Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters. Oh how I wish this weren't so.
Warnings: Yaoi, a little bit of subtle humour, potentially lemony scene to come.
Paris in the Springtime
Part 2: Etude
It took a lot less time than might have been expected for Duo to move out. When Heero suggested taking just the essentials first and coming back for everything else over the weekend, Duo just laughed.
"Sure, Heero. You can come back if you want, but I can't think of a reason why I'd need to."
As soon as they arrived at the apartment, it became painfully clear why the move would be a quick one. Heero had never seen Duo and Hilde's apartment before. The two pilots usually hung out after work, where Heero's home was more accessible and convenient to reach; if they did see each other over the weekend, it was usually to work out. It wasn't hard for Heero to realize why he had never been invited to the other man's home before. The flat had obviously been decorated and furnished by Hilde, with apparently minimal input from Duo. Other than his clothes and some personal belongings, there wasn't much for Duo to pack.
In a little over half an hour, the entire contents of Duo's life had been stowed away into three large cardboard boxes.
Duo looked slightly depressed and sighed. "It really puts things into perspective when your life adds up to nothing more than three boxes."
Heero snorted. "You're an idiot if you think your life can be measured by your belongings."
"You know I'm not that materialistic," Duo sounded a little offended. "I just didn't think my life would be so… boring and meaningless."
"You think your work with the Preventers is boring and meaningless?"
The braided man rolled his eyes. "You know that's not what I meant. I was referring to my personal life… But even you have to admit that chasing down smugglers and busting the occasional terrorist threat can get old pretty quickly!"
Despite the meagre attempt at a joke, Duo was a lot more subdued on the way back to Heero's apartment. It had been years since the two young men had last lived together for any extended amount of time. While Heero was genuinely comfortable with having the other ex-Gundam pilot as a roommate, the situation seemed to put Duo in a constant state of unease. For the first few days, Duo fastidiously cleaned up after himself and spent as much time as possible (without being rude) in his room, pouring over apartment rental listing. On the occasions where he would venture out into the living room or kitchen, he grumbled incessantly about the housing situation in the Sanc kingdom:
"How the hell do they expect anyone to live in this city?"
"We don't get paid enough for what we do, Heero."
"We risk our lives for people so that they can enjoy their peace, and then they turn around and charge ridiculous amounts of money for crummy little apartments. Where's the justice in that?"
"I hope you're going to miss me when I'm forced to move to some godforsaken hick town in the middle of nowhere, just so that I can afford rent."
Heero kept quiet and listened patiently at first, but by Saturday he was about ready to shoot his partner. After listening to the same diatribe for the umpteenth time, Heero could no longer contain his annoyance.
"Duo," he growled, "You're paid as much as I am. What the hell is the problem?"
Duo suddenly fell silent, so Heero continued, "There's no way that you can't afford a decent apartment around Headquarters."
When his roommate still didn't say anything, Heero got up and walked over to his laptop, which he had left on the living room table. Duo followed him, eyeing him suspiciously.
"What are you doing, Heero?"
Heero said nothing, choosing instead to open the laptop and begin typing. His partner sank into the other end of the couch and continued to watch him.
"I don't need you to find me a place to live. This really isn't your problem."
"Hn. It became my problem when I had to keep listening to you complain about it." Before Duo could protest, Heero added, "And I'm not finding you a place to live."
"Then what are you doing?" Duo asked again. His eyes narrowed and he slid closer to Heero to look over the other man's shoulder.
To his credit, Heero didn't even flinch as he continued to type.
It didn't take long for Duo to realize what Heero was up to. "Hey!" he yelped. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"I'm hacking into your bank account."
Duo spluttered indignantly. "I can see that—"
"Then why did you ask?"
"It was a rhetorical question, and that's not the point. Stay out of my business, Heero!"
"As a friend, it's my responsibility to help you solve your problems if a), you're not doing anything to solve them yourself, and b), you won't shut up about them."
Duo sputtered indignantly and moved to snatch the laptop out of Heero's hands, but the other man had already found what he was looking for. Heero looked shocked, and then his brows furrowed in anger and concern.
"Why is more than half your salary being transferred out of your account every month?" he demanded.
"Like I said, Heero, it's none of your business," Duo answered warily, sinking bank into the couch.
Heero grabbed Duo's arm, forcing his friend to look into a pair of stunningly blue, and very serious, eyes. For a second, Duo was reminded of how unique Heero's eyes were, and wondered how he ever failed to notice that every time he looked at the Japanese man.
"I'll find out either way," Heero threatened, "so you might as well just tell me. Where is the money going?"
Duo's attention was drawn back to the present situation. "Oh you know, here and there," he said evasively, looking away uncomfortably.
"Duo…" Heero growled warningly.
"Heero, it's really not that big a deal. It's a personal thing, got it?" Duo snapped. When Heero's grip on his arm failed to loosen, he sighed in exasperation. "You must be the most stubborn person I know," he grumbled. Grimacing, he forced the next words out at lightning-quick speed: "Themoney'sgoingtoL2."
Heero frowned in annoyance. "What?"
"I said, 'The money is going to L2,'" Duo repeated with exaggerated slowness.
There was an awkward silence as Heero looked at Duo in surprise.
Duo glared in response. "What? Just because I said that I never want to go back to L2, doesn't mean that I don't care about how it's doing," he said defensively.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? And why did you try to hide it?" Heero asked, perplexed.
"Like I've already said—twice now—it's not really any of your business."
Prompted by the look of annoyance on Heero's face, Duo reluctantly explained further. "I feel guilty about not going back." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "The place is such a shithole, you know? And Earth is pretty damn great. But I can't stay here and not do anything to help those who are still on L2." Duo got a faraway look in his eyes. "Not everyone got lucky and had a chance to run away," he said softly, almost to himself.
With the amount of money that he was transferring to the L2 colony every month, it was more than likely that Duo was supporting a number of organizations and charities. Heero had no doubt that every one of the beneficiaries was in need of the money and equally deserving. He was also sure that Duo would be over-ridden with guilt if he stopped supporting any one of them. As the two of them sat together, Duo lost in his own thoughts, Heero suddenly realized how physically close they were to each other. Unexpectedly, Heero felt his mouth go dry and his pulse quicken just a bit. He was also a little stunned to notice that he had been absentmindedly studying his friend's face, and had been paying rather close attention to Duo's long, thick lashes.
Flushing, Heero practically leapt from the couch and startled Duo out of his reverie.
"You're covering forty percent of the rent, because you have the smaller room. We split the bills and groceries fifty-fifty."
Not waiting for a response, Heero left the living room abruptly, willing himself not to blush and leaving Duo blinking after him in astonishment.
. . . . . . . . . .
Two weeks later at Preventers HQ, Duo sat frowning at his computer screen. Since the moment he accepted Heero's offer and upgraded his status from being a "temporary roommate" to an "indefinite roommate," something changed between them. At first, Duo thought it was just his imagination, but now he was no longer sure.
He got up and walked over to Heero's side of the room, leaning nonchalantly against the Japanese man's desk.
"Hey, Heero?" He waited for his friend to look up.
Heero glanced up from his work and looked at Duo—specifically at the top of his head.
Duo sighed. "Never mind. It's nothing."
It couldn't have been just his imagination; Duo was convinced of this now. The strange truth was that Heero never looked him in the eye anymore. He would look anywhere else—at Duo's chin, his nose, or the spot just past his right ear—but never directly in the eyes. And while Duo was feeling increasingly frustrated and perplexed over this phenomenon, Heero knew exactly why it was happening. Whenever he looked at Duo now, he found himself inevitably wanting to stare at his friend's eyes. They were, if he were to be honest with himself, downright beautiful, and were the sort of eyes that most women would envy. A deep blue, sometimes almost violet, colour, Duo's eyes had somehow retained a mischievous innocence that most soldiers would have lost in times of war. They were large and expressive, and framed by an incredible set of lashes. Heero could not believe how ridiculously pretty his friend's eyes were, and also found it impossible to un-notice them…
It wasn't that Heero was ashamed of realizing that Duo had very attractive eyes. Although he had been a little troubled at first, Heero ultimately decided that there was nothing embarrassing about noticing a friend's physical attributes in a purely objective sort of way. Rather, the discomfort stemmed from knowing that Duo would be furious if he ever found out that Heero thought of him in such feminine terms. Heero could recall all the fist fights that had broken out because some ignorant jerk had questioned Duo's masculinity on account of his physical appearance.
While Duo was brooding and Heero was trying to ignore the heat that was rising to his face, there was a sharp knock on their door. Without waiting for permission, a pompous Junior Agent pushed the door open and stepped inside uninvited.
"Commander Une wishes to see you two in her office," he announced haughtily.
One of Heero's eyebrows shot up in response to the agent's tone of voice and demeanour. Reading the danger signs, Duo stepped in before any threats could be uttered.
"Why don't you go on ahead and tell the Commander that we'll be right there?" Duo suggested smoothly.
The agent sniffed disdainfully. "I was told to bring you two to her office. Right away," he emphasized.
"Unless you want to physically carry us both to her office, we'll head over as soon as we can. We don't need an escort," Duo almost snapped through grated teeth. For some reason, he found the young agent's nasal voice to be not only annoying but offensive as well.
The man harrumphed unpleasantly and then strutted out the door.
Duo stared at Heero in disbelief. "How the hell did that silly ass get hired?"
Heero grunted. "He'll probably never make it past a desk job, so I don't think it matters."
"It's the principle of the thing, Heero. There are standards. No one would ever take us seriously if they knew we hired people like that."
A steady stream of complaints continued to emerge from Duo's mouth as they walked briskly down the corridor to Commander Une's office.
"If all our agents had their heads stuck that far up their asses, we'd never get any respect!" he finished.
They turned the corner, and came face to face with the agent who had just been the topic of their conversation. He was sitting at a small desk outside Une's office and giving Duo the dirtiest look he could muster. There was no doubt that he had heard the majority of what Duo had been saying.
"Is the Commander ready to see us?" Duo asked, unperturbed.
"You can head inside," the man spat out venomously.
Duo's reply was outrageously cheerful. "Oh good! Come on, Heero."
Entering Une's office, they left the agent fuming behind them. Heero was on the verge of smiling until he saw the grave expression on Une's face. He snapped to attention, as did Duo.
"Agent Yuy, Agent Maxwell," she nodded in acknowledgement. "Please, close the door behind you and take a seat."
They complied, wondering what the meeting was about.
"I'll get straight to the point, gentleman. You remember Agent Bredon(1)?"
Heero and Duo both nodded mutely. Bredon had been one of the Preventers' top field agents until a year ago, when he had quit abruptly and was never heard from again. Rumours circulated that he had racked up a considerable gambling debt and had resorted to a life of petty crime in an attempt to pay his creditors.
Une smiled faintly, seemingly reading their minds. "They were never anything more than rumours, Agents. I started them myself."
Neither of the two men looked surprised. "He was sent undercover," Heero supplied.
"Correct. Agent Bredon was sent to New York City to gather information about the growing presence of recreational drugs that are laced with a form of diacetylmorphine, which is more commonly known as—"
"Heroin," Duo finished for her grimly.
"Correct again." Une seemed pleased. "I'm sure it's quite obvious to you both why this is such a pressing issue. The heroin has been showing up in drugs like marijuana and LSD, and in increasingly large amounts. Our assumption when we sent in Agent Bredon was that the local drug dealers were trying to use the heroin to make normally non-addictive substances highly addictive, to increase the drug dependency of unsuspecting users."
Upon hearing that, Heero frowned. "That doesn't make any sense. Any drug manufacturer would know that heroin doesn't mix well with other substances. Users are far more likely to overdose than to become addicted to the impure drugs."
"That occurred to us, too," Une agreed, "which is why we sent in Agent Bredon. He had gathered all the information we needed to make the arrests and was supposed to contact me to arrange the details, but…" she broke off.
"Something went wrong?" Heero asked dryly.
Une shot him a frosty look. "We haven't heard from in two weeks."
Now Duo was frowning. "Why isn't U.S. Drug Enforcement dealing with this?"
The look that Une gave him was unreadable. "Manufacturers and dealers don't benefit from overdoses," was all she said.
Duo's eyes widened. "You think Drug Enforcement is responsible?"
"No, I don't," she said swiftly. "But I do think someone who used to be a member of Drug Enforcement may be responsible. Although we know who to arrest and where to find them, we've been unable to track down any background information on the organizer. All we know is that he now goes by the name Conleth."
"Conleth," Duo repeated slowly. "You mean the Irish word for 'fire'?"
Une nodded in agreement. "It's often translated as 'chaste fire.'"
"Or maybe 'cleansing fire'?" Duo pointed out.
Now Une was definitely pleased. "I knew you two were the perfect pair to send on this mission. Do you accept?"
"Of course," Heero replied firmly for the both of them.
"Excellent. You leave tomorrow. I'll send you the necessary materials for your briefing. And remember," she added sternly, "this may also be a rescue mission."
Duo gave her a mock salute. "Yes ma'am!"
Une rolled her eyes. "You two are dismissed," she said resignedly with a wave of her hand.
They left her office in a sombre mood, each reflecting on the upcoming mission. As they passed the insufferable young man again, he sniggered loudly.
"What's the matter, Maxwell? Get chewed out by the boss?"
Heero kept walking, but Duo paused by the man's desk and smiled sweetly at him.
"I don't think that's any of your business, Junior Agent." He emphasized the word "junior."
The young man flushed slightly, but quickly recovered and gave Duo a look of contempt, his eyes resting on the long braid and Duo's slim build.
"At least I'm not sleeping my way through the ranks. I had parents who taught me not to be a slut," he snarled.
The man was obviously still very new. Anyone else at Preventers would have known better than to say something like that, and even if they were foolish enough to insult Duo Maxwell to his face, they would have at least had the sense to apologize profusely right after—or duck. As it were, Duo was still smiling rather serenely as his fist made contact with the man's nose in a satisfying crunch.
(1) Tip of the hat to my favourite (fictional) detective, the unparalleled Lord Peter Wimsey. I have a burning desire to pick through my Dorothy L. Sayers collection again.
A/N: This was meant to be a warm and fuzzy story, but things took a more serious turn towards the end of this chapter... The plan for the next chapter is to deal with the slightly darker and more serious content in a lighthearted, somewhat humorous way. (Hopefully that's possible!)