Tori: My mother is a crazy woman… How crazy is she, you ask? Well, she just bought some exotic lizard for the American equivalent of about $1,240. His name Wapa the Eighth. -___- Someone alert the Diet and tell them to take her money away…
Kegawa: You know what would be funny? If it died…
Tori: Oh, don't worry. It has three options: die, run away, or be stubborn and end up outliving my grandchildren just like the other three shall, leaving me to care for them when she dies in accordance with her will. Oh what fond memories my children will have of waking up to find a two foot iguana in the futon with them, just like their mommy…!
Awa: If it makes her happy, Tori…
Tori: Shut up. She's completely insane and needs to be put in a home. Do you know how many weird sicknesses I got from those things!? How many I STILL get!? ___ People wonder why I'm such a freak… Eccentricity is hereditary.
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When I stepped out of the bathroom, the TV was on mute. The lights in the living room were off but the kitchen lights and sitcom reruns brightened it up some. The clock on the VCR blinked midnight and it took me a moment to realize that it was because it had not be set. I peered into the kitchen to check the microwave clock, but it also blinked at twelve, as did the stove. The clock hanging above the cook top was stopped at one forty-four.
Time was an illusion in that house. It didn't seem strange to me, only inconvenient. How were they supposed to figure out when they had to blow things up?
I readjusted my towel under my arms and walked back into the living room. After spending an entire day surrounded by new people, making first impressions that would most likely determine a large part of my future, the empty couch was a welcome sight. I needed more time to collect my thoughts.
I sort of plopped down on the loveseat, leaned back and draped an arm over my eyes. It felt like home.
"Oh… hey, Cassie."
I startled a bit and sat up, planting both feet on the floor and digging my toes into the worn carpet.
"A-I'm sorry, Duo. I didn't see you lying there," I said as all the blood in my head left my brain to flush my cheeks. He was nestled so comfortably between the cushions and the back of the couch that I felt almost guilty for waking him.
He sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes. "Must've drifted off …I'm sorry, I didn't me to scare you," he apologized and followed it with a massive stretch.
If he hadn't said something, I never would have noticed him. His black clothes made him almost disappear into the shadows, even with the light from the TV full on him. He slept so quietly, too. Oh… What if I had sat on him? I blushed even more.
"You want me to go?"
My eyes widened and I shook my head. "Don't be silly. Besides, this is your house."
He smiled and lay down again, this time on his back with his hands behind his head. He propped his foot on the opposite armrest and crossed his other leg over it. "Actually, it's Hilde's place. We just kinda took over." He chuckled. "Poor Hilde… Stuck shackin' up with a bunch of weirdoes."
"She doesn't seem to mind," I replied. My blush began to subside and I relaxed. I swear, there's something about Duo that just makes you feel so safe and included.
"Yeah, that's the weird part. She really doesn't… Anybody else would be having seizures by now."
"But you two go a ways back, don't you?"
Duo tilted his head back further to look at me. A sort of half-rueful smile half-frown crossed his face. "Yeah." And that was all the response I got. A few minutes of silence followed, permeated only by the occasional footsteps on the floor above. I was waiting for Duo to spring in with a comment or a new conversation topic. Hope for the former faded as the seconds ticked by. I though perhaps he'd drifted off again, but there he was, just staring at the ceiling and worrying his bottom lip a bit.
Was he waiting for me to say something?
"So how's D- how'd you meet Duet?"
Damnit, I almost did it again! I knew it was an uncomfortable subject that sobered everyone up pretty quick, but I couldn't get the girl out of my mind. What was she doing with this group of guys? What kind of person was she? All I knew about her was that she was hurt pretty bad and that she meant a lot to Duo.
I had this romanticized idea of her as some passionate warrior-princess who abandoned her prestigious family to fight for what she believed in. Boy, was I off base. That was the blonde one… But anyway, I secretly wished I could be her. Not just to be so close to a guy like Duo, but to have friends so loyal and dependable they'd risk their lives for each other and to live the no strings attached life of a rebel. To be so…free.
"Nice try," Duo grinned. "Yanno, you shouldn't worry so much about her, Cas."
"Worry about who?"
The little hairs all over my body stood on end. I wanted to turn around and see if it was really her, but at the same time I didn't want to seem rude for staring or something. What if she'd forgotten I was here and wasn't decent? What if she was horribly disfigured from the fight? What if-
"Hey, Cassie! Glad you came by to hang out a bit! We can always use another female around here. Sometimes the male ignorance can get a little stifling." She sat down next to me on the loveseat. I was staring at the cushion and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her hand. It was wrapped in a thin layer of gauze and tinted reddish-black in some parts. God… I was being so stupid.
"Good to see you up and about," I smiled and looked up. When I let my cheek muscles relax enough for me to actually open my eyes, I gave her a quick once-over. Now I knew why she wasn't a very good conversation topic.
From what I could tell in the dark, the only clothes she was wearing were a pair of shorts and a black mini-tank top and bra. Her chest and middle were wrapped haphazardly. In some spots, the gauze was there to secure bandages, it others just to catch the blood. The dressing twisted around one shoulder and down her arm. More bandages spotted her legs.
I looked to Duo for his reaction, but he wasn't even looking at her. That idiot…how could he ignore her at a time like this?
"What the hell was Quatre on when he patched me up? Shit, I've got bandages in spots I wasn't even scratched! I think he's just trying mess with me now." She laughed and patted down the part of the band aid she'd unstuck.
"Are you sure you're alright enough to be up? You want me to get a drink or something?"
Duet looked at me funny. "That's alright… I'm good." She stared at me a bit longer, then laughed. "Cassie, don't give me that look! Sheesh… It's only a flesh wound."
"Only a flesh wound is right. I wanna see that fine ass of yours back in the cockpit in four days," Duo piped up, still refusing to look at her.
"I'll be there in two, Maxwell."
"I said four. Now get back in bed and don't let me catch you so much as breathing hard."
"But Duo…"
"Now, Duet."
The girl stared steadily at the carpet, defeated. "Yes, sir," she mumbled and left. I watched her go. She walked slowly, no longer bothering to hide her limp. Incredulous, I looked back at Duo. He didn't seem satisfied; more like disdainful, like a professor who had just dismissed a dim student after answering all her simple questions. It scared me. Duo was angry. But I didn't want to say anything because it wasn't my business. I didn't want to set him off.
"…well?" he said.
I blinked. "Well what?"
"Rule number one in this house, Cassie. If something's bothering you, open your mouth about it. We don't need that kind of shit building up inside anyone. Has bad consequences."
Incredible… He could see right through me without even looking at me. "How could you talk to her like that?" I asked finally.
"If I don't, then she doesn't listen."
"I wouldn't listen to something so mean either! No matter how forcefully you said it!"
"You're not Duet. She was programmed to obey those types of commands," he said casually with a wave of his hand. "That's why she said 'yes, sir'. It's part of her nature, her submissiveness."
"So you're taking advantage of that? I thought you loved her. You could stand to be a little kinder! You didn't even look at her!"
"Cassie, I dunno how I can explain everything to you. All I can say is that, yes, I love her very much, but sometimes she doesn't always know what's best for herself."
I stood up. "That's so arrogant! I was wrong… You are like every other guy." Fuming, I secured my towel and retreated into the hallway. My hand was on the doorknob to Hilde's room, but I reconsidered and opened the door on my left instead.
I poked my head inside. It was pitch black to my unadjusted eyes. Over the murmur of muted songs from a personal CD player I heard someone cock a pistol and froze.
"Oh, it's you… Sorry, thought it was Duo." There was a muffled thump when the gun hit the floor. A few seconds after that, my heart started beating again. "C'mon in. I won't hurt'cha," Duet said.
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Duet: I wish I was a hot as Bakura…
Tori: ¬__¬
Duet: LOOK! I HAVE THE MILLENNIUM RING! ^__^ *hugs cosplay necklace*
Tori: ¬__¬
Duet: o__o WANNA GO RIDE BIKES!?
Tori: x___x*