I'm curled up on the sofa, reading the book Wufei said I had to. He says it's my homework, like Dudders used to bring home. Wufei doesn't let me ask Duo or Trowa for the answers when I have to write things, like Dudders would ask Aunt; I can ask for help finding the answer though. I don't know what's different about this, so I just don't ask.

Duo is over at Heero's again. I don't know why, but Trowa does. I know this because whenever Duo comes back from Heero's house, Trowa asks Duo if they had any luck. Duo always answers that they're getting closer. I am curious, but I know better than to ask. If I was supposed to know, they would tell me.

A hand runs through my hair, and I hear a light humming as I look up into the calm face of Trowa. He moves around the sofa to sit down, and I move to press myself against his side.

"Read to me?" Trowa asks, and I nod, looking down at my book again.

"The King couldn't refuse his only daughter…" I read, holding the book so that Trowa can see the pictures. Back before the letters made sense, I would just look at the pictures and make up a story from them. I find the books much more fun now that I can read what is written on the pages. I still think the pictures are pretty though.

When I finish the book, Trowa takes it and sets it on the coffee table. He shifts to the side, and knowing what he wants, I scoot so that his legs can come up onto the cushion I'm sitting on. I move so that I am lying down as well, my head resting on his stomach. I can hear the noises that mean he's alive, and I close my eyes, just listening to us breathing. This is my favourite part of reading with Trowa.


"I'm not crazy. I really can do these things."

"I know, Tom."

"Why are you here?"

"I teach at a school for children like you. A special school."

"I don't believe you."


"He looks so cute like that," I hear Duo say quietly, and I feel Trowa's laugh from under my head. I blink open sleepy eyes to come nose-to-nose with Duo's wide-eyed stare. I squeak, jumping away from the too-close (and now laughing) face, and almost fall off the sofa if it wasn't for Trowa's steadying arm.

"Have a nice nap?" Duo asks me, and I can see he's sitting on the floor. A satchel (that's what Wufei says the flappy-bag is called) is resting next to him, and I can see a pile of papers squished into a book sticking out a little.

"Mmm…" I answer, still too sleepy to make words. Talking isn't as hard as it was when I first started, but it still takes too much thinking to do right, and I'm too sleepy to even try. Trowa laughs quietly again, and I feel it more in the movement under my head than hearing it in my ears.

"Did you have good dreams?" Duo asks me, his hand brushing the hair away from my face. Trowa's hand joins him, pushing the strands behind my ear to stop them from falling back down before finding Duo's hand and holding it. They do this a lot, so I just ignore it. Heero and Relena do it a lot too when they're over, so it must just be a grown-up thing.

"Jus' Tom…" I mutter after a moment, making my mouth form the words. I slur it a little though, and wrinkle my nose. I hate talking. Why can't people just… not talk?

"Was Tom being scary?" Trowa questions, and I shake my head. No, Tom isn't very scary. Sometimes scary things happen to Tom, but Mylord is much scarier.

"You're still dreaming of him?" Duo asks, and I just stare at him. It takes a few moments to form the words, but when they come out they're very annoyed.

"I always dream of him. Him and Mylord. I don't have dreams of anyone else." Duo looks up at Trowa with a look I don't understand. I don't understand a lot of things though, so it doesn't bother me. Trowa just runs a hand down my cheek, and I lean back into him, closing my eyes.

When Duo and Trowa talk to me like this, I feel like I'm talking to Nick. It's annoying. I'd rather just lay down with them and not say anything.


"People need to talk, it's how we understand each other," Nick says, and I just give a snort. Wufei says it's a bad habit Duo gave me, but I've seen Wufei do it too so I ignore him. If Trowa ever tells me to stop doing it, I will.

"It dumb. Talking's hard, and take lotta time. It easier to just make noise, Trowa knows what I want anyways," I tell Nick, drawing on the large sheet of paper. I'm trying to draw the lake I saw Tom sitting at, next to the pretty castle. I see the castle a lot in Tom dreams, when he's at the 'special magic school.'

"It's only hard because you're still not used to talking. In a healthy house, children learn to talk when they are very small. You missed a lot of years when talking could have been made much easier for you to do. The 'noises' you make are more familiar, which is why they're easier for you. There are not many people who can understand other people without using words."

"Then how can Trowa?" I say, feeling annoyed. I can see Nick's nose wrinkle before he sighs.

"People communicate through body language too, which when used with words can make things easier to understand. When you curl your legs to your chest, it tells others that you are nervous or uncomfortable. Other people move their arms a lot when they're excited—"

"Like Duo!" I interrupt, and Nick smiles.

"Yes, like Duo does. Not many people stay perfectly still when talking. Your body can give little clues into how you are feeling inside. I went to school to learn how to see those clues, which help me know when we are talking what topics make you happy, what makes you scared, and what makes you angry."

"Oh. Can I just talk with my body then?" I ask him, and he laughs, shaking his head.

"I told you I had to go to school to learn how to know body language better. Not many people learn to read it, and it can be mistaken if you don't say anything out loud. Someone might hear you wrong and think you are saying something else if you don't use real words."

"Oh. That sucks."

Nick laughs again, setting his notebook down. I see some of the odd scribbles on his book, like the ones on the wooden plaque (Wufei told me it was called that) Miss Clara gave us. I point at the scribbles, and ask him, "What is that writing called? I can't read it, but Duo and Trowa can."

"That is English, but written in a style called cursive. It's just a fancy way to write the letters you are learning to read."

"So it's not a weird language? Duo and Trowa speak in funny-sounding languages when they want to say things I can't know about."

"Does that upset you?"

"No," I say firmly. "If they don't want me to know, then why should I ask? It's not my… place?... to say what they tell me or not."

"Do you think they're hiding things from you?"

"Yes. That is what adults are supposed to do. I'm not smart enough to know things. Trowa tells me what I need to know, everything else doesn't matter."

Nick doesn't say anything, just makes a low noise in his throat. I put down the black crayon and pick up the dark blue one to start colouring in the lake. I make sure to leave a spot for the rock near the grass.

"Do Trowa and Duo make all the decisions for you, or do you get to choose things you want?"

"I get to make choices," I say, looking up at Nick. His face reminds me of Heero when he's thinking hard, so I look down at the sheet of paper again. "I wish they would just choose everything though. A—She would play a mean game with me, and I know Trowa won't play it but I… sometimes I'm scared Duo might."

"What game would your Aunt play?"

"I made up the name for it, 'Boy Chooses.' She ask me what I want… and no matter what I answer I made wrong choice… She laugh at me, and say mean thing or… or do mean thing… and I hate choosing because always wrong and just better when Trowa or Duo say I have to do because I know it right thing!"

"What things would she ask if you wanted?"

"If I… I wanted to eat. What I want to eat. Want to go outside. Want to do chore. Watch telly. Want bed. Not be in cubby... Want hug…" I feel my chest hurting, my eyes burning, and my nose getting all gross. I know I'm crying now, but I don't want to stop saying this. Nick is asking me, and Trowa says he can make my hurts go away, even the ones that I can't see. And this hurts so much, I want to make it just go away.

"I like commands, orders, rules. I like to know what I have to do, what I can't do, what right, what wrong, how to do it. Too many choices… No want to be wrong. Wrong is bad. Bad, bad, bad…"

"David, you need to breathe," I hear Nick tell me, and I take a deep breath, which makes the pain in my chest lessen.

"Do you want me to get Trowa?" Nick asks me gently, his hand hovering over my shoulder. He never touches me, and that makes me feel safer than if he did. I nod, curling my legs into my chest and hiding my face. I hear Nick talking, but I'm not listening, instead just making sure I am breathing. I don't stop breathing like I did before if I think about it hard enough. I hear the door open, and a low, soft hum as arms pick me up and set me into a warm, familiar lap. Trowa's here. Everything can be better now.

"David, can I tell Trowa what we are talking about? I will only tell him what you say I can, do you understand?"

"Mmm…" I moan, nodding my head. I don't care, Nick can tell Trowa anything. He's an adult; he can do things like that. I'm not, so I can't. I listen as Nick talks to Trowa, telling him what I was saying to Nick, but with weirder words mixed in. Words I don't understand, but sound familiar to me. I hear Wufei use them with Duo and Trowa, and sometimes Quatre. Wufei's really smart though, so Nick must be really smart too. I hear Trowa use some of the same words, and some other funny words too; I already know Trowa's smart though, so it isn't as strange to hear him say these things.

I just listen to the thub-thub of Trowa's heart, feeling tired. I don't feel sick though, and I'm happy about that. Maybe Duo is right about telling Nick things. I feel better. Nick's a good doctor person.


A/N – Short chapters, but as midterms are this week for me, I decided I'd rather give you something now. I don't aim for a word count, truthfully, just certain points I want to cover. That's why some chapters are shorter, and some much, much longer!

Also, while I'm thinking about it, this story is geared for a more mature audience. I had a complaint about the lack of warnings for some contents in For the Boy, and all I can say in response is that I have the rating for a reason. I'm not going to give specific warnings for certain content, as I don't feel it's really productive. The 'M' rating, for me, signifies that there's content that can (and most likely is) violent, offensive, disturbing, mature, and can be troubling. Giving specific warnings is redundant to me as it not only gives away story content (which I hate hate hate) but what one person finds offensive another person might not be affected. Now that my rant is done, just keep in mind anything is possible to show up in this story, and many things already appeared in FtB.

Annoying Little Twit