A/N: Yahoo! Finally I made it!
This is my first one-shot Gundam Wing reader insert, so, as early as now, I want you to post your comments and reviews! I highly appreciate your feedback. After all, I've been into hiatus for such a long time. It's about time to extract those creative juices in my brain and put them into good use. What do you think? :)
For all those who've been waiting for updates about my pending fan fictions, I would like to announce that the long wait is over! I'm currently writing the next chapters for my first Gundam Wing Fan Fiction, "LOOKING BACK AND BEYOND LOVE FROM THE STARS", and Hetalia Axis Powers' very own "FEATHERS AND BULLETS" and "THE GENTLEMAN MEETS THE PEARL".
I can't wait to get everything started. For now, let's sit back and have fun reading! Mission accomplished!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gundam Wing, its plot and characters, and ...everything about Gundam Wing! All of them belong to their respective owners, writers, directors, and designers. In this story, we only own ourselves. Hehehe! :p
- arekisandora07
3:00 AM.
It was raining hard outside.
Not to mention that it was cold.
It's too comfortable to sleep in this kind of weather; but, for you, getting a decent sleep isn't as easy as it looks.
You let your eyes wander around your small white room until you feel the urge to stand up from your bed after three hours of trying to get yourself to sleep. However, your body feels too lazily to get up from the comfy mattresses and thick sheets. Much to your dismay, you glance at your digital clock only to find out that it's already five minutes past three. You're done reading your favorite book, finished doing office paperwork, and even tried watching some movies in order to lull yourself in slumber. Not only that, you managed to have your midnight snack; still, you weren't satisfied.
Tossing and turning onto the bed, you grunt, sigh irritatingly and finally force your body to get away from the bed. It seemed like things didn't turn out as you expect. And so, you walk around the room like a wandering child searching for her favorite toy to play with. Obviously, you were trying to make yourself busy; in the end, you can't avoid looking at the digital clock on your study table.
You snarl.
"It's already ten minutes past three - (Name), you're still awake for more than three hours. Three freaking hours, for goodness' sake!"
Speaking of the devil, you almost forgot that you were scheduled to report for work at the ESUN Vice-Minister's office at six. This thought made you more fidgety thinking of the last three hours that you'll spend sleeping, hopefully.
"Great..." you muttered.
Now, feeling somewhat thirsty, you lazily wear your slippers, take your thick jacket to cover your big plain shirt, walk out of your bedroom and go downstairs to head for the fridge at the kitchen on the second floor. With your messy (H/C), (H/L) hair and faint dark bags rimming underneath your eyes, you stop walking and fix your hair by brushing it with your fingers letting it fall into place onto your back. Afterwards, you continue on your way to the kitchen.
However, you're almost two steps away from the door when you hear something. A thud, probably. You think something hard fell on the surface, so you ignore it and went on your way.
"The cat must've got into the house again.", you thought. But the sound of it makes you shiver somehow. You're not the type of person who believes in ghosts or any supernatural beings; however, you couldn't stand the anxiety that was now looming you.
Your heart begins racing as your imagination goes into action. Immediately you slap your cheeks with both hands, look at the fridge that was now upon your reach standing in the left corner of the kitchen.
You take one step trying to ignore that sound when suddenly you hear that sound again. This time, the sound became more audible to your ears.
It was a soft voice.
You shiver.
Afterwards you hear a few moans, follow by a few loud thuds on the wall. In a while, those awful whimpers grow louder and more painful to hear.
"Oh dear…" you mutter in a snap as you finally grasp what was going on. You start running along the empty, dark hallway heading to the room that was at the end of the hallway. After you stop and open the door, you find him on his bed tossing uneasily from side to side with his arms waving wildly. His eyes were closed but you can see the unexpected exasperation on his clammy face. This was something that you've never seen before; for all you know, he always wears that laid-back, mischievous smile on his face all the time.
But tonight was a different case.
The painful whimpers are now replaced with screams of agony. His body shifts crazily from one side to another with his hands and knees terribly wobbling. You instantly run out of his room like the wind to wake your roommates up, goes back to the room and try gathering your thoughts about waking the poor fellow up.
Think, (Name)! Think!
Impulsively, you run towards him, reach for his shoulders shaking them with all your might. You then hold his cheeks and slap them a few times. You even tried talking out loud calling him by his name hoping that he can be awakened by your voice. Unfortunately, your attempts of waking him up failed. And so, you wander around his room for an alternate option. No luck! You can't find something useful until you notice something sparkling on the desk table in the dark. Your eyes blink.
Damn it! Here goes nothing!
Without hesitation, you grab the glass pitcher half-filled with cold water and instantly pour it to the poor guy's face. As a result, his eyes finally opened; his bed, his sleeveless shirt, and his three-and-a-half long chestnut brown hair that you've been envious about for so long were completely in a wet mess. He was panting heavily and looks around his room until he gazes his eyes on you blinking in shock.
By that time, you were also panting anxiously with trembling hands; yet, you feel somewhat relieved that he was now awake.
The two of you get star-struck while comprehending the things that just happened.
However, you wish that if only you've left some water in the pitcher, you had already poured it onto yourself.
After almost an hour, you sat on a chair beside the dining table with a tired face. You stared at the wall clock and sighed heavily. Feeling nervous, you looked at the four boys who were seen doing their own business in peace.
The first young man was in his plain sleeveless shirt and a pair of jogging pants; he brushed his brown hair with his hands and stared at the bathroom door with those piercing Prussian blue eyes.
The second male looked adorable as he was seen sitting beside you while wiping his eyeglasses with a clean cloth. His platinum blonde hair and soft blue eyes totally made him look like your average boy-next-door together with those set of blue pajamas and a white V-necked shirt.
The third young male was apparently, the tallest among the boys. He, with his arms folded and in his red pajamas, leaned his back onto the wall. The brown bangs of his hair were covering one of his emerald green eyes, yet, there was a strong aura surrounding him by the looks of it.
Beside this guy was a smaller dark-haired male in his native nightwear with his black eyes looking impatiently at the wall clock. He then looked at you and then at his comrades.
"How's he doing, (Name)?"
"He's getting a hold of himself, I think."
"It's already an hour since he got inside the bathroom."
"Yeah."
"I hope he's all right. Anyway, thanks for waking him up, (Name)."
"Not a problem, Quatre, Heero."
"He's been like this every night. As time goes on, it gets worse. I wonder how he's going to keep up with this."
"I totally agree. Still, this is something that we should be concerned of."
"Trowa…Wufei…"
The conversation got interrupted when the door leading to the bathroom suddenly opened. The four young guys who happened to be the former infamous Gundam pilots (and your present Preventer co-workers/roommates, thanks to the "mad" scientists who took you to this studio house and asked you to live with them as their mobile suit engineer) instantaneously had their eyes on their comrade. You too looked at the familiar guy with a worried face.
There he was standing by the fridge wiping his face with a white towel. He was in his plain black shirt and pants along with that slightly damp thigh-length hair limped onto his back. His skin looked pale but the happy spark in his cobalt blue/lavender eyes somehow returned after that incident as if nothing serious happened to him. He then blinked after noticing the five of you watching him in silence.
"Hey, what's with those faces, guys?" he asked with his one brow up. "You're making me uneasy."
"Duo, how are you feeling?" Quatre called out his name with a worried voice. "Besides, we're the ones who should be feeling that way."
Duo flipped some of the strands of his hair away from his face. "I'm fine, Quat. I'm still a bit dizzy but I can handle this."
Though Duo tried acting casual, you can tell that he was struggling to withstand the pain by massaging his temple with one hand.
"Anyway, (Name) brought me some painkillers earlier before I went to sleep. These babies can hold up on me for the meantime." he replied with that easy-going grin on his face.
"Are you sure?" Heero asked. "We can take you to the nearest hospital if you still don't feel well."
Duo's eyes blinked sweetly after hearing that sincerity from his stoic fellow Gundam pilot. "That's sweet, man. But seriously, I'm good."
"We can file a leave of absence for you, you know." Quatre said.
Duo shook his head. "That's really nice of you, but, there's no need for that. I'm fine, trust me. It was just a damn nightmare. That couldn't stop me from going to work later."
Trowa nodded his head. "Then, there's nothing to be worried about, isn't it?"
Duo answered Trowa with a smile.
Trowa smiled back, saying, "Since everything's good, we should all go back to bed. By the way, you should thank (Name) for waking you up, Duo. If it wasn't for her, we already found you asleep on your bed...for good."
"Hey, that is the dumbest way to die aside from getting into prison all the time in handcuffs and a punched stomach!" the long-haired pilot's smile abruptly faded and whined these words. He glared at Trowa and somewhat pointed his eyes at Heero; but, when he noticed you standing beside Quatre, he suddenly acted strange.
You softly laughed after seeing that flushed expression from Duo's face.
Duo went towards you, cleared his throat and uttered a shy "Thanks."
You, on the other hand, looked at him and let out a smile, saying, "Don't thank me; you should be grateful to the half-filled water pitcher that you just left in your room."
"Really? Still, thank you for what you did back there, (Name). Shit, I don't know what to say next..." Duo told you with an awkward face mumbling at the last part of what he said. He swore you got too afraid after seeing him in that condition, but got startled when you laughed and gave him a pat on his right shoulder.
"Well, it's good to have you back, pal!" you said.
"I'm sorry for making you guys worry, especially you, (Name)." the long-haired boy said reassuringly.
You grinned.
"If there's anything that you need, just tell us." Quatre said.
Wufei, with a snarl, stared at Duo.
"Aren't you going to say something, Wuffles?" Duo blinked at the dark-haired man mischievously. "You're worried about me, aren't you?"
"As if! You still have the guts to call me by that stupid name, haven't you, Maxwell?!" Wufei grunted with anger. In a while, he huffed and crossed his arms, saying, "Making me annoy every day is way better than seeing you dead, though."
"What the hell are you talking about?! Do you really have to be this cold?! Why are you doing this to me?! We're buddies, right?!" Duo's sullen face changed in an instant smirk as he began pulling out his usual hijinks to the furious Wufei causing Quatre and Trowa to look at you giggling. Heero sighed heavily while holding his forehead in annoyance.
"Here we go again..." he muttered.
And so, everything went back to normal. Everybody went back to sleep except you who just can't seem to sleep anymore.
You stayed sitting on the large black couch at lobby an hour after that incident at Duo's room – slowly, you can feel your head getting dizzy as Duo's; you're certain that your body was starting to give up on you due to lack of sleep. However, as your thoughts drifted back to what happened in that room, you couldn't help yourself feeling more concerned about Duo. He's been having these nightmares ever since you all moved into the studio house that the five rogue scientists provided as part of the mission. Since that you were assigned by these "mad men" as the mechanic for the Gundams, you didn't have a choice but to move with the Gundam pilots and get your own floor to stay to.
Luckily, your bedroom was only a staircase away from the second floor – from the kitchen – from Duo's room. You were the closest person who can check on him and probably save him from his bad dreams every night.
Obviously, this was something that you should be thankful for. After all, you've been having this secret crush on the hyperactive pilot from the first moment you met him. Who knows that saving him from his nightmares could be your chance of reaching yourself to him? However, the more you think about it, the more you started getting anxious. Would this dashing, happy-go-lucky guy fall for someone like you? Besides, there's nothing special about you that Duo can fall for, right?
You're just a person standing behind the ruins; Duo always has his place on the front lines.
You sighed deeply trying to clear your thoughts.
Suddenly, a pair of lavender/cobalt blue eyes blinked in front of you. You moved back with a yelp after you got surprised by a smiling Duo who was now seen standing before you.
"A beautiful woman like you shouldn't wear that long face." he said with a grin. "May I sit beside you?"
You simply nodded.
He then sat down by your side on the couch, looked at the wall clock in a dazed stare with his arms rested onto the couch lazily.
You swore you felt the heat rising onto your cheeks now that you found yourself sitting beside Duo. What made you flush heavily was his handsome face with his hair now neatly tied in a low ponytail. You usually see his hair in his trademark braid but having a new hairstyle isn't so bad too. Nonetheless, you thought that this long-haired Gundam pilot looks good no matter what.
Abruptly, your thoughts went back to reality when you heard the young male talking to you.
"You can't sleep too, huh?" he said still with his eyes glued to the wall clock.
"It's already four-thirty in the morning so there's no way I can't go back to sleep anymore.", you replied. "Besides, I need to get myself ready in an hour or I'll be late for this morning's appointment."
"That goes for me, too. Besides, there's no point in getting myself back to sleep now. So..." Duo said back, glanced at you and then at the wall clock. Then he slumped himself onto the couch. "...might as well enjoy this peaceful moment before we get our asses back to work."
The two of you went silent. For you, this wasn't normal. Knowing the jolly Gundam pilot by heart, you haven't seen Duo as quiet as this before (except in the most drastic, life-threatening situations). You would've imagine him asking you to eat out in a fast-food chain, watch a movie or play a video game to kill some time, or even teach you play cards. He'll simply do everything to keep himself entertained even to the extent that he'll do the usual hijinks that he normally does for enjoyment.
On the contrary, there he was on the couch silently lying beside you. However, the silence finally broke as Duo looked at you and started speaking out.
"(Name)?" he asked.
You glanced. "What is it?"
"Sorry if I got you into this crap." Duo replied in a serious manner. "You shouldn't have seen me like that. I hate it when somebody sees me that way. It makes me think that I'm weak."
"Come on, that isn't something that Duo Maxwell, the one who runs and hides, says to himself." you said. "That was a lie – you never lie."
Duo let out a small smile on his face and sighed. "Now, you got me there, (Name)."
"You see, my dreams aren't getting better lately." Duo added. "Though I tried not to think about them, the more they haunt me every damn single night. Crazy, huh?"
You stared at him attentively, saying, "If you don't mind me asking, what were you dreaming about?"
Duo blinked with surprise after hearing that question from you.
"Do you really want to know?" he asked. "Believe me, you won't like it."
"It's better to open yourself up once in a while. Now, tell me. I'll listen." you answered straight to his face.
He got up and sat on the couch. Duo is the kind of person who easily opens himself to others – he thought that this talk might at least get him at ease. Without any hesitations, Duo slightly shifted his body to face you and told his dream.
"I keep on dreaming about them. It was like a dark gore movie that I have to watch over and over again. At first, I found myself stuck in that dark dimension. I can't see anything except my own body. There was almost no air so I can hardly breathe. Suddenly, I heard gunshots and bomb explosions. I turned my back and saw everything – as in everything. Mobile suits and space shuttles falling from Space down to Earth. There were crying voices screaming, echoing in my ears. I could smell burnt human flesh and thousands of lying corpses beneath my feet. There were faceless soldiers and mobile suits that were attacking me and Death Scythe. I tried everything to protect those civilians running away in fear. Everything got blurry until I was taken out of that place in a time warp or something. Then..."
Duo gave you a look as if he was waiting for you to react.
You blinked. "Then what happened next?"
The young pilot sighed.
"After that, I was brought in a different place, but realized that I was back in L2. Too bad the chaos was still there. I looked around and then saw you guys fighting to protect me. All of a sudden, those faceless soldiers turned into dark shadows scattering everywhere. Hundreds or maybe thousands of shadows with fiery red eyes gulped everything in their way, including you and the others. I tried saving you from those shadows but it was too late; I was pulled out by that creepy time portal and then found myself back in that dark place again. I couldn't breathe. I can't stand watching those things any longer."
Silence.
"The last time I remember was her faint voice, telling me the same things that she told me before she closed her eyes and died in my arms...everything became blurred and I found myself slowly disappearing like smoke..." Duo said with that sharp pain in his eyes.
"Her? You mean..." you told him, realizing that it was Sister Helen that Duo was referring to.
The long-haired pilot nodded.
"When I disappeared, I got back to that empty place once more - those ruins...those children...the people whom I considered as my family...my friends. I realized that it was too much for me to handle. And so, the same things play like some video tape that got stuck in the recorder. Everything was a damn replay. And it was torture, really. "
"You haven't forgotten all about it, have you?" you mumbled.
"It's all in the past, I know. But..." Duo told you, bit his lip and continued, saying, "...I just can't get them out of my head."
"It isn't easy to get rid of those memories and move on." you agreed.
"Every night, I've been having those dreams. They kept getting worse. This is just...shit...I hate this!" the brown-haired male cried bitterly when his hands gently touched his hair as if he was trying to distract himself from the bad thoughts. "I never should've told you this! What a pain!"
You went still letting Duo mumble his rant by himself with your thoughts drifting back on the day when you met him. Surely, that was the best day of your life. You wouldn't expect that as months went by, you'll found yourself falling for this jerk so hard. He is the total package, you thought. He's always wearing that playful smile on his face that makes your day complete.
A simple "Thumbs Up!" sign from him after you're done with your "sessions" with his precious Death Scythe, a friendly pat on the shoulder every time when you're upset, even a simple afternoon walk with him, or a gentle errand by helping him combing his long hair...
Oh, those were the days, you told yourself.
On the other hand, you can't stop thinking that someone who as happy and laid-back as Duo Maxwell has a dark past. Those thoughts made your heart feel pain. If only you could give him something that could make him feel better...
Duo surprisingly looked at you and stopped caressing his hair after noticing the moist that were starting to appear in your eyes.
"(Name)? Are you crying?"
All of a sudden, you reached out your arms embracing the long-haired pilot tightly. You thought that this is the only way that you can do to comfort him; just by thinking about his dreams made you see how awful his they were. You were desperate about how you wanted to take them all away, if that could be possible, you would've already done it by the time you stepped into his room. You sniffed while burying your face onto Duo's chest.
"Idiot, you should've said that to us sooner. Or at least you could've told me about what's happening to you." you sadly told Duo with your voice breaking into sobs. "Please, don't make us worry this much. Don't make me worry like this, because, I-I...I honestly don't know what to do if this will happen to you again."
With Duo in your arms, you could sense that familiar musky cologne that you always loved and that sweet smell of lilac shampoo in his hair - you stayed like that in his arms for a while until you felt Duo's touch gently brushing your (H/L) with his fingers.
"(Name)..." Duo whispered. "...I'm sorry."
"We're your friends, Duo. We're always here to back you up when you need help, and we can't just allow you to carry the entire burden on your own. Everything that we do is for everybody's sake." you sniffed.
He then patted your head and wrapped his arms around your body. He still couldn't believe that he was now holding you in his embrace; yet, your presence gave him those seemingly forgotten feelings of warmth and comfort. The last time Duo felt like this was when he was still at the Maxwell church in his home colony. He vividly recalled the times when he was with Father Maxwell, Sister Helen, and the orphans like him. No doubt, he was showered with love and attention - those were the feelings that he's longing for all this time. He never forgets how Father Maxwell told him about many things like a father teaching his son about life - how Sister Helen embraced him lovingly as if he was her mother - the children who became his brothers and sisters - Duo wouldn't dare getting rid of those memories in his head. Those were the things that he has been holding in his life.
And now, he has Heero, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, and you. Duo couldn't ask for more in his life than to stay with all of you for the rest of his life as much as possible. For him, you were all became his family. He will definitely do everything not to lose everybody, most especially you.
He leaned his head onto your shoulder letting out a soft hush in your ear. You slowly let go of your hold from the young pilot and faced him trying to wipe away the tears in your eyes.
"Sorry, I never should've done that." You muttered shyly.
Duo chuckled while seeing your face flushing in tears. Suddenly, you found Duo brushing the tears away from your eyes with his fingers.
"Don't cry now, (Name). Everything's going to be OK. Besides, you don't have to apologize because..." Duo told you with his eyes looking at your (E/C) orbs.
You swore that you shiver after hearing that huskiness in Duo's voice. You could've fallen and fainted if only the couch wasn't there.
That wasn't the only thing that shocked you...
Duo, with a grin on his lips, held your cheek.
"...now, I know how to get rid of my nightmares." he continued.
Suddenly you felt the pressure on your lips as Duo placed a tender kiss on you. Shocked as you were, but you let yourself openly returned that kiss. The kiss deepened causing the two of you to let go for a while to get some air. Duo grinned at you with those lavender/cobalt eyes looking at your (E/C) orbs lovingly.
"W-What w-was that for, Duo Maxwell?" you asked shockingly with your face blushing heavily.
"That's your reward for being my dream catcher, (Full Name)." Duo answered as he pulled you closer to his chest with his one hand holding yours. "I've always wanted to do this, you know."
"You sound cheesy, Duo! This isn't like you!" you stifled a giggle.
"I'm not joking, (Name)! Honestly, I've been waiting for this moment to tell you that I love you...ever since I met you. " the pilot asked you and gave you another kiss on the forehead.
You can't help but laugh at Duo's words; you let out a sweet smile and kissed Duo on the cheek. "I love you too."
"So, since everything's been said and done, why don't we sleep here?" Duo smiled mischievously with his fingers gently tracing your cheeks, went down to your collarbone and then reached your now exposed shoulders.
With a slap on the man's shoulder, you grinned. "Jerk, it's almost five in the morning. We have to get ourselves ready for work."
However, Duo thought of a better idea to stop you from getting away from the couch. When you realized it, it was already too late now that you found yourself lying beside Duo with his arms locked onto your body. Apparently, the guy is much stronger than you, so you don't have a choice but to hold him back. He moved his body to you with his face buried in your (H/C), (H/C) hair and kissed your neck. With his eyes closed, Duo whispered your name.
"Stay here, (Name)."
"Sure. I'll be here."
In a while, you heard the young pilot's soft snores in your ears. You giggled while staring at him in silence. You couldn't help but wonder at his handsome face sleeping beside you like that. You tenderly brushed the chestnut brown bangs of his hair and kissed his forehead.
"Good night, Duo." You whispered and closed your eyes thinking that Quatre should start filing two leave of absence papers later. Probably, he can ask Heero, Trowa, and Wufei for assistance if needed.