17-Oct-2001
Email: anakerie@cinci.rr.com
Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing boys.
Warnings: Future lemon. Angst.OCC, AU.
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4
Heero sat the paper bag down in the boat, and launched the craft forward with a quick motion. His fishing gear was piled at his feet. He had come out to this lake to fish, and he intended to fish, no matter how many Kappas he offended.
It made sense now, he reasoned. His father had seemed to believe in the story; maybe there was something to it. He didn't believe in spirits, naturally, but humans were evolved from fish. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility that humans could still be born with the ability to breathe underwater.
Still, just to be on the safe side...
He opened the bag when the reached the center of the lake, and pulled out the
cucumber and a small knife. He quickly carved his name on the side, and tossed the vegetable as far as he could. "HEERO!" he yelled out. "I'm Heero. Remember me? We saw each other when we were kids? I'm going to fish here today, all right with you, Kappa?"
The response was unexpected and immediate. The cucumber came flying back out of the water, made a graceful arch in the air, and struck Heero in the head. He quickly rowed toward the spot it had surfaced from, but of course nothing was there. And he caught no fish that day.
When evening came, he turned out the cabin's lights, but tried not to sleep. There were no disturbances, and finally at two AM he drifted off.
The next morning he awoke, and fixed a quick breakfast, heading back down to the lake. And stopped cold.
The boat was ruined. The oars had been snapped in half, and a large hole had been gouged in the bottom of the craft itself, obviously made with a near-by sharp rock. Furious, Heero walked to the lake.
"SHOW YOURSELF!" He yelled. "Quit being such a coward. I'm not going to hurt you, but I want to talk to you! Come on, please?" There was no answer.
"You know, I never forgot about you. All my life I've thought about the boy who lived in the water." He was walking along the shore now, not even looking at the lake. "I thought I'd just imagined you, but... my dad died that day." He blurted out, surprised at himself. "So I never got a chance to come back and see if you were still here. Until now. What about your dad? That guy I saw was your dad, right?" He sighed. "Look, come to my cabin tonight if you can understand me. I promise, I just want to talk. I'll give you some more bread if you do. You seemed to like it. That's the white stuff you ate."
He paused. "I'll be waiting, anyway. If you want to come and talk. I'm Heero." He walked back toward the cabin.
Night came, and Heero cooked more food than he could eat, setting some aside. The hours ticked away, and finally he turned off the lights, pulling off his shirt, when he heard the creak of boards behind him.
His water boy stood in the doorway of the cabin, his eyes wide with curiosity and fear, his body taunt.
"Hey." Heero said softly. "Hi there. I guess you heard me after all."
The was no answer.
"Can you understand what I'm saying?" He tried.
The water boy nodded.
"Do you know how to talk?"
"Yes." He hesitated. "Haven't for a while." His voice sounded a little raspy, and he had an odd accent, almost as if he had a hearing problem. No, Heero realized, almost as if most of the human words he'd heard in his life had been filtered through the lake first.
"My name is Heero. Do you have a name?"
"Duo." In the dim light, Heero noticed that the young man's hand was still on the frame of the doorway, and he was breathing heavily.
"Duo, you don't need to be afraid. I promise not to hurt you. All I want to do is talk to you, like I said. But you need to come inside first."
Duo thought about that for a minute and then slowly released the door, moving to stand just inside the cabin. It was like, Heero thought privately, trying to coax a stray cat to accept a saucer of cream.
"I don't see well the dark, Duo. Can I turn on the lights?" Heero made no sudden moves, knowing his visitor would be gone in a heartbeat if he did.
"Okay."
Heero gingerly reached out his hand and hit the light switch. And for a moment his own breath left him.
Duo was pale. Not so pale he looked unhuman, but definitely as white as a person could get. His skin was completely unblemished; no scars, no moles, not even a freckle. Under it, Heero could see the outline of very strong muscles, although Duo was a thin man. Long, tangled hair, still damp, flowed around him, down to his hips. Enormous violet eyes studied Heero in return, set in a face so delicate looking it was almost feminine. However, as Heero noted with a little amusement, all it took was a lower glance to know his guest was most definitely male. He was, without question, the most exotic, most beautiful man Heero had ever seen.
"I've offended you." Duo said suddenly.
"No, no of course not. Why would you think that?"
Duo smiled for the first time. "My father. He said humans always had to... " he seemed to be searching for the word. "cover." He said at last. "They'd be angry that we didn't, if they saw us."
"I'm not offended." Heero promised, with a smile of his own. "As long as you won't be offended if I keep my 'covers' on." He managed to tear his eyes away. "Are you hungry, Duo? Would you like some food? I made plenty."
Duo's smile widened and he nodded eagerly. "I love human food."
"Sit." Heero motioned to a chair. Duo gave him a strange look. "Like this." Heero demonstrated. "Unless you want to sit on the floor?"
Duo approached the chair, examining it from all angles, before he carefully touched his bare behind to the seat. "Weird." He pronounced, and Heero had to swallow a laugh.
"Here." Heero put a plant in front of him, piled with buttered noodles, peas, and a piece of chicken. "Enjoy." He offered a fork and Duo stared at it, perplexed. "Never mind." Heero shrugged.
The next few minutes were spent watching the man from the lake stuffing handfuls of food into his mouth. Rather than being disgusted, Heero was fascinated. Duo was obviously tasting these things for the first time, and the gusto he put into polishing them off said he definitely approved.
"Would you like more?"
"No, that's okay." Duo rubbed his stomach. "But that was good."
"What do you usually eat?"
"Weeds. Fish. Lots of fish. Fish eggs are good, if you can find them."
"Caviar, huh? My mother would adore you." Heero said with amusement.
Duo stood up, and walked over to the sink, tilting his head. "Explain?" He asked, pointing.
Heero turned the handles. "See? It makes water come out. That one is... "
"OW!" Duo jerked his hand back, glaring at the facet.
"Hot water." Heero bit his lip. "Are you okay?"
"Sure." He pointed at the clock, and then gave Heero a look full of pure hunger. "What's that for?"
The sun was just breaking over the horizon, and Heero sank wearily into a chair. Duo sat down on the floor next to him. Heero had spent the entire night teaching Duo what everything in the cabin was for. Duo hadn't talked to anyone in a while, and he was making up for lost time, Heero gave an inner chuckle. He wanted to know everything.
Suddenly, to his surprise Duo leaned over and rested his chin on Heero's knee, looking up at him. "You're an okay human, Heero."
"Why thank you." Heero was touched. "You've spent the night asking me questions. Now, is it okay if I ask you some?"
"Sure."
"When I saw you, when we were little kids, I saw a man too."
"My father."
"That's what I thought. He was upset with you."
"My father hated humans. He was afraid... " Duo's eyes grew distant. "I had a brother. Bigger than me. He went outside the lake one day, and humans found him. They took him away with them. My father was scared they'd take me, too, like they took Solo."
"I'm sorry. Is your father still alive?"
Duo shook his head. "One day... humans came with... I don't know the word. Box on wheels. You have one. Theirs was bigger."
"A truck?"
"I guess so. They poured stuff out of it, into the lake. We all got sick." Duo blinked quickly. "The next day, my parents wouldn't wake up. I was okay. Don't know why."
"Oh, Duo... how big were you?"
"Smaller. I don't know. Think it was my 9th summer."
"And you've been alone ever since? How did you survive?"
"Living is easy." Duo explained. "Lots of food. I can move fast. No one knows I'm there." He glanced up at Heero. "Except you. And that's okay. I like you." The last was said almost shyly.
"What do you do in the winter? When the lake freezes?"
"Oh, I've got a cave." Duo explained. "Mostly, I just sleep I lot. Kind of boring, but... " he gave a "what else can you do?" shrug.
"You wanted me to leave pretty badly." Heero reminded him gently. "You tipped over my boat, you tore up my books, you then destroyed my boat."
Duo gave him a challenging glance. "You made too much noise. When the summer people leave, I don't have to hide. No one comes when the leaves turn, so I can be free. Then... you showed up, and made noise. I got mad."
"The radio." Heero thought ruefully. "Duo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. Are we friends now? Can we be friends?"
"Sure." Duo said happily. "You can live here all the time, and make me food, and I'll come visit you."
Heero paused. "Duo, I can't live here. I have a home. I have a family. My mother is still alive; she drives me nuts but I'd still miss her. And I have friends, other friends, that I love. I'm only going to be here a few more days." He reached down to touch Duo's hair. "Why don't you come home with me? To where I live? I could show you a lot more human stuff."
Duo shook his head. "My father said 'Duo, protect the lake. That's your job when I'm gone. Promise.' So I promised. I have to stay here."
They were quiet for a while, Heero's fingers tangling in Duo's hair. "Well, why don't you stay with me until I have to leave?" Heero offered. "It's a little lonely out here."
Duo nodded. "Yeah. I know what lonely is like."
Heero yawed deeply, and Duo giggled. "I am going to bed." Heero announced, and stood up. "I haven't been getting enough sleep lately." He gave Duo a mock frown, and Duo gave him a cheeky smile in return. Heero entered the bedroom, and noticed Duo was still behind him. "I suppose you're tired too?"
"Yup."
"Well, it's a big bed. Why not?" Heero laughed. "Come on." He slid beneath the blankets and held them up. Duo reached down and pressed on the mattress. His face broke into delight and he quickly climbed in. "Better than a cave floor." He announced.
"I can only imagine." Heero pulled the blankets up around the water man. "Sleep well." He closed his eyes.
He was almost asleep when he felt a bare arm go around his waist, and a warm body cuddle close. "Is it okay?" Duo asked. "My bear is back in my cave."
"You have a pet bear??"
"No... it's squishy. Like this." He pointed to the pillow.
"Oh, a teddy bear." Heero nodded.
"My Heero bear."
"HUH?"
Duo laughed. "It didn't have a name. Then you told me your name. I thought it sounded nice. So I named my bear Heero." He paused. "You're not mad, are you?" He asked quickly. "Is it okay?"
"It's very okay. I'm honored."
"So, anyway, Heero bear isn't here for me to hold. And I can't sleep if I'm not holding something. So... "
"It's okay." Heero was drifting off again. He patted Duo's shoulder. "I don't mind." Duo was such an innocent, he thought. Almost a big child in so many ways. And he fell asleep dreaming that he and Duo lived together under the water, swimming with the fish.
End Chapter 4
(:./lasha/kappa4)
