Bound by Choice (Ch. 45 up!)

Ch. 3

It was hard walking today in the sweltering heat. He had to stop and take breaks in whatever shade he could find every 20 minutes. He had overheard someone say it was to be 102 degrees today. Man, and here my ass is out walking in this shit, Duo thought. But I think this time, it’ll be worth it—more than those petty jobs I’ve been taking. He walked along until he came upon what was known to be a senior community. He noticed an old lady struggling with some packages, and placing them in her car. Why not help, he thought; I might even be able to bum a ride off of her; it’s 2:30 now, and I’m just barely halfway there. He came up to the woman, and smiled. “Hi, I see you’re struggling with those. Do you need some help?\"

The old woman was wary at first, since all most young people want to do is rob you. But she saw his eyes, and figured he was okay in character. “Thank you so much, young man. I barely managed to get two down here, and I got five more to go. A couple of them are big, and I live on the third floor, and the elevator’s broken again. I’m just trying to send gifts to my grandkids; all of their birthdays are around the same time, hence all the boxes.”

Duo smiled. “No problem, ma’am; man, does that thing break down all the time? What about the people who are in wheelchairs or walkers?”

“They are automatically put on the first floor. Those that can at least halfway get around are put else where. But if something happens after the fact, and you need such things, you’re S.O.L., so to speak. If that elevator breaks, you’re stuck until it’s fixed,” the lady sighed. “Man, that’s pretty shitty,” Duo replied. The woman smiled. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

Once they arrived at the post office downtown, Duo helped the old woman carry the packages inside. “Thank you so much, young man,” the lady smiled, “it would have taken me hours to move all of those boxes.”


“Aw, it was nothing, ma’am, I couldn’t sit back and watch an elder struggle.” Duo blushed. “Besides, you saved me an extra hour’s walk. Now I can make my appointment on time; I got 15 minutes to get there.”

“Did you want me to take you there?” She asked.

“Oh, no, you’ve done more than enough, and it’s just a couple of blocks up the road.”

“Well, okay, thanks again, and I wish you the best of luck in your job interview. We all could use an improvement in our lives now and then,”
she said. Duo laughed, “Yeah, and my ass is long overdue! Have a good day, ma’am,” he waved as he ran off. The lady waved after him, and watched him run down the street.

He made it with about 10 minutes to spare. The building was the tallest—and the only one made of glass all around—on the whole block. Duo walked in and spotted the receptionist in the lobby. “Excuse me miss, but I’m here for a 4:00 appointment with Mr. Kushrenada.” He grinned.

The receptionist eyed the boy up and down, and when she saw the amethyst eyes that were his tell-tale feature, she smiled. “Welcome, Mr. Maxwell, they’ve been expecting you. Allow me to give you access to Mr. Kushrenada’s private elevator.”

Duo was blown away. The man was so rich he even had his own elevator?
“Damn! Now that’s what I call having a lot of pull!” He followed her to the elevator, where she pulled out a key to unlock and call the car down. When it arrived, he stepped on. And before the doors closed, he winked at her, saying, “Thanks for your help, cutie.” She couldn’t help but blush at the boy’s flirtatious manner. “Oh yeah, he’ll absolutely love this one”, she smiled.


When the elevator arrived on the top floor, Duo got up from the couch he was laying on, fighting off the sleep that had sneaked up on him. “Man, that’d be a great addition to my place”. He said aloud. When the doors opened, he was greeted by a lush lobby, with wine-colored carpet wall-to-wall, leading to a vast window overlooking the city. He walked up to the secretary’s desk; she had her eyes focused on a PC monitor, obviously typing on something important. “Um, excuse me, Miss Une? I’m here for the appointment.”

Une looked up at the voice—and her jaw dropped at the color of his eyes. She had never seen such and unusual color on anyone before. And his hair! “Um, could you turn around, please?” She saw the long chestnut braid hanging down his back. “Is-is all of that hair yours?” It looked a little dirty, but that can be fixed.

“It sure is. You want to touch it?” She stood up and reached out for the braid. It was surprisingly heavy. “Wow, it’s thick, it seems.” Duo grinned. “That’s not the only thing that’s thick, Lady Une.”

“For someone so young, you’re quite the charmer. I almost blushed.” Une smiled. She reached across and touched his face. He is absolutely perfect; he would definitely round out Treize’s top five. Her thoughts were interrupted by the intercom. “Ms Une, is my appointment arrived yet?”

“Yes sir, he’s right here. I will send him in.” She looked at Duo, and smiled.
“Well, you heard the man; go on in. He won’t bite—much.” That last one caught his attention. “What does that mean?”

Une laughed. “All in good time, Mr. Maxwell, all in good time.”