Lost and Found

Chapter 4

 

by Kracken

 

Lost and Found

1x2, 3x4, 5x Sally

Warning:Angst, violence, graphic... the usual.

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"Where were you?"

Duo started, arms full of leftover barbecue, wrapped in seal packs, and a six pack of beer dangling from his fingers. He squinted into the darkness and then saw Jenny leaning against the front porch support, arms crossed, and face stern.

Duo tried to understand her mood as he unlocked his door, eager to get his hands freed. "Dan, and his family, had me over for a barbecue. It ran late."

Why he was explaining himself to Jenny, Duo wasn't certain. He didn't like it and he frowned at her in return as he swung his door open and flicked on a light switch.

"I was worried," she went on. "I thought that maybe you had an accident, when you didn't get off the bus. Are you drunk?"

Duo did have a good beer buzz, and he had intended on making that a pleasant drunk with the rest of his beer, at home, where he felt safe enough to let down his guard. "Sorry to worry you, Jenny. Thanks for looking out for me."

Jenny stepped forward. Her shirt was low cut and her shorts were microscopic. "I had one of the girls at work, baby sit the kids tonight. I thought that we could sit and talk, a little...."

"It's late," Duo complained. "Maybe another time, Jenny."

"You have tomorrow off, though," Jenny pointed out, "and Shelly won't mind watching the kids for a few hours more."

Duo sighed in exasperation. "Look, Jenny. I explained... I'm gay. I don't have the slightest interest in women, okay?"

She cocked her head and looked annoyed. "I wasn't looking to get shagged, Mr., I just wanted to talk! You think way too much of yourself!"

She strode away into the darkness and Duo swore under his breath. He would never understand women.

Duo put his packages down onto his kitchen table and then turned to close the door. He wasn't prepared for Jenny to close the door for him and cling to him, full of tears. With every muscle twitching, as he ruthlessly aborted a defensive move, Duo shoved her off.

"What's going on, Jenny?" Duo demanded.

Jenny continued to weep as she settled into a chair, head hanging, and hands hiding her face. "It's just so lonely, Solo! I'm so sorry, that I made a move on you. I was feeling real down tonight. It made me stupid. Please, forgive me?"

Duo sighed and raked a hand through his hair. He popped open a beer, handed it to her, and then opened one for himself. As she sipped, coughing a little around her sobs, he sat as well, not sure what to say or do.

"You're just so handsome, and so nice," Jenny finally said. "You can't blame a girl for trying."

"Yes, I can," Duo replied. "You're making me feel like an asshole for being gay."

Jenny laughed, though it was half hearted. She looked up at him, tentatively. "I can't have you, and you don't have anyone else. Seems really unfair."

Duo frowned. "Don't go there. I'm alone, because I want to be."

"Nobody wants to be alone," Jenny replied. "He must have been really special."

Duo stood up like a shot and turned away. "That's none of your business. It's done and over."

"Was he bad?" Jenny persisted, looking sad. "The guy, who's the father of my kids, is a bad guy. Even when he was at his worst, I still loved him. I couldn't help it."

"Yeah, but do you forgive him?" Duo wanted to know.

There was a long silence, and then Jenny replied, honestly, "No. There's no forgiving some of the things that he did."

"Did he ever apologize?" Duo found himself asking.

"No," Jenny replied. "He thought that I deserved it."

"What if he had?" Duo turned to her, wanting to see her face.

She thought about that, sipping at her beer, and then replied, "No. It wouldn't have mattered. You can't compare your guy with mine, though. He couldn't have been that bad, right?"

"He ruined my life," Duo admitted quietly.

"Is that right?" Jenny wondered. "What would you being doing now, if he hadn't?"

"Making a difference," Duo hedged.

Jenny shrugged."Even the waitress, serving your meal, makes a difference, Solo. Did he take away what made you happy? That's the question. My guy did."

Duo frowned and felt a knot form in his belly as he struggled with that question. "I don't know. I thought..."

"You don't know?" Jenny cocked her head to one side as she regarded him. "Maybe he didn't ruin as much as you think, then?"

"What mattered," Duo countered.

"Which was?" Jenny persisted.

"Us," Duo admitted. "Though... there wasn't an us... really... just... potential. I wanted..." He stopped and downed the rest of his beer. "It doesn't matter what I wanted. He took it all away. Can I finish my drunk, alone, now, Jenny?"

"Okay," Jenny replied sadly, "as long as I get a beer, to go, so that I can can drown a little sorrow, too."

Duo handed her one and she quietly left. Duo locked the door, fell into the bed, with the rest of the beer, and hated that he didn't have enough left to really dull the pain.

__________________________

"I have seen him," the checkout girl replied. "He shops here every friday. I've never seen any long hair on him, though, so maybe he cut it since you saw him last? You can't miss those big eyes. They are really, really gorgeous.You do realize that the cat isn't allowed in the store, sir?"

"We're leaving. Thank you for the information," Heero told her as he started to turn away.

"Is he wanted for something?" The girl asked.

Heero frowned. "Why would you think that?"

"You look like a cop.... with a cat."

Heero grunted and then replied, "I'm not a cop, and, no, he's not wanted for anything. He's just a friend that I lost touch with."

"He seems like a nice guy," the girl told him, "Kind of sad, though."

Heero gave the girl a startled look, wondering if her insight was a valid one. "Thank you again," he told her, meaning it sincerely. She had handed him some hope. If Duo wasn't happy, then it his appearance, back into Duo's life, might not be seen so much as an intrusion into a good situation.

As Heero left the grocery, he tucked Duo's picture into his jacket pocket and rubbed Diss's head. "Good job," he told the cat. It had been one of Diss's vague signals that had made Heero try the small grocery, tucked back behind larger stores. He might have missed it completely, otherwise, and that was probably why Duo had chosen it. People might remember him, there, but pursuers had to find the place first to question them.

Heero tried to visualize Duo without his long hair. The man had kept it against all common sense, in the past. That he should get rid of it now, spoke of desperation. Guilt ate at Heero. His selfishness, his need to excel, and his insecurities about his own life, had made him betray Duo, but there was also something more going on. Heero suspected, that they had experienced a dual epiphany about their lives. Heero had been the catalyst, but it had been something building beneath the surface of their commitment to Preventers all along.

A nearby efficiency, had a window, with a view of the small grocery. Rents in a holiday town, were exorbitant, but Heero charged it, without blinking at the price, and planned on staying until the last of his credit ran dry. He would sit on the street, then, he vowed to himself, or suffer whatever he had to, in order to be there when Duo went into that grocery.

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"No reason for you to go to the store, too, when I have to go anyway," Jenny told Duo as she plucked his list out of his hand. She scanned it and then sighed. "It's not like you buy anything except for beer, and those little frozen pizzas. They should just call them bachelor chow and put them together. It would save time."

"You don't have to-" Duo began but she snorted and jammed his list into her purse.

"I was an idiot, with you," she told him, looking embarrassed. "I want to make it up to you. Let me. Besides, I may pray on you to baby sit, once in awhile, when I work up the nerve, and try dating again."

Duo chuckled, but was inwardly wincing. He had come to call her children, the demon spawn, and he wasn't looking forward to being responsible for them. "Okay," he managed, but she laughed at him.

"I know, I know," she said, "They're trouble. I won't ask often, though, all right?"

Duo felt a little relieved. He was actually glad that Jenny had offered to shop for him. He didn't like exposing himself to the town. With every person that he met, there was the likely hood that someone would know the face of the ex pilot of Deathscythe.

"Thank you," he told her.

She nodded as she tightened her pony tail and then dug for her car keys. "I know how it is. You work a damned hard job, like yours, and the last thing you want to do is go shopping. It's no trouble for me, like I said. I'll be back with your stuff in a few."

Which gave Duo time to enjoy his day off. He watched her load her kids into her jeep, and take off down the road. The silence that followed was heaven. Duo pulled a chair from his home, planted it in the backyard, and popped open a beer. Tilting back his head, and letting his braid trail to the ground behind him, he enjoyed the sunshine and the peace.

"Excuse me, ma'am... er, sorry... sir?"

Duo frowned and looked sideways, blinking at the muscular man wearing a tee shirt, that had a lawn maintenance logo on the front, and a too tight pair of shorts. He was a blond with blue eyes and a square, nordic jaw. Duo imagined his name to be Sven or Carl or...

"York Tungston," the man introduced himself. "Perky's lawn care."

"You are not 'Perky', are you?" Duo found himself asking.

The man grinned. "No. Perky is my boss."

York... Duo thought.. Tungston. He laughed inwardly, but replied, "Solo Knight. I live in that one." He motioned with his beer can behind him at his home.

Blue eyes didn't follow the motion, they were too busy looking Duo over with frank interest. The man's smile was dazzling and candy to anyone's libido. He said something and Duo had a hard time following his meaning.

"Huh?" Duo found himself saying, and felt instant embarrassment.

"I said, that I have to mow the crab grass, but that I didn't want to disturb you," York repeated, looking amused. "I can weed first and then come back when you've gone inside?"

Duo looked around at the yard full of weeds. "If you weed, then this place should be blowing sand. It's all weeds."

"Some weeds are good enough at pretending to be plants, and the owner wants them to stay," York replied. "I concentrate on the vines, mostly."

"Okay," Duo chuckled. He stretched out again and tilted his head back. "Give me a half hour and I let you go after the weed lawn. Thanks for being considerate."

"I know how it is," York replied. "You have a day off, you want to enjoy it. I'll stay quiet, don't worry."

York went to begin his weeding, bending over and crouching to get at them with clippers. Duo found himself turning his head again and watching, guiltily enjoying the play of muscles, under skin, and the firm ass in York's molded on shorts.

"What am I saving it for, again?" Duo murmured. That question was wrapped up in anger and bitterness. There was nothing to save himself for, any longer. If York wanted to play, who was he to turn the man down? He didn't intend to live his life a virgin, and he was certainly no saint.

York looked back at him and smiled, with all the 'come on' a smile could convey. Duo blushed and pretended to be engrossed in the clouds. He was going to say something, he vowed... after the man was done with his lawn work.

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"What?" Duo blinked, mind trying to wrap around what the lawn man, York, was asking him.

The big blonde blushed and looked down at the fresh cut weeds under his work boots. "Well, I'm a bit shy and she's a lot of woman. I thought that you looked like a gay guy, so no competition, right? You won't take off with her, like that last guy, and ruin things."

"The last guy?" Duo sat in his chair again, not sure how his bold approach to proposition York had turned into this.

"He promised to talk to her for me, but then he asked her out himself," York replied angrily, big hands balling into fists. "He treated her bad, too. I wanted to run the mower over him, again, and again, and again-"

"Okay, I get the picture," Duo cut him off, but then had to ask, "I look gay?"

York was uncomfortable, but grinning as he replied, "I'm not stupid. I'm a good looking guy, right? You were checking me out."

"I thought you were checking me out," Duo mumbled as he picked up his beer and took a last swallow.

"I was making sure," York replied. "You're friends with Jenny, right? I've seen you around town with her. Please do this for me."

"Jenny is kind of... outgoing," Duo tempered. "If she was interested, she would have said something to you."

York looked disheartened, but he was determined. "I won't know, for certain, until you ask for me."

Duo frowned, hating how his perfect day was slipping through his fingers. "You should have some balls and ask her yourself."

"I tried," York replied with a deeper blush. "Nothing comes out, especially when she wears those low cut shirts. It's like my throat closes up and I can only make stupid noises. She thinks I'm an idiot, I'm sure of it."

Duo tapped his empty beer can on his chair arm, mentally sizing the situation up. At last, he said, "You have to do something for me, first, if you want me to put in a good word for you with Jenny."

York quickly replied, "Anything!"

Duo grinned evilly. "Are you sure?"

York nodded firmly. "For her, I'll do anything."

"She's had a lot of bad men in her life," Duo told him as he unzipped his fly. York's eyes went wide and he swallowed hard. "Seems to me that you better prove that you're willing to do what it takes to make her happy." He tapped his open fly with his empty beer can. "It's been awhile, and there's no body around. Take care of things for me, and I'll tell Jenny you're interested."

York hesitated, face turning fire engine red, and then his jaw firmed and his eyes glinted like steel, as he nodded, once, and then went to his knees. "She's worth it. If she'll let me, I'll treat her like a queen. She just has to know I'm here and interested."

York reached out towards Duo's fly, but then Duo tapped his one hand with his beer can and shook his head. "Look, dumb shit. If you put that much damned determination into just talking to her, you wouldn't have a problem. Are you really going to blow me, instead of just introduce yourself to Jenny?"

York sat back on his haunches and hung his head. "I..."

"Say it with me," Duo told him, "Hi, Jenny, my name's York. I would really like to go out with you."

York wiped a hand over his mouth and then slowly repeated the words, looking depressed and at a loss. "I can say it, here, but when she's in front of me..."

"Well, I suppose you do better when I'm standing behind you." Jenny suddenly said.

Both men started and York found himself looking up at Jenny, who was looking back at both of them, puzzled, with a bag of groceries in her hands. "Solo, were you about to try and steal a potential boyfriend out from under me?" she asked bluntly.

"No ma'am," Duo snickered.

"Then close your fly and let me and the big guy, here, have a talk," Jenny jerked her thumb towards Duo's home.

Duo closed his fly with a sigh, took his groceries, and went back inside. He peeked out of his window and saw Jenny, with arms crossed over her ample breast, listening as York stammered and blushed. He let the curtain fall then and shook his head. He needed to get out and away from those two. He could hear Jenny's children screaming and laughing, as well. If he wasn't going to get any peace and quiet, then going into town seemed a better idea than staying at home.

Duo walked out to the bus stop, and then leaned against the sign to wait. He was surprised when a red sports car pulled up and his boss rolled down the window and smiled at him. Duo knew smiles like that, and they were never good news. He straightened, on the defensive, and nodded.

"Hi, what's up, boss?" Duo asked.

The man's smile widened. "Get in and I'll tell you."

"I wasn't looking for a ride, sir," Duo replied. "I'm happy waiting for the bus. See you tomorrow, at the mill."

"I wasn't just happening by," Corman said, and his smile dropped. The gloves were coming off.

"I guessed," Duo replied, his eyes scanning his surroundings, while his mind began to make travel plans.

"I intend to have you," Corman told him. "No one says no to me. We can either do this in a civilized manner, or I can play hard ball. I can be a pleasant lay, Solo Knight. An hour or two, out of your day, with someone like me, won't be a bad thing for you."

Duo frowned. "What's with you?" he demanded. "What's so special about me? I'm sure there are a few other guys, who'd bend over, to get an advancement. Why risk that I'll file a complaint on you? Why risk that I'll just beat the crap out of you and cut my ties here?"

The man was smug. "You don't have many mirrors, if you don't know why. I want those eyes looking up at me when I do you. I want to spread those legs, of yours. I want-"

"You can want until hell freezes over," Duo shot back. "You are not getting it on with me, asshole. Fire me, whatever. I don't really care."

"You will care," Corman warned. "I've seen a few inquiries, on the net, about a man matching your description. You are a very photogenic man, Solo Knight. I'm sure a few, well placed, pictures of you, will get some response, don't you?"

"I'm sure it would," Duo laughed, and that threw Corman off his game. The man frowned back as Duo told him, "Do it, and see what happens. I'm sure your business will do really well when certain agencies come looking for me and find out where I was working... undocumented."

"You're fired!" Corman snarled, face going red.

"I figured that out already," Duo replied irritably.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Corman demanded. "You're a fag! You like men plugging you! Everyone knows a fag will do it with any man. What's wrong with me?"

Duo saw red and the look on his face made Corman become suddenly frightened. "You don't know who you're talking to, buddy," Duo told him. "If you ever do find out, you'll shit your pants. Get out of here, now."

Corman did go then and Duo leaned back against the sign again and closed his eyes. How could things have gone so wrong so quickly? he thought. His heart ached. He didn't want to go on the road again. He liked Dan and his family. He liked his small home. He had even started liking Jenny and her children. It seemed that he was fated to always be homeless, and to travel from place to place, to escape his past and his own notoriety. There was no peace for him.

Duo went back into his home, stuffed his meager things into his back pack, and then waited for the bus again. The things that he had asked Jenny to buy for him had been perishables. He needed food for the road. He decided to go the grocery store first, before leaving town, his mind already trying to map out a route to cover his tracks, and to find yet another town that might not know the face of the ex pilot of Deathscythe.

 

 

 

TBC

chapter three

on to chapter five


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