Perfect Part 3
Friday night. Party night. Date night.
Duo finished his soda and dropped the empty cup into a nearby trash can. It was almost midnight and he was seriously considering bailing for the night. He'd had twelve customers in eight hours, none of whom fit the (admittedly meager) profile of their quarry. He was tired and sore and sick of the whole mission. This was taking a lot longer than he expected; nothing before had lasted more than three days.
A sports car stopped and one of the boys cut a quick deal and hopped in. Duo noted the license number automatically before turning away. That crummy motel room was calling him.
"Whattaya think, Rose," he said to the dangerous looking whore. "Is the action drying up for the night?"
The kid shrugged. "It's getting kinda late. Most guys are in the clubs by now picking up freebies. Why?"
"I thought I'd call it a night. The last few were kinda rough. I'm tired."
"Sure, doll. You look kinda beat. I'm gonna head out soon as Snow gets back. Tuesday's payday for the military; we'll be really busy then."
"You and Snow got a personal thing goin'?"
Rose shrugged again. "Yeah, sorta. He's a good kid; I like him."
Duo smiled sadly. "So do I. See ya."
~*~
He let himself into his motel room, already shedding his clothes and shaking out his braid as he crossed to the bathroom. He turned the shower on and was preparing to step under the water when a hand came down on his shoulder. He did a drop spin, intending to sweep his visitor's legs from under him and was startled to find Trowa crouching on the vanity watching him in bemusement.
He sat down on the floor. "Geez, is this fuck with Duo day or something?" he sighed, looking up at the brunette. "And don't you ever knock?"
"I'm sorry; I thought you knew I was here."
Duo rested his arms on his drawn-up knees. "The only things I know are that I'm to hell-and-gone tired, my back hurts where Heero took a belt to me, I haven't had a single trick that came anywhere near our guy, and I'm starting to care about those poor, fucked-up kids!"
Trowa hopped down from the vanity and sat on the floor next to Duo. "This is what Heero was concerned about, isn't it? This is what happens when you go on the streets. You begin to care too much."
Duo hung his head and said faintly, "Yeah."
"Caring is not a bad thing."
"Seeing myself in every one of those pathetic souls is."
Trowa rubbed his shoulder silently.
Duo sighed, and looked up, grinning. "Why don't you order a pizza or two? Money's in my jeans. I'm gonna take a shower and try to forget where I am."
~*~
He smelled the pepperoni as soon as he opened the bathroom door. "Oh, man! Trowa, I hope you ordered plenty, cuz I'm starving!"
"I'm well aware of your appetite," Trowa smiled to himself.
Duo peeked over his shoulder, snickering. "Have I ever mentioned how everything you say comes across as a double entendre? Is that why Quatre giggles so much?"
"Do I really need to answer that?" he said and turned to find Duo at his elbow, stark naked. "Are you going to put something on?"
"Gee, Trowa," Duo drawled, draping himself around the older boy's shoulders, "We're all alone, and I'm naked and the bed is right there... Heero's already had a taste of me. Don't you want some too..? Hmmm..?"
"I'd prefer pizza." He frowned. "What do you mean about Heero?"
Duo turned around, sweeping his loose hair up to show off the fading welts. "Heero's pretty firm in his convictions."
"He beat you?!"
"For the sake of verisimilitude. He paid for everything, which includes B&D and S&M. He wouldn't do anything, so I told him to drop me at a bar and I'd find someone who would. He got mad and said that if anyone deserved a chance to beat the crap outta me, it was him. So he did."
Trowa stared at him. "Heero... paid you..? And... beat you..?" He blinked slowly.
Duo winked, smirking. "Got it in one!"
"Duo!"
The longhaired boy laughed, delighted at having shocked the perpetually blasé Trowa. He reached for a fresh pair of jeans. "He didn't hurt me!"
"You have visible marks!"
"I've had worse, Trowa; you know that."
"But not from one of us."
Duo reached for a slice of pizza. "This is true," he nodded. "But he only did it because I said I'd find someone else. I think I made him mad." He looked up at the handsome brunette. "How's Quatre?"
"He's fine. What's really bothering you, Duo?"
Duo was quiet for a few minutes. "You always know, don't you? How do you do that? How do we all do that for each other?" He flashed a wide grin. "It's almost like magic!" he laughed. Then he sobered. "You really wanna know? What gets to me are the kids. Little kids, younger than me. When do they get a chance to have a childhood? What chance do they have of a real life? I was so fuckin' lucky, after Solo died, that Father Maxwell and Sister Helen found me. They gave me a shot at a real future, not some video fantasy, and I can never forget that. Who the hell knows where I might be now if the massacre hadn't happened?
"Think about it, Trowa," he continued with uncommon earnestness. "We're kids. If things were normal, if our lives had been normal, we'd be in school now. We'd be going on our first dates and flunking physics and having pizza at the mall, not in some sleazy motel room. We'd be flirting and playing sports and going home to parents and brothers and sisters." He swallowed, blinking. "We probably never would have met. The war would be just this thing happening in the news. Unless a mobile suit accidentally leveled our school, we'd never notice it. We'd all be normal teenagers. Those kids --" He waved his hand toward the window. "They're like us. Just flotsam in a sea of war and disinterest. Do any of them have families? Does anyone care if they live or die? One of them told me he's afraid a trick is going to kill him one day. You know what he said? He said he hoped he was unconscious when it happened! The concept of living a real life doesn't exist for them. This is all they have; no one gives a flying fuck about them and they know it!"
He stopped, realizing that he was almost shouting. He looked away from Trowa and picked up a breadstick. "Sorry." With his free hand, he raked his bangs back from his face. "I guess it's getting to me a little."
"A little?"
"A lot, okay?"
"Duo, this isn't working. We need to come up with another plan."
"I don't run from my missions."
"Do you enjoy this?"
Duo chewed thoughtfully on his breadstick. "It's hard to say..." he sighed after a few minutes. "I don't like dancing to the money tune, but the sex doesn't really bother me, I guess. It's my body they're using, not me. I kinda... oh, compartmentalize what I'm doing. A part of me turns off."
Trowa nodded slowly. "I believe I understand your feelings. But I don't like it."
"Neither do I, really." He grinned suddenly. "But it sounded believable, didn't it? It's what I told Heero and he bought it."
"You take yourself too lightly, Duo."
"Nah. I don't take myself lightly enough. It's only life, Trowa; nobody gets out alive. Certainly not us!" He laughed and reached for another slice of pizza.
Trowa's face remained expressionless.
~*~
Duo sighed himself awake, barely. Morning again. Another day on the streets. Shit. Suck me, fuck me, beat me, hurt me. Let me pretend someone loves me, for a while at least. Whatever.
Warmth against his back reminded him of Trowa's presence and he smiled, gently patting the hand that rested on his ribs. "Thanks, Trowa," he murmured. "For staying. I guess I kinda lost it last night."
"...."
"Oi, don't tell Heero, okay? I don't want him to freak out. I'm okay now."
"...."
"Thanks for listening to me whine... I appreciate it..."
"Thanks for keeping me informed."
Duo lunged over the side of the bed with a squawk and then looked back.
"Heero!" Oh, fuckin' HELL!
"So you lost it last night and talked it out with Trowa." Nothing in his manner suggested that he found Duo's sudden flight unusual. His tone was more speculative than angry, but Duo was too startled to notice.
"I'm okay now, Heero! I was just tired last night and in a crappy mood, but I'm fine! It's just taking longer this time, and those kids are so pathetic, and you know I hate waiting for shit to happen and the hot water ran out and my back hurts where you beat me and Trowa scared me in the bathroom and I'm outta conditioner and... and..."
Heero sat up, listening silently as Duo babbled nervously. Only when he paused to take a breath did Heero speak.
"Tell me why."
"Um..."
"You run, you hide, but you never lie," Heero reminded him quietly.
"Shit," said Duo under his breath, crawling back onto the bed and under the blanket. "I knew that'd come back to haunt me."
"Duo..." His tone was surprisingly gentle. Normally Heero snapped, barked, snarled or growled. Duo didn't know what to make of this. Habit caused him to obey the implied command.
"The kids," he said softly, playing with the end of his braid. "I'm starting to like them. To... to see myself in them. And it... It kinda hurts... a little..."
"That was your life, before."
Duo nodded, not looking at him. "Yeah. I whored to survive after the massacre, before Professor G found me. And my training..." He shook his head. "Never mind. What you did the other night was mild, compared to some of the stuff I've done." He scooched down in the bed, pulling the blanket close around him. Heero was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, he noted.
Does he sleep in that all the time, or is this a special case? he wondered idly. Yeah, well, why would he want to touch a whore anyway? Pilot, soldier, terrorist, assassin; I'm still just a whore underneath it all. And we all know "Pretty Woman" was just a fantasy.
But Heero's eyes narrowed dangerously. "That was years ago. Why do you put yourself through this now?"
"Because it's necessary to the success of the mission," he muttered.
Heero gave a derisive snort and Duo looked up, surprised. "That is my line, Maxwell. Try again."
Duo stared at him. It almost sounded like a joke. But Heero didn't make jokes. He had no sense of humor. "Okay, then. I do it so no one else has to. I've already been to hell, Heero; I don't mind going back occasionally." He sat up and faced Heero. "I'm Shinigami, remember? I rule in hell. I know what to expect; I know what can go wrong. I know how to handle the people I'm dealing with." He picked up his hairbrush and pulled the tie off his braid. "I won't let anyone else go through this, if I can help it," he snapped. "Not Quatre, not Trowa, not Wufei, not even you, Heero! And if I can save a few lives in the process, well, that's a bonus." He yanked the brush through his hair.
"What about the cost to you?"
"I told you before, Heero. I'm a weed; I'll survive."
But how much pain can you absorb? thought Heero. "May I?" He held out his hand for the hairbrush.
"Huh?" He expected a comeback, but not this. When was the last time he won an argument with Heero? Last Tuesday never! What's going on here?!
"Sit and I'll brush your hair."
"Um... Okay," said Duo slowly. He loved having his hair brushed, and the other guys had obliged him on occasion, but Heero had never offered before. Oh, golly... I sure hope this isn't a wet dream.
TBC...
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