Creation
[Chapter Two]
The silence in the kitchen that morning was almost disturbing. Donavan had arrived at breakfast nearly ten minutes after the boy's had begun eating. He looked unrested and miserable, and not a word was muttered when the oldest boy slouched into his seat, resting both elbows on the table. Donavan was almost never quiet in the kitchen, in fact he was one who would discuss the plans for the day; who would be doing construction on the gundam, who would be helping Dr. J in the lap, and who would have cleaning duty all day. But today not one word was spoken. Donavan looked as though he was ready to collapse back in bed. His glasses remained crooked during breakfast, as if the boy had no energy to reach up and correct them. His short brown hair was untidy, however he was dressed in his work clothes. Donavan never passed up a day of work.
After breakfast Jeighden wordlessly cleared the dirty dishes from the table, despite his knowing that it wasn't his turn to rinse the dishes. Donavan had wandered off into the garage, and the boys could hear the clanging of tools; Donavan had already begun work. Jeighden paused in his rinsing to watch Keyle get up. He was sure Keyle wouldn't go into the lab. They hadn't heard word from Dr. J that it was all right to enter. Plus, no one was really eager to go into the room anyway. Instead of walking towards the lab like usual Keyle could only run a hand through his impossibly dark red hair and sigh. His unusual colored hair was just one of Keyle's qualities that made him the most attractive of the four boys. The color of dark blood, Keyle's hair was smooth and straight, yet sloppy as he settled a bit longer than an average boy's haircut. He had dark brown eyes and his skin was flawless, with no sign of freckles or even a mole or two. He stood even taller than Donavan, and had a slim, semi-muscular body. It was easily said that Keyle stood out among the four.
"Jeighden, you're in charge of clean up today. Roy and I will help Donavan with the gundam construction." Keyle said coldly. Jeighden bit his lip. That would mean he would be the only one available to help Dr. J in the lab if he needed it. He didn't want to go back into that room alone. He said nothing, however, not wanting Keyle to think he was a wuss. He hated it when Roy acted braver than him. Roy was supposed to be the small, weak little scared one!
Jeighden felt a tinge of jealousy as he watched Roy follow Keyle into the garage. He sighed, rinsing the suds off his hands before putting the dishes in the dishwasher. He started it up and hurried into the garage with the others. Realizing the bedroom might need tidying up, Jeighden hurried past the lab to the dorms, ignoring the glances from the other boys. Unfortunately, the dorm too was relatively clean. Even Roy had accomplished the task of making his bed that morning, and for once there weren't shirts and boxers thrown all around the floor. It made sense, everyone was a little nervous and didn't want J shouting at them for a messy bedroom, especially after he had just finished the operation.
Thinking about the operation got Jeighden nervous again. When was J going to come out of the lab? Would he bring the boy? Was the boy dangerous? Jeighden didn't often know what to think about Dr. J. Sure, he had kept the boys safe, but he often hurt them himself, whether it was for training or he was just plain annoyed. Jeighden glanced down at the claw shaped bruise J had left on his arm. He gently traced his fingers over it, then yanked them back as the pain hit. Or maybe it because he heard the door the kitchen creak open behind him.
Jeighden spun around instantly, edging up against the counter as he found Dr. J himself staring right back at him. A tiny groan erupted in his throat as he saw another pair of feet behind J. He went still as Dr. J stepped aside, revealing the boy, looking as tiny and helpless as before, a frightened expression on his delicate features. Jeighden's fear was washed away when he saw that the boy appeared to be even more frightened than he was. His fragile young body was clothed in a loose pair of plain gray pants combined with a similar long sleeved shirt. It looked like an outfit worn in prison. He torn his gaze away from the boy and back up to Dr. J.
"Jeighden, my boy. You seem to be the only one not occupied with something at the moment. How about taking Heero for a tour around the garage?" J suggested. Jeighden's brow quirked.
"Heero? That's his name?" He asked nervously. Jeighden had learned a lot about the martyred leader of the colonies in the history books J had forced him to read. He had a strong feeling J named the boy after him. What did that mean? He wasn't quite sure yet.
"Well," J said, resting his hand upon the boy's head, topped with a mass of unruly brown hair, "The boy doesn't know his real name. Isn't that right, Heero?" The boy responded with a mere nod. J smiled, and gave the boy a little push towards Jeighden.
"Jeighden's a good boy. I want you to stick around him for a while. I'll be back in an hour or so, and then we'll begin your studies." The boy gave another curt nod, and at that J left the kitchen, and the two boys stood facing each other awkwardly until the echo of J's footsteps could no longer be heard.
"So, uh, how old are you?" Jeighden asked casually, trying to cover up the awkwardness between them. He was a bit uneasy being in the same room alone with J's creation. After all, the only thing J couldn't really control were the boy's emotions.
"Almost nine...I think. It's been a long time since I kept track of my birthdays." Heero answered. Jeighden's eyes widened in shock. Almost nine? He was as old as he and Roy! Maybe even older. He was so small though, he looked only five or six. It didn't make sense. His voice, however, did seem closer to a nine year olds, and his speaking was advanced.
"Oh. Um, me too. Roy just turned eight too. I'm sure the three of us will get along fine." Jeighden said. He wrinkled his nose, "You should stay away from Donavan and Keyle though. They think they're all tough and stuff." He explained. A smile teased the edges of Heero's lips.
"Sure." He said quietly. The tiny smile disappeared as quickly as it came. The silence fell over them again. Jeighden shifted nervously on top his other foot. The real reason he wanted to keep Heero away from Donavan and Keyle was actually because of their reactions t the operation. Both boys saw Heero as some kind of threat; but as far as Jeighden could tell, the boy seemed harmless.
Heero, feeling a bit ignored, straightened his shirt and walked to the kitchen table. He had to nearly climb onto the chair, but finally was able to settle his tiny frame into a sitting position on the chair, elbows propped on the table, staring unconsciously into oblivion. Jeighden wiped a bead a sweat from his brow and approached the other end of the table, sitting across from Heero.
"Well, we can go on that tour if you want. You've already seen the lab," Jeighden paused, "there's not much else," he finished with a sigh. Heero shrugged. His eyes narrowed a bit.
"What about that machine?" Jeighden blinked.
"Oh, the gundam, you mean. Dr. J built it. Don't ask me why, because he won't tell any of us. He says only someone superior came pilot it." He had a pretty good idea that someone superior would be Heero. That must have been why Dr. J operated on him. J was too old to pilot something like that, and in no shape to do it, so he was simply going to take over Heero's body and do what he wanted to accomplish, then take credit for it in the end, assuming the results were good. Jeighden wanted to ask Dr. J why. Why Heero? Why hadn't he chosen Roy, or even himself? He felt guilty thinking about it. He felt guilty that he was grateful that the boy in front of him had been put through that torture and he hadn't.
Jeighden looked away from Heero, not letting him see the guilt in his eyes.
"Can I...see the gundam?" Heero asked hesitantly after the long gap of silence.
"I-I don't think that's a good idea. The guys are still there and they might give you a hard time. Just-just give some time to talk to them first." Jeighden lashed up from his chair, sidestepping over to the closed kitchen door.
"Why?" Heero asked, speaking as though he wasn't phased by Jeighden raising his voice. "What can they do to harm me?" Jeighden almost laughed, but settled for the huge grin that spread across his face.
"Well, my first couple days here I got mean looks from Donavan. Then one morning I woke up and I was surrounded by clippings of my own hair. The only hair left was a little bit around my ears. I looked like an old man." Jeighden frowned, "I guess he was just protective of his territory. J said he was pretty paranoid when he first picked him up off the streets."
"I don't blame him." Heero mumbled, "I can imagine the feeling of being in someone's care when you've never had anyone to care for you." A bewildered look crossed over Jeighden's features.
"What do you mean, "you can imagine?" J just took you in. Aren't you the least bit grateful?" Jeighden regretted the rods the instant they left his mouth. Why should he be grateful? Sure, J had taken him in. But he had also mutilated the boy. Heero didn't seem to mind though. His expression remained the same, and he looked at Jeighden, considering.
"No. I'm not grateful." He said after a moment of silence, "My life before coming here was similar to the life you boys are living here. All it resulted in was chaos." Jeighden frowned. What was that supposed to mean?
"What kind of Chaos?"
'Oh no.' Jeighden thought as he heard Keyle's voice behind him. Heero's eyes had shot right past Jeighden to the boy standing at the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, one foot propped on the wall behind him. Jeighden sighed and turned around.
"Keyle don't.." He begged.
"Quiet." The older boy walked towards the table, taking a seat next to Heero. He looked the boy over. Jeighden could sense his anger growing every second. He had a feeling the real reason Keyle didn't particularly like Heero. It wasn't because he thought this tiny boy was a threat. It was because Jeighden was not the one chosen. It was a boy, who looked smaller and weaker than Keyle had been at that age. Jeighden didn't understand it, but he had a strong feeling that Keyle had wanted to be the one operated on, wanted to be the one full of censor's have his body controlled, wanted to be the one in the spotlight.
"I don't see what's so special about you." He said.
"Keyle!" Jeighden objected again. But Keyle just sent him one of those looks that overpowered him every time. None of this seemed to phase Heero at all. He just sat there, taking in the boys' tension. This tension and awkward silence remained until the all three boys turned at the creaking of the door. Jeighden held his breath as he saw Dr. J walk into the kitchen. He was carrying a level one science and math book.
"Your mental training begins now, Heero. We'll wait a week or so for your physical training, giving you just enough time to recover from your operation. Understood?" J spoke, not even acknowledging that Jeighden and Keyle were in the room.
"Understood." Heero confirmed. Jeighden and Keyle exchanged glances. Jeighden wondered what Heero's physical training would involve. Would J hurt him with the censors? He didn't have anymore time to think about it before he felt Keyle tugging on his arm, dragging him out of the room. Jeighden caught a glance of J opening the science text book before Keyle yanked him out of the doorway.
Once into the garage Jeighden struggled out of Keyle's grip with a grunt of attitude.
"What is your *problem*? Are you *trying* to make Heero hate us?" Jeighden snorted.
"Of course not. Don't you realize that kid is going to grow up be powerful enough to crush our sculls?" Keyle spat. Jeighden's eyes widened a fraction.
"What? How can you know that? That's insane." He argued. Keyle sighed.
"I know because I've had a taste of what J calls "physical training." If J plans to train this kid until he's old enough to pilot the gundam he *will* be the ultimate killing machine, and all of our forces put together will not be able to stop him. We just need to show him *who* is in control."
"He's not a puppy you know, we can't *train* him to listen to everything we say. He's under J's control." Jeighden said. Keyle suddenly looked very grim.
"Well, then, we better pray to God that J doesn't have any intention of killing us when we're no longer needed."
"No!" Jeighden shouted, shoving Keyle as hard as he small body could. Tears streamed down his face.
"Heero won't hurt us!" He yelled. Keyle sighed, recovering from Jeighden's outburst. He turned his back.
"I sure hope not." He said before walking away, leaving Jeighden to drown in his own thoughts and emotions.
[end chapter two]
Next Chapter: Donavan meets Heero
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. However, Donavan, Keyle, Jeighden, and Roy are my creations, not that I would honest care that much if you took them. (which nobody is going to...*evil glare*)
Oh yeah, reviews are craved!!!!
~PC