"The Cabin"
Written By: Miss
Murdered
Disclaimer: I don't own the GW characters - am
just borrowing to torment for my amusement
Rating: NC 17
Warnings: sexual relationship, supernatural elements,
swearing
Pairings: 2x3
Summary: Trowa's debut novel became a best-seller
and now he is failing at writing a follow up. In order to find peace
and quiet to write, he rents a secluded cabin near a small town to
find inspiration. Yet writing becomes hard when he keeps hearing howls
from the woods in the middle of the night and even harder when he
meets a charming diner owner named Duo…
"The Cabin"
The
morning came and Trowa had seemingly slept through most it. Groggily,
he managed to extricate himself from the excessive amount of blankets
and sit up, his hair in his eyes and his mouth dry. The sun was out
and Trowa squinted as he adjusted to the light yet didn't move.
He didn't have to. There was no work. No Cathy demanding a ride
somewhere or wanting to check he was still alive.
He
did love his sister. After all, it had been just them for as long
as Trowa could remember. He didn't remember his parents. Cathy
did. It was probably harder for her. When their parents died, Cathy
and Trowa had lived with their grandma yet that did not mean they
were looked after. She had been too old at that point and it had been
Cathy who cooked, cleaned, who cared for both the old and young in
the house. When their grandma had died, Cathy had been old enough
that she could claim parental responsibility for Trowa and not have
the world of foster carers and social services. It had been a blessing
yet meant their relationship was perhaps a little too close or at
least a little bit different than a usual sibling one. Cathy had been
like a mother to Trowa as well as a sister and that sometimes made
it difficult for him to find space away from her.
Right
now he needed space. He needed to his brain to work and for him to
remember how he wrote Flicker
Fade and
why he had been so consumed to tell the tale. And why he didn't
feel like that now.
He
couldn't live off one novel forever. It had made a decent enough
amount of money and the movie rights had been bought but that did
not mean a successful movie was going to be made of it. Or made at
all. Trowa was made aware his one bit of success would not last long
and the money would run out eventually. So he had to do. Somehow.
With
a big stretch, Trowa padded out of the bedroom and remembered that
he had nothing to eat beyond pretzels and candy.
"Gotta
go find the store," he muttered to himself.
Dressed,
showered and clean shaven, Trowa left the cabin around noon, his stomach
growling. He needed to find a diner as well. Cooking himself was not
at option when he felt this hungry.
Trowa
guessed he could walk to the town as he had seen it was only a few
miles away according to the app on his phone but due to his need to
eat now, he
hopped into the rental car and drove down the overgrown road. It did
not take long to reach the highway and from there it was not long
to the little town that sat down the hill from the forest and the
cabin.
He
spotted the market and due to the size of the town it did not take
long to see the diner as well.
There
seemed very few businesses in the central area of the town and Trowa
parked up on the street, walking back towards the diner and feeling
very suddenly like an outsider. This sense of being an outsider only
increased when he stepped into Gee's Diner and Trowa could feel
every set of eyes on him as he strode in and took a seat at one of
the well-worn booths by the window. He tried not to feel self-conscious
as he felt everyone's eyes on him and he sat with a confidence
he didn't really feel. He was glad he had his phone and his
notebook with him as at least he could pretend to write while he waited
for food. It would provide some distraction from the very intense
feeling of being watched.
It
only took a moment from Trowa sitting down for a waitress to approach
wearing a striped uniform and a curious expression. She smiled broadly.
"What
can I get'cha?" she said.
Trowa
had barely had chance to see the menu selection but right now he didn't
care about what he ate. He just wanted to eat and get out of the diner.
"What's
good?" he asked with a smile, trying to be smooth and cool.
The image of Cathy laughing popped into his head as he was sure his
attempt at being cool was worthy of being mocked.
"The
fried chicken and waffles is Duo's speciality," she said
with a quirk of her head in the direction of the open window that
showed the kitchen area, "and our pies and legendary."
The
pies did look quite impressive, perched in the display case and ready
for cutting, some already having slices taken out but fried chicken
sounded like a good option. It wasn't exactly the healthiest
option but Trowa had not eaten anything but candy, pretzels and plane
food for the last 24 hours, anything had more nutrition than those.
"Fried
chicken would be great. And a black coffee."
"Sure
thing, stranger."
Her
parting shot was accompanied by a wink and Trowa soon realised that
the entire process of him ordering had been scrutinised by the rest
of the people at the diner. He tried not to let his annoyance or embarrassment
show on his face and he reached for his back pocket to bring out the
folded thin notebook so he could at least do something to ease his
self-consciousness.
He
supposed it made sense. This was a small town and a new person was
a rare and exciting occurrence. He wondered how they felt about Winner
locally, if he visited the market for his groceries but then he remembered
what Heero had said about the guy. He was a bit of a germ-phobe and
did not like interacting with people. Trowa guessed his food would
be delivered, sealed in plastic packaging and free of any human interaction
apart from taking the box off the delivery guy.
The
waitress returned with a cup of coffee and Trowa thanked her, returning
his gaze to his scattered pages of notes and thumbing through the
pages until he got to a blank page. He paused then, getting out his
phone to check his messages, avoiding writing even when he was trying
to find a distraction. He really wasn't going to get this novel
done.
He
was responding to Cathy to reassure her that he was going to buy food
and eat at reasonable hours, when his food was slid in front of him.
Expecting the waitress, he barely glanced up to smile in thanks until
he realised it wasn't the waitress. It was a guy. A guy wearing
an apron over a checked shirt with rolled up sleeves and a grin, a
guy with braided hair tucked into the back of his shirt and his hands
on his hips.
"I'm
sorry, man, small town and all. Everyone's talking so I had
to come and see who the newbie was. You sticking around or driving
through?"
Trowa's
mouth gaped slightly at the frankness of the guy. It wasn't
like he was rude, per se, just very forward and no nonsense. Trowa
actually preferred it to the stares and gossiping. Yet this conversation
was now the entire focus of the diner. The background noise of the
local radio station even seemed fainter as though someone had turned
it down to hear whatever Trowa said.
"I'm
staying at the Winner cabin for a month," he said.
"Woah...
you know that rich kook?"
"A
friend does. I'm only renting."
The
guy nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. He offered his hand,
a hand that Trowa could see knife cuts and burns prominently over
the skins surface. "I'm Duo. Own this place... I'm
always around if you want to discover the secrets of this here little
town."
Trowa
took the hand, shaking firmly and meeting Duo's very blue
eyes. "Trowa. And thanks..."
With
a nod, Duo rubbed his hands on his apron. "Gotta go back, no
rest for the wicked, huh?" he said backing away with a chuckle.
"Enjoy your meal."
Unable
to think of anything else to say, Trowa nodded and looked at his plate
of food. He could feel the diners gaze upon him but ignored it and
instead started to eat, wolfing down his food without looking up again.
Maybe that was it – maybe now the news of the stranger staying
at the Winner cabin would spread and then everyone would know who
he was and he wouldn't have to have the discussion again. Trowa
sincerely hoped so. He didn't want to say anything else. He
certainly didn't want to say he was an author – especially
not an author of a bestselling gay love story.
His
food finished, Trowa downed the final drags of his coffee and a bill
was placed beside him within seconds of his final bite. He appreciated
the speed, getting out his wallet and grabbing his phone so that he
could make his hasty exit. He tipped handsomely and thanked the waitress
as she took the cash, responding with an awkward smile when she said
"see you again."
Trowa
would return for the food, it had been delicious despite the speed
he had needed to eat, yet he didn't really want to be the centre
of attention once again. Out into the open air, Trowa took a deep
breath and started his slow stroll towards the market to pick up his
groceries. He was feeling free from awkward conversation and was thinking
surely the weird diner experience was good fodder for a story when
he heard his name shouted. Twice.
He
turned to see Duo chasing him, running down the street, his braided
hair longer than Trowa expected as it had escaped the confines of
his shirt. "You left this."
Trowa
realised what Duo was holding in his head. His old battered thin notebook.
He had been too quick to leave that he had left it hidden under his
abandoned plate.
"Thanks,"
he said, expecting for Duo to head back to his diner. Yet Duo didn't.
Instead he stood in front of Trowa scratching at the back of his neck
and looking anywhere but directly at Trowa.
"Look,
I'm sorry... I thought it would be best just to ask. I
know this place is full of rumours and a newbie is a big deal but
I know I embarrassed you. I'm sorry, man."
"It's
fine," Trowa responded, taken aback by the apology, "I'm
just... I'm a writer. I'm quiet."
Duo
smiled then, a look of relief flooding over his face. "I figured
with the notebook and all..."
Struggling
for anything else to say, Trowa nodded and wondered if he could just
make his exit to the market without being too rude. After a few seconds
of awkward silence, Trowa gestured in the direction he had been heading.
"I need to get some groceries."
"Yeah
and I need to get back to work..." Duo said with a shrug.
"But I mean what I say, you know.
If
you want some history of the town and stuff I'm your guy...
I might even help with some inspiration."
Duo
winked and Trowa blinked. For a second Trowa wondered if Duo was flirting
with him yet he damped down that thought as quickly as it surfaced.
"I
will, thanks."
"Here,"
Duo said, grabbing the notebook back. He quickly flicked through the
book, finding a blank page and he wrote his number down with a pen
he kept attached to his apron. "Call me or whatever."
Trowa
took it back, his finger rubbing lightly over the fresh ink, blurring
it ever so slightly. "Sure."
And
with that impressively eloquent response, they went their separate
ways, Duo running back to the diner and Trowa slowly meandering his
way to the market as he stuffed the notebook back into his pocket.
He wasn't what to think about Duo or their encounter but he
found it oddly reassuring to have a number of somebody in the town.
Maybe one day he could ask about what lived in the forest.
~ * ~
Chapter 3
Back to Miss Murdered's
Fics
Back to GW Authors Index.
