A/N: For the Gundam Wing RarePair Big Bang hosted on Tumblr.

A/N #2: Thank you, as always, and seriously never enough, to Ro for beta reading and always supporting me!

A/N #3: I've tried to simplify the world of technical theatre so that this doesn't become a technical production manual and I hope it flows accordingly.

Pairings: 6x2, ?

Warnings: Angst, language, sex (the usual)

Offstage

Chapter Four

The day, which had started out as a very special kind of awful, only got worse.

Zechs had stared at Duo for a solid minute, his face going from surprised to shocked to horrified to pissed, before Meilin had drawn his attention away.

"Have you had enough coffee to function yet?" she asked, and Zechs transferred his glare from Duo to her.

"No," he bit out. "Because someone didn't refill the pot after he finished it."

The rest of the staff looked over at Quatre, who offered up an apologetic grin.

"Sorry?"

"So I'm just now getting started," Zechs turned back to Meilin.

She smirked, and it was a lot like watching a kid poke a beehive with a stick, Duo realized.

"Rough morning?" she guessed.

Zechs' glare could have easily frozen over hell.

Hilde nudged Meilin's shoulder. "Whatcha bet he tried to pick up some guy at Mike's and got shot down?"

Duo swallowed hard and looked down, at his feet, as he felt his cheeks heat up.

This could not be happening.

"If you're done being horribly wrong," Zechs responded, "we need to get to work. I want the shop completely cleaned out before lunch. After lunch, we're going to help Cathy set up the actor housing."

Duo looked up when he heard the rattle of keys and the lock to the barn doors being opened.

Zechs opened both barn doors wide, revealing a spacious, if cluttered, shop.

It looked as if, at the end of the last summer season, everything had been shoved into the shop in a hurry.

There were plastic bins, piles of scenery and tools scattered everywhere.

"Shit," Zechs muttered, and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "I need to go pick up the power tools from Nan's house this afternoon." He sighed. "One of you can come with me, and the rest can go with Cathy."

"Not it," Meilin said instantly, and Hilde nodded.

"Me either - I had to go last year," she said.

Zechs swung his gaze over to Quatre, who adamantly shook his head.

"Nope. I need to set up the paint shop this afternoon."

Zechs next looked at Trowa, who offered him a smirk and a shrug.

"I'm only working for you this morning - this afternoon I need to start checking the dimmers and make sure all the lobby lights are in working order." He jerked his head in Duo's direction. "Take the kid."

Zechs scowled and rubbed his eyes again. He did not look in Duo's direction.

"Fine." He gestured at the mess. "Now let's get to work."

They only had two hours until lunch, and Duo had his doubts they would be able to get the huge space completely clean - they started out by hauling all of the crap in the middle of the barn outside, and Meilin, Sylvia and Zechs sorted through it while Duo and Hilde continued to clean. Trowa, after making sure that all of the outlets worked, stuck around and helped Heero and Quatre disassemble some of the scenery that had clearly been left behind after last year.

Just when they finished cleaning out the barn, Zechs announced it was time to move all the stuff outside back in, and everyone pitched in to haul cabinets, lumber, spare scenery and an assortment of furniture back inside.

It was still cold, and after working his ass off, Duo was sweating. It was not a pleasant mix - his sweat cooling as it trickled down his back - and he shivered uneasily when he paused for a moment to catch his breath after moving a huge desk back inside.

"Get back to work," Zechs said, pushing past him. "Lunch is in twenty minutes, and you can take a break then."

Duo glared at his back - he had seen all of the others stop and take a sip of water or coffee or just pause before grabbing another load. He wasn't slowing anyone down, and Zechs hadn't said a word to any of the others.

Duo drew in a deep breath and followed Zechs back outside.

They had just finished moving the last box back inside - an incredibly heavy box of stage weights that Duo and Heero moved - when a loud, old-fashioned bell rang.

"Lunch!" they heard someone shout from the direction of the theatre.

Almost everyone groaned in relief, and started to move towards the theatre.

Zechs, however, went back inside the shop, and Duo hesitated.

He should say something. Should apologize or explain or- or something.

But after having Zechs glare at him for two hours, Duo was finding it kind of challenging to follow him into the barn.

"Did you hear the lunch bell?"

Duo turned and saw Cathy walking towards him. Everyone else had already escaped, and Duo found himself caught by her disapproving glare once again.

"Yeah, I was just on my way…"

She nodded and looked past him.

"Is Zechs still in there?"

Duo nodded, and Cathy drew in a deep breath.

"Good. You should get going."

She walked past him, clearly expecting Duo to scurry along, but there was something about her determined stance as she walked into the barn that made Duo linger.

"Cathy," he heard Zechs say. "I was going to come find you. I need to borrow the truck this afternoon so I can get the tools from Nan's. Can-"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Cathy's angry voice interrupted him.

Duo winced.

That morning, Cathy had looked pissed - had sounded angry and disappointed when she told Duo off, but this was a whole new level of anger and he was very, very relieved not to be on the receiving end of it.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you sleeping with your eighteen-year-old intern."

There was a long, painful silence.

"Well?" Cathy eventually demanded, and Duo could easily picture her standing in front of Zechs, arms folded, glaring up at him.

"Well, what?"

"Do you care at all that he- Zechs, he's a child, and you-"

"He is not a child," Zechs interrupted, his own voice just as low and savage as Cathy's.

"Stop sleeping with the fucking interns, Zechs!"

Before Duo could move, or make any effort to appear as if he hadn't just been eavesdropping, Cathy stormed out of the barn.

She looked furious, and Duo swallowed hard when her gaze landed on him.

"I'm sorry," he said to her, his face red and his heart pounding. It had been a long time since someone had looked at him like that - and the last time it had happened, Duo had ended up getting shipped off to a group home for six months.

Cathy's face softened minutely, and she sighed.

"Just- go get lunch, Duo."

This time, Duo listened to her and headed towards the theatre. Even if he did want to still apologize to Zechs, he doubted the other man was in any mood to hear it.

-o-

Zechs didn't show up for lunch at all, and afterwards, the shop staff piled into a few cars with Cathy and drove off.

Duo had no idea where Zechs was - his Jeep was in the parking lot, as was Cathy's blue truck - so he cautiously made his way back to the scene shop.

The doors were open, and Duo stepped inside.

He spotted Zechs right away, standing beside the huge, industrial first-aid kit on one wall of the barn. He had a clipboard in one hand, and he seemed to be taking an inventory.

"Zechs?"

It felt weird - it felt wrong - to say his name, and Duo felt himself blush as he thought about what they had been doing less than twelve hours ago.

The other man turned, and he scowled when he saw who had said his name.

"I… You… you wanted help getting the tools from Nan's?" he mumbled.

Zechs sighed. "I'll do it myself. Just- go with everyone else to set up the housing."

"They've already left."

Zechs closed his eyes and shook his head, and Duo could sympathize with him - he wasn't exactly excited about any of this either.

"Fine."

Zechs slammed the first-aid kit closed, the sound loud and sudden enough that Duo jumped.

"Let's go." Zechs brushed past him, not waiting, either confident that Duo would follow or, probably, hoping that he wouldn't.

The ride to Nan's took forever - almost forty-five minutes of driving over winding, country roads - and it was excruciating.

Zechs glared at the road, his hands gripping the steering column tightly, and Duo practically clung to the passenger side door. He could feel the anger rolling off of Zechs, and it felt like it was getting worse with every mile they drove.

When Zechs finally pulled over in front of a huge, sprawling Victorian clapboard house, Duo sighed in relief and jumped out of the truck.

Nan, Duo would later learn, was a long-time friend of the theatre. She routinely donated money, came to every opening night performance for every show, threw a party for the company on the Fourth of July, and, in the offseason, stored the shop tools in her house so that they wouldn't be exposed to the harsh New York winters.

Zechs was slower to get out of the truck, and Duo followed him at a distance as he mounted the stairs up to the front porch.

His shoulders were stiff, his entire body screamed with tension and anger.

He rang the doorbell, waited a few minutes, then rang it again.

A moment later, the door opened and a tiny, white haired lady even shorter than Duo opened the door.

"Milliardo!" She held her arms out wide.

Duo watched as the other man, who towered over her, leaned down and allowed her to hug him. Her arms couldn't even reach all the way around his back, and Duo found himself grinning at the sight.

Until Zechs pulled back and glared at him.

Duo sighed, and forced a neutral expression onto his face when the old woman turned to him.

"And who is this?" she asked.

"New intern. David."

"Duo," Duo corrected.

Zechs swallowed hard and looked away.

"Duo," he repeated, his voice rough.

"Well, Duo, how are you liking things at the Playhouse so far?"

"Um, I just got here last night."

"I'm sure you'll settle in in no time - Zechs will take care of you, won't you?"

Zechs' expression turned sour, but he nodded.

"We came by to get the tools," he said, clearly eager to escape this line of conversation.

"Oh, yes, of course. Come on in."

Duo followed them in, and had to fight the urge to gag as soon as he stepped inside.

It smelled awful. The air reeked of… rotten eggs? Chlorine? Bananas? Some awful mix of things that had his stomach roiling.

"Nan, what is that?" Zechs asked.

"Oh - something wrong with the plumbing. My disposal has been acting up again."

"Have you called anyone to come look at it?" Zechs asked, his own face just as disgusted as Duo felt.

"James," she turned to Duo, "my son, is coming to visit next week. I'm sure he can fix it."

"Nan, how- how long has it been like this?"

"Just a week. No, two weeks now."

Duo stared. He had no idea how she managed to live with the smell this strong.

"You can't wait for James to come up, Nan. This is-"

"Oh, Milliardo, stop worrying. It hardly even bothers me anymore. Now-"

"Can I take a look?" Duo asked.

They both turned and stared at him.

"At what?" Zechs asked with a frown.

Duo rolled his eyes.

"The disposal."

"Are you a plumber, dear?" Nan asked, sounding impressed.

"No," Duo shrugged, "but I had a foster-father who was - I used to tag along with him. If it's simple, I can probably fix it. And if it's complicated, I promise not to make it worse."

"Oh, well, how sweet you are!" Nan beamed at him. "You don't mind?"

Duo shook his head. "No, I don't mind at all." He looked over at Zechs. "The tools-"

"What do you need?" Zechs sighed.

Duo listed off everything he could think would be handy, and Zechs went off in one direction while Duo followed Nan into the kitchen.

The smell was a lot worse.

Duo couldn't believe she had lived with it for so long - couldn't believe that no one else had come by and insisted she get it looked at. And then he thought about it. She was all alone out here - it had been more than a mile between her house and the last one Zechs had driven past.

She was alone, stuck with this awful smell, and was just patiently waiting for her son to come by. Her son that hadn't stopped by in at least two weeks.

Duo felt angry - she was a helpless old woman in the middle of nowhere - and he opened the cabinet doors under the sink with more force than necessary.

"Do you have an old towel or something I can use?" he asked her, as he started to pull everything out from under there.

The smell was overpowering, and Duo wished he had his bandana with him. Instead, he tried to breath as little as possible. It didn't really help.

Duo turned on the faucet in the sink, and then the disposal. It sounded fine - didn't sound like the blades were broken or the motor was working too hard - but almost immediately a jet of foul, black water shot up at Duo.

He jumped back, disgusted.

With a sigh, he turned off both the water and the disposal.

"What do you think it is?" Nan asked, coming back and handing him a rag.

"I think there's a blockage somewhere. Have you tried Draino or anything?"

She nodded, and he sighed again. That would, of course, have been way too easy.

Zechs came back with a battered tool box and handed it to Duo.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asked.

"Yes," Duo assured him, a little annoyed.

He lay down and scooted back under the sink, grabbing one of the wrenches from the box and setting to work.

He started to loosen the connector beneath the drain. It was difficult - it felt like the collar hadn't been touched in years, and was practically glued in place.

Duo grunted with the effort, and had to brace his legs on the kitchen floor before giving another fully-body push with the wrench.

The pipe came free, and with it a downpour of that same black sludge that had shot out of the sink.

Duo let out an unmanly shriek, but he wasn't able to move in time, and he felt something solid and wet drop onto his chest, felt more of the sludge spew onto his face and into his open mouth.

He rolled out from under the sink, coughing and retching, grabbing for Nan's rag and using it to try to wipe out his mouth.

It was awful. Duo could taste-

He forced himself not to think, as his stomach gave a heave of protest.

"You okay?"

It was Zechs, kneeling beside him, another rag in his hand.

Duo stared over at him and shook his head emphatically no.

Zechs wiped at his face, his touch gentle, and Duo held his breath.

"Oh my." Nan stood just behind Zechs, and she looked horrified.

"You had a blockage," Duo coughed. He swallowed, accidentally, and regretted it immediately.

He looked down at his shirt, at the lump of hair and decomposing food that had fallen out onto him. He grimaced and used his rag to try to wipe it off - but it just flattened against him, absorbing into the material, and Duo could feel it on his bare skin under his shirt.

He shuddered.

"Oh, you poor dear." Nan sounded as miserable as Duo felt.

"It's okay." He waved away her concern, and then scooted away from Zechs. "Just - let me make sure that was all of it."

He really didn't want to, but Duo crawled back under the sink and reached up into the pipe. He clawed out more of the awful stuff, until he could run his finger around the rim of the pipe without encountering any obstacle, and then he realigned the pipe and the collar and tightened it back on.

"Try running the water," he instructed, and he saw Zechs stand up, walking over so that he stood above Duo's sprawled body.

The water came on and Duo looked carefully for any leaks - there were none.

"Great, now the disposal."

The sound of the motor whirring was louder, under the sink, but it still sounded fine.

"Any crap coming out of your end?" he called up.

"No." Zechs sounded almost amused.

Duo closed his eyes in relief.

Thank god.

Duo pulled himself back out and sighed.

"Do you have another rag? I'm sorry, but some of that stuff splashed out and I want to clean it up."

"Oh, goodness. You darling boy. Here, will paper towels work?"

Duo nodded, and Nan held out a roll to him.

Duo, his fingers grimy, just stared at it.

Zechs rolled his eyes and took it from her. He tore off several sheets and passed them to Duo.

"Thanks."

He had to get several more sheets from Zechs, but after a few minutes he managed to scrub the cabinet clean.

"There. Good as new."

He tried to smile, but he felt some of the sludge on his lips and the expression died.

"Sweetheart, why don't you take a shower?" Nan offered. She looked at his shirt. "And I'm sure I have some of my John's clothes around here."

"Is that okay?" Duo asked Zechs.

Zechs scowled. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't want to hold us up or-"

Zechs snorted. "You aren't riding in the truck with me, smelling like that."

Duo flushed at the way Zechs looked at him with derision and disgust. It was a hell of a lot different than he had looked at Duo last night.

"Right. Um… thanks," Duo turned to Nan and forced a smile. "That would be great."

"Good, you just take off your clothes here, so you don't track any of that mess through my house."

"Wh- what?"

"Take off your clothes, dear." Nan's stare was implacable.

"But-" Duo looked between her and Zechs.

"I've seen it all, sweetheart. I was married for fifty-seven years, and I raised two boys. Now, come on, off with those."

She made an impatient gesture, and Duo sighed.

As carefully as he could, he pulled off his shirt, trying desperately not to get more of the black stuff on him as he did. He balled it up and reluctantly handed it to her.

"Now the pants."

Duo emptied his pockets, setting his wallet, phone and multi-tool down on the kitchen table before he toed off his boots and then stepped out of his pants.

Standing almost naked, in just his boxers and his socks, he passed over his pants and did his level best not to look in Zechs' direction.

"Good, let me put these in the wash to soak," Nan said, and walked away.

Duo stared after her, red-faced and shivering.

He gave in, and peeked over at Zechs. The other man was studiously looking anywhere but at Duo. He seemed to be intently memorizing the wallpaper pattern between the kitchen counter and the upper row of cabinets.

"Now," Nan came back in at last, "follow me upstairs and you can get cleaned off."

She led him into a very pink bathroom - from the tile to the towels to the wallpaper, shower-curtain and strange pink ceramic rabbit soapdish.

"There you are, dear. I'll find you some clothes, just go ahead and get right in," she gestured towards the shower.

"Thank you," he said, and closed the door when she walked away.

He was relieved to step under the warm spray of water - his first shower in two days - and he had to fight the urge to undo his hair and wash it thoroughly. He was pretty sure none of the black sludge had gotten into it, and he was even more certain that Zechs would resent having to wait for Duo to wash his hair.

They did, after all, still have to load up all of the tools, drive back to the theatre, and then unload them.

He scrubbed his face clean, and tried to rinse out his mouth without swallowing more of the awfulness, and then quickly washed the rest of his body, including his still-sore ass.

He couldn't help but think of Zechs, as he ran his fingers over his own skin, and he felt himself start to grow aroused as he remembered Zechs' touch last night.

There was a knock on the door, and then Nan's voice.

"Here you go, dear. A few things for you on the counter. Just come back downstairs when you've finished!"

Her voice was like cold water on Duo's arousal, and he had to clear his throat before he spoke.

"Thanks!" he called out, and waited until he heard the door close before peeking around the curtain.

She was gone, and there was a bundle of clothes on the counter.

With a relieved sigh, Duo glared down at his traitorously half-erect cock. He rinsed off and then stepped out of the shower.

He dried himself off quickly, and then pulled on his boxers and socks before looking at the clothes Nan had brought.

On top was a yellow t-shirt, a little faded, with black palm trees and a glowing sunset. Welcome to the Philippines, it read.

Duo pulled it on, grimacing when his soaking wet braid stuck to the back, and then he stared at the pants she had brought.

They were khakis, but when he lifted them up he saw that the waistband was elastic and the front fly… was velcro.

He had never encountered pants like these before, and he put them on gingerly.

Staring at himself in the mirror, Duo lifted the hem of the shirt and stared at the waist of the pants.

They were a little big, even with the elastic waistband, and they looked… they looked just like the kind of pants an old man would wear.

Duo sighed, dropped the shirt back down, and left the bathroom.

He found Nan downstairs, opening up windows in her kitchen to get rid of the smell, but Zechs was nowhere in sight.

"Where did Zechs go?" Duo asked as he put his wallet, phone and multi-tool into the pockets of the pants. He felt the waist sink even lower, so that it was just riding above his hips.

Great. All he needed was for his pants to fall down.

He tried to adjust them, but they just slipped back down.

"He's out back, loading up the tools."

Duo sighed. And now he was going to feel like a lazy asshole.

"Which way?"

Nan indicated a door at the back of the kitchen, and Duo, after putting on his boots, left by it.

He came out just in time to see Zechs carrying a band saw past him, on his way to the truck.

Duo, who had had the dubious pleasure of painting the floor of his CSU's shop before leaving for the summer, had had to help move all of the equipment out, and he remembered quite clearly how heavy a band saw was with two people moving it.

He debated walking over and trying to help with it, but he was fairly certain Zechs would take his head off.

So, Duo looked over and saw a garage, the roll door open, and assumed that was where Zechs had come from.

He walked over and saw a table saw, chop saw, dozens of cases for portable power tools, and a bench grinder.

With a sigh, Duo went for the bench grinder. It was heavy as hell, but Duo didn't want Zechs calling him out for slacking off again.

They worked in silence, each carrying tools on their own, until all that was left was the table saw, which was impossible for one person to move.

Duo waited for Zechs in the garage.

"Just get that end," Zechs nodded towards the side that didn't have the motor, the lighter end.

Duo, because he was stubborn, took the opposite end.

Zechs glared at him.

Duo glared right back.

"Fine."

Zechs picked up the lighter end.

Because of their height difference, it was slow and painful going. The metal feet of the saw kept hitting Duo in the knees, and he was seriously regretting making a fuss about lifting the heavy end by the time they stopped beside the open bed of the truck.

They set the saw down, and Duo shook out his arms.

Zechs arched an eyebrow, but was mercifully silent.

After Duo had caught his breath, they worked together to lift the saw into the bed of the truck.

Zechs climbed up and pushed it back, before strapping it into place and then hopping back down.

He closed the bed of the truck and nodded towards the house.

"Let's go and try to escape from Nan."

"Escape?"

Zechs nodded, but didn't elaborate.

Duo followed him back into the kitchen, where Nan had laid out a plate of cookies on the counter.

"I thought you boys might like a snack before you go," she said with a smile.

Zechs shook his head and held up his hands, a smile on his face.

"I wish, but I'm still really full from lunch."

Duo arched an eyebrow at the blatant lie, and when Nan held the plate out to him, he gladly accepted a cookie.

"Looks great," Duo said, and took a bite.

And immediately choked.

It looked like a simple sugar cookie, but it did not taste like one. Not only was it rock solid, but it was… salty.

He saw Zechs smirking at him, and Duo forced himself to chew and swallow.

"Mm," he mumbled. "Really good." He quickly shoved the rest of the cookie into his mouth, chewing and swallowing as fast as he could, and praying he didn't die.

Nan beamed. "Here, have some more."

Duo stared at the plate in horror.

"Um, I don't want to hold us up…"

"Oh, no worries, dear. I'll wrap a few for you to take. Now, I'll come by the theatre next week and drop off your clothes, dear, if you don't mind waiting that long?"

Duo stared as she dumped the entire plate of cookies into a bag.

"That's fine. I'll wash these and have them ready for you," he plucked at his borrowed shirt.

"Oh no, no, you keep those."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Consider it my thanks for fixing the sink."

She handed Duo the bag of cookies, and then turned to Zechs with outstretched arms.

"You take care of yourself, dear," she said as she kissed his cheek. "Don't go falling in love with some idiot who doesn't appreciate you again."

Zechs stiffened in her embrace.

"I won't," he assured her, and she stepped over and, unexpectedly, hugged Duo as well.

"Thanks," he managed to say. He couldn't remember the last time he had been hugged. Years, at least.

Duo followed Zechs out of the house and climbed back into the truck. He had to pull up his pants as he sat down, and he saw Zechs arch an eyebrow in his direction.

"You're collecting quite the wardrobe," he said, gaze sweeping over Duo as he turned to back the truck out of the driveway.

Duo flushed at the reminder of the sweater he had stolen.

"Um, I'm sorry about that. I'll give it back. I just-"

"I don't care," Zechs said, as he pulled onto the main road and put the truck into drive. "Keep it."

He was back to being tense and angry, Duo saw, and he sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"You're sorry? Do you have any idea-" Zechs made a frustrated sound. "You lied about your age."

"No, I didn't."

"You were in a bar, Duo. Mike doesn't let minors into his bar."

"Okay, I'm not a minor, I'm eighteen - and I told him I wasn't twenty-one. I just wanted something to eat. It wasn't like I went there hoping to hook up with-"

"You went home with a complete stranger! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

Duo stared at Zechs' angry profile in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? You're really going to give me that lecture when you are the one who took me home in the first place?"

A muscle in Zechs' jaw jumped, and his hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"I never would have done that if I knew who you were," Zechs said, his voice low and rough.

Duo sighed. "Yeah, well, neither would I. You think I want to be the idiot who slept with his boss? Who-" Duo stumbled over the words as he thought about the fact that he'd lost his virginity to the other man.

"You're eighteen," Zechs muttered, and shook his head. "You're a freshman in college. I have students your age, Duo."

It sounded like a fair amount of Zechs' anger was now directed at himself, and Duo swallowed guiltily.

"You teach?"

Zechs spared him a glance before turning back to the road.

"At Emerson. This was my first year," he gave a bitter, derisive laugh, "and things went really fucking well, until-"

"Until me. I get it. And I'm sorry. I-" Duo really didn't know what to say.

"For fuck's sake, that was your first time. It shouldn't have been like that. It shouldn't have been with someone like me."

"You didn't seem to care about that last night," Duo pointed out.

"Because last night I thought you were twenty-one. Last night, I didn't know you were my intern."

Duo swallowed hard, and stared out of his window.

"I'm sorry about Cathy," he said eventually. "She saw me leave this morning and gave me a ride. I- it's not like I wanted to tell her."

It was, apparently, the wrong thing to say.

Duo glanced over and saw that Zechs was even angrier.

"You don't just do that," he muttered.

Duo frowned. "I said I was sorry. It's not like-"

"You don't just leave like that, without saying anything. I thought- I thought I hurt you or you freaked out, or- I was worried about you."

Duo had to look away again. Zechs' voice sounded raw, and his mouth was set in a tight, furious line.

"I did freak out," he admitted. "I didn't know… what I was supposed to do. What you'd want, or if you even wanted to see me again, or- I didn't know."

Zechs sighed. "Did I- Are you okay?"

Duo nodded. "I'm fine. A little sore. But I'm fine."

The rest of the ride was in silence, and Duo had a hard time figuring out if things between them were going to be better or worse.

Zechs pulled into the theatre parking lot and steered towards the shop.

"The next time someone asks you to stay the night," Zechs said as he parked in front of the scene shop, "don't run away in the morning. They want to wake up beside you. They want to see you again."

Zechs gave Duo an inscrutable look, and Duo felt his mouth go dry.

He nodded.

"Okay. I'll… remember that."

-o-