Author's Note: Once again, I'm updating a few hours early, in case the morning gets hectic. It's my last day of jury duty, unless we all disagree and end up deliberating for weeks on end (not likely). Next week I'll be back to Tuesday/Friday updates, at least until I run out of chapters and have to write and post at the same time. I have a month's worth, so maybe I can be ahead again by then. Thanks for all the support and encouragement!
"I'd hoped that Jacob and Aaron might have patched up their differences by this time, but they are two very stubborn young men. Annabelle has apparently washed her hands of both of them, and according to popular rumor, has her eye on the Griffin boy. Perhaps I'm getting old faster than I thought, but it seems to me things used to be much simpler. You found a girl you liked, tried to ascertain if she liked you back, and if she did, you asked her father's permission to court her. If he didn't grab for his shotgun, you had a fair chance of success. Ah, well, now that I think it over, perhaps it was rather complicated, after all..."
--excerpt from the private journal of Ephraim Barton
Smoky Hills Part 14
A Step too Far
Duo could still feel the blush on his face all the way to his Jeep. Damn Hilde anyway! You'd think after all the years she'd known him, she'd have realized he didn't want the new guy in town knowing about his sexual orientation. But then, since it was "common knowledge," she probably figured it didn't matter; if she didn't blab it, someone else would.
"Fuck me," Duo muttered, hopping in and starting up the Jeep.
He was so distracted thinking of the horrid impression Heero must have of him--on top of already thinking he was a lousy mailman--that when he rounded the corner going up route 20, he didn't notice the pickup truck that pulled in behind him. At least, he didn't notice until it loomed in his rearview mirror, and the front end connected with the back of his Jeep.
"What the fuck--?" Duo barely controlled the lurching vehicle, swerving from the right lane to the left, and then back again, before he had it stabilized. He glared up into the mirror and recognized Otto's battered truck closing in on his rear bumper again. "Jesus Christ!" he spat, stepping on the gas and trying to put some distance between them.
It only took an instant for Otto to realize what Duo was attempting, and he sped up some more, tapping the Jeep again.
Duo found it easier to control the vehicle this time, since he was prepared, and his momentary confusion and shock was replaced with overwhelming anger. "Goddamn it," he growled. "This is bullshit!"
He shifted and stomped on his gas pedal, accelerating away from the truck. "Wanna play tag, shithead?" he snarled. "Fine by me!"
At the next crossroad, he yanked the wheel hard, almost tilting the Jeep onto two wheels as he careened around the corner at barely reduced speed. He gritted his teeth in a fierce grin as he saw Otto fishtailing and falling back when he attempted the same move, only with a lot less polish and finesse. "Ha! Still got it, Maxwell," he murmured to himself.
In the next instant, he sped around a corner and very nearly rear-ended a tractor hauling a manure spreader behind it. And while normally he could have passed, there was also a car coming the other way.
"Shit!" Duo slammed on his brakes and went up onto the grassy bank beside the road, sideswiping a small tree, and then jouncing and bouncing over the rough ground and scattered branches and rocks, before pulling back onto the travel lane in front of the tractor, and once again stepping on the accelerator.
He looked back and breathed a sigh, seeing that Otto had opted to stay behind the slow-moving farm vehicle. But he didn't wait around to find out if the other boys would resume the chase once they cleared the obstacle.
He took the first side road heading back towards town, and reduced his speed to normal, as soon as he was convinced the others had either missed his turn or given up the chase.
And then the adrenaline high faded, leaving his hands shaking as they clutched the steering wheel. "Fuck," he whispered, feeling sweat beading on his forehead and nausea settling into his stomach.
Duo's feud with Otto and Trant went all the way back to grade school; but somehow instead of outgrowing their differences after high school, they'd only gotten worse with age. The bullying and teasing had intensified into something that bordered on harassment.
Duo snorted to himself--bordered on it? Trant and Otto's behavior went right off the edge. But with the other boys' parents deeply entrenched in the town leadership, and some of their family in the police department, Duo didn't even consider filing charges.
It was partly pride that held him back--not wanting to admit he couldn't handle a couple of overgrown thugs--and partly mistrust of the local authorities. The Smoky Hills cops had never been what he considered allies--not even the ones who weren't pals with Trant's old man. They'd never done him a good turn, and he knew they weren't about to start now. But after this latest, most dangerous encounter, he kind of wished they would. It might've been nice to have someone in a position to run interference--someone other than a newcomer who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
When Duo pulled into the driveway of the house he and Quatre shared, his pulse had almost returned to normal, and he was fairly sure he could walk without his knees quaking. But when he tried to open the door of his right-hand drive vehicle, he realized it was jammed firmly in place. He ended up climbing out the opposite door and walking around to examine the damage.
"Aw, crap."
The tree had hit the door just hard enough to push it back into the edge where it closed, effectively wedging the metal so tightly it would probably have to be cut off with a torch.
"Fuck!" Duo kicked the tire good and hard, wishing it was Otto's face. "Goddamned fucking psycho--!"
"Duo?" Quatre stuck his had out the kitchen window, obviously having heard the litany of swearing from his friend. "What's the matter?"
"Those freakin' idiots went too far this time!" Duo ranted. "Fuckin' tryin' to run me off the road--!"
"Who did?" Quatre asked, his face readably grave. "Not Otto again?"
"Yes, Otto. And Trant." Duo ran a hand through his sticky bangs. "Jesus, Quat--I'm so sick of those two." He gave up on the Jeep and walked up the porch steps and into the kitchen, stopping in his tracks when he looked at his hand and realized there was blood on it.
"Duo, you're bleeding!" Quatre gasped, running over to tilt his head and examine the bruise and cut just above his right temple. "What happened?"
"Probably banged it on the door when I hit the tree," Duo said absently, trying to push Quatre's hand away.
"You hit a tree?" Quatre squeaked. "Duo--what happened?"
"Have we got any cold beer?" Duo asked plaintively, walking past him to the refrigerator.
"Bottom shelf, right side," came the automatic reply, as Quatre trailed him across the kitchen. "Duo--!"
"Okay. Gimme a sec." Duo pulled out a beer, passed another to Quatre, and then closed the door and held the frosty bottle to his now-throbbing temple. Before he'd been made aware of his injury, his mind hadn't registered the sensation of pain--but now it was coming through with a vengeance.
"I'll get some iodine and bandaids," Quatre said with a frustrated huff. He went to the bathroom in the hall, and brought back the first aid kit.
Duo was sitting on a stool, alternating between taking sips of his beer and holding it to his injured head.
"Here. Let me," Quatre said, pushing the bottle away and taking a clean cloth to dab the blood away from Duo's sweaty temple.
Duo hissed between his teeth.
"Don't be a baby. I haven't even gotten to the iodine yet," Quatre chided. "And how 'bout you tell me what happened while I do this, hm?"
"I was at Howie's, filling up the Jeep. But as I went in to pay, I saw Otto and Trant pulling in behind me."
"Shit."
"I tried to hurry it up--tossed the money to Hilde and tried to get out of there before they came in--but they made sure I didn't make it."
Quatre frowned, examining the dark bruises already forming around Duo's eye. "You whacked this a good one," he noted.
"Lucky me." Duo finished his beer in a few gulps and set the bottle down. "Anyhow, the two assholes came inside and started hassling me, and then Yuy was there. He must've been in the back of the store when I walked in, 'cause that was the first I saw of him." He winced and jerked away as Quatre dabbed iodine on the cut. "Jesus, that stings!"
"Sorry."
"'S okay," Duo mumbled.
"So, go on. What about Yuy?"
"Oh. He came walking up and got in the way. I think Trant was about to try to pound him into paste when I got away from Otto and jumped in between 'em. Then Hilde pretended she'd called the cops, and Mutt and Jeff ran off." Duo sat with his elbows on his knees, hands hanging down between them, while Quatre carefully placed a bandaid over the cut.
"I swear, I think Yuy was looking for a fight," Duo mused, studying the carpet between his feet. "Trant would've been a freakin' idiot to take him on. The guy looked flaming pissed!" He grinned up at his roommate. "Hot, too."
"Is that all you think about?"
"What else is there?" Duo straightened, feeling the bandaid with his fingers. "Doesn't matter anyway," he sighed, sobering. "Hilde fuckin' told him I'm gay. What do you want to bet he steers clear of me from now on?"
"She told him? Why?"
"He asked what Otto and Trant's problem was with me, and she said they're a couple of homophobes." Duo shook his head, eyeing the empty beer bottle wistfully. "We got any more beer, Quat?"
His boss got up without answering and went to the kitchen, bringing out a fresh bottle and handing it over without comment.
"Thanks." Duo twisted the cap off and downed a hefty portion of the drink.
"You're welcome. Sorry Hilde's a blabbermouth. But it could work out for the best--if Yuy happens to be--"
"Don't go there!" Duo cautioned. "Don't even get my hopes up, Quat. He's straight. He's gorgeous and drool-worthy and totally unattainable. Besides, he hates my guts."
Quatre's mouth opened, but then he thought better of whatever he'd planned to say. "So--let's get back to Otto and Trant. You said something about them trying to run you off the road."
"Yeah. That was afterwards. I left the store, and they were waiting about a half a mile up the road. Y'know where it curves before you get to the turnoff for the reservoir?"
"Yes, I do." Quatre's face darkened. "That's a hell of a place for them to start playing games, Duo." He knew the stretch of road very well. There was a ravine on one side, and rock ledge on the other. It was no place to play cat and mouse with another vehicle. "You need to report this to the police."
Duo looked up sharply, in the middle of taking a sip of beer. He carefully pulled the bottle away from his lips. "No."
"Why not?"
"Because it's the same old shit, different day," Duo shrugged. "And it's my word against theirs. Who d'you think the cops will believe?"
"Hilde and Mister Yuy could corroborate your story."
"Only up to the point where I left the store. And Otto and Trant left before me. No, Quatre. There's no point in making a big deal out of this. I'll just get the Jeep fixed and take it out of Otto's hide the next time I see him."
"And get yourself arrested?"
Duo grinned evilly. "I'll make sure there're no witnesses then, either."
"That's no solution."
"That's because there isn't one. You know it as well as I do. We just hate each other's guts and that's the way it'll be--until I find my way out of this dead end town." Duo finished off his second beer and set the bottle down. "Y'think you can get Callie to do the route tomorrow so I can take the Jeep over to the garage?"
"Sure. I'll give her a call right now, and put you down for a day of sick leave tomorrow."
"I'm not sick."
Quatre looked pointedly at the bandaid on Duo's temple. "You're injured. It's close enough."
"Sure, boss."
Duo headed for bed shortly thereafter, claiming fatigue on top of two beers and a whack to the head. But instead of nodding off, he found himself staring up at the ceiling unable to sleep. His thoughts ran their usual course, worrying about getting the Jeep repaired, and fuming over the run-in with his rivals. And then they turned away from old grudges, and towards more cheerful things--like the new guys in town.
He thought about the warm smile Heero had thrown over his shoulder as he carried Thor up to the house. And then he thought about Trowa's friendly greeting, and how easy it was to talk to the green-eyed man.
Those journals sounded interesting. Who'd have thought nasty old man Barton would keep a diary? And what kind of secrets would he have divulged?
Popular opinion was that the farm had once been used for bootlegging, and that the reigning patriarch of the clan at the time made a veritable fortune in that venture. How cool would it be to find out the truth, in the old man's own words?
He was tempted to take Trowa up on the invitation to stop by again--if only to see the expression on Heero's face when he showed up at the door.
But then he remembered Hilde's big mouth, and wondered if instead of surprise, he'd see scorn, or revulsion in those deep blue eyes. He hadn't had the guts to look at Heero after she shot her mouth off, and he'd made his escape before anything could be said to indicate the Japanese man's thoughts on the subject. For all he knew, the guy could be a worse homophobe than Otto and Trant.
On top of that, he'd probably share what he'd found out with Trowa. So for all Duo knew, that invitation to visit was no longer on the table.
"Dammit."
He rolled over and punched his pillow a few times to fluff it up--and work off a little frustration. And then he settled more comfortably into it and tried once again to sleep.
Just about the time he was ready to give up and just get out of bed and start a project or something to occupy his thoughts, there was a tap on the door, and Quatre stuck his head in.
"What?"
"I knew you wouldn't be sleeping." The blonde pushed the door open and walked in carrying two steaming mugs.
"What's that?" Duo asked suspiciously, sitting up and tossing his braid over his shoulder.
"The ultimate sedative--hot cocoa."
"I thought warm milk was the sedative."
Quatre shook his head, passing a mug to Duo and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Cocoa works just as well." He raised his cup, tapped it against Duo's, and then took a big swig of his drink.
Duo followed suit, sipping the creamy mixture, and he couldn't help smiling a little. "Gonna sing me a lullaby, too?"
"No. But I might be able to come up with a bedtime story--"
Duo smirked at his friend. "Would it involve a hot, blue-eyed hero?"
"As if that would put you to sleep--!" scoffed Quatre. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'Duo and the Beanstalk.'"
Duo laughed aloud at that, shaking his head. "You are too much, Mother Quat." He finished up his cocoa in a few swallows, and found himself giving a genuine yawn. "I think your cocoa did the trick," he pointed out. "Feelin' sleepier already."
"Then my work here is done." Quatre patted Duo's head fondly. "Go to sleep. I'll try to be quiet in the morning so you can sleep in."
"Yeah, I'll call the garage when I get up and see how soon they can get me in. Maybe they can un-wedge that door and pull out the dent without my having to invest in a lot of fancy body work."
Quatre gave a little growl, clearly conveying his thoughts on the subject--mainly that someone other than Duo should be financing the repair. But he didn't comment. He simply took the empty mugs and headed for the door.
"Hey, Quat?"
He paused and looked over his shoulder to see a warm and genuine smile on Duo's face.
"Thanks for everything."
Quatre smiled back. "You're welcome."
TBC...
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