L2's Child
Chapter Nine
By Nix Winter
Inspired by Amy
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.
"Do you remember it at all," Quatre asked, doubtful.
Duo, Heero, and Quatre stood on the sidewalk, outside of a small apartment building in one of the nicer areas of L2. Self doubt was all that Duo remembered right then though, with a vague tint of wishing Heero would hold his hand, or tell him that he was wonderful. He wasn't asking for that though. Hands folded under his arms, braid heavy against his back, he just didn't remember this building.
It had been his home, on paper at least, for two years. He always paid his rent on time. He was quiet. His neighbors seemed to like him and be worried about him. There he stood though, black baseball cap pulled down over his eyes, black cargo pants hiding his hands. His clothes felt right. The people he was with felt right.
"Ya'know," Duo mumbled loud enough that his friends could hear him, "I was lonely here." At the very edge of his memory he could hear a man's voice, chatting, teasing, friendly, and why that made him angry. There was no name to go with the voice clinging like lint to his memory, no face, but the man was… important.
"You should have come to stay with me then," Quatre said, reaching out to pat Duo's shoulder, then pulling back before he reached it. "Or gone to Heero. We care about you. We don't want you to be alone."
Duo rolled violet eyes, glad that he was a step ahead of the other two. He had a life here, didn't he? He'd been doing things. He wasn't a little kid to running home to his family every time something wasn't right. "Well, let's see what I was up to then, uh," he said, moving forward with a spring in his step, grinning over his shoulder. "I bet there's porn in my apartment!"
Heero frowned. Dressed just shy of being ready for urban combat, he forced his jaw to relax and followed Duo along. Duo, his Duo, was elegant and beautiful, full of light and kindness, brave and gentle sometimes, brave and ruthless others, and sometimes, for no apparently logical reason, he could turn into to an irrational irritant.
Quatre blushed, slender fingers fidgeting with each other as he brought up the rear, dress more for urban legal battles than actual hand-to-hand combat, he was just as spun around but the mercurial shifts in Duo Maxwell. He had no idea why there might be porn in Duo's apartment, or why nearly shouting it out loud in public would be a good thing to do. In his head he could hear Trowa's dry comment that there was porn on the ship. They didn't need to come to L2 for that.
Trowa hadn't been able to come though. He'd begged off suggesting that he had another task to attend to. Quatre almost wished his lover was here with them, as Duo nearly ran up the stairs in an unnatural giddy aura.
Duo had always had the ability to throw everything in to the air, confuse every signal. "Duo! Wait!"
"Come on," Duo said, "This is supposed to be my house right? Let's have a party!"
"Duo," Heero said, catching Duo's arm in a firm, but unyielding grip. "What is your status?"
"I'm fine, Heero," Duo flippantly, but then dissolved, softening. "I don't remember this place."
"I know," Heero said, his other hand sliding down Duo's arm, holding him tenderly. "Why are you angry?"
"I'm not angry," Duo said with every intent to believe it was true.
"I think you are angry," Heero said softly.
The door to Duo's apartment opened like a sonic boom and there was this girl. Spiky black hair and a cross tattooed to her neck, she threw up her arms and rushed them. "Duo! You're home, honey!"
Heero intercepted her, spinning her around, one arm behind her back, about the same time she got the last of 'honey' out. "Bastard."
"Duo?"
"Uh," he said moving around her a little, leaning over and watching her. "Hi. Heero, I think you can letter go. She doesn't exactly look dangerous."
"She was going to attack you," Heero pointed out.
"I was going to welcome him home, jerk," the girl said, giving Heero a forceful, if completely ineffective punch to the gut. "He's been gone forever! Baby, the news said you were pregnant! Why didn't you tell me you were going to do something like that? I would have wanted to be there!"
Heero looked back to Quatre, who looked as off the page as Heero felt.
Duo shrugged and slipped by her, stepping into his 'home'. It couldn't be. Eyebrows shot up. "Holy Mary Mother of God."
Quatre came up short right behind Duo. "Allah."
"Duo," Heero asked.
A small apartment, the kitchen and the living area were undivided. The dishes could have been a divider as they mounted the kitchen counter, obliterating the sink and half the stove. Food, fuzzy and wildly colored clung to surfaces like splatter paint. Garbage bags piled up in the living room, stuffed and battered. The mess in the kitchen didn't even matter though, because the apartment stank with the acidic proof of cat.
"Wow," Duo said, sinking to the floor.
"It's a little messy," she said defensively, hands on her hips, "I've just been so upset! I didn't know when you were coming back! Why did you leave me?"
"We don't live together," Duo said, shaking his head, forcing his stomach back down. "I lost my memories."
"You poor baby," she said, dropping to her knees. "I'm Livey. I kinda moved into your apartment."
"You don't say," Quatre asked, arms across his chest. "Exactly how do you know Duo? You must have known he was going to absent for some time."
Heero looked from where he squatted by Duo, blue eyes glaring. "How did you gain access to this domicile?"
"Uh, what? I'm a sweeper. I picked the lock. I had an arrangement with Duo that I'd take care of his cat if he stopped messaging me."
"Where's my cat," Duo asked, pushing himself back to his feet, face still in a grimace. "What kind of cat do I have?"
"Well," Livey said, face long, "He kind of ran away a few days ago. I've been looking for him everywhere!"
"Smart cat," Quatre snapped. "Duo, can I call maid service?"
"No," Duo said, violet eyes narrow. "Livey is going to clean up this place. Aren't you, Livey?"
She crossed her arms, eyes going shifty. "I guess. It's not like it's that bad. It's just my stuff, and I didn't really do the dishes for a few days."
"Why is all your stuff here," Heero asked, staring at the unstable pile of belongings.
"I don't care," Duo said sternly, almost hysterically, "Just clean it up. Now."
"It's not like I made all this mess," Livey said, "You got a lot of friends who just wanted to stop by and see how you were. Imagine if I hadn't been here to tell them you were just off expecting and all?"
"I'll get my things," Duo said, just letting it go. He didn't really remember this place or anyone there, so it hardly mattered at the moment. Emotions remembered things longer then minds, sometimes.
"This is going to be funny, in time," Quatre said, heavy emphasis on the 'in time' part.
"It was too soon," Heero said flatly, "I wonder if anything in here is salvageable."
"Oi!" Livey complained, "It's not like it's that bad. Sure, it's a little messy, but it's not like it was sterile when I got here!"
"I have spend much time with Duo Maxwell in the war, and since," Quatre half hissed, "I always thought him to be less than ideally tidy, and he is not a millionth this filthy."
"I'm going to check on Duo." Heero moved towards the bedroom, hoping that room hadn't been as fouled.
Duo sat on the bed, facing the wall, the nightstand dresser open. He held a black knapsack with both arms, the same one he'd gotten near the end of the war.
"I'm sorry, Duo," Heero said.
"Not your fault." Duo looked up, eyes almost empty and numb until they connected with Heero's. "It's just, I remember little things. Someone's voice. The feel of my cat when she purred. It's like I'm only half here."
Heero moved closer, waiting for subtle body language clues to tell him it was okay to sit. "We will look for the cat. The state of this apartment is nothing to do with you. I've known you for a long time."
"Thanks," Duo said softly. "I was a little worried, really. I don't think I'll come back here."
"Maybe when your memories come back," Heero offered, his gaze following to where Duo's eyes focused. "It's us."
"Yup," Duo reached out and gently peeled the taped up old photo from the side of the drawer. "See? I told you I loved you from before."
"I believed you," Heero said, laying a hand on Duo's shoulder. "I love you."
Duo slipped the photo into a pocket of his bag, then slipped the bag on one shoulder. "I love you too. The past doesn't matter. Only the future. Do you think we'll really have a baby?"
"I don't know. I don't care. I only care about you."
"I care," Duo said softly. "I want life."
"I'll help you," Heero said, laying an arm around Duo's shoulders, drawing him close, "I promise."