"The Heist "

Written By: Kaeru Shisho

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: AU, male/male pairings, language

Pairings: 1x2x1

Summary: Duo's planning a robbery, considering a reality TV show, and falling for the man who can lock him up for good. Can his friends help him? Can he help himself?

A/N: This story takes place in a universe more like ours today, where the colonies exist on land, not in space, and where the world is on the cusp of change. Thanks goes to Waterlily for her tireless editing and thoughtful suggestions throughout.

"The Heist "

Chapter Two- You Can Take the Boy Out of the Country, but...

"Where shall I take you, young man?" Rashid twisted the end of his bushy, black moustache and smiled. "I am at your disposal."

Duo chuckled. This was his lucky day. "I gotta make a call first. Can you just park for a bit?"

"Of course. The vid phone is there for your convenience."

"Yeah, thanks!"

The big man left the vehicle, locking it, and strode to a bench for a quiet smoke.

Duo punched in his friend's number and waited through several rings to see a pretty face fill the screen.

"Hello? Duo Maxwell? Calling me from a vidphone?"

"Hey, Catherine, how goes it? No emergency, heh, heh. Circus treating you right?"

"Sure, it's fine, but you're not wasting an expensive call to ask me that. You must want Trowa."

"I do-"

"He's on his way."

"Thanks. Nice seein' ya!" Duo called out.

Trowa's half-hidden face peered over her shoulder. "Present." He finger-combed the long bangs from his eyes and traded places with his sister. "So, what's Quat want?"

You covered in oil, tied to his bed, Duo wanted to reply. "Why don't you call him and ask?" All he could see was a brown blur of hair. "Don't turn off this call, Trowa!"

"Don't push."

"I don't get you." Duo meant it, too. Quatre seemed interested in getting to know his friend better. Trowa seemed excited whenever he and Quatre spoke. So what was the big deal? So what that Quatre was rich and important! They'd been close at one time during the war, hadn't they? Didn't that count?

"You don't have to. Just stay out of it."

"Okay, okay... wanna hear about my meeting?"

"I said so, didn't I?"

"We sat close in the back seat and he smelled like expensive cologne."

"Duo!"

Ooh and the green eyes were narrow slits. Gotcha, 'Tro.

"Heh, heh... All right, I'll skip that part. There's a producer wanting to do a show and thinks a robbery would make for good TV."

"Sounds stupid."

Duo agreed with his friend on that. "Yep, it's pretty crazy. I'm thinking though. I'll tell you 'bout my thinking, later."

"When you're ready. That all?"

"No. I, ah, gotta date with Heero, well, I've got to set it up yet, but he's interested."

"You mean with the guard? Be careful."

"I will. Keep my head out of the lion's gaping maw and all, right?"

"Careful what you say."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I mean, I haven't done anything illegal he can nail me for."

"He might not care if nailing you is his objective."

Duo blushed slightly under the other man's gaze.

Trowa added, "Or he might be watching your every move, now that you've been inside the palace."

"I'm gonna call him now and suggest he meet me at the restaurant Hilde works at for dinner."

"You wouldn't have far to run and hide."

If things got dicey, Trowa meant. His tiny office and upstairs studio hovel was in back of the restaurant where his friend occasionally worked. His place was dark, dirty, and cramped. It was no love cave, but then the broom closet hadn't been a bed of roses either, so he decided if it came to that, and he hoped it might, Heero might not mind the accommodations. On second thought, Duo wasn't sure what he had lying about that could link him to some illegal activity, though.

"Yeah. I'm not taking him there, that's for sure. Not yet."

Trowa adjusted his position, looking over his shoulder, and then turned back. "If you want, you can bring him here, after. If, you know-"

"Hey, thanks, man! I don't think things will move along that fast, but, heh, heh, you never know. The guy's driven."

Trowa dipped his chin. "I gotta go."

Duo ended the call and smoothed the note Heero had given him, punching in the number as he deciphered the numbers. The vid phone signaled a cell phone connection, and the screen shut down.

"Who is this?" a voice growled over the com.

"Hey, Heero? Duo here!"

"Duo?" There was a moment of silence during which Duo wondered if the guy had forgotten who he was. "You are calling from a Winner Corporate Limousine."

"Yes. Yes, I am. Clever man, figuring that out!"

"Hn."

"I wanted to follow up on that date of ours."

"Today?"

"Tonight? Strike while the iron's hot and all!" Duo laughed. "Sure. That a problem?"

The line was quiet for a few clicks, and again Duo wondered if Heero was about to end the call.

"Meet me at the restaurant across from the embassy building in an hour. I have a break at that time."

A break. It didn't sound like there'd be much opportunity for love in Trowa's caravan.

"Okay. We'll go with that this time, but for the next date we go with my plans."

"Maybe," Heero said and signed off with an irritated click; at least, it seemed irritated to Duo.

He looked up at a polite rap at his window.

"Are you ready to move on?" Rashid asked.

"Yeah, guess so. I gotta date, but it's back where you dropped Quat."

"The Hilton?"

"The restaurant."

"I see." Rashid smoothed down the fly away ends of his mustache as he considered his next words. "May I make a recommendation?"

"Sure. Recommend away."

"A tie is required for seating and-"

"Oh, I get it. I could use a little sprucing up, eh?"

"I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"That's real nice of you, 'Sheed."

"I could drive you to an...affordable men's store. One of my...affiliates owns it."

"Ooh, sounds interesting. Yeah, if it isn't far? I got less than an hour to meet him."

"No problem."

And it wasn't. Rashid parked at what appeared to be a fine men's store, but what turned out to be a re-sale store for the not-so-rich and famous. In no time, the help fitted Duo into a pair of good-fitting slacks, a natty sports coat, and a complementary shirt and tie. He even found a pair of shoes that gave him the polished appearance of success.

He was glad to have a kept a bundle of the cash he'd pinched earlier, but was pleased to discover the prices were a steal themselves and left him with plenty of money to pay for a reasonably priced meal. He hoped there were things on the menu of that sort where he was going to meet Heero. But then, maybe Heero was planning on footing the bill? He didn't know if he should count on that, though.

"You look like a different man," Rashid greeted him with, holding open the car door.

"Thanks. That place is amazing."

"I'm gratified that you are pleased. And leave the package of your previous outfit in the back. I'll have it delivered to your home."

"I don't know what Quat pays you, but it's not enough. You can tell him I said that, too!"

Rashid laughed a loud, rumble from deep in his belly. "Maybe I will!"

Duo felt better than ever in his smart clothes. He crossed the street at the Hilton and walked past the door man, who tipped his cap, and took the elevator to the restaurant at the top of the hotel. No one questioned his right to be there and do that. No one.

"You look good...respectable." Heero in all his Elite Guard uniform glory stood at his elbow.

Duo sucked in his breath, holding back the vulgarity that nearly burst from his lips. "Ah, oh, hi. Um, thanks. I am, you know, respectable."

"Right," Heero muttered.

Heero and the maitre'd passed silent eye signals.

"Your table is ready, sir."

Duo shuffled his feet under the table, letting off some nervous energy. "You're a funny guy, 'Ro. You flatter me and insult me in about the same deadpan voice."

The young guard blushed and tried to hide his discomfort behind his menu. Duo chuckled and picked up his.

The first thing Duo noticed was what was missing. "This menu doesn't have prices."

"I'm paying. Order whatever you want."

"Oh." He'd thought it was his date. Guess not. Duo led a simple life. Bare bones. His diet, although varied, was simple. "I can't read this," he admitted.

"It is written in French. Would you like a beef stew and salad?"

"Sounds great. You mean there's something like that here buried under a disguise?"

The corner of Heero's mouth quirked up. "It's here. I'll have it, too."

After ordering, a basket of bread, warm and soft, and dish of butter, creamy and sweet, appeared. Water with ice and a floating sliver of lemon were set before them.

Duo didn't budge until Heero did, and he mimicked his actions, placing the napkin on his lap-cloth!-sipping the water and trying not to dribble any on his shirt, placing a glob of butter on a little side dish before slathering some on his bread.

"Mmm." His eyes closed and he savored the treat.

The main courses arrived, steaming and fragrant. Duo dove into his, while Heero concentrated on his stew with rigid intensity.

Duo tried small-talk, with little progress. Heero was not a conversationalist. So, after touching on the weather, the possible outcomes of the local sports match coming up, and the current fluctuations of the price of gold on the market, and getting nothing more than patronizing grunts in reply, he decided to take it to the personal level.

"Blue, two, and I simply don't know what to do next."

That got Heero's attention. "What?"

"My favorite color, my favorite number, and the truth about what's on my mind." I smiled encouragingly. "Your turn."

"I haven't any favorites." Heero rubbed his face with a hand. "I should have my head examined, but the only thing on my mind, besides doing my job, is you."

Delightful! Duo let the grin overtake his face. "Wow."

Frankly, what had elicited his exclamation of pure pleasure was the dessert cart which had rolled to a stop by their table, but it had made Heero blush, so it was all good.

While contentedly wallowing through the lemon fluff dessert and coffee, Duo looked over the room with a practiced eye. If it weren't for the present company, he could have made a mint lifting trinkets and wallets. If it weren't for Heero, though, he wouldn't have been seated, probably.

Heero signaled for the check.

"What's the rush?" Duo asked.

"I have guard duty in ten minutes."

Ten-?! You'd better run then."

"Relena... the princess is at the Inter-Colonial Assembly building across the street. And I'm just a backup."

"Oh, so Princess Relena is at the same conference that Quat's attending? Man, I'd love to be a fly on a wall in that room!"

Heero finished signing the credits over and stood. "Cat? For Quatre? Quatre Winner of the corporation of the same name?"

"One and the same. Thick as thieves we are, heh, heh... just a saying, you know?" A hand like a steel band around his arm halted his progress to the elevator. "You're wrinkling the dry goods."

"I'd like to know how a person like..." Heero hesitated, obviously to avoid insulting him, which he would have had he tagged on the missing "you". "How you are on a first name basis with him and ride in his car."

A person like me? A street crook? Duo appeared unaffected, but he'd heard the little slip. Heero would pay. "Well, I do not put out on a first date, so for information like that we gotta be better acquainted."

That won him a surprised look and then Heero asked, "When can I see you again?"

Duo so loved beginnings when he could feel the sinking of his hooks and reeling in of a man, and his smile broadened. Nothing had ever lasted much longer after that, so he'd learned to relish the sweet taste of triumph. "Tonight?"

Heero pressed the "down" button and shook his head. "I can't."

"I'm still not seeing the love," Duo muttered.

Heero jerked at his jacket lapel, flashing the Elite Royal Guard emblem.

Duo's face lit with understanding. "Oh, duty calls and all. I get it. Tomorrow?"

"That will work." Heero's eyes remained glued to the indicator light. "It's my day off."

"And I get to pick where we meet this time," Duo appeared to contemplate his choices.

The elevator opened and Heero stepped in, holding the door for the other man. "All right."

Duo's speculative looked turned mischievous. "How 'bout something fun? You ever been to the circus?"

(o)

They met as planned at the bar across from the street corner where they'd first encountered one another. Duo was already holding down a bar seat, sipping at a beer.

Heero marched in, picked up the glass, and swallowed the entire drink in a couple gulps.

"Hey!" Duo's mouth slammed shut at the sight of the slight smile on the tired, but handsome face. "Thirsty, huh? You're late."

"I was called in this morning unnecessarily," Heero said, cutting off Duo, who was about to argue the relative merits of following orders, when the off-duty guard ground his teeth. "My. Day. Off."

"Ah, just you, huh? She's really into you, you know."

Heero shot him a poisonous look and wiped at the ring of water on the bar surface. "I know." The alcohol must have cut in because the tension rushed out suddenly. "You are right. It is senseless to remain in her employment. I should quit."

"That would solve the one problem, but I bet the job pays good, huh?"

Heero nodded and tapped on the bar as the tender raised an eyebrow. "Make that two."

They watched in silence as the barkeep filled fresh glasses with the golden brew. The empty glass was whisked away and a fresh beer appeared in front of both men.

"Thanks," Duo said.

"The pay is satisfactory, but not enough if all the problems she anticipates come true. Actually, it was your friend Winner who informed her of the new Alliance problem.

The emphasis was not lost on Duo. He guessed that his friendship with an influential man like Quatre galled him somehow. "Winner? Oh, yeah, I called you from Quat's limo when he was at a conference. That conference. So what's the self-righteous, New Alliance Order done this time, if it's not too Top Secret or anything?"

He caught Heero staring at him with an odd look. "Be careful what you say about the N.A.O." He scanned the room for listeners.

"No one is listening to us, relax."

"I might relax if I knew how Winner comes to be a friend of yours, first."

"That's a long story best told by a roaring fire and-"

"Not here, you mean?" Heero interrupted. "Are we going to the circus?"

"Not exactly, as in, not to see the actual acts. There is no show right now. They're on hiatus, resting for a few weeks, but I got friends there and we could, you know, walk around and stuff."

"All right." Heero tossed back the rest of his drink and stood. "I remember that friend you brought along to the palace worked there."

"Trowa, yeah. Hey, sit down. We have time for a bite to eat first."

"All right."

Duo ordered meat pies and soup du jour for two. "C'mon, grab that table in the corner."

They settled in with fresh beers.

Duo prompted him. "Her Majesty, Mr. Winner, and their Alliance problem?"

Heero drummed on the table and scanned the room, possibly for anyone who might be listening in. Everyone appeared to be wholly cosseted in their own little conversational confines. He didn't seem satisfied, though, and shook his head, then grimaced.

"Things spinning?"

Heero gave a curt nod.

"Food will help that. I can't drink that much that fast without paying some price." Duo watched the other man's face for a hint of smile and decided to add a bit of reassurance for good measure. "This is actually as private a place to talk as any. Okay, as proof, I'll give you the short account of how Q.R. Winner became my friend." And leave out all the incriminating details.

"In a moment." Heero watched the waiter balance two bowls of soup as he made his way to their table.

"Meat pies are on their way," the man said as he set down the soup and spoons.

"It's really simple. We met during the war, lent him a hand, so to speak, became buds, and he still keeps in touch and I still keep him real. That's it."

The pies were delivered.

"I believe you, but I think there's more to it that you haven't told me." He tasted the pie and smiled. "This is good."

"I like it." Duo slurped at more soup.

"I will come here to eat more often."

Duo looked up. "Hope it's with me," he said then winked.

"That would be...nice." Heero finished off his meat pie. "Really, it is better than the rich fare over at the palace cafeteria, which is in another building you didn't see."

"Naturally it is." Duo huffed, tiring fast of the smaller than small talk, and set down his spoon. "Listen. How you interpret things all depends on what side of the war you were on, and you being what you are-"

"-What I do," Heero corrected him.

"What you do, sure. And me being who I am, doing what I do, just might place us, historically speaking, on opposite sides, so I don't want to incriminate myself with particulars, capish?"

He felt Heero study his face a moment, before saying, "I need to think about this. Let's eat and go see this circus of yours."

They took the bus to the outskirts of the city. Duo wondered if his attraction to the guard could overcome the possible danger. Sanc military police were still ferretting out terrorists and enemies from the war. And even though his colony ties had long been severed, this man could bring him no end of grief while digging into his past. And if word got out that Duo "Fingers" Maxwell was under investigation, no one of his connections, not a fence or stooge, would have another thing to do with him. His business would go belly up bust!

Just as he had worked himself up to call off the rest of the day and evening possibilities, the bus pulled over and stopped.

"That's it?" Heero asked, pointing out the striped tents in the distance. His intense expression evaporated, and replacing it was one of rapture. Heero looked like a boy getting his first bike, gun, and dog-all at the same time.

"Yeah." Duo gave up. Decision made. Vacillation over. He wanted to be the one to bring that look to his face. He'd take his chances.

The pleasant day worked its magic. A short walk along a gravel road, in the sunshine with spring exploding in birdsong and blossoming trees, worked like a balm, easing the stress of the city left behind.

"Bet if you had that fancy-ass gun of yours you could pop that squirrel." Duo squinted up into the trees.

"I could. Both of them. I didn't bring a weapon today."

"No? Well, I feel honored, I guess." Duo picked up a rock and measured the weight in his hand with a couple tosses. "That you trust me that much."

"I can kill you several ways with my bare hands," Heero said, "if it came to defending myself." He gave Duo a kind of sneery half smile. "I don't need a gun to do that."

"Oh, well, I do pretty good myself." Duo spun around. His right arm whipped out and rocketed the rock upwards. He could hear it rip past the fresh new leaves and knock into a limb, sending two squirrels chattering deeper into the tree. The rock came to rest at the base of the tree.

"You missed," Heero said.

"No, I hit my target, which was the branch between the two squirrels. Fuck, you don't think I'd wanna kill a cute little fur ball if I wasn't gonna eat it, do you?"

Duo laughed at the guard's funny face, and Heero sobered instantly. "Good shot."

"Thanks."

The circus village spread the grounds in an anthill of activity. Huge canvass tarps lay unrolled, their brightly colored stripes billowing in the breezes.

Duo waved at a cluster of men and women, and they waved back with jolly "hellos."

"They're checking the tents for mouse damage and repairing the holes," he explained. "Last year I got roped into helping." He snickered a little. "Actually they had to tie me to a pole to keep me from running away! Bor-ring!"

Folks they passed greeted Duo warmly, like an old friend. Heero, they scrutinized.

"Hey, Maxie! Stop by the caravan tonight for some dancing!"

"Thanks!" Duo replied, but he didn't commit to anything.

"Suspicious people," Heero concluded.

"Wary of strangers," Duo corrected him. He leaned into Heero until their shoulders touched. "I'll protect you."

Had Heero leaned into him just a little before pulling away?

Duo received more invitations as they passed by the busy circus people.

"What are they doing?" Heero pointed out a cluster of men and women messing with ropes and pulleys.

"More of the same: testing the aerial gear. Over there where you see the smoke is the canteen."

"I smell...livestock," Heero said with a sniff.

"Straight ahead."

"I recognize him," Heero said, eyes glued to the lean figure of Trowa. "He's the man you brought to the palace."

Conveniently forgetting him name, are you? "To watch my back, yeah. That's him, Trowa. I wasn't sure if I was walking into a trap or not and so he came along."

"He's a close friend?"

Duo could sense what he interpreted to be a twinge of jealousy in Heero's tone and liked it. "Yeah, more as of late. We were mostly, let's say, competitors in the past. We'd had our differences, but he's my go-to guy for a job that..." He paused, feeling embarrassed for having let down his guard a little too much. Heero had a way of making him feel safe that could become very, very dangerous for him. "Um, for a job that requires the services of a circus," he said artfully.

(o)

Duo's clever ways to turn a phrase didn't fool Heero. He knew Duo worked the wrong side of the law and gave him a hard stare for attempting subterfuge with him. "I'll bet."

The other man he had to keep his eyes on was the circus performer, Duo's friend, an accomplice in crime, a lover? He wasn't sure, but the man was handsome, built, and tense.

Trowa straightened and pushed the long bangs to one side of his face as they neared. "'Lo."

"Hey, buddy! You remember 'Ro here from the palace?"

"Sure I do." The taller man presented a calloused hand for Heero to shake. "Call me Barton."

Heero returned an iron grip with a steely one. "Yuy." They would be on even ground, but it was not yet welcoming.

"Duo, run and tell Catherine I'll be a little late."

Meaning: Leave me alone with this guy for just a few minutes so I can test him, or kill him and bury the body.

Duo shook his head, but then Trowa smiled, a small, tight grimace. "Please? I don't want her worrying."

"Oh, sure." Duo touched Heero's arm. "I'll be right back."

Heero watched him until the braid twitched out of view, all the while thinking of something to say to the tall, quiet man with the bucket and rag over an arm.

"So, when's your summer season starting?" he asked, thinking this was as good a place to start as any.

"A few weeks." Trowa lowered the bucket to the ground, freeing his hands. For an attack? A large number of flies took an interest in the pail's contents. "What are you doing here?" Trowa asked the instant Duo was out of hearing range, and he had pitched his voice so that the greeting sounded extremely inhospitable.

Heero went on full alert. Uncomfortable as he was, he did his best to sound genial and not trigger this other man's temper. He wasn't gifted in those regards, but he tried. He was a guest here by Duo's invitation. More importantly, he was an elite guardsman and should behave appropriately and not be lured into a fight. "Duo invited me. We are getting to know one another."

"What do you want from him?" Trowa asked bluntly.

Now that was a loaded question, Heero thought. He decided to express his limits. "That's none of your business."

"Wrong answer. You get three."

Heero rose to the pissing contest. "Three? That many? And then what?"

Trowa smirked. "No one investigates the circus. We bring clean, wholesome fun." He made a show of leaning over and reaching into a pail of what appeared to be chunks of red meat on ice. "People come and go, some disappear." He straightened and tossed the bloody mass into one of the big-cat cages. "We don't keep records. Lots of poor memories here too, if you get my drift?" He wiped his hands on a soiled rag and glared.

Threats Heero understood. He'd entered into hazardous territory provoking this man, and he really hadn't come to this place with Duo to start a fight. So, he tried to shake off the aggressive stance and back down.

"Duo's attractive, as I'm sure you have noticed, and I like him. He invited me here to get away from the obligations of the city."

That elicited a barked laugh from the circus performer. "Obligations? He's a thief and you know it. He's a good one, the best, probably, but no matter how clever he is, someday he'll fuck up and you'll be there to put him away for good. You know that. I know that. He knows it, too, but he's too... fucking stupid to pass up-"

"Pass up what? Me?"

"An opportunity. Just leave it at that, okay? In fact, why don't you just get back on the next bus and leave? Leave him be."

"That would hurt his feelings. You care about his feelings, right?" Heero tested that theory, too.

"Digging for dirt?" Trowa flashed a bit of canine with his uneasy smile. "I do care, yeah, but not in the way you are probably thinking, but that's okay 'cause it doesn't matter. A little pain happens for the best if it saves you from a bigger, nastier one later."

Heero cast a glance over his shoulder and spied Duo jogging back to them. He'd probably seen the standoff and regretted having left the two of them alone.

"And you think I'm out to hurt him?" Heero asked, hoping to end the confrontation before Duo arrived. "You outted him. I had no proof that he was doing anything illegal. We just met."

Trowa looked a bit sheepish as Duo skidded into their huddle, breathing heavily. "Cath's cool with it." Wheeze... "Now, what kind of trouble are you guys getting into already?" he asked.

Heero felt Trowa's heated one-eyed glare slip away to scan Duo and then return to examine him with deadly intent.

"I'll bet he's already set you up to take the fall for something," Trowa said.

"You lie!" Heero growled, his patience evaporating in the heated exchange.

Duo appeared confused. "Wha-?" He cut off mid-word and jammed his hands in his pockets. His eyes widened and he passed into thoughtful silence.

"Duo?" Heero's questioning tone only seemed to further confuse him.

"I, ah, just that thing, you know, from the other day? I still have it," Duo muttered.

The thing? What thing? Oh, no. The bracelet? Did Duo still have that? He had completely forgotten having given it to him.

Then it dawned on him what Trowa was implying! Damn it all!

Duo's brow drew down into a frown.

Heero could visualize Duo's gears churning and it was obvious that he'd come to the same conclusion. It really could appear that Heero had set him up! Duo had the valuable bracelet- he'd had ample opportunity to steal it back after giving the illusion of having returned it-and now Heero could arrest him for stealing it!

Oh, God, it all added up!

Why hadn't Duo gotten rid of the damned thing?!

Trowa's visible eyebrow shot up. "He did, didn't he?! Fuck it, Duo! He's probably got detectives crawling all over your apartment looking for... What was it?"

He grabbed the shorter man's shirt and pulled Heero to within inches of his face. "What did you give him?"

Heero was an inch or two shorter, but he had remarkable strength. He knocked the arms away and pushed Trowa aside so that he could step close to Duo. "I am not setting you up!"

"The hell-!"

"Shut up!" he barked at Trowa then swung back to speak directly to Duo. "It was not my intention to get you into trouble, when I gave that... thing... to you. I truly meant for you to just bury it or something."

"You could have done that yourself!" Duo said.

Heero groaned. Obviously, Duo is no idiot; you are! "No, I couldn't or I would have. I wasn't thinking straight, actually. I shouldn't have pressured you to do something potentially wrong. I'm sorry. Here, give it back. I'll take complete responsibility for it from here on out."

"You have it on you?!" Trowa was apparently not liking anything he had heard.

"At the time, he just asked me to dispose of a gift," Duo said in a contemplative voice. "I never thought he'd use it to arrest me. But-"

"That's because you were thinking with your dick and not your head," Trowa muttered. "Jesus, Duo..."

Heero was more concerned with re-gaining Duo's trust. Although he hadn't known him for more than a few days, having Duo's respect and affection suddenly meant everything to him. And Duo looked so miserable.

He wanted to get away from Trowa's scrutiny and it was in his combative nature to thin out his opponents, preferably to one-on-one confrontations. He visually swept the area and observed people scattered everywhere. "Can we talk alone?" he said to Duo. "Somewhere private?"

"Let's take a walk," Duo told him. "I'd rather walk and talk."

"It's a mistake." Trowa moved to block his way.

"Hold that thought," Duo said. "You and I will talk later."

"But-!"

Duo wound an arm affectionately around Trowa's shoulders, pulling him close in a one-armed hug. "You watched my back and I'm grateful for that. I need to see if there's anything left to save here, okay? I'll be all right."

"Sure." Trowa moved off to the side. As Heero passed he warned him in a menacing, low voice, "I'm still here. I'll always be here."

He slowed to get in the last word with Trowa then reconsidered; the circus man could just as soon throw him to the lions as let him walk out of there unscathed. Leave well enough alone. Let sleeping lions sleep. All the stupid adages that popped into his head recommended he avoid further conflict, and since he didn't want a fight with Duo's best friend, he sped up and trotted after Duo, who seemed in a hurry.

"Duo!" When he caught up the first thing he wanted to do was set things straight.

"That's my name."

"It never even occurred to me to set you up. Dumping that bracelet on you was stupid I can see that. I didn't want to get into trouble if I was caught with it. And I couldn't think of what else to do. There's no place to hide it at the palace. I panicked. No, no that. It's... ever since we met, I haven't been thinking straight. Not entirely. Listen to me! I'm rambling like an idiot!"

Duo headed for a table and bench under a tree near the edge of the grass angling toward a small lake. He planted himself on the table with his feet on the seat and patted a spot next to him.

So much for the walking part. Heero took this as a good sign and hoped for the chance to talk. "I mean it," he said, hoping to impress upon Duo the importance of this point.

"I believe you and here's why. First, I want to. And second, I'd like to think you were better than that. I mean, it's a lame way to catch a thief- and I'm not saying I am one, mind you- setting a trap like that and even if you were that unimaginative, it would be stupid to give it to me like that where I had time to dump it back on you or in a vase or something. I could have handed it over to Pargon and said 'No thanks, Jack!' and gotten you into trouble, possibly."

Heero groaned, eye closed, head back. "It was a stupid thing to do in any case. It just made me so mad when she gave it to me again."

"Yeah, well, water under the bridge and all," Duo brushed the breeze-swept hair out of his eyes. "So, what's the sudden need for privacy, or was that just a ploy to grab my attention?"

Heero caught his smile and returned one of his own. "I'll have to remember that trick."

"I know a few other fun tricks-"

"-which I'd like you to show me."

"But," Duo held up a hand, "before we get completely off track and forget, you were going to tell me something important about that meeting?"

"Oh, yes. There was something... I... you should know about what I overheard at the conference."

He figured that if Duo was a friend of Quatre Winner's it was information he could be trusted with, and if Heero was wrong to trust the little thief then he'd only given away information he'd learn from Winner eventually anyway. He hadn't been told it was top secret information, after all.

"I'm listening." Duo grew still and lost his amiable smile.

"Both Pricess Relena and Quatre discussed rumors that the New Alliance is taking over Sanc palace property."

"They've ripped-off folks in the shipping industry for years, so what's new?" Duo said.

"I mean things like the valuable art collection, which I'm sure you noticed?"

"Couldn't miss it!"

"Also, the crown jewels and cash reserves are all in jeopardy."

"Raping the country as some sort of spread-the-wealth lie?" Duo asked.

"They think so. Princess Relena is afraid for her heritage and the Sanc Kingdom property being lost or used for paying off the war debts of Romfeller."

Duo probably wasn't sympathetic with royals, Heero supposed, but he hoped he might be concerned for the kingdom.

Duo shrugged a shoulder. "Eh! They probably stole it all from the colonies, and being a colony boy I wouldn't be sad to see the monarchy fall. But I'm no fan of this All-New- and-Improved Alliance. Too many familiar faces there from the old one."

Heero watched as Duo's mouth snapped shut, lips pressed into a thin line, and eyes widened to a remarkable size. Duo has beautiful eyes, he thought before he could stop it. Heero recognized a flustered response when he saw one. He hypothesized that Duo had revealed a bit more of his past and about his politics than he probably had wanted to, and so he pretended he hadn't noticed and wondered what Duo would do next.

"Scary faces."

He kept his eyes on Duo. Would he run off? He reached over and touched the other man's arm. "I want to understand you."

Heero wasn't sure if Duo had heard him or not. Duo didn't answer his unasked question, if he'd let him help him, but the young thief shook off his haunted expression. "You know that takes me back?"

"No," Heero said. This had to be good; it was certainly entertaining him. He sat back, elbows on the table and waited to watch Duo's evasive moves.

"You see, I'd made this really scary Halloween decoration. The scariest Halloween decoration E-V-E-R, cuz it almost burned down my house. Well, that's being dramatic, but it did try. I was inspired from a party at Quat's and a circus show, you see, so I painted a cool, thorny branch white, then cut-out paper bats and tied them onto the branch. It looked great... but I wanted to take it one step farther... think: death & destruction..."

He tried not to let his smile become a smirk. "What has Halloween got to do with the Alliance?" Heero asked, reasonably. He read body language well, and what Duo's body was signaling, besides "I'm sexy", was that in the future, when Duo was in a tight spot he might attempt to cover-up for his mistake with some well-meaning bullshit story.

"I-I-I was getting to that. Um, how an attack on your place is like, um..." Duo mumbled into silence.

Heero lifted a hand to smooth into place some of Duo's loose hair. "Is like...what?"

And he shivered under Heero's touch.

"I have no idea where I was taking that."

Heero smiled at the rush of blood coloring the other man's face, amused to know that Duo must be readily distracted by intimate contact-useful information for future application? "If you say so. Anyway, my lips are sealed."

"Are they?" Duo's eyes rapidly examined Heero's mouth before giving him a direct look.

Heero gave him very self-satisfied smile and scooted closer.

Close enough that it sent his heart to pounding, speaking of anticipation. He wanted to get on to the contact part of the relationship, and moved his hand around the back of Duo's head to find that braid. Just as he had a secure grip on it, Duo starting talking again.

"Um, just to clear up one last nagging detail."

"What's that?" Heero whispered into the ear he was about to caress.

"Relena, she likes you, really likes you."

"It's unfortunate that I am unable to return her feelings." He outlined the ear with a crooked, wet swipe of tongue.

"Oh..." Duo slipped his words past a sudden intake of air, "l-lucky for me."

This would be less of an attack than the first time in the palace closet.

"I'd say so," Heero whispered. He turned slightly and pressed his lips to Duo's.

This time, Heero wrapped him securely before gently pushing his back to the weather-worn table. He continued to trail kisses from his lips downward along his jaw. Sucking and biting left red marks on the pale neck and elicited the most amazing sounds. Heero took it to mean more. His fingers nimbly loosened buttons on Duo's shirt, exposing more skin for the intense attention of teeth, lips, and tongue.

Just as things were about to become interesting, he felt a hard nudge on his shoulder and Duo's non-verbalizations coalesced into words.

"Can't you hear them? Heero! Stop! Kids are coming!"

Heero bolted up. "Kids?"

And there in the distance came rag-tag cluster of children from the circus clutching baskets and blankets. Behind him, Heero also heard a splash of something hitting the water.

"Picnicking here, I'd guess." Duo finished off his buttons and hopped to the ground.

"I guess." Rings radiated out from the surface of the pond, as if something had fallen in. Or... "Did you throw something into the lake?" he asked.

"Maybe." Duo beamed with the smile of a mischievous imp, and Heero shivered. "Pockets fill up with the craziest things."

The smile widened and went a bit crooked, and Heero knew it had been the bracelet going for a swim. He noted the location, just in case he might in the future have the need to retrieve it, and hoped to God that it wouldn't, and smiled back.

And then Duo grinned wide and reached out for his hand. It was time to be getting back to the city anyway, they agreed.

He loved that smile and wanted to see it all the time. He made a mental note to secure a private room with a locking door for his next meeting with the thief who'd stolen his heart.

Chapter 3

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