Warnings: Angst, violence, language, drug use, abuse, supernatural things, sex, yaoi, yuri, het. If you desperately need to know who is paired with who send me a message and I can tell you, but I'd rather you get to experience the evolution of the characters first.
A/N: Reference to non-con, but nothing graphic.
A/N #2: Thanks to the always amazing Cuzo, more than a beta and no less than a friend.
A/N#3: I bear no ill-will towards Delta Tau Delta – but I had to pick a fraternity and… well, there we go. Sorry to anyone who is offended.
A/N #4: Don't get too spoiled by these updates. I definitely won't be able to keep up this pace!
Deviant
Chapter Nine
When the lights from Treize's car illuminated the two figures bent over the hood of a car he immediately wrote them off as two college students or townies having a bit of exhibitionist fun. But then he recognized the man pressed against the hood of the car and saw the blood on his face.
The young grocery store clerk clearly wasn't a willing participant in whatever was going on, and Treize decided to intervene.
When he stopped his car and got out, the other man instantly abandoned his victim and jumped into his car before speeding away. Treize couldn't make out his license plate number, but he did see the flash of a Clarkson College student parking permit in the rear window.
Treize watched in silence as the young man – Duo, he remembered – pulled his boxers and jeans back up to his waist and fastened them.
"Can I drive you to the hospital?" Treize asked gently.
Duo hastily scrubbed at his eyes and then shook his head.
"No, I'm fine."
Treize rolled his eyes.
"You shouldn't bother lying if you're going to be that bad at it."
Duo scowled.
"I don't have any health insurance. I'm fine. It's just a few cuts and bruises."
Treize couldn't decide if Duo was telling the truth or if he actually could lie.
"You can't go home looking like that," Treize pointed out.
"No shit," Duo spat and then let out a shaky breath. "Fuck. What the fuck –"
Treize could hear the despair start to build in his voice.
"Let me take you to my house and get you cleaned up," Treize offered, "I've got a first aid kit."
Duo looked at him incredulously.
"You don't even know me."
"Of course I do. You're the kid who always hits on me at Talley's and tries to carry my bags to the car for me."
Duo winced. "So it takes this to get your attention, huh? Well, sorry, but I'm not up for anything else tonight."
"Duo."
The sound of his name stopped the man from walking away. Treize watched his shoulders tense.
"I'm not interested in anything but helping you."
"I don't want your help," Duo growled, turning back to Treize with a wild look in his eyes.
Treize nodded in understanding.
"I know. But you need it. Come on." Treize gestured to the passenger side of his car.
Duo swallowed a few times, his throat working furiously, but then he nodded and got into the passenger seat.
Treize didn't bother to tell him to put on the seat belt, but put his own on before driving them back to his house a few blocks from the campus.
It was an old craftsmen bungalow, built almost eighty years ago, and Treize found himself briefly debating whether or not he cared that his neighbors – some of whom were colleagues – might see a bruised and bloodied young man going into his home. He decided that he didn't care.
Duo followed him inside, resembling a lost puppy more than a person as he meekly sat down on the couch while Treize went into the kitchen.
He pulled two glasses from a kitchen cupboard and filled one with ice and the other with bourbon. He picked up a linen napkin and then carried everything back out to his guest.
The long haired man on his couch seemed to be in a state of angry shock, but any evidence of his earlier tears was now gone, leaving his face pale except for the rapidly darkening circle around his right eye, the blood caked around his nose, and his split lips.
Treize wrapped a few cubes of ice in the napkin and pressed it gently against Duo's eye, releasing his hold when Duo's hand moved up to cover it.
"Here," he said and handed him the glass of bourbon.
Duo looked at it suspiciously.
"Best that I can offer in terms of a painkiller," Treize explained with a shrug.
Duo nodded and took a sip.
Treize left him to get the first aid kit from the bathroom and then sat down beside Duo on the couch and went to work trying to wipe the blood and dirt from his face.
"Why are you doing this?" Duo asked him, his voice raw.
"I'm a teacher," Treize said, though in truth he didn't know why he was doing this. Duo was nothing to him, and Treize had never felt much empathy towards people who allowed themselves to be victimized.
Then again, maybe that was the difference. He barely knew Duo, but he was willing to bet that the man had put up a hell of a fight with whoever had attacked him – a man who had easily outweighed Duo by fifty pounds and been several inches taller than him.
"Please don't turn this into some fucking teaching moment about overcoming adversity or some shit," Duo muttered and Treize smirked.
"I teach European history, not self-help classes."
"So you're Trowa's professor?"
"Trowa Barton?" Treize frowned. The quiet student had never struck him as the violent type, but his build was consistent with that of Duo's attacker. He wished that he had gotten a look at the man's face before he drove off, but he had been fixated on the sight of Duo and his battered, tear streaked face. "That was him?"
"What? No. That wasn't – no, that wasn't him."
"Who was it?"
"Does it matter?" Duo asked bitterly. "I'm just some townie with a bit of a criminal history – the cops won't care what I say, not with some fancy ass lawyer to defend his sorry, rich ass."
Treize frowned as Duo's words reminded him of an incident seven years ago involving the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. As part of the hazing process, the fraternity had required one of the freshmen 'rushes' to bring a townie to the house and share the townie with the other brothers of the fraternity. The townie they had decided on had been a man – one of the few openly gay men in Clarkson – and the fraternity, not known for their open attitudes, had decided that a gang rape was in order to teach the townie that homosexuality was wrong.
The townie had gone to the police, but, just as Duo had pointed out, a swarm of lawyers had descended to protect their wealthy client's sons and the entire incident had been covered up. The only backlash that Delta Tau suffered was a requirement to do more community service projects than the other fraternities on campus.
Treize had served as the advisor to the school honor council, at the time, and had been more than a little pissed off at the college president for pressuring him into not recommending that the entire house be expelled from Clarkson. Since the entire incident led to the funding of a new library and two new dorms, most of the college community had chosen to forget that anything had ever happened.
Treize knew almost nothing about the townie who had been involved. The man – his name had been something Maxwell - had been a soldier home for a few months before tours overseas – another motivation for the president to hush up the entire incident. He didn't need it getting out that his college didn't "support" the troops. Of course, the entire incident had been very tidily packaged when the soldier had committed suicide within weeks of the hazing ritual.
Clarkson might be a college town full of liberals and bleeding-hearts but it was still cruel and elitist. Treize could perfectly understand why someone like Duo would have no faith in legal justice.
"How old are you?" Treize asked and gently took hold of Duo's face to continue cleaning the cuts.
"Twenty two."
"Why didn't you go to college?"
Duo sighed.
"Is this seriously a Clarkson College sales pitch? Because I'm not interested."
Treize arched an eyebrow at him.
Duo sighed.
"No money. I know I could have applied for federal aid, but I didn't want to be saddled with a bunch of debt."
"So instead you fulfill your life's ambitions by working at a natural food store."
"And the hardware store and Java Joe's. I'm saving up to go to a state school."
"What do you want to major in?"
Duo looked taken aback.
"No one's actually asked me that," Duo said. "Not even my – well, not anyone. People just think I'm never actually gonna get out of here and do it. But I want to be an architect."
"You'll have to go to graduate school."
"I know, but if I wait until I've got the money for that I'll never do it."
"Are you close?"
"Huh?"
"To having enough saved?"
"Yeah – well, sort of. Tuition keeps going up, and that sure as hell doesn't help. But in another two or three years, I'll have enough. I mean, I'll have to work while I'm in school, too, but I can manage."
Treize nodded in approval.
"A hospital visit will likely set you back some, but you should go. All of your plans won't mean anything if you've –"
"Nothing happened," Duo repeated angrily.
Treize decided to believe him and drop the issue.
He reached behind him for an alcohol swab from the first aid kit and knocked the glass of bourbon off the edge of the table.
Quicker than Treize would have thought possible, Duo reached out and caught the glass before it hit the ground and set it back on the coffee table.
Treize was impressed with his quick reflexes, but when Duo looked at him with a tense, worried expression he felt a surge of triumph.
Duo didn't just have quick reflexes. He had moved impossibly fast and he knew it.
Treize couldn't help but smirk. Finally.
"Why don't you stay here tonight?" He suggested.
"Ah, no thanks." The younger man started to rise to his feet.
"Duo, please." Treize put one hand on his knee and gently pressured him to sit back down. "I'm only trying to help. If you go home like that your family will no doubt have a panic attack."
"My family's dead," Duo sighed. "It's just my roommate."
"And how will he react to the sight of you like this?"
Duo winced. "She'd freak out."
Treize nodded.
"So stay here. Why don't you take a hot bath while I set up the guest room?"
"A bath?" Duo echoed uncertainly.
"To relax you and soothe your body."
Duo continued to look uncertain.
"What happened to you tonight was wrong. But not everything that happens to you has to be bad."
Duo chuckled bitterly at that.
"I'll believe it when I see it," he muttered.
"Then start believing," Treize said.
He stood and started walking towards his bedroom and the master bathroom with its garden tub.
By the time he had the tub half full of nearly scalding hot water and a fair amount of rose-water scented bubbles Duo had joined him and stood uneasily in the doorway.
Treize eased past him to rummage in his bureau for a pair of pajamas.
He handed them over to Duo.
"Are these silk?" Duo asked.
"Yes."
"And that's a rose scented bubble bath."
"Yes. What is your point?"
Duo shook his head.
"Nothing, nothing… I just hope you never try to fool anyone into thinking you're straight – because if you think I'm bad at lying…"
Treize smirked.
"Good thing that I don't try to hide what I am then."
Duo swallowed hard.
"Yeah. Good for you." He closed the door before Treize could say anything else.
By the time Duo emerged from the bathroom an hour later Treize had prepared the guest room and started to make plans for the future.
He had known that, statistically, there would be others like him. He wasn't enough of an egomaniac to think that the freak lightning storm six weeks ago had granted him and only him strange new powers. He had hoped that some of his students would exhibit powers – it would be most convenient if a sycophant like Wufei Chang could be useful – but having Duo as his first follower might actually be even more beneficial.
The townie clearly felt anger and even rage over his assault and Treize thought it was entirely possible that he would find the idea of physical reparation entirely palatable. Add to that the fact that he was a virtual nobody, and he made the perfect addition to Treize's new army.
Now all he had to do was woo him.
"Do you work tomorrow?" Treize asked Duo when he appeared back in the living room, carrying his dirty clothes and looked more than a little childlike in the crimson pajamas that were too long for him.
"No, community service," Duo said. "My last day, actually."
Treize arched an eyebrow.
"I ah, got arrested for assault a few months ago. Told a guy I wasn't interested and he needed a bit of my fist in his face to get the message. At least, I thought he got the message."
More good news, Treize thought. He needed to find out just who it was that had assaulted Duo that night. It would be useful information for molding Duo into what Treize needed.
"What time?"
"Nine, in the morning."
Treize nodded.
"I'll wake you at eight and make breakfast."
Duo frowned and looked ready to argue, but Treize stood and took his clothes from him.
"I can wash these for you tonight."
"I seriously don't get why you're doing this."
"Are you telling me that no one is kind to you just because they can be?"
"No. People just aren't like that. People –" Duo stopped himself and shook his head. "People are shitheads."
"They can be," Treize agreed.
"You don't even like me," Duo pointed out. "I know you think I'm annoying at Talley's and I know you don't think I'm attractive. Especially not like this. Not unless –"Duo's face turned dark. "I'm not some weak little victim who needs someone to look out for me."
"Good. I don't like victims. They disgust me." Treize assured him and then smirked when Duo looked confused. "Survivors, though… I find those very interesting."
Duo's eyes widened and then narrowed.
Treize decided to leave things there and gestured towards the guest room.
"Sleep well," he said to Duo and then left him standing in the hallway.
For Duo to trust him and follow him he couldn't push him too quickly. The morning would arrive soon enough, and Treize could continue to show Duo just how good things could be for him.
And not long after that, Treize would be able to set his real plans in motion.
-0-
The next morning Duo was, unsurprisingly, reticent and awkward. Treize couldn't blame him. The boy had been – or nearly had been, he still couldn't decide – raped and then spent the night in a stranger's home.
He looked both better and worse than he had last night. He was clean, and his face had lost the pale, sunken look of a wounded animal, but the bruising around his lips and eye had swollen and darkened. Treize estimated that it would be at least a week before Duo would look like his usual self again.
Treize made breakfast while Duo sat meekly at the kitchen counter and watched his movements with dark, haunted eyes.
He was starting to think that maybe Duo was more of a victim than a survivor when the boy finally spoke up.
"If this is the usual treatment you give strangers you take home I'm going to have to start showing up on your doorstep every night."
Treize smirked and placed a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and waffles in front of Duo.
"If you came over that often I expect I'd think of ways for it to benefit me as well," he commented.
Duo arched an eyebrow at him.
"Chores in exchange for a feather bed, a bubble bath, and breakfast? I think I can swing that."
"I wouldn't call what I have in mind a chore necessarily."
Duo frowned.
"Eat. You've got to be on your way soon," Treize told him before Duo could say anything. He wanted to keep him off-kilter for the time being.
After Duo had eaten his fill, Treize insisted on driving him to the police station for his community service.
"I don't even know your name," Duo said with a chuckle when Treize parked across the street from the small building.
Treize smirked and held out one hand.
"Treize Khushrenada."
Duo hesitantly shook his head.
"Well, thanks for everything… Treize."
"My pleasure, Duo… of no last name."
"Maxwell. Duo Maxwell."
Treize's mouth went dry.
"Do you have an older brother?"
"Had," Duo said with a scowl. He removed his hand from Treize's. "He died."
"I'm sorry. Was it recent?"
"No. Seven years ago." Duo's eyes and voice spoke of a retreat and Treize felt a surge of triumph.
This was simply too good to be true! It was as if destiny had seen fit to give him the perfect tool for bringing down the Clarkson administration.
"Take care of yourself," Treize told the young man.
"Yeah, I'll try." Duo looked as though he wanted to say something else, but then he shook his head and got out of the car.
Treize watched him walk into the police station and then drove towards the lake. It was getting late in the season, but it was a warm day and he was willing to bet that a few intrepid nature lovers would be hiking.
-0-
On Sunday afternoon Treize made his usual weekly trip to Talley's for groceries. He noticed that Duo was stationed at one of the checkout lines and took his time gathering his groceries until there was a lull in traffic and he could count on monopolizing the young man's time.
Treize moved over to Duo's line and waited patiently while he bagged some old woman's groceries and listened to her litany of complaints about the weather, the store, and life in general.
The bruise around Duo's right eye had darkened but the myriad of minor cuts on his face looked clean and faint, and his lips looked to be recovering nicely.
"…dear, what happened to you?" the old woman asked Duo.
The question clearly startled him, but he recovered quickly.
"Boxing club," he told her solemnly.
"Hmph. Perhaps you should stick to more delicate pursuits," she said with a glance to his braid.
He smirked at her.
"But I like the dangerous ones," he assured her.
The woman clearly didn't know how to handle that, so she shook her head and rolled her cart away.
"Looks like everything is healing," Treize said by way of greeting.
"Yeah. The eye hurts like a bitch, but I'll be fine."
Duo started to scan and bag Treize's groceries.
After Treize paid for them, Duo smirked.
"Need a hand taking these out to your car?" he asked.
Treize found it more than a little amusing that Duo hadn't given the old woman such an offer.
"Yes, thank you," he said after a moment.
Duo grinned and picked up the bags and followed Treize to the parking lot.
"Am I supposed to tip you for this?" Treize asked as Duo loaded them into the trunk.
"Nope. Just doing my job."
"Hm."
"I never said that you were annoying," Treize mused.
Duo looked at him over his shoulder.
"You didn't have to say anything – it was clear enough in the way that you smirked at me and said no every time I offered to do this."
"Perhaps you read too much into things then. You amused me – especially your tenacity."
Duo grinned crookedly.
"Yeah, well, I try to go after the things I want."
Treize was counting on that.
"I also never said that I didn't find you attractive."
Duo finished loading the groceries and closed the trunk. He turned around and leaned back against it.
"You're saying that you do find me attractive?" He stuck out his jaw and turned his head slightly to display his black eye. "Especially now, right?"
"Not especially, no. But that will heal." Treize reached out and brushed Duo's bangs behind his ear. "And yes, I'm saying that I do find you attractive. A bit young for my tastes, but attractive nonetheless."
Duo arched an eyebrow.
"And you feel inspired to comment on it now because…?"
"Because now you interest me. Before you were simply a brash young man. Now…well, now I'm curious about you."
"That whole survivor not a victim thing again?" Duo hazarded. He crossed his arms over his chest. "What if I'm not interested anymore?"
Treize arched an eyebrow.
"Then why did you carry my groceries to my car?"
Duo shrugged and then shook his head.
"You're right, I am shit at lying."
A skill that Treize knew he would quickly have to remedy.
"Come over for dinner Tuesday night."
Duo seemed on the verge of saying no, but then he grinned.
"Yeah, okay. What time?
"Seven."
"Sure. I'll see you then." Duo pushed away from the car and walked back into the grocery store.
As Treize drove home he reflected on just how easy all of this was. Too easy, almost. Duo was so starved for attention and affection that Treize was confident he would have the young man eating out of his hand in no time.
-0-
On Monday, Treize made a few calls around campus to see if there was an open, entry level staff position. He was fully prepared to ensure that there was an opening, if necessary, but fate once again seemed to be looking out for him. There was an opening on the housekeeping staff. It wasn't a glamorous job, but it was full time and carried a few benefits. It was also perfect positioning for Treize.
His Russian history class on Tuesday was as dull and uninspiring as usual. He found himself increasingly frustrated with just how complacent his students were. Likely it was a product of their upbringing – every one of them had had a life cushioned by luxury and fully expected that by paying their tuition they had done enough to earn A's in all of their classes.
There were exceptions, of course, like Wufei Chang, Trowa Barton, and even Meilin Long who was enrolled in his course on the European Enlightenment and seemed to think that it was her personal mission in life to ensure that Women's was a prefix added to every course taught in the history department.
But Wufei was a follower – he wasn't inspired. He craved attention and justification, but he relied on others to judge his worthiness. Trowa Barton, on the other hand, was a mystery to Treize. The boy was clever, and his essays were a bright spot on an otherwise dull canvas. Yet he seemed to completely lack any will to succeed or even survive.
Treize wondered just what his relationship was with Duo, and if that was something he could also exploit. The trouble, of course, was that he wouldn't be able to manipulate Trowa like he could Duo. Trowa struck Treize as one of those perpetually depressed liberal elitists who would go through life miserable, never able to grow or be passionate about anything. Treize couldn't manipulate someone who wasn't passionate.
But Meilin and Wufei were certainly passionate. It was a shame that they hadn't exhibited any signs of powers like Duo had. Those two were crusaders, and he could use followers of their caliber.
Perhaps he would cultivate them. Even without powers they would be useful and were already influential.
He held Meilin after class that afternoon on the pretext of discussing her recent midterm.
"I followed the instructions," Meilin said guardedly as soon as the last student left the classroom. "You asked that we examine the influential figures of the Enlightenment and I did – you can't say that women weren't influential."
"I'm not," Treize assured her, amused.
"Okay…"
"I merely wanted to ask why you were bothering with a Women's Studies major."
"Bothering?" she echoed and he could see her working up a righteous anger. "I bother because it's something worth studying and –"
"Yes, but what are you going to do with it? Bury yourself at some liberal college up north and write essays attacking the patriarchal misogynists of this country? Or do you actually want to do something with your life?"
"And you're saying that a history major would do that? Let me do something?"
Treize shrugged one shoulder.
"That alone won't be enough, but it won't be the handicap that a Women's Studies degree is. Continue down that field and everyone will simply write you off as a little girl with too much time on her hands. Specialize in Women's history, if you must – be become a history major and a degree from Clarkson will open countless doors to you. Graduate school, law school, internships – research positions at leading think tanks. You have to position yourself to succeed."
"Why are you telling me this now? I had you last semester for Women and Imperialism and you didn't really care that I was a Women's Studies major."
"True," Treize agreed. "I rarely care what freshmen want to waste their time on. But this is the second class you've taken with me and I can tell that you aren't just another sheep in the flock."
Meilin arched an eyebrow.
"I'm a special sheep?" she asked sarcastically.
Treize smirked.
"I was thinking more along the lines of you being a wolf – and the rest of the sheep will be so intimidated by you that you can do whatever you want."
Meilin tilted her head to one side, a slow smile spreading on her face.
"I'll think about it."
"Excellent." Treize reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Now, we should talk about summer internships –"
Meilin stiffened as soon as he touched her and a moment later she drew in a shuddery breath and stepped away from him. Her face had gone very pale and her pupils were dilated.
"Are you alright?" Treize asked.
"I'm – I'm fine." Meilin swallowed hard and seemed to pull herself together. "Just a… nothing. It was nothing. I'm fine." She wiped at the spot on her shoulder where Treize had touched her and then looked at her hand, as if expecting it to have something on it.
Treize scowled at her strange behavior.
"I, ah, I have to go." Meilin started to back away from him, running into a desk as she did before she actually turned and fled the room.
Once she was gone, Treize examined his own hands, but there was nothing on them. What then, had possibly inspired the girl to react like that? She had looked as though she had seen a ghost – her entire body had seemed frozen in terror after Treize touched her.
Meilin had seemed so convinced that her hand would be dirty when she looked at it. Dirty or… bloody.
Treize chuckled.
Bloody, she had definitely looked at her hand as though she expected it to be dripping with blood. As though she expected Treize to be dripping with blood. Which only meant one thing – she knew. Somehow by touching him Meilin had been able to see what he had done and who he really was.
Fate, Treize decided, certainly seemed to favor him.
-0-
When Duo showed up at seven that night on Treize's doorstep he had a bottle of red wine in one hand and a bottle of white in the other.
"I didn't know what you were making, so…" Duo explained as he passed the bottles to Treize.
He was a little taken aback by the gesture. Perhaps it had been unfair of him, but he had thought Duo to be too poorly bred to know to bring over something to drink. Treize glanced at the labels on the two bottles and was further surprised to see that both were of a decent quality.
So Duo had manners and taste. This was looking better and better all the time.
He also cleaned up nicely. He was dressed in khakis that fit him without looking indecent, dress shoes, and a navy v-neck sweater that emphasized the strange shade of blue of his eyes.
Treize was impressed, and he wasn't impressed with people very often.
"Make yourself at home while I finish cooking – it should only be a few moments. Can I get you anything to drink?"
"I'm fine," Duo said and wandered towards the open door to the library that Treize also used as an office. "Mind if I look at your books?" He asked.
"By all means."
Treize watched Duo peruse the shelves for a few minutes and decided that he might need to revise his strategy. Duo responded well to attention and affection – he had been particularly receptive to Treize touching his hair on Sunday afternoon – but he wasn't the ignorant townie that Treize had written him off as.
Duo started to thumb through the fourth volume of Churchill's History of the English Speaking Peoples and Treize swore to himself. Definitely not an ignorant townie.
He retreated to the kitchen to finish dinner and think.
In all honesty, it was a good thing that Duo was intelligent – or at least appeared to be – and certainly a good thing that he had manners. It would make this more palatable for Treize, and a minion who could think and show initiative would certainly be more useful than a mindless drone. But also more dangerous. Treize would have to pay very careful attention to Duo.
Treize took the chicken out of the oven and put it on the dining room table before sorting through the roasted vegetables and adding them to two plates and setting them out with the food. He poured each of them a glass of Chardonnay that he had put in the fridge earlier to chill and added Duo's bottle as well.
After the table was set he went to track down Duo and found that he had moved on from Churchill and was leafing through St. Augustine's Confessions. Treize felt like groaning in frustration at the look of concentration on Duo's face. The boy was an intellectual now?
"Dinner is ready… unless you prefer the company of a monk to mine?"
Duo looked up guiltily.
"Sorry. I was just looking for this quote – the local library's copy of this went missing about a year ago and they haven't replaced it and I can't – ah ha! Here it is! I knew it was Augustine. "Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are."
Treize arched an eyebrow.
"Is this in reference to your recent… nightly activities?"
Duo snorted in derision and put the book back, exactly where Treize usually kept it.
"No. That was something I was trying to tell my friend the other day. She's feeling a bit lost right now, and more than a little pissed at the world."
Treize wished that Duo had reminded him of the quote earlier – it would have been very useful to use in his discussion with Meilin. But it would certainly be beneficial with Duo now.
The younger man followed him into the dining room.
"Smells amazing," Duo said as he sat down and put his napkin in his lap.
"Do you prefer white or dark meat?" Treize asked him.
"Whichever is fine," Duo said and then caught the irritated look Treize sent him. "But I prefer white," he added a little sheepishly.
Treize put one breast on Duo's plate and took the other for himself.
"Wow, this is really good," Duo said after taking a bite of the chicken.
"Thank you," Treize said with a smirk. "I'm surprised that you read St. Augustine."
Duo arched an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"It's a bit heavy and deep," Treize said bluntly.
"Yeah, but you know, after a while I got tired of reading the same old picture books so I thought I'd try reading something with words… and you know, Confessions is actually pretty slim, so…" Duo held his gaze for a moment, a challenge in his eyes.
Treize smirked and Duo relaxed slightly.
"I read everything, really. When I was a kid the library was the only place I could go to and be on my own, and reading… I don't know, I like learning about new things and thinking about people and places that aren't me."
Treize nodded in appreciation of that sentiment. That was something he could use, certainly.
"But you like Augustine?" He pressed.
"He's okay – I like the fact that he was a pretty wicked guy until his old age and then decided to get serious about being serious. That's my kind of guy, for sure. If we're talking old Christian monks and their crazy ideas about society, I'll take Aquinas over Augustine any day – talk about a revolutionary who wanted to upset social order."
"And do you want to upset social order?"
"No more or less than any other poor kid, I guess," Duo said with a shrug. "But growing up in Clarkson, with that damn college right down the road the having to deal with the pricks who go there… yeah, I guess I'm a little inspired to want things to change."
"Anger and courage," Treize remarked drily.
"Anger and courage," Duo agreed and lifted his wine glass in Treize's direction before taking a sip.
"So you grew up in Clarkson?" Treize asked after a few moments of silence.
"Not originally. My family lived in the city but my parents died when I was eight and my brother and I were put into foster care and the home we went to was here. I've been here ever since."
"Your brother, was he younger than you?"
"Older. He was in the military, actually."
"Is that how he died?"
Duo's lips twisted into a sneer and Treize decided not to push the matter any further tonight. This was clearly a delicate subject, and Treize would have to be careful not to push him too far.
Duo shook his head.
"You know, there's an opening on the college staff."
Duo arched an eyebrow.
"Nice subject change… but I'm not sure I follow you."
"You said that you work three jobs – I'm guessing none of those is full time."
"No."
"And the pay? Is it even above minimum wage?"
"Ah, no," Duo said reluctantly.
Treize nodded.
"I'm saying there is a full time job working for the college that would give you health care, a decent salary, and the chance to become a part time student."
Duo frowned.
"I couldn't afford to pay for classes at Clarkson – even part time."
"Of course you could. College employees can take up to two courses a semester for free and pay only twenty-five percent tuition for any additional courses."
Duo leaned back in his seat, a slight frown on his face.
"What kind of job?"
"It's in housekeeping."
"So I'd be a janitor."
Treize shrugged.
"A janitor making twenty-two thousand dollars a year." The number was pathetic compared to Treize's salary, but as he had predicted, Duo's eyes widened at the number.
"Twenty-two thousand dollars a year to pick up trash and mop the floors?"
Treize nodded.
"Plus the benefits and the course waivers."
"Don't get me wrong, that all sounds incredible, but I'm not… it's not like I'm in any shape to go for a job interview right now." He gestured to his eye.
"I explained that, and –"
"Wait, wait, you explained it? To who?"
"To Randall, the head housekeeper. I told him that you had a run in with a Clarkson student and he doesn't hold that against you. Add to that my recommendation and…"
"So you, what, applied for a job for me?"
"There's no application involved," Treize said. "The job is yours. All you need to do is fill out the paperwork."
Duo shook his head.
"Hang on a second here – I'm – you – what the hell is going on here? You don't even know me and you're getting me a job working at Clarkson – you didn't even ask me if I'd like to work at the same place where –" Duo stopped and shook his head. "This is just too weird."
Treize sighed and fought down a wave of irritation.
"Duo. I said this before – not everything that happens to you has to be bad. Good things can happen to you as well. This is a good thing. I am a good thing." He shook his head. "But if you are honestly too scared to work on the campus of someone who raped you then –"
"He didn't – and I'm not scared. I just… it's a different world, that place, and it's sure as hell not my world."
"So you've got the anger but no courage?" Treize mused, allowing his disappointment to color his words.
Duo scowled and angrily brushed his bangs back from his forehead.
"I'd be making a hell of a lot more than I am now," he eventually muttered. "With that kind of money… I could be out of here by next year, two at the most."
Treize remained silent as Duo spoke. Whatever decision Duo made would affect his usefulness to Treize. If he made the wrong decision, then Treize would have wasted this effort for nothing in return. Well, he thought ruefully, not nothing. Perhaps he could entice Duo to go for a hike and test out his skills on the boy. Treize wasn't sure what the extent of his powers were, but it was clear that he could move exceptionally fast. Treize needed to find his limits, and he was certain that Duo would provide a decent challenge.
"Fine. You're right. I need this and I definitely want it. Putting up with a bunch of rich assholes won't be anything new, anyway." He met Treize's gaze. "I feel strange, though. I owe you – for this, for the other night – I –"
Treize held up a hand to forestall Duo's words.
"I said it before, I'm a teacher. I feel a duty to help you reach your full potential."
Duo frowned but nodded eventually.
"My full potential as a janitor," he said with a smirk.
"For now. It's a stepping stone."
The rest of the meal, and the evening, went according to plan. Treize was very pleased with himself when he ushered Duo out of his house in the early hours of the morning.
It had taken nearly an entire bottle of wine for the man to relax and become agreeable to Treize's advances, but he eventually convinced Duo that a show of physical gratitude wouldn't be entirely out of order.
Three shows of gratitude later, and Treize was, at the very least, appreciative of Duo's youth and vigor.
An intelligent minion and a good lay – Duo was certainly an excellent pawn.
Now Treize just needed to figure out how to use Meilin's absolute – and very well founded – terror of him to turn her to his side.
It looked as if things were finally started to fall into place.
-0-