04-Jun-2004
Title: Because...
Author: Natea
Rating: G
Warnings: Shounen ai, sap
Pairings: 1+2+1
Challenge: #24 Magic
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.
Word Count: 1210
"Duo?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you believe in magic?"
Duo opened his eyes and gazed up at the bright leaves above him, backlit from the sun like a natural stained glass window. Sighing with the comfortable lethargy that a warm, late summer's day can bring he turned his head, pillowed on his arms, and glanced at Heero, lying next to him on the grass.
"Well," he pondered the question for a while before answering slowly, "I wouldn't say I don't believe in it... it depends what type, you know. If you're talking witches and wizards, spells and incantations then no, I don't believe in it... if you mean illusions by sleight of hand then yeah." He grinned, "I was quite the magician when I was growing up."
"You didn't have time for the other kind?"
"No, not really." Duo admitted, "Childish dreams don't get you far in life when you're supporting yourself... a lot of us were forced to grow up pretty damn quick."
Heero nodded, eyes closed, enjoying the relaxing moment just as much as Duo was. Duo smirked, "Is this about that little girl and her mom earlier?"
Another lazy nod and one eyelid cracking open to reveal a sliver of deep glossy blue that gazed at him balefully was all the response Heero gave.
The mother and daughter walking through the park had been within earshot only for a few seconds, but obviously their conversation had sown some seeds in Heero's mind. A childish question, a simple motherly answer intended to satisfy the child without creating any more queries in its wake.
It seemed to have failed in that unfortunately... but the mother would never know.
Duo sighed and rolled onto his side, "Parents say things like that all the time to their kids, I wouldn't dwell on it too much." He shrugged lopsidedly, "I'm not sure why they do... maybe because they don't think they'll be able to understand the truth, I don't know."
"Odin never did it to me."
"Oh?" Duo looked interested, "He's the guy who looked after you as a kid, isn't he?"
"Hmm... " Heero drew in a deep breath and shifted slightly, stretching his back as he made himself more comfortable. The break in their jog had been completely impromptu and they hadn't brought any provisions with them apart from a bottle of water each so the ground was as hard as it was going to be. "If I asked a question he would always explain things to me in depth, no matter what it was... or at least he'd try."
Duo reached out to where the shade of the tree hadn't stunted the growth of the grass as much and snagged a long stalk which he began to chew, mimicking the cliche farmer pose that was well known across the globe.
"So if you asked how something worked he would explain it to you like one adult to another? Mechanics and science, the whole enchilada?" At Heero's nod he continued, "How old were you?"
Heero turned his head to look at him and replied, the light of memory in his eyes, "The earliest one I can remember asking was when I was about five. I'm sure I asked others before then but that's the one that sticks out the most." He shifted again, trying to ease the pressure of the bumpy ground against his spine and find a more comfortable position. "By the time I was six I knew the mechanics of flight, how and why a leaf changes colour in the autumn, why a bicycle doesn't fall over when you ride it... "
"And you think that took a lot of the magic out of your childhood?"
"Not really." Heero did his best to shrug, but with the position he was lying in it didn't quite work as well as he'd hoped, "Maybe even in some cases it increased it." He closed his eyes once more and continued, "There was one time in particular I remember... we were camping out rather than wasting money at a motel, I asked why the stars only shone at night." He smiled.
"Odin explained to me about the light from the sun overpowering the stars, he told me what they were, the different types, different constellations and what they were named for... he told me just how long it took for the light from some stars to reach Earth, prehistoric light in some cases... some of the stars in the sky won't exist anymore, they'll have burned out millions of years ago, and we'll never know." He looked over at Duo, a little nostalgic. "It opened up a whole other realm... I've never looked at stars in quite the same way since... perhaps it even influenced my decision to become a pilot.
"Maybe I didn't have the tooth fairy or Santa," he said, "But I think what Odin gave me was far more useful; He prepared me for a future without him all the time. He didn't know how long we would be together and," Heero smirked, "childish fantasies get you nowhere in life."
"Doesn't mean you can't dream though." Duo murmured, recognising his words from earlier.
"True."
"I guess parents do what they do to protect their children eh?" Duo stretched out again and looked up at the tree canopy far above.
"From the world? Most likely." Heero agreed.
"Interesting that Odin did the opposite for the same reasons."
"Hmm." Heero's eyes were closed again but something in his posture let Duo know he was still open to talk.
Duo settled back down and listened to the sound of the magpie currently sitting in their tree. Remembering the question that had started off the conversation he posed it back to Heero, although he was fairly sure he already knew the answer. "Do you believe in magic?"
"No." The response was firm and unyielding. Duo laughed at that and Heero smirked a little as he looked across and explained his reasoning. "Magic is just something people use to explain away things they have no answers for."
"And you have all the answers." Duo grinned, "Pretty arrogant statement, Heero."
"Hmm... " Heero was smiling faintly again. "Not all the answers perhaps... . but a good percentage of them."
A small wasp buzzed between them for a while, interrupting the quiet. Duo took the opportunity to look at his watch and sat up in shock as the time registered, "Damn, it's nearly five o'clock... want to carry on? We can have the run over with in twenty minutes and a pizza at the door in another thirty?"
Heero smirked and pushed himself up, brushing off the dead blades of grass that were clinging to him. "Sounds good." He held out a hand to Duo who took it and pulled himself up.
"Hey, Heero?"
"Hmm?" Heero looked at Duo warily, he'd seen that particular grin enough times to know mischief of some sort would follow.
"Why do the stars only shine at night?"
Heero pretended to think for a while, "Because they're magic?"
Duo laughed, slinging an arm over the other boy casually, "Good answer."
The End
(:./natea/because)
