Rookie.
Despite Heero's only recently conferred status, the state of Massachusetts apparently considered him capable enough to perform routine interstate patrols alone. It didn't intimidate him; on the contrary, he enjoyed the solitude and the ability to make decisions without having to explain himself or his gut reactions. Of course, that all came afterwards, or at least it did when a simple speeding ticket ended up being an unexpected drug bust.
That had been one of the best days on the job, in Heero's opinion.
It felt good to have a purpose, and he'd not realized how much he'd missed the structure of the uniformed forces and the feeling that he was actually making a difference. As much as he'd enjoyed going to school for the sheer joy of learning, it had left him feeling unsatisfied in the end. It wasn't enough to make him abandon his plans to finish his graduate degree, because he was all too well aware that there were other factors that had motivated him to join the police academy even as he continued to plug away at his master's, just to show himself that he wasn't a quitter. Of course Catherine Pritchett had been a big help with that, and there was no real reason why he shouldn't finish. He might have started it for one reason but he was fucking well going to finish it for himself.
When the call came over the radio for a club just off the next exit, Heero turned his lights on and sped past the slow moving traffic on the right before merging back into the off ramp lane. He could feel the adrenaline rush already, and there was a small guilty flush of pleasure at having something like this practically fall into his lap.
This might top the last for being the best day on the job.
| | Yuy, Heero (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2){kind=small} yuy_h) wrote in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=92.2){kind=small} aju_scenes, |
August 25 2007, 04:19:25 UTC 4 years ago
It definitely wasn't the air of immaturity that he'd cultured lovingly for as long as he could remember.
Putting in his request for two beers to the bartender, he lived in hope, quickly quashed hope, that he would be asked for I.D. A little bummed out he accepted the two bottles, paid his money, and set back for his seat. Sliding one of the beers over to Sally, he took a deep drag at the other and sighed.
"That hits the spot, man."
The club was dark and smoky around them but it wasn't overly loud, or crowded, and the age of the average person there seemed to be mid twenties. As he grew older it seemed like his taste in fun was changing too.
Sally was a good companion, a great laugh, smart and familiar to him. She was a bridge that sometimes he still felt he needed between the world he'd left behind and the world he was pushing himself into.
Someone shouted and the song changed to something with a more modern beat. He winced.
"You want to go see a movie next time?" He asked.
August 25 2007, 04:33:40 UTC 4 years ago
Still, she couldn't believe Duo had gone for the obvious.
She wasn't about to let him psyche her out now, though. They might not be drinking each other under the table, but it was that first sip that counted, and she took a long one.
"Not very subtle," she said, tipping the Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale toward him. "You, that is. This," she added, shaking the bottle gently, "is hoppy." Sally leaned back in her chair, her eyes shutting halfway as the heat and haze in the club made her drowsy despite all the noise around them.
"Definitely a movie next time."
August 25 2007, 04:49:37 UTC 4 years ago
He chuckled at her raised eyebrow, unsure as to whether it was for the cockburn or the sweetheart but it was forgotten the next instant as there was a stirring at the end of the bar and a man in a dark uniform appeared.
"Looks like the stripper's here."
August 25 2007, 05:03:44 UTC 4 years ago
Since she was facing Duo, her back was toward the entrance and she didn't bother turning around, but this was one she just couldn't resist.
"Cowboy or dominatrix?"
August 25 2007, 05:05:48 UTC 4 years ago
August 25 2007, 05:15:45 UTC 4 years ago
Her fingers clamped on Duo's wrist, tightening as she felt her stomach lurch. "I think I'd rather watch the Shawshank Redemption," she said, and she wasn't sure if Duo even heard her before the rioting began.
August 25 2007, 05:52:52 UTC 4 years ago
Only back then he'd usually been wearing a football shirt and had been part of the problem.
Now all he was, was an innocent bystander while other people caused the ruckus. He had no intentions of getting up, rolling up his sleeves all gung-ho and leaping to help the fuzz; he was no have a go hero - he'd seen too many of those guys back in England end up in newspapers as victims.
Nevertheless though, when half the bar was charging in your general direction and the other half doing it while throwing random punches, a guy could be excused for delaying the inevitable whilst the lady got to safety.
He found himself a short while later, pushed up against a brick wall outside the club, a metallic taste in his mouth and some other guy's blood on his knuckles.
And of course the handcuffs.
August 25 2007, 06:23:55 UTC 4 years ago
Too many things were all too familiar, and his heart was pounding in his ears the moment he'd found one of them.
Other, more experienced, officers had arrived on the scene with Heero, and it sounded like they were expecting more, but right now there were people escaping out windows and what was now obviously a concealed door. It was through that exit that Heero went, and as he'd suspected, there was just not enough of them to contain everyone yet.
His fingers tightened on the cuffs before letting go, and he gave a small push, just to let his prisoner know he was deadly serious.
His hands went through the motions of patting pockets, sleeves, pant legs, in search of a weapon he knew he wouldn't find, but his mind was anywhere and everywhere else. It was an oddly intimate moment. The old familiar scent filled his nostrils and he felt like he'd stumbled through the looking glass.
The feeling passed - by sheer force of will - and the anger was back, not as sharp in these circumstances, but there all the same. Heero had never expected life to be fair, but there was a limit. His teeth ground together almost painfully and he took one step back, releasing any hold he'd had on the man pressed against the wall in front of him.
August 25 2007, 06:39:33 UTC 4 years ago
In those days he'd feared his mother a lot more than the fuzz. His mother wouldn't hesitate to cuff his ear if he was misbehaving, without fear of reprimand from him, or threats for litigation.
Ma was law.
But Duo had always been able to take her scolds and lectures easily. He'd act suitably contrite and then a few days later he'd be back in the police car again, being dragged home from a pub or from a vandalising attempt.
That was when his mother had changed tact.
He'd sat in the passenger seat waiting for her to start in on her usual lecture but it had never come. The entire journey had been in silence. When they'd got home she'd ignored him and walked into the house leaving him to make his own way.
And the silence from his mother, the sign that she'd given up on him, was something that still terrified him to this day.
Silence from police officers though... that didn't bother him at all. When he was released he turned, ready to let loose with a few well chosen cracks.
Heero, standing there in full police uniform, was enough to chase all but one of those words from his mind and he let that one out on a choked breath.
"Fuck."
August 25 2007, 06:55:17 UTC 4 years ago
"Do you realize how much you could have fucked yourself over?"
His voice was a low hiss, just for Duo's ears, in case they ran out of time and someone else came upon them. He shouldn't care; getting deported would be just what Duo wanted, to be forced back overseas so he could look back and say he'd never really meant to go. Heero felt like he was visibly shaking and he clenched his fingers into fists before he risked police brutality charges. He wanted to shake Duo until his head rattled atop his shoulders, and he wanted to read Duo the riot act, to impress upon him how close he'd come to being in more trouble than he could afford.
Instead he could only run a hand through his hair and avoid looking into Duo's eyes, just in case Duo saw something there he shouldn't.
August 25 2007, 07:21:21 UTC 4 years ago
This rage, this was what he'd longed to see. The only thing that kept him from cashing in on the opportunity was the sheer incongriguity of the situation as a whole.
Heero was here. Heero was a policeman, had handcuffed him.
Had frisked him.
Looking mighty fine while he did it too, if Duo did say so himself.
Okay... and now victory and incongriguity had been joined by a nice little side helping of lust, which was itself followed by the crazy little voice telling him to stop fantasizing about the heat.
But God Damn, this heat was hot!
Heedless of his thoughts, his body was acting on old, half forgotten scripts on how to answer back to the Bill.
He raised one shoulder in a shrug and turned his head to spit the taste of blood out of his mouth before replying to Heero's hissed question with a calm one of his own.
"What for? I ain't done nothin'."
Duo knew the best ways to wind people up and he was going for it now, whether he wanted to or not.
Fucking good job he wanted it really.
August 25 2007, 07:34:43 UTC 4 years ago
It fucking hurt - not as bad as the day Duo had told him It's not worth it but the pain was still sharp.
If he'd been following protocol, if he'd not cut off one of his fellow officers to make a beeline to reach Duo first, he wouldn't be in this predicament. Fucking hell, if he'd left well enough alone months ago, back when he'd heard Duo's plate number on his radio - a number he'd never forget because it had been engraved on his mind since it was the last thing he'd seen when Duo left - maybe Duo wouldn't be out here now, doing whatever it was he was doing.
He never should have asked for a favor. He should have let Mick give Duo the ticket, send him to traffic court, and let Duo deal with whatever came of it. It was just that it was in Boston, and the last time he'd known of Duo driving there alone...
Heero wasn't sure how much time had passed, because it was still just the two of them out here, and he shoved Duo against the wall again, and then one more time, pinning him there. Better that than driving his fist against the brick wall and breaking his knuckles, although that pain might be a welcome change.
He thought he'd known Duo, and Duo had thrown it all back in his face and sped off. He owed Duo nothing and maybe that was just what Duo should get. If Duo wanted to act like a criminal, he should expect to be treated like one.
It was stupid, Heero knew it, but he couldn't help himself. "You'll forgive me if I fail to believe a fucking word you say to me."
He yanked Duo's arm and pushed him ahead, steering him toward the waiting cruiser and hoping he didn't kill Duo before they got there.
August 25 2007, 08:01:58 UTC 4 years ago
"You'll forgive me if I fail to give a fucking shit, P.C. Plod."
But then again, some rules were meant to be broken.
Heero's grip on his arm tightened for a fraction of a second and Duo bit back the satisfied smirk. Maybe this was what they'd needed all along, a fucking free for all, no holds barred, fight to the death. God knows it was making him feel good. He knew he shouldn't be stirring things. He had a lot to lose, even more than Heero knew... despite how Heero seemed to think he knew everything about him.
"What's this about anyway, Copper?" He asked, "Underage drinking? Drugs. Because fuck Dude, all I am is hopped up on the Holy Grail." He laughed, feeling suddenly giddy in a way that had nothing to do with alcohol or drugs, m'kay.
Fuck it felt good to feel that grip tighten again.
August 25 2007, 08:16:08 UTC 4 years ago
He'd done it because of too much thinking.
He wanted to backhand Duo across the mouth, anything to shut him up, to make him stop making the wounds any deeper. He'd only thought he'd been in agony when Duo had walked out of his life. He wished like hell Duo had stayed out, and then Heero kept his mouth shut the rest of the way to the car.
Maybe it was because it was him, but for all he knew, it was a side of Duo that had been kept hidden from him all this time. Heero wanted to suspect the former, but then with that came a whole new set of questions, all beginning with "why?", and then they were at the car all too soon - or not soon enough. He let go as if burned and out of nothing more than habit, checked his firearm.
If he told himself enough times that he didn't want to punch Duo in the face to wipe off that smirk, he might even start believing it.
August 25 2007, 08:34:05 UTC 4 years ago
Maybe in retrospect he should be remaining silent, he thought. His words were coming out with no forethought and he knew they were hurting. Hurting Heero and hurting himself too. But Duo had grown up on a rough estate, in a rough part of the country and he'd learnt from the best how to take care of himself when it came to the boys in blue.
And now, as then, it seemed the only thing that got through to him was silence. Without a return volley his words were stumbling to a halt. Suddenly the silence was awkward. It wasn't like he could suddenly start asking Heero how he was doing or how long had he been on the force.
Perhaps they really were too different after all.
He sighed, leaning back against the side of the car for a second before he realised what he was doing and jolted away as if he'd been burned. "God, what a fucking mess."
August 25 2007, 09:03:45 UTC 4 years ago
Things had never quite gone according to plan when it came to Duo, though.
He shoved a hand through his hair again, pushing it into a more disheveled mess than usual, and once the fingers slipped through the strands, they splayed across the side of the car's roof, the closest he'd been to Duo face to face in what seemed a very long time.
It seemed like that had been a completely different Heero, but then the same might be said for Duo. He didn't know.
He had nothing to say to Duo. He owed Duo nothing, even less than nothing, and he sure as fucking hell wasn't about to tell Duo why he was the arresting officer in this case. He could feel a bead of sweat trickle down the back of his neck and a welcome breeze wafted through, ruffling his hair and Duo's and sending the faint scent of Duo's favorite cologne back to him.
Duo looked as tired as Heero felt, and when the wind sent strands of Duo's hair forward to brush against Heero's face, he sucked in a breath and bit his lip.
It was too familiar and everything was too raw, and his eyes closed involuntarily as he felt his stomach quiver. He was a man of words, but he was also a man of action, and he felt lost without one or the other to deal with a situation.
Eyes still shut, Heero hadn't even realized that he'd leaned toward the car, and toward Duo, a fraction of an inch.
August 25 2007, 09:28:46 UTC 4 years ago
If he'd been a real criminal, Heero would probably be on the floor nursing a concussion right about now. You never let down your guard around a prisoner. But what the fuck was he thinking? This was the first time Heero had let down his guard around Duo in more months than Duo cared to remember.
He wanted to lean in and see just how far Heero would let him go. Whether it was just the thought of a kiss, the anticipation, that had Heero still and quiet; whether he would let Duo actually make contact, perhaps even kiss back or whether he would draw away with a nasty comment on his lips.
Duo didn't know which outcome scared him more.
They were so close that he could see the sheen of sweat on Heero's eyelids, the faint dampening of his hair at the edge of his bangs. It wasn't close enough.
If his hands had been free he would still have been held immobile.
God, Heero, tell me what you want.. He was close enough to feel Heero's breath as a warm weight against his lips.
I'm not good with silence..
There was little more than a centimetre or two separating them.
Tell me what you want..
August 25 2007, 09:41:46 UTC 4 years ago
His eyes snapped open and he nearly stumbled back. He could be fired for this, brought up on charges, probably both. All that he'd struggled to accomplish the past year and a half would be for nothing, and the worst part was that the past months had happened, and everything had changed.
Everything except the way his heartbeat quickened when Duo was near, and Heero felt sick to his stomach at the thought of how close he'd come - to what, he wasn't sure, but he'd felt a stirring below the belt that usually only happened when he was asleep.
He reached forward and did what he'd intended to do the moment he'd seen Duo in the club. He unlocked the cuffs, snapped them back on his belt, and set Duo free.
August 25 2007, 10:07:49 UTC 4 years ago
And Duo could understand why he'd done it. If one of Heero's superiors had happened along and seen them, he didn't like to think of what the outcome would have been on Heero's career.
He stayed still as Heero moved in to unlock the handcuffs from around his wrists before stepping away from him again. Other than the movement of his hands as they dropped back to a more natural position by his sides, he remained quiet.
All this time he'd been waiting for a word from Heero. He'd thrown words of his own at him in order to force a reply.
But all this fucking time it had been right there in front of him.
They were still close. He could have reached out easily and pulled Heero into his arms to finish what they'd almost started. Something told him that if he did that, Heero wouldn't fight it.
But that wouldn't mean it wasn't wrong.
This wasn't the time or the place, and there were a lot of things he had to redeem himself for first.
He wasn't aware of the smile on his face as he lifted his hand to the side of Heero's brow. The tips of his fingers skimmed Heero's hair and he sighed, remembering pink beaded braids and nights of passion when those deceptively fragile strands had been twisted so tightly around his fingers that they had left indentations and numbness behind.
He took a step to the side so it was only natural for his hand to follow the line of his body. If it swept a few of those hairs to one side then who was he to argue.
He didn't look back. He didn't need to.
Heero had told him all he needed to know.
August 25 2007, 10:29:11 UTC 4 years ago