Afterwards 2 Part 4
I froze when Duo hit the answer button. I was trapped on the floor between Duo and the phone desk. Moving would involve pushing either the desk or Duo's chair back.
Not a good idea under the circumstances...
Duo knew it too. He had just enough time to give me an evil grin before the connection went through.
"Duo- where have you been? I've been trying to reach you! I left several messages- did you not get them? It was very inconsiderate of you..."
"Victor," Duo cut his father off. "I am not answerable to you for my behavior. I thought we'd discussed that already?"
There was the sound of an indrawn breath. "There is such a thing as being polite."
"Yes, though I fear our views of it differ. Heero did tell me you called; I simply chose not to return the call when I heard your message for him. Obviously you did not take me seriously when I told you under what conditions I would speak to you again." Duo reached for the hang up button.
"You are really serious about this? You'd abandon your family..."
"I've done well enough without you up until this point." Duo smiled. "You forget- I've known Heero since I was 15. He's been my family for longer than you have."
I heard Victor sputter, but Duo's hand was faster. The screen flicked off, and Duo looked down at me with a tired smile. I opened my arms to him, understanding, and he joined me on the floor, uncomfortable as it was.
"That was harder than I thought it would be." He said against my shoulder.
"I know it was," I kissed the side of his head. "I'm so sorry."
Duo lifted up off me a little and frowned. "Why are you sorry?"
"If it wasn't for me..." Duo covered my mouth with his hand, his frown deepening.
"Don't even go there. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be alone."
I kissed his hand and gently pulled it away from my mouth. "Duo- you were never alone- you had the guys..."
He shook his head. "It's not the same. It was never the same. I was always the third wheel, the extra, the buddy. I went home alone every night. I hated it. I'm much happier here with you and you damn well know it."
That made me smile, despite the tone. "I do know it- but I still feel bad."
"I do too." Duo put his head back down. "You know, as much as things may have sucked when I was younger, I'm glad I grew up the way I did."
"Your mom would've had custody."
"Mom," he sighed. "I'd better call her."
"I think that would be a good idea."
"Then maybe I should sign in- get some work done..."
"You took the week off," I reminded him. "You don't have to if you don't want to."
Duo propped himself up onto one elbow. "Are you ahead?"
"At work? Yes."
He grinned. "I shouldn't even ask anymore. I know better. You take the day off with me then?"
I lifted an eyebrow at him. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well, I thought maybe we could go into the city... just spend some time together today hanging out? Maybe go to the movies or the mall or something?"
Getting away from the phone and the house for the day sounded good. "We do need to do some shopping for Relena's party," I agreed, looking at the clock. It was still early; Sophie wouldn't be in for an hour yet. "Call your mom and then I'll call Sophie."
Duo smiled. "Okay!"
Thankfully, at least to my mind, he did pull on some sweats before he called his mother. I kept myself busy- taking Val for a quick run, feeding her, and taking my shower. I tried to give Duo some privacy but I did catch some parts of the conversation.
"...I'm so sorry about this. I thought he'd gotten over all those prejudices a long time ago...."
"...He was unbelievably rude to Heero... the message he left!"
"...I don't understand it! We're married! How could he think I didn't have some emotional tie to Heero? Why would he think I'd just give it all up when I met someone else?"
"You have to remember- that's what I did. We were engaged and I was pregnant, and yet I walked away from him..."
Duo poked his head into the bathroom as I was pulling on my shirt. "Your aunt wants to talk to you and I want to take a shower."
"Feeling demanding today?"
"Yes," Duo grinned. "If your aunt wasn't on the phone, I'd prove it. Now get out there."
Idun was waiting when I reached the phone. She smiled, tilting her head to the side. "Hello dear. Are you doing all right?"
I glanced at the bathroom. Duo had turned on the shower in there; I doubted he could hear anything. "Well enough. Duo was really upset."
"He said you were too." Idun shook her head. "I've never liked Victor, but I always thought that was my own prejudices coloring things. He can be so slick- insinuating and calculating..."
"I know it." My throat tightened as I remembered his message for me.
Idun touched the screen with a fingertip. "Don't let him win. No nephew of mine is going to back down from that man. Understood?"
"Understood." I smiled for her.
"We're going on that trip over the holidays, but you can always call us if you need us, all right?"
"All right."
"Don't hesitate."
"Yes Aunt."
"Don't 'yes aunt' me." She smiled back. "Now, go have fun with Duo today. Forget about Victor."
"Mission accepted."
She laughed, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "We'll be here until the 22nd. Love you. Have a good day."
"Love you too," I told her and she hung up.
I looked at the bathroom door again; the sounds of showering still audible, and then looked at the playback button on the phone.
Duo had stopped the recording earlier- and I had been glad. But now... now I was wondering if I shouldn't listen to the whole message... Didn't I need to know what we were facing?
Or, if I was more honest with myself- the arguments that Victor had used with Duo so that I could counteract them...
Before I could make up my mind one way or the other, the sound of the shower stopped. Too late now. I curled up with my newsreader on the couch instead and waited for Duo to come out.
Which he did, a few minutes later, damp hair sticking to his upper body as he went searching for clothes.
I watched him, remembering all the mornings I had been alone except for Val in the house before he came to live with me.
I needed Duo. I wanted Duo. I would do anything to keep him. No one was going to take him from me.
The fierceness of my thoughts surprised me- an hour ago I had been willing to step back for a bit- now I wanted to fight. Maybe Idun's pep talk had been more effective than either of us realized.
Duo joined me on the sofa, giving me a warm kiss and poking me in the ribs. "Go call Sophie so we can go and have fun."
I kissed him back, poked him in the stomach, and got off the couch. "I'll call. You go eat something. I'm not stopping at that diner off Route 88 again because you got hungry."
"But Heero, you have to admit, the roaches were really very fun to watch."
I dialed the number for work and lifted an eyebrow at him. "Go eat and I promise we'll go to that hamburger spot you love for lunch."
"Deal," he bounded off the couch and towards the kitchen. I wondered how much of his happiness was real and how much he was pretending to keep me happy.
It didn't matter. By the end of the day that would be genuine happiness on his face. I'd make sure of it.
TBC...
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