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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"
There was something to be said for beating the hell out of inanimate objects. Heero had always found the therapy of a pair of boxing gloves and punching bag immeasurably rewarding. With those so easily accessible, he could never figure out why so many people felt the need for a psychiatrist's couch. Until recently. Twenty minutes of sweating and pounding hadn't relieved his basic frustration. He often used the gym-in the middle of a difficult case, when one went wrong, when a good arrest turned sour in court. The same ingredients had worked equally well for him whenever he'd fought with family, or friends, or had female problems. Too bad Duo Maxwell didn't fit into any of those categories. Whatever hold Duo had on him, Heero couldn't seem to punch himself out of it. "So much energy, so early." The familiar voice had Heero blinking away the sweat that had dripped into his eyes. His brother-in-law, Treize, and Heero's ten-month-old niece, Mariemaia, were standing hand in hand, grinning identical grins. "Got your papa out early, did you, princess?" Heero swung Mariemaia up for a smacking kiss. Mariemaia babbled out happily. The only word Heero could decipher in the odd foreign language of a toddler was Mama. "Une is tired," Treize explained. "She has some wheeling and dealing keeping her up at night. This one's an early riser." He ruffled his daughter's hair. "So I thought we'd come down and lift weights. Right?" Mariemaia grinned and cocked her elbows. "Papa." "Your muscle's bigger," Heero assured her. "Hey, it's the little lady!" Rocky, the former lightweight who ran the gym, gave a whistle and held out his wiry arms. "Come see me, princess." With a squeal of pleasure, Mariemaia wiggled out of Heero's arms to toddle off on her almost steady legs. "Better watch out, Rock," Treize called out. "She's slippery." "I can handle her." With confidence of a four-time grandfather, he hefted Mariemaia. "We got things to do," he told Treize. "Why don't you talk to your brother there and find out why this is the third time this week he's come to pound on my equipment?" "Nosy," Heero muttered. "He's worse than an old woman." Treize tilted a brow when Heero went back to pounding the bag. "Speaking of woman…" "We weren't." "Why do men come to such places as this unless it's to talk of women?" The music of Europe flavored Treize's voice. Heero wondered if his brother-in-law knew how much he sounded like his wife's father. "To hit things," Heero retorted. "To talk dirty and to sweat." "That, too. So, it is a woman, yes?" "It's not a woman this time," Heero said between gritted teeth. "Then this is about Duo." Heero's punch stopped midswing. Turning, he used his forearm to swipe his brow. "How do you know about Duo?" "Noin told me." Pleased, Treize grinned. "She also tells me that this Duo is not a woman, but a drag queen. Not so much beautiful as unique, and that he's smart. This isn't your usual type, Heero." "He's nobody's type." Heero turned back to the bag, feinted with his right, then jabbed with his left. "Unique," he said with a snort. "That's him, all right. His face. It was like
"Mmm…I'll have to get a look at this one." "I had sworn off after college," Heero told him between grunts. "I didn't want the aggravation. It was always drama after drama. I figured I would stick with woman, it would be less complicated. But Duo…damn it, he doesn't have all his circuits working at the same time. Maybe Noin thinks he's smart because he went to college." "Radcliffe," Treize supplied. "Duo had lunch with Noin, and Noin asked." "Radcliffe?" Letting out a breath, Heero leaned against the bag. "It figures." "Duo also told Noin that the two of you had a … misunderstanding." "I understood perfectly. Look, maybe he went to some fancy college, but you couldn't fill up a teaspoon with his common sense. I don't need to get involved with some flaky drag queen who can't make up his mind to be a woman or a man." Treize's bark of laughter echoed though the gym. "This from the man who once dated Miss Lug Wrench." "It was Miss Carburetor." "Ah, that's different." A smile twitched, and Heero punched halfheartedly at the bag. Working up a sweat hadn't relaxed him, but five minutes with Treize was doing the job. "Anyway, we're finished before we got started. And both better off." "Undoubtedly you're right." "I know I'm right. We'd always be coming at things from different angles. His is cross-eyed. Duo doesn't see anything the way he should." "A difficult and complicated person." "Complicated." Heero held out his hands so that Treize could unlace his gloves. "That doesn't begin to describe Duo. He acts so mild and relaxed, you wouldn't think you could rile him with a cattle prod. Then you point out an obvious mistake, for his own good, and he jumps on you with both feet. Kicks you out of the house." Treize tucked his tongue in his cheek. "You're better off without him." "You're telling me." Heero tossed the gloves aside and flexed his hands. "Who needs an unreasonable drag queen with gender issues." "You." "Yeah." With a sigh, Heero sent his brother-in-law a miserable look. "I want him so much I can't breathe." "I know the feeling." Treize punched Heero's sweaty shoulder. "So go get him." "Go get him," Heero repeated. "Put him in his place." A dangerous light, one Treize recognized, flickered in Heero's eyes. "His place. Right." "Hey!" Treize called out when Heero strode off. "The showers are that way." "I'll catch one at the station. See you later." "Later," Treize agreed. "And Heero, the family will stand behind you no matter who you're with." Heero's parting smile was grateful as he ducked out the doors. Treize wandered off to find his daughter, wondering how soon he would get to meet this unique, unreasonable drag queen without common sense. Duo sounded perfect for his baby brother. * * * * * * * Duo was never his best in the morning, and he suspected anyone who was. His alarm was buzzing when he heard the pounding on his door. He'd been ignoring the first for nearly ten minutes, but the incessant knocking had him dragging himself out of bed. Bleary-eyed, pulling a skimpy silk robe over an equally skimpy nightshirt, he stumbled to the door. "What the hell?" Duo demanded. "Is it a fire or what?" "Or what," Heero told him when Duo yanked open the door. Struggling to focus, Duo dragged a hand though his bangs. The robe drooped off one shoulder. "How'd you get up here?" "Flashed my badge for the security guard." After closing the door behind him, he looked his fill. There was a great deal to be said for a sleepy Duo in rumpled white silk. "Get you up, Maxwell?" "What time is it?" Duo turned away, following the scent from his coffeemaker, which was set to brew at 7:20 each morning. "What day is it?" "Thursday." Heero followed Duo's weaving progress though the living area and into a big white-and-navy kitchen. There was a huge arrangement of fresh orchids on the center island. Orchids in the kitchen, Heero thought. Only Duo. "About 7:30." "In the morning?" Blindly Duo groped for a mug. "What are you doing here at 7:30 on a Thursday morning?" "This." Heero spun him around. The taste of Duo's mouth, warm and soft from sleep, had him groaning. Before Duo could think-Heero didn't want either of them to think-he slipped his tongue between Duo's lips to seduce his. Duo's body went stiff, then melted, softening against Heero like candle wax touched by a flame. Through the roaring of his blood, Heero heard the crash as the china mug Duo had held slipped from his fingers and smashed on the tiles. Was he still dreaming? Duo wondered. His dreams had always been very vivid, but this… It wouldn't be possible to feel so much, need so desperately, in a dream. And Duo could taste Heero. Really taste him. A mingling of man and desire and salty sweat. Delicious. Heero's mouth was so hot, so unyielding, just as his hands were though the thin silk Duo wore. Duo could feel the cool tiles beneath his feet, a shivery contrast to the heat roaring around him. Under his palms, Heero's cheeks were rough, arousingly rough. And Duo heard his own voice, a muffled, confused sound, as he tried to say Heero's name. "I have to wake up," Duo managed when Heero's mouth left his to cruise over his throat. "I really have to." "You are awake." Heero had to touch him-just once. However unfair his advantage, Heero had to. So he cupped Duo's groin though the silk, brushing his thumb, feather-light, over Duo's awakening erection. "See?" He'd never been the swooning type, but Duo was afraid
this would be a first. "I have to…" Duo gasped, for
as he had started to step back, Heero had swept him up into his arms.
Heero covered Duo's mouth again, felt Duo's trembling surrender. And knew he could. And could not. "Your feet are bare," Heero said, and set Duo on the counter. "I made you drop your cup." Shaken, Duo stared down at the shards of broken crockery. "Oh." "You have a broom?" "A broom." Duo was awake now, wide-awake. But his mind was still mush. "Somewhere. Why?" He was making Duo stupid, Heero realized, and grinned. "So I can clean it up before you cut yourself. Stay there." Heero walked to a likely-looking closet and located a dustpan and broom. Because he was a man whose mother had trained him well in such matters, he went about the sweeping job quickly and competently. "So, have you missed me?" "I haven't given you a thought." Duo blew the hair that had escaped from his braid out of his eyes. "Hardly." "Me either." Heero dumped the shards into the trash, replaced the broom and dustpan. "How about some coffee?" "Sure." Maybe that would help him regain his normal composure. As Heero poured, Duo caught a whiff of him over the homey morning aroma. "You smell like a locker room." "Sorry, I was at the gym." When Heero handed Duo the coffee, he sat where he was and sipped. Half a cup later, Duo was able to take his first clear-eyed look at Heero. He looked fabulous. Rough and sweaty and ready for action. The thick tangle of hair was falling over one of his eyes. His face was unshaven, his NYPD t-shirt was ripped and darkened in a vee down the chest, his sweatpants were loose and frayed at the cuffs. When Duo lifted his gaze back to Heero's, he smiled. "Good morning, Maxwell." "Good morning." Heero skimmed a finger over Duo's thigh. He was sensitive there, Heero had noted. He could tell by the way Duo's eyes darkened and the pulse in his throat picked up the beat. "I'm not apologizing this time." "You should be." "No. I'm right about this." Heero put a finger over Duo's lips before he could speak. "Trust me. I'm a cop." Heero could have all but seduced Duo in his own kitchen before his eyes were even open, but Duo had a point to make. Closing a hand over his wrist, Duo drew his hand away. "My personal decisions, whether they have to do with my professional or my private life, are just that. Personal. I've been making those decisions, right or wrong, for a long time. I don't intend to stop now." "I'm not going to see you hurt." "That's very sweet, Hee-ro." Softening a bit, Duo brushed a hand though Heero's hair. "I don't intend to be hurt." "You don't know what you're dealing with. Oh, you think you do," Heero continued, recognizing the look in Duo's eyes. "But all you know is the surface. There are things that go on in the streets, every day, every night, that you have no conception of. You never will." Duo couldn't argue, not with what he saw in Heero's face. "Maybe not. I don't see what you see, or know what you know. Maybe I don't want to. My friendship with Dorothy…" "Friendship?" "Yes." The expression on Duo's face dared Heero to contradict him. "I feel something for her-about her." With a helpless gesture, Duo set his cup aside. "I can't explain it to you, Hee-ro. You've never thought like a woman. I can help her. Don't tell me it's a fairy tale to believe I can save her from the streets and what she's chosen to be. I've gotten that advice already." "From someone with at least half a brain," Heero surmised. "I had no idea this had gotten so out of hand. You said you wanted to talk to her for background stuff for your story." "That's true enough." But Duo remembered the bruise on Dorothy's face too well. "Is it so impossible that I might be able to make a difference in her life? Has being a cop made you so hard you aren't willing to give someone a chance to change?" Heero gripped Duo's hands, hard. "This isn't about me." "No," Duo said, and smiled. "It's not." Heero swore and let go of him to pace to the coffee maker. "Okay, point taken. It's none of my business. But I'm going to ask for a promise." "You can ask." "Don't go out on the streets with her. Don't go anywhere near Alex's territory." Duo thought of the man with the silver hair and the vicious eyes. "That I can promise. Feel better?" "I'm not through. Don't let her up here unless you're sure she's alone. Meet her down at your office, or in some public place." "Really, Hee-ro…" "Please." Duo said nothing for a moment, and then, because he could see how much it had cost Heero to use that word, he relented. "All right." Duo scooted away from the counter, then opened the bread drawer. "Want a bagel?" "Sure." Duo popped two into the toaster oven before going to the refrigerator for cream cheese. "There's something I should tell you." "I'm hoping there's a lot of things." With a puzzled smile, Duo turned back. "I'm sorry?" "I want to know about this personal life of yours, Maxwell. I want to know all about you, then I want to take you to bed and make love with you until we both forget our own names." "Ah…." It didn't seem to take more than one of those long, level looks of Heero's to make him forget a great deal more than his name. "Anyway…" "Anyway?" Heero repeated helpfully as the toaster oven dinged. "I was going to tell you about Angie Horowitz." The lazy smile vanished. Heero's eyes went cool and flat. "What do you know about her?" "I don't know much of anything, but I thought I should tell you what Dorothy told me." Duo got out plates, then began to spread the bagels generously. "She said that Angie was really happy to have hooked up with this one guy. He'd hired her a couple of times and slipped her some extra money. Treated her well, promised her some presents. In fact, he gave her this little pendant. A gold heart with a crack down the center." Heero's face remained impassive. There had been a broken neck chain wrapped in Angie's hand when they found her, just as there had been with the first victim. That little detail had been kept out of the press. There hadn't been a heart, he thought now. But someone had broken the chain for a reason. "She wore it all the time-according to Dorothy."
Duo went on. "Dorothy also told me Mary Rodell had one just like
it. She was the other victim, wasn't she?" he asked Heero. "Is that it?" Duo was disappointed that he wasn't more pleased with
the information. "There's a little more." Sulking a bit,
Duo bit into his bagel. "Angie called the guy Jack, and she bragged
to Dorothy that he was a real gentleman, and was built like…"
Duo trailed off, cleared his throat, but his eyes were bright with
humor, rather than embarrassment. "I get the picture." "He had a scar." "What kind?" "I don't know. A scar, on his hip. Angie told Dorothy he got upset when she asked him about it. That's all she told me, Hee-ro, but I figured the coincidence of the pendants, you might want to know about this guy." "It never hurts." Heero gave him an easy smile, though his instincts were humming. "Probably nothing, but I'll look into it." Heero tugged on Duo's braid. "Do yourself a favor, and don't tell Dorothy you passed this along to me." "I'm softhearted, Detective. Not softheaded. She thinks you have a really nice butt-but you're still a cop." Heero grimaced. "I don't think I like you discussing my anatomy with a…" "Friend," Duo supplied, with a warning lift of his brow. "I also had lunch with your sister. We discussed your nasty temperament." "I heard." Heero stole Duo's bagel. "Radcliffe, huh?" "So?" "So nothing. Want to go dancing with me?" Duo debated with himself for almost a full second. "Okay. Tonight?" "Can't. Tomorrow?" It meant canceling dinner at Le Cirque with Chang Wufei. That debate took nearly half a second. "That's fine. Sexy or sedate?" "Sexy. Definitely." "Good. Why don't you come by around…" Duo glanced at the clock, stared, then yelped. "Damn it! Now I'm going to be late. I'll owe Hilde twenty dollars if I'm late one more time this month." Duo began pushing Heero out of the kitchen. "It's all your fault. Now beat it, so I can throw on some clothes and get out of here." "Since you're already late…" Heero had some very good moves. Even as Duo shoved him towards the door, he was turning to catch him close. "I can arrange it so you're a lot later." "Smooth talker," Duo said with a laugh. "Take a hike." "You've already lost twenty. I'm just offering to make it worth your while." "I don't know how I can resist that incredibly romantic gesture, but somehow I find I have the strength." "You want romance?" There was a gleam in Heero's eyes as he headed for the door. "Tomorrow night. We'll just see how strong you are."
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