The Ugly Side of Eden:
Six:
“Yo Andre!”
Two simple words which send
my entire world crumbling around me like a ton of bricks. My first instinct is
to slap my hand over Duo’s mouth and to drag him away before the others can get
a good look at us. Unfortunately, Duo has one, a rather loud voice and two, the
way he’s waving his arm like a stranded survivor seeking rescue on a deserted
island, isn’t helping matters much. I can only watch in horrified silence as
Andre lowers his sketchpad to face us with a (oh, he’s so faking it) surprised
look on his visage. Of course it goes without saying that Kamui has lowered his
book as well and is doing a good job of looking stunned at seeing us as well.
“Duo?!”
“Heero sempai?!”
Oh dear god, strike me dead now.
Duo, ever the
conversationalist, walks towards his friend and grabs him in a fierce hug. With
all the firm handshakes, pats on the back and general babble, you’d think they
haven’t seen each other in years! Might I remind you all that Duo and Andre had
seen each other in
“You remember Heero, don’t
you?” Duo’s saying as he walks back to me and pushes me forward a little. I
manage a small smile not failing to notice that Andre’s sporting a matching one
as well. Good. We still hate each other’s guts. I’m not even going to bother
holding out my hand for a handshake. I might catch some of his phony vibes.
“Heero.”
“Andre.”
I think the temperature has
dropped a few degrees and Duo’s astute enough to notice that.
“Ah, and what about your new
friend, man?” he says quickly, winking at the flushed freshman standing behind
Andre.
The artist turns around, as
if just noticing Kamui for the first time, before turning back to grace us (or
rather Duo) with a smile. He motions for the blond to move closer and then
throws an arm around Kamui’s shoulder. “Well, we just met this afternoon
actually. I came here to try to get out of this damn block I have and figured
I’d sketch individuals for some time. Well, lo and behold this beauty…”
Beauty?! I
bite my lower lip to stop myself from bursting into laughter – a rather
hysterical one at that. Kamui, for his part, is blushing even more. I really
hope he doesn’t pop a blood vessel somewhere.
“…shows up and I just had to
capture him on paper, you know?” He pulls Kamui closer to him and the young man
mumbles something and lowers his head shyly. “Well imagine my surprise when we
get to talking and he tells me that he’s a student in your school. Do you all
know each other?”
“No!”
“Yes!”
Duo and I eye each other and
we share a quick look. Mine- a glare. His - a smirk. Just what is he trying to
do?
“Well, now that we are all
here,” Andre interrupts with a look of satisfaction on his features. “How about
we get something to eat, huh? I’m starved!”
“Now that’s the best thing
I’ve heard you say,” Duo agrees. “So what are we having? Chinese? Japanese?
Thai? Mexican?”
“I vote Japanese,” Andre says
and turns to Kamui. “What do you say?”
“Ah…eh…that’s…that’s…if that’s
what Duo and Heero sempai want…”
Hey?! Why isn’t anyone asking
about what I want?! I do not want to go to some restaurant with
all of them! I especially do not want to spend the rest of my evening
pretending to enjoy myself with a couple of people that I really do not like.
“Duo…” I mutter tightly,
tugging his t-shirt gently. “Duo…can we talk?”
“Huh? Oh…excuse us for a
minute guys,” he says before allowing me to pull him aside. When I feel we are
a safe distance away, I whisper harshly to him.
“What the hell do you think
you’re doing?! We were supposed to spend this evening together…alone! Not with Andre and psycho kid
following us!”
“Chill out man,” he replies
in the same tone. “This could be fun. I’d really like to get to know more about
my competition.”
“You think this is funny,
Duo?”
“Well…in a way, yeah. I mean
look at him.”
We both steal a quick look
over our shoulders, noticing that both Andre and Kamui seem to be engaged in a
one-sided conversation – Andre talking about his sketches and showing them to a
silent Kamui. As if sensing that we are watching him, Kamui lifts his head and
catches my gaze for a minute. He smiles softly and damn if my cheeks don’t feel
a bit hot at how good he looks then. Okay….this is not very good at all.
I turn away quickly and force
myself to think of Andre and his irritating behavior. “So what?” I snap
impatiently. “I just don’t want to spend an evening with them…”
“Okay…do you want me to go
alone with them and you can go home…because you know these guys aren’t going to
let up until we say yes.”
“This is all your goddamn
fault,” I growl, running fingers through my hair in frustration. “Just don’t
expect me to talk much wherever we end up, got it?”
He smiles and then leans
close to press his lips against mine. My first reaction is to stiffen at his
boldness – I’ll honestly have to force myself to start getting used to these
public displays of affection – but knowing that Kamui and Andre are
watching…mmm…this might turn out to be a good thing. It will show those two
that Duo and I are still very much in love with each other. With a low moan of
acceptance, I close my eyes and part my lips, allowing his tongue to slip into
my mouth.
“Hey, lovebirds! Get a room!”
Damn that asshole! I growl as
Duo laughs softly into my mouth. He pulls away and flips the bird to Andre – he
was the one that yelled – before placing a hand on my wrist to lead me back to
our unwanted visitors.
“We’re here, we’re here,” he
says with a wink. “So we’ve decided on Japanese then! Off to Morimoto’s we go!”
I move towards the bench to
pick up our books and suddenly feel a rather ominous chill creep up my spine. I
turn around quickly and barely catch Kamui’s angry? gaze before he turns away to smile at something Duo is
saying. No…I’m imagining things. There’s no reason for Kamui to have that look
in his eyes. We haven’t done anything to him…have we?
So why can’t I help feeling
worried about it? Why won’t this nagging feeling of concern leave me alone? Why
do I now fear for Duo’s safety?
“Heero? Are you all right?”
He places a gentle hand on my wrist and I stare into those brilliant violet
depths for a long moment.
I’ll protect you, Duo. I swear it. Whatever happens, I
swear I’ll protect you.
“I’m fine,” I finally reply
as I slip the last book into my backpack. “Let’s go.”
__
Morimoto’s Steak and Sushi House
I do believe I have mentioned
something about Morimoto’s pricey meals since it’s one of the best Japanese
restaurants in the city. I’m still amazed that we were allowed inside the
well-known establishment. We definitely aren’t attired like many of the other dressy
diners in the place and affording a full-course meal is definitely going to cost
us an arm and a leg.
I check my wallet quickly to
see just how much I have to pay for my share of the meal, but Duo motions for
me to tuck it away. Does he plan to pay for everything? Oh yeah, I forget that
he’s relatively more loaded than I am now. He can afford to get anything he
wants these days thanks to mommy dearest.
It’s a very relaxed and cool
atmosphere in Morimoto’s. With its cream and chocolate-painted walls adorned
with ancient Japanese scrolls, paintings and exotic plants, it truly is a
high-classed establishment. The main dining room has several tables and chairs
set up for customers but beyond that – divided by silk Japanese screens – are
several rooms which are only reserved for V.I.Ps or for those who can afford
the more expensive meals on the menu. In there, you are served by women dressed
as geishas and you can even request a private performance for your
entertainment. No, I don’t mean lap dances or anything lewd like that, but
rather exquisite women or men dancing in the traditional kabuki style.
All of us, excluding Duo,
seem to be in awe of the place and I can guess that he’s been here with his
mother before since he simply walks up to the maitre d’ and is immediately
recognized. Less than five minutes later, we are ushered into one of the
special rooms and as the screen door closes behind our geisha for the evening,
we can only gawk at the grinning long-haired boy in amazement.
“How…why…wow!” Andre has
pretty much said all we can think of right now.
The room is fairly large with
four brown silk pillows placed around a low black table upon very good tatami
mats. There’s a hot pot already brewing on the table and the smell of fried
meat slices and fish mingled with bubbling beef stew has my tummy growling with
hunger. On our left is a rather breathtaking view of a typical Japanese garden,
complete with a koi pond and beautiful flowers in a sea of white sand.
Something about the garden captures my attention and although I’m still feeling
hungry, I find myself walking towards it with a rather odd feeling in my chest.
“What’s the matter?” Duo
whispers into my ear as he wraps his arms around my waist from behind. “You had
better eat before those guys finish everything.”
“I miss home,” I whisper in
return as I finally realize why I feel this way. “The home I grew up in as a
little kid…the backyard…looked like this…and I remember my grandpa…”
Ah, crap. There’s that funny
lump in my throat. I cough lightly and try to push away the sensation, but Duo
hugs me tighter and nods softly as if in understanding. “You’re homesick and
it’s okay. We all feel that way once in a while.” He places a tender kiss
beneath my ear and I shiver in response at how good it feels. “Do you want to…?”
“Itai!”
Huh?!
We turn around simultaneously
to watch as Kamui tries to wipe up the mess he’s created. He had spilled his
cup of oolong tea and Andre’s doing his best to help out while stuffing another
slice of beef into his mouth.
“Hey, that was Japanese,
wasn’t it?” Duo asks, his eyes lighting up with recognition. “So you speak it as
well, eh, Kamui?”
“Of course I do,” the
freshman replies in a tone that sounds a bit condescending, but he quickly adds
‘sempai’ to that which has me narrowing my eyes in suspicion. The boy’s up to
something. I just don’t know what it is yet.
Duo, either refusing to see
that Kamui isn’t very pleased about something or he’s genuinely interested,
sits beside the blond and leans forward with curiosity. “Heero’s Japanese as
well, did you know that?”
Uh…Duo….I think everyone
knows that.
“Yes, I do,” Kamui replies
with a small smile and then to my surprise, he turns to me and speaks in fluent
Japanese. “We are brothers in that respect, ne, Heero sempai?”
I’m not your brother, you
little...
“We are all brothers here,”
Duo responds with a wink and you can not imagine the pleasure I get from the
stunned expression on Kamui’s face. He’s obviously surprised that Duo can speak
in my native tongue. Of course, he’s not that fluent, but I think I’ve done
well in teaching him as much as I can. Kamui turns a bright beet red and then
reaches for the large green bottle beside him. Pouring a generous amount into
his cup, he takes a large gulp and lowers his head as if in shame.
Poor kid.
“So Duo,” Andre speaks up
while hovering his chopsticks over several selections of fried fish. “Have you
told Heero here about that thing that happened in
Yeah, Duo what is this thing?
I make myself comfortable
beside Duo and reach for my bowl of food. I notice that Kamui’s still got his
head lowered, although he’s doing a good job of drinking quite often and
quickly. I wonder what’s in the bottle anyway. It certainly doesn’t look like
oolong tea.
“Well…it’s nothing fantastic
really,” Duo says with a sheepish look but Andre – who’s sitting on his right –
nudges the long-haired boy gently. “Okay, okay already. Well, remember me
telling you about Andre having his first gallery opening? Well…he managed to
sell off a nude painting of yours truly for almost two thousand dollars.”
The beef I had tried to chew
suddenly goes down the wrong way and I find myself choking helplessly. Someone
begins to pound my back and a cup of some kind of liquid is shoved in my face.
Drinking quickly, while trying not to keel over the table at the fierce pounding
on my back, I try to compose myself as much as I can.
“Are you okay, Heero sempai?”
Kamui asks and is it my imagination or is his voice a bit slurred. Hmm, but
then again the drink I just had has a rather unique taste to it. It’s
definitely not tea.
“Sorry for not telling you on
time, Heero…” Duo begins but as always, loud-mouth Andre continues.
“It was fantastic! You should
have seen the way the crowd at the gallery oohed and aahed when the picture was
revealed. It’s one of the best I’ve ever done!”
Duo…naked.
My Duo…naked…for that bastard!
And to make it worse, the
whole fucking world has seen what Duo looks like without his clothes on! And
some perverted guy or woman probably has that picture hung on a wall in their
home at this very minute!
Fuck!
I reach for the cup of the
funny drink and down it quickly, glaring coldly at the animated Andre, who’s
still yapping away.
Duo looks slightly worried
and he should be. I’m getting really pissed off, goddamn it!
“…and it took me only four
days to do the finishing touches to it. It was and is by far my greatest
accomplishment. You really do have an amazing physique, Duo…ARGH!!”
“Sempai!”
“Heero!”
I couldn’t control it if I
tried. I can’t even remember forming the fist or getting off the floor, but I
do remember getting a dull feeling of pleasure from the contact I made. Seeing
Andre holding his nose and writhing on the ground is more than enough for me.
“Omph blooden…muh foockin
noose…he brode muh noose…!”
Yes, there’s blood alright
and it’s not looking very pretty. I haven’t punched anyone in a long time and
my knuckles hurt a bit, but that’s not important right now.
“You posed…naked for him,” I
growl out softly, feeling a rather strange sensation overwhelm me It’s as if
the world’s beginning to spin rather slowly.
Leaving Kamui to look after
the moaning artist on the ground, Duo rises to his feet and pins a rather cold
glare at me. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Heero?! So what if I posed for
him! You know I pose for him all the time!”
“You promised you wouldn’t do
it anymore!”
“I never promised such a
thing,” he replies coming closer to me. “Andre has never shown any interest in
me sexually…”
“Bull shit!” Does it sound
like I’m slurring? Yes, it does in some way but that doesn’t concern me now
either. I can’t deal with this pretense anymore. “Bull fucking shit! He wants
you, Duo. Are you that blind that you can’t fucking see it?! If I walked away
now and broke up our relationship, he’d be jumping all over you like a bunny
rabbit!”
“Oh yeah? Like the same way
you went about fucking with little Miss. Misa even when we hadn’t broken up, Heero?”
“What…?”
“Yeah, why don’t we talk
about that, Heero since you’re so
hung up on me being Andre’s friend! At least I haven’t spread my ass for
him…yet!”
I swing again, but Duo’s fast
– has always been fast – and he catches my wrist in a hand. It’s obviously
causing him some pain to hold me so tightly and I smirk at the knowledge. God,
my head’s pounding like hell now but my anger is taking precedence and all
rational thinking is flying out the window.
“You wanna hit me?” he dares,
eyeing me coldly. “Go ahead asshole.”
“Fuck you. Fuck you, Duo
Maxwell! You leave Misa out of this! I already told you it was a mistake! You
on the other hand, have no right to go parading yourself in front of that
bastard in the buff! So how many times has he seen you that way? Ten, twenty, a
hundred times?!”
I strike out with my other
hand but this time it’s caught by Kamui of all people.
“Please, sempai…let’s not
fight…we’ve got to take Andre to the hospital…”
“Get the hell away from me!”
I yell in irritation as I forcefully release myself from the two boys. “All of
you! Just leave me the hell alone!”
The door to our room opens
and the manager or maitre d’ – not that I give a damn right now – sticks his
head in.
“Is everything all right…?”
he begins to ask.
“Everything’s fine,” I reply
as I reach for my school bag and almost shove him out of the way. “Everything’s
just fucking peachy! Enjoy your evening, gentlemen. I’ll show myself out.”
“Heero!” Duo yells after me
but I can care less about him or anyone else now. I stumble down the small
flight of stairs, ignoring the strange looks I receive from the other diners as
I maneuver my way through the maze of tables.
My head. It’s going to
explode in a minute or two. The world is beginning to spin quite fast and I have
the sinking feeling that I might have drank something I shouldn’t have in
there. The fresh and welcome evening breeze hits me as I step outside and I
have to gather a lungful…only to feel my stomach churn in retaliation at the sudden
motion.
I slap a hand over my mouth
and eye the sidewalk quickly. The last thing I need is to embarrass myself any
further in public, but stumbling towards the alley between Morimoto and a small
bookstore, I let go of my barely eaten dinner…and maybe something from lunch.
When it feels like my stomach
can’t give up anymore, I wipe my mouth with the back of my sleeve and lean
against the wall to catch my breath. My knees are trembling and that feeling of
dizziness is becoming worse.
I’ve made an ass of myself
tonight although a part of me still says I had the right to voice my anger
about Duo and Andre’s relationship. I mean, how would you feel if you knew that
the one you loved was going about posing naked for other men?
But what about Misa? What about Misa?! What about
Misa?!!
“Ooooh….” I hold my aching
head between my hands and sink to the dirty street slowly. That question
continues to run through my mind incessantly and I feel the urge to hurl one
more time. But I can’t…there’s nothing else to give up and I’m feeling even
weaker than ever.
“Sem…sempai?”
I lift my head to stare at
the rather hazy figure of someone standing before me. I should know who it is,
after all it’s only one person that can call me that…well a hundred others…but
not here in the middle of the street.
“Sempai…are you all right?”
No…no you little meddler, I’m
not all right. I think the world is caving in on me and in a minute I’m going
to…to…
“Ah! Sempai!”
…is the last thing I hear as
a sudden darkness overwhelms and sends me into blissful oblivion.
~End Period Six~