"The Paths We Choose" Part 1

Title: The Paths We Choose
Author: Me ^-^
Notes: Angst, Sappy, Romantic, ~Dreams, past events, and the like~. Thoughts are in 'single quotes'. Speaking are in "double quotes"
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of it's wonderful character, they are owned by some rich guy.

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~Heero felt a warm liquid ooze onto his hands. His body hurt, he felt battered all over. Looking down he saw a gaping hole in his stomach where a sword used to be. He tried to get up, only he fell back down to his knees. Looking over he saw a body heaped on the floor. A long braid lay curled in a puddle of blood. 'Duo! Oh god no!' With all the strength left in his body, he crawled over to it. Suddenly the earth beneath him began to tremble; the body disappeared from its resting-place as it was swallowed up. Reaching out Heero just missed him, as his hand grabbed the air just above where the hand used to be.~

Heero's eyes opened, his arm stretched over the end of the bed. The sweat beaded down his face. 'Again the same dream.' He'd been having that dream for as long as he could remember. Lying back on the pillows he closed his eyes. Suddenly he saw that face. Those vibrant violet eyes, they bounced with joy as the face smiled. Blinking his eyes he tried to erase the face, but it refused to leave his brain. Again he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep out of what was left of the night.

~ ~ ~

Duo lay in the bed he had been given. He was at Quatre's mansion. Quatre, Trowa, and himself were staying there while their gundams were being repaired from the last battle. Duo was afraid to close his eyes. If he did he would see those cold blue eyes staring at him, deep into him. 'Who do those eyes belong to and why are they haunting me?' Duo rolled around in the bed trying to avoid the feeling of those eyes on him. Looking out the large windows Duo could see white snowflakes fall in the dim light from the house. He was going to finally meet the other two gundam pilots tomorrow afternoon. Again he rolled in the bed, turning toward the glowing fire that burned in the fireplace. He had to get some sleep or he wouldn't be alert later. Closing his eyes he hoped he didn't see anything, but they came as they always did. Duo opened his eyes again, only now the room was brighter. The sun was peaking through the clouds as it came up behind the mountain. 'I must have fallen asleep and just thought that was only a second.' Hearing a knock, he sat up in bed.

"Duo are you awake?" a voice called through the door.

"Yeah."

"Okay I am going to get breakfast started. See you downstairs."

Pulling himself out from under the warm covers, Duo got up. The room seemed warmer than when he came in last night. Pulling on his pants, he grabbed a tee shirt from his duffel bag. Opening the door he smelt breakfast. He made his way downstairs and into the dining room. He was lucky he still remembered where it was from last night's quick tour. Trowa sat quietly while Quatre sat next to him, a little chatty.

"Hey!" Duo said, walking in.

"Hey, have a seat." Quatre spread his arms out to the empty chairs that circled the large table. Picking one not far from them, Duo plopped himself down. As he sat there he noticed people hustling and bustling about with all kinds of things in their hands or arms.

"What's going on?" Duo asked still watching the people.

"Oh we're just decorating. It is the season. So Duo, how'd you sleep last night?"

"Fine, why?"

"Oh it's just that some of my servants thought they heard something from your room last night."

Just then a bell rang and a man appeared through double swinging doors. Duo let out a sigh of relief. He didn't really want to respond to Quatre's question.

"So when is this meeting?" Trowa asked.

"Later today. They are coming here," Quatre explained as a plate was placed in front of him. Then plates were placed before Trowa and Duo. They ate breakfast in silence as people hurriedly moved about them.

After breakfast all three of them helped with the tree. They became more comfortable with each other as time went on. Before the other two pilots showed up Duo retired to his room to figure out what he was going to say. Then he rehearsed it he didn't want to seem like a total baka.

Wufei was the first of the two to show up. They greeted and their conversation seemed short. He didn't seem to have much to say. Duo's rehearsed intro seemed dull and rehearsed. Now all four sat in the large living room waiting on the fifth. Duo could feel the boredom and tension in the room.

"Where the hell is he?" he finally broke the silence. Suddenly a knock came to the large doors leading into the hall.

"Come in," Quatre called.

The door opened quietly and a young man peaked his head in, "Quatre, your other guest is here."

"Show him in."

"Okay," the young man replied opening the door a bit wider. A boy about their age walked into the room. Duo couldn't believe it. Those eyes looked exactly like the eyes he dreamed about and envisioned every time he closed his own. His mind went blank, forgetting everything but those eyes.

They each said their names, Quatre gave a little wave and Trowa smiled a bit. When it was Duo's turn he realized he had forgotten rehearsed speech. He decided to just give his name. Only when he said it, it sounded like gibberish to him. Looking over at Quatre and Trowa, he saw the perplexion on their faces. He knew it was gibberish.

"Okay Duo, Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei. I think I've got it," the boy replied. "I'm Heero."

'He understood, no one's ever been able to do that.' Duo was in utter shock. He again looked at those eyes. Inside his head an image appeared. ~A boy was kneeling before someone. He couldn't see the other person or even really see the boy kneeling. Then he noticed the cold blue eyes from the figure hidden in the shadow.~

"Duo?" Quatre asked, breaking the picture in Duo's head.

"Huh?" Duo asked, a little lost. 'What the hell was that?' He tried to recall it but nothing came to him.

Heero sat down in a chair across from three of the four pilots. One of them looked so much like the one in his dream. When he first saw him he forgot everything or so it seemed. He wasn't even sure he could talk. It wasn't until after hearing the gibberish that he regained his speaking ability. The weirdest part was that he understood the gibberish easily. It almost seemed natural to his ears. 'His name is Duo.' The name sounded so familiar to him. Looking at the long chestnut braid, an image appeared in his brain. ~It was a large bedroom. The only furniture in the room was a large bed. On the bed laid two bodies, tangled together.~ He tried to see more but then the image faded and vanished. This was the first time he had seen something other than his dream. What was it? What did it mean?

The conversation continued on. Quatre seemed to be doing the most talking even though earlier Duo had out talked him easily.

"So where are you guys staying?" he asked.

"In a shack," Wufei replied.

"In an underground building," Heero answered.

"It must be cold. Why don't you guys stay here? There's plenty of room," Quatre offered.

"No thanks, I don't need help," Wufei said, getting up. "I have to go."

He left before anyone could say a word.

"I was just trying to help," Quatre said, hunching his shoulders. Trowa gently placed his arm around them, and pulled the boy to him.

'Quatre seems sensitive.' Heero decided not to hurt him. "I'll stay," he finally said.

"You will?!" Duo choked.

Quatre lifted his head, a smile crossing his face.