Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ In a Child's Eyes ❯ Mr. Barton ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: Of course I own them. That's why I'm writing fan fictions instead of making more movies. Duh…

 

 

Chapter warnings: Language

 

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In a Child's Eyes

 

Chapter Four

 

Mr. Barton

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Still half asleep, Heero slapped his hand on the snooze button to make the loud buzzing noise go away. When it didn't stop, he pushed the snooze button again and successfully managed to knock the alarm clock off the nightstand. However, the buzzing continued and Heero cracked one eye open. Suddenly the Japanese man's eyes few open and he sat bolt upright. It wasn't the clock that was making the noise…

 

It was the smoke alarm.

 

Throwing the covers off himself, Heero rushed out of his bedroom. In the kitchen he found Duo standing on a chair near the stove over a pan, happily ignoring the loud noise of the alarm. The burner was turned to high and the Teflon from the pan was starting to smoke.

 

Quickly, Heero rushed to the stove and turned off the burner. The half burnt, half raw substance in the pan looked as if it used to be eggs, though what it was now was anyone's guess. Heero, still trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes, looked down at the young wanna-be chef.

 

The boy smiled brightly as he yelled over the alarm, “Good morning Mr. Yuy. I made you breakfast.”

 

Heero gazed at the mess scattered over the stove and the counters. As suddenly as it turned on, the smoke alarm turned off, leaving an unpleasant buzzing in Heero's ears. His wondering eyes fell on the goop in the pan.

 

Looking at the boy, Heero said in almost a monotone voice, “There's no way I'm eating that shit. Clean this mess up.”

 

Duo's smile faded as Heero walked to the coffee pot and started the brew. The boy's lower lip began to tremble as he closed the egg carton, climbed down from the chair and put the remaining eggs in the fridge.

 

Heero returned to his room, made his bed, showered, dressed, shaved… because he wanted to, not because he needed to, and made his way back to the kitchen. The boy looked up from rinsing out a rag in the sink, a sad frown on his face. “I'm done.” Duo said softly.

 

Heero walked over to the stove and inspected Duo's work. “You left streaks here and here… you missed a spot here… make sure you dry the counter after you wash it…” He looked over at Duo and said calmly, “This isn't good enough. Do it again.”

 

After downing a cup of coffee, Heero grabbed his briefcase, laptop and keys and began putting on his shoes. Duo, still standing on the chair, looked over at the young business man.

 

“Are we going back to see Relena?”

 

“We are not going anywhere. I am going. You are staying here.”

 

“All by myself?” Duo asked softly.

 

“What? Do you have a problem with that?”

 

Yes. Duo thought. “No.” Duo said.

 

“Good. Make sure you get that stuff in your room put away by the time I come home.” Heero said as he reached for the door knob.

 

“Mr. Yuy…”

 

“What?”

 

“When will you be home?”

 

“I don't know. Maybe around six or seven.” And with that said, Heero walked out the door.

 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

 

Relena looked up as Mr. Yuy walked in the door and frowned when she saw he was alone.

 

“Where's Duo?” She asked automatically.

 

“What? No good morning?”

 

“Good morning Mr. Yuy.”

 

Heero nodded. “Good morning Ms. Relena.”

 

Relena watched her boss head toward the coffee pot, then asked again, “Where's Duo?”

 

“At home.”

 

The brunette sucked in her breath and said, “You're not going to leave him there alone all day are you?”

 

“That's correct.”

 

“Mr. Yuy you can't do that.” She said sternly.

 

Heero turned around and raised an eyebrow. “Well, I can't be dragging him around all day.”

 

“You can't leave an eight year old boy home all alone.”

 

“Well I don't want him here.” Heero snapped.

 

“What happened?” Relena asked softly.

 

Heero eyed his secretary. It wasn't in his nature to talk about personal issues, especially at work, but with her it was different. Relena always had an open ear, and she usually picked up on what was going on very well. Even when he didn't say things out right, Heero had a feeling that she genuinely cared and understood, or at least wanted to understand. Why not just tell her? He reasoned with himself. After all, she had a kid too…

 

So Heero told her about the car, and the crayons, and the mess, and the breakfast episode, and the fact that the kid wouldn't leave him alone to work. When he finished, Heero noticed that his secretary was trying hard not to smile.

 

“It's not funny.”

 

She nodded. “Mr. Yuy… it sounds like Duo just wants you to like him and pay attention to him. He really is a very nice little boy…”

 

“He does everything wrong.”

 

“Then teach him how to do what you want done.”

 

“I've told him…”

 

She shook her head, “You have to show him.” She paused, then added, “Nicely.”

 

Heero rolled his eyes, pulled his keys from his pocket and tossed them to the European woman. “I have an appointment to get those scratches fixed this morning. I'd like you to take care of that.”

 

“Do you mind if I leave early and pick Duo up?”

 

“Do whatever you want. As long as I don't have to deal with him.” Heero said as he headed back towards his office.

 

“Oh, Mr. Yuy. Don't forget you need to get Duo registered for school soon because school starts the week after next.”

 

“Shit…”

 

Shaking her head, Relena picked up her purse and headed out to the car.

 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

 

Relena unlocked the front door to Mr. Yuy's house and let herself in. As she closed the door, Duo rushed around the corner. When he saw who it was his face broke out into a huge smile.

 

“Relena!” He yelled as he rushed over to her. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I'm going to take Mr. Yuy's car in to get the scratches fixed. Do you want to come with me?”

 

Duo nodded enthusiastically. Relena looked closely at the boy. The boy's braid was messy and his hair looked greasy. He was also wearing the same clothes from the day before. Looking at her watch, Relena decided there was enough time to give the boy a bath.

 

“Before we leave you need to take a shower and change your clothes.”

 

“Okay.” Duo said. “Do you want to see my room?”

 

Relena nodded and stepped forward, but stopped when Duo put up his hand and said sagely, “You have to take off your shoes or the carpet will get dirty from the oils.”

 

What are you teaching this kid? She thought in amusement as she took off her shoes and followed the long haired boy to his room.

 

After showing her all the new stuff, Duo frowned and said, “Mr. Yuy says I have to have it all put away by the time he gets home but I don't know where to put it all.”

 

She nodded. “Why don't you pick out some clothes and shower, and when you're done we'll put it all away together, but you need to hurry or we'll be late getting the car fixed.”

 

Duo quickly grabbed his clothes and ran to the bathroom. As the boy showered, Relena checked the stove and the counter in the kitchen. The boy had done quite a good job for his age. Grabbing a rag she got the spots Duo had missed, then turned off the coffee machine and rinsed out the pot. She also looked around the living room to see if anything needed picking up. When she saw what DVDs the entertainment center held she shook her head, gathered them all up and put them in a garbage sack with a note telling Mr. Yuy to keep such movies out of Duo's reach. She would have preferred to throw the porn in the trash, but it wasn't her property and putting the DVDs in a sack was as far as she dared to go.

 

When Duo was finished with his shower, Relena brushed out the boy's hair and braided it for him. Then they quickly went about finding places for Duo's new belongings. After making the bed together and tidying up his desk, they headed out to the auto body shop, then back to the office.

 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

 

When the glass coffee pot slid out of his hands and crashed onto the kitchen floor, Duo felt a cold sweat cover him. He stood still and listened hard. From the rustling he heard in the other part of the house, Duo knew that he was going to have a very un-happy Mr. Yuy to deal with in a few minutes.

 

Duo ran to the laundry room in search of a broom and dustpan in hopes that he could clean up the mess before the Japanese man could make it to the kitchen. As Duo made his way back into the kitchen with the cleaning supplies, he stopped. Standing at the scene of the crime was Mr. Yuy, and as Duo had predicted, he looked very un-happy.

 

“Explain.” Heero said shortly.

 

“I was going to make you some coffee…” Duo began.

 

Heero glared. “Do you even know how to make coffee?”

 

“Relena showed me yesterday…”

 

“So someone shows you something once and you think you can do it?”

 

“Father Winner says I have a really good memory because I remember lots of things.” Duo explained, hoping Mr. Yuy wasn't going to yell at him.

 

Heero shook his head, put a hand to his head and sighed. “Clean this up and get dressed.”

 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

 

“Just pick something.” Heero commanded for the tenth time.

 

Duo franticly raked his eyes over the Starbucks menu. He had his choices narrowed down to two things but he couldn't seem to decide… A growling sound from the dark haired man spurred Duo to say, “Caramel Apple Cider please.”

 

The lady at the counter smiled at Duo and said, “That's a great choice. You know, the Caramel Apple Bar goes great with that…” The last was said while looking at Mr. Yuy.

 

The Japanese man growled at the clerk's obvious attempt to make a sale.

 

“Can I have that Mr. Yuy?” Duo asked.

 

“You don't need to eat that kind of stuff.”

 

“Please…” Duo begged.

 

“No.” Heero said firmly.

 

“But… I'm hungry…”

 

“No means no.”

 

Duo looked up at the businessman with large watery eyes and made a small whimpering sound.

 

“Absolutely not.”

 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

 

When Heero turned off the engine Duo happily grabbed the cup of cider, opened the car door and got out. The impish boy turned around and smiled a toothy grin at Heero who was still in the car.

 

“Are you coming Mr. Yuy?”

 

Heero looked at the boy then down at the passenger seat. Crumbs from the Caramel Apple Bar were scattered all over the area Duo had been sitting in, some of them even ground into the seat. Remnants of the sticky caramel sauce glistened on the door handle as the florescent lights in the parking garage shone down on the car. The twenty-one year old business man tried to remain calm and remember that at least he had been able to stop Duo from spilling the cider.

 

“Are you okay Mr. Yuy?” Duo reached over to grab a hold of the door but stopped when Heero quickly raised his hand and looked warningly at the boy.

 

“Don't…” Heero began.

 

Duo looked at his sticky hand, then back to Heero with a grin slowly forming on his face. With drawn out exaggeration, Duo brought his hand close to the door. The dark haired man glowered even more deeply at the boy.

 

“Don't even think about it.” Heero warned.

 

Duo grinned. “But I'm already thinking of it,” he said and he brought his hand closer to the convertible's door.

 

The Japanese man growled and got out of the car, intent on physically moving the boy away from the car. When Heero made it halfway around the car, Duo quickly set his drink on the hood of the BMW, then slammed both sticky hands on the door.

 

“You little…” Heero began as he walked faster to the braided boy.

 

“Can't catch me!” Duo yelled before running away from the car.

 

It took Heero about ten minutes to catch the boy, who was weaving in between parked cars, laughing as he tried to keep out of the irritated man's reach. When Heero caught Duo, he held the boy's wrists above his head to keep Duo's sticky hands away. With his other hand, Heero shook his finger at the boy.

 

“Didn't I tell you not to touch the fucking door?”

 

Duo nodded, trying his best to look sorry.

 

“Why did you touch it then? What the hell was going through your…”

 

“What's going on here?” A calm voice asked.

 

Both Heero and Duo turned to look at the speaker. Duo blinked. The man who had spoken was very tall, brunette, and sporting the strangest hair style the boy had ever seen.

 

“Mr. Barton… You're back,” was all the blue-eyed man could think of to say.

 

The tall man nodded and smiled at the younger businessman's obvious statement.

 

“So tell me young Heero, what this all about? Your beautiful secretary told me you've taken in a foster child. Is this him? ” The man with the strange hairstyle asked as he gestured at Duo.

 

Heero nodded, but said nothing.

 

“Are you having difficulties already?” The forty-five year old businessman asked mildly.

 

The question struck at the core of Heero's pride. “Of course not.”

 

“Then tell me Heero, what is this all about?” The man gestured at Duo again, whose hands were still held above his head by Heero.

 

“We were having a… discussion…”

 

“Ah. I see,” Said the brunette as he walked closer to the two. Mr. Barton gently removed Duo's wrists from Heero's grip and inspected the small sticky hands. “Well young man, it seems as if you have quite a mess here don't you?” The older businessman asked kindly.

 

Duo nodded then said, “How come you sound strange when you talk?”

 

The tall man smiled, reached in his suit coat pocket and removed a small packet. Tearing open the package, he removed a wet-nap and began wiping Duo's hands. “Do I sound strange?”

 

Duo nodded, looking a bit abashed. “A little…”

 

“Well, that's because when I was a little boy I didn't speak English.”

 

“What did you speak?”

 

“French.”

 

Duo seemed to be carefully considering this new knowledge.

 

“I've never quite been able to get rid of my accent though… There we go. All clean.”

 

Duo looked at his hands and smiled brightly. “Thank-you Mr. Barton.”

 

“You're welcome, but please call me Trowa, none of this Mr. Barton stuff.” Trowa stuck out his hand. “And I don't believe you told me your name…”

 

“Duo.” The long haired boy replied while shaking the older man's hand.

 

Trowa turned to Heero and said, “Well you have a very nice young man here.”

 

“Hn. If you say so Mr. Barton.”

 

The French businessman sighed. “Again Heero, I'd like you to call me Trowa.”

 

Though Heero nodded curtly, Trowa knew it wouldn't be that easy to get Lowe's son to call him by his first name. Not now. The brunette smiled a sad smile. There had been a time that Heero had called him by his first name, but pressure and molding from Odin Lowe and Takara Yuy, combined with six years of college had changed the once open and friendly Japanese boy into the man he was today.

 

Trowa glanced at his watch. “Well, I have a meeting soon. It was good to meet you, young Duo and, of course, it's always good to see you Heero.”

 

Heero nodded and watched the French man walk away from Duo and himself. After a moment, the dark haired man looked down at the child beside him.

 

“Let's go.” Heero said bluntly.

 

Duo began to nod then stopped. “Wait, what about my drink?”

 

The Japanese man sighed in exasperation as Duo ran back to the car to retrieve the cider. After a few minutes Duo returned with two cups bearing the Starbucks seal.

 

“You forgot yours too,” Said Duo brightly as he handed Heero his coffee.

 

Heero stared at the happy boy for a moment before silently taking the cup.

 

“Let's go.” Heero repeated softly and began to walk in the direction Trowa had gone.

 

-`-,-`-

 

A HUGE thanks to Masamune Reforged for being my editor / betareader.