Remember When Arc
Open Road part 1
We do not own the rights to GW! Never have and never
will!
Warnings: Angst, language, slight OOC
Archived at: AFF, MM, and www.templeofthegoddess.com
Part one of ‘Open Road’ by Sparkling Diamond PG-SSM
& Raven Layne
January 13, 200 A.C.
Duo cast one last look around the empty apartment that
he had called his home for the past couple of years.
yes"> All of his and Aleana’s personal belongings were packed
away in the back of an old station wagon that Mrs. Gregory had given him before
she left.
Mrs. Gregory had moved just three months ago, to be with
her youngest daughter to help with the set of twins that she was about to
deliver. Duo understood how happy it made the older woman to be needed by her
family, especially since it had been nearly four years since the last of her
children had left home, leaving her alone in the city.
he had moved into the run-down apartment complex, so to him, having Mrs. Gregory
watch Aleana was like leaving her with her grandmother.
yes"> He was happy that she would be with her real family, but the
afternoon spent packing up her possessions before her son-in-law arrived to move
her to the Seattle area was bittersweet.
Not long after her leaving, the braided American found
his life nearly spinning out of control. The
desperation that was closing in on him was almost as bad as when he first moved
to Earth, but rather than alcohol and a feeling of disconnection from the world,
this time it was even more personal. It was the daily battle of juggling work and school, and it
was the feeling of guilt he had every day that he had to leave Aleana for hours
on end. She was getting older, ananteanted more attention from him than he was able to give her. The bottle started
to beckon him nightly in his dreams.
The holidays were anything but happy. With Mrs. Gregory
gone, it was a struggle to find decent childcare that could accommodate his
hours, and when he did find it, he found that it cost an arm and a leg. He
wouldn’t trust just anyone with his Sunshine, though, so he felt it a worthy
expense, and paid the high fees.
He was laid off from his security job at the beginning
of December, and he failed an English class.
To top it all off, money was beginning to become tight again. He had
received a huge settlement from the hospital that evidently Quatre had fought
for, but a large chunk of that was given back into the poor community, mostly to
the children’s clinic where he had first found Miranda. The majority of the
rest was put away, locked into a trust fund where he couldn’t touch it. That
was all for Aleana when she was old enough.
Of course he had kept some for himself and Aleana to live on; he didn’t
think it was wise to save a large amount of money for her adulthood, but have
her suffer as a child, but even his skills at budgeting were failing him, now.
The day that really shook Duo to the core was seven days in
to the New Year, the morning he woke to find himself lying on the kitchen floor,
an empty bottle of whiskey shattered close by. He remembered the whimper that
escaped his throat, a hand coming up to muffle the noise as he tried to scramble
himself up on shaking legs.
“What have I done? Oh, God!” He squeezed his eyes
tightly, hoping that when he opened them, he’d find that it was nothing but
another of his dreams. No such
luck. He looked at the shambles of
his kitchen, broken glass on the floor, refrigerator door standing open, one of
the chairs at the table overturned. He
heard a small sound coming from the back of the apartment that broke his gaze
from the room around him.
He found his daughter curled up in her crib, her beautiful
face streaked with tears, and her hands clutching her favorite bunny close to
her chest.
“Oh, Aleana. I’m so sorry, sweetie. Daddy is so damn
sorry.” He groaned, running his fingers gently through her messy red curls of
hair. Her green eyes blinked,
swiveling to meet his.
“Dada…” Her voice was raspy, nothing more than a
whisper, nobt cbt caused from crying and screaming through the night. Duo choked
on a sob, shaking his head in disbelief. How could he have been so stupid?
precious girl?
“Jesus! Oh, Sunshine. Please forgive me? Please, please
forgive Daddy for what I’ve done to you.” He choked again, lifting the one
year old out of the battered second hand crib. He held her close to his chest,
rocking her in a soothing motion. She mumbled incoherently against his shoulder,
her small hands grabbing at the long braid.
“I promised I wouldn’t drink again…damn it! How could
I?”
The rest of that day, Duo spent wallowing in guilt. He
noticed the blinking light on his vid-phosignsignaling that messages were
waiting, but he was too chicken shit to do anything about them.
Now here he stood, six days later, with his bags packed. He
didn’t have the foggiest idea of where he was going, but he figured he would
find out when he got there.
___________________________________________________________________
Heero punched the disconnect button on the vid-phone; a
concerned look crossed his face. He had been trying to reach Duo since after the
New Year, but with out any success. He left messages, waited patiently for the
braided American to call him back, but each time…nothing.
“Damn it! Where could he be?” Heero muttered under his
breath, leaving his office in the security room of the WEI Headquarters. He
needed to talk with either one of his lovers. He hoped that maybe one of them
had talked to Duo recently.
Stalking past businessmen and women who literally jumped
out of his way as he passed, Heero headed straight for the elevator bank,
jabbing a finger angrily at the top floor button. He wanted to know where Duo
was, and he wanted to know now.
Quatre sat at his large mahogany desk, shuffling papers and
talking on the phone as Heero entered. The blond smiled warmly, holding up a
finger for his lover to wait a moment until he finished his conversation.
“I don’t care, Larry, just make it happen.” He said
in an exasperated tone. “Yeah,
just do it. Thanks.” Quatre snapped, forcing himself not to slam down the
receiver of the phone. He raked his fingers through his hair, sighing before
looking back up at his lover.
“Hey. What are you doing up here? Not that I’m
complaining…” Heero didn’t wait for his partner to finish his comments,
launching right into what he was there for.
“Have you spoken with Duo lately?”
“Well, the last time I spoke to him, he was very busy.”
“When was that?”
“Just after Christmas. I wanted to know if his and
Aleana’s gifts had arrived all right. We didn’t speak for very long,
though.” The blond frowned, thinking back on the conversation.
“I’ve been trying eacheach him for some time now. Today
I received a disconnected notice when I dialed his number.”
Quatre nodded. “I
see why you’re concerned. He didn’t mention anything out of the ordinary to
me when we spoke. Has he been in contact with Wufei or Hilde?”
“Chang is away on a mission. Sally stated that he left
shortly after the holidays, and was not expected back until after the 22nd
of this month.”
“And Hilde?”
“Not since Christmas day.”
“I wonder if he didn’t pay his phone bill, and it was
shut off? Long distance isn’t cheap.”
“I thought of that already. I got into the phone company
records, and found that Duo, himself, had canceled the service.”
“That’s not good.” Quatre sat back in his chair,
cradling his head in his hands. “Shit, is he running and hiding again?”
“Maybe, I don’t know for sure.”
“Damn it.”
______________________________________
Duo pulled into st sst stop a quarter past the hour of
midnight, just outside the city of Albuquerque, with a rumbling stomach and a
cranky babe in the backseat. He thanked his lucky stars that the old car and air
conditioner had held out for them thus far.
Grabbing the diaper bag, and his own backpack, he scooped
up the small redhead, and headed for the restroom building. The girl smiled,
probably in relief to be out of the car seat she had been riding in since very
early that morning.
“Let’s get you changed and we’ll find something to
eat in those vending machines we just passed.”
The rest area was deserted, allowing Duo to set Aleana down
to toddle around while he had a sink bath of sorts, and changed his clothes.
“Icky! Daddy really did smell bad, didn’t he,
Sunshine?” She smiled a toothy grin, clapping her hands at him. He smiled
back, throwing a tee shirt over his head, and pulling his long braid out through
the neck.
“Your turn!” She giggled loudly as he assaulted hermmy mmy with tickling fingers. Hoisting her up, he sat her down on the edge of the
sink, popping her shirt over her head and washing her down quickly with a cool
washcloth.
“This will make you feel a lot better.”
“Dada!”
“Yup, that’s my name, don’t wear it out!” Aleana
squirmed, testing Duo’s ability of dressing her. With a quick move, the shirt
went over her head, her curls bouncing back into place.
“Done! Now
to raid those vending machines! I’m sure we can find a hotel to stay at in the
next town we come across.”
________________________________________________________________________
Trowa was just
returning from the large kennels outside of the main part of the house when he
spotted his chocolate haired lover sitting on the back patio, laptop on the
marble topped table. This was not unusual, but the furrowed brows, and
determined look on his face was.
“Find
anything yet?” He kept his voice low, not wanting to disturb Heero’s
concentration.
“No. It seems
all services to his apartment have been shut off. Ashcroft Security’s files
show that he was laid off at the beginning of December. The Daily Grind, the
coffee shop he works at, hasn’t seen him in over a week, but he hasn’t
notified them that he was quitting.”
“There might
be a good explanation for all of this. Don’try yry yourself too much.”
“How can you
be so calm about this?” Heero asked, closing his laptop. Trowa’s lips
quirked upwards into a tiny smile as his hands caressed his lover’s tense
shoulders.
“Because
he’s a big boy, and can take care of himself. Have faith in him, Heero. I’m
sure he’ll turn up soon. Until then, you and Quat have to calm down, and stop
worrying like a couple of mother hens.”
“It’s hard
not to worry.” Heero sighed, swiping at some of his bangs. “Especially after
everything that has happened.”
“Yes, but I
have faith in him. You should as well. Come, it’s almost dinner time, and you
know how Quat gets when we’re late.”
“True.
Wouldn’t want to make the master wait for us.” Heero pushed back his chair,
claiming a kiss from his tall lover before retrieving his laptop and hurrying
inside.
“Master, huh?
I’ll show both of them, tonight, who the real master is.” Trowa smirked,
pushing the chair against the table, following the same path his messy haired
lover had taken.
_______________________________________________________________________
The outskirts
of Amarillo seemed like a good place to stop for a late lunch. The small
roadside diner looked friendly enough, but the multitude of motorcycles that
stood out front worried the braided American just a little. He could keep
driving until the next town, and listen to his daughter whimper in the back
seat, or they could stop and hope that there wouldn’t be any trouble.
Pulling up next
to some classic roadsters, Duo parked the car, getting out to stretch himself
before opening the back door to get Aleana out. The babe was all smiles as Daddy lifted her out of the car
seat, the cool wind and bright sun caressing her unruly red hair.
Taking a deep
breath, Duo entered the small diner, the chime of bells tinkling as the door
opened. Some of the patrons turn to look at the newcomers, but didn’t spare a
second glance as Duo made his way to an open table, grabbing an old high chair
on the way.
He placed the
high chair at the end of the table, moving it closer to himself and away from
the excessively tattooed, burly gang of bikers that took up most of the
diner’s seating. Some were loud, a little on the rowdy side, but the back half
of the dining area seemed quiet for the time being.
“Hi, what can
I get you today?” Duo looked up in surprise, somewhat startled to have a
server at their table so quickly in such a busy place.
“Uh, yeah.”
Duo snatched up a dilapidated menu, skimming it quickly before putting it back
in the little rack near the bottled condiments.
“How about
the burger and fries for me, and a small side order of fries for the ray of
sunshine here.” Duo beamed his mega watt smile at the middle-aged waitress as
she took down the order.
“Anything to
drink?” She asked, pencil poised over the small tablet of paper in hand. Duo
cringed at the question, his mind still raw with the knowledge of his drinking
binge just over a week and a half ago.
“Water,
please. Oh, and if you have any juice, a small glass would be great.” Duo
requested politely, digging around in Aleana’s diaper bag for her training
cup.
“Sure. I’ll
bring that right out.” The waitress smiled, ripping off the order from her
tablet to send back to the kitchen.
Duo didn’t
have to wait long for the drinks to arrive. He immediately put the apple juice
into Aleana’s training cup, and placed it on the tray in front of her. She
cooed, grabbing the cup with enthusiasm. He shook his head, a silly grin
plastered to his face.
“Now is as
good a time as any.” Duo noted, pulling out a small note pad with a running
column of numbers being kept there. He
had allotted himself so much money for the trip, and while he still had plenty
left, he didn’t want to see any of it go to waste by any means.
The last hotel
had been a bit more expensive than the rest, but it was important that they had
some place comfortable to unwind and sleep.
He felt twinges of guilt rise in his chest. He had broken into a few
vending machines along the way, not taking any money, just snacks and drinks to
satisfy them on the long road in between towns and cities.
He frowned to
himself, it seemed his street persona was slipping back into place along the
way. Was that really what he wanted his daughter to see?
regressed back to both drinking and thieving.
He’d come so far away from the person that he’d been before he’d
been back on Earth, and he knew that he couldn’t allow himself to slip back to
those old habits if he wanted to raise Aleana properly.
Duo’s
attention was snapped back into the present when he realized someone was talking
loudly, and it was directed towards him.
“Hey, man.
Didn’t you hear me?” Duo turned his indigo eyes toward the muscular man that
was turned in the booth just in front of him.
“I’m sorry,
can I help you?” Duo replied, in semi-shock as he looked towards Aleana,
seeing that she was giggling up a storm. What really shocked him was the big guy
in the same booth playing a game of peek-a-boo with his daughter.
“I asked what
her name was.” The biker stated once again, pointing towards the baby, who had
a huge toothy grin.
“Oh, it’s
Aleana.” Duo replied after hesitating a moment.
yes"> He wasn’t sure it was a good idea to talk with such people,
but he was afraid that if he didn’t answer, something might happen.
“She’s
cute. I have a niece about her age up in Minnesota.” A third biker piped in.
All in all, the
stop at the old roadside diner was good. The
bikers were all friendly, and the food was great.
Aleana especially enjoyed her two hours of freedom from the hellish car
seat. The bikers suggested routes
for the braided American, pointing out the best roads, places to stay, and where
to watch for speed traps.
Duo paid his
check, balancing his daughter on his hip as he made his way back to the station
wagon. He smiled and waved as some of the bikers left the parking lot, their
destination unknown.
“Hey, this is
for your kid.” Duo turned in surprise, noting that it was the one they called
‘Bear’ the oldest biker of the group. The sun bounced off his black leather
riding attire, as he strode towards them, a small stuffed teddy bear in hand. He
smiled through his straggly salt and pepper beard as he handed the soft plush
animal directly to Aleana.
“Whoa,
thanks. Can you say thank you, Aleana?” Duo coaxed, smiling brilliantly.
“Da!”
“No, thank
you. Have a safe trip, Duo
Maxwell.” surprise, he hadn’t mentioned his name to any of them.
“How?”
“War heroes
never fade away, and are never forgotten. God speed.” Bear started his
motorcycle and was gone, leaving a stunned Duo standing in the parking lot.
_______________________________________________________________________
Duo smiled,
turning the radio up a little louder. It was mid-day, and the road stretched for
hundreds of miles in front of him. They were just entering the fifth state on
their travels, and all seemed right.
The hotels that
they’d been staying at were second rate, but all he wanted was a comfortable
bed and a warm shower after driving so long. Aleana certainly didn’t mind; she
was too young to demand silk sheets and French soaps, Duo mused.
was to get out of the car, and just walk on her chubby little baby legs. Duo
didn’t blame her. He needed to get out and stretch sometimes, too.
The front seat
of the old station wagon was littered with candy wrappers, empty potato chip
bags, and soda pop cans and bottles. The back seat was faring a lot better than
the front, but the seats still had crackers and cereal that little Aleana had
dropped from her tiny fingers. Duo had shrugged it off. He could clean it all up
when he got to where he was going.
Duo sang off
key, bobbing his head to the music, his only form of entertainment for the young
lass in the back seat. She laughed, clapping her small hands. Sometimes her
Daddy was really silly.
“Now entering
Missouri.” Duo murmured, his hands tightening on the wheel. He knew where he
was going, but he didn’t want to admit it to himself just yet.
“Ok,
Stinkerbutt. Next town we hit,
we’re going to get some warmer clothes for both of us.
weather we’d be driving right into in the middle of January!”
_____________________________________________________________________
Trowa found his
dark haired lover in his private room, fingers clamoring away at the keyboard
once again. Ever since Duo had come
up ‘missing’, Heero spent nearly all of his free time trying to track
the former DeathScythe pilot. The
atmosphere in their grand home had become tense in the past few days, as both of
his partners were frazzled and worroverover the disappearance of one Duo
Maxwell.
“You know if
Quatre sees you with that animal in here, he’ll make you sleep on the
couch.” Heero stated, sparing a
glance at Trowa, and the young panther in his arms.
“Maybe so,
but it isn’t like I’m getting any action, anyway.
shrugged, juggling the long black cat in his arms.
“What’s
that supposed to mean?” Heero growled, eyes never leaving the computer screen
in front of him.
“Exactly what
it sounded like. The way you and
Quat have been lately, I can just forget about having a sex life.
down the elusive Maxwell, or have your noses buried in your work.” He shrugged
again. “Nothing I can’t handle by myself.”
“Don’t tell
me you’re not worried about this.”
“Honestly,
Heero, I’m not. Like I’ve said
before, Duo’s a big boy, he can take care of himself and the baby just fine. I
don’t see why you’re devoting so much time and energy into this. Duo will
show up where you least expect him.”
“Yeah, like a
morgue or a hospital.” Trowa
shook his head at his lover, his frustration rising even further. Why couldn’t
he make his partners see that Duo didn’t need a baby sitter?
yes">
“Fine,
whatever. If either one of you need me, I’ll be on the couch in the
library.” The tall acrobat stalked out of the room, heading back out to the
large kennels to put away the cat.
The study that
Quatre used as a home office was still brightly lit as Trowa strode down the
hall. He didn’t even bother
stopping to talk with his blond lover. He was even more stubborn than Heero at
times, and this was one of them. Why
waste his breath on either of them? Nothing useful ever came of talking to brick
walls.
He had his own
theories as to what was happening, but they were constantly shot down every time
he mentioned them. Personally, considering all the problems he’d had over the
past six months, and all the interference from the well-meaning, yet very nosy
Heero and Quatre that Duo had been putting up with, Trowa knew that he’d
probably disappear for awhile, too. You simply can’t go from broken hearted to
cheerfully happy overnight. He
didn’t blame Duo one bit for needing some space to heal, away from the prying
eyes of his lovers.
“I’m
surprised that they haven’t called up a shuttle to go to Earth yet.” A
wistful smile appeared on his lips. “I shouldn’t say that too loud, they
just might.”
______________________________________________________________________
It was after 3
am, and he was bone weary. The mission had been a success, the bad guys were
locked away, and all Preventers involved in the case had entered their final
reports and headed home. Commander Chang Wufei dropped his duffle bag near the
front door of his modest two-bedroom apartment in Baltimore, Maryland, and
sighed in relief.
First item on
his agenda was a hot meal, then a hotter shower, and finally a long date with
his mattress. Everything else could wait until he woke up some time the next
afternoon.
Shuffling his
feet into the kitchen, he yanked open the refrigerator door, inspecting his
supplies. He wasn’t surprised to find it empty of everything but condiments,
batteries, and a couple of cans of beer. He had been gone nearly a month, and
cleaned all the perishables out before he left.
“Shit.” He
muttered under his breath, closing the door, and walking towards the pantry. He
knew he had some instant noodles that, while lacking much flavor, would at least
film upm up.
“Catch up on
the bills, buy some groceries, and send my uniforms to the cleaners. And here I
thought I’d get a day off.” He grumbled under his breath, snagging the
elastic band from his hair. He scrubbed his ebony locks in frustration before
getting a small pan out, and filling it with water for the package of instant
noodles now laying on the counter top.
After eating
his tasteless ramen, he spent half an hour in a blissfully hot shower.
cloth robe, and was towel drying his hair when the buzzer of the front door
sounded. Glancing towards the clock on the bathroom wall, Wufei huffed in
irritation.
“Who the hell
would be visiting my ass at this time of morning? I swear if it’s Sally, I’m
going to…” Wufei threw open the door, his rant died in his throat when he
saw who was standing on the other side.
“Hey Fei. I
was in the neighborhood, thought I’d stop by.” Duo smiled sheepishly,
managing only a tiny wave with a sleeping baby in his arms.
“Duo?
Especially at quarter after four in the morning.” Wufei asked, hand still
frozen on the doorknob.
“Well, if
you’ll let me in, I’ll be glad to tell you. It’s a little too cold out
here to be discussing stuff.” Duo’s
eyes looked to the snow at his f bef before once again meeting the surprised
dark eyes of his friend. “It’s
winter here on the East Coast, ya know?”
The Chinese
teen nodded, stepping away from the door to let the braided boy inside.
Duo glanced
around the entryway leading into the warm looking living room, adjusting his
hold on Aleana ever so slightly. He couldn’t believe he was there, standing in
Wufei’s apartment.
“Duo, what
are you doing here?” Wufei asked again, carefully taking the sleeping girl
into his arms so that Duo could take off his winter coat.
yes">
The braided
American hung the coat on a peg in the entryway, then followed Wufei into the
living room to take a seat on the couch next to him.
yes"> Duo hesitated slightly, looking down at the Chinese boy who
held his daughter so carefully, stroking the sleeping girl’s curls tenderly.
“Well, would
you believe me if I tell you I’m on vacation?” Duo asked hopefully, sitting
down on the comfortable sofa, knowing quite well that his friend would shoot
that explanation down in a heartbeat.
He tossed his
head back to get the offending hair out of his face, careful not to disturb the
cherub in his arms.
“Do you have
a place to stay?”
“Well,
I…”
“Never mind.
ask. I have a spare bedroom, although all that I have in there is a futon
mattress. You can use that if you like.”
He stood up to guide his friend to the guest room, but stopped when he
felt the sleeve of his robe tugged lightly.
“Is this a
bad time, Wu? I’m really sorry to
e jue just showed up on your doorstep, I guess I didn’t put much thought into
coming here without calling first.” Duo’s
brow furrowed with anxiety, his lips formed just the slightest of pouts.
Wufei let out a
breath, and slumped his shoulders.&nb“No,
of course not, Duo. I’m happy to
see you, and am pleased that you came. I
just got home from a very long mission a little over an hour ago, and I’m
exhausted. I’m afraid that my
host skills are a little lacking right now.”
The braided boy
smiled a tired smile up at him, and let go of his robe.
me for just showing up. I think we
both need some sleep, then maybe we can talk tomorrow or something? Aleana has
been asleep for a w now now, and I’ve been driving for almost sixteen
hours…”
“I can tell,
Duo.” He said, wrinkling his nose dramatically.
yes"> “Follow me, and we’ll get Aleana down on the futon, then
I’ll show you to the bathroom. You
could use a shower, too; you’re ripe.”
Duo snorted,
but got up to follow his friend to the promised shower and rest.
Twenty minutes
later, his guests were resting peacefully in the spare room next to his. Wufei
blew out a sigh, still baffled as to why Duo had shown up unexpectedly at his
doorstep. The mystery of Duo’s
obvious cross-country trek was enough to raise many questions as to why Duo was
running, and whether something had happened to the boy or his daughter to spur
the trip to see him. As physically
exhausted as he was, he knew that he wouldn’t find sleep easily with so many
thoughts and questions whirling in his brain.
He sat down at
his desk, in a small study just off of the kitchen, and began booting up his
computer, and scrolling through the messages that were waiting on the vid phone.
and phone calls that had come from the same two people. Heero Yuy and Quatre
Winner.
He had just
clicked on the first e-mail from Heero when his vid-phone rang, startling him.
“Shit, this
is turning into a circus.” He grumbled, hitting the receive button on the
vid-phone.
“Chang.”
“Yuy.”
yes"> “You’d better have a good reason for calling me this
early.”
“It’s Duo.
Have you had contact with him? I know that you just returned from a mission
tonight. I’ve been keeping in contact with Une and Sally, hoping that maybe
one of them had heard from him.”
“Duo seems
fine. He and Aleana just showed up at my doorstep less than an hour ago.”
Wufei didn’t miss the look of utter relief that passed over Heero’s face.
though. He just said he had driven
sixteen hours today, and was exhausted, and he’d tell me the morning.
yes"> What’s been going on?”
“I hope youve ave a few minutes.”
“I do. Now
tell me why I have Duo and the baby here…”