CHAPTER NINE:

“Man…Maxwell. You look like hell.”

“Thanks, Wuffie. Remind me to give you tips on how to achieve the same look later.”

The Chinese boy snorted and focused his mind back on the beakers in front of him. He had a genuine concern for the American. Duo had walked into chemistry class with a look that bordered on sickly. The usual vivacious banter hadn’t been heard. The wide smile (too wide in Chang’s opinion) was not there. In short, Duo looked…lifeless. Wufei frowned. He wondered if the news had gotten to the Maxwell heir yet. If that was the problem, then he could understand Duo’s reason for being morose.

Watching as the clear acidic solution turned blue, he pushed the goggles off his nose and raised them to the top of his head. He slid a wary glance in the Japanese boy’s direction. Heero looked pretty much the same as he always did, but Wufei was good at reading people and he knew that the blank, empty stare looked a whole lot bleaker today. His eyes darted back and forth between the two rivals, his quick mind calculating what could possibly have gone wrong. Heero had come into class first that morning, and had moved straight to the last lab desk, away from most of the other tables. Duo had walked in late and had made himself quite comfortable beside Wufei, right in front of the teacher’s nose. They were as far apart from each other as possible. Both boys had not even given each other a look, but Wufei attributed it to their ongoing feud.

A light puff of smoke from his companion’s experiment jerked him out of his reverie. Duo’s mixture had exploded.

“Hn…” Duo muttered dully. “I guess I put in too much saline. Gotta wash it out…”

In movements that were nothing short of automated, Wufei watched as Duo poured out the failed attempt, rinsed and dried his beaker and then refilled it with the acid. Wufei had had enough. “Look…is there something bothering you, Maxwell? I know we are not close or anything, but you can talk to me about…”

“Is there a problem over there, Master Chang?”

“Uh…no. No problem, Professor Snow. I was just checking to see if my analysis was correct.”

“Well, get back to work or I will fail you for talking!”

Wufei muttered a low ‘bastard’ and continued with his work. “We will continue this after class, Duo,” he whispered. “And then I want answers, okay?”

A nonchalant shrug was all he received in response.

~&~&~&~&~

Heero’s body couldn’t be any tenser if he tried. His body tingled with awareness. Everyone was whispering and pointing towards him. He hated it. It was bad enough having to go through that traumatic experience with Duo the other day and now two days later, all the stolen glances and suspicious behavior around him was threatening to snap his sanity.

He glared into his laptop screen and typed away. His report for Professor Treize was almost complete and he did not need any distractions at the moment.

“Hi, Heero. Mind if I join you?”

“Hn.”

“Riiiight,” came the amused reply, before the green-eyed girl plopped herself down on the library chair beside him. “We were supposed to study together, weren’t we?”

When she still got no response from the Japanese, she sighed and began to open up her own laptop. “I am really sorry about the news, you know. I figure you must be going through a really rough time right now. I mean I don’t know how I would feel having to lose a family member in such a way.”

Heero’s typing stopped and those blue depths pinned themselves on the green ones before him. “What are you talking about?”

Julie looked a bit floored, but quickly recovered. “Haven’t you heard the news? I would have guessed you would have by now…”

Heero’s patience was wearing thin. “What news?”

“The news about…”

“Master Heero Yuy?”

The two students snapped their heads up to stare at the senior before them. The grave look on the older boy’s face sent a tinge of worry and fear down Heero’s spine. His hands tightened into clenched fists and maintaining his calm composure, he replied. “Yes?”

“Lord Byron would like to see you in his office. If you would please follow me?”

Nodding in response, Heero packed up his equipment quickly, his mind racing and churning with the million and one reasons for his summons. Julie had said something about losing a family member. Could something have happened to his father? Oh, Kami forbid! He had not even given his father a call since his arrival and now…

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Heero tore his eyes away from his books and stared blankly at the girl. Shrugging, he replied smoothly. “Do what you like.”

Julie needed no second prodding. In a flash, she was right beside him as they quickly made their way towards Randolph Hall. She was aware of the stares that accompanied their movements and she felt a bit smug. She wasn’t Heero’s ‘friend’ by any means, but he wasn’t encouraging nor discouraging her attempts. She was quite content with that and besides; she had a feeling that Heero might have already set his sights on someone else. Someone she was well acquainted with. She slid a wary glance towards him and noticed for the first time the bags of fatigue beneath his eyes. The boy looked tired and drawn. Behind that cool, icy façade lay a boy who was just as human as the rest of them. A small smile of understanding crossed her face, and without giving it a second thought, she placed a hand of reassurance on his arm. She wasn’t surprised at the flinch that occurred, but she was quite pleased that he had not shrugged it off either.

Heero Yuy needed a friend and she was determined to fill that position.

~&~&~&~&~

“And then Trowa says…”

Duo groaned as Quatre’s incessant chatter, usually beginning with the phrase ‘And Trowa says’, finally grated on his nerves. Obviously, the Arabian and resident adviser extraordinaire were hitting it off. Waaaay off, in Duo’s opinion. The blond boy couldn’t stop talking about him. Duo felt he should have been relieved at the fact that Quatre wasn’t paying so much attention to him anymore, but instead, a well of resentment filled his being. Here was happy-go-lucky Quatre already finding common ground with someone he genuinely liked and what was he, Duo Maxwell, stuck with? A headache the size of a space colony and now Relena approaching him with red-rimmed eyes.

She looked like she had been crying. Hoping and praying she wasn’t about to heap another pile of boyfriend troubles on his head, he braced himself against the lockers they had been standing at, and watched her walk up to him.

“What’s up, Lena?” he asked monotonously. Wufei was right. He did feel like hell. And he had one blue-eyed bastard to thank for that.

Relena sniffed and dabbed at her eyes again. “Can I talk to you alone? For one moment, please?

“Is everything all right, Relena?” Quatre asked, finding the time to pause his speech. “You look pale.”

Relena flashed a small smile towards his direction. “Don’t mind me. I just need to talk to Duo alone for a while. I hope you don’t mind.”

Quatre nodded and excused himself. “I will be at the library if you need me, Duo.”

“Sure, no problem, Q-man,” came the response, before a strong hand took the girl’s arm and led her towards an empty classroom. Shutting the door behind them, he sat upon a desk and stared at the sniffling Peacecraft. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on or do I have to do the guessing game?”

“Don’t you even care?!” Relena blurted out in exasperation. “For, Christ’s sake, it’s your cousin that died! Peter was killed! Shot! To death! By some…some…argh! I hate this whole family feud thing! It is making me sick! And innocent people have to die because of all of this bullshit! I hate it! Hate it!” She finally collapsed into harsh sobs, her breath hitching painfully in her throat. She sank into a chair and buried her face against the table. She never noticed the deathly pale look on her friend’s face.

“Pe…Peter? How…When…Who…?”

“A YUY! A FUCKING YUY!” Relena screamed out in frustration. Banging her hands across the desk, she stood up and glared at Duo. “I don’t understand this. I don’t understand it at all. You have to speak to your father! Someone has to speak to your father or Heero’s father! I don’t care who! I can’t take any more of this…this…”

“What the fuck do you want me to do?!” Duo screamed back. He wanted to lash out at something, anything. The pain was too much for him to bear. Peter Maxwell had been like an older brother to him. They had shared everything together and now…

“What the fuck do you expect me to do?” he whispered in a pain-filled voice, before sinking slowly to the ground. “What does it matter what I do or say. You know how my father is. I can’t get him to change his mind about anything. He is as stubborn as they come.”

Relena sat next to him and cradled his head against her chest. His sobs came out in a rush, the anguish and sorrow of losing a loved one filling his young body with an overwhelming intensity. Brushing the chestnut hair before her gently, Relena placed a light kiss on his head and continued softly.

“It doesn’t end there, Duo.”

A muffled ‘What?’ from Duo was heard.

 “Your parents are in town…”

Duo’s head jerked back up and he stared at the knowing eyes before him.

Fuck! This ruined everything.

“My dad called and told me about it. They are having Petey’s funeral at the local church downtown. I guess they will come to pick you up and all.”

“Aren’t you coming?” Duo asked, as he wiped a hand across his tear-streaked face. “I need you there, Relena.”

The brown-haired girl sighed and raised her knees up to her chin. “Yes, I will be there. Petey was my friend too, you know.”

A comfortable silence fell between them as they stared at the carpeted floor. Thoughts of what could and could not be filled the air. Finally, with a heavy sigh, Relena stood up and offered her hand to Duo.

“Come on, D. Let’s go study for drama. That should keep our minds busy until you are called, ne?”

Duo managed a weak smile and allowed himself to be raised to his feet. “Yeah, I guess so. So, what parts are we playing anyway?”

Relena gave a shaky laugh and opened the door. “What else…Romeo and Juliet.”

~&~&~&~&~

Odin Yuy stared at the couple. From his high vantage point in the administrative offices, Lord Byron’s office to be exact, he could make out two boys stealing kisses and coy smiles at each other in the gardens below. He felt a well of disgust rise up his throat and he all but smashed the window in his anger.

“You allow such activities to go on in your school, Lord Byron?” he asked coldly.

“I beg your pardon?” The white-haired headmaster asked in bemusement. “What activities?”

Odin sneered and pointed. “Those activities. Homosexuality. Relationships between members of the same…”

“I know what homosexuality is, Mr. Yuy. You do not have to lecture to me. And yes, it is permitted. If it is their choice, then who are we to stop them?”

The billionaire snorted and spun away from his position. Walking around the room in evenly paced steps, which in turn gave Lord Byron a major headache, he clasped his hands behind his back and began to rant.

“Such behavior should at least be kept behind doors and not displayed for the entire public to see. I do not see or understand the need for such…irresponsible behavior. It is uncouth for a school of this caliber!”

“Odin Yuy…” Byron said softly. “Randolph has changed a whole lot since you last attended. Times and people have changed. One cannot keep on living in the past, you have got to adapt to the changes around you. That is the way of life.”

“Do not preach to me, old man! I can buy and sell this school ten times over. I could have you removed and replaced…”

Byron sighed. He had heard this particular complaint before. If he could count the number of times he had been threatened with his job, he would be a far lot richer than Odin Yuy, that much was certain.  He had an idea on why Odin had decided to grace them with his impromptu visit. He had heard the news about the death of his nephew and naturally he sensed that the older Yuy was going through a period of grief, although from his current actions, one could barely recognize it as mourning. Byron was well schooled in Odin’s emotions, after all, the man had once been his student. He could still remember the day the news had come of his mother’s death.

Odin had never been the out-going friendly type. In fact, Byron was sure that Odin had had no friends in this school or if he had, he had never heard about them. He had summoned the then sixteen-year-old into his office. He had tried to downplay the incident, had tried to make it as easy as possible for the young man. When Byron had finally uttered the damned phrase,

‘I am really sorry…but your mother passed away earlier this morning. The doctors…they said, she died peacefully.”

He had paused, waiting to see if that would garner any reaction from him. Nothing. Those dark eyes had stared blankly at him. It was as if Byron had just announced that it was lunchtime. A tense silence had filled the air, before Odin had finally spoken in that oh, so grating monotonous voice.

‘Thank you for the news.’

Thank you. That had been all. Byron sighed and eyed the grown man before him. Odin had not shown his grief outwardly, instead everything had gone into overworking himself. He had been determined to be the best at everything. Second place had not been an option.

The sound of the door opening and the mass of light gray hair that peeked in, froze Odin in mid-rant.

“I am so sorry to interrupt your discussion, sir, but your son is here.”

Byron watched with interest as Heero walked into the office and immediately stuck out his hand for a handshake. No hugs and no smile either. Byron felt a dull ache rise within his chest. Odin’s father had been pretty much the same. He could not recall a day when he had seen the older Yuy show any sign of affection for his heir.

And so the circle continues.

He got up from his seat and smiled at the brown-haired boy. “Hello, Master Heero. I am sure you and your father will be needing your privacy. So, I will be in the outside offices if you need me. Good day.” And nodding once, he left the two men alone.

For several minutes, nothing was said as father and son stared at each other. Heero had barely been able to contain his relief. His father wasn’t the one dead after all. He had wanted nothing more than to give his father a hug, but he knew that it would be seen as a sign of weakness. If there was anything, Odin Yuy could not stand it was the touchy feely emotions.

“Heero.”

“Father.”

Odin nodded at the calm reply and then motioned for Heero to sit on one of the office chairs. Obeying silently, Heero sat as still as a statue on the seat, his features never betraying the heavy thud of fear and concern in his heart. Odin sat down as well and pursed his lips, his dark eyes flickering to the other inanimate objects in the room. Finally settling them upon his heir, he stated out flatly.

“Your  cousin was shot. Killed by a Maxwell.”

Heero remained motionless. “Which cousin?”

“Your cousin, Masaki. The one who was to take you to L3 for the upcoming Colony Economic Fair. The one you called brother.”

Odin wasn’t sure of what his son’s reaction was going to be. He was proud of the way Heero tended to handle things of such disastrous nature in stride. Martha had chided him for that, stating that Heero needed to expend his emotions more. Odin had scoffed and had almost fired the older woman, but he couldn’t stop the small tinge of worry that floated down his spine at the cold look that filled the young man’s face. Heero looked homicidal. A small voice at the back of Odin’s head pleaded for Heero to erase that look. He didn’t want the young boy to become…

Shut up! He is fine! He can handle it!

Odin stood up and paced to the window. “Funeral arrangements have been made for this Saturday and naturally, you are going to attend.”

“I cannot.”

Odin spun around and stared in disbelief at the clipped words that had been uttered from the boy’s mouth. “What did you say?”

Heero stood up and glared at his father. “I have classes on Saturday. I cannot make it to the funeral.”

“Are you out of your goddamn mind, boy? This is your cousin we are talking about, not some extra appendage to the family fortune! You are coming and that is final!”

Father and son stared down each other for several tense minutes, eyes blazing with unspoken emotions. The last time Heero had stood up to his father, the consequences had been quite severe. But Heero didn’t quite care at the moment. A certain long-haired boy filled his mind at this time.

“Who instigated it?” he asked icily.

Odin gasped and sputtered angrily. “I beg your pardon?”

“I said…who instigated it?!”

“What has that got to do with…?”

“Answer me!”

“Fine! If it means that much to you, your cousin started it and only because that damned Maxwell started it!”

“Was this Maxwell called Peter?” Heero asked, his body trembling as he prepared himself for what he was about to hear and say.

Odin shrugged and ran a hand across his hair. “Yes…I guess it was…why?”

Heero closed his eyes and sent a silent prayer to his cousin. “Did you know that Masaki was…” He swallowed tightly, before continuing. “Did you know that Masaki was…gay?”

Odin tightened his lips into a thin line of disapproval. “Well, I guess I know now, don’t I? That stupid, irresponsible…”

“Did you know he was having an affair with another man…and that he was so afraid that you wouldn’t approve, that he resorted to taking drugs to calm himself down? Did you know that he was so afraid of what you might do to him, that he had to leave the colony just to see the one he loved more than anyone else in the world? Did you know that he was in love with a Maxwell?! The one he died with?!”

Odin’s eyes widened as Heero’s voice rose with each sentence. The anger, hurt and frustration gushing out of his lips in a rushed flow, an unwilling trail of tears now spilling out of his eyes.

“Masaki spoke to me. He called me on the night before I left for college. And do you know what he told me, father? He said he would rather die than forsake Peter. He said if it became too bad, they would both die together! And it did! And now they are both dead! Kami! I HATE this godforsaken family!”

And not waiting to see his father’s reaction, he ran blindly out of the office. The tears blurred his vision as he ran past the concerned Julie amongst others. He didn’t care where he ran to. He just couldn’t stop. He had to get away. Away from the pain. Away from the hurt. Away from that huge obstacle called ‘family.’ He wanted to die. He was outside now, the cold lash of the early evening air biting against his wet skin. He tried to gasp in precious air into his overexerted lungs. His legs could barely hold up any longer and finally collapsing to the ground in exhaustion, Heero Yuy buried his face within the sweet-smelling grass and wept.

~&~&~&~&~

“So how long will you be gone?”

“A couple of days… I think.”

“Oh.”

Duo snapped the small carryall bag closed and turned around to face his audience. Quatre, Wufei, and Trowa all stood in his room. They had come to say goodbye, since Duo’s limousine had arrived for him. Trowa and Wufei had blank looks on their faces, while Quatre looked like he was about to bawl out any minute.

Smiling in reassurance, he slipped into his long black coat and hoisted the bag across his shoulder. “I hereby place you in charge of my room, Quatre. Anything you do or confiscate will be apprehended by my ghost in the future, so be warned!”

This banter got a smile from Trowa, a chuckle from Quatre and a look of exasperation from Wufei.

“You take care of yourself, Maxwell. We will be here when you get back.”

“Why, Wu-chan…I didn’t know you cared…”

Wufei growled and tried to grab Duo in a headlock but was quickly interrupted by the knock on his door. Another student peeked in and announced. “Master Maxwell, the driver is still waiting.”

“Yeah, yeah…I am coming. Ready, guys?”

The four boys made their way down the spiral staircase and out to the waiting black car. Relena was already seated so she smiled and waved at them. “Took you long enough,” she teased. “Big Bill was about to buy his own coffin.”

“No kidding?” Duo snickered as Bill took the bag away from him. Turning once again to face his friends, he nodded. “You have my hotel room number, if you need to talk to me. Just be careful, the big bad gruff voice that picks up will probably be my father, but don’t let him scare ya, he is just a big ol’ softie inside.”

This earned a sharp unladylike bark of laughter from Relena and Duo glared at her albeit mockingly. “Oh, well, you guys remain cool until I get back, okay?”

“You take care too, Duo,” Quatre responded, before surprising everyone and grabbing Duo in a hug. “We are going to miss you.”

“Quatre…I will be gone for only two days.” Duo slid a glance to Trowa for help.

The junior smiled softly and walked up to grab the shoulders of the Arabian. “Come on, Quatre. I think you can peel yourself off Duo for now.”

Quatre blushed and stepped away. Wufei stuck out his hand for a handshake and was mortified to find himself encased in a bear hug. “I love you, Wufei! Don’t you ever, ever forget me!”

“Maxwell!” Wufei sputtered out indignantly against his chest. “Let me go or I will bash your brains in!”

“Okay, okay…geesh. So hard to get some love around here.” Smirking at the red-faced Chinese boy, he waved goodbye to the others and stepped into the car. He and Relena spun around to wave a final farewell as they made the turn towards the main gates. Finally losing sight of the others, they sat back and stared quietly out of the windows.

The sudden stop of the car caused Duo to snap out of his light doze. He frowned as he noticed that they hadn’t moved off of the school grounds yet. Pushing the communication button, he asked the driver in bemusement. “What’s the hold-up, Big Bill?”

“I am not sure, Master Duo. It seems like they are moving some horses or something along the road…it is causing a major holdup.”

Duo cursed beneath his breath and turned to notice that Relena had already passed out in exhaustion. Poor kid. Duo smirked and stared out of his window again. He took in the beautiful landscape and sighed. He hadn’t really had a chance to explore the school grounds yet. He would have to do that sometime.

Petey…what happened? How could they do that to you?

He struggled to swallow the huge lump that was now stuck in his throat again. He tried to conjure up the hate for the other family. Tried to will himself to get some sort of negative energy towards them, but to his dismay, he could muster none up. He knew his father was expecting him to have such angry emotions and reactions to the death and to be honest, Duo was upset. But he couldn’t find himself getting upset at any Yuy in particular. However, that small voice at the back of his head already knew who his father expected him to lash out against.

Heero…

He closed his eyes and relived the moments in the stoic boy’s room. The passion, lust and need they had felt for each other could not be denied, no matter how much they both tried to hide behind the ‘I don’t give a damn about you’ attitude. Just thinking of his name alone, was enough to send Duo into a mass of hypersensitive nerves. He wanted to be with Heero again. Even if it meant making a major fool out of himself again.

Yeah, like that’s gonna happen. He couldn’t wait for you to leave his room the other day, so why the hell do you think he feels the same way?


 

He opened his eyes and wound the windows of the limousine down. He needed some fresh air. Sticking his head out of one, he tried to catch a glimpse of what the hold up was. Violet eyes roamed the chaotic scene before him. Some guards and other civilians were trying to move the upturned truck full of hay to the side of the road and they were making good time. Duo figured they would be out of there in no time.

Sighing, he was just about to stick his head back into the car, when his eyes caught the flash of white behind one of the many trees that graced the long avenue. For a moment he thought he was seeing things and he kicked himself for allowing his heart to race faster at the thought of whom it might be. But the trembling nerves refused to slow down. He found himself gripping the edge of the door handle as he strained his vision. There it was again! There was someone standing beside the trees. Someone dressed in the normal school uniform, but with the blazer now hanging on a finger over his shoulder. Someone with dark brown tousled hair. Someone with blazing blue depths, that even from the distance between them, burned a searing hole right through Duo’s heart.

“Heero,” came the unconscious soft whisper, before he yelped in surprise as Relena plopped her head against his shoulder to stare out of the window as well.

“Wha…what’s happening?” she asked groggily. “Why aren’t we moving?”

Duo craned his neck a bit to answer, noting that their noses bumped against each other. “Nothing, Lena. We should be moving in no time. Seems like the horses are in the way.”

Relena muttered a quick ‘Oh,’ before slipping back into her spot. Duo, turned his attention back to the figure, only to discover to his surprise and disappointment that his rival had disappeared. The sudden jerk of the car moving did nothing to quell his moroseness and sinking back into his seat, he willed away the scream of frustration that coursed through him.

~&~&~&~&~

Heero had finally acknowledged his surroundings after several minutes of dispelling his grief. He had sat up and removed his blazer, noting that it was in dire need of dry cleaning. Rising shakily to his feet, he had walked towards the noise and  leaned against a tree, watching the frantic actions of the people around him. Cars from visitors and teachers needing to leave the school grounds were beginning to pile up now and Heero guessed his father would probably be amongst them.

Speaking of his father, he had a lot of explaining to do later on.

Slinging the blazer over his shoulders, he was about to walk back to the dorms, when his eye had caught the black limousine with the distinguishing emblem on it.

The Maxwell Insignia…

There was no disguising that well-known symbol with the intricate letter ‘M’ in the middle. Heero frowned. Perhaps Duo’s father had come to visit Duo as well. He wondered if that heir had fared any better with his father. Heero was willing to bet that Duo would have been more responsive. That Duo would have cried and his father would have hugged him and whispered words of comfort and…

His eyes widened as the window rolled down and the undeniable chestnut-colored hair stuck itself out. His mouth went dry. His heart beat increasing with each breath he took. His hands seeking, longing to reach across the wide expanse of space between them to touch and feel that strong body against his again. His knees almost gave way as those beautiful violet orbs finally trained their gaze on him. Time stood still as unspoken emotions hung heavily in the air. To Heero, nothing else seemed to exist except for Duo Maxwell…and he was probably going to burn in hell for that.

“Duo,” he whispered softly, before the sharp ache of pain seared through him at the sight that quickly followed.  Another head had peeked out of the car and had rested itself upon Duo’s shoulder. And then to make things even worse, Duo had…had…

The hot flare of jealousy and envy filled his being and with a growl, he spun away and walked briskly towards the dorms. He didn’t want to see. He didn’t need to see anymore. He had no place in Duo Maxwell’s life.

He would never have a place, for Relena Peacecraft filled that position quite well.