Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ One Step Forward, Two Steps Back ❯ The Tin Man ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Trowa sat up in his bed and glared at the unrelenting alarm clock, before reaching out to turn it off. He didn't really want to go to school today, even if it was only the second day of school. He couldn't stop thinking about what Quatre had said to him yesterday.

He had thought that Quatre would be a good friend, a good person to hang out with. However it was apparent that Trowa had most definitely misjudged Quatre. He was nothing more than a rich snob who looked down on anyone that he thought was worth less than him. People that were just like Duo and Trowa.

Trowa looked out his window and realized that he had a clear view of the newest addition to the Winner's mansion. Why was it located in this neighborhood? That was beyond Trowa's rationalization skills. There was nothing that Trowa could do about it anyway, so he closed the curtains and turned around. He caught sight of his face in the mirror, and turned away in shame. Did Quatre see him as a clown all the time, just because he had told him that that's what he did most of the time? Did he see nothing more than Trowa's profession? What kind of shallow person would do something like that?

Then again, why should Trowa care? Quatre was just another person that snubbed Trowa for being the way he was-- different. Trowa had dealt with these kinds of people before and he knew that he would have to do it again next year. So why worry about this specific one? He wouldn't be here long anyway.

But Quatre was different! He was someone that Trowa had felt connected to. He was someone that made Trowa smile just by being there. He seemed to know just what to do to lift up Trowa's spirits and bring him out of his shell. He knew how to make Trowa talk more than he had ever talked in his entire life.

Yet Quatre was the one who had stabbed him in the back by saying that he couldn't be seen walking home with Trowa. Quatre had called Duo a moral-less street rat before even giving Duo one chance and really getting to know him. Quatre probably belonged with Relena and her friends. They were all spineless jerks that judged by money and not by heart.

However, somehow he couldn't convince himself that Quatre was truly like that. Perhaps he was under a lot of pressure to pick the 'right' kinds of friends. He was, after all, the son of one of the most important business men in the entire world.

But would it really be that bad to walk around with a circus clown? What kind of person would have a problem with their son walking around with a clown? It wasn't like Trowa's circus was that bad either. It was the single biggest circus to ever exist and they didn't run around hitting each other in the face with pies either.

Trowa shook his head. It was all too confusing. He grabbed onto a steel bar near the ceiling that he had installed in his room, and hung upside down on it. As soon as his blood rushed to his head, he moved to the floor to do sit-ups.

Catherine came in during Trowa's exercises to tell him that he should really get ready for school now. Trowa tried to remember what his schedule was, and then realized that he had a class with Quatre first thing. He didn't want to go and see Quatre while his mind was still trying to figure out what he wanted to do about Quatre.

Trowa changed his clothes and slipped out of his room. He grabbed the keys for his motorbike and then headed out the door.

It was always easier to think while racing with the wind and going faster than your troubles.

"The nuclear envelope is used to keep things in and out of the nucleus. During mitosis it disappears during anaphase and then comes back in telophase." Wufei answered the question with ease and a note of pride in his voice.

"Exactly!" The teacher beamed and wrote the answer on the board. Then the bell rang and she sighed. "We'll finish this tomorrow." She smiled at Wufei as he moved to leave. "Good work Wufei, I'm very impressed."

"Yeah, Wufei! Great work!" a girl snickered as Wufei left the room. "You teacher's pets are all the same. You answer the questions that no one else knows, so that you look smarter and everyone else looks dumb. It's really quite predictable, you know."

"Excuse me?" Wufei asked in disbelief. "If I hadn't answered that question, then she would have kept us all in at lunch to explain it."

"Maybe." She shrugged. "But I bet she'll call on you all the time from now on." With that the girl walked off.

"Oh look, you found an admirer too," Yuy grumbled as he walked up to Wufei. "Loads of fun aren't they? Wanna trade? You could be worshiped!"

"Duo won't talk to you at all?" Wufei guessed as he followed the chocolate-haired boy down the hallway.

"No. He flat-out ignores me. I just saw him in socials and said hi, but he pushed past me and sat down without a word. I don't know why he's acting this way. It's not like the way I deal with my relationships is going to be how I handle my friendships."

Wufei shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe he just took it the wrong way."

"Whatever. Trowa wants to go for a walk. We're going to talk about Quatre and Duo. You could come too if you want, and talk about that girl," Yuy suggested as they stopped at Wufei's locker.

"There's no reason for me to talk about her. However, I will go to support you and Barton." Wufei put his stuff in the locker and allowed Yuy to store his stuff there too. "Do you know where Barton is going to meet us?" Wufei asked as he closed his locker.

"Yeah. We're going to meet him at the front door of the school. We would have met at the willow tree, but Duo and Quatre will probably be there, so we decided against it," Yuy replied.

Wufei nodded. He spotted Relena out of the corner of his eye and pushed Yuy into the crowd to keep her from seeing him. Wufei followed Yuy and sighed in relief as they finally exited the school. "Sorry about that, but I really do think that it would have ruined the purpose of having a private talk with Barton if Relena was clinging to your arm."

"Yeah," Yuy agreed and pointed to the edge of the forest. "Look, there's Trowa!" Yuy waved to the clown.

"Hello, Heero. Hi, Wufei. Come on, let's go. I think I saw Duo and Quatre heading this way," Trowa said and the three of them started off.

"So why does Duo's behavior bug you so much anyways?" Wufei asked, starting off the conversation as they progressed deeper into the woods. "I mean, so what if he doesn't understand your way of thinking? It's not like the two of you know each other that well anyway.”

Yuy glanced at the sky before replying. "I don't know why. Logically, I should be able to forget about it and just go on with my life. But you didn't see his eyes when he heard me say it."

"What did he say? Or you for that matter?" Barton questioned. "I mean I don't even know what really happened. All I know is that Duo won't speak to you because of whatever you said to him."

"I told him about my family and how it works," Yuy replied, rather hesitantly. "My parents married because of me, not because they love each other. Therefore they have spent their entire married lives working around the other one. Duo said that he pitied me for having to grow up in that kind of environment. I said that I didn't think that it was that bad and actually figured that it's better than having to be betrayed by my lover or whatever. He said he hoped that I fell in love, and looked at me with-" Yuy swallowed hard, as if he was trying to avoid having to actually see those eyes again. "with such saddened eyes that I felt really bad about the whole thing."

"He is an orphan. Perhaps he feels unhappy that someone who has parents should still be without love," Wufei suggested.

"Perhaps,"Yuy replied and then turned to Barton. "What do you think?"

"I think if Quatre said that, I would be saddened too," Barton replied. "It is indeed discouraging, but I believe that it's not because he is an orphan. Duo probably feels attached to you since you were the first person he met in his new life. The same way I feel for Quatre. Duo may not know what to do now that you've proven to be emotionally unstable."

"Emotionally unstable?" Yuy asked, shocked. "What do you mean by that? I'm not emotionally unstable!"

"Well, you don't really think that love will just pass you by, do you? I mean seriously, you can't always avoid it, and plus, it isn't always filled with betrayal. My parents were happy right up until they died," Barton retorted.

"Mine are alive and still into candlelit dinners," Wufei added.

Barton nodded. "Do you see Heero? Your parents are the exception, not the rule. You will learn that someday."

"Maybe, but probably not-" Yuy trailed off.

"Why not?" Wufei snapped. "You're well educated! Your mother is a well thought-of actress and your father is a very well-sought officer. You're not bad looking, even if I am saying this as a guy, and you seem to have many admirers."

"That's just it! I have annoying people that seem to enjoy following me around twenty-four hours a day. I don't like any of them." Yuy kicked a pine cone.

"So? You're young. We're young, for that matter," Barton pointed out. "You have plenty of time to find a suitable wife."

"That's not the point!" Yuy exclaimed.

"Then what is?" Wufei asked, exasperated.

"My dad didn't want to marry my mom because he didn't like her, and because she was a woman! I'm pretty sure that my dad is gay." Yuy continued but at a much softer tone, "And I think I might be a little bit too, okay?" Yuy moved to hide his face under his bangs.

"Oh." Wufei blushed as he realized what the real situation was. "Well, that changed some things. But it isn't that big of a problem. I mean, this is the 21st century and homosexuals are more accepted nowadays. It's not that big of a deal!" Wufei seemed to be trying to convince himself of this fact rather than Yuy.

Barton smirked. "I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think Duo really would care."

Yuy and Wufei looked at him with wide eyes, gaping.

"Why do you say that?" Yuy asked hesitantly.

"Because if Duo's reaction was anything to go by, I think he might be, too. It would explain why he was so upset at your belief. After all, it would have indicated that nothing would ever happen between the two of you." Barton replied.

Wufei scratched his head in thought. "Yeah, that would make sense."

"So what do I do?" Yuy asked.

"Depends on whether or not you like him back." Barton let Yuy ponder on that point. "And if it makes you feel any better, I believe that Wufei may be the only straight one out of our group soon enough." Barton had come to terms with his sexuality a long time ago and didn't care who knew about it.

Wufei whimpered and Yuy laughed.

"What happened to your 'anti-homophobia' speech?" Yuy mocked.

"Shut up!" Wufei growled and moved to hit Yuy but Yuy quickly dodged him and jogged away.

Barton shook his head and looked at Wufei who appeared to be close to freaking out. Barton shrugged and decided to bug Wufei himself. He slapped Wufei's ass, lightly, and then raced away from him.

Wufei thundered after him. "Barton!"

"Come and get us slowpoke!" Yuy taunted.

They kept running until the three of them smacked into a pair of innocent bystanders. Two bystanders that happened to go by the names of Quatre Winner and Duo Maxwell.

"Sorry?" Yuy tried weakly as he moved to help Duo up.

Duo jumped up immediately as he realized who it was and sped away. Yuy shot a look at Barton and then took off after him.

Meanwhile Barton was looked at Winner, trying to figure out what to do.

Wufei smiled and decided that this was his cue to leave them alone.

"Duo, wait!" Heero called from someplace behind him but Duo didn't slow down. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Heero right now. It was just better to avoid him. That way he didn't have to try and figure out why Heero's supposed theory on relationships bugged him so much. It shouldn't matter! It didn't matter! Oh, why did it have to matter?

Duo stopped paying attention to where he was going as he sped up and ran straight into a branch, which caught him by surprise and sent him crashing to the ground. Duo grumbled at his bad luck and moved to get up when Heero caught up and only saw Duo at the very last possible second. He couldn't move fast enough to avoid the body on the ground and tripped over it. Which ended up with Heero half sprawled on top of Duo with his face in the mud.

Duo almost felt sorry for Heero but managed to stop himself from helping Heero up. Instead he made his own way to a standing position and started to brush all of the dirt off his pants.

Heero got up, tried to clean the dirt off of his face and brushed the branches off his perfect ass. Duo closed his eyes and mentally kicked himself for that thought. It doesn't pay to think like that! He would never like you the way you want him to. It would all be an act. You don't want an act, do you? Duo demanded of himself.

"Duo? Are you okay?" Heero asked hesitantly, glancing over at him.

"I'm filthy, Heero! How okay do you think I am?" Duo snapped as he twisted around to see the back of his previously white jeans. "Great, Andy's going to have my head for this."

"Andy?" Heero moved closer to inspect the damage to Duo's pants.

"Andy is short for Andrea. She's my adopted mother. She also just bought these pants." He frowned as he looked at the dirt that seemed to be caked into his pants. "Two hundred dollars for these lousy things! I told her that it wasn't worth it! I told her she shouldn't pay two hundred dollars for them! Especially now that I've effectively ruined them."

"They look like we can save them," Heero noted. "We'll just have to get them into a washing machine ASAP."

"Great, do you have a portable washing machine hidden in your pockets?" Duo asked sarcastically. "Come on Heero, get fucking real."

"I live only seven blocks away," Heero offered, looking at his watch. "And we have another fifty minutes of lunch. We could run to my house, change your clothes and get those pants in the wash within ten minutes. What do you say?"

Duo looked down at his pants and then back up at Heero. At that moment he forgot all about why he had been running away from Heero and why going to Heero's house would be a very bad idea. Instead, all he thought about was that fact that Heero was probably the best thing that could happen to him right now.

"Let's go!" Duo exclaimed. Heero nodded and grabbed Duo's hand, pulling him in the direction of the road. They raced to get to Heero's house as fast as possible. They ran, hand in hand, to Heero's doorstep and only then did Heero drop his hand to fish around in his pocket for his keys.

"Welcome to my home," Heero said with a smile as he led Duo up the stairs and to a bathroom. "Wait here while I go and see if I have any pants that might fit you. Then I'll take your pants and put them in the washing machine."

"Okay," Duo agreed.

Heero was gone all of two minutes. He came back, holding up a pair of black jeans. "Try these on. I don't know if they'll fit you, though."

Duo nodded, taking the jeans and closing the door. He quickly pulled off his pants and slipped Heero's on. They fit like they were made for him. What was more, they smelled like Heero; spicy, musky and with the hint of something purely masculine. Duo did a little jump in them to test them and then gathered up his discarded pants.

Duo opened the door and found that Heero wasn't standing there. So he stood in the doorway, not wanting to go and venture off to find him, figuring he'd get lost.

There was a noise to Duo's left and Duo looked over, finding himself staring into Heero's blue eyes. Duo blushed and then held up the pants. "Here you go. The jeans fit, by the way. Where's the laundry room?"

"Downstairs," Heero replied automatically, almost like he was too occupied with something else to give Duo's question his full attention. Then he shook his head quickly, as if to clear his thoughts and took the pants. "Come on, you can wait in the living room while I throw these in the wash."

"Alright." Duo nodded and followed Heero down the stairs, noting that Heero had gone to change and wash his face as well.

"Just stay here. I'll be right back," Heero said as he disappeared into a small room off the living room. Duo shrugged and studied the room, spotting pictures set up on the mantle. Duo moved to look at them and smiled as he saw a small baby looking up at the camera with a smile on its face. Duo guessed that it was Heero-- even as a baby he'd had unruly hair. He looked so cute, so innocent.

"Ah, admiring my baby pictures?" Heero asked as he came up behind Duo. "Don't I look just great? Even as a baby I couldn't tame this damn hair."

"You look cute," Duo commented, picking up another picture. That one had a woman in it with baby Heero. Her hair was dark and wild, almost mirroring Heero's. "Who's this?"

"My mom," Heero replied. When Duo's eyes widened, Heero nodded. "Yeah, she looks a lot different without all her make-up and primping. I think she looks better this way, but she doesn't believe me."

"She's beautiful!"

"Yeah," Heero agreed, then grabbed Duo's braid. "Do you ever wear your hair down?"

"Nope, too much hassle," Duo stated, shaking his head. "I'd never get all the knots out if I did."

"Too bad. I'm sure you'd look good."

Suddenly Heero's words from yesterday came rushing back to him and Duo pulled away. "What are you trying to do?" Duo asked, spinning around to face Heero with a glare set on him. "What do you think you're trying to do?"

"What do you mean?" Heero asked, confusion written on his face.

Duo shook his head. Heero wasn't really confused. Acting probably just ran in the family. He knew exactly what Duo was talking about. He was just pretending not to. With that in mind, Duo pulled his braid out of Heero's hand.

"Do you really think that this is going to work?" Duo demanded as he pushed Heero backwards, away from him. "Yesterday you tell me that you don't believe in love and now you're acting all weird. Come on, you can't think that guys call each other good looking all the time."

"Duo, I'm sorry if I offended you," Heero began, but Duo didn't let him finish.

"No, you're not! Don't apologize for something when you can't possibly mean it!" Duo snapped. "You don't believe that two people can love each other so how can you be sorry for making me confused about whether or not you care? You're heartless, Heero Yuy! If you don't believe in love than how on earth can you have a heart?" Duo demanded an answer, but a look in Heero's eyes told Duo that he didn't have one to give.

"Duo, I wish I could tell you something else, but-"

"But you can't!" Duo yelled, finishing Heero's sentence. "You can't fucking tell me anything else because you're just like that stupid tin man in that old movie. You don't have a heart at all, do you? Do you?!" Duo snatched up one of Heero's pictures and blindly threw it at him, not knowing what was coming over him, but unable to stop. "How can you live with all this, and still not know love? How can you have two parents you've known your entire life and still not know what love is?" Duo was aware of how feminine he sounded, how much like a whiny little girl he was acting, but he couldn't help it.

"Teach me," Heero whispered, stepping closer to Duo, ignoring the shattered glass on the floor. "Why don't you teach me how to love? Someone helped the tin man, didn't they? So why can't you help me?"

Duo didn't move as Heero closed the space between them. He didn't protest as Heero lowered his mouth to his, capturing his lips in a way no one had ever done before. Duo felt tears gather in his eyes even as his body moved to give into Heero.

Heero tasted just like spices, expensive spices; and dark chocolate. His taste poured into Duo and overtook all of his senses, leaving Duo incapable of doing anything but standing there. Duo's eyes slid shut against the tears that were waiting there and an arm came up, as if by its own accord, and wrapped itself around Heero's neck. Duo played with his hair, holding onto Heero for dear life.

Heero's hand slipped down Duo's body to his lower back where he firmly held Duo close, causing him to moan at the feeling of being completely possessed in so many different aspects of the word. Heero swallowed the moan and returned it with one of his own, accompanied by his tongue. Welcoming the warm muscle into his mouth, Duo pulled Heero closer, unable to stop this erotic invasion of his space, even though he knew that it was incredibly wrong.

Finally Duo had to push Heero away due to lack of oxygen. Duo looked up at Heero. "What did you feel, Heero?"

"You," Heero responded without thinking.

Duo shook his head sadly. "I can't teach you anything, Heero. I'm sorry." With that Duo ran out of Heero's house and down the road. He disappeared into the school forest again and slid down on the ground.

He rocked back and forth, his arms wrapped around his legs and his face buried in the smell of Heero's pants. Duo whimpered to himself and prayed that Heero wouldn't find him.

"God help me. Jesus save me." Tears spilled unwelcomed down Duo's cheek. "Love protect me."

Duo sat there for more minutes than he could count, but then heard the bell ring. He got up, gritting his teeth and pushing the tears away. No one could know he'd actually started to cry. The teasing would never stop, especially when it was combined with the teasing he was already enduring.

Duo went to his locker quickly and pulled his binder out. He made it almost all the way to the classroom before he realized that his next class was with Heero. Obviously there was someone up there that didn't like him.

"You can do this, Duo," he told himself, trying to talk himself into going into the math classroom. "Get through this class and you won't have to deal with Mr-I-Love-No-One again, until tomorrow."

Duo walked into the classroom and quickly made his way to the far corner. Many of the girls looked at him, trying not to be obvious, before turning back to their friends and giggling. Duo's cheeks stained a bright red and he looked down.

Did they all already know what had happened at Heero's house? Had Heero been hiding girls in his house and planning this entire thing? Or did he just come back and brag to everyone how he could turn the orphan into mush with just one little kiss? Did he tell Relena? God, Duo was stupid to have ever thought that Heero hated all the attention he got from that girl. Why hadn't Duo realized that Heero actually loved it?

"Duo?" Heero's voice touched him with concern that Duo quickly dismissed as false.

"Go away!" Duo muttered, and more laughs greeted that.

Duo suddenly heard the girls stop laughing and looked over to see Heero shooting glares at them. Duo shook his head and got up, grabbing his binder. "Tell Mr. Tankin that I wasn't feeling well," Duo told Wufei as he passed him.

Wufei nodded, not even asking what was wrong.

"Duo! Stop!" Heero called after him as Duo walked down the hall.

"No!" Duo snapped back, but his traitorous legs slowed down.

"I'm sorry." Heero caught up to Duo, grabbing his hand. "I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm really sorry for it, okay?"

"That's just it! You don't realize it!"

"Then tell me!"

"I can't just tell you!" Duo growled, looking down at their enclasped hands. "It doesn't work that way. You can't just work around me."

"Then help me," Heero pleaded. "Please, I don't want to work around you."

"Bullshit!" Duo snapped and threw a punch that connected directly with Heero's face. "Don't come near me!"

Heero rushed up to Duo and grabbed his hand again. "Look, Duo, don't do this."

"The tin man helped himself, Heero," Duo said sadly, and with that, he pulled away from Heero and walked away. He couldn't look back, he didn't want to see Heero's face and the damage he'd caused.

If Heero didn't believe in love, and therefore Duo couldn't ever love him, then why did it hurt so much? Why did his heart feel like it was going to break at any moment?

Why did he feel so bad?

a/n: Heya people...R&R please...I need PQP (praise, question, polish---don't ask, my english teacher came up with it) in order to make my work better, right?
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