A/N: You know the drill. None of 'em are mine. Eventually this will probably be shounen ai (1+2, poss. 3+4). Please R&R.
Shinigami Waits
Heero looked at the building in front of him with something of a sneer. It was an elaborately constructed Catholic church - beautiful of course, but anyone could just break in through *that* window, sneak in through *that* loose point in the roof... but he wasn't here to point out its bad points. Or to burglarize the place, appealing though the idea seemed. He'd heard too many rumours about the church's occupant for that.
He heard a noise behind him and whirled around, heart pounding. He'd have to admit that even he found this cemetery creepy, with its rows upon rows of disintegrating and weed-covered gravestones. Especially in the half-light of sunset, when shadows constantly moved and changed like (he forced back a slight shudder) ghosts. The noises (*almost* certainly just some dumb little animal) didn't help either, and it was no wonder that so many people thought the place was haunted.
"So what do you want?" The voice came from the shadows, a little way to Heero's left. He turned towards it and heard a sardonic laugh. "Nice try."
"Huh?"
The voice came from his right now and he turned again, peering into the shadows but seeing nothing. "Don't bother, you won't see me. Why are you here?" Heero was silent, staring intently into the darkness as if sheer force of will could bring the stranger into view. "C'mon, you can tell me. You're clearly not here to see someone you knew. Mourners go straight to the gravestone they know, they tend to wear black, and anyway -" the voice broke off into a cheerful, infectious laugh which sounded morbidly out of place in the quiet cemetery - "people don't usually carry a gun when they go cry over their dear departed auntie."
He jumped, one hand going automatically to the pistol in his jacket pocket. "Wha... how did..."
"I just know stuff, 'K? What I don't know - and what you *still* haven't told me - is what the hell you think you're doing here." The voice took on a hint of impatience. "Just quit stalling and answer the frickin' question."
"I wasn't sta-" There was a low growl from the shadows, and Heero interrupted himself hastily. "I wanted to find out if the rumours are true. Which rumours are true. Why you're (well, I guess they mean you) haunting this church. And I wanted to ask you a few questions."
"Ask away, but I reserve the right not to answer."
"Who... *what*... are you?"
"Smart kid, good question. My name's Duo Maxwell. I run, I hide, I never lie. That's just about me in a nutshell."
"So what are you?"
"Damn." The stranger chuckled a little. "You got me on that one."
"Well?"
There was a pause, then: "I plead the Fifth." So Duo (if that was really his name) was American. Heero had guessed as much from his accent.
"Are you mortal?"
Another pause, longer this time. "...No."
"Why do you stay here?"
There was a much longer pause this time, and when Duo finally spoke he sounded as if he was talking from a great distance. "To remember what should never have been forgotten and forget what should never have happened."
"Very profound. Were you ever human?"
"Not as such."
"What does that mean? It was a simple yes or no question."
"There was a time when I thought I was human but it turned out I wasn't, and there I've been told several times that I think too much like a human."
"So how old are you?"
"Shee, kid, don't you know anything about etiquette? That kinda question ain't polite."
"Not to ladies. You don't sound like a lady."
"Shit, I should hope not. Since you ask, I'm seventeen."
"Seventeen?" Heero blinked. "So... how long have you been seventeen for?"
"Another smart question. Not much gets past you, does it? Several thousand years, last time I looked."
"...Right. Uh, do you think you could come out where I can see you? I kind of feel like I'm talking to myself here."
"No." That was it. No explanation, no smartass remarks (which Heero had already come to expect), just 'No'.
"Why not?" He was getting tired of looking into the shadows, and besides he was curious about what Duo really looked like. Given Heero's luck, he was probably a three-eyed carnivorous monster or something. A widely accepted theory in the area was that the church's inhabitant was a vampire and, given what Duo had told him, he wouldn't be surprised if that was true.
"Why should I stand there getting stared at on the whim of some dumb kid?"
Heero clenched his fists but didn't retaliate. Anger never solved anything. "What do you have to hide from?"
"Everything. Nothing."
Heero was about to comment on Duo's irritating tendency towards cryptic, meaningless answers when he heard the clank of the cemetery gate and an all-too-familiar banshee shriek.
"HEEEEEEEEEEERO! Are you here? Heeeeeero, if you're here, come back! Why do you want to hang around some horrible graveyard anyway? It's all dark and creepy and full of *dead* people... Heeeeeeerooooooooo..."
Heero swore viciously. "Sorry 'bout this, I have to go." There was no response from the shadows and he decided that Relena must have scared the... whatever he was... away. How the hell did she know he was in the cemetery anyway? "Uh, I'll come back. Probably tomorrow."
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRROOOOOOOOO!!!"
"OK, Relena, I'm here." Halfway to the gate he turned back towards the shadows. "See you tomorrow, Duo."
"Hi Heero, geez, like what took you so long? I, like, went to your house? And you weren't there? But your friend, uh, like I forgot his name but he has this blond hair? In last year's style, y'know? And he's all, 'no, he's not here but he said he was going to the cemetery' and I'm all, like, why, and he's all, 'I have no idea'. What were you doing here, Heero?"
Heero crouched to tie a shoelace. "Nothing."
"Oh, like you just like graveyards? Eew."
"It's *quiet*." If that wasn't a desparate plea to shut up, he didn't know what was. He finished tying his shoelace in silence and they were about to leave the cemetery when he felt a light touch on his arm.
"See you tomorrow, Heero Yuy." whispered a quiet voice in his ear. "You better show up. Oh, and if you refer to me as 'nothing' again I'll break your legs."
Despite the whiny, annoying Valley Girl bitch clinging to his arm, despite the fact that it was cold and dark despite the fact that he had school tomorrow and had done no homework, Heero smiled.
~TBC
Shinigami Waits
Heero looked at the building in front of him with something of a sneer. It was an elaborately constructed Catholic church - beautiful of course, but anyone could just break in through *that* window, sneak in through *that* loose point in the roof... but he wasn't here to point out its bad points. Or to burglarize the place, appealing though the idea seemed. He'd heard too many rumours about the church's occupant for that.
He heard a noise behind him and whirled around, heart pounding. He'd have to admit that even he found this cemetery creepy, with its rows upon rows of disintegrating and weed-covered gravestones. Especially in the half-light of sunset, when shadows constantly moved and changed like (he forced back a slight shudder) ghosts. The noises (*almost* certainly just some dumb little animal) didn't help either, and it was no wonder that so many people thought the place was haunted.
"So what do you want?" The voice came from the shadows, a little way to Heero's left. He turned towards it and heard a sardonic laugh. "Nice try."
"Huh?"
The voice came from his right now and he turned again, peering into the shadows but seeing nothing. "Don't bother, you won't see me. Why are you here?" Heero was silent, staring intently into the darkness as if sheer force of will could bring the stranger into view. "C'mon, you can tell me. You're clearly not here to see someone you knew. Mourners go straight to the gravestone they know, they tend to wear black, and anyway -" the voice broke off into a cheerful, infectious laugh which sounded morbidly out of place in the quiet cemetery - "people don't usually carry a gun when they go cry over their dear departed auntie."
He jumped, one hand going automatically to the pistol in his jacket pocket. "Wha... how did..."
"I just know stuff, 'K? What I don't know - and what you *still* haven't told me - is what the hell you think you're doing here." The voice took on a hint of impatience. "Just quit stalling and answer the frickin' question."
"I wasn't sta-" There was a low growl from the shadows, and Heero interrupted himself hastily. "I wanted to find out if the rumours are true. Which rumours are true. Why you're (well, I guess they mean you) haunting this church. And I wanted to ask you a few questions."
"Ask away, but I reserve the right not to answer."
"Who... *what*... are you?"
"Smart kid, good question. My name's Duo Maxwell. I run, I hide, I never lie. That's just about me in a nutshell."
"So what are you?"
"Damn." The stranger chuckled a little. "You got me on that one."
"Well?"
There was a pause, then: "I plead the Fifth." So Duo (if that was really his name) was American. Heero had guessed as much from his accent.
"Are you mortal?"
Another pause, longer this time. "...No."
"Why do you stay here?"
There was a much longer pause this time, and when Duo finally spoke he sounded as if he was talking from a great distance. "To remember what should never have been forgotten and forget what should never have happened."
"Very profound. Were you ever human?"
"Not as such."
"What does that mean? It was a simple yes or no question."
"There was a time when I thought I was human but it turned out I wasn't, and there I've been told several times that I think too much like a human."
"So how old are you?"
"Shee, kid, don't you know anything about etiquette? That kinda question ain't polite."
"Not to ladies. You don't sound like a lady."
"Shit, I should hope not. Since you ask, I'm seventeen."
"Seventeen?" Heero blinked. "So... how long have you been seventeen for?"
"Another smart question. Not much gets past you, does it? Several thousand years, last time I looked."
"...Right. Uh, do you think you could come out where I can see you? I kind of feel like I'm talking to myself here."
"No." That was it. No explanation, no smartass remarks (which Heero had already come to expect), just 'No'.
"Why not?" He was getting tired of looking into the shadows, and besides he was curious about what Duo really looked like. Given Heero's luck, he was probably a three-eyed carnivorous monster or something. A widely accepted theory in the area was that the church's inhabitant was a vampire and, given what Duo had told him, he wouldn't be surprised if that was true.
"Why should I stand there getting stared at on the whim of some dumb kid?"
Heero clenched his fists but didn't retaliate. Anger never solved anything. "What do you have to hide from?"
"Everything. Nothing."
Heero was about to comment on Duo's irritating tendency towards cryptic, meaningless answers when he heard the clank of the cemetery gate and an all-too-familiar banshee shriek.
"HEEEEEEEEEEERO! Are you here? Heeeeeero, if you're here, come back! Why do you want to hang around some horrible graveyard anyway? It's all dark and creepy and full of *dead* people... Heeeeeeerooooooooo..."
Heero swore viciously. "Sorry 'bout this, I have to go." There was no response from the shadows and he decided that Relena must have scared the... whatever he was... away. How the hell did she know he was in the cemetery anyway? "Uh, I'll come back. Probably tomorrow."
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRROOOOOOOOO!!!"
"OK, Relena, I'm here." Halfway to the gate he turned back towards the shadows. "See you tomorrow, Duo."
"Hi Heero, geez, like what took you so long? I, like, went to your house? And you weren't there? But your friend, uh, like I forgot his name but he has this blond hair? In last year's style, y'know? And he's all, 'no, he's not here but he said he was going to the cemetery' and I'm all, like, why, and he's all, 'I have no idea'. What were you doing here, Heero?"
Heero crouched to tie a shoelace. "Nothing."
"Oh, like you just like graveyards? Eew."
"It's *quiet*." If that wasn't a desparate plea to shut up, he didn't know what was. He finished tying his shoelace in silence and they were about to leave the cemetery when he felt a light touch on his arm.
"See you tomorrow, Heero Yuy." whispered a quiet voice in his ear. "You better show up. Oh, and if you refer to me as 'nothing' again I'll break your legs."
Despite the whiny, annoying Valley Girl bitch clinging to his arm, despite the fact that it was cold and dark despite the fact that he had school tomorrow and had done no homework, Heero smiled.
~TBC