Open Your Eyes

“Do you have a minute? I’d like to speak with you.”

Heero glanced up to see Duo leaning against the wall and staring down at him. Heero frowned slightly, but he put his book away and nodded to let the other boy know that he was listening. “What’s all this about?”

“I want to talk to you about Trowa,” Duo said bluntly. “I spoke with him a couple of nights ago about your relationship. Quite frankly, I don’t give a damn if the two of you are gay, but–”

“You sure seemed to give a damn when you stumbled in on the two of us the other day,” Heero interrupted with a glare.

Duo closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, counting to ten inside his head before he went on. He couldn’t mess this up. Trowa’s happiness was at stake here. He just had to say his piece and then leave. He didn’t need Heero trying to trap him into saying something that he’d regret.

“I discussed this with Trowa,” he said slowly. “Yes, I’ll admit that I was upset at first, but we sorted things out. I really don’t care that you’re gay, but what I do care about is Trowa.” He cut Heero off before the other boy could speak. “Look, Heero, all I’m trying to say to you is that you’d better continue making my brother happy because if you don’t, I will hunt you down and make your life a living Hell.”

Heero only smirked in response. “Giving out death threats are we now, Maxwell?” he asked acidly. “I’m sure Trowa appreciates your concern, but this really is none of your business.”

“Well I’m making it my business,” Duo said insistently. “I know that you and I don’t see eye to eye and believe it or not, I don’t want for us to hate each other. I just don’t want you stringing Trowa along only to have him get hurt in the end.”

“How do you know that’s my intention?” Heero asked, narrowing his eyes.

“How do I know that it’s not?” Duo retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “How do I know that you’re not going to just use him and then leave him behind like all the other sons of bitches he’s come across.”

“How dare you!” Heero snapped. “I–” He paused suddenly and looked up at the other boy, suspicion in his eyes. “What do you mean, ‘all the other sons of bitches he’s come across’?”

Duo stared at Heero who seemed to be genuinely confused. “You mean you don’t know? Trowa never told you?”

“Told me what?” Heero snapped. “Explain what you said earlier to me. Has Trowa been hurt before?”

“Kid, you have no idea,” Duo said with a sigh. His anger seemed to leave him suddenly and he lowered himself to sit down beside Heero on the bench. “I don’t know how much Trowa has told you about himself if anything. He’s a very private person and the most stubborn, awkward guy I know. But if he hasn’t let you know about what’s happened to him before, then I guess that I should.”

Heero watched him out of the corner of one eye, but he too seemed less angry than he had been before. “What happened to Trowa?” he asked quietly.

“Well, you do know that Trowa and I are adoptive brothers,” Duo began. “We’ve known each other for about three years now and he really means a lot to me. Neither of us never really had any family, so I guess you can understand why I’m so…protective of him.” He looked down at the ground and began fiddling with the end of his braid as he continued talking.

“When I was a kid and I mean like really young, I pretty much lived on the streets. A small gang of us stuck together and we’d do pretty much anything to get by, including stealing or breaking into places for food or money. Luckily the church took me in and they set me straight. I’ve been with them ever since and they’re like the family I never had.

“Like I said, Trowa and I met about three years ago. He was an orphan like me; only he’d been placed into care. Fat lot of good it did him too.” Duo glared down at his shoes, but carried on talking. “From what he’s told me, he’d split his life between living at various orphanages and hiding on the street. Sometimes they managed to get him a foster family, but he never really took to any of them.”

He looked up and stared into Heero’s eyes. “Have you ever known what that must be like, Heero? Being shunted around from one foster home to the next, having to live with people who hated you and sometimes even abused you?”

The other boy’s eyes widened at that last question and Duo chuckled mirthlessly. “Yeah, our Tro-man has never really had the best luck in the world. From what I know, his last foster family pushed him just a little too far. All he ever told me was that they were…how can I say this? Drug pushers? They made his life a living Hell, Heero and he’d be scared to come home because he knew what would be waiting for him. The guy who took him in thought it might be a fun idea to try and hang him with a jump rope one day.”

Duo wrinkled his nose. “Anyway, I guess that was the last straw for Trowa because he just took off after that. He was so miserable that he slit his own goddamned wrists. That’s when I met him. I managed to get him to a hospital in time and eventually persuaded him to stay with me at the church. Father Maxwell and Sister Helen instantly took a liking to him and he’s been with us ever since. He’s doing a lot better now, but he’s still kind of fragile. So now you understand why I don’t want him getting hurt again?”

Heero nodded mutely. “I never knew,” he murmured, shaking his head. “He never told me…”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” said Duo with a smile. “It took me months to get it out of him, so don’t worry too much about it. The important thing is that you know what you’re dealing with now.”

Heero nodded again. “So that’s why he wears those bands on his wrists,” he said softly. “So that he can–”

“Cover up his scars?” Duo interrupted. “Yeah, that’d be about right. So, Heero. Have I managed to scare you away now?”

“Was that your intent?” Heero asked, his anger flaring up again. “You tell me the whole sad story about Trowa’s life and expect me to be shocked and disgusted by it? You wanted me to go up to Trowa and say, ‘Well, it was good while it lasted, but now I know the real you, I don’t fancy sticking around’?”

“Were you planning on doing otherwise?” Duo asked, raising an eyebrow.

Heero rose to his feet and glared down at the other boy. “Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here, but I’m not going to leave Trowa just because you don’t particularly like me, all right?”

“So you’re saying you want to stay with him?” Duo queried.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Heero sputtered.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Duo said, cocking his head to one side. “Maybe you’re just after him because you can’t control your own hormones?”

Duo’s vision danced suddenly and his head swam. It took him a few seconds for him to realise that Heero had punched him square in the face. Duo scowled up at him, rubbing his jaw. “Feel better now?” he asked angrily.

“You’re a real piece of work, you know that,” Heero snarled. “You think I’m with Trowa just because I’m lusting after him? Well I’ve got news for you, Duo. I care about him, all right? I don’t intend to hurt him either and if anyone else plans on trying it, I’ll kill them.” He was pacing now and his voice was growing more heated as he talked. “I don’t care what you think about me. All that matters is that I love him God dammit!”

He stopped pacing abruptly when those words left his mouth and even Duo looked up at him his expression one of shock.

“I love him,” Heero whispered, half to himself and half to Duo.

“Have you ever told Trowa that?” Duo asked gently. Heero shook his head and bit his lower lip. “Well, he needs to hear that from you, Heero. You have to tell him that, not me. Trowa needs reassurance and I’ve given him all that I can. Now it’s your turn. You want this to work? Then go to Trowa, sit him down and talk to him, Heero. He needs to hear this from you and not from me.”

Heero only nodded in response, his expression still faintly surprised. Duo smiled to himself, rubbing his jaw, which he was sure would be a very pretty shade of purple come next morning. ‘Thanks for that, Heero,’ he thought to himself. He just hoped that Trowa wouldn’t be too angry with him. ‘Dammit, Tro, your boyfriend sure has a short temper.’

Duo was surprised when Heero hesitantly held a hand out to him and after waiting a couple of seconds he shook it awkwardly. “Does this mean you want to call a truce?” he asked with a grin.

Heero only grunted in reply and Duo took that as a yes.

“Sorry for hitting you earlier,” the other boy said gruffly and Duo’s grin widened.

“Ahh, don’t worry about it,” he said airily. “Just remember what I said though. Treat him well, Heero. You break Trowa’s heart and I’ll break your neck.”

“Hnn,” was Heero’s only response. He turned his back on the other boy and was about to walk off when Duo’s voice piped up again.

“Hey, Heero?”

The other boy glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow in question.

“Good luck,” Duo told him and Heero nodded once before striding away.