Author: SkyLark
Pairings: 1+2
Warnings: Angst
Betaed by ShenLong Deb *hugs*
Inspired by ASIA's pics: Alleyway - Heero and Alleyway - Duo
Archive: Debs-Dragon - GW Diaries
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, or its characters. I just love playing with them.
Mist
War was a finny thing. In the moment of kill or be killed, there was little consideration for the people on the other side of the gun or blade. But, once in a very rare while, that would all catch up.
That rare moment came for Duo on one particularly gloomy day.
At the end of his latest mission, the braided pilot collapsed heavily on the front steps of the hidden OZ facility that he had infiltrated. Removing the rifle strapped on his shoulder, he leaned heavily against the wall beside him.
Simply blowing the base was not an option, the equipment inside too important. And so, a 'flushing out' of the staff inside was the order. Relentless, Duo took out every soldier in his path without allowing the sights, sounds or smells to affect him.
He had been very thorough, sure to not leave anyone standing that posed a threat. Shinigami rose again to lay waste to all in his way.
Overhead, there was a gray-filtered light poking through the overcast sky. And a heavy mist added on to make the whole outside world gray. It all went well with the mood settling in on Duo at that moment.
A few drops of crimson spotting through the hastily wrapped gauze around his wounded left forearm were about the only sign of color to be found. Cradling that bleeding appendage and his rifle in his lap, the pilot frowned deeply, lost in the thoughts that he had managed to keep at bay until that moment.
This particular mission that he had been sent on was just shy of a suicide task. Only one could be sent as to not stir the crew inside. And that one chosen was Duo, the great infiltrator of the five Gundam pilots. G had made no bones over the situation when his details explained the low likelihood of his soldier's survival on this one.
But, without looking back, the braided American accepted the mission. If he was going to die, he would do it fighting, just as he had fought for his life from as early back as he could remember.
He had been lucky. There were more people than he had first expected. And there were several times when he was sure he was going to wind up dead. There had been several close calls, more than he could actually count looking back on it all.
Everything Duo did that day was on adrenaline and impulse. If a gun rose to point at him, he took out the soldier behind it. When a knife was thrown at him, he would dodge it and fire on the attacker. Once his current weapon in hand ran out of bullets, he took up a fallen OZ trooper's weapon.
In the end, when no one else was moving, he had that new rifle in his hands as he stood in the middle of a pool of blood. Panting heavily, the pilot made a quick check over himself to find his left cheek scratched and bleeding from grazing and his left forearm cut up from some of those narrow misses.
When G received the call from his little protégé that he was still alive and the mission was completed, he sounded surprised.
'15,' Duo thought to himself as he sat there, sagging heavier against the wall. What the fuck was a 15-year-old kid like himself doing taking on terrorist missions in a war going insane? He should have been enjoying the life of a high school student like the role he would play when he was keeping a low profile... not sending people almost twice his age to their graves.
Of course he was not the only one. The other pilots were in the same boat... and yet Duo could not help but feel alone at that moment. More alone than he had ever felt before.
When was he going to be able to stop? When would God finally stop making him His whipping post and simply leave him be?
Against his best defenses, Duo felt a sting in his eyes he hadn't felt since the night of the Maxwell Church massacre. Gritting his teeth, he growled quietly against the tears that fought to cloud his vision more than the mist around him already was.
The weight on his shoulders, the normally jovial pilot felt himself coming unhinged.
Just then, a small shifting of dirt beneath feet around the corner of the wall reached his ears. Shimmering eyes wide then narrowing, he gripped the rifle in both hands and sprang to his feet. Once again moving on instinct, he aimed the weapon ahead a second before a dark figure moved from around the corner to stand before him.
Through the haze, Maxwell could make out the barrel of a pistol raised aimed between his violet eyes. Finger pulling back, he froze at a familiar voice whispering, "Duo?" With a startled gasp, his eyes widened and finger slid from the trigger at the last possible second.
Slowly, the shaded person before him lowered their arm bearing the pistol. As if approaching a wild animal, they stepped forward cautiously. As they neared, the mist parted to reveal Heero. Breathing a small sigh of relief, he said quietly, "You're alive."
Dressed form-fitting black from top-to-bottom, the Wing pilot garnished a bleeding head wound along the right half of his hairline and a tear in his long right sleeve to show a nasty cut there. Other than those markings, he was completely unscathed.
Blinking in disbelief, Duo breathed, "H-Heero? What are you doing here?"
Content that the area was secured, the Japanese teenager replaced his pistol in his hip holster as he shrugged, "I thought I would tag behind to make sure you didn't do anything stupid." His cobalt eyes widened, finally seeing the small tears that were in his fellow pilot's eyes. "Are you all right?" he asked in a rare showing of concern.
Mortified at being caught, Duo reached up to wipe away the annoying droplets. "I'm fine," he huffed. Just then, a dawning came on him as he blinked in surprise once more. Pointing at his comrade-in-arms, he stammered, "Y-you only would have known about my mission by hacking into my secured emails. So you did that... and followed me to keep an eye on me?"
"I did not like the sound of this one," Heero stated simply in that flat tone if his. "And you would have done the same for me."
Another round of small tears stung the braided pilot's gaze at those words. They could not have come at a better time, right when he had felt the most alone he then realized he had someone who understood and cared... even if he never made that obvious most of the time.
Sniffling, Duo lowered the rifle in his hands and closed the distance between himself and the other soldier to wrap his arms around him. Frozen in surprise, Heero blinked his cobalt eyes before tentatively raising his own arms to return the hug- his very first from memory.
When they pulled back, the braided teenager gently ran a hand over his partner's hairline wound. Clearing his throat, he commented, "We better get out of here to have a good look at that."
It was a distraction from having to explain the need for that embrace, Heero knew. But, he nodded firmly in agreement anyway. Another rare display of his understanding.
Together, the two pilots walked off with their arms brushing together from time to time. As he looked over to the other pilot, Duo could see the real Heero through that mist better than he would have on any sunny day before that. From that day on, he never felt alone again.
And somehow, he knew that this was just the start of something amazing between them.
OWARI
Back to SkyLark's Fanfictions Page