Tears of the Theater
**
Author's Note: All right, here I go again and this is what I get for listening to a large amount of musicals and letting little Musy-chan here have her own freewill. If you want to know where this story takes place imagine the opera house for Phantom of the Opera, which was a partial inspiration. Note on the characters, I've played around with the families. Treize is the father of Quatre and Dorothy, by two different unnamed wives. Zechs and Relena are still siblings. Noin and Hilde are sisters. Other than that I think I left everyone else alone. Oh yeah! And now on to the pairings:
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 2x3, 5x13, 5xM, 2xH
That said, enjoy the fic.
**
The large marble pillars lined the deep hallway, dwarfing all others who entered. Long shadows danced across the intricate stonework and wooden carvings, giving the hallway a strange and dark life of its own. He could have sworn the figurines and carvings moved after him. Fearful images of the stone faces turning and smooth eyes blinking invaded his mind until he was hugging himself and moving as fast as his feet would carry him without making him seem panicked. He finally arrived at the door.
As the smooth wood scrapped against smooth wood the haunting melody of a flute drifted out of the long dark passageway revealed. Before stepping into the passage bright glinting eyes settled upon a single velvet rose on the floor. The rose punctuated a very special site.
Her grave.
A mere minute later the secret passage slid shut and the beautiful tune was cut off, leaving the large theater in ironic silence.
**
Quatre's eyes grew wide as they approached the large carved oak doors. Amazing! Absolutely amazing! He'd seen pictures, obviously, but the true reality of the place struck him completely breathless.
"Brother dear, close your eyes or they are going to fall out."
Quatre blinked and offered a sheepish smile as his older sister, Dorothy, gave him a small glare. "It's beautiful," Quatre said quietly.
"It's a front door," she countered.
Treize gave a light hearted laugh which made both of them turn to their father. "If you find the front door this impressive, one wonders what will happen you see the inside."
Dorothy crossed her arms and frowned. "He'll probably faint."
Treize merely chucked as Quatre rushed forward toward the front door. He'd expected Quatre to love the place, given the boy's attraction to fine pieces of art, but he never expected anything this level. Perhaps this had been the best choice. If Quatre was this enthusiastic about the new theater his father had purchased, hopefully it would take his mind off the recent death of his mother.
Despite the boy's outward cheerfulness Treize knew he wasn't nearly as happy as he appeared to be. Less then a month ago Quatre's mother had died of the very disease that had kept her bedridden since Quatre's birth. The only thing worse then one's wife or mother being dead was watching her slowly die as her son lived on in perfect health. It made one question the very gods' motives. Still, all things considered Quatre was taking the new turn of events very well, even if Treize's heart ached for his dead wife every night he woke up to find himself in another empty single room.
And Dorothy? Well, she would be herself. Dorothy's case was much different then her brother's. Whereas Quatre had lost a mother and Treize had lost a love, Dorothy had only lost a step mother she'd never cared much about in the first place. Oh well, old relationships were old relationships. No use regretting what could no longer be changed.
He watched with a light smile as his son walked up toward the doors and moved to push them open. His light smile slipped into amusement as the door opened, before Quatre could touch it, to reveal a rather tight looking female. Thin glasses dominated her small face while tight braids framed her head and a tight black dress gave the impression of a strict school mistress. Treize watched as Quatre took a step back in surprise.
"Can I help you?" she demanded quickly.
Treize took the opportunity and stepped forward with a small nod. "Treize Kushrenada, I'm here to speak with Sally Po."
The rather stiff woman seemed to stiffen a little more, but this time it was due to nervousness. "Of course. Ms. Sally has been expecting you." She stepped back and opened the door wider, holding it for them as they entered.
Once inside, Treize noticed Quatre's jaw drop again. He smirked once more, the inside was quite a piece of work. Upon entrance the deep red carpet extended and rolled out to cover a wide winding staircase leading off into darkened hallways in either direction. Ornate crystal chandeliers dotted the ceiling while imitation candles lined the walls. The entire place was quite tasteful-
"Did you hear that?"
Treize turned to look back at Quatre, who stood at the foot of the stairs facing up into the shadows. Dorothy stopped and listened for a second then shrugged and shook her head. Treize also shook his head, but noticed that Quatre wasn't looking at them, he only continued to stare up into the shadows.
"It sounds... like a flute..." he whispered softly.
The stiff lady cleared her throat. "Yes, well. Ms. Sally is waiting. This way please." She turned and began down the hallway once more. Quatre glanced back at his father and Treize understood the silent question instantly.
"Do you have any object to my son looking around the theater on his own while I speak with Ms. Po?"
The stiff lady shook her head. "No, that is fine. As long as he doesn't disturb rehearsal."
"I won't!" Quatre said quickly. He bowed his thanks and then took off up the stairs like a scurrying animal, a smile bright on his face. Treize couldn't help but smile after him as Dorothy let out a sigh and rolled her eyes.
Yes, this theater would do a world of good for the boy.
And now, it was time to speak with Ms. Po and make all the arrangements so the theater was truly in the name of it's new owner, Treize Kushrenada.
**
"Come on, Duo, you can do better then that."
Duo frowned slightly, but gave no other response. Beside him Hilde stopped playing the piano and turned to face him. He gave a sigh and dropped on to the bench beside her. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to sing that high, Hilde?"
Hilde poked him with a smile. "That's never stopped you before."
"Yeah well you try singing it!" Duo leaned backward and winced as his back hit the piano keys and created a god-awful sound. He sat back up quickly.
"Duo, you know if you can't sing this they'll give the part to Wufei." Hilde stood up and grabbed the sheets of music, hurriedly shuffling them into order before sliding them into a folder. She crossed the room to place the folder among a file shelf of others.
"You don't need to remind me," Duo grumbled. "Hey, Hilde, where you going? We still have practice for another hour."
"Sorry Duo," she flashed a light smile. "Sis and I have plans, you'll just have to practice on your own."
Duo made sure the cover was over the keys this time before he leaned back and laced his hands behind his head, flashing his normal trademark grin. "Well it's no fun to sing when I can't see your pretty smile."
"You've never had a problem during performances when I'm behind the curtains or dancing in the background," she countered.
"Oh, spoil all my fun. Fine, go out and have fun with your older sister, see if I care." The braided boy stood up and started for the other door to leave the rehearsal room. He stopped cold as Lady Une, the rather stiff rehearsal director, passed by the door and glared at him for a second. Duo quickly turned around and walked over toward Hilde, pretending to be deep in discussion with her. As soon as Une was out of sight he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Her glare is going to give me a heart attack one of these days."
Hilde snickered. "That's what you get for trying to weasel out of practice. Hm, Duo, who were those two following her?"
He shrugged. "Who knows, who cares?"
"I bet they are the new owners." The German girl snatched her coat and rushed to the door to watch them disappear down the hallway. Duo walked up beside her and peered over her shoulder. He frowned as he saw the young blond girl behind the darker haired man.
Oh great, he thought with annoyance, another high and mighty rich owner. Wonder how long this one will last.
"They look nice enough."
"I just don't see why the don't give the theater to someone like me, after all, I could manage it. How hard can it be to decide what plays will be shown and order Lady Une around?"
Hilde laughed. "You? Keep dreaming Duo." He opened his mouth to respond but she cut him off. "I got to go, sis is waiting. See you at practice tomorrow. Bye!"
"Ja." Duo watched her race out of the room and sighed. Closing the door behind her he turned back to face the piano. The grin that normally covered his face was gone, no need to wear the mask when there was no one to watch. Hilde was right though. If he didn't learn this part it would be given to Wufei, and that would be that.
It had been hard enough to get the leading part in the musical as it was, parts this hard usually went to Wufei by default thanks to his talent and wealthy upbringing. Street talent like Duo usually didn't have a chance at scoring any part save for backup to someone like him. However, this time, the play called for someone with long hair willing to wear men's and women's clothing. And Wufei had this thing about dressing up as a woman...
Duo opened the piano and hit one of the keys, the clear note ringing out in the room, echoing off the dotted walls. He hummed the note softly, immediately cutting it off as his voice cracked. It was just too high for him to hum, much less sing. Duo let the cover drop back over the piano keys and frowned.
Grabbing his jacket he headed straight for the door. Upon opening it he heard the sweet sound of a flute drifting through the halls. Duo glanced at his watch and swore softly.
"Shimatta! I'm late!"
The grinning boy raced down the hall and disappeared around the corner, out of sight.
**
Two days later all the paper work had been signed and the theater was safely in the hands of its new owner, Treize Kushrenada. Despite the title switching hands nothing else really changed. All the actors and company from the theater still went on with practice, dancing and singing. The next play was due to be released soon and they all had work to do, less then a month left to practice.
Days found Treize in the office looking over paperwork concerning the budget the theater had along with play schedules and just general info on how it worked to run a theater. He had no troubles what so ever considering his upbringing, running a theater would pose no new problems. However it would serve to ease his mind and give him ample time to heal.
When Quatrina had died nothing really seemed to have changed. True, he'd lost the wife he'd loved the most but prior to her death she'd been bed ridden in a hospital and he hadn't seen her often. When he'd received news of her death it didn't seem real, instead it seemed like some macabre dream that had only built itself off a distant reality. Yet, while his mind didn't fully comprehend her death, he saw the immediate effect on Quatre.
His young blond son had immediately dropped into a quiet state. Quatre's bright smile had immediately disappeared without a trace, meanwhile he refused to go to school and began spending the majority of the time in his room humming softly.
Treize pushed all his own grieving aside for Quatre's sake. He'd lost his wife, he wasn't about to lose his son! In the end he'd tried everything and nothing had worked. In a desperate attempt he finally talked Quatre into going to a musical, just to get him out of the house and try to get his mind off things. Surprisingly the musical caused a complete turn around for Quatre, and he'd even spent the majority of the night smiling. It was decided then that Treize would purchase a theater house, anything to keep his son smiling.
And now it seemed that everything had returned to normal. Quatre was his normal cheerful self. He'd spent the majority of the last two days exploring every single inch of the theater, learning it all by heart. When Quatre wasn't exploring he could be found up in the balcony watching the rehearsals below.
Treize smiled and filed a few of the papers, then leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. Yes, Quatre would be fine now. The business of the theater house would keep them both busy enough for them to realize life was possible beyond the loss of a loved one. Yet it would also give Treize the freedom of being by himself and letting himself grieve without worrying if Quatre was safe. The boy was safe, and what was more Quatre now had an entire new family in the company for the theater.
Treize sighed softly and let his thoughts and memories take completely over. No one would disturb him. And now, perhaps now he could shed the long awaited tears for his wife.
But still none came.
**
"Maxwell! You're late!"
Wufei frowned as the braided boy rushed down the walkway to the stage. He easily jumped up onto the stage, throwing his jacket onto a row of chairs just below. Duo gave a quick bow of apology, the wide grin never leaving his face. Wufei merely rolled his eyes and turned back to the others.
"Practice started ten minutes ago, Duo Maxwell," Lady Une glared at the grinning boy, angry as ever. Duo merely shrugged and ignored her, speaking to Wufei.
"Geez, Wu-man, I thought you'd be happy I was late. I mean if I keep this up you might actually get the leading part instead of me."
Wufei gave no response.
"Duo..." Hilde looked at him worriedly from her seat at the piano bench. Now was not the time to joke about switching parts with Wufei, especially not with Lady Une in the room. Une could change his part before Duo could blink, and she'd do it too.
"Duo Maxwell, seeing as you have been constantly tardy for the last two days and your obvious lack of ability to sing the part-"
Duo held up his hand and grew serious. "Tell ya what, ojousan. Give me one last chance, and if I can't do it I'll gladly bow out so Wufei can take the part."
Lady Une frowned, yet seemed to consider it for a second.
"Duo..." Hilde repeated, now she was really worried. Duo couldn't sing that high, and he knew it! One doesn't gain new singing abilities over night.
"Besides, if I lose at least I get the pleasure of seeing you in a dress, Wu-man."
Wufei's eyes narrowed significantly.
"Agreed, you have one last chance." Lady Une gestured to the piano and Hilde nodded. Taking a deep breath she started playing the music.
Sweet piano music at a mild tempo filled the large empty theater. Duo closed his eyes and his voice joined the music with practiced ease, his words taking on a dance through the air with the soft notes. Save for the music the entire company was quiet, just listening. Everyone knew how much Duo had battled to get a part above being in the background chorus. They admired him for trying but none could see how he could possibly stand up to this challenge, he'd been practicing for weeks but the same note always eluded him, and they couldn't change the song to fit his range. Either he would sing the note or he'd lose the part, it was that simple.
The music picked up pace slightly and Duo's voice kept up easily. He kept his eyes shut, concentrating completely on the music and the sound. The note came up quickly and mentally he grasped it, taking what he'd learned and applying it. The note came out with amazing clarity, bring the song to a beautiful energy filled end. He heard Hilde's fingers falter slightly on the keys of the piano and allowed himself to smile as the song drifted toward the end. When he stopped the room was filled with silence, save for the soft resonance left over from the piano cords.
Duo opened his eyes and immediately grinned straight at Lady Une and Wufei. Wufei only glowered back at him yet Lady Une's face was priceless. Stiff as ever one of her eyebrows was arched up in surprise, still to have that emotion painted across her face was a great accomplishment in Duo's eyes. He grinned widely and gave a sweeping bow. Then he turned and bounced off the stage happily toward the backroom, desperate for a glass of water.
"Duo, how in the world did you do that?!"
Duo looked up from the drinking fountain to see Hilde leaning against the rigging for the curtains. He took one last drink then stood up and wiped the back of his hand over his grin. "Simple, I opened my mouth and sang, nothing new."
"Don't play coy with me, Maxwell. You haven't been able to sing that high the entire time you've worked at the theater. How did you suddenly gain the ability? And over night at that! I won't believe it's just some miracle."
Duo snickered. "Miracles, ojousan, are what I do best."
Hilde rolled her eyes. The rest of practice went by uneventfully, save for the fact that Duo had obviously improved beyond words. Besides the one note that had been giving him trouble there were a few other shaky parts he'd never quite mastered. Hilde and the rest of the company were quite surprised to find he sailed over aforementioned part as if he'd been singing them perfectly all his life. She didn't know where Duo had attained this new singing talent but however he'd done it he'd just secured his job for the next few years, of that Hilde was sure.
However, the explanation of Duo suddenly discovering some hidden ability to sing didn't satisfy Hilde. She wanted to know how he'd done it. She just couldn't accept his evading answers and she knew that the entire company would be pestering her. After all she was the closest to Duo of all of them, certainly she would know the secret behind his new performance... yeah right. Hilde owed it to herself and the rest of the company and Duo to find out what was going on. She wasn't going to let this one rest, not a chance.
"Duo, matte!"
Hilde raced after him as practice was called to a close. Duo turned and grinned widely at her, yet his face held a small amount of question.
"Please Duo, tell me, what is going on? I refuse to accept that you just suddenly gained the ability to sing like that over night."
Duo laughed. "I can't say Hilde, besides if Wu-man found out he'd improve so much... then I'd be out of a job."
"You know Lady Une wouldn't fire you," she countered.
Duo shrugged. "Sorry, can't share my secret. They'd send the men in black suits after me and then the entire theater would be out of a job. You know those guys, they just don't like it when people snitch on them."
"Duo-" Hilde sighed, was he ever stubborn! "Fine, I'll drop it. But I still don't believe you."
Duo grinned. "Believe what you will." He turned and started off toward his locker in the backroom.
"Duo, wait! There's a restaurant down the street that just opened. Sis is busy tonight with her other job... you want to come with me to see how it is?"
"Gomen Hilde, but today's practice was tiring. Not tonight." He responded without turning back to her and as a result he didn't see her frown. She'd been going out with Duo on and off for the last year. Not dates really, more like just good friends who spent a lot of time together. But Duo almost never turned her down... this was strange.
"Oh, ok. See you at practice tomorrow then." She turned quickly and left the room before he could look back at her. It was nothing, she chided herself. He was just tired, that's all. Still, it seemed strange the Duo would say no and not give a better reason then that.
Duo did turn to watch Hilde go, no one was there to see him sigh softly. "Gomen Hilde," he whispered. "But I've already got plans for tonight."
**
Author's Note: All right, here I go again and this is what I get for listening to a large amount of musicals and letting little Musy-chan here have her own freewill. If you want to know where this story takes place imagine the opera house for Phantom of the Opera, which was a partial inspiration. Note on the characters, I've played around with the families. Treize is the father of Quatre and Dorothy, by two different unnamed wives. Zechs and Relena are still siblings. Noin and Hilde are sisters. Other than that I think I left everyone else alone. Oh yeah! And now on to the pairings:
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 2x3, 5x13, 5xM, 2xH
That said, enjoy the fic.
**
The large marble pillars lined the deep hallway, dwarfing all others who entered. Long shadows danced across the intricate stonework and wooden carvings, giving the hallway a strange and dark life of its own. He could have sworn the figurines and carvings moved after him. Fearful images of the stone faces turning and smooth eyes blinking invaded his mind until he was hugging himself and moving as fast as his feet would carry him without making him seem panicked. He finally arrived at the door.
As the smooth wood scrapped against smooth wood the haunting melody of a flute drifted out of the long dark passageway revealed. Before stepping into the passage bright glinting eyes settled upon a single velvet rose on the floor. The rose punctuated a very special site.
Her grave.
A mere minute later the secret passage slid shut and the beautiful tune was cut off, leaving the large theater in ironic silence.
**
Quatre's eyes grew wide as they approached the large carved oak doors. Amazing! Absolutely amazing! He'd seen pictures, obviously, but the true reality of the place struck him completely breathless.
"Brother dear, close your eyes or they are going to fall out."
Quatre blinked and offered a sheepish smile as his older sister, Dorothy, gave him a small glare. "It's beautiful," Quatre said quietly.
"It's a front door," she countered.
Treize gave a light hearted laugh which made both of them turn to their father. "If you find the front door this impressive, one wonders what will happen you see the inside."
Dorothy crossed her arms and frowned. "He'll probably faint."
Treize merely chucked as Quatre rushed forward toward the front door. He'd expected Quatre to love the place, given the boy's attraction to fine pieces of art, but he never expected anything this level. Perhaps this had been the best choice. If Quatre was this enthusiastic about the new theater his father had purchased, hopefully it would take his mind off the recent death of his mother.
Despite the boy's outward cheerfulness Treize knew he wasn't nearly as happy as he appeared to be. Less then a month ago Quatre's mother had died of the very disease that had kept her bedridden since Quatre's birth. The only thing worse then one's wife or mother being dead was watching her slowly die as her son lived on in perfect health. It made one question the very gods' motives. Still, all things considered Quatre was taking the new turn of events very well, even if Treize's heart ached for his dead wife every night he woke up to find himself in another empty single room.
And Dorothy? Well, she would be herself. Dorothy's case was much different then her brother's. Whereas Quatre had lost a mother and Treize had lost a love, Dorothy had only lost a step mother she'd never cared much about in the first place. Oh well, old relationships were old relationships. No use regretting what could no longer be changed.
He watched with a light smile as his son walked up toward the doors and moved to push them open. His light smile slipped into amusement as the door opened, before Quatre could touch it, to reveal a rather tight looking female. Thin glasses dominated her small face while tight braids framed her head and a tight black dress gave the impression of a strict school mistress. Treize watched as Quatre took a step back in surprise.
"Can I help you?" she demanded quickly.
Treize took the opportunity and stepped forward with a small nod. "Treize Kushrenada, I'm here to speak with Sally Po."
The rather stiff woman seemed to stiffen a little more, but this time it was due to nervousness. "Of course. Ms. Sally has been expecting you." She stepped back and opened the door wider, holding it for them as they entered.
Once inside, Treize noticed Quatre's jaw drop again. He smirked once more, the inside was quite a piece of work. Upon entrance the deep red carpet extended and rolled out to cover a wide winding staircase leading off into darkened hallways in either direction. Ornate crystal chandeliers dotted the ceiling while imitation candles lined the walls. The entire place was quite tasteful-
"Did you hear that?"
Treize turned to look back at Quatre, who stood at the foot of the stairs facing up into the shadows. Dorothy stopped and listened for a second then shrugged and shook her head. Treize also shook his head, but noticed that Quatre wasn't looking at them, he only continued to stare up into the shadows.
"It sounds... like a flute..." he whispered softly.
The stiff lady cleared her throat. "Yes, well. Ms. Sally is waiting. This way please." She turned and began down the hallway once more. Quatre glanced back at his father and Treize understood the silent question instantly.
"Do you have any object to my son looking around the theater on his own while I speak with Ms. Po?"
The stiff lady shook her head. "No, that is fine. As long as he doesn't disturb rehearsal."
"I won't!" Quatre said quickly. He bowed his thanks and then took off up the stairs like a scurrying animal, a smile bright on his face. Treize couldn't help but smile after him as Dorothy let out a sigh and rolled her eyes.
Yes, this theater would do a world of good for the boy.
And now, it was time to speak with Ms. Po and make all the arrangements so the theater was truly in the name of it's new owner, Treize Kushrenada.
**
"Come on, Duo, you can do better then that."
Duo frowned slightly, but gave no other response. Beside him Hilde stopped playing the piano and turned to face him. He gave a sigh and dropped on to the bench beside her. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to sing that high, Hilde?"
Hilde poked him with a smile. "That's never stopped you before."
"Yeah well you try singing it!" Duo leaned backward and winced as his back hit the piano keys and created a god-awful sound. He sat back up quickly.
"Duo, you know if you can't sing this they'll give the part to Wufei." Hilde stood up and grabbed the sheets of music, hurriedly shuffling them into order before sliding them into a folder. She crossed the room to place the folder among a file shelf of others.
"You don't need to remind me," Duo grumbled. "Hey, Hilde, where you going? We still have practice for another hour."
"Sorry Duo," she flashed a light smile. "Sis and I have plans, you'll just have to practice on your own."
Duo made sure the cover was over the keys this time before he leaned back and laced his hands behind his head, flashing his normal trademark grin. "Well it's no fun to sing when I can't see your pretty smile."
"You've never had a problem during performances when I'm behind the curtains or dancing in the background," she countered.
"Oh, spoil all my fun. Fine, go out and have fun with your older sister, see if I care." The braided boy stood up and started for the other door to leave the rehearsal room. He stopped cold as Lady Une, the rather stiff rehearsal director, passed by the door and glared at him for a second. Duo quickly turned around and walked over toward Hilde, pretending to be deep in discussion with her. As soon as Une was out of sight he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Her glare is going to give me a heart attack one of these days."
Hilde snickered. "That's what you get for trying to weasel out of practice. Hm, Duo, who were those two following her?"
He shrugged. "Who knows, who cares?"
"I bet they are the new owners." The German girl snatched her coat and rushed to the door to watch them disappear down the hallway. Duo walked up beside her and peered over her shoulder. He frowned as he saw the young blond girl behind the darker haired man.
Oh great, he thought with annoyance, another high and mighty rich owner. Wonder how long this one will last.
"They look nice enough."
"I just don't see why the don't give the theater to someone like me, after all, I could manage it. How hard can it be to decide what plays will be shown and order Lady Une around?"
Hilde laughed. "You? Keep dreaming Duo." He opened his mouth to respond but she cut him off. "I got to go, sis is waiting. See you at practice tomorrow. Bye!"
"Ja." Duo watched her race out of the room and sighed. Closing the door behind her he turned back to face the piano. The grin that normally covered his face was gone, no need to wear the mask when there was no one to watch. Hilde was right though. If he didn't learn this part it would be given to Wufei, and that would be that.
It had been hard enough to get the leading part in the musical as it was, parts this hard usually went to Wufei by default thanks to his talent and wealthy upbringing. Street talent like Duo usually didn't have a chance at scoring any part save for backup to someone like him. However, this time, the play called for someone with long hair willing to wear men's and women's clothing. And Wufei had this thing about dressing up as a woman...
Duo opened the piano and hit one of the keys, the clear note ringing out in the room, echoing off the dotted walls. He hummed the note softly, immediately cutting it off as his voice cracked. It was just too high for him to hum, much less sing. Duo let the cover drop back over the piano keys and frowned.
Grabbing his jacket he headed straight for the door. Upon opening it he heard the sweet sound of a flute drifting through the halls. Duo glanced at his watch and swore softly.
"Shimatta! I'm late!"
The grinning boy raced down the hall and disappeared around the corner, out of sight.
**
Two days later all the paper work had been signed and the theater was safely in the hands of its new owner, Treize Kushrenada. Despite the title switching hands nothing else really changed. All the actors and company from the theater still went on with practice, dancing and singing. The next play was due to be released soon and they all had work to do, less then a month left to practice.
Days found Treize in the office looking over paperwork concerning the budget the theater had along with play schedules and just general info on how it worked to run a theater. He had no troubles what so ever considering his upbringing, running a theater would pose no new problems. However it would serve to ease his mind and give him ample time to heal.
When Quatrina had died nothing really seemed to have changed. True, he'd lost the wife he'd loved the most but prior to her death she'd been bed ridden in a hospital and he hadn't seen her often. When he'd received news of her death it didn't seem real, instead it seemed like some macabre dream that had only built itself off a distant reality. Yet, while his mind didn't fully comprehend her death, he saw the immediate effect on Quatre.
His young blond son had immediately dropped into a quiet state. Quatre's bright smile had immediately disappeared without a trace, meanwhile he refused to go to school and began spending the majority of the time in his room humming softly.
Treize pushed all his own grieving aside for Quatre's sake. He'd lost his wife, he wasn't about to lose his son! In the end he'd tried everything and nothing had worked. In a desperate attempt he finally talked Quatre into going to a musical, just to get him out of the house and try to get his mind off things. Surprisingly the musical caused a complete turn around for Quatre, and he'd even spent the majority of the night smiling. It was decided then that Treize would purchase a theater house, anything to keep his son smiling.
And now it seemed that everything had returned to normal. Quatre was his normal cheerful self. He'd spent the majority of the last two days exploring every single inch of the theater, learning it all by heart. When Quatre wasn't exploring he could be found up in the balcony watching the rehearsals below.
Treize smiled and filed a few of the papers, then leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. Yes, Quatre would be fine now. The business of the theater house would keep them both busy enough for them to realize life was possible beyond the loss of a loved one. Yet it would also give Treize the freedom of being by himself and letting himself grieve without worrying if Quatre was safe. The boy was safe, and what was more Quatre now had an entire new family in the company for the theater.
Treize sighed softly and let his thoughts and memories take completely over. No one would disturb him. And now, perhaps now he could shed the long awaited tears for his wife.
But still none came.
**
"Maxwell! You're late!"
Wufei frowned as the braided boy rushed down the walkway to the stage. He easily jumped up onto the stage, throwing his jacket onto a row of chairs just below. Duo gave a quick bow of apology, the wide grin never leaving his face. Wufei merely rolled his eyes and turned back to the others.
"Practice started ten minutes ago, Duo Maxwell," Lady Une glared at the grinning boy, angry as ever. Duo merely shrugged and ignored her, speaking to Wufei.
"Geez, Wu-man, I thought you'd be happy I was late. I mean if I keep this up you might actually get the leading part instead of me."
Wufei gave no response.
"Duo..." Hilde looked at him worriedly from her seat at the piano bench. Now was not the time to joke about switching parts with Wufei, especially not with Lady Une in the room. Une could change his part before Duo could blink, and she'd do it too.
"Duo Maxwell, seeing as you have been constantly tardy for the last two days and your obvious lack of ability to sing the part-"
Duo held up his hand and grew serious. "Tell ya what, ojousan. Give me one last chance, and if I can't do it I'll gladly bow out so Wufei can take the part."
Lady Une frowned, yet seemed to consider it for a second.
"Duo..." Hilde repeated, now she was really worried. Duo couldn't sing that high, and he knew it! One doesn't gain new singing abilities over night.
"Besides, if I lose at least I get the pleasure of seeing you in a dress, Wu-man."
Wufei's eyes narrowed significantly.
"Agreed, you have one last chance." Lady Une gestured to the piano and Hilde nodded. Taking a deep breath she started playing the music.
Sweet piano music at a mild tempo filled the large empty theater. Duo closed his eyes and his voice joined the music with practiced ease, his words taking on a dance through the air with the soft notes. Save for the music the entire company was quiet, just listening. Everyone knew how much Duo had battled to get a part above being in the background chorus. They admired him for trying but none could see how he could possibly stand up to this challenge, he'd been practicing for weeks but the same note always eluded him, and they couldn't change the song to fit his range. Either he would sing the note or he'd lose the part, it was that simple.
The music picked up pace slightly and Duo's voice kept up easily. He kept his eyes shut, concentrating completely on the music and the sound. The note came up quickly and mentally he grasped it, taking what he'd learned and applying it. The note came out with amazing clarity, bring the song to a beautiful energy filled end. He heard Hilde's fingers falter slightly on the keys of the piano and allowed himself to smile as the song drifted toward the end. When he stopped the room was filled with silence, save for the soft resonance left over from the piano cords.
Duo opened his eyes and immediately grinned straight at Lady Une and Wufei. Wufei only glowered back at him yet Lady Une's face was priceless. Stiff as ever one of her eyebrows was arched up in surprise, still to have that emotion painted across her face was a great accomplishment in Duo's eyes. He grinned widely and gave a sweeping bow. Then he turned and bounced off the stage happily toward the backroom, desperate for a glass of water.
"Duo, how in the world did you do that?!"
Duo looked up from the drinking fountain to see Hilde leaning against the rigging for the curtains. He took one last drink then stood up and wiped the back of his hand over his grin. "Simple, I opened my mouth and sang, nothing new."
"Don't play coy with me, Maxwell. You haven't been able to sing that high the entire time you've worked at the theater. How did you suddenly gain the ability? And over night at that! I won't believe it's just some miracle."
Duo snickered. "Miracles, ojousan, are what I do best."
Hilde rolled her eyes. The rest of practice went by uneventfully, save for the fact that Duo had obviously improved beyond words. Besides the one note that had been giving him trouble there were a few other shaky parts he'd never quite mastered. Hilde and the rest of the company were quite surprised to find he sailed over aforementioned part as if he'd been singing them perfectly all his life. She didn't know where Duo had attained this new singing talent but however he'd done it he'd just secured his job for the next few years, of that Hilde was sure.
However, the explanation of Duo suddenly discovering some hidden ability to sing didn't satisfy Hilde. She wanted to know how he'd done it. She just couldn't accept his evading answers and she knew that the entire company would be pestering her. After all she was the closest to Duo of all of them, certainly she would know the secret behind his new performance... yeah right. Hilde owed it to herself and the rest of the company and Duo to find out what was going on. She wasn't going to let this one rest, not a chance.
"Duo, matte!"
Hilde raced after him as practice was called to a close. Duo turned and grinned widely at her, yet his face held a small amount of question.
"Please Duo, tell me, what is going on? I refuse to accept that you just suddenly gained the ability to sing like that over night."
Duo laughed. "I can't say Hilde, besides if Wu-man found out he'd improve so much... then I'd be out of a job."
"You know Lady Une wouldn't fire you," she countered.
Duo shrugged. "Sorry, can't share my secret. They'd send the men in black suits after me and then the entire theater would be out of a job. You know those guys, they just don't like it when people snitch on them."
"Duo-" Hilde sighed, was he ever stubborn! "Fine, I'll drop it. But I still don't believe you."
Duo grinned. "Believe what you will." He turned and started off toward his locker in the backroom.
"Duo, wait! There's a restaurant down the street that just opened. Sis is busy tonight with her other job... you want to come with me to see how it is?"
"Gomen Hilde, but today's practice was tiring. Not tonight." He responded without turning back to her and as a result he didn't see her frown. She'd been going out with Duo on and off for the last year. Not dates really, more like just good friends who spent a lot of time together. But Duo almost never turned her down... this was strange.
"Oh, ok. See you at practice tomorrow then." She turned quickly and left the room before he could look back at her. It was nothing, she chided herself. He was just tired, that's all. Still, it seemed strange the Duo would say no and not give a better reason then that.
Duo did turn to watch Hilde go, no one was there to see him sigh softly. "Gomen Hilde," he whispered. "But I've already got plans for tonight."