Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Blue Lightening ❯ A Quiet Smoke ( Chapter 7 )

(AN: If you notice the accents fluctuating, it's probably intentional - I'm paying a lot of attention to the way that they're talking because so many people have commented on how they like the accents. The way I see it, Duo learned how to talk “properly” when he lived in Maxwell Church and when he became a pilot, but being around Solo, who still has a street accent, would cause him to slip into old patterns. Solo, of course, likes that his little sidekick is now all civilized, and tries to encourage him to “Talk Proper” - and talks a little better himself as a consequence of hanging around Duo. (see, I've put a lot of thought into this ^^) So both characters will talk differently depending on the people that they're talking to. (I despise fics where they are both talking “Queen's English” and using elaborate words even though they've come from the streets. It just wouldn't happen!)

(Renata-Sama: Um… I dunno? Heh. They're not gonna get one during this fic. Tro and Q might. Heh… there's an idea… everyone meeting Solo there… thank you! Mwaha! I have PLOT! FEAR ME!!!! And now… on with the fic! ^^)

 

Duo spent most of the next morning thinking about Solo and setting up his new computer. This was achieved by careful multitasking, thinking while things were loading, and then using his training to push the thoughts from his mind while programming. By lunchtime he had everything set up the way he wanted, so he decided to actually shower and put some clothes on before going and eating lunch downstairs.

Rosemary had made soup and warm bread rolls, which she served up with a smile. “You look cheerful. You missed breakfast, you must be hungry.”

“I have a few things in the room I can nibble on, you know,” he told her, tearing his roll into pieces. “I've been setting up my new computer.”

“Ah. I know almost nothing about computers.”

“Do you have a security system here?” he asked.

“No cameras or anything. There is an alarm system.”

“Does it cover the fire escapes?”

“No, I don't think so,” she replied, sipping on a spoonful of soup.

“Would you mind me setting up one in the apartment sometime?”

“Be my guest, so long as it can either be explained or dismantled when you move on.”

“Shouldn't that be if?” he asked, blowing on the soup to cool it.

She smiled at him, a wistful expression crossing her face. “You're young, you won't be here forever. You want to find yourself a partner and settle down.”

“I've been thinking about that…”

Rosemary laughed. “Already?”

“No, no… I've met an old friend.”

“From the church?”

“No, from before there. I thought he died in the plague, but it turned out someone saved him.”

“What's his name?”

Duo considered. If he did persuade Solo to move out of the club, Rosemary was going to hear his real name eventually, so he might as well tell her now. “Solo.”

“Solo… did that have something to do with your name?”

Duo laughed as he tore more pieces off of his roll. “Yes, I was going to `live for the both of us'. Only, as he is alive, I s'pose I was livin' for me.”

“So, why are you telling me about Solo?” she questioned, her eyes bright and knowing.

“I was wondering if you would object to another tenant in your attic, if he agrees with me. I don't like where he's livin' now.”

“I don't see why not. There's no spare mattresses though, he'll either have to sleep on the sofa or you'll have to find one for yourselves.”

“I'm sure we'll manage. Trouble is…” Duo found himself tailing off and staring into his soup.

“What's bothering you? I might not be Sister Helen, but I can at least listen,” Rosemary told him.

“My life has changed so much since I left. I don't know if Solo and I will still be able to… to….”

“Communicate?”

“Yeah, that's it. I don't think we speak the same language anymore. It used to be that he protected me, but now I find myself wanting to protect him, and I don't know how receptive either of us will be to the change.”

“You're quite a complicated person now, Duo.”

“Hm?”

“The little choir boy I knew could never have broken down something like that. You've grown up. Maybe Solo has too. Maybe you're the boost he needs to make something of his life. You may be able to teach him things; he may be able to teach you. Happiness is all that matters in this life when you come down to it.”

“Happiness?”

“Yes. If you are happy in his company, his company is worth keeping, whether you talk about the weather or astro-physics.”

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem, Dear. Now, are you available to do a little wiring for me? The power on the first floor keeps on cutting out, although it's fine in the rest of the building.”

 

X

 

Rosemary's power problem turned out to be a dodgy switch, and was fixed quickly. Smiling at the relieved guest, Duo retreated to his room, and decided to try and see if the computer was up to a little hacking.

It was too soon to contact any of the others, although Quatre and Trowa would probably appreciate a note. He doubted that they had reported his disappearance, which meant that there would be no-one looking for him. However, someone would check soon - ex-terrorists were watched.

The logical person to contact would be Lady Une. He could swear her to secrecy, and despite the fact that she had tried to kill him, she had made up for that later by saving him and Wufei. Her face still gave him the shivers, but that was controllable.

Duo sat down at the computer, and began to bounce his signal off of several satellites… starting with L1, then one from L2… L3… L4… L5! Ok, now it would be harder to figure out where his hack was coming from. From the L5 he decided to beam directly into Preventer's Headquarters and, more specifically, Lady Une's office. He bounced once more on the way… using her secretary's computer. Just for a laugh. It wasn't too hard to hack into… he thought he recognised Heero's touch. Then at little more hacking, avoiding firewalls and the extra security Une had on her machine.

The webcam was on. Duo tapped into the feed, and was pleased to see that she was at her desk, reading a report. Grinning, he brought up a text document on her desktop and started to type.

>yo, Lady! How's it hangin'?

>just thought I'd leave you a little note… I've moved you see.

 

She still wasn't paying any attention to the monitor, but a frown had creased her forehead. Probably sensing that something was up, he figured. The white box would have changed the quality of the light coming from her monitor.

 

>I'll be a good boy and check in at the local preventer office tomorrow, but I wanted to make sure that no-one (and that means the pilots as well as the press) knows where I am now.

>you're not being very observant, you know.

 

Duo got bored of waiting, this report was obviously very important. He began to search through the computer for any music files he could surprise her with. However, before he could find anything suitable, Lady Une set the report aside. He quickly aborted his search and watched closely.

She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. She stretched. She swiveled on the chair, faced the monitor, and frowned. The frown got deeper and deeper until she started tapping furiously at the keys.

 

>who is this??

>I may run and I may hide, but I never tell a lie. Duo Maxwell, at your service.

>Yuy isn't going to be happy that you broke into his system.

>Hee-chan can kiss my ass.

>where have you moved to?

>L2. I don't want anyone bothering me here until I'm ready to be bothered.

>all right. I'll inform them that you have arrived and will be visiting tomorrow.

>I was wondering… any jobs for outside consultants available?

>I think we could use your services when planning missions. Can I have a contact address?

>not got one set up yet. I'll let the guys here know, and tell them to tell you.

>all right. We haven't got anything in the melting pot right now, but keep your ears open.

>Lady… it's late on Earth. Get some sleep. Go spend some time with your little girl, you're running yourself into the ground.

 

There was a pause before she answered.

 

>I'll try.

 

He smiled at the screen.

 

>02, over and out.

 

Quickly, he erased all traces that he had been there, leaving Une to do what she would with the text document. He pulled back to L2, and stretched himself, feeling a twinge in his knee. It was a lot better, but he decided to take some more ibuprofen just in case.

Now that the pressing task - taking care of his watchdogs - was over, he could go shopping. The realization that anyone could waltz into the building was going to affect his sleep unless he could do something about it. He had just managed to get rid of the habit of catnapping with one eye open while staying with Quatre and Trowa; he had no desire to slip back into old patterns.

Before he left he knocked on Rosemary's door to ask her if she needed anything, feeling like a right goody-goody, but not willing to pass up the chance to show her his appreciation for taking him in.

“Thank you, Dear, but I'm all right. Just keep your eyes open for rugs!”

“Sure thing.”

 

X

 

He managed to get a moderately decent security system up before dinner, which ensured him a good night's rest. After some consideration, he decided to head to the club straight after eating, rather than waiting for a crowd to gather. Maybe he could talk to Solo before the show… maybe the conversation wouldn't be as strained as he feared?

He left his hair in it's traditional braid, but wore eyeliner in an attempt to blend in a little more. The idiots up in the control room decided that tonight was going to have a light rain, which appeared as sheets of drizzle slanting along the streets. Duo wrinkled his nose and was grateful for his baseball cap; it shielded his face from the worst of it.

He headed for the back door and was, predictably, stopped by the bouncers.

“No entry t' customers.”

“I'm not a customer,” Duo stated, tipping his hat back so that he could see their faces.

“State yer business.”

“I'm here to visit Wolf.”

They frowned. “You kitten?”

“Yeah.”

“All right. He said t' let yer in.”

“Thanks.”

Duo found his way to Solo's room easily enough, managing to avoid other workers on the way. He tapped on the door. “Wolf? S'Duo.”

“Come in.”

He shut the door behind him and then tensed as he was hugged from behind. It took him a second to convince his muscles that this was *not* an attack, and then he relaxed into the embrace.

“So'… are ya happy here?”

“What kinda question is that?”

“Does that mean yes or no?”

“No, o'course. I'd get out if I could.”

“Good.”

“Why?”

“Cause… I asked Rosemary… I want ya to come live wi' me.”

“I won't freeload.”

“So'! No! You're… family. S'not charity.”

“Speak proper, little bro'. Ya can now, so ya should. An'… ok. But I'll be working at summant.”

“That's ok. We'll figure somethin' out. Maybe you can help Rosemary out. We'll figure it out later.”

“Kid… Duo… I hate ta say it, but I gotta be on stage in five.”

“That's ok.”

“Do… would… stay here? Wait for me?”

“All right.”

“I'm not turnin' tricks.”

“Ok.”

Solo smiled and brushed the hair out of Duo's eyes, trailing on finger down his cheek. Duo almost closed his eyes and leaned into the caress. “Back in less than an hour. I dunno what he wants me t'do t'night.”

“Kay.”

The door clicked softly as it shut, leaving Duo alone in the room.

The braided teen looked around, and decided that the bed looked like the most comfortable place to wait. He wrapped Solo's blanket around his shoulders and leaned against the wall, inhaling the scent that rose from the fabric.

His eye fell on the slightly crumpled pack of cigarettes resting at the end of the bed, next to a purple lighter. Solo wouldn't mind if he smoked one… and even if he did, Duo could buy him some more. There was a used ashtray in the room, so he knew that smoking would be ok.

“Missed ya, So',” he muttered to the empty room as he exhaled. The smoke rose into the still air, curling in mysterious patterns. The taste on his tongue reminded him of Solo. Would this be what the blond tasted like?

Duo impulsively banged his head back against the wall. Bad thought. Don't go there. Just because he's hot and he knows more about you than most. He's your friend. Your brother. And he's droolworthy in leather. No! Bad! Friend. Remember? Brothers in spirit. Family. No sleeping with the family.

Unless he wants to.

“Shut up! Stoppit! Stop thinking!” Duo muttered, resisting the urge to bang his head again. He resisted the urge to chew the filter of his cigarette as he placed it between his lips.

The thoughts wouldn't go away.

“Ok… I find him attractive. Nothin' wrong with that. I get on with him, I love him like a brother. A brother who's not biologically related to me and has a really sexy way of moving his hips when he dances. He understands shit about my past that others don't. He appears cool with the whole terrorism thing…”

Why did it suddenly seem that a relationship with Solo would possibly be better than one with… well, a random person who didn't know him? Knowing that your lover used to eat out of garbage cans was a bit of a turn-off. At least Hilde had seemed to think so.

Hilde. Liked him for his face, and dropped him like a hot potato as soon as she learned what area he had grown up in. Girls… they disgusted him sometimes. There were probably nice ones out there, Sally seemed sensible. Relena came across as a bit of an air-head, but then she was the stereotypical rich girl, it probably wasn't totally her fault. Une had a problem, clear and simple, but at least she was devoted. Noin… was a bit of a puzzle. Almost as scary as Relena in her own way. Devotion with more proof and no stalker-tendencies. So, ok, there were some nice girls out there, Sally definitely came top out of those he knew. But Hilde?

He'd be avoiding the Scheibecker scrap yards.

He moved for the ashtray before he managed to drop ash all over the bed.

“My life is fucked already. Being with Solo can hardly make it worse.”

He settled back against the wall and continued smoking. Solo would be a while yet, and until then he had nothing to do but think.