Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ 2 Reign ❯ No End in Sight ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter Five: No End In Sight

"What did you think you were doing?" Heero demanded harshly of Duo as Quatre entered the room. I didn't have a whole lot to say on the matter, but Heero, evidently, was tightly wound.

"I thought I was taking care of a problem." Duo replied easily, not even reacting to Heero's obviously aggravated state, "I thought I was reminding Jun that mine are mine and he'd better step off before I take his head."

Heero blinked at him.

"Did you kill him?" Quatre asked almost eagerly.

"Of course not," Duo returned, seeming to think this was a highly amusing prospect before laughing evilly, "I didn't kill him, no."

"What did you do?" Heero demanded harshly.

"I didn't kill him." Duo repeated, focusing on Heero and studying his face a long moment.

"What did you do?" Heero actually put some authority behind his tone. Mostly when he did that, it was unintentional, but I knew he was seeing if it would work.

Duo studied him a long moment before his eyes took on an evil cast and he tilted his head forward to be looking up at Heero through his eyelashes. The effect was much less than flirtatious. There was something distinctly predatory in his eyes, and the way the light was glinting off them made me wonder if Duo was actually sane. He moved forward in an instant, nearly leaning against Heero-normally, this invasion of personal space wouldn't have meant anything, but…

Heero shifted back.

"You want to know what I did, my king?" Duo asked, making it plain that he knew what Heero had been attempting, "Are you sure about that?" he looked about to kiss Heero, actually. His focus seemed to be such, though he was also studying Heero's eyes.

Heero frowned at him.

"Hm…down, boy!" Trowa muttered, snapping his fingers as he moved into the room with Selena at his side.

Duo turned instantly to focus on him in something like disbelief.

"What the hell kind of pet-name is `Nira'?" Tro added easily, pretending Duo's manner wasn't bothering him…and Jesse appeared.

"Jesse!" Quatre called happily, bouncing from his spot to attack the guy with a hug, "When the hell did you get here? How long are you staying? What is this about pet-names?" he added, pulling away to focus on Trowa again.

"When Duo left, he called Selena `Nira'. That doesn't much resemble her name, so…" Trowa shrugged, meeting Heero's eyes and studying him a long moment before focusing back on the cat, who was slinking through the group of them silently.

"You sure you wanna play this game with me, Tro?" Duo demanded of the guy, also in his face, "I don't think Hilde would appreciate the outcome."

Trowa didn't give ground, though he was fairly tense, "I think I do, Mike." he muttered quietly, "Because I think I've got a handle on the rules."

Duo smirked at him…and kissed him.

"God damn it, Duo!" Trowa snapped, shoving him off, "What the fuck are you…" then he grunted as Duo's full weight hit him and he was knocked to the floor. His expression was pained and he wasn't moving at all as Duo pinned him. It was the type of frozen that indicated the hope of release from pain by submission.

Duo was breathing quickly with an evil smirk on his lips as he hovered over Trowa, his hands on Trowa's biceps. His eyes were narrowed and cruel-looking, "I thought you said you knew how to play?" Duo muttered, shoving at Tro's arms, "So play."

Trowa flinched slightly, shifting his shoulders, "Come on, Duo…" he started.

Duo's eyes narrowed.

"Fuck!" Trowa snarled, starting to actually fight against Duo's grip like a small animal caught in a trap. His motions seemed almost panicked.

I rose from my seat, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

I wasn't the only one, Heero had stepped forward as well.

Selena giggled an evil little sound before moving around to stand over Trowa behind Duo with her hands on Duo's back. At first, it didn't look like she was going to do anything but hinder Trowa's retaliation-and he was about to do something drastic. After a moment, though, we all noticed that Duo was completely focused on Selena and Trowa had stopped struggling.

And her fingers were white from pressure.

She was digging her nails into his back.

He gasped finally, closing his eyes and starting to take deeper breaths.

"Sit up." Selena ordered.

"No." Duo breathed, then groaned slightly, hunkering over Trowa some more.

"Christ, what are you doing?" Trowa breathed, blinking up at her with huge eyes.

She shook her head at him.

When Duo finally moved, Selena was ready for it, jumping in time to miss the leg he swung to knock her over and actually doing a one-handed back-flip as he instantly turned on her.

Duo had his eyes on Selena as she landed, and they almost seemed to burn. He was crouching beside Trowa, who was still prone and blinking up at him.

Selena frowned, looking away from him like he was no threat and studying her nails, "Now I've gone and bent one." she muttered petulantly.

Duo looked like he was going to attack her again.

Trowa stood quickly, blinking down at Duo's back as Duo followed Trowa's motion with his head, "You're…bleeding." Trowa muttered, blinking some.

"What the fuck was that?" Heero snarled at them all.

Selena focused on him with a frown.

Duo rose to his feet, which distracted the woman. He was flexing his shoulder blades with a mildly irritated expression on his face. He considered Selena for several moments, then nodded curtly to the door once, starting to walk away.

Selena's face lit in that same evil grin, following him without a backwards glance.

"I don't think we want to know what that was." Trowa muttered, blinking before making a face, looking like he'd tasted something he didn't like, "Does anyone have something to drink? Duo's not exactly my flavor."

-

Why I was getting glared at from Heero was beyond me. I was actually upset with him now. He wasn't in any position to judge me. Wufei would be safe for a while until I had the real leisure to deal with Jun, and in the interim, Jun was probably terrified of me again. It was win-win on our side. This also meant that when we moved into the cities with our forces, Jun would be much more apt to make mistakes.

"Is Mr. Maxwell in fact going to be knighted? Or is this pure ceremony?" someone asked. Heero and I were standing on a small stage in front of fifty or so people.

"Mr. Maxwell will truly be knighted." Heero returned, "He's been my good friend since the wars and I think that is the least honor I owe him."

"And the other pilots?" someone else asked, "Are they upset that they were over-looked for this honor?"

"They are some of the highest advisors on my queen's council," Heero replied, "I must admit that my declaring Mr. Maxwell a knight was a bit of emotion. You all noted that Mr. Maxwell was not present since my queen and I took the throne."

That opened questions on my whereabouts for everyone and I noted that many of the cameras were aimed in my direction. I was standing formally at attention behind my king, as I should, so it wouldn't be hard to get us both in any shot.

"He truly is taking over the guard, then?" another man asked, raising his pen slightly so we knew who was talking.

"He is. Before my queen stepped down, we had all sworn allegiance to her. Even then she knew Mr. Maxwell would be her security."

That opened questions about their relationship, and I had to wonder how many of these press conferences Heero had actually attended.

The thought crossed my mind that I could have paid attention to the news, but it meant nothing.

Heero smiled tolerantly and allowed the questions to die out, making some other comment about me and my position so the questions would stay on topic.

Whenever Heero actually looked back at me, he was glaring. He evidently didn't like the fact that I'd been distracted by Trowa last night. What did he expect, though? I wasn't some dog to order around and if Tro wanted to act that way, I would prove my point.

I blinked, moving instantly to the man who started up the stairs to the stage. This caught people's attention, but the man showed me his employment badge, which showed he was a runner.

The crowd hushed as I followed the guy back to my king with my hand on my gun. It would be the perfect time to pull an assassination attempt. The cameras were rolling and there were many witnesses.

The runner, however, was only just a runner. He muttered to Heero quietly a moment before bowing respectfully and moving off the stage again with a nervous look in my direction.

Questions about that opened immediately.

Heero, however, stepped away from the podium and leaned to my ear, "Relena says you need to smile some." he muttered, "Quatre says that it's about time to go so I need to let you talk now."

I nodded at him and he moved back to the podium, "And now I'll turn the microphone over to Mr. Maxwell."

I smiled slightly at the people, stepping up to the podium as Heero took his seat next to me. "Hello." I muttered.

Questions, ranging from my whereabouts to my intentions on my job, started immediately.

I laughed, making a quieting gesture, "Please, I can hear you all but I can't keep all your questions in order."

That got a laugh.

"Before we get to that part of the meeting, however, I would like to let you know that my reasoning and my whereabouts for the past year are my own business. Write it off as personal reasons."

"That sums it nicely," Heero muttered darkly to me, his tone stating that he was not happy with me, for all that he'd be making me a knight shortly.

Questions were shot at me as if my stating this meant that they all had moments before the topic was forever beyond their grasp.

"Um…what are your feelings on becoming a knight?" the man with the pen muttered loud enough to be heard above the mutters. Evidently it was someone who actually understood the term "personal".

I grinned at him.

-

I blinked as a man I didn't recognize moved out of Duo's apartment with a satisfied smirk on his lips. He blinked at me in return before his eyes opened wide in horror, "Mr. Barton!" he muttered quickly, "I…I'm…I…" he fumbled with a folder he was holding until he could offer me a pass that showed Duo had invited him to his apartments. His hands were shaking slightly as he waited expectantly.

I nodded at him, studying his throat. He had a number of hickies on it and his shirt had been buttoned wrong. I indicated the mistake to him, "You may want to fix that."

He blushed scarlet, stumbling over something that sounded like an excuse.

"Is…" I glanced at Duo's room with a grin, "Sir Maxwell available?"

It had been a few days since his knighting. Selena had gone into town with Hilde, and Jesse was off with Quatre touring some of the grounds. I'd assumed that Duo had wanted some alone time, and evidently he had, though not for the same reasons I'd thought.

"He's…uh…" the man's eyes were slightly worried as I pushed the door open and looked down the hall.

"Hey, Tro. What's up?" Duo asked me in a tone that stated he was very content-and just my luck. He was very naked.

"Not a lot." I returned, raising an eyebrow at him, "I was just going to see if you wanted to join me for lunch."

"Sure!" he replied happily, stretching.

"Excuse me." the man muttered before dashing down the hall.

"What was that, Sir knight?" I demanded pointedly.

He laughed evilly, meeting my eyes again, "Mind your own business unless you'd like a repeat of the other night."

"Hm, but you forget, Duo. You are my business."

He focused on me, blinking.

"Your actions are my business." I added, shutting the door behind myself as I studied him, "And if you embarrass the royal family by slutting yourself to too many people, it will be me who takes action against you."

He studied me a long moment, tilting his head, "What could you do?"

"When I'm expecting it, I can do a lot more than I did the other night. Had your little girlfriend not gotten in the way, I would have shown you that."

He smirked at me, "You always shave been quite acrobatic." he grabbed a soda from his fridge, starting down the hall, "I'll be back in a minute."

I followed anyway, "Did you just fuck that guy?"

"What business is that of yours?" he returned, "On a personal level." he added over his shoulder as he moved into the first room on the right.

"I'm curious. Two years ago you may fuck with a guy or two just for the fun of it, but you'd never lusted after one."

"Which you would know." he agreed.

"Hm, what you do and don't tell me does make a difference here." I leaned against the wall opposite the door and slid down it to sit on the floor, draping my arms over my knees and watching as Duo moved from the closet out of sight, "I've talked to Selena."

"Yes. She told me." he replied, "She thinks you're really sweet." he added, moving briefly into my sight, "And I'm wondering why you're bothering. She'll get bored of this game before the week is out and disappear."

"I think she has feelings for you." I countered, relaxing back against the wall, "And I think you're an insensitive prick."

"Hm, I get that a lot, actually."

"I wonder why," I muttered sarcastically.

"I don't." he replied, "I am an insensitive prick. It's fun. You should try it some time." he laughed a bit.

I didn't have much to say to that, but finally something did occur to me, "Why doesn't she know about Kayla?"

Duo stopped completely a moment before pulling his shirt on and glaring at me. He was just in my sight.

"How the hell could she have been around you for the last year and not known about Kayla? You said yourself she was distracting you from Ace."

"Shit's complicated." he replied, disappearing again.

"How complicated can it be?" I demanded, pushing away from the wall. The various petty irritants were starting to crop up now, things I'd intended to ask him that circumstances had distracted me from. He'd been around for a week, and it was time to get serious. "You practically admitted that you treat her like shit, so what's left?"

"Practically admitted?" he muttered, his tone considerate as he moved back into my sight, completely dressed with shoes on. He studied me a moment longer before smirking, "All right, I admit it. I treat her like shit. I'm even abusive towards her in several fashions. Does that make you happy?"

I jumped to my feet, glaring at him, "Whatever." I snapped, starting for the door to his rooms.

"Where are we eating?" he asked pleasantly, following me.

I stopped, turning to look at him, "We were still going to?"

He blinked at me, "You don't want to now? One little fight and you're ready to call it quits?"

I narrowed my eyes at him.

A grin flashed across his face before he mock-sobbed, moving up to me to throw himself into my arms, one hand pressed to his forehead, "You're so cruel to me!"

"Would you knock it off?" I demanded, dropping him.

"See!" Duo nearly shouted, pointing up to me as he looked to the door, "I told you he was mean to me!"

I turned to blink…at Wufei. Wufei was trying not to laugh as he leaned against the door-jamb, meeting eyes with Alexia. It wasn't Wufei, however, that Duo had been talking to. My daughter was grinning up at her uncle and then grinning at me.

She waved a finger at me, going semi-serious, "Don't be mean, Daddy. Uncle Duo loves you."

"And I love your uncle." I returned easily, "That doesn't mean he can act up and expect to get away with it."

"Baby cry." Duo muttered in English, which made me realize I was speaking Spanish.

I narrowed my eyes at him as he stood and stretched, grinning and offering his arms to his niece.

She giggled and hugged him tight around the middle, "We were just coming to tell Dad that we were leaving." she informed Duo, kissing him and moving to me, hugging me as well, "Uncle Q said to be sure we found you."

"All right." I kissed her and tightened her pigtails, "You be sure to listen to your uncle."

"I know." she replied dismissively, turning and moving to the door, poking Wufei in the belly as she passed.

"Hey!" he protested, stepping at her.

She burst into giggles and disappeared, I could hear her running down the hall.

"She's not eating with us?" Duo asked blankly, looking to me again.

"Quatre is taking her and Lea to a workshop." I explained, "They're going to eat and then head out. They'll be back before dinner…probably around three or four."

"Workshop?" he blinked at me.

I nodded, "She's attending a private school. It's not the same as public."

He grinned slightly, "Not that I would know."

That caught me.

"You guys ready, or should I get something else to munch on?" Wufei demanded, "I'm starving."

"You're going?" Duo added intelligently.

"My goodness, but you're just as quick as lighting," Wufei muttered, smirking at me before gesturing toward the front of the building, "I told them to get my car. It's rude to make them wait."

"Them?" Duo asked.

We both focused on the guy, and I realized that he probably hadn't had much interaction with the palace staff.

"If you'll step this way, Sir Knight," I muttered with a slight bow, "I'll explain to you how we actually have servants."