Witness Protection Part 30
Midnight Confessions
Even stalking through the darkness didn't erase the image of Duo's parted lips and gleaming eyes. As right as he was that catching an eyeful of Winner and Barton in the hot tub turned me on, he had no idea that it was the feral light in his own indigo eyes that set my blood on fire.
I don't even know how long I walked, using the feeble light of the flashlight to randomly inspect some of my motion sensors along the logging road. My mind was far too busy wondering whether Duo had rejoined his friends in the hot tub by now, and started that aforementioned threesome after all.
Was I doomed to be jealous of Winner, too? It seemed that anyone who saw Duo ended up wanting him...probably having him.
How had Merquise tolerated the blatant sensuality of his lover?
Oh--he'd been fucking him. Yeah, that would explain it. He hadn't been forced to hold back and try to resist the temptation while watching others indulge. He'd gotten to taste those lips...that skin...any time he wanted. He'd slept next to that lean, muscular body and buried his face in the long, silky hair.
I fucking hated him.
In fact, I sort of wished I could dig up his body and kill him again, just to pay him back for what a lucky bastard he'd been to have Duo Maxwell share his bed.
Not that I couldn't have him share mine. He'd said as much...repeatedly. He couldn't have laid it out any more plainly. I could walk right back into that house and grab him and make love to him, and he'd let me. Hell, he'd encourage me.
All that beauty and fire and passion could be mine.
At least until he got bored, or ended up in the relocation program--whichever came first.
That last thought gave me a dash of cold reality that helped clear my head just a bit. Yes, I could admit I wanted Maxwell, badly. But that didn't change the fact that what I wanted was more than he could give.
So that begged the question...could he learn to give more, or could I learn to want less? Which one of us could make the necessary compromise?
By the time I turned my footsteps back towards the cottage, I expected everyone to be asleep. It was, after all, near midnight.
I was surprised to see the sliding door open and hear Winner and Barton's voices still out on the deck. But I wasn't foolish enough to venture out there. I headed for the kitchen instead, wondering if Maxwell had gone up to bed alone, and whether Barton would be joining him tonight--only to be stopped by Winner's voice behind me.
"Heero--still hard at work?"
I looked back to see him standing in the doorway to the deck, a towel wrapped around his midsection.
"It's my shift," I said simply. "I've checked outside, so I'll just settle in at the laptop to monitor the cameras for the rest of the night."
"All work and no play," Barton chided, sliding up behind Quatre and slipping an arm around his waist. "You detectives are a dull bunch, aren't you?"
"Look--just because I'm not into group sex and exhibitionism--" My would-be tirade was cut off by a noise from upstairs.
The resounding yell surprised us all...Winner, Barton and me. And it would be a miracle if it didn't wake Chang, considering it came from Duo's bedroom, which was next to his.
I raced for the stairs, gun drawn, nearly colliding with Barton, who had a towel clutched loosely around his hips. He made the top of the stairs before me and pelted down the hall to Duo's room, flinging the door open and diving onto the bed.
"It's okay, Shini! Shh!" he soothed urgently, pulling Duo into his arms.
Duo struggled for a moment, gasping and squirming, while Barton rocked him and murmured reassurances.
"Just a dream, love. It's just a dream! C'mon--wake up and see, everything's okay."
Drawing a deep, harsh breath, Duo finally opened his eyes, blinking dazedly and looking around at Barton, me, Winner--and Chang, who had arrived only an instant behind the rest of us, sleep-mussed and shirtless.
"Oh fuck," he rasped, blushing and hiding his face against Barton's shoulder. "Make 'em go."
Barton jerked his head at us, sliding under the covers with Duo and pulling him closer. "They're going, love. It's just you an' me."
I hated the husky warmth of his voice as I pushed past Chang into the hallway. Winner and he followed, closing the door behind us.
"What the fuck just happened?" Chang demanded.
I looked at Quatre for help.
"Duo mentioned earlier that he hadn't been sleeping well," explained the attorney. "I guess--well, from what he and Trowa both said, he kind of has a history of nightmares. Between his childhood on the streets, losing his friends in that warehouse fire, and now Zechs' murder, he's got a lot of fodder for bad dreams, you know."
I could imagine.
"Now that you mention it," Wufei said thoughtfully, "I don't think I've ever seen him sleep through a whole night. He naps a bit; but more often than not, when I've checked up on him, he's been reading or drawing or listening to music."
I nodded agreement. "I think the only time he didn't seem restless while sleeping was in the car, or when he's napped on the couch of whatever place we've been." But then, he'd never woken up screaming before. I looked at Winner with a frown. "Why didn't he say something?"
"To you?" countered the lawyer with a rather snide look in the aquamarine eyes. "C'mon, Yuy, he's got his pride."
"And he hates cops."
"He mistrusts them--most of them," came the very diplomatic response. "But not you two. You heard him earlier. You're probably the only police on the face of the Earth that he believes in." He gave me a knowing look. "That's something special--that you earned his trust."
Wufei looked uncomfortable, a pensive scowl settling on his forehead. "I've done nothing to garner trust from him, counselor. I've merely done my job."
"Funny--he mentioned something about you taking care of his feet when he'd hurt them hiking."
"Jesus Christ, what did you three talk about all day?" I demanded, uncomfortable as hell at what they might have shared.
Quatre shrugged, and I suddenly realized he was still clad the same way Barton had been--in a towel and nothing else. My gaze drifted to my shirtless partner, and then dropped to the floor. "I'm going back down to check the surveillance," I said brusquely. I spared a glance at the closed bedroom door behind us. "I'm sure Barton's got everything well in hand."
Chang's derisive snort told me his mind had fallen into the same gutter mine did, and I walked away without looking at him or Winner.
But I'd no sooner settled at the computer again than Quatre strolled through the living room, giving me a smile in passing. "Might as well fetch my clothes," he said with a faint blush on his cheeks.
"Hn," I acknowledged vaguely, staring at the computer screen, though my mind wasn't on it at all. In fact, my mind was on Duo, and the fact that he and Barton were in bed together.
Quatre had gathered the scattered garments and was headed back towards the steps when I couldn't help but speak up. "Winner?"
"Yes?" He stopped at the foot of the stairs, leaning on the post and fixing me with a curious look.
"It doesn't bother you--the way they touch, and kiss?" I shook my head. "Hell, even the way they look at each other is like a caress."
Winner sighed, crossing his arms with their bundle of clothes. "I know on the surface, it looks--sexual, Yuy. But it's not." He fixed an astute blue gaze on me. "One of the things that makes me such an effective lawyer is my ability to assess other people's feelings. I have a kind of intuition--empathy, if you will. How do you think I know you've been attracted to Duo from the very start of all this?"
I don't know what he gleaned from the expression on my face, but he smiled almost gently. "Don't sweat it, detective. Your secret's safe with me."
"I don't have any secret," I said quickly, defensively.
"Sure you do," he countered with a knowing smirk. "You care."
"Of course--about this case--" I stammered.
"--about Duo," he added quietly. He searched my face for a long moment. "Don't worry. He cares, too. More than you'd think."
"This isn't about Duo and me..." It was supposed to be about Winner and Barton.
"So you want to know if I'm jealous of how close Duo and Trowa still are?" he asked bluntly. "No, detective. I'm not."
"And if they're fucking?" Right this minute--right above our heads?
"They're not. In spite of what you might think, both Duo and Trowa want more out of a relationship than sex. For them, sex is more recreational than emotional...at least when it's between them. But outside of that, they both want to find someone special. Someone to be just theirs. Like Zechs was to Duo." He pinned me with a stern glare. "Do you really think someone like Zechs Merquise would have been sharing Duo with anyone else? Hell, he made Duo quit The Jungle because he couldn't stand to have other guys looking at his body. Do you think he'd have tolerated someone touching it?"
"If he didn't know--"
"He knew everything," Quatre assured me. "He was a crime lord, Yuy. It was his business to know what his people were doing--what his lover was doing."
"He didn't know Khushrenada was coming for him," I pointed out.
"I know," agreed the attorney. "Which is why I believe Duo when he says Merquise never went to the cops. If Merquise had betrayed Khushrenada, wouldn't he have expected retribution?"
"So what does that mean?"
"I don't think he met with the police--so it means that Khushrenada was mistaken."
"How would he make a mistake like that?" I shook my head. "You think someone from the department set Merquise up to look like a traitor?"
"No, Merquise was too savvy for that," Winner mused. "But something made Khushrenada jump to the wrong conclusion. I wonder what it was."
What indeed! Somehow Merquise must have said or done something, or gone somewhere that made his boss suspicious. I was afraid we wouldn't have answers until the trial--and maybe not even then. There was no certainty Treize would take the stand at all, in which case we'd be left interviewing others to try to find out the motivation behind the killing.
And how the heck had we ended up on that tangent when we were supposed to be talking about Duo and Trowa's relationship?
"I suppose it'll all come out in the trial, if we're lucky," I said, shrugging off the troubling questions. "And if we manage to get Maxwell there alive."
"I have every faith in you," the lawyer said firmly. "Plus, Trowa and I thought up a couple of contingency plans I didn't want to discuss in front of Duo. Perhaps tomorrow you could join the two of us for a boat ride on the lake, and we could talk."
I eyed him suspiciously. "Contingencies?"
He gave a wide, guileless smile. "One can never have too many, Heero."
A man after my own heart. I smiled back. "Not in this situation," I agreed. "I'll be happy to go along and find out what you two cooked up. Plus, I can set some cameras up across the lake to provide long-range monitoring."
"See you at breakfast then," he replied, heading off to bed.
I watched him go, wondering how he could be so free of suspicion where Maxwell and Barton were concerned. I mean, shit--they were naked in bed together--both good-looking and sensual by nature. How could they not be having sex?
~*~
I was able to occupy myself with work--as usual. Hey, it was a pattern I'd established years earlier, and there was no reason to change it now. Work had always been my escape from troubling thoughts and irrational urges. Granted it wasn't foolproof, as my lapse in sanity on the floor of the log cabin would attest. But it usually helped me pass the time and keep a tight rein on my wandering thoughts.
In this case, it kept me occupied until the small hours of the morning, when I needed to use the bathroom, and decided an interior security sweep was a good idea. On top of that, I needed to get my circulation going again, after a long time at the computer.
All was quiet as I made my way through the house, checking the downstairs, and then heading up to the bathroom.
And afterwards, I walked the hallway, trying to tell myself it was just part of the job. I found myself pausing outside Duo's door, wondering what he and Trowa were doing on the other side of that closed door. And I felt the all too familiar upwelling of jealousy.
Damn it anyway!
When I heard footsteps crossing the floor behind the door, I barely had time to pull myself away and pretend I'd been passing by, before the door swung open.
Trowa stopped, blinking in the faint light of the hallway. "Oh, hey." He was wearing only boxers, and of course didn't seem the least bit self-conscious of the fading leopard markings on his arms and legs--or of anything else.
I nodded a greeting, unsure of what to say. I didn't feel the need to offer an explanation for my presence in that hallway. I was, after all, guarding my witness.
Trowa jerked a thumb in the direction of the bathroom. "I was just--y'know."
"Go right ahead," I suggested, startling myself with the coolness of my tone.
He gave me a funny look, and then just shrugged and went on his way.
As he passed, I couldn't help taking a surreptitious breath of air, wondering if he'd smell of sweat and sex. But aside from the residual scent of the chlorine from the hot tub, there was nothing. Feeling a bit foolish, I finished my inspection of the upstairs and headed down to the living room to check my surveillance.
I'd just settled at the laptop when I heard a soft whisper of sound behind me as Trowa came into the room.
"Mind if I make some tea or something?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Cupboard to the right of the sink."
"Thanks."
While he puttered about the kitchen, I checked each bug I'd set and every mini-camera. Nothing had caused so much as a suspicious flicker, and I breathed a small sigh of relief.
"Want a cup?"
I started slightly at the sound of Trowa's voice at the doorway to the kitchen. "Oh--sure. Thanks," I mumbled awkwardly.
He came out with two cups in hand. "Do you take honey or sugar in yours?"
I shook my head.
He smirked a little as he set a cup in front of me and walked over by the bay window, stirring his own cup. "Duo got me hooked on honey in my tea," he said conversationally, pulling up a chair and setting his tea on the coffee table.
Why did that innocent statement make me wonder what else they might have done with honey? I gave a noncommittal grunt.
He took a sip, glancing curiously at the laptop. "You've got a pretty good setup there."
"I can watch the road in here--every angle of the outside of the house--and every possible entry point." I looked up, meeting the green eyes squarely. "I plan to get him to the courthouse alive."
"That's good to know." He was silent for a moment, sipping his tea. And then he cleared his throat. "Look--earlier--I didn't mean to imply you and your partner weren't capable. Okay? You both seem very--competent."
"We are. Hopefully competent enough."
"And--before, when I was pushing you about Duo--I didn't mean for him to hear you say he was nothing but a bargaining chip in your career. I know you didn't really mean that."
"Tell him that," I said shortly, still irritated at how that conversation had transpired.
"I did." He shrugged. "Not that he believed me, really. But I think it's hard for him to see that there's something between you two."
"There's not," I growled, feeling every defensive reflex I had kicking in.
"So you keep saying. But it feels more like you're trying to convince yourself than me."
"I say it because it's true." I glared hard at Barton. "If you ask me...it looks a lot more like there's something between you and him. And now that Merquise is out of the way..."
"Don't even go there!" he said sharply, cutting me off. "If we wanted to be a couple, we would've been a long time ago."
"News flash, leopard-boy. You are!"
Trowa gave a nasty grin. "Hate to burst your bubble, but you go saying things like that in front of Quatre, and he might take it badly--seeing as we're dating."
Was that what he called their romp in the hot tub?
"And he's okay with you fucking Duo in your spare time?"
"I'm not fucking him!" he said hotly. Then his expression turned sly. "Not right this minute, anyway, or I wouldn't be down here trying to talk sense to an idiot like you!"
"You're wasting your time. There's nothing for us to talk about."
"Sure there is. There's Duo. We both care about him, don't we?"
Well that question took me completely by surprise, and I scowled in reflex. "I care very much about protecting his life," I said stiffly.
"That's not what I asked you."
I decided to play dumb. "Oh?"
"Do you care about him?"
"What business is it of yours?"
He gave a cagey smile. "Obviously I do care about him."
"You fuck him--that's a far cry from--"
Trowa pushed back from the table, his chair legs screeching across the floor. And then he was leaning over me with a deadly expression on his face. "I fuck him, Yuy? I do? What about what you did?"
"And who started that?" I demanded.
"He may have started it, but you sure as hell finished it, didn't you?" he shot back. "You took what he offered willingly enough, and then ran like hell! You pushed him away, brushed him off...made him feel like his touch sickened you!"
"I was afraid, okay?" I snapped before I could stop myself. Then I drew a deep, shaky breath. "I was afraid," I repeated quietly.
"Of what?" he asked softly.
"Of--how good it felt--how good he felt. And how much I still wanted him...all of him. Jesus, Barton, do you know how badly I screwed up getting emotionally involved? And how hard it's been to try to get some perspective back? Now you want me to do what--pick up where I left off? Impossible!"
"Anything's possible."
"Don't make me think about this right now," I pleaded, putting a hand to my forehead and rubbing at the tension above my eyes. "If I lose my focus, my concentration, he could end up dead. Do you understand that? I need to stay focused on security; I can't be daydreaming about what might have been."
"You mean could be," he insisted. "Give it half a chance. You've got Quatre and me here to take up the slack. You can afford a moment of weakness, you know." A trace of a smile curled his lips. "Actually, let me rephrase that--a moment of strength. It takes a stronger person to let feelings in, than to keep them locked out."
"What did you and Maxwell do, take a philosophy course together?" I asked snidely.
"Ah--he gave you the 'value of a moment' speech, eh?"
I blinked. "He's used it before?"
Barton shrugged. "More or less--it's how he lives. He's had so much shit happen in his life, he had to either learn to grab any good moments he found, or miss out on everything. And he's not stupid." Green eyes fixed me with a stern gaze. "Don't ever think he's stupid."
"I don't. I never did. Not from the moment I dragged him into interrogation." I found a small, wistful smile on my lips as I remembered the brassy image he'd projected. Not that it was all just a front--he was as tough as nails when he needed to be. But I knew how much more there was to him now.
"Then don't think for a moment he doesn't know what he's getting into with you. He knows what he stands to lose when he has to leave."
I didn't want to think about that. I'd already dwelt on Maxwell's eventual departure enough for one day. "Maybe he's used to loss," I said gruffly. "But I'm not. And don't give me a line of crap about 'better to have loved and lost' either!" I glared defiantly at the dancer.
"Naw, I don't buy into that shit," grinned the dancer. "I kind of like to think anything's possible if it matters enough."
"Oh? Is that why it took you so long to make a move on Winner?"
He gave a little shrug. "I needed to hear Duo say he thought I had a chance and that he wanted me to go for it."
"And if he'd said not to? Would you have given up Quatre for him?"
"I might've," he said frankly. "Before tonight. But now, I wouldn't give him up for anyone." The green eyes fixed a level gaze on me. "Fortunately, I know Duo would never ask me to. I can't really explain what we are to each other, Yuy. More than brothers; but less than soulmates. The one thing I count on in this world, is that my happiness means more to him than his own, and vice versa."
"Then why are you telling me to get closer to him?" I asked in a near-whisper. "It will only hurt him."
"But it's what he wants."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because just now when he was falling back to sleep, it wasn't my name he whispered," he replied, the green eyes searching mine.
I felt a twist in my gut. Hope? Why the fuck did hearing him say that make my stomach flutter with anticipation?
"And what the hell am I supposed to do about that?" I asked.
"Just--give it a chance. Give him a chance."
I knew in that instant that I wanted to. I wanted to touch Duo again--to wrap an arm around him--to feel the silken hair slide through my fingers.
But the image of him curled up against Barton's chest forced its way into my mind and nearly stole my breath away. I knew one thing for damn sure; if I let myself admit what I felt for Duo, I couldn't share him with someone else.
I looked searchingly at Barton. "Are you serious about you and Quatre? You're--exclusive?"
"Very much so," he said with a warm smile that made me begin to see why Duo found his presence so soothing. "And even if we weren't, I'd never come between Duo and someone important to him."
"I'm not--"
"Don't sell yourself short," he interrupted. "I've seen Duo turn down dozens of offers in a single night; he could have pretty much anyone he wanted. But as long as I've known him, in spite of all his flirting and making out, there's only been me, Zechs, and you that were invited to share his bed."
"He hit on Chang," I pointed out, afraid to hope the promiscuity was as much of an act as the rest had been.
"Sure. Chang's hot--and uptight. That's an open invitation to Duo. He could hardly resist the chance to stir things up." He shook his head slightly. "But that's all it was...just some harmless fun."
"And taking my gun? What was that?"
"That was desperation. He'd wanted you so badly for so long..." Barton stopped short, as if he'd inadvertently blurted out something told to him in confidence.
"He said--it was just to help pass the time."
"He said what you wanted to hear...what you expected to hear." The slender man shrugged. "He's got his pride too, you know."
So that had been for my benefit? The casual "told you it'd help pass the time" thrown over his shoulder as he dressed was nothing more than a brave front to hide the fact that the sex had been more than a moment of madness?
I was having trouble getting my head around everything Trowa was trying to tell me.
"Look--Barton--I can't promise anything," I said wearily, finishing my tea and setting the cup down. "I--care--for whatever that's worth. And in another situation, I probably wouldn't hesitate to--explore the possibilities. But don't ask me to risk his life for the sake of his feelings."
"I'm the last person who'd want you to make a mistake that got Duo hurt or killed," he said quickly, firmly. "I'm just suggesting you stop trying to hide the fact that you care so completely. I know you've got a partner to contend with, and a job to do. But would it kill you to just let down your guard enough for Duo to know why you're so protective of him?"
"Maybe not," I conceded. "I'll try to be less--stern," I offered. "I think Duo already guesses that there's a lot I'm not admitting. I'll try not to be afraid to let him know, okay?"
"Yeah--very okay," Trowa said, a faint smile curling his lips. He straightened, wriggling his shoulders to loosen them, and walking back over to where he'd left his tea, picking it up and finishing it off. "I'm glad we had this talk," he said quietly, glancing over his shoulder at me as he headed for the kitchen to put the cup away.
I didn't answer--not at all sure I was glad at having admitted so much--agreed to so much. I was supposed to let down my guard with Duo? And what was to keep him from taking advantage of that vulnerability?
Maxwell may have had trust issues; but my own were no less deeply-ingrained. It seemed we'd both have plenty to overcome.
As Barton came out of the kitchen, Wufei pattered down the stairs, looking a bit weary, but composed. "Yuy." His dark eyes slid to the auburn-haired man. "Barton." He gave a curt nod and a rather snide smile, but I could tell he bit back a sarcastic comment.
Barton knew it too. He met the dark gaze steadily. "Well, guess I'll get back upstairs," he drawled, smirking suggestively. "Now that I quenched one kind of thirst--" He brushed past Chang, who deftly stepped aside, giving him extra room to pass.
Amazingly I didn't feel a rush of jealousy; I knew Barton was just baiting my partner. He knew the man's weaknesses every bit as well as Duo did.
"Aren't you going to say how scandalous their behavior is?" I asked conversationally, doing a little baiting of my own.
"What good would it do?" he sighed, shaking his head, and walking over to stand beside me looking down at the monitor. "All quiet?"
"Blessedly silent and still," I said with great relief.
He nodded in satisfaction. "I'll grab a cup of tea, and you can grab some sleep."
"I think maybe I can," I agreed. "Now that I feel reasonably secure."
He was almost to the kitchen door when I recalled the plans I'd made with Winner and Barton for the next morning. "Oh, Chang--one more thing. Winner offered to take me across the lake by boat in the morning, to set up surveillance on the other side. Can I rely on you to stay with Maxwell and refrain from drowning him in the hot tub?"
He paused, turning to face me. "What about Barton? Isn't babysitting Maxwell his department?"
"He's coming with us. Apparently he and Winner have cooked up some scheme in case we're located again. They wanted to share the information with me--out of Maxwell's ear shot."
My partner's face darkened. "You intend to leave me alone with Maxwell? For how long?"
"All day," I said carefully, watching his face for signs of a breakdown.
But after a long moment, he merely ducked his head and nodded. "Very well."
"That's it?"
"That's what?"
"That's all you're going to say? No arguments? No protests? Just 'very well'?"
"I see no alternative--unless you'd like to send me with Winner and Barton. And since I don't know the surveillance equipment like you do, it would be foolish for me to try to install it."
I cocked an eyebrow. "Why are you being so--agreeable?"
"Because I've analyzed my behavior from the start of this assignment," he said frankly, raising a troubled look to my face. "And I've been almost as immature as Maxwell at times. Knowing that he told Winner about the foot bath...and that he's plagued with nightmares..." He shook his head. "Hearing things like that made me realize I'd been so angry about his phone call and the trouble it caused that I'd forgotten he was an exceptionally good sport during the journey here. Honestly, before we learned of the call, I was beginning to find him almost--tolerable. And--I think I need to try again to see that side of him."
"You mean the side of him that forgave you for joking about child molesters?"
He nodded. "Exactly." He drew himself up, squaring his shoulders. "Let it not be said that some street punk could outclass a Chang!"
Oh, but he had--on more than one occasion. And by the look on my partner's face, he knew it too.
I couldn't help the smile that found its way to my lips. "I'm--impressed," I admitted. "You've certainly opened your mind on this trip, haven't you?"
"Not that I had much of a choice--but yes," he conceded. "And I apologize for what you've had to put up with as well," he added, leaving me wondering exactly what he was referring to.
Did he mean Maxwell's behavior, or his own? Or had he guessed my sexual orientation and realized how harsh his comments had been? For all I knew, he was just talking about the constant bickering between him and our witness.
"I'm not sure what you mean," I told him frankly. "But I accept your apology and extend one of my own. We've certainly had our share of ups and downs on this assignment."
"That we have. But I think, perhaps, we'll do better from now on." Giving a curt nod, he turned and went into the kitchen, signaling the end of the conversation.
I just shook my head, standing and stretching--and then I padded over to the window watching the moonlight reflect off the surface of the lake and wishing once again that I'd remembered to tell Duo about the loon. Maybe in the morning there'd be time.
Chang came out with his tea, settling comfortably at the computer, and I proceeded up the stairs, yawning as the long day's stress caught up with me. Of course, I passed Maxwell's room on the way to mine, and found a wide grin creeping across my face as I saw the door Barton had conspicuously left ajar.
Maybe that talk had been worth it after all. Even though my quick glance inside revealed that Duo was comfortably nestled against Trowa's side, I no longer jumped to the conclusion that there was more to the scene than met the eye.
Okay--Barton was holding up his end of the bargain. I guessed that meant I'd have to hold up mine--starting the first thing in the morning.
TBC...
Back to Snowdragonct's Fanfictions Page