Interlude II:

This Boy’s Life:

 

The popular misconception about yours truly is that I’m so damn easygoing and have no care in the world. Well, you would be right…for most things. I usually try not to let things get to me and do my best to accept each difficult situation with optimism or humor. Take for instance my family or lack thereof. For a kid who spent most of his early years in an orphanage and then being moved from one foster home to another, I think I turned out pretty well all things considered. I don’t do drugs – although I will confess that I did experiment a little at my former school. But after a week of barfing like I was going to die – and fuck, I did feel as if I was going to die! – I gave it up quickly and vowed to stay away from that shit for as long as I live. I can hold my liquor…at least when I really get into it unlike someone else we all know and usually try not to overdo it even when I get pissed off and feel like drowning myself in whatever beverage is available at the time. Anger plus alcohol is always a bad combination.

 

I tend to make friends easily and take pride in being able to weed out the losers from the regular ones. So yeah, I know you’re thinking about the guys on the roof the other day but trust me, they are far from being jackasses. Okay, so Noda needs some serious help – I mean the guy’s dumber than a brick – but he’s got a good heart and doesn’t like to see his buddies hurt, which was one of the reasons he stood up for me. Miwa and Tony are all right too. They just follow Noda around like lost puppies, doing whatever he says in the hopes that they’ll get a praise or two from him. I guess I’m just one of those guys who like to see the good in people or rather believe that every asshole in this planet has some tiny bit of good in his or her heart. I blame that naïve theory on Sister Helen – one of the few people who really influenced me growing up. She was a nun at the orphanage I had grown up in and was like a mom to me. She would usually say something like,

 

‘Although there are bad people in this world, Duo, you’ve just got to remember that nobody comes into his world being evil. Everyone’s got a little bit of good in him. You’ve just got to remember that and everything will be just fine.’

 

As a younger kid, I would often sit in my room and wonder if my real mom or dad had any good in them. I wondered why they would leave a baby at the doorstep of a strange place and basically abandon him. I began to wonder if I had been born ‘bad’ and if they didn’t like me at all. It was only natural for me to harbor some kind of hatred for them - although I kept my feelings to myself about that and never let it out during Confessions. I was sure Sister Helen would not have approved of my thoughts at the time.

 

And so after all these years, mother shows up to take me back again. You should have seen the way I gaped at her standing before me in that parking lot. It was strange and at first I felt nothing for her. I mean how did you expect me to react? To jump into her arms and to scream that I was so thrilled she had finally returned? I am seventeen years-old for chrissakes. Where had she been for almost sixteen of them? But she cried and she begged and pleaded with me to hear her out. She had been a frightened sixteen-year-old girl, who had fallen in love with a military man (Dad) and willingly slept with him without thinking of the consequences. Oh, she didn’t regret having me because I was the most precious thing in the world to her at the time because Daddy had left her to fend for herself. She had no money and had no parents to send me to. The only option she had was to keep me at the orphanage with a vow to return as soon as she was able to fend for both of us.

 

Over our first dinner together at some fancy restaurant, I finally asked why she never visited me – not even once – throughout my stay there but she replied by saying that she had come by…when I had moved to my first foster home that is. Sister Helen was no longer in that parish and no one – most of them were new staff – had no records or knew where I was. I told her that I had been adopted by Mrs. Silas – an old lady who had lost her grandson in a car accident a few years back and she basically wanted me as a companion. She was nice but senile and boy did I have a hard time trying to keep up with her medications, prescriptions and the fact that she kept calling me Adam after her grandson. For two years, I remained with her, learning how to cook – since she couldn’t do so anymore – having to tend to her gardens, take her out for daily walks in her wheelchair…you name it, I did it. She did have a nurse who stopped by every other day for a checkup so it wasn’t as if I was saddled with a whole lot of work. It was nice being with her and I felt I could live there until she kicked me out. Unfortunately, I returned home from school one day to find her lying on the kitchen floor, flat out cold. She had overdosed on her medication for the afternoon and had suffered a heart attack.

 

Yeah, it was definitely not a very fun time in my life.

 

I was shipped off to a foster home with about three thousand credits to my name – thanks to Mrs. Silas who had left that in her will. I also inherited her house but since I was too young to do much, I left it in the hands of the lawyers who sold it to the highest bidder. I now realize it was a bad decision on my part. However, I made no mistakes about my money. I opened up a savings account and stored everything in there, never letting Mrs. Foster, the owner of the home, know that I was that ‘rich.’ I stayed in that hell-hole for about six months before finding myself a new family. This time, the couple was a banker and his new wife who was a former model or something. She had claimed that she could not have kids and wanted someone like me to raise as her own. It didn’t make much sense to me. I mean, wouldn’t her friends know that I wasn’t really her son? I had figured she’d want like a baby or someone much younger but according to her, she didn’t want to go through the whole diaper and waking-up-late at night routine. Well, at least you’ve got to hand it to her. She was a smart woman….and sexy as hell to a thirteen year-old.

 

They weren’t stinking rich, but they were well off than most. We had a pool and a tennis court and lived in those posh suburbs where everyone stayed outside getting suntans and trying to show off their well cut lawns or their new grills for barbecues or parties which they threw like every other goddamn weekend. Sheila – that was my mom’s name at the time – was young and had a great body. I mean she would literally walk around the house in nothing but a sarong or a bikini top during the summer to show off her awesome physique. I remember lots of kids at my new school all drooling over her whenever she came to pick me up after classes and man; I had the best time showing her off.

 

(Needless to say, telling my real mom about this story was not very appealing to her. She called Sheila a ‘slut’ beneath her breath and I had to hide a smile at that.)

 

Unfortunately, Paradise didn’t last very long. Mr. Banker lost his job; Sheila started having an affair with the gardener, who had a great time describing the lurid details to me even though I didn’t want to hear them. When she was caught, it caused a great big scene in the neighborhood – stuff being thrown out of the window, you get the picture. They got divorced soon after and at fourteen years old; I was thrown into yet another foster home with little ceremony. Neither of them wanted to be saddled with the extra baggage (me). At least they allowed me to keep my CD collection and a few other prized possessions. Oh, I also managed to save up about eight hundred credits doing odd jobs here and there for the neighbors. You’d be surprised how much people are willing to shut you up if you are a witness to something they didn’t want you to see.

 

I stayed at the foster home until I was about fifteen, going to school during the day and working at a local grocery store in the evenings. I continued to save, determined to move out on my own when I was sixteen. However, I got a tremendous blow to my plans when I paid a visit to the bank to see how much my assets had risen over the years. But according to the tellers, there was no such name in their system and all my money – 4,832 credits – was taken out by some anonymous withdrawer. Words cannot adequately express how angry and upset I was. But what could I do? I was just some adopted (well not at the time) kid who just happened to have an account at some local bank. I couldn’t afford a lawyer or you’d bet I’d have taken matters into my own hands. So there I was - fifteen, nearly broke and still stuck at that fucked up foster home. I didn’t know what the hell to do until I met Stevie or rather Steve-o. He was a regular customer at the store and was way too cool – at least in my eyes. I told him about my predicament and had to listen to him rant for a good ten minutes about the injustices of the government. He said we couldn’t let them get away with taking my hard earned money like that and I’d have to fight back.

 

How? I asked.

 

And he gives me this knowing grin that sends goosebumps up my arms. He took me to his underground lair – a place where people like him lived. They were simply known as the Red Army or in layman’s terms, hackers. In that stuffy room there were at least twenty computers and laptops, guys and a few girls who looked as if they hadn’t taken a shower in weeks, all lounging about and working their asses off. By working I mean breaking into top secret government files, buildings, bank accounts…you name it, those guys knew everything. Steve-o could see that I was hooked and before long, made me an honorary recruit.

 

Remember Heero getting all tight-assed about my supposed forged school records and grants from various scholarships and organizations? Well, that was the only way I could get through school. With the help of Steve-o and his friends, I was able to learn ways in which to fool the administrations without batting an eyelash. Of course, I learned other things there including losing my virginity but that’s a whole other story altogether.

 

Nonetheless, when I felt like I was about to be caught by the authorities, I’d move to another school before they could get a hold of me or my activities. I changed names quite a lot, but I was now rich enough to move out of the Home, find my own place and attend Fujiwara like any other regular student. So yeah, I was dishonest and stole from the government, but wouldn’t you do the same thing if you were in my shoes? I mean they stole from me so it’s only right I get back what’s mine by any means necessary, right?

 

Anyway, all of that is in the past now and mom knows about it. I did exclude the parts about me seeing Heero’s face for the first time in the newspaper and my unexplainable fascination with the guy. I don’t want to call it love at first sight – it would sound way too cheesy – but I swear it seemed that way. How else can I explain my need to read up all about that wonder kid who seemed to win every damn tournament he entered? And on that day he finally came to Fujiwara for a debate competition, I knew I was going to move to Fujisaki to be with him. The rest as they say is history.

 

I’m glad my life’s settled down somewhat. I have my mother again and by mutual agreement, have decided not to mention my father in any conversation. I do know that he’s married and lives with his wife and two children somewhere up north and that’s about it. However, I have great friends now, a cool school and a guy I’m totally and completely nuts about. It’s just unfortunate that there’s someone else who’s…well…literally nuts about the guy I love.   

 

To think that a guy would go this far just to get someone’s attention is beyond me. I’ve met some really crazy people in my life, but this guy has got to take the cake.

 

Kamui Teruo.

 

He’s the son of some big hot shot Minister of Education or something like that. So how do you ‘fight’ against a guy like that who pulls all the strings and can have you kicked out of every school in the country without batting an eyelash? I have made a vow to graduate with Heero and I don’t want to break that promise by doing something stupid like say choking the life out of Kamui or punching him to submission or better yet, dangling him from the rooftop at school to get the message across. There has to be something I can do that will make him listen but what?

 

I pull up to a stop at the intersection and stare blindly at the red traffic light. I walked out on Heero with the notion that I would know exactly what to do when I see Kamui but now as I find myself driving rather aimlessly about, I really have no clue on what I plan to do. I should have taken the time to plan this out properly like for starters, to find out where the damn kid lives. I think he might live a few miles from where I stay since most government officials live around the Palisades.

 

I gasp as it suddenly hits me. Why the hell didn’t I think of that?! I could always ask my mom about it! She’d know one or two things about the Teruos but I know I’ll have to make my story believable enough. I doubt walking up to her and saying ‘Mom, there’s this psycho in my school who wants to be with my boyfriend and I want to know where he lives so I can go kill him’ is going to work.

 

“Yo D!”

 

I pull up to the curb and park neatly, grinning to myself at how easy it is to Parallel Park on a motorcycle. Mom had let me drive her car several weeks ago and I almost ended up crashing it into a lamp post in my attempt to pull off the tricky parking maneuver.

 

“Hey, Squid!” I greet cheerfully, taking off my helmet with a huge sigh of relief. I can breathe again, thank God.

 

“Funny, really funny,” my good friend, Sid - one of the guys who helped to fix up my bike – says while walking towards me. He’s looking pretty spiffy tonight, if you know what I mean. Dressed in corduroys and a white shirt, it’s a far cry from the greasy and oil stained overalls he usually wears at the shop.

 

“What’s the occasion?” I ask, reaching out to ruffle his non-existent hair. He ducks and coughs, blushing lightly.

 

“I gat me a girl tonight, that’s all. Today’s our three month anniversary as a couple and I figured we could hang out tonight. Ya know…movies, dinner that sorta thing.” He coughs again and looks uncomfortable.

 

“Aww man, that’s nice,” I say with a genuine smile. It does remind me about my relationship with Heero. Maybe we can have a six month anniversary soon…that is as soon as we get rid of a certain someone. “I’m sure you guys will have a lot of fun tonight.”

 

“Yeah,” Sid mumbles and then quickly changes the subject with a nod towards my bike and my outfit. I’m still in my school uniform after all and it’s getting sorta late. “What’s going on? Thought ya would have gone back home by now.”

 

“Nah, I’m looking for someone.”

 

“Oh yah? Who?”

 

“Ever heard of the name ‘Teruo’?” I ask with a raised brow. Sid’s lived in this city long enough and should know most people.

 

“Teruo…Teruo…hmm…sounds familiar.” He creases his brows for a second and then shifts from one foot to the other. “Wouldn’t happen to be that guy who works for the ministry, would it?”

 

“Bingo.”

 

“He’d probably live up Crescent…deeeeep in Crescent if ya catch my drift.”

 

Oh, I catch his drift all right. Crescent is private property or rather an exclusive area for very high-ranking officials. I hear that people have to get scanned and show IDs just to get into that place. There’s only one way to get into a place like that, but it would take some time and I wanted to see that asshole tonight.

 

“Who you gotta see there, anyway? Ya mom boinking anyone up there?”

 

I scowl. “Keep my mother out of this.”

 

“Sorry man, just kidding ya know.”

 

“Yeah well, this isn’t the time to do that. I’ve got a situation on my hands and I need it fixed ASAP.”

 

Sid nods in understanding and then glances at his watch. “Well, love ta stay and help ya out, ya know, but I’ve gat a date waiting and…”

 

“Just get lost,” I say with amusement, waving him away. “I’ll talk to you some other time, okay?”

 

“You be careful now, kid!” he says and waves before crossing the street. I didn’t even notice the bouquet of red roses he has been hiding behind his back. Damn, I’m really not observant today, am I?

I rev up the engine again, place my helmet over my head and decide that I’ll just drive towards Crescent to see my options. There’s got to be a lax in their security system – something that I can work with at least. However, something Sid said still has me thinking. My mother and her boinking sessions. I know she’s not celibate and she’s got to have some guy she’s seeing. But, it’s not like she’s brought any other man home and she keeps saying that I’m the only man she’ll ever need in her life. Kinda gross I know, but that’s mom for you. Anyway, I don’t know what I’d do if she does bring home some guy for dinner. I somehow dread hearing the ‘Duo, this will be your new father’ routine. It’s not that I’m jealous, but I just don’t think I’m ready for that yet.

 

And despite what you might think, deep down inside, a part of me still wants to know about my real father. Knowing that he’s still alive and happy with some other family still irks me a little but I’m doing my best not to let it get to me too much. That’s one of the reasons I told Heero to back away from investigating any further. Knowing more would make my hatred return and I don’t want that.

 

I am so lost in my thoughts that it takes me another full minute to realize that someone was actually screaming in one of the alleys that line up the street I’m driving through. Usually, I don’t stop for these kinds of things, since it’s none of my business and I really don’t have the time to butt into other people’s problems, but there’s just something about that scream that gives me the impression that she’s about to be killed or worse. The least I can do is to drive up and scare away her muggers by flashing my headlights or something. And so praying fervently that my impromptu plan works, I make a sharp u-turn and begin to drive in the opposite direction.

 

I am barely a few miles from Crescent and yet this section of the city is not exactly the safest of places. It’s a bit ironic that the government sleeps barely inches from the problems of its society. I could go into more details about that, but as usual, time waits for no man. I hear the loud cry again and then the pleas for help, but it’s stifled as I approach the sidewalk. Sincerely hoping that no police officer or car decides to show up, I fire up the engines as loud as I can and flash the headlights as brightly as possible. However, it’s the scene that meets my gaze which almost has me screaming in shock too. There are about four men – two of them teens I think – with their pants down revealing cocks of all lengths. There’s a moment where they all freeze in shock at the sight of me, nobody making the effort to pull up their pants – until one of them screams and begins to fidget with his clothes. That sends them out of their dazed stupor and they begin to run away, still dragging up their pants and flinging insults at me at the same time.

 

The only person left slumps to the ground in a dead faint, his own pants still down but with an outfit that’s all too familiar. It’s one of Fujisaki’s students and not only that it’s someone I have reluctantly come to know.

 

I kill the engine and stare dispassionately at the prone figure of the freshman. He looks like he’s been beaten up pretty badly. There are bruises all over his face and his uniform has been ripped in several places. His once shining (at least it had looked that way in school) hair now lies in clumps and there’s a dark trickle of blood on his forehead. His school bag is a few feet away, books strewn about the dirty sidewalk as if he was dragged into the alley rather forcefully. I wonder if he was raped – how else is one to explain the dropped pants scenario. A part of me wants to leave, to let him suffer in this mess he’s gotten himself into. Hell, that mean part of me asks why I had even stopped. If I hadn’t perhaps the men would have had their merry way with the pretty boy to their satisfaction and left him for dead.

 

‘There is a little good in everyone, Duo. Don’t forget that.’

 

I groan at Sister Helen’s voice and close my eyes, knowing that a part of me is going to regret doing this for as long as I live. I take off my helmet and make my way towards him, stooping to my haunches to check for more damage to his body. There are drops of semen or rather the stains on his body and I cringe, knowing that the boy has definitely gotten way more than he bargained for. I notice the streaks of tears on his face and the undeniable hue of blood between his ass cheeks.

 

“Fuck…they really did a number on you, didn’t they?”

 

I sigh and pick up my cell phone. There’s only one person I can call anyway.

 

 

__

 

 

Thirty minutes later and I’m stuck in this hospital room again, deliberately ignoring Dr. G’s baleful look as I give him a mock salute. It’s not me being sick this time, doc. I’ve got a crazy kid on my hands. I sit up as the restroom door opens and Heero walks out, looking even more haggard than I would have thought. The police have been questioning us for sometime although I had told Heero I didn’t want to be involved with all of this. But I guess my idea of dumping the kid at the gate of the hospital and bolting didn’t sit too well with him. Of course it didn’t help that when I had called him at first, he refused to believe me. He had assumed that I was the one responsible for beating Kamui up and as much as I longed to agree with that assessment, I had to convince my skeptical boyfriend that I had nothing to do with it.

 

He sits beside me in an uncharateristic slump and immediately rests his head upon my shoulder. I’m trying not to blush here because this is just one of those rare moments when Heero actually wants to be all touchy feely in public. I should milk this moment for all its worth. I slowly place my arm around his shoulder and just hold him closer to me, inhaling that sweet smell of his hair as it tickles my chin.

 

“Is it over?” he finally asks softly and I really don’t know what the hell to say. “Do you think he’ll finally get over his obsession with me, Duo?”

 

“I dunno, Heero,” I reply quietly, rubbing his arm gently as I stare out of the large glass windows before me. There is another couple in the waiting room with us and the lady keeps dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief while the man stares right ahead as if he’s seen a ghost. It’s amazing to me that the kid’s parents haven’t arrived yet. I mean if my kid was stuck in some hospital, raped and molested like that, I’d be on the next jet plane down here. We’ve been here for a while and I know the cops have called his home but I don’t see guys in black suits and thick sunglasses waltzing down the corridor with daddy or mommy dearest running after them.

 

Heero sits up and pulls away from me gently, causing me to wince at the loss. I’ll live…but still reach for his hand to hold onto. He doesn’t complain and I watch him bite his lower lip in thought. It’s a habit he has that he doesn’t seem to realize he does and it’s kinda cute to watch.

 

“Well? What do we do now?” I ask.

 

“I want to talk to him…”

 

“What for?” I ask incredulously. “The kid must have learned a thing or two by now, if not then he’s definitely got to be in some kind of mental institution.”

 

“But Duo…I just want to know what’s wrong with him. Don’t you think this is the best time to get him to talk?”

 

“When he’s been pumped full of valium?”

 

“We should come back tomorrow then.”

 

“Like hell I will. Maybe you’re the one obsessed with him.”

 

He looks a bit hurt but masks it quickly with a frown. “Don’t be ridiculous, Duo. You know I don’t…”

 

“Excuse me…Mr. Yuy and Mr. Maxwell?”

 

We both look up at the same time, wondering what we have done wrong this time, but it’s only a pretty nurse who’s smiling at us.

 

“Would you like to see Mr. Teruo? He requests your presence.”

 

Heero and I exchange a wary look and I blurt out quickly. “Hey, I thought you said he was pumped full of valium or some kind of sleeping medication type thing.”

 

The nurse nodded in agreement. “Yes, but Mr. Teruo seems to insist on speaking to you both. I couldn’t refuse the poor young man. He looked quite upset.”

 

“Duo…?”

 

“Fine, fine. Let’s go see Mr. Wonderful.”

 

 

__

 

 

Only the finest room in the ward for a Teruo, I guess. This is a far cry from the crappy room they had stuck me in when I was sent in for the injury. Speaking of the injury, just thinking about what Sid had said about the rear wheel screws being loose, has me gritting my teeth as I eye the pale figure of the damn culprit propped up against his very fluffy pillows. There’s a bandage around his head, his right eye is still swollen, a thick pad on his cheeks and his wrists wrapped as well. I didn’t know the assholes had broken his arms too.

 

I really don’t want to feel sorry for him, but seriously, looking at him now, you can’t help it.

 

We stand together by the door, not moving any closer as if worried that he might jump out of the bed and go all ‘sempai-ish’ on us again. Instead, he sits up a bit more and tries to smile at us. It comes out as a wince and he lowers his head as if embarrassed.

 

“Ah…” He begins and even I’m shocked to hear how raspy and barely audible his voice is. “Sorry…I can’t talk so loud anymore. They did…”

 

He doesn’t need to say it. The guys had tried to choke him as well.

 

“Just what the fuck were you doing in that part of town anyway?” I suddenly ask. “Not only do you spy on me on Heero, you then go running through town like a maniac? I thought you have drivers who pick up from school and shit.”

 

He seems to shrink into the bed and Heero places a hand on my arm gently.

 

“I’m…I was just angry,” he whispers still not looking at us. “I’m sorry for spying on you both. I won’t…”

 

“That was just sick,” Heero interrupts tightly. “But sick or not, no one deserves what you went through today.”

 

“Just like you’ve been putting Heero through the same bullshit as well,” I cut in to make a point. Kamui shivers and clutches the edges of his blanket. “Now, do you see what happens when people screw around with each other, Teruo? There’s pain involved, got it? You almost got me killed; you lied to both of us just for your own gain and then tried to screw Heero over just because of your petty jealousy. Now, do you see what happens to sick fucks like you?”

 

“Duo…take it easy,” Heero says quietly. “He’s learned his lesson I think.”

 

“Oh has he?”

 

“I have,” he says quickly, finally lifting his head to show us his tear-filled eyes. “I have learned my lesson, sempai. I will stop…I promise.”

 

“Either he’s a fine actor or he really means it,” I mutter and walk up to the window, eyeing the large vase of fresh flowers beside it. “Where are your parents?” I ask a bit louder.

 

He lowers his head again and shakes it gently. “They are not in town. My father had to travel abroad for a conference and my mother…” He shrugged and left the sentence unfinished, causing me to frown in thought.

 

“Is your mother dead?”

 

“No,” he replies softly. “She’s just never home most of the time. But it’s okay,” he adds lifting his head to smile as much as he can to both of us. “I don’t really need them around you know. I’ve been living on my own most of the time so it’s okay.”

 

“No, it’s not okay,” Heero says, folding his arms across his chest. There’s a dead serious look in his eyes that’s a damn turn on – but this isn’t the time to think about that. “Your parents are never home so you haven’t really had anyone to guide you.”

 

No wonder he’s screwed up in the head, I add silently.

 

“I don’t really need anyone to guide me,” he says with a firm shake of his head. “My father does come home once in a while and we have dinner…” His voice trails off again and I rub a hand across my forehead already picturing how much ‘fun’ dinner with daddy always is. How do you eat a meal with a man who’s almost a stranger to you? I guess being the son of a Minister is pretty hard.

 

“When…when my father finds out about this…he’ll move me to another school,” he adds with that grimace-smile. “In the last school, they bullied me as well but when I told him about it, he just moved me to a new school saying that he has the power to do that…”

 

“I don’t get it. If your dad’s the head honcho of school boards and shit like that…why can’t he just get all the kids who give you hell, to quit school? Why would he want to move you?

 

For a moment the kid says nothing but then he laughs softly and shrugs. “Because I’ve always been a problem child. I’ve been on some sort of medication since I was little and sometimes when I get out of control…they have to take me to another school. I’m an embarrassment to them.”

 

Heero and I look at each other and nod as if things were finally clicking into place.

 

“But I’ll change now. I promise,” he says eagerly, trying to convey his sincerity. “So please don’t tell my father about this. I don’t want to leave Fujisaki, please.”

 

“But the police already called your parents,” Heero said.

 

“I gave them the wrong numbers.”

 

Oh shit…

 

“Please, promise you won’t tell anyone. Not even anyone in school, sempai. It’s too shameful to admit. I’m begging you.”

 

Heero takes a deep breath and opens his mouth to say something when I beat him to the punch. “Okay, we won’t…”

 

He gives a huge sigh of relief but I smirk and hold up a finger. “On one condition.” I watch him stiffen but nod in resignation. “One screw up on your end, Kamui and I mean if you ever bother Heero or I again, stalk him, threaten him or fuck with us…you’ll be on the next train to a country far, far away. Or better yet, I’ll just have Relena print the story in the next issue of Freedom Bell.”

 

He gasps and falls back against the pillows, eye wide open as if he has been stabbed in the heart. But grinning widely, I lean close to tap his hand gently. “There now. You just do as I say and you’ll have nothing to worry about. Now, get some rest and we’ll come visit you tomorrow, okay?”

 

I can hear Heero’s vain attempt to hide his snicker but I think Kamui’s gotten a rude awakening - in more ways than one – today. I turn to make my way out of the room when he calls out to me again.

 

“Duo sempai?”

 

“What is it?” I ask, not bothering to look at him.

 

“I just…I just wanted to thank you for rescuing me, sempai. I really am in your debt…”

 

“And don’t you forget it either,” I reply with a shrug, trying not to show just how much his gratitude is affecting me. It’s stupid I know, but to hear that from him sounds pretty damn good and Heero doesn’t help my placing a hand upon my neck to caresses it gently as if patting me for a job well done. I try to glare at him but he surprises me with a soft and quick kiss on my lips, leaving me standing like a lovesick moron for a few seconds.

 

As we open the door, I take a quick look at the blond and notice that his eyes are closed and I assume he’s gone back to sleep or something. But that’s not my concern now, let him get some rest and then figure out what the hell he wants to do with his life from here on out.

 

It’s beginning to drizzle again as we stand beneath the awning in front of the hospital building. Heero holds out his hand and I watch as the raindrops splash upon his skin.

 

“Should we wait until it dies down?” he asks as I toss him the extra helmet with a shake of my head.

 

“Dude, I’ve got to get home or my mother’s going to be the one calling all the hospitals searching for me.”

 

He smiles and slips the black headgear over his head. “You know something, Maxwell,” he says as he straddles the bike and wraps his arms around my waist. “You are such a damn enigma.”

 

“And that’s why you love me, right?” I say with a smirk, starting the engine as the rain continues to make us as wet as possible.

 

“Damn right,” he replies and squeezes me gently, forcing me to feel a certain part of his anatomy against my ass. Jesus, he just knows the right buttons to push, doesn’t he?

 

“I swear you’re going to have to get a car someday, Heero.”

 

“Why the rush?”

 

“Because I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to drive you all the time without wanting to park somewhere and screw your brains out.”

 

“Oh…sorry?”

 

Yeah right. His laughter fills my ears as I take us out of there and towards his home. I guess you could call this a happy ending, but knowing the kind of life I’ve been living lately, I doubt I’ll have much time to enjoy this little freedom we’ve gained. However, Heero’s finally happy for the first time in a long while. I can tell from his body language and that makes me feel really good.

 

Let’s just hope that this feeling lasts for a very long time to come.

 

 

 

~End Interlude II~