As Duo approached the door to Relena's room he realized that, for the first time since the war had ended and Heero had come to the L2 cluster with him, he was thinking about Relena Peacecraft and remaining absolutely calm. /Maybe it's spending so much time with Zechs - he just laughs at her.../ He grinned at the thought and rapped loudly on the door.
"Make sure you're decent, Relena, I'm comin' in!" he called out, cheerfully, opening the door and stepping inside the room.
The princess sat at her dressing table, aghast at the intrusion, one delicate hand at her throat. "What are *you* doing in *my* room?" she demanded. "I could have been dressing!"
Duo gave her one look, up and down, then blinked. "Well, we're all just one, big, happy family, right? Besides, you're already dressed."
Relena looked, if possible, even more perturbed. "I said I *could* have been. And you just barged right in without even asking!"
"Oh, sort of like the way you got Zechs to let you stay here?" Duo asked, grinning and then flopping down on the bed.
Relena stood up abruptly. "I am here because my dear brother said I could stay. Which to my mind gives me a lot more right and authority to be here than *you* have." She turned and looked out a window situation on the north side of the room. Her back was to Duo. It was a sulky, angry sort of back. Duo felt better and better.
"If you're trying to point out that we each have a different relationship with Zechs, than don't waste your breath. I agree, we do. But I don't see the logic in thinking that tagalong little sisters get any precedence over lovers."
She turned once more, facing him this time, her eyes flashing with anger. "Stop calling yourself that!" she cried, taking a step towards the bed. "You're just staying with my brother because of his money. He doesn't *love* you! He doesn't! My brother loves Noin, if he loves anyone. He certainly wouldn't want a *man* that way." One small fist was curled in a ball at her chest and Duo could sense her gaze harden. "Or a *boy* for that matter," she added somewhat derisively."
Duo sat up slowly, never taking his eyes off of hers. "You really believe that don't you?" he said, his voice slow with surprise. Staring at her for a moment longer, he pushed himself off of the bed and stood up. It was distressingly obvious to him, when he did so, that he and The Peacecraft were almost of the same height.
"What about him and Treize?"
If a face could be angrily confused, Relena's was. "What does Treize have to do with anything?" she demanded.
Duo held his hands out to the side, as if in supplication to some god who might be persuaded to smite his enemies, currently represented by the girl in evening dress. "Can she really have been that dense?" he asked the unseen deity.
Relena's eyes narrowed. If you're trying to insinuate that my brother was involved with Treize Khushrenada then all I have to say is that I don't be-"
"... believe it." Duo finished the sentence for her. "Just like you didn't believe it about Heero and me," he said softly.
"Don't you dare mention Heero!" Relena's voice was cracking a bit and at the mention of the Japanese ex-pilot's name, her eyes filled with tears. "You aren't worthy enough to breathe the same air as him, as far as I'm concerned - the way you treated him."
"Let's not go there, Relena," Duo warned and turned toward the door.
"Oh, no you don't -" she retorted. You're going to stay right there and and listen to this." She took several steps towards him. "I think you need to know."
"Oh?" Duo faced her again and folded his arms in front of him. "And what is it I need to know?"
Relena's face took on a strange expression that Duo couldn't decipher. Whatever it was, he was fairly sure he didn't like it.
"I'm going to profit from *your* mistake," she said. "I'm going to go find Heero and I'm going to convince him to come back to Sank."
Duo rolled his eyes. "Ah, come on Relena - you've tried that, remember? It didn't work the first time. What makes you think it'll be different now?"
"This time you're not a factor," she said plainly.
Duo flinched a bit, not sure why he was doing so. "What's that suppose to mean?" he asked slowly.
"It *means*, Duo, that you don't care a bit for him anymore. And I'm going to find him and make sure he knows just how much you don't care. And that will have an added bonus: as I tell him what you and my brother are up to, I can also make sure he sees how much *I* do care. That I've *always* been the one to care about him most. Not like you - running off with Zechs when things got a little rocky."
She, too, folded her arms and the two of them stood there, glaring at each other.
Duo took a few steps toward her - the girl that had been his main rival for Heero's affections for the past two years. "Stay away from him, Relena," he said, his voice somewhat low and threatening. "He doesn't need you there, talking to him, confusing him with things that aren't true." Leaning in closer, their noses almost touching, Duo muttered, "He doesn't need you."
"You're wrong!" Relena shouted, her entire body trembling. "He came back to me, didn't he? After the war was over? And he rescued me several times over the past two years, even though he said he would kill me - had orders to kill me. He didn't stay with you the whole time either - so there!"
Her last words were punctuated by the sound of Zechs' voice, low and just behind them. "Do you two think you could keep it down a little? We can hear everything out in the hall. Especially from *you*, dear sister."
Relena and Duo turned in unison, both sets of eyes widening at the site of the tall, blond-haired man standing next to them in a bathrobe that only just covered him decently. Relena's hand went to her mouth, a small gasp escaping from behind it.
Duo was equally impressed, although in a slightly different way, his eyes seemingly unable to stray from that place where the material brushed Zechs' inner thigh. "I take it that was meant to be *my* bathrobe, bunny..." he grinned widely. "You sure look good in it though..."
"Don't be disgusting," Relena snapped. She had turned so that Zechs and his tiny bathrobe was no longer in her direct line of sight. "Brother, hadn't you better go back to your room and make yourself a little more decent?"
"No," came the simple reply. "Your little shouting match woke me up, frightened the housemaid, and no doubt curdled the milk down in the pantry. Now can we please work out whatever is wrong in a more mannerly way?" He looked from one of them to the other several times, folding his arms and causing the robe to rise another half an inch up his thighs. Duo, who had been keeping a keen eye on that robe hem, felt warm all of a sudden and exhaled heavily upwards, lifting his bangs off of his forehead briefly.
Zechs sighed. "Now, what *is* the trouble in here? Duo?"
The braided boy, however, was still entranced with Zechs' legs. "Duo?" Zechs tried again.
With a great effort, the braided-boy managed to move his gaze away from his partner's lower anatomy and look at his face instead "What? Oh. Well... geez, Bunny, for one thing- why'd you half to go and spoil all the fun by inviting *her* to stay?"
The tall blond sat down heavily on a small sofa nearby. This was going to be a long conversation.
One floor up, Mouse Brooks was sitting curled into a ball. He was hiding between his bed and the wall of his room and waiting with dread for the next appearance. /Who will it be this time? The Lawyer again, who was always scratching his pen on the stack of papers he carried? That lady with the fancy dress and the rope burns around her neck who was always so angry at him? That man with the boots, who'd said and done nothing so far? Or someone new... Oh, I wish they'd leave me alone!/
He had a mirror with him that he used to keep track on what happened near the windows while his back was to them. Now he passed the time during the horrible waiting period by making faces at himself in it. He was a serious looking boy, with short, wavy hair of dark brown and startlingly green eyes. His features seemed to be set in a permanent state of anxious melancholy and he looked up at the world through long, dark lashes.
Now he heard the footsteps and he knew the wait was over. He put the mirror down and shut his eyes tightly, holding his breath and hoping against hope that whoever it was today wouldn't hear him and would just go away. /Idiot. You know that never happens..../
"I need to speak with you." The voice wasn't familiar to him, but it was so calm that he gathered his courage and peeked over the side of his bed. And let out a scream at what he saw on the other side.
A brief look of distress crossed the parts of the face that were still intact, before the tall man turned with a swirl of his cape and stood absolutely still, his back now turned to Mouse. Parts of his military uniform were burned and ragged, but it was nothing like his face and torso had been."Is this better?" he murmured.
"Yes," whispered Mouse. It was the man with the boots. Mouse had never seen him from the front; he'd always been striding away from him in the past, and hadn't ever spoken at all. Until now.
"I'm sorry my appearance was distressing, but I do need to speak to you. I need you to do something for me. I believe you're the only one who can do it and it's very important. Will you help me?"
"W- What would I have to do?" the boy managed to croak.
"There are letters that need to be delivered to two people who are or will be staying in this house. It's very important that they receive them- they were to be sent on the occasion of my death, but something happened and they never got through."
Mouse looked away from the broad but scarred back. "Right," he said softly. "Just tell me where they are - I'll deliver them."
The tall man sighed. "I don't know where they are. The man to whom I gave them, my solicitor at the time, was apparently killed immediately after he left this house with them. Since then I have been unable to locate them, and I am limited in my ability to search. But they have to be delivered. It's imperative."
Still unable to look back at his otherworldly visitor, Mouse couldn't stop his next words from tumbling out. "If I find them will you stop coming here? Will you go away and leave me alone?"
There was a slight pause and then the man's head bowed a bit. "Yes. I promise you that."
The trembling boy put his head on his knees. /What am I doing? And why is he coming to me? I just him to go away. I want them all to go away... / He lifted his head and looked at the man- an aristocrat, perhaps, when he was alive. Mouse had to admit to himself that the tall officer did look lonely, and in need of help. "Do you have any ideas for me to try?" he asked hesitantly.
"Dear boy, I know exactly who you need to ask to find out where they are," the man said smoothly.
Mouse felt a sudden surge of relief.This would be quick, and then he'd never have to see the dreadfully disfigured face again. "Who, then? Tell me and I'll go talk to him right now."
"It's the solicitor- the lawyer who walks these halls along with me. You've seen him before, yes?"
A small frown crossed Mouse's delicate features. "Ye~es," he said warily. He's never before spoken to me, but I see him quite often. He's always writing something on those papers he carries, and muttering under his breath. I'll talk to him the next time he comes."
"It won't be that easy," the quiet voice came again. "He won't speak to anyone at the moment. Simply refuses to acknowledge that you, or I, or anyone else exists."
"But..." Mouse's frown grew deeper. "I guess I've been thinking lately that all of you were here because you need something from me. That you need to talk because there something was unresolved when you died."
A once elegantly gloved hand, now bloody and ragged, moved the cape so that it fell more evenly over the man's shoulders. "That's just the problem, you see. He doesn't know he's dead." With that, the officer vanished.
Several miles away, a small, pig-tailed shadow lurked outside an office located along a dimly-lit hallway in the basement of the British Museum. A soft murmur of voices could be heard coming through the closed office door, and the shadow appeared to be listening carefully to them, creeping just a bit closer with each passing minute. Headphones were adjusted and a voice crackled, "Got it all, move in."
At that order, the shadow moved into the light and resolved itself into the form of a young man in a Preventer's uniform. "Now!" he screamed to the unseen officers backing him up. They scrambled into place guarding the exits while Wu Fei kicked in the office door, waving a large gun at the group assembled inside. "Preventers!" he shouted at them. "You're under arrest! Get your heads down and put your hands on them. Don't give me *any* reason to shoot you because, believe me, I will. Gladly." Chang Wu Fei had solved another case.
The removal of the suspects went smoothly and Wu Fei spent the rest of the evening briefing his colleagues in the London office on just *how* a couple of researchers connected with the Coins and Medals Department of the museum had been able to drain a small nation of almost half its wealth by smuggling it out of the hapless country disguised as antique coins. It was a long session, with more than one written report to be completed and three separate meetings to attend before they all called it a day. Now Wu Fei was back in his hotel room, talking with his supervisor, Sally Po, on the comm unit.
"As I said, an excellent operation as usual, Wu Fei." Sally's face smiled meaningfully out at him.
"Well," he replied, "it makes it easier when the people behind the smuggling turn out to be complete idiots. They were so easy to crack it wasn't funny. Not much of a challenge, actually." The Chinese boy tipped his hotel chair back against the bed, looking every inch the cool, calm expert who disdains mere mortals and their pathetic attempts at crime.
Sally gave him a knowing look, raising one eyebrow and murmuring, "Uh huh. Well, are you going to obey the orders I gave you and take a week off? If you don't Une said I had full powers to lock you up." She leaned forward, her face now looming at him from the vid screen. "And I will, too, if only to force you to get some rest, so you make the choice: R&R in London or R&R in my brig."
Wu Fei made a petulant face at the screen and crossed his arms sulkily in front of him. "Stupid woman," he muttered under his breath. "What does she think I am, some *weakling* who can't do my job?"
"Not at all," she replied mildly, causing the Chinese officer to jump. He hadn't thought she'd be able to hear the comment. "You've been at it for months, with no break. I want you in top form for whatever happens next, so don't even *think* about showing your face around here for another two weeks - understand?"
"Yeah, yeah-I understand," he answered, still sulking.
"Great! Enjoy London and send me a postcard. Bye!" She waved to him as her image disappeared from the screen and Wu Fei turned the unit off in disgust.
/Grounded. For two weeks. This is going to be sheer hell.../ he groused to himself as he stripped off the uniform and climbed into bed. /What the hell am I supposed to do with myself for two weeks?/ He reached for the London Tourist Guide that Sally had sent him and noticed that a page had been marked. He opened to it and there was a detailed description of the museum he had just been working in. The bookmark held a note, in Sally's handwriting, that said, "You never actually looked at the museum itself did you?" (Wu Fei was forced to admit he hadn't.) "Why don't you browse through their Chinese antiquities?"
The paragraph on the page described a collection of books and other written objects, a porcelain collection, and a vast holding of ancient Chinese art. With great reluctance, Wu Fei acknowledged a small bit of curiosity about the exhibits. A few more paragraphs convinced him that, for tomorrow at least, he had plans. He would be going to the British Museum again, but this time, he would only be a tourist.
Zechs had managed to get Relena and Duo through the most contentious part of the conversation and to agree to postpone further discussion of the matter after dinner. Now they were gathering in the cozy sitting room at the back of the house. Duo had been the first down, dressed in form-fitting black trousers and a soft, indigo poet's shirt. He'd flopped happily on one of the chintz-covered sofas, feet up, arms crossed behind his head, and was still in that position when Zechs appeared, in a deep blue suit that contrasted (rather breathtakingly, Duo thought) with his long, pale-gold hair.
Walking over to Duo, Zechs kissed him gently before straightening and heading for the liquor cabinet, discreetly nudging Duo's shoes off the sofa as he did so. The American grinned at the small gesture and sat up. "Okay, Bunny - now's your chance. Before she comes down. Why'd you *really* let her stay here?"
Zechs was fixing the drinks, his back to Duo. "She *is* my sister. I can't just throw her out into the street now, can I?"
Duo raised his hand. "I will. I'll volunteer. No problems for me, no sir-ee-"
Zechs turned, two drinks in his hand and stared meaningfully at Duo. The American was immediately at a loss for words.
"Now, then," Zechs said, handing one of the drinks to the love struck boy. "I'll tell you the truth. I've spent nearly all my life without a family, as have you. She is the only one of them that's left, and even if she is spoiled, even if she *does* get fixated on things, she's still my sister and I, as her older brother, have obligations to meet towards her."
The chestnut-haired boy pouted into his drink. "Well, I don't mean to insult *you*, but you sure could have done better in the sibling department, know what I mean?"
Zechs smiled a little suspiciously and sat beside Duo, setting their drinks on the table and sliding warm arms around the boy's waist. He nuzzled Duo's lips, his eyes half-lidded, and then breathed softly in one ear and murmured, "Perhaps I can make it up to you somehow..."
A delighted shiver ran down Duo's spine and he leaned in for a kiss. Zechs didn't disappoint him, pressing his lips to Duo's and eating softly at his mouth. "Mmmnn... Yes bunny," the boy replied between hungry kisses, "I believe... mmnn... that you're... quite capable... nnnn... of that..."
Duo's hand was straying upwards along Zechs' thigh when the doors to the room were opened and Relena walked in. She gave a little exclamation of disgust and turned her back to them. "Are you two quite finished?" she said, and waited.
Zechs broke the kiss slowly, and kept his eyes on Duo's. "Actually, Relena, we were just starting, but we'll gladly take a break for you, won't we kitten?" He winked.
Duo lifted his eyebrows in surprise. Zechs didn't approve of using their pet names for each other except when they were alone. "Sure, Bunny," he grinned back at his lover. "If it's not *too* long a break, that is."
Relena had seated herself across from them. "I refuse to eat dinner with the two of you if you're going to do *this* throughout the meal." Her stern expression meant business.
"Of course not," Zechs looked over at her. "What'll you have to drink?"
"A champagne cocktail, please," she answered decisively, smoothing the material of her dress.
"Oooh, champagne..." Duo grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "We have some great memories involving champagne, don't we Zechs?" One violet eye winked, causing Relena to frown disapprovingly.
Zechs looked up from the drink he was making and smiled. "Ah - yes. Yes we do indeed..." He turned and handed Relena her glass before joining Duo again. "Well, do you two think you can stay in the same house for a week without inflicting bodily harm on one another?"
Relena answered first, running a hand over her hair and smiling graciously. "Well, *I* certainly can. After all, I've been raised to be civilized."
"Ha!" Duo retorted, "And I'm just street trash, right?"
"You used the word, not me," Relena responded, refusing to meet Duo's eyes. "But if it fits..."
"Stop!" Zechs ordered, his voice raised slightly. "I know you two aren't fond of each other, but - Relena you *did* know that Duo was here when you accepted the invitation."
"You *invited* her?" Duo was on his feet. "I thought she was the one who invited herself. That she wormed her way into a free bed, but you really *invited* her?" He stared at Zechs in disbelief.
"Of *course* he did, Relena said. "I'm his sister. It makes perfect sense that I stay in his house while I'm in London." Duo's only reply was to cross his arms and frown at his lover.
"That's what I was trying to tell you," Zechs said, looking up at the young American. "Relena is my sister and I feel that it's my obligation to see to her accommodations."
"But you *know* how I feel about her!" Duo protested. "She's not exactly on my A-list, is she."
"Well, the feeling is mutual, Mr. Maxwell." Relena had crossed her hands prettily in her lap and now stared at her brother's companion in frank distaste.
"Duo," pleaded Zechs, "it's only for a week. You can hang on that long, can't you?"
"If he can't there's always the hotel I was staying in," Relena murmured.
"You bitch!" Duo cried.
"Duo watch your language," Zechs said, trying to be calm.
"Thank you, brother - it's obvious he still belongs on the streets."
"Relena, *shut up!*" Zechs had turned to stare at her, piercing blue eyes meeting her milder ones. "I'll tell you what's obvious here. You apparently are ignorant of the fact that I consider Duo to be just as much a part of my family as you are."
"Wow," Duo said, his voice soft with amazement. "Thanks, Bunny."
"You're welcome, Duo," Zechs replied,with equal softness, which then disappeared altogether. "Now, since we're all a part of this odd little family, perhaps we might dig deeply into our souls and find the means to keep away from each other's throats for the next seven days. Is that possible?" He looked sternly from one to the other.
Relena looked petulant but managed to agree to *try.* Duo was holding out. "No more insults," he demanded. "No more nasty little remarks about my background or my childhood when you think Zechs can't hear."
"I don't do that," Relena replied, indignantly.
"Of course you do, Relena," Zechs said wearily. "I've heard every one of them. Not it's going to stop or you're going back to the hotel, understand?"
"Fine," she sniffed.
"And Duo," Zechs turned to the braided boy, who was currently grinning a bit smugly, "Please don't swear at my sister. It's not good form. Understood?"
The grin changed to a pout with lightning speed. "Fine," he said with great resentment.
At that moment, Hadley entered on silent feet and calmly announced that dinner was served.
Zechs took a deep breath and stood. "Well, now that we've got that all cleared up, shall we go in to dinner?" He offered an arm to Relena, who rose gracefully and smiled at him. Duo was about to protest when the tall man offered his other arm. The ex-gundam pilot grinned up at his lover and the three of them walked towards the dining room. It was probably all for the best that Zechs didn't see Duo stick his tongue out at Relena behind the blond's back.
Up on the third floor, Mouse was in bed, curled up under two blankets with his flashlight by his side. /He said it was the lawyer... He sure seemed to know what he was talking about, but... God, his face. Burnt, torn, parts missing... and only one eye... one very blue eye.../
He sat up in bed suddenly. There was a scratching noise coming from the behind the wall that his room shared with the sitting room. The lawyer was in there. Mouse pulled his flashlight from under the covers, and walked towards the door. His fingers trembled as he opened it and stepped into the hall. Carefully, he put an ear up to the sitting room door. Sure enough, soft scratches were coming from inside. He swallowed thickly, terror stealing over him, and thought about running back to his room to hide, when he thought of the officer's promise. /He'll go away if I do this. And the lawyer will to, I know it. Don't be a coward. Go in and talk to him.../
The door opened with a slight creak and he saw the man sitting on the left-hand sofa look up in mild alarm and peer through the darkness at him. He stared for a long time, moving his head back and forth as if trying to see better, then muttered something and went back to his writing. Mouse edged around the end of the sofa so that he was standing directly behind the man. It was a gruesome position, the wound on his head being fully visible, and once again the dark-haired boy fought the urge to run. But he'd had the idea that, perhaps, if he could see what the man was writing, he might pick up a clue about how to get through to him. So he bucked up all of his courage and leaned over, shining the flashlight on the papers the spectre held.
They were not the neat and orderly legal papers he expected a lawyer to be carrying. They were, instead, sheets of wild scribbling, all of it eerily similar. On each and every page the man had written, in a rather desperate-looking hand, a series of three questions: "Where am I? Why am I here? Why can't I feel my body?" Over and over again, the questions were written, running into one another until it looked like one, unending litany. And that's when Mouse heard the mutterings.
As each line was written, the man would mutter the question aloud. His voice was painful and ragged, as if each word were being torn from him, in perfect time to the scribbling. "Where am I? Why am I here? Why can't I feel my body?" Over and over and over again, in a monotone as dead as the lawyer himself.
Mouse put a hand to his mouth and tried his best not to scream.
Later than night, Zechs stood in the bathroom of their suite, staring into the mirror and muttering. Hearing the noise, Duo wandered in and rested an arm on the older man's shoulder. He peered into the mirror at Zechs, trying to determine what had his lover so engrossed. "Whatcha lookin' for Bunny?" he murmured, staring at Zechs' reflection.
Zechs blinked but continued staring at the mirror. "Gray hairs," he said in a somber tone.
Duo pulled his head back in surprise, his eyes widening a little. "Really?" he said, his voice full of awe and a little fear. "Find any?"
Zechs frowned and looked down at his companion. "Not yet. But if I go through many more nights like this one I will."
Duo laughed. "Poor guy - having to handle Relena Peacecraft. I do sympathize." He nodded his head, looking as sincere as he could.
"I was referring to the both of you," Zechs said in a low voice. "You two are like MS fuel and sparks, I swear."
"Well, Bunny, if you keep me entertained, it'll probably all work out fine." Duo grabbed Zechs' hand and pulled him towards the bed. "So come on - entertain me!"
Zechs would have laughed, had he been able to, but Duo had pulled the tall man down on top of him and was kissing him too enthusiastically for Zechs to do anything but kiss him back.
As their kisses deepened, the wind howled outside the window, shaking the branches of the tree just beyond, and making soft tapping noises, as if something - or someone - wanted to be let in.
It was doing the exact same thing blocks away, outside the window of Wu Fei's hotel room, where the slender ex-pilot whimpered softly, and shivered in his sleep.
End of Part 3
(:./kumiko/2road20)
