Disclaimer: I don't own a thing (as sad as that realization is), except for the words I've written.

Warnings: Rated for adult language (Duo's got quite a surly mouth and mind), some violence, and mild adult themes.

A/N: Thank you for your awesome reviews! Here's a bit longer chapter, let me know what you think. Don't worry, the foundation setting is finally coming to an end and the action is about to pick up after this. Enjoy.

Maxwell

Chapter 10: Those Eyes, Sweet Lies

Rumble And Sway - Jamie N Commons

When Quatre and Duo arrived at the Crown Vic, the braided man's hand still about his weapon, though over his shirt as to not pull too much suspicion his way, he realized that maybe they really didn't need such protection.

Sean Davis slowly rolled down his window, the passenger side covered in a garbage bag that Duo had noticed from his balcony view. He nearly winced at the site of the splint across the young man's face; Heero had done a fucking number on him.

"Taking a nice little stroll, boys?" Davis said, his voice deep and almost nasally due to his obvious injury. Both men shared an uneasy glance between each other. It was quite odd behavior for a tail to be chatting with them so casually. But hell, they were there for the same reason, weren't they? And he obviously wasn't just an ordinary tail.

"How's your nose, Davis?" Duo chided, purposely using the man's name to show him they were very well aware of his identity and involvement within Preventer.

The man grunted, but did not answer. Touche, Duo thought, he's not here to play games. Though he fucking would have liked to play at least a little bit. He was getting tired of searching for wisecracks and ways to annoy the men he'd been shacking up with as of late. Shit. He cringed internally at using the phrase 'shacking up.'

Quatre decided to take a different approach. "I'm assuming you aren't about to tell us why you're following us?" he wondered in his casually diplomatic voice.

The man kept staring, contemplating his answer, and giving the two drastically different men a once over. "All in due time. I have my orders."

"Yeah, but just where the hell are those orders coming from?" Duo was getting slightly fed up now. He leaned his arm on the top edge of the car door and bent to peer at the man in the driver's seat through darkening eyes.

"Mr. Maxwell." It was fuckin' bizarre hearing his name coming from the stranger's mouth, especially prefaced with 'Mr.'

Duo narrowed his eyes as the man kept speaking. "I have done absolutely nothing to harm any of you. If you think I had something to do with that car bomb, you are gravely mistaken."

Duo snorted out a laugh. "Shit, yeah you were unconscious in the backseat of your car, huh?" He figured a little more salt in the wound wouldn't hurt.

Quatre cleared his throat as if to apologize unnecessarily for his friend's words. "We are just trying to get things straight here, Mr. Davis."

Davis held up the palm of his hand to stop anymore conversation. "I understand. But I also have my orders. So if you'll excuse me." With that he rolled up his window, but did not start the car or make any attempt to move his vehicle from its watchful position.

Duo glared at him for a second through the glass before turning on his heel and heading back towards the hotel at a quick gate, Quatre not far behind him.

"What a dick."

"Easy, Duo. He's only doing his job. And obviously he is working for Preventer. Maybe he is just supervising the investigation-"

Duo turned his head swiftly. "You really think Une trusts Wufei that little?"

"No. I think Une probably doesn't trust all of us now that we are back together. Our track record is admittedly not the most reliable." Quatre shook his head solemnly.

Clenching his fists, Duo responded through grit teeth. "I still don't trust Davis. Something's off here, Quat."

Quatre had to admit that all the evidence and instances piling up around them did seem to point to something much bigger than the case Wufei was originally entrusted with. Not to mention the emotions that seemed to be floating between the five pilots now that they were all occupying one living space together. He pinched the bridge of his nose as they entered the lobby again; he was in desperate need of some aspirin.

Heero watched as Quatre popped some white pills into his mouth, washing them down with a large glass of water. He stared back down to the papers he'd been studying and had an inkling feeling in the back of his mind.

When the two men had come back from their 'conversation' with Sean Davis things were obviously tense. Duo seemed characteristically impulsive and Quatre had apparently given up trying to reconcile his angry feelings towards the mysterious Preventer.

The explanation of what had happened upon reaching the Crown Vic was short and simple.

"He didn't shoot us," Duo had said.

"What did he say?" Wufei had wondered.

"Some bullshit. He didn't confirm or deny anything. So basically we're back where we started," Duo had answered.

"Was he angry about his nose?" Trowa had asked.

Quatre had given him a quiet smile through the pained look on his face. "He didn't say, but he seemed pretty embarrassed."

And that had been the extent of their conversation. Now they were just sitting in absolute silence.

Heero's eyes flicked to Duo, sitting cross legged on the couch next to him, picking at some dirt beneath his short fingernails. Trowa sat at the hotel room's small kitchen counter, engrossed in something flashing across Heero's lap top screen. Wufei pushed through the front door, a large paper bag full of take-out in his arms.

"It's about time!" Duo hopped up to help Wufei with the food.

Heero also rose from his seated position, but made his way towards Quatre, who was now washing his cup in the sink.

"Quatre, I'm handing this information off to you."

Looking up, Quatre gave Heero a quizzical glance. "Why, Heero? They're your leads-"

Heero shook his head. "I trust your strategic skills and your judgement."

Trowa looked up from the computer screen in front of him, but did not say a word. Quatre's eyes flashed to the tall man and then back to Heero, but did not answer as Duo plopped down the bag he'd retrieved from Wufei down on the counter. "Save us all a lot of trouble and just agree, Quat," Duo said with a grin and a flirtatious wink in Heero's direction. Oh how he missed making the Japanese man blush!

Heero, fighting back said blush, glowered at the braided man, but swiftly turned his attention back to Quatre. "You're a natural leader and we should take advantage of that." His gaze flicked up. "As long as that's acceptable with you, Chang?" His words were icier than they needed to be.

Wufei gave him a blank look and nodded. "Of course. The investigation seems to be straying away from Preventer's original case anyways."

Looking slightly flustered, Quatre took the packet of information from Heero and set it on the counter before him, staring at it warily. They were all gathered in the small kitchen now as Duo rummaged through the paper bag in order to pass around the plastic containers of Vietnamese cuisine from a little place down the street the front desk had recommended.

They all ate in relative silence, the only sound being a twenty-four hour news channel playing softly on the flat screen television. Heero and Duo occupied the couch while the others hung back in the kitchen. Quatre studied the M.R. information while he ate.

Sitting next to Heero on the couch made Duo have to forcibly resist the urge to flop his legs down across the other man's lap in a casual sort of way. It was almost as if they weren't in a hotel room in Sanc with the other three ex-pilots investigating who their stalker was with Preventer seemingly breathing down their necks. No, it was almost as if they were just fucking ordinary people enjoying each other's company and eating take-out in comfortable silence together.

He wondered if Trowa and Quatre ever felt this awkward within each other's company, but then he remembered their apparent visits over the past several years. He smirked lightly at the thought. They were seemingly perfect for eachother after all, a much better match than he and Heero. Though he supposed that might be subjective; for all he knew the other men's relationship was just as dysfunctional as their own...well whatever the hell you'd want to call it.

As he finished his food, Duo turned slightly, leaning his back against the arm of the couch, his eyes glancing to Heero's unreadable features and then towards the kitchen. Wufei was engrossed in the day's newspaper, while Trowa and Quatre cleaned up after themselves with an air of domestication about them that made it seem as though they'd been doing such ordinary things like eating dinner and tidying the kitchen together for a long time. They followed each other, mirrored every movement. Perfectly timed, perfectly succinct.

With a rough sigh, Duo rose from his seat and unceremoniously dropped his empty take-out container in trash can. He leaned against the counter, still focussed on the petite blond and his taller companion. How had they stayed so in sync with each other, even now in their new lives, post-war, while he and Heero seemed to be so damn utterly out of sync?

Wufei cleared his throat next to him, causing the braided man's attention to switch to the newspaper the Preventer held up, obscuring his face. Instead of giving the man a challenging look, like he was normally accustomed to for old time's sake, his eyes found a particular article that jumped out to him from the backside of the paper.

He poked a finger at the title. "Look at this, 'Fei."

Wufei closed the paper and gave the man a pointed look, quirky a lithe eyebrow upwards, but flipped the editorial over in his hands until he was staring at the back page. His eyes narrowed. "A grant proposal from a former employee of Winner Corp?" he muttered under his breath, skimming the article. Duo leaned forward, trying his best to read upside-down what he hadn't already been able to before pointing out the oddity to Wufei.

Upon hearing his last name, Quatre turned away from an engrossing conversation with Trowa, his ears perking. "What about Winner Corp?"

Heero had now joined them in the kitchen, following suit with throwing his container in the trash before walking to peer over Wufei's shoulder to have a closer look at the article now the center of the five men's attention.

"A former employee of Winner Corp, an L4 satellite branch, is requesting grants for an unknown research opportunity," Wufei replied, rather blandly as he continued to skim the article.

Duo squinted. "Obviously it's not too unknown otherwise this article would have never made it into the newspaper."

"Is there a name?" Quatre asked.

Wufei shook his head slowly, his eyes finally peeling from the paper to meet aqua. "No. It just states that said researcher was employed for about a year at the Corporation."

"Shit, what's the point of putting something like this in the paper with no name and so little fuckin' information?" Duo looked to Trowa and then to Heero, hoping the logical parts of their brains would kick in at the prompting question.

Heero's shoulders stiffened. "It's a plea to get the public's attention, or Preventer's-"

"Or ours," Trowa finished his statement, his lips setting in a grim line.

"This is what Une was speaking to me about. This article must have prompted our odd conversation earlier," Quatre explained, running a hand through his hair rather nervously.

Duo huffed another sigh, placing his chin in the palms of his hands and his elbows on the counter. "But this couldn't have anything to do with Heero's body double or our shitty-ass stalker...could it?"

Heero's eyes flickered to Quatre and Duo noticed, immediately realizing that he truly was relinquishing power of operations to their blond comrade. Quatre returned the gaze with slight apprehension before clutching the packet of information in his hands yet again.

"The only way to find out," Quatre began. "Is to start some investigating on our own. I've taken the liberty to divide these names up amongst us for the sake of efficiency. Though, at this point I don't think any of us should be traveling alone."

Duo almost laughed at that, knowing full well he would have paired himself up with Trowa on purpose. He wondered uncomfortably which of the other two men he would find himself with...surely not both? That would be just fucking asking for trouble.

Wufei, as if reading the braided man's mind, spoke up immediately. "I'll take an assignment on my own, Quatre." It wasn't a request, but more of a demand.

Quatre nodded, having expected this much. Wufei was never one to work on a team or with a partner, and besides their numbers didn't exactly match up and sending a particular threesome out to investigate might result in only two coming back. Which two, was a whole different question.

He handed Wufei a stack of papers. "Mizzerahi Ryland. L4-A4004. Former Oz solider, he is conveniently enough employed through Winner Corp now," he explained. "While you're there you can check out the satellite branch of the Corporation and see if you can learn anything about the research grant proposal." He spoke in such a systematic way that Duo was nearly thrown headfirst back into the war as Quatre gave orders like a seasoned strategist.

Without waiting for response, Quatre was already handing Heero his own stack of documents. "Michael Richardson. London, England. Former data analysis dispatcher for the White Fang. Worked heavily with the Zero System."

He looked towards Duo with a knowing glint in his large eyes. "You and Duo can take this on together, I trust?" His words were directed at Heero, but his gaze never left his braided companion, almost as if to catch a reaction. Duo gave none, though it was fucking difficult to hide both his concern and excitement at the proposition.

Heero nodded in affirmation, accepting the fucking mission as usual. Always with that 'Perfect Solider' act.

Quatre then turned to Trowa for a slight moment. "We will take Matthew Rook. L1-A0305. Another man formerly employed by Oz." He turned back to the group. "That will leave only one name left to be investigated."

Duo's brows furrowed. "I thought there were five names on that list?"

Quatre gave him and the other four men a solemn look, then took the newspaper from Wufei's hands and turned back to the front page. On it was an image of destruction, no doubt a bombing attack. Duo recognized the carnage instantly, his hand instinctively flying to the shaven side of his head.

"Marner Reitveld perished in a terrorist attack. He was our fifth name. Leaving only one left."

Wufei grabbed the paper back, clutching at it stiffly as he looked over the article, reading names of some of the better known deceased. Reitveld had been a five star general during the war. A pit of dread began to well in all of their stomachs. Could this have to do with their investigation, or was it possible the man's death was purely happenstance? A horrible, ice-like feeling ran down Duo's spine at the hellish thought.

Heero swallowed. "We have our assignments. If we are to contact one another, use the vaguest possible ways of speaking about anything pertaining to this conversation right now." Quatre nodded in agreement at the sound advice.

Duo rubbed at his temples in a frustrated manner. "Even the fuckin' walls have ears...and eyes, huh?"

Heero placed a hand on Duo's knee underneath the countertop, nearly making the other man flinch at the touch. There were no words exchanged, but it was an acknowledgment of just how true his statement unfortunately was.

The flight into London, England was short and sweet, though Duo still found himself restless and in need of a good stretch...or maybe a good lay. He shook his head in an attempt to physically shake the lewd thoughts from his mind. It was mission time and he knew how Heero felt about his missions.

It was nighttime, nearly midnight now and the air outside was damp with moisture. When they walked into the hotel that Quatre had somehow managed to book for them it was all business. Heero checked them in under the false name he'd been bestowed by their new, fearless leader, while Duo surveyed the lobby. The place was, again, much more lavish than what Duo might have chosen for such a short lived trip, but hell, he figured he might as well enjoy the luxury while it lasted. All on the Winner Corp tab to boot.

As they entered the room they were to be sharing, a shiver ran down his spine as both their eyes found the sight of a king size bed staring back at them. "Shit," Duo muttered under his breath. He shook his head, wanting desperately to rip Quatre a new one for such a presumptuous and prodding move on his part.

Heero, though having also paused to stare at the singular bed, didn't seem to be as frazzled by the thought as Duo. Or maybe it was that he was just too fucking good at hiding his stress from his companion. Duo desperately hoped it was the latter.

"You know, Quat's a great strategist and all, but for once his intuition may have been a bit fucking skewed," Duo smirked out, again trying to hide his discomfort behind categorical humor.

Heero turned as he set down his duffle bag in one of two chairs that sat by a small table. "You're really that concerned about the bed?"

Duo shook his head slowly, his brows screwing up. "Well...no." He had no fucking clue how to answer such a question. Were he and Heero really going to sleep in the same bed just like that? No awkwardness, no contact, no temptation? Or was the man implying other things...

Shit, Duo couldn't read him at all and it bothered his so devastatingly that he could feel a cold sweat forming at the nape of his neck. Earlier that day they'd been in bed together, post-fuck, not a single emotion running between them, not even in the form of physical contact. It had all been so calculating, so necessary, so passionate and yet so...detached. Just another fucking mission.

Heero obviously didn't buy his answer and when he moved forward, closing the gap between them, Duo took a step backwards, the inside of his knees hitting the bed sharply, causing his body to fall into a sitting position atop the muted duvet.

Heero stared at him in that peculiar Heero Yuy way, like he was studying him, sizing him up, trying his hardest to understand the braided man before him. Duo stared back, letting his duffle drop unceremoniously towards the floor with a soft thud.

"What do you want from me, Duo?" Heero's questions were becoming more and more stress inducing. Since when did he get so verbal with his feelings? Duo opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out, so instead he just shrugged weakly, averting his eyes to the floral carpet beneath their feet.

In an instant he felt fingers run through his bangs, brushing them from his eyes. When he looked up, Heero withdrew his hand almost as if he was unsure if he had gone too far. But hell, they'd been fucking earlier, what difference did it make at this point if the man wanted to touch his hair?

Duo sighed roughly, it made a huge fucking difference and they both new it. That kind of touch was personal...intimate.

The braided man finally found his voice. "You know what I want, Heero." Yeah, he sure as fuck knows what I want...him! All of him, all to myself. It wasn't too hard to figure that one out.

Heero frowned. "I apologize if I acted out of line in Sanc." The statement was so characteristic of the man that it actually made Duo grin. There was the Heero he knew.

"Not out of line at all, 'Ro," Duo answered, thinking of the way he'd anticipated a punch, but received a kiss instead. Oh how he was craving those lips again right now.

Duo stood now, a new confidence rising in his gut at Heero's obvious ignorance. How could he have thought there was nothing there? Just because they hadn't had time to fucking cuddle or any of that shit didn't mean this wasn't real. This was more damn real that anything he'd ever experienced before.

As Duo rose, Heero stepped backward and the braided man followed, almost challengingly. The dark blue eyes he stared powerfully into reflected a confusion that only made Duo advance again. Finally, as Heero's back collided softly with the wall behind him, Duo knew he had won.

If Heero really felt bad about 'taking advantage' of him in Sanc then maybe it was time to return the favor.

In an instant Duo had pulled the other man in for a long, passionate kiss, his tongue wandering impulsively. Heero, unable to resist the teasing nibbles assaulting his lower lip, fought back, pushing his hands hard into Duo's body, roving over his muscles, his mouth exploring the other man's lips ravenously.

It only took a few more seconds before they found themselves sprawled on the king size bed in a passionate embrace, Heero's hands pinning Duo to the bed out of sheer compulsion.

And then, just as quickly as they'd fallen into each other, Heero pulled back. He stared down at the man beneath him, his mind analyzing the situation. Duo reached a hand up to the back of his neck to pull him back in, his eyes half-lidded now, but Heero resisted rather forcefully.

Why the fuck did he have to spoil the fun with thinking and logic? Duo screamed in his head as the slightly lustful fog began to lift. Finally they were touching again, finally getting somewhere, he hoped at least, and now they were stopped, simply entangled on a bed that had purposely been given to them for a reason. So why were they fighting that reason?

"Maybe we shouldn't." Heero stated softly. Duo never associated the man with the word guilty, but that's almost how his words sounded. Was he leading him on through the apparent need for sex? Shit, at this point he didn't care. He didn't even care if their stalker was going to document them through the goddamn window! All he cared about now was Heero.

Duo shook his head slowly from side to side staring up into dark blue. Heero didn't want this? But his eyes, his fucking beautiful eyes, said otherwise. Why the hell was he lying?

"We've got a fuckin' king size bed all to ourselves and you're tellin' me 'maybe we shouldn't?'" Duo shot back incredulously, his eyes still slightly glazed over with anticipation. He clenched his teeth and pulled Heero back in for another kiss, which was only momentarily resisted.

Sure as hell, those eyes weren't lying.