25-Jun-2001
Sheltered Hearts 2/?
Author: hinokumo
Archive: GW Addiction; Deathfics; Leviathan's Lair; and my page, Necessary Distractions. Anyone else, just ask.
Categories: Angst, shounen ai, yaoi, maybe some sap.
Rating: PG-13, soon to progress to R/NC-17
Warnings: Somewhere in the course of this will be lemon, language, and violence.
Disclaimers: Don't own any of the characters, except my own--boy, that's vague and confusing--so don't bother me about it.
Notes: Takes place after my other fic, Breath Of Madness, and about four years after Endless Waltz. Mostly a 1x2/2x1 fic, but I'm gonna have the others (3,4,5) as well. E-mail me at hinokumo@yahoo.com and tell me your thoughts^__^
Spoilers: EW, maybe. Other than that, none I think.
EMERGENCY NOTE/STORY CORRECTION: At first, I said this fic takes place two years after EW, but I've changed it to FOUR YEARS AFTER EW, just so they're older. Ok. Had to clear that up.
Dusk was approaching at a sluggish pace, the warm colors taking their time, refusing to give over their light to the inevitability of the coming night. Pinks and oranges painted the streets, the sidewalks, and the buildings, giving the lonely grey a false smile. Pedestrians crowded together, navigating individual paths that lead them home from a long day's work.
Duo pulled his dark coat straight again after inadvertently being bumped into by an impatient L2 colonist. He growled, but they were all ready gone. He sighed, knowing it was useless and continued forward, lost in his thoughts.
Kuso. This is just great, he silently snarled.
It had been five days since his meeting with Quatre...and two days since another 'accident' that had just happened to involve him.
He would have been able to play it off as his own fault; after all, he HAD been standing too close to the curb. And he had been daydreaming. Yes, it was his own stupidity that had nearly gotten him run over...
And shot.
He remembered thinking, as the darkened windows had lowered, that it was just a hit, one gang making a raid on a rival's turf. He was on the ground a split second before bullets had littered the air where he had been standing, debris falling like snow on his clothes as he lay on the sidewalk. Then, there had been the squealing of tires and the black car had disappeared around the corner, barely leaving Duo enough time to check for a license plate--there had been none.
Yes, just another gang shooting on L2--that's all it was...until Duo had stood and looked behind him. At the brick wall that was now graffitied with bullet holes.
Kuso...he had been the target.
And now he had 48 hours to find and hire a bodyguard before Quatre found one for him. And Duo was not naive enough to think that the incident would go unnoticed by his Arabian friend. He frowned darkly. The trip to the orphanage had improved his mood somewhat; seeing the smiles on the faces of the children always made him feel better. Every six months or so he would visit, bringing toys and food credits for the lost children of L2. But as soon as he was back out on the streets, his thoughts turned inward and mirrored the color of Deathscythe's paint.
His Gundam... It had been four years since the end of the Eve war and his last farewell to his old friend. After that, the pilots had gone their separate ways. Quatre and Trowa, of course, went together, having found their love for each other even before the end of the war a year before. Wufei had returned to the Preventers to work with Sally, and Heero... Heero had disappeared. He had heard rumors over the years that he had gone to work for Relina, then that he was in the secret forces. None of it could be confirmed, however. He still had suspicions that Quatre knew where the Japanese pilot really was, but every time it was brought up, he carefully evaded Duo. So, once again, Shinigami was left on his own.
Duo shook his head. No, that was not completely true. Quatre and Howard had helped him set up his business, and Hilde helped him out, too...
Then why do I still feel alone? he whispered to himself.
He glanced up at the sky, the artificial nightfall glistening with pseudo stars. L2 had seen many improvements over the years of peace, but it still had a long way to go. His eyes lowered slightly, catching the blinking lights that flashed from the tops of some of the newly constructed skyscrapers, then lower still, to the painted walls of crumbling apartments. He sighed. There was much work to do.
It was then that he sensed it. Nothing changed outwardly, his stride, his facial expression; but inwardly, silent alarms began to go off, tingling up his spine and branching out to every nerve in his body in silent preparation. Over the years, he had noticed the subtle emergence of an almost subconscious awareness of danger, almost as if he were developing a sixth sense. Perhaps it was from his childhood, the incredible stresses that he had been forced to endure in order to merely survive; another possibility was from his training to become a Gundam pilot, the intensity of it so great it taxed not only his body, but also his mind. Or perhaps it was a combination of the two. In any case, Duo developed the distinct impression that he was not only being watched, but followed as well. Casually, he changed his direction, patiently waiting at a light before crossing, centering himself amongst other colonists as he did so.
You want to play with Shinigami, yarou? he hissed darkly, his hands inconspicuously moving closer to the weapons concealed within his dark coat, feigning an attempt at warming night-chilled hands. His face remained neutral, but his large, violet eyes glowed with a dark rage. Whoever it was that was after Duo's life, although doing a pitiful job of killing him, had so far been very successful in making his life difficult.
Fuck bodyguards, he cursed silently. I'm taking care of this right now. You want to play hardball with a Gundam pilot?
He smiled darkly, feeling the presence grow stronger, closer. Let me be your escort to hell, he thought. And so began the chase. Duo kept his eyes open, all his senses stretched to their limits, leading whoever was tailing him for a long trek that went for miles down the dirty streets of L2. He made sure to stay in the populated areas--not for safety, but to confuse his shadow as he darted in and out of crowds; turned corners abruptly against the flow of traffic; and passed in front of large windows, attempting to use them as a mirror to catch a glimpse of the unlucky bastard who thought of him as an easy target. All the while, his shadow closed the distance--and it infuriated Duo that he still had not gotten at least one good look at him/her; this one was better than any of the others he had run across the past few weeks.
In one swift movement, he turned down a darkened alley, blending into the shadows with unconscious effort, and waited, his breathing slow and regular even as he withdrew his weapons. Not ten seconds later, a darkened figure stepped out of the flow of traffic and into the alley.
Duo did not hesitate to strike, moving with the silence and speed of a jungle cat, catching his prey unawares with the barrel of a gun digging into the base of a spine and a knife pressed ever so dangerously to a throat. The figure, which was male, immediately froze and Duo pressed the knife a bit deeper, a thin trickle of blood painting a black line down the exposed neck. The darkness of the alley and of nightfall made features almost impossible to discern, but Duo was not swayed.
Moving till his lips almost brushed their ear, he whispered darkly, "Who are you and why are you following me? And I'd better like your answer because I'm in a real shitty mood." He emphasized his point with another jab of the pistol.
For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence; then the man spoke. "Hello, Duo."
Duo took in a huge gasp of air and jumped back from him as if burned, the knife falling from his hand in haste and in shock. "Heero?!!" he nearly screamed, his back hitting the alley wall behind him as he stared at the adult form of a boy he had not seen in years.
The Japanese ex-pilot simply turned and looked Duo in the eyes, his gaze flickering down once to glance at the knife Duo had dropped on the ground. His eyes were as beautiful as Duo remembered, deep, cobalt blue with unfathomable depths. He stared wide-eyed at him for a full minute, his hands trembling, before he found his voice.
"Why are you here, Heero?"
For a moment, he said nothing, standing perfectly still. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet and low; a husky sound that sent shivers down the American's body. What he said, however, was like a blast of frigid air, instantly freezing Duo where he stood.
"What would you do if I told you it was to kill you?"
A flash of hurt crossed Duo's face before he schooled his expression to one of mild disappointment. A huff of bitter laughter. "Well, I shouldn't be too surprised--after all, how many times did you say 'omae o korosu' during the war?" Duo took a deep breath, willing the pain in his chest to disappear.
"Fine. If that's the way you want it, Yuy, then take your best shot. I'll go down fighting," he hissed, the grip on his gun tightening with a deadly calm as he seemingly drew the darkness from the shadows into himself, his eyes becoming twin pools of darkness. This would be the end...for one of them.
tbc...
o.O *hides* Don't kill me, but it was just too good a spot not to leave hanging! Don't freak out--but I'm not gonna say anything to give the plot away. Feedback, please? How am I holding up? It's been awhile since I've dipped my feet in the GW pool.
(:./hinokumo/hearts2)
