Author: BadMomma )

Warnings: AU (my first), limey

Pairings: 1x2x1, some mention of 3x4, OCs

Rating: R for language and some sexual situations

Disclaimer: Own them, I do not.

Feedback: Craved, greatly appreciated and always answered.

Notes: First, what constitutes renovation related information in this fic comes from what I learned growing up and working for the engineers and architects that make up my extended family (and he whom I married). The fic is told alternately in Heero and Duo's POV; both refused to completely give up the mike, so I made them share. One voice per chapter, though. Also, told partially in first person, partially not. Major cop out on my part, I know, it just needed telling that way... blame it on watching too many movies. Last warning: I write like I think, or like I think they would think; so it will not be grammatically correct, it's more stream of thought than anything.

Summary: A Renovations Consultant finds more than just old buildings of interest on his new job site when he gets tangled up with the resort's Programs Director.

01Arrivals

The drive from the airport had taken thirty minutes thus far. It was now a pleasant drive, winding along the flat coastal roads, seaside greenery only occasionally obscuring the view of the nearby ocean. He could hear the waves crashing on the shore and they called to him. It had been years since he'd been anywhere near the ocean and he missed that. He so loved the ocean that this project would likely provide the nicest setting of any of the projects he'd worked on in years. He was very much looking forward to the months he'd be spending here.

Since graduating from the university, Heero Yuy had been working nonstop. He now held the position of Project Manager in the reputable firm of Dorlian-Dermail working alongside his best friend and college roommate, Trowa Barton.

The young men had earned their way to a place where they could now pick which assignments they undertook for the firm. The pair had consistently managed to bring their projects in on-time and under-budget; quickly gaining the respect of the partners and their coworkers. This project could very well earn them a place among the elite in their field. It would be challenging work but imminently doable.

The island resort, originally built in the early 1920s, had once been the estate of a wealthy family. After the depression, the family had begun converting sections of the estate into a hotel, in hopes of rebuilding at least part of their vast wealth. Over the years it had been improved upon, expanded and even renovated; becoming one of the premiere vacation spots in the region during the late-50s, 60s and early 70s.

Since then, the resort's appeal had declined dramatically and its splendor had waned. Families no longer vacationed in the same manner; preferring instead to visit theme parks, to experience the natural majesty of places like the Rocky Mountains or to hobnob with the rich and famous in the Hamptons or the Napa Valley.

That was why, about a year earlier, the resort found itself on the market. It was quickly bought up by two young and up-and-coming entrepreneurs who were determined to restore it to its original beauty and hopefully its earlier popularity as well. Treize Kushrenada and Zechs Marquise, sole owners of KLM Enterprises, were wealthy bachelors who seemed to have a Midas Touch. They'd invested their time and money in similar ventures only to turn around and sell them for a hefty profit. However, rumor had it they'd fallen in love with this place and were planning on keeping it. Dorlian-Dermail had already worked on other KLM ventures and had been rewarded for their good work by being offered first bid on the new renovation project.

Heero remembered his involvement in the previous project well. He and Trowa had been charged with handling the overhaul of the Recreational Facilities. While they had met and worked with both men, they'd worked more closely on that project with Zechs Marquise. Marquise had never failed to share his very specific ideas on the renovations; but he'd also taken each of their recommendations seriously and given them their due consideration. In the end, the majority of the changes had been a direct result of their own recommendations; but they'd managed to incorporate many of Marquise's suggestions as well while still designing for maximum gain and least cost. Marquise had been very complimentary of their sense of style, order and spatial dynamics.

Things on this project, however, seemed to be going differently. Both Kushrenada and Marquise had been very vocal and passionate in expressing their ideas, often dismissing outright the ideas presented in preliminary meetings by the project managers the firm had originally assigned to the job. Three weeks into the planning stage, after having only met privately with KLM once on their assigned task - and much to Heero's surprise - Mr. Dorlian had approached the young project managers with an exciting proposal.

KLM had requested that they, Heero and Trowa, be put in control of the project and be allowed to work on-site for the duration of it. While some on-site time was not uncommon, the length of the assignment was, as were the sizable bonuses offered to both the firm and the project managers for completing the project in just under a year.

That night, rather than going out to celebrate leadership of their first major project with dinner and drink, they'd ordered Chinese food and holed up in their apartment; brainstorming over how to pull it off. By the time they arrived in the office the following Monday, they'd already sketched out a tentative plan for the entire project and began at once to assemble their team and research the history and architecture of the resort and its surrounding community.

Now, little over a month later, Heero would be the first on-site. He still had some research to do that, it seemed, would best be done on-site. Marquise had made reference to someone he felt would be instrumental in achieving their desired effect, the resort's unofficial historian. Unofficial, because the man in question was actually their Programs Director; a local man a few years Heero's junior, who'd begun working there as a Cabana Boy while still in high school. Apparently the man, Maxwell, was something of a history buff and had gone to great lengths to gather as much information as he could on the resort; from its auspicious origins to its many changes over the years.

Heero was looking forward to finding out just how 'instrumental' the man would be. While Marquise did not strike him as a poor judge of character or intelligence, Heero'd often found that a client's opinions of their own employees' merit did not always coincide with his own. Truth be told, he and Trowa worked well together because they were both tenacious in achieving their goals and both had an overwhelmingly strong work ethic. Even within their own firm, there were people they did not trust to get the job done right.

On more than one occasion they'd gone outside the firm for help on certain aspects of their projects to satisfy their own sense of quality. They'd been pressed hard for justification the first time they'd done it; but after that first venture with their consultants of choice, they'd never been asked to justify themselves again. Their mutual friend, and occasional consultant, Quatre Winner, had jokingly dubbed their group of four the Dream Team. Along with Quarte's business associate Wufei, the four young men had tackled and surmounted all obstacles placed in their way. Many magazine and newspaper articles decorated the walls of each of their offices, all of them extolling the quality of work the Dream Team had performed.

As his thoughts turned from their relationships as coworkers to their relationships as friends, he reached the turn off point for the ferry. Taking the small road to the ferry landing, he felt a thrill go through him. This was the kind of opportunity he'd worked so hard for all his life. The outcome of this project could easily determine his future. Success or failure, it could make or break him. Failure would pretty much guarantee that he'd forever be just a junior associate in any firm. Success would open doors, be it in his current firm or on his own. Success would have made his parents proud if only they'd lived to see it. The thought of his late parents managed only to dampen his excitement.

Professionalism. Dignity. Hard work. Discipline.

He repeated his mantra as he always did when thinking of his parents. He'd not understood as a small child, upon seeing those words on the wall of his father's study, what they meant. Now as a man, he understood that they were a personal code. One his mother and father had done well to instill in him. It had gotten him this far, it would get him where he needed to go.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a portly gentleman waving him down at the entrance to the ferry. He slowed and greeted the man with a nod.

"Mr. Yuy?"

"Yes, I'm Heero Yuy."

"Ah, good afternoon sir, we were expecting you." The man turned and hollered in the direction of the a small structure that appeared to be the waiting area for foot passengers. "Gibson! Mr. Yuy's here. Time to get to work, son."

The man turned again and eyed the back seat of Heero's rented SUV. "Are your bags in the back?"

"Yes. Do you need to see them?"

"In a way, sir, yes. The resort doesn't allow cars on the property. Gibson here has a cart for you." He motioned the young man approaching in a modified golf cart to the back of the vehicle. "He'll be escorting you into the resort. You can park your car in the lot there when we're done unloading."

This was news to him but he unlocked the hatch without argument. Rules were rules after all. He'd known the resort was on a small island with mostly very narrow, gravel and dirt roads; but he'd not realized he wouldn't be allowed to take his vehicle in. Furthermore, it was a rental and he was distinctly uncomfortable with leaving it in an unprotected parking lot for days on end. It also dawned on him that he was uncomfortable with the idea of being chauffeured around. He was extremely independent and instantly bristled at the notion.

"I'll need my car to get around and I might need to leave the island." He commented to no one in particular while stepping out of the car. "The car's a rental, I'm not sure it would be wise to leave it in the lot."

Both men were already removing his belongings from the back of the truck and loading them onto the cart. But the younger man, Gibson, stopped to answer him. "Not to worry, Mr. Yuy, there's security on duty at the lot 'round the clock. It'll be safe. And you'll have your own golf cart to get around while you're on the island. As a matter of fact, I may need to come back for the rest of this. Looks like it's not all gonna fit in one trip."

Gibson scratched his head in consternation and Heero almost let out a laugh. His escort was obviously eyeing the box that held the portable drafting table and likely wondering how he would manage to get it onto the island in a golf cart. Even folded down to its travel proportions, it was still rather large.

Heero hadn't expected this situation and therefore hadn't anticipated the need for special arrangements to be made for his supplies. He smiled curtly at Gibson and motioned him aside; deftly opening the box and retrieving its prized contents. Once done extracting it, he balanced it on his foot and turned to regard the older man. Realizing he'd not caught the man's name, he 'ummed' and extended a hand in the man's direction.

"George" the other man supplied and waited for Heero to go on.

"Thanks George, I'd appreciate it if you could put the box back in the truck. I'll just carry this with me on the ride."

Both men nodded and moved to finish loading up the cart while Heero carefully placed the table in front, on the passenger's side. When they were done emptying the truck, Heero parked it where he was directed and returned to the men awaiting him at the cart.

"All set?" Gibson asked.

"Yes, thank you." Heero nodded and took his place in the golf cart behind the table. "Ready when you are."

Gibson lifted the radio that had occasionally been squawking quietly at his hip and called into it. The ferry was waiting for them. "Hennessy? It's Gib."

/Read ya' loud and clear Gibson, this is Hennessy. What's your status? Out./

Gibson rolled his eyes and shot Heero a lopsided grin. He mouthed 'teenager' before answering. "We're getting on the ferry now, should be there in about five. Get up to the main house and let the boss know Mr. Yuy's here. He's got a rather large package with him and I'd like to give him a hand getting it unloaded. Be better not to change carts at the Main. Have the desk give you the keys, let me know where he's staying and you can meet us there in his cart."

/Roger that. I'll get back to you on the QT with the CO's answer. Hennessy out./

Gibson huffed a breath and shook his head one more time. He turned the volume down again and clipped the radio back onto his belt. Putting the cart in gear, he headed for the ferry, shooting his passenger a sideways glance. Heero's amusement at the radio conversation was just barely visible through a controlled smirk. "Sorry about that. He's one of the newer part-timers. Hasn't gotten over the whole novelty of the radio. He thinks it cool to use all that pseudo-military lingo."

Heero waited until Gibson had secured the cart on the ferry and signaled the ferry captain to get underway. "How old is he?"

"All of sixteen." Both men barked out a quick laugh, but Gibson continued. "Can't believe I was ever that young myself. He's a good kid though; always on time for his shift, works hard, very polite with the guests and the regular staff. He's a lot better than most the high schoolers we get. His parents raised him well, guess they wanted him to hold a job for a while before he runs off to college. Get a feel for the real world."

"Shouldn't he be in school right now?"

"There's only one high school in these parts so they run it on split shift. He goes from 7 to 1 and then works here in the afternoons. It's what a lot of kids have been doing for years."

"Did you start working here in high school as well?"

To be honest, it didn't really matter to Heero, he was just practicing at being sociable. He'd repeatedly been told that he needed to work on it but usually found it very hard not to cross the line from sociable into personal. Something that, if he interpreted Gibson's reaction correctly, he seemed to have just done again. "Sorry, it's none of my business."

"Nah, it's alright. Yeah, me and a few friends started working here while we were in high school. Most of them left eventually, went away to college after a couple of years. I just never did, I guess. Got married instead and then…" He shrugged and left the rest unsaid. "There's only one other guy left from my high school days and he goes to school part time at the state college in town. Smart guy." He nodded, implying there was really nothing more to tell.

Heero nodded too and replied with a simple 'ah'. He decided not to try his hand at any more sociable behavior. He'd obviously gotten more information than he needed and likely much more than Gibson had wanted to share. They were quiet for the rest of the ride.

Just as the ferry was docking, the radio crackled to life again.

/Gibson, this is Hennessy. Come in Gibson. Over./

Again, poor Gibson sighed and shook his head before answering. "I'm here, Hen. Where we headed?"

/CO says he gets his choice of locale, depending on their needs. Either Ibis or the Glades. Copy?/

"Yeah I copy, hold on."

Before he had a chance to turn to Heero and explain the options, the radio crackled to life again.

/Roger that. Will advance to the nearest locale. Advise of the decision. Out./

Both men shook their heads. It was actually amusing, in an annoying sort of way. "I hope to God I was not that idiotic when I was his age. I'll have to ask Duo about it. I'm really sorry, Mr. Yuy. But these are your options.

"The Ibis House is like a Single Family home. It's an independent structure, with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths but it sleeps about 10 to 12 people if you use the sofa bed; it's also got a full kitchen, a dining room and a huge living room. There's a deck on the beach side with a barbeque and patio furniture.

"The Glades Quadriplex is 4 townhouse style apartments all connected by a common porch, each apartment has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, they can each sleep probably six people, I think there's a total of 3 queen sized beds. All the apartments have slightly smaller but still pretty decent sized kitchens, dining and living rooms. Sleeping on the second floor, common rooms on the first. Each of the Glades also has an open balcony that overlooks the water on the common room level. I take it you'll be having company, so it's really your choice."

Heero thought it over for the moment. The house would be ideal for when the Dream Team finally got together, they could all stay in the same place and not worry about picking one place or the other as their base of operations. It would also be nice, fun actually, for them all to be bunking together.

The only disadvantage would be, that for whatever amount of time they'd be needed on-site, Dori and possibly Relena would also be staying with them. He really didn't look forward to having to share his private time with either of them. Dori was easy enough to get along with, they'd worked well together in the past and she'd been pleasant enough at the few social functions they'd attended. Relena might turn out to be a little more difficult. Though Dori often told him Relena's 'little crush' was harmless, once going as far as to say she found it charming, he found it nothing short of annoying.

Sleeping arrangements wouldn't be a deciding factor with either of the options; even if they were all present at the same time. No matter what, they wouldn't need to sleep more than six to eight people at a time.

While he continued to think over the pros and cons of the situation, Gibson had moved them off the ferry and sat patiently awaiting his decision.

"Where are they located? With respect to the main resort building and Mr. Marquise's office?"

"Well, the resort's main building is on the other side of the island from where we are now. The Ibis House is down this road here to the left. It's the farther of the two from the resort, but it's set off from the main drag. The Glades is about two-thirds of the way down towards the resort on the left; right on the main road."

"Hm. And you said the Glades is four apartments, but they share… a porch?"

"Yeah, it's one big building with a common, open air porch, and one central set of stairs. On the other side, where the balconies are, there are stairs interconnecting a couple of the apartments. The two middle ones, I think."

"But there are no connecting doors between the apartments themselves?"

"Right."

"The Glades then, please."

"Alright! We're on our way." The golf cart took off with a start and accelerated to greater speeds than Heero would have thought possible. Just when he was about to point out that Gibson should call Hennessy and let the teenager know the decision had been made, the radio crackled to life again.

/Gibson, this is Hennessy. Come in Gibson. Over./

"Idiot" Gibson mumbled under his breath, then answered into the radio. "Stay put Hennessy, we're on our way to Glades."

/Roger that, chief. I'm opening up one of the apartments now. Over and out./

Heero listened halfheartedly to the chatter, making sure that his decision had been the right one. Professionalism, he reminded himself. Had he let his personal opinions decide the outcome of a business decision? Relena's silly infatuation with him had hardly diminished in the years since they'd first met and while they usually did not work too closely together, it had driven him to distraction on one occasion before. So much so that he'd snapped at her in the middle of a staff meeting and that had led to strained relations with the Graphics staff for a few weeks. He'd later made amends by apologizing both publicly to her and privately to Mr. Dorlian. The man had been understanding and sympathetic to his cause; Mr. Dorlian loved his daughter but bemoaned her often borderline-obsessive behavior and had blamed it almost entirely on his wife's habit of coddling the girl.

Trowa had seized the opportunity to tease him for several days after, saying that he thought Heero had protested too much. Heero had not been happy with either his roommate or the situation at the time, but the incident had blown over and things had since returned to normal. Still, personal feelings or not, if she was in his hair and driving him crazy, he'd have a hard time keeping his focus on work. Which would then lead him to lose some of his disciplined manner. Which would, in turn, mean he might not behave as professionally as he'd want. Ultimately, he would not be working as hard as he should. There. The problem had been solved. Logic dictated that the best solution to the housing issue was that they make the Glades their base of operations.

When they arrived, a pimply faced Hennessy was eagerly awaiting with keys in hand and approached their cart before it had even stopped. "Mr. Yuy! Welcome to the Pirates Cove Resort. My name's Hennessy, Jim Hennessy, feel free to call on me if there's anything you need during your stay." He shook Heero's hand briskly then moved quickly to the back of the cart to begin unloading the baggage and hold a quiet conversation with Gibson.

Heero looked up to find Gibson relieving Hennessy of the keys and motioning them up the stairs. "Mr. Merquise took the liberty of providing you some basics for your stay, we've put them in Apartment B here, but if you'd prefer one of the others it'd be no trouble to move them. Why don't you take a look at all the apartments before deciding. I'll help Hennessy unload the cart in the meantime." He handed Heero the keys and turned back to the cart. "Take your time and let us know when you decide."

Heero nodded his thanks and entered the first apartment on the right. After inspecting all the apartments and weighing the pros and cons of interconnecting balconies, he decided that Apartment B, one of the middle apartments, would do just fine as it had slightly larger common rooms. Since he'd be here on his own for a while, he could easily work directly from his own rooms. Then, when the others began arriving, he could move their base of operations into the other middle apartment. He and Trowa could comfortably share the one he'd chosen, Quatre and Wufei could share the end apartment next to his, and Relena and Dori could share the last one. The one farthest from him. The one with no interconnecting balcony stairs.

Logic had again validated his personal preference.

After informing Gibson and Hennessy of his decision, he went back into the apartment to begin making room for the drafting table. The other men diligently moved his belongings in, asking which were personal effects and which were work related. Without his knowing it, they set up all his personal belongings in the master bedroom, which also happened to have a small balcony.

Between the three of them they quickly finished distributing his things and setting up the table in the dining room. He was handed keys to the four apartments, given information on the housekeeping options, a map of the resort and – finally – left alone to relax; but not before graciously accepting a small gift basket from KLM.

Upon inspection he found that the basket contained a bottle each of red and white wine, some gourmet cookies, crackers and assorted nuts and fruits. There was also a note from Kushrenada and Marquise welcoming him to their resort and asking that he enjoy his first day there by relaxing and settling in. They also invited him to partake of the 'morsels' they'd taken the liberty to stock his fridge with – the basics Gibson had alluded to, 'to start his stay off right and make him feel at home' the note said. Heero decided to open the red wine to let it breathe, then used the excuse of placing the white wine in the fridge to check out what those basics might be.

He was astounded at what he found. There was a healthy selection of beers – one domestic and two imported brands - specialty breads, cold cuts, juices, milk and sodas. He also found a tin of what appeared to be home made pate and a container of caviar.

If they had meant to make him feel at home, they'd blown it. He couldn't remember he and Trowa ever having had any pate or caviar in their fridge back home, and usually their store bought loaf bread was on the verge of molding.

Deciding to leave the red wine for dinner, he pulled a beer from the fridge, kicked off his shoes, fished his cell phone from his briefcase and headed out to the balcony.

He needed to call Trowa. This was just too cool for him not to rub it in.

TBC

01/13/05