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"A Time for Us"Written By: Jewel of Hell Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Romance/Tragedy, Angst, yaoi, lemon, language, violence, blood feud, forbidden love Pairings: 1x2, others Summary: The Maxwells and Yuys are two powerful
noble families that have been fighting for generations. Heero and
Duo are no exception. However, one fateful night changes everything
for the young heirs-a Romeo and Juliet tale with a twist. " A Time for Us"
The Things We Do For Those We Love "Is this connection secure?" "Yes. Don't worry about them. My father still has no idea. There's not much I could do anymore to shock him, though. I'm already practically an outcast for my position." Over the digital connection, Damia saw Phylia sigh. "I think you should be a hero," she said, "not scorned. It's absurd." Lowering her eyes for a moment, Damia smiled at the older Yuy woman. A woman who was supposed to be her enemy by virtue of her blood. Absurd, indeed. "Thank you," she said. Heero looked so much like his older sister it was amazing. The main difference was their eye-color. Phylia's eyes were dark brown. "I wanted to ask you about our plan. Have you set things in motion?" "Yes," Phylia said. "I'm very grateful for you, Damia. Without you, I would not have the courage to go through with any of this." Damia touched her computer screen, smiling. "You have too little faith in yourself." "I need none," Phylia countered with a smile of her own. "Heero and Duo are our hope. That is what I believe, Damia. And I will hold onto that belief." Emotions briefly clouded Damia's eyes. "Yes. I believe that, too. Duo questions this war, just as Heero does. They will end it." "I hope so," Phylia said quietly. "I truly, truly hope so."
"So what's got you all dreamy, huh?" Duo blinked and made himself focus on Quatre. "Huh?" His cousin laughed. "Wake up, Duo!" he teased. "What has you so distracted? You've been thinking about something else all day. Or . . . someone?" Smiling, inexplicably shy, Duo looked down at his literature project. "Yeah, well. I can't help it. Remember the masquerade?" "Of course." "I met someone," Duo explained, blushing a little. "We've been talking on the net, we both have e-space accounts." Quatre raised an eyebrow. "Does this mysterious person know who you are?" "No," Duo said. "We met at the masquerade. I didn't even see his face. But he has a great sense of humor, and he agrees with my sister! He said he thinks she has good ideas, and he hopes that she can end the conflict, too." "Huh," Quatre said. "Good, he's not a Yuy. Did you and he dance?" Duo blushed again. "Yeah. He's a really good dancer." Quatre chuckled. "You'll have to ask him if you can meet. Unless you're worried he will be scared off by the fact that you're one of the Maxwells?" For a time Duo was silent. Then he shrugged. "Part of me is, but I don't think it will matter that much to him. Just a feeling I get." "Well, since your feelings are usually dead on, I guess that's a good thing," Quatre mused. "Wow, that's much better than mine. How come you can draw so well? It's not fair." Laughing, Duo chucked his pencil at him. After two weeks, Heero was fairly certain he was falling for Shinigami, and falling hard. He looked forward to their chats with near-giddy anticipation, an amazing thing for him. He wished today he could chat with his friend, but their literature professor had instructed them to keep all their computers closed. It was presentation day. Miss Sally Po invited one of the students to go first, and they delivered a mediocre project. Heero tuned him out, resting his chin in his hand. Duo volunteered to go next, and Heero resisted the urge to roll his eyes. That boy seemed to love being the centre of attention. Duo wasn't wearing his uniform today, unsurprisingly. Instead he'd chosen to dress in the medieval garb of the time-period his presentation explored. Heero mostly ignored him, though he was impressed by the drawings Duo had done to supplement his presentation. After all, Duo was the only person in this university he could not top for performance. It annoyed him. Duo wasn't better than him, but it still annoyed him. A flash around Duo's neck brought Heero's eyes to the other boy, possibly looking for a way to relieve his boredom. And, for a drawn-out eternity, all time seemed to slow. It hung suspended while Heero's mind processed what he was seeing. It seemed impossible, or the world's biggest coincidence. Around Duo's neck hung a gold cross. It matched his costume nicely, of course. It fit right in, blending until it was nearly invisible, escaping Heero's attention at first. If it hadn't been for that glint of sunlight, he probably would have missed it altogether. He'd never seen Duo wear jewelry, but that by itself wasn't so stunning. She took a jewelry-making class and made a gold cross. She gave it to me, so naturally I love it. It wasn't possible. Right? There's no way he could have danced with Duo at the masquerade and not known it was him. He would have recognized the other boy's voice. Right? He wracked his brain, trying to remember exactly how his partner had sounded. The voice had been pitched a little lower, and that was probably intentional. But listening to Duo talk, he slowly realized it was the same voice. After all, he himself had intentionally changed the normal pitch of his voice. That had been the point of the masquerade. Heero realized he was staring and blinked, averting his gaze to stare out the window now. What kind of sick irony was this? It was almost like a cruel joke being played. But while Duo may act the clown, he knew the boy wasn't malicious. He was too honest for devious tactics like this. And he could remember Shinigami telling him he acted how he thought people wanted him to act. Heero blinked when a sparrow flitted across his field of vision. What an insightful look into Duo's mind that was. His eyes were drawn back to the other boy. So Duo's over-the-top behavior was a mask, because he thought people would not be comfortable with the real him? How interesting. It made him suddenly—and achingly—burn to get to know the real Duo. The hints of him he'd seen in his chats with Shinigami. It really, really wasn't fair. Duo was perhaps the only person on the planet he could not become involved with. He was a Maxwell. The heir to the entire Maxwell fortune. For a split second Duo's gaze wandered over to him, and electricity arced between them. Heero actually felt a shiver run up his spine. He'd always been attracted to Duo. The boy was quite attractive—beautiful, really—smart, honest, and straightforward. Duo never lied or gave false impressions, he acted as though he was not ashamed of himself or had anything to hide. Fact of the matter was, Heero had never truly hated Duo. The animosity spawned from a certain desire for status-quo, an unwillingness to create waves. Rather like his elder sister. Phylia had confessed to him once she felt no undue hostility toward the Maxwells, and in fact rather admired their drive and determination. Closing his eyes, Heero once more rested his chin in his hand. He had no idea what to do. Not even the vaguest, foggiest idea. The thought of cutting Shinigami out of his life hurt. It physically hurt, somewhere deep in his chest. And yet, allowing him closer was a bad, bad idea. He drew a hand through his hair. By the end of class, he was no closer to his answer. Duo immediately opened his computer when he got home, eager for a chance to chat with WingZero. As soon as he logged in he sent an invitation request, but a bubble popped up, WingZero is not online. Disappointed, he turned instead to his math homework. It was one of his least favorite subjects, but if he was to enter the family business it was necessary. Math was a large part of what they did. It had been a strange day. He'd aced his presentation, of course. But he couldn't get too enthused about it. Several times he'd seen Heero giving him looks he couldn't interpret. Those cold blue eyes were sort of glazed, as though he wasn't really looking at Duo but rather looking through him. It made him shiver to recall. And he'd not said a single thing—odd. Extremely odd. Sighing, Duo pulled the tie from the end of his braid and ran his fingers through his hair until it came loose. The silken mane cascaded down his back in a gleaming fall of thick auburn-chestnut. He loved his hair. He wore he long only partially for his own sake. His sister loved it, too. His fingers closed around his cross. He seldom wore it to school for fear it would somehow get lost. He didn't develop sentimental attachments to material items easily, but this one was special. Smiling a little, he raised it to his lips and gently kissed the cool metal. His computer pinged. WingZero had sent a conversation invitation. Grinning like an idiot, Duo scooted back to his computer and accepted. A bubble popped up at once. What are you doing, Shinigami? Nothing, Wing. What are you doing? I've been thinking about you for quite a few hours now, came the reply. I want to meet. Duo's heart skipped a beat. Over the last several days he'd developed quite a serious crush on WingZero. In all honesty, he was anxious and eager to meet his e-friend. But he was nervous, too. He didn't want this to end badly. Where do you live? he typed. I live just outside the capitol city. Not that far, Wing replied. Only about forty minutes or so. I know a place no one else goes, a place we can meet without prying eyes or a chance of mistaking someone else for each other. It's sort of my secret place. Now Duo's heart began to race, butterflies fluttering in his stomach. Wing wanted them to meet in a special place? When? he typed. And where is it? Do you know where the Imperial Gardens used to be? Yes. They built that ugly fortress there and then abandoned it. That's the place. On the west side there's a section where the wall has caved in. Vines are growing all over it. Part of the ceiling collapsed too, allowing sunlight in. There are young trees and flowers all over the place. It's beautiful. That's where I'd like us to meet. It sounded perfect. A wonderfully romantic setting. Duo found himself hoping with all his heart this friendship would bud into something more, grow into something strong and enduring. He was only sixteen, but age didn't matter to love. WingZero was smart and funny, a little sarcastic, opinionated, and obviously very strong. When should I be there? This weekend, came the prompt reply. Just before dusk. I'll be wearing a dark green silk shirt with silver buttons. Wear something violet, that way we'll know each other for sure. I will, Duo typed, wondering if he could wait that long. It was only two days away, but still . . . it seemed like forever. I'll see you there, Wing. Wear the cross your sister made for you, Wing typed his last request. Good night, Shinigami. Good night. Duo leaned back in his chair when Wing logged off. He almost felt sick with excitement. Wow, did he ever have it bad. It just felt right. Somehow, WingZero felt right.
tbc |
