09-Jan-2001
Title: Time and Time Again
A Gundam Wing Fanfiction
Author: BarBieBoy
Dedicated to Kav
Feedback: YES PLEASE! :o) (Don't be shy!) Comments, criticisms, ideas etc please mail me at barbieboy000@hotmail.com. Flames and abuse please mail me at techsupport@microsoft.com.
Disclaimer: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing is the property of whomever. I don't own it and I am using these characters without permission (but not for profit). The original portion of this work is mine however so please don't steal it :o)
Category/Warnings/Rating: 1+2/2+1, 3+4, angst, language, R(?)
Final note: I am in Australia. I speak and write English. I know how to spell colour and grey and behaviour. :o)
Duo lay on his back, hands behind his head, staring up at the unreasonably boring ceiling. Not that he would find ceilings interesting under normal circumstances, of course. But if he were under normal circumstances he wouldn't be staring at the ceiling at all. He'd be bouncing around the room annoying Heero or generally being loud and active.
The braided boy risked a glance at his partner, who obliviously continued his typing. He really was quite an artist. If you considered hacking into bank accounts and stealing large quantities of funds artistic. If not, at least you had to admire his speed and skill. Duo could just make out lines of bright fluorescent green code fly across the black screen of the laptop. Heero really was incredibly gifted at illicit activities.
OZ was the baddies after all, so stealing money off them wasn't really a bad thing. In fact they were probably preventing money from going to arms and destruction. Yeah. Sure. Why not?
Not for the first time, Duo was tempted to get his partner to transfer a small quantity, say a million credits or so, into his own account. Then he could just grab the money, go to an outer colony and live a life free of war, worry, duty and Heero. The guilty thought was squashed almost immediately, not that it would work anyway. Firstly he was just too much of a nice guy, secondly Heero wouldn't do it and of course thirdly, there was no colony untouched by war.
With that thought Duo relaxed his contemplation of Heero and resumed his scrutiny of the ceiling. Feeling a little melancholy was not something Duo disdained, but in his present state of mind, it was something best avoided.
The silence of the room became almost deafening, the only sound the swift padding of Heero's fingers across the keyboard. Duo was desperate to break the silence with something, anything. But talking to his partner was difficult under the best of circumstances and these were not the best of circumstances.
Duo had, in fact, said almost nothing to Heero since that little mission on L2 well over two weeks ago. The two still discussed tactics when necessary and school work and simple pleasantries. But no conversation that wasn't absolutely necessary. Duo had managed to fill in the blanks with mission plans and schoolwork, but with holidays here and a lull in OZ activity, he was becoming increasingly pressed to invent diversions.
This was becoming silly though. The two might have to work with each other and share a room for a long time and making a point of not talking was not going to be good for their ability to perform. Trouble was Duo didn't know how to start up a reconciliation conversation or even if he wanted too.
After all he had been honest and, by his own convictions, completely correct about the things he had said. Well, perhaps a little tempered by emotion but the circumstances had called for it. Heero was the idiot who'd come out with all the crap about duty and bravery.
Duo risked turning his head to contemplate his partner again trying to conjure up the bitterness he had felt on that day, but failing miserably. For some reason completely unknown to him, Duo felt a strange twinge of something whenever he was in Heero's presence. Maybe it was because the baka wasn't a human being but a calculating ruthless machine. Though a machine wouldn't have shown Duo the compassion he did when Duo was at his mercy.
Would it?
This was becoming more than silly it was down right stupid.
"Ano . . . Heero," Duo ventured.
Silence. Not a 'shut up Duo' not a 'Hn' not even an 'Aa'. Heero really was still ticked off. Duo decided to start with a neutral point of order.
"Wufei needs ten thousand for the L5 mission, don't forget." Duo knew that Heero had not forgotten. He had probably already transferred the money. Still it would require some sort of response, now wouldn't it?
"Done."
A word, a whole word. This was going to be difficult. Perhaps the straight out and honest approach was best.
"Heero. This is stupid! Let's just get this over and done with," Duo began.
"Hn" Heero said, not even pausing in his activities.
"Come on Heero, don't you want to go back to being friends?" Duo pleaded.
The blue-eyed boy stopped typing for a moment and seemed to think a while. Was he friends with Duo? The notion had never occurred to him before. They were partners and he even tolerated the braided boy. Heero had never had a friend before, though, so he could not compare the interaction with anything else. But there were occasions when Heero actually. . . enjoyed(?) Duo's company. Deciding against letting Duo know this, Heero convinced himself to simply play along. After all, if all he had to do was agree, the braided baka would shut up more quickly and stop being so tense and distracted around him.
"Fine," Heero replied curtly, before resuming his work.
Duo was rather surprised by this. He assumed that Heero would either deny there was a problem or simply ignore him altogether. He felt his heart lift a bit as if a weight had been relieved. He wanted to say more. Something along the lines of 'sorry'. But he stood firm with what he had said. Well, maybe not the coward bit.
"Heero . . . ?"
"Hn."
"I don't really think you're a coward, you know?"
Heero stopped typing for the second time in as many minutes and turned to face his partner, who promptly looked the other way. For a brief moment, a flash of something akin to anger ran across Heero's face at the memory of Duo, red-faced and mid-rant, accusing him of being a coward. 'Seeking death was a coward's pastime,' he had said. Heero still did not understand why Duo had gotten so angry. He knew that L2 brought painful memories to Duo and that his partner was under stress, but the emotional tirade had taken him by complete surprise. Perhaps it was this 'friendship' of which Duo spoke that was the cause of the outburst.
When Heero said nothing, Duo continued, "I was a little angry that you had tried to self-destruct again. I thought you were over that."
Heero, although glad to have his musing attended to, was more confused than ever now. Had Duo been upset at him trying to self-destruct? Was Duo ever under the impression that Heero was no longer capable of doing so? It was true that the missions of late before the L2 incident were not dire enough to warrant such a measure, but it had nothing to do with Heero's resolve to do so. Had it?
"I do whatever I deem necessary for the success of the mission," Heero replied, though it sounded more like a recital.
Duo was trying hard not to dredge up the argument again. For friendship's sake. Although he felt like reminding Heero that the decision would have been wrong since Trowa had arrived in the nick of time to save them both.
"I know. But sometimes I can't help but feel that you want to die."
Heero knew that was rubbish. He certainly didn't want to die. He didn't want anything. Although he knew that it was most likely that he would die in the war, he didn't actually have a death wish. In fact, a small, uncertain, but growing part of Heero had begun to appreciate living. Though he tried to deny it, a part of him was wondering what it would be like to live free from war and duty. Duo had turned around, and Heero found himself meeting the boy's violet pleading eyes for a moment. Sometimes his partner could be so. . . beautiful.
Heero's expression suddenly hardened as he wondered where that thought had come from. He felt like telling Duo to stop being stupid, and stop distracting him, but he couldn't bring himself to do so.
"I don't want to die," Heero said at last before breaking eye contact and resuming his work.
Duo was thrilled if a little confused by the comment. Heero often displayed a death wish, but more confusing was that for a moment, Duo could swear that the last statement had feeling in it. Duo smiled a bit at the notion that the perfect solider could feel. He knew that was being unfair but he dared anyone who knew Heero as well as he to say otherwise.
Duo, feeling a little better began to chat freely, just like he used to before their little tiff. He gossiped about class and fellow students, of which Heero knew and cared nothing. Duo didn't mind, though, he was just glad that the animosity between them had gone.
Heero concentrated hard on ignoring the boy, but found that a part of him was actually listening. It was almost impossible to block the annoying prattle out. Heero found himself contemplating the notion that he did not want to block the noise out, and this thought was disturbing enough to force him into action.
"Shut up, Duo," He said firmly without shouting.
Duo made a 'V' signs with his hands. "You got it Heero-man. I think I'll go for a walk, this place is giving me claustrophobia"
Heero felt that unusual twinge he felt inside whenever Duo left. But he suppressed the feeling instantly and begun his work anew.
Duo walked around the campus idly looking for something interesting to do. The school to which they had transferred was quite lovely and definitely exclusive. Heero had suggested a more humble location for their 'cover', but the others, especially Quatre and Duo, had begged to stay somewhere decent this time.
Although the school was expensive, the students were refreshingly pleasant, with only a few giving in to the stereotypical 'spoilt brat' syndrome. Duo had fit in instantly and made lots of friends amongst the boys and lots of admirers amongst the girls. Although Duo had long suspected that his attentions were turned the other way, he would never refuse the admiration of others.
Duo watched as Quatre chatted to an animated black- haired boy in the courtyard ahead. As he approached, Quatre finished his conversation and began to walk over to his comrade.
"What was that about?" he asked the Arabian pilot.
"He's just excited about the party tonight. You are coming, aren't you, Duo?"
In truth Duo had no idea what his friend was talking about. Though he could not admit that to the blond boy lest his reputation should come under scrutiny.
"You betcha! As if I would miss a party!" Duo tried. "Party. Yeah!"
"You didn't know, did you?" Quatre smiled teasingly.
As Duo tried to look cool, Quatre told him about the party at Aieka's house, which was only a few minutes' walk from campus. Her parents had gone overseas and in the tradition of parental vacations, Aieka was holding a huge party, inviting everyone from school.
"Bring Heero," Quatre suggested.
"As if Mr. Perfect Soldier would come to a lowly party!" Duo snapped.
"Duo, this thing between you two isn't still going on, is it?"
"No man! That's old news!" Duo said although the news was but 10 minutes old.
Quatre began to talk excitedly about the party. Of course all of the boys knew that they were soldiers, pilots and terrorists, but sometimes it was fun to relax and forget that they were different.
Duo headed off back to their room, faced with an almost impossible task. But stopped as he remembered that he'd need a little something for the party.
Spinning about on the spot, braid flailing, Duo headed towards the school gates and the west district.
"Oh Heero," Duo sang as he entered the room.
The boy abruptly stopped as his eyes were met by his partner's naked butt. Desperately trying not to blush or stare, Duo spun on the spot and faced the wall as his partner finished putting on his underwear and shorts.
"Geez, Heero, you could at least wear a towel!" Duo quipped, hoping that through chatter he would maintain his cool.
"Hn." Was Heero's trademark reply as he finished getting dressed.
Duo turned back round and tried to flush out the images of a few moments before by concentrating on the task ahead.
"Heero, the guys and I are going to a party at a student's house. Wanna come?" Duo ventured, forgetting the subtle question he had spent no small amount of time preparing.
"No."
Duo was hardly surprised, but frustrated none the less. His concentration was still somewhat broken, as the images of his partner floated persistently about his head. Duo never noticed the Japanese boy physically before. He had certainly never thought about him sexually. Duo had thought about guys before but never Heero. Heero was just so . . . Heero. Anyway, definitely NOT sexy.
But Duo began to question his convictions as he studied the boy who was loading and unloading his assault pistol. Heero's arms were very well-defined with strength and muscle. The boy was lean though not skinny, and his bubble butt was definitely worth attention. Duo was snapped back into reality as he noticed his partner's questioning expression.
"What?" Heero asked with one eyebrow arched.
Duo mumbled something about the pistol, but Heero could not help but wonder at his partner's behaviour. Abruptly the subject was changed as Duo began a tirade of irrelevant and unconvincing reasons why Heero should come to the party. Heero tried to ignore the boy as he serviced his weapon, but once again found it difficult to do so. His concentration was finally broken when Duo mentioned a risk to their cover.
"What risk?" Heero asked trying hard not to look concerned or even slightly interested.
"YOU!" Shouted the boy trying hard not to smile. "You're always locked in your room being anti-social. People will begin to suspect that we are not normal students with behaviour like yours"
Heero contemplated this for a moment. Truth be told he had nothing else to do this evening and the idea of a bit of relaxation was not totally lost upon him. Even perfect soldiers need a little R & R. It was even probably part of his mission protocol somewhere. Besides he had been wanting to explore life a little since his fight with Duo. 'Why are you so scared to live?' Duo had shouted. Putting these thoughts aside, Heero agreed.
"OK."
Surprised, Duo was silenced mid sentence.
"Really?"
"Sure. Lets go."
Duo excitedly began to babble about how much fun it would be and how much Heero wouldn't regret it. Moments later Duo was showered, changed and ready to go. After a brief exchange over Heero's inappropriate attire, the two set off.
The party was, as parties all too often tend to be, loud, hot and full of smoke. Music was pumping ceaselessly through large speakers, and all over the house students sat drinking, shouting and generally making idiots of themselves.
It was no more than five minutes into the party that Heero decided he had made a mistake and wanted to leave. Duo was right about one thing though, he had been anti-social. Heero didn't know a single person in the whole room. Obviously he hadn't bothered to take notice of them and now he was feeling extremely intimidated and uncomfortable. Not that he would ever admit to being intimidated.
Duo was on a couch surrounded by at least five good-looking girls from their class. Although Heero could not hear the conversation from the other side of the room he was sure that he was not missing anything. Duo was making exaggerated hand gestures captivating his audience until the punch line, when all of the girls would giggle themselves silly.
Sickening really.
After the last bout of laughter Duo glanced across the room looking for the Japanese boy. He noticed Heero, alone standing rigid in a corner of the room wishing he were elsewhere. Although he was tempted to let the boy suffer, Duo felt sorry for him and went over to chat.
"Great party, ne Heero?" he shouted
"Hn."
Duo decided to try and get Heero to have a bit of a drink to help him loosen up. After all, this party was likely to be the last for Heero at this rate. Feeling that the noise was as good as an excuse as any, Duo grabbed his partner's arm and dragged him across the room towards the kitchen.
Heero tensed at the unfamiliar contact, but relaxed a little, as he was lead. In the kitchen there were two girls and a few guys smoking and generally acting 'cool'. One of the girls came up to Duo and traced patterns on his chest. She was obviously somewhat out of it.
"Duo, thanks for bringing the alcohol" She cooed smiling in a manner she no doubt thought was seductive.
Duo, distracted, lapped up the attention as Heero groaned and tried to look the other way.
"You must be a pretty rich and generous guy to afford all those drinks," she said wrapping her arms around his neck.
Heero was trying very hard not to notice, when something about that last sentence made him think twice.
"Yeah DUO. Where DID you get the money for all this?" he said, waving at all the exotically-shaped bottles full of all sorts of different drinks. These were all expensive not to mention the fact that Duo and everyone else was underage.
Duo unwound himself from the girl, who promptly lost interest and wandered off.
"Heero-man. It's a party! And compared to your finance gathering skills this little tribute is nothing. Relax and have a drink!"
Heero toyed with the idea of scolding his partner for misuse of funds, but decided against it. Duo was pouring him a drink of something black and bubbly. Heero had no intention of becoming inebriated.
However, since drinking seemed an important part of the ritual of these parties he decided to keep up appearances. After all, his enhanced physiology made him totally immune to the effects of alcohol anyway. Duo, of course, was not blessed with these immunities and was already showing signs of alcohol consumption.
Heero began to warm to Duo's ceaseless chatter, which distracted him from the fact that he was clearly out of place at the party. A cigarette butt in the face interrupted Duo, however. Annoyed the braided boy turned his attention to the sneering boys in the corner.
"Alcohol's for children, Maxwell." a fat and particularly unappealing boy jeered, jealous of the attentions Duo was receiving.
"That's why you didn't bring any huh?" Duo asked "Or maybe 'cause your moms wouldn't let you?"
Heero sighed. Sometimes the idiot deserved the things that happened to him. The boys approached Duo menacingly. Heero's soldier instincts kicked in and he tensed, ready to repel any attack. The leader of the boys produced a clear bag and threw it onto the table in front of them. Inside were several small, pale blue pills.
"That's REAL party stuff," the boy gloated.
Duo stared at the strange pills in front of him. Alcohol was one thing but recreational drugs another. There was no way in hell Duo Maxwell would be stupid enough to take drugs.
"Why don't you try one, Duo?" the boy asked in a mocking tone, "Unless of course your mommy won't let you"
Before Heero could even scoff at the pathetic attempted peer pressure, Duo had snatched the bag, taken out a pill, and swallowed it with his drink. The boys cheered and starting slapping Duo on the back. Heero stared with a mixture of disbelief and horror.
"Do you even know what that was?" he asked incredulously.
But Duo had forgotten all about him and was dragged off by the other boys into the main room where a dance floor had been set up. Heero, concerned for his partner, followed them.
If Heero had known anything about parties, he would have noticed that over the next half an hour the party had gone from 'ok' to 'damn fine'. Duo, sweating with his chest exposed and his clothes half hanging on, was in the middle of the dance floor with a group of his female fan club. Inhibitions were running lower and lower as the party dragged on and many of the girls made no secret of their swooning over Duo. The braided baka seemed totally unaware, however. He danced wildly, eyes shut, mouth miming the words to the music.
Heero had given up his death stares, which seemed to have no effect whatsoever. Duo ignored him for the most part, although he did occasionally meet his eyes with a strange expression. Heero tried his best to blend in.
After another ten minutes, however, he noticed that he seemed to have attracted the attentions of several girls that even he recognized as delinquent. One of the girls, dark hair matching her black miniskirt and knee- high boots, slinked over to Heero and sat on the couch next to him.
Heero stared at Duo hoping that the boy would snap out of it and save him. But the baka had his eyes closed and his hands in the air. Come to think of it, where were Quatre and Trowa? They were supposed to be here as well. Heero's musings were interrupted as a hand gently reached out and brushed the fringe just above his forehead. He just managed to resist his instincts to catch the hand and snap it at the wrist.
"Hello," the girl said, moving her arm to rest on his shoulder "you look like you need a little cheering up."
Heero didn't answer but fixed the girl with a disapproving glare. As their eyes met, he noticed that her pupils were dilated. The girl was really out of it.
"What have you taken?" he demanded.
The girl giggled for a while and began to go on about the lovely little blue pills that were going round and how great they made you feel.
"You should try one," the girl said, reaching into her skirt to look for one.
Heero was immune to every single mind-altering drug available as part of his enhancement. However, it was possible that newer drugs might still have an effect and so it was wiser not to risk it. Heero took hold of the girl's hand, meaning to stop her from looking for the pill. She totally misread the action, however, smiling widely and placing her head on Heero's chest before moving to trace his neck with her lips.
Warning bells cried out in Heero's head. This was a sensation totally alien to him. He felt exposed and extremely uncomfortable. Usually when he felt uncomfortable he simply drew his gun and shot the source of his discomfort, but this situation was entirely different. Not for the first time that night, Heero cursed in Duo's direction as he began to pry the lethargic girl off him.
The girl, still seemingly unaware of the situation, brought her face up to his and slowly brought her lips forward for a kiss. Heero, stunned for a moment, wondered what his first kiss would be like, but promptly dodged the girl who stank of cigarettes and alcohol causing her to slip off the couch onto the floor. She squealed in anger and rose to slap Heero, who already had the good sense to disappear.
Duo smiled stupidly to himself as one of the girls he danced with rubbed her body against him. She was very pretty by all standards and being none too subtle in her efforts to gain his attention. Duo knew, however, that he simply wasn't into her. Although the drugs flowing through him had reduced his inhibitions and dulled his senses, they had also removed the confusion in his mind over what he found attractive.
None of the girls that hung from his body was even slightly interesting to him; in fact, he doubted that any woman was. A few of the guys had caught his attention, but by far the most interesting of them all was a boy who had been right under his nose for quite some time now.
As the blonde girl rubbed her hands sensually over his chest, Duo stared into the eyes of Heero sitting on the couch. He was trying to stare Duo to death, but the drugs seemed to provide resistance to death attacks as well. Duo was hoping that the display he was making would stir the Japanese boy to jealousy.
Duo closed his eyes and let the music and bass flow over him. When he looked back to his partner, he was surprised and somewhat peeved at what he saw. Heero was reaching into the lap of some hussy that had her head resting on his chest.
Duo suddenly felt his mind clear. He manoeuvred his dancing entourage over to get a closer look. The girl was now tracing her lips over his neck and Duo had to restrain himself from going over and slapping the slut. The drugs kicked in again and Duo suddenly felt emotional. He was angry and sad and jealous all at once and had to pry his vision away.
He closed his eyes and tried to let the music wash away the images he had seen. But all he could see was the lean proud form of the Japanese boy, his deep blue eyes staring right through him. He began to remind himself that Heero was not, by all likelihood, interested in him in the slightest, if indeed he was interested in men at all--if indeed he was interested in humans at all.
Though desperate not to look, Duo could not help himself. What he saw next really hit him hard. The girl's lips were inches away from Heero's mouth, drawing closer as if in slow motion. Duo snapped his eyes shut and did his best to hide his hurt. He was confused over the emotional roller coaster he seemed to be on. He felt hurt and betrayed, although he knew he had no claim to the Japanese boy whatsoever.
Feeling lost and alone, Duo concentrated on ignoring his feelings for Heero. He pushed them down and laughed at them, and when he looked back to the couch he didn't see Heero at all nor did he see the bitch in the miniskirt.
Smiling to himself over the strength of his mental abilities, Duo reached over to a bottle of whisky sitting on the table next to the stereo and sculled as much as he could without choking. A few of the guys cheered but Duo didn't care. He wanted to forget himself entirely and forget those deep blue eyes.
"What ARE you doing, Heero?" Quatre asked doing his best to control his giggles.
Heero was hiding amongst the bushes in the back yard that surrounded the pool. He had fled the dance room after being attacked by the girl in the miniskirt, and had been doing his best impersonation of a tree since then. To his dismay however, the party had begun to migrate outside and several of the partygoers, dressed in bathing suits, were swimming and splashing about in the pool.
Truth be told Heero would have liked nothing better than to simply jump the fence and make his way back to his room. However, he had a duty to ensure the safety of his comrade. Duo was under the effect of possibly dangerous drugs and he couldn't simply abandon the baka. Neither could he simply drag him by the braid out of the house without causing undue attention. Heero planned to simply watch the boy until an opportunity arose to get him alone.
However, it had been nearly half an hour now and Duo seemed perfectly content to continue dancing with those 'girls' hanging off him. Heero was beginning to get annoyed with their obsession over Duo. Only because they were preventing his escape, of course. Heero had been so busy in his vigilance over the American through the window that he hadn't noticed Trowa and Quatre approach.
"Trying to escape." Heero replied flatly.
He was somewhat annoyed that the two had snuck up on him undetected. True, they were well trained, but he still should have been able to hear them. It was this damn music and that stupid baka's fault. Quatre laughed and released his grip on Trowa's hand, hoping that Heero didn't notice. He needn't have worried; the Japanese boy had returned to his watch over Duo.
"Duo is enjoying himself, ne Heero?" Trowa said without a trace of humour.
The three of them watched as one of the blond girls had begun to kiss the boy's fingertips as they swayed to the music.
"Hn."
"Why don't you go home if you're not having fun?" asked Quatre
"Duo took something and I have to make sure he doesn't die or something," Heero replied coldly
Quatre smiled mischievously towards Trowa and said, "Don't worry, we'll keep an eye out for Duo, won't we Trowa?"
Heero contemplated that for a moment. It made sense; Duo would be okay with them watching. He was about to agree when the blonde girl reached up and kissed the American on the check. Something smouldered inside Heero, a feeling that he did not understand.
"No," he stated. "I will look after him and drag him back with me the minute I get a chance."
Quatre smiled knowingly though Trowa didn't get it.
"Okay Heero, if you need anything we'll be about," the blonde boy said before walking off into the dance room Trowa in tow.
Heero glanced at the retreating forms of his friends for only a moment and then returned his attention to Duo. Heero was beginning to get more and more angry at the scene before him. He was not sure exactly why he was so annoyed, but part of him wanted to go into there and drag those harpies off his Duo and go home.
Heero frowned at that last thought. Duo was his partner his comrade and his . . . friend, NOT his possession. Yet he could not help but feel resentment towards the girls who danced with Duo.
Duo opened his eyes suddenly as a roaring began in his ears. He could no longer hear the music and his vision began to sway. He lost balance for a moment and leaned heavily onto the blonde girl next to him, who smiled seductively. He was no longer interested in her attention, though, and he pulled himself away.
He dragged himself over to the table and grabbed the whisky bottle, thinking in his inebriated state that a drink would make him feel better. As the foul liquid hit the back of his throat, however, he began to cough. He tried to stumble his way to the kitchen. He was really dizzy now and couldn't make out the direction to go. Closing his eyes and hoping for the best, the braided boy lurched outside and headfirst into a swimming pool.
Heero watched concerned as Duo began to stumble and sway his way round the dance floor. People around him were too out of it to notice but Heero could tell that something was wrong.
He cursed out loud as the boy grabbed the bottle and took a huge swig. Alcohol and drugs should never be mixed, and he was furious that the boy was being so stupid. Heero noticed that Duo was, in a roundabout way, heading outside and he quickly moved towards the door so that he could grab the boy and get out of there immediately. Duo, however, beat him to the door and as Heero made his way over he was surprised to see the boy lurch suddenly and then fall into the pool headfirst.
There was a roar from the students in and about the pool, who laughed and cheered. None of them noticed that the boy hadn't resurfaced. All of them had returned instantly to their own distractions.
Heero watched with what could have been mistaken for a small grin of satisfaction on his face. The expression changed to neutrality as he noticed the boy had yet to surface, and then to concern. As the bubbles cleared Heero could make out Duo lying, arms outstretched, on the bottom of the pool.
Instincts kicked in as the perfect soldier, pausing only for a second, dived into the pool to recover his partner. He surfaced a moment later, hauling Duo onto the side of the pool. After getting out himself, he bent over the American and started to shout.
"Duo! Can you hear me?"
"We going for a swim Heero?" the boy muttered, alternating between giggles and coughs.
Heero, for the first time in quite a while, was seriously contemplating killing the boy.
"We are leaving," he stated.
When Duo didn't move he leaned over and picked up the boy, holding the wet shivering form in his arms. He made his way to the side gate, his shoes making squishing sounds as he went. Propping Duo against the wall, he fiddled with the lock to the side gate.
"Where are you going with my Duo?" whined the blond girl who had suddenly appeared behind the two.
Heero, angry at the question, surprised at the intrusion and generally fed up with the evening in general, turned and slapped the girl across the check hard enough to get her attention. The girl teared up before running away wailing.
Heero picked his partner back up and began to head back to the campus wondering, not for the first time that evening, why he was bothering.
Heero was walking very slowly, a couple of meters behind Duo, on their way back to campus. He was cold and wet and extremely annoyed. Not only had he experienced a painful reminder of his inability to fit into a normal social gathering, but also he had had to remain there for over two hours to baby-sit his extremely stupid partner.
Duo, oblivious to the cold and his surroundings in general, hopped, skipped, walked and danced his way down the dark street. When they passed the occasional light post he would wrap his arms around it and spin around once or twice, giggling or shouting nonsense.
"Wasn't that fun, Heero?" the boy asked far too loudly for the time of night.
Heero glanced about, making sure that no one was being disturbed. A few of the dogs in the neighbourhood had started barking a while back, but apart from that no one had as yet confronted the two. Being arrested for public nuisance would of course be extremely detrimental to their 'cover'.
A light appeared in a nearby window overlooking the street and an angry woman began to open it. Duo saw her and was about to wave and call out, but was dragged into the shadows before he had the chance. Heero held the boy in a tight grip, back towards the fence. With Heero's other hand clamped firmly over Duo's mouth, the two remained motionless until the women closed the window and turned off the light.
Heero relaxed a little, but suddenly became aware of the warm chest his arm was wrapped around, and the soft lips his other hand was touching. Confused by the strange sensations he released the braided boy, who spun on the spot and opened his mouth to begin ranting. Heero immediately covered his partner's mouth again, and half- pushed, half-dragged the boy onwards.
After several minutes, he felt the American relax a little and decided it was safe to let him speak.
"A gentleman would ask before he'd grope a guy!" Duo slurred, and began to laugh at Heero's bizarre expression.
Heero's face felt hot all of a sudden. Duo was acting stupid and was obviously not his usual self, but despite this Heero was feeling more like the idiot.
Though he was embarrassed and uncomfortable and confused, there was something almost desirable about the situation he was in. He would almost be enjoying it, if it weren't for the cold and danger of being arrested. The braided boy was giggling and babbling to himself, while leaning heavily on Heero. He wrapped an arm around his neck and began to sing some stupid song. Heero was glad to hear that his partner appeared to be losing his voice.
As the two continued, Heero began to feel increasingly comfortable with the contact of his partner's arm. Though he tried to convince himself it was just the warmth, he was at a loss to describe the feelings that were buzzing around inside him. The two had made their way back to the campus and were stumbling through the courtyard towards their room when Duo began to act strange again.
The drugs seemed to kick-in in cycles. Duo suddenly began to feel upset, depressed and remorseful. Heero could feel him tense up, as the boy began a strange half- choking sob. He began babbling apologies to Heero about all the things he had been stupid about that evening.
Heero tried in vain to be angry again, or at least bring himself to agree that the boy had been stupid, but the hurt in Duo's voice made it difficult. Instead he found himself wanting to refuse the apologies and tell Duo that it didn't matter. Duo had begun a strange soft cry and had stopped walking.
Confused, but wanting to relieve his friend's pain, Heero grabbed onto the boy's firm shoulders and spun him around. He then froze like a deer in headlights, completely stunned by the boy in his arms. Duo's beautiful violet eyes gazed up at him with warmth and longing. Heero felt his world go into slow motion as the two stared into each other's eyes, their faces only inches apart. To Heero, everything had become muted. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart in his chest, as the world seemed to hold its breath.
"Heero?" Duo gently whispered, so close that Heero could feel the warmth of his breath.
"Uh," Heero responded intelligently.
The braided boy inched closer until they were almost touching. At that moment three things happened. The first and perhaps the most noticeable was an incredible sound that shattered the silence of the night. The second was that Heero dropped to the ground after his instincts kicked in. The third was Duo, losing balance as he leaned forward into the suddenly absent support of Heero, falling flat on his face.
The sky was lit with an orange hue in the distance. The tremendously loud clap had momentarily deafened them. Duo began to babble nonsense, and although Heero wanted to investigate the explosion, he was loath to leave his friend in his current state.
"Go back to the room and wait for me!" he ordered.
Heero hesitated only a moment longer as he waited to see Duo nodding, eyes wide with confusion. Standing quickly, he began to sprint in the general direction of the flames, already knowing where they were coming from.
There were police and other emergency personnel crawling all over the neighbourhood, but Heero had avoided them all with almost laughable ease. His suspicions had been confirmed the moment he arrived. The commotion had indeed been caused by an explosion, which had been undoubtedly centered on the house where he had been only half an hour before.
Heero's almost inhuman mind began assessing the damage and debris. He was sure that the explosion came from the inside, and was not a missile or similar projectile aimed at the house. He was also fairly convinced that the explosion was not accidental, judging by the extent and efficiency of the damage. There was a bomb squad on standby near the house to confirm his suspicions.
Heero watched from the shadows as medical personnel began to recover the students, frightened, wounded or dead, from the rubble of the house. Though normally such scenes would be observed with only a passing interest, Heero was feeling a strong sense of discomfort at seeing his classmates dead and dying. He began to wrestle with these feelings, trying to get them under control. The last 24 hours had already exercised his undeveloped emotions to their limit.
The last vestiges of his struggle vaporized, though, as he noticed a familiar blond boy being dragged from the rubble by two medics. The boy's clothes were burned beyond recognition and a sickening feeling hit Heero's stomach as he noticed the boy's legs were missing. Even from this distance he could tell the Arabian pilot was dead.
Heero had often wondered what his 'friends,' especially Duo, meant to him. He was now certain for the first time in his life. His body began to shake with a cold that came from within. The feeling was totally alien to him, as was the water forming in his eyes. He barely maintained his control enough not to cry out or run to the side of his dead comrade.
The next half an hour seemed to pass quickly as Heero, detached and exhausted, continued to study the horrifying scene before him. He was entirely unequipped to deal with grief, having only a passing understanding of it until now.
There were no more tears to shed or feelings left when the medics dragged Trowa's body out and placed it with the rest of the dead.
After seeing his worst fears confirmed there was nothing left to do but leave and report the loss of his comrades to his superiors. The perfect soldier reasserted itself. Now faced with the task of avoiding detection, Heero efficiently made his way back to his room.
As he approached the door, Heero wondered how on earth he was going to break the news to Duo. He knew that the pilot would want to know what the explosion was all about but he also knew that the braided boy was far more susceptible to negative emotion than he.
Considering how badly the deaths had affected him, he decided not to tell the American until the next day. Heero was still trying to work out how he was going to avoid the topic when he entered the room to see his partner, passed out lying on his bed.
Heero was too exhausted and upset to react, he simply placed an extra cover on the boy, whose clothes had dried in the warm night air, and sat at the desk. After booting up the laptop, he wrote as concise a report as he could in his present state, and sent it off requesting instructions.
Exhausted emotionally and physically, Heero decided it was best to get some rest. He stripped down to his boxers and fell into bed. After doing everything in his power to keep the hurt at bay, Heero finally broke into tears and cried himself to sleep.
End Part 1
(:./barbieboy/time1)
