Title: Les Fleurs du Mal ch 1/?
Author: WickedGame
Genre: Drama, chatfic
Rating: This chapter is rated 'R', there will be 'NC-17' ratings in later chapters.
Pairing: 1=2 (actual sexual pairing 1x2x1), mentions of 3=4 and 5+M
Warnings: this is a chatfic, so watch for chat format and maybe occasional netspeak. Eventual lemons and limes. Eventual violence also.
Notes: This chapter was beta read by dmnurtle (huge thanks). This story is for Asia because it was intended to be an entry for the online chatfic contest but I couldn't finish it on time due to a large workload before the deadline. I've now decided to post it in chapters. Thanks to Link Worshiper for the title since I had no clue what to call it. The title is the name of a book of poetry by Beaudelaire.

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Chapter One

"My youth has been nothing but a tenebrous storm,
Pierced now and then by rays of brilliant sunshine; _
Thunder and rain have wrought so much havoc _
That very few ripe fruits remain in my garden." - Beaudelaire "The Enemy", Les Fleurs du Mal

++++

He was more than a latchkey kid; he was just plain abandoned. But Heero Yuy didn't mind being left alone; at least, not usually. It would be different if his mother was still alive or if he had been gifted with any siblings; but as it was he was only left with on very absent and very criminal father.

Heero had never really been close to the man who had sired him. Odin hadn't wanted kids and only tolerated Heero because of the tax deduction he represented. Not that Odin Yuy had ever done a legal tax return in his life. Heero didn't even know why his mother had married Odin Yuy. Heero really didn't know anything about her since she had died when he was only three.

He wasn't a fool, he knew she was murdered, and probably by Odin, but he had no proof...no evidence...and no motive other than money.

It didn't help that Odin liked to point out sometimes that it had been Heero who had found her body at the bottom of the stairs. Heero didn't remember it at all. But when he had found out about it he had cried for a good long time for the three-year-old that had found his mother dead and bleeding. Now she was just a vague memory and all that was left was him.

He was glad that he didn't seem to have his father's penchant for illegalities. He had just turned eighteen and he was pretty sure that his own wealth outweighed his father's already. His mother had been the heir of a vast cash register fortune and had left Heero a large sum of money in a trust that was handled by her financial advisor. Odin Yuy had no control of the money and no say in what was done with it. Fortunately, Takashi Mitsuki was a wise man that recognized early on that Heero had a logical and analytical brain that his father did not possess and had let Heero have almost free reign with the money as long as he informed Mitsuki of his plans for the money he messed with.

Heero used Mitsuki to play the stock market, dabbling in mutual funds at first as well as a few money market accounts. It wasn't long before the ins and outs of the stocks at large caught his interest and he began playing it like an old pro. Mitsuki raked in a nice commission for making the transactions and helping Heero out and Heero raked in a lot of dough that was stored in a numbers only account out of the Bahamas.

Mitsuki had helped him open that one during his last summer vacation.

Heero opened the door to the house he was currently staying in and was careful to close and lock it behind him. The staff had been told to go home days ago and Heero walked to the office to retrieve his messages.

This home was the one he liked most out of the many properties his father owned legally or illegally. It was a historic home on Russian Hill in San Francisco, with hardwood floors almost entirely throughout and views that any socialite would envy. Despite that, the whole place gave off a comfortable vibe and seemed almost homey. Heero had also chosen this house because the schools in the area were top-notch and the university he longed to attend was very close by.

The only message on the machine was from his lab partner, wanting to set up a study date. By the tone of her voice he could tell she was asking for a lot more than studying and he wondered how he could tell her nicely but firmly that he didn't butter his bread on her side. He decided to just let it be until it became a true nuisance and opened the catch on his laptop.

Calculus homework was dull and repetitive. He lost himself inside the numbers and equations for only a short while before he was finished and moved onto history homework.

Now that was a subject he hated, mostly because the books they were given spun history the way the government saw it and maybe not as it actually was. He did the work he was assigned and then checked his email.

There was a message from his father's 'secretary', asking if he would be available to meet up with his father in San Francisco in about two weeks time. Heero sighed and replied that he might be busy but he would check and see. It was a lie but a necessary one. Heero didn't talk to Odin except maybe once every few months. Odin knew Heero could and would take care of himself and respected Heero's space. No matter how much of an asshole Odin Yuy was, he knew he had never been and never would be a good father to Heero.

Heero ran down to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of white tea and a box of crackers, steering clear of the unhealthy foods that sat heavily in his stomach. He rarely felt hungry, and had no desire to stuff himself with junk.

His friends list on his chat program had more offline people than online people. His livejournal was unusually inactive and so he logged onto a gay chat channel on IRC that he had been experimenting with off and on.

BehindBlueEyes: Hello chan.

Heero watched as some people in the channel said hello and some did not. He was pretty new here and still kind of unsure about how to do a lot of things. He quickly fended off all the immediate requests to have cybersex and watched the channel scroll, smiling at some comments and laughing at others. He rolled his eyes as a troll was banned and kicked from the channel and then they started in on movies.

DarkWingSoul: I still say that ROTJ isn't given the respect it deserves.
BehindBlueEyes: One word for you DarkWing - Ewoks. That's all you need to know about ROTJ, is that there were furry ewoks and that they all lived happily ever after. At least ANH had some tension, some unease. By the time ROTJ came out we all knew they were going to make it. There wasn't anything to twist us around like Empire did.
DarkWingSoul: Let me guess, you're one of the Empire folks who go all ga-ga over the darkness of it and how that sets it apart from the other two.

Heero stared at the blue private message as it scrolled up the screen and then began to type back.

BehindBlueEyes: Empire was infinitely better written than either of the others and it showed a higher complexity. Empire made you think.
DarkWingSoul: Well, those reason are a whole lot better than the average ones a generic Star Wars fanboys spew out.
BehindBlueEyes: Why thank you. Do you really feel that way about ROTJ?
DarkWingSoul: I do feel that Jedi doesn't get enough credit. Aw, come on! Jabba the Hutt, Princess Leia in the gold bikini... I may be a gay male but even I can appreciate an average teenage boy's wet dream!

Heero laughed and responded.

BehindBlueEyes: LOL. What do you do for a living?
DarkWingSoul: I'm a professional hitman.
BehindBlueEyes: Good for you, it's a growth industry :-)
DarkWingSoul: What do you do?
BehindBlueEyes: I'm still in high school. Just about to graduate, actually.
DarkWingSoul: So...what's that make you then...17?
BehindBlueEyes: 18 just a couple of months ago.
DarkWingSoul: How'd the family take it?
BehindBlueEyes: Family doesn't much care. I spent my 18th birthday alone in the Bahamas.
DarkWingSoul: Sore subject?
BehindBlueEyes: You could say that or you could say it's just not important.
DarkWingSoul: Where were your mom and dad?
BehindBlueEyes: Mom was in her urn and 'Dad' was opening a nightclub in St. Tropez.
DarkWingSoul: * winces * Sorry.

Heero ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

BehindBlueEyes: It's okay. You didn't know.
DarkWingSoul: So...if it's not too forward, what city do you live in?

Heero considered the question and weighed the possibilities. He finally decided that truth couldn't hurt too much. But first...

BehindBlueEyes: Do you have another chat program?

They decided to move to a more personal chat program and signed onto the same client to talk more privately.

BehindBlueEyes: San Francisco. Are you familiar with it?
DarkWingSoul: I'm currently living in Bodega Bay, actually. About an hour's drive from you, give or take. I move around a lot with my family and we're currently staying near the beach here.

Heero's eyebrows shot up. Bodega Bay was a beautiful tourist area North of San Francisco with sand dunes and lovely stretches of clean sand.

BehindBlueEyes: I love Bodega Bay. Been there a few times myself.
DarkWingSoul: Well, maybe you can come visit me sometime.

Heero looked off into the distance and out the view he had of the bay. Meeting someone from online wasn't something he normally did. Actually, he couldn't recall ever doing it.

BehindBlueEyes: I might have to think about that, no offense.
DarkWingSoul: None taken :-)
BehindBlueEyes: But, if you're ever going to be in the city let me know and I might be able to meet for coffee or something.

Heero watched the screen for answer.

DarkWingSoul: You like coffee?
BehindBlueEyes: Every second of every day.

It was true. Heero had been a caffeine addict since twelve. He supposed it was better than the myriad of other things a kid like him could become addicted to.

DarkWingSoul: I think you and I will get along just fine. For some reason those words made Heero shiver a little, as if tiny fingers were running down his spine. He swallowed and typed.

BehindBlueEyes: You think you and I will get along well? DarkWingSoul: I'm a sucker for a blue-eyed boy.
BehindBlueEyes: How do you know I have blue eyes?
DarkWingSoul: * points at your screen name *
BehindBlueEyes: I could have just taken the moniker for fun, you know.
DarkWingSoul: I have a feeling you didn't. No one knows what it's like to be the bad man, to be the sad man, behind blue eyes.

Heero blinked. The song was the reason he had chosen this screen name. He hated to sound so emo, but he identified with it; it spoke to him.

BehindBlueEyes: So, you're a sucker for blue eyes?
DarkWingSoul: Yep. What about you?

Heero pursed his lips. He didn't really have a type. He always maintained that it was just that he was attracted to some men and not attracted to others.

BehindBlueEyes: Let's just say I go crazy for a sharp-dressed man.
DarkWingSoul: No, not the 80's! It will swallow us all!

Heero laughed.

BehindBlueEyes: I'm kidding. I actually don't really have a type. I've never thought about it.
DarkWingSoul: What about guys with unusually colored eyes?
BehindBlueEyes: Huh?
DarkWingSoul: I have these weird eyes...they're a cross between bright blue and violet.

Heero tried to imagine it inside his head and couldn't.

BehindBlueEyes: To be honest, I can't even imagine it. I guess it would depend on how the whole package fit together.
DarkWingSoul: What about you?
BehindBlueEyes: Well, I don't usually send out photos. I'm not that tall. I'm only about 5'3" or so. I guess I got that from my mom, she was half-Japanese. I'm very light but I have a lot of muscle from various exercises. It's toned muscle though, not beefy muscle. I have dark blue eyes and dark brown hair. My father was part Finnish and part French.
DarkWingSoul: I'm a little taller, maybe about 5'5". I have really long brown hair. It's down the bottom of my butt now when I have it down. I keep it in a braid most of the time. I'm very thin, too thin I think. I'm quick though.
BehindBlueEyes: And you probably have a great tan from being at the beach I bet.
DarkWingSoul: I actually have a decent tan, but not too much. I've been pretty busy.

Heero looked at the time on his screen and blew his bangs up out of his face.

BehindBlueEyes: I have to go order some dinner. BRB. Heero walked down the two flights of stairs to the gourmet kitchen with its cherry cabinets and black granite countertops. He opened a drawer and rifled through the menus there until he found the one for his favorite Chinese take-out. He dialed and ordered some steamed rice, orange chicken and two egg rolls before grabbing another bottle of white tea and heading back upstairs.

A message was waiting for him when he got up there.

DarkWingSoul: My name's Duo, by the way. Strange name I know.

Duo? Heero laughed lightly.

BehindBlueEyes: My name's Heero. So I guess you're not alone in the weirdness.
DarkWingSoul: What did you order for dinner? BehindBlueEyes: Chinese.
DarkWingSoul: I love Chinese. My brother, however, hates it.
BehindBlueEyes: Why?
DarkWingSoul: Because he's Chinese LOL.
BehindBlueEyes: I think I'm confused...
DarkWingSoul: And you should be. My family isn't like normal families. We're just a ragtag bunch of people who call each other family.

Heero talked to Duo for hours that night, only take a small break to go and pay the very prompt deliveryman. By the time his eyes were drooping they had regressed to complaining about Starbucks and Heero finally told Duo he needed to sign off.

DarkWingSoul: Okay, go to bed!
BehindBlueEyes: Shower first, then bed.
DarkWingSoul: I bet you sleep naked.

Heero's body warmed at the words. He didn't sleep naked, actually. At least, most of the time he didn't. He wanted to be ready in case he needed to get out of where he was in a hurry.

BehindBlueEyes: It's a nice thought, but I wear pajama bottoms to bed.
DarkWingSoul: Me too. Wouldn't want to be caught with my drawers down in case there was a fire.
BehindBlueEyes: Yeah. Okay, I need to go to bed. I'll talk to you some other time?
DarkWingSoul: You can count on it. Sweet dreams.

Heero logged off both IRC and his chat client and then put his computer to sleep. When he finally stepped out of the bathroom and pulled on his pajamas he was feeling better than he had in weeks...months...maybe even years. His sleep was unclouded by dreams and when he woke the next morning it was with a smile.

*~*~*~*

Heero almost raced upstairs once he was back home after school. His latte nearly spilled as he threw his book bag down and opened it up. He had to remind himself that homework came first before he logged onto chat. Luckily all he had to do was read and interpret some Tennyson and then he could run through his math homework.

He hated poetry interpretation. It seemed to him that everyone should get something different from anything and everything they read. But he knew his task here was to write down what the teacher wanted to hear and not what he actually felt the author was trying to say.

When he was done he eagerly woke up his computer and logged onto his chat client. He double-clicked on the name he was looking for and typed in a hello.

DarkWingSoul: Hey you! How was school?
BehindBlueEyes: As good as it can be when it sucks.
DarkWingSoul: Yeah. I never went to school. I was home-schooled.
BehindBlueEyes: Really?
DarkWingSoul: Yeah. We were never in one place long enough for me to actually go to school.

Heero felt bad, but at the same time he wished he hadn't been forced to attend actual schools.

BehindBlueEyes: I go to private school. I always have.
DarkWingSoul: I bet you look damned cute in the uniform though.

Impulsively Heero sent Duo a picture of himself in his school uniform even though he was going against his own rules. Black dress shoes, black slacks, a white dress shirt and a red tie. That day he had loosened his tie and his shirt was slightly unbuttoned. The picture had been taken by a fellow classmate who wanted a picture of him on campus for the yearbook. When he had asked nicely the girl had emailed it to him. He looked at the picture and wished he had something nicer, with a little better resolution.

Sending Duo the picture had been an impulse. Heero never sent out his image because he never knew whom he was talking to, in all actuality. For all he knew Duo was some kind of government spy trying to get to Odin through him or Duo could even be a cop, trying to trap him into something illegal. But for some reason he did it and now there was no taking it back.

DarkWingSoul: You're gorgeous!

Heero had the good grace to blush.

DarkWingSoul: Wow...
BehindBlueEyes: That's my school uniform. It's usually done up all nice and neat but it was hot that day.
DarkWingSoul: I bet it was! Damn hot by the looks of you.
BehindBlueEyes: Thanks.
DarkWingSoul: Here.

Heero accepted the file and opened it after a very short download. There, grinning back at him, was what he could only assume was Duo.

BehindBlueEyes: This is you?
DarkWingSoul: Yep, in the photo paper.

Heero laughed at the joke and looked closer at the picture. The hair wasn't just brown, it was like fall leaves, all burnished and shiny. Heero would put money on it being soft as silk. It was in a braid, but the braid had let loose some strands that whipped around a heart-shaped face that was facing the camera with the ocean behind him.

BehindBlueEyes: When was this taken?
DarkWingSoul: This morning when I was out for a walk with Dorothy. She's the one taking the picture.

The eyes weren't stuck between colors, they created a color all their own that seemed to Heero like it could only maybe be found on an exotic flower. The eyes didn't just have the color to make them entrancing either...the long lashes and perfect eyebrows helped out a lot too.

And the mouth! Even curled into a big smile it looked like the lips were so soft and sweet... Heero realized he had gone a while without saying anything.

BehindBlueEyes: Anything I say will be cheesy, won't it?
DarkWingSoul: Probably. Say it anyway.
BehindBlueEyes: You look incredible.

Heero couldn't think of anything else to say. He had never been drawn so strongly to one person and it kind of scared him. If Odin ever found out that he felt something for someone he would probably try to use that to his advantage.

DarkWingSoul: Sure you don't want to reconsider meeting in person?

Did he? He thought about it. Would a cup of coffee really hurt?

BehindBlueEyes: Tell you what. I have to spend some time with my father in a couple of weeks. But the week after that I have a whole weekend free with nothing to do. If you wanted to drive down to Sausalito and catch the ferry I can come down to the ferry terminal and we can spend some time together, maybe?
DarkWingSoul: Take a walk on the wild side?
BehindBlueEyes: Not too wild. I can't drink yet.
DarkWingSoul: Neither can I. I'm only eighteen myself.

Heero smiled and continued to chat. Dinner went ignored that night and he fell into bed exhausted in the wee small hours of the morning. He hoped he could get over chatting so late soon or else his grades might start to suffer.

*~*~*~*

Duo Maxwell sighed and watched Heero finally sign off.

"Are you done yet?"

Duo turned at the voice and saw his big brother Solo standing in his doorway. "Yeah, I'm done. Why?"

"The Sandersen job. We need you to do some infiltration and recon. Pictures required. Catch the man cheating on his wife."

Duo rolled his eyes and stood. "You'd think the husbands would just learn that alimony doesn't pay."

"We wouldn't be able to afford to live on the beach if it weren't for those stupid husbands. Get going. Take Trowa with you."

Duo stripped down and pulled on his suede-bottomed shoes. The suede served to muffle his footsteps and also to disguise the soles He gave the photo of Heero a quick glance before putting the computer to sleep.

"I hope to hell you don't freak out when you find out what I really do for a living. I'd hate for that to happen before we got to know each other better."

Forty minutes later Duo and Trowa were perched on the roof of the Marriott in Santa Rosa, cursing the fact that good ol' philandering Sandersen had thought to draw the curtains all the way and close the windows.

"You could try placing a minicam bug outside the window on the off chance he opens the curtains or we can get a glimpse as the curtains move..." Duo suggested but Trowa shook his head.

"I'm not going to waste an eight hundred dollar cam on a windowsill. We'll wait and see if he comes out. So, Dorothy was telling me that you might have met someone?"

Duo smiled. "Might have. He's gorgeous. Half Japanese. Loaded by the looks of it, not like that matters though. I'd like him even if he were a poor orphan. He's just that nice to look at. But there's something else about him Trowa...he's not fake. He's just genuinely trying to get through life."

"You've been talking to him for two days," Trowa pointed out.

"Sometimes you just know, Trowa. I'm going to go into the city in three weeks and meet up with him at any rate."

Trowa stood and stretched his arms high above his head. "Solo told me that we might have a big contract coming up soon. An adult son ran away from his dad and the dad needs him retrieved. Says he's mental or something like that. He may hire us to bring the son to him."

"I don't like missions like that. Live and let live." Duo watched the street below them in his binoculars and shivered slightly in the coastal breeze. "I hope that fucker comes out soon."

Trowa dropped down beside him and exhaled loudly. "You and me both."

Duo was an orphan. He and Solo had been abandoned on the steps of a church when they were only babies. Solo had been two and Duo had been just a tiny newborn. The church had taken them in and raised them until the cathedral and everything around it had tragically burnt down when they were only ten and eight, respectively. After that they had been on their own and had fended for themselves. They built their reputation committing minor criminal acts until they were known for being tough and committed to their work. After the age of eighteen Solo acquired a private investigator's license as well as a bounty hunter's license. He moved them all around a lot to keep their location a secret and Duo felt very proud of what they had accomplished so far. They mostly did work like this, catching philandering husbands and wives; but sometimes they did work like retrieving missing family members and such when they had been kidnapped by cults or had wandered off due to mental illness.

Being in the profession he was in it was hard for Duo to meet people, which was why he had gotten into surfing the internet in the first place. He was tired of not being able to love someone besides his family members. Trowa had his love on the outside, a young businessman that lived not far from where they were currently. Wufei was actually engaged to a girl that lived in Los Angeles, and he flew to see her whenever they had down time. He would be leaving their little family to settle down within the next two years. Solo seemed to be quite content being single and the mastermind of their operation. Dorothy was in the same boat as Solo, not really longing for anything permanent. She dallied here and there with both sexes, taking pleasure when she needed to, but she had expressed her desire to remain single on many occasions.

Duo just genuinely liked Heero. From the very first time he had seen him chat on IRC he had just known Heero had to be an interesting person. He was thrilled to have been right. Heero was gorgeous, smart, opinionated, and cultured in just the right ways. Duo wanted to get to know him better but knew that his time was short. Solo had promised they would stay on the beach for quite some time, but Duo knew that could change.

Trowa groaned and slid his binoculars into his case. "We're going to have to go in."

Duo frowned. "I don't think I brought my workman's outfit with me." The workman's outfit consisted of a hard hat, a pair of gloves, a set of blue coveralls and a pair of boots.

Trowa looked at Duo's tight black outfit and smiled.

"Oh no. I don't like that smile. It never means anything but trouble!"

"Come on Duo...you play the befuddled male stripper and plant the cam in a nice place. It'll be fun!"

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this!"

Duo shook out his hair and put on his sauciest grin. He strutted to the door of the hotel room and knocked.

The offending Mister Sandersen opened the door with his robe on, obviously confused.

"Why! This must be the bachelor party for Mister Steven Jensen!" Duo swept into the room suddenly, the mini-cam between his fingers so that no one could see it. "Now where's our groom!"

"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong hotel room! If you please, could you....I'm sorry...could you leave?"

Duo looked vapidly at the man before walking over to the entertainment center and sliding his hand along the wood. "Wow! Look at this system!" The mini-cam slid into a break between two books and out of sight, but right in line with the bed. Duo pushed off the wood and tossed the man a jaunty wave. "Looks like I got the wrong room! So sorry sugar!"

Duo exited the room and grinned at the man's expense.

"That man probably didn't know what hit him!" Duo chuckled as he and Trowa walked down the hallways. Once in the elevator Duo re-did his braid and pulled on a jacket. "The things we do..."

"Ah Duo, there's no job too small!" Trowa laughed heartily as they walked to their waiting car.

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