This Charming Man

Title: This Charming Man (3/3)
Author: Chibi Hentai-chan
Archived: Kitsunehi\'s Garden of Forbidden Prose, My FFN account and Deviant Art account
Pairings: 1x2, hints of 3x4
Warning: Large words, AU set in some modern city, drinking, innuendo/adult content, oh an yaoi/shonen ai
Disclaimer: I am making no money from this and if I do I plan on changing the names and faces to protect the innocent fictional character.
Please remember if you drink don\'t drive and if you frotterize don\'t get caught (but I\'m not advocating the latter)

The street was far from empty, but nowhere as crowded as Ruby\'s had been. Couples, groups, and the occasional single were wandering from bar to bar, crawling along at the pace of drunken slugs, slithering towards the call of beer. Some were fleeing like Heero and Duo, hailing cabs, climbing on bikes, getting in cars, all leaving the lure of the bars and their promise of drunken trysts, or taking away their person for the night. Perhaps in a few weeks it would develop into something more substantial, fleshing the relationship out from the bones of lust to tangible coupledom.

Duo had started singing, with slightly slurred words and bouncing from side to side, while Heero was absorbing his surroundings, \"why ponder life\'s complexity when the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat?\" He tried his best to imitate the long, crooning voice of Morrissey, and although he came up short of achieving the tones of the British singer, it was still enjoyable to listen to, unlike some drunken singing. \"I would go out tonight, but I haven\'t got a stitch to wear. The man it\'s cruelty that someone so handsome should care.\"

\"You shouldn\'t go home alone,\" Heero stated blandly a few feet away from where the inebriated man was holding out his arm.

\"I thought you weren\'t going to sleep with me tonight,\" Duo replied stopping his serenade.

\"I\'m not suggesting sex, I want to be sure you make it home all right. Call it a sense of duty or whatnot, but it would be better for my peace of mind.\"

\"You just don\'t want to be out of my sparkling company; I can understand that, but you don\'t have to give lofty reasons to do that. All you gotta do is ask. Besides, I can\'t let you leave yet. You still haven\'t guessed my job.\"

\"Politician.\"

\"Ha! Very funny. If I were a politician, I could get a freaking taxi.\" The pair watched a cab pull up to the bar across the street, allowing a woman in a short skirt and high boots inside. \"Or maybe if I wore a skirt, but then, transvestites don\'t get much respect either.\"

\"It\'s mostly due to the current conservative administration and their propaganda. If you were in politics you could change that.\"

\"So could you.\"

\"But I don\'t and neither do you. Maybe you\'re nothing more than a legal clerk or stenographer,\" Heero added, biting down on the snicker that wanted to escape at the thought of his impeccably dressed Duo in a courtroom.

\"Wrong, and I can\'t believe that you underestimate my potential like that.\"

\"I\'d do better if you gave me a hint.\"

Duo thought for a moment, humming the same tune under his breath and letting his hand waiver slightly. \"I had to read a lot in college.\"

\"So did I; reading loads aren\'t a good hint.\"

\"That\'s all you\'re getting, buddy.\"

Finally fed up with the wait for a taxi, Heero took several solid strides to the curb. \"Librarian.\"

\"Do you need a college degree for that?\" Duo asked dropping his arm and looking dumbstruck by the suggestion.

\"Yes,\" was the flat reply as the Heero made eye contact with an upcoming cabbie. He saw a battle being waged within the man whether he should advert his eyes from Heero\'s gaze or let the two \"fags\" leaving the \"fag bar\" into his cab. Luckily for them, the call of money won out.

\"Huh, I didn\'t know that,\" Duo shrugged as their ride arrived. \"But no, not a librarian. Although I\'m suspecting that you want to impress me with your taxi hailing abilities.\"

\"Of course, and I am man enough to admit it.\"

\"I was not trying to impress you.\"

\"Hn.\" Once they both settled in the car and Duo had given his address to the driver, Heero spoke again. \"Mortician.\"

\"Not even near enough to be considered close.\"

\"Linguist.\"

\"You\'re getting closer and further away.\"

\"That was enigmatic.\"

\"I\'m very enigmatic when I\'m drunk.\"

\"College Professor.\"

\"Do I look old enough to have gone through grad school?\"

\"No.\"

\"Then that should answer its self.\"

More guesses filled the eight-minute drive to Duo\'s high-rise. The playfulness of their conversation birthed the suggestion of “clown” which earned him a punch on the arm. Apparently, Clown College was an insult. Heero found the game entertaining, witty and slightly sexual, like an Oscar Wilde play; it was the oddest form of flirting or foreplay he\'d ever experienced and he wanted more. Days and months more of the gentle ribbing that, he was sure, would lead to equally playful and erotic sex. It had been a long time since Heero had had sex like that. Sometimes, lying alone at night, he wished for someone who could make him feel playful, someone with whom he could verbally spar with and make him forget the idiots of the world. Ian was the last person who had been like that, taking the time to tease Heero into being witty, and now Duo appeared and filled that role charmingly.

As the taxi pulled away, the pair stood looking at each other in front of the building\'s glass doors. \"So does the escort service extend to my apartment door or is this goodnight?\" Duo asked.

\"Well, we wouldn\'t want you to fall asleep in the elevator, although that would make for an interesting night.\"

\"Yeah, and dreams of falling. For some reason I don\'t think vertigo and hangovers would mix well.\"

\"Then, I\'ll just have to escort you up.\"

\"That\'s just what I had in mind,\" Duo replied keying the access code for the door before holding it open for Heero.

\"But no sex,\" the Japanese-American replied when he passed.

\"Of course not,\" Duo replied with a smirk.

Seventeen stories were eaten with the elevator\'s long strides, and the short hallway with ground-swallowing paces. The inevitable moment of departure was on them again, but cast aside for a cup of coffee and more conversation. After a couple yawns made it past Duo\'s staggeringly weak defenses, Heero mentioned that it might be time to go to home.

\"You\'re right,\" Duo replied standing and contorting his body into a pale imitation of a yoga pose.

As Duo was stretching and yawning again, Heero returned the used coffee mugs back into the kitchen. Taking the opportunity, he glanced at the microwave clock: 2:13 on a Saturday morning. He smiled, noting the time and date as he placed a business card on the dark granite countertop, in front of the phone cradle. Somehow, he was certain that the exact moment would be important someday. It might have been vanity or optimism, but he hoped that he\'d made enough of an impression on Duo to warrant a call, perhaps later that day.

Leaving the kitchen, he found himself escorted to the door by his sleepy host. Both men paused for a moment before muttering a good night. Much sooner than he wanted, Heero Yuy found himself in an empty hallway staring at the door of someone whom he\'d hoped would leave him alone at the beginning of his evening.

He walked sixteen blocks back to his building and was welcomed home by the ringing of his landline. Scrambling a little in the pre-dawn hours he grabbed the phone before the machine picked up. \"Hello.\"

\"Heero?\" He heard a familiar voice on the other end ask hopefully and slightly sighing in relief, when he grunted an affirmative. \"I thought you might have changed the number.\"

\"Why?\" Heero asked gruffly.

\"Because it\'s a quarter to three in the morning and I\'ve been trying to call since ten.\"

\"Just because my friend didn\'t show up at the bar like he was supposed to doesn\'t mean I need to leave right away.\"

\"I\'m sorry I didn\'t come,\" Trowa answered, \"but I tried to call and tell you I was in a car accident.\"

\"Are you all right?\"

\"Yes,\" Trowa replied before filling his friend in on the details of the low-speed collision and its subsequent apology dinner with the attractive owner to the other car. While his friend was telling his tale, Heero sat down in front of his laptop and started to download the song Duo was singing on the sidewalk. \"So what did you do while I occupied?\"

\"I met someone.\"

\"Heero Yuy met someone? Will wonders never cease?\"

\"Funny, Barton; at least I don\'t need a fender bender to meet men.\"

\"Yes, you do it the old fashioned way, over drinks.\"

\"Well, it\'s better to use a tested method.\"

\"You actually met someone at the bar?\"

\"Yes. And yes he\'s gay, and no I didn\'t sleep with him. I\'ll tell you the rest later; now I\'m ready for bed.\"

\"Goodnight then, Heero. I expect to hear everything, maybe over lunch?\"

\"That would be fine. Goodnight Trowa.\"

\"Goodnight Heero.\" With those pleasantries exchanged, Heero hung up the receiver. A small smile graced his lips as he watched the song finish downloading, and he found himself humming the tune.

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Notes:

For those going what is she talking about:

frotteurism: noun the paraphiliac practice of achieving sexual stimulation or orgasm by touching and rubbing against a person without the person\'s consent and usually in a public place. (Definition from Dictionary.com)

metrosexual: noun An urban male with a strong aesthetic sense who spends a great deal of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle. (Definition from The Word Spy)

Drinks: whiskey on the rock: whiskey on ice, usually served in an 10 ounce glass called a
tumbler (if you didn\'t already know that)
Kailua and cream: again served in a tumbler on ice, it\'s a shot of Kailua liqueur
with the rest of the glass filled with half and half, very rich
and slightly sweet
Jauger Bull: I learned how to drink these in a former Gonzaga U. party house.
It\'s a shot of Jaugermister (a German liquor that tastes like black
licorice) and a can a Red Bull poured into a 16 ounce glass. Drop
thot iot in the glass and chug, and you have to chug or it tastes bad.
Vodka martini: um...what James Bond drinks :-) Duo\'s is based off a drink from
Seattle\'s Best Coffee, there are all three different types of Vodka. I havn\'t
tried the recipe, but if you want to, tell me how it is! I\'d love to
know.

Thank you all for reading the whole thing! I hope it was entertaining and a little educational, I love using unusual words!