Life... Really Part 13
When Heero and Duo returned to the house following their outing, they were still smiling brightly to themselves in recalling their time in the park. Their first kisses certainly had left them floating after the experience. Finally able to be honest with themselves and each other regarding their attraction for each other, it was as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
...Now all they had to do was keep it all hidden from everyone else.
After stepping inside the house, Duo removed his baseball cap and lifted his long T-shirt so that his tail could snake out. Glancing at himself in the tall mirror by the entranceway, his smile faded a bit. Whenever he was outside, he almost forgot that he wasn't... normal.
Earlier, when Heero had kissed him earlier, he may have forgotten about that as well. Aside from being in a relationship with another male, Duo was complicating the situation further given his strange appearance.
Somehow sensing his best friend's distress, Heero wrapped an arm around his waist. Pulling him close against his chest, the Japanese teenager smiled, whispering in the braided youth's cat ear, "I know what I was getting into earlier, Duo. I don't regret anything." Gently, he kissed his boyfriend's temple.
Relief flooded over the cat-tailed boy at his partner's words. Still able to feel Heero's warm breath against his ear, he shivered. Turning to smile warmly at the other teenager, Duo replied quietly, "Thank you, Heero." He leaned in quickly to peck his friend's lips.
Once they entered the living room, they found Noin pacing nervously across the floor. At the sight of the boys, the short-haired maid paused in her steps and approached them with a sigh of relief. Smiling, she greeted, "There you both are. I hope that you both had a good time on your venture today."
The smiles faltered a bit at the forced happiness in the young woman. "Is something wrong, Noin?" Heero asked kindly. There were very few times that he ever saw her appear this distressed over anything.
Her shoulders sagging a bit, Noin decided better to just be forward with the news. Regardless of how much she wanted to protect Heero, she knew that there would be terrible consequences if she did not relay the message that his mother had left. With a deep sigh, she frowned, "Your mother had called for you a little over an hour ago."
Both Heero and Duo's eyes widened at the announcement. The Japanese youth, especially had an overwhelming sense of dread overcoming him. From the moment he was able to assist his mother with her projects, he never put an assignment that she had given him off. Not only did he do that tonight, but he had been caught in doing it. Suddenly, he did not feel very well.
At the shocked and frightened glances that the response caused, Noin reassured the two boys, "I managed to calm her a bit when she realized that you were not here working on her assignment, but she wants you to call her back right away. She seemed in quite a state over whatever it is she needed to discuss with you."
Taking a deep breath, Heero nodded, "All right. Thanks, Noin." Quickly, he turned on his heels to head upstairs to his room. Biting his lip, Duo began to pace the floor nervously, just as his 'mother' had been when they found her.
As she watched her 'son,' Noin smiled to herself, taking a moment before asking, "So how was the kiss?"
Duo froze, his violet eyes wide as he spun to face the young woman. The words just ran from his mouth as he sputtered, "What? I-how did you-I didn't mean to-"
Before the boy panicked any further, the young maid smiled warmly as she placed her hands on his shoulders. With their gazes locked, Noin commented, "You were both practically walking on air when you entered the room. I have very good instincts when it comes to this sort of thing." She ended the last remark with a wink.
The braided teenager's mouth fell open in amazement. "Besides," his 'mother' continued, "Zechs had mentioned to me earlier that he had picked up on some signs that Heero may have been attracted to you. It was only a matter of time. Zechs and I would have been shocked if the two of you were still dancing around each other after tonight."
Relaxing at the encouragement, Duo gave a shy smile. "It was wonderful, Mom," he said quietly, a blush coloring his cheeks. "I never imagined kissing being anything like that." His wistfulness faded into a more concerned look. "This will just stay between us?"
"Of course," Noin nodded reassuringly. "This will not go any further." His brow drew a bit as she warned, "Just be very careful. If Heero's mother ever had any hint that the two of you were involved-"
Just the thought of that happening caused Duo to shudder. Shaking his head vigorously, he replied, "We'll be careful, Mom. I promise." His cat ears drooped a bit, his violet eyes falling on the stairwell that led upstairs. "Do you think that Heero is in a lot of trouble for not being here tonight?"
Noin gently wrapped her arms around her 'son' in a comforting gesture. "I'm sure that Heero will be able to handle his mother. Try not to worry about it." Duo nodded against her shoulder with his eyes closed. Slowly, he calmed and purred deeply as his 'mother' gently ran a hand over his head.
* * * * * *
Sitting before his vid phone, Heero waited anxiously for his request to connect was being picked up. Finally, his mother's image appeared on the screen. The moment their cobalt eyes met, Danielle visibly eased. The teenage boy had caught the quick glimpse of the red-headed woman before she realized who was calling. Noin had been right; his mother certainly was very distressed over something.
"Thank God," Danielle sighed deeply. Instead of asking her son how he was or anything of the such, she went straight to business as usual. "Heero, do you still have the reports that I had Angela fax over earlier tonight."
A bit taken aback by the sudden question, and the fact that he was not being reprimanded for not being home when she has called, Heero blinked his wide eyes and nodded, "Yes, I have them." Regaining his composure, he rose from his seat to gather the pile of sheets that remained on the fax machine.
When Heero returned before the screen with the tall stack of papers, Danielle took a deep breath and stated, "There were a few test reports in there that I gave to Angela in error. She's away for the next few days and has the original copy with her."
Even as his mother explained the situation, the Japanese youth was shuffling through the papers in his hands. When he reached one of the last reports, he could already see that it was out of place with the other files. "You're referring to the results of the blood samples from the scene of the crime?" he asked as he held the paper up for his mother to see.
Smiling at the sight of the report, Danielle replied, "That's it. Could you please refax that to me? I need it to follow up on a few things while I am out on this Colony."
Heero went back to the fax machine and entered the number to the machine at his mother's temporary office at her current location. As the file went through, he returned to sit before the vid phone and announced, "It's on its way."
Quickly, Danielle went to her fax to see that the lab results were coming through. Taking the paper in her hand, she sighed deeply in relief and placed it carefully with the remainder of her files. So much work that she had put into this case would have been for naught if she did not have this one, simple report.
When she took her seat before the screen again, the red-haired lawyer grinned, "Thank you, Heero. I would have lost days of investigating if I did not have this report with me. You can destroy your copy of the test, since it has no relevance to your end of the assignment."
"I'll see to it," Heero answered with a firm nod. "I'll have this project that you left me finished before you call back tomorrow night, just as you had requested in your memo."
Tilting her head, Danielle frowned, "Very well, but I certainly hope that you do not make a habit of this running off when you know you have work to do. I'm too relieved to have this test back to be very upset now, but I will not be pleased if this happens again.
"After all that your father and I have gone through to see that you have a bright future ahead of you, it would be very upsetting to have you forget the simple lessons that we had taught you to prepare for your role in life."
As he swallowed hard, the teenage boy nodded, "It won't happen again, mother. I did not mean to upset you by not being here." The guilt of the last statement still had Heero reeling. He knew that his parents only wanted the best for him, so to have that remark thrown at him had shaken him to the core.
Satisfied, his mother replied with a warm smile, "Very well. I will contact you again tomorrow night, then to follow up on your progress." With that, she reached up to her phone and disconnected the connection. As he fell back in his seat, the teenage boy ran a hand through his unruly hair as he dealt with his guilt.
Gazing at the black screen on his monitor, Heero whispered, "Love you, Mom." It was the same every call for the last couple of years, he never had a chance to end their conversations with the simple sentiment before his mother had to disappear. It had been different before, his mother would at least make an attempt to give some motherly sentiment before her firm really took off.
As much as he wanted to please his mother, Heero also enjoyed the fact that he was beginning to enjoy some of the simple things that he never had the opportunity to do all his life. If his mother ever learned of half of the things he had indulged in over the last six months, she would be outraged with him.
For as long as Heero knew his mother, she always saw such simple acts of enjoying oneself as distractions from their purpose in life. Still, he could not help but admit that he wanted to experience more of those 'distractions'. Now, he couldn't help but think that he was being selfish, considering all that his parents had gone through for his sake.
The Japanese boy's thoughts were interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. Turning off his vid phone, he turned to face the door as it was cracked open enough for Duo to peek his braided head in the room. The cat-eared teenager bit his bottom lip before asking nervously, "Is everything all right?"
With a reassuring, warm smile, Heero replied, "Everything's fine, Duo." Pushing his seat back from his desk, he tapped a hand on his leg. Quietly, requested of the boy, "Come here."
Stepping into the room, Duo closed the door behind him and quickly walked over to his partner to sit in his lap. Heero wrapped his arms tightly around his best friend's waist, closing his cobalt eyes and resting the side of his face against the rumbling chest. The braided youth continued to purr deeply in a soothing manner, gently running a hand through his boyfriend's unruly hair.
For a long time, the pair just sat in companionable silence while they held each other. Both needing the contact, they simply enjoyed the simple thing of just being together without saying a word between them. All the while, the two boys lost themselves in their own thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, Heero spoke up at last and began to tell Duo about the conversation that he just had with his mother. He shared his concerns about what she had said, told his friend about how much he just wanted to make his parents happy. He spoke about everything that was on his mind at that moment, all the while holding Duo as the other boy gently rubbed his back and listened quietly.
When some considerable time passed, Heero pulled back enough to look up to his friend's face, only to be startled when he found tears shimmering in the sad violet eyes there. "Duo?" he asked quietly, the concern etched on his face and dripping from his voice. "What's wrong?"
The braided boy wiped at his eyes, sniffing when he answered, "I was just thinking about what would happen to you if your mother ever found out. I know that we promised to be careful, but I know it would kill you if you ever felt like you let you mother down. Your being with me would just be a distraction from what she wants from you." More tears sprung in his eyes as he whimpered, "She already hates me enough as it is."
It was difficult to hold back the tears that threaten his own eyes at the distress on his friend's behalf, but Heero managed to. Selfless as always, Duo was willing to deal with a great loss in ending their relationship before it even had a chance to even begin, all for his best friend's sake. There truly was not any limit to what personal sacrifices the braided youth would make, if it meant that it would spare another person harm, especially Heero.
Had there had been any uncertainty to what choice he was going to make for himself before that second, Heero's mind had been made up. As much as he wanted to make his mother proud, he knew that this was something he wanted - as much as he needed it. It was something that he was willing to risk everything he knew for.
Gently, Heero reached up to dry Duo's cheeks, whispering, "If you're suggesting that we not see each other, I am not going to hear any of it." It was clear that his friend was not expecting to hear that, his violet eyes widening in shock and blinking.
The Japanese teenager smiled lovingly, reaching up to kiss his lips tenderly before saying quietly, "Let me worry about my mother, if the time ever came that she should find out. Until then, we'll just continue to be careful as we agreed. I'm not planning on losing this with you, regardless of the consequences."
Hearing those words broke Duo from his state of shock and a wide smile tugged at his lips. Without warning, he threw his arms tightly around the other boy, burying his head into his chest. He purred deeply as a gentle hand rubbed his back soothingly.
* * * * * *
The following morning, Heero smiled when he woke to the familiar feel of Duo wrapped around him. Gently kissing the top of his braided head, he chuckled deeply as the other boy mumbled something while snuggling closer to him. "Duo," the unruly-haired teenager whispered. "I have to get up to work."
With a small moan, Duo sat up a bit and rubbed his sleepy eyes. With a wide yawn, he stretched, his long tail extending along with the rest of his body. Fully awake, he smiled lazily at his best friend, "'Morning."
Heero sat up and kissed his boyfriend's lips gently before replying in kind, "Good morning." Slowly, the two boys piled out of bed.
Walking over to his dresser to find a shirt to throw on over his bare chest, Heero asked, "Would you mind bringing something up for me to eat in a bit? This assignment is going to take me a couple of hours and I would like to get it finished right away, before my mother sends more work tonight."
Practically bouncing on his feet at the thought of taking care of the boy he loved, Duo nodded excitedly, "Sure thing." Quickly, he pecked Heero's cheek before running from the room to see to his friend's request. Shaking his head in amusement, the Japanese teenager chuckled deeply to himself.
After throwing on a deep blue T-shirt, Heero ran a hand through his dark hair on his way to the files that had been faxed over the day before. Sitting at his desk, he took hold of the reports and began to sort through them. Once he had everything in its proper pile, he went over to his scanner to begin copying and recreating everything for his mother's personal file that she had building for this new case.
Like so many of his mother's other cases of late, her client was related to a man of high standards and great wealth. The fact that he was being pinned as the criminal responsible for robbing a convenient store and killing the old man who was working there that evening was preposterous in Heero's mind. There was no motive, no need for his mother's client to commit such a felony; not when his father was a respected official in the Senate for the Colonies.
While the scanner began running over the first few sheets of paper, Heero looked over to the leaf of paper that he had removed from the pile for his mother the night prior. Taking the blood test results up, his curiosity got the best of him as he looked over the file. Since there had been a scuffle between the clerk and the armed assailant, there was a possibility that the criminal's blood was mixed with that of the unfortunate innocent.
At first, certain that he had misread the report, Heero narrowed his cobalt eyes a bit and reread through the results. After rereading through the report for a third and then a forth time, his eyes widened with a startled gasp. His mouth opened and closed several times before he finally managed to breathe, "Oh my God..."
* * * * * *
Danielle looked up from her work as her vid phone began to ring. Sighing deeply, she removed her thin-framed glasses and walked over to the large monitor. When she accepted the call, her cobalt eyes widened a bit at the image of her scowling son. "Heero," the red-haired woman nearly stammered, taken aback by the anger in her boy's eyes.
Before she could say anything further, Heero held up the lab results and ordered, "What is this all about, mother? I thought that we had an agreement a long time ago over this."
Her own eyes narrowing, Danielle snapped, "And I had told you last night to destroy that copy of the report. It was not mean for you to concern yourself over." The irritation on her son's face never wavered.
Sighing deeply, the successful lawyer came to the conclusion that this discussion was going to come up at some point. No sense in denying that as a means of delaying it. Finally, Danielle stated, "I will be home in two days, Heero. We will discuss this matter then, as this is not the time, nor the manner to handle this."
In agreeing to the last sentiment, Heero relented, "Fine." For the first time, he disconnected the call before his mother could. His rage had taken over his urge to say anything further. He was certain that his mother would not be contacting him later that night with more work, as she had planned prior to his call.
* * * * * *
Sure enough, Danielle was careful to avoid any contact with her son before her return home after her long trip. When she entered the house, the electronic voice in the entrance greeting her, she lowered her briefcase and removed her brown suit coat. The first person that she ran into was Duo, who had risen from his seat on the couch when he heard her entering.
Biting his lip, the braided teenager fidgeted with his tail nervously, his cat ears lowered a bit in apprehension. Smiling timidly, he greeted, "Welcome back, Mrs. Y-"
"Where is Heero?" Danielle interrupted him with a short tone. She never even bother to gaze on the strange... thing watching her. One of the last things that she wanted right now was to have to deal with him, in addition to having to calm her son.
Duo swallowed hard, his ears drooping all the more as he frowned deeply, "He's upstairs. I'll go get him for you." All too happy to leave her cold presence, the boy all but ran upstairs to find the other boy.
"Zechs! Noin!" the red-haired lawyer called. Not a second later, the couple entered the room quickly from different entrances. The young maid came forward right away, carrying a delicate cup filled with tea on an ornate serving dish to match the piece of china. It was common knowledge now that the head of the household liked to have a hot cup of tea waiting for her when she returned from a long trip.
Assessing the both of her assistants, accepting the dish carrying the cup of tea, Danielle stated in a commanding voice, "Heero and I have pressing issues to discuss regarding my current case. We are not to be disturbed for any reason. I want the living room closed off until we have concluded our meeting."
Without hesitation, the pair nodded with affirmative responses and quickly closed the double doors to the two entrances of the room. Rubbing her arms nervously, Noin rejoined the tall chauffer. Zechs wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. Neither of them had been able to recall the last time they had seen Danielle in such an angered state.
Heero came down the stairs, is own frustration clear on his face as he approached the closed doors leading to the living room. Approaching the worried couple, his anger subsided the slightest bit and he suggested quietly, "You may want to keep an eye on Duo. He was still pretty upset over my mother's behavior towards him when I had to come down here."
With a nod, Zechs replied, "Of course. We'll go check on him now." Noin was already heading upstairs before her lover even finished his reply. Placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, the blonde man squeezed it in support and whispered, "Good luck, Heero." With that, Zechs turned and followed after his partner.
Taking a deep breath, Heero opened the double doors and closed them after him when he stepped into the living room. His mother was sitting at one of the long couch that wrapped around most of the space. Lowering her cup of tea onto the table before her, Danielle watched as the teenager lowered the results of the blood test beside her cup before sitting across from her.
"You said that you were going to run an honest law firm, mother," Heero began in a voice that he was fighting to keep measured. "These test results prove conclusively that your client, Stephen Giles, was responsible for that murder."
Not needing to see the report, nor what it showed, Danielle shrugged, "Conclusive, unless one can have the jury believe that the police involved in the investigation planted the blood as a means of showing that they found their man."
Reeling from her words, Heero's cobalt eyes widened and he shouted, "Mother, this man is a murderer! And along with defending him, you're going to make the officers in charge of the investigation made out to be the criminals!"
After taking a moment to calm himself, Heero glared at his mother. "I did a background check on Giles in some other papers that I found in your files," he growled deeply. "He has a history of selling and buying narcotics and other stimulants on the streets.
"With his father as a Senator, it took quite a bit of digging around on my part to find out that little detail. As a drug addict, he would have more than enough motive to need some money on the spot. You can't possibly tell me that you can defend the man in good conscience."
Danielle shrugged nonchalantly with a smug smirk, "I am not the one who committed the crime, Heero. I have no need to feel any guilt for doing my job. Our firm would not be as successful as it has been over the last couple of years, had it not been for taking cases such as this."
Slowly rising from her seat, her face etched in a fiery glare, Danielle leaned towards her son. "I will tell you this once, and only once," she stated clearly. "Everything has a price on it, even the truth."
Just as he was about to retort, Heero's thoughts were interrupted when his mother frowned, "After all that I have done for you." She straightened, her arms folding. "After everything that I have done to try and see to it that you would want for nothing in life, you dare to question me and my means of seeing that you are taken care of."
Heero gasped sharply, his eyes widening at the statement, at the very concept. Stunned, he could not think of any response as he sat in silence. So this was the life that he was to lead when the time came. This was the great plan that his mother had for him all this time... to bend the truth for the highest bidder.
When all was said and done, how was Heero going to be able to do anything about any of this? His future was already laid out for him. He never had to do anything on his own before, never had to make any decisions for himself. How could he possibly start now, after so many years?
Despite his own personal feelings, the Japanese boy knew that it was better to continue down the path laid out for him, rather than journey off into the frightening unknown... alone.
Numb all over, Heero swallowed hard and nodded. "You're right, mother," he whispered, lowering his head. "It was wrong of me to question your motives, and I am sorry. I promise it won't happen again."
Unfolding her arms, Danielle lost her edge and smiled warmly, "Forgiven and forgotten, Heero." Taking up her tea cup, she sipped at the hot drink and took her seat again. When she lowered the cup from her lips, she grinned, "I promise you that over time, you will not concern yourself over such simple, useless sentiments that your naïve mind still holds."
With his head still lowered, Heero replied in a voice devoid of any emotion, "You always did know best, mother."
TBC...
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