Once, as my heart remembers,

All the stars were fallen embers.

Once when night seemed forever,

I was with you….

- Enya

Eight:

Perhaps it was the growing heat from the late morning sun sifting through the curtains that gave the room an added air of tension. Or maybe it really was beginning to get extremely hot, for the young man had never felt this agitated or flustered over anything in his life before.

The sounds of the large grandfather clock ticking in the corner of the study were the only things that filled the heavy silence in the room. A good ten minutes had gone by and yet Duo felt as if an eternity of his life was flashing before his eyes. He dared not spare a glance towards the man that was sitting a few feet away from him – a man, he was sure was watching his every move like a hawk.

Duo’s grip tightened on the textbook in his hand as he realized that he could only avoid meeting Heero’s gaze for so long. It wasn’t as if the young heir had done much to ease the situation. Heero had made it a point of duty to ignore and not even acknowledge his presence – well, besides their entrance, of course. The boy was stubbornly scribbling away some notes from the large English Language book before him, brows furrowed in a knit of concentration as he continued to do some kind of work that Duo assumed he had assigned to himself.

At least if Odin Yuy assumed that much, everything was all right, wasn’t it?

He stole another glance towards the silent boy before him, his worried gaze drifting over the casual light blue button-up shirt that had the top two buttons undone, revealing the slightly tanned skin that looked so…

Had he kissed Heero’s neck?

Whoa!

Duo squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head quickly. Damn it! He couldn’t start thinking about that right now! For crying out loud, Odin was just inches away from them and here he was having illicit thoughts about his son? The very thought of the billionaire having an inkling of this new attraction was something that did not look too appealing to the teacher.

But then again…why hadn’t Odin said anything yet? He would have expected the older man to have made some comment by now. Could he not sense the tension in the air? Was he really that oblivious to anything that concerned his son in that way?

Why should he? After all, he cheats on his wife!

And yet, you pine for his son, another voice teased, causing him to groan softly.

“Is everything all right, Duo?” Odin’s voice finally cut through the quiet as the sound reached his ears. Heero had also raised his head from his book, but he wasn’t looking at the teacher, his gaze was firmly fixed on his father and for that, Duo was extremely grateful.

Waving his hand, the teacher laughed softly and shook his head. “I am okay, Mr. Yuy. I was just thinking of…of some…some…”

“Is it your back again, Mr. Maxwell?”

Both men froze at the sound of the teen’s voice. It was as if they hadn’t expected him to talk at all, and the deep, sonorous voice had them blinking in surprise for several seconds. Duo’s fingers clutched the textbook a bit tighter as he caught Heero’s gaze. What had he been expecting to see? Well, whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t this cool and indifferent look on the handsome features.

Odin, however, was stunned at the news. “Your back? What happened to you back, Duo?”

One could already see the wheels spinning within the businessman’s head. Possible legal fees, court appearances, subpoenas…

Duo grit his teeth, his mind churning with what Heero could possibly be up to. Was he finally going to tell his father about the horse incident? It wasn’t as if his back hurt anymore. If anything, the pain had been taken care of by some painkillers. Was the teen going to use his bluff against him now?

What the hell are you thinking?

He was just about to open up his mouth to give a reply, when the dark-haired boy beat him to it with a lazy response. “It’s okay, father. He was just trying to get me some books from the top shelves and fell down the ladder. But he is okay now, aren’t you, Mr. Maxwell?”

Damn you! But he had to admit that the boy was good as he forced a tight smile in response to the sugary sweet one that Heero was now giving to him. If Duo wasn’t so busy being upset at the abject lie, he would have taken the time to see just how much the smile – mocking or not – made the younger man so much more accessible and even…beautiful.

Unfortunately, Odin’s mind was still spinning with possible legal scenarios that his response was quick and almost filled with a sense of relief. “Well, that’s good to hear.” He paused and stared at the teacher with a sharp gaze that had Duo giving an involuntary shudder. “You are all right, aren’t you, Duo?”

Seeing that if he said ‘no’ to the question was bound to get him in some kind of trouble, the teacher nodded quickly and gave another nervous laugh. “I am fine, really, Mr. Yuy. You don’t have to worry about me. I just get the aches and pains every once in a while and then I…”

“Good! Good! No need to tell me all the gory details,” Odin interrupted with a wide grin as he rose to his feet. “Well, as far as I can tell, it looks like you and my son have a wonderful relationship…are you okay, Duo? You look kind of pale.”

A wonderful relationship? I almost slept with your son this morning!

Well…theoretically speaking.

“I…I’m okay,” he replied weakly, daring to steal a glance at Heero to see how he was taking this ‘blunder’. Although, there was a light hue of pink across the exotic features, the heir was doing a good job of flipping through the pages of his textbook at an alarmingly fast pace. He was trying his hardest to ignore everything around him, but Duo couldn’t help feeling a bit smug at the reaction.

“Good, good,” Odin said around a laugh. “Just remember that if you ever need to take a break, just let Yuzuki or Sanghi know that you need it, okay? I am sure they would be more than willing to relieve you of your duties…for a while at least.”

Duo gave a nod and got to his feet, ready to give Odin a handshake in departure, only for every one in the room to gasp in surprise as the door was opened to reveal the petite figure of Hikari Yuy. She was dressed in a red riding jacket and white jodhpurs that did more to reveal her luscious curves. Her long black hair had been done in a tight braid, which fell to the middle of her back. With her riding crop in her left hand, she placed her right on a hip and surveyed the room with piercing blue eyes. As soon as they fell on Odin, they narrowed into chips of ice. The contemptuous gaze was not lost on Duo, and just as quickly as it had appeared, it was soon replaced with one of love and pride as her eyes fell upon the bemused visage of her son.

“Please forgive me, Mr. Maxwell,” she began in her smooth and almost musical voice. “I just wanted to stop by to see how my son was doing in his morning classes. I certainly didn’t expect…” At this point, she managed a wan smile in her husband’s direction. “…to see you here.”

Odin gave a light snort and sunk his hands into the pockets of his dark slacks, before replying just as coolly. “And I thought you were supposed to be at some meeting with another of your girlfriends.”

“The meeting was cancelled, Odin,” Hikaru replied, her smile getting colder by the minute. “I told you that this morning, but I guess you were too busy thinking of ‘work’ to notice that, weren’t you?”

“Uuuummm…excuse me…” came the weak call from the teacher, which was of course, interrupted curtly by Odin as it seemed like both parents had completely forgotten they weren’t the only ones in the room.

“If you had only made that clear, I wouldn’t have had to come down here this morning.”

Although, they hadn’t begun to shout yet, their voices were becoming higher with each passing second. Duo growled beneath his breath as he noticed that Heero was beginning to grip the pen in his hand a bit tighter. Even though the heir wasn’t looking at his parents, the teacher could tell that their arguing was beginning to unnerve him.

Just what he doesn’t need.

And in a voice that was nothing short of authoritative, Duo cut in with a scowl of disapproval on his features. “Excuse me, Mr. And Mrs. Yuy, but you are interrupting my class. I appreciate you both coming in to see how your son is doing, but you are going to have to take this outside now. Heero has to focus on his studies.”

For a brief moment, a tense silence fell in the room as the three adults and a stunned Heero gaped at each other in disbelief. Duo was sure he was going to be fired now, but he did not take the look of irritation off his features, neither did he glance at his student to see what he was thinking.

Odin’s face took on a deep shade of red, which was mirrored on Hikari’s visage as well. Both parents looked embarrassed at the reprimand but gave small nods of understanding.

“Please forgive us, Mr. Maxwell,” Hikari began with an almost shy smile. “Heero…I am so sorry.”

And not giving her husband another glance, she spun on her heels and left the room quickly, the door slamming shut behind her. Odin winced at the sound, before running fingers through his already tousled blond locks with a weary sigh.

“I guess I should ask for your forgiveness as well, Duo,” he muttered thickly. “I will leave and allow you to get back to your work.” He turned to face his son with a weak smile. For a moment, it looked as if Odin wanted to reach out to touch the boy’s face, but he refrained from causing both of them any further humiliation. “I will see you at dinner, son.”

Teacher and student watched the man, who seemed to have aged in the space of a few minutes, walk out of the room before they were finally left alone in blissful silence.

Duo gave a heavy sigh and sat down heavily on his chair. It felt as if he had been through an emotional roller coaster today and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. Burying his face in his hands, he groaned and tried to make sense of what was going on. If Odin and Hikari could argue like this in front of Heero, that would mean that…

“It’s not the first time they’ve argued in front of me before.”

Duo’s head snapped up at the sentence, his sharp gaze falling on the stoic visage of Heero, who was now staring out of the window as if fascinated with the falling sakura leaves.

“Heero…”

“I see it all the time – when they think I don’t notice.”

“Heero…”

“It’s gotten worse lately. I wonder why…” The boy shrugged and turned back to face his book, successfully ending the discussion with that motion. It might have been a few days, but Duo was amazed to find that he could already read Heero’s body language perfectly.

It’s like I have known you my whole life…

The rest of the class was very uneventful now that Duo thought of it. They had gone through several Math workbooks and some History topics, but besides that, neither of them had brought up the incident of ‘the kiss’ or ‘the fight’. Sighing softly, he took another sip of his iced tea, enjoying the cool evening breeze as he lay out on the patio of his house. Yuzuki had been kind enough to make some for him and now away and free from any worries, it was time to reflect on the new life he had carved out for himself.

It was now almost a month since he had visited his old neighborhood. Perhaps stopping by sometime this weekend for a little downtime with his old buddies was in order. He would have to drop by Wufei’s to see how he was doing. In fact, he was missing his friend.

On autopilot, his hands reached for the cordless phone beside him, only to stall as he remembered that the Chinese man was not going to be around to talk to him. Wufei had specifically told him not to bother calling for the next two weeks, for he was going to some traditional family meeting with Merian’s parents.

Great! I am a twenty-one year old guy with no one to talk to. Yippie.

Downing the rest of his drink in a single gulp, he stared morosely at the beautiful landscape before him.

Such beauty, tainted with the hands of those who wish to destroy it. Pain, deceit, lies. We live in it everyday.

His sigh grew louder and even sadder.

Dare we hope to live within your beauty without giving homage to what makes it so special? Why do we ignore the obvious and continue to deny ourselves the very thing that makes us happy? Why? Why are we so…blind?

He shook his head rapidly and tore his gaze away from the distant mountains he had been staring at. Raising trembling hands to his face, he tried to will away the image of the young heir out of his mind again. All his thoughts seemed to boil down to one thing.

Heero.

It’s not fair, he thought wearily. There was no doubt in his mind that he was attracted to the teenager. There was something so mature and yet naïve about the young heir that had Duo wondering just how complex Heero Yuy really was. He wanted to know everything about the boy. His likes, his dislikes, his goals, his dreams…everything. But he couldn’t. And with that mistake this morning in his bedroom, he was sure that Heero would want little or nothing to do with him in that way anymore. Why should he be trusted as a teacher now? If he had been so willing to jump into bed with his student, what stopped Heero from thinking any less of him? But, Duo still couldn’t get that image of Heero’s face above him as he had opened his eyes. The boy had looked anything but repulsed. If anything, it had looked as if he had wanted more.

Just my wishful thinking again.

A light cough had him jerking his head upright in faint alarm, hoping and praying that whomever it was hadn’t heard his thoughts. He did have the tendency to ramble them out loud.

He was startled to find the future bride to Heero Yuy standing before him with a shy smile on her features. She was dressed in a pretty floral print dress that revealed smooth, creamy shoulders. Her long chestnut locks were loose and framed her sharp features, although they were hidden beneath the wide brim pink hat on her head.

“Re…Relena?” came the surprised gasp from the teacher, who had certainly not expected the girl to appear before him. “What…what can I do for you?”

She gave a polite curtsy and walked up the small flight of stairs to stand before him on the patio. “Do you mind if I sit down with you for a while, Duo? I promise not to take up too much of your time.”

Like a robotic doll, Duo could only nod in acceptance as he motioned towards an empty lounger. Sitting down primly, with her legs crossed at her ankles, Relena placed her hands tightly within her lap and lowered her head. The hat didn’t help matters for it completely hid her face from Duo’s view.

Nothing was said for a good five minutes as each remained lost in their thoughts. And realizing that Relena had no plans to speak first, Duo gave a light cough and asked quietly.

“Would…eh…can I get you anything to drink? It is pretty hot today…”

“Oh no, no thank you,” the girl interrupted with a small smile, which was still hidden from Duo. “I just…I was just hoping that you could help me with something.”

Oh, oh. Now, what?

Duo wasn’t sure he could deal with any other females and their problems. It was bad enough as it was with Hikari and Odin. But as it turned out old habits die hard and before he could control his mouth, he found himself blurting out the damning words.

“What do you need help with, Relena? You know I would be more than happy to assist you with anything.”

Oh, the joys of being a teacher. Being helpful was the number one rule of being a successful one.

If it were even more possible, Relena lowered her head even further and at this point, Duo was faced with only the top of the bright pink hat, which was beginning to hurt his eyes.

“Do you like your stay here, Duo?” she asked softly.

The teacher was quite surprised at the question, but he gave a small nod in response. “Of course, I do, Relena. I am having a great time here, so far. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, nothing.” She gave a nervous giggle and fell silent again. Duo was beginning to get nervous and he forced himself to swallow down the fear that was beginning to creep up his spine. Where had he seen this scenario before? Oh, yes! Back in Morton High! The young girl who had…

“I think you are a wonderful teacher, Duo,” the girl said as the shy tone steadily became stronger. “I don’t think I have seen Heero smile in such a long time.”

The braided man had the grace to blush at the compliment. “Oh, well…I haven’t really done anything…”

“But you have!” And this time, Relena lifted her head to stare into the faintly alarmed ones of the man before her. She was now staring at him with an intensity that sent the fear creeping a bit higher up his spine. But it seemed as if she wasn’t through with her accolades. “You have opened up a part of him that I have never known before. He actually called me! For the first time ever, he called me, Duo. I am always the one doing the calling, but it was different this time.” She gave a soft and almost dreamy sigh, before bounding to her feet.

Clasping her hands behind her back, she twirled around and for a second, Duo gasped at how breathtaking she looked with the sun’s light casting an almost angelic halo around her figure. He could see why any one would fall for a girl like her. She was really amazing to look at.

You will probably make a good wife for him…

His hands trembled at the thought and he quickly wiped them down his pants as he tried hard to ignore the dull ache that seared through his chest.

“I want to make him happy, Duo,” she said with a wide smile that caused her blue eyes to sparkle. “I want to make him…so happy that he will think of nothing else but me!”

Drive it in deeper, why don’t you?

“And that’s why I need your help.”

He blinked and tried not to show his growing concern. “My help? What do you need my help for?”

Those words must have come out harshly, as Relena had reeled back a little with an uncertain look flickering across her face. The shy look returned and she lowered her head again, fingers lacing together before her in a nervous knot.

“It’s just that…I mean…it’s just that…”

And just when Duo thought that he was going to go mad with frustration at her hesitant words, she lifted her head and blurted out in a rush. “We haven’t done it before and I want to so badly and I know that Heero does to, but I don’t know what to do!”

The sounds of a lawn mower roaring in the distance seemed so much louder and combined with the soft tweets from the birds that hovered around the vicinity, it seemed to fill the heavy silence that had now descended between them.

Relena was worrying her lower lip as she stared at the stunned expression on the teacher’s face. With a heavy sigh, she lowered her lashes and whispered softly. “I didn’t know who else to turn to, Duo. I am really sorry for bringing this up to you but…all of my girlfriends have done it and…and they keep describing it to me and I feel so…ashamed and embarrassed and…and…”

She covered her face with her hands and shook her head slowly. Duo was sure she had begun to cry and cursing himself inwardly in every language he knew, he got to his feet and gently pulled her into his arms.

“Shssh…there, there now. It’s going to be okay, Relena, you’ll see.”

She shook her head and muttered thickly against his shirt. “No, it won’t. I don’t want to embarrass Heero by being such a…an amateur.”

“But you are supposed to be an amateur,” Duo replied with a bemused frown. “I thought that all girls were really looking forward to being with the men they loved for the first time after their marriage…”

He stopped as Relena had pulled back to stare at him with a look of incredulity on her features. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and shook her head again. “That might have been true for the Middle Ages, but these days…experience is everything, Duo.”

Why was that feeling of worry growing in the pits of his stomach again?

“Well, yes, I do agree that experience counts, but don’t you think that Heero would like it if you didn’t…well, if you were still untouched on that night?”

Relena groaned and turned away. When she spoke, her voice was now filled with impatience. “If you want me to spell it out for you, then I will!”

She spun back around to pin serious blue depths on the teacher – the next words coming out of her lips, precise and clear.

“I want you to be my first, Duo.”

And just like that the world stopped spinning.

Heero drank thirstily from the water fountain as the laughter of his friends faded in the background. It was a good thing he had won the match against Trowa today or he would have felt even worse than he had this morning.

It wasn’t the argument with his parents that had had him flustered and concerned, it was what had happened with Duo that still had his body humming with barely suppressed excitement. No one would know just how hard it had been for him to control himself all morning. But thankful for years of training himself to remain poker-faced throughout different social scenarios, it had helped him tremendously. He, however, couldn’t squash down the feeling of hurt that welled up within him at the way Duo had kicked him out of his house. It was obvious that the older man had enjoyed the kiss since he had responded in such a way that had left them both wanting more.

He reasoned… or rather wanted to believe that Duo must have been terrified at the knowledge, hence his impromptu exit. Not that Heero could blame him. The heir had been terrified himself at the intensity that he had felt from actually engaging in such an activity and as the cool water bathed his dry mouth with its wetness, he could only imagine that it was Duo’s lips against his all over again.

Finally pulling away, having drank to his satisfaction; he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and spun around to wave his laughing companions over.

“Are you staying for dinner tonight?” he asked quietly as he tucked the tennis racket beneath his arm.

Trowa Barton draped an arm around his blond partner’s shoulder and shrugged. “No, Quatre and I have a prior engagement tonight. You are welcome to join us,” he added cheekily as he received a light nudge from the blond and a knowing look from the Yuy heir.

“No, thanks,” Heero replied smoothly as they began to make their way back towards the house. They spoke for several minutes about nothing really important, until Quatre’s gaze fell upon a familiar limousine that could have belonged to only one person.

“Hmm…isn’t that Relena’s car?” he thought out loud. “I didn’t know she was coming to visit today.”

This had Heero freezing in his tracks as his gaze led him towards the car as well. However, it wasn’t parked in its usual position in front of the main driveway, it was parked in the left wing of the house grounds, which was much closer to the guest houses. They had no guests at this time. No guests except for a certain teacher. But why would Relena be there without letting any one know, especially him?

Oblivious to his friend’s dilemma, Trowa murmured the exact thoughts that were running through the Yuy heir’s mind. “Perhaps she came to see Duo.”

What…?

Quatre looked bemused for a second, before smiling. “Ah, that would explain it. She probably came by to say hello to Duo. Don’t you think, Heero? Heero?!”

He turned around to face his friend when he got no reply, only to gasp as he noticed the boy in question dashing towards the teacher’s house like the devil was on his tail.

“Heero?”

“No time to ask now, Quatre,” Trowa replied quickly, putting two and two together quickly. And tugging gently on his partner’s arm he began to lead them towards the teacher’s house just as quickly.

“Let’s just hope we get there on time, before something really ugly happens.”