Wufei sat down to his solitary dinner, picked up his chopsticks, and found himself staring across the table at The Picture.
What... oh. I took it down to clean the glass last night; I must have forgotten to put it back up. Dinner forgotten in its turn, he reached across to pick it up.
It was the only picture in his tiny apartment; Relena had taken it at the very beginning of Quatre's party celebrating the end of the war, before anyone had a chance to get drunk.
Before Rashid started mixing those blue things, he thought, one corner of his mouth twisting up wryly. Before I screwed up.
The five Gundam pilots each faced the camera in their own way. Heero was in the centre, not glaring; Relena had caught one of his rare smiles, but glares were definitely still an option. Trowa and Quatre were to the left of the picture, standing close together with their arms around each others' waists; Quatre was smiling one of his hundred-watt smiles, and Trowa was looking down at him with a gentle expression half-hidden behind his bangs. Wufei was at the extreme right, body language radiating disdain for this foolishness but his face surprisingly open, glancing sideways with his smiling mouth half-open as he made some comment. And Duo... Duo was between him and Heero, arms slung around their shoulders, eyes sparkling directly into the lens as he laughed.
Wufei sighed, tipping the frame for a better look at Duo's face.
It's been eight months. I'm sorry... I wish I could take back what I did. I wish you'd come back.
I'm sure you're fine. You didn't make it through the war without being a survivor. But... are you happy? Where are you?
Do you still hate me?
* * * * *
NEW YORK
A thin figure in a ragged trench coat picked his way along the street, steeping over trash and around the huddled forms of drunks and hobos. He paused and glanced upwards, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets, as a sprinkle of smog-grey snowflakes swirled down out of the overcast sky.
As he lowered his head and stepped forwards again, a scruffy girl-child bumped into him. As she mumbled an apology and moved away, he snaked out one hand and caught her by the wrist.
"That was pathetic," he said, voice hoarse and rusty with disuse. "You're way too slow, and that pocket doesn't even have my fake wallet in it. How the hell do you expect to eat if your dip's that bad?"
As she gaped at him, too startled to even think of running, he pulled something out from under his coat and shoved it into her hand. "Get some practice, for fuck's sake."
Then he just walked off.
She blinked, confused, then looked at what he'd given her.
Holy -- what kind of nut catches a pickpocket and then just GIVES them fifty cred?!
- - - - - - -
He stood in a run-down hotel room, stuffing his few clothes into a battered duffle bag. Finished, he slung it over his shoulder and stared out the window, twisting the end of his braid between his fingers.
"How ya doin', 'Fei?" Duo whispered. "Still hate me?"
* * * * *
"Chang, aren't you going to lunch?"
Wufei shrugged, not looking up from his paperwork. "I want to finish this first. I'll go later."
"You've said that every day this week," Noin said, "and every single time, you worked straight through -- "
He lifted his head slightly and glared at her.
" -- not that it's any of my business," she said, turning away. She stalked off, muttering. "I said he was a kid three years ago, and he's still a kid now. I swear, it's like trying to get a four-year-old to eat his broccoli..."
Wufei had written two lines in blessed peace when his vidphone beeped. "Chang here," he said, not looking up.
<<Yui here,>> came the response, just as curtly. He raised an eyebrow, looking up at the screen, and discovered Heero with his eyebrow quirked. They stared at each other for a second; then both smirked and said "Hn" at the same time.
A hand smacked Heero lightly on the back of the head. <<Will you two stop mirroring each other and just talk? And no, Quatre, I am not going to wear pink, I don't care how much you like it! I'm sick of pink!>>
Heero turned to glare at her.
<<Don't you give me that 'omae o korosu' look! I swear, even if you don't shoot me one day, you'll still be the death of me...>>
Wufei's smirk widened. "More wedding plans?"
Heero rolled his eyes. <<I'm beginning to regret the day I proposed.>>
"How did she pry it out of you, anyway?"
<<I presented it to him as a mission: be my permanent bodyguard,>> Relena said, leaning into view. <<He accepted. Then I batted my eyelashes and said 'does this mean you'll protect me forever?' and when he said 'yes'...>> She shrugged.
"Ah," Wufei said with a straight face. "How traditionally -- and unromantically -- Japanese. At least he didn't ask you to cook for him for the rest of your life."
She chuckled. <<It would be a very short life if I was doing the cooking! In any case, Wufei, since my fiance could take hours to get around to the point of this call, I'll ask you. We want to ask Duo to be the best man; could you either give us his com code or ask him to call?>>
"What?" Wufei blinked, confused. "I haven't heard from Duo since he... left. I thought he was keeping in touch with you." A hollow feeling that had nothing to do with his missed lunch settled in his stomach.
Heero and Relena looked surprised. <<No -- we thought -- >>
Quatre pushed in on Heero's other side. <<What do you mean, you haven't heard from him?!>> he blurted out, looking incredulous. <<He had to be keeping in touch with you of all people!>>
"What do you mean by that?"
<<Damn it, Wufei, because he was in love with you, of course! Everybody knew!>>
"...what?!" Wufei choked out.
Quatre stared at him. <<You... didn't know?>>
"...what did you say?"
<<Oh, shit. You didn't know.>> Quatre ducked sideways, out of view. <<Trowa!>
"Quatre?!"
Relena leaned forwards as Trowa came into view over Heero's shoulder. <<Wufei... you honestly didn't know?>>
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then spoke through clenched teeth. "Relena. Could you please explain to me exactly what it is I was supposed to know? I seem to be operating without a script, here."
<<Duo was in love with you.>>
"With me."
<<Yes!>>
"And everybody knew this... except me."
<<Well... apparently, yes.>>
"Nobody thought I might like to know?!"
<<I thought you did!>>
Heero broke in. <<He was afraid to tell you. He didn't know how you would react, and thought you might hate him if you found out.>>
Wufei froze.
Oh gods.
That's exactly what he must have thought when I walked out. And then I avoided him because I was afraid he hated me...
Oh gods.
What have I done?
He scrubbed the palm of one hand over his face, then looked back at the screen. "He... hasn't contacted anyone?"
<<He called Quatre and I once, about a fortnight after he left,>> Trowa said. <<I think he said he was in Memphis. Which Memphis, I don't know.>>
"Nothing after that?" I thought he was just avoiding me! I didn't know I'd driven him away from all his friends!
<<No.>>
"We have to find him."
Quatre leaned back into view. <<How fast can you get here?>>
"Which of your properties are you at? I can be on the next plane.>>
<<New York.>>
Heero stretched out a long arm and pulled his laptop over to him; a moment later, he spoke. <<There's a flight in an hour and a half. I'll book you a seat, and pick you up from the port.>> He looked up and shot a glare at Wufei.
<<We need to talk.>>
- - - - - - -
Wufei almost ran down the corridor to Lady Une's office and slammed through the door.
"I need to take some leave, starting right now."
Lady Une looked up from the file she was reading. "Good afternoon, Chang. I'm afraid I didn't quite catch that; would you mind repeating it? Slower, this time, and without the door slamming in the middle."
He flushed slightly. "I need to take indefinite leave. Now."
"Out of the question! You know how understaffed we are, and we've only been operational for two months. Nobody is taking leave yet."
"Fine. I quit," Wufei snarled.
She raised an eyebrow adnd put the file down. "Chang... what is so important that you have to ask for leave, and quitwhen it's not granted?
"Duo Maxwell is missing."
Her eyes widened. "Ah. Oh my. We can't have that. Duo Maxwell, ex-Gundam
pilot, wandering around the universe unsupervised? It's a frightening thought.
So. Your resignation is not accepted; this is very definitely Preventers business,
and your new assignment. Use whatever resources you need... within
reason, of course."
He nodded shortly. "I'm leaving for New York in just over an hour."
"Very well. Send me reports."
After he left, Une sat for a while, staring blindly at the wall.
"Duo Maxwell on the loose... oh my."
------------------------------------------------------
NEAR THE END OF THE WAR
Lady Une stalked into the high-security OZ base with the base commandant fawning at her heels, babbling compliments. She cut him off with a wave of her hand.
"I'm here to take the Gundam pilot into my custody, not make a social call," she snapped as they entered the command centre. "Your report was deplorably lacking in detail. Exactly which pilot have you captured?"
"Ah, pilot 02, ma'am. Duo Maxwell, I believe his name is -- "
"Maxwell?!" She spun to glare at him. "Is he under observation?"
"He is in one of our maximum-security cells, ma'am, with two guards outside the door."
"That's useless! Maxwell's only safe when he's drugged or unconscious! Get those guards inside the cell now!" As the commandant scrambled to obey, she considered for a moment, then muttered, "Actually, I wouldn't trust drugs either. They might make his exploits worse..."
"Ah, sir, the guards aren't responding... and we can't pick up anything from the monitor cameras in that area."
"Send a squad to the main cellblock immediately!"
"Too late," Une sighed.
Alarms went off all over the base.
<<Sir? The guards are inside the cell, stripped to their underwear and tied together with one of their uniforms. The other uniform is missing and the Gundam pilot is gone -- >> The voice over the intercom abruptly cut off, replaced by... music?
<<I'm a bloke, I'm an Ocker and I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer
by day, I piss up all me pay,
Watching footy on TV, just feed me more VB, Just pour my beer and fetch my smokes
and go away...>>
"What the hell is that?!" yelled the commandant.
"Turn. That. Off," Une snapped.
"We're trying, ma'am! We seem to be being overriden from elsewhere in the system -- um, I think it's playing on every intercom and PA system in the base!"
Another soldier performed the fastest database search he'd ever done in his life. "It seems to be a song from the end of the 20th century, called 'Bloke' -- a parody of the song 'Bitch' by Meredith Brooks. It's from Australia. There, ah, doesn't seem to be any coded significance..."
<<...When you think You've got me figured out
The season's already changing (From footy to cricket!)...>>
"Coded significance?!" Lady Une snarled. "I'll tell you the coded significance! It means Maxwell's sitting somewhere in this base, thumbing his nose at us while he plays with our systems!"
That was when all the computer screens fuzzed out with static, then cleared to show rows of llittle chibi Duos and Deathscythes, performing a very silly-looking dance. The song coming from the intercom changed too, matching the rhythm of the dance.
<<Hey~y, Macarena!>>
Une spun around and headed for the door, but it opened before she got there and a soldier ran in. "Sir, we -- oh! Ma'am!" He snapped to attention and saluted.
"Never mind that! What's the matter?"
"Uh, ma'am, I'm on duty on the east gate and the intercom seems to be, uh, out of order so I came to report in person..." He trailed off, staring around as he became aware of the all-singing all-dancing chaos around him.
"And?!"
"Sorry, ma'am! Uh, we have delivery vans from five different pizza restaurants pulled up at the gate, all saying they have twenty pizzas they ordered. At least it was five vans when I left, there might be more now. We, uh, didn't know what to do about it -- it seems to be a legitimate order, but nobody warned us and they're demanding payment..."
Two more soldiers ran in. Lady Une held up a hand to stop them before they spoke. "I', beginning to get the picture. Which gates are you from and how many pizza delivery trucks are there?"
They looked at each other.
"North gate, ma'am... eight trucks."
"West gate. Ten trucks and one florist's delivery man on a motorbike."
She turned to the commandant. "Should I wait for the messenger from the south gate, or don't you have one?"
"We don't have one, ma'am."
"Fortunate man." She turned and stalked for the doors.
As she swung out into the (momentarily empty) corridor with the commandant on her heels, she was already formulating new plans.
"He'll be hoping to escape in the confusion. If you send runners to the gates immediately, we may have a chance to -- "
"Hey, Une baby! Long time no see!"
Running footsteps sounded behind her as she spun, grabbing for her pistol. She had a brief glimpse of the commandant falling to the floor and a lithe figure in OZ uniform leaping towards her; then long legs wrapped around her waist, trapping her arms, and Duo Maxwell grabbed her head and dove for her lips as she staggered back into the wall.
"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm*SMACK!*"
Brilliant violet eyes, sparkling with manic energy and wicked humour, winked at her from barely an inch away as he pulled back from the enthusiastic glomp/kiss; then he released her and ran, twirling the commandant's gun around one finger. "See ya! Gotta go! I am SO outta here!"
And he was around the corner and away.
Lady Une stood stunned, one hand pressed to her lips, as the commandant scrambled to his feet and yelled for reinforcements. The corridor was abruptly awash with soldiers, running in different directions and shouting questions back and forth.
Through the chaos, a single soldier walked with a giant bouquet in his arms. He stopped in front of her, saluted, and offered the flowers. "Ma'am? I'm from the west gate. The pizza delivery men all want cash on delivery, but the flowers turned out to be pre-paid, so... here. They're apparently for you."
Automatically, she accepted the bouquet and looked at it. White roses and stephanotis. How nice... Treize-sama prefers red, but these are really quite lovely... She smelled them, smiling bemusedly at the sweet odour, and fumbled for the card.
The message snapped her out of her shocked daze:
Une-chan,
Sorry I had to leave in such a hurry! Maybe
these will make up for it?
All my love,
Duo Maxwell. :-)
The flowers trembled in her white-knuckled grip as she crushed the card into a small ball, shaking with fury.
"MAAAAAAAAAAAXWEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!"
~*~*~*~
Une shook her head as the memory faded. "Oh, my. Duo Maxwell on the loose. The mind boggles..." She reached out and pressed a button on her intercom.
"Amanda? Put out an APB on Duo Maxwell as a missing person, please. Use Chang Wufei's personal com code as the contact number."
* * * * *
NEW YORK PORT
A ragged figure in a black trench coat moved through the crowds.
Duo squinted up at an illuminated signboard, twirling the end of his braid in his fingers. A blinking arrow under the words 'SHUTTLE DEPARTURES' caught his eye, and he moved off to his left.
Two minutes later, Heero and Wufei pushed their way through the crowds, coming from the right, and left through the main doors.
- - - - - - -
Heero glanced sideways at Wufei's profile as he pulled out of the carpark. The Chinese boy was staring straight ahead through the windshield, face fixed in the cold mask that Heero knew meant he was hiding strong emotions.
"What happened at the party, Wufei?"
The muscles along Wufei's jaw knotted briefly before he responded. "A... misunderstanding."
"A little more detail, if you would," Heero said coldly. "Duo was planning to stay near us all, go to school and build a real life for himself. It would take a pretty serious 'misunderstanding' to change his mind to the point where he didn't want to see any of us any more."
There was a long, painful pause.
"As I said," Wufei said in a tightly controlled voice, "there was a misunderstanding. Afterwards, I... avoided him, because I thought..." He swallowed. "I thought I had made him hate me. I now believe... that made him think I hated him."
"So he left."
"Yes."
"Because of you."
"...Yes."
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now."
"I need to apologise to him first."
"Hn."
- - - - - - -
Quatre opened the door to them, Trowa standing at his shoulder. "Wufei! It's good to see you face-to-face, it's been too long -- "
Wufei marched straight past him. "Where can I set up my laptop?"
"Oh -- we're all in the east study. It's -- "
"I know where it is." He turned a corner and was gone.
" -- yes, I see you do," Quatre said ruefully. "Heero! How was the -- "
Heero stalked after Wufei with his face set in its old 'stone cold killer' mask.
Quatre and Trowa looked at each other.
"Oh, dear."
Trowa nodded.
- - - - - - -
Relena looked up eagerly as Wufei and Heero strode in. "Welcome back! ...oh." She looked anxiously back and forth between them. "Heero...?"
"Later."
"...all right. Would you like some coffee, Wufei? Quatre's butler just brought a fresh pot."
"No. Thank you." Wufei dropped his laptop on a convenient table,
and looked up as Quatre and Trowa came in. "Trowa, you check spaceports,
atmospheric flights and other transport records. Heero, you know all of Duo's
old bank accounts; check their activity and look for any new accounts he may
have
started. Quatre and Relena, start your people looking and contact anyone else
Duo might have called -- Hilde Schbeiker, Howard and so on. I have the clearance
needed to search police and hospital records without having to hack in, so I'll
take those. All right?"
Relena blinked and glanced at the other ex-Gundam pilots to see how they reacted to Wufei taking charge; she was a bit surprised when they all just nodded, but nodded in her turn and went to the vidphone.
- - - - - - -
THE NEXT DAY
Heero flicked a single sheet of printout onto the table. "That's all the activity in Duo's accounts since the end of the war. I have automated search programs looking for any new accounts he may have opened, but i don't expect to find any."
"Why not?" asked Quatre.
"Here," said Heero, leaning forwards and pointing to the top of the page, "these are the totals Duo started with."
Trowa raised an eyebrow. "Pretty impressive."
Heero snorted, a brief smile flickering across his face. "Duo and I had
a competition going during the war, on who could hack the most money out of
OZ accounts. I won, but it was pretty close; and we passed a fair amount along
to you," he nodded at Trowa and Wufei, "but there was a hell of a
lot left over.
Now, here -- and here, here, and here -- these are all verylarge withdrawals.
I tracked them, and they all pass through a few simple cutouts and then go to
children's charities as anonymous donations."
"Charities? I see... that makes sense," Relena nodded, leaning forwards to look at the paper; then she gasped. "But -- that's almost all his money!"
Heero nodded grimly. "He cleaned out all his accounts one by one. The last transaction was on L3, four months ago; he drew out thirty thousand credits in cash, and closed his last account. I can't find any sign that he's started another account, hacked into any to get money, or been paid electronically by anyone. Unless he's been getting cash without going through banks, he's been living on that thirty thou ever since; and judging by what I've been able to pick up on where all these transactions originated from, he's been moving around a lot. The sort of travel he's been doing is expensive."
Trowa nodded. "He's difficult to track, but that fits in with what I've found so far."
"Hold on," Wufei interrupted. "What do you mean, 'what you've been able to pick up'? Can't you track the transactions?" He was trying hard not to think about that thirty thousand credits; it might sound like a lot, but he knew from experience how fast it could melt away while you were on the move.
"No, I can't," Heero snapped. "I can follow the money trail
no problem; he wasn't trying to hide what came out of the accounts, except when
he drew it out as cash. He shuffled things around just enough that the charities
wouldn't have a name attached to the money when it arrived; they aren't going
to look a gift horse in the mouth anyway, so they wouldn't try very hard to
track it back. But what went to the accounts, the instructions to transfer the
money, that I can't track.
He passed through so many cutouts and blind info drops -- it's a maze! A couple
of times I think he spliced his laptop into a phone wire and hacked into his
own accounts! I'd have no hope of tracking his location from these transactions
even if his accounts were still active." He slapped his hand down on
the sheet of paper and glared at Wufei.
"He wasn't doing this for fun. He took more precautions than he did during the war. He wasn't doing this to hide from the charities; why bother? He doesn't have to hide from OZ any more."
Heero leaned forward over the table, cobalt blue eyes boring into Wufei's, and growled the next sentence.
"He was hiding from us."
Heero leaned forward over the table, cobalt blue eyes boring into Wufei's. "He was hiding from us."
Wufei sat frozen, face blank and cold, as his mind raced.
He runs, he hides, but he never lies...
"Why, 'Fei, I woulda done this a long time ago if I'd known you were such a good kisser."
"I don't want to be alone!"
"I lo-- I'll, uh, keep in touch, okay?"
Well, he called Trowa... once. Oh gods, Duo, I'm sorry!
Looking at Wufei's cold, uncaring mask, Heero snapped.
<<CRACK!>>
Wufei's chair went over backwards as pain exploded in his jaw; then Heero dove over the table, dragged him up by a fistful of his shirt, and slammed him into the wall.
"What the fuck did you think you were doing, Chang?!" he snarled, twisting his fistful of shirt and half-choking Wufei. "Even if you didn't give a damn about what happened to Duo, you knew he mattered to us! The least you could have done was tell us when you drove him away, so we'd know to go after him--"
"I DIDN'T KNOW!" Wufei screamed hoarsely.
Heero's grip loosened, just a fraction; Wufei choked, coughed and went on.
"I didn't know he'd broken off contact with you," he said quietly. "He was always closer to you three than me, even before I -- I screwed up. Hell, I thought--" He glanced up, saw Relena watching with her hands pressed to her mouth, and changed what he had been about to say. "I was sure he was keeping in touch with you all, just avoiding me. For all I knew, he'd asked you not to mention him to me." He laughed, a bitter, humourless sound. "I couldn't bring myself to ask you how he was, though gods know I wanted to... and you never brought him up, either. Did you?"
Heero glared and opened his mouth to reply, but Quatre beat him to it. "Wufei's right." Everyone turned to look at him, standing next to his chair; he twisted his hands together nervously, but continued. "From what you're saying, Wufei had reason to think that nothing was wrong when Duo didn't contact him, but none of us did... and we still let things slide for eight months. This... this is our fault too."
"Agreed," Trowa said quietly. "But I think we need to know what Wufei did to 'drive Duo away'."
"Yeah," Heero said, releasing Wufei's shirt slowly. "And tell it properly this time... none of that 'misunderstanding' shit."
Once they were all seated again, Wufei swallowed, wincing slightly at the pain from the rapidly swelling bruise. How can I say this?
"Go on," Heero growled.
Wufei licked dry lips, staring almost desperately around the room; then he looked directly at Quatre and just blurted it out.
"At your party for the end of the war... out on the balcony, right before you threw up... Duo kissed me." The next words seemed to stick in his throat, and he paused.
"And you reacted badly?" Trowa asked calmly.
"No! I-- I wanted to," Wufei confessed. "But I thought... Duo was drunk, and so was I, and he'd never said or done anything to make me think he might... anyway, I thought--" His eyes flicked to Heero and Relena and he stopped, blushing.
"Thought what?" Heero asked.
"It's not relevant."
"Yes it is, Chang, if it's got anything to do with what happened! No more keeping your mouth shut!"
"I thought he was... with you," Wufei muttered, looking away.
There was a long, uncomfortable pause.
"Well... they were together," Relena said quietly. "For a while."
Wufei stared at her, mouth open, astonished. Relena was blushing, but met his eyes steadily. "They were...?" he sputtered. "You knew... and you still...?"
"Duo explained it to me," she said, tipping her chin up, determined. "They... loved, yes, but not as lovers, exactly; as friends, and brothers, and... soldiers, I suppose. I had to think about it for a long time, to decide how I felt... but their relationship never threatened ours."
"It was... just a few times," Heero muttered, looking away; Relena covered his hand in hers and squeezed gently.
Trowa cleared his throat. "Returning to Wufei's story...? He kissed you. Then what?"
"A little later, in the study, things went... further." Wufei had his eyes closed now, refusing to look at anyone. Just say it and get it over with!
"How much further?"
"I. Don't. Know," he gritted out through clenched teeth.
"Oh, like you really expect us to believe that--"
"I told you, I was drunk!" Wufei yelled at Heero. "I can't remember! All I know is, I woke up on the sofa with Duo, both of us pretty well naked, I had no idea how far we'd got before we passed out, and I had no idea how to tell! Shit, it's not like I'd had a lot of practice--" He broke off, blushing even harder.
"Couldn't Duo tell?" Quatre put in.
There was a short pause as Wufei struggled with the tattered remnants of his pride. I've told them everything else... why balk at this one last thing? My honour's gone, so does face really matter?
"I don't know," he said quietly, for what felt like the hundredth time. "I panicked. I was terrified that he'd wake up and hate me, or be afraid of me, or... any number of things... so I did the most cowardly thing I've ever done in my life, and walked out while he slept. Then I avoided him, because I didn't have the courage to face him... and then he left, and I've never wanted anything in my life more than to beg him to stay but all I did was stand there like a fucking idiot and call him 'Maxwell'--"
Hot tears slid down his cheeks, and he tried to wipe them away with a shaking hand.
And I think the only thing that's kept me sane for the last eight months was the belief that Duo was out there somewhere doing fine, that at least he still had his friends, and now--
"-- and now I find out that he did mean it, it wasn't just the damn drinks, he was afraid I'd hate him if he let me know and it looks like that's exactly what I made him think, and I--"
-- I love him --
Relena stood, tears streaming down her face, and moved towards Wufei, but he waved her away and stood, trembling.
"I hope Duo's found someone else to love, because I sure as hell don't deserve him."
And he turned and walked out.
* * * * *
Lady Une looked up from her paperwork with a sigh as, for the second day in a row, the door to her office slammed back against the wall. Zechs and Noin skidded to a halt in front of her desk, panting.
"Lady Une!" Noin gasped, wide-eyed. "Please tell us this isn't true!"
Zechs held out a sheet of printout; Une peered at it. "Ah. That." She didn't have to read it -- the photo was unmistakable. "Unfortunately, it's accurate. Duo Maxwell is missing."
"Oh god... Excuse me, Lady Une, I've gotta go protect my Taurus!" Noin ran out.
"Er... yes." Zechs suddenly looked even more uncomfortable. "I, ah, might look in on my mobile suit as well..."
Une waved her hand dismissively, looking back down and picking up her pen. "Shoo. Shoo. Close the door as you leave."
As the door closed behind him, she began to hum quietly.
"On the first day of Maxwell, my enemy sent to me... white roses and stephanotis. On the second day of Maxwell, my enemy sent to me... hm. I wonder what he did to them? And do I get three panicked visitors tomorrow?"
- - - - - - -
Zechs skidded into the hangar and sighed in relief as he saw his mobile suit in pristine condition. Externally, anyway... I'd better run a few checks.
As he settled into his seat and activated the computers, his mind went back to the last time he'd encountered Duo's 'handiwork'...
~*~*~*~
"Sir! Sir! Tallgeese-- it's--"
"What is it, Otto?"
Otto looked pained. "You'd better see for yourself, sir."
Zechs stopped short just inside the hangar, staring aghast at his Gundam. Silly String dangled from every possible location, it was holding a banner that said 'DEATHSCYTHE ROCKS -- I SUCK!', and large bumper stickers had been plastered all over it. Slowly, he read his way down.
'MY MIND NOT ONLY WANDERS, IT SOMETIMES LEAVES COMPLETELY'
'I USED TO BE SCHIZOPHRENIC, BUT WE'RE OKAY NOW!'
'I SUFFER FROM OCCASIONAL DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY'
'HAVING AN OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCE, BACK IN FIVE'
'WANTED: MEANINGFUL OVERNIGHT RELATIONSHIP' (Zechs thought it was a bit much putting that one on Tallgeese's *ahem* crotch.)
'NO SHRED OF EVIDENCE EXISTS TO SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT LIFE IS SERIOUS'
'I HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO PROCRASTINATE!'
And then, on the feet:
'GUNDAMS: CHLORINE IN THE GENE POOL' and 'MEDDLE NOT IN THE AFFAIRS OF GUNDAMS, FOR YOU TOO CAN GO *GISH*!'.
"Otto," Zechs murmured faintly, "please tell me that's red paint all over the floor."
"We think so, sir. It's not changing colour as it dries."
"Oh, good."
"Ah, sir... there's a packet on the seat inside. It's, ah, addressed to you."
As Zechs stepped into the open hatchway, ducking under 'BACK IN FIVE', he realised why Otto had been blushing faintly; the white envelope had 'To Sexy Zechsy!' scrawled across it. Scowling, he opened it.
Inside, there was a single sheet of paper and a disk; Zechs felt the first tremors of apprehension as he saw that the disk was labeled 'Sexy Zechsy Pics'.
Hey, Zechsy!
I had sooooo much fun getting these little
holiday snaps. You've got quite a bod! There's only one
more copy of this disk, and I haven't got it. Have fun
guessing who I gave it to!
Love ya,
Duo Maxwell. :-)
--P.S. If you're wondering why I gave you a
copy, well, I figured I had to give you something in
return for what I took!
"Otto," Zechs snapped as he climbed out of the cockpit, "have
the mechanics start cleaning all this off. Alert the base commandant; tell him
we've been infiltrated and I believe data has been stolen. Start the computer
techs checking to see if he planted any viruses. And for God's sake, beef up
security
in here!"
"Yes, sir!"
"I'll be in my quarters if you need me."
With the door safely locked behind him, Zechs slipped the disk into his computer and started his virus checker. As it worked its way through the files, he found himself fretting.
'Holiday snaps'. The only holiday I've taken recently was that weekend-- shit. There's a lot of files. Who could he have given the copy to?! Treize-sama? Otto? UNE?! General Septum-- no, hang on, he's dead. Phew!
The virus checker finished its run, and the first picture flashed up on the screen. And 'flashed' was a good word for it...
"MAAAAXWEEEEELLLLLL!"
~*~*~*~
Zechs shuddered. I never did find out who got the copy.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Noin finished wedging her Taurus's hatch open and climbed cautiously into the cockpit. Settling nervously into the seat, she glanced back at the hatch, finger hovering over the button that would start the computers.
Damn it, I used a piece of girder! I almost ruptured myself moving the bloody thing! I think it'll hold. And she pressed the button.
She held her breath for a moment, as screens flickered to life around her, then relaxed when nothing happened.
That brat's made me paranoid, I swear! Not that I don't have reason for paranoia...
~*~*~*~
"It's a Gundam! It's a Gundam!
***BOOOOM!!!***
Noin sprinted to the hangar as a looming dark shape slashed through the fence with a glowing green blade.That's Deathscythe! Maxwell's got to be after the new mobile suits! Damn it, how many times are those damn Gundam pilots going to show up and trash the place just before we move out a new model?! First it was Chang, then that Arabian pacifist, and now the Laughing Wonder makes an appearance! She winced as 'Don't Fear the Reaper' blasted out at a couple of hundred decibels. At least the other two took it seriously... I think I preferred it before we found out who they were. He tried to sneak back then.
Leaping into her white Taurus, she brought all the systems active and moved out to confront the Gundam. Behind her, the rest of the base's pilots followed suit.
"Surrender!" she yelled over her loudspeakers, cranking the volume as high as possible to compete with the lyrics blasting out from Deathscythe. "You're surrounded and outnumbered!"
The music cut off. <<Lemme think about it... naaaaah! I don't think so.>> Duo's amplified voice boomed out. <<But y'know, I don't really feel like trashing you guys. I mean, it's a beautiful night, the moon is up; it's spring, and a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of not making sushi out of a bunch of cannon fodder. I'm only after those suits, so why don't the rest of you just sit this one out?>>
"I don't think so," Noin snarled.
<<Well, that's just too bad. You see, I figured you'd react that way, so I sneaked in here last night and uploaded some fun stuff to your suits' main computers. They should kick in right about... now.>>
Noin's mobile suit stopped dead. The viewscreen stayed active just long enough for her to see the other suits around Deathscythe start to do various things -- fall over, run in circles flapping their arms, waltz -- then the external view shut off and was replaced by a recording of Duo, waving and grinning.
<<Hi Lu!>> he said brightly. <<I figured since I can tell your suit apart from all the others -- classy paint job, by the way, though I usually prefer black myself -- I'd set up something special, just for you. I was just going to post these to you; but since you're gonna be stuck in there for a while, here's some pictures to keep you amused. The disk is stuck under your chair. 'Bye!>>
His image fuzzed into static as Noin scrabbled under her chair, found the disk and yanked it out. Her eyes widened as she read the label.
"'Sexy Zechsy pics'?!"
She snapped her head up to stare at the screen just as the first picture flashed up.
"Oh, boy."
Zechs had obviously spent his last couple of days off at a hot spring, because there he was on the screen, easing himself into the steaming water and leaving nothing to the imagination.
Oh. My. GOD, she thought as picture followed picture. How the hell did Maxwell get these pictures?! Oh wow, look at that... he's gorgeous! Noin shifted unconsciously in her seat, tugging at the neckline of her top. I'm getting all hot and bothered here--
Hang on... it's not just me. It's really getting hot in here! What's going on?
Duo's program had locked her out of all the controls, but she could still look at the settings; she brought up the menu for the environmental system and swore as she realised it was set at something approximating the Sahara.
An explosion somewhere outside rocked her suit.
"Shit-- the suits-- aaaagh! MAXWELL, YOU BRAT!"
~*~*~*~
Thank god he'd set it so the pictures shut off and the computer wiped itself when they finally cut the suit open, Noin thought, or I'd never have lived it down!
...I kept the disk, though.
* * * * *
Relena sighed as she shut down the vidphone. "Howard hasn't seen him, either," she reported. "He says he'll start his contacts looking, but 'if Duo doesn't want to be found, I don't hold out much hope'. What about you?"
Quatre smiled slightly at Relena's imitation of Howard's gruff voice, but shook his head. "I finally tracked down Hilde; did you know she was getting married?"
"No! Really? Goodness, it's so easy to fall out of touch with people--" She stopped, wincing.
"Yes... well, she's Hilde Michaels now, extremely happy, possibly pregnant and not worried about Duo at all. I asked if she'd heard from him since the war, and she said, 'Oh, no, but you know Duo, he'll turn up when he wants to; he's probably off raising hell somewhere'." His mouth twisted. "Then she started telling me all about what colours Peter dear is going to paint the nursery. It never crossed her mind that maybe I was calling because something was wrong."
"You can go on for a long time assuming that no news is good news," Relena said softly. "I certainly did. And when I did wonder if everything was all right, I told myself that maybe he was just giving Heero and I time to... well... settle into our relationship without him around. As if Duo Maxwell was ever the shy and retiring type! But I think... I believed it because it was what I wanted. I wanted time alone with Heero without his 'old lover' complicating matters, even though I knew their relationship wasn't like that, I knew he was the best friend Heero ever had -- the best friend I ever had. He brought us together, damn it-- Excuse me!" She got up and stumbled out, fresh tears blurring her vision.
- - - - - - -
Tears over and done with for now, Relena washed her face in the handbasin, then looked up at the mirror. Her reflection stared back, red-eyed and blotchy, sorrowful and slightly accusing.
"Don't look at me like that," she whispered. "I don't like you very much right now." She turned away and blotted her eyes dry with a soft towel. I owe him my happiness, and I still spent eight months trying not to think about him. Maybe I didn't realise I was doing it, but still--
I haven't cried this much since that day I walked in on them...
~*~*~*~
Relena crumpled onto a secluded park bench, sobbing into her hands. I knew they were close, but I never thought they were lovers. I thought I had a chance-- Heero--
All this time -- oh, they must have been laughing at me behind my back!
Beginning to get herself under control, she groped for a handkerchief. No. Not laughing. They wouldn't. Even Duo... he can be so annoying, but he's not nasty. He wouldn't make a joke out of this... would he?
Sniffing, tears running down her face, she nearly swore as her fingers searched frantically through her bag. "Oh, for... silly little rich girl, can't do anything for herself... don't I even have any blasted tissues?!"
"Here," a voice said, and a hand thrust a large white handkerchief in front of her.
"Thank you!" she blurted out, and buried her face in it, mopping up tears and blowing her nose. "It's very kind of you--"
She looked up and froze.
"Hey, ojousan," Duo said. "I think we need to talk."
"I--I'm sorry," she said, looking away. "I just... walked in-- I didn't know--"
**--Heero and Duo on the sofa, Duo cradling Heero gently in his arms, one hand running up under his shirt to stroke his back. Heero's face tucked into the join of Duo's neck and shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around Duo's waist. Duo's leg wrapped around Heero's hip. Heero's wide-eyed, shocked, vulnerable expression as he looked up and saw her standing wide-eyed in the doorway--**
They'd been fully clothed, but the tender emotion in their embrace had been undeniable.
"I won't bother you again," Relena said quietly.
"Now that's where you're wrong, hon," Duo said, sitting down beside her. "I know what that looked like -- and in some ways, it was what it looked like -- but you shouldn't give up on Heero because of me."
She sniffed, not looking at him. "It looked like you love him... and I don't want to interfere with that."
"You won't," he said seriously. Tipping her chin up, he forced her to look at him. "Look, Relena, I don't lie. He loves me, but he's in love with you. Just like I love him, but I'm in love with -- uh, somebody else."
She couldn't help raising an eyebrow. "'Uh, somebody else'?"
He coughed, embarrassed. "Well... since we're being brutally honest here... it's Wufei. But for God's sake don't tell him! I'm kinda hoping he'll figure it out for himself. Okay?"
"Okay. ...So, if we're being 'brutally honest', tell me: if... what I saw... wasn't exactly what it looked like," her hands clenched on the handkerchief, "what was it? Please."
"Right. Brutally honest. Can I be 'brutally honest' without going into the squicky details? 'Cause y'see, ojousan," he rushed on, "there are some things Heero doesn't want you to know, and I don't want to tell you, and believe me, you don't want to know. If you ask, I'll tell you; but I don't think you should. Heero..." He paused. "Heero just got back from a mission. It went... badly wrong, and he needed someone who understood. That's what you saw. Exactly what went wrong, and why I understand, is where we get into the squicky details."
"Is that why he looked so... so..."
"Yeah."
She looked down at the handkerchief twisted around her fingers. "And he went to you because you understand."
"Yeah."
"But... I love Heero. And if he loves me... Duo, I want to understand him!"
"No you don't."
She jerked around, mouth open to object, and froze.
Duo was looking at her with his expression completely open and transparent, hiding nothing. The jester's mask was gone for a moment; he looked tired and older, lines of old pain and sorrow etched faintly on his face. And his eyes...
She looked away.
"The things you don't understand about Heero are exactly the things he wants to protect you from," he said calmly; none of the pain she'd glimpsed showed in his voice. "I understand, because the same things have happened to me. We've been trained to kill in every way possible, and we've used that training a thousand times. We've been captured and tortured. We've screwed up on missions and had to go on, knowing that we killed people who didn't deserve to die..." His voice trailed off. "None of that has ever happened to you, and it never will."
After a long pause, she managed to reply. "So I can never understand him?"
"You understand enough, ojousan. Besides, he doesn't need you to understand everything! Just understand what you can, and accept the rest; that's all anyone can offer the one they love. Hell, I don't understand everything about Heero, and he definitely doesn't understand everything about me."
She peeked sideways at him. "Are you lovers?"
He grimaced comically. "We're still being brutally honest, right? Damn. Er... 'were' is more accurate. And do we have to say 'lovers'? I mean, the word carries a whole lot of commitment baggage that I don't think really applies here... can we use a different term? Um... 'close companions'? 'Mutual comfort'? 'Male bonding', even?"
Relena snorted.
"Okay, so maybe that last one's a bit of a stretch..."
"It's okay," she interrupted. "I need to think about all this... but I think it's okay." She wiped her eyes and sniffed a little. "Do you mind if I keep your handkerchief for now?"
"Hey, no problem. Do you want me to walk you back to your hotel?"
"No." She stood up determinedly. "No... I think maybe you'd better go back and see if Heero... needs you. Right? And tell him, when he feels better and it's okay for me to visit... tell him to call me?"
"Sure, ojousan. And... thanks."
~*~*~*~
Relena pressed her forehead against the cold glass and closed her eyes.
I'm so sorry, Duo. Please... come back.
- - - - - - -
Quatre shoved a stack of papers away from him and dropped his head into his hands.
"How could we do it, Trowa? How did we just let it slide for this long?"
Trowa put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "We'll find him."
- - - - - - -
Stalking down a corridor with a cold, angry look on his face, Heero stopped and turned, drawn irresistibly to one of the many pictures lining the walls. Duo's smiling face looked back, eyes sparkling; beside him, Heero's own face smirked.
Slowly, his expression crumpled into sadness.
"Baka," he said softly, fingers rising to brush against the glass. "I thought we were there for each other, always. Why didn't you come to me?"
- - - - - - -
Upstairs in a darkened room, Wufei sat with his head in his hands, tears slowly falling between his fingers.