Fire Mated Part 2
"Duo?"
Duo peeked his head out from the bathroom, his fingers tangled in the long strands as he stopped in the middle of braiding his long hair. Grinning he glanced at Trowa who was sitting up groggily in bed.
"Wake up, lazy bones, you're going to be late otherwise."
Trowa frowned and bushed his bangs out of his face, searching blindly for the clock next to his bed. "I overslept again?"
"Nope, but your alarm is about to go off right... about... now."
Trowa groaned as the alarm started beeping, right after Duo said it would. Hitting it hard he rolled over in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, listening to the sounds of Duo moving around in the bathroom. Why was he this tired? He'd gotten a full night's sleep, had he-
Trowa's eyes shot open and he sat up, pushing away the covers and glancing at his arm. Sure enough his arm had five long red lines, scratched into the skin. Rubbing them lightly he glanced back to the bathroom as Duo stepped out, humming lightly to himself as he dug through his dresser and pulled on a pair of jeans over the boxers he was wearing.
"Duo?"
"Hm?" Duo didn't look up as he began searching for a shirt.
"You ok?"
This time Duo blinked and glanced back at him in confusion. "Yeah, course. Why? Something wrong?"
Trowa shook his head and hid the scratches with his hand as he stood up and headed for the bathroom. No, if Duo didn't remember the nightmare he wasn't about to ruin the boy's day by telling him about it. Duo seemed his normal cheerful self this morning and Trowa refused to ruin that, so he let the subject drop. Instead he went about getting ready for classes and risking a short shower.
He was brushing his hair as he heard Duo run back into the room, a piece of toast hanging out of the side of his mouth as he searched for his socks under his bed. "I'm gonna head in early, wanted to stop by the library this morning." Duo said, masterfully holding the toast in his mouth. "So you get to walk in by yourself."
"All right."
Duo struggled on his last sock and munched away the piece of toast then rushed out the door, yelling a farewell behind him. Trowa just stepped out of the bathroom and stood there, staring at their beds.
He sighed softly. He could remember the last time Duo had had one of his terrifying dreams. He'd ended up rolling onto the floor, practically smothering himself in his blankets as he thrashed back and forth, letting out small whimpers of fear and pain. Trowa had freed him from the blankets and comforted him for most of the night until he finally calmed down again.
He knew what the dreams were about, though Duo never really told him. The only fact Duo had confirmed was that he always burned in his dreams, which made sense. Duo's parents had died in a house fire, trapped in the basement while Duo pounded on the door trying to get them out. He'd been so young at the time...
Trowa's father was a firefighter at the local department at the time and had just happened to pass by the house when it caught fire. They later found out that the fire was caused by a poorly cleaned out chimney, causing the fireplace to catch fire along with the room surrounding it. Due to the amount of time it took for the fire fighters to reach the house they were only able to save Duo. Duo's father had died in the blaze; his mother making it to the hospital only to die a few hours later of severe burns. In the end Duo was left with no living relatives, an orphan. Trowa's family had adopted him soon after the accident, as a kind of apology that Trowa's father hadn't made it in time to save his parents. And ever since then Duo and Trowa had been raised as brothers.
Trowa frowned deeply.
Raised as brothers? Ha.
He couldn't deny how he felt about Duo, and it certainly reached past brotherly love. So much to the point that he was hoping Duo would have noticed the feeling that had prompted him to buy the chess set and every once in a while give Duo a small kiss. It wasn't just protective brotherly love; it was love plain and simple. But Duo didn't seem to notice... or he ignored it on purpose.
Trowa sighed and tied off his shoes, heading for the door. Grabbing his school bag and stepping out onto the street he made a promise to himself. He was being too protective of Duo, too afraid to hurt the boy again. But this couldn't wait. He'd tell him how he felt today, and come hell or high water he'd accept the consequences, whatever they might be.
~*~
Duo raced through the school halls, making a beeline straight for the library. He hadn't arrived at the school as early as he'd wanted and didn't have much time before class. Racing through the halls he hit the library door at an amazing speed and threw it open, running straight into the boy standing in front of him, both toppling to the ground with a cry of surprise.
Duo jumped up. "Oh man, I'm really sorry! I didn't see you there."
Quatre rubbed the back of his head and sat up, groaning. "Ouch..."
"You all right?"
Quatre nodded. "Yeah, you just caught me by surprise. Lucky the floor is carpeted huh?" Standing up he brushed himself off and glanced around for the book he'd been carrying. Duo stood up and spotted it. Picking up the old and worn volume he handed it to Quatre.
Duo's eyebrows raised when he saw the author. "You read Heero Yuy's stuff?"
The blond blinked. "No, yeah, well kinda. I mean I just got this book from the lady I'm living with. Why? Have you read him?"
Duo snickered. "Read him? He's only the most popular writer in this town. Keep track of that book, it's really hard to get copies of his stuff considering it isn't published."
"How much has he written?"
"Couple books, not too many. People say they are all really good, though."
Quatre smiled. "How many have you read?"
Duo responded with a smirk. "All of them that I can get my hands on."
"Do you know him? I mean do you know Heero Yuy? I'd kinda like to meet him."
Duo's smirk wilted at that and he shook his head, running a hand over his braid. "That I can't help you on. The guy is really hard to find and few people talk to him. Most don't even know what he looks like. He's pretty hard to track down."
"Oh." Quatre frowned and carefully placed the book back in his school bag. "All right, thanks for the information anyway. I guess I'll just have to keep looking. Talk to you later, I have to run to class." Quatre turned and started for the door.
"Wait."
Quatre glanced back over his shoulder.
"What do you want to find him for?"
Quatre just shrugged. "Nothing too important. It's kinda hard to explain, don't worry about it. I'll see you later."
"Yeah... bye." Duo watched the blond boy leave the library, the door swinging shut behind him as he stepped outside. Duo frowned at the door, long after he was out of sight. Why was that blond searching for Heero Yuy? And why did he look so disappointed at the fact that Heero was really hard to find.
Shrugging to himself he let the thought slide and turned, heading for the checkout desk. Oh well, whoever that new blond boy was it wasn't important, least not at the moment. His lips curved into his most flirtatious smile as he headed for the checkout desk and he leaned over the counter, smiling at the girl who stood behind it.
"Heya Sylvia, how's life treating ya?"
The strawberry blond girl behind the desk blushed and turned her face away, trying to hide the redness in her cheeks. "Not nearly as nice as you do, Maxwell," she said with a bright smile.
"Sorry to hear that, hope things look up. So, you got a list for me today?"
She nodded and pulled out a neatly folded sheet of notebook paper and handed it over. Pulling himself to sit up on the desk next to her he opened up the sheet and scanned over the list. "It's pretty long this time," she said, "You still going to be able to-"
"Easily. They'll be here by Monday, as usual. And tell Lu she needs to stop losing her copies. I'm not a bottomless pit you know."
Sylvia snickered. "Already spoke to her about it, she swore that this time she would keep track of it."
"Good." Duo pocketed the list and jumped down from the desk. "See you on Monday Sylvia, until then don't get lost in the shelves." Waving to her he walked out of the library and headed to his next class. Sylvia just shook her head and went back to checking in the pile of newly returned books.
~*~
"Are you always reading?"
Quatre glanced up from his book to see Mariemeia standing over him, mock frowning with her hands on her hips. "Just waiting for you." He said, flashing her a smile and placing his bookmark at his spot. Then he set the book down as Mariemeia dropped onto the grass beside him. "Class run late?"
She nodded and pulled out her lunch, taking a drink from her bottle of juice she sighed. "I shouldn't be complaining about the amount of work at this school, I mean I knew it was a work-heavy place and all, but still three papers in one week? I'm going to have to work my butt off and I still won't be able to sleep. Not to mention that the office hired me as the official ambassador type person to all you new students... no offense."
"None taken."
"I just don't know when I'm going to find time for myself." Taking out an apple she took a bite and flopped back, lying out and gazing up at the leaves and branches above them. Quatre followed her gaze thoughtfully as he worked through his own lunch.
"But enough of my complaining, how are your new classes? Anything like your old school?"
Quatre shook his head. "I was home-schooled, so no it's completely different. A little much to get used to but I think I'm getting the hang of it."
Mariemeia rolled over onto her stomach and took another bite of her apple, cocking her head at him. "Quatre, what do you do for fun, you know, during your free time? Tell me you don't just read."
He laughed. "No, I read a lot. And help my uncle out with stuff, just random things." He shrugged. "Why? You trying to ask me out on another indirect date?"
Mariemeia sighed and just shook her head. "You should get out of your room more. Spend time around town, have some fun. Reading is fine and all but you should hang out with people."
"As soon as I get a handle on my homework I promise I'll try to be more social, deal?"
She grinned. "I'm going to hold you to that, Quatre Raberba Winner."
"It's Quatre, and I'm looking forward to it."
The two continued the meal with small talk about the school. With little persuasion Mariemeia shared her vast knowledge of the school with Quatre, showing him that despite her complaining she did enjoy being the 'ambassador' to new students. In return he answered her questions about his home life and joked with her about the indirect dates she tried to ask him on. He had grown up with over two-dozen older sister, many of whom were adopted for various reasons, and knew all the female tricks about dating. He also knew that Mariemeia enjoyed the jokes even though that's all they were.
It seemed that both got the hint that Quatre just wasn't interested in her beyond friendship, still that didn't stop her from trying and having a good time in the pursuit. And he wasn't about to spoil her fun, considering he also enjoyed it and she was the only friend he'd made so far. He was a social person... just not that quickly. It took him a while to speak up to people he didn't know and he knew he wouldn't be able to make many more friends until he became familiar with his surroundings, and Mariemeia was the quickest way to do that. So it worked out for both of them.
As they talked Quatre's attention was drawn over to the couple he'd seen the other day. Like before they sat under a tree, this time sharing a boxed lunch as the one with the braided hair chatted happily. Quatre also recognized him as the boy he'd nearly been run over by in the library a couple hours ago. The one who'd known about Heero Yuy...
He frowned. It seemed his only leads at the moment were to talk to the old woman he was living with or the lively braided boy, and he couldn't decide. He knew the old woman would answer his questions, but he had to live with her after all the questions and he was afraid of wearing out his welcome. But with the lively boy the story was different, it would be much more of a juggling act. He'd have to tell him just enough to get more information, but not enough to make him overly curious. He sighed, this was turning out to be a lot more then he'd bargained for.
"Hello? Quatre! Earth to space boy!"
Quatre blinked and turned his head back to Mariemeia, his face growing slightly heated from the look on her face. "Yeah?"
"You were staring at the lovebirds, weren't you? Dreaming of future relationships with your boyfriend?"
Quatre coughed and shook his head, surprised at her bluntness. "Stop that. I just got lost in my thoughts."
"What kind of thoughts?" She asked in a low voice.
"Not those kind!"
Mariemeia laughed and opened her mouth to answer back when...
"Back off!"
Both turned in surprise as the icy cold voice echoed through the yard. Quatre's eyes widened as he saw the braided boy slap the other across the face so hard it sent him to the ground. The other boy froze; his hand touching his cheek in surprise as he just stared at the braided boy standing over him.
In a flash Mariemeia was up on her feet and rushing over to the two, with Quatre close behind. Mariemeia dropped down beside the boy who was holding his cheek and glared up at the braided boy, protectively.
"Just what do you think you are doing Duo?!"
Duo glared at her, his expression colder then ice. Then the expression faded and he blinked, his eyes switching from anger to confusion. Quatre watched the boy's eyes flicker from Mariemeia to the boy beside her and he shook his head. Backing away slowly Duo finally swallowed and just turned away completely, running across the schoolyard to the main building and disappearing inside. All three watched him disappear in silence.
"Trowa, what was that all about?" Mariemeia asked softly.
Trowa frowned and shrugged off her hand, which rested on his shoulder. Gathering up the remains of the lunch he just flashed her a sad smile and stood up.
"I guess he doesn't feel the same way."
With those words Trowa walked away, his shoulders slumped just slightly in defeat. Mariemeia stood up and watched after the disappearing figures in complete confusion. Finally she threw her arms up in the air and gave a great melodramatic sigh. "Honestly! Sometimes I just don't understand those two!"
"Mari... what color eyes does Duo have?" Quatre asked softly, frowning and crossing his arms.
She turned and blinked at him. "Now why would you be asking a strange question like that?"
"They're deep blue right?"
Mariemeia shook her head. "No, they are violet, why? What's so important about the color of his eyes?"
Quatre just shook his head. "It's nothing. Just thought I... must have been a reflection or something." He trailed off and finally shrugged, hoping she would drop the subject.
"Ok, Quatre, anyone ever tell you you're strange?"
Quatre smirked. "More then once."
She laughed, the light mood having returned, much to Quatre's relief. "Well, we better clean up our stuff. I don't know about you but I have class in a few minutes and I can't be late."
Quatre nodded and followed her back over to clean up the untouched pieces of his lunch. The two headed back for the main building and their own classes.
"Hey!" Quatre called after her just as she touched the handle for the door to her class.
"Yeah?"
"Here's to hoping they don't add another paper onto that growing list of yours."
Mariemeia laughed and held her hand up in the air, crossing her fingers. "Yep, here's to hoping."
~*~
The door opened and Duo stepped out onto the roof of the main school building. Crossing the large flat area quickly he finally came to stand at the guard fence. Lacing his fingers in the thin pieces of metal he gazed down, watching the small bundles of students gather up the pieces from their lunches and head to class. From where he stood they all looked so small. So small and simple, simple little blotches of color without a care in the world.
He didn't feel like that any more. Sighing he laid his forehead against the metal netting and shut his eyes, just letting the soft wind brush over his body and playfully tug at his clothes. Trowa's words rung softly in his head.
"Duo... I..."
"What are you stuttering for? Just say it."
"Duo... I... love you."
Duo's body shivered a little and he shook his head, causing the fence to rattle lightly. Trowa loved him? No, that wasn't right.
Every part of his mind screamed against those words, screaming that they were wrong, not right... almost unclean. He thought of Trowa as a brother. The two of them had been brothers since his parents had died. Brothers couldn't be in love... could they?
Shaking his head he let go of the fence and sat down, leaning his back up against it and hugging his knees. Violet eyes closed and a heart shaped face rested on his knees, letting his mind and thoughts wander.
He knew Trowa wasn't really his brother, and he knew that in reality there was nothing wrong with Trowa actually having fallen in love with him. In fact, looking back at all the time they'd lived together and everything Trowa had done for him in the past, he was actually surprised he hadn't suspected it earlier. What with the small kisses, embraces and all, it should have been obvious. Even the chessboard should have been a dead give away. You don't get something that nice for just a friend. But...
But there was still a part of him that screamed at how wrong this should all be. He couldn't see it, he just couldn't see being in love with Trowa. The two were brothers, and they cared about each other to a fault. But... not in that way. At least Duo didn't. He cared for Trowa and knew he would protect him with his very life, but it was because Trowa was practically the only family he had left, not because he loved him.
Duo opened his eyes and shook his head madly, causing his braid to wrap around his face and slap his cheek with a sharp sting. Pausing he touched his own cheek, feeling the heated spot his hair left behind.
He hadn't meant to slap Trowa. He didn't even know what had come over him at that moment, it just all happened so fast. It was as if Trowa's words had set off a chain reaction. They hadn't even made him angry really, least not that he could tell, just incredibly confused. But for one second it was as if some thick rage had raised up in his body, like a volcano preparing to explode and that's exactly what he'd done. He'd exploded and he'd slapped Trowa across the face, hard. Then the anger had disappeared with only the hand-shaped red mark as any evidence.
Hugging himself tightly he sighed. His life had been so easy until those words, so simple and happy. And now...
Now he just didn't have any idea what to do.
He was in foreign territory.
"What am I supposed to do?"
The air around him only answered with a soft whisper and the chiming of the school bells below. Classes were in session; half the day was over. Standing up he headed back for the door which led to the stairs and classes below.
"I guess I should apologize. I shouldn't have slapped him."
Duo ran a hand through his bangs and walked down the stairs, jamming his hands in his pockets. He couldn't hide from this, that he knew. If there was one thing he learned from his parents' death it was not to mull around and ignore the uncomfortable things like they didn't exist. You never knew when someone would be snatched out of your life with no return. So he made up his mind to speak with Trowa, on careful, non-hostile terms. And hopefully this could all be figured out.
Hopefully...
Here's to hoping.
TBC...
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