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"Convincing Heero"Written By: Hemlock Inyx Disclaimer: This chick does not own any of the
Gundam Wing characters because they belong to Bandai and Sunrise.
I am borrowing them for this fict and will return them
in good (if somewhat sticky) condition. I also don't own Nora Robert's
Convincing Alex, on which this fict is heavily based (well more like
a fusion/translation). This fict is written out of love and not for
profit, don't sue. Thanks and enjoy! Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU Romance/Cop Drama, Cross-dressing/drag,
humor, romance, some OOC-ness, language, and murder- not main characters.
Pairings: 1x2, 4xC for added interest. More pairings
to come. Summary: Heero is a cop, Duo is a cross-dressing man who writes for a daytime soap opera. The pair meet when Duo is arrested doing 'research' for the soapie.
" Convincing Heero" Chapter 4 "Catherine hasn't been able to stop talking about that party." Quatre was scarfing down a blueberry muffin as Heero cruised Broadway. "It made her queen of the teachers lounge." "I bet." Heero didn't want to think about Duo's party. He especially didn't want to think about what happened after the party. Work was what he needed to concentrate on, and right now work meant following up on the few slim leads they'd hassled out of Domingo. "If Domingo's given it to us straight, Angie Horowitz
was excited about a new john." Heero tapped his fingers against
the steering wheel. "He'd hired her two Wednesdays running, dressed
good, tipped big." Quatre brushed the muffin crumbs from his shirt. "And she was killed on a Wednesday. So was Rita Shaw. It's pretty thin, Heero." "So we make it thick." It continued to frustrate Heero that they'd wasted time interrogating the desk clerks at the two fleabag hotels where the bodies had been found. Like most in their profession, the clerks had seen nothing. Heard nothing. Knew nothing. As for the ladies who worked the streets, however nervous they were, they weren't ready to trust a badge. "Tomorrow's Wednesday," Quatre said helpfully. "I know what the hell tomorrow is. Do you do anything but eat?" Quatre unwrapped another muffin. "I have low blood sugar. If we're going to go back and look at the crime scene again, I need energy." "What you need is…" Heero broke off as he glanced past Quatre's profile and into the glaring lights of an all-night diner. Heero knew only one person with hair like that. He swore, then searched for a parking place. * * * * * * *
Duo finished emptying a third container of non-dairy product into his coffee. "That's right." "I didn't think you were a sister." Interested as much in Duo as the fifty dollars she'd been paid, Dorothy blew out smoke rings. "And you want to know what it's like to turn tricks?" "I want to know whatever you're comfortable telling me." Duo shoved his untouched coffee aside and leaned forward. "I'm not sitting in judgement or asking for confidences, Dorothy. I'd like your story, if you want to tell it. Or we can stick to generalities." "You figure you can find out what's going on, on the streets by putting on spandex and make-up, like you did the other night?" "I found out a lot," Duo said with a smile. "I found out it's tough to stand in heels on concrete for hours at a time. That a woman had to lose her sense of self in order to do business. That you don't look at the faces. The faces don't matter-the money does. And what you do isn't a matter of intimacy, not even a matter of sex-for you-but a matter of control." Duo scooted his coffee back and took a sip. "Am I close?" For a moment, Dorothy said nothing. "You're not as stupid as you look." "Thanks. I'm always surprising people that way. Especially men." "Yeah." For the first time, Dorothy smiled. Beneath the hard-edged cosmetics and lines life had etched in her face, she was a striking woman, not yet thirty. "I'll tell you this, girlfriend, the men who pay me see a body. They don't see a mind. But I got a mind, and I got a plan. I've been on the streets five years. I ain't going to be on them five more." "What are you going to do? What do you want to do?" "When I get enough saved up, I'm going South. Going to get me a trailer in Florida, and a straight job. Maybe selling clothes. I look real fine in good clothes." Dorothy crushed out her cigarette and lit another. "Lots of us have plans, but don't make it. I will. I'm clean." She said, and lifted her arms, turning them over. It Duo a minute to realize Dorothy was saying she wasn't a user. "One more year, I'm gone. Less that that, if I hook on to a regular john with money. Angie did." "Angie?" Duo flipped though his mental file. "Angie Horowitz? Isn't that the woman who was murdered?" "Yeah." Dorothy moistened her lips before sucking in smoke. "She wasn't careful. I'm always careful." "How can you be careful?" "You keep yourself ready," Dorothy told him. "Angie, she liked to drink. She'd talk a john into buying a bottle. That's not being careful. And this guy, the rich one? He…" "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Both Dorothy and Duo looked up. Standing beside the scarred table was a tall man with thin shoulders. There was a cheroot clamped between his teeth, and a diamond winked on his finger. His face was moon-pale, with furious blue eyes. His hair was nearly as white, and slicked back, ending in a short ponytail. "I'm having me a cup of coffee and a smoke. Alex." Dorothy told him. But beneath the defiance, Duo recognized the trickle of fear. "You get back on the street where you belong." "Excuse me." Duo offered his best smile. "Alex, is it?" Alex cast his icy blue eyes on Duo. "You looking for work, sweetheart? I'll tell you right now, I don't tolerate any loafing." "Thank you, but no, I'm not looking. Dorothy was just helping me with a small problem." "She doesn't solve anyone's problems but mine." Alex jerked his head towards the street. "Move it." Duo slid out of the booth but held his ground. "This is a public place, and we're having a conversation." "You don't talk to anybody I don't tell you to talk to." Alex gave Dorothy a hard shove towards the door. Duo didn't think, he simply reacted. If he detested anything, it was a bully. "Now just a damn minute." Duo grabbed Alex's sleeve. He rounded on Duo. Other patrons put on their blinders when Alex pushed Duo into the table. Duo came up, fists clenched, just at Heero slammed though the door. "One move, Alex," Heero said tightly. "Just one move towards him." Alex brushed at his sleeve and shrugged. "I just came in for a cup of coffee. Isn't that right, Dorothy?" "Yeah." Dorothy closed her hand over the business card Duo had slipped her. "We were just having some coffee." But Heero's eyes were all for Duo. He didn't look pale or frightened. His eyes were snapping, and Duo's cheeks were flushed with fury. "Tell me you want to press charges." "I'm sorry." With and effort, Duo relaxed his hands. "We were just having a conversation. Nice talking to you, Dorothy." "Sure." Dorothy swaggered out, blowing smoke into Heero's face for effect. "Take off." Alex moved his shoulders again, smirked. "The coffee's lousy here, anyway." He flicked a glance at Duo. "Next time, sweetheart." Heero waited about ten humming seconds after the door swung shut. Without a word, he stalked over to Duo and grabbed him by the arm and hustled him out the door. "Look, if this is a knight-in-shining-armor routine, I appreciate it, but I don't need rescuing." "You need a straightjacket." With murder in his heart, Heero dragged Duo half a block. "In the car," he snapped, opening the back door of the patrol car. "A cab would be…" Heero swore, put a hand on Duo's head and shoved him into the backseat. Resigned, Duo settled back. "Hi, Quatre," he said as the blonde cop took his place in the passenger seat in front. "How's Catherine?" "Great, thanks." Quatre slanted a look towards his partner. "Ah, she really had a good time at your place." "I'm glad. We'll have to do it again." Heero whipped out into traffic with enough force to have Duo slamming back against the seat. Without missing a beat, Duo crossed his legs. "Am I allowed to ask where we're going, or is this another bust?" "I should be taking you to Bellevue, where you belong," Heero responded. "But I'm taking you home." "Well, thanks for the lift." Heero's eyes flashed to Duo's in the rearview mirror. Duo's face was still flushed, and his eyes were so dark they almost looked black, but he looked more miffed than upset. Miffed, Heero thought with a snort. Stupid word. It fit Duo perfectly. "You're an idiot, Maxwell. And, like most idiots, you're dangerous. "Oh, really?" Duo scooted up in the seat so that he could lean between Heero and Quatre. "Just how do you figure that, smart guy?" "Not only do you go back down to an area you have no business even knowing about…" "Give me a break." "But," Heero continued, "you sit there drinking coffee with a hooker, then pick a fighter with her pimp. The kind of guy who'd as soon give a woman a black eye as wish her good-morning." Duo poked a finger at Heero's shoulder. "I didn't pick a fight with anyone, and if I had, it would be my own business." "That's why you're an idiot." "Hey, Heero, ease off." "Keep out of this," Heero and Duo snarled in unison. "I'm not even here," Quatre mumbled, scooting down in his seat. "It so happens I was conducting an interview." Duo folded his arms on the seat so that he wouldn't give into the nasty urge to twist Heero's ear. "In a public place," he added. "And you had no right to come bursting in and ruin everything before I'd finished." "If I hadn't come bursting in, babe, you'd have had your nose broken again." Duo scowled, wrinkling his undeniably crooked nose. "I can defend my nose, and anything else, just fine." "Yeah, anyone can see you're a regular heavyweight. Ow!" Heero slapped at Duo's hand and swore when Duo gave in and twisted his ear. "The minute I get you out of this car, I'm going to…" "Uh, Heero?" "I told you to keep out of it." "I'm out," Quatre assured him. "But you might want to take a look at the liquor store coming up at nine o'clock." Still steaming, Heero did, then let out a heavy sigh. "Perfect. This makes it perfect. Call it in." Duo watched, wide-eyed, as Quatre radioed in an armed robbery in progress, gave their location and requested backup. Before Duo could shut his gaping mouth, Heero was swinging to the curb. "You," Heero said, stabbing a finger in Duo's face. "Stay in the car, or I swear I will wring your neck." "I'm not going anywhere," Duo assured him after he managed to swallow the large ball of fear lodged in his throat. But before the words were out, Heero and Quatre where out of the car and drawing their weapons. He'd already forgotten him, Duo realized as he stared at Heero's profile. Before he and Quatre had crossed the street, he'd put on his cop's mind and his cop's face. Duo had seen hundreds of actors try to emulate that particular look. Some came close, Duo realized, but this was the real thing. It wasn't grim or fierce, but flat, almost blank. Except for the eyes, Duo thought with a quick shudder. He'd had only one glimpse of Heero's eyes, but it had been enough. Life and death had been in them, and a potential for violence Duo would never have guessed at. In the darkened car, Duo gripped his hand together and prayed. Heero hadn't forgotten him. It infuriated him that he had to fight to tuck Duo into some back corner of his mind. There were innocent people in that store. A man and a woman. He could smell the fear while he was still three yards away. But Heero broke his concentration long enough to glance back and make certain Duo was staying put. Heero gestured Quatre to one side of the door while he took the other. He didn't have time to worry that the rookie might freeze. Right now they were just two cops, and he had to believe that Quatre would go with him though that door. The 9mm felt warm in Heero's hands. He'd already identified the weapons of the two perpetrators. One had a sawed-off shotgun, the other a wicked-looking .45. Heero could hear the woman crying, pleading not to be hurt. Heero ignored it. They would wait for backup as long as they could. Heero shifted just enough to look inside. Behind the counter, a woman of approximately sixty stood with her hands at her throat, weeping. A man of about the same age was emptying the cash register as fast as his trembling hands allowed. One of the gunmen grabbed a bottle off the shelf. He ripped off the top and guzzled. Swearing at the old man, he smashed the bottle on the counter and jabbed the broken glass towards his face. Heero has seen the look before, and he knew they wouldn't be content with the money. "We're going in," he whispered to Quatre. "You go low, go for the one on the right." Pale, Quatre nodded. "Say when." "Don't fire your weapon unless you have to." Heero sucked in his breath and went though the door. "Police!" In the back of his mind he heard the sirens from the backup as the first gunman swung the shotgun in his direction. "Drop it!" Heero ordered, knowing it was useless. The woman was already screaming before the first shots were fired. The shotgun blew out a bank of fluorescent lights as the force of Heero's bullet sent the man slamming backward. Heero was getting the second man in his sights when a bullet from the .45 slammed into a bottle inches above his head, spraying alcohol and glass. Quatre fired, and stopped being a rookie. Slowly, with the same blank look on his face, Heero came out of the crouch and studied his partner. Quatre wasn't pale now. He was green. "You okay?" "Yeah." After replacing his weapon, Quatre rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth. There was a greasy knot in his stomach that was threatening to leap into his throat. "It was my first." "I know. Go outside." "I'm okay." Heero have him a nudge on the shoulder. His hand remained there a moment, surprisingly gentle. "Go outside anyway. Tell backup to call an ambulance." * * * * * * * * Duo was waiting beside the car when Heero came out some twenty minutes later. He looked the same Duo thought. Just the same as he'd looked when he walked in. Then Heero lifted his head and looked at him, and Duo saw he was wrong. Heero's eyes hadn't looked so tired, or terribly tired, twenty minutes before. "I told you to stay in the car." "I did." "Then get back in." Gently Duo laid a hand on his arm. "Heero, you made your point. I'll take a cab. You have things to do." "I've done them." Heero skirted the car and yanked open the passenger door. Duo could almost feel Heero's body vibrating, but when he spoke, his voice was firm, sharp. "Get in the damn car, Duo." Duo didn't have the heart to argue, so he crossed over and complied. "What about Quatre?" "He's heading to the cop shop to file the report." "Oh." Heero let the silence hang for three blocks. It hadn't been his first, but he hadn't told Quatre that the bright, shaky sickness didn't fade. It only turned inward, becoming anger, disgust, frustration. And you never stopped asking yourself why. "Aren't you going to ask how if felt?" What went though my mind? What happens next?" "No." Duo said it quietly. "I don't have to ask when I can see. And it's easy enough to find out what happens next." It wasn't what Heero wanted. He didn't want Duo to be understanding, or quietly agreeable, or turn those damned sympathetic eyes on him. "Passing up a chance for grist for your mill? Maxwell, you surprise me. Or can't your TV cop blow away a couple of stoned perps?" Heero was trying to hurt him. Well, he understood that, Duo thought. It often helped to lash out when you were in pain. "I'm not sure I can fit it into any of our scheduled story lines, but who knows?" Heero's hands clenched on the wheel. "I don't want to see you down there again, understand? If I do, I swear I'll find a way to lock you up for awhile." "Don't threaten me Detective. You had a rough night, and I'm willing to make allowances, but don't threaten me." Leaning back, Duo shut his eyes. "In fact, do us both a favor and don't talk to me at all." Heero didn't, but when he pulled up at Duo's building, the smoke for his anger was still hanging in the air. Satisfied, Duo slammed out of the car. He'd taken two steps when Heero caught up with him. "Come here," Heero demanded, and hauled Duo against him. Duo tasted it, all the violence and pain and fury of what Heero had done that night. What he'd had to do. There was no way for Duo to comfort. He wouldn't have dared. There was no way for him to protest. Duo couldn't have tried. Instead, Duo let the sizzling passion of the kiss sweep over him. Just as abruptly, Heero let him go. Heero would be trembling in a minute, and he knew it. God, he needed…something from Duo. Needed, but didn't want. "Stay off my turf, Maxwell." Heero turned on his heel and left Duo standing on the sidewalk.
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