Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Contemplation Indigo ❯ Bagatelle Park ( Chapter 10 )

Bagatelle Park

By DRL

Duo Maxwell-Yuy stood in the centre of the 'wall of glass' window that comprised the entire south wall of his and Heero's duplex apartment and gazed out at the breathtaking panoramic view of the city that he was afforded from this particular vantage point, fifteen storeys high. He loved the apartment and he simply adored the view. Heero had paid through the nose for it, granted, but Duo would have considered it cheap at twice the price.

During their hunt for an apartment five years ago, the riverside apartment building in which he and Heero now resided was newly completed, trendily stylish and fashionably exclusive. It was also way beyond their budget. Even so, Duo made enquires and found out that though most of the units had already been reserved, the penthouse, the most highly prized (and highly priced) unit in the building, was still available. It boasted its own private elevator, a spacious roof terrace and the 'wall of glass' window, which ran the entire length of the apartment and offered unparalleled views along the river and out across the city.

Duo had persuaded Heero to make an appointment to view the apartment 'just for a laugh', but once inside he was thoroughly smitten. He and Heero were by no means paupers. Heero ran his own computer software business and he himself had enjoyed some success as a conceptual artist, but Heero, having assessed their joint means, had set the budget for their new apartment and it did not extend to a riverside penthouse in the most fashionable district in town. Duo tried to dissemble, but Heero could see how enraptured he was with the apartment and with the view in particular. He turned to the real estate agent and said, "We'll take it. Reserve it in the name of H & D Maxwell-Yuy. You'll get a cheque for the deposit by 11.00 tomorrow morning." He then turned on his heel and strode out of the apartment, informing Duo that he had some business to attend to and instructing him to take a taxi home when he had seen all he needed to. Duo never did find out exactly how or where Heero got the extra money for the apartment, or for the services of the interior designer who, with Duo's creative input, had decorated and furnished it in it's current chic, contemporary style and so implicitly did he trust his husband (and never one to look a gift horse in the mouth), he had made no more than cursory enquiries. He did notice, however, that Heero, a diligent worker at the best of times, had begun to work doubly hard to expand and develop his computer business, so he had a pretty shrewd idea of how it was they managed to afford the apartment, and he loved Heero all the more for it.

"Heero?" He said, and tore his gaze away from the magnificent vista to focus it on his husband, who sat reclined on an enormous red leather sofa, staring intently at a large television screen, on which the day's happenings from around the world were being broadcast on the CNN news channel.

"Hmm?" Heero murmured absently in reply, but he nonetheless reached out and caught up a remote control unit from the seat beside him. The wafer thin t.v. screen, which appeared to be floating in mid air in front of Heero, was actually suspended from the double-height ceiling of the apartment by an ingenious system of pulleys and cables. As Heero aimed the control unit at the screen and pressed one of the myriad of tiny buttons, the suspension cables slowly elevated the screen, raising it out of Heero's sight and bringing it to rest way above his head, somewhere amongst the lighting fixtures in the ceiling.

Duo walked across to the sofa and sank down beside Heero, his bare feet tucked beneath him. He stared off into the middle-distance, chewing his lower lip pensively. Heero looked at him in silence, a concerned frown creasing his brow. Duo and he had been out to the Barton-Winner mansion earlier that day to have lunch with Quatre and Trowa. After lunch Heero and Trowa had repaired to the vast garage to tinker with the engine of an old classic car that Trowa was attempting to restore. This was the emerald-eyed ex-pilot's premier avocation these days, and the garage had become something of a workshop. Heero never passed up an opportunity to lend a hand. Neither Quatre nor Duo had any interest in old cars and had been left to amuse themselves as they saw fit, which they had appeared to do quite happily, but Heero had noticed that once they had left the mansion, Duo became silent and broody.

Duo's morose mood had persisted all afternoon and despite several attempts, Heero had not been able to interest the braided American in any of his usual diversions. This type of behaviour was so out of character for Duo that Heero had begun to worry about his usually over-exuberant husband. He had decided to give Duo time to work whatever was bothering him out for himself, so he had refrained from raising the subject, but as he looked at Duo's face, the ever-present smile stricken from his lips and the light in those expressive violet eyes extinguished, he decided that enough was enough. He opened his mouth to speak, but Duo just beat him to the punch.

"Heero?" He said for the second time and looked at him unhappily.

"Duo…" Heero began, but once again Duo headed him off. He instantly schooled his features into a mask of feigned affability and said brightly,

"What do you want to do for dinner?"

"Duo…" Heero tried again.

"We've still got some of that steak you liked in the fridge and I could make a salad." Duo continued quickly.

"Duo…"

"I know, let's go to 'Carluccio's, we haven't been there in a while."

"Duo, what's wrong?"

Duo's mask dissolved and his unhappy expression returned. He lowered his eyes and as Heero watched the long, dark lashes flutter against the creamy skin of Duo's cheeks, an overwhelming feeling of love welled up in his breast, and he vowed to put the smile back on the face of his chestnut-haired beauty. Duo raised his eyes to Heero's and looked earnestly at him.

"Are we happy Heero?" He asked, "I mean, are you happy with me?"

Heero looked at Duo in a stunned silence for a second or two before it dawned on him that any delay in responding to such a question may give Duo the wrong impression.

"Of course I'm happy with you Duo," He said quickly, but not too quickly since this was liable to give the wrong impression also. He had obviously pitched it just right because a look of relief crossed Duo's features. He moved closer to Heero and snuggled against his side. Heero placed an arm around his shoulders and drew him closer still. Duo sighed happily and Heero felt the tension leave his body. He was content to leave well enough alone and not question Duo further, but he suddenly felt him stiffen once more.

"Do you think…, do you think we should go for counselling?" Duo asked hesitantly.

"What?" Heero was thoroughly perplexed now. Counselling? What on earth was Duo talking about?

"Do you think we should?" Duo asked again, "Go for counselling I mean."

"Why should we go for counselling?" Heero retorted, "Counselling for what? What exactly are you talking about?" Heero tried not to sound peeved but he could not help it. Duo's though processes were a complete enigma to him at times.

"Marriage counselling," Duo said with exasperation, "Do you think we should go for marriage counselling?"

Heero looked at Duo through eyes narrowed to mere slits by suspicion. If Quatre Barton-Winner had been filling Duo's head with nonsense again… "Why do you ask that?" He said, more sharply than he meant to.

"Don't get angry Heero, just listen." Duo said, laying a quelling hand on his husband's arm. "While you and Trowa were messing around in the garage, me and Q were watching t.v., okay? Well there was this show on with these couples who kept fighting with each other, and there was this marriage counsellor who basically told them that their marriages were in real trouble and that they should get professional help. Q made a joke, saying that it sounded like me and you and that maybe we should seek professional help too." Heero snorted derisively at this and Duo, his hand still on Heero's arm, squeezed gently. "No babe, listen. He didn't really mean anything and we both laughed, then we started talking about something else and I kinda forgot about it. Then we found this old women's magazine that one of Q's sisters left behind or something. We were looking at all the pictures of girly stuff and shit, and having a good laugh when we came across this quiz. You had to answer all these questions and it was supposed to tell you if you had the right man or not, so for a laugh we both took it, you know, we took the quiz. Needless to say, Q's came out that he definitely had the right man, his man was madly in love with him and they would both live happily ever after. No surprise there, right?"

"And yours, what did it say?" Heero asked, with an uncharacteristic note of apprehension.

Duo swallowed hard and lowered his eyes. When he raised them Heero was alarmed to see the stricken expression in them.

"I'm not going to tell you exactly what it said because you'll only get mad and besides, I don't remember exactly, but the bottom line was that we are totally incompatible, our relationship is heading for the skids and we should get some counselling before its too late, which it may already be." Duo lowered his eyes again. "You know what else it said?"

"What?" Heero replied curtly.

"It said that it was a surprise that we hadn't killed each other yet, but that if we stayed together there was always time."

The look on Duo's face as he said this broke Heero's heart. He wrapped his arms around his husband and enveloped him in a huge bear-hug. Duo hugged him back and they sat in a tight embrace for some moments, before Heero loosened his hold and lifted Duo's chin until their eyes met.

"You mustn't pay any attention to what that magazine said," He said gently, as he fondly swept a stray lock of hair out of Duo's eyes and tucked it neatly behind his ear, "It's all a load of rubbish."

"Yeah, but what if it's true Heero?" Duo said plaintively, "And what about the tv show? We fight all the time, just like the couples on the show did."

Heero had to admit that Duo had a point there. He still did not think that there was anything in this, but Duo could be hard to convince sometimes. There was only one thing that would allay his fears (or confirm them he conceded reluctantly), and Heero decided to bite the bullet.

"Let's do it then," He said decisively, "Let's go see a counsellor. But understand this," He added as Duo's face began to light up, "I am only agreeing to this because it seems to be what you want. I do not think that there is anything wrong with our marriage."

"Nor do I Heero, but there's no harm in making sure, right?"

"Right." Heero grudgingly agreed. "You make the arrangements and I will turn up. Now, about dinner…"

TRANSCRIPT OF SESSION WITH COUPLE 'X' - WITH PENNY PAGE, PYS.D

PP = COUNSELLOR

DM = SUBJECT 1 (m)

HY = SUBJECT 2 (m)

PP. So you say that you have never been in counselling before?

HY. No

DM. No, never

PP. Are you nervous?

HY. No

DM. Just a little

PP. There's no need to be nervous, just relax. We are just going to have an informal little chat. Now, what seems to be the problem?

HY. There is no problem.

DM. H****! Well, we kinda argue a lot about stuff and I thought that, well, maybe marriage counselling might help.

PP. You thought? What about you H****?

HY. What about me?

PP. Do you think that there is a problem with you relationship?

HY. No

PP. Then why are you here?

HY. Because D** asked me to come

PP. So you didn't want to come?

HY. Well it wasn't my idea, no, but D** wanted me to come, so I came.

PP. Do you always do what he asks you to?

HY. Not always, no.

DM. He does a lot of the time though.

PP. And D**, do you do what he asks you to?

DM. Mostly, but sometimes no.

PP. So what exactly is it that you argue about?

DM. Well, everything and nothing really.

PP. Describe to me the circumstances of a recent argument.

DM. Well a couple weeks ago one of our friends was in the hospital, and we were going to visit him. Two of our other friends were coming to pick us up, we were going to go to lunch then drive on down to the hospital. Well we were expecting them to arrive at 12.00, and Q***** and T**** are never late. [1]

HY. Unlike us, thanks to you and your stupid hair.

DM. You didn't seem to think it so stupid last night when you were using it to…

HY. Shut up D**!

DM. Anyway, we were expecting them at 12.00 and H**** decides to go work out at the gym at 11.15 for Christ's sake.

HY. I was only going to stay for half an hour, I told you.

DM. Yeah, but why go then? Why not wait until we came back, or better still go the next day? What would be the point in only going for half an hour? And besides, you would be all sweaty when you got back and have to have a shower, and how long would that take?

HY. And you're a fine one to talk. While I'm gone you decide to wash your stupid hair.

DM. Well I thought I might as well, seeing as I had nothing else to do but sit and wait while you worked out.

HY. Yes, but how long did that take?

DM. Well…

HY. Yes, 'well'. Why did you do it D**? You know that you can never wash your hair in anything less that an hour, so why? I wouldn't mind, but it was you who was kicking up a fuss about me going to the gym because we might be late. Then you deliberately make us late by washing your stupid hair.

DM. Well I got bored waiting for you so I thought I would do something to pass the time.

HY. Pass the time! How much time were you thinking of passing exactly, considering you only had 45 minutes and you hair takes upwards of a whole hour?

PP. What happened when your friends arrived?

HY. I was ready and he was still messing around with his stupid hair.

DM. We ended up fighting about it and we didn't speak to each other all day.

PP. Did your friends hear your argument?

DM. Sure, but it was no biggie. They hear us fighting all the time.

PP. So this sort of thing happens all the time?

DM. Yeah, all the time.

PP. I see. How long have the two of you been together?

DM. Fifteen years, and we've been married for ten of those.

PP. You must have been very young when you met.

DM. Yeah.

PP. Was you relationship this tempestuous before your marriage.

(Both subjects consider the question for a long while before a reply is given)

DM. No, not for the first couple years.

PP. H****, would you agree?

HY. Yes

PP. So, why do you think that was?

(Subjects hesitate once again before replying. Subject 1 seems extremely agitated by the question)

DM. I dunno, things were… different then.

PP. Different how?

DM. We were…, I don't really want to talk about this.

PP. Perhaps it would help if you did.

HY. He said he doesn't want to talk about it.

(Subject 2 reaches out and takes subject 1 by the hand. Contact seems to calm subject 1. Subject's hands remain clasped throughout remainder of session)

PP. Do your arguments make you unhappy?

HY. No

DM. Not really. You see, they are never really all that serious. We have had some real serious fights over the years, but only a few.

PP. Can you tell me about one of those?

DM. Sure. Me and H**** actually separated for a few months in the summer. You see, I was nominated for a quite prestigious art prize, and naturally I wanted H**** to be with me at the award ceremony. We were all set to go and he got a call from work. So he left me to go to the ceremony alone and went to his office. He said he would get to the ceremony as soon as he could, but he never turned up at all. I won the prize and he wasn't there to see it. [2]

PP. How did that make you feel?

DM. Like absolute shit. I…, I don't think I can tell you how awful I felt that night, which should have been the most important night of my life. Anyway, when H**** finally came home he acted like it was no big deal and told me that I was overreacting. Well that was it, I packed my bags and left.

PP. What were your thoughts when you left? Were you just doing it to teach him a lesson or did you think that your marriage was over?

DM. Well I was really confused around that whole time. When I walked out that door I meant to stay gone for good, because I couldn't understand how he could do that to me if he really loved me. I mean, he knew how much his being there meant to me, right? I actually took off my wedding ring and threw it in the river. I figured that he couldn't possibly love me, which meant that he probably never really did, and that my whole life had been built around a lie.

PP. It must have been very upsetting for you.

DM. It sure was. My whole world fell down around my ears right there.

PP. And H****, how did you feel about it?

HY. I made the biggest mistake of my life and it almost cost me the one thing I hold dearer than my own life. How do you think I felt about it?

PP. Then what did you do about it?

HY. I put it right. It took me some time, but I did it. And I swear to you by any deity you care to name, I would take my own life before I would put him through anything like that again. Those months without him were as tough a penance as any I could have been given and I have learned my lesson very well. Nothing is worth losing him for, nothing on this earth.

PP. Okay, some very strong sentiments there. And D**, how did you feel about the situation? You obviously went back to him. Were you happy to do that?

DM. Never happier. I was wrong. He did love me, he always has and he always will. He didn't set out to hurt me deliberately. He just made an error of judgment and I have forgiven him completely.

PP. Well that seems to have been quite a positive experience for both of you.

DM. Yeah it was. And you know what he did after that? He hired some guys to run the business for him and gave up work so that he could spend more time with me. Isn't that great? And my H****'s great, and I love him so much I could burst. [3]

(Session paused while subject 1 straddles subject 2's lap and subjects share a passionate kiss. Counsellor allows the distraction, observes subjects and makes notes as part of case assessment.)

PP. You both seem quite happy in the relationship now.

HY. Perfectly happy.

(Subject 1 grins happily and nods his agreement.)

HY. We always have been. Naturally we have our ups and downs, mostly ups with hardly any very serious downs, but generally speaking we make each other very happy.

PP. Yes, I can see that. Well we have almost come to the end of the session, but there is an exercise that I do that I have found helpful in understanding how people experience relationship. How each of you experiences it a little differently. It is a fun, playful, imaginative exercise, and I was wondering whether you would be willing to try it?

HY. Okay.

DM. Sure.

PP. Good. Now I want you to just sit back, get very comfortable in your chairs and close your eyes. No, it's okay, you can still hold hands. Take a deep breath, let out all the tension in your body. Now think about your relationship and each other. Imagine that you were in a dream or a fantasy. What symbolic forms would each of you appear as in that dream or fantasy, and what relationship would you bear to each other, how would you interact with each other? Think about it for a moment. Don't speak, just think of how you would relate to each other in the dream or fantasy. Imagine where it would take place.

(Sess ion is paused for a moment while subjects imagine their fantasy.)

PP. When you have thought of it I would like you to open your eyes… good. Now H****, what did you imagine you were and what was D**in relation to you?

HY. I was a lion in the jungle and he was a monkey up in a tree. Now I know that there are no lions in the jungle, but this is a dream, right? I was a lion in the jungle and I was prowling around beneath his tree keeping all the predators away while he was jumping around and playing up in his tree.

PP. You mean you were protecting him, making sure that he was safe?

HY. Safe and happy, yes.

PP. Okay. Now D**, what was your fantasy?

DM. Well I was this little bird with pretty coloured feathers and all, but I had a broken wing, and H**** was a young boy, maybe 15 years old or so, who hadn't been very happy growing up and he hadn't had very many nice things, and he found me with my broken wing and he took me home and took care of me and nursed me back to health. Then he took me back to where he found me and made as if to let me go, because I was all better now, and I was a wild creature and he didn't think it would be good to keep me caged up. But I saw how sad he looked at having to let me go, so I flew back to him and landed on his shoulder. I saw how happy he looked because I came back to him, and that made me happy too. So I stayed with him because I wanted to, and he didn't need to keep me in a cage or anything. And so we lived happily ever after together.

PP. Okay. And H****, how did you see the end of your fantasy, did you see yourself continuing to prowl under the tree protecting the monkey?

HY. Yes, for as long as he needed me to. I was happy to do it and I would gladly make it my life's work to keep him safe and happy in his tree, and I was prepared to kill or be killed to keep him there.

PP. Good. Well I think that's the end of the session. Thank-you both for coming. Now I think that this has been a very interesting session and I would like your permission to use a transcript of the session for training purposes., keeping your identities completely anonymous of course. Would you consent to give your permission for that?

HY. You're sure we won't be identified?

PP. Absolutely. I will sign a document to that effect.

HY. Alright. D**, are you okay with that?

DM. Sure, whatever. So, what do we do now, do we schedule another session?

PP. Actually no, I don't think that we will need any more sessions. I am quite convinced that there is nothing at all wrong with your relationship. In fact, I have seldom seen two people who love and care for each other as much as you two do, and I have asked to use the transcript of today's session for training as I thought that it would provide an excellent example of how arguments in a relationship are not necessarily an indication that there is something wrong and that they can even occur within a perfectly loving and stable relationship, such as you two obviously share. Thank-you and good luck for the future. It was a pleasure working with you both.

HY. Thank-you.

DM. Oh thank-you so much. You have no idea how much that means to us.

(Subj ect 1 embraces counsellor.)

;

SESSI ON ENDS

;

;

;

Heero strode across the car-park to where they had left their S.U.V. Duo followed in his wake, trotting to keep up.

</ p>

"See, I told you that what that magazine said was a load of rubbish." He said angrily. He opened the passenger door of the car and held it open for Duo.

"Yeah, well I knew that too." Duo retorted as he stood with his hands coquettishly on his hips.

"Just get in the car." Heero grabbed Duo by the arm and thrust him towards the open door.

"Okay, okay." Duo said and climbed up into the passenger seat.

"Waste of a perfectly good afternoon." Heero turned the key in the ignition as if he were wringing the neck of a chicken.

"It was not wasted," Duo retorted as he fastened his seatbelt, "At least we found out that there really is nothing wrong with our relationship."

"I could have told you that!" Heero exclaimed. "In fact I did, but would you listen to me? Oh no. I am only your husband who loves and cares for you. Why would you listen to me? You would rather take the word of some quack counsellor who doesn't know you from Adam and…"

"Penny was not a quack" Duo interposed, "She was real nice actually. Do you think we should ask her to dinner?"

"No I do not." Heero said flatly. "I'll have to have a serious word with that Quatre Barton-Winner." He muttered to himself as he eased the car through the mid-afternoon traffic.

"It wasn't Q's fault," Duo said as he flicked idly through the contents of a CD case he had pulled from the glove compartment, "And besides, none of this would have happened if you and Tro hadn't been in the garage messing about with that stupid old heap of junk."

"I'll have you know that that car is a classic," Heero replied tersely, "And we were not messing about, we were re-building the engine. And stop playing with that…" He wrenched the CD case from Duo's hands, threw it over his shoulder into the back of the car… and the afternoon wore on.

[1] - Reference to events in 'Purple Hades', a previous story

[2] - Reference to events in 'Two Components', a previous story

[3] - Reference to events in 'Light Fantastic', a previous story