A/N: Hey, guess what - we're moving into canon characters now. :)
Chapter 42
Solo
The air was almost overbearingly humid. In late-stage summer, this almost seemed to be the season's last hurrah before the cooler winds of autumn returned; the birds were still high in number, though, and fauna aplenty prospered among the thick woods nearby. It would have been a lovely day had it been spent anywhere else, but amid the cloying populace sheltered on Duke Noin's garden terrace, it was more tiresome than not.
"Will you be staying in the Capital, Mr. Solo?"
Taking a languid sip of the tea, Solo turned his attention to the one who spoke. Klementz Otto, son and heir of Count Otto, good friend of the Crown Prince; he'd been overstepping the bounds of propriety lately as a result of the latter association. Solo wasn't pedantic enough to call Otto out on speaking to someone of a higher status without being addressed first, but he did make an internal note of it.
"Yes, I'll be managing preparations until my father arrives," Solo answered. The aftertaste of the tea was bitter on his tongue; as always, Lucrezia Noin had awful taste in brews. It was a pity she was to marry the Crown Prince, as it doomed their future children to inherent failings. He did wonder if their marriage would be as exciting as their predecessor's, though if the result was someone like the Crown Prince, it did seem like a waste.
For someone borne from such exciting family history, Prince Milliardo was dreadfully dull.
"You'll be participating in the Capital Hunt this year as well?" said Crown Prince asked. As his fiance was the host for this event, Prince Milliardo was not a participant; instead, he would serve as a judge alongside Lucrezia Noin for whatever the young gents and dames brought back. Solo's participation was optional, and as he was a handful of years older than the other participants, he'd elected to not take part in the hunt and instead sit alongside his peers who were here chaperoning their own younger family members.
This had put him at the table with the Crown Prince, Noin, Otto, and a smattering of neutral-aligned families. It had been boring enough listening to the gossip of the others, but then the Crown Prince and his two tagalongs had returned from their check-up on the hunt's participants, and the gossip changed into more innocuous topics like plans for the social season.
"Naturally," Solo said with a light smile.
Prince Milliardo's eye ticked just slightly, the only visible sign of his irritation. Not many people would answer so casually to royalty, but sometimes Solo felt it justified to return that informality if the Crown Prince insisted on protecting his cronies from such social repercussions.
Noin interrupted with a chuckle, sensing her fiance's mood. "Considering that young Duo took off into the woods, we thought maybe he'd be participating in the hunt as well," she said with a smile. There was a tittering of giggles in response to that statement, some of the imperial-aligned neutrals finding it safe to laugh given that the observation came from the Duke's heir and future Queen-Consort.
Duo had come to Noin's hunt as well. As a dandy, he could not participate in the hunt, and instead was seated amongst the other young ladies and dandies who had come with the hunt's participants. Duo was still young, though, and only recently debuted; their father had thought it would be good practice to attend another social event, and Solo would be there as well in case he had to mitigate any damage.
Duo had managed a good few hours before his social niceties ran out. Noin had also botched the seating arrangements for his cohort, placing Duo amidst a group that had more years of social experience than his brother. Duo would have been well-suited to peers his own age, but this was likely Noin's ill-planned attempt to influence Maxwell's second-born to a more imperialist mindset.
Which may have worked out, if it hadn't been Duo. His adorable little brother had reduced Count Bernett's daughter to stifled tears, and Baron Vince's haughty son had been pale and quiet for a good hour now. It was only natural that Duo had grown bored with the otherwise idiotic bunch, and under Noin's disbelieving eyes, left his assigned table and wandered into the woods.
Solo considered her for a moment. Lucrezia Noin might have poor taste, but her skills with the sword and strict discipline made her an exemplary leader. She was also well-versed in the etiquette of the court and knew how to phrase things in such a way that it never crossed the line into impropriety - but was an insult just the same.
She wouldn't be so bad to learn from, if only her weaknesses were not so obvious.
"I'm afraid my brother is used to more comfort back home, as the Maxwell estate garden provides ample shade and luxury." Noin's garden party had not set up any shades, as was custom for parties that included the attendance of ladies and dandies; it was a failing on their part. "He'll return shortly himself. There's nothing of interest in the woods to him."
There was a table-wide flinch from the others at the table at the implied insult, and Noin's hands trembled lightly with smothered anger.
All the participants currently held no value to Duke Maxwell's family; it was a reminder to everyone that even if Duo consistently flubbed his social graces, he still was superior to the others present. This couldn't even be considered an insult to the royal family, as the Crown Prince nor his fiance were no longer in the woods observing. It didn't help that a good chunk of the participants had already returned, pitiful game in hand and spiteful words about Duke Yuy's bastard son traded in mutters among them.
"Will Mr. Duo be staying with you?" Otto asked.
It could be considered a tactful change of subject, but the interest was just a little too genuine. As it always did when someone expressed interest in his brother, Solo's mind flashed through all he knew about the individual: Klementz Otto, heir to the title of Count, will likely see a rise in rank once the Crown Prince was on the throne. The Otto family's political and economic influence was nothing to scoff at, though it was much more humble in comparison to his more esteemed friends. His sword skills were nearly on par with the Crown Prince's and Noin's, making him one of the strongest nobles in the kingdom.
Not strong enough though - not compared to Duo.
"If he wishes," Solo answered obliquely.
Noin directed the conversation back to seasonal plans, lightening the atmosphere enough that Duo's return to the garden a good hour later came with a shock of fanfare that was less poisonous than it may have been. Draped as he was over Heero Yuy's shoulders, he would have seemed fragile had the expression on his face been anything but amused vindictiveness.
Everyone had a lot to say about Heero Yuy when he lay just out of earshot, but apparently when he was carrying Duo on his back and two fox carcasses in his game bag, expression stormy, courage fled quickly. His stoicism only highlighted Duo's more verbose disposition, words too quiet and quick to be understood by anybody but the boy carrying him. Every once in a while, Yuy's son even responded, though he was much more curt in his replies.
"Goodness, what happened?!" Noin cried out, approaching the pair with hurried steps. Solo followed her at a more sedate pace, eyes flicking between the bickering pair who - for all intents and purposes - appeared to be in their own world.
"He sprained his ankle," Heero Yuy replied eventually, acknowledging the approaching woman with a glance before returning his attention to Duo.
Duo himself paid no mind to the tone, hand lightly smacking the back of the other boy's head. "Hey, put me down now, I can walk!"
"You cannot," Yuy returned coldly. "You have a sprained ankle."
"It's probably all better now! You're a little paranoid, aren't you?"
"It needs to be wrapped." Pause. "Stop hitting me."
"That's too much! Like I said, I'm fine–"
Solo stepped around Noin, waiting a breath until Heero Yuy finally tore himself away from the argument to look at him. Giving Yuy's bastard son a smile, he inclined his head. "Thank you for bringing my brother back. We apologize for the trouble," he said, reaching out to pull Duo off.
Duo came easily and docilely enough, though Solo had to subtly pinch his brother's side when he attempted to put weight on the foot that Yuy had wrapped with spare bandages. Duo stilled in his hold for a second, but then obediently redistributed his weight to his 'good' foot and leaned on Solo's arm for aide.
"Shall I call the doctor?" Noin fretted. She may not like Solo, but she was much too chivalrous to leave a dandy to suffer injury.
"No need," Solo dismissed with another wide smile. "I'm sure the General's son knows how to wrap bandages. Although I hope you excuse us a bit early, Ms. Lucrezia - I would like to escort my brother home."
"He could rest in our parlor, if you'd like?" Noin offered.
Another courteous offer, and a politically sound one. It would be smarter to accept, but if they did, Solo knew the doctor would soon be whisked in; it would be unfortunate to strip Noin of her family doctor, should that happen.
"Thank you for the offer but we should head back," Solo returned. He glanced at the sullen Yuy boy who had eyes only for Duo. "It's been lovely."
Duo looked ready to hop along beside him, but Solo thought better of it and swept his brother up into his arms. Yuy's eyes followed the movements, contention flashing across his face for a fleeting moment.
"Thank you again, Mr. Yuy," Solo said, amused when that gaze turned to him reluctantly. "Perhaps we can get better acquainted in the future. Until then."
Solo ignored the bewildered looks on Noin's and the other's faces as he turned to be escorted out. That parting statement was more than just an empty well-wish; it was a public statement that the Maxwell family had an interest in acquainting themselves with Yuy's bastard heir. This would have been less shocking, had Heero Yuy been a pureblooded noble, but Noin and her ilk were unlikely to express any concerns since the Yuy family was known to lean imperialist.
It was relatively quiet as Noin and her servants escorted them away, Duo remarkably quiet as he was carried and then placed into their family's waiting carriage. It was only after they'd passed through the gates of Noin's estate that Duo finally unfurled himself in his seat, leaning down to undo the useless bandage wrapped around his ankle.
"You know, they got a thing against that Heero guy," Duo started, rolling up the bandage. "I found them arguing in the woods. Well, one-sidedly arguing, anyway; I don't think Heero was even really paying attention."
"It's 'Mr. Yuy', not 'that Heero guy'," Solo corrected mildly. As they had yet to be formally acquainted with Heero Yuy, it was inappropriate to call him by his given name quite yet. Duo kept picking up interesting language habits from his unintended tutors, it caused his actual etiquette tutors a great amount of headache. "And I'm aware. They aren't aware of his mother's parentage so they assume he's common-born."
It was silent for a long stretch as Duo leaned back in his seat and turned his gaze to the window. He was a willowy thing, appealing to the court's ideal of a dandy, dressed in finery that had made the other gentlefolk at Noin's party envious in a glance. He didn't wear a lot in accessories or jewels quite yet, as Duo had a habit of pulling them off and tossing them away as borrowed mementos.
"They aren't aware," Duo echoed quietly. But you are? was the implication.
Solo's smile grew into a sharper grin, one that Duo refused to acknowledge if the way he kept his gaze out the window was any indication. So cute, Solo couldn't help but think. He wondered what Duo had seen, out there in the woods alone with Heero Yuy.
"Why did you leave the party? You know it's not proper for a dandy to wander off alone," Solo asked, changing topic since Duo didn't seem to want to continue his line of questioning. Solo knew there was no point; Duo knew well enough where to get his answers.
Duo scowled. "I didn't see you stopping me," he grumbled, but continued more audibly. "I needed some space. That Klein girl wouldn't stop trying to talk to me about her older brother, like the guy was some kind of saint. As if someone who spends half his money in brothels is a great catch."
To be fair, Solo doubted Emily Klein knew her older brother spent so much time in the red light district. Baron Klein likely spent untold resources keeping that particular scandal covered.
"Besides, it was a good thing I did! Those idiots were just wasting time instead of hunting anyway, no wonder it was taking forever!"
It wasn't really worth it to point out to his brother that most people didn't have animals flocking towards them with the express purpose of dying. Duo was likely under the assumption that everyone just had large numbers of dead animals spread out across their properties, collections of bones as common as jewels.
Professor G had been certain that Duo was ready to interact with the outside world, but some part of Solo wondered if maybe the man just felt threatened. Duo had only grown more wily in the years, and if they didn't allow him some measure of freedom, he wasn't above taking it for himself. Solo didn't think his father had it in him to lock Duo away more than he already had.
"You seem in relatively good spirits despite that," Solo observed candidly. "You should tell Mother about this. It's your fourth social event, after all, I'm sure she'd want to know your progress."
Duo fell silent. His gaze had turned away from the window and to his lap, teeth grinding as his hands fisted his tunic skirt. The steady rocking motion of the carriage was the only thing heard for a long while, though Solo never took his eyes off his brother.
"Mother's dead," Duo said after a moment.
Solo nodded with an amiable smile, "Yes, she is."
But they both knew Duo had kept her around anyway.
In a future
once
written…
There was no descriptor that could fit it other than Death.
It was the culmination of mortality, the frayed ends between that which is and was. A choking disease that swallowed the wails of both the old and the young, a crying wound tainted with iron illness; rot gave way to ruin which gave way to dust, a patchwork of the myriad of suffering in its final throes.
Amazing how It kept his voice, kept his eyes, kept his mind. The one consideration given for his bloodline, close to what It had wanted but now could never have. It had been so easy to convince to give him this chance, because the greediness of the dead was only beat by that of the living.
Solo Maxwell allowed it to fester in his lungs, didn't care when black bile seeped from the orifices in his face. An illness that progressed until this final state of undying, but what did he care? He had sacrificed more than just himself for this fleeting moment.
Cradled in the rot of his chest where his heart had once been tangled a scattering of bones slowly realigning itself. His body was no longer limited by its human shape and spilled, amorphous, across the cold stone floor. Vine-like appendanges, as numerous as a scavenging insect's, dragged across the bones as they moved, piecing it together. Under their viscous hands grew new veins and sinews, flesh and blood.
It was imperfect, but that was because it was impossible - and the only chance left to them. The Harvester had only agreed because It was just as desperate as him for what was at stake, and it mattered to neither the price paid to get it.
How fitting, then, that the first thing fully formed were two luminescent violet eyes.
"Heero Yuy," Solo said, teeth bared in a facsimile of a grin as he took in the weeping ink that had once been his flesh and bone. "It LoOKs lIkE iN THE EnD, yOU'vE maDE monStERs of uS All."
And by the time this was over, it would not even matter.
A/N: FFnet has such limited ability for formatting. T.T
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