07-Dec-2002
Title: The Eternal East
Author: Hyuy
Word Count: 800
Pairing: Duo/Rashid
Warnings: Religion
Title: The Eternal East
I take my prayer mat and wander toward the back of the transport, where the cargo holds stand bare and empty. In happier times, they would be filled with foodstuffs, cloth, toys, but now? Tch. It will not do, nor will it help, to think of such things.
I am sure of the righteousness of our cause, and I will live or die as it will best serve Master Quatre, but sometimes, sometimes even a righteous man needs a moment of solitude to make peace with his god.
"It's pointless, you know?" I hear from above me. I turn my head, and sitting on a crate is the master's American friend, the bold, fierce child with death in his smile.
I bow slightly. "What is pointless, young master?"
He rolls his eyes as he pushes off from the crate. "Just call me Duo. 'Young master' is too kinky, even for me." He leans back against the crate and nods his head toward my mat. "That. That's pointless."
I raise an eyebrow and let my gaze drift over his clothes. Black and black and white, he cannot be unaware of their oddly priest-like aspect. I let my silence speak for me.
He flushes slightly, but continues speaking. "I just meant the mat thing was useless. There's no east on a transport ship."
"Ah," I say. I bend over and spread out my mat. "There is always an east, my friend."
"Not on a ship." He is strangely insistent, almost angry. "The directions are all subjective. Up could just as easily be down."
I kneel on the mat and begin to regulate my breathing, readying myself for prayer. "True, young Duo. But the colony to which we are traveling has an artificial sun, and that artificial sun rises in a direction the colony has designated as east, and that, my skeptical friend, is the direction to which I am facing."
He grabs my shoulder and pulls me to my feet. Even though I tower over him by at least a foot, his intensity and anger force me to take a step back. Ah, he has the heart of a lion, this one!
"That is just bullshit!" He pushes away from me, and begins pacing angrily. "What kind of a god is that picky, huh? If you don't face east, your prayers are worthless? If you drink a beer, you're damned? How can god be god, if all he's concerned with are petty details? What about actions, what about intentions? Why don't they count?"
His voice rises and breaks on those last words, and I realize it is not my god we are speaking of, after all. I reach out and place my hand on his shoulder, stilling his movements. My voice is as quiet and sure as my heart is not. I speak words I hope will calm his pain. "Young mas- Duo, they do count. The rituals are just that...; rituals. They help you frame your thoughts for prayer, they show your love for your god by your willingness to submit, but in the ultimate moment, there is just you and your god, and nothing else matters."
He pulls away from my hand, his eyes hot and bright with unshed tears. "If that's true, then why are so many horrible things done in the name of a god? Why is there hate and pain and killing and war?"
"Oh, Duo," I begin, but without warning he throws himself against me, his lips crushing mine, his tongue forcing its way inside my mouth. As quickly as the kiss started it ends, and Duo stands before me, fists trembling, eyes glittering. He hisses through clenched teeth, "What kind of god turns from some types of love, but lets his name be used for war?"
I regard him solemnly, my voice ringing with the truth I feel deep in my heart. "No kind of god at all." He looks surprised and begins to speak, but I cut him off. "Allah is love, Duo. I can't see him turning his face from love, just because the source is male."
He sneers, and the look sits uncomfortably on his face. He tries to speak, but once again I silence him. I try to answer the questions he has not asked. "It is all love, Duo. It is love of your fellow man, love of justice, love of truth, love for your comrades. You have to believe that. It is always love, or it is meaningless."
He looks at me, silent and still, and then tears slide down his face. He turns from me and runs, muffled sobs echoing behind him.
I sigh, kneeling once more on my mat, facing the east I carry within me always. For once, my prayers do not come easily.
The End
(:./hyuy/snogs2)
