|
"Hey I'm New!"Written By: Dùlin
Archive: This arc is archived on this site with permission. Do not reproduce it anywhere without permission. Disclaimer : Someone told me I didn't own them. I'm still reeling from the news. And I still have no money if you want to sue. Hey, if I did own them, I'd probably be too busy to experiment some PWP scenarios to have time to even think of writing this ! Rating : Probably PG-13 in the beginning, but PG-15 is safer for the rest because of language and other stuff Warnings : AU, high school fluffy fluff -->
teenagers discussing love, sex and relationships. Shounen ai and het
romance and sap. Bit of OOC-ness of the 'I am normal' kind. Mild Relena-bashing
(it won’t last for he whole story, since I found out I am unable
to be mean to that girl for extended periods of time) Intended for fun and relaxation, although I'm not sure I'll be able to keep it completely angst-free. Angst just seems to creep up everywhere I go. In fact, it's not me, It's Kawaii Lil' Lia who says it, teenagers angst away about anything, so ... *sighs* Pairings : Main 2+1 and 4+3+4, 5+M. Unreciprocated R+1 and H+2. 6+9, Solo + Cathy, Odin + Sally Dedicated to 'the stalker' (she knows who she is).
"Hey I'm New!"
Part 4 “You’re sure it’s the right house ?”, Odin asked as he stopped the car in front of the biggest iron gate he had ever seen in his life. They were a bit outside of town, on a hill covered with a great park encircled with a high wall. The gate was anonymous, no names written anywhere, just a little pad with numbers, and a button to ring. The house itself, which deserved to be called a manor in Odin’s opinion, was nestled in the middle of the park on a large patch of lawn, and it was most probable there were stables and a pool somewhere else. Wufei checked the paper he was holding. “That’s the address Quatre gave us, and I trust him to remember where he lives”, he said quietly. “But this is …” Heero was too busy to look at everything with wide eyes to add his own two cents. The three boys snapped out of it as an old and very noisy red Ford abruptly stopped along the sidewalk just behind them and Solo got out. “Yep, that’s here”, Odin said, climbing out of his own car and gesturing to the younger ones to follow. “Hey, Solo !” Solo turned around and discovered his new friend. “Hey, man ! Ya didn’t have any trouble finding it, did ya ?” “No, but … is this … how …” “Cat’s dad is something like the rich oil industrial or something, he’s got more money than he can spend and practically a house in each country he visits. From what Cat says, this one’s kinda small compared to the estate they’ve got in Saudi Arabia. Get out, cricket”, he added, helping Duo to climb out of the car since the back doors were apparently blocked. Duo got out and smiled brightly to Heero and Wufei. Behind him, Milliardo climbed out too, somehow managing to make it look like some kind of refined activity that he practiced every day. Odin raised an eyebrow at him but Milliardo shook his head, gesturing to the three teens who were talking excitedly. Well, to Duo who was talking excitedly to his two reserved friends. Odin frowned but didn’t insist. “Okay, cricket”, Solo said loudly. “I’m leaving you in charge of those two until you reach the house, so don’t mess around and follow Rashid this time.” Duo grinned sheepishly. “Hey, I only got lost once, not my fault this place is so big !” “I don’t care, you behave and don’t give Rashid and the others a too hard time. Don’t go to bed too late and be sure to be ready when I come to pick you up tomorrow at noon.” “This is a slumber party, not a war, Solo”, Duo grumbled. “I thought it was a study session”, Wufei said a bit wickedly. “Well, we’re all gonna end up sleeping anyway, even if we don’t know at what time, so it’s pretty much the same !”, Duo retorted. “We’ll be fine”, he added for his brother, “now shoo !” “I’ll wait until Rashid comes to pick you up, mister !”, Solo snapped teasingly. “Off you go !” “Bye Heero, Wufei”, Odin said. “Have a nice evening. I’ll come pick you up around noon too, is that okay with your mom, Wu ?” “If it’s not, she’ll probably come all the way here on foot and drag me home anyway, but it should be alright”, the Chinese boy answered. “Good. See ya guys ! Have fun !” Duo led the way to the gate and pressed the button, Heero and Wufei both watching curiously, waiting to see what would happen next. That study session looked more like an adventure by the minute. Both of them jumped a bit when a booming voice answered. “Winner Residence.” “Hey, Big Man !”, Duo said cheerfully. “Open the door, we wanna get in !” “Hello, Master Duo. I’ll be at the gate in a minute, if you can find it in yourself to wait that long.” “Sure thing !” He turned to his two Asian classmates. “That’s Rashid, the head of security. That’s why Cat can stay at home alone and have friends around when his dad’s not here, the security service is always ready to act if anything goes wrong. And those guys are just sooo cool !” “Oh” was the only thing Wufei found to say, while Heero just remained silent, looking around a bit uneasily and clutching his back pack. Soon enough, a very big man with a beard emerged from between the trees and went to open the gate. Duo welcomed him noisily and introduced him as Rashid. The big man looked down at the two unknown teens with a severe look. They just looked back, unsure of how to behave but refusing to let show they were intimidated. Which they were absolutely not, because this was ridiculous, right ? At long last, Rashid smiled and beckoned the three teenagers in. Duo waved goodbye at his brother, Wufei and Heero just nodded to Odin, and they went inside. The gate closed behind them with a loud clang as they followed Rashid on the way to the house. “Whoa”, Odin said once his brother was out of earshot. “Talk about being rich ! And I was hoping Heero wouldn’t get too intimidated.” “If you think that’s big, you should see the Peacecraft Mansion”, Milliardo said with a smile. “The Winners do have quite a little house compared to what my parents call home. I spent all my life there and even I still get lost in it sometimes.” “Don’t worry”, Solo added. “Cat is a genius, he’s just great with people. In fifteen minutes, Heero won’t even care about where he is. The only hard thing in that house is finding a bathroom when you really need one.” They all laughed. “Hey, Milliardo, not that I don’t want to see you, but why are you here ? Anything wrong ?”, Odin asked. Milliardo frowned. “Not really, it’s just … Well, from what you and Solo have said, I quite gathered that Heero and Duo had a thing going.” “More like a thing crawling and trying to come to life with all of its might, but that’s the spirit, yeah”, Solo commented. “Well, my charming little sister is unable to talk about anything else but Heero lately. It’s been ‘Heero this’ and ‘Heero that’ almost all week, and she’s sure acting like he asked her out when I know perfectly well it’s not the case, I mean, he’s practically running away in panic every time he spots her ! But … I don’t know, she’s been looking smug lately, and I think she may try something, so I wanted to warn you.” “Thanks, man”, Odin said gratefully. “That’s nice of you. Heero sure doesn’t need a girl crowding him right now, he’s insecure enough about himself.” “I’ll try and keep an eye on her”, Milliardo said seriously. “I know how she can get, she can be completely deluded about the situation if it doesn’t turn out the way she wants. I sincerely hope she’s not going to make a fuss about it, but I’m afraid she’s too much of a spoiled brat to accept the fact that she’s never gonna get Heero.” “If things go alright tonight and Heero builds a bit of self-confidence back, I’m sure he’ll be able to tell her off”, Odin said with a wink. “Everything rests on Duo’s shoulders, now, and on my lil’ bro’s capacity to forget his fears.” “I’m tellin’ ya what”, Solo said in a conspiratorial voice. “If this doesn’t work out, we’ll just lock them up together in a room and leave them here until they do something. Now, how about joining Cathy, Sally and Lu at the Parrot’s ? We can talk of our siblings’ love life all we want like that !” “Good idea”, Odin agreed. It would probably help him ease his own tension. He really hoped Heero would be alright. ‘Follow your heart, Heero. If I have to, I’ll talk to Mom and Dad, but I really want this to work out for you. Just do what feels right, and don’t worry about the rest.”
Quatre went down the stairs so fast that it was a miracle he didn’t trip on his own feet and end up sprawled at the bottom on the elegant marble floor. “Hi !”, he said, beaming. “Your brother didn’t have any problem finding the place, did he, Heero ?” “No”, Heero gulped, barely able to suppress a yelp at being addressed first when Quatre’s best friend was standing two feet away. “We found it alright”, Wufei said quickly, trying to make things easier for his friend by taking care of the conversation until he would recover. “We just wondered for a while if we had actually found the right place though. But then, Duo and Solo showed up, so it was alright !” “Hey, Cat, where’s the food ?”, Duo asked eagerly. Quatre shook his head. “It’s five PM, Duo.” Duo raised his eyebrows in a perfect ‘so what ?’ expression. Both Quatre and Wufei chuckled, and even Heero let out a nervous snort of laughter. Quatre sighed. “There are snacks waiting for us in the entertainment room, and Trowa’s gone to raid the fridge for drinks.” “Cool ! But you know trying to make me work within firing range of a PS2 is a crime against nature !” “Oh, I’m sure you’ll find something to concentrate on that will distract you”, Quatre said innocently with a smile that clearly said ‘Me ? Matchmaking ? Never !’. Duo flushed a bit and covered it by starting to find his way to the entertainment room and talking loudly about what kind of video games they could try once they were finished studying. Wufei began to argue with him on the respective merits of the last Tekken game and followed, which left Heero to tag along with Quatre. Quatre puzzled Heero even more than Duo if that was possible. First, he had invited Heero to his house after sitting in a class for two hours with him. Okay, so apparently, he had done it so that Relena wouldn’t jump him as soon as class was over, but still … Quatre was being so nice all of the time. He always had the right words to defuse a situation, was friendly with a lot of people and simply ignored those who didn’t like him, but ignoring Heero just didn’t seem like a possibility. The Japanese boy really wondered what he had done to deserve so much interest. Not to mention the little sparkle in the green-blue eyes that told him Quatre probably had an ulterior motive. And yet, it was difficult not to trust him because when he talked to you or smiled, it looked like nothing could go wrong. “Heero ?” Heero started, realizing that he had been lost in thought and that it was rude. “Sorry, did you say something ?” Quatre just smiled and got a bit closer, whispering so that the others wouldn’t hear. “Just that I planned for the five of us to sleep in my room, but if either you or Wufei want a room of your own, it’s fine, you just tell me, it’s not like there isn’t a lot of place in that joint.” Now, that was the part Heero had tried to erase from his mind. The sleeping party part. Heero had never been invited to spend the night at a friend’s house, except Wufei’s, and that was different since they’d known each other before they could walk. In their former schools, they were always the odd ones out, so that no one felt compelled to invite them over for a night. And Heero had absolutely no idea of what a slumber party, as Duo put it, involved. According to Odin, it just meant they were going to end up playing silly teenage games and staying up late before all crashing down onto mattresses hastily thrown on the floor, a picture that didn’t match with the Winner Mansion, however hard Heero tried to persuade himself it could. “This is the first time you do that, right ?”, Quatre asked kindly. “Don’t worry, I understand, it was hard for me too in the beginning when I first arrived here. Just … tell me if anything makes you uncomfortable, okay ? I just want you to have a good time, and I also hope maybe either you or Wufei can help me with that damn chemistry, because I understand squat !” “I … thanks”, Heero stammered, wondering how Quatre could know what caused his discomfort so well. But then, Quatre’s dad had moved a lot too, and it looked like his son didn’t see much of him anyway, so yes, maybe Quatre would understand that he felt a bit like he was a nice piranha treat who had just been pushed into the aquarium. “Oh, and I hope you’re good at video games, because Duo’s always bragging about how he can kick anyone’s ass at Soulcalibur 2 (1), and between you and me, I really would like someone to kick his ass for good for once. He doesn’t want to play with me because I always take one of the girls and they make strange noises when they fight”, Quatre said with a chuckle. “Hey, not my fault I like Taki !” Heero knew that Quatre was trying to make him feel comfortable, and slowly realized that it was working. The blonde kept the conversation on neutral subjects, not pushing anything and letting him come out of his shell at his own pace while efficiently occupying Duo with someone else while that was being achieved. Even Heero had to admit it took skills to make him relax, skills that he didn’t think anyone but Odin had. And Duo’s presence was too disturbing right now to be entirely relaxing. The braided boy bounced into a door that opened on the right, and Wufei went in after him. Quatre smiled gently to Heero. “Ready to get into the lion’s den ?” Heero smiled nervously back and nodded. Quatre’s smile changed a bit, going from simply gentle to malicious. “You know, Heero, he doesn’t bite, and if you scratch him the good way, he might even purr.” Heero demonstrated once again that he could do quite a good imitation of a tomato, but Quatre had already disappeared into the room.
“Why did you do that ?” Wufei asked, trying not to laugh out loud at the look on his friends’ face. “Have you ever seen those two on a sugar and caffeine high ?”, Trowa said casually, ignoring the indignant protest from Duo and Quatre. “Well, no, I’ve only been here for a week.” “Then, thou doest not know fear, oh lucky stranger from a distant country.” “That bad ?”, Wufei asked, eyebrows shooting up. “Worse. No sodas for either of them before we’ve finished studying or we can forget about sleeping tonight." “I’ll keep watch”, the Chinese said very seriously. It then appeared that the study session in itself was mostly for Quatre’s benefits. Duo had a few problems with the last chapters they had worked on in class, but Wufei could help with that (thus relieving Heero of the task of sitting next to the braided boy that early in the evening). But Quatre was completely lost, and shamelessly explained that any kind of study session with Trowa invariably ended up in a making out session, so that he really needed outside help. Trowa smiled at that comment, but hid it behind his own chemistry book. The other four boys were happy to see Heero gradually relax. Quatre was a good student, and Heero, however shy he may be in terms of personal relationships, loved to teach. He explained things in simple sentences, made concepts easy to grasp, and he smiled when he saw Quatre’s face lighten up as the boy finally understood what the hell his lesson was all about. Privately, Trowa thought that Quatre was acting up a bit, but it worked. When Duo went to look over Quatre’s shoulder and asked for a precision, Heero answered without a flinch and even grabbed Duo’s pencil to outline something on the book. Both Trowa and Wufei saw the two boys reddening a bit when their fingers met, but none of them mentioned it nor shied away.
“I didn’t do that much”, Heero protested, “you just needed things to be explained properly.” “Well, you still did better than the teacher”, Duo pointed out. “And Cat is usually a crack student, chemistry just doesn’t enter his realm of possibilities.” Quatre threw his pencil at Duo playfully and grinned. “We’ll see what is in your realm of possibilities once Heero or Wufei will have kicked your ass at video games, Duo !” “You wish ! No one can beat me.” “I can”, Trowa said. “I just don’t see what’s the point of proving it to you the hard way and having to suffer a week of pranks as retaliation. I’m warning you guys”, he added for Heero and Wufei, “this guy’s a sore loser.” “Oh, shut up, Tro !”, Duo grumbled. “There you go, ruining all my fun !” “I’d play with you, but you never want me to”, Quatre said. “That’s just because you analyze your character’s movements aloud, Cat. The whole point of fighting games is to surprise your opponent, not to tell them what you’re gonna do to them. And end up not doing it because you got punched into the ground.” “I’ll take you”, Heero said, surprising everyone including himself. But if there were two things Heero Yuy could not resist, those were video games, and a challenge. All shyness forgotten, Heero just longed to prove to Duo that he would be very sorry to have claimed to be unbeatable.
But the console’s verdict was implacable. “KO. Kilik wins.” “No fair !”, Duo protested. “I couldn’t even place a punch !” “That’s because you’re too slow, Duo”, Quatre said with a smile. “Me ? Slow ?”, Duo said indignantly. “I’m not slow, it’s just not possible to come near him with that long red rod he’s got !” “I’ll take a shorter one”, Heero said with a smug grin. Ten minutes later, Duo whined again as his character fainted on the floor after one last mighty kick. “See ?”, Heero said, feeling decidedly relaxed and loosening up far more than he had ever in his whole life. “Not everything is a matter of size !” Even Quatre gaped as the obvious double meaning, but Duo reddened so much it was a wonder he didn’t explode. He just threw his controls to Trowa and hastily retreated to the snack table after a quick “Just see if you can do better”. Heero accepted the challenge after shooting a surprised look to Duo, and Quatre suddenly wasn’t so sure that Heero had meant anything, but … Heero had probably had a talk with his brother, and maybe he was just doing his best to blend in. “You okay, Duo ?”, Quatre asked the braided boy, taking a chair beside him. “Yeah, I … did he really just say that ?” “He did, but I’m not sure it was supposed to mean anything else.” “God, I … I could jump him right now !” “Don’t !”, Quatre said warningly. “Look at him, he’s having fun ! He’s relaxing with us, and even making jokes. Don’t push your luck. You talked with Solo, didn’t you ?” “Yeah, I … I’d say I should kill you for forcing him to do that because he gets enough occasions to play the protective big brother, but I suppose I should thank you instead. I know I must give him space and time.” “He’s worth it, I’m sure of it”, Quatre said low. “Difficult to open, but there’s a treasure inside. I just hope you two will be able to get together alone some time tonight and talk things out a bit. Wu can help me …” “Whoa, wait a minute, Wu’s helping with this ?”, Duo interrupted. “Heero is his best friend, and Wufei likes you a lot, and thinks you would make an awesome boyfriend for Heero, his words, not mine.” “Just how many people here are trying to ‘help’ me ?” “Well, virtually everyone, I’d say. But let’s
keep things light tonight, okay ? No Truth or Dare “Sounds good”, Duo admitted reluctantly. “Cat, you’re really a good friend. Just … promise to tell me if I’m moving too fast and scaring him without noticing, okay ?” They turned to look at Heero being savagely beaten by Trowa, who was still wearing a calm and collected face while Heero watched with wide eyes his character falling from the battle platform. Duo smiled, grabbed his notebook and a pencil and let his fingers wander on the paper.
Quatre and Wufei had been picking a movie into Quatre’s rather extensive collection, and Duo had come to see what would be the mood for the night, and he sure did not expect Quatre to pick that one. “I hate horror movies, and that’s not the point”, Quatre answered. “Huh ?” Quatre rolled his eyes, and Wufei did the same. “Those are just perfect to give you an excuse to clutch at your neighbor, silly !”, the blonde said exasperatedly. “Honest, how did you think Trowa got me ? He took me to see Shark Attack and he had me crawling on his lap after the first five minutes !” “Sneaky bastard”, Duo snorted, “he never told me that ! But … don’t you think it’s gonna be a bit obvious ? I mean, I appreciate the help, but …” “Just don’t jump on him with a shriek”, Wufei advised. “That would scare him for sure, and when he panics, his body reacts before his mind and he’d get you through the window in no time, and regret it every day of his life later. Just grab the occasion, Maxwell.” “Why are you doing this, Wufei ?”, Duo asked. “Because I’m tired to always look at him being miserable in silence.” “And because you can’t wait to hit it off with Meiran again”, Quatre said innocently. Wufei blanched. “How …”, he stammered. “Lucky guess”, Quatre said nonchalantly. “Two people who bitch around so much must love each other a great deal to be able to hate each other so passionately … did that make any kind of sense ?” “Man, remind me never to piss you off”, Wufei muttered. “Hey, look, Tro and Heero are having a silent conversation !”, Duo said excitedly. And that was true. Wufei had never thought anyone would be able to do that, but the two boys seemed to communicate only with eyebrows and looks and little shrugs as they put away the books and brought the snacks and drinks over to the couch. “That’s too funny”, Quatre chuckled. “Hey, Tro, can I have a coke now ? Pleeeaaase ?” Trowa let out a long suffering sigh, looked up at whoever was watching, if possible God but any kind of deity would do fine, and handed a soda to his boyfriend.
He jumped for the first time as the braided boy on his mind suddenly started and caught his hand. Heero was not sure that the move had been deliberate, but even if it was, should he really care ? If Duo had done it on purpose, it meant that he wanted contact, that he was trying to get closer. Heero first tensed, and Duo made a move to back away with a little apologetic smile. “Oops, sorry, Heero !”, he whispered, starting to release the Japanese boy’s hand. And then, it was Duo’s turn to flush a bit when Heero refused to let go of his hand and squeezed it a bit. “It’s okay”, he whispered back with a nervous smile. Duo stared at him with wide eyes. “You sure ?”, he mouthed so that the others wouldn’t hear. ‘Hell no !’, Heero thought. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been that scared in my entire life !’ But then, his brother’s words came back. ‘There’s just one thing you can be sure of. You make your own life. You have a choice between getting a wonderful person, or wallowing in self-misery all by yourself. Neither path is safe, and both can get you hurt, but there is one who is worth it. Follow your heart. Let him in.’ Heero ‘s voice was surprisingly steady when he answered. “Yeah, I’m sure.” He didn’t really know afterwards if he had gone to hell or heaven. Duo clutched his hand throughout the movie, sometimes squeezing it when he was startled, and even leaning a bit into Heero once as he practically jumped off the couch in fright. Heero couldn’t help feeling the heat coming from the soft hand in his, and from the body so close to his, and the weight of Duo’s braid as it went to rest on his shoulder, and he could smell the shampoo the braided boy had used, some kind of lavender fragrance. One thing was sure though, he hadn’t been watching the movie before, and he certainly didn’t watch it any further. He had just found out that watching Duo was far more entertaining.
“I just prefer putting them away now, less risk of forgetting something”, Heero answered. “As you wish”, the blonde said. “Trowa and Wufei will help me take the futons out and maybe Duo will deign come out of the bathroom some day. Oh, if he gets lost in the house again, he can find a bed to spend the night, but it’s gonna be less fun without him.” Heero smiled a bit as the three others went out, leaving him alone to grab his backpack and put his books and papers back in it. Duo had flown to the bathroom as soon as the movie was over, much to Heero’s disappointment, but the Japanese boy didn’t stop to think why he was so disappointed. After all, he’d done nothing but hint at the fact that he needed space, and Duo was giving him plenty of space. Probably why it felt so cold in the place the braided boy had touched him before. The Prussian blue eyes suddenly fell on a green spiraled notebook on the floor. It was Duo’s, and it had fallen from the table face down. Heero frowned and picked it up, beginning to smooth out the pages, but stopped dead. He was staring at his own face, and he was quite sure he had never looked that way before. Duo had drawn him while he was playing against Wufei. His face was concentrate on his goal, but there was a twinkle in his eyes, a softness on his features that he didn’t remember ever seeing on his own face when looking in a mirror. ‘This is how he sees me ? This is what I look like from where he stands ?’ Heero could only look at the way his hair had been darkened with pencil subtly erased by nimble fingers. The person on that picture could not be him. He flipped a bit through the pages, meeting other faces in between notes. Trowa laughing out loud. Quatre looking a bit sad, surrounded by an unearthly glow. Wufei with his glasses on the first day of class. A self-portrait, just hinted at with a few strokes. And a lot of pictures of himself. Duo had drawn him sitting at his desk in their French lesson. Running in PE. Walking with Wufei. Sitting near a wall with his laptop. Heero went back to the latest picture. He looked … normal on that picture. Almost happy. At ease. He was not used to see himself like this, he usually controlled his face better than that. But it looked like Duo, and the others too, had seen through the mask. There was a soft “eep” coming from the door, and Heero looked up to discover a flustered Duo. “Oh my, I’m sorry, you were not supposed to see this”, the braided boy said, utter confusion apparent on his graceful face. “I feel so dumb, now you’re going to think I’m stalking you or something …” “Why didn’t you want me to see them ?”, Heero asked, puzzled. Duo grew serious. “Heero, you know I like you, right ?” Heero nodded. “And you know that, if I have the occasion, I would like to be more than friends.” Another nod, more nervous. “I just want to tell you something, Heero”, Duo kept on, taking a step forward. “This is up to you. I like you a lot, hell, I know I’m really attracted to you, I guess I was bound to fall for dark and mysterious. I won’t lie about this. But if you’re not ready, or if you just don’t want to, that’s okay. I’m not going to be all over you until you snap my neck or have a nervous breakdown. Just for you to know, it’s more important for me to have you as a friend. If it gets nowhere deeper than that, I’ll survive.” Heero looked at Duo, then back at the picture of himself. “It’s beautiful”, he whispered. Duo’s cheeks reddened a bit. “Really ? You think so ?” “Yes. And the other ones too. You have an incredible talent.” “I’ve been doodling for years …” “Those are not doodles. They …they tell something. I’ve never looked at myself that way, it’s the first time I …” Heero stopped talking, lost for words. But he knew what he felt. Every stroke of the pencil spoke of Duo’s love for his models. The deep friendship he felt for Trowa reflected on how gently the boy’s laughing face was outlined. The mixed love and sadness he felt for Quatre visible in the profile of the blond boy looking wistful, with misty eyes. The sheer admiration for Wufei could be seen in how the Chinese’s aristocratic features were rendered. “You really like it ?”, Duo whispered. “Yes.” “You can keep it, if you want to.” “No ! I mean, thanks, but … I’d like you to keep it, and make others if you want. As many as you wish, I really don’t mind. I … It’s nice to see myself through someone else’s eyes. I never imagined …” Again, Heero’s voice trailed away. Duo smiled brightly. “Thanks, Heero ! You just wait, and I’ll show just exactly how I see you. I can’t quite grasp it yet, I’m missing something, but someday, I know I’ll make it.” Heero just handed his notebook back to Duo and finished packing his books. “Uh, Heero, about what I said before, ya know, about being more than friends … I … I’d like to know, even if it’s to break my heart, don’t lie. Do I have a chance ?” Heero stopped packing and looked up into hopeful violet eyes. How could he ever say no to Duo if he looked at him like this ? “I … I don’t know where we’re going there, Duo”, the Japanese boy started carefully. “In my home country, that kind of thing was … wrong. In China, it was even worse. It was a bit better in Hong-Kong, but prejudices are hard to die. I’ve been hurt a lot, and I think … I think right now I am a bit scared. But …” Heero gulped, but he had made up his mind. “If anyone has a chance, Duo, then it’s you.” For a moment, it looked like Duo was going to faint or something, his eyes went wide and he paled a bit, then flushed and hastily looked away. Heero was a bit alarmed by that reaction, but it passed quickly. When Duo next looked at him, it was with tear-filled eyes and a big smile. “Thanks … Thanks for being honest, Heero. Just remember, if I’m too much of a bother, tell me and I’ll back off. I don’t always realize when I’m being clingy !” “I’ll do it, and I’ll be sure to be a bit nicer too”, Heero said, smiling again a bit nervously. “Not too nice, or all the girls are gonna swoon around you. You gotta be careful here too, ya know. When they get past the drooling stage, some girls are ready to use any means to get into your pants.” “But … I don’t like girls”, Heero said defensively. “Like that would stop them. The whole town knows I’m gay, but it doesn’t prevent the girls to try and turn me back, as if that can be done like this”, Duo said, snapping his fingers. The braided boy didn’t say anything more. To him it was clear that Relena had lost already, but she needed to realize that herself. Moreover, Duo was not the kind to tell bad things about other people, even if he didn’t like them. Relena was a spoiled brat, but Heero could tell her off on his own, and Duo silently vowed to help him only if asked. Of course, it would be different if Relena attacked him directly, but she wouldn’t be that stupid. Duo’s thoughts were interrupted by a big yawn. “Ooops !”, he joked. “Time to go to bed. Come on !”
“Hello ?” His eyes widened a bit. “Dad ! Do you have any idea how late it is here ? …. What do you mean, I should be in bed, we are making the beds right now ! … My friends, I invited them for a sleepover, remember ? … Yes, of course, Trowa’s here but …. Dad …Hang on a minute !” Quatre covered the phone with his hand and shot an apologetic look to Wufei and Trowa. “Sorry guys ! Just do it without me, Trowa knows where to find everything we need ! It’s probably gonna take a while …”, he said, with a roll of his eyes. He went out of the room, rapidly talking in Arabic into the phone. Wufei waited until he was out of earshot before he dared ask the question he had been burning to ask. “How do you manage it ?” Trowa raised an eyebrow at him, his looks clearly telling the Chinese boy to elaborate. “I mean, I know this place is far better than wherever I’ve lived before as far as homosexuality is concerned, but some of the people at school clearly don’t tolerate it, and Duo certainly isn’t that keen on advertising it either. So I wonder how come that you and Quatre dare being so affectionate with each other in public. You must be either very brave or very foolish.” “Is that the only thing that bothers you, Wufei ?”, Trowa asked with a hint of a smile, fluffing a pillow before throwing it on one of the large futons. Wufei met his gaze steadily. “Honestly, yes. I know that I personally don’t swing that way, but it has never bothered me. Love is love, no matter who the recipient of your affection is, and it’s beautiful. I always thought that people who are intolerant must have pretty boring lives to find nothing better than hate other people because of their skin color or sexual preferences. I’m not really used to public displays of affection, though. In Asia, such things are not encouraged. Things like holding hands can lead to an engagement if you’re not careful.” “Really ?” There was a short silence. “Yes, I see your point”, Trowa eventually said. “But Cat is someone very affectionate and I’m not going to turn him down for expressing his affection in public. But that’s true, no one’s picking on us, and no one ever picked on Cat like they do to Duo sometimes.” “Why that ? Duo is a perfectly nice guy !” “I know that and his other friends know it too, but people get jealous, I guess. Then, it may also be because he and Solo are orphans, poor and live with their uncle and aunt, while Cat’s dad is on the town council, the school admin board and donates more money to charities than the whole town put together.” “That’s pathetic”, Wufei commented, throwing another pillow to Trowa, who caught it and put it down. “We didn’t have it easy in the beginning you know”, Trowa said, smiling a bit again, just a little upturn of the lips. “First, because I am what some people ‘round here call a gipsy, and I managed not only to get a guy, but also the rich guy everyone wanted. I just ignore remarks, and I’m tall enough that no one bothers me, but one guy tried to fight Cat on this once.” “And ?” “Cat’s got a mean right hook”, Trowa said, his face impassible. “No ! He didn’t …” “Oh yes ! He clocked him one, and it’s pure chance he didn’t break the bastard’s jaw. Well, in fact, the only reason he didn’t beat him into the ground is because I was holding him back. No one tried to bother him again after that.” “And your parents ?” “My dad’s somewhere on the planet, or maybe dead. My mom doesn’t give a shit who I date as long as they’re decent people. And Cat’s dad took it remarkably well given that he is Muslim and Cat is his only son. His sisters think we are cute.” “If only Heero had had nice people like you guys around him when he discovered he was gay, maybe he wouldn’t have locked himself in a shell”, Wufei said, a bit somber. “But both the timing and the place were incredibly wrong, and apart from me and Odin, I don’t think anyone just went out and told him straight to his face that he wasn’t a freak because he liked boys. He’s been hiding for so long and now … Duo comes along, and the shell cracks.” “Typical Duo effect. His challenge when I arrived was to make me laugh out loud.” “Did he manage ?” “Yes. The time he tripped on his own braid and fell down the stairs right in the middle of the school’s entrance hall.” Wufei chuckled, then sobered. “Where is he, anyway ? Wasn’t he supposed to help us ?” “Oh, I think he went back to the entertainment room to pick up the notebook that Cat dropped on the floor accidentally on purpose before we left.” Wufei blinked twice, then smiled. “Does anyone ever say no to Quatre ?” Trowa shrugged. “Some people tried. They have not recovered yet.”
Looking around, Heero saw that it was still early. The sun was just starting to rise, and birds were singing outside. Wufei was sleeping behind him, hair out of his usual ponytail and face buried in his pillow. On the other futon, Quatre had decided that Trowa’s chest was more comfortable than his own pillow and gone for it, draping himself on his boyfriend. Heero sighed. They had gone to sleep fairly quickly last night. For a moment, they had held on a whispered conversation about inconsequential things, like the latest movie out or gossip about who was dating who. Heero had not spoken a lot, too transfixed by the knowledge that Duo was lying by his side, feeling the braided boy’s breath every time he muttered something. He had thought a lot about what Duo had told him last night, and woken up just to find that his body had decided to betray him and give it a chance even if his head was not sorted out yet. Heero tried to get away from Duo, only to be interrupted by a groan. “Yuy”, Duo’s sleepy voice said, “you don’t like it here ?” “What ?” “I said, are you comfortable that way or not ?” “Yes, I am”, Heero stammered. “Then stop moving and go back to sleep. It’s far too early to be thinking about anything, and I’m cold, so if you would please stay right where you are that would be fine. Unless it bothers you.” Heero weighed the pros and cons and couldn’t find a single reason why he shouldn’t stay that way. Duo wanted him, he had told him so, and he knew he wanted Duo too. This was nothing more than innocent cuddling. It felt good to be there, and Duo just wanted to sleep some more. “I’m fine here.” Duo yawned. “Good. That’s great. I’m fine too. G’night, Heero.” Heero trailed his hand along the chestnut braid, settling on his pillow again. “Good night. Sorry to have woken you up.” “S’nothing.” None of them ever noticed a pair of green eyes and a pair of sea-blue eyes watching them from the other bed. Quatre smiled and rested his head on Trowa’s chest again. ‘Mission accomplished’, he thought. ‘Now it’s up to them.’ ~ * ~ (1) One of the best fighting game I ever played, even better than Tekken 3 ! And I like Taki ! And my cousin for occasionally lending the X-box to play the game. ~ * ~ Chapter 5 |
