Twelve

Mischief

      I grinned at Nikki, “I give him five minutes.”
      She grinned back, “He’s gonna wash his hair, so I say ten. His hair is long.”
      I shut the door and watched as she headed for the dresser, “So how do you like Relena?”
      She threw some shirts on the bed and a pair of jeans, stripping off her skirt, “I need to stop calling him Commander...” she muttered, seeming not to hear me.
      I smiled, “Yeah...but now, how did you like Relena?”
      She smiled at me, “She seems nice. But I don’t know...” she pulled the jeans on, unbuttoning her dress shirt. She paused, thinking, and held up a gray and a white T-shirt for me to decide.
      “Gray. What do you mean?”
      “I don’t know, she seems fakey...”
      I smiled, “I think she’s sincere.”
      She shrugged, “To you, maybe.” she pulled the dress shirt the rest of the way off, “Are you sure the gray?”
      I took in her standing there in her jeans and a bra and averted my eyes, “Whatever...”
      Suddenly the door opened, “Ready?” Duo ignored me and didn’t seem to notice her lack of shirt. His hair was still wet and it looked odd, hanging almost to his knees.
      Nikki grinned and pulled the chair from the vanity, “I have a feeling the others’ll be joining us shortly.” she warned.
      We could discuss this later. I walked over and sat on the bed, laying back.
      “I don’t care.” Duo replied, “They can gawk all they want as long as you’re messin’ with my hair. Nice shirt.” he grinned, his eyes flicking to it.
      “You think so?” she asked, holding it up with one arm, “I think it might look better on me, don’t you?”
      He grinned, “Not necessarily...I like that bra...” he studied her in mock sincerity.
      She laughed and pulled it on, then picked up her brush as he sat down. As she ran her fingers through the length of his hair, he sighed deeply, closing his eyes.
      “So, what are you wearing to dinner tonight?” I asked, not wanting to fall asleep and knowing she’d want me to dress to match her.
      “I don’t know. Probably that dress I showed you this morning.”
      I closed my eyes, “Which one?”
      “The one with the straps.”
      “There were a few of those.”
      There was a tap at the door, “It’s open.” Nikki called.
      I opened my eyes to see who it was.
      Smiling, Kat stepped in, Trowa on her heels.
      Duo looked at his comrade, feigning disgust, “Turn coat.”
      Trowa grinned, “I couldn’t resist the chance of seeing the God of Death reduced to that by someone playing with his hair.”
      The door opened again and Wufei came in.
      “Another one?” Duo demanded, shaking his head.
      Wufei chuckled as Kris came in.
      “I can deal with this...” he said to Nikki, gesturing.
      She chuckled.
      Samantha and Quatre came in.
      “This is sickening,” Duo told me, “All of you...”
      “Oh, Duo, you should be happy we’re all here to see you.” Sam started as Duo snorted.
      “The blue and black one?” I asked Nikki.
      “No.” she was focused on Duo’s hair.
      “So which one?”
      “What?” Sam asked.
      “I’m trying to get her to tell me which dress she’s wearing tonight.” I replied, closing my eyes again.
      Nikki chuckled.
      Realization. “Except...she doesn’t even know which one she’s wearing...”
      “I thought she said something about a strappy...” Trowa started.
      How did he know? He wasn’t in here when...oh yeah, he’d been on the other side of the door.
      Quatre laughed, “Most of’em are strappy. Duo said that she and Sam like that kind...”
      “So you bought them a bunch of strappy dresses you didn’t know if they’d like?” Wufei demanded as if he weren’t too bright.
      I opened my eyes to look at the Arabian.
      He shrugged, “Well...yeah.”
      “Why?” Wufei didn’t seem to get it.
      “Because...” Quatre thought a moment, “I don’t know. I just wanted to make’em happy, I guess...”
      Nikki had stopped what she was doing and was looking at Quatre appreciatively, “Thank you!”
      Duo cleared his throat protestingly and she refocused.
      Sam leaned over and hugged Quatre, kissing him happily on the cheek, “You’re too sweet...”
      He blushed.
      Realization lit Kris’ face and she smiled at Duo, “I didn’t realize you knew what I liked...”
      Duo grinned slightly, not saying anything, his eyes still closed.
      I smiled, “Don’t I get any credit? I told him sizes...”
      “How do you know their sizes, Heero?” Trowa asked, amused.
      I grinned and winked. Let him think what he would.
      “Nikki told him.” Sam replied, giving me an arch look.
      “No, actually, I learned from listening, Sam.”
      She rose an eyebrow.
      “How many times have I been to your house? You think I never listen? Half your discussions center around slimming down three dress sizes and which diet to start...Not that any of you need to...” I grinned.
      They appreciated that even if they did know it was a calculated statement...the truth, but calculated all the same.
      “Nyih.” she told me, then laughed.
      Quatre was grinning, “Do you know all their sizes for everything?”
      I winked, “Everything...” suddenly the brush smacked me in the shoulder. I looked to Nikki, surprised.
      She was smiling too innocently, “Oops, it must’ve slipped.”
      Everyone started laughing.
      “Be careful, Omaesan, or I’ll tell’em more than just sizes. I do know a few...shall we say...preferences...”
      She stuck her tongue out at me.
      I grinned, “Fine, be that way. Who shall I start with?” I looked around at everyone.
      Eyes went wide and I laughed, “Just kidding. I know better than that.” I tossed the brush to Duo, who didn’t manage to catch it.
      There was more laughter.
      “Duo, Duo, Duo...” Samantha muttered, shaking her head in mock disgust.
      “You should be nicer to me, Sam.” Duo whined, shifting, “I’m the one who suggested that shirt.”
      She smiled, examining it, a blue T-shirt with a monkey on the front. “Sorry, Duo, I’ll be nicer.”
      “You look a little uncomfortable there, Duo.” I noted, grinning.
      His eyes snapped open and he shifted again as he met my eyes.
      Realizing what I meant, Kat turned to Sam, embarrassment making her slightly red. I wondered how much of that was feigned for Trowa...she could act...
      “Hmm...You want to mess with my hair later?” Quatre asked Nicole, who looked at him, one eyebrow raised.
      They all laughed again and I snorted.
      Nikki continued to mess with Duo’s hair as silence settled over us.
      I closed my eyes, relaxing. Relena...I should probably have searched her out. Oh well, I would see her soon enough...
      Quatre sighed, we were all relaxed...It was nice to be with friends...
      Kat was still acting embarrassed as Duo’s deep breathing continued. It was cute to see her reverse to the ‘school girl’ persona. She hadn’t been that way since a few months after she and the girls had started hanging out.
      Sam and Kris were thinking as Trowa and Wufei seemed to be watching...with interest...the breathy God of Death.
      “I can see why you like that.” Wufei spoke up understandingly after a while.
      The girls snickered.
      Their games had been subdued and controlled...more to keep in practice, I figured, than any other possible reason...of late. She...they hadn’t played the more simple, refined, subtle games that tended to drive me insane...guys insane...it drove guys insane...I grinned to myself. I liked those games, just like Duo liked her playing with his hair...it seemed more effective, however, when Nikki did it than when Sam did. Sam was good, to be sure, but there was that...extra something...about Nikki...couldn’t be that I wanted to...or had...
      “I don’t know...” Trowa replied, “It’s just more headgames...”
      Quatre shrugged, “Doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be fun...”
      Duo swallowed, “You have no idea how bad they use to torture me...”
      I chuckled, “They even got me sometimes...” All the time, really, but we didn’t need to go into that, or how much more this past week than normal...
      Sam and Nikki snickered again.
      “We still could, if we wanted to.” Nikki informed me.
      Yes, they could...
      Sam made a seductive purring sound.
      My eyes snapped open as all but Duo looked at her.
      No, no, no, not now...
      Nikki echoed the sound.
      Shit...
      Duo chuckled quietly.
      “Don’t...” I started as they died laughing. I knew it was an exercise in futility... there was nothing I could do.
      “Shall Kris do the honors?” Sam asked Nikki.
      Nikki nodded.
      “No. Kris shall not.” Krystal cut in, “I never did before, and I won’t now.”
      I propped myself on my elbows and smiled appreciatively at her, ignoring her fib, “Thanks...” That wasn’t true...her saying she’d never done it before...she had...she was good. But I wasn’t going to bring that up now. That would be bad.
      She grinned at me, meeting my eyes, “Nikki should.” as she said it, she lifted her eyebrows in a ‘haha’ way.
      I dropped back on the bed. They were going to do this no matter what. I should have stayed quiet...not that it was a bad thing...but...my friends were here and...well...
      Grinning, Sam stood and walked to Nikki.
      “Hey...” Duo started to protest, but Sam and Nikki had started playing. Nikki bent down fast, brushing his lips with her own as Sam ran a finger along the back of his neck and he shivered, his eyes closing involuntarily and kissing Nicole fully.
      Before long, I would have that problem...this should get interesting...
      After a second, he pulled back, meeting her eyes, his own going from intense to acceptingly annoyed.
      With Duo now appropriately silenced, Nikki turned to me, her grin mischievous.
      As her weight settled on the bed, I closed my eyes. It wasn’t like I minded so much, it was kind of fun to have her...their undivided attention...but it was only a game...
      Nikki leaned forward, her hair circling my face as she unbuttoned my jeans and... paused. She knew that I felt anticipation and was trying to fight it. I bit my lip quickly, fighting the urge to protest. She smiled larger. With an almost innocent look...the one she knew I always reacted to, she began slowly drawing her fingers lightly over my lower abdomen...lower and lower each time...
      Dizziness...made it hard to think straight...or...well, at all...
      Duo snickered as my breathing went jagged.
      I looked up to Nikki, who had stopped grinning and was watching me with interest, but it was really too hard to focus...
      “Not too much there, Nikki, or you might get a mess...” he warned and she died laughing, along with everyone else. She leaned forward against my chest and used both hands to right herself.
      I shifted from under her quickly with a sharp intake of breath, causing her to lose her balance. She hadn’t been too horribly careful there...I caught her by the arm before she fell off the bed, then lay back again, pulling her back to the sitting position.
      “Oh! I’m sorry...” I could tell she thought she’d hurt me and felt bad about it. She made a gesture as if to comfort me by caress, then thought better of it. She leaned forward, resting her forehead on mine, smiling, “Sorry...” she muttered again, this time meaning the game. She kissed me lightly on the lips and sat up a bit.
      Sorry? She had no idea...
      But, if they were going to play... “Good thing we share a room...” I murmured breathilly, leaning up and kissing her deeply. I just wished this were more than a game...
      Everyone fell silent and I felt slight elation, she wasn’t pulling away...she started to return the kiss and I really wished this weren’t a game...
      It was nearly impossible, but finally I broke the kiss off... Damn...I lay back on the bed, grinning at her wide-eyed shock. I’d have to try that again...when everyone else was gone.
      “I never realized how well that worked...” Sam muttered as I re-buttoned my pants.
      “Maybe I should have that other bed brought in...” Quatre mused.
      No one but Nikki could see my grin because of her hair, “One bed, or two... doesn’t really matter to me...”
      “You’re making the others feel left out, Ladies...” Duo informed them, he knew what I was about...to an extent. We’d plotted something like this in the past.
      Nikki hesitated, meeting my eyes, then turned from me to Sam, “Three, four or five?”
      Samantha grinned, “I’m thinkin’ five, what do you think, Kris?”
      “Whoa...” Wufei tried to protest, but they ignored him.
      Five? That was an...odd choice for first...well, third...but still, first...keeping in mind the whole dominance struggle they seemed to have...and the fact that Wufei didn’t completely realize it was a game...
      Kris was thinking about it, “Five sounds good to me.”
      “Uh...” Wufei tried again, “Do I get a choice here?”
      “No.” It was a near unison from all four of them.
      Wufei resided to an anxious lump.
      “You’ll have to do three.” Nikki informed Kris.
      She smiled, “Nope, I’m not in this round.”
      Nikki grinned as Trowa looked to me.
      “Five?” Quatre asked, not understanding the choice either.
      Nikki grinned at him, “Five.” she made her way to Wufei, who watched her warily.
      “And I don’t get a choice?” he asked again, not as upset as he was pretending to be.
      She leaned forward, her lips skimming the lashes of his left eye. “Guess...” she breathed, close to his ear.
      “Should I stand up?” he seemed unduly confident.
      She grinned, turning to Sam, “We seem to have a willing victim here, Sam.”
      Wufei stood.
      I shook my head, sitting up. Wufei stood no chance...and from the display she’d given earlier in the hall, he should’ve realized it...except...he didn’t seem to realize she had been playing then...poor guy...he’d been confused when I’d turned the corner...and every other time she’d messed with him. He just didn’t get it.
      “I say your favorite drink it’s a no go.” Kat spoke up suddenly.
      Trowa turned to her, shocked.
      “Thanks for the support...” Nicole muttered at the same time.
      “I don’t know, Kat.” Kris replied, “Nikki can get Heero...”
      They pretended not to remember her getting us all as often as she had.
      Kat nodded her agreement, thinking.
      The others were shocked...Kat didn’t know what was going on, did she? At least that’s what they guys thought...not Duo, of course.
      I loved how successful she could be at acting.
      I myself had been the ‘no go’ at one point between these three, Kat had never witnessed it, and later I’d actually bet with Kat...when she’d started hanging around. “I’ll take you up on that, Kat.”
      Wufei looked up from Nikki, who was studying him, “What?”
      I grinned, “She got me, she got Duo. She can get all three of you.”
      “So it’s a game, and that’s the challenge of it.” he noted, “Is there a time limit?”
      “Not so much...” Sam spoke up, “It’s more of a...window of opportunity...”
      “Are we ready then?” Nikki asked, looking around the room.
      “How do we know when she wins?” Trowa asked.
      “Breathing, position, or reaction.” Kat informed him, before she really thought about it, “Did you see how Heero froze? And how Duo’s fidgeting?”
      Trowa nodded.
      Nikki put her hair into a ponytail, her eyes not leaving Wufei.
      “It’s decently obvious.” Krystal added, “There is another way to tell, but I don’t want to see it and we’d have to send Kat out...”
      I was watching Nikki, ignoring that load of shit. I had learned the hard way not to interfere with anything any of them had planned, “Hey, Guys, she’s starting.”
      Everyone quieted and turned to her, she was running her fingers across his chest.
      He was watching her with interest, his chest moving noticeably as he breathed deeply.
      She slowly began to pull off his over-shirt, dropping it and studying him again.
      She liked to build up anticipation.
      She continued studying him for a while. Finally, she stepped closer. Wufei was distracted and didn’t seem to realize he’d draped his arms over her hips, it seemed a very natural reaction. One that had been made by many. She moved her mouth close to his ear a moment, then he froze as she ran her hands over his stomach and slightly lower, kissing his ear lightly.
      “What did I tell you?” I said, laughing, “I’ll make it easy on ya, Kat, a Pepsi.”
      She laughed.
      Wufei dropped his hands to his side, his breathing shallow, “That was fast...”
      He was trying to control his breathing...and failing miserably.
      Nikki had stepped back and now pulled out her hair-tie. She shook her hair out... that was suggestive enough, but God only knew what she was doing that we couldn’t see.
      Wufei was completely focused on her, his eyes a bit too intense...
      “Nicole,” I reprimanded, “For shame...”
      Trowa, Duo, and Quatre chuckled as the girls snickered.
      “Sorry, Wufei.” she told him, completely insincere, turning to Kat, “Three or four?”
      Kat shrugged, “Whatever.”
      Nikki turned to me.
      “So you’re gonna try all three of us?” Trowa asked.
      I winked at her, “I think we have a volunteer...”
      She nodded and turned to Trowa.
      His eyes opened wide, “Now, wait...”
      “Too much protesting is another way to tell...” Kat informed him and he looked at her, “And it’s the most pathetic.” she winked.
      Nikki grinned, “Any bets?”
      Seeming a little self-conscious, Trowa stood up.
      Nikki grinned to Sam, it was trademark Trowa to do what the girls wanted of him.
      She smiled at him, “Let’s see...” she started to unbutton his shirt, he was watching her like a cat. I grinned, she hated being watched at all...let alone that intensely...She ran her hand up, underneath his undershirt and across his abdomen as she studied him, “Damn, Boy, you’re built...” she was impressed, her hand crossed his stomach, “Check this out, Sam.” she said over her shoulder, pulling the over shirt off and walking behind him, raising the undershirt higher without removing her hand from his skin.
      “Thanks...” he broke off as she gently caressed his lower back without thinking about it with her other hand. Shivers swept his entire body and there was a sharp intake of breath as his body flinched.
      Sam laughed at that and looked him over, “Damn...”
      I chuckled low in my throat, resolving to point out that I was as built as Trowa...
      “You guys are easy...”
      Nikki snickered naughtily and pulled her hand across his back again with the same result.
      “That’s fun.” she did it again.
      “Nikki...” Trowa protested airily as she repeated it for the third time.
      “Stop now.” I told her after she did it once more. “That’s cruel.” I hated to ruin her fun, but really...
      “I want to try, come here, Trowa.”
      “Sam.” I said, turning to her, stopping Trowa, who was about to listen, “Unless you want to...” I was a bit surprised...but only a bit.
      It was amusing, he still had the ‘it’s a girl...’ mode of dealing with them. He would do whatever they said...just like last time. That had the potential for trouble...
      “Please, Trowa?” Sam begged, her eyes wide and innocent looking.
      He met my eyes a moment and gave in. He crossed the room to her and turned to face us.
      Sam ran her hand across his back with the same effect and Trowa did his best to look completely at ease...with little to no success.
      “Do you do this all the time?” Quatre asked after Trowa had put his shirt back on and sat back down by the safety...well, he thought that...but really, the relative safety of Kat.
      I grinned, “I told you before. I get friends to come over all the time.” I laughed, it took some of them forever to catch on... “Oh man, you would not believe...”
      “You discover your poison.” Trowa said suddenly, grinning, “That’s one good thing...”
      We laughed again.
      “Quatre’s turn.” Kat spoke up happily.
      Quatre stood up, resigned to his fate, and not completely unwilling. He pulled off his sports jacket and handed it to Trowa.
      Sam looked none too happy. For that matter, neither was I. I couldn’t figure out exactly why...I had never gotten jealous with my other friends...of course, none of them had made suggestive comments to her without being shot down within a heartbeat...
      Nikki was studying him, “Oh dear, I have no idea...” she stepped behind him.
      Sam had a smug look.
      “Maybe...” she ran a hand up his back, “hmm...” she walked around him again. His eyes swept the room and he tensed slightly, with a small sharp intake of breath that was very audible, as she brushed her lips over the short hairs at the nape of his neck, running her hands down his spine.
      She laughed, stepping back and turned to me, looking as if she’d forgotten everyone else. She seemed proud of herself. I smiled.
      Quatre looked to his watch, reminding me of someone trying to overlook a bit of a situation that had just become a tad uncomfortable, “Oh shit!” it was sudden, and surprised us all, “Dinner’s at eight, and it’s seven forty!”
      There was a dash for the door.
      Nikki jogged over and took Duo’s hair back from Sam, who also darted out of the room.
      She braided it nicely and he stood, stretching.
      “Congratulations, Nikki. You won again.” With that, he turned and walked out at a leisurely pace.
      After the door shut, she turned to me, we were silent a second as we met eyes.
      The actuality of what had just happened hit us and we started laughing.
      We scurried to get dressed. It wouldn’t do to be late...not with what had just happened, Duo would get ideas and not hesitate to share them.

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Kyeian