Author: Sparkle Itamashii
Title: Stay with Me
Warnings: Respect the rating. See profile for details.
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing AC is NOT MINE.
Chapter Three
I knocked sharply on the door, frustration still boiling just under the surface. There was something strange going on and there was only one person I knew who would be able to figure out what. He was one of those eccentric old men who knew everything there was to know regardless of how obscure- even if he had to make it up to know it. If there was anyone I know I could tell anything to, it was him.
Footsteps groaned on the floorboards inside the apartment and the sound of locks and bolts being undone echoed in the silent hallway. I tapped my foot impatiently and tried to wait. "Howard, come ON. It's me!"
The door swung open and I was faced with the man I'd come to see. Howard. He was somewhere in his sixties, graying hair styled in a ridiculous way and rich blue eyes that understood far more than his silly smile told. He backed up enough for me to flit inside before he started sliding home the bolts. I glanced around the messy apartment- one bedroom, small living space, and a kitchen tucked into the corner- and smiled at the sheer number of books he'd managed to acquire.
Howard was one of those people who craved knowledge like most people craved water. He bought any book that caught his eye or looked remotely like it would have any sort of interesting information. Books from all over the world coated every surface, not all of them in English. In all the house there was one chair that was clean of reference material- a huge, worn armchair in the middle of the room. It was like an island in a sea of clutter. Very, very useful clutter as it had proved many times.
"What brings you here, Duo?" He finally asked as he ushered me to the couch. "You haven't been by in weeks! Not since you brought by that pretty little blonde thing you've been paling around with."
"I know and I'm sorry." I cleared a seat, shifting part of a pile of books to the floor before taking a seat practically on top of the rest of the pile. "Work's been hell and I haven't had much time."
"You've been to the club." He held up a hand as I started to protest. "I'm not accusing." He leaned back after sitting in his favorite, raggedy blue arm chair. "So what's on your mind?"
I groaned, dropping backwards and letting my head thunk against the back of the couch. "I'm going crazy."
"Aren't we all…" he chuckled in that rich, throaty way old men always do.
"I think I'm seeing things." I croaked. "I went to the club last night and I saw this guy…" I sat up, looking directly at him. "Howard, he was bloody gorgeous."
He gave me a wry grin. "Naturally you went over to talk."
"Yeah, but I didn't get very far because he wouldn't respond… It was like talking to a brick wall."
"So some boy is immune to the Maxwell charm and you think you're going nuts?" He laughed. "Isn't that a little far fetched?"
"It would be if that was the problem." I ran my fingers through my bangs and sighed. "I finally left and went back to Quatre. When I asked him if he'd seen the guy I'd been talking to, he said no."
"He missed seeing him. So?" Howard knew I was leading to something but he wanted to make me say it flat out instead of letting him assume anything.
"No, he said there wasn't anyone there. I'd been alone at the counter. So I thought either I'm hallucinating or he was. I went back again tonight with Hilde and Relena and almost the same thing happened. I saw a boy neither of them would admit to seeing."
"Have you seen him anywhere else?" Howard asked after a moment of consideration.
"No, just the club." I could practically hear the gears turning in his head. I knew that if I just waited long enough he would be able to find answer, some sort of solution that would put everything into perspective.
"Did he speak at all?"
"A few words." I smiled dryly. "He told me to go away."
"Is it possible that the others simply missed seeing him? Dance clubs are very crowded. Might their attention have been elsewhere while you were talking?"
"No." I replied almost instantly. "Quatre watched me while I went to get a drink and Relena and Hilde both claimed I was standing on the floor alone."
He nodded, the fingers of one hand stroking his graying goatee. After a moment of silent contemplation he shook his head. "Ghost?"
I groaned. "There's no such thing as ghosts, Howard. He was having a drink at the bar. Ghosts don't handle scotch glasses."
"If there's no such thing as ghosts, how do you know they don't handle scotch glasses?" He loved playing devil's advocate but as always it only earned him a flat look from me. "All right, all right. Rule out ghosts if you will. What about astral projection?"
"Astra-what?" I mimicked, confused. I had never even heard the term before, much less knew what it meant.
"Astral projection." He said as if it were common knowledge. "A person goes into a trance and allows their… 'spirit,' if you will, to go wandering the physical plane. As I understand it not everyone can see these projections. Maybe this boy is doing that and you happen to be receptive."
I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat and tried to tell if he was joshing me or not. "People really do that?"
"I can't say as I've ever done it, but it's a theory at least." He pointed out reasonably.
"So you think some guy put himself in a trance so he can go hang at the club?" I asked skeptically.
"Maybe he didn't put himself in the trance. It could have been involuntary as in the case of a coma or head injury."
"Don't you think that's a little far fetched?" I echoed his earlier words. "Besides, that still doesn't explain how he'd be able to hold a scotch glass."
"Your little glass certainly does complicate matters." Howard agreed. "I'm afraid I'll have to think on it a little longer if you want another explanation. Why don't you get some sleep and I'll call if I find anything useful."
I sighed, putting my face in my hands. He let me sit in silence like he always did, allowing me to process and try to remember any other questions I may have had. Nothing came, though; only blank, lonely space. Whoever that boy was, whatever he was doing at the club, I wasn't going to find any more answers tonight. The best thing to do would be to get some sleep just like Howard had suggested. Who knew; maybe it would actually help.
"Do you suppose it would hurt to go back to the club at night and try to talk to him again?" I asked wearily, raising my head.
"If you don't think it'll scare him away, I don't see why not." During the time I'd been thinking, he had picked up one of the hundreds of books and started reading. "Maybe just confirming that you're the only one who can see him would be a better idea, though."
Shit, he was right. I groaned- if I was going to be at the club every night trying to figure this out there was no way I could juggle this ordeal and my job. "Yeah. I think I'll call in dead this week. I'm not going to get anything done at work."
"So you'll stop by in the next few days, right?" He asked, eyes twinkling as he teased me.
Grinning, I nodded. "Actually, old man, yeah. I will." I clambered to my feet and hopped away from the couch as books slid down to occupy where I'd just been. "So you'd better find something useful."
"Have I ever let you down?"
It was maybe that knowledge more than anything that comforted me. He had never let me down- not once. I had known Howard since I was a little kid, back when my parents were alive. He was very good friends with my mother- so close that she had made him my godfather when I was born. My parents had been taken from me when I was twelve, after their return plane went down in flames. I had been transferred to Howard's care for the next six years of my life and I hadn't looked back. Naturally I still turned to him for advice- sometimes I even followed it.
I knew I needed sleep so I was actually going to listen to his advice this time and get some. I hadn't gotten half as much sleep as I normally got, which was usually only half as much as I needed. I had just barely managed to make it in the door to my own apartment before exhaustion hit me full force. I foggily registered Solo, my shadow of a black cat, weaving about my feet as he begged for attention. I hadn't been home for more than a few hours at a time in days, so as far as he was concerned I owed him some loving care.
Picking him up, I rubbed behind his ears with my fingernails as I kicked off my shoes and headed for the bedroom. Immediately he began purring, a thick, rattling sound I thoroughly enjoyed. I missed spending time doing nothing but listening to that purr.
I traveled to my room, thinking about how I could get up early and call work to let them know my plans for the week. I'd have to come up with a pretty good excuse, despite how lenient they usually were with allowing vacation time. I could definitely use some quality time with Solo before I had to figure out this anomaly; cats were good at helping me think. I would just head to the club when it started getting dark.
But that, I thought as I stretched out on the bed with Solo and ran my hand over his silky fur as he curled up to sleep, that could wait until tomorrow.
/End Chapter Three, Stay with Me/
Notes:
Writing away… This is looking to be fairly short (thank god) so hopefully it'll get done fast, yay! I'm still a little lost after finishing Storm but… Well, lots of other things are demanding attention now so hopefully that'll mean lots of updates! Thank you to all those who have reviewed this so far!
