Title: School Tales (Senior Year #40) Fragility
Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4, 5xD
Warnings: AU, Duo POV, angst, humor, sap, fluff, shounen-ai/yaoi,
Rating: R (for language)

Chapter 40:

It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have thought up that stupid plan to begin with, and now thanks to me, Sid’s in the hospital. Is it possible to fuck things up even more, Duo Maxwell?

I can smell the smoke long before we even arrive on the scene. The sounds of sirens from the fire trucks as well as some police cars fill the evening air. My hands tighten around the handles of the bike, cold sweat breaking out on my skin as I approach what was once a sanctuary. I come to a slow stop, barely listening to Heero muttering something behind me as I watch the orange and red flames lick into the sky hungrily. Half of the low building is no more, now merely a structure of shadows and ash as fire fighters run in and out, yelling for their partners and trying to get people out of the way. Goddamn pandemonium. This had been an auto shop after all. There are lots of gas tanks, old cars, and elements likely to explode and blow a guy into smithereens.

Fuck. Who the hell would do this?

“Duo,” Heero whispers behind me, but I’m not listening. I get off the bike and remove my helmet, feeling a sting burning my eyes as I continue to stare as if hypnotized at the sight of destruction.

“Hey, Maxwell.”

I stiffen at the greeting, turning around quickly to stare into Big Bill’s wan features. For a guy who’s big enough to squash you with just his fist, he looks tired and incredibly small tonight. I stick out a hand for a handshake, but grunt in surprise as he pulls me into his arms in a bear hug. I’m almost frightened at this display of affection, and pat his back tentatively, listening to him sniffle and finally pull away. I can’t blame him though. He really loved working here, and knowing that the other guys (who did this job for their livelihood) would be just as affected, made me even more pissed off…and guilty as hell.

“Big Bill…” I begin, not even knowing where to start really.

“S’okay, Maxwell,” the big man replies, wiping his face with a dirty handkerchief before blowing his nose rather loudly in it. “Juss…you know…I loved this place, ya know.”

“I know…”

“It wayn’t your fault,” he adds quickly as if noticing my morose features. “It’s Jimmy that did it.”

I blink in confusion, my mind trying to wrap around the name and the person it belonged to. Jimmy? Slow Jimmy who everyone made fun of? Jimmy who was always laughing and…?

“What?” I finally squeak.

“Yeah…poor guy. See he and Sid was workin…at least Sid was, ya know…doing some late night paperwork and stuff. Anyway, he says he sent Jimmy to go check on the gaskets in the back, next thing ya know, the whole place’s on fire.”

I can feel Heero standing beside me, but yet…

“Jimmy’s not that careless,” I begin slowly. Something about the story doesn’t quite fit. “Jimmy knows better than to mess around with the gaskets and besides, he doesn’t smoke. How could he…?”

“Fires start in the strangest ways,” Bill says, not really looking at me but at the chaos several feet away.

“Where’s Jimmy now?” Heero asks. I notice the frown on his face.

“Dunno.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” I ask incredulously. “If Sid got burnt, then where’s Jimmy?!” I’m beginning to feel a panic I can’t understand. Something…the picture…it isn’t fitting. “He couldn’t have just disappeared into thin air!”

“Well don’t ask me!” Bill suddenly blurts out. I can see the frustration in his eyes and something else – as if he’s hiding something. I take a step forward, noticing with faint amusement that he takes a step back.

“What’s going on here, Big Bill?” I ask softly. “Someone called me and told me that the shop had been torched. Made it seem like those guys from the schools I sent you to, had got a wind of what happened and taken their revenge. Why?”

“Don’t you have a caller ID?” Heero asks. “I thought you said Sid called you.”

“No…” The number had come up as ‘Private’ on the cell phone. The voice had sounded breathless, frightened as if just experiencing something horrific. I mean, I wasn’t really concentrating. All I had heard was shop…torch…fire…Sid…hospital. I didn’t have the time to ask for particulars.

“So no one knows where Jimmy is,” Heero muses, walking away from us with arms folded in front of him. “Anyone else got hurt?”

“Not that I know,” Bill mumbles. He runs fingers through his thinning hair and gives a heavy sigh. He looks even more exhausted. “I got a call too – at home,” he adds quickly. “And I came here as fast as I could.”

“I’m going to the hospital,” I say, motioning for Heero to follow me. “We’ve got to find out what’s going on here.”

“Hey, Maxwell,” Bill begins, and I stop in the process of straddling my bike again.

“What?”

“Jimmy…” He stops and gives me a pleading look. The veterans at the shop might give the kid a hard time, but they all cared for him in their own way. “If you find Jimmy…just let him know we ain’t mad at him. Poor kid must have been scared shitless and run away or somethin’.”

I nod in understanding. I like Jimmy too, and don’t think he’s capable of arson…or is he?

“Let’s go, Duo,” Heero mutters, making himself comfortable behind me. There’s a tension in his body that I’m sure is related to the events happening. Perhaps, like me, he’s beginning to question a few things himself. The only way to resolve this is to either speak to Sid or to find Jimmy.

__

“At least we should be grateful it’s nothing related to Morimoto or Livingstone. Things could have gotten ugly pretty fast,” Heero’s saying as we step into the cool building. It’s a quiet evening and the waiting room isn’t as full as I would have thought. There’s only a bored looking nurse at the desk, so I think my chances of seeing Sid are pretty high.

“Yeah,” I agree, knowing that it is indeed a relief it’s not connected to those other guys, but if it’s not them, then who? And why? But first things first. I need to speak to Sid.

Ten minutes later…

“But he’s my uncle!” I plead, leaning over the counter and trying my best to look as desperate as possible. “If I don’t see him tonight…I might never get the chance to see him again! Please! I’ve got to see him!”

“I’m sorry, son,” the nurse says as if speaking to a two-year-old. “But visiting hours are over. Besides, your ‘uncle’ is in Intensive Care and cannot have visitors for a while. He did suffer multiple and severe burns.”

I wince at the thought of that, unable to imagine that hearty smiling man with his flesh peeling off. It’s just too cruel. How long was he in the fire? Why wasn’t he able to escape quickly?

“Shit,” I mutter and place my head on the counter.

“Are you young men friends of Mr. Sid Mitchum?”

I turn around slowly, already feeling the beginnings of a headache and not in the mood to deal with some shit head. However, one look at the guys and my worst fears are confirmed. Two cops. And a detective.

“Who wants to know?” I mumble, but Heero interrupts with a small smile and that damn polite nature of his comes through.

“Good evening, sirs,” he says. “How may we help you?”

“Detective Parker,” the man replies, reaching for Heero’s hand. He looks like something pulled right out of a comic book, complete with the khaki-colored trench coat and chiseled features. Geez. “And you are?”

“Heero Yuy and…Duo Maxwell.”

Parker nods and gives me a quick glance before turning his attention to Heero again. He pulls out a notepad from his pocket and flips it open. “How well did you know, Mr. Mitchum?”

Heero looks at me, but I shrug and refuse to co-operate. Not until I get some answers. “Why all the questions?” I ask warily. “Isn’t this an accident?”

Parker gives a small smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Accident?” he drawls. “If this was an accident, then I’m the Pope. This was arson, son. Your friend was trapped in his office and couldn’t get out. Whoever burned the place down planned it pretty well.”

Jimmy? I flinch and feel a chill race down my spine. My mouth suddenly feels dry.

Fires start in the strangest ways. Wasn’t that what Big Bill had said? Besides, if the cops don’t know that Jimmy had started it, then how did Big Bill know?

“Fuck!” I slam my fist on the counter in dawning comprehension. They’re hiding something! Those two!

“Duo!” Heero bellows. “Where the hell are you going…?!”

But I’m already out of the building and racing for my bike. I know where Jimmy lives and if I can find him, he should be able to tell me what really happened. Sorry, Heero. I don’t want to drag you into this. I’ve already caused enough problems for you, so let me handle this my way, okay?

__

The lot around Jimmy’s trailer home is quiet, and as I pull up slowly, the only sounds to reach my ears are those of a dog barking in the distance and the loud TV from a neighbor’s home. There’s no light around the small once white ramshackle place, and as I kill the engine, I stare at the desolate surroundings with a heaviness settling in the pit of my stomach. I could easily be living in a place like this. If Mom hadn’t come back…

“No time for that,” I whisper harshly, getting off to walk towards the house I had once visisted. Dying plants line the perimeter, as if craving for a last minute gasp of breath before caving in to their decay. Rusty and unused cars form a rough wall a few feet away, broken lounge chairs, a burst plastic pool (its water now murky with filth) give the air an added ambience of misery. The greasy smells of stale beef, burgers and chili fill my nostrils, and the closer I get to the trailer, the more I wonder if I’m doing the right thing. What if Jimmy isn’t home? What about his mother? I know she’s sick; the last time I visited she had coughed and wheezed all through feeding us some sandwiches and OJ.

I pull back the wire screen, wincing as it almost falls off its hinges. I knock gently, watching the small wooden plaque with the words ‘Jesus Bless This Home’ swinging with each sound of my knuckles against the wood.

“Mrs. Weir?” I call out quietly. “Mrs. Weir? Jimmy? Is anyone home?”

I place my hand on the door knob and turn it slowly, perhaps a part of me wishing it remains locked. However, it turns easily and the first thing to hit me is the smell of decay – a ripe smell that almost has me gagging. It’s like someone has left a whole basket of tomatoes or something in the pantry and forgot all about it. Or even worse, someone had left a pile of meat in the open for a long time. It’s sickening.

It’s also pretty dark. Has the power been cut off?

“Jimmy?” I call out again, and take a step into the house, my heart now pounding loudly in my chest. I swallow, trying to gather moisture in my mouth. There’s something not quite right with this scene folks, and believe me, I’m scared shitless.

Just turn around and go back home, Duo Maxwell. Back to Heero, back to a life where there’re no…

“Argh! What the…mmphfff!!”

It all happens so fast. One minute, I’m still contemplating my plans to flee, the next, I’m dragged in, a hand slapped over my mouth and the cold sensation of something hard pressed to my temple. My scream of terror is drowned by the sound of both of us tumbling to the floor. I try to disengage myself from my attacker. We end up in a scuffle – and still mindful of my own wounds not completely healed – I know I’m at a disadvantage. This person is either really strong or I’m not doing my best to kick his ass. However, one look into the wide and wild-looking eyes above me, confirms what I’ve known all along.

“Jimmy, you fuck!” I manage to get out, before a sharp pain laces through my skull and I’m sent into merciful darkness.

__

“Duo? Duo are you okay?”

I open my eyes slowly, meeting the concerned and most beautiful eyes of my partner, lover, companion and best friend. “Heero,” I croak weakly. My throat feels raw, my voice shaky, but yet cannot mask my relief. “Ah, Heero. Fucking nightmare…”

“Nightmare? What nightmare?”

I try to reach for him. “I went to Jimmy’s house…thought I’d find out what happened and…and…”

I can feel the dull flames of panic flickering in my stomach as the face before me begins to change slowly. No…no, please don’t tell me this is a dream! “Heero…? Heero!”

“Ain’t no hero here,” comes the dry voice that has me opening my lashes quickly. I try to sit up and end up falling flat on my back again. My head is killing me. I turn my gaze slowly towards the direction of the voice, noticing Jimmy sitting on the floor, his back pressed against the kitchen counter with – yep, you guessed it – a gun pointing right at me.

The fucking asshole.

There’s a deranged and crazed look in his eyes. Gone was the lax, and sometimes dull expression he had on his face while at the shop. His hair which was usually as neat as he could make it (‘Mama always says to comb it neat,’ he’d say) now lay in tangled dark clumps against his forehead. There’s blood…or something like blood against his temple, running down to his chin. It makes him look even more insane, and I can feel my insides curdling with fear and yet anger. This is a guy likely to shoot at anything in sight (namely me) and I didn’t want to get him too excited.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on here, Jimmy?” I finally ask. The smell of rotten meat is stronger in here. Go figure. No power. The foods in the fridge must be stale by now.

He only continues to stare at me – an intense dark look that I’m beginning to hate. Is this really the Jimmy that I once knew? The one who could walk into lockers at the shop and laugh in this giddy way that made you want to laugh with him? The one who would willingly do things for you without being asked twice? The one who always enjoyed buttered popcorn and licorice like a man obsessed?

Suddenly, my anger overtakes my fear. How could he have done this?

“You son-of-a-bitch,” I growl, trying to sit up despite the killer headache. “What the hell did you do that for?! Why did you want to kill Sid, huh?! What the hell were you thinking?!”

“I didn’t do it!” he cries out, waving the gun rather dangerously about. I finally notice the fear in those crazed eyes, the gradual signs of a man becoming unglued. “I swear to God, Duo,” he says quickly, and then jumps as a loud sound is heard outside. He crawls towards the front door, breathing harshly, his thin body trembling like a live wire. Man, I’ve never seen a guy this jittery before. He looks out the window carefully, notices that it’s perhaps the neighbor’s dog and settles back to his sitting position, looking defeated and still alert enough to point his weapon at me.

I hope he doesn’t plan to shoot me. Honestly, I don’t think I could take it.

“I didn’t do it,” he mutters and wipes a hand across his mouth. He shuffles his feet together, his dirty sneakers almost hidden beneath the oversized pair of jeans that’s seen better days. The green army jacket covers his upper body like a shield and he seems to be huddled inside of it, still shaking like a leaf.

“So if you didn’t do it…who did?”

“I don’t know,” he moans. “I was set up. I swear to God I was set up.”

“You certainly don’t sound slow,” I say in an accusatory tone, a bit hurt that he would lie to me about his mental state. I wonder if his mother was up to this as well.

He gives me a shifty, almost sly look and then lowers his gaze. “No one cared to know the real me…”

“Oh don’t give me that bullshit. I came to your house. I shared my lunches with you! Dude, I was the only one who gave a shit about you, and you lied to me…just like you’re lying now,” I add bitingly, eyeing the gun as I say it. I try to gauge the distance between me and the door. There’s a kitchen chair next to me. If I can use it as leverage to block the gun…

“I tell you I was set up! Why won’t anyone believe me?!” he screams and then cries out again as another loud sound outside has him scrambling to his feet. I almost screamed with him, watching as he takes that cautious peek. This would be the perfect time to…

“Big Bill…”

My ears perk at the name. Jimmy slides back to the floor, huddling into a ball again. He watches me through the clumps of his hair, eyes shimmering with tears and sweat. “Big Bill…he told me to go look for gaskets in the backroom. I was about to go home you know. Sid was in his office and all. And…and I told Big Bill that I wanted to go home, that my ma was waiting for me and…” He wipes his mouth again. “But then he tells me that if I don’t get them for him, I’m never going to see my ma again. There was something in his eyes, ya know. I just couldn’t say no. So I go into the back room and I seen Sid in his office. He’s waving at me and I tell him that I gotta get the gaskets for Big Bill and he says okay and he goes back into his office and I go into the backroom. It takes me a devil of a time to find them…”

“There’re always on the top shelf,” I interject, already knowing the answer to this.

“It wasn’t there,” Jimmy says morosely. “I swear to God, Duo. I checked like crazy. I checked everything and everywhere, and I didn’t find anything. That was when I began to smell the gas, you know…leaking…and then from under the door, like…like something out of the movie or something…fire just burst in…shattered the glass and everything.” He hitches in a sharp breath and gives another low moan as if in great pain. With his voice muffled against the sleeve of his jacket, he continues. “Thankfully I remembered the exit at the other side and had to really kick that sucker down to get the door open. But I did…but by the time I got out, half the place was already burned down. I remembered that Sid was in his office, but I couldn’t…I couldn’t do anything, Duo. Shit! I was so scared, I just ran home. I didn’t want anyone to think I did it.”

“So you’re stuck here hiding.”

He nods and thankfully, lowers his gun towards the ground. “I didn’t do anything, Duo. You’ve gotta believe me. I wouldn’t kill Sid. I loved the guy like my own father. He’s the only one who ever gave me a chance, you know?”

“Where’s your mom, Jimmy?” I ask quietly, and the proceeding reaction is so shocking, I have to press myself against the wall in terror.

He shrieks like a man possessed and pulls at his hair, eyes rolling into his head till his whites show for a moment, before slumping forward like a rag doll. The silence following his outcry is deafening, and besides the pounding of my heart and our heavy breathing, there isn’t a sound.

“She’s sleeping,” he finally whispers. He laughs a little. “Yeah, she’s still sleeping. I’ve tried to wake her up, but she’s not budging…just…sleeping.”

My throat is locked. The smell. Jesus. Her sickness. She must be…

He lifts his head to look at me, crazed eyes now replaced with a calmness that betrays the madness inside. Oh fuck.

“Wanna see her?” he asks.

“No…” I whisper, barely able to get the words past my frozen lips.

“DO YOU WANT TO SEE HER?!” he roars and before I can say another word, he yanks me to my feet, tugging my arm in a grip that I wouldn’t have expected from a guy his size. He drags me towards his mother’s room and the smell is now so pungent that I gag and almost spill the contents in my stomach. He pushes the door aside and shoves me inside, so hard that I fall across the bed and upon the cold and clammy body of the woman who had once smiled at me weakly, but with a tenderness that could not be duplicated.

My scream of horror and dismay is lost in Jimmy’s mad laughter.

I scramble away, hot tears filling my eyes and sliding down my cheeks as I stare at the decaying corpse. Not so evident yet, but by the smell it’s slowly getting there. The idiot had closed the windows as well, so the heat hadn’t helped matters. Her features look serene and much younger, as if death was the final thing needed to set her troubles to rest. Jimmy was nice enough to dress her in her Sunday best, and my over-imaginative mind already has visions of those lashes flying open and revealing accusatory blue eyes.

I turn away and barf until I can give up no more, barely paying attention to the faint sounds of sirens approaching or Jimmy’s stiffened posture as he realizes what’s happening.

“Get up,” he mutters, tugging my arm again. I’m still in shock, too dazed to protest as he drags me out again. My mind is clogged with images of death, the thought of being shot, my blood splattered across Mrs. Weir’s cold body as we are joined together in the afterlife. I’m pressed against Jimmy’s trembling body, the gun placed to my temple as his breath fills my ear. It’s the same breathing I had heard on my cell phone. So he was the one who had called me. What a moron.

The sounds of car doors opening and slamming shut as the police cruisers pull up should be sweet music to my ears, but I don’t care anymore. My body might be here, but I think my mind is slowly unraveling. I feel myself being shoved forward. Someone barking into a megaphone (my guess is Parker doing his detective duty) and the sounds of running footsteps approaching the house.

“Show time,” Jimmy breathes in my ear and kicks the door open, holding me out like a fucking prize. My vision is glazed as I stare at the squad of officers waiting outside. It’s Parker alright. Parker and his fucking dogs. Damn, my head hurts.

“Don’t come any closer!” Jimmy’s yelling. I wish he wouldn’t do that. It’s driving me slowly, but surely bat shit.

“Don’t you dare come any closer or I’ll shoot him! I swear to God, I’ll shoot him!”

Yes, shoot me you lying bastard. I bet you and Big Bill were in cohorts to off Sid – why? I don’t know – and your poor mother died from her illness and you couldn’t even take her to a goddamn hospital. You just let her die in there, didn’t you?

“Put the gun down, son,” Parker’s saying. “We don’t want any trouble, okay? Just release the hostage and we’ll…”

“Not another step!” Jimmy roars and this time, my own roar mingles with his. Funny how one can snap when pushed to the limits. I guess I can understand why he’s gone mad, but I’ll be damned if I let him get the best of me. Thanks to him, he’s ruined a perfectly good evening with Heero. I could have been home right now, studying or screwing my boyfriend’s brains out, instead…

“Just shut the fuck up already!” I scream, deftly twisting away from his grip with a swift and hard back kick to his shin. The move surprises him, and he gives a small yelp only to grunt as I drive a fist into his stomach. I reach for the gun that would have dropped to the ground, and point it at him, breathing heavily while cocking it.

“Because of you…” My breath hitches. I can’t be crying now, but I can’t stop. So much. So damn much has happened to people I care about. “You lied to me!” I bellow, watching those dark eyes flickering back and forth, pure terror within them. “You lied to everyone! Even to Sid! You say he was like your father and you all but killed him! And your mother…Jesus, Jimmy! Your own mom!”

My vision’s going blind now, the tears making it impossible to see.

“How…why? WHY?!!” I’m just about to pull the trigger, perhaps to shoot him in the leg at least or maybe a warning shot to the ground beside him, when a firm and familiar hand holds my wrist to stop me from doing it.

I turn towards Heero, watching him shake his head a little, before pulling the weapon out of my hands gently. I wonder how I must look to him. Perhaps crazed and just as insane looking as Jimmy had been.

“Hee…”I croak, my voice thick and trembling. “Oh God…Heero…” I fall into his arms, messy uniform and all, holding on to him as I sob helplessly. Activity happens all around us, as Jimmy is handcuffed and dragged away, but in Heero’s arms, we’re in our own world and nothing can touch us…at least for now. He says nothing and simply holds me, allowing me to wash away the pent-up emotions of the past few days.

Eventually someone throws a jacket over me, and I lift my head slowly to stare bleakly into Parker’s stern visage. There’s a hint of warmth and concern in those eyes though, so he’s not completely made out of steel.

“We’d like to ask you a few questions, Maxwell. Please follow us to the station.”

“He didn’t do anything,” Heero interrupts quickly, his arms already tightening around me protectively. I can picture his glare over my head and it makes me feel a bit better.

“Just routine questions, Yuy,” Parker says. “You can both ride with me.”

“My bike…” I mutter.

“Will be taken care of, don’t worry. Let’s go, sirs.”

As we both slide into the back seat of the rather comfy vehicle, I can’t help thinking of how deceptive and manipulative humans can be. We are a complex race, unable to decipher what really goes on behind the eyes or within the minds of many. It really is amazing how things can take a quick turn when you least expect it. How fragile we really are deep down inside. After all, as the saying goes –

‘It’s always the quiet ones…’

~End Period Forty~