Beta written by Snow Tigra.
Gundam Wing: The First Chapter Part 8
Late in the evening Heero found himself alone in the trailer where Catherine and Trowa had left him in order to perform their show for the OZ soldiers. Deep in sleep, his head turned to the side as his eyes began to squeeze just slightly. Clutching the sheets below him in a tight fist with his right hand, sweat began to coat the Wing pilot's forehead as he gave a small moan of pain. Unconsciously, his right hand came up to brush away some of the sweat rolling from his forehead. "N-not again," he whispered softly.
Lost in the grips of his nightmare he relived the last moments before detonating Wing and being thrown though the air like a rag doll. His body turned onto his right side as his breathing became heavy.
Suddenly, beyond his closed eyes, there was the briefest flash of the ceramic house that was given as a gift to him. Heero gasped softly just as the vision disappeared again in a blink. Everything was dark again and the blackness was suffocating him in an ocean of uncertainty. Again, his breath came in fast, shortened breaths as he searched for a way out, his breath echoing in the silence.
Finally, a small white light appeared as it made its way towards him, growing larger in its approach. When it reached the Wing pilot, it enfolded him, warmed him as it filled the void surrounding him. Blinking once, Heero found himself standing in a field on a clear, beautiful day. Small flowers grew in the grass at his feet and all around as the sun shown soothingly on him. "You don't have to be afraid, you know," a gentle voice said from behind him.
Turning quickly with wide eyes and a soft gasp, Heero found the silhouette of a slender young boy his age. The light from the sun on him almost made the mysterious being appear translucent. He could make out an almost familiar smile through the bright haze as the boy said reassuringly, "I'm always with you, Heero." It was at these words that the Japanese pilot was able to make out a long, chestnut braid that floated in the breeze behind him. At that same moment, the eyes could be made out... a bright, friendly violet.
"Duo?..." Heero whispered faintly, uncertain. The other boy smiled back warmly and stretched his right hand out to him without saying a word. Gazing at the offered hand, the Wing pilot stretched his own hand out in attempt to reach it. Just as their fingers touched, Heero watched in fear as the pale hand began to fade. With a sharp gasp, he sprang forward, in attempt to wrap his arms around the other boy as he faded into air.
Snapping from his dream, Heero sat up in his bed in a quick jolt just as reality came crashing down on him painfully. He gave a sharp cry of pain as he fell back onto the bed, clutching his right arm to his chest with his eyes squeezed tightly closed. Rolling onto his stomach, the Japanese boy clutched the sheets beneath him as he panted. Sweat rolled from his brow and coated his body from the strain.
Once he was finally able to control the agony coursing through him, Heero's eyes remained closed as he hissed quietly into the pillow, "Damn it..." He moaned deeply in pain as he gripped the sheets again. "Get a grip on yourself, Yuy," he ordered himself in a strained voice through his raspy breath.
"We have to get moving," a familiar voice said from across the room. Heero's eyes snapped open as he turned back quickly and peered through the dim moonlight cascading through the windows. He recognized the slender figure leaning with their back against the wall opposite of the trailer's door.
Heero sat up slowly onto his elbows as he asked, "Trowa?" The tall pilot simply gazed ahead, a saddened frown on his lips and his arms crossed against his chest as he made no move to face the other pilot. Taking a deep, stable breath, the Japanese pilot said, "I'm surprised to see you back so soon... and in one piece."
A slight shrug and the closing of his green eyes were the only movements from Trowa as he replied simply, "Things just didn't work out as planned." Opening his eyes again, he gazed off ahead as he said quietly, "I let my guard down. Catherine didn't seem too thrilled with my intentions."
Moving to sit up more, Heero questioned, "Catherine? I'm surprised she was able to stop you."
Closing his eyes again, Trowa replied in a quick and sharp voice, "I'd rather not talk about it. I was able to do all the damage that I could without self-detonating Heavyarms." His tense body loosened slightly as he sighed deeply. After a long pause, he whispered, "I'll just have to live with that. It's not like I have a choice, right?" He turned his head as his eyes opened and locked with stern cobalt. Heero's emotionless face watched and never responded. The tall pilot said, "I know that you want to meet with the Noventa family. We'll head out in the morning. It wouldn't be safe for either of us to stay here any longer."
Stepping forward, Trowa opened the door to the trailer to the night air. Turning back to the other pilot, he stated, "I want to put as much distance between myself and this place as possible... the sooner the better." At that, he stepped through the door and closed it behind him.
Raising a hand to his mouth, Heero sighed softly to himself and closed his eyes as he whispered, "Are we all the same in that sense? Trying to run from something?"
There was no reply, only the stillness of the empty room... And yet somehow, he knew the answer.
* * * * * *
"You're the one that brainwashed my Trowa with your strange ideas," Catherine glared at Heero as she leaned in his passenger seat window next morning. The Japanese pilot watched her indifferently as Trowa simply gazed ahead through the windshield of the truck they would take along with Heavyarms. Her eyed still narrowed, Catherine threatened, "I won't let you off so easily next time." With that warning, she turned and jumped from the truck.
Putting her hands in her pockets, the redhead sighed deeply as she walked towards the ringmaster, who waited just a few feet off. The kind man smiled reassuringly to her as he hugged her supportively. A moment later, the loud hum of the engine broke them as they turned to watch the truck drive off. Sadly, the bearded ringmaster frowned, "I'm sorry to see that boy leave. He really was pretty good. With a little training, he could have been the best."
Turning her head in his direction, Catherine smirked, "What are you talking about? You've got to let go of your children if you want them to grow up." Gazing back at the departing truck, she said quietly, "We helped raise Trowa in the circus so I'm sure he'll come back one day... He'll be back for sure..."
Running ahead a few feet, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted after the truck as it disappeared over the hill, "You hear me, Trowa!? You can always come back! We'll be here when you need us!" Lowering her hands, she watched with sad eyes as the truck faded from her sight, leaving only the dust that had picked up from its departure. "Please be careful," she whispered. A gentle breeze played with her short curls as she remained on the hill, praying silently, hoping that someone was listening.
* * * * * *
Two night into their journey, Trowa and Heero had hidden in the thick woods not far from the first place on their list to visit. The European pilot was cooking rabbit on a spit over a small fire that he had. Dressed back in his green tank and black spandex shorts, Heero sat with his head lowered and his back against a tree just a few feet away, clutching a blue blanket tightly around his slender form. While a good number of his bandages had been removed, his arms remained wrapped securely by medical tape along with his abdomen and his calves.
Removing a large canteen from his pack by the fire, Trowa poured the contents into a mug and turned to the other pilot. Heero raised his head as the tall young man said, "This medication is pretty strong but the herbs in it should help with the pain." With a slight nod, the Japanese youth took the warm cup into his hands and carefully sipped as Trowa returned to the fire.
Gasping sharply as he took another sip, Heero dropped the mug as the contents spilled and spread on the ground. Trowa turned quickly with wide eyes as the Wing pilot doubled over on himself, hacking and coughing violently as his body shook violently from the seizures of pain running through his veins.
Quickly, the European teen was beside the other, gently rubbing his back in support. Shuddering, Heero tried to sit back up as he shook his head and insisted in a shaky voice, "I don't need any help." He wrapped the blanket tight around himself again as he coughed again, just barely able to hear the other boy asking him where the pain was coming from. He turned his head away from Trowa, sensing that the tall pilot had never moved and he growled in frustration, "It's nothing that I can't handle. Don't worry about me."
Nodding once, Trowa stepped back and retrieved his own blanket on the other side of the fire. Just as he was about to lie himself down, he heard a sharp groan of pain from Heero. Turning his head back up, his green eyes widened as he watched the Wing pilot's body shaking violently as he held his legs against his chest. Cursing to himself, Trowa threw his blanket off as he ran to Heero's side. Just as he was about to place his hands on the trembling form, he watched in shock and terror as a sweat-covered face shot up with piercing cobalt eyes as the Japanese pilot shouted in rage, "Stop! I don't need anyone's help!"
Trowa remained calm and in place as he said gently, "You'll only make it worse if you fight me right now. If you just trust me a little, I might be able to help you." Those cobalt daggers began to blaze afire at these words as Heero hissed a curse under his breath and threw the blanket off of his body in attempt to rise to his feet.
Supporting himself with the tree he had been leaning against, the Wing pilot moved quickly to try and walk on his shaky limbs, biting back the agony it caused him before he collapsed into the ground. Panting and sweating, Heero struggled to push himself up as he moaned and grunted in pain and anger. Again, Trowa was next to him in an instant as he wrapped his long arms around the fallen pilot. Carefully, the Latin mercenary managed to sit the other teenager up as he leaned him against his own chest. His own eyes squeezed tightly closed, Heero clutched onto the front of Trowa's shirt as he continued to breathe heavily. His body refused to stop trembling as he held onto the other young man for support.
Holding the smaller pilot carefully, Trowa cast a cautious glance through the trees immediately around them to make sure that no one was able to hear the shouts of pain that had echoed through the woods. In the fading sunlight and the glow from the fire he had built, it was clear to note that there was no movement aside from the occasional swaying of the foliage in the breeze. Just as he was about to return his attention to the boy in his arms, Trowa noted that the panting breaths had calmed and the pull on his shirt had slackened. Gazing down at Heero, he found that the pain had rendered the Wing pilot unconscious.
Easing the limp form gently, Trowa supported the back of Heero's head as it fell back. Freeing one hand, he stretched the discarded blanket out on the earth beside them and carefully lowered the other boy onto it. Sighing deeply as he gazed down on the sleeping pilot, Trowa asked quietly, "Still so sure you don't need any help?"
* * * * * *
Early the next morning, Heero turned onto his right side with a slight groan as his closed eyes squeezed tight. Slowly, he managed to force the pain from his body as his cobalt eyes slowly blinked open. They snapped open wide as the events from the night before came crashing down on him. Sitting up quickly, he found that he was alone in the same small clearing that he and Trowa had hidden in. The fire had been buried under a thick pile of ash and dirt as the first rays of daylight spread over the forest and he searched his surroundings.
The sound of footsteps from the right rang in Heero's ears and he turned his head quickly in their direction. Trowa entered the clearing with a wooden box under his left arm as he smirked at the other pilot, "Good morning."
Heero blinked his eyes once and said quietly, "Trowa?" He was unable to meet that emerald gaze any longer as he turned his head away with a slight frown and began, "I didn't mean to yell at you for trying to help me last night." It was the closest to an apology that he knew to give, as his voice remained firm and devoid of any emotion. "I can't trust myself to take this trip alone with these injuries. That is the only reason I accepted your offer to transport me. Other than that, I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."
Kneeling by the circle of rocks where the fire had been, Trowa kept his back to the Japanese pilot as he pulled some tin containers of soup from the box he brought with him. A thoughtful frown on his face, he shrugged, "I don't have any doubt in that. I am sorry if I offended you by trying offer any support."
Raising his head to gaze at the tall youth's back, Heero said simply, "There are not many I have met who would be willing enough to care. Aside from you, there is only one other that I could name." He paused slightly as he lowered his head a bit at the thought of that other person. Quietly, he admitted, "I prefer to be left alone."
At this, Trowa turned his head back with a small and sincere smile as he nodded, "Then we'll just forget about last night and go on from here." Heero never returned the smile as he remained as stoic as usual and gave a firm nod. Sitting back as he began to remove more canteens and food from the box, the tall pilot asked, "It won't be long before we'll be at the first city on your list. Which family member are you looking for there?"
"Sylvia Noventa," Heero answered as he gazed out into the forest ahead of him. "Marshall Noventa's granddaughter."
* * * * * *
He stood before a large window of the lavishly furnished room where he was presently staying. "You never cease to amaze me," a familiar voice chimed from his computer at the desk behind him where it gazed at his back.
The tall man chuckled with a smirk as he replied, "Then you did find him."
On the screen, Noin lowered her head and closed her eyes as she grinned, "I'll be sure to never question your instincts again, Zechs." Turning her gaze to the blonde pilot's back again, she asked, "How did you know Heero Yuy managed to survive that explosion?"
Zechs turned his masked face to the screen and answered simply, "Something about that kid just seemed too stubborn to die that easily."
Nodding once at this, the short-haired lieutenant said, "We have several agents watching him as we speak. For the last two weeks, he has been traveling with another, most likely one of the other pilots. They have been spotted in different cities, never leaving any tracks as to where they will be going."
A mischievous smirk crossed her lips as she stated, "But there is a connection to all of the sites where they have been spotted." Walking towards the computed, Zechs gave a nod to the young woman. Noin understood his curiosity and concluded, "They all have a member of Marshal Noventa's family living there."
The mask shading his eyes was not able to conceal the glint that must have been in them at this realization as a lopsided grin slowly tugged the right corner of his mouth. "Seeking absolution," he told himself with amusement in his tone.
Noin gazed down at a handful of reports that she had been reading through as she advised, "The last Noventa that he has yet to meet with would be the good Marshal's wife." Her eyes gaze back up to her Cornell as she told him with a wicked smile, "I will be sure to introduce myself to him after he pays her a visit."
"I am in your dept, Noin. Thank you for your help in tracking him down for me," Zechs said sincerely.
Closing her eyes, the young woman turned her head slightly as she replied, "My pleasure. I'm just as anxious to meet this Heero Yuy as you are, Corneal. Enjoy your trip to the South Pole." At this, the connection had been cut as her image disappeared.
Without taking his eyes away from the black screen, Zechs grinned in anticipation, "I'll be sure to do that." Snickering to himself, he made his way from the room as he moved to begin his preparations.
* * * * * *
"My name is Lucrenzia Noin," the young woman introduced with a smile and her eyes closed to the two young men that she had been followed into the large garage where they now stood beside the truck carrying Heavyarms. The taller of the boys never lowered the pistol he had aimed for her head a she continued, "I serve under Cornell Zechs."
Heero's cobalt eyes narrowed further at her as he repeated, "Zechs?"
The Lieutenant opened her eyes and peered into that firm gaze as she explained, "He was the pilot you fought against when you were in Siberia."
Trowa held his ground and finger on his gun's trigger as he warned her in a firm tone, "Don't think we won't put up a fight if you try to catch us." Noin showed no concern for her safety and bent down to pick up the apple that rolled to her feet when the tall pilot had dropped in the retrieving of his weapon at her announcement.
Locking her gaze with the armed young man, she said calmly, "Cornell Zechs says he would like to meet with you." Neither Heero nor Trowa held back their surprise at this as their eyes widened slightly.
Narrowing his emerald eyes and securing his hold on the trigger, the European pilot asked, "Does he think he think he can pump us for information or something."
With a slightly snort, Noin answered, "Don't misunderstand me. As a fellow pilot of a mobile suit, Cornell Zechs wants to see you in hopes for another opportunity to fight you boys in the near future."
Trowa was less than impressed as he questioned, "So he wants to fight us again, does he? Sounds like this Zechs fellow of yours is one hell of an admirable guy."
Calm as ever, the short-haired woman said simply, "It's up to you guys to decide whether or not you want to believe me."
Heero had heard enough in the matter as his piercing blue eyes narrowed thinly. In a flat, stern voice, he asked, "Where is he?"
* * * * * *
Standing in Noin's carrier, in the cockpit where Heavyarms lied on its back, Trowa and Heero stood with their heads lowered as they each held a mug of steaming tea to keep them warm. The sound of footsteps approaching brought their gazes up as Noin stood before them with two heavy white coats in her possession. "I can't have our special guests catch a cold," she smiled. Holding the coats out to them, she said in a friendly voice, "Here. Put these on."
With a great deal of pain and effort, Heero strained to pull the sleeve of his left arm. Wincing and biting back a loud moan of pain, he didn't need to see the bandage over his skin there to know that the blood was beginning to seep through. Once he succeeded in throwing the coat on over his white blouse, he buttoned the front of it and took hold of his mug again.
Gazing on the lieutenant, Trowa asked, "Where are we headed, anyway?"
Noin merely answered, "The South Pole."
The tall pilot's eyes voice was threaded in confusion and uncertainty as he inquired, "A mobile suit fight on a continent completely covered in ice?"
Shrugging slightly, she explained, "It's the only place to have a battle and go unnoticed." Heero lowered the mug from his lips and grunted an affirmative to himself.
"In that case, I had better look over the provisions that we brought for my Gundam," Trowa stated as he walked from the hanger.
Once they were alone, Noin gave a sharp glance around to see that there were no eyes watching them. Peering at the Wing pilot through her long bangs, she gave a genuine and warm smile as she said quietly, "I've been waiting to meet with you alone. I believe that I have something of yours."
Just outside of the doorway to the hanger, Trowa's trained ears managed to pick up on the lieutenant's quiet words as he paused in his footsteps. Silently, he pressed his back against the wall beside the door as he listened closely to the conversation inside.
Heero's eyes gave the slightest hint of curiosity, reserved with cautiousness as he asked, "Something of mine?"
Smirking back, Noin nodded once as she reached into the large right pocket of her coat. The cobalt eyes of the Japanese boy widened as they fell on the remains of a small, ceramic house. While the roof of the cottage and the figurines were no longer there, he recognized the base and structure instantly.
Without breaking his gaze from the trinket, the young man lowered his mug. Carefully, slowly, Heero took hold of the ceramic home with both hands as he gazed down on it in wonder. Noin's smile grew slightly at the sight of his unshielded shock. Silently, she hoped that when the war was over, he would be able to be free of the training that transformed him into the soldier that he had become. She heard his faint voice ask, "H-how did you...?"
Noin replied, "I found it in the crater your Gundam left behind after you destroyed it." Heero nodded once, never looking back up at her as his eyes remained on the small house in his hands. "After the fight in Siberia, Zechs had said he doubted you were truly dead. I held onto that in case he was right. Something told me that it had a great deal of meaning to you."
That brought their eyes to meet as Heero's lips parted. After a long pause as they watched each other, the Wing pilot asked quietly, "You did this for me even though we are on opposite sides in this war?"
Chuckling deeply, the young lieutenant turned towards the door without breaking their gaze as she said, "The sides in this war have yet to be truly defined. And even if we were fighting against each other, everyone needs something to hold on to." She paused slightly before smirking, "Even more so for soldiers." Having said this, she turned her head away and made her way from the hanger.
Heero stood as he was, staring at the door for a long, silent moment as he took in Noin's words. Finally, he whispered, "Arigato." Looking down on the remains of the house in his hands, he lifted it close. Turning the gold key in the base, he lowered his hand as the familiar song began to play just as clear and softly as it had the last time he heard it. Holding the ceramic house up to his lips, he closed his eyes and pressed a gentle kiss on the side of the cottage.
From the doorway, Trowa watched with a curious glance before slipping away unnoticed.
* * * * * *
Sitting on his bed in the room he shared with Trowa on the carrier, Heero placed the solid base of the gift Duo had given him beside his mattress. He had yet to take his eyes from the small house until a familiar voice asked from nowhere, "Never thought you the kind to collect things like that."
Turning quickly, his narrowed cobalt spheres met emerald as Trowa stood beside the bed with an amused grin. Heero's glare narrowed further as the tall pilot asked, "So that's the story behind that little house there? You wouldn't hold onto something unless it had some kind of-"
"It's none of your concern," Heero interrupted in a harsh, threatening tone as he gave no room for retort from the other young man and he turned his head away.
With a deep sigh, Trowa turned from the bed and nodded as he replied quietly, "You're right... I'm sorry. It was just a surprise to see that a soldier such as yourself would manage to find something to cling to."
He walked from the room as Heero turned his head to watch just as the door closed behind the tall pilot. Alone again, the Japanese boy lay on his back with a soft sigh and closed his eyes.
* * * * * *
"THERE'S A GUNDAM DOWN HERE!" the Romafeller agent shouted into his com after relaying his location to anyone listening. Looking over his fallen Aries, Heavyarms lifted the massive switchblade in its right arm. In one fluid motion, Trowa brought his Gundam to spin as he sliced away at the mobile suit. When it was all over, the remains of the Aires went up in a massive explosion.
Gritting his teeth within his own cockpit, Trowa hissed, "Damn it!" Working to pry his right hand's from the grip they held on the controls. Once it was free, he held his hand against his chest as he closed his eyes and asked himself, "Why is it that I have to keep on fighting like this?"
Noin ran on the frozen, snow-covered ground as she made her way towards the Gundam. Gazing up at the tall suit, she sighed to herself, "These young pilots... they're too pure." She watched as the hatch of the cockpit opened and Trowa fell out. He collapsed onto his side, clutching his right hand with pain straining his face. Her eyes widened in concern as she called, "Hey! Are you alright!?"
Managing to rise to his knees, the tall pilot hunched over and hissed, 'The name is Trowa, Lieutenant." His green orbs narrowed on her as he said, "I need a favor to ask of you. Reload the explosives for Heero Yuy."
'That damn fight of theirs. It's all they're worried about,' Noin thought bitterly to herself as her eyes narrowed. "Forget that," she heard herself say quietly. Clenching her fists, she shouted at him, "Stop worrying about that right now! You better start thinking about your next move, kid."
In the distance, Heero climbed to the top of a frozen hill as he gazed down on the scene, his face empty of any emotion. The eerie howl of the wind was the only sound carried for miles as he watched silently.
* * * * * *
That night, Trowa had been lying in his bed on his side, wearing only his gray sweat pants as he recalled the day's events, trying to keep his demons at bay. Forcing his eyes closed, he turned onto his back when he felt something slip into bed with him. His green eyes snapped wide open to find Heero beside, dressed only in his boxers and bandages and one arm fallen Trowa's bare chest. "Heero? W-what are you doing?" the tall pilot asked in shock.
Heero opened his eyes and peered up at the young man as he answered simply, "It's been difficult to sleep these last few nights." He hesitated before explaining in his normal, flat voice, "Someone helped me sleep by sharing my bed with me."
Blinking back his surprise, Trowa snorted and asked, "The same person who gave you that gift Noin found?"
"I said before that is none of your concern," the Wing pilot answered in a firm voice. He pulled back and removed his arm from Trowa's chest as he lie onto his side again with a slight gap between them. In his fatter-of-fact tone, he stated, "We have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Neither of us will be able to prepare for that if we don't get any sleep." At this, he closed his eyes and his body relaxed.
There was a long silence between the two. Watching the other pilot silently, Trowa asked quietly, "It's always the mission with you, isn't it?" There was no response. Looking and listening more closely, he noted the steady rising and falling of Heero's chest and the soft calm breathing that left his parted lips. "Heero?" the tall boy asked quietly. He never stirred.
Leaning a bit closer to the sleeping pilot, Trowa bit his lip and cautiously sat up. Lowering himself over Heero slowly, he leaned in and ever so gently pressed his lips against the still ones below him. He pulled back and there was still no response from the Japanese youth. Smirking to himself, Trowa eased himself onto his side, leaving a few inches between them. Watching the sleeping boy a moment longer, he felt his own emerald eyes grow heavy until they finally slid closed.
TBC...
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