Sequel to The Concession Stand: The Chocolate Factor (2/2)
By Tralla

“Are you ok, Duo?” asked Quatre while looking concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine, or at least I would be if Wufei didn’t have me in a choke hold.”

“Every leak must be plugged,” ground out Wufei from behind Duo.

“I’m not a pipe, you moron. Get off me.”

“Wufei, I’m assuming your involvement is larger than I initially suspected,” noted Quatre. “Your reaction says as much.”

Wufei looked back at him.

“I won’t hold any grudges,” offered the blonde good-naturedly.

“I don’t care about grudges,” responded Wufei.

Quatre continued to look back at him. “You care about your image, your reputation. You’re among friends. Please take a seat.”

Wufei released his hold and seated himself.

Duo rubbed at his neck before looking back at Quatre. “How the hell did you just do that?”

Quatre appeared confused. “Do what?”

“How did you get him to let go with only 3 sentences?”

“Mild hypnosis,” responded Heero.

“What???”

“It only works on people of higher intelligence. You’re out of harm's way,” commented Heero.

“You f--”

Quatre chimed in, “Duo, you were about to say something when Wufei interrupted you.”

Duo kept his eyes on Heero but continued, “Yeah. As I was saying, it’s Heero’s fault. He started all of this.” Duo sighed. “A few days after I sent the brownie mix to your house, I decided to stop by to see your reaction. But, as I got past the gates, a voice hissed at me from the bushes.” Duo stopped. He sighed before turning back to Quatre. “I wasn’t on anything. It was that photographer who was tailing you. Before I could jump in and grab the guy, he started saying stuff.”

“What did he say, Duo?”

“He told me to be careful.”

Quatre looked bewildered. “Careful?”

“He said that the ‘other man’ was watching your house.”

“The other man?”

Duo sighed disgustedly before taking a seat. “Remember that picture the photographer snapped of us 3 weeks ago?”

Quatre nodded.

“Well, from his vantage, it looked like you were stroking my face. Because of that, he assumed you were double dipping.”

“What?”

“He assumed that Heero and I were your sexual playthings and therefore competing for your attention.”

“…that’s ridiculous,” murmured Quatre.

“No more ridiculous than you having your tongue in Heero’s mouth after a psychedelic brownie binge,” snorted Duo.

“There was a tongue involved?” murmured an ill at ease Wufei.

Both Trowa and Wufei looked back at Quatre. Apparently, the blonde had left certain details out when he informed them of the brownie incident.

Duo continued on. “Anyway, I thought something was up when I heard Heero was keeping an eye on your place. I tried to get in contact with him, but he kept dodging me, both physically and verbally. I figured something was going on with you. It had to be personal if Heero was acting all strange. I couldn’t think of a reason why until I realized that that truckload of brownie mix had never been sent back. I mean, it was a joke. Why would you keep it unless…”

Quatre frowned at him. “Unless I was planning to bake brownies? Duo, that’s not a crime.”

“I know…but the way Heero was acting… Anyway, I decided to investigate. I mean, if you really had a substance abuse problem and were using the brownies to cloak it, I couldn’t just pretend not to notice. But, if I was wrong, you’d feel insulted. So…”

“So?” asked Quatre. He was beginning to understand why he was restrained because he felt a sudden urge to throttle Duo. But he curbed the desire and settled on a bemused expression.

“So, I aimed for a more roundabout solution.” Duo paused for a moment before saying, “I was planning to sneak into your place and look for any drug-related paraphernalia, but I realized it would be best if I could guarantee your location. You know, make sure you weren’t in your quarters.”

Quatre frowned. He knew what was coming next and said it for Duo. “And the only way you could guarantee I would stay out of my quarters was to personally keep me out. That’s why you popped in unannounced yesterday.”

“Bingo,” said Duo.

“I’m assuming this is where Wufei comes in,” murmured Quatre.

“Pretty much,” replied Duo.

Wufei frowned at all of them. “I was deceived.”

“You want a hanky to go with that pout, Wufei?”

“Shut it, Maxwell.” Wufei moved on to a more irritable expression before bringing his attention to Quatre. “Maxwell approached me with his previously mentioned concerns. He wanted me to assist him by searching your establishment without your permission.”

“And you agreed to this, Wufei?”

“Not initially. I was manipulated. He told me that over the years you’ve done nothing but support us and in return we’d only accrued property damage, hospitable bills, and lawyer fees, all of which you've tolerated without a single compliant. He said it was an issue of honor and justice. To not intervene and investigate would be a disgrace to all we stand for.”

Heero snorted. “You fell for that?”

Wufei raised a clenched fist. “It wasn’t the only thing he said. He stated that one of my shortcomings was subterfuge. Not once during the war did I sneak in without the enemies’ notice. ‘Each time I showed up, it was for a showdown.’ Those were his words. He said that compromising Winner’s security with a secret entry was the perfect opportunity to challenge what he alleged.”

“I retract my earlier assessment,” said Heero. “You’re not as intelligent as I thought.”

Quatre interrupted a potential unmannerly exchange between the two. “Trowa, how did you get involved? Trowa?”

“Ask Duo.”

Duo yawned before saying, “Trowa knows the layout of your house. He wouldn’t cough up the information so we had to help him.”

“You mean torture,” muttered Trowa.

Duo shrugged. “Torture…help…it’s such a hazy line.”

“You could have asked Heero,” responded Quatre. “He can find out anything.”

“Yeah, thought of that. But spy guy was paranoid. Kept accusing me of eating brownies…just because he found out I was involved with the truck delivery.” Duo snorted. “Until today, he wouldn’t even let me get within a ten foot radius of him…I had no choice but to ask Trowa.”

Quatre turned to Wufei. “Strangely, I can understand Duo’s actions, but why would _you_ help him torture Trowa?”

There was a long pause before Wufei said, “I thought Maxwell was lying about Barton’s coffee intolerance.”

“And you wanted to see if it was true.” Quatre sighed. Despite how long he’d known his friends, they never failed to give him reasons to disown them.

Wufei continued, “Under the pressure, Barton yielded and told us what we needed to know.”

There was a low noise from Trowa. It sounded like palpable disgust as he said to Quatre, “It was either tell them what floor your bedroom was on or…”

Quatre leaned forward. “Or?”

“Or be incontinent,” responded Trowa.

Quatre blinked back at Duo, Heero, Wufei, and Trowa before admitting, “I think…I understand how everyone’s involvement began, but no one has clarified how I got here and why.”

“I’m getting there,” said Duo. “Wufei broke into your place and found your employees cooking up a storm. From what he saw, it looked like they’d baked the entire truckload of mix.”

Quatre shook his head before making a soft noise, as though he’d just realized something. “I had offered the help of my cooking staff to cater a reception for a children’s theater troupe. They were probably expecting a large shipment of foodstuffs. That’s why they didn’t send back the mix…that’s why they--”

Wufei snorted. “Then your staff should be jailed. Those brownies were not meant for children.”

“I don’t understand, Wufei.”

Duo interjected, “Wufei ate one of the brownies… and had a reaction.”

“A reaction?”

“Vertigo and then an outbreak of hives,” mumbled Wufei.

Quatre groaned. He would have brought a hand up to his forehead if both weren’t restrained. “Wufei, there was nothing wrong with the brownies. It sounds like you’re allergic to chocolate.”

“That’s absurd.”

Duo snorted, “Bullshit, Wufei. We both know you’re allergic. We figured that out yesterday. But, no, you have to--”

Quatre tried not to let his exasperation show. “Duo, could you please continue where you left off?”

“Anyway, when Wufei had one of the brownies, he got all weird. By the time I left you and found him, he was outside staggering all over your lawn. The moron was babbling. Take a guess what he was saying and who overheard him.”

Quatre looked tired, very tired as he said, “Wufei mentioned something about dangerous brownies and the photographer heard him…from the bushes.”

“Yep.”

Quatre closed his eyes. “I can’t cope with this.”

Duo lifted a hand. “Hang in there. It’s almost over.” He took a deep breath before saying, “I explained to the photographer that Wufei was confused and that there was no way you were some sort of laced brownie kingpin. I told him you were clean and that it was all a big misunderstanding.” Duo snorted. “I even told him about the cough syrup. I mean seriously, if you can’t handle kiddy medicine then how could you—Anyhow, he didn’t believe me.” Duo sighed. “Despite his weird behavior, the photographer’s a good guy. Or, at least, he means well in his own oddball way. He gave me an ultimatum. It was either I get you some help, or he’d get you to seek help…the hard way.”

“Meaning?”

“He had pictures of Wufei, mid fit, with your estate in the background. He told me to take a guess at what conclusions people would jump to.” Duo shook his head. “He played hardball and we didn’t have a choice. We had to get you into rehab, even if you didn’t need it. And, by that time, we were sure you didn’t.

“I told Trowa and Heero what happened and we all came to the same conclusion. Wufei and I snuck into your place last night. We were going to explain to you what happened but, when we came looking for you, we found you passed out.”

Quatre blinked back at him. “Passed out?”

Duo nodded. “Yep. I figured luck was on our side. Since you couldn’t resist, it would be easier to get you here.”

Quatre shook his head. “I didn’t pass out, Duo. I was asleep.”

“No one sleeps like that, Quatre. We could have taken a tazer to you and you wouldn’t have noticed.”

Quatre appeared suspicious. “You didn’t do that, did you?”

Duo sounded offended. “Of course not.”

A look of relief was about to pass over Quatre’s face but it was halted as Wufei said, “We dropped you, twice.”

“I can’t believe this.” Quatre took a moment to collect himself before he explained, “I didn’t wake up because I was making up for lost sleep.”

Duo leaned forward. “How’s that?”

“Insomnia. I had insomnia,” clarified the blonde. “And last night I took a sleep aid.”

“Is that all you took?” mumbled Heero.

Quatre frowned at him.

Duo sighed. “Moving on, we got you here without too much trouble. This place is all about privacy. It has a motto: 'No one sees you come in and no one sees you leave’.”

Quatre frowned and looked down at his arms and legs. “And these restraints are here to ensure the second part...”

Duo scoffed, “Don’t look at me. I didn’t know this place was into bondage. Blame Heero. He chose it.”

Quatre sighed. “You have yet to explain your actions, Heero. Why were you following me and why did you choose this place?”

“You molested me,” responded Heero. “I was determined to prevent it from happening again.”

“Heero, it was an accident. You went too far.” The blonde shook his head. “Instead of skulking around my estate, inciting the photographer, and making Duo paranoid, you could have--”

“Taken you out with a tranquilizer dart?”

Everyone stared at Heero. It was Duo who finally broke the silence. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He actually got up from his seat. “It’s that kind of crazy ass behavior that led to all of this.” Duo continued to rant. “Why can’t you be normal, ever?”

There was another long, drawn out silence in which Heero looked unrepentant and Duo stood with an expression that waffled between dumbfounded and frustrated. He sat down.

Duo threw up a hand. “So, now that that’s all cleared up, what’s next?”

“Having someone untie me would be nice,” said Quatre. He sounded sarcastic and made no attempt to hide it. But he did manage to appear hopeful as he said, “Heero, after all you’ve done, the least you can do is get me out of here.”

Heero made no move.

“This all can be cleared up if you speak with the people in charge of admissions.” Quatre sighed. He was about to disavow any further contact with chocolate just to get Heero to move when, finally, Heero left his seat and headed out of the room.

The four watched as the door closed behind him.

“You trust him to do what you’ve asked?” muttered Wufei as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“It won’t matter,” replied Quatre.

Duo looked back at him. “Uhhh, why not?”

“By now he’s been detained.”

“Come again?”

Quatre replied, “I had to negotiate in order to see all of you. I suppose it wasn’t very kind of me, but I was angry when I was told that one of you was responsible for my detainment. In exchange for visiting privileges, I agreed to hand over ‘the person who abetted my current lifestyle’. I told them that, after I’d gathered you all together, I would make sure he was the first to leave this room.”

Flabbergasted, all Duo could do was exclaim, “Heero’s no drug dealer!”

Deadpan, Quatre responded, “And I’m no addict.”