By: Spooks
~ ~ ~ ~
"Oh, for crying out loud, Heero! You checked your email ten minutes ago, right before you took your shower! Do you really expect someone to think you're that important...well...besides me, that is?" Duo complained loudly as he brushed through his hair.
"Yes," Heero replied seriously, turning in his chair to face the American. Tiny droplets of water dripped from Heero's still damp hair and onto his shirt, spotting the dark blue fabric with moisture. He raked one hand through the wet mess and pointed at the laptop screen with the other. He smirked. "I just received five new messages."
The American just blew out a sigh of exasperation, causing his long bangs to ruffle slightly. "Oh, right. Silly me. Of course. But could you just turn that thing off already? It's after midnight. I'm tired. I want to go to bed. I want to go to bed with you."
Raising an eyebrow, Heero seemed to consider that for a moment. "Give me a minute," he finally said, ducking the hairbrush that was immediately thrown at his head.
A few minutes passed as Heero typed on his computer, the soft clicks of the keyboard the only sound other than Duo's impatient mumbling. After the now braided young man turned off most of the bedroom lights, he stopped to gaze out the large picture window set into the wall of their bedroom. Their current apartment was small, but the view was excellent.
Outside their little room a thousand tiny lights twinkled, both from the far away stars and the artificial lights of the city. The view changed constantly with the ebb and flow of the multitude of citizens. Far below them, cars raced the circuits of the streets, and in every direction apartments, stores, and office buildings stretched, a shimmering urban landscape trapped in an eternally busy night. Only the stars above held any sort of calm splendor, passively watching over the world below.
Duo stood transfixed by the contrast, watching the world outside the clear glass as it moved along without them. Neither of the young men were currently employed, although they technically were still members of the Preventers' reserve ranks. The two were living off Heero's large bank accounts filtered from Oz surplus funds from during the war, courtesy of a nice little hacking job Heero had done at one point between battles. At the time the Japanese youth had used the money for basic weapons supply and food. After the war ended he started to use it for other things, mainly, living. At the moment, there was no end in sight to their capital, and the accounts were now in two names instead of just one.
Currently traveling, seeing the world and the colonies, the pair had been together for about two years. Circumstance and curiosity a few years ago had turned an innocent visit of Duo's into a blossoming of a brand new era in both their lives. In their travels they did more than explore the world, they explored each other. It was a strange relationship, but it was fulfilling to both of them. Neither could imagine the world without the other, but no binding contract of words had been spoken of their commitment. Neither man was good at such declarations, and they seemed unnecessary anyway. Neither planned ever to leave the other; both knew this without having to speak it. Actions, in this case, truly spoke volumes louder than words.
Duo was broken out his thoughts by a pair of strong arms snaking around his middle and a gentle breath on the side of his neck. Leaning back, he let one hand dip down to grasp the arms around his waist, and the other hand raised up to grasp the back of Heero's head gently, massaging the base of the other man's neck and leaning back into the warm embrace. Without moving his eyes from the scenery, he let himself be held. A long melting moment passed before either moved.
Finally the American stirred, turning his head slightly and nuzzling his cheek against the neck of the man behind him. "Finally done?"
Heero just murmured a quiet affirmative and turned his partner fully around and into his arms, rubbing tiny circles on Duo's back as their lips met in a soft chaste kiss. "Bed?"
The longhaired man just nodded, taking the other's hand and leading him along. Their fingers stayed tenderly linked as they turned off the remaining lights, pulled back the covers, and crawled into their bed. For a moment they lay snuggled up under the sheets, lying facing each other on their sides, just existing together.
"What? No sex?" Heero asked suddenly, a wry little grin on his lips.
Duo just rolled his eyes before becoming hesitantly serious, squeezing the hand he still clasped and reaching up with their joined hands to kiss Heero's fingertips, one by one. "You know, I think this might be better right now. Not that you're not one fine piece of ass...but this is a really nice place to be." That said, Duo anxiously watched his partner's reaction, amethyst colored eyes peering nervously out from a subtly shining frame of hair in the comforting darkness.
Heero's eyes softened for a moment, a tiny but genuine smile on his lips. He nodded his understanding, then pulled the slightly smaller man closer, tangling their legs and arms together until they were hopelessly and happily intertwined in loving knots. Duo's head rested in the hollow of Heero's neck, and the Japanese man nestled his cheek against his partner's soft hair. Hearts beating quietly in the still night, they drifted off to sleep in complete tranquility.
A shutter clicked.
~ ~ ~ ~
Morning came in a wave of golden sunlight and the cool feeling of air conditioning caressing exposed skin. A soft clink from the next room melded with the quiet when the coffeepot turned on; the scent of brewing mocha filtered in through the penetrating beams of light, mingling in with the still atmosphere as a pair of deep blue eyes fluttered open. Heero breathed in the scent of coffee, sunlight, and Duo for a moment before untangling himself and easing out of the bed.
Bare feet padding on the thick carpet, he pulled on a pair of jeans over his boxers and slid on a pair of bunny slippers Duo had gotten for him on his last birthday. Not bothering to change shirts, he grabbed the key to their apartment's mailbox and left, heading down to the lobby where the mailboxes were placed. He did this every morning in the random event that they would receive written correspondence from one of the other former pilots or their wide circle of acquaintances. Well, that or the dreaded horror of bills and junk mail. Either way, it was a morning ritual.
Finding nothing but a thrice forwarded letter from Quatre and the power bill, Heero made his way back upstairs, taking a place on the elevator and all but daring someone to make a comment about his pink fuzzy bunny slippers. When he stepped out of the lift and into the hallway, he was mildly startled to see a puffy manila envelope sitting in front of their apartment door. Snatching the envelope up he looked at it for a moment, inspecting the plain surface and cool aluminum latch holding the flap closed. With an imperceptible shrug, he stepped inside the apartment, a tiny frown marking his features.
By this time Duo had also rolled out of bed and was standing in the center of the kitchen, attention divided between the coffeepot and Heero, his arms high above his head as he bounced lightly on the balls of his feet. Running fingers through his bangs, he sighed when he saw that, just like every morning, he'd have to redo his braid. Sidling up to stand next to Heero as the Japanese man set the mail down on the kitchen table, Duo started to unravel his long rope of hair.
"Anything interesting?" He asked, tousling the thick chestnut waves at the back of his skull.
For a moment Heero just stood there, running a hand through the freed mane of hair. "Not really. A bill, a letter from Quatre and probably Trowa, and someone left an envelope on our doorstep. I think you have another secret admirer from the looks of it. Did you hear anything outside?"
"Nope. Another stalker type? You'd think that after those stupid tabloids broke the story about us, people would leave me alone! What did I do to deserve a stalker?" Duo wailed quietly, poking Heero in the stomach with his index finger. "Come on, remember when Relena wouldn't leave you alone? Share some anti-stalker tips with me!"
Heero just smirked and grabbed the hand that was poking at him. "Of that, I still don't really know what happened. Besides, we're friends now."
"Yeah, that's just because she and Wufei had that huge argument and ended up somehow falling into bed. Of course, they were stone drunk at the time, but I didn't think it would last more than five seconds! That is one couple that almost scares me," Duo replied, trying futilely to twist his hand out of Heero's grip.
"I have to agree with you on that one. I think they're good for each other, though. And they are fun to watch argue," Heero just muttered, his attention focused on grabbing the American's other hand. "Gotcha."
"Yes, you do. Now let go?" The longhaired man asked, a devilish gleam in his eyes.
"Not just yet..."
Pushing the American carefully back into the counter, Heero just held the captured wrists gently, leaning forward and initiating a sweet good morning kiss. Minutes later they broke apart, just as the coffee finally finished brewing. While Duo rebraided his hair, Heero poured them a couple of cups of coffee. They sat down at their tiny kitchen table and opened their mail.
"Ah, Quatre's letter is just a follow up to that email he sent you a while back," Duo said as he smoothed the paper out on the tabletop. He reached into the opened envelope and pulled out a stiff rectangular card. "An official invitation to a little party at his compound in America. Gah, he always has to be so formal. I guess it's just that uber-polite upbringing of his, huh? You still want to go?"
"Of course," Heero replied, standing up and popping a couple of pieces of bread into the toaster. "When is it again?"
"In two weeks, actually," Duo replied. "Want to go early? I mean, it's a three day long party, after all. And you know how Quatre is, inviting everyone and their grandmother. Might want to get some quality time with the other guys."
"Wufei always shows up early, and of course Trowa is already there. Sure," The shorthaired man nodded as he stared at the toaster. He thumped it with his index finger. "Stupid toaster. We really need to buy a new one next time we move."
"Let's just steal another one from the neighbors," Duo joked, opening the manila envelope. "And now, insert drum roll here, Hee-chan! We get to see what's in the mystery envelope of doom!"
Heero just raised an eyebrow and snorted.
Duo pouted slightly. "Drum roll?"
But right then the toast popped up, and Heero was momentarily saved from drumming his hands on the countertop. While he busied himself with grabbing the butter for Duo and getting out a couple of plates, he hoped that his American companion would have already opened the envelope by the time he had everything on the table. Therefore, he was studiously avoiding looking at Duo or the envelope in his hands.
By the time he had plopped back down in his seat, though, Duo had finished half a piece of buttered toast and was grinning at him. "Drum roll?"
Giving in, Heero obediently drummed his fingertips on the edge of the table, being sure to look as unenthusiastic as possible.
Duo just smirked and proceeded to finish opening the puffy envelope, in a fluid motion he stuck his hand inside. His smile was quickly replaced with a flash of pain and a startled yelp. He pulled his hand back out of the envelope slowly. Little drops of blood dripped in torrents from his now sliced fingers and splotched wetly onto the table and the remains of his toast. He dropped the envelope in shock as he grabbed a napkin to stop the bleeding. It was soaked crimson in seconds.
Seeing the blood, Heero had immediately jumped up, grabbed a kitchen towel, and had knelt down by Duo's chair. Elapsed time: two seconds. Wrapping the injured hand up quickly, he led the American man to the sink, gently washing the long, deep slices under cool tap water. When the cuts were treated with ointment and bandaged from supplies taken from the first aid kit under the sink, the pair warily turned as one and looked at the innocent looking envelope still sitting on their kitchen table. Duo's bright red blood was almost dry now, surrounding the manila envelope with a cloying macabre scarlet frame.
Putting a protective but gentle hand on Duo's chest to halt him, Heero moved forward and carefully picked up the envelope. Holding it so that the opening was gapped a bit wider, he saw the subtle glinting of metal in the mouth of the envelope. It was disguised slightly by the puffy bubble wrap that lined the inner part of the envelope, and it was only visible upon close inspection. Pulling a sharp knife from a drawer, Heero set the envelope down and in a few quick slices had the manila envelope dissected on the kitchen counter.
Cautiously Heero peeled back the top part of the sliced envelope, Duo watching from over his shoulder. Both gasped at the way fragments of razor blades lined the mouth of the envelope. The metal shards had been fixed in place with the utmost care, and there were little flecks of old blood dotting it and mixed in with the clear dried glue that held them in place. Obviously whoever had booby-trapped the envelope had been injured while doing so.
The absolute obsessive concern that had been taken to line the entire mouth of the envelope in such a careful manner was unnerving in and of itself. The blades had to be placed just right, otherwise they would have noticed the unusual bulk of the envelope or they would have been easily noticeable when the flap was open. Instead, the trap was perfect in a way that only the disturbed relentless could achieve.
Past the mouth of the envelope, though, the sharp razor lining stopped. There was a smaller gray envelope lying in the center of the exposed manila trap. Picking up the smaller package as though it was a bomb, Heero inspected the gray cover. It was tough, but it had to be to survive the trip into the envelope; the material was light but strong. Again, the care taken with the delivered gift echoed maliciously, a statement all of its own.
"What the hell could be in that?" Duo whispered, leaning his chin on Heero's shoulder, his body pressing up against the taller man's back.
"I don't know. It's light, feels like a paper or something," Heero answered, dangling the gray envelope between his thumb and forefinger.
"Open it," Duo requested, sliding his arm carefully around Heero's waist, a gesture of comfort for both of them.
Nodding, Heero picked up the sharp knife and sliced through the touch gray cover. It didn't cut easily, and after a few grunts of effort, it finally tore. With the flat edge of the knife, he flipped the gray bit of material up. What they saw made both gasp and step back from the counter, Heero dropping the knife on the floor and Duo covering his mouth with his bandaged hand.
It was a picture of them standing in front of their bedroom window, obviously taken the night before. The moment captured was tender, almost worthy of framing, but the perspective of the picture was alarming. The picture had been taken from somewhere beyond their window; out somewhere in the city; someone had been watching them.
Someone could be watching them now.
Breaking away from Duo's arm, Heero immediately walked into their bedroom and pulled the curtain. The window was the only one in the apartment, but one could see it from almost anywhere in the grouping of rooms. Even in the kitchen a sliver of the clear portal exposed them to the outside world.
'But not anymore,' Heero thought as he leaned against the bedroom wall, a shudder overtaking his body. Sure, being mildly famous war heroes had given them some experience with admirers and haters alike, but nothing like this. No one had every invaded their privacy to such an extent, never mind flaunting that fact right in their faces. It had been so sudden, too. The setup had obviously taken time; how long had this person been observing them? And the way the picture was presented...it added to the feeling of menace. The subtlety of the single message echoed of vindictive and implicit threat.
Duo leaned on the doorframe, holding Quatre's letter in his bandaged hand. A small bit of blood had already soaked through the gauze on the back of his thumb, bright red contrasting with the white paper. "Heero? Do you want to go drop in on Quatre a bit sooner than expected?"
"Hell yes."
They were on the next flight to America, the only warning of their imminent arrival a hastily typed email. On the transport a thin girl sat in the very back seat, her face almost veiled completely by lank blonde hair. She watched the longhaired American and the shorthaired Japanese man in front of her fall asleep midway through the flight, half leaning on each other in their unconscious movement. Raising a camera, she took a picture. They were so cute sometimes.
~ ~ ~ ~
Exiting the taxi with a contented sigh, Duo slid his sunglasses on with in his good hand and waited for Heero to pay the cab fare. He circled behind the car to start unloading their scant luggage onto the pavement, laying the baggage carefully down one at a time next to each other, forming a neat line. A moment later Heero was helping him, and between the Japanese man's two hands and Duo's one good one, they managed to grab all of their lightweight bags. Waving to the cabdriver with his bandaged hand, Duo led the way up the long walkway to Quatre's American estate.
"I hope Quatre got your email," Duo said as he turned around and started walking backwards. "It's still a bit early in this time zone, I'd hate to put him or Trowa out."
Heero shrugged, the bags in both his hands rising and falling with the movement. A light breeze ruffled his thick hair slightly. "Even if he didn't get the warning, I don't think they'll mind once we tell them why we're here so early."
"Yeah, you're probably right about that," Duo replied thoughtfully, turning around to face the front door. His braid swung behind him with the movement. Putting his bag down, he knocked on the large white door with his unbandaged hand.
The door suddenly opened, Quatre all but flying over the stoop and tackling Duo in a hug. "Hi Duo! Hi Heero! Just got your email!" He paused for a moment, then sounded serious as he peered over Duo's shoulder at Heero, his light eyes full of concern. "Not that we're all not happy you guys are here, but the email mentioned that something had happened?"
"Yes," Heero responded, patiently waiting for Duo to fill the blond man in on the situation.
Duo hugged back for a second, then pulled away. "Uh, hi. We'll explain that later. Uh, who else is 'we?'"
Quatre stepped back and scratched the back of his head, suddenly a bit sheepish. "Well, uh, as you know, Trowa's visiting--"
"Trowa's always visiting," Heero interrupted dryly, the ghost of a smile on his face.
Quatre just blushed a little and took one of the bags the Japanese man was carrying, leading the two inside. "And, well, uh, Wufei and Relena are both here now."
"Wu and Relena? Really? OH! I knew it they were up to something. I gotta see this!" Duo cackled, following the blond inside. Heero noticed how much Quatre had grown since the Mariemeia Incident. The young man was now much taller and a more filled out, his face losing that cherub cuteness somewhere along the way, acquiring a much more angular and stronger look. The Winner heir looked the part of a man perched on top of the financial world, but a hint of the soldier still carried itself in his movements.
"Let me show you to your room first. That way you won't have to worry about it later," Quatre said, stopping for a moment, then veering off down a different hallway. Before long they were stowing their bags away. Then Quatre led them back out to meet the others in the living room. The furniture of the room was set up in a square, three couches and a couple of arm chair surrounding an elegant glass coffee table. Wufei sat on one couch. Trowa was on another, soon joined by Quatre.
Entering, Duo waved and tugged Heero over to sit on one of the free couches. "So where's your woman, Wu-man?" Duo asked immediately, grinning like a maniac. Teasing Wufei just got better with age.
The Chinese man just rolled his eyes. "Hello, Duo," He paused, then nodded to Heero. "Hi, Heero."
Heero just grunted his customary greeting, a slight smile creeping up on his features. The soldier was mellowing a little as he spent more time in the company of Duo. All of the men had changed, though. They had grown up, slowly starting to recover from their past traumas and their part in the bloody wars. Time was doing wonders for them. After everyone had greeted everyone else, Duo started back in on Wufei.
"So, come on! Where's Relena?" Duo kept on, his voice almost regressing back a few years along with his attitude.
"Actually she just arrived a few minutes before you two did," Wufei sighed. "I've been here since yesterday. Why the hell are you here so early, anyway? Everyone knows about you two," He nodded from Heero to Duo.
"We're being stalked," Heero answered simply.
"Again?" A feminine voice came from the doorway. Relena stepped into the room. "And damnit, Wufei, just give Duo a straight answer and he'll leave you alone."
"Woman! Don't tell me what to do!" Wufei responded, half serious and half joking.
"Quiet, I want to hear about this stalker," Relena just replied, sinking down on the couch beside Wufei.
"Yeah, well, get this, they took our picture last night and laid it on our doorstep while Heero was downstairs getting the mail," Duo started.
"So? They took your picture? That's not all, is it?" Quatre asked.
"Nope! See, the picture was taken from outside our window looking in. We live on the thirtieth floor," Duo replied.
"Oh, well, that's quite the difference," Wufei said dryly. "And?"
"The inside of this envelope was lined with razor blades," Heero spoke quietly, holding up Duo's injured hand by the wrist, turning it as though it were a precious artifact for display. "Thus the bandages."
"Yeah, it was just damn creepy. The care that psychopath must have taken to line the thing with razor blades was the unnerving part of it. The job was thorough, you couldn't even tell that there was anything wrong with it until you stuck your hand in," Duo finished, his voice completely serious. He took a deep breath and continued, almost rambling.
"I don't know why it's freaking me out so badly, but the whole thing had this menacing sort of feel to it. So we decided to drop by early. Why worry when you can just go to a different country for a while?" He finished with a forced bit of cheer, his smile fake as he stared down at his bandaged hand. It was obvious that the American was unnerved about the incident.
Heero didn't look any happier about it, either, his face slightly pinched with worry as he edged protectively closer to Duo. It was the former Wing pilot's reaction to the story that really worried the other ex-pilots and the former queen. Sure, the Japanese man had come a long way emotionally, but he rarely showed fear or worry. Duo was known to exaggerate at times, but Heero? Never. The room was silent for a moment before Quatre cleared his throat, breaking the palpable tension. No one knew what to say, and it was up to him, as the host, to break the proverbial ice.
"I think I'll go see what we're having for lunch," The blond said, standing up. "Why don't you guys all explore some of the game rooms and the pool? Get your mind off of your worries and that sort of thing. We can talk about this later when you're more settled. We do have almost two weeks before anyone else is due to arrive, after all."
Grateful for an excuse not to dwell on the disturbing subject, the little group followed Quatre's suggestion, splitting off into pairs. Trowa went along with Quatre, while Wufei dragged a Relena along to go look at the rec rooms. As the others left, Duo and Heero just stayed where they were on their comfortable couch for a moment, enjoying the sense of safety provided by their new location and the company of friends they had known for years.
"I'm sleepy," Duo said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck lightly. "Nothing like sleeping for hours on a plane to make you tired, huh, Heero?"
"Nothing like it," Heero agreed, yawning.
"Nap?"
"Nap."
And so the two went to their room to take a short rest that turned into a long sleep. The illusion of security followed them all the way into their dreams.
~ ~ ~ ~
Next