Wild Card

Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue

AN: Another 'bad mood, muses suffer'. Yeah.

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*~Wild Card~*

Staring down at the golden mix in his tumbler, he gave it a small shift, enjoying the sound of ice chiming against glass. A meek smile flit, then fled, over his lips as he lifted his eyes from the liquid.

“Ne, Nee-chan.” The man called from behind the gold-filled glass, watching the bartender glance over at him with a starry smile, “Give me something new next time, would’ja?” He questioned, then tipped back the rest of the liquid, giving a satisfied sigh against the burning in his throat.

“What would you like, Duo?” She asked, her smile wearing thin at the sight of the other’s mussed hair and glazed eyes. Admittedly, she should have cut him off hours ago, but then the man would leave until the next time things didn’t work out at home with him. He’d came in this evening, claiming that he was lonely and wanted a kind ear to whine to.

“Just something with a little less flavor and a lot more burn.” He mumbled, pushing the glass away from him and collapsed forwards, resting his head in his hands. At first he was so still that she was afraid he’d passed out right there at the bar.

“Nee-chan?” He questioned softly, and she moved to get a glass of water instead of the drink he wanted, which earned her a glare that chilled her bones, “Nande, Duo? And no more liquor for you tonight, you’re being cut off.”

Eventually the man gave a sigh and went about toying with the chilled glass that had been set in front of him, a small shrug lifting his shoulders, “Have you ever been in love?” The woman almost dropped the bottle of beer she was holding, swiftly passing it down the bar, then turned her attention back to the man.

“Yes, I’m afraid I have, Duo…why do you ask..?” Duo’s lips curved downwards unhappily and he drew forwards a long rope of brunette hair over his left shoulder, stroking it gently, “I’ve been in love too, hell, I still am.” He looked miserable at the statement and the woman caught on that, moving towards him and leaning across the bar.

“You see, this person I like, this guy..” He started, noting that the woman didn’t seem all that surprised to find out he was gay, “..he likes this other guy, you know? And I mean, we’re all roommates, which is really really cool…demo…there’s five of us..” His voice caught and he threw back the cold water as if it had been a shot.

And you’re the one left out, aren’t you, Duo? She thought, looking upon him with a mix of pity and understanding. So you drown it in liquor, and since you live with them, you see it all the time…that’s why you’re here constantly. You’re the only one who doesn’t fit in. The wild card, and it kills you.

The man smiled, unknowing of her thoughts and cleared his throat to rid it of choked tears, “Yeah, so…it’s really cool, I’m happy for them, you know? They’re so happy. Just last week, I walked in late and Quatre and Tro’, two of the guys, they were curled up on the couch. Now. If you knew these guys, you’d know you’d never see them like that. They’re kind of shy about their relationship, they’ve been through a lot of shit …”

He talked proudly of them, she noticed, so she mental deducted them from the possibility of being the one that the man in front of her loved, “Go on.” She urged softly, returning the soft smile her statement encouraged.

“Yeah…so, they’re great together, I love them both to death, they’re like brothers to me. And then…there’s Wufei and Heero.” He whispered slowly, teeth sinking sharply into his lower lip and muffling his words. She almost reached for the liquor when she saw the glimmer of tears in the man’s eyes, but she figured it was time he got this off his chest, without even more alcohol clouding his system.

“Heero, he’s really amazing you know. Sweet when you get to know him, I’ve seen it, I mean, not that Heero treats me like he treats Wufei…but.” Duo paused and took in a breath, then let his eyes close, “I understand why Wu’ likes him, yanno? But...it hurts.”

The bartender found herself tugging a handkerchief from her pocket, reaching over to lightly dab at the tears that were slipping from the man’s eyes, “Mh’hm..?” She murmured, glancing out of the corner of her eye at a customer who seemed okay to wait as he realized what was going on.

“Hai…I’m like, Wufei’s best friend! I shouldn’t be feeling this way. He treats me like a brother, man. I should be happy for him. And I am..! But…I’m jealous too.” Duo’s shoulders slumped sharply, his head impacting with a small ‘crack’ against the bar top, before he slid sideways. The customer who’d been listening patiently on the sidelines moved quickly to keep the man from falling fully to the floor, catching him easily before he could connect with the tiled floor.

Duo was truly out of it, the bartender looked worried for a moment before customer who’d caught Duo lifted his eyes. The ’tender smiled lightly at the man, then moved around the bar counter to approach the two and attempt to rouse Duo; she was stopped, however, when the man holding her friend stood and cradled the limp body close, “It’s nice to meet you, Hilde.” The man murmured.

The woman looked shocked, she wore no name tag, “..I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch your name…” She was worried for her unconscious friend now, as the man holding him tightened his grip when she stepped forwards.

“Wufei.” The Asian man smirked softly at the irony of the situation, then gently stroked back a few strands of Duo’s hair from his face, “He talks a lot about you, but each time he comes home, he reeks of booze, so I decided to follow him this time..” He murmured, studying the sleeping face of his burden before looking at the bartender who was smiling softly.

“I see…so you didn’t know about…any of it?” She questioned, giving a half-hearted frown at Duo, who was just too cute, even unconscious, to be angry at. Wufei shook his head slowly, obsidian eyes narrowing, “No, he never told me. He’s always so damned happy at home. Would have never guessed.”

Hilde could see the anger in Wufei’s eyes, the disappointment in himself, and the realization of the pain he’d been unknowingly causing his best friend, “..He’s always there for me…” Wufei continued, then gave a sigh, “If you don’t mind, I think it’s time I took him home, do I need to pay or-..”

The woman cut him off with a small shake of her head, “Don’t worry about it, he’s got a tab, and just count your drinks as on the house, ne? Take him home. Make sure he’s okay.” She gave Wufei a trusting glance, then turned her back as the Asian man carried his burden from the dimly lit bar.

~*~

Pain.

Pain and a thick layer of grossness in the back of his throat.

Oh, and that nasty aftertaste of alcohol on his tongue.

But there was warmth too.

“Where am I..” Opening an eye, he winced sharply and drew his blankets over his head, attempting to hide from the sun.

His blankets.

“Wait a second!” Sitting up sharply and thoroughly regretting the movement, he stared around his bedroom in confusion, eyes narrowing slightly, “So I’m home. How’d I get home?” He whispered softly.

“I brought you home.” One violet eye singled out the man in the doorway, the other scrunching closed against the pounding ache in his head. The orb followed Wufei as he moved to the window and drew the curtain down most of the way, then past the bottom of the bed to the adjoining bathroom.

A few seconds after riffling through the medicine cabinet, Wufei came back with a small paper cup of water and a bottle of aspirin, “You passed out at that bar you’re always going to.”


Duo happily accepted the pills, swallowing back three of them, then chasing it with water. The liquid only seemed to enhance the nasty taste in his mouth, “The…bar…so…you know.” He murmured softly, watching as Wufei nodded. Duo collapsed back on the bed and drew his covers back over his head.

“Well, shit, there goes that secret.” He muttered sarcastically, watching the outline of Wufei shake his head through the blanket, “Now you know, so does this mean I can leave?” The blankets were wrenched down and he found himself staring into grim obsidian eyes.

“Leave, what the hell do you mean?” Wufei shot, arms crossing over his chest though the hold on the blanket was maintained. Duo snorted and rolled his eyes, easily ignoring the pain even though it hadn’t dulled yet.

“I clearly can’t stay here, it’s killing me to watch you four, I’d rather get the hell out, yanno?” Duo asked, though he really didn’t care if the other understood or not. He’d been thinking about it for a while, and now that Wufei knew, it made him all the more accepting to the idea.

“You can’t just leave, Duo, you pay a fifth of the rent-..” Duo snorted once more, cutting off Wufei’s argument before it could reach full steam, “Yeah, I know, that’s all I’m good for, right? My credits, ne?” Wufei watched silently as the man flung off his blankets and stalked across the room, dragging a few articles of clothing from his dresser drawers.

“Well, fuck you. I can pay for my own gods damned apartment and not have to worry about what the hell I’m going to walk into when I step into a room.” The braided man’s temper flared and he tugged his jeans on over his boxers, the t-shirt he wore from last night discarded off to the side so he could replace it with a clean black one.

“Duo, I didn’t-..” Wufei tried again, eyes narrowing as he attempted to keep control of his own temper. “No. I can’t do this anymore, Wufei. You know how I feel now, I just can’t watch you two, okay? So don’t ask.” Duo tugged on his tennis shoes, and, grabbing his hairbrush and set of car keys, he stomped out of his bedroom, leaving Wufei looking dumbfounded after him.

Quatre jumped out of the way as Duo took off down the stairs, peering after him worriedly before trailing along behind, “Duo..?” He asked softly, watching the man shake his head, “No now, Q’, please? I just...gotta go now.”

Tears. Quatre could hear them. He could feel the pain. His hand came up to press against his chest, watching as the door shut with a slam behind the braided man, “Oh Duo..” He murmured, then turned his head to the stairs to see Wufei, looking shell-shocked, staring down from the top.

Later a cheap moving van pulled up in front of the apartment complex. One room was cleaned out while four sets of eyes watched saddened. The usually bouncy, ringing voice that permeated the halls of the apartment was gone. Duo was gone. Maybe for good, maybe not. But he was gone.

~*~

/I want a lover I don’t have to love.
I want a boy who’s so drunk he doesn’t talk.
Where’s the kid with the chemicals.
I’ve got a hunger and I can’t seem to get full.
I need some meaning I can memorize.
The kind I have always seems to slip my mind.
But you write such pretty words.
But life’s no story book.
Love’s an excuse to get hurt.
And to hurt.
Do you like to hurt?
I do, I do.
Then hurt me.
Then hurt me.
The hurt me./

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