BTW, for those of you that might be wondering how I came up with this- in the awful GW manga, Duo IS a deliveryman after the war. A mysterious one with a lot of time on his hands.
Deliveryman Part 6
I had to wonder what the hell I was doing. I knew I had told Heero way too much- and that wasn't wise. G.'s hold over me was exactly what I had told Heero it was. The deaths of the other pilots. Sure, it's not easy to kill a gundam pilot- unless you're the one that created him. The docs had all made sure that they could take us out if they needed to. Call it insurance.
I didn't care what happened to me and G. knew that. But he knew I would do anything to keep my friends safe- even betray them.
Which was what I was doing. Had been doing since the Peacemillion crashed into the Libra.
And then there was White Dog. Had I played the game well enough to intrigue them? I knew why G. had told me to withhold the information from the Preventers and Heero. They would've gone after White Dog right away- sent in more stealth agents, direct raid, something like that.
We were going to give them plenty of rope to hang themselves with, and all the better if they came looking for the hangman, rather than the other way around.
Wufei called me several days after my conversation with Heero.
"You look like crap, Maxwell," he told me with a smug grin.
"Shove it Chang. What the hell do you want?"
"So uncivil," he sighed. "Can't a friend call to ask for a favor?" I groaned.
"What?"
"I need you to deliver a package." He paused and I waited. We stared at each other for a long moment.
"And?" I prompted.
"That's it."
"Deliver a package?"
"Why do you sound so surprised? You are a deliveryman." One of those elegant brows lifted in a derisive arch. "Aren't you?"
"Yes," I growled at him. "That's it? Just deliver a package?"
"You got it. Just come pick it up from headquarters, drop it off at the address and you're finished."
"Where am I delivering it to? A colony? The lunar base?"
"Downtown." Was it really so easy? No way in hell. There had to be something more to this. What was Wufei not telling me? Still, the damn Preventers had their own hold on me.
"All right. When do you want me to come and get it?"
"Can you come now?" Wufei asked.
"Sure. I'll be there in twenty." I hung up, confused as all hell. Was it just a simple package run? Or was this Wufei's way of recruiting me into a mission?
The Preventers' door guard waved me past him, directing me to Wufei's office. Apparently Agent Chang was waiting for me. I managed to navigate my way through the Preventers' offices, even though I felt like a sheep in a pen of wolves. Had they found out the truth of my little 'accident' the other day? Was this Fei's way of luring me in?
Wufei and Heero were both in the office when I got there. Fei grinned at me when I walked in the door.
"On time, Maxwell? What's happened to you?"
"Shut up Fei," I retorted, not terribly cleverly.
"Just ignore him, Duo. Sally's decided to play a little hard to get with him this week, so he's been really grouchy." Heero looked up from his computer and raised an eyebrow at me. "You know, letting an 'onna' affect him like that."
"Shut up Yuy," Wufei snapped and I laughed.
"So, where is this package I'm supposed to deliver?" Wufei opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a small wrapped box.
"Here."
"And where is it going?" Wufei produced a small card, an address scribbled on the back. "This isn't a great address," I told him. "Are you hoping I'll get knifed or something?"
"Hmmm, let me think about that..." Wufei's grin returned. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Sheesh. I feel unappreciated," I retorted.
"I appreciate you," Heero spoke up again and against all my better intentions, I flushed. Wufei looked like he was going to add something, but Heero cut him off. "Can we have dinner together tonight Duo? It's been awhile."
"Sure," I answered readily enough. Then I remembered that Heero might want to get me alone to ask me more about what I had told him the other day. I wished with all my heart that I could lie at that moment.
"Great," the smile he gave me was warming. "I'll bring pizza to your place, okay?" Wufei snorted.
"Pizza. Haven't you two picked up any taste from me at all?"
"No, for which I am truly grateful." I bowed sweepingly to Wufei and made my exit. Dinner with Heero. One part of me was thrilled, jumping up and down like a little kid. The other part of me wanted to run and hide as far away as I could. I couldn't take it if he started questioning me again.
The address Wufei gave me was easy enough to find. It was in a lousy part of town, but since it was still daylight, I didn't get hassled.
Or maybe it's simply the way that deliverymen tend to fade in the background. Like I said, we belong everywhere.
I climbed the beat up staircase wondering all the while what Wufei had sent me into. What was in this package? Why was it being delivered here of all places, and why by me? A thousand scenarios went through my head, but not the one that actually happened.
The door was cracked and warped, the number faded and dim. I knocked and waited. On the other side of the door, I heard the faint sound of a snap, like a holster being unclipped. Shit. Which way to dodge when they opened the door?
The door flew open a moment later, but I managed to check myself before I jumped. Noin was staring at me, one hand on her gun, the other on the door she had just flung open.
"Duo?" she questioned. "What are you doing here?"
"Fei asked me to drop this off," I told her, holding out the box. She smiled.
"Sal," she called over her shoulder. "That ridiculous boyfriend of yours sent an apology." Ah hah. Mystery explained. They must be on a stakeout or something. Thus the reason to send me- I was familiar.
"An apology?" I raised my eyebrows at Noin and she shrugged. Sally appeared behind her. "This is yours, I believe," I said and handed it to her with a flourish.
"Thanks Duo," she grinned at me. "I'm glad we didn't shoot you through the door."
"And here I was sure Fei sent me because he was hoping you would." I turned and waved my hand in the air. "You ladies have a good day now!"
Later that evening, I waited for Heero anxiously, my stomach in knots. He must be planning something. By the time my doorbell rang, I was a knot of tension.
Heero smiled at me when I opened the door and pushed the pizza boxes into my hands. "Hey Duo."
"Heero," I responded as cheerfully as I could.
It wasn't the first time Heero had brought pizza over, not by a long shot. We'd sit and eat it on my couch and watch some movies from my collection. Even though I kept expecting something different, Heero acted just the same as always. Well, almost the same.
When we had finished the pizza, midway through the first movie, he reached out and tugged me into the curve of his arm. I gave him a questioning look.
"Is this okay?" He asked, eyes meeting mine.
"It's fine." I managed and focused back on the screen. I tried to focus on the movie and not the warmth of his body next to mine, or the way his fingers were playing with my braid.
It didn't work.
When the movie was over, I turned to ask Heero what he wanted to do next. Before I could speak, he kissed me. This kiss was different than the others he'd given me- less gentle, deeper. It overwhelmed me easily. I felt his fingers slipping up underneath my T-shirt caressingly and heat flooded me.
The next thing I knew, we had somehow moved from my couch to my bed.
Damn, he was wonderful.
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my vidphone buzzing in the main room. I slid out of bed, grabbing my clothes from the floor and went to answer it, carefully closing the door behind me.
G.'s face popped up on my screen and I stifled a groan. "What the hell do you want?" I hissed at him.
"Your report Duo. Remember? Every week at this time..."
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. "Everything's going fine G."
"White Dog?"
"They haven't called."
"If they don't soon, you'll have to arrange another accident or something..."
"I know that." I sighed. "Don't worry, G. I have a few ideas."
"Very well." He tapped his fingers together. "What about your long-term mission?"
"Everything's going fine, like I said." I was desperate to get off the phone. Heero was a light sleeper. I did not want him walking in on this conversation.
"No signs of trouble?"
"None."
"They don't suspect you?" Well, I'm sure Heero suspected something, but I wasn't about to tell G. that.
"Of course not." I ran my fingers through my hair. "Everything is fine, G. Can I go back to bed now?"
"Very well, Duo. Call me immediately if anything changes."
"I will." I hung up abruptly and leaned against the desk. Shit. Why was my life getting so complicated? G., the Preventers, White Dog, Heero... Crap. I cast a glance back over my shoulder at the bedroom door. It was still closed. Last night had been really great. No, better than that. It had been a dream come true. But how was Heero going to deal with the reality of it? Hell, how was I going to deal with the reality of it?
"Duo?" I heard Heero's voice through the door, sounding sleepy. "Duo? Where are you?"
I went back and opened up the bedroom door. Heero was sitting up in bed yawning. He smiled when he saw me and I couldn't help but smile back.
"There you are." He reached out a hand towards me and I went and joined him on the bed. He pulled me into his arms and kissed my chin. "Good morning."
"Good morning," I put my head on his shoulder and tried to relax.
"Is everything okay?" Heero's voice was soft. "I was worried when I woke up and you weren't here."
"Phone rang," I told him. "Stupid solicitors." That wasn't exactly a lie. G. certainly was my telemarketer from hell.
"Then, last night was okay?" I heard the doubt in his tone.
"It was better than okay," I turned my head and kissed him fiercely. He smiled when I let him go.
"Good." He slid down further in the bed, taking me with him. "Then you won't mind doing it again."
The rest of my life was going to hell, but that morning with Heero was heaven.
TBC...
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