*good fic, goooood boy; that's it...*
Apr. 26th, 2005 05:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lavandarlizard2Finally got at least part of this part housebroken... And here we got again with the partlets. Sorry about that. Trying to avoid that, but... *shrugs* A fic's gotta do what a fic's gotta do... And this one is starting to make me wonder if I'm actually sane after all.
Part 089 – BFB – Statement
(a)
I must have gone pale or green or pink or maybe all three in series, because Q said sharply, “Duo! Head down!”
I didn’t attempt to argue, just bent over and put my head between my knees. I even remembered to breathe slowly. By the time I felt like I could straighten up without passing out, Q was beside me, rubbing my shoulder.
The rest of the room was empty. I kind of expected that; when Q comes up to talk to any of us, not just me, everyone else clears out if they possibly can. We’re a pretty considerate lot. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling my shoulders rise and fall. Okay.
“Duo, I’m so sorry; I should have asked you to come to my office to discuss this.” He did look very distressed. Q has this utterly angelic face; soft, wavy pale blond hair and enormous greenish-blue eyes, and he looks like he’s about thirteen. When he’s upset like this it shows in his eyes and with tiny little frown lines on the bridge of his nose. A person wants to do whatever they can to take that away. When he’s angry, on the other hand, he looks... um... scary. No other description for it. When Q is angry, any creature with half a brain in its head knows to run for the hills. He has a glare that can equal Heero’s, and that’s saying a lot for a Human, even a Magical one.
“No...” I lifted my hand half-heartedly. “I just... I guess I’d almost managed to forget that detail... I thought...” I frowned at myself, trying to bring back nebulous memories. “Didn’t I already make a statement? I could have sworn I told them...”
He continued to rub my shoulder. Q is big on physical contact. He told me once that the first time he hugged Heero, Heero recoiled so fast that he actually fell over. And then he did that cat thing – ‘I meant to do that!’ Hard to believe now, what with how easy he is with hugs and touches.
“I’m afraid they need to have an official statement, one witnessed and signed by you. I will go with you, of course, and Master Reptilious as well. He went to law school at Harvard, so he’s more than a match for them.”
I just didn’t want to do it. Did not want to sit in a room with Human law enforcement personnel and go back over the details – what I could remember – of my... abduction. I was getting better, not so twitchy, not so immediately terrified of every little noise or sudden movement. I’d spent a couple of hours in the yarn shop with Heero and came away feeling so much better about the Humans I knew there. I didn’t want to be... reminded. I knew I’d make a mess of it; stumble all over myself and probably wind up looking like I was the guilty one, in spite of being raped. Isn’t that something they do? Blame the victim? ‘If she hadn’t been there or worn that...’
I’d always managed to avoid being ‘in trouble’ with the law when I was in their world. I kept my thieving to a bare minimum, preferring to work for what I needed, and I was never caught stealing. But I read the news and I’ve figured out that guilt is often in the eye of the beholder.
I also know that you can’t get around their rules, unless you’re famous and well-liked or wealthy and able to make pay-offs. All I could hope for was that they believed Dr French’s report and just needed my details for some reason.
As if reading my mind – I swear to the Great Dragons, that Wizard reads minds! – Q said gently, “They need to know what her part was, so that they can charge her. The way it was explained to me, if you went with her voluntarily, then they cannot charge her with kidnapping.”
“She drugged me!” I yelped indignantly. “I was so out of it I had no idea what was happening!”
“I know, Duo. They couldn’t find the drink cup, though. It was probably dumped somewhere between here and South Dakota.”
“Ah, crap...” I sighed heavily and tilted my chair back, putting my feet on my desk. Q had produced a chair from somewhere – not from the office; we don’t have any 18th century silver brocade-upholstered wing chairs in the office – and waited patiently beside me. “I know I have to do it,” I whispered finally. “I’m just really... scared,” I admitted. “And I don’t even know why. That’s the worst part of this; I don’t know the ‘why’ to anything. Why she did it, why he did it, why me, why I still feel so... so disconnected and off-balance even though it’s over...” I rolled my head to look at him, sitting there so patiently, being so understanding of me and all my problems.
“Is it worth it, Q; really? Do my good points somehow outweigh all the problems I’ve brought?”
He smiled at me; a gentle, angelic smile with just a hint of the steel underneath. “You have made Heero come alive. You have brought Wufei face to face with his personal demons, for his betterment. You have ignited Trowa’s protective instincts and brought him out of the shell he’s been sequestered in. You have settled Inazuma and given Enrique an outlet for his chivalry. You have even managed to civilize a demon. You, my dear, are a catalyst of the first order. I will wager, in fact, that you have had some sort of positive impact on everyone you have met this last year. So, to answer your question, yes, you are worth it.”
Since that made me want to cry – I never used to cry; this has got to be some residual effect of the drug – I covered by getting myself upright and vertical. “Okay. When do they want me to do it?” Right now, I hoped, so I could get it over with and not have to think about it any more.
“Tomorrow morning at 0900; will that be all right?”
Now would be better; tomorrow just gave me the rest of the day and all night to brood and think and worry. But I just said, “Yeah; that’ll work.”
Q hugged me again. “You won’t be alone, Duo. I will be there, and Master Reptilious, and if Dr French can adjust her schedule, she will be there also.”
“And Heero,” I reminded him. “Don’t forget Mr Homicidal.”
Q looked thoughtful. “Actually... I wasn’t planning to have Heero there. The questions may be somewhat... inflammatory to his thinking.”
I stared at him. “Oh no! Nuh-uh! No way in *hell* are you leaving him out of the loop! I understand your concern, but jesus christ Q! He’ll kill first and ask questions later! You know he will! Heero has to be there!” Gods, just the idea of Heero not being there gave me chills. He really would... do very bad things, if he thought someone was concealing something to do with me from him. “Q... He *has* to be there.”
“Where do I have to be?”
Holy shit.
I jumped three feet at that simple question from the lips of my very own guardian Dragon. Even Q looked somewhat nonplused. He does that to me *constantly*. I think he’s purposely using the balcony rather than the stairs, just because you cannot sneak up those stairs.
“Well?” He was standing there, arms folded over his chest, staring at us. Not quite the Glare, not yet, but it was there, ready and waiting to be called forth when needed.
I swallowed, and looked at Q, but he wasn’t talking, dammit!
Took a deep breath. Let it out. All the while that stare was getting closer and closer to igniting. I glared at Q; he *winked* at me!
“I have to go to town to make a formal statement tomorrow will you come with?” I said in a rush. One of his eyebrows twitched.
“What time?”
“Um... 0900.”
“Yes.” He wrapped me in his arms then and just held onto me until my heart stopped pounding. “Yes, I will go with you,” he whispered. “And I swear I will not do bodily injury to any Human there.” I relaxed and melted against him. “Except possibly to Q for trying to cut me out of the loop,” he growled. I could tell he wasn’t serious. Q snickered.
“I felt I should give him the choice, Heero. He has not Chosen you yet, so you do not have autonomy in these matters.”
“I know that,” Heero grumbled against my hair. “I’m trying.” He drew back to look at me. “I *am* trying, angel.”
“I know you are,” I murmured, “and doing a pretty good job so far. Only a few missteps.” He rumbled deep in his chest, the Wyvern equivalent of a snicker, I think.
...tbc...
Part 089 – BFB – Statement
(a)
I must have gone pale or green or pink or maybe all three in series, because Q said sharply, “Duo! Head down!”
I didn’t attempt to argue, just bent over and put my head between my knees. I even remembered to breathe slowly. By the time I felt like I could straighten up without passing out, Q was beside me, rubbing my shoulder.
The rest of the room was empty. I kind of expected that; when Q comes up to talk to any of us, not just me, everyone else clears out if they possibly can. We’re a pretty considerate lot. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling my shoulders rise and fall. Okay.
“Duo, I’m so sorry; I should have asked you to come to my office to discuss this.” He did look very distressed. Q has this utterly angelic face; soft, wavy pale blond hair and enormous greenish-blue eyes, and he looks like he’s about thirteen. When he’s upset like this it shows in his eyes and with tiny little frown lines on the bridge of his nose. A person wants to do whatever they can to take that away. When he’s angry, on the other hand, he looks... um... scary. No other description for it. When Q is angry, any creature with half a brain in its head knows to run for the hills. He has a glare that can equal Heero’s, and that’s saying a lot for a Human, even a Magical one.
“No...” I lifted my hand half-heartedly. “I just... I guess I’d almost managed to forget that detail... I thought...” I frowned at myself, trying to bring back nebulous memories. “Didn’t I already make a statement? I could have sworn I told them...”
He continued to rub my shoulder. Q is big on physical contact. He told me once that the first time he hugged Heero, Heero recoiled so fast that he actually fell over. And then he did that cat thing – ‘I meant to do that!’ Hard to believe now, what with how easy he is with hugs and touches.
“I’m afraid they need to have an official statement, one witnessed and signed by you. I will go with you, of course, and Master Reptilious as well. He went to law school at Harvard, so he’s more than a match for them.”
I just didn’t want to do it. Did not want to sit in a room with Human law enforcement personnel and go back over the details – what I could remember – of my... abduction. I was getting better, not so twitchy, not so immediately terrified of every little noise or sudden movement. I’d spent a couple of hours in the yarn shop with Heero and came away feeling so much better about the Humans I knew there. I didn’t want to be... reminded. I knew I’d make a mess of it; stumble all over myself and probably wind up looking like I was the guilty one, in spite of being raped. Isn’t that something they do? Blame the victim? ‘If she hadn’t been there or worn that...’
I’d always managed to avoid being ‘in trouble’ with the law when I was in their world. I kept my thieving to a bare minimum, preferring to work for what I needed, and I was never caught stealing. But I read the news and I’ve figured out that guilt is often in the eye of the beholder.
I also know that you can’t get around their rules, unless you’re famous and well-liked or wealthy and able to make pay-offs. All I could hope for was that they believed Dr French’s report and just needed my details for some reason.
As if reading my mind – I swear to the Great Dragons, that Wizard reads minds! – Q said gently, “They need to know what her part was, so that they can charge her. The way it was explained to me, if you went with her voluntarily, then they cannot charge her with kidnapping.”
“She drugged me!” I yelped indignantly. “I was so out of it I had no idea what was happening!”
“I know, Duo. They couldn’t find the drink cup, though. It was probably dumped somewhere between here and South Dakota.”
“Ah, crap...” I sighed heavily and tilted my chair back, putting my feet on my desk. Q had produced a chair from somewhere – not from the office; we don’t have any 18th century silver brocade-upholstered wing chairs in the office – and waited patiently beside me. “I know I have to do it,” I whispered finally. “I’m just really... scared,” I admitted. “And I don’t even know why. That’s the worst part of this; I don’t know the ‘why’ to anything. Why she did it, why he did it, why me, why I still feel so... so disconnected and off-balance even though it’s over...” I rolled my head to look at him, sitting there so patiently, being so understanding of me and all my problems.
“Is it worth it, Q; really? Do my good points somehow outweigh all the problems I’ve brought?”
He smiled at me; a gentle, angelic smile with just a hint of the steel underneath. “You have made Heero come alive. You have brought Wufei face to face with his personal demons, for his betterment. You have ignited Trowa’s protective instincts and brought him out of the shell he’s been sequestered in. You have settled Inazuma and given Enrique an outlet for his chivalry. You have even managed to civilize a demon. You, my dear, are a catalyst of the first order. I will wager, in fact, that you have had some sort of positive impact on everyone you have met this last year. So, to answer your question, yes, you are worth it.”
Since that made me want to cry – I never used to cry; this has got to be some residual effect of the drug – I covered by getting myself upright and vertical. “Okay. When do they want me to do it?” Right now, I hoped, so I could get it over with and not have to think about it any more.
“Tomorrow morning at 0900; will that be all right?”
Now would be better; tomorrow just gave me the rest of the day and all night to brood and think and worry. But I just said, “Yeah; that’ll work.”
Q hugged me again. “You won’t be alone, Duo. I will be there, and Master Reptilious, and if Dr French can adjust her schedule, she will be there also.”
“And Heero,” I reminded him. “Don’t forget Mr Homicidal.”
Q looked thoughtful. “Actually... I wasn’t planning to have Heero there. The questions may be somewhat... inflammatory to his thinking.”
I stared at him. “Oh no! Nuh-uh! No way in *hell* are you leaving him out of the loop! I understand your concern, but jesus christ Q! He’ll kill first and ask questions later! You know he will! Heero has to be there!” Gods, just the idea of Heero not being there gave me chills. He really would... do very bad things, if he thought someone was concealing something to do with me from him. “Q... He *has* to be there.”
“Where do I have to be?”
Holy shit.
I jumped three feet at that simple question from the lips of my very own guardian Dragon. Even Q looked somewhat nonplused. He does that to me *constantly*. I think he’s purposely using the balcony rather than the stairs, just because you cannot sneak up those stairs.
“Well?” He was standing there, arms folded over his chest, staring at us. Not quite the Glare, not yet, but it was there, ready and waiting to be called forth when needed.
I swallowed, and looked at Q, but he wasn’t talking, dammit!
Took a deep breath. Let it out. All the while that stare was getting closer and closer to igniting. I glared at Q; he *winked* at me!
“I have to go to town to make a formal statement tomorrow will you come with?” I said in a rush. One of his eyebrows twitched.
“What time?”
“Um... 0900.”
“Yes.” He wrapped me in his arms then and just held onto me until my heart stopped pounding. “Yes, I will go with you,” he whispered. “And I swear I will not do bodily injury to any Human there.” I relaxed and melted against him. “Except possibly to Q for trying to cut me out of the loop,” he growled. I could tell he wasn’t serious. Q snickered.
“I felt I should give him the choice, Heero. He has not Chosen you yet, so you do not have autonomy in these matters.”
“I know that,” Heero grumbled against my hair. “I’m trying.” He drew back to look at me. “I *am* trying, angel.”
“I know you are,” I murmured, “and doing a pretty good job so far. Only a few missteps.” He rumbled deep in his chest, the Wyvern equivalent of a snicker, I think.
...tbc...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 01:21 am (UTC)the whole deal sounds a bit ominous though. You're not going to torture poor Duo yet again are you? Little shaken timid banshee is so pitiable. *sniffle*
and Heero yet again... *melts*
*hugs you*
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 01:49 am (UTC)Heero is just being very dragonish... It's what they do. ^__^
no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 12:49 am (UTC)And any visit to the cops is bound to make a person nervous.
true. even more so in his case since he doesn't have much reason to trust them not to take the other person's side. *sigh*
no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 02:16 am (UTC)Well, those cops weren't particularly nice at the hospital. And much as he may have wanted to, Q is much too professional to just turn them into toads and toss them into the moat.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-29 03:53 am (UTC)but is Heero? Especially if they upset Duo? Granted, he can't turn them into toads, but Sashimi is a possibility.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 01:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 03:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 03:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 12:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 12:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 02:14 am (UTC)I like the description of Q, by the way... 'scary'. *grin*
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 03:26 am (UTC)Off-balance tends to last a while. Oh, watch the petting... The Wyvern is getting grumpy; he's picked up a strange scent. ~_O
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 11:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 12:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 12:21 pm (UTC)Not much of one... but a difference all the same. ^__~
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 12:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 08:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 09:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 11:24 pm (UTC)Well, golly gee whiz; guess we'll just have to find out one of these centuries... *makes note and tapes it to hamster*
no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 11:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 12:09 pm (UTC)And I'll have you know I am a civilized dragon! I only drool on bishies and into my own shoes.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 06:13 am (UTC)We are going to find out why they did it? You wouldn't leave us hanging like that (again) would you? *puppy eyes*
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 12:07 pm (UTC)...better not... I'm being Glared at.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 08:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 12:10 pm (UTC)No threats lately of making a rug out of Zeph, so he's apparently been a good... boy?
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 03:06 pm (UTC)< (.) >
[yay for fox art]
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 03:07 pm (UTC)< (.) >
err this yea
no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 12:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-28 02:20 am (UTC)Heero needs to be useful; he's almost as messed up as Duo is right now.