Disclaimers and warnings in first part
“Well, what did you tell him?” With Kia tucked into her arm, Hilde lifted an eyebrow when Duo didn’t answer. “You said yes? Duo Maxwell, have you lost your mind? Don’t you remember what he did to you?”
Sitting on the floor, the L2 native rolled a ball to Ayla. “Of course I remember. I’m not likely to forget anytime soon. But if you could have seen him, heard him…Hil, I’ve never seen that much emotion from Trowa before. He was like a completely different person.”
Putting the sleeping baby in the bassinet, Hilde looked at him, clearly worried. “How was he different? Was it real or was he acting?”
“Imagine the difference between Heero at work and Heero at home with Noin.” It was a pairing that still gave Duo the snickers when he thought of it.
“That much of a change?”
“Yeah, when he first started talking, it was stilted, like it was rehearsed. When he asked for some time with me, he was avid and…pleading.” The word didn’t fit right, but he couldn’t think of another to describe the look in Trowa’s emerald eyes.
“So…what are you gonna do?”
“I don’t know. He wanted to have dinner tonight, but I need some time to think. I can’t go back to what I was before.”
“Thank God for that.” When he glanced at her, Hilde shrugged as she went into the kitchen, separated from the living room by a table. “It was sad to see someone that had always been so strong and self-sufficient become so pathetic. I hated seeing the way you followed him around, almost begging for attention. Then there was what happened after he left,” she added with a shudder.
Recalling how desperate he had been to escape from the pain, Duo gave a shudder of his own. “Was I really that bad?”
“Yes. It was the only time I ever felt sorry for you. After he left, I was just pissed off that you would do something so stupid.” Looking up, she abruptly grinned, “If he turns out to be a jerk, can Kieran beat him up?”
Duo found himself laughing, “Isn’t that a bit childish?”
“Yeah, but it would be so satisfying.”
Forcing himself to frown, he sent the woman a stern expression, “It would be setting a bad example for the children.”
“Well, darn. I guess you’re right. Are you staying for supper?”
“Not tonight. I’ve got some stuff to catch up on. When is Kieran due back?”
“Day after tomorrow; it’ll be good to finally have him home. You don’t know what it means to us, Duo. Have I thanked you for giving him a chance?”
Standing, he waved a hand in dismissal, “Only about four or five hundred times. If he wasn’t good, I wouldn’t have offered him the job. I need the help and he’s almost as good with wood as I am,” he said with a wink.
After telling the kids goodbye and reminding Kyran of his responsibilities, Duo walked across the road to his own house, deep in thought. Instead of going into the house, he went around to the workshop in the back, putting his hair down the back of his shirt before sitting at the long bench and picking up the item he had been working on.
Carving the intricate train engine and then gluing the separate pieces together was a time-consuming process, but it left his mind to work as his hands moved competently with chisel, hammer, or paste. Normally, he found the menial task of crafting the toys he sold satisfying, but his heart wasn’t really in it. Still, he diligently applied himself, unwilling to let the customer that had ordered the piece wait longer than the estimated shipping date.
By the time he had finished for the day, the sky had grown dark. Switching off the lamp, he rubbed his eyes, wincing as small slivers of wood scratched his face. He was beginning to stand when a voice startled him so badly he tripped over the legs of the bench. “I wondered who hand-crafted the toys.”
From his position on the floor, Duo glared at the shadowy figure, though there was no doubt who had been able to sneak up on him. Trowa had always been able to approach him while he was unaware. “I didn’t realize you were going to be lurking or I would have turned on a few more lights.”
“I wasn’t lurking,” the tall man sounded insulted. “I was walking by and saw the light. I would have said something, but you were holding a knife. I wasn’t going to surprise you while you were armed.”
When Trowa extended a hand, Duo accepted the help up, letting go as soon as he was on his feet. “Why were you walking by in the first place? I told you I was busy tonight.”
“The hotel doesn’t have room service, Duo. I remembered that woman mentioned an ice cream shop and was hoping they served regular food there. I missed lunch today.”
Though he still didn’t know what the best thing to do was, Duo couldn’t let the other man go hungry. It went against his basic nature to deny someone of something if he could help. “The ice cream shop does sell food, but they closed at seven. There’s a diner farther down the street, but they’re closed, too. The only thing still open is a bar at the edge of town and I don’t recommend eating there.” He shivered, remembering the cook that never washed his hands.
“Then I’ll get something from the vending machines,” Trowa shrugged, stepping closer to the bench and flipping the light back on. “I didn’t mean to surprise you, Duo. I wasn’t trying to spy. I was curious about what you were working on.” Picking up the train, he turned it several different directions, “This is exceptional work.”
“Thanks. I still have some things to do on it, but it’ll be ready to ship in a few days.”
“This is too intricate for a child.”
Taking the train from Trowa’s hand, Duo ignored the way his hand tingled where Trowa’s brushed against it. “It isn’t for a child. It’s for an adult. This guy worked for a train line and had to retire last year. His wife asked for this to cheer him up. It’s an exact replica of the engine he used to drive, or it will be when I finish.”
Long arms went on either side of Duo, making him freeze as Trowa lifted the train again, using one finger to turn the wheels. “It’s amazing.”
“Uh, thanks,” Duo cringed as his voice came out in a harsh whisper. Ducking under one arm, he took the train and set it on the counter again, making sure not touch the other man. Turning the light off, he put distance between them before talking, “Come on. I’ll fix you something to eat.”
“That’s funny. I’ll take my chances with the vending machines.”
Leading the way from the workshop to the back door of his home, Duo snorted, “My cooking isn’t that bad.” At the dead silence from behind him, he admitted, “Maybe it is. Lucky for us, Hilde has a habit of cooking too much food. I have a month’s supply of food in the freezer, with directions on how to reheat it written on every container.”
“You eat with them a lot?”
“When Kieran isn’t home. When he is, I try to stay out of the way. They don’t get to see each other enough,” Duo answered as he stuck his head in the huge freezer on the enclosed back porch, where toys of every size and shape watched from their shelves.
“Is he gone often?”
“He’s a Sweeper.” For Duo, that was enough of an explanation. “This is the last time he’ll be gone, though. He’s due back in a few days.”
“The Sweepers get paid well. He must have a new job if he’s willing to quit working with them.”
“He’ll be working for me.” Duo entered the kitchen, flipping on lights as he went, comfortable in his nightly routine. “He’s not really quitting as a Sweeper, just taking a break. Once a Sweep, always a Sweep. Good thing too, or I wouldn’t have had a clue what to do after quitting the Preventers. Howard didn’t even ask questions, other than if I would mind taking the same room as before.” Following instructions, Duo turned the oven on and set the container of beef stew inside. “That’ll be ready in a little while. I’m going to take a shower and…what?” he asked when he turned and saw the grim expression aimed at him.
“You took the same room you had before. Was that guy still there? The one you were sleeping with before we moved in together?”
Lifting his eyebrows at the angry tone, something he had never heard from Trowa, Duo nodded. “Sasha. Yeah, he was still there, and yes, I slept with him again for a while. You were gone, Trowa. You left, remember? I had nothing to stop me.” When the tall man reeled back as if slapped, Duo sighed, “It had been a long time, okay? Sasha was…Sasha. Ask for nothing and expect nothing. At the time, it was what I needed. A few months later, Kieran had an opening in his room. We were already friends because of Hil and it was a better situation. I’m going to take a shower now. Make yourself at home.”
Halfway through the living room, he stopped when his name was called, but didn’t turn around. “I know I don’t have the right to be angry about you being with someone else, Duo. I screwed up and I know that. What I did will haunt me for the rest of my life. I don’t know how to make it up to you.”
Eyes filling with tears he wouldn’t allow to fall, Duo whispered brokenly, “You can’t.”