Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, and am making no money off of this fic.

AN: Written for the February 15th Cocktail Party prompt found here: gwcocktailfriday . tumblr .com(/)post/182682547140/cocktail-friday-post-responses-on-friday-february. (Without the spaces and parentheses.)

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Berries On Ice by luvsanime02

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Duo snorted when he saw the drink in Wufei's hand. "Is there even any alcohol in that?" he asked. "I didn't know that you liked strawberries."

Wufei calmly picked up the stick of fruit and began to eat them. "Raspberries," he corrected. "And cranberries. Not strawberries."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Like there's any difference," he said. There really was, but that wasn't the point. "Still, have you drank most of that already in the time it took me to get here, or are they just charging you ten bucks for something that's mostly ice?"

Finishing off the fruit, Wufei used the stick to stir the small amount of liquid sitting in his glass underneath all of the ice. "Mostly the second one," he admitted. "Maybe you're supposed to wait for the ice to melt?" He shrugged and took another long drink. If he waited, the ice would water down his drink, and he liked the burn of the alcohol just fine.

"What a waste," Duo muttered. He was probably right. The bar was clearly hoping to capitalize on a whole Valentine's Day theme, but they were falling short of anything worth spending his money on. Why was he here again?

Unfortunately, the answer was that Wufei loved his friends, and so he showed up to tacky bars and paid too much money for his drinks. Grumbling, Duo did the same beside him, ordering a Disaronno on the rocks. The bartender came back later with a glass mostly filled with ice, with a red stick of berries shoved into the drink.

Duo gave the fruit an offended look, and offered the stick to Wufei, who inclined his head in thanks before taking it. If nothing else, at least their fruit was fresh. He supposed that this evening could be worse.

"Something tells me I shouldn't order anything with ice in it," Trowa said dryly, announcing his presence as he sat down on the barstool on Wufei's other side.

"I'm not sure if that'll help or not," Wufei cautioned. Trowa shrugged and ordered a gin and tonic, and Wufei had to admit that he didn't see how that could get screwed up. The answer came a few minutes later, when a tall glass almost full of ice was set down in front of a disbelieving Trowa.

Wufei blinked. "Is there even any alcohol in that?" he asked, not even caring that he was echoing Duo's earlier words. It really was difficult to tell if the clear liquid in the bottom was water or not. Of course, the glass also came with some more berries.

Trowa sighed, plucked the berries off of the stick and dropped them into his glass, and then used the stick as a stirrer like Wufei was. "I get to pick the place next time," he announced. Wufei had no complaints.

"I'm pretty sure Relena chooses places this bad on purpose," Duo said, not bothering with touching his drink just yet, and instead resting his elbows on the bar. Wufei wrinkled his nose. He didn't trust the place to keep the bartop clean enough to lean on.

"She does," Trowa agreed. "I'm still choosing next time."

Wufei turned towards the door and watched as Relena and Hilde walked into the bar together, already clearly in a good mood. Relena grinned at the awful decorations hung up around the room. He shook his head and silently wished Trowa good luck with that, and took another sip of his drink.

Relena was nothing if not determined, and Wufei admired that about her, really, but he also wished that her latest quest wasn't to tour the city's least attractive bars with her friends. Maybe she'd change her mind when she ordered a rum and coke and got nothing but ice in her glass. Wufei could only hope.