For paranoid pen- the next part of Circles.
Again, apologies to both Harrys....
Circles Part 2
It wasn't that Duo wasn't used to being watched by someone he couldn't see. He was- he had Howard around after all, and Howard wasn't above watching over Duo's should at every opportunity as it was- though he was easy enough to distract with a bottle of rum and some car magazines. Not that he could drink the rum, but he enjoyed the spirits of the spirit... or so he said. Duo didn't really bother to ask.
But, having Heero around was driving Duo insane. Not that Heero said anything or betrayed in presence in any way, but just knowing that he was there gave Duo a permanent itch in between his shoulder blades.
Not to mention other places. To have Heero so close... and not be able to reach out...
Plus he couldn't get back to the work he wanted- needed to be doing.
It was maddening.
He lasted three days. Three days and six hours, to be precise, before he stood in his tiny living room and and lost it. "Heero! Damn it! Show yourself!"
Heero popped into visibility beside him, nearly scaring Duo out of his skin. He hadn't expected Heero to be so close. "What?"
Duo took a step back, distancing himself. "I can't do this. You have to go back to the council- get them to take you off of this watch!"
"They aren't going to do it. Not so soon."
"Heero, please. I can't concentrate-"
Heero frowned a little. "But I'm not disturbing you- you can't even see me!"
"But I know you're here! Every freaking minute! Watching me!"
"I'm not here every freaking minute."
Duo blinked at him. "What?"
"I can't be on duty twenty four hours a day. You know that."
"So you aren't here all the time?" He had a brief surge of hope.
"No."
A thought occurred to him. "But- my wards- they should warn me when you-"
Heero looked smug. "They won't."
Damn it. "How are you getting around them?"
"I'll tell you- after the council takes me off this duty."
Duo huffed. "And I suppose you can't tell me when you're off duty?"
"You know I can't."
Dropping into his armchair, Duo scowled at the floor. "So how long do you have to do this until the council is satisfied that I'm a good little wizard?"
"They didn't give me a time line."
"Can't you ask them?"
Heero sat down on the floor in front of Duo, forcing him to meet his eyes. "Duo, what's going on? Why does this bother you so much?"
"How would you like to be watched all the time?"
"If I wasn't doing anything wrong, it wouldn't bother me."
Ah hell. This wasn't going to be easy. "Even if it was by me?"
"Especially if it was by you."
Duo's eyes widened. "What are you-"
"You know damn well it wasn't my idea to separate." Heero snapped, and then softened. "Look Duo, I know you don't like it- but I can't go back to the council after three days and ask them to take me off surveillance. You know I can't. The fact that you asked me is suspicious enough."
And Heero was now very suspicious, Duo could tell. Crap. He should've known better than to even start this. But Heero always threw him off balance...
Duo covered his face with his hands. "Look- it wasn't my fault that my guardian was a dark master! I never wanted to be like him! Not after what he did-"
"Duo? What are you talking about? You always said he never harmed you-"
"He never harmed me," Duo lifted his head and met Heero's eyes. "But afterwards- I found out that it was him that made the orphanage explode that night- it wasn't a gas leak- it was him! Because they turned down his application to adopt me-"
"He destroyed the orphanage? Are you sure-?" Heero asked doubtfully.
"Yes! Of course I'm sure! I found his journals last year. It's all in there." Duo swallowed hard. "He killed them all- and not even to just get me! He could have magicked me out of there in a moment! But because they made him angry-" he took a deep breath. "It's even in there that he was disappointed in me- my magic wasn't what he'd hoped it would be- that's why he finally sent me away to school."
"Have you shown anyone his journals?"
"And get in trouble for keeping them? The council would no doubt think I was trying to follow in his footsteps!"
Heero rubbed at his forehead. "Good point."
"And now you're going to run back to the council and tell them that I saved his journals-" He shouldn't have brought them up at all- but he'd been stung over Heero's disbelief.
"I'm not here to report on your belongings. I'm here to watch what you are doing. If you aren't pouring over his journals and conducting his black magic rituals, then I don't have to say anything about them."
Duo bit down hard on the inside of his lip and fought to keep his expression clear. That was a little too close... "Thanks."
"I'm not your enemy, Duo."
"I know that. I do... it's just... making me twitchy. Being watched all the time. Remember how Professor H used to spy on us with those mirrors in his class?"
Heero's lips curved in a faint smile. "I remember that. You hated it."
"It always made me mess up, just knowing he was watching." Hopeful again, Duo tried another tactic. "Look, can you just... get me a time line? Find out how long they are planning on watching me? Even a prisoner knows how long his term is."
"I can try."
Relief swept over him. "Really?"
"Really. I can't guarantee anything, but I do have other duties. It wouldn't be odd for me to ask when I can get back to them."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. I'll let you know when I get an answer." Heero vanished. Duo blinked at the place he'd been sitting for a moment.
"Heero?" He whispered. No answer. "Heero?" he tried again. Still no answer. He must have gone right to the council...
Carefully, Duo got up and went down the stairs to his lab. "Howard?" he asked the sunglasses sitting on a high shelf, "is Heero here?"
"Hell if I can tell, kid."
"Some help you are."
"I'll remember you said that next time you ask me to find something for you."
Duo sat on the bottom step. Had Heero simply gone? Or was he waiting for Duo to assume he was gone and do something he shouldn't?
Glancing at the calendar, he sighed. Only two weeks until the Hunter's moon- he was running out of time. There were so many things to do... did he dare?
No. He decided and got up to pull out his cauldron. Not yet. Just in case, he'd stick to something else- maybe figure out a way to tell when Heero crossed his wards? He should be able to tell, but somehow Heero managed to do it... or maybe a way to spy the invisible? Once he knew when Heero was truly gone, then he could get on with his work...
TBC...
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