Perfect Color Me

"Oh, shit!"

Duo Maxwell turned the corner at a hard sprint, nearly tumbling into some poor fool who happened to be standing there. It was a near collision, but the teenager leaped a little to the side and passed the innocent bystander easily with room to spare. The person he ducked around was left momentarily frozen in shock, and then Duo couldn't fight back a grin as a steady stream of insults came flying from behind. He paid it no attention, though, and continued his wild run down the sidewalks of his hometown, pulling football dodges around old ladies with groceries and practically tripping over a dog's leash when he turned yet another corner at a dangerous speed. It was a typical ritual for him to be late, but when he woke up four hours later than he should have, he almost had a heart attack at the young age of nineteen.

"Oh, shit!"

For the millionth time since he left his parent's house to live on his own, he managed to regret the personal decision to leave so soon. Sure, he liked having the privacy that his tiny apartment offered, but his mother would be the first to admit that he craved sleep like he craved air. It was just something that he had to do, but he had chosen the decision to try and live on his own for once, and even held an agreement with his father to try and find a job to pay bills. His favorite pastime of sleeping late on his free days and working hard the rest of the time was steadily flooding down the drain in his mind, and despite his efforts to plug it back up, the leak continued to drip.

He could almost imagine his new boss sitting in front of his desk, cursing the day he decided to give a teenager a chance. After all, Duo was supposed to be there bright and early with everything he needed to start a new job. Instead, his new employee went to bed the night before and forgot to set the alarm clock correctly. When the alarm clock finally went off four hours later than when his boss told him to come in, Duo was mortified for the first time in his life because he realized his mother was no longer around to keep him on his feet. It was one of those moments in life when you realize for the first time that everything may not go according to your prior plans.

"Damn, damn, damn!"

His sheer panic flooded away for just a moment as he thanked the gods for his brand spankin' new shoes. For the most part, Duo grinned, they were helping him pull off all his skillful moves as he wove between the crowd of morning shoppers. If he had put on his old sneakers instead, the ones with the holes in the sides and the front removed to show his toes, he was sure he probably would have already taken a few victims down already. And nothing wastes your time more than knocking down an old woman and wondering if it's okay to leave her or not.

Glancing at his wristwatch, Duo inwardly groaned as the second hand continued to tick by. He was almost hoping his watch would stop so he could fight the growing frustration he felt every time the minute hand slid a bit. His heart was pounding frantically inside of his chest, making the consumption of air a little tougher than it should have been. The people he passed must have experienced the terror of their lives when a frantic teenager lunged by, gasping wildly and flailing his arms around for balance. If he was in their situation, Duo probably would have dropped to the ground and covered his head until it was all over.

To make matters worse, somewhere during his mad dash to leave his apartment, he had absent-mindedly forgotten to snag the instructions that would lead him to his new workplace. Now he was hoping he would just magically stumble across the building and everything would be okay in the end because he had showed up and saved the day.

"Yeah... right.."

Duo was beyond frustrated, and if he had the quitter's attitude, he would have gone back home and slept off the depression he was beginning to feel. His lungs were burning with protest, and he almost regretted joining the math club in high school.

"Should have... played... basketball... or..."

He flew around a group of children, his hair practically plastered to his face from sweat.

"... maybe the track... team..."

His nice suit jacket was wrinkled and slightly damp from where he spilled juice on it during the mad dash out of his house.

"... Baseball... might have liked that..."

He dress pants were teasingly dipping below his waistline because he had forgotten about putting on his belt.

"... Band, even..."

His steady running slowed down just a bit as his body demanded more air than he was probably giving it. Even in this desperate situation, his mind jokingly produced an image of a cheering crowd, one fan holding out a bottle of water just for him. He laughed and continued on his way, slowing to a jog that eventually turned into speed walking.

"God, I'm out of shape..."

The speed walking slowed to just walking, and he sighed heavily in defeat.

"... But, dammit, I know my square roots..."

Duo was on the verge of turning around and going back home, but deciding to continue his walk out of spite to his body. After all, the thing had traitorously betrayed him when he needed it the most, and the outcome was him near death on the sidewalk, gasping for air and sore from head to foot. Shoving his hands in his pocket to prevent himself from looking at his watch anymore, he considered stopping to get something to drink but vetoed the option at once.

"I don't deserve to drink anymore."

He stopped outside of a small café and dipped into one of the plastic chairs that were scattered around the pleasant eating area. A child from another table stared at him like he had grown a second head, and then smiled brightly when he stuck his tongue out at her. Too busy greedily sucking up oxygen, he failed to notice what was on the plastic table he was sitting at. The voice that interrupted his thoughts was light, and considerably amused.

"Unless you're dying, could I have my table back please?"

Duo blinked confused eyes once and turned to look at the table, heat rising to his cheeks the second he saw the neat place settings. The cup of coffee closest to him still had a tiny line of steam coming from the surface, a spoon resting in the liquid. Small cups of creamer were resting on top of a napkin, sugar packets carefully set under a customary glass of water so they didn't blow away from the light breeze. A plate sat off to the side of the coffee, holding nothing but a croissant with an obscene amount of melted butter on top of it. Feeling like his whole face was on fire from embarrassment, Duo glanced away from the simple breakfast and turned to see the source of the voice.

"Uh... oh..."

The first thing Duo saw was the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, shockingly blue and delicately curved to fit the stranger's angular face.

Asian...

The second thing that caught his eye was the white walking stick held firmly between two hands, a thin finger tapping the outside in a slow rhythm that only the blue-eyed stranger seemed to know. Standing up quickly, Duo nearly knocked over the plastic chair in his haste to pull it out for the man. He was sure his face was the color of a strawberry, and he ducked his head down as his abrupt action caused a couple nearby to shoot an odd glance in his direction.

"I'm sorry for taking your seat. Um..."

Duo wanted to see if he could help out, but the stranger beat him to the chase by extending the walking stick and guiding himself into the chair with incredible ease. Taking a step back from the table, Duo hesitated for a moment before leaving the dining area completely.

"Damn."

With one more glance at the stranger, he turned the way he had come from and started the slow walk back to his house.

-- End prologue