Chapter 10
They didn't let me take missions without Heero for a while after that. I suppose I couldn't blame them. I really looked terrible, and I marveled that they'd been able to hold their protective tendencies in check during those horrible Two Months.
And I couldn't help but feel grateful for anything that allowed me to wake up each day wrapped up in Heero's arms.
I suppose we were really close for best friends, the little furtive glances I got from the others were proof that they certainly thought that, but hey…I guess we were just really affectionate best friends. That's not a crime or anything, is it? I was just glad they didn't know we slept together, that would like be pouring gasoline on already fairly large fire of suspicion.
So here we were, at another high school. In the past couple of weeks, I'd gained back half of the weight I lost, and didn't look like a skeleton anymore. I was glad. I didn't like staring into the mirror to find a stranger. It's kind of…disconcerting.
Now, back to the high school. Gods. High school meant girls and girls meant crazy fan clubs. Heero and I had squirmed wildly to avoid these kinds of missions, but couldn't escape this one.
Quatre and the others had had some…alarming experiences with girls at high school, but their popularity was nothing like ours. Or at least the one time we'd gone together.
Our mission this time: assassination. A traitor had been discovered, and he was pretty high up, from what I heard. He fled to the safest building in the Oz network: their headquarters.
He wasn't to be allowed to live; he had way too much critical information, and he was a traitor. Simple as that.
So…we infiltrate headquarters, which is no walk in the park, kill one guy, and somehow, among all the ringing bells and running people, get out in one piece. Hmm. Seemed like a freakin' kamikaze mission to me.
We weren't even allowed to just blow up the freakin' building because that would not be 'profitable for our cause.' I don't know why the hell not, but orders were orders.
And you know what? To make this mission even better than it already was, guess who was also going to this school?
Yep, you got it, Relena Peacecraft.
You had to kind of wonder what the hell she was doing in a school so near Oz headquarters, but I guess Oz was more concerned with us Gundam pilots than her because they weren't trying to kill her but were frantically trying to find out who we were and eliminate us.
I'm sort of surprised they don't have reward posters everywhere.
As we were walking in, Heero heaved another sigh. I took his hand, and said, "It's alright, let's just try to avoid her, okay?"
"I can't," he hissed, "wherever I go, she's there. I don't know how she does it."
Heero is totally fearless…except when it comes to girls. He gets a lot of credit for not turning tail and running away the moment he read 'Relena Peacecraft,' okay?
I sighed, "Jeb…" This time, we decided to choose each other's names, and I had searched a name book for practically an hour, waiting for the perfect name. I never knew that looking at names could be so…fascinating. And when I saw 'beloved friend,' I knew that was the one I was going to give Heero. When I told him its meaning, he'd looked at me with the strangest light in his eyes, and then smiled a little crookedly. I was absolutely mesmerized by that smile…it was almost impossibly…charming.
His choice for me was Keefe, which he said meant handsome, and I scowled at him, demanding if he wanted to jinx me when there were high school girls within a hundred foot radius. So, he was Jeb Lowe, and I was Keefe O'Malley.
Then we were interrupted by an overbearing school official, who gave us a really quick tour, and I could see Heero getting tenser and tenser, especially as we passed girls who stared blatantly at him, and my braid too, I think.
The lady dumped us in our dorm room with barely a by your leave. I sighed. Somehow we had incurred the wrath of a teacher and before we'd even started school, too.
I closed the door and walked over to Heero to clasp him in a tight hug. I still found his hugs so very precious, after it took me so long to attain them. I couldn't help but feel a fierce satisfaction that I was the only person he allowed that close to him.
He hugged me back so forcefully I squeaked, and his arms loosened instantly. I raised my head from his shoulder to grin at him, and realized with a shock, that somehow, despite the growth-stunting drugs the scientists had fed us, he had shot up another inch.
"Hee-ell, Jeb!" I said, wincing at my slip, "you've grown taller!" Before, the top of my head had brushed his forehead, now I barely touched his nose.
"I have, haven't I?" he said, a little surprised.
I scowled. "At this rate, you're going to grow as tall as Mr. Silent," I grumbled.
On undercover missions, we each had our little codenames. Trowa was obviously Mr. Silent, and though I wanted to call Wufei 'Mr. Moody,' I wasn't sure how he'd react, so we settled on calling him Ponytail Boy. His reaction to that one was funny. Remember I told you I found bug-eyed looks hilarious? Yep, they certainly were and are. I insisted on calling Quatre 'Bumblebee,' which no one understood but me. 'Member? Quatre: bees, Trowa: honey. Heero was Mr. Perfect and I'm told they call me 'Our Precious Gem.'
The look on my face when they told me that must've been damn strange because I distinctly remember Wufei laughing for practically ten minutes straight.
I bet he was the one who thought it up too, just to see my reaction. Bastard.
We stayed inside our dorm all afternoon, and didn't even go out for dinner. We were both sort of bolstering up courage, I suppose, for the next day, for Relena Peacecraft and just girls in general.
I sincerely, sincerely hoped that it wasn't going to turn out like that debacle of screaming girls it did last time.
At 2000 hours, we just crawled into bed together, and I used my 'soothing voice,' trying to get Heero calm enough to fall asleep. Soon enough, sleep claimed him, and I followed soon after, still kind of bemused that I didn't have to worry about nightmares.
The next morning, we tried to make a quiet entrance into the cafeteria, we really did.
But the moment we walked in, the entire place fell silent, and every single head turned to stare at us avidly. Gods, I thought, we're not really that interesting, are we? These guys need a TV or something.
The air around Heero practically froze, and I could feel all his defenses going up so fast, I was surprised I couldn't hear the walls snapping into place.
It was sort of freaky, watching his glares crackle at the whole room where just minutes before, his eyes were smiling at me, but boy, was it effective.
Cowed, everybody turned away, and allowed us to fetch breakfast and eat it in peace.
Our classes went by, for the most part, in a blur of boringness. In fact, I think that the entire education system has perfected its technique of boring the hell out of its students. I wondered if schools long ago were this dull. I wondered if they had schools long ago enough that they weren't boring.
Our merging with the rest of the students was rather rocky. Heero's glares for one, obviously set us out, and so did my braid and purple eyes.
That was made clear to me rather forcibly while I was waiting for Heero next to the bathroom.
"Hey, pretty boy," I heard a voice drawl on my left side, and I whirled.
It was a rather cruel-looking boy, older than me and way taller. I suppose some people would have called him handsome, but there was a creepy light in his eyes that made me want to crawl under a bed and hide.
Waitaminute…pretty boy? "What the hell did you just call me?" I asked angrily.
"Pretty boy," he smirked, "with your hair, and your eyes, I think you fit the criteria perfectly."
He leered. "You know what pretty boys are good for?"
I felt trapped, with my back to the wall. "I'm not a pretty boy, whatever the hell you're talking about, so piss off."
He took a step closer, and I tensed, ready to spring at him. Heero walked out of the bathroom, and took in the scene swiftly.
He looked at the boy, and I could feel him tensing right along with me. He obviously didn't like that strange look in the guy's eyes anymore than I did.
"Who are you?" he growled.
A little taken aback, the guy said, "I'm called Chase." I could see him reassessing the situation, and he backed off, with just one threat.
"Until later, pretty boy," he purred, and left.
The air left me in a gasp, and I relaxed, finding with no little alarm that I was trembling.
"Are you all right, Keefe?" Heero asked, his concern almost palpable.
"I'm fine, Jeb. He just surprised me, that's all."
He placed a hand on my shoulder to gauge my tension, and discovered my obvious trembling, "You're shaking," he said uneasily. "Who was that guy?"
"I don't know…just some bully, I guess," I said dismissively, "don't worry."
"Keefe…" He looked at me searchingly.
"I'll be fine," I managed a weak grin, "let's just stay away from him, okay?"
"All right, Keefe," he agreed reluctantly, but didn't press me for more.
That night, we celebrated having eluded Relena Peacecraft for an entire day, and not being mobbed by girls.
But then it was time to work on our mission. This one had a time limit…we had to kill the guy, if possible, by the third night, and we'd already wasted one, so we spent the entire night reconnoitering the headquarters, and hacking into their security system.
All in all, we only got one hour of sleep, and the day dawned way too bright and way too early for us.
I yawned my way through Math, English, and Science, and nodded off during History, waking up only when the bell rang.
Then, it happened. Relena discovered Heero. She fell on him like a starving wolf on sheep, and the hungry look in her eyes only reinforced my analogy.
For the rest of the day, she followed him around like a puppy…a very scary, pink puppy. Finally, we holed up in our dorms, and when dinner rolled around, I offered to go get it so he wouldn't have to brave the outside world again.
I grabbed some bag…dinners at the cafeteria, and headed back.
When I turned the corner, and saw Chase leaning against the wall, my stomach plummeted, and I grimaced.
He uncoiled from his lazy position as I walked closer, and I glared at him, daring him to get near. He took the dare, and one better.
He slammed me against the wall, and I was so surprised, even my swift soldier instincts didn't kick in.
"Pretty boy," he said, looking down at me predatorily, "where's your friend?"
I was frozen with fear. I had pretty much figured out what he wanted to do, and I remembered L2 with a flash. I was a little street rat again, pinned to the wall by an obviously drunk man. That day, I was so afraid I was going to become one of those street kids that just up and disappeared, only to be found dead days later. But right before he could deliver my first kiss, he'd fainted. Fainted. I couldn't believe my luck, and for a while after that, I had avoided drunks like the plague. The fear I'd felt when he had pressed himself against me all rushed back in a paralyzing rush.
Run! My mind screamed, and I struggled mindlessly and ineffectively for a minute.
"You don't have to pretend," he said, "I know what you like. I saw the looks you gave that Asian kid."
I gaped at him. Heero! My best friend? I couldn't…
He took advantage of my frozen state by licking my earlobe, and I just snapped.
The soldier flooded back into me, and coolly, I kneed him in the groin.
He gave a sharp gasp, and let go of my hands, doubling over. Then, I punched him in the face. Hard. I think I heard his nose break.
I sort of vaguely remember picking up our dinners, and then after that it was just this feeling of needing Heero, needing his arms around me to soothe the memory away.
I scrabbled at the door to our room, my hands shaking with reaction, and then flung myself in, slamming the door closed.
He looked up, sitting at his lab top, and said in a distressed voice, "Keefe?"
I dropped the bags on the floor and just flew at him, almost knocking him off sideways from the chair.
I tried to curl myself into his arms, and he picked me up and laid us on the bed. I felt like I was about to shiver myself to pieces, and tried to make myself even smaller.
Remembering the feeling of his tongue on my ear, I whimpered.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Heero asked in a frantic voice, and I realized that I was scaring him out of his wits with my shaking and moaning.
I managed in a strained voice, "I'm fine."
"Don't be an idiot, Keefe," he growled, "something happened and you're going to tell me what."
I refused to answer.
Suddenly, he said in a moment of insight, "It was that guy, Chase, right?"
I stiffened, and he said coldly, "What the hell did he do to you?"
"N-Nothing important," I said, cringing from his angry tone.
"Keefe…" he said warningly.
"Nothing, it was nothing," I said, pulling myself from his arms to sit on the edge, back facing him, "I was just careless, that's all."
"What did he do to you?" Heero said in his iciest voice, and I flinched. Softer, he said, "Keefe, I'm not mad at you, I just want to know."
I deflated. "He just slammed me in the wall and tried to kiss me, that's all," I sighed, thinking that that was a pretty stupid thing to get so panicked over.
"What?" Heero ground out. I didn't want to turn around and see that furious look in his eyes, so I didn't.
Then he reached out and pulled me in again, and I sighed.
"I'm sorry; it's really silly of me to get all freaked out over that."
He was silent for a moment, and then said, unexpectedly, "I don't think it's silly. I think you had a perfectly acceptable reason to…freak out."
"Really?" I couldn't help the hope that crept into my voice.
"Yes."
Then he said in a murderous tone of voice, "And where is he?"
"I dunno, somewhere back there," I made a vague gesture indicating the direction. "Why?"
"So I can go kill him," he said matter-of-factly.
"Jeb!" I drew back, trying not to laugh.
"What?"
"It's alright, you don't need to kill him. I've already broken his nose." I admitted.
"That's all? At the very least, you should've broken both his arms and his nose too," he looked at me doubtfully.
I laughed, and snuggled into him. "Thanks, Jeb, you're the greatest."
"You're welcome, Keefe," he said, and his voice was like a caress.
We gobbled down our dinners, then prepared for nightfall. It was a given that we'd go for the kill tonight; too many factors not to: our orders, Relena, Chase.
But first, I went to the bathroom and scrubbed my ear with soap until it was raw.
"Keefe?" Heero stared at me. "What's wrong with your ear?"
"Just felt like washing it," I said nonchalantly.
He grunted and leaned against the doorway. Then he just stared at me until I broke.
Totally humiliated, I said in a revolted tone of voice, "He licked it."
His eyes darkened angrily.
"It's all right," I told him, "I washed him off."
He grunted again, and then left the bathroom. I wasn't sure to be relieved or disappointed.
Then Chase's lascivious voice came back to me, "I saw the looks you gave that Asian kid." What looks? He was my best friend, of course I looked at him fondly, maybe even lovingly…but not lovingly in that way, right?
Yeah, I decided, he just misinterpreted them. Well…not that I don't like boys, but it's not like that with Heero. Is it? It couldn't be…
I was so…confused, and on the brink of banging my head into the wall, so I decided that after the mission, I'd figure it out. Distractions could be deadly in our line of work. A fancy excuse for delaying something I didn't want to know.
The sun was minutes within setting, and I bounded out of the bathroom, smiling at Heero. Silently, we packed our things, Heero was always afraid of the rooms being bugged, no matter how unlikely it was…hence the reason we always called each other by our codenames even in the privacy of our dorms.
Getting into the building was a piece of cake. Heero's hacking skills made it possible.
We found our subject reading a book in a leather chair smack dab in the middle of the building. He didn't even see us coming.
Then, of all the things, a girl walked in from the bathroom, saw us standing over the guy's body, and screamed.
God, what a scream she had. We overwhelmed her and gagged her within seconds of stepping in the room, with the shriek still ringing in our ears. She was like a freakin' banshee.
We don't really like to kill innocents, but that wasted precious time. I didn't doubt that somebody had heard the commotion, and that we'd have the whole building on us in a matter of minutes.
Okay, we had to come up with a plan. A plan, plan, umm…shit!
I flipped my gun up to fire, but Heero took him down first.
Right…maybe we should just run like hell and hope we don't die. Gods, what a disaster.
And that's exactly what we did. I think we broke a track record, dashing from one end of the building to the other in record time.
My lungs felt about ready to burst by the end of that, but it was worth it.
Nobody even stopped us, and the alarm went up just as we flung ourselves out.
Wow, I thought, that was easy. Frightening beyond belief, but hell of easy.
We were back at the safehouse before morning.
We slept for the rest of the day and through the night, only waking up sporadically when Wufei brought us something to eat. That awful incident with Chase was pretty much pushed into the back of my mind, with the one with the drunk guy.
The next day, I found out something very…perplexing.
While looking through that book of names again, just because I was bored, and Heero was washing, I found the name Heero had given me. Keefe: Handsome, beloved.
I think my mind went on vacation for a few minutes, because the only thing that registered was, Hey, look, both of our names had 'beloved' in it. How cool!
After a while, it hit me exactly what 'beloved' meant, and my mind got stuck on Uhhh…
I'm sure Heero was a little disturbed when he walked into the room to see my staring at a book like it had just told me Heero would live to the ripe old age of 705 and get married to a baboon.
"Duo?" he asked.
I looked up, and then said, "Uhhh…hi, Heero."
There was a moment's silence, before my mouth said without my permission, "Did you know that Keefe meant beloved?"
He just halted, right there, and stared at me. I thought I saw a bit of surprise flicker across his face, and that cinched it for me. "You didn't know, huh, Heero?" I asked, with a wry smile.
When he didn't say anything, I assumed he'd been struck dumb by the fact that he'd been calling me 'beloved' for two days, and grinned engagingly at him, "It's all right, Heero, I don't mind."
A fire flared in his eyes, and I hastened to explain, "It was an honest mistake. I'm not going to blow up at you just because you didn't read the whole thing. 'Sides, I like Keefe. It's a good name."
The fire was snuffed out just like that, and I felt inexplicably bad.
He turned away, and I caught a glimpse of a clenched fist, knuckles white. "That's…good," he said, and I heard a terrible ache in his voice.
Briefly, I wondered about that, before feeling something crack inside of me at the realization that he hadn't known what he was calling me. What was that cracking? It felt…excruciatingly…painful…
When I had recovered from the wholly unexpected pain, Heero was gone, and I got the feeling that I'd hurt him. Really, really hurt him, as bad as if I had stabbed him through the heart.
I wasn't really sure what I'd done, and was still reeling from the sudden…heart cramp, was what I called it, but I staggered up to look for him.
But he was gone. I looked everywhere, and when Wufei told me he'd suddenly got called away on a mission, I could've cried.
Where was he? He was hurting; I could almost feel it. That look in his eyes before he turned away…
Why? What had happened to him? Was it something I did? Something I said? I wanted him back so I could fix it, make him better.
I wanted Heero back.
