Due South - part 4

by KatiKat

 

"Finally, solid ground," Duo sighed out happily as he jumped down on the wooden pier. "I still think that the floor under your feet should not move."

"But I think you got your sea legs rather quickly," Trowa replied with a small smile as he and Heero followed the lifebearer down the gangplank. They were all bundled up in heavy coats, but the frost was still biting their cheeks.

"Sea legs? What am I? A frog?"

"No, Duo," the healer replied and patted the longhaired young man on the shoulder. Duo was jumping up and down to warm himself. "That means that you got used to the sea quickly."

"Thank god. The last thing I need is to get sea sick." Duo shuddered.

Suddenly a dog´s barking could be heard. It quickly turned into a sorrowful whining. They all turned back to the ship. In the torchlight they could make out Shinigami, peering at them sadly over the rail.

"No way, boy," called Duo. "Be a good dog and stay on the ship. We can´t take you with us. You would scare half of the people in town."

That was when Rufus appeared at the dog´s side and petted him. "You don´t need to worry. I will take care of him." He smiled at the three young men, then scratched the black beast behind one ear.

Duo waved at the older man. "Thank you, Rufus!"

In the past couple of days, they had got to know the captain rather well and he had won their admiration. Especially Heero, who respected him for his fighting skills and silent strength. The two men got along pretty easily.

"So," Duo stepped between his friend and his lover and intertwined his arms with theirs, "shall we go?"

*-*-*-*-*-*

Never in his life had Duo seen so many exciting things in one place. The streets were full of small stands, their tables covered with food, drinks, furs, leather goods, weapons, clothes and many other things. Duo was dragging his companions from one stall to another, eager to try everything as soon as he found out that he didn´t need to pay anything for tasting the food, only for buying more of it.

Heero and Trowa soon let him explore on his own, since they were already full from the pickled cauliflower, ´frgále´ - very large and very thin cakes smeared with sweet cottage and damsoncheese and sprinkled with almonds - salted rolls and many other things. They came to the understanding that Duo´s stomach was made of iron since he didn´t seem to mind the impossible combinations at all.

And so, in the end, everybody was headed to the stalls with the goods they were most interested in - Duo to the food stands were he discussed in depth the way of cooking all the delicious dishes with the owners, Trowa to the herbalists and Heero to the weaponmakers. They arranged to meet at the fountain in the center of the large square when the bell in the clock tower would strike ten.

Heero was so engrossed in choosing, weighing and dismissing one set of knives after  another, that he didn´t even notice Trowa step up behind him.

"What are you doing?" the healer asked, peeking over his friend´s shoulder.

With strength of will, Heero managed not to jump out of his skin. He looked at his friend, who was leaning over his shoulder to look at the knives in the Enforcer´s hands. Heero glared at him and Trowa hid his smirk.

"I´m trying to find some suitable weapons for Duo," he explained in the end and weighed the knives in his hands again, then laid them back on the table. "He needs to learn how to defend himself. Long weeks at sea await us and this would be a perfect way to occupy our free time."

Trowa nodded in agreement. He feared for Duo´s safety, too. The lifebearer lived sheltered from all the bad outside his village most of his life. But the recent wave of violence that centered around his person shook him to the core. And even though he was better now that Howard was out of their lives forever, knowing that he could protect himself if needed could strengthen his self-confidence.

"But why knives? Why not a sword or a foil?" Trowa pointed at the laid out weapons.

"Knives are easier to hide. And he should have a way to protect himself, not to invite a fight. A sword or a foil dangling at your side can have that effect," Heero explained, reaching for another set of knives.

The smith who owned the stall had been watching Heero for a long while now and seeing the expert way in which he handled the cold weapons, he made a decision. "Young man, it seems that you know exactly what you want, but you are obviously not satisfied with what I can offer." He paused a little, then added. "Maybe I have something you would like after all, but it´s not cheap."

When Heero looked up and raised his eyebrow in expectation, the smith pulled a small leather-bound bundle from beneath the table and handed it to the Enforcer. Heero unwrapped it. Two knives of silver color with long, sharp blades fell into his hand. They didn´t have any elaborated carvings, but they were still masterpieces. Heero weighed them in his hands, flipped them in the air and let them fall back in his palms. Then he nodded with satisfaction. "I will take them."

"You don´t even know the price," Trowa reminded him, rather surprised at his friend´s actions.

Heero wrapped the knives in the leather again, then paid the unholy price the smith asked for the weapons. "It doesn´t matter. They are the best, the finest weapons I´ve ever seen. They are worth every coin."

Trowa decided to let it go. Even though he knew well how to fight, he preferred to heal people, not to stick sharp objects into them.

When the small, but expensive trade was finished, they turned to go find Duo. They just needed to follow their noses to the food stands. But while pushing their way through the crowds that were out on the streets to celebrate the feast of Morena, they passed by a stand with silver jewelry. And one piece laid out on the table especially caught Heero´s attention. He stopped to look more closely at it.

It was a small delicate silver cross with ivy. The tiny leaves were worked out in the smallest details so that they looked almost alive. He took the fine silver chain on which the pendant hung into his hand. It weighed almost nothing.

"It´s a claiming necklace, sir," the old woman sitting on the chair in the stall said. "The cross represents the meeting of two roads in life, the ivy the bond in which they step - beautiful, delicate but with hidden dangers, too."

Heero nodded at her, then looked back at the pendant.

"Are you thinking about that for Duo?" Trowa said softly, watching his friend touch the fine ornament.

The Enforcer nodded again. "Yes, it has been weeks since I claimed him, but he has nothing to show it with. I didn´t make it official." He frowned. "It was okay back there, at the village. We all knew each other. We knew who had been claimed by whom and when. But in this town, among the people we don´t know... what will they think about Duo when he can´t prove that he was claimed? The people in the City may not be as traditional about a lifebearer and a Sire living together without the bond as the villagers, but I don´t think they would just overlook it so easily."

Trowa nodded. Heero was right. Their lives would change in the City. It was time to start to make some adjustments. "Then buy it for him. The knives may protect him from physical danger, but not from vile tongues."

The Enforcer nodded and after paying for it, he slipped the necklace and pendant into the pouch on his belt.

That was when the bell started to strike ten. They hurried to the fountain where they were to meet with Duo, forcing their way through the crowd as everyone headed the same way, wanting to watch the fireworks that would start any minute now.

Reaching the square, they started to look for the lifebearer, the hundreds of people not making it easy to find their lost friend and mate. Finally, they spotted him sitting at the edge of the fountain, swinging his legs idly.

When the braided young man spotted them, he smiled brightly, and jumping from the fountain he threw himself into Heero´s arms. "Dar~ling," he screamed with joy, cuddling closer.

Trowa choked with laughter, seeing Heero´s shocked look. The Enforcer closed his arms around his mate so that Duo wouldn´t fall, since he started to sway dangerously.

Heero lifted Duo´s chin, taking in the flushed face and overly bright eyes. "Duo, are you drunk?" he asked, astonished.

The lifebearer shook his head happily. "Not drunk. The ni~ce man had flambi... flambu... burned cherries in his stand. They were exqa... exqin... so tasty." He sighed happily.

Flambed cherries. That meant alcohol. "Duo, how much did you eat?"

The braided young man furrowed his eyebrows, pondering the question. "Not much. I had a small plate but he kept putting more and more on it and I couldn´t just say no. That would´ve been rude." He nodded seriously.

Heero sighed and rolled his eyes. His mate was drunk. Trowa covered his smile with his hand, but the Enforcer noticed it and glared at him with all his might. "It´s not funny."

Trowa laughed out loud. "Oh yes, it is."

Suddenly, the sky was lit up with sparkles of red and green. The fireworks had started. Everybody looked up and sighed with awe. Duo made himself more comfortable in his mate´s arms, admiring the sight too.

Out of the blue though, Duo turned to Trowa. "Trowa, are you a Bearer or a Sire?" he asked as if he hadn´t been thinking about anything else the whole time.

This time Trowa nearly choked with shock. "I beg your pardon?" he said, turning to the lifebearer.

Duo waved his hand. "I mean, I´ve never seen you shave and you´re too skinny for a Sire..."

"Of course I am a Sire!" Trowa answered, offended that someone could have mistaken him in such a way. "Just because I have only five hairs on my chin doesn´t mean that I am a lifebearer!" A lifebearer? Him? And how did this question come up anyway?

As if reading his mind, Duo said: "Me and Mil were talking... thinking..." He fell silent, then: "But you would look so cu~te with a belly."

Trowa didn´t answer to that comment, though he glared at Heero who snickered with mirth. "It´s not that funny!" he protested.

"Oh yes, it is!" Heero repeated the earlier comment.

The healer waved them off, muttering something about crazy drunk Bearers and their even crazier mates. He decided to let the whole thing be and enjoy the fireworks instead. He hadn´t seen one in a small eternity.

The fireworks lit up the sky for almost half an hour. Green, blue, white, red, orange, yellow. Soon the air filled with the smell of brimstone but nobody seemed to mind, just like they didn´t mind the loud booms the flares made.

When the town fell silent and dark once again, people started to leave for their homes. The feast was over and their work waited for them in the morning.

It was time for them to head back too. But when Heero looked down at his mate, he found him fast asleep, standing cuddled and held tightly in his love´s arms. Heero smiled gently, feeling the love swell in his chest. This was his mate and only his, and he had never seen anything more beautiful.

He handed Trowa the leather wrapped bundle of knives, then swept Duo into his arms, adjusting his grip, so that Duo´s head laid propped on the Enforcer´s shoulder. The lifebearer never stirred.

The three men set off for the ship.


TBC