Word Count: 91,403
Pairings: 1x2x1, 1+R, past 2xH, vague hints of 3x4, 5xS, 13x6, 13xU, Mariemaia+OC, G+OC ^_^
Summary: AU Ordinary Life. Romance. A modern fairy tale of Heero Yuy, a builder, struggling to make a living, and for custody of his five young, orphaned nephews. When rich tourist Duo Maxwell sails into Darke's Cove, he is the answer to all of Heero's prayers. In more ways than one.
Overboard
by Justkat
Hilde said that they only had one day moored in Darke's Cove and that if Duo wanted to go ashore with her he'd better make it snappy.
Hilde said that if Duo cut off his stupid plait like a normal person then it wouldn't take him so long to get ready in the mornings.
Hilde said that Relena was her best friend in the whole world, and that it was very selfish of Duo not to want to meet her.
Hilde said that if Duo's godfather died of a heart attack, lonely and forgotten, it would be all Duo's fault, for not visiting.
Duo said that he couldn't freaking care less what Hilde freaking well thought and that if she didn't get her freaking butt off the freaking boat this freaking minute he'd freaking well throw her off.
Well freaking well shit.
Duo Maxwell hunched over the polished teak galley table, and frowned into his two soft-boiled eggs and wholemeal toast fingers. Maybe if he got lucky, his incredibly annoying girl... friend... would fall overboard and be lost at sea. He grinned ruefully. As if that ever happened anywhere except in the movies. And even then it was only ever Goldie Hawn, and she had a certified, celluloid knack for getting herself into awkward situations.
Nope.
Nobody was getting lost overboard. Nix. Nada. Bupkiss. He'd just have to patch things up with Hilde.
Damn.
He moodily dipped and chewed, then grabbed reflexively for the table.
The Look Now, swan-like under sail, was a slovenly, fifty-foot pig at anchor. Moored-over, at Darke's Cove marina, she wallowed in the wash from an outgoing trawler, and Duo's breakfast tea sloshed over the side of translucent, egg-shell china in sympathy. He made no move to mop it up.
Maybe if he pushed her...
Heero Yuy pushed the button, with extreme prejudice, and glared at the beep.
A message from Relena. Another one. Report to the Headmistress's office at his earliest convenience. An emergency with the boys, type unspecified. He sighed gustily, running a hand through his already-messy, brown hair, and glared at his mobile phone. It was not convenient.
Sure, his nephews could be a bit of a handful. Probably two handfuls, considering that there were five of them, all under thirteen But they weren't that bad. And there was always detention.
If he didn't know better, he'd think that she was stalking him.
After Hilde had gone ashore, Duo rummaged around, and appeared above deck a little later, with a towel, a mug of tea, and the coffee-table book on pre-Raphaelite furniture that Uncle Gerald had sent for his recent twentieth birthday and that he'd been trying to read ever since they set sail ten days ago.
He knelt to arrange everything carefully on a warm patch of deck. Placed his book in the shade, towel in the sun and tea carefully to one side, where it wouldn't slop on anything, then remained kneeling, motionless; his long braid of hair just brushing the deck behind him. Normally, an irrepressibly cheerful young man, with a wicked sense of humour and a delight in practical jokes, but not today.
Today, his violet eyes were shadowed, and, staring at his book, he wrestled with a strong sense of guilt.
He really had planned to go and see Uncle Gerald. The old guy worked right here in Darke's Cove. At the hospital, but Duo hadn't bothered to ring ahead, and as it turned out he'd gone on holiday someplace, and the hospital said that he wasn't due back for four weeks.
Hilde had really hung one on him about that, saying that it was just typical of Duo. He scowled. She could be a major pain in the butt sometimes.
Maybe he'd make a special effort to fly out later in the year and see him. He hated flying but it really was safe 99% of the time. It was just the other 1% that got you... Anyway. Maybe Christmas time. He hadn't seen him in yonks anyway, but he was a great old dude and had always been pretty cool to Duo. Books in the mail at Christmas time and so on. That Slipknot CD... The phone had rung hot that day. He grinned and then his face saddened. Mom...
And later, in the hospital, and then after the funeral when Duo was on his own, the old guy'd come up to see him sometimes, at term break and so on, when Hilde and all the others had gone home, or yachting, or whatever it was they did, and Duo was stuck at Saint Lucia's College all on his own, with just the sisters for company. MacDonald's with Uncle Gerald was the only bit of normal that Duo had had left.
And more than that. Uncle Gerald was his last link with his Mom and Dad. The only one who remembered that Duo was called Duo because he was like a little Solo. Who remembered how Solo got his nick in the first place. Who knew that Solo had been addicted to Jackie Chan movies. That Helen had been scared of spiders, that she liked champagne, that she loved Duo's hair.
He'd helped Duo with his investments too. And all the other legal bull.
Uncle Gerald had never lied to him. And that counted for a lot, when it seemed as if every other adult around at the time had some skewed idea of what Duo should be doing with himself, and the Maxwell dollars.
And it wasn't even as if Uncle Gerald was a proper Uncle. Thankfully, or Duo might have been stuck with his nose. Although. Maybe the nose'd be worth it, to feel like he belonged with someone again. However. He was just some old codger who'd been at med-school with Duo's Mom. Head of the department or something, but said that being called Professor made him feel old. But when Duo had wanted to go on to Design School, he'd been really supportive. Even got him a testimonial from his friend who ran a gallery up-state.
Duo sighed. He would definitely fly back at Christmas. But for now...
He gazed over the handrail across sparkling water, drenching himself in multi-coloured sails and salt-silvered wood, bobbing gulls, a crisp arc of silver sand and thistledown sand pipers, feeling tranquillity soaking into him, redolent with the tang of salt and the scent of sun-warmed varnish.
Peace.
There was just something about water. Such a shame this holiday was almost over. The boat had to be back in four days.
He'd given their Captain the day off. Q had a boyfriend, a local guy, whom Duo had heard about in exhaustive detail all the way down the coast, right down to the way that the guy did his hair. And with no sailing to be done, and, without Hilde here, it was silly to keep him around kicking his heels for hours. So he had the boat to himself. Hours and hours of uninterrupted peace, and quiet, and no Hilde. And it was a glorious day. Hard to believe that it was Autumn, and Winter just around the corner.
Perfect for sunbaking.
Duo stretched like a contented cat, arms joint-poppingly high, then dragged his black t-shirt over his head and dropped it on the deck. Black, the colour of mourning, but today was too nice a day to be sad. He glanced around the harbour, then disappeared from public view behind the handrail, sitting on his towel to wriggle out of his long, black cargo shorts and boxers. Stretching out face-down on the sun-warmed towel, he tossed his hip-length braid of hair out beside him, out of the way, then pillowed his head on his arms, and heaved a contented sigh, feeling the tension that knotted his shoulders uncoiling and slipping away, melting under the sun on his bare skin. The boat rocked him gently, to and fro, tiny waves gurgling and lapping against the hull, in time with the musical clink of halyards against the mast.
Clink. Clink.
To and fro...
Mmm...
This was...total...absolute...
Heaven...thought Heero Yuy grimly...would be a week without being called into school to see Miss Relena Peacecraft-Darlien.
Into the Headmistress's office.
Hell and damnation. He was twenty. Much too old to be worried about going to the Headmasters's office, but it still gave him the heebie jeebies anyway. Especially that wooden chair in the corner. Even if old Barton was long gone. Rotten old...
A drawer slammed explosively, with a sound like a loose chair leg being yanked from a chair and smashed against a desk, and Heero almost jumped out of his skin, spinning to face the noise with a furious glare.
While Heero Yuy was kicking his heels in Reception, having left behind a tricky bit of cabinet-making at Dellabosca's, so that he could wait for the ever-so important Miss Peacecraft-Darlien to get off the damned phone, her extremely annoying and probably evil secretary was searching for his nephews' file.
Apparently.
And getting way too much enjoyment out of it.
"Hmmm..." She slammed a few more drawers aimlessly, with a carelessly carefree hand.
"Lowe. Lowe...not a common name..."
She grinned mischievously at him, flicking her long, silvery hair over one shoulder.
"Now where could it possibly be? I just can't think..."
Heero sighed, looking pointedly at the purportedly missing folder, as she pondered theatrically, forefinger pressed to dimpled cheek, then threw up her hands in mock surprise.
"Ohh...there it is!!!"
Blindingly obvious, on her desk, in the Out tray. A distinctive, bright red, rather dog-eared folder, right where she knew that it was.
"Still waiting to be filed from yesterday! Silly me!!!"
Heero glared at her, with the ease of long familiarity. They'd known each other since kindergarten. He decided not to ask her about her fencing.
"Uhh Heero? About my fencing?"
Hell and damnation.
He glared at her. "Get a dog. I'll give you mine." He meant it too.
"But He-e-e-ero..." She pouted adorably. To other people. Not to Heero. "If I can get the llama to stay in with the sheep I won't need a dog. They keep foxes away from the lambs too. I really need the fence fixed. Ple-e-e-e-se Heero? Just once more?"
She peeped up at him, ice-pale eyes flirting through sleepy eyelashes, in a way which most men found irresistible, then grinned at him, knowing very well that Heero was completely immune, but unable to resist flirting anyway. Heero was so cute. That silky, brown hair, and the way it flopped forward over those blue, blue eyes. And even more so, because he was so serious. She sighed. Great body too. All hard, slim muscle.
Perfect .
And such a waste. Poor old, silly old Relena.
"I'm not giving up Heero." Which was one of the things that he'd always liked about her, her tenacity.
"Oh. By the way..." She examined her long fingernails, buffing back a minute chip. Fencing was murder on your hands. "Miss Relena said to go in as soon as you got here."
He glared at her, contemplating strangling her with her beautifully groomed hair. She'd kept him here, rabbiting on about her broken fence, when he could have been long gone. Which was one of the things that he'd always not liked about her, her sneakiness.
Human hair had a tensile strength of roughly 60 Mpa. Unless it was bleached. Hmm.
She grinned unrepentantly and made flicking gestures with her hands.
"Go on. Shoo!! Get in there. And don't look so murderous Heero Yuy. You know she's always on the phone for hours. She is a girl you know! Oh...and by the way...you owe me five dollars. No hurry." She waved him away. "You'll find out." She smiled at him with sphinx-like inscrutability. Completely irresistible. "And don't forget the fencing!"
His lips twitched. He'd probably miss her if he strangled her.
"Okay. This afternoon."
Half a world away it was already afternoon.
Duo's Uncle Gerald checked his baggage one more time and reflected on the strange powers of coincidence.
He would never have expected to meet young Otto Richter on the north coast of east New Britain, in Talasea airport of all places, which had two Twin Otter flights a week of twelve people each. One minute, Otto was simply the nice, young architect working on the new retirement wing at the hospital. The next he was deftly fielding a runaway piglet from the uncomfortable, moulded plastic seat next to his and working on the very same Foreign Aid project that he was on. A new Medical Centre in Rabaul. Uncanny.
Uncle Gerald checked yet again for insect repellent. Now that Rabaul was buried under cooling lava and mudslides, the mosquitoes and sandflies would undoubtedly be endemic. As would be the malaria. The new Medical Centre should have ample supplies, but it didn't hurt to be too careful. This was New Guinea after all.
Hmm. Malaria tablets...antibiotic ointment...iodine... Uncle Gerald had one eye on his baggage, the other cocked in beady, bird-like curiosity, indiscriminately cataloguing blood-red betel-nut stains, feet distended with elephantiasis, voices raised in song of curious and alien beauty.
Was that woman going to breastfeed the piglet on the plane?
And was human breast milk higher or lower in butterfat than porcine?
Relena was still on the phone.
Heero's irritated blue gaze flicked around the room impatiently while he waited. Her bookshelf, desk and windowsill were adorned with a multitude of framed photographs. He glanced at them, wondering if there were any new ones. Most of them he recognised, with a vague twinge of discomfort. Thankfully he wasn't in any of them.
They were all of Relena.
Relena rescuing animals.
Countless photographs of Relena, and beached whales, oil-coated terns and starved horses. Relena, blonde hair flying, scuttling from a plover's nest, in the middle of the truck-turning bay at Pioneer cement plant. A newspaper shot of Relena, backed against a tree, confronting three policemen sent to shoot a swooping magpie, which had been terrorising the park. Another, of Relena, picketing that man who made hats out of feral-cat skins, as he opened his latest wildlife sanctuary. And of course, Relena, with countless stray cats and dogs. Relena had rescued a lot of dogs.
Rex The Retriever, the boys' golden retriever, had been a present from Relena, following headlines where Local Girl Saves Dog In Plunge From Cliff. In actual fact it had been Heero who had plunged from the cliff, reluctantly rescuing Relena from the blackberry bush that she had somehow fallen into, when Rex the Stray had darted unexpectedly after a rabbit. Relena had then bestowed Rex upon Heero as his reward. Not the reward that she would have liked to have given him, but Heero had been pretty sure that the boys would prefer Rex. He was certain that he did.
"Heero!!" Relena slammed down the telephone. "I don't believe it! Those people from animal rescue say that they can't take another magpie!"
Heero frowned and opened his mouth.
"I explained that it keeps diving into my kitchen windows and knocking itself out and they just don't seem to care! They won't even send someone around to see!"
She paused for breath, her chest heaving and big, blue eyes flashing, in a way that many people would find very attractive, but that Heero recognised immediately as a perfect opening.
"Terrible. Now about Silas and Zac..."
"When will they realise that there can be no such thing as World Peace and Global Harmony while animals are suffering???"
Relena Peacecraft-Darlian was a vocal, animal rights activist and self-appointed animal rescue person. Pinned to the lapel of her jacket was a large, white button with a pink heart on it, which read Animals are human too.
"Never." Heero ignored her heart, and the chest it was pinned to, and looked her firmly in the eye. "Relena you said that it was an emergency."
"Oh yes. That." She fidgeted. "Well it was. Is. If the magpie breaks the window, it might hurt itself."
"You said that it was about the boys!" He fixed her with a stony glare.
"Oh yes. That. Well...there was a bit of trouble in art class, but the twins cleaned it up. And Zac gave the flag back. And Silas..."
Heero interrupted her ruthlessly. The twins were the most likely culprits. If they were blameless then he was probably home free.
"I see." He did. Only too well. "And Cody?"
Relena's brow wrinkled in thought.
"Well there was a fire extinguisher... But Miss Noventa wasn't entirely sure that... And Sylvia said he's a bit small to lift..."
"Tyler?"
"Spider." One word answers were contagious.
"Joe?"
"No-o-o..." Which didn't surprise Heero. Whichever of the Lowe boys it might be, it was never 13-year old Joe, the eldest, and Heero's right-hand nephew.
"So. You don't need me." It wasn't a question.
"Umm..." She looked at him triumphantly. "The twins forgot their lunch money!" She beamed at him. "But it was all right. I gave them some lentil patties. I had plenty. No one else wanted any today."
Ahh. The five dollars.
Heero sighed, his face carefully blank. "Thank you Relena. Well if there's nothing else..."
Relena smiled fondly at the fast-closing door. It was just so sweet, the way that Heero would drop everything and rush to help, whenever she needed him.
A perfect boyfriend.
A perfect stuff-up.
Heero sighed.
That was it. It was official. Today was completely and utterly stuffed.
When he'd woken this morning, to un-seasonal` Autumn sunshine, he'd decided to knock off early and take the boys down to the beach for a kick of footy and, maybe, the last swim of the year. Nice plan.
It was all downhill from there.
First, Relena had dragged him into the school for no reason, leaving him an hour behind schedule, so that the varnish wasn't dry on Dellabosca's bar.
Then, that bossy, little, blue-haired girl who'd tracked him down outside the school, had insisted that Heero fix the broken cupboard door on her hired yacht today, so that she could set sail the instant she returned from wherever it was that she was going. So here Heero was, with his toolbox crammed to overloading with every power-tool known to man, because she'd been infuriatingly vague about what was actually wrong with the door, standing on the end of the marina, looking for a yacht, to fix it today.
Not that it was hard to spot. It was late in the season for tourist yachts, and at this time of day all the fishing trawlers were out. There was only one large yacht moored at the pier, a swan amongst the gaggle of motorboats and dinghies, but he checked the name on the bow anyway. It never hurt to check. Look Now. Yes that was it. A schooner-rigged motorsailer. 46 footer by the look of it.
He opened his mouth to hail the Look Now then remembered that that girl had said that the crew had the day off. Well good. No interruptions. If he finished up quick maybe there would still be time for the beach.
Such a shame. It really was hot for Autumn. It would have been a great beach day. He dragged the back of his hand across his sweaty forehead and decided that, with the crew gone, there could be no harm in stripping off his heavy, blue, work shirt. Feeling instantly cooler, he mopped his face with it then crammed it into his full-to-bulging toolbox and headed up the gangplank, his old, yellow sneakers soundless on the silvered timber.
He wandered quietly around the wheelhouse, looking for the companionway.
And came to an abrupt halt, toolbox in hand.
There was a girl on the port deck.
Sunbaking.
Naked.
Three blocks away from the beachfront, where nudity sometimes happened in Darke's Cove, although not usually in Autumn, and not usually where people could see, Joseph Thorvald Hitori Lowe herded his four brothers together like a small flock of chickens, and shuffled them under his wing into the Darke's Cove Community Hospital Casualty Department.
Not quite lined-up in order of age, from five-year old Tyler to 11-year old Zac and Silas, but, at least, massed in one place and jostling in the same direction.
Past the little gaggle of nurses, all smoking around the corner because nursing, whilst being a Caring Profession was also a stressful one, and worse now that it was No Smoking In The Workplace, and past the phone-in-a-crossed-circle that meant No Mobile Phones on pain of your heart stopping...or something...and in through the double swing doors.
Joe had been here before and knew the drill by heart.
"Hey Joe!" The Duty Nurse twinkled at him, her smooth red curls bouncing merrily. "Where's Heero?" Then she spotted Cody hovering behind him, holding a blood-stained, stripy tea-towel to his forehead, and her grin grew rueful. "Oh oh. What is it this time? No. Don't tell me. I can see."
Joe frowned. This wasn't funny. It was annoying. "Cody." He gestured at the guilty party. "Needs stitches."
"Oh pooooor baby! Again?!?? Here. Show me." She smoothed Cody's short, spiky brown hair off his forehead, lifting the cloth so that she could see the cut. "Oh dear..."
Joe sighed. Baby???? Sheesh. "He was running for the bus and fell over..."
"No I didn't! Tyler pushed me!!"
"Did not!!!"
"...and fell over and hit his head..."
"Did too!!!"
"Did not!!!"
"...on the step. SHUT UP you two or I swear I will kill you!!!"
"Did." Very quietly.
The nurse bit her lip, hard and glanced away. Joe was so much like Heero sometimes that it wasn't funny. When she could speak again, she gestured them into a consulting room to wait, and turned to Tyler, deciding that distraction, not discretion, was the better part of valour. "So hows the arm Cutiepie?"
Tyler glared one last time at Cody. Didn't. "It's okay." He waved it around by way of demonstration.
"Ooh careful...careful...you don't want to break it again Hon. Now...what was it you did again? I forget." She ruffled Tyler's hair playfully. "Jumping off the roof with an umbrella?"
Zac stared at her pityingly, from the safety of the other side of the room. "No. That was the first time. Last time was when he fell out of bed."
Cody poked his tongue out at Tyler. Did. "You are such a baby Tyler. Fancy falling out of bed!"
Tyler glared at him then decided that he was beat fair and square. Huge tears welled up in his enormous, blue eyes and trickled slowly down his cheeks. He sobbed experimentally
"Ohhh...nooo...here Sweetiepie...come here." Their kind-hearted angel of mercy opened her arms and gathered Tyler to her, stroking his golden curls gently and crooning softly. Tyler was such a cutie. "There...there..."
The twins made puking and vomiting gestures behind her back, while Tyler glared at Cody over her shoulder. Didn't. Cody stuck out his tongue. Did.
Eventually Tyler couldn't stand it any more and swiped at Cody, who grinned triumphantly and threw a balled-up rubber glove at him. Tyler's nurse quickly let him go.
"Okay. And...uh..." She floundered for a change of subject then turned, to peer at one of the twins doubtfully. They were making wildly-hilarious, rubber-glove cows' udders in the corner. "...Silas? Are you okay now? No problems from the Draino?"
"Zac." Zac looked at her scathingly.
"Pardon?"
"I'm Zac. And it was food poisoning. Silas was Draino."
"Oh. That's right. I remember now." She glanced at the door, wondering where in the name of goodness the Doctor on Call was. Admittedly Casualty could be a circus sometimes, but it was unusually quiet today.
"So Joe..." She glanced down at her fingernails. "I suppose Uncle Heero's working today hmm? How is he? I haven't seen him for ages."
The twins rolled their eyes at each other behind her back. Ladies were always asking how Heero was. Even quite old ones...like...twenty-three and twenty-four. It was just gross.
At that moment, the door to Consulting Room Two opened, and the boys were spared any more grown-up conversational gambits, by the comforting routine of local anaesthetics, stitches, and if-he-goes-to-sleep-and-won't-wake-up-bring-him-in-straight-away. And lollypops.
It was such a relief.
Even the green ones.
As the door to Consulting Room Two slammed closed, the nice, new lady doctor stared thoughtfully after the five Lowe boys, tugging absently at one of her loose, blonde plaits, and then turned back to the thick manila folder on the desk. She helped herself to the last red lollypop from the jar, and then leafed through the folder carefully, sucking luxuriously. Only another five hours until her break.
Goodness. Just as she'd thought. Two broken arms...stitches...head trauma consistent with impact at speed...concussion...She turned a page...broken finger... poisoning...severe burn...food poisoning... She checked the dates again, her brows knotting together. Unbelievable. All in the last two months... Kids were accident prone, especially boys, but still... This really should have been looked into.
The notes said that the Lowe boys lived with their Uncle and sole guardian, a Mr. Heero Yuy. Hmm...
The consulting physician was most likely Doctor McGee. She flicked back through the thick sheaf of paper, noting the scrawled capital G at the bottom of the pages. Yes. It was. He was old, and maybe a little bit neglectful, but that was really no excuse. It wasn't as if it was difficult.
Her duty of care didn't leave her any choice. Any hint of child abuse or neglect had to be checked. She pushed the folder away from her decisively and settled the lollypop out of the way inside her cheek, reaching for the phone.
It never hurt to be too careful.
It wasn't difficult at all.
Shit!
Could it get any more difficult?
Heero Yuy stood rooted to the deck of the Look Now, holding his breath.
There was a girl, sunbaking naked on the port deck.
The damned crew was supposed to be out! He huffed in frustration and started to breathe again, his heartbeat slowing to normal. Luckily the girl hadn't heard him. She seemed to be comfortably asleep, face down on a towel, with her head pillowed on folded arms and her long, brown plait snaked on the deck beside her. His lips twitched at the sound of gentle snores. Very comfortably asleep. Lucky her. Nice work if you could get it.
He thought for a moment, his eyes politely averted. It was a shame to disturb her, but he really needed to get past her to reach the companionway. He decided to sneak back around the wheelhouse out of sight, and then crash and bang about a bit to wake her up.
He edged carefully backwards, sliding his feet behind him, foot by foot. He was almost there, when his foot brought up short in a loose byte of rope and he stumbled, catching himself with his free hand on the railing. As if in slow motion, his power drill, which had been precariously balanced on top of the toolbox, overbalanced and fell to the deck with the shattering sound of fifty-six dollars going down the gurgler.
Damn. He glared at it. It was the little plastic Matika. He hoped that he hadn't cracked the casing.
The girl jerked awake with a small shocked sound, and leapt to her feet, whirling to face him, her eyes wide and confused.
"What the bloody hell...?!?!?"
It wasn't a girl.
Heero's feet were suddenly rooted to the deck, drill forgotten.
It was a boy. Man. Boy-man. The most edible young man that he had ever seen.
Completely and bouncingly naked, with his hands fisted on his slim hips, a gold cross around his neck and the biggest bluest...no...not blue...violet...most striking eyes and...
Heero couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He couldn't for the life of him stop his eyes from drifting up and down...and down...and down...down that slim, supple body, sliding over creamy, lightly tanned skin, feasting on smooth, lickable, planes of chest...the delicious, caramel ripples of stomach...lean, muscular thighs... ohh... toffee-coloured curls and...
Oh damn.
Don't look.
He had to look.
Don't look don't look don't...
He wrenched his eyes back up.
Those unforgettable violet eyes blazed at him, laden with annoyance and embarrassment and...some...thing.
He should say something. He forcibly closed his mouth, which was hanging open, then opened it again, but no sound came out. He swallowed hard.
"I..."
"...what the...?!?"
Duo stood rooted to the chalky spot where Q had spilt undercoat this morning, and they hadn't been able to clean it up properly, and glared at the stranger who'd barged onto his boat. His chest heaved with angry words, but confronted with spellbound silence, it was suddenly impossible to speak. He felt his fury oozing away like water through his fingers, and his outraged yelp died half-uttered in his throat.
He stared back.
Relena Peacecraft-Darlian was feeding a baby starling with an eyedropper when the phone rang. Frowning, she glanced around the room, hands full, and then dropped bird and dropper into her jacket pocket, so that she could pick up the phone.
"Relena Peacecraft-Darlien speaking."
On the other end of the phone was a rather unfriendly-sounding lady from the Child Welfare Department, with several impertinent questions about Heero Yuy. Relena quickly set her straight.
"Heero is a wonderful...wonderful...person. Uncle. Nothing is too much trouble for those boys. And it isn't easy. I mean...they're completely wild. And he does it all on his own. Always has. No support whatsoever. Sometimes..." She mock-pouted into the phone, rolling her eyes. "...sometimes I wonder if he has a guilty secret. He tries so hard to keep me away!!" She giggled at the absurdity of that, and then sighed. "What he really needs is someone to help him. To be there when he has to leave the boys alone...to be there at nights. I mean...I would be happy to help out at nights of course..." Relena became lost in dreamy contemplation of helping Heero out at nights. Sitting together on the couch when the boys had gone to bed...
"... out at nights?" The woman on the other end of the phone was saying something.
...the lights turned down low...candles...yes definitely candles...scented ones...rose or jasmine...
"...mmm...yes...all the time. Whenever he wants."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, broken only by faint scribbling noises.
Relena recollected herself guiltily. She was supposed to be helping Heero, not daydreaming. She directed her most convincing tone at the mouthpiece.
"Heero is really just a truly, wonderful person. And so helpful with my rescues. I'm an Animal Activist you know." Relena lightly polished her Animals are Human Too button, with a fond fingertip. "And not just anyone can do it. I mean...Animal Activism is demanding work. We get called away at any hour of day or night. And so emotionally draining. Heero got very upset during our last rescue."
She settled herself more comfortably into her chair, wiggling a shoe off and rubbing her stockinged foot against her calf. ...Oooh...that felt better...
"...boys make him upset?"
"What? Oh yes. All the time." Wasn't this woman listening? She'd just said that rescues made him upset.
Oops-a-daisy. The fledging had managed to scramble half out of her pocket and was poised on the brink of its first, and possibly only, flight. Relena squeaked in dismay and tucked it carefully back into her pocket, missing half of the woman's question
"...upset with the boys?"
She frowned, slightly puzzled. What was that? Did he go with the boys? On Rescues?
"Well... sometimes. He'd rather the boys weren't there of course... Sometimes things can get quite violent." The baby starling wiggled in her pocket and she patted it affectionately, making it suddenly go quiet. And still
"...he might hurt them?"
"Hmm? Oh definitely."
Heero was always worried that a stray animal might hurt his boys. Rescues could be dangerous. Panicked animals, hysterical pet-owners...
"He is always worried about it, especially Tyler. I mean...sometimes things can get out of hand. People don't realise how things can just blow up instantly! I mean...I teach at the school. I see it all the time. Especially with young ones. Before they're trained you know..."
She looked sadly out of the window, across the school's playing field to the showground, where old Duke and Young Duke Dermail were whipping two of their young trotters around the oval track, a classic example of Man's Inhumanity to Animal. Just last week a green colt had shied then started bucking, and Relena had had to rush over to assist. Young Duke had ended up being run down by the sulky. Terrible.
There were more writing sounds from the phone, and Relena took advantage of the break to change the phone to her other ear and to wriggle off her remaining shoe. Mmm...bliss. Where was she? Oh... "Just like our last case..."
She stopped and pulled the phone away from her ear, looking at it strangely.
"Cody? No...Cody wasn't there. He'd hurt his hand. It was a poor, neglected pony...I mean completely starved of human contact...bolted when I tried to catch it...just panicked at the first sight of a human you know. Probably because the owner turned up and started yelling." She shook her head sadly. "Some people have no idea. Somehow it managed to get into a greenhouse. Poor creature got its hoof stuck in a pottery flowerpot. Heero had to smash the flowerpot so that he could get its hoof out. He took his shirt off because the sprinklers were on. So that it wouldn't get wet..." Again, Miss Peacecraft-Darlien trailed off into dreamy silence, only to be rudely interrupted by the voice on the phone.
"...bone was completely crushed. Could he could have done that?"
Relena smiled brightly. Silly woman. It was only a flowerpot! Of course he could have! Heero was sooo strong!
"Oh definitely. He's sooo strong! It was no trouble at all. He smashed it completely. With a shovel. I saw him."
There was another, longer, silence from the phone, followed by more frantic scribbling, and then at last the woman returned, thanked her rather coldly for her help and hung up abruptly.
Relena smiled with satisfaction. It was a wonderful feeling to help someone, which was why Animal Rescue was so satisfying. And when the person being helped was Heero, it was even better.
She placed the receiver back on its hook, humming happily to herself, and reached into her pocket for the motionless baby starling. Ughhhh...bird poo...
Oh.
Dear. Oh dear.
She looked down sadly at the little, feathered corpse in her hand. Baby birds were sooo difficult to raise. They always seemed to respond badly to the formula for some reason.
Duo Maxwell was not gay.
He knew that for a fact. How could he be gay? He didn't like guys that way. He'd been with Hilde since they were kids in boarding school for crissakes, and even before then they'd always looked out for each other, at tennis lessons and such like.
And besides. It was a mortal sin. Any good Catholic could tell you that, even a lapsed, non-practising, unbelieving one, who'd protested against church involvement in Latin America, and tickled Hilde in Mass.
So he wasn't gay. Un-guilty as proven. Quad erat demonstratum.
Bless me Father for I have Sinned. Not.
It was just that this other guy was so ...beautiful...there was no other word for it, that Duo just had to look at him.
He was a painting come to life...Francisco Goya probably...all messy, bitter chocolate hair and flashing eyes, and staring wide-eyed at his doom in Duo's hands.
Ob -viously gay. Unlike Duo who was not.
But still, Duo couldn't take his eyes from the rippling muscles of the other's chest, his shoulders, the kind of lean, sinewy muscle that whispered seductively of hard, sweaty, physical labour, and lots of it, the look in his intense blue eyes as he edged closer. The shock slowly fading to a small smirk of appreciation. Duo's mouth was suddenly dry and he swallowed hard.
Water, water everywhere and he was drowning in a sea of cobalt.
Maybe it was just because he could smell him; sweaty and warm and wanting Duo, all mixed with the salty tang of the sea. He was suddenly overwhelmingly conscious of the warm smell of smooth, bare skin, his own and this boy's, just an arms length apart, just one stumbling step all that it would take to bring them sliding slickly together.
Maybe it was the wanting Duo part. Normally, at least in Duo's, admittedly meagre, boarding school experience, there was an element of pretence. Eyes slid away, boisterous voices were just a little bit too unconcerned. But right here, right now, Duo just knew that he was wanted more desperately than he'd ever been wanted before. And by somebody who could obviously have anyone that he wanted,
Maybe it was simpler than that. Maybe it was just the way that the age-whitened denim clung to those muscular thighs. Involuntarily Duo's eyes tracked the thin line of dark hairs from his navel and down into the loose waistband of those work-worn jeans, where they caught on his hips and...
Duo felt an instant of blind panic. He wasn't gay. He was not gay. He was not gay. It was the other boy.
The other boy was still staring at him, blues eyes reeling him in, so that Duo had to cling to the handrail like a lifeline to convince himself that he wasn't moving, gasping like a landed fish.
He could feel himself blushing, the hot blood suffusing his face, the dull, angry flush spreading down his neck, his chest until every part of him tingled and burned under that silent scrutiny.
He was not gay...but...
...despite himself he felt his body responding to those burning blue eyes, every hair standing on end as the salty breeze struck goose flesh from his overheated skin, his nipples...
Involuntarily he stepped backwards, coming up hard against the gunwale, the back of his bare thighs colliding with the handrail in a shock of electrifying cold.
Galvanised.
Duo suddenly remembered that he was stark, raving naked and whirled away from those demanding eyes, scrambling for his long, black shorts and struggling into them in a flustered windmilling of arms and legs.
He'd stepped outside the chalk.
The spell was broken.
Anything could happen.
Duo choked on a breath of humid, salty air, which seemed suddenly too thin to sustain life, and panicked into angry speech.
"What ...what...the bloody hell do you think that you're doing just wandering onto my boat like this? This is private property. I suggest you piss off right now before I throw you off."
Abruptly, shutters blanked down over the other's eyes, and the warm, blue cord of possibility binding them together was cut, leaving Duo curiously bereft.
The other boy's face froze into an icy mask of disdain and he spat words at Duo like discarded fish bones.
"I'm the carpenter."
Carpenter?!?
Carpenter...
...oh bloody hell! Hilde had mumbled something about cupboard doors or some such rubbish before she'd stomped off.
SHIT! Shitshitshitshitshit...
Duo floundered, wallowing in embarrassment. He wrapped his arms around his chest, trying to draw his righteous anger back around him like a cloak.
"Well that's still no excuse!!! You could have hailed...or knocked...or something!!! And...and... Shouldn't you have a uniform or something? If you're going to be a professional you could at least try and act like one!"
Inwardly he cringed. Shit. What was this rubbish coming out of his mouth?!?
Duo's new carpenter blinked and then his face reddened with annoyance. "I'm a carpenter not your damned butler. I'll wear what I damned well please and if you don't like it you can shove it."
"How the hell am I supposed to know you're the carpenter when you don't even wear a bloody shirt? How unprofessional can you get?!! Where's your freaking name tag???!"
Duo's mouth was still, apparently, on auto-pilot. He looked away desperately and swallowed, trying to ignore all that tanned, gleaming, stubbornly-uncovered skin. If only Carpenter-boy wasn't so good-looking. If only he didn't smell so good. If only he'd just put a damned shirt on...
"Geezus! Just put a damned shirt on!!! How hard can it be?!!!"
Carpenter-boy glared frostily at Duo and spoke slowly and succinctly.
"Fuck. Off."
"Put your freaking shirt on!!!"
"No!!"
"Yes!!!"
Carpenter-boy's face darkened to a dull, angry, red. Only his nostrils flared whitely, the only motion in his coldly, furious face.
"Mis-ter Schbeiker..."
"It's Maxwell asshole! Dew-oh. Max-well."
"Well listen Duo Maxwell-Asshole. Nobody tells me what to do!!!!"
"Newsflash asshole!!! My boat...my rules!!! Put your freaking shirt on!" Duo's finger poked that tanned muscular chest, hard, completely without Duo's permission. He looked at it, vaguely horrified.
"Newsflash! Ass-hole!!!" The chest, and its finger, poked back viciously. "You can keep your damned boat!"
Small droplets of sweat glistened on his carpenter's collarbone and in the hollow of his neck. Duo looked quickly away, licking his lips.
"Geezus! What is your problem?! Just put your freaking shirt on for crissakes!" He stooped and snatched up the dark blue, work shirt, where it had tumbled out of the toolbox and flung it at him, with a crack of flapping fabric.
The swift movement caught Heero unawares, the stiff fabric stinging a line across his face then falling neatly to the deck. Eyes blazing, he snatched up Duo's own shirt from the deck.
"Put your own damned shirt on if you're so worried about it!!"
He shoved it hard at Duo, catching him on the shoulder and barging him backwards against the railing.
"Get your filthy faggot hands off me!!!" Duo, incandescent with fury and lost to all sense, shoved back, hard. But not hard enough to shake the immovable Heero Yuy, who merely rocked back on his heels and glared icily at him, his face only a breath away, the spark in his blue eyes lighting a fuse deep within Duo. Duo's blazing confusion swirled and climbed, and erupted in a glorious explosion of anger. He leaned in and shoved again, two-handed.
"And keep your freaking eyes in your freaking head 'cause I'm not freaking gay! And even if I was I wouldn't be freaking-well interested!!"
"Not gay. Yeahhh. Right!" The words dropped like stones from Heero's frozen lips, weighted with sarcasm, and icy with anger and unacknowledged disappointment. "I wasn't the one with the hard-on Mr. Duo Freaking Maxwell!!!!"
Duo froze, suddenly a trapped, hunted creature, his hands still pressed against Heero's chest. He looked up at Heero, violet eyes grown huge in his shocked face, shaking his head mutely in denial. No.
Oh no. Not again! Heero had suffered for another's unacknowledged desires before. He felt a surge of fury. Felt long ago eyes following him, Heard again those not-so-secret whispers that it was all Heero Yuy's fault.
It was too much. Heero had exposed himself in a way that he hadn't in a very long time. Felt as if all his buried desires and longings were burned into his naked skin for the world to see, and he'd be damned if he let Duo Maxwell get away with anything less than complete honesty.
In a single, violent movement Heero crashed into him, determined to prove him wrong, slamming him against the handrail, pinning his face between his hands and kissed him savagely, lips mashing against teeth, hot mouth and lips and tongue everywhere, wet and voracious and insistent.
Duo gasped in shock, his treacherous mouth opening to let Heero in, hot and irresistible.
Taken by surprise, his mind blanked, eyes drifting closed, and for a single dreaming instant Duo Maxwell's body responded instinctually, a pliant, willing thing, bending backwards to the will of Heero Yuy. Moulding itself to Heero's. His breath, Heero's breath. Tongue to tongue, burning skin against burning, sweat-dewed skin.
Heero's thigh homed between his and somebody moaned, a strangled, animal sound.
And then from somewhere nearby, came the wooden bump of oars against rowlocks, and the sound of voices carrying across the water, drifting straight to Duo.
Oh God. He was kissing another boy. Anyone could see.
Bless me Father for I have sinned.
Duo's fingers twitched from Heero's hair as if burned and he wormed his hands frantically up against Heero's chest. With a single panicked heave he broke free and stumbled backwards, gasping for breath and scrubbing the back of his hand across his lips.
"Fuck!!" Chest heaving, he spat the words, boiling up unbidden from the cauldron of confusion that toiled and bubbled in his gut. "Get the hell off me!!! And get the fuck off my boat!"
Heero jerked in response and made some small, choked sound, his white face freezing into a mask of impenetrability, his eyes, blue chips of ice.
His eyes tore themselves from Duo and, without looking at him again, he turned on his heel. Picked up his toolbox. Silently marched down the gangplank, back slowly stiffening and shoulders bracing themselves against some invisible burden. Refused to look back at Duo.
For some inexplicable reason that rankled desperately, and Duo had a sudden overwhelming desire to get one last reaction from Heero Yuy.
The blue cotton-drill work shirt caught his eye, the source of so much ire, now crumpled and forgotten.
He bent down and snatched it from the deck, balling it rapidly. "And take your freaking shirt..." His arm arcing back in a pitcher's stance. "...with you!!!"
The heavy, balled-up shirt arrowed from Duo's hand with deadly accuracy, slowing and unfurling as it flew, to drop neatly over Heero's head, blindfolding him completely.
A gasp, a misstep in the sudden, dark blue cotton dimness, and Heero Yuy was stumbling sideways off the gangplank, the toolbox dragging him like an anchor to the bottom of Darke's Bay.
"Ohmifreakingod..."
One minute and forty-five seconds later saw Heero Yuy, deafeningly silent and shaking with fury, heaving himself onto the wharf and storming, shirtless, off to his truck, streaming a trail of salty water, without his toolbox, and still completely ignoring Duo, who stood rooted to the deck, watching him in appalled and uncharacteristic silence, one hand frozen white to the guard rail, the other pressed to his kiss-marked lips.
Twenty minutes later saw Duo Maxwell, awash with hot and cold running embarrassment, and various other inexplicable feelings, finally freed from the guard rail, and searching frantically through the streets of Darke's Cove for Heero, who was nowhere to be found.
Two hours later saw Duo, finally defeated, trudging up the gangplank to the Look Now, tired and aching in places that he hadn't known that he could ache, and steadfastly refusing to look down at the shifting shadow in the sand that was the final resting place of HeeroYuy's toolbox.
Numbly Duo dropped onto his berth and planted his elbows on his knees, hands dangling loosely between them. He'd ask Hilde. She should have the guy's phone number and...geezus ... could she be any longer with Relena?
Somehow, he had to find Carpenter-dude, and apologise, and... and... do... something... Offer to pay for his tools and stuff. Yeah! That was it. For sure. It was going to cost the guy a fortune to replace it all.
He dropped his head into his hands, trying to shut out the memory of the afternoon, but it kept running through his mind like a bad movie. Over and over and over and...
The schlop of the water, green as glass and churned with bubbles, closing over the guy's head...that hideous moment, captured in freeze-frame, as he plummeted from the gangplank...his eyes like black holes as he glared white-faced fury from the wharf...his eyes in that moment when Duo had first spun around and seen him... wide and shocked and ...wanting ...the pellucid blue of Venetian glass...the strength in the capable hand that had pressed against Duo's shoulder...the heat from his bare chest ...the smell of sun-warmed skin...the k...k...
Duo scrubbed his palms over his face and stretched up to a cubby hole, pulling out his sketchbook and trying to lose himself in drawing, only to discover Carpenter-dude's face looking up at him from the thick, white cartridge paper.
"Holy motherfuckin' shit!"
He shoved the book roughly back into the bulkhead and flopped backwards onto the bed, flinging his arm over his eyes. If Hilde didn't get back soon he was gonna...
...do nothing. Much to his surprise, he fell asleep.
When Duo finally awakened, the Look Now was under sail, far north of Darke's Cove, and shuddering and creaking before a spanking breeze.
Hilde roared with laughter, when he told her the sad tale of his afternoon. "Shit!" She hooted. "Duo you are such an idiot! I would have loved to see that guy fall in the water. Bet it was a scream."
In retrospect, Duo didn't think that it was funny at all. Or even at the time, really.
Eventually, she took pity on him and gave him Heero Yuy's mobile phone number. Heero...that was Carpenter-dude's name. Duo tasted it in the privacy of his thoughts and thought it quite exotic...a lot like the man himself.
He rang the number, off and on, all afternoon, leaving message after message, nervous at first, then increasingly imploring, until, all too soon, the Look Now moved out of signal range, with still no reply.
"Shit! What the hell kind of a businessman doesn't answer his freaking phone?" Duo slung the phone into a cubby hole in disgust, and went to join Hilde at the table. "Guy's a total amateur." Dimly, he knew that he was protesting too much, but he ignored it and slopped himself a glass of wine.
Shit.
In the dim shadows at the bottom of Darke's Bay, water finally seeped into plastic casing, and the light on Heero Yuy's mobile phone blinked out forever, scaring a school of tiny, silvery fish, who banked in the water like a sheet of molten silver and flickered away in search of safer playthings.
Eventually, the phone was covered in shifting sand and barnacles, stark functionality muted in sinuous curves and subtle coralline colours, until many years later Zac Lowe would find it, diving from Trowa Barton's trawler, and take it home for his little cousin Helen to plant in her sand pit.
Joe Lowe was secretly hoping that his Uncle Heero would buy him a mobile phone for his birthday. It'd be really handy, because then, if Heero was late or something, Joe could ring him up and ask what to make for dinner, or to see if Heero needed the washing bringing in, or all sorts of good stuff. Maybe. And he'd be able to message Mari, the red-haired girl from Introductory Design and Technology, like that loser Pete Williams.
Mari was at basketball...or maybe ballet...and Joe was at home making pancakes when the scary lady arrived.
Cody loved pancakes.
Somehow, the eggs were too small, or the glass that Joe was using to measure the flour was too big, because the batter was a bit thick. Joe had just slopped more milk into the jug, when he heard a car in the driveway and rushed outside, still holding the spoon and another stripy tea towel, hoping to see Heero. Heero had said that he'd take them to the beach after school, but the shadows were lengthening, and it was looking more and more as if he wasn't going to make it. Normally, when Heero said that he'd do something, it got done. In triplicate. Something must have happened.
Even so, Joe looked towards the driveway hopefully, dripping batter.
But it wasn't Heero.
It was a skinny lady, with glasses and a clipboard. And weird, brown hair in two, sort of plaited, bun things.
Joe eyed the clipboard uneasily from the safety of the verandah, as the lady threaded her way warily towards the house, between the hens, which were still out because Joe hadn't got around to shutting them in yet, and Silas and Zac who were sparring on the lawn. They had a Tae Kwon Do grading next week. Cho dan bo belt. Joe frowned at them. They should be practising their patterns, not sparring, but sparring was way more fun. He stared critically. Silas was still coat-hangering. He'd get a bleeding nose if he didn't watch out. It put his dirty, great snozz right in the way of Zac's knee. Ouch. Loser.
Now that Joe wasn't concentrating on pancakes, he noticed that there seemed to be a lot of noise coming from the roof, and the strange lady had stopped to stare upwards. Rex The Retriever gambolled around her legs, barking excitedly. Joe jumped down the steps, taking all three at once and turned to see what was going on.
Oh heck.
Cody, the idiot, was thundering around all over the roof like a herd of elephants, periodically diving full-length on the tin. Thankfully he'd taken his rollerblades off.
Joe bellowed at him. "Stay on the nails midget!"
Cody took time out from his dive to stick his tongue out at Joe, and then set off helter-skelter, tracking something fast and sinuous along the gutter.
"Don't hurt him!!!!" Tyler was shrieking at Cody from the oak tree. He was dangling in the gap between the tree and the roof, one bare foot on the big branch, a hand clinging to a smaller branch overhead. He walked his legs out to the very end of the branch and leaned precariously, outstretched arm and leg windmilling to try and reach the roof, his weight dragging the branches down and out, but, no matter how far he leaned, his reaching leg wasn't quite long enough. It sucked to be short. Joe hoped that he'd be as tall as Heero's friend Trowa when he grew up.
A twig snapped and Tyler was suddenly scrabbling in midair, dangling from the sagging, overhead branch with both legs kicking. There was a muted shriek from the strange lady and she dropped her clipboard, which was Retrieved and unintentionally slobbered by Rex. He sat down on it happily, tongue hanging out and panting with excitement.
Joe waved the spoon at the oak, incidentally splattering batter on Rex, and the clipboard lady. Rex stretched to lick her shoe politely. "Tyler you loser!!!! You break another arm and Heero will kill you!!!"
Tyler kicked and scrabbled for the branch, twisting slowly in mid-air, too busy to yell back. At that moment there was an ear splitting yell.
"I got it...I got it!!!"
The strange lady yelped and jumped in shock, stumbling backwards and tripping over Rex, who sprang up and growled in annoyance, ears back and tail stiff. She yelped again and sidled in the other direction, momentarily forgetting the tree, the roof, and impending death-by-misadventure.
Cody was climbing triumphantly to his feet, clasping something pale and tan and furry and wriggling to his chest.
"I got it!"
"Give it here!" Tyler let go with one hand, still twisting gently, and waved insistently at Cody. "It's mine!"
"Duh!" Cody looked at him scornfully, eying the one hand still clamped to the branch. "How're you gonna hold it?!?"
It was irrelevant. The small, furry object twisted and uncoiled, exploding from Cody's grasp, and sailed over the gutter, plummeting towards the ground, turning, cat-like, in mid-air, and uncoiling and elongating as it went, into a long, sinuous, furry shape, with red, beady eyes and twitching whiskers.
A ferret.
Oh heck.
"GRAB IT SOMEONE!!!!" As one, Tyler and Cody tumbled down the oak tree in hot pursuit, leaves and twigs falling like snow.
There was a thud and a squelching noise from somewhere behind the strange lady. Silas collapsed on the ground, whimpering and holding his bleeding nose, whilst Zac whooped triumphantly, completely oblivious to flying ferrets.
"Hey Joe!! Joe!!!! I did a nutaban!!! JOE!!!!! Check it out!!" He spun and kicked again, a jumping, spinning, roundhouse, narrowly missing Silas.
Joe ignored the kick, flinging the tea towel sidelong at Silas without looking. They really needed to get more tea towels. He glared skywards.
"Tyler!!! If that ferret eats a chicken you're dead meat! Dead. Got it?"
The ferret's legs scrabbled and it hit the ground running, only to be scooped up by Zac, as it concertinaed to squeeze under the fence.
"Where'd this thingy come from?" Zac held it up by the scruff of its wriggling neck, and looked back towards Joe, near the steps, wondering what all the fuss was about.
He gaped.
There was a cloud of black smoke pouring out of the open, kitchen window.
"Hey Joe! The house is on fire!"
"Ohhhh heck...!!!"
The pancakes!!!!
Joe flew up the steps and back into the house, door slamming behind him.
With Joe gone, Rex considered himself off-duty. He abandoned the suspicious lady and barrelled across the yard making a beeline for the ferret. He leapt around Zac's legs barking hoarsely. The ferret gave a sinuous heave and flipped from Zac's hand, soaring right over the hysterical golden retriever and shooting to safety straight up the nearest, vertical object.
Which happened to be the unfortunate lady.
"GET IT OFF!!!"
Who didn't like ferrets.
"Get it off get it off get it...!!!!"
Heero Yuy slowly pulled up in his driveway, still lost in thoughts of the pugnacious, carpenter-unfriendly Duo Maxwell. It seemed that Duo's image had been permanently seared onto the back of his retinas, so that every time he blinked Duo was there, in living colour. Although that didn't explain why the vision came accompanied by a drift of some orangey fragrance and the hoarse rasping of his breath. And cold salty water hadn't managed to wash away the tingling sensation where his chest had been branded with the heat of Duo's hand, or his lips by...
Heero closed his eyes and thumped his head gently on the steering wheel.
Damn damn damn...
...thump...
...Of all the idiotic...thump...infuriating ...thump...irrational...thump...not gay...thump thump thump...
Hell and damnation.
After a few moments of pointless, but emotional satisfying, head-banging, he realised that the roaring in his ears was outside his head, not in, and he lifted his head, looking blearily around.
Ohhell and damnation!
He blinked at the chaos in front of his back verandah, thinking wistfully of driving off then slowly climbed out of the pickup.
He frowned. Was something burning?
At the sound of the truck door slamming, everyone whirled to face him then surged towards him in a buffeting wave of sound and motion. He stepped back involuntarily, ending up washed against the pickup door.
"Get it off get it...!"
"Heero...!"
"I've gotta ferret!!!"
"I did a nutaban!"
"I got stitches!"
"I only left it for a minute!"
He looked from face to face, before finally settling on Joe, as the responsible adult who was not screaming and batting hysterically at wildlife in his hair. First things first.
"Something's burning."
"Frypan." Joe could be very succinct when he chose, a boy after Heero's own heart. "Pancakes. Sorry Heero. It's out now."
"Good boy."
Next thing.
"Stitches???"
"Cody hit his head on the bus step. Two stitches, but he's okay now. Right Code?"
Heero sighed with relief and dropped his arm around Cody's shoulders, giving him a quick squeeze, whilst simultaneously reaching out to ruffle Joe's hair.
"Good work Joe."
"Somebody get it off me!!!"
The strange woman was still screaming. Heero wondered why she let her ferret chew her hair, if it bothered her so much. Especially when she'd gone to so much trouble with that weird, Germanic hairstyle, with her brown hair done up in two, knobbly little bumps on either side of her head, as if she thought that she was Brun-thingummybob out of that Wagnerian opera. Maybe she did, judging by the high notes she was hitting. Deafening. Heero reached for the unfortunate ferret.
Tyler was tugging insistently at his jeans leg, jiggling from foot to foot.
"It's a ferret! It's my ferret. Make her give it back! Please!!! Coop gave it to me. They've got heaps of 'em out at McKinnon's place!"
Tyler's ferret. Oh merry blooming heck. Heero went to slip off his shirt, then realised that he wasn't wearing one...how could he have forgotten?...and took the blood-stained tea towel from Silas, wrapping it over his hand, and slowly approaching the ferret. Bitey little monsters.
"I can see it's a ferret. McKinnon's place is a zoo." Full of feral animals, including six-year old Aaron Cooper, who lived there with his grandmother, while his father, and his father's junkie, hooker girlfriend, were in jail, following an axe murder that had thrilled the entire community. But you really couldn't blame Aaron for that. Heero untangled the ferret from the woman's neck and tucked it into the crook of his arm, shading its pinkly opalescent eyes with his hand. He scratched gently behind its ears.
"Can I keep it please Heero? Please please please please please!!! Promise I'll look after it. Its name's Fez." That was obviously the clincher from Tyler's point of view.
The ferret stretched out gently under Heero's fingers like a warm, furry snake, eyes closing. "It's a he."
"I know," said Tyler proudly. "It's got a..."
"MIS -TER YUY!!!" The strange woman's glasses hung askew from one ear, caught in the remains of that elaborate hairdo, and she disentangled them in an attempt to straighten them out, peering at him myopically. "Mr Yuy! This is a mad-house. I've tried to give you the benefit of the doubt but these children are running completely wild! On top of everything else! The Child Welfare Department will not like this at all!! I'm sorry but this will all have to go in my report!!!"
She didn't sound very sorry. She sounded a lot like a Colonel sending her troops off to war and discovering that their bayonets were still in the wash with their second-best muskets. Her words fired at Heero with the staccato ring of nails firing from an electric nail gun. Into his coffin.
However, the full Colonel-coffin effect was lost on Heero, who's brain had stopped working half-way through her sentence, overloaded with adrenalin and panic.
Child Welfare .
Oh crap!!! Crap, crap, double overhead crap!!! He went stiff with apprehension, and dropped the ferret, its skitter of claws and annoyed squeak loud in the sudden, deafening silence, as the older boys shifted to range themselves behind him. Tyler, only five, and way too young to remember unexpected visits and knocks on doors in the middle of the night, was a bit slower than the others, but was not too young to sense the change in atmosphere, and crab-walked around behind Heero, still gripping his pants leg. He scooped up Fez in-transit, and glared at the scary lady, as he clung to Heero.
Heero stood like a rock, their very own, personal, Rock of Gibraltar, or like a mountain that would not be moved, not even for Mohammed, and stared impassively at the unhappily unkempt lady from Welfare, his face a mask of inscrutability. Inside he shook like a leaf. Child Welfare! He'd had enough of Child Welfare to last a lifetime, first after his parent's death and, then, worse, when his brother died. He never wanted to see them again. Not now, not ever! Whatever.
Silently, he gritted his teeth, a tiny muscle bunching in his jaw that only his friend Trowa would have noticed, probably with misgiving. Welfare. He'd fooled them when he was sixteen and he sure as heck wasn't letting them take his family now. Not now that he was twenty, with a life, and a business, and, finally, the legal right to protect them. Whatever it took.
Anything .
Heero Yuy would do it to protect his family.
The woman was still talking. Heero buried four-years-old anguish and tuned in again. Focus idiot! What was that?
"...always a problem with single parent families."
Single parent families. Okaaay. He could do this. He unclenched his jaw and smiled calmly at Brun-whatsimajig.
"I'm so sorry that my partner can't be here to meet you. They're not here right now. If only we'd known that you were coming..." He left his sentence dangling, hoping that she would assume that...'if only they'd known that she were coming'...things would be different.
Which they would. They would all have nicked off. Yuys and Lowes vanishing in a puff of smoke and a truckload of paperwork. However. Life was not that kind
"May I offer you a cup of tea?" Distract. Divert. Heero ruled his face with iron calm, and breathed, and talked, and led the way calmly towards the kitchen. "Maybe we could organise another time." Dissemble.
He didn't know what he was going to do this time, but he would come up with something.
Whatever it took.
While Heero Yuy offered the lady from Child Welfare green tea, or Chai if she'd rather, in Sara's wildflower wedding-present china that they never used, and forgot most of the time, because it was on a top shelf so that Tyler and Cody couldn't reach it, Duo sloshed moselle into Polish crystal, and wondered what it would take to get Hilde and he back to a place where they liked each other again. Probably about three years and six hundred kilometres. They'd definitely liked each other in college, otherwise they wouldn't have started a business together. A very successful business. And they probably wouldn't have slept together. Although that had started rather earlier. And they sure as heck wouldn't be sitting here glaring at each other across a table littered with tall, green bottles.
Hilde had been drinking steadily since mid-afternoon. She liked to drink wine, it was sophisticated she thought, but ironically she didn't really like the taste, so chose sweet, fruity moselles and rhine reislings wherever possible. Sometimes a gordo. But absolutely never beer.
Duo swiped a hand distractedly through his fringe, which was dangling annoyingly into his eyes. "Are you really sure about this? I mean... Look at us. We fight all the time."
Hilde looked at him pityingly. "Don't be silly Duo. All couples fight. It's normal."
Hell. Really? He supposed he would have to take her word for it. He didn't remember much about normal, or couples, or familes.
Hilde swayed across the table and patted his hand in a gesture that was meant to be comforting. "Don't worry so much. When we have a baby things'll be different. You'll see."
There it was again. That word. Duo's heart started to pound again in complete and utter panic. Baby.
She was always like this after she'd talked to her old Summer Camp friend, Relena. All babies and happy families, and getting a dog. Actually, a dog would have been great, one of those big, slobbery, retriever things, except that their apartment didn't allow pets. Which was somehow Duo's fault. As was the fact that they didn't have the other major shopping items on Hilde's wish-list-for-life either. Like babies. And weddings. Shit.
Not that Relena had this life-altering stuff either. Except possibly the dog. Duo was a bit vague on that bit. Sometimes Little Miss R seemed to have lots of dogs. Once he could have sworn it was a whale, to hear Hilde talk, although that was dumb. He must have misheard.
But what old buddy, old pal Relena did have was some poor guy on a string and she wanted every-one else to be as happy as she and bozo were. Actually, to be fair to Relena, and the unfortunate Bozo, Duo had never actually met her, living half a country away, just said 'Hello yes I'll get her' a number of times on the phone. She was probably a very nice girl. And he probably should have gone with Hilde to meet her. He'd meant to. But, by the time they finally made it to Darke's Cove, he'd had to get away from Hilde before he rang her neck. Ten days stuck together in a boat was just too long. He just hadn't felt up to being Hilde's happy, little boyfriend for the afternoon, making happy, little chit chat about unsecured notes and house-hunting and babies.
Babies. Pound pound. Baby baby baby baby baby...
Crap. She was really serious this time.
He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't old enough, he wasn't settled enough, he wasn't rich enough...he wasn't ready enough. Distractedly he hitched up his baggy, old, black, track suit pants, still bare-chested and bare-toed after soaking up the sun that afternoon.
The peace that he'd felt earlier that day had all completely drained away, oozing out between his bare toes, down through oak decking, and hull, and fifty fathoms deep, into the cold bedrock of Whale Banks.
Earlier... Much earlier.
Before Carpenter-dude.
Heero Yuy.
Even now, his name resonated in Duo's head like the clap of waves meeting, bursting upward in a sheet of foam.
For an instant, all that he could see was his face, and the look in those wondering blue eyes, when he'd first seen him.
He twirled his glass in his fingers, sloshing, not drinking, and wondered what phantoms Hilde saw, as she stared morosely into her glass.
He felt a moment of panic.
What if it was him?
The Look Now shuddered and plunged down the face of a wave. Wind keened and thrummed in the rigging. It whipped around the door of the wheelhouse, tossing a sheaf of papers, and the blonde helmsman stood, and dragged the door shut. It was going to be a thick night. He thought regretfully of a warm bed in Darke's Cove, and fished his violin out of an overhead locker, bare foot braced comfortably on the helm, steering with the ease of long familiarity. He had a duet to practice
Far out at sea, the rising wind was driving the water before it. Serried banks of silver hills surged relentlessly towards the land, smooth and churning, shifting rocks and wreckage across the ocean floor, with a subterranean groaning and scraping heard only by the whales and dolphins, the rolling masses of water finally striking the submerged cliffs of the rising continental shelf at Whale Banks, and lifting inexorably skywards.
Absently Duo noted that the sea was picking up. He braced himself against the sink feeling the deck canting beneath his bare feet as the Look Now climbed out of a trough, timbers creaking.
She pitched, and he blinked. He must've zoned out for a while. Hilde's head was pillowed on her arms amongst the litter on the table. Duo thought about leaving her there, and then sighed, and hauled her up, arms flopped around his neck, and man-handled her backwards to her berth and tipped her onto it, shoes and all. That chore accomplished, he clattered the loose bottles into the sink then stood there lost in thought, arms braced against the rocking movement, automatically counting the clinking bottles...one...two...three...four green bottles...and if one green bottle should accidently fall...smash.
A baby.
He felt sick. His stomach rolled with the swell of the ocean, protesting the sweet and sour tang of stale wine. Moselle really didn't agree with him. Or something. A baby. Every couple's dream. Hilde and he, raising a child. Together. For the next...eighteen years? Probably. Or even longer, really, because children needed brothers and sisters and.... At least eighteen years. And it was way too hot in here. The air in the cabin was stuffy and stifling. He really needed some fresh air.
He'd go up and badger Q for a while. The violin had stopped. Things must be getting rough up there.
The Look Now rolled, timbers creaking, and a book slid off the spare berth with a crash. He stowed it in a cubby hole and then lurched up on deck, humming Q's melody as he went. After ten days, he knew it off by heart.
He peered into salty darkness, mouth open to the buffeting wind, clinging to the railing with one hand, his free arm wrapped tightly around his rebellious stomach. Twinkling lights blinked distantly on the heaving belly of the ocean, appearing and disappearing. Other boats. Fishermen probably. Beneath his feet the deck canted as the Look Now surged up, and up again, and he clung to the streaming deck with his bare toes as he struggled to organise his thoughts. Twinkling lights. A baby. No more fighting. Or, maybe, endless rounds of more fighting. A family of his own. It was just what he'd always wanted. Wasn't it?
It was. Really. Just...not...not...
The Look Now's bows lifted high above the crest of the wave, shuddering and quivering for an endless moment.
...not...
In a swooping arc the bows sliced down into the water.
...with Hilde.
Displaced water rained down across the bows, smacking onto the deck like gunshot, and the boat danced down the other side of the wave.
Not with Hilde.
It was like a door opening and sunshine streaming in. He did not want Hilde to have his baby. She had been his good friend, and maybe would be again, but he did not want to be tied to her, 'till death did they part, with a cute little chain of flesh, and blood, and feelings.
Tomorrow he would tell her. He had to. The sooner the better.
His shoulders sagged, limp with relief.
The Look Now shuddered and smacked hard into the trough and his head spun, his knees buckling. His stomach churned again and this time it was serious. He lurched urgently sideways and doubled up limply over the railing, gripping, white-knuckled, against the ceaseless suck and surge of the ocean. The yacht was climbing again. Gasping he opened his eyes, fighting the giddiness, and gradually the sparks of fire that danced before his eyes slowed and dimmed; except for one single spark, of gold, glimmering against the hull.
Holy freaking shit! Mum's cross! The chain had broken!
His cross, weighted with 18 carat gold and a whole burden of memory, caught on a slim cleat above the ocean, and swaying erratically with each roll of the skittish Look Now.
The yacht hung motionless at the top of the wave and Duo lunged for the chain, half-over the railing, arm out-stretched, blinded with spray. Look Now bucked like a restless horse and plunged down into the trough, timbers creaking. His fingers clamped around the cold metal. At that moment his treacherous stomach chose to heave within him and he doubled over again, coughing up bile, feeling curiously weightless.
A surge and a shuddering, corkscrewing roll and he was over the side, striking his head on the gunwale as he slid, sucked quietly down into vast, heaving blackness.
The morning after the gale blew in to Darke's Cove with a stiff breeze, that chased away marshmallow clouds and let the catholic sun bloom bright and clear, sparkling on scudding waves, and warming truanting children and headmistresses alike, although not Heero Yuy, who trudged down Main Street in the shadow of his own, personal, storm cloud of gloom. He had money problems.
Three thousand one hundred and fifty two dollars . And ninety-nine cents. Hell and damnation. Heero looked grimly at the total on the docket from Coates hardware store.
Shit.
A router, two drills, jigsaw, small power saw, plane, belt sander...
Damn that blue-haired girl anyway. If she'd been a bit more specific about her cupboard door, then he wouldn't have had virtually every power tool he owned in that blasted toolbox. And now at the bottom of the ocean. Curiously, he didn't blame Duo Maxwell.
...hand saw, hammer, all of his chisels...blast it. Mobile phone. Damn. He'd forgotten his phone. He'd need to get a new one.
Hell! He really couldn't afford this. Truck registration and insurance were due this month as well. And he'd be damned if he'd use the boys' money. It was for them. For college, or whatever.
He glared at the docket...ninety-nine cents...sheesh...why bother...they only round it off to a dollar anyway...and then, when it didn't spontaneously combust, jammed it into his jacket pocket. A crackle of paper reminded him that he still had a pocketful of mail, which he'd grabbed as he left the house. His face cleared. Somewhere in that pile was an official looking letter. Maybe it was the new motel fit-out. He unearthed the crumpled envelopes and sorted through them quickly as he walked, his step lightening.
The remembered letter was at the bottom of the pile, a large, white envelope, and he plucked it out quickly and smoothed out the wrinkles, jamming the rest back into his pocket. But instead of Coastal Comfort Motels, it read Department of Child Welfare, in fine black print in the top, right hand corner.
Heero stood rooted to the spot.
Adrenalin surged through his veins and for a frightening moment the world around him simply disappeared, his ears filled with a roaring noise and his vision narrowing to small scratchings of black, insect trails on white paper.
He peered at it intently, as if searching for a clue that would prove that it was all a mistake; some other Heero Yuy, some other Child Welfare, someone else's screwed-up life. But all he saw was a Return Address, for a Post Office box to a Call Centre halfway across the country. Doubtless to discourage a person from actually trying to follow it up.
He turned the envelope over and over in his hands, trying to force himself to open it, until at last, taking a deep breath, he did so, carefully and methodically, and unfolded the letter, reading the contents in a single, stony glance.
Oh hell.
Engrossed in his letter Heero stood rock-like on the pavement, a silent island of worry. Thursday was Pension Day in Darke's Cove; Shopping Day, with the streets at high tide, and surges of passers-by eddied and washed passed him in a flood of shopping and snatches of conversation.
Until finally a pair of pink, high-heeled shoes hove into view, running under full sail. They tacked through the flood, came about and anchored themselves firmly in front of him.
"Heero! What a lovely surprise!" Relena's eyes filled with concern, as she leaned down and peered up under his bangs to look him in the eye. "Heero? Are you all right?"
He reluctantly looked up from the letter and jammed it into a pocket, as if it was the gas bill. "It's nothing."
"Oh. Are you sure?" She smiled at him uncertainly. From the part that she'd read over his shoulder she was sure that that had been a letter from Child Welfare. The letterhead was most distinctive.
Heero did not look very happy. Relena hoped that it wasn't bad news. It couldn't be anything to do with that silly hospital report of Possible Child Abuse, because that was just plain ridiculous. And she had made that very clear to That Woman when she had telephoned.
She thought that probably what Heero needed was a show of support, and to know that he had a Special Friend who would always be there for him. She patted him comfortingly on the arm with a perfectly manicured hand.
"Well...if I can help in any way. Please just let me know. I'm your friend. I mean...you can always call on me. Anything at all...Anything." She looked at him hopefully.
"Thanks Relena..."
"...I'd be happy to. I mean...really! If you need someone to help out with the boys or..." Her face brightened and she latched onto his forearm, long, pink fingernails digging in just a little. "I know!! I could bring them home after school. It's on my way. Really. And I could stay with them until you got home if you liked!"
"Thanks Relena but..." For a surreal moment, Heero wondered briefly how the boys would react if he told them that their headmistress was bringing them home from school. And babysitting them. He shuddered.
Relena didn't notice, still excitedly organising Heero's life, bubbling over with enthusiasm. "I could start dinner!! If I was there anyway I mean. Or...if there was any washing or anything... I mean...I know what a long day you have and I'd..."
"NO!" Heero disentangled his arm firmly. "Really. Thanks Relena...but no."
"...I'd like to help."
His face softened infinitesimally. "Thanks Relena. But I can manage. Really." He changed the subject firmly. "Um...isn't that Molly Slaven's maltese?"
She transferred her single-minded gaze from Heero's face to her other favourite obsession; an animal in distress. In this particular case, a scruffy, little, white dog, wriggling unhappily in her arms, the cause of its distress rather obvious to Heero.
"I'm taking it to the Pound. It was running around loose." She beamed at him, pleased with her good deed, and the chance to tell Heero about it.
"But it's always loose." It was the most stupid dog. It was a maltese. "It always goes home eventually." Heero was confused.
"Well... But that's just not good enough. It could get stolen...or run over...or anything." Relena's eyes widened with distress at the thought, and at Heero's obtuseness.
"Relena...she's an old lady. She loves that dog. She'll be desperate if she can't find it."
"Well it shouldn't have been out." Relena looked at him firmly. End of argument.
"But...it wasn't out out." Not the end of the argument. "It keeps Molly company all day while she sits outside the Lansdowne, selling raffle tickets for the Shamrocks." Relena must have laid in wait for it for ages, to catch it away from old Molly. "You know that. She'll die without it." An exaggeration, but largely true. And the Shamrocks football team would certainly die without Molly. Trowa played for Shamrocks.
"Yes...but Heero..." She smiled at him fondly. Men could be so dense sometimes. "What if it got run over? Think how upset she'd be."
Well. Yes. He supposed that that could possibly happen, except that the dog spent almost its entire life draped over Molly's feet, like a dirty, white rug.
"Or what if it bit someone and had to be put down? She'd be devastated. You know that Heero" She bit her lip, blue eyes brimming with tears at the thought of old Molly's anguish.
Well. Yes. It was a snappy little thing. Although virtually toothless. And with its arthritis it was hardly going to pursue anyone down the street.
He blinked. He must be missing something. "But...won't the Pound put it down anyway?"
"Of course not!" Relena stared at him loftily, sniffing back tears. "At least not straight away. And not at all if she goes and pays the fine."
"But...its eighty dollars! She's on a pension. She only gets a hundred and fifty a week. And the Pound's out near my place. She doesn't have a car!"
"I know." She shook her head sadly, lips pursed in distress. The general public just never learned. "So much misery could be avoided if only people would research the cost of a pet before buying."
Heero blinked again. He was definitely missing something.
Eventually, even escapee Headmistresses and their animal captives had to return to their confines, either school or Dog Pound, and Heero was left in peace, to trudge firmly in the opposite direction, reading and re-reading his crumpled letter.
At least Relena had distracted him for ten minutes.
He shook his head, distractedly sweeping a hand through his unruly brown hair, which immediately flopped back down into his eyes. He couldn't believe it. There had been two complaints of child abuse against him. Someone had actually accused him of crushing Cody's fingers with a shovel. Who would do that? He'd lived here his entire life. Everyone knew him. And yet there were actually two people who thought that he would hurt his boys...horrible.
He shook himself from his thoughts. That wasn't important now. The main thing was what to do about it. Invisibility wouldn't work this time.
He glared at the fateful line. '...would like to see yourself and your partner at your earliest convenience.' Blah, blah and more blah.
What in hell was he going to do? He didn't have a partner. And it wasn't convenient. Not now, or at any time really. Even in a house filled with five noisy boys, in a town stuffed with people who'd known you since baby-hood, it could be lonely sometimes.
Head down and sunk in thought, Heero didn't notice the sturdy back in front of him, until he cannoned into warm, green-checked flannel with an audible grunt, almost knocking the other over.
"Hey! Watch what you're...Heero?"
"Trowa! Hell! Sorry! Wasn't looking."
"S'okay. Oh. Here. You dropped something." It was the letter, caught up against a telephone pole. Trowa swooped to snatch it from the pavement, in a sweeping arc of long arms and tumbling cinnamon hair, before the salty breeze whisked it away. Trowa had done a lot of gymnastics as a kid, where Heero had been a swimmer. However, they'd both loved basketball, and, together, had formed a formidable combination that had lasted them all through school, and beyond. Trowa's long, lanky frame made him perfect for basketball, unlike Heero, who was only average height, but also excelled, due to fierce determination and masses of lean, compact muscle, like coiled springs.
Trowa un-handed the letter with a theatrical flourish to Heero, who crumpled it into a ball without looking at it and jammed it back into his jeans pocket.
"Bills huh?" Trowa looked sympathetically sidelong at Heero from beneath the unlikely fall of his long, chin length bangs, as they leant into the breeze, tramping side by side, hands shoved in their pockets. Trowa had his heavy, yellow oilskins tucked into the crook of his elbow, on his way back down to the docks for the night's fishing. Wordlessly they veered towards the marina.
"Bills. I wish! No. Child Welfare." Heero jammed a wealth of twisted, unsavoury meaning into the two words.
"A-gain??" Trowa grimaced in sympathy.
Heero didn't answer, just scowled in reply. He glanced away from Trowa, out across the bay where white caps still raged after the gale, and sighed. "My fault. I lied to them. Told them I had a partner. Now they want to meet him. Her. Whoever. Or they'll take the boys away."
"Shit." It was Trowa's turn to look out across the water. He'd lived through this with Heero before. He turned back to Heero.
"Well... Can't you just get a pretend boyfriend or something?" Trowa knew better than to suggest a girlfriend. Basketball, and associated showers, had been a bonding experience in more ways than one. He glanced across at Heero. "I'm serious. How would they know?"
"Hm." How indeed. Heero ruminated, his glare slowly fading. Damn! It wasn't such a bad idea. In fact...it was a good idea. Trowa was a genius. And it would only be for a little while. Just to meet Child Welfare. But who?
"Course..." Trowa looked Heero up and down, grinning slyly. "...you could always just get yourself a real boyfriend Yuy! You need a good..." He yelped as Heero shoulder-barged him hard off the pavement, stumbling sideways with his hands trapped in his pockets, then ducked his head and barged back, chuckling. "Well you do! How long since...hey!!!" Heero stretched up to wrap him in a headlock, and then expertly hooked a leg behind his knee and dumped him onto the grass, stalking away quickly before Trowa could return the favour.
Never was how long. And Trowa jolly well knew it too. Five rowdy boys and a job didn't leave a lot of time for anything else. It was all very well for Trowa. He had a boyfriend somewhere. Captain of a charter boat or something. Heero wasn't quite sure how they'd met. Out at sea probably. Two ships that didn't pass in the night. Heero sighed, undetectable to everyone, except, possibly, Trowa.
Trowa stared sadly after him from his seat on the grass. The boys were a convenient excuse, but Heero hadn't always had them to look after, and they both knew it. Heero hadn't even glanced at another boy sideways since that thing, whatever it was, had happened with Alex after practice that afternoon, and that idiot Mueller had got the whole school in a homophobic uproar. And then Alex had joined in, the dickless asshole. Heero never had said what happened. Just glared, and got quieter, if that was possible. Typical Heero. And then, of course, Odin had died and Heero really had had other things on his mind.
Trowa rolled backwards into a handspring, scooped up his raincoat and ran to catch up, rubbing his hip absently, then pulling his flute from his back pocket. Another dent. Damn. He shoved it back in his pocket.
"I wish I could help Heero. You know that. Right?" Heero could hear the sincerity in his voice. He did know that. Trowa had been his best friend since forever. "But... Hell. Nobody'd believe it. Everyone round here's known us since we were kids. They all know I'm not your boyfriend. Isn't there someone else who could help out? I mean...it'd just be for a few days. Welfare'd eat it up But it needs to be someone that nobody knows. Otherwise people'll know it's not true and you'll be stuffed."
He was right. Glumly, Heero looked for answers in the philosophy scratched into the pavement, hunching his shoulders against the wind. Easier said than done. Where was he supposed to find a stranger who would pretend to be his boyfriend? And do it before the end of the week. It was hopeless.
"Hey shit buddy. Guess what." Trowa elbowed him playfully, trying to distract him. "Speaking of strangers...The darndest thing. You wouldn't believe it. I pulled a mermaid out of the drink last night."
"Yeah. Right." A mermaid. Trowa was such an idiot sometimes. The concrete was more entertaining. And who the hell was Joan anyway...
"No. Really!" Trowa soldiered on, determined to cheer him up. Heero was such an idiot sometimes. "Well...at least...it looked like a mermaid. He did I mean. Mer-man I guess. You've never seen so much hair! And on a guy too. Way down past his butt. Like that picture of the Sirens in Classical Lit."
Heero jerked in shock and looked up at Trowa incredulously. He had seen that much hair. Recently too.
"You should've seen the look on Jay's face. He was sure it was a real mermaid. Silly old..."
"What happened to him?"
"Well...I thought he was gonna have a heart attack. Especially when he saw that Mermaid-man was butt-naked..."
" No!! Idiot. Not Jay!"
Jay had been coach of the swim team, and, personally, Heero thought that a heart attack could not come a minute too soon. Jay had survived an encounter with a shark sometime in his putative youth and had come off somewhat the worse for wear, although Heero had always suspected that the shark had it worse. Although at least it had been spared having to eat Jay. Heero grabbed Trowa's arm and hauled him to a stop, swinging him around to face him.
"The guy. What happened to him? Was he d...okay?" For some reason, Heero couldn't bring himself to say drowned.
"Oh. Him. Well he was okay. Amazing. He was a long way out too. Near Whale Banks. Bit hypothermic but still..." Trowa shook his head in disbelief, remembering a moonlight-pale shape tumbled on hills of water, tangled in hair like seaweed. Eerie. He shuddered slightly. "We brought him in to the hospital. Didn't remember a thing. Can you believe that? Not how he got out there or what his name was or anything. Police are trying to identify him but..." He shrugged expressively, hands outstretched theatrically. Trowa could be very Latin sometimes. "...no luck so far. He's a complete stranger."
A complete stranger.
Heero was staring at Towa like a stunned mullet from last night's catch, and Trowa quirked a curious eyebrow. "So what's it to you? Heero? You know him or something?"
There was no response.
He quirked the other eyebrow. "Yuy? Hey...Heero!!"
Heero's thoughts whirled. A complete stranger...
"Hey!!! Earth to Heero!!!"
Heero blinked and re-focused on Trowa. "This guy... I've just had an idea..."
"Oh so that's what that was!!"
"Dumbass." His lips twitched reluctantly. "I'll tell Welfare that he's my boyfriend..."
"What! Heero ...you can't..."
"...and afterwards I'll ring up his girlfriend and send him home. No problem." He had her number somewhere, on the job spec. And then that blue-haired vixen could come and take her grumpy, little, pretty, little, totally gorgeous, straight boyfriend and Heero would never have to think about him again. He sighed softly.
"But whoah...!! Heero! Problemo! MEGA big problemo. Why would he go along with it?!?"
Duhh. "He doesn't remember. Remember? I'll just tell him that it's true."
"You'd lie to him." It wasn't a question.
Heero's lips compressed into a thin line. Yes. He would. Honesty was important...but...sometimes it was a luxury. Like now. His family was the most important thing in the world to him. And he owed Odin.
"But...but..." Trowa sighed. He could think of a million reasons why this was a bad idea. Not least of which was that Heero would lose the boys for sure if he got caught out. And besides...
"Heero what about the guy? I mean...he's probably got a family somewhere. A job. A dog to feed. You know...a life!?!? Unlike some people round here..."
Heero shrugged. So...he couldn't leave the kids alone at night. So what. Trowa just went out and got drunk and made an idiot of himself anyway.
He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Trowa. "Look! If I don't identify Duo...this guy...he might never get his life back. I'll be doing him a favour. Just...not straight away that's all." And besides. Nothing in Duo's life could possibly be as important as five boys being taken from their only family, and the home that Heero had fought tooth and nail to salvage from the wreckage of their lives.
Anyway. Duoowed him. About five days worth, by Heero's calculations. More, at labourer's rates. And five days should be more than enough to get Welfare off his back. Presumably, once they'd seen his partner, that would be that.
Trowa frowned, unconvinced. "A girlfriend you said." His brows twisted quizzically. "I mean...he's probably not gay Heero!! Have you thought of that?? What if he freaks out?"
Yeah. Been there...done that...got the T-shirt. Hell.
"So?" He shrugged. "Pretend boyfriend. P-r-e-t-e-n-d Trowa. As in ...not real? I'm not going to attack him or anything. Geez Louise! He doesn't even like me!"
Ooops.
Where had that come from?
Heero's face burned, and he turned away from Trowa's piercing green gaze; the gaze that could spot gulls diving on a school of fish way over the other side of the bay, that could always tell when Heero was going for a lay-up instead of a long shot, and that knew that Heero didn't really liiiiike-like Dorothy Catalonia long before Heero did. Heero was hawk-quiet, fiercely independent and didn't trust anyone, not even his best friend, and so Trowa had learned to read sideways glances, infinitesimal twitches and stony silences, even better than he read Spanish. And he read Spanish very well.
Trowa was looking at him thoughtfully. Muy interesante muchachos. "He's pretty cute Heero."
Heero gave an infinitesimal twitch, glanced sideways then frowned in stony silence. Mucho muy interesante.
Trowa checked his watch fatalistically, with much the same expression he'd had when an 11-year-old Heero had suggested that they break into West Cliff Public and hide in the air conditioning ducts, to watch their rivals' last basketball practice before the semis. When Heero got an idea in his head there was no stopping him.
"We should see the police first. High tide's not 'till six. I'll come with you. Wufei's a good bloke. He's on my bowling team. Unlike other people" He glared at Heero.
Heero just shrugged.
"Let's go."
Hilde Schbeiker rolled over in her bunk and groaned, pressing palm to pounding forehead. She lifted her head and struggled to focus blearily on the clock in the cubbyhole opposite. Was that...five past ten...or... ten to one! Shit! She'd slept half of the day away. She really had to slow down the drinking. This was happening way too often lately.
She struggled up into a sitting position and scrabbled around in her overhead locker, blindly searching for the green jar of painkillers which she'd left within easy reach. She fumbled two tablets into her hand and untangled herself from the cover, staggering to the sink for water.
Absently she wondered where Duo was. He was being unusually considerate today, letting her sleep. In the wheelhouse with Q probably. Good. She didn't really feel up to another argument right now. If only Duo would just grow up...
Two practised, heaving gulps and she'd choked down the bitter tablets, then stood, hands clenched to the cold sink, eyes screwed closed and teeth gritted, swallowing bile and willing the tablets to stay down. At last her stomach slowed its churning and she let out a shaky breath, then rolled herself back into her heaving bunk, closing her eyes and lowering her head gently onto the softness of her pillow as she kicked off her shoes, and fumbled the covers up over her shoulders.
Hopefully Duo would leave her in peace for just a bit longer...
"Hey Wufei." Trowa propped up the doorframe of the cupboard sized office grandiosely termed the Darke's Cove Police Station Incident Room, green eyes twinkling at the serious face behind the desk "How're you doing?"
"Trowa." The policeman nodded briefly. "You missed the game."
"Yeah. Tide was wrong."
"Hm." The other glanced at Heero, his black eyes, hawk-like and intense. "And you are...?"
Heero held out his hand. "Heero Yuy."
"Detective Constable Chang. Wufei Chang."
Detective Constable Chang looked as Chinese as his name suggested, his hair, the blue-black sweep of a raven's wing, pulled back tightly into a ponytail, to expose delicate, high cheekbones and dark, almond-shaped eyes.
Nice hair. Normally Heero liked straight black hair, but Chang's was pulled back so tightly that it seemed to drag all expression from his face, where messy bangs might add piquancy. If a face was already full of elfin charm. Nice eyes too, dark, Heero's favourite, but somehow just...not...er...violet enough...
Trowa's shoulder bumped meaningfully against Heero's, and Trowa's eyebrows, visibly entertained, climbed beneath his long fringe. Heero dragged his thoughts away from the problems inherent with Chang's eyes and back to the matter at hand.
"I'd like to file a missing persons report please."
Chang dragged a piece of paper across his desk and looked up at Heero expectantly, pen in hand. "Relationship?"
"Uhh...he's my...b..." Heero hesitated. "...b...uhh ..."
It was still not too late to back out. Probably Relena would love to help him.
"...boyfriend."
His extremely un-gay, homophobic boyfriend, who looked like all of Heero's dreams sprung miraculously to life, and had made it perfectly obvious that he wasn't interested in Heero. "My boyfriend. Duo Maxwell."
"Distinguishing features?"
Heero rattled off the details quickly, before he could change his mind. "About my height. Long hair. Brownish." Like a beautiful piece of polished birds-eye maple, swirled and dappled with streaks of teak and mahogany, but he didn't think that Chang really wanted to hear that. Chang looked like a mud-brown sort of person to him. "In a plait. Really, really long hair..." He made a vague gesture with his hands indicating Duo's probable hair-length.
"Ahh. Outlandishly long hair." Chang looked up from his writing. "I think that we may have someone..."
"..and a birthmark on his butt." Heero sucked in a deep breath, remembering that birthmark and its natural habitat, smooth, rounded, compact muscle and....
"...matching that description up at the hospital."
"It's not outlandish. Just long." For some reason, Heero felt compelled to defend Duo's hair to Chang.
Chang just looked at him. "Let's go."
Twenty minutes later, at the hospital, a small crowd of people hovered outside the closed ward door, all of them staring expectantly at Heero.
Chang had followed Heero and Trowa to the hospital in his patrol car, and then insisted that they find Duo's doctor, some blonde girl, slightly Asian-looking, with her hair twisted into two plaits. Thank heavens it wasn't old Doc McGee. Doc McGee, who'd delivered Heero and Trowa and never let them forget it, who'd pulled six slug-gun pellets from Heero's butt and never let him forget it...or Trowa...who'd patched up more broken bones than they cared to remember, and who knew very well that Heero lived alone with the boys. Heero hadn't even thought of Doc McGee. If old Doc had been here, Heero's mad scheme would never have worked.
Heero didn't know whether he felt relieved or disappointed.
But Doctor McGee was on holiday apparently, somewhere warm, and they had this girl instead, looking much more efficient than Doc in her white coat, although not nearly as comforting, and standing quite close to Chang.
Staring expectantly at Heero.
It felt like one of those kid's games where you started off alone and every time you tagged someone you ended up with another person hanging off you, until you ended up with a big, long line of followers, all pushing and shoving you.
All jostling to watch Heero make an idiot of himself in front of a total stranger.
Oops. Not a total stranger. His boyfriend. Duo was his boyfriend, and he'd better start remembering that.
But what if Duo remembered him? What if Duo freaked out? What if he screamed out that Heero was a freaking, peeping tom pervert, in front of Chang, the doctor, Trowa and the entire hospital?
And what if he didn't remember?
What then?
Heero hesitated, feeling nervous butterflies fluttering in his stomach, just like he used to feel at the start of every big race. He was up on the blocks and balanced over the water, a whole crowd of people at his back, all depending on him. Once he dived in, and identified Duo, he couldn't turn back. He would be committed, and all he could do was swim for his life until he reached the finish. Or drown.
But here, right now, he had a choice. He didn't have to dive in. He could walk away. Say that he didn't know Duo. Or...
...he could hand over the phone number and send him back to that girl. Never see him again. His fists clenched in his pockets, and he felt the crumple of the Welfare letter beneath his tense fingers. He straightened his shoulders, feeling strangely relieved. He didn't have a choice. He had to do this. And besides.
It might not be him.
Heero drew a deep breath and edged closer to the door to peer through the small square window, with the oddest sensation, almost of vertigo, as if he was falling into...
...hell and damnation.
It was him.
Duo Maxwell.
He looked just the same as before, except that now he combined alluring and extremely annoying with childishly endearing. Maybe it was to do with having clothes on. Maybe it was because the long, white, hospital gown looked three sizes too big for him. He fidgeted, seated on edge of the bed, legs dangling and kicking restlessly as he looked around the room, a wide strip of white sticking plaster on his forehead.
He reminded Heero of nothing so much as Tyler. A lot. A naughty little boy, bored out of his skull and about to do mischief. If it had been Tyler, Heero would have been putting the scissors away and hiding the matches. But this was Duo Maxwell. A very naughty little boy, now all grown up...with an athlete's slim build...an enticingly quirky mouth...and possibly the most beautiful eyes that Heero had ever seen in his life... Heero felt a jolt of some inexplicable emotion as the butterflies fluttered to life again. For long moments he stared at the figure on the bed, forgetting to breathe. Then Duo glanced up at the door, looking right into his eyes, and Heero jerked back, his heart pounding. Chang and the doctor stared at him expectantly. Trowa was grinning, the bastard.
Heero took a deep breath.
"It's him." He was going to hyperventilate.
"Duo Maxwell."
Duo stared expectantly at the door as they entered the room.
There was an uncomfortable silence and then Chang stepped forward, throwing an irritated glance at Heero.
"Hello...uh...umm." Chang coughed. "This is Heero Yuy." He waved in Heero's direction. "Mr. Yuy claims that he knows you. Do you recognise him at all?"
Duo looked hopefully at Heero. Heero was the one who'd been watching him through the window. There was something about him... His eyes. Those lapis lazuli eyes. He'd seen those eyes before. He was sure of it.
Heero forced himself to meet Duo's eager inspection. For a moment he almost panicked as he saw that dim spark of recognition in those violet depths, but as Duo refrained from leaping up and denouncing him as a pervert he relaxed. So far, so good.
Duo stared at Heero, waiting for a sudden flash of illumination. When nothing happened he cleared his throat.
"So. Umm. Who am I?"
Hell. This was it. For a terrifying instant, words abandoned Heero and he stared blankly at Duo. Hell. He was no good at pretending stuff. He'd hated Drama at school. How would he sound, if Duo were really his boyfriend? Hurt, he supposed, at being forgotten. And, probably, pleased to see him. Would he kiss him? He went cold, then hot at the thought. His heart pounded furiously.
Suddenly completely unable to meet Duo's eyes, his gaze fell, catching on the glint of gold at Duo's collarbone. "Your cross! You still have it!" he blurted out.
Duo's hand closed around the worn cross, in a gesture so familiar that it was automatic, and glanced down. "Yeah.
"It was in his hand." Trowa's deep voice interjected from the back of the room. "We had to prise his fingers open."
Duo spotted Trowa lounging interestedly in the background and grinned. A familiar face. "Hey Trow."
"Hey yourself." Trowa inspected him, eyes twinkling. "Looking a bit overdressed there."
Duo grinned back. "Yeah absolutely." He surveyed the white gown. "Better than before huh?" He flipped the back opening, eyes twinkling cheekily at Trowa. "Good ventilation too." He turned his attention back to Heero.
"So...uh...Heero? That's right isn't it?"
Heero nodded.
"Heero." Duo said his name again, as if tasting it. "So...um...Heero? Who am I?"
Heero swallowed hard. Just his name. No big deal.
Just his name.
"Heero?" Trowa prompted gently from the wall.
"Duo. Your name's Duo. Duo Maxwell."
"Duo?" Nope. Duo shook his head, rubbing his aching forehead in frustration. Didn't ring any bells at all.
Duo's eyes rested on Heero, glinting with a hint of hope. Something in Heero melted and glowed warmly at being the focus of that hopeful regard, but he pushed it away. Duo Maxwell was a non-gay, freaking pain in the butt and Heero was going to get his five days worth, then piss him off. Time to get with the program.
At last, Heero had made it into race mode, where there was no turning back and it was just breathe, and put one arm in front of the other until the end.
He scrutinised Duo carefully. "You're absolutely sure that you don't remember me at all?"
"Nope." Duo shook his head reluctantly, his braid swinging behind him. "Not really. Although..." His eyebrows knotted thoughtfully, "I guess you do look kinda familiar. But...geez...I dunno...you'd think..."
So. Duo didn't remember him. Okay. Time to move on. Heero relaxed subtly, his heart slowing its frantic pounding and forced himself to lean casually against the edge of the bed, his face carefully blank. Pretend. He could do this. "But Duo...you remember us surely?"
"Us???" Duo stared at him in confusion, rocking back a pace.
"Mm hmm. You and me. We're...umm..." Heero paused. This was it. No turning back. He clenched the sheet tightly. "...partners."
"We what?" Another backwards step.
"Mm hmm."
"You mean like...business...partners. Right?!?"
Heero shook his head. "Uh uh."
Against all expectation, Heero was starting to enjoy himself. The small part of him that wasn't entirely focussed on getting them out of the hospital, and home, noted that watching Duo squirm was fun.
Duo squeaked, stepped backwards, and cannoned into the bed, sitting down hard, his eyes wide and panic-stricken.
"But I don't remember you at all! How could I not remember that???" He distractedly looked Heero up and down, in a way that Heero would have found extremely hot, if only Duo hadn't made it perfectly clear that he wasn't gay, and that he didn't like Heero. "I mean...if you've...and I've...and we've..." Duo blushed. "Surely I'd remember something about you!" He turned and appealed to the doctor, as to a higher authority. "I'd remember something about him! Wouldn't I?"
The pretty doctor was unsure. Broken limbs and sucking chest wounds she could handle. Gorgeous young men falling into the sea and turning up...naked...she blushed slightly...in her hospital with amnesia were somewhat outside her range of experience. Although, she thought that if it were her, she would have definitely remembered Mr. Yuy. "Well actually Mr... uh... Maxwell... this is somewhat outside my..."
"I don't freaking believe it!" Duo had an infuriating feeling that he was being tricked somehow, and he didn't like it at all. His quick temper flared. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Heero. "Knowing my name doesn't prove freaking anything!! Anyone could know that! Shit...my freaking milk-man could know that! If I have a milkman. You could just be some freaking bozo I've met in the street somewhere!!!"
Heero flinched imperceptibly, to everyone except Trowa, who was propping up the wall near the door and watching closely.
Recovering, Heero raised his eyebrows innocently. "What possible reason could I have for pretending to know you?" Apart from wanting you to masquerade as my partner so I don't have my children taken away from me that is...
"Well...I dunno..." Duo's hands fisted on his hips and he lifted his chin belligerently, scowling down his nose at Heero. "Maybe I'm really rich or something...or maybe you need me for some sort of scam or..."
Heero decided it was time to change the subject. "I can prove it. You have a birthmark on your butt. Only a lov..." He swallowed. "...very close friend would know that. Right?" Probably.
"A what? Where?! I do not!" It was a squawk of indignation.
"A...birthmark...on your...butt. And you do." So nyah. Heero spoke slowly and clearly and very annoyingly, and resisted the overwhelming urge to stick his tongue out. He was enjoying this.
"A birth-mark! Ugh!! You're kidding me right?!" Duo craned his neck to peer unsuccessfully over his shoulder then turned back to Heero uncertainly. "I do?"
"Uh huh. Kind of cute actually." Heero smirked at Duo, who glared. "Blackish. Sort of crescent shaped. A bit like a sickle. Or...a scythe."
"On my butt???"
"Uh huh. Right cheek. Trust me." Heero's gaze was limpid in its blue untrustworthiness. He reached for Duo's hospital gown. "Here I'll show you."
Trowa, forgotten in the background, blinked in disbelief, his eyes widening. Was Heero Yuy flirting with Duo Maxwell? Heero didn't flirt with any one. He leaned his shoulders more comfortably against the wall and settled back to enjoy the show.
"Get off me!!!" Duo twitched away from Heero and backed quickly around the other side the bed, one hand defending his behind, the other hand fending Heero off. His eyes shot furious, violet sparks across the bed, daring Heero to come closer on pain of instant dismemberment.
"All right all right!" Heero held up his hands in the universal gesture for 'it wasn't me,' and tried not to burst out laughing at the sight of Duo holding his gown protectively closed behind him. "You look then. Uhh...sweetie pie."
Trowa grinned, and turned a laugh into a cough, entranced by the thought of Heero calling anyone sweetie pie. He was flirting. Well, well. Amazing.
Duo eyed Heero suspiciously to make sure that he wasn't going to leap the bed, and then quickly glanced over his shoulder, trying to flip the hospital gown out of the way, whilst still protecting his naked posterior from view. After a few moments of unsuccessful wriggling, he spun on his heel and marched into the bathroom, slamming the door furiously behind him.
Lolly wrappers wafted to the floor from the top of the bedside cabinet.
Heero stared at the door, transfixed.
Trowa coughed politely, his green eyes twinkling at Heero, while his face remained carefully impassive. One elegant eyebrow lifted quizzically and Heero glared at him. Trowa knew Heero too well. It was annoying. Heero dragged his thoughts away from Duo's semi-naked butt and its birthmark. Again.
They all waited silently. A few minutes later the door opened slowly and Duo stood framed in the doorway staring at Heero, eyes round as saucers. Abruptly he grinned, arms outstretched, all anger forgotten. Heero blinked at the sudden change.
"Hey Honey...I'm home!!
He caught at his braid uncertainly.
"I guess."
Heero was saved from any embarrassing effusions of affection from his new old spouse by the arrival of lunch, which turned out to be an extremely important meal in Duo's book. Heero took one look at the hospital lunch and decided that Duo must at one time have lived out of dumpsters, to be so enthusiastic about pressed chicken and custard.
While Duo ate, Heero jettisoned the visibly entertained Trowa, who was showing signs of wanting to go home with them, despite high tide at six, and rushed out to the nearest charity store to buy Duo clothes, claiming that he hadn't realised that Duo was butt naked, which he hadn't, but failing to mention that Duo had no clothes at all at home either. He quickly cobbled together a vaguely functional collection of clothing that looked roughly Duo's size, with complete disregard for style, shape or colour, and then rang Child Welfare to arrange an appointment.
The sooner he could parade Duo in front of that woman, the sooner they could get back to normal life, and the sooner Duo would be gone.
And that was a good thing. Really.
Detective Constable Chang sat down at his desk with a sigh, signed his name in cramped, backward-slanting script, then stood up again and pushed the thin, manila folder into the file drawer marked Missing Persons. A blemish on his dark sleeve caught his eye, and he completely failed to notice that the file slid into 'D' for 'Duo' not 'M' for 'Maxwell'. He slammed the heavy drawer closed with the metallic clang of justice being served. A satisfactory morning.
He carefully plucked a long, blonde hair from his shirt, then went to get himself a cup of weak green tea. A most satisfactory morning indeed.
It took longer than Heero had expected to extricate Duo, sans Trowa, from the hospital, because Duo had to say goodbye to the blonde lady doctor, the nurses on duty, the burns girl in ICU, and give the playing cards back to the kids down in the Paediatric Ward. It probably would have been easier if they'd just jumped out of a window, then set their own legs. By the time they finally left, they were late for their Welfare appointment, and Heero had to speed through two red lights to get there.
Darke's Cove wasn't big enough for a Welfare office, so they had to take the highway to neighbouring Good Forest. As well as the Welfare office, Good Forest also had a Mall. In fact, several Malls, five high schools and an outpost of one of the Universities. Darke's Cove did, however, have a state-of-the-art Hospital, thanks to lobbying from the fishing industry and the cannery.
In between down-shifting and lane changes Heero explained tersely to Duo about Child Welfare.
Looking sidelong, gauging the effect, he noticed that Duo's eyes were very wide. Maybe the shock of hearing about the fateful letter. Maybe the shock of hearing that he had five kids. At the age of...uh... He peeked again. Something young. Maybe just the shock of the semi-trailer in front that had just started to turn unexpectedly into the cannery from the outside lane. Oops. Hell! He hauled on the steering wheel and swerved onto the wrong side of the road.
"Shit!!!" Duo slammed his fist against the side of the door, righteously angry. "They can't do that! Can they?"
There was a stack of cars all coming towards him. Holy hell and damnation. Heero downshifted fast, roared past the semi and eased back into his own lane, with at least twenty metres to spare. Did that guy just flip him off?
"Well technically they can if they have an arrow on the back that says do not overtake turning vehicle but..."
Duo stared at him as if he'd just grown another head
"N-o-o. Geez! Freaking Child Welfare! They can't take your kids away just because you're a single parent for a day can they?!? That just sucks!!"
"Oh. Them. Well technically they can." Heero was an expert on the machinations of Child Welfare. "But at the moment they just want to meet you."
"Shit!" Duo fumed at the road. "So we still might lose our kids." He took a deep breath then turned glumly to Heero. "Heero I'm so sorry. If I'd been home this wouldn't have happened. It's all my fault."
Heero blinked, braking hard as a taxi did an illegal u-turn in front of him. He had imagined a lot of scenarios in the last twenty-four hours, ranging from Duo pressing himself against him and promising to never wear clothes ever again, to Duo hitting him with a saucepan. Or him hitting Duo with a saucepan. But he had never once pictured Duo apologising to him. He felt extremely guilty.
After several more stressful, guilt-laden minutes, of Duo bemoaning his carelessness in inadvertently getting lost at sea, somehow, and hitting his head and losing his memory, somehow, and Heero gritting his teeth, they arrived at their destination.
Looming ominously over an otherwise blameless, and attractively landscaped plaza, Child Welfare was housed in a tall, red-brick building, with ornamental masonry, a large, stone legend, saying Established1924, on the wall, above the top-storey windows, and a kebab shop on the ground level. Welfare lurked behind a glass doorway with black lettering, hidden beside the kebab shop, and a very narrow, very long, flight of stairs. No wonder that woman was so skinny.
Heero waved Duo briskly at the woman from Welfare then whisked him away again, claiming that Duo was tired after his ordeal. The scary lady made tutting noises and firmly instructed Heero to take him home straight away. It was annoying to note that she seemed much friendlier after meeting Duo. She even fed Duo chocolate cookies, which cheered Duo up, to the point where he was whistling as they headed for the stairs. The fact that Heero had given her Chai, with honey, seemed to count for nothing. Heero put her lingering coldness towards him down to ferret-induced stress.
He felt vaguely sympathetic. About the stress at least. Ever since Heero had told Trowa about the letter, Heero had been swept along in a flood-tide of events, without a chance to think about how he was going to handle things. He would feel a lot better once he had a plan. At last, in the narrow stairs, redolent of garlic and roast lamb, trudging back down, while Duo ate the last two cookies, Heero took advantage of the sudden deafening, crunch-filled silence, to think about what he was actually going to do with Duo Maxwell, now that he had him, and cobbled together a plan of action, to get through this peculiar mission that he'd set for himself.
Sadly, he decided that now that he had Duo Maxwell, he couldn't actually do anything with him. Especially not what he wanted to do. Carefully he averted his eyes from Duo's butt, traversing the stair below. Duo might be the most attractive human being that he'd ever seen in his entire life but... that didn't count. What counted was keeping him in the dark until the Woman from Welfare was satisfied. Everything else was secondary.
And it was only fair to Duo. Much as he would like Duo to be his boyfriend in fact as well as in theory, it just wasn't right to take advantage of his lack of memory. Duo was not gay. At least, according to Duo. Even though Heero had very solid...rock hard actually...evidence to the contrary.
Anyway. Duo believed that he wasn't gay and had made his position perfectly clear at their first meeting, and Heero would respect that. He would keep his distance. Duo would be an honoured guest in his house, and no more. Heero would treat him politely, and with respect, and then he would send him home and never think of him again. Much.
Mentally he ticked off points on his mission-plan. Keep his distance. An honoured, respected, soon-to-be-absent house guest. Okay. Mission accepted. Honour. Respect. He could do this.
"HELL AND DAMNATION!!! Duo Maxwell get your butt back inside the truck this instant!!!"
Duo was kneeling on the seat, hanging half out of the passenger window, eating a kebab dripping with garlic sauce, chilli, hommous, tabhouli and extra cheese, at that difficult, half-eaten, falling out of the wrapper stage, and lollygagging at the sights of Darke's Cove. To be fair, his perfect, jeans-clad butt was actually in the pickup, but waving around near Heero's face, causing him a considerable amount of anguish. Heero, who had finished his plain kebab efficiently and making no mess at all, unlike Duo, clenched his fingers firmly around the steering wheel, so that they would not be tempted to touch, and ground his teeth.
Keeping his distance from Duo was a lot harder than Heero had expected. It seemed that the sickle-shaped birthmark was enough to convince Duo that Heero really was his long-lost love and he'd kept up a steady stream of friendly chatter from the moment that they'd left the hospital, trying to put his arm around Heero's shoulders and even, once, looking as though he was about to hold Heero's hand.
After their meeting with Welfare, Heero drove Duo back to his new house... home... along the coast road and Duo enlivened the trip with a ceaseless stream of exclamation over Darke's Cove while Heero said 'Yes' and 'No' and occasionally 'I really don't think...'
Wriggling back into the pickup, a chuckling Duo perched on the edge of his seat leaning over the dashboard and craning his neck to try and see the whaling monument. He whistled softly. "Great white pointers Batman...it's so biiiig. And they say that size doesn't matter..." He grinned, swallowing the remains of his kebab in two large, meaningful gulps, licking his fingers slowly, and glancing sideways at Heero, who flushed and looked away, imagining situations where size might matter. Duo flirting with him was not in the plan. He would have to modify it accordingly.
Their road home wound along the coastal cliffs before turning inward, and Duo was immediately enraptured by The Pinnacles. Heero was less enamoured, and refused steadfastly to look at them, having unfortunate memories of Relena and Rex.
Duo was half-turned in his seat, straining to look back over his shoulder. "Whoa! Dude! Check...it...out! I have got to climb that." He paused and looked at Heero enquiringly. "Have I climbed that?"
"No!" Heero replied hastily. "At least...not while I've known you." Yes! That worked. He unclenched his sweaty hands from the steering wheel ever so slightly.
Duo relaxed back into his seat, shaking his head. "Wow. It's amazing you know. I don't recognise a thing." He frowned ruefully. "Damn! This sucks! It's as if I've never even been here."
Heero flinched imperceptibly and renewed his grip on the steering wheel, staring stonily at the road.
Duo peeked sidelong at his boyfriend.
Strange.
You'd really think that there'd be some reaction to your own boyfriend, but there was nothing. Not the faintest twinge of recognition. You'd think that there'd be some-thing. Soul calling to soul...two hearts beating as one...palms meeting palms like two halves of the same shell...or some such girlie shit like that. Even just a mutual love of chocolate cookies.
Well not today.
Nothing.
Not a sausage.
It was really odd.
Although...he eyed the messy, brown bangs and dangerous, cobalt eyes appreciatively...his hormones were definitely registering something. Probably about a seven and a half on the Richter scale...what was that...plates falling off shelves...people screaming? Yep. That was it. Heero was very cute. And check out those biceps! Damn! He had good taste. Even if he did say so himself.
Tentatively he reached out and patted Heero's thigh experimentally, in a casual sort of boyfriend-to-boyfriend gesture. Woah! Quads of steel! Check...it...out! He had to stroke. He couldn't help it. Curiously he flexed his own thigh, disappointed to note that it was not quite so steel-like. Pretty good though. He squeezed Heero's thigh again in comparison, and it twitched nervously away from his hand. Oops. No squeezing the merchandise...uh... boyfriend.
Okay. Be optimistic. Maybe it wasn't a twitch. Maybe it was just a gear change.
It was a gear change.
They were there.
Duo climbed slowly out of the pickup, crunching down into the gravel driveway, looking avidly around, and recognising nothing.
Heero lifted the sagging, side gate and pushed it open with a creak of old hinges, stepping through the waist-high, wire-mesh fencing into the large, grassy back yard, but Duo hung back, uncertain. He didn't recognise anything. Even the smells seemed wrong. That ever-present ocean tang that had followed them home from the hospital, mingled with the pungent, fruity smells of fallen autumn leaves, and the musty dampness of moss and fungi growing under the nearby tank stand, and on the strainer posts. Wood smoke...damp earth... manure? Maybe. But not familiar.
And it was quiet. So quiet that he could hear Heero breathing. The blood pounding in his own ears. And birds...a dog barking in the distance... the underlying roar of what could only be the far-distant sea. Somehow it seemed to Duo that there should be cars, exhaust fumes, hustle and bustle.
Heero was still standing by the gate waiting for him, but Duo couldn't move, paralysed by strangeness and uncertainty. He looked past Heero towards the house.
A nice house.
A faint smudge of pale smoke drifted from the chimney, source of the smoke smell, and hinting at warmth and comfort within.
From some secret well of knowledge, hidden deep in some dark recess of his brain, he catalogued the house as a large, 1920s weatherboard, Slate Grey, Porters Milk Paint No. 20, with bull-nose verandahs all around, original chimneys, working order, and a Cape Cod extension, with Chinese White double-hung, dormer windows. Tin roof, needed re-roofing, probable cost $21,000.
But nothing in him recognised that nice house.
Duo's fingers whitened on the gatepost and he drew in a shaky breath.
Another hidden part of him, a different part, the part that rejoiced in the smooth, sculptural arc of tussock grasses splayed against the hard, straight line of silvery fence post, safe from the mower; that part of him delighted in the flame red of the Virginia creeper that shadowed the verandah, blending into the rich old gold of the huge, overhanging oak with the magical charm of a Douanier Rousseau, or a Chagall. Something about the enormous, colourful leaves, boldly outlined in thick, black shadow.
But not familiar.
Confusion and uncertainty roiled in his gut and he took refuge in ready anger. His fist clenched by his side and his shoulders tightened.
"I don't know where the freaking hell you think you've brought me but..."
As if Duo's voice had broken a spell, hoarse barking shattered the looming silence, and a large golden retriever galloped to meet them. Plump, black-spangled, white hens scattered above the short grass, squawking like vocal Autumn leaves, then wafted down unconcernedly behind the dog, as if at a frequent occurrence.
A dog! He had a dog! A big dog!
The dog he'd always wanted. He knew it with complete certainty.
Maybe this was home after all.
Duo stepped delightedly through the fence to meet the dog, closing the gate firmly behind him.
Rex the Retriever bounced enthusiastically around and around Duo's legs, to receive Duo's delighted greeting, and Duo looked at Heero happily "Hey!! He remembers me! Good boy! Good...um..." He looked at Heero enquiringly.
"Rex."
"...Rex. Good boy Rex!
Heero observed from the sidelines, strangely touched by Duo's delight in his annoying dog, and secretly thanking his lucky stars that he didn't have one of those suspicious dogs, like a rottweiler, or a mastiff, or a maltese.
Duo paused in the long hallway, absorbing darkly polished floorboards and pale walls, pictures and photographs glowing along their length like a gallery. He glanced interestedly at the photographs as he followed Heero, his hand buried in Rex's warm coat like a thick, golden, security blanket.
He didn't recognise anyone in the photographs. Five small boys of varying ages. Two of them twins by the look of it. A tall blonde man, his arm around a slight, smiling girl with soft, brown hair. A younger Heero, scowling at the camera. A very much younger Heero staring in fascination at a baby in a pram, solemnly offering it a teddy bear. Duo grinned. But no photographs of Duo.
"So." He followed Heero into the kitchen and surveyed timber cupboards and cork tiles. More pale walls. "This is the kitchen."
"Mm."
"So."
They stared at each other, suddenly uncomfortable, neither quite sure what to do next.
Heero recovered first. Back to the plan. Treat Duo like an honoured guest. Okay. "Um...would you like some tea?"
"Well...actually," Duo looked sheepishly at Heero, "You weren't far out with what you told that welfare woman. I am a bit tired." He stretched and yawned, showing a large expanse of bare stomach in the process. It wasn't surprising that he was tired. It was less than twenty-four hours since he'd been concussed, hypothermic and almost drowned. "Think I'll lie down for a bit." He looked at Heero expectantly. "Uh...this is going to sound dumb but...where's our room?"
Heero was mesmerised by Duo's stomach. Smooth and lightly tanned...
"Heero? Our room? Yours and mine?"
Heero stared at him blankly. Our room??? His and ...Duo's...? Oh hell and damnation. He really, really hadn't thought this through properly. "Uh..."
Oh god...what if Duo slept naked???
"Um..."
Duo was still peering at him enquiringly
Duo in his bed Duo naked in his bed...Duo's stomach... Duo naked in his bed Duo naked in his bed with...
No! He couldn't do it. He was only human and he could not sleep in the same bed as Duo for five days and not touch. Even if Duo wore thermal pyjamas, bed socks and a beanie. Even if Duo wore an asbestos suit, face mask and breathing apparatus. If Duo was to be the honoured, respected guest in the mission plan, he would absolutely have to sleep somewhere else, on pain of being dishonoured and disrespected. Heero swiped sweaty palms on his jeans. Uhh...
"The couch." Heero blurted. "You sleep on the couch."
"Eh???" Duo's eyebrows climbed into his hair. "What? I thought that we were like...you know..." He made an expressive hand movement that Trowa would have been proud of.
Heero gulped desperately, trying to ignore the visions conjured up by Duo's suggestive fingers. "We are. We are! It's just that...that..." Involuntarily he took a step backwards, and bumped into a corner of the kitchen table. Ouch. His back
"My back!" He looked at Duo triumphantly and rushed into speech. "I hurt it on a job and it's worst when I lie down. You've been...sleeping...on the couch...because I can't share the bed with you!!"
"Oh. Okay."
Heero sagged with relief, then stiffened again as he realised that he'd have to make up the couch to look as if Duo had been sleeping there. Hell and damnation! What else had he forgotten?!! First things first. Get rid of Duo so he could make the bed. He cleared his throat.
"Maybe you should explore a bit first. Wander around. Something might jog your memory."
"Oh yeah. Right. Good idea."
Heero listened until he heard Duo wander upstairs, then collapsed against the kitchen counter letting out a gusty sigh that blasted his hair up off his face. Hell! That was a close one! How could he not have thought of sleeping arrangements?! Of course Duo would expect to sleep with him. He was supposed to be his boyfriend wasn't he?!
He ran a distracted hand through his hair, which felt even messier than usual. This was harder than he'd thought. How the heck was he going to get through the next few days without Duo getting suspicious? There were so many things he hadn't thought of.
As he feverishly threw sheets at the futon in the living room, he quickly ran through a mental checklist, of all the things that Duo might expect to find.
Toothbrush...okay he was on it...spare one in the bathroom cabinet. Cody had used it to paint with, but he'd washed it out and it should be okay. Bit blue but anyway... Fine.
Shampoo... Okay share his. Fine.
Conditioner. Hell! Conditioner! Gallons of it probably and he never used it himself. Okay okay... Say that they'd just run out. That could work for lots of things actually.
Razor...his again, dammit. Duo had better rinse it out or else. Heck! So much stuff! And that was just the bathroom.
At least he had the clothes angle sorted.
Clothes...
Clothes!
Hell and damnation!!! Duo's clothes! They were still in the back of the truck! That'd be a dead give away.
He listened carefully for Duo, hearing a bedroom door close, and then bolted outside to the truck for the plastic bag, slinging it through the living room door just in time, and diving back into the kitchen, heart racing, as he heard Duo in the upstairs hall.
Duo looked around the bedroom, taking in warm timber furniture, rich indigo carpet, matching quilt cover, palest apple green walls. Green Chiffon, Dulux colour card 116. Nice. But completely unfamiliar.
He sighed and sat down on the bed looking around in disappointment. Nothing. Nothing rang any bells whatsoever. No photographs of him. No mementos. Nothing.
It was as if he'd never even lived there.
When Duo came downstairs, moments later, Heero was calmly pouring water on tea leaves; a fragile calm, which lasted roughly 30 seconds until he pulled two mugs from the cupboard and realised that he didn't know how Duo had his tea. Hell! Did Duo even drink tea?
He dithered for a moment, then took cups, tea, milk and sugar to the table, pushing a filled cup towards Duo and watching surreptitiously, while blowing on his own, weak, black tea. Thankfully, Duo took both milk and sugar, otherwise Heero would have been forced to use them himself, just to explain their presence. Well that was a relief. At least he wouldn't have to spend the rest of the week drinking sweet, milky tea.
Duo sipped his tea, gazing around the unfamiliar kitchen, and shivered slightly. Then shivered again, harder. He crossed his arms across his chest, rubbing his biceps.
"Man. It's chilly all of a sudden. I need a jacket." He looked hopefully at Heero. "Umm...Heero? It seems like I'm constantly asking you stuff and I'm sorry to be a nuisance... but... where are my clothes?"
Silently, Heero stood, and pointed through the doorway. Together, they stared at a bulging, black plastic, garbage bag in the middle of the living room, slung carelessly on the patterned, crimson carpet. A mismatched assortment of fabric spilled onto the floor. Heero caught sight of purple and orange flowers and cringed. What the hell had he been thinking?
He gritted his teeth with resignation, the muscles of his jaw aching with the strain, waiting for the blow to fall. This was it. The jig was up. Inwardly he cringed, expecting Duo to put 2 and 43 pieces of clothing together and make 4, then to turn, point, rant a bit, denounce him as a perverted peeping tom, who moonlighted as an abductor, and then, probably, punch him
To his enormous surprise, Duo did none of those things. He looked embarrassed.
"Heck! Sorry man. I'm such a slob. Can't even put my own clothes away. I don't know why you put up with me. Just let me grab some sleep first and then I'll shove 'em away okay?"
While Duo was sleeping, Heero collected the boys from school and hustled them all into a nearby MacDonald's Restaurant, so that he could fully explain all the subtle nuances of the situation, without Duo overhearing.
Joe ignored the subtle nuances, dropped his third Fillet-o-fish burger as if it was thirty pieces of red-hot silver, and looked at Heero disapprovingly
"Heero! That's lying!"
Heero fixed him with a stony stare. It was morally acceptable to lie to people who drowned your toolbox. And this was a crisis.
Besides. Heero was older, which made him the boss.
"Technically...yes..."
"Not technically. It just is!" Joe glared, Heero-ically, into his fishburger.
Silas and Zac decided to help, in between mouthfuls of McFeast with the pickles taken out. It might be a fishing community, and they might spend half their lives hanging off the pier catching flathead and whiting and toadies, but they wouldn't eat fish for a bet.
"Hey! Chill..."
"...out Joe and..."
"....leave Heero alone..."
"...this Duo character sounds..."
"...like a real loser!..."
"...It's all his..."
"...fault anyway. He never...
"...should have punched..."
"...Heero and thrown his..."
"...tools in the water!!!!!"
They both shoved handfuls of fries into their mouths, and chewed emphatically, glaring at Joe.
Heero winced, licking pickle-coated fingers. He might have exaggerated slightly.
Joe glared back. "It's still lying!"
"It was Duo's fault!"
"You freaking losers don't know jack shit! Stop the hell picking on Joe!" That was Cody, who'd obviously been spending way too much time on the boat with Trowa's shipmates.
"ENOUGH!"
Silence fell. When Heero used that tone of voice it meant business. He'd start speaking ice-laden Japanese in a minute and people would stare. He gathered their eyes with a serious, blue gaze. "Let's start again!" He ticked off points with a fry.
"One..." He glared at the twins. "It was not Duo's fault." Much.
"Two..." He glared at Cody. "No swearing or you're never going on that boat again!!! Three..."
Three. The big one. He glared at Joe, and then at all of them, just to be safe.
"Three...this is important. Or I wouldn't ask you to lie. Lying is wrong. You know that and I know that. But if we don't lie we're in big trouble. Agreed? Agreed??"
Suddenly everyone was concentrating hard on their burgers, looking at the table and sitting up nice and straight.
Tyler took advantage of the sudden, unnatural silence. "Can I have Zac's Coke?"
"No!!!"
"Bug off!!! "
Heero sighed. "It's only for a little while. But we all need to pretend that Duo lives with us. Duo must...not...find...out. You can do that can't you? Pretend?" He looked hopefully at Tyler and Cody, ignoring the twins. They could dissemble till their ears bled. Or everyone else's.
Tyler and Cody nodded owlishly, while Joe glared sullenly at the table.
The twins looked at each other meaningfully behind Joe's back. Heero was way too soft sometimes. You just had to check out the way that he let Missus Peacecraft-Dorklian trample all over him. Well. Duo needed paying back and they were just the twins to do it. They bumped clenched knuckles together in their secret code, while Heero eyed them with misgiving, absently eating the fry. Faith! Frootloops!
When they got home, Duo was still asleep on the futon, snoring gently, his braid pooled on the floor, earning an evil twin-glare, but Heero ushered them quickly past the open, living room door to the stairs, and into an early bed, despite whinges that it was Friday night and no school tomorrow. He was worn out from the strain of dealing with the Duo issue, the clothes issue, the bed issue, and the Child Welfare issue, and in absolutely no hurry to introduce the twins issue into the mix. As soon as lights were out, he ushered himself into an early bed as well, and collapsed into sleep, dead to the world, and to any small rustlings, or whisperings, that might take place in an old house, late at night.
The next morning, the peace was disturbed by a bellow of pain, followed by a loud thump.
"HOLY FREAKING SHIT!"
They all ran downstairs to see, the twins lagging behind slightly.
Heero was appalled, but not entirely surprised, to see that someone, probably two someones, had knotted Duo's rope of hair to the wooden arm of the futon. Duo was sprawled, half on the futon and half off, his head leashed uncomfortably to the couch.
"Hang on! I'll help. Stop wriggling!!!" Heero knelt down on the floor besides the enraged Duo and struggled to undo a lobster buoy hitch. "Try and take some of the strain off. Don't WRIGGLE!!"
He winced sympathetically. Close proximity to Trowa had meant that the boys were expert at knots, as well as lanyards, splices and Flemish flakes, which was often a good thing, but two simple half hitches would have been a heck of a lot easier to undo.
Duo was rubbing the back of his head, and glaring at the room in general from his seat on the floor.
"Who the bloody hell..."
He snatched his braid from Heero's hands, the moment it was freed, and stroked the end protectively.
The twins were hovering in the doorway, unsure whether to crow with glee or run. They rushed into speech, where angels feared to tread
"Well...why do you..." Duo was still petting his abused braid and wasn't chasing them yet.
"...have such long..." They edged a little closer.
"...hair anyway! You look..." Closer still.
"...just like a girl!!" They stared at him pugnaciously from a carefully-considered, arm's length away, red hair aggressively spiked from sleep.
Duo blinked at them. Stereo twins at seven o'clock in the morning were a bit hard to handle.
"And you guys are...?"
"He's Silas!"
"He's Zac!"
"No he's not." Joe stared disapprovingly from the doorway. "He's Zac." He pointed. "And the one with the freckles is Silas."
The twins glared at Joe in twinly unison. Joe was a dirty, rotten spoilsport. It normally took people at least a week to sort them out. Some, like Missus Peaslien-dillcraft, never did.
"And you are...?" Duo looked at him enquiringly.
"Joe."
"Another Heero-nephew huh." Duo's voice was soft as he inspected Joe. Joe, the image of Heero, down to the long, silky, brown tendrils of hair hiding his piercingly blue eyes, and the Heero-esque glare that was currently annihilating the twins.
"So." Duo turned back to the grumbling twins. " Zac and Silas hmm?" His anger had vanished like sea-mist in sun, replaced by a slightly evil grin, which on Zac and Silas would have meant trouble, but which on Duo was still an unknown quantity. Heero wondered how many years it would take, to get used to Duo's quicksilver changes of mood. Then he reminded himself sternly that he didn't have years. He had a few days, maybe a week, tops.
"Uhh...I have long hair because... I... umm...because..." Duo shrugged. He didn't remember. "Because I do that's why! So butt out! Although..." He held the tail of his plait in front of his face and peered at it, eyes crossing slightly as he waggled it to and fro thoughtfully. "S'pose there's no reason why I shouldn't cut it off really. Might be safer." He eyed the twins significantly.
"No!! Don't cut your hair."
Everybody jumped, Heero included. He'd even startled himself. But some part of him recoiled at the thought of Duo cutting his hair.
"On the other hand..." Duo changed his grip on his braid. "...it makes a good weapon!!"
He leapt from the couch and whipped the twins around the room with the rope of hair, eventually cornering them with the other boys' help, and tumbling them, shrieking with laughter, onto the couch, bundling them up in the blankets, where Cody sat triumphantly atop them, in his roller blades. Heero wondered sourly if he'd slept in them.
Tyler bounced onto the futon, on top of the squirming twins, bringing him up to Duo's eye level. "I want whip hair too!! Can I grow mine? Can I Duo? Can I?!" He peered at Duo from very close range, scraping his blonde curls into a very short ponytail and holding them with a chubby hand. "Look!"
"Hmm." Duo inspected it solemnly, head on one side. "Think you'll have to stick to nunchukkas for a while little buddy..."
"Tyler."
"Tyler hey? Well it's a good start anyway. Just needs a band..."
Silently, Heero unwound a rubber band from a bundle of pencils in a drawer and tossed it to him. He watched imperturbably from the dresser as Duo twisted Tyler's curls into a spiky topknot, inwardly marvelling at the fact that Dup had known the boys for half an hour and already they were piled all over him like puppies. Even that blasted ferret; which had its hind legs somewhere inside Tyler's pyjama jacket, and its front paws on Duo's thigh, and was staring at his twitching braid with an acquisitive gleam in its beady, little eyes.
Heero gave the braid only a cursory glance before looking back to the tempting thigh under those sharp, black claws. It was smooth and lightly tanned and disappeared into black boxers with little red devils on them. Another strip of smooth, tanned skin was visible between Duo's T-shirt and boxers as he reached up for Tyler's hair. Abruptly Heero realised that he was staring and glanced away, flushing, his heart suddenly beating faster.
"Hey Heero..." Duo stood up abruptly and went to lean against the dresser, flinging his arm companionably over Heero's shoulder, making Heero stiffen with guilty shock. Duo winked at him sidelong and jerked his chin at the incarcerated twins. "What do you reckon...time to put the garbage out??!"
Dragging Heero with him to the futon, he grabbed one end of a wriggling bundle of twin and grinned at Heero, who, after a moments blinking surprise, grabbed the feet end, and crab-walked with him outside to dump them onto the lawn, dazedly allowing himself to be swept up into the captivating whirlwind that was Duo Maxwell. And soccer on the lawn, breakfast, roller-blading in the hallway, tree-climbing, band practice, a bike ride to the beach for fish and chips, Tae Kwon Do, aborted handsprings off the verandah rail, and, eventually, dinner and bed.
And to Heero's mingled delight and dismay, Duo's companionable hands continually drifted back to him, patting, pushing, dragging, or draping themselves around him, making him quiver and recoil by turns.
The next morning, the twins woke with their pyjama trouser bottoms at half-mast and the legs tied together, so that when they rolled out of bed they hit the deck with two loud thumps.
The resulting ruckus woke the entire house, except for Duo, who slept the sleep of the righteously exhausted, his braid carefully tucked beneath him, Fez curled up against his belly and a beatific smile on his face.
Sunday night found them tired out and all tumbled together in the living room, watching Jackie Chan in Rush Hour, with the lights turned down. It was very crowded on the futon, so Duo plonked himself sideways onto his boyfriend's lap, wrapping an arm cosily around his neck and turning his head to see the screen.
Heero stiffened with irritation at the Duo-invasion. Tensed, to heave him onto the floor, but then realised that flattening his supposed-boyfriend would look highly suspicious, and forced himself to relax. Took a deep, slow breath then another. Uncurled his fists. Calm.
Having Duo in his lap should have been uncomfortable, given that they were roughly the same size. Instead, it felt unnervingly good.
Duo wriggled into Heero's lap to get comfortable and Heeroabruptly forgot that he didn't want him there. He wanted him right there.
His entire body stood to attention and he felt sudden, overwhelming lust, followed, almost instantaneously, by overwhelming panic. He'd promised that he wasn't going to touch Duo, and this was touching of the worst possible kind, even if there weren't any hands involved. He decided to sit it out for a few minutes, then to get up and do...something. Anything. And not come back. That was all very well but he didn't know what to do with his hands. They hovered impotently in the air, carefully not touching, then to be on the safe side he jammed them down beside the couch cushions. Duo wriggled around a bit more, making contented, little, murmuring noises as he settled himself, and Heero groaned silently.
"Ooh here's a good bit. Where's the remote?" Duo squirmed from side to side, peering for it in the darkness, then finally spotted it on the far end of the couch behind Joe's head, where Joe had thumped it out of reach, after Silas and Cody started fighting over sub-titles, to have, or not to have. Silas liked to see splat and bodily functions written on the screen. Cody, who didn't read very fast, thought that it got in the way of the action. Duo turned on Heero's knee and stretched for the control, which brought him chest-to-chest with Heero. He pressed up against Heero, holding onto the back of the couch with one hand, and strained across to reach the remote with the other.
Heero's face was momentarily jammed into the warmth of Duo's armpit. That was Duo's nipple against his ear. Oh god. All he could see was Duo. All he could smell was Duo. All he could feel was Duo's firm rear end, grinding against him through two, completely inadequate, layers of jeans and boxers. Ohhh. Mmm... ohhh... Oh. Oh hell. He had to leave. Now. Straight away. He had to stand up and...
"Got it!" Duo turned back around and pointed it at the television, settling down comfortably into Heero's traumatised lap again. Then squirmed around for the popcorn, which was next to Zac, who was sitting on the floor.
Heero squirmed back, just a little bit, completely unable to help himself. It felt so nice. Oh hell. Duo leaned comfortably back against him, face turned to the television. Jackie was arguing with that black cop and Duo shook with laughter, the vibrations travelling straight to Heero's lap. Oh... oh damn... ohhh... Squirm.
It was suddenly way too hot and Heero buried his flushed face in Duo's neck. His hands inched their way out of the couch cushions and rested tentatively on Duo's leg and Duo's firmly-muscled butt. There was a smooth expanse of skin, between Duo's shirt and his jeans and, completely of its own accord, his thumb slid up to stroke that bare skin. Bad thumb. Slowly. Rhythmically. Squirm.
Things were heating up. The twins were bouncing excitedly up and down. Jackie was in the Chinese restaurant about to kick some serious butt.
Duo reached down for the popcorn again, his shirt riding up, so that when he leaned back again, Heero's entire hand was somehow inside his shirt, tracing the bony knobs of his spine. Duo's back was so warm and he smelled... mmm... Heero nuzzled mindlessly into the moist, warm skin of Duo's neck. Duo wriggled back down into his lap, getting comfortable again. Ohh. Oh hell.. Heero had to get up. He couldn't get up. He just... Squirm squirm. Ohh... gahhh... ohhh... oh god oh god...
The delicious blanket of fragrant warmth against his face abruptly vanished, leaving Heero suddenly naked and exposed. He blinked owlishly in shock. Duo was waving a bowl at him. What??
"Popcorn babe?"
Popcorn? Babe? Who? What? Heero gritted his teeth trying to focus. Hell and damnation. Did he just lick Duo? Oh god please no... "No..."
Duo peered at him with concern. "You okay Heero? You're wriggling. Am I too heavy?" He scrunched down a little, so he could see up into Heero's face, past his tumbled, dark hair. "You're a bit flushed. Are you getting sick?" Heero glared at him, which he ignored, feeling Heero's forehead. "Are you sure? You're a bit hot."
Heero was extremely hot. And breathless. Don't move don't move oh god don't...
"Well you sound like you're in some kind of pain there. Oh no! Your back! Oops sorry! I totally forgot!" He leapt from Heero's knee, scattering popcorn everywhere on the way.
"Idiot!" Heero dived for the bowl and held it strategically in front of his lap. Fled, stiff-legged, into the kitchen and surreptitiously closed the door.
"Heero has a bad back?" Trowa, who had arrived to advise on handsprings, and had stayed to watch the movie with them, but had seen it many times before, had been observing Heero with fascination out of the corner of his eye. He stared after Heero curiously. He didn't hear any popcorn popping in there.
"Yeah. He has."
"No he hasn't!"
"Since when?" It was the first Trowa had heard of it.
"Yes he has!" Duo frowned at Joe, who subsided muttering into the couch. Damn Uncle Heero for making him lie anyway. "Didn't you see the way he was moving just now? He could hardly walk. And he was wriggling so much I should have realised he was in pain. Poor Heero."
Pain. Hmm. Trowa grinned invisibly in the dim light. Yeah. Heero was definitely in pain. Poor Heero. He salvaged a big handful of popcorn off the couch cushions, ate a mouthful, and then held his hand out. "Popcorn anyone?"
After The Popcorn Incident, Heero was careful to let Duo sit down on the couch first, then sit somewhere on the other side of the room. However that didn't seem to help much, as Duo had a habit of finding him and draping himself over Heero, wherever he was, to Heero's mingled annoyance and enchantment.
Duo draped himself over Heero's shoulder now, where he was sitting at the laptop and his braid thumped into Heero's lap, unnoticed by Duo, who's braid was always flopping around everywhere, but not by Heero, who's lap instantly sat up and took a lot of notice.
"What's up?"
If you only knew, thought Heero. "Client database," said Heero. Reluctantly, through gritted teeth.
"Cool." Duo leaned forward to examine something on the screen, his cheek nuzzling warmly against Heero's and his braid slithering around affectionately in Heero's lap. "Is that Trowa's boat?"
His client database was sacrosanct. Which, in layman's terms meant no Tyler, no Cody, no twins and now, no Duo, braid or no braid. Heero abruptly snapped down the lid of the laptop with a click of finality, and quickly shuffled a bunch of receipts strategically onto his knee.
"Oh. You finished?" Duo levered himself off Heero. "Because if you are I thought we could go shopping. And I was just wondering..."
Duo, who always knew a lot about everybody, because he talked to them, unlike Heero, who didn't, because he didn't, knew that Trowa had a boyfriend, who was away for quite a few weeks and who Trowa was missing rather a lot. And Duo had noticed a marked difference between Trowa's bathroom cabinet and theirs.
"...I was wondering... umm...Heero..." He blushed delicately. "Uhh...we don't have any stuff. In the bathroom. Or the bedroom, that I noticed. We must've run out."
Heero stared up at him, frowning.
"Stuff? What stuff? Conditioner? Have you run out again?? There's more under the sink."
"No-o-o. You know..." Duo cleared his throat. "Stuff."
Heero didn't know. "What?"
"You know. Stuff!" He rolled his eyes comically, lowering his voice to a hiss, and jerking his head at Cody and Tyler, who were watching Simpsons from the futon.
"Gay stuff."
Gay stuff.
Oh!!! Heero blushed furiously and re-shuffled his receipts.
"Should I put it on the shopping list?" Duo picked up a pen and pulled a torn envelope out if his pocket, glanced at Cody and Tyler, then wrote BATHROOM STUFF in red capitals under 'popcorn', 'shampoo' and 'Cody basketball 6:30'. He scrutinised it for a moment then changed it to OTHER BATHROOM STUFF.
"No!" What if Iria at the pharmacists noticed? What if the twins discovered it? Somehow. Some mysterious twin how. What if Trowa found out?
Duo put the pen down, looking worried.
"But don't we need...something?"
"No!" What if...
"Oh." Duo looked disappointed. "Okay. But...um...isn't that gonna be kind of uncomf..."
...what if Duo wanted to use it?
"No!" Oh god. "Excuse me. I have to go. Out." Heero leapt to his feet and went. Quickly, upstairs, and locked the bathroom door. Receipts wafted slowly to the floor.
Oh.
Duo knew that he'd forgotten a lot of things.
He bent down to pick up the receipts.
He couldn't remember how their coffee maker worked, for example. Maybe he didn't remember exactly how gay sex worked, although he'd discovered that he was a pretty fair mechanic, and he thought that he could figure it out. He certainly couldn't remember any of the little, nitty gritty, details of having sex with Heero. Sadly, he couldn't remember any of the details of having sex with Heero, or even, ever doing it.
He wondered wistfully when he would.
The morning of the seventh day dawned bright and clear, with a milky blue Autumn sky, smudged with pale drifts of pungent wood smoke, the quiet bickering of the hens scratching for bugs in the aromatic leaves under the Virginia creeper and no hint that a letter was about to arrive that would throw the Yuy household, or at least its oldest member, into turmoil yet again.
Heero sat at the kitchen table nursing a mug of steaming green tea. The cork tiles were cold under his bare feet. He should be wearing socks. Soon they'd have to start using the central heating.
The puppy dog mug, Duo's favourite, was already sugared on the bench, but they had had a very late night, giggling over an old Star Trek re-run, and Heero was still waiting for Duo to wake up before pouring. Bread was in the toaster ready to be pressed down, and water simmered on the stove, awaiting two breakfast eggs.
"Mail Heero!" It was Cody, up early for once. "And I found Duo's hat. It was on the fence post."
Cody skated twice around the kitchen table, then rumbled down the hallway, leaving a drift of envelopes, circulars, and a baseball cap in his wake. On top of the pile was an official, white, windowed envelope. From Child Welfare.
Heero stared at it, transfixed. Tea slopped onto the table and he put down his cup. His hands were shaking.
He eyed the envelope through the steam with a strange, shivery feeling in his stomach. Once they received approval from Child Welfare, then they wouldn't need Duo any more. And he would have to explain to Duo that their life together was a big, fat lie and that Duo belonged upstate somewhere, with that person with blue hair and an attitude to match.
The shivery feeling got worse.
Maybe he was getting sick. He felt as if he was going to throw up. His throat was a bit ticklish. Heero coughed experimentally, still glaring at the letter. Idiotic! He should be pleased. This was it. Mission accomplished.
With a firm hand he unfolded the letter and forced his eye down the straight lines of text, slowly at first, then bolting over whole lines, to arrive with a gasp at the bottom.
"Hell and damnation!"
Three months!!! That bloody woman. He was going to kill her.
Three months. Probation. That interfering woman was going to be pestering them once a week for three months.
And expecting to see Duo.
He was so screwed. Three long, agonising months of having Duo drape himself all over Heero and not being able to touch him back.
He screwed the letter into a ball and hurled it at the bin, where it bounced off and skidded under the table. Heero blinked and glared at the bin. He never missed! Ever since Duo turned up one thing had gone wrong after another.
How was he supposed to keep Duo in the dark for three months? What if Duo remembered that he wasn't Heero's boyfriend? What if someone looked for him? What if...
What if Duo found the note and somehow put two and two together? Heero quickly crawled under the table after the note, then set fire to it over the sink.
The problem wasn't so much deceiving Duo. He could do that. He didn't want to, but he could, and especially now, since, after his initial confusion, Duo seemed to be perfectly happy. And it seemed that the boys had completely forgotten that Duo wasn't really Heero's boyfriend.
Heero groaned softly, staring into the ashes, remembering affectionate touches. Shared laughter. Teasing, violet eyes that held Heero spellbound until he couldn't move, or think, or breathe.
The problem was...what if Heero forgot that Duo wasn't really Heero's boyfriend?
Of course, the real problem was that they both wanted it to be true so very badly.
Deep in the red-brick Child Welfare building, under the legend saying Established 1924, Une signed the letter that would take an abused child from its natural parents and place it into foster care, probably indefinitely. She sealed it with finality into a white, windowed envelope, then rocked back in her chair, removing her glasses and tiredly scrubbing her hands over her face. Just at that moment she hated the little white Child Welfare name badge, the smart suit, the conservative hair-do that made her head ache. Jerkily she removed pins, unwinding the two coiled plaits, and dragged her fingers through her hair again and again, until it lay limply against her cheeks.
Her face softened and her mouth wobbled alarmingly.
Paedophilia cases always upset her the most.
The mother had been so shocked. Couldn't believe that her Dan could do such a thing to their little girl. Stared accusingly at the poor girl as if it was somehow her fault. Said the neighbours were lying. Screamed, then cried, and finally fell silent, in the midst of all that chintz and wall-to-wall carpet. Hands limp at her sides, eyes huge and hurting, like a refugee from a war zone. Everything gone.
Une's eyes stung and she dug the heels of her hands into the sockets, pressing hard, trying not to see. Trying not to see herself, locked in memory, standing just like that, in just such another living room, while Milliardo's parents stated coldly that they were withdrawing the charges against her husband. The knowledge that Milliardo had refused to testify hanging unspoken between them.
But there were conditions. Of course. The Peacecrafts never gave anything away.
Moving away was one of them. Well. He'd already gone by then, leaving her with their home. And their daughter, although after her breakdown Welfare had had things to say about that. And she understood. Really she did. Would have made the same decision herself if it had been one of her cases. But that didn't help the pain. Absently she lifted the photograph of a young girl from her desk, reaching out a fingertip to stroke flaming red hair lovingly.
Not teaching was another condition. Not that he was able to, after the publicity. And, of course, no contact with Milliardo. But that she couldn't guarantee, because they'd both gone.
Disappeared, and it seemed that no-one knew where to find them.
Although eventually, of course, Milliardo came back.
Duo poured crepe batter into two frypans; one large round pancake for Cody, and in the other pan, five small rounds, because Tyler wanted flapjacks but Cody wanted pancakes, with lemon no less, and be damned if he was going to mix up two separate lots of batter. He wondered if he should start Heero's then decided to wait until he came downstairs.
Tyler poked at the flat discs suspiciously with a chubby finger, dislodging the icecream that he was having on them in Heero's absence, even though it was breakfast time.
"These aren't flapjacks. They're flat. Flapjacks're s'posed to be puffy."
Duo grinned at him, around an enormous mouthful of pancake and syrup. He would have preferred flapjacks himself, but just because it was a pancake was no reason why he couldn't smother it in syrup. He chewed and swallowed.
"Yeah...that's right buddy. These're flat jacks. They're special. They're thinner, so you can stack 'em higher. Look...instead of two measly things...you get five! How cool is that?!"
"Oh..."
Tyler counted laboriously, with a finger now covered in syrup.
"...Five. Cool!!"
Duo sighed with relief around another mouthful of pancake. Another crisis averted...
He was piling the dirty dishes haphazardly into the sink when Heero finally shuffled into the kitchen.
"Hiya sleepyhead." Duo glanced around, then abruptly turned to face him "Woah!! What's up with you?!!"
He pushed Heero firmly down into a chair.
"You look like shit," he said bluntly, sliding a cup of tea towards him.
Heero didn't argue. He knew he looked like shit. Felt like it too. He was hot and shivering cold by turns and every muscle ached. He huddled into his chair and forced down a tasteless mouthful of tea, but it did nothing to soothe his sore throat.
Duo was still hovering, studying him with concern, cataloguing pale skin, dark circles, and bedraggled hair even more tousled than usual.
"Why don't you go back to bed?"
Heero shook his head, felt the world spin, and clung to the table, glaring woefully at the tabletop. Gulped another mouthful of tea, but it tickled on the way down and started a spasm of coughing that, once started, just wouldn't stop. He convulsed over his cup, shaking and spluttering.
Duo took the tea from him firmly.
"Bed." He marched him irresistibly upstairs with a firm hand under his elbow then sat him down on the bed, and knelt to undo his shoe laces. He looked up at him, dragging the ratty, old, yellow sneakers off. "Stay home today. Rest now and you'll be better tomorrow. What clients were you seeing? I'll ring 'em up."
"...can't...I...have to..." Heero knew he should argue but he couldn't seem to form the words out of the cotton wool in his head. Instead, he lost himself in the concerned violet of Duo's eyes, swaying slightly where he sat. He couldn't refuse those eyes...
From some depths he dredged up a name. "Uh...Kanawa. It's..."
"In your client file on the laptop. I know. I'm on it. Don't worry." Lips thin with worry, Duo leaned up and unbuttoned Heero's work shirt and slid it off his shoulders, then pushed him irresistibly down on to the bed. Heero was too woebegone to remember how he'd often imagined this very thing. Although, it was usually the other way around. Instead, the cool, soft cotton welcomed his feverish cheek and his heavy eyelids slid closed of their own accord. Duo started to unbutton Heero's jeans, but Heero had just enough foggy presence of mind left to bat his hands away, blindly finishing the job himself, but when Duo tugged them down over his hips he didn't resist, just clung tightly to his boxers and lifted his hips to let him drag the jeans off.
He huddled on the bed in T-shirt and boxers, already half asleep, and Duo pulled up the covers carefully, then smoothed his hair out of his eyes with cool, gentle fingers, so soothing to a hot forehead.
"Sleep. I have to get the guys off to school, but I'll be back to check on you later 'kay?"
When Duo pushed open the door a little later, laptop under his arm, Heero was asleep, face flushed and sweating, covers tangled around his legs. He moaned softly and struggled to roll over.
Duo straightened the covers gently, then felt Heero's forehead again, frowning. Heero was quite sick.
His hand cupped Heero's cheek gently and his thumb caressed hot skin, his eyes lingering on Heero's face. With one last gentle touch, he moved away from the bed, settling himself and the laptop into the easy chair in the corner.
Now to find Kanawa...
Heero tossed feverishly, tangled, hot and sweaty, in damp sheets. The universe contracted to the pounding in his skull. It was dark. The boys... What time was it? He had to get up. He struggled against the covers. Groaned in frustration. The boys would need him. He had to get up. Then, from out of the darkness, came cool hands that gently untangled him, and stroked his hair away from his damply-flushed face.
"The boys I..." He struggled for breath. His voice a parched, weak thing.
"It's all right Heero. I'm here."
That voice... who? He was alone. Always alone. No one had ever touched him like that except...
"Sara... ? Sara I..." But something was wrong. No wildflower fragrance. And that voice...too deep. Not Sara then. He struggled to focus. Sara was gone, but who...?
"Who...?"
"It's me. Duo."
Duo? He chased thoughts fragile as soap bubbles, knowledge floating just out of reach, but the relentless pounding in his head smashed them apart, before he could catch them.
The gentle hand slid behind his back, eased him upwards. "Here."
Glass clinking against his teeth and water dribbled down his chin, spilled between his lips, so soothing to his raw throat. He swallowed greedily. So hot...
"Try to swallow these." Bitter tablets on his tongue.
He forced heavy eyelids open, looking up into concerned violet eyes, shadowed in the dim light from the hallway. A soap bubble of thought shimmered iridescently. Ah. Duo.
"It's all right Heero. I'll take care of everything. Don't worry. You go back to sleep."
Sleep.
Don't worry.
Duo.
Duo lay back down on the thin, rubber mattress beside Heero's bed, and huddled into his quilt. Joe had found him the mattress, under Cody's bed, when Duo had worried that the futon downstairs in the living room was too far away for him to hear Heero, or anyone else that needed him.
It was chilly. His bed had grown cold while he was with Heero. He shivered and curled up into a ball, staring into the darkness, towards Heero's bed.
Who was Sara?
With Heero sick it was a golden opportunity for Duo to play with Heero's truck. And working on the truck was a great way for Duo to distract himself from ceaseless, circular thoughts of a mysterious someone called Sara. Who was she, that Heero would call her name when sleeping? An old girlfriend? He felt a sharp pang of jealousy at the thought. And where was she now?
That afternoon, Duo was lying in the driveway, buried under the pickup changing the oil, thinking of worn engine mounts and not much of Sara, when an anguished cry jolted him out of his contented mechanical haze.
"Duo! Duo!!" The cries escalated with a note of panic. "Duo!!!"
"Hell!!" The wrench slipped sharply off the welsh plug that he was tightening, and his knuckles smashed against the bottom of the block. He reared up with a yelp of pain, completely forgetting where he was, and struck his forehead sharply on the clutch housing.
"Shit! Oww!" He slid out from under the truck, nursing his bleeding knuckles. "Freaking hell! Cody!! Ow! I'm here!!" He rubbed his head tenderly, fingering a fast-rising lump. "Ow! Hell! Ow ow ow." Why did kids never come to you instead of bellowing from the other end of the garden? He jammed his knuckles into his mouth then abruptly pulled them out again, staring at them in disgust and swiping at his mouth. "Ugh!!! Yuk...oil. CODY!! WHAT??!"
Cody was charging towards him around the side of the house with a panicked expression on his flushed face.
"Duo! Duo! Don't let him!"
Shit. Was Cody fighting with the twins again?? "What? Don't let him do what??! Who??"
"Take Rex! Don't let him Duo!"
"What the heck...??" Duo slid his wrench into the back pocket of Heero's blue overalls and started towards Cody, wiping his oily hands on the rag that was dangling from the other pocket
He hurried through the side gate into the garden, dragging it shut behind him, just as Cody reached the fence, panting and gasping for breath, red-faced and sweaty and looking on the verge of tears.
Duo dropped down onto one knee, grasping his shoulders firmly, so that he could look him in the eye. He gave him a little shake.
"Cody! Cody it's all right! Calm down! Nobody's going to take Rex. I won't let them. Now tell me what's going on."
"It's Trant. He says Rex's been stealing his newspaper."
"Oh..." Hmm. Possible. Rex adored newspapers, waiting for them to be delivered and chasing them as they sailed over the fence, then Retrieving them from whichever bush they'd ended up in. Duo's ready smile twitched, but then he looked into Cody's desperate face and lost all urge to laugh.
Thinking about it, he realised that it was a while since he'd seen Rex, who'd been under the truck wanting to help change the oil, but had been discouraged with a well-placed foot.
Cody looked miserably at Duo and his voice wobbled. "He s... says that he's going to t... take him to the pound and they'll ... they'll... sh... shoot him!! Don't let him Duo!!! They'll k...k...kill him!!" Cody dived forward and flung his arms around Duo, sniffling into his neck.
Duo blinked in bemusement then wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly and patting his back awkwardly, trying not to get oil everywhere.
He rested his cheek on Cody's soft, brown bristles. "There there...it's okay buddy. I won't let anything happen to old Rexy. Promise. Where is this Trant guy anyway?" He drew back and looked down at Cody, who sniffed loudly and released him.
"Out the front." Another sniff and a swipe of a hand. "He's got Rex! Now! You've got to do something Duo!!!" His voice climbed alarmingly.
Duo grasped Cody's cleaner hand tightly before things could escalate again and marched the two of them back around the house.
"You just lead me to him," he said firmly. "There's no way that any-body's taking Rex any-where."
As they neared the front of the house Duo became aware of frantic growling and whining, loud enough that he would have noticed it for sure if he hadn't been so engrossed in the pickup. Alarmed, he sped up.
They rounded the corner of the house in time to see a tall, rangy man shuffling awkwardly sideways towards the front gate, dragging Rex with him, his hand jammed possessively through Rex's collar and a vindictive expression on his face. Rex's ears were layed back against his head and he twisted and squirmed, digging his feet in.
Duo called out quickly.
"Oy! You there! Excuse me!!"
The man turned at Duo's voice, keeping a tight grip on Rex's collar, and hurrying self- righteously into speech, glowering at Cody.
"Little bastard's had his final warning. Mutt's off to the pound!"
Duo eyed the possessive hand in Rex's collar through narrowed eyes, giving Cody's hand a reassuring squeeze.
He smiled easily at the man, a bright cheerful smile, that didn't touch the little spark of anger burning in his eyes. "I don't think so. That's my dog you've got there. I'm sure if there's a problem we can sort it out."
The man frowned. "Your dog? Bullshit! Where's Yuy?"
"Not here." Duo was terse. He glanced up at the bedroom windows, checking for semi-delirious silhouettes. Luckily Heero's room was on the other side of the house, overlooking the back garden. The last thing Heero needed was to be dragging himself from his bed of pain to pop some idiot on the nose. If there was any popping to be done, Duo would do it for him. With an effort Duo held the smile on his face, feeling as if his cheeks were cracking. He held out his hand. "Duo Maxwell."
The man frowned down at Duo's oil-stained hand, then ignored it.
"Clark. Trant Clark" His voice was grudging. "Friggin' dog keeps stealing my papers." He glared down at Cody, his voice rising. "I warned the kid what'd happen if he didn't keep him in. Mutt's goin' to the Pound and that's final. Nothin' ya can do about it..." He looked Duo up and down pointedly, and his lip curled sardonically, eyeing Duo's hair. He was half a head taller than Duo, his own muddy brown hair shorn aggressively short. He turned away dismissively. "...nancy boy."
"I'm sorry. I don't think you heard me." Duo dropped his hand and smiled again, frigidly polite. He toyed with his braid idly. "That's my dog there and he's not going anywhere."
Clark's grip tightened on Rex's collar and he stared down at Duo scornfully. "Too bad pal. I already warned the kid about lettin' it out. Well he's had his last chance!"
Rex whined and wriggled, straining towards Cody, and Clark jerked his collar viciously towards the gate, making him yelp. Cody dived to his knees with an outraged squawk, flinging his arms protectively around his dog. Rex turned his head to swipe at Cody's ear with a long, pink tongue, and sat down, panting happily, content again now that Cody was there. Cody glared up at Clark indignantly. "He didn't steal your rotten newspaper. It's just lost!!"
"Tough luck kid." Clark turned towards the gate again, attempting to drag both dog and boy. "Mutt shouldn't have been out! It's goin' to the Pound."
"He's not yours!" Cody tangled his fingers tightly into Rex's long, golden coat, clinging for grim death, and bracing his foot valiantly against the fence post. Rex licked him again, and grinned happily at this new game. "You can't take him! Duo! Don't let him!!!"
Enough was enough. Duo had been rooted to the spot, staring in amazed disbelief at a man who would even consider fighting with a little boy, but this was getting ridiculous. He jerked into action, striding towards Clark. "Don't be an idiot! Leave the freaking dog alone!!"
With a curse, Clark leaned down and started roughly trying to untangle Cody's hands from Rex, one-handed, hampered by his reluctance to let go of Rex's collar. As soon as he unloosened one small hand the other wormed tighter, with the tenacity of a seven year old that hadn't yet learned that the good guys didn't always win.
"I'm warning you. Freaking well get your hands off him now!!!" Duo voice crackled with anger and he reached out to pull Clark away.
Clark shook him off furiously, keeping tight hold to Rex, who growled forbiddingly, hackles rising.
"Not till the little bastard lets go of the dog!" He grabbed the back of Cody's shirt and tried to haul him backwards off Rex, managing to lift him bodily into the air, feet first and kicking, but not succeeding in making him let go. He dumped Cody back on the ground and shook him roughly. "Let go of the blasted dog!" Cody yelped.
"I said...get... your freaking hands... off Cody now!!"
Duo grabbed Clark, and yanked him forwards across Rex, dragging him off-balance. Slapped Clark's hand from Cody's shirt then shoved him bodily backwards, where he collided heavily with the fence post, and slid to the ground.
Winded, Clark clambered slowly to his feet, coughing and gasping.
Duo loomed protectively over Cody and Rex, one hand reassuringly on Cody's shoulder, the other hand suddenly hefting the wrench from his back pocket, his face bearing a look of such furious rage that Clark stepped back a pace. Duo's face was twisted like a wild thing, hair half out of it's braid and glued to his cheeks with thick, black smears of oil, a scarlet trickle of blood tracking its way down through the mess from a cut on his forehead.
"You are trespassing ass-hole!! Now get the freaking hell away from my family or I'm calling the cops and charging you with assault!!"
Clark inched backwards, trying to remember why he was so worried about that stupid mutt in the first place.
"And if you ever...ever...go near Cody again you won't know what hit you! And you'd better believe it. Now get the hell out of here before I throw you out!!"
"Yeah!" Cody leapt to his feet and clenched his fists, glaring pugnaciously at Clark. Rex jumped up with a delighted bark and added his two cents worth, gambolling around Cody, almost knocking him over in his excitement.
Duo blinked down at them, taken aback by their support, then his mobile mouth twitched and he chuckled. "Yeah!" He slipped the wrench back into his pocket and shut the low front gate with finality on Clark, then turned them and headed them back around the side of the house.
Clark stared after them as if they were deranged and sidled away down the street, looking back at them over his shoulder and muttering. "Yeah...well...next time...think yourself lucky... yeah damned right... damned kid... next time it'll be different... mangy mutt...friggin' faggot fairy nancy boy..."
They ignored him. Cody's hand slipped into Duo's and Duo grinned down at him. "Come on. Cookies. And a wash." He swiped at his cheek, grimacing. "Then let's go check on Heero."
It felt strange, to Heero Yuy, to be in bed during the day time. Odder still, to have someone looking after him. Fussing over him.
He doubled up with another paroxysm of coughing, curled up sideways in the bed. He'd be all right to get up, he was sure, if only he could get rid of this damned cough.
"Heero?" Duo's voice was unusually quiet. "Here. Sit up and try some of this" He slid an arm behind his shoulders and eased him up, handing him a Ventolin puffer
Heero glared at it weakly. "That's...Tyler's." More coughing.
"It'll work for any cough. Just try it dumbass." Duo took the puffer from him and held it insistently to his lips, much more gently than his tone would have predicted. After a stubborn moment, Heero opened his mouth, and Duo puffed. Heero coughed.
"I asked Iria about it when I bought the cough medicine, and she said it was the best thing. Have another puff. A-a-and..." His eyes twinkled mischievously. "She said to give you her very best. Told me to take care of you. Said you were the cutest thing to come out of Darke's Cove since the lobster cutter. Whatever that is. Hmm..."
Duo turned his head to inspect Heero, his eyes suddenly very close. And violet. "...think...she's right..." There was a moment's thoughtful silence, during which Heero thought panicked thoughts, unsuitable for an invalid, and coughed nervously. Distracted, Duo offered Ventolin, leaning back He grinned suddenly. "Oh...and she told me to ask you about The Pinnacles. And about Trowa and the slug gun pellets..."
Heero glared indignantly. He was going to kill Iria, just as soon as he got out of bed.
Duo grinned back sympathetically. "Aww...don't worry about it. She's just a chick babe. You know what chicks are like."
Heero stared at him impassively. No. He didn't. And he was still going to kill Iria.
"Oh. Well. Maybe you don't. Chicks lo-o-o-ve to gossip." Duo nodded at Heero knowledgeably, completely failing to question his own superior knowledge of chicks. "Give 'em something to drink..." Duo made an expansive hand gesture, which could have described anything from weak, black tea, no sugar, to a Slow Comfortable Screw, hold the ice, no straw. "...and someone to bitch about and they're happy as Larry. It's just the way they are. No need to get all bitter and twisted about it."
Heero glowered dismally at nothing in particular. Duo had obviously not been brought up in a small town. Heero still had horrific memories of Alex, and Mueller, and all the chaos that had followed.
The puffer was back again.
"Again. One more. Here you do it. It'll work better."
After Heero had puffed, Duo offered him tablets, which tasted foul, and a glass of water, all of which he swallowed unquestioningly, the cold wonderfully soothing to his ticklish throat. Duo shook up the pillow one-handed, then lowered him back down again.
"Better?"
Heero grunted something. He hated being sick. Never was sick. Hauled the covers up to his ears.
"Anyway..." Duo grinned at Heero, ignoring his pointedly hunched shoulder. "Don't stress out about Iria. She's not so lily-white herself. Howard says that..."
Heero's one visible eyebrow twitched. Howard?
Duo interpreted with an ease that Trowa would have been proud of.
"Howard. You know Howard. Pointy beard. Sunglasses. Has that furniture shop in the street up from the wharf. He's a great old guy."
Something about Howard's Fine Furniture and Gift Emporium called to Duo. Whether it was the hodge-podge of beautiful objects casually displayed, priceless antiques and modern art pieces dotted about the more traditional stuff, or Howard himself, he wasn't sure. He'd often found himself there last week, sanding something back, or helping Howard move furniture around.
"Any-way. Howard says that a couple of weeks back she and that Rashid guy...you know...that enormous bouncer at the Lansdowne...I think he owns it actually...and his cousin Abdul has that great kebab shop...anyway...she and Rashid got arrested for driving under the influence." He grinned broadly. "On a ride-on mower!! Can you believe it?!! They had a private party..." Duo's fingers made quotes around 'private' and he winked broadly. "...and ran out of booze, but didn't want to drive so they took the mower. Dumbasses thought that they wouldn't get booked because it wasn't a car! Police picked 'em up on the way home by following the big, bare patch in the median strip. And the bottles. They were so wasted that they couldn't remember how to turn the blades off! What a pair of freaking idiots!!" He gurgled with laughter.
Heero's lips twitched at the thought of blonde, sophisticated Iria, drunk on the back of a lawn mower, and he started to cough again. Duo offered water. "No more Ventolin. You've had enough."
"Anyway it must be true." Duo was talking again. "Duke Dermail says it is too. You know...the school bus driver guy?" Heero didn't know. He nudged the covers up over his ears. "The guy who has trotters? Hey...did you know that he's restoring an old Triumph? A Super Seven. I said I might go over and give him a hand with the panels one day. They're pre-curved timber and he's gonna have to soak them in the bath before he bends 'em. I've got this funny feeling that I've seen something like that somewhere before ..."
Timber? Heero poked his head out of the covers again.
"...I said you might like to help too, seeing as you're the wood expert and all..."
Heero nodded agreement. Felt his eyes beginning to close, letting the flow of chit-chat wash peacefully over him, even though he was starting to enjoy Duo's acidic and often hilarious observations about Darke's Cove's inhabitants. Duo, navigating with ease the code whereby, in small towns, every one was known by their maiden name. Shops, named for their second-last previous owner, rather than the name on the sign. You'd think that Duo had lived there his entire life. Unlike Heero, who never remembered that the Bluebird Café was Spiro's, and always ended up getting chips from the wrong shop.
Right now Heero was just too tired. Duo's conversation was hypnotic, a bit like a running stream, a constant unceasing flow, with occasional eddies of emotion and ripples of mirth, intermittently bringing something useful bumping up against Heero for him to inspect.
Quite girlie in fact.
And very soothing.
Hilde took a lady-like gulp of her take-out, skim milk latté, and rang her old friend Relena.
She just had to talk to somebody, or she was going to go mad. She was sure she was. Duo was still lost, and she was at her wit's end. Clients were ringing her up constantly, and every time she closed her eyes she saw visions of Duo's drowned body washed up against some rocks somewhere. He'd be all tangled up in that stupid hair of his and fish would be... Damn. She gulped and swallowed hard. If only she knew that he was really dead then she could get on with her life, but this hanging in limbo was horrible. And the Court wouldn't grant probate without a body. She'd always known that it was a mistake to be Joint Partners. It meant that all her assets were tied up with Duo's.
Relena was distracted on the telephone and not a lot of help. She'd found a snake in a terracotta pipe, under a pile of sacks, behind the garage that morning, and was concerned, because it didn't seem to be moving, despite the icy frost on the ground. And she could tell by Hilde's lack of response that Hilde didn't know a lot about snakes. Not everyone was cut out for the Animal Rescue business.
"The point is Hilde... it should have been out trying to escape the cold. An animal's natural instinct is to seek warmth."
The snake might be frost-bit. She had it sitting safely on a blanket-wrapped, hot water bottle, near the heater. It was very important to ensure that the heat-source was well covered, as a hypothermic animal could receive serious burns.
Hilde was not very interested in Relena's pet snake. The point was she had her own problems. She'd have to get bridging finance if Duo wasn't found soon. She'd already contacted the Coastguard of course, but they knew nothing. Maybe she should try the police again. Maybe they had new information.
Feeling slightly better now that she had a plan, Hilde took another gulp of her drink and settled in for a nice, long chat.
"And how's Boz...your boyfriend?" Hilde's eyes filled with tears and her voice hitched. Damn Duo for falling overboard anyway.
There was a tactful silence from the other end of the phone. Hilde sniffed with quiet dignity and finished her coffee. Breathed deeply.
"Hello? Relena?"
"Relena?"
Maybe it wasn't a tactful silence...
Was that somebody screaming?
"...Relena??!?"
Duo was having trouble sleeping. The older boys had been watching some movie, about convicts taking over an airplane, and for some reason the crash scene kept re-playing itself over and over in his head, getting more and more real the more he tried not to think about it, until he could almost feel the seat belt crushing his stomach, feel shrapnel slicing into his chest and shoulders. But the screaming was the worst...
He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Heero had woken him, coughing, and he'd given him some more of Tyler's Ventolin and then seen that he was feverish again and fetched two paracetamol tablets. Now he just could not get back to sleep. It was infuriating.
Gradually he became aware of a small muffled noise, coming from the hallway. He must have woken one of the boys, moving around. He lay listening for a moment, then sighed and climbed back out of bed. He didn't know if he was up to comforting small boys with nightmares, but there was no one else to do it. He'd just have to learn. He quietly eased the bedroom door shut behind him and stood listening in the dim hallway.
There it was again. A soft, choked little sound from one of the bedrooms. He felt his way along the hallway towards the boys' rooms. Tyler and Cody's room was opposite Heero. Duo stood in the doorway peering into the darkness, but the two small lumps were unmoving. Cody had kicked his covers off and he tiptoed to the bed to tuck him in, stumbling over his rollerblades on the way. Cursing softly, he nudged them under the bed, before some idiot...him...broke his neck on them.
Joe was next door. Joe's door was firmly shut, but all seemed quiet. That left...
There it was again. A little, gasping noise from Silas and Zac's room, next to Heero.
"Zac?" Duo tentatively sat down beside him on the bed, uncertainly rubbing his back with his hand. "It's okay buddy. I'm here."
Beneath Duo's hand, Zac was a little, huddled ball under the covers, his shoulders shaking with gasping sobs.
"D... Duo?" Zac's face lifted from the pillow to face him, and abruptly he twisted to fling himself on Duo, wrapping his arms around his waist and burying his hot, damp face in his stomach.
"Hey buddy..." Duo wrapped an arm awkwardly around his back, stroking the back of his head gently with his free hand, slowly gaining confidence as Zac didn't jerk away. "It's okay. I'm here now. Wanna talk about it?"
Zac shook his head violently, nuzzling in deeper, his voice muffled against Duo's t-shirt. "Noo... ohh..." Duo bent over him, straining to hear. "oh...Mom...n...no..."
"It's okay Zac. It's okay now. There there buddy..."
Zac shivered and shook under his stroking hand. "No...o..."
"She's dead. They both are."
At the bald statement, Duo's breath caught, and he twisted to look behind him. Silas was sitting up in bed, knees hugged tightly to his chest, his face a pale oval in the darkness, his voice strained.
"Mom and Dad. They died..." His voice hitched. "In a plane crash." He buried his face in his knees.
"Oh shit... I didn't know... That freaking movie...Oh Silas. C'mere buddy." At the pain in that small voice, Duo forgot his uncertainty and held out his free hand, still hugging Zac with the other.
Silas stared at the hand for a moment, then silently wriggled from the bed and burrowed into Duo's side, kneeling beside him on the floor. Duo wrapped his free arm around Silas's back, hugging both boys to him.
Gradually they calmed, and Duo squirmed around to sit up properly in the bed, under the covers with his back to the headboard, dragging the twins in beside him, one tucked under each arm.
His voice was very soft. "You want to tell me about them?" He waited patiently, resting his cheek on Zac's head, the fiery red spikes tamed by darkness.
And, haltingly, they did.
"Mom and Dad..."
"Odin and Sara...they..."
"They died in a plane crash..."
"When we were six..."
"No...seven. We were seven remember? We were in Miss Noventa's class."
"Oh yeah. She gave us candy..."
They snuggled down into the bed, cuddled against him.
Duo hugged them tightly, his heart aching for the two, sad, little voices in the darkness. Some hidden part of him grieved with them, for a mother dead in a plane crash, but he banished it with the revelation that here was Heero's mysterious Sara.
"So Sara...your Mom...was Heero's sister?"
"Nuh uh..."
"But he's your uncle..." Duo was confused, and, still, a little worried about Sara.
"Heero's Dad's brother."
"Step-brother..." Zac interjected sleepily, then fell silent.
"Same diff'rence. His little brother. Niichan. Whatever. Real little." Silas struggled sleepily to explain on his own. Zac was asleep. "Mom was kinda like his Mom too."
"He lived with us...and then..." There was a gigantic yawn from somewhere under Duo's arm. "And then afterwards he looked after us...and then..." Another yawn and Silas slid all the way down into the bed. "...you came."
Duo's side felt cold, without its warm, Silas-blanket, and Duo wriggled down beside him where it was warm, a twin on each arm, their moist faces buried in his neck. They were warm and cozy and smelled cleanly of no-name, generic-brand shampoo, and it was a very long way back down the hall to the next room, and his cold mattress. He listened for Hero, but he seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Duo thought that he might shut his eyes, just for a minute.
And then it was morning.
It was late afternoon when Heero woke up, and stretched luxuriously, staring at the ceiling.
He felt much better. The pounding headache that had plagued him was gone, and he was finally able to breathe comfortably again. But... He sniffed, grimacing, and wrinkling his nose. He desperately needed a shower.
He rolled out of bed, and almost stumbled headlong over a pile of bedding in the middle of his floor. He was still a bit wobbly. He eyed the tumble of quilts and pillows suspiciously. Duo's quilt? What was Duo's quilt...that's right. He remembered now. Duo had been sleeping on his floor. Every time he opened his eyes, Duo had been there.
Showered and dressed, Heero wondered what had happened to the boys. It was very quiet. Too quiet. No thump of roller blades, no drums, no dog, no television... He hoped that they hadn't killed each other in his absence. Maybe Duo had sent them around to Trowa's. Or taken them out to MacDonalds. That was always good in an emergency. How long had he been sick? It seemed like forever. Days at least. Duo must be sick to death of them. They were a handful on your own.
He wandered downstairs then stopped. There was a murmur of voices coming from the kitchen, and he drifted towards it, feeling rather like a ghost in his own house, to stand silent and unobserved, haunting the doorway.
They were all in the kitchen.
The boys were sitting around the kitchen table, a plate of chopped fruit in the middle, Duo wedged between the twins, their backs to the door. Duo held Silas's upper arm and was pointing to something, making Silas giggle, while Zac wrote industriously. Heero strained to see over his shoulder. Humerus. Ahh. Bones. Tyler and Cody sat opposite, paper spread in front of them, heads down, writing lists of some sort. Heero blinked. Fruit? Homework? Joe stood at the sink doing the dishes, his back to the door.
Heero stared, bemused. It all looked so...organised. Peaceful. Not normally two words that he associated with the boys. Or Duo. But it looked like Duo was coping just fine.
Duo looked up at Joe. "Joe? Would you stir that please? Thanks Champ." And Joe turned to the stove and stirred something in a large, steaming pot. Heero sniffed. Spaghetti Bolognese. Abruptly he was starvingly hungry, for the first time in days.
At that moment Joe turned from the stove and spotted him in the doorway.
"Heero!!"
And Heero was dragged back into the land of the living, into the light and warmth of the kitchen, and exclaimed and fussed over, told excitedly just why it was called your funny bone, and then homework was whisked away, and it was time to eat.
Howard clamped his cigar between his teeth, and took his after-dinner coffee into the backroom of Howard's Fine Furniture and Gift Emporium, to inventory the furniture he'd picked up from the high school refurbishment. He smiled in satisfaction. These old-style wooden school desks with the seats attached sold like hotcakes. And were getting hard to find. People liked 'em for kids bedrooms. These ones even had inkwells.
Although they'd need a bit of ...ugh...chewingum...cleaning up first.
A lot of them would have to be sanded back. A shame. It'd wreck the provenance. But there were big gouges in some of them. You couldn't write on a desk with holes in it. Like this one. Treize carved into it with a penknife. Took up half the desk. How could the teacher not have noticed a kid doing that? A kid pulling out a penknife these days'd get locked up.
Kid had an obsession with this Treize. Must have written it hundreds of times, over and over. Kinda cute really. Treize is hot... Mil loves Treize...Treize 4 Milliardo only... MP L TK 4 EVA...
This other desk'd need cleaning up too. More graffiti. Swastikas...dope leaves...a big skull with a snake through its eye. Kinda well done actually. Kid must have spent the entire lesson on it. More writing...Alex and Mueller rule...Heero L ?... Megadeth... Krushenada is a homo prick...oh...hmm... Mr Krushenada sucks ...the rest hidden by an inkblot. Peacecraft is a prick-t... Peacecraft. Hmm. Maybe they'd all better be sanded back. Might be safer. He could end up getting sued. And he couldn't sell them with obscenities on them anyway. Kids. Sheesh.
Still. He puffed contentedly. A great buy.
Winter was nipping at the heels of Autumn, sneaking up in the night to frost the grass and ferns, and leave discs of ice in the dog's dish for Cody to find and glory in, and Heero had swapped his boxers for his old, favourite, flannel pyjama pants, the blue stripes softened to warm grey from many washings. He scratched pleasurably at his belly beneath the waistband as he meandered down the stairs and into the living room.
He stood in the doorway, blinking sleepily at the bundle of quilts on the futon. Two heads on the pillow? A tuft of blonde hair. Tyler?
Fabric bunched and shifted and a pair of red, beady eyes peered fiercely at him from the muddle of quilts. Tyler and Fez. How nice for Duo. Heero knew from experience that Tyler kicked. Heavens only knew what Fez did. Heero's lips twitched in amusement. Not that Duo seemed to mind, judging by the peaceful snores. Fez oozed from the cozy darkness beneath the quilt and slithered over to Heero, undulating warmly around his bare ankles, then rolling over to have his tummy scratched. Heero picked him up obligingly, cradling him belly-up in the crook of his arm and scratching absently, still watching the sofa bed. He felt a strange pang of some-thing. Hunger probably.
He shivered slightly in the cool air. It looked so warm and cosy in there...
He was shoved roughly out of the way as Cody barrelled past.
"Shove over Ty! You've got all the blankets!"
Blankets surged and rolled as Cody wriggled up under the sheet from the foot of the bed, squeezing himself in between Duo and Ty.
"Ow! Don't kick!"
"I'm in the middle."
"I was here first!"
"Ouch!" A lump on the far side of the bed resolved itself into Silas and rolled off the mattress, landing on the floor. Heero's eyes widened. How many people were in there anyway? Oh. Zac too.
It was like one of those jokes...how do you get five people onto a futon? Obviously the answer was...put Duo in there.
The twins headed, shoulder to shoulder, for the bathroom, brushing past Heero on the way.
"Morning ..."
"Morning ..."
"Heero."
"Heero."
"Hm."
Something inside Heero glowed with vicarious warmth at the thought of his boys all in bed with Duo.
Duo surfaced, blinking owlishly.
He grinned sleepily at Heero and levered himself up on one elbow, lifting a corner of the quilt. "Hiya Heero. Still room for one more." He grimaced comically, peering under the quilt. "Maybe."
His cheeks were creased and warmly flushed from sleep, and wispy tendrils of hair had escaped from his sleep-mussed braid. As he lifted the covers higher, the sheet slid down over his bare shoulder, revealing tantalising glimpses of smooth, lightly-tanned skin, a muscular curve of shoulder and bicep, the broad plane of chest, a hint of rosy brown nipple. A sleepy-eyed siren tempting Heero to his doom.
Heero stood spellbound, feeling the blood warming his face. Involuntarily, he stepped forward, towards their cosy island of warmth, then abruptly remembered that Duo was off-limits, and blinked, dropping the surprised ferret to the floor with a frantic windmilling of legs and claws.
"Breakfast," he grunted and turned on his heel to escape into the kitchen.
Safe in the kitchen, Heero collapsed into a chair and slumped forward over the kitchen table, pressing his burning cheek to the cool tabletop, then banging his head gently against the wood.
Gaaah! He wanted Duo so much his teeth ached.
He couldn't do it.
Couldn't live in the same house and not touch. Maybe he should just explain to Duo and hope that he would understand. But what if he didn't? What if he left, and Welfare took the boys? Heero couldn't afford to take that chance. He sighed gustily and gritted his teeth.
It was for the boys. He had to do it.
Three months. How was he going to last?
Hell.
A place that Heero Yuy was becoming quite familiar with.
Duo huffed with frustration and flopped backwards onto the overcrowded futon, narrowly missing the two lumps who were wriggling about beneath the sheet at the bottom of the bed. He curled up into a tight little ball of disappointment.
Why did Heero avoid him all the time???! Geez Louise! The boys were in here too! Did Heero really think that Duo would jump him with them there or something? All he wanted was a cuddle. Well. Not really, but it would be better than nothing.
Surely a cuddle and a kiss, or something, wasn't too much to ask of one's boyfriend. And yet. Every time Duo moved closer to Heero, even just standing beside him to help with the dishes, Heero would either twitch like a frightened rabbit, and disappear, or start reorganising the cutlery drawer with a military precision that ignored attempted cuddles.
And Duo would have left him in peace if he thought that that was what Heero really wanted. But it was fairly obvious that Heero wanted Duo just as badly as Duo wanted him, but, for some Heeroic reason, was refusing to do anything about it. Maybe he was being gallant, waiting for Duo to get his memory back or something.
Well Duo didn't want to wait. He wanted Heero and he wanted him now.
His eyes took on a steely glint of determination, while his lips curved in anticipation.
Tonight.
Tonight was the night.
Tonight he was going to seduce Heero Yuy.
Any good campaign started with Intelligence gathering.
Duo leaned against the kitchen doorway, flipping the end of his braid against his fingers and eyeing Joe thoughtfully. Joe was in the kitchen, supposedly cleaning up, but in actuality pouring a glass of milk, his back to the door. And Joe might know, although it was a heck of a thing to ask a thirteen year-old. Still.
"Hey Joe? Um...I've...I've got kind of an embarrassing question. Were...um" He looked down at his shoes for a moment, chewing his lip, then back up to Joe's back, soldiering on. "Were Heero 'n me happy? I mean before. Do you think?"
Joe's hand jerked and the half-full glass fell to the floor and exploded in a slurry of milk and glass. "Oh shit! Oops...I mean.... Oh man! I gotta clean this up before someone steps in it." He grabbed the dustpan from the pantry and swept the milk around industriously, avoiding Duo's gaze, his thoughts dithering in panicked circles. Heck heck heck...damn Heero anyway. This sucked big-time. Why did Joe have to lie to Duo? He didn't want to lie to Duo.
Duo ignored the milk, eying the interesting colour of the parts of Joe's face that he could see around the hair and the waving brush. Damn. He had embarrassed Joe. He hadn't actually expected Joe to cough up details of their sex life, but Joe obviously thought that he had. He wracked his brain for a way to ask Joe without embarrassing him into destroying the kitchen. "Like...I mean ...did we get on okay or did we fight? Stuff like that."
The dustbrush slowed. "Nooo...." Joe heaved a silent sigh of relief. He could answer that. And without lying. "Nope. Haven't seen you guys fight once."
"Oh. Okay." Duo supposed that was good, but it wasn't quite what he wanted. He decided to take a gamble. "Umm. What about kissing and cuddling and stuff?" He looked hopefully at Joe. "Holding hands maybe?"
Joe gazed back up at Duo from his crouch on the floor, his blue eyes limpid pools of guilelessness. "Naaah..." He was starting to get the hang of this. "Not where the kids could see." Yeah. That was good. He stood up, dumping the dustpan and milky brush into the sink with the lunch dishes, and rinsed-off one milky hand. The other had 'Mari was here' written on it in blue ballpoint with a teeny weeny heart dotting the 'I' and was never touching water again.
He started to edge towards the door.
"Oh. Okaaay." Duo decided to try one more time. "So you'd say that we lo..." No. Better not. "...liked each other then?"
Joe looked at Duo firmly. "Yeah." He was almost at the door now. "For sure. You guys have definitely liked each other as long as I've known you. SeeyaDuogottago." And he slid past Duo and out the door, and was gone. Duo heard the screen door slam, a single thud at the bottom of the steps, and then the faint sound of running feet in the backyard.
Oh. Well that went well. Sort of. Except that it looked like he was washing up again.
It had turned into a rainy afternoon.
The sort of misty, coastal, Autumn rain, that was hardly there, but dripped down your neck from yellowing leaves, and beaded on hair and jumpers, until suddenly, without realising it, you were drenched, and the dog smelled of wet feathers, and inside the house was a warm and friendly place to be. Heero was back home again, working on a pile of accounts at the enormous, old, wooden desk against the window, with his laptop open and a cup of coffee nearby. A good rainy-day job. Joe had unaccountably disappeared, probably to a friend's place, and the younger boys were all sprawled warmly on the rug in front of the fire with Rex the Retriever and Fez, eating chocolate-chip cookies and watching television. Fez had eaten half a chocolate chip cookie, nipping Tyler in the process, and Rex had Retrieved six.
The telephone rang, quickly cut off, before the boys had a chance to ignore it. Duo must have answered it somewhere else.
Duo came into the living room, his hair damp from outside, with a pile of wood, and a concerned expression. "Zac? Silas? School wants a note because one of you was missing from class yesterday. Any ideas?"
Oops. The twins sat up guiltily, and glanced across at Heero, who lifted his head and glared at them with distaste. They quickly decided that they would rather explain to Duo, and turned back to him, both speaking at once.
"It was Zac!"
"It was Silas!"
Duo blinked, then narrowed his eyes at them. "You mean you guys don't remember? Come on...it was only yesterday! You must know which of you it was."
Of course they did. It wasn't their fault if that dumb Missus Beeswax-Duhbrain couldn't tell them apart.
"Uh huh. I remember. It was Zac!"
"Nuh uh. It was Silas!"
Heero rocked back on his chair and watched Duo sympathetically, as he swept his fingers through his damp bangs doubtfully, ruthlessly quelling the sudden urge to fetch him a towel and dry his hair for him. The further he kept away from Duo the better. If Duo wanted to deal with the twins he was welcome to the little ratbags. Especially if they were going to play tag teams. It was a nice change for someone else to be in the hot seat for once. The twins were on a roll.
"Nuh uh. It was Zac!"
"Nuh uh. It was Silas!"
"Nuh uh!"
"Uh huh!"
"Nuh uh!"
"Uh huh!"
"Nuh..."
"ENOUGH!!!!"
The twins were stunned into shocked, open-mouthed silence, and Heero's coffee splashed itself all over several of his accounts, which washed off the table and squelched damply under the couch.
Duo tumbled the wood into the fireplace, then fisted his hands on his hips and glared at the twins, suddenly incensed. "It doesn't matter who it was! Nicking off is one thing. Maybe you guys...guy...one of you...had a good reason. I dunno. But lying about it just makes it ten times worse. A zillion times worse" He looked at them seriously. "Lying sucks! It's just about the most cowardly thing you can do."
The twins shrank into their seats. Maybe they'd rather talk to Heero.
Duo glared at them both, then huffed out a frustrated breath of air and sat down between them, turning them to face him with a firm hand on each shoulder. "It's true! When you lie to somebody...you deny them the facts. And that takes away their ability to choose properly. Not fair. Just imagine..." He paused for a moment, thinking hard, gazing absently at the television. They were watching The Simpsons, the one where the littlest Simpson turned into an alien. Duo chuckled suddenly, and grinned down at the twins, back to his normal, cheerful Duo self. "Hmm...just imagine...whoever wasn't in school yesterday got exposed to some kind of deadly, alien virus. An invisible one," he added hastily. "Because you lied, I might end up giving the antidote to the wrong person. And Zac'd end up like a big pool of slime!!! Or Silas. And pus!" he added for good measure.
"Eww!!" The twins shuddered in delighted horror.
"Or supposing..." Duo's gaze roved the room in search of further inspiration and alighted on Heero, distractedly mopping coffee in the corner. "Supposing that Heero had a terrible accident and needed a blood transfusion from Zac. And because you guys lied they gave Heero Silas's blood instead. And Heero got...umm...Wrong Blood Disease and died!" He twinkled mischievously at Heero. "Or ended up as a big pool of slime and pus!!"
The twins giggled, and Heero stared at Duo in appalled and horrified silence. How did he end up getting dragged into this?
"So..." Duo stood up, pulling the twins with him. "No more twin stuff!" He gazed down at them for a moment, staring thoughtfully at their red hair, then ushered them towards the door. "And no lying. You two can stay in your room 'til tea." He glanced across at Heero for confirmation, who nodded bemusedly, in the manner of a person who had just lived through a hurricane.
"But Duo..." Silas looked desperately back over his shoulder at Heero, who shrugged. They'd been well and truly out-gunned. And who was he to argue with deadly, alien, Wrong Blood virus disease?
"But Duo...it's nearly time for Yugioh!!!"
Duo bit his lip, manfully suppressing a grin, and propelled them out of the room with a hand on each shoulder. "Nuh uh!!!"
Blankly, Heero stared at the empty doorway, damp bills and invoices suddenly crushed beyond recognition in his clenched fists, feeling a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. So. Duo thought that there was nothing worse than a liar. Duo was not going to be happy when he found out that his entire new life was a lie.
And, the person that he was not going to be happy with, was, almost certainly, Heero Yuy.
11:30 that night found Duo tiptoeing out of the twins' room.
Heero eyed him sleepily from the bathroom door. "Duo. What are you doing?"
He grinned impishly. "Aww...nothing much. Go back to bed Heero. You'll see in the morning."
The next morning dawned bright and clear, yesterdays rain evaporating into today's early morning mist. Heero was jerked from the depths of sleep, in the very early, misty morn, by twin howls of shock, modulating swiftly towards delight.
"Aggghhh! Your hair!!! It's green!!!"
"Woah!!! Dude!! Purple!!"
And then together, "Coooool!!!"
Heero thought that the twins would have learned to lock their door by now.
Pulling the quilt over his head, he decided that delight was infinitely worse than horror. After three minutes of unfettered, twin glee he gave up and struggled out of bed, and went downstairs and poked Duo, pointlessly, because Duo could sleep through an earthquake, but determinedly, because if he had to be awake then Duo should too, especially seeing as, whatever it was, it was almost certainly his fault..
Duo stirred, grinned sleepily, "...Heero..." and rolled over, going back to sleep.
Heero poked him again. "Wake up."
"...'m awake."
"Duo!" He poked him again, under the ribs, harder this time. "If I have to be awake then you have to be awake."
"Ow! Nope. Nuh uh..."
Defeated, Heero sank down onto the edge of the couch and listened to Duo's contented snores.
The slamming of an upstairs door warned that the twins had shut themselves in the bathroom, with the mirror and Joe's secret jar of styling gel.
All was quiet.
Heero yawned and slumped, just a little, against Duo's shoulder. Duo was nice and warm. Two hairstyles later, Heero was fast asleep again.
Heero, sleeping, was luxuriously cosy and comfortable, cocooned safely in pleasurable warmth, like loving arms embracing him. As he swam upwards through befuddling layers of sleep, a tingling grew, a luscious itch, a warm coiling in his belly, and he dreamed; delicious, lubricious dreams. Moaned softly, wantonly, in his sleep, and fancied warmth trailing over his skin, phantom touches that stroked and warmed his willing flesh to tingling acceptance. Slid reluctantly towards waking, his body heavy with a seductive languor that held him entranced. In his dream, his heart raced, wanting more. Wanting...
There was an annoying tickle, a wriggle from somewhere beside him and he was jolted rudely awake. His nose twitched. Gah. Ferret whiskers. Flushed and breathless, his heart still pounding, it took him some moments to realise that he was stretched out full-length on the futon, under the covers, with Duo's arm snugged around his waist from behind in a warm embrace.
How...?
Just like his dream.
A gentle exhalation stirred the hair at the nape of his neck; a murmur, a sigh, a tiny breath of warmth. "Mmm...Heero..."
Duo.
Holding him...and...
Heero lay transfixed, still drowning in dream sensation. His treacherous body was filled with a heavy heat. Wanting to move. Desperate to. Aching to. And yet, terrified to move, lest Duo notice. He struggled to control his ragged breaths, pretending sleep. If he was asleep then he could lie here for just a little bit longer, pretending that it was...
...it was...
...Duo's hand, exploring gently beneath his t-shirt.
Ohh ...oh god...it was real!
Heat exploded in his belly burning away dream clouds with ready desire and spread outwards, suffusing his entire body with warmth.
Duo's sleepy fingers drew lazy circles of delight on his stomach, small ones around his navel, shivery-ticklish ones on his hip, growing larger, finding sensitive places that made him shudder in response, his heart pounding a fierce rhythm.
Fingers, grown bold, feathered across his ready nipple, and lingered, gently teasing, and Heero quivered helplessly at the touch, moving at last under Duo's hand. Ohhhh...ohh...
Duo nuzzled against him, moist breath on his neck, and Heero tilted his head obediently, silently begging for more; more mouth, more fingers, more Duo, feeling teeth gently graze the angle of his shoulder and neck, making him shiver and press back against him. Ohhh...
Completely forgetting why he couldn't do this, why he wasn't going to do this. Just feeling...
Duo's thigh sliding between his...
Heero stretching out under his hand, rolling slightly onto his back against Duo's chest, legs parting in silent invitation...
Duo's hand sliding downwards, Heero arching up blindly to meet it, wanting more, wanting...
Duo's fingers grazing the waistband of his pyjama pants, hesitating....
Oh ... oh god... ohhhh...please... Duo...
"...'ve you guys seen Fez?"
Tyler.
Holy Hell! Heero convulsed with shock and tumbled gracelessly out of the bed in a tangle of sheet, blindly grabbing the ferret by the scruff of its neck on the way.
"Here take the rotten thing outside it gets into everything and I suppose you want breakfast in the kitchen in a minute I'll be there just hang on a second we were just talking I'll only be two ticks just take the ferret out-side..."
Back in the kitchen, his new favourite hiding place, after his bedroom, the bathroom with the door locked, and the shed, Heero splashed cold water again and again over his flushed face while Tyler rummaged loudly for breakfast cereal, and settled for a banana, or failing that, toast please Heero, and he didn't want a sandwich in his lunch today, just cookies.
Heero stared miserably at his reflection in the window and said all right then and okay good and yes if that's what you want, all without hearing a word.
Oh hell. Hell and damnation. It was official. He was completely and utterly screwed.
Duo wanted him back.
That afternoon, after school, they all gathered in the kitchen, talking to Trowa, who had dropped by, yet again, prompting Heero to ask caustically why he didn't just move in, and Duo to say why not, although he'd have to share the futon because of Heero's bad back, and Trowa to grin at Heero and Heero to glare and accidentally break a mug, and drinking tea and endless cups of chocolate, with marshmallows and a spoon for Joe, and potato crisps, dipped, for Zac. Silas thought that was just gross, but Duo, who had tried it, said it wasn't too bad. Although he preferred chocolate-coated cream cookies. He dunked, to prove it, then grinned at Heero, locking eyes with him and licking melted chocolate with long, slow swipes of his tongue. Heero spilt his tea and swore, in Japanese, blissfully forgetting the fact that the twins knew Japanese. Duo knew better.
Trowa admired the twins' colourful hair, and was told the long, sad tale of Heero's recent attack of flu. Heero had obviously been quite sick. Was still quite pale. Trowa wondered how they'd managed to get him to stay in bed. Heero never stayed in bed. Was convinced that it was his duty to save the world single-handedly.
"Who rang all your clients?"
"I did." Duo, carefully twisting the two halves of his cookie apart. "I went through the client files and found 'em all in Current Jobs. Oh..." He looked back to Heero. "I paid Coates's for the timber too. And Dellabosca's gave me some money. I banked it for you. It's all on your laptop."
"Hm." Heero was intent on Duo's cookie, and its surroundings.
Trowa, who was not quite so interested in Duo's tongue, was not. He was intent on Heero. Heero let Duo handle his clients? On his laptop? The same hawk-quiet and fiercely independent Heero Yuy who didn't trust anyone, not even his best friend, and especially not near his laptop? Hmm. Interest-inger and interest-inger.
"Oh. By the way." Trowa tried to distract the interesting Heero Yuy. "I was in Reddings today. They want to know when you're bringing the pickup in so they can check out the carbie."
Ouch. Heero winced, with the fraction of his attention that he could spare from Duo. That meant money.
"Oops. Better ring 'em. I already fixed it." Duo again. Duo, who was able to talk whilst slowly licking the filling from one half of his chocolate cookie, eyes fastened to Heero's over the top of the cookie, while Heero squirmed in fascination. "Just needed reseating. Didn't seem worth paying a mechanic to do that." He grinned at Heero, over the cookie. "You've gotta check it out man. It goes like a bomb!"
The pickup as well? When Heero wouldn't even let his aforementioned best friend, Trowa, even drive his truck? And interest-inger. Somehow the impossible had happened. Heero Yuy trusted somebody.
More chocolate licking, and squirming. Trowa wondered where on earth Heero had got the idea that Duo didn't like him. Duo seemed to have a very serious case of like indeed.
There was a faint scratching from the verandah and Fez, who was on Duo's knee, where he usually ended up by some sort of slithery, ferretine osmosis, abandoned Duo's braid, his not-so-secret obsession, and rose up onto his hind legs, cocking his head towards the door. Heero, who was still watching Duo, noticed, and listened, and then sighed heavily.
"Cody could you open the door please? You're closest," he added, as Cody's mouth opened.
"Here...take this with you." Duo shoved a chocolate cookie into Cody's open mouth and grinned after him as he roller-bladed towards the door, then blinked in surprise as a small, golden cat darted down the hallway in front of Cody, to wind sinuously around Trowa's ankles, purring loudly, like a miniature lion.
Heero grimaced at Duo's look of enquiry. "Mrs. Kostiki's cat," he muttered and glowered at the table, wiping spilt tea. He might as well give up and just pour the whole lot out on the floor.
Duo's eyebrows lifted enquiringly. It seemed like a pretty cute sort of cat.
Joe grinned at Heero. "It lo-o-o-o-ves Trowa."
Duo could see that. All animals loved Trowa. Tuna probably leapt into the trawler just to be near him, smiling adoring, fishy smiles and trying not to hit him with their tails as they flopped and gasped their last. Trowa grinned and shrugged, in an expansive sort of way that meant 'what can I say...I'm a lovable sort of guy,' in Spanish. The flute trilled and the cat purred, looking up at him and rubbing its cheek against his shin. Maybe Trowa was a snake charmer in a previous life. Trowa picked up the besotted cat and fussed over it. Ecstatic purrs filled the kitchen, while Heero wrang the dishcloth's neck
Heero was jealous of a cat? Maybe Duo could buy him one for his birthday. After he remembered when Heero's birthday was. After he remembered when his own birthday was. Although... He frowned. Geez Louise... they already had a ferret, The Retriever, hens and five kids. Plus whatever lived in that fish tank of Cody's. How many animals did one family need?!?
"Mrs. Kostiki'll be over..."
"...in ten minutes to get it back." Silas and Zac smirked evil, green- and purple-haired grins at Heero, who glared furiously back.
Duo looked from face to face enquiringly. What was going on with the cat?!! They were all grinning at Heero now, who was concentrating furiously on the dishcloth. Duo stood up and moved protectively closer to him, glaring indiscriminately. Poor Heero. All right! Duo would get him a cat. Maybe a Siamese. They were cute. And had blue eyes just like his. And the glare. Duo quickly turned his grin into a smile of sympathy for Heero, but just a little too late. Yep. That was the glare all right...right there.
Tyler was jiggling with glee, rolling his eyes and gurgling his Rs. "Mrs.Caustic calls Heero my poorrrrr lamb."
Cody chimed in. "And pinches his cheek!!!"
The doorbell rang.
They all looked at Heero's stricken face, and then the kitchen exploded with laughter. Even Heero smiled, a small twitch of the lips, although that may have been because Duo was hanging from his shoulder, almost helpless with laughter.
The doorbell rang again.
"Your turn." When they could speak again, Duo and Heero turned towards Tyler as one, Heero hoisting him off the floor, where he was rolling with giggles, and out of the kitchen, with a firm hand on his shoulder.
From the kitchen they heard the door opening again, and a nervous voice.
"Uhh...hello?"
And suddenly Joe was down the other end of the hall, elbowing Tyler out of the way and flinging the door wide. "Mari! Hi. Uh. Come in. Umm. Hi!"
Joe's mysterious Mari! Duo glanced up at Heero, his eyes sparkling with amusement, and already gleaming with an idea. Heero couldn't help it. He had to smile back.
Mari lived with Mrs Kostiki, who was her Great-Great-Aunt on her father's side or something. Her father had a business up-state, somewhere, but didn't want to take Mari out of school. Maybe. Her mother was around somewhere but there had been an acrimonious divorce, or an illness, or something, and her father hadn't been able to stay in Darke's Cove or something, and the upshot was that Mari lived with Great Aunt Josefina, while her parents both had access visits. Possibly. This much Duo gleaned, in a loud whisper, from Zac and Silas, who were a fount of information, but seemed to be missing a few vital pieces of the puzzle. Like Mari's name, Mari's mother's name, Mari's father's name, or why Mari's father had had to leave Darke's Cove. From what Duo had gathered from Howard, Iria, Old Duke Dermail and assorted other friends, although not from Heero, who didn't gossip; pretty much the only things frowned upon in Darke's Cove were homosexual love triangles, and lobster duffing. Maybe Mari's dad was a restaurateur, specialising in shellfish.
That didn't really matter. What did matter was that Joe was madly, passionately, in thirteen-year-old love, and Duo intended to do something about it.
"Mari...have you ever had your picture painted?"
Heero didn't know that Duo could paint.
For that matter, Duo didn't know that Duo could paint either, but that didn't stop him from grabbing a primed off-cut of MDF from Heero's shed and quickly sketching a fantastic confection with Mari, poised on the verandah rail turned tree branch, a youthful warrior maiden, gazing into the distance, her auburn hair a fiery corona, with Joe, her faithful spear carrier at her feet. Joe had to be in it too. Duo was quite insistent.
And insistent that Mari needed to present herself every afternoon after school to sit for the great artist. But for now, he said, she looked tired, because modelling was hard work, and maybe Joe should get her some juice, and they should go sit on the porch swing together for a rest.
Heero watched in silent wonder over Duo's shoulder, as Mari's hair flowed from the pencil and onto the white board in confident lines and pre-Raphaelite whorls, and Joe's rare smile peeped out delightedly from beneath his messy, brown hair. Another piece of the puzzle that was Duo Maxwell.
Duo was very, very good.
Acrylic paint and long braids didn't mix. Or possibly, mixed a little too well, as Tyler and Fez discovered. Once the ferret had been washed to within an inch of its life, Duo wandered into the kitchen after his own shower, almost dressed in a towel and drying his abused hair vigorously with another. Heero took one look at a wet, semi-naked, and hair-draped Duo, risen from the shower like a soggy Boticelli's Venus, and abruptly decided that he was going to wash the saucepans after all, firmly turning his back to the room and running water over-briskly into the sink.
If he had been just a fraction slower, he might have caught a very un-Venus-like grin, one that the twins might have recognised. As it was, he remained in blissful ignorance, for half a minute longer.
Duo abandoned his hair and caught his towel, almost in the nick of time, as it slid from his hips, re-wrapping it several times to get it just right, and tucking it firmly, then slung his bare arm damply over Heero's shoulders. Heero didn't need to glance sideways to know that Duo's chest was bare and pinkly flushed from his shower, and beaded with crystal droplets of water, that pooled, and overflowed, to slither voluptuously downwards over smooth skin. But he peeked anyway. Traced the droplets' path beneath the towel. Thought about the smooth skin beneath the towel. He couldn't help himself. Looked firmly back down into the sink, just as the basin started to overflow. Hell.
"Watcha doing Heero? Ugh... The grill huh. Yuk."
Heero was tongue-tied in the face of all those tantalising little drops.
Trowa wasn't. He saw water every day, oceans of it. "That's a nasty scar Duo."
"Huh?! Oh! Trowa! You still here!"
Trowa was still there, obviously not having a home to go to, and propping up the bench in the corner drinking coffee, sailor-strength.
So much for seducing Heero Yuy at the kitchen sink.
Duo turned to face Trowa, moving around so that his back was to the sink, but not letting go of Heero, so that his arm slid over Heero's shoulders and around to Heero's chest, resting there comfortably, his hand caught affectionately around the back of Heero's neck, playing with his hair. One step to the right and they would have been embracing chest-to-chest, and straight on 'till morning, just like the fairy tale.
Trowa shoved off from the bench and fronted Duo, tracing the slick, white line with a curious finger. "Hmm. Must have been a nasty accident."
With his free hand he lifted the damp tangle of Duo's hair, tracking the scar down his shoulder and across his chest. "Ouch! Very nasty."
Duo stared thoughtfully down at the scar, frowning in frustration at this new mystery. His finger joined Trowa's, mapping the scar.
"I guess. I don't remember."
Heero glared out of the corner of his eye at Trowa's trespassing finger, at the familiar hand in Duo's hair, and turned rapidly in Duo's embrace, suddenly uninterested in dishes. His movement brought his arm to rest naturally behind Duo's back, his hand on Duo's hip, and he glowered at Trowa. "Didn't you want a shower too???"
Trowa blinked and stared thoughtfully at them, at Heero's arm suddenly tight around Duo, Duo's fingers still twined in Heero's hair.
Was Heero jealous?? A smile scudded across Trowa's face then hid itself carefully away beneath his overlong bangs.
"Uhh...yeah. I've got a change of clothes in my car." The smile broadened into a grin and he turned away with an airy wave of his hand. "I'll just leave you guys to get on with...um...it."
With Trowa gone Heero abruptly became aware of Duo standing pressed against him. Of his arm wrapped tightly around the warm, damp skin of Duo's waist. He thought that he should probably let go, but wasn't quite sure how to do it without drawing undue attention to himself. He stood rigidly still, hardly daring to breathe.
Duo had a similar problem, except that he had absolutely no intention of letting Heero go.
And since their interruption by Tyler that morning, Duo's plan for Heero's seduction had grown some additional objectives, involving a lockable door and a proper bed. Preferably Heero's.
Slowly and carefully, as if approaching a wild animal, he turned again in Heero's arm and snuggled up against him.
Both arms around his neck.
His lips only a moment away, parting gently.
For the sixty million dollar question...
"How's your back Heero?" He tilted his head and peeked up at him through lowered eyelashes.
There was a husky undercurrent to his voice that Heero hadn't heard before. It made all of Heero's hairs stand on end and take notice. He could feel the heat from Duo's flanks that were pressed against him through two layers of towel and jeans. Breathe the warm and spicy smell of him. Duo's fingers teased the short tendrils of hair at the nape of Heero's neck, and Heero quivered in response. Ohh...
...Hell.
Abruptly he shoved himself away from the sink, and Duo, and bolted from the kitchen.
Moments later, a door slammed upstairs.
Duo stared at the empty kitchen doorway in disappointment. So much for the direct approach. Or... Maybe he needed a more direct approach. More direct than draping himself half-naked over Heero... Maybe he should paint a sign...Boyfriend - apply within and stick it on his chest...
Locked in the still-steamy bathroom, Heero Yuy wrestled with his conscience, and other interested parts of his body, ignoring Trowa, who knocked determinedly on the door for a while, then chuckled and went away.
It didn't help that the bathroom still reeked of that same, warm and spicy, Duo smell. Or that there were water droplets on the clouded mirror. Heero groaned. More wrestling, about fifteen minutes worth.
He would not take advantage of Duo. No matter how much Duo might want to be taken advantage of. It would be like tricking him into bed. Or tripping him into bed. He toyed wistfully with that idea for a while, not easy considering all the wrestling that had gone before. But no. Unforgivable. Apart from anything else, Duo wasn't gay. At least, Duo hadn't thought that he was. Once. And to explain that, to the now quite-determinedly gay Duo, would involve describing the whole sordid Welfare-boat-falling-into-the-water-hospital-Heero-lyingthrough-his-teeth saga. Couldn't be done. Heero knew that. But it was just wrong to take advantage of Duo, when he didn't know who or what he was. He knew that too.
The difficulty seemed to be to stop Duo taking advantage of Heero, when he didn't know who or what he was.
If only he could tell him.
He'd been worried that Duo would leave, but...
Exhausted from all the wrestling and toying, Heero collapsed onto the edge of the bath, resting his hot forehead against the cool edge of the vanity, ignoring the bits of fluff in the corner, and Zac's Bite Me badge, which had unaccountable gone missing a few days ago, causing considerable amounts of pain and suffering, in favour of myriad visions of Duo.
Duo on a mattress on his floor, waking to feed him painkillers and sympathy. Duo smiling sleepily and letting the boys and even that blasted ferret into his bed. Ringing his clients. Fixing his truck. Duo, bringing that heart-warming, shy delight to Joe's eyes, as he went to sit with Mari on the swing.
Duo was a kind, caring person. There was no doubt that the boys loved him. And he seemed to really care for them. Surely he wouldn't abandon them, if only for the boys' sake.
Heero raised his head, staring into the mirror. The mist had cleared away and his own blue eyes stared determinedly back at him. It was decided.
He was going to tell Duo.
The Seduction Of Heero Yuy stalled for the rest of the day, due to the interested presence of Trowa, who's boyfriend was still away, and who had stayed for dinner, the basketball game, the late-movie, and the late-late movie, eventually getting dragged away from the shopping channel, and man-handled out of the door, by Duo, who said that it was his futon and he was jolly well sleeping on it, thank you very much, because he had to get up in the morning, unlike certain other dumbasses, who were catching a late tide and could sleep in.
The next day, seeing as Heero was working all day and unavailable for seduction, Duo decided that the first step on the way to a man's heart would be dinner, seeing as it was his turn to cook anyway. He told that boys that they were making a special dinner for Heero, because he worked so hard and was tired.
They all helped.
Zac and Silas sliced vegetables, as if they were wielding a katana, and ate bits of carrot, while Duo deciphered the mysteries of the gravy packet, and chocolate self-saucing pudding, one of the one-chef's-hat recipes from Susannah Klein's Easy Cooking for Beginners. Cooking a romantic dinner, whilst one small step for mankind, was an enormous, mechanised-robot-sized step for Duo, who had no recollection of ever cooking a roast dinner.
Duo had discovered himself to be expert at steak, chops and 5-minute spaghetti bolognese, but, surprisingly, at least to him, not very good at child-friendly things like 2-minute noodles, macaroni cheese and sausages. Or complicated things like cakes. Fairy bread had had him choking on his tea and rolling around in gales of rude laughter, until Joe had pityingly explained to him that there was such a thing, involving bread and ant-attracting quantities of 100s and 1000s sprinkles, and that it was Tyler's staple diet.
Heero, on the other hand, having had a surrogate mother for the first sixteen years of his life, and having been one for the remaining four, was fairly impressive in the kitchen, especially at stir frys. And vegetables. Particularly vegetables. Lots of them, especially anything green or orange. Not so good at desserts. If Duo mastered chocolate self-saucing pudding tonight, that would give him a definite edge in the child-friendly stakes.
Cody set the cutlery on the big cedar table in the dining room, forks on the left, knives to the right, his face a mask of concentration, then explained to Duo that it just went to show how really useful roller blades were, because they helped him to reach. Tyler fetched the juice, putting Fez down first, and using both hands. Joe remembered a long-forgotten anniversary and dug out a white, damask tablecloth, from some mysterious drawer, then smiled at Duo and climbed up into a top cupboard and found candles. Duo grinned. The candles were a bit girlie, pink ones, but they looked pretty cool, in the centre of the table, and nobody cared that the tablecloth was un-ironed.
Duo checked the time then rushed to shower and change, emptying the black, plastic bag out all over the floor and dragging on loose, black jeans, that hung off his hips, and the tight, lace, body shirt with the splashy orange and purple flowers. He couldn't imagine where he would ever have bought such a thing, but he loved it anyway. No time to plait his hair. He quickly dragged it back into a ponytail then went to check the pudding.
The chicken was starting to smell like Christmas and the boys were all hovering in the doorway hungrily when Heero arrived home.
He flopped down into a kitchen chair, eyes widening appreciatively as he admired the bits of Duo that he could see through his lacy shirt. "Mmm. Something smells good." Duo looked good enough to eat. Tonight he would tell him. Somehow. And maybe... His voice was low and husky with desperate hope. "Looks good too."
Duo turned to face him, eyes like saucers. "Uh... Mmm...'specially for you. Hungry?"
Heero smiled tentatively and looked straight at Duo, his blue eyes soft and warm. "Mm hmm." And then, to make sure that Duo knew that he meant it, "Yes."
Duo stood spellbound in the centre of the kitchen, mouth slightly open, staring at Heero, a spatula forgotten in his hand. Did Heero mean...?
The phone rang.
"Heero! It's for you!" Tyler pushed the phone at him.
"Say he's not here!!!" Duo snapped out of his bemusement, waving the spatula frantically at Tyler. "Quick!!"
Heero shrugged apologetically and stood up, rolling his eyes at them as he reached for the receiver. He had a business to run. He had to answer the phone.
"Hello?"
A huff of breath.
"Relena."
Silas and Zac made fingers-down-their-throat vomiting motions and Heero shoved them away with his free hand, turning his back on them all.
Duo stirred the gravy slowly, listening hard from the stove.
"No I can't right now. What?" Heero moved the phone to his other ear. " I know we did but I'm just about to... The boys have... Relena I never promised...I just said that...Yes I know you need me but... You what? Where??? Oh. Oh. I see. All right then. Ten minutes."
He put the phone down and took in the ring of expectant faces, sighing apologetically. "Sorry guys. That was Relena. I have to go."
There was an outraged clamour from the boys. Only Duo was uncharacteristically silent, stirring harder.
Heero huffed with irritation, at whom, it was unclear. "I really have to go. She needs me."
"Well we need you too!!!" The twins were indignant. Chopping carrots was hard work. Missus Peabrain-dingbat was a royal pain in the butt.
Gravy leapt from the stove onto the floor, and all over Duo's pants. "Shit!" He hurled the spatula into the sink, grabbing the cloth and swiping at his legs. "Shit shit shit!"
"Duo...are you okay?" Joe stared at him with concerned blue eyes, the image of Heero's, except that Joe's, who knew that this was a special dinner, were full of sympathy, where Heero's, who didn't, just showed tiredness and unfocussed irritation.
"Yeah! Fine! Just freaking dandy!" Duo's voice wobbled alarmingly and he spun around and busied himself tidying up the mess by the stove. When he turned around again his face was calm. His fingers worked automatically, soothingly, putting his hair away into its braid.
He looked across at Heero, smiling brightly, his busy hands and hair in front of him like a barricade. "It's all right Heero. I understand."
And he did.
He understood everything now. Understood why Heero didn't want to share a bed with him. Understood why Heero flinched away every time Duo flung his arms around him or tried to hug him. Understood finally, maybe, why Duo had been out on that boat at Whale Banks in the first place. He'd never been able to work that one out before.
Relena.
He snapped the band onto his hair with finality. "You have to go. But you've gotta eat. Here. Sit down." He pushed Heero firmly into a chair. "I'll make you a sandwich. It'll only take a second."
Six pairs of eyes watched as he silently pulled chicken from the oven and sliced off the breast, making Heero two large, warm, chicken sandwiches. Wholemeal bread, salad, mayonnaise with a smear of wasabi, a little pepper. Heero liked wasabi mayonnaise. No salt. Silently wrapped them in clear plastic wrap, sliced roughly with a knife when it wouldn't rip off straight, the rejects wadded into clear balls and hurled haphazardly at the bin. Pressed the sandwiches into his hands. He rummaged in the bowl for an apple and polished it on the festive lace shirt, then added it to the pile, speaking at last. "Okay. There you go."
Heero had the sinking feeling that something terrible had happened and he wasn't quite sure what. The warm feelings of anticipation that had filled the kitchen moments ago seemed to have disappeared. He clutched the unstable mountain of food, the sandwiches warming his fingers. It was just dinner. He'd missed dinner before, working late. "Duo I..."
"It's okay Heero you've gotta go. See you when you get back. Don't worry about us." Duo pushed him gently towards the door.
After Heero had gone, Duo sat the boys down around the kitchen table and served up dinner. Poured juice, wiped up spilled gravy, won hearts with chocolate pudding and cleared away dishes. Joe said that they could save the dining table for tomorrow, when Heero was home, and Duo hmmed non-committally in reply. When Silas asked him tentatively when he was going to eat he said that he'd get something later, maybe when Heero got home. He just didn't feel real hungry right now.
Heero didn't get home until after midnight.
When he finally arrived back home, cold, wet, and reeking of goat, to a house still smelling warmly of roast chicken and chocolate pudding, Duo had gone to bed, balled up on the futon, his back to the door, and the house was darkly silent and growing cold.
Heero dripped in the open, living room doorway and stared longingly at the vague Duo-shape on the futon, in the warmth that lingered near the fire. His eyes traced the dim outline of Duo's braid, embroidering the covers in soft coils. "Duo?" he called softly. "Duo?" But there was no answer, and after a little while he turned away and went up to bed.
Duo rolled over and stared at the empty doorway, listening. To the tired drag of Heero's footsteps on the worn stair carpet, to the snick of a door eased shut, and to the shudder of pipes as the hot water ran. Listened and then lay, miserably chasing sleep long after the sounds had died away.
Upstairs, showered and warm at last, Heero Yuy lay on his back in the dark and stared at his invisible ceiling. Oh well. He'd talk to Duo in the morning. Satisfied, he rolled over and went to sleep.
In the morning, Duo was running around like a mad thing organising school lunches, with a chicken salad roll for Joe, chicken and tomato white bread sandwich, no seeds, no lettuce, for Silas, chicken and lettuce brown bread sandwich, no tomato, for Zac, fruit salad in a tub for Cody and fairy bread, no crusts for Tyler, and when the boys climbed on the school bus, Duo unexpectedly leaped aboard too, saying that he had things to do in town.
He did. He had to wander the hard-packed pewter sand beside a sea that was pale as milk, bare-toed in the freezing ripples, like the crying gulls and the tiny, feather-light crabs that ghosted, weightlessly sideways, across the wet sand. He had to walk and think.
How could he have been so dumb? He had really thought that Heero loved him. Was just avoiding him until he got his memory back to be chivalrous and polite, in a peculiarly Heero manner. Now he understood. Heero was just being kind to him. Just waiting until he got his memory back, before sending him away.
Was that why there were no photos of him anywhere? Nothing of him that he recognised, anywhere in the house? Had Heero wanted him gone? Got rid of all memories of him, before he'd even properly disappeared?
The wind was making his eyes sting. He rubbed them hard.
He had to go. It didn't matter how much he loved Heero, how much he ached for Heero with every fibre of his being, from his frozen toes to the tip of his bedraggled braid, he couldn't stay if Heero didn't love him back. He wouldn't live a lie.
And it wasn't fair to Heero. He wanted Heero to be happy. Almost more than anything. If that meant this Relena person...well...
Freaking wind.
Child Welfare were still a problem, but he'd stay in touch with Joe, and if they needed him, he could come back just for the day. Of course he'd stay in touch. They were his boys too, and the thought of losing his family was making his heart ache, but the pain was consumed in the terrible soul-tearing pain of Heero not loving him. He knew that he'd feel the loss of the boys much more later. He didn't want to leave them. Maybe when they were older they'd understand, and not hate him too much. Maybe they'd visit in the holidays.
His nose was running again and he swiped at it roughly with the back of his hand. It was the cold. Must be.
It was Joe's birthday in two weeks time, and he really had to be there for that. He'd already bought Joe's present, a top-of-the-line mobile phone. He would stay to wish Joe a happy birthday, and then he would go away. Somewhere. After that, well, he'd sort that out when he got there. Wherever there was.
As the day wore on, he let the stiffening on-shore whip his hair into tangles and suck the warmth from fingers, toes and heart, until he was completely numb, and then, he wandered townwards, to find himself at last in the softly-gleaming, beeswax-smelling, Alladin's Cave of Howard's Fine Furniture and Gift Emporium, where Howard was sanding-back desks. To warm his hands with two cups of strong, milky coffee and his heart with gossip and genial silence, whilst golden curls of timber fell in pine-scented heaps about his feet from the shussing plane, and plumes of rum-soaked cigar smoke wreathed in bluish coils around him, until finally he was able to twist his face into a smile and go back, to live out his last few days as part of Heero Yuy's family.
For a long time, Heero Yuy stared out of the living room window towards the place where Duo had disappeared with the boys, but after a while it became obvious that Duo wasn't coming back anytime soon and he moved from the window.
Glanced sourly at the paperwork on his desk beside the window and turned restlessly away.
He had to talk to Duo.
Duo's clothes spilled across the floor in untidy profusion, from his tumbled black plastic wardrobe. Heero up-righted the bag and started jamming them back in, efficiently at first, his movements gradually slowing. The clothes smelled distractingly of Duo.
As he stared at the chaotic rainbow, an idea slowly took shape, sanded, planed and polished itself into a gleaming chest of drawers. There was some lovely Australian cedar in the useful pile of timber behind the shed. Heero's glory box, Duo called it. About time he used it. If he didn't have enough cedar, he could use different-colored pieces of timber for the drawer fronts, alternating dark and light. That would appeal to Duo's quirky sense of style anyway.
He dropped the bulging bag and hurried outside to look. He didn't have to be at Nilsson's to measure up until ten, so he had a bit of time, although he had planned to do filing. The paperwork would just have to wait.
When Duo finally strolled into the house as the sun dipped below the horizon, laughing and joking and bearing fish and chips for tea, burgers for the twins, Heero was hard at work on the new chest of drawers in the shed, and didn't immediately realise that the real Duo, his Duo, had been left behind somewhere in the lengthening shadows on the deserted beach, with the ghostly crabs and the spume-covered wrack.
This Duo was not the same.
After twenty-four hours of Duo not bringing him tea and hanging over him while he worked at his laptop, not draping his legs over his lap when they were sitting on the couch, and not barging in on him in the bathroom demanding his hairbrush, Heero was missing it desperately. After two days he was craving it like a drug.
This Duo smiled and nodded and passed the juice, but he was like a clock-work doll wound up too tight, movements jerky and strained, playing a role, and playing it badly, the real Duo buried deep. The real Duo only peeked out when the boys were around, heaping them with hugs and games and laughter, in almost desperate profusion.
It was quite impossible to hold Duo still long enough to talk about anything. He suddenly seemed to have a million things to do smilingly at break-neck speed, none of them involving Heero. And when the boys went to bed, Duo did too, back firmly to the door, and Heero.
To distract himself from the uncharacteristic but frighteningly familiar quiet, Heero threw himself into making the chest of drawers, spending every spare minute in the shed. He had to make things better. Maybe this gift would tell Duo all the things that Heero couldn't. The words that Heero couldn't say, in case Duo became angry and left before Welfare were off their backs. He had to worry about the boys first of all.
Heero felt oddly desperate. Couldn't shake a terrible feeling that he was racing against time. Any minute now whatsherface might appear to reclaim Duo. Or Duo might remember and leave.
Maybe had already remembered.
Was making ready to go.
Heero didn't want to think about Duo leaving.
He didn't want to be alone again.
Heero Yuy had been alone for a very long time. Had learned to cope on his own, without anyone or anything, because he had to. Because if Welfare heard that he couldn't cope they'd be back. Heero Yuy didn't trust anyone.
Until suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, he trusted Duo.
Duo had forced him to. And now, he relied on Duo to take care of things. He didn't have to always be perfectly in control, always on-duty. Could relax. It was a wonderfully liberating feeling.
It's all right Heero. I'll take care of everything. Don't worry. You go back to sleep .
Don't worry.
Duo.
He needed Duo.
Duo stared sadly out of the kitchen window towards the back shed. Heero was out there again. He obviously couldn't bear to spend a minute longer in Duo's company than he absolutely had to.
This couldn't go on. It was hurting Heero just as much as it was him. Heero had been miserable ever since that Relena had rung. The sooner Duo went the better, and then Heero could get on with his life.
Tyler tugged impatiently at his jeans leg.
He glanced down at him, twisting his face into a smile.
"Yeah buddy?"
"Can I have hot chocolate milk please Duo? I haven't had one yet. Really"
"Mm hm."
If only everything didn't hurt so freaking much.
Even freaking chocolate milk.
Duo took milk from the refrigerator, found the puppy dog mug in the corner cupboard, started milk warming in the microwave. Took down chocolate powder and set it on the bench. Ghosted his fingers absently along the scarred wooden benchtop and leaned against it while he waited, glancing around the kitchen. Everything so cosy and familiar. Tyler and Cody's drawings on the fridge. Joe's CDs scattered near the CD player in the alcove between the fridge and the pantry. The wooden noticeboard that Joe had made in Design and Technology hanging beside the shelves with all the cereal and rice. The black scuff mark where Cody's roller blades had missed the sharp left-hander around the table and crashed into the cupboard under the sink. His fingers found the scar on the benchtop left behind after the twins chopped carrots, and played with it absently. All his memories were here.
If only he had somewhere else to go maybe leaving would be easier. Somebody else to turn to. He couldn't stay with Trowa. It wasn't fair to ask Trowa to support him against Heero. There was always Howard but... He thought for a moment then shook his head slightly. He really needed to get right away from Darke's Cove. To make some new memories.
The microwave beeped and he turned back to Tyler's milk. If only he had somewhere else to go...
When Hilde Schbeiker rang Darke's Cove Police Station, she was kept on hold for nine and a half minutes, then put through to a woman in the Incident Room. A Detective Sergeant Noin. DS Noin was preparing to go off-duty, and was not happy to be asked to re-check the Missing Persons Files.
She yanked out the files, but there was no Duo Maxwell under 'M'. Speedily checked Coastguard reports, for that same time period, but again, nothing. Let out her breath in a huff of frustration, raking her fingers through her spiky, blue-black hair, and checked her watch.
At the end of her shift she was meeting the Superintendent. For dinner, and, whatever came after. She tuned out the anxious, telephone voice for a moment, lost in dreamy contemplation of the whatever. Of piercing, ice-blue eyes and long, long, ice-blonde hair. Gorgeous hair. Connections in high places for sure. He was secretive about his background, always had been, even with her, but the girls all whispered it, and there could be no doubt about it or he would have had to cut that hair. They'd been dating for a while now, since they'd met at the Academy in fact, and she'd followed him to Darke's Cove station. But now, she was considering a transfer to Forensics. She'd always been interested, and it would remove any hint of fraternisation, or nepotism. The Force was her career and she didn't intend to jeopardise that. And besides. Forensics worked out of Good Forest, which, coincidentally, was where Zechs lived. Much more convenient.
She frowned. The annoying Miss Schbeiker, who was currently buzzing in her ear, had filed a Missing Person report. It had to be here somewhere. Stupid Police Intranet. Down again. She'd have to check them all manually.
Jamming the phone against her ear with her hunched shoulder, she pulled all the files out and dumped them onto her desk, then measured the stack of paper with a narrowed, blue eye. Checked her watch again. Seven minutes. Damn.
Okaaay. She smiled winningly into the phone.
"I'm sorry Miss Schbeiker. There seems to have been a bit of a mix-up. We don't appear to have a record for a Duo Maxwell. Leave it with me and I'll get back to you, as soon as I've sorted it out."
And hung up.
Duo had taken to helping Howard out; either in the shop, or restoring furniture out the back. Duo was pleased to have the work, because they needed the money, and he enjoyed Howard's company. Howard was pleased too. Said that Duo had a great eye, and wanted him with him on his next buying trip. Duo didn't have the heart to say that he would be long gone by then, just hmmed noncommittally and polished harder, trying to distract himself from the sharp pang that those words gave him.
Quite often he caught the school bus home with the boys, if he hadn't borrowed the pickup. He wasn't sure why he didn't have a car, or a bike, or something. It was odd really. He liked cars, and fiddling around with them. He really thought that he would have had one. But he hadn't had the heart to ask Heero, when there quite obviously wasn't the money for one right now, and it wouldn't matter soon anyway. Another pang. And maybe... Oh God. Maybe he'd had a car and Heero had sold it when he'd got rid of his other stuff. Heero could do with the money after all. This time the pain felt as if he was dying.
Anyway the bus was quite fun, with the boys. He could happily keep the entire bus entertained all the way home, although after about twenty minutes, Old Duke Dermail normally threatened to put Mr. Maxwell off and make him walk home, at which point Duo would wander up the front and hang over the yellow line that said 'No Passengers Beyond This Point" and chat to him about his Triumph. The panels were on, and Old Duke was haunting Swap Meets looking for fittings. Thought that Duo might like to help him rig the door handles. Except that Duo knew that he wouldn't be around. Pain.
Everything in Duo's life was pain. Death by a thousand tiny needles, stabbing him one by one.
But today he'd missed the school bus and taken a later one, trudging pensively home at dusk from the bus stop through the mist-heavy air, feeling the cold of the ground through his boots, hearing the grass already crunching frostily underfoot, watching his breath cloud in front of him, and arriving home to the smell of wood smoke and the golden glow of the kitchen window, warming the verandah with a patchwork quilt of light and dark, the bare branches of the creeper twisted in dark and fantastic filigree against the gold. He halted at the back gate watching that warm, welcoming square of window, and the figure silhouetted in it, until Rex ghosted out of the twilight to gambol around his legs, chewing something nameless.
Rex.
On the wrong side of the fence again.
"Damned dog. Where've you been boy? Old Clark'll get you!" Duo fondled Rex's ears dispiritedly, the fur cold under his fingers, then sighed and ushered him in, dragging the gate shut behind them.
"Duo! Duo!"
Silas was coming back from shutting in the chickens, and flung the feed bucket away to clatter against the fence, rushing to join him.
"Duo come on!"
Silas bounded up the verandah steps, hurrying him along. Duo followed bemusedly, with Rex barking and frolicking under his feet.
As soon as Duo stepped into the hallway, Tyler and Cody charged at him and grabbed his hands, tugging him towards the living room; Cody sometimes dragging and sometimes being dragged, depending on the state of his roller blades. Joe and Zac were peering around the doorway down the hall, grinning broadly, even Joe. Duo blinked.
"Come and see! Come and see!"
"Eh?" Duo let himself be dragged, staring at Joe for enlightenment. Joe just grinned wider, and shook his head.
They reached the living room doorway and stopped.
"Now shut your eyes."
"What?? Why?"
"Shut your eyes! Go on! Hurry up!" Tyler was bouncing with impatience.
The excitement was contagious. Duo's lips twitched in a smile and he made a show of squeezing his eyes tightly shut, holding out his hands and allowing himself to be led into the living room. Blinked nervously as his hip nudged the edge of the futon, and quickly closed his eyes again.
"Okay. Now you can look!" There was excited tugging on his hands. "Look! Quick! It's for you! Look now!"
Duo opened his eyes and looked.
A chest of drawers was ranged against the back of the futon, gleaming richly in the flickering firelight, the drawers a checkerboard of dark and pale satin. He blinked in confusion. A chest? For him? Surely not.
Slowly he reached out a hand to the lustrous timber, fingertip sliding gently.
"Look! It's for you!"
"All your stuff!"
Drawers were yanked out, displaying all of Duo's clothes, neatly folded.
"Heero made it!"
"I put your clothes away!"
"Not just you! I helped!!!"
Duo looked up from the beautiful chest of drawers, across the back of the couch, all the way across the room, to the doorway where Heero stood, apparently scrutinising the living room carpet but in reality anxiously watching Duo, peering up shyly through protective layers of brown silk hair, his shaking hands shoved deep into the pockets of his faded jeans.
"Heero?" Duo's voice was very soft and wondering, reaching across the space between them. "You got this? For me?"
"Made it." Heero scuffed the carpet with a socked toe, then peeked back up at Duo again. "You need something. Can't use that garbage bag forever."
It took a moment for Heero's words to sink in, a moment during which Duo just stared at him blankly and Heero stopped breathing. He clenched his fists in his pockets, fingernails digging into his palms.
Duo's breath caught.
Forever.
Heero wanted him to stay forever.
A tight little knot of pain unravelled, soothing Duo's aching heart, and freeing the smile that swept across his face, to sparkle brilliantly in his eyes, almost as if there were tears there.
He blinked rapidly and bounced from behind the couch to grasp Heero's wrists, gazing earnestly at him.
"I love it! Really love it! Thank you! It's fan-dan-tastic!!" He gave his hands a little shake to emphasize his point. "Really I do. I can't believe you made it for me."
Suddenly Heero could breathe again, and he smiled shakily back at Duo, dragging his hands out of his pockets to hold on tightly to Duo's, letting the tension of the past week melt away in the sunshine of Duo's smile. For long moments they stood just like that, smiling tentatively, and holding warmly to each other, neither wanting to let go. Duo's thumbs caressed the backs of Heero's fingers gently and his fingers tightened, as if to pull him closer.
There was an outraged bellow from the futon.
"Heero! Tell Duo that I helped!! I did! I got Fez out of the sock drawer! He was making a major mess!!"
Duo chuckled shakily, and turned.
"You're a legend Tyler!!"
He dragged Heero back to admire the chest with him, running his fingers possessively over the polished wood, opening and closing drawers, still holding tight to Heero's hand. He grinned at Heero sidelong, shaking his head slightly. "Freaking amazing. I never knew that you could do stuff like this!!"
"Mm." Heero nodded, giddily talkative with relief. "I like this kind of thing. Don't get to do much joinery though. It's all pre-fab cabinetry usually."
"Shame. You're really good at it. Howard'd freak if he saw this!" Duo stared down at the polished wood, and, as he did so, the small seed of an idea took root.
"Hmm."
Since painting Mari, Duo had spent most of his evenings sketching, while Heero worked on his laptop, doing accounts or tenders, or joined the boys watching television. Or watched Duo. The house was littered with pencil images of the boys, Fez, Rex. A very nice one of Tyler and Fez. Lots of Heero. Tonight was no different, except that Duo sketched more purposefully than usual, page after page filled with drawings and scribble, then dropped carelessly beside him to drift across the carpet.
And, most importantly, to Heero's mind, tonight, he sat sideways on the couch with Heero to do it, his legs and socked feet draped comfortably over Heero's lap under Heero's hands, a warm, reassuring weight. Duo clambered off to go and rummage in Heero's desk for a set-square, then wriggled himself back onto Heero's lap, and Heero sighed contentedly. Things were back to normal.
Dectective Sergeant Noin was going to Forensics.
Which was nice for her, a promotion of sorts. She'd have to move to Good Forest, but Forensics was in a handy spot, just down from The Plaza, and there was a nice little kebab shop on the corner. Detective Constable Chang had just come from her farewell morning tea. She had seemed delighted with her transfer, and ridiculously pleased with the heavy-duty hair-dryer that the girls had bought as a going-away gift. An odd sort of present if you asked him. Especially for someone with such very short hair. A new briefcase would have been much more sensible. But they'd all giggled and said that she might need it.
Even the Superintendent had seemed oddly pleased that she was going, for a man who was losing one of his best officers. Went so far as to kiss her chastely on the cheek, and whispered something, that made her giggle, and blush, although Wufei had been too far away to hear.
Which was all very well, but it left Wufei with all of her filing.
He stared sourly at the pile of folders on her desk. He could leave it for her replacement, but that would not be a particularly honourable thing to do. He huffed with annoyance. Noin should have done it when she cleaned out her desk. He had a fleeting, uncharitable hope that Noin's new desk at Forensics would be buried under partially-severed fingers, bottled in formaldehyde, and sticky, centuries-old coffee rings. Or dead mice. Noin hated mice. It would only be justice.
He flipped unenthusiastically through the stack. They were all Missing Persons.
Oh well. Might as well get it over with. Sighing heavily he hefted the top-heavy pile, which immediately overbalanced, the top ten files, or so, sliding on to the floor. Damn! Honour be blowed! He caught the pile before the disaster spread too far, then crawled around on the floor collecting slips of paper, muttering to himself.
He sorted them back into the drawer. It was probably lucky that he'd had to go through them because the files were all out of order anyway. Here was an 'M' mixed in with the 'D's. Oops. The Duo Maxwell file. Oh dear. That must have been him. H remembered that one. And here was another out of order. A 'P' with nothing in it at all. Peacecraft. Hmm. There was something about that name... And that file had to have been deliberately removed.
Curious.
He placed them back in the correct order.
Oh well. He closed the drawer with finality.
At least next time somebody looked for the Maxwell file they'd be able to find it.
The door to Howard's Furniture Emporium and Gift Shop flew open with a frenetic jangle of bells, and slammed shut in a gust of Duo Maxwell energy as Duo blew in the door. Howard looked up from his broom as Duo barged in backwards, impatiently bumping the door out of the way with his hip, his hands filled with two wooden drawers.
"Heya Howie." Duo spun around in a flurry of drawer and whipping braid, and grinned at him exuberantly, placing the drawers tenderly onto the counter. "You sweeping again??! Here!" He grabbed the broom from him and thrust a drawer at him, pressing it into his hands. "I'll do that. You look at this!!" He looked from the drawer to Howard expectantly.
Howard peered at him quizzically over the top of his sunglasses. "Mornin' Kiddo. You're bright 'n breezy today. 'Bout time you stopped mopin' around." He stared meaningfully at the broom, until Duo jerked into action.
"Oh...yeah." He swept fitfully in one spot, eyes still glued to Howard.
Howard turned the drawer over and over in his hands, admiring the patina. "So watcha got here?" He pushed his sunglasses further down his nose, squinting through the smooth, finger-sized hole in the centre of each drawer that Heero had made instead of a handle, running his fingers critically over the dovetailed corners, and around the inside joins, testing the finish.
"Hmm." He blew out around the cigar clenched in his teeth, wreathing himself in bluish coils. "Nice." He picked up the other drawer, scrutinising it closely, then held it beside the other, examining them together, the light and the dark. He raised an eyebrow at Duo. "Different colours. Same piece?"
Duo nodded, grinning.
"Nice contrast. What's the rest of it?"
"Australian red cedar."
"Mm hm." Howard nodded thoughtfully. "Kinda art deco. All the go right now. Who made it?"
"Heero!!" Duo grinned at Howard proudly. "For me!!! Top stuff huh?!" He stroked the drawer possessively.
"Heero. Ahh." Howard glanced sidelong at Duo, who was slightly pink around the ears. "Hmm. Bit of work in this. Must think a lotta you kid." Duo whisked the broom back and forth, scrutinising the floor minutely, and Howard's lips twitched. He decided to stop teasing the kid and ran an appreciative finger around the top of the drawer. "Hm. Nice." He straightened and looked shrewdly at Duo. "What?"
Duo immediately stopped sweeping and stared at him innocently, eyes wide, ruining the effect slightly by shifting from foot to foot in the small pile of dust.
"What what?"
Howard removed his cigar and glowered at the tip. It had gone out. Carefully, he examined the chewed end carefully, pinching off a minute piece, then replaced it between his teeth and relit it, taking a leisurely puff. And another. He folded his arms comfortably across his chest and eyed the jiggling Duo thoughtfully, running his hand over his chin and smoothing the end of his pointy, brown beard into an even pointier point. "Whatcha want me to do about it what. Is what."
"Well..." Duo slung the broom carelessly against a desk, where it slid to the floor with a clatter, and dragged a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket, smoothing it onto the counter. "See I had this idea..."
Adrift on the greasy brown Amgen River, that bisected the jungle wilds of West New Britain, North and South, Duo's Uncle Gerald battled with paper and breeze, wishing for a desk or something to spread his notes on. He eyed the nubile young woman before him with bird-like curiosity, as he searched distractedly for the pen that was floating in the bilgewater somewhere inside the canoe. Despite the fact that she was being brought to the bush hospital, it was difficult to see at first glance what was wrong with her. The bushy grass skirt that was her only clothing didn't conceal much, so it quite obviously wasn't elephantiasis or polio, or that pernicious and highly contagious ringworm, so endemic amongst the bush tribes. Although not so much amongst the beach people. Odd that. He would make a note if he could just find his pen. He stirred water absently. This young lady seemed to be in the very best of bouncing good health, from her fuzzy, bleached, white-blonde mop of hair, striped ball-point-pen blue and green, to her thick-soled, bare feet. She smiled shyly at him, revealing a dazzling array of blunt, white teeth, and offered him a pen from the distended hole in her earlobe, instantly captivating him.
He beamed at the young lady, and borrowed her pen to jot quick notes in his diary. Beach tribes. Ringworm. And Otto Richter was flying back home in the morning, and was, apparently, moving upstate. He must remember to give him young Duo's address.
"...two hunnerd kina na dispela sumping emi bilong u."
The old gentleman with the charming young girl seemed to be trying to sell him something. He was gesticulating broadly towards the front of the canoe, where the delightful young lady was sitting. Uncle Gerald smiled apologetically. His Pidgin English still wasn't quite up to scratch. It was probably his canoe he was selling. People were always trying to sell him things. Two hundred kina wasn't that much really. Uncle Gerald supposed that he might be able to use a canoe. Often much easier to reach remote villages that way. And maybe he could take it home for a souvenir. He'd be the only one on the harbour with an outrigger canoe.
He beamed happily at the old gentleman and settled down to bargain.
Duo expected to have to bargain with Heero for hours to convince him about his idea, but on this particular day Heero seemed happy to agree to whatever Duo suggested. Which he was. Anything, to keep that excited smile on Duo's face.
Duo had his piece of paper out on the kitchen table, one sheet amongst a whole sheaf of designs and sketches, and was explaining his idea, whilst under the table, Fez fought his sock in a vicious duel to the death, with his foot still trapped inside it.
"Howard said that he'd take it on consignment. Which means he gives us the money when it sells." He curled up his toes absentmindedly, gripping onto his sock, which was half off.
"If it sells." Heero was dubious.
"It'll sell. Trust me. I know about this stuff." And somehow, Duo was sure that he did. It wasn't just from working in Howard's shop. The longer he sanded and polished and pushed furniture around, the more he discovered an ingrained knowledge of what piece was what. What would sell. What wouldn't. Knowledge that that barley-twist table was original Jacobean, whereas that other one with the thinner tabletop was early-Georgian reproduction, still of some antique value, but only one tenth as much. Somewhere, somehow, he must have learned this stuff. He was convinced of it. The same way that he knew that that small, blue patch of unpainted wall behind their fridge was Eau de Nil paint, circa 1920s, lead-based, and needed painting over so that the boys didn't develop behavioural problems.
And he knew, without even thinking about it, as if two keyed halves were locking together to form a whole, that his own furniture designs, coupled with Heero's craftsmanship, would sell like hotcakes. Probably far more than the two of them could produce. Could probably command their own price. And then, his Heero could spend his entire working life doing fine joinery, if that was what he wanted. No more pre-fab.
Duo's finger tapped confidently on the paper. "Just this console to start with. Beech. You have some. I checked. Ouch!" He glared under the table. Fez had bitten his toe.
Heero's eyes followed Duo's finger across the sketch. It was an excellent technical drawing; a three-dimensional view, with side and front plan sections underneath, all dimensions shown. He would have no difficulty in following it at all. The difficulty lay in the construction. The legs were unusual, curving outwards in a delicate convex bow, open downwards and tapering to the floor. That would require some thought. Difficult, but not impossible. Rather wasteful of timber though. Maybe he could get two opposing legs from one piece by mirroring them. Hmm. Difficult, but undoubtedly beautiful.
He glanced up from the plan to Duo, who was balling up his sock and tossing it into the corner for that blasted ferret to kill. Duo turned back to him and grinned mischievously, his violet eyes sparkling, almost as if daring him. They both knew that he'd deliberately chosen a difficult piece, one that Howard should find irresistible. Suddenly Heero itched to test his skills against the challenge of Duo's vision. His fingers longed for wood. To feel the satiny grain, to see the curls of timber falling smoothly away, to smell the aromatic shavings, to watch it taking shape under his hands. To see Duo's admiring face as it did. He twitched the paper out from under Duo's finger, holding it up challengingly between them.
"Let's go."
Suddenly it was a game. A race with the clock in a competition with a non-existent deadline
Quickly, they sorted through the stack of timber in Heero's Glory Box, dragging out pieces, measuring dimensions, checking grain. The grain needed to be completely straight and regular, so that the only curves were in the delicately, arching legs. Contrast was the key. The curve of delicate grasses bending under frost against a straight, silvered fence post. Circuitous bending against upstanding rectitude.
Together they dragged the timber into Heero's shed and set to work.
Heero put on earmuffs and protective glasses, offering a set to Duo, and picked up the first piece of timber. Looking up at Duo, he stared into the intent violet eyes that followed his every move, feeling as if he was holding his breath. With an effort he looked away and started the saw spinning, sliding the first piece of timber smoothly towards it. Duo moved forward to steady the end of the timber so that it wouldn't fall and splinter, watching the blade closely.
The saw screamed and sliced, and the first piece dropped into Duo's waiting hands.
Whenever they had a spare moment they worked on the console together, and it grew rapidly with the shared effort. Together they solved the problem of the legs, chose the perfect piece for the top, added a narrow, rectilinear inlay. And soon, it was nearly ready for finishing.
A few days later, Heero pulled into the driveway in the gathering dusk, and climbed out of the pickup. He collected his backpack from the passenger's seat, shoved his thermos back into it, from where it had slid out, and straightened up, glancing across to the back of the house as he did so. No light in the kitchen. They must all be in the shed. His eyes lingered on the back of the house, and narrowed, scrutinising the verandah woodwork in the fading light. Now that the leaves were nearly all gone from the creeper you could see how much the posts and eaves needed painting. Have to do that before it started leafing up again. And then maybe get onto the re-roofing. He'd been putting it off, having a morbid dread of twins, ladders and large sheets of tin, exacerbated by dogs and ferrets, but it would be a lot easier with Duo helping. A Spring job maybe, when the weather was finer, but before it got too hot and glary on the roof.
Somewhere, deep inside his head, a little, nagging voice with an annoying Latin accent, pointed out that by Spring Duo would be gone, muchacho, or maybe sooner, but Heero quashed it ruthlessly. He would talk to Duo and convince him to stay. Somehow. Everything would be all right.
Nodding firmly, he turned away from the house and headed up to the shed, the crunch of gravel beneath his shoes loud in the crisp, still air. As he neared the shed, laughter rang out into the evening, and he opened the door quietly, standing in the shadows to peer into the bright pool of light beneath the single, powerful light fitting.
Duo and the boys were all inside, sanding.
At least, Duo and Joe were sanding. The twins were working on Zac's penguin project, landscaping the enclosure with tiny pieces of gravel from the driveway, and small bits of timber, all evenly spaced and arranged in frighteningly straight lines, such as were never seen in nature, and glued with industrial quantities of wood glue. As was their technicolour hair. Tyler and Cody were making useful piles of sawdust.
Heero's eyes found Duo automatically, and lingered, focussing intently as Duo stretched, reaching his arms high over his head, a sanding block in his hand. His shirt rode up with the movement, exposing a hand's-width of smooth, lightly tanned skin, and Heero moistened dry lips, his breath whispering between them in a sigh of longing, imagining his own hand resting there.
They all had their backs to the door and appeared to be staring intently at something on the floor. Heero dragged his eyes from Duo and squinted down at the floor, but all that he could see was long, pale curls of wood shavings, clinging together in mounded heaps on the floor. And moving. Heero blinked. One of the piles of shavings was sliding jerkily across the floor.
Heero's lips twitched as the boys roared with laughter. Ferret power. The pile started to spin in confused circles and he chuckled, putting his pack down. Rex, whined and bounded towards him, and Duo spun to look.
"Heero!"
A radiant smile lit Duo's face at the sight of him, and Heero's heart skipped a beat, then pounded madly. Duo extended a hand in welcome, gesturing insistently.
"Come and see if you think we're ready to start putting the polish on. We've got half an hour until tea. Just steak, baked potatoes and salad I'm sorry."
"Just salad?!? And steak...? Ugh!" Loud groans from the floor. "No dessert??!"
Heero frowned at Tyler. "You like cucumber. And potatoes."
A grin from Duo, softening the blow. "Dessert if you eat some proper dinner buddy! Promise."
His hand closed around Heero's, warm and welcoming, and Heero was dragged into the circle of light to help sand.
As it turned out, there was dessert.
Rex found a cake sitting on the front porch, and was narrowly stopped from Retrieving it by Cody, who had taken him out after dinner for a roller blade, at a time carefully chosen so as to be when Trant Clark was most likely to be out, although Cody didn't feel that anyone needed to know that detail.
The cake, skulking in a white, cardboard, patisserie box and wrapped in clear, plastic clingwrap, was accompanied by a pink, folded note, and the words Heero Yuy in large, rounded handwriting, written with pretty, pastel, impossible-to-read gel pen.
Cody snatched the cake from Rex in the nick of time, and showed it excitedly to Joe, who gave it to Heero, who carried it into the kitchen, not needing to look at the pink note to know that it was from Relena. For some reason Duo seemed to find that even more irritating than the cake.
"A chocolate cake." He glared at Heero in frustration, making a conscious effort not to ball his fists. He drummed his fingers furiously on the tabletop instead. He'd promised himself to trust Heero, but this freaking cake was making it hard. "Why would she leave you a freaking chocolate cake? Does she think that we don't freaking well feed you or something??"
"Don't know." Heero shrugged dismissively, not very interested in Relena. Maybe it was an apology for the goat, although that was unlikely. Who knew? "How would I know? I don't even like chocolate." And why did Duo care anyway?
He eyed the cake dubiously and raked his fingers up through his hair in confusion, both at Relena, and at Duo's peculiar reaction. Dismissively, with the air of someone who didn't even like chocolate, he turned away to fill the kettle.
I like chocolate, thought Duo sadly, as the long, chocolate spikes of Heero's hair flopped back down over Heero's eyes, with total disregard for the passage of his hand. Chocolate was fast becoming one of his favourite colours. Especially when teamed with cobalt blue eyes...
Zac was in agreement. "I like chocolate! Cut it up Duo. Let's fang into it!"
Judging by the sudden increase in noise it seemed that everyone else liked chocolate too.
Duo sighed. At least that would get rid of the freaking cake.
"Don't sweat it Duo. She's always doing stuff like that." Joe looked up helpfully from an enormous mouthful of cake, whilst not being particularly helpful, to Duo's way of thinking.
Duo looked sharply at Joe then frowned at Heero's back, not liking the sound of that at all. Stuff??
"Like what?!"
"Like..." Silas chewed and shrugged. "... leaving soup and stuff."
"Lentil patties!!!" Zac's contribution.
"Ugh!!! Yeah!!! Lentil patties!!! Gross!!!" There was a general outcry of disgust.
"The hens like 'em." Joe the Unhelpful, being grown-up and looking on the bright side.
Duo wasn't sure that there was a bright side. Stared doubtfully at Heero, who was rummaging for mugs obliviously, and helped himself defiantly to a large slice of cake, to prove to anyone who was interested that he wasn't in the slightest bit worried about Heero having a stalker who left gifts of food. Was not mollified to discover that it was rather delicious. Triple layer with cream and cherry filling. Flaked chocolate on top.
He chewed and swallowed determinedly, refusing to like it. Or the second piece.
He was not going to worry about Relena, even though he could recognise a determined pursuit when he saw one, and even if Heero was an oblivious dumbass. Heero's gift of the chest of drawers had told him that Heero wanted him to stay, at least for now, and he had to trust that Heero would not do that if he really wanted Relena instead. He was going to believe in Heero.
He just had to trust that Heero wouldn't lie to him.
Hilde rubbed her eyes tiredly. She just couldn't seem to sleep properly, wondering if Duo was out there somewhere. Somehow. Something... Maybe now that she'd decided to advertise for information she'd sleep. If a full-page ad running in all the National dailies didn't get results, then maybe...
Think about that later. Alcohol first.
She closed her office door firmly and stepped out into Reception then stopped in surprise. A man stood at the end wall, scrutinising Duo's artist's impression of the Chrystelle Nightclubs fit-out, that Duo had hung after the job was completed. Beautiful, rich colours, like a Renaissance tapestry, glowing against the Peaceful Dove walls.
Hearing the door close, he turned, hand rising to greet her.
She had a fleeting instant to absorb darkly-European good looks, a tanned face, longish, dark hair swept back from a high, thoughtful forehead, and then he was striding towards her with easy assurance, taking her hand in both of his.
"Hullo." He smiled down at her. He was quite tall, she realised. "Otto Richter. And you must be Hilde." Dark eyes. "Sorry I didn't ring first, but I just flew in." He smelled nice. Spicy. "I'm looking for Duo. Duo Maxwell?"
It was a beautiful evening. The hens murmured sleepily from the hen house. A dog barked in the distance and Rex replied politely from somewhere beside the house, a gruff, deep sound.
After dinner, the boys curled up on the couch watching television before bed, and Heero and Duo wandered back to the shed to start the first coat of polish, grass crunching frostily underfoot.
They moved from the bright patch of light outside the kitchen window into the darkness, idling companionably shoulder to shoulder, arms brushing occasionally together. Heero fingers tingled and twitched with the knowledge that a single small movement and he could be holding Duo's hand.
Into the darkness, and the diamond stars spilled across the velvet sky, the Milky Way a swathe of fairy dust, like magic in the night.
"Look! Scorpio!" Duo stopped to stare, spellbound, never able to resist that constellation that was so magnificently big, and looked just like the creature it was supposed to. "See? There! Upside down. Those're the claws...look...and that's the tail way-y-y down there... It's really big..." His fingers mapped the jewelled swirl of tail, tracing a path in the cold air.
Heero looked up, letting his eyes be guided by the sweep of Duo's hand, and admired Scorpius fleetingly, found Antares, reminding himself absently about red supergiants, binary stars and X-ray disseminators, searched briefly for Scorpius XR-1then looked back down to Duo, so much more fascinating than the stars. Brighter. More mysterious.
Duo, lips parted in delight, warm breath a puff of mist in the frosty air. His eyes, brighter than the jewel stars, sparkling with starlight, even in darkness, skin pale as the fairy dust nebula, stray tendrils of his hair escaping from its braided rope like clouds spun from spider silk. Heero watched Duo secretly, from the safety of the darkness, his gaze drawn to those warm, softly parted lips, and his heart started to pound fiercely in his chest
Duo's lips. Just a moment away.
Duo shivered, wrapping his arms around his chest.
"C..." Heero, immediately concerned, swallowed his dreams and managed to choke out a word. "Cold?"
"Mm. A bit." Duo nodded his reply vaguely, still gazing upwards, then glanced a sideways smile, in appreciation for Heero's concern. "It'll be okay inside."
"Here..." Heero tentatively wrapped his arms around him from behind. "Let me..." He had missed Duo's constant touches desperately during those long, strange days when Duo was so upset, and he didn't know what had hurt him. Still hadn't been game to ask him. Tightened his hold, resolving not to think about it, gaining confidence as Duo relaxed into his arms with a contented sigh.
"Mmm... that's better..." Duo snuggled his arms over Heero's, entwining their fingers warmly together. "Ooh... warm hands...nice..."
He tilted his head to nuzzle his cheek against Heero's shoulder, murmuring appreciatively, and Heero felt a surge of warmth that had nothing, and everything, to do with the warm hands holding his. His face flamed and he buried it into Duo's hair, suddenly overwhelmed with longing for the happy boy in his arms.
Savoured the hard, sinewy warmth of Duo's slim body pressed back into the length of his, tight-muscled curve locked to curve. Battled the overpowering desire to drop his hands to Duo's hips, and beyond, to press himself tightly against him and...
"Ohh...! Heero! Look! A meteor shower! We should get the boys." Duo tensed in his arms as if to run for them and Heero held him possessively tighter, unwilling to move for meteor showers, hurricanes, or anything short of nuclear war, his voice muffled in Duo's hair.
"No...stay...watch... It'll be gone by the time you get them anyway..." At the same time, he thrilled at Duo's concern for the boys and the fierce, possessive heat in his body was joined with something warmer, deeper. A gentle, sustaining glow that warmed his heart. Duo really cared. About the boys. About him. Surely he wouldn't leave them.
He'd wanted to tell Duo the truth for days now, but it never seemed to be quite the right time. He had to tell him now. He just had to. He couldn't stand to keep his distance any more. Duo would rant and rave, probably, but then he'd get over it, he always did when he was angry, and they could be together properly. He lifted his head, and pressed his cheek to Duo's hair, eyes closed, gathering his courage.
"Duo... Duo...I..." His voice was a hoarse croak. Gaah! He swallowed hard, willing words to magically appear on his tongue. "...I have to..."
The screen door slammed and small feet thundered across the verandah towards them.
"Duo! Heero! I brought you a torch. The big one. It's really dark outside!"
A shocking beam of light skittered across the garden towards them, skewering everything in its path, chasing away starlight and fairy dust, and startling Heero away from Duo in a panicked flinch.
"Here! I'll hold it for you." Tyler waved the torch importantly and grabbed Duo's hand. "Come on! Why're you stuck out here?! It's cold!" He tugged him impatiently towards the shed.
Leaving Heero alone and aching in the dark, finding his voice at last in a desperate growl.
"Isn't there Simpsons on or something?!"
The Simpsons was still on.
After lighting their way with the torch, Tyler skipped back to the house, sped on his way by a furious glower from Heero, and taking the torch with him, but, unfortunately for Duo, not Fez.
Duo was bent over the console, carefully applying varnish to the underside, while the ferret lurked beneath, attacking Duo's swinging rope of hair with all the enthusiasm of an amateur bell-ringer.
"Gaah! Damned ferret! Shit! Damned hair!" Duo leapt to his feet, the ferret still dangling tenaciously from his braid. He batted it away with his elbow, sending braid and ferret swinging in a graceful arc, at the apex of which the ferret reluctantly let go and tumbled to the ground, to circle his feet and eye his hair with an acquisitive gleam in its beady, pink eyes. Duo looked pleadingly at Heero, hair tumbling around his face, holding his sticky hands up helplessly. "Heero...could you please do something with my hair? It's getting into everything and I have stuff all over my hands."
"Mm hm." Heero put down the drawer he was working on, lips twitching at the sight of bedraggled Duo beset by evil-eyed ferret.
"Shove off you!" He kicked the ferret firmly away and shoved the abused braid safely down the back of Duo's shirt, then gathered the loose strands of hair from around his face and piled them hopefully on top of his head, where they immediately spilled back down. He collected the ends together again, looking at them dubiously, then, in a fit of inspiration, twisted them together into a topknot and stretched down to the floor for a thin spill of wood from The Penguin Project. Skewered the untidy snarl triumphantly.
"Ow! What the heck are you doing?! That's scratchy!" Duo turned his head quickly to glare at Heero, and the misshapen knot disintegrated around his ears. Duo blasted hair out of his eyes with an irritated huff of breath. "Gaahh!"
"Damn. Uhh..." Heero glanced around. "Where's your cap?"
Duo looked around helplessly "Dunno." He shrugged in irritation. "Shit. Think it's in the kitchen. Cody wore it when he took Rex for a walk."
"Oh. Well..." Heero scrutinised the flyaway mess in his hands doubtfully. "This won't stay out of the way without your hat. Do you want me to re-do your plait? Or I could try another bun thing..."
"No! Just a plait!" Duo recoiled at the thought of another bun thing. "Thanks man. Just be quick okay? Or the brush'll dry out." Duo held up the sticky brush for inspection, then placed it back on the tin and stood, patiently waiting.
Heero dragged the dishevelled rope back out of Duo's shirt, pulled the band from it and quickly unravelled it, raking his fingers through the strands. The sticky strands. He glared at it in disgust.
"Duo! You've got varnish in it! It's on me now!" He swiped his hand on his old work pants.
"Ahh shit. Thought I probably did. There's enough freaking hair in the varnish. I had to pick it all off the console. That's how I ended up with so much varnish on me. I'll wash it out as soon as I finish up. Hopefully it won't've dried."
Heero held a handful of hair up in front of his face, scrutinising the ends critically. "Hm. It's not so bad really. Just a bit on this side." He glanced around. "Here..."
"Hey!!! Ow!!! That's attached you know!"
Heero ignored the outraged yelp, hauling Duo flailingly backwards by his bunched hair towards a pile of timber, and seated himself comfortably on it, then dragged Duo down to sit between his straddled thighs. "Sit. There...that's better." He spread Duo's hair out carefully across his back, and then combed his fingers gently through the frazzled lengths again and again, methodically getting the snarls out.
Rather unnecessarily, Duo thought. His hair didn't need to be combed for Heero to plait it. He was going to have to wash it as soon as he went inside anyway. He jiggled. Glowered critically at the half-varnished console, as if it was its fault that it came with ferret attached.
"Hee-e-e-ro... Get a move on! The brush'll dry!"
Heero stopped combing and glowered at the back of Duo's head, not quite singeing hair with the force of his glare. "Do you want me to do this or not?!"
"Ohh...well all right then. Thanks Heero. Really!" Duo hastily stopped fidgeting and relaxed into Heero's hands, giving himself a mental slap. What the heck was wrong with him?!! Why on earth was he arguing when Heero wanted to play with his hair?!! He could always soak the brush in turps. And it was Heero for Heaven's sake!.
"Mmm..." He sighed with pleasure, and shivered voluptuously, closing his eyes and draping his arms companionably across Heero's thighs, hands resting on Heero's knees. "Mmm. Feels nice..."
It felt very nice.
Outside, beyond the closed door, evening settled comfortably into star-brushed night. Inside, in the circle of light, it was quiet in the shed. Peaceful. The ferret abandoned Duo, who was sitting boringly still, and curled up against Rex, to fall comfortably asleep in a pile of shavings, twitching minutely with small, bloody dreams, basking in the heat from the strong, overhead light. The warm glow striking fiery glints from the mass of hair in Heero's hands. It clung to his fingers with a life of its own, full of static electricity and he lifted it to the light, suddenly fascinated. Turned the brown flood this way and that, catching warm chestnut tones, rich auburn, the glowing leaf tints of autumn. Marvelled at the weight of it. Spread it out carefully again, to rake his fingers through it once more.
His fingers wriggled and tugged their way gently through the flyaway mass again and again, gradually slowing, as snarls disappeared, in no hurry to finish. He wanted to stay here forever, just like this, with Duo relaxing against him, caught between his knees. He fussed over a small tangle. Picked out minute shreds of sawdust, revelling in the guilty pleasure of touching Duo. Not as much as he wanted, but still... His fingers stroked surreptitiously over Duo's back through his hair. Feathered over strong pads of muscle, finding them even through hair and shirt, secretly learning each small bump of spine. Lingered at the nape of his neck to work on a miniscule knot, the backs of his fingers caressing the silky skin hidden beneath the hair, and Duo quivered with pleasure, pressing minutely back against him, a warm, suddenly-demanding presence between his legs, his voice grown husky and low. "Mmm... Heero...'snice..." His hand moved on Heero's knee, rubbing the inside gently.
Heero shivered in response, and tried not to groan, forcing his legs not to clamp tightly around Duo, his thumbs suddenly running on autopilot, making gentle circles on Duo's neck, his wilful fingers sliding up to massage his scalp gently, completely of their own accord.
The swift hitch of Duo's breath was loud in the silent shed and Heero was suddenly hot all over, his heart beating wildly.
Oh God... He fought the fierce urge to throw his arms around Duo, to bring their bodies together and bury his face in his neck, licking and biting. Duo would squirm and wriggle against him... He could smell Duo's warm and spicy smell, feel the heat of Duo's body burning along the length of his. If only Duo was really his. If only...
He had to do it. He was going to tell him now. Duo would forgive him. He would. And then... His heart pounded fiercely in his chest and his fingers shook, suddenly entangled in the smooth strands of hair.
"Duo...I..."
Duo sighed gently. Heero's hands felt so nice in his hair. He felt warm, and lethargic, and not the least bit inclined to varnish a piece of furniture.
The lazy warmth grew. Became a delicious tingle in the pit of his stomach, as Heero's fingers feathered down his neck, stroking, ever so gently, and then slid upwards into the hair on his head, making him shudder with pleasure. His hand moved on Heero's leg, almost without him willing it, to stroke the hard strength of his thigh where it pressed against him. He trembled, feeling Heero's heat behind him, anticipating the next touch. Longing for it.
Just like they'd been on the futon that time, before Tyler interrupted them. Except that this time it was almost better. This time Heero was touching Duo. As if he wanted him. He shivered with delight.
He wanted Heero so badly. If only he could be sure that Heero wasn't secretly in love with that Relena.
Suddenly he couldn't stand it any more. He had to know, one way or the other. The delicious warmth vanished in a fit of determination, as Heero's fingers tangled in his hair. Another knot, probably.
"Duo...I..."
Duo barged ahead. Whatever Heero was about to say about his messy hair could wait. This was important.
"Heero...what's the deal with that Relena chick?" He glanced back over his shoulder. "I really want to know. Please?"
"...I have to... What?"
"Rel-ena!"
"Uh... She's a friend. I guess." Heero stared at him, his blue eyes dazed and confused as if he was a million miles away. "Kind of. Why?"
"Because she leaves you cakes!" Duo's voice climbed alarmingly, not reassured. "Because she rings you up all the time! Because you drop everything and go running off to her in the middle of the night! Any other reasons that I should know about?!!!"
He turned and glared over his shoulder at Heero.
Heero stared at Duo in shock. Was Duo jealous of Relena?! For a moment he wanted to laugh, but Duo's serious expression stopped him. Suddenly Heero felt a huge surge of relief. At last, Duo's hurt absence made sense. It had all started after he left to help Relena that night. Duo wasn't planning to leave him after all! Duo was jealous! Of him! He peered at Duo hopefully.
"So...so is that why you were so upset?"
Duo turned away in embarrassment and nodded mutely, his head bowed, hands fisted on Heero's thighs.
Heero rushed to reassure him. There was nothing going on with Relena. "There's nothing going on with Relena. You're my boyfriend. Not her!" Or something. Anyway. Here it was! This was his opening to tell Duo everything. He took a deep breath, his stomach churning, and stuttered into speech. "At least..." Another big breath. "Duo...I..."
"Heero..." Duo heard Heero's hesitance with a sinking feeling, and turned back to stare at him pleadingly, his eyes over-bright. "...you wouldn't lie to me about her would you? I couldn't stand it if you lied to me. It's too important. I have to know I can trust you. I could never have a relationship where there wasn't honesty." He looked at him seriously.
Heero's mouth snapped shut and he stared back at him, Duo's words striking into his heart like hammer blows, smashing it into tiny pieces and all his hopes with it. He had known how Duo felt about lies, and honesty, Duo had told them often enough, but hadn't really applied it to himself. In his own mind, what he had done to trick Duo wasn't so much a lie, as a necessary evil. But it was a lie. A huge lie. And Duo was deadly serious. He wouldn't tolerate liars. There was no way in the wide world that Heero could ever tell Duo about this horrendous lie that he'd involved him in. That he'd tricked him and used him and lied and lied and lied... Duo would hate him. And he...
Duo was still staring at him fearfully.
"Heero...?"
"There's nothing going on with Relena. Nothing. Really." He cleared his throat, forcing the words out past the sudden tightness there that made it difficult to speak.
"Promise?!"
"Promise." Stared down at the hair in his hands, in a world gone oddly blurry.
"Cross your heart?" Duo gave him a hopeful smile over his shoulder.
"Cross my heart." His hands working automatically, starting to plait, hand over hand over hand.
"And hope to die?" Duo's smile sparkling into an impish grin.
"Duo!!! Yes already!!!" Too late. He'd already died.
...he knew it now. He was completely and utterly in love with Duo Maxwell. Who, apparently, felt somewhat the same.
Heero should have been ecstatic.
He didn't think that he'd ever been so miserable in his life.
Trant Clark owed Abdul some money. Quite a lot of money actually. Money that he didn't entirely have, if he was to be completely honest. He'd come over to Good Forest especially to see him, to explain that after the pick-up from Mueller things'd be smick, but he was waiting until the Best Little Kebab shop was empty before approaching him. You never knew who was watching. Especially with a bleeding cop-shop just down the street.
He stood at the purple counter, waiting for a felafel, and rustled through his Daily Telegraph to the back of the paper, finding the Form Guide with the ease of long practice. The dogs were on at Rose Down at eightish, and he'd heard it from a bloke who knew a bloke who was bonking the trainer's wife that Doc's Revenge was a sure thing. Ten to one. Hmm...
The skinny, brown-haired lady next to him jostled his paper, wrestling her brief case onto the counter to search for her purse, and he frowned at her, then glanced down, checking the contents of her case out of habit, even though he wouldn't dare do anything with Abdul standing right there. Abdul's hand was held out for the woman's dosh, his face wearing its usual cheerful grin, but Trant just knew that he was watching him sidelong through those little, round, dark glasses of his, the lights of The Plaza reflecting eerily in their mirrored surfaces.
Trant Clark knew better than to mess with Abdul. Or his unnervingly large cousin, Rashid. He'd run foul of them before, at the Lansdowne over in Darke's Cove. Nobody messed with those boys if they knew what was good for them.
Nothing worth nicking in her briefcase anyway.
Just letters.
Child Welfare by the look of it. Evil government bastards.
He squinted casually sideways.
And addressed to Heero Yuy.
Hah! Someone had dogged Yuy to Welfare.
Clark smirked vindictively at his paper, earning himself a flash of dark glasses.
Serve Yuy and those blasted kids of his right.
Hopefully, he and his little, faggot, asshole boyfriend were in for a world of grief from Welfare.
And if that didn't sort them out, then Trant Clark would.
Duo stood just behind the driver at the front of the bus, his toes behind the yellow line marked No Passengers Beyond This Point, most of him dangling forward from the pole by the crook of one arm, chatting sociably with Old Duke Dermail about the difficulty of finding original light fittings for a nearly-restored Triumph sports, but a well-concealed part of him glancing surreptitiously at his watch, and wishing that the bus would get a freaking move on. He had a splitting headache. Odd. He didn't normally get headaches. Maybe from varnish fumes or something. He'd been at Howard's all day. He couldn't wait to tell Heero about Howard's excited reaction to the finished console.
He sighed unobtrusively and glanced out of the side window. Smoke. Yuk! Greasy black, from oil, or rubber maybe. The dump probably. They shouldn't be allowed to burn off like that. Vale Road. Yeah. That was the turn-off to the dump, the Council Depot, and the Dog Pound. Nearly home then.
"...trouble is them bits're all glass ya see. They don't last the way them metal parts do. Ya have to try 'n find a set still inna box..."
"Hmm? Oh. Yeah. You're absolutely right. Same problem with fuses yeah? Have you found them yet?" Duo turned back to Duke, and almost missed the small, red-windcheatered shadow slipping along the cyclone fencing around the Dog Pound.
Shit!
He released the pole and shoved himself upright, spinning around sharply to look back. Double shit!! What the freaking hell was Cody doing out at the Pound?!
He pulled the cord sharply.
"Hey Duke! Let me off at the next stop would you Buddy?"
The doors concertina-ed open with a hiss, and Old Duke leaned from his seat, calling out something ribald about girlie bladders in an amused voice as Duo turned away, and Duo grimaced then grinned half-heartedly, thumping the side of the bus with his fist in farewell.
He hunched his shoulders against the chill, hands in his pockets, and turned back towards the Pound, eyeing the lowering sky mistrustfully as he trudged. Hoped that they'd make it home before it bucketed down. Supposed he'd just have to piggyback Cody and make a dash for it.
He slogged back quickly along the shoulder of the road, crunching through muddy gravel, dodging puddles and wondering what the heck would have brought a seven-year old out all this way to the Dog Pound. Only one thing came to mind. Rex. It had to be. He must've gone missing.
He was about halfway back to the Vale turn-off when a childish scream split the quiet air, and he froze, feet rooted to the ground with shock. Heart pounding wildly, trying to explode out of his chest. Another desperate cry, and he bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"CODY!!! HANG ON! I'M COMING!!!"
He exploded into a run.
It seemed to take forever to reach the turn-off, legs pumping, lungs burning in the cold air, but he was there at last, stumbling to a halt, and bending double over his knees, whooping for breath. He forced himself upright, panting.
"CODY!"
"Duo??! Duo!!! Help!!!"
He sucked in air like cold fire and sprinted the last little stretch to the large wire compound that held the corrugated iron kennels, skidding to a stop in the black gravel and scanning frantically right and left for Cody along the wire. Dog noises filled his ears; a cacophony of barks and yelps and whines, large and small.
"CODY!!"
"Duo!!!"
Holy freaking s hit!!
Cody was inside the enclosure with the dogs, backed against the high, cyclone mesh fencing, bailed up by an enormous black bull mastiff, as tall as he was. Somebody's pig dog, bred to rend and tear, and left to guard the compound. It was growling, a low dangerous rumble, black lips curling back to show a white sliver of fang
Duo's blood ran cold and he grabbed the mesh.
"Cody! Back over the freaking fence!!! Now!!!"
Cody was frozen to the fence, bloodless fingers welded to the wire, paralysed with fear. "I can't! I can't! It'll get me! Duo help! Please! Help!"
Duo shook the mesh violently, hands clawing the wire, kicking and rattling it, trying to scare the dog off.
"Gwaarrn!! Gerroutovit!!!"
The dog barked, a gruff, deep-throated challenge and swayed closer, dividing its attention between them, hunching its heavy shoulders and lowering its square head. Slavering jaws opened wider to show a slobber of pink tongue, jagged teeth poised to tear, and Cody sobbed and cringed back reflexively, bowing the mesh outwards.
"Holy motherfucking shit!!!" Duo threw himself at the fence, hauling on wire, feet scrabbling, and flung himself over the barbed top, careless of damage to hands or knees, tumbling down the other side in a rattle of mesh, to land lightly at the bottom. He spun to face the dog, slipping sideways in front of Cody, shielding him with his body.
"Back off!!! Back off!!! " He roared furiously and waved his arms threateningly, stamping his foot, and the dog edged back a pace, circling stiff-legged, backwards and forwards, not quite ready to attack but growling ominously, its ears laid back against its skull, hackles up.
Cody whimpered and Duo hissed back over his shoulder at him, eyes glued to the dog.
"Cody! Over the fence! Now!!! Freaking well MOVE!!!"
He heard the rattle of mesh behind him as Cody started to climb. Heard him miss his footing with a panicked cry, slamming heavily against the wire, and the dog snarled and lunged past Duo, heavy shoulders grazing his thigh, so close that he felt the heat of its body, and he whirled and leaped back a pace, then kicked out with all his strength, catching the dog, yelping, under the ribs with the heavy toe of his boot, Heero's spare, black steel-caps, that he'd borrowed that morning, against the threat of rain.
It was like trying to drop-kick a brick wall. He felt the impact shudder all the way up his leg and, snarling, the dog turned on him, slavering jaws wide, too close to kick now, so he dropped, slamming his elbow down on its muzzle with all the weight of his body behind it, stumbling almost to one knee, then scrambled back out of range, lurching over a piece of timber behind him. He snatched it up and swung it in a wide arc with a wild war cry, slicing the air a hair's-breadth from the dog's nose, as it shook its heavy head in confusion.
"Back off you piece of...!!"
The dog flinched, and snapped reflexively at the timber, heavy jaws snapping shut like a steel trap as it lumbered backwards
"Haa!! Gotcha!!" Duo whirled the timber manically and crowed with triumph, adrenaline sending the blood bubbling through his veins, as the dog edged backwards, growling in frustration. Cody's worried voice broke his concentration, dragging his attention from the dog and the feral joy of battle.
"Duo! Quick! Get out before it gets you!"
He darted a glance upwards. Cody was safely at the top of fence, straddling the wire and watching him anxiously. Duo grinned up at him.
"Race you to the bottom!!"
With a last ferocious yell he spun the timber away over the dog's head, making it flinch and jump backwards, then leapt for the wire again, scampering up to the top, and over, dropping to the ground, giddy with relief and g rinning like a maniac. He slumped backwards against the mesh and turned to Cody. Who wasn't there.
No Cody. Holy shit. What now?
He frowned up, to see Cody, still balanced awkwardly on top of the wire.
"Cody get down now! Quick! Before someone sees you!"
"I can't! I'm stuck." Cody's shoe was jammed tightly into a link in the mesh, his leg twisted at an awkward angle. He jerked his foot to demonstrate. "I can't get it out!"
"Freaaaakin' hell!! What now!"
Duo climbed back up beneath him and started trying to tug his foot out. It was wedged tightly through the hole.
"Ow ow! Duo! That hurts!"
"Man! You're stuck all right. Think we'll have to take your shoe off." He struggled to undo Cody's shoelaces one-handed, clinging awkwardly to the mesh with the other hand. Cody's laces were tangled in a creative snarl of triple bows and knots, Cody obviously not taking any chances on having to retie his laces during the day, and they were damp, and cemented by a day's worth of mud. Duo tugged futilely at the mess, while Cody jiggled frantically.
"Duo quick! We have to get him out! He'll be put down!"
"Cody..." Duo sighed, and tugged. "...if Rex is in there you won't be able to get him out anyway. He'll be locked up in one of the kennels."
"I've got wire cutters silly!"
Duo blinked. In the excitement of the moment he hadn't noticed that Cody was carrying his school backpack. He was obviously not Heero's nephew for nothing.
"Well yes but..."
"What the fuck do you two think you're doing?!! Get down from there now!"
Oh shit.
Duo swung around to look. Two men were bustling towards them from behind the depot, one, a shortish, brown-haired young man wearing a faded work shirt under a fluorescent orange vest, the sort that road workers wore.
A Council worker.
Oh hell.
The other was Trant Clark.
Oh fuck.
"You two!! Get down right now!"
The Council worker stopped at the base of the fence and waved curtly at them, the gesture slightly spoiled by the large bundle of wire in his hand.
"Uhh. We're trying. His foot's kind of stuck." Duo worked frantically at the laces, finally managing to undo them, at the expense of a fingernail. He wiggled Cody's foot out of the shoe. "Down! Now!" He hissed, dropping to the ground, shoe in hand and turning to face his questioner, glancing quickly around for Clark.
Clark was staggering under the weight of several more large bundles of copper wire and stumbling towards a dirty, red v8 car parked behind the compound. Duo hadn't noticed the car in the heat of the moment, but now that he looked he saw that it was probably not visible from the road anyway. The boot was open, and Duo saw more wire, with cans of oil piled on top. Clark dumped the wire into the boot quickly then hurried towards them, smirking.
"Shit." Duo muttered under his breath, turning back to the Council man and plastering a smile onto his face. He rushed into speech.
"Uhh. Hi there. Uhh...Cody here's lost his dog and he was just trying to have a look to see if he can see him in there because he's a bit short you know a bit hard to see over the fence and he couldn't see Rex anywhere but he's pretty sure that he's been picked up sometime today." All entirely true. Just not the entire truth. No mention of breaking and entering into the Pound for instance. Or, of damaging Council property, namely a bloody big dog. He drew a deep breath and grinned disarmingly at the bemused worker, who lowered his wire slowly, looking unconvinced.
Which, unfortunately, was plenty of time for Cody to step in.
"I want Rex!"
And Clark. Clark loomed behind Duo, glaring vindictively, remembering a giant-sized wrench and a muddy patch of footpath. It was two to one this time, the best sort of odds, and he knew, being a betting man. Time for a bit of pay-back and he was going to love every second of it.
"Too friggin' bad. Stupid mutt's a menace. It's gonna be put down and there's not a friggin' thing ya can do about it kid so... SHOVE...OFF!!"
Duo plastered an unconcerned smile on his face and gritted his teeth, holding his temper firmly in check, They all turned to face Clark, Cody with small fists clenching and the Yuy glare firmly in evidence, Clark's friend with the nervous look of a man who had opened the wrong door and inadvertently stepped out into World War II. He chewed his lip and sucked in his cheeks, darting an anxious glance at Clark.
"Well...actually... I think if you just went..."
"He's mine! You can't keep him in there!" Cody wasn't going anywhere. He glared up at the Council worker, refusing to be intimidated by orange vests.
"Cody hang on! We have to..."
Clark ignored Duo and bent down to Cody's eyelevel, holding his gaze and speaking slowly and menacingly. "Your...stupid... mutt...is... being... put... down... kid. So ya might as well piss off home right now!!" He jabbed him roughly on the shoulder with his index finger.
Once again, Duo was rooted to the spot in amazed disbelief that a grown man would bully a small boy. Luckily Cody wasn't.
"He's not!" He recoiled in shock. Kicked out wildly, ablaze with righteous fury, catching Clark on the shin with his socked foot. "And he's not a mutt!!!" He darted off along the fence, still wearing only one shoe and calling wildly for his dog. "Rex! Rex!!!"
"Why you little..." Two steps, and Clark's large hand shot out and grabbed Cody by the collar, hauling him backwards, shaking him roughly.
"What...wait...he's just a... I don't think..." The Council worker babbled in confusion, staring at Clark in shock, neither Equal Employment Opportunity nor Occupational Health and Safety having prepared him to beat up small children, but Duo wasn't waiting for him to work out what was going on, prepare a Risk Analysis and get signed Indemnity Forms.
"Oh no you don't!" Quick as thought, he grabbed Clark's free hand in a vice-like grip, twisting on his heel and ducking under Clark's outstretched arm in a violent dance, shoving Clark's hand up behind his back. He grabbed his other shoulder to stop him twisting away, his fingers cleaving to the bone. Jerked the captive hand up hard towards his shoulder blades. "Let him go!!!"
"Eff off!!"
Duo shoved, hard, and Clark cursed again, losing his grip on Cody, who darted away, to stand glued to the cyclone fence, staring wide-eyed at Duo. Duo brought his knee up and shoved Clark away from him, panting with anger.
Clark stumbled and jerked around to face them, waving at the Council worker, his face twisted with fury. "Hey! Asshole!" He glared menacingly at him. "Ya just gonna stand there??!! Ya'd better do something if ya know what's good for ya.!!"
His friend's gaze ducked from Clark to Duo, and back again, his eyes worried and confused. Clark's glare intensified, and the other bit his lip worriedly, then made his decision and firmed his face into a scowl, stepping in to catch Duo by the shoulder. Shook him insistently. "Look here! I don't know what..."
Duo ignored him, his eyes shooting purple fire at Clark "Listen here asshole I've told you before to keep your freaking hands off Cody or..."
"Friggin' faggot!!! I've had just about enough of you!"
Clark swung wildly, arms windmilling in a furious haymaker, which Duo dodged with thoughtless ease, swaying sideways and turning nimbly, just in time to see Clark's fist whoosh over his shoulder and collide with the surprised man behind him, with the audible smack of rock-like fist colliding with Neanderthal jaw. The unfortunate Council worker stumbled backwards and crashed ponderously to earth, like a mighty buttressed fig, felled in the Amazon so that hamburger beef might roam free and unfettered. Sprawled motionless on the gravel, an expression of astonishment on his unconscious face, still clutching his coil of wire.
Duo stared down at him in bemusement.
Well shit.
"Hey!!! What's going on over there?!!!"
Duo groaned, shoulders slumping. Oh not again!!! Geez Louise! What was this? A three ring bloody circus? They should be selling freaking tickets!
He turned from the unconscious Council worker to see two more men striding towards them from a Council truck, which had just pulled up at the Depot, one man in an orange road workers' vest, the other wearing the khaki uniform pants and long-sleeved shirt of the Council Stock Ranger.
"Fuck!!!" Clark yelped cravenly and turned tail. Stampeded to his car, trampling his fallen comrade in the process, and fishtailed down Vale Road, bottoming out in a pothole at the intersection and turning towards town with a screech of bald tyres. A coil of wire sprang from the open boot and twirled lazy circles on the black asphalt, before spinning to a halt with an audible clang in the middle of the road. The smell of burnt rubber hung in the air.
"What the...?" Duo stared after him in round-eyed astonishment, then turned back to the newcomers, muttering in disbelief. "Gutless moron..."
"What the heck is going on here?!" The uniformed Ranger had messy, dark hair and intense, dark eyes, that reminded Duo forcefully of Heero's, and seemed determined to take charge, also like Heero. His eyes swept across Duo and came to rest on the fallen Council worker with distaste.
"Mueller..." He shook his head in disgust, muttering under his breath. "...blinking idiot...should've known..."
He spotted the dropped coil of copper wire and picked it up, frowning thoughtfully, his eyes fixed on the unconscious man, who was now snoring and snuffling comfortably.
"Hi there." Orange Vest had been observing Duo with interest, after a single, irritated glance at the fallen Mueller. He swept his hand through his fashionably cut, sun streaked, blonde hair, combing the strands into attractive disarray, and smiled down at Duo holding out his hand. His blue eyes sparkled in his tanned face, his teeth very white and even, as his smile broadened into an engaging grin. "I'm Alex."
"Uhh... Hi. Duo. Duo Maxwell." Duo dragged his hand out of the taller man's clasp when the other showed no signs of letting go any time soon. The much taller man. This Alex character was tall enough that he'd probably played a lot of basketball as a kid, whether he wanted to or not.
"He's my Uncle!" Cody had been hovering uncertainly near the fence, waiting to see if it was safe. Now he charged at Duo with a whoop of glee and leapt into his arms, to hang from his neck, wrapping his legs around his waist and bouncing up and down against him. "Duo! You were awesome. Totally, totally AWE-some!!!! Wait'll I tell Joe!"
Alex nodded his agreement, grinning at Duo. "Yeah!!"
Duo grimaced slightly, and stared down at the unconscious man. "Well... Thanks Cody. But I didn't really have a lot of choice." His voice trailed off. "Just glad you're okay little buddy..." He rubbed his cheek on Cody's soft, brown bristles, giving him one final hug then set him on his feet, handing him his squashed shoe. "Here you go..."
"No. You didn't have any choice at all." The Ranger was still lost in frowning contemplation of Mueller. "We saw from the road. It was all that other idiot..."
"Clark. Trant Clark. He lives next door to Heero. Guy must be on something. He's a total dropkick." The Ranger blinked at Heero's name, glancing up quickly from Mueller to Alex, but Duo didn't notice, glowering towards the road in the direction that Clark had gone. Alex stared speculatively from him to Cody, who was sitting on the gravel wrestling with his shoe. Duo knelt on one knee to help with the laces.
"Hmm." The Ranger's eyes followed Duo's, fixing on the wire in the middle of the road. "Clark huh..."
Alex moved closer to Duo, reaching out to tousle Cody's hair paternally "Hm. Cody huh. So you must be Heero Yuy's kid right?"
Cody ducked the hand and stared at him uncertainly, then nodded. "Uh huh. Heero's my other uncle."
"Ahh..." Alex's eyes lingered thoughtfully on Duo, as Duo stood up again.
The Ranger brought his attention back to Duo and wiped his hand fastidiously on his trouser leg before extending it to Duo with a faint smile.
"Sorry...I'm Walker. Ed Walker. The Council Ranger. And you're Duo Maxwell right?"
"Yeah." Duo grinned and shook his hand enthusiastically. "And you're just the man we want! Cody's dog's disappeared. I'm hoping you picked him up today?" He looked enquiringly at the Ranger.
"Ahh..." Walker frowned thoughtfully. "Well... I didn't pick up any strays. But somebody might have put him in the dog box..."
Duo smiled grimly. "Yeah. I'd say it's extremely likely that some evil, boneheaded moron might've put him through the dog box. May we look?"
Walker led the way around the tall fence to the main gate, where a number of smaller roofed cages backed onto the fence, with gates into the main enclosure and self-locking gates out to the road. The enormous mastiff, which had been forgotten in all the excitement, padded silently after them along the fence, watching Alex and Walker. Cody eyed the dog surreptitiously, shifting around until he was on the side of Duo away from the fence and Duo squeezed his hand comfortingly.
As they rounded the corner of the fence they heard an excited bark.
"Rex!!" Cody flew to the nearest cage and fell to his knees by the wire, while Rex tried to lick his face through the mesh and bounce at the same time, barking joyfully.
"Ah ha!" Walker grinned over Cody's head at Duo. "Looks like you've found your dog. I'll let him out for you." He smiled kindly down at Cody. "You can help if you like. Alex..." He glanced across at the other man where he stood just behind Duo. "...hold Bear would you?"
He quickly unlocked the main gate and reached to hook the padlock on the fence, but dropped it as the mastiff tried to shoulder past him towards Cody and Duo.
"Bear! Sit!!" Alex stepped inside and grabbed the dog's thick, studded collar.
Cody scrutinised Bear carefully, then sidled past him to Walker, his back to the wire. Duo heard a low growl, the barest vibration of the mastiff's ribs, and eyed the dog with disfavour.
"Bear?"
"Yeah." Alex grinned at him. "Coz he's just a big, ole teddy bear!" He playfully threw an arm around its neck, and the dog swiped his ear with its enormous tongue. He chuckled, tilting his neck to rub slobber off on his shoulder.
"Yeah ri-i-ight. Sure it's not because he's a grizzly?!?" Duo grinned, looking dubiously at Bear then back to Alex. "You do a bit of hunting huh? Pigs?"
"Yeah. Sometimes." He mauled the dog's ears with rough affection. "Deer as well. Up on Tabletop. Or goat. They're all feral. Bowhunting." He grinned at Duo, eyes travelling over him unashamedly. "Ever done any?"
"Nahh." At least...he didn't think so, racking his brains and coming up with the usual annoying, fuzzy, nothingness.
"Hmm." Alex gave the dog a friendly cuff on the ribs, and then peered intently at Duo. "You should come along sometime..."
Duo stared at him in surprise, thinking, for no particular reason, that Heero had completely spoiled him for blue eyes. Alex's were a light greeny-blue that just couldn't measure up to Heero's brilliant cobalt.
"Yeah...well...maybe..."
"There you go!" Walker held the gate, grinning as Cody and Rex bounded through to Duo, and then ushered Alex through. He glanced ruefully at Duo. "Well...there's your dog...but..." He combed his fingers through his messy, brown hair sheepishly, pushing the gate closed distractedly. "I'm sorry... there's a fine..."
"That's okay man. We're just glad to get Rex back aren't we buddy?" Duo smiled down at Cody and gave his shoulder a squeeze. "How much?"
"Well...actually..." Walker looked even more embarrassed, turning slightly pink. "You'll have to go into town to pay. To Administration. And really you're meant to pay before you take the dog..."
"Duo please!!!" Cody tugged at Duo's pants' leg desperately.
"Oh...damn." Duo grimaced in disappointment, glancing down at Cody's horrified face. "I was hoping I could pay you. It's a bit far too walk back into town. And by the time we got there they'd be shut anyway..."
"No problem man! I'll give you a lift." Alex grinned broadly and clapped Duo on the shoulder, already reaching into his jeans pocket for his car keys.
Walker frowned at him. "Alex...you won't have room in the truck. You'll have to take Mueller back home to your place. You can't just leave him in the middle of the road. I can take Duo into town if he wants. I'm going in anyway."
"Oh. Yeah. Damn." Alex glanced ruefully back at the peacefully snoring Mueller, looking crestfallen. "Mueller. Forgot about that idiot. " He looked back to Duo, smiling engagingly. "Another time maybe. And don't forget about the hunting!"
A little later, two Council trucks turned out of the Vale Road, heading back to town, after a small detour where one of them stopped in the intersection to pick up a coil of wire.
The Dog Pound was quiet, apart from the occasional bark or yelp. Bear lay peacefully sleeping in some unexpected rays of afternoon sunshine, huge head resting on enormous paws, and a large, meaty bone conveniently nearby.
At the back of the kennels, a tumbled pile of corrugated iron rattled, and a small, scruffy and incredibly dirty maltese dog crawled out from underneath, pattering quietly past the dozing mastiff to the gate. Scrabbled determinedly with its small paws, again and again, until the unlocked gate inched open, making a small-white-dog-sized gap.
The little dog wriggled through, stepping over the forgotten padlock, and trotted determinedly towards the road, but then stopped, cocked an ear and looked back at the Pound. Sat down in the middle of the road and panted thoughtfully.
After some thought, it squeezed back through the gate and headed back to the now-snoring mastiff, nipping it sharply on its over-sized ear and tugging until Bear opened his eyes sleepily.
A little later, a small, white dog and an enormous, black one with a bone in its mouth, also turned out of the Vale Road, padding companionably, shoulder to knee, back towards town.
Heero and Trowa walked through the unusually quiet house from the yard, bouncing a basketball between them. Trowa left Heero and the basketball making thumping noises in the hallway, and wandered into the kitchen, hoping for juice but expecting water, only to be barred from the refrigerator by the upraised bottom and size 5 sneakers of the small boy peering under it.
Trowa had little difficulty in recognising the small, jeans-clad bottom, not needing the initials embroidered across it in zigzag. Duo had recently fallen in love with the zigzag stitch on Sara's old sewing machine, after gleefully discovering that, not only could you patch with it, if you went over the spot a million times and made a thick, matted lump, but you could also sign your work when you'd finished.
Most of the boy's clothes now had Duo-zigzag somewhere. This particular bottom read T L for Tyler Lowe.
"Hi Ty. What's up?"
"Mumble oomph mumble Fez mumble." Tyler's voice was muffled by the refrigerator, and by the chocolate chip cookies that he'd swiped to entice Fez with, and then ended up eating because Fez didn't seem to want them. There were chewing and swallowing noises. "He won't come out. He's stuck. He always comes out for Duo." Tyler was vaguely indignant. It was his ferret after all.
Trowa ruffled his blonde curls consolingly. "You don't have a plait."
Tyler glowered darkly. Was Trowa trying to make him feel worse???
"Hm." Trowa knelt down beside him, helping himself to the remaining cookie from the floor, and peered under the fridge. "Have you tried bacon?"
Heero was in the living room, looking for a bill. "Hey Tyler! What's this phone doing?"
Tyler yelled back from the bowels of the refrigerator. "IT'S A PHONE CALL. FOR DUO. Is this long stuff bacon?"
"Mmm. Let's put it on a fork."
Heero was bemused. "Oh." Why hadn't Ty fetched Duo? "Well where is he?"
He picked up the phone. "Hello?" Frowned at the oddly familiar voice. Who was this? And why did people always expect you to automatically know who they were when you answered the phone? As if you didn't have any life outside theirs. Or, as if you were psychic and somehow knew who they were. If you were psychic they wouldn't have needed to ring you. It was all right for them; they'd rung you, they knew who you were. "Who is this please?"
In the kitchen, Trowa sat back on his heels with a handful of wriggling ferret, feeding it the rest of the bacon off the fork. "Told you."
Tyler beamed at him happily.
There was a resounding crash from the living room and Trowa, Tyler and Fez bolted in to survey the damage, leaving a trail of bacon for Rex to find later on. Heero slammed the phone down onto its cradle, coldly murderous. His voice was a low hiss.
"I'll kill him!!! I will bloody well KILL him!!!"
Trowa took one look at Heero's face and dumped Fez out of the doorway with a theatrical "Oops!" sending Tyler chasing after him down the hallway in hot pursuit. Mean, but this was an emergency. He closed the door.
"Heero?"
"What the hell does Alex think he's doing ringing my boyfriend. And at home for crissakes! Geezus H tap dancing Kerrist!!!"
"Heero...he's not your boyfriend." Trowa's voice was quiet and very gentle.
Heero spun to face Trowa, fists clenched, his face dark with anger. "What the bloody hell...he ...I...he..."
Trowa stood his ground, looking at him sadly. "Duo isn't yours Heero. And sooner or later you have to tell him."
"I...I can't tell him." All the fight suddenly drained from Heero, as if it was sand sifting from a punching bag and he collapsed onto the couch like chewed canvas, hiding his face in his drawn-up knees. "I don't know what to do. What am I going to do Trowa?"
Trowa felt as if the world had wobbled slightly on its axis, and when it had resumed position, the magnetic poles had switched again, a million-year occurrence.
Heero asking for help was that sort of occurrence. Heero giving up was that sort of occurrence. Heero never needed help or gave up. He just became even more resolute, and dogged, and determined. When he lost his parents. When Odin and Sara died, leaving sixteen-year-old Heero in charge of four small boys and a baby. When Welfare wanted to take them away. Heero soldiered on. But, somehow, not today.
Heero's voice was muffled by his knees. "I want to tell him but I can't. He hates liars. He'll hate me. And I..."
Trowa strained to hear him, but if there was any more to that sentence it was lost against Heero's jeans, muffled against the zigzag embroidery on his left knee that said H n D 4 eva.
"What the bloody hell am I going to do?"
After Trowa had gone Heero went to ground hunched on the futon, fists clenched, staring at the silent phone.
Why did Alex want Duo???
Shocking to hear Alex's voice, after all this time. Pursuing him uninvited into his own living room, where he had no right to be. Alex hadn't talked to him directly since that afternoon after basketball practice. Was it really four years...?
Heero scrubbed the back of his hand across his mouth, suddenly recalling so keenly the hot feel of Alex's lips surprising his, the older boy's wet, eager body against his back pressing him up against the slick tiles; one so cold, the other so warm... Alex's hands sliding knowingly down his soapy skin...his own surprised cry of pleasure muffled with the sting of his own teeth against his forearm...
More cries, angry ones this time, and the shocking feeling of cold as Alex had started away, slamming him into the tiles in the process and leaving him exposed; cold and naked and alone under the stinging spray...dazed... confused... and his body still singing with pleasure, to his mortification. The water had gone cold and he hadn't even noticed...
He scrubbed his hands over his face. He supposed he should thank the bastard really. If it hadn't been for him he might never have realised what he really wanted.
Not that he had ever particularly wanted Alex, apart from a few vague wonderings. Been secretly flattered to be singled out by the attractive, popular boy, never realising that his gratifying interest was something else entirely. And afterwards...liking Alex wasn't an option, not with the uproar that followed. It was all too painful. Embarrassing now, to admit that he'd been terrified to draw any more attention to himself, but it was the sad truth that he'd buried that part of himself, deep where no one could find it. Learned to fake cold indifference. Hadn't wanted anyone.
Until Duo.
Duo, who unashamedly wanted him back.
Heero tipped over sideways and lay half on and half off the futon, his feet on the floor and his face buried in Duo's pillow, surrounded by Duo's smell, remembering Duo's very different warmth against his back. Duo...
Alex. Duo. Alex pursuing Duo, maybe, like he had Heero. Kissing him. Holding him down... A maelstrom of thoughts and remembered sensation eddied and churned in Heero's head, until he leapt from the futon with an exclamation and went to stare futilely out of the kitchen window, his knuckles white against the cold metal of the kitchen sink, hoping to see Duo walk in the back gate.
Why did Alex want Duo?
And where on earth was he?
Trowa sat at the wheel of his midnight-blue SUV, key in hand, frowning at Heero's back door.
Alex .
What the hell...?
He'd almost forgotten about all that stuff with Alex. And Mueller, the creep. Sixteen was such a long time ago, and he never saw them now, which was lucky because he'd probably still want to deck Mueller, the slimy bastard. His brow furrowed. Weren't they sharing a place over in Good Forest or something?
Pair of assholes. So what if Heero had hit on Alex. Alex was a big boy. A heck of lot bigger than them, back then. But of course, Trowa hadn't been there. Ten lousy minutes late to basketball practice, and Noventa, the sadist, had had him out doing laps around the oval, so that he'd only seen Heero and Alex afterwards, in the corridor, and it was too late by then; that asshole Mueller had pounded Heero into mince meat, Alex backed silently against the wall, just watching, silent and flushed, while his best bud beat the crap out of a kid half his size, and as for Heero... Well. It was always hard to tell what Heero was thinking anyway, and then there was all the blood, and all you could see were those blue eyes of his blazing at Alex from under stringy, wet hair...
Shit.
And Heero would never talk about what had happened. Typical.
Didn't stop everyone else talking though. And it was even worse after that blow-up over Milliardo Peacecraft and Mr Kushrenada. Really, it was probably the reason that Heero, had finished school early, to take up that building apprenticeship, as much as Odin and Sara dying. Despite being a mathematical genius, with a brain stuffed full of the biggest collection of scientific trivia that Trowa had ever not wanted to know.
And now, four whole years later, here was Alex, turning up out of the blue to hit on Duo for crissakes.
But...
Alex was straight. Wasn't he?
Heero was still standing, staring out of the back window at the darkening garden, when he heard the front door open and spun around with an exclamation, his face lightening. "About time!!"
It must be Duo.
"Heero?"
But it wasn't.
It was Relena. Letting herself into his house as if she owned the place, and breezing past him into the hallway under full sail, with a pot of chickpea curry, and a pleased smile.
"I've brought you dinner."
It was well and truly dark, and Duo still wasn't home. Heero had put off dinner, plonking the other boys in front of the television with plates of nachos, and now sat, staring blankly at the giant-sized pot of chick peas warming on the stove, not having the heart to break it to Relena that there was no way in the wide world that anybody was going to eat them, except him, and possibly Duo, because Duo ate anything, although maybe not when it was from Relena, and letting Relena's ramblings about Old Molly's dog wash over him like a cumin-scented tide.
Where was Duo? Surely he wasn't gone again. He'd ex-plained about Relena. Hadn't he? It was a bit of a blur. Oh hell. Oh God.
Oh God please. Please let Duo be back soon. Please don't let him be upset again. Please don't let him want to leave...
He snorted softly, telling himself to get a grip and glaring into his mug of cold, black tea as if that might help. It didn't. Relena had put sugar in it. Not honey. Duo knew that he liked honey. And she'd given him the puppy dog mug. Duo's mug. He stared at it, as if he hadn't washed it up a hundred times before. Three puppies chasing butterflies around the outside of the mug. One with its forepaws on the ground, rump wriggling in the air, and a wide goofy grin. A spaniel maybe? Floppy ears the colour of Duo's hair. Warm toffee. And a violet butterfly the exact shade of Duo's eyes. Duo was a big boy and he had Cody with him. Nothing had happened, and Duo wouldn't have vanished with Cody in tow anyway. They were fine. Just very, very late. Maybe they'd missed a bus or something. Something. Nothing had happened. Oh God...
Relena was still talking.
"...and she doesn't have a clue where it came from..."
The back door slammed and small feet thundered down the hallway.
"Joe! Heero! JO-O-OE!!! You'll never guess what happened!!!"
Cody. And that meant...
Duo was back!!
"Duo!"
"Heero?" Relena's perfectly arched brows knit delicately. A lady didn't frown. It was rude to interrupt, but if Heero wished to change the subject, then etiquette dictated that she accommodate him. It was only polite. "What...?"
There was no answer, but a scrape of cork tile as Heero shoved his chair back and rushed eagerly down the hallway, flung open the back door expectantly, and stepped out onto the back verandah. Frowned in disappointment and peered around uncertainly into the night, shoulders drooping. No Duo.
But there was a light beckoning in the driveway. The interior light of a Council truck parked behind his pickup, a pale shadow truck in the dim light, and peering anxiously at that beacon of light through the grapevine, Heero could see two figures in the front seat, clearly enough to see a long rope of warm toffee hair.
Duo!
It was ridiculous to feel so relieved. Really it was. Of course Duo was coming home, Heero told himself sternly. It was never in doubt. Nevertheless, he was drenched with relief, like a shock of warm water, so that he no longer felt the frosty air, his heart dancing a joyful tattoo in his chest, and he sprang down the back steps towards them, his feet finding the way with the ease of long familiarity, his mouth opening to yell at Duo, to ask him why the heck he was so late, to tell him get his butt into gear because dinner was ready, to say that he should come in out of the cold now, when there was a sudden flurry of activity in the front seat of the truck.
Heero stumbled to a stop, choking in mid-yell, and stared in shock as some other man put his arm around Duo's shoulders, fingers delving into his hair, and then leaned closer and... Hugged him.
What???
And didn't let go.
Walker . That was who the other man was, and apparently Heero's brain was able to work on autopilot, throwing up information while the rest of him was going into shock. It was Ed Walker. Holding Duo. As if Duo was his. And Duo was letting him, and even inclining his head trustingly towards the other man, in their warm, little cocoon of light, leaning his forehead against his uniformed chest.
Heero stood rooted to the frosty ground, the blood pounding in his ears like the far-distant surf, drowning out all other sound. He blinked furiously, trying to ease his stinging eyes, not wanting to see, but completely unable to stop watching the two in the truck.
Duo...and Walker?
But Duo was his boyfriend. Wasn't he?
Trowa had warned him. Had told him that Duo was not his. But he'd left it too late. Hadn't told Duo how he felt, and now Duo had found someone else. How could he have been so stupid??? He'd wanted Duo, had done right from the start, but more than that he loved him. He knew it, now, but now...
It was too late.
Heero felt overwhelmed by a terrible aching sadness. Regret stabbed him like shards of glass, working its way in deeper and deeper to pierce his heart.
Everything, too late.
Walker still had his hands tangled in Duo's hair. Heero stared jealously, remembering silky warmth and the fragrance of apple shampoo, then finally realised that he was watching something private and jerked at last into motion, turning shakily away, feeling as if his heart was breaking.
"Ow! What the heck are you doing?! Stop! That hurts!"
Heero froze in shock at Duo's outraged cry, his heart racing, and then spun back to face the truck. Walker hurt Duo! How dare he hurt Duo! Confused memories of Alex boiled and bubbled, and Heero rubbed his wrists as if to soothe livid skin, struggling for breath. Saw Duo bruised and gasping in Alex's... no...Walker's...arms. No! His fists knotted with spiralling anger and adrenalin spiked through his veins making his heart pound fiercely. No one hurt Duo! No one!
Drowned in fright and jealous fury, Heero strode towards the truck.
As soon as Walker's truck had pulled up in the driveway, Cody was on the move.
Duo grinned after him, as he scrambled over Duo's lap to tumble out of the truck and dart into the house with Rex at his heels, hollering at the top of his voice, desperate to tell Joe about his big adventure. Savage dogs and MacDonalds, all in one afternoon.
"Well he's happy!" Duo turned to Walker, in the driver's seat, with a sigh of gratitude. "Thanks a lot man. I owe you one. I'd never have made it in to the cashier in time without you. And the burgers were a lifesaver. Cody was starving." As was Duo, but he didn't think that Ed needed to know that. Somehow, in the course of the afternoon, Walker had become Ed, another name on the long list of Duo's friends. Ed was a good bloke.
Walker grinned back at him, not fooled about the burgers "No problem Duo." His smile faded and he looked seriously at him. "Better keep Rex locked up in future though. Otherwise he might end up back at the Pound. Or maybe even poisoned. That Clark guy's bad news."
"Shit." Duo frowned. "Yeah. Guess you're right. What a creep!" He huffed in annoyance and flipped the sun visor back and forth angrily, glowering through the windscreen and wishing that he'd flattened that Clark guy when he had the chance.
Walker blinked and jerked back reflexively as something black and menacing fell down out of the visor. He peered closer.
"Duo stay still! There's a spider in your hair." Eight, thin, black legs twitched in the air, claws scrabbling, and Walker grimaced. Shuddered with distaste as the shiny, black spider flipped onto its belly and fumbled its tortuous way through Duo's hair. "Ugh...one of those nasty, black ones. They're poisonous."
"Agh...shit!" Duo yelped, and flapped comically at his hair. "Get it out! Is it gone?!"
"Nope you missed it. Stop!!" Walker recovered from his revulsion, and swallowed a grin at Duo's antics, grabbing Duo's upraised hand purposefully. "Hold still! You'll squash it. It's only a spider. It doesn't deserve to be squashed. And it'll bite you for sure. I'll get it. Just hang on..." He braced his elbow on Duo's shoulder, resting his wrist on top of Duo's head, took careful aim, and flicked. "Damn! Missed. Hang on again..." Jerked his fingers out of the way, grimacing. "Ugh...little monster's looking at me! Hold still..."
He flicked again and this time managed to catapult the annoyed spider out of the open door with his index finger. "Hah! Got him!"
"Really?! Thanks man!" Duo grinned and squirmed to look. "You're a lifesav...ow!!!" He grimaced in pain. "What the...!!!"
"Uhh...damn. Damn. It's my cuff. The button's kind of stuck in your hair. Hold on..." Walker grimaced guiltily. "Here. Hold still! Let me just..." He wrapped his other arm around Duo and tried to untangle the button, hampered by the confined space, the gear stick, the dark, the fact that the button was under his other wrist so that he couldn't see it, and Duo's unhelpful attempts to squirm away. And didn't think about possible other spiders at all. "Hang on. Stop wriggling will you! You're making it worse! I can't see a thing! Just hold still!!"
"Ow! What the heck are you doing?! Stop! That hurts!"
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing to my boyfriend?!!!"
The driver's door flew open with a jerk, to reveal a furious figure looming in the doorway. Heero Yuy, who grabbed Walker by his collar and hauled him backwards out of the truck, ignoring Duo's yelp of pain, spun him dizzyingly around to face him, hauled his arm back and, without another word, punched Walker hard on the nose.
There was a moment of shocked silence, and then Duo tumbled out of the truck and skidded around to the driver's side, to stand protectively over Walker, hands on his hips, glaring at Heero. "Heero!!! What the freaking hell did you do that for?!!"
Heero ignored him, glaring down at Walker with a furious blue gaze. "Hurt him again and I will kill you!"
Duo's mouth fell open. "What the...?! Heero leave the poor guy alone! Geez Louise! He didn't do freaking anything!"
Heero transferred his glare to Duo, eyes softening, just a little. "He did! He hurt you!"
Duo's stared at him wide-eyed, in violet-eyed confusion. "He what?? No he didn't! When??" He blinked. "He didn't hurt me. You hurt him!" He glared furiously back at Heero.
"He did hurt you! I heard!"
"No he freaking didn't!!"
"He did!!!"
"Didn't!!! Idiot! And you can't just freaking well haul off and hit people!!!"
"Did!!! Idiot! You said... ow stop that hurts. I heard you. And I can if I want!" Heero's furious scowl was directed at Duo, but the fallout was enough to have Walker struggling into a sitting position at Duo's feet, hands clasped protectively over his bleeding nose, and shuffling backwards on his bottom behind Duo. He shrank into the nearest shadow and stayed very still.
Duo stopped yelling for a moment, distracted by Walker scooting over his toe, and suddenly realised what Heero was talking about. Ohh...Walker pulling his hair.
"Oh. Oh yeah... Well...maybe he was a bit rough but it was okay. I mean... He didn't mean to be. He just tugged a bit hard. He couldn't get it out. Right Ed?"
Tugged a bit hard? Couldn't get it out? Get what out...? Ohh... Heero's cheeks slowly warmed as he struggled to process this unwelcome piece of information.
Duo glanced around at Walker for confirmation, who shook his head hurriedly, staring askance at Heero over his hands. No. He didn't mean it. Really truly. And no, he would never touch Duo's hair without Heero's permission ever again.
"And at least I didn't get bitten!" Duo grinned over his shoulder at Walker.
"Oh." Comprehension struck Heero like a ton of bricks and he stared down at the scuffed gravel miserably, hurt and embarrassed. Tugged. Bitten. His face flamed. "Oh."
Oh hell.
Hell and damnation.
Duo wasn't being hurt at all. By the sound of things he'd been enjoying it. Had wanted Walker to kiss him and didn't mind if things got rough, even if he got bitten. And, if Heero hadn't interrupted, Ed would have got...it...out and they obviously would have been doing a lot more than kissing. Heero had just made a complete idiot of himself, and now Duo was angry with him, and, combined with the pain of losing Duo, he thought that he might just crawl away and die now. Suddenly he didn't think that he could bear to be near Duo and Walker another minute. "I should go..." He managed to lift his eyes long enough to glance at Walker through his dishevelled brown hair. "Sorry..." he said stiffly.
Walker nodded furiously to signify no hard feelings, then shook his head, and then blinked rapidly several times, just to be on the safe side.
"What? Hang on..." Duo was staring at Heero in confusion, forgetting to be angry. "I'll come in with you in a second but we can't just leave poor old Ed like this..."
Heero looked so miserable. Duo wondered what on earth was going on. Was it because they'd argued over Ed? But it wasn't as if it had been that much of a fight. They had worse every time someone had to do the dishes. He grabbed Heero's arm quickly before he could walk away. "Heero wait..."
Duo felt a warm little glow of pleasure, now that he wasn't angry any more. Heero had been worried that he was being hurt. Had come rushing to rescue him like his own personal knight in shiny armour. He really did care about him. He ducked his head and peeped shyly sidelong at him through his hair. "Heero... thanks for worrying. But he really wasn't trying to hurt me..."
Heero nodded miserably, still not looking at him. "I know. I'm sorry. I overreacted. You didn't mind that he was rough. I was silly. It was just a kiss."
"Yeah that's... a what??" Duo jerked his head up and stared at him wide-eyed, his eyebrows disappearing into his hair.
"A kiss..." Heero's voice was almost inaudible, directed at the gravel.
"What kiss?!!! There was no freaking kiss! What the heck are you talking about Yuy??"
Duo swung Heero around to face him and glared at him in angry confusion, his voice climbing again.
Heero crossed his arms protectively over his chest, looking away from Duo. "In the truck. I saw him...heard you...when he...when you..." His closed his eyes miserably, not wanting to think about Walker kissing Duo.
"When we what?! What?! Spit it out! What did you see Heero?"
"He had his arms around you. He..."
Duo's eyebrows flew up in confusion. "What??"
"...kissed you."
Duo stared at him in disbelief, and then, suddenly, everything made perfect, if slightly skewed, sense. Oh Heero... His anger vanished, sea mist in sun.
"Ahh..." He let his breath out in a sigh, relief and regret measured in equal parts, and reached out a tentative hand, turning Heero's face gently but irresistibly towards him, just the tips of his fingers firm on his jaw.
"Heero..." Duo's mind working a mile a minute now, examining the interlude in the truck from every angle, factoring in angles, approximate distance and ambient light. "You saw him with his arms around me didn't you? Thought you saw..." He corrected himself quickly.
Heero nodded jerkily under Duo's hand, still avoiding his gaze.
"His hand was in my hair." Duo's voice softening with rueful understanding. "You thought I let him kiss me..."
Another jerky nod.
"Heero..." Duo cupped his cheek tenderly, thumb stroking gently, coaxing Heero's eyes back to his. Willing him to understand. "...this is going to sound really dumb but there was a spider in my hair. One of those gross, black ones. Ed flicked it off but then he got his button stuck in my plait. That's what hurt. He pulled my hair. He was trying to untangle us. He really wasn't trying to kiss me. Truly."
Heero's eyes found Duo's at last, desperately wanting to believe, and for long moments they gazed hopefully into each other's eyes.
Duo's thumb still tracing gently, feathered along the line of Heero's jaw. Across his lips, and lingered. Heero was jealous. Of him!
Duo's voice was a husky murmur, for Heero's ears alone, and it made him tremble where he stood.
"H-e-e-r-o...you're my boyfriend. I don't want to kiss anyone except you."
Duo's fingers slid from Heero's cheek up into his hair, and gently tightened, pulling Heero's face slowly down to his.
Eyes a swirl of violet beneath heavy lids.
Heero gazed into Duo's eyes, his heart hammering in his chest, forgetting anger and hurt, forgetting Walker hunched against the back tyre, forgetting everything except Duo's eyes, Duo's hand in his hair, Duo's soft, warm lips parting so very gently...
Duo's head tilting slightly sideways, his gaze sliding to Heero's lips, just a breath away, fingers guiding Heero closer. "Just you Heero..."
His eyes closed.
The back door slammed.
"Oh my God!!! What have you done??!!"
Duo stepped away from Heero in surprise and stared in astonishment as a strange girl materialised fromhis house, stormed down the steps as if she owned them, and fell to her knees beside the fallen Walker, in a whirlwind of honey-blonde hair and tempestuous blue eyes.
"Edward! "
She glared at Duo accusingly. "It was you wasn't it?!!! Get away from him this instant!" She dragged her cell phone from her pocket and thrust it at Heero. "Heero! Call the Police!"
"Woah!! Back off sister!" Duo backed towards Heero, hands outstretched. "It wasn't me!"
"Mumble mumble mmph..." Walker tried to say something from behind his hands, shaking his head desperately, and the strange girl quickly stripped off her fuzzy, pink cardigan and plastered its knitted tentacles over his face in one easy move, tipping his head back efficiently and holding him firmly in place, speaking to him soothingly. "Oh you poor thing!" She squeezed his shoulder reassuringly with her free hand, unintentionally jabbing him with the phone. "There now...don't try to speak. Just wait for it to stop bleeding." First Aid administered, she glared again at Duo.
"It must have been you! Heero wouldn't do something like this! He's a gentleman!" She jerked her chin at Heero insistently. "Ring the Police Heero!"
"MMPH MMPHLL MMPH!" Walker choked on a mouthful of cardigan and gave up, peering down his nose sympathetically at Duo from his tilted-back position. Tried unsuccessfully to scrape pink fluff off his tongue with his teeth.
Duo stared at the girl in amused irritation, entertained despite himself. He had to admit that poor old Ed did look kinda like a train wreck, his shirt soaked in blood and spiky tufts of blood-darkened brown hair poking out over the cardigan. They should've got him a rag or something. But it wasn't his fault!
"Sorry to disappoint you Babe but it wasn't me! Heero'll have to hand himself in if you want him to ring the cops!" He twinkled sidelong at Heero.
"What on earth are you talking about? You...you...thug!!"
"Leave Duo alone!" Heero wrapped his arm protectively around Duo's shoulders. "It wasn't him! It was me!" He frowned at her, failing to see any humour when Duo was theatened. She always meant well but she could be such a pain sometimes.
"Heero! I don't believe you! You're just saying that to...to...protect him because you're such a nice person!" She brandished the phone at Duo and he flinched back reflexively.
Heero squeezed him tighter, his scowl intensifying. "I'm not. I mean I am but... It was me! Leave him alone Relena!"
Relena? Duo jerked as if he'd been shot, all amusement vanishing, wriggling out from under Heero's arm and stepping away, eyes moving from Heero to Relena in confusion. This was Relena? Relena was here? In his house with his Heero? And what was she doing in his house with Heero?
Suddenly Duo was exhausted. He had wanted to trust Heero so badly, but he was making it hard. It looked like it had all been one big lie about Relena after all. His head was pounding again, as if it was about to explode. He wrapped his arms around himself tiredly, staring at the ground and squeezing his eyes closed, trying to focus his whirling thoughts. Relena...Heero...Heero punching Ed...Clark punching Mueller... Cody...the monster dog... That was it. He was done. It had been one hell of a day and he'd had it.
Heero stared at him in concern.
"Duo? Are you okay?" He glared accusingly at Relena. "Just leave him alone! It was me all right?!!"
"Heero!! How could you?!" Relena's enormous blue eyes filled with disappointment and she shook her head sadly, pointedly turning her back to him and adjusting the cardigan.
Duo drew a shuddering breath past the tightness in his chest, and pasted a smile onto his face, turning to grasp Ed's shoulder, fingers squeezing ruefully. "Sorry about all this buddy. You were a real lifesaver today. I owe ya one." He straightened, glancing at a flushed Relena, who ignored him, then looked across Ed to Heero, his mouth twisting in a wry smile. "Looks like your girlfriend's pissed at you Yuy. Shouldn't you say you're sorry or something?"
Heero stiffened visibly and stared at him in open-mouthed surprise. "She's not my..."
But it was too late. Duo had already turned and was walking quickly inside.
Relena Peacecraft-Darlien stared in confusion at Heero Yuy's back, as he rushed into the house after that Duo person. She shook her head sadly. She would never have believed that Heero could behave so badly as to strike someone in anger. She supposed that she should apologise to his friend. It would be the polite thing to do, but it would have to wait until Edward was recovered. If there was one thing that Animal Rescue taught you, it was priorities.
She turned back to Walker, lifting a corner of the blood-soaked cardigan carefully.
"Ooh... Oh dear..." She screwed up her face in sympathy. "It's stopped bleeding but it's very swollen..." She removed the cardigan and helped him to his feet.
"Phew!" Walker gasped with relief, sucking in air. "Don't worry. I'll be all right when I get home."
Relena was still inspecting his nose anxiously. "It might be broken you know. Are you sure you should drive?"
He nodded, trying to smile reassuringly at her around his swollen nose, but fearing that he wasn't doing a very good job of it, judging by her expression. Mil's little sister really was a very kind person. He'd always thought so. And very pretty. He'd always thought that too. It wasn't her fault that she'd misunderstood what had happened. Heero Yuy should have been nicer to her. Especially after the way she'd always stuck by him. Even through all that stuff that had happened at school. Although...
From what Duo had said, Heero was his boyfriend. Not Relena's. Maybe Mueller had been right about Heero Yuy after all. Not that it was any of Walker's business. Duo Maxwell was a great guy, as was Heero really, once you got to know him, and Mueller had been a jerk in school, was a jerk now, and would probably die a jerk. A jealous jerk. Not that Alex didn't give him good reason to be jealous. Still, it was lucky that he was Alex's boyfriend, or no one would ever put up with the idiot. Funny how that worked out. You'd never've guessed that he was gay in school, with the way that he'd carried on about Heero. And Mil. Got the whole place in an uproar. However...
Walker stared at Relena thoughtfully. The upside of having an almost-certainly broken nose, was that Relena Peaceraft-Darlien apparently didn't have a boyfriend after all. He smiled at her again, hopefully this time. "I'll be okay."
Relena stared at him in admiration. Edward was so brave.
"I know!" She smiled at him happily. She had the perfect solution. "You leave the truck at the depot and I'll drive you back to town. It's the least I can do. And I really think that you need an X-ray." She nodded firmly.
She started to usher him towards the truck, hovering behind him with the cardigan held at the ready in case he needed it again, but then stopped, eyes riveted to a palm-sized patch of shadow under the wheel arch.
"Oh the poor thing!"
A large, black spider was splayed in the tread of one of the tyres, collapsed after its gargantuan climb up the wheel rim. "It can't stay there! It will get squashed! It needs to be relocated. I just need something to put it in..."
Relena looked about purposefully, back on the familiar ground of Animal Rescue.
Walker remembered his cardboard, take-away coffee cup, now empty in his jacket pocket, and produced it helpfully, handing it to Relena, who scooped up the spider with practiced efficiency, and then upended it carefully at the base of the fence post, while Walker watched in surprised admiration. She really was quite a girl.
Relena beamed at him. Fancy Edward having the perfect container. He really was a very handy sort of person.
"Perfect!"
Heero leapt the back stairs in a single bound, the verandah in two giant steps, and hurried into the house, the door slamming behind him. He had to find Duo and explain to him, before he lost him yet again, that Relena was nothing, just a friend, just an old school friend who had been there for him once, and who needed him; rather annoyingly often, and often at very inconvenient times, but she couldn't help that, really, and that was all there was to it. Simple.
He blinked in the bright light. The hallway was empty, a Duo-less waste of pale paint and polished floorboards, but awash with the echo of excited voices, a peculiar smell, and the flickering shadow of a ferret vanishing into the living room. He ignored the smell, tracking the ebb and flow of noise up the hallway, past the gallery of photographs, not even stopping to look at the newest one, his favourite, of Duo doing a one-handed cartwheel off the verandah rail, and on into the living room, to find Duo gone to ground on the futon, the boys ranged excitedly around him, all eyes on Cody who wheeled backwards and forwards in front of the couch on his roller blades, gesticulating wildly, and full of some story about a dog. Rex, probably.
Damn. Boys everywhere. How was he supposed to talk to Duo here?
Heero sighed in frustration. Contemplated dragging Duo upstairs by that convenient rope of hair, but then decided that that would attract way too much attention. He took a deep breath. Dodged Cody and scooted Tyler sideways on the couch, inserting himself firmly onto the futon next to Duo, who inched pointedly away, squashing up against the oblivious twins. Their attention, and the other boys', was firmly on Cody, who's arms were windmilling frantically, demonstrating...something. More dogs, probably.
Heero was not interested in dogs. He glanced quickly left and right, then took advantage of the boys' distraction to grab Duo's chin and turn his face firmly towards him, trying to make contact with a spare of skittish violet eyes that fluttered like the butterfly on the mug. Up, down, right, left, looking at Cody, Tyler, the twins, the ceiling, the carpet, anywhere, but most determinedly not at Heero.
"She's not!"
Heero hissed it into the general mayhem, but his agitated voice came out much louder than expected so that he flinched and glanced around in consternation. Luckily, no one had noticed. No one except Duo.
Duo stilled, blinking at Heero over the top of his hand like an adorably confused kitten, then rediscovered his inner tiger, and frowned. Jerked out of Heero's sweaty-palmed grip and turned his back to him, hissing back. "Yeah right. Like I'd really believe you Yuy when as soon as my back's turned you've got her cavorting all round the house! Sure!!" If only Heero wasn't so damn gorgeous this wouldn't be so damn painful.
"She's not. Really." Heero hauled him back around and glared at him. Duo was not adorable. He was impossibly stubborn. And why could he never find the words when he needed them. "She's just..."
"Yeah. Right." Duo glared back. Heero was not gorgeous. He was an idiot, if he thought that Duo would buy that load of old rubbish
"She's not. She just brought... Oh. Ohhell and damnation!!!" Heero sprang from the futon and dived into the kitchen, to lift the lid and stare dolefully into a pot of burned and blackened chickpea sludge, poking at it dubiously with the wooden spoon. So that was what that smell was. Damn. He scrubbed a tired hand over his face then turned off the gas with a sigh, and lifted the pot to take outside, where it could stink up the garden in peace.
"Damn damn damn damn..."
"Holy shit! What the freakin hell is that??" Duo leaned around Heero's arm for the wooden spoon, stirring and lifting the crusty mess with vague horror.
"Chick peas. Curry. She's not my girlfriend. Really. She's not!"
Heero turned to stare desperately at Duo, not knowing what else to say to convince him, or how to say it, but willing him to believe anyway, clasping the blackened pot tightly in both hands between pink, flowery pot mitts, wilful strands of chocolate silk hair flopping down over his pleading blue eyes. He blew upwards, trying to blast hair out of the way. Looked beseechingly at Duo, helplessly mute, a grey smudge of chickpeas on his cheek. Why, oh why, could he never find the right words to say to Duo?
Duo's lips twitched, his heart melting. Chocolate in warm sunlight. How could he not trust Heero?
"Hmm." He smoothed Heero's hair out of his eyes, his hand lingering to cup Heero's cheek. Rubbed away chickpeas with the ball of his thumb, then thoughtlessly sucked it clean. Ugh...big mistake. Total grossness. Heard Heero's breath hitch unexpectedly, to his surprised delight. Well damn. Maybe not a mistake... He sucked his other fingers for good measure, enchantedly watching Heero squirm. His grin peeped out, eyebrows lifting mischievously. "S'pose if she was really your girlfriend she'd give you something better than chickpea curry. Know I would." He nodded thoughtfully, eyes twinkling at Heero. "Reckon you could ask for chocolate cake next time buddy?"
Heero nodded as well, several times, hopefully. For Duo, anything. A chocolate cake as big as a house, if he wanted. Duo's hand was back. Curled promisingly around his neck, making the baby-fine hairs there stand on end and...
"Duo! They don't believe me!!" Cody appeared in the doorway, Tyler at his elbow, Fez peeping out of his sweat shirt, whiskers twitching. "Come'n tell 'em how big it was!"
Duo sighed softly, and took his warm hand away from Heero's neck, glancing over his shoulder. "Sure thing buddy! " He turned back to a scowling Heero, eyeing the enormous pot between them. "Hmm. Better get rid of that stuff before it multiplies! Just hope it doesn't kill the hens..." Grinned, shaking his head slightly, and followed the boys back into the living room, where Heero could hear Cody explaining seriously that the hens liked that kind of stuff Duo, didn't they Joe?
The back of Heero's neck felt cold, and lonely. He hurried the pot out into the garden, returning to his place on the futon just in time to hear about his Duo being attacked by Trant Clark.
"What?!!" Heero sat up straight and stared at Duo, eyes narrowing.
Cody was almost dancing with glee. "Uh huh! He tried to punch Duo but snapped that other guy instead. Flattened him. You shoulda seen it Heero! He was mad at Duo after the first time and..."
"What other guy?!!? What first time?!!" Heero's steely gaze darted from Duo to Cody and back to Duo. Stayed fixed on Duo in a blue glare the colour of storms at sea. Fists curled ominously.
Damn. Duo had forgotten that Heero hadn't heard about their first run-in with Clark. He surrendered to the inevitable and let Cody tell the story, seeing as he was going to anyway.
"When you were sick! He tried to take Rex. To the Pound but Duo chucked him out." He looked severely at Duo, continuing an old argument. "Told you. You shoulda hit him with that big spanner. Then he'd a been too scared to try anything."
"No you shouldn't! You should have got me! I would have helped!" Heero had heard enough to know that he wasn't happy. It was his job to protect his family, and that now included Duo. He glared at Duo.
"Duo didn't need you!" Cody was pugnacious, protecting Rex's protector.
"No way I was getting you!" Duo glared back at Heero, ignoring Cody. "You were sick!"
"You should have got me anyway!"
"What're you fighting for?" Tyler looked worriedly back and forth between them, blue eyes wide. "It wasn't Duo's..." He doubled over in a burst of coughing.
"Yeah!! Why're you picking on Duo?! Clark deserved it the dirty, rotten...!" The twins, missing the point completely, remembering Clark and a soccer ball, run over in the prime of life.
"Butt out you two!" Joe shoved them both, hard, from the arm of the couch.
"Ow!!! Shove off Joe!" They shoved back.
"Tyler. Ventolin. Now." Heero lifted Tyler up off the couch and scooted him away, still frowning at Duo.
Duo drew a deep breath and gritted his teeth, reminding himself that he was the grown-up here and not to just yell the first thing that came into his head. Which was 'Shut the hell up the lot of you!' He winced at Tyler's red, flushed face, but refused to back down. Drew a deep breath.
"Dammit Yuy I can fight my own freaking battles. And if I want to look after my family then I damn well will!!!"
"Ow!!!" Joe and the twins hit the floor, knocking Cody sideways into the arm of the futon.
His family. Duo's family.
Time stood still as Heero stared, transfixed, across the hand span of space that separated him from Duo's belligerent nose, feeling Duo's stubborn protectiveness like a blanket on a frosty morning, a blanket that he'd misplaced long ago and given up all hope of finding. Duo would look after them, when Heero couldn't. Would look after Heero too. Heero didn't have to always be the strong one. Woven in with the feeling was a warm little glow of pride, tinged with a healthy respect. Duo could indeed fight his own battles. Clark was a pretty nasty piece of work, and Duo had, apparently, outfaced him twice. Heero could trust Duo.
Heero sighed and sat back. "Yes. You can. Just let me help next time okay?"
The boys stared, wide-eyed, abruptly silent. Joe shoved the twins off his chest and sat up on the floor, rubbing his head.
Duo blinked at Heero suspiciously, then his face softened. "Sure thing buddy. Partners right?" He held out his hand, palm up.
"Right." The warm little glow filled Heero from the inside all the way out to his fingertips, suggesting that he grab Duo and kiss him now, but Zac and Silas had picked themselves up and were watching with silent, hawk-like fascination, whilst Joe was inspecting his shoe closely, obviously expecting the worst. Not a good time to kiss Duo. He took the offered hand and squeezed tight, bringing it to rest on his thigh. "Partners."
Duo sighed with relief and wilted back against the couch, silent for once, his eyes closing. Heero took advantage of his inattention to peer more closely, cataloguing blue-shadowed eyes and chalk-white skin. An excellent chance to count each pale freckle on Duo's tip-tilted nose, if he'd ever had the urge. Duo looked exhausted. Heero squeezed his hand again, enjoying its warmth in his. "Bedtime?"
Duo nodded mutely, limp against the back of the couch.
Heero reluctantly released Duo's hand and stood to shoo the boys away from the futon, his voice firm. "Bed!" Fixed the twins with a flinty eye, daring them to say one word about Simpsons, missed baths, or incomplete homework. And nachos would have to do for dinner. Judging by the empty, ice-cream-smeared bowls on the floor and kicked under the futon, nobody was hungry anyway. He shooed them again. "Now! It's bedtime. And Duo's tired."
He glanced across at Duo as he caught Tyler coming back from the bathroom and ushered him firmly towards the door, intercepting a sweet smile. Thanks man. Duo mouthed the words at him, sinking down further onto the futon and fumbling for the television remote control.
Heero hurried the boys into bed and slipped back down the dark stairs, bursting with the words that might lead to that kiss, only to find Duo fast asleep on the futon. Sleeping a sleep of complete exhaustion, slumped over sideways on the couch, mouth slightly open, snoring gently and, most likely, drooling on the pillow, his braid pooled on the floor beneath him.
Heero sighed in frustration, then his lips firmed resolutely, as he reached for the control to turn the television off. Somewhere along the way he d made up his mind. Again. He'd been given a second chance with Duo and he wasn't going to waste it. He didn't want to feel like he'd felt in the garden ever again. He was going to tell Duo everything, before some other Tom, Alex or Walker stole him away. Or before Duo freaked out about Relena again.
He loved Duo. He knew it, now, and from now on he was going to do everything in his power to let him know.
Starting tomorrow. He would talk to Duo tomorrow.
In the sudden quiet, Heero heard a brief patter of rain on the tin roof. The fire hissed, and crackled quietly, giving off a warm glow, and enclosing the futon in a small bubble of light, filled with warmth and the fragrance of burning pinecones.
Decision made, Heero gazed longingly at the bits of Duo's face that he could see beneath the spikes of his overlong fringe. The point of chin. A gentle curve of cheek. He knelt to slide Duo's boots...Heero's own boots...and socks off and then lifted Duo's legs onto the mattress. Reluctantly released him and Duo murmured softly and rolled onto his side, facing Heero, cheek pillowed on his hand.
"...mmm...Heero..."
Heero's breath caught at his name on Duo's sleeping lips. Almost without his volition, his own lips eased closer and closer to Duo until he pressed a kiss against his pale cheekbone, eyelids sealed against Duo's silky hair. He rested there for long moments, nuzzled against the smooth warmth of Duo's cheek, breathing in deeply, his heart pounding fast, half-hoping that Duo might wake up, half-terrified that he would, but Duo slept on. One last breath and Heero pulled away. Snuggled the quilt up over Duo's shoulders, then stayed kneeling beside him, all his weight balanced on the elbow that rested on the futon beside Duo's head, staring greedily, in a way that he wouldn't dare when Duo was awake. For a time, he fussed with the tendrils of hair that fell forward over Duo's face. Smoothed them back. Parted them neatly in the middle and admired the effect, lips twitching, then ruffled them together, feathering strands of chestnut hair away from the pale, heart shaped face, to reveal dark eyelashes against a delicate curve of cheek. Traced the curve of his ear. Duo's face wrinkled and Heero's breath caught, but he didn't wake
A log crackled and broke in a fiery spray of sparks.
Heero eased back from the futon onto his heels, and rescued Duo's braid from the floor, arranging it carefully beside him, safe from interested claws or fingers, but then couldn't bear to part with it. Brushed the wispy end across his palm then lifted it to his face stroking it over his cheek. Nose. Lips. Closed eyelids, again and again, lost in the feeling. Then did the same to Duo, his own skin still tingling from the sensation. Stroked it down the freckle-dusted bridge of Duo's nose, which wrinkled delightfully and twitched, but still he did not wake.
Duo was so cute. And obviously completely exhausted.
Heero sighed, rising to his feet and turning to tend to the fire. In the morning. He absolutely had to talk to Duo in the morning.
In the morning, the brief spatter of rain had blown away as if it had never been, leaving a sprinkling of droplets to bead the arching blackberry canes that glowed resinously against the clear, eggshell sky, and a single mirror-silver puddle that churned to brown beneath the wheels of a very early bicycle.
One of the worst things about being a paper boy was that you had to get up so darned early in the morning. But it did have compensations.
Joe Lowe's friend, Pete Williams, liked delivering papers along Aldershot Road, even though it was dirt, and harder pedalling, because that was where that cute Mari lived. And some mornings, if he was lucky, he'd catch sight of her, letting her little yellow cat out. Or in, or whatever it was that it did in the mornings.
Her house was the red brick one with the turret, just after Joe's, the lucky... He landed Joe's paper forcefully in his garden, and cycled on, already looking forwards towards Mari's place. And on this particular morning he was lucky.
Mari was on the front porch as he rode past, in these cute flannelette pyjamas with some sort of lime-green animal on them.
"Hey Mari!! MARI!!!"
No paper for Mari, that witchy, old grandma of hers didn't believe in 'em or something, but he slowed anyway, grabbing that scary Clark guy's paper from his carry basket and waving it at her as he rode past, no hands. He turned to look back at her over his shoulder, still waving, and hurled the paper, just as his bicycle wheel caught in an enormous pothole and got the death wobbles. He had to grab on to the handlebars with both hands and hang on for grim death, but it was worth it to see the worried look on Mari's face. She even ran to the fence to see if he was okay.
"Pete you idiot! Thought you'd lost it for sure!"
He grinned back at her.
"No way! See ya in DT!"
And then it was on to the next paper, and dead boring after that.
Trant Clark narrowly avoided the idiot kid on the bike and gunned his big, red car up over the gutter outside his house, following the muddy wheel ruts across his bare lawn to skid to a halt in a worn hollow an arm's length from his front verandah, bonnet pointed to head out the driveway next time he left. Nice and handy.
Shit he needed coffee. And food. He wondered if he had any milk left for breakfast.
He clambered out and trudged around the car towards the steps, then turned and blinked tiredly in search of his paper, and the Racing Guide, scratching absently at the crotch of his stained, dark-ish, sweat pants. He yawned widely. It had been a long night.
But standing around in the dark, quietly waiting, he'd had plenty of time to think. He'd calculated that all that he needed was a few big wins to get him out of trouble. Or even some small ones would be enough to get him out of town.
A bit of ready cash would solve all of his problems. Funny really. It had been the beginning of all of his problems as well. He scratched absently at five day's worth of bristle on his chin. Pity he couldn't just rob a bank.
Trant Clark was still looking for his paper. Where the bloody hell was it? He needed the frigging Racing Guide right now if he wanted to get all his bets on. And he needed a win. A big, big win, otherwise he was in big, big trouble.
If that frigging dog had stolen it again he'd wring the frigging mongrel's neck, and stuff the frigging pound.
No paper.
"Shit!!!"
That Kostiki witch never got the paper. Yuy did. Hmm. If he was quick maybe he could pinch the Form Guide out of Yuy's paper before they got up.
Yuy'd never need the Racing Guide. All that kid ever did was work and sleep.
He dived back off the verandah, angrily brushing away a groping tendril of thorny rose that was threatening to take over the house. Old Kostiki was always rambling on about it when it was in flower. Said that it was Madame Alfred something or another. Stupid name for a women, let alone a frigging rose. He brushed it aside irritably, catching a finger on a thorn and sucking furiously, completely failing to notice the plastic-rolled paper, caught high under the eaves within its spiky tentacles, to be discovered by Trowa's boyfriend the next time the rose was pruned, in late Winter or early Spring.
And by that time the paper, and any full-page advertisements about missing persons contained therein, would be old news, and only suitable for the bin, with the rose clippings.
Joe Lowe liked to get up early to collect the newspaper, because on some mornings, if he were lucky, he'd catch sight of Mari, letting Rasputin out, maybe even talk to her over the fence. He had to ask her about their science project, now that they were working together and all.
And, if he were doubly lucky, he'd beat Rex to the paper. But not this morning. This morning he'd slept in, Mari had long gone, and Rex wore a goofy smile, which invited Joe to either kick him, or give him a big hug.
Joe wiped dog slobber off his cheek and grimaced, holding the sheaf of soggy, chewed newspaper at arms length with fastidious fingertips. Rex had Retrieved the paper. Again. It looked like he'd had some sort of tug-of-war with it. The plastic wrap was completely gone. Probably eaten it. And the Racing Guide. But that was okay. They never looked at that anyway.
He spread the bedraggled paper out on the kitchen table, piecing the pages back together. Not so bad really. The front page was a bit chewed, but it was just a story about some dog anyway. A big dog, looking at the picture. Much bigger than Rex. Joe squinted at the bit that wasn't ripped. So that was what a Bull Mastiff looked like. It had dragged some little old lady out of a house fire, yesterday afternoon. Just in time to make the morning edition.
Where were the comics? He shuffled through the loose pages. Darn. Looked like there was a complete section missing. He flipped hopefully to the back page and abruptly stopped, staring down in disbelief.
At Duo.
Or maybe...a slightly younger Duo? A half-page advertisement, with a photograph of Duo, and a reward for $50 000. It looked like there should have been a phone number, or an address or something, but that corner of the paper was torn away.
Joe sat down at the table, staring disbelievingly at the numbers printed clearly in bold, black type beneath the picture. Fifty thousand dollars! Far out!! Probably enough to buy a whole house!
He had to show it to Heero. Now. Lots of people knew Duo. Anybody that saw that ad was going to ring the number for sure.
He bundled the paper roughly together, and tiptoed guiltily past the living room, where he could hear Duo snoring softly, then scampered quickly up the stairs to Heero's room. Pushed open the door abruptly, forgetting to knock.
"Heero?"
Joe stepped into the room.
"Heero?"
But Heero must have left early, for work. His bed was empty, as was his room.
Joe wrestled with his conscience, trying to decide what to do. He could just give the paper to Duo. He knew that Duo was still desperate to find out more about himself, even though he didn't talk about it much any more. But Heero wanted them to keep it a secret from Duo. Bugger Heero anyway. In the end, stomach rumbling, Joe decided to decide after breakfast. Half an hour wouldn't make much difference.
He spun the paper onto Heero's bed, and hurried downstairs in search of toasted cheese sandwiches, and his maths homework, which he eventually found under the futon, but then discovered to his horror that it was only half done, thanks to Heero shoving them off early to bed last night. And, in the trauma of negative indices and algebraic fractions, he completely forgot about the newspaper.
By the time the sun peeped into the upstairs windows through the almost-bare branches of the oak, the house was very quiet. And empty.
In the kitchen, Fez polished off a dropped piece of crunchy, savoury, cheesey something, then prowled through the house in search of more bounty. Almost caught a small furry squeaker, then lost it under the dresser in the littlest one's room, but was distracted by a sweet morsel under its sleeping place, which he chewed happily.
Tasty treat demolished, he slithered into the tallest's room and leapt disobediently onto the bed, with a ferrety smirk of satisfaction. It was always nice and warm in this room. If only the nice one with the long tail would move their nest up here. Strange, that he didn't want to lair with his mate. A human thing, maybe.
Fez yawned, jaws stretching wide. Turned around and around in a patch of sunlight, before settling down to sleep, whiskers twitching. Stood up again, tail switching angrily. There was a horrible, cold, damp newspaper, right in his sunbeam where he wanted to lie down. He scrabbled at it with his hind claws until it slid off the bed and slipped down beside the bedside table, then smugly lay down again, and went contentedly to sleep.
Heero fumed silently to himself as he screwed the hinges onto Mrs. Noventa's new kitchen cupboard doors. How the heck was he supposed to explain everything to Duo when he never had a minute alone with him? He couldn't even have a simple conversation with Duo without Tyler having an asthma attack, and the twins ending up on the floor fighting with Joe, dammit! He gave the screw a vicious twist, only to feel it spin in place. Hell and damnation! Stripped the thread. He rattled through his toolbox, searching for a slightly larger screw, dumping tools out onto the kitchen floor.
It was hopeless. He was never going to get to talk to Duo. He'd forgotten that he had an early job today. And now Duo was home alone, because the boys were at school, but Heero was stuck at work. And by the time Heero made it home the boys would too.
Unless ...
Heero tumbled tools haphazardly back into his toolbox, spilling screws all over the bottom of it. He could go home now! Catch Duo alone. Then they could talk.
"Heero?"
He jumped guiltily and looked towards the door, pasting an impassive expression onto his face.
"Umm...Yes Mrs Noventa?"
"Are you finished already dear? What about..." The little, white-haired lady was holding a willow-pattern plate full of brownies, and looking doubtfully at the doors still stacked against the cupboards awaiting hinges. "It doesn't look quite..." She trailed off ineffectually.
"Uhhmm. Run out of screws." He gazed at her limpidly, holding up the empty packet by way of proof, squirming inside. Lying to an old lady was just wrong. But this was an emergency. He had to talk to Duo. Today.
"Oh. Well. Well would you like..." Her voice trailed off again and she tilted the plate towards him. "Just one? Before you...um..."
"Uhh. No thanks Mrs Noventa." He'd already had tea, coffee, scones with cream and two sorts of jam, date loaf, and cheese and tomato crackers. Duo would love Mrs Noventa. Sometimes Heero wondered if she only renovated for the company. In the last six months he'd changed the doors on the laundry cupboards, put in an extra light fitting in the shed, fitted a new bookshelf in the empty guest room, and fixed a sticking sliding door, all accompanied by plates of delicious snacks and conversation about her many grandchildren, most of whom lived far away now. Today, it was a complete new kitchen, accompanied by photos of her great grandson, who was somewhere in the tropics, building a new hospital.
At least he didn't have to feel guilty about sneaking off, because he knew that she would be delighted to see him back tomorrow.
"Oh. Well. Did I give you the ...um... You know dear..." She gazed at him hopefully, eyes like pale mist behind her glasses, her free hand fluttering helplessly.
"Yes Mrs Noventa," he said gently. Her memory wasn't the best. Although, from what he remembered about old Noventa, from school, it was probably a good thing. Or, maybe it was self-defence. He took the blue-patterned plate from her and slid it onto the bench before the brownies ended up on the floor. "You showed me the plans this morning."
"I did?" She beamed at him. "And the... oh...the..."
"Mm Hmm. I have the colour chart right here. In my toolbox. Don't worry." He packed up his tools quickly and hefted his toolbox. "I'll be back tomorrow."
"That will be just lovely dear." She smiled at him happily.
Zechs Merquise, once known as Milliardo Peacecraft, wandered into Howard's Fine Furniture and Gift Emporium looking for a gift for an old lover. Howard always had beautiful things; his shop was just one tip of a many-fingered empire that reached the width and breadth of the country. Nobody really knew the entirety of Howard's doings, not even the Peacecrafts, who had doings of their own. Relena had been pestering him to try Howard's, something about Heero Yuy. It was always something about Heero Yuy. Always had been, even in school.
Damn Heero Yuy anyway. If he hadn't pissed off Alex and Mueller so badly they wouldn't have had a point to prove. They'd got the entire student body paranoid about Heero Yuy, and all gays by association. And once those homophobic cretins started stirring things up it was the beginning of the end. For him. For Treize. And not so great for Heero either, in actual fact. Lucky for him he'd had Relena in his corner, damn him.
But Zechs completely forgot all about Heero Yuy when he saw the beautiful, longhaired boy perched on a table, legs kicking, joking with Howard. Zechs paused, half hidden in the doorway, intrigued. Irresistible laughter bubbled through the room, until Howard's companion noticed him and abruptly fell silent, mobile lips slightly open in a quirky smile, mischievous, violet eyes wide in enquiry.
At second glance, not precisely beautiful. Nose, slightly crooked, maybe broken at some time, chin too pointy, enormous eyes too big for the small face, but, when seen peeking out from beneath those ragged, cinnamon layers of hair, the whole was completely charming.
So rare that he saw hair longer than his own.
And if you were to loosen it, and run your fingers through the undoubtedly heavy weight of it...
The other leaned sideways and murmured something to Howard in an amused undertone, so that Howard unclamped his cigar from his teeth and peered down his pointy nose at Zechs over the top of his sunglasses, and he abruptly realised that he was staring. He blinked and moved towards them
It was only some time later that he noticed the elegant, beech console that the boy was perched on.
Of course, when Heero Yuy finally arrived home, with a brown paper bag full of brownies, Duo was not there.
He knew it as soon as he opened the back door, to be met by an anxious ferret, which streaked out of the door and down the back steps in a yellow blur, disappearing into the bushes. Duo had forgotten to let Fez out. He must have been in a hurry to go somewhere. And, was obviously still not home.
Well, Heero would wait. He was not giving up. He was going to get Duo on his own if it killed him. Or a family member. He squared his jaw firmly and looked around the garden, suddenly at a loose end. Even though it was well after lunchtime, the last thing that he felt like was more food. He spied Rex wandering out of the bushes with Fez in tow, and decided to see if he could find the place where the idiot dog was getting out of the garden.
It was bad news. Two fence posts, at the hidden side of the house, had rotted off at the base and leaned drunkenly, dragging the wire mesh down with them to a height that even a ferret could jump. Which it did. Damn. Heero sighed heavily, caught the ferret amongst the prickly, almost bare bones of Mrs Kostiki's raspberries, but then was himself caught by Mrs Kostiki. Apologising, he discovered, to his great relief, that he was no longer Mrs Kostiki's Poorrrrr Lamb, but that nothing was too much trouble for the friend of the young man who had made Mrs Kostiki's Dearrrr Marrrri so happy with his bee-ooo-tiful painting. Heero had been eclipsed by Duo. Paradoxically, he then felt compelled to win back Mrs Kostiki's favour. Admired the miraculous, late-fruiting raspberries, which still had fruit even after the leaves had almost gone, learned of the beneficial effects of sheep manure, as conveniently supplied by nature already pelleted, refused an offer of manure on the grounds that he already had chickens, but was given a jar of raspberry jam instead, escaped back across the fence, tied the dog up, locked the ferret in the house, rolled up his sleeves, pushed his hair back out of his eyes and fetched a shovel.
He set to work digging out the posts.
"Bloody ferret. Idiotic dog..."
He was just starting to re-fasten the mesh when, at last, he heard Duo calling from the back garden.
"Oi! Heero! You there buddy?"
"Around the side!" Heero bellowed back, glancing at his watch. Two o'clock. Plenty of time to talk to Duo before the boys came home. It looked as if his luck was changing. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly rehearsed what he was about to say to Duo.
Duo...sorry but you're not really my boyfriend and I don't even know you. I lied to you to get Welfare of my back. Ouch. ...terribly sorry?...Maybe not. He probably needed to build up to it a bit.
Duo...we need to talk... no! Hell no. That sounded like they were breaking up or something and they hadn't even got together yet. Duo there's something important that I have to tell you. Better. I found out something about your past... No-o ...that was almost lying. If there was one thing he knew, it was, that he couldn't lie to Duo. He had to tell the truth.
Duo I have to...
Duo charged around the side of the house, pink with excitement, braid whipping around the corner behind him. His eyes sparkled. Any other day, and Heero's heart would have turned cartwheels just from the sight of him. Today, the cartwheels were in his stomach. He felt sick. Too many brownies probably. Oh hell. This was it.
"Duo I have to..."
"Heero!! Guess what guess what guess what...!" Duo skidded to a halt in a tangle of wire mesh and timber off-cuts.
"...TELL YOU SOMETHING IMPORTANT!" Heero soldiered on determinedly. He had to tell Duo now before some new catastrophe interrupted them.
Duo stared at him impatiently, jiggling from foot to foot.
"What then?! Spit it out! Quick! I've got some great news buddy! You'd never believe what happened! It was awesome What did you want to tell me? Quick!!!" He took a breath and eyed Heero curiously. "You feeling okay Heero?"
No. Heero wasn't feeling okay. "Uhhh...I..." His voice trailed off as he lined up the next horseshoe nail, giving himself time to think of what came after I. Why the hell hadn't he sat down and written out a speech instead of stuffing around with the stupid fence??! Practiced in front of the mirror maybe. Asked Mrs Kostiki even. Hell no. "Umm..." He fumbled the nail.
"Oh bloody hell!" Duo twitched with impatience, wrestling the hammer from Heero. "Here let me do that. You talk. I'll smash things. Hurry up and tell me what's so important so I can tell you my news."
He balanced the short, u-shaped nail carefully between thumb and forefinger, trapping a loop of mesh between the prongs. Lifted the hammer. "Quick Yuy! Spit it out!"
Heero took a deep breath.
"Duo it's about us..." Oh hell. That sounded terrible.
Duo glanced up at him, eyes wide and shocked. The hammer fell.
"Oww. Shit. Freaking shit!!! Freaking nail!!! Ow ow ow!!!"
Duo flung the hammer, which hit the downpipe with a clang, and jammed his thumb into his mouth, sucking furiously.
"Shit Duo! You dented the pipe! Here..." Heero dragged Duo's thumb out of his mouth and examined it with an expert eye. "Show me." The nail was already blackening. "Ugh. That looks bad. You're going to lose that nail for sure."
Duo glared at him over the thumb, which was firmly back in his mouth. "N' sh't Sh'rlock!!"
"Come on." Heero snagged his sleeve. "Let's get some ice on it." He tugged him towards the back door, glancing worriedly back at him over his shoulder. And almost crashed into someone walking around the side of the house.
"Heya Heero. Duo. Aren't you a bit old to be sucking your thumb Duo?"
It was Trowa, with a grin, a paper bag and Mrs Kostiki's cat. Heero cringed, and glared at Trowa. It wasn't fair. He really shouldn't have to talk to Mrs Kostiki twice in one day.
The thumb exited with a popping noise. "Piss off Trowa." The thumb went back in Duo's mouth.
"Y-e-e-owch." Trowa grimaced and eyed what he could see of the thumb. "Want some ice on that muchacho?"
"H'll yeah c'mp'dre!"
Heero glared at Trowa and pulled Duo closer to himself, and away from Trowa, heading for the back steps and the kitchen. "I was just doing it all right?!"
Duo was his boyfriend and he was looking after him. Not Trowa, and especially not in Spanish.
"Here. Sit." Heero ignored Trowa, and pushed Duo into a kitchen chair, then turned to fish around in the freezer for a bag of frozen peas. He spun a chair to face Duo and sat knee to knee with him, efficiently wrapping the peas in a tea towel. Looked up at Duo, who was making small, comforting, suckling noises around his thumb and was transfixed by the movement of Duo's lips, forgetting to breathe. Duo's lips ...cheeks hollowing as he drew the digit into the wet heat of his mouth...his soft, warm lips... and Heero was suddenly way too hot. He shifted uncomfortably on the chair.
Trowa grinned, leaning back comfortably against the sink to enjoy the show, carelessly juggling a pear, an apple, an orange, and his flute in a complicated rectangular pattern. Heero had obviously still not talked to Duo. He swapped the apple and the pear, practicing one-handed circles. "Heero? Ice?"
"Ohh. Uhh... Yeah... Ice." Heero's cheeks flamed. Oops. The peas were melting into green mush in his lap. He glared at Trowa, who was enjoying himself just a little bit too much. Absently wondered how Trowa could juggle so well with one eye hidden behind his long fringe. Didn't that affect his parallax or something?
"Here!" He reached for Duo's hand, pulling it briskly into his lap as if the delay was all Duo's fault. Which it was. Gently, he cradled Duo's hand on his thigh, draping the cold packet over it, and then sat, nursing the hand protectively in both of his. "There." He decided that he really needed to keep hold of Duo's hand, so that the peas didn't fall off. Just in case.
"Thanks Heero." Duo's fingers curled in Heero's grasp to squeeze Heero's hand and Heero smiled back shyly. Thought that he would like to keep holding Duo's hand forever, then jumped as Trowa's phone rang. The fruit arced back into the fruit bowl, and Trowa stepped away to answer his phone.
""Umm...Heero?" Heero looked up from the peas, to see Duo watching him seriously, frowning slightly, his free hand fidgeting with the end of his braid. "About what you were saying back there..."
Oh. Oh hell. His confession.
Heero cringed over the peas, glancing sideways at Trowa. He just couldn't do it. There was no way he could confess to Duo with Trowa standing right there. Soon, he promised himself. Really. As soon as Trowa left. There was still time before the boys got home. Just. But for now...
"Ohh...it was nothing really." His cheeks turned slightly pink. "Tell you later." Quickly, he changed the subject. " What did you want to tell me?""
Duo looked at him doubtfully for a moment longer, unconvinced, then followed his gaze to Trowa, and nodded slightly in understanding.
"Okay. Promise?"
"Uh huh. Promise. So what did you want to tell me?"
"Well..." Duo beamed, his worry over Heero forgotten in the excitement of the moment. "Guess what!" He dragged his wallet from his back pocket and extracted a rectangle of greenish paper, one-handed. Flapped it impatiently to unfold it and handed it to Heero with a flourish. "We sold the console!! Check it out!"
Heero looked. It was a cheque, made out to Messrs Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy, in a boldly looping, purple hand. Blinking, he looked again.
"But...Duo..." Heero stared at the cheque in bewilderment. "There must be a mistake. This is way too much money!"
"Nope! No mistake." Duo grinned at him. "Howard knows ex-actly what this stuff's worth." He spun his chair around beside Heero's, peas flying everywhere, and flung his free arm around Heero's shoulders, so that he could lean against him and admire the cheque in his hand. Rested his chin comfortably on Heero's shoulder, and nuzzled his head against Heero's ear emphatically. "Told you! Should've seen Howard man! He was ecstatic! Reckons he'll take as much stuff as we can churn out."
Amazed, Heero gawked sideways at Duo out of the corner of his eye, reluctant to move his head in case Duo moved away. "But Duo...this is a lot of money! Even if we only did one piece a week..."
"Uh huh!!!" Duo hugged him exuberantly. "Better face it buddy boy! We're rich!!"
Irresistibly, Heero's eyes were drawn back to the magic spelled out in purple script. Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy. Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy. Duo and Heero...
"Pretty cool huh." Duo murmured beside his ear. "Partners." The single quiet word, a breath of warmth against Heero's cheek. As so often happened lately, Duo seeming to understand what was going through Heero's head without him needing to say a word.
"Hey!" Duo sat up straighter and took his chin away, much to Heero's disappointment, turning to face him, all cheekbones and enormous grin. "Pardner! We'll need a joint bank account! Uhh...do we have a joint bank account?" Not waiting for Heero's mumbled negative, he swept on, full of schemes. "And a company name!"
"Uhh..." Heero stared bemusedly at the cheque, while Duo decided that the peas were a lost cause and dumped them onto the table, so that he could fumble one-handed with Trowa's paper bag, without letting go of Heero.
"Ooo. Donuts! Thanks Trow!"
He manoeuvred half a chocolate one into his mouth, slipping the other half under the table to Rex, who was Retrieving peas, while Fez and Mrs Kostiki's cat glared at each other from opposite ends of the kitchen. "Hey Rexy! Here boy. We're celebrating!"
Trowa was still on the phone. He grinned at Duo, and waggled his fingers in acknowledgement, still speaking quietly into the mouthpiece. Paused, and blushed, to Duo's delight, looking intently at the floor, twirling a skein of cinnamon hair around his fingers. "Uh huh... Mmm hm... Me too... Mmm...Oh. Damn. Yeah I'll wait."
Heero was not listening to Trowa, and had not even remembered to tell Duo not to feed the dog at the table. He had had a good idea. At last, a chance to get Duo on his own, so that he could talk to him. He sat up straight, turning to Duo. "That's a good idea!"
Duo stared at him blankly over his mouthful of donut, still mulling over Trowa's interesting conversation.
Heero tried again. "Celebrating. We're rich! We should celebrate!"
"A great idea!" Trowa had his hand over the mouthpiece, waiting for his call. "I'm in!"
"Hell yeah! Beer! And pizza! I'm ordering!" Duo grinned enthusiastically.
"Hell no!" Trowa's eyes widened in mock horror. Duo's pizza choices were legendary. "We wanna be able to eat it hombre."
Duo grinned at him amiably, over his middle finger. "Yeah? Well eat this muchacho."
"No-o. I was thinking..." Heero took a deep breath and looked at Duo hopefully. "Let's go out for dinner."
"Yes!!! 'Bout time you got out Yuy!" Trowa nodded enthusiastically. "How about O'Grady's? Seafood and karaoke night. All the guys'll be there. I'll ring Wufei."
"NO!!! No. I mean...I was thinking...just the two of us...." Heero looked at Duo desperately, his cheeks reddening again, feeling his good idea slipping between his fingers like peas from a broken plastic bag. "...just you and me Duo."
"Ohh. Just us...you mean..." Duo's cheeks were suddenly pink as well and his eyes slid away, then back to Heero. "...like a date?"
"Uh huh." Heero took a deep breath. "Somewhere special." He looked at Duo hopefully. "Just you and me."
"Oh."
"But Heero..." Duo looked at him doubtfully. Heero had never wanted to go out before. "Can we afford it? And what about the boys?"
"Yes we can." Heero said firmly, full of determination, now that he had a plan. "And Trowa can look after the boys. It's just for one night. It's about time that we got to spend some time on our own. And I want to do something special for you. Let me please?"
"Okay." Duo smiled shyly at him. "It's a date."
Open-mouthed, Trowa stared in surprise. Heero Yuy was going out? On a date?! He blinked. And he was babysitting. Damn. That meant he wouldn't get to watch. Oh well. He grinned at them and lifted his phone again, wrenching himself away from the fascinating sight of Heero Yuy asking someone out. Heero was having enough trouble, without his help.
Heero glanced up at him, to see what he thought of his idea, and Trowa shrugged and nodded agreement, back talking into the phone. "No I haven't asked him yet. I know!! All right. I'll ask him now. All right!!" His voice dropped and he turned away even more. "Yeah. Love you too. Tomorrow. Mm hmm. Bye"
He closed his phone and grinned self-consciously at them, turning faintly pink beneath his concealing hair. "You guys going to be in tomorrow? I want to bring someone around. Someone special."
"Oh ho-o-o..." Duo grinned at Trowa knowingly. "Mr Right huh?! 'Bout time you brought him around! Yeah. We'll be in." He glanced up at Heero. "Right Heero?"
Heero nodded agreement, and Trowa smiled, pleased, and hooked his flute from the fruit bowl, to add to the apple, orange and mobile phone that were back, circling in the air, in front of him. He had a duet to practice.
When Relena Peacecraft-Darlien spotted an early Winter lamb lying down beside a hole in the fence by the roadside, her first thought was to take it to Ed Walker. She felt vaguely disloyal to Heero, but he hadn't reacted well to the goat, had behaved quite badly in fact, not to mention the quite appalling way in which he'd punched poor Edward in the nose, and, after all, the lamb was a stray, and strays were Edward's area of expertise. And besides. It might be hurt and Edward was virtually a technical person, what with working in the animal field and all.
She bundled the lamb into her new Winter coat, which she hadn't even worn yet, due to the unseasonably fine, Autumn weather, but which she had ready in her car anyway, for an emergency, which could happen at an time when you were involved in Animal Rescue, and carefully placed it on the back seat of her car. There was a sheep blaring frantically near the fence, but she ignored it. Probably hungry. Farmers could be so neglectful. Honestly. Some knew virtually nothing about animals. Some probably wouldn't even know that that sheep was a ewe. The ewe was safely on the other side of the fence, protected from cars or predators, and didn't need her help, so she gave it a handful of grass, then drove slowly and carefully into town.
Edward rose to the occasion nobly, feeling the lambs legs and prodding its ribs. Relena watched carefully. So nice to see a professional at work. Edward had very nice hands. Such long, gentle fingers...
"Hmm." He glanced up at her. "It seems okay but I think that we should take it to the vet. Just to be on the safe side. You said that you found it lying down in the road? It might have been hit by a car."
Relena beamed at him. That was exactly what she thought that they should do.
Relena held the lamb while Edward found a snug, cardboard box. "Better get some newspaper." His large, dark eyes twinkled at her. "Don't want it making a mess of your car!"
Relena sighed happily. Edward was soo thoughtful.
He rummaged around under the sink and pulled out a handful of old newspapers. Plastic bottles tumbled out onto the floor, and he grimaced apologetically, shoving them back in. "Recycling. It's important but it's jolly messy."
Goodness. He recycled too. She gazed at him admiringly, politely averting her eyes from his, rather attractive, jeans-clad bottom as he bent over.
He folded the newspapers and layered them carefully in the bottom of the box, making a nice, thick pad.
"There. All cozy." He smiled at Relena.
She smiled back, completely forgetting the lamb for a minute, until it blared and kicked out with its small hooves.
Relena leaned over the box to lower the lamb inside, being careful to hold her small, wriggling burden close to her chest and bend her knees. She'd be no use to Animal Activism with a bad back. She started to lower the lamb and her blue eyes widened. Was that Hilde's phone number on the newspaper in the bottom of the box? She was sure that that was Hilde's number. In enormous, bold lettering. How odd. Then she took in the picture over the number and her brow wrinkled in thought.
"Edward... Does that person look familiar to you?"
It was Duo Maxwell.
Duo twisted and turned in front of the upstairs bathroom mirror, eyeing his favourite flowery purple shirt from all angles. Retro. Cool. He loved this shirt, really he did, but something wasn't quite right... Shirtless, he wandered into Heero's room and threw open his wardrobe, rifling through the contents, pulling out shirts at random and holding them up against his chest to inspect in the mirror.
A thread of sound wound up the stairs. Trowa's flute, the melody hauntingly familiar. Duo tilted his head to listen, humming a counterpoint that felt as natural as breathing. He knew that tune from somewhere... Silver notes swooping and soaring in trills and arpeggios, that made Duo think of sea birds, diving into waves like hills of green glass.
His head was aching again, and he rubbed his forehead dismissively, looking back to the cupboard, and shirts.
Work shirts. Blue cotton drill. Khaki, with a cement company logo on the pocket. Ahh... blue silk...better...green cotton...white... No. Definitely not white. A triangle of black cotton caught his eye and he tugged a black T-shirt out of a neatly folded pile.
Slowly, he put on the T-shirt and eyed himself in the mirror, and something inside him unclenched, and nodded its approval.
Better. Much better.
Heero blinked, as Duo bounced down the stairs from the bathroom, taking them two at a time. Duo, a symphony in black. Black jeans hanging from his narrow hips, black T-shirt...his black T-shirt...moulded to Duo's chest like a second skin, thigh-length black leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up... Against all that unrelieved black Duo's skin was pale as freckle-dusted cream; the only colour, his hair that gleamed like a rope of burnished fire, his eyes that glowed violet as he caught sight of Heero, and grinned.
"Hey man! You ready? Let's rock!"
Just at that particular moment, Heero couldn't remember if he was ready, or not, or even, how to talk. He stared, transfixed, at the vision in black, only to be shoved aside by Tyler and Cody, who barrelled past and leapt on Duo, knocking him back a pace, and clamouring excitedly.
"Duo Duo can we come too? Please please pleeeease?!! We'll be real good! Promise!!!"
Innocently, they stared up at Duo, as if Heero hadn't already explained to them, at great length, and with offers of take-away pizza, that they were staying with Trowa, which was a special treat, that they had to be good, and that that was final.
Tyler attempted tears, blue eyes larger than some small lakes. "Ple-e-e-ase Duo? I feel sick. I think I have asthma." He coughed experimentally, and batted his eyelashes.
Heero abruptly found his voice, and glare. "NO!! Get down now!!!"
"Sorry guys." Duo peeled them off, arm by octopus arm and deposited them in the hallway. "It's just Heero and me. We'll take you some other time okay? And aren't you guys having pizza?"
"Aww Duo-o-o-..."
"NO!!!!" Galvanised into action, Heero grabbed Duo's hand and tugged him towards the back door, escaping into the garden, and towards the pickup, before some hideous act of God saw him taking all the boys, and Trowa, and the dog, the ferret and, probably, Mrs Kostiki, out to dinner, while Duo remained at home with gastric flu, or something equally horrible.
Safe beside the pickup, escape but a moment away, Heero stepped forward quickly and opened the door for Duo, still clutching his hand. Duo blinked up at him in surprise. "Heero...I'm not some girl you know."
"I know that, " Heero said simply, eyes dark in the gathering dusk. "I just wanted to open the door for you."
Duo, at that moment, far more beautiful to Heero than any girl.
This was Heero's chance. His chance to finally show Duo how he felt about him. He was not going to mess this up. He was no good with words. They never seemed to be there when he needed them, but maybe he could show Duo how he felt. He looked hopefully at Duo, holding the door open.
Duo's mouth slowly closed and he smiled, shaking his head gently, and climbed up into the truck.
Duo turned slightly in his seat, so that he could watch Heero's profile as he drove into town through the gathering dusk. Watched and wondered.
Heero had held his hand. Held the door for him.
He wasn't sure what had brought about this sudden surge of affection from Heero, but he knew that he liked it.
Was it possible that, at long last, Heero wanted to be together properly?
Driving into town, Heero put off his confession to Duo, in favour of bickering amicably with him about where they should go for their date.
Duo thought the Gourmet Pizza Bar at The Lansdowne, and shoot some pool, still rather keen on the idea of beer and pizza. Thought that he and Heero might just hold the table all night, because he had a strong feeling that pool was his thing, after a few games with Howard, and Heero was just naturally good at everything.
Heero hadn't known that The Lansdowne had a Pizza Bar, but thought that it sounded like somewhere that he might go with Trowa, and the rest of his crew, on a night out. Not special enough for his date with Duo. Not even if it was happy hour until seven o'clock. This was his first date with Duo, his first date ever, in fact, and it had to be perfect.
And it was.
Trowa, expert at dates, and nights-out, and the lesser known attractions of Darke's Cove, had suggested the Fresh Ketch to Heero, downstairs in the kitchen, while Duo had been upstairs, doing whatever it was that Duo had been doing upstairs for fifty-seven and a half minutes.
So, the Fresh Ketch it was, the restaurant, a warm glow at the far end of the marina.
The decking swayed beneath their feet, as they walked along the pier, towards the lights, their footsteps drumming on the hollow planking, to find tables clustered around glowing braziers, sheltered beneath arching sails. Their own table abutted the railing at the very end of the pier, a small, round, island of candlelight, floating above the dark water; the suck and lap of the water, mingling with the gentle hum of conversation and the clink of tableware, the music of food and conviviality, wrapping them warmly around. The golden tongues of candlelight flickered in the glassware that was set on stiff, white linen, with enormous, crimson, damask napkins; one of Rashid's many cousins smiling at Duo as he flapped Duo's napkin open with a crack like a sail, flipping it carefully over Duo's lap with practised ease, and replying that yes, Ruza had had the baby, and it looked exactly like Abdul.
Poor little girl.
Heero wondering bemusedly about the identity of the unfortunate Abdul, while Duo chortled irrepressibly, making faces turn towards them, and smile. Making Heero smile; that rare, sweet smile, that made Duo's heart turn over.
And smile again, face cupped in his hands, watching Duo wrestle with a scarlet crab claw, from their enormous shared platter of seafood. A gigantic white plate that filled the centre of the table, piled with spidery crabs, oysters, plump and succulent and tasting of the sea, prawns redolent of garlic and flecked with herbs, scallops, grilled and sweet, in enormous, flat, rosy shells, butterflies of sardine, rubbed with garlic and grilled to golden brown, with chilli-spiked salsa nestled atop, crisp, golden curls of whitebait, fat mussels bearing spoonfuls of rich tomato concasse, goujons of a white fish with a sweet, dark dipping sauce, gemmed with coriander and the secret flavours of the Orient and, presiding over all, the dual crescents of lobster tail, grilled and dripping with butter. Crusty bread to catch the juices. Crisp green salad that they picked at with their fingers, dotted with peppery nasturtiums, and violet petals the colour of Duo's eyes.
Duo's eyes were bright with candlelight, as he thumped his elbows onto the table, his strong, lean hands busy with the crimson claw. The buttery juices ran over his fingers, as the sweet, white flesh slid smoothly from the shell
Smiling, he held a buttery morsel to Heero's lips, then discovered that, if he snipped at him with the empty claw, nippers opened wide, Heero would open his mouth. Heero discovered that there were two claws. That if he could bicker with Duo over dinner for the rest of his life then it would probably not be long enough.
"Here. Your turn."
Quicker to open his mouth than Heero, Duo's pink tongue teased cheekily at Heero's own fingers, tasting whitebait, long after the whitebait was officially gone. Loftily, he demanded that Heero dip the tiny fish in the savoury mayonnaise first, then licked Heero's fingers clean, eyes twinkling, well aware that Heero was squirming beneath the tablecloth
Perfect in every way.
Afterwards, crab claws safely wrapped, and tucked away for Tyler and Cody, Duo dragged his chair around to Heero's side of the table, and leaned against him, sighing happily. It had been a wonderful evening.
To his immense surprise, Heero jolted upright, eyes darting left and right.
"Duo!"
"Chill Heero." A hand patted his thigh soothingly. "It's not like we're doin' it on the table or anything. No one cares. Really."
"They do. You have no idea." Heero avoided his gaze, staring straight ahead. Eyed the dark water bleakly, as if expecting the worm-ridden corpses of those unwary sailors who had heard the Siren's call. "People freak out at the thought of two men together."
Normally Duo would have leapt down Heero's throat at that 'You have no idea.' Now, he stroked Heero's leg comfortingly, and wondered if this was part of Heero's strange reluctance to be together. "Did that happen to you Heero?"
Heero's silence was answer in itself. His rigid back, poker-straight, clearly expecting the worst. But nothing happened. Glasses still clinked, conversation swelled and ebbed around them, and their chatty waiter continued to clear their plates and provide baby-updates, as if young men held hands beneath his tablecloth every day. Slowly, Heero relaxed, his shoulder pushing tentatively into Duo's.
Duo rested his head contentedly on Heero's shoulder, his fingers entwined with Heero's in his lap, curling his leg round Heero's and looking from brightness out across the dark water, hearing the familiar, arrhythmic chime of halyards against mast.
Duo sighed happily, leaning against his boyfriend.
He wondered if he and Heero had been to this place before. Wandered down to the beach and kissed in the darkness on the sand. Something seemed familiar. Something in the clink of the halyards.
Clink. Clink.
The pier shivered beneath his feet, in time with that musical chiming.
Clink clink.
To and fro.
Refusing coffee, they took the last of their bottled beer, and wandered along the pier, Duo leaping up to prance along the handrail, arms waving wildly, until Heero couldn't help himself. He had to push him off. Duo landed on the sand, and tumbled into a commando roll, then launched himself at his girlishly-giggling audience and wrestled him to the sand, pinning him there for a breathless moment, before chuckling softly and rolling off him. Breathless, Heero curled onto his side, heart beating erratically, turning his head to watch Duo. Duo gazed back, suddenly solemn.
"Come for a walk with me?"
And silently, Heero nodded.
Moving away from the brightness and conversation, Duo caught Heero's arm in the crook of his elbow, his hand then shoved deep into the pockets of his jacket, in a move as natural as breathing. Shoulder to shoulder, they meandered along the beach, comfortably silent. The noise of the restaurant, gradually receded, so that they could hear their feet make shussing sounds, dragging against the dry sand.
Duo stopped to take off his boots and Heero eyed him askance.
"Duo it's cold!"
So?" Duo grinned up at him, from where he knelt on the sand. "It's the beach Heero. You've gotta take off your shoes. It's the rules!"
His eyes twinkled irresistibly, and, mesmerised, Heero bent to follow suit.
"There! That's better." Duo caught Heero around the waist as he straightened, tugging him close as they walked on, shoes dangling from their fingertips. "Mmm. This is nice. We should do this more often."
"It's freezing!" Nevertheless, Heero walked, pulled along by Duo's warmth against his side, every point of contact between them tingling.
By the time the last amber drops of beer were drained, they had reached the steps leading away from the beach, and they turned, as one person, to stare out across the bay, reluctant to take the road home, neither wanting the evening to end.
The streetlights, from the esplanade behind them, made wavering columns of light across the black, glassy water, reaching for the horizon.
"Cool huh?" Duo regarded the sea dreamily, as if he hadn't once been lost, and tumbled within the glassy, obsidian depths.
"Mm hmm."
"Let's not go home yet." Flopping down onto the sand, Duo dragged Heero with him, in a tangle of long legs, and arms, and a braid that suddenly seemed to be everywhere, including Heero's mouth, then snuggled up against him. He shuddered dramatically.
"Here..." Tentatively, Heero hugged him against him, with an arm around his shoulders.
"Mmm..." Duo drew his knees up closer to his body and rested them against Heero's thigh, so that he was curled up in a ball under Heero's arm. Sighed contentedly, and wriggled his feet, burying them into the loose sand.
Heero sat unmoving, frightened to break the spell that had brought Duo to rest against him, unbearably conscious of Duo's warm weight against him, of stray tendrils of Duo's hair tickling his nose, of the sound of his breathing, mixed with the deep, slow heartbeat of the sea.
Exploring gently beside Heero's leg, Duo's toe found something hard and round, and he dug it out, holding it up to the light. A smooth conical shell, dappled with leopard spots, which fit comfortably into the palm of his hand. He held it up to the streetlights, turning it over in his hand. Traced the curves of the spiral with a contemplative finger.
"Fibonacci coils."
"Hmm?"
Heero dragged himself back from his contemplation of Duo's pale profile in the starlight.
"Fibonacci's sequence." Duo regarded the shell thoughtfully, then pressed it against his ear. "Do you s'pose that's what gives it the sound of the sea?" He lifted his face enquiringly to Heero, and his warm breath sighed across the bare skin of Heero's neck, rasing gooseflesh.
"N...no." Heero shivered helplessly, and struggled to find his voice. "That's...that's just ambient sound."
"Yeah but..." Duo pulled the shell away and considered it. "...the shape of the chambers would effect the volume right? And that's Fibonacci."
He grinned, glancing sidelong at Heero, a mischievous Renaissance angel. "Bet you didn't know that the legs of our console are a Fibonacci spiral."
"Really?" Heero said absently, admiring the way that little, escapee, tendrils of hair curled around Duo's ear. Duo's shell-like ear. Were ears a Fibonacci Spiral?
"Yeah. And the drawers use the Golden Mean for the drawer heights, which is Fibonacci's sequence again. It's used a lot in furniture design. Each drawer is two thirds the depth of the one below it."
"Phi is approximated by... by...1.618034 actually." Heero was finding it hard to concentrate. Every time Duo moved, little jolts of sensation ran through him, making his heart pound faster.
Duo blinked. "Uhh...right. Phi?" Duo's enquiringly upturned face almost close enough to kiss...
"Hmm? Oh...the Golden Mean is designated by the Greek letter phi..." His lips, gently parted...
"Ohh. Like pi."
"Mmm hmm."
"Here. Listen." Gently, Duo pressed the shell to his ear, and Heero shivered at the touch of his fingers against the sensitive skin of his neck. The shell still held the warmth of Duo's hand.
"It's like a magic number. Everything in nature obeys it." Dreamily, Duo gazed at Heero, admiring the way that the messy spikes of Heero's dark hair tumbled forward over the strong planes of his face. Damn Heero was gorgeous. "You. Me. Rabbits. Fibonacci measured 'em..."
"He never...never did that you know." Heero couldn't help contradicting in the name of accuracy, trying to distract himself from Duo's free hand, that supported Duo's weight against his thigh, sending little shivers of sensation through his leg, making the warmth in the pit of his stomach coil tighter.
"What?"
"Never counted them. He just worked it out mathematically."
"Oh." Duo's face fell. "Really? No rabbits?"
"Nuh huh. And not everything obeys Fibonacci's sequence." Heero couldn't help himself. "Sometimes it's Taylor's or..."
"Well your fingers do."
Heero tried to concentrate, through the warm haze that gripped him. Rabbits he remembered, and sneezewort, but fingers... How was it that he didn't know about fingers?
"Fingers?"
"Mmm hm." Duo held up his hand for illustration. "The length of your fingertips to your knuckles is the Golden Mean. Same as mine."
His voice softened, blending into the song of the sea. "Our fingers are related..." He held his hand up to Heero, palm facing outwards, fingers outstretched against the midnight sky, catching the stars like a net. Heero stared at his open hand, and after a moment he brought his own up to meet it, like two halves of the same shell, fingertip to Fibonacci fingertip.
Duo's fingers were warm.
The universe shrank to their joined hands, the sound of the waves lost in the roaring in his ears. Heero stared at their joined hands transfixed, his heart pounding in his chest. His hand was shaking. Almost of their own accord, his fingers moved, entwining themselves with Duo's. Duo's fingers trembled in his.
"Heero...?" Duo smiled shakily at him. His voice a husky murmur.
Heero's heart was beating way too fast. Mesmerised, hardly daring to breathe, he watched his free hand drift to cup Duo's cheek, his thumb moving to trace the curve of Duo's lips, and down, his hand slipping down over Duo's jaw, his fingers sliding into the soft hair at the nape of his neck, his thumb tracing the hollow of his throat. Duo watched him solemnly, his eyes impossibly wide, his breathing fast and erratic, nostrils flaring. Beneath Heero's exploring thumb, Duo's pulse was beating as wildly as his own.
Infinitely careful, Heero urged Duo slowly towards him, reeling him in, Duo's head tilting into Heero's hand, long eyelashes trembling, like a butterflies wing, against the smooth curve of his cheek, as his eyes slid closed. Mouth parting trustingly on a soft exhalation of breath.
"Heero..."
And, at last, their lips met.
Duo was garlic, and beer, and heat, and soft ecstatic noises, and it was the most wonderful thing that Heero had ever known in his life.
Melting against Duo, his body a warm, writhing mass of sensation, Heero struggled to focus. He wanted this more than anything in the world, but...oh god... he still had to tell Duo.
He just couldn't do it. It was wrong. He had to tell Duo before they went any further. Duo's fingers slid, and Heero arched up against him.
"Ohhhhhh...ohh...oh hell... oh...Duo wait...I...." He choked on a deep breath of salty air. "Duo there's something I have to tell you."
"Hmmm?" Duo lifted his head from Heero's collarbone, just enough to peer up at him encouragingly. "Yeah Heero?"
Duo's eyes, the colour of the evening sky, as he smiled trustingly up at Heero.
"I...Duo...I..." Oh God. He couldn't do it. The moment was finally here, but he couldn't tell Duo right now. He couldn't bear to lose this. Just one more night. Please God. Somebody. He'd tell him in the morning.
Maybe he could show him
In the end, the decision was taken from Heero's hands by a police car with a loud hailer, driving slowly along the esplanade, lights on high beam.
"Shit. Holy freaking shit!" Giggling helplessly, somehow they stumbled and fumbled their way to the truck, arms around each other's waists, wrestling with buttons and a stubborn belt buckle. Slammed into the side of the truck and sagged breathlessly against the door.
"Quick Yuy! Home." Duo panted hotly against his ear, tongue tracing toe-tingling patterns around the rim. "Before I get done for indecent exposure."
Somehow, Duo got his hand behind him to the door handle, fumbled it open, and fell backwards, dragging Heero with him, so that they tumbled like puppies into the front seat, an untidy, breathless, tangle of arms and legs and tongues.
"Ow! Shit! Watch the groin buddy! I'm gonna need that!"
Heero, caught deliciously between Duo's thighs, feet still dangling into the street, but extremely reluctant to move away. And completely unable to move away, with one of Duo's legs hooked around his back, Duo's other foot braced on the dashboard.
"Ohh hell..." Heero buried his face in Duo's warm neck, and squirmed. "Ohh... ohhhhh... Oh hell! Bloody steering wheel. I can't...ow! Oh...that's it. Mmmm... ohh... oooh... Aghh! You licked me! Ohh... mmm..."
"Ooh...ooooh yeahhh... Just like that. Do that ag... Ahh! Shit! Freaking gear stick! Freaking door handle. Shit! It's stuck in my hair! Gahh!! Christ on crutches!" Duo wriggled violently. "Heero! Home! Now!! I wanna do it with you not the gear stick!" Bucked underneath him and shoved insistently at his chest.
Unable to drag himself away from Duo long enough to walk around the car to the other side, Heero wriggled his way around, and over, and under him, and behind the steering wheel, getting thoroughly groped in the process, and flopped back, eyes closed, against the driver's seat, panting, open-mouthed.
Squirming beneath the hot, insistent presence on his thigh that was Duo's hand, fumbling at his open zipper.
"Heero! Quick! Home babe! I'm dying here!"
"You're dying! Shit!" Heero wriggled and groaned under those persistent fingers, but somehow managed to wrench his eyes open and start the truck, heading for home, doing forty kilometres over the speed limit.
"You'll get booked Yuy!" Duo sang happily, his head a warm weight on Heero's shoulder, his hand busy in Heero's lap.
"Tough shit!" Heero gritted his teeth, clenched every muscle he owned, and drove.
Ten minutes. He could last ten minutes.
Hell. Maybe he couldn't. Oh God...
"Duo!!!!!!"
It was the longest ten minutes of Heero Yuy's life, but they arrived home at last, and wrenched themselves apart, to tumble from the truck.
"Race you!" A tug on Heero's hand, and Duo was gone, like a will o' th' wisp, sprinting for the door, his voice, the echo of a siren's song.
"Last one in goes on the bo-ttom..."
The sudden mental image sent an answering flash of heat to Heero's groin that was instant and overwhelming, paralysing him for an instant, before he stiffened his knees and bolted after Duo with a hoarse yell.
"Hey!"
Skidding around the fence post, arms windmilling, he caught Duo at the steps, swinging him around with an arm about his waist, and dragging him, stumbling together, across the verandah. "Hurry hurry hurry!"
Slamming into the back door, they tumbled, giggling, into the darkened hall.
"About time!" A dark shadow appeared in the living room doorway. A shadow that convulsed in a spasm of coughing, and then whimpered pitifully. Trowa, cradling Tyler against his shoulder.
"Tyler's sick. Asthma. I've been trying to ring you for ages but your phone was off. "
Patting Tyler's back, he blinked at them, as they picked themselves up and untangled themselves. A grin dawned. "Fly's undone Heero."
At last, Tyler was asleep, after a lengthy session involving a steamy bathroom, the nebuliser, and a mattress being dragged into his room for Duo.
Particularly unhappy about that last bit, Heero couldn't really argue, because, after all, as Tyler tearfully pointed out, Duo had slept on a mattress on the floor in Heero's room, when Heero was sick. Heero argued anyway, but Tyler and Duo were irresistible, Duo, because he was irresistible, at least to Heero, and Tyler, because he was five. And sick.
Exiled to his own room, Heero lay in the darkness, listening to the gentle, creaking, night noises of the old house, as familiar to him as breathing, and feeling Duo's absence like a physical pain.
He could hear soft breathing from down the hall, and wondered if it was Duo's, whilst knowing, full well, that it was probably Tyler's asthma.
After an unknowable length of time, he sighed and rolled out of bed, cat-footing across the hall to Tyler and Cody's room.
He paused in the doorway, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, and then felt his way to the mattress, and slid under the quilt with Duo. Shoved the annoying bloody ferret out of the way and pressed his face into the back of Duo's neck, breathing in his warmth.
Duo sighed in welcome, and wriggled back into his arms, moulding himself to Heero.
"Mmm. Heero..."
And at last, Heero could sleep.
While Heero Yuy slept, there was a change in the weather. A mischievous wind was blowing from upstate, bringing the damp taste of rain in the air and purple clouds boiling on the horizon. It coaxed the last of the yellowing leaves from the oak tree and danced them across the yard in reels and hornpipes, then abandoned them in aromatic drifts against the old tank, save one golden fragment that swept away down the road with the wind, backlit against the lowering sky.
Rain for sure.
As always, Heero woke first.
Awoke to overwhelming joy.
Still curled around Duo, wrapping him in his arms, the weight of Duo's arm resting over his own, fingers entwined with his, holding him close. He lay for long moments glorying in the warmth of Duo in his arms, every part of him that touched Duo warm and tingling with delight, feeling Duo's heart beat against him, hearing his sleep-drugged breaths, breathing his Duo-smell. Swam in happiness so intense that tears pricked his eyelids and he buried his face in Duo's hair.
Duo loved him. And he loved Duo. They were going to be alright.
Eventually, reluctantly, he had to get up.
He untangled himself gently and padded down the hallway to the bathroom. When he came out again, Fez was sitting, sphinx-like, at the door, waiting for him and he let him outside, then thought that he might make tea.
He stood, warming his hands on his mug, his face wreathed in fragrant steam, absently watching the leaves swirl outside the kitchen window.
Duo came up behind him and silently wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his pointy chin on his shoulder and breathing out a contented huff of air. The warm breath whispered over his collarbone and inside the neck of his t-shirt, making him shiver with delight.
Another warm breath. "Missed you."
Duo's cheek nuzzled, cat-like, against his.
Cup on the sink, carefully, hopefully, Heero rested his hands over Duo's where they wrapped around his stomach, entangling his fingers with Duo's and enfolding himself in Duo like a warm cloak. His entire body spiked with bliss. He wanted to cocoon himself in Duo forever. Duo nodded towards the window with his chin
"Weather's changing."
Heero nodded.
"Mm hmm."
The leaves had all gone. Winter was just around the corner.
Later, they'd take the chainsaw, and the truck, down to the big pile of driftwood caught up against Seal Rocks. They'd saw logs for the fire, Joe ordering the tangled branches into neat piles for the chainsaw to slice, while Zac and Silas fished off the rocks with fierce, twin concentration, and Tyler and Cody fossicked for speckled crabs and little jewel anemones in the rock pools. Then when they were done, the boys would help fill the truck, and they'd come home all glowing from the cold, and have hot chocolate in front of the fire, watching the aromatic flames turn green and listening to the hiss and crackle of the salt-soaked, silver logs.
And they would talk at last.
But for now he just wanted to stay here like this.
With Duo.
Heero was just bending to get milk from the fridge, for Duo's puppy-dog tea, when he heard the sound of a car pulling up in the back driveway. Damn. He shuffled the orange juice and the celery. Where the heck was the milk? Trowa had buried it somewhere strange.
"Hey!" Duo sounded pleased. "It's Trowa."
Heero wasn't pleased. Heero was pissed off. Heero didn't want Trowa. Heero wanted Duo. Heero wanted to drag Duo back to bed, his bed, by that useful length of hair if necessary, and shut the door. And, probably, put a chair against it. And what the hell was Trowa doing here so damned early in the morning anyway?
"He's got someone with him." Duo called out updates from the kitchen sink. "Some blonde guy. Hey Heero...!" He turned to the fridge. "That must be the boyfriend!" He whirled back to the sink, agog with curiosity.
"Hey!!! It's Q!!!"
And he was out of the kitchen and scampering towards the back door.
Heero followed Duo more slowly out of the door, contemplating ways to kill Trowa with a carton of milk, and thinking that that would be much more useful information on the side of the carton than the amount of calcium, because who the heck measured their calcium intake anyway, you either needed it or you didn't, just in time to see Duo skid to a halt at the bottom of the steps, his mouth falling open in a rounded O of surprise.
"Q?"
Eyes wide, he slowly turned to Heero, rubbing his temple. Stared at him blankly, brows slowly meeting in a frown.
"What...? Who...? The carpenter...??? What the FUCK?!!!"
"Damn!"
Hilde missed first gear, and stalled at the lights, struggling with the stick shift of Duo's Convertible Bentley Coupe. Glared at the back of Relena's pale pink hatchback, sailing obliviously away down Darke's Cove Esplanade. Shit. Was Relena turning left? Double shit. Hilde crunched the car into first and bunny hopped forward.
"Gah!"
Dropping the clutch, she spun the wheels away from the intersection, just as the lights turned red again, narrowly avoiding a turning bus, and the wide eyes of the grey-haired driver. Not for the first time, she wished that she'd driven her own trusty Mazda automatic, but Otto was in love with Duo's black demon, and had leapt at the chance to take it on a long trip. Hilde sulked. Otto should be freaking well driving it, not sitting there enjoying his freaking cappuccino and chocolate-freaking-chip breakfast muffin.
Damn. Where was Relena? Didn't she know that you were supposed to wait for the person following?
If only Relena had come in the car with them. It would have made navigating a heck of a lot easier. But Duo's little beast only seated four and Relena wanted to give some other guy a lift, to pick up his truck from somewhere on the way. Ned, or someone or other. Once they collected Duo, they wouldn't have enough seats. Hilde frowned thoughtfully, turning into Good Forest Drive. She was sure that Bozo had had some other name...Nero or something. Maybe Nero was a nickname for Ned.
A spattering of rain dotted the windscreen, and she flicked it away with the wipers. Yellow autumn leaves danced in the road before her
Hell! Relena was turning. Didn't that car have any indicators or something?
Ahh. Thank heavens. At least Relena had brake lights.
They'd arrived.
Detective Constable Chang dodged a thorny rose tentacle, and stepped beneath it, to knock loudly on Trant Clark's front door. There was no answer. He knocked again, and called out.
"Hello? Any one there?"
Standing on the porch, he looked out across the street, then stared thoughtfully at a scattering of newspaper deliveries, still in their plastic wrappers. Grass was starting to grow up around them, through the deep wheel ruts, where lawn should have been. After a few minutes of waiting, he marched purposefully around the side of the house.
No car in the garage, just a broken milk crate, and a pile of empty VCR boxes. An electric drill, abandoned on the workbench. Commandeering the milk crate, he teetered on it to peer through the greasy kitchen window. Cupboards were empty, the pale-green doors hanging open. Wufei squinted downwards through the smeary glass, at the sink, where a dirty plate had been abandoned with a small saucepan, half-full of some congealed mess covered in grey-green fur.
Hmm. It looked as if Trant Clark had left town in a hurry. He would have to go back to the station for a search warrant. Mueller was being charged, and had cited Clark as an accessory. Even if Clark wasn't charged, they would need the search to make a case against Mueller.
He stepped down from the crate, narrowly saving himself from falling with a hand on the peeling windowsill.
Ugh . His hand was covered in black gunk. He wiped it fastidiously on a frost-burnt tuft of grass and glanced down at himself in annoyance. His shirt was covered in grease and cobwebs as well. Must have been on the window. With a grimace of disgust, he unbuttoned and stripped off the shirt, gingerly turning it inside out and balling it up. Luckily, he was wearing a T-shirt underneath. Grey marle. Metallica, with a slogan that read 'And Justice for All'.
Back at his car he flung his abused shirt into the back seat, and put his jacket on over the top, hoping that nobody would notice through the car window. With luck, he had a clean shirt in his locker, back at the station.
Starting the patrol car, he turned off the street into the back lane, driving slowly past the back of Clark's house. One last check.
Trowa Barton's blue SUV was parked in Heero Yuy's back driveway. Wufei frowned at it consideringly. Trowa was supposed to be bowling tonight, but Jay had said that he had a friend staying with him, and might cancel.
Wufei checked his watch. Plenty of time for him to nick in and see Trowa.
Yuy's driveway was full. Wufei gazed admiringly at the black Bentley coupe, parked behind Trowa's SUV and that Peacecraft girl's battered pink Mazda, then parked in the laneway, and wandered towards the house.
A boat. Hilde and her stupid cupboard door...the carpenter...they'd fought...his cross... he'd fallen...no... Heero had fallen...
Drowning in memories, Duo stood paralysed at the bottom of the steps, his gaze unfocussed, while Heero watched in dismay. At his feet, Rex lapped the spilled milk.
This was a nightmare. Duo had remembered and Heero hadn't told him the truth yet. Duo was going to know that he'd lied. And Duo was going to be furious with him. He had to explain right now.
Tentatively, he stepped forward to touch Duo's arm, his hand shaking slightly. "Duo? I..."
"Duo!!!"
Startled, Heero saw more cars pulling up behind Trowa's SUV. Relena. What the hell was she doing here again? And a short-haired girl, who leapt from the car and dashed towards them, calling out excitedly.
Oh God. Heero started to panic, his hand closing on Duo's arm convulsively. It was that girl. She was here to take Duo away and he hadn't told him that he loved him yet. Oh God oh God Oh God....please...
"Duo I..."
"Shit!" Duo wrenched his arm away and stumbled back, a chaotic storm of emotions sweeping across his mobile face. "Shit!!!"
"You fucked me!!!"
Taken by surprise, Heero stared, mouth agape, speechless at the injustice of it. No he hadn't! Couldn't suppress a traitorous surge of warmth at the memory.
"What? No I didn't!!" Not for want of trying but... He blushed. "You were going to f..."
"You freaking well did!!! Well...nearly!" Duo's cheeks, a matching shade of pink. "Shit!!" He flung away from Heero, then turned back to glare at him, fists clenched at his sides. "You used me! How could you take advantage of me like that??! Holy freaking shit! I'm not even freaking-well gay you...you...freak!!!"
Hell and damnation. Heero's flush deepened, in mortification this time. He didn't even have a sex life, and now here it was...or wasn't...being bandied about in front of Trowa, Trowa's boyfriend, Relena, Ed Walker, Otto Richter for heaven's sake, that infuriating blue-haired girl and ... oh hell... was that Chang coming up the driveway??
Hell and damnation! Why did all the worst moments of his life have to happen in front of an audience?
It was happening again... He was going to be crucified for being gay, for molesting a straight guy, who wasn't even straight, even if he hadn't done it. Hell...he couldn't help being gay. And he hadn't done anything! Heero had a sudden vision of Mueller, bloody fists upraised, screaming at him in the corridor outside the boy's change rooms, and his stomach lurched.
He stumbled into speech, words tumbling out willy-nilly. "But you wanted...you said...we...I..." Abruptly, he remembered that he was supposed to be explaining to Duo. Took a deep breath and desperately tried to choke out words with a tongue that stubbornly refused to work. "Duo I love..."
"You filthy pervert! How dare you! Duo's not gay! How dare you take advantage of him like that!!! That's rape!" Panting, Hilde skidded to a halt beside Duo, catching his hand possessively.
Rape?! But ... No!!! It wasn't like that at all! Was it? Suddenly Heero couldn't think for the roaring in his ears.
"Hilde!!! How can you say that! It's just not true!!!" Moving to Heero's side, Relena's eyes flashed with the martial fire of a trained Animal Activist, rallying to her cause. "Heero's not a pervert! And he's not gay. He can't possibly be. I think that I would know if my boyfriend was gay!!!" Clutching Heero's arm, she shared her glare equally, between Hilde and Duo. Abandoned Hilde, who was a good friend, even though she had no concept of Animal Rights, to focus on Duo.
Relena? Duo turned to stare at Heero in shocked comprehension. Oh shit... Bozo...??? So it was true. Heero really was Relena's boyfriend. Heero had lied and lied and lied...
"You lied to me."
Heero shook himself from his daze at the sound of Duo's voice, appalled at the devastated whisper.
"What? I didn't! At least I didn't mean to! I had no choice! Really!! I was going to tell you! I wanted..."
"Wanted to what Heero??!!" Spinning to face him, Duo jerked his hand roughly from Hilde's, ignoring her sudden look of hurt. Clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. "Want to lie to me some more?? Want to use me again?? Want to laugh at me with your little girlfriend?? Poor, stupid Duo!! Too dumb to remember! To dumb to know what an idiot he was being!"
Why did people always have to lie? Always!!! Every single time! And this was the worst ever. Heero had turned his whole life into a lie. He was such an idiot. When would he learn to stop trusting?
Just like when Mom and Dad died all over again. He could almost hear the slimy voices...
...I'll look after everything Duo... I'll take care of your money Duo... a good friend of Solo's Duo and I promised him faithfully... actually your mother promised me that Duo... it's Auntie Elena Duo. Come and stay with us and you remember your cousin Catherine don't you?...
Heero stared at him in shock. "No!!! No! I never..."
"You did. You lied. It was all a lie." Duo's voice rose alarmingly. "About you. And me. The boys. Everything!! Everything you said was a lie! I was never your boyfriend! You never l..." He choked and turned away, eyes burning.
"It's not true!! I..."
"Stop it! Don't fight!"
Oh hell. As one, Heero and Duo turned towards the house, staring in dismay at the boys, hovering uncertainly on the verandah in their pyjamas, bare toes lined up along the step.
Multi-coloured hair rampant, the twins glared at Duo, freckles disappearing against their flushed cheeks. "Don't yell at Heero! It's not his fault. Welfare were going to take us away. He couldn't help it!"
"Well don't blame Duo!!" Cody turned on them, fists clenched. "He didn't know!"
"Shut it!!" Joe grabbed the backs of their pyjamas in a vice-like grip, and yanked them back against him, his face white and set. This was all his fault. He should have shown Duo the advertisement. He should never have agreed with Heero. He should've...
"How could you!!! This is Duo's life you were playing with!" Almost spitting, Hilde turned on Heero, hissing like an alley cat protecting its young. "You're sick! When were you going to tell him??!! When you didn't need him any more?! When you got tired of your sick, little game??!"
Duo ignored Hilde, staring at Heero in sick comprehension. Well shit. Welfare. So that's what it was all about. Heero had needed a partner to get Welfare off his back. Heero had just been using him. Hadn't ever loved him at all. Suddenly he had to get away. He rubbed his temples distractedly, his head pounding.
"I have to go. I can't stay here."
"Of course Sweetie. Let's go home." Hilde tugged him gently towards the cars.
Climbed into the driver's seat and turned to look expectantly at him through the open car door.
"Duo?" she asked gently. "Are we going home now?"
Home? His head was filled with an aching chaos of images. Their modern apartment. An enormous house... a woman standing at a... his?... bedroom door...violet eyes and a long chestnut plait... Mom... This house here... Heero... the boys... his family...
"Duo?" Hilde's fingers, tight on the ignition key.
"Duo please don't go!!! Please Duo please! Stay! You can have Fez!"
Scrambling down from the verandah, Tyler darted forward to stand before Duo. Fished around under his stripy flannelette pyjama jacket, dragging out the ferret by one leg, and holding it out by the stomach so that it drooped over his hands like a wriggly sack of potatoes. He stared up at Duo hopefully. "Promise!"
Determinedly, Cody stepped up beside him. "And Rex! At least..." Biting his lip. "...we can share...maybe?"
"We'll do the dishes! And you can have all our pocket money." Zac gazed up at Duo earnestly. Grimaced as Silas elbowed him in the side. "Oh...um...after we pay Heero back for the window..."
Staring at the boys, Heero's throat ached. Oh hell. The boys. They loved Duo too. What had he done?!!? Why had he never thought how this would affect the boys?
Stupid. How could he have been so stupid as to think that Duo would stay with them? Duo was bright and beautiful and could have anyone he wanted. Duo had never wanted him. Had been sick, that was all. Hadn't known what he was doing. And Heero had used him. It was just like that girl had said. Nausea churned in Heero's gut and he shook with useless adrenalin. Swayed, lurching sickly against the person next to him and swallowed convulsively. Oh God...he was going to be sick...
"..and we'll be real..."
"...good! Promise!" The twins, nodding vigorously.
"Oh guys..." How could he possibly leave them? Hysterical laughter bubbled in Duo's chest, and despite himself, he glanced up at Heero, biting his lip. Abruptly lost all urge to laugh, as he saw Heero holding onto Relena's arm. Staring at him blankly, as if he wasn't even there.
Shit.
He had to go now. Fast. He held out his hand peremptorily.
"Keys!"
Hilde stared up at him from the driver's seat, gnawing at her lower lip, her large dark eyes concerned.
"Duo...you haven't been...are you sure you..."
"Out! Now!!! And give me the freaking KEYS!!!"
Lips thinning, Hilde glared at him, clutching the steering wheel. "No need to be rude! I was just worried about you! Anyway. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have a car at all!!"
"It's my freaking car and I'm freaking well driving! Freaking well get out of the freaking driver's seat and GIVE ME THE FREAKING KEYS!!!!" His breath was coming in gasping pants. There was a scream building, somewhere in the nausea churning his gut and he had to get away, before he exploded. He was not going to freaking well cry in front of the whole freaking world because Heero-freaking-Yuy didn't love him after all. He snatched the door open and dived to drag her out.
"HEY! Cut that out!!" Otto grabbed Duo's shoulder and jerked him away from the car door. "She's gone through hell for you and you don't even appreciate it you little prick!!!"
Duo! Nausea forgotten, Heero's eyes snapped to Otto, and he lunged forward, but Tyler was quicker, and darted past him, squeezing in between Duo and Otto. Shoved at Otto with two small hands and glared up at him, his face flushed. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "Leave Duo alone!"
Gasping, Duo stared down at him, and his scowl slowly melted. "It's okay. I'm okay Tyler." He drew a ragged breath, and another. "Guess I was out of line." Shakily, he stroked the blonde head against his hip.
Whirling around, Tyler threw his arms around Duo's thighs, clinging frantically. "Duo don't go!! You can't! You have to stay. I'm sick!!" He coughed loudly.
"Ohh... Tyler..."
Peeling Tyler's arms away from his legs, Duo fell to his knees, and wrapped himself around him, burying his face in Tyler's hair and letting Tyler burrow into his chest.
"I have to go. I'm sorry. So sorry," he whispered against him. "I have to buddy. I don't belong here any more."
"You do! You do!" Tyler clutched his shirt frantically. "You belong with me! Please don't go!"
Miserably, Duo kissed the top of his head, and rested his cheek against the blonde hair. Nearly long enough to braid, now. But he supposed that Tyler wouldn't want that anymore
Throat tight, he rose to his feet. Hilde and Otto were already seated in the car waiting for him, but Tyler refused to let go, releasing his shirt only to wrap his arms tightly around his legs. Clinging like a monkey he slid, to land his bottom on Duo's feet, hooking his legs around Duo's ankles and staring up at him stubbornly through his tears.
"No!! I won't let you!"
Helplessly, Duo stood, anchored to Heero Yuy's garden by a small, shaking body, that clung determinedly and buried its wet face in his knees.
Appalled, Heero watched Tyler cling to Duo. Oh God. This was a nightmare. Please let him wake up soon. How could he have been so stupid? Not only had he hurt Duo, but he had hurt the boys as well.
Hearing his small sound of anguish, Trowa moved forward and dragged Tyler off Duo, hefting him into the air with an arm around his waist, kicking out frantically and yelling.
"Come on buddy."
"NO!!! DUO-O-O!!!"
Oh Tyler... Heero's eyes burned and he turned away, blinking rapidly.
"Th..." Duo's voice wasn't working. Hoarsely, he coughed and tried again. "Thanks Trow." Swallowing hard, he fumbled desperately for the door.
Hand on the door handle, he willed himself not to look back, but his disobedient eyes stubbornly strayed towards the group under the bare oak tree.
Flicked over Q and Wufei, standing behind Heero, to rest on the boys. Joe, white-faced, looking so much like Heero that it made Duo's heart ache to look at him. Silas and Zac, flushed, and silent for the first time since he'd ... met... them. Cody tugging on Heero's unresponsive hand, urgently whispering. Duo's eyes slid quickly over Heero to Tyler, his hand locked in Trowa's. Tyler crying in earnest now, sobs mingled with gasping coughs, still struggling to break free as Trowa hauled him back to Heero.
His family ... but he shoved the thought away, yanking the door open roughly. Not any more. It was all a lie. He had no family. Again.
Even so, slowly, irresistibly, his eyes strayed back to Heero.
Heero...
Despite everything, his fingers still itched to smooth Heero's hair out of his eyes, run his fingers through the silky brown strands. Let Heero's fierce blue gaze burn him one more time. Shit. Duo Maxwell, total loser.
Heero wasn't even looking at him.
Couldn't care less. It was quite obvious. If he did he would be doing something.
For a moment, Duo's eyes blurred and he blinked savagely, scrubbing his free hand across his face. When he opened them again, Relena was there, taking Tyler's free hand briskly in hers and leaning across him to pat Heero's shoulder.
With a gasping breath, Duo dropped into the driver's seat and slammed the door. Stared straight ahead, both hands on the wheel, starting the engine and pulling out of the driveway. Changed up a gear, and despite himself, his eyes flicked to the mirror.
"DUO! Don't go! Don't go!"
Oh God. Cody was running after the car.
With a despairing sound, Duo dragged his eyes away and flattened the accelerator. A throaty growl, and the black car leaped forward, tyres squealing as it spun out of the lane and into Good Forest Drive, Duo gazing straight ahead, knuckles white on the steering wheel.
His shirt was wet.
Treize Khushrenada ran his finger sadly over gleaming beech, recognising it immediately for what it was. An extremely beautiful, extremely expensive goodbye. He had known, when Milli had said that he was going back to Darke's Cove, that this was how it would be. Time to move on.
After Mil had gone, he slid the console carefully into place beneath a small Brett Whitely, the sophisticated curve of the legs echoing the confident arc of the swooping dark lines above.
He eyed it consideringly, then inched it slightly to one side and stepped back to admire it, arms comfortable crossed across his chest, one hand supporting his elbow, the finger of his free hand smoothing over his elegantly arched brow in a habitual gesture.
Beautiful.
Maxwell Yuy pieces were destined to become collector items, no doubt about it.
A small crease grew between his eyebrows. The console... something about the legs and the clever detailing. He'd seen something like that before...
He shook his head dismissively. Duo Maxwell hadn't stayed with furniture design. Or painting. Had gone into interior design with that girlfriend of his. Had grinned evasively, and said that it was where the money was, which was true, as far as that went, and they'd done very well, but it was just rubbish nevertheless. Duo didn't need money. Treize thought that maybe he just didn't want to strike out on his own. And not surprising really, after the tragic loss of his family.
But a great waste of talent.
Still. If he didn't know better...
At long last, the backyard was empty, except for the boys; the driveway, bare of cars, except for his truck, and Heero Yuy clung to the crumbling edge of his self-control with bloody and bleeding fingertips.
He swallowed hard, his throat tight and aching, staring intently at a flake of paint on the verandah rail. A remnant of D...Mari's painting. Carefully picked at it with his thumbnail, eyes stretched wide.
"It's alright guys. Go on in." Struggling desperately for normal. "I'll make breakfast in...in a minute. P...pancakes right?"
"But..."
"In!"
The door closed quietly behind the boys, more quietly than it had ever shut in its entire life, and Heero collapsed onto the top step around his stomach, arms squeezing tightly around the ache in his middle. Sat hunched over his knees, shoulders drooping, staring blindly at the place where Duo's gorgeous car had stood. Gorgeous Duo's car. He choked on a terrifying shudder of laughter, abruptly cut off.
The place where Duo had disappeared.
Duo was gone.
His hands were shaking. He clenched them into fists, then straightened them quickly, tendons leaping out in stark relief against tanned skin. Raked his fingers jerkily through his hair, then locked them together around his knees. Brought them up to his hair again, knuckles whitening in untidy fistfuls of hair, tugging jerkily, fingers tightening and releasing, then abruptly lunged to his feet.
"NO!!!"
Fine chocolate strands drifted to the verandah, wafting high on the still air, and slipping down between the boards to the worms and the damp, musty darkness. The pallid toadstools.
"No!" He started to pace backwards and forwards along the verandah, a drunken figure of eight, hand brushing the railing. The walls. The railing. The walls.
Touch... turn... touch...
"No!"
Backwards and forwards. A figure of eight was an ouroubos. The worm eating its tail.
Duo was gone.
"No no no no no...!"
Faster. The symbol for infinity. For I will love you infinitely for ever.
He was never coming home.
"No no no no NOOOO!!!"
Backwards and forwards, a pendulum swing.
Duo was gone.
Circles tightening, until at last he stood immobilised in the centre of the verandah, head thrown back and throat working.
"No! No! Oh God! Please...somebody..."
Please somebody help me...
Anybody.
Gradually, the hens filed out of the azaleas, and went back to fossicking in the brown leaves at the base of the grapevine, clucking softly to each other. Fez and Rex found a splash of thin sunlight, and curled up together on the warm verandah boards.
Limp and exhausted, Heero sagged against the verandah post. Stared unseeingly at the busy hens, half hypnotised by the small movements of the round white birds, only his eyes flickering.
One of the hens, more daring than the rest, meandered out through the open gate into the driveway. Scratched busily in the gravel, uncovering a hint of gold, before taking fright and fluttering back over the fence.
Slowly Heero's eyes came back into focus, losing their blind look, and he peered intently at the distant scar in the gravel, where Duo's wheels had churned the driveway. Levered himself away from the post at last, and wandered over to look, bending to scrape the gravel aside from the unexpected glint.
It was Duo's cross.
Winter had finally arrived in Darke's Cove, with driving rain, and gale force winds on the coast. A sheep graziers alert on the high ground, and snow down to 800 metres. Not that snow normally came to Darke's Cove, so close to the coast, but anything could happen.
To Heero Yuy, the rain was almost a relief. Sunshine would have been wrong. He didn't think that he could have stood to play football on the beach, or to fly kites off the Esplanade, the way that they'd done on those clear Autumn days when Duo was with them. Much better to be stuck inside, in the dark, rain-shadowed kitchen, with sleet sticking to the kitchen window and the wind shaking the tin roof. Although...
Heero stood still, spatula in hand, staring blindly at the kitchen bench. Remembered Duo frantically making school lunches, whizzing from one side of the room to the other in a slippery pair of socks and no shirt, with Heero's baggy tracksuit pants trying to slide from his slim hips. His sleep-fuzzed braid flying at half-mast, part-unwound, and threatening to whip the packets of cereal off the table.
Even cooking reminded him of Duo.
Heero blinked hard, and turned his back on the stove, and the hyperactive ghost that haunted his kitchen.
The boys were gathered around the kitchen table, clamouring for breakfast, all except Tyler, who was flat on the floor in front of the refrigerator, trying to coax Fez with a piece of chicken.
"He won't come out Heero. I can't catch him. He always used to come out for Duo. Can I give him a pancake?"
Heero's throat tightened painfully, and he clenched his jaw, stepping over Tyler to the table.
"No. Now get up off the floor Tyler. Flapjacks are ready. And wash your hands."
Sulkily, Tyler headed for the sink. Ran the tap and waved his hands about, almost in the water. "Duo would let him have a pancake. Duo gives him donut. Duo said..."
"I said no!!"
Gritting his teeth, Heero served up the golden rounds and turned to the refrigerator for juice.
Climbing onto his chair, Tyler's face fell disppointedly, and he poked at his flapjacks dubiously with his fork, his new, and very short, plait, poking straight out belligerently from the back of his head.
"These aren't flatjacks! I want flat jacks!!!"
"What?? They are flapjacks! Look!" Heero forked one up and waved it at him "See??"
"Flat jacks! I wanted flat jacks! Like Duo makes!" There was a sudden silence. Obliviously, Tyler pushed his plate away defiantly, sending it skidding across the table with an almighty shove.
It was as if the plate was moving in slow motion.
Time seemed to stop, and Heero watched, with something like panic, as the plate slid across the table, overturning the juice and crashing onto the floor.
"WELL YOU CAN"T HAVE THEM!!! DUO'S GONE! HE'S GONE DO YOU UNDERSTAND??? HE'S FUCKING GONE!!!"
When Heero finally lifted his head from his hands, the kitchen was empty.
Slowly he sat up in his chair, light-headed and exhausted, as if he'd just swum a big race.
What had he done? He was losing it. He never yelled at the boys, not like that. And poor Tyler was still sick...
Gradually he became aware that his hand was hurting and he stared down bemusedly at his clenched fist, the knuckles white with strain. There was something in his hand. Forcing open his stiff fingers, he discovered that somehow he was clutching Duo's cross, so tightly that the corners had cut into his palm, the bright gold smeared with his blood to a dull brownish-red.
Rising stiffly, he took the cross to the sink and rinsed it off, drying it carefully on a tea towel. Stared bleakly at the four bloody marks on his palm.
This couldn't go on. It wasn't fair to the boys and it wasn't fair to him. He had to let go.
Duo was never coming back. He had his own life. His own family, he supposed.
He would find that girl's phone number, and ask her to return the cross to Duo. It was only right. It was precious to Duo, and it was Heero's fault that he'd lost it.
Send the clothes back to the Goodwill store.
And then everything of Duo would be gone, and he could forget that he'd ever heard of Duo Maxwell.
Heero ransacked the pockets of all his work clothes, but couldn't find that girl's number. Up-ended his toolbox out onto the floor of the shed, breaking his new safety glasses and losing two jars of odd screws under the bench in the process.
Defeated, he flopped down onto the cold concrete floor, resting his hands limply on his bent knees and staring bleakly at the mess. It was hopeless. He couldn't find the number anywhere. He supposed that he shouldn't be surprised really. After all, it had gone down to the bottom of Darke's Bay with him, and all of his tools. It was probably floating around with his old mobile phone somewhere.
Heero glared at his toolbox, racking his brains for another way to contact that girl. He refused to give up. Somehow he was going to get the cross back to Duo, and then this whole sorry mess would be over.
Suddenly, he had an idea, climbing to his feet and heading for the house, leaving his tools in a heap on the floor.
Relena. She knew that girl. He would ask her.
Relena was distracted on the phone.
"Heero who? Oh. Heero. I'm sorry Heero but I can't talk to you right now. Hilde's getting married in three weeks time and I'm her chief bridesmaid. I have to catch a plane in the morning and... Oh-h! Heero! Actually I'm very glad that you called because I need someone to take care of the lamb while I'm away. And the snake. They're no trouble. Really. The lamb's only being bottle-fed three times a night now and the snake's hibernating at the moment so it just needs to be kept somewhere warm. The bottom of your bed's good although not too near the lamb of course..."
Heero hung up.
Stared blindly at the wall, wondering if a heart could break twice, because he'd thought that his was broken before, and now it had broken again.
Duo was getting married.
Slowly he uncrumpled the scrap of paper in his hand and stared bleakly at the telephone number written there.
This made no difference.
He would return the cross to Duo, and then it would all be over.
Heero looked at the precious telephone number, now rather tattered, then stuffed it back into his pocket. Took it out. Stuffed it back in again. Took it out and dialled it really quickly, before he had a chance to change his mind, hands shaking.
Clutched the phone tightly.
It was ringing.
Oh hell! What if Duo answered? What would he say? Hyperventilating, Heero swapped the phone to the other ear, swiping sweaty palms on his pants.
"Hello?"
"I'm sorry but Ms Schbeiker is unavailable right now. Please leave a message and..."
Heero slammed the phone down without replying. He'd tried to ring that girl fifty-three times since Relena had given him the number, and each time she'd refused to pick up the phone.
He groaned miserably, burying his face in his hands. He supposed that he really couldn't blame her. He had basically kidnapped her fiancé.
Sixty-seven times.
That girl's phone message took precisely fifteen and a half seconds to run. That meant that if he rang for a year he would have heard it approximately...two million thirty four thousand times.
Ouch.
Heero set his jaw. He had to do this. For Duo. He was not going to give up. Was going to ring that girl and make her give Duo his cross if it killed him. Or her answering machine. Preferably the machine. He really hated that machine
Sixty-eight times.
Hell. The rice was boiling over.
There had to be some other way to contact that girl.
If only he hadn't always avoided being given Relena's mobile phone number, then he could have rung her. She was with that girl now. He probably should have thought of that before, but he'd been distracted by the snake. But there had to be someone...
Heero slumped in his chair. Rested his elbow tiredly on the kitchen table, head in hand. Dragged Duo's cross out from under his T-shirt and dangled it before his eyes, watching it spin gently, glinting soft gold in the light from the kitchen window. Very soothing thing, Duo's cross. Duo must be missing it.
Distantly, he wondered how he'd lost it. He was always so protective of it. When Otto grabbed him probably...
Otto!!
Otto Richter. He'd been with that girl.
Al-ri-i-ight!! Problem solved. He'd ring Otto and ask Otto to ask that girl to ask Duo to ring him about his cross. No problem. Now to get in touch with Otto.
Heero leaped to his feet and fired up his laptop to check the telephone directory.
Gahh. Unlisted number.
This was ridiculous. So much for technology. Smoke signals would have been easier. Then at least the Fire Brigade would turn up, and they had access to ex-directory numbers...
Sheesh.
Heero swept spikes of brown hair out of his eyes, brows knotting determinedly. Somewhere, he knew that he'd seen a photo of Otto Richter. Somewhere recently...
"Oh dear...I'm not quite sure...would you like another cookie dear?"
Heero gritted his teeth, and tried not to pace.
"No thank you Mrs Noventa."
He had finally remembered where he had seen Otto's photograph. In Mrs Noventa's kitchen. She had shown it to him when he had been in to replace her cupboard doors. Otto's phone number was, naturally, on the back of Otto's photograph, which was naturally, missing.
"It's not lost dear...just mislaid. I'm sure that I had it...it was just...or was it when...oh dear. Was it very important dear?"
He sighed and reached for a cookie. She was so nice and it was rude to keep saying no. Hm. Double chocolate chunk, with chopped nuts, and chocolate buttons on top. He rummaged surreptitiously through the jar, looking for a smallish one.
At last, right down at the bottom of the jar, he found a cookie that was slightly smaller than his hand. He inspected it sadly, thinking that Duo would have loved these cookies. Took a large bite.
And stopped. There was something strange about Mrs Noventa's cookie. It was sort of...chewy.
Taking it from his mouth, he scrutinised it with misgiving. There was a small triangle of coloured cardboard poking from one corner. Oh help. Mrs Noventa had dropped something into the cookie dough. She'd be mortified.
Desperately, he looked for somewhere to hide the evidence. There was nothing. No dog. No useful piles of junk, no circulars, no half-done homework, no empty egg cartons being saved for a friend with hens. He was too far away from the bin, and he couldn't really drop it into a drawer. That would be mean. She'd get ants.
At last, he spotted an African violet on the bench. It was small but it would have to do. Maybe he could bury the cookie in the soil. He inched towards the bench, waited until Mrs Noventa bent to pull out a drawer, and then dived for the plant pot.
"Heero!"
With a startled exclamation, Heero dropped the cookie to the floor, where it shattered into a zillion, high-calorie crumbs, and one singed piece of cardboard. A red chocolate button rolled under the refrigerator.
Mrs Noventa put down the photo album that she had wanted to show him, and clapped her hands delightedly. " Heero! You found Otto's photo! Here! You simply must have another cookie!"
Heero dumped the jar of cookies onto the bench, and dialled the number from the back of the photograph. To his complete surprise, the phone was answered on the third ring, by an oddly familiar voice, which turned out to be Otto Richter's. Heero had talked to Otto often, on the hospital job. But talking to someone about bench height and ergonomic shelving was different to asking them about your errant ex-boyfriend, and Heero stumbled to a halt after the initial greetings. Otto came to his rescue.
"If you're looking for Duo he's not here. He's disappeared."
Otto was keen to get this whole Duo mess sorted out once and for all, so that Hilde could get on with something, or someone, else. He was blunt to the point of terseness, obviously blaming Heero for the whole thing. As did Heero. And Duo, and everyone else, for that matter. "Hilde's a bit upset." As if that mattered to Heero.
Duo had gone.
Disappeared.
Again.
Three weeks before the wedding and he hadn't had a single suit fitting.
So it was true. That little tiny bit of hope that Heero had been hoarding, that Relena had made some kind of horrible mistake, because after all it wouldn't be the first time, sank like a stone into the murky waters of despair.
Hilde really was getting married in three weeks time.
Twenty one days.
30,240 minutes.
1,814,400 seconds which was...
...umm... 3 by ten to the minus 8 light years. Roughly.
Not long.
Oh God.
Drowning in that moment of desperate panic, that occurs at the bottom of a very deep dive, when you haven't hit bottom, and you're not sure if you'll ever reach the surface again, occasional words filtered through to Heero, like bubbles through water.
Hilde, said Otto, had no idea where Duo might have gone. Hilde was very concerned because he still had big gaps in his memory and she was worried that he might be taken advantage of. The again was implied. Hilde was worried about the firm's reputation. Hilde was at her wits end because she wanted that little prick to give her away in three weeks time and Otto was damned if he'd let his fiancée be upset any...
Heero hung up.
Gasped for breath like a drowning man, suddenly hauled from the water. His heart pounded fiercely, and the blood, surging through his veins, made his whole body tingle with something like returning circulation, as parts of him that had been numb, suddenly sprang to life, with desperate hope.
Oh God oh God oh God.
That Girl...Hilde...her name was Hilde...was marrying Otto.
Not Duo.
Duo wasn't getting married to Hilde.
He might not be with Heero, but he wasn't with Hilde either, which meant that...maybe...maybe...he didn't love Hilde after all. Hilde certainly didn't seem to love Duo, given that she was marrying Otto Richter. And if Duo didn't love Hilde then maybe he would give Heero another chance.
The only problem was...
Where was Duo?
Unshaven, unkempt, and wearing a three-day old shirt, from a tiny Goodwill shop in Darke's Cove, Duo Maxwell was stuck at the airport, his flight delayed by fog. Absently, he promised himself that, as soon as he got organised, he was going to buy some decent clothes.
He probably shouldn't have bailed on Hilde, that way at least he'd have been able to go back to the apartment and pack. But she'd pissed him off so badly, that he couldn't stay in the car with her another minute, with her endless, nosy questions about him and H...his disappearance. Always too nosy for her own good, Hilde. And she knew him a bit too well. He'd never been able to keep any secrets from her, not even in High School. Somehow, he suspected that the earth-shattering revelations that he'd had about himself with Heero, weren't coming as a major surprise. Pity she hadn't bothered to point it out to him before. Because, he was in little doubt, that what he felt for H...that what he felt was real. Completely different to anything that he'd ever felt for Hilde.
Whether he'd been conditioned into it, by Heero's story, or not, probably didn't matter. Sex was 95% in your mind anyway; you just had to look at some of the odd couples around, to know that. He'd liked being Heero Yuy's boyfriend, God Save his Mortal Soul, a heck of a lot more fun than being Hilde's, and so his mind had believed, and his stupid 5% of a body had just followed happily along for the ride. Very happily, dammit. Had taken over, somewhere, and was now firmly in the driver's seat, steering him directly to Hell. Bless me Father for I have sinned...and I'm terribly sorry, but I'm gonna keep sinning baby. Stupid body. However it had started, this desperate miserable ache, was part of him now, and it wasn't going away.
And he had this terrible, sinking feeling that Hilde knew exactly that. When she'd said that she wanted to break it off and marry that Otto guy, there'd been this creepy, speculative look in her dark eyes that he hadn't liked one little bit. Like the joke was on him. He hated that! It was none of her freaking business!!
Although walking away at the traffic lights was probably a bit childish... Funny though. He grinned, remembering Hilde, and that Otto guy, scrambling around at the lights, trying to get the car moving, with all those other cars lined up, honking their horns behind them. Otto, getting stuck trying to climb out of the back seat. Man he was tall!! And then stalling until the lights turned red again. Hilde was hopeless, driving a manual. She'd better not scratch his car. Oh well.
Hilde'd be okay. He'd ring her up when things had settled down a bit. Just not yet.
Yawning, he slumped down into his seat, stretching out his long legs, and tapping a rectangle of white cardboard thoughtfully against his thigh. Checked the date on his watch, and then the time. He had ages before his flight. Heaps of time for a phone call. He lifted the card and scrutinised it, as if he'd never seen it before, flipping it over and over between his fingers. On one side, it read Darke's Cove Municipal Council. On the other side, was a telephone number, and a name, in blue ball point, with a smiley face next to it.
Alex.
He'd forgotten that he had this card. He'd shoved it into the back of his wallet, that day at the Dog Pound. Would probably have thrown it away, if he'd remembered that it was there. Finding it today, of all days, was like Fate. Now all that he had to do was find the guts to make the call. Yeah. Right.
"Shit!"
He couldn't do it. Balling up the card, he hurled it into the nearest bin.
Found it ten minutes later, under a mountain of discarded paper cups and hamburger pickles. Refused an offer of five dollars for a cup of coffee, from a dear old lady who was going to visit her daughter in China, walk the Great Wall, and then go to Mongolia; because she'd always wanted to sleep in a yurt, and you just never knew what was around the corner, did you dear?
No. You freaking well never did.
He glared at the card. He was going to do this. He had to be true to himself. And he was not going to let Heero freaking Yuy rule his life.
Squaring his jaw, he punched numbers into his mobile phone.
"Hullo?"
Wriggling uncomfortably on his plastic chair, Duo was still waiting for his flight, which was still delayed by fog, and eating very expensive food, of the pre-prepared and plastic-wrapped variety, that a week ago he would have bought three of and shared out between the five boys, with a piece left over for H... whoever wanted it.
But money didn't matter any more. Apparently he was well off. Extremely well off. Horrifyingly well off, when he thought of Cody's new shoes. Don't think about that...think about...
He checked his flight again. Still delayed. He checked the weather in five states. Still horrible. He looked at his watch, the date, the time, the frayed end of his braid, the front cover of the tall blonde's newspaper and the long line of people at the baggage check-in. He congratulated himself on being early, even though he would probably still be freaking early this time tomorrow. There was some really major hold up in Baggage Check-in.
He watched idly. It was difficult to see over the queue, to the shortish person at the front, but the top of what appeared to be spears, poked towards the ceiling. Wooden ones. Duo shook his head pityingly. No wonder there was a problem. There was no way in the wide world that they'd let them take those on board, not with the way that they'd stepped up airport security recently. And...was that wooden, planky thing a shield? Cool. However it didn't appear to be the spears that were causing the trouble. Or the shield. It was a shield. After a lot of one-sided argument, by someone with an insistent, educated voice, and a lot of measuring with a builder's tape, they were set aside to be hand luggage. Pity the bozo in the neighbouring seat. Now there was some other problem.
Duo looked sympathetically at the poor suckers in the queue. This looked like it could go on all day.
A little boy was tugging at his mother's sleeve and pointing at something on the floor. A little boy with blonde curls and a dinosaur T-shirt. Duo's heart clenched painfully. Don't! To distract himself he tried to see what was so interesting. Some sort of cage or something. Like the one he'd found for Tyler to take Fez to Show-and-Tell in.
Shit .
He was trying to move on with his life but everywhere he went, everywhere he looked, everything reminded him of his... Heero's... family... so that missing them was a constant, dull ache. Like an amputated limb that still hurt, even after it was gone. For a brief moment in time, he'd had a family again, and now they were gone, and the loneliness was even worse than before, because now he'd remembered what he was missing. Even if it was all a lie. That didn't make it hurt any less. If only you could chop love off, like gangrene, and chuck it away.
How dared Heero Yuy do that to him. He should've punched him out. If only he didn't miss him so freaking much...
Shit.
Balling his fists, Duo leapt up and marched away from the long queue, and the cat cage, the blonde curls, and the builder's tape measure, his braid snapping behind him in time with his hurried movements. Maybe he'd go to the viewing deck.
That educated voice, that had been so insistent in the background for the last fifteen minutes, suddenly arose loud from Baggage Check-in, like a delighted foghorn.
"Duo my dear boy! You came to meet me!!"
Ignoring the fact that Duo was marching in the opposite direction. Surprised, Duo turned at the sound of his name.
"Uncle Gerald??!"
Complete with a sheaf of wickedly-barbed spears, a head-high, rectangular shield, and accompanied by a rather gorgeous, and extremely young, and dusky maiden, bearing a small, mud-brown piglet in a cat cage. All for hand-luggage.
The strange powers of coincidence indeed.
Heero dragged himself from thoughts of Duo to answer the front door, flinging it open and scowling furiously. He had to find Duo now and this was just slowing him down.
It was Walker.
Heero's scowl mutated into an outright glare, tempered around the edges with vague tinges of guilt.
"Umm... Heero. Hello."
Faltering, Walker cleared his throat, gazing at Heero uneasily. Involuntarily, his hand strayed up to rub his nose, and remained, hovering protectively. A hand with, what appeared to be, a snake bite, to Heero's guilty satisfaction.
"I have a message. From Duo. He rang me at work."
"What?!? What is it? Tell me!" Forgetting snakebites, Heero flung open the door, and stepped out eagerly onto the porch. Reached for Walker, who edged nervously backwards, hovering on the edge of the step.
"Well...umm...not a message. Not exactly. It was more like he wanted me to do something for him."
"What? What did he want? What did Duo say? Where is he? Did you see him? Is he coming home?"
Elbowing Heero aside, the boys charged past him onto the front porch, surrounding Walker, and skewering him with a barrage of questions, whilst Rex danced around his feet and gazed at him soulfully.
"Hey Cody!" Walker relaxed infinitesimally, safe behind the barrier of small boys, and ruffled Cody's short, brown bristles affectionately. Then Rex's. "Rex!!" Turned to Joe and grinned.
"Joe?? Well. It's kind of for you. Duo said that there's some chest of drawers somewhere...?"
Clamouring excitedly, the boys dragged Walker inside with a twin on each hand, to discover Duo's chest of drawers that Heero had made, the one that was still Duo's, even though he was gone, that still stood at the back of the futon, refusing to believe that Duo wasn't coming home, that now had a ferret nesting in the bottom drawer with the socks, because it had been open on that horrible, horrible day and Heero couldn't bear to close it. Came downstairs in the dark sometimes when the boys were asleep and rifled gently through the folded clothes, burying his face in a t-shirt that still smelled faintly Duo-like, and listening to the silence of a Duo-less house.
Now, drawers flew open, and Duo's clothes arced onto the futon in a chaotic rainbow, until finally the boys found what they were searching for; in the bottom drawer, under the, now very-testy, ferret.
It was a top-of-the-range mobile phone, in brightly coloured wrapping paper. With Joe's name in calligraphy, and a white card, that had once been blank, but that now said Happy birthday Dude!!!, and bore a lovingly detailed, pencil sketch, of Joe and Mari sitting on the swing, signed Much love, Duo.
Turning, Heero bolted from the room, still holding a pair of socks.
He was damned if he was going to let Ed Walker see him cry.
If anybody in Darke's Cove knew where Duo would go, it would be Howard.
"Naah. Haven't seen the Kid. Why?" Howard looked at Heero sharply. "You and him have a fight? That'd be a pretty dumb thing to do yanno."
Heero shook his head silently. No. Not a fight exactly. More in the nature of a collision at sea, with a lot of yelling and screaming and Heero going down with his ship.
But if Howard knew nothing, there was little to be gained in telling him the whole, sad story, except a lot of cigar-flavoured recrimination.
Howard thought that Heero was worrying over nothing. Privately thought that Duo and Heero were like bookends, one lost without the other. Belonged together like night and day. Or one and two. And today he had other fish to fry. Big ones. He clapped an arm around Heero's unresponsive shoulders and waved his cigar jovially. Maxwell Yuy furniture was causing a deal of interest and Howard had commissions to keep Heero busy for the indefinite future.
Heero knew that he should be excited at the prospect of work that he loved, and no more struggling with bills, but there was nothing inside him but dark, oily swirls, and regret, like pieces of flotsam.
Howard's enthusiasm finally wound down enough for him to notice Heero's complete lack of response. He puffed on his cigar and eyed Heero shrewdly over his sunglasses. Patted him on the shoulder, as if he was his favourite son-in-law. "Wouldn't worry. He'll be back. Thinks the world of you boy."
"No." Miserably, Heero looked out of the misted window, peering through the driving rain, to where he knew the Fresh Ketch sprouted comfortably from the end of the pier. Winter was finally here. His voice was soft and sad. "I don't think so. I really don't think he will."
The door tinkled musically, and Heero was vaguely aware of another customer shaking off his umbrella and leaving it by the door, of Howard moving away at last, towards the counter.
Heero stayed by the window, lost in thought, his breath making a little circle of condensation, on the cold glass. Would things have been different if he'd told Duo the truth that night? Would they be different if they'd done more than just kiss in the sand? At least he would have had one perfect memory to last him a lifetime. A long, sterile, lonely lifetime, of duty and getting things done, and no more flat jacks, or multi-coloured hair, or sea shells with the sound of the sea hidden in Fibonacci coils. The thought spawned a terrible, dull ache in his chest, as if heartache were a cancer, eating him from the inside out.
Howard had been his last hope. There was no one left to ask.
Duo was gone.
He'd never again see those violet eyes sparkling with mischief and mayhem, be smacked in the face by his plait as he spun round too fast, feel those warm, soft lips...
"Heero!"
Hell and damnation. Heero blinked rapidly. Howard was bringing his customer over to him. Commissions. Heero went rigid with discomfort and looked around quickly for an escape route. He really didn't want to talk business right now. In fact, he didn't really care if he never talked business again. But it was too late. The man was already stepping towards him, hand extended.
Heero blinked in surprise, taking in reddish hair and elegantly forked eyebrows.
"Treize? Treize Khushrenada?" He hadn't seen Treize since that thing happened with Relena's brother. He'd thought that he'd left town.
"Heero? You're the Maxwell Yuy who's making this wonderful furniture?" Treize stared at him in surprise, and some disappointment, then abruptly realised his rudeness.
"I do apologise. That was extremely rude of me. You're obviously very talented. It's just that with the name Maxwell...well...You'll think this is silly but... When I was given my first piece recently it reminded me so much of a friend of mine that subconsciously I was hoping... Great Aunt Molly's in hospital with smoke inhalation...you might have heard...and I thought that while I was here I'd take the chance to look for another piece and find out if it really was him." He shook his head ruefully. "Silly. As I said. Wishful thinking on my part. Duo never specialised in furniture design. A pity. In my opinion he was most gifted."
Heero, who was staring absently out of the window again, heard Duo's name like electricity, spiking through the damp air. He spun to face Treize, grabbing his sleeve in his excitement.
"Duo? Duo Maxwell? You know Duo Maxwell?" Heero's face was flushed and his eyes glowed as if lit from within. "Have you seen him?!! Tell me!!!"
Treize eyed the hand clutching his sleeve, taken aback by the other's sudden excess of excitement.
"No. I haven't seen Duo recently." Carefully, he detached Heero's fingers and brushed off his sleeve. "But I have known him for years. Ever since Professor McGee introduced us."
Heero's face fell, but his mind still raced frantically. Professor McGee...Professor McGee... Now why did that name sound so familiar...?
Treize smiled reminiscently. "Yes. It was quite humorous really. One minute he was setting my broken leg and then the next...completely out of the blue mind you...he was asking me to look at his godson's portfolio. It was extremely good too..."
Treize fell silent. It was extremely good. Mostly, some very individual pieces of occasional furniture, but also some rather good oils. One was particularly memorable. A woman, painted from memory. Exquisite detail, in the eyes, and the swirls of long chestnut hair. Haunting. He'd tried to buy it, just the sort of interesting work that he needed, to establish the gallery when he was starting out, but Duo had refused. He'd pestered Duo ever since, to paint him another piece.
Although, even if the portfolio hadn't been good, he would have helped. Anything for Professor McGee, who's inquisitive eyes saw through rumour, to the pain beneath, and who had helped Treize at a time when no one else would. And then, of course, he'd met Duo, who was his own reward.
Setting his broken leg...
With a gasp of recognition, Heero brutally cut short Treize's wistful thoughts. "You mean Doctor McGee?! Old Doc?? From the hospital??"
Treize looked at him in surprise. What on earth was he getting so worked up about? He moved his sleeve out of the way. Just in case. It was Armani.
"Yes. That's right. Doctor McGee. He never cared to be called Professor. Doctor McGee is Duo Maxwell's godfather"
Duo was here!
Almost.
In Good Forest, anyway, which was almost as good as, when you thought of all the other places that he might have been. China, for example. Or New Britain.
Heero's heart sang as he sped along Good Forest Drive, at a speed guaranteed to make pieces fall off his truck. His toolbox rattled and thumped in the tray, but he ignored it. He could always buy another toolbox. He'd done it before.
Arriving in Good Forest, Heero realised that he had forgotten how much larger than Darke's Cove it was. However, he eventually found Doc McGee's house, only a hop skip and a jump from that nice kebab shop, and... Heero suppressed a shudder... Welfare. Welfare notwithstanding, it was a very convenient place to be, and a nice house, too, thought Heero, being disposed to like everything today, even the weather, because after all they really needed the rain. It had been so dry lately. And sleet was good too.
But now the rain had stopped.
Outside Doc McGee's house at last, Heero loitered outside the picket gate, chewing his lip and staring in through the arched hedge, suddenly beset by doubt. Stalling for time, he inspected the house.
A nice house. Two-story, whitewashed Georgian, with mullioned windows. Fireplace in every bedroom.
Duo was in there. Somewhere.
Slowly, Heero slunk along the gravel path between the low box hedges, plagued by visions of Duo's face as he'd last seen it. White, and hurt, and hating Heero. Gravel crunched beneath his feet and he flinched, reflexively looking around. What if Duo didn't want to see him? What if he hated him?? What if he'd gone? What if...oh hell...
...what if Heero missed him because he was too slow, and Duo moved on again, without ever knowing that Heero loved him?
It was that thought, more than any other, which stiffened Heero's spine outside the shiny, black, front door, and raised his hand to lift the brass, lion's head knocker.
Without warning, the door flew open, and Heero lurched backwards off the circular porch in shock, stumbling around in the gravel.
"Ah hah... Heero Yuy. I was wondering when you'd show up."
Peering around the door, Doc McGee cocked his head on one side and frowned down his long, pointed nose, looking for all the world like a predatory bird about to snap up a worm. Or, an Uncle, about to snap up the young man who had made his nephew so miserable.
Heero shifted nervously from foot to foot, suddenly feeling about five years old, and due for his triple antigen shot.
"Hullo Doctor McGee." He said. "Is Duo in? It's important."
He stepped forward, about to rush through the door to Duo, only to find it blocked.
"Why?"
Taken aback, Heero stared wide-eyed at Doc McGee. Why indeed? There were so many things that he wanted to tell Duo, none of which he wished to reveal to Doc McGee, or anyone else for that matter. His conversation with Duo was none of Doc McGee's business. He decided to tell part of the truth.
"It's important. I have to give back his cross." And he fumbled around in his shirt, producing Duo's cross and holding it up for inspection, like a man warding off a vampire, of the long-proboscis-ed, mosquito-cross variety.
"Sorry. Not good enough."
And the door slammed shut in Heero's face.
"What...??? WAIT!!!" Heero hammered on the door. "Come back! I have to see Duo! It's important!!"
The door opened again, and Doc McGee stood, peering at Heero, around the doorway, and down his pointy nose, and over his forbiddingly crossed arms.
This time, all his senses alert, Heero was conscious of the odour of exotic spices wafting from the darkly cavernous hallway behind Doc McGee. Tribal chanting, that lifted his brows in curiosity.
Nervously, he eyed Old Doc, who seemed so much more intimidating when he was Duo's Godfather. What would he think about his godson having a boy friend? For that matter, what would his godson think about having a boyfriend? Cautiously he fumbled for the magic words that might summon Duo.
"I have to see him." He hesitated. "I..." Was it really so bad to love another man? Love was love after all. "I..."
Doc McGee stared implacably down his pointed nose, hand threateningly on the door. Offended, Heero glared back, feeling trapped.
Distantly he seemed to hear voices from long ago ... pretty-boy... faggot
"...I need to tell him that I'm sorry. For tricking him. That we miss him."
"Try again!"
And the door slammed.
Gaah. Heero was really starting to hate that brass lion. It had an irritatingly smug look. He attempted to smash its face in with its knocker.
Nothing happened.
This time, the shiny, black door stayed closed.
After ten minutes of emphatically closed door, Heero sat down on the porch step, folding his arms over his bent knees. He was not giving up. Sooner or later Doc McGee had to come out of the house.
A fat raindrop fell from the eaves and slid down the back of his neck.
Ten more minutes, and he rested his cheek on his folded arms, closing his eyes. He couldn't give up. He had to find Duo. Distantly, he thought that he heard a rustling in the hedge, and the patter of tiny hooves, but he didn't bother to look. He felt very tired.
Sitting, he dreamed of Duo. Not the frantically furious Duo of their last meeting, but the warm, loving, mischievous one, who had insinuated himself into the heart of Heero's family, in the same way that he always hogged the middle of the futon. His friend. Even if Duo never loved him back, maybe things would be all right if at least they could be friends. If they couldn't, then maybe things would never be all right again.
After some unknowable length of time, Heero became aware that a warm hint of cumin and coconut had wrapped him around, and lapped about his feet. The black door had opened. For a moment, he sat unmoving, and then, tiredly, he lifted his head, looking out over the small sea of hedges and gravel, his voice thick. "Please. Please tell me where he is. I have to tell him that I love him. I miss him so much."
"GERALD!!!!"
It was a voice like the tolling of an exotic bell, which was definitely not Doc McGee's. Startled, Heero turned, to see a very young and extremely beautiful island girl, with a cloud of candyfloss hair, a cigar through the lobe of one ear, and designer jeans. She stared back thoughtfully, tapping her small, brown foot in annoyance.
Like a jack-in-a-box, Doc McGee's head popped up beside hers, and inspected Heero's flushed, damp face over her shoulder. Nodded grudgingly.
"He's at The Plaza," he said.
And disappeared again. Startled, Heero stared wide-eyed at his dusky, guardian angel, who stared solemnly back. And winked. Turned away, then glanced fleetingly back over her shoulder. "Tupac," she offered. The door closed again.
Released from the step, Heero Yuy shot from the house like a bullet from a gun, running towards The Plaza. Ran and ran. Ran like the wind. Like a gazelle. As if he were a yacht with spinnaker set, running before a spanking breeze. Ran for his life to The Plaza as if his feet had wings, leaping gutters, vaulting over dogs, and dodging around pedestrians.
And as he ran, he thought that he heard a voice, drifting jubilantly down to him from an upstairs window.
"And you'd better not upset him again Heero Yuy or I'm putting those slug gun pellets right back where I found them!!!"
Duo Maxwell wandered aimlessly through the shoals of The Plaza, a boat in search of a mooring.
Drifted into a variety store, picking things up and putting them down. Wandered out again, not remembering a thing that he'd seen.
Listened to a terrifyingly over-groomed sales lady with a microphone, in the centre of The Plaza, extolling the virtues of turkey sausage. Spat turkey sausage quietly into a planter box, and meandered on.
Anchored in the Art Suppliers for a while, but then slotted the sable brushes back into their pigeonhole and drifted out. No point buying much stuff before he had a place to stash it. And if he were going to start painting seriously again, he'd need to think about a proper studio or something. It was just an excuse really. Any excuse to get out of the house. While he was walking around and doing stuff, talking to people and dodging cars, then he wasn't thinking about Heero. And he didn't want to think about Heero.
Heero had lied and lied and lied to him. Tightly, Duo clung to that thought, losing himself in his anger, because if he thought about anything else, he would probably cry, and be damned if he was going to freaking well cry because Heero freaking Yuy didn't love him after all. Heero had had no right. Had just been stringing Duo along when all the time he was having it off with Relena. Had probably been laughing it up with her the whole time.
But he was not going to think about Heero.
Over in the corner of The Plaza, there was a disturbance, as somebody skidded to a halt beside the kebab shop and looked around frantically, sweeping their messy brown hair out of their eyes.
Their blue eyes.
Shit. That was Heero.
Caught in the searchlight of those blue, blue eyes, Duo Maxwell panicked, and jerked to a halt as if he'd run aground. Frantically, he looked for an escape route, but it was too late.
"Duo..." Gasping in front of him, Heero bent double over his knees, heaving for breath. Stood up at last, flushed and panting, a little bead of sweat trickling into his eye. "Duo I..."
Duo punched him.
"What the hell was that for???"
Picking himself up off the ground, Heero knew very well what it was for, but he was angry. He'd just had a very unnerving time with Duo's godfather. See-sawed from happiness to misery and back again, in the space of an hour, and had his deepest feelings dragged out and publicly questioned. A terrifying, infuriating experience, for someone as private as Heero Yuy. So he was angry. He'd moved heaven and earth to find Duo, and Duo hadn't even let him say anything. Gingerly, he felt his aching jaw, waggling it from side to side, and probing at the inside of his cheek with his tongue.
"You deserved it you prick!!!" Duo glared at Heero, shaking his sore hand, then fisting both on his hips.
Heero glared back.
"I came to say sorry!!! And to give you your cross! And then you punch me!!!" Belatedly, he ripped the chain from around his neck and thrust it at Duo.
"You freaking well lied to me!" From the long list of wrongs that Heero had done to him, Duo chose the least. The others were too painful to talk about. Bad enough having a broken heart, without having Heero apologise for it, and, possibly, offer to buy him a drink for old times sake, as if that would make it better somehow. Nothing could make it better. "I trusted you and you betrayed me! Sorry just doesn't cut it!"
"I had to!! Welfare were going to take the boys if I didn't have a partner!"
"So that just makes it all right does it? Sure thing Yuy! I'll just stick around, waiting for the next time, that you wanna betray me because you don't have a choice!" Duo's voice dripped sarcasm.
"NO!" Heero stared at him, aghast. This was all wrong. He didn't want to fight with Duo. He wanted him to come home. "No. Of course it isn't all right. I did a terrible thing Duo. To you. To all of us," he added bitterly, "If it's any consolation, it hurt us just as badly. The boys really miss you."
Shit. Duo was trying not to think about the boys. "Yeah," he said softly, choking down his anger. "I miss them too. Are they okay?"
"No," Heero said baldly. "They want you to come home. We all do. We miss you Duo."
Duo eyed Heero under his bangs, not ready to deal with that yet.
"Welfare were really going to take them?"
"Yes!!" Heero eyed him in frustration. Duo knew that. Why wouldn't he believe him? If he ever got out of this he was never, ever, going to lie to Duo again.
"Oh...well okay. I can understand why you were desperate then. But...you really hurt me Heero!" Duo took a hasty step away, then turned back again, his voice muffled. "Can you imagine how it felt to know that everything I'd believed in was a lie? The boys...my whole life! Everything!! I mean...you even convinced me that I was gay Heero!! And now..." He gritted his teeth and looked away, flushing darkly.
Heero Yuy felt a tiny seed of hope take root, and his heart raced.
"Duo...Duo it wasn't all a lie. Not all of it. At least...it started out a lie..." Heero had promised himself never to lie to Duo again, and he forced himself, now, to be scrupulously honest. "...but it changed! We all want it to be real! Please Duo...please come home. We miss you." He swallowed hard, and forced a smile, trying for lightness. "Tyler can't get Fez out from under the fridge!"
"Oh." Said Duo. "I see." Turning away, he examined a boot from a tub of children's shoes. "The boys miss me so you want me back."
"NO! I mean..." Heero clenched his fists tightly. Duo obviously didn't see at all. Was being deliberately obtuse. "We all miss you."
"Oh. Well that's what it sounded like." Cody needed boots. Duo started turning over shoes, looking for a pair in his size, ignoring the fact that he wasn't going to be seeing Cody, or any of the boys, again.
"Duo no!"
Heero snatched the shoe from Duo's hand and grabbed his shoulders, turning him firmly around to face him, his blue eyes imploring.
"I miss you. I want you to come home."
"I don't know..."
Heero tightened his fingers on Duo's shoulders and gave him a little shake, willing him to believe. "Duo...I always felt something for you. That bit was never a lie. Right from the time you shoved me overboard. I always wanted it to be real. I... I probably wouldn't have lied in the first place if I hadn't. And now...now I... Please come home. I...Duo..." He took a huge breath, to settle the butterflies taking flight in his stomach. "I love you Duo."
Duo stared at him, violet eyes huge in his pale face. He clung to the shoe bin as if it was the only thing holding his head above water. His voice was so soft that Heero had to strain to hear him over the noisy hum of The Plaza. The children busking with recorders in the corner, who were playing Edelweiss again.
"And...and...I love you. Loved you..."
Heero's heart started hammering as if it would beat its way out of his chest. Eyes glowing, his fingers tightened to pull Duo closer, but Duo lifted a hand, holding him back.
"... I loved you Heero and you took it all away. You gave me a family, and then when it suited you, you just snatched it back from me. All gone! Just like before."
Heero was confused. Before? What did Duo mean...before?
"I missed the boys. I missed you!!" Duo's voice shook and he swiped at his eyes angrily. "What if it happens again?? What if you're lying to me again? I couldn't stand it Heero."
"But I love you! It's the truth! I promise I won't leave you!" Heero stared at him desperately. This couldn't be happening. A determined women, with a pram and a toddler in tow, pushed past him as she raked through the discounted shoes, and he was edged aside, his hands slipping from Duo's arms.
The huge violet eyes were like bruises in Duo's pale face. "But can I believe you Heero? How can I be sure that you really do love me??"
Desperately, Heero searched for the words that would convince Duo, the blood pounding in his ears. He couldn't think. There was noise everywhere. Children crying. Conversation shouted over counter and table. A roving microphone sales woman had set up outside the shoe store, and was loudly calling out Winter specials. Boots, 15% off.
A finger feathered across Heero's cheek. "I'm sorry Heero" And Duo slipped away, ducking around a planter box and heading for the other side of the plaza.
Duo darted through The Plaza, lean and sinuous as a fish, dodging the steady streams of shoppers, braid twitching behind him. Panic-stricken, Heero watching him go, searching desperately for a way to bring him back. Another 50 paces and he'd be gone. He'd run off somewhere, and hide, and Heero would never find him again. 40 paces...thirty... This was really it. Duo was going. Forever.
If only there was some way to prove to Duo that he really meant it. That he loved him, more than anyone, or anything. Some sacrifice he could make. Some dragon he could slay...
And suddenly, Heero knew what to do.
"Give me that! Quick! Please!! It's important!" Snatching the microphone from the surprised sales woman, he leapt up onto a large, rectangular planter box, straddling a miniature box topiary. Some sort of bird. A swan, maybe.
"DU...eeeeeeeeeeee" The microphone squealed with feedback, and Heero snatched it from his lips. Stared nervously out across a sea of curious faces, and wiped sweaty palms on his trousers, switching the microphone from hand to hand. Oh well. At least he had everyone's attention. So long as he had Duo's. He searched quickly for a fast-moving braid, last seen, heading for parts unknown.
"DUO!!! DUO MAXWELL!!! WAIT!!!" Like a foghorn, his voice rang out across The Plaza, and he winced painfully, but forced himself to stand straight and tall.
Slowly, Duo came to a halt, and turned, staring back at him.
Heero's heart raced. Determinedly, he hefted the microphone, but then looked out across the sea of curious faces, and quailed. Squaring his shoulders he wallowed hard. He had to do it! This was his last chance.
"I LOVE YOU!"
Everywhere, people were turning to stare at him, faces twisted in curiosity. Laughter. Some outright disgust. A small boy laughed and pointed. Tried to climb onto another planter box and his mother looked shocked and tugged at his hand with a look of annoyance.
And suddenly, Heero didn't care any more. Who the hell cared what they thought anyway? They weren't perfect either. These were the same idiots who frowned on breastfeeding in a public place. How dared they tell him whom to love! It was Duo who mattered. Only Duo. Suddenly he felt incredibly light. Weightless.
Across the other side of the plaza, a familiar grin slowly dawned on Duo's face, and Heero heart took wing. He flung his arms wide. Sank to one knee on the unfortunate swan's head and grinned back.
"DUO MAXWELL!" He bellowed joyfully. "YOU GET BACK HERE! DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME AGAIN! I LOVE YOU, YOU IDIOT!"
"Heero Yuy..." Suddenly Duo was in front of him, on the planter box, staring at him quizzically. "What are you doing? Everybody's looking. They can hear you. They'll all know you're gay." A sweeping gesture of his hand took in the little boy and his irate mother, the microphone lady, The Plaza, the kebab shop, the visibly-amused Abdul, who was overing near the entrance, and, probably, Almighty God. The other hand hovered near Heero's.
"FUCK THEM!!! I L..." Oops. Damn. Heero's cheeks burned.
Duo's lips twitched. Deliberately, he rested his hand over Heero's, and switched the microphone off. Took it from him, and placed it on the ground, next to the decapitated swan. The microphone lady immediately snatched it back, glaring at them both, but Duo ignored her. Kept hold of Heero's hand, fingers curling warmly around his.
"Hmm? You were saying?"
"I don't care what everyone thinks!! What business is it of anybody else if I love you? If I want to kiss you right here then why the heck shouldn't I?!"
"Oh..."
The bitter pungency of mutilated box was all around them, until suddenly it was eclipsed by the delicious fragrance of Duo's hair, coming closer and closer, until suddenly Heero couldn't smell box at all.
Duo's voice faltered, his eyes very bright. "...and... and do you?"
Heero's heart was pounding so hard that he could hardly think. He nodded mutely, completely unable to speak. Captured by Duo's eyes, by Duo's lips...
"Well then..."
...and Duo smiled mistily at him...
"...get on with it Yuy!!!"
...and tugged insistently on Heero's captive hand, and with a strangled noise, Heero launched himself at Duo, almost knocking him off the planter, wrapping his arms around him in a stranglehold, and burying his face in the curve of Duo's neck. Refused to surface, just shook his head jerkily, burrowing deeper, and hugging him even tighter, shaking.
Heero Yuy was crying.
Wordlessly, Duo turned his own face into the soft, dark hair, and held Heero tightly, kissing his hair, ear, neck, and any other part that he could reach, over and over again. Stroking his back, and running his fingers up into his silky hair.
And gradually Heero relaxed against him, his trembling stilled. Lips moving softly against Duo's neck, breathing a shaky whisper against the damp skin. "Oh God! Duo! Oh God oh God...Duo...I love you so much! Don't ever leave me again!"
Duo shook his head, blind against Heero's hair, holding him tighter.
"Oh Duo..."
Wiping his eyes surreptitiously on Duo's shirt, at last Heero drew back, just far enough to rest his forehead against Duo's, blinking. Drew his hands up to cup Duo's cheeks, and gave him a shaky smile.
Duo cupped Heero's hands with his own. Attempted a cheeky grin, which wobbled alarmingly.
"Now about that kiss..."
Gradually, Heero became aware of a prodding sensation on his right hip, slowly becoming more insistent. Cracked open his eyelids, just enough to glance sideways, unable to muster a glare.
"Nice to see you so happy my dears but the Council won't be too pleased with you playing in their planter boxes."
He blinked, dragging his lips from Duo's. A tiny, silver-haired, old lady peered happily up at him through her glasses.
Mrs Noventa, poking him with her walking stick.
"There's a City Ordinance you know dear." She beamed up at him, lowering her voice confidentially. "No skateboarding either. It's most unfair. Nothing about kissing though." She winked.
Heero blinked. Stared down at Mrs Noventa. Giddy with happiness, Duo started to laugh.
Catching Heero's hand, he swung their arms, like a child, still laughing, then held tight and let the momentum carry them, leaping, high above the earth. Planted a kiss on Mrs Noventa's velvet cheek, then another on Heero's lips, just to be fair. Broke free at last, pink-cheeked and breathless, his heart singing.
"C'mon Sunshine. Let's clear out before the Garden Police catch us, and you can apologise to me some more." He eyed Heero thoughtfully. "Forever if you like."
"Hm. Okay."
Mission accepted.
Hand in hand, they fled The Plaza then, Duo dragging Heero quickly out of sight, into a modern café on the corner. They tumbled into corner seats by a large picture window, almost hidden behind an enormous, potted palm. Ordered coffee. And cakes. Many cakes.
"Duo! Don't be so greedy..." Oops. Had he really said that? It had slipped out so easily, as if Duo had never left. Biting his lip, Heero turned red with mortification, but Duo just laughed giddily, still fizzing with delight.
"Hey! Butt out Mr My Body Is A Temple! I'm starving! I haven't had lunch yet!" Or breakfast. Or much dinner the night before. He hadn't been hungry. Now, suddenly, he was ravenous. "Hey! They do pizza here. Wanna split a pizza?" He grinned happily at Heero's reply, then fell silent, staring at Heero.
"Damn Heero..."
Heero smirked. Duo was looking at him as if he was lunch.
Duo pounced. Cupped Heero's face and dragged him half across the table. "God!! I missed you so freaking much!!!" Kissed him to within an inch of his life.
"Oh..." Breathlessly, Duo tore himself away, scanning Heero's face anxiously. "Is that okay? I mean..." He glanced out the window. "There're lots of people around..."
Heero couldn't care less. Had been permanently inoculated against embarrassment by the terrifying act of declaring himself to his one true love with a loudhailer. Probably a good thing, now that Duo was part of his life. He hoped so. He really hoped so. For answer, he hooked his hand around Duo's neck and dragged him back. Kissed him, with all of his wanting and heartache and sleepless nights.
"I was so afraid..."
Releasing Duo at last, Heero stared down at the table cloth, tracing paths through some spilled sugar with a fingertip. "...afraid that you hated me." He glanced up, through a protective screen of brown hair. "I wouldn't blame you if you did."
"Idiot!!" Duo gathered Heero's hands between his cupped palms and shook them emphatically. "I could never hate you. Pissed off though..." He frowned at Heero. "...now that's another story. Lie to me again and I'll have your freaking balls Yuy. I mean it!"
Eyeing his expression warily, Heero was in no doubt that he meant it. Reflexively crossed his legs.
"I'm sorry." Contritely, he pressed a kiss to their clasped hands, then rested his forehead on them, feeling days of tension drain from his shoulders. "So sorry. I never meant it to go that far. It was just supposed to be a week, but then Welfare dropped that probation order on us and things just snowballed from there. And then...well... I was so scared to tell you...so scared that you'd leave..." He darted a fleeting, sideways glance up at Duo, then closed his eyes, sighing and nuzzling Duo's hand with his cheek. "...I couldn't bear to let you go."
"That'll do it for me." Duo's voice was a husky murmur as he turned his hand over, to cup Heero's cheek with his palm. Slid his fingers into his hair and urged him up for a tender kiss. Explored his mouth with warm, soft lips, that tasted of coffee and cinnamon, and they were quiet for a long time.
"Shit!" Duo forced a shaky chuckle. "I was dead sure that you loved Relena. Dumb huh?" He dared a little glance across at Heero.
"Yes." Heero said baldly, terrifying Duo for an instant with his precise English. "It is dumb. I don't love Relena. Besides. I think that she's with Walker," he added smugly, thinking of Walker trailing around behind Relena, getting snake-bitten, and rescuing her out of trees, and from irate pet-owners.
"Oh." Duo relaxed slightly. He knew that Ed was a good bloke. He'd always liked him. Then, struck by a sudden thought, he stiffened, and sat up nervously.
"So...are you okay with that Heero?"
Heero stared at him dumbfounded. "What?!" Thumped their joined hands on the table, and then his head, in time with each word. "Why why why why why do you always think that I like Relena?"
"Because she follows you around like a puppy dude!"
"I already have one dog!" Heero was terse. This idiocy had gone on long enough. "It's a pain in the butt! I don't need another one! I need a boyfriend!!!" He scowled formidably at Duo, who grinned imperviously, giddy with relief. "And that would be you!!!"
"She's a very nice girl though," he added, suspecting that he had just been extremely rude to Relena, but not caring much. "And a really good friend. She stuck by me back in high school when...well..." He took an enormous breath and glanced up, meeting concerned violet eyes. The first step in sharing himself with Duo. "...you've met Alex and Mueller... It was after basketball practice..."
Staring intently out of the window, Heero nursed his teacup, not drinking, the clear liquid shivering in his hand. Slopping over into the saucer, amber on white.
Watching him, Duo thought about Alex, and Mueller, and the hell that had been Darke's Cove High School. It explained a heck of a lot about Heero Yuy. No wonder Heero didn't trust anyone. Duo's heart ached for that younger Heero. So alone... Just like him...
"You know..." He paused, waiting for Heero to turn his head. "I didn't really thank you properly for my cross back there. It means a heck of a lot to me. It was my Mum's you know."
Holding the cross in the palm of his hand, he scrutinised it, as if seeing it for the first time. Turned it over and traced the initials engraved there with a gentle finger. "She gave it to me in the hospital. Before she...you know." Biting his lip, he stared hard at his tea, stirring . Blinked, and turned back to Heero. "They died in a plane crash."
Jolted from his memories, Heero reached across the table and took his hand, a gentle pressure of fingers, his heart suddenly too full for speech. This was what he wanted more than anything. What he ached for. All of Duo. The real Duo Maxwell. "My brother Odin and his wife too," he offered softly. "I was fifteen..."
The table was littered with cups and glasses; the spilled sugar decorated in swirling lines and whorls, that said DM L HY if you squinted from just the right angle, and chose to believe. Heero did.
The waitress was re-laying the tables for dinner, circling closer and closer, but Heero was strangely reluctant to move. Wanted to take Duo home, to move the chest of drawers, and Duo, into his bedroom, and not come out for a very long time, but at the same time wanted this afternoon to never end. This long skein of cinnamon and coffee flavoured moments. This, more than anything that had gone before, was the time that he would always remember as being when he truly became Duo's, and Duo became his, like a tapestry being woven together.
Duo had dragged his chair around beside Heero's, into the patchy shelter of the palm tree. Had tangled his legs and feet and arms so thoroughly with Heero's that Heero didn't know how he was still managing to sit in his own chair. Not that he minded.
Duo grinned up at him, from Heero's shoulder.
"You know Heero... it's funny. It's kinda like we've just met...finding out all this stuff about you....and me telling you things... In a coffee shop for crissakes! I feel like it's a first date or something."
"Mmm..." Heero's agreement was a soft exhalation of breath against Duo's ear, making him tingle with pleasure.
"It's like...mmmmmm..." Distracted by Heero's tongue, it took him a moment to remember what he was about to say. He chuckled, the vibration shivering down Heero's body to his toes. "... oh. Yeah. We got it all backwards. First we moved in together...Now we're dating."
It was exactly like a first date. Or, better yet. A third date. Delicious, slowly-building anticipation filling him from his head to his toes.
By unspoken agreement, they had dawdled. And dallied chastely amongst the palm leaves. Almost chastely. Every touch, an aching promise of tidal waves to come.
Abruptly, Duo sat up. "S'pose we should introduce ourselves then!" Thrust his hand out at Heero. "Duo Maxwell. And I'm pleased to meet you!"
Obediently, Heero shook. "Heero Yuy." His lips quirked, as he mimicked Duo's tone. "And you have a great ass! Now get back here!" And he dragged Duo back to his place against his side.
Duo laughed out loud. "Yeah...well that'd work!" Sighed happily and nuzzled his silky head against Heero's cheek.
Hmm. Would it though? Heero stared thoughtfully at their entwined hands. He suspected not. Duo would have laughed...he would have said hn... and then they would have gone their separate ways. It didn't bear thinking about. Maybe backwards was better. Like being thrown overboard...sink, or swim. Did the sirens ever rescue shipwrecked sailors? Fall in love and carry them to shore, and drag them with them out into the world?
"Well...now-w-w..." Duo was eyeing him with an expression that made the warmth in the pit of his stomach coil suddenly tighter. "...I think that it's time for you to take me home from our date babe. And kiss me at the door."
"Which door?" Heero whispered softly, forgetting fate, forgetting sirens, hardly able to think. Completely unable to breathe.
"Our bedroom door of course. Although..." Head tilted to one side, Duo inspected him, his own mischievous siren, one finger twirling a lock of Heero's hair. Drifting down Heero's cheek. "I think you're missing something."
"Oh...wh..." The thought of that door, of a bedroom door that was our door, was making Heero's knees shake. He cleared his throat. Swallowed hard and tried again. "What?"
"This."
And pulling his cross back out of his shirt, Duo slipped the chain over Heero's head.
"There. That's better. Although...I was thinking..." He traced the cross with a thoughtful finger, his palm coming to rest over Heero's heart. "...maybe we could get it engraved. Start a family tradition you know?"
Wide-eyed, Heero stared at him. Heard the question in his voice and could only nod fervently, swallowing hard, overwhelmed by the promise of those countless tomorrows that went to make up a tradition. A family tradition. His family.
But...Duo's cross...
His mother's cross.
The cross that he nearly drowned for.
"But...but Duo..." Blinking hard, he stared down at the precious thing on his chest, as if he'd never seen it before. A cross. Symbolic of hope, and forgiveness. New beginnings. And love. Lots and lots of love. He looked up at Duo, only able to say the least of the myriad things in his heart.
"I don't have anything for you."
"That's okay." Smiling, Duo entangled their fingers, swinging Heero's hand up to his lips and nibbling gently. Grinned happily around his knuckle "You can buy me a ring dude."
And clutching tightly to Duo's hand, daring the world to say anything, Heero Yuy did just that.
Epilogue
Spring came early to Darke's Cove that year, with hazy clouds of candyfloss blossom, green-spotted swirls and drifts of white snowdrops beneath the oak tree, and fluffy chicks, that made peeping noises, and hid in the azaleas, from the small and bloodthirsty ferret tribe that now haunted them. Tyler, to Heero's horror, and Duo's secret delight, had found a girlfriend for Fez, around at McKinnon's place. Guiltily, Heero hoped fervently for the day that Aaron Cooper went off to reform school.
Heero was making a bed, for himself and Duo, to one of Duo's designs. Joe Lowe thought that it looked a lot like a cupped hand, with tall, curvy posts, made of some shiny dark wood, and Duo had smiled and said, yeah, that that was so that he would always feel like Heero was holding him, even if he wasn't there, and Heero had grabbed him and kissed him, until Joe had thought that he might go see if there were any dishes to do. Those two were sappy like that. But it was a beautiful bed, and they were both out in the shed doing something to it right now. At least, there was a lot of giggling coming from that direction. Joe had decided to not go anywhere near the shed until he was at least twenty-one.
Joe was in a pensive mood, that bordered on grumpy. Mari was moving. Upstate somewhere, part of the endless rush and surge towards the city and he really didn't want her to go.
But they'd chat every night on-line, much like they did now. And Mari had invited him to visit in the holidays. Said that there was a wicked theme park nearby. And it was hard to be sad when she was so happy. Her parents were getting back together, and she and her Mom were moving to be with her Dad. He had a gallery somewhere, some funny name. It turned out that Mari wasn't a Kostiki at all, although the name did still start with a K.
When Duo had heard Mari's real name he'd laughed and laughed. Said that at last a Khushrenada finally had one of his paintings. Duo had a nice laugh, and when he laughed you just had to laugh with him. Even Heero. Heero laughed all the time now. It was all pretty good.
It was real funny how Duo knew Mari's dad.
Duo's Uncle Gerald said that it was all just part of the strange power of coincidence.
The End
Disclaimer. This is an original fiction based on the characters of Gundam Wing.
Gundam Wing is the property of Bandai and Shin Kideseki.
So there you have it. Not exactly a fusion with the wonderful Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell movie Overboard, but not
exactly not either. Definitely inspired by. And, by the book 'Horace Sippog and the Siren's Song' by Su Walton, a
very entertaining story, which bears no resemblance to this one whatsoever, but has a similar style of storytelling,
with an ensemble cast, overlapping lives and coincidence rampant. And, of course, I pinched the titles. ^_^
For those who are interested, I found plans and pictures of a schooner rigged motor sailer here:
http://www.boat-links.com/Atkinco/Sail/Magpie.html
Addendum: Quad erat demonstratum means This I have shown and is often written at the end of a mathematical proof.
|
