Disclaimer: I didn't steal them, officer, I swear! I just borrowed them for a little while.

Author's Notes: Yes, yes....there will be lemony goodness in this story, I promise. I went ahead and rated in NC17 as to warn people that yes, this fic will have sex. For those of you who are going, "get on with it already!!", take a deep breath, calm down. I won't disappoint you.

Dedication: To everyone who has reviewed thus far. Your kind words mean far more to me than you will ever know.

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Two Can Play
by Kristen Elizabeth

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"Miss Relena. There's a delivery out here for you."

Relena Peacecraft looked up from a mountain of paperwork. Setting down her pen, she sighed. Someone delivering more paperwork, most likely. Wonderful.

"Please just bring it in, Jenny", she called to her secretary.

A minute passed before the younger, blond girl appeared in the doorway, half hidden behind a massive bouquet of sterling roses. "Um...Miss Relena...help?"

Relena jumped to her feet. The heady scent of roses filled the air. She breathed deeply as she helped Jenny move the bouquet to an empty coffee table on the other side of the room. "They're absolutely gorgeous", she whispered.

"They're your favorite, aren't they, Miss Relena?"

"Yes." Relena touched one light purple petal. "They are. I didn't think anyone else knew...." She stopped. One other person did know what her favorite flower was. Relena groped under the bouquet until her fingers touched the small, attached card. Her hands shook a bit as she opened it and read.

**You have my apologies. Meet me for dinner. You know the place and the time. Heero.**

"Who is it from, Miss Relena?" Jenny's eyes shone. "A secret admirer?"

"Not quite." Relena tucked the card back into its little envelope. "What does my schedule look like tonight?"

Jenny ran for her desk planner. "Um...." She flipped a few pages. "Your brother penciled in dinner at eight, but nothing before or after that."

Relena ran the edge of the envelope against her lips. "Tell Millardo I'll have dinner with him and Miss Noin another night. If he asks why, tell him something urgent came up."

"Where will you be, Miss Relena?"

The Vice Foriegn Minister smiled dreamily. "I'll be at the wharf. Pier 46. Seven thirty sharp."

****

"Let me get this straight. You want me to ask Heero what his plans are for the evening...in the greatest detail possible?" Chang Wufei leaned back in his chair and twirled a pencil around his fingers.

Duo nodded. "Exactly. See, no big deal."

"What's in it for me?", Wufei asked.

"Um...the warm fuzzy feeling in your heart that is knowing you helped a friend in need?" Catching Wufei's look, Duo amended his offer. "I'll do your paperwork for a week."

Wufei tapped the pencil against his chin. "Two weeks. Dictations and field notes included." Reluctantly, Duo nodded. "I suppose I could ask him a few questions."

Duo grinned broadly. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint me, buddy!"

"Not that I'm worried or anything, but this isn't part of some plan against Yuy that will backfire and end in physical pain, is it?"

The braided man made a scoffing noise. "Have a little faith in me."

Wufei snorted and picked up the report he had been working on. "That'll be the day."

Duo watched as Wufei busied himself with his work. He fidgeted until he could take it no longer. "What are you waiting for?? I need to know now!!"

"I refuse to drop everything to do your bidding, Maxwell." Wufei's eyes slanted.

"I'll do the paperwork for you...right now, if you'll just find out what I need to know." Duo desperately reached for Wufei's files.

The Chinese man watched him with a careful eye. "Remind me again why *you* can't ask him for the information yourself? And just why is it so damn important, anyways?"

"I'm afraid that is classified."

"Yeah. Right." With a noiseless sigh, Wufei stood up. "I want all these reports finished by the end of the day, Maxwell."

Duo flicked a salute. "You're a good man, Chang Wufei."

Grumbling under his breath, Wufei made his way down the hallway to Heero's private office. As Chief of Security for Relena's administration, Heero enjoyed such perks as a private office, while Wufei and Duo made do with cubicles in the main office. Wufei knocked on the door, but instead of waiting for a reply, opened the door.

Heero was at his desk, talking to his communicator. "...don't forget to bring out the necklace when you bring dessert. Chocolate cheesecake with strawberry sauce. Not raspberry, strawberry. That's very important."

"Big plans tonight?", Wufei casually asked.

The other man looked up, then looked back at the screen. "Thank you for your help." He turned the communicator off. "Is there something you wanted?"

Wufei raised his shoulders. "Just...um...making conversation."

Heero gave him a wary look. "All right..."

"So..." Wufei walked further into the office. "You're taking your woman out tonight?"

"Yes." Without elaborating, Heero picked up a file from his desk and opened it.

Wufei was about to give up, but something made him press further. It wasn't guilt for the fact that Duo was doing his paperwork in addition to his own. Taking a breath, Wufei continued. "Where are you taking her?" When Heero gave him a strange look, he hastily added, "I've been thinking about asking that woman out and I'm looking for ideas about where to take her."

Heero shook his head, amused. *That woman* was Sally Po, chief of the Preventer medical division. The animosity between her and Wufei was legendary; the sexual tension, unprecedented. Heero sighed and gave in, if only for Sally's sake. Left on his own, Wufei would probably take her to a fencing match for their first date. "I'm taking Relena out to dinner at the restaurant we went to on our first date."

"And where is that? The restaurant."

"It's a little seafood place called Bridget's on a pier down at the wharf." His face softened. "Relena loves seafood."

Wufei rolled his eyes, but managed to maintain his pretense of interest. "What pier is that? It sounds like a place that woman would like."

"Um...forty-six", Heero replied. "We meet at seven thirty because that's the time we both arrived at the restaurant, even though we had agreed to meet at eight." A hint of a smile played on his lips. "We both couldn't wait until eight."

"What about after dinner? Any special plans?" Wufei's tone was more suggestive than he intended.

Heero shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Nothing *too* special. I thought we'd go back to my place, have a drink..." He trailed off.

Wufei caught on. "I get it. Well...." He took a step backwards. "I have paperwork waiting." *And a stupid man doing it for me.*

The other man nodded in reply. Wufei closed the door to Heero's office. Duo was waiting in the hallway. "Well??", he asked impatiently.

"You can't possibly be done with all that work, Maxwell."

Duo made a face. "Keep your boxers on...I'm taking care of it. Now tell me what Heero said." Wufei repeated Heero and Relena's plans for the evening, including the bit he had heard about jewelery and cheesecake. When he was through, Duo's face spread into a wicked grin. "Excellent."

Wufei recognized the look as one that Duo had when he played practical jokes. "I think it's time you told me what's going on around here."

"Nothing's going on", Duo replied, far too innocently.

"So...you wouldn't mind me mentioning to Heero that you were very interested in his plans for the evening?"

"Don't do that!!" Duo calmed himself. "Tell you what...how would you like to make a quick fifty dollars?"

Wufei raised an eyebrow. "What do I have to do?"

"Never, *ever* mention any of this to Heero...for any reason. And be prepared to do more spying in the future." Duo held out his hand. "Deal?"

Their handshake was awkward, but Wufei agreed. Fifty dollars was fifty dollars, loyalties or not. Grinning, Duo practically skipped down the hallway to finish Wufei's paperwork. Wufei shook his head. "Why do I feel like I just sold my soul to the devil?"

"There is no devil", a voice behind him said. Trowa stepped out from the shadows. "How would you like to make a hundred dollars on top of Duo's fifty?"

Wufei crossed his arms over his chest. "And what would I have to do for *that* money?"

"Call Heero tonight around eleven. Ask him how his evening was. If he replies at all negatively, casually mention Duo's name somehow in connection, but don't make it too obvious. Agreed?"

"Agreed", Wufei answered without hesitation. "On the condition that someone tells me what the hell is going on."

"Don't worry." Trowa slipped back into the shadows. "All will be revealed at the proper time."

Wufei stood in the hallway for a long minute. "They're all unjustifiably insane."

****

"Yes...my name is Heero Yuy. I have a seven thirty reservation for tonight."

"Of course, Mr. Yuy. Is there something I can do for you?"

Duo smiled back at the hostess. "I made some special arrangements for tonight, including dessert."

The woman on the screen looked down at her books. "Yes. Chocolate cheesecake with strawberry sauce, right?"

"Well...no. See, I made a mistake. I do want the raspberry", Duo told her. "My girlfriend hates strawberries."

"Ah, I see. I'll definitely change the order then. Chocolate cheesecake with *raspberry* sauce."

Duo grinned again. "Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome, Mr. Yuy. We'll see you at seven thirty." The communicator screen blanked out and Duo began laughing.

"That's for messing with the hair!", he announced.

"Duo?" His longtime girlfriend, Hilde Schbeiker, appeared from the living room of their apartment. "Who's messing with your hair?"

He jumped to his feet. "You could if you wanted to make me a very happy man."

Hilde pursed her lips. "I don't know...have you been a good boy today?"

"No", he replied honestly. "I've actually been very naughty. But it's for a good cause."

"Hmm...as long as you don't get into any kind of trouble, I guess I don't mind if you're a little bad." She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long kiss.

Duo kissed his way over to her ear. "Hey babe....how would you like to go out tonight? Heero's told me about this great seafood restaurant..."

****

TBC....