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| Category: Angst, AU Pairings: 1x2, 3x4 Rating: R (?) Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat. Archive: anyone who wants it Notes: This takes place in a world of my own making, where things can and are twisted into strange things. So what doesn�t seem possible is. There are M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read. Twisted Fates Prologue By SilverLady The wind howled through the rocks as the rain beat down on the hunched figure walking slowly up the trail. Now and then the figure would stumble on a slippery rock, but would manage to remain upright and moving. Duo shuddered as the wind blew another spat of rain through his clothes. Damn, I should have stayed in Deran. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Ignoring the pain that lanced through him, he pulled his travel worn cloak tighter around him and kept moving. He knew that if he didn�t find some kind of shelter soon, this storm would be the death of him. He hadn�t quite understood the feeling inside him that had urged him to move on, instead of staying in Deran as he had originally intended. He�d figured that the large town would be a good place to hole up for a month or so, until he was ready to travel again. But he�d felt restless and uneasy from the moment he�d entered the town. Something in the valley beyond seemed to be calling and finally he�d given into its call. Now he was regretting that decision. The storm had come up suddenly and seemed to be going worse with each step he took. And if the storm wasn�t bad enough, the pains had started again, this time in earnest. He knew that the time was now, that this wasn�t just practice this time. Please, let me find something. Anything. I don�t want to die out here alone. After stumbling for what seemed like the hundredth time, Duo was ready to simply lie down on the ground and sleep. He was so tired and it hurt so bad. He really didn�t think he had the energy to keep going. It was taking all of his concentration to simply stay upright. Just as he was ready to give up, he spotted a cluster of rocks off to his right. Moving carefully across the rough terrain, he made his way to them. They would hopefully provide some protection from the storm. To his great relief, the rocks had fallen in such a manner that they formed a small cave at their base. He eased himself into the small shelter. Leaning back against the rocks, he relaxed slightly. He knew he wasn�t out of danger yet. There was still too much of a chance of him dying on this lonely mountain. As yet another pain tightened the muscles of his body, he closed his eyes. �I�m sorry,� he whispered. Unbidden, a face rose in his mind. A man with eyes of dark blue and wild brown hair. Heero. He could never really hate the proud man for what he�d done. He just wished that things could have been different. I wish you were here now. I need you so much. Duo smiled a little as he remembered the first time he�d met Heero Yuy. Twisted Fates Part One By SilverLady The sun was shining down through the trees, sparkling off the water of the slow moving stream in dancing spots of light. The wind stirred the treetops now and then and the soft sound of birds singing filled the air. Duo Maxwell sighed as he laid in the grass, looking up through the branches of the huge, old tree he was lying under. He liked coming here, to get away from the hell that was his life and just enjoy the peace and quiet for a while. Times like this didn�t happen very often in his daily life, so he savored them when they did. Duo was so absorbed in enjoying the soft sounds of nature that he didn�t hear the approaching figure. �What the hell are you doing here?!� An angry voice broke into Duo�s thoughts, jerking him back to reality. Lazily, he turned his head slightly to look at the figure looming over him. He would guess the young man to be a few years older than his own fifteen, with dark brown hair that seemed to defy taming and flashing dark blue eyes. The best way Duo could think of to describe the young man�s body was� solid. He had broad shoulders that tapered down in a slender waist. He was muscular, but not overly so. Very nice. Duo had long ago accepted that he found boys much more interesting to look at than girls. It was just the way he was and he saw no reason to change it. �I asked you a question,� the dark-haired boy snapped. �Are you stupid or something?� Duo continued to watch. �I would think what I was doing would be perfectly obvious.� �This is my spot.� Duo tilted his head backward, looking at the trunk of the tree behind him. �I don�t see any name here. Seems you�re mistaken. This is a public park,� The only one in this city. �I can be here if I want.� The man crossed his arms across his chest. �This is my spot,� he repeated stubbornly. Heero Yuy could not believe that someone was actually sitting in his private place. It was the one place in the entire city he could come to and be alone when his stepfather was being an ass. Which he was today. Duo crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. �There�s plenty of room.� �Do you know who I am?� �No. And I don�t care. This is the first time in weeks I�ve managed to get out here. I�ll leave when I�m ready and not before.� �I am Heero Yuy.� Duo could hear the haughty tone in which the name was given. �And I�m Duo Maxwell.� Heero was getting angrier by the minute. �I would think even you would know who I am.� Actually Duo knew exactly whom Heero Yuy was, but he wasn�t going to let that make any difference. I got here first. I�ll be damned if I�m going to let any high and mighty rich boy make me leave. Just cause he was lucky enough to be born to money don�t mean he can boss me around. �And that�s supposed to impress me because?� Heero sputtered angrily. He�d never met anyone who didn�t immediately start fawning over him, because of who he was and who his family was. Duo smiled to himself. It was nice to get one over on the rich sometimes. He rarely had that opportunity. He was usually on his knees in front of them. Heero continued to glare at the young man for several minutes, but it made no impact on him. Finally, with an angry exhalation, Heero flopped to the ground next to Duo. �You�re an ass,� he informed Duo. �Thank you,� Duo replied. He had a feeling it was about time someone didn�t bow down to the young Lord. Silence reined for several minutes. Duo noticed that, slowly, the anger and tension that radiated from the man next to him dissipated. Finally Heero sat up and wrapped his arms around his knees. He turned his head slightly to study the body next to him. The long braid of hair would cause most people to automatically assume that the figure was female, but the tight, form fitting black pants belied that. There was no doubt, to anyone who bothered to look, that this person was very male. The dark shirt that he wore was somewhat loose, only hinting at the form it covered. Heero frowned slightly. There was something odd about the way the boy dressed, but it wasn�t something that he could immediately put his finger on. Maybe it was the contrast between the loose shirt and very tight pants. Or maybe it was the unusually dark color of the clothing. He wasn�t sure. �You aren�t impressed at all, are you?� �Do you want me to be?� Heero was surprised at the question. He hadn�t really thought about it like that before. He was used to people practically falling over themselves to make an impression with him. So he said nothing, not completely sure what the answer was. Duo finally looked over at him. �Sometimes talking to a disinterested party helps put things in perspective.� �Are you disinterested?� �Why should I care about the trials and tribulations of the rich and bored? I have plenty of things to deal with of my own.� �Why do you think I�m bored?� �When you got up this morning, I bet you did the same thing you do every morning. Shoved the latest wench out of your bed, got your manservant to bring you breakfast, went for an early ride and got into an argument about some silly little thing with your stepfather.� Heero winced. The boy had hit painfully close to the mark. �I didn�t shove any woman out of my bed,� he protested. �Probably because she had the sense to already be gone.� �You have a very bad attitude towards the nobility, don�t you?� �Probably. It�s not that you have something I don�t. It�s the fact that you lord it over us. It�s the fact that you sit around, bitching and complaining about how horrible your lives are, when you have no idea what hard is. You don�t have to worry about where your next meal is coming from or how you�re going to pay for it. You don�t have to worry about whether or not you�re even going to have a place to sleep that night. Believe me, your worst problem is nothing compared to what the rest of us poor peons have to deal with every day. Hell, the only hard thing you have to really worry about is your prick.� Heero blinked, hearing the underlying despair in the other boy�s voice. Maybe his argument with his stepfather this morning over the purchase of a new horse had been a bit petty. But still, his life was far from easy. Before he could form any kind of retort though, Duo suddenly sat up. �Damn! It�s getting late.� Scrambling to his feet, Duo began to brush the leaves and grass from his clothing. �Where are you going?� Heero demanded. A strange looked passed across Duo�s face. It was gone in an instant, though, replaced by an odd smile. �To work. We poor people do that, you know.� Heero glared. �I know that.� �Good. I�ve got to be going. Enjoy your pout.� With that, Duo turned and darted away. �I�m not pouting!� Heero shouted after him. A soft laugh echoed back at him. Heero crossed his arms across his chest. �I�m not. Men do not pout. They sulk.� Twisted Fates Part Two By SilverLady Duo sighed as he leaned his head back against the rock. If someone had told him then that first angry encounter would lead not only to a friendship but something much more, he would have laughed himself sick. He certainly had never thought he�d go and fall in love with the angry young man. �Are you here again?� the angry voice intruded on Duo�s thought, again. �I was hoping you�d quit coming here.� Duo barely stirred. �What ever gave you that idea?� �You haven�t been here in the past two weeks.� There was a soft thud as Heero flopped down next to Duo�s prone body. �Yeah, well, unlike you I have to try and make a living. I�ve been too busy to get out here.� There are a lot of single men traveling this time of year. �You don�t like me, do you?� �It�s not you, really. It�s what you are that I don�t like.� �Why not?� �Because your kind are what killed my parents.� Heero blinked in surprise. �I highly doubt that.� �Oh, not directly. But the actions they took caused my parents� deaths nonetheless. Or rather the lack of actions.� �Elaborate.� �They died in one of the epidemics that sweep through the city from time to time. If the people higher up had seen to the distribution of the medicine, they wouldn�t have died.� �Maybe there wasn�t one.� �There was. I remember my father trying to buy some when my mother got sick. He didn�t have enough money.� Heero was quiet for a moment. �But one time�.� �It�s all the time,� Duo snapped, sitting up to glare at Heero. �It�s a great way to thin out the unwanted portion of the population. Over three thousand people died in the last one. All because they didn�t have the money to buy the medicine. If the Council had seen to the distribution of the medicine, a lot fewer people would have died.� �The Council does what it can.� �Bullshit. If one noble came to them needing help, they�d fall all over themselves seeing to the problem. But if you don�t have money you don�t count.� Heero stared off across the stream. �What do you do for a living?� Duo winced at the question. It wasn�t something he liked about himself. �Anything I can to make money. At least enough to live on.� �Where do you live?� �Anywhere I can find a place to sleep.� Heero looked at Duo in shock. �You live on the streets.� �Not literally.� �Don�t you have a home?� �I lost that when I lost my parents.� �There are places�.� �The street are better than any one those places. Glorified slave camps are all they are.� �That�s not true. They provide jobs for those who�..� �You ever been to one of those places? Don�t talk about what you don�t know. They may pretty it up for the delicate sensibilities of the nobles, but it still ain�t no better that a slave camp. Long hours with little pay. And most of the time you end up owing so much to the company that you never get out.� �What do you want me to do about it?� Duo laughed. �You? I doubt if there is anything you could or would do.� Just then there was the rustle of leaves as someone approached the spot. Duo was instantly on his feet, ready to flee. A man dressed in the uniform of the Red Guard stepped out from behind the tree. �Lord Heero, I found you.� Heero�s face went blank and hard. �Obviously.� �You are needed back at the Palace. Your stepfather has called a meeting of the Council.� Heero closed his eyes for a minute. �And where is my stepbrother?� �He had another fight with his Lordship. Nobody knows where he went.� Duo said nothing as he slipped away. Guess things aren�t too rosy in the house of the Lord. |
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