Title: Death & the Phoenix
Author: Ebonydove
Pairings: 1+2, 3+4
Author's Notes: Up until now we had a whole lot of Duo torture, but this
is where is starts it actually turn into a story... hold on a little longer. The
guys are hiding out in an Oz run University gathering intelligence on some Oz
officials. Duo's illness is getting worse and Heero is worried he will be become
a liability to their objectives.
Warnings: Language, fluff, Duo-torture, angst, some slight OOC, maybe
some spoilers, liberal literary use of characters that I don't own, the usual.
Duo walked in the rain for two blocks, deciding to take the long way to Sally's instead of the bus or the rail. He missed Quatre, who always had a way of making the worse circumstances seem livable. They had been at the University for a few weeks, and he was beginning to think he was running out of steam. Even with the daily missions of recon and the occasional bombing or two, he was feeling like he was letting everyone down. The things he had told Howard after finding out about his illness seemed to be coming to pass like he predicted. He was becoming a burden the rest of the guys had to carry.
He was so engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't register the man approaching from the opposite direction on the walkway, his arms loaded with sagging brown bags until it was too late. They collided harshly, sending the mans bags tumbling every which way and Duo landing square on his butt in a muddy puddle. "Damn." Duo looked up from the ruined bags through his rain soaked bangs, his eyes locking onto the band of white behind a black collar that the man before him was wearing. "I'm so sorry sir, I wasn't paying attention to where I was... "
The man smiled warmly back for a moment before gathering himself up off the pavement and began grabbing for the rolling can of veggies at his feet. "Quite all right, those bags were gonna go anyway. I wasn't really paying attention myself. You're soaking wet."
"It's alright, nothing I can't dry out. Let me help you. Father... ?" Duo smiled brightly back, ignoring his wet behind, and picking up the few items that hadn't been dumped into the wet street.
"Thank you that's very kind. I'm Father McGuinness. But everyone calls me Father Mac. I live right across the street at the rectory of St. Benedict's Cathedral. A short walk, and if you don't mind me saying, it looks like you could stand to get out of the rain for a bit." He answered giving Duo's soggy appearance a once over and gathering up the remaining items that had fallen from his ripped bags.
Duo looked at the Church, his smile fading a bit before nodding. With arms full of groceries, they made their way to the small building to the left of the towering Cathedral. The Cathedral itself was certainly an elaborate building, with more architecture and detail than anything on L2, and certainly more regal looking than his fondly remembered Maxwell Church and Orphanage. But the building they were going into seemed simple and plain. Duo stood in the front hallway for a moment, dripping onto the carpet, waiting for the invitation to come inside the warm home of the Priest.
"Please don't stand in the doorway Mr. ...I'm sorry, I forgot to ask your name."
"Duo Maxwell." He placed his dripping coat on a hook, then made his way into a small living area. It was a quaint, well lived in space with books everywhere. They were piled on the floor in great columns and spread over every chair, sofa and table in the room. The walls were like those in a library, shelves upon shelves of books. Duo looked at some of the diverse titles and saw they ranged from pre-colony history to the complex mechanics of warp field technology.
"I'll just put these in the pantry and get us some hot chocolate to warm us up. There's some towels in the bathroom to your right you can use to dry off." He said, disappearing into the kitchen.
Duo made his way into the bathroom, which was non-descript, and also had books stacked where ever they could fit. He took one of the towels and began wiping off his face, when he caught his reflection in the small mirror above the sink. Dark circles under his eyes made him appear like a wraith. His pale skin looked even whiter in the bright light of the bathroom and from the cold rain. His bangs were plastered to his head in a soggy mess and he couldn't bring himself to raise anything close to a smile. He looked horrible and felt worse. The fleeting moments of comfort from the warm glow of the Priest's home he had felt vanished, leaving nothing but torn memories and a cold shivering their wake.
When the Priest came up behind him, he had realized he must look strange staring at himself in the mirror for so long, and tried to gather up the strength to put on one of his charming Maxwell smiles.
"You're still shivering, young man. Come and sit by the heater, and drink this cocoa. It will warm you up." The Priest directed him to a chair next to a heater, and removing the books on it had Duo sit down. "Terrible night out there." He said conversationally.
Duo nodded and sipped some of the warm, rich chocolate. "So where were you coming from if you don't mind me asking?"
"The University." Duo gazed about the room, his eyes settling on a worn volume of Shakespeare.
"Ah, a student? Then you'd appreciate that book there. It's very old, that book. Printed in 1610, before the Colonies." Mac said proudly. "It's been handed down from generation to generation."
"That's amazing. How could it exist for so long?" Duo cheered considerably, the warmth of the drink coating his stomach, making him feel better.
"It is well loved, well cherished, protected I suppose."
Duo swallowed and let out a sigh. "It's incredible what kinds of things can survive after so much destruction."
Mac frowned slightly at the sadness in Duo's voice and took the time to really look at the boy. After all it was in his profession to listen, and here he was doing most of the talking. "Aren't you young to be a soldier, if you don't mind me saying?"
Duo's eyes snapped up as he assessed the man carefully. "How did you know?"
"Many years of seeing them, talking with them, consoling them. Although you're much younger than most I've known, even your posture tells of it." He smiled at Duo's surprised and wary look. "No need to worry. I'm as neutral as they come. You seem a bit out of sorts, and I don't think it's just the weather."
"It's been a long time since I've been in the company of a Priest."
"Ah."
"I was sort of raised by one from the L2 Colony."
"On L2?" Mac asked sincerely.
"Yeah. Maxwell Church, I suppose you've heard of it." Duo looked away to the books again. Talking about this past wasn't making him feel better, but he had brought the subject up.
Mac watched as emotions flit through the young man's eyes. There was a lot of sadness there that he felt might be best not to touch upon. "Can't say that I have, but I don't read too much in the ways of current events."
"It was a long time ago." Duo whispered.
"Is that where you got your name?"
Duo smiled the warmest smile he had since encountering the Priest. "Yes. The last name anyway." He told Mac about Father Maxwell and Sister Helen, the orphanage and the church, everything but the massacre. They talked for several hours about children, and the architecture of pre-Colony churches, a broad variety of subjects that were far from war, and death, and poverty. Mac asked how he came to live on the Earth, but Duo just said it was a longer story than he had time to tell. And after finishing his third cup of cocoa and a sandwich of cheese and spiced ham, Duo felt warm and motivated enough to start his trek home. Seeing Sally could wait. In fact the hours spent in the comfort of the strangers home made him feel better than he had in months. Mac didn't press him to talk about anything he didn't want to, but instead spoke on lighter things like Romance poetry and his favorite plays. "I've never seen one, Mac."
"Oh, that's a shame. You should if you get the chance." Mac paused at seeing Duo's look. The boy had become quite animated and cheerful in the past few hours then suddenly stilled and grew quiet before him. It seemed completely contrary to what Mac saw of his personality. "Have I said something that bothers you, Duo?"
"No. I was just thinking that I've been feeling awfully sorry for myself lately. Talking with you this afternoon reminded me of all kinds of things I told myself I would do if I ever survived the wars."
"I see. What do you do?"
"I'm a pilot."
"Dangerous. That must have been difficult for you, being so young. And to witness that kind of violence and bloodshed."
"I try not to think about it too much." Duo played with his hair casually as he ran a finger over the book of Shakespeare. As if snapping from a bad memory, Duo stood and moved over to where Mac sat. Mac stood and raised a brow at Duo's strange and sudden movement. "I have to get going. My roommates will be worried about me. I've been sort of ill lately and was supposed to be somewhere. When they see I'm not there they'll worry." He smiled brightly and shook Mac's hand. "Thanks for listening."
"It was a pleasure, Duo Maxwell." Mac moved over to the table where Duo had been sitting next to and picked up the old volume of Shakespeare. "Seeing you come by this way, I would like you to borrow this and read a sonnet. It's called the Phoenix and the Turtle. I think you might like it."
Duo stood staring at the book for long moments before shaking his head. "I couldn't, it's too valuable, I wouldn't want anything to happen to it. And it's raining still."
"Sometimes the most valuable things in this world are the things you risk destroying. If you don't take risks, you live for very little." Mac placed the book into Duo's hands and then went into the kitchen. Reappearing moments later, he brought a plastic bag to put the book in. He then gave Duo his coat and an umbrella and walked him to the door. "Keep it as long as you like, and then return it to me here. Stop any time you need a hot cup of chocolate and a friendly ear."
"Thanks, Mac. I'll be in touch soon." Duo smiled and headed out into the rain. His heart was less heavy and his spirit lifted.
Wufei and Trowa watched as Heero paced back and forth in the room like a great jungle cat. His hands were folded behind his back and his brow was creased deep in thought. When they had called Sally to see how Duo was and found Duo not there, they began to fear the worse. Heero seeing Trowa and Wufei's expressions as they walked in the door from a sweep for him didn't help ease his mind. Now four and a half-hours had passed without so much as a call from Duo. It was odd even for the Great Destroyer.
Heero was about to grab his coat and go looking for him, when Duo Maxwell himself came springing through the door, sporting a huge red umbrella and a white plastic bag. All three pilots were in the doorway glaring at him before he had time to take off his coat. He looked up at them with a bright smile and gave them a wink. "Hey guys, what's up?"
"What's up?" Wufei growled. "Has that tumor in you skull finally driven you mad?"
Duo bit his lip seeing the varying ranges of concern and anger in his roommates' expressions and decided not to tease them. They had obviously been worried. "Sorry guys, I bumped into this guy, literally, and helped him carry his groceries back to his house. We got to talking and I lost track of the time." He scratched his head and gave them a sheepish look showing he was sincere.
Wufei took the plastic bag from Duo and hung up the dripping umbrella. And Trowa made a hasty retreat to his own room. Heero just stood there trying to get his breathing normal. He was irrationally angry. Wufei looked at him and immediately left as well, leaving Duo to deal with the Heero Yuy Death Glare.™
"You should have called." Heero said in his clipped monotone. "Sally was worried when you didn't show."
"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry." Duo picked up the plastic wrapped book.
"It was dangerous especially after today's show in the hallway. People are getting suspicious, and you could have run in to an Oz patrol." Heero raised an eyebrow towards the book. "What is that?"
"A book of Shakespeare. The guy lent it to me."
"Who was this guy?" Heero asked in soldier mode.
Duo gave him an annoyed look, then smiled. "Relax, Heero. Of all the people I could run into on a rainy sidewalk, I ran into a Priest, not an Oz patrol. He's from the St. Benedict's Cathedral on Forth and Skyline." He slid the book from the plastic and showed it to Heero. "Like I said we got to talking and time got away from me."
Heero grumbled something under his breath, but dropped the glare. It never seemed to have an affect on Duo anyway. "How are you feeling?"
Duo gave him a small glare back. "Better."
"Did you want anything to eat?" Heero went to the mini refrigerator and pulled out some leftover Chinese he had picked up earlier.
"Naw, I had a sandwich and some hot chocolate." Duo was busy flipping through the old yellow pages of the book, running his fingers over them carefully as he turned them.
Heero took the food out anyway and began to warm it on the hot plate. He was glad that Duo had eaten something and seemed to have recovered from his seizure completely. He was still worried and one of the Dean's aides had indeed come over to see if everything was all right. Trowa put on a marvelous act and had the young women eating out of his hand in moments, completely forgetting about Duo. She was glad everything was all right and returned to the main offices on the other side of campus. While he didn't want to, Heero thought it would be best to tell Duo of the conversation he had with Sally. He watched Duo flip through a few more pages before speaking. "Sally told me that tomorrow we're to meet with her at 08:00. She's gotten some of your test results back from the Resistance Fighters lab. She wants to meet with all of us." He turned back around and stirred the vegetables briskly, not facing his partner at the table. He heard the pages stop turning though and waited for Duo to say something. When the silence stretched out into the territory of uncomfortable, he turned and looked at Duo carefully.
He was looking at Heero expectantly. "All of us?"
"Even Quatre, who's flying in from L4 tonight."
"But it will take him five hours on a red-eye shuttle to get here before morning."
"She says it's that important."
"Well, shit Heero, what's with all the damn secrecy?" Duo was beginning to build up a tirade.
"She said it was highly confidential and didn't want to speak to us without you. We didn't know where you were." Heero said casually, turning back to the stove to stir the veggies.
"Oh." It made sense. But Duo was still confused as to why his medical tests would be that confidential. Being a Gundam pilot gave them high security protection from their sponsors and there wasn't anything in those files he didn't already know about. He also didn't know why the others would have to be dragged into it. It was he who was ill after all, not them. A growing feeling of unease began spreading through him. "Heero?"
"Hn?"
"It must be bad then." He said quietly.
"Don't know." Heero had his suspicions. There was no point in getting Duo riled up until they were certain what was going on. "We'll find out tomorrow."
"Do Wufei and Trowa know about the meeting?"
"Hai."
"What do they think?"
"Duo, they think the same thing. There's very little use speculating until we have the data we need to draw a satisfactory conclusion."
"So in other words, they don't know jack shit either." Duo huffed.
Heero placed some rice and vegetables on a plate and set them in front of Duo. "So show me the book."
End Part 8
(:./ebony/death8)
