Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Honor-Bound ❯ Road Trip ( Chapter 9 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: amiko 16 
The exhausting road trip begins. Heero attempts to relax Wufei at the hotel. Creepiness at the fast food restaurant.
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Action / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.23.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Work In Progress
The exhausting road trip begins. Heero attempts to relax Wufei at the hotel. Creepiness at the fast food restaurant.
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Action / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.23.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Work In Progress
Honor-Bound
-Amiko
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Note: I added ch. 8 and 9 at the same time, so don't accidentally skip ch. 8 or you'll be lost ^^;
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Chapter 9: "Road Trip"
When Duo had said the drive would be a long one, he hadn't been joking. Wufei judged it would take at least two days on the road for them to get to their destination, and that was if traffic was good and they drove in shifts instead of stopping for the night.
They split up; Duo and Heero took a run-down jeep, while Trowa and Quatre claimed a motorcycle hidden in the high grass in the backyard. It was obvious where Wufei was going to have to ride, and the thought didn't please him. While his faith in Trowa had been soundly shaken since yesterday, he still knew the other boy, while the others were more or less complete strangers. Rather than listen to Duo's inane babble or put up with Heero's calculating stares, he claimed the back seat. He stretched out, using his bag for a pillow, and had fallen asleep before they'd even left the town. He didn't want to be awake for the drive because he was afraid that if he saw familiar settings through the window being left far behind, he might do something rash. So he slept, while Heero drove and Duo lounged in the passenger seat and talked about this and that.
The jeep wasn't exactly the smoothest ride in the world; every bump and sharp turn was a magnified lurch, and Wufei couldn't ignore it forever. He finally roused himself after a brief nap and checked his watch. They'd only been on the road three hours. Carefully lowering his hand by his side, he glanced towards the two boys up front, neither of whom seemed to have noticed that he was awake yet. They were deep in discussion about something, and it took Wufei a moment to pick out their words over the sound of the wind and the tires bumping along the road.
"..don't see why it has to be this way," Duo was muttering, inspecting dirt under his fingernails. "Quatre feels the same way. I feel bad for the guy, yanno? It's a hell of a wake-up call. And he doesn't even know what's really going on yet."
"We aren't telling him," Heero reminded him firmly, eyes on the road.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Duo huffed. "The old man would skin us alive. Besides, I really don't think Wufei would believe us in the first place. Worst case scenario, he'd bolt."
"He's not a coward," Heero said flatly.
"Didn't say he was, did I? Just sayin' it's a bit much for one guy to take in all at once. Hell, if I was in his shoes, I'd probably laugh in your face. Take this exit."
Heero obediently turned the wheel, face still a mask of impenetrable stone. "He doesn't have a choice," he reminded his companion.
"None of us do," Duo agreed, voice a bit more sober as he gazed out at the passing scenery, hat tugged down over his brow. "Not that you'll ever convince him of that."
The two of them fell silent, wrapped up in their own thoughts. In the back, Wufei felt a frown tug at his mouth. It wasn't exactly the type of thing he'd expected from one of his abductors. Still, he wouldn't allow Duo's seeming sympathy to cloud his judgment. The fact remained that they were taking him somewhere and he had no say in the matter-- as Heero had just so firmly reiterated.
He waited a few more minutes before stirring, making an obvious stretching gesture to get their attention. Duo craned his neck to look at him, banishing his earlier serious expression with a wide grin. "Look who's up," he teased. "Have a nice nap, sleeping beauty?"
Wufei scowled at him, sitting up carefully and trying to knead some of the kinks out of his back and neck. He glanced out of the window and watched the empty desert roll by. They were still on the main interstate, but there weren't many cars on the road. Glancing over his shoulder, he searched for Trowa's motorcycle.
Duo guessed the reason behind his puzzlement. "They're taking another route," he explained, digging in a cooler at his feet. "It's a little safer that way. Head's up."
Wufei caught the can of soda Duo tossed back to him.
"Might as well go back to sleep," Duo advised, "unless you're up to a game of Roadtrip Bingo or something." He rolled his eyes. "Heero's not going to let someone else take the wheel until he's about to drop dead from exhaustion anyway."
Wufei popped the soda lid and hastily covered the opening when they hit a bump, keeping the soda from splashing him just in time. "You know it won't be long before someone starts looking for me," he pointed out moodily. "Even if my mother doesn't say anything, the school will start asking where I am, not to mention Hilde."
"That cute little firecracker chick you always hang out with?" Duo's grin grew more interested. "Say, she got a boyfriend?"
Wufei fixed him with a level stare.
After a moment, Duo blinked and exchanged a quick-- worried? --look with Heero. "Oh. Sorry, man. Uh.. you guys aren't serious or anything, are you? Cuz, um.."
"Wha-- No," Wufei snapped. "We aren't dating."
"Oh." Duo looked vastly relieved. Wufei got the suspicious sense that Duo was more relieved to find that Wufei wasn't the one dating her, rather than whether Hilde herself had a boyfriend. "Well, as long as we're on the subject," Duo continued with exaggerated casualness, "you ever gotten serious with a girl? No promise rings, pregnancies, anything like that, right?"
Wufei gaped at him. "What kind of question is that?" he demanded furiously.
"I know it's kinda personal," Duo apologized, scratching his nose and averting his eyes. "But it is kinda important."
"It's none of your business," Wufei spat.
Heero glared at him in the rearview mirror. "Just answer the question."
"Since when are my personal relationships anybody's business but my own?" Wufei raved, embarrassed and angry all at once.
"Relationships plural?" Duo repeated, looking worried again.
Wufei made a strangled noise of disgust. It would shut them up if he just told the truth, he realized. Still, it rankled him that they would demand something like this from him. Someone's love life was intensely personal, not something to be shared with strangers. "I haven't had the time for such foolishness," he snapped. "Now keep your nose out of it, Maxwell."
Duo grinned instantly. "Right. OK. Sorry. Just making sure."
"What's it to you, anyway?" Wufei growled. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Ummm..." Duo coughed. "'Fraid I'm not exactly at liberty to say."
Wufei wasn't number one in his class for nothing. It took only a few seconds for something to click. "Does this have anything to do with that 'her' you keep mentioning?" he asked Heero angrily.
Heero and Duo exchanged a swift glance, then Duo laughed ruefully. "Guess we gotta watch what we say around you, man. Look, just forget it. It'll all be explained when we get to our destination."
"Which is?"
"You'll see," Duo said mysteriously. "Go ahead and get some shut-eye. I'll wake you up when we stop."
Wufei seethed in the back seat for a few more minutes, but it was obvious he wasn't going to get anything else out of either of them. Finally he stretched out, turned his back on them, and went back to sleep.
He must have been more exhausted than he'd previously thought, because he didn't wake up again until there was a light touch on his shoulder. Still half-asleep, he thought it was his mother until Duo's cheerful voice by his ear said, "Wakey wakey. I can't drive another fucking mile, or I'm gonna keel over."
Wufei shrugged off the hand irritably and sat up, looking out of the window. It was evening already, and they were parked in front of a seedy looking motel. Heero was nowhere to be seen, and Duo was sitting in the driver's seat, smacking gum loudly.
"Heero's getting the key," Duo explained, muffling a yawn with his hand. "We're just gonna take a quick break."
Wufei opened the door and slid out, dragging his bag with him. He stretched hugely, wincing as all the sore spots on his body from the bumpy ride made themselves known. He walked around the jeep a few times to wake up his cramped legs, and then Heero came up with a key. "Room 112," he announced. "We'll start out again at dawn."
The room had two small stained beds and didn't look much better than the outside. The wallpaper was faded and peeling, the shower looked unsanitary, and the only good thing going for it that Wufei could see was the sturdy deadbolt on the door.
Duo took in his look of distaste and chortled. "It ain't exactly the Plaza, but it's cheap, and we're only staying a few hours."
"I'll take first watch," Heero declared, dropping his duffel bag on the floor by one of the beds. It clanked when it fell, and Wufei wondered morbidly if Heero was smuggling weapons in with his clothes.
"I will," he argued. "I slept the whole way. I'm not tired." Heero looked at him steadily, and Wufei glared back. "What?"
"No offense, 'Fei," Duo coughed, "but what's to say you don't grab the jeep and hightail it out of here?"
"Don't call me that," Wufei snapped. "And I'm not going anywhere. I've been trying to get to space my whole life. You four imbeciles just provide a convenient excuse."
"Just the same," Duo drawled, kicking off his shoes and stripping off his shirt, "I think I'd feel better if Heero took first watch."
Wufei bristled, but Heero ignored him. He grabbed the desk chair, set it in front of the door, and made himself comfortable.
Wufei glared at them both, but he knew there was nothing he could say that would change their minds. He seated himself haughtily on the bed and tugged off his shoes.
Duo was stripping as he made his way towards the tiny bathroom, and Wufei averted his eyes with a small scowl. Did the boy have no decency?
"Dibs on the shower," Duo sang over his shoulder. He paused in front of the mirror by the sink to undo his braid with nimble fingers.
A shower didn't sound like a bad idea. Wufei felt gross and sweaty from riding all day in the jeep in the desert. Pushing his shoes under the bed, he reached up and started rubbing at his shoulders in an attempt to get rid of the aches and kinks he'd developed from the rough ride.
Duo caught the motion in the mirror. "Hey, you should let Heero do that for ya," he offered. "He's got a real gift for it. Trust me, it's better to let a little dignity slide and let him do it than wake up stiff as a board the next morning. So to speak."
Wufei forgot Duo's state of undress for a moment and turned a glare on the other boy. Duo's hair was down, now, and cascaded down his back, wavy from its tie-- and thankfully long enough to cover his backside. Wufei quickly looked back at the floor, scowling darkly. "I don't need his he--"
Heero must have taken Duo's suggestion as a friendly order, however, and had already come up to the bed. Wufei jumped as Heero's weight made the bed creak as the other boy settled himself cross-legged behind him and calloused hands fell on his shoulders. He jerked away, startled and furious.
"Knock it off!" he snapped. "I can take care of myself."
Heero hesitated.
"Take a chill pill, dude," Duo sighed, seizing a towel from the rack and heading into the bathroom. "He's not gonna hurt ya."
"I didn't say he was going to h-- Get your hands off me, Yuy!" Wufei snarled as Heero looked like he was about to reach for him again.
Heero let his hands drop in his lap and glared. "Duo's right," he said. "You'll be stiff tomorrow, which could encumber us if we have to move fast. You obviously don't know what you're doing, so just let me--"
"I know what I'm doing," Wufei retorted.
Heero just stared at him, patient as a rock.
Wufei felt like grinding his teeth. "You're not going to drop it, are you?" he growled.
"No."
Wufei turned his head to glare at the opposite wall and said nothing.
After a long moment, Heero reached out and gripped his shoulders again. His hands were rough and surprisingly strong, and Wufei almost twitched away again. "It wouldn't hurt if you wouldn't tense up," Heero informed him a little impatiently.
Wufei offered a choice phrase in Mandarin, but forced himself to relax marginally. Heero's hands continued to knead at his shoulders, and bit by bit Wufei made his muscles relax. It stopped hurting after a few moments, and slowly Heero began to work the knots out of his shoulders and then his neck.
Pride aside, it did feel damn good. Not that Wufei would ever admit it out loud. As his muscles loosened, the hands got less rough, and Wufei's whole upper body relaxed. He realized his head had started to loll onto his chest just a bit, and straightened it quickly. If Heero noticed, he didn't say anything. He moved his ministrations lower, working on Wufei's lower back, and Wufei arched slightly in relief as the pain subsided under Heero's strong, steady hands.
Heero froze at this reaction, and Wufei blinked, quickly dragging sense and reality back to him like a cloak to ward off the feeling of relaxed numbness he'd almost succumbed to. He started to move away, but Heero had already withdrawn his hands and was getting to his feet. His face was strangely blank.
Wufei felt suddenly uncomfortable, though he couldn't figure out why. He avoided Heero's gaze, mumbled a grudging thanks, and turned his attention on his bag, rooting through it to see if his mother had thought to pack a toothbrush.
She had, thankfully, and he used it as an excuse to move to the other side of the room, brushing his teeth vigorously over the sink and avoiding looking at the mirror and risking catching Heero's eye. There was a strange tension in the room, and when he returned to his bed, Heero was in his chair and staring fixedly at a spot somewhere on the wall. His face was its ordinary stone mask, and Wufei couldn't decide if he felt the tension as well or was simply absorbed in his role of door guard.
It must be because men didn't do these sorts of things, Wufei deduced. They were both strong, independent teenage boys, and boys their age didn't get in each other's personal space. Heero had done him a favor, but he must have felt just as awkward as Wufei had. It was comforting, in a strange way.
All of this made perfect sense, so Wufei decided to ignore the corner of his brain that was still twitching uncomfortably away from something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Duo's shower took a full hour, and by the time it was Wufei's turn, the water was barely lukewarm. He managed to wash up and get out just before the water turned frigid, and he offered Duo a narrow look as he padded out of the bathroom, tying the front of his sleeping pants.
Duo, busy plaiting his hair on the bed, pretended not to see the look. "Right, I'm catching a few Z's," he declared once he was done. He jerked on some boxers while Wufei glared at the far wall, then dumped himself unceremoniously on the closest bed, not bothering to pull out the sheets. He punched his pillow a couple times, and within a few minutes was snoring softly. Wufei watched him for a moment, envious at the boy's ability to crash out so quickly.
He glanced towards Heero, immovable as a rock, and decided any chance at a late-night run to clear his head was most likely out of the question. After his nap in the car, however, he couldn't imagine trying to go back to sleep. As he stared at the hard-faced boy, the full realization that he was in some respects their captive began to really dawn. "Are you there to keep the boogey-men out," he demanded a little waspishly, "or to keep me from running away?"
Heero leveled him with an unflinching gaze. "I don't think you're stupid enough to try to run or hitchhike the eighty-odd miles back home, and unless you know how to hotwire Duo's jeep, I don't think you'll be going anywhere soon," he pointed out flatly. "In case you'd forgotten, there are men after you. Get some sleep."
"I already had enough sleep in the car," Wufei shot back. "You sleep. I'll stay up."
"I'm not tired," Heero said with a tone of finality.
But Wufei had never been good at taking orders-- even ones veiled as suggestions. He felt his eyes narrowing. "What are you, a machine?" he snapped. "Or a reject soldier? You walk around like a robot-- no emotions, no original thoughts in that thick head of yours, and no respect for other people."
A rare flash of emotion went off in Heero's eyes, his mouth tightening irritably. Wufei half expected him to just take the verbal abuse as he had at school, but surprisingly, he responded coolly. "I would rather be a 'robot' than an arrogant, touch-phobic boy who's in denial about everything going on around him."
Wufei could only gape at him for a moment. For the first time since he'd met the other boy, Heero was speaking like a boy his age instead of some glorified soldier or too-cool hot shot. And the words stung a little more than he would have liked to admit. "You don't know anything about me," he snarled.
Heero stared at him for a long moment before responding a little quieter, "No. Not anymore. The only thing that hasn't changed about you is your temper."
"I still run," Wufei shot back sarcastically. The words were out before he had time to think about them. He shut his mouth fast, eyes widening a little in astonishment and confusion. What on earth had made him say that? 'Still'? He shook his head sharply, trying to clear his thoughts. He didn't remember Heero-- or his presumed childhood with the other boy, for that matter. Yet as he'd said the words, it had seemed.. honest. Something in his subconscious had made him say those words, but try as he might to grasp the wisps of faint memory, they faded away almost instantly.
Heero's eyes had widened a little. "I thought you didn't remember anything."
"I don't," Wufei insisted, scowling. He shook his head again. "I don't know where that came from," he muttered. "Never mind."
"No," Heero said slowly, eyeing Wufei intently, "you did. You used to run." He hesitated. "We used to run," he corrected himself. His eyes seemed a little unfocused, as if he was looking at something Wufei couldn't see, a slight frown tugging at his mouth. "You always wanted to race-- to get your way."
"Who won?" Wufei demanded impulsively.
Heero looked at him steadily. "You did," he finally said. "You always won."
"You beat me on the track that day," Wufei pointed out.
"That's because Yuy's a sore loser," came Duo's muffled voice, startling them both a little. "The fucker runs five miles every day now. Now can you please just shut the fuck up, both of you, so I can get some sleep?"
~+~
By the time they left the hotel just before dawn, Wufei's sleep schedule was completely out of whack. He'd slept most of the previous day, and ended up staying up all night, ignoring Heero and flipping dully through the TV without really seeing anything on it. Now he was getting tired again. Duo drove first, while Heero catnapped in the passenger seat, so Wufei decided to get a quick nap as well. He set his watch for two hours, then roused himself forcibly when the timer went off. The nap would hold him out for most of the day, and he needed to stay awake in order to readjust his body to sleeping at night.
Heero was awake already and fiddling with a small hand-held device. Duo had cranked up the radio and was singing along quite loudly, though his voice was decent. Wufei sat up carefully and readjusted his seatbelt. Duo's eyes flicked towards his in the rearview mirror as he fumbled in the glove compartment for sunglasses. "Mornin'," he said cheerfully. "Glad you're up. We just passed a sign for some kinda fast-food joint just up the road, and I'm starving. I'm gonna pull over and grab some breakfast."
"I thought we were in a hurry," Wufei pointed out, ignoring his own stomach's pitiful requests for nourishment.
"I don't care if Babylon is burnin' behind us," Duo retorted, settling the glasses on his nose firmly. "If I don't get some goddamn coffee, this trip is going to get real unpleasant real fast."
"Duo needs his caffeine," Heero said firmly, eyes still on the device in his hands. He spoke as one who had been witness to a caffeine-deprived Duo, and the undertone to his voice promised very grave consequences for all if such a thing were to occur again. Wufei decided not to argue anymore. Besides, his stomach was really beginning to put up a racket. He hadn't, he realized, eaten anything since yesterday morning.
Duo took the next exit and parked in front of the small restaurant.
"Drive-through, Duo," Heero intoned, still not looking up. "We're in a hurry."
"We're in hicks-ville, Heero," Duo informed him, already clambering out of the jeep. "There is no damn drive-through. You want the usual?"
Heero grunted a reply. Wufei decided his legs could use the stretch and followed Duo inside. Duo flashed the blond behind the counter a grin and ordered a number one for himself and a biscuit and orange juice for Heero. Wufei, who kept his diet as healthy as possible, rarely ate at fast-food restaurants, so he chose the same thing Duo had. It ended up being a piece of what was supposedly sausage slapped in the middle of a hard biscuit, a side of greasy tatertots, and a coffee. He made a face at the food, and grabbed extra napkins. As he turned to fill his coffee cup, he happened to glance out of the window.
It was just after seven, and they were two of the few customers. Aside from their car, there had only been a beat-up pickup truck and two other cars when they'd pulled up. There was a fourth one, now-- a dark one, with tinted windows. Wufei stared at it, and almost poured the coffee on his hand. He glanced around quickly, then headed over to Duo, keeping his face calm.
Duo was dumping pack after pack of sugar in his coffee, and he glanced up curiously when Wufei stopped beside him. After a moment he followed Wufei's eyes towards the window.
"Isn't that the same car from the school?" Wufei asked in an undertone.
Duo's face grew uncharacteristically grim. He tossed the empty sugar packs aside and quickly put a lid on his coffee cup. "Yeah. Get to the car. Act casual. Heero's probably already spotted 'em, but we don't wanna make a scene if we don't have to."
"How do you expect to lose them on the interstate?" Wufei demanded as he led the way to the door.
"You let me do the thinking," Duo muttered out of the side of his mouth as they stepped outside and headed for the jeep, carefully not looking at the dark car. "You just get in and keep your head down."
"How did they find us?" Wufei couldn't help but ask.
"Hell if I know. They got their sources, I suppose. C'mon," Duo urged as the car door opened and a man in a suit stepped out, staring directly at them.
Heero was sitting tensely in the driver's seat, eyes glued to the rearview mirror, but Duo pushed him aside. "Move over, buddy, we both know I'm better with the high speed chases."
Heero reluctantly scooted over to the passenger side, and Wufei hesitated, half in the jeep, his own gaze locked on the mirror. The man who had gotten out of the car was walking towards them briskly, hand dipping into his jacket.
"Let's go, Wufei," Duo said sharply. Wufei slid into the car and slammed the door as the engine roared to life. Duo slammed the car into reverse, twisted the wheel savagely, and laid into the gas.
The tires squealed in protest against the asphalt as they shot backwards-- directly towards the man in the suit.
Duo, Wufei realized in a sudden moment of clarity, would run the guy down. No problem. He opened his mouth to shout, but his voice was snatched away by the wind, and then...
The man jumped aside at the last second, and they barely missed him. Duo didn't slow down at all, he just kept right on going-- and barreled right into the man's car. The screeching of metal and the blare of the other car's alarm were deafening. Wufei was nearly thrown into the front seat from the collision, and Heero had to grab the dashboard to keep himself from sailing through the windshield.
"Seatbelts, everyone," Duo sang out belatedly. Then, laughing wildly, he jerked the gear into drive and roared out of the lot onto the interstate. Wufei managed to turn around just in time to get one last glimpse of the wrekage left behind. Several customers and workers had come running out at the noise and were gaping at the jeep as it sped off. The man in the suit was standing in rigid fury by his car, the front rumpled like an accordion and steam pouring from under the hood. Wufei had go give credit where it was due, however grudgingly. The man wouldn't be able to follow them now.
"Not bad," he muttered.
Duo didn't hear him over the rushing wind and engine. He was racing along at an alarming speed, blue eyes darting constantly towards the rearview mirror. "That fucker's sure to call in the reserves," he shouted over the wind. "We're gonna have to find another way to Orton-- we're too easy to catch in the open here on the highway."
Wufei slitted his eyes against the wind, clasping his hand atop his head to restrain stray locks of hair as he wracked his brain. "Take the exit towards Youthtown," he finally called back. "It'll mean cutting through Hurver and a few other small towns, but the back roads could make it difficult to find us."
Heero was already struggling with a flapping map, frowning disagreeably. "That will take us out of our way by almost a hundred miles," he pointed out.
"It's that or stay on the interstate," Wufei snapped. "I know this state better than you, so either do it or think of a better goddamn idea."
"All right, all right," Duo shouted to interrupt. "We'll try your way. Heero, call Tro and let him know we'll be pretty far behind him. Personally, I'd rather be a little inconvenienced rather than risk running into those goons every ten miles. Quit arguing like an old married couple."
The glare both boys sent him cut off that conversation rather quickly, and they spent the next hour in tense silence, eyes constantly straining for a glimpse of anyone following them.
-Amiko
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Note: I added ch. 8 and 9 at the same time, so don't accidentally skip ch. 8 or you'll be lost ^^;
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Chapter 9: "Road Trip"
When Duo had said the drive would be a long one, he hadn't been joking. Wufei judged it would take at least two days on the road for them to get to their destination, and that was if traffic was good and they drove in shifts instead of stopping for the night.
They split up; Duo and Heero took a run-down jeep, while Trowa and Quatre claimed a motorcycle hidden in the high grass in the backyard. It was obvious where Wufei was going to have to ride, and the thought didn't please him. While his faith in Trowa had been soundly shaken since yesterday, he still knew the other boy, while the others were more or less complete strangers. Rather than listen to Duo's inane babble or put up with Heero's calculating stares, he claimed the back seat. He stretched out, using his bag for a pillow, and had fallen asleep before they'd even left the town. He didn't want to be awake for the drive because he was afraid that if he saw familiar settings through the window being left far behind, he might do something rash. So he slept, while Heero drove and Duo lounged in the passenger seat and talked about this and that.
The jeep wasn't exactly the smoothest ride in the world; every bump and sharp turn was a magnified lurch, and Wufei couldn't ignore it forever. He finally roused himself after a brief nap and checked his watch. They'd only been on the road three hours. Carefully lowering his hand by his side, he glanced towards the two boys up front, neither of whom seemed to have noticed that he was awake yet. They were deep in discussion about something, and it took Wufei a moment to pick out their words over the sound of the wind and the tires bumping along the road.
"..don't see why it has to be this way," Duo was muttering, inspecting dirt under his fingernails. "Quatre feels the same way. I feel bad for the guy, yanno? It's a hell of a wake-up call. And he doesn't even know what's really going on yet."
"We aren't telling him," Heero reminded him firmly, eyes on the road.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Duo huffed. "The old man would skin us alive. Besides, I really don't think Wufei would believe us in the first place. Worst case scenario, he'd bolt."
"He's not a coward," Heero said flatly.
"Didn't say he was, did I? Just sayin' it's a bit much for one guy to take in all at once. Hell, if I was in his shoes, I'd probably laugh in your face. Take this exit."
Heero obediently turned the wheel, face still a mask of impenetrable stone. "He doesn't have a choice," he reminded his companion.
"None of us do," Duo agreed, voice a bit more sober as he gazed out at the passing scenery, hat tugged down over his brow. "Not that you'll ever convince him of that."
The two of them fell silent, wrapped up in their own thoughts. In the back, Wufei felt a frown tug at his mouth. It wasn't exactly the type of thing he'd expected from one of his abductors. Still, he wouldn't allow Duo's seeming sympathy to cloud his judgment. The fact remained that they were taking him somewhere and he had no say in the matter-- as Heero had just so firmly reiterated.
He waited a few more minutes before stirring, making an obvious stretching gesture to get their attention. Duo craned his neck to look at him, banishing his earlier serious expression with a wide grin. "Look who's up," he teased. "Have a nice nap, sleeping beauty?"
Wufei scowled at him, sitting up carefully and trying to knead some of the kinks out of his back and neck. He glanced out of the window and watched the empty desert roll by. They were still on the main interstate, but there weren't many cars on the road. Glancing over his shoulder, he searched for Trowa's motorcycle.
Duo guessed the reason behind his puzzlement. "They're taking another route," he explained, digging in a cooler at his feet. "It's a little safer that way. Head's up."
Wufei caught the can of soda Duo tossed back to him.
"Might as well go back to sleep," Duo advised, "unless you're up to a game of Roadtrip Bingo or something." He rolled his eyes. "Heero's not going to let someone else take the wheel until he's about to drop dead from exhaustion anyway."
Wufei popped the soda lid and hastily covered the opening when they hit a bump, keeping the soda from splashing him just in time. "You know it won't be long before someone starts looking for me," he pointed out moodily. "Even if my mother doesn't say anything, the school will start asking where I am, not to mention Hilde."
"That cute little firecracker chick you always hang out with?" Duo's grin grew more interested. "Say, she got a boyfriend?"
Wufei fixed him with a level stare.
After a moment, Duo blinked and exchanged a quick-- worried? --look with Heero. "Oh. Sorry, man. Uh.. you guys aren't serious or anything, are you? Cuz, um.."
"Wha-- No," Wufei snapped. "We aren't dating."
"Oh." Duo looked vastly relieved. Wufei got the suspicious sense that Duo was more relieved to find that Wufei wasn't the one dating her, rather than whether Hilde herself had a boyfriend. "Well, as long as we're on the subject," Duo continued with exaggerated casualness, "you ever gotten serious with a girl? No promise rings, pregnancies, anything like that, right?"
Wufei gaped at him. "What kind of question is that?" he demanded furiously.
"I know it's kinda personal," Duo apologized, scratching his nose and averting his eyes. "But it is kinda important."
"It's none of your business," Wufei spat.
Heero glared at him in the rearview mirror. "Just answer the question."
"Since when are my personal relationships anybody's business but my own?" Wufei raved, embarrassed and angry all at once.
"Relationships plural?" Duo repeated, looking worried again.
Wufei made a strangled noise of disgust. It would shut them up if he just told the truth, he realized. Still, it rankled him that they would demand something like this from him. Someone's love life was intensely personal, not something to be shared with strangers. "I haven't had the time for such foolishness," he snapped. "Now keep your nose out of it, Maxwell."
Duo grinned instantly. "Right. OK. Sorry. Just making sure."
"What's it to you, anyway?" Wufei growled. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Ummm..." Duo coughed. "'Fraid I'm not exactly at liberty to say."
Wufei wasn't number one in his class for nothing. It took only a few seconds for something to click. "Does this have anything to do with that 'her' you keep mentioning?" he asked Heero angrily.
Heero and Duo exchanged a swift glance, then Duo laughed ruefully. "Guess we gotta watch what we say around you, man. Look, just forget it. It'll all be explained when we get to our destination."
"Which is?"
"You'll see," Duo said mysteriously. "Go ahead and get some shut-eye. I'll wake you up when we stop."
Wufei seethed in the back seat for a few more minutes, but it was obvious he wasn't going to get anything else out of either of them. Finally he stretched out, turned his back on them, and went back to sleep.
He must have been more exhausted than he'd previously thought, because he didn't wake up again until there was a light touch on his shoulder. Still half-asleep, he thought it was his mother until Duo's cheerful voice by his ear said, "Wakey wakey. I can't drive another fucking mile, or I'm gonna keel over."
Wufei shrugged off the hand irritably and sat up, looking out of the window. It was evening already, and they were parked in front of a seedy looking motel. Heero was nowhere to be seen, and Duo was sitting in the driver's seat, smacking gum loudly.
"Heero's getting the key," Duo explained, muffling a yawn with his hand. "We're just gonna take a quick break."
Wufei opened the door and slid out, dragging his bag with him. He stretched hugely, wincing as all the sore spots on his body from the bumpy ride made themselves known. He walked around the jeep a few times to wake up his cramped legs, and then Heero came up with a key. "Room 112," he announced. "We'll start out again at dawn."
The room had two small stained beds and didn't look much better than the outside. The wallpaper was faded and peeling, the shower looked unsanitary, and the only good thing going for it that Wufei could see was the sturdy deadbolt on the door.
Duo took in his look of distaste and chortled. "It ain't exactly the Plaza, but it's cheap, and we're only staying a few hours."
"I'll take first watch," Heero declared, dropping his duffel bag on the floor by one of the beds. It clanked when it fell, and Wufei wondered morbidly if Heero was smuggling weapons in with his clothes.
"I will," he argued. "I slept the whole way. I'm not tired." Heero looked at him steadily, and Wufei glared back. "What?"
"No offense, 'Fei," Duo coughed, "but what's to say you don't grab the jeep and hightail it out of here?"
"Don't call me that," Wufei snapped. "And I'm not going anywhere. I've been trying to get to space my whole life. You four imbeciles just provide a convenient excuse."
"Just the same," Duo drawled, kicking off his shoes and stripping off his shirt, "I think I'd feel better if Heero took first watch."
Wufei bristled, but Heero ignored him. He grabbed the desk chair, set it in front of the door, and made himself comfortable.
Wufei glared at them both, but he knew there was nothing he could say that would change their minds. He seated himself haughtily on the bed and tugged off his shoes.
Duo was stripping as he made his way towards the tiny bathroom, and Wufei averted his eyes with a small scowl. Did the boy have no decency?
"Dibs on the shower," Duo sang over his shoulder. He paused in front of the mirror by the sink to undo his braid with nimble fingers.
A shower didn't sound like a bad idea. Wufei felt gross and sweaty from riding all day in the jeep in the desert. Pushing his shoes under the bed, he reached up and started rubbing at his shoulders in an attempt to get rid of the aches and kinks he'd developed from the rough ride.
Duo caught the motion in the mirror. "Hey, you should let Heero do that for ya," he offered. "He's got a real gift for it. Trust me, it's better to let a little dignity slide and let him do it than wake up stiff as a board the next morning. So to speak."
Wufei forgot Duo's state of undress for a moment and turned a glare on the other boy. Duo's hair was down, now, and cascaded down his back, wavy from its tie-- and thankfully long enough to cover his backside. Wufei quickly looked back at the floor, scowling darkly. "I don't need his he--"
Heero must have taken Duo's suggestion as a friendly order, however, and had already come up to the bed. Wufei jumped as Heero's weight made the bed creak as the other boy settled himself cross-legged behind him and calloused hands fell on his shoulders. He jerked away, startled and furious.
"Knock it off!" he snapped. "I can take care of myself."
Heero hesitated.
"Take a chill pill, dude," Duo sighed, seizing a towel from the rack and heading into the bathroom. "He's not gonna hurt ya."
"I didn't say he was going to h-- Get your hands off me, Yuy!" Wufei snarled as Heero looked like he was about to reach for him again.
Heero let his hands drop in his lap and glared. "Duo's right," he said. "You'll be stiff tomorrow, which could encumber us if we have to move fast. You obviously don't know what you're doing, so just let me--"
"I know what I'm doing," Wufei retorted.
Heero just stared at him, patient as a rock.
Wufei felt like grinding his teeth. "You're not going to drop it, are you?" he growled.
"No."
Wufei turned his head to glare at the opposite wall and said nothing.
After a long moment, Heero reached out and gripped his shoulders again. His hands were rough and surprisingly strong, and Wufei almost twitched away again. "It wouldn't hurt if you wouldn't tense up," Heero informed him a little impatiently.
Wufei offered a choice phrase in Mandarin, but forced himself to relax marginally. Heero's hands continued to knead at his shoulders, and bit by bit Wufei made his muscles relax. It stopped hurting after a few moments, and slowly Heero began to work the knots out of his shoulders and then his neck.
Pride aside, it did feel damn good. Not that Wufei would ever admit it out loud. As his muscles loosened, the hands got less rough, and Wufei's whole upper body relaxed. He realized his head had started to loll onto his chest just a bit, and straightened it quickly. If Heero noticed, he didn't say anything. He moved his ministrations lower, working on Wufei's lower back, and Wufei arched slightly in relief as the pain subsided under Heero's strong, steady hands.
Heero froze at this reaction, and Wufei blinked, quickly dragging sense and reality back to him like a cloak to ward off the feeling of relaxed numbness he'd almost succumbed to. He started to move away, but Heero had already withdrawn his hands and was getting to his feet. His face was strangely blank.
Wufei felt suddenly uncomfortable, though he couldn't figure out why. He avoided Heero's gaze, mumbled a grudging thanks, and turned his attention on his bag, rooting through it to see if his mother had thought to pack a toothbrush.
She had, thankfully, and he used it as an excuse to move to the other side of the room, brushing his teeth vigorously over the sink and avoiding looking at the mirror and risking catching Heero's eye. There was a strange tension in the room, and when he returned to his bed, Heero was in his chair and staring fixedly at a spot somewhere on the wall. His face was its ordinary stone mask, and Wufei couldn't decide if he felt the tension as well or was simply absorbed in his role of door guard.
It must be because men didn't do these sorts of things, Wufei deduced. They were both strong, independent teenage boys, and boys their age didn't get in each other's personal space. Heero had done him a favor, but he must have felt just as awkward as Wufei had. It was comforting, in a strange way.
All of this made perfect sense, so Wufei decided to ignore the corner of his brain that was still twitching uncomfortably away from something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Duo's shower took a full hour, and by the time it was Wufei's turn, the water was barely lukewarm. He managed to wash up and get out just before the water turned frigid, and he offered Duo a narrow look as he padded out of the bathroom, tying the front of his sleeping pants.
Duo, busy plaiting his hair on the bed, pretended not to see the look. "Right, I'm catching a few Z's," he declared once he was done. He jerked on some boxers while Wufei glared at the far wall, then dumped himself unceremoniously on the closest bed, not bothering to pull out the sheets. He punched his pillow a couple times, and within a few minutes was snoring softly. Wufei watched him for a moment, envious at the boy's ability to crash out so quickly.
He glanced towards Heero, immovable as a rock, and decided any chance at a late-night run to clear his head was most likely out of the question. After his nap in the car, however, he couldn't imagine trying to go back to sleep. As he stared at the hard-faced boy, the full realization that he was in some respects their captive began to really dawn. "Are you there to keep the boogey-men out," he demanded a little waspishly, "or to keep me from running away?"
Heero leveled him with an unflinching gaze. "I don't think you're stupid enough to try to run or hitchhike the eighty-odd miles back home, and unless you know how to hotwire Duo's jeep, I don't think you'll be going anywhere soon," he pointed out flatly. "In case you'd forgotten, there are men after you. Get some sleep."
"I already had enough sleep in the car," Wufei shot back. "You sleep. I'll stay up."
"I'm not tired," Heero said with a tone of finality.
But Wufei had never been good at taking orders-- even ones veiled as suggestions. He felt his eyes narrowing. "What are you, a machine?" he snapped. "Or a reject soldier? You walk around like a robot-- no emotions, no original thoughts in that thick head of yours, and no respect for other people."
A rare flash of emotion went off in Heero's eyes, his mouth tightening irritably. Wufei half expected him to just take the verbal abuse as he had at school, but surprisingly, he responded coolly. "I would rather be a 'robot' than an arrogant, touch-phobic boy who's in denial about everything going on around him."
Wufei could only gape at him for a moment. For the first time since he'd met the other boy, Heero was speaking like a boy his age instead of some glorified soldier or too-cool hot shot. And the words stung a little more than he would have liked to admit. "You don't know anything about me," he snarled.
Heero stared at him for a long moment before responding a little quieter, "No. Not anymore. The only thing that hasn't changed about you is your temper."
"I still run," Wufei shot back sarcastically. The words were out before he had time to think about them. He shut his mouth fast, eyes widening a little in astonishment and confusion. What on earth had made him say that? 'Still'? He shook his head sharply, trying to clear his thoughts. He didn't remember Heero-- or his presumed childhood with the other boy, for that matter. Yet as he'd said the words, it had seemed.. honest. Something in his subconscious had made him say those words, but try as he might to grasp the wisps of faint memory, they faded away almost instantly.
Heero's eyes had widened a little. "I thought you didn't remember anything."
"I don't," Wufei insisted, scowling. He shook his head again. "I don't know where that came from," he muttered. "Never mind."
"No," Heero said slowly, eyeing Wufei intently, "you did. You used to run." He hesitated. "We used to run," he corrected himself. His eyes seemed a little unfocused, as if he was looking at something Wufei couldn't see, a slight frown tugging at his mouth. "You always wanted to race-- to get your way."
"Who won?" Wufei demanded impulsively.
Heero looked at him steadily. "You did," he finally said. "You always won."
"You beat me on the track that day," Wufei pointed out.
"That's because Yuy's a sore loser," came Duo's muffled voice, startling them both a little. "The fucker runs five miles every day now. Now can you please just shut the fuck up, both of you, so I can get some sleep?"
By the time they left the hotel just before dawn, Wufei's sleep schedule was completely out of whack. He'd slept most of the previous day, and ended up staying up all night, ignoring Heero and flipping dully through the TV without really seeing anything on it. Now he was getting tired again. Duo drove first, while Heero catnapped in the passenger seat, so Wufei decided to get a quick nap as well. He set his watch for two hours, then roused himself forcibly when the timer went off. The nap would hold him out for most of the day, and he needed to stay awake in order to readjust his body to sleeping at night.
Heero was awake already and fiddling with a small hand-held device. Duo had cranked up the radio and was singing along quite loudly, though his voice was decent. Wufei sat up carefully and readjusted his seatbelt. Duo's eyes flicked towards his in the rearview mirror as he fumbled in the glove compartment for sunglasses. "Mornin'," he said cheerfully. "Glad you're up. We just passed a sign for some kinda fast-food joint just up the road, and I'm starving. I'm gonna pull over and grab some breakfast."
"I thought we were in a hurry," Wufei pointed out, ignoring his own stomach's pitiful requests for nourishment.
"I don't care if Babylon is burnin' behind us," Duo retorted, settling the glasses on his nose firmly. "If I don't get some goddamn coffee, this trip is going to get real unpleasant real fast."
"Duo needs his caffeine," Heero said firmly, eyes still on the device in his hands. He spoke as one who had been witness to a caffeine-deprived Duo, and the undertone to his voice promised very grave consequences for all if such a thing were to occur again. Wufei decided not to argue anymore. Besides, his stomach was really beginning to put up a racket. He hadn't, he realized, eaten anything since yesterday morning.
Duo took the next exit and parked in front of the small restaurant.
"Drive-through, Duo," Heero intoned, still not looking up. "We're in a hurry."
"We're in hicks-ville, Heero," Duo informed him, already clambering out of the jeep. "There is no damn drive-through. You want the usual?"
Heero grunted a reply. Wufei decided his legs could use the stretch and followed Duo inside. Duo flashed the blond behind the counter a grin and ordered a number one for himself and a biscuit and orange juice for Heero. Wufei, who kept his diet as healthy as possible, rarely ate at fast-food restaurants, so he chose the same thing Duo had. It ended up being a piece of what was supposedly sausage slapped in the middle of a hard biscuit, a side of greasy tatertots, and a coffee. He made a face at the food, and grabbed extra napkins. As he turned to fill his coffee cup, he happened to glance out of the window.
It was just after seven, and they were two of the few customers. Aside from their car, there had only been a beat-up pickup truck and two other cars when they'd pulled up. There was a fourth one, now-- a dark one, with tinted windows. Wufei stared at it, and almost poured the coffee on his hand. He glanced around quickly, then headed over to Duo, keeping his face calm.
Duo was dumping pack after pack of sugar in his coffee, and he glanced up curiously when Wufei stopped beside him. After a moment he followed Wufei's eyes towards the window.
"Isn't that the same car from the school?" Wufei asked in an undertone.
Duo's face grew uncharacteristically grim. He tossed the empty sugar packs aside and quickly put a lid on his coffee cup. "Yeah. Get to the car. Act casual. Heero's probably already spotted 'em, but we don't wanna make a scene if we don't have to."
"How do you expect to lose them on the interstate?" Wufei demanded as he led the way to the door.
"You let me do the thinking," Duo muttered out of the side of his mouth as they stepped outside and headed for the jeep, carefully not looking at the dark car. "You just get in and keep your head down."
"How did they find us?" Wufei couldn't help but ask.
"Hell if I know. They got their sources, I suppose. C'mon," Duo urged as the car door opened and a man in a suit stepped out, staring directly at them.
Heero was sitting tensely in the driver's seat, eyes glued to the rearview mirror, but Duo pushed him aside. "Move over, buddy, we both know I'm better with the high speed chases."
Heero reluctantly scooted over to the passenger side, and Wufei hesitated, half in the jeep, his own gaze locked on the mirror. The man who had gotten out of the car was walking towards them briskly, hand dipping into his jacket.
"Let's go, Wufei," Duo said sharply. Wufei slid into the car and slammed the door as the engine roared to life. Duo slammed the car into reverse, twisted the wheel savagely, and laid into the gas.
The tires squealed in protest against the asphalt as they shot backwards-- directly towards the man in the suit.
Duo, Wufei realized in a sudden moment of clarity, would run the guy down. No problem. He opened his mouth to shout, but his voice was snatched away by the wind, and then...
The man jumped aside at the last second, and they barely missed him. Duo didn't slow down at all, he just kept right on going-- and barreled right into the man's car. The screeching of metal and the blare of the other car's alarm were deafening. Wufei was nearly thrown into the front seat from the collision, and Heero had to grab the dashboard to keep himself from sailing through the windshield.
"Seatbelts, everyone," Duo sang out belatedly. Then, laughing wildly, he jerked the gear into drive and roared out of the lot onto the interstate. Wufei managed to turn around just in time to get one last glimpse of the wrekage left behind. Several customers and workers had come running out at the noise and were gaping at the jeep as it sped off. The man in the suit was standing in rigid fury by his car, the front rumpled like an accordion and steam pouring from under the hood. Wufei had go give credit where it was due, however grudgingly. The man wouldn't be able to follow them now.
"Not bad," he muttered.
Duo didn't hear him over the rushing wind and engine. He was racing along at an alarming speed, blue eyes darting constantly towards the rearview mirror. "That fucker's sure to call in the reserves," he shouted over the wind. "We're gonna have to find another way to Orton-- we're too easy to catch in the open here on the highway."
Wufei slitted his eyes against the wind, clasping his hand atop his head to restrain stray locks of hair as he wracked his brain. "Take the exit towards Youthtown," he finally called back. "It'll mean cutting through Hurver and a few other small towns, but the back roads could make it difficult to find us."
Heero was already struggling with a flapping map, frowning disagreeably. "That will take us out of our way by almost a hundred miles," he pointed out.
"It's that or stay on the interstate," Wufei snapped. "I know this state better than you, so either do it or think of a better goddamn idea."
"All right, all right," Duo shouted to interrupt. "We'll try your way. Heero, call Tro and let him know we'll be pretty far behind him. Personally, I'd rather be a little inconvenienced rather than risk running into those goons every ten miles. Quit arguing like an old married couple."
The glare both boys sent him cut off that conversation rather quickly, and they spent the next hour in tense silence, eyes constantly straining for a glimpse of anyone following them.