09-Feb-2001

Title: Mystery
Author: Tiercel
Pairings: 1+2
Warnings: shonen ai
Disclaimers: I do not own Gundam Wing; Sunrise and some other folks do. 'Mystery' is written and performed by the Indigo Girls.
Comments: I love this song. You could write this song for just about every yaoi couple I can think of, although by the third verse you might have some trouble... I certainly will, assuming I don't abandon the project at verse two. If you want to hear this song, it's on the Indigo Girls album Swamp Ophelia, although I prefer the version on their live collection, 1200 Curfews. This is the first songfic I've ever written - so it might be a little weird. Sorry 'bout that.

Mystery by Tiercel

Verse One

Each time you pulled down the driveway
I wasn't sure when I would see you again

The laptop keyboard was oddly loud in the silence of the small room. The two occupants seemed unaware of each other; one absorbed in his typing, the other slipping bits of unidentifiable electronics into various pockets of clothing. His movements were rapid and certain, his blue eyes intent.

Motes of dust gleamed in the thin bars of light that slipped through the blinds, swirling violently at every pass of the moving boy's hands through the air. As he turned towards the door, a long braid swung in his wake, brushing against his companion. The clacking of keys slowed, then stopped.

"Heh. Sorry."

The other one shrugged, then spoke. "No backup?"

"For this? It's minor sabotage. A kid could do this."

A raised eyebrow.

"Trust me."

A snort, and a small smirk.

"See ya, Heero. Don't wait up!" The long-haired boy winked and was out the door. The other turned back to his laptop, hands poised... then let them drop into his lap, his eyes staring at the patterns the dust motes made.

For yours was a twisted, blind-sided highway
No matter which road you took then

A streetlight blinked, its buzz slowly overwhelmed by engine noise. The rumble of large trucks on the move echoed off the metal walls of the warehouses.

Headlights shed watery reflections as the caravan made its way through the dark streets.

A brighter light, a louder noise, overwhelmed all else. The warehouses turned red and orange, flickering, and the whining roar of engines was replaced with a different roar.

A swift-moving shadow trailed along one wall, then was gone into the deeper shadows of an alley.

"Hold it, you little bastard!" A spark of light and a whine disturbed the dark stillness of the alley. Three more figures, faces and hands dark with soot, hurtled towards the looming mouth. Three short, sharp sounds emitted from it, and the three figures crumpled to the asphalt in mid-movement.

From the alley emerged a black-clad figure, clutching a gun with one hand and his side with the other. His eyes darted rapidly over the entire area. "Shit," he muttered to himself, the muscles of his face strained. Then he broke into a shuffling run, moving away from the wreckage behind him.

Oh you set up your place in my thoughts
Moved in and made my thinking crowded

The boy in the small room frowned, tapped a few keys, and frowned again. He glanced over at one of the two twin beds, taking in its rumpled sheets and malformed pillow. He looked back at the monitor. He looked back at the bed.

With a small noise somewhere between a huff and a snort, he stood and moved to the bed, pulling the pillow off onto the floor. He reattached the bottom sheet to the mattress, lifting the edges with one hand, arm muscles barely bulging. Neatly, precisely, he folded hospital corners to tuck the top sheet under the mattress.

He folded the blankets at the foot of the bed, then lifted the pillow and began to fluff. As it passed near his face, he stilled, staring.

The blue eyes widened a little, and one of the calloused, muscular hands trembled. Raising the pillow closer to his face, he inhaled deeply. Another small sound escaped him.

The tight lips thinned, and he slowly lowered the pillow, centering it precisely at the head of the bed. The deep imprints of his fingers began to shallow. A long strand of hair clung to his hand as he pulled it away, and he stared at it, letting it dangle in the morning light, watching the curve and motion of it in the slight breeze of his breath.

A beep shattered the silence. Abruptly the dark-haired boy turned towards it, stepping out of the light to stare at the characters on the screen. He remained motionless for a long moment. He spoke.

"Baka."

Now we're out in the back with the barking dogs
My heart the red sun; your heart the moon clouded

"You shouldn't have been so careless."

"I didn't go out there with the intention of being careless, Heero." Stripped of his shirt, the boy's pale skin disappeared into the bandages on his side. "Anyway, you didn't have to leave the school."

"You couldn't have found a safe place on your own."

"Hmm... you may be right. It's pretty nice for a summer cottage, even if there isn't any heat. Thank you, Heero." Eyes the color of the evening sky met eyes the color of noon and held them for a long moment. Noon flicked away. Lids slowly shut away the evening. "Well, at least I got rid of those Taurus parts."

"True." Heero lowered himself onto the grass. "But you should still be more careful. You won't be able to go on any missions for at least a month."

"A month? Ow!"

"Duo! Don't sit up so fast, you idiot!"

"Yeah... maybe a month is about right." He was sweating, but he managed to grin anyway as he carefully lowered himself back to the grass. Heero rolled his eyes.

The two lay in silence.

"It's just... anything could happen in a month," Duo whispered finally. Heero propped himself up on his elbow, staring at him. "I don't like to think about you going out there without backup." He turned his head and looked up at the other boy. "There's more chance you'll get hurt."

"There's always a chance I'll get hurt."

"I know that! But even you have to admit the odds go up if you're doing all the missions on your own."

"It doesn't matter. I'll get them done."

Duo sighed and sat up, slowly. "At least try to be more careful than I was."

"I always am." Heero stood and took hold of one slim hand, pulling the injured boy carefully to his feet.

I could go crazy on a night like tonight
Summer's beginning to give up her fight

The gamin face creased as Duo eased onto the couch. The rapid-fire clacking of the keyboard stopped.

"Duo."

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you don't want a painkiller?"

"No way, man. I hate those damn things; they make it hard to think."

"How can you tell?"

"Damn, man, did you just make a joke?"

"The pain must be making you delusional." One corner of his mouth twitched, just slightly. Duo's eyes widened, and he grinned abruptly, the lines on his face easing.

"Are you sure you're not coming down with something, Heero? That was two jokes. Must be something in the air."

"Hn. It's been medically proven that laughter aids in the healing process. The sooner you heal, the sooner you can get back to the mission."

Duo fell off the couch laughing, then winced as he tried to pull himself back up. Heero stood, shaking his head.

"Baka."

And every thought's a possibility
Voices are heard but nothing is seen

From his stance by the window, Heero's eyes were fixed on the slow up-and-down of blankets, twinned with the even breathing of sleep. Moonlight marked a brilliant path between the window and the bed. The boy by the window lifted his hand and stared as the shadow crossed the form in the bed. His hand hung in midair, completely still.

The blankets twitched, and a noise between a grunt and a cough accompanied it. The hand dropped. "Heero?" muttered the lump under the blankets. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I'll take the couch. I don't want to aggravate - "

"Heero, shut up and get over here. It's too cold to sleep on the couch." A yawn punctuated the sleepy words, and the last few trailed off into the pillow. The boy by the window frowned, then snorted. In a few fluid movements he was under the covers, a second lump joining the first.

"Night, Heero." The original lump moved slightly, just enough so that the two lumps were indistinguishable from one another.

"Hn."

Why do you spend this time with me
May be an equal mystery

End Verse One

(:./tiercel/mystery1)