|
"Love Thy Neighbor"Written By: ExecutiveShrimp Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, it belongs
to Bandai, Sotsu and associated parties. Written for pleasure not
profit. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU, angst, fluff, citrus Pairings: 2x1 Summary: Duo's life gets turned upside down when
the house next to his is sold. The new neighbor exposes Duo to a lot
of new feelings but Duo's strict, religious upbringing makes him resist
them. He stubbornly denies that what he is feeling could be love. "Love Thy Neighbor" One He lifted his hand and pushed the curtain aside. A streak of sunlight hit his face. The warmth of the sun replaced the cold light of the reading lamp he had pulled over his shoulder, aimed at the book in his lap. The window was small and the view through the small opening between the curtain was limited. All he could see was the old, faded red truck in the driveway of the neighboring house. Rust lined all the edges, the door of the passenger side was badly dented. There wasn't a single other car in the neighborhood that looked like that. On this street, the residents preferred neutral tones, fast sedans and safety-tested SUV's. The new neighbor in the old truck. It was pathetic how captivating this new presence was, but he wasn't alone in his curiosity. More neighbors had been secretively peeking through drawn curtains, discussing observations and judgments over white picket fences and accompanying the exchange of casserole recipes. Totally pathetic, but, he realized, that is just the way of world, the way of the human brain at least. People cannot accept novelty, people cannot accept mystery. Everything needs to be touched, studied, dissected and reduced to something that they understand and the answer better not stray too far from what the observer knows or acceptance is a step that is too hard to take. It was a kind of curiosity-fuelled need for knowledge that he disliked in others, but with dismay observed within himself as well. After all, there he sat, peeking through the side window of the house. He closed the book. It wouldn't be read today, it would have to wait. He put it on the desk and replaced it with a notebook in his lap, flipping it open to a blank page. He released the curtain, needing both his hands to sift through the mess of papers on his desk to find a pen. Eureka, he thought, when he found it underneath his most recent receipt from the bookstore. He clicked it on but as soon as the tip of the pen touched the paper, he froze and lost all sense of victory. He thought he had something, he thought it had been on the tip of his tongue, but somewhere during his search for the pen, he must have dropped it and lost it somewhere in the chaos. He didn't bother to go looking for it. He put the pen between the pages of the notebook and put the set back on the desk. He leaned back in his chair and reached for the curtain again. His whole body went rigid with embarrassment when the new neighbor, standing by the tail end of the old truck, looked right at him. He lost his grip on the curtain and the sunlight disappeared. Shit, he thought. Shit, how dumb must I look? The hot feeling of his undoubtedly red face forced upon him memories of yesterday. Memories of their first meeting. He had looked dumb then too. The old truck had been heard from a distance away, the old engine sputtering and struggling to schlep the weight of the vehicle up the slight incline of the driveway. Duo had walked over to the nearest window, his morning coffee cradled in his palms. Obviously, he had expected the new neighbor to be a little bit 'alternative', considering his choice of home, but he hadn't expected he would have to throw all his predictions out the window on the premise that they had been dead wrong. He had put his cup of coffee aside for the time being and exchanged his sweatpants with a pair of jeans he had worn the day before and had carelessly tossed onto the living room couch. In front of the mirror in the hallway, while absentmindedly stepping into his shoes, he checked his reflection, smoothing some stray hairs and ensuring he looked presentable. Whoever this new neighbor would be, he knew he had to be welcoming and there was no time like the present. He had never actually done the whole "hey, welcome to the neighborhood" routine from this end of the conversation before, since he had been the newest arrival to the street, but he had really appreciated the fact that the other residents took the time to introduce themselves. Not because he particularly liked the attention or had any intention of befriending them, but it showed that they were good, friendly people and he certainly didn't want there to be any doubt that he was good, friendly people too. He had opened the front door and walked out. Just as he walked up to the driveway, the new neighbor got out of the old truck. Duo had been surprised to see he was alone, that was difference number two between what he had expected and what he actually observed. The first one being the dingy, used truck that looked painfully out of place. The new neighbor had paused by the door of his truck to look up at the old house, his new house, paradoxically, his back facing Duo. Walking up to him, Duo had taken in the appearance of the man. He was of unremarkable height, not tall, not short, with equally unremarkable brown, messy hair. He had a slim, lithe built that was accented by his dark, fitted jeans and an equally form-fitting light grey turtleneck. He had the sleeves casually rolled up and Duo had noticed a selection of colorful silicone bracelets on his arm, the ones associated with various charities or awareness campaigns. It was a positive observation, but again, something unexpected. When he had stepped out of the lawn and onto the gravel driveway, the crunching of his footfalls had drawn the attention of the new neighbor. He turned around to face Duo. At the sight of him he had instantly offered a friendly smile, his eyes slightly squinted in the brightness of the morning sun just reaching over the rooftops of the houses across the street. Duo couldn't help but notice the man - younger than he had expected - was very attractive with an interesting, exotic edge to his features. His striking blue eyes had been a momentary distraction and Duo stumbled with his words before he successfully managed: "Hi, I'm Duo Maxwell. I guess we are neighbors." He had hated how awkward he had sounded. "Hi, nice to meet you." The new neighbor had replied, walking away from his truck, closer to Duo. He reached out a hand and they shook hands. During the formal introductive gesture he said: "My name is Heero Yuy." Another surprise. The neighborhood wasn't very culturally diverse and Duo hadn't expected a change to come in that regard for any time soon. He was relieved that he was wrong, some people could really use the exposure to knew cultures. Perhaps - probably - including himself. "That's kind of an old truck. Do you have a thing for old?" Duo had felt like slapping himself as soon as the words resounded. It had sounded so terribly suggestive, especially considering the fact that he was older than Heero and they had never stopped shaking hands, oddly. "I mean, the truck and the house... " There is no saving this one, he had berated himself. Heero's polite smile turned into a playful grin. "The truck isn't old. It's vintage. It has character and history. That, I like." Duo finally managed to free his hand as casually as he could. "So, is that why you bought the house?" "Yeah." "Oh." He had glanced at the empty passenger seat of the truck. "Are you all by yourself?" "Ahuh." "Seems kind of big for just one person..." Duo had noted. Heero nodded. "I only bought it to fix it up. When I'm done, I'll sell it to people who could use the extra space." "For a pretty profit no doubt." "I hope so." Duo had looked back up at the house and had wondered out loud: "Are you going to be fixing it up all by yourself?" Heero had followed his gaze to the house and then turned back with a confident smile. "Mostly, yes. For some stuff I'll hire help and I have a couple of friends coming over in the summer to lend me a hand." "So you won't be staying for long?" Duo had been slightly disappointed that the house would inevitably end up changing owners again, sooner than expected. However, in the future, it would be revealed that this piece of information was the only thing that could console the neighborhood. "Well, it's a big project. It's going to take me a couple of months and I'm in no rush." He had smirked up at Duo. "I hope to be done by the end of the summer." He hadn't really known what to say to that. He wasn't sure if the timeframe was long or short for the attempted project. He had inched towards short, because Heero would mostly be doing the work by himself and Duo just couldn't help but judge him to be too young and too inexperienced. Yet Heero had portrayed himself with such confidence, it had been confusing. Recognizing that the brief conversation had come to an awkward end, Heero had walked away from him, back to the truck. He opened the tail gate and ripped an olive green tarp away to reveal a couple of bags and toolboxes amongst other things. It hadn't been much. "It was really nice of you to come out to say hello." Heero had said as he started reaching for his things. Duo had stood by idly, his hands in his pockets, unsure if he should give the conversation another attempt or if he should just give up and walk back inside and see if his coffee was still sufferable. "Yeah. Well, it's the right thing to do. We are going to be neighbors for a while after all. It is only right to be kind to your neighbors." Heero had turned around at that, a strange, amused look on his face. He had said mysteriously: "I hope you will hold yourself to that." He had pulled something out of the back of the truck, it had looked like a sign, just a board nailed to a stake. He had kept the front of it angled away from Duo and in hind sight this had been deliberate. "What's that?" Duo had curiously wondered. Heero had only smiled in response as he walked the sign over to the cobble stone path. With some physical effort he pulled the SOLD sign out of the ground, putting it face down in the grass. He stuck the new sign into the grass, leaning his weight on the top of it to bury it further into the soil for stability. He had given the sign a pat and then had walked back over to the truck, swinging two duffel bags over his shoulder. The last thing he had said to Duo was: "I really hope we will get along. It was really nice meeting you, Duo." His voice had a comfortable, deep tone to it. One final smile and then he had walked up to his new house and closed the rotting door behind him. And that was how he met the new neighbor in the old truck. Duo resisted the urge to pull the curtain back again, too afraid Heero was still there. He couldn't help but be fascinated by Heero's rebellious confidence that had an inexplicable, youthful charm to it. He also couldn't help but be frightened by it. That kind of attitude could cause a lot of troubles, especially in such a conservative neighborhood. One couldn't help but wonder if it was all on purpose, if it was all meant to be provocative without any higher goal. He closed his laptop that he had been using for a quick Google search and reached for the thick book again, his distracter of choice. He opened it on the page where he knew he had left off, but the story was alien to him, he didn't recognize any of the characters, couldn't remember any of the plot. It dawned on him that all morning his eyes had simply been following the letters while his mind had run amuck. His ears perked when he heard the rumble and the sputter of the old truck as it backed out of the driveway. Duo walked out of his study and into his living room, in time to see the red truck drive off. He waited by the bay window, knowing he didn't have to wait long. He was hardly the only curious entity home during the day in this street. Soon enough the dark green front door of the house across the street opened, as did the navy door of the house next to it. Two of his neighbors stepped outside and walked down their paths to the street where they met and exchanged words. They kept looking back in the direction of the old, hideous house, but Duo knew it wasn't the house they were looking at and discussing. Something much more eye catching - in a bad way - drew their attention. His face went hot when one of the women caught him looking. Busted, he thought. She fervently waved him over. With a sigh he went outside and crossed the quiet street to where the two women were standing. He tried casually: "Good afternoon, Terry. Relena." The two looked at him with angry glares. Terry had her arms folded in front of her chest, Relena had her hands on her hips. They both looked flustered and indignant. "Have you seen this?" Relena demanded, her honey blonde hair whipping around her face as she angrily nodded back at the old house, particularly, the sign in the lawn. Duo awkwardly followed her gaze and sighed. He was as uncomfortable with it as they were, probably even more so, but he didn't want to start a nasty war. It wouldn't be right. "I was actually there when he put it up." He admitted, though he knew that would not ease the tension in the conversation. "And you didn't feel compelled to tell him how inappropriate this is?" Terry stepped in. She looked disgusted. "My God, Duo, I have children!" "They're not going to know what it means." It was Relena's turn again. "It's not just about the sign Duo! It's about what the sign represents!" "Freedom of speech?" He carefully tried. She glared at him. "Really? A joke? Now?" "Maybe we should convene a meeting with the Neighborhood Association? Make him take the sign down?" Terry thought aloud. "It has no place in this neighborhood. He is just using this house for some sort of demented political agenda." "Look, I have nothing against gays," Relena clarified, "but I believe they should stick to their own kind and know their place. If he is so pro-gay, why didn't he just buy an apartment in the gay bar district in Jameson? It's bad enough that a city so close to our peaceful town even has a "gay bar district" but if they all live there and stay there, away from us, at least it will have a purpose." Duo was baffled by her despising tone. Relena wasn't a particularly religious woman, so he wondered what made her so solidified in this belief. "Relena, I understand that you are not happy with this, but we mustn't turn to hate. We'll just have to tolerate it. He won't be here for that long anyway. Most importantly, just because he has that sign, doesn't necessarily mean he is... gay." He finished with a hushed tone. "He had all those charity bracelets on, it's probably just another cause to him, it doesn't have to be personal." "Oh please. He is gay! And every second he is here will be a second too long." She argued. "And what will stop him from selling the house to another gay? Ugh! And it's such a waste too, he is so pretty..." She wined. "Yeah." Duo agreed absentmindedly. He felt his palms instantly going clammy when he noticed the two young women were looking at him with questioning frowns. "I meant: Yeah, what's going to stop him from selling it to another homosexual." The two ladies chuckled and Terry said: "Oh good, for a moment there we thought you thought he was pretty too." She playfully punched him. Duo chuckled too, sheepishly. "Yeah, I was just messing with you." "I wonder if he will be bringing lovers to the house..." Relena started again with her intolerant demeanor. "Pretty face like that, he is probably the whore of the fag community." Duo bit his lip with regard to the fact that the same could be said about Relena in the straight community - if there was such a thing - with her heavily made-up face and exaggerated sway of her hips when any guy - literally any guy - was watching, to make sure that he would keep watching her. Instead, he just berated her. "Relena!" Terry made a disgusted face. "I don't want my boys seeing him kiss anybody. They are in that monkey see, monkey do phase, he could turn them gay!" "I doubt the process is that easy and straightforward." Duo tried to console her. Relena laughed. "Straightforward! You get it?" She nudged Terry with her elbow. "Straight-forward." Terry chuckled. Duo smiled awkwardly. He hadn't really intended to make any sort of joke. "You should really join us for dinner more often, Duo." Terry said once she had caught her breath. "You are such a hoot!" Duo wasn't really eager to accept her invitation but he knew it was unspeakably impolite not to do so, so he replied: "I'd love to." "Great, how about tomorrow?" Duo was surprised by the immediate suggestion for a date. He had hoped that time would be allowed to pass, enough time for all parties involved to forget all about it. Obviously, he had no existing plans for tomorrow, they knew that too, so he agreed to come. "Fantastic. Relena, you and Carlton are of course welcome too." "Oh thank you, that would be great! As long as you don't invite the new neighbor." The ladies laughed and Duo awkwardly joined in with a forced chuckle of his own. The three of them froze when the red truck appeared again, too close for the driver not to have seen them. With it's effortful sputter the truck turned onto the driveway and came to a halt with a sharp screech. "Shit." Terry muttered under her breath. "Terry." Duo hissed. Especially coming from a mother of four he could never appreciate her foul language. Heero got out of the truck and looked right at them as he shut the car door. Duo felt like he was struck by lightening. "Shit, he's coming over." She continued with a mutter, looking extremely uncomfortable. She pulled the loose sides of her vest close, as if she was suddenly cold or felt exposed. Once he had crossed the street, Heero gave them all a smile. "Hello. I'm Heero Yuy." He offered the two women a hand. They couldn't not shake his hand, so they reluctantly did as they introduced themselves. "It's really nice to meet you all." Heero said with a slight smile, but at the same time there was something in his eyes, something knowing. Duo found it hard to believe the young man didn't feel that his presence was unwelcome. Terry and Relena made little effort to hide their contempt and discomfort. "Duo, it's good to see you again." He said, looking at him; looking into him. Duo swallowed as Heero stepped into his personal space with a kind smile and gentle eyes and even briefly lay his hand on his upper arm. Duo distinctly got the feeling he was being used by Heero to provoke a reaction out of the two glaring women. That rubbed him the wrong way, even though he recognized the women were wrong for judging him based solely on a sign in his front yard. "You know what?" Relena suddenly exclaimed, startling all the others. "I am making this amazing birthday dinner and cake for Carlton. Duo, Terry, I could really use your help in preparations." She turned to Heero with an obviously fake smile. "Heero, I'd ask you too but you are probably busy moving your things." "How considerate, thank you." His tone dripped of sarcasm that was offset by a convincingly polite smile. Relena nodded and then walked off, back to her house. Terry followed her footsteps hurriedly. When the two of them noticed Duo wasn't trailing behind them, Relena called his name impatiently. Feeling guilty for the new neighbor who was blatantly being shunned, Duo replied: "Uhm, sorry Relena, there is actually something I have to do." At the very least he could give the new neighbor the benefit of the doubt, even though he was getting the exact kind of vibe that confirmed Relena's accusation regarding his sexual deviation. "Duo." She persistently gestured for him to come over. "Sorry, Relena." "Fine!" The two women disappeared into the house and Terry slammed the door shut behind her. They would no doubt be rushing to the nearest upstairs window to spy on them and gossip behind the glass pane. "It seems not everyone is as kind to their neighbors as you are, Duo." Heero concluded with a smile. His voice was nice and smooth, but Duo was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to notice that. "I'm sorry." After an uncomfortable, silent moment of hesitation, Duo added: "You are not exactly making it easy for them. I doubt you are not smart enough to know that you wouldn't be making many friends with that sign in front of your house." Heero's polite smile slipped away and he replied with a serious, meaningful face: "The sign has never hindered real friendships. And those are the only ones that matter. I'm not interested in making any other kind of friends." Duo shrugged and walked back over to his house. He heard Heero following him. He turned around and asked him challengingly: "How about making enemies? Did you ever think about that?" He was becoming agitated as it seemed increasingly likely that Relena was right. He had the feeling Heero would be provoking this state of mind more often during his stay - thankfully short. Heero looked sideways, at the sign in his own yard. "I don't have to make enemies, Duo. Enemies will always be there and they will always find people like me. We have no choice but to be proud and dignified and hope someday they will respect us, at least for that." He nodded and started towards his own front door. "I'll be seeing you around, neighbor." Duo was taken aback by his words. It sounded an awful lot like Heero had just confirmed Relena's and Terry's suspicion about what the sign represented. He watched him go, his heart was pounding. He was instantly hit with an intense feeling of nervousness that knotted up his stomach. Duo sighed, conflicted by his feelings. He was sympathetic to the young man but he wasn't sure whether that was right or wrong, whether that was allowed or discouraged. The teachings were contradictory; his parents, the Bible and the local priest had agreed that to the neighbors, one must be kind and helpful, not just your literal neighbors, but everyone around you. Yet they also vehemently argued with the same breath that people like Heero were wrong and unfaithful, opposed all morality and there were only two choices. Fix them, or distance yourself from them. Well, Duo thought, chewing on the inside of his cheek, therein lay the problem. The sign in the front yard made it pretty clear Heero had his mind made up and there would be no changing him. He was solidified in his own beliefs, misguided as they were and if there is one thing Duo knew, it's that belief is stronger than any other force. But creating distance was no more possible than fixing him appeared to be. After all, houses do not move. He knew he just had to stand it. Heero's stay would be relatively brief anyway. Hopefully that was enough incentive to prevent the neighborhood from causing trouble. The street was occupied by particularly conservative people. All Republicans, he knew that for a fact, he was part of the local rally in support of the previous presidential campaign. And the Neighborhood Association was very hands on in protecting the integrity of the neighborhood as they saw fit. It seemed Heero had slipped through the filter. Duo looked at the sign. The text was short but powerful. Just to make sure there had been no misunderstandings, he had searched the internet for the term and it meant exactly what he feared it meant. Something he had seen on the news or in the title of a newspaper article occasionally. He had always avoided paying attention to those reports. It was a sensitive and confusing subject and seemed to bring out the worst in people on both sides. STOP PROP 8. The letters were rainbow colored and stood out on the black background of the sign. During his brief search Duo had learned that the proposition aimed to ban gay marriage in the state after it had only recently been allowed. He found several heated articles on the matter arguing both sides with determination as both sides were equally certain of their own rights and beliefs and equally upset about being denied them. The texts had been accompanied by many pictures of angry and upset people, holding up similar "STOP PROP 8" signs in demonstration. The thought that Heero was gay was greatly disturbing to Duo. Mostly because that left him unsure of how to interact with his new neighbor. Communication had always been issue for him, now it was only more difficult to find an appropriate way to handle himself. He walked up to his towering bookcases and paused in front of the line of old, brown, leather bound books. Several editions of the Bible, which he had all read and all said the same. The answer was in there but it was an answer that left him feeling uneasy. He knew religion was not about picking the answers that you liked and discarding the ones that you didn't, yet he had trouble accepting the written and spoken word on the subject. But it's wrong. He reminded himself. It's unnatural! Those words were said in so many different voices, including his own, there must be a truth to them. It is a truth he has lived by all his life, to deny it now would not only be unreasonable, it would be a waste. He was relieved Heero's did not intend to make himself a permanent resident of the neighborhood. He had a gnawing feeling that the young man would not lay low, if the sign was any reliable indication. Grumbling he walked back to his small study and threw himself back into his desk chair. He took hold of the thick book he had been working on and rifled through it backwards till he had returned to the first page of the story and he started reading from the top. His focus on the words was disturbed when he heard the sound of a large truck coming down the street and stopping in front of the neighboring house. The heavy engine was left on and it's deep rumble drew Duo back to the window. He opened the curtains just far enough for him to peak through. There was a moving truck parked in front of the new neighbor's old house. A man in blue coveralls jumped out of the high cabin and met Heero halfway up the path to the house, right by the sign which he was ogling with a frown. Whatever he must have been thinking, he politely shook Heero's hand and he held out a clipboard and a pen. A second man in coveralls emerged from the cabin and opened the loading door of the truck. Instead of the things you expected to come out of a truck following someone's move, like a couch and refrigerator, the men, with Heero's help, started unloading equipment. Large toolboxes, big power tools, crowbars, ladders and more. They carried everything into the house where Duo could see them placing everything in the front room, as the house was stripped bare of all curtains. He blinked when another truck approached the house, this one backed a large, empty, steel container up into the tall grass of the lawn. The driver casually waited outside for Heero to come out and sign the papers. Duo watched him as the man watched the sign with a neutral expression. Less than half an hour later, both trucks drove away again. He watched Heero disappear into the house, away from the windows and when he emerged five minutes later he had changed into black cargo pants and a plain white T-shirt, carrying one of the two supplied ladders to the front porch. He angled it against the edge of the porch's roof and climbed up. With gloved hands he started taking hold of the roof tiles and flinging them off the roof towards the container with perfect accuracy. The tiles made loud, dull noises when they hit the bottom of the container and the sound reverberated through the steel walls. Duo looked back at his book, staring at the words as the banging of tiles hitting the container floor and the other tiles, continued incessantly. It was an intrusive, distracting noise. Duo tried to read, but with each bang he had to go back a word and make sure that he had read it right. This process soon became tiring and frustrating, till he couldn't read at all anymore in expectation of the next obnoxiously loud bang in the otherwise so quiet neighborhood. "You've got to be kidding me." Duo grumbled. For the first time in years he wished he had a day job to escape to. In his head he started counting the months till the end of summer. Too many. Duo needed peace and quiet, that is why he chose to move to this neighborhood in the first place. And here he naively thought Heero's sexual orientation and accompanying political beliefs would be an issue. The young man surely supplied the neighborhood with plenty of reasons to dislike him. It's not like the noise wasn't unexpected, but Duo hadn't counted on it being quite that prominent. When you've lived in a quiet neighborhood for so long, silence just becomes a given and people are fooled into thinking nothing could disturb that peace and quiet. It seemed Heero wasn't particularly concerned with maintaining the peace nor the quiet. Duo closed his eyes but was confronted with flashes of unwelcome images of the past, the present and a future that should never be. He felt a painful knot in his stomach. Rather than standing the onslaught of noise and destructive trains of thought, he grabbed an empty shoulder bag and his wallet and decided to leave the house for the remainder of the day for whatever chore he could think of. He pulled his red front door closed behind him and trotted down the steps of his porch with heavy footfalls. He froze when he suddenly noticed the silence. Warily, he turned and looked up. Heero stood erect on the roof of the sagging porch, looking down at him, his face challenging with a mischievous smirk. "Hi there neighbor." "Hey." He didn't return the greeting with much enthusiasm. He threw his bag in the passenger seat of his car and then walked around to the driver's seat. "You know," Heero called as Duo ripped the car door open, "I'd be done a lot sooner if you could lend me a hand." Duo blinked up at him, unsure whether to take him seriously or not. "You're kidding." "Of course not." Heero threw the heavy tile he had been holding into the container down below. He was about halfway done with the roof of the porch. "Uhm..." It was incredibly impolite to ignore a request for help, but then again, he hadn't so much asked as cockily suggested it. Duo sought middle ground with a compromise: "Maybe some other time." "Alright. I'll hold you to it." Heero responded with a smile. He hoped dearly he wouldn't. He lifted his hand in a pathetic wave and then climbed into his car and drove off. Instead of heading out to do chores, his hands absentmindedly steered his vehicle till he found himself sitting in his car, parked in front of the bookstore, not even remembering how he had gotten there. He had half a mind to drive away, after all, Heero disturbed the exact peaceful state of mind necessary for him to be able to read, but the front of the little bookstore was a welcome sight and it gave him the feeling of coming home to family after a long day. He reached for his bag and got out. What's the point of having money if you are not going to spend it on the things that make you happy? The bell of the door chimed as he stepped inside and the smell of new and old book enveloped him like a warm blanket on a cold, rainy day. Books filled with stories of fantastic lives that never had been and never would be his. It was bittersweet, yet he liked the taste and always came back for more. "Duo. I'm surprised to see even you come back this soon." A voice commented as a figure emerged from the rows of bookcases. The bookcases were all relatively low, so even a child could still reach them, but most importantly, so the owner could too. He deftly maneuvered his wheelchair through the aisles as he approached Duo, a smile on his young, but lived-in face. "WuFei." They shook hands in greeting as they always did. WuFei's hands were callous and dry from leafing through book all day. His store wasn't so much a store as it was a display of his personal collection and an excuse to be around it all day. He often joked that being wheelchair bound was a blessing in disguise. Duo couldn't remember the last time he saw his friend without a substantial stack of books in his lap. Though it took him a long time to be able to make lighthearted jokes about his condition. "Anything new?" WuFei snorted with a smile. "Not since the day before yesterday. What's going on?" "What do you mean?" Duo innocently shot back, approaching the bookcases, staring at the colorful spines. "Well, it's odd even for you to be coming back so soon. I thought we had agreed we couldn't stand seeing other more often than once a week." He joked. "Just had to get out of the house." Duo replied softly, picking up a random book and studying it's cover before returning it to it's place. "Don't judge a book by his cover." His friend chastised meaningfully. "Don't start." Duo snapped back, absent-mindedly picking up another book. "I just had to be somewhere else." "Ah." WuFei mused knowingly. Duo sighed. "Not for the reason you think." "Good." The Chinese man retorted. "I can't stand listening to you wining about the same thing one more time." They shared a brief look, an exchange between kind eyes that needed no words. "So what's the reason?" WuFei moved his chair to the front left corner of the shop where he had decorated a small reading corner. He gestured Duo to take a seat on one of the chairs. Duo obliged, only because he knew WuFei disliked talking to people who remained standing, forcing him to look up at them and them look down at him. He sat down and put his feet up on the chair across from it, only to be ordered not to do so. "I have a new neighbor." He started dramatically. WuFei's face was blank. He couldn't stand people overreacting to small things. So to defend his morose mood Duo added: "He's gay, and makes no secret of it." "Wow." WuFei scratched his head, the turn in the conversation instantly grabbed his attention. "That's got to be... weird, for you." "It is." "Yeah. Snap out of it." "Excuse me?" Duo straightened up in his seat, giving his friend an incredulous expression. Usually WuFei was more helpful and informative with his advise. "He's your neighbor. Don't let your upbringing or your beliefs or whatever, for even a second, make you think you have the right to be a dickhead to him." The man warned. "He's just a guy who happens to be gay." "I had every intention of being nice to him." Duo snapped back. "Good." Duo snorted. "You don't even know him. Maybe he deserves me being a "dickhead" to him. And I don't like that word by the way." WuFei chuckled. "Well, I'm just guessing here, but I dare say you don't know him either. So hold off the religious dickhead routine. Surely you remember what happened last time." Duo chose to ignore his last comment and repeated: "I told you I didn't like that word." WuFei shrugged. "Life doesn't always give you what you want." That was particularly poignant coming from a man in a wheelchair. "But maybe it's what you need." Duo frowned, trying to make sense of WuFei's words. "I need to be called a dickhead?" "No, well... maybe. But most importantly: maybe you need this guy as your neighbor. Aren't you the one between the two of us who believes everything happens for a reason?" "So what? I have a gay neighbor as atonement for being a religious dickhead?" Duo sarcastically shot back. WuFei sighed, his face turned meaningful and he dropped the bantering tone. "I was thinking more about a chance to make things right and coming to terms with some stuff." Duo's face went red: "Don't tell me you still think-" WuFei raised his hands in surrender and interrupted: "No, you've made it very clear. What I meant was; don't treat someone differently on superficial grounds just because you were taught so. Maybe if you treat him right, you'll be able to let go of the past." "You want me to be all buddy-buddy with this guy?" "I want you to realize that what you have been told about homosexuality is not all truth, let alone absolute." "It doesn't work like that, WuFei." Duo started with a sigh. "You can't just slice and dice in religion and eat up only the parts you think taste good. Of course I don't want to hate anybody based on sexuality, but I can't accept their lifestyle either and they should know that they are wrong but that they can chose the right path." WuFei looked at him seriously. "Spare yourself and that new neighbor the heartache of that preach.." Duo didn't say anything. WuFei was his dearest friend, arguably the only one, but for some reason their conversations always turned towards hostile and heated when the topic inched towards anything related to religion. WuFei wasn't religious himself, never had been. Duo's parents had been very upset when they found out their young son had befriended the "heathen child" as they called him. WuFei was the adoptive son of liberal parents- they would either be called "hippy" or "not in their right mind" by Duo's folks - to them, religion was a choice that WuFei ended up not choosing. Even though their lives parted after middle school when Duo went to a private catholic high school and WuFei to a public school, they managed to remain friends and found ways to respect each other's beliefs, albeit with little understanding. Finally, Duo spoke in surrender: "You're right. I'll be kind. And I won't give him the preach. Even though maybe I should." "Trust me." WuFei cut in. "You shouldn't." Duo felt his competitiveness to be right flare up again. "He should know that he has an alternative, righteous choice." WuFei shook his head. "It's not a choice Duo. This guy couldn't choose to be straight any more so than I could choose to get up out of this chair and skip around the room." He looked at him lengthily and meaningfully. Duo glared back at him but in the end had to avert his eyes. "That's not true. You know that's not true." He said, looking at the thread of the carpet. WuFei replied softly: "The evidence is inconclusive." He rolled up to Duo and gave him a friendly pat on his shoulder. "Now buy a book to make this all worth my time and get lost." He bantered. Duo started strolling through the aisles, occasionally kneeling down to take a closer look. Even though he knew WuFei didn't actually mean he had to buy a book, he picked one to purchase anyway, something rather mindless but with a lot of action and suspense. He hoped it could distract him from the loud activities and magnetic presence of his new neighbor. He walked it back over to the cash register and got out his wallet. WuFei scanned the book and told him the price, passing playful judgment on his choice. Duo gave him a ten dollar bill and told him to keep the change, as always. As always WuFei stubbornly handed him back the precise amount of change. "Hold on a second." He said before Duo could grab the book and put it in his bag. He reached down into a drawer and pulled out another book, placing it on top of Duo's selected science fiction novel. "Take this one too." Duo glared at his friend. "I already have it." He remarked dryly. "Take it. After five years of sitting here, it's not going to sell it anyway. Besides, I have a couple more of where that came from and it sounds like maybe you should read again, to stop you from making the same mistakes all over again. You want a plastic bag with that?" He added sweetly. "No thanks, shrink." Duo grabbed the set of book and stuffed it into his bag. he walked out of the store, a bit disappointed. He didn't know why, he shouldn't have expected WuFei to give him any other advise. Obviously WuFei had no qualms with homosexuals. Hell, Duo thought - though immediately chastising his choice of words -, the guy thought I was gay for a long time. Things just would have been so much easier if WuFei had told him to rudely ignore his neighbor, or take a long trip till he was gone. But WuFei wasn't the kind of guy to ignore an issue or problem. He faced every challenge head on with determination and bravery and had never revised this attitude, even though it had landed him in the hospital several times and - in the end - in a wheelchair. He went by the grocery store and after picking up some necessary supplies he mulled over the selection of frozen dinners and went with pizza after considering quiche. Only because pizza just seemed more masculine than quiche, he had to silently admit. He stopped by the soft drink aisle for a bottle of root beer and then waited in line at the cash register. As he waited he licked his lips, trying to still his appetite for quiche. "Hi, Duo." He was greeted when he was at the front of the line. "Hey, Amber." He replied politely but lacking enthusiasm or interest. "How are you?" "Good. I'm really good. I mean, I fine, I guess I could be better, but I'm good." She nervously babbled, keeping her eyes on his as she scanned his products. "How are you doing? Are you doing good?" He offered her a smile that he hoped was soothing and reassuring. "I'm fine." "Okay. That's great. That's wonderful." She meekly replied. She tucked a lock of her curly black hair behind her ear and looked up at him in a shyly seductive manner. Duo noticed her fingers unnecessarily touched his and lingered as she took the money he hander her. "Have a nice day." She practically purred with a deep crimson rushing to her cheekbones as she handed him back his change. "Thanks. You too, Amber." He hurriedly gathered his groceries into his arms and scurried away. He chucked everything into the passenger seat chair and threw his bag on top. He slowly drove back home. When he pulled into the driveway, his new neighbor was nowhere to be found. Duo admitted this gave him a slight sense of relief. He walked around the car and stuffed as much of the groceries as he could into the bag and then effortfully gathered the remaining products into his arms again. "Do you need help with that?" The sudden voice from close behind him startled Duo and promptly caused him to drop all the things he had been holding. Most fell back into the passenger seat, other things ended up on the driveway. A can of soup rolled down the slight incline towards the road, but Heero - the cause of the mess - swiftly went after it and picked it up before it had even reached the sidewalk. "I didn't mean to scare you." Heero said with a smile as he walked back towards Duo and innocently handed him the can of "tomato soup with extra tomato flavor". "I wasn't scared." Duo replied in a more deep version of his own voice, taking back his soup. "Just caught me off guard, that's all." "Sorry." Heero watched with a bemused expression as Duo's distracted hands worked to gather all the groceries. "Do you need any help with that?" He asked again. Duo was about to snap at him that he could handle it himself but WuFei's presence in the back of his head stopped him. With a grumbling tone he accepted the help, even though it really wasn't all that necessary. He didn't mind being nice to the new neighbor, he was just worried of what the others would think if he ended up getting to close to Heero. Duo sighed, when did I become so hostile? He asked himself. WuFei, though a good friend, always managed to upset him in some way. Or maybe he just always got him thinking and, unfortunately those thoughts always ended up being upsetting. Out of the blue, he apologized for his rude attitude and genuinely thanked him for his help, as Heero followed him up to the house carrying the soup, the root beer and the pack of toilet paper - embarrassingly. "Don't worry about it. We're neighbors after all." Duo looked at him over his shoulder, catching his smile. "Right." He unlocked the front door and led his neighbor inside. Heero paused as they passed the entry to the living room, of course he had been using the opportunity to look around. Duo couldn't blame him for that. "Wow." The young man commented. Duo ignored him and walked his part of the groceries to the kitchen. He'd put them away later. He returned to the hallway and frowned when Heero was gone. "You have a lot of books!" His voice suddenly called from the living room. Duo sighed and followed him, finding him standing in the middle of the room, admiring the volume of the collection. He still had the three items cradled in his arms. Duo chewed on the inside of his cheek, feeling a little exposed and vulnerable with the new neighbor eyeing his books. For some inexplicable reason it felt like he was looking at something very personal and like he was gaining an intimate knowledge of him without offering anything in return. "You have a lot of Bibles." Was his second observation as his gaze fell on the shelf entirely occupied by editions of the Bible, both Old Testament and New Testament. "Are you religious?" Duo snorted. "Yeah, so what?" He bit back. Heero turned to face him with an apologetic and also curious expression. "I didn't mean it in an offensive way." "How could you not?" Duo questioned, taking the groceries from him and momentarily tossing them on the couch. "You obviously don't think much of religion." Heero frowned and appeared genuinely confused. "What makes you say that?" "The sign." Duo answered. "The sign has nothing to do with what I think of religion. However, the sign has everything to do with what religion and religious people, amongst others, think of me." "What's the difference?" Duo demanded to know. Heero shrugged and started towards the front door. "The difference is that I don't hate someone, or something, just because they hate me, or because someone told me to hate them." He took hold of the doorknob as he stood in the doorway. "Have a nice evening, neighbor." He said without snide tone and then he pulled the door shut behind him. Duo groaned as he stood in the silence. He felt like dickhead.
|
