Hello again! Time for another chapter of Beauty and the Beast. Nothing much to say, so on with the show! Oh yeah; last chapter there was a bit of a problem with something or other, so the line divider thingies didn't quite show up. There was supposed to be one between the part where Duo falls asleep and then they're playing in the leaves and all that. Just so you know. I'll try to fix that when I get home.
—
Duo quickly tugged a randomly selected shirt on over his head, pulling his braid out from the collar. Ignoring the complaints coming from the wardrobe on his choice of clothing, he darted out the door with a huge grin. Normally he wouldn't be in such a rush to get down to breakfast, but today was special. The Beast had promised to give him a tour of the castle, something Duo had longed for since his second day in the palace. He tore down the hallway and slid down the banister, now thoroughly wiped down by the many servants that had been ushered out of their long, boring vacation and back into cleaning the stone mansion from top to bottom for the guest. Duo jumped the last couple feet, landing neatly on his toes and then zipping down to the dining room. He plopped down into his chair and waited eagerly for the Beast and for breakfast to arrive. After waiting a couple of minutes, Trowa hopped into the room sporting a rather shocked expression.
"Duo? You're up awfully early."He said with as much surprise in his voice as was possible for the stoic candlestick. He took a moment to try and figure out what was so special about that particular day, then remembered. "Oh that's right, he's going to show you around today, isn't he?" Duo nodded, his grin widening. "Sure took him long enough. It's been almost a month since you got here. I guess I'll go tell them to get breakfast ready." With that Trowa bowed once, then disappeared back into the kitchen. Not long after, the Beast made his appearance. He came down the staircase slowly, measuring his steps and holding the banister in one hand. He was making a grand effort to walk upright, and managed to get all the way to the main floor without stumbling to losing balance. It had been so long since he'd bothered taking the stairs on two feet, but something about Duo's presence at the castle made him try harder to revert back to his old human habits. The Beast told himself if was just because he was spending time around another human being that made him act that way, but something at the back of his mind seemed to think there was something more to it than that.
As the Beast came down the stairs, Duo couldn't help but watch. He'd exchanged his usual green tunic for a long white shirt that buttoned up and billowed at the sleeves, and it was apparent that one of the servants must have dressed him. The stately, navy blue dress-pants and dark marine collar draped around his shoulders hinted at a slightly more fashion-wise mind having selected the Beast's wardrobe. Quatre rolled out of the kitchen on a cart with the breakfast trays, following Duo's bewildered gaze and grinning.
"You like it?" He whispered to the boy, guiding a goblet of orange juice to its place, "I picked it out for him last night." Duo merely gaped.
"How'd you convince him to wear something so nice?"
"I sorta... hid all his other clothes..." Quatre giggled, then went back to arranging the silverware as his master neared.
"Were you talking about me?" The Beast boomed, feeling extremely self-conscious as he confronted Duo. Unable to lie, Duo declared that he most certainly had been, and that he'd never seen the Beast looking more distinguished. Once the flattery was turned on, Heero shied away from the pair of gossipers and sat down to eat his breakfast. He sulked right through his scrambled eggs, trying to hide the fact that he was pleased at the compliment, and complained loudly every few minutes that Duo spoke too much. Able to see right through the ploy, the long-haired boy simply grinned and continued chatting with Quatre. Once the Beast had finished with his bacon, he rose and turned to leave. Duo was up in a second and at his side, grinning.
"So, where to first? The dungeon, the torture chamber, the pantry...?" The beast sighed, hiding a smile.
"The study." He replied simply, pointing out landmarks as they navigated the hallways, little things that separated one nearly identical corridor from the other. Duo tried his best to memorize each one as they passed dozens of spare bedrooms, noticing with amusement that none of the extra chambers were nearly as nice as the once he was bunked in. Then he remembered it had been chosen with the thought that he was a girl, and that the Beast had probably originally planned to seduce him with fancy rooms and fine cuisine, or something. His face fell a bit, and the Beast assumed that Duo was bored. That in mind, he sped up his pace and opened the door to a dusty old room. "We're here. The study." Duo stuck his head in and looked around. The room had a single bookshelf, the shelves spotted here and there with the occasional book about law and politics and boring things like that. A wide desk sat at the center of the room, decorated only with a dried pot of ink and a long forsaken eagle-feather quill. Duo stepped inside and explored the titles of the books longingly, wishing that there might be something jammed in there by accident that was worth reading. The Beast watched Duo explore curiously. "You like books?"
"I love them." Duo replied, wiping the dust off of a gray spine and wrinkling his nose. "Well, not all of them. 'The Art of Accounting' doesn't seem much of a thriller.
"Then what kinds of books do you like?" The Beast inquired, instantly thinking of his magnificent library and wondering why he'd failed to mention it to the boy.
"Fantasy," Duo replied instantly, a light appearing in his violet eyes that Heero rarely saw, "Books about enchanted forests and brave warriors, about beautiful princesses guarded by dragons and monsters, and great treasures, and-"
"Alright, I get the idea." The Beast muttered, a hint of amusement showing itself in his tone. He glanced out the dirty window and frowned. "I hate winter." Duo raised and eyebrow and looked up from his bookshelf-searching to see what had made the Beast announce his dislike for the coldest season. Upon laying his eyes upon the outside, Duo grinned.
"It's snowing!" The Beast huffed, leaning against the doorframe.
"Don't remind me." He mumbled, earning a confused look from Duo.
"What's wrong with snow?"
"It's cold and wet."
"So? It's also perfect for building snowmen, and making snow angels, and snowballs!"
"And snowpie and snowsheep and snowplates?" The Beast retorted sarcastically. "You could stick 'snow' onto any word and you'd think it's incredible." Duo sighed.
"You're missing the point!"
"So?"
"Never mind." Duo resigned with a sigh, rolling his eyes and making his way out the study door. "Where to now?" The Beast paused, considering, when a light suddenly turned on somewhere in his head.
"A surprise." He stated, smiling enough that Duo was almost overflowed with joy at the thought.
"Didn't know you were capable of creativity." He commented, but grinned nonetheless. "Let's go then!" The Beast led him back out into the hallway, and then up several flights of stairs. They wandered down several more corridors and at last, the Beast stopped at a set of huge doors.
"Okay, close your eyes." Duo did as he was told, wondering what on earth the Beast had in mind for a 'surprise'. He heard a door being opened, and then was led inside. "Are your eyes closed?" Duo nodded, wiggling a bit in anticipation. "Okay... okay... open them." When Duo lifted his eyelids, his jaw popped open momentarily. He was standing in the largest library he'd ever imagined. There had to be millions of books in that massive room. A pair of twin staircases wound up to a second floor, and a large balcony perched overhead. The bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling on every square inch of wall, and the colours of the book spines lit up the room like a thousand rainbow-hued candles. He spun around a full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees, his eyes darting from book to book. Duo looked up and saw that a huge dome-shaped skylight made up the middle of the ceiling, and smiled so widely that his jaw hurt. The Beast grinned quietly.
"Consider it yours. You... like it?" He asked softly, suddenly realizing that one man's prison could be another man's kingdom. Duo turned back to the Beast and suddenly embraced him in a hug, throwing his arms around his shoulders and smiling bright enough to make the sun turn green with envy.
"I love it! Thank you!" Duo exclaimed, pulling away again, quickly drawn to the nearest bookcase. Heero watched him for a moment, wondering why his heart had just skipped a beat and why he felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Did Duo even realize he'd just embraced a monster? A horrible beast that kept fair maidens locked away in towers? The kind of creature that Duo's storybook heros were sent on missions to kill? Maybe he didn't realize. 'Or maybe...' the Beast thought wistfully... 'he didn't care.'
—
Later that night, Heero found his way downstairs to the kitchen. He knew it would be too late for any servants to be awake; save, of course, a deviant pair that thought their Master was oblivious to their midnight pastimes. Heero pushed open the door and made his way quietly to the back closet where the food was kept, slinking on all fours. Not only did he want to catch that pair off guard, he wanted the other servants to be unaware of what he was about to ask. He eased open the pantry door, and slipped inside. A small voice made itself known, asking if the other had heard something. There was a pause, and then the two continued what they had been doing. The Beast suddenly lit a match and whispered monotonously: "Boo." Trowa and Quatre pulled away from one another, caught red handed.
"It's not what it looks like!" Trowa declared instinctively, biting his lip nervously. "He had something in his eye!"
"Shush." Heero hissed, sitting down. "I already knew." Quatre squeaked a bit, afraid of what their master would make of such sinful behavior. "Relax. I'm not mad." The truth was, it had kind of creeped him out a bit when he first found out, but decided to let it slide. Now he needed advice on something he was too ashamed to admit to, and needed someone who might understand his plight. "I need to... to ask you something." Trowa raised a glob of wax on his face that was equivalent to an eyebrow.
"In the middle of the night in the pantry?" He asked, automatically moving closer to Quatre now that he wasn't afraid of discovery or punishment.
"Well, I don't want anyone else hearing, and I needed to ask you two specifically."
"Okay," Quatre said, now curious, "ask away."
"Well you see I ..." Heero began, fidgeting nervously, "I was wondering... how do you tell if you're... well... funny?" The two gave him strange stares, and he elaborated. "Funny like... like... you two. Different, you know?" Trowa frowned, but it dawned on Quatre suddenly.
"Like not being interested in girls?" He whispered, afraid that someone might hear. Heero nodded ashamedly, looking at his feet.
"Because I think I might be... I'm not sure."
"It's Duo, isn't it?" Quatre whispered suddenly, a small smile appearing on his face. Maybe things could work out after all.
"Well... yeah..." The Beast mumbled, shuffling his feet. "I don't really understand... I just... I want to make him happy, because I like to see him smile, you know? His eyes are all... pretty... and he doesn't treat me as though I'm a monster... and well, I just have this feeling inside whenever he looks at me, or...or touches me..." he bit his lip, remembering the hug earlier that day, "and I don't know if it means I'm... strange... like you..." Quatre smiled, suppressing the 'awwww' that came with seeing the Beast develop a crush on someone.
"I think so." He replied, sidling closer to Trowa without realizing it. "Those kinds of feelings are sort of... the precedent to love..." With this Heero saw the little teacup send an unmistakably admiring gaze in the direction of a particular candle holder.
"Okay..." the Beast muttered, sighing heavily. "But now there's another problem... what if he's not like that?" Trowa frowned slightly.
"Don't worry about that tonight. You should get to sleep. We can try to find out for you, okay?" Heero nodded numbly, then found his way out of the pantry again, going back up to the West Wing to get some rest. Trowa turned back to Quatre as soon as the door was closed, smiling a rare mischievous smile.
"Now... where were we?"
—
-End Chapter- Woohoo! Major cuteness, hugs, and Heero in billowy shirts! Yaaay! Not to mention some 3 x 4 thrown in there! Aww... everyone snug the little Quatre. He's so cute. :3 Anyways, leave a review, and I'll try to get back to any questions you have! By the way, I hope you don't mind that I'm leaving out the "be our guest" scene, purely because I cannot see Trowa breaking out in song. Hehehe. Be my guest, take the test, leave reviews just like the rest! Keep on reading I'll be writing, and I'll always try my best!
—
Duo quickly tugged a randomly selected shirt on over his head, pulling his braid out from the collar. Ignoring the complaints coming from the wardrobe on his choice of clothing, he darted out the door with a huge grin. Normally he wouldn't be in such a rush to get down to breakfast, but today was special. The Beast had promised to give him a tour of the castle, something Duo had longed for since his second day in the palace. He tore down the hallway and slid down the banister, now thoroughly wiped down by the many servants that had been ushered out of their long, boring vacation and back into cleaning the stone mansion from top to bottom for the guest. Duo jumped the last couple feet, landing neatly on his toes and then zipping down to the dining room. He plopped down into his chair and waited eagerly for the Beast and for breakfast to arrive. After waiting a couple of minutes, Trowa hopped into the room sporting a rather shocked expression.
"Duo? You're up awfully early."He said with as much surprise in his voice as was possible for the stoic candlestick. He took a moment to try and figure out what was so special about that particular day, then remembered. "Oh that's right, he's going to show you around today, isn't he?" Duo nodded, his grin widening. "Sure took him long enough. It's been almost a month since you got here. I guess I'll go tell them to get breakfast ready." With that Trowa bowed once, then disappeared back into the kitchen. Not long after, the Beast made his appearance. He came down the staircase slowly, measuring his steps and holding the banister in one hand. He was making a grand effort to walk upright, and managed to get all the way to the main floor without stumbling to losing balance. It had been so long since he'd bothered taking the stairs on two feet, but something about Duo's presence at the castle made him try harder to revert back to his old human habits. The Beast told himself if was just because he was spending time around another human being that made him act that way, but something at the back of his mind seemed to think there was something more to it than that.
As the Beast came down the stairs, Duo couldn't help but watch. He'd exchanged his usual green tunic for a long white shirt that buttoned up and billowed at the sleeves, and it was apparent that one of the servants must have dressed him. The stately, navy blue dress-pants and dark marine collar draped around his shoulders hinted at a slightly more fashion-wise mind having selected the Beast's wardrobe. Quatre rolled out of the kitchen on a cart with the breakfast trays, following Duo's bewildered gaze and grinning.
"You like it?" He whispered to the boy, guiding a goblet of orange juice to its place, "I picked it out for him last night." Duo merely gaped.
"How'd you convince him to wear something so nice?"
"I sorta... hid all his other clothes..." Quatre giggled, then went back to arranging the silverware as his master neared.
"Were you talking about me?" The Beast boomed, feeling extremely self-conscious as he confronted Duo. Unable to lie, Duo declared that he most certainly had been, and that he'd never seen the Beast looking more distinguished. Once the flattery was turned on, Heero shied away from the pair of gossipers and sat down to eat his breakfast. He sulked right through his scrambled eggs, trying to hide the fact that he was pleased at the compliment, and complained loudly every few minutes that Duo spoke too much. Able to see right through the ploy, the long-haired boy simply grinned and continued chatting with Quatre. Once the Beast had finished with his bacon, he rose and turned to leave. Duo was up in a second and at his side, grinning.
"So, where to first? The dungeon, the torture chamber, the pantry...?" The beast sighed, hiding a smile.
"The study." He replied simply, pointing out landmarks as they navigated the hallways, little things that separated one nearly identical corridor from the other. Duo tried his best to memorize each one as they passed dozens of spare bedrooms, noticing with amusement that none of the extra chambers were nearly as nice as the once he was bunked in. Then he remembered it had been chosen with the thought that he was a girl, and that the Beast had probably originally planned to seduce him with fancy rooms and fine cuisine, or something. His face fell a bit, and the Beast assumed that Duo was bored. That in mind, he sped up his pace and opened the door to a dusty old room. "We're here. The study." Duo stuck his head in and looked around. The room had a single bookshelf, the shelves spotted here and there with the occasional book about law and politics and boring things like that. A wide desk sat at the center of the room, decorated only with a dried pot of ink and a long forsaken eagle-feather quill. Duo stepped inside and explored the titles of the books longingly, wishing that there might be something jammed in there by accident that was worth reading. The Beast watched Duo explore curiously. "You like books?"
"I love them." Duo replied, wiping the dust off of a gray spine and wrinkling his nose. "Well, not all of them. 'The Art of Accounting' doesn't seem much of a thriller.
"Then what kinds of books do you like?" The Beast inquired, instantly thinking of his magnificent library and wondering why he'd failed to mention it to the boy.
"Fantasy," Duo replied instantly, a light appearing in his violet eyes that Heero rarely saw, "Books about enchanted forests and brave warriors, about beautiful princesses guarded by dragons and monsters, and great treasures, and-"
"Alright, I get the idea." The Beast muttered, a hint of amusement showing itself in his tone. He glanced out the dirty window and frowned. "I hate winter." Duo raised and eyebrow and looked up from his bookshelf-searching to see what had made the Beast announce his dislike for the coldest season. Upon laying his eyes upon the outside, Duo grinned.
"It's snowing!" The Beast huffed, leaning against the doorframe.
"Don't remind me." He mumbled, earning a confused look from Duo.
"What's wrong with snow?"
"It's cold and wet."
"So? It's also perfect for building snowmen, and making snow angels, and snowballs!"
"And snowpie and snowsheep and snowplates?" The Beast retorted sarcastically. "You could stick 'snow' onto any word and you'd think it's incredible." Duo sighed.
"You're missing the point!"
"So?"
"Never mind." Duo resigned with a sigh, rolling his eyes and making his way out the study door. "Where to now?" The Beast paused, considering, when a light suddenly turned on somewhere in his head.
"A surprise." He stated, smiling enough that Duo was almost overflowed with joy at the thought.
"Didn't know you were capable of creativity." He commented, but grinned nonetheless. "Let's go then!" The Beast led him back out into the hallway, and then up several flights of stairs. They wandered down several more corridors and at last, the Beast stopped at a set of huge doors.
"Okay, close your eyes." Duo did as he was told, wondering what on earth the Beast had in mind for a 'surprise'. He heard a door being opened, and then was led inside. "Are your eyes closed?" Duo nodded, wiggling a bit in anticipation. "Okay... okay... open them." When Duo lifted his eyelids, his jaw popped open momentarily. He was standing in the largest library he'd ever imagined. There had to be millions of books in that massive room. A pair of twin staircases wound up to a second floor, and a large balcony perched overhead. The bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling on every square inch of wall, and the colours of the book spines lit up the room like a thousand rainbow-hued candles. He spun around a full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees, his eyes darting from book to book. Duo looked up and saw that a huge dome-shaped skylight made up the middle of the ceiling, and smiled so widely that his jaw hurt. The Beast grinned quietly.
"Consider it yours. You... like it?" He asked softly, suddenly realizing that one man's prison could be another man's kingdom. Duo turned back to the Beast and suddenly embraced him in a hug, throwing his arms around his shoulders and smiling bright enough to make the sun turn green with envy.
"I love it! Thank you!" Duo exclaimed, pulling away again, quickly drawn to the nearest bookcase. Heero watched him for a moment, wondering why his heart had just skipped a beat and why he felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Did Duo even realize he'd just embraced a monster? A horrible beast that kept fair maidens locked away in towers? The kind of creature that Duo's storybook heros were sent on missions to kill? Maybe he didn't realize. 'Or maybe...' the Beast thought wistfully... 'he didn't care.'
—
Later that night, Heero found his way downstairs to the kitchen. He knew it would be too late for any servants to be awake; save, of course, a deviant pair that thought their Master was oblivious to their midnight pastimes. Heero pushed open the door and made his way quietly to the back closet where the food was kept, slinking on all fours. Not only did he want to catch that pair off guard, he wanted the other servants to be unaware of what he was about to ask. He eased open the pantry door, and slipped inside. A small voice made itself known, asking if the other had heard something. There was a pause, and then the two continued what they had been doing. The Beast suddenly lit a match and whispered monotonously: "Boo." Trowa and Quatre pulled away from one another, caught red handed.
"It's not what it looks like!" Trowa declared instinctively, biting his lip nervously. "He had something in his eye!"
"Shush." Heero hissed, sitting down. "I already knew." Quatre squeaked a bit, afraid of what their master would make of such sinful behavior. "Relax. I'm not mad." The truth was, it had kind of creeped him out a bit when he first found out, but decided to let it slide. Now he needed advice on something he was too ashamed to admit to, and needed someone who might understand his plight. "I need to... to ask you something." Trowa raised a glob of wax on his face that was equivalent to an eyebrow.
"In the middle of the night in the pantry?" He asked, automatically moving closer to Quatre now that he wasn't afraid of discovery or punishment.
"Well, I don't want anyone else hearing, and I needed to ask you two specifically."
"Okay," Quatre said, now curious, "ask away."
"Well you see I ..." Heero began, fidgeting nervously, "I was wondering... how do you tell if you're... well... funny?" The two gave him strange stares, and he elaborated. "Funny like... like... you two. Different, you know?" Trowa frowned, but it dawned on Quatre suddenly.
"Like not being interested in girls?" He whispered, afraid that someone might hear. Heero nodded ashamedly, looking at his feet.
"Because I think I might be... I'm not sure."
"It's Duo, isn't it?" Quatre whispered suddenly, a small smile appearing on his face. Maybe things could work out after all.
"Well... yeah..." The Beast mumbled, shuffling his feet. "I don't really understand... I just... I want to make him happy, because I like to see him smile, you know? His eyes are all... pretty... and he doesn't treat me as though I'm a monster... and well, I just have this feeling inside whenever he looks at me, or...or touches me..." he bit his lip, remembering the hug earlier that day, "and I don't know if it means I'm... strange... like you..." Quatre smiled, suppressing the 'awwww' that came with seeing the Beast develop a crush on someone.
"I think so." He replied, sidling closer to Trowa without realizing it. "Those kinds of feelings are sort of... the precedent to love..." With this Heero saw the little teacup send an unmistakably admiring gaze in the direction of a particular candle holder.
"Okay..." the Beast muttered, sighing heavily. "But now there's another problem... what if he's not like that?" Trowa frowned slightly.
"Don't worry about that tonight. You should get to sleep. We can try to find out for you, okay?" Heero nodded numbly, then found his way out of the pantry again, going back up to the West Wing to get some rest. Trowa turned back to Quatre as soon as the door was closed, smiling a rare mischievous smile.
"Now... where were we?"
—
-End Chapter- Woohoo! Major cuteness, hugs, and Heero in billowy shirts! Yaaay! Not to mention some 3 x 4 thrown in there! Aww... everyone snug the little Quatre. He's so cute. :3 Anyways, leave a review, and I'll try to get back to any questions you have! By the way, I hope you don't mind that I'm leaving out the "be our guest" scene, purely because I cannot see Trowa breaking out in song. Hehehe. Be my guest, take the test, leave reviews just like the rest! Keep on reading I'll be writing, and I'll always try my best!