Disclaimer: Boy, this is getting repetitious. GundamWingisnotmineandIdon'tmakeanyclaimthatitsis,sothere.

Author's Notes: This story is coming along quite nicely, thanks mostly, I think, to the great response I've been getting about it.

Dedication: To our new DVD player. You are godly.

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Two Can Play
by Kristen Elizabeth

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Heero arrived at the restaurant five minutes early. He wanted to be the first thing Relena saw when she stepped out of her limousine. Although they had not spoken since their fight earlier in the day, she had not refused the invitation or sent the flowers back, crushed and stepped on.

He supposed that was a good sign.

Nervously, he tugged on his tie with his free hand. The damnable article of clothing was choking him. Before he quite knew it, he had ripped it off. He undid a button on his shirt and stuffed the tie into his jacket pocket just in the nick of time. Relena's limousine appeared at the other end of the pier. A man got out and opened Relena's door, allowing the Vice Foriegn Minister to step out.

His palms were sweating. She was wearing the same outfit she had worn nearly a year earlier on their very first date. An ankle-length floral print skirt with a slit up to the middle of her thigh and a clingy, nearly see-through silk top. Her long hair was down around her shoulders; her face lit up upon seeing him.

Relena held her breath, but could not hold back her smile. He was too adorable, waiting patiently with a single sterling rose in his hand. She briefly wondered if perhaps he had been trained for this, the art of romance. It seemed to be one more thing he was perfect at. She signaled to her driver that he was free to leave and started down the pier.

"Here." Heero held out the rose when she reached him. "One more."

She took the flower and lifted it to her nose. "Thank you, Heero. As if the ones you sent earlier weren't lovely enough."

He reached for her hand. "I meant what I said in the card. You have my apologies for this morning."

"Forgiven, forgotten." She squeezed his fingers lightly.

"Come on", he said, gently pulling her towards the restaurant. "Our table is waiting."

"What other surprises do you have up your sleeve for tonight, Heero?"

Heero shrugged. "I suppose you'll have to stay through dessert to find out."

****

"Come on!!! We're late!!!!"

"Cool your jets", Hilde mumbled around her lipstick tube. "We're not late for anything. They'll still have food when we get there."

Duo looked down the pier then back at his watch. It was nearly eight thirty. "You don't understand, Hilde. We need to get inside now!!"

"Okay...." Hilde threw her lipstick back into her handbag. "What has gotten into you? First you offer to take me out to a restaurant that doesn't have a drive-thru and now you're acting like if we don't get there in the next two seconds, you'll implode. Duo...this is strange even for you."

"I'm just starving!" Not a total lie; he was always hungry. "Are you done, babe? Cause I thought you looked good before you started fiddling with that stuff."

Hilde smiled, kissed his nose and wiped away the lipstick residue. "You are adorable. Let's go; I'm kind of hungry, too."

When they reached the restaurant, Duo held the door open for her. The maitre'd greeted them warmly. "Good evening. Table for two?"

Duo's eyes scanned the restaurant, eventually finding what he was looking for. Heero and Relena were tucked into a small, private corner of the main dining room. It looked as though they were just finishing their salad. "Yes, two", he replied. "Can you please seat us over there?" He pointed to a table that was well out Heero's range.

"This is lovely, Duo", Hilde commented as they followed a waiter to their table. She took a seat facing Heero and Relena.

He fidgeted. "Um...babe....can I have your seat?" It would not do for Heero to glance their way and catch sight of his unmistakable hair.

She gave him a puzzled look, but slipped over to the other side of the table. The waiter handed them menus and left. Hilde's blue eyes pored over her menu. "Everything looks wonderful, Duo. Oh look...they have lobster."

"Yeah...lobster." Duo peered over his girlfriend's shoulder, intent on the couple across the room. A busboy was clearing away their salad plates as a waiter set the main course in front of them. He grinned. Only one more course until dessert...

****

"I don't know. It's obvious that the orphanage program is important, but I feel like being chairman of the committee is too time-consuming." Relena sipped her wine. "Do you think I'm stretching myself too thin?"

Heero set down his fork. "You've realized what the rest of us have known for a long time. There are only twenty-four hours in any given day and you can't spend all twenty-four of them worrying about everyone else in the entire world."

She smiled. "I'll take that as a 'yes'. And I'll be telling the committee that they need to find a new chairperson in the morning. They'll still have my support, but not as much of my time."

"What new project will you be taking on to make up for it?"

"You know me too well", she laughed. Her eyes sparkled in the candlelight. "Who knows? Maybe you'll be my new project..."

He lifted his own glass of wine. "I'm not sure if I like being thought of as a project."

"Oh...you'll like what I have in mind", Relena assured him. Her tone was unbearably intimate. Heero fought to keep his libido suppressed. He cleared his throat as a waiter appeared.

"Are you ready for dessert, Mr. Yuy?", the man asked.

Heero looked at Relena; she nodded slightly. "I think we are." The waiter left and a busboy began clearing away their dinner plates.

"What did you order for dessert?", she asked hungrily. *Please let it be chocolate...*

He leaned forward. "How does chocolate cheesecake with strawberries sound?"

"Heavenly." Relena tilted her head to the side and studied him. "Whatever's gotten into you, I really like it."

The waiter came back with a dessert tray. On it was a chilled plate with a generous slice of a very rich cheesecake, swirled throughout with chocolate. A thick, red sauce topped the dessert, sliding down the sides. Next to the plate lay a long, velvet box. Heero reached for it.

"When I saw this, I thought of you." He pushed it into her hands.

Relena's eyes were misty as she opened the jeweler's box and lifted out a delicate gold necklace. A small heart hung from the chain. "Oh Heero....it's so beautiful."

He stood up and walked behind her chair. Taking the necklace from her, he opened the clasp and fastened it around her slender neck. "It's better than a teddy bear, anyways."

"Don't you dare." Relena lightly slapped his hand. "I love that bear."

Heero sat back down. "It looks good on you."

She touched the locket. "Thank you so much, Heero."

The waiter set the plate of dessert between the two of them and handed them each a fork. "Enjoy."

After the waiter left, Relena forked up a bite of the cheescake. "Mmm...heavenly was right. This is incredible." She scooped up another bite and held it out. "Try it."

His lips closed around the fork, but he barely tasted anything. He was too intent on watching her face. It was only after he swallowed that he noticed what he was eating. "Um...Relena. Does that sauce taste like strawberries to you?"

She looked at the plate. "No, come to think of it. I think it's..." She licked her fork. "Raspberry."

Heero's face became pale. "Raspberry? But....I asked for strawberry...."

Relena's forehead crinkled. "It's all right, Heero. They must have misunderstood. I like raspberries, too, I promise."

"No, you don't understand..." Heero swallowed heavily. "I'm...allergic to raspberries."

****

Hilde sighed dramatically. "This has been such a perfect evening, Duo. Why haven't you taken me here before?"

Duo forced his eyes away from the far corner of the room. "Um...cause Heero just told me about it, babe." He looked back to see Heero jumping to his feet. Relena stood up as well and put her hand on his shoulder. Their conversation was rapid and worried. He looked at the abandoned dessert tray and could barely hold back his evil grin. He returned his attention to his dinner, thoroughly satsified with himself.

"Speaking of Heero..." Hilde glanced up from her soup. "Isn't that him and Relena running out the door?"

His head swung around to see the couple making a hasty exit. "Gee...I hope it wasn't something he ate."

"God, like raspberries. Remember the time I made those muffins and forgot to tell him what was in them? He had a rash for two days and he's not eaten anything I've ever made since then." Hilde shook her head.

Duo bit the insides of his cheeks, desperately trying not to burst out laughing. "Eh...it didn't kill him. Didn't even really hurt him. Just made him *really* uncomfortable for a few days."

"Well.." Hilde picked up her soup spoon. "If they had a romantic evening planned, I'd say that's definitely off."

This time, nothing could stop Duo from laughing.

****

"Am I all red yet?"

Relena chewed on her lower lip as she tried to plan out a tactful answer. "Not completely", she finally replied.

Heero scowled. "Give me a few minutes."

"Oh, Heero." Relena sighed. "How come you never told me you were allergic to raspberries?"

"It didn't seem..." He searched for the right word. "...masculine."

Despite the situation, she laughed. "Silly." She planted a light kiss on his lips. "You only had one bite. Maybe it'll go away in a few hours. I can wait..."

Heero shook his head. "You don't grasp the severity of my allergy. I'll be this way for days." He looked at his arms. "Red and..."

"Splotchy", she finished. "But not contagious, right?" Her fingers trailed along his arm, suggestively.

"Relena, my memories of our first time should not include calomine lotion." He covered her hand and moved it away. "We're going to have to put this on hold."

Sighing again, Relena nodded. "Can I at least help you put on the lotion?"

As much as he wanted to say yes, Heero shook his head once more. "If you do, I won't be able to stop myself."

"So, this is goodnight?" Relena's expression was one of disappointment, but understanding. She gently kissed him. "I'll let myself out and call a cab."

"Relena", Heero called out when she reached the door to his apartment. "You're one in a million."

"Try to get some sleep and call in to work tomorrow. I'll be calling to check up on you." She blew him a kiss and closed the door behind her.

Punching the couch cushion, Heero stood up and went in search of some calomine lotion. When he had the pale pink bottle, he flopped back onto the couch. His skin was a brighter shade of red; he cursed out loud.

Just as his hands were full of the pink lotion, the communicator beeped. Wiping the excess onto his itching arms, he punched up the call. "Make it quick", he told the person before he even saw who it was.

Wufei blinked up seeing Heero in various shades of red and pink. "Need I even ask how your evening was?"

Heero's eyes were murderous. "I'm covered in a rash, spreading pink lotion onto my entire body. And to top it all off, I'm alone at eleven on a Friday night after a big date. How do you think things went?" He softened. "Actually, it was great until dessert."

"That's too bad." Wufei paused as something clicked in his brain. Dessert.... "Duo was so sure you'd have a good time."

"What did you say?" Heero's tone was cool and deadly.

Wufei continued, almost gleefully. "Oh, Duo just mentioned that you were looking forward to the date. Something about dessert being your favorite thing in the whole world." He shrugged. "You know Duo."

"Oh yes. I know Duo. But even I underestimate him...." Heero looked down at his arms. "Wufei...if I were ever on trial for murder, would you testify on my behalf?"

"I suppose it would depend on who you murdered." Wufei gave a half smile. "Take care of that rash." The communicator became blank.

Heero stood up in the middle of his apartment, ignoring the urge to scratch every inch of his skin. "So....it's a war you want, Duo." His fists clentched. "Then it's a war you're going to get...."

****

TBC