Blergh... yes, I'm a tease

[windandwater]

Relena wandered through the estate. Though Rashid had assured her that she was free to move through the mansion, she still felt a bit of hesitation at wandering through someone else's home. In Sank she was always surrounded by servants or petitioners or advisors, so her current solitude was welcome, though strange.

"Hold it!"

Relena jerked at the yell and whirled around, looking for the source of the noise. The room and the hallway beyond the door were empty, so she stepped out onto the sunny balcony and looked over the sprawling grassy yard.

"Hold still, Trowa!"

Cornflower blue eyes searched and soon Relena picked out the figures of Trowa Barton and Chang Wufei. The Chinese man was stripped to the waist, bronzed skin shining in the sunlight, hunched over on his knees, hands moving expertly over the machine between the brunette's legs. Trowa was sitting on a motorcycle, holding the vehicle steady as Wufei worked on the engine. Trowa was watching Wufei's tinkering with trained eyes, and only the top of his shirt was unbuttoned to evidence the warmth of the day. Another motorcycle was parked nearby and parts, tools, and rags were littered across the grass. Something clunked and Wufei yelped, dropping his wrench and shaking his hand.

"Why am I doing this again, Trowa?"

"Because you bet Duo that you would win the last hand of strip poker and you lost your pants to him? Literally?"

Wufei huffed and glared at the taller boy. "Have you used up your word limit for today, Barton?"

"..."

"I thought so."

Wufei crouched over the engine again with the wrench but hardly a minute had passed before there was another clunk and a curse. He scowled at the motorcycle engine.

"What's wrong with Duo's engine?! I know that he built it himself, but this is like fixing a Gundam!"

One green eye looked at the engine thoughtfully. "Didn't Duo say that he scavenged parts from DeathScythe?"

"KISAMA!" Wufei twisted his hands through a greasy rag and threw it to the ground in disgust. "This is injustice! I'm going to get Duo for this! Not only do I have to tune his bike, I have to do Heero's too. This is not fair!"

Trowa's lips twitched into a smile at his friend's ranting. "You were the one who didn't want to take off your pants. We were already in our boxers anyway. If you had just taken off your pants, you wouldn't have had to do this."

Wufei ducked his head and poked through the toolbox, muttering something that Relena couldn't hear from her place on the balcony. But Trowa heard and from his reaction, it was highly amusing.

"What was that, Wufei? I didn't quite hear you. Why didn't you want to take off your pants like the rest of us?"

Wufei's face flushed darkly from embarrassment and a touch of anger. "Because I don't wear underwear!" he snapped out. Trowa struggled but his quaking shoulders belied the laughter that was bubbling in him. Wufei rattled through the toolbox, saying nothing.

"Well," Trowa said once he had fully contained his amusement. "It's a fair exchange then — getting your hands dirty in return for your dignity." Wufei spat out something in Chinese that made a slim brow arch over Trowa's visible eye. "Only if that's a promise and not a threat," he replied.

Wufei *stared* at Trowa, then shook his head. "I knew it... being friends with Duo has addled your mind."

Trowa shrugged. "Heero hasn't gone insane yet, so I should be okay. Speaking of him, are you sure it's safe to touch Heero's motorcycle?"

"Duo said it was alright."

"Heero is very possessive."

"About his bike or Duo?"

"Both."

A half smile crossed Wufei's lips. "It's a pity," he said lightly. "Some people should learn the meaning of sharing."

"I agree."

Wufei and Trowa shared a Look, and then the ebony-haired boy snorted. "Well, if Heero doesn't like the tune up, that braided baka can deal with him. Where is he anyway? It's been too quiet."

"Heero came back from his mission last night... this morning really," Trowa said as an answer. Relena's heart leapt in her chest. Heero? Heero was here too?

"Oh?" Wufei said in a distracted tone. He had a hammer in his hand and look like his was contemplating beating the engine into submission. Trowa rolled his eyes, pulled the hammer from the tanned hand and replaced it with a screwdriver. Relena would have giggled at the downcast look on Wufei's face when the hammer was removed if her thoughts had not been so focused on Heero being somewhere in the house.

"Aa. He was almost dead on his feet. I laid him down in the library to sleep."

Jackpot! The blonde girl thought. Now I know where I can find him. All thoughts of meeting with Quatre to discuss expanded space industry were gone from her head.

"The couch is comfortable," was the absent-minded answer from Wufei. "Explains where Duo is. Heero pushes himself too hard." He lapsed into silence as he poked at the engine, then: "What were you doing up so late?"

Trowa frowned. "I couldn't sleep."

Relena would have taken the terse answer at face value, but Wufei caught some hidden nuance. Coal black eyes on the engine, he said, "Quatre pushes himself too hard as well."

There was a slightly tense silence, broken only by the sound of Wufei working on the engine. Finally, Trowa sighed.

"I worry about Quatre."

"Why don't you say something to him then?"

"Why don't you?"

"I'm not sleeping with him."

Wufei stood up and focused on Trowa. "Look, it's disgusting to see you simpering after Quatre like some silly onna. All of us are worried about him... but only you have a right to say anything to him. He'll listen to you more readily than he would us."

Trowa nodded. Wufei "hn-ed" and crouched over the engine again.

"I never knew you were so full of good relationship advice."

"Shut up, Trowa."

"I mean, really, with your wealth of knowledge, you should have your pick of partners."

"Leave me alone. It's bad enough that Quatre and Duo keep trying to set me up. How weak would I be if I complained about not having someone to warm my bed at night? I'm perfectly happy being a bachelor!"

"So sayeth Chang Wufei, Sex God."

"Shut UP, Barton!"

Trowa smiled and snatched the socket wrench Wufei was waving at him out of surprised hands. He knelt down, gave a few sharp twists, then rose gracefully. He turned the key and the motorcycle jumped to life, the engine purring perfectly. Wufei gaped at Trowa, then he kept sweeping his eyes back and forth between the motorcycle and the taller boy. Trowa turned the engine off and shrugged.

"Let's work on Heero's now."

Relena moved back into the mansion, her cheeks burning as she realized that she had just eavesdropped on a private conversation.