Heero had just dumped the
last of the firewood next to the fireplace when the rain started to fall,
a gentle but thorough downpour that would come down for hours. He sat in
front of the fire that had yet to warm the cabin in the remote wilderness.
"Oi, soup's
done."
He looked to his right to
see Duo ladling soup into two bowls on a rough wooden table. The last time
they had seen each other, they had argued about his jealousy. But there
was no trace of any lingering resentment on his face. I'm glad he's not
holding a grudge, he thought. "You made dinner?"
"It's just canned
veggie soup, heat and serve. Also got some bread." Then he looked out
the window. "It's raining." There was a wistful smile on his
face.
"You seem happy it's
raining."
"It makes me
nostalgic."
"Nostalgic?"
Duo closed his eyes and
nodded. "It reminds me of Maxwell church. I told you a little bit
about my time there, didn't I?"
"A little, not
much."
"When it used to rain,
we used to collect the rain water to drink and bathe with. Actually got to
clean my hair. Water was rationed during that time. That's why I like
rain. It always, always reminds me of the people I loved. Sister Miriam
would get ask me to gather up all the little kids together so she could
tell them a story. One of her hobbies was collecting fairytales and
folktales from all over the world. It didn't matter where they came from.
Did you ever have stories read to you?"
Heero shook his head.
"I was told how to assemble and load weapons blindfolded, not about
princesses and such."
"You missed out. After
dinner, I'll tell you a story."
Heero scowled. "I'm
too old for that now."
"It's a good story and
probably one you've never heard of."
Heero shook his head in exasperation
and glared at him.
"Come on, quit being a
sourpuss."
"When you say things
like that, it's hard not to be."
Duo laughed at that, then
sat down and dunked some of the bread into the soup. "Soup is meant
for a day like this. It warms you from the inside out."
Soup is a lot like love,
Heero thought, but said nothing of what he had thought. He walked up from
the table and sat down across from him. They ate quietly and quickly. This
was one of the few times Duo was quiet while awake. He tended to stuff his
mouth full of food, chew a few times and swallow.
After dinner, they sat
down, their legs stretched out in front of them, on their sleeping bag and
looked into the fire. Duo looked over at Heero and thought, Wa, something
about the light from the fire really warms up his face. Well, it could
also be that he's smiling, too. Duo laid down on his side and put his head
on his pillow. "Happy to be here?"
"Ah," Heero said
in assent. He laid down and put his head down on the pillow and looked at
him.
"I'm going to tell you
a story."
"Is this a real fairy tale?"
"It's from Ireland. I
don't remember the king's name, so I'm using yours. You should be happy,
damn it! There was once a king named Heero, who woke up a little before
dawn one day and looked out his windows to see fiery lights in a distant
field. There was also the sound of music and the laughter as if a wild
revel going on. He decided he'd go down to his stable and ride out towards
the field."
"But by the time he
got there, the sun was about to rise. There was the leftovers of a wild
party. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone jump up as if
they'd woken up from a hangover and realized they weren't where they were
supposed to be. The person was about to run when the king tackled him. The
guy he tackled was named . . ."
"Duo,"
interjected Heero.
"Perhaps you have
heard of this tale before," mocked Duo gently. "He was the best
looking guy the king had ever seen with bright blue eyes, great teeth and
an utterly fantastic body."
Heero snorted at the
description, but said nothing. His edges of lips curled up in amusement.
"Well, he asked Duo
what had happened the night before. Frankly, the poor guy couldn't
remember and it wasn't due to a blackout from too much booze. He honestly
couldn't remember anything about his past."
"Perhaps he was flying
Wing Zero," said Heero.
Welllll, anyhow, they went back to his place."
"Ah, a happy
ending."
"I'm not done yet!
They went back to his place and everything was sweet for a while. Then he
noticed that during the light of the full moon, Duo would disappear from
their bed. During those nights, he noticed the fiery lights in the same
field."
"Quietly, he rode up
to see a wild and drunken revel of fairies and elves. He saw Duo drinking
back some sort of brew and laughing. Heero would've stepped forward but he
knew that this was some sort of magic. He went back home and waited in his
bed. Soon, Duo showed up, looking very confused. No matter how many times,
he didn't understand what Heero was talking about."
"So, King Heero went
to Une, the local expert on shapeshifters and those of dual natures. She
asked him to take a few strands of Duo's hair and throw it into the fire.
If it burned green, that meant that he was one of the Fairie, who were
compelled to go to these revels. Only if Heero were to give up the most
important thing to him would he be able to keep him. Otherwise, by the
next night, he would be gone for good by the next full moon."
"He went home and took
a few strands of hair from Duo's brush and threw it in the fire. He was
quite depressed to find the fire flash a powerful green. Then he thought
what is the most important thing to me. Was it his horse? Was it riches?
Was it his kingdom? Was it the respect of the many people around him? None
of those seemed to be the answer."
"So, on the night of
the full moon, he decided that he would take him back to where he seemed
to be happy. He took him to the field and left him there."
Heero raised an eyebrow,
but said nothing. Duo, he thought, is telling this story for a reason.
"But the next morning,
Duo had arrived at the castle, drenched with dew, wondering how he'd
wandered out so far. After that night, there were no more fairy lights in
that field and Duo never left him anymore. Now, do you know why?"
Heero thought for a second,
then knew what kind of point the guy was trying to make. "Because by
letting the most important person in his life go, he was keeping him.
You're still thinking about that last argument we had."
"A bit. All I'm trying
to say is that I like being around other people, but I like being around
you the most. I'm not going to wander away so you don't have to use my
braid as a leash. When you get jealous, I get the feeling that you don't
believe in me."
"I just want to keep
you near me."
Duo reached out and began
brushing Heero's lips with his thumb, his fingers on his cheek. His eyes
were blazing, not with anger, but with absolute certainty. The light from
the fire played over his face. "Heero, life's too short to waste on
fighting and recriminations. When we're like this, this is when I'm the
happiest. After the church was demolished, I tried to keep everything
easy-come, easy-go. I didn't care about anything, just wanted to laugh in
the face of Death for all I was worth."
"But right here, right
now, I'm happy. I love you, Heero and I believe in us."
Heero said nothing, but
took Duo's thumb into his mouth and caressed it with his tongue. Duo
slowly pulled his thumb away, then leaned forward to replace it with his
own tongue. They reached for each other, slowly slipped off their clothes
and began making slow, tender love by the firelight.
And the rain continued.
THE END
Return
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