17-Jun-2002
I woke to the sensation of the cat rubbing against my sore elbow and the sound of her purring close to my ear. I was sprawled unceremoniously across my rumpled sheets and cringed at the thought of what I looked like. The bruise on the side of my face from the altercation on L1 had blossomed overnight into an ugly yellowish-green bruise and was tender to the touch. The elbow was about the same and the back of my head ached like someone had tap-danced too many Irish jigs on it. At least my ribs weren't protesting too much from the abuse that I had allowed them to take.
I rolled onto my back and picked up the cat, settling her on my stomach and scratching her under her chin. She purred at me making me smile and then sat perched on my chest with a very inquisitive look on her face.
"What? Oh... the guy I brought home." I rubbed her ear. I could almost hear her unspoken question just by the way she was looking at me with those wide green eyes.
"An old acquaintance." She purred and began to knead at my chest. "My thoughts exactly."
I heard Heero clear his throat from the doorway of my room and turned to smile at him. He was standing in the doorway wearing a pair of loose fitting drawstring pants that hung off his hips and holding a steaming cup of coffee in his right hand. To me he was the perfect picture of any wet dream I ever had. "Mind if I use your shower first?" He was grinning at me in an odd little way and I couldn't keep the butterflies from rusting their wings in my stomach.
"Naw. There are fresh towels under the sink and plenty of hot water." I picked up the cat with my good arm and dropped her gently to the floor and sat up. The world spun for just a moment before I got my bearings.
When I looked at Heero he was frowning and setting his mug down on the table beside the bed. "You dizzy?"
I frowned myself. It wasn't dizzy really. I think it was just the accumulation of too many things in too short an amount of time. I had taken enough head hits in my lifetime to know I probably had a slight concussion. "Just need some food and coffee." I picked up his mug and sipped the rich substance and then grinned at him.
"Help yourself." He gave me a little mock glare before heading off to the bathroom. "You have a message from Wufei. Priority." He tossed over his shoulder with a smirk just before he turned the corner and shut the bathroom door.
I wasn't surprised. I looked at the clock and saw that it was already almost ten. Wufei had been told no doubt of the mysterious arrival of the shuttle we had taken from the L1 spaceport by now and was probably more agitated than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs that I hadn't called him yet.
I climbed out of bed and took a quick note of my condition.
I'd been worse.
I pulled on a pair of baggy sweats and made my way to the kitchenette to warm up Heero's coffee. As well as to dump a liberal amount of cream into it. I had to laugh. It was one of those things you don't realize you ever payed attention to, but I realized just then that Heero always drank his coffee black and the mug he had with him when he appeared in my room had cream in it. He brought me coffee. How sweet. I chuckled softly as I sat down at the small desk and punched up the secure channel to Wufei's vidphone as the cat purred and rubbed against my legs.
I had almost forgot that I hadn't fed her yet. "Sorry baby girl, lets get you fed before we have to talk to grumpy-wumpy Wufei." I hurried over to a cabinet in the kitchenette and pulled down the small container where I kept the kitty chow and was about to give her some when I saw the small bowl on the floor next to a half full dish of milk. I raised a brow at her and put my hands on my hips. She just stared at me. "He fed you huh?"
She blinked. "First the coffee... now the cat... Heero Yuy you tender little soul you... " I chuckled to myself.
"Maxwell!" I heard Wufei's booming voice over the vid and practically skid into my chair.
"Sorry man... I was about to... "
"Where in the nine levels of hell have you been? And where is Yuy?" He growled at me trying to look impatient and not like he was worried. I was about to answer him when I saw the look on his face change and waited for him to collect his thoughts enough to speak again. "Good God what happened to you? Are you all right? Where's Heero?"
"Hey, hey, man slow down." I raised my hands up in surrender and smiled broadly. "We ran into some trouble after Relena's event and had a hot tail it back here to earth. I'm a bit bruised, but I'll live and Heero's in the shower."
"Is the Vice-Foreign Minister all right?"
I couldn't help rolling my eyes or from wondering just what kind of couple they would make if they ever got together. Mr. and Mrs. There's-a-Large-Stick-Up-My-Ass. I started to chuckle. "She's fine. It really had nothing to do with her." I dropped the smile and looked at him seriously. "I think you know what it is about. Why didn't you tell me?"
Wufei looked flustered for an instant before settling into his usual impassive self. "You were not in the right frame of mind to be concerned with matters that Heero and I have been dealing with. How much has he told you?"
I paused and took a sip of my rapidly cooling coffee. "Man, that sucks and you know it. Since when have I ever let my personal shit get in the way of doing business?" Wufei frowned deeper and dropped his eyes for a moment. I sighed. There were more important things to discuss. "That can wait. Heero and I will be there shortly. If there is as much going on as I think there is than we may not be able to discuss this over the vid and be completely secure." I folded my arms over my chest and waited him to raise his eyes again to meet mine. When he did; I was not smiling.
"I agree. There is a distinct possibility the problem could be an internal one." I could feel my face begin to flush as it seemed I was the last one to know about all this. And I think he knew it. "I'll be here and will call in Winner and Barton. I'll see you shortly." Was all he said before killing the line. What do they have to do with all this I wondered?
The cat meowed at my feet and blinked up at me. "Yeah I know. He's still hiding shit from me too." She began to lick her paw methodically and rub it across her face. "You knew all along, huh baby?"
"Knew what?" Heero asked as he walked in the room toweling his hair dry and holding another towel loosely around his hips.
I smiled pleasantly at him but he wasn't foolish enough to mistake the gleam in my eyes. Shinigami wasn't ignorant or blind. Wufei wasn't very forthcoming with information insecure channel or not, and was acting unusually defensive. Heero was standing in my living space like he had lived here all along, and now Quatre and Trowa were being called in.
I glanced at the cat. She and I were the only ones who really didn't have a friggin' clue what was really going on. I was getting these tight little pangs in my gut that I was trying to dismiss as nerves and the nagging whisper of 'conspiracy' in my head just wouldn't stop. It was like Shinigami was tapping me on the shoulder with his scythe waiting for me to give my go ahead to put the damage on, only I had no idea who to unleash it on just yet.
He paused in drying his hair and gave me a level look. "What did Wufei say?"
I folded my arms across my chest again and just waited with a look of my own; as even and bland as I could muster.
"He wants us to come in?"
I quirked an eyebrow as I ran my tongue over my front teeth and then took a deep breath. Heero, master of the fucking obvious once again. And being just as damned secretive as Wufei. "Is there any hot water left?"
He shrugged and picked up my mug, sipping the coffee which I am sure had to be cold by now, and made a small face of disgust as he swallowed his mouthful. It made me almost forget my ire of this whole situation. Almost. "I'm gonna shower and change then we need to go to Wufei's office. Trowa and Quatre will meet us there." The look he gave me made me pause. "What?"
"Nothing." He finished toweling his hair and headed off to change.
The cat meowed and I glanced down to where she sat on the floor at my feet. "I know. Nothing my ass."
I did a lot of thinking as I let the spray hiss over me. Maybe I was the one getting emotional and defensive. After all it had been a whirlwind of a few days and paranoia was part of my regular diet. Thinking of food, I couldn't even remember the last time I had eaten anything and the beer from last night only teased my hunger more awake. The fact that Heero was acting like we were long reunited lovers made my stomach do funny little flips too. Not entirely a pleasant feeling.
I mean I know I'm damned irresistible, but he had done a really good job of hiding how he felt for me for so long. I may read into things, but I am not delusional. I really couldn't remember one time Heero had shown any affection for me at all during the wars. It was just partners. Business. Can one night really change all that? I heaved another gusty sigh and stuck my head back under the spray.
I washed my hair carefully; my head was still pretty sore from getting bashed and despite the fact that my elbow felt better it was still pretty stiff from sleeping on it last night. I finished my shower; not really wanting to leave the warm little sanctuary of the porcelain walls, but Wufei was waiting for us.
I stepped out of the shower and wiped the moisture off the mirror with a towel and just stared at my reflection. I assessed the nasty bruise I had on the side of my face below my left ear and just above the cheekbone as I leaned over the sink. I looked like I got more than just punched in the side of the head. It was damned ugly. I brushed out my hair and braided it a little more loosely that I normally do because of my head. I really didn't need it pulling against my scalp and the weight alone was enough to start a headache. I wrapped the towel around my waist and was about to open the door and head down to the bedroom to dress when I heard Heero talking.
I opened the door a crack and thought maybe he was talking to the cat like I do, but then wouldn't that be scary? So I turned on the faucet and crept back over to the door to listen. Now, I just want to say that there is a huge difference between eavesdropping and listening for surveillance purposes. I couldn't decide which it was that I was actually doing just then. Those tight little pangs began with renewed vigor and I had long ago learned not to ignore them. So I held my breath, ignored the melodic little tinkling of the water behind me, and listened.
"It needs to look that way or else he could become suspicious... .no... no, not yet... I can't be sure of that either... yes... if it has to be, then I want to be the one to do it... no... in the shower... Relena, please... I know... I know you are... like I had said before, this is only temporary... no... soon... I miss you too... all right then."
I heard a cell phone click shut. I staggered back to the toilet and sat down just trying to breathe and to keep my stomach from turning inside out. He was talking to Relena on a cell phone I didn't even know he had. He missed her. This was only temporary. "Oh God... " I moaned as I grabbed fists of my hair in my hands and pulled hard. My mind scrambled for what I could do as I tried to concentrate on feeling the dull aching pain on my scalp instead of the gnawing emptiness in my gut. Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod...
"Duo? Are you alright?" He was outside the door. I had to pull it together.
"Just a m-minute... " I cursed at how shaken I sounded. I gripped the towel that had slipped to the floor and wrapped it back around myself. I turned the faucet off and stood shakily. I took a breath and opened the door. "You say somethin'?"
He was looking at me with a strange expression that I was too frazzled to read. Then he reached out and ran a finger gently along the edge of the bruise on my face and quirked his head to one side, then frowned. "You were in there so long... are you... alright?"
Ohgodohgodohgodohgod. I had to swallow before I could find my voice again and cursed myself for the weakness I felt at his touch. "Head hurts... a little." We stood there for an awkward moment before I finally willed my legs to move past him and walk to the small bedroom. What kind of fucking game was this? He looked... concerned? Worried?
I dressed hurriedly and shoved my .38 and .44 into their hiding places within my clothing. Just for good measure I stuck one of the Boeings into my boot and laced it up tight. It made it hard to bend my ankle but I had a feeling I would want it with me. I tucked a few of my smaller lock pics into my hair and tried to tighten the plaits at the top back up after I had pulled them even looser as I sat on the toilet trying to get my wits together. Glancing at my reflection in the tiny mirror above the dresser I put on my most bored expression, grabbed my Preventers jacket, and made for the door. Heero was waiting for me and with a last little pat on the cat's head we left for Wufei's.
End Part 7
(:./ebony/magic7)
