June 1999
Standard disclaimers apply.
Sitting on the sandstone doorstep had some merits, Duo pondered. Tracing meaningless patterns in the sand at his feet, he chucked another pebble at a large desert gecko peeking out from under the shade of an overturned earthenware pot. It clucked at him angrily, and Duo hissed back. The reptile blinked in surprise, then scurried back under the pot, deciding to forego its twilight foray for dinner.
"Hey, Duo-san!"
Duo looked up at the cheery voice, grinning when he saw the easy lope of the Maguarnac heading towards him. "Hey Abdul-san," he greeted back. Straightening up, he followed the man's moves until the latter collapsed bonelessly beside him with an exaggeratedly drawn-out sigh.
"Tired?" Duo chuckled, pushing his cap back from his eyes. It was no longer as sunny as before, the glowing ball of fire in the sky finally deciding that it was time for bed. No matter how Duo looked at it, he'd never get used to the sun. Maybe if he were to stay on Earth longer, or maybe if he could forget the way real sunlight glinted off wreckage...
No, don't go there.
"O yes, Duo-kun," Abdul groaned, stretching his legs out before him. Duo joined him in an easy sprawl. Both of them effectively blocked the entrance of the doorway they sat in. "'Tired' does not begin to describe it...It takes a lot to maintain the suits, you know," the older man grinned.
"Yeah, I know," Duo nodded. "By the way, I never said thanks. Thanks man, for everything. I know you didn't have to but..."
"No buts, Duo-san," Abdul retorted, waving his hands in warding-off gestures. "It was the only thing we could do. We owe Quartre-sama -- and all of you -- so much. It was the *least* we could do."
"But at least you could have let me help with the repairs."
"Oh no! You are a guest of the Maguarnac Army, Duo-san -"
"Call me Duo. Just Duo," the boy interrupted softly.
Abdul smiled, a bright, open grin that showed his white, even teeth to full advantage. "Just Duo, then," he agreed. The boy before him smiled in return, acknowledging the easy agreement between them. Then Duo turned away, pulling his knees back to his chest and hugging them with both arms.
Abdul's grin faltered. It wasn't right to see children this way, barely grown yet too adult in their responsibilities and actions. Their guilt and regrets. The Maguarnac shook his head slightly, then turned to gaze in the general direction Duo seemed to be looking. The streets were almost empty; the initial hubbub had died down with the oncoming darkness. The air was still with the faintest traces of desert zephyrs, carrying interesting scents and aromas from the various kitchens as families settled down for dinner preparations.
"Peaceful, isn't it?" Abdul sighed softly, glancing at the longhaired boy beside him.
"Hmm?" Duo seemed to have been shaken from some memory, some private thought. "Did you say somethin'?"
"I just mentioned that it was peaceful. Don't you think so, Duo?"
Duo looked at the dusky-skinned man and nodded with a hesitant smile. "Yeah. Just like home, eh?"
Abdul's silence was an uneasy response. Duo shifted, turning slightly to face the man who was still gazing at some indeterminate point in the far dusk. When Abdul spoke, his tone was flat, unlike his usual agitatedness. "No, Duo-kun. My home was not peaceful. It was at war when I left." Abdul turned suddenly towards Duo, peering at the shaded violet eyes that bored into him. He reached for Duo's cap and took it off the boy's head, freeing the long locks of his bangs so that they fluttered with the wind.
"Hey!" Duo cried, reaching for the cap that was held just out of his reach.
"Ne, Duo-kun, you have no need of a cap now," Abdul laughed. "The sun has turned in." He laughed again as the younger boy snarled playfully and lunged for the headgear, letting it drop just as Duo made another grab for it. Snatching it from Abdul's fingers, Duo squeezed the cap in his hands, then stuffed it possessively into his pocket.
"It is precious to you, yes?" Abdul ventured again when Duo quieted down. "Perhaps a reminder of *your* home?"
"No, not home. Of someone," Duo mumbled tersely.
"Ah." Abdul nodded, letting the silence fall once more between them.
After several moments, the Maguarnac began to hum -- a soft melody that was strangely soothing, like a lullaby.
"That's pretty," Duo said softly, a slightly sad smile on his lips.
"It's an old folk tune of my people," Abdul explained. "Mothers sang it to their children to help them sleep. Wives sang it to their husbands at their burial."
Duo chuckled. "A song of life and death."
"If you like," Abdul smirked. "I prefer to call it a song of memories.
And sometimes, those are more important than the physical things we
know, eh? We'll never lose memories."
The boy was silent at that, his head bowed. Abdul pushed himself into a more comfortable position, then reached over to pull Duo's smaller body towards his. The boy resisted at first, his body tense under Abdul's touch.
"Let it go, Duo-kun," Abdul whispered into the silent air, knowing that the boy heard. And an answering sob affirmed that knowledge as Duo leaned into Abdul's hug and accepted what little comfort the man gave.
They sat there in relative silence, forgetting that outside the settlement walls, men and women were dying to uphold what beliefs they had. They sat there, a boy and a man, trying to understand how something so distant could affect them so much. They sat there, relishing memories both sad and joyful, wishing for one and regretting the other.
Finally, Duo shifted, pulling away somewhat reluctantly from the comforting hug. Even in the dimness of the evening, Abdul noticed that the boy's pale skin was flushed. The man grinned. Boys will be boys.
"Uhm.." Duo coughed, more for effect than to clear his air passages. "Sorry 'bout that," he mumbled, guilt and embarrassment carrying equal weightage in his voice.
"There is no need to be sorry, Duo-kun. Grief is a lighter burden to carry when shared."
Duo squinted at him in the near-darkness. All around them, windows glowed with illumination from within; at strategic corners, night lights burned in the streets. Abdul almost chuckled at the suspicion in the boy's large eyes. Too young. They were all too young...
"Why is it you seem to know so much about how I feel?" Duo finally asked, curious.
"Your eyes, Duo-kun. The eyes are the windows of the soul, people say. Your eyes tell me a lot about you," Abdul answered.
Duo frowned. "I don't think I like the sound of that," he grumbled. "Is it so obvious?"
Sighing, Abdul pulled himself to his feet, bending backwards and forwards to get rid of the crick in his back. "Aahh," he sighed in satisfaction at the pop of one vertebra. "In answer to your question, Duo," Abdul smiled tiredly at the boy still seated at his feet. "It is more obvious when one knows what to look for, or when one already knows how grief feels."
"Oh." Duo chewed his lip, trying to understand what Abdul was trying to tell him. "He always said I was dangerous," he muttered under his breath. "Maybe that's why," he smiled reluctantly.
"Excuse me?" Abdul asked, not catching Duo's words.
"Uhm..nothing..Just thinking." He grinned at the taller man. "Guess I shouldn't trim my bangs, huh?"
"Huh?" Abdul started, flummoxed.
"Then you can't see my eyes," Duo laughed, grabbing onto Abdul's sleeve and pulling himself up to his feet.
A smile tugged at Abdul's lips as the boy bounced into the house, seemingly without a care in the world. "No, child. I do not have to see your eyes to know how you feel," the man sighed in silence. His fingers fumbled in his vest pocket, drawing out the dark sunglasses he'd kept there. "But if you need to hide still..."
End Part Two
Shirin
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