Author: Gypsie1201
Pairings: 1x2x1
Warnings: Angst, Post EW, POV, Sap
Archive: Debs-Dragon - GW Diaries and Akira_1x2
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters, nor will I make any money from the creation of this story.
Feedback: All is welcome and much appreciated.
Beta work by darkmisstical.
Note: Sequel to "Wait for Me".
Summary: After two years of wandering, Duo is finally ready to go home. But is there a home for him to return to.
Author's Note: I never truly planned to write this sequel since I really did like the way "Wait for Me" ended, even if I did split up my favorite couple. Besides, I never really thought I could come up with an image in my mind that would make a sequel worth writing. For those who asked for this though, you can thank my sister who just got married on March 11. During her and her new husband's dance they played Rascal Flatts "Bless the Broken Road", a song that, since I don't listen to country music that much, I would've never heard. So now, what does this have to do with my sequel? It's this song that has given me the image I needed to write this. I really do hope you enjoy it.
Long Road Home
I sit and watch as the scenery flies past the car's closed window. It's a hot day, seeing as it's mid August, and the people I've hitched my latest ride with have the A/C cranked up as high as it can go. All it does is reduce the heat to a bearable level though but I don't mind. It seems only fitting and besides, if they hadn't stopped to pick me up nearly ten miles ago, I'd still be out walking, so I'll take what small comfort I can.
Comfort, what a simple word. It can mean so many different things to so many different people. When I was little, growing up alone on the streets of L2, it was a cubbyhole to hide in when things got scary. Then when I meet Solo, it was having him there to soothe my dreams late at night while watching my back during the day. The Maxwell Church had so many comforts; a warm, safe bed; Father Maxwell's soft smiles; and Sister Helen's loving hugs just to name a few. But they're all gone now, Solo to the plague while Father and Sister fell to the Alliance. It was those losses that sent me headlong into a war that, in truth, I was much too young for. But I brandished my grief like a shield while my thirst for revenge became my sword. So many lives, so much blood stains my hands and soul that sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be clean again. If I ever was to begin with.
But not everything about the war was bad. It was during that first year that I met the four people who'd give me a family I never believed I'd ever have again after the church was destroyed. Four fifteen-year-old boys, just like me, each of us with our own reasons for being there but still managing to form friendships when attachments such as that could very well have gotten us killed. But it was those same attachments that kept us sane and pulled us through to the end. I truly believe if it hadn't been for the other guys, I wouldn't have lived to see it over.
Ok, so that's not entirely true. The guys, Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei, were part of the reason for it. But in truth, it was Heero that got me through; his presence and, dare I say, his love. Because that's exactly what it was, which is kinda crazy when you take into account that I shot him, twice, the first time we met. I still don't know what made me break into that hospital afterwards to rescue him. And then the idiot went and tried to kill himself by not opening his parachute. Relena and I have never really seen eye to eye, seeing as she's always believe I stole Heero from her when in fact he was the one that came to me first. But that's another story. No, it was her voice, screaming his name that made him pull that cord. He still ended up breaking his leg when he landed too hard and I'll never forget how he just snapped it back in place like a leggo block. Leaning on me after that probably wasn't in his plans either, but lucky for me, he didn't have much of a choice.
After that, things just really got crazy. I swore to hunt him down and skin him alive for salvaging parts from my buddy to fix Wing but the next time I saw him, I was just so relieved to see him alive I couldn't keep to it. And then, after I'd been captured by OZ and scheduled for execution, I was sure he'd show up to kill me. After all, a captured pilot was a liability and I would've done the same thing in his place. But when he finally did come, it wasn't to kill me, or at least it wasn't after he got a good look at me. He simply threw the gun to me and half carried me from that base.
Dangerous?
Yes.
Against protocol?
Definitely.
Heart warming and wonderful?
More than I could ever believe.
It was at the hospital, nearly two days later, when he first kissed me. I would've never thought he had it in him, making the first move. But as I lay there in that hospital bed, he reached a gentle hand up and brushed my bangs back before leaning down and gently kissing my forehead.
Yeah, I know, not your idea of a first kiss, but this was Heero I'm talking about, he'd never shown even a scratch of caring for me before and now here he was being so gentle that I could only stare at him in wonder when he pulled back. With a shaky hand, I reached up to touch that spot he'd just kissed and the smile that lit his face nearly sent me into shock. I think I may have whispered his name then but in truth, I'm not really sure what happened next. All I remember is him leaning back down and this time his aim was much lower.
It was only a chaste kiss, a simply brushing of lips but to me it felt like I'd been hit by lightening. My entire body tingled and my heart was beating so fast I was afraid it was going to jump completely out of my body. It only lasted a second before he pulled back again and disappeared from my room. The next day, he left, telling me that he had enrolled in a school near by under my name and that he thought it best if I stayed there for a while to recover. I didn't of course, I just couldn't bring myself to stick around. Especially after catching the news and having to watch my beloved Deathscythe being destroyed right before my eyes. I did bide my time though, letting myself heal before going back in.
To this day, I'll never forget that final battle. Watching him chase after the falling piece of the Libra, not knowing if he'd be able to survive but praying with my whole being that he would. That he'd come back to me in one piece. Yeah, you got that right, back to me. When we'd met up again, first at the Moon Base and then aboard the Peacemillion, the spark that had been there between us at the hospital was still there, burning at a slow ember in his eyes. But even in the midst of the fighting, we took our time, learning each other and coming to terms with what was happening between us. Which was why watching him hurtle toward his death was so hard for me. Even worse knowing I couldn't do anything to help him.
But he did survive and he did come back to me. It was his idea to buy the house, just a small little two bedroom, two bath, farmhouse on nearly two hundred acres of land. It even had a white, picket fence. All we needed was two point five kids and we would've been the average family. But it didn't work out like that, I just couldn't seem to settle down, couldn't put the fighting behind me. I managed to keep him from noticing for as long as I could. But as the depression and anxiety grew, I just couldn't hide it anymore and so I began to pull away from him, not even realizing what I was doing until the day came when he confronted me and the hurt I saw in his eyes when I told him nearly killed me. After that, we talked for what felt like the first time since the end of the war. And while I hated the thought of dragging him away from the home he so dearly loved, I didn't think I could've done it on my own. At least not yet.
So we traveled, seeing places I'd only dreamed of going and doing things I'd always wanted to do. I knew he was unhappy, right from the beginning. But I let it go, being the bastard that I am I allowed myself to shrug it off and just enjoy the freedom. It couldn't be ignored forever though because in time, Heero became more and more despondent and finally we had to come to a compromise, to save both our sanities. Two weeks of freedom for me and two weeks of settled life for him; not a bad compromise if you ask me.
I guess we'll never know if it would've worked or not, the second war broke out before we could even give it a real chance. Then, after it was over, returning to our little house in the country to recover seemed like the only logical thing to do. Unfortunately, it didn't take me long to grow restless again. Only this time, it was different. I'd seen the way he'd so easily settled back into that life of peace and stability and I knew I could never ask him to leave it again, not without destroying him in the process and I would've died first before I allowed that to happen. So it was, nearly a month following the return to our home, that I packed my duffle with a few changes of clothes, along with a few memories to help keep him in my heart, before walking out that door for what I thought was the last time.
I don't know what made me ask him what I did after I'd stepped from the porch; I knew it was a selfish request before the words had even left my mouth. And even though he never answered, I know him well enough to know that he would. After all, all I've ever had to do in the past was ask him for something and, if it was in his power, he'd do it. Using that fact to keep him there waiting for me was wrong, but I couldn't take it back after it had been spoken. I even tried writing him a letter nearly six month after I'd left, telling him he didn't have to wait anymore. That if he could find happiness without me, I was all for it. No sooner than I'd signed the letter though, I found myself ripping it to shreds before rushing to the bathroom of the hotel room I was saying in. Just the thought of him with someone else made me sick at my stomach.
That was the one and only time I tried to write him. Every time the thought crossed my mind afterwards, I'd shove it aside, afraid of just what I'd put down on the paper. Afraid that if I tried, I'd end up letting him go and that was something I couldn't risk. No matter how cruel or heartless it seemed at times, he was still the other half of my soul and even though I couldn't be with him, I wanted him there when I was ready. Needed him there. It was the only thing that kept me going.
That now brings me back to the car window and the nice, old couple who'd picked me up all those miles back. Two years, it's a long time to be away. When I'd left, I'd been seventeen and now, at nineteen, I was returning to the one place that my heart could finally call home. It'd been a rough two years though, and traveling constantly has left me weary and frayed at the edges. Not even the places I'd seen could cure that but the small road the old man was currently pulling to a stop beside caused my heart to beat just a little faster.
Once the car was at a full stop, I thanked them both profusely and they, of course, told me it was no problem. It was on their way after all, since they owned the next farm over from that nice young man I was going to visit. Then I was out of the car and waving after them as they pulled back onto the two lane, rural road that would lead them to their own home. When they were completely out of sight, I turned back to the road. It wasn't much, just a dirt driveway really that ran for about a mile in open, flat country. It was the house at the end of that drive that I was headed for and thoughts of it were what finally started my feet moving.
As I walked, I thought about what exactly I was going to say, wondered if Heero was even home. The day had faded as I'd traveled and evening was approaching so I couldn't be sure that he wasn't out with friends or something like that. It didn't matter though, if Heero wasn't home, I'd simply sit on the porch and wait until he arrived. Only seemed fair after making him wait for so long.
With that decision, I picked up my pace a bit, the fact that my home was just down that drive giving me the energy I'd so desperately missed of late. But of all the things to greet me when it finally came into sight, I was not prepared for what I actually saw. The house was just as I remembered, a few repairs here and there but nothing major. It was the front porch that caught my full attention though, the porch and the two old fashioned rocking chairs that sat side by side just as they had two years ago. And in one, also just as I remembered from the day I left, was Heero, gently rocking as he staring out at the fading sun.
For a moment I stopped dead in my tracks, just taking in the vision before me. He didn't look any different from the boy I remembered in my dreams, at least not from the distance I was from the house. But seeing him like that, still in that chair, brought back to me just what I'd asked of him. For one brief moment, I considered turning and running back the way I'd come, the grief of my decision to leave once again twisting my heart painfully, just as it had every day for the past two years, and I didn't know if I could face him after what I'd done. But the decision was taken from my hands in the next second when his gaze shifted and finally settled on me.
At first, he didn't react at all, just continued to rock. Then, the chair came to a sudden stop and he was standing up and walking to the edge of the porch, his hand raised to block the sun so he could see better. After that, I watched as he took another stumbling step forward, nearly falling down the stairs and at the same moment, I found myself released from my own paralysis. My old, worn duffle hit the ground at my feet and my worn and tire body was moving forward as fast as I could possibly make it go.
We met somewhere near halfway in a bone crushing hug. He was breathing my name over and over even as his hands moved over every inch of me he could reach before one wrapped firmly around my braid while the other settled around my waist. When the first sob broke from my chest, he simply held me closer and when my legs gave out, he settled us gently on the ground with me cradled in his lap. In stuttering words, gasped out between my tears, I cursed myself and begged his forgiveness, swearing I'd never leave him again if he'd just let me back in. In return, he told me that he'd never really let me go because I'd always been in his heart. Then, he kissed me. Just a soft caress of lips on my forehead, much like the first one he'd given me those many years ago. The gesture bringing more tears to my eyes and I simply buried my face into his shoulder and cried.
I know I've always said that 'boys don't cry' and while I still believe that, sometimes a man has to; when it's the only way to release the pressure. And while I didn't look up to see the tears trailing down his cheeks, I was very much aware of Heero's own tears at that moment, falling gently into my hair as he slowly rocked us back and forth.
It was a long time after that before we both settled again but still we sat in the middle of the driveway, watching in silence as the sun settled below the horizon and the first stars blinked into sight. Finally, though, the air began to turn cooler and I felt him shift beneath me, moving to stand while pulling me up with him. Once we were both on our feet, he gave me the sweetest smile I'd ever seen before reaching up to caress my cheek and whispering the words I'd spent the last several months longing for. The words that finally put the past to rest and brought a hope for the future I'd not had in a long time. A future I knew I could now spend with him here, in peace.
"I waited."
OWARI
Back to Gypsie1201's Fanfictions Page