UNDERLYING AGENDA

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Zechs and Hilde were nowhere to be seen when he awoke again later that morning. Instead, he found a brief message on the Macbook she'd left in her wake. It read:

Duo-

I'm sorry I couldn't wait up. I had to make it home in time to meet up with the husband. Zechs was gracious enough to offer me a ride. I live across town, so he may still be out by the time you get this. It was great to see you again, Duo. Don't be a stranger! I would love to play hostess sometime, and I'm sure Vaughn would love to meet you. He's an engineer. I think you'd really like him.

Love always,

-H. S. Halperin

He felt lethargic. "What have I been doing the last five years?" he mused out loud, grimacing as the whitewashed ceiling produced no answer of true worth. Suddenly, the thought of staying immobile any longer irritated him and he quickly got up and made himself ready.

From his position on the sofa, Zechs had been watching Duo closely for some time and nearly went unnoticed when he came out of his room heading briskly for the exit. He downturned his book on his crossed knee. "Going somewhere, Duo?" He looked like he could barely stand to stop and acknowledge his host, but paused nonetheless to provide a cryptic smidgen of the panic burning inside him.

"Yes, and I'd like to go alone," he said. "Don't wait up, I'll be fine."

"Very well." Zechs gestured to the freshly dry cleaned jacket hanging on the barstool behind him, which he'd earlier stocked with plenty of loose bills. LA cabbies preferred cash to credit, and the walks after battling out inner turmoil often landed the troubled far from the point where they began. Duo grabbed the jacket but didn't put it on right away. The leather protested beneath his grip as he contemplated a further exchange of empty words out of unnecessary courtesy.

Zechs picked his book back up and nodded as if he had, "See you later, Duo."

"Yeah," Duo met his gaze and nodded, the tension easing from his grip almost instantly. "Later."

Upon stepping out into the bustling downtown streets, he began walking in no particular direction or towards any particular place. Instead Duo allowed his feet to carry him where they may, and decided he would only redirect after firmly understanding his current dilemma. Then he would choose to walk determinately toward realization of its solution. It seems like pointless over exertion, but Duo had tested this method of problem solving ever since L2 and it never let him down. Of course, his problems were much simpler back then.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee and baked pastries was thick as he past the local Starbucks. It inadvertently veered his contemplation into warmer waters but he never missed a step. Clinging to the past only mattered to him when he had a future to contribute to those memories. He had to come to terms that with the absence of Heero there was little else going for him in the grand scheme of things. Although a Preventer, he rarely worked as a field agent unless Agent Yuy required assistance. With the supposed wedding and developing child now in the picture, Duo was certain Heero was going to take an extensive leave of absence and relocate to Sank which would surely render him completely useless. And the money, well, he'd survived the majority of his life without it. He could do it again. But in truth, this had an easy fix. All he had to do was quit and find another job, real work, something that yielded more than a paycheck and healthcare benefits. He still loved piloting, and there were plenty of hungry commercial aviation companies that would love an over qualified pilot to exploit. That didn't bother him, for at least it would be, you know, fun.

If he resigned the company would offer him the bungalow, but staying there, or in Japan even, was hardly ideal to Duo. It was too big for only one person, contain too many haunting memories even after he settled things amicably with Heero, and this recent trip to the U.S inspired him to consider moving to California, or maybe the Lone Star State. Despite the fact that he never worked for the money, he had been smart enough to save his paychecks and post-war pensions and could do whatever the hell he wanted. Live on the moon if it suited him.

Money; it seemed to be the solution to all his problems so far but Duo knew better. The happiest moments in his life never involved extensive monetary investment, but investing the best of what he had to offer to those who gave the same. As a pilot, a comrade, a friend, even a lover but he wanted much, much more. Duo took a deep breath, paused to wait for the signal to turn at a busy intersection.

This time I want a home, not a house.

I want someone in particular, rather than no one in particular.

I want to live for an 'us', not solely for 'me.'

I want who money can't buy because he's no stranger to it, and someone who can't buy me because I am such a stranger to it.

Duo looked up but didn't move. The traffic sign, brightly lit and typical, was like a glittering message from something much greater than mankind itself.

WALK

And he did. Across the opposite street where he caught a cab back to the condominium.

A/N: Thanks again for reading! Please, review and let me know what y'all think. All comments, good or bad, are certainly welcome!