Indigo Eyes 8
Slowly, I turned around and met the enraged eyes of the man I had once called Father. His clothes was as neatly pressed as it had always been, his hair combed back in a way mine would never stand for, and his shoes polished to a professional grade, but despite this, he still looked flustered. I said nothing, merely stared at him, daring him to make a bigger scene than he was already causing.
“Don’t just stand there. Answer me!” he growled, his gaze piercing enough to stop an elephant stampede. “What was going through that faggot brain of yours when you decided to pose for this mockery of art?”
I shrugged and answered in the most neutral tone I could muster, a tone that Father was famous for but wasn’t exercising tonight, “I was homeless and almost penniless because of-” I paused and corrected what I had been about to say, “the circumstances. I learned the value of honest work from you and took the job of being Mr. Maxwell’s model for his new collection seeing as I was unfit for any other job that would allow me to support myself.”
I supposed that was true enough. Duo hadn’t actually paid me yet, I hadn’t asked for it, but he made sure I was always fed, clothed, and taken care of. I thought it was a fair trade. He always let me keep the change when he sent me to the grocery store or market, allowing me to have saved up a pretty penny. I considered that enough compensation.
I saw my father grind his teeth together, Mother standing meekly behind him. She was a traditionalist herself, and though she was disgusted with me, being her only child, she’d done her best to plead my case. The only problem was, she virtually has no say in the Yuy household when it comes to Father’s decisions.
“So you decided to sell yourself to the first person who comes your way. I had no idea all my hard earned money went into raising an educated WHORE!”
I vaguely registered the amount of people staring at us. I’m sure we had caused quite a scene, but I refused to acknowledge it.
“I am not a whore,” I said, neutrally, even though I was dying to get out of there and find a nice heavy rock to live under for the rest of my life.
Father motioned the works around us, most of them displaying me shirtless, some shirtless and wet, others naked with strategically placed inanimate objects. “I beg to differ, boy. The evidence is irrefutable. You are a faggot and a whore. How dare you do this to your honorable family? How dare you make a mockery of us by inviting all our friends and clients to something so disgraceful?” he then produced the invitation that had been sent out and threw it on the floor at my feet, his face scrunching up in disgust.
“Is there a problem here?” Duo’s voice rang in my ears, his soft touch registered as a welcome intrusion on my shoulder.
Father sneered, “This is no concern of yours.”
“I’m afraid it is,” Duo said calmly. “You’re insulting my work at my opening. I don’t take such hard criticism lightly.”
Father’s eyes widened at that, his hands clenching into fists, “You’re the one that hired my faggot of a son to pose? I had disowned him so that he would no longer sully our lives and you bring him back into this society as a whore, who do you think you are?”
I had had enough. I couldn’t take being so passive any more. As he just reminded everyone in the room, I was no longer his son. I no longer had to live up to the name that Father worked to protect. I was free.
With my resolve set, I answered before Duo got a chance to, “He’s my boyfriend,” I said. I leaned in closer to him, my hand caressing his cheek as I brought his face down to meet mine. I licked his bottom lip and was rewarded with a teasing tongue teasing my mouth as I enjoyed my first full-blown kiss. My fuzzy senses registered Duo wrapping his arms around my waist, pressing me tight against his body. When we broke apart, I noticed my arms were placed over his shoulders and my hands were buried in his hair, how had that happened?
The sputtering sound that came as a reaction to our kissing broke me out of the spell that was beginning to settle over me, causing me to turn to said distraction. Father’s face was red, his nostrils flaring, and the look of utter revulsion clear on his visage. I’d never seen him so discomposed, which would have been disturbing had I still led the life I did when he still claimed me as a son.
“As you can see, Mr. Yuy,” Duo began, still holding on to my waist in a protective manner, “This is entirely my business. I will not tolerate you disgracing my art and insulting my lover. I have no choice but to ask security to escort you off the premises.”
“That won’t be necessary,” he said, stomping away.
Mother looked embarrassed and picked up the invitation Father had thrown on the floor, pressing it to her bosom as she bowed slightly before us, “Gomen nasai, Maxwell-sensei, Hee-chan.” She then exited as gracefully as she could, trying to catch up to Father.
When he left, I was left with no other option but to acknowledge the people that had crowded around us in a large circle, which is probably why Duo couldn’t get to me sooner. It had felt good to finally stand up to Father. Of course, knowing that I no longer had to deal with him afterwards helped the situation immensely.
“Thank you,” I whispered to Duo, eternally grateful that he’d come to my aid.
He just smiled down at me and gave me a tighter hug, “We’ll talk at home.”
Clapping soon caught my attention and I was mildly alarmed that all the people in the room were smiling and clapping at US! What was going on?
“They’re clapping at you,” Duo clarified and addressed the room, “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my greatest pleasure to introduce you to my muse and model, Heero Yuy.” He let me go and clapped too, making me blush and leaving me completely unsure of what to do with myself. “We apologize for that little spectacle you all had to witness, but we hope that you enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Announcement done, people started approaching me and shaking my hand. Some people commented on my looks, that Duo hadn’t done me justice or some such thing like that. Other people congratulated me for what I’d done; I could only infer that they were talking about my standoff with Father. The rest of the evening was spent greeting countless people, some of which I knew, some of which I didn’t, many of which were Quatre’s immediate family and/or Maguanacs.
I didn’t get to spend much time with Duo that evening at all, that is, not until we came home.
Apparently, Quatre’s insistence on buying the first painting had offended other patrons and they too demanded to be sold one as well. Others acted like they did in the stock market; they saw people buying quickly, and they too started to buy. On the way home, Duo was grinning from ear to ear as he told me that Wufei had had his hands full sorting out clients and payments and delivery schedules. It had been his best opening ever and was sure to be the most profitable.
“Doesn’t it hurt to sell your work?” I asked curiously as he drove through nearly-empty streets that night.
His face lost the grin, only to be replaced by a sad smile, “It’s always hard to part with my work. I always take pictures of everything I do and keep them in albums with descriptions of materials and media at home. That way, I can still enjoy seeing something I created long ago. Wufei says that was a wise choice, that those albums will be very valuable one day, especially when trying to authenticate an alleged Maxwell Original.”
“I’m sorry about the scene I caused,” I said as we got to our building and rode the elevator up to his apartment.
“Don’t be.”
“But-”
“Lets just go inside and get rid of these stuffy suits, we can talk after that.”
I nodded and followed him inside. I grabbed a green tank top and a pair of black boxers from one of the drawers Duo had cleared for me and headed into the bathroom. I felt the need to wash away the filth that Father had layered on me and told Duo as much. He smiled sadly at me, understanding my need to feel clean and went to his ‘room’ to change.
Things had definitely changed between us; I just hoped he wasn’t disappointed with what I had to offer.
Hey everyone! I start work again tomorrow... or should I say today? Anywho… I don’t know if this happens to anyone else, but the day right before I start the first day of something (like school or work), I get to bed at the right time, eat a good dinner, and end up falling asleep fairly quickly. The only problem is, I wake up after only about three to four hours of sleep and I can’t go back to sleep no matter what. This is one of those days. I started writing at 2:50 AM and it is now 4:11 AM. Granted this chapter is short (sorry everyone!), I’m posting it now because I want to keep their conversation in one nice package. Plus, it might take me a couple of days to get it done (considering work) and I just couldn’t leave everyone hanging. I hope you all enjoy this, and I promise some nice fluff in the next chapter. Ja! .