AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hey. I’m so sorry it’s taking me SOOOOO damn long to post anything. See, I’m in the army right now and time is a precious resource. I have ¾ of this chapter written down already, but since I don’t know when I’ll be able to complete it, I’m going to post it in THREE SEPARATE PARTS, which are all one of the SAME CHAPTER (like I did with “Dark Desires” at the time).
Since many people gave up on this story the minute Sarah entered it, I figure that it doesn’t matter anyway if I continue it or not. But if you’re still reading it then I’m glad. It means that my arduous efforts to write this are not in vain. I thank you and wish you luck in enduring the last chapter of Born Again.
Enjoy.
Naomi
AC 214.
Half past midnight, a knock on the door. The bang echoed hollowly in the large, dark, living room, its sound consistent. Outside the rain was pouring, water sliding down the living-room windows, breaking the soft rays of moonlight and creating a game of crystal-like beams on the furniture and floor. The entire ground floor of the middle-class suburban home was silent and shadowy, a few discarded toys lying at the foot of the sofa and a baby-bottle dripping milk over the polished coffee table.
The pounding on the door continued, growing louder and more urgent. It overcame both the sound of rain and the ticking of a clock, disturbing the nighttime silence. Between the dining room and the living room, where a wooden staircase stood, a light suddenly turned on. The dim column of light spilled on the carpet before the stairway, as if setting a path towards the front door. A pair of bare feet padded softly down the stairs. Long and slim legs, clad in loose black slacks, walked across the carpet; their movements a bit waddled, probably still sleepy.
The pounding on the door would not cease, and the owner of the bare feet gave a long yawn, running his hand through a mass of chocolate brown hairs, still messy from sleep. The clicking of the door chain, followed by the turning of a lock, was heard clearly in the silence on the night, and the pounding stopped.
The door opened, revealing the sight of a worn-looking man. His black leather jacket was drenched with rain, as was the rest of him. His hair, much too long for what was customary for a man his age, was wet as well, long chestnut bangs plastered to his forehead. The man was panting silently, his cheeks flushed like he had been running for quiet a while. His shoulders were slumped and behind his messy wet bangs, was a pair of distressed violet eyes.
“Duo...” The man at the door let out in alarm, cobalt eyes blinking in puzzlement. “What happened to you?”
The longhaired man did not answer, merely continued standing still, panting. It was not hard to notice that he was shivering from the cold. “H-Heero, I...” He finally stammered, his eyes glued to the floor, unable to look up at the man before him. “I... I need to... I...”
“Damn it, Duo, you’re freezing! Come in already...” Heero burst into his words, wrapping his arm around the taller man’s shoulder and guiding him into the house. The other man did not resist and let himself be led into the house. He took a shaky breath as they walked past the living room. Raising a hand to push his wet bangs back up; he quickly scanned the familiar surrounding, his eyes catching the sight of discarded toys and two tiny baby-shoes lying under the large dinner table.
“I think you better step into the shower.” Heero’s quiet voice proposed, as he halted and turned around to face the wet and shivering man before him. He reached two hands to help him peel his soaked jacket off, the dark leather rustling loudly in the silence of the night. “I’ll make you something hot to drink and then we can talk, okay?” He continued softly, not failing to see the empty and numb look in Duo’s eyes. The man was just staring numbly at the air floating over the staircase, completely unresponsive.
“Duo,” Heero tried again, resting a warm palm on the man’s trembling shoulder.
Glazed violet eyes blinked, and slowly turned to look at the man standing but an inch near him. A small, numb, smile curled slightly on his lips. “Sure. Sounds good.” He mumbled in a tired voice, his shoulders slumped as he slowly climbed up the stairs. A pair of worried cobalt eyes watched him go, as Heero bit his lower lip in worried thoughts.
A steaming cup of hot chocolate slid slowly over the kitchen table, being nudged by a couple of slim white fingers. Duo stared dully at the steam as it rose out of the mug, following it until it disappeared into thin air. Looking up, he met Heero’s worried blue eyes, glimmering under the strong kitchen light. He took a minute to study the features of the man before him. A man, not a boy. They’ve both outgrown that age long ago. Both lost the signs of childhood from their features, their faces sharper and mature. Heero didn’t look so boyish anymore. The signs of his age showing on his face with a pair of high and sharp cheekbones, lips that hardly ever pouted and a few faint wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. Still he possessed a lot of childlike qualities, like his hair that was always tousled and the young, bright, glimmer in his eyes. Some things, Duo guessed, will never change.
Sighing, the longhaired man bowed his head and stared down at his drink. He could hear Heero sigh as well and pull out a chair so he could sit. Silence followed and he knew that the other man was waiting for him to speak. He could feel Heero’s eyes on him, examining him with the sharp awareness only Heero possessed.
Under the harsh kitchen light, Duo’s features seemed worn and ghastly. He was pale, the color gone from his skin and his eyes. He looked so small all of a sudden, insignificant under the strong fluorescent light. Wearing a large and sloppy sweatshirt he let him borrow, his wet ponytail lying limply over his shoulder, Duo seemed like a lost boy. There was no trace of the thirty-four-year-old businessman he was used to be seeing nowadays. Without Duo’s usual business suit and his body language radiating confidence, Heero was suddenly reminded that the man before him was still the lost little boy he’d always been. Sometimes, Heero thought sadly, it looked like Duo had changed so little since he could first remember laying eyes on him, fifteen years ago. It saddened him greatly, that despite all this time, despite all they’ve been through, Duo still refused to accept the change fate had brought upon them all. He was trying, and trying hard, but it looked like there was still a long way for Duo to travel before he will finally make his peace with everything in life.
Sighing deeply, Heero leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. He fixed his eyes on Duo, gaze deadly serious. “Are you going to tell me what happened?” He asked in a neutral tone, scrutinizing Duo for any reaction, trying to read him like only he could. He noted the further slumping of Duo’s shoulders and the small flickering of doubt in his eyes.
“Does it have to do with work? Trouble with the company?” He questioned timidly, knowing how much of a hard time Duo was having running Perkins’s business after the man had passed away almost a decade ago. “Did something go wrong with the Marcoss Deal?”
Shaking his bowed head, Duo wrapped both his palms around the warm mug, still staring numbly at the chocolate drink.
“I thought so...” Heero muttered, slightly frowning. “Then this is more... personal.” He concluded carefully, leaning closer to Duo. His assumption was confirmed when Duo slowly closed his eyes, a sad and wretched expression on his face. He nodded.
Having nothing to say as a reply, Heero merely nodded as well and leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs this time. They sat silently for a long while, the only sound in the kitchen was the hollow ticking of the clock and Duo’s silent sipping as he drank. He was stalling time, sipping his drink slowly with his head still bowed and his eyes focused solely on the dark fluid. He could feel Heero’s gaze on him, felt his worry, but he was not ready to speak. Not yet.
“Must have been quite an event if it made you run in the rain all the way up here.” Heero finally said, his voice quiet, like he was afraid to chase Duo away. As he assumed, Duo did not answer, didn’t even raise his gaze up. The silence returned to the kitchen. Outside, the rain stopped pouring.
“Is it Ran?” Heero finally blurted out, sick of waiting and eager to just put all the cards on the table and talk.
Duo froze, his mug held up in mid-sip. His amethyst eyes were wide, looking blindly at the air between the cup and the table. He nearly flinched when he felt Heero’s warm hand touch his arm gently. He turned to face his friend; his eyes glittering with unshed tears.
“He came back.” He whispered, his voice trembling. He heard Heero’s chair creak a little as the man stepped out of it, coming to kneel by Duo’s chair. He his warm palm was still holding his forearm gently, his gaze warm and compassionate as he looked up at Duo. There was a kind sympathy in his eyes, all warm and caring and blue. He was smiling sadly at the distressed man, his features radiating understanding.
Ever since Sarah and Heero had gotten married, ten years ago, Duo had been more or less alone. Heero had moved out of the house, started a family and moved on with his life, however things were not so simple for Duo. The violet-eyed man had been having a rough time with every relationship he had. He somehow managed to get hurt every single time; his fragile heart getting more and more blows as he kept trying. He searched desperately for the love that will sooth his heart and make him happy. He dated men and women alike, frantically searching for the one who will move his heart the way Heero had, once. Two lifetimes ago. He was burnt, many times, and time after time he was about to give up on his search, to just accept his misery, but Heero did not let him.
Heero never let him fall all the way down into the pits of a lonely hell. He caught him every single time, helped him and encouraged him to climb back up. He refused to let Duo give up; he refused to let him wallow in misery for the rest of his life. At the day of his wedding he swore, both to Duo and to himself, that he will not be the only one of them who will find his happiness. He will not be the only one to drown in love and joy. He owed Duo so much, and his love for the longhaired-man was so great, that he refused to rest until he saw Duo’s happiness as well.
It was hard, if not nearly impossible. Duo was one who fell easily to depression. During the last ten years Heero kept a close eye on him. They were like family, the two of them, but still they were much closer than those who were connected by mere blood relation. Their bond was stronger, fiercer, and it was not broken by moments of desperation, hopelessness and gloom. Their love for one another survived every fight they had, every time they raised their voice or hand against each other. Every time they thought they didn’t want to see each other’s face. Every time they cried from the hurt the other had caused. Their love survived it all. Hate, jealousy, betrayal, hurt and loss... they were beyond all that.
There were many things they fought over, many grudges they held against each other, but those times were beyond them now. They’ve grown, matured, and forged a relationship so deep and enduring that there was nothing that could draw them apart. They knew one another better than they knew anything else in the world. Their hearts were beating in the same frequency, like transmitting their thoughts and feelings to their other half. They loved each other deeply, but it was always beyond the romantic and erotic aspects. Way beyond all the materialism and romanticism of life. They’ve both reached somewhat of a “higher” form of existence. A kind of love one could call “divine”. They knew that not many received the privilege of such feelings, and they cherished it greatly.
It was this bond, this love between them, that gave the comfort and assurance that they could tell each other anything. Their darkest, deepest secrets as well as everyday life’s problems. But for some reason, the most difficult thing to speak about, were the matters of the heart. Or more specifically, Duo’s heart.
“I thought he went back to the Middle East.” Heero finally spoke, his voice both quiet and timid. “I thought... I thought he left... you.”
Sniffling, Duo gave out a chuckle/sob and hurried to wipe his tears with his sleeve. “I guess he wasn’t kidding when he promised that he’ll come back...” He mumbled, staring dully at his now damp sleeve.
“But that was six months ago, Duo.” Heero reminded him, raising his hand to touch Duo’s damp cheek. He gently turned the man to face him, looking up at him from where he was still kneeling on the floor. “You shouldn’t feel sorry for what you’ve done.”
Letting out another small sob, Duo shook his head and released himself from Heero’s gentle hold. “You don’t get it... I mean...” He sighed, taking a deep breath before speaking again. “I didn’t believe that he’d come back for me... I mean... who would believe such a thing? So I... yeah, I fooled around a little, but... but now that I think of it... no, I mean, I ALWAYS knew it but now I can’t lie to myself no more...” He babbled, frowning in confusion at his own words. He paused, thinking for a moment, before turning back to Heero and looking deeply into his eyes. “I know why things didn’t work out for me in the last six months... Since he left, all I ever thought about was him. No matter who I dated or who I slept with... I was always thinking about Ran.”
“You were hoping that he’d come back to you?” Heero asked, slowly rising off the floor and pulling his chair closer so he could sit next to Duo. He reached for Duo’s hand, and when the other turned to look up at him, he smiled. “Duo... I think that this is the first time you admitted such a thing... Even though he left you, you still believed in him. You had faith in him, in his promise.” Smiling broadly now, Heero leaned forward and hugged his friend.
Stunned, it took Duo a moment to relax into the embrace. His baffled eyes blinked, and when they reopened, they were glittering with a smile. A hint of a smile was winking from within the dark-purple depths. Duo chuckled lightly and wrapped his arms around Heero as well, returning the hug. He rested his head on Heero’s shoulder, his nose nuzzled in the crook of Heero’s neck. He stared at the short hairs at the nape of Heero’s neck, his smile growing.
“Guess it means I learned something... finally.” He mumbled, his lips brushing against Heero’s neck as he spoke. “Maybe I did fall in love with him after all...”
“And is that such a bad thing? Now that he’s back?” Heero asked, turning his head and tilting it so he could look down at Duo.
Sighing deeply, Duo detached himself from the embrace, pulling away from Heero. He sunk back into his chair and bowed his head. “I don’t know...”
The silence returned. Duo returned to sipping his (now cold) drink, and Heero was leaning back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table. He was looking thoughtfully at Duo, his gaze somewhat distant. At some point, another sound joined the sounds of the kitchen. Ceasing his tapping, Heero looked up towards the kitchen doorway. He sighed as he recognized the sound. It was a baby crying.
“I’ll be right back.” He said tiredly, slowly getting up. Duo raised his eyes up from his drink just in time to catch the tired look on Heero’s face. He chuckled silently and returned to sipping his coco. He wondered how many hours of sleep Heero was losing over these nightly sobbing. He remembered how tired Heero was back when Sarah and he had their first child. He would fall asleep at any chance he got during the day. On the train when he was on the way to work, at the diner they had their daily cup of coffee, even over the table when he he invited Heero for lunch... The young parent had always been tired. Now, two babies later, Heero was more a experienced parent, but tired just the same. His third child, Aya, was a very demanding little girl who kept both her parents up all night.
Duo couldn’t remember Heero’s first two kids being so damn noisy. But then again, he was only the “uncle”. He got to see the kids on holidays, weekends and “family” gatherings, so he only got to see them when they were more or less behaved. Besides, he loved them too much to admit that they were a bunch of naughty rascals, as Sarah often called them. He also supported the belief that ‘uncles’ should not be as harsh and reprimanding as parents. The kids were supposed to love him more because he was more fun, right? Heh... and as much as Heero hated to admit it (in front of Duo, that is) his children REALLY loved to spend their time racking havoc with ‘uncle Duo’...
Heero and Sarah named their eldest after Duo. Well, in a way. His name was Maxwell Jurie Yuy- MJ for short. He was nine-years-old and a bright little boy. He had his father’s wits, and his mother’s twisted sense of humor. At the age of nine, he was already sarcastic. He was a perfect mix of his parent’s looks: greenish-blue eyes that bore holes into a person’s soul, wild and messy pitch black hair and handsome features that no one this young should have. He had half of the Elementary School’s female population chasing after him day and night.
Their second kid, Eric, was six years old and the most energetic kid Duo had ever seen. The boy could not sit quietly for a second and he had the unique tendency to get into trouble. Nevertheless, he was a good kid, and very smart too. He just happened to prefer fun over work. Heero sometimes joked by suggesting that somehow he got Duo’s genes instead of his. But that was far from being the case because Eric was too much like his father when it came to looks, though he was trying more and more to look like his uncle Duo. He had the same hair color as Heero, only he preferred to keep his hair at shoulder length, and if his mother allowed him to get away with it- he liked to wear it down. He also had features that were DEFINITELY from an oriental origin, even though he had bluish-gray eyes. Also, and much to Duo’s happiness, the boy thought him as the coolest guy who EVER lived, making him his idol.
Lastly, there was little Aya Yuy, ten-months-old and the most adorable of the three. She was a perfect mirror of her mother’s looks... only about thirty years younger. She had her father’s eyes though, and combined with her pitch-black hair and pale white skin, Duo loved calling her “Snow White”. Although unlike Snow White, this little princess rarely spent more than three hours a night sleeping quietly in her bed. She drove her parents crazy with her crying, so it was no surprise that they decided to take turns in taking care of the little infant. Tonight, apparently, it was Heero’s shift.
“Sorry about that.” Heero apologized as he stepped back into the kitchen, cradling little Aya in his arms. He was holding a warm bottle of milk in his hand, feeding it to the baby. “She was just hungry.” He explained, settling heavily back in his chair. He adjusted his hold on the baby, making sure her head was tucked securely in his folded arm, and then looked back at Duo. He frowned as he noted that the other man had been staring at him.
“What?” He asked, feeling very self-conscious under Duo’s gaze.
Duo chuckled and shook his head. “Nothing.” He answered, smiling.
Heero’s frown deepened in thought, and then he snorted, rolling his eyes. “Get over it, Duo.” He muttered, looking down at Aya as he adjusted the bottle of milk, making it easier for her to drink. He used his little finger to wipe the white fluid that dripped down her chin, still holding the bottle with the same hand. He smiled down at her when he saw her reach two little palms to hold the bottle as well. The infant then closed her eyes and continued to suck the bottle silently.
Heero could still feel Duo’s amused gaze on him. He looked up, glaring half-heartedly at the man. “Stop it.” He said, as if offended. “It’s not like you’re seeing me do this for the first time.”
Duo chuckled again, covering his mouth with his hand. “Yer right. Sorry.” He apologized, his eyes shining with amusement. “I just... heh... really brings back some old memories...”
Heero rolled his eyes. “As if you ever had me sucking off a bottle... get real, Duo.” He muttered, shaking his head in a rebuking way.
“It’s not that.” Duo explained, smiling as he looked at Aya’s serene face, safe and loved in her father’s arms. “I was just thinking about the way you were back then... before everything.”
“During the war, you mean.” Heero asked, his attention focused on his child, pulling the bottle a little, but Aya moaned in displeasure so he figured that she wanted more, and pushed the bottle back into her little mouth. He looked back at Duo, smiling sheepishly. “I suppose I would have felt a bit awkward with a child in my arms...” He said, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.
Duo snorted and chuckled at the same time. “You have no idea...”
“But things changed.” Heero stated, his voice serious once again.
“Yeah...” Duo answered with a sigh, the solemn expression coming back to his face. He cast his gaze down, away from Heero’s eyes, and examined the way Aya’s chubby cheeks moved as she sucked her meal out of the bottle. He smiled a little as he watched her almost inhumanly blue eyes open, gazing up at her father as she continued drinking. His smile broadened as he followed her line of sight, looking up at the parent who gazed lovingly down at his child, a smile lighting his tired features, shining in his sleep-lacking eyes.
“They sure have...” He whispered to himself, smiling.
Walking down the stairs towards the living room, Sarah yawned and fixed her white robe, tying the belt tightly around her waist. Her long black hair was gathered messily, held up with a large clip. A whole bunch of stray black hairs fell from the messy hairdo, obscuring her eyes and falling over her ears. She brushed a few annoying hairs aside as her bare feet padded over the soft carpet, towards the kitchen which was opposite from the living room. Warm rays of morning sunshine flooded the ground floor, washing the elegant furniture with golden hue. Dust particles few lazily in the air, and the black-haired woman frowned at the thought of dusting, again.
She gave out a small curse as she stepped over a toy truck, the ache in her bare foot causing her to jump in surprise. Muttering something to herself, she bent to pick up the toys, clearing the field of landmines that was also known as her dining room. Still ranting to herself that she needed to teach Eric a thing or two about cleaning after him, she threw the toys into the corner of the room, where a large basket full of other toys stood. She then quickly made her way into the kitchen, anxious for a cup of coffee.
When she entered, she immediately went for the cupboard and began boiling some water. It was only when she turned around to see if there was a newspaper on the kitchen table that she noticed that she was not alone. Sitting by the small wooden table, stirring a cold cup of coffee was Duo. His head was bowed and his gaze was fixed on the spoon he was holding. His long chestnut hair was gathered into a loose ponytail, and she recognized that it was Heero’s clothes he was wearing. She frowned, wondering what he was doing here this early in the morning.
“Duo?” She asked, coming to sit next to him, but there was no reaction from the solemn young man. “Did you spend the night here?” She tried again, tilting her head aside in question.
“Yeah.” Duo let out hoarsely, finally raising his head up to meet her eyes. “Sorry for the trouble.”
She smiled. “Not at all. You’re never a bother, and you know that.” She said, getting up. “I’ll make you some fresh coffee.” She stated, not even waiting for his reply and taking out another mug from the cupboard.
“Is there something wrong?” She asked, her back facing him as she added two teaspoons of sugar to his coffee and then reached for the kettle.
“You can say that...” Duo answered in a tired voice, leaning back in his chair, leaning his head back as well and closing his eyes. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, frowning deeply. “Gosh I’m tired...”
“I gather it has to do with Ran?” She concluded, approaching the table with two steaming cups of coffee.
Duo opened his eyes and turned to look at her, smiling. “Gee, you’re even better than Heero is sometimes...” He frowned. “Or am I really that transparent?”
Sarah chuckled and shook her head in amusement. She reached for the jar of cookies at the edge of the table, next to the wall. She took out a chocolate chip cookie and took a small bit. “Nah, just predictable.”
Duo chuckled, shaking his head as if disappointed form himself. “Since when have I become predictable?” He asked, amused, helping himself to a cookie.
“Since you walk over here in the middle of the night. Since you sit here staring at your drink as if it was a blockbuster movie. Since you fell in love and you are not willing to admit it. You pick one.” She answered casually, throwing the rest of the cookie into her mouth.
“Ah, that kind of predictable...” He mumbled as a miserable excuse for a joke, his smile slowly fading. He returned to staring numbly at his drink.
“So?” Sarah said, raising an eyebrow.
Duo looked up. “Huh? So what?”
“So what happened?”
“Oh.” Duo let out, bowing his head again. He sighed. “He didn’t lie. He really did go back home to settle a few things... an now he’s back.”
“Like he promised he would.” Sarah reminded him, sipping her drink calmly.
“Yeah.” Duo breathed, his expression miserable. “Like he promised he would.”
“So what’s the problem? Why are you so down? You love him don’t you?”
“I think so...”
“Hmmm...? You think so, or you know so? You must know by now. After all, you’ve been moping over this guy for over six months... that must mean something doesn’t it?”
Duo didn’t know what to answer. Or more correctly, he did know what to answer; he just didn’t want to admit it. Not yet. Not yet. After such along time of searching, of longing... of wishing and praying, crying and pleading which ever greater being out there to offer him just a little... just a little of this light called love... And now, after all this time, was it really over? It was hard to comprehend... the idea was almost too much to cope with. He was used to disappointment, to have his hopes raised and then crushed. He was finding it extremely hard to believe that this is it. It took him thirty-four years... but here he is. Finally on the verge of true happiness.
Or is he?
He wasn’t sure.
He needed reassurance. He wanted to be sure. He couldn’t survive another heartbreak. The human heart was not that strong. It could only withstand so much abuse. He needed to be sure before he will be willing to believe. He needed guarantee, though he was pretty sure that he was not going to get it.
“Daddy, may I be excused?” The little chirping voice of a six-year-old boy asked as the longhaired little boy looked up at his father, pouting. He was sitting in a chair much larger for his small size; opposite of his father who sat across the table, helping his mother feed Aya. Next to the little boy, sat his older brother, eating silently as he read a book. The little boy sighed and turned back to face his father. “Daddy, may I be EXCUSED?!” He asked again, trying to gain attention.
“No Eric, you may not.” Heero answered, turning to look sharply at his son. “You haven’t eaten anything yet.”
The little boy snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. “But I asked nicely!” He whined, pouting.
Sarah chuckled silently and shook her head in amusement. “Eric, speaking politely doesn’t mean that you will get away with not eating anything. You have to eat, so no more games.” She explained softly to her son, amusement in her eyes. “Although, sweetheart, it was a nice try.”
The little boy snorted. Next to him, MJ turned the page in his book and continued eating. Eric rolled his eyes and muttered something about ‘boring’ and ‘Duo is more fun’. He watched as his mommy adjusted her hold on the small baby in her arms, while Heero checked the temperature of the milk in the bottle he was holding, by placing some of it on his wrist. When he was sure that everything was fine, he turned to place the bottle in Aya’s small mouth.
“I’ll take it from here.” His wife said softly, taking the bottle out of his grasp. Their fingers brushed gently and they turned to smile at each other. Heero bent to offer his wife a soft kiss on the cheek and from across the table, little Eric made a low choking sound.
“Daddy!” He reproached, his cheeks burning red. “Stop it! I’m trying to eat, all right? And if you keep doing that TV stuff then I’m gonna puke!”
Heero glared and Sarah chuckled. “Eric, speak nicely when you’re at the table.” She said, having a hard time to hide her amusement. It was hard to teach the boy some manners and trying to tame his, uh, wild spirit, while he kept making her laugh all the time. He was too adorable and too amusing for her to refuse. The boy knew it, and he used it to his advantage. Repeatedly. Heero was always trying to be the strong one in resisting the boy’s charms, but even he was failing most of the time. The boy was a six-year-old devil. He wondered if he should refrain him from spending so much of his time with Duo...
“It’s not enough that I had to look and uncle Duo do this sticky TV stuff with Ran, now I have to see it at home?! Yuck! Cut it out already! Man, at least in uncle Duo’s house I didn’t have to eat when they kissed! Bah!” The boy continued ranting, a snobbish expression on his face and his arms folded over his chest.
At the mentioning of Ran’s name, Heero’s eyes suddenly darkened and his smile faded. Catching the change in her husband’s mood, Sarah reached a hand under the table and placed it gently on his thigh. She caressed him soothingly, feeling the tension in his body. He was still upset over Duo’s situation. He’d been tormenting himself with it all week, as he did with any problem Duo faced, trying his best to find a solution and aid his friend.
“The only thing you can really do is try and talk to him.” She said quietly, adjusting Aya in her arms once more for her limbs were falling asleep. The small girl let out a sound that might have been joyful or upset, but she quieted down when her mother stilled and adjusted the bottle in her mouth. “Either that,” Sarah continued, “Or just wait it out and see what happens.”
Heero sighed, playing with his fork between his fingers. “I’m afraid that if I’ll leave things as they are, Duo will let this chance slip by. He’ll miss it.”
“Miss what?” Eric asked over his glass of orange juice, looking curiously at his father.
“Never mind, honey.” His mother answered. “Grownup talk.” She added with apologetic eyes.
Eric rolled his eyes and continued sipping his drink. “If it has to do with uncle Duo then it’s not grownup...” He muttered to himself, which made his father smile a little bit.
“Say, Eric,” He began lightly, looking at his son with shining cobalt eyes. “How about I drop you at Duo’s place this weekend? Would you like that?”
“He can’t.” MJ’s quiet voice suddenly spoke up. He was not much of a conversationalist, so it was quite a shock to the occupants of the table. Looking up from his book and adjusting his reading-glasses, the nine-year-old smiled sadly at his father and explained: “When I called earlier, Ran answered the phone.”
There was a stunned silence after his statement and Eric nearly choked on his drink.
“No way!”
“Way.” The eldest sibling answered, looking down at his little brother with indifferent bluish-green eyes.
“Uh-uh!” The younger argued, shaking his head so that his shoulder-length hair flipped wildly form side to side. “Ran went back to the East!”
MJ rolled his eyes. “The Middle East, baka, and no- he’s not there anymore, he’s back.”
“So where is uncle Duo?” The little boy asked, his blue eyes suddenly large and frightened. “Did he leave too?”
MJ shrugged and went back to his book. “Not likely.” He said, already absorbed in the written words. “But he didn’t answer when I called.”
“Well... well... where did he go? Why was Ran there?” Eric questioned in concern, turning to look desperately at his father, the only one who always gave him a sense of safety and reassurance. Despite the fact that he preferred to spend most of his time with his uncle, there were some roles that even Eric knew Duo would not be able to perform. Some things were reserved solely for his daddy. Making him feel as if all was right in the world was one of those roles. “Everything is okay, right daddy?”
“I’m sure it is, sweetie.” Sarah answered in reassurance, but Eric’s gaze was still fixed at his father, waiting for his answer and his answer alone. No one knew uncle Duo like his father did, that much his young heart knew. He wanted the reassurance to come from his daddy.
After a while of silent consideration, Heero smiled and turned to his son. “Well, I suppose that since Ran was the one to answer the phone, then everything is all right between them...” His voice sounded less and less confident as he spoke, until he trailed off into silence.
Eric didn’t look so reassured. “You know, uncle Duo says that people should never lie...” He remarked in a skeptic voice, reaching back for his glass of orange juice. As he drank, his fierce blue eyes glared silently at his father.
The silence returned to the dining table, only Aya’s sucking on the rubber bottle and the flipping of pages in MJ’s book cutting the suffocating stillness.
“There’s no reason for you to be so worried, Heero.” Sarah called out pleadingly at her husband, watching from the bed as he searched the room for his socks and shoes. She was already lying in bed, wearing her nightgown and ready for sleep. Heero on the other hand, was still fully dressed in winter attire, a thick sweater and a scarf that hugged his neck. He was pacing the room like a bundle of nerves until he found his shoes.
“If Ran was there when MJ called then it means that they worked things out between them.” She continued, trying to reason with her husband.
“You don’t know how Duo works, Sarah. It’s not that simple.” Heero replied, breathless as he threw himself on the floor, hurrying to put his socks on.
“What do you mean?” She asked, rising a little into a sitting position. She watched him as he struggled to put his shoes on quickly.
“He’s in for another heartbreak. He brings it on himself. He will not accept Ran’s love so easily. I bet it was no more than a quick ‘welcome back’ fuck and then he stormed out of the apartment. That’s why Ran answered the phone. Duo wasn’t there. I bet you my next paycheck that he ran off somewhere like always.”
“You can’t be sure.” She said, trying to side up with Duo. She felt as if her husband was speaking badly of his friend and she felt hurt for Duo. Looking sharply at Heero as he rose to his feet, she added: “You don’t know that for sure.”
Heero let out a bitter chuckle. “The hell I do, Sarah. I’ve been there before. Duo runs. He runs and he hides so he can keep lying to himself. That’s how he really works.” He concluded with a bitter smile, running a hand swiftly through his messy bangs and pushing them backwards. He reached for the tall chest-drawer by the door and swooped his wallet and keys off the top. “This time will be no different.” He continued breathlessly, his back facing Sarah and the bed. “I have to go look for him, before it’s too late. I have to make him face it.”
“Face what? That Ran loves him? How can you know that for sure?” She challenged him, both her voice and eyes fierce.
Heero paused, his hand still in his jeans pocket after shoving the keys in. She could see his shoulders tense and his head slowly rose higher in determination. “I’m going to find out first, and then I’m going to make Duo see it as well.”
With those words he rushed out of the bedroom, his quick steps echoing in the house as he practically ran down the stairs. When she heard the front door close, she sighed, leaning heavily back on the bed. Sinking into the covers, she closed her eyes and listened to the humming of an engine fade out as Heero drove away.
From the hallway, Aya’s voice rang loudly as she started crying.
A dark blue 4x4 jeep came to a stop in front of a tall condo in the center of town, the shiny droplets of rain that covered the smooth blue metal glittering under the streetlamps as Heero parked the vehicle. The sound of the door being slammed behind him echoed throughout the empty street, followed by the sound of the alarm beeping as it was turned on. Heero ran down the wet pavement, his snickers filling with mud as he stepped into puddles. The streetlight reflected off the wet asphalt, creating a faint glow over the street. Strangely enough, the light didn’t reach the entrance of Duo’s building, and Heero had to make his way in the dark until he found the light switch.
He didn’t bother to wait for the elevator and began running up the stairwell, all the way to the fifth floor. There he stopped, panting, when he reached the desired apartment. He took a moment to just stand in front of Duo’s door, trying to catch his breath. He coughed lightly, cursing inwardly when he realized that no matter how many times a week he will go to the gym, his body will still get old and will tire easily.
Even before he had a chance to knock on the door, his hand merely halfway there, it opened. Heero gasped, surprised, and took a small step back. He was even more surprised to meet a pair of large, hopeful, brown eyes and cheeks damp with tears. Those eyes were looking straight at him, so large and vulnerable and full of hope...
“Duo!” The man at the door blurted before he even laid eyes on Heero, and his joyful smile soon turned into an expression of misery when he realized that he had it wrong. “Oh. Heero.” He let out, casting his gaze down. Sighing, he opened the door wider to let the man in. “C-come in...” He mumbled, his soft baritone voice trembling just a slight bit.
Nodding in acknowledgment, Heero stalked into the large apartment. The place was dark, but not untidy. Only a dim light shone from the kitchen, the edges of the radiance reaching no further than the small dining area by the living room. The living room was empty; the only light to illuminate the place was the pale moonlight filtering through partly closed drapes, reflecting off the silent television set. The hallway was dark as well, what lying beyond it swallowed by darkness. But Heero knew this place so well that he could walk around in the dark with ease. After all, this is where he’d spent most of his years with Duo.
Turning back to face the man before him, he ran a quick scan up and down his form. Even in this dim blue lighting he could see the tanned hue of his skin, as to be expected from someone who spent most of his years under the Mediterranean sun. His dark, pitch black, hair was cut in a simple manner, short but not too short, with two long eartails at each side of his head. The man did have somewhat of an exotic appearance, with full lips, rich dark eyelashes and almond shaped eyes that could only belong to some sort of a courtesan.
He remembered that at the first few months of Duo’s and Ran’s relationship, the longhaired baka couldn’t take his hands off this man, nor did he stop talking about him. It was the first time Duo ever acted this way towards anyone, and Heero had hoped that it would last. Now he was here to make sure that it would!
Heero’s face was serious and his tone strictly business when he finally spoke: “He’s not here, is he?”
The man before him, not much taller and not much broader than him, shook his head. He ran a trembling hand in his thick, short black hair, inhaling a shaky breath. “No, he isn’t.” He answered, his voice filled with gloom. “I woke up after we... and... and he... he wasn’t here.” He turned to look at the Japanese man before him, something akin to a plea in his large brown eyes. “He didn’t even leave a note... nothing. I can’t reach him on his cell phone... I don’t even know if he took it. Please, Heero, you’ve got to help me find him.”
He never considered Ran to be close to him, they rarely spoke, but the way the man was acting next to him, so freely and honestly while letting all of his weaknesses show, clearly showed Heero that Ran simply didn’t care about the impression he made, as long as he could have Duo back. This man was willing to do anything to get his lover back, this much Heero could tell just by looking into his eyes. There was love there. He was sure of it. Almost.
“You hurt him, Ran. You hurt him real bad.” Heero spoke coldly, crossing his arms over his chest while glaring at the Mediterranean man. “You shouldn’t have left him the way you did.”
“But I had to go! There was nothing I could do about it! I promised him that I’d come back! I promised! And I kept that promise!” Ran called out, desperate to explain. Every movement he made showed how desperate he was to prove himself to Heero. Knowing the past between this man and Duo, he knew that he had to go through Heero first, if he ever wanted to reach Duo.
“Six months and not even a phone call!” Heero barked, anger blazing out of his fierce cobalt eyes. “You have no idea what you made him go through!”
At that, Ran fell silent, bowing his head in shame. “I... I couldn’t call...” He mumbled, staring at his shoes through a tearful set of eyes.
“Ch. Don’t tell me that they don’t have any phones down in the Middle East...” Heero snorted, his tone disgusted. “You should have at least offered SOME sort of an explanation! You owed him that much! He loves you, dammit! Why did you have to hurt him like that?!”
“I can explain, Heero. I swear to you that I can. But not now... please. Time is ticking by and I just feel that he’s getting further and further away.” The man let out dejectedly, looking up at Heero with shimmering brown eyes. His full red lips were trembling as he fought the tears. Heero was close to feeling disgusted by this pathetic looking man. But then he thought better of it. The prospect of losing Duo would have brought him into a much more pitiable state, in that he was certain. No, more than certain- he knew it already for he had experienced it on his own flesh and in his own heart.
“All right.” Heero said, his voice softer than before. His expression was still stony though, as if daring Ran to mess this up as well. He will not let him off the hook so easily next time. “We’ll go look for him, and then you will explain EVERYTHING. Down to the last piece of the idiocy that ran through your head when you boarded that plane and left him. Understood?”
Swallowing, Ran [i] nodded, completely speechless under Heero’s harsh gaze. Like this, in this dim light and in such an angered state of mind, Heero’s flaring blue eyes resembled those of a cold-blooded killer. He wouldn’t be surprised if this man had killed in cold blood before. He sure seemed capable of it right now.
Eleven thirty PM, and the damn phone was ringing. Groaning as he was tore out of the realm of sleep, Chang Wufei muttered a few curses and reach blindly to the phone. By his side, curled and wrapped all around him, his wife stirred a little and then nuzzled her head deeper into his broad chest. She appeared to be sleeping, her steady breath tickling his skin.
“This better not be one of Mei’s boyfriends...” Sally mumbled sleepily against his chest, snuggling closer to him and sighing pleasantly. “It will be a shame to see you chase away another one...”
Wufei rolled his eyes at her comment and brought the receiver up to his ear. “Hello?” He answered with a sleepy voice, yawning silently while covering his mouth with his hand.
“Hello Chang. Sorry for waking you up.” Heero’s voice spoke from the other side of the line, and even without the man having to say so, Wufei could already sense that there was trouble. Heero’s voice was strained and harsh, a sure sign that he was in need of assistance. Wide-awake now, he sat up, the blanket sidling down his naked torso. Next to him, Sally opened half an eye in question. By the tensing of her husband’s body, she was now certain that it was more than just another suitor who was after her daughter’s heart.
“Heero, what’s wrong?” The Chinese man hurried to ask, his voice worried. He reached for his glasses, which lay by the phone, quickly putting them on. He spent nearly a lifetime avoiding wearing glasses, seeing them as an admission to his weakness, but now, at the age of thirty-four, he was nearly blind without his glasses and was left without much choice but to wear them. “What happened?” He asked again, certain that Heero was preoccupied with something and thus not replying quickly. He supposed that the man was driving, for he could hear the soft humming of an engine in the background.
“Long story! But the tragic ending is that Duo took off!” Heero explained, raising his voice a little, which confirmed Wufei’s suspicion that he was driving. “I was wondering if you’ve heard form him lately!?”
“No,” He answered, “The last we heard of him was last week on Lynn’s birthday.” He said, recalling his youngest son’s birthday party, trying to remember if there had been anything different about Duo. He could think of nothing, though.
“What’s going on?” Sally asked worriedly, sitting up on the bed. “Is something wrong?”
“Duo disappeared.” Wufei whispered from the corner of his mouth, turning his attention back to the phone. “Do you need help searching for him?” He asked, his eyebrows drawing near in concentration as he tried to think where the longhaired fool could have gone.
“No, it’s okay. I’ve got Ran with me... We’ll search together. I’ll keep you posted!” Heero assured, sounding as if he was about to hang up.
“Wait a minute!” Wufei nearly shouted, startling his wife.
“What is it!?” Heero’s muffled voice asked in somewhat annoyance.
“What do you mean by ‘Ran’? You mean Ran Ran... as in... Duo’s Ran?”
“Chang, what is it?” Sally asked in confusion, laying a soft hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah. That’s the one. Why?” Heero answered loudly over the phone, trying to speak over the noise of traffic. Wufei could hear a few car horns in the background. “Shit!” Heero cursed and then the sound of screeching tires was heard. “Traffic jam.” The Japanese man explained, either to him or to Ran, Wufei wasn’t sure.
“Is Ran back from his— from overseas? Already?”
“Yeah.” Heero answered curtly. “Surprised?! So was I!”
“Yes, I’m surprised, but not for the same reason. Heero, he wasn’t due back for another four months.”
“What are you talking about?” Heero asked sharply, and Wufei could already picture his blue eyes aflame with anger. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
“No... no. I don’t think I should.” Wufei muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose out of pure frustration. He could feel Sally’s soft fingers massage the tension out of his shoulders, gently, and he looked up to smile in thanks. “Call me the minute you find him, all right?”
“You know I would.” Heero answered. “I’ll talk to you later! Bye!”
Sighing heavily, Wufei placed the phone back down and slumped tiredly into the bed. He looked up at the ceiling, his onyx eyes deep in thought.
“You know something, don’t you?” Sally’s voice questioned quietly, carefully, as she did each time she knew they were discussing something that had to do with Wufei’s delicate job as a Preventer.
“I better report to Une.” Her husband muttered, turning over with a groan and reaching back to the phone.
Biting her lower lip, Sally nodded quietly and lay back down. She knew better than asking questions that Chang was not allowed to answer.
“Did you see how that guy was checking you out?! Gosh, he was like totally drooling over you!” A high-pitched female voice spoke up in excitement, followed by a few girly giggles. “I totally don’t get why you blew him of Mei!” She added in a whine, looking up at her friend with a pair of pretty green eyes. The bunch of sixteen-year-old girls were walking down the busy street in one of the main districts in town, where most of the bars, clubs and coffee shops were located. Many teens and young couples walked these busy streets, which were lighted with a colorful display of neon lights. The bright lights reflected off the puddles on the wet road and sidewalks, and some cars splashed water around as they streaked down the busy street.
Among the group of young teenage girls, dressed in a fashionable coat that reached down to her slim waist, and long, slim legs that peeked under a short skirt, walked a pretty Chinese girl with long black hair, seductive brown eyes and full red lips. After listening to the comment her friend just made, she snorted and flipped her hair back in a dismissive motion.
“He was drunk, Casey. He was a fucking drunk!” She grunted, pulling her small stylish purse higher for it kept slipping down her delicate shoulder.
“So what, he looked all right. Everybody was drunk at that club, Meiran.” Casey answered smugly, batting her long lashes in a silly manner. She was quite tipsy herself. “That’s why it said 18+ at the entrance, silly! I think it was pretty cool that we passed for eighteen year olds, isn’t it!?” She called in excitement and the girls around them eagerly agreed, giggling in girlish voices, as they drunkenly made their way down the street.
Meiran rolled her eyes and quickened her pace. She regretted ever coming here. She regretted ever listening to her so-called friend, Miss Popularity Casey Johnson! [ii] She knew better than to hang out with the likes of her! She knew better than to buy fake I.Ds and sneak into a club! She knew better! Her father taught her better!
Sighing to herself, she bowed her head and began walking faster. She didn’t want her friends to see her tears. Her makeup was probably smeared by now... she just wanted to get home, go to shower, then bed and pretend that this night never happened!
Being in such a hurry to distance herself from her group, she failed to notice that the group had abandoned her, taking a turn and entering one of the smaller bars. She was alone in the street, marching down the wet pavement as fast as her high-heeled boots could carry her. She was walking further and further away from the crowds, away from the main shopping centers and clubs. She was at the outskirts of the large entertainment center, where the darker, shabbier, complexes towered over empty streets. She stopped, looking around.
This was like a bad horror movie or something...
“What next? A rapist coming out of the shadows?” She muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the situation. Let them try! If someone would even dare to approach her, he’ll be in for more than a simple case of a damsel in distress. She wasn’t her father’s number one student for nothing. She was approaching her black belt and doing her father proud. No drunken asshole stood a chance against her martial arts skills. Certainly not when she was as pissed off as she was right now. Damn Casey!
She sighed deeply and scanned her surroundings. She was standing by a tall, shabby building, which seemed to be under construction. There were a few waning signs that alerted passer-bys not to enter the building, and a few makeshift fences circling a large hole in the ground, probably a sewer or something of that sort. The place reeked of damp wood and mold. The building that stood by the unfinished one, was in not much better shape. Between the two poorly maintained stretched a long, dark, alley that carried the stench of garbage and alcohol. She was definitely in the wrong side of the tracks, as they say.
As if on cue, much like any bad horror flick she’d seen, a low rustling sound came from behind her. She spun quickly on her heels, looking sharply into the dark alley. Narrowing her eyes, she could see movement inside the dark alley. It appeared that someone was trying to walk, stumbling and waddling from side to side as he approached her. She snorted. “Damn drunk...”
Turning back to face the street, she decided to go back to where she came from and take a taxi. The drunken figure in the alley was the last thing on her mind right now. She was about to start walking, when a loud THUD! came to her ears. Looking back into the alley, she saw that the drunk had passed out and his shadowy figure was now lying limply in the gutter.
“Disgusting... men have no honor nowadays, don’t they, father?” She wanted to leave, but her sense of duty urged her to aid the fallen man. She couldn’t just leave him there!
Cursing herself for her strong conscience, Meiran made her way carefully into the alley. Her high-heeled boots tapped loudly between the tall buildings as she stepped into the alleyway. She knelt by the stranger, running sharp eyes over his prone figure. He was completely out cold, but still breathing. In his limp hand there was a half empty bottle of vodka. She wrinkled her nose as she reached down to flip him over, but to her surprise the stranger did not smell. He was well clothed, unlike all the shabby looking homeless people she was used to seeing in this part of town. His black jeans were an expensive brand and his heavy leather jacket was stylish and pricey as well. He had a soft white scarf wrapped around his neck, hiding the long tail of hairs that dangled from his head.
She smiled slightly as she gently pulled the long ponytail from underneath the scarf, running the soft strands through her fingers. “You remind me of my uncle Duo.” She told the stranger, grabbing him by his shoulders so she could flip him over. “Though he wouldn’t be caught dead looking the way you are right no—ahh!!” She stopped with a startled scream, gawking down at the face of the drunken stranger. Only it was no stranger.
“Uncle Duo!” She exclaimed, her voice shaking and her eyes wide with shock. “Oh my God!”
At her startled scream, Duo gave out a little moan, eyes slowly slitting open to peer beyond messy bangs. His vision was blurry, and he was quite groggy, but still he could make out the face of the pretty Asian girl hovering above him. He frowned and tried to make his limbs move, to get away from the seductive creature. Probably just another whore...
“Uncle Duo?” Meiran asked in worry, seeing that he was now awake and staring at her strangely. “Are you all right?” She tried again, reaching a hand to brush the long bangs out of his eyes.
“Uhh...” He moaned groggily, raising an unbalanced hand to shove her away. His features showed his discomfort. “Su-sorry lady... but... n-n-no... thanks...” He slurred, sitting up with an effort. He yelped when he felt the sting of a slap on his cheek.
“Asshole! What do you take me for?! Uncle Duo, it’s me!” The Asian prostitute shouted, sounding more than a little offended.
Wincing, Duo rubbed his aching cheek and turned to face her again. His vision went in and out of focus, until it finally settled on her young, pretty face. He took a moment to absorb the image, trying to disregard all the makeup and the hair that plastered to her forehead. His eyes widened and he gasped quietly.
“Mei... chan?”
The girl snorted. “Yeah. The one and only. Damn it, uncle Duo, what are you doing here? What happened?” She asked, helping him sit against the wall. She watched in worry as he leaned his head back against the damp brick wall and closed his eyes. He seemed so tired... so old... She was used to seeing his features bright and cheerful, not so ghastly and miserable. His hands dangled lifelessly at his side, his legs sprawled in front of him like dead weight. She could tell how tired he was just by looking at him. Her heart began beating with pain. This was not the smiling uncle she was used to seeing at family dinners. This was a man in distress. It felt odd thinking of Duo that way. It was silly of her, she knew. She still hung onto the childish belief that adults are not fazed by anything. That people she was used seeing since childhood will always have a smiling face, and will always be there for her when she needed their smile and comfort. This time, it seemed, she was the one who had to offer comfort.
Leaning heavily against the wall, huddling close to Duo, she gently took hold of his cold hand. She felt him flinch, and he opened his eyes, confused violet-blue orbs looking at her dazedly.
“Wh-what am I..? What are you... in here..?” He slurred in confusion, blinking repeatedly as if to get his thoughts straight.
“Shit, man. You’ve got it bad.” She muttered, shaking her head. “How much did you drink anyway?”
As if to provide an answer, Duo suddenly gulped and covered his mouth with his palm. He crawled away quickly, turning to the side, and still on all four, he began vomiting. Meiran wrinkled her nose in disgust and looked away, feeling highly out of place and having no idea what to do.
“Fuck...” She let out quietly as Duo finally settled back against the wall, taking deep breaths while he looked up at the dark skies.
“Watch... your... language...” He mumbled, panting.
Meiran rolled her eyes. “Right. As if you have the right to act like an adult right now...”
Duo chuckled bitterly, closing his eyes. He moaned miserably as he drew his knees up to his chest, burying his head in his kneecaps.
But then again, it was always hard to think of Duo as a grownup. He was a silly, silly, man who never did seem to grow up. Looking at him now, she wondered if it was all an act he put around she and the other kids. It was not possible for a man to be so carefree and cheerful. And she was not blind; she knew that Duo had his own set problems in life. Either the company he was running or the many MANY lovers she’d seen him with during the years.
As a child, it was easy to fall for his charms and his smiles. Now, being a little more grown up, she was able to see past it. Pass the illusionary image he had created for her and the rest of the kids. Pass the flirting, carefree, cheerful person he tried to make them see. She saw past it now, and truth be told, it scared her more than any fear she’d ever known.
The discovery of something very dark, very lonely, something so painfully human inside her usually cheerful uncle, was frightening more than the concept of death. She had to admit, there was a good reason they used to call this man Shinigami. The dark depths of his eyes were like the pits of Hell itself. It anguished her to look at them. She longed for him to put his mask back on. Though every part of her screamed to deal with it and live with it. Enough taking comfort in masks and lies that were meant to sooth children. This man, uncle or no uncle, needed her help and she was going to aid him!
Taking a deep breath, she turned to him, wrapping an arm over his back, hugging him. “Hey, c’mon, no dosing.” She said, shaking him gently. “I’m gonna take you home, okay? I’ll take you home.”
“No!” Duo burst, jerking his head up. He whirled his head around to look at her, his eyes desperate. “No.”
Meiran frowned, confused. “No?”
“No...” He repeated, shaking his head slowly from side to side. “Not home... just not home...” He whispered sadly, burying his face in his knees again. “Anywhere but there...”
The girl sighed, pondering. “Where then?” She asked, pulling her cell phone out of her purse. “Heero? You want to go to Heero’s place? I can call him.” She said, her finger already on the speed-dial button. Heero nii-chan will know what to do, she was certain. He always came to her rescue when she needed him, and he knew how to keep his mouth shut when it came to things she preferred her father to be ignorant about.
“No! Not Heero... no...” Duo mumbled, shaking his head against his knees. “Not Heero...” His words were barely coherent by now, his speech slurred from both alcohol and sleep.
“Where then? I can’t take you home!” She snapped, frustrated. “Dad would KILL me if he knew where I’m hanging out! He thinks I’m sleeping over at a friend’s house...”
At that, Duo let out a small chuckle and raised his head to look her over. He smirked at her trashy appearance.. “You’re right, Fei would kill you... Either that or he’ll nosebleed to death...”
“Not funny.” She spat, slapping him lightly on the head. “As if you never did these things when you were my age!”
“Hmm... no, actually I didn’t... But you’ll be glad to know that you have a lot of growing up to do...”
“Right. Same to you. Twice my age and can’t hold down his liquor...”
“Been a while... since I’ve stopped... since I last... since I was drinking...”
“Ah...” She let out, slumping against the wall, sitting close to him. He was still sitting with his back arched and his face buried between his knees, pillowed in his arms. She leaned closer to his warmth, leaning her head on his bent back. For a long while she just stared ahead, studying the way his long hair flowed down his scalp and gathered into the long ponytail. She sighed. “So now what? Where do you wanna go?”
“Away. Away from here...” He mumbled, shaking his head again. His voice was muffled since he was speaking from between his folded arms.
“Where?” She asked again, rising off him and leaning close in an attempt to see his face.
“Somewhere. I don’t care. Far away...” He pulled away, sitting up, and looked around dazedly, gazing at the street. “Where’s the nearest spaceport..?”
“Ah, shut up!” She burst, slapping him again. “Stop being foolish. One more word about ‘spaceports’ and I’m calling Heero!”
He chuckled, turning to face her. He was smiling, but it was a sad, bitter smile. His eyes didn’t shine like they usually did. There was deep sadness in his eyes, a kind of sad longing and confusion all wrapped in one, wretched, violet gaze. She wondered how come eyes that were so unique, so pretty, could be so sad.
“What happened to you?” She whispered sorrowfully, raising a hand to caress his face gently. She brushed a few long bangs out of his eyes, feeling the dampness of tears as her fingers brushed by his thin lashes.
Duo turned away, taking a shaky breath. “Lets just get out of here... Before I freak you out even more...” He mumbled, trying to get up with great effort. Meiran helped him, supporting him as they walked slowly out of the alley. She had to partly drag him, partly carry him as they made their way towards the street. When Duo tried to walk on his own, he waddled too close to the construction site, nearly falling into the hole in the ground. Meiran didn’t let go of him after that, dragging him away from danger while muttering something about his immaturity.
“Anything?” Heero asked hopefully as Ran climbed back into the jeep, panting. The dark-skinned man was panting and his hair was dripping water from the shower of rain that tapped loudly on the car’s roof. Rubbing his hands in order to get warm, the young man shook his head and turned to look at Heero. There was deep sadness in his brown eyes. Sadness and desperation. He was giving up hope.
And Heero would have none of that. “Fine, we’ll try the next one.” He stated curtly, turning on the engine and stepping on the gas. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him.”
“We’ve been searching all night. I don’t think we’ll find him in ANY of these pubs.” Ran said dejectedly, watching the city lights blurring out the window as they drove.
“I know Duo. And I know that when he wants escape, he’ll turn to liquor. That’s one bug I’ve never managed to get out of his system.” Heero said bitterly, his eyes narrowing in a glare as he kept watching the road.
Ran chuckled cynically. “You’re speaking as if he’s one of those high-tech computers you work with... he’s not. He’s a person. He doesn’t have any glitches for you to fix.”
Heero’s frown deepened. He didn’t remember ever telling Ran about his job. Especially not of the fact that he was working on a project to develop one of the most sophisticated, advanced, super computers of the AC era. After attaining a master’s-degree in both computers and astrophysics, Heero was working in the developing team for a HUGE Space-Tech company. His work was sensitive, and he rarely spoke of it, even with Sarah. He was pretty damn sure he wasn’t so careless as to speak of his work next to Ran.
He sent a scrutinizing glance at Ran, watching him from the corner of his eyes. The man seemed like a fragile, nervous wreck, but Heero had the feeling that there was something more to this guy. Something... almost dangerous. A well-built body like Ran’s was not one of a wimp. With the proper training, Heero could deem this person as lethal, even. He wondered if this is part of why Duo was so drawn to him in the first place... In any case, he’ll keep a close eye on the man. Real close.
“God damn it, did you see that? The clerk thought I was your friggin’ whore!” Meiran fumed as she helped her drunken uncle step into the small motel room she rented for the night. On Duo’s expense, of course.
Settling heavily into the queen size bed in the middle of the room, Duo chuckled. “Consider it as a sign to... change your ways...” He mumbled, collapsing onto the bed in a heavy heap of limbs, hair and leather. He didn’t even bother to take his wet jacket off. “Maybe I should advise Fei on sending you to Catholic School or sometin’...” He mumbled against the pillow, already half asleep.
Meiran rolled her eyes. “Don’t even JOKE about it, uncle Duo...” She muttered, shrugging her coat off and throwing herself into a small wooden chair so she could take her boots off and free her aching feet.
“Mummm...” Duo slurred into the pillow, having no more strength to move his lips and form words. He was already slipping into slumber.
Realizing that she was speaking to a sleeping person, Meiran looked up towards the bed, and smiled. She studied Duo’s form, sprawled over the bed like fallen timber. He was lying on his stomach, his face turned towards her. His lips pouted in sleep, his hair all over the place, tangled around him and obscuring his face. Like this, he looked like a child. He reminded her of her little brother Lynn, sleeping peacefully in his bed, carefree as a ten-year-old should be.
“But you’re not half as annoying as Lynn, I assure you that uncle Duo...” She muttered, walking tiredly towards the bed and slumping next to him. “You should have at least saved me some room, you know?” She complained, shoving his heavy form aside so she could lie down comfortably. “You know what Heero would say to this-“ She grunted, poking him sharply with her elbow. “Takou!”
A man in his late forties, dressed in a designer’s business suit, stood by a large wall-to-wall window, his arms crossed behind his back as he overlooked the scenery. He was standing in the Arrival’s Terminal in the local spaceport, watching the shuttles and planes as they skidded across the runways, some landing and some taking off. The morning sun washed the runways with a blinding light, the shuttles glittering in the sun. Some resembled a falling star as they cut through the atmosphere, leaving a trail of gold in the morning sky. The man hummed silently to himself as he rocked on his heels, waiting impatiently.
“Sir, I’ve just been informed that the L4-XE101 shuttle has landed.” A young voice came from behind him, and the businessman nodded.
“Why won’t you go wait for our visitor and escort him here?” He suggested, though the suggestion was more of an order.
“Yes sir.” The young man, also wearing a suit, nodded and was about to leave when he stopped, remembering something. “Sir, what about Professor Ulrich? Shall I try calling him again?”
“There’s no need.” The man by the window answered his secretary. “I will find a substitute for the Professor.”
“Yes sir.” The younger man nodded in understanding and hurried down the terminal in order to find their guest.
By the window, his boss sighed and pulled out his cell phone. Muttering something about ‘nutty’ and ‘professors’, he dialed.
Playing “Commandos” was one of Eric’s favorite games. Sneaking around the house with his toy gun and his other accessories (which all looked pretty real, much to his pride and joy), Eric was the master of stealth and the champion of each game he played. Of course, it was not so hard to play when there were no enemies around. MJ was not interested in his games, just in his books, Aya-chan was too little and mom was always busy. Still, it was fun and thrilling for the little boy to just pretend that the other occupants of the house were all soldiers on patrol, and he had to sneak unnoticed between them until he reached his goal. Today’s goal was to get into his parents bedroom, in a sneak attack on his father.
It was ten AM and his daddy was still sleeping. His mommy had woken up hours ago, but daddy was still sleeping like a slob. Eric was planning on pouncing on his prey, aiming his plastic pistol to his head and then hug him to death. It seemed like a good plan to get his attention.
Unfortunately for him, the enemy’s commanding officer and second Lt. of this base was patrolling the hallway with a dangerous amount of charges in her hands- dippers. When he tried to sneak past her, the alarms went off. Well, more accurately the phone rang and his mother had to go into the target area- her bedroom. He missed his chance! It was time to retreat and rethink his moves!
The little boy ran back into his bedroom.
Smirking, Sarah walked into the large bedroom, amused by her son’s game. She placed the dippers aside and reached for the phone on the side of the bed; careful not to wake her husband in the process, for the phone was on his side of the bed.
“Hello?”
“Yes, hello. May I speak with Mr. Yuy please?” A man’s voice, probably forty plus, kindly requested.
“Sure. Just a minute.” She answered, putting the phone back on the nightstand for a second. She bent carefully over Heero’s slumbering form, wincing in sympathy as she shook him gently awake. Heero had been out all night, searching, and only came back about three hours ago. He was exhausted and it pained her to wake him so early.
“Heero, darling, wake up. Your boss is on the phone.”
Moaning in annoyance, Heero cracked half an eye open, looking up at her with sleepy eyes. “Tell him I’ll call later...” He slurred, closing his eyes again and turning to face away from the phone.
“I don’t think it’s such a good idea.” She said, picking the receiver up again. She placed it gently in his limp hands. “Just answer him and then go back to sleep.” She whispered, bending down to kiss his unshaved cheek.
Sighing deeply, Heero raised the phone, and with his eyes still closed, he answered. “Yes Mr. Axline,” He said in a rasping, hoarse voice, “What can I do for you?”
“Yuy, I apologize for waking you up on a Sunday, but I need you here as soon as possible.”
“Here? At the office?” Heero asked, turning heavily to lie on his back while rubbing his tired eyes. They refused to come to focus, and he stared up at a blurry ceiling.
“No. Actually not. How soon can you be at the Spaceport?”
“The Spaceport?!” Heero exclaimed, now fully awake. “What for?”
“I cannot discuss this over the phone, Yuy. I need you here. How soon can you arrive?”
“Uh...” Heero let out dumbly, trying to make his sleepy mind work and think. “An hour, I suppose.”
“Good. You have thirty minutes.”
He arrived after forty-five minutes and thirty two seconds, panting as he ran into the main terminal. He asked around in order to find the VIP room, where he knew he was expected. Morning traffic had been a bitch and combined with the fact that he was tired and still worried over Duo’s whereabouts, Heero was not in a good mood. He was cranky and impatient, brooding over the fact that his boss called him in on a Sunday.
He entered the VIP’s room with a heavy sigh, reaching up a hand to adjust his tie. He had been in such a rush to get ready, that he felt a little sloppy. Although, and this he knew well, Sarah wouldn’t have let him leave without making sure his appearance was tidy. His boss, Mr. Axline, was very strict about small things like that. Especially while meeting one of the company’s customers, which is what Heero assumed he was doing right now.
“Ah, Yuy. You made it.” Axline greeted, sounding almost relieved as he rose out of his armchair and approached Heero. The two shook hands and Heero nodded in acknowledgment. However his eyes were set on the back of one of the other cushioned armchairs, which had its back facing him. Behind it, peeked a small blond head. Heero frowned and turned back to his boss.
“Sir? I assume that this has something to do with the project?” He tried to confirm, noting the movement of the blond head from the corner of his eyes.
“Yes, it does.” Axline confirmed with a nod, turning around and gesturing at the man who was elegantly getting up from his seat. “Yuy, I’d like you to meet our sponsor, and co-director of the project, Mr.—”
“Quatre Winner.” Heero completed the introduction for him, looking up at the thirty-four year old blond standing before him with wide and stunned eyes.
“Hello Heero.” Quatre replied with an amused smile, reaching to shake his hand. “It’s nice to see you again.”
Still quite stunned, Heero nodded stiffly, his mind reeling with thoughts. “Quatre, I—” He began in confusion, meaning to ask something work-related, but then he thought better of it, shaking his head. He looked back at the blond man, and smiled. “It’s great to see you!” He called out happily, pulling the man into a tight hug.
Surprised, Axline took a small step backwards, staring at the two in awe. He was about to reprimand his worker for such a blunt display of disrespect, but then his face paled even more when he saw Mr. Winner return the embrace.
“I gather you know each other?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at Yuy.
Heero nodded and Quatre smiled, nodding as well. His face was slightly blushed, giving his mature appearance some hint of the boyish looks he had years ago. Although there was no mistaking, Quatre was no longer a short teen with a childish face. He’d grown taller, thinner and his features were one of a sharp, witty and sophisticated businessman. Heero had to admit that time had been kind to Quatre. He looked not much older than twenty-five, though they were the same age, and it was only his short, elegant haircut that gave him a more mature facade.
“I had no idea that Winner Inc were involved in the Project.” Heero finally said, turning to his boss.
“Well, Heero,” Quatre answered, “Everything that has to do with this project is kept mostly in the dark. Everything is on a need to know basis. There was not much need for you to know this, I’m afraid.”
“Also,” Axline interrupted, “There are some great concerns regarding industrial espionage. We had to be careful and control who knows what and why. Today’s meeting is also top secret. It is the first time all of the joint executives will be meeting.”
“Espionage?” Heero let out, baffled. He turned back to Quatre, his gaze questioning. “By whom?”
“We’re not completely sure, but there’s been quite a lot of trouble around the Middle East area. Some companies were giving us quite a lot of trouble. I came to Earth to look it over, though it was Preventer who kept an eye on them for me.”
Heero’s face paled. He felt confused. “The Middle East you say..?”
“Yes.” Quatre confirmed with a nod. He frowned as he saw Heero’s pale and stunned expression. “Heero? Is there something wrong?” He asked in worry.
“No... no. I’m fine.” He breathed, his head spinning. “Just... tired.”
“Well, if that’s the case,” His boss begun, “Lets get going shall we? We’ve got a limo waiting and a meeting to attend.” He picked up his coat from the hanger by the door and the door opened, his young secretary waiting for them to exit.
“Excuse me, sir,” Heero spoke as they made their way through the terminal, “But if I may ask, why did you call me here today? I believe that Professor Ulrich is much more capable of providing answers to the executives.”
Axline sighed in annoyance. “Unfortunately, I cannot get in touch with the professor. You’re his right hand man; I believe you’ll be able to provide enough answers. Besides,” He added with a snort, “Those people really don’t care for the terminology. They just want to hear that everything is going according to plans.”
Quatre giggled silently at the remark, covering it up as a cough. But Heero saw past that act, knowing the man as he did, and his eyes twinkled with a smile. Businessman or no businessman, joint executive or not joint executive, Quatre was still that little boy he was ten, twelve, and maybe even fifteen years ago. It made Heero smile.
“How about we’ll leave the work related issues for the meeting, gentlemen?” The blond man offered with a kind smile, looking at Heero with a pair of shining aquamarine eyes. “I have much of catching up to do, don’t I, Heero?” He winked and Heero felt himself blush. “The last I’ve seen you was at your son’s birth... I apologize for not remembering the name...”
“Eric.” Heero informed him, the warm look in his eyes telling the blond that he shouldn’t feel sorry for forgetting. “That was six years ago.”
Quatre smiled sheepishly. “Eric. Right. I apologize; there are many names a man in my position must try to remember... It’s a shame that I keep forgetting all the important ones, though...”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s perfectly understandable.” Heero soothed with a kind smile. “And your husband? How is he? I haven’t seen Trowa in such a long time.”
Quatre smiled lovingly at the mentioning of his husband’s name. “He’s fine. He’s very busy, but otherwise fine. It’s a shame he couldn’t’ join me on this trip, but I assure you that we will try to find the time to come and see you all. We miss you.”
Heero nodded, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “It’s unfortunate how we drew apart over the years.”
Quatre sighed, nodding his head in agreement. “I agree. Perhaps it is time to try and fix it.” He turned to Heero with a bright smile. “For starters, I would like to see your family. I’m looking forward to it, actually.” he continued with a wide smile, “It’s been a while since we spoke, but Duo tells me that you have a newborn daughter. Aya-chan, was it?”
Heero nodded, his smile faltering despite the fact that his baby girl was just mentioned. His features turned thoughtful and his gaze distant. He turned to look out the terminal’s large windows, his gaze worried. Duo was still out there somewhere...
“How is Duo by the way?” Quatre inquired casually. “I was unable to catch him on the phone lately. Is everything all right?”
Heero sighed heavily, turning back to face Quatre. “Not quite.” He answered solemnly, his expression miserable.
The view from the Preventer’s building 37th floor was outstanding. The whole city spread at the feet of the tall skyscraper, like a forest of mirror glass covered buildings. Preventer HQ was the guard tower watching over this forest, rising high above any other building. It rose 87 floors high above the ground, and on a winter day like today, clouds could be seen traveling by the top floors.
Standing by the large panorama window that allowed the hallways to be washed by the soft light of the winter sun, was First Assistant Director Chang Wufei, pacing the hallway as he spoke into his cell phone. He was standing outside the main meeting room, the fanciest meeting room the Preventer building had to offer, ignoring the crowd of businessmen walking about the place. He paid them no mind as they slowly walked into the large meeting-hall, like water draining into a pipe. His attention was set solely on his wife’s voice that came from the other side of the line.
“What do you mean she’s not home yet?!” He whispered harshly, thought his black eyes shone with worry. “She was supposed to be home this morning!” He growled, already thinking of the proper lecture to give his stray teenage daughter.
“Chang, relax.” Sally soothed, her voice amused. “I’m sure she just went out with Casey... it’s Sunday after all. They probably just went out to have fun. She’ll be home soon, I assure you.”
Wufei sighed, sending a quick glance towards the meeting room. It was mostly full; the meeting was about to begin. He turned back to the phone, his eyes glaring at the floor as he spoke. “Fine. Let me know the minute she gets home, all right?”
From the other side of the line, Sally chuckled. “Oh Chang! Stop being such an overprotective father... she’s not a little girl anymore.”
“No, but she’s still my daughter and I don’t enjoy the thought of her walking around the city all day long. Try to reach her on the mobile phone and keep me posted. I have to go into a meeting now, so I’ll speak with you later.”
“All right, all right. I’ll try to call her.” Sally promised. “Just don’t worry too much, that’s all.” She muttered, and he could tell that she was shaking her head.
He relaxed a bit, and smiled. “I’ll try.” He spoke softly, looking up at pushing his glasses up his nose in a sheepish manner. “I love you. Bye.” He hung up quickly and hurried into the meeting room.
“What are you doing?” MJ’s quiet and indifferent voice spoke up as he walked into his and Eric’s room, seeing his little brother sitting on the floor with a phonebook and a wireless phone in his hand.
“Nothing!” The six-year-old hurried to say, hiding the phone behind his back.
MJ snorted and walked deeper into the room, snatching the phonebook from his little brother’s hands.
“Hey! Give it back!” The little boy whined. His hair bounced up and down as he jumped up to his feet, glaring at his brother. “MJ! Give! It! Back!” He called angrily as MJ raised the little notepad high above them, beyond the little boy’s reach. Although MJ was only three years older than his younger sibling, he was nearly a head taller than the little longhaired boy. He used it as an advantage at each chance he got. He might have looked like an indifferent and cold little boy, much too serious and mature for his age, but truth was that he enjoyed playing much as any other kid his age did. Teasing his little brother was definitely one of his favorites.
“Hey! C’mon! Come! Oooon!” Eric whined when MJ jumped on the bed so he was even TALLER now. “Stop being a baka! C’mon! Give it back! Na... MJ! Give it back!!!!” The little boy jumped on the bed as well, trying to reach the phonebook.
“Not until you’ll tell me what you’re up to!” MJ answered with a smirk, looking down at his brother with amused bluish-green eyes. Seeing the little brat struggle futilely was quite enjoyable. Eric’s frustration was turning into tears, his blue eyes shimmering with both anger and frustration. He glared at his brother through a messy mop of long hair, sticking out his tongue at the meanie.
“I don’t have to tell you anything! Just give it back!” He grunted, crossing his arms over his chest, still glaring.
The two brothers were still standing on the bed, which shifted and moved under their weight like ocean waves. There was a match of wills between them, a duel of glares, until MJ finally tired of this game and lowered the book with a sigh. “Fine, baka. Have the stupid book.” He muttered, shoving the notepad into his brother’s arms.
“Ch.” He snorted, jumping of the bed and trying to pretend that he was not interested in what Eric was up to. But he couldn’t help it. He was curious. Turning on his heels, he went back to Eric, coming to sit next to the little boy. Eric was back on the floor, leafing through the small, handwritten, phonebook. Their quarrel was forgotten already, and they were on friendly terms again by the time MJ leaned closer to his brother and wrapped his arms over his small shoulders.
“Need any help?” He offered, for he knew, as did Eric, that the little boy did not know to read well. He just started first grade this winter, and only a few days ago he came home grinning and telling his family how his class was the first to finish learning all the ABC! Their father smiled proudly at him and promised to take him out for ice-cream later, despite the fact that it was winter. For some reason, their father was especially happy to see his sons learning to read. He was ecstatic when MJ had first started reading books, and he was joyous at every word Eric learned to spell. MJ didn’t get why, though. They were just stupid letters, it’s not like they were learning how to solve the problems of the universe using advanced analytic mathematics.
“I’m looking for Mei-chan’s cell phone.” Eric explained. “I don’t remember it by heart.” He turned another page in the phonebook, turning to the section marked with the letter ‘M’.
MJ nodded in understanding and took the phonebook gently out of his brother’s grasp. This time Eric didn’t protest, he knew that MJ’s intentions were good this time. They might have quarreled a lot, but they were still good friends. MJ reasoned that Eric was just too damn cute for him not to love and play with, despite the fact that he was annoying as hell sometimes.
“There it is.” He said, pointing at the desired phone number. He turned to Eric with a questioning look. “Why do you want to call Mei-chan?” He asked, watching Eric dial.
The little boy shrugged. “I wanna ask her sometin’.” He said, biting his lower lip as he waited for her to answer. “I want her to help me look for uncle Duo.”
MJ frowned, having nothing to say to that. He understood why Eric worried so much, the little boy was very close to their beloved uncle, but still, he didn’t see any good reason in trying to search for him. Things will work out like they always do in the adult world. MJ was always certain of that.
Meiran was a little freaked out as first, when she woke up to see a grown man lying on the bed next to her, drooling over his pillow. It took her a few seconds to recognize the mass of hair and leather as her uncle, and she smiled gently at his sleeping form.
“You really are an idiot, you know that?” She whispered to him, brushing a few bangs out of his closed eyes. She smiled as she uncovered his handsome features, petting his cheek gently.
Duo moaned and twitched his nose, as if having an itch. She chuckled playfully and left him be, withdrawing her hand. “But you can’t keep running forever, even I know that.” She told him as she got up, throwing her legs to the floor. She turned around to look at him, her brown eyes compassionate. “It sucks being an adult, doesn’t it?”
Sighing heavily, she rose off the bed and walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. The sound of running water soon filled the small room, like a silent lullaby to sooth Duo’s sleep. His aching head was trying to sleep the pain away, however nothing but awful dreams, filled with hopelessness and desperation haunted his sleep. He was just caught inside a dream of his own funeral, one which no one has attended and he was left standing by the alter, looking down into his own coffin while a large, empty church stretched into forever behind him. In his dream, there was a sudden scream, loud and so full of dread, that it was almost inhuman. It rung loudly in his ears, shaking the church and breaking the color-glass windows. It also served to jerk him awake, for his mind soon realized that it was no scream, but the sharp ringing of a phone.
The world was spinning when he opened his eyes. His shirt was soaked with sweat and he felt terribly hot in his leather jacket. He was also panting from the impact the dream had on him. The fear of living and dying alone was far too great. There were tears lingering to the corner of his eyes, but there weren’t enough to be shed. He was done crying over his misfortune long ago.
Sighing heavily, Duo turned to face the source of ringing, and the world blurred into a colorful smudge of colors. He closed his eyes and reached blindly for the phone, unable to see that it was actually a small, silver, cell phone.
“Hello..?” He slurred tiredly, his voice heavy and hoarse. He ran a numb hand through his messy long bangs, sighing.
“Uncle Duo?!” A surprised voice shouted from the other side of the line, and Duo jumped up in surprise.
Suddenly, his headache grew by tenfold. “Huh?!” He blurted stupidly, opening his glazed eyes. “Eric? Is that you?” He turned to look around, trying to recall where the hell was he and how the fuck did he get there. He was certain that he was home, but now he saw that he was lying on a small bed in some stinky motel room. What the hell happened to him last night?!
“Uncle Duo... is that really you?” Eric’s small voice sounded hopeful but yet uncertain. But Duo was too busy to answer. His mind was filled with flashy images of a pretty Asian girl, memories flickering through his mind but providing no answers. What the hell did he do last night!? There was no way he—he—
“Oh God...” Duo whispered, covering his face with his hand.
“Uncle Duo?” Eric’s voice was now frightened and worried. “Uncle Duo? It’s me, Eric. Are you okay?”
“Where am I..?” Duo asked himself, still holding the phone but paying it no mind. He’d completely forgot about his worried nephew. The only thing he wanted to know was where was he and how did he get there. He turned over to look at the nightstand by the bed, his weary eyes scanning it carefully. There was a small matchbox lying on the night table. He clumsily reached for it, narrowing his eyes in concentration as he read the stylish letters.
“Little Miss Daisy Motel..?” He mumbled in confusion, his brows furrowing. “Where the..?”
“Uncle Duo? Is everything all right?” Eric’s worried little voice came to his ears, reminding him that he was still on the phone. How the hell would Eric know the phone number to this place? Was this a... a dream?
“Uh...” Duo moaned miserably, closing his eyes. His head hurt too much for him to think. His eyelids felt heavy even when they were closed. His hand was numb and heavy as well. He wasn’t even sure if he was holding the phone anymore...
His arm fell limply on the bed, dropping the stylish cell phone. More images flickered through his fading consciousness, more flashy pictures of that pretty Asian whore and the worriedly look in her pretty eyes... She was familiar somehow, he thought, drifting back to sleep. She reminded him of an angry Wufei... why was she angry at him..? It’s not his fault he was gay...
With fresh tears lingering to his eyelashes, Duo fell asleep once again, unaware of the worried little voice calling for him or the sound of the water running in the shower.
Back in his and MJ’s joint room, Eric’s face paled dramatically as he slowly lowered the phone. “He... hung up...” He mumbled in a numb voice, turning to look at his older brother with dull and confused eyes. “He... he sounded... bad.” The little boy murmured, the look in his eyes showing what awful and dreadful thoughts were running through his head. Tears began to fill his big blue eyes. He looked up at his brother, sniffling like a wounded puppy.
“MJ... something’s wrong with uncle Duo!” He cried, his little heart pounding painfully in his chest. “He didn’t even know who I was!”
The nine-year-old boy, who usually showed little emotion on his little face, was looking pale and dreadful as well. It took him a few seconds to compose himself and gather his little brother into his arms. “Don’t worry...” He mumbled into Eric’s soft chocolate brown hair. He rubbed his small back soothingly, all the while gathering his wits together, making room for logical thoughts. “If he answered Mei-chan’s cell phone, it means that he’s with her.” MJ rationalized.
Beneath him, Eric sniffled and nodded his head. “Right. And he also said something about a motel...” The little boy mumbled into MJ’s chest, refusing to pull out of the hug just yet. “He said... he said something about Miss Daisy...” He sniffled, turning to look up at his brother with sad blue puppy eyes. “I think... I think... I think something is really wrong, MJ... He didn’t sound like uncle Duo at all...”
“C’mon, Eric,” MJ soothed, “It’s not like you to cry like that...”
“But what if... what if... what if something REALLY bad happened and... and...”
“Shh...” MJ hushed him, petting his head affectionately, something he rarely did. MJ was not a child who displayed his emotions so freely, he was very closed off and introvert, but even an indifferent nine-year-old was all in all, still a nine-year-old boy. A boy who, despite frequent quarrels, loved his brother dearly. He did not appreciate seeing his kid brother cry.
“The first thing we have to do,” MJ continued, his tone confident, “Is to find out the motel’s name and its location.”
Eric sniffled, turning to look up at his brother. “We’re... we’re going to look for him?”
MJ nodded determinedly. “Of course.” He stated and then carefully pulled away from Eric. “C’mon, we’ll use daddy’s computer.”
Heero looked up from the table in front of him as the doors to the meeting room closed. He was still a bit stunned from the fact that the meeting was taking place at the Preventer building, Duo’s former place of work, and he wasn even more stunned to see Chang Wufei walk into the room, closing the doors behind him. The Chinese man nodded towards Heero once, as a greeting, and he didn’t seem so surprise to see Quatre was also there. He greeted the man with a small smile and took a seat near the end of the table, where Une was sitting. Opposite to Wufei, sat Heero’s boss. The rest of the joint executives, from many companies and regions of the world, sat around the table. Heero sat at the very edge, away from all the so-called VIPs. His job was to be quiet until he was asked something. He was just there for technical support.
Sighing heavily, Heero leaned back into his comfortable seat and turned to look out the window. His cobalt eyes scanned the city wearily as his fingers began tapping silently on the table. He needed to find Duo.
“Well,” Une began, “Why won’t we start with the surveillance report? Agent Horkenz, why won’t you go first?”
Heero listened with half an ear as each agent gave his report regarding the possibilities of espionage. He then tuned the conversation out completely as each company executives voiced his concerns about the matter. That was until the mentioning of those words again. The Middle East affair everyone seemed to be so worried about. Even Une tensed at the mentioning of the matter. It seemed that something dangerous and illegal was going on down there, and the technology Heero was helping to develop had something major to do with it all. He listened carefully as the conversation took an interesting turn, and Wufei reminded everyone that what was being said was “for your ears only”. Top secret matters that do not leave this room.
“Otherwise, it will endanger our undercover agents.” He concluded, narrowing his eyes dangerously as a warning. It gave the right affect; Heero could see that on the faces of the room’s occupants.
It was in that moment that Heero felt his cell phone began to vibrate in his back pocket. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, knowing well enough that he should have turned his phone off when he entered the building. That was one of the strictest Preventer regulations, one he was well aware of. Instead of turning his mobile off, he just put it on “silent mode”. It was a silly thing to do because now the annoying device was dancing and vibrating in his pocket and he was not allowed to pull it out and turn it off. He tried to ignore the soft buzzing of the phone and concentrated on what was being said.
“After successfully infiltrating Abu Amir El Habib’s main factory, our agents have managed to put their hands on some valuable information.” Wufei informed the group of agents and Businessmen. The lights in the room were turned off and a projector was turned on, displaying a certain picture on the wall.
The cell phone stopped dancing in his pocket and Heero gave out a silent sigh of relief. He settled more comfortably in his seat and looked up at what was being displayed on the wall in front of him. It was an extremely high angle view of a building in the middle of the desert.
Using a laser-pen, Wufei pointed the little red dot at the picture and continued his explanation. “This satellite photo was taken three weeks ago...”
Again the devious cell phone began to silently buzz and shudder in his pocket. Heero grunted in annoyance and wiggled awkwardly in his chair. Who was the stubborn asshole!?
“It took a lot of effort for our agent to escape the country. His mission ended abruptly four months before schedule, and thus he could not manage to get close enough to Abu Amir. From what he did gather, Habib’s men had already copied most of the basic technology to build the main processor.”
Heero winced at this piece of information. It took the professor and he about four years to complete the perfect design for the super-computer’s Central Processing Unit. And in short six months those damn fools copied all of their work! His fists clenched and his jaw tensed. And the vibrating cell phone in his back pocket was not helping him to relax at all!
Heero turned his attention back to the meeting, where Wufei was taking a seat and another agent, a female one, rose to speak. She changed the picture in the projector and turned back to the meeting table. The picture on the wall displayed a group of people, most of them wearing either long black robes, fancy black suits and a keffiyeh (an Arabic head cover). They were all standing together smiling, while in the background some great event, a ball or a party, was taking place.
Heero’s cell phone stopped shaking and suddenly he felt as if the room was very, VERY, silent. A heavy silence that drowned even the sound of his own breathing. He looked at the picture on the wall, horrified. Among all of the rich sheiks standing tall, proud and smiling in the picture, was another strangely familiar face. Heero’s eyes widened slowly, his mouth agape. Next to the person whom the female agent pointed to be Sheik Abu Amir El Habib, stood a young man in a black suit and a keffiyeh. Despite the fact that he was wearing a pair of very thick, black framed, glasses and most of his face was hidden by the long head cover, his identity did not escape Heero’s mind.
The cell phone in his pocket returned to buzzing and vibrating with a vengeance, causing Heero to gasp and jump up a little.
A few heads tuned his way in question. Quatre was looking at him worriedly and Wufei raised an eyebrow.
But couldn’t he see it?! Couldn’t Wufei see it? He couldn’t expect Quatre to notice, he’d been out of touch for so long, but Wufei! How could he be so blind?! That man in the picture... that dark skinned, smiling man who was standing by the Sheik’s side... he was... he was... he was no other than Ran himself! A spy! He was their spy! It all made sense now! Perfect, clear and twisted sense! His heart clenched painfully at the revelation. His blood boiled with anger. How could this be happening? How could this be happening to Duo? Hasn’t he been through enough!? Why must he lose another love? Why was fate abusing him so?! What had he done wrong? Duo... he hadn’t done anything wrong! Why must he suffer like this?! Why!?
All the occupants of the room gasped loudly as Heero slammed both his hands on the table. The Japanese man jumped up to his feet, a look of determination and anger on his face. Head Director Une looked up from her notes in bafflement, and then turned to look at Wufei worriedly. The Chinese agent nodded his head slightly. He turned back to Heero.
“Yuy, please sit down.” He spoke calmly, but his words only served to ignite more of the angry blue fire in Heero’s eyes. The blue orbs were ablaze with anger and frustration. He was torn between pointing out what he’d just discovered, which will lead to Duo’s unhappiness, or keep his mouth shut and sit back down. The dilemma was not as easy to solve as it may seem. He might be a law-keeping citizen, a man who cared for his country and the company he worked for, but he cared for Duo even more. He was willing to watch the project go down the drain if Duo will receive his happiness in return. Then again, his rational mind interfered, Duo could never be happy spending his time with a spy. Sooner or later, the fantasy will dissolve into a bitter, black, tragic ending.
The cell phone in his pocket stopped again. His heart was beating frantically.
“Heero, please.” Wufei tried again, rising slowly from his seat. “I understand the reason for you being so upset, but I assure you that I had no other choice. This had to be kept a secret.”
Heero blinked, confused. Slowly, he turned to look at Wufei. “A... secret?”
“We were keeping a close eye on Ran and Duo,” Une interjected, “Through A.D Wufei, and I ordered him not to tell anyone of this. It would have risked the mission, and our agent’s life.”
This was too much to absorb. He turned stiffly to look at Une. “Your... agent?” He swallowed, trying to process all of this new information. “Ran is your agent? I thought... I thought he was a... He’s... not... he’s not a spy?”
In his seat, Quatre giggled silently and tried to cover it up as a cough. “Heero, don’t be silly.” He spoke softly, looking up at his former comrade with amused eyes. “Don’t you think we would have known if Ran was working against us? Wufei had been close enough to both parties in order to know.”
Embarrassed, Heero smiled sheepishly and nodded his head. “Yeah, I... I suppose so.”
His cell phone was buzzing again. He really wanted to be out of this place already. All the gazes were locked on him, he was afraid that they’ll discover that his mobile was still on. He turned back to Wufei.
“And knowing this, you let those two come together?” Heero asked, his voice harsh and his eyes burning fiercely. “Knowing what it will do to Duo when Ran leaves him?”
Wufei sighed and lowered his head in shame. “I had no choice. I didn’t want this to happen, I warned Ran, but... they were happy together. I didn’t want to take that from Duo.”
“Gentlemen,” Une spoke up again, her tone harsh but her gaze soft. “I understand your need to discuss this, but this is not the time or place. Please, let us continue with the meeting.”
“Yes Ma’am.” Wufei muttered and took his seat. Heero remained standing a while longer, noting that the vibration of his cell phone was shorter this time, indicating and arriving text message. He decided that whoever was desperate to contact him had something important to say. Perhaps it was Duo who was trying to call him. He couldn’t wait any longer. As the meeting recommenced and the gazes were averted from him to the screen, Heero pulled out his phone. There was a message there from Sarah. His eyes widened as he read over the short SMS message:
‘HEERO- THE KIDS ARE MISSING!!!!!!!!’
He gasped, nearly dropping the phone. His heart missed a beat and a slight dizziness attacked him. He wobbled a little in his spot, nearly falling. He couldn’t’ stay here a minute longer! He... he had to find Duo and tell him... he... he had to find him... he had to... he had to find his kids!
Wasting no more time Heero rushed out of the room, bursting out the doors and making a racket as he left. Quatre looked after him stunned, and then turned to look at Wufei. The Chinese Preventer was looking worried as well. There was also regret in his eyes, the honest remorse for lying to both Heero and Duo. However, he will have to apologize for it later. Right now, the meeting was more important. He was sure that Heero would be able to solve things between Duo and Ran. For now, he will leave it all to him. Making short eye contact with Quatre, Wufei cold tell that the blond businessman had understood his thoughts and for now, agreed with them. The two returned their attention the meeting, all the while worrying for their two close friends.
“Are you sure that this is the right place?” Eric asked uncertainly as he clung to his brother’s Jacket. The two just stepped out of the bus and were now standing in one of the more questionable parts of town. The neighborhood looked like all those places the TV showed late at night, when their parents did not allow them to watch television. The buildings were shabby looking, the streets dirty, the cars old and the people uncaring or even hostile. It was nothing like the quiet suburb they lived in their entire young life. The big city was a scary place for the two youngsters, though MJ did his best not to show it. He glared at anyone who looked at him too lengthily for his liking, his cold expression and cool composer suggesting that the little boy, despite his age, was not to be messed with.
There was a certain air of supremacy and strength around the silent boy, his solemn looks and calculated features showing wisdom beyond his age. His icy greenish-blue eyes scanned the streets carefully, always on the lookout for something dangerous. He’d read enough newspapers and seen enough movies to know that he and Eric had no business to be in such a place. Nevertheless, their mission was too important to let this little fact interfere and become a weakness. They had to find Duo, and that’s all that mattered.
Eric for his part did not display such courage and determination as his older brother. The six year old was frightened and insecure, clinging to his brother’s small jacket like a frightened puppy. Usually MJ would have rebuked him for such behavior, calling him a ‘scaredy-cat’ and such, but right now he didn’t. Eric was thankful for that. He liked MJ when he was like this, a pillar of strength and comfort. He felt safe when he was with him, just like he did when he was around his mommy or daddy. He refused to let go of MJ, his blue eyes looking around fearfully as they walked the streets and narrow allies, searching for the place that was marked on the map MJ was holding.
“It should be around here.” MJ’s quiet, apathetic, voice spoke up, as the black-haired boy looked down at the map he was holding, and then back at the street. He used his index finger to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his fierce green/blue eyes scanning their environment closely. He settled his gaze on one of the street signs that displayed the name of the street, nodded a slight affirmative to himself and returned to the map. “The motel is just a block ahead. C’mon, lets go.”
Swallowing hard, Eric arranged his small backpack and hurried to catch up with his brother’s footsteps. For some reason, he got the feeling that they’re going to get into a hell of a lot trouble for this...
“Would you like some breakfast? I’m starving!” Meiran asked as she flopped herself into the small armchair facing the bed. She was dressed in the same evening attire she wore the night before, only this time there was a towel wrapped and twisted up on her head. On the bed, Duo was lying as limp as a log, his arm tossed casually over his eyes.
“Uh... wha.. what?” He mumbled, peeking behind a small crack between his arm and face.
Meiran chuckled. “Maybe you should go to shower first. I’ll see if I can fetch you a cup of STRONG coffee...”
Duo blinked, surprised. “Meiran?!” He called out, as if seeing her for the first time.
The girl snorted and rolled her eyes. “Ok, make that TWO cups...” She shook her head in amusement. “Did you hit your head last night or something?”
Duo frowned, slowly getting up. He groaned at the effort and reached up to hold his head as if it would fall. “I, uh... no. I just... I thought... well... forget it...” He slurred and blinked to arrange his vision. The room was spinning in slow motion. He carefully placed his legs on the floor, taking a deep breath before trying to get up. “How did you find me here?” He asked hoarsely, stumbling towards the bathroom.
“Don’t you remember?” The teenage girl asked, surprised. “I bumped into you in an alley.”
“Oh.” Duo let out, trying to coordinate his movements in order to properly reach for a clean towel hanging on the shower’s door. “So it was you...”
Meiran rolled her eyes. “Who else would it be!? Gosh, just pull yourself together so we can get outta here. I promised dad I’ll be home by noon. He’s gonna KILL me if I’ll be late... He hates it when he doesn’t know where I am...”
She wasn’t sure if her uncle heard her or not, because usually he would reply humorously to such a comment, but this time he just entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him. It was so odd to see him silent. Too odd. Unnerving. She longed for him to smile again. Things were just not right when her uncle was acting so depressed.
Instead of brooding over her uncle’s misfortune, she set herself on the task of getting him some coffee. She hurried to dry her hair; slip into her high-heeled boots and then stepped outside. She made her way to the small lobby, looking for the vending machines. It was in that moment, when she was making her way towards the hot beverages machine in the corner of the lobby, that two little kids entered the motel.
The taller of the two marched determinedly towards the service counter, followed by a smaller, frightened looking boy. The smaller boy was clinging to his brother’s jacket, refusing to let go even when the other tried to brush him off.
“Eric, let go for a second!” MJ snapped, whirling around to glare at his little brother. His answer was a pair of large tearful eyes and trembling lips.
“But...” Eric mumbled, so scared he was about to cry. He’d seen on the TV how many psycho murderers roamed such shabby looking motels. He wasn’t stupid; he knew that there was some masked, black clad murder with an ax waiting to chop him to pieces. “But...” He whimpered again, looking up at his brother with large blue puppy eyes.
MJ rolled his eyes. “Fine. You can hold my hand.” He grumbled and snatched Eric’s hand. He then turned back to the counter, and while standing on his tiptoes, he peeked beyond the counter.
In the corner of the lobby, Meiran picked up two paper cups of steaming coffee and turned around carefully. She only took two steps forward when she finally noticed the two. One cup slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor. Her eyes widened impossibly and her jaw fell open. It was just NOT possible that such a thing will happen TWICE in less than twenty-four hours! First Duo... then her two cousins..? What was going on?!
Heero had started with only one clue as for the whereabouts of his kids. Sarah told him that she found her private hand-written phonebook in the kids’ bedroom, and from what she could gather they were calling Meiran. When the two tried to call the girl, there was no answer. They hurried to call Sally and ask her if she’d seen the kids and if they were with Meiran. Sally’s answer was that Meiran went to sleep over at a friend’s house. The girl was still not answering the phone when her mother tried to call her.
Now it was Sally’s turn to be worried. She tried contacting her husband, but his cell phone was closed. She didn’t think twice and joined Heero and Sarah in their search. They headed to Meiran’s friend house. To their surprise, and Sally’s shock, Meiran wasn’t there. Her friend confessed, after a lot of persuading from Heero’s part, that Meiran and she went out clubbing last night. Meiran disappeared sometimes during the night. She hasn’t seen her since.
Sally was about to faint and Sarah was on the verge of crying. Heero was both angry and confused, trying to remain calm and reasonable in this time of crisis. He told Sally and Sarah to make their way quickly to Preventer HQ. In the meantime, he will go and search the area Meiran had disappeared in. Maybe there was a connection between her disappearance and the kids’ whereabouts. They could only hope for the best.
He kissed his wife goodbye and did his best to soothe her, promising that everything will be all right. Sarah was holding Aya protectively in her arms, holding onto her so hard as if she was afraid that the baby would disappear as well. With tearful green eyes and trembling lips she nodded her head and tried to smile at him, giving him some sort of reassurance that it’s all right to leave her for the time being. Taking a deep breath, Heero nodded in response and bent to kiss Aya’s little head. He then ran back to the car, slamming the door behind him. Rocking Aya in her arms, Sarah watched the 4x4 drive off quickly.
Sally wrapped a warm arm around Sarah’s shoulders and carefully guided her away. “Come on, I called a cab.” She said soothingly, though her own voice was also shaking. “We’ll call him when we get to Preventer.”
In a matter of minutes, Heero was in the center of town. He broke almost every traffic law there was while driving there. When he arrived at the main entertainment area, he parked his jeep on the sidewalk and jumped out of it quickly. He began scanning the area by foot, looking in ever alley, every bar or club, just like he did the previous night while looking for Duo. He was too tired from last night’s search, but he was not willing to rest until he had his kids safe in his arms. The thought that something bad had happened to them was just too much. He would rather go through the Hell he’d been in fifteen years ago than to see any harm come to his children.
After spending nearly an hour under the hot current in the shower, Duo was ready to step out. His body was still numb and clammy from the shower but his mind was more or less awake. He longed for that cup of coffee Mei-chan had mentioned. He toweled and dressed quickly and then proceeded to drying his shoulder length hair with the towel. The bathroom was very silent and therefore he was surprised when suddenly a very out-of-place sound hit his ears.
“COOL!” A few childish giggles and the clapping of hands followed the cheerful call. The laughter was not hard to recognize. With a gasp, Duo burst out of the shower.
“Eric?!” He called, his violet eyes wide and stunned as they locked onto the small figure jumping up and down on the bed. “What the hell are you doing here?!” He blurted in confusion, his eyes darting to where Meiran was standing by the bed, smiling at her little cousin. She turned to her uncle with a smile.
“They were looking for you.” She explained with an amused gaze.
Duo turned to scan the room and all color drained from his face as he saw MJ standing there too, waving a small hello and smirking to his face.
“I think I should sit down...” Duo mumbled, walking awkwardly towards the bed. Eric, who was still bouncing on the bed, hurried to jump at his uncle the minute the man sat down at the edge of the bed. He grinned from ear to ear and launched at him from behind, giving him a big hug.
“Uncle Duo! Uncle Duo! I got you!” The boy chanted happily, continuing to bounce even as he hugged Duo, which only caused the tow to bounce together. Duo was about to throw up and his headache was not getting any better. He let himself fall back on the bed, collapsing onto the mattress just when Eric finally let go of him. He closed his eyes and threw an arm over them, sighing deeply. The bed was moving as Eric continued to jump and the room was too loud for him all of a sudden.
Sighing deeply, he let his hand drop limply to the bed and looked up at the ceiling with dull violet eyes.
“Heero is going to KILL me...”
never to be finished...
[i] Okay, for all those of you still wondering... Ran isn’t Japanese! Actually, it’s quite a popular name around these parts... The Middle East I mean. And no, he’s not Arabian either... Hmmm... what kind of options does that leave us with..? I’ll let you figure it out. Hontou ni, I’m really tired of giving American names to %99.9 of my characters... (no offense anyone cuz that’s not my intention). I might as well call everyone John/Jane or... Kenji/Sakura or even Dimitri/Anya! How annoying would that be!? So from now on, I made it a purpose to make each original character from a different nationality. I hope I can come up with enough names... *sweatdrops*
[i] Heh... I take it back on that last statement (see above) I can’t think of any other name for this annoying stereotypic character! Damn it! Too much American television! *bangs her head through a wall!* --> that on the other hand is too much influence by Japanese (animated) television... ^^;;
Author's note
Um, no. I will not continue this chapter. I don’t want to write about Born Again anymore. I grew tired of it. Besides, it’s quite obvious that there’s gonna be a happy ending. Ran and Duo will be together again, Heero will find the kids... Fei’s gonna find out that his little girl is all grown up... and they will all live happily ever after. Even Duo. So yeah. That’s the ending. I told you - you should have stopped in the last chapter...