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The Frog Prince	By : shinigamiinochi Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 733 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, it's characters, or the Frog Prince Legend. I am making no profit off of this fic, except for the occasional well written review

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
Gundam Wing Fairy Tales 2:
The Frog Prince

Author�s Note: This plot
bunny bit me in the ass when I found a book on Grimm fairy tales my cousin made
for me when we were kids. It�s not going to be terribly long and it�s not going
to be as weird and dark as Snow White, I promise. And look, no rape! Though
there is an evil Relena (it�s a fic based on a fairy
tale, of course I�m going to use Relena as the evil sister). Some notes on the
original �The Frog Prince�, first.

It continues to amaze me how
people can take something like a fairy tale and twist it so much. Ask just
about anyone and they�ll tell you that The Frog Prince is a tale about a
princess who kisses a frog and it turns into a handsome prince. However, this
is completely WRONG. Those of you that are in your twenties will, like me,
probably remember the movie version in which a pretty little princess loses her
golden ball and a frog gets it for her. She�s so grateful, she lets the frog
live with her, only her sister is so disgusted by the creature, she tries to
get rid of it. The story ends with her kissing the frog and being whisked away
to a beautiful kingdom to become Queen. This, however, is not the fairy tale.
Yes, there is a very beautiful princess who loses her golden ball and a frog
helps her out, however, when he makes her promise to take him home, to eat from
her plate, and to sleep in her bed, she doesn�t honor it. She runs back home
and is horrified when the frog shows up the next day. The King (one of the only
decent characters) forces her to keep her promise. The princess hates the frog
and is disgusted by it. That thing about the princess kissing a frog that turns
into a prince? Not true. When the little guy tries to sleep in her bed, she
throws him against a wall, which, somehow, transforms him into a prince. So,
here�s a lesson kids: throw ugly things into walls,
they may make your dreams come true! So, honestly, I don�t have any idea where
the �kissing a frog will turn it into a prince� thing came from. This is my
take on the original story. There are no literal frogs, but there is an
annoying girl who breaks her promises and a loyal servant to the prince (he was
called Henry in the original tale and he was the only other decent character
besides the King, he was loyal all those years that the prince was stuck as a
frog and even cried over the guy). This was going to be a Valentine�s Day fic, but I thought of it too late.

Author�s Notes 4/17/09: This fic was going to be a one shot, but as usual, it got away
from me, so I�m breaking it up. I got enough reviews on ff.net showing interest
that I decided to give it more attention than I had originally chosen.
Actually, I like this fic a lot, even if it is quite
different from my regular works.

Pairings: 1x2, 13x9,
unrequited R+1.

Warnings: AU, OOC,
bastardized Relena, dead Noin, angst, sap, lemon, het,
yaoi, language.

Summary: One day, a lonely
boy named Duo is rescued by a dangerous looking man named Heero. Wanting to
repay him for his kindness, he brings the man home and the two quickly become
friends. However, his elder sister, Relena, will do anything to get rid of the
kind stranger, but when Heero�s secret comes to light, she might just settle
for tearing apart the two friends.

*****

�� Treize and his beautiful wife, Noin, had wanted children
more than anything in the world. Treize was the sort of man any woman would
have been glad to have as her husband, tall, handsome with sandy brown hair and
light blue eyes, as well as very wealthy, kind, and patient. The same could be
said for Noin, a passionate, loving woman with short, raven hair and twilight eyes.
They had been married quickly, but their love for each other had been as bright
as a flame in the darkness, and hard to put out. Very early on in their
marriage, they had discussed having children. With Treize�s wealth, money
wouldn�t be a problem with raising children and, to both of their shocks, the other had no qualms about kids. At first, things
had been hard for them. A year had passed with the pair trying as hard as they
could to have a baby with nothing to show for it. They went to specialists, only
to be told that there was nothing wrong with either of them. Little did he
know, but listening to his wife sobbing late at night over something that she
had believed she could never have would haunt Treize for the rest of his life.
However, all of their wishing finally paid off during one late summer, Noin had
given birth to a beautiful baby girl.

�� Most wealthy men would have been upset at having a girl
child, as most wealthy men are concerned about heirs and the continuation of
the line, but Treize was no such man. He had looked upon his new born daughter
with absolute love and devotion. He knew, the second he had laid eyes on her,
that there was nothing in the world he could love more than his child. Little
did he know that in only five years time, he would have not one, but three
children, each that he loved more than anything else in the whole world.

Twenty years later�.

�� Treize had thought, at his current age, he would have left
the more tiresome aspects of father hood behind him and be able to relax
knowing that his children were mature enough to mostly take care of themselves.
He had, obviously, been mistaken. Two hours ago, he had sent his middle child,
Relena, to water his Noin�s orchids, but, having set foot in the green house
only a few minutes ago, it was obvious to him that she had not done her chore.
It wasn�t such a rare thing, however, for his daughter to either forget, or
outright shun one of her chores, and she certainly didn�t have many. Most of
the work was done by either his youngest child or one of their servants, but he
had been sure that a simple task like this would be easy for her. No, the task
itself was not what made his Relena so� irresponsible,
it was simply the idea of work. Though she was a full three years older than
his youngest and only two years younger than his oldest, she acted like the
child of the family, always running off to play instead of doing what she was
told. In earlier years, he would have ignored such behavior and let her do as
she pleased, being the only daughter still living at
home and he did cherish her, despite her stubbornness and laxity. However, as
he was getting older, he had realized the damage he had done by spoiling the
girl and that, one day, he would not be there to guide her and prod her along.
One day, his little girl would have to realize that she was an adult and the
world was not all gold and diamonds. But, though he had spent the last few
minutes searching for the girl, he had the feeling that she was not in the
house.

�� It was a beautiful spring day outside, though in the far
horizon, dark clouds were gathering and, without the aid of the news programs,
he knew there would be a storm the next day. He was positive that Relena was
outside, perhaps searching for wild roses, one of her favorite things to do.
When she had been very little, she had been obsessed with the bright red
flowers that grew in the woods and along the river that curved near their
mansion home. Knowing this, he had hoped that he could coax her to take care of
her mother�s flowers, but Relena only cared for how the flowers looked, and had
absolutely no interest in the actual care of the living things. He remembered
how, on her sixteenth birthday, he had given her a brightly colored finch. She
had been enthralled for the first week that she had had it, but had quickly
become bored, especially when she discovered that live animals required work.
Instead of telling Treize to take it away, she had neglected to take care of it
and the poor thing had almost died. Horrified by this, Treize had thought to
take the finch back to the store, to give to a proper owner, but his youngest
child had taken the bird and cared for it, bringing it back to health. He had
been caring for it these past two years and the bird was still alive and well. The memory of his youngest, smiling brightly as the bird perched on
his finger, brought an equally bright smile to Treize�s face.

�� Treize descended the porch and wide steps of the front of
the mansion that they called home, hoping that he would find Relena out front.
As he passed by the small pond that was near the greenhouse, he spotted one of
his other children, his youngest, in fact, sitting by the pool, watching the
koi fish swimming about. Treize smiled fondly, though his child couldn�t see
it.

�� Duo,� he called. The boy turned and smiled at his father.

�� What�s wrong, Dad?� the teenager asked, immediately
picking up that there was something wrong, which only made Treize smile wider.

��

�� Noin and Treize�s first daughter they had named Hilde,
after the valkerie, a woman that had been able to surpass anything, even death.
She, just like all of their children, was beautiful, inheriting her mother�s
hair and eyes. She acted like a valkerie as well, full of strength and pride.
Treize and Noin had been so happy when she and their son, Duo, had become best
friends, despite their differences, as early as when Duo was a toddler. Treize
didn�t know who had been sadder when she had gone off to college two years ago,
Duo, or himself. He didn�t know what had made it worse for himself,
that Hilde was his first born, the seed of all of his hopes and dreams
during a time when they had felt so hopeless, or because she looked so much
like his wife, it hurt to look at her sometimes.

�� When Hilde had been born, Noin and he had been satisfied,
believing that a miracle had happened and she would be their only child. They
had been shocked, a mere two years later, when Relena had come along. As much
as Hilde had looked like her mother, it had been clear that Relena had gotten
most of her genes from Treize�s side of the family. She had almost the same
shade of his hair, only just light enough that when the light of the sun
reflected off of it, she looked almost blonde, as though she had wheat for
hair, and her eyes were the same blue as his. However, Relena had been a high
maintenance child. Treize did not know if this was because they had constantly
doted on her, her beauty reminding them of European princesses, or if it was
simply a part of her nature. Though, even as a baby, she had been fussy. Yes,
there had been times when Hilde had been the same way, but Relena had been that
way most of her babe-hood. She had cried constantly and as a child she had been
an absolute terror, throwing temper tantrums left and right and Treize was sure
he had made this behavior worse by never denying her a single thing. She was
remarkably bright, but her temper seemed to overshadow what positive traits she
had.

�� Three years after Relena�s birth, they had been blessed
with another child, their only son, Duo. It had seemed like an odd name, but
they had found it funny at the time. When Noin�s doctor had told her that she
was to have twins, she had panicked. One child at a time she could handle, but
she had no idea what to do with two at once. Readily, they had decided to name
the twin boys Damien and Nathaniel, only to discover, after another round of
tests, that there had been a mistake and there was only one boy inside of her.
Noin had joked, throughout her entire pregnancy, that it was as though God had
heard her prayers and had forced the boys to merge as one once more. However,
this joking had turned softer and fonder when they had taken their first look
at the babe. While Hilde looked like Noin and Relena looked like Treize, Duo
looked like neither of them, like no one in their family. He had a thick mop of
gorgeous chestnut hair, shimmering with golds and reds and all sorts of shades,
his eyes an equally stunning violet, the likes that Treize had never seen
before. The doctors had told them to expect his eye and hair color to change as
he aged, but such a thing had never happened. Noin had truly started to believe
that God had heard her pleas and that Duo had been a gift from an angel.

�� As much as they had doted on Relena, they had done tenfold
to Duo. Unlike their middle daughter, as a baby, Duo had never cried and had
caused little mischief as a child. He had truly been a gift from above, a
reprieve after the torments that Relena put them through. A pensive boy, though
seeming a bit lonely at times, Duo was full of energy for life, though not
hyper like Relena had been, and acted as though he were the older sibling,
readily taking up Relena�s chores and trying to help with the servants, saying
that he enjoyed the work, though Treize also knew that his son was strongly
empathic, hating to see the suffering of others to the point that he worried
about him with strangers. Duo was the sort of boy that thought about everything
he said, so that, when he spoke, his words would have true meaning and not just
be noise. Treize supposed that it was those patient, kind traits that had given
his son a special place in his heart, though it could have just been the fact
that the boy was small and physically, obviously, the youngest of his little
brood. He did worry about him, though. He was concerned that some stranger
would use his son�s kindness and gentle nature against him one day. It didn�t
help that Duo was beautiful, in a sort of earthly way, like an elf or white
wolf. Beauty was in his nature, it wasn�t something he set out to create, at times Treize deeply believed that his son didn�t even
realize his good looks, which made the thought of someone taking advantage of
him all the more real.

�� Treize�s smile turned slightly sad and thoughtful as he saw
the brilliant ball of quartz that Duo was rolling around in his hand. The ball,
the size of one of Duo�s slender hands, shimmered in the sunny light, flecks of
gold and white and silver-fire caught in the bright light and made Treize�s
heart ache. Seeing the expression on his father�s face, Duo�s own smile fell
and was replaced with one of deep ache and darkness. Treize wanted to
immediately try to destroy that look, but floundered, not quite knowing how,
though he knew the reason why it was there.

�� Have you seen your sister?� he asked instead. Duo shook
his head, the long braid that he had started to grow when he had been only
seven thumping against his slender back. Treize loved that hair, though he
wasn�t sure why. When Duo had proclaimed that he wanted to grow out his hair,
Treize had had no objections, partially because he felt he could never deny Duo
anything that would make him smile and partially because he honestly could see
no harm in it. He wasn�t sure of Duo�s reasons, but it was hard to imagine him
without the long locks now that he was fifteen and it had been eight long years
since he had had short hair. Duo wore a slightly guilty look at not knowing
Relena�s whereabouts, which in turn made Treize guilty for asking him to begin
with. It wasn�t at all fair to either of his children, but Duo was easily the
most responsible and so Treize felt he could rely on him for anything. Because
of this, he often put Relena�s safety in Duo�s hands, knowing that he would do
as he was told. Relena had always hated that her younger brother was her
keeper, but Duo had thus far kept her out of harm�s way.

�� I�ll find her,� the boy promised, standing with the ball
of quartz in his hand. He paused for a second, as though some invisible force
was keeping him there, and his violet eyes met his father�s blue ones.

�� About Mom,� he started hesitantly. Treize stilled as
though he had come across a skittish white deer, marveling at the rareness of
it and frightened he would scare it off. Duo bit at his lower lip, a common sign
that he was distressed and, to Treize�s dismay, he shook his head.

�� Never mind,� Duo murmured and ran off towards the gazebo
at the back of the mansion. Treize followed him with a devastated look, wanting
to demand that he come back here and tell him what he was about to say, but he
didn�t dare.

�� Ten long years ago, Noin, Treize�s wife and the only woman
that he had ever loved, had passed away. It had been a month after Duo�s fifth
birthday, and though he had been so young at the time, he had loved his mother
deeply, as only a young child can completely love his mother. It had been hard
raising the three children without her love and support, but somehow, he had
managed. He wondered if Relena would have become a different person if Noin had
lived, but knew how pointless it was to speculate on such things. The mansion
seemed so empty without her and he worried at the effect her death had had on
his son. He seemed so� lonely, especially after Hilde had left him and Treize
didn�t know how to comfort him. That ball of quartz� Noin had given that to Duo
as a present on the last of his birthdays she would ever see. Even before her
death, he had treasured it greatly. Unlike Relena, Duo found the greatest joy
in such simple beauty, caring not for expensive electronics or jewelry, but
loving pretty stones and pressed flowers, something he could treasure, but also
something that was natural. Then, Noin had passed away and Duo had clung to
that stone like another child would a blanket or teddy bear. Treize had seen
Relena eying the stone with jealousy, but had put his foot down about her
playing with it. It was Duo�s, he had
told her time and time again, and it was certainly not a toy for careless girls
to play with.

�� Treize sighed as he went back into the house to tell the
cook to start dinner. He supposed it was the fate of wealthy children to be
lonely, having few of their class to play with, but it was even worse for them.
Their home sat in the heart of a great old wood, far from schools and other
young people for his children to be with. They were a bit isolated, but the
river and woods were beautiful and Noin had found it so relaxing. Treize had,
at one point, found it on the tip of his tongue the suggestion to move after
Noin�s death, but had never voiced it, knowing that Duo would hate moving as he
loved the woods and he loved their house and the memories of his mother within
it, though Duo would never say those things, simply letting Treize and Relena
do what they thought best. Duo could be just as stubborn as his older sisters,
but often second guessed himself when it came to making important decisions.
Treize sighed again, deeper this time. Relena and Duo had never had many
friends, but Relena seemed to revel in her privacy while Duo seemed just so�
lonely. Lonely down to his bones, down to his soul. He
was so quiet and often had a sad look about him, a look that Treize did not
know how to banish. How could he force a friendship on his son? Friendship had
to come naturally, freely, but how could such a thing happen when there was no
one around for Duo to connect to? It couldn�t be healthy for a teenager to have
these feelings. If he acted like Relena, content with his isolation, Treize
would have let it pass, but he could see that his child was miserable, missing
his eldest sister and his mother. Also� it couldn�t help that the poor thing
blamed himself for what had happened to his mother so
long ago.

�� As Duo walked to the gazebo in search of his older sister,
he was deep in thought. It wasn�t the first time he had tried to talk to his
father about what had happened to his mother, but his fear of his father�s
disappointment and anger at him for her death always stopped him. He thought
that, if he could just pretend that his father loved him and didn�t hate him
for killing her, then he could survive, but if he had to talk about it, how
could he ignore his father�s feelings, then? He ran a hand through his long
bangs, unsure of what to think or do. He had been a small child when his mother
had died, but he remembered her so clearly and he missed her so much� His
special ball of quartz seemed to warm in his hand he was squeezing it so hard.
He frowned as he finally came upon the gazebo and saw his sister, dressed in
one of her blue skirts, sitting on the white, wooden bench, plucking the petals
off of one of the daisies that grew near.

�� Relena, what are you doing?� he asked sternly. She seemed
to finally notice him and gave him an annoyed look.

�� What do you want?�
she hissed coldly. Duo knew, had known since he had been very little, that he
was his older sister�s least favorite person, but at times, like now, he was
taken aback by her sheer contempt at his existence. He couldn�t see how he
could make things better and he deeply wished to have a relationship with
Relena like the one he had with Hilde. He couldn�t change the fact that he had
been born anymore than he could change that his father saw him as the
�responsible one�, often making him baby sit his older sister, which drove her
into a mad rage. Still, he had born her insults and bullying for too long to be
cowed by her with a mere look.

�� Dad is looking for you,� he said in a sharp voice, trying
very much to sound and act like his father, the only one that could bring the
blue-eyed girl to heel, but felt that he didn�t have the strength to come
close, �You shirked your chores again, didn�t you?� he scolded. Relena scowled
at him.

�� What�s the big deal? They�re just flowers and it�s not
like you won�t do it anyway, you suck
up,� she insisted with a slight sneer on her face. Even though it was true, Duo
hated that look.

�� It is a big deal,� the sound of their father�s voice made
Relena�s back stiffen, �Those were your mother�s flowers, besides, I gave that
chore to you, Relena, not Duo. You can�t rely on your brother all the time,�
Treize said coldly. Deep inside, Relena seethed. Their father was always
defending Duo. So what if she had decided to come outside and play in the
pleasant afternoon air instead of watering some stupid plants? They had
servants for that sort of thing, but for some reason, Treize insisted that she
do some of the chores. She couldn�t understand her father, they had so much
wealth, but instead of showing them luxuries, he made them work! Then there was
Duo� he really was such a suck up, not only doing everything he was told, but
actually helping the hired staff, it was sickening! He acted more like the
common children in the town that they sometimes visited to go to movies than
the son of a rich man. But, there was absolutely nothing she could say or do to
make her father look at her brother in the same way that he looked at her, so
distrustfully� as far as their father was concerned, if anything went wrong,
there was absolutely no way that Duo could be responsible, he was just too� mature.

�� But, Father, it�s such a lovely day out,� she whined,
hoping to talk her way out of a scolding, �I was just about to go for a walk in
the woods, I was going to water the flowers later, honest!�

�� Duo looked at her sharply. He knew that their father would
never see it, but he could tell that she was lying just by looking at her face.
Oh, he had no doubts that she had wanted to take a walk in the woods, but he
knew that she had had no intention of doing her chores. Something cold laced up
his spine at the thought of going into the woods. They were beautiful,
especially at this time of year, but they scared him. They were like a
labyrinth, full of wild beasts, rocks, and then there was the river, which was
deep and long. Normally, he loved everything about nature, but he stayed clear
of the woods.

�� Absolutely not,� Treize snapped, folding his arms over his
chest, �You are not going out into those woods by yourself,� he said with a
dark look in his blue eyes, �They are much too dangerous. There are wolves out
there, and possibly even bears.�

�� But it�s beautiful out and I can take care of myself!�
Relena protested, �Please, Dad, I�m eighteen years old, I�ll be careful!�

�� Duo snorted in disbelief. Of course, the second she wanted
something, his sister would harp about her age, but more often than not, she
acted like a little girl. Still, he could see that Relena�s look and whinny
voice had hit a weak spot within their father, he
could actually see his resolve crumbling.

�� Alright,� Treize agreed. Relena seemed to crow with
delight at having gotten her way once more, but Treize put up a hand to stop
her from running off.

�� However, there are conditions. The first is that you must
come back in a few hours. The cook is starting dinner and it should be ready by
then. It will be getting dark around then anyway and I don�t want you getting
lost. The second is that your brother will be going with you,� Treize ordered.
Relena opened her mouth to protest, but her father didn�t give her the chance
to say anything.

�� This is non-negotiable Relena. Duo will look after you and
if you get lost, two pairs of eyes are better than one. If I don�t see a hair
of you by suppertime, I don�t care where you are, you will be grounded, is that
understood?�

�� Relena wanted to tell him that there was no way she was
going to let her little brother follow her around like some lame guard dog, but
knew that tone in his voice and knew that either Duo was coming with her, or
she wouldn�t be going.

�� Fine,� she pouted and marched towards the path of the
woods, whirling to give Duo a furious look.

�� Well, are you coming or not?!�

�� Treize sighed as he watched his son run after his daughter,
desperately trying to keep track of her even as she ran ahead of him. He
couldn�t wait until the fall came and he would be sending Relena off to school.
He was sure that the mansion would be peaceful with just Duo and himself. His
stress level would be down, at the very least. He didn�t even need to yell back
to his son to keep Relena safe, he knew that he would. As much as Relena hated
her brother, and Duo disliked her as well, they were still siblings and Duo
wouldn�t let anything happen to her, it was the other way around that bothered
Treize as he walked back into the house.

�� The woods truly were beautiful in summer time. Every bush,
every tree, every weed and flower was blooming and full and bright with life.
It made it hard to reconcile the harshness of fall that had come and gone so
many times in their lives and though that fear that Duo had for the forest was
still there, he found himself overwhelmed with the beauty of it, too. Duo had
always been a fast runner, though he was quite short, he was thin and his legs
were long, so he could run fairly quickly, just not for a long time. At first,
Relena had seemed set on trying to lose him in the thick matting of trees and
thorn bushes, but her white shirt and bright blue skirt made tracking her just
a little bit easier, even if she seemed a bit more agile than him. He didn�t
bother calling to her to slow down, knowing the stubborn girl wouldn�t listen.
As if she knew the turmoil that he was in, she laughed gleefully as she run,
closer and closer to the river. As Duo realized that, his heart raced in terror
and he wanted to stop, his duty to his father and his sister the only thing
that kept him chasing after her.

�� Goddamit, Relena, stop!� he
snarled, finally able to bolt forward as the trees thinned just a little and he
managed to grab her arm. As she whirled to face him, he thought, for a brief
moment, that she was going to bite him or hit him in the face, but she only
glared at him with complete loathing.

�� You can�t tell me what to do!� she snarled. Duo clutched
his quartz in his fist, contemplating the benefits of simply hitting her with
it and dragging her back home. He didn�t want to be out here. An hour had
already passed and the threat of dark in only another hour set him on edge.
Still, the thought of hurting Relena was so fleeting,
it was gone in less than a second, as though he had never thought of it at all.

�� Yes, I can,� he growled out, his fear frustrating him,
�Dad said you have to listen to me. We�re too deep in, we have to head back. If
Dad heard about you trying to lose me��

�� Duo had no doubts that that was exactly what Relena had
tried to do. He hadn�t ventured into the woods for ten whole years, though he
knew that his sister had snuck out here many times and knew that paths of the
wood better than he ever could. If he lost her, he would truly be lost and she
knew that. Relena laughed, shoving him away from her harshly.

�� Why should I listen to a single word you say?� she hissed
cruelly, her voice filled with malicious glee, �Why should Father trust you
over me? You, who killed Mom?! If you hadn�t been so irresponsible� if you had only remembered
to close the gate to the goat pen, she wouldn�t have been out that night! She
wouldn�t have been chasing the goats, she wouldn�t
have slipped and drowned in the river! Why should I listen to a murderer like
you? How Father can stand the sight of you, I certainly don�t know!� she shoved
him again and Duo stumbled backwards. His violet eyes clouded over with a deep,
agonizing pain, so sharp and powerful that he found it hard to breathe. He
remembered so little of that night� He wasn�t sure if it was the passage of
time, or simply because thinking of it was too painful, but he couldn�t
remember closing the gate, couldn�t remember much of that night at all. But�
the facts spoke for themselves, didn�t they? He and Hilde had often played with
the goats and it wasn�t unfeasible that he had forgotten to lock the gate. What
he did remember of that night was practically nothing, but he remembered the
next day. He remembered his father waking to find that his mother was not in
bed with him and had called for a search party. He remembered their servants
returning to the mansion with his mother�s dead body, bloated and pale from
water. He remembered him, Relena, and Hilde hiding outside the door to the
living room, listening as his father was told that his wife had been found a
mile from their house at the river bed, that it had been so muddy last night
and she had probably slipped and fell into the river. He remembered one of the
servants remarking that several of their goats were missing and that that had
probably lured his mother to the woods that night. He remembered the look his
father had given him when Relena had eventually spoken up later that day and
told him that Duo had been the last one at the goat pen the previous day. Oh,
yes, he remembered that look more clearly than anything else and he remembered
the gut wrenching pain that look had caused him.

�� So, as cruel as Relena�s comments were, they were true and
he felt paralyzed with the power and emotion behind them. He had asked himself
the very same things over and over again, how his father could find him so
reliable, how his father could even look him in the eye, knowing that his son
had killed his wife out of sheer carelessness. Mostly� he missed his mother and
it was all his fault. He knew these things and it tore
his insides up so badly, he barely noticed when his sister grabbed his quartz
from his hand and ran off with it. He blinked out of his stupor as she left his
sight. Though, in that moment, he hated her more than ever before, for making
him feel so terrible, for stealing his beloved token from his dead mother, he
felt overwhelmed by feelings of protection for her, to save her in the way he
had been incapable of saving his mother.

�� Relena!� he yelled and ran after her.

�� Duo tried to tell himself that it wasn�t the fact that
these very woods had claimed the life of his mother that set him so on edge, it
was simply because it was so hard to get lost in them, the way the thick trunks
of the trees kept you from seeing the path in front of you, or even the sun
above your head, how the thorn bushes pulled at your clothes and hidden holes
and rocks threatened to trip you up and snap your ankles. He tried to tell
himself that he hadn�t gone back into the woods since his mother�s death
because he had never needed to, because there were wild things out here and
kids like him had no business in the forest, but these things were not entirely
true. In less than ten minutes chasing after his sister, Duo had become
hopelessly lost. He couldn�t tell which way she had gone, or which way they had
come from, and, even if he could still see the sky, which was slowly darkening,
it was still too bright to see the stars, too bright to tell where north was.
Off in the distance, he heard a long, deep howl. He couldn�t tell if it was a
dog, a coyote, or a wolf, but it sent a shiver down his spine. He quickly
realized how pointless it was simply running around, not knowing where he was
going, and sat down against a tree. A strong wind picked up and ruffled the
various foliage and tree branches, making Duo shudder. He felt as though this
forest knew it had taken one of his family before and
was hungry for another. He knew, logically, that he only had to wait about a
half an hour more before his father knew he and his sister had not come home
yet and sent someone to come get them, but he was terrified. He was furious at
Relena for making him feel this way at the same time he was scared for her.
Despite his anger, he hoped that she knew the forest well enough to go back on
her own. He rubbed the palms of his hands against his eyes, feeling the sudden,
childish urge to start crying, but he didn�t dare show the wilderness he was
now trapped in any weakness.

�� Dad will find me,� Duo thought miserably, �He�ll find me��
but all he could think of was that howl and how very alone and scared he felt,
deep in his heart.

�� Relena smirked to herself as she looked back and realized
that she had shaken Duo off of her trail. It hadn�t been that hard, honestly,
though Duo was quite quick, he didn�t know this forest like she did, scared
like the little boy that he was of it. It served him right. She hoped that he
was quaking and crying for his �Daddy� to rescue him. Who did he think he was,
treating her like a little kid? They were three years apart, for Christ�s
sake!� She didn�t feel bad for leaving
him alone or those things she had said to him. It had been the truth, she just didn�t understand how their father could
look up to Duo so much, knowing what he had done all those years ago! She
tossed the ball of quartz high up in the air, catching it deftly. It was truly
a beautiful thing, and her little brother certainly didn�t deserve it. Before
Duo had been born, and before he had become a toddler, she had been her
father�s little princess and she had reveled in the attention her parents had
given her. But then Duo had gotten older and they had seen something in him
that had stolen all of their attention away from her. Just what was so special
about him anyway?! He was quiet and meek and a suck-up know-it-all! There were
a lot of things she disliked in life, slimy things, snakes, frogs, cold baths,
cottage cheese, but she didn�t hate anything so much as she hated her little
brother. She tossed the ball again, a cruel smile crossing her face. She took
great pleasure in making the little brat miserable and what would make him more
miserable than losing his precious treasure?

�� As she walked, eventually the heavy tree line melted away
into a clearing and she could see the river. On a whim, or rather an emotional
impulse, she threw her hand back and let the ball of quartz go with all of her
strength. She almost wanted to laugh as she saw the shimmering thing arch out
in the air, then fall into the river with a splash, so heavy that it only sank
and didn�t drift with the current. That would serve Duo right, she thought. If
he loved it so much, he could dive in after it, and maybe the river would kill
him like it had their mother and she would be free of him once and for all! The
thought brought a dark smile on her face, though deep down she knew that she
didn�t have the bravery or courage to do such a thing. It wasn�t because of any
affection she had for her brother, it was simply an
inability to face her father�s wrath. It was that thought, the image of her
father�s face contorted with anger, and the sort of terrible punishment he
would bestow upon her, that made her realize what she had just done. Normally,
she would feel no fear at her actions, believing that nothing bad could
possibly happen to her, but that ball had been Duo�s, she thought with distaste, and if Duo told their father that
she had stolen the ball and had lost it, he would be furious. It didn�t help
that their mother had given Duo the ball. If she came back empty handed� she
shivered in fear. She couldn�t go back without it! But� there was no way she
was wading out in that freezing water, getting herself all dirty with mud and
gunk! If only she could find a way to get it back without going into the water
herself�

�� Why so upset, little Miss?� a rough, deep voice almost
seemed to boom from her behind her. Relena, so absorbed in her thoughts, had not
heard the rustling of the bushes behind her as the man had walked into the
clearing, had not heard him walk right up to her, so when she whirled at his
voice, she was not only startled, but terrified.

�� Through her fear, the second thing that Relena felt when
she took a look at what she deemed her �attacker� was disgust. He was tall,
about a foot taller than her, with stubble around his face, dirt on his skin,
and torn, smelly clothes that made her nose wrinkle in distaste. He looked like
a vagrant, in fact, she was quite sure that he was one. He carried nothing with
him and Relena was sure that he had nothing, his boots looking like he had been
walking in them for most of his life. He wasn�t very old, about in his
twenties, though his eyes seemed ancient and had dark circles under them. He
was thin, not in a dying sort of way, but enough that it was clear that he
gathered his own food. All of these things made Relena scared of the man,
scared that he would try to rob her or rape her, perhaps even slit her throat
when he was done, but what simply terrified
her was the dangerous look in his piercing blue eyes and how his terribly
messy, dark brown hair, which fell around his shoulders, gave him the look of a
rogue wolf instead of a man. Her voice caught in her throat, her body torn
between fight and flight. Of course, the idea of fighting the tightly muscled,
tall man was ludicrous, still, she was slimmer and more agile than he was and
could probably get away if he hadn�t been directly in front of her. However,
through her fear, a spark of intelligence shown through and she staid rooted in
a thought of shrewdness. She was more than capable of crocodile tears, using
her fear as a prod to herself, and let them slip down her pale, smooth cheeks.

�� Oh, good sir, I�ve lost my favorite thing in the whole
world, a ball of shimmering quartz! I was playing here by the river when I
slipped and dropped it in the water! I can�t go home without it! Will you help
me?� Relena had to hide a grin as she begged. Yes, let this vagrant dive into
the cold, cold water and search blindly for her brother�s precious rock. He
certainly wouldn�t look any worse off than he already did! As soon as she got
it back, she would rush home, and if her brother was truly lost and never
showed up, she could blame it on this man! Hopefully, her brother would freeze
tonight and no one would ever be the wiser! And, of course, any man would be
glad to do something for free for a pretty, sweet girl like her.

�� Relena watched as the man�s blue eyes became pensive,
thinking over what she had said. Suddenly, the man smiled kindly at her and
something in her heart warmed, though she couldn�t figure out why, the man
wasn�t exactly handsome, not smelling and looking as he did.

�� I would be glad to get your ball,� he said softly and
Relena beamed, �However, I am in need of a place to rest for a few days and a
hot meal. I�ll get your ball for you, but only if you promise to allow me to
sleep in your home.�

�� Relena�s eyes narrowed slightly at the proposal. To think
of this disgusting man in her beautiful home� it was laughable! Of course, he
certainly didn�t have to know that. Let him think he was getting a warm bed, as
long as he gave her what she needed, she could lose him quite easily in the
forest.

�� Thank you so much, I would be glad to let you stay in my
home!� she exclaimed, hoping that the man couldn�t see her lie when inside she
was crowing that she had been right about his homelessness and disgusted by it.
The man smiled at her and extended his large, calloused hand to her.

�� Then we have a deal. My name is Heero,� he said. Relena
stared at the hand and made no move to take it, rubbing her own on her skirt at
the mere thought of touching his dirty skin.

�� Relena,� she said after a moment, contemplating whether
she should lie about her name, but didn�t see the point in it. Heero put his
hand down, getting the message that she didn�t want to shake hands with him.

�� Well, Relena,� he said as he approached the river, �Don�t
cry anymore. I�ll get your ball.�

�� With that, Relena watched as the stranger dove into the
river, clothes and all. He disappeared under the current quickly and, as a
minute went by, she was sure that he had been swept away. For a moment, she was
glad, not wanting to deal with the dangerous looking vagrant, but she quickly
remembered that he was her only hope at getting the ball back. She looked on in
amazement as his dark head poked out of the waves and he swam back towards her,
getting out of the water and shaking his head to free stubborn water from this
thick, untamed bangs like a dog would. Clutched in his hand was the ball of
quartz. With a gleeful look, Relena took the ball from him, but didn�t spare
him a moment�s glance, her goal in sight. She turned on her heel and ran, as
fast and hard as she could, into the thick trees.

�� Wait!� she heard him call after her and laughed as she
heard his heavy footsteps, knowing that his larger form would not be able to
track her. Her suspicions were confirmed in mere minutes as she could no longer
hear the man behind her. She paused and listened, but couldn�t hear anything
and grinned. She tossed the ball up in the air and, whistling happily, started
to make her way back home.

�� Heero had watched, in shock, as the teenaged girl had fled,
the pretty quartz in her hand, but now, he wondered how he could possibly be shocked
at her behavior. He had been homeless for a very long time, hiding out in woods
and killing animals, drinking from streams, just to survive. This wasn�t the
first time he had reached to someone and it wasn�t the first time he had been
betrayed. He had been foolish to run after her, her slim form able to dart
between trees much more quickly than his and he had lost her within minutes. He
sighed to himself. He was freezing, his wet close sticking to him, and he was
hungry. Food had been scarce lately and he had lost a little weight. It had
been stupid of him to think that the girl would let him into her home, few people did when they saw how he looked, but still�
foolishly� he had hoped. At the very least, he had wished that she had been
honest with him. He shook his head, trying to clear out more water, but just
felt like a drowned rat. He would have to find something to eat, sooner or
later, maybe an underfed rabbit or even a crow. He thought back on the girl
with yearning. There was nothing sexual about his thoughts, he had never
thought of women in such a way before, but that lure of a warm home and a hot
meal had been powerful, gravitating, and now that it was gone, he felt so empty
inside, until the anger had started to fill him. It had been a very, very long
time since he had met a kind person, someone willing to help him, just because
he needed it. He was quite sure that he would never find another person like
that. He trudged through the trees, cursing as his arm caught on one of the
thorn bushes and it scratched him. His anger didn�t matter, what the girl had
done didn�t matter, he decided, he just needed to keep walking. That was the
story of his life, to keep going, no matter what happened to him, no matter
what he wanted.

��

��

Duo,
even as a child, had always loved Robert Frost, but in this current instance,
having �the woods are lovely, dark, and deep� circling through his head over
and over was more bitterly ironic than he cared to think of. He felt miserable,
frozen in his place, sitting on the ground, his arms wrapped around his knees
as he tried to bury his face in them, a task that at first had had him paranoid
in case some animal tried to sneak up on him, but mostly, he was too scared to
look around. He knew that he was being a big baby about his situation, but he
couldn�t help the fear, couldn�t tame it no matter what lies he fed himself. He
wanted to cry, very badly, but didn�t want to give in to the weakness, didn�t
want to admit out loud just how scared and lost he was. Even if his father went
looking for him, there was the very real possibility that he would never find
him. Duo felt a tear slide down his cheek. There was a storm coming, too, and
that feeling of uncertainty, of not knowing what to do, was tearing him up
inside. He had known, from the very start, that this
had not been a smart thing to do. ��

Duo�s
head shot up as he heard something, probably a branch or fallen twig, snap only
a few feet away from him. He looked up just in time to see a man nearly climb
out of the brambles and heavy bushes that surrounded Duo�s spot. He stared wide
eyed at him, unsure of what to do. He was frozen to the spot again, realizing
that, if this man was dangerous, he had absolutely no weapons of any kind and
the man was much bigger than him and Duo knew little of self defense. He was
sure that if he screamed, even if, through some random luck, someone heard him,
if they found him at all, he would be long dead.

Heero
stumbled through the bushes, swearing under his breath as his clothes got
caught in more thorns once more, but managed to free himself. He instinctively
sensed that he was not alone, though the sun was quickly setting and it was
getting darker. His blue eyes met with a young boy and he, too, froze in place,
less out of fear and more out of awareness that the boy was terrified and ready
to bolt. For a brief second, he looked as though he could not believe what he
was seeing, but forced the emotion away. The boy was a pretty thing, though he
had long hair, it was clear to Heero that he was a boy, his eyes a rich,
strange color that seemed to draw him in. His clothes were well made and he was
sure that he belonged to the same family as that girl, Relena, but there was
something in those eyes that made Heero�s anger melt
away. He found himself wanting to ease the boy, who was obviously even more
upset than the girl had been. Heero was smart enough to see why, a teenaged
boy, crying in a dark wood, the poor thing was probably lost and not as knowing
as the girl. He raised his hands in a symbol of peace, showing that he had no
weapons in them, though he supposed that the boy, if he wasn�t an idiot,
understood that Heero could strangle him quite easily if he wanted to.

�I�m
sorry to startle you,� he apologized and felt gifted when the terrified look in
the longhaired boy�s eyes started to abate a little, �I mean you no harm. What
is the matter? Why are you crying?� Heero felt a second�s foolishness at
reaching out to the boy. He had been worried when he had stumbled on the girl,
also crying, and had tried to soothe her, only to be shunned for all his
troubles. However, this boy seemed to settle a little and looked at him, not
with disgust or contempt, but curiosity and hope.

�I�m
lost,� Duo said in a small voice. Heero instantly felt� softened by the
admission and the look in the boy�s eyes. He was truly frightened, not the anxiety
he had seen in Relena, but actual terror. Heero found that he simply did not
have the ability to leave the child out in the dark woods, for any reason, and
approached him like he would a timid fox, not wanting to scare him any further.
However, the boy didn�t seem so scared of him anymore, he instead seemed more
preoccupied with the woods around them, as though he thought some terrible
monster was going to leap out and slaughter the two of them. Though he was
cold, wet, and very, very hungry, that look in the boy�s eyes, absolute terror,
only tempered by a very real attempt at being brave, seemed to make his own
problems so very small. It had been a very long time since Heero had been
afraid of anything. He had hunted every creature in these woods, from large
buck to feral wolf, and had survived so far. Heero sat on the ground near Duo,
not too close to startle him or make him feel uncomfortable, trying to make
himself smaller so the boy didn�t think that he really was some terrible person
that was going to hurt him.

Duo
watched the man carefully as he sat down on the ground with him, but it wasn�t
out of any fear of him, rather, he was trying to figure him out. So far from
town, deep in the woods, it was shocking to him that anyone could possibly be here.
He looked ragged and worn, but there was a handsome quality to his features,
even if he could do with a proper shower, and his eyes were kind, certainly not
the eyes of a murderer. Duo blushed slightly as he tried to figure out what it
was, exactly, that had made him think of the stranger as handsome, but couldn�t
quite place it. He had never thought of his own sexuality before, how could he?
He wasn�t that old and his world was centered around
his family, television, and movies. He had no real friends, no one that he
could look at and think �that is a person I could fall
for�. He spent more time with the family animals and occasional rabbits that
ended up on their property than with anyone close to his age. But, this man�
there was something about him that made him feel oddly warm inside. It wasn�t
the sort of untamed heat that he had read about in books, it was more like a
single spark that had piqued his curiosity. His eyes widened as he took in the
man�s incredibly messy, damp hair and his wet clothes.

�Who
are you?� he suddenly blurted out, snapping his mouth shut just as quickly as
he had spoken, his instilled manners telling him how rude he was being.
However, the man didn�t seem the least bit offended and chuckled at the
question.

�My
name is Heero,� the man offered, �I live in the woods here.�

Duo�s
interest lessened his fear. It had been a very, very long time since he had
seen a new face, let alone someone that actually showed an interest in talking
to him like an individual and not a child.

�Duo,�
he returned the favor, �I was out playing with my sister, but now I can�t find
the path back home.�

Heero
smiled kindly at the explanation. It was easy to see how the boy could have
gotten lost, the woods were big and confusing, especially
to someone who hadn�t gone into them very often.

�Why
are your clothes wet?� Duo asked curiously.

�I
took a swim,� Heero responded good naturedly. He was
surprised that the boy wasn�t trying to get away with him. He wasn�t used to
people talking to him so freely. He was even more surprised when Duo looked at
him with a worried expression.

�But
you must be cold! A storm�s coming and it�ll probably rain soon. You�ll get
sick.�

Heero
stifled a chuckle. This �Duo� was a strange boy, acting so adult-like,
practically scolding him for childish behavior. If anyone else had done so, he
would have been annoyed, but, somehow, when Duo did it, it seemed charming. Duo
looked down at his own clothes mournfully.

�I�m
sorry,� he murmured, �I don�t have anything warm to give you.�

Heero�s
heart, having grown cold and stiff after years of taking care of himself, warmed at the boy�s concern.

�That�s
quite alright,� he assured him, �It wouldn�t do for me to steal warmth from you
when it�ll be cold soon. I�ve lived in these woods for many years and I think I
can help you find your way back home. You must live in that mansion at the edge
of the forest, it�s the only place near here.�

Duo,
like a ray of sunshine through a slit in a black cloud, brightened the dark
forest air with his sudden exuberant smile. He felt the remains of his fear
completely vanished and struggled to contain the urge to hug the stranger.

�Thank
you!� he cried, overwhelmed in his relief. Heero�s smile grew, the boy�s
personality quite contagious, even to one as himself that was not used to
smiling or being happy. Then, the boy�s expression fell again and Heero felt
the loss very strongly. He realized that he really didn�t want him to be sad,
for any reason, he was far too beautiful when he was smiling and far too devastating
when he was in pain.

�But�
I can�t repay you,� Duo said sadly, �I don�t have anything to give you.�

�You
don�t have to,� Heero urged, �It is not a small thing. You are lost and if I
left you out here alone, far from your family, I would not be able to forgive
myself.�

�But
I must!� Duo insisted, �You don�t have to help me and if I can�t repay you for
a simply kindness, I wouldn�t be a very good person at all. Besides, I was
scared and you helped me. I simply have to repay you for making me feel better!
I don�t have much, but my father is wealthy. He can pay you,� Duo looked up at
the cloudy sky with worry, �And, if you are escorting me back home, I must
insist that you stay with us, at least for a few days. It will be a bad storm
and your clothes are wet. We can feed you and give you shelter, unless you
really don�t want to,� Duo hesitated. He found that he really wanted Heero to
take him up on his offer. To have someone to talk to, to distract him from his
older sister, that would be a wonderful thing, and he didn�t think he would be
able to sleep tonight knowing that the kind stranger was braving the storm in
the dark woods.

Heero�s
deep blue eyes widened at the teenager�s words. What he was offering was what
he had wanted from Relena, only, it was even more, since Duo was offering that
his father pay him. Of course, money was of little use
to a man like him, but the gesture alone made him feel lighter. And the boy was
offering it so freely, without a second thought. Heero had not seen that sort
of kindness in any point of his life. It was refreshing and made the boy seem
all the more beautiful. Also, he could see the need in the boy�s eyes, the need
for a friend and the need to help someone that needed it. Those things were
very powerful. Heero was not a stranger to deep loneliness, he had been Duo�s
age the last time he had had a friend, but he was long gone now. Still, there
was that cynical, jaded part of himself that had allowed him to survive for so
long that was now telling him that the boy couldn�t be trusted. Relena was
obviously this boy�s sister and she had made him promises, too, only to abandon
him the second his part of the bargain was fulfilled. Would this boy do the
same thing, fleeing the second he was shown the right path? He did not want to
believe that, he could not believe such a mature, soft spoken person could be
that sort of terrible person, but he was still unsure. However, Duo had been
the one to offer it, not Heero. Why would he offer if he did not intend to see
it through? Besides, Heero told himself, it didn�t matter if Duo kept his promise, he would not leave him out here, in the dark, all
alone, especially remembering how terrified he had been. He would show the
child back to his home, regardless of the reward.

�Alright,�
Heero agreed, �But I would have showed you the way back, no matter the reward.
I would be grateful if I could spend a few days at your home, but only if your
father allows me. I don�t want you to feel bad if he doesn�t.�

Duo
fought the urge to blush again at Heero�s assurances. Though his parents had
always taught him the right thing to do, being with Relena had also showed him
that many people would not do anything unless they got something out of it. He
was glad that this man was not at all like his sister. Despite being complete
strangers, he was willing to help him and Duo felt that what he could offer him
was so little in comparison.

It
quickly became dark and as the two of them walked side by side, Duo realized
just how tall and imposing Heero really was. It was odd, he thought, but he
felt at ease with him, as though he trusted him not to hurt him. It was silly,
since, in reality, he knew nothing about the man that was showing him the way
back home, but he truly didn�t feel threatened, whether because of his actions
or that kind look in his beautiful eyes, Duo wasn�t sure. The more logical part
of himself, that part that tried not to be influenced by acts of kindness or
attractive eyes, told him that Heero could be leading him off to his death and
he would never know. But, that didn�t really make sense, when he thought about
it. Heero could kill him right now and no one would ever know, unless he was of
the sort that liked to play games, and as much as Duo�s head told him that this
was very possible, his heart refused to believe it. It was a childish urge, he
supposed, to want to think the best of a new friend, simply because he was
lonely and wanted someone to talk to. Though, on the way back, the two didn�t
talk very much. Heero was concentrating on the paths and Duo was suddenly
overwhelmed by a feeling of shyness. It had been so long since he had had to
talk to anyone that wasn�t a part of his family and was scared of making a fool
of himself to this man that he wanted very much to like him.

So
emerged in his thoughts, it was a great surprise to Duo when the thick trees
parted and he could see his house peaking through them. He managed to shock
both himself and Heero when he hugged him tightly in his gratitude.

�Thank
you,� he breathed in a small voice, �Thank you so much for helping me!�

Some
part of Heero wanted to return the younger boy�s hug, but in that moment and
pleasant shock, he didn�t have it in him. He was overwhelmed by the gesture,
even if it had only been a spur of the moment move in a moment of elation. When
was the last time he had felt the touch of another human? He couldn�t remember,
years he was positive. The boy was warm, he could feel that through his cold
clothing, and his body threatened to shake with it, wanting to swallow up that
warmth and feel it, deep inside. When he was released, he realized that he
could still feel the boy�s body heat, even though he had moved away from him,
as though the mere memory of it had made it real. To his further shock, in an
act that Heero thought would cause his heart to explode inside of him, the boy
did not run off towards the house, but staid next to him, searching his face,
his violet eyes bright with excitement.

�� Well? Are you coming?� Duo prodded, seeing the man�s
frozen posture and suddenly feeling scared that he wouldn�t come into the house
with him. Had he done something wrong in hugging him? He supposed it was a
childish thing, especially for a boy, but it had been the only way he could
think of showing how grateful he was. He was usually very eloquent, but his
words failed him around Heero, who seemed a little awkward, something that Duo
wasn�t used to and wasn�t sure if his words were good enough.

�� Heero thought his heart would surely stop in shock as he
realized that the boy truly did mean to keep his promise, leading him to the
front door. No terse words were exchanged, no excuses as to why the promise had
to be broken, only an open, warm look on the teenagers face as he struggled to
keep Heero moving towards the door. Eventually, Heero realized that he wasn�t
going to be put out or betrayed and he followed Duo up the front, large steps
and to the beautifully crafted door of the mansion. Around them, the wind had
picked up and tossed their hair with abandon. This made little difference to
Heero�s, but seeing the boy�s tossed bangs made the blue eyed man�s heart hurt
as he looked at him. There was something very� ethereal about it, a far cry
from the hair of a wild dog or rabbit that he was used to, or even his own
thick, dark hair. His newly made friend opened the door and ushered him inside,
more like a treasured guest than a stray dog that Heero felt like. The inside
of the large home was pleasantly warm, but startlingly so for Heero. He hadn�t
felt that sort of warmth since his early teenaged years, the only sources of
warmth in the forest being a rare fire or the heat of summer. Through all of
this, Duo acted as though what he had done was the most natural thing in the
world, while Heero felt like his world had been shook off of its axis.

�� Very few people have every given me anything so freely
before,� Heero remarked as Duo led him down the hallway. Duo turned to look at
him with a strange, sad expression.

�� Why?� he asked. Heero couldn�t help but smile at the boy�s
naivet�. It was obvious to him that Duo had led a rather sheltered life. It
wasn�t through any fault of his own, but obviously, he had spent most of his
life in this house, in the loneliness of the woods and hadn�t had a lot of
contact with other people. It explained a little bit for Heero, why Duo seemed
so excited that he hadn�t refused to come here with him.

�� Not everyone in the world wishes to repay others for their
help. Most people will only do something if there is some great benefit in it,�
he told him. Duo frowned.

�� But, you helped me when I really needed it. If it weren�t
for you, I�d still be stuck in those woods. I was so scared that my father
would never find me and that I would be lost forever, but you helped me without
asking for anything in return! My parents raised me to believe that we should
always do the right thing. You did me a true favor, so I should give you
something in return, also because you need it. It must be hard, living on your
own. Is it wrong that I try to help you?� Duo asked, once again feeling as
though he had done something wrong. Was his trying to help Heero implying that
he couldn�t do it himself and therefore rude? He hadn�t meant to be, but the
sight of Heero, cold and hungry, had been painful to him. He had the means to
help him, so wasn�t that his responsibility? To his great relief, Heero didn�t
act defended by this at all and smiled at him.

�� No, it isn�t wrong, but few people see the world that
way,� Heero said mournfully, �You aren�t the first person that has promised me
a place to stay, but you are the first to have offered it and one of the few
that has kept a promise to me.�

�� That�s terrible,� Duo said sadly, �If you aren�t going to
do something, why bother making the promise at all?�

�� Duo, what are you doing bringing that man into our home?!�

�� Relena�s shrill cry made both boys stiffen, Heero narrowing
his cobalt-colored eyes at the familiar girl. She stood by the door to the
kitchen with her hands on her hips, looking furious and not the bit ashamed at
seeing Heero there. In fact, she didn�t seem to notice his presence at all,
simply glaring her little brother down as though her look could cow him into
submission. Heero thought for a minute that it would, feeling
another spark of anger at the girl for trying to control her brother. However,
Duo didn�t waver, merely glaring back at her. Relena realized that the tactic
wasn�t working, but her gaze was still icily furious.

�� That man is dangerous! How dare you let him in here! Dad
will be so angry at you!� there was a malicious gleam in Relena�s eyes as she
said this, just at the thought of getting her brother in trouble. She was
shocked to see Heero and wondered how he and Duo had found each other and how
Duo had found his way back home. She wasn�t worried that Heero would tell on
her. Who would trust a vagrant over her, anyway?

�� He isn�t dangerous,� Duo protested, �He helped me find my
way back home after you got me lost.�

�� Relena laughed, whether disdainful over Duo�s remarks that
she was more dangerous than Heero or to simply cover over her guilt in the
whole situation, only she knew.

�� That� man is completely untrustworthy! He lives in the
woods, for Christ�s sake! He�s nothing more than a two timing vagrant and
anything he says is a lie!� Duo caught a tinge of fear in her voice and pounced
on it like a tiger with a wounded deer.

�� If he�s so untrustworthy, than why did he help me? If he
had wanted to hurt me, why not just do it out in the woods where no one could
find me?! As far as I�m concerned, he�s more trustworthy than you are! At least
he didn�t leave me out in the middle of a bloody storm, completely lost and
alone!� Duo snapped angrily, his hands curled into fists. Heero watched him
with a sense of respect. The boy was a bit shorter than his sister, but she flinched
away from him like he was a wild animal that had come to snarl at her. He put a
comforting hand on Duo�s shoulder and Relena�s light blue eyes widened in
confusion when Duo didn�t seem the least bit uncomfortable with his presence.

�� You still owe me, Relena,� he said coldly, �You ran off
before you could fulfill your promise to me.�

�� What promise was that?� Treize asked, standing behind
Relena suddenly, having heard shouting from the kitchen, but not understanding
what his children were yelling at each other about. At first, he had been
shocked to see a stranger in his house, but his son seemed to accept him, so he
temporarily let it go, wanting to know what this was all about.

�� Relena whirled and looked at her father in shock. He saw a
fraction of guilt in her expression, though she tried to cover it up, she was
his child and he was used to seeing such things.

�� Dad,� she stumbled to find some excuse, some way to brush
off Heero�s words as a lie, or misunderstanding, but Duo�s inexplicable trust
in the homeless man complicated things greatly.

�� What promise?� Treize pressed. Heero�s eyes widened as he
saw Treize, that same shock and desire to do or say something that he had had
when he had seen Duo, but once again, it passed quickly. He realized that Relena
was never going to respond and sighed.

�� She needed me to get something from her,� he tried to explain, �She promised that, if I got it, she would allow me
to stay in this house for a few days. However, once I gave it to her, she fled.
Shortly after that, I found Duo in the woods. He was lost and promised me, if I
could help him get home, he would let me stay, at least until the storm is
over,� Heero gave Relena a cold look, �Unlike your daughter, Duo kept his
promise. Even if you say that I can�t stay, at least he tried and I have no
more debt with him.�

�� Duo bit his lip, hoping that his father would say yes. Even
if Heero said that he had repaid his debt just by trying, that wasn�t good
enough for him. The cold look that Heero had given his sister was nothing
compared to the look that their father was giving her now.

�� Relena,� the older man practically hissed, �I am ashamed
of you!�

�� Relena had the good sense to look chastised, but didn�t
dare to look away from her angry father.

�� This man helped you and you ran away! This is not the way
your mother and I taught you to behave!� Treize sighed heavily, suddenly
feeling very weary and ran a hand through his short hair, �Why can�t you be
more like your brother? At least he followed through on a promise. If you were
unwilling to keep your promise, you should not have asked this man to help
you!�

�� Relena bristled at the comparison to her younger brother.

�� But� he just came out of the woods and he scared me! What
kind of� pervert approaches a young girl anyway?� she stuck up her nose at
Heero, whose eyes widened at the insinuation that he would have raped her.

�� Then why did you ask for Heero�s help?� Duo yelled at her,
shocking his father, �If you were so scared of him, why didn�t you run away?!
It�s not like he asked to take you somewhere! Asking for shelter isn�t that
unreasonable! You could have brought him here and told Dad about it, who could
have called the cops if you were so damned frightened! Instead, you slunk off
and left him behind! I wasn�t with you at the time,
did you even think that this �dangerous man� might hurt me?�

�� It wasn�t often that Duo stood up to his big sister.
Mostly, he didn�t see the point in it, but her remarks about Heero enraged him.
It was true, when he had first seen the impressive man, he had been frightened,
but what Relena was saying wasn�t the truth and she knew it. She was only using
how Heero looked to get her way, and to get out of trouble. Treize realized
that, too. He was shocked at Duo�s anger towards his sister, but saw that Duo
was making a lot more sense. The man, Heero, did look dangerous, but he had
helped his son where Relena had not, had helped his daughter, too. Relena had
told him when she had arrived that Duo had gotten lost, and for a moment, he wondered
if she had left him on purpose, but really didn�t want to think that of his
daughter, even if he could see her doing it.

�� Relena opened her mouth to protest all of this, but her
father seemed to dismiss her and approached Heero, which only made her rage
skyrocket even more. Heero�s shock at Treize�s appearance and actions returned
when the man, even taller than him, reached his hand out to shake. Not exactly
sure what to do, Heero returned it, not really knowing what he was shaking for.

�� Thank you for bringing my son back safely,� Treize said,
his deep voice shaking with raw emotion that he didn�t even try to repress.
Heero�s eyes widened further, not expecting the sort of powerful gratitude he
saw in the other man�s eyes.

�� It wasn�t any trouble,� he confessed, �I know those woods
well and I knew where your home was. Besides, I couldn�t have just walked
away.�

�� I want to apologize for my daughter�s behavior,� Treize
said, barely casting Relena another glance, �It was very rude what she did to you.
Regardless of any promises either of my children made to you, you helped both
of them and I would be honored to have you stay, for as long as you need. We
are not wanting for food or shelter and my children have very few anywhere near
their age to talk to. It can get quite� lonely out here. Having you stay with
us is no trouble. I just ask that if you need anything, you talk to me.�

�� Heero found himself smiling at Treize�s words. He had been
doing that a lot in the last hour� smiling. It seemed like forever that he had
done so and truly meant it.

�� I cannot deny that what your daughter did was a betrayal,�
Heero pointed out, �However, I don�t wish to punish her. I would like to know
her better, your son as well. If I could be so bold, could I sleep in the room
next to hers? It�s been awhile since I�ve been with people and it would be� a
comfort.�

�� Relena stared at the strange man incredulously. How dare he
suggest that he sleep near her?! The thought was disgusting at the same time
that it shocked her, she couldn�t figure out why he would ask such a thing. She
expected her father to give out some sort of outcry that he would want to sleep
near her for some perverted reason, but to her frustration, Treize only smiled
at Heero.

�� That�s fine. There are two bedrooms in between Duo�s and Relena�s, you can have one of those. You can take a hot
shower and get out of those clothes, I�m sure I can find some to fit you. But
first, I�m sure you�re hungry and dinner is ready,� Treize turned and led them
into the dinning room. Heero followed, still a little unsure of himself, but Duo stood by his side, silently leading him, as
his sister glared daggers at Heero�s back.
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The Frog Prince