Cinderelena (Interlude 2)
Storyteller
"Heero."
"…"
"Heero, you haven't been eating lately."
"…"
"Heero, did you hear anything I've just said?"
"…. It takes a man a month or more before he can die of hunger."
Quatre sighed helplessly and sank down beside his brooding brother. Heero had been a tightly wound up bomb, set to explode at the slightest provocation ever since that ball fiasco. Everyone had been tiptoeing around him. And he went missing for long periods of time, telling no one where he was going or where he'd been. This was actually one of the few rare times he could corner the Crown Prince.
"Are you worried about him?" Quatre pressed gently.
"Who?" came the sullen reply.
"Duo. The one who came with Relena," he said. Then added, "The one whom you were french-kissing and lip locking with."
The Crown Prince did not reply. Quatre sighed and gingerly settled down again beside his brother, trying to find a safe and comfortable spot. Gingerly and carefully because Heero was seated on the edge of the roof of the South Tower. Heero normally liked to go to the West Tower, but he had inadvertently destroyed it in his mad and futile attempt to kill a genie.
The two brothers silently stared ahead, each taking unasked but welcomed comfort in the presence of the other. After a long moment, the Crown Prince reluctantly spoke up.
"I'm … I … what is it like between you and Trowa?"
Quatre gave him a sidelong glance. Heero was still staring moodily into the distance and the little blond prince fancied he was seeing Duo's face in the star dotted sky. He smiled softly and closed his eyes, imagining the tall lanky Red Guard in his mind. "You know that feeling you get when you ride Wing?"
"Aa." The Prince was referring to the white stallion that was Heero's favorite mount.
"The feeling you get when you race him without constraint? When the wind is blowing in your face? That wild, free feeling, your heart beating madly, feeling like nothing can stop you and there's nothing wrong in the world. That's what I feel."
"How do you feel?" he asked softly. His brother kept silent for so long Quatre thought he might have to prod him to answer again when he suddenly spoke, albeit haltingly.
"I feel like I can't breathe. Like there's chains holding me down. Like I'm at the edge of the deepest chasm. Like…like…," the Crown Prince trailed off. He shook his head angrily, sending dark locks dancing about. He stood up abruptly. "I'm going down," he informed his brother curtly. "I'm tired." He turned and agilely made his way over the treacherous rooftop.
Prince Quatre knew that his brother would not be seeking any rest on the silk sheets of his bed. He would be heading out among the people, to search for Duo again, like he did for the past few days. And he'd have to cover up for him again, so that the King wouldn't blow his top off if he should discover his heir roaming about the general populace without even a token guard force just to look for a peasant boy.
"Like you'd die without him," he finished in a whisper into the silent air. Only the mocking sound of a far-off raptor, a mere black dot in the blue heavens, answered him.
