Sincerity and (In)Sanity
Chapter Four; Duo POV:
After a rather grueling session with the orphanages resident bad boy, I found myself almost physically drained. It was worth it though. He had finally caved, just a little. It seems our common obsession over the Gundam Pilots had finally gotten him to talk to me. Now granted, talking about something that wasn't personal wasn't necessarily ground breaking, but it had gotten me in the door. As much as I hated to think I'd have to go beyond professional means, I might just have to tell him a few more tidbits about us Gundam Pilots as a bribe in order to get somewhere with the boy. Shane was the brightest kid I'd ever seen. He was as slick as Heero on a computer, as prideful as Wufei, as considerate of others as Quatre, as in love with animals as Trowa, and as much a sneak as me. He was all the best parts of us pilots, in one person. If J had ever found him, I know he would have tried to make a 01 and a half out of him.
"Duo, can we talk for a moment?" Andrew asked as he poked his head into my office. I waved him in, gracing him with a smile. Sometimes, I missed my life as a pilot. Sometimes. Other times, when I saw my work helping others, I couldn't help but be glad of the path I had come to chose for myself.
"Sure. What's up?" I asked, glad that I had a brief break before I had another case. After that case was lunch, of which I was to meet my friends at home. Heero was to join us sometime today, yet Quatre was uncertain of when. Knowing that Relena wasn't going to try to hang on to him any longer, I was certain it was only his hesitancy toward seeing me again that held him back. After all, we had parted on less than perfect terms. I was bound and determined to remain as open and friendly toward him as I had always been. I refused to let one night of amazing love making change the fact that he was still one of the best friends I had ever had the pleasure to have.
"It's about Shane," he said slowly, trying to gage my reaction to his words. Knowing he was good at reading people by their expressions, I kept my face neutral, not showing anything beyond mild curiosity.
"What about the boy?" I asked, wanting to know what would make him so serious. He didn't disappoint me, either.
"He's been deemed un-placeable. In other words. . ."
"No family will take him. I know that saying all too well, Andrew. So what is it you want from me?" I asked. Already I hated the powers-who-be. No one should ever say someone was un-placeable. It was just wrong. Kids lost a lot of faith in themselves when they got placed into that category. It just wasn't right!
"I see you remember your time in the Orphanage very well." I snorted.
"I was also labeled as an un-placeable. I felt unwanted and unworthy. It wasn't a very good feeling. It led me to do a lot of things that I later regretted to some level." For a moment, I could see a flash of rubble and a golden hair falling around an angelic face. I felt all my old pain and fear surge foreword, threatening to flood into me after years of being locked up.
"Duo, are you all right?" Andrew asked suddenly, shaking me from my memories. I blinked up at him and nodded, looking away for a moment.
"Yeah. Just recalling something. Nothing important." I shook myself internally before drawing a deep, calming breath and facing him once more. "Why tell me this? What do you want from me?" Andrew looked a little embarrassed, yet he turned his eyes on me with a serious glint.
"I was hoping you could take him in for a week or so and help him learn to get along with others. You are proof that not all un-placeable children remain that way." I laughed bitterly.
"I am not the proper example. I've done some really bad things in my life. Not to mention I was a major player in the wars. I'm certain we don't want him to follow in my footsteps." I sighed and looked away. "Not to mention anyone I've really loved whole-heartedly and had love me in return has died. So this isn't something I want to teach him." Andrew walked over to me a placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Stop it, Duo. You've loved people since then and they have loved you and nothing has happened. You can't let what horrible people began in the past influence your present. It was war and sickness. There is nothing you could have done, no matter how good you were. These things happened in order to make you who you are today. I have to admit, I highly admire who you've become, in spite of all the hardships you've gone through." I smiled, a genuine one, and nodded. He was right. The past was the past and the present was the present. There was nothing that could change that. Not now or ever.
"You're right. But even I find myself lost to the horrors of my past sometimes. I don't want to see the same thing happen to him, Andrew. Maybe staying with me can teach him something about life. Yet I've got my friends staying with me for the next couple days. How about we let him stay with me at the beginning of next week? We can see what I can do then, okay?" Andrew smiled, letting himself relax. It was obvious in his posture that he was seriously less stressed than when he had first come into my office.
"Thank-you, Duo. I'm glad you're willing to help." I laughed, waving off the seriousness of a few moments ago.
"Hey, you know I'd do anything for these kids." Andrew nodded.
"I know. That's what makes you such a great psychologist." I smiled and looked at my clock.
"I've got one of my kids coming in about two minutes. Ya might want to be gone before she shows or you'll hinder everything I've been doing with her." Andrew looked at me for a moment.
"Chloe?" he questioned. I nodded. Chloe reminded me of a mix between Une, Relena, and Hilde. She had been diagnosed with split personality disorder. She actually had three different personalities, all of which had their own name when you were talking to her. No parent wanted someone that unstable, so she was also on the un-placeable list. Yet to me, she was normal. After all, Lady Une had suffered from the same thing, and she had managed to make quite a name for herself. It wasn't as if I couldn't understand her, far from it in fact. If I had to be honest, I'd say that I had a version of it as well. Seeing as I had called myself Shinigami while fighting and Duo Maxwell when I wasn't in battle. It just went to show that many people had a second half, although how many people ever realized it, well that was another story entirely.
"Yeah. We're supposed to have a little one-on-three session today." Andrew's eyes widened.
"She actually lets her other personalities talk to you?" I laughed, nodding.
"Of course. I'm just as crazy as she is sane and she loves it. She thinks I'm the perfect person to talk to."
"I see. Then I'll leave you to your work. You've obviously gotten further than I ever could." I laughed, I couldn't help it. It helped that they realized I had once been an orphan as they now were. That let them realize that their situations weren't total losses. That they could still make something out of themselves even if they were never adopted. It was a very positive thing for them.
"Later Andrew. Just send the necessary paperwork for Shane to some stay with me before the end of the week. Then we can see what we can do to help him out." Andrew nodded, moving toward the door.
"I'll get right on it." That said he waved and left, and none too soon in my opinion. No more than thirty seconds after he had left, Chloe had walked into the room, a serious look on her face. I tipped my head to the side, already realizing that it wasn't Chloe who was in control at the moment.
"Good afternoon, Sherry. I see you've decided to lead this session today," I said in my normal voice, no air of superiority in my tone. Sherry was the Une personality. She didn't like to be talked down to; not one bit. Therefore, handling this personality took some finesse on my part.
"How did you know it was me? Everyone else always mistakes me for Chloe," she grumbled, her voice sounding more mature than the thirteen-year-old she was. Granted, there were a lot of kids that grew up way to quickly due to life on the streets. A harsh course in reality that they hadn't been expecting. I wasn't a stranger to that way of life. I could understand the need to be treated like an equal. It's what fueled Sherry.
"You may look a like, but you carry yourself differently from her. There's a more serious stance to your body," I answered, knowing it was something she'd take as a compliment. Of course, that's what I wanted her to do. Her long blond hair almost reminded me of Quatre's, all soft and corn-silk yellow in color. Her eyes were a sweet, vibrant green, one that reminded me of Trowa's own emerald green eyes. I'd almost say she was a child of the two, if she wasn't so lost inside as to have created separate personalities.
"So what are we to talk about today, Doc? I don't want to be stuck here reliving the past yet again." I sighed. This really was one of my more difficult cases. I watched as her posture took on a more elegant look. Almost as if she had been born to royalty. This was her second personality. The one who was really good with people. She was the diplomat if ever there was one. This was here Relena-like personality.
"Well, I was hoping we could just talk casually today, Cassandra. Is that all right with you?" I asked, once again changing the way I spoke to her. This one took a diplomatic way of speaking to handle. A tone that spoke of manners. It wasn't one I enjoyed having to employ, yet years of seeing Relena had given me a good edge on this. I'd have to remember to thank her for that when I saw her.
"That would be lovely, Doctor Maxwell. I haven't had a nice chat in a long while." I bowed my head, smiling softly as she curtsied back to me. Yet as she moved to take a seat, her posture switched once more. This one was more relaxed and free willed. It was the Hilde-like personality. The one that was Chloe herself. I smiled and allowed myself my goofy attitude to shine through.
"Glad ta hear it, Chloe. Now, let's get to chatting, shall we?" Settling in for an hour of bouncing between the three, I knew this would be anything but boring.
Walking in the door to my home, I smiled as I saw three jackets on the coat rack near the door. Kicking off my dress shoes at the door, I looked around. Never before had my place been so clean without me having taken a weekend away from the office to clean it. This was entirely Quatre's doing, I was certain. He never liked to remain in a place that wasn't picked up and neat. I suppose putting up with me for so long as a pilot had been enough to drive him crazy. Now, while I wasn't as messy as I had been while playing hero in a Gundam, I still wasn't as neat as I could be. It just went to show that I wasn't an all around non-busy person.
"I'm home!" I called, wondering which one of them would actually answer.
"Okaieri," a familiar, yet almost forgotten baritone said in Japanese. I looked up quickly from hanging up my jacket to see Heero standing not more than three feet away from me. It was obvious he had just come from the kitchen, where I was beginning to realize was everyone's favorite place to congregate. Time had been really good to him. He had filled out more, so he didn't look quite so skinny. He still didn't look like he could bend metal with his bare hands, yet I was almost certain he still could. He looked really good, too. Almost good enough to eat. His chocolate brown hair fell into his eyes in a very tempting way. I could feel my fingertips aching to brush the strands out of the way so I could see those breathtaking Prussian blue eyes without obstruction. Yet it wasn't to be. Not for me at the moment, seeing as I didn't know how receptive Heero would be toward me. Sure, he was here, but that didn't mean he wanted to be here. After a brief glance over his body, I gave him a slow, gentle smile. It was one of the few I reserved solely for him.
"Thanks, Hee-chan. It's really good to be home."
