The Handsome Clerk Part 5
It took an entire night before Quatre managed to find the location of Jack's home. As soon as he found it, Heero, Trowa and him set out on a private jet to find Duo, but even so, with air traffic regulations and no real emergency, they were not able to take off until the early evening. Even then it would take an hour before the arrived, and that was only at the airport.
Heero was worried. It was taking too long, and Duo had yet to return any of Quatre's phone calls or even a text message. He wondered if Jack may have made his move yet, if Duo had been able to avoid it, then mentally shook his head. It was no use trying to guess; he may as well keep calm so he could avoid doing anything stupid.
Of course, if he found out that the man had touched Duo in any inappropriate way, all bets were off.
~*~
Jack had been acting strangely. He'd left Duo alone the entire day, claiming that he'd needed to keep working on that fifth piece; the man was thrilled to be so close to the end of creating a new set of pieces. Left to his own devices, Duo decided to go out to shop a little and look at new cell phones. He berated himself for not remembering Quatre's phone number and made a note to never rely too much on his cell phone when it came to important numbers.
Of course, it didn't help that Quatre had just changed his private number again due to an invasion of his privacy.
Duo sighed as he walked along the street. He was also missing Heero's number, not to mention any text messages he'd meant to save. Then again, the man hadn't called him even when he'd failed to contact Heero for that date and Duo could only guess at what that meant.
He returned to Jack's residence in time for dinner since the man had offered to cook eggplant parmesan, one of Duo's favourite foods. He'd wanted to thank Duo for coming along for this trip, but in truth Duo was glad that Jack was almost done. He wanted to go home, and if it hadn't been for his own drunken stupidity, he'd never have been here in the first place.
It wasn't to say that he hadn't learned anything from the man; he'd learned a new sewing technique which Duo already had plans to try out. But that was the extent of his excitement. Seeing how fast Jack was completing his fifth item, Duo had hopes that he'd be going home soon enough.
"Duo, you're back!" Jack said as he opened the door. "Just in time for dinner."
Duo sniffed the air. "It smells wonderful," he said, his mouth already watering. "You really didn't have to go through that trouble, Jack."
"I wanted to," Jack said softly. "I do enjoy cooking and it was only a coincidence that one of your favourite foods happens to be something I can make fairly well."
"I guess I'm the lucky one. Need any help dishing it up?"
"Do you want to pour the wine?"
Duo smiled apologetically. "I think I want to avoid liquor." He'd managed to avoid it the whole time he'd been with Jack and he wasn't about to drink anything regardless of the fact that it would take more than a couple glasses of wine to get him drunk.
"Just one glass, Duo. A small one. I've already got ideas for my sixth piece and if all goes well then this may be our second last, or even last dinner together." Jack looked a little wistful, and Duo knew that Jack understood he would be leaving as soon as the sixth item was finalized.
"All right," he agreed. "One glass."
He found the bottle of wine opened on the counter to breathe, and collected two wine glasses from the cabinet that Jack directed him to. Then, he took the two glasses out to the dining table.
Jack hadn't been lying; the eggplant parmesan was delicious and Duo had a second helping. Extracting a promise from Jack to send him the recipe, Duo sipped his wine, happy with the day. All that was missing was...
"Jack, we said one glass," Duo said, stopping Jack from pouring more wine into his glass.
"Just another half a glass," Jack said. "To go with the cheesecake I bought."
"Cheesecake?" Duo asked. "I'm stuffed, Jack, I don't think I can manage cheesecake!"
"Just a small slice, then. To round off our excellent dinner."
It did sound tempting. "I'm all for it, and the extra glass of wine, if you set the coffee to brew."
"Your wish is my command."
Duo was definitely full and a little drowsy by the time the food was finished and the dishes put away. He sat on the couch as Jack prepared the coffee, leaning back with a satisfied sigh.
"I take it dinner was to your expectations," Jack teased as he set two mugs on the coffee table."
"Better than," Duo replied. "Thank you, Jack. It was delicious."
"I'm glad it turned out well." Jack reached for the television remote and switched the music player. They lapsed into silence just listening to music as they sipped their coffees.
"I'm absolutely beat," Duo said after a short while. "I know I shouldn't be sleeping so quickly after dinner, but I guess walking around all day wore me out. You don't mind if I go on to bed, do you?"
"Not at all. In fact, I think I'll head to bed pretty quickly myself. Leave the mug here and I'll take it to the kitchen in a minute."
"Thanks. Goodnight then, Jack," Duo waved. "See you in the morning."
"See you in a few minutes," Jack said under his breath as Duo headed for his room.
Jack gave Duo ten minutes before he approached his room. Knocking, he received no response and tried again before easing the door open. Duo was already sprawled on his back in bed, barely under the covers; the heavy sedatives must have worked quickly. He wore only a t-shirt and his boxers; perfect attire as far as Jack was concerned.
He turned the lights on to the dimmest setting and eased the door shut. As he approached the bed, he pulled off his shirt, dropping it onto the floor, but decided against taking his pants off.
Duo only occupied one side of the queen size bed, so Jack crawled onto the other side after he drew aside the blankets. Lying on his side, he propped his head up.
"Duo?"
There was no answer, and Jack gently touched Duo's shoulder.
Sedating Duo meant he wasn't going to offer any responses but Jack knew that otherwise he'd never have been able to convince the man go sleep with him. The prescription of sedatives was good for several hours, and Jack fully intended to take his time.
He traced his fingers down Duo's nose and over his lips, and shifted a little closer before he let his hand trail down Duo's chest. Smiling at the muscles and the gentle movements of Duo's breathing, Jack repeated the motion with the flat of his hand, keeping his touch fairly light until he reached the hem of Duo's shirt. He slipped his hand under and splayed it against Duo's warm stomach before he gently began to rub. Leaning closer, he pressed his nose into Duo's hair and breathed in deeply.
Sliding his hand up was harder since Duo's weight prevented him from pushing the shirt up. With a sigh, Jack debated whether or not to lift Duo, then decided he couldn't be bothered. He could imagine well enough what Duo's torso looked like.
Through Duo's shirt he touched a nipple, then let his gaze trail down Duo's body.
Now there was something he hadn't been able to imagine yet. Abandoning Duo's body, Jack let a single finger slip under the hem of Duo's boxers. Pulling it out again, he rubbed Duo's thigh and pushed the leg of the boxer up, reaching a little higher, licking his lips in anticipation.
The ringing doorbell made him curse and he tried to ignore it, but whoever was on the other side of his door was insistent. Duo didn't stir, but Jack stood, making a note to talk to management about letting people up to his apartment. Peering through the seeing hole, Jack raised an eyebrow. Who was this man on the other side and why did he look so angry?
The man must have seen the shadow at the small hole because he began to bang on the door.
"Open the door, Harman, or I swear I'll tear it down!"
"Who the hell are you?" Jack asked.
"I'm going to count to three!" the man threatened, backing away. "One, two..."
"Just a moment here..."
"Three!" The man slammed his shoulder hard against the door and Jack quickly opened it.
"I'll sue you for harassment, for breaking and entering," he began, only to be pushed aside violently.
"Duo?" the man called. "Where the hell is he?" he snarled at Jack.
"Heero, calm down!"
Jack cursed when he saw Quatre Winner at his door followed by his secretary. Neither man looked happy with him and in fact, they downright ignored him. Closing the door after himself and Trowa, Quatre glared at Jack.
"Where is Duo?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jack asked.
"Duo should be here. He hasn't been answering calls or text messages. What have you done to him?" Heero snapped.
"Duo is here by his own free will," Jack said haughtily. "And it's not in my control whether he answers his calls or messages."
Heero's eyes narrowed upon Jack's naked torso, and glared lower at the bulge he saw. Without another word, he cast a glance around the large living room and dismissed it, stomping down the hall.
"Hey!" Jack grabbed his arm. "Who do you think you are, trespassing like this?"
"Let me go!" Heero shoved him aside. "Duo! Duo!"
The first door revealed a workroom and the second a bathroom. The one diagonally across the bathroom though, was open and through there, Heero saw Duo. He rushed in.
"Duo!" Taking in the sight of Duo, his boxer leg pushed up, shirt exposing his navel and completely dead to the world, Heero whirled around, fist clenched. "You touched him!" he growled, stalking up to Jack. Jack backed up, mouth gaping as Heero pulled his fist back, but Heero found his arm immobile.
"Don't," Trowa said, gripping his arm. "Don't give him an excuse to sue you."
Heero relaxed then and left Trowa to deal with Jack, turning back to the room. Quatre had pulled Duo's shirt down and fixed the covers over him.
"I think he's been sedated," Quatre said.
"Call the police," Heero said. "Let them deal with scum like him."
"I think we should wait, Heero," Quatre said. "Duo might not want this splattered over newspapers. We should let him decide for himself whether or not to press charges against Jack."
"What kind of evidence could there be?" Heero asked. "If we let him walk away now?"
"Here."
Looking up, Heero saw Trowa holding up a pack pills, Jack protesting against the wall. "I frisked him," Trowa explained. "And I have the evidence Duo would need. If not for sexual harassment, then at least for drugging him."
Heero wasn't happy with that, but he had to concede with the others. He'd wait for Duo to wake up first, and then decide what would happen. Moving around the room quickly, he packed up things that were lying around with Quatre's help, then left the blond with the luggage. Shrugging off his jacket, Heero pulled the blankets from Duo and gently wrapped his jacket around the man. Lifting him carefully, Heero walked to the door and glared at Jack.
"You can try to run, asshole, but it'll only look worse on you," he said in a low voice.
Jack glared back. "I'll still sue you for trespassing!" he snapped. "You can wait for a letter from my lawyer!"
"I look forward to it," Heero said before stalking out.
~*~
When Duo awoke, he felt heavy and lethargic.
"Duo? Are you awake?"
It took a long moment for Duo to realize that he was looking up at Heero.
"What are you?" he managed, then realized it came out funny. He was intending to ask Heero what he was doing there.
"Human, I'm guessing," Heero said with a small grin. "How are you feeling?"
"What?" Duo asked, still feeling fuzzy.
Heero looked serious again. "I'm here because of Jack Harman," he said softly. "The man...tried to touch you."
Duo blinked up at Heero, and Heero sighed. "I'll get you a coffee. You can wash up and then we'll explain. Quatre, Trowa and I, I mean."
A half an hour later, the four men sat at the kitchen table of Quatre's residence; they'd managed to take the private jet back home. Quatre explained the situation starting with the tabloid article by Keira Fitzgerald, and then mentioned the lack of returned calls or text messages. The more he spoke, the wide Duo's eyes grew and the darker his expression.
"We have evidence, Duo," Heero said. "We can call the police and have him arrested for harassment."
"How far did he get?" Duo asked. "How far?" He snapped when no one answered.
"He..." Quatre started, then faltered. "Not far," he was quick to add. "His shirt was off, but you were dressed."
"But how far did he get?" Duo asked again.
"He pushed the front of you shirt up a bit," Heero finally said. "Exposing your stomach a little. And...the leg of your boxers was pushed up."
"Fuck," Duo said. "Fuck!" He snatched up his mug and threw it hard across the kitchen, then stood up quickly, knocking his chair over and stalking from the room.
"Duo!" Quatre called out, but Heero was the one that followed.
"Don't touch me!" Duo snarled when Heero caught his arm. Heero held up his hands.
"Duo," Heero said. "We got there in time. He didn't get very far."
"How do you know?" Duo asked, trying to keep the tears from spilling. "How the fuck do you know that? He could have been done with me by the time you got there!"
"He still had a hard on when we got there," Heero said after a moment, listening to Duo's heavy breathing. "He...can you remember the time?"
"Just after nine," Duo said. "I went to bed just after nine."
"We got there just before nine twenty," Heero said softly. "And we would have been there earlier if the apartment management hadn't tried so hard to stop us. I'm sorry, Duo, we came as fast as we could."
"Not your damn fault," Duo said. "Mine. All mine. I deserved it."
"No!" Heero's eyes widened. "Duo, you were drugged! You couldn't have known!"
They lapsed into silence, keenly aware that Quatre and Trowa were standing at the door of the kitchen. Duo sank down onto the couch and Quatre approached.
"He didn't get very far," he assured Duo. "And we have the evidence if you choose to press charges. What happened though, Duo? You were going to the fashion show to clear things up with Jack, weren't you?"
"I..." Duo sighed heavily. "I woke up the second day of the show in bed with him. Clothed," he quickly added, avoiding looking at anyone, especially Heero. "He told me that I told him I'd give him a chance, but I only remember telling him otherwise. He said I had been all over him that I was drunk, and he was the one who kept his hands from me. I...I couldn't remember beyond drinking at the lounge although I didn't think I drank enough to get so drunk."
"He probably drugged you then, too," Trowa said.
"I thought I hurt him, by saying things like that and trying to back out. He said that it was convenient for me to just not remembering things and be done with it. All he wanted, he said, was the collection of six pieces. A trade of sorts. So I thought...there couldn't be any harm in doing it. But the day before it...this happened, Jack spilled a drink onto my phone and it was dead. I had no idea you tried to reach me."
The silence returned for several minutes before Duo stood. "I'm going to go home. I...feel like I desperately need a shower. And to let this...sink in."
"I'll drive you home," Heero offered. "The sedatives might not be out of your system yet."
"Not that I have a car either way," Duo said.
The ride was silent save for Duo's directions, and Heero walked him up to the apartment.
"Are you okay?" he asked when Duo opened the door, then mentally cursed himself. Of course Duo wasn't okay.
"Fine," Duo said sarcastically. "What are you doing here anyway?" he asked, suddenly angry. "You didn't even bother to call, even when I forgot to tell anyone that I wouldn't be back in town yet."
"I did," Heero said, refusing to raise his voice. "I called several times and left text messages. I got one in reply from you." He dug out his phone and showed it to Duo.
"That wasn't me," Duo said. "Damn it, Jack must have typed it, and...God he must have been going through my phone a lot, deleting my call logs and such. I thought...when Quatre told me that you thought we were done with, I thought it was because you saw me on the news with Jack."
"I don't really read the news aside from headlines, technology and finances," Heero confessed.
"Well you wouldn't want to be with me now anyway," Duo said. "I'm an idiot and I've been...been..."
"Duo..." Heero hesitated a moment, then took Duo's hand into a firm grasp. "The only reason I wouldn't want to be with you now is that I'm worried you aren't ready. I don't want you to be uncomfortable with me because of this."
Duo sighed but didn't let go of Heero's hand.
"You can press charges, Duo," Heero urged.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Doing that could ruin reputations."
"You're worried for Jack?" Heero asked, astonished. "But that model has already spread the word..."
"It's his word against hers, Heero," Duo said. "And not only is there his reputation, which I couldn't care less for. But what about mine? Or what about the shop? To tell this to everyone, I can't do it!"
"But you can't let him get away with it! What if he does it to someone else?"
"I can't tell everyone, Heero," Duo repeated. "I mean, you can look at it and say it's publicity regardless; maybe my designs will be out in the light because of this, but it isn't the sort of light I want!"
"But could you live with yourself if he did this and succeeded with someone else?" Heero asked again.
"Can't I be selfish this once?" Duo exploded. "What don't you understand, Heero? I'm a man! I was almost raped by another one! He touched me! God, I don't even know how much of me he managed to touch! Tell me what to say, Heero! That I was drugged not once but twice? That I willingly followed him to be his inspiration? That alone sounds dirty! Then what? That I don't know if he tried to jerk me off or kissed me or fucking humped me?"
Heero stared at Duo in silence, then looked away. "I'm sorry," he said. "I-I wasn't trying to be inconsiderate, Duo, but...I thought of Keira Fitzgerald, stepping out only when her career was ruined. If she had done it earlier, you wouldn't have gone through this."
"Well, he's got nothing on me. He can't ruin my career because he knows I can effectively ruin his by coming out to say what happened. That's...the only reason I would, okay?"
Heero nodded. "It's your decision," he said softly.
"I want to take a shower."
Heero nodded. "I'll leave you be," he said, turning back towards the door.
A hand on his shirt stopped him. "Heero?"
Heero paused but didn't speak.
"If...If I'm still ready for...us," Duo said softly.
"If you are, then nothing has changed," Heero said, turning then to look at Duo. "Nothing."
"Then stay?" Duo asked. "I don't think I want to be alone right now. Besides, you look tired. In fact, you, Quatre and Trowa looked tired."
"It took a full night of waiting, and the morning, to find Jack Harman's location, and then some time to clear the red tape to fly out in Quatre's private jet to get to you," Heero said. "I don't think any of us slept that night; we just kept trying to call you."
"I'm sorry," Duo whispered. "I should have gotten another phone right away, although a part of it was that I wasn't sure whether my SIM card would still work, and also because I couldn't remember yours or Quatre's phone numbers."
"Forget it," Heero whispered, stepping close to cup Duo's cheek. "Forget all of this, okay? We just had our date. We accidentally kissed one another in the parking lot. I don't kiss on the first date, you know?" Heero joked. "But we did. And now, we're going to have our second date. You're running late, and I've arrived early. I'm going to wait here while you shower, and then instead of going out, we'll order some food in to eat."
Duo nodded. "Thanks," he whispered. Wrapping his arms around Heero for a quick hug, he turned and headed for his room. "Make yourself comfortable," he called over his shoulder.
After a long shower, having thoroughly scrubbed himself down and feeling cleaner and more alert, Duo exited his room to find Heero sleeping on his couch. Retreating into his room, he found a jacket and gently draped it over Heero before he picked up his luggage and brought it to his room to unpack.
He came across a shirt that wasn't his and realized it belonged to Jack. Balling it up, he threw it aside and finished unpacking. Picking up Jack's shirt once more, Duo resisted the urge to tear it up, knowing that the expensive fabric would be difficult to tear anyway. He headed out of his room once more to throw it out and Heero awoke.
"Hey," Heero said. "Sorry, I fell asleep."
"I was just unpacking."
Heero watched as Duo threw the shirt out. "Why did you throw that out?" he asked.
"That wasn't mine," Duo answered. "It was Jack's."
Heero recalled that he'd picked it up on the floor of Duo's room. "Are you hungry?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Yes," Duo said. "I know a good place for Chinese that delivers. And you can take another little nap until it arrives."
"Chinese sounds good," Heero said.
"Hey Heero?" Duo took Heero's hand and squeezed it.
"Yeah?"
"Are you sure about this?"
"Very sure," Heero said softly. "If I weren't, then I'm not worth keeping."
"True," Duo nodded. "So...on what date do you kiss?"
Heero looked amused. "Considering we did it on the first date, I don't think it really matters, does it?"
"For me, it's usually the second or third," Duo said. "But you're right, it doesn't really matter. And since you're worth keeping..." he pressed his lips against Heero's, lingering a moment before stepping back. "Now, go take your nap and I'll wake you up when the food gets here." He turned to reach fort he phone.
Heero pulled Duo close, not letting him call for the take out just yet. "We can do better than that, right?" he asked quietly.
Duo took a deep breath and nodded. He felt surprisingly comfortable with Heero, especially considering what had happened so recently. He met Heero's kiss a little tense, then relaxed, reminding himself that Heero was safe. Tracing his free hand up Heero's side, Duo felt the toned torso beneath his hand and pulled away with a smile.
"Hey Heero?"
"Hm?"
"I learned something from Jack."
"What?" Heero asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"Drawing inspiration from someone close to you," Duo said. "I just came up with a design that you would look really hot in."
Heero offered a small smile. "Tell me you aren't the type of creative person that will not eat and not sleep until the design is finished?"
"Are you kidding?" Duo asked. "I need my food and sleep. Except when there are deadlines, or when the design won't let go of me." He winked at Heero. "Why?"
"Just making sure I know what I'm getting into," Heero joked. "I would like to know in advance if my boyfriend might ditch our lunch or dinner plans for his work. Sometimes is an acceptable answer."
"You go order the food," Duo said. "I want sweet and sour pork. I'm going to go get started." He grinned. "I can't wait to see you in it. Come to my work room, first room on the left, and I'll take your measurements. Being my boyfriend means you're my model."
Heero nodded, obediently picking up the phone and accepting the menu that Duo handed to him. "I guess I can be a private model."
Duo laughed. "You bet you'll be private only."
Heero laughed, and stopped. "Duo?"
"Yeah?"
"I...called you my boyfriend. You called me your boyfriend. Does that mean we're...steady now?"
"If you're okay with it," Duo said.
Heero smiled. "Very okay. I can't say no to a boyfriend-double-agent-personal-designer, can I?"
"And I can't say no to a boyfriend-double-agent-private-model," Duo said, taking Heero's hand and squeezing it. "Now, order the food, boyfriend. Don't leave me starving."
"I've a feeling you're going to be the bossy type," Heero sighed.
"You have a problem with that?"
Heero smiled, squeezing Duo's hand in return.
"Not at all."
OWARI
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