Disclaimer: Gundam Wing doesn't belong to me, but is property of Sotsu Agency, Bandai and all other related materials.
And It All Falls in Neatly in The End
-By Precognition74-
Chapter 1
"I guess its goodbye then, buddy." said Duo wistfully as he flicked his braid behind a shoulder and left.
"Amethyst, going home so soon?" asked a young woman not very far away. She rested a pale hand on a hip and cocked an eyebrow up.
"Tired, had a rough 'un just now, an' it's late. S'ppose won't be stayin' fer very much longer anyway." He said tiredly. The young woman nodded in sympathy, it could be like that sometimes.
Duo tried to give her a smile but gave up and simply turned around, walking down the dirty alley with his footsteps deliberately loud. The sound faded away as soon as he was out of sight of people. It was training, ingrained into his bone.
Out of sight, there was no sound made as low heels hit the uneven cement. The figure wore a thick jacket over a glittering mesh. Even then, he was nearly invisible amidst the nearly crumbling buildings.
For a brief moment in the alley, Duo allowed himself a rest and leant against a wall, wincing in pain. His ass was bruised from the manhandling he had received earlier and it hurt as it touched the wall none too gently. It reminded him of earlier activity, or how low he had sunk.
He told himself that he would not, could not, return to the life before, but the pull of drugs was too strong. It called to him like a long-lost lover. Those innocent looking pills whispered peace, desires and enjoyment. Then one day, he could not resist. The pills did not come cheap and not many people wanted to hire a street-rat without any credentials. There was no way he could afford to pay for The Pink Lady unless he resorted to doing… what he was doing.
It all happened in a moment of weakness. After he ran away from his Operation Meteor, it didn't take long before he ended up in the streets again. He fell in with the bad sort and got hooked on The Pink Lady. He had forgotten the 'cold turkey treatment' G had given him. He forgot about his already vanishing resolve to make a difference to the colonies, he forgot about his resolve not to fall back into his past. He really should've known that he could not resist for long. How naïve he was to believe that he could possibly be free of them in the Drug Capital of Earth?
Many a time he told himself to stop, but when the emptiness came, he would stumble to his supplier for another packet of the sweet pleasure.
"Oh why fight the urge? It will only bring pain." The drug dealer would chastise Duo after every time.
The words did not bother him as much as he thought they would. The thought that he could not live without those pills sent shivers down his spine.
A sudden movement at the corner of his eye caught Duo's attention. It came from one of the smaller alleys. It was quiet, nearly silent. Then came the accidental squeak of rubber-soled sneakers. That sound immediately alerted Duo to the fact that the person, whoever he or she may be, did not belong there.
Duo flattened himself against the harsh wall despite protests from his sore back and ass. He quietened his breathing and strained his ears to hear for any sound.
"They'll be safe here, Heero." A low tenor whispered. It was hardly louder than a breath. But Duo heard it. He immediately thought. what?
"Hn." Someone else uttered an uncommitted grunt as though not convinced.
"We both know that our Gundams are never truly safe anywhere. This is as good as any."
Duo could hardly suppress a sharp intake of breath. The Gundams were on Earth, which would mean that Operation Meteor did take place. There were Gundam Pilots in the same alley as him. Oh how Duo longed to just peep over for a look at their faces. But no, he was not that foolish to risk his life for a look. If they really were Gundam Pilots, then they would be trained like him.
There was a soft grinding of a shoe against the gravelled ground. Well, they're obviously not as good in stealth as me. Duo smirked to himself with pride. He waited patiently as two boys, one slightly taller than the other, slipped out of the alley with only a few more careless footsteps. Duo tensed, and pushed himself tighter into the wall. They walked past him without noticing the light glittering material of his shirt amidst the wall.
Duo waited a while more, and then went into the alley they came from. Two pickups were present with a standard camouflage cape over them. To an untrained eye, they would have been considered unseen, but Duo was specially trained in stealth and breaking in. He recognised the slight blurring of lines where the tarp touched the uneven ground. He smirked and went to the shape nearer to him.
Almost reverently, Duo fingered the delicate material. Then he pulled it off. Lo behold! A Gundam it was, and a pretty damned good one at that although it was battle-scarred with scratches and scraps. Pity its owner was careless with it. Duo climbed onto the hatch feeling the small groove. The moonlight shone on the white Gundanium alloy prettily. He saw a keypad.
If the pilot had more sense, he'd change the original code that was standard given to all the 5 trained pilots. Duo tried the code. Freedom for the colonies, do not forget your duty to the people. Duo held his breath, ready to be disappointed in the keypad flashing red.
The hatch gave a reluctant hiss as if not happy that someone other than its owner was entering it.
"Don't worry. I'll just leave a note to your pilot. Not going to steal you even though I can." murmured Duo. He felt obliged to tell the mobile suit. Feeling around his pockets for a marker through the bottles of lube and packets of condoms, his hand closed around the smooth plastic.
A nearly sinister smile appeared on his face. Do better care of your Gundam. –Shinigami Duo scribbled on the pilot's seat. Then he felt an almost overwhelming feeling of exhilaration followed by a stinging sense of guilt. Looking at the shape of L2 in the night sky, Duo murmured "Do not forget your duty to the people eh? Caught me on that one, G."
"Deathscythe, guess you want someone better than me." Duo said wistfully, thinking of his old buddy sitting in a hangar, unused. He shook his head to clear it. On second thought, he put a post script into the note. Do change the passwords ya know."
He looked at the alley behind him. Nobody was there. He loathe to leave the Gundam. It was a symbol of what he should have been. Quashing any hard-feelings, he hopped out of the cockpit and closed the hatch securely, leaving no trace of having been there other than the evidence left deliberately under the tarp. Duo covered both Gundams with the tarp more carefully. It would not do to have someone else walk in on those treasures, certainly not OZ.
Finally satisfied that the two pilots would realise their mistakes, Duo went back to the place he called home for the past few months. He entered the shower, stripping off his mesh shirt and pants. Almost desperately, he scrubbed at the glitter, grime and sweat that had somehow gotten onto his skin -anything to remove evidence of his lifestyle if only temporarily.
Duo used anti-bacterial soap and shampoo, a remnant of G's influence. The scent would have to be remedied the next day before he went to work, but that did not matter. What did was that he felt clean, and could truly be himself. Although his soul was still tattering around the edges, His body was finally reasonably clean.
For a long time, Duo sat crouched on his bed and stared at the pink pills on his bedside table.
You cannot escape from it, Amethyst, just stop trying.
Duo shirked back on himself, feeling more than simple revulsion at the reminder that that was who he had become. Pilot 02, of the Gundam Deathscythe, fully trained terrorist now reduced to a whore, street trash and a drug junkie. Oh how the great had fallen!
Giving in to inevitability, Duo popped two of the drugs nicknamed 'Pink Lady' into his mouth and waited for them to take effect. Slowly but surely, with rising pleasure, Duo began to feel deliriously happy, he shook his head to inaudible music, giggling like a little girl.
Duo knew that he would be disgusted with his behaviour if he were of a clear mind. His utter lack of dignity was appalling, even to himself. But one thing was sure, the peace, happiness and pure abandon placated his worries as soon as they had time to resurface.
Duo woke up the next morning feeling really groggy and tired. More than he had been before he slept. Blinking and looking through the window, Duo estimated the time to be about 2pm. He shrugged on a T-shirt with the words 'I bet I can kick your ass' and put on a pair of jeans and sneakers. If anyone were to look at him, they would think of him as nothing other than a normal teenager with a long braid. He put on a cap and shrugged on a jacket.
The streets east of his district were decent. They featured honest shopkeepers displaying their wares out in the open, school boys and girls walking down the street, office men speaking animatedly on the phone. He walked to the corner of the street and turned into the restaurant, a fast-food joint. That was one of the few places that actually served good old fashioned hamburgers. Those with real meat patties and not the synthetic shit that most people ate now a days.
Duo did not eat at the joint. It was too crowded. Instead, he bought a hot dog from a nearby stand and strolled around the district,Then he saw the boy from the night before- the Gundam pilot. The boy was peering into a computer hardware store. Duo walked towards him and tapped the boy on the shoulder. The boy with messy chocolate-coloured locks and Prussian blue eyes glared at him dangerously.
"Hey guy, dun look so pissed, getting' a new computa? Wanna reccy from a local?" Duo asked amicably. The boy glared harder and turned away.
"Fine, be pissed all you wanna be. Was just tryin' te be friendly." Duo pouted. He placed a hand jauntily on a hip, smirking at the fading view. The boy really had no idea how he looked, dressed in loose tank top and spandex. The Gundam Pilot had absolutely no idea that a note had been slipped into the bag he was holding.
Duo waved to the boy's back and headed towards the public gym for a workout. He would rather die than to let himself get slack – not to mention it kept his customers happy. There he did crunches and weightlifting. It was mundane and helped him think a lot about the choices he had made. Especially running away from G. it was a life-changing choice. Time would never turn back again.
As it approached evening time, Duo left the gym and went to get dinner. It was, again, a simple affair. A ration pack from a convenience store and an energy drink provided sustenance. He went home and showered, almost dreading the job ahead. Again he thought of the boy in the street. Duo wondered if he found the note.
Thinking about it, Duo began to smirk, he certainly did not expect to meet the boy and so soon, but the note was pre-prepared should he meet one of them again. There was a thrill. He felt satisfied at his skills were still on par with theirs. The note said careless, Gundam pilot, beware, I could have been pick pocketed important data.
Duo braided a purple ribbon into his hair, wore a polyster shirt, black, leather pant and boots. He was dressed to kill. Not literally. He was dressed to seduce, dressed to be stealthy. Then with a final look at his room, he inserted a few lock picks into his hair and slid a knife into his boot. It had to be done. The job paid well, but came with some risks as well. He was pretty sore too, maybe 1 or 2 tonight? That would be enough for his next fix.
The sun was setting as Duo made his made to the back alleys, although he could not help by drift to the area near where he knew the Gundams were kept, oh how he longed to see them again! So deep he was in his thought that he did not realise that the two boys came along. The moment he realised, he mentally chastised himself, but did not outwardly react for fear of attracted undue attentions. Under the light of the streetlamp, Duo could now see the features of the older boy. His muscles were more subtle and his clothing was modest but stylish. He wore a blue turtle neck, pants and simple dress shoes.
Upon studying his features, the boy in spandex widened his eyes and looked at the older-looking boy who immediately stepped away to block his escape route. Trying to save the situation, Duo straightened and lifted his head high.
"May I help ya" Duo drawled lazily, batting his eyelashes.
"Do not play games with us. Who are you?" said, no, demanded the shorter boy. A lesser man would have cowered under that tone, but Duo was not at all cowed.
"Da name's Amethyst, 'haps ya heard've me before? I can make you feel real good." Duo continued, licking his lips for good measure. He could swear that the taller boy, who looked European, flinched at his words.
The boy with blue eyes was undeterred; he pointed a gun, (a lovely MK16 no less! Duo secretly whistled), "Speak. You put a note in my bag and wrote on my seat. Who are you?"
"Guess you caught me there. Just my luck to have run into you again. Let me introduce myself. I run, I hide, but I never lie. Duo Maxwell, master of stealth, at your service." Piped Duo, his eyes had a glint of caution there.
"That doesn't explain why you could open my cockpit and why you know that we're Gundam Pilots."
"This doesn't give you permission to pry in my past. Shove off Mr Perfect soldier. You already know who I am."
"Hn. I'll buy you for a night. You will answer my questions." said the boy. The other boy was silent throughout the exchange.
"Oh yeah? I don't come cheap. It's 1500 credits for a night."
"Done. Here's half of the sum. You get the other half when I'm done with you."
Duo had thought that the harsh sum would discourage the boy, but apparently not. The Emerald eyed boy nodded.
"I'll be waiting for you at the safe house." He then disappeared through the night, jumping on rooftops.
"Perfect Soldier, what do I call you?"
"Heero. Heero Yuy."