by Windsor Blue
Notes: Well, here's my entry for Tyr's fluff contest. It's...fluffy. This is what happens when your muses don't want to do any real work. ^_^
"Hey," Duo said lazily, "See that guy over there?"
Quatre's head lolled to the left, sleepily following Duo's gesture. Sitting as they were, back to back on the grass in the warm spring sun and utterly avoiding work, he couldn't help but be a little sleepy. He squinted. "Which one?"
"The bald one, laying on the bench with his shirt open."
Trowa rolled to the side, looking up from where he'd been resting his head in Quatre's lap. Unfortunately this meant that he was no longer at the perfect angle for Quatre to run his fingers through his hair, but curiosity got the better of him. "What about him?"
Duo shifted a little, which in turn caused his braid, lying as it was over Quatre's shoulder and down his front, to tickle Quatre's neck. "What do ya suppose his story is?"
"His story?" Quatre asked. "What do you mean, his story?"
"You know, his story. Like, what great cosmic scheme has brought him to the park today? Why's he laying on that particular bench? And most importantly, why's he got his shirt open?"
"Oh," Quatre replied, readjusting Duo's braid so it wasn't quite so tickly. "That story."
"Isn't it obvious?" Trowa drawled. "He's worshipping Amon-Ra."
Quatre and Duo glanced at each other over their shoulders. "Amon-Ra?"
"Yeah, Amon-Ra." Trowa settled back into Quatre's lap. "Clearly, he's the reincarnation of a high priest of Amon-Ra, so he's laying out here with his shirt open to prove his eternal devotion to his god - a devotion which transcends life itself and creates its own immortality."
"He could just be getting a tan," Quatre mused.
"Maybe he's got a lady friend he's trying to impress," Duo continued.
"Maybe he hasn't asked her out yet, and he thinks if he's got a decent-looking tan, he'll have a better chance."
"Sure," Duo nodded, "That could be it."
"I'm telling you guys," Trowa interrupted, eyes closed and hands threaded over his chest, "Amon-Ra. It's all about Amon-Ra."
Quatre's eyebrow lifted of its own accord, and Duo didn't even try to suppress his grin. "Okay then, master storyteller, what about that girl over there in the gray suit?"
Trowa turned onto his side again. "The one reading under the tree?"
"Yeah, that's her. What's her story?"
Trowa eyed the girl in question carefully for a moment. "She's having an affair with her boss."
"Really?" Duo grinned. "How can you tell?"
"Well, just look at her - sensible shoes, hair pulled up in that tight bun, severe clothes...it's written all over her face. I'll bet she's even reading a romance novel." Trowa relaxed back into Quatre's lap once more, wagging a finger in a most sage manner. "It's always the quiet ones, you know."
Duo snorted out a laugh as Quatre studied the girl. "Hey, wait a minute, I think I'm her boss. I think she works in my accounting department."
That earned him quite a pair of sideways looks. "You cad," Trowa said evenly.
"Taking advantage of that poor, sweet girl..." Duo continued. "Quatre, how could you?"
"It wasn't intentional," Quatre insisted with a roguish grin. "We were working late one night, and the next thing you know, magic happened."
"Quatre Winner," Duo chuckled, "You're about as easy to make as hot chocolate."
"Easier," Trowa assented. "And cheaper, too."
"Well, I've never heard either of you complain before now." Quatre started tickling Trowa's ear with the end of Duo's braid.
"That's before we knew we were sharing you with a girl," Duo replied disdainfully.
"Girl germs," Trowa added, making a face. "Yuck."
"They've got the cooties, y'know," Duo said. "All girls have 'em. Well, except for Hil - she's too cool for cooties."
"Oh, I know all about the cooties - Catherine's got a wicked case of them, and she's constantly trying to give them to me, what with all that hugging and such." Trowa flicked absently at the ear Quatre was tickling.
Quatre snorted, unimpressed. "When it comes to cooties, you two are rank amateurs. Try having twenty-nine sisters, then come back and talk to me about cooties."
Duo laughed out loud and Trowa chuckled a little. "All right, Q, you've got us both beat on the cootie front." Duo paused. "Are we supposed to be somewhere right now?"
"Work," mumbled Trowa, succumbing to Quatre's fingers running through his hair again.
"Oh, yeah," Duo nodded, settling back against Quatre and closing his eyes. "Work."
Quatre pulled the tie off Duo's braid, unwove about six inches worth of it, and slipped the tie back on. He fanned his fingers through the loose bit and gently pulled it over to pool in his lap next to Trowa's head. His fingers threaded Duo's ends with Trowa's fall, lulling them both into a languorous half-doze. "You know, your hair is almost the same color."
"We're nothing alike, Quatre," Trowa said, not opening his eyes.
"Yeah, what he said," Duo agreed.
"I'm just saying..." Quatre's musings were interrupted by a thick thump as something gangly and body-shaped landed on the ground next to him.
"Hey guys," Heero grinned, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes to bask in the sun. He let out a little "oof" as Wufei dropped down next to him, leaning against Duo's side and throwing his feet over Heero's stomach. Duo threaded an arm around Wufei's waist, and Trowa laughed as he dropped an idle hand to lie on Heero's chest.
"So," Wufei asked leisurely, "What are we doing?"
"Working," replied Quatre. "Can't you tell?"
"Oh, yeah," Wufei nodded. "Silly of me not to have noticed." And with that, he fell into a soft sleep. Duo followed not too far behind, and Trowa and Heero went along for the ride.
The only one left awake, Quatre mused for a few minutes on how nice it was to be able to ditch work for a few hours to sit in the park, outside, on the grass, and just doze. The thought had no sooner finished formulating before he, too, fell asleep.
Across the park, on a bench, sat two young women escaping their mutual bad days with ice cream. They sat there for a long time, observing the park and the world within it, before finally one elbowed the other.
"Hey," she began, "See those guys over there?"
Her friend turned her head to look. "The hotties sitting on the grass, you mean?"
"Yeah, that's them."
The second woman paused. "What about them?"
The first woman shrugged, then smiled. "What do you suppose their story is?"