Whispered Touches Part 10
"Well?" Quatre asked once Heero and Trowa had stepped into his house. The two glanced around and Quatre huffed impatiently. "Iria's out at work. The house is empty."
Heero lifted the bag in his hand as a small gesture. "The detective had no idea that Alan Maxwell was the undercover agent from the drugs uprooting case."
"Even at the murder?" Quatre asked, eyes wide.
"Even at the murder," Trowa confirmed.
"Why would he not have known?" Quatre wondered.
"He had no idea he should have followed up with that lead," Heero explained. "They had completely erased the identity of George Alton at the time he requested to truly become Alan Maxwell. George Alton technically did not ever exist."
"Did he say what he'll do now?" Quatre asked.
"Said he'd try to open the case again without allowing for leaks," Trowa stretched his legs out as he sat on the couch. "It's a new lead, but not exactly a promising one. Ten years passed between the uprooting of the gang and the Maxwell tragedy and that's more than enough time for the petty offenders to have gotten out of jail. Not to mention the people that had never been caught. Between the tragedy and now, another eight years have passed. People have had eighteen years to disappear, or eight to vanish from the town. They could be anywhere now."
"So you're keeping that evidence until the case is re-opened?" Quatre asked Heero. The Japanese teen stood.
"For now, I guess." Heero shrugged. "But I better go home now. Duo will want to know what the detective said."
"I was going to ask if you wanted to stay for lunch and maybe dinner."
Heero shook his head. "I have to be home for dinner." He waved as he picked up the bag and let himself out.
"I can stay," Trowa mumbled. "If you want."
"Of course I do!" Quatre flushed at his own outburst. "I mean, if you want to, of course."
Trowa grinned a little. "Parents are out of town checking out a new product they want to stock in the store. Cathy's at the store and then she's going out with her boyfriend." Trowa glanced towards the door unnecessarily and slid a little closer to Quatre, pinning the blond between himself and the couch's arm. "It's only fair that I get to go out to my boyfriend's place too."
Quatre looked into Trowa's emerald eyes. "Say that again."
"Parents are out of town-"
Quatre shook his head. "The last sentence."
"It's only fair that I get to go out to my boyfriend's place too."
"Say it again."
"Go out to my boyfriend's place, too." Trowa picked up on what Quatre wanted to hear.
"It's only fair that I get to have my boyfriend come over," Quatre said.
"Didn't think you were into verbal romance."
"I have twenty nine sisters. I am very much educated in romantic speech."
Trowa blinked. "True," he conceded. "Then I'm sure you must have heard the expression that the way into a man's heart is through his stomach."
Quatre chuckled. "What would you like for dinner, Trowa?" He stood and walked towards the kitchen.
"Whatever it is you can make that I can help out with," Trowa followed Quatre to the kitchen and slid his arm around his boyfriend's shoulder as Quatre pulled open the door of the fridge, his eyes narrowing in thought as he took inventory of the groceries. "After all, the way into a man's heart is through his stomach, and I have a man's heart to get to."
Quatre snorted softly, glancing at Trowa from the corner of his eye. "And you say I'm verbally romantic."
~*~
Heero returned home to see his mother in the studio and Naoko playing in the living room with Wufei and Meiran. The two had decided to push their departure time to one in the afternoon and it was almost eleven thirty. He waved at his mother.
"I'll make lunch in a few minutes," he informed his mother.
"Sure," Kanoko answered in a distracted manner, more intent on her work than her son. Heero peeked in and waved Wufei and Meiran over. Once he was satisfied that Wing was taking care of Naoko and that the baby was content, he led Wufei and Meiran to his room. Heero smiled a little when he saw Duo laying on his bed.
Well, floating a bit above his bed. Once Duo had noticed Heero, he righted himself, eyes full of curiosity. Heero closed the door to his room and set the bag down as Wufei and Meiran made their way to sit on the window seat. Duo furrowed his brow.
"You didn't see the detective?" he asked.
"We did-"
"Did he think you were lying? Why do you still have the diaries? Isn't that enough proof? Are they closing the case for real?"
Heero held up a hand. "Slow down, Duo," he said. "We saw the detective and he told us he hadn't known of your father's original identity even at the time he was investigating the murder."
"What?" Duo looked angry. "What do you mean, he didn't know?"
"Calm down, Duo," Wufei said. "Let Heero speak."
Heero shrugged helplessly. "He said he hadn't been informed. Neither of us are familiar with the workings of the police, but the detective said he'd run background checks of Alan Maxwell. Your father had his identity changed and it would only be logical that all information of his original identity was wiped from the public and if anything, kept completely confidential by the FBI. Plus, without any prior knowledge that your father could have been an undercover agent at any point in time, the detective had no lead to look up past cases."
Duo's face fell, and Meiran spoke up. "That means this new lead is meaningless to him."
"Don't give up yet." Heero sat on his bed by the floating ghost. "It's a very vague lead, but the detective said he'd start the case up again once he knew there wouldn't be any leaks about the re-opening of the case. There's no telling who did it or where the people involved are, but he needs to keep the re-opened case completely confidential."
"Makes sense," Wufei said thoughtfully. "So now what? We wait?"
"Guess so," Heero murmured. They were quiet for a while until Heero shifted. "I need to go make lunch."
"Okay." Duo shrugged a little, his eyes trained on the paper bag. "I'll see you later," he added before he stood and floated towards, and through the room door. The tingling behind Heero's neck faded and he lay back on his bed.
"How can I help you, Duo?" he asked aloud. "I wish I knew how."
"Lunch, Heero?" Meiran asked. "We have to leave soon."
Heero sighed and sat up. "Lunch first, thinking later," he commented. He paused with his hand at the doorknob and turned back to his friends. "It's good to have you both here, you know?"
Meiran grinned and punched Heero's arm lightly. "Don't get all sentimental on us, Yuy," she teased before the grin became a more genuine smile; she had been pleased to hear Heero's comment.
Lunch passed quickly with grilled cheese sandwiches and both Wufei and Meiran bid their goodbyes after packing their bags into the car, informing Kanoko and Heero that they would not be able to come by for a few weeks due to the surely increasing workload and lack of holidays.
"Perhaps Heero can visit you soon once your workloads lessen," Kanoko smiled. "I'm sure I could spare him for a day or so."
"Mom," Heero rolled his eyes. "Who would help you take care of Naoko?"
"I'm sure Meiran would love to take care of Naoko for a day."
"And what would you do?" Heero asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Have a weekend with your father, our first in quite a few years," Kanoko smiled a little and Heero shook his head as Kanoko left the teenagers and Naoko to say their goodbyes.
"Thank you for having us, Auntie Kanoko!" Meiran called after the woman, who turned and smiled, waving in reply before she disappeared into her studio again.
"Come by then," Wufei said to Heero. "You could stay with me. It'd be good to have you back sometime. Even Quatre and Trowa."
"I'm the only one willing to really put up with him," Meiran whispered loudly. "Wufei's afraid he'll lose his mind just being around me and no other guys!"
Wufei glared at Meiran. "You don't seem to care whether or not Heero's around."
Heero smiled a little. "Thanks, Wufei," he said, giving the Chinese teen a light punch in the shoulder. "I'll stop by sometime, I promise."
"My father will be going to China to work for a few months. He leaves in a couple of weeks," Wufei informed Heero. "Mom might go back with him to celebrate Christmas. Maybe you can come over during the Christmas break for a couple of days."
Heero nodded. "We'll see." There was some silent implication and they all knew that Heero would decide on such a trip dependent on how the case was moving.
"Don't get too involved," Wufei suddenly blurted.
Heero blinked, then realized what Wufei was saying. "I'm dealing," he answered cryptically.
"Come on, Wufei." Meiran tugged at her boyfriend's hand. "Mom wanted me home for dinner."
Wufei nodded. "Okay. Take care, Heero."
"Let me know when you guys get home," Heero automatically said. "Be careful and don't do things I wouldn't."
Meiran rolled her eyes and turned her attention to cuddling Naoko.
"I mean it, Wufei," Heero narrowed his eyes a little. "Don't hurt her," he said softly. "Or I'll have to hurt you,"
Wufei glanced at Meiran. "You have my word and honor, Heero," he replied softly so Meiran wouldn't overhear. "I'd hurt myself before I'd let her get hurt, much less hurt her myself."
Heero smiled, then reached to take Naoko. "Drive safe,"
"Bye Heero," Meiran hugged the siblings and kissed Naoko's cheek again. "Take care and keep in touch. Let us know if anything happens."
"Will do." Heero watched as his friends got into the car and drove off with another wave.
"Fei?" Naoko looked at Heero.
"You'll see them again soon, baby girl." Heero soothed. "Let's go watch some television, hm?"
~*~
Wufei shifted in his seat, fixing his sunglasses higher on his nose. They were about three hours away from home out of the four hour trip up north to Mendocino, Wufei reached to turn the air conditioning down a touch as he drove along the coast road to Mendocino. Meiran was asleep in his passenger seat; his windbreaker served as a blanket for her. He smiled a little as he glanced at her and turned the radio volume down a little.
They'd known each other for a long time and Wufei reflected on the first visual memory he had of Meiran; a small Chinese girl with her hair done up in a ponytail, not at all shy as she grinned at him and Heero as she had been asked to join their round table at school. As they had grown older, Wufei remembered feelings of jealously whenever Meiran spoke closely with other boys outside of class. Heero had noticed Wufei's protective nature towards Meiran early on, as well as the feelings he harbored for the girl; in fact, Heero might have known before Wufei himself had accepted the fact. Briefly, he wondered how long it had been since Heero knew of Meiran's feelings.
He sighed. Their parents had yet to know that they were dating; it had only been a few weeks. He glanced at Meiran and wondered what the girl would think if he decided to tell his parents about their new relationship. Reaching over, he tugged his windbreaker up to cover her shoulder; it had slipped off. He smiled a little as he turned his eyes back to the road.
He wanted to keep Meiran to himself for a bit longer. His parents didn't have to know for a while yet.
"What are you thinking?" Meiran asked.
"Did I wake you?" Wufei started a little at her soft, sleepy voice.
"No." Meiran yawned and sat up a little. "I was only dozing a little. Didn't mean to leave you alone."
"It's all right. Sleep if you're tired."
"What were you thinking?" Meiran asked again.
"About Duo," Wufei lied. "And how we can narrow down the search."
Meiran placed her hand on Wufei's knee. "Things will work out," she said softly. "We're off to a good start; we found the letter and all."
Wufei nodded. "Ready to go home, and go back to school? Got your homework done?"
"Yes, Dad."
He squeezed her hand warningly as she laughed lightly. "I mean it."
"Yes, I got my work done. No, I don't really want to go home; I'd rather stay with Heero and play with Naoko. And you're the only one who ever really enjoys school."
Wufei stiffed slightly at her words, but Meiran continued to laugh and didn't seem to notice. He turned the music up again, and concentrated on his driving.
~*~
Heero shifted where he lay on his back in bed. He'd been thinking all day as to what he could do to help speed up the search for the Maxwells' murderer, but he had not come up with any answer. After combing the archives, he'd only found a couple of pictures of the more involved leaders in the drug ring; these men were still in jail as far as the reports showed.
Duo hadn't seemed very happy with the lack of help he could offer; that they could offer to the detective. His presence solidified by the night hour, he lay back on the bed next to Heero with a sigh.
"I hate waiting," Duo said in an almost petulant tone before he turned to Heero.
"I wish I could help," Heero murmured, propping his head up on his hand as he rolled onto his side. "Can I ask you something?"
"What?" Duo closed his eyes, tucking a hand under his head.
"What kind of flowers did your mother like?" Heero asked after a moment. Duo's eyes flew open.
"Why?" he asked suspiciously.
"The detective gave me the address to the cemetery where you and your family are buried." It felt decidedly strange to speak of a burial place in front of Duo, much less Duo's own physical resting place. "I wanted to leave your family some flowers."
Duo's eyes sparked with something for a moment. "I can't be bought over by flowers," he teased.
Heero blinked. "Duo?" he whispered. "Were...? Are you...?" Heero rephrased his question quickly. "Do you mind seeing Quatre and Trowa together?"
"No." Duo answered easily. "Love is love, isn't it? Who cares about gender? It's what's inside that counts, isn't it?"
Heero nodded. "But some people don't like...the same-gender aspect of love. When it occurs, that is."
"Why?" Duo asked. "Does it bother you, I mean?"
Heero shook his head quickly. "No!"
"Then what's the matter with it?" Duo lifted an eyebrow. "Ah. You're gay," he said bluntly.
Heero felt his face flushing with heat. "I..."
"I was...well, am." Duo blinked. "Kind of strange to talk in past and present tense about myself," he commented more to himself than to Heero.
"Quatre and Trowa are the first couple I've met. Same-sex couple, I mean." Heero looked into Duo's eyes. "Have you ever..." He trailed off.
"Ever what?"
Heero shrugged. "You know."
"You're question is rather broad." Duo shifted onto his elbow too, mimicking Heero's posture. "Ever gone out with someone? Ever dated? Ever kissed? Ever..." He leaned close. "Ever done it? What are you asking?"
Heero licked his suddenly dry lips. "Any, or all of those?"
Duo chuckled. "You ask a lot of questions, Yuy."
"S-S-Sorry," Heero stuttered.
"Maybe I have," Duo said thoughtfully. "I've dated a couple of times. Maybe I've kissed once or twice. Maybe I've..." He leaned closer to Heero, who's gaze drifted from Duo's eyes to his moving lips. Duo licked his lips. "What's it to you?"
Heero jerked back with a start. "I was just...curious."
"Nosy is more like it."
"The original question was what sort of flowers your mother liked." Heero lay on his back again.
"Daffodils," Duo murmured. "And roses." He sighed. "Dad always got her flowers."
Heero grunted in answer.
"Don't you have school tomorrow?" Duo asked. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
Heero grunted again and Duo removed himself from the bed, walking over to the window seat. "One of the best things about being a ghost is not having to go to school. And floating through things."
"You scared me in the beginning, when you got too close to Naoko."
"I know. Your protective streak is a mile wide." Duo flipped the pages of the book he had been reading. "Is it good to let me know your fears? You might not want to trust me."
Heero looked over at Duo. "Your protective streak is a mile wide, too," he commented. "So what do I have to fear?"
Duo didn't answer and Heero drifted off to sleep.
~*~
"I've an idea!" Quatre said excitedly. "I've been wanting to tell you since last night!"
Heero blinked, as did Trowa. "You could have called me. Us," Heero amended as Trowa gave him a look.
"I know, but I wanted to tell Duo too." Quatre nudged Heero towards the door. "Come on, open the door!"
Heero complied and was immediately greeted by Wing and Naoko; the dog had led the girl to the door since Naoko was firmly holding Wing's collar.
"Hi, Naoko," Heero set his bag down and took Naoko's hand.
"Heewo-nii!" Naoko cooed. "Cookie!"
Trowa snickered. "Here I thought she loved you. Only for the snacks you bring, apparently."
Heero chuckled and lifted Naoko as Wing sniffed at their guests and bumped Trowa's hand. They trooped into the kitchen where Trowa's hand reached for the tray of dog treats up on the counter and passed one to Wing.
"Here I thought Wing liked you too. Seems it's only for the treats you give him," Quatre mocked Trowa teasingly. The taller teen leaned close as Heero busied himself around the kitchen.
"So what is it about me that you like? I'll make sure to do it more often."
Quatre flushed and elbowed Trowa as Heero moved past them to the studio to greet his mother and inform her that Quatre and Trowa would be around for one or two hours. Kanoko greeted them with a call and invited them to help themselves to snacks, and Heero left his busy mother alone.
"We need to get Duo." Quatre said, retaining his excitement from earlier. "Give Naoko a snack, and let's get going, Heero."
Heero set Naoko into her chair and secured her to the seat. "Just give me a few minutes." He put a plastic bib with a little dip at the bottom to catch crumbs and offered Naoko a small plate of little cookies along with a child-proof cup of milk. Quatre sat beside her and smiled; the smile widened when the girl offered him and cookie and he accepted it. As if not to leave anyone out, Naoko offered Trowa a cookie too, then handed one to Heero. Heero smiled at the girl as he walked back to the table to accept the cookie, setting his tray with three cups of milk down, along with some other cookies.
"Thank you, Naoko," Heero smiled as the girl picked up her cup and drank some of her milk.
"Looking for me?" The three teenagers at the table started at the sound of Duo's voice and Wing sat down by Naoko's chair. "Wing got my attention, so I came downstairs."
"Now you recognize Duo too, don't you?" Trowa asked the dog, leaning down to rub Wing's head. "Good boy."
"What's up?" Duo smiled at Naoko and shook his head as the girl offered him a cookie. She waved it at him again, and Heero leaned forward to eat the offer from Naoko's fingers, distracting her from Duo's decline in her offer.
"I have an idea," Quatre announced. "But I don't want to say it here." He glanced towards the studio. The rest of the snack was finished in silence and Heero set Naoko on the floor once he had cleaned her hands and made sure she finished her milk. She ran off to the living room in her little baby steps and Heero watched Wing follow before he turned back to his friends.
"My room?" He asked, and the four made their way up stairs.
"So what is it?" Duo asked, taking his place by the window seat.
Quatre saw the paper bag still by Heero's desk and reached in. He flipped through a diary and set it down before grabbing the other one, and held it up triumphantly. "Your diary!"
"What about it?" Heero asked, leaning against the wall. "We've been through the diary. Well, Duo has."
"That's it!" Quatre said. "The detective didn't, right?"
"The detective went through Dad's only, right?" Duo asked Trowa and Heero, both of whom nodded.
"Exactly!" Quatre nodded and set the book down. "Duo..." he suddenly faltered, then narrowed his eyes. "You've seen the murderer."
"So?" Duo asked hesitantly. "What's that going to do? I can't leave the house. I can't exactly walk to the police station and demand to be a witness."
"You don't have to." Quatre pointed to the book. "Draw the face in there. Heero can take it back to the detective and that narrows down the search."
"But Heero should have brought it up in the first place." Trowa scratched his head thoughtfully.
"Draw it at the back. Heero didn't know about it until he dropped the book and it fell open to the last page. That even solves the problem of paper age!"
"Paper age?" Duo asked quizzically. "Ah. You mean that I can't use your paper now because it's clear that the picture would have been drawn today and not eight years ago."
"Right!" Quatre nodded. "Just draw it at the back."
"But how would Duo have seen the man in the first place? He...You..." Heero frowned a little at his words. "Duo died at the scene. He couldn't have gone back and drawn the face in his diary."
Quatre shook his head. "We need to ask Duo to lie, then. Pretend that he had seen the kidnapping occur and failed to catch the man. No one would know if he had ever told his parents, and besides, they hadn't contacted the police regarding the case so the police would never have known Duo was a witness."
Trowa nodded thoughtfully. "So Duo would have to write down how he saw the man and then draw his face out too. Takes away the problem of handwriting analysis too, if Duo wrote it himself."
"I don't lie," Duo said. "I won't lie."
Quatre's face faltered. "But Duo, this will help solve the case!"
Duo looked unhappy. "I've never lied in my life. Even after."
"But this will solve the case," Heero reiterated. "What is more important; the morals you grew up with or this?"
Duo glared at Heero. "This is, of course! My parents...my family deserves to have their name cleared."
There was a sound at the door and Heero broke the gaze to open it. "Naoko!" He gave Wing a look. "You're not supposed to come up the stairs by yourself baby. No, okay?" Heero frowned at Wing. "Bad boy, Wing."
Wing whimpered a little and lay down by Heero's feet, looking ashamed.
"Naoko's getting older. She probably insisted and Wing had to follow," Duo said softly.
"Doh!" Naoko reached for the ghost, and Duo offered his hand to the girl. Just as Naoko reached to touch it, Duo moved out of the way and turned his avoidance into a little game. Quatre picked up on the game to distract Naoko from Duo's touch and once the blond had Naoko in his arms, Duo managed to solidify himself a little and let Naoko hold his hand for a few moments. She then laughed as he tickled her.
"So will you do it?" Trowa asked Duo, glancing at the diary. "It could help narrow down the leads by a lot."
Duo dropped his hand, no longer in the mood to play with Naoko. "I don't have a choice, do I?" No one answered him. "Fine. I'll do it tonight. But I'm not that great in art." He turned to Heero. "You've drawn Dani before. You'll have to draw the portrait."
Heero nodded slowly. "Fine."
TBC...
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