*Based on the song 'Animals', by Nickelback
Disclaimer: I don't own them and I don't make any money off of them.
Warnings: Male/Male sex, graphic, language, violence.
Duo thumb printed papers, gave as much of his sketchy past as he felt they needed, and then was given a physical. The physician weighed him,eyed him, checked his pulse, and then took several blood and skin samples.
"Undress," the doctor ordered as he bagged and labeled the blood samples.
"I didn't know that you felt that way about me," Duo snickered.
The doctor gave him a glare, even as he reassured Duo with an automatic,"It's necessary to complete your physical and to catalog identifying marks."
"In case I end up in pieces?" Duo wondered as he sent his shirt to land on top of where his jacket hung on the back of a chair.
"Yes," the doctor replied. He finished his labeling and then turned to Duo as Duo left his last bit of clothing on the chair.
The man's eyes widened at the large tattoo, in black and silver, spread across Duo's chest. "Deathscythe," he surmised and Duo grinned. The wings fanned out over Duo's collar bone and the beam scythe hooked around his right nipple. The barbed wire tattoo, curling around his arm several times, and then down to make a bracelet around his wrist, was less dramatic.
"What's on your back?" the doctor wanted to know.
Duo turned, his head cocking over his shoulder to keep his eyes on the doctor, an ingrained habit of distrust. The blast scar was like the splash of a wave and a tattoo artist had made it into one, froth, flecks of water, and the roll of surf carrying an explosion of stars and a rocketing jump ship towards his left shoulder from the curve of his right hip.
"The man who did these was a real artist," Duo told the doctor. "He owed me for saving him from some muggers and I had a lot of time on my hands."
The doctor nodded, respect coming into his eyes as he tallied the scars under the tattoos and the wear and tear of a life spent on the edge and on the streets. He made notes and then said, as he handed Duo a signed paper, "I can't clear you until the tests come back, but you passed my initial exam. You'll need to go to psyche next."
"Can I get lunch first?" Duo complained. "We do get fed, right?"
The man became sympathetic. He jotted down a few numbers on Duo's paper."Go down to the commissary and use my code to pay for a meal. You definitely need it."
Duo clutched the paper, trying not to look eager, but he found himself dragging on clothes and leaving half dressed before the doctor could say goodbye. Shirt tails flapping, and coat hanging on his slim frame, he clomped down hallways in untied boots until he found signs that led him in the right direction.
Agents stared as Duo entered the commissary and moved through the line. Ordering as much as he dared, piling a tray high with food and drink, he then nervously stopped to pay at the end of it. The man looked at his note suspiciously, looked Duo over, and then swallowed hard when he caught sight of Duo's braid.
"Duo Maxwell?" the man stammered, sat straighter on his stool, and keyed in the code without Duo offering a reply.
Duo grinned as he took the slip back and pocketed the precious thing, hoping that he could get another use out of it, if he wasn't going to get one of his own.
Duo was aware of the whispers all around him, but he ignored them as he ate as fast as possible, making a mess of wrappers, plastic, and paper all over the table he had chosen. Someone, he had a feeling, was going to look for him when he didn't show up at psyche. He didn't want to miss out on his meal before that happened.
"Duo Maxwell?"
Duo looked up as he swallowed the last of a burger and saw the hard faced man staring down at him disapprovingly.
"Let me guess," Duo sighed, "You're my 'guardian'?"
"Nothing that... familial," the man replied.
"Case worker?" Duo tried again.
The man raised an eyebrow. "Do you consider yourself a charity case?"
Duo frowned and piled his trash onto the tray. "No," he replied as he stood up and tossed the garbage into the nearest waste bin."Parole officer, then?"
"That would describe my office more accurately." The man was wearing a Preventer uniform, starched to show razor sharp creases, and he held his hands at his back, standing ramrod straight as if he were on parade."You might come to think of me as your prison guard, though," he continued after a loud sniff,"Since I will be policing your every move until you reach legal status, and prove that you are indeed a reformed citizen."
"Are you Heero's prison guard too?" Duo wanted to know.
"Since you will not be allowed any interaction with Agent Yuy," the man told him, "it hardly matters."
"None?" Duo growled."I hope you don't believe that crap? The stuff about me molesting a minor?"
"You will make a very serious mistake, if you assume that I am lacking in intelligence, Mr. Maxwell," the man replied. "Now, if you follow me, you are late for a doctor appointment. You will find, rather quickly, that we don't tolerate tardiness."
"Joy," Duo muttered under his breath.
The man looked down an impressive nose at Duo and told him, "My name is Mr. Hutch. I don't require you to enjoy our time together, but my report on your behavior will weigh heavily in your final evaluation for admittance to Preventers. Keep that in mind."
Duo glared at the man's back as he was led from the commissary. It didn't matter
if he liked Mr. Hutch or not, Duo mused, because he didn't intend to stick around.
Nothing was going to stop him from seeing Heero, and no one was going to micro
manage his life.
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