No Warnings!

Sound of Music Challenge: Part 2 [1x2, 3x4]

"Why would I have a long wait?" Duo asked, his heart dropping as he guessed what the girl was about to say.

"Heero's never in a good mood. So if you're going to wait until he's in a good mood then it's going to be a long wait." Sally smiled sadly at him.

"Why is he so grumpy anyway? I understand that you must have lost your parents, but if he's going to take care of you then he needs to change his attitude. He can't mourn them forever." Duo frowned.

"Yes he can," Hilde piped up, ever helpful. "It's been three years and he's still mean. But that's okay, because we don't see him much."

Duo shook his head at the little girl. //That's not right. I'll have to talk to him. I may not know much--okay. I may know next to nothing about families and children, but to be mean for three years is wrong. And to ban music because it reminds him of his parents is stupid. A certain song, maybe. But not music altogether. If nothing else, there has to be *some* music that reminds him of good times with them.// Smiling, Duo squeezed Hilde's hand. "Why don't you show me my room so I can put this up," he said, holding up his case.

Smiling shyly, Quatre stepped forward. "I'll carry it," he offered.

"Are you kidding?" Duo stared at him for a minute. "I can carry it. Besides, it's your house. I just work here."

"Not for long," a taunting voice called and Duo looked up toward the balcony just as a wave of water hit him.

Quatre gasped in horror, Rashib gave an angry oath and took off upstairs after Wufei and Dorothy, and Hilde started shrieking in fury while Sally and Catherine held her down and clamped hands over her mouth, shooting worried looks upstairs. Duo stood for a minute, looking down at his wet clothes. Then he let out a soft laugh. Hearing it, Hilde stopped struggling and looked at him in surprise.

Kneeling, Duo leaned toward her. "Where's my room? Quick before anyone comes to see what all the noise is about."

Nodding quickly, Hilde grabbed his hand and ran up the stairs, Duo right behind her. She led him to a door and opening it, shoved him inside just as another door opened. Duo peaked down the hall to see it empty, a wet spot on the floor, and an angry Heero standing in a doorway, looking for the culprit. Smirking, Duo softly shut the door and turned to Hilde.

She was standing in what must be his room, looking at his wet outfit sadly.

"What's wrong, honey?" Duo asked, "It's just water."

"Now you're gonna leave. I hate him! He always does this! And I'm tellin on Dorothy. Just wait till Heero finds out!" She took a furious step towards the door and Duo grabbed her hand.

"Hey, wait-a-sec." Tugging her away from the door, he knelt beside her. He was whispering in her ear when a soft knock came on his door. He stood abruptly, Hilde beaming with pleasure. "Who is it?" he called, walking to the door but not opening it.

"Cathy and Sally," Cathy called. "Oh, and Quatre, too."

Duo exchanged a quick wink with Hilde then opened the door. The three came into the room quickly, and shut the door behind themselves. Sally looked at his clothing sadly, then went and sat on the edge of the bed. Cathy was shaking her head and muttering, and Quatre looked mortified. "I am *so* sorry!" Quatre said quickly. "They always do things like this, but usually they wait a day or two. I really am sorry."

"Hey, don't sweat it Quatre." He smiled, trying to think of a way to divert attention from his clothing. "By the way, did you realize I haven't even told you my full name yet?"

Their eyes widened and they looked at each other in surprise. Then Catherine tilted her head. "What *is* your full name?"

"Duo Maxwell," he smiled. "Heero'd probably make you be more formal, so instead of calling me Duo around him, just don't call me at all, okay?" They looked confused. "What I mean is just catch my eye and start talking. That way you won't have to worry about what you call me and I won't have to be called some stodgy name that makes me feel about fifty years old. What do you think?"

They talked about it for another five minutes, Duo's dripping clothes completely forgotten by all but the wet boy and the grinning Hilde who sat on his bed. Still talking, Duo opened his soaked case, pulling out more wet clothing and a small bag. Then another knock sounded on the door. This one more forceful. Wide eyed, Duo didn't have the courage to ask who it was. Instead, he turned the knob and opened the door as if he answered the door wet all the time.

Rashid stood there, a furious and struggling child in each arm. He was breathing a bit heavy, but his eyes shone with pride. "I think I found the rain-makers." He set Wufei on his feet, one hand gripping the boy's small pony-tail. Then he set Dorothy down, a hand on her head. Wufei glared, but Duo noticed that Dorothy looked more worried about someone seeing them standing outside the door than about whatever Duo might do or say. Duo smiled at Rashid, leaning against the doorway as he looked down at the two.

"Well," Duo said finally, "Do you two have anything to say for yourselves?"

Dorothy looked much less dangerous now that she was caught, and shook her head, eyes still darting up and down the hall, watching for Heero. Wufei, however, was as angry as ever. "You better let us get changed for dinner, or Heero'll kill you." He smiled as he eyed Duo's soaked shirt and the splashes on his black pants. "And you better get changed too, or you won't make it through the day." Rashid looked at the clock on the wall and glared at the boy.

"He's right," the bushy-haired boy said finally. "We have to get changed now. Dinner's served at five, and dress is formal. You don't want to know what happens if you're late. Heero hates that."

Duo smiled. "Fine. I'll see you at dinner Wufei, Dorothy." Having been released, the two headed down the hall, Wufei throwing a victorious smirk at Duo as he did so. "Oh and Wufei?" The boy turned. "You don't have to worry about me being late. I'll be there." Wufei's brows lowered before he threw his head and stalked away. Behind him, Duo heard Hilde give a small giggle.

"You guys better go and get changed too," he said, gesturing for them to exit his room. "I'd hate to get you in trouble the first day I'm here." Nodding, they made their ways to their rooms, Quatre and Rashid apologizing again on their way by. Duo caught Hilde's eyes as he shut his door, giving her a wink. She giggled before letting Catherine drag her down the hall.

* * *

Heero glanced at the clock again. It was two till five. He looked at the others. Wufei sat very straight in his chair, looking very pleased with himself. Heero eyed him for a minute then looked at Dorothy who was fidgeting, eyes going to him nervously before moving away quickly. The others were looking toward the dining room door worriedly, and Hilde had a hand to her mouth, eyes wide and sparkling. Heero focused his attention on her. Noticing his gaze, she turned and gave him a wide smile before folding her hands in her lap and looking up at the ceiling with an innocent expression on her face. Heero's eyes narrowed.

//Did they forget to tell him when dinner is served? Or is he being late on purpose. I won't tolerate it.// He looked at the clock again. //He has one minute to get his ass down here then he's gone.// Heero looked over sharply as the door suddenly opened, a wide eyed servant holding it and looking out in shock. Then Duo entered the room and Wufei gasped. Heero stared in disbelief, then stood abruptly.

"What is the meaning of this?" Heero demanded angrily, pointing at Duo's wet clothing.

Duo looked at him, eyes wide with innocence. "It's water."

Heero growled. "I *know* it's water. Why are you soaking wet?!"

Duo blinked, then looked down at his clothing before meeting Heero's gaze. "Because I didn't change my clothes." Hilde snickered, holding her hand over her mouth and staring wide-eyed when Heero shot her a look.

Taking a deep breath, Heero glared. //Is he provoking me? On purpose?!// "Why didn't you change your clothing? Dinner is formal in this household. That means you dress appropriately."

Duo nodded, "I know. Rashid told me, but my other clothes got wet. The water got on my bag too."

Heero suddenly straightened, his eyes narrowing. "Where exactly did you get wet?"

"In the hallway," Duo said helpfully. "If I'd been expecting it, I wouldn't have kept my case with me. Sorry if I ruined your dinner." Nodding, Duo glanced at the table. "Can I still eat? It's not as if *I* did anything wrong." Heero snorted in disbelief. "Well," Duo said, pulling out a chair and sitting in an empty spot. "Think about it for a minute. Which would be worse? My showing up less than presentable, or my not showing up at all until my clothes dried?" Duo looked around the table at the children's shocked expressions, not daring to meet Hilde's gaze. "Are we going to eat?"

Heero stood frozen for a minute, then he walked over to Duo, standing behind him. The children looked at him, four of them looked terrified, two looked stunned, and one was just starting to look worried. "Eat your diner, finish your lessons and go to bed," Heero said to them. Then he met Duo's inquiring gaze. "We need to talk. Now." Duo nodded solemnly, standing and following Heero out of the room. He paused in the doorway to give Hilde a reassuring look, then went after the angry boy. He entered the room after Heero, looking around to see that it was an office. Heero moved behind the desk, sitting down in the chair and folding his hands over his chest. There was a chair across the desk, but it had a cloth cover. Not wanting to get it wet, Duo rested a hand on it's back and waited. It was *not* a long wait.

"Are you trying to get yourself fired?" Heero demanded, unfolding his arms and placing his palms on the desk.

"I can't get fired," Duo said with a small smile, "I'm not getting paid."

Heero's eyes widened in shock and he looked two seconds away from leaping over the desk and strangling him. "I'm kidding," Duo said gently. "You really need to calm down a little. Look," Duo walked around the desk, placing a hand near Heero's as he looked down at him. "I wasn't trying to make you angry in there. I really *didn't* have a dry outfit. I guess I could have sent a message that I wouldn't be coming to diner, but I was making a point to the children. I wanted them to realize that there was a downside to playing pranks. I didn't want to tattle on them and make them hate me, but I wasn't about to sit back and let them run all over me either. This way they'll think about the results before they play another prank on me." Duo waited for a minute as Heero's face lost that look of unconcealed rage. "I should have warned you."

Heero stared at him, not saying anything. Minutes passed, then Duo squirmed under his gaze and he blinked. "Who did it?"

Duo let out a slightly relieved laugh. "If I told you that, there'd be no point to what I just did."

"Doesn't matter," Heero said, still staring at him with a strange expression. "It must have been Wufei and Dorothy."

"You won't do anything, will you?" Duo asked quickly, placing a hand on Heero's. "If they think I told, then they'll just work harder than ever to make me miserable. Let them think you're furious with me alone. Then they'll start to feel guilty. Trust me," Duo smiled suddenly, "Guilt can be worse than punishment if it's done right."

Heero nodded sharply and Duo grinned. "Does that mean you're not mad at me anymore?" He nodded again and Duo's grin widened. "Can I go eat then? They probably bolted their food and took refuge in their rooms. You know, they're really intimidated by you," Duo moved toward the door. "But I'm not."

Heero stared after him for a few minutes, then let out a deep breath of air. His fingers moved over his hand as he looked down at it, then he looked at the door again, his eyes glinting. Slowly, he stood, and Zechs came rushing in, eyes wide, smiling.

"What happened?" he asked, looking over his shoulder for a moment before meeting Heero's eyes curiously. "He's soaked."

Heero shot him a glare as he moved toward the door. "I noticed."

//I'll bet you did.// Zechs smirked. "Those clothes are awfully tight when they're wet," Zechs said slowly, ignoring Heero's glare. "Maybe you should get him some more. Silk is nice and loose."

Growling, Heero stalked from the room, slamming the door on the blonde man's laughter. //I'm going to kill him.// Heero glared as he went to his room, no longer hungry. //Wet silk....//

--notes--
No longer hungry? Maybe not for food. ^____~ On to part 3!