Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Ugly ❯ Ponderland ( Chapter 8 )

Duo was handing out towels.

 

It had been just before they had reached the small stretch of street that led to Duo's front door, that the skies had turned upside down, pouring out all of their contents like water from a bucket, and now the boys were dripping wet.

As a result, it had momentarily stopped raining, and the veil of clouds had thinned a little.

 

To Duo's great relieve, it was beginning to thicken again.

There was something so very soothing about rain and a dark, cloudy day.

 

He felt at home even outside, when it was raining. He felt safe inside the rain. Always had. It was like being protected, transported to a world, where he belonged, a world of water and sort of a timeless tide, that would come and sweep over the globe like anarchy, disturbing it's routines, except that the rain wasn't there to ensue chaos, it was there, because it was rain, it was needed and that was it's way...

 

Other people would run away from it. Duo felt saved.

 

As a child, he had been having the habit of trying to create the 'water-anarchy' when ever, and where-ever he could.

He would be there, standing happily, his mid-length braid soaking wet, rivulets of water running down the skinny legs, droplets clinging on the knobbly knees, T-shirt glued to his skin... And his mother,(or someone else) would come running in, yelling: ”Duo! Put that hose down, NOW! Good God child, up to no good I see! Trying to turn the livingroom into a swimmingpool, again?”

 

Duo smiled to himself.

 

”Well, Duo c'mon! We're freezing, here!”

That was Wufei shouting, but he sounded more happy and relaxed, then irked out of his mind. ”yeah, yeah, I-”

 

Duo raised his head, only to swallow and almost drop the towel he was holding. His eyes felt weird, like the eye-balls were being filled from the inside with some kind of gass, that was making them fill-up and perhaps pop out as a result.

 

His mouth was hanging slightly open, and his tongue felt dry while all the saliva tried to escape from the corner of his mouth.

 

Heero was looking around, obviously for a place to hang his shirt and socks to dry, while the fingers of his left hand were busily dueling with a persistant pant-belt, that was making chiming and rattling sounds in the process.

He was obviously going to take those off, too. Well, they were soaking wet...

 

Heero's skin was a warm color, muscles moving smoothly under it with every motion of his hands. He had two light brown birth marks under his left shoulder blade, the lower one resembling a heart, and he looked very hard and smooth at the same time...

Duo wanted to run his hands over that skin, caressing the lower back with a light touch of his palms , and then run his fingertips lovingly up Heero's spine, to sweep over his neck, and...

”DUU-OOO!!

...It's his medication, guys. We'we been thoughtless. His not doing too good, still, and he needs his rest... And we'we been making him run in the rain... Duo? You want to rest? Can the others stay too, anyway? We would like to dry up a bit...”

 

Duo looked at Wufei with wide, baffled eyes. He heard Quatre mumble something about forcing him to sleep, and Trowa was wondering, where he kept his pills.

 

”I... I'm... I'm alright, I just... No no, I just took my medication before I left... I think... Could have been earlier, but...” Duo tried to get his wandering eyes under controll. It was very hard. He coughed, because suddenly his throat felt too dry for speaking.

”I...” and he looked at Heero, coughed ” I just, umm...” he looked at the floor, lifted his gaze, looked at Heero, blushed, tried to look like he wasn't looking and coughed again ”I'll take your stuff off to dry...”

 

They were standing in the hall still, because that was where the linen closet was. Why Une had decided, that the hall-cabinet would make a perfect linen-closet was beyond Duo, but, that's what it now was, and that was why they were standing there at that very moment, instead of Duo's room or a bathroom.

 

Heero's lovely arms were beginning to show goose-bumps, and quickly Duo grabbed the shirt from his hand and almost yelled ”I'llgetyousomethingdrytowear!” in his frenzied haste to flee the scene, before the pants came off.

He just knew, he could't take that.

And off he run, to his room with the wet garment hanging from his fist, slapping against his legs as he went to rummage trough his messy closet to find something for Heero.

 

- - -

”Oh, God... All my clothes are useless for me now... Can't I own at least one cool garment? I can't possibly lend Heero these rags...” and Duo was staring at some poor, now discarded sweats, that were black and had two neon green stripes on the side of each pant-leg.

”Oh, no...” But then Duo remembered, that Zechs was often here as a guest, and that he must have left at least something behind.

He quickly reached for the shirt he had tossed on the bed.

Just when his hand was a bout to touch it, he hesitated, then drew himself back, slowly.

 

Heero's shirt. Heero's shirt was laying on his bed. He begun to shiver, just looking at it... It was there, in a slightly careless position, the other sleeve bent, as if laying on the 'stomach'...

Heero's shirt... Laying on his bed, so relaxed and comfortable...

 

Duo bent down, eyes hooded, a small smile playing on his lips. His extended his arm, slowly, untill his fingers reached the fabric, running over the shoulder and arm gently.

Then they stopped, at the wrist, and his eyes cleared a little bit, but he was still smiling, a wistfull, sad little smile.

The weight of his whole future was resting on his shoulders, and he felt like he aged a bit, then, at that moment.

He knew, how it was going to be. He would pine for Heero, who would never notice, untill someone would tip him off with some careless comment, and then Heero would be ackward around him, because he seemed like a good guy, after all, one that didn't want to just end a friendship just like that, but it would be too much for them, and then they would drift apart, and Duo would cry every night, while Heero would be secretly relieved...

And if it didn't go exactly like that, then something of the similar nature would happen, with a similar outcome.

Duo sighed. He had very sharp eyes for other people, and he could usually predict quite accurately how they were going to behave in different situations.So, when he thought about the possible outcomes of all kids of situations, he was very rarely, if ever, wrong. He also knew himself, and right now, he thought he knew, that he would be lost, with no hope for salvation of any kind.

Thinking of the future that he felt he already knew, was making him so tired. He shook his head, all world-wise and grieving. He didn't know, how long it would take for all these stages to go by, but he knew, that he'd have to live trough them anyway, seeing each one unfold, and bear it, no matter what, because fighting windmills is a useless hobby.

 

He could try to avoid Heero, but if he was going to keep the rest of his friends, that would be virtually impossible, seeing how Quatre, Heero and Wufei were almost always together.

The best he could hope for was at least some kind of a surprise to emerge to stirr up the soup a bit.

He was always greatful of surprises. Even the ones, that made him sob in the solitude of his room.

Being shown, that he was wrong, that he, in fact didn't always get it right was a huge relief to him, because usually the outcomes that he could see coming were never good ones, and being brought back down on the ground always gave him hope, that maybe there was a happy ending there somewhere, too, and he had just failed to see it...

 

But most people were silly and easy to read, just like the fools at his school. They were so stupid and transparent, that it made him gag. Just listening to them talk sometimes was a bit too much.

Like the two girls, Alyssa and Jane, sitting on that wooden bench, in sunlight, talking to eachother...

 

”I wonder, what's gotten over Kathy? She hasn't really spoken to me lately...” and Alyssa had thrown her golden, silky locks over one, bare shoulder, with her pretty face all scrunched up in concentration, as she was trying hard to think.

Jane had given her a look under her dark eyebrows and ruffed up her own dark curls a little bit. ”I don't know. But maybe you should, like confront her. Like, go yell at her, or something...Since, after all, she keeps asking me to borrow stuff from you for her, but still she won't talk to you...”

Alyssas's eyes had widened. ”REALLY? I'm so gonna like, tear her to pieces! She like has some like explaining to do.” Jane had looked pleased like a cat. ”Yeah! I think you, like, should.”

 

And Duo, who was forced to listen, had shaken his head. Since he had gone to school with these two for years, he knew, that Kathy was dating the most popular guy in the school, and Jane had a really big crush on the same fellow, who, in turn was ready to leave Kathy any second, that he thought he would have a chance with Alyssa. Alyssa didn't like anyone, and the fellow didn't like anyone. They were both cold and calculating, but so were the rest of their 'friends', even if it was just slightly less than these two.

Kathy would't speak to Alyssa, because she was jealous of her, knowing, that she could take her boyfriend from her any given minute, and Jane hated both Alyssa and Kathy, because she, as said, had that crush on that same guy, and she also envied Alyssa for being the most perfect girl in school. Jane liked to stirr up trouble.

 

And all these things were clearly visible on their faces all of the time.

They didn't even bother hiding their petty emotions, but then, why would they have? It wasn't like anyone was going to notice anything, anyway. They were far too wrapped up in themselves to ever pay attention to someone elses' feelings.

Duo on the other hand, had nothing but time to look at these other people, and look he did.

They were so easy to see trough, and so completely stupid and slow, that it was a miracle to Duo, how Alyssa, for example, had never gotten a 'B' in her life.

 

And oh, how they would love Heero! Duo smiled. They'd fight over him like angry cats, the previous most-cool guy all forgotten.

But he was certain, that Heero would't go for them.

Heero had, after all, agreed to be friends with him, him of all the people, and so, it wasn't likely, that he would like a stupid girl, who'd only try to get a social status-lift by dating him... And suddenly Duo was washed with so much warmth.

He didn't know Heero yet, but this was a guy, who would help him, just like that. Who didn't mind seen walking on the street with him. Who would probably, at least in time, forgive him for his feelings, if he knew...

Duo was looking at the shirt, smiling still.

He was lucky. Lucky to have fallen for a good guy, even, if it was one sided, and always would be.

He didn't even feel a need to lie to himself about his feelings.

 

And he was lucky, to be able to feel all this... He could't say it yet.Too early. Like he could't say to himself, that he was a...

 

But he was still lucky.

All those people, unwilling and un-able to let their hearts out to be broken... Those people, who could't love. How much they were missing out on.

 

Why was he whining, when he was the real winner here, even if he lost?

 

He gently took the wrist of the shirt, closing it in his palm, wishing, that there was a real hand inside so that he could hold it for a moment, untill someone else would come and claim that right as theirs...

 

”Maxwell..”

Duo swirled around,hand still closed around the sleeve, jerking the wet shirt of the bed. Wufei was standing by the door, looking a bit suspicious, a bit disbelieving and a bit amused.

”I came to see, if you'd died in here, or something... And, I'm not going to even ask about that...” he nodded towrds the shirt. ”I'm not sure I want to know...” and now his black eyes were dancing with laughter.

 

Duo felt his face grow hot. With all the dignity he could muster, he calmly replied: ”I was merely trying to clean Heero's shirt of some lint.” This caused Wufei to let out a strangled sound, and turn his back to Duo for a moment. Then he swished back to face his friend, his white socks gliding on the dark floorboards, and his gaze concentrating on the heavy blue-gray clouds hanging above the roofs of the buildings, showing from Duo's window.

 

When he thought he was composed enough again, he finally looked Duo in the eye, saying lightly: ”Well, everybody's getting a little cold, myself included, so could you get us some clothes?” Duo sprung to life again, discarding Heero's shirt on his bed and turning back to his huge cabinet. ”Weeell...” he said, lifting something up. ” This looks pretty okay...” He was holding a warm looking, grayish-white college-shirt with a hood. It was a bit crumbled, and looked too big for Duo. ”Though, it's Zechs'” Duo pressed his nose suspiciously in the garment, like he had seen Une do, and then he sighed. ”Well, it's not clean. Dammit, Zechs, my closet's NOT your hamper...” but he wasn't really that mad.It was sort of soothing to find Zechs' possesions in his room.

When he lowered the shirt, he saw, that Wufei had taken of his overshirt, and was standing in a sky-blue tee, reaching for the piece of clothing, that Duo had deemed used, and ready to be washed.

”That's alright. I'm fine with that. I just want to wear something warm and dry.” and Wufei began to pull the shirt resolutely from Duo's fingers.

”But, Wufei...I want you to have a clean one...”Duo held fast, looking at Wufei's determent face slightly baffled. ”No, really. It's fine. ” said Wufei, and tugged harder. ”But... I want you to get a clean one! I want you to get the best one I can find! If you'd just give me a minute here...” Duo said, starting to sound a little aggravated, and threw his braid over his left shoulder, and begun to pull in earnest.

 

Wufei was gritting his teeth, holding on to Zechs' used shirt as if holding onto dear life, and huffed: ”But this IS the best one, you can find! Now, if you'd only let me wear it, goddammit, Maxwell...”

 

And suddenly Duo understood, and that's when he let go.

 

Wufei tubled backwards and fell on the floor, but he didn't even make a sound, he was too busy putting the shirt on in a lightning speed.

 

Then Wufei lift his eyes up. They took a detour to the still-wet shirt on Duo's bed before fixing into his violetblue eyes, but as they were looking at eachother, something passed between them, bringing them instantly a lot closer, than they had been before, and both of the boys felt slightly uncomfortable, trying to look away.

 

Wufei broke the moment by scrambling up from the floor, and saying: ”Well, I'm getting the others here, if you don't mind. They were taking the liberty of putting their clothes on the radiators to dry, when I left, and they must be in need of something to wear by now...”

Duo nodded.

 

But before Wufei moved to turn, Heero sauntered in, dressed in nothing, but black, waist-cut boxer-briefs and his watch. He walked to the middle of the room, completely unbothered by his state of undress, and then he looked around. His cloudy blue gaze was taking in the white painted walls, window, that had a sheet hanging from the other corner of the white-painted frame, the hastily made single bed with a matress tucked behind it, the dark floor boards, that were sleek with use, and the huge, dark, wooden cherry-coloured cabinet at the other end, partly hiding in the shadows, but when looked at, taking a dominating stance...

The air smelled a little stuffy, and a lot like Duo.

 

”Nice place you got... But it might be even nicer with some furniture...” Then he looked past the unnaturally still form of that which was Duo Maxwell, and made a small, low, delighted sound. ”You found pants for me! ” He walked past Duo, brushing against him, as he went, and picked up the black, green striped sweatpants, that Duo had tossed aside.

 

He instantly put those on, and looked relieved to be able to stuff his hands into his pockets.

”Well, this is nice. I was getting cold.” his voice was quiet and smooth, the articulation of the words precise, but he didn't sound clipped.

”And there's a shirt. I'll take it.” and he reached for a red tee-shirt, and was in the proces of putting it on, when Duo suddenly breathed: ”Not that one. ” Heero's movements stopped. He was inside the shirt, with his arms captive in the sleeves. ”I've worn that once... I could find a clean one for you..?” Heero resumed his actions. When he had emerged from the shirt, he said: ”No. I like this one. ” and put his hands back into the pockets in a movement that spoke of finality.

”But-” Duo tried. He had so much wanted to give Heero something cool to wear, so that Heero would't have to think in his head how totally uncomfortable he was, wearing Duo's stupid looking clothes.

”I like this one.” Heero repeated, and his brows formed a small frown. ”I've always liked red.”

Duo stared at the floor for awhile, his bangs hiding his face, and then he gave a small smile. ”Alright, then, buddy...” he said in a tentative playful manner. He was tired of all that ackwardness. To his surprise, Heero smiled back. It was a small smile, but it gave a spark to his eyes and made Duo's insides sing. And when he remembered, that Wufei was still in the room also, and turned to look at him, he saw, to his great surprise, the broadest, happiest smile on Wufei's face.

Wufei was usually handsome, but when he smiled like that, he was absolutely gorgerous, and Duo found it scarily easy to label his friend, his very male friend as 'hot' in his head.

If Wufei walked around like that all the time, then people on the streets would need sunglasses...

Duo was busy pondering, what was making Wufei smile like that, and what he could do, to make it reoccur as often as possible, when Wufei suddenly answered him.

”That really suits you, Duo... You should try the happy tone a bit more often... ”

Instantly Duo had the fiercest scowl on his face. ”Are you telling me, that I'm moody, or something?!” he got so mad, that even forgot about Heero. Wufei seemed unphased.

”Well... I'll refrain from answering that, if you don't mind... But you do brood quite often.”

”I don't brood!” Duo shot, throwing possibly the biggest scowl he had ever thrown, and began brooding right away.

 

”Oh, well... ” Wufei sighed, and looked at Heero, who seemed a bit uncertain, being suddenly faced with Duo's rapidly changing temper.

”We better get clothes for Trowa and Quatre too, you know. I'm surprised they haven't come up yet.”

Duo forgot to be angry and looked at Wufei worriedly. Heero was looking back and forth, since he didn't really know, what all this was about.

”You're right. We had better go downstairs” Duo agreed, already ashamed of his sudden outburst just a second before.

Heero had noticed his shirt, and had bent to pick it up. He walked to Duo's radiator and put his shirt on it.

”It doesn't get very warm.” Duo warned him, looking at his back. Heero shrugged, and smiled, again.

Wufei turned to leave, and the others followed him. It was quiet downstairs.

 

Tbc.