Chapter 9: "Road Trip"
When Duo had said the drive would be a long one, he
hadn't been joking. Wufei judged it would take at least two days on
the road for them to get to their destination, and that was if traffic
was good and they drove in shifts instead of stopping for the night.
They split up; Duo and Heero took a run-down jeep,
while Trowa and Quatre claimed a motorcycle hidden in the high grass in
the backyard. It was obvious where Wufei was going to have to ride,
and the thought didn't please him. While his faith in Trowa had been
soundly shaken since yesterday, he still knew the other boy, while the
others were more or less complete strangers. Rather than listen to Duo's
inane babble or put up with Heero's calculating stares, he claimed the
back seat. He stretched out, using his bag for a pillow, and had
fallen asleep before they'd even left the town. He didn't want to be awake
for the drive because he was afraid that if he saw familiar settings
through the window being left far behind, he might do something rash. So
he slept, while Heero drove and Duo lounged in the passenger seat and
talked about this and that.
The jeep wasn't exactly the smoothest ride in the
world; every bump and sharp turn was a magnified lurch, and Wufei
couldn't ignore it forever. He finally roused himself after a brief nap and
checked his watch. They'd only been on the road three hours. Carefully
lowering his hand by his side, he glanced towards the two boys up
front, neither of whom seemed to have noticed that he was awake yet. They
were deep in discussion about something, and it took Wufei a moment to
pick out their words over the sound of the wind and the tires bumping
along the road.
"..don't see why it has to be this way," Duo was
muttering, inspecting dirt under his fingernails. "Quatre feels the same
way. I feel bad for the guy, yanno? It's a hell of a wake-up call.
And he doesn't even know what's really going on yet."
"We aren't telling him," Heero reminded him firmly,
eyes on the road.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Duo huffed. "The old man
would skin us alive. Besides, I really don't think Wufei would believe us
in the first place. Worst case scenario, he'd bolt."
"He's not a coward," Heero said flatly.
"Didn't say he was, did I? Just sayin' it's a bit
much for one guy to take in all at once. Hell, if I was in his shoes,
I'd probably laugh in your face. Take this exit."
Heero obediently turned the wheel, face still a mask
of impenetrable stone. "He doesn't have a choice," he reminded his
companion.
"None of us do," Duo agreed, voice a bit more sober
as he gazed out at the passing scenery, hat tugged down over his brow.
"Not that you'll ever convince him of that."
The two of them fell silent, wrapped up in their own
thoughts. In the back, Wufei felt a frown tug at his mouth. It wasn't
exactly the type of thing he'd expected from one of his abductors.
Still, he wouldn't allow Duo's seeming sympathy to cloud his judgment.
The fact remained that they were taking him somewhere and he had no say
in the matter-- as Heero had just so firmly reiterated.
He waited a few more minutes before stirring, making
an obvious stretching gesture to get their attention. Duo craned his
neck to look at him, banishing his earlier serious expression with a
wide grin. "Look who's up," he teased. "Have a nice nap, sleeping
beauty?"
Wufei scowled at him, sitting up carefully and
trying to knead some of the kinks out of his back and neck. He glanced out
of the window and watched the empty desert roll by. They were still on
the main interstate, but there weren't many cars on the road. Glancing
over his shoulder, he searched for Trowa's motorcycle.
Duo guessed the reason behind his puzzlement.
"They're taking another route," he explained, digging in a cooler at his
feet. "It's a little safer that way. Head's up."
Wufei caught the can of soda Duo tossed back to
him.
"Might as well go back to sleep," Duo advised,
"unless you're up to a game of Roadtrip Bingo or something." He rolled his
eyes. "Heero's not going to let someone else take the wheel until he's
about to drop dead from exhaustion anyway."
Wufei popped the soda lid and hastily covered the
opening when they hit a bump, keeping the soda from splashing him just in
time. "You know it won't be long before someone starts looking for
me," he pointed out moodily. "Even if my mother doesn't say anything, the
school will start asking where I am, not to mention Hilde."
"That cute little firecracker chick you always hang
out with?" Duo's grin grew more interested. "Say, she got a
boyfriend?"
Wufei fixed him with a level stare.
After a moment, Duo blinked and exchanged a quick--
worried? --look with Heero. "Oh. Sorry, man. Uh.. you guys aren't
serious or anything, are you? Cuz, um.."
"Wha-- No," Wufei snapped. "We aren't dating."
"Oh." Duo looked vastly relieved. Wufei got the
suspicious sense that Duo was more relieved to find that Wufei wasn't the
one dating her, rather than whether Hilde herself had a boyfriend.
"Well, as long as we're on the subject," Duo continued with exaggerated
casualness, "you ever gotten serious with a girl? No promise rings,
pregnancies, anything like that, right?"
Wufei gaped at him. "What kind of question is
that?" he demanded furiously.
"I know it's kinda personal," Duo apologized,
scratching his nose and averting his eyes. "But it is kinda important."
"It's none of your business," Wufei spat.
Heero glared at him in the rearview mirror. "Just
answer the question."
"Since when are my personal relationships anybody's
business but my own?" Wufei raved, embarrassed and angry all at
once.
"Relationships plural?" Duo repeated, looking
worried again.
Wufei made a strangled noise of disgust. It would
shut them up if he just told the truth, he realized. Still, it rankled
him that they would demand something like this from him. Someone's
love life was intensely personal, not something to be shared with
strangers. "I haven't had the time for such foolishness," he snapped. "Now
keep your nose out of it, Maxwell."
Duo grinned instantly. "Right. OK. Sorry. Just
making sure."
"What's it to you, anyway?" Wufei growled. "What
does that have to do with anything?"
"Ummm..." Duo coughed. "'Fraid I'm not exactly at
liberty to say."
Wufei wasn't number one in his class for nothing.
It took only a few seconds for something to click. "Does this have
anything to do with that 'her' you keep mentioning?" he asked Heero
angrily.
Heero and Duo exchanged a swift glance, then Duo
laughed ruefully. "Guess we gotta watch what we say around you, man.
Look, just forget it. It'll all be explained when we get to our
destination."
"Which is?"
"You'll see," Duo said mysteriously. "Go ahead and
get some shut-eye. I'll wake you up when we stop."
Wufei seethed in the back seat for a few more
minutes, but it was obvious he wasn't going to get anything else out of
either of them. Finally he stretched out, turned his back on them, and went
back to sleep.
He must have been more exhausted than he'd
previously thought, because he didn't wake up again until there was a light
touch on his shoulder. Still half-asleep, he thought it was his mother
until Duo's cheerful voice by his ear said, "Wakey wakey. I can't drive
another fucking mile, or I'm gonna keel over."
Wufei shrugged off the hand irritably and sat up,
looking out of the window. It was evening already, and they were parked
in front of a seedy looking motel. Heero was nowhere to be seen, and
Duo was sitting in the driver's seat, smacking gum loudly.
"Heero's getting the key," Duo explained, muffling a
yawn with his hand. "We're just gonna take a quick break."
Wufei opened the door and slid out, dragging his bag
with him. He stretched hugely, wincing as all the sore spots on his
body from the bumpy ride made themselves known. He walked around the
jeep a few times to wake up his cramped legs, and then Heero came up with
a key. "Room 112," he announced. "We'll start out again at dawn."
The room had two small stained beds and didn't look
much better than the outside. The wallpaper was faded and peeling, the
shower looked unsanitary, and the only good thing going for it that
Wufei could see was the sturdy deadbolt on the door.
Duo took in his look of distaste and chortled. "It
ain't exactly the Plaza, but it's cheap, and we're only staying a few
hours."
"I'll take first watch," Heero declared, dropping
his duffel bag on the floor by one of the beds. It clanked when it fell,
and Wufei wondered morbidly if Heero was smuggling weapons in with his
clothes.
"I will," he argued. "I slept the whole way. I'm
not tired." Heero looked at him steadily, and Wufei glared back.
"What?"
"No offense, 'Fei," Duo coughed, "but what's to say
you don't grab the jeep and hightail it out of here?"
"Don't call me that," Wufei snapped. "And I'm not
going anywhere. I've been trying to get to space my whole life. You
four imbeciles just provide a convenient excuse."
"Just the same," Duo drawled, kicking off his shoes
and stripping off his shirt, "I think I'd feel better if Heero took
first watch."
Wufei bristled, but Heero ignored him. He grabbed
the desk chair, set it in front of the door, and made himself
comfortable.
Wufei glared at them both, but he knew there was
nothing he could say that would change their minds. He seated himself
haughtily on the bed and tugged off his shoes.
Duo was stripping as he made his way towards the
tiny bathroom, and Wufei averted his eyes with a small scowl. Did the boy
have no decency?
"Dibs on the shower," Duo sang over his shoulder.
He paused in front of the mirror by the sink to undo his braid with
nimble fingers.
A shower didn't sound like a bad idea. Wufei felt
gross and sweaty from riding all day in the jeep in the desert. Pushing
his shoes under the bed, he reached up and started rubbing at his
shoulders in an attempt to get rid of the aches and kinks he'd developed
from the rough ride.
Duo caught the motion in the mirror. "Hey, you
should let Heero do that for ya," he offered. "He's got a real gift for
it. Trust me, it's better to let a little dignity slide and let him do
it than wake up stiff as a board the next morning. So to speak."
Wufei forgot Duo's state of undress for a moment and
turned a glare on the other boy. Duo's hair was down, now, and
cascaded down his back, wavy from its tie-- and thankfully long enough to
cover his backside. Wufei quickly looked back at the floor, scowling
darkly. "I don't need his he--"
Heero must have taken Duo's suggestion as a friendly
order, however, and had already come up to the bed. Wufei jumped as
Heero's weight made the bed creak as the other boy settled himself
cross-legged behind him and calloused hands fell on his shoulders. He jerked
away, startled and furious.
"Knock it off!" he snapped. "I can take care of
myself."
Heero hesitated.
"Take a chill pill, dude," Duo sighed, seizing a
towel from the rack and heading into the bathroom. "He's not gonna hurt
ya."
"I didn't say he was going to h-- Get your hands off
me, Yuy!" Wufei snarled as Heero looked like he was about to reach for
him again.
Heero let his hands drop in his lap and glared.
"Duo's right," he said. "You'll be stiff tomorrow, which could encumber
us if we have to move fast. You obviously don't know what you're doing,
so just let me--"
"I know what I'm doing," Wufei retorted.
Heero just stared at him, patient as a rock.
Wufei felt like grinding his teeth. "You're not
going to drop it, are you?" he growled.
"No."
Wufei turned his head to glare at the opposite wall
and said nothing.
After a long moment, Heero reached out and gripped
his shoulders again. His hands were rough and surprisingly strong, and
Wufei almost twitched away again. "It wouldn't hurt if you wouldn't
tense up," Heero informed him a little impatiently.
Wufei offered a choice phrase in Mandarin, but
forced himself to relax marginally. Heero's hands continued to knead at his
shoulders, and bit by bit Wufei made his muscles relax. It stopped
hurting after a few moments, and slowly Heero began to work the knots out
of his shoulders and then his neck.
Pride aside, it did feel damn good. Not that Wufei
would ever admit it out loud. As his muscles loosened, the hands got
less rough, and Wufei's whole upper body relaxed. He realized his head
had started to loll onto his chest just a bit, and straightened it
quickly. If Heero noticed, he didn't say anything. He moved his
ministrations lower, working on Wufei's lower back, and Wufei arched slightly in
relief as the pain subsided under Heero's strong, steady hands.
Heero froze at this reaction, and Wufei blinked,
quickly dragging sense and reality back to him like a cloak to ward off
the feeling of relaxed numbness he'd almost succumbed to. He started to
move away, but Heero had already withdrawn his hands and was getting to
his feet. His face was strangely blank.
Wufei felt suddenly uncomfortable, though he
couldn't figure out why. He avoided Heero's gaze, mumbled a grudging thanks,
and turned his attention on his bag, rooting through it to see if his
mother had thought to pack a toothbrush.
She had, thankfully, and he used it as an excuse to
move to the other side of the room, brushing his teeth vigorously over
the sink and avoiding looking at the mirror and risking catching
Heero's eye. There was a strange tension in the room, and when he returned
to his bed, Heero was in his chair and staring fixedly at a spot
somewhere on the wall. His face was its ordinary stone mask, and Wufei
couldn't decide if he felt the tension as well or was simply absorbed in his
role of door guard.
It must be because men didn't do these sorts of
things, Wufei deduced. They were both strong, independent teenage boys,
and boys their age didn't get in each other's personal space. Heero had
done him a favor, but he must have felt just as awkward as Wufei had.
It was comforting, in a strange way.
All of this made perfect sense, so Wufei decided to
ignore the corner of his brain that was still twitching uncomfortably
away from something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Duo's shower took a full hour, and by the time it
was Wufei's turn, the water was barely lukewarm. He managed to wash up
and get out just before the water turned frigid, and he offered Duo a
narrow look as he padded out of the bathroom, tying the front of his
sleeping pants.
Duo, busy plaiting his hair on the bed, pretended
not to see the look. "Right, I'm catching a few Z's," he declared once
he was done. He jerked on some boxers while Wufei glared at the far
wall, then dumped himself unceremoniously on the closest bed, not
bothering to pull out the sheets. He punched his pillow a couple times, and
within a few minutes was snoring softly. Wufei watched him for a moment,
envious at the boy's ability to crash out so quickly.
He glanced towards Heero, immovable as a rock, and
decided any chance at a late-night run to clear his head was most likely
out of the question. After his nap in the car, however, he couldn't
imagine trying to go back to sleep. As he stared at the hard-faced boy,
the full realization that he was in some respects their captive began
to really dawn. "Are you there to keep the boogey-men out," he demanded
a little waspishly, "or to keep me from running away?"
Heero leveled him with an unflinching gaze. "I
don't think you're stupid enough to try to run or hitchhike the eighty-odd
miles back home, and unless you know how to hotwire Duo's jeep, I don't
think you'll be going anywhere soon," he pointed out flatly. "In case
you'd forgotten, there are men after you. Get some sleep."
"I already had enough sleep in the car," Wufei shot
back. "You sleep. I'll stay up."
"I'm not tired," Heero said with a tone of
finality.
But Wufei had never been good at taking orders--
even ones veiled as suggestions. He felt his eyes narrowing. "What are
you, a machine?" he snapped. "Or a reject soldier? You walk around
like a robot-- no emotions, no original thoughts in that thick head of
yours, and no respect for other people."
A rare flash of emotion went off in Heero's eyes,
his mouth tightening irritably. Wufei half expected him to just take the
verbal abuse as he had at school, but surprisingly, he responded
coolly. "I would rather be a 'robot' than an arrogant, touch-phobic boy
who's in denial about everything going on around him."
Wufei could only gape at him for a moment. For the
first time since he'd met the other boy, Heero was speaking like a boy
his age instead of some glorified soldier or too-cool hot shot. And
the words stung a little more than he would have liked to admit. "You
don't know anything about me," he snarled.
Heero stared at him for a long moment before
responding a little quieter, "No. Not anymore. The only thing that
hasn't changed about you is your temper."
"I still run," Wufei shot back sarcastically. The
words were out before he had time to think about them. He shut his
mouth fast, eyes widening a little in astonishment and confusion. What on
earth had made him say that? 'Still'? He shook his head sharply,
trying to clear his thoughts. He didn't remember Heero-- or his presumed
childhood with the other boy, for that matter. Yet as he'd said the
words, it had seemed.. honest. Something in his subconscious had made him
say those words, but try as he might to grasp the wisps of faint
memory, they faded away almost instantly.
Heero's eyes had widened a little. "I thought you
didn't remember anything."
"I don't," Wufei insisted, scowling. He shook his
head again. "I don't know where that came from," he muttered. "Never
mind."
"No," Heero said slowly, eyeing Wufei intently, "you
did. You used to run." He hesitated. "We used to run," he corrected
himself. His eyes seemed a little unfocused, as if he was looking at
something Wufei couldn't see, a slight frown tugging at his mouth. "You
always wanted to race-- to get your way."
"Who won?" Wufei demanded impulsively.
Heero looked at him steadily. "You did," he finally
said. "You always won."
"You beat me on the track that day," Wufei pointed
out.
"That's because Yuy's a sore loser," came Duo's
muffled voice, startling them both a little. "The fucker runs five miles
every day now. Now can you please just shut the fuck up, both of
you, so I can get some sleep?"
~+~
By the time they left the hotel just before dawn,
Wufei's sleep schedule was completely out of whack. He'd slept most of
the previous day, and ended up staying up all night, ignoring Heero and
flipping dully through the TV without really seeing anything on it.
Now he was getting tired again. Duo drove first, while Heero catnapped
in the passenger seat, so Wufei decided to get a quick nap as well. He
set his watch for two hours, then roused himself forcibly when the
timer went off. The nap would hold him out for most of the day, and he
needed to stay awake in order to readjust his body to sleeping at
night.
Heero was awake already and fiddling with a small
hand-held device. Duo had cranked up the radio and was singing along
quite loudly, though his voice was decent. Wufei sat up carefully and
readjusted his seatbelt. Duo's eyes flicked towards his in the rearview
mirror as he fumbled in the glove compartment for sunglasses.
"Mornin'," he said cheerfully. "Glad you're up. We just passed a sign for some
kinda fast-food joint just up the road, and I'm starving. I'm gonna
pull over and grab some breakfast."
"I thought we were in a hurry," Wufei pointed out,
ignoring his own stomach's pitiful requests for nourishment.
"I don't care if Babylon is burnin' behind us," Duo
retorted, settling the glasses on his nose firmly. "If I don't get
some goddamn coffee, this trip is going to get real unpleasant real
fast."
"Duo needs his caffeine," Heero said firmly, eyes
still on the device in his hands. He spoke as one who had been witness
to a caffeine-deprived Duo, and the undertone to his voice promised very
grave consequences for all if such a thing were to occur again. Wufei
decided not to argue anymore. Besides, his stomach was really
beginning to put up a racket. He hadn't, he realized, eaten anything since
yesterday morning.
Duo took the next exit and parked in front of the
small restaurant.
"Drive-through, Duo," Heero intoned, still not
looking up. "We're in a hurry."
"We're in hicks-ville, Heero," Duo informed him,
already clambering out of the jeep. "There is no damn drive-through. You
want the usual?"
Heero grunted a reply. Wufei decided his legs could
use the stretch and followed Duo inside. Duo flashed the blond behind
the counter a grin and ordered a number one for himself and a biscuit
and orange juice for Heero. Wufei, who kept his diet as healthy as
possible, rarely ate at fast-food restaurants, so he chose the same thing
Duo had. It ended up being a piece of what was supposedly sausage
slapped in the middle of a hard biscuit, a side of greasy tatertots, and a
coffee. He made a face at the food, and grabbed extra napkins. As he
turned to fill his coffee cup, he happened to glance out of the
window.
It was just after seven, and they were two of the
few customers. Aside from their car, there had only been a beat-up
pickup truck and two other cars when they'd pulled up. There was a fourth
one, now-- a dark one, with tinted windows. Wufei stared at it, and
almost poured the coffee on his hand. He glanced around quickly, then
headed over to Duo, keeping his face calm.
Duo was dumping pack after pack of sugar in his
coffee, and he glanced up curiously when Wufei stopped beside him. After a
moment he followed Wufei's eyes towards the window.
"Isn't that the same car from the school?" Wufei
asked in an undertone.
Duo's face grew uncharacteristically grim. He
tossed the empty sugar packs aside and quickly put a lid on his coffee cup.
"Yeah. Get to the car. Act casual. Heero's probably already spotted
'em, but we don't wanna make a scene if we don't have to."
"How do you expect to lose them on the interstate?"
Wufei demanded as he led the way to the door.
"You let me do the thinking," Duo muttered out of
the side of his mouth as they stepped outside and headed for the jeep,
carefully not looking at the dark car. "You just get in and keep your
head down."
"How did they find us?" Wufei couldn't help but
ask.
"Hell if I know. They got their sources, I suppose.
C'mon," Duo urged as the car door opened and a man in a suit stepped
out, staring directly at them.
Heero was sitting tensely in the driver's seat, eyes
glued to the rearview mirror, but Duo pushed him aside. "Move over,
buddy, we both know I'm better with the high speed chases."
Heero reluctantly scooted over to the passenger
side, and Wufei hesitated, half in the jeep, his own gaze locked on the
mirror. The man who had gotten out of the car was walking towards them
briskly, hand dipping into his jacket.
"Let's go, Wufei," Duo said sharply. Wufei
slid into the car and slammed the door as the engine roared to life.
Duo slammed the car into reverse, twisted the wheel savagely, and laid
into the gas.
The tires squealed in protest against the asphalt as
they shot backwards-- directly towards the man in the suit.
Duo, Wufei realized in a sudden moment of clarity,
would run the guy down. No problem. He opened his mouth to shout, but
his voice was snatched away by the wind, and then...
The man jumped aside at the last second, and they
barely missed him. Duo didn't slow down at all, he just kept right on
going-- and barreled right into the man's car. The screeching of metal
and the blare of the other car's alarm were deafening. Wufei was nearly
thrown into the front seat from the collision, and Heero had to grab
the dashboard to keep himself from sailing through the windshield.
"Seatbelts, everyone," Duo sang out belatedly.
Then, laughing wildly, he jerked the gear into drive and roared out of the
lot onto the interstate. Wufei managed to turn around just in time to
get one last glimpse of the wrekage left behind. Several customers and
workers had come running out at the noise and were gaping at the jeep
as it sped off. The man in the suit was standing in rigid fury by his
car, the front rumpled like an accordion and steam pouring from under
the hood. Wufei had go give credit where it was due, however grudgingly.
The man wouldn't be able to follow them now.
"Not bad," he muttered.
Duo didn't hear him over the rushing wind and
engine. He was racing along at an alarming speed, blue eyes darting
constantly towards the rearview mirror. "That fucker's sure to call in the
reserves," he shouted over the wind. "We're gonna have to find another
way to Orton-- we're too easy to catch in the open here on the
highway."
Wufei slitted his eyes against the wind, clasping
his hand atop his head to restrain stray locks of hair as he wracked his
brain. "Take the exit towards Youthtown," he finally called back.
"It'll mean cutting through Hurver and a few other small towns, but the
back roads could make it difficult to find us."
Heero was already struggling with a flapping map,
frowning disagreeably. "That will take us out of our way by almost a
hundred miles," he pointed out.
"It's that or stay on the interstate," Wufei
snapped. "I know this state better than you, so either do it or think of a
better goddamn idea."
"All right, all right," Duo shouted to interrupt.
"We'll try your way. Heero, call Tro and let him know we'll be pretty
far behind him. Personally, I'd rather be a little inconvenienced
rather than risk running into those goons every ten miles. Quit arguing
like an old married couple."
The glare both boys sent him cut off that
conversation rather quickly, and they spent the next hour in tense silence, eyes
constantly straining for a glimpse of anyone following them.
----------
Back
Next
Back to GW fanfics
Review
----------