Genre: AU, Romance
Pairings: 1x2, 3+4
Warnings: Serious fluff, sap, silliness, animals talking, adult situations, some language
Disclaimer: Forgot it in the first chapter, so here it is. Don't own nothin' but these words!
A/N: Ooh, I'm on a roll lately!
Cherry Fantasy, AmePiper, Dark Angel, and Sanosuke: I love how protective you are of our Duo!
Duo: Me too! Jewel is scaring me lately with all this creepy stuff happening!
Heero: Don't worry, I'll kill her if she tries anything. (waves gun threateningly)
Umm, I'm going to . . . run away . . .
CHAPTER 16 / When the Past Catches Up
"Nate, the commentator said his name was Heero Yuy. I can't seem to find him—he's not listed anywhere. But I tracked down the name of the vet that registered the dog—Doctor Quatre Winner. He practices in Washington State. Some small town north of Seattle."
"Then get Tony and Gary ready. We'll fly out first thing in the morning."
-
"What are you thinking about, my love?" Heero murmured, lightly kissing Duo's forehead.
Duo, lying right on top of Heero, stirred a little. "Mm, where I want to go," he replied.
Heero saw the slight curve of his lips as he smiled. "Oh, good. Have you come up with anything?"
"Mm."
"That's not much of an answer."
A bright little giggle answered him this time. "I know. Why don't you list some great places for me? You know these things better than I do."
Heero chuckled. "I do have a few ideas. First I thought about a Cruise on the Caribbean. I could reserve a whole ship, that way you wouldn't have to deal with pesky humans. I would also like to visit the Fiji Islands, Japan, and New Zealand."
"Japan?" Duo repeated, sounding somewhat sleepy.
"It's where I'm from," Heero elucidated. "I haven't been there in a really long time, though. Not since I was about twelve or so."
"Mm. Is it nice there?"
"Depends on who you're asking," Heero said contemplatively.
Duo made a rude sound. "I'm asking you."
"Oh. Well, I think Japan is very nice. It's very different from here, though."
"Mm."
"You like that very articulate sound, huh?" Heero mused.
"Mm."
"All right, are you listening?"
"Yes. I like the sound of a cruise."
"That's what I wanted to know. Let's make it about a week. Hmm, maybe we should go on an Alaskan cruise. Would you enjoy that, my love?"
"Is Alaska pretty?"
"Beautiful. Rugged and isolated."
"Sounds nice."
"Very."
"And then after that we can go to New Zealand," Duo went on, sounding a bit like he was dozing off.
Heero smiled, lifting his hand off the bed and tangling it in Duo's long, soft hair. "All right. A week for each cruise and a week in New Zealand."
"Mm."
"You're falling asleep, aren't you?" he murmured, kissing Duo's forehead.
"Sorta," came the muffled reply.
Heero started when the phone downstairs rang. He cursed faintly under his breath, making Duo giggle.
"Why don't you just put one in the bedroom?" he inquired, sounding amused.
Grumbling, Heero dislodged Duo. "Why don't I?" he muttered. "Stay here. I'll be right back."
Feeling irritated his quiet afternoon should be interrupted, Heero tromped down the stairs and grabbed the phone. "Hello?" he grunted.
"Heero, it's me," came Quatre's voice. It sounded quite unlike Heero had ever heard it sound. "Something very strange just happened, and I wanted to call you and let you know."
Instantly on guard, Heero leaned against the counter. "Tell me."
"Some strange people came into the office," Quatre began. "Two men and one woman. Kind of frumpy, really. Not that I have anything against frumpy people, but they looked like the types who don't spend much time on personal hygiene—"
"Quatre," Heero warned.
"Sorry, sorry. Right. Anyway, they came in asking all kinds of questions about you. Claimed they were old friends, and wanted to know if I could tell them where you live, your phone number, or any personal information like that. They even asked if I could tell them where you work."
Heero drummed his fingers on the counter. Who on Earth could be looking for him? He knew for a fact there was no way anyone could possibly learn what he really did for a living. And if anyone did, the government would suppress them. They didn't want anyone learning about their dirty little secrets. And fortunately for Heero, he was too valuable to dispose of, either.
As for Heero, he only wanted enough money ever to take care of Duo, so he had no intentions of ever trying to blackmail them into more money. Sighing, he raked fingers through his slightly unkempt hair. "Did you get their names or anything?"
"Yes, but it may not be a real name," Quatre replied. "She said her name was Lana Reid, and her husband's name was Nate."
"I'll see if I can find out who they are," Heero said. "Thank you, Quatre. I don't know anyone by that name."
"I certainly didn't tell them anything about you," Quatre said, sounding a trifle smug. "I can't divulge information, privacy policies and all that."
Heero snorted. "Yeah, I figured you weren't that dumb. Thanks, Quatre. By the way, when are you and Trowa leaving for Alaska?"
"Next week. We want to be back in time to see the AKC Championship."
A soft smile crossed Heero's lips. "Thanks. I better get on these mystery people."
As soon as they hung up, Heero went into the room he seldom used as his office. Opening his laptop, he typed in the names Nate and Lana Reid. To his surprise, it brought up a match. Apparently they were a middle-class couple living in Arizona. They had two sons by the name of Tony and Gary, and apparently they lived a quiet life under the radar, so to speak. Heero tapped his finger on the keyboard for a minute. Clicking back to the former page, he clicked on the next link the name brought up.
And froze. It was a 'Missing Dog' ad. Missing: a German Shepherd about seven months of age. It had been posted right around the time Heero visited the animal shelter and found Duo.
"Shit," he hissed. Bolting up out of his chair, he grabbed the phone and looked up the number for the breeder from whom Duo had originally been purchased. Quatre had tracked her down when registering Duo with the AKC.
She answered after a couple rings. "Lucrezia Noin."
"Lucrezia, this is Heero Yuy," he said.
"Ah, Heero," she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I'm concerned about Duo," Heero replied truthfully. "Can you tell me the names of the people that originally bought him? I'm worried they may be trying to find him."
He heard her make a sound not unlike a hiss. "Despicable people. Quatre told me all about the condition he was in."
"What was the name?" he asked.
"Give me a second, I'll look." There was a long pause. "Heero? Here it is. The name was Sorenson."
Well. No match. "Thank you, Lucrezia."
"Of course."
Hanging up the phone, he once more consulted his computer. This time he looked to see if anyone by the name of Nate Sorenson had changed his name in the recent past. And look what he found? Nate Sorenson had in fact changed his name. To Reid seven months ago, and Sorenson wasn't even his original name. Before he'd been Nathaniel Gavon.
Heero typed in the name Nathaniel Gavon and brought up a fantastic criminal record. Fines and hard time for illegal dog fights, armed robbery, arson, assault with a deadly weapon, and even one count of rape.
God, what a charmer. The picture was little better. Dirty-mugged, rumpled clothing, and unkempt beard, the man looked like a regular boar. Just the sort of person Heero could feel confident would abuse a dog. And just the kind of people he would send to hell before ever allowing to take Duo back. He e-mailed the picture to Quatre, inquiring "Is this the man?"
He didn't wait long. About six minutes. "Yes" came the ominous reply.
"Shit again," Heero cursed. "Okay. Okay." There was no realistic way they could break into his house and steal Duo. His security was too tight, with a few modifications of his own. What else could they try? Could they try to take Duo back legally? And why should it matter so much to them? Unless . . .
"Damn. I wonder if they knew--" that Duo could change his form.
"Heero?" came a soft query.
Heero slammed his laptop shut. "Duo," he said, rising. "What are you doing down here?"
Duo looked a little startled. "Well, you were taking so long I just wondered where you'd gone," came the hesitant reply.
Smiling reassuringly, Heero rose and pulled Duo against him. "Sorry. Didn't mean to snap at you. Listen, you wanna go out for dinner?"
"Again?" Duo said, surprise flickering across his countenance.
Heero kissed his forehead. "I feel like spoiling you."
His precious friend brightened at once. "Okay!" he chirped. "Can I have a kiss first?"
Leaning down, Heero pressed a slow, sweet kiss to Duo's lips. Duo immediately deepened the contact, making soft, eager sounds in the back of his throat. Heero decided he wouldn't tell Duo about any of this. With any luck, he could make it all disappear before it ever mattered. Duo had been through enough in his young life.
--------
The world caved in two days later. Heero received something in the mail that made his scent suddenly and drastically change. When he sat down on the couch and opened the envelope, Duo sat up, worried. Heero read it, eyes moving quickly over the page only to return to the top and read it over again. Duo felt nervous just watching him. When Heero read it for the third time, he couldn't stand it anymore.
"Heero, what is it?" he asked softly.
Heero's hands crumpled the paper, eyes staring straight ahead for a moment. Then he shook his head. "It's nothing," he said.
He sounded far from convinced. Besides, Duo's nose did not lie to him. "I can smell your agitation," he reminded quietly. "Please, what's wrong? Does it have something to do with a few days ago when you got that long phone call?"
Looking a little surprised, Heero slowly nodded. "I didn't want to tell you about this. I was hoping I could make it go away before it became important. But--"
The doorbell rang. Duo growled in the back of his throat. What was it with people and interrupting these days? He changed form when Heero rose to answer it, padding after him and feeling impatient. Heero looked just as irritated, actually, when he pulled the door open. Duo peered around him, prepared to let whoever was on the other side know they weren't welcome at this moment.
All sound died in his throat. In fact, he would later be certain all bodily functions died at that moment as he stood, frozen with horror, at the sight that awaited him on the other side of that door.
Nate. And Lana. The reason for the most miserable portion of his life. The people who'd bought him from Lucrezia Noin, his family's breeder, and who had made his life absolute hell. Because they knew. They knew his secret. In retrospect, he should have known they wouldn't let him go. After all, a purebred dog was a pretty huge investment . . .
He realized he was crouched low to the floor, but he could see nothing but those people. Everything else suddenly no longer existed. They were both looking at him. Then Nate looked away. Duo could see his lips moving, but for some reason he could not hear the words. Panting in distress, he wished he could find the strength to run away, to get away from them. But he couldn't marshal his legs into movement. He could only stare in horror.
There was a loud bang and they vanished. Duo stared, uncomprehending, at the door behind which they'd disappeared. This had to be a hideous nightmare. No, perhaps he'd only dreamed he'd escaped from them? Blackness lapped at the edges of his vision. A warm hand fell on the back of his neck.
Snarling, Duo finally rediscovered motion. He sank his teeth into the hand that touched him, nearly insane with fear.
"Duo!" a soft voice urged. "Duo, it's just me, love."
For a moment he remained frozen, trembling wildly. Then his senses returned. God, Heero . . .
Then Heero's arms were around him, warm and strong and comforting. Rapidly changing form, Duo pressed as close to his master as physically possible. He couldn't seem to stop shaking, couldn't seem to control his mindless fear.
"Heero . . ." he whimpered.
"Shh, it's all right my love," Heero whispered. "It's all right. Don't cry . . ."
Next thing Duo knew he was being lifted and carried back upstairs. Heero paused in the bathroom, and Duo saw him grab a towel, wrapping it around his hand. A sharp stab of guilt pulsed through him. How could he have bitten Heero?
"I'm sorry," he murmured.
Heero kissed his forehead. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault. I didn't mean to startle you."
Precisely that was one reason he loved Heero so much. He was constant in his gentle nature. Duo trusted him never to lash out in anger, even in situations like this. Heero carried him back into the bedroom, sinking down onto the bed and wrapping himself around him like a shield from everything. Duo melted into the protection he offered, trying to calm down.
Eventually Heero stirred. "They found me," he said. "I'm guessing they saw us on TV. They're taking me to court to fight for possession you."
That started Duo shaking all over again. He pulled back to search Heero's eyes. "They won't be able to take me back, will they?"
"No," Heero said, his tone leaving absolutely no room for doubt. "Even if they win, they've never seen you in this form. I'll simply create a new identity for you, and you will never be a dog again. If we have to, we can disappear. The government would never help them track me down. It's in their best interest that I stay invisible."
At his words, Duo found himself calming down considerably. Put like that, it sounded simple indeed. Yes, Heero would protect him. He should have known that from the beginning. Taking a deep breath, he let himself relax. It was actually rather easier than he'd thought.
Hmm, I'm rather at an impasse. There are two ways I can see this story going, but I'm not sure which idea I like better. I will have to think on it. What do you guys think? Idea 1? or Idea 2? X3