Rival Chatter

Chapter 14

Watching Duo and his knife-throwing skills was one of the hardest things I've done. I'm not sure who was more nervous: Cathy, Duo, or me. I think I held my breath the entire time, only mildly taking note of Meiran clinging onto Wufei's arm with a vice-like grip. I think she was cutting off the circulation if her white knuckles were anything to judge by.

By the time Quatre came in, Duo had just given his bow and had already retreated behind the curtains from whence he had come. He sat with us until the show ended, and surprisingly enough, let his "Malicious Quat" personality show through. All in all, I think it was mostly the stress of Towa going AWOL coupled with the fact that we had known each other for a long time that allowed me to see this side of Quatre. I just really hope he gets help soon enough, that other personality of his is peeking out too often.

Later that evening, after dinner and Wufei's "little" announcement, I asked Duo to stay the night with me again. Quatre was going to be staying with Trowa for a bit, and Wufei had to break the news to his parents, so we'd be alone. He said he'd just go home and pack some things and then he'd meet me at the safe house. I really didn't want to go home yet, besides, if they were really worried about me, they'd call my cell phone.

I walked in and went straight for my computer. Grabbing the laptop, I walked over to Wufei's room to hook it up to the printer before proceeding to print out some of the WebPages that I'd visited while Duo was gone.

Just as I had finished and shut down my laptop, I heard the front door slam shut and Duo's boots stomping against the hard wood floor.

"Duo?" I called out as I came down the stairs to intercept him. He looked tired, a haunted look in his eyes. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Just… unpleasant memories…that's all," he said, with a forced grin. I didn't like it, but I didn't force the issue. Instead, I went to him and gave him the hug he deserved.

Wrapping my arms around him, I felt an unexpected warmth flow through my body as he practically melted in my arms. Blushing a little, I tightened my hold on him and nuzzled the top of his head as he began to shake. That seemed to snap him out of it as he suddenly began pushing me away, but he was still shaking.

"Get away from me, Heero! I'm dangerous! I'm a killer! You don't need to be around someone like me!" He was near tears now, and all I could do was watch. "I'll KILL you!"

Stung and stunned, I stared at him. He was babbling, but the words weren't registering.

He stopped talking and gave me the most wretched look I'd ever seen in his beautiful eyes. After a moment, I realized he was expecting me to say something, and was looking very defeated and hurt.

I forced myself to shake it off and grabbed him around his waist again, "Don't leave me, Duo. I don't care what you've done in the past. I don't care that you're dangerous. I just care about you being happy… and being with me."

I felt him shudder in my arms and I held him there for a few moments.

"I have something to show you," I said as I pulled him up to my room.

At the doorway, he stopped, looking at me warily. It took me a moment to realize why he had stopped, and it made me smile a little. Stepping over to my desk, I grabbed the printouts I had left there when dropping off my laptop and returned to him.

"If it makes you more comfortable, I can show you in the living room," I said.

He nodded and led the way, slumping down on the couch as soon as he was close enough to make it.

Carefully, I spread the printouts on the coffee table and waited for his reaction. On the pages were images of different houses, apartments and condos in various price ranges. I watched Duo closely while he took them in, picking one flier up, then another.

"What is this?" He asked quietly.

I wrapped an arm around his waist, kissing his cheek gently, "I did some research while you were out this afternoon." I said. "I really want to move in with you if you still want that, and I may be getting ahead of myself, but I wanted to… I don't know… I wanted to show you that I was serious."

His eyes never left the sheets in front of him, allowing me to continue.

"My favorite happens to be this one," I pointed to a decently priced condominium. It was spacey, but not overly so, they allowed pets, and the area had an excellent security system. "Just… think about it, okay?"

I saw Duo nod as he placed the papers back on the desk. He then curled up against me and had me hold him.

"This is for real, isn't it, Heero? You're not just playing games with the poor, little street rat, are you?" he whispered.

"It's for real."

"Good."

"When are you telling your parents?" Duo asked after a few moments.

"I'll tell them that I'm moving out tomorrow… when I go pick up the rest of my things. I can live here in the meantime, until we find a place of our own."

"Are you sure," he asked again,

"I'm sure."