Title: When Irish Eyes are Smiling
Part: 1/?
Author: Oriana
Rating:: PG-13/R
Notes: This fiction does not claim ot be completely historically acurate. 1x2. YAOI. AU.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Duo nibbled absentmindedly on a peice of stale bread as eh wandered through the marketplace. //Not much to be had today, is there?// He thought to himself, his eyes darting cautiously from one shopper to the next. He had his cross tucked inside his shirt, but it never hurt to be careful when in the other side of Dublin.
The youth paused momentarily at one particular cart, picking up an apple and tossing it lightly from one hand to the next before looking at it hungrily.
"'Ey, ya eat it, ya buy it, lad."
"Eh?" Duo glanced up at the disgruntled shopkeeper, then grinned and shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. "I don' s'pose it could be 'ad for a trick?"
The man shook his head and snatched the apple from Duo's grasp, pluncking it emphatically down onto the wooden cart stall.
Duo sighed and scratched his head, beating a hasty retreat before the other man could get any nastier. //Damn...that usually works...// He cast his eyes to his scuffling feet as he remembered just why he was here. "Oiy, right....I've got 'ta get Sister 'Ellen some cloth..." He looked around the marketplace, where the various shopkeepers were beginning to close up. "Shite....it can' be THAT late!"
//Oh, that's right....it's a Sunday...no surprise they're closin' up early....// "Oh, bejesus...now where 'm I gonna' get somethin' for 'er?" He ran towards the nearest vender , keeping his eyes on his feet so that he wouldn't trip.... and then ran straight into an unmoving body, from which came a soft grunt of pain as the person toppled over next to him. Duo groaned and slapped his hand to his forehead. "My apologies...." He looked up as the person stood and extended a hand.
"No 'arm done, assured." Heero helped the other boy up and assisted in dusting him off. "I should'a been watchin' where I was goin' better. Can I buy ya a drink?"
A nervous laugh escaped from Duo's throat as he took in the cross hanging from the other's neck. "Eh, well, er, I...m' fine, truly am." He licked his lips; his mouth had gone dry. //Is the crucifix showing? Oh sweet Jesus, please don't let it be showing...//
Heero placed a hand on Duo's shoulders and guided him through the marketplace and into a small square with a moderate amount of tables and chairs, not to mention a delicious aroma wafting out from a large stand. Duo's mouth watered at the smell of food, and he tried desperately not to drool.
"Well...er...mebe we *could* sit down an' eat...but jus' fer a minute...."
Heero smiled and pulled out a chair for the other boy, waving a hand in the air. "Oiy, Seamus...! Bring us some food!"
A man poked his head out of the stall, grumbling yet smiling back at the dark-haired boy. "Aye, aye, that I will, but ye needn't be so commandin' bout it, lad! Two Seamus Surprises, on th' house!"
Duo's eyes widened as the man went back inside, and spoke out of the side of the mouth. "What's th' surprise?" He whispered across the table.
Heero leaned his elbows on the hard surface, his eyes twinkling conspiritaroliy. "I've been eatin' here for five years, an' I STILL can' get 'im t' tell me! I havn't died yet, tho'...so it ain't that bad!"
The other boy chuckled softly and gazed across the table. "So, um, ya haven't even tol' me your name! 'M Duo Maxwell." He stuck out his hand, and Heero took it, eyes widening at his new aquantaince's name.
"I'm Heero Yuy... did ye jus' say Maxwell?"
Duo nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Yea, why'dya want t'know?" Unbeknownst to him, his crucifix slid out from his shirt and dangled conspicuously below his collar, the silver glinting in the fading daylight.
"Listen...." Heero leaned across the table, forcing his face close to Duo's, and lowered his voice untill the other had to strain his ears to hear it. His eyes caught the glint of the sunlight on the crucifix, and he nodded inwardly, his guess confirmed. "Don' go near Maxwell Church tonite...gotcha?"
//Why am I telling him this?! He's a total stranger....but it feels like I've met him before...// He stood abruptly, knocking his chair over as he ran into a back alley, leaving Duo to stare after him with a mixture of apprehension and confusion.
"Wha..." Then, the reality of Heero's words hit him. "Sister 'Ellen! Father Maxwell...! The church!" //That BASTARD!// Duo jumped from his seat, racing in the direction of his section of Dublin, desperate to reach the church before Heero did. //He's got something planned... I know it... something's goin' t' happen to the church!// He gasped in pain as he felt his side beginning to cramp up. //I can't stop now... I have to... I have to...// The boy ran across a busy street, paying no heed to the angry drivers screeching to a halt just barely before hitting him.
The wind whipped at his long braid, causing strands of flowing brown hair to stream out behind him, and he reached up a hand impatiently to puch it back as he neared the turn that would return him to the church.
He skidded to a stop. At first, everything was silent. Then, in the growing darkness, Duo heard a scream, and a bright orange finger eased it's way out of the ramshackle old church. //Sister!// He broke into a dead run as a timber creaked loudly and then collapsed. A hand grabbed his arm, stilling his passage, and he stared angrily up at the perpetrator.
Cobalt eyes met violet blue in a warring clash of pain and hatred.
"I thought I tol' ye not t' come here t'nite..."
//How could he....?!// Duo stared at the scene before him, bright flames leaping from the windows, small children screaming, and a loud clang which he knew must be the chapel's precious crucifix falling from it's precarious place on the altar. //How...why....// One trembling hand groped for his crucfix as he fell to his knees. "Sweet Jes'us...only ye can 'elp us now..."
Maxwell Church was burning....
~TBC~