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"Witness Protection"Written By: Snowdragonct Disclaimer: Don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or the characters, more's the pity. This is for fun...no profit involved. Rating: R Warnings: Warnings: AU , yaoi, swearing (lots),
some OOC (probably), violence, drugs, sex, a naughty Duo (i.e. he
has a potty mouth and is a bit, er, slutty)…if you are wedded
to the “pure, chaste” version of Duo, he might be a bit
dark and crude for your taste…ditto for the other characters
in here…hey, Quat’s a lawyer…how much lower could he
get? Pairings: 1X2 eventually, 3X4 also eventually, (past 2X3, 6X2) A/N: I’ll apologize in advance that Zechs is, well, deceased right from the start. I like him a lot, and there’ll be mention of him…but mostly in the form of discussing/investigating his murder. Sorry. Summary: When Zechs Merquise is found murdered,
detectives Heero Yuy and Wufei Chang are tasked with the unenviable
chore of keeping the only witness to the crime alive long enough to
testify against the leader of the Oz syndicate, Treize Khushrenada. "Witness Protection" Chapter Twenty Eight: Wakeup Call I don’t know why I slept so well that night. I mean, after Maxwell and Barton’s performance, you’d think I’d have had erotic dreams at the very least. Or nightmares about what they might be doing to each other in the room next door. But something about the portion of their conversation I overheard eased my jealousy just a bit. That’s not to say I wasn’t green with envy—watching them get to touch each other so casually and intimately was driving me crazy. But the only time I’d ever seen them alone together, all they were doing was talking. Could it be they weren’t looking to resume their sexual relationship in the wake of Merquise’s death? And why not? As far as I could see, they were great for each other. They were open and sharing, and obviously deeply concerned about each other’s welfare. Why weren’t they a couple? It certainly couldn’t be that Duo was saving himself for me—not the way I’d been treating him. He had to know there wasn’t a future for us together, if only because he’d be in the relocation program. And as for living “in the moment,” he’d gotten what he wanted, hadn’t he? So what was keeping him from moving on and enjoying what Barton was clearly offering? Chang came for me, interrupting my half-awake mental ramblings, and I rolled out of bed, noticing Winner was still snoring blissfully away in the other twin bed. And no, he hadn’t taken the one by the window. While I padded down the hall to the bathroom, my partner yawned, stretched, and passed me on the way to his room. We were settling into a fairly comfortable routine in our new abode—and actually that worried me. As in the last safe house, we needed to be ready to drop everything and run if necessary; I wasn’t sure we were. But I knew once I set up surveillance, I’d feel much better about it. And maybe over supper we could have a group meeting and discuss preparations for relocating if we had to. I also hoped Po might have told Winner a bit about the case and the timetable for the trial. Having had that nightmare about Duo getting shot, I found myself longing for the whole fiasco to be over and for the braided man to be safely away with his new identity and new life. Except that meant I’d never see him again. And even thinking about that suddenly hurt more than I ever thought it could. I looked forward to the conclusion of the Khushrenada case with very mixed emotions. By the time I finished a quick shower and dressed, my stomach had begun to grumble for breakfast, so I headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Duo was sitting on the counter, talking to Trowa, who was standing between his legs, with a hand on each of Duo’s thighs. “So you really like Quat,” the braided man was saying. Barton nodded, looking kind of sheepish. “Think I’m nuts?” he asked quietly. “Did you think I was nuts when I hooked up with Zechs?” “No—but you had a chance, at least. He made the first move. I think with Quatre, it’ll have to be me.” Barton barely glanced over as I walked in and headed for the refrigerator, giving them a brief nod of greeting as I passed, and Duo just gave me a cheeky wink. “So what if you have to get the ball rolling?” Maxwell asked his friend. “Wouldn’t be the first time you went after what you wanted.” “But he’s a lawyer—a smart, educated, successful guy,” Barton said quietly, all of his insecurity and uncertainty obvious. “And Zechs was a millionaire—a big shot nightclub owner. But he still wanted me,” Duo replied with a mixture of awe and pride. “You were the one who said love wasn’t based on stupid shit like social standing and money.” He reached out and grabbed his former lover by the shoulders, looking deep into the green eyes. “He likes you, Tro’. Y’can see it in his eyes when he looks at you. Honest.” “Y’think?” I don’t know what possessed me to put in my two cents worth, but I did. I shut the refrigerator and turned to face both of them. “If you’d like an impartial opinion, Barton, I think Winner’s quite taken with you,” I said firmly. “He stepped completely out of his comfort zone riding up here on the back of a bike with you. And all evening he could hardly take his eyes off you. I think it’s pretty obvious he’s interested.” Maxwell was open-mouthed with surprise. I don’t know why. I mean, giving Barton a little reassurance and a nudge to go after what he wanted wasn’t such a big deal, was it? “You think a lawyer would consider a serious relationship with a stripper?” Barton asked. “More to the point,” I said coolly. “Is that what you’re looking for? Because I don’t think Winner’s a ‘quick roll in the sack’ kind of guy.” “That’s not what I want!” Barton said hotly. “I could get that from any guy on the street, Yuy.” Duo gave a throaty chuckle. “You could get that from me,” he pointed out. Trowa looked quickly back at him, leaning in to place a brief kiss on the corner of his mouth. “I know, Shini,” he said huskily, using that endearing little nickname that made me want to rip his throat out. “I was just making a point.” He turned back to me. “I’m not looking for a conquest, Yuy.” “Good,” I said, tamping down my resentment of the way his hands were resting on Duo’s thighs, the thumbs stroking lightly against the faded jeans. “Because Winner’s a very smart man, and he’d see right through a quick seduction.” “You could always try pointing a gun at him,” Duo added cheekily, making my face flame with embarrassment. By the way Barton’s eyes slid aside to me and then back to Maxwell, I could tell he’d told him, and I wanted to just sink into the ground. Had they fucking discussed everything?” “That’s more up your alley,” Trowa said with a wink at Duo. “Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” I muttered, glaring at Duo. “You told him? Why not just tell Chang while you’re at it?” Barton gave me a sly sidelong glance and raised an eyebrow. “Whatever are you talking about, Yuy? I was referring to when Duo met Zechs.” “Bullshit.” To my surprise, Duo pushed off the counter, sliding down the front of his former lover and then pushing him back so he could stalk angrily out of the room. Leaving me standing there with his friend giving me an accusing glare. “What?” I demanded. “You’re an asshole, Yuy,” Trowa said frankly. “Why? Because I’m pissed that your pal used a gun to coerce me into sex?” “I’m sure it took a lot of persuading,” he sneered. “You want to talk about not being able to take your eyes off someone? I notice how often you watch him.” “He’s a protected witness,” I said defensively. “Of course I watch him.” Oh, lame Yuy. Very lame. Barton gave a skeptical snort. “Besides, he’s tried to run away twice. I have to make sure he doesn’t.” Total bullshit. “So tie him up,” came the snide reply. Barton gave me a perfectly nasty leer. “He kinda likes a little bondage sometimes.” “I don’t need to hear about your kinky exploits,” I shot back with a scowl. “You really have no clue, do you?” he demanded, shaking his head. “Y’think Duo just throws himself at every guy that comes along?” “In a word—yes!” “You don’t deserve him.” What the hell was he talking about? Deserve him how? I know I didn’t deserve to have my own gun turned against me and to be forced to have sex with a witness. But what else was he talking about? “Deserve him?” I asked cluelessly. “Barton, I don’t even want him.” He saw right through that blatant lie. “Bullshit. I saw your face during our performance. And I saw it just now when I called him ‘Shini.’ So don’t pretend you aren’t interested. You and I both know you are.” Shit. How the hell had he noticed my expression at his term of endearment? “Why do you call him that, anyway?” I asked, deftly trying to change the subject. “Well there is that tattoo,” he said as if I were stupid. I’d never really given the tattoo much thought. I figured “Shinigami” was some sort of gang title Duo used. “God of Death” was certainly a label designed to strike fear into the hearts of enemies. But “Shini” sounded soft and cute, especially the way it rolled off Barton’s tongue. “Now it’s my turn,” he added brusquely. “Your turn?” “You asked a question. Now answer one for me. Why do you call him Maxwell?” “What?” I shook my head uncomprehendingly “That’s his name.” “It’s his last name. Would it fuckin’ kill you to call him Duo?” “I’m a professional—.” “Professional my ass! You had sex with a witness, Yuy. Even I know that’s against your department policy.” His green eyes were alight with emotion. “So is falling in love with one!” I snapped back. Trowa’s eyes widened, and I felt the color drain from my face. I groped hastily for a handle on the situation, wishing I could take back the words I’d blurted out. “Just—let it go, Barton. What happened—happened. I can’t undo it. But I can damn well make sure it doesn’t happen again.” “You think by calling him Maxwell you can keep your objectivity?” Barton asked, his expression softening slightly. “It’s a little late for that, detective.” He actually smiled slightly, and shook his head. “Where Duo’s concerned, objectivity just flies right out the window—ask anyone who’s ever met him. Even your stick-up-his-ass partner isn’t objective about Duo, is he?” That was true enough. Duo seemed to bring out a strong emotional response—positive or negative—in everyone he met. “Wufei has very clear-cut notions of propriety,” I said carefully. “And Max—D—Duo just pushes every button for him.” “God, listen to you,” sighed Trowa. “You just choke on the word, don’t you?” “At least I tried,” I blurted in frustration. “What the fuck do you want from me, Barton? I can’t get involved with him!” “You already are.” “I can’t let it get in the way of protecting him,” I clarified. “And when the trial’s over, he’s going into the relocation program. I won’t ever see him again. Do you understand that?” A flicker of pain passed through the green eyes. “I understand it all too well, Yuy. I’ll lose my best friend in the world when he goes.” He shook his head ruefully. “But at least he’ll go without wondering how much he means to me.” “That’s nice,” I said curtly, walking over and grabbing my laptop and the case of surveillance monitors I’d placed next to it the previous night. “At least you know what he means to you,” I added under my breath, taking the equipment and stalking out before Barton could try to get me to admit to things I wasn’t ready to face. I was in the living room, programming the mini cams when Barton sauntered out of the kitchen and looked around for Maxwell. He spied him on the deck, leaning on the railing looking out over the lake, and with an annoyed glance at me went out to join him. I watched out of the corner of my eyes, wondering what he was going to say to Duo—what he might tell him about the conversation we’d just had. When he got to the braided man, he settled in beside him, slipping an arm around his shoulders. Duo snuggled up against him, and I once again had that overwhelming urge to go drag them apart. Okay—so I was jealous. That didn’t mean I felt anything for Duo, right? Aside from lust, I mean. I could admit that much. There was no point in denying the attraction. Yes, I was very, very attracted to Duo, physically. And it galled me to see the casual intimacy between Trowa and him. I wanted to touch him again—to wrap an arm around him—to feel the silken hair slide through my fingers. But physical attraction was a far cry from love, no matter what I might have blurted out to Barton in the heat of the moment. Love would mean I’d care what happened to him—I’d worry about him—I’d want him to be happy. I’d miss his laugh…and his smile…and the way the indigo eyes glimmered with mischief or burned with lust. I couldn’t love him. “But you did miss his smile, and his laugh—and you do care what happens to him,” said that annoying little voice in the back of my head that I wished had a corporeal form so I could strangle it and shut it up forever. I was nearly done with the settings on the equipment, when I heard the shuffle of a foot behind me. “Morning, Winner,” I said without looking up. There was a muffled yawn. “How’d you know it was me?” “Chang’s dead quiet when he walks. You scuffed.” The lawyer gave a chuckle. “I’ll have to work on that.” He came around the couch to look at what I was doing. “Looks—complicated.” “Not really. But I have to set frequencies and make sure the uplink is functional, so I don’t waste time putting out equipment only to have it not work properly.” “Ah.” He walked over to the window and tapped, smiling and giving a little wave of greeting as Duo looked over Trowa’s shoulder at him. Then Duo elbowed Trowa, and the green-eyed man turned and gave a shy smile. “I think they’re waiting for you,” I told him, shaking my head. “I’m going out to set up surveillance. It’ll probably take me a couple of hours at least.” “Would you like help?” I smiled wryly. “Definitely not. I work better alone.” I got to my feet and gathered up my equipment, placing it in a backpack for ease of transport. “You three have a nice morning. I’ll be back in time to wake Chang. But if you have any concerns, go ahead and do it sooner.” The blue eyes crinkled at the corners as Quatre smiled. “Is he less cranky after a good night’s sleep?” “One can always hope.”
I spent a very pleasant morning hiking the trails I’d previously checked out, and placing mini cams or motion sensors where I thought they’d do the most good. With the software on my laptop, I’d be able to watch four separate views at a time, and I’d set the cameras to send me an alert if they picked up large-scale movement. Not that I thought we’d have another all-out assault. It was clear to me now that Khushrenada had planned for a single, decisive strike, waiting only for confirmation of the location. Now that we’d eluded that first attempt, he’d probably have spread out his forces in all directions we might have taken. If we were found, it would be by a single scout, or two, and they’d call in reinforcements. But if I spotted them first, I hoped to be able to be long gone by the time those reinforcements arrived. Or better yet, I’d love to get the drop on one of Khushrenada’s hired hands and see if we could squeeze information out of him. After all, two witnesses were better than one. I ate a protein bar for a snack, drank a bottle of water, and kept at my task until I was satisfied with the results. And I still had some sensors and mini cams left in case we had to move again on such short notice I couldn’t retrieve those I’d just planted. When I finished my work, I headed back to the safe house, scanning every inch of terrain as I went, pleased at the ruggedness that would help to isolate us from attack. In fact, although I had a good view of the house, lake and valley from the ridge, that was only from the front. The deck itself faced the lake, and would only be visible from that direction. I idly wondered if there was a way to set up some kind of floating device on the lake to monitor each shore. When I got back from establishing and securing our perimeter, I found Trowa, Quatre and Duo on the deck, sitting around the umbrella table and having what looked like a wine and cheese tasting party. “What the fuck?” I muttered. The table was littered with open bottles, plates of crackers and cheese, and even some grapes and strawberries. I hadn’t realized how much fresh food Winner and Barton had brought along. Duo looked up, smiling and raising a glass toward me. “Hey, Yuy! You’re just in time. Tell ‘em how fuckin’ big that bear was.” I looked at Winner and Barton. “Bear?” “The one that chased Chang up a tree,” Trowa said with obvious relish. “Oh. Huge,” I shrugged. “Had to be three or four hundred pounds.” “See?” Duo crowed. “I told you guys. It was unbelievable!” He leaned forward, his attention once again on his audience as he began detailing how he’d lured the cubs away with a protein bar, embellishing it a bit so that the momma bear was practically nipping at his toes before Chang got safely down and we made our escape. I found myself grinning as I watched him, taking in the grand gestures and sparkling eyes. God, he was gorgeous! Had I said that before? Well, whatever I’d said, had to have been an understatement. When he was in the midst of sharing a harrowing experience with his friends, he was downright brilliant. Animated. Happy. Breathtakingly beautiful. “—come you didn’t shoot it?” Winner asked. Duo’s head turned towards me, indigo eyes affixing me with a searching gaze. I blinked. “Huh?” “I asked you why you didn’t shoot the bear,” Winner repeated, smirking knowingly as his eyes flickered between Duo and me. Fuck! Had he told Winner, too? It took me a moment to drag my thoughts back to the incident with the bear. But then I offered a nonchalant shrug. “Maxwell threw himself in front of the rifle.” Barton and Winner both looked accusingly at Duo, who had apparently left out that tiny detail. He raised his hands in surrender. “She had cubs!” he blurted. “Tro’ you know how I feel about orphans. I couldn’t let that happen to those babies.” Winner threw back his head and laughed. “Gods, Duo! You are such a sentimental sap! I never knew!” He sounded a bit tipsy, and judging from the quantity of empties, they probably all were. Duo looked appealingly at me. And just plain appealing, too. “Tell him I’m not, Yuy. Tell him what a hardass I’ve been…please.” I gave him a wicked smile, secretly relieved that his annoyance with me from that morning had passed. “You, Maxwell? You’re just a sweet, sweet kid,” I crooned teasingly. “All that tough-guy shit? Just an act, isn’t it?” Okay, I was only half-teasing with that last part. I knew damned well he wasn’t half as brassy as he pretended to be. “It is not!” Duo protested hotly, trying to scowl. “I am tough.” My laughter just seemed to incense him even more. “Maxwell—I’ve seen guys in prison that cut bodily parts off other inmates just for amusement. They’d have asked me to start with the bear’s feet and shoot off bits of her until I ran out of bullets. You don’t even know tough.” His jaw dropped, and he looked up with wide eyes as I walked over and helped myself to a couple of crackers and some cheese. “Wine?” Quatre asked smoothly, pouring a glassful and holding it out. “That’s Maxwell’s department,” I punned, taking the glass and downing half of it in a gulp. Okay, so I was thirsty. And it was really, really good. “He spent the first half of the trip whining.” “Hey! I did not!” “You started it in the hospital,” I reminded him. “He’s got a point,” Trowa shrugged, surprising me by taking my side. “You were pretty pouty that day.” He reached to stroke Duo’s cheek, and the braided man jerked away in a huff. “Aw, but you’re beautiful when you pout,” Barton added. He glanced slyly up at me. “Isn’t he, Yuy?” “Fuckin’ gorgeous,” I said carelessly, finishing my glass of wine and setting it down. “I have to go wake Chang. I suggest you three tone it down a bit when he comes downstairs.” “You think I’m gorgeous?” I’d started for the door, but paused before stepping in. “C’mon, Maxwell. You aren’t stupid. You know how you look.” I continued on my way before the discussion could go on. I’d already said enough incriminating things in front of Winner and Barton. But then, if Maxwell had told them everything, there wasn’t much point in trying to evade such a silly question. I woke my partner and while he freshened up and dressed, I set up the laptop in an alcove off the living room. All my monitors were working perfectly, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I sent off an e-mail to Captain Po telling her we were “secure.” That would let her know Winner had made it to us safely as well, without risking having excessive information floating around the internet. Chang showed up moments later, sparing a glance out the door to the deck. “What the hell are they up to now?” he sighed. “Partying,” I said bluntly. There wasn’t a more fitting name for it. “Telling stories. Shit like that.” The dark eyes wandered their way again, and I thought Chang looked almost—wistful. “They’d probably offer you a glass of wine if you went out there,” I nudged, wondering if there was a chance in Hell he’d want to socialize with those three. “Where’d they get wine? And so much of it?” he asked, ignoring my comment. “I think Winner mentioned something about a wine closet in the cellar—back when we talked about the safe houses he’d be making available to us.” “It shouldn’t surprise me,” he said, with a shake of his head. “But as long as it keeps them out of trouble and out of my way…” Ah. I guessed that meant he wouldn’t be joining them. I spent a few moments showing Chang how to key up various mini cams for different views of our surroundings, and then how to zoom in with them, or pan out for a wider look. “Remarkable.” He watched me pull up a view of the deck and magnify it until we could see all three of our companions. It looked like Maxwell was giving Winner another stripping demonstration—either that or getting ready to hop in the hot tub. He had his back against the railing of the deck, and was swaying his hips to the music they had playing, while slowly unbuttoning his shirt and sliding it off a shoulder. Wufei swore under his breath, reaching to take my hand off the mouse and close that particular window...just when it was getting interesting. I sighed, chuckling quietly. “I think he’s just showing Winner the ropes, Chang.” “And you don’t find that at all objectionable?” I shrugged. “Not really. I told you I’m not the kind of prude you are.” “And what about last night?” my partner added, giving me a wary look. “Care to tell me why you seemed to find that display so interesting that you couldn’t tear your eyes away?” Chang asked coolly. “For fuck’s sake, Chang, they were good,” I said with a glare. “Why can’t you just admit they’ve got genuine talent at what they do?” “Because what they do is put on a decadent display,” he muttered coldly. “It’s—indecent. No one should flaunt their body that way—and to do it for money is practically prostitution—even without actual sex.” “It’s not indecent. It’s art,” I replied hotly. “It may not be your kind of art—but between the hours it must take Barton to keep the designs painted on, and the hours of practice to get a routine right—it certainly deserves to be called more than a decadent display!” “Stripping is stripping, Yuy.” “Only to a judgmental ass!” I retorted. “Maybe you should take that stick out of your butt and try to open your mind a bit.” The onyx eyes pinned a suspicious gaze on me. “So you have an open mind, Yuy?” “It’s getting there,” I asserted, knowing that I’d condemned Duo at the start of our trip as well. “And you found their performance artistic?” I nodded. Wufei raised an eyebrow. “Are you gay?” he asked abruptly. “Have I ever given you reason to think I am?” I countered, giving him a flat, expressionless stare. “Not until recently,” he said carefully. “Then shut the fuck up about it and get your mind out of the gutter,” I suggested. “If I were gay, it would have no bearing on my work performance or my interaction with you. So I’d consider it none of your business or anyone else’s.” He backed off a bit at that, frowning thoughtfully. “If it could affect your ability to be objective about our witness—.” “You aren’t objective about our witness!” I snapped. He flinched, appearing to consider that statement. And then he frowned and looked—chastened. “You’re right. I’m not. Or, at least, I haven’t been. At the start of this venture, he seemed to exemplify the worst qualities in the people we deal with on a regular basis, and I genuinely resented having to babysit his sorry ass until he could testify. He was uncooperative, selfish, immature, snide and downright hostile at times.” He looked troubled. “And even though he’s…improved…and whether it’s particularly gracious of me or not, I can’t like him, Yuy.” “You don’t have to. You simply have to do your job and help me keep him alive.” He sighed deeply, and then nodded. “That much I can do.” “Perhaps if you examined how much of the aggravation he causes you is due to his actions and how much is due to your personal history, you could overlook more of his behavior,” I added. “After all, as we’ve discussed before, he teases because he gets a reaction.” “And he strips why?” came a less aggravated and more amused response. “Because he’s good at it?” I offered with a faint grin. “You’ll have to forgive me if I leave that particular camera view turned off during my shift,” Chang said steadily. “Be my guest. As long as you watch for trespassers,
you will have done your job.” I excused myself and went to catch
a few hours of sleep while I could, the image of Maxwell playfully
unbuttoning his shirt lingering behind my lids for some time after
I closed my eyes.
tbc... |
