Warnings: mild violence, mention of fictitious death, mention of prostitution & drugs, coarse language, M/M lime/lemon, and general adult situations.

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is a product of Sunrise & Bandai Entertainment, I do not claim ownership to these characters, only to my own words.

A/N: To those of you still reading I thank you for staying along for the ride even as updates have become few and far between! Also, to those of you still leaving me amazing reviews, you seriously make me day and inspire me to keep on writing, so I thank you for that. And now onto the next installment...

Chapter 12: Just Hidden, Not Forgotten

"Say that again?"

"He thinks I'm in love with you- actually I think his exact words were 'unhealthily obsessed.'"

"You've spoken with him?"

"Yeah, he's pretty much been threatening my well-being since the day he found out I was back dirtside."

The realization that the word 'love' had been spoken entirely in the context of Zechs Merquise's paranoia hit him full force in the sternum. It was wholly possible that the statement had been the utmost truth, but at this point- and with Duo's proverbially smirking mask cemented firmly in place- Heero wasn't sure what to believe.

His tongue began to sting for a moment before Heero realized he'd been biting it. "Perhaps we should be discussing the Kruse situation before delving into other matters-"

"No, that's just it-" Duo interrupted, eyes widening as if some sort of epiphany had occurred in his haphazard train of thoughts. "-what if there's a connection here. Shit, how would Merquise've known where to find me- unless of course it was a happy coincidence for him to find us at Pavot-"

Heero's fingers moved to tighten against Duo's wrist. "Get a grip, you're sounding trigger happy," he growled, staring at the other man in serious confusion. "Are you sure some of that blood wasn't your own?"

"I'm fine," Duo spat back. "And since when are you one to defend Zechs?"

"I'm not defending him," Heero answered in a low and barely patient tone. "I'm just not going to start incriminating the man on the basis of unfounded hunches and whatever dispute you're having with him."

"Dispute? Don't make it sound so domestic," Duo sneered back. "And have you forgotten that you, Heero, are a fairly large component in this 'dispute' or whatever the fuck you want to call it?"

Heero was just about to argue that they didn't really have time to be arguing about this when they were interrupted in a surprisingly fortuitous way for once.

Quatre was there, his eyes locked on the way Heero was still grasping Duo's arm, white knuckles and all. He swallowed once and then met their stares with a practiced smile of innocence.

"Wufei has made tea," he informed. "I think perhaps in hopes of initiating a productive discussion on how to proceed forward with this- this investigation." The word 'investigation' came out rather like something unfamiliar stuck to the man's tongue, which for some reason made Heero's throat tighten with the urge to laugh.

Duo pushed off the wall- fully ignoring Heero now that there was a new presence to focus his incessant ideas on- and ambled towards Quatre with something knowing glinting at the depths of his eyes. "No offense, Quat," he said, draping a languid arm across petite shoulders. "But why the hell is a respectable representative such as yourself involving himself in this pool of potential criminal activity?"

The braided man guided them towards the kitchen, Heero trailing behind with a dissatisfied feeling brewing in his stomach, nothing to do with his earlier sickness, and listening to Quatre's pointed laugh as he answered, "Can't let the rest of you have all the fun now."

Duo leaned in with a intrigued grin. "Don't wanna keep those white gloves clean?"

Heero was almost certain he saw the blond's eyes roll in actual contempt. "Do you forget they're already covered in blood owing to a certain couple poking around where they oughtn't not be?"

"You know," Duo chuckled, not bothering to acknowledge Trowa or Wufei's looks as they entered the small kitchen. "The one thing that really bothers me about that statement is the weird use of 'couple.'"

It was almost unconscionable to think, but Heero had to agree with him.

"Funny, I have this unmitigated feeling that there's something you're hiding from us." Trowa spoke, dry as ever, and directly towards Heero- for whatever reason.

He opened his mouth to respond in kind, but Quatre seemed to find the need to have at it first. "Nothing to do with the conversation we are about to have, I assure you."

If it'd been anyone else, Heero had the feeling that Trowa might've argued, but instead he leaned back against the sparse countertop and folded arms across his chest, oddly defeated.

"I was promised tea," Duo announced, sidling up to Wufei with that smirk wrapping his features. But there was something off about it, as if he could sense that the impending conversation was not going to bode well for them. Or at least, that's what Heero was feeling as he joined them by settling himself with one shoulder against the entryway.

"And I was promised that you wouldn't do anything stupid, but we don't always get what we want, do we?" Came the sharp response, though still a small white cup was handed off to the braided man, the rising steam rolling backwards with the motion.

Heero waved him off when Wufei gestured towards him. Duo, before taking a tentative sip, screwed up his brows a bit. "Never promised a thing- don't know what you're talking about."

It seemed, by the way Wufei's flexing fists were beginning to tremble, that an even more child-like argument was going to ensue, but then, just as suddenly as his temper had seemed to emerge, he took a steadying breath and looked Duo straight in the eyes.

"Your last investigation with Preventer was working a case of money laundering and a breach of classified information out of Representative Lindsey's office."

The words seemed out of nowhere, but based on Quatre and Trowa's non-reaction, they'd been practiced before in the company of others- how many it couldn't be certain, but for now Heero could only assume that this investigation was still limited to their little oddball group- perhaps not excluding Une herself- and the thought of that didn't entirely make Heero feel at ease.

Duo, for what it was worth, kept his composure. He exhaled slowly, a ploy for more time as Heero could practically see the wheels frantically working inside his mind. The statement hadn't been so much in the 'accusatory' realm, as it had been in the 'looking for chinks in that armor of nonchalance' realm. Duo's voice was calm when he spoke next.

"I want you to know that it will be your fault if this conversation turns a bit ugly. Here I thought we would be talking about more important details of this case-"

Wufei's jaw ground forcefully. "This case? How is this any less involved in those murders? You stabbed a man."

And then there was Quatre, leveling open palms at his shoulder like some sort of partially motivated mediator. "It was attempted- as far as we know Kruse isn't dead." His voice was filled with little confidence in that matter.

Duo growled. "It was self-defense-"

"Unfortunately I don't think that will go over well in a courtroom. You went with the man willingly- in a brothel." Trowa spoke with the levelness he was known for, though there was something near regretful there, lingering in the background. "There's no evidence past that, other than what was exchanged between you- which will be flimsy at best."

"If Prev hasn't been notified then no court is going to be involved-" Duo was cut off yet again, but this time by a strong hand a his shoulder.

Heero stared at him hard. "I don't believe that is why Chang has brought this information up."

There was a brief pause amongst them all. Duo set down his tea and Wufei managed to unfurl his tightly clenched fists. The agent spoke with a new edge of softness. "Duo. Why did we go to Pavot, really?"

Duo just stood, tense and disbelieving. A warmth radiated off his skin like a flush of- uncertainty? Embarrassment? Heero didn't know, and could not read him either. The mask seemed to be crumbling, but to reveal something foreign beneath it.

"You think I've gotten you all involved to help settle some little score from over a year ago on a colony and a case where none of you have even the slightest grounds? Kruse is a bastard, but that's not why I targeted him tonight. His name was plastered all over Emir's book."

"That doesn't exactly elevate my desire to trust you," Wufei intervened sharply.

With a sneering grin Duo shot back, "Gee thanks. What a kind pal-"

"I am not asking you this as your friend, Maxwell!" Wufei's hand jumped forward, fingers furling around Duo's wrist to catch his attention. Red was beginning to crawl up his neck. "Now look me in the eye and tell me that you had no ulterior motive here."

Duo's eyes narrowed in his direction, but he did match the fierce gaze. "No ulterior motive, Chang- it's a coincidence." With that he managed to pull his arm free, making the move to stand infinitesimally closer to Heero than he had been before.

In turn Heero frowned, but for other reasons altogether. "But wouldn't Kruse recognize you?"

"Duo wasn't exactly a major player on the case- think 'consultant,'" Wufei answered acidly before the braided man could even open his mouth.

"Thank you," Duo spat out dryly, eyes rolling. "Now why are we still so hung up on this when we could be discussing Zechs Merquise walking onto the fucking scene or the phone number I've retrieved with minimal bloodshed."

It was one of those moments where Heero thought Duo might say something joking like, 'too soon?' But he didn't. He just stood there, stiff as a board, and utterly serious.

Wufei turned his sights on Trowa with a raised brow. The other man shrugged one shoulder, just barely. "He was hostile, but not as though he were looking to kill."

"This is serious," Quatre hissed out in a low whisper. Heero had to replay the words in his mind- had that been anything but serious? The blond was shaking his head and Trowa just glanced down at him with the hint of a smirk tweaking the corner of his mouth.

Heero didn't really care to stay on the topic for too long anyways. "Wrong place at the wrong time. He's looking for Duo to settle something personal- nothing to do with Preventer or this case."

"What's it with you lot and poking holes in all of my leads?" Duo griped, folding arms across his chest as if in a pout.

"Hardly leads," Wufei said, though less condescending than the words could've come out. "We'll stop when your ideas are not so full of hot air."

"Heero." It came out as a whine. Duo actually whined his name, but by the time he'd turned his vision to the side the man was already stumbling over the childlike embarrassment of it. He cleared his throat, which really didn't do anything at all to help.

Heero watched Trowa's mouth quiver and Quatre's brows furrow rather horrifyingly through his peripherals. He licked his lips before speaking. "Maybe now is not the best time to be discussing these things."

"Yes, I agree," Quatre added, eyes lightening only a fraction as the attention was turned back to him. "It's been a long night. A bit of sleep would do us all good."

In translation that really meant 'you're all sounding like idiots, now go to bed.' Heero knew it for certain. And suddenly, shoulders slumping a fraction, he was beginning to agree with the sentiment.

A half hour later he found himself back at Duo's apartment, because naturally where else would he go? Duo had already shipped Hilde off to spend some 'much needed vacation time' with some sort of second-cousin, once removed, or other- and even though Quatre had offered him a suite in his Brussels home, Heero somehow felt that to be even more uncomfortable than shacking up with the person he'd been...well, shacking up with.

And what with the things Quatre had explained to him- he was suddenly beginning to think that maybe Duo- in all his mysterious, murderous, Shingiami fashion- wasn't as bewildering as he'd once thought.

In fact, he wanted to go home with Duo, to his bed, to sleep there with him. And really the only problem with that was that he wanted to go home with Duo, to his bed, to sleep there with him.

All manner of these things were still floating annoyingly around his head when Duo turned to him after they'd crossed the threshold, took one head-to-toe look at him and said very plainly, "You look rough, Yuy."

Heero, for his sake, wanted nothing more in that moment than to ignore the words that had just been so blatantly thrown at him, understanding that- more than likely- Duo was simply just trying to get a rise out of him. It was unfortunate that he was fairly well succeeding in his efforts.

"You're trying to tell me that you look any better?" Heero responded pointedly, throwing a few fingers forward to address Duo's various areas of disarray.

At that Duo looked down at himself, an odd glow coming to his face as though he'd just now realized that Heero was, in fact, correct. For all intents, it seemed to be a shocking revelation for him. "Yeah, I need a shower I guess."

Duo returned his gaze back up, not waiting for any specific response, but simply staring. For a deadly second Heero mulled over his options of response if the braided man were to ask him if he'd like to join.

But instead, "You should change at least. Is that the same shirt you wore yesterday?" were the words that escaped those lilting lips.

Heero was now the one to glance down in inspection of his outwardly appearance. Was it? He couldn't quite piece together the last time he'd even begun to pay attention to what articles of clothing he was even wearing. "Hn," he grunted out, some sort of inflection attaching itself to the end, making the gruff noise sound like it wasn't totally sure of itself.

Duo was chuckling under his breath, already making his way down the hall towards the bath. "If you've gotta do laundry, we've got machines in the basement," he called backwards. "In the meantime you can borrow something of mine if ya need."

A grimace attacked Heero's features, but the expression was lost on Duo- thankfully- as he opened and closed the bathroom door without another word. In the loud silence left behind Heero could hear the lock being thrown, crystal clear.

With a sigh he turned to check on his duffel, almost forgotten in it's place sitting next to his temporary bed in the living room. It pained him to realize that he did, actually, need to do laundry. Though he wasn't sure what bothered him most- the idea of having to endure domestic chores in the morning or having to rifle through one of Duo's drawers for suitable garments that would probably- most definitely- reek of the man. And not in a bad way, of course not, but rather in a freshly laundered, warm salt, dark leather sort of way.

He'd just have to deal with it.

Heero made his way down the hall to Duo's room. It was smaller than he'd expected, the full size bed nearly taking up the entirety of the square-shaped space. Along the right wall sat a squat chest of drawers, the only other furniture to be noted.

It was surprising to find that the bedroom was actually much neater and well kept than he'd imagined, knowing Duo at least. The bed was fairly well made and there was an actual piece of art- some sort of painted scene done in dark shades of blue and gold- hanging on the wall. The drawers were also folded and organized he came to realize as he began searching for something ordinary to wear.

After deciding on a grey shirt and black track pants, Heero was beginning to feel okay about the situation. These clothes did not cause his skin to melt away or his breathing to become erratic, which were both good signs. Their scent did remind him of the man currently naked in the shower, but for only a few dangerous seconds did it cause any unrest within his subconscious.

After gathering up his own clothing, his eyes drew around the room one last time, imagining Duo actually having spent time to go out and buy matching furniture- modern and bland as it was- and an actual painting- framed and all- when his gaze was drawn to a particular item that seemed to stand out amongst his pre-notions of a certain braided menace.

There was a box on the dresser, cherry wood with an intricate nature scene carved into the lid, gold plated hinges swirling down the backside, a little hook on the front that told him it wasn't locked. It was elegant and not something he thought to have ever found in the bedroom of one Duo Maxwell- no this item seemed like it would be more at home in Wufei's tasteful studio. And yet here it was, and here he was, curiosity dangerously peaked.

He placed tentative fingers against the latch, and with a soft click lifted the lid back to reveal a pearl inlaid interior. There was a litany of things resting within the container, papers and hand addressed envelopes, a delicate wooden rosary and a few eclectic looking trinkets. Heero spotted the worn edges of something familiar peaking from underneath a twine wrapped stack of what looked like old postcards and allowed his fingers to slip underneath, pulling the thin piece of paper into view. He recognized it almost immediately, there above large printed words of warning sat a grainy image of a young boy, bruised and hanging limp against the arms of anonymous Oz uniforms. It was Duo's old wanted poster from the war.

Heero felt himself scowl. Why would he have saved something such as this? And for all this time? He imagined the thing tacked to the wall of Deathscythe, perhaps a grave reminder or else motivation to push forward, to complete his mission, to become The God of Death he always spoke of.

He studied it a moment longer before his vision picked up something else resting at the bottom of the box, the contents having been disturbed just enough to reveal not another image of Duo, but one of himself. Poster now discarded, Heero pulled at the photograph, realizing at once that it was a clipping from one of the glossy magazines he'd found himself unwillingly apart of post-war and now post-Relena. And there were others too, beneath it, some attached to articles, some cut from newspapers, most from the tabloids that had had their way with him, no thanks to Preventer or anyone else for that matter.

Swallowing hard, Heero stared down at himself. Suit pressed neat and tidy, holding a glass of half-drunk champagne, a silk gloved hand stuck in the crook of his arm. He couldn't bring himself to look at her, not her face or her elegantly dressed body, nor the forced smile she wore on her lips.

But then his eyes caught the folded edge of another paper, something familiar and typed out in a block style that he'd seen before. He found his fingers tugging at the edge to dislodge it from the box, careful not to disturb the other contents. He'd pulled it halfway before his muscles ceased listening to the commands of his brain.

Rose are red, violets are blue. Yuy, you're dead, and now Maxwell is too.

He found his hands start to quiver, heard the sound of the shower being shut off, and did his best to put what he'd found back the way he'd found it, closing the chest just in time for Duo to saunter in, towel wrapped firmly against sharp hipbones.

For a deafening moment he could hear were Quatre's words: He's got this hold over you- always has and it seems to me he always will.

"Is everything alright, Heero?"

He could barely swallow down the words that were bubbling at the back of his throat. He probably looked half-in-shock, the sensation of his eyes pulling wider than usual not lost on his subconscious. So, naturally, instead of admitting defeat he took a defensive step forward, grabbed at the towel clinging to that sharp waist and pulled.

Heero had never before seen that shade of pink covering anyone's entire body before, but most especially, he'd certainly never seen it on the ever-shameless Duo Maxwell.

But it seemed the embarrassment of the moment was not destined to last long. Reality came back to them rather like a slap in the face. It only took a few short seconds for that smirk to reappear and for Duo to pounce.