Duo was up as soon as the lights went on the next morning. He was afraid Heero might have something to say about last night -- and just as afraid he wouldn't. But the dark-haired pilot did not stir until Duo was back from the shower and hurriedly dressing for kitchen duty. Then he simply nodded good morning and went to the showers himself.

The day passed slowly, excruciatingly so. Duo worked hard at his schoolwork and managed to get a poorly written history paper in under the deadline. Even so, he was way behind in his government class -- a class he considered all propaganda and bullshit.

Work found the usual mountain of files in his wire basket. He worked diligently, trying not to think of Heero's hands on him, of the demanding mouth that had covered his.

By some miracle, he got through his entire basket in time for dinner. He was late, of course, racing into the dining room as they were starting to shut down the food line. Duo saw Heero sitting at the Techs' table, apparently deep in conversation. The other boy didn't look up.

The kitchen staff, most of whom knew Duo well and liked him, took covers back off the food bins and dished him out what was left, mostly scrapings from the bottoms of the containers. Wishing he dared ask Heero to join him, Duo took his tray to a half-empty table.

He was still shoveling in the food when the bell rang. From the corner of his eye, he saw the rush to the Techs and the jockeying of anxious boys eager to make a few extra PPs. Resentment rose, bitter in his throat, but he swallowed it and managed to finish the unappetizing mass on his plate.

Why not? he thought suddenly. He took his tray to the dishwashing line, then went over to join the crowd jostling around the Techs. With a few deft twists and turns, he managed to get in the front of the others.

"I'll do your work assignment for eight PPs," he told a startled Heero.

There was sudden silence at the table. The other grunts stopped their eager soliciting to stare.

Heero's dark blue eyes glinted. "I have a better job in mind for you tonight," he said pointedly.

Now you could hear a pin drop around the table. Duo felt his face heating and he returned Heero's steady regard with one of his own.

"Okay," he heard himself mumble, and backed hastily away. There were grins and winks as he fled the room. Out in the corridor, he struggled to regain his composure. Damn Heero! What the hell was he trying to do?

Duo cleaned the bathrooms in a daze. Several students came and went. One whom he knew slightly stopped to congratulate him.

"Man, your cell mate is so hot. You're lucky."

Lucky. To be a whore? Duo almost laughed. But even as he tried to summon resentment, the memory of last night's gentle caress sent his composure to the winds. Would Heero put the move on him tonight?

Duo arrived at the cell a half hour before lockdown, a new record for him. Heero nodded a greeting, but was apparently focused on his schoolwork. With an inward sigh, Duo took his own books and spent the thirty minutes trying to concentrate on dimers and ion channels.

Exactly at ten, the doors slid shut and locked. Duo closed his book and tossed it to the foot of his bed. The lights went out. He lay down. Heero still hadn't said anything about his comment at the dinner table -- probably said it just to get rid of him.

Duo smiled crookedly into the dark, remembering again the night before. Damn -- that was one hell of a kiss. He didn't remember Heero being quite so -- accomplished.

"Did Quatre teach you how to kiss like that?"

The half-joking question was out before Duo could stop it, but Heero didn't seem to take offense.

"Not really. It was part of my training." The voice from beneath him was matter of fact. "Quatre just helped me -- deal with that part of my past."

Stunned, Duo stared into the darkness. This was new information. "Dr. J. gave you sex classes?"

There was a moment of silence, then, "No. I learned before that."

Duo did the math. "Shit -- you must have been ... from who?"

"Various people. I was -- I worked for some resistance groups when I was a kid. Most of the time I'd pose as the son of some assassin, but once in a while they'd send me in to work a pedophile."

"How old were you?"

"I started when I was six, after Od-- my guardian died."

"God," whispered Duo, horrified. "You never told me that."

Duo had been a street kid, an orphan, and more than once had been faced with the unwanted attentions of men or older boys. But he'd never been forced, ever, and those who'd tried had soon regretted it.

"I wasn't always a superman."

Duo had a sudden image of a small, almost fragile child being passed from one group of violent, uncaring adults to another. It had never occurred to him that Heero had ever been anything but extremely strong and deadly.

"Damn," he said, adding wistfully, "Quatre helped, huh?"

"Yeah."

The conversation lapsed and after a while, Duo slept. He woke suddenly, much later. For a moment, he lay still, wondering why he had awakened, then he heard a thump and a soft, choking curse. Eyes now accustomed to the gloom, he saw it was Heero, a pale gleam of bare skin and white briefs by the sink. Water splashed.

"Hey. You okay?"

"Hn."

Duo sat up. Heero turned off the water, but stayed where he was, arms braced against the sink, head down.

Sliding from the bunk, Duo took Heero's blanket from the floor and draped it over the stooped form. Unexpectedly, the other boy caught Duo's hand and pressed it against his shoulder, holding it there. His fingers were ice cold.

"Shit. That must have been some nightmare."

Heero's hand fell away. He turned as if to go back to his bunk, but went straight into Duo's arms instead.

Panic hit Duo. He pushed away from Heero, managing at the last minute to restrain the violence he felt. Scrambling into his bed, he lay still, breathing hard. What the hell was going on here? This was sheer stupidity! Hadn't he learned the first time?

"Don't," he said to the ceiling, voice shaking. "Don't ever do that again."

"Duo..."

"NOT AGAIN!" Duo swallowed hard, forcing himself to breathe deeply and evenly. "You had your chance, damn it, and you blew me off for Quatre!"

"Duo..."

Jaw set grimly, Duo turned over onto his side, curling up tightly.

"Duo -- I -- I'm sorry about what happened between us back then. It was my fault, all of it."

"Yeah, it was." Duo bit off the words, then closed his eyes. Control, Maxwell. It was over a year ago. Get a grip. "What happened to you guys anyway?"

"He decided he was in love with Trowa. In the end, I guess I wasn't -- wasn't demonstrative enough."

"So you figured, now that you guys aren't together anymore, you could just pick up where you left off with me?"

"No!" Heero's voice was harsh, almost raw. "No," he added more quietly. "I -- no."

"Good."

There was silence. Duo grinned maliciously into the dark. "On the other hand, as long as we both admit it's only business, for fifty PPs a week you can have me. It's a bargain. I've been offered a lot more."

There was a long, shocked silence. Then came the sound of Heero getting back into bed. He said nothing more, leaving Duo to gradually calm down. By the time he'd done so, Duo regretted his outburst.

"Hey, Hee-chan..."

But Heero was either asleep or pretending. Duo finally turned over and with the lump tight in his throat, finally dropped off.

"Let me alone."

"I can't do that. You're too damn sexy."

From the corner of his eye, Duo saw a bandaged Randall, Shi and a couple of the others. He could have a go at them and maybe get out of here. Whirling, he lashed out at the closest youth, knocking him down, and ran for the door. Grinning, Shi stepped aside.

It was locked.

Now he knew he was screwed. The whole damn prison, it seemed, wanted him to be this monster's bitch. He gritted his teeth and turned back.

"I'll bet you're thinking you might get that new brunette to take you on, eh?" Urqhart was nearer and the wall was mere feet from Duo's back. "Don't even start thinkin' like that, pretty boy."

"I ain't your bitch, and I won't ever be your bitch, Urqhart, so leave me alone!"

The man laughed. His boys fell in behind him and Duo was up against the wall.

Damn it! He'd survived nearly three months without getting into this position. It was Heero. The guy had Duo's thoughts in such disarray that even his survival instinct was failing.

Urqhart's ham-sized fist locked around Duo's chin, forcing his head up. Duo tried to knock it aside only to have his wrist seized by one of the boys and pulled away. Someone else seized the other hand and suddenly, Duo was pressed, arms spread-eagled, against the cold concrete wall.

Urqhart bent forward. Duo turned his head desperately to avoid the man's mouth. Rough fingers locked in his hair, yanking his head back around. With his free hand, Urqhart hit Duo across the face hard, splitting the boy's lip. Duo's gasp was lost in Urqhart's mouth, his protest thrust aside by the man's tongue.

Someone was tearing at the buttons of his shirt. Held fast by the two on either side of him, Duo could do nothing. He tried kicking, but Urqhart just growled, drew away, and hit him again.

"Over here," he heard someone call through the ringing in his ears. "Pork him in the pantry!"

Rough laughter all around. The big supervisor drew back and grinned down into Duo's terrified face.

"C'mon. Be a good boy. I'll give you a few PPs."

"Don't want your -- don't want your..."

It was no use. Dizzy, his mouth aching, he was dragged, struggling desperately, across the gleaming kitchen floor toward the pantry. Once inside, there would be no one to hear him call for help. Not that anyone would come anyway.

Just take it, he told himself then. It had to happen sooner or later. How bad could it be?

But Duo could imagine. It sometimes hurt when it was with someone you liked. This was gonna really suck.

"Hey!"

Suddenly, Duo was released and standing alone in the middle of the kitchen. He wiped the blood off his lips with the back of his hand, trembling. Urqhart growled something.

Heero!

"What are you doing here?" Urqhart asked, voice ominous. "The door was locked!"

Heero looked back without expression.

"It was? Mr. Cord said I could get one of the kitchen staff to pack me a lunch so I can eat at my desk. Hey, Duo. Are you on duty?"

Heero knew damn well what was going on, but his face betrayed only the mildest of curiosity.

"I'm straightenin' a few things out with this punk, boy," replied the supervisor before Duo could respond. "There ain't no one here right now. Come back later."

He reached for Duo again, but Duo twisted away, heart pounding. "Yeah, I'm on duty. Whatcha want?"

"Ham sandwich," replied Heero. He walked calmly over and inserted himself neatly between Duo and the big supervisor. "Hurry up, willya. I don't want to be late for class."

"Yeah. Right away."

"Kid...." Urqhart's fists were clenched.

"The name's Takashi, sir. Is there a problem? You weren't thinking of raping Maxwell, were you?"

Duo's mouth dropped at Heero's sudden, blunt challenge. So did Urqhart's. "What the fuck are you talking about?" Urqhart stared back at the slight, dark-haired boy with narrowed eyes. "Steppin' in on your territory, am I?"

"Maybe." Heero smiled blandly and set a possessive hand on Duo's shoulder. "C'mon, Maxwell. Forget the sandwich. I'd rather eat lunch with you anyway."

Duo was completely beyond speech. He nodded and fled, aware of Heero coming behind him, less hurried. They walked in silence past the first checkpoint and into school wing. The bell had already rung and the corridor was empty. Duo's knees gave out and he went heavily to the floor.

"Duo!"

"Jeezus," whispered Duo, still trembling uncontrollably. "Jeezus, that was close."

"Hey." Heero crouched to look at Duo, eye to eye. There was real concern there. Duo looked away.

"I gotta get out of here," whispered Duo, past caring that Heero saw how truly terrified he was to be in this place. "He's gonna get me sooner or later. Oh, Jesus..."

"So I see," replied Heero quietly. "Listen -- we're both late. Can you walk?"

Duo nodded, but in the end, Heero had to get him up. They stood for a few seconds, Heero's arms around him, holding him tight.

"Shit," he heard, Heero's lips against his ear, "You're really scared, aren't you?"

That acted like a dash of cold water. Duo pushed away and, with shaking hands, buttoned up his shirt, tucking it in.

"Yeah," he said thickly. "Like you care."

Blindly he started walking away. Heero ran to catch up to him.

"Duo, wait!"

"You said it. We're late. You won't get into that much trouble. I will." He stopped, forcing himself to turn and look into Heero's face. "Thanks," he added gruffly. "I owe ya."

Then, turning on his heel, he fled.

Part 6

Heero's mind was most definitely not on his work. He spent more time staring at his screen than entering the quiz answers and finally, Chet, the instructor, called him sternly to task. Heero immediately answered them all.

He hadn't realized just how dangerous this place was. The Preventers had set him up in the most privileged position the prison offered. Now Heero knew why. Shit. Duo was in some real hot water and for no other reason than being small, graceful and good-looking. Heero saw again that slender body twisting helplessly against the wall, pinned there by the big foreman and his friends -- the swollen mouth and frightened eyes. Taking a deep breath, Heero shoved the image away and waited for his graded quiz to come back.

At lunch, Charlie and the others intercepted him on his way to the dining room. He replied to their banter absently, mind on a certain long-haired young prisoner. As they went into the noisy room, he saw Duo. The boy sat alone at the end of a long table, head bent over his soup, eating as fast as he could.

"See ya later," Heero said, breaking away from the clique and heading in Duo's direction. The chestnut head lifted quickly. Violet eyes widened. Heero threw his books down at the empty place beside Duo. "Soup any good?" he asked.

Duo's mouth opened and closed. His eyes dropped. "It's okay," he said, and kept eating.

Refusing to be put off by the lack of encouragement, Heero went through the line, loading up his tray, and returned.

It was curious that Duo was by himself. Knowing how gregarious and likeable Duo was, it seemed odd that he hadn't accumulated a lot of friends. Nonetheless, Heero settled into his chair and calmly opened his milk carton. Duo looked sideways at him and kept eating.

Heero made no effort to talk to the other boy, sensing that Duo was on the edge as it was. The other youth finished his lunch quickly and pushed away from the table.

"See you tonight," Heero said loudly. Duo stopped, stared, then nodded and was gone.

The afternoon was spent working in the Geo lab, entering more data. Heero finished quickly and, having a good idea from last night's exploration where he wanted to look, tried saving the data to a certain file. It was rejected, of course.

"Takashi?"

Heero looked up, all innocence.

"Wrong file. That's an upper-level database. How the hell did you get that directory open, anyway?"

"Sorry!" Heero replied and saved his data to the appropriate file. "I just opened it, no problem."

He waited while his supervisor tried the forbidden directory. Having installed a discreet little macro beforehand, Heero knew the man, Wayne, would have no trouble doing so.

"Damn." Wayne gave him a startled look. "You're right. Thanks. That's one of the classified company files. We'll need to have that looked at."

Bingo, thought Heero with grim satisfaction. The sooner he could get this whole affair wrapped up, the better.

Then he thought about Duo. He could protect the other pilot as long as he was here, but once he was gone, Duo was at Urqhart's mercy once more. Heero remembered rape. It was a distant memory, true, but those days and the misery of them still had a fair amount of power to hurt.

After work, Charlie caught him up. Steve, Mark and Jimmy -- his faithful sidekicks, swarmed around Heero.

"You better be careful, man," Jimmy said.

Heero gave him a blank look. "Hn."

"Urqhart's got Maxwell marked," agreed Steve. "Hell -- it's dangerous even to hang around with him."

Heero remembered Duo sitting alone at the end of the long dining table. That explained the otherwise incomprehensible lack of friends.

"You're kidding," he said finally. "Even to be his friend?"

"I know Duo's a looker, but so are some other grunts. You're a Tech. You could get any of 'em."

Heero thought about the boys who crowded around every night, willing to do just about anything for a handful of privilege points.

"I guess so," he agreed.

Duo wasn't at dinner. Damn! It would be nice if he could have time to talk to his cell mate.

Duo arrived just under the wire again, scooting through the door as it was sliding shut, the guards' curses following him in. He gave Heero a wide, rather apprehensive look, and climbed into his bed fully dressed. Heero listened to him scrambling awkwardly to take off his clothes.

Putting aside his computer, Heero got out of his bunk. He went to his drawer and took out a handful of PP wafers and dropped them in front of Duo.

"Fifty, you said?"

The thin face paled. Then the lights went out.

"I don't want 'em," came the quiet voice. "God damn it, Heero. Can't you leave me alone?"

Heero sighed and returned to his bunk. "We could at least pretend to be lovers," he said. "It might keep that bastard, Urqhart, at bay."

Duo said. "I -- I hunted around in GDE today for the old personnel files. It wasn't much help, but I did find something that might be useful."

So -- not ready to talk about it yet. Heero stifled a sigh.

"What did you find?"

"You know that if you break too many rules, Stellar sends you out into the field to work, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well -- most of the poor suckers who end up out there are grunts like me, but every once in a while, a Tech gets sent out."

That was unusual, but hardly earth-shattering.

"Number one -- those techs are always assigned to the Geryon project and number two, they always die."

"What?"

"Look, Heero. If you hire me to be your fuck, even for show, you could end up just like them. That would kinda screw up your assignment, wouldn't it?"

"Let me worry about that." Heero thought about what Duo had told him. "What's the Geryon Project?"

"Hell if I know."

"That's a high percentage of fatalities."

"A hundred percent? I'd say so," Duo snorted.

"Do you know what their areas of speciality were?"

Heero heard creaks as Duo lay down. He watched the edge of the blanket flap over the side of the bunk.

"Two of 'em were software engineers. Another came outta your department -- geology. There was a physics kid and the rest were mechanical engineers. Eight in all, I think."

Heero's heart leapt. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah."

"What about the grunts."

"What about them?"

"Anything unusual about any of them? Do they get sent to the Geryons?"

"I don't know. I couldn't waste any more time actually reading the files, ya know? I was supposed to be entering data. Brannon reamed me out as it was."

Brannon! Heero felt a twinge of guilt, remembering he'd planned to ask Shermer to intervene in that particular injustice.

"That's good information," Heero said finally. "Thanks."

"Heh. You're welcome."

Heero stared down at his computer screen.

"Duo?"

"Hmmm?"

"Tomorrow is Saturday. We don't have work in the afternoons, right?"

"Right. It's my day to catch up on my schoolwork. O joy, O rapture."

"Well, if I help you with that, would you come to a party with me?"

"W-what?"

"The Techs are having one. I thought we could go together."

"A party? You and me?"

"I'm supposed to be a prisoner, too. Why shouldn't I get involved in social activities? It's all part of my cover."

"Did your IQ suddenly drop? Didn't this morning tell you anything at all? It's dangerous to be seen with me! You could get killed, damn it!"

"And I told you to let me worry about that," retorted Heero. "Will you come with me?"

This time, the silence seemed to stretch forever.

"Yeah. I guess. If I'm gonna be your bitch, I might as well. I won't dress up like a girl, though!"

"What?" Heero was incredulous.

"Sure. Happens sometimes. You can get girl's clothes here. Hell, you can get anything. Some guys like their bitches to dress in drag."

"No," Heero said, disgusted. "Of course not."

"Good," came the relieved voice overhead, "'cause if you said yes, I'd have kill you."

Heero heard amusement in the other's voice and his spirits lifted. "Yeah," he snorted. "You and what army?"

There was chuckle from above and, after that, silence.

Part 7

Duo was nervous. He tried to smooth the wrinkles from his cleanest shirt. Heero moved up behind him.

"If you hung them up, they wouldn't look like that."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry mom." He gave the shirt another tug, then tucked it in, tightening his belt to the last notch in the hope that it would help.

"You know," he said for the tenth time, "this is probably a really bad idea."

"Hn," was the comment from his date for the afternoon.

"Urqhart..."

"Can kiss my ass. C'mon. We're late."

"Of course, we're late," retorted Duo, wishing there was a mirror in their cell. "No one ever arrives on time to a party, Heero. Get a clue."

"Hn."

Articulate son of a bitch. Duo turned to face the other boy and felt a flutter in his midsection at what he saw in Heero's dark eyes.

"You look great." Heero's smile was almost wistful.

The simple sincerity left Duo speechless a moment. "Remember," he said, turning away, face heating. "This is all for show."

"That's right," agreed Heero blandly. He slipped an arm through Duo's, tightening his grip when Duo tried to move away. "So let's give them a good one."

Duo's heart was banging so hard he could barely hear himself think. This was insane. It felt so -- so right to be walking side by side with Heero, his arm held in that careful, but possessive grasp. They walked from the cell block, through the dining room and past the big commons areas. As they passed, conversation died and heads turned.

And why not? Duo thought, looking over at his companion. Who wouldn't stare at handsome, indigo-eyed Heero Yuy? The man was enough to take the breath away; his fine-boned face and lithe body had been the stuff of Duo's dreams for years.

If only this was real, he thought sadly.

"What's wrong?"

Startled, Duo found a grin. "Nothin'. I'm just not used to being the center of attention."

"There's some bullshit," muttered Heero. "Here we are. Steel yourself."

They were at the door leading to the Techs' section. Heero slid his identification card into the door slot. It opened and they walked through. There was no one immediately in sight. The rooms on either side of this corridor were libraries and special study rooms. Ahead, however, further along the corridor and around a corner, there was plenty of noise.

The party was spilling out of the lounge. Again, there was sudden silence as Heero, hand firmly on Duo's arm, pushed through the crowd around the door. Charlie, seeing Heero, got to his feet, mouth open in greeting. He shut it again as his eyes fixed, wide and shocked, on Duo.

"Shit," whispered Duo. "I don't think I'm welcome."

Uneasy looks flashed around the room. Duo lifted his chin, angry and acutely self-conscious. Heero's grip slid down his arm. Long, strong fingers wound through Duo's and gave a reassuring squeeze.

"Hey," Heero said. "Sorry we're late."

"No problem, Takashi. Have a seat."

Duo looked around as Heero pulled him onto the couch. In spite of the tension in the air, he was curious about this place. Grunts like him weren't often invited in here unless slaving for PPs and he'd never cared enough to try to sneak past the security system. He noted the audiovisual equipment, the racks of music and movie disks, the billiards table, the bar. Resentment flared over the injustice of it all. But he should be used to injustice by now.

The stereo was going full blast, a couple of the guys dancing very close together. Another pair was involved in a noisy game of pool. There were soft-drink cups all around the crowded room, but Duo got a whiff of one and knew there was more than just cola in it.

"Hi, Duo," said Charlie finally. "Why don't you get Takashi a drink?"

The single invitation set out the lines of social rank quite clearly. Duo's resentment grew, but before he could fire back that he wasn't Heero's servant, Heero was on his feet and moving toward the bar. "Want anything?" he called back to Duo.

There was another grunt mixing drinks. Duo wondered bitterly how many privilege points the poor guy was earning.

"Yeah," he called back. "A beer if they got it."

He stared defiantly at Heero's fellow Techs -- he wasn't sure if they could be called friends -- and said, "Nice place."

No answer. Charlie leaned over and said something to one of the others. Duo set his jaw and stared down at his hands. From the corner of his eye, he saw Charlie get up and walk over to Heero. The two stood with their heads together.

"You're Urqhart's bitch," said the other boy in a pleasant voice. "You know you're gettin' Takashi in trouble."

"I ain't no one's bitch," replied Duo. "And Takashi knows what he's doing."

"Wake up, asshole," replied the young man, smile not wavering. "You've been lucky, but you've only been here a few months. You haven't seen what Urq can do if he's pissed."

"You haven't seen what we can do, either." Duo swallowed all the other cutting things he wanted to say and rose. "But I can tell when I'm not welcome, so -- thanks for the lovely time and I'll be seein' ya."

At the door, he roughly pushed aside more Techs coming in. They glared after him, reeking of cigarette smoke, something else officially forbidden to the prisoners. Rage coursed through Duo's veins. He could hear the pulse thundering in his ears.

Easy....easy....get a grip. Heero has to work with these bozos.

"Duo! DUO!"

It was Heero. Throat tight, chest aching, Duo walked faster. Heero caught up to him, falling into step.

"The party sucked," Duo said.

"What did they say to you?"

"That I was Urqhart's. That I was putting you at risk by pretending otherwise. And they're right -- as I've mentioned before."

Heero said nothing and Duo quickened his pace. Turning the corner, he saw the corridor ahead, still deserted.

Heero caught up with him. Duo felt the other boy lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Duo. Wait." Heero's deep voice was low, urgent.

Shaking him off, Duo plowed ahead. Without warning, hard fingers lock around his wrist. Heero pulled him around and sent him stumbling backwards to come up against the wall. Duo had time only to catch his breath before Heero's mouth came down over his, hands catching and holding him still for the kiss.

All Duo's anger and determination melted. His knees went to water. The warmth of Heero's hand on his cheek, the tangling of those slender fingers in Duo's hair, the eager seeking of Heero's tongue...

Oh, God -- save me!

But it was too late. Duo was lost. He clutched at Heero's arm as the last of his desperately held defenses toppled. He knew, dimly, that whatever Heero wanted from him, Heero would get. When the dark-haired boy drew away, Duo could only stare helplessly at him.

"Let's go back to the party," said Heero quietly. "Don't let them win."

"Aw, jeez...."

"I want to dance with you."

Shocked to speechlessness, Duo could only nod.

Hand tight in his, Heero led him back into the big lounge. Ignoring the stares of the others, keeping tight hold of Duo, he walked right up to the stereo and took off the lively tune currently playing. He shuffled through the disks then put another in. A ballad drifted through the now quiet room.

There was something decidedly surreal about being taken into Heero's arms in the presence of so many strangers, of being pulled close. Even when they had been going together, Heero had never touched him in public.

"I can't slow dance," Duo whispered belatedly.

"Just follow."

So he did, awkward at first, then finding his rhythm. It was so natural to lay his head on Heero's shoulder, to feel the beating of Heero's heart against his own.

Fool! The little voice in his head railed uselessly at him. You're being used again!

Maybe so, thought Duo, fingers tightening around Heero's, but what the hell? Who cared, after all?

Another ballad started. Vaguely, Duo was aware that other boys had joined them on the dance floor. He began to relax and finally, between dances, when Heero pulled back slightly to look at him, Duo smiled. Heero's answering smile was radiant. With a spontaneity quite unlike himself, Heero hugged Duo and kissed him hard, right there, not caring who saw.

Why should he? There are only prisoners here. No one who counts.

The little voice wouldn't let Duo be. He pulled away and said, "I ..."

Heero lay a finger against his lips. "No," he said. Then, leaning close, he put his mouth against Duo's ear. "I like dancing with you."

"Then let's do it our room."

"All right," Heero replied unexpectedly. "I'll borrow this disk."

They left the party hand in hand. Neither spoke, ignoring the looks that followed them back through the various commons and into the cell-block. Heero did what many of the others did on Saturday afternoons -- stuck one of the blankets over the door. Duo watched him, excitement and apprehension tangled, confused, in his heart.

Heero took the disk and stuck it into the drive of his little computer. The music was faint and tinny through the tiny speakers, but it was audible.

"Not much room," whispered Duo when Heero hugged him close.

"Too bad," was Heero's murmured response. His mouth touched Duo's, leaving tender little kisses on the corners, then traveled up Duo's jaw. With a sigh, Duo let his head fall back, encouraging that wandering mouth to find its way along his throat. He moved where Heero steered him, mostly in small, slow circles. As their kisses grew more heated they began to bump into things, walls, sink, bunks -- until Heero laughed breathlessly.

"We can take this dance to the next level," Duo offered shyly, not at all certain he was doing the right thing. "If you want."

"Are you sure?"

Duo was not sure -- not sure at all, but he knew his heart would have the last word. It always did in situations like these and right now, it was clamoring at him to stop asking questions and just go with it.

"Yeah," he said, laughing shakily. "Why not?"

"Why not, indeed?" purred Heero and, taking Duo firmly by the front of his shirt, pulled him into the lower bunk.

Part 8

"What's wrong?"

Pulling on his socks, Heero looked up at Duo. The slender youth stood in the door of their cell looking out.

"Did they call my name?"

Heero's lips twitched. "I didn't hear it."

Duo shook his head, braid dancing, and turned back. He sat down beside Heero on the lower bunk. "That's two days in a row."

"Do you miss breakfast duty?" Heero asked politely. "I'm sure they'll put you back on the list if you ask."

"No thanks!" Duo's bright, slightly lop-sided grin sparkled. "It's weird, that's all."

Heero smiled ruefully at his cell-mate. Damn, but Duo fascinated him. It wasn't just the boy's undeniable beauty, it was his fire, the joy of living that radiated from him, a natural ebullience that even this awful place couldn't entirely squash. Heero sometimes felt a like a moth hovering around a flame -- trying to catch the warmth and light that was Duo -- without immolating himself.

"Wow," Duo was saying. "A whole hour. What am I gonna do?"

"Your math?"

"Pfft." Suddenly, there was an arm around Heero's waist, tumbling him back into the bunk. Someone passing in the corridor outside whistled. Duo grinned, faces inches from Heero's.

"Got a better idea," he whispered, slim finger tracing a line down the bridge of Heero's nose.

"I'll bet."

It was a slightly disheveled pair who made it, belatedly, to breakfast forty minutes later.

Duo blithely savaged the quality of the food as they made their way up the line, but he did it without malice and in such a droll fashion that everyone working the food line, including the staff supervisor, laughed cheerfully and added their own comments.

Heero hadn't sat with the other Techs since the party, preferring to eat with Duo among the grunts. The defection had not gone over well with his fellows and Heero suspected that sooner or later, Charlie would seek him out.

The two of them ate breakfast, talking in low voices, making grandiose plans for when they were out of this place.

"What if Noin can't get my sentence reduced?" Duo asked, bright mood momentarily deflating. "Ten years, dude. We'd be twenty-eight when I got out and you'd probably be with someone else."

"No," Heero said.

"No what?" Duo glared at him. "No, I won't be in here for ten years? No, you won't be with anyone else?"

"Both."

Duo smiled and it took all of Heero Yuy's legendary self-discipline not to kiss him right there.

The dismissal bell rang after that and they went their separate ways to class. School passed uneventfully. Duo was nowhere in sight for lunch and when Heero flagged down one of his classmates, the boy told Heero that Duo had gone on to GDE to get his work done early.

Disappointed, Heero fed himself from the vending machines, wolfing down sandwiches in his cell and working on isolating the file he'd found in the hidden directory. The bell rang, signaling the beginning of the work day and he hied himself off to Geo.

Charlie and Steve were in front of the lab. The former stepped out to block Heero's way.

"Hey, Takashi. A word?"

"Not if it has anything to do with Duo Maxwell," replied Heero coldly. "Let me pass."

The two boys exchanged glances. Charlie tried again.

"It's for your own good, man. Bringin' him to our party the other day was stupid enough, but if you're bangin' him, you're really gonna regret it. Neither of you knows who you're messin' with."

Heero smiled grimly. "I think that's probably mutual."

Charlie looked as if he would say more, then shrugged and stepped aside. "Fine. I give up. Just don't say you weren't warned."

Heero's tasks required little effort on his part. Instead, whenever the supervisor left his desk, Heero quickly abandoned his stratification data in favor of worrying at the encrypted file.

It took almost two hours to penetrate it without triggering the alarms and traps written into the encryption program. By suppertime he finally extricated the data and send it discreetly to the temp folder he'd created and was storing in a directory accessible to his laptop.

Duo appeared at supper in a jolly mood, laughing and joking, having noisy conversations with the boys around them. Heero was forced to stop a food fight between him and another prisoner before it started.

"What is up with you?" he hissed, dragging Duo and his broccoli back down to his chair. "You'll have the guards over here!"

Duo's adversary, a thin, brown-haired boy was laughing, his own friends hauling him off to another table and out of danger.

"I'm in a good mood," understated Shinigami. "Guess who's gone back into the field?"

"Urqhart?"

"Yup!" Duo sighed and exiled the broccoli to his empty milk carton. "At least three weeks of non-harassment."

"Good. Maybe we can get this show on the road."

"Ah, speaking of that." Duo munched his meat loaf thoughtfully. "I did some more checking. Those specialists that died? They were requested by Marcel Anderson himself."

"Anderson?"

"The very same jerk who jumped me at the bar. He's in charge of the Geryon project." Duo stopped and looked earnestly at Heero. "It was self-defense, you know -- I don't care what the police report and trial transcript say -- the so-called "assault" was self defense."

"We know." Heero took a bite of broccoli. Overcooked. He eyed his own milk carton speculatively.

"What?"

Heero paused, hearing outrage.

"You guys knew? You knew and you let me rot here?"

Abruptly, the high spirits became anger. Heero gulped his mouthful of food.

"No, we didn't let you rot," he replied sharply, lowering his voice. "It's a hell of a lot more complicated!"

Biting his lip, Duo also quieted down, but his voice still throbbed with fury. "I'm listening, dammit!"

"For one thing -- Earth has very little power on Mars, as you would know if you paid the slightest attention to current events! In order to keep the colonization projects on track here, Relena has given unprecedented authority to the five companies doing the construction, allowing a lot more autonomy in governing of their enclaves than anywhere else in the UESN."

"But -- are you saying the Preventers will even overlook total injustice?"

"In an attempt to head off insurrection, yes. For now." Heero knew he was making excuses. If Noin had wanted, she could have gone to Relena and forced the issue. The Vice Minister knew damn well to whom she and everyone else owed this current, if uneasy, peace.

"We suspect that at least some of the five companies have factions within them that favor complete independence for Mars. If the Preventers had made a stink about your case, it would have added to the resentment simmering among those factions and probably others that are currently on the fence, politically speaking.""

"Give me a break...."

"We are! Don't forget -- the UESN has no more weapons of mass destruction. If Mars declared its independence and sets up a corporate state, if they have been manufacturing such weapons themselves, then we have no way of forcing them back into the fold, or of defending ourselves against them later. So, for now, we play nice and pretend we don't see the small stuff."

Duo opened and closed his mouth, violet eyes stormy. Heero put his arm around those rigid shoulders.

"I, on the other hand, could give a damn about Relena's politics. Injustice is injustice. I won't let you rot here, Duo Maxwell."

The shoulders slumped. The sweet, crooked grin reappeared. "Promise?"

"I promise."

Duo went off with another prisoner to clean the bathrooms. Heero gave his regular grunt ten pps to take care of the corridor. Then he retreated to the cell to have a look at the data he'd spent so much time liberating.

The next two hours passed slowly. Heero was constantly distracted with thoughts of Duo, that magnetic smile, the way those violet eyes darkened to black when Heero made love to him. God, but he wanted to be out of here! He wanted to be in his own apartment, in his own bed, his body wrapped around Duo's, waking up to the song of the mourning doves who built their nests in the eves right over his bedroom window.

"Takashi?" A round-faced boy stood in the doorway, trying to peer through the clothes Heero had draped over the end of the bunks.

"Mail."

Bewildered, Heero got out of his bunk and took the envelope -- then nearly dropped it. It was addressed to Takashi Heero at the prison mail-drop address, but he recognized the neat, rather ornate handwriting. He tore it open. The letter was unsigned, but Heero knew very well who had sent it.

"Heero, please forgive me. I was stupid not to recognize my heart's desire when I had it in hand. Please, please (heavily underscored), I want us to be together again. Until we meet -- all my love."

Part 9

"The problem," Heero said, mouth in Duo's hair, "is that there's no record of Gundanium shipments beyond the usual drill bits."

"Your geo file's not enough?" Duo snuggled closer.

Heero's arms tightened around him. Lips brushed Duo's ear. He shivered deliciously.

"Not really," Heero replied. "All it shows is that the conditions are prime for concealing forbidden, large-scale manufacturing in this Geryon area."

"I don't understand."

"The mountains are filled with calacimite. It's a mineral found only on Mars that blocks rays from our scanning equipment. What looks like flatland from orbiting stations can be ravines, valleys, even taller peaks."

"Why not just fly over for visual confirmation?"

"Airspace sovereignty."

"Stupid!" Duo rolled over and closed his eyes, loving the feel of Heero beside him. "Why did Relena agree to that?"

"I don't think she did. Even Relena is not that naive. It was the rest of the Council who were responsible, over her objections. That's why she's risking everything on this operation."

"Risking you. Mmmm. I can see her now -- all sugar and spice neatly wrapped around steel. I can't believe you kissed her that time."

Heero shrugged. "She's pretty and determined."

"So's Quatre."

Duo heard a swift intake of breath. He went on quickly, words tumbling over each other.

"Did you guys, like, officially split up?"

"Duo..."

"You know," Duo said, keeping his voice steady. "I'll bet you and Quatre talked about our relationship after -- after you ended it. Didn't you?"

There was a long silence. He could feel Heero shrug. "A little."

"Well -- let's talk about you and Quat -- a little."

"Oh, shit, Duo...."

Duo rolled out of Heero's arms and got out of the bunk. Heero reached after him.

"Duo!"

I'm being petty, thought Duo as he swept junk off the top bunk and climbed into it, but he didn't care. All of this was just too good to be true. The thought had been nagging at him for a week, ever since the party. For some reason, tonight all that worry and insecurity had come to the forefront of his thoughts.

What did he really know about what went on inside Heero's head? During the war at least, Heero could and had ruthlessly sacrificed honesty for the cause. Who was to say he wasn't doing that now? Maybe Quatre and Heero were in the middle of a fight or something and when Heero returned, Quatre would be waiting, full of apologies.

"You don't trust me." The voice from below was flat, disappointed.

Duo pressed his lips into a thin line. "Not really," he admitted bleakly. "Maybe you'd like to remind me of some time in the past when you were up front with me about everything."

Lying stiffly between the cheap, scratchy sheets, Duo heard a restless shifting below. He'd hoped that his question would have resulted in Heero saying, "Yes, we're broken up. I never want to see him again. It's you -- it's always been you."

But it didn't happen, of course. Duo hadn't really expected it. Then, just as the lump in his throat was becoming unbearable, he heard, very low:

"I'm not in love with Quatre, Duo. I thought I was. I really did. He's an amazing man, strong, gentle, conscientious. I still care about him very much as a friend, the way I care about Chang and Barton -- but yes, what we had is over, if it was ever there at all."

"It sure as hell looked like something was there."

"Maybe." Heero sounded deeply regretful. "Quatre is very insecure..."

"Oh, come on. He's a friggin' prince!"

"What has that got to do with anything? I'm insecure when I think about you. Why should you care about me? I treated you like shit, Duo. Why should you give me the time of day? For the pps I give you? For the chance to get out of prison early?"

Duo was caught by surprise. Anger came hard on its heels. "No! Don't fuckin' do that, Yu -- Takashi! Don't twist this around to make it about me!"

Another long silence. Duo was feeling more wretched by the moment. He tried to tell himself it didn't matter -- that he didn't really care, that he was living for the moment, but it was lie. He cared desperately.

"Quatre needed constant reassurance that I loved him. I think he was always wondering about you -- whether I regretted leaving you, whether I was secretly pining for you."

"M-me?"

"Your name always came up at least once during every argument we had." Heero sighed. "After awhile, I started wondering if it were true. I did think about you a lot -- wonder where you went after -- after we split."

Duo remembered that night with vivid, agonizing clarity. Standing in the middle of Heero's apartment, listening to the man he loved more than life itself calmly, reasonably explaining how he was going back to Quatre, how all this had been an unfortunate misunderstanding and Heero was very, very sorry and of course Duo didn't have to move out right away. . .

Rolling onto his side, Duo buried his face in the crook of his elbow. He hadn't stayed, of course. The moment Heero had left for Quatre's, he'd packed his few things and fled.

"Where did you go?"

Duo remembered the cold Tokyo wind, his fingers numbing around the handle of his duffel bag, concrete underfoot and uncaring crowds jostling him as they passed.

"Nowhere. Just out of there." In spite of himself, his voice wobbled. God, the loneliness. He had been sure he would die of it. "I -- I got a room. It was okay."

It had not been okay. It had been hell -- the tiny chamber with its sagging bed and sour-faced motel clerk who hadn't wanted to rent to a seventeen year old boy shell-shocked with grief.

"You always see things so clearly after it's too late," Heero continued. "About four months later, cracks started to appear. Every time I'd go somewhere, Quatre worried that I was secretly meeting you. He finally turned to Trowa."

"Oh, man. Barton's in this, too?"

"He was always in this. There's something about Trowa that's, well, soothing. He's so quiet."

"So are you."

"Quatre said it was a different kind of quiet. Trowa's quiet in a calming way. I'm quiet in a scary way."

Now Duo heard bitterness.

"Do I scare you, too?"

"Yeah."

"Duo!"

"But not because you're quiet."

"Then why?"

"Because I can't resist you. I should tell you to fuck off! God damn, but I wish I could!" Duo's voice rose and he fought to moderate it. "So you really didn't break it off, Quatre did. He blew you off for Trowa!"

"That's true," admitted Heero at last, "but when everything calmed down and I had time to think, I realized that he was right. I didn't love him the way he needed to be loved. Life with Quatre was unsettling, constant upheavals, constant tears, little tricks meant to trap me into a confession. It was like living on a tightwire."

"What if he wants you back?"

This time, Duo heard laughter, low and harsh. "It wouldn't matter. I've figured it out. I want you, Duo and I'm going to have you, somehow, whether you want me or not."

"S-- sounds ominous..."

"I didn't mean it like that." Heero sighed again. "I'm sorry, Duo. I'm sorry I hurt you like I did. It was unforgivable and if this is your revenge -- I suppose it's no more than I deserve."

"Revenge? Huh?" Duo almost sat up, then thought better about it. "Damn it, Heero, you know I'm not like that!"

"Yeah. I know." Very soft. "You're one of a kind, Duo. You're so forgiving, so open, so ready to see people happy, even if it means you can't be."

Duo bit his lip and said nothing.

"Why didn't you fight about it, Duo? Why didn't you beg me to stay?"

"I can't compete with Quatre. Sheesh! He has everything! A family who loves him, people who care about and admire him, who fight to protect him. He's educated, considerate, gentle, artistic -- shit -- everything a street punk like me isn't! I guess -- I was like Quatre, too -- sure you were only settling for second best -- that you were only with me because you couldn't be with him."

"And I proved you right." Regret colored the deep voice. "I really screwed things up, didn't I?"

"Yeah." Duo rolled onto his back, arm over his eyes. "Yeah, you did. Damn, I wish I was immune to you!"

"Will you give me a second chance?" Heero asked humbly. "I swear I will never hurt you again like that. Never."

"You promise? Cross your heart?" Duo's own heart was beating so fast he felt suffocated.

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

It was childish oath, one he hadn't heard since Maxwell Church days, but hearing it offered so unhesitatingly sent the clouds in Duo's heart to fleeing.

"Promise?" he whispered again. "Please, Heero. Please don't lie. I'll be whatever you want in this place, just don't make promises about the future if you don't mean them. I don't think I could survive it again."

"I'm not lying. I want you. I want to be with you here and when we get out of this place. I swear."

Duo gulped. "Okay. Me, too."

"Good. Now, will you come back down here?"

A smile tugged at Duo. In his heart, that small, cold, aching spot began to thaw. He pushed back his blankets and, resolutely ignoring the last vestiges of panic that nibbled at him, returned to his spot next to Heero.