|
"Nobody's Perfect "Written By: Lisa-chan
Disclaimer: The G-boys are not mine. I only use
them for loads of fun and for putting them in compromising situations
and stuff. Rating: NC-17 Warnings: yaoi, shounen-ai, voyeurism, masturbation,
slight het, blood, angst, sappy, slight OOCness, Relena-bashing. Pairings: 1x2x1, 1x3, 2x4, hints of 2xH, 4x3 Summary: AC\200. The war is over, Heero thinks
he can finally tell Duo what he feels for him. But Doctor J thinks
differently about that. And Duo? Well, he doesn’t know quite
yet he’s gay, but will find out soon enough. Title: Nobody’s perfect Author: Lisa-chan Author’s e-mail: m.van_kerckvoorde@planetinternet.be
Author’s note: This takes place 4 years after Endless Waltz. ~*~*~ Nobody’s Perfect Chapter 1 They came into the building, and it was still as good
as deserted. No-one seemed to be there yet, they were alone, and Relena
took advantage of that as she pulled him with her to her luxurious
office at the top of the building, with its comfy little couch and
very large windows. When they stepped out of the elevator, however, Heero
strolling reluctantly behind her, they bumped into Duo, who, for once,
was not too late. “Hiya Lena, Hee-chan,” he said, his voice
lowering at the name of the latter. “What are you doing here?!” Relena scowled,
noticing that aggravating, mocking expression in his eyes. “Just hanging around,” he replied. “That
a crime?” “No, but this isn’t…” “Hey Lena,” he said, getting dangerously close
to her. “Wanna suck me off?” Her eyes narrowed and she ferociously stomped her foot.
“Duo Maxwell!!” she cried, highly insulted. “How many
times do I still have to tell you…!” “As many as you wish, dearie. Try and make me listen
to you.” She gave a furious grunt and snatched her lover by his
hand, who’s eyes seemed to be glued onto the smirking face of
Duo. “Ah, Miss Relena. There you are,” they suddenly
heard behind them. Startled she turned around again. “Miss Noin. What’s the matter?” “I have to discuss something with you. Could you
please come along with me to my office?” “Very well. Let’s go, Heero.” “No,” Noin said. “In private.” Not so deserted after all. “Miss Noin,” Duo said on a sing-song tone,
waltzing between the two of them. “Wanna suck me…” “Duo, don’t start,” she cut his sentence
off, raising a declining, yet playful hand. “Hilde’d better
drum some manners into you.” “Naa, I don’t think that’s gonna happen.
She likes me the way I am,” he said. “Oh, so she likes it that you ask anyone who crosses
your path to suck you off?” “Hold on,” he argued. “I only do that
with people I know. Besides, no-one’s ever done it so far, ain’t
that true?” She rolled her eyes and gave a little chuckle. “No,
fortunately for them not.” “Hey-“ “Miss Relena, if you would come with me please?” The last thing she wanted was to leave her Heero with
that seducing nuisance. Just look at the way he’s squinting at
him again. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he
was… “Miss Relena!” “Yes, I’m coming!” she said, tearing
her eyes away from them. He watched both of them go, and the moment they had
disappeared from his sight, he sauntered over to Heero. “Hey Hee-chan! How are you doing?” he chirped
merrily. “Chibi Hee-chan, why looking so sad?” “Don’t call me that,” he hissed. But the braided man ignored him and continued challenging
him. “Chibi chibi Hee-chan, brighten up, will ya.” All of a sudden, Heero reached behind him, searching
for his braid, and tugging rather hard at it when he’d found
it. “Aaaw!” Duo yelled. “What did you do
that for?! I was only teasing, you know that!” “I’ve had enough of your little games. For
God’s sake, you’re 20 years old, behave yourself to it,”
he growled. “Aw, Hee-chan. Being 20 is boring, you know. I
wanna be 15 again. Do you remember? Going off to fight together for
a better world? Those were the days, ne Hee-chan?” It unnerved him that he didn’t listen to him, but
he tried to stay calm, tried not to show he was rather affected than
annoyed by his little nick-name. As he was about to move on to his
office, he was suddenly trapped between Duo’s arms. The man had
slapped his hands on either side of him against the wall, and if Heero
wanted to get away, he had to duck, but the proximity made that as
good as impossible. “Hey Hee-chan,” he said in a low voice, his
eyes glinting with mischief. “Wanna suck me off?” He should’ve seen this coming! His heart made a
huge jump and he had to do the greatest effort in the world to maintain
a straight face. “Wanna fuck me, squeeze me, feel me? Feel me between
your legs, on top of your naked body?” ‘Hell yes! Just say when!’ his mind hollered.
Fucking son of a bitch, he didn’t mean it. He was only playing,
messing him up inside with those seductive sways of his hips and that
damn sexy braid. Everyone in the building had to face up to it, men
and women. He just did this to everyone, risking a broken nose concerning
Wufei. But no-one ever made a big deal out of it. This was Duo, it
was his human nature. He liked playing, like a cat does to a mouse,
and then leaves it behind, bleeding and barely alive. But that didn’t
take away the fact that his mouth was now close enough to feel his
breath caressing his lips, and although his face still hadn’t
twitched a muscle in spite of his inner feelings, his groin was having
a rather hard time. No, please! Not now! Spandex too tight! Think of something
else, people will see! Not now, dammit! he thought desperately. “Hee-chan, kiss me. Come on now, chibi Hee-chan.
What’s the matter? Are you scared? Kiss me now,” Duo teased. For a split second he thought he was serious, but God,
he wasn’t even supposed to dream of that, and yet he had already
done so a thousands of times. Especially now, with the man of his
fantasies only a few millimetres away from him, until he heard a tiny
voice in the back of his head. They don’t love you, they can’t love you,
they mustn’t love you. You can’t give anything in return,
it said. Always that stupid, disgraceful little voice. “I want to, Hee-chan. I want to kiss you, fuck
you, my chibi Hee-chan,” he breathed, opening the door of the
nearest office and pushing him inside. His mischievous violet eyes
were locked onto Heero’s as he started to push with his hips,
but trained as he was, he refused to just go with it, although Duo
was doing his best to provoke him. For crying out loud, he was just
simulating an orgasm, and when he closed his eyes and tossed his head
back, Heero wasn’t entirely sure he was still faking it. God,
it was plain torture. He just wanted to drift off and enjoy the feeling
of his hips bucking against his. “Oh! Oh yeah! That’s it, Heero! God! Oh, go
on, baby! Oh! Ooooh!” You’re not allowed to love. Not allowed to show
it. Don’t you dare showing it, Heero Yuy. “Not allowed to show it. Don’t show it, Heero
Yuy,” he whispered feverishly, but at the same time sweat broke
out of his pores and his breathing unmistakably quickened. “Stop it, you bake. Cut it off,” he growled
hardly audible, not helping a bit since Duo was moaning disgracefully
loud now. “Stop it, you baka!” he suddenly shouted out loud,
grabbing him by one of his wrists. Duo snatched out of his trance
and gave him a devilish glare. “What? No fun?” He gave another
hard thrust, and this was the fatal one of his onslaught. He couldn’t
help it any longer, and Duo just must’ve felt it, for the gleam
in his evil eyes was brighter then ever. “Are we getting a little excited, Hee-chan?”
he said softly, a peculiar rumble in his voice. “We” was
the exact word. What the hell had gotten into him this time? He had
never quite crossed the line this far. And why only with him? Why
did his flirting with the others stop at only teasing glances and
moving his lips with only millimetres from the other’s, then
pulling away again? In fact, he didn’t even really touch them.
Then why was he applying all this explicit physical contact on him
right now? Could it be that Duo, the senseless, sexually obsessed
jerk he was, was actually interested in him? The unbearable tension was broken by the sudden ringing
tone of Duo’s cell phone. Heero heaved a relieved sigh and set
off to his office again as Duo pulled back to answer the call, trying
to hide the damn reaction, which of course was impossible because
of the tight spandex, but slowed his pace, finally came to a stop
and turned around again as he heard who it was, his false hope shattering
and his heart breaking in painful crumbles at the sound of that one
name. “Hilde, my love. So, when are *you* gonna suck
me off?” he asked, exaggerating the “you” so she would
know he had already asked half a building. Scumbag. He was smiling
and looking at Heero, just grinning in his face. How he envied Hilde.
He gave her all his attention, genuine attention. She could love him,
kiss him, undress him whenever she wanted to. She could. He watched
him laughing, guffawing and acting like the stupid, foolish bastard
he was. “Oh, is that so? You know, you’ve already
been calling me the whole morning with those little promises, and
I’ve only left our home 15 minutes ago. Well, I’ve got something
special for you as well tonight. Na-ah, not gonna tell you what it
is. But you’ll be very pleased with it, I’m pretty sure
of that,” he laughed. “Say Hilde, I’ve got to go to
a briefing about the latest mission within 5 minutes, so I’m
gonna have to switch the phone off, alright? And switch it back on
right after, that’s right. Yeah, I’ll be careful. It’s
only a small mission, you know the war is over. Gonna switch it off
now. Bye-bye. Love ya.” Smiling brightly, he switched off the
sound of his cell phone and put it back in one of his large pockets. “God, Heero. You know what she’s doing now?
She keeps on calling me and telling me these… things, you know.” “Things…” Heero said with a voice that
seemed to come from miles away. “Yeah, you know. Things. Jeezes, she’s buttering
me up through the phone. It makes me so… horny, Hee-chan,”
he said, squinting at him again. “You know those girls you call
when you’re feeling hot, who can give you a hard-one just by
talking to you? Well, I’ve got one of those of my own. And for
free.” “You don’t have a hard one,” Heero said
calmly. “I will the moment I come home and see her, at least when she’s gonna do the things she keeps on promising me,” he laughed. “Well, what do you know!” he suddenly exclaimed. “We’re in Relena’s office!” For the first time since he was there, he noticed the
little, soft-pink couch in the corner. “Hey, Hee-chan,”
he said, pricking up his ears. “You hear that? She’s coming
back.” He darted to the door and locked it, giving Heero a most
awkward feeling. “Wanna play a game, Hee-chan?” “I’ve already told you I’m sick of those
games,” he growled. A game. That’s all it was to him, a
game. The doorknob was being pushed down, but the door stayed
closed. “What’s this?” they heard Relena saying.
“Who’s in there?” “Hey Hee-chan, are you gonna suck me off now?”
Duo said in a rather loud voice, so Relena could clearly hear it. “Duo? Is that you? What are you doing? Is Heero
with you?” He went lying on the couch at full length, his hands
folded behind his head and his eyes closed, and off he was, soft in
the beginning, but louder as seconds crept by. “Oh Hee-chan,
oh… Oh yeah… Heero, go on…” he moaned, rocking
his hips against nothing but thin air, Heero still standing near the
door with a kinda helpless and clueless expression on his face. “Duo, what are you doing?” Heero said, turning
to the door as he heard that very same question coming from his girlfriend,
only directed at him now. “God, Heero! Oh… Ah, ah yeah! Aah! Hee- Heero,
what… What are you up to?” Suddenly he sprang up from the
couch and walked over to Heero, who seemed to find it rather amusing
to plague his girlfriend in such a way, for his usually steel-hard
eyes were soft now, and he even had the tiniest grin possible playing
around his lips. “Heero! Open the door! Let me in!” “Why don’t you play along with me?” Duo said softly in his ear, squinting down at the bulge in his spandex. “I know you want to.” “How do you mean?” he asked, getting interested. He sneaked behind him and slid his hand teasingly from
his shoulder down his arm, then suddenly buried it underneath his
spandex and boxers. Meanwhile, Relena was about to go crazy. Naturally,
she had gotten convinced of it that they were fucking each other,
or rather Heero, her Heero, was fucking that scumbag of a Duo. “Heero! Stop that right away! Why are you doing
this?! Open that door, dammit! Heero!!” Duo’s heart was alive with malicious enjoyment
and wasn’t about to stop just yet, and the hand in Heero’s
boxers neither. “Oh Heero!” “God, Duo!” Screw the tiny voice! Screw the
fact that he most probably didn’t mean it! This felt great! “-Heero, oh! Ooh! Go on-“ “-Duo! Duo, ah… AAH!!” Tears stood in his eyes and his entire body was covered
with a thin, shiny film of sweat. A particularly loud cry left his
mouth as Duo gave him a kinda hard jerk. “That’s good, Hee-chan,” he whispered.
“Just go with it. You’re not happy with Relena, are you?
You need to find someone else.” He started screaming his feigned orgasm again, together
with Heero’s real orgasm, and caught him as he collapsed in his
arms, only to then mercilessly throw him aside in the couch. “Afraid,
though, that someone else won’t be me,” he said, wiping
the cum off his hand with a handkerchief and turning his back to him.
“Well, time for the briefing, I’d say.” A wicked grin
on his face, he took out the key from Relena’s office, which
he had snatched from her the moment he got her infuriated about the
sucking off-issue, and opened the door. The blond girl literally came
barging in. “Lena, how long have you been standing there?”
he asked on a surprised tone. “What was that all about?” she hissed, her
eyes flaming. “Well, I think that’s pretty obvious, ne?”
he smirked. “But you’re right to be so possessive. Never
knew he was such a great fuck…” Enraged as could be, she brushed past him towards her
next target, who sat there with his hands in front of his eyes. “Heero Yuy, I think you owe me an explanation!”
she scowled. Waiting for an answer with an expectant look in her eyes,
she stared at him, but it stayed still. “Heero, did you here me?!” she shouted, ferociously
shaking his shoulder. “Yes, I heard you,” he said softly. “Well then?” He heaved a sigh and seemed to wipe something away from
his eye. “Nothing happened. He didn’t mean it. It wasn’t
serious,” he muttered in a broken voice, forced to believe his
very own words. “He just played a game.” “Oh, then I must say, you played along quite well!” “You know what?!” he suddenly yelled, jumping upright and looking her in the eyes. “If it bothers you that much, why don’t you just dump me then? I won’t stop you!” And with those words, he left her and went to the briefing himself. ********* “See, that was a mission that wasn’t worth
my time,” Duo muttered. “Boooring!” “I must say, it wasn’t really all that,”
Wufei agreed with him. “Well, you’re still alive, ne? Hilde
will be pleased.” “Yeah. By the way, have I already showed you this
little thingie?” He popped out a little velvet box and opened
it to show to Wufei what was hiding inside. “Wow, Duo. That must’ve cost you a fortune,”
the Chinese said, bowing over it. “Well, cheap it wasn’t.” “Hey guys! Come over here! You gotta see this!”
Wufei yelled to his friends. Wondering what could’ve been so important that
Wufei was actually enthusiastic, the three other men sprinted towards
them. “Hey, check this out,” Quatre said. “Now, that’s what I call an engagement ring,”
Wufei grinned. “So you’re really gonna do it, huh?”
Trowa said in his quiet voice. “You’re really gonna merry
her.” “You bet I am,” Duo beamed. “Well, I’ll be damned. Duo Maxwell aka “Flirtatious
scumbag” is getting married. This calls for a celebration,”
Quatre smiled. The both of them looked at each other for a moment,
the American and the Arabian thinking exactly the same. “Bachelor
party!!” they cried in unison. Wufei and Trowa gave them an agreeing
nod, but not Heero. He was the only one who didn’t feel any mirth,
the only one who looked at the sparkling gem in Duo’s hand with
a jealous glint in his eyes. “I’m going home, see you guys tomorrow,”
Heero mumbled, turning his back to the group, so they couldn’t
see his anger. “Oh, you’re going home?” Duo asked confused. “It’s five o’ clock. You can stay if
you want to, but I’m going.” “Yeah, I’m off as well,” Wufei said.
“See ya.” “Is it five o” clock already? Man, time flies,”
he said, and all of a sudden a wide grin appeared on his face as he
remembered Hilde’s promises. “Right, home! Till tomorrow,
guys!” The other two watched him as he dashed with his car
off the parking lot. “Well, there’s one who’s gonna get laid
tonight,” Quatre said, putting his arm around Trowa’s shoulder. “Sounds like a good prospect, ne?” Trowa said,
nuzzling his nose in the blond hair. “It sure does,” he replied, and he cupped the brunette’s jaw in his hand and displayed for anyone who wished to see it that he loved him by giving him a sweet kiss on his soft lips. ********** “Yep, tonight will quite be the night,” he
sighed contented, trying not to think of Hilde in her transparent
pink baby-doll, but keeping his eyes on the road instead. Try as he
might, Hilde’s perfect body was stronger, and if it wasn’t
for the two cars of the fire brigade racing past him, his leather
pants would’ve grown a little too tight again. “Man, they’re in a hurry,” Duo said.
The fact that they blazed through the red light just like that showed
that it was urgent. Very urgent. And somewhere in the distance he
could indeed see an enormous cloud of smoke hanging in the air. Anyway, now that he was waiting for the red light himself,
he might as well check the voicemail of his cell phone. “What? Five new messages? And they’re all
from Hilde? That little tomboy, told her I’d switch the sound
off,” he sighed. “Duo, there’s something wrong with the television
in our bedroom. Could you come home for a second, please? Love ya.” “Duo, pick up the phone. That damn briefing can’t
take that long. There are coming little sparks from the cables. I
don’t trust this anymore.” Worries started to form in his stomach, and they soon
turned into fear when he heard the third message. In sheer despair he threw his foot on the accelerator
when the light finally switched to green, and still with the appliance
on his ear he forced up the pace of his car to a monstrous height. “Dammit, Hilde! Why haven’t you called your
father?! I told you I’d switch the sound off during the mission!”
he hollered. But a tiny whisper in his head told him differently. No you didn’t. You told her you would switch it
off during the briefing, not during the mission. She was in the assumption
that she could reach you anytime during the rest of the day, when
the briefing was over. “Dammit!!” he cursed, tears threatening to
fall from his eyes. “The stairs have collapsed! I’m stuck here!
Duo, what’s taking you so long?!” “Duo! Duo, I’m afraid! The flames are everywhere!
Come on now, pick up the phone!” The alarmed hollering of his girlfriend in his ear let
him fly through the streets at a speed which would undoubtedly have
gotten him a fine if he would get the police chasing him right now,
but he had to get to that grey cloud as soon as possible, which was
tragically enough situated on his address. The place was already littered
with morbid sightseers and firemen, those last ones coming from the
cars he had seen flashing by only a few minutes ago. The horrible
screams took his breath away, just as the biting smoke in his throat
when he wanted to barge into their burning house. One of the neighbours
pulled him back at his collar, so hard he almost fell on the ground. “Are you out of your mind?! The building’s
on fire! For crying out loud, let the firemen do their work!” In blind panic he jerked himself away and ferociously
shook his head. “No, I’ve got to help her! Hilde! Hilde!”
he hollered, running back to the door, heading for the painful and
scared shrieks of his girl. “Hilde! I’m coming, honey! Don’t
be afraid now!” A crashing sound and a loud rumbling made him
look up. The roof broke down, and when the sound had faded away, they
could here nothing but the crackling of the flames. Hilde didn’t
scream anymore. Hilde was dead. This it had to be. The pain and the anguish were there, the grief and the tragedy, a burning feeling in his heart which seemed to eat him alive from inside. And then the fire. The licking flames, colouring the sky all red. this had to be hell, no question about it. It was too much, too sudden, too unexpected. The blow was too hard, and with his hand spasmodically clasped around something on his chest, he lost consciousness and fell on the ground. ********** When he opened his eyes again, he saw above him a white
ceiling and from the corner of his right eye some kind of iron construction
with a plastic bag hanging down from it. From that his gaze wandered
to a little cupboard standing next to him, and when he turned his
head, his cheek touched the soft fabric of the pillow his head was
resting on. On the cupboard stood, except for a glass and a bottle
of water, a little box. He looked at it examining and was just about
to reach out his hand to take a closer look at it, until he heard
a voice at his other side. “Thought you wanted to keep that with you.” He turned his head into that direction, and recognised
the voice of Trowa. “Trowa, what are you doing here?” he
asked. “And what… what happened to me? Am I in a hospital?
What am I doing here?” Trowa’s face remained expressionless, but partially
he felt a bit annoyed that he was the one who had to remind him of
the fact that his girlfriend was dead, although they had never found
her body. “Don’t you remember, Duo? Some roof tiles
fell on your leg when you were trying to save Hilde. But don’t
worry about that leg of yours, that’s not too bad,” he explained. Duo shook his head in confusion. “Save her? Of
what? I just came home from work, right? I just drove home with that
engagement ring in my pocket, ne?” he said, making a gesture
with his hands to the box. “I wanted to ask her to marry me.
There wasn’t any reason to…” He had gotten up a bit,
but the slap of the sudden realisation and horror made him falling
back on his pillow. It started turning inside his head, and he would’ve
at once lost consciousness again, from misery only, if his friend
wouldn’t have laid a consoling hand on his shoulder. “Hey, I’m sorry, pal. Really. She was one
of a kind,” he said softly, in an attempt to soften his pain
a bit. That she was one of a kind didn’t have to be told
to him. Her German temperament, her raven-black hair, her beautiful
eyes. Never he would find a girl like her again. And the way she loved
him. Not for his money, coz he didn’t have any of that. No, just
because of who he was. The 20 year old preacher boy who was crazy
about her the moment his eyes caught sight of her. But now, now they
would never catch sight of her anymore. He would never get the chance
to see her again, to feel her, to taste her. And that mere thought
filled his eyes with tears. He looked at his friend, and although
he was of meaning that boys shouldn’t cry, now he was weeping
like a little child. “Go on, Duo. Go on and cry. That’s a relieve,
ne?” he soothed. Suddenly the two of them were startled by a soft knock
on the door. “Am I not interrupting? Can I come in?” the
man who stuck his head inside asked. It was Hilde’s father. “Mister
Schbeiker, of course you can come in,” Duo said, wiping his tears
away with the back of his hand. “Could I talk to you in private, Duo?” he
asked with a monotone voice, a resolute look in his eyes. Duo gave a little nod with his head. “Sure you
can. Trowa…” “I’m gone,” he said. He took his jacket
off the back of the chair and got out of there. When he had closed
the door behind him, there was a short silence in the air. Duo, who
had expected to hear some consoling words from her father, sighed
and offered him to have a seat. But the man kept on standing there
and didn’t move an inch, and when Duo looked at him, he was startled
by the sudden venom in his eyes. “Mister Schbeiker? What’s
wrong?” he asked insecurely. “Don’t you sit there like a slain dog, you
coward,” the man growled. Duo’s eyes widened and he wasn’t sure he had
heard that right. “What did you say, Mister Schbeiker?”
he asked dumbfounded. “Me a coward? What makes you think that?” “You had to save her. Why didn’t you go inside?” “Don’t you think I was planning to do that?!
I was pulled back by someone!” “That doesn’t stop you if you really love
someone, Duo. It’s all your fault.” “What the hell are you talking about?!” he
shouted indignant. “I loved her, dammit! For crying out loud,
I was planning to ask her to marry me!” In one smooth movement he went sitting on a chair next
to the bed and he menacingly bowed over to him. “Shotgun-wedding,
Duo?” “What?!” he yelled perplexed. “Not at
all! How do you even consider thinking that?! I wanted to marry her
because I loved her!” “That’s not what I’ve been told,”
he said softly. “Didn’t you know, Duo? She hadn’t told
you yet?” Duo looked at him, not understanding a bit of the whole
thing. What was he talking about? Why was he acting so… insufferable? “She was pregnant, Duo. You got the girl pregnant.” The American kept on staring in front of him for a few
moments, but then ferociously shook his head. “No, that’s
impossible! We have always been careful!” he shouted. “Oh, so then it was an accident?” her father
cleverly anticipated. Duo had a strong tendency to, as a natural reflex on
it, answer an unfortunate “yes” on that, coz they indeed
hadn’t planned it, but just in time he managed to bite his tongue
off and swallow that little word. “That’s not what I have
said,” he said as calmly as possible. “It appeared like that,” the other man said. “It wasn’t an accident,” Duo growled,
a lump in his throat from the newly added tragic news. Their eyes were exchanging sparks and the tension between them was almost unbearable. Finally the German turned away and stood up again. “If you say so,” he sighed. “But keep in mind, Duo. You’re not getting away with this.” And with those words he left the broken man sitting in his bed. What had gotten into that man? He was about to be his father as well? It seemed him as if he was actually enjoying to see him suffer like that, to thicken his misery a bit more. They never had gotten along with each other very well for some gloomy reason, but this time he had really outdone himself. Pregnant. Why hadn’t she told him anything? Of course, he figured, it was only natural to tell it to her father first, but he would have to be next, right? All of a sudden he realised. That surprise, she told him she had a surprise for him. That must’ve been it. But how did this happen? The child would’ve been more than welcome, no doubt about that. It was his heart’s desire. He only wanted to wait until after the wedding. And now there were already two ruined lives. Burned up, only because he had switched the fucking cell phone off. Her father was right, it was his fault. Why hadn’t they just let him run inside, so he could die together with her? Why had his neighbour, with all the good intentions in the world, pulled him back? What in the world had he done wrong to continue his life on such a cruel manner? ********** Perfect! This was just great! Only her first day at
work and she was already too late. Stupid traffic. She should’ve
foreseen this. But apparently she wasn’t the only one. “Go
ahead and take a seat. That loser who’s responsible for you is
too late again anyway, for a change”, where the first words her
boss, some grumpy looking, brown-haired lass, had said to her when
she came dashing into the office, breathing heavily and undoubtedly
with a red face. So that’s what she would do. A little bit shy
and with an annoyed feeling in her stomach she stepped towards the
desk the gruffly looking woman had showed her. There was only one
chair. A blue, comfortable desk chair which surely wasn’t meant
for her. But still she took place on it. Examining she looked at the
somewhat messy desk in front of her, while she took a Belgian waffle
out of her purse. With her other hand she grabbed a stray punch and
looked at it from all corners, as if she had never seen one in her
entire life. Filled to the brim, about to burst open. “Typical,”
she sighed. A woman would fit perfectly in this mess. Just as she
wanted to open the thing and empty it above the waste-basket, she
heard a voice coming from somewhere nearby the elevator. “I’m sorry I’m so late! Traffic, you
know.” “Dou, one of these days…” she heard her
boss saying. “I’m sorry. But I’ve had a terrible night,
and because of that I got up too late,” he interrupted him. “Oh, had nightmares again?” she asked, a lot
softer and almost compassionate now. There was a short silence and after that she still heard some mumbling, but she couldn’t understand a bit of it anymore. When the man came in, she almost choked in the waffle, which had to serve as a quick breakfast. Dear God, was he good-looking or what?! “Good morning,” she said cheerfully, trying
not to drool. He absent-mindedly looked up at her but felt like walking
right into a dream as he saw her. “G-good morning,” he stuttered,
his violet eyes almost popping out. It was as if lightening had struck
right in front of his feet. God, she looked exactly like the woman
he had lost not that very long ago. Amazing how she could have those
same eyes. Those same wisps in her black hair, even those same features. “Enjoy your meal,” he said, taking off his
coat and hanging it on the hat stand. “Thank you. Didn’t have any time to have breakfast,”
she said with her mouth still half full. “Now that you mention it, me neither.” “Want some?” she asked, offering him a piece
of the waffle. “Sure, why not,” he said shrugging, taking
the food. “Can’t work on an empty stomach, ne?” He rather sucked on it instead of biting of it, and
out of the corner of his eyes he kept a close watch on her, gazing
her up and down. “What?” she asked, slightly amused. “Nothing,” he said, quickly looking away.
For six months he had lived in a downward vortex of pain and grief,
and that had changed him a lot. No more flirting, no more babbling
all day. He had become, well, pathetic, in spite of all the efforts
from his friends to cheer him up. “I haven’t introduced myself yet,” he
said suddenly, reaching his hand to her. “My name is Duo Maxwell.
Nice to meet you.” “Oh, same to you. My name is Heidi Schmitzer,”
she replied, shaking his reached out hand. “Hmm… Sounds pretty foreign, ne?” he
pondered, deciding to throw the piece of waffle away. “Hey!” she squeaked, sprinting to the waste-basket.
“That’s not why I have given you that!” “Or am I mistaking?” he asked, ignoring her
comments. Pouting at him from the waste-basket, her face all of
a sudden twitched back to merriment. “Born and bred here in this
very country, Duo. Know it as if it was my own pocket.” She frowned
when he took a relieved breath. “But I have German parents,”
she continued, giving a giggle. This was getting weirder with the second. It didn’t
stop. What would be next? The same perfume? Who was that girl? It
was as if she was Hilde’s reincarnation, as if she continued
her life in her, wanted to let him know he shouldn’t stop living
and had to show the love he had hidden inside of him to others. She
wanted to make him love that woman, and let her seduce him if she
wanted to. She would let him enjoy the way she looked at him now from
the desk chair. Challenging, but also with a twinge of playfulness. “Well then,” she said, putting her one leg
over her other. “What about doing some work?” “Right,” he jumped up from his pondering.
“Alright, but… your sitting on my chair.” She pouted again and threw him a reproaching look. “Come
on now, be a gentleman,” she muttered, switching on the computer.
“What else did that guy up in heaven give you legs for?” “I’m your superior. You have to be obedient.
Please get off my chair,” he said patiently. “You are not my superior. I’m an employee,
and so are you. Everything you have to do is show me how everything
works in this company and how I have to handle all that… stuff,”
she insisted. “Now, get over here.” He narrowed his eyes and put on a feigned hostile face.
Duo Maxwell had met his equal. “Fine, you win,” he barked. He shuffled towards her in utter caution. He didn’t
want to get trapped in her web, but the fact that he actually smelled
the same perfume when he bowed over her to enter the password of his
computer, almost drove him crazy. Startled he pulled away from her
and looked at her with big eyes and his mouth open. “What’s wrong?” she asked surprised.
“Something bit you?” “That’s not it,” he said nervously. “But…
It’s just that…” She arched an eyebrow and turned toward him. “What?
If something’s wrong then please, tell it to me. Maybe I can
help you.” That voice. So hauntingly familiar. Creepy! This was
just plain creepy! Did she do this on purpose? Was this just coincidence,
or was there really some kind of a connection? He started sweating and backwards walked towards the
door, his frightened eyes fixed on her. “Nnn-no! This can’t
be happening! Who are you?!” Insanity had struck. He fiercely shook his head and
ran out of the office like some kind of lunatic, leaving behind a
very stupefied Heidi. She lowered her eyes and shrugged. “Men,”
she sighed, “Can’t live with them, useful sometimes.”
She let it all pass by, thinking everyone acted strange every once
in a while. The last thing she heard was the door of the toilets slamming
shut. But as she put some things on order on the messy desk, she still
worried a little bit now. He really acted weird. She’d better
take a look at him. Just to see if he was still okay, so she went
to the men lavatory, and without any scruples she pushed the door
open. She didn’t see him at once. Must’ve been in one of
the little rooms itself. “Duo? Are you okay?” she asked softly. It
stayed silent for a while, but suddenly the silence was broken by
a loud sob. “Duo…” she said insecurely. “Duo,
are you crying?” Again a short silence, and she was about to go away
again, until she heard his voice anew. “Leave me alone. Please go away. I want to be alone
for a second,” he said with a broken voice. “Did I do something wrong?” His answer was yet another sob. She gave a sigh and
turned around, but as she pulled the door open again she almost bumped
into two of her male colleagues. Dear God, this place was littered
with cute guys! The one with the blond hair had soft and sweet features,
and in some way reminded her of an angel fallen down from the heavens.
He was accompanied with a guy with brown hair, who had a body and
a face that simply screamed out to be worshiped, and the fact that
his hand was trapped in the blonde one’s showed clearly who had
the privilege to do that. “Oh, I’m sorry,” was the angelic one’s
reaction. “But…” With a confused face he pulled his
head outside again and looked at the tag next to the door to see if
he wasn’t mistaking. “Oh, but wait a minute!” he yelled.
“You’re the new one, right? These are the men lavatory,
you know. You’re wrong here.” “For your information, “the new one”
has gotten a name. I’m Heidi,” she said somewhat offended.
“And I know that these are the men lavatory. I have eyes in my
head, you know.” “Yes, you do have eyes,” the other one said
pondering. Eyes which somehow reminded him of someone. And not only
those eyes, the entire girl. “And I’m here because there is something wrong
with Duo,” she continued. “He already acted weird the moment
he saw me, but then, all of a sudden, when he bowed over me to enter
the password of his computer, he simply lost it.” “Yeah, I can imagine that,” he sighed. “Excuse me?!” she yelled. “No, it’s not personal!” he said quickly,
rising his hands in apology. “But you know…” His voice
went over to a whispering tone. “Six months ago he has lost his
girlfriend in a fire, and you look exactly like her.” “I do?” she said surprised. “I didn’t
know that. So maybe I’d better go back and just leave him for
now.” “Yeah, maybe that’s a good idea,” the
first one replied. “And by the way, I’m Quatre, and this
is Trowa,” he said, pointing to the man next to him. “Nice to meet you. I’m Heidi,” she said.
“But you already knew that. Okay, I’m gone now,” she
whispered, and on the tips of her toes, as if making a noise now would
make the sky come falling down, she closed the door behind her and
headed back to the office. Meanwhile, Quatre and Trowa made work of it to sway
Duo into opening his one by one metre cage. “Duo, open the door,” Trowa commanded softly. “No,” came the answer. Quatre pulled a pitiful face, knowing the world first
would have to come to an end before he would listen. “Duo, open the door,” Trowa repeated. “No,” he replied stubbornly. The lowered eyes from Quatre looked back up to his lover,
a determined look in them. Then he turned to the closed door. “Duo,
we’re not leaving. We care about you, and it’s obvious there’s
something bothering you,” he said. “Well, have I got news for you! Hilde died just
six months ago, and here that gorgeous lass walks in, who I have to
work together with for God knows how long!” he yelled. “Can’t
a guy be a little mournful?!” Quatre stayed quiet for a moment, but then continued.
“I’m sure that’s not the only thing, Duo.” Silence again. He seemed to have hung himself in there
or something. “Listen Duo, I don’t care where we discuss
this. Here, in the lavatory, where anyone can walk in on us, or back
in my office, where it’s quiet. It’s up to you.” There still seemed to be some kind of life in that little
cabinet. After some stumbling and sniffing the lock finally clicked
open and he followed Quatre and Trowa to their office in a lazy, sauntering,
most reluctant kind of way. “Sit,” said Trowa curtly, who only seemed
to be there to give out orders, while he closed the door. Duo rolled his eyes and heaved an exasperated sigh.
“Yes sir,” he muttered sarcastically, slumping down into
the nearest chair and looking at both of them. “Shoot,”
he said. “Let the lecture begin.” But Quatre didn’t say anything, and neither did
Trowa. “Well?” Duo said. The blond man’s stare rested upon him, he seemed
to be trying to peel off Duo’s skin to bare his wounded soul,
to release him from his torture. It hurt him to see one of his closest
friends in so much pain, and as a master in swaying people into telling
their deepest emotions with his endearing and angelic features, he
obliged himself to put an end to it. “Duo, something is bothering you. Tell me what
it is, for God’s sake, talk about it,” he said softly. Duo sighed again and buried his face in both his hands.
“I miss her, Quatre. She was special to me, I loved her, I wanted
to marry her, hell, she even was pregnant. And now she’s gone.
It’s killing me, Quat. It’s tearing me down. Now she has
vanished, my heart seems to have vanished as well. It’s so empty
inside,” he muffled. “And it doesn’t stop there, no.
It isn’t cruel enough yet. Of all the people walking around here
on this earth, her practically twin sister gets to be my new colleague.
Do you even know what that means, Quatre? It seems like she’s
still alive, like it’s really her who’s sitting there next
to me, but she isn’t. I’d cry every time I see her, I’d
cry when I try to do some work, all the time I cry for her.” Quatre gingerly approached him and carefully removed
his hands so he could see his face. “You’re not crying now,
are you?” he said softly. “Quatre, I thought you would’ve been brighter
than that, that you would understand,” he said, his words disjointed.
“My eyes are dry, but my heart keeps on watering. It’s a
never-ending flood of tears, it never stops, never dries up. And it
never will. So don’t go telling me I have to try and put myself
over it, it’s no use, nothing can take that pain away.” “I’m not talking about taking it away, Duo.
Only softening it. Maybe she can help you.” “But if I start a thing with that girl, I won’t
be able to love her because of who she really is. I’ll always
see her as Hilde. It wouldn’t be fair to her.” Quatre cast his eyes down. “I understand. Either
way, something has to be done about it, ne?” “I know. But it still remains to be seen that starting
an affair with her is the right solution. And yes Quatre, I know.
I shouldn’t be too harsh for her. It’s not her fault.”
Judging by Quatre’s silence, he thought the conversation was
done, so he wanted to stand up, but the Arabian pushed him back down. “Hold on, still one thing,” he said. A surprised and expectant look in his eyes, he looked
up to him. “What Quatre?” “You know, Heidi’s not the only one who’s
after you.” “After me?” he said confused. “Who says
she’s after me?” “Oh, she’s after you, believe me. The way
she tried to drag you out of that toilet... I wager she wished that
door was made of glass.” “O-kay… So then who else is after me? I don’t
know anything about that,” Duo said bewildered. “Don’t act like you’re falling out of
the sky. I’m sure you’ve already seen it. You have flirted
a lot more with him than with all the rest of us, and I’m sure
that wasn’t without a reason.” “Are you talking about Heero, Quatre?” he
asked unbelievingly. “Are you actually saying he’s in love
with me?” “You avert your eyes when you see him, you close
them, so you cannot see the love he’s trying to show you, in
spite of the fact he isn’t allowed to. It hurts him that you
keep on ignoring him. And even though he shouldn’t show it, it
would help him a lot if he at least knew you care.” “But I… I don’t… I’m not like
that,” he stammered. “I’m not like you and Trowa, really.” Quatre considered him for a moment. “You know what
I think, Duo?” he asked. “No, but you’re about to tell me, I guess.” “You’re right, you’re not like me and
Trowa.” “Thought so-“ “You’re somewhere in between, aren’t
ya? You like both of them.” Duo’s eyes widened and he leaned forward in his
chair. “What did you say, Quatre? Are you insinuating that…” “Of course, it’s so obvious. Your flirtatious
behaviour when Hilde was still alive has given you away. You made
moves to men *and* women, especially to Heero. All those years you
have played with him, without meaning. Have you ever thought about
how hard it must’ve been for him?” “That was only for fun!” Duo still tried to
defend himself, but Quatre new he had him, and Duo realised he couldn’t
save it anymore. He had made a clean breast of it, and he had searched
for it himself. “Alright already, you’ve got me cornered,”
he sighed in defeat. “Do you love him, Duo?” “I… I guess that… I” An answer which
made any sense at all didn’t seem to come, but instead he slowly
nodded his head, his eyes lowered. “Why don’t you show it then? Not at once that
you love, but at least that you care about him.” “I can’t do that.” “Why not?” Quatre urged. Apparently he had
made it his quest to purge the world of any pain, which of course
was impossible, so he bothered his comrades with his well meant sermons. “I have my reasons!” he said, slightly annoyed,
but enough to give Quatre a start. “Alright then,” Quatre said. “But I sure
hope you know what you’re doing.” “So do I, Quatre,” he sighed. “So do I.” ********** “Ah, look who we have over there,” she said
cheerfully when he came stumbling back into his office. He looked
as if he had peeled about 20 kilos of onions and next got a swarm
of bees into his face, better she couldn’t describe it. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “It’s alright,” he sighed. “You
couldn’t know it.” He blew his nose and tried to force a
smile. “And you, do you have a boyfriend?” “Eh… No. Why do you ask that?” “No reason. Just asking,” he said, trying
to appear innocent. “I see,” she said, knowing the exact reason
why he wanted to know, but not going any deeper into it for the moment.
Suddenly she stood up and walked towards him, her eyes fixed on something
on his chest. “Duo, I have been wanting to ask this to you the
whole morning. What is that?” Around his nick hung a necklace, made of several tiny
bullets, and on his chest rested a silver crucifix. “A Lord’s Prayer? You’re wearing a Lord’s
Prayer?” she said, slightly amazed. “Religious boy, aren’t
ya?” “It has nothing to do with religion!” he retorted.
“Or maybe, in some way it has. You know, I’m an orphan.
I used to live on the streets for many years, until the people of
Maxwell church took me in. That’s where I got my name from. And
when I left there, they have given me that.” “Wow, easy does it!” Heidi exclaimed. “Duo
Maxwell is not your real name? You’re an orphan? You lived in
a church?!” “Yep,” he said, nodding his head. “Well, don’t you just stand there!” she
cried. “Tell me everything!” Duo looked away and heaved a big sigh. “That’s
kind of a painful and long story. I’m not really in the mood
to talk about that now. You know, maybe I’ll tell you all that
some other time, all right?” “Okay,” she said softly. “It’s okay
if you don’t want to talk about it. But you can at least tell
me your real name then.” “But that’s just it. I don’t know what
my real name is.” “You don’t know that?” “No. My parents died a few years after I was born.
Actually, I witnessed them being killed when I was still a young lad.
But I couldn’t remember my name. Fortunately, I was lucky enough
to meet a boy when I lived on the streets, Solo was his name. “Hey
kid, what’s your name?” he asked me. “I don’t
know” I said. So then he renamed me Duo.” He looked back at Heidi. Her mouth hung open and he
wasn’t entirely sure she was still breathing. “Wow,” she said finally. “That’s
some story.” “I know, and it doesn’t stop there,”
he sighed. “There’s more? Tell me,” she urged. “No, some other time,” he said. “I already
feel miserable enough now. And do we really have to work now too?”
he groaned, running a hand over his face. “Yes, that would be a very good idea, Duo Maxwell,”
a female voice suddenly said. “Lady Une,” he whimpered. “Good morning, Lady Une. We’ll start working
right away,” Heidi said, grinning broadly. “I hope so,” she said grumpily, striding off
again. “Bootlicker,” Duo mumbled. “Shut up.” ~*~*~ |
