Warnings: angst, 1xR, 2xR,
Rx?, either Heero or Relena may be bastardized, but I can't tell which
one is anymore. Maybe they both are?? Oh well. Light
lime in later chapters, 4+3/3+4 implied.
Disclaimers: The song is Fiona's, the boys belong to some production
company somewhere, not making any money from this,
you know the routine.
Spoilers: none (I hope!)
Feedback: Pretty please? With little chibis on top? (You
pick which ones ~_^) Post here, or you can e-mail me at
quelirain@yahoo.com.
Never Let You Go
Chapter 5
by quelirain
What I need is a good defense
'Cause I'm feeling like a criminal
And I need to be redeemed
To the one I've sinned against
Because he's all I ever knew of love
|
By the time Relena finished, she was in tears
again. "I left him there. I walked out and left him there. Then I heard
the shot..." Sobs quickly made her words unintelligible.
Tenderly, Duo pressed his lips to Relena's forehead,
one hand rubbing her back. She burrowed her face into his shirt, needing
the temporary refuge it provided. After a few minutes, she pulled away
from him and scrubbed at her eyes. "I'm sorry. It seems like all I've been
doing lately is crying at people."
"Don't apologize." Duo leaned down to kiss her
mouth lightly, then rested his chin on the top of her head. When he felt
her relax into his arms, he asked, "There was a shot?"
Relena took a deep breath before answering, "Yes.
The cab arrived, and I heard a gunshot."
Duo gave her a quick squeeze, then slipped out
from underneath her and walked to his desk. Relena watched from the couch
as he typed on a keyboard embedded in the desktop. She could see several
windows pop up in the monitor set on the corner of the desk. Eventually,
Quatre's face filled the screen. "You've reached Quatre," the image said.
"Unfortunately, I'm not available at the moment. Please leave a message
and I will return your call. Thank you."
Duo punched in a few more keys. The image froze
for a moment, then another image of Quatre popped up. "Please enter your
personal security code."
With a few more keystrokes, Quatre's image resumed
speaking. "Hi guys! I know you're looking for me, but that doesn't change
the fact that I'm not here. I'll be on Earth for the next few weeks, spending
some time in Paris. I hope to see Relena while I'm there, but we'll see
what her schedule permits. Uh, Nasira's playing baby-sitter this time,
so give her a call if you really need to find me. Otherwise, leave
a message after the tone."
"Hey, Q-man, you know who this is. Call
when you get a chance." Duo severed the connection and typed some more.
"Wouldn't his secretary keep his schedule?" Relena
asked.
Duo shook his head. "His secretary knows where
he's supposed to be. Nasira's his sister. She knows where he actually is."
After a moment, a pale woman with bright blond hair and dark brown eyes
that seemed filled with unexpressed emotion appeared on-screen.
"May I help you?" The cultured, feminine tones
immediately confirmed the woman as a Winner.
"Nasira Winner?"
"Yes, I am she." She peered into the vid screen.
"And you are..."
"Duo Maxwell."
The woman turned from the vid screen to type something
into a off-camera keyboard. She stared in that direction for a while, presumably
at a screen, before turning back to Duo. "I'm supposed to ask you for a
number."
"02."
Nasira smiled. "Yes, Duo Maxwell. Quatre speaks
of you often. How can I help you?"
Duo gave her a lazy grin. "Well, I'm looking for
Quatre. His comm said that you were keeping his schedule this time around."
"Let me see." Nasira turned to the invisible computer
again and typed. "He's working out of Paris for the next few weeks...
hmm, that's odd." The typing ceased.
"Something wrong?"
"No, not exactly. It appears Quatre has cleared
his schedule through the end of next week."
Duo's face became serious. "So where is he?"
"I'm checking..." The typing resumed. "He didn't
leave specific details, though he did mention he would be checking his
messages."
"Nothing else?"
"No, but I can give him a message if he calls
here. Is there anything you'd like me to tell him?"
Duo considered. "Just let him know that Duo's
looking for him. He'll know how to reach me."
"All right." Nasira and Duo said their goodbyes,
then Duo was typing again.
"Now what are you doing?" Relena asked.
"Calling Wufei."
As he spoke, Wufei picked up the other end of
the call. "Maxwell. What did I do to deserve this?"
"We have a situation."
"Explain."
Duo leaned back in his chair, interlacing his
fingers behind his head and crossing a slender ankle over his knee, and
gave Wufei a quick summary of events. As Duo spoke, several expressions
flitted over Wufei's face, too quickly to interpret, then his mouth settled
into a grim frown. "I'm in Old New York. I can be in Paris in 3 hours."
"No."
Wufei arched an eyebrow.
"I want to send Relena to you. I'll find Quatre."
"Duo, no!" Duo glanced at Relena as she
sat up. "I— I'm responsible for— for whatever happened. I can't keep running
from Heero, and—"
Wufei's other eyebrow rose as he heard Relena's
voice. "You have her?"
Duo ignored Wufei's underlying question and answered
Relena. "You can and will keep running from Heero until he calms down."
"No. I can't," she replied just as coldly.
Duo turned in the chair, his jaw tensed. "You
realize what you're saying? You want to go to Earth to face down a fully-trained
Gundam pilot?"
"I don't intend to attack him. I intend to reason
with him."
Duo snorted. "Reason with Heero when he's on a
mission? I don't think so."
"Whatever decision you reach," Wufei said quietly,
"I recommend you make it quickly. If I understand the... situation correctly,
Heero's next logical destination will be L-2."
"He's right," Duo said. "You can't stay here."
Relena took a deep breath. Then she took another.
"Relena—"
"I'm going with you." Relena met the rapidly-darkening
violet-blue eyes, steel in her tone. "Stop worrying about Heero. We don't
know if he's with Quatre. For all we know, he could have killed Quatre
and hidden his body somewhere."
"She may be right," Wufei said. "Yuy is capable—"
With a growl, Duo turned and hit a button on his
keyboard, cutting off Wufei's voice, then returned his gaze to Relena.
The look of icy rage on the braided man's face went beyond the famed death
glare.
Shinigami was pissed.
Relena swallowed. "I don't like it either, but
it is possible."
Duo closed his eyes and just breathed for a while.
She could see his neck muscles tensing, then releasing that tension. When
he finally opened his eyes, he knelt before Relena, placing his hands on
her knees. "Relena..." His eyes pleaded with her. "Please trust me on this
one. Stay with Wufei. I'll deal with Heero."
Relena looked away from the puppy-dog expression
Duo was making at her. It would be so easy to sit back, let the boys take
care of her, not worry about a thing... but it wouldn't be right.
//Why should they have to clean up a mess I created? I can't let hem do
that. I won't let them do that.//
"Why would he listen to you?" she asked.
Duo looked down at his hands. She felt their grip
tighten around her knees. "I don't plan to talk to him."
Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant.
"You're not going to kill him."
The American froze, not even breathing, then stood
and walked to one of the windows, looking out with his arms crossed.
Relena pressed her lips together, waiting silently for Duo to turn around.
When he did move, he strode back to the vid, where
Wufei was waiting patiently. He pressed a few keys. "I will escort Relena
to you in Old New York. ETA 8 hours. I'll keep you posted." He severed
the connection, then left the room, slamming the door behind him. Relena
stared blankly at the closed office door long after he had gone.
~owari Chapter 5~
