Kracken
Disclaimer:I don't own them and I don't make any money off of them.
Warning:Male/male sex, graphic, language, violence.
REVELS
"You have to understand, Relena."
"I think you're confused, Heero, spending so much time with only men..."
"There were women soldiers, Relena."
"You didn't spend so much time with them."
"Noin. Sally Po..."
"They are older women. You respected them too much."
"I didn't."
"You don't respect women? Maybe you're angry at the mother that you never knew? Maybe you need to talk to someone...?"
Heero scrubbed a hand across his face as he leaned against the railing of the high balcony, post war revelers dancing and partying below them in the courtyard. "I told you, many times, that I'll only break your heart."
"Because you wanted to die during the war," Relena reminded him. In a blue ball gown, her hair swept up in a tight coiffure, she looked much older. "It can't be that way now, can it? It's over. You have a life ahead of you."
"It doesn't matter what I have ahead of me," Heero said as he picked out one reveler in particular in the evening light, laughing and chatting as he celebrated with gusto. Someone had tied a black silk ribbon in Duo Maxwell's braid, he noted in amusement, and put him in a red formal long coat in an attempt to 'civilize' him. He looked like a young man playing dress up, all to ready to run down to a mud puddle and make a disgraceful mess of things just for fun. "I only want one person. I'm sorry that you can't be that person."
"You're too young to make a decision like that," Relena cried. "You'll change it. I know you will."
Duo looked up, as if sensing eyes on him, and saw Heero. He waved cheerily, eyes sparkling in the lamplight."No," Heero told her as he waved back with a smile, "I won't change my mind. Even if he never feels the same way."
___________________________________
Two years ago they had fought a war to end all wars.
"Time enough," Relena muttered. Time enough for Heero to come to his senses.
"Ms. Peacecraft?"
"Did I thank you for escorting me?" she asked politely.
"Yes, Ma'am," Duo assured her.
Relena adjusted her seat belt over her formal coat of state, the stiff starch collar biting into her neck. Beside her, Duo seemed equally uncomfortable in his dress Preventer uniform. He smelled like leather from his gun holster, after shave, and new uniform.
"You haven't been to a dress function before?" Relena wondered.
"No, ma'am," Duo replied, eyes scanning the roadway ahead and to both sides of them. "I'm a field agent, not a beat cop."
"Then I don't understand," she said. "Why are you my escort today?"
Duo grimaced and looked embarrassed. "It's a punishment. I was hot dogging a bit too much during a mission. This is supposed to teach me a lesson of some sort. I couldn't really figure out what Une meant, though. Unless she wants me to die of boredom?" He started, as if realizing that he might have said too much and quickly added, "Sorry, ma'am."
Relena didn't reply and he went back to guarding her, eyes on everything around the car, as if he could do something about it, if something did happen.
He had matured, but had, somehow, managed to keep that 'boy from the street' look. He seemed to be playing dress up, still, ready to jump into that mud puddle and do something irreverent to his formal clothing. The eyes gave him away, though. They caught the light; purple, then blue, then some color of indigo inbetween, and holding the promise of something deadly. Those eyes told her that he would do something if they were attacked, however difficult the task, and someone wouldn't live to regret his actions. That look shouldn't be owned by a seventeen year old, Relena thought sadly, but found it hard to offer much more sympathy for her rival.
This was the young man that Heero wanted. The one he was waiting for. The one he would always wait for, whether Duo ever realized it, or not.
She tried to imagine the two young men together and blushed hotly. She couldn't think what two males could find in each other, or how it would ever benefit Heero to pursue a relationship like that with Duo. He was confused, Relena insisted to herself. He needed help to understand what she was offering; a chance for a stable life and even the chance for a family.
The blush was for herself, then, as Relena imagined a life with Heero. It had to be, she insisted firmly. Somehow, she had to make Heero look at her and see the better possibilities.
"I haven't heard much about you, after the end of war celebrations," Relena said, wanting to find a weapon of some sort to help her. "Being famous,I'm sure that you've had your pick of positions." She gave a cultured laugh and added, "I'm sure that women are propositioning you constantly."
Duo looked at her uncomfortably."Ma'am?"
"I'm sorry," she replied with faked contriteness."I didn't mean to get personal. Heero always tells me how he can pick and choose between women. They're always throwing themselves at his feet.I was simply too curious as to whether you had the same problem?"
Duo looked confused, but then something passed over his face that she couldn't define and he smiled and shrugged. "I guess, though, it doesn't matter much to me. I'm too young, for one thing, and I'm gay."
Relena felt a moment of shock.
Duo grinned at her expression. "Haven't met any gay men before?"
"I suppose so," she replied, "I've never considered it before, though."
Duo shrugged."We're everywhere, you know, sometimes in places you least expect it."
"How do you know...?" slipped out of her mouth before she could stop it.
Duo's blunt fingers drummed over his knees, as if he was picking and choosing words carefully, before he replied, "How do you know? I mean, you just do, right?"
A reply fit for a young womens' ears. Relena thought in annoyance, and felt patronized. She almost said, 'But what I want is normal.', but stopped herself. She had a reputation to uphold. She didn't want word to spread that Relena Peacecraft was a bigot. She couldn't help how she felt, though, especially where it concerned Heero.
"I suppose being gay hasn't been any kind of problem for me, though," Duo said, almost as if he were speaking to himself as he checked their surroundings for danger again. "I mean, I'm still getting over the war, getting used to peace, getting used to a handbook that says, 'read them their rights and then arrest them.' I used to just plug them and move on. At seventeen, that's a lot on my plate. I'm sure Heero's having the same problems."
"No, he's not," Relena said promptly.
Duo looked at her then, skeptically. "Maybe he hides it really good? He wouldn't want to get you upset."
"We're friends," she insisted. "He would tell me."
"Okay," Duo replied, giving up too easily. Again, Relena felt patronized.
She couldn't help asking, "He doesn't talk to you? You do work together."
"He's... quiet," Duo replied thoughtfully. "He must feel more comfy talking to you."
There was some bitterness in his words. She could sense it. It could be that Heero's single minded attraction might not be in vain after all.
"Well,"she said as they pulled up to a grand government building and the throng of people waiting for her, "We are more than friends, after all."
Again he had that look on his face that she couldn't define. Not heartache, not anger, not even envy. Confusion, maybe, as if she had pronounced a word so wrong that he couldn't understand what she meant.
"Show time," Duo said, all business now as he checked his earmic for disembark orders, one hand on the gun inside his dress coat, and his eyes scanning the crowd.
He would die for her, Relena thought, with some guilt, but her heart was set. As she was finally allowed out of the vehicle, Duo at her elbow, she vowed that she would do whatever it took to make sure that Heero didn't make the mistake of his life by pursuing a relationship with Duo.
--------------------------------------
"A formal complaint?" Duo stared at his computer screen in incomprehension. "What the hell?" He read it over carefully, the very well worded lines saying the impossible. Distracted while on duty. Fraternizing with female guests. Offensive conversations with strong sexual content. Unwanted propositions of a sexual nature.
"Care to explain Agent Maxwell?" Une asked as she looked over the rim over her glasses at Duo in a cold manner.
"I'm gay!" Duo protested. "It's on my personal records!"
"Then you are challenging these charges?" Une wondered, her eyebrow raising upwards. "You are calling one of the most important personages in our new government, a shaky, newborn government, a liar?"
Duo ground his teeth together and glared for a long moment before he could trust himself to speak. Then he asked angrily, "So, what punishment does this get me?"
Her lips pursed together as she pulled her laptop back from Duo and closed it. "Official reprimand."
"Official?" Duo couldn't believe what he was hearing and he colored hotly with embarrassment. "That means public?"
"Yes," Une replied as she steepled her manicured fingers. "You will face a public reprimand in front of your peers."
"I don't have any peers," Duo retorted.
"Arrogance won't help you, Agent," Une replied.
Duo needed to know one thing and he asked it in a manner that he was sure put Une on notice that his cooperation was contingent on her answer. "Do you believe the charges?"
Une snorted. "You are gay, agent. It's on your records. That fact was verified, along with everything else in your personal files, before you were approved for a position in Preventers."
Duo frowned in confusion. "How did you verify that?"
Her smile was tight, as if she were fighting it. She finally shuffled papers and said, her attention on them, "We have ways."
"I don't think I want to know what those 'ways' are," Duo replied. "As long as you know I'm clean, though, I'll put up with this."
"My letter, commending your good service record, and your attention to proprieties, will be attached to the complaint in your file," Une explained. "Though it won't be public, those in high levels of Preventers will be able to understand the necessity of smoothing Government official feathers."
Duo sighed and raked a hand through his bangs. "I just hope that the other agents get that too."
Duo was dismissed, then. As he walked back to his office, he had to admit that he didn't really care about what his fellow agents thought of him. They were used to unconventional ex Gundam pilots doing things their own way, but they also knew that Duo, and his fellow pilots, were good enough to allow for those eccentricities. They didn't get fellow agents killed and their missions were successful far more times than the average.
No, it wasn't a reprimand that had Duo seething with embarrassment and anger. Instead, it was the fact that one man would be there to hear how Duo Maxwell had played loose and ready for action with Relena Peacecraft and other women at the gathering. Duo had worked too hard and too long to keep the respect and friendship of Heero Yuy, his partner. He didn't want to lose that because of a young woman's fantasies and accusations.
______________________________________
Heero stood in the crowd of Preventer agents, the auditorium ringing with Une's words, as Duo stood beside her, at stiff attention. Duo was in fatigues, as if he planned to go on a mission directly after the speech. His face was set in stern lines. He couldn't hide the fact that he was angry.
Duo had assured Heero that it was all bullshit, that Relena had imagined more from his good natured banter than he had intended. Relena's call had been to Heero first, though, and she had cited women who could corroborate her story. Duo, she had assured him, was a womanizer, a man who didn't care about propriety and who hadn't thought anything wrong with propositioning, lewdly, every female around him.
Watching Duo's extremely correct form, eyes forward, and chin level, Heero could almost hear Duo's thoughts; irreverent, abusive, and profane. He was loud, outgoing, and extremely charming. His slender body and strong, wide shoulders seemed poured into his fatigues. His blunt fingers were as good on a gun trigger as they were gripping a shoulder in eager camaraderie. He liked to bear hug, run a hand soothingly along someone's spine in comfort, and make a point by taking hold of someone's arm. He leaned close, eyes sparking with emotion and smile ever wide and ready on his impish face, when he talked. A woman might easily take his nature the wrong way. A woman, or even a man, might think that he meant more than he intended. That there hadn't been any complaints until then, was the one sticking point in Heero's theory.
Relena had insinuated that Duo might have been drunk. She had informed Heero that he had taken her friendly offer of a drink, too far, and that he had availed himself of the open bar freely. A man, she had said seriously, might let out his true nature when drink was involved and Duo Maxwell had definitely lost any inhibitions in her opinion.
"So," an agent said to a companion, "Maxwell's getting chewed out for being a normal guy?"
The other man snorted, "Dereliction of duty," he replied. "You're not supposed to try to hump the guests of the person you're supposed to be guarding. You slip them a phone number and do it after."
"Maybe Peacecraft was mad because he didn't try to hump her?" the man chuckled.
"I heard he did," the man laughed back and then looked appreciatively at the man on the stage. "Too bad. I thought he was gay. If he had wanted to hump me, I wouldn't be complaining."
"Let's not go there," his companion growled back.
Heero frowned. Duo had never made a secret of his orientation, but he had never openly presented a lover, or shown a public interest in just men. His appreciation, sometimes stated loudly, had been equally aimed at men and women, but his words had always been joking, teasing, and friendly. Heero couldn't remember an incident where Duo had ever expressed an interest in 'humping' an acquaintance or coworker. He could be crude and rude, but not in that respect.
It didn't add up. As he watched the end of Une's speech, and Duo's curt dismissal, Heero determined to find out the truth of the matter. He had long ago decided that he wasn't someone that Duo Maxwell could be interested in, but friendship and the solid commitment of being his partner, had been a relationship in itself. Being told that he didn't really know Duo was the same as being told that he didn't know his right arm. He had to find the truth of the matter for his own sake.
________________________________
Her collar was starched enough to cut into the skin of her neck, making a red line that was unlovely against her paleness. Her hair, piled on top of her head in ringlets was ridiculous, far too childish for her age. Her lips were painted deep red and Duo found himself watching them numbly as she continued to talk, nonstop, to their companion.
She had said something about redeeming himself and that had made Duo angry. She had put a condescending tone into it that had implied that she didn't expect him to handle himself any better this time than at their last meeting. A favor, she had called his assignment; a favor to Une and Preventers, so that they could clear their good name. Heero had been assigned along with him, she had warned him, to keep him in line and to make certain that she wasn't embarrassed yet again.
Heero had taken it in stride, shrugging and telling Duo that he was entitled to hazard pay if he needed a psychologist afterward. It had been an unexpected joke from a man of very few words and Duo had appreciated it greatly. He supposed that it was Heero's steady, calm, and supportive nature, a counterpoint to Duo's loud recklessness, that had made them good partners and closer friends.That elusive 'something more' had been on the borders of that friendship, though, waiting for the right time, the moment when age caught up with their experience.
They never talked about their sexuality, Duo thought, as he watched Heero's bored expression as Relena talked. He was that sure of Heero, though, without knowing why. His, at least was on his record and something he proclaimed easily enough for the asking, but Heero.... They were like engine parts working perfectly together in everything they did. It was simply inconceivable that the reason for that didn't include Heero being attracted to him. Relena might be in the dark about it, but Duo knew it as surely as breathing.
The man was handsome in his Preventer dress uniform, Duo thought, admiring the way it hugged Heero's strong shoulders and rode the slim line of his waist to narrow hips. The gun at his hip was almost sexual, a dangerous thing of dark metal and black leather that his hand gently caressed as he nodded periodically to what Relena was saying. His dark blue eyes were always moving, Duo thought, like his own, constantly checking their surroundings with sharp, laser like precision. He wasn't going to let politeness keep him from doing his job, in that crowded hall of wide open, marble spaces, and throngs of dignitaries and attendants.
Duo, for his part, had kept silent and almost at constant attention. He hadn't settled his eyes on anyone except Heero and Relena and he had let Heero give out all the orders. He might as well have been a button on Heero's coat, Duo thought, sourly, for all the presence he was giving to the assignment. A tin soldier in starched Preventer dress that everyone stared at curiously.
"Really lax wait staff," Duo heard when he came back to the conversation as Relena made an elegant, practiced motion of command to him.
"Miss Peacecraft?" Duo questioned.
Duo was given an irritated look before Relena gave Heero a long suffering one. She said to Duo, as she pointed across the room, "The refreshment counter is over there. Please get me a drink."
Duo replied carefully, "I'm sorry, Miss Peacecraft, but that isn't part of my duties. I'm ordered to guard your person. I can't do that over there."
"I think Heero is more than capable, Agent Maxwell," Relena snapped back. "Your orders are to follow mine. Do as you are told, or you may leave all together and I will inform Une that you have, once again, failed to show any-"
"All right," Duo interrupted her. "I'll go." He looked at Heero and saw the man looking concerned. "You're up, buddy," Duo told him and Heero nodded firmly.
Duo doubted that anything bad could happen in a large government building such as the one they were gathered in, but there was always the possibility. Leaving Heero, in Duo's mind, was the same as endangering him. While he knew that Heero was very capable of defending Relena, and himself, Duo didn't like Relena making the odds of something going wrong greater with his absence.
Someone hung an arm around Duo and leaned into him, all golden curls, sweet perfume, and glittering jewelry. Lips nipped at an ear and a sultry voice said, "I've been waiting a long time, handsome, for you to slip away from stiff and formal." A hand grabbed his crotch and fondled as the woman said, "Let's go to a back room where we can have some privacy."
Duo ducked out of feminine clutches and straightened his collar. The woman was very beautiful, looking predatory and smiling with the full expectation that he would give in to her. The throng of dignitaries and attendants weren't oblivious.
Duo was fully aware of their outraged looks, as he drew himself up to stiff attention and said, with correct formality, "I'm sorry, miss, but you, I think, have had a little too much to drink. If you'll excuse me, I have duties to attend to."
"With Milliardo Peacecraft?" she shouted, hands on hips now and face trembling in a very good display of temper and grief.
"What?" Duo looked around, and then saw the man sitting at a table with a drink in hand. In a uniform of state, white hair loose, and blue eyes curious, and as confused as Duo's, he made the mistake of acknowledging Duo with a tip of his glass. It insinuated far more than he intended.
Duo felt his face go red as he faced the woman again. "Miss, I really don't know what you're talking about. I'm getting Miss Peacecraft a drink..."
Suddenly she tossed her drink into his face. It dribbled down his uniform as she spat,"Don't act innocent, man slut! I know you've been after him. I never thought you would flaunt it here, in front of everyone. I'm so embarrassed!" She turned and fled into the crowd, leaving Duo dripping and totally flat footed.
Duo wiped at the dripping alcohol and said to the crowd of onlookers, "Uhm, I really don't know what she's talking about..."
"Sir?" Two men had come through the crowd to confront Duo. Their starched coats and nervous looks told him their business.
"This is not good," Duo sighed.
"Duo?" Heero was suddenly there, frowning, with Relena at his elbow. "What's going on?"
"I don't know," Duo replied as he motioned to his wet uniform. "I wish someone would tell me, though."
Relena looked very angry as she said to Heero, "If this doesn't prove what I have been insisting from the beginning, Heero, I don't know what will convince you." She then turned her attention to Duo and said, "Agent Maxwell, I will be speaking to your commander, you can be sure of it, but, for now, I will not allow a disruption of this gathering to continue. You are dismissed from your duties."
Duo didn't trust himself to reply to her. He met eyes with Heero, trying to convey his complete mystification with what had just happened. He wasn't sure that Heero understood. The man was being very serious and closed off, the situation, distracting him from his duties, making him nervous.
Leaving the gathering, Duo was half way down the massive front steps of the building, before Milliardo caught up with him. The man was slightly out of breath, pale hair catching a night breeze and fluttering, as he said, voicing his confusion, "What just happened in there?"
"A woman accused me of knocking boots with you, Prince Peacecraft," Duo growled. "I'm not sure why. I don't even know her."
"Or me," Milliardo added, "I assure you that I am heterosexual." His eyes searched Duo's, as if making a decision, pale blue catching lamplight. His slim hand took hold of Duo's arm as he leaned down from his height and said, "That woman was a close friend of my sister, Relena. I think that you were played, Maxwell, and I think I know for what reason. I have a great respect for you and the other pilots. I don't want to see any bad press concerning you. My advice is that you avoid my sister and anything that concerns her, including Heero Yuy."
"That would be hard, since he is my partner," Duo retorted.
"Still, I do insist on my advice," Milliardo said.
"It wasn't my choice to be here tonight," Duo insisted. "I don't want to be anywhere near that woman."
"I would adhere to that desire whole heartedly, then, Agent Maxwell," Milliardo urged.
Duo glared at him in reply and then took the steps, two at a time, and told the valet to get his car. The sooner that he was away from Relena, the better. He would explain to Heero, later, and hope that Heero believed him.
_______________________________________________
Heero was scanning the mangrove islands around them as if he expected a rocket
launch or a terrorist full frontal assault at any moment. In his shorts and
tank top, the wind blowing his hair into a unruley mess, he seemed the intense
boy from the war, again, the one that Relena had fallen in love with. Unfortunately,
he hadn't regarded her, in her bikini bathing suit, with the same appreciation.
His once over had been professional and she suspected that he had run escape
scenarios in his mind, factoring in whether the suit would hinder or help,
if they should run into trouble.
With security on other boats, at a discrete distance, Relena couldn't expect any greater privacy, or an opportunity to speak to Heero intimately. The man wasn't making that easy, though. He had taken a stance mid ship. With one hand on his gun, he was keeping his balance easily as the small speed boat dipped and rose with the light swells in the inlet. Confined to a 'safe' seat, near the controls, Relena had to raise her voice for the man to hear her.
"Can't you enjoy yourself?" Relena wondered.
"I am on duty," Heero replied.
"I didn't mean for you to be on duty when I invited you," Relena admitted, though she had requested him as her guard when she had spoken to Une. She had been too afraid to find out whether Heero would flatly refuse her invitation outside of his duties as a Preventer agent.
"You've made it very clear, that you won't tolerate insubordinate behavior, of any sort," Heero reminded her without taking his eyes from the shadowed mangroves.
Relena imagined that she heard an overtone of condemnation and replied frostily, "If you're speaking of Agent Maxwell, I would never compare your behavior, in any fashion, to that of a lecherous drunkard."
"I questioned the woman, at the gathering, myself," Heero told her. "She was very drunk and her story wasn't logical. She seemed unable to explain how agent Maxwell was acting inappropriately towards her or any guest. Commander Une accepted my findings. The inappropriate behavior was not Agent Maxwell's that night."
Relena felt her face burn with embarrassment and anger. "Commander Une didn't reprimand him? How dare she? The woman's story might be questionable, but Agent Maxwell's behavior has proven, again and again, to be reprehensible. He is a bisexual gigolo, Heero. I don't know how you can possibly continue to associate with the man."
Heero's lips pursed and then he noticeably relaxed, as if he had mentally reprimanded himself. "I am not in any position to criticize Agent Maxwell's personal life, but, as for his professional one, it has been exemplary in all aspects."
Relena was suddenly tired of avoiding the elephant in the room. She struck for the heart without mercy. If she couldn't kill Heero's respect for the man, she might, possibly, show him how futile his attraction to the man was. "Heero," she said with false gentleness. "I think that we both know how you feel about Maxwell. You have him on a pedestal. You won't hear anything against the image of him that you hold dear."
Heero looked pained, eyes lowering and face flushing with embarrassment.
Relena braved the rocking of the boat to go to him, placing a small hand on his strong arm. She could feel his tension.
"You know he's been loose," Relena went on, unable to help her discomfort about the subject from showing. "Even my brother caught his eye. If he hasn't approached you, yet, then there must be something about you that he finds... unattractive. I, myself, can't understand what that could be, but you must face reality, Heero."
Relena smoothed her fingers along his arm, "It's time to look elsewhere, to discover that there is someone who does find you everything that she has been wishing for." She leaned in close, looking up into his dark blue eyes, and added, "Someone who can give you everything that Duo Maxwell never can."
Heero looked down at her, frowning. "What I feel won't go away, just because that feeling isn't returned," he replied.
Relena felt sharp frustration and her fingernails dug into Heero's skin. "Will you live your entire life alone, then? Will you reject every happiness, because it doesn't come from a man who doesn't know you exist outside of your job? Will you continue to reject me that way?"
Heero's eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Relena. I thought that you understood. If I've hurt you-"
Relena's nails dug harder. "You haven't hurt me, yet, Heero. If you can only understand that you're troubled, that your attraction to Maxwell isn't normal, then we can both have hope, together, for-"
"Isn't normal?" Heero was frowning again. "Relena, don't you understand-"
Relena reached up and put fingers against his lips. She followed them with her lips, kissing him. When he didn't respond, she broke the kiss and glared at him. "Doesn't that mean anything to you? Can't you feel how much better that is, than what a man can offer you?"
"Relena," Heero said it as a heavy sigh and then looked away. "I'm not comfortable explaining this to you. Perhaps we should return to the docks?"
Heero didn't wait for her response. He took her to her 'safe' seat and then manned the controls. They rejoined the security detail and Heero took them back to the dock.
As Heero helped her from the boat, Relena paused and said, very seriously, "I'm going to find someone to help you, Heero. I won't let your suffering continue."
Relena didn't wait for his response.
-----------------------------------------------------
"What, Heero? I'm really tired." Duo was chucking off a weapons belt into a metal bin, his gear sitting around him near the weapons lockers. His guns were laid out on a bench, along with a set of combat knives in their well worn sheathes. Each item he tossed into the bin was cataloged by a bored looking attendant with it's ID number.
Heero took the computer pad from the attendant and made a dismissive motion with his chin. The man nodded and retreated to a back room with Duo's pulse rifle.
"I thought that I should be the one to tell you," Heero said quietly.
A month on a jungle mission had left it's mark. Sunburn, bug bites, and an elbow taped up from some injury, were the only visible signs of a hard time. There were more of them under Duo's clothes, aching and stinging, and wanting attention from someone other than a field medic sterilizing instruments on a camp fire.
Duo straightened and flipped his braid behind him. Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave Heero a weary look. "That doesn't sound like you have something good to tell me."
Heero tucked his pad under on arm and reached out to unbuckle a forgotten com pad from under Duo's arm. Duo grunted and watched him as Heero told him, "Relena has asked for your job."
Duo scowled. "I don't think that she would make a good agent, Heero," he replied sourly.
Heero knew that Duo wasn't misunderstanding. "She has the backing of the government. Your actions have made them concerned about your stability."
Duo found it hard to say anything for a long moment. Heero recorded the com pad and tossed it into the metal bin.
"Your investigation didn't count?" Duo asked, trying to speak through boiling anger.
"No," Heero replied and wouldn't meet Duo's eyes. It was guilt, Duo realized and couldn't understand what could make the man blame himself for any of it.
"Why the hell not?" Duo pressed. "You know this is all bullshit! I don't know why anyone is taking any of this seriously. This last mission, alone, should prove my 'stability'. I went by the book and completed it with all gold stars."
"My investigation is suspect. They cite personal bias," Heero replied.
Heero put down the pad, on top of the bin, and seemed to be preparing for some sort of action. From him? Duo wondered and was shocked.
"Personal bias?" Duo echoed. "You're my partner. You've logged in hundreds of reports, and never pulled your punches when you thought that I handled something wrong. Why would they think that you would now?"
Heero was finding the scuffed top of the bench more interesting than Duo's face. He cleared his throat and seemed to search for words. At last, he replied, in an even quieter voice, so that Duo had to lean a little forward to hear him. "New information has come to light concerning..."
Duo was frozen, still leaning forward, and head cocked a little. His braid slid down over his shoulder and swayed gently between them. "Concerning?" Duo prodded.
"My... My feelings towards you," Heero finally said and then actually flinched, shoulders hunching slightly as if bracing for a coming blow.
"Feelings?" Duo repeated, mystified. He was shocked that Heero wasn't physically attempting to block whatever blow he thought might be coming his way. He was willing to allow Duo free reign. To hurt him. To punish him for...
Duo suddenly understood. Relief washed through him along with a rush of exhilaration. He smiled warmly. Heero stared back in confusion, still expecting the blow.
"It would have been nice," Duo said as he straightened and slowly reached out a tentative hand to touch Heero's tense arm,"if you had told me about those feelings, first, instead of someone else."
"I didn't think..." Heero choked on emotion, hoping, but afraid to hope.
"Idiots," Duo chuckled, as he slid his hand along Heero's arm and then stepped closer. "Both of us. Let's stop being idiots. I've been wanting to tell you, how much I cared about you. The time never seemed right, though. Growing up and making a career is hard work. We've both gotten there, though, so, now it's time for the other, important things in life, right? Being together first of importance, of course. Don't you think so?"
He knew he sounded like an idiot, words rushing out and probably not making much sense.
Heero took hold of his braid and slowly pulled Duo closer by it. His face was still serious, though, still full of guilt. "I told Relena, a long time ago, about how I felt about you," he admitted. "She never understood. She wanted me for herself. She's willing to destroy your career, your life, to get me. This is all my fault."
"You're still being an idiot," Duo growled. "That makes it her fault, Heero."
Heero didn't look as if he believed Duo.He was stroking Duo's braid with strong fingers, staring at it as if he thought that he might be dreaming. "I've wanted to do this,always,"Heero said with emotion.
"I've been wanting you to stroke other things," Duo chuckled crudely and Heero smiled and blushed. "Let's get my gear checked in," Duo said as he pulled off the last of his equipment,"and talk in a better place about those things."
Heero nodded, but then looked worried."Duo, the order to terminate your position with Preventers is on Une's desk. She must sign and execute it."
Duo snorted, "She's tried to execute me before, remember? She won't get to do it this time, either. We'll make sure of that."
"How?" Heero wondered.
"The truth is always unavoidable, Heero,and Relena is going to find that out."
-------------------------------------------------------
"Why are you wearing... that, Heero?" Relena asked nervously.
Heero smiled as he adjusted his tie and then the lapel pin that read, 'Proudly Gay'. It was small and tasteful, made of gold with silver lettering, and went well with his dark suit.
"Because I am," Heero replied. "and it's true."
Relena was dressed in a silver sheath dress, the diagonal neckline graced with delicate silver and white ruffles. With her golden hair up and her diamond earrings glittering from her ears, she was a perfect contrast to Heero's suit. She had counted on that, had sent Heero the suit specifically for the gathering.
"This will... embarrass me," Relena tried, her temper showing in her eyes as she looked around the ballroom and tried to see if anyone had noticed. "I'm asking you to take it off."
"Relena, I'm surprised," Heero replied and looked disappointed. "I thought that you would be less... prejudiced."
Relena put a small hand on his arm. "Heero, if I believed that you were gay, I would be more accepting. When you are away from the influence of Duo Maxwell, once and for all, you'll see that you're not gay, that you are 'normal', just confused."
"I am normal," Heero sighed as he touched the pin. "I'm a normal gay male."
Relena faced him, taking both of his hands in hers. "Heero, I want to make an official announcement, tonight. I want to tell everyone that we are engaged to be married. I know that you care about me. I know, deep down, that you love me, or you wouldn't have risked yourself for me so many times. I don't want to make you angry with me, but I filed papers with Une, backed by the government, to have Duo Maxwell removed from his position with Preventers. Once you don't have to work with him, and see him so often, you'll understand how much you care for me. I'll hire therapists. I promise you, you'll be happy, once you realize that this," she touched the pin with well manicured fingers, "is a lie."
Heero pulled his hand away from her and took a small step back. "Relena, you're living in a fantasy world and it's time for you to see a therapist, not me. Your charges against Duo have already been dismissed. You forget who we are, and our skills. It was easy for us to refute all of your claims and to make your 'witnesses' recant their testimony, once they realized the consequences of lying in court."
Relena looked furious. "I admit that I tried to discredit Maxwell, but it was for your own good. I won't lose you, Heero. Not to this, not to him. I'll find another way to make him, 'go away'."
Duo appeared behind her, in full Preventer formal uniform, and waggled a recording device at her as he passed her and turned to stand by Heero. An uncomfortable looking fellow agent was at his elbow. Duo grinned at her and said, "That sounded like a threat, Ms. Relena. Did that sound like a confession and a threat, to you, Agent Haskins?"
Haskins replied, nervously, "Y-Yes, sir, Captain Maxwell."
Duo waved a small card. "Haskin's authority to record you without your permission, Ms. Relena, and his authorization to conduct this investigation, so it's all legal."
Relena straightened to her full height, very sure of herself as she said, "I don't think that even you would bring down the head of our new government with a scandal. Une wouldn't condone it. The consequences-"
"Corruption allowed to flourish, in any government, is a cancer that eats up humanity, Relena," Duo told her. "What do you think we gave up our youth for? What do you think we're fighting against, right now, using up the rest of our lives for? It's to stop this, exactly this. You're a child, a child that needs help. A child who shouldn't be wielding the power of a government to get her messed up wishes."
Relena glared. "Your intentions are not policy. I refuse to believe that anyone will back your altruism."
Duo insisted, "I think that you need to realize that Heero and I are not people that you can manipulate and frighten with your position. I think that you need to understand that we won't let anyone stand in the way of our relationship."
"Is that a threat, Agent Maxwell?" Relena wondered sharply, though she was looking alarmed, realizing that some sort of confession had been made, and that Heero's feelings were not so one sided, now.
Duo grinned wider. "We don't have to threaten. We have the truth," he told her firmly and took Heero's hand in his. Heero returned the hold tightly.
"What do you mean?" She demanded.
"I'm not yours, Relena," Heero replied. "You can't make me what I'm not. Duo and I are going to make sure that you fully understand that, tonight."
"Right now, as a matter of fact," Duo added. "Maybe, once you don't have Heero around, you'll be the one to get therapy, grow up, and take your position seriously. If not, well, Haskins will have his recording and his eye witness account to make certain that you don't stay in power."
"What are you going to do?" Relena demanded as she grabbed onto Heero's elbow.
"What we should have done long ago," Heero told her as he pulled away. "We're going to be together."
They left her in the swirl of well dressed guests and mounted the spiral staircase until they were above the ballroom.
"Sorry for the interruption!" Duo shouted and everyone looked up at them, curiously. "Heero Yuy and I have an announcement."
Heero lifted Duo's hand and put a gold ring on one of his fingers. He kissed it and then announced, "We're engaged."
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"Well, I'm sure that was a surprise," Duo put into that silence. "But we just thought it was a good place to make it official... well, among all of these... officials. Thank you for listening."
There was a small smattering of applause. Duo grinned at that. "Hey, thanks," he chuckled.
A few vid cameras took stills in the confusion as Duo and Heero returned to a mortified Relena, still holding hands.
"How could you!" Relena exclaimed. "This will be on the news. I'll be a laughing stock!"
"And who is to blame for that?" Duo wanted to know. "You're the one not facing reality."
Relena's jaw tightened with barely held emotion. "You both can leave. Don't think that you've heard the last of this!"
"For your sake, I hope you're bluffing," Duo retorted. "Come on, Heero, Haskins. Let's go celebrate me and Heero's engagement."
----------------------------------------------------
"Happy?" Duo purred as he stabbed a piece of sausage from Heero's plate and then ate it with slow relish.
Heero smiled."That's a stupid question. Are you that insecure?"
"No, I just like to hear it," Duo said after swallowing. "Three weeks, and only a few papers filed questioning your stability. A trip to psyche and that was cleared up. Nothing stands in the way of you being happy, so it's gold to hear you say it."
Heero reached across the small table and took Duo's hand in his. He looked around their kitchen and on through the doorway into the rest of their home. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm dreaming. This is everything that I've always wanted."
Duo pulled in his hand and kissed it hard and rough and then stood up. In a robe and boxes, his long, lean waist was bare. "I don't need to tell you how happy you've made me, but maybe I can show you?"
Heero's smile warmed. "As many times as you'd like."
The doorbell rang and Duo scowled. "If that's something stupid..."
Heero chuckled. "Isn't that what we've wanted, as well? Normal, stupid, everyday, a regular life?"
Duo sighed as he cinched closed his robe and headed for the door, "In small doses and not when it's inconvenient. I was thinking more along the lines of, paying bills that say Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy, resident, and internet bills that say Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy, resident, signing loans, and buying cars that say-"
"Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell, together," Heero finished. "I like that, too, but the rest comes along with it, even if it's Mr. Jenkins calling to complain about your..."
Duo looked over his shoulder, eyebrow arched, "My what?"
Heero shrugged and corrected, "Our lilac bush leaning over his side of the fence."
"You'd think being a heroes, in and out of Preventers, would get us a pass on trespassing lilac bushes," Duo replied and then opened the door.
Relena stood uncertainly, purse clutched in white knuckled hands. "I'm here to speak to Heero," she said as if ready for a battle.
Duo sighed. "Haven't you caused us enough trouble?"
"I'm not causing trouble," Relena replied defensively. "I'm..." she swallowed hard, blushing. "I want to talk to him, not you."
Duo leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. "No. You won't talk to him. If you need an explanation of why he's not interested in you, look it up. He's done trying to teach you the birds, the bees, and when they don't like flowers."
Relena blinked, confused.
Duo bulled forward, "Relena, Heero is happy. This is what he wants. This is what I want. You need to move on and live your own life, now, because he's never going to be yours."
"I-I realize that, now," Relena said sadly. "I still don't understand any of this. He needs a family, children, a stable hime...me, not someone who will only push him further and further into the war. You can only keep him fighting, keep him from knowing peace."
Duo reached out and grabbed her sleeve. Her eyes widened as he pulled her into their living room. ""Look around you!" He demanded, waving his hands expansively. "This is our home. It's peaceful and full of our love. See that? A picture of us on the beaches of Hawaii. Does Heero looked sad? Battle worn? There, a picture of us at last weeks picnic for war orphans. Does he look sad, not at peace? Look a picture of him playing... playing, Relena, kickball with the children. There are other ways to have children in your life, other ways to make a happy home, other ways to be at peace, even when you need to fight to keep that peace for other people as well. We love each other, Relena. I can only hope that you find someone like that someday. Then you'll realize what a selfish cold thing you were offering to Heero, calling it love."
Duo pulled her back to the doorway and gave her a light push out. "Leave us alone. Leave him alone. If you really care about him, you'll do that."
Relena was weeping, softly. "I only wanted-"
"What you thought was best, for Heero, but mostly what you thought you wanted," Duo growled back, not showing her mercy. "Face it. Grow up. Leave us alone."
Relena wipe at her eyes and gave a shaky nod. "All right. " her chin firmed then and her eyes were fierce as she gave Duo a hard look, "You will give him peace, or I will..."
"What?" Duo grunted, but then shook his head, "No, don't answer that. It doesn't matter. I don't intend to let Heero down."
"Tell him-" Relena began, looking desperate.
"Nothing," Duo finished firmly. "I'm not telling him anything from you."
She looked hard for a moment but then softened and nodded. Duo closed the door on her and then leaned his back against it as if he needed to keep her out by force. He found Heero standing close by. Holding out his arms he pulled Heero into his embrace.
"Sorry, love," Duo whispered.
"Nothing to be sorry for," Heero said against his neck, hot breath stirring the small hairs there. "You said everything that she needed to hear. Everything was the truth."
"Maybe... Maybe she'll get it now and leave us alone?" Duo wondered.
"I hope so," Heero replied and slid hands down along Duo's spine. Cupping Duo's ass in his large hands he said huskily, "Your defending me, saying all those things, made me want you even more."
Duo chuckled as he turned to slip an arm around Heero's waist. Leading him back into the kitchen he said, "After breakfast, love, and some time to forget that she was ever at our doorstep."
"We have time," Heero agreed. "We have our whole lives."
-----