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, mild adult themes, and mild lime/lemon.
A/N: Apologies for the slightly long delay, hope this chapter can make up for it! Keep up the amazing reviews, I seriously appreciate them so much!
Maxwell
Chapter 23: One Way Or Another
One Way Or Another - Until The Ribbon Breaks [version]
He had found himself in bed, exhausted and invigorated, Heero's body pressed against his own in possession, leaning over him on strong forearms. The kiss had been warm, two mouths pressing together, bruising, as though their time together was ticking down, teeth and tongues and lips and heat.
Duo had thrust upwards as his lower lip became entrapped, pressure building within each body, hands roving over hard muscles. Heero's chest, his abdomen, the curve of his sharp hips; Duo's hands had travelled to the edge of boxers still clinging to skin, pulling roughly to reveal his partner's already hardened flesh. Heero had reacted accordingly, moaning into the kiss as fingers found themselves wrapped around him.
"Duo-" he'd gasped into the other man's ear before clutching the lobe between teeth.
Duo had felt the air in his chest leave through a harsh groan. His hand moved quicker against the hardness slicked with pre-cum, his own cock still trapped mercilessly beneath Heero's grinding body.
And then Heero had leaned away, fighting back another moan, pulling Duo's hand off of him and staring down into half-lidded indigo with a piercing look. It had taken only seconds for the rest of their clothing to be removed, ripped away, and thrown to the floor. Duo had lustfully guided the other man's fingers to his entrance, but Heero had pulled back yet again, mimicking the gesture in opposite, placing Duo's hand against his own backside with an almost imperceptible smirk.
Duo had never been inside of him before, after all these years, all their fucks, he'd never experienced anything such as this. Fingers one at a time, silken muscles, groans of appreciation, enveloping heat around his arousal, deeper with every thrust. It hadn't lasted long, but the release, almost simultaneous, had been worth every excruciating moment leading up until that point. Holy fuck.
That had been afterwards. After the left-hook Wufei had impulsively thrown at Sean Davis' smug face after the man had baited him into losing his control. After Duo had been the one to calm him, the only one of them seemingly able to do so. After Quatre had stepped in to ease the situation, do the talking, like the good little politician he'd become. After Trowa had been handed the envelope expressly addressed to him. After Heero had taken the Preventer paperwork expressly addressed to the fuming man Duo was trying to hold back.
The anger had been fueled by Davis' running joke in regards to their apparent incompetence, something that Duo never thought would have had such an obvious effect on their Chinese companion. But then the chiding words had become directed specifically towards a certain 'street rat' and Wufei had simply fucking lost it.
Heero had looked on impassively, even as Duo had to continuously remind himself that he and Wufei were not intimate anymore, they were friends, and that he loved Heero in an entirely different way than he 'loved' Wufei Chang. Still it was nice to have someone so bold to stand up for him, even if the snide remark had been something that barely made a dent in his outward armor nowadays. Even so he knew Heero would have done the same- but only if it had come down to something physical.
Quatre had then tried to make conversation, something strategic in his words that Duo didn't at first catch onto. He mentioned the investigation, slipping Winner Corp into his innocent queries and searching for any foreseeable reaction there.
Sean Davis was careful in his answers, treating Quatre like an old friend if not for only the enjoyment of twisting the knife he'd managed to plunge into Wufei, agent-on-leave. But he'd spoken in a calculative manner, revealing little if nothing about any possible knowledge into exactly what Winner Corp had gotten its fingers into. He was good, but almost too evasive, and in the end Quatre had formed a frown across his features.
When the man had left the apartment the air had grown uncomfortably thick. There was little to no proof yet, but Quatre had reasoned that Davis was just as guilty as Duo- and then Wufei- had pegged him to be. Perhaps it was the empathetic tendencies within the man, or else his ability to deconstruct the way Davis had skirted around the conversation like he'd planned all of his responses beforehand. Duo didn't much care how or why, only that his companions were starting to finally see reason in mistrusting the rookie 'Preventer.'
And then, after more discussion and rehashing and general tearing-out-of-hair, Heero had pulled a groggy looking Duo up off the couch and led him back to one of the guest bedrooms for some much needed recuperation. It had turned into a much different, more erotic form of recuperation, but it had done the job nonetheless.
When Duo awoke the following morning Heero was in the shower- the braided man having to pointedly restrain himself not to join- and when he padded out to the living room he found Trowa alone on the low couch staring almost unseeingly at a white paper held between thumb and forefinger.
Shit, Duo had nearly forgotten about that- the fucking envelope Davis had so unceremoniously bestowed upon Trowa, spouting off some bullshit about 'finding it' conveniently outside their door before he so brazenly interrupted their somewhat safe solitude.
Duo walked softly towards him, the taller man's back to his own, though by the way his head shifted minutely to the right it was clear he could sense Duo's presence. The scrawled, capital letters jumped out once more, just as they'd done on the many other little gifts of sickening riddles and photographs the five men had received since their preempted 'reunion.'
A mask to hide behind can never be permanent.
It was signed M.R. which had once again spurred the topic of conversation regarding infuriating use of initials that Duo was beginning to despise. Too fucking complicated and hard to keep straight in his already convoluted thoughts.
"Hey," Duo said after a few silent moments, because shit, what was he supposed to say anyways? He'd been the only other to receive such a personal cryptic message and look how well that had turned out for him.
Trowa did not turn, only nodded once in an acknowledging greeting. Vaguely Duo wondered where Quatre or even Wufei were at the moment because he wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation. He knew the man well enough, knew he could kill an enemy single-handedly without making a sound, knew he could fly high on a trapeze without the thought of a safety net below, knew he could apparently break into hotel room's undetected, and he knew above all that he held as much regard and love for Quatre Winner as Duo did for Heero Yuy.
In the end he decided to sit, bringing a knee up to rest his chin on and stare at the edge of the thin piece of paper, watching as it didn't even twitch in the other man's incredibly steady grip. "Thanks, Tro," he said softly, watching keenly for reaction through his peripherals.
To his surprise Trowa turned then to quirk an eyebrow. "What for?"
"For getting me out of that damn med facility," Duo responded, stomach clenching for only a moment at the memory.
Trowa shook his head and turned eyes back to the paper. "Not necessary."
Duo snorted a laugh; he did know the man well enough to have expected that sort of bland response. "Look," he started, reining in his amusement. "I haven't told anyone else this because I don't want anyone to start freaking out-"
Green eyes found his again and Duo knew they were both picturing the stone-faced man still taking his sweet time in the shower. Duo lowered his leg and sat up straighter. "But, I was kind of in the midst of a seriously fucked up hallucination when you found me."
There was a nod. "Yes, I gathered as much."
Duo had to double take at the response. He gave a sheepish grin. "You didn't tell any of the guys?"
"Why should I?" Trowa spoke in the most matter-of-fact of ways. "It's in the past. You can handle it on your own now, can't you?"
Duo hadn't quite thought that far. It was a seriously fucked up dream-like state he'd been in, complete with the most realistic stench of burning flesh he'd ever experienced past the real-deal. He swallowed once. "Yes, I can."
"Then, no, I won't be telling your shadow or anyone else." Trowa smiled and Duo thought he might choke on the intense amount of air his lungs had decided to suck inwards.
Before he could come up with any type of rebuttal, perhaps a jab at his and Quatre's own, often overprotective, relationship towards one another, the sound of steps coming down the hall alerted him to Wufei practically running towards them across the living room.
"Davis' car is outside again," he explained, voice exceptionally calm. "Except he's not in it."
Duo knew they shouldn't, definitely couldn't, but still as he and Wufei's eyes locked his grin turned feral. "Shall we do a little reconnaissance then?"
Wufei opened his mouth to respond, but then a deep voice from the hallway spoke first. "And here I thought Preventer protocol would always come first?"
Heero joined them, walking slowly and assessing the situation like his mind was ingrained to do. He actually had some semblance of a smirk on his lips and Duo couldn't fight the sudden heat growing in his gut at the oddly arousing sight.
The Chinese man shrugged one shoulder with a scowl. "I'm on-"
"Leave," Heero supplied with an unimpressed look. "We know."
Something red started to burn beneath the man's skin and before Wufei could sink teeth into any form of tirade, Duo interrupted. "It won't hurt to take a peek, Heero."
The man gave him a near chastising look that Duo promptly ignored. "You three go. I'm going to help Quatre with something."
"Help him with what?" Duo wondered just as the blond made an appearance from within the master bedroom.
He held a mischievous light in his aquamarine depths. "Hacking into my own corporation of course."
Duo's eyes flicked back to Heero. "Hacking?"
"I would have asked you, Duo," Quatre explained, leaning against the door-jam. "But Heero offered his expertise."
Desperate for a scathing comment, Duo stood to face Heero, but the other man was too quick, pressing unabashed lips to his own and drawing a wide-eyed look from no one other than the braided man himself. When they pulled apart Heero flicked his head towards the door. "Go ahead and spy. But don't do anything reckless."
With that he walked the necessary steps towards a madly grinning Quatre and they closed the french doors for their apparent computer hacking privacy.
"So- what the fuck just happened in there?" Duo muttered as the elevator lowered them downwards towards the building's lobby floor.
Trowa was studying his cuticles. "They're going to hack into Winner Corp files."
Duo growled in response. "You know what I mean."
Wufei, though tight-lipped, couldn't fully control his smirk. "I think Yuy's finally coming around to the idea of liking you- as surprising as that might be."
A fist made it powerfully into the man's shoulder. "It's called 'love' 'Fei, why don't you try it sometime?"
He gave Duo a sidelong glance, not once flinching at the contact. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. "That's not really my cup of tea. I don't even 'like' you, Maxwell. Try 'tolerate-' that's a better sentiment."
Duo let out a huff of frustration, but rather than becoming another joke he let the subject drop as the three made their way out onto the sidewalk. Wufei's display the day before was enough for him to know the truth anyways.
Outside the sun was shining warm down their backs, no one suspicious hiding in any of the shadows that their eyes darted over; simply put, other than Wufei's obscuring humor, there didn't appear to be anything dangerous or out-of-the ordinary.
Wufei took the lead towards the car, Duo close behind with Trowa taking up the rear. They'd stowed weaponry on their person, but it was becoming rather apparent by the lack of people or movement around them that the extra protection would be unnecessary.
The car had been left open. If Duo had been one to believe in bad omens, this certainly would have qualified. Were they supposed to find something? Was Davis sitting somewhere watching it all take place, laughing his ass off? Was the whole damn thing going to blow sky high any second? He pushed the thoughts away in lieu of the cell-phone Wufei pushed into his fingers after rifling through the glove-compartment. He also came up with a wallet, empty save for Davis' driver's license- and indeed it was him and not whoever was apparently working for Winner Corp- but no registration for the car or anything else for that matter.
"A lead or a trap?" Trowa wondered softly as he leaned back against the car, folding long arms across his chest.
Duo shook his head from side to side, not so much as an answer, just out of habit at having his entire mind turned upside down and rattled a couple of times. He stared at the phone, swiped against the screen to come up with a passcode lock. After a brief second of contemplation, and ignoring the watchful eyes of his companions, he tilted it upwards to receive the sun's reflection, finding the oily fingerprints he'd been expecting, and then trying the combinations of the four indicated numbers. It only took him three tries, miraculously enough.
Then Wufei was snatching the phone from his fingers and brushing through pages of messages, emails, and finally to the call records. "Think you could retrieve his voice mails?"
"You'd have to let me see the damn thing for more than a minute," Duo bit out with a frown. He thought he heard Trowa grunting out a laugh and chose to ignore it. "But, to answer your question, yes."
Meanwhile Wufei was scrolling through the call log. "Every one of these calls is to and from the same number."
"Listed?" Trowa prompted.
"No," Wufei shook his head. "But it's from an earth area code, so at least not on-colony."
Duo's eyes rolled. "That narrows it down." But then he focussed forward to stare at the screen. "A boss calling his grunt, maybe."
"Or the other way around," Trowa supplied, his height enabling him to view the phone from his still lax position.
"We could call it," Duo suggested then, because shit, why the hell not?
Wufei's eyes narrowed towards him. "I'm not sure that's our best option."
"And why not?" Duo spat, swiping the cell back with the nimble fingers of an ex-pick-pocket. "What more harm could this possibly do? It's an ass-backwards situation to begin with. We don't know who this guy is, boss or employee or Davis' damn mother for all we know. But we do have this number- we could call it up and say hello."
Trowa pushed off of the car. "Are we going to do that?"
When Wufei did not open his mouth to argue, Duo's eyes gleamed. "Yes, I think we are."
Duo's finger hovered over the call button, but in the same instant his ears pricked at the low rack of a slide ten-feet behind them. It was familiar, ingrained in him since before he could remember, since even before the war and Deathscythe and whatever formal training bullshit G tried to pump into him. It wasn't uncommon on L2 to hear such a sound, the scrape of metal on metal, a magazine spring, the smack of a shell being pushed into place. It took him only a thirtieth of a second to recognize, another thirtieth of a second to evaluate, and another for eyes to lock with the two other pairs that had undoubtably heard the exact same warning he had.
Reaction only took another thirtieth of a second, because they were damned ex-Gundam pilots for god's sake and this was nothing, this was natural, the idea that they might be standing somewhere in broad fucking daylight listening for the sound of someone preparing to shoot them down. There was no need for hesitation, for thought, for second-guessing, there was just pure action, pure instinct that radiated between the men after only a single heartbeat.
They all went down in a thud of limbs and power, reaching for their weapons before they'd even hit the pavement. Duo felt the rush of a bullet fly through the air where they'd been standing adjacently only a second before.
First came the sound of a curse, then another rack of the slide, and finally footsteps running towards them. That's where the shooter had made their mistake. Duo's mouth grinned, all teeth- big fucking mistake.
He had his gun, reaching for the safety, mind calculating angles as he bent his head backwards towards a figure shadowed only partially by trees lining the sidewalk. Behind him was open traffic, streaming past the narrow block that wound its way behind the condos, cars zooming past as the light stayed green.
Immediately he decided not to shoot, at least not yet. It would be too fucking risky, if he missed the bullet would travel out into the traffic, wound a civilian. Not an option. And even if he didn't miss, at this range the bullet could rip through the man's flesh, through his bone, and still hit something unintended. Shit, there was too much power in his weapon and not enough leeway.
Duo turned after his half-second decision to see Trowa. He'd have to wait for him, even perhaps Wufei who had managed to find a spot behind the trunk of the car. Trowa had a better angle, he was positioned well enough that a bullet would skim the trees, not the traffic.
He watched in painful slow motion as Trowa's thumb went to remove the safety; he wanted to scream in frustration as things seemed to play out like they were stuck in zero gravity, floating with little dexterity or control. His mind was moving at lighting speed compared to his body, compared to any of their bodies.
Trowa had the safety off, but the other gun fired again.
Missed. Shit, the attacker had been slow as well, the bullet zooming in the space that had recently held Trowa's own frame. It missed easily, like he'd preplanned and couldn't deviate- or else was missing on purpose?
Trowa fired, the bullet burrowing into their attacker's thigh, muscle and blood exploding outward on impact, the close range a brutal punishment. But of course the fucker deserved it.
There was almost immediate shock, the man's gun dropping with a sharp clatter to the ground. Wufei was instantly on his feet, only a few steps to reach out with a powerful hand, hitting the connection between shoulder and neck, sending the attacker instantly to the ground, unconscious.
Duo scrambled to his knees, evaluating the situation, searching out accomplices, eyeing the trees and the building next to them for other enemies. His eyes were almost too slow, too late to notice the long barrel of a gun peeking out from a service entrance to the lobby floor.
Trowa was standing now too, his own instincts kicking in, turning to assess, but it was too late. The gun fired, the crack sharp in the air, a bullet heading straight for the man's chest.