26-Jun-2009
Title: Seasonal Drift Part 19
Author: Ebonydove
Archived: GWAddiction
Warnings: Duo's POV
Rating: R for bad language and yes, a little lemon
Spoilers: none
I had been trying to digest, as I'm sure the others were, what exactly we were being told when he beckoned me forward. There was really no sense in protesting; in for a penny, in for pound I figured. "This way." Dr. Ishikawa said ad he shuffled towards the door that Quatre had disappeared through earlier. The door didn't require any code or button, but simply opened as if they were all strolling into a grocery store, but once past the threshold, Trowa, Wufei, and I all froze. Heero and Quatre moved forward into the huge bay was the ship just sitting there like some kind of mechanical wet dream.
"Holy shit." Trowa mumbled.
And I couldn't agree more with him. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. Jet black, seamless and standing as tall as a two story building on three slender legs. It had no hard angles, no jutting engines, but was sleek and smooth and very streamlined. I couldn't tell from where I stood how to even get in the damn thing. Wordlessly we followed Quatre, Heero, and the doctor towards it until we were within a few feet and then just stood and stared.
"This is like no metal that I've ever seen." Wufei whispered; more to himself than anyone else. "It's not gundanium."
"No." Said Quatre as he stepped closer and placed a hand on the side of the ship. He ran a hand along it as if he was stroking some favorite pet. "We ran countless tests and have no idea what material this is. She's part organic and part machine. That's about all we could find out."
"She?" Wufei raised an eyebrow at him.
"Of course." Quatre just shrugged. "She's brilliant, don't you think? So different than Sandrock or any of the other gundams."
"Indeed." Wufei breathed as he seemed to study every smooth curve.
The doctor suddenly tapped his cane on the floor to get our full attention. "And now. Duo. I need you to come forward please. And Heero too, of course. Time is of the essence."
He was bubbling with excitement as he made his way closer still with us all following behind. Quatre seemed to be aware of what was going to happen next, but I was still hesitant. I mean, you don't just walk up and hop into another's man ship. Even I have some experience with ship-etiquette. So I waited for Heero to step forward before I made any further move to explore it.
Heero was slow in approaching the ship. He stood before it for a moment and then placed a hand on its side, not all that dissimilar to how Quatre had done. This time however, the whole ship seemed to shimmer under his touch. It flashed a color of blue I had never seen that rippled out from under his hand and along its entire surface. At the same time we all heard a very low frequency humming like electric being clicked on and I didn't realize it, but I had unconsciously taken a full step back. We watched in awe as a door appeared where one couldn't be seen before at the base of the ship and simply opened up to reveal smooth, black stairs leading up into its interior.
"This way." Heero stated simply and then disappeared up the stairs.
What had he just done? I felt the panic hit me like a truck. I couldn't see him once he walked up the first few steps. "Shit." I swore as I practically ran after him. I heard Quatre shout my name, but didn't care as I dashed up the stairs two at a time and caught up with Heero inside. And then promptly swore again. "This is...is..."
"I know." Heero said as he turned to face me smiling openly for the first time in days. "Amazing."
It was like walking into water, without getting wet. Everything shimmered and glowed with blues and greens. The first chamber, which I assumed was the control room by the way it was laid out was a perfect circle with what looked to be six stations perfectly spaced around the outer wall. In the center was another space where a large, round, green and blue glowing ball the size of standard earth map globe that was sticking out of a black cylinder that stood up from the floor. The controls looked simple enough with panels of circles within circles and strange characters that didn't look to be anything human-made on each section. Each panel glowed and shimmered not unlike how the whole ship had rippled when Heero had first touched it.
"It didn't behave this way when we first came on board. It was all black, not sound or color at all." Quatre said from behind me. I turned to see Trowa and Wufei wearing the same awe-struck expression I must have been as they took note of the panels and sphere in the center of the space as well. "Then Naomi found this." He held out his hand and everyone, but Heero, gathered around him to see what it was.
"It looks like a marble. You know like what little kids use to play games." I said picking it up from Quatre's hand and taking a good, close look at it. But it was warm and seemed to do that same little hum that the rest of the ship was doing.
"It's a key. I think." Quatre shrugged. "But we can't seem to get it to work."
Wufei glanced to where Heero was running a finger along a panel of sea-green lights. "You were unable to as well?"
Heero nodded without turning around.
"Isn't that strange considering that he has been selected as the pilot of this ship?" Wufei stated and turned his attention to Dr. Ishikawa who had just entered and made his was to a seat like bump in front of one of the stations.
"Yes, Heero did try it. Without success." The doctor replied to Wufei. Then he shifted those cool grey eyes in my direction. "Odd, isn't it?" I was feeling uncomfortable again and didn't quite understand why. It was like he was looking through me and the gods only know what it was that he might be seeing. "It appears that something else needs to occur before Heero can fly her."
"This is where I come in, right?" I groused.
"I hope so." Quatre answered. "Naomi was on her way to tell Heero that she discovered a place for this to fit." He stepped over to the glowing green ball, and then clicked a new of the tiny circles on the side of the console. A small tray popped out from underneath it that had a small space that looked to be made for it. "We still don't know what to do next, but we all agree that something has to happen here before we can get the ship to move. We've exhausted everything we could think of and it wasn't until Naomi found something in her notes from one of Heero's sessions with the doctor. We thought that it may work, but we needed to get Heero back here to try it out. I had been...sensing something each time I was near this, but couldn't quite tell what the ship was trying to tell me.
If that were part of any other communication outside of these circumstances, Heero wouldn't have been the only one committed to an institution. I ignored it for now, but planned to ask Quatre more about that little bit of communication later. For now I needed to know what they hell everyone was expecting me to do. "And...?" I was feeling pin-pricks of sweat beading between my shoulder blades.
"She said that when Heero was in that other state, he had said that 'first we had to see'." He wept his hand through his hair. "He kept asking for you to show him, Duo." Quatre looked over to Heero who was still standing with his back turned to the rest of us. "Do you know what that could mean?"
I looked to Heero who was obviously ignoring us and me in particular for some reason. Probably because he knew I was ticked that he failed to mention any of this before. "No, I'm sorry, I really don't." Quatre's disappointment was obvious, but it was the truth. I didn't have a clue what they were talking about and Heero hadn't been very forthcoming with any details of the time he spent on Gamma 16 with the doctor and Naomi. I cursed myself for the second time that day about failing to read his damn report.
"No worries, no worries." The doctor cheerfully said waving his hand. You're all here now. That is what's important. "All right then, Heero. As I explained earlier please."
We all faced Heero curious to know what was going to happen next. Sooner or later we'd need to take some kind of action and it looked like this was that moment. Heero let out a heavy breath and turned around to face us. He looked...uncomfortable to say the least. He kept his eyes on mine as he made his way over to where I was standing holding the marble in my hand still. He was looking at me with this hopeful, steady gaze and said simply "trust me".
Of course I would, regardless if he told me were about to go storm the gates of hell itself. I smiled back at him hoping it was enough to reassure him that I would follow his lead no matter what. With my small acknowledgment, he slowly took my free hand and laced his fingers with mine. I didn't even have time to be embarrassed in front of the other guys before he led me over to the tray where Quatre had stepped back from. By now I figured they pretty much knew how Heero and I had felt about one another anyway.
"Place it here." Heero said, without letting go of my hand.
I glanced over to the guys who all stood with apprehensive looks while they stood and waited. Trowa nodded and slipped his hand into Quatre's. Quatre didn't even flitch and the sudden dawning that they too had...I dunno...an understanding was just enough of a distraction for me to momentarily forget that nagging bit of fear creeping its way across my skin. "Ok." I breathed and rolled the marble in my fingertips and then placed it gently in the groove on the tray. Heero and I had both stepped back when it happened.
I felt as if the room...tilted. The large globe began to spin very slowly with the greens and blues getting darker and darker. The room was dead silent except for a buzzing that now I wasn't sure was in my head or coming from the console.
"Now place your hand on top of the sphere." Heero gently ordered.
I wordlessly followed his direction and placed my palm over the top of it. It seemed even warmer than before and tickled my skin as it hummed a little harder. I was concentrating on the swirl of colors from the globe and trying to fight off the dizziness when I felt a little tug on my hand. My eyes snapped back up to Heero's. He was looking at me so intensely, like he wanted to say something but didn't. The dizziness was getting worse. I was fighting the sudden urge to just bolt when he leaned forward and touched his forehead to mine. We stood like that for a moment and then he closed his eyes and whispered; "Show me."
Panic rushed through me as I felt as if my body was falling away. I shut my eyes, just trying to concentrate on the heavy weight of Heero's hand in mine. I could still feel the heat from his body, his breath against my face and forced the fear and panic deep down and away. Something was pulling at me. It was like sleep-walking. Where you think you're in complete control when it's the furthest thing from the truth. Despite that, I tried to focus. Something was trying to claw its way into my head, like a voice or a song I couldn't remember the words to, but that still seemed familiar. All I could make out was one word...follow.
As soon as the word registered in my head, I found myself floating in a vast, dark space that began to fill with the scatterings of stars. Hundreds of thousands of tiny, bright stars began to appear and fly by me; so real that I felt like I could almost reach out to touch them. The waves of fear ebbed away as I continued to watch fields of stars shutter and morph into constellations, then planets with moons and finally as whole universes erupted in my vision. It was like falling through space until finally the blurring of stars and moons stopped and a bright orange and white planet came into my view and stayed there. It was surrounded by small shattered moons and debris that I couldn't make out. And then as quickly as it had appeared, my vision blurred and it faded. A wave of dizziness roared through me and no matter how hard I tried to force my mind to focus and remember what I had seen I couldn't bring it back.
When I opened my eyes at last, everyone was standing over me with worried expressions where I had apparently collapsed to the floor in an untidy little sprawl. My head was in Heero's lap and the mother of all headaches exploded behind my eyes as I tried to focus on his face. When it did I saw a look of pure terror in his eyes and reached out to him. He was still clutching my right hand in his and took the other as well. All I could manage to say was "what the fuck..." before I slipped into darkness.
I woke up feeling hot. Too hot, like I was being completely smothered. I bolted upright instantly regretting it as my head began to throb as I tried to get my bearings. The room I was in was also round with smooth walls that glowed a very pale blue. I was in a round, soft bed with white covers and a thick, white feather comforter and I was alone. And I was naked. I chuckled to myself wondering if I was dead and if this is what hell looked like right before you met the devil. But the longer I sat, the easier it was for me to come to grips that I wasn't dead and that I was on the ship. I could feel the very slight movement of propulsion and the distinct hiss of recirculated air flowing in from...somewhere.
I gathered the sheet around me and padded to the wall. I swore as I ran my hands along the wall trying to find a way out of the damn room. There were no seams or edges and I was starting to feel too confined in the cheerful little space. ""Where the fuck's the door?" I paced around the room again looking for an exit and fought the urge to just crawl back into the bed and pull that fluffy damn cover over my head. It had to be Quatre...only he would think of something like that on a mission like this...I laughed a skittish little laugh. I really didn't want to be alone and was starting to feel that clawing sensation again like something was trying to work itself into my head. If I wasn't who I was, I might have started to cry. "Heero, where are you?" I finally shouted, my frustration getting the better of me.
A moment later a portion of the wall slid open and he was standing in front of me and I had to admit that it scared the shit out of me. "What the fuck?" I asked trying not to be all shocky.
"You've been using that expression quite a bit recently." He said as he entered the room and the damn door disappeared again behind him. "You fainted."
"Well duh." I snapped without meaning to and pressed the heel of my palm to my left temple to ease the throbbing. "I mean since then. Where is everyone? And how do you work the flippin' doors around here?"
"We left for the Cryos Nebula twenty-six minutes and thirty-one seconds ago." He started to explain quite calmly.
"Huh?" I guffed. "The what - nebu-huh?"
"Those were the co-ordinates that you programmed into the ship right before you passed out." He said plainly and then frowned at me. "I'm sorry, Duo. I didn't know what to expect about that part either. Quatre and I had only theorized on what could happen, not what would happen if you touched it at the same time as I did."
"It's okay."
"And you just think about it and it opens." He shrugged.
Ah yes, the door. "I think I need to sit back down."
He was at my side in an instant as I sat back down on the bed. "Are you...ok?" He brushed a strand of hair away from my chin and then rubbed his thumb along my jaw.
"Aren't I supposed to be the one asking you that? Tables have certainly turned haven't they?" I said and let my eyes close. I could feel the throbbing in my head easing and opened my eyes again. "You seem to be better...now that you're back on this ship." He looked away and didn't respond so I figured I should leave it alone for now. "Are the others ok?"
"Yes, they seemed to have adjusted quickly. Trowa and Wufei are going over the diagnostics and weapons cache. Quatre is setting up the med lab and checking all the stores and gear."
"And the doc?"
"Stayed behind."
"Ah. So who's driving if you're here?"
Heero smiled and shrugged. "She is."
"Of course, the ship." So that was it then. I crossed my arms over my chest. "I missed take-off. It must have been amazing." I knew I was pouting, but didn't care. I was disappointed. "What else did I miss? What's the plan now?"
"Nothing for a little bit. We're going to go to the planet you selected and see if we can find any clues on where the Taiidan may have gone from there."
"So how exactly did I pick our destination?"
Heero shrugged. "Looks like you're our navigator."
"Great." I grumbled and lay back on the bed. "Couldn't we have just used a fucking star chart?"
I felt the bed dip next to me as Heero scooted closer. "You were shaking." He said quietly as he linked his fingers with mine. "And are still pale."
"I'm sure. It was a pretty funky experience." I studied how our fingers looked laced together. They fit like it was always supposed to be that way.
"Quatre's worried about you."
I wasn't quite sure how to take the tone. "I'll catch up with him later. Maybe he can give me the grand tour." I smiled and tugged at his hand to get him to turn and face me. When he did, his expression made me sit up on my elbows. He looked so lost and was still frowning deeply at me. "What is it?"
"I was scared." He squeezed my hand so tightly I thought my knuckles would crack. "You didn't answer us. You just stood there and stared into the globe. It went black and then you just...went limp. I thought I'd hurt you."
I lean into him and kissed him. It surprised him I could tell, but I didn't know how else to assure him that I was fine. He smiled against my lips so I continued to kiss him; gently at first and then as he opened his mouth to me with more urgency. I felt my pulse start to quicken and ignored the steady throbbing at my temples as I reached out to him and pulled him to me. The strong salty scent of him was seductive as I moved from his mouth to the pulse at his throat. Need coiled inside me like snakes. "Heero..." I breathed his name close to his ear and turned his face to mine. I kissed him again and pulled back to look in his eyes. "I want you so much. I'm tired of thinking about it, and needing it, and avoiding every little look and touch from you." Feeling edgy, I kissed him again and pulled him over to straddle my lap. His breath was ragged as he leaned into me. I kissed him again, wrapping my arms around him, and murmured what I was thinking. "I want to make love to you. I want you to be here with me and to say my name. I don't want to think of planets, or ships, or anything but you."
He leaned back from me pulling his shirt over his head and smiled. "Duo..." He combed his fingers through my hair and tugged at the band holding my tangled hair together, letting it fall loose. Then he gently pushed me back to lay flat against the bed, tugging away the sheet leaving me naked and exposed. He eased off his jeans and lay on top of me, peppering kisses along my jaw and neck to my collarbone. His hands found my nipples where he teased and lingered and with each shiver, each gasp from me, fed his own desire. His lips and hands simply ruled me until I felt myself coming too quickly to climax.
I surged up and rolled with him so he was stretched out beneath me, both of us laughing as we wrestled for a moment, but then I quickly set about touching him everywhere I could. I bent low and suckled him for a minute, lapping at him with my tongue and tracing little wet circles up and around to his navel. I could feel him growing tense with his own climax building beneath me, so carefully began to ease myself against him.
He reached for my hand and led me to stroke his arousal as I began to push into him with more and more urgency. I eased back and assaulted him with kisses, our breath both ragged and desperate before finally sinking into him. Everything went white. That erotic flush of racing blood from under the skin was making me hot all over as I gently began to thrust into him. He moved with me, his eyes fixed on mine, until we came, wordlessly, explosively together.
My whole body felt like it was about to give out, so I eased myself out and rolled off him completely sated. I ran my fingers along his arm and down his side and back up again as he lay with a sleepy look on his face. His frown was gone, the tension between us had gone, and even my damned headache seemed to be gone. Now if only we could stay hidden away instead of having to face what was waiting for us on Cyros.
End Part 19
(:./ebony/drift19)
