Life Goes On Part 15
Heero stepped into the private room of the pricy and elegant restaurant that had been set as the grounds for his meeting. The lovely waitress that had been ushering him through the restaurant smiled and nodded to the lone table in the center of the small space. Sitting at one of the two settings that had been placed across from each other sat Jeffrey Klein.
With a smile of his own, the tall man rose from his seat and greeted, "Heero Yuy." His head topped with blonde hair that shimmered with red highlights in the light, the man of his mid forties was dressed in a black suit and blue shirt finished with a deep red tie. He extended his hand and commented, "Thank you for being so flexible with your schedule. I hope that our meeting a couple days early was not a hindrance for you."
Lowering the large portfolio that he had been carrying, Heero grinned back and shook the hand firmly. "Not at all, sir," he replied. "This is quite an honor for me, and I appreciate your taking the time to meet with me."
They took their seats and beverages were ordered. As the waitress stepped from the room, Jeffrey folded his hands together and propped his elbows on the table. "Now," he began, "before we really get started here, I want to tell you that I am well aware of your infamous boyfriend."
His smile growing a bit when Heero blushed at the statement, the tall man continued, "And I will have you know that your bit of celebrity in that will neither help nor hinder your chances of being entered in the Stellar Gala. One's personal life is one's personal life and I, for one, am not a person who judges another where that is concerned."
At that, Heero's tense shoulders sagged with a deep sigh of relief. He smirked and nodded firmly, "Thank you for that, sir."
Jeffrey returned the nod and announced, "And now onto business. In case you don't already know, Lady Une is one of my dearest friends. I find her taste in art impeccable and so I hold her opinion in high regard. When all she could do was sing your praises for the last couple weeks, it was quite difficult for me to ignore."
Heero cleared his throat uncomfortably and shrugged with a nervous grin, "Great. No pressure, right?" He was rewarded with a laugh that rumbled from the man's chest.
Feeling a little more at ease in having lightened the air, the Japanese teenager admitted with a slight frown, "I've only had two years of formal teaching in art, so it was a bit of a nerve-wracking thing when Lady Une asked if she could get the two of us to get together. The Stellar Gala is a very prestigious event and I'm not at all sure that I'm ready to be a part of such an event."
Jeffrey tilted his head and smiled sincerely, "I appreciate that modesty. I must admit, myself that I was surprised to learn of how young you are and inexperienced as far as the formal teachings as you say. However, some people are simply gifted. Lady Une believes that you are one of those individuals. " Straightening when the waitress returned with their drinks, he excused her politely for the time being.
"That said," the influential man said as he gestured to the portfolio beside the table, "Let's have a look at what you have there." As Heero quickly rose from his seat to gather up the large folder, Jeffrey removed a pair of thin wire framed glasses and set them atop his long nose.
Returning to his own seat, the unruly-haired boy worried his hands together under the white linen table cloth. Jeffrey paged through the works without hinting what impression they were making on him, a set frown of thought on his features. A 'poker face' Heero mused to himself. And it only made him all the more worried that Lady Une might have expected too much of him.
Finally, after appraising each artwork carefully, Jeffrey closed the portfolio and set it beside the table again. Removing his glasses, he asked with a raised eyebrow, "Only two years of formal teaching, correct?"
Heero nodded, not trusting his voice at that moment, before taking a sip of his water. Lightly tapping on the large portfolio's leather cover, the promoter asked, "And you are the young man that painted 'Life,' which hangs in the entrance of the Smithsonian largest museum on Earth? The same one that you have a much smaller version of in here?" [1]
Nearly squeaking out his answer, Heero responded, "Yes, sir. That was unveiled just this last summer."
Already nodding before the teenager could finish his words, Jeffrey's brown eyes revealed something akin to awe as he stated, "Yes, I am aware of when the portrait was unveiled. I was there for the event."
"Y-you were?" Heero stammered, his own cobalt eyes widening. The museum was filled with people that day for the unveiling. To think that Jeffrey Klein, one of the most significant men in the world of art, was there to see his artwork had his heart pounding.
Sitting back in his seat, the promoter folded his hands together again and smiled, "Yes I was. Quite a few of my peers were. Along with mentors of my own. I wish that I made a note of it to learn the name of the artist, and yet here you sit. That painting is quite a remarkable piece of work. You truly captured the essence of life, as you so named it. Such a feat is quite astounding for one as young as yourself."
Not one to be very comfortable with praise, Heero lowered his head. Peering through his unruly bangs, he said quietly, "I am honored that you think so, Mister Klein. That painting is still my favorite of the paintings that I've done."
The excitement in Jeffrey's brown eyes grew as he leaned forward. With a wide smile, he asked, "Please tell me where you got the inspiration to create such a perfect image to explain such a complex concept."
Sitting back in his own seat, Heero smiled at the question and lowered his head a bit. He thought of Duo and how he had inspired him to make the painting. As he raised his cobalt gaze from the table linen, he replied, "Well, it was how I felt at the time. From practically the time I was born, my parents had wanted me to follow their footsteps and become a lawyer and owner of their firm.
"I never had a concept of what it was like to live, I just went through the motions of what my parents expected of me. That was until I met Duo..." Losing himself in the memories of how his life had changed, Heero continued on with his story with a small grin on his face.
* * * * * *
Treize blinked his widened eyes as he raised his hand to his chin in thought. "I never would have considered that as an option," he shook his head. "Make it that Duo will convert back into a cat without the process killing him then rebuild him from scratch so to speak."
Nodding from his seat across from the young man, Howard explained, "It would be a far less challenging thing to do as opposed to solving the whole of the problem at once. We've been trying to both save Duo and stop the process that's already so far along now. I could make a serum that will keep the DNA from breaking apart entirely while returning to their original state by using the samples we took from him before we ever experimented on him."
"And it would save us the time we need to rebuild his make up so that there are no flaws in his structure," Sally realized aloud, her own eyes widening at the concept. "It comes with its own risks, such as memory loss or the possibility that we might not be able to come up with a solution to bring him back. But it's the only logical thing that we can try, considering how far along Duo is to coming undone as it is."
A deep sigh escaped Treize's lungs. Folding his arms, he thought deeply on the option that had presented itself. Finally, he stated, "There really isn't any other way. Trying to handle every problem at once will take too long." To his right, Sally nodded her agreement.
The tall doctor took a deep breath and met the old scientist's gaze watching him from across the table and gave a firm nod of his head. "Tell us how we can help."
* * * * * *
Tray in hand, Solo stepped through the cafeteria for a late lunch. Thinking back to his last class for the day, he was amazed at how much more sense the teachings had become with Duo's help. With only a couple tutoring sessions under his belt, the dots of what little he was able to grasp were beginning to connect.
Passing the table there his four 'brothers' were already gathering, the blonde neko gave them a nod of recognition before heading to where the food awaited. Quickly filling his tray, Solo moved back into the main seating area. On his way towards the table where his friends awaited, he noticed Duo sitting on the other side of the room with Chad, Beth and a few students from the Glee Club.
There was one seat left at the table. Right across from Duo.
It was another test. One to see where the frat boy would go on his own devices.
With wide eyes, Solo gazed from where his anxious friends were watching him to the table where Duo was sitting. He noticed the braided neko's violet eye glance at him from its corner before he returned to the lively conversation he and his friends were engaged in.
Giving his 'brothers' an apologetic look, Solo moved to the chair across from Duo and forced a grin. "This seat taken?" he asked.
A wide smile tugged Duo's lips as he turned to face his apprentice. "Not at all," he answered. The other students at the table all greeted the blonde teenager with smiles and encouragement to join them. Lowering his tray to the table, Solo slipped into the chair. The pleased smile on the braided lawyer-to-be only grew as if to say, 'Passed another one.'
Beth looked over to the blonde neko. "You're going to have to get a couple more trays," she giggled. "One just isn't going to cut it." When she was rewarded by a confused look by her one-time nemesis, she opened her backpack to reveal three trays that she had stuffed inside. Duo and all of the others gave a peek into their own bags to show that they too, had a handful of food trays stowed away.
Gasping sharply, Solo's brown eyes widened. As he leaned in, he whispered harshly, "You're stealing from the cafeteria? What if we get caught!"
Nonchalantly waving his hand, Duo smirked, "The staff knows that we do this all the time when it starts snowing." He gestured to the window at he other end of the table, to the lightly drifting, thick white flakes that filled the air. "But to give it a little more excitement for us, they 'turn a blind eye' to it."
"More like no one can resist Duo's charm," Chad snickered. Duo blushed at the statement and shrugged.
Solo blinked his eyes and inquired, "But what could you possibly want with all of those trays?"
At that, Duo's smile returned, a bit more mischievous than the other neko would have liked. "Well, to find out, we're going to have our tutor session earlier than usual. Since we're finished with our classes for the day, we'll just meet up at my place after this. But, you have to get more trays before we head out."
If that was what Duo wanted, that was what Duo would get, Solo decided. By the time they finished lunch, he managed to 'sneak' five trays into his own backpack.
* * * * * *
Night was just beginning to fall when Duo headed out with Solo after their session. Trays in hand, they moved through the wooded park not far from Wayne. "So where are we going?" the taller teenager asked in slight annoyance as he adjusted his brown wool cap with his free hand. He brushed some off the snow that was clinging to his eyelashes as it continued to fall around them.
"Almost there," was all the response that Duo gave him with a glance over his shoulder. A few more paces and the braided neko pushed back a large branch that was in their way.
When they cleared the obstruction, Solo froze with a sharp gasp and wide eyes. Just before them was an impressively steep hill that dipped into what appeared to be a wide valley below. All around, dozens and dozens of students were laughing, sledding, having snowball fights and making snowmen and snow angels. With the sun going down, the sunset reds, oranges and yellows painted the snow in a breathtaking mural while the lamplights began to brighten with an almost dreamlike glow.
Sighing in content, Duo smiled wistfully as he watched the scene. "Heero and I somewhat started this when we got caught sledding by our apartment earlier this winter," he informed. "We pulled a few people in and eventually word spread to the other colleges nearby so we had to move here for the room. Every snowfall, we get more people than the last time."
His violet eyes sparkling with excitement, he raised the trays in his hand and grinned, "Not everyone has a sled, so we accommodate what we can." That said, he moved over to the top of the hill they were on and set down the extras by a very short pile already waiting to be used by anyone in need. Solo moved slowly, still taking everything in, as he followed his 'mentor's' actions right down to setting one of the trays down and sitting on top of it.
"I-I've never done this before," the blonde neko admitted nervously as he looked down the steep hill. Watching the others that were soaring downward on their own trays-turned-sleds, he tried to get an idea for how sledding worked.
Duo smiled, not a mocking smile but one of understanding. Lightly pressing his hand on Solo's back, he told him, "Just hang onto the edges of the tray tight and fall as you will when you reach the bottom." He gave a firm push that sent the other teenager over the edge.
Crying sharply, Solo hung on tight to the 'sled' as he flew downward. The cold air stung his face at the rate he was going and his heart was pounding in his chest at the sheer exhilaration of traveling so quickly. Missing all of the others at the bottom of the hill, he hit a small rough patch in the snow and was knocked from the tray. Rolling and tumbling along the soft, cold blanket, he found himself laughing loudly. Just beside him, Duo crashed to a halt and his laughter melded with his own.
Before he was even able to get up, Solo grunted deeply when a snowball from nowhere hit him in the back. Quickly turning to the source of the attack, he found Beth, Chad and the others that had been at their table that afternoon. "Good to see you, Solo," the young man grinned as he adjusted his glasses before hauling another snowball that he already had waiting in his other gloved hand.
"Oh yea!" Solo laughed as he bent down just in time to dodge the oncoming assault. Quickly forming a snowball of his own after watching how the others were doing it, he threw it and landed a perfect hit. The lot formed teams and engaged in a vigorous 'war'.
Just as Duo was about to partake, he was suddenly knocked to the ground from behind. Landing with a sharp 'oof,' he turned onto his back to look up at the person that was propped just over him. "Heero!" he exclaimed with a wide smile.
Panting from his swift ride down the hill, the Japanese young man grinned, "Got your message to find you here, as you see." Duo was just in the middle of opening his mouth to ask about the meeting when Heero leaned down to kiss him deeply. Pulling back only for air, he smirked, "Jeffrey's looking forward to the artworks that I come up with for his gala."
His violet eyes widening, Duo breathed, "Heero. That's wonderful news." He smiled widely, "I'm so proud of you!" Reaching up, he pulled his partner back down for another heated kiss. Their moment was broken when a snowball hit them both in the shoulder.
Looking up with wide eyes, they watched as Solo fronted the small army of their friends. The lot all held the same mischief in their eyes as the blonde neko chuckled deeply, "Get a room, you two." The air filled with laughter and 'yea's' from the other students as they hurled their snowballs at the young couple.
Heero and Duo laughed loudly as they scrambled for the trays to use them as shields.
TBC...
[1] For those who might not remember, or did not read the epilogue of 'Life...Really, ' here is the description of the painting 'Life' that Heero made:
The painting spanned the entire wall's great length and height, the first piece that everyone entering the museum would see. It was an image of a breathtaking shoreline at dawn. And at the center of the image was a man, his back to the perspective of the gazer, his legs parted as he leapt high into the air with outstretched aims to the brightening sky.
While the man's face in the painting was not seen, it was impossible not to imaging the elation that would have certainly been there. The striking, vibrant colors used for the art piece could not help but draw the eye to it.
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