Notes: Just to make this perfectly clear, I don't know where I'm taking this story. I'm just going with the flow so it will no doubt, become a long one with many-a-chapter. Hope it's enjoyed by all who read it.
Notes-the second: This chapter is a little shorter than previous chapters though to make up for the shortness, I will be updating again in the morrow. Enjoy what there is.
Warning: SLASH!-Yaoi. Whatever you people call it. Male/male relationships! Mild-angst. AU! I'll add more if I think it's necessary.
Five: Heero, Meet Shinigami.
"When do we have to be there?"
"8:30. It usually takes me ten to fifteen minutes to walk there but on the bike I think it'll take no more than five." Duo nodded thoughtfully.
"Ok. When do Joe and his other 'rough bullies' usually get there? And do they use a car?"
"They get there at 20 past 8 and yes, they all arrive in Joe's car. Why, what are you planning?" but Duo just grinned.
"Meet me out here at quarter past." With that said, he bolted up and into the Charlatan's house, leaving Heero shaking his head.
x-x-x-x-x
Duo removed the key from the pocket in his shorts and unlocked the front door. As soon as he stepped over the threshold he saw a very tired Mrs C looking as though she had just fallen out of bed, walking down the stairs. She paused at the foot and stared at him. She blinked once, then again, and again.
"G'morning Mrs C." he grinned at her cheerfully. She groaned and shook her head.
"What are you doing outside at this time in a morning Duo?" She asked as she descended the last step and eyed the clock on the wall that told the time '7:30'.
"Oh? I was up at a quarter past 6. I met Heero outside at half past, we went for a run and now I'm back." She just blinked and he laughed. "Go make yourself a coffee Mrs C, you look like you need a wake up call." She smiled blearily at him. "It's alright if I take a shower isn't it? I mean, I don't want to use up all the hot water."
"It's fine Duo. Go have a shower, but don't take too long. James and Morgan will be up soon." The teen nodded and bolted upstairs.
Twenty minutes after Duo had left to take a shower, he walked into the kitchen with a brush in his hand, a band around his wrist and the helmet he'd brought in yesterday. He set the helmet on the table and took a seat, beginning then to brush out his ridiculously long hair. He hadn't washed it in the shower because he didn't feel like going outside with wet hair. Cold's and Duo were a match made in hell. So they steered clear of one another at every opportunity.
"Do you want me to brush it out for you Duo?" Mrs C suddenly asked as she set down a mug of tea in front of him. He started slightly, not minding the fact that she wanted to help him, simply minding the fact that she wanted to touch his hair. So he was protective of it, with hair like that, who wouldn't be?
"Um…" He said intelligently and she chuckled, commandeering the brush from his hand.
"It'll be fine, I promise. I'll try not to pull to hard or break any of the hairs. It's just been too long since I've been able to brush out long hair." She smiled to the back of his head. "I'll braid it for you after." She added and gathered up the mass of chestnut waves. Then taking a firm hold on the brush, the started from the bottom (having to kneel on the floor to get to it comfortably) and worked her way up slowly.
Duo was in heaven. He hadn't had his hair brushed like this for years. Sister Helena used to do it for him but in that past few years she'd become increasingly busy with the Orphanage and other happenings and she just hadn't found the time.
Morgan-Roe stepped into the kitchen just as Mrs C was tying Duo's hair off at the end of the braid. "Aww," She moaned dramatically. "Can I do that tomorrow?" Duo grinned and winked at her.
"If you really feel the need to Roe. But I have to warn you, there's a lot of it there." The girl nodded her head, choosing not to comment on the name he used when referring to her and instead, buried herself in the take of devouring her breakfast. Duo watched her for a moment before shaking his head, smiling fondly. "Seriously, I love sweet things as much as the next person, but for breakfast? You have issues girl." He grinned at the scowl working its way over her face and laughed at the obscene finger gesture that followed. Luckily for the girl, Mrs C was looking away at that moment.
"What are your plans for tonight then Duo?" Mrs C asked as she joined the pair at the table. In her hands sat a fresh cup of a hot beverage that could be either coffee or tea.
"Well after school I'll come home, get changed and then run the extra three miles I missed this morning. Then I'll come home, shower and get ready for work." At the last statement Mrs C raised an eyebrow.
"You have a job?" She asked. "Sister Helena never mentioned it."
"Aye. She probably wouldn't feel it her place to tell you, lord knows why. I work at a café on the outskirts of Hartford. Four to five hours every night on a weeknight. I asked my boss for more but he refused, saying because of school work, he wasn't happy about giving me as much as he is. On a Saturday I work from 8am till half 1 in the afternoon. Then I come home, and go back at 4 to work an extra four hours." He shrugged at the odd looks he was getting from the two women present. "Its good money and I like it. Howard's great; he even helps me with the odd school assignment." Mrs C smiled brightly at him.
"That's great Duo. I'm glad you have a boss that understands the importance of School work." Duo grinned.
"Hey Roe, you know those rough bully guys at your school? Um… I think the leader is a guy called Joe?" Morgan nodded for him to continue. "Do you know where they park their car in the morning when they arrive at school?" His near-as-dammit-adoptive sister thought about the question for a moment before providing Duo with an answer.
"They like to show off. They park as close as they possibly can to the school entrance. The spaces surrounding the one they use are always empty because whenever a car pulls up there, the idiot's growl and tell them to, in a rather obscene manner of speaking, get lost."
"Great, thanks." Morgan eyed him suspiciously but the braided teen's attention was drawn away when Mr C entered the kitchen.
"Morning all." The man said brightly.
x-x-x-x-x
"Later Mrs C! Mr C!" Duo called out as he closed the front door of the Charlatan's house. He chuckled at the pair's worry over him giving Heero a ride to school. He'd spent the past five minutes explaining to them that he had a licence to carry a passenger and a further minute to stress that he'd be extra careful.
He stepped up to his bike and unlocked the under-seat compartment. He removed the helmet (plain black like his own) that he planned on giving to Heero to wear and set it down on the ground for a moment. He then went on to stuff his bag inside, beaming triumphantly when it fit snugly. He closed up the compartment and locked it up again. He then kneeled down and started to unlock the bike lock he'd put in place the previous day.
When that task was complete he curled the lock up expertly and tucked it away in the small box compartment at the very back of the bike before picking up both helmets and standing up.
"So this is Shinigami." The male voice Duo had come to recognise at Heero Yuy's spoke from her position at the Charlatan's gate. The owner of the aforementioned Shinigami looked around and saw the male half of the Yuy twin's stood cleaning against the fence. He grinned at the other teen as he started to move the bike down the drive way and through the fence-gate Heero had just opened for him.
"Aye, this is my baby." He handed Heero one of the helmets and straddled the bike. He then slipped his own over his head and clipped it into place. His new next door neighbour eyed the bike with a mixed air of awe and wariness. It was safe to say, at least in Duo's mind, that Heero had never been on the back of a motor bike before. "Jump on then." His tone told the other teen that Duo was in fact, grinning like an idiot. "She won't bite."
After taking a deep breath and clipping his helmet into place, the male half of the Yuy twin's seated himself behind the braided youth, clasping his arms tightly around the other's waist. He felt Dup shaking a little against his chest and frowned. He then realised that the teen in front of him was laughing.
"Don't laugh at me." He growled.
"I'm not laughing at you Heero. Just try not to be so tense." He inserted the key and turned once before kicking the kick-starter hard and shouting with unabashed joy as the engine roared to life. "This, Heero Yuy, is a work of art." He patted the leg of the boy behind him and took off in the direction his new school was. He was thanking himself though, for his initial joy when he first got the bike. He'd ridden almost everywhere within a 50 mile radius of the Orphanage, passing his new school as he did so. A helpful thing indeed.
As they rose, Duo felt Heero loosen up and grinned. "Enjoying yourself back there?" He shouted back so he was heard about the roaring purr of the engine.
"This is fantastic!" Heero replied loudly and Duo let out an overjoyed howl.
"This is freedom!"
Not 4 minutes after they had set off from outside the Charlatan's house, Duo eased Shinigami into the school student car park. He slowed almost to a halt at the entrance, looking around obviously in search of something and when he found his target, he smirked.
"Showtime buddy."
Written by Diluted Industry.