“Why did she say those things?” he whispered, the breathless dread in his voice tracing a path across the room to Heero. “Am I really that hideous?”
No! Heero wanted to shout, and barely managed to bite his tongue in time. No, you’re not, not at all! Beautiful, beautiful, how can I tell you how beautiful you are... If he tried to reach Duo with words, Duo who was still reeling from the venom in Hilde’s voice, would the other boy listen, or even hear him? Heero was no kind of poet; he could never hope to explain the glow that seemed to come from within Duo himself, that shone out through his skin like a lantern through paper; the darkness of scar tissue that crossed and interlaced his body only made the light seem that much brighter.
Heero crossed the sudden distance between them, and hovered before Duo, not quite sure of what to do. Duo’s focus came back from nowhere, it seemed, and focused on Heero with frightening intensity. “I need a mirror,” he said abruptly, his voice hollow with apprehension.
Heero blanched. The way Duo was thinking right now, he would see only what he wanted to see. “No,” he growled, much more fiercely than he’d meant to. Not a chance. All you would see is lies.
“I need to,” Duo insisted, a quiet desperation steadily growing in his voice. “Please, Heero, I need to see it -- I need to know what --”
Re: Spoil of War, prologue
Date: 2006-02-28 01:20 am (UTC)“Why did she say those things?” he whispered, the breathless dread in his voice tracing a path across the room to Heero. “Am I really that hideous?”
No! Heero wanted to shout, and barely managed to bite his tongue in time. No, you’re not, not at all! Beautiful, beautiful, how can I tell you how beautiful you are... If he tried to reach Duo with words, Duo who was still reeling from the venom in Hilde’s voice, would the other boy listen, or even hear him? Heero was no kind of poet; he could never hope to explain the glow that seemed to come from within Duo himself, that shone out through his skin like a lantern through paper; the darkness of scar tissue that crossed and interlaced his body only made the light seem that much brighter.
Heero crossed the sudden distance between them, and hovered before Duo, not quite sure of what to do. Duo’s focus came back from nowhere, it seemed, and focused on Heero with frightening intensity. “I need a mirror,” he said abruptly, his voice hollow with apprehension.
Heero blanched. The way Duo was thinking right now, he would see only what he wanted to see. “No,” he growled, much more fiercely than he’d meant to. Not a chance. All you would see is lies.
“I need to,” Duo insisted, a quiet desperation steadily growing in his voice. “Please, Heero, I need to see it -- I need to know what --”