For the benefit of those that have never seen 'SKoW', I thought I'd tell you a little bit about the original film. Firstly, it was made in 1987 and was one of director John Hughes' 'teen' flicks. Some of you might remember one of his other films, 'The Breakfast Club', which was in a similar vein and (I think) slightly more well known that SKoW.
The two protagonists are Keith (Heero's character) and Watts (Duo's character). (To SilverShinigami: Duo's character is actually a girl so I'm sure you'll be fine if you watch it with your parents! ) Wufei's character also exists in the film; his name's Duncan and he was played by the guy who was Casey Jones in the first Ninja Turtles film (sad movie trivia for you!). He provides most of the comic relief.
Quatre and Trowa were just added so that all of the Gundam boys were present (plus I couldn't resist including such a cute couple!). And that leads me to reason that the following chapter has taken slightly longer for me to write – I had to think most of it up for myself!! The scene with Heero and Duo in the club is part of the film and frankly I couldn't wait to get to it. I can only pray that my version conveys the angst felt by the two main characters in the original film.
Anyway, I'll stop rambling now. Thanks again for all your reviews and I hope you enjoy the next instalment! Swordy.
Some Kind of Wonderful - Part 7
Tuesday night and, as had been the case for the last week or so, Heero was nowhere to be found. Normally on a school night, the Japanese boy would either be working at Darnell's, studying under his father's watchful eye or hanging out with Duo at either of their houses. As is often the way with long-time friends, they never actually made plans to spend time together but very rarely spent any time apart. So for Heero to be absent yet again without giving Duo any indication as to what he was doing instead was pretty much unheard of. Duo for one wasn't happy about it.
To prevent himself from going insane with boredom and loneliness, Duo had taken to hanging out with Quatre and Trowa of an evening instead. On that particular Tuesday, he had accepted Quatre's invitation to join them for something to eat at the local diner but had found that his appetite had suddenly deserted him when the conversation turned to Heero. The concerned couple watched as Duo pushed his fries around on his plate in an uncharacteristic display of sulkiness.
"Tell him", Trowa said flatly, peering at the unhappy boy through long brown bangs.
"I can't!" Duo cried frustratedly as he pushed away his plate. "He'll freak."
"Why?" Quatre said, slightly perplexed. "He knows you're gay doesn't he?"
Duo shrugged almost imperceptibly, his eyes fixed firmly on the table. "I dunno", he said quietly, "Probably."
Trowa and Quatre exchanged surprised glances as Duo continued to eyeball his forgotten dinner.
"You never talked about it?" Quatre said in disbelief, "even though you've been friends for so long?"
Duo shrugged again.
"I meant to", he said almost apologetically, violet eyes lifting to meet his audience, "but I never found the right time."
His comment would have been funny if he hadn't looked so damn miserable when he said it. He was pretty sure Heero did know; after all, the Japanese boy knew him almost as well as he knew himself but they had never actually spoken about Duo's sexuality. As silence descended, Duo tried to imagine himself telling Heero how he felt about him but he couldn't shake off the image of Heero's disgusted expression and, just to be really perverse, the image of Relena stood in the background, smiling smugly. He was only too pleased to be pulled from his reverie by the sound of Quatre's voice.
"I really can't believe you never told him", the blonde Arabian repeated, shaking his head in disbelief.
Duo fixed him with a slightly irritated look. "It's not that easy you know"
Quatre threw his hands up in the air. "Tell me about it! How d'you think I felt? I had to tell my father that his only son out of thirty children was gay!"
Duo considered this for a moment before nodding thoughtfully. "Point taken."
"You don't actually have to tell Heero that you love him", said Trowa who had remained quiet up to this point, "you are in love with him right?"
Duo nodded vigorously, as if this was the most ridiculous question he had ever been asked.
"And you do want him to know, don't you?" Trowa continued.
"YES! No… I don't know!" Duo replied, exasperated by his own indecisiveness.
Sensing the braided boy's frustrations, Quatre turned to Trowa quickly. "What did you have in mind, love?"
"He should talk to Heero, test the water first", the green-eyed boy said, gazing at his lover. "Just like you did."
Duo looked up to see Quatre blushing furiously. Despite his unhappiness, he couldn't help but smile. "How did you two actually get together?" he asked.
Grasping Trowa's hand, his face still an interesting colour of crimson, Quatre proceeded to tell Duo how he had tried everything, including signing up for gymnastics in an attempt to get himself noticed by the dark haired boy. He had eventually succeeded in getting Trowa to notice him when he had simultaneously dislocated both shoulders whilst trying to perform a move best left for the highly skilled or the double-jointed. As Trowa had offered to accompany the injured boy to the hospital, Quatre had found the perfect opportunity to 'test the water' as Trowa had put it. After their discussion, Quatre was pretty sure that Trowa felt the same about him and the rest, as they say, was history.
"I'd never have asked Trowa out before I spoke to him and found out that he liked men too", Quatre concluded as he gazed at his beloved proudly. "Trowa's right, you should try and gauge how Heero feels before you make any big moves on him."
"Uh huh", Duo said absent-mindedly.
"Look Duo, we really have to go," Quatre said glancing worriedly between his watch and the unhappy boy before him. "Let us know how you get on okay?"
"Sure thing", Duo replied, forcing a smile at the two boys who had stood to leave. "Wish me luck."
A smile from Quatre and a reassuring pat on the shoulder from Trowa and they were gone. Alone with his thoughts, Duo glumly considered his options. He could tell Heero how he felt and risk being miserable… or not tell Heero and be miserable anyway. With that notion firmly planted in his mind, Duo left the diner determined to find his errant friend.
Almost an hour later and his search had yielded no results. He had checked Darnell's, the bowling alley and various other places he and Heero went to when they were bored but to no avail. Standing alone on the pavement outside Jenns' Amusement Arcade, Duo was about to return home when a sleek black car pulled up next to him. Recognising it instantly as Quatre's, he waited patiently as the tinted window descended revealing the blonde Arabian and his boyfriend sporting matching concerned expressions.
"Have you seen Heero?" Quatre asked tentatively.
Duo shook his head glumly.
"Can't find him", he complained.
"We've just seen him", Quatre said, glancing at Trowa for confirmation. "He looked like he was heading for Flares."
Duo's response was a wide-eyed expression of surprise. 'Flares' was a live music joint and one of their favourite haunts, although Heero's father had expressly forbidden the two boys from going there on a school night. The fact that Heero would be there against Odin's wishes just reinforced Duo's fears that Heero was changing into someone he didn't recognise anymore.
"Thanks", he muttered before setting his feet in the direction of Flares. "See you guys later."
He arrived at the club some twenty minutes later, weary, downcast and even less sure about what he was about to do. The evening was in full swing as Duo pushed his way through the smoke-filled chambers within the basement club. Normally he would have stopped to listen to the main act, which tonight was a rock group called 'Angel's Torment', fronted by a woman with a big voice and even bigger hair; but he was like a man possessed. Towards the back of the club, where conversation was just about possible, Duo found Heero sat at one of the many tables. Alone.
The Japanese boy noticed him approaching but gave no indication that he was pleased to see his friend. Sensing this, Duo did not join him at the table, instead coming to stand close by with his back pressed against the wall. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette, which he lit and drew on slowly. For a moment, neither boy spoke, nor made eye contact. When Duo did speak, his voice raised against the music, the incessant drums and wailing lead guitar were barely able to disguise the venom in his tones.
"Since when do your parents let you go clubbing on a school night?"
The Japanese boy fixed him with an icy stare before replying.
"I'm waiting for Relena."
Duo's nonchalant expression was immediately at odds with his surging feelings of jealousy.
"Here? She's coming here? On a school night? Did I miss something? Is there a new world order?"
Heero ignored Duo's sarcasm to swig from his bottle of beer. Alcohol during the week Duo noted; something else Odin would most definitely not approve of.
"Look, if you're gonna bug me and make me feel bad can you do it later. Please?"
The pleading tone had returned, but Duo remained unsympathetic to Heero's plight.
"She said she'd meet you here?"
"Not in those words."
"In any words?"
No response. Unlike Duo, Heero was an expert at not rising to the bait when provoked. In the pause that followed, Duo pushed himself away from the wall and came to sit at the table opposite Heero. He drew on his cigarette, blowing the smoke up towards the ceiling as his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Maybe she didn't have ID", he said flatly.
"Who doesn't have ID?" Heero snapped, irritated.
"Maybe she doesn't like you as much as you think."
Their eyes finally met; bitter violet to angry cobolt.
"Maybe."
Sensing that this conversation was driving a wedge between them, Duo duly changed the subject, finally moving onto the topic that he was determined to address. As he thought about the words he was about to say, he could feel hot tears pricking the backs of his eyes.
"Do you miss me, Heero? Do you miss not being around me?" he shouted, relieved that the drum solo drowned out the tremor in his voice.
"This isn't the third grade anymore", Heero responded coldly.
"She doesn't love you. It's a joke, it's all a joke."
"How d'you know?"
"I'd bet my braid on it."
To this, Heero could only stare. From anyone else, betting one's hair on something would seem ridiculous but Heero was well aware just how attached Duo was to his longer-than-average length locks.
"You don't wanna make that bet", he said after a pause, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.
"Yeah I do," Duo snapped bitterly "I've been thinking a lot lately about you and me and I came to a conclusion that I didn't wanna deal with. But now that we've talked I can't hide it anymore. I think we'd get along much better if we didn't spend so much time together anymore."
"Why?" Heero protested, unable to comprehend why Duo was acting this way.
"Because, I'm driving you crazy… and you're driving me crazy. And I'd rather not see you… and have you think good things about me than have you see me and hate me." The braided boy paused, fighting back a sob. "Because I can't afford to have you hate me, Heero. The only things I care about in this goddamned life are me and my hair… and you."
In the poor light, Heero wasn't sure whether he saw a tear escape one of those huge violet eyes. He had never seen Duo so unhappy and frankly, he was at a loss about what to say. Raw with emotion, Duo took his silence as indifference. He stubbed his cigarette out on the table and jumped up, anxious for Heero not to see his tears.
"Adios", he snapped.
"Wait… Duo. Duo!" Heero shouted to the hastily retreating boy. Duo stopped and turned, offering Heero a pained expression, before disappearing into the throngs of leather-clad people.
Deserted by both Relena and Duo, Heero slammed his fist on the table furiously. He was frustrated and angry but, as he pictured Duo's parting expression, he realised that most of his anger was directed at himself.