Kyuuketsuki Duo: The, Uh, Not So Wonder Years Part 2
Insidiae -- Part 1
"Do you think we could deal with it tomorrow?" Duo asked his companion wistfully. He wasn't suggesting that he not do his duty. He just wanted to put it off for a little while. He looked up at his silent friend from where he was sprawled comfortably in the fresh grass, listening to the crickets chirp as he watched the starry night sky. He had run across an abnormal number of strays in the last few weeks, with barely any real time to relax, and just now he couldn't bring himself to move from his current position. The fresh air, cool night breeze, scenic view, all of it conspired to make him put his duty aside for a little while and smell the roses.
Heero looked at him, silently inquisitive.
"Well, it's not like it's really going to go anywhere, right? Please?" He turned large, hopeful violet eyes on his companion.
Heero's brow crinkled, just barely. "Why?"
"Why not? Come on, haven't you ever wanted to take a break?"
He blinked, just once. "Not really."
"Seriously?" Duo sat up, idly picking grass from his braid as he continued his question. "I should have known. I bet, the moment you had something to do, you always went off and did it, right?"
Heero's brow clouded again. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Of course, why wouldn't he, he asks," he muttered. Duo rolled his eyes and gave the bottom of Heero's robe a little tug. Heero obediently submitted to the tacit request and sat down beside him. "Why would you?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Heero asked once more.
Duo chuckled, exasperation mixed with humor. "Watch the stars with me?"
He acquiesced, watching Duo watch the stars just as much as he watched the stars themselves, for the braided youth seated beside him was his only way of figuring out humanity. He had long since become accustomed to his friend's nuances, able to read his moods and emotions from the evidence provided by his careful observation, and he had cataloged the guardian's responses to situations, referencing and cross-referencing until he had a pretty good idea about what things would cause what reactions. However, it was still something of a mystery to him, because he could not categorize his own fledgling emotions unless he could compare it to some previously defined emotion of Duo's.
Quite some time passed in silent companionship, and soon the stars began to fade from sight as dawn approached. Duo sighed, sensing his little holiday was at an end. "Thank you," he murmured quietly, not taking his eyes from the sky to look at the partner whom he addressed. Nevertheless, he could still feel Heero's questioning glance upon him.
"For what?" He could sense his companion's expression in those words. It would be an eyebrow slightly raised, a neutral expression about the mouth, an earnestness in the eyes hiding beneath the piercing deep blue irises.
"For putting up with me." He knew without looking that Heero was shrugging, dismissing the thanks with his own little version of 'Don't mention it'. "You know, there's something I've always wondered about you, Heero." He knew better than to wait for the warrior to ask him what it was, so he continued without prompting. "I'd say maybe you put up with me because you want to study all of my odd human ways. But why is it that you seem so willing? Eager, almost, sometimes, in your desire to learn. I mean, if I didn't know you as well as I do, I would have expected you to reprimand me for wasting time and neglecting my mission, to have complained about my irrational humanity, something like that. Ever since the beginning, when we first came together. You just... accept. And observe. Why?"
The question was layered, and there were many ways that Heero could have answered, all of them the truth, many of them truths already shared. Duo knew all the easy reasons: that he wanted to figure out how the guardian worked, that maybe he even wanted to find out how he himself worked, to rediscover that part of himself that had been lost and buried so many years ago. But there was still a large "Why?" lingering behind all of those reasons, and this was the 'why?' he answered.
"Because I didn't know how much I didn't know until I met you. And I hate not knowing."
Duo smiled and read all the implications behind the simple statement. "You know, there's something else that's been bothering me. You used to talk a lot more to me, I think, back before we managed to free you." He always used a 'we' instead of an 'I' when referring to the breaking of Heero's punishment. Maybe he was trying to pass over his own rash behavior by spreading the responsibility of the action around. Or maybe he just didn't want to unintentionally glorify himself by emphasizing his action. "You speak more in gestures and expressions these days, don't answer unless spoken to. Why is that?"
Heero shrugged again. "I've always thought a lot. I've never spoken a lot."
"Hmm. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. And it's hard to be expressive behind a mask, I guess." By this time, the sun had begun its slow ascent above the horizon. Duo stood up and stretched. "Saa, back to work, I guess."
His shadow-shrouded friend flowed gracefully to his feet, and together, they made their way to the site of their next target.
TBC...
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