Mutual Obsession

Mutual Obsession
Part Three: Heero

I met him when I botched my first mission. I hadn't even entered the Earth's atmosphere correctly, leaving Wing somewhere on the ocean's floor. Oz had sent out suits to find it; the whole thing was a mess. Duo was the one the doctors sent to clean it up. When he found out what all the commotion was about he decided to keep Wing for his own use, and it was during his retrieval of the thing that he came into my acquaintance. He shot me. Twice.

I woke up in a hospital room, he helped me escape, and I stole parts of his gundam to go on my next mission. The whole thing was forgotten. Except, of course, I contacted Doctor J for information about the pilot of Deathscythe. It was always good to know about the people you would be fighting with, or against. I learned about how Professor G found him in the cargo hold of his ship, how he had been trained and given permission to steal Deathscythe. Duo Maxwell, from L2 colony, particularly skilled with stealth, theft, lockpicks, and knives. His statistics indicated a greater intellect than he had let on during our encounter, and I realized that his joyful exterior was probably just a cover up. A mask.

I saw him again several times after that, most noticeably during New Edwards. The transport I had stolen alerted me to an intruder in the freight compartment, and thinking back I think he had intentionally tripped the alarm. Our trip to New Edwards was where I think it began, my fascination for the longhaired boy, though I didn't know it yet. He had been happy with the thought that he might be returning to space soon, and I think genuinely so. After he expressed his sentiments he just looked ahead of him, into the sky, towards the colonies. I watched him. He seemed so unguarded, and I knew it wasn't his mask talking just then. I thought…maybe it would be nice, to get to know Duo Maxwell, the real Duo Maxwell. But I didn't say anything, and that was the most he opened up to me during the war.

After we had returned to outer space, I received orders to go to L2. It was an inconsequential mission, just something trivial the doctors wanted done in between more serious objectives. It would take me a few hours at the most, but I would be staying there two days. I was walking to a motel when something caught my eye. I was walking past a cleared area of land. It was strange, nestled between shops and houses, and it looked as if something had once stood there years ago. Given the L2 government's lack of funds, it wasn't surprising that nothing had been built to take its place. But there was a sort of plaque near the sidewalk, half broken and covered with decaying grass. The letters on it caught my eye, and I leaned down to make out the remaining words.

Maxwell Church of Catholicism
Church and Orphanage


Maxwell. It reminded me of Duo. But I'm sure, there were a lot of Maxwell's running around L2. But still. That night, in the motel, I searched for things on the church, coming up with the Maxwell Church massacre. Apparently, Oz had burned down the church after accusing it of housing rebels that had stolen a mobile suit. I hacked into Oz records, though, and something didn't add up. The rebels couldn't have stolen the suit, not the way I figured it must have been taken. They would have needed some one small, some one dexterous, and skills in stealth would be a plus as well. I even managed to get the name of the sole survivor of the massacre: Duo. Just Duo, no last name.

The next day I was back at the church site, just looking. There was a boy there, a few years my junior, probably living on the streets. He saw me looking, and told me a story about an orphan who had lived in the church. He told me the story of the plague.

So I had learned part of Duo Maxwell's story, albeit backwards, and only later on did it strike me. Why had I bothered?

And then he was caught, and I decided I needed to get rid of him before he let any secrets slip out to Oz. And I couldn't.

I realized then, that I was fixated on the boy. I didn't know why. Maybe it was the way he had survived through so much, some kind of perverse type of respect. But then I realized it had started before that, and I had no real explanation for it, other than the fact that I wanted to know more about him. It was an obsession. Then I thought back. I remembered how he rescued me from the hospital, how he had given me that one genuine moment on the way to New Edwards, how he had found me at the school I had infiltrated, and finally, I remembered what he had said to me when I went to kill him. It was my destiny to be killed by you. And I thought, maybe, it was a mutual obsession. We never said anything during the war, but I thought maybe it was one of those things we would leave unsaid. Akin to Quatre and Trowa's relationship, maybe, and I never doubted that we shared a similar type of connection.

But after the war was over, he went back to his salvage yard. I didn't see him again until Mariemeia showed up. When I woke up in the hospital that time, after defeating Dekim, I had half expected Duo to be there waiting for me. I breathed his name, but when I had completely regained consciousness, it was Quatre who was awaiting me. He wanted us all to live together. He explained his reasons, told me how Trowa, Wufei, and Duo had already agreed. Duo had agreed. I said yes.

So we went through our daily routines, acting towards each other exactly like we had been towards the beginning of the war. We went to school, we went grocery shopping, we did all those things normal kids our age did. And then, out of nowhere, he decided to leave.

"…besides, you guys don't really want me here."

"We don't want you here?" I was somewhat confused at the turn of events, confused as to why he would want to leave.

He smiles, sadly, as he brushes past me. "Yeah, you don't have to act like it's not true. It won't hurt my feelings. I was kind of hoping we could all be a kind of family...I never really had one of those. But things just didn't work out."

He holds up his hand, expecting me to shake it, but how could I? He was leaving me. I sat down on his bed after he leaves, angry at him, hurt more than I thought was possible. He had just left me. I thought we had an understanding.

Quatre came in a little after Duo left, asking me about the braided boy.

"He stole the motorcycle?"

I almost snapped at Quatre's words, angry at what he was accusing Duo of, but I let it slide. It was the first indication I had of why Duo had left. The second was a few days later, when I was eating lunch with Wufei. I know I hadn't been acting myself, and Wufei had no doubt noticed, and I thought he was smart enough to put two and two together and link Duo's departure with my behavior. But then he inquired about the missing boy's whereabouts.

"…Maxwell. Where is he, any way? His fan club doesn't seem to be around."

I don't even know what to say to that. How could he not have noticed? "Duo moved out four days ago."

He didn't even say anything about it. He just looked a little agitated, probably just because he hadn't been completely aware of his environment, but then shrugged it off. "Good riddance."

Duo's departure was starting to make sense.

I was trying to do math homework when Wufei came in a few days later. I wasn't really concentrating on math, though, my thoughts elsewhere. I was thinking of Duo, during the war, of our encounters. I was thinking maybe I had imagined our connection. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part, or a heightened ego. I don't know. And then Wufei had insulted the boy, and I didn't really know what to do about the situation. Really, did he expect me to agree with him when he basically called Duo a fool? So I told him Duos story, the pieces that I had picked up over a year ago. And I could tell, when I was finished, he felt somewhat remorseful over judging Duo. I was glad.

After he left I wondered into the kitchen, intending to get a snack to eat. I caught part of Quatre and Trowa's conversation, standing still as I realized who they were talking about.

"What about his character?"

Quatre fixed me with a strange expression, part condescending, part unbelieving. "He's from L2."

"So what?"

"L2 incubates thieves and whores. If Duo's not one he's the other, and most likely he's both."

That comment sets me off, and I lose what self-control I had. Everything Quatre and Wufei have been saying this last week rushes at me, along with Duo's comment. You guys don't want me here anyway. The next few seconds are a haze to me, but the next thing I know I have Quatre pressed against the wall, blood running down his face. "Duo is not a thief or a whore. Not anymore. And even if he was, he was just doing what he needed to survive. At least he's not a spoiled, selfish brat."

I was furious. Then Trowa rushes at me from the side and I end up on the floor, my right eye screaming in protest as he punches me. I realize, to my dismay, that I'm crying a little. I wipe the tears away, getting up and storming to my room. I'm angry. That's why I'm crying. I'm angry at Quatre, I'm angry at Wufei, and maybe I'm even angry at Trowa. It's their fault that Duo left. It's their fault that Duo left me.

I was sitting on my bed when I realized it. I had been so stupid. Duo had left, and I hadn't even done anything about it. I hadn't tried to get him to stop. I hadn't gone after him. I felt like an idiot. If he didn't want to stay here, there was no reason for me to be here either. With those thoughts I got up and started stuffing things into a duffel bag, intent on catching the next flight to L2. I would go find him.

I wasn't even going to say goodbye to the others. I packed in less than five minutes, heading down the stairs and straight to the front door. My hand had just wrapped around the doorway when some one entered the foyer.

"Heero."

I look back, mildly upset at the interruption. "What?"

"I think we deserve to know where you're going."

I snort at that, but I tell him any way. "I'm going to go talk to Duo."

"Why?"

"Because I want him back." And then I'm pulling open the door, moving forward, and closing it on a confused Trowa Barton. I had no doubt that Trowa knew about my fixation with Duo, he was aware of everything that went on in the house, and he probably knew me the best. We could relate to one another, the supposed perfect soldier and the mercenary. I probably wouldn't have told any of the others.

The shuttle to L2 took five hours. The ride to the garage Duo worked at took another twenty minutes. I stood outside an open door, the smell of auto grease and metal assaulting my nose, loud voices calling out into the air.

"Hey, Jimmy, pass me the monkey wrench."

And then I heard his.
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