Chapter eleven
"Duo man, did you see her?"
"Dude, you're in for some serious shit now."
"What in Christ on a fucking crucifix's name is going on here!" Heero's last remark brought silence into the group, and titters from some of the ladies standing next to them.
Duo went up to the priest and had a quite word, then headed back.
"Let's get out of here."
"But-"
"Just let's go, ok?"
"Yeah, ok." Wufei hung his head and scuffed his shoe against the ground. His wife would be ma-ad at the scuff, but he could deal with that later. This was more important.
Once the group had moved into a more secluded spot in the cemetery, where by the looks of it not even the groundkeeper dared enter, they all sat down. Duo, Heero, and Quatre sat on grave markers; Wufei perched on the edge of a crypt, swinging his legs and Trowa just sat spread-eagled on the floor. The only sound that touched them was the breeze moving gently through the bushes, and birds singing in the trees. The sun beat down on them gently and they removed their hot jackets.
"It was her." Wufei was the first to break the sunny silence.
"Definitely Lily."
" But who was the guy?"
"Looked a bit like duo in his youth." Quatre pointed out the obvious.
"Maybe Lily went in for a bit of cloning herself." That was Trowa, forever being the ray of sunshine.
"It wasn't her."
"Who was it then man? I mean it was definite-"
"Goddammit Heero, it wasn't her!"
"Duo, we all saw her with our own eyes." Quatre said kindly.
"Well, you saw lily, but think about it. She's dead. Has been for about twenty years. Who else could it have been?" duo knew the question would be met with blank stares, but he asked it anyway.
"Duo, she was kinda, well individual remember? I mean, did you see the way her eyes glinted different colours? Those eyes. They were the green of the deep sea, mixed with the colour of fresh spring grass."
"Didn't know you were quite so poetic Chang. Think. Who else had eyes like that?" duo ignored the blank stares and went on. " And how old was that girl there? How old was lily when she died? How old would she be now if she had escaped death somehow?"
They all seemed to have reverted back into the 15-year-olds they had been. Heero was scowling and kicking at grass, Quatre was looking thoughtfully at the clouds and Trowa was just looking sad. Wufei had climbed onto the top of the crypt and was walking around the ornate archangel statue. It was slightly creepy, the statue had its arms raised up and it was holding the limp body of a woman, offering her to the sky. Its face spoke of righteousness and glory. He peered down to take a look at the inscription. When he read it, he took another look at the statue, his mouth and eyes forming O's of something not quite shock, but damn close. The angel was a woman, with long sweeping hair and robes that billowed. Her flicked up nose was an attractive feature, and the shadows made her eyes dance and seem to be of different colours. He read the inscription again; his eyes widening, and then backed away fast. Except, he had forgotten he was standing on a ledge about two feet wide and promptly fell off the edge. At his yelp and the ensuing thump the pilots rushed round the crypt and cracked up with laughter. Even Quatre had a small giggle at the other ex-pilot's misfortune. Wufei brushed himself off and mumbled something under his breath, something, which sounded remarkably like 'weaklings'.
"What did you do that for?" Quatre sounded plenty bemused, but could already guess the answer.
"Didn't do it on purpose asshole." Yop, he'd got it in one.
"But what made you fall off?" this time it was Trowa's turn.
Wufei hesitated. "Just slipped. Come on, what were we talking about?"
They took up the thread again immediately.
"She'd have been 34 last April."
"And how old did that girl there look?" as he made his point, he looked at each of the pilots. They were all looking like little kids, trying to fix a puzzle that was too big for them. Finally, Trowa spoke.
"Couldn't been older'n 18."
"She's 17. And she's not lily, but damned close. Now think about it."
"But lily was about that age when she died!"
"Are you suggesting that she came back from the dead?"
"No, not exactly. But god Duo, what is it then?"
"Think about it. That boy, what was his role? Think about how he looked, what he said, and his relationship with the girl."
"They were just singing together." Wufei was sulking, and rubbing his back.
" No! No! I remember!" Quatre hopped off his stone excitedly, and began pacing. " He said, 'my sister and I.' And his hair, it was too black to be natural. He must've dyed it."
"Well done Watson. Now, put them together."
"Ok, girl, estimated age, 17. Long blonde hair, weird green eyes, cute straight nose, -"
"Lily had an upturned nose." Wufei interjected then gave a shudder. When he saw the other men's faces, he just shrugged and repeated himself. "Lily's nose was upturned. But still cute."
"All right, straight nose. Boy, sibling, tallish, cobalt eyes, dyed black hair, looked like Duo in his youth-" as realisation dawned on Quatre, his mouth dropped open and he pivoted slowly on the spot to look at Duo. His friend's head was bent and his hands were clasped loosely in his lap, his elbows resting on his knees. As Quatre turned, Duo looked up, his face half hidden in shadow and his eyes just peering from beneath his hair sadly.
"Yeah." He stated simply.
"Not. Possible." Quatre was stunned.
"It is. Possible that is. And true." Duo let his head hang once more and a curtain of hair closed of his face.
"Ok Sherlock Holmes," said Wufei "you guys may know whats going on here, but I don't. Someone spill the beans."
No one said anything, but Quatre stared at Duo, who in turn stared at the ground. All the other pilots looked at Duo, each puzzling out the riddle in his mind. Trowa was the first to figure it out. The click as his mind registered the facts and put them in order was almost audible.
"No, fucking, way. No, there's just no way."
Duo just looked up and nodded. Trowa put his head into his hands and started to mutter to himself.
Next came Wufei.
"You mean. she, they.for real?" his eyes took up his whole face and one glance at Duo assured him that it was true.
Now all the pilots were looking at Heero. He glared back, but after about thirty seconds, his face softened, his jaw dropped, and his eyes became huge.
"Fuck no man! You said you weren't doing that shit! What the fuck happened to them? Jesus Christ, what've they had to live with?" he wasn't shouting, but his voice trembled with anger.
"I don't know. I hope they somehow escaped. I don't want to think about what life was like for them."
"Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. I don't think they escaped. Remember, they were singing that hymn, the one that goes ' I hope they hang him on high, I hope they hang him in they morn, I hope they hang him on high, For all the things he's done.' Man, I think they were sending you a message."
"That's wonderful Quatre. Really fucking helpful. Thanks for being the eternal ray of sunshine." Heero said angrily.
"Just pointing out facts man. Just pointing out facts. " He said, then shrugged.
"But why would they hate him so much? I mean, somehow they figured out he's their father, why aren't they happy to meet him again?" Quatre asked, still staring up at they sky, as if the clouds would tell him the answers.
"Yeah, good question. But the world is full of good questions, what we need are some good answers." It was Trowa's turn to look at the sky. As he gazed to his side at his ex lover's profile, he felt a shiver, of what? Longing.love.loss.or all the above?
"You never read it did you? That night, you never read the letter did you?"
"Never read what? What are you talking about?" Wufei jumped off the gravemarker he was sitting on and made his way to Duo's side.
"What is it man?" he grabbed the man by the shoulders and shook him slightly.
Duo shrugged his hands away and reached into the pocket off his jacket, which he had left on the floor. He withdrew a small envelope, which had at one point been blue, and was now a faded off white with watermarks. He handed it to the Chinese pilot. But suddenly Wufei didn't want to know what Duo was talking about. He wanted to hand the letter back and say 'hey, I was just kidding, you can keep those skeletons in their closets.' But he knew that was not how the shit would go down. His hands shook as the other pilots crowded behind him, shook as he opened the flap and withdrew a letter, shook as he regarded the bright blue paper. He carefully unfolded the letter, and gazed at the small neat handwriting before he started to read.
"Duo man, did you see her?"
"Dude, you're in for some serious shit now."
"What in Christ on a fucking crucifix's name is going on here!" Heero's last remark brought silence into the group, and titters from some of the ladies standing next to them.
Duo went up to the priest and had a quite word, then headed back.
"Let's get out of here."
"But-"
"Just let's go, ok?"
"Yeah, ok." Wufei hung his head and scuffed his shoe against the ground. His wife would be ma-ad at the scuff, but he could deal with that later. This was more important.
Once the group had moved into a more secluded spot in the cemetery, where by the looks of it not even the groundkeeper dared enter, they all sat down. Duo, Heero, and Quatre sat on grave markers; Wufei perched on the edge of a crypt, swinging his legs and Trowa just sat spread-eagled on the floor. The only sound that touched them was the breeze moving gently through the bushes, and birds singing in the trees. The sun beat down on them gently and they removed their hot jackets.
"It was her." Wufei was the first to break the sunny silence.
"Definitely Lily."
" But who was the guy?"
"Looked a bit like duo in his youth." Quatre pointed out the obvious.
"Maybe Lily went in for a bit of cloning herself." That was Trowa, forever being the ray of sunshine.
"It wasn't her."
"Who was it then man? I mean it was definite-"
"Goddammit Heero, it wasn't her!"
"Duo, we all saw her with our own eyes." Quatre said kindly.
"Well, you saw lily, but think about it. She's dead. Has been for about twenty years. Who else could it have been?" duo knew the question would be met with blank stares, but he asked it anyway.
"Duo, she was kinda, well individual remember? I mean, did you see the way her eyes glinted different colours? Those eyes. They were the green of the deep sea, mixed with the colour of fresh spring grass."
"Didn't know you were quite so poetic Chang. Think. Who else had eyes like that?" duo ignored the blank stares and went on. " And how old was that girl there? How old was lily when she died? How old would she be now if she had escaped death somehow?"
They all seemed to have reverted back into the 15-year-olds they had been. Heero was scowling and kicking at grass, Quatre was looking thoughtfully at the clouds and Trowa was just looking sad. Wufei had climbed onto the top of the crypt and was walking around the ornate archangel statue. It was slightly creepy, the statue had its arms raised up and it was holding the limp body of a woman, offering her to the sky. Its face spoke of righteousness and glory. He peered down to take a look at the inscription. When he read it, he took another look at the statue, his mouth and eyes forming O's of something not quite shock, but damn close. The angel was a woman, with long sweeping hair and robes that billowed. Her flicked up nose was an attractive feature, and the shadows made her eyes dance and seem to be of different colours. He read the inscription again; his eyes widening, and then backed away fast. Except, he had forgotten he was standing on a ledge about two feet wide and promptly fell off the edge. At his yelp and the ensuing thump the pilots rushed round the crypt and cracked up with laughter. Even Quatre had a small giggle at the other ex-pilot's misfortune. Wufei brushed himself off and mumbled something under his breath, something, which sounded remarkably like 'weaklings'.
"What did you do that for?" Quatre sounded plenty bemused, but could already guess the answer.
"Didn't do it on purpose asshole." Yop, he'd got it in one.
"But what made you fall off?" this time it was Trowa's turn.
Wufei hesitated. "Just slipped. Come on, what were we talking about?"
They took up the thread again immediately.
"She'd have been 34 last April."
"And how old did that girl there look?" as he made his point, he looked at each of the pilots. They were all looking like little kids, trying to fix a puzzle that was too big for them. Finally, Trowa spoke.
"Couldn't been older'n 18."
"She's 17. And she's not lily, but damned close. Now think about it."
"But lily was about that age when she died!"
"Are you suggesting that she came back from the dead?"
"No, not exactly. But god Duo, what is it then?"
"Think about it. That boy, what was his role? Think about how he looked, what he said, and his relationship with the girl."
"They were just singing together." Wufei was sulking, and rubbing his back.
" No! No! I remember!" Quatre hopped off his stone excitedly, and began pacing. " He said, 'my sister and I.' And his hair, it was too black to be natural. He must've dyed it."
"Well done Watson. Now, put them together."
"Ok, girl, estimated age, 17. Long blonde hair, weird green eyes, cute straight nose, -"
"Lily had an upturned nose." Wufei interjected then gave a shudder. When he saw the other men's faces, he just shrugged and repeated himself. "Lily's nose was upturned. But still cute."
"All right, straight nose. Boy, sibling, tallish, cobalt eyes, dyed black hair, looked like Duo in his youth-" as realisation dawned on Quatre, his mouth dropped open and he pivoted slowly on the spot to look at Duo. His friend's head was bent and his hands were clasped loosely in his lap, his elbows resting on his knees. As Quatre turned, Duo looked up, his face half hidden in shadow and his eyes just peering from beneath his hair sadly.
"Yeah." He stated simply.
"Not. Possible." Quatre was stunned.
"It is. Possible that is. And true." Duo let his head hang once more and a curtain of hair closed of his face.
"Ok Sherlock Holmes," said Wufei "you guys may know whats going on here, but I don't. Someone spill the beans."
No one said anything, but Quatre stared at Duo, who in turn stared at the ground. All the other pilots looked at Duo, each puzzling out the riddle in his mind. Trowa was the first to figure it out. The click as his mind registered the facts and put them in order was almost audible.
"No, fucking, way. No, there's just no way."
Duo just looked up and nodded. Trowa put his head into his hands and started to mutter to himself.
Next came Wufei.
"You mean. she, they.for real?" his eyes took up his whole face and one glance at Duo assured him that it was true.
Now all the pilots were looking at Heero. He glared back, but after about thirty seconds, his face softened, his jaw dropped, and his eyes became huge.
"Fuck no man! You said you weren't doing that shit! What the fuck happened to them? Jesus Christ, what've they had to live with?" he wasn't shouting, but his voice trembled with anger.
"I don't know. I hope they somehow escaped. I don't want to think about what life was like for them."
"Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. I don't think they escaped. Remember, they were singing that hymn, the one that goes ' I hope they hang him on high, I hope they hang him in they morn, I hope they hang him on high, For all the things he's done.' Man, I think they were sending you a message."
"That's wonderful Quatre. Really fucking helpful. Thanks for being the eternal ray of sunshine." Heero said angrily.
"Just pointing out facts man. Just pointing out facts. " He said, then shrugged.
"But why would they hate him so much? I mean, somehow they figured out he's their father, why aren't they happy to meet him again?" Quatre asked, still staring up at they sky, as if the clouds would tell him the answers.
"Yeah, good question. But the world is full of good questions, what we need are some good answers." It was Trowa's turn to look at the sky. As he gazed to his side at his ex lover's profile, he felt a shiver, of what? Longing.love.loss.or all the above?
"You never read it did you? That night, you never read the letter did you?"
"Never read what? What are you talking about?" Wufei jumped off the gravemarker he was sitting on and made his way to Duo's side.
"What is it man?" he grabbed the man by the shoulders and shook him slightly.
Duo shrugged his hands away and reached into the pocket off his jacket, which he had left on the floor. He withdrew a small envelope, which had at one point been blue, and was now a faded off white with watermarks. He handed it to the Chinese pilot. But suddenly Wufei didn't want to know what Duo was talking about. He wanted to hand the letter back and say 'hey, I was just kidding, you can keep those skeletons in their closets.' But he knew that was not how the shit would go down. His hands shook as the other pilots crowded behind him, shook as he opened the flap and withdrew a letter, shook as he regarded the bright blue paper. He carefully unfolded the letter, and gazed at the small neat handwriting before he started to read.