"You are so beautiful." The man whispered into the boy's ear as the boy snuggled up to the man even more. The man caressed the boy's back and then up to his messy brown hair. His legs crossed the boy's. Their bodies intertwined with each other on the sofa.
The boy blushed. "Try to pay attention to the movie, Zechs!" Attempting to hide his shyness, the boy pointed at the TV screen in front of him. "Do you even know what movie we are watching?"
The man only brought the boy closer. "Um..." His chin rested on the boy's head, looking at the TV screen for the first time in 30 minutes. "I don't know. Aliens invading earth?"
The boy jokingly pushed the man away slightly. He teasingly punched the man on the side. "It's a love story, for God's sake."
The man laughed, picking up the remote control and turned off the TV. The room suddenly became dark. The man admired the boy's face. The moonlight snuck into the room, illuminating the boy's blue eyes. "You are so beautiful." The man reverently took the boy's hand and kissed on the palm.
It was a gentle kiss yet it sent a tingling feeling down the boy's spine. It felt good. The boy closed the distance between the two, feeling the man's lips on his. The man's tongue slipped into the warm carven, caressing the boy's sensitive and soft inner linings. The boy gave a sweet whimper. It felt even better.
The sound of the garage door opening finally broke the kiss between the two. Pulling away from the man reluctantly, the boy picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. He then leaned toward to side coffee tables on either side and turned on the lamps as well. The man casually draped his arm around the boy's shoulder when the boy finally settled himself next to the man. The boy had made sure that the man's legs were not crossing his.
"Hello, Mr. And Mrs. Yuy." The man greeted the parents as they walked into the door. His voice was neutral.
The boy felt the air in the room froze and solidified. He tightened his fists.
The father ignored the man. He walked past the living room and up the stairs, heading toward the master bedroom. The mother only gave a weak smile to the man in response and followed the father with a few quick steps.
"Still not approve of me?" The man casually asked.
The boy stared into the TV, not responding.
"Is it because of my age?" The man tried again.
The boy shrugged, eyes still trained on the TV.
"A very big argument I see." The man leaned back to the sofa. His eyes stared into the ceiling.
The boy tensed. Realizing that his silence and passiveness were irritating his companion, the boy reluctantly nodded. "I don't care what he said." The boy brought up his hand and held the man's hand that was draping over his shoulder. "It doesn't matter."
The man brought his attention back to the boy next to him. He smiled.
"Promise me you will always be with me." Fingering the man's long golden hair, the boy looked at the man expectantly.
"Until death, my love." The man looked into the trusting eyes of the boy. He whispered again. "Until death."
* * *
"Have a good nap?"
Heero opened his eyes. The bright sunshine dazed him a bit. Heero blinked a couple times before he realized where he was.
Duo Maxwell concentrated on the road in front of him. His right hand was on the stick while his left hand rested on the driving wheel. The car raced through the traffic, leaving all cars behind. It was a miracle that the highway patrol hasn't stopped them yet.
"Did I say anything?" Heero looked out in the window, taking care not to show his embarrassment.
"No." Duo turned back on the volume of the CD player.
Heero relaxed. He started to look at the road signs, trying to recognize where they were heading.
"We're almost there." Duo looked into the rear mirror and then switched to right lane, ready to get off the exit.
* * *
"Odin has found the group that was behind the assassination." Senator Winner handed Senator Chang the file folder. "White Fang. The leader's name is Quinze."
Senator Chang opened the folder and flipped through the pages. "This man has a perfect record! Three Purple Hearts, Two Silver Stars...... He is the model soldier! Are you sure this is the guy?"
"Odin never made mistakes. You know that. Especially not this."
Senator Chang took a long look at the photo of the leader of the group. "Did he do anything to this bastard yet?"
Senator Winner shook his head slightly. "He wanted this to go on trial. He didn't want to waste Yuy's death."
"The last time I heard from him was, if he ever catch the man in charge, he would gut him open and feed his intestines to the dogs."
Senator Winner gave a weak smile. "He had calmed down a lot since then. He is thinking more rationally now."
"If my sister and my brother-in-law were murdered, I would have gut the man myself the minute I have my hands on him." Senator Chang spit out the words, almost crushing the photo in his hand.
"The group is still embedded in the military. Hard to dig them out. Odin did not have any hard evidence against them. Just the motives."
"Screw the trial!" Senator Chang barked. "They are a bunch of dishonorable bastards. Not only did they assassinate Yuy, they messed up the kid as well." Senator Chang narrowed his eyes on the photo again. "It was a dirty trick that they played. It would only do justice if all of them die in the most despicable way." Senator Chang threw the file on the desk. "I could personally think of many."
Senator Winner shook his head again. "Yuy wouldn't approve it." He gave a weak smile. He placed his left hand into his pocket and ran the other hand through his blonde hair. "How ironic. He fought so hard to promote peace. Odin himself even supports it. He gave his live for his beliefs, yet it was his effort that killed him." Senator Winner lowered his eyes. "White Fang. They are a sad group of soldiers. They are insecure of Yuy's accomplishment. They were afraid of being not needed." Senator Winner met Senator Chang's sympathetic eyes. "They didn't even know Yuy was a soldier himself once. He understood them like no one else. He knew the important role these soldiers play in his ideal word... He.." The words caught in his throat.
"Three years. And it still didn't get any easier." Calming down already, Senator Chang rescued him.
Senator Winner turned his attention and looked at a group picture on the wall. "Yuy was a great man, wasn't he?" He breathed the words softly, paying his respect to the dead.
Senator Chang walked to Senator Winner's side. "Yes he was." Senator Chang answered, his eyes also trained on the picture, their group picture.
* * *
"HEEERRRROOOO!" Duo called out. "You are walking tooooo fast!"
Heero did not pay attention to Duo. He kept on walking.
"And here I am, thinking I would have to drag you to the mountain top myself, with you kicking and screaming and stuff." Duo stopped. Placing his hands on his waist, he watched the boy climbed even higher.
Heero didn't care. He kept on walking. It had nothing to do with Duo. Hell, he didn't even hear Duo. There was just this urge that pushed Heero forward. It commanded him not to stop. Every step Heero took, another segment of his memory surfaced. The words echoed in his ears. The scenes played in his mind. Heero walked quicker.
Duo waited for a few seconds before he realized Heero was not stopping at all. He adjusted the backpack behind him and started to catch up with Heero.
Heero was panting for air. His legs were already sore from hiking. But it did not concern Heero. There was only one thing on his mind. For three years Heero hadn't thought about his past. For three years he had successfully block everyone and everything out of his mind. But all of the sudden the memory was coming back to him like an avalanche. Heero was afraid. He felt himself suffocated underneath. He had to walk. He had to keep moving. Heero wanted to escape. He wanted to forget again.
Being a more experience hiker, Duo caught up with Heero with a few big steps and he grabbed his hand.
Heero swirled around. "Don't hurt me!" His eyes dilated and his body was trembling with fear.
Duo studied Heero for a few seconds. Realizing that Heero was drowning in his past, Duo abruptly released Heero's hand and placed his arm around Heero, pulling Heero in with a quick jerk.
Duo's sudden motion brought Heero back to reality. But Heero was shocked. He froze for a second before he realized he was caged in Duo's embrace. Heero struggled to set himself free.
Duo only held him tighter. He waited until the boy in his arm lessened his attack and then he whispered. "Let me tell you a story about this little boy." Duo pressed his lips against Heero's ear. "He was a spoiled little rat who had everything he wanted." His arms encircled Heero's slime body. " A sweet home with loving parents and lots and lots of toys " Duo hesitated. "But the boy's life was changed forever one day... when a stranger invaded his life. A very evil stranger who broke into their peaceful home and took away everything he had. He came not for money and not for revenge. He came solely for the enjoyment of torturing." Knowing that he had Heero's attention, Duo let go of him. He veered off to a side hiking trail and sat on a rock, facing toward the distant mountain.
Having his past forgotten momentarily, Heero stood in his place for a few seconds before he decided to join Duo.
"It was a Friday late afternoon. The boy had just come back from school and was busy watching the cartoons on TV." Sensing that Heero had sat next to him, Duo started. "You know, those transformers and stuff. The mother was home too. She had already started making dinner in the kitchen. I believe it was the pasta day. Gosh, it was such a normal Friday afternoon." Duo paused, reminiscing his past. "And then the doorbell rang. The boy ignored it. He was in the middle of the show. No one could get him out of there. So the mother went to answer the door. She invited in a stranger who she believed to be a salesman."
Heero sat very still next to Duo.
Duo shook his head slightly. "Boy was she wrong. The stranger stepped into the door and swung his heavy suitcase over her head, knocking her out cold. He slammed the door and opened the suitcase and chained the mother to the dinning room table with handcuffs. He was very efficient." Duo said the words bitterly. "He did all that while the boy was standing in the middle of the living room, too shocked to move. Too shocked to yell. Too shocked to even go pick up the phone and call the police."
Heero clenched his fists.
"The stranger then tied the boy up with ropes and threw him next to his mother, who was now bleeding from her head injury. The boy was still in shocked. The ropes dug into the boy's wrists and ankels and the cloth in the boy's mouth was making it hard for him to breath. For the first time in his life, the boy desperately prayed to God." Duo curled up with his knees touching his chest. He absent-mindly fingered the golden cross on this neck.
"But God did not answer the boy's prayer for the father arrived home on time that day. When he opened the door, the stranger was already waiting for him with a pistol in his hand. He knocked the father out cold with the back of the pistol and tied the father up as well with the nylon rope he brought in his heavy suitcase." Duo grabbed the golden cross tightly. The edge of the cross threatened to pierce through Duo's flesh.
Heero covered his ears but he could not block off Duo's words.
"Before the father woke up, the stranger had already had much fun with the mother. He had fucked her eight times before the boy's eyes. The boy did not have the luck of passing out cold. The stranger had made sure of that. The boy could hardly recognize the bloody woman lying next to him. The boy silently prayed to God again."
"Stop..." Heero whispered.
Duo ignored Heero. "But God did not answer the boy's prayer as the stranger decided upon another game. He propped up the father against the bathroom door and brought his arms up so that he could tie him to doorknob. He went into the kitchen and brought in an apple and he placed it on the father's head. He then went to the boy, removing his bound and gags. He placed his gun into this 6-year-old boy's trembling hand. 'Today is your lucky day, kid.' The man said to the boy. 'I feel generous today.' The smile of the stranger sent a shiver down the boy's spine. 'If you shoot that apple off your father's head, I will leave this house this minute.' The boy felt the weight of the gun. The boy was not stupid. He knew what a gun was. Still trembling, the boy slowly turned the gun toward the stranger. The stranger smiled devilishly again and pushed the boy's gun away easily. 'The safety is not off yet.' He then took out another gun and aimed at the mother on the floor. ' I guess you needed some incentive to do this entertainment for me.'"
Heero widened his eyes. He shook with anger.
Duo stared at the mountain far away from them. His arms circled his
legs, pulling himself into a fetal position. "Surprisingly, the
mother was still conscious. As the boy's vision started to blur, he
heard his mother begging in the background with words that the boy
could hardly understand. The boy stared at his father tied to the
door. The father looked at the boy with a mixed expression. The boy
cried as the father mouthed 'I love you' to the boy. The stranger
laughed as the boy raised the gun and aimed at the apple. The boy
prayed to God again."
Heero placed his hand on Duo's shoulder. "Enough..."
Duo ignored him again. "But God did not answer his prayer. The gun fired into the door few inches above the apple. The stranger laughed. He kneeled down and wrapped his hands around the boy's trembling hands. He helped the boy trained the gun on the apple. He released the boy's hands and commanded: 'Do it again.' Holding the gun as still as possible, the boy shook his head. The boy begged the stranger. The mother begged the stranger. Neither of them convinced the sadistic monster. The stranger walked to the mother and held the gun close to the mother's temple. 'Do it.' The stranger said."
Heero dug his fingers into Duo's flesh. "I said enough! Duo!"
Duo violently shoveled Heero's hands away. He continued. "The boy did not pray to God this time. He pray to Shinigami and he asked for the release of their suffering. He fired the gun, trying to aim for the apple. The bullet went straight into the father's face, exploding the flesh into pieces. The blood splashed on the boy's face as the stranger behind him laughed. Shinigami had answered his prayer again as another gun shot was fired behind him shortly after and the boy's mother was killed with a single bullet......"
Heero stood up and kneeled in front of Duo.
"The boy dropped the gun on the floor and waited for his release. But Shinigami had ignored the boy for it was the sacrifice that he had to make in order to answer his prayers." Duo smiled bitterly. "The boy was the only one in the family that had miraculously but barely survived. On the ninth day, when the police had finally broken down the door and arrested the monster, the boy had already lost the humanity in him. He...."
"Stop it Duo. Stop it." Heero grabbed Duo's shoulder and shook him forcefully. Duo looked back at him, his eyes vacant. Heero shivered. This was not the Duo he had known for the past few days. Heero looked into those pair of unfocused violet eyes. He saw a little boy who tried so hard to fight back his own fear in order to steady the heavy gun. Heero's heart ached for the little boy who pulled the trigger and ........
Duo Maxwell blinked back to reality as Heero shed his tear for the first time in three years.
* * *