Warnings: Slightly scary, dark, shounen-ai later (1x2)

Note: Set in Victorian England. I dunno where it's gonna go. We'll just hope for the best, ne?

Elfindell

Chapter 5

Silence screamed in the house for several minutes. Heero's breath sounded like it raked the air harshly and his heart felt like it was trying to climb out of his mouth merely to escape. But he was sure that, beyond the silence, he could hear someone else's breathing and heartbeats. He stayed flat against the front door, too scared to move. But he was even more scared to stay. He had to find a way out.

On his right was the other shut door. Glancing around, searching for any sign of staring shadows, he crept forward to the shut door. Once again, the brass handle was colder than seemed natural. Keeping a close watch on the stairs and upstairs landing, Heero pushed the door open.

The room beyond was ominously empty as the first one had been. There was again another cold and swept hearth with a bare mantle. Several armchairs and a sofa were arranged around it. One wall was once again given over to books, but there were not as many as in the other room. There was a wooden chair up against one wall, beside the bookshelf. And there was a window. A window with the curtains drawn back which let the sunlight fall in a broad bar across the floor. If he could get to that window, he could climb out. He could see his house, standing on the other side of the iron railings like a large and beautiful church, welcoming and offering him safety.

He rushed forward to push the wooden chair against the window so that he could slimb up to open it.

"Relena would be really mad if she found you here."

Heero's blood froze in his veins. Icy fingers crept up his spine and he had to physically make the effort to carry on breathing. Slowly, as if his bones were frozen, he turned to face the source of the voice.

Sitting in the chair behind him was the wild child. Not a girl at all, a boy. A boy with unnaturally long hair that fell to his waist. His eyes were the unearthly windows to terror that Heero remembered piercing him to his soul through the letter box, darkened windows and shadows. The screamed an unearthly violet.

The boy sat as still as death, those horrific eyes so wide open it was unnatural. He seemed to be seeing right through Heero. The rest of the young boy's face was flat and devoid of any human response. His body was rigidly still, except for his right hand in which he was spinning a small wooden yoyo, up and down, up and down. The repetitive motion seemed eerie in its unchanging perfection. The boy was not looking at the yoyo or his hand as he effortlessly and thoughtlessly, it seemed, kept the yoyo in perfect synch. It never so much as shook on the string,

Heero couldn't get his breathing under control. He wanted to run, oh so badly. He wanted to get away from those eyes. But he couldn't move. He dared not turn his back on them.

The boy didn't move at all except for the yoyo in his hand. He never blinked.

"Who are you?" Heero managed to stammer, his voice quavering beyond his control.

"My name's Duo," the boy reported.

Silence, stillness.

Heero's limbs began to loosen. The boy made no move to hurt him. But his eeriness still chilled Heero's blood. "I'm Heero."

"I know."

Another silence. The yoyo kept spinning.

"You're not going to hurt me?" Heero asked in a small voice.

"No," the boy stated. "*I* don't want to hurt you Heero."

Heero felt an immense relief. He moved slightly and felt his blood start to pump calmly again. "You're good with your yoyo," Heero said, his young mind rejecting the eeriness of the unerring repetitive motion.

"Do you want a go?" the boy asked.

"Could I?" Heero brightened slightly. Once you got over the terrifying eyes which seemed to be showing much more than they should, this was just a little boy. A strange little boy, but a little boy none the less. And little boys like to play.

The boy nodded, catching the yoyo accurately in his hand. He held it out to Heero.

The other boy came forward, still rather cautiously for Duo's eyes still refused to blink or look away from Heero's face. Heero took the yoyo and admired it for a moment. It was a very good yoyo, good quality wood, strong string and the design of a leaping deer carved into the wood was smooth and accurate. It looked near new. Heero realised this was the same yoyo that had rolled from Relena's basket the previous week.

Heero threaded the string onto his finger and gave the yoyo an experimental flick. He laughed to himself as he managed a full up and down motion without it wobbling too much. "This is a good yoyo," Heero observed. The boy didn't answer. Heero carried on playing with the yoyo. "I've got one, but it's not as good as this."

"Would you like to keep it?" Duo asked.

Heero looked up, all fear of the strange boy completely washed away by such generosity. "Really? No fooling?"

The boy nodded. His face was still eerily flat and his eyes staring and unblinking, but Heero no longer noticed it.

"Thank you!" he said, clutching the little wooden toy to his chest as if it were a precious jewel. "But I have nothing to give you."

The boy almost looked human for a second. He almost looked shy as he finally glanced away from Heero to stare at the floor and asked softly. "You could stay and play with me for a while. I have some tin soldiers upstairs."

Heero nodded eagerly. The boy almost smiled. His eyes never blinked. Heero looked down once again at his new yoyo. When he looked up, the boy was gone. Heero frowned, turned around twice, looking to see where he'd gone. When he faced the chair again, the boy was there. He had made no noise. His sudden reappearance made Heero jump. He soon forgot the strangeness though when he saw that the boy clutched in his small arms no less than half a dozen tin soldiers, with hats and everything.

He smiled slightly and clutched his yoyo. He knew, deep down, that there was still something to be afraid of here. Also, the front door was locked and he was still trapped here. There were still scary books and the shadows were still thick in the air. But right now, Heero was content to play with the tin soldiers. He ignored his sense of foreboding. He never relinquished his grip on his new toy.

TBC

More here than meets the eye, ne? You'll never guess it…Do you want me to carry on??