Chapter Seven: Revelations

As far as Wufei was concerned his friends had it all wrong when it came to Duo. But how could he explain that without possibly violating the American's trust? He was getting tired of trying to convince Heero and Trowa that Duo was still approachable. Every time he brought it up the two refused to take him seriously, with Trowa vaguely mentioning how Duo didn't want to hear from them and Heero shutting down completely. It was was frustrating. He would succeed today in changing their minds. He had to succeed. No one was leaving Heero and Trowa's office until Wufei was confident in the success of his mission. So he kept making his argument while he hatched a plan.

"Duo's not cold. He's actually just as empathetic and friendly as during the war."

Heero scoffed from his desk and Wufei recognized that as a means to cover his pain. More than anyone it was Heero who wanted to find Duo when he'd disappeared. And now he was the least willing to extend grace or patience. When Heero spoke with the same indifference he had as a teenager it caused both his friends to wince. This voice was not the man they knew today. It was an echo of the sometimes cruel youth he once was. "Maxwell wants nothing to do with us. You should save your breath."

"You're wrong."

"You're delusional, Chang."

"No, I'm not!"

For his part Trowa resigned himself to watching the two argue from his side of the office he shared with Heero. There was little he could do when they went off like this, though usually it was over something work related or trivial and not something so personal. Heero was hurting, that much was obvious. He'd expected to find Duo and reconnect instantly. He had years to dream up scenarios where they found him and everyone clicked back together. He had years of pining, as far as Trowa was concerned, over the memory of a person he couldn't admit to needing until he'd vanished. Reality landed a tough blow to his partner with Heero's shock leading to despair, depression, and anger. He was so angry at how things turned out that he'd shut down and completely given up on reconnecting with Duo. But in that he wasn't fully alone.

Quatre was afraid to approach their volatile friend and Trowa, though they'd shared a moment in an elevator, used his lack of opportunities to connect one on one as an excuse to avoid Duo. He was ashamed of his actions but part of him felt that if Duo wanted to be left alone he should respect those wishes. The American made no effort to reach out and Trowa was not going to push him. So it was only when the argument in front of him got physical that his attention was truly caught.

"Give that back!"

Heero was grabbing for something in Wufei's hand as the other man ducked behind Trowa, using him as a shield. If anyone was going to get the jump on Heero Yuy it was Wufei, who was always the better close combat fighter. It didn't take more than a second for the taller man to realize that standing between these two during a possible brawl was not a position he wanted to be in. As Heero moved to shove him out of the way Trowa grabbed his arm and with a good amount of effort spun it behind the Japanese man's back, effectively stopping his motion.

"Both of you CALM DOWN!"

Whatever Wufei was doing with the object in his hands Trowa was having none of it. When he next spoke it was forceful and authoritative.

"What are you doing to provoke him, Chang?"

Without hesitation Wufei declared "I'm proving him wrong!" and Heero growled in response. Trowa heard the familiar sound of a vibrating phone and watched with interest as Wufei took his own device from his pocket and swiped to answer as though he wasn't in the middle of a fight.

"I just called myself from your phone, Yuy. Your side is on mute. Leave the line open and you'll have proof that Duo is the same person he always was."

Neither Trowa nor Heero seemed to follow, but it piqued Heero's interest enough to temporarily take the fight out of him. Trowa did not loosen his grip as Wufei continued.

"You think Duo is some sort of heartless monster, which is rich considering who you used to be. But I've actually talked with him. We spent an entire afternoon and evening together, hanging out like old friends… which I guess we are. He's just as warm as he was before. Just as friendly." He sighed when he saw disbelief in the eyes of his friends. He could continue and explain why Duo spent that day with him but he wasn't ready to admit how it was only Duo realized how much he needed someone by his side for emotional support. He wasn't ready to admit to his own pain. More importantly, he didn't want to turn this into something about himself. He needed the focus to remain on Duo.

"It's Friday," Wufei declared, "so Duo will be dropping by my office in probably the next fifteen minutes. I'll keep the line open and you'll have your proof that I'm right. His Friday visits never get too personal so I shouldn't need to hang up for confidentiality."

"So you're bugging your own office now?"

"Yes, Heero. And you're going to listen."

Wufei put the device down on Heero's desk and activated speaker phone. He watched as Trowa let go of their friend and allowed Heero to take a seat with his arms crossed, glaring at that unassuming rectangle. Heero looked like an angry child, but at least he was following orders.

"You shouldn't work so hard. You're young, it's nearly the weekend... go take Sally out or somethin."

Duo was leaning at a precarious angle on the door frame to Wufei's office, his right shoulder pressed against the frame while his arms crossed over his chest. Even his feet were crossed, and Wufei smiled with amusement as he took in the image before him. "I hope you see the humor in you calling me a workaholic, Duo."

The comment earned Wufei a grin. "Sure, but unlike you I've got nothin better to do."

Wufei couldn't keep the laughter from his voice as he pretended to scold his friend. "You've had nothing better to do every week since late October. Are you really that interested in my love life?"

Pushing a little harder into his shoulder, Duo sprung off the door frame and stood upright with a huff of defiance. He sauntered to Wufei and placed two hands on his desk, leaning halfway across to tell his friend through a devious gaze "Nah, I'm not that interested in your love life. I just keep droppin by because Ravi loves to see me downstairs." He grinned. "But seriously... Sally makes you happy, so ya oughtta spend more time with her. Lady like that won't waste time on a guy who can't put her in his priorities. And you'll be hard pressed findin anyone better. That woman is out of your league, man."

Wufei was glad his phone's screen went to black several minutes earlier or he would've been very nervous about getting caught with an open line on his desk. In retrospect placing the phone screen down would've been smarter than screen up but he was still upset when he returned to his office. He made a tactical mistake. He just hoped Heero wouldn't hang up during this conversation, lest the phone activate and light up. He didn't want Duo to see he was on a call and interrogate him as to why. For now the smart move was to ignore the device and not glance at it. Just focus on what Duo saying.

"Did Sally tell you to say that?"

Duo laughed with his full body and fell backward into one of two chairs in front of Wufei's desk. He draped one leg over the armrest and in a smooth move adjusted his collar before stretching his arm across the back of the chair. He looked completely at home and entirely unbefitting for an on call Preventers Agent. His lack of a Preventers uniform was the only thing keeping him from looking fully absurd. "Hell no! I haven't even talked to her!" He was smiling broadly now. It was strange to see him seated like that without his braid hitting the floor. Wufei wasn't sure he'd get used to seeing Duo with it tucked away.

"Sally would love to see you. She's been asking about it."

Duo cracked his knuckles, suddenly looking a little less at ease. "I'm sure we'll get around to it sometime."

Wufei smiled. "I'd invite you to dinner with us, but I'll be here for a while and I already told her I'm not sure when I'll be free."

A serious but playful look crossed Duo's face as he demanded, "Don't tell me you'd rather be here working tonight than spending time with your lady."

Wufei smiled. "No, you're right. I would prefer to spend the evening with Sally. It's been nice to see her so much lately. I even got to join her and meet some of her old friends for dinner last weekend. And I have you to thank for that."

He watched as his friend fidgeted in place. This was something Wufei always enjoyed, even back in the wars: seeing Duo squirm every time his kindness was acknowledged. There was something innocent about the reaction and Wufei would never tire of it. Duo would shift and ever so slightly bite his bottom lip as he broke eye contact. He was like a child getting caught doing something wrong. It fascinated him and he never missed a chance to make his friend feel awkward. But this time Duo blushed a little. He didn't run his mouth and make jokes in an attempt to cover up how awkward he felt getting caught doing something nice. It was clear to Wufei he hit a bit of a nerve this time around.

Smiling softly, he continued "You've basically played loyal cat with me, Duo, coming and going as you please but regularly dropping off gifts. So what have you brought me this week? You're always sticking your nose in my cases and making my life easier. Did you sequence all the research on the Seremban case or something?" His tone was joking but he froze when Duo looked up at him with a guilty expression. "You… you didn't. You couldn't!"

With a tiny shrug and a weak lop-sided smile Duo tossed a memory card onto the desk. It slid and came to a stop against Wufei's laptop. He stayed quiet and looked at the floor while Wufei put the card into his computer and quietly gasped when nearly a terabyte of data appeared, all meticulously cataloged and dated.

"Duo, this is days of work for a whole team of agents!"

"Yeah, well... I told you I didn't have anything better to do."

Wufei shook his head. "Why didn't you upload this to Une yourself?"

Duo moved so he was sitting properly in the chair with both feet on the ground and cleared his throat. "It's your case. You should do it."

"But you did the work!"

"Shut up already and take the win." His voice was tinged with annoyance. "Now you can actually go home this weekend." He stood abruptly and Wufei knew he wouldn't stick around for long. His loyal stray cat was clearly about to take leave.

"When did you even have time to do this?" The question was genuine, and it was evident in Wufei's voice.

Duo made a disbelieving sound like the answer should be obvious but he still didn't make eye contact with his friend. As he exited the office he called over his shoulder, "I always have time for people who are important to me."

Wufei was dazed. For a month Duo quietly supplied him with help on cases to free up his time but this was an obscene amount of work. He was so surprised he forgot abut the phone on his desk and the open line to Heero and Trowa.

As soon as Duo began speaking Trowa stood from his desk to join Heero. It didn't take long to realize his original assessment was incorrect. He left Duo's apartment months ago certain the behavior he witnessed was a plea to be left alone by a person who tried his best to remain missing in action. But the kind and friendly tone Duo used with Wufei signaled an openness to letting people back into his life. He'd been a fool, thinking it was Duo's job to reach out when he could just as easily attempt it himself. Knowing this changed things, but Trowa would figure his own course of action at a later time. His attention was turned to his partner and how to handle him.

Throughout the call Heero looked stricken and Trowa thought perhaps he was witnessing his friend's heart breaking in real time. When they heard Duo say the words "I always have time for people who are important to me" Trowa was certain part of Heero died. He reached over and hung up the call when it became evident Wufei had forgotten and Heero was too lost in thought to be capable of moving. He knew one trick to try snapping his friend back to reality.

"Yuy. Status."

A wave of relief hit Trowa when his partner auto-responded "uninjured" before sadness and the realization that Heero was very much injured took its place. He kept his voice steady and even in the way Quatre often did when speaking to someone he was afraid might lose their temper. "Heero, look at me. What are you thinking?"

When blue eyes met green they were filled with pain. "I thought he didn't want any of us in his life. I thought he hated us. But really he just hates me."

As Heero deflated Trowa sighed. "It's not only you, Heero. And I don't think he hates any of us. I think Duo is keeping us at a safe distance."

It didn't escape Trowa what his words implied and it certainly didn't escape Heero, who quietly asked without trying to hide his heartbreak, "What have we done that makes him unsafe with us?" Neither had an answer but both knew that this was an uncomfortable avenue they needed to explore. If Duo was keeping them at a distance out of self preservation that meant they'd all done something to hurt him and it was bad enough to stay with Duo for the years he'd disappeared and shape his behavior towards them now.

But none of them were the same young men they were during the wars or even at the end of them. They'd changed and grown in times of relative peace, and Trowa was certain it would take some self reflection to come up with what exactly they'd done in the past to hurt their friend.

Trowa had a feeling he, Heero, and Quatre once Trowa got him up to speed, would spend their evenings trying to figure out what they'd done to hurt Duo. Because the narrative of Duo turning into a cold and callous monster no longer fit.

And that left the distinct possibility that it was the three of them who'd been monsters in the past.