Author: hostilecrayon
Pairing: 1x2, 3x4
Rating: PG (For now)
Warnings: Prologue is angsty, but overall, it's a romance, AU with some Canon parallels
Disclaimer: Don't own it, sadly.
Notes: It struck me that I've never written anything that started with an X, among other letters. I was randomly thinking "what could I ever write that starts with an X?" Well, Xenophobe popped into my head... and here we are. It was too perfect to pass up.
Oh, and this prologue is set when Duo's nine, but the actual story will be set when he's 25.
Xenophobic Prologue
xen·o·phobe: n.
A person unduly fearful or contemptuous of that which is foreign, especially of strangers or foreign peoples.
A nine year old Duo Maxwell dragged his backpack tiredly down the street. It would probably need yet another patch to keep it together, but he figured it didn't matter so much. Sister Helen loved making quilts, and it seemed like it was the same basic principle.
He wasn't in much of a hurry, but then, there wasn't much reason for him to be. He'd given up long ago on a family taking him in. Besides, he liked being with Solo, Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. During the day though, they were very busy, and Solo's school let out at three fifteen. Since Duo's school let out at two ten, he wouldn't have anyone to play with for quite some time. Sometimes, when he got really bored, he'd sneak through the little hole in the fence and look for his classroom, being Solo's high school was right next to the Maxwell Orphanage and Church. But it was Wednesday, and Wednesday was chore day, so he wouldn't be able to explore the school he was told he would someday go to. It was just another reason to drag his feet.
In the distance, he heard sirens. It was a common occurrence on L2, though Sister Helen had told him stories of a place called Earth, where the air was cleaner and the people were nicer. If he didn't have to hear sirens everyday, he thought he'd definitely go there someday. Of course, he vowed to take Sister Helen with him if he ever went, and Father Maxwell and Solo, too. Sometimes, when he laid awake listening to the sounds of the night, he would imagine that they were a real family that lived on Earth in a little house with a nice fence like he'd seen in the picture books Sister Helen kept in her room.
"It's a fire!"
"There are children in there!"
The shouts floated around the block to Duo, and he hefted his bag higher so he could start to run. He'd always been taught to help those in need.
"Who would do such a thing?"
"I heard it was OZ. Father Maxwell supported the Alliance's notion of peace, and with his social standing on L2, he was more influential than OZ was willing to allow."
Duo overheard the conversation and started pushing through the crowd of people that was gathering. He could see the smoke, and the smell burned the inside of his nose. He tried to yell out, but his voice was swallowed by the much too close wail of the fire truck as it flew by.
He had to get to his family. Real or not, they were all he had!
"Did anyone survive?"
"We're still looking, but it doesn't look good."
"The fire even spread to the school next door. All those children..."
"It really is a shame."
Shoving the people blocking his path aside, he bolted through the crowd and past the yellow caution tape to view the scene in all its absolute horror.
"Hey kid, you can't go in there!"
Crumbling before his very eyes was the home he had known since he was only five years old. Stone crumbled under the weight where wooden beams had once held and the stained glass window was but shattered shards littering the ground. Fire fighters still sprayed water futilely on the few resilient flames licking at the building.
"Kid! I said get away from there!"
Next to it, the school smoldered while men in red and yellow coats and hats pulled lifeless bodies out of the rubble on little white stretchers. His eyes widened when he saw a tuft of blonde hair and a burned, but still handsome face lay unmoving, carried by two firemen. His indigo eyes widened. "...Solo?"
Hands grabbed his sides and pulled him back, but Duo's eyes never left Solo's face. He was so still. It wasn't right for him to be so still. Even in sleep, he tossed and turned, and his left eye twitched ever so slightly.
"Kid? Hey kid."
"Duo."
"You know this kid, ma'am?"
"Yes... bring him... to me... please."
Duo tore his face away from Solo's at the sound of the voice. "Sister Helen?"
She lay flat on her back, propped up only by a small, flat pillow. Her clothes were burned and covered with soot, and she coughed violently as he slowly approached her.
"Yes, my child. I want you... to have... this." Her breaths were short, and dangling in her hand was a silver cross, and he reached out to touch it.
"But... this is your favorite."
"Take it... my... child. May it... guide you... and... protect you..." She coughed violently again, holding her stomach. "When we... cannot be..." "Sister?"
She turned to the fire fighter that had pulled Duo from the front of the building. "Take him... away from... here..."
He nodded, understanding completely. "I will."
"Sister Helen?" The man lifted him up and began to carry him away from her.
"Go... with God..." She wheezed.
"Sister Helen!" His hand shot out towards her, and he kicked at the man who carried him, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get free.
"Do you think that nun is going to make it?"
"She was hit by a huge rock right in the chest. She's inhaled a lot of smoke, and when she hit the ground, a broken board pierced her side. It's a wonder she's still alive at all. All we can do is make her comfortable now. She won't last more than a few minutes."
"SISTER HELEN!"
"That's horrible. The priest died instantly, I heard. I wasn't here yet when they hauled him out."
"Kid. Hey, kid. Hello?"
The man turned, blocking his view of Sister Helen following him with her eyes, and he screamed.
"I think this kid is in shock. Do you think you could sit with him while I drive?"
"Sure thing. Just sit tight, kid. We'll get you out of here in a jiffy. Will you take some aspirin for me?" Pills were pressed against his mouth and he opened his lips automatically. Water was poured in and he swallowed, his eyes never leaving the burning image of the church. He watched it tumble into nothingness through the glass windows in the back of the ambulance.
First his parents and now his new family. So many of his friends died in the plague when he was younger, too. So many people around him, all dying. His love was a curse.
Nine years old, Duo's indigo eyes were wide open, watching his home burning, making a vow to never love anyone ever again.
TBC...
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