Gundam Wing: Genesis Part 13
Wufei and Sally both smirked as they returned home that night to find their door unlocked. The Chinese man sighed as he closed the door behind them. "I sometimes wonder why I bother to lock it."
The light in their living room clicked on, and neither was surprised to find four Gundam pilots sitting there, smiling at them with identical Cheshire cat looks on their faces. Quatre laughed. "Welcome home! We've been waiting here for over an hour."
Sally lifted one eyebrow, trying hard not to laugh. "It didn't occur to you that we have something to celebrate?"
Duo's grin reached face-splitting proportions. "Of course it did! That's why we're here now- to say congrats before the party begins! Can I see the ring?"
Smiling proudly, Sally held out her left hand, nearly purring as she felt Wufei's arms wrapping around her from behind.
Even Quatre sucked in a deep breath. "That's beautiful!"
Wufei smiled down at his fiancée. "It is, isn't it?"
"Well, she's not bad, either, Chang," Heero quipped, not missing the gleam in his Chinese friend's eyes.
Sally shot the Japanese pilot a look. "I don't know what's worse! I think that's the first time you've ever complimented me, but such a left-handed compliment, to boot! Fei, I thought you weren't going to let anyone talk to me like that!"
Duo and Wufei shared a smile. "Don't sweat it, gorgeous," the American reassured Sally, "you should hear some of the things he's called me before..."
Trowa coughed, but the cough sounded suspiciously like "hairball." Everyone laughed.
~*~
Sally and Wufei both breathed sighs of relief as they finally managed to chase the other pilots out. Wufei leaned against the door tiredly. "I love those guys like brothers, but I swear I thought they'd never leave."
Sally smiled as she walked up to Wufei and draped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. "That was probably their intention, Fei. If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure they were disappointed that we didn't kick them out and have wild sex with them listening in from the other side of the door."
Both of them laughed, and Wufei's arms closed around her, pulling her tight against his chest. "That I can believe!" He kissed her gently, teasing at Sally's lips before slipping his tongue into her mouth and exploring her slowly, each movement sending shivers up her spine.
Sally stared into her fiancé's eyes breathlessly as they parted, and her hands slipped under his suit jacket, running over his abs and around to his back caressingly. "So... is this called making me an honest woman?"
Wufei spit out a curse, even as his arms tightened around her to the point that she couldn't have gotten away, even if she had wanted to. "I should have known I wasn't going to get away with that." He stifled a groan as Sally's hands pulled his white shirt out of tuck and roamed up under it playfully.
She watched the expression on his face carefully. "Maybe I should be making an honest man out of you, Chang!" She offered her lips to be kissed and let out a low sound of pleasure as he moved enough for her to push his shirt back off his shoulders, even as she sucked on his lower lip, teasing it lightly in her teeth.
Wufei growled playfully as his hands found the zipper of her dress and slowly pulled it down to slip his hands inside, onto the bare, silky skin of her back. "Two can play at this game, woman!"
Sally shot him a look. "I thought you liked games, Chang."
He scooped her into his arms with a grin. "I never said I didn't." He kicked the door to their room shut behind him as he set Sally down, and he turned to reach for her-
"Hey! What the hell..."
Sally laughed as she expertly finished her work- she had yanked his shirt back only partially unbuttoned and knotted the sleeves together, effectively pinning Wufei's arms to his sides. Of course, she knew it would only hold for however long he chose to humour her, but it was all a part of the game. She sauntered up to him and ran her hands over his chest, following questing fingertips with gentle kisses. "I have a new rule for you, Fei."
His eyes glowed, both with frustration and amusement. "Right. What ever."
She pulled the pins from her hair and shook her head so that it floated down freely around her face. "It's simple, Chang. The 'onna' stuff ends now." She turned and wiggled her hips seductively as the dress fell to the floor, and then spun around again, her hair whipping around her. "Think you can handle that?"
Her smile deepened as a loud ripping sound filled the air and a set of powerful arms closed around her, Wufei's active mouth finding hers and proceeding to kiss her senseless. "I don't think you can handle me," he said breathlessly, as they broke for air.
Sally giggled as she unfastened his trousers and pushed them down and away. "Remember- you have to play nice with me- I am pregnant, you know."
Wufei's body rubbed hard against her, his insistent cock begging for attention as he kissed and sucked at Sally's neck. "I know." He lifted her and set her down on the bed gently before following, his lips immediately finding her breasts, hands stroking over the warm, smooth skin if her belly.
Sally gasped out his name as Wufei's lips closed over a nipple and he sucked playfully, his teeth scoring lightly over her sensitive flesh. His hands were pressing at her thighs, and she opened to him automatically. Thrills sparked over her body as she felt him settling between her legs, rubbing against her rhythmically.
Wufei kissed her as he entered her with exquisite care, stroking Sally's lips as he slowly slid into the velveteen depths of her. She was moaning into him as he pulled out to thrust again, deeper insistently. "Fei... God, I love you..."
"Sally..." His words faded into a drawn out moan as Wufei struggled to maintain some semblance of control. Control he promptly lost as Sally wrapped one long leg around him.
She could feel him almost shivering in the effort to hold back, and Sally felt her whole body burning with need and love for the man making love to her. "Fei, please... Please, more..."
Both of them moaned as he gave up his losing battle and buried himself inside of her frantically, each thrust sending shockwaves of pleasure through both, until it got too great, and the waves crashed around them. Sally and Wufei both cried out as their climaxes hit, like white light and heat flooding all their senses in a pure, unadulterated moment of nirvana.
His head still reeling in the aftermath of their lovemaking, Wufei somehow managed to roll to his side, so as not to crush her beneath him as his strength gave out. Panting for air, he wrapped a shaking arm around her.
Recovering, he levered himself up on one arm and wiped a few stray strands of Sally's hair from her face with the other. "I didn't hurt you?"
Her eyes opened, and Sally smiled up at him. "No- of course not." She let out a moan of displeasure as he pulled out from her. "Fei..."
"Shh," he quieted her gently, cupping her face in his hands. He kissed her gently and rested his forehead against her cheek. "I love you."
Sally smiled as he settled against her. "Damn straight you do."
~*~
Howard was yawning cavernously as he faced Duo and Heero. It wasn't right for anyone- even a Gundam pilot- to be so wide-awake at three in the morning! "So- we attached the thing to Heavyarms, with another attached to Nataku-Alpha, should Chang decide he wants to play as well. That good enough?"
Duo smiled brightly at the old man. "It's super! I can't believe you got it all ready in time..."
Howard choked on a chuckle. "And you boys somehow got Une to authorise this little stunt of yours- I don't want to know how! Are you sure about this?"
Heero nodded. "Trowa still doesn't like being the target, but Quatre's... convincing him to do it right now."
Howard shook his head. "Just as bad as they ever were, I swear!"
Duo laughed as he latched onto Heero's arm and gave a tug. "Speaking of that, it's high time we got a little rest, ourselves, Yuy! Go find a place to bunk out, Howard- you guys have earned it!"
Howard laughed to himself as he watched the couple disappear around the bend in a hallway. "Damn fool kids!"
~*~
The intercom buzzer went off, startling both Relena and Dorothy. Frowning to herself, Relena hit the small button. "Yes?"
Her secretary's voice came back, "Miss Relena, Mr Winner and Mr. Maxwell are here to see you."
Both girls smiled immediately. They had heard rumours of what the pilots had planned to do in that afternoon's presentation... "Show them in!"
The door opened, and both young men smiled at the girls in greeting. Dorothy smirked as she took in their appearance- somber-coloured suits and tame ties... Not at all Duo's style...
Relena came around the desk to greet them. "Thanks for dropping in! I don't suppose you're going to tell us what to expect, though..."
Duo clasped his hands in front of him nervously. "Don't you want to be surprised?"
Relena shook her head. "I know you five too well to want that! What's the plan?"
Quatre gave her a nervous smile. "Well, you remember how I said Genesis would stand up to anything less than a Gundam, back when we tested it that final time..."
Dorothy felt a surge of adrenaline as she watched Quatre's face. This was going to be good!
~*~
The Committee Hearings Room was packed once more.
It had been bad enough when he'd just been there as back-up, during the last presentation, but now that Duo, himself, was going to be giving part of the brief... Quatre watched in amusement as the brunette paced nervously. Who would believe that he of all people could get this nervous? I wish I had brought a camera!
They had been over the briefing a hundred times- they knew it back and forth. They were ready, and yet... Quatre slid behind his laptop and typed in a quick access code. He smiled as Trowa's face popped up on his screen. "You guys ready for your part?"
Green eyes glinted back at him. "You do realize that Yuy is going to be using me for target practice? Are you sure this stuff is as good as we say it is?"
The Arabian laughed. "Not completely, no! But Duo is. Can you trust that?"
Trowa bit back a negative response as he realized that he was shortly going into mock combat against the afore-mentioned individual's significant other. "Hn."
Duo stopped his pacing to glare at the face on the screen. "You could show at least a little confidence in me, you know! I'm not wrong!"
Trowa locked stares with the American. "I have confidence in you- would I be here, otherwise? Calm down, Duo."
Duo abruptly stopped pacing and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "I'm sorry, I'll try."
Quatre flashed his lover a smile. "It's going to work out just fine, okay? We need to get ready to go here..."
Trowa nodded. "Very well. We'll be waiting for your signal. Three out." The screen went blank.
Quatre turned to the other pilot with a thoughtful look. "We are sure he's safe, aren't we?"
Duo just glared. "Not you, too! Jesus! He will be just fine!"
"You two about ready to go?" Sally asked, sticking her head past the door.
Quatre turned to her with a shaky smile. "Where's Wufei?"
Sally grimaced. "Suiting up to join Trowa and Heero, where else? Damn fool of a man..."
Duo gritted his teeth. "He will be perfectly safe, okay? And I..."
"Shut up, Duo!" Sally snapped. "I'm tired of listening to you all arguing! Now are you ready for the presentation, or not?"
Quatre and Duo took a moment to look each other in the face before both nodded. The blond replied, "Yeah- let's go."
~*~
Quatre stood in front of the podium with a relaxed air, earning him an incredulous glance from his friend, seated just behind him. Duo knew that he'd never be able to handle so much scrutiny so well!
As the room quieted down, Quatre began, "Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. First, I'd like to thank you for giving us a second chance to stand here and ask for your permission to follow the Mars Project through to its completion. I understand that recent events have brought up many new questions, which we will try to answer for you here today. But I'd like to say up front- we suffered a massive setback, yes, but we still have the materials, the know-how and the dream of making Mars habitable."
He hit a small switch next to the podium, and the screen behind him lit up with a picture of the Research Center, Z249778. "This was our research center. I am now free to tell you exactly what happened that day, so... It was the day we had final confirmation that the Gundams were complete. The other pilots and myself were going to rendez-vous back on Earth to discuss forward tactics. Accompanied by Duo Maxwell and Preventers Chang and Po, I left the Center at approximately 10:35 local time on L4. At about the same time, Preventer guards caught and captured a suicide bomber. Our shuttle was called back at this time, since they found a bomb on this individual, and Duo, who will speak with you shortly, is one of the best explosives technicians in the Earth Sphere. We did not make it back in time.
"That attack was not meant for the Mars Project, as much as disturbing its schedule helped the Independence Front in disturbing our government. The attack was meant to catch me, and hopefully some of the other pilots. It did not." Quatre paused for a moment to look the crowd over. "If I had not been there, that Research Facility and all the people on it would still be here, and there would be no reason for today's hearing..."
"That's all well and good, Mr Winner," a man said, standing to face them blond from his seat. "But we are not here today to judge you or your actions. The evidence you provided yesterday with Chancellor Peacecraft was enough to prove your own dedication and compliance with the law. What we wish to discuss is the validity of a product we all saw smashed to pieces on Sphere-wide television. You had previously assured us that your Genesis Shield product would withstand far greater pressures than what we saw those Genesis suits go up against. I will not approve the funding of a product with such an obvious flaw."
Quatre nodded his acceptance of the Senator's comments. "You're completely right, Senator, Kells, and I agree- I, as the head of my company, would not fund such a product, either. However I am not well enough acquainted with the scientific side of the Shield to answer your question. I'll turn that over to my friend, Duo Maxwell. Before you ask," he said, holding his hands up to halt the ripple of noise that suddenly filled the room, "yes, Duo is the pilot of Gundam Deathscythe, but he is also one of the best demolitions experts I have ever worked with. He participated in the conceptual design of the Genesis shield, and was the primary tester for it the whole way through. He is more than qualified. Duo?"
The braided young man wiped his sweaty palms on his slacks as he stood and gave Quatre a smile. He walked to the podium and cleared his throat before speaking. "Thanks, Quatre. As he said, my name is Duo Maxwell. I was brought into the Genesis project originally to test the shield material and determine its true impact tolerance. I quickly got deeper into it, though, because I had a few ideas on how to strengthen the product. Now, I don't have a degree in any of this," he said, with a little shrug, "but I think practical experience fills in the gaps, and what I didn't know, the scientific team was more than happy to fill me in on.
"As for Genesis, let's be completely honest here. You saw five Gundam suits destroy an entire legion of Genesis-class suits, which should not have been possible, given the shielding. It's true- the product you saw on the battlefield was flawed and dangerously unstable. In fact, it might have exploded on its own, given enough time." Duo stared around the room. "I would not ask you to fund something like that, and I would never risk innocent lives under a shield made of that substance."
He hit a button, and a rather complicated-looking diagram popped up on the screen behind him. "I won't ask you to fund that- but I'm asking you to fund the real thing. Let me show you the differences." He turned with a laser pointer in his hand to the diagram. They all looked closely- there were actually two diagrams, and several people choked back on a chuckle as they read the headings: 'Hefty' and 'Wimpy.'
Duo lit up the 'Wimpy' diagram first. "If you look closely here, you'll see that there is an outer Hydrogen-based layer here. Now, when that comes into contact with excited oxygen molecules in the atmosphere, especially in radiated conditions- say, in the Stratosphere level- those outer Hydrogen particles get torn off the Genesis compound, and it becomes unstable." He paused to let that sink in.
Getting a quick nod of encouragement from Quatre, Duo turned to the 'Hefty' side of his diagram. "We found that out nearly six months ago, and the scientific team re-evaluated Genesis and came up with this," he lit up the second diagram. "I don't have some fancy degree on my wall, now, but I can tell you that this serves as a shield, blocking the degradation of the material completely. As a result, it won't decompose, as the original did. The best part- it's still as strong as the original product would be in Outer Space."
Senator Kells nodded. "And now we get to our main point, young man," he said loftily. "How certain are you that this form of Genesis truly is stable?"
Duo clutched the podium to still the shaking of his hands. "Let me back-track a second. When we came to Earth to make the initial presentation, without consulting with Quatre, Heero and I exchanged the information we were carrying, without telling anyone. The end result was what you saw- a bunch of suits that basically had no armour at all. While I brought the old, flawed plans down to Earth, Heero held on to the real ones. Those real plans were also used, by the way, to augment the cockpit shields on each of the five Gundams."
As Duo gave a smile, everyone in the room who knew him felt the air get that little bit colder- they knew from experience what that look on Duo Maxwell's face meant. He continued, "But we can't expect you to simply take my word on it- I don't have a degree in this, and the only people who could have really explained it died out in Space. Instead," he paused for effect, and gave another dazzling smile. "Instead, we are going to show you."
Quatre inputted a quick command on his laptop, and the lights in the council chamber dimmed as the screen behind the two pilots lit up to show a deserted-looking area. The blond smiled as he and Duo put on their earpieces and microphones. "Shield wings report."
Two suits materialized onscreen- they were unmistakably Gundams, and a ripple of noise went through the room. Trowa's voice came in, "Heavyarms-Alpha reads you five-by-five."
Wufei echoed, "Nataku-Alpha reads you five-by-five."
Duo spoke up again, "Heavyarms is piloted by Trowa Barton, and Nataku is piloted by Chang Wufei. They will be using a Genesis shield in this exercise, while another suit attempts to destroy it, or at least bypass it. "Attack wing report."
Heero's voice floated out to them, as the suit uncloaked, "Wing Zero-Alpha reads you five-by-five. Waiting for your signal."
Quatre's eyes scanned over the crowd. "I once said that the Genesis shield material would withstand anything short of a Gundam. Well, we are going to test that. Ladies and Gentlemen, Wing Zero was the Gundam that took the last shot of the Eve Wars, destroying the remnant of battlestation Libra as it fell to Earth. It is also the Gundam that broke through the defences of the Brussels Palace during the coup one year later. This is the most powerful weapon of war that mankind has ever created, piloted by the best pilot in the Earth Sphere, Heero Yuy." He gave a long pause as, onscreen, Wing Zero pulled a beam saber and it burst to life. The other two suits lifted circular objects- they quickly recognized them to be plates of the Genesis shield material. Getting one last nod of reassurance from Duo, Quatre toggled his microphone. "Commence exercise."
~*~
Trowa gulped as the words came through- "Commence exercise"- but he had no time to be nervous as Wing Zero flew into action, the deadly beam saber flying at him and at Nataku as thought he other pilot were possessed.
Similar misgivings were going through Wufei's head, but he shoved them aside as he watched another beam saber being pulled and activated in Zero's other hand. His eyes went wide as he struggled to avoid getting hit and tried to watch Heero's technique at the same time.
Pitching and rolling to avoid the worst of the attacks he was up against, Trowa nearly growled as he remembered how sweetly Quatre had asked him to go along with this little scheme. "Little imp!" he muttered under his breath, as he caught a particularly hard blow to his Genesis shield. "Teach him to set me up like this again..."
Heero was suitably impressed with the performance of the shields as he deactivated the beam sabers and allowed the other two pilots some time to recuperate. He finally reactivated only one saber and took a deep breath as he prepared for the next part of the exercise.
Wufei waited until Heero reactivated a beam saber before he hit his boosters and attacked at full tilt, a modified beam staff twirling from his Gundam's hands. He felt a smile tugging at his lips as he registered Trowa drawing a weapon and attacking, as well, forcing Heero to go into a set of defensive manoeuvres designed to force him to drop the fear of attacking them and hurting them. They could hear Quatre's narration in the background, "This set of manoeuvres will hopefully force the pilot of Wing Zero to go into a full attack, at which time we'll see just how well the shields hold up."
Wufei grunted. "So be it." Turning with a yell, he unleashed the dragon claw in a fountain of fire.
Heero's eyes went wide as he was forced to take a hit from Trowa in order to dodge the deadly dragon claw. He was jarred as the impact of the blow, followed by another in quick succession, threw him hard in his harness. The Japanese man growled as he allowed some of his restraints to drop and turned-
Trowa's throat went dry as he felt it- Zero's head was turned in his direction. He had Heero's attention now, and that was one thing he had told himself, several times during the War, he did not want to have! He pulled back for a more defensible position as he watched Wing Zero coming around for a full attack, and Nataku flying up close behind-
Trowa was braced for the strike...
"Damn you, Yuy!" Wufei yelled as several things happened at once. In Zero's cockpit, Heero smirked evilly as he easily flipped the beam saber in his suit's right hand and stabbed backwards into the approaching threat, even as gunfire erupted from the hidden cannons on Zero's helmet, liberally spraying Heavyarms with heavy fire.
Trowa managed to block most of the bullets with his Genesis shield before he hit the boosters and flipped over the other two suits handily. Taking a moment to breathe, he armed his left-mounted cannon and waited.
Wufei could just see the smirk Heero had to be wearing as he attacked and drove the Chinese pilot back steadily towards the waiting Trowa...
~*~
Duo felt a surge of adrenaline as he watched the battle- Heero was reaching his breaking point. He was beginning to listen to the Zero system, whispering in his mind. All the same, he was nervous as he watched all three making sharper, more precise movements. He could see Heero surrendering to the system and allowing it to dictate his movements-
He toggled his microphone. "Trowa, Wufei- he's plugged in completely. Get your cloaking systems ready!"
He felt his heart racing as the two suits converged on Zero, and the only sound that could be heard from its pilot was a low laugh. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion as he watched the two suits closing the distance between themselves and Zero, standing stationary between them, and then moving, releasing its beam sabers as it hefted the dual beam rifle-
"Quatre, he's gonna do it! He's really..."
Everyone gasped as the rifle split in two and Heero yelled and attacked. They could only watch in silence as twin beams of plasmic energy tore through the atmosphere and straight into the two attacking suits.
~*~
Both Trowa and Wufei closed their eyes as the beams hit their shields. It was taking everything in them to disobey their training and actually allow themselves to be hit...
Trowa's eyes popped back open, though, as the alarms he'd been expecting did not go off. "Hot damn! This stuff works!"
Wufei, too, was laughing as he realized that damages were minimal. "Base, we've got structural problems in the Genesis shield, but it's holding together, and all systems are go."
~*~
"Yes!" Duo punched the air happily as Wufei's transmission came through. "Yes! You see? I told you it would hold together!"
Quatre was shaking his head. "But it won't take another direct shot like that, and Zero's aim is accurate to within a centimeter of the target. All Wings- exercise is terminated! Acknowledge!"
Duo and Quatre shared a look as two suits disappeared from the screen almost immediately. "Base, this is Heavyarms. We are heading in. Yuy will follow us shortly."
Quatre toggled his switch one last time. "Thanks, Trowa! See you soon." He turned back to the audience as the lights came back up. "Any questions?"
Everyone was silent for a long moment before Senator Whitley stood and addressed the blond. "Yes- I have one. What did you mean about it not withstanding a second impact?"
Quatre replied, "A heavy impact on any shield material creates a stress point in a particular location, a weakness, so to speak. Now, it's highly unlikely, in the event of a bunch of objects falling from the sky, that two would hit in precisely the same location. Not so for Wing Zero. The weapon's tracking systems on the suit are far too advanced for that, unless the pilot were to make a mistake, and Heero is not known for making mistakes."
"Quatre, if I may?" Duo interrupted quietly. The blond gave him a smile, and he smiled back. "The original specs for this project were to come up with a material that could withstand a heavy impact for long enough to evacuate those living beneath the shield to underground shelters. Each of those shields just absorbed the energy impact of the same beam rifle that destroyed the last fragment of the Libra. We're talking a hell of a lot of power here, people! The Genesis shield will hold!"
Kells was still frowning, though. "And how can we be certain that this test was not rigged?"
Quatre frowned. "You are welcome to check over the flight data, if you wish. I can assure you, though, that this was not rigged. Would you like to put together a commission to do that?"
Kells backed away from the blond's flashing eyes. "Well, I'm sure that won't be necessary, young man..."
Duo shook his head. "It would probably be wise to do it, even just for future reference. Good information to have, right, Q?"
Senator Whitley nodded his agreement. "I agree and motion that we do so."
Another man stood. "I second the motion."
Senator Filman, the Chairman of the Committee, nodded. "The record will show approval of this motion, to be voted upon at the end of the session. Do we have any other questions for the Winner Team?"
Everyone was surprised when Relena Peacecraft stood. "Yes, I have one."
Quatre fought to hide his surprise. "Yes, Madam Chancellor?"
She smiled. "Is the project still feasible, given the scientific talent that was lost on Z249778?"
Quatre motioned for Duo to take the question, and the old enemies stared at each other for a split second. Quatre could feel a strange tension between them for only a moment, then, "Yes, Ma'am, I think it is," Duo replied. "It's true- we lost some excellent people, but... I think, we need to give their loss some real meaning. Let their work stand as a monument to them and what we all stand for here. And most of all..." He stopped and took a deep breath. "Most of all, we need to use the knowledge they gave us. I may not understand it all, but I was not formally trained in this stuff. There are plenty of brilliant people out there who might even be able to improve on our plans, who knows? I don't want to give up on it, and I don't think any of us should. Too many people have died for that."
Relena smiled back down at him as several Senators nodded their approval. "Don't undercut yourself, Mr. Maxwell. I think Quatre chose his project lead well."
The braided man didn't reply- he smiled, though, and Quatre felt a beautiful sense of elation pouring from both the pilot and his former enemy.
The blond asked, "Are there any more questions?"
~*~
Wufei and Trowa were still carrying their flight helmets as they jogged into the Senate building. A uniformed Preventer met them and escorted them up to the Senate meeting chamber. Trowa didn't wait to ask, "Are the votes all in yet?"
The young agent shook his head. "No- they're still counting, and there are a few stragglers. You've got a few minutes."
Wufei nodded. "Is there any way you can have them hold announcing the results for another five minutes? Our last pilot should be in by then."
The man smiled. "I'll see what I can do." Giving them a moment to collect themselves before opening the door, he waved them into the chamber with a smile.
Duo bounced over to them immediately, his eyes straying to the empty doorway. "Hi, guys! Nice flying up there."
Trowa smiled as he squeezed Quatre's hand in reassurance. "Thanks, Duo. You were right, by the way. Good work."
The braided young man smirked and would have struck a pose, if the Senate had not been staring at them. Instead, he asked, "Where's Heero?"
Wufei shook his head. "He should be following us in- he'll get here before they announce the vote. I'm sure of it."
Still, Duo's violet eyes were troubled as they turned to stare up at the monitors.
~*~
Watching from her place, Relena felt a frown pulling at her high spirits, even as she knew what the vote would be. Where is he? He has to come back in time for this- he just has to!
Next to her, Dorothy read her look with knowing eyes. "He'll get here."
Relena smiled at her girlfriend. "I hope so, Dor. I really hope so."
~*~
Up in the control room, Une scowled at the manager. "You can stand to hold the votes off for another minute! I know you're not that pressed for time!"
The man stared back at her bravely. "We've waited fifteen minutes now, Lady Une. I should think that you, of all people, would understand that we have work to do here."
Une sighed angrily. Dammit, Heero, where are you? She looked the man in the eyes. "It would mean an awful lot to those young men down there if you could hold on for just another few minutes."
The manager actually almost wavered, but decided himself at the last moment. "I'm sorry, Lady, but we must end this session. We can not afford to wait any longer. My regrets to the pilots, but we simply can not and will not."
Une scowled out through the glass into the chamber. "Fine. Just fine."
~*~
"Votes in favour of the Genesis Project- 297. Votes against- 31. This measure has been passed by the Earth Sphere Senate." The last part of Senator Filman's statement was completely lost to the four pilots as Quatre and Duo both howled and hugged each other tightly, the room ringing with applause.
Wufei and Trowa jumped into the hug and the four laughed as they thought about it- after everything they had gone through, Mars was still going to happen. They had done it.
Quatre looked over at Duo with pity in his eyes, though, as the braided American pulled away from the body of people trying to congratulate them and stood to the side silently, staring with a sad frown at the empty doorway.
Heero hadn't come back.
The blond shook his head as he was forced to give his attention back to the Senators around him. Yet in the back of his mind, he was seething. Damn you, Heero! Don't you dare disappear now!
~*~
The light of the setting sun glinted off the armoured sides of a massive mobile suit, dazzling the eyes of the lone person standing up at the lip of the small, deserted valley. It should have been more difficult to do what he had planned. And yet... since the battle earlier, he had known. This was the last thing he had to do to be really free.
Heero stared down at Wing Zero- the sunlight was turning its white armour to red. He frowned sharply and clutched at the object in his hands. "You were everything, once," he whispered. "My life, the mission... it was all I knew. I was you. I was a machine."
Steady hands trembled as they balled into fists, and a tear leaked from a bright cobalt blue eye. "It's strange- this was all I wanted, then... and now it's everything I despise. You taught me not to care. You taught me... you said that I didn't matter, and no one else did, either, for that matter. You taught me to kill. You taught me to die."
The sun was setting quickly, and Heero wiped at his face before he continued. "Well, I have a new teacher now. I'm not what you tried to make me- I'm a real person, a guy who hurts and loves and lives like anyone else. I matter to him, and he means the world to me. He cares, and he believes..." He shook his head. "He always believed in me, even when I didn't. He always reached out to me, even when I..." He shuddered, and tears came anew as the image stuck out only too clearly in his memory- Duo, bloodied and bruised by none other than Heero's hands, broken, sobbing, and still holding out a hand of forgiveness.
"I never had anything to believe in, and you didn't want me to. But I'm not a machine! I'm not inhuman- you took everything from me! You even almost took Duo, and I let it happen, I let you live on in me..." Tears flowed freely down his face as his voice raised to shouting level. "I did it! I nearly killed him, and it was how you taught me to react! It was everything you ever told me was right! I should have listened to Odin..." He sank to his knees, arms hugging his chest tightly. "I was everything you wanted me to be, and nothing I wanted to be."
Heero leaned back against a tree and waited until his tears ended before wiping his face and slowly pulling himself to his feet. The sun was a bright glow on the horizon, dancing beams of pink and orange in a violet sky. He smiled. "You're even keeping me from him, but this is the last time. Never again, do you hear me? I'm going home, and I'm leaving you here and I won't come back. I guess that means this is goodbye for good."
He held the small device in his hand out at arms length as he prepared to push a solitary red button. "Sayonara." He pressed the button with a sense of elation.
Heero watched as white light danced over his mobile suit, plates of gundanium armour heating until they were white hot and glowing brightly against a rapidly darkening sky. There was a rumble, growing quickly until-
BOOM!
More tears escaped his eyes, but Heero had no idea what they were really for. It hurt to destroy that suit- it was so much a part of everything he was, and yet it was everything he never again wanted to be...
As he turned to walk away, Heero belatedly realized that he was smiling, beneath his tears. He turned to look back- there was a slight glow from the wreckage of what had been the finest weapon of war ever built. It lit the sky to a deep, starry blue-violet.
His smile widened. It was time to go home to Duo.
Where he belonged.
~*~
The party was in full swing at the Presidential Palace, and Relena had once again outdone herself with it. Champagne was flowing freely, and the orchestra had long since given up on minuets and began playing livelier, jazzier music.
But even with such a distraction as that, Heero found himself surrounded by three stone-faced Gundam pilots as he strode in, well into the evening. He made no protest as they dragged him into a side room and slammed the door behind him.
Wufei glared. "Where the hell have you been?! Damn you, Yuy! We've been worried, and Duo..."
Trowa growled, "He waited for you to come back, Heero. Two whole hours, before we had to drag him away. Where the fuck were you?"
The Japanese young man folded his hands in his lap. "It took longer than I thought it would, I'm sorry. But it's over with."
"What are you talking about, Yuy?" Wufei snapped.
Quatre stepped forward, though, one hand clutching at his chest. "It's gone, isn't it? You self destructed it one last time, didn't you?"
Heero couldn't help the smile that formed as he nodded his head. "I did. It's dead for good."
There was a long moment of silence as Trowa and Wufei finally caught on to what the other two were saying. They stared at Heero in shock.
Heero opened his mouth to explain, but Wufei cut him off. "Don't say it to us, Yuy. Go find Duo and tell him."
Quatre was hard-pressed to keep a straight face as Heero bolted from his seat with a look of pure longing on his face. The Japanese man stopped at the door and spared them all a smile before he disappeared out into the corridor.
Trowa turned to look at the other two. "Did I really just see that? What on Earth..."
Wufei shook his head. "Wing is gone- and it took the Perfect Soldier with it."
~*~
Heero's heart was hammering in his chest as he finally caught sight of the slight figure of his lover. Duo was standing at the window, staring out into the night with a thoughtful, miserable-looking frown. He stopped breathing as he moved closer and reached out with one hand-
"I thought you had left." Heero's hand dropped in dismay at the soft, unhappy tone of Duo's voice.
He sucked in a deep breath of air as Duo turned- the braided young man was resplendent in a black suit and blue shirt, the top button open, hair pulled back into its normal braid. Duo stared at him quietly, and finally broke the silence. "Well? Talk to me, Heero."
The Japanese man gulped nervously. "Duo, I... I had one last thing to do."
A graceful eyebrow arched. "Really? What would that be?"
Heero reached out and gently took hold of one of Duo's hands. It was cold in his grip. "Please. Come with me."
Duo allowed himself to be led from the balcony and out into the gardens.
~*~
Heero stopped finally- the two were standing in a far corner of the gardens. He turned to face his lover- Duo's pale face was ghostly in the low light of the night. He took both slim-fingered hands in his. "Duo, I just... I killed it, Duo."
The braided man knew it was no time for a joke. Staring anxiously into Heero's face, he asked, "What did you kill, Heero? Tell me."
The Japanese man's eyes glowed in his face. "My suit. I killed him. I blew it up."
Duo's eyes were wide in his face as his heart began beating double time. "But Heero... Why? Why did you..."
"I had to!" Heero blurted, his hands tightening. "It... he... everything I didn't want to be, not anymore! He... no, I had to tear him loose. And I did."
A tremulous smile brightened Duo's face. "The Perfect Soldier..."
"I don't want to be him, Duo," Heero whispered softly, never breaking their eye contact. "I want to be Heero. I want..."
Duo's arms wrapped around him, and Heero sobbed for joy into Duo's shoulder as he wrapped the other pilot in a tight hug. Duo's voice came soft from near his ear. "Anything you want, Heero. If I can give it to you, it's yours."
He pulled back. "I want to live on Earth, and maybe finish school. I want to order in pizza. I want to run in the rain and jump in puddles. I want to throw popcorn at other people in movie theatres. And I want to do it all... with you."
One of Duo's hands came up and traced over Heero's face gently. "Sounds like a plan to me, Heero. You and me."
Heero caught the roaming hand in one of his. "But... you don't want to go to Mars?"
Duo smiled brightly, though he shook his head. "Mars... to do what? We'd be breathing recycled air, living in another artificial world... It's so beautiful here, koi. I could live a hundred years and never get tired on this place. Maybe..." Duo's eyes were dark in the soft light. "Maybe it's time to keep my feet on the ground, for once."
He leaned forward gently, as if afraid to move quickly and destroy the precious image in front of him. Duo was almost convinced that this was another of his dreams, the kind he had always wanted to bring to life. But the lips touching his were warm and soft and full, the arms wrapping around him solid and strong. He was burying his face in a well-loved shoulder and breathing in the sensuous scent of Heero Yuy, and it was real.
For his part, Heero felt his tears rising again, and he let them fall, wiping his cheek on Duo's sleek hair. It felt so good to hold the other pilot like that that it almost hurt. "I love you, Duo."
The American pulled back and gave him a smile. "I love you, Heero. I'm glad you came back. I... I was worried, and..." His words were cut off by Heero's finger on his lips.
The Japanese young man locked eyes with his lover. "I will never run away from you again. You have my word on that."
Duo smiled as he took Heero's hand to walk a little, but Heero instead wrapped an arm around the other pilot's slender waist. Leaning into each other, they began walking slowly back towards the party.
"So Heero, what do you want to study?" Duo asked conversationally.
Heero's laugh seemed to crystallize on the air. "Don't you dare laugh, but I think I want to learn about astronomy. How about you?"
Duo grinned. "I don't have a damn clue. Good place to start, ne?"
~*~
Several heads came around as the two young men walked back in, arm in arm. It took everything in Duo not to burst out laughing at some of the faces he saw. What's wrong? Never seen a gay couple before? Poor little heteros!
Relena rushed over to them, Dorothy trailing not far behind. "Heero! We had been worried... but I see Duo found you, after all. I had something important I wanted to ask you..."
"The answer is no."
Relena stopped short in surprise, but she quickly regained her composure as she cocked an eyebrow at the Japanese pilot. "Don't you even want to hear what I have to say before you say no?"
Heero squeezed Duo closer to his side. "What were you going to ask me?"
She drew herself up proudly. "I was only going to ask if you'd be willing to take a place in my government. I seem to have many open places..."
Duo shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint, ojou-san, but the answer really is no. Maybe you should talk to Quatre..."
Relena mock pouted at the answer. "But he has about as much political aspiration as he has dress sense..."
She heard a quiet laugh behind her and felt a moment of fear before a voice spoke close to her ear, "I heard that."
She spun- Quatre and Trowa were there, and both were smiling. The blond laughed easily. "Don't worry- you're forgiven! But remember- you still wear pink! I gave it up."
"Under duress," Trowa added, quietly.
Relena turned back to Duo and Heero, trying to ignore the way Quatre had turned to mock glare at a smiling-eyed Trowa. "Why? Why not? You'd make an incredible politician..."
Heero shook his head. "Maybe I would. But... I don't know what I want to be. I'd like to take the time to figure it out. Duo and I... we're going to do just that."
Quatre glanced at the smiling American. "I'll still need some help from you- we've got to get Genesis back together..."
Duo nodded. "I know, and I'll be there! Just after that... Earth is a real nice place, you know?"
"You're going to stay on Earth, then?" Dorothy asked.
Heero shrugged. "For a while, at least."
"There you are!" Sally hailed them all as she and Wufei joined the group. "Not fair- you have to invite us to the private parties, too!"
Wufei looked aver at Heero. "I heard you'll be on Earth for a while."
"Hn," Heero replied, his glowing face saying everything his words did not.
Wufei nodded sagely. "Good. You can help me convince this onna to take it easy."
"What did I say about that 'onna' thing, Chang..."
Everyone else laughed as the young couple began one of their usual spats. Relena leaned closer to Heero and Duo. "Take my advice and steer clear of their marital problems."
"No worries there," Duo replied with a wink to Dorothy, who smiled back.
~*~
It was a bright morning, clear and chilly, as Une and Mariemeia made their way together up a well-kept path to a lonely headstone. Une felt her heart constricting in her chest as she knelt and placed a bouquet of red roses on Treize's grave.
Mariemeia wrapped an arm around her mother's shoulders. "He'd like seeing you and me here together."
"Yeah, he would have."
Une turned to her daughter and gave a trembling smile. "I don't know too much about being a mother, Mei. I don't know how well I'll do, but..."
Mariemeia hugged the tall woman tightly. "You're doing great, Mom. Love you."
Pullling back from her mother, Mariemeia placed a single white rose in with the red ones the Lady had left, and she bowed in respect to her father's grave.
Une waited as she watched their daughter paying her respects, and felt a flush of pride in the young girl. You're alive in her, Treize. We both are. Rest in peace, my love... She took Mariemeia's hand as the girl stepped back to her side.
The young redhead nodded, and the two turned to head back to their waiting car. It was a new day, after all.
A new beginning.
OWARI
Back to Ashkara's Fanfictions Page