Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell ❯ Emergence ( Chapter 25 )

The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell - 25/?

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Warnings: AU, yaoi, coarse language, violence, angst, citrusy situations, suggestive dialog, significant (read that as major, MAJOR) deviation from Pretty Woman script as I see fit. Gratuitous insertion of red herrings throughout.

Spoilers: None for GW, quite a bit for Pretty Woman.

Disclaimer: I don't really need to be Captain Obvious here, do I? No ownership, no money being made, yadda yadda. Written for fun, not profit.

Archived at:

http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com/gw/Mookie/gwmookie.htm

an d

www.mediaminer.org (under pen name MookieNH)

Edulcorate (verb) - To free from harshness (as of attitude); to soften

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Chapter 25 - Emergence

Heero decided he might as well enjoy the use of 'his' portable computer while he had the opportunity. He had a couple of hours still, and he had wanted to check a few things beforehand.

He bit his lip as he tried to remember all the things he'd wanted to investigate. If he'd been home, he'd have written it all down, but he couldn't leave any evidence for Duo to find.

And which home would you be referring to, Yuy?

Despite the twisting feeling in his gut as he tried to sort through his feelings, he felt incredibly pleased as he maneuvered the cursor with his finger cuff 'mouse.' He'd always wanted to see if it would work. The only thing left was to see if the device withstood the test of time. Chances were good that it would face use in less than ideal conditions at a later time.

He barely noted that his thoughts had indicated a definite plan for his future as he clicked on the first search result.

~~~~~

Quatre slammed the door to the apartment behind him and then turned and punched it for good measure.

He winced as he drew his hand back, but decided to hit it two more times before going to the bathroom to clean his bloodied knuckles.

He was a first class jerk. Not Trowa, but himself.

He genuinely liked the quiet bartender. Trowa always reserved judgement, and had never once treated Quatre like a whore. It was almost like he understood more than he let on, although Quatre had never been able to figure Trowa out in return.

The fact that Trowa often seemed a blank slate to him never bothered him, though. He'd actually enjoyed getting to know Trowa without all that interference that cropped up without warning. It did seem worse the closer he was to a person, though, but he sometimes felt normal when he was around Trowa.

He cringed slightly as he applied antiseptic to the back of his hands. He had never been normal.

He'd bonded with Heero almost from the start. Although Heero had seemed to want to be left alone, Quatre had recognized a kindred spirit. He never questioned Heero, but there had been times when it seemed as though his roommate had managed to obtain a sense of peace that was missing from his soul most of the time.

Usually that happened when they were at the bar.

In some ways, he supposed Heero had reminded him of Trowa, and in others, he couldn't imagine two people less alike.

He sighed. He'd been an idiot. He tore off a long strip of gauze with his teeth and wrapped it around his hand several times, tucking the end underneath and going into the kitchen.

He wanted Heero back. He felt like he was coming apart at the seams, and he needed Heero's presence to keep him grounded.

He opened the refrigerator to find something to drink, but stared into it without taking anything out.

He'd been incredibly selfish the entire time he'd known Heero, and he'd regretted a lot of things, but he still considered the man a friend. He sometimes felt the feeling might be reciprocated, but not often enough to know for certain.

He missed having Heero around almost as much as he missed seeing Iria.

He slammed the refrigerator door shut and sat heavily in one of the mismatched kitchen chairs. He leaned back and threw one arm over his face.

He'd been avoiding Iria. He knew that something was gnawing at her, but he couldn't handle the waves of anxiety he knew he'd get if he talked to her. He also didn't want to hear her pleas for him to return.

He wasn't ready to go back. Wondered if he could ever go back after what he'd been doing for the past year or so.

He was a horrible brother and a horrible friend.

He missed Heero. He missed Iria.

He even missed Trowa.

Shit.

~~~~~

Wufei practically flew into Duo's office shortly before lunch. Duo looked up with amusement.

"Where's the fire?"

"Duo!" Wufei's eyes practically bugged out of his head. "You talked to the man at the fucking festival and didn't think to mention it?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Duo was starting to get angry, but he was also feeling a slight bit of panic. Wufei didn't curse any more than Meiran did. Not unless something really set them off.

"Duke Fucking Dermail, that's what! Janet found an inquiry from Zodiac into their assets. You know they hold a fucking grudge against us for what we did with their Wizard Industries!"

Duo closed his eyes. He would have been cursing just as much, if not more so, had he been in Wufei's shoes.

In fact, he'd have sworn he saw the swish of long blonde hair turn a corner. What were the odds it had been Dermail's creepy granddaughter? Or was his mind merely fabricating the whole thing? Maybe he'd just imagined the blonde hair as a result of his subconscious trying to help him identify that nagging feeling he'd had of something he'd missed.

He had been rather distracted most of the evening, between seeing Heero's run-in with the Hispanic gentleman and just being near Heero most of the night. And to be honest, he hadn't given much thought to Dermail because he'd been distracted by Heero's abrupt departure, after Wufei had punched him.

He'd told Heero he didn't trust him, and he didn't, but for once, he'd almost hoped he might be wrong.

As for Wufei, the best defense was a good offense.

"How the hell do you know I saw Dermail, anyway? Weren't you busy getting chewed out by your wife?"

"She is amazingly concise," Wufei said, then sighed. Duo was surprised that the man wasn't jumping down his throat. Hell, he felt like he was on the wrong page of a script. He never should have stolen Wufei's car. This had to be some kind of divine justice for breaking the eighth commandment.

His mother would find the mess he'd gotten himself into rather fitting, he supposed.

"Duo?" Wufei's voice was softer, but still held that thread of frustrated anger.

He shook his head. "Hey, did anyone see him at the gallery last night?"

Wufei frowned, wondering what that had to do with anything. "Not that I know of. Something you want to tell me?"

"No," he admitted. "Just wondering if I'm losing my mind."

"We're going to lose a lot more than that if you don't get your head out of your ass. Your mind hasn't been on this deal ever since-"

"Since Hilde broke up with me, right?" Duo said menacingly.

Wufei's eyes narrowed, but he merely nodded. Then he removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, the glasses dangling from his hand and catching the light.

Duo wondered how he could be so distracted that the little rainbows that reflected from the lenses and danced around the room could hold his attention when everything was going to hell in a hand basket.

"Wufei," Duo said finally. "Dermail seemed rather eager to curry favor when I saw him that day. That means that whatever he is up to, the iron wasn't in the fire then."

"Are you sure about that?"

Duo nodded. "Absolutely. It would be one thing if it were his granddaughter, the blonde Morticia, but he seems to rely on others to do his bullshitting for him. He was honestly trying to get me to rally behind him in case he needed us at a future date. Maybe Dorothy hadn't reported back to him yet."

Wufei sighed. "We'll get nowhere fighting amongst ourselves."

Duo wanted to point out that his partner was the one that had started it, but held his tongue.

"Let's go over the paperwork again. I've got Janet researching Romefeller's activities as we speak."

Duo spared one last thought to Wufei's paragon of information gathering, whom up until a day ago, he hadn't even known existed, let alone known her name. He nodded and turned back to his computer to access the files he had on Wizard, hoping something in the past would provide some answers to what was going on in the present.

~~~~~

Relena hated asking Pagan to drive her to the restaurant, but if he stayed behind, he'd be sure to tell Milliardo where she'd gone. He hadn't been out of earshot the entire time she'd been on the phone.

She was cursed with men who wanted to protect her, she supposed, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Not always.

Despite that thought, she was nervous about her upcoming meeting. She'd been shocked to receive the phone call the previous evening, but after listening to what the caller had to say, she'd suggested a meeting to discuss it in person. It also gave her time to get her thoughts together.

She'd thought that an out of the way table would be best, but she'd been advised instead to make reservations for a table along a wall, but one not obviously secluded. Being secreted away in the shadows would imply that there was something to hide, but a table along the wall yet in the open would minimize the number of diners nearby that could overhear, but it would not look suspicious.

Relena could only hope that the answers to some of the riddles that had plagued her since Dermail's visit would be forthcoming by the end of this lunch rendezvous.

She didn't recognize the party she was meeting at first. When the individual arrived at her table, she was preparing to politely explain that there must be some mistake. Then the person greeted her, and there was no mistaking that voice.

"Relena."

tbc