It was raining outside.
Duo liked the rain… No. He loved it.
Rain meant no work. Technically, yes, he could have donned his thick, steel toed boots and trudged outside to brave the weather and work on salvaging parts from whatever pile of mechanical devices he decided to attack. The scrap yard wasn't getting any younger, after all.
But, he was self-employed.
And self-employed men didn't work in the rain if they didn't want to.
Besides- If he refused to open shop on rainy days, that meant that Hilde would have to consider rainy days as "off days" too.
Naturally, if it was raining, and there was no work, Hilde wouldn't spend the day cooped up inside.
Naturally, she would go visiting her friends.
Duo didn't even try to taper down his ear to ear grin as Hilde called her goodbyes, umbrella in hand as she made her way outside. "By, honey!" he said far too cheerfully, waving as he slammed the door shut in his haste.
Practically skipping his way to the bedroom, chestnut braid flying wildly behind him, Duo felt a twinge of remorse. In retrospect, maybe he shouldn't have been quite so pushy in getting his girlfriend out of the house…
"Hey, you planning on going out today, babe?"
"…It's 7am."
35 minutes later
"Are you leaving now?"
"I'm trying to do my hair. Do you mind, Mr. Don't-Touch-the-Braid Maxwell?"
15 minutes later
"Are you ready to go? I can start the car for you…"
"I'm in the middle of eating my breakfast."
10 minutes later
"It's okay, Hilde! I'll do the dishes! Go ahead, you can leave now."
"Oh, really, Duo? Thank you! But I still have to make the bed. Thanks for the help, dear."
"Dammit."
5 minutes later
"Hilde-chan! Are—"
"YES. I'm leaving now. Give me the freakin' umbrella, Duo."
Oh well.
Making his way across the bedroom, footsteps silent against the thick, lavender carpet, Duo stopped in front of the dresser, opening the first drawer- Hilde's drawer. He quickly slid his hands into the depths, a happy little grin taking hold of his lips as he retrieved a small, familiar, black bag.
Duo sighed in content as he made his way to the bathroom. His fingers ran fondly over the worn material, absently feeling the recognizable shapes through the outer material as he flicked on the light switch, coming to stand in front of the sink, but more importantly, the mirror.
One final flash of that maniac grin of his, and the 02 pilot grew a bit calmer. He's need a steady hand for what he was going to be doing. One small slip, and he'd have to start all over again…
With a swift flick of his wrist, Duo unzipped the bag, removing the different objects one by one, neatly placing his chosen pieces in an orderly line.
The lip-liner went next to the cotton candy lip gloss, the liquid eye-liner went next to the blue liner, which went next to the waterproof mascara, which went next to the eyelash curler, which went next to the 17 Shade eye-shadow compact, which went next to the eyebrow pencil and tweezers, which went next to… etc., etc. et. al.
Rainy days were most certainly Duo's "personal" days.
What? It wasn't as though Hilde didn't know that Duo used her makeup- half the colors in there would never due with her complexion, eye, and hair tone anyway. When had she first caught him…?
Duo gave a small chuckle, reminiscing as he sharpened the dandy pinkish shade of lip-liner.
A year and a half ago, after having ushered Hilde out the door, he'd done the exact same thing, step by step. He had it down to an art. Get the makeup, set it all up nice and neat on the bathroom sink, and then have at it.
Only, that time, Hilde had forgotten her purse. Whoops. Just as Duo was putting the finishing touches on his eyes, she's burst into the bathroom.
The braided youth had been mortified. He was a big, strong, sexy Former Gundam Pilot- he was not supposed to wear makeup! Let alone, get caught by his girlfriend with the stuff on!
Normally quick thinking and quick talking, Duo couldn't even manage off a 'Get out,' much less think of a plausible explanation.
Hilde had just blinked, stared, blinked again, and walked out.
Sure that his relationship was over, Duo had been more than surprised when she later returned home, and never mentioned the incident again. He'd also been more than grateful.
Duo honestly didn't know why he did it (aside from the fact that he thought it was fun). How did it even happen the first time? Oh yeah… Wufei had mentioned something about Duo's girlish hair, which led to Duo wondering…
Aw, Hell, he could blame it on whatever he wanted to blame it on. The fact of the matter was, he wore makeup.
But only on rainy days.
Like that made it any better.
Duo shrugged to himself, and leaned in toward the mirror.
Lips first and foremost, even if those should probably be done last. He couldn't help himself, dammit.
The tip of the pink liner glided smoothly across his lower lip, just below the actual flesh line, giving a fuller, more sensuous pout once the top lip was done in a likewise manner.
Dabbing at the corners of his mouth with a cotton ball to remove the excess, he gently dabbed at the lip gloss, generously spreading it over his lips, blending the liner to create quite a nice hue. He didn't even get any out of his lip line!
Oh yeah… I'm a pro, baby.
Cleaning his hands, Duo pulled back to admire his handiwork. Striking a few poses, he even pouted a bit, just to test it out.
Oh yeah... Just call me Duo" Sex-ah-gami" Maxwell…
Duo rather enjoyed his "personal" days.
Positioning the eyelash curler just so, he was about to give it a good squeeze, when there was a knock on the door. A big knock. Like someone was pounding on the door.
Heaving a sigh and rolling his eyes, Duo slowly trekked back through the bedroom, through the living room, and toward the front door, feet dragging with every step. Leave it to Hilde to forget her purse, again.
And what was she doing back already? How much time had passed? A good 15 minutes, tops? Man, it was like she planned this out.
"You know, Hilde, light of my life," Duo began loudly, one hand on his hip as the other tugged open the door, "Your timing is— GEH?"
A drenched Heero Yuy stood on the doorstep, green tanktop and pale jeans clinging to his body like a second skin.
Those violet eyes of the 02 pilot got a whole lot bigger. "Heero! What are you doing here?"
Heero's right arm swung up, and Duo was suddenly staring down the barrel of a gun. "Mission- Kill the Former 02 Gundam Pilot, Duo Maxwell," he said, that unwavering monotone sinking like a rock into the pit of the braided youth's gut.
The 01 pilot's blank expression never changed. "Mission Complete."
He pulled the trigger.
x
Ooooo… Does this qualify as a cliff-hanger? Meh… Don't ruin my moment if it doesn't!
This fic was originally intended to be romantic/angst, but romantic/humor seemed so much more fun!
Read and review, please! I'll write/post more if anyone's actually interested in this fic.
Zangai