lyrics and song by: Billy Joel
“What?!” I sputtered the milk that I was drinking.
“You heard me. Our next mission is to break this gambling ring.”
“But… it’s Las Vegas. Of course there’s going to be gambling!” I jumped from my seat, my braid smacking me in the back.
“Did I mention that there’s also some Gundanium being smuggled?” Heero said, gently pushing me back in my seat.
I raised my eyebrow at him. “Yes. Ten years after the Eve Wars, and people are STILL trying to build Gundams?”
“Apparently so.”
“So, you and I are going to Las Vegas?”
“Yes. I expect you to be packed and ready to go in two hours.”
“Why that late?”
“I have some… things… to take care of.”
The Longest Time…
Our plane arrived in Las Vegas thirteen hours after getting to the Planet Earth. You’d think that it would have only taken… oh… three, but NO. This planet’s transportation system, still aircraft, mind you, is so behind the latest technology.
We had spent two hours going from the L1 colony in space shuttle to Earth. Then, after arriving in Dallas, Texas, USA, we had to wait for four hours for our connecting flight to Chicago, Illinois, then ride on that stupid plane to that godforsaken middle of nowhere, wait there for two hours to get a flight to Denver, ride on THAT plane, and the arrive in Las Vegas thirteen hours later. That was SO not cool.
And neither was riding with Heero all the way there. Sure, he and I were sleeping together, but that doesn’t mean that he’s a good travel buddy. Hell no. He read the entire way. During the lay-over times, he had that damned book out. In the air, that damned book. It was always that book!
All I wanted was some intelligent conversation. But… no.
And do you know what book that was?
An ancient copy of War and Peace. I wanted to rip that stupid thing to shreds!!
So, finally, we made it to Las Vegas, where I let Heero, ever the invincible, check us into our hotel. I was just too tired, I keeled over in the fancy-schmanzy lobby. The bellhop had to hop over me. Yeah, I know, I’m funny.
So, Heero dragged me up to this giant room, where there was one bed (not that I’d be complaining! No Sir! Not me!), and a happy little bar. I knew what I’d be doing right before bed. And during bed.
Allow me to happily snicker to my self for a moment.
OK, I’m good now.
“What are you grinning for?” Heero asked, looking over from the window where he sat.
“I had a really nice thought.”
“And?”
“Come to bed and find out.”
“How about not? I have to get this surveillance done.”
“Then?”
“Then you take watch and I sleep.”
I flopped down on the bed, “That is so not fair.”
“I know, Duo, but this is what we have to do. After we complete this mission…” He left off, letting me finish his sentence in my head.
Oh boy, was I waiting for this mission to be over with!!
“Ok, then, Heero. I’ll go to sleep like a good little boy, and then… you wake me up. If you pull an all-nighter again…”
He held his hands up in mock-surrender and smiled a little smile, “I won’t. I promise.”
I grinned back at him, and walked over to the window. Peering out, I was suddenly glad that the curtains were very, very thick. And black. If they weren’t then all those damned blinking lights would keep me awake! “Damn. How can you see with all that light?”
“Like this.” He said, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of his Preventer’s Jacket. And yes, I meant the caps with that. He never takes that thing off!
“You always were a step ahead.” I said, giving him a quick hug before returning to my darkness of the bed.
Then, I slept until he did wake me up for my watch. He gave the glasses, a curt nod, and he fell on the bed. The only thing that he didn’t give me was a clue as to…
WHAT IN THE HELL I WAS WATCHING FOR!!!
With a resigned sigh, I stayed up watching the happily drunk people wandering the streets, and falling over. I laughed at them.
Just after the sun broke, Heero stirred and I glanced over at him, “Did you see anything?”
“No, you can sleep for a little while longer if you want.”
“Sorry, no can do, Duo.” He said, getting up, “I need to shower, but after, then we can order room service and go down to the casino.”
Shower? “Can I come too?”
He gave me a really funny look. Like… ‘What in the hell do you think?’ “Where?”
“To take a shower, of course!”
“Think about it, Duo. The point of a shower is to get clean, right?” he waited for me to nod. “Now, if you take a shower with me, then we won’t really be getting clean, now will we?”
“No, but that’s half the fun!”
He shook his head, sighing. “No, Duo. I’ll take my shower, then you take yours. Not together. Not today.”
I pouted. “Fine then.”
So, he went to take his shower, and I went back to the window watching. After the dull-ness of it all got into my head, I finally spotted something familiar. A long, pink limo.
“Oh my good God.”
I watched further, and I saw a tall brunette step out gracefully, turn around, and offer his hand back inside the limo. He helped a small blonde step out… and then…
Another small blonde?
What in the bloody hell?
I recognized the brunette as Trowa Barton, yeah, him. The pilot of 03. And the first small blonde was… I squinted for a moment… Quatre! Dude! I didn’t know that Trowa and Quatre were together… but now that I think about it, I can see it. And I should have seen it coming.
But… that leaves the *other* small blonde…
The Owner of the Limo…
She (she?!?) turned around and flipped her hair over her shoulder. And then… I saw her face.
And I wish that I wasn’t a believer.
It was Relena Darlian.
Then, with Relena in the center, all three made their way into the casino, smiling quite happily and gaily. As an after thought, I glanced at the name of the casino. “The Queen of the World.”
Allow me smack my forehead.
Ow, OK, I needed that. That’s a total duh.
“What are you looking at, Duo?” Heero asked, after he smacked me with his damp towel, snapping me back to reality.
“N-nothing. Nothing at all. Except, you see that pink limo?”
He nodded.
“Does it remind you of someone?”
He nodded again.
“Who?”
“Relena.”
“Very good.”
“I knew that she’d be here.”
WHAT?!?!?!?!!?!? I did my best to retain some composure, “And *why* didn’t you tell me?”
“She wasn’t involved.”
“Uh-huh. Yeah right, tell me another one.”
“Another what?”
“Never mind.” I tried to get my mind back on business. “So what are we up to now, oh great and fearless leader?”
“Now, we go to Relena’s casino.”
Hold the phone here… “I thought you said that she wasn’t involved.”
Heero moved from standing next to me to pulling a chair over to the window seat, where I was. While he was turned away, he answered, “She’s not.”
I got up and walked to the bed, grabbing my hairbrush, and furiously yanking the infernal thing through my hair. It’s a very good stress relief tactic.
“Duo…” Heero said, getting up from his chair. “If you’re going to do that…” He said, gently taking the brush from my hand, “Here, just let me brush your hair out for you.”
He sat down on the bed, straddling my body in between his legs, and ran the brush slowly through my hair. “Why do you always do that?”
“Do what? Express my affection towards you?” Heero asked, still making me sit still and wait until he was done brushing my hair.
“No. You always brush my hair. It’s like I can’t do it for myself anymore since I got together with you.”
“Now do you honestly think that I believe that you are incapable of brushing your own hair, Duo?” Heero asked, and I knew that he was smiling.
“No…”
“Now… why do you think I brush your hair every morning?” He asked, as one would ask a small child. In slow tongue and in a smaller vocabulary.
“I don’t know… to annoy me?”
“Wrong, Duo. I like brushing your hair, and you full well know it.” He said, beginning to braid it back up, “I’ve only been doing it for five years now.”
That’s right… Heero and I had been together for around five years. I really don’t keep track of the dates and stuff like that… I still can’t get over the fact that he loves me and admits to it. I still don’t understand how something so wonderful could have happened to me… but I do know something… I’ll never let him go.
See, I thought that I had totally messed up any chance with him. It was right after the Mariemeia scare, and all five of us were together. The five boys who saved the world. Of course, no one talks about what Lady Une, Noin, Sally, Relena, and Dorothy did… just the five boys who saved the world.
The ladies were a little upset, but they realized that we couldn’t change what the public thought. So, they all went back to their regular lives, letting us in, because even heroes need to pay the rent. So, three of us, Heero, Wufei, and myself joined the Preventers… Quatre went back to his father’s business, and it’s thriving. He’s like a god, not only is he the richest man in the universe (or at least, to my knowledge), but he’s also the most compassionate. He donates at least half of all that he makes each year to charity, building schools and hospitals… anything that can help people, you name it, he does it. Trowa, I know, spent some time with Quatre, lending his abilities with… something, I don’t know what, but he helped. Maybe he was the clown. Who knows? I don’t. But after about three years, Trowa went back to the circus and his sister.
And then there’s Wu, Heero, and myself. We are together all the time, and I think that Wu’s warmed up to me. He doesn’t scowl at me every time I walk in the room now. Sometimes… he even smiles.
But anyway, back to my story about Heero.
Well, after being accepted into the Preventers, Heero and I went out to eat, to celebrate. I got drunk off my arse. I… ahem… um… made a pass at him. OK, fine, several passes at him. He pushed me away and asked me if that was what I really wanted… a one-night stand induced by alcohol. Those were the exact words, as I recall them. But when you’re drunk, it’s hard to remember exact things. I said, no. He asked me what did I really want? I told him that I only wanted him, and that I had for a long time. He said that he needed to think about that, and then he took me home and set me in my bed… then walked away.
I didn’t see him for a few months, and I thought I had totally blew it.
He showed up one night, after I was done, come home from work. I walked in my apartment and was greeted with a small bark. Yes, a puppy. As I stood there, wondering what the hell I was going to do with the puppy… and more importantly, how in the hell did the puppy get in my apartment… Heero walked over to me and hugged me… “Welcome home, Duo.” He said, pulling away. “Do you still love me?”
“Yes.”
“Good, because I realized that I was better off with you… so I’m here to stay, whether you like it or not.” He grinned and picked up the puppy. “And this is a friend of mine, this is Hane.”
“And what does Hane mean?”
“It’s Japanese for ‘feather’.”
So that’s how Heero and I got together.
“I know you’ve been doing that for five years, and that you enjoy it, so I won’t stop you.” I said, trying to make it sound like I was done complaining.
“Good. Now, time to get back to the mission.” He said, trying off my braid. “We’ll be going into Relena’s casino, so we need to look like regular tourists.”
“Are we going to be regular gay tourists?”
“No. You’re going to be my…” he paused for a moment, thinking, “brother.”
“That’s a new one.” I said, rolling my eyes. “Like we haven’t done that one before.”
Whenever we go undercover, he’s usually my cousin, or brother, or some other random relative. I just want him to acknowledge in public that we are together. Sure, we did that whole “coming out” thing, but… to Hane. No one else was there, so no one else really needed to know.
“I know, Duo, but we really need to be going. We can discuss this later.” Heero said, getting up and walking to our suitcases. He unzipped one and tossed me an outfit I’d never seen before… it was a deep blue dress-shirt and black… leather… pants. “That’s mine, hold onto it for a second.”
I think I started to drool… just at the thought of him in that. “Do I get a yummy outfit like that too? Or are you just special?”
“I think you’ll like your outfit, Duo… just let me go and get it.” He walked to the attached bathroom and messed around in there for a minute or so and walked out with yet another outfit I’d never seen. “Put it on, and then show me. I think I got the size right.”
I took the clothes and locked myself in the bathroom, examining the shirt and pants. The shirt was something that you’d expect a vampire to wear. It was black, silk, and frilly. Yes, frilly. I slipped it on, and buttoned it up halfway, leaving most of my upper torso exposed. I like my chest, thankyouverymuch. I think that’s the way the shirt was intended to be worn, because the… frills… hung right when it was left open like that. The cuffs were edged in black lace, but it wasn’t harsh, but soft, like the rest of the shirt. Then… I worked on the pants. They were black, just a touch deeper than the shirt, simply because of the material… leather, like Heero’s. I wiggled my way into them, and they weren’t as tight as I thought they’d be.
There was also a black silk ribbon, which to include in my ensemble, I undid my braid, and laced it through.
I looked at myself in the mirror and something dawned on me… I thought that Heero said that he wanted to ‘blend in’… like tourists. Some tourists we’d be… arriving looking like some vamp’s human servants.
I walked out of the bathroom, strutting a little bit, because I knew I looked good. Heero saw me and smiled. “Does it all fit?”
“You bet it does!” I laughed, dancing around the room a little bit. Hey, if I’m gay, I may as well act it.
“I’m glad, but we need to be going.”
So… we made our way across the stupid street to The Queen of the World. We had lots of people, not just girls, mind you, stare at us as we walked. I’m sure that at least half of them were either high or drunk, and that disgusted me. I’d never take any drugs; I get too high off of just plain living.
We walked to the door of the casino, but there was a… bouncer?!? “Sorry, no kids allowed, Sonny.” He said to me, letting Heero through.
I did my best to remain calm, and saw that Heero was waiting a little beyond the door for me. “I am over twenty-one, Sir.” I said, spitting the words through my teeth.
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am, here’s my ID.” I said, handing him my Preventer’s Badge. I smiled like I did in the picture, and he handed it back to me, smiling a little bit. “OK, ok, you can go in. I just wanted to see how long it’d be before you cracked. Get on in there with your friend.”
I walked up to Heero, and he whispered, pulling me close, “We’re under cover.”
“I know, but I over-reacted.”
“Don’t let it happen again. Now, let’s wander for a little bit, looking for the security cameras.”
“Why?”
“Ok, let’s just go get some information from the craps dealer.” He said, walking directly into a crowd of people. I followed, but they parted for me, like the Red Sea for Moses.
Weird.
Unbeknownst to me, Heero had led me into a trap. A complete and utter ambush.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DUO!!!” The crowd of people yelled. I gave them all a funny look…
“It’s not my birthday.”
Heero walked up to me and kneeled down. “Duo, yes, it’s not your birthday, but the fax got messed up…” He looked over his shoulder and gave Relena a mock glare.
“Hey there, Duo.” She said, walking over to me. Quatre and Trowa were nowhere to be seen. “Heero asked me to do something special for you… because he had something special planned.”
I quirked my head to the side, looking at her with a giant question mark across my face… I swear it was there! “What?”
Heero had stayed kneeling the entire time, his hand holding mine. He glanced up at my face, “You’ll see, Duo.”
Suddenly, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and craned my head, trying to see what I thought I saw. Quatre and Trowa, coming through the crowd… Trowa…? And Quatre… in tuxedos?
“Hi, Quatre, Trowa… long time no see, buddies.” I said, nervously.
What in the heck was going on?!!?!
“Duo…” Quatre said, walking deftly towards me, and when upon reaching me, encircled me with his arms, “Good to see you.”
Releasing my from the hug, he walked over to Relena and kissed her on the cheek. Trowa followed after shaking my hand and commenting “Congratulations.”
OK, now I was really confused.
“Heero…” I started, pulling him up from his constant kneeling. He wouldn’t budge.
“Give me a minute… I need to find the right words.” He whispered, just loud enough for me, and maybe Relena to hear.
She took that as her cue, and handed Heero a little box. He took it, mouthed the words, ‘thank you’, and turned fully back to face me. He started, “Duo, things haven’t always been the best between us. I still remember almost ran over Hane… and how you blew up the microwave, having to “tweak” it to make it better… and how you always smack me with your hair in the mornings…”
He paused, taking a breath, and I think, some more strength from Relena’s presence behind him. “But that’s not what I’m thinking about right now… I’m thinking of all the fun, happy, and joyous times that we’ve had together, all the intimate moments, and all of your “inside jokes”. And I realized something a while ago… I couldn’t go back. I couldn’t go back to being alone… you… Duo… you’ve become a part of me, and no matter how much I would ever want to be alone again… I wouldn’t be able to do it, because of how much you are a part of me now.”
“What…?” I breathed, still confused as to what was happening. “What’s going on…?”
Heero smiled, and said, “Let me finish.” He cleared his throat and began again, “I love you, Duo. I want to be with you forever, and I want you to forever be with me. That’s why… I give you this.” He opened up the little box that Relena handed him… it was a ring, as expected, but it was on a small, delicate looking silver chain. He lifted it out and clasped it around my neck. The ring fell to in between my collarbones, right in the center of the absence of… frills… “The ring is a circle, symbolizing eternity.”
“Like what you want to share with me?”
“Yes, Duo.”
“Was this what you meant, ‘I have some… things… to take care of’?”
He laughed, “Yes, Duo.”
“So basically, we’re married now, aren’t we?”
“Not yet.” He said, still smiling, “Relena?”
“Gotchya covered!” She said, smiling. “Remember, Duo, this is Las Vegas. We have weddings here all the time.” She called over a priest, and shoved him in front of us, “He was the one that did the ceremony for Quatre, Trowa, and myself, and he specializes in all the odd couples… or trios…” She turned and kissed Trowa, holding both his hand and Quatre’s hand.
And so… I got married that day.
And it wasn’t my birthday either…
But the real adventure came at the RECEPTION. Gah, Heero had this thing planned out…
“As Duo’s best man,” Quatre said, raising his wine glass, “I get to offer the toast. Normally, I’d have prepared a speech, but this time, I’m just going to talk straight from the heart.” He gently tapped his glass with a knife to call attention. “I’d just like to say that Duo’s my best friend. If you hurt him, you have to answer to me.”
The silence was so… silent… that you could hear people breathe. He burst out into laughter, “Ok, I’m just kidding, but I wish you the very best life, more so than what you’ve already had. And if you adopt a child, remember the name Quatre, or Raberba… very regal names if you ask me.”
I laughed along with him as he sat down, “That was great, Quatre!” I patted him on the back, then Relena stood.
“As the former Queen of the World, and Heero’s best friend, I say that I get to make a speech too.”
Heero nodded, smiling.
“Thank you,” she said, pulling out a sheet of paper, “Rather, this isn’t a speech, but a song that I found… and Heero?”
He got up and walked to the microphone, taking the sheet of paper from Relena, “I know…” he grinned, “Mission accepted.”
… oh my dear god. Heero was going to… SING?!?!
He skimmed the lyrics, then said, “Yes… I know this song… I’ll sing it all for you now… Relena, thank you. These words are perfect.”
She blushed at the sincere compliment, but started up the karaoke machine.
“Duo. For you.” He said, tipping his head to me, a quick nod.
And… he sang…
For the longest time
Oh, oh, oh
For the longest time
If you said goodbye to me tonight,
There would still be music left to write,
What else could I do?
I’m so inspired by you,
That hasn’t happened for the longest time.
Once I thought my innocence was gone,
Now I know that happiness goes on,
That’s where you found me,
When you put your arms around me,
I haven’t been there for the longest time.
Oh, oh, oh
For the longest time
Oh, oh, oh
For the longest
I’m that voice you’re hearing in the hall,
And the greatest miracle of all,
Is how I need you,
And how you needed me too,
That hasn’t happened for the longest time.
Maybe this won’t last very long,
But you feel so right,
And I could be wrong,
Maybe I’ve been hoping too hard,
But I’ve gone this far,
And it’s more than I hoped for…
Who knows how much further we’ll go on?
Maybe I’ll be sorry when you’re gone,
I’ll take my chances,
I forgot how nice romance is,
I haven’t been there for the longest time…
I had second thoughts at the start,
I said to myself,
Hold on to your heart,
Now I know the woman that you are,
You’re wonderful so far,
And it’s more than I hoped for…
I don’t care what consequence it brings,
I have been a fool for lesser things,
I want you so bad,
I think you ought to know that
I intend to hold you for the longest time…
And that… was the fully happiest day of my life. I got “married” and had Heero SING to me. Who’d have thunk it?
Things went really well after that, I am still “married” to Heero, and I’m still totally in love with him…
But I never want him to sing to me again. Hell, I’d pay him not to… that boy, he can’t sing. But I still love him anyway; after all, he did go to all that trouble to just tell me that he loved me, even calling in his former stalker to help. I just can’t help but wonder… how did Relena and Trowa and Quatre ever get together?
Owari
A.N.: OK, that was weird, even for me. The lyrics belong to Billy Joel, who wrote them and sang the original recording. I wasn’t planning on using that song, but it just seemed to fit. And yes, it does say “woman that you are.” I don’t change lyrics just to suit my needs. I hope that a Relena and Trowa and Quatre coupling is odd enough. It wasn’t in the foreground, but it was there… I hope that counts for the contest. *^_^* Well, I shall be off, and I hope you enjoyed it!!