Delicate (adj)
requiring careful handling, (1: easily unsettled or upset 2: requiring skill or tact 3: involving matters of a deeply personal nature).
– Merriam-Webster Dictionary
"You got banned from the store?" Duo asks me, his eyes widening when I nod to say yes. When William and Quatre came home, they told me and Trowa that I can't go back in the store. When Duo came home, Trowa told Duo too, with a funny non-smile on his face. I'm not sure why Trowa had to tell Duo, but I don't dare ask.
Duo cheers, holding his hand out to me. His palm is facing upwards, in a strange place if he wanted to smack me.
"Gimme a high-five, buddy! Your first banning!"
I stare at the hand, unsure of what he is wanting. I'm not sure why he's so… excited either. That's the word I think I want to use, because it fits how he's acting. But it doesn't make sense for him to be excited about me getting kicked out of the store.
"You slap your hand against his," Trowa tells me. I do what he says, feeling a little silly. Duo sticks his tongue out at Trowa.
"You may have one store under your belt, but I'm still beating ya," Duo brags. "If you wanna beat my record, gotta at least get ten more."
I blink, feeling once again thrown off balance. Duo isn't making fun of me, is he?
"He's serious," Trowa whispers loudly. It doesn't make sense for him to do that, because Duo can still hear him like that. "Why do you think he stays home whenever we go to the store?"
"Burglars," I honestly reply, and it makes Duo laugh. I frown, crossing my arms. "Stop laughing at me!"
"S-sorry Kiddo, it's not you I'm laughing at," he breathes, looking at me. "Has Wufei taught you what irony means yet?"
"…No," I answer, feeling stupid. Duo gives a grin that Wufei did teach me about. It's called the 'Nothing Good Can Come of This' grin.
"Irony is when… uh… Damn, how to explain?" Duo trails off, clutching a hand to his chin. Trowa snorts softly, running a hand through my hair before talking for Duo.
"When something's ironic, or someone's using irony, it means that what's being said is different from what's happening."
I don't understand. Trowa's still talking though, so maybe he'll tell me.
"Remember when Duo tried to make us dinner after seeing Nick last week?" I nod, to show that I did.
"Do you remember what I said?"
"You said it looked yummy," I recite, and Duo nods, his head going really far up and down.
"Trowa was using irony, 'cause it was all burnt and gross looking. It's a way that's silly or sarcastic."
I know what sarcastic is. Wufei says it's a language that Duo uses a lot and is very good at. I don't know how to speak it though.
"So you staying home to stop burglars is funny, because you're stealing it yourself?" I wonder, unsure of how that is true. He lives here, he already owns it too. Duo's laughing again, which means I'm not right, and Trowa rubs my back with a smile of his own.
"Don't worry about it, now Duo's just being silly too."
I go back to colouring my book, ignoring Duo. He's always being silly.
"So can he go or not?" Duo's talking to the Witch teacher. Witches are females, and Wizards are males. It says so in my book. The book is really good, so it must be true. And it's nicer than calling her a freak. The book never calls anyone that, so I'm not going to use it. But I don't think Witch is a nice thing to call people either. In Wufei's history books, people burned Witches! I didn't like that book.
"There are a few concerns about altering the program," she answers, and I make sure my frown isn't showing on the outside. I know what that word means.
"'Splain it t'me, then." I wish Trowa would take over for Duo. Duo gets angry really fast, and the Witch teacher can't handle Duo's anger. No one but Trowa or Heero can. But Trowa keeps sitting there, giving the Witch teacher a scary face.
"There are many delicate factors, and some are harder to adjust to suit your son's needs," she's saying, and I curl my hands on my pants. I know what that word means too. William used it before we went shopping. I asked Wufei when we did our school time this morning, and I don't like that word.
"I'm not delicate," I mumble, my face resting on Trowa's shirt. We're sitting on the sofa with me leaning against him. He looks down at me, brushing my bangs back. I look up at him, a little angry at Duo and the Witch teacher.
"I'm not delicate," I repeat, and he gives a small nod.
"I know you aren't," he reassures me. "Why don't you tell them that?"
I look down, taking a couple breaths. They're still talking (Duo's starting to get loud), so I stand up. Duo looks over at me, and I give him a frown. He stops talking, and so does the Witch teacher. They're both looking at me now, and I try to not sit back down.
"I'm not delicate," I say again, and Duo smiles the smile he saves for winning an argument with Wufei or Heero. He gives a thumb up, but on the side that the Witch teacher can't see.
"I—" she starts, but I'm not going to let her make excuses. Excuses are bad.
"I'm not weak! I won't break easily!" I start, and Duo steals my seat, sitting behind me and next to Trowa.
"He sounds like a mini-Wuffer," Duo whispers, and I hear Trowa snort. I don't turn around though.
"I'm not a woman, I'm not weak!" I stamp my foot, crossing my arms and glaring at her.
Trowa's laughing quietly, and I hear Duo tell Trowa, "Maybe a bit too much like Wu..."
"I think, ma'am," Duo breaks in, gently placing a hand over my open mouth – I wasn't done yelling at her yet – "He's saying that you don't need to think so hard about this. Dave's a pretty tough kid, and Tro, well, he's a bit anally overprotective."
Trowa doesn't respond to the obvious jab at him, instead ruffling my hair. I give him a wide grin.
"The problem I'm having," the Witch teacher tells Duo, "is convincing the other staff that the small adjustments that I feel can be made are necessary. Some say if your son is so much in need of them, then he should receive his education here at home. Others don't think that the changes are necessary, since many children experience homesickness, and I'm merely trying to cater to, excuse the insult, ignorant Muggles."
"Well, tell them to shove it up their collective—"
"The changes aren't drastic, but still necessary for David to adjust and adapt to the new situation. They don't need to be permanent. Will that make a difference?" Trowa cuts Duo off, without getting all loud and angry. He's very calm right now, I can feel it. Duo can feel it too, because he's all calm again.
"Most wizards don't understand child abuse cases, Mr. Barton. It's hard to make them see the need."
"Do any of these wizards who teach at your school understand it? Or any that you are acquainted with? Maybe bringing in support for your argument can help build a better case. Show them that David's situation is not typical of general homesickness, and that severe repercussions can take place."
"'Sides, if Dave or your school can't take the pressure, Bill can give him lessons here at home. Then your stuck-up asshole—"
"Then the arrangement is no longer a concern, and your school returns to normal standards and functions." Trowa keeps having to make Duo stop talking. Wufei told me once that Duo doesn't play well with others when there's stupid people playing with him, and Trowa helps him play better. Duo and Trowa are weird sometimes, but I still like them a lot.
"I will keep doing what I can for your son, don't be concerned about that. I merely wish to let you know of the concerns being brought up," she says, with the same type of calm Trowa uses. I curl up between Duo and Trowa, resting my head back on Trowa's side. Looking up at him, I smile a little bit.
"I told her the truth," I whisper, and he gives me a pat on the cheek. I feel all warm inside.
"You did," he assures me, and I grin.
I can do this. I really can.
"So here's the skinny," Duo declares, dropping into a chair next to Trowa. Duo went over to Quatre's house today to find out how I'm going to school, and met Trowa and me out at Trowa's favourite diner. They have yummy ice cream here!
"So you're gonna go in the mornin' for th' classes, an' come home right 'fore dinner. You're still gonna go t'a 'House' like the others, but you ain't havta sleep there," Duo tells me, stealing one of Trowa's fries and dipping it in my milkshake. I make a face at him, tugging my shake closer to me.
"If ya wanna sleep there a night, ya can. When ya think ya can stay there every night, ya can. If ya do tha', and wanna come home on a bad night, ya can. Ya ain't gonna go to class when ya gotta see Nick."
"Sounds reasonable," Trowa murmurs, handing Duo another fry. I put a hand over my milkshake before he can steal any of my food. He sticks his tongue out at me, taking a bite of the fry after.
"An' if ya get in trouble an' have a detention—"
"It's like a special kind of time-out," Trowa cuts in, noticing my worry. I relax. Time outs are different than punishments. Aunt did punishments, Trowa does time-outs.
"Yeah, but ya gotta stay an' do those, an' ya'd come home after," Duo finishes, and I nod, understanding.
"How I get there and back?"
"Bill'd take ya. He's the go-to guy for all this. We have problems, Bill gets to go fix 'em for us."
I take a sip of my shake, trying to ignore the weird feeling in my stomach. I can do this. I don't need Trowa to be there too.
I don't need Trowa to take me. I just want him to.
"You'll do fine," Trowa says quietly, brushing my bangs back. They hide my face now when I look down a little. I do that a lot. "You're strong, inside and outside. You can do this."
I nod, repeating Trowa's voice over and over in my head.
'I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.'
"So let's stop the gloom-and-doom party an' have a fun night out!" Duo cheers, snatching the last fry from Trowa. I watch as Trowa gives him a pretend glare, before pushing his plate away. Trowa saved those fries for Duo, so I know he isn't mad. The wink he gives me tells that too.
The 'fun night' is going to see a movie. I don't get most of it, but it's fun to watch anyways. After that, we go to a really big playground that's inside. It even has a bouncy floor in one area. Duo and Trowa wrestle on the bouncy floor, and that's even more fun than playing on it.
I like watching them play together; they always seem so happy doing that.
When we get home, I'm so tired I don't take my bath like I'm supposed to. I brush my teeth, change my clothes, and climb into bed. It doesn't take me long to get to sleep, and for the first night I can remember, Tom or Mylord don't bother me. I don't remember what I dream about, but I don't feel tired in the morning.
"So you start your special classes next month?" Nick asks me, and I shrug, stacking another block onto my growing tower. It doesn't seem real to me, so I don't feel anything. I'm not excited, not really.
How can I be excited to want to be away from Trowa? I explain this to Nick, and he's quiet for a little.
"David, you've never had much to look forward to before. When you lived with your aunt, she didn't let you have fun or excitement. You've learned to do that with Trowa and Duo. It's not strange for you to not feel excited about starting school or for it to not 'feel real.'"
"Duo's more excited than me," I say softly. "I think he wants to go more than I do."
"But do you want to go?" Nick asks, and I reply immediately.
"Yes! I do, but… I don't know if I'll like it, like everyone wants me to."
"Like I just said, you've never been in this spot before. You don't have anything to remember feeling this way about. It's brand new, and you won't know until you get there. You have as much of a chance to like it as you have to not like it. Did you think you'd like living with Trowa?"
"…No."
"But do you?" Nick presses, and I bite my lip, nodding. "So there's some proof that you might like school. You don't have any school memories to remember liking, so you don't know what you'll like or not like about it. Everyone likes something different, or doesn't like something, that other people might instead."
"Like eating animals," I mumble, and Nick laughs.
"Exactly like that. So, give this school a chance before you give up on it, okay?"
"Okay." My tower tumbles over as I put the red triangle on top.
I still don't feel excited about going.
A/N - And here's another chapter, much more timely than the last one! I've recently broken into writing for profit (selling original books as an authour), so it's been a bit crazy over in ALT-land. Now that I'm more established, I should be getting these back out, unless I start procrastinating again. Then you tattle on me to Ro, and she'll kick my ass for you.
Shout-out for this chapter goes to Haytang! She not only drew me a lovely piece of fan-art (my first ever! I was so happy I squealed irl!) but she promised to torture me if I misbehaved again.
I'm still trying to figure out a good way to share the fanart with you all :D It's on my computer, waiting to be seen by all!
ALT