A live orchestra provided the background music in the restaurant. Pleasant, but not really his taste. Even though he knew his classics, Duo never cared for it, unless it was combined with heavy metal. He hoped that Quatre hadn’t reserved a table too close to the orchestra, as he wasn’t in the mood for violins howling in his ear. Heero walked next to him with his usual confidence. His face carried a neutral expression, though his eyes darted over to Duo a few times more than was necessary. A waiter guided them to the reserved table, guest list in hand.
Quatre immediately rose when he saw them, glancing briefly at Heero in surprise, before extending his hand to Duo.
“Duo, so good to see you!”
“I’m sorry for any inconvenience,” Duo said, adding a “Quatre” a few moments later. “I’m glad you could make it on such short notice. Mister Barton, how are you doing?”
“Fine, thank you,” the other muttered. He didn’t look very happy - Duo almost took pity on him. He could only imagine the amount of work the personal assistant had to do to squeeze this last-minute lunch in Quatre’s already extremely busy schedule.
“You said you had news about the Never-Ending Circle. No trouble is too much for hearing any news on it, especially since you said you couldn’t discuss this on the phone.”
Duo nudged Heero. “Quatre, this is Heero Yuy.”
“Ah, the one we couldn’t reach,” Quatre said, beaming at the both of them. “Did you enjoy your trip in the Himalayas, Mister Yuy?”
“It was very refreshing,” Heero said dryly. Quatre made an inviting gesture with his hand.
“Please, sit down.”
Duo preferred to break the latest news about the artifact to Quatre in person, but not in the CEO’s office. He suspected it might be bugged, and Khushrenada already had too much of a head start to get more information handed to him on a silver platter. As he sat down, the waiter popped up at his side to ask for his choice of drink. After settling on the menu - Duo was hungry as he skipped breakfast after all the events of the previous night - he focused his attention on Quatre.
“You probably wonder why I brought Heero with me,” Duo started. It hadn’t surprised him in the least to see Heero still around at the Manor, despite telling him explicitly to get lost. Deep down in his heart, he was thankful for Heero staying, even though he hadn’t said it out loud. The silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable, but not really…friendly either. It felt weird and awkward. “After all, you know everything about our unfortunate break-up.”
Quatre nodded, not wanting to admit that he was quite curious. He was a renowned business man with quite the influence, but he wasn’t inhuman. He was also known for his empathy towards people around him, even to his business partners. Quatre was far too strong to be taken advantage of, but he was the one to think first of the social and human factor when negociating another business takeover or merge. W.E.I. was focused on the employees and their human capital, and even in the worst of times, the company looked for reasonable solutions instead of firing people without thought or consideration. It was conveniently forgotten that Quatre had set up an international business in just a few years, expanding rapidly and progressing on the electronics and technology market. They only saw his bright smile and blue eyes - but his strong point was his diplomatic character and his stern belief that he did his business by cooperating with people, not waltzing over them. Quatre was someone who dug himself into something with the same ferocity as Duo was passionate about history and artifacts - something they had in common.
“The answer is simple,” Duo continued. He was stubborn, but not stupid. It might be a blow to his pride, but Duo knew when to ask for help. “As you mentioned in your first conversation with me, the case with the artifact is growing over my head.”
Quatre heaved a soft sigh. “I thought it might, because of Khushrenada’s involvement,” he said. “Though I hoped for a swift…conclusion to it all.”
“Khushrenada isn’t even the biggest danger,” Duo dropped his bomb. “Romefeller is behind it.”
Silence. Both Quatre and Trowa were mulling over his words, and just as Quatre was about to speak, their dishes were served. As the waiters occupied themselves with everything on the table, setting the plates, refilling drinks and bustling about, Duo took a slice of the garlic bread and nibbled on it. When the waiters left, Quatre sipped his tea before addressing Duo.
“You mean the Romefeller Foundation? I thought they were a harmless society for promoting historical knowledge and re-enactment of the Victorian lifestyle.”
“Khushrenada is simply one of their pawns,” Heero supplied, stirring his soup. The silver spoon hit the rim of the porcelain bowl. “They’re active in every field imaginable, and as they’ve been pursuing political goals recently, I wouldn’t keep them from planning to take over the world.”
Duo took over. “We’re not really sure why they would want the Never-Ending Circle, but...” he paused for a moment to look at Heero, “…Romefeller desires power and influence. A good friend of Heero was involved, and it looks like a hornet’s nest: a conflict of interests, personal gain, blackmail…and I’ve experienced myself that they don’t like to be thwarted. They have the power and the means to look for the second part of the artifact, now that they have the staff already.”
Quatre laced his fingers together, ignoring his salad. “I see…and Romefeller is looking for the Never-Ending Circle to stress their ambitions, to gain power? I don’t see the connection.”
“Your father unearthed an artifact which he hoped would bring him fame, and restore his good name,” Duo said, tapping with the piece of bread on the table. “Instead, he unintentionally opened a cesspool filled with shit that stinks to high heaven.”
Trowa stopped eating.
“The discovery of the staff close to Cuba was all over the media, and led to the sudden - and unwanted - exposure of a training facility of the so-called White Fang movement,” Heero said. “A man called Quinze was their leader. The facility was dismantled, and all of Quinze’s plans and designs for new mobile suits, as well as his personal journal detailing his coup for the independency of the colonies, were destroyed.”
“I remember that,” Quatre said. “It’s been so long ago, I was too young to really see the big picture at that time. I do know that Earth and the colonies escaped a bitter, hard war. Again.”
“White Fang is tied to the Romefeller Foundation.” Heero dropped his bomb. “I can’t disclose everything due to the…delicate parties involved, but I’ve seen and heard enough to know that they share mutual interest and are partners at certain levels. I don’t know enough yet to determine the intensity and level of their contact..”
“Hey wait a minute,” Duo said, almost choking on a walnut. “You never told me that!”
Trowa looked from one to another. “Romefeller, White Fang… I don’t get it, what does a rebel faction have to do with the search for an artifact?”
“White Fang doesn’t care for archaeology,” Heero snorted. “They only care for money and weapons, while claiming they fight for the independency of the colonies. My personal opinion is that they are selling themselves out to the highest bidder, and wage war for whoever wants to disturb the fragile peace between Earth and the colonies.”
Quatre was astonished. “All because of my father digging up an artifact close to Cuba?”
“I’m sorry,” Duo said. “It seems your father has been used in a weird, complicated game. He’s been moved around like a pawn to fulfill certain other people’s selfish needs. His money and research has been used by Khushrenada and the Romefeller Foundation to locate the artifact, and if his death was a murder, as you believe…then he was murdered for finding out more than they wanted him to. He simply fulfilled his usefulness to them.”
Quatre drew his lips into a tight line, fingers bending the fork he was holding.
“What about the artifact?” he asked, coldly. His other hand was strangling the napkin as if he could murder the fabric. No matter how friendly and empathic Quatre Winner was, personally and in business - he wasn’t going to lose this particular game, and whoever was responsible for murdering his father, was going to answer to him. In excruciating detail.
Duo brought the others up to date, including the car chase, the shooting and the disappearance of the culprits. He kept an eye on Heero to gauge his reaction when he told about it - where Quatre and Trowa gasped in horror and shock from the violence of the chase, Heero merely stared into the distance. Waiters interrupted him a few times to clear the plates and refill their drinks, while Quatre and Trowa were listening to him in rapt fascination. When he finished, Quatre looked a little taken aback and muttered irritably under his breath.
“My sisters are going to kill me,” he said bitterly. “They made very clear that they didn’t want me to pursue father’s research. It must’ve been their intuition, because I’m almost starting to regret opening this can of worms.”
“White Fang must be behind the car chase,” Heero said, avoiding to look at Duo directly. “It’s exactly their modus operandi, and they have the man power to set up something like this. Romefeller doesn’t want to do the dirty work, of course. They’re too busy with their decadent charity balls.”
“I’m sure your sisters only had the best intentions for you in mind,” Duo answered a little sourly and he frowned at Heero. “I’m sure that no one was expecting this kind of involvement from a rebel faction - why would they? Your father was searching for something he was really interested in, Khushrenada for something he wanted to use.”
“Use how?” Trowa asked. “Discarding Romefeller, Khushrenada and White Fang - it’s just an artifact.”
“Even ‘just an artifact’ can tip the scale to one’s advantage,” Duo said. “Judging from all the trouble Romefeller went through, even hiring outside muscle, the artifact means more to them than just the honor of finding it. A lot of people in the archaeology world are there for the credit of the first find, treasure hunters searching for that one mythical object that has eluded mankind since the dawn of time. Romefeller had Khushrenada working for them who worked for Winner Sr. who did all the research and the funding, and voilá, as soon as both parts were found, they could run off with it, using it for God knows what…and if you know what the Never-Ending Circle means, God certainly knows what you will be doing with it.”
“What does it mean, Duo?” Quatre’s voice still held that distinct chill, though it was not aimed at anyone sitting at the table.
“Actually, Howard was the first to figure it out. He’s a very good friend of mine, and he studied the staff meticulously. He thinks the staff is the handle of a scythe, the instrument of the Grim Reaper.”
Quatre dabbed at his lips with the crumpled, satin napkin. “I remember from my father’s notes that he was referring to a ‘God of Death’ who supposedly lost his tool,” he said. “A very vague and almost-forgotten legend about him wandering the earth and taking care of souls - not by killing them but by guiding them to the afterlife - until mankind discovered how to take one’s life without the God of Death’s intervention. After the first murder was born, the god either lost or broke his scythe.”
“Exactly. Howard found very interesting inscriptions on the lower half of the staff. He didn’t manage to identify it exactly, but he’s convinced it’s an ancient language, as once spoken in Sanq.”
“Sanq?” Trowa almost spat out his tea. “The holy kingdom?”
“That’s one way to name it,” Heero said calmly. “Sanq is being referred to as a holy kingdom in quite a number of tales, but it’s nothing but withered ruins, covered by nature. Hard to get through, it almost has the density of the Columbian jungle.”
“It sounds like you’ve been there before…?” Quatre asked.
Heero merely shrugged, the movement repeated by Duo.
“Sanq is rumored to hold many artifacts, but it’s pretty much overrated. The country is shrouded by so many myths and legends that it’s hard to see the trees for the woods. You have to understand that people made those legends up.” Duo paused to sip of his water before he continued. “Besides, the nation was all but abandoned a little over forty years ago, shot to ruins because of the invading forces. Everything what even looked like an artifact has been plundered and sold all over the world. No one of the royal family took their heirlooms with them as the invasion and evacuation was sudden. That’s where the legends stems from. Rubble left behind, the tragic story of a royal family leaving everything behind to escape from the invaders of their peaceloving kingdom. There’s even a ‘legend’ that the castle of Sanq was built on a veritable treasure trove, but like I said - it’s pretty much overrated.”
“So the staff bears scriptures from Sanq,” Quatre recapped, frowning. “Fascinating.”
“We have reasons to believe we can find more information about the scythe in Sanq, or maybe even find the other part of the Never-Ending Circle there - the blade,” Duo said. “Howard’s busy deciphering the inscriptions, but I doubt he’ll find a useful clue. It’ll probably say ‘property of Shinigami™’ or something like that.”
“Duo,” Heero nudged him.
“In any case, Sanq holds the best options for us now,” Duo said, smiling when he saw Quatre politely hiding a small laugh behind his hand.
“Name whatever you need, and I’ll be sure to provide it,” the CEO was quick to say. “I commissioned you for this, and I’m more than prepared to fund the entire operation. I want that artifact, Duo, and I want Khushrenada to be exposed as the liar and manipulator he is.”
“We retrieve the artifact, the rest is up to you,” Duo said. “That’s the deal.”
“Deal,” Quatre repeated. “And…we, hmmm?” He looked amused. Duo suddenly felt his cheeks flush, as the man was pointedly looking at him and Heero, and he knew what he was thinking.
“Business partners only,” he murmured, and the color burned on his cheeks. Duo Maxwell took great pride in never telling a lie, but sometimes the line between a lie and a twist of the truth was very shady. He realized that he had been talking as ‘we’ during the entire conversation, and his cheeks burned even harder. Quatre sipped the last of his tea and had the audacity to wink at Duo.
“I trust you to split the commission evenly,” he quipped.
--------------------
Duo liked trains; for some reason, he preferred trains over boats or planes. He always felt terribly confined when travelling. A plane was claustrophobic and the food was horrible, and a boat was too slow and too rocky. He preferred action, and despite the steady cadence of the train, lulling him into a strange sense of security and comfort, he still had the feeling that he was really moving, going forward - onwards to a new adventure. He didn’t know why he felt this way - he was used to speed, to get somewhere fast and to throw himself head over heels into the situation. Travelling by train also gave him some time to...mentally prepare, he thought to himself. It would take at least three more hours to reach the border. From there, traveling into Sanq would be impossible with regular vehicles. Hopefully Trowa had been able to arrange for the Land Rover they requested; but Duo trusted Quatre’s ingenious personal assistant.
He supported his head with his hand, looking outside at the passing landscape. Nature was quite luscious around here, with a variety in vegetation only wild growing plants and trees could offer. It would be even more varied and wild when they got closer to Sanq; nature was given free rein there, claiming back the once inhabitated land.Why did no one return after the war was over? Did they want to leave it behind because of the memories tied to it? Just…let it be? Sanq was hard to reach, only adding to the myth. In fact, travelling by train was the only option - flights to and over Sanq territory were forbidden by an international convention, and it was impossible to approach it by sea; the massively huge and steep cliffs and wild forest on that side of the border were unclimbable and impenetrable, offering no openings.
Shifting in his seat, the fabric of his clothing rustled, albeit barely. He had packed several outfits, variations of the basic costume Hilde had designed, using her invention of fabric that protected him against severe temperature changes, was very difficult to rip or torn, and had kevlar-like characteristics: up to a certain point, it would even protect him against the impact of bullets. This particular outfit left a part of his midriff bare, as it was warm enough in the train to show some skin, and he knew Heero liked it. A smile tugged at his lips; it was almost as if no time had passed and he was on the move with Heero, on the road for another expedition. He had to remind himself firmly that this wasn’t the case; Heero worked for Khushrenada, and was willing to work with Duo for whatever reason. He simply hadn’t left and had packed his things to travel along with Duo, and Duo hadn’t protested. It was bothering him that he didn’t know what exactly Heero’s motives were. Was he trying to find and retrieve the Never-Ending Circle alone, or to protect his pretty princess, Relena Peacecraft?
The door to the compartment slid open and Heero entered, carrying a small, plastic tray.
“I thought you might like some coffee,” he said.
Though he had lived his whole life in England, Duo had unmistakably adopted his mother’s American side and influence - he preferred coffee over tea and frankly, he was baffled by the whole British obsession over flavored dishwater. Bah! He showed Heero a grateful smile and took the paper cup from the tray.
“I also brought sandwiches, would you like one?”
“Sure,” Duo said and took one from the tray - ham and cheese, not bad. He carefully unwrapped it, not paying attention to Heero shifting around, finally deciding to put the tray next to him as the table was too small. He picked up his own coffee and sandwich, and followed Duo’s example to stare outside the window.
So familiar, so comfortable…almost the same, but not quite. Duo recalled vividly all the times they went on an expedition - he and Heero, feverishly looking for artifacts, searching for tombs, studying scriptures, riddles and discovering hidden palaces and temples. Good old times…but there was this wall between them now, huge and fragile at the same time. The familiarity and comfort of them being together was overshadowed by awkwardness and distrust. The comfort of their old days, the days they used to work together as partners, friends and lovers, was replaced by a heavy tension of both their previous mistakes and grief still lingering between them. Duo heaved a soft sigh, but kept staring out of the window.
Heero moved his fingers over his watch, synchronizing it. “We’ll be at the border in less than three hours from now,” he said. “From there, we’ll pick up the Land Rover and continue our journey inland.”
“And no rest for the wicked,” Duo replied.
“Huh?”
“We went by car and plane to get here on the train, crossing four time zones at least,” Duo said, taking a bite from his sandwich. “I’m beat.”
“Duo, we need to work quickly,” Heero said.
“Why? As far as we know, Khushrenada doesn’t even know where to look for the second part of the Never-Ending Circle, or did Winner Sr. write more down in his research? After all, I didn’t get to read his notes from the safe.”
Heero shook his head. “Khushrenada didn’t share that kind of information with me, you know. I never got to read it myself. He won’t be exactly happy if he hears about me working together with you, though he’ll probably forgive me for it as long as I end up handing the artifact to him.”
Duo showed a lazy grin as he was eating his sandwich. “He’ll probably think you’re double-crossing him, and will send his men after you. Lucky you!”
“I doubt that,” Heero answered curtly. “Khushrenada is a man for who the end satisfies all means. He wouldn’t care if I worked together with the devil himself. Nevertheless, Duo, this is serious,” he waved with the sandwich wrapper. “He won’t hesitate to send men after me, after you, as soon as we’ve found the scythe. I don’t want to find the Never-Ending Circle for him, but for the both of us.”
“What do you mean, for the both of us?” Duo asked incredulously.
“For who we are. We know how to deal with such artifacts, we respect them and treat them as how they were meant to be treated - I don’t want someone like Khushrenada to end up with a potentially dangerous artifact as the Never-Ending Circle. It could be a weapon of war in his hands…You know how to deal with such objects, or are you really planning on giving it to Winner?”
Duo hesitated. It had been pure financial reasons why he had accepted Quatre’s commission; he’d always played for sports, donating the artifacts to a museum. “As far as Quatre is concerned, he doesn’t care for the artifact itself. He will put it on display for the whole archaeological world to rejoice - all that he wants, is the damn thing to be uncovered, so he can fulfil his father’s legacy and restore his name, crediting him for all the hard work.”
“He shouldn’t have gone through all this trouble. He should’ve let it rest. The completion of the artifact will bring up Winner’s name in the papers again, that’s for sure…but besides the good things, the press will certainly be all over the bad things again, magnifying the man’s earlier mistakes. Winner Sr. should be left in peace - he suffered enough from his own naivety, because people shamelessly abused and deceived him. Nothing good about the dead, but leave them to rest.”
Leave them to rest…Duo shivered, though it was far from cold in the train. He wasn’t wearing a coat, as the fabric of his clothing adjusted itself to his body temperature - he was never really cold or warm, but now he felt goosebumps all over his skin.
“Cold?” Heero asked amusedly.
“Sort of,” Duo muttered in return, latching onto the hot coffee, drinking it a little too fast.
“Three more hours to the border,” Heero repeated. “Do you want to take a nap or something?”
“No, I can sleep later,” Duo said. His body felt tired and jetlagged from crossing several time zones, but his mind was clear and bright, not in the mood for resting yet. He kept staring at Heero, the way he was eating and sipping from his coffee, every movement calm and controlled.
“How is she?” he suddenly asked.
Heero almost choked on his coffee, before looking bewildered at Duo. “She?”
“Relena,” Duo answered.
“Relena? What makes you think…?”
“The way she was holding your hand.”
Heero put his coffee down, the look on his face sobering.
“Relena is a good friend, a very good friend. I don’t have any interest in her as a significant other, something I told her pretty early, and she accepted it. It was difficult, because she harbored a crush on me before I had even sorted out for myself what the line between love and friendship was. I’ve known her all my life, Duo, and I wouldn’t want to miss her.”
“You never told me about your high-school sweetheart,” Duo pouted.
He nodded. “It’s true that the intensity of our friendship… well, there’s hardly any intensity, I guess. She has always been my friend and she always will be, but with the nature of her work and the circles of society she moves around in, it’s hard to meet up every so often. We do keep in touch, and it was the first time in three years that we actually saw each other again, at the Romefeller charity ball.”
“Darlian was her father, right? He was killed on L2?”
Heero nodded again. “A fanatic,” he said, talking about the killer, not Darlian. “We lost a good man that day, an honest and respectable negotiator with compassion, advocating for peace in the best way possible. He passed this all on to Relena.”
“When did she figure out she was a Peacecraft instead of a Darlian?” Duo reclined lazily, wrapping his arms behind his head.
“It was after Darlian’s murder,” Heero said. “he died in her arms, telling her with his last breath about her true origins. The Peacecraft family had her adopted because they feared kidnapping, abuse, or a murder attempt…little did they know that Darlian would become a target of fanatics, hoping that the peace negotiations would blow up, literally.”
“That’s really intense,” Duo said. He almost felt ashamed about how moping and jealous he’d been behaving. He decided to change the subject. “Why all this trouble for what is believed to be the mythical weapon of the God of Death?”
“You remember that Cuba incident, right? The training facility that was exposed? That was an unfortunate setback for White Fang. They were preparing a coup, even rebuilding those damn mobile suits! After Quinze’s imprisonment, they quickly relapsed into terrorists for hire. I read some of Quinze’s plans - it was a very careful orchestration of maneuvring people into the right position, moving pawns into the key position of the game he was playing. He could never have pulled it off without Romefeller’s strategic insights. If they are truly aiming for the ultimate takeover, Earth and colonies together, Romefeller and White Fang together would succeed, if it weren’t for the discovery of the training facility and Quinze being imprisoned at the moment.”
“Morons,” Duo grumbled, finishing the last of his sandwich. “Wars and fighting and weapons…”
“If the Never-Ending Circle really works when reunited, it’s a devastating power,” Heero said softly, not letting go of his gaze at Duo. “Though I expect Romefeller only to use it as their status symbol, in a display of their power, I’m fairly sure White Fang would really try to get it to work, legend or not. I repeatedly told them about the dangers, and they seemed to have gotten the message…but you never know.”
“No, you never know,” Duo said and smiled, before looking out the window again. He knew what power could do to people, especially when it derived from ancient artifacts. Maddening, dangerous power of life and death, and there were still morons who thought they could wield it at their own conditions and with their own free will. No matter what age or what world, people were still willing to follow whatever organization as long as they were promised wealth and power. So many were willing to follow a strong leader who knew the right words to speak, the right emotions to appeal to, the right…weapon to wield for his actions.
A sharp whistle of the train shook Duo out of his thoughts. “Are we there yet?” He blurted out.
“No, at least ninety minutes left,” Heero replied, looking up from a magazine he’d been reading. “You dozed off a little…”
“Huh, yeah…”
“Do you want some more coffee?”
“I know that’s your secret,” Duo grinned at him. “You and your incredible stamina, in every aspect…you owe it all to caffeine.”
“To caffeine and the person opposite of me,” Heero answered in all seriousness. He stared at Duo, unfazed by his grimace.
“I’m not in the mood for relationship-talk right now. Business only.”
“We once started out as business only,” he said, voice neutral. “I really don’t think I deserve the anger you keep throwing at me, Duo. I would really appreciate it if we could talk about it as decent…humans. As the friends we were once…and the lovers…”
“You knew about the car chase, right?”
“What?” Heero asked, thrown off guard. He tightened the grip on his magazine. “What are you talking about?”
“After Khushrenada threw me out of his office. Don’t fucking bullshit me, Heero. You knew of White Fang and their involvement. You knew they were going to chase after me!”
“No,” Heero said, back straight. “I work for Khushrenada, but I don’t know his plans to every detail. I never knew he would take steps this far, if it was Khushrenada to begin with. He might be a dirty player, but he would never risk something like this.”
“You should have thought of that sooner! You could’ve at least warned me!”
“I’m not the only one making mistakes, Duo.”
“I didn’t fucking ask for my brother to die!”
“And I didn’t ask for my friend to be kidnapped and to be involved in a complex, changing-the-world type of conspiracy, leading back to an ancient artifact that is supposedly of the God of Death and was uncovered by some money-blazing moron who thought he could restore his name with it!”
“Ouch,” Duo muttered.
“You’re such a jerkass sometimes, Duo,” Heero said, grouchily. “Let it rest.”
“You’re so sexy when you say bad words,” Duo said, pulling his knees up to his chest. He wasn’t done yet, however. “I accepted your apology, as you explained yourself to me. It still doesn’t make up for all the time you didn’t even fucking try to reach me!”
“I made a mistake - a very grave mistake. I’m not afraid to admit that I was a jerk, that I was too occupied with other things and other people than you at that time, but I never. stopped. loving. you. I still love you, Duo Maxwell. I always have, and I always will.”
“And what’s next? Kiss and make up?”
“I would kiss you to heaven and back if that would get you to shut up,” Heero growled, without any anger in his voice. Duo snorted, but he couldn’t help grinning.
“Who knows when you’ll get your chance to do that, Yuy.”
Heero said nothing in return but simply gazed at him. Duo shifted around in his seat once more, this time stretching his knees and settling himself into a position to sleep, to kill the remaining hour of their travel. He closed his eyes and didn’t move when Heero put a thin blanket around him, mumbling a soft “thank you.” Let it rest. Maybe it was for the better if he did. The ghosts from his past; the mistakes he made; Solo. The souls of the dead were still haunting him in the present day, and he hadn’t given them or himself any rest. How hard does it have to be to put something behind you? Being confronted with Heero again reminded him of all the good times they had, their passionate relationship, their professional workmanship, the times they spend together - talking, loving, laughing, sometimes fighting, but always together. There was no one he loved as much as Heero Yuy, and he couldn’t get past himself to admit it to him…again. He was too stubborn to admit he made mistakes as well, too stubborn to be hurt again…even though he was only hurting himself by reacting to Heero this way. Let it rest. Rest, Solo Maxwell. Rest, Duo Maxwell. Rest your soul and look forward to what the future brings…don’t let the past weigh you down. It felt like a weight was indeed lifted from his shoulders - Duo fell asleep, content and comfortable.
------------------------
It took them another two hours to get off of the train, find all their luggage and get a taxi to their hotel. The evening was already falling and Duo stifled a yawn behind his hand. He noticed Heero was unusually silent - he was often silent, but this was a different kind of silence - and he knew from experience that the other was tired as well. The only thing left for them to do was to pick up their Land Rover, and Quatre Winner’s influence reached far enough, even in this small village close to Sanq’s borders. They were provided with the best of the best; Duo wolf-whistled when he saw the black Defender 110 SW with heavy duty axles, perfect equipment for their rough journey into the kingdom.
“Trowa really knows how to do his work,” he remarked amusedly, mentally thanking the personal assistant while checking the specifications of the car, popping the hood open and whistling again at the impressive engine. Heero signed the designated papers and recieved the keys in return.
“Let’s get back to the hotel and freshen up before going out to dinner,” he said, casually, as if they were on holiday.
“Is that a date?” Duo shot back, and opened the door to the Land Rover. He hoisted himself up to sit down on the passenger’s seat and marvelled at the height.
“If you want that to be,” Heero said, fiddling with the keys.
“You’re as romantic as ever.”
“That’s why you love me so much.”
“In your dreams…”
“Which are only revolving around you…”
“Only me?”
“Only you?”
“Liar.”
“Nerd.”
“Who are you calling a nerd, computer geek boy?”
“Oh, shut up and enjoy the view or something!”
Duo laughed out loud.
“It’s a date, then.”
Heero chuckled. “God, Duo…”
“Yes…?”
“Race you back to the hotel and the shower!”
------------------------
Heero won the shower race, but Duo wasn’t a sore loser. While the other was in the bathroom, Duo went around to check his luggage and prepare his backpack for tomorrow. They would drive to Sanq first thing in the morning, crossing the border just a little after sunset. He took his Uzis out of their casing - he had special papers to carry the weapons wherever he wanted, clearing him from any trouble if anyone asked him about the guns. Checking their magazines and clips, Duo nodded to himself, satisfied. His equipment was in perfect condition, thanks to Hilde and Howard. They had said nothing in particular when he told them that he was going on the expedition with Heero but a simple “Good luck,” though Howard had send him an e-mail that if he were ever to run in trouble with Heero, he just needed to give him a call and he would fly out himself to take care of business.
Heero. He heaved an almost love-sick sigh. Was he really falling for him all over again, or was he simply picking up where they had left off? Had he really locked away his feelings for the other all these years, only to have them replaced by feelings of anger and grief, and petty jealousy? He wasn’t really sure. Duo was never the one to analyse his relationships in-depth…Heero had been his first, and as far as he was concerned, his only. There was no one as perfect as Heero, and he didn’t care how sappy it sounded. Heero was perfect, a little too perfect sometimes…until Solo’s death. Duo closed his backpack, checking the straps once again. Heero had failed to show up on his funeral because of Relena being kidnapped. It hurt…not that Heero had chosen his friend over him, but because he simply never said anything. There was so much more to Heero, and sometimes Duo was afraid he would never understand him completely at all. A relationship was built and based on mutual trust, not on keeping things from each other. Duo knew he was far but perfect himself, and he was willing to give their relationship, to give Heero, another chance…hell, he should be glad if Heero was willing to give him another chance, after the aggressive attitude he’d been showing him. He had never known himself to be so full of petty jealousy when Relena was concerned, and to hold onto grudged for so long.
“The shower’s free.”
“Thank you,” Duo said and straightened, putting his backpack close to his bed. He turned around, looking at Heero and almost moaned, being reminded how…physically perfect he was.
“Something wrong?”
“No, not at all,” he was quick to answer, relieved that at least his voice was normal.
“You looked a little…bothered, for a moment.”
“I’m not bothered…”
“All right…you can hog the warm water all you want now.”
“Very funny.” Duo’s hand already went to his braid to snap the tie.
“You know, you could probably cut back on the costs of your hair ties if you were to take them off, instead of snap them off.”
“I buy them in bulk, and I doubt it strains the budget all that much.”
“Did you take the commission for the money?”
Duo halted mid-movement, keeping the tuft of his braid in his fingers.
“Excuse me?”
Heero turned his back to him to pick up some clean clothes, unfolding a dark blue shirt.
“The commission. What did Winner offer you?”
“You know, you raise ‘being blunt’ to a whole new level, Heero.”
He had the small satisfaction of seeing the other flinch, but Duo was already bullying forward.
“But if you really want to know, I took the commission for the money, yes - I didn’t see the purpose of going on an expedition without my two best buddies if it weren’t for Quatre to donate money to a fund of my choice. What noble goal did you have in mind?”
“I had to live,” Heero murmured. “Paying my bills…”
“What, your pretty princess didn’t want to foot it?” It was out of his mouth before he realized it - again - but Duo’s mouth often worked faster than his mind.
“I see my reputation preceded me, just like yours has,” Heero answered dryly. “Or were you too busy sticking your head into beer kegs and now you can’t cough up the money to pay your bar tab?”
“That’s a low one.”
“Not lower than yours.”
“You used to never accept commissions for money, only for the artifact’s value for the archaeological world. We never got paychecks, Heero!”
“You used to never drink but one mixer in a whole week,” he snarled. “I read all about you in the tabloids, mister Popular Party Goer of several consecutive years!”
“I heard about you in all our circles, Mister Sell Out,” Duo growled. “How you dared to ask money for your efforts, how you dared to make profit of what we used to do for free - only expenses paid, and the artifact to the respective museum or institution!”
“I had my reasons,” Heero said, putting on the shirt.
“I had my reasons too,” Duo yelled and turned around, stalking towards the bathroom as his hair was already unravelling. He bit his lower lip, not knowing if he wanted to scream in frustration or to laugh in despair. Why were they bickering like this? Like enemies, like foes, after all they shared, after all they’d been through? Duo looked at himself in the mirror, suddenly taken aback by the bitterness on his face, the anger in his eyes. Why was everything with Heero so confronting? Why did he feel like he had to justify himself…why was he slipping, falling into some kind of abyss? Where did all this aggression come from, and why was he constantly blaming Heero? Was he afraid, or just immature? He knew he couldn’t live out his life alone and… die alone? A life without Heero, without ever admitting that he himself had been wrong too?
The shower helped him to feel refreshed, but not to get a clear grip on his thoughts. Duo wrapped a towel around his hair, the wet strands immediately soaking the fabric. He stretched languidly, taking another towel from the stack to wrap around himself, stepping out of the damp shower cabin.
“I think Papo Sorfu is a nice place for dinner, if the place still exists…?”
His voice died in his throat when he was greeted by the empty room.
“Fucking typical,” Duo snorted, though he couldn’t deny the pang he felt - a sudden fear of Heero having left him. He reminded himself not to immediately think the worst of it; Heero might have stepped out to make reservations, get some supplies, or make a phone call, whatever. Duo quickly went around the room, and checked if their luggage was still there - and indeed, Heero’s bag was still lying against the dresser. So he hadn’t left him…
Duo pursed his lips, but then continued to dry himself off and braided his hair with harsh movements, fingers tugging at the strands. He didn’t like it how Heero could create such a turmoil concerning his feelings, but Heero did something to him that he couldn’t place a finger on - it wasn’t only love, but also safety, and stability. Duo scurried around to put his clothes on and choose once again a costume from Hilde’s collection, this one hugging his skin as usual, covering him from head to toe. The nights could be cold here and the material would regulate his body temperature. Duo suppressed a wave of annoyance.
Heero was a grown man, and he didn’t know why he had left. He shouldn’t feel abandoned - they were both adults, they should be doing better than this childish game of attracting and repelling. I want this to work out. He wanted to trust Heero again; he wanted to not keep adding his own mistakes to the mix. Mistakes…why did he have to make them in the first place? Why couldn’t everything just be perfect? And why couldn’t he just simply let it rest?
“Because you’re a moron, Duo Maxwell,” he said to his mirror image. “You expect to fix things in under twenty seconds, and you expect people to abide your every whim. That’s enough of that - no more moping and pouting. What are you, sixteen?”
Out of habit, he stuck a few knives on his person. The knives were treated with Hilde’s special coating, so no metal detector would ever detect them. Hilde had always been good with practical things like this; Heero was the genius when it came to electronics and computer equipment. For now, Duo didn’t want to think of their upcoming expedition. He was hungry and wanted to see if his favorite restaurant was still in business. He quickly left the room and took his keys and wallet with him. Too bad that Heero had stepped out, he’d been really looking forward to dinner together, but his appetite was too great to wait for the other.
Duo inhaled deeply when he left the hotel and merged with the crowd on the main street, the only asphalted street in the small town. It was the last town before Sanq’s border, and the last place to get good supplies and something to eat before trekking into the rough country. The population was kind and helpful and wore colorful clothing; too bad the temperature was so chilly, or Duo would’ve thought he was in Mexico. The air was thick and heavy, nothing like a warm, comfortable blanket - more like an imposing, strangling hand around the throat.
Nobody looked at him twice, this town was used to treasure hunters, archaeologists and strange folk. Not even if he’d been carrying his Uzis, the crowd wouldn’t blink. He followed the crowd, picking up his pace, and after a few minutes he reached the center of the town: a large square where everyone gathered to meet up with friends, to get water from the surprisingly clean fountain and to eat at one of the many restaurants, conveniently located all around. Sure enough, the scent of hot food was mouth-watering, and his stomach reminded him that it had been quite a while since his sandwich on the train. He could do with a hearty meal, and to his utmost pleasure he saw the sign of Papo Sorfu buzzing; even after all these years, the owner hadn’t bothered to replace the lights in his sign, rendering his restaurant’s name to a Pap or u. Amused, Duo walked around, checking out some other restaurants, glad to be walking after all the hours cooped up in the train. The square was as usual crowded, natives talking loudly, children running around, the few tourists here and there wandering obtrusively around with their digital cameras and loud cell phones.
A row of cars – outdated ones, reminding him of Cuba – was lined up around the square, in front of a particular restaurant. Duo had never heard of the Gato Gado before, but it had to be one of the most popular establishments right now. People were lining up to be admitted, dressed up as if they were visiting a soirée. Amused, Duo decided to go back to his original choice of restaurant but couldn’t keep from eyeing the cars, spotting a few elderly American models, and…
…a familiar white garb, though the outfit was not completely the same as when he’d seen him first. Duo narrowed his eyes, his fingers slightly twitching. He couldn’t possibly be mistaken - he had a photographic memory, and this guy had made enough impression on him to be never forgotten - that, and the katana strapped on his back was a pretty good reminder. Only in this town no one would give you a second look, not even with a sword on your back - it was just the way things were. This time, Chang Wufei was wearing a dark blue tank top embroidered with a dragon, its red and yellow scales glittering in the street lights. With the color of his tank top fading into the darkness of the night, it almost looked like a live dragon had wrapped itself around his body, the intricate details even visible from this distance. He was wearing a loosely knotted black belt around his white pants, and soft, flat shoes to complete his outfit. Hair pulled back tightly in a ponytail, his dark eyes focused on Heero - it was him, and Heero was talking to him.
Silly me, I thought you really had both our interests in mind, not Khushrenada’s. Chang was leaning rather casually on an open car door, the engine still running. He made a relaxed impression, as far as a guy with a katana on his back could be relaxed, and Heero was talking to him. Duo wished he knew how to read lips; his curiosity was almost killing him. The conversation was broken off abruptly as Chang suddenly adjusted the katana on his back and hopped into the car, which drove off immediately. Heero turned around and started walking towards the Gato Gado, leaving Duo to wonder if they’d seen him. What the hell? It would be of no use to follow Heero. He immediately knew when he was being followed; and Chang was by car, and probably miles and miles away from here. Heero claimed that Khushrenada couldn’t care less whomever he worked with, as long as it paid off victoriously for him in the end - the Never-Ending Circle, and to hell and back with everyone else. But seeing Heero with Chang together, like friends talking to each other, felt like a stab in the back. This was the same guy who had thrown tear gas and stolen the first part of the artifact and Winner’s notes from him. His appetite had vanished, and that upset him even more. Duo decided to confront Heero back at the hotel, and he wasn’t going to rest until he heard exactly what was going on.