They came to the top of the staircase and peered down below at the sea of people. Duo shifted antsily and pulled at his cravat.
"Hn. Stop fighting, baka," Heero replied, pulling on the boy's braid.
"Ow! Dammit, Heero! If you mess up my hair we're leaving," the braided-boy replied, patting down his precious hair.
"We can't leave too early," Quatre leaned around Trowa and hissed. "We promised Miss Relena we'd make a good appearance."
Wufei, standing on the other side of Quatre, scowled. "As far as I am concerned we have appeared. We can just as easily disappear."
Quatre sighed wearily. "That's not how these things work. You have to mix and mingle with the crowd, and be polite and talk small talk, and--"
"Excuse me?" a young woman said, stepping up to the circle of boys. "My friend and I were curious. You're Quatre Winner, right?"
Quatre rolled his eyes but turned around with a charming smile. "That is what I am told. Good evening, ladies."
The girls smiled and the one pinched the other. "So, is it true that you're really in love with another man?" the girl asked hushedly.
Someone behind him snickered--had to be Duo. For a moment he stood there shocked... and then he felt a hand on his back.
"No," Trowa said calmly. "I'm just using him for sex." And then he steered a stunned Quatre down the staircase.
"Ow! Dammit, Heero! What did I *tell* you about that!!" followed the pair.
"Miss Relena, a moment of your time, please."
"Miss Relena? May we talk with you?"
"Oh, good evening, Miss Dorlain. Perhaps you could--"
"Excuse me, gentlemen," she said, smiling, maneuvering out of their reach. "I'm afraid some guest arrived that I must see to. I will return. Excuse me."
She was up and out of there in under a minute. Another minute later had her on the other side of the room.
"Damn. I *know* I saw Heero just a minute ago. How far could he have gotten?" she said to herself.
Behind her a deep, soft, laughter drifted over the multitudes of chatter. Something in the tone pulled at her. She turned around and her eyes widened.
"So *that's* what that looks like," she whispered hoarsely, seeing the object of her affection smiling and laughing with his co-pilots. "I've always wondered..." and then she promptly fainted.
In another corner of the room another quartet of people stood gathered round.
"Well, I for one think it's scandalous," G was saying.
"Yes, you would," J snapped. "You were always one of the jealous types."
"We should probably intervene," O said severely.
"You would," S replied.
"Hello, gentlemen, what I have missed?" H asked, coming up beside them and handing O a cup of tea. S leaned over and whispered something in his ear. His beady eyes widened and his mustache turned up. "B and D?" he asked incredulously, turning to the others. "Since when have those two been fooling around?"
"I don't know," J said frowning. "But they better keep their grimy little hands *away* from *my* bed!!!"
Two women--both their twenties--stood round the buffet table, sipping glasses of champagne.
"You want to put that *where*?" the one with dirty blondish hair hissed.
"I don't know," the one with the short black hair said, smiling. "I think it would be fun."
"Well," replied the other. "At least no one will get hurt."
"Oh, it would hurt alright," the first woman replied, smiling. "But it would still be fun."
"You are a devious woman, Lucrezia Noin," the first woman said, tipping her glass towards the other. "I salute you."
Noin smiled. "Thank you. I do try so hard," she said, taking a sip of her own champagne.
"Are you sure we can't just leave her like this?" he whined, staring down at the unconscious body on the sofa.
"Yes."
"Yes we can?" he said a little too happily.
He received a glare in response. He said and stomped over to the other end of the room.
"I can't believe Miss Relena just fainted like that!" Dorothy said, her voice oozing with concern.
"Women are weak," Wufei told no one in particular, standing with arms crossed at the entrance.
"And Chinese boys who are obsessed with justice are fools that should be- uff! Mm n mphf! Hphf umpf!"
Duo grinned back at Wufei from behind Dorothy's back. "That braid's multifunctional!" he told the other happily.... And then he frowned. "Boy, Wu-man, you're gonna owe me *big* for this one! I'm getting girl drool all over my hair! Heero, we are *definitely* leaving after this!"
"Hn."
* * *