Gundam Wing
London Alleyways
Warnings: very slight angst, difficult accents, period fic, AU, intrigue, humor, semi-large age differences, OCs
Chapter 05: The Pocket Watch
Howard collapsed into his favorite chair in the kitchen and resisted the urge to slam his forehead against the oak table. Sally sat next to him with her head thrown back and her mouth open, softly snoring, while Hilde hummed silently in the corner, busy scrubbing the last of the dirty dishes sitting in the sink.
"What in the world was Heero thinking?" Howard's voice was slightly hoarse as he scrubbed a hand over his face.
"Oh, I don't care what he was thinking; but weren't those children just darling!?" Hilde practically shouted.
Sally jolted up with a snort and whipped the corner of her mouth. Trying not to chuckle too much, Howard patted her on the arm. "They gave you a run; didn't they?"
Nodding, Sally said, "They're all little hellions!" Then, with a sigh, "I'm so glad Heero invited them to stay with us."
"Aye." Howard agreed then let his brow furrow. "He was so lonely. I remember when he visited with his parents some ten years ago. He was always laughing, always smiling."
"Mm." Both Sally and Hilde hummed then turned to their inner thoughts.
The kitchen was quiet for a few minutes then Sally yawned, patting at her mouth. "Good Lord, those were dirty children. Though, I probably wouldn't be able to do any better if I was in their position, but they didn't even know that you were supposed to get into the bath tub!"
Hilde turned around to face her colleagues, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "They were rather stunned, weren't they? But once you get bellow the dirt, they are such handsome children."
"Aye, and crafty too." Howard chuckled to himself. "Those twins, Ivan and Oscar; I'll bet they could do anything they put their minds to. And Freddy! You'll never have to show that boy anything twice. He's a quick learner."
Sally straightened her skirts. "Duo sure worked hard taking care of those children. For such a mature and protective young man, I couldn't believe the stink he put up when you had to force him into the tub, Howard. I almost died trying not to laugh!"
"You ended up throwing him in, didn't you?" Hilde asked the older man with a smirk.
"Of course I did!" Howard straightened in his chair and puffed out his chest. "There won't be any grungy occupants of the Yuy household!"
"Oh, come off it, Howard!" Sally playfully slapped him on the arm. "I know you were taken with those children the first moment you saw them; just like the rest of us."
Hilde giggled then said, "Who wouldn't be? They're so charming." Her giggling teetered off then a small frown appeared on her brow. "Well, except, perhaps Lord Chang."
Shaking her head, Sally smoothed at her frazzled braids. "Wufei isn't immune to them. I saw the way he was watching Freddy out of the corner of his eye."
"No!?" Hilde gasped. "You really think?"
Howard nodded. "Sure. I've known him for years since before Heero returned. He wouldn't hesitate to help those worthy of it. His honor and since of justice is too strong. I'm actually surprised that he's trying to seem so indifferent. This is the sort of thing that would normally boil his blood just by the 'injustice' of it." He finished with a slight grin.
"It is an injustice, don't you think?" Hilde asked with a small, sad frown.
"Mm." Sally hummed. "An injustice that those intelligent and sweet children had to do what they did to survive."
Howard and Hilde both nodded as a somber silence fell over the now sparkling kitchen.
Heero stood just outside the door to the kitchen and sighed.
It had been along day. The boys had been fed a large lunch before forced to bathe; which was an event in and of its self.
The youngest, Josephine and Jimmy put up a fight in the beginning then just played in the heated water like all children their age would while Hilde laughed and joked with them. The twins and Henry were another story.
Henry sat and shivered like a frightened animal till Duo was sent to comfort him. After a talk and a few shaky laughs, Henry was soon washed and dressed for bed. Ivan and Oscar on the other hand teamed up on poor Sally and absolutely refused to get into the tubs.
She finally insisted on Howard's help, who glared, snarled, and threatened them into a soapy submission. Like the others, they soon quieted and bathed quickly and thoroughly. Now all three boys were sound asleep in their rooms. Henry was sleeping in an adjoined suite with Joe and Jimmy; Ivan and Oscar, sleeping in a suite by them selves.
Freddy and Solo required wrestling from both Wufei and Heero just to get the boys anywhere near the water. Though it was troublesome, the older boys were much easier to deal with than the twins. After a thorough bath, they were settled in their room.
Duo, though, was the worst.
Apparently, he fully expected the children and Solo to get washed, but flat out refused to even think about it for him self, claiming he already washed his face and hands with a bit of lye soap. After skillfully evading Sally's attempts at persuading him, Howard was called once again and ended up chucking Duo, clothes and all, into the steamy, soapy water.
The profanities could be heard all the way into the library, which was where Heero had hidden after Wufei marched out of the house, dripping wet and cursing in Mandarin and Cantonese.
At the time it wasn't quite as funny as it was later that night, looking about the quiet house and nursing bruises.
Chuckling again at the memory of wet and pissed off Wufei, Heero made his way up the dark wooden stairs toward his own room.
When he made it to the top of the stairs, Heero was surprised to see a lone light on at the end of the hall behind a door sitting ajar. Walking up to it silently, Heero discovered that it was Duo's new room and the young man was sitting on his bed turning something over in his hand with a slight frown on his face.
Upon closer inspection, Heero discovered that the item holding Duo's attention so raptly was, in fact, his ornate, silver pocket watch. Stepping up to the door Heero leaned against the door jam and said, in a quiet, clear voice, "That was given to me by my parents."
Duo jumped and turned toward that new and familiar voice. His eyes were met with the sight of a tired, rumpled and surprisingly handsome Heero Yuy.
The gentleman's suit vest was unbuttoned and the shirt underneath it was wrinkled and pulled out of his trousers. His hair was more tussled than normal and his eyes held a tired, but alert look to them. Duo was having trouble keeping his eyes from roaming up and down his form.
Duo nodded then returned his gaze to the watch in his hand. On the inside of the front panel was a small, but elegant inscription: Dearest Heero, May your life be joyful, your heart be full. Love, T&K.
Duo's brow furrowed and looked back to Heero about to ask when Heero answered, as if reading his mind, "Tou-san and Kaa-san, it means Dad and Mom in Japanese."
Duo blinked. "Yer Jap'nese?" Heero chuckled and nodded as he slipped his hands into this trouser pockets.
The braided man looked back down at the watch in his hand and frowned deeply once again. "Do'ya think they would a'prove a' ya ta'in' in a buncha' stree' ra's?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Heero said, "I don't know. They died just after they gave the watch to me."
A pained look flitted through Duo's eyes. Suddenly flipping it closed, he stood from his seat at the edge of his new bed and walked on bare feet toward his host. Lifting his hand Duo opened it, holding the watch up to Heero. "'Ere. I di'n' 'ave any busniss ta'in' i' from ya. I'm... 'm sorry I stole i'."
He didn't like knowing that he had taken something so special. Duo, who had never known what it was like to have parents who loved him, felt the guilt of his actions spike painfully through his heart. He could only imagine what kind of turmoil he had caused Heero by taking such a treasured gift.
Heero looked at the watch resting in the creamy, callused palm of the young man standing before him.
Duo's hair had been washed and combed then braided into a neat rope that, now that it was untangled, reached to the top of his thighs. Its color, no longer dull, refracted the light cast by the oil lamp in the bedside table and his deep violet eyes reflected regret and guilt.
Gently taking the watch from his guest's hand, Heero said, almost whispered, "I knew you had taken it."
Looking straight into the gentleman's eyes, Duo asked almost breathlessly as Japanese man's finger tips grazed the skin of this palm, sending a little shiver up his arm, "W'y di'n' ya turn me i'?"
Heero slipped the watch into his trouser pocket and took an almost hesitant step backwards. The young man standing in front of him was causing visceral shocks to the simplest of things. It was causing Heero's walls to slide back up. He hadn't been prepared to feel the warmth that had settled into his chest.
"I knew you would return it. You're not a petty thief; just a desperate one."
Duo snorted, able to breathe a little easier without the handsome man standing so close. "Wer all desp're' Mis'er Yuy. Jus' some a'us er gree'ier than other'." His Cheshire grin plastered over his face, Duo propped his fists on his hips, his joker attitude quickly covering up the despair sewn into those words.
Weary body and weary mind finally beginning to catch up with him, Heero simply nodded, ignoring the fakeness of Duo's smile, and then turned to leave. Suddenly stopping in his departure, Heero turned back around and gave Duo a small grin and said, "Have a good night, Duo. And please, call me Heero."
Duo stood staring at the place Heero had disappeared from and slowly let his joker's grin slide off his face. After hearing another door open and close quietly on the other end of the hall, Duo whispered into the silence, "Goo' nigh' ta ya too, 'Eero," before turning back to his bed and lying awake on the cloud like softness of his new bed.
Wufei stepped into his front entry exhausted, frustrated, and still damp. He could have Yuy institutionalized. Not that he would, but at this moment in time, Wufei was seriously questioning his friend's sanity.
Eight street urchins, all washed, dressed, and sleeping in the Yuy household was an interesting concept.
Though, Wufei doubted he would have been as receptive to the idea of opening his home up to Duo and his gang, he secretly envied his Japanese friend. Heero had the ability to completely ignore propriety and do what he knew and felt was right. While Wufei was stuck with two old codgers to dictate his business and social life till they were blue in the face.
Speaking of old codgers-
"Wufei!? Is that you? Where have you been?!"
With a heavy sigh, Wufei straightened up and prepared himself to bow and kowtow to his hypocritical father and uncle.
Stepping into the parlor where the two old men were smoking long traditional Chinese pipes, Wufei bowed low at the waist. "You called for me, Father?"
The grayer of the two men motioned Wufei to stand with a wave of his hand then ran a critical eye over his attire. He and his brother had tried for years to convince Wufei to wear the traditional Chinese garb, but the stubborn boy refused, saying that while he was living and working in England, he would wear what the English wear. "Why are your clothes wet? I didn't think it was raining outside."
Repressing the urge to sigh, Wufei said, "No, Father, it isn't raining."
"Then why are your clothes wet?!" Wufei's uncle broke in with a whinny crackle and a sneering eye. It seemed that no matter how successful Wufei made Dragon Industries, his father and uncle will always find fault in his minor "short comings" they saw.
He knew his elders would throw a royal fit if they knew the truth of how his clothes became wet, so Wufei opted to tell a little white lie. "One of Heero's servants dropped a tray and a glass of water splashed on me." Wufei inwardly cringed at how fake that sounded, but thankfully, or unthankfully, depending on how you look at it, it distracted the old men from his attire and shifted their attention to the subject of his questionable friends.
His father scoffed then stuck his pipe back into his mouth. Uncle Chang on the other hand crossed his arms in scorn. "That boy has a questionable influence on you, Wufei. He's twenty-five and not yet married! His staff is carless and, as good a stock as his father was, his mother was the daughter of a British merchant. I would be ashamed to show my face with the evidence of such breeding so plainly in sight."
Among most other things that are worthy of the two old men's derision, interbreeding is one of their main complaints. Though they may respect Heero for his prowess in business and his father's blood, they will forever see him as just a half-breed. It's shameful enough to have impure blood, in their book, but to walk around with such a beacon as one's eyes to tell the world of it was just unforgivable, whether the bearer of such blood could help it or not, doesn't matter to them.
"Would it please you if Heero walked around with his eyes cast down like a slave? Would it please you for him to walk with the stride of a lesser man?"
Both old men's head snapped toward Wufei, who instantly regretted the rare outburst. It never boded well when he talked back to his elders and that hadn't changed in all his twenty-two years.
Father Chang stood up with his face turning bright red and his fists clinched. "How dare you speak back to your elders?!" Marching forward, Wufei's father swooped down on him like a bird of prey.
Knowing what was coming, Wufei stood tall with his eyes focused straight ahead. He had dishonored his family enough by speaking with disrespect; he wasn't going to disgrace himself by showing fear, or regret.
His father pulled his arm back and backhanded the young man across the face causing him to stagger from the force. Spitting in his anger, Wufei's father commanded, "Now apologize to your uncle, you insolent child!"
After regaining his balance and equilibrium, Wufei gracefully dropped to his knees and bowed forward till his forehead brushed the parlor's Oriental rug and said, "Forgive my impertinence, Uncle; it won't happen again."
The old sneering man scoffed and croaked, "You're so young, Wufei. You have been corrupted by these loose British ways. You will do well to remember where you come from."
Wufei's right cheek was stinging and he could taste blood where his lip got caught between his father's knuckle and his teeth. After he was released from his punishment Wufei walked slowly and with as much dignity as he could muster through the house and up the stairs to his room.
He knew the servants had been watching and he knew that they couldn't understand a single word of Mandarin, but the series of events were unmistakable. Wufei would discipline himself later for breaking such ingrained training, but right now he was standing in front of the vanity in his wash room, holding a cold washcloth to his right cheek, hoping that it wouldn't bruise too noticeably.
As he stood there, blood from his lip staining the washcloth red on one corner, he thought about his best friend. He thought about how Heero has the freedom to do pretty much anything he wished without fearing punishment. He thought about Heero's parent's and their open love and support of their only child. Then he thought about his Father.
His father had never truly been the same after Wufei's mother had died. Since he was merely a baby, he wouldn't have known the difference, but his family and the servants they had back in China used to say that when she died she had taken his heart with her.
Wufei believed that. He also believed it had been his fault his father lost his wife and his heart. After his birth, his mother had never recovered. She'd had a difficult pregnancy and an even more arduous birth. Wufei was a little under a year old when she finally passed away, pale and weak from fighting off infection and not having fully recovered from her pregnancy.
So, he blamed himself. His father blamed him. The relatives blamed him. As a result, he hadn't had the most loving childhood.
Yes. He was jealous of his best friend, Heero Yuy. But unlike everyone else in Wufei's life, Heero had welcomed him and introduced him to more people who had welcomed him, as well; so he doesn't, can't, hate Heero; quite the contrary really.
He loves Heero Yuy, like the brother he never had, the friends he never played with, and the son of the parent's he wished he'd been born to.
A/N: That was chapter 5 so tell me what ya'll think. I'm sorry this is kind of late in being updated, but my computer broke and I had to get my brother to fix it. It's all fixed now, so no worries! Review, criticism is welcome and encouraged!