6Duo - AC204 June
The folder was put back at the bottom of a drawer, the subject was closed. They didn't talk anymore about Heero or the war.
They spent the next two days between the Circus and wandering around. It was nice. To watch the artists in training, to spend down time with his lover. It was lover now.
But it seemed that it was still bothering Trowa. It was subtle, but Duo could see it, the way his eyes were wandering, as if looking for something, someone, when Duo was just right there.
Like now, as they were enjoying a drink at the terrasse of a cafe near Duo's shop. Might not help that it was the one Heero had gotten used to bring him coffee and cookies from. But by now, Duo was addicted with their white chocolate blueberry cookies.
Trowa sighed, fingers playing with the rim of his iced-tea glass.
Trowa is more the tea guy.
They just knew each other so well...
_ I know internationally famed scientists have a busy schedule, but I wish Heero hadn't made appointments right when I was there. When did he say he'll be back?
Duo wasn't sure whether he'd rather gape or frown. A couple seconds later he smoothed it all out and mulled his answer.
_ He didn't say anything about coming back." Duo stated softly, piecing his cookie into crumbs. "He didn't give me much of a warning when he decided to leave either. He was just like ; OK Duo, I'm gone in two days. See ya, maybe.
Trowa frowned, his long fingers wrapped around his emptied glass. Only the ice cubes were left, melting.
_ Besides, knowing about, and approving of, his ex's new relationship and witnessing it are two different things. Of course he wouldn't want to stay and watch from the side. Even if he still love us." Duo shook his head, eyes on his mostly finished coffee. "Especially if he does and doesn't want to grow into resentment.
The silence from the other side of the table stretched, add some. Until Duo looked up to see just a glimpse of utter disbelief before Trowa regained part of his composure and downed his drink. He looked angry.
Duo felt his heart squeeze, he hoped it wasn't against him.
Then he fished his com from his jacket and pushed exactly three dials. From where he was, Duo could here the ring tone, four times, before Heero's surprised voice answered.
_ Hanata? Something happened?
_ When are you coming back?
Apparently, somehow, Trowa was angry at Heero. Duo was at loss.
_ I don't know, there are a lot of things to discuss, we're going nowhere about the power system. I... We might not be able to...
_ You are coming back.
It wasn't really a question. And it made Duo a bit angry too. It wasn't Trowa's place to decide who Duo hosted or not nor what Heero had to do with his life. He had lost that right when deciding they could no longer be together.
On the other hand, Duo selfishly did wish for Heero to come back. Despite knowing how awkward it would make things between the three of them. He had gotten used to having his friend home.
Heero didn't answer.
_ Tell Duo he should trow away the tofu if there is still some left. I've got to go.
_ Torii...
Heero had already hung up.
Trowa looked about to cry.
Duo was so at large he could have been in the middle of the Pacific, on a raft with no sail.
pickaboo
Afterwards, Trowa had a long conversation with WuFei over the com. One Duo hadn't been privy of. Not that he truly wanted to. His relationship with WuFei was still uneasy.
It did remind Duo of a thing his mind still had trouble processing.
_ I'm still stumped that Heero agreed to become a Preventer. I remember him being so adamant he wanted to stay away from all this after Mariemaya. And why would they give him such a rank?
Fucking General.
_ It's more like he didn't give them a chance to refuse." Trowa's laugh was a soothing balm on Duo's nerves. Maybe he had chosen the right subject to lighten the mood, just a bit?
_ Do tell me. Everything!
Well...
_ All that's not under the 'super top secret, you'll end in some black site for the rest of your life if you heard of it' seal." He amended with a face.
_ That would mean I can't tell you anything.
_ You're not Preventer, that I know of... What gives you clearance I don't have?" Duo mock-pouted, but was really curious about it.
Maybe he shouldn't have asked, Trowa suddenly looked troubled.
_ Technically, Heero and I are still married. That was the only way I could be given some of the clearance." He disclosed with careful words. "As Heero had been filed as Odin Lowe Junior, not many people know the General in charge of the Investigation Branch is an ex-terrorist.
_ For obvious reasons." Duo finished, trying hard not to think that, 'technically' Trowa was cheating on his husband with him. Making Duo 'the other guy' even more so than he ever imagine. "I'm not even supposed to know that much, am I?
Trowa shook his head.
_ Did I put Leo in trouble, now that he knows?" Duo couldn't help but worry about his friend.
Trowa didn't know, but WuFei probably made sure it wouldn't be a problem. Apparently, he was good with making problems vanish, kind of part of his job. Duo really didn't want to know.
_ So, how did that happen?" Duo settled on his couch ready to listen to juicy gossip.
_ When the Preventer were created, they decided to recycle the former Alliance's military network systems. They also, for reasons you might get, needed to re-secure the whole lot.
Yeah, Duo got those reasons, almost all of the joint staff had been relieved of their duties. They knew the passwords, all the ways in and might harbour some vengeful dreams.
_ Then, one of their young officers said he knew a guy who could do it, and they hired him.
_ He did say WuFei came to him for a tech job..." Duo couldn't believe his ears. They asked Heero to revamp their whole network security? God, were they nuts?!
Still...
_ He can't have withheld the access until they agreed to his conditions. They would have counted that as blackmail, or even an act of terror and send him in jail, or worse. Not catapult Heero fucking Yui at the head of their organization.
_ He gave them everything, even the code is open source. But they couldn't find one tech who could handle the system's maintenance.
Duo would be ashamed to let Heero ever know it took him almost a full minute to get what Trowa meant.
_ Lily." Damn Pagan, he'd bet the old man hadn't kept his doll just to make tea and type his memoirs. And Heero hadn't given it to him with innocent purpose either.
_ And Trio." Trowa agreed with a proud smirk Duo wished to kiss away from his lips. "Actually, there are three more.
_ Including the Preventer's mainframe?
_ Yggrasil. Yes. The other two are ships. One belong to Quatre. The other is Preventer property, but her allegiance is to her maker. I don't know much about their respective abilities or purpose. You'll have to ask Heero himself if you want to know more. I just know none have the empathy Trio showed.
pickaboo
Two days later, as he booted his laptop to check his orders, Duo got a mail from Heero asking for him and Trowa to be available the same evening. Duo wished it was consecutive to Trowa's short call, but the curt wording, curt even for Heero, implied otherwise.
And it prove true soon enough, as the call chimed through Duo's laptop speakers. When he accepted the video conference, it was to face two frames : one with a small elderly woman, her younger assistant and Heero with Trio on his lap, the other was showing a young team of people with white coats.
Duo was glad Trowa was currently shoulder deep into the fridge, so he would have time to get used to the idea they wouldn't have any kind of heart to heart today either.
Heero didn't wait to do the introductions, adding Trowa as he came into the frame. Duo didn't bother to commit the names to memory, the group of youngsters were biologists specialized in biology and petri-culture and the elderly with her assistant a nanobots engineer. One was to make Trio function, the others to give him a semblance of humanity.
At first, it looked like Heero only called as a courtesy, mainly to choose with Trio about the physical attributes they wanted him/her/them to have.
Then the young team went to their study and cut out the communication. And the real problem came out, they still hadn't figured out how to sustain Trio, power wise.
Batteries were both too unreliable on the long term and not powerful enough to both provide the needed energy and last for a life time. Doubling them would make it too heavy and produce way too much heat. The possibility for a nuclear core had been brought up and discarded fast. Too risky, any leakage might endanger too many people coming in contact with Trio.
Most of the conversation was flying way over Duo's head. Too technical, too far fetched or leading-edge for his understanding. He wasn't ashamed of it, it simply wasn't in his field of interest, but it did feel nice to notice that sometimes even Heero was lost by the elderly woman's quick fire of suggestions Trio (or, Duo suspected, the collective mind of Trio and his 'siblings') discarded almost immediately.
_ In summary, you want a reliable, self regenerating power source." Trowa cut in, his patience apparently having worn too thin.
Heero nodded.
_ The simpler the sturdier. Dynamo and systems like self winding watches are those who had proved to be the most reliable through time. It's pure mechanic so as long as no component breaks, it can basically last forever. And we know how to make unbreakable metallic pieces.
Duo hid a smirk with a bite of ham Trowa had brought from the fridge. The elderly looked offended by the simplicity of Trowa's suggestion. Heero already had that thoughtful frown that said he had adopted the solution and was searching for ways to adapt the systems to their particular subject.
_ We could magnetize the cooling fluids, combine dynamo with magnetism... It would require an awful lot of them and interfere with external sensors, though...
There was more rambling before, after and in between. Those parts, Duo understood though. Everything else...
And once again, it was Trowa who gave the answer. Offhandedly. It reminded Duo of the time WuFei told him how well those two worked together. It was more than that, it was like Trowa knew exactly when to nudge Heero the right way. Why did they break up again?
_ Is Trio always that glued to you?
The question startled Heero at first. Then he laughed, because 'of course'.
_ Hanata, I don't know what I would do without you.
_ Run in circles and bang your head against walls." Trowa answered drily.
Then Heero hung up the call, already turning to the engineers by his side, bright with excitement. That call should be ranked in the top ten weirdest call Duo ever got. Or remembered at least.
He turned to Trowa.
_ 'Of course' what?
_ He doesn't need to add magnetic property to Trio's cooling fluids, they'll already have iron in the bloodstream meant to sustain its skin. Added to our own ironed blood, Trio could recharge by hugging any living mammal.
_ And it can also serve as feeling receptor.
Trowa nodded, a faint pleased smile on his lips. Duo frowned, suddenly suspicious.
_ You had the answer even before the call didn't you?
It was more than a pleased expression on Trowa's face, he looked positively smug now. He leaned over Duo, eyes sparkling and offering him a very nice angle on his cleavage. He had a very sexy cleavage, Duo mused...
_ Now he'll remember why he should come back home.
And Trowa lightly kissed him before heading to the bedroom, shedding his clothes on the way.
Duo loved when his lover was in a good mood.
pickaboo
Duo was humming, sore and content, while flipping pancakes for the 3 o'clock afternoon snack. Trowa had been home for a whole fortnight, minus his working hours. Duo's last project was going well and would be finished soon and Howard called to say he would get by in a couple weeks.
He was happy, cooking nice smelling food for his ever hungry lover. That's why he only uttered one small stream of curse words when Trowa's unexpected question made him grab the wrong end of the ladle, burning his hand int the process.
The question was : Why didn't you sleep with Heero?
_ The fuck Trowa?!" Then Duo winced, the choice of word was highly unfortunate. Trowa wasn't looking at him but counting on his fingers.
_ He came to your room, in the middle of the night, snogged you to your bed. Spent the whole night there, and you didn't take him on the offer. What held you back?
Duo could have answered Trowa he kind of forgot to take into account the tiny fact that Duo might not have been interested. But Trowa knew him well enough, Duo had been interested, for years. He had admitted it, one drunken night.
_ He wasn't interested. Not that way." He finally said, truthfully, after two more pancakes flipped in complete silence. He got an incredulous snort in return.
_ What more did you need? Duo?
That was getting annoying very quickly and his good mood flying away by the open window with no hope to return soon. He banged the plate of perfectly golden pancakes on the table.
_ And why does it matter to you, whether I banged your ex or not? Or why? And for the record, you should know when a guy want someone, there's that little thing that happen, called a boner.
_ He never told you?
Told him what? Once again, Trowa looked baffled, then mostly dejected.
_ Told me what Trowa? What's the matter there? I mean... I was serious, the day you arrived. I have loved Heero, and I ... kind of still do. He's my friend. But you are the one I want to keep going on with. I. Love. You.
He had found his way to his lover, put two heavy, grounding, hands on his shoulder. Trowa nuzzled against one of his wrists.
_ I know Duo. I know. Sorry, I shouldn't have asked.
Duo wanted to encourage Trowa to ask more often for the things he wanted to know. But this? He still couldn't understand.
What was the point in making him believe, or realize, he missed his chance with the one guy he thought he could never get over with? It was too late anyway.
Trowa Barton - AC195
He had come, and he was gone now. The boy, he though he has named himself 'Duo', had come back a few times, always after the late show.
Never daring to come too close or be seen by Catherine. She had scared him too, she could be very aggressive and she obviously tried to hide that side of her from him. Any kind of violence actually.
Like she was afraid he would start a rampage or something.
She knew things about his past she was hiding from him. He knew she wished to protect him but it was a bit annoying too. His dreams had come back after the boy's, Duo's, appearance. Blue eyes who called him 'Hanata' and that 'Duo' were now both part of it. And it didn't make him feel good. Other than the usual coldness and terror usually brought by the dreams.
Sadly, or luckily?, Duo had disappeared before he could muster either the will or courage to go ask him about that past.
That's why, when a few weeks later a blond boy about his age came by and called out to him, Trowa (since it seems to be his name) didn't skip the chance to follow him.
The boy's name was Quatre and Catherine looked at him with the same angry eyes she used on Duo.
He loved Catherine, she had been very nice to him and was grateful for her, and the whole circus's, help and shelter. But he was recovering, albeit slowly and couldn't stay behind, mothered and sheltered, when boys his age, boys he has apparently fought besides, were still risking their lives to protect the colonies.
It was his turn to protect his adopted family.
_ Sorry Big Sis.