“I still think you’re making a mistake by attending Hilde’s funeral.” Heero stood behind Duo, who finished dressing himself in black attire.
“What more are you going to keep me away from?” Duo didn’t turn around. He knew his words were harsh, they sounded cruel to his own ears. “Are you going to keep me away from paying my last respects to the best friend I’ve ever known?”
“Why are you doing this to me? Look at me, Duo, please, look at me.”
“I… I can’t.” Duo adjusted the collar of his shirt. He couldn’t bear looking at Heero and to see the hurt, the pain, and the fear in his eyes. What am I doing? I can’t take this suffocation any longer. I want to break free, I want to breathe- but is this the right way to break free?
“I’m not going to keep you away from anything. I just know that going to a funeral will provoke more nightmares, Duo, and I only want you safe. I want to protect you from every bad thing in this world. I-”
“Stop talking like you’re a goddamn soldier!” Duo yelled. “You’ve left that behind, years and years ago! You’re not a soldier anymore, and you don’t… fucking… need to protect me!”
Finally he turned around and looked at his lover whose face showed a stone cold expression.
“What do you mean, Duo?” Heero’s voice sounded distant, toneless. “You need my protection. I’m here to protect you, shield you from whatever happens. Nothing comes close to you when I’m here.”
“I can take care of myself!” Duo snarled. “You’re suffocating me, Heero. You’re suffocating me!”
Heero looked at him, eyes void of any understanding.
“Duo, the world is mean. People are mean. I’m only doing my best to protect you. With me around, nothing will happen to you.”
With an angered scream, Duo grabbed the alarm clock from the nightstand and flung it at Heero, who dodged it by merely cocking his head.
“I’m not a fucking objective! I don’t need your protection! I need you, Heero, only you!” Duo tried to gain control over himself, but the recent string of events had taken a toll on him.
“What have you done to yourself, Heero? Why have you reverted to your soldier like behavior? I thought you were leaving your past behind you. I worked so hard to get those walls down, you worked so hard to get over everything that happened to you. We’re not in the war anymore, Heero. You can let go of your objectives. I don’t need a soldier. I don’t want a soldier. I only want you. You need help, Heero, please.”
“It’s dangerous outside,” Heero answered, voice still monotonous. “I want to protect you from everything bad. You’re strong, Duo, but you can’t take everything on your own.”
Duo bit on his lip. He was loosing this fight. He couldn’t get through to Heero and it was tiring him. The walls he had brought down were back in their place and he felt suddenly too tired to do something about it.
“Did Kushrenada and Merquise fill your head with this? Why else have you become so over protective as of late?”
“They have nothing to do with this. As I’ve said before, I haven’t visited them in quite a while.”
“True.” Duo wanted to touch Heero, and outstretched his hand. Heero didn’t take it.
“You said that I was slipping away from you… but who is really slipping away here?” Duo composed himself enough not to let the lump in his throat affect his voice. “I don’t know you anymore, Heero. Did you kill the girls? Did you kill them because they were coming close? Did you kill them because they were somehow not compliant with your objectives?”
“I didn’t kill them,” Heero answered.
“I want to believe you,” Duo said, his hand still outstretched, untouched. “God, how I want to believe you.”
The doorbell rang.
“That would be Quatre,” Heero said. “Please, let me accompany you, Duo.”
“I’ll be back at seven o’clock.” Duo picked up a black coat and put it on. “I’ll play for you tonight.”
“You’re going to play for me?”
“You’d better think about what piece you’d want to hear.” Duo picked up his gloves and smiled, albeit a bit wan. Some of his old enthusiasm had resonated in Heero’s voice and his eyes were more alive.
“We’ll talk tonight. We’re not going to enlarge the distance between us. We’re not going down because of this.”
The doorbell rang for the second time. In passing, Duo pecked Heero on the cheek and left the room. Heero heard Duo greeting Quatre and the calm, composed voice of the business student drifted into the bed room. Heero clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth.
“I always follow my emotions, Duo. There’s no other way I can lead my life.” He looked up to his reflection in the mirror. “There is no danger here.” His mirror image looked pale and cold, but his instincts were roaring with fire and passion. “I’m not the danger here.”
“We’ll have to hurry to be in time for the memorial service.” Trowa Barton checked his watch. “It’s usually pretty busy around here.”
“Does everybody and his mother have to come through this lane?” Wufei looked at the left and at the right. Traffic sure was hectic at this roundabout and they only had twenty minutes left to reach the church. Wufei and Trowa had been present at the funeral of Dorothy Catalonia, and they wouldn’t miss Hilde Schbeiker’s funeral, if only for the slim chance her murderer would be present too. It was a well-known fact that murderers often visited the funeral of their victims- but this case had been, as with so many other facts, every exception of the rule. Neither Duo Maxwell nor Heero Yuy had attended the Catalonia funeral. Wufei had asked about it the first time both men were at the police station for their interrogation, but the answer had been, of course, ‘Duo had been too unstable at the time and Heero had stayed home for him’. Protection! Wufei snorted. Protection, my foot! Yuy is enforcing his old time war habits on Maxwell, who sooner or later is going to burst and let Yuy know he has enough of it. Maxwell’s far too strong to let Yuy dominate him for much longer and when he snaps, it won’t be pretty. If Yuy’s already killing because of his objectives, there’s no telling what could happen when Maxwell’s tells him to stop his so-called ‘protection’. He floored the gas pedal and the car sprinted forward.
“Cough it up, Wufei, you’re way too tense.”
“You’re far too observant sometimes; you know that, don’t you Barton?”
“Look, everybody is tensed and irritated because of this case. We’re fairly sure about the killer, but we don’t have anything to arrest him for. There’s no evidence, no witness. Two young girls are murdered, and one of them is the granddaughter of one of the most influential persons in this town. It’s aggravating, but we mustn’t take it out on each other.”
“I just can’t believe we don’t have any proof. I choose to do this work because I want to serve justice, not to see someone walk freely around while two girls are murdered… just because of some skewered feeling!”
“If Heero turns out to be our killer, then his lawyers will have a field day.” Trowa leaned backwards in the seat. “Judging from doctor Po’s reports alone, he’s the walking dream of any psychiatrist. How can justice be served if the perpetrator acts on a distorted vision of his own emotions? In Heero’s mind, everything he does is justifiable because of his mission: protecting Duo.”
“Justice will find a way to be served,” Wufei answered and pulled the car to a halt. They had arrived at the church. The service was about to begin and black clad relatives and friends of the Schbeikers were walking up the stairs whispering or mumbling softly. Trowa spotted Duo almost immediately in the crowd.
“I see our piano teacher.”
“And Heero? Do you see him?” Wufei quickly put on a black jacket he had borrowed from Trowa. In his culture white was the color of mourning, not black.
“Someone else is with him.” Trowa hesitated. “I believe it’s Winner junior.”
“What? What’s he doing here?”
“I don’t know. We’ll talk to him after the service.”
Both detectives made their way into the church and chose a seat where they had a good view of everyone present. Wufei left the observant job to Trowa- his colleague would gather more information from merely someone’s posture than Wufei could from a severe interrogation. He only watched Duo and noticed Quatre sitting next to him, pretty close. In fact, the business student’s right leg was touching Duo’s left one. The piano teacher didn’t seem to notice, absorbed as he was in his own thoughts. Silence fell.
Relatives and acquaintances were slowly leaving the church. Trowa kept an eye out for Wufei, who had managed to seek out Duo in the crowd. Just as Trowa was beginning to wonder, Wufei came out of the church, followed by Duo and Quatre.
“I just can’t imagine it, detective Chang,” he heard Duo say. “I just can’t believe it.”
“I think it’s a bit disrespectful to question a man in this situation,” Quatre said. “We’re at a funeral. Can’t this wait?”
“I ask you to understand the difficulty of this case, Mister Winner,” Wufei said. “We need every piece of information we can get. If, as I asked, Mister Maxwell could recall seeing someone during the service that doesn’t belong there, maybe we can have a lead to the killer.”
“I only saw family and acquaintances. I just can’t believe that the killer would attend a funeral of his own victim.” Duo had mangled the service program to pieces.
“You’d be surprised,” Wufei blurted.
“Mister Winner, it’s strange to see you without your bodyguards,” Trowa said, interrupting the discussion. “Haven’t you been threatened before with kidnapping?”
Quatre shrugged. “That was a long time ago. I guess I’m not worth the trouble of kidnapping any more.”
“Still, if you were to be kidnapped, they could ask quite some ransom for you.”
Quatre muffled his chuckling with his hand. “Mister… Barton, wasn’t it? Mister Barton, let me tell you that my father recognized that potential danger and took, as usual, severe precautions. He was very adamant about it and made sure I was trained in several fighting and self defence techniques to protect myself. He even sent me to the desert to train intensively with an ex-commando and made sure I followed several survival courses, so I would be prepared for anything.”
“Rigid,” Wufei said, impressed.
“Well, yes, my father is very thorough,” Quatre said. He looked at Duo, who had been listening quietly. “As usual, I had nothing to say about it. Never mind,” he hastily continued, “we have to go, Duo, come on.”
“Yes, sure.” Duo hesitated before he turned around. “Anything else, detectives?”
“After the funeral,” Wufei said. “We’ll wait here.”
They watched Duo and Quatre walking towards the cemetery.
“What do you think, Barton?”
“Strange that Heero isn’t around. Maybe he trusts Quatre to take care of Duo.”
Wufei crossed his arms. “I think we’re making a big mistake by judging Maxwell as the weakest person here. I don’t think Yuy trusts the Winner kid - I think Maxwell somehow convinced Yuy to let him go with Winner to the funeral.”
“Anyone who can tear himself apart from Heero’s hold earns my respect,” Trowa said and stared in the distance. Wufei scolded himself for not bringing his sunglasses. The white stoned church reflected the sun even more and they patiently waited until the funeral was over.
True to their word, Duo and Quatre came walking back to the detectives. Quatre heaved a sigh, after checking his watch.
“Mister Barton, Mister Chang, if you don’t have any questions, I would like to have your permission to leave. I have an important appointment with my father and I don’t want to keep him waiting.”
“You’re free to go, Mister Winner. We have no questions for you.” Wufei noticed the slight nervous look the business student gave Duo.
“Are you alright? I would like to offer you a ride back, but my father won’t wait…”
“We can take Mister Maxwell back to his house,” Trowa was quick to offer. Duo looked at him quizzically, but nodded.
“It’s okay, Quatre. Better not keep your father waiting.”
“I’ll come visit you as soon as I’m finished.” Quatre put on his gloves and pulled the car keys out of his pocket. “Be careful at home, okay?”
“Why is that?” Wufei asked, before Quatre could turn around and walk away. He hesitated.
“Well, because of Heero, of course. I’ve always told Duo that Heero is a… bit off,” he finished his sentence. “He has something ferocious about him. He scares me, sometimes. I do hope you’re not considering visiting him.”
“We know how to deal with Mister Yuy,” Trowa answered, face frowned. Quatre showed a confident smile.
“I know you do. But with all the training he’s had, he sure is a difficult adversary. Good day, Mister Chang, Mister Barton.”
He walked away to the parking lot and both detectives stared after him, watching him until he got into his car.
“Newest Mercedes,” Trowa noticed. “Winner Enterprises isn’t doing a bad job.”
“If you could give me a ride back home, as you promised, detectives,” Duo interrupted him, “I would appreciate it. However, you also want to talk to Heero, I presume?”
“Yes, we want to talk to him. This way Mister Maxwell.”
The ride back to the apartment building was quiet. Duo still held the service program in his hand, even though he had torn it into unrecognizable shreds.
“What did you think of the service?”
“It was beautiful. Bach was Hilde’s favorite. She would’ve enjoyed it.”
“Mister Maxwell… what do you think happened?”
“You’re the detectives. You’re supposed to find the killer, not me.”
“Heero constantly tries to discourage you from socializing with your students. Don’t you think his protectiveness has taken such absurd forms that it’s quite possible he would even kill for it?”
“He is a good man,” Duo answered. He looked out the window. “You may think of him whatever you want, based on his file or on his disposition - but Heero doesn’t kill. And certainly not for me.”
“How come you’re so sure?” Wufei turned around in his chair.
“I asked him if he killed the girls and he answered me no. I believe him.” Duo didn’t look at Wufei, and Trowa, even though he had to focus on the busy traffic, didn’t miss the slight hesitation in Duo’s last words.
They pulled up at the big apartment building and Trowa found a convenient parking spot. He switched off the engine, released his buckle and got out of the car. Wufei did the same and slammed the door close.
“Aren’t you going to get out, Mister Maxwell?”
“Yes, yes, certainly.” Duo got out of the car, but his movements were rigid and strained. They walked towards the elevator and Duo pushed the button.
“Is something wrong?” Trowa asked.
“Nothing.”
“Are you afraid of Yuy? Afraid of your own lover, Mister Maxwell?”
“I believe him. I believe him!” Duo smacked his hand again at the control panel. “Stop doing this to me! Stop doing this to us!”
The lift arrived. Duo almost jumped into the elevator and pushed the button for his floor. Trowa and Wufei followed suit and the doors closed.
“We have studied his past. We know Heero is an excellent soldier, a well trained, high skilled soldier who piloted a Gundam. We know how he got treated after his self-destruction. We think something went wrong in his war days.”
“But he found you,” Wufei continued. “A young, uncertain, insecure colony kid who desperately was looking for love and attention. And you found him - a young, uncertain, hurt soldier kid who was desperately looking for new objectives and missions.”
“You’re both out of your mind! Heero didn’t self-destruct! A Gundam? What are you talking about?!” Duo turned around to face both men. “What are you doing?”
“Yuy didn’t tell you the whole truth, then,” Wufei said wryly. “But more important is that we think he’s enforcing his old time war habits on you. And in his screwed up interpretation to protect his mission, you, he has even started killing for it.”
“Lies!” Duo spat out and the elevator doors went open. Before he could turn around and step out, he was pulled at his jacket and he was dragged out of the elevator. Duo let out a surprised yelp.
“Hey, stop it!” Trowa reached for his gun. Wufei was quicker and held Heero at gunpoint.
“What are you doing here, Yuy?”
Chapter 13 | Chapter 15 (not up yet) |