Fic Notes: AU!! Completely and totally Alternate Universe!! Yaoi-ish....I'm afraid to say Shounen ai..cuz I don't know...so I'm gonna say yaoi-ish. 2+1..Duo's kinda dominant in this fic. Angst, sap, all that good stuff. ^_^
Summery: The heir Heero Yuy is kidnapped by the assassins that killed his mother and father. They disobey orders and take Heero to America instead of bringing him to Princess Relena, not wanting risk Heero taking over the power there. In America, Heero gradually learns to love a boy named Duo Maxwell, that has been in love with him ever since he laid eyes on the Prince. When Relena finds out that Heero wasn't actually killed in action, like the assassins say he was, she orders the truth out of them and goes to find Heero herself.
At War with Peace
-Chapter One
At first I thought that maybe I was just unfortunate. An unfortunate fifteen year old that was going to spend the rest of his life in pain because of something he had no control over. By saying pain, I don't mean, "Ouch, that hurt." I mean miserable loneliness and depression. I soon found out that I was unfortunate, but that was not all. Who would have thought a couple gunshots could alter the way you live for an eternity? Those gunshots brought me to this place. An orphanage on an Island off the coast of North America. Those gunshots tore me away from my only love, for a love that ceased to exist. Those were the gunshots that turned me from royalty, to a rat, that was in one hell of a rat trap. I was brought up to think that everything was going to be easy for me. I didn't have to worry about anything, and that love would be so easy to find, along with the happiness that comes with it.
Boy, was I wrong.
I guess I should start at the beginning. That's a logical place to start. My name is Heero Yuy. I was once the heir to the royal family in the Rippa Na Tatemono(1) estate. The entire royal family is part Japanese, which I where I go my name, and the ability to speak some Japanese, since my mother was nearly three quarters of it, always going around saying, "Tatte kudasai!", or "Shizuka ni shite kudasai!". I picked up a few things from her. Ah, and you might have noticed how I said, "My mother *was*" That's right, she's dead. Both my parents, actually.
They were murdered the day my mother found out she was pregnant again. I guess someone thought we were getting too powerful. Assassins sneak in every night practically, but I was trained to fight them off. I had my own personal trainer who taught me some Japanese fighting moves. None had *ever* brought guns. They'd usually have swords or even bows and arrows (talk about old fashion) and those types of things were easily defeated. The men who killed my parents had guns.
Lots of guns.
They had wanted to end my parents' reign once and for all. They didn't bother with me, killing me that is. They made sure I would never see the estate again, though. Oh, and before I explain how I was captured and brought to this awful place, let me say that I was engaged. Yes, engaged at fifteen. That's highly normal from where I come from, especially for an heir. My parents were eager for me to have children, what a surprise. My parents expected everything from me. Of course, the idea of reproducing was sickening to me. The fact is, I'm not into girls. I never told my parents that. They would probably send me to die in the dungeon or even beheaded me. Being a homosexual and being the heir to the Rippa Na Tatemono estate was *not* a good match. My parents usually had girls from the villages lines up for me, to do petty little dances or sing with awful voices. I didn't care for any.
However, there one girl which my parents just adored. Her name was Relena Peacecraft. She was heiress to a throne in the Sanc Kingdom. The Sanc Kingdom was once our rivals, but somehow my father and the King Peacecraft worked out some sort of arrangement. I never thought marrying Relena would be part of it. Now frankly, I despised the girl. Every time she came to visit she would be hovering over me, watching every little thing I did, groping me, playing with my hair, it made me sick. The only place I had privacy was in the bathroom. That's where I spent most of my time when she was around. I don't know why my parents would make me marry her just for the sake of peace in our country! Well, I guess maybe that's reasonable, but my parents never thought of how I might feel about the entire situation. All they cared about were themselves.
I am not afraid to state that I was partially relieved when my parents were assassinated.
Now, how I got *here* is a completely different story. I expected the assassins were some people from the Sanc Kingdom, there to kill my parents, kidnap me and take me back to their kingdom to marry Relena. *That* I wasn't too thrilled about. Who knows what they would allow her to do to me while I was on her grounds. I would be a toy, a servant. However, that wasn't their original plan. Little did I know all the assassins wanted to do was get rid of me. They didn't kill me; that would be against Princess Relena's orders, so I guessed the assassins were planning to lie to her and say I was killed in action. These assassins were not fond of myself or my parents. Perhaps that was why they had to dispose of me.
I never expected I would end up where I did. We crossed the borderline of the Japanese country and I was brought straight across the world, all the way to America. They didn't tell me this, of course, but I could tell where I was. No one can mistake America for any other country. The ride there wasn't exactly pleasant either. They kept me in some sort of cage the entire time, giving me no food and no water, although their pet monkey would manage to throw me some grub once in while, after much coaxing. It was cute monkey, I miss it already. I'll tell you, after many days in that cage without one trip to the bathroom, the cage, as well as myself, was looking mighty unsanitary. I spent the ride huddled up in a clean corner of it, crying miserably, vomiting from sea sickness, and that horrid smell that lurked about. Anyway, not to get to any extremely graphic detail of how dirty I was, my journey ended at the coast of some island off of North America.
At first I thought it might be a prison island, or newly discovered island that was still be constructed. The truth was more close to the latter. Before they dumped me off, they carried me in chains all the way to a city, when I remember my eyes nearly lit up at the site of all the busy streets, tall buildings, but beautiful just the same, one side of it at least. The old, nasty looking buildings was on the side that the assassins dropped me off at, in an alley, in some garbage. Well, I couldn't smell any worse than I already did, so, what the heck. After that, they pointed a gun at my neck, said some things I do not wish to repeat, and left me there, alone, in a pile of garbage, in a place I had never been to in my life. I was having the time of my life, ne?
It was there my new life began. For days I wandered the streets, using what was left of the money I had taken with me to buy food and new clothes. The assassins had stolen most of my money, taken my jewels, gold necklaces and bracelets my parents forced me to wear, but there were some places I hid money where no one was bound to check. I had my underwear specially made with a little pocket inside, so I stored my extra special jewelry and money I didn't want anyone's hands on there. Unfortunately, all of the clothes I was wearing at the time had to go. There were trash now, and I wanted to look like a normal kid. Something I wasn't used to. I wore a black hooded sweatshirt and tight blue jeans the day I was finally noticed. I was sure my face was soiled with dirt, my hair was dirty and greasy, and my skin was a shade darker than it normally was because of it's thick coat of filth. Who in the right mind would talk to someone looking like that?
I'll tell you who. Duo Maxwell. My first real friend ever since I got to that country. He found me lingering over the orphanage, debating whether or not to go inside. I didn't know how orphanages treated kids, and if I turned myself in, they wouldn't let me go until I was eighteen. I didn't like that thought either. I could tell just by looking at Duo that he was an orphan as well. He was not coated in dirt like I was, but he wore shaggy brown pants and a gray tank top. His shoes were mere sandals and he was extremely skinny. Not starving skinny like I was, but not the type of guy who looked like he was fed every day. What really caught my attention was his long brown hair woven into a braid that hung nearly to his thighs. In my country, men were not permitted to have hair past their shoulders. I found it stunning though, and went perfectly with bright violet eyes. It's strange, but I remember out first conversation perfectly.
***
I was sitting on the steps leading up to the orphanage, watching him come closer to me. He was looking at me, but I had no idea he had the intention of speaking to me. As he approached the step below me, he grinned, then plopped himself to sit down on the step I was sitting on, scooting over so close that out hips were touching. I did nothing but watch in confusion when the boy leaned over, placing one hand on my knee to steady himself, and brought his face so close to mine that our noses were touching.
"Hi!" He yelled. I was so alarmed I fell backwards and hit my head onto the step I was leaning against with a sickening smack. I groaned in pain and rubbed my head, still not sitting up, everything was spinning at the moment. The boy was still leaning over me, peering down at me with concerned eyes. I caught his eyes with mine, giving him an annoyed frown. We stayed like that for a while, simply staring at each other. Then he slowly reached out and brushed his fingers against my cheek. He paused, wiping off some of the dirt.
"You're an orphan? Or is your bathtub broken?" He asked, grinning again. I was not amused. I sat up, pushing his hand away from me and then shoving him off of me, giving myself a little much needed space. He stumbled backwards, alarmed. "Hey, no need to be violent. Can I help you?" He asked. Could he help me? Of course he could help me. I was desperately in need of some help. I had been ever since three men came barging into my room with guns! Did anyone help me then? Of course not! I'm *only* the heir to the throne of the Rippa Na Tatemono estate!
I managed to give the boy a confused nod, and that was all he needed. He grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me to my feet. I ignored the spinning sensation that waved over me and allowed the boy to lead me up the stairs. It was only when we got to top that I realized he was planning on taking me inside. I yanked my arm away from him.
"I don't want...I mean, I don't know if I want to go in there." I explained to him after I yanked my arm away. I couldn't help wondering that if I went in there, if I ever would come out.
"You're dirty." He pointed out. I wanted to say 'duh,' but I just sighed and shook my head at him. I could tell he wasn't as intelligent as I was. I was brought up taught by the best teachers in the kingdom. I learned proper manners, reading and math skills, and even a bit of science study. I guess he noticed the look on my face. "Do you un-der-stand?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow and he grabbed my arm again, scraping a little bit of dirt off with his fingernail and then waving it in my face. "Do-you-want-a-bath?" My mouth dropped open. What did he think I was, illiterate? "Wa-ter. Bath." He tried to explain. I resisted the urge to slap him.
"I can understand English you idiot." I snapped. He face faulted.
"Oh, why didn't you just say so? Come on." He urged, dragging me to the door again. This time I didn't stop him. I didn't want to seem like I was afraid, plus I *was* desperately in need of a bath. If anyone tried to stop me from escaping that orphanage, I'd just whip out some Kong Fu on them. No one messes with the heir to Rippa Na Tatemono!
As we entered the building, I noticed there were many kids like us strolling around the building. There were males and females, but I guessed everything but the main room was segregated between the two. That's how orphanages were. Even if the children were brother and sister, they would be separated. I frowned at that. My attention was brought back to the boy when he entered the bathing areas. It seemed to be just a bunch of walls with faucets on them. There were no tubs, no curtains, no carpeted floor. What *was* this?
"What *is* this?" I asked the boy. He looked at me like I was insane. I think he thought I was illiterate again, or that maybe I didn't know as much English as I said I did.
"These are the showers. See?" He said, guiding me over to one of the faucets on the wall. He told me to stand back and get undressed while he adjusted the water temperature. I stood back and watched as turned the faucet and a spray of water came gushing out. I was alarmed. It was like bathing under an oversized sink! Plus, there were no curtains or doors and anybody could just walk right in and see you! I did *not* approve. He grabbed my hand and held it out under the water, gently rubbing my fingers.
"See? Wa-ter." He said, scrubbing the dirt off of my hand. I yanked my hand away once again. Maybe it was just something to wash your hands in. Maybe the bathtubs were somewhere else. Maybe they would as large as these giant faucets, some sort of foreign way of cleaning yourself. I studied the faucet once more before putting my hands under the spray of the water, gently cleansing the skin and washing the dirt off. The boy smiled at me.
"Good job. Now take off your threads and do the rest of ya." He instructed. Well, so much for the giant bathtub idea. Well, at least he wasn't talking to me like I was disabled anymore. I finally decided to obey him and, stepping clear of spray, slipped my sweatshirt over my head, and tossed it to the boy. I forgot that he wasn't a servant when he looked at me oddly. Usually my mother would order the servants to take my clothing down to wash when I was bathing so they'd be clean when I got out. Nevertheless, the boy took my shirt and hung it up on a metal bar near the entrance to the bathing areas. I shrugged and went down to undo my jeans, then looking up to see if the boy was still watching me. He was. I blushed.
"Are you just going to stand there and watch me?" I asked rather rudely. I didn't care. What he was doing was completely and utterly impolite, especially to me. He shrugged and leaned against the wall, looking somewhere else. I sighed and thinking that's as good as I was going to get, quickly slipped my jeans off my hips and stepped out of the material. Doing the same with my underwear, I tossed them aside and stepped under the spray of the water. I'll tell you something, that was the best I had felt in a *long* time, to the point where the boy watching me didn't disturb me at all.
I realize that wasn't really a conversation, but it was how we met. The conversation comes later, but I figured you would probably want to here about that too. Oh, don't deny it.
Once I was clean and dry, and back into my clothes, the boy took me for a tour of the orphanage. Oh, and I guess I should mention that he some sort of obsession with my *face*! He kept touching it and brushing his fingers against my cheek, then bringing his hand down and holding my chin. The strange thing was, I didn't get irritated by it. Not many people in my kingdom were brave enough to touch me so freely. Not even my own parents would lay a hand on my shoulder or brush the hair out of my eyes. No one ever hugged me or kissed me on the forehead, *or* lips for that matter. Simply said, we were not a loving family. That was partially why I wasn't upset when my parents were assassinated. However, it was mostly because I thought I'd be able to get away from Princess Relena; but anyway, I'm getting off the subject. I'm talking about Duo.
Ah, yes, he did finally tell me his name. That was, of course, after he *had* to register me to the orphanage. I thought that was odd. I had never really told him straight out that I was an orphan. Actually, I really wasn't, not yet anyway. My grandparents were still living, somewhere. My parents had often told me stories about them, but I had never actually met them. I heard they would be coming to castle for the birth of my sibling which no longer exists. Frankly, I'm glad. I didn't want a sibling. I didn't want to see my younger brother or sister be treated as poorly as I was when I was raised. I do feel sorry for the child though, so innocent. Innocence meant nothing in my kingdom. I'm hesitant to lose *my* innocence. I'm afraid to become like my father was.
It seems that I have wandered away from the subject again. So, you want to know about the conversation that led Duo and I into friendship...and beyond?
***
"Why did you enroll me here? I never said that I wanted to stay here. And for *your* information, I am not an orphan. Do you know who I am?" I asked impatiently as the boy dragged me through the corridors of the orphanage by the wrist. He didn't answer me right away, but I noticed the grin on his face return. I was beginning to enjoy that smile. I could never smile like that, I hardly ever smiled. Unless it was a smile of accomplishing sweet revenge, except that smile often scared people.
"I don't know who you are, but I am ready to find out." The boy said, gripping my wrist harder as if I would try to squirm away. I didn't resist. If he was going to rob me or something like that I was prepared. Besides, I didn't have any money anyway. Still, as I looked back at him, the meaning to those words became softer. Maybe he just wanted to talk after all.
I allowed myself to be pulled into a bedroom. I wrinkled my nose at the two bunk beds that were there, one completely occupied, top and bottom, the other with the only the bottom bunk taken. I eyed the top bunk, wishing that wouldn't be where I was staying. I had a tendency to roll around in bed a lot, which was why I needed such an enormous bed at home. I would probably find myself on the floor most mornings. I looked at the boy. He was smiling, must have been happy the other two boys weren't there. He reached behind me and closed the door, then pulled me onto the bottom bunk, sitting next to me.
"My name is Duo Maxwell." He said, offering his hand. I was sure my mouth dropped open slightly but a took his hand in a friendly handshake. He grinned at me when I did and yanked my hand away, warning him if he touched my face again I was going to touch his; rather hard. More of a slap than a touch. "I knew you didn't mind that I enrolled you. If you did, you would have stopped me." He explained. Well, indeed I would have, at the least the boy had some common sense.
"Heero Yuy. Heir to the throne of-"
"Rippa Na Tatemono." He interrupted. My eyes got wide. It wasn't so much surprising that he knew the name of the empire, it was that he said the name with perfect accent, like he was a Japanese descendant. However, I found that to be impossible from just looking at him. The boy looked purely American, as was his name. I guess he saw the question in my eyes because he cleared things up a bit with his next statement.
"I read the papers. It's one of the few ways to find out what's going on in the world when you live here.." I couldn't help but smirk a bit. He laughed for a moment, but when it cleared looked at the wall in front of us, his expression turning solemn. I stared at him, for a moment like that, in confusion, waiting for him to speak. He bowed his head after a while, looking at his hands in his lap, then turned to me. His expression was still sad, I couldn'd help but let him reach out and run his fingers over my face again. It seemed to make him feel better, that was my first thought. That that was quickly erased when I saw tears gathering at the corners of his violet eyes.
"I'm sorry.." He sobbed, pulling his hand away and wiping the tears away with it, but keeping his head in his hands. I was speechless. What was going on with this kid? I felt a tightening in my stomach as I watched him cry. Was this about me? Well, maybe I could have been a bit nicer to him since he had allowed me to clean myself. I thought about a kind gesture I could make to him. I didn't know many, raised as I was, so I simply laid my hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. He looked up at me as I touched him. Then something unexpected happened. He blushed. Not just a little, I mean, he *really* blushed. I pulled my hand away and he chuckled slightly.
"Sorry...it's just that...I've waited so long to meet you." He muttered. My eyebrows raised. I never would have thought anybody would want to meet *me*. I thought everyone thought of me as a spoiled little prince that was happy all the time and could never experience sorrow. That's how I was displayed in newspapers and television. I hated when I was manipulated into saying things about my life and my family that weren't true. I looked away from him, staring at my shoes.
"Why would you want to meet *me*? Don't you think I'm a snot like the rest of them?" I already knew this boy wasn't like the rest of them, the many girls and even boys were drooled over me constantly, begging my parents to let them take my hand in marriage. I was treated like a prize that would be given away. I often thought down on myself a lot also, thinking my life was cheap, that no one could ever really fall in love with me; or even love me for that matter. I looked back at Duo to see how he would react to that statement.
"Of course not, Heero! I think you're great! I know you're really not the person publicity makes you out to be." He said. I didn't quite understand. How could he know so much about me and not be the slightest bit confused about why I was here, in America? Or why he acted like I was just some regular old stranger he met on the streets? Then again, I did the blush on his face when I took of my shirt in the shower areas. Maybe he wasn't lying. Maybe he *did* really have something for me. Still, I didn't know what I would do if he did.
"Do you know about my parents?" I asked. His grin faded, and he nodded slowly, like it was some sort of sad occasion. I wondered if it would be all right to tell him that I didn't exactly care that my parents died. That I was actually relieved. Not that my parents were abusive, if they were I would have thrown a party when they died, I may have actually hired the assassins to kill them myself.
"I suppose the newspapers mentioned that I was kidnapped as well?" I asked. Duo nodded again, biting his lower lip.
"They have no idea where you are. I was so thrilled when I saw you I didn't know what to do. I was tempted to enroll you here. Don't you realize I've been longing for this sort of situation to happen, but never thought it would? It has always been a dream of mine, to see you, alone, lost, scared. To take care of you, to wash the dirt off your perfect hands and touch that perfect face...." His voice trailed off and he began to blush again. I couldn't control the slight redness of my cheeks at that moment either, and I felt he muscles in my stomach tightening again.
"And that's another thing.." Duo started, smiling a smile that sent waves through my body, and I absently realized my palms were beginning to sweat. That had never happened before. I never felt that way before when I looked at someone. Maybe it was because my parents had usually kept me away from males, and surrounded me with ladies showing off their outer beauty, with no inner beauty at all. All of those ladies were so arrogant, showing themselves off like they were the best thing in the world.
"W-what is?" I asked, trying to ignore the sweaty palms as best a good, trying not to play with my hands too much as he spoke. He gaze at me became more intense, and I saw his hand go up again, guessing he was going to touch my face again. Yet, he went for my hair this time, sighing as he ran his hand through it, then pulling back, fingertips brushing up against my cheek.
"You're so beautiful. You should have seen the look on my face the first time I saw your picture in the newspaper, the other guys thought I had gone into a state of shock." He giggled. I frowned a bit. I had never thought of myself as "beautiful". I had always thought that was a term for a lady, that's what my parents taught me at least. Yet, something about the way he said it told me he wasn't talking about the beauty of a lady. I felt the urge the comment back to him, after all, here he is talking about how great I am and I don't say one word thanks or return his kind words. I was nervous, I didn't know what to say.
"Um..t-thank you?" I sounded like a complete idiot, I knew I did. I didn't want to object, in fear of insulting him, although it would show a sense of modesty. Was that good or bad? I had to face the truth, I knew *nothing* about being in love. I had never been in love before, as much as my parents tried to convince me otherwise. Now, I'm not saying I was in love with Duo right then and there. I was still pretty confused about everything, yet he was showing me a sense of friendship which I had also never experienced before. Then again, I figured I must have said the right thing, because Duo erupted in giggles and leaned forward, landing straight into my arms, burrowing his head in the crook of my neck.
I didn't know how to react to that, after all, I had never been hugged. I felt better than I thought it would, especially the way his hair tickled the base of my neck as he snuggled there, and the way his arms were around me, warming the skin under the fabric of my shirt. We must have stayed like that for five minutes at *least*. I wonder if it felt as good to him as it did to me..
Unfortunately, that was only the beginning. The beginning of everything. Fortunately for our relationship, yet not for what was in store for me. I knew I couldn't be hidden for long, and that maybe the assassins didn't hide me well enough. Even though she was clear across the Earth from where I was, Relena Peacecraft gradually made my life extremely difficult.
To be continued
AN-Hey everybody! So, how do like it so far? This chapter turned out longer than it was supposed to be, so I can't say the next chapters are going to be this long. ^_^;; But I'll try my best if this turns out to be a good fic....which it probably won't be. -_- Hey, I can dream, right?
(1) - "Rippa Na Tatemono" is Japanese for "Magnificent Building"