House Arrest:
Chapter Two:
Duo had been given his civilian clothing to wear on the trip home, which made him feel a little more human, regardless of the weight on his ankle. Wufei was personally driving him home to his two story house on the outskirts of the city. Duo opted for silence during the ride, watching the world fly past from his view in the backseat of Wufei's squad car. He glanced at the man driving, his black hair tied back from his face and golden hands gripping the steering wheel. Duo bit his lip as he discreetly checked out his driver. The blue uniform shirt was snug and fitted against the Asian man's frame. When the sleeve ended the muscles of his arm began.
He looked out the window as they pulled to a stop, bringing Duo out of his stupor.
His home was built by his foster mother's father, so the paint was chipped in places and one of the shutters was falling off. Duo always made a note to fix the place up but he just didn't have the time or resources to fix it. The houses on either side were luxurious homes, three story buildings that belonged in a suburb. The Winners lived next door and their family lawyer had paid Duo many visits in the past in order to buy him out, intent to tear his home down and create a bigger lawn for the family. No matter how much money the Winner family threw at him he didn't have the heart to sell Helen's family home.
Thus, that led to the house wearing down into the state it was in. After Helen died two years earlier social services only agreed to let Duo keep the house at his age because it was left to him in Helen's will. Also in the agreement was that he attends school and be able to pay any bills associated with the house. There was no mortgage on the house or land itself, so Duo only had to maintain minimum payments on the electrical bill. His part time job at the local convenience store made it easy for him to keep up with these payments.
The door opened and Duo slid himself out of the backseat, his feet landing on the sidewalk. Wufei grasped his right arm, both of which were still cuffed, and turned to lead him up the stone pathway to the front door. There was a woman in a business suit sitting on the stoop, a leather briefcase in her hands.
Wufei could hear Duo growl low in his throat.
"How many times do I have to tell you, this house ain't for sale, lady."
The woman stood up, her hair frazzled and falling out of the two twisted braids that framed her face. She outright ignored Duo and went straight to Wufei.
"Hello officer, I'm Sally Po, family lawyer for the Winners' next door. There are issues Mr. Winner has with living next to a convicted criminal and he would like to see him removed from this area. He has many children ranging from twenty to three. We are offering up quite a large sum to buy out Mr. Maxwell's property that would more than cover the expense and trouble of finding a new home."
Wufei glanced at the braided punk and saw that he was turning a darker shade of red with every word. Wufei took in her physical state and determined that Mr. Winner must have been urging her to get this deal done.
Wufei's hand tightened almost imperceptibly on Duo's arm as he said harshly, "Miss Po, I guarantee you that by living next to Duo Maxwell the Winner family will be completely safe. You can tell Mr. Winner that we have the prisoner under house arrest, and should he leave his home during curfew, the police will be notified immediately."
The woman rolled her eyes and very unprofessionally slung her briefcase under her arm and walked away from the arrogant police officer.
Wufei decided to give her something else to think about on her walk back to the Winner home.
"And the house is not for sale."
Duo doubled over in laugher, prompting Wufei to hold tighter to his arm. He shook his head, immediately regretting that he had said anything. He led Duo up the few steps to the front door and dug in his pocket for the house key the Sheriff gave him hours before. As he opened the door his hands searched for a light switch.
Light flooded the small foyer of the home and lit up the brightly wallpapered hall. There were pictures hung up throughout the hallway and Wufei glanced at them as he passed. He started for the kitchen at the end of the hall, but Duo pulled back.
Wufei glared dangerously back at his charge and Duo smiled brightly, "Take off your boots, man."
Wufei rolled his eyes at Duo's attempt at cleanliness and led him though to the kitchen. He wasn't about to take off his tactical boots in a felons home. He pulled out a chair.
"Sit down."
Duo rolled his eyes and plopped down in the worn chair, hands tight behind his back.
"This is how this is going to work. I'm going to hook up an electronic device in the kitchen that will space out your ninety-foot radius. You will only leave this perimeter when you are going to school or work. I already have these timings set into the computer. You will be able to leave at eight in the morning on weekdays and Saturday at nine in the morning for work. You will be back here before four o'clock each weekday, and three o'clock on Saturday. Sunday you will not be permitted to leave this zone. Understand?"
Duo nodded. "I've got from eight to four on school days and nine to three on Saturdays. What happens if I'm not where I'm supposed to be though?" Duo drummed his fingers on the chair back behind him.
"If you mean skipping a day of your senior year of high school, then you had better be here and nowhere else. Also, shopping must be done within those time frames. You're lucky, only students can leave their homes while under house arrest. The judge made an exception for your workday, seeing as how you have no one else to live with."
Duo snorted.
Wufei walked around the kitchen checking cupboards for the supplies Duo would need for the next few weeks.
There were dishes in the sink but other than that the house was very clean. Cleanliness seemed like a trait that the braided felon would lack but his home told a different story. Wufei set up the small black device on the kitchen counter, plugging it into the wall outlet.
A small beep came from Duo's ankle bracelet.
"It's all set to go. You need to keep this plugged in at all times. If the power were to go out there are batteries in there to keep it going for a few hours, so that shouldn't be a concern."
Wufei left Duo at the table and walked into a large room adjacent to the kitchen. The living room was the largest room in the house and Duo was going to spend most of his time there.
There was a moderately sized television and a stack of videos set neatly beside it. A very large bookcase took up the entire back wall of the living room. Almost every spot housed a book that sported an older binding. Wufei, an avid reader himself, appreciated Duo's utmost care of the small library.
The carpeted floors were clean and all tables were dusted. The couch looked unused, but the armchair to its left was worn and Wufei figured it was where Duo did his reading. A small lamp sat next to the chair.
Along the wall in front of the chair was a small fireplace that was obviously well used but cleaned regularly. The pictures that donned the walls were also set along the top of the fireplace. As Wufei passed them he realized that Duo had always had long hair, even as a child.
"I'll be back in a moment. I need to check out the upstairs."
Ignoring Duo's second, "Take your boots off," he started up the small carpeted stairs to the second level. At the top of the stairs a hallway with only three doors led into different rooms. Wufei trekked passed one doorway that housed a large bed with a pink coverlet. He assumed that was not Duo's bedroom. Carrying on down the hall a bedroom was painted the same blue of the carpet downstairs and held a single bed. This room was just as clean as the others but held a laundry hamper and posters of rock banks such as Queen and Kansas. A small black stereo sat on the floor under the window.
At the end of the hall there was a small bathroom that was polished clean. Wufei leaned on the wooden doorway, shaking his head. At least Duo Maxwell knew how to clean house.
He made his way back to the main level and saw Duo sitting in the same spot he left him in. The braided man's ankles were crossed under the table and he leaned forward in the seat to keep pressure off his hands.
"You didn't take your boots off." Duo's violet eyes stared accusingly at the police officer. He then crossed his arms in front of him, letting the metal cuffs cling to the floor, all attitude and anger.
Wufei was livid. The tactical cuffs he bought were supposed to be impossible to pick, field tested and proven. But as much as Wufei wanted to be angry at him, he also respected Duo's ability to escape his bonds.
Duo's chin tipped up, daring Wufei to do something about it.
"You know, I can have your hair cut while you're in the prison system."
Duo's eyes flashed as he stood abruptly from his seat. The chair flew backward and slammed into the wooden cupboards as Duo's hands braced on the table. He leaned forward, dangerously close to Wufei.
"Get. Out."
The words were ground from Duo's lips with a scowl. Obviously Wufei had hit a soft spot.
The passion in which he spoke would have made a lesser man back away, but Wufei wasn't a lesser man. He was an officer of the law.
Instead of backing away, Wufei walked to the edge of the table. Leaning forward with one hand on the table and the other reaching behind Duo to the nape of his neck, he felt how tense his prisoner was.
Duo's aggression lessened slightly as he took in Wufei's closeness. Obviously the officer wasn't about to let Duo win in this battle of bronze they were having.
Unfortunately, between that skin tight uniform and Wufei's tougher-than-shit attitude, Duo couldn't keep his eyes off him. His eyes flicked down to the Asian man's lips.
Wufei smiled and said, "I'll go when I choose to go."
Wufei watched as the violet eyes calculated Wufei's seriousness and he hoped Duo would come to understand that he needed to obey him and the rules that were laid out for him. He watched as Duo's eyes flicked down to his lips. He quickly let him go.
Duo cleared his throat, embarrassed, and walks out of the kitchen and into the living room. He chooses a book from the shelf and settles into the armchair. Flicking the small lamp on he looked like he was content to just sit there and read.
Wufei closed his eyes, knowing he couldn't leave on that note. Professionally speaking, having a charge he couldn't talk to was almost as bad as losing one.
He confronted Duo in the living room, and nudged his book when Duo didn't acknowledge him. Duo threw down his novel onto his lap and looked at Wufei expectantly.
"I'll be doing random checks during the day to see where you are on the tracker. If you're in an area you're not supposed to be in, I will come and collect you," he paused here, clearing his throat.
"Look man, I'll do what you want but the moment you try to cut my hair I will be out of this city so fast you'll never be able to find me. Not you and not your little drone army in blue either."
Wufei was exasperated. What kind of a guy gets arrested, convicted, and still has enough attitude to throw his way?
"Honestly Maxwell, I fucking dare you."
Wufei spun around to the door, making that his cue to leave. "If you have any questions, you have my phone number."
"I don't have a phone." Duo spoke quietly from his chair.
Wufei took in his sullen features, so different than the attitude earlier in the day.
"Well, I'll be back tomorrow night to check up on you. You have work in the morning so you may want to test how far your perimeter stretches before you leave."
Duo rolled his eyes again and hid his face behind the book.
Wufei left, closing the door of the house firmly. He kept one set of keys while Duo had another. Wufei had gone over the rules for in-house incarceration with him and set up the machine for the perimeter. He had followed correct protocol through the entire process.
As he walked to his cruiser, Wufei's fingers brushed over his lips remembering the warmth of Duo's gaze on his lips. What would he have done if Duo had actually done it?
Duo watched the police officer from the window of the living room, hidden from view. He saw Wufei's hand brushed across his lips as he got into the cruiser, then watched as Wufei started the car and pulled away.
He just almost kissed a fucking cop. Even with one as hot as Wufei it was still against everything he stood for. If his gang ever found out they would both be dead in a ditch come Monday.
