Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ V Lucid Engagements ❯ Good Intentions ( Chapter 7 )

Good Intentions

I'd been scared when I hadn't gotten the call to head down to the lobby around four in the afternoon like normal, and then when around five, I did get the call. I was about to grump good naturedly about Duo and Wufei making their times so they weren't intruding on each other...but it wasn't Natalie and Duo who showed up at five.

Wufei had informed me that he'd gotten a call from Lucien, and then noted that Duo'd had to work late. That had been a reassurance, but it had been quickly followed by worry.

The insecurity of the shit drove me nuts. Insecurity was not something I normally experienced...

And then Wufei'd dropped the bomb.

A week?

I'd been far too dazed to worry about Nat or Duo at that point. Wufei'd been in one of his hyper moods. He'd added that if I didn't share Quatre's room with him, we were going to have to move—but he wasn't sure how long he'd have legal custody of me. He'd went on about a garden or something that made Quatre start laughing, but I hadn't followed...and then he'd sincerely asked me to please put up with Quatre's crazy ass because his girlfriend would get pissed if they all had to move again.

I think I agreed...because he'd gotten happy again...but I hadn't paid close attention. Wufei, evidently, had been doing a lot of fast-talking from the start. Around that point, my seeming agreement, Trowa had waltzed into the lobby and taken Amelia into his arms. Quatre'd informed me that I'd have to tolerate them a while, and had proceeded to ask me if I wanted bunk beds.

That had actually made me focus. He'd started laughing delightedly, then settled down and explained that his room was large enough for two twin beds, but it wasn't exactly huge. He'd asked me how often I thought I'd have Nat over, then turned his attention onto Wufei to ask if the main couch was a hide-a-bed. He'd noted to me that once in a while he'd let himself be shunted to the couch, but if we woke him up because we were having sex, he'd kick my ass.

It'd taken me a long moment to realize he was teasing me.

Wufei had cut in at that point, wondering how long his legal hold would be, considering that he still had Quatre. He noted that if it was going to last more than a week or two, we'd all move...and then he and Quatre had disintegrated into an argument about apartments or houses.

Evidently, Wufei was being a jackass about Quatre's gardening.

That had annoyed me, and I'd let Wufei know it. He'd told me to seriously mind my own business, then looked up to see Lucien in the door that led back to the main building.

Why was he so against Quatre having a garden? Quatre liked gardening...

It hadn't been until they'd left that I'd remembered that Natalie hadn't shown up, and it was going on seven already.

It was seven-thirty before I got another call, and I'd all but ran down to the lobby.

Duo looked stressed. Duo'd looked very stressed...he'd apologized to me that he was so late, muttering something about hemorrhoids and bosses...it hadn't made any real sense, and then he'd melted onto the bench on the side of the room.

He'd been watching me...just...watching.

It was eerie to feel his eyes on me as I talked to my girl.

"What?" I'd demanded finally, sharply.

His eyes had narrowed and he'd sat up and looked to his watch. "You talk to me like that again, and I'll kick your fucking ass," he'd snapped.

"I...I'm sorry..."

"Watch your fucking attitude...Nat, let's go."

He'd been signed out and to his car in a moment.

His hostility toward me peaked and dipped low all the time...I'd ask Lucien about that. It was hard to cope with. I wasn't sure what to do about him in general anyway...I was damn grateful to the man, of course, but...but how was I supposed to take his threats to my person? If he actually attacked me, would I defend myself? When we'd fought in that alley before...we'd been equal. If he pissed me off, I wasn't sure if I'd snap and attack him...like before...but if we were equal...

The hostility...it needed dealt with...somehow...and preferably not in another boxing match.

I was very aware of the fact that he wouldn't discuss it with me. I had a feeling that trying to talk about it would bring him back on the defensive.

Hell, he'd said he wasn't trying to forgive me.

I ran my hands tiredly over my eyes, considering the ceiling.

I didn't want to say anything to Lucien that might make him rethink letting me out, though...

This was why I hated having other people in control of me.

I rolled over, considering the far wall.

There was a knock on the door.

I sat up, blinking in confusion. It was eight in the morning on Saturday...

"Heero?" Trowa muttered, sliding into the room in a way that made me wonder if the guard in the hall had seen him. "Hey," he muttered, closing the door.

"Tro?" I returned, blinking. "Hey...what's up?"

"I snuck out to come talk to you quick-like," he explained nonchalantly, shrugging.

I groaned, dropping back on my bed.

He considered my room with interest a moment, sauntering to the bed casually. He sat next to me, which was more on me than not...and stretched, popping his neck.

"You're nuts," I informed him, shoving him over.

He laughed happily, scooting over a good inch. This was followed by another wicked grin. "Not really."

"What?" I asked levelly, noting the look in his eyes...pleasure at some sort of success.

"Acton came in and told me earlier that I'm getting out tonight."

I stared at him.

"I coulda waited and told you at lunch, but I didn't want to wait," he shrugged happily at me. "All this controlled security is driving me nuts...you gotta be out of your fucking mind by now."

I frowned at that, shrugging as I looked away.

He grinned more. "So...yeah. I guess tonight around five or so I'll be released. They decided I am just a bastard," he put on a sad expression, then smirked. "Evidently he doesn't buy the act any more than you do...I thought it was just because you know me."

I grinned at that.

"Amelia was saying...you're getting out next week?"

I shrugged. "Lucien hasn't said anything to me about it yet...but Wufei said as much and Quatre asked if I wanted to share a room with him."

"The apartment only has three," Trowa noted, nodding his head. "Me and Amelia in one, then Quatre and Wufei had their own...but ‘Melia said Juki's moved in now, so that just leaves Quatre lonely...your girl gonna mind?"

I had to snicker at that, giving him a look.

He laughed himself, then looked to the ceiling a long moment. "What should I do," he muttered, becoming serious, "to...with...I don't know what to do about Duo."

I frowned at him, shrugging. "I have no more an idea than you...shit...I don't know, Tro...I'm still trying to figure out what I should do about him."

"Huh?"

"If I even get a little annoyed with him," I explained, looking toward my lap, "he completely bites my head off...and last night he took off five minutes before closing because of it."

"Ah..." Trowa considered it a long moment, then tilted his head. "I think he's still scared of you, you know it? I think its different now though...he's not in a situation where he has to let you control him. Wufei said it enough before, Duo needed to save himself. Now that he's done it, he's not going back. You'll have to figure out a way to express your annoyance without challenging that resolve...and I have no idea how to go about that...granted, you could just knock him around until he stops, though."

I focused on him sharply, narrowing my eyes.

He sniggered slightly. "I know, it's an evil thing to suggest, but I'm easily amused like that and you know it above all else...don't worry, I won't press my shit with other people present, but when it's just me and you..." he shrugged, his eyes still dancing merrily. "You're privy to my real personality and that will never change."

"You're a fucker," I noted, dropping back onto the bed again. "You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, dear," he muttered, caressing my knee.

I jumped hard, slamming my knee into his leg as he jumped back and started laughing wickedly, holding his hands up to defend himself.

"...don't do that!" I snapped at him, scooting over more where I was sitting and rubbing at my leg like his touch had hurt.

He laughed more, then rose to his feet and stretched as absolutely tall as he could with his hands in the air. "I'm gettin' laid tonight," he informed me with a wicked smirk over his shoulder. "Good luck with your...uh..." he looked the room over as if searching for a description.

I glared at him.

He snickered and moved to the door, pulling it open a crack and glancing down the hall. He was gone in a moment, like he'd never shown up.

I grinned slightly, looking my room over as well.

For some reason...I'd always liked Trowa. He was strange, his amusements frequently pissed me off...but life wouldn't be the same without his little annoyances. His moments of whim and random action tended to be amusing in retrospect, and I was already amused that he'd been trying to bother me and succeeded effortlessly...it was kind of sad that he was already going to be leaving.

But at the same time...how long was a week, really?

- -

"You're kidding, right?" Hilde demanded, curling into the chair beside Duo's. Her eyes were concerned as she studied him, and she wasn't sitting in her own chair that was behind the desk. "You're not...he's not..."

Duo nodded glumly, then shook his head as he started rubbing at his temple. "Wufei said...some time next week."

"Do...you want to leave?" she asked quietly. "We can move you and your family out."

He blinked, focusing on her in confusion. It took him a moment to really comprehend what she'd said and why, then he shook his head sharply. "It's not that sort of problem."

"Isn't it?" she retorted irritably, glaring toward her office window. "That's what he called for, yesterday?"

"Yes," Duo agreed. "I'm not scared of him, you know."

She shook her head, not looking at him. She didn't believe it, and she doubted she ever would. Duo could say what he wanted to and mean it just as much as he thought he did, but the fact of the matter was she'd heard him talking about Heero before. There'd been a large chunk of time, two years at least, where he wouldn't even say Heero's name.

She really wished he'd let her move him out of London when Heero and the others had first shown up.

But then again...if she'd done that, they probably wouldn't have gotten taken in for psychiatric evaluations.

"No, Hilde," he said firmly. "I'm not scared of him. I'm just not sure if I'm ready to deal with him."

She met his eyes, frowning slightly.

"I have his girlfriend living at my house," he pointed out. "He's going to be living with my best friend...and he pisses me off. He'll give me that look," his eyes went distant and his expression soured. "I don't think he even realizes why it bothers me."

"Why does it bother you?" she snapped.

"Because it meant I was in for a bad night," Duo spat back, meeting her eyes. "Usually meant I'd be bleeding before dawn."

She receded where she sat.

"It will never happen again," he spat, looking out the window again. "It doesn't mean I have to be sweetness and light...it doesn't mean I have to be perfectly okay with it," he narrowed his eyes as he met hers again. "So stop worrying about me, all right? I have a family now...I'm a man now. I don't need coddled, and you need to stop saying shit around the others...all right?"

She narrowed her eyes at him again.

"It's not a request," he informed her levelly. "If you persist, I'll take that job Zechs offered me. It's here in town, right?"

"Hey!" she protested, straightening some.

"I really don't like you telling my co-workers that there's some problem in my life," Duo snapped at her. "It's so severely unprofessional that it causes me physical pain, and on top of that, it's none of their damn business as long as it doesn't interfere with our work. I won't warn you again, do you understand me?"

Hilde looked toward her legs, which were hanging over the edge of the chair, and tried to pretend she hadn't started blushing. She knew she'd been in the wrong to make her comments in their meeting, but at the time it hadn't occurred to her.

"Yeah," he noted, considering her seriously. "I had a couple people chasing me down as I was trying to run out the door to ask if things were okay because of that. I was even taken to lunch...we do that shit together, it's a normal routine, but then he was all concerned and asking if everything was okay at home...I was going to throttle you...it was Tarnier...but you'd taken off to meet with Mr. White-head."

Hilde sniggered slightly, meeting his eyes.

"He was all over telling me I could stay with him," Duo added in mock energy. "Explaining that we were all as good as family, and that if any one of us had a problem he'd hoped he'd be the first person we'd call. He went on and on...and on...and on, about it," he lost the fake energy to glower at her.

"Tarnier means well," she reprimanded, grinning slightly at him.

"I know, that's why I explained the problem wasn't a family one...my wife and I are perfectly fine. The issue was a personal matter that you shouldn't have shared. He agreed with me," Duo smirked slightly.

"Haha," she retorted, rolling her eyes at him, then sighed and looked away again. "I'm just not happy about this, all right? I don't see why you take his girl to go see him every damn night, and I don't get why you'd talk to him at all. If that had happened to me..."

"You'd never let it happen to you," he reassured her quietly, looking away. "I shouldn't have let it happen."

"If only it were that easy, huh?" she returned quietly, focusing out the window.

"Amen to that," he noted, then sighed and sat back, looking to the ceiling. "Basically, I want you to know that I'm going to be in a mood for a while—I called my therapist, too. I'm going to meet with him later on today so we can go over my issues again and try to figure out a game plan. It shouldn't interfere with my work more than I'll be a bit despondent."

She nodded.

"I'm not here as your subordinate," he noted, considering her face. He knew his conversation had made this obvious, but he wanted to be sure she understood him. "I'm here as your friend...talking to you as my friend. I know you care and you want the best for me and the rest of the world, but I won't just give you your way until my way stops working."

"And it hasn't?" she asked darkly, looking away from him."

"Depends on your angle," he retorted, then sighed and sat forward and started to rise. "Anyway, Nas wanted me to invite you to supper tomorrow night. She's thinking around six. I'll take Nat in around four or five, so I should be back before you show up," he stopped before turning toward the door. "I'm assuming you're not backing out on this."

Hilde grinned at him a bit and nodded.

"Good," he added, then ran his hands through his hair and looked around. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he nodded his head slightly at her as he started for the door.

"Duo?"

He turned to look back at her.

"My faith has run thin, at least in the old people," she gestured vaguely with her head in a way that translated to her meaning the people from the war. "Can you tell me why you're giving him a second chance?"

Duo considered the door handle under his hand a long moment, then shrugged slightly. "No."

"That's not a satisfactory answer."

"I never said I'd answer your question," he retorted. "Be happy you got an answer."

She tsked irritably.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he added, meeting her eyes with a brief smile. "Vasu will be happy."

She nodded at that, looking away from him a moment. "Duo?"

He stopped, this time with the door open.

"Why should I have faith?"

"Have faith in me," he retorted, starting out the door. "I don't give a rat's ass if you have faith in him. Trust that I know when to pull out."

She nodded once, but had a feeling he didn't see it since the door had shut a moment after she'd done it.

- -

"So we're gonna have dumbass number one back tonight," Wufei muttered, moving out onto the balcony with Quatre. "And in a week or so we'll have dumbass number two."

"Yeah," Quatre agreed, watching the cars pass below them.

"What do you think?"

"I think...that Duo's not happy," Quatre returned, not looking around. "He's okay with Heero getting out on some levels...but he's still scared."

"I would be, too, I imagine," Wufei returned, following the blonde's gaze.

"Should we leave?" Quatre muttered.

"Leave?" Wufei echoed, blinking.

"Shouldn't we take Trowa and Heero away from him?"

"I don't think he'd be happy with that, either," Wufei muttered, looking toward the sky.

"He was happy without us here," Quatre muttered glumly.

"And just as happy with you here and them away," Wufei retorted. "Heero fucked him over and you know it...and Trowa fucked us all over."

"What?" Amelia asked, moving onto the balcony.

"Nothing," Wufei muttered, glancing at her over his shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

She tilted her head at him with interest, then looked to Quatre.

Quatre smiled at her, pulling himself away from his distraction.

"Are we ready to go?" Amelia added, thinking. "It's..."

"It's four, he's getting out at five," Wufei reminded her. "It takes us maybe ten minutes to get there...I know you're eager, but the rest of us..."

She giggled and smacked at him.

"Let's just get ready," Quatre suggested, pushing away from the railing. "It won't hurt us to be early."

"I beg to differ," Wufei muttered dryly as the blond disappeared inside.

"He must not appreciate begging," Amelia muttered, her expression considerate.

Wufei snorted.

"Huh?" she asked blankly, looking back to him.

"Just how good is your grasp on this language?" Wufei demanded.

"Um...do I keep messing up?" she asked, her expression innocently upset.

"No, you don't," Wufei returned, smirking slightly. "You have no idea about the colloquial do you?"

"I...guess...Juki keeps calling me tepid...is that widespread?"

"No, that's her being incredibly special," Wufei retorted, grinning. "Come on...let's go finish getting ready."