Of Comedies and Tragedies
Part 5 – I stand on my own
"Duo? You in?" Trowa banged on the door when he found out the doorbell was not working.
It seemed that the banging had not worked either. He stood back at the doorstep feeling stranded, bag hanging on one shoulder, papers clutched in one hand. He bent forward at the window, head tilted, trying to catch a glimpse of the interior of the house through the small gap of the curtains. Duo had to be somewhere in there; there was nowhere else he could turn to. But it was no use trying to peek through a glass into a place darker than the one he was at.
Trowa leant onto the door and sighed. Was he going to wait here the whole day for Duo to answer the door he freaking ignored for 20 minutes for some reason? He had three tasks on hand. There was no doubt of backing out now that he was here.
He set aside his bags and papers and began looking about around the front door. He remembered Duo hid a spare key outside just in case he gets locked out. Living alone has its disadvantages.
He carefully dug out the soil of the dying plant hanging by the door. No sign. He placed the soil back and lifted the rug. No keys. He then felt about the underside of the window and found a protruding surface. It was the key stuck glued to the underside by a black masking tape. How Duo-like, Trowa mused.
The prized key was in his hands now. He carefully slotted it in to the keyhole and turned. Sweet. The door swung inwards to allow Trowa to enter. He picked the stuff lying on the floor and threw them onto the old couch in the living room. He held on to the papers.
Duo was nowhere in sight. He slid the keys into the back of his jeans pocket and began to search the small house for Duo. Trowa scanned the house. It was not a mean feat. Three guesses to where Duo is and no second look. Trowa's answer was unquestionably his room, his room and his room. It used to be his grandma's room though, before Duo moved in to it. Trowa never did ask why Duo did that. But he roughly understood why, he was as morbid as Duo in that sense. That was perhaps why they clicked so well.
He pushed the door inwards all the way to reveal one Duo lying on the bed, ears occupied with headphones blasting loud music from an mp3 player clutched in the hand of the arms covering his eyes. Trowa quietly stalked towards the unknowing Duo and raised a finger to poke at his sides without disturbing the bed. The result was a highly-strung Duo who jumped about 1 foot off the bed, tearing off his earphones and landing on the bed on fours, scanning about the room with slightly perturb eyes. He frowned at the figure sitting by his bed.
"Trowa!" he snapped, throwing his pillow onto Trowa's face. Trowa did not duck, instead, he grabbed the half-heartedly thrown pillow and propped it on his lap.
"Hey you." Trowa said, one corner of his lip slightly uplifted.
"How did you get in here?" Duo demanded.
"Why didn't you come to school?" Trowa countered.
Duo's eyes narrowed but comment no further.
"So why did you come?" Duo started, his tone took a turn of being genuinely curious.
"I thought it would be obvious." Trowa mocked a disappointing face and shook his head. "Your best friend is here to visit and that's all ask him."
"Don't pull that friend thing on me, Tro. You don't do that friends stuff. So, tell me, why are you here?" he peered at Trowa, body propped up with two hands.
Trowa smacked the pillow on his lap onto Duo's face. Duo was too stunned to move, staying still for a moment while the pillow fell between them. He blinked twice and then tried to retaliate when Trowa shoved a load of papers in front of his nose.
"Tell me it's not what I think it is..." Duo stopped halfway between them. He buried his face into the pillow and groaned. The papers landed on his head. He pushed them away without raising his head.
"Your fault for skipping school so frivolously. Not all are assignments, though. Two letters on top are for you. I'm thirsty." Trowa stood up and walked towards the door.
Duo's head snapped up, "Letters? For me? Don't tell me it's some complaint or absence letter. I am on medical leave, you know?" he called after Trowa's back, which had disappeared into the kitchen.
"You that worried? You were the one deciding to skip school, read them first. You want any drink?" Trowa called from the kitchen.
"Soda, in the fridge! Would you be so kind to boil me a kettle of water at the same time? I am kind of running low in drinking water." Trowa shook his head in resignation as he set about the task of boiling water.
Duo shifted his attention to the envelopes. He noted that nothing was written on both envelope and then, carefully, ripped off one side of the envelopes. He poured out the contents onto the bed. He picked one up to read at random.
Trowa returned to the room armed with two cans of soda. He threw one can towards Duo who caught it deftly with one hand. Trowa sat down on one edge of the bed leaning on the headboard while Duo laid on his stomach, feet towards Trowa, silent in reading.
The kettle whistled. Trowa poured the rest of the content in the can down his throat and ran to the kitchen. When he was back in the room, Duo was kneeling in a pile of paper, looking up at him in a shocked daze.
"Something wrong?" Trowa raised an eyebrow at Duo.
"I...gods...Trowa, what the hell happened?" Duo was shaking his head away, climbing towards Trowa.
"You know that new guy Quatre? He said he's in our class." He said as he stopped to kneel in front of the standing Trowa.
Trowa nodded.
Duo continued in an awed hush, "He gave me five hundred bucks to cover my medical bills!"
Trowa's eyes widened slightly. He had foreseen that coming, though. He grinned at Duo, "And that's not a good thing?"
"But..."
"Accept it. He was guilty like crazy over your absence in school. You should see it. This will make him feel better. He's rich anyway, he got picked up by a chauffeur after school." Duo gave him that look. "Yeah. That sort of rich."
"But this..." Duo looked at the check in his hands. Trowa nudged his arm. He then hesitantly set it aside at the bed stand.
Trowa noted he avoided looking at the other letter.
"What about the other letter? What did it say?" Trowa pointed to the letter at Duo's feet.
Duo did not answer. Instead, he picked the letter up and shoved it in front of Trowa. He took the letter and read the contents.
"Do you think like he does?" Duo asked immediately after Trowa lowered the paper.
"About the adoption part? I don't think I can say the same since I don't think Catherine will want you. Besides, I don't really want a brother like you." He got a smack on his head for that.
Trowa was an orphan like Duo. Except, unlike Duo, he never got to know who were his parents. All his life he lived in an orphanage in Duo's and his town. A nun in his orphanage, named Catherine, took a liking to him and adopted him as her brother when he turned ten. And it was the two of them ever since.
"Not that part." Duo said, "the Solo part..." this was spoken more subdued.
Trowa placed his hands on Duo's shoulders. "Honestly? I don't know. I am not Solo. We don't even know why he left. But I know you won't want to admit the part even if it turns out to be true."
"You think he's not coming back too, don't you? You think I should take up Wufei's offer, don't you? You know, I know for a fact he will." the last sentence was spoken almost in whisper.
Trowa sighed internally.
"He said it isn't a permanent arrangement. When Solo comes back, his parents will withdraw the adoption thing. It will be a temporary solution." He drew Duo into his embrace. Duo clung instinctively onto him like he was the only thing supporting him.
"When Solo comes back..." Duo repeated slowly as though it would disappear any moment if he spoke too fast.
"It's been 4? 5 months since he left? Duo, you are barely 16. Too young to live alone, too old to be adopted. His parents are kind enough to offer you a chance at life. Don't cling onto the wrong hope. Think carefully about it."
Duo did not answer. But Trowa knew what Duo was thinking. Morbid. Like he was.
I do not own Gundam Wing or anything of it. I only own the plot (if it exists).
A/N: Yep. Heero's in! Eh... when is he appearing anyway? scratches head Soon I hope.