Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Ugly ❯ Uncle Septem ( Chapter 12 )

Thanks to all my reviewers. I belive I answered to everyone through email.

I would say that I'm sorry for updating so slowly, but since this is beginning to be more of like the rule than the exception, I don't think there's any point anymore... X_x

I just want to assure you, that I have absolute no intention of giving up ”Ugly”.

 

I also want to thank ”Sindy” for her email, where she said how she found reading about Trowa and Quatre fight over nothing very amusing... And what were they fighting about, the last time?

Yup, pairings.

Fighting over nothing. Well said.

 

I also got ZaKai to be a sweetheart(?) and beta for me by using considerable amount of threats and force. I never had a beta before...

So, she did her best (you should have SEEN...!), but any and every mistake here is still mine.

Thank you for your patience and helpfulness, Zac! :)

 

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The box smelled a little moist, and the articles in it felt a bit unpleasent in Duo's hand, but not overly so, not so much that he couldn't have touched them without wincing.

He began to lift them out, one by one. They were all male clothing, and seemed to be from the seventies. There was a huge, horrifying shirt, with blooming, pink flowers on a light orange backround, and jeans that widened to the leg... They had a name. Duo cocked his a little to the side, as he tried to remember. Bell bottoms!

 

One by one the articles of clothing were lifted from the box, and Duo felt a shiver run down his spine. The ones on the top were all the semi-fashoinable type, kind of trying-a-little-too-hard sort of clothes. But at the bottom of the box, Duo found a couple more pieces of clothing, that looked to be the same style as the jacket and silk shirt. There were a couple of more shirts and... Red boxers. The shirts' collars still had a lingering scent of aftershave clinging to them that quickly dissipated into the air as Duo held the articles up.

He didn't dare touch the boxers except with his forefinger and thumb, as he lifted them from the box.

 

There was something weird about this collection. Some of the clothes were obviously chosen with some good taste, while others were that fashon-crap that people with no real sense of style hang on to, to look at least okay... failing in the attempt.

 

Duo ceased his movements for a moment, folded his hands on his lap and stared off into space. Clothes. Just clothes... But to someone, these clothes obviously meant the world, since they were sealed away behind a fake wall like that.

 

He sighed and looked around for a moment, then reached across the now empty clothes box and across his white bedspread, taking the pretty knick-knack box into his hands. It was made of a cherry-colored wood, with some lighter wooden inlay in the shape of stars and diamonds.

It was the kind of box, that had no lock.

Duo opened it, again with cautious fingers and suddenly he felt very grave. His face was serious, as his eyes started scanning the multiple little things inside the box.

 

On top of everything there was a silver earring that had a stone embedded into it. It was rather heavy, and had a masculine look to it. At first, Duo couldn't quite make out the shape, but as he was turning it around in his hands, holding it close to his face, it fell from his fingers and looking at it on his leg, he suddenly realized, that it was an initial. H.

 

The stone, a turquoise, was in the middle of the H. Duo frowned. Hseptem? Septem Hmaxwell?

 

Curious and frustrated he put the earring aside, and stirred the things inside the box with his finger. Some 'peace' pins, some old coins... Keys? To the safe? No, seemed to be house keys. Some sticky stuff, that he didn't really want to touch, and had no idea what it was supposed to be in the first place. An old paper scrap: ” Riou's cafe. Jowy Artreides St, at 4.30.pm” Artreides Street...? That was on the other side of the town, wasn't it..?

 

Next he found a small polaroid. Turning it around, he saw something written behind it. ”Two-River town. Summer trip.”

Duo turned the picture around, again. All he saw, was a faded river and a forest behind it. There were no people in the photo.

 

He abandoned the box for a while when he remembered, that he still had the shoe-box to dig trough.

He put the old newspapers aside, and lifted the box to his lap.

It was lightgreen with some writing on the side. The letters were only half visible. A storelogo, maybe..? The box had been taped shut with wide, brown tape.

Duo took the earring and started scraping at the tape with the sharp end. Being old, the tape broke easily, and he could soon lift the lid off of the box. His noticed that hands were shaking slightly. He felt like he was seriously trespassing on someone's private territory, but he was also very excited.

The box was filled with photos. Some of them were really old and the one's on the top were black and white.

 

There was one that must have been from the beginning of the century. The person standing in the photo wore a priestly outfit and a solemn expression. Looking closer, Duo saw that he looked almost exactly like Duo himself! The facial features were almost the same... His voice was barely above a whisper and he could feel his eyes widen :”Shit...Mom's gonna flip...”

His mother had spent her last teenage years fighting Septem and then she'd just left as quickly as she could... She was often lamenting the loss of family photo's and other things, wondering, if Septem had burned them or something like that.

 

He took a closer look at the man in the picture. At about twenty years of age, he looked considerably older with his expression and clothes, but he was very handsome. Yes, extremely so. Duo stared at the picture, enthralled. ”Could I look like that..?” he was wondering, the tip of his finger lightly tapping against his upper lip.

It was not a formal picture, even though the man in it looked as if it was. It was taken outdoors, and there was a summer at full bloom behind him. Someone was standing next to him, but Duo could see a bit of sleeve and a two fingers. Looked like a man's hand. He wondered why this picture had been developed. It wasn't obviously taken by a very skilled person...

He hoped Une would let him keep the picture. He would put it somewhere... On his table... If he had one. Perhaps he really should start getting some furniture..?

 

He skimmed through more photos. Une was going to be extremely happy after she was done yelling at her deceased brother. So many family pictures... Now Duo knew, that this was definitely uncle septem's box and his doing also...

But what did it mean..?

He went through more photos. Pictures of his grandparents! He had seen some, but they weren't very good ones. These were diferent.

 

”My god... She was beautiful... ” Duo whispered at the sight of his grandmother smiling and when she looked like him too, he felt some tears gather in his eyes, and his throat tightened.

He hadn't cried in public since he was nine years old, and he hardly cried while he was alone , but he often felt like he was on the verge of doing so. Now he had to blink rapidly to get his vision to sharpen up again. He put the photo away.

 

Then he barked out a surprised laugh. ”Mom...” he mutterd fondly, while picking up a picture of a smiling teenager.

He sighed. As he had expected, she looked perfect, every hair in place, and no blemishes on her perfect skin. Her teeth shone, and her clothes were clean and wrinkleless.

 

Yes, she looked very pretty.... And just the kind of person, who Duo would't have had anything to do with, if his life depended on it. But now, he had to. She was his mother.

He sighed. Perhaps Une was okay...Now. Sometimes.

 

He heard a loud thump and clink coming from downstairs and snickered. Now was one of those times, definitely. But the clinking stopped, and when no-one called out Duo figured she had gotten cold feet in the middle of her ”crime”. Perhaps Duo could have gone downstairs and told her, that it was Septems box, but he couldn't right now.

 

His attention returned to the photos.

 

Now he found one of the whole family. Uncle Septem's face was as unattractive and rejecting as ever. He was halfly turned away, and his head was bent. He stood in the right corner, a little away from his smiling family members who were holding one another.

 

Duo had seen a couple of pictures of Septem before. He looked quite the same young as he had when he was older. His eyes were a bit tilted and looked suspicious. He had sleek, dark hair, and a small mouth.But here, he didn't look quite as angry as he did in the later pictures.

 

Duo flipped through some photos and when he was about in the middle of the stack. He lifted out a single shot of Septem. He looked to be about Duo's age, and Duo's heart skipped a beat. Septem still looked much the same... But his cheeks were rosy, and it looked like he could have been a rather nice looking person... If not for his expression. It was the look of a person, who had to constantly shield himself against other people. Duo knew it well. It was, after all, on his own face most of the time. ”I don't want to go back to school!” he sudenly whispered passionately and a wave of panic sweeped over him. He drew a deep breath of air into his lungs, and tried to calm himself a little.

 

He went through more photos.

The very last ones made him gasp.

 

Septem was standing there, almost smiling. You couldn't have called him handsome still, not even with the best of intentions, but he still looked different. Duo almost burst laughing, as he recognized some of the clothes from the stack he had just put away. Septem looked... happier and very silly. The shirt with the dreadful flowers was... Almost more than Duo could bear. He could't help himself anymore. He had to laugh a little...But he kept it quiet. Septem looked almost happy and Duo didn't want to laugh at that.

 

In the next picture, he was standing with someone else. This someone else was tall, wearing the red jacket and the black silk shirt... His face was so beautiful that Duo's breath caught at the sight of it. Dark eyes were looking intensely at the photographer and his skin was perfect, slight red hue on his cheeks. His nose was absolutely straight, and his lips red and full. Soft brown hair fell down past his shoulders to his chest in wawes. He looked like some arch-angel. Duo swallowed and tried not to get too exited over looking at him.

Then his eyes strayed at Septem. His head was bent, but his cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were looking at the other young man, and there was no mistaking the absolute adoration in them.

 

”Holy hippograf!” Duo's hands shook for real this time, and his breath sounded slightly asthmatic. He took all the rest of the pictures in his hands and began to browse through them. Yes, Septem in few of them, looking coy and exstatic, always next to the beautiful man, but most were of the man alone or in company, probably taken by Septem.

 

He was as gorgerous in each of the following photos as he had been in the first one, and he was always wearing expensive clothes, that suited him well.

Well, almost always... In almost every picture. Then, the very last picture was worn at the edges, like it had been held in someone's hands many times.

 

The beautiful man was sleeping in it, on a couch, somewhere. He wore absolutely nothing, and the sheet that had been on him lay puddled on the floor, He was on his stomach, other arm bent under his head, hair flowing on his back and arms. The sight of his naked body did very interesting things to Duo, who had to concentrate on breathing for a moment.

 

The man's face looked very young as he was sleeping. In any case, he couldn't have been older than 23, but asleep he looked fifteen. His face was peaceful, lashes casting shadows on his rosy cheeks.

 

”Wow... Septem.” Duo was blinking. ”Man... Who would've thought...” he shook his head, smiling a little. ”You sure have taste, though.”

 

He went through all of the photographs again, and something started to catch his eye. There were no happy-together pictures at all... And in every picture, the man was looking straight at the camera, ignoring everything around him. Duo loked at him more closely. Though his eyes were holding a rather intense stare, they were cool and rather calculating. Duo kept staring, shifting from one picture to another slowly.

Then he lifted his eyebrows and his head, rather surprised at what he'd discovered.

 

”Your face gets boring, dude.” he looked at the man. ”SO boring. ” He let out a small, surprised laugh. ” The more I stare at it, the more boring it gets. Nothing like my Heero...” Then he took the old newspapers laying on his bed, more from some feeling, that he had to go trough everything he brought up, then a real feeling of interest.

 

Opening the first one, he saw a headline. ”CHILD DROWNED DURING A SCHOOL TRIP” There was a picture of people, sobbing teenagers holding eachother, and teachers trying to maintain some order in the chaos, looking puffy-eyed themselves.

In the far corner stood a lone boy with dark hair. He looked lost, but he wasn't crying. Just forgotten. Septem.

 

Duo swallowed a lump and dug at the wooden box until he found the polaroid, again.

Two-River town... Summer trip.

He turned his attention back to the newspaper. He quickly read through the text in which it was confirmed that a class had been on a trip to Two-River town, when one of them had fallen into the river and drowned. It was a sad accident, the newspaper said. The boy who'd drowned had apparently been very popular. He had won some school sports thing too just a day before. There was a request to turn the page for more info about the 'dead hero'.

How was he a hero Duo briefly wondered, when all he did was win some sports competition. Then he turned the page. There was a picture of a smiling boy with blue eyes and lightbrown hair. The sun had given it blond streaks, and his smile was simply yankee for lack of better word. He had some freckles, too, Duo noticed.

In the article underneath was a total explanation of all his accimplishments. Then Duo's eyes caught a very small a little stick-like handwriting that was in the left marginal. Someone had used a pencil to scribble something there, like a note. Duo turned the news paper sideways to read.

” I was alone all day. Nobody spoke to me. He threw my lunch into the river. When they found him dead his girlfriend said it should have been me instead.”

 

Duo was sitting, shocked. He couldn't quite focus. He was feeling shocked to total blankness. He mechanically took the other newspaper from the stack.

 

There seemed to be nothing, until Duo's focus turned to another scribble. This time it was next to an article about national top students. There was a picture there, too. At first, Duo didn't see anything special about it. Then he saw, that Septems body was in the picture only half visible. His left hand that was holding a diploma was there but his right side hadn't fitted in to the picture.

Duo turned the newspaper, again. ”Got a diploma. Was one of the best. Parents didn't come. They forgot to mention my name at the newspaper.”

 

Now Duo felt slightly sick, and he had to blink all the time. Pain was creeping into him, twisting his face, slowly gutting him.

With trepidation, he took the last newspaper.

Opening it, he hardly caught the letters that fell from the centerfold. He wasn't surprised, really. Not anymore.

 

There was a picture. The man from the private pictures that Septem had in his memory-shoe box... He looked dashing, wearing a white tuxedo. His hair was open, and he was laughing. He had a red rose on his lapel and he was running under a flower arch... Under his arm was a giggling, blushing girl, who looked like she was underage. She was wearing a white princess-gown and a veil.

”Howard Bechmann from Howard and the Sweepers married!” the headline almost blinded Duo. He didn't need to squint his eyes for the scribbling, this time.

It was written with a ballpoint. ” HE SLEPT ON MY COUCH AFTER HIS FRIENDS THREW HIM OUT. HE LIVED IN MY APARTMENT. HE SAID I WAS HIS ONLY REAL FRIEND. HE MADE ME BELIEVE THAT I WOULD HAVE A CHANCE WITH HIM. I GAVE HIM EVERYTHING. WHEN HIS BAND BEGAN TO MAKE SOME NAME HE LEFT. DIDN'T EVEN LEAVE A NOTE. TOOK EVERYTHING, INCLUDING MY MONEY WITH HIM. THE ONLY SOUVENIRS I HAD WERE THE CLOTHES AT THE DRY-CLEANERS AND ONES THAT WERE TOO DIRTY.

NOW HE'S GETTING MARRIED.

NO-ONE HAS EVER EVEN HUGGED ME THAT WAY.

 

 

Duo had to lean his face into his palms for awhile. Then he lifted his head with an effort. He could see tearstains on the article.

He reached a shaky hand to the letters and took randomly one. It was shut, white and pristine. It had an address and a stamp, no postmark. Without remorse, Duo started ripping at the envelope, using the H earring for help once more.

 

Dear Howard

 

I am not mad at you. I just want to see you again. Maybe we could talk about your band.

The money, it doesn't matter. It was a loan, wasn't it? I just want to see you again.

 

I won't say anything embarrassing to you. Could there be a chance we could be friends again? It was just a missunderstanding on both sides.

I'll even meet your wife. I'm sure she's lovely. She looked lovely in the paper.

You must want your jacket back? I know you have money now, to buy thousands of jackets, but you seemed to prefer that red one. I would like to give it back to you.

I wouldn't stay for long. I just want to see you again. Perhaps we could meet at the café? Drinking a cup of tea doesn't take longer than fifteen minutes. I jsut want to see you again. Please. I

 

And the letter ended.

 

At least he didn't send it, Duo thought. Not crying was a real feat now. He needed to bite his lip really, really hard. He looked at the other letters.

Suddenly he bounced up from his bed, letting out a sobbing sound, and grabbed the red jacket, shrugging it on. It was too big for him, but he didn't care. Then he grabbed the letters, also the one he opened and looked at the address. Jowy Artreides St 23 apt 15. He stuffed the letters into his pocket and and threw his door open, running down the stairs.

”Duo?” he heard Une call. Quickly he answered: ”I'm going out for awhile. I'll be back soon.” He tried to yell from his throat so he didn't have to open his jaws any more then was absolutely required for producing intelligible speach while still running. He pulled his sneakers on and grabbed his keys from the pocket of his regular coat and dashed out slamming the door shut after himself. He jumped down the stairs two at a time and crashed against the outdoor, but that didn't slow him down. He was determined to bore trough the wood and glass if necessary to get out and get moving. Somehow he managed to get himself to the street without going trough solid objects.

He walked as fast as he could, because he knew that he wasn't fit to run, and would only exhaust himself that way.

He took a direction, acne-covered cheeks flaming with a mixture of fury and excitement, though in his eyes there was also a glimmer of fear.

He started this sort of a half-run, disappearing behing the corner, braid jumping with the motion of his rushed movement, as he went pursuing who knows what.

 

Tbc.