koji -- the real Koji -- would be flattered. [1] He thought he’d seen him in the crowd tonight. It was possible. Koji tended to stay in Tokyo when he wasn’t touring because that’s where his lover, Izumi, the famous soccer player, lived. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Isn’t it romantic?" Quatre sighed. Turning his head to look at Wufei, the cat ears on Quatre’s headband bounced with the movement. He would’ve liked to ask Trowa that question, but the tall pilot, who’d dressed up as a mime for the party, had gone to find something to eat for Quatre. Quatre, already a bit tipsy, had asked why and Trowa explained that he was hoping it would prevent Quatre from getting more drunk than he already was. Quatre had (unconvincingly) protested that he was "certaim... certainly NOT tissy... tipsy!" Quatre was a bit of a hostile drunk, but he had a tendency to slur his speech to the point of silliness. Wufei grumbled something unintelligible. He made an intriguing sight in his elaborate dragon-lord costume. He looked like something out of a fantasy novel. With flowing robes and glowing stones and a dragon pendant hanging around his neck. His robe had the image of a fierce, fire-breathing dragon on the back and he had kept his sword in its sheath and attached to the belt slung around his waist. "How did I let Maxwell talk me into this?" Wufei said aloud. Quatre, with his better sense three sheets to the wind, unwisely answered "because Heero and Duo blackmared... blackmailed you with those pictures from mmrrph..." No one wanted to remind Wufei of the reason he was there, so Trowa cut Quatre off just in time by stuffing a roll in his lover’s mouth. Quatre was wearing a white cat suit topped off with a white and pink tail that reached to the floor and a white headband with white and pink cat ears attached. He had even been wearing gloves that had furr cuffs and looked like big cat’s paws, although he’d taken those off when the pilots had sat down at the table. His white furry slippers, however, had been left on. After swallowing a bite of the roll, Quatre turned to Trowa, pausing to admire Trowa’s Halloween costume. He was dressed in what basically amounted to a black catsuit – like the ones that cat burglars supposedly wear. It was also molded to his body -- the collar came up like a turtleneck, but the sleeves stopped at the shoulder, showing off his well-developed arm muscles. [2] He was wearing a ragged sort of vest that had black and white horizontal stripes on it and was wearing white fingerless gloves. The final touch was his white-painted face and black-accented eyes. Finding a captive audience, Quatre happily asked his question again, "Isn’t it romantic, Trowa?" Trowa mimed an agreement. [3] Wufei looked puzzled. "What’s romantic? Duo’s just up there singing a song and getting all the onnas in the room between 13 and 40 all hot and bothered." Quatre glared at Wufei’s unappreciative comment. He slammed his hands flat down on the table. Hard. "It IS romantic, isn’t it Trowa! I think you should explain to Wufei exactly WHY it’s romantic." Trowa opened his mouth to begin the requested explanation when Quatre beat him to it. "That’s RIGHT! It’s romantic because Koji and Izumi are so in love and that’s what Duo’s saying..." Wufei and Trowa both sweatdropped. The worst of it was that Quatre thought he was being quite articulate. "...to Heero." Quatre finished. Wufei didn’t get it. "How is he saying that to Heero?" Wufei looked over at Heero who had a captivated, but puzzled, look on his face. "I don’t think I’m the only one who doesn’t understand." Quatre looked insulted. "Don’t you know the story about Koji and Izumi? They’re the most popular couple, even if Izumi won’t say two words to the reporters. They’re in love and they’ve been together for a few years now. It’s a big controversy what with them both being guys and all, but they’ve managed to stay together. Koji’s a rock star and Izumi plays pro soccer." With that last statement, Quatre gave a "significant look" in Heero’s direction, which consisted of a conspicuously broad wink. Wufei and Trowa sweatdropped again as they looked over to see Heero watching Duo’s performance. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Heero had kept his eyes on Duo’s performance on stage, but he’d heard every word that passed between the other pilots. If Duo was supposed to be this Koji guy, and from what he remembered of the news vidclips he’d seen Duo *was* dressed like him, did that make him Izumi? Heero hadn’t wanted to attend the Halloween party, but Duo had somehow talked him into it, saying that he’d already picked up a costume that Heero would approve of and that all Heero had to do was wear it and go. //That baka’s mouth is a dangerous weapon.// But Duo was true to his word, Heero had indeed approved of the costume -- a soccer player’s uniform. The shorts were a nylon blend, but it was comfortable and reminiscent of his usual spandex shorts, so it was acceptable. The shirt, while not his usual type of clothing, was comfortable as well. He’d changed his usual yellow sneakers for a different pair of sneakers with spikes on the bottom -- cleats, Duo had called them. The only thing he’d been just a little unhappy with was that Duo insisted he carry around a soccer ball. It was in a net for convenient handling and it did add to the overall effect of the costume, but he’d just as soon have left it back at the safehouse. He’d also seen vidclips of the soccer player Izumi Takuto, and he had to admit that their coloring and build were similar enough for the costume to work especially well. But he didn’t think that had anything to do with Duo’s decision. Was Duo trying to tell him something? Did the costumes really have some special significance? Heero paid closer attention to Duo’s performance, looking directly into those violet eyes, which seemed to be locked onto him, and listening closely to the lyrics that Duo had chosen to sing. [Come in the fire of love This man is born in the night Heero shifted uncomfortably in his chair. How had it gotten uncomfortably warm in here? The room was a quite large -- certainly large enough that it wasn’t hot because of the crowd. And the windows were open, the cross-ventilation was fine. He’d have to have a talk with Quatre about his sister’s weather control panel. It might be malfunctioning. [Do it again Do it again There was also a throbbing ache between his thighs. He knew what that was. He wasn’t completely unaware of the basic bodily functions, but how had Duo’s performance gained this sort of reaction? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quatre watched as Heero became flushed and uncomfortable in the spacious room -- it certainly wasn’t from overcrowding. He exchanged looks with Trowa when Heero started shifting in his seat as if to relieve an unwelcome pain. Trowa, seeing the look of pure glee on Quatre’s face, was unable to resist breaking out of character and laughed a low rolling laugh that started deep in his chest and worked its way up his throat. Quatre smiled in delight. He loved it when Trowa laughed that laugh of his. "Oh Trowa! You’re so *bad* to be amused at Heero’s discomfort!" Quatre teased, although he knew the real reason for his koi’s laugh. He slapped Wufei on the back. "Wufei! Isn’t Trowa bad!" Sometimes Quatre didn’t realize his own strength -- particularly when drunk. Wufei choked on the only roll he’d been able to find after Quatre had been determined to hoard and eat them all, just because Trowa had brought them to the table. "Nataku," Wufei wailed in despair. "Nataku, why? Why me?" Quatre glared. Didn’t anyone listen to him? "NO, not YOU Wufei!" Quatre shouted at the boy sitting right next to him. "I said TROWA! TROWA’S bad!" Wufei winced, holding his ear. Quatre turned to smile at Trowa. "Isn’t that right, Trowa?" Trowa could do nothing but nod solemnly. He’d learned that Quatre was always a bit... odd... when drunk. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The more he listened, the more confused he got, and yet the more he understood. If Duo’s feelings matched the lyrics in the song he sang, then Heero could very well say he understood Duo’s feelings because -- some of them, at least -- matched his own. But what did Duo expect him to do about it? [I don’t know what to do Heero was so involved in thinking about what Duo might be saying that he was unaware of the tall, silver-haired man making his way through the crowd in his direction. Suddenly, Heero was hauled up by his arms, his wrists locked in his captor’s hands, and pulled into an embrace from behind, the man’s face nuzzling his neck. Three things happened almost simultaneously. The first was not so unusual – Heero had broken the hold his captor had on his wrists, which hadn’t been that strong in the first place, swiveled around on his cleats (an impressive feat) and planted a punch in the man’s midsection. The second was a bit unusual, to Heero’s point of view anyway. The silver-haired man, who was dressed oddly similar to Duo, instead of being doubled over in pain, simply caressed his stomach where Heero had punched him, chuckled, and smiled an odd smile filled with a bit of surprise and sudden understanding. He was about to apologize, when the third thing happened. From the stage, the mike squealed in protest over the song as Duo jerked the stand to him abruptly and said in a low whisper-growl, "Mine." His eyes were blazing and it seemed the violet irises had completely overtaken the pupils. Nanjo Koji smiled at the irony of the boy standing up on the stage. It was like seeing himself all over again. He slowly took a step back, holding up his own chain-clad arms and smiled, turning to walk back into the darkness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duo blinked slowly as the other party guests cheered. They had not seen the odd scene that had taken place only seconds before. Only the three participants and the a few select others who’d been sitting at Heero’s table, or looking that way, had caught it. The other guests simply assumed that Duo’s break from the song and abrupt end had been part of the act. He cleared his eyes of the odd possessiveness that had come over him and slipped back into his usual happy skin, holding up a two-fingered Victory sign and saying "Arigatou minna-san!" into the mike. Then he hopped down off the stage and made his way over to his friends’ table. Duo sat down next to Heero and Heero pulled Duo’s chair closer to him and began to stroke his hair. Each gave the other an odd look, but they seemed to agree that nothing would be sorted out this night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Wasn’t it soooooo romantic, Trowa?" Quatre cooed happily. ". . ." "The part where Duo got all poseshif… possessif on Heero, silly." ". . ." "What? Why would it scare Heero… you know I *love* it when you get all posseshif on me. Ne, Trowa?" ". . ." "I KNEW it! Oh, Trowa, you say the NICEST things!" It was almost 5 in the morning, they’d just gotten home from the party and Quatre was in the process of being carried down the hall of their safehouse, over Trowa’s strong shoulder. He was, in fact, speaking to Trowa’s butt as he drunkenly admired the view. Trowa, not having had anything more alcoholic than a wine cooler the whole evening, was being as patient as possible with Quatre as he carried him to their bedroom. Needless to say, trying to feed Quatre absorbent foods hadn’t worked as he’d hoped. Poor Wufei. Quatre had practically slapped him around all evening. If he hadn’t known better, Trowa would’ve thought that Duo’d put him up to it. It had been all he could do to prevent the increasingly-annoyed Wufei from unsheathing his sword at the party. He couldn’t blame Quatre for not understanding why Duo’s feelings toward Heero would scare him. Quatre wasn’t one to be scared of feelings. Even if the feelings were scary, he wasn’t scared of the feelings themselves -- his empathy prevented that. But Trowa knew how feelings could be scary -- how good feelings could be the scariest of all. Duo and Heero seemed content to put off their confrontation for another day. Trowa didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. Tensions had run high tonight, but was it better to put it off and chance an explosion? After Duo had gotten back to the table, other than Heero’s possessive grip on the loosened strands of Duo’s hair, everything had been "back to normal." Apparently, Heero was just as adept as hiding things in soccer shorts as in spandex shorts because he’s been quite satisfied with the candid shots of Wufei he’d taken with the camera he’d brought. Heero had caught him talking to a few "Wizard of Oz" characters -- namely, Dorothy with a stuffed "Toto," Glenda the good witch, or whatever her name was, and a tall, ginger-haired Wizard of Oz. He thought of the lyrics that Duo hadn’t had a chance to sing. He wondered if Heero would’ve recognized them for what they were: a description of Heero’s own feelings, and a confession of Duo’s feelings. [Why am I afraid of you? You’re always on my mind =========================================================
Notes: Non-standard Disclaimers: The song used in this part is the Zetsuai English Megamix. It’s sung by Ishihara Shin’ichi, the singer whom Ozaki Minami originally had singing some of the songs that Nanjo Koji sings in the series. So, if the words don’t seem to make much grammatical sense at some points, well… I don’t know who did the actual translation. But the song *is* sung in English. For anyone who wants to hear the song, email me offlist & I’ll send it to you. You will need to have a Real Audio player of some sort.
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