Author's Note: This fits with chapters fifty three and fifty four of Witness.
Diary of a Protected Witness Part 44
Preparations
Dear Diary:
I almost threatened to put that bullet right back into Heero when he went along with Chang and Catherine's warped idea to stick me in a dress. I swear, the guy's lucky I love him so goddamned much, or I'd have been seriously tempted.
I mean, fuck! He's gay. You'd think he wouldn't be in such a hurry to stuff his male lover into women's clothing.
At any rate, we went on a shopping trip in downtown Euphoria as soon as Catherine figured 'Ro was up to it.
I might've enjoyed our little walking tour of the town, except that Cathy, that sadistic little witch, made me look at more chick clothes than I realized they fuckin' made!
When she got around to buying pantyhose and bras, I was seriously tempted to cut and run. Honestly, I hadda ask myself if it was really worth bringing Khushrenada down, if I had to stoop to something so completely warped as cross-dressing.
I know--I did it on a bet once. But that was really different. I wasn't trying to be mistaken for a chick! I was just fulfilling the terms of a ridiculously stupid bet.
Anyhow, let's just drop the subject of the clothes shopping.
For me, the highlight of Euphoria was Pops' restaurant...The Gull's Wing. The minute I tasted the marinara sauce, I knew I was in the presence of greatness. Damn, but the man could cook!
I made my way to the kitchen as soon as I could, to find out how he got that extra little "tang" in the flavor.
He reminded me of Howard, a bit--kind of grizzled and scruffy looking, but with lines and wrinkles in his face that made him look wise. They would've also made him pretty interesting to sketch.
In addition to a genuinely interesting face, he had a great smile--looked like it came right from the heart--and a bright little spark of humor in those sea-green eyes.
Yeah, I liked the old geezer right away. Told him his marinara was spectacular, but that I couldn't quite place one of the ingredients.
He was a skeptic, until I listed all the things I did recognize in it; then I think he knew I had a clue as to what I was talkin' about. And he opened right up and started spilling secrets.
I coulda talked to the guy all day. He was a wealth of cooking knowledge. Zechs would've probably tried to hire him as a personal chef if he'd ever met the guy.
For a little while, in that warm, good-smelling kitchen, I forgot all about Khushrenada and the upcoming trial and how uncertain my future was...and I just happily traded cooking tips with Pops. It was a wonderful interlude...enough to distract me from all that weighed on my mind.
And on the way out, I got to hold Heero's arm. Seemed like no one in that rustic little restaurant gave a rat's ass about same-sex couples; they didn't even raise an eyebrow at our closeness.
I really liked that town. I kinda hoped Heero might agree to come back after the trial was over.
When we finished up our business, I talked 'Ro into walking up the cliff trail with me, rather than riding in the car with Chang and Catherine. It felt like maybe the last time we'd truly be alone until everything was over, and I wanted to share the beauty I'd noticed only peripherally when Chang took me out there to calm down.
I'd been so obsessed about Heero, it'd been hard for me to take in the wide splash of stars across the inky sky, and the distant cries of gulls and crash of waves. I thought I might be better able to enjoy it with 'Ro at my side, alive and well.
Um, almost well. I felt like a fuckin' idiot when he got winded halfway up the trail and hadda stop for a breather. Jesus, the guy'd been shot a couple of days before, and I expected him to hike with me! Stupid! Just plain stupid of me.
He sat down on a flat boulder to catch his breath, and I babbled a bit about how sorry I was, and how I'd just wanted to share the scenery with him.
And then, in that totally romantic way you'd never expect from a tough-guy cop, he fuckin' proposed to me!
Even though I knew there were no same sex marriages in that state, it still made my heart just about leap out of my chest. I had no problem promising to stick with him for the rest of our lives.
I even managed to say the words. Y'know--the ones I had such a taboo about?
Okay, I told him I loved him. Happy?
Well, y'know what? It made him so fuckin' happy I was sorry I'd held back so long. I mean, he practically cried--or at the very least, he got a little teary. And he held my hand the rest of the way back to the cottage, as if he were gonna hang onto me no matter what.
I really hoped he meant it.
That night went by all too fast, and the next morning we headed for the big city, and my day in court.
It kinda scared me to hear Chang and Yuy talk about their captain as if they weren't even sure of her loyalty any more. They were plenty paranoid where I was concerned, and while it was comforting to have them watching over me--it was a bit disconcerting to realize how huge the looming threat was.
It got even worse after Heero talked to his boss, and found out she really had sent good people out to meet us at the amusement park--people who never got there and were now assumed dead.
I felt bad about that. It seemed like bodies were piling up...bodies that would've stayed alive if I hadn't.
I knew there was no point thinkin' like that. I mean, I always felt like when your number's up, it's up. But I also felt a little responsible for the folks Khushrenada killed trying to get to me--like Rashid, and Heero's cop friends. Those people would not have died if it weren't for me.
Of course, Heero knocked some sense right back into me by reminding me it was all Khushrenada's doing. From Zechs' murder, right down to the last crooked FBI agent we'd blasted at the amusement park--it all could be laid at Treize's feet. He was the one who set it in motion, and the one who kept it going.
I really loved how Heero could say the right thing to make me feel less guilty about it all.
"It's nothing more than the truth," he told me.
And I totally believed him.
We stayed at a hotel on the outskirts of the city that night. It was my last chance to sleep in Heero's arms until the trial was over. And what a bittersweet blessing it was!
I couldn't get hot and heavy with him in the same room with Cathy and Wufei. So I had to content myself with snuggling into his arms and relishing the warm, solid feel of his body against mine. I could've stayed there forever listening to the steady, reassuring beat of his heart and the soft sound of his breathing.
But the night flew past, and the next thing I knew, Catherine was dragging me into the bathroom and laying out the clothes I was going to have to wear to get into the courthouse.
There was only time for a quick shower, which I took while listening to her humming contentedly as she organized her supplies.
"Um, couldn't you wait out in the other room?" I asked, self-conscious about having nothing but a skinny shower curtain between me and Chang's girlfriend.
"I'm not looking," she insisted. "And for crying out loud, you've been stared at stark naked by hundreds of people at The Jungle. What's the sudden modesty all about?"
"It's different," I muttered, rushing through my hair-washing in record time. "Less--intimate."
"Stop being such a prude," she scolded. "I'm not the least bit interested in staring at your butt, Maxwell. I'm just the wardrobe person."
"I dressed myself at the club," I told her. "No makeup man or wardrobe assistant."
"Yeah, and I'll bet you guys walked around nearly naked half the time when you were backstage. So get over it!"
Her hand suddenly appeared between the shower curtain and the wall, holding a pink razor.
"What the fuck?"
"Take it," she ordered. "And if you don't want razor burn, soap up your legs before you shave them."
"Shave them?!" I thundered, horrified at the thought.
"Oh come on--I'm absolutely sure you had to do it for the bet at The Jungle."
"But this is for a stupid jaunt to a courthouse. And I'll be wearing pants for the trial."
"Good Lord, Duo--how do you expect to fool anyone if you've got fuzz sticking through your pantyhose?"
I'd kinda been hoping she'd forget about the pantyhose, and maybe let me get away with knee socks or something.
She jiggled the nasty pink thing in her hand. "Take it!"
So I took it. And I dutifully soaped up my legs before scraping off the hair from the knee down. If she wanted anything higher than that shaved, she'd need a fuckin' army!
A few minutes later, I turned off the water, and she promptly stuck a towel in from one end of the curtain. "Dry off."
"Yes, mother," I drawled, obeying out of a mixture of fear (hey, she was an accomplished knife-thrower) and discomfort (I really wanted clothes on soon--even chick's clothes).
She eyed me dispassionately as I pulled the curtain back and stood with the towel clasped firmly around my waist. "Put these on first."
I looked at the wrinkly little nylons she was holding out. "What about my underwear?"
"These are underwear," she assured me. "We got the control-top ones, with a sort of built-in panty--so you won't have any lines showing."
I stared at her for a long moment, realizing she had no idea how much danger she was in right then. I wondered if my immunity to prosecution would give me a free pass if I strangled her with a pair of pantyhose.
"C'mon, Duo--we don't have all day!" She waved them at me.
"Turn around," I ordered coldly, snatching them out of her hand, and waiting until she'd completely turned her back, before dropping my towel and pulling on the delicate stockings.
At least my one prior cross-dressing experience had taught me how carefully you have to handle pantyhose to keep them from getting runs. I managed to put them on without mishap, though considering the immediate stranglehold they had on my balls, it seemed unlikely I'd survive wearing them.
I swore to God, if that jury didn't convict Khushrenada after I went through all this shit--I'd fuckin' throttle them and the judge--with my control-top, sheer, reinforced-toe L'eggs!
TBC...
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