By Admiral Albia
Author's note; Well, consider this the Gundam Wing version of that horrid huge thing Raindrops and Rosebuds... I have a feeling it's gonna be long. Still... that's what happens when I let the story guide me.
This chapter is just a prologue really; building up to the story, which starts next chapter. If I'm lucky. The trouble is, if I write a line and think it makes a really good cliffhanger, I leave it there... sorry....
Warnings; Mild 2+1, original character who is (a) male, (b) crippled and (c) almost definitely NOT a Mary-Sue.
Disclaimer; I own nothing but Shou and the Gundam Harpy... and
I don't own the ancient Greek harpies either, before you ask.
The ancient Greek harpies? Oh. They were... do you
know, I can't quite remember. I'll get back to you on that. But they certainly
came after (and punished) men who killed their own families. And they were
female... with long claws and eagles' wings... I think... I really will
get back to you, people!
Ehh.... if you've ever seen the film Jason and
the Argonauts, you'll know what I mean.
Prologue
"Does anyone know if we've got any neo-titanium?"
The assembled Gundam pilots (minus Trowa, who was on a mission) blinked
dazedly at Heero.
"I... don't... think... so..." Quatre said slowly,
just seconds before Duo inevitably butted in;
"Why?"
"Project. Steel?"
The boys sighed collectively. Heero's `project` had been underway for
some time now, and still nobody knew what it was. All they knew was that
it required a lot of odd components; the neo-titanium, for example, and
wire, and silicon chips, and plastic for some reason; oh, and a lot of
paint. The pilots were becoming almost used to seeing Heero with flecks
of paint on his hands, clothes and hair, holding a paintbrush and demanding
to know if they had a certain craft material or mould shape.
"We've probably got Gundanium somewhere," Quatre
offered. Heero shook his head.
"We need that for the Gundams. Any steel?"
"Depends," Duo said. "I can probably get you some,
if..."
"If what?"
"If you show me what you're doing," the braided
boy grinned. Heero glared, Duo gulped, and Quatre and Wufei backed away
at the bidding of some hidden survival instinct.
"Fine." Heero jerked his head in the general direction
of the room he and Duo were currently sharing, and Duo followed him eagerly.
What he saw then actually did something which Duo hadn't previously
believed possible; it raised his estimation of Heero a few notches... sorry,
a few notches more.
"Hee-chan... it's wonderful! Does it fly?"
"Not yet." Seeing Duo looking at him, Heero clarified.
"It's too light. I need steel or neo-titanium to weigh down the engine
so it can be steered properly and even then it's not really heavy enough."
"Well, I can almost definitely get you something,"
Duo declared. He looked again at the model on the bed. "After all, what's
a flight-type that can't fly?... Why are you making it, by the way? I'd
have thought this was a security breach or something."
"It is, but OZ'll never find it. It's for a friend
of mine. It's his birthday soon and... I thought it was time we made up."
"The Perfect Soldier has feelings?" Duo opened
his mouth to elaborate on this theme, but was stopped by a sudden, rough
kiss.
"You know better than anyone that I have emotions,
Duo," Heero whispered. Duo blinked, then grinned.
"Heh, just kidding. So why'd you need to make up
if you're friends?" The answer was clear as soon as the words left his
mouth. //Duh, they've argued...//
"We haven't spoken in five years," Heero said calmly.
"FIVE YEARS?!?"
"There was... an accident. He's crippled; can't
walk. He is - was my second, but after he lost his legs..." Duo
winced.
"I get the picture. You were busy and he wasn't."
"... something like that ..." But Heero wouldn't
meet Duo's gaze, and the other boy got the feeling he was missing something;
before he could probe any further, though, Heero looked up sharply. "Can
I have that steel now? I need to finish this."
[Three weeks later]
Shou awoke to the loud - and annoying - sound of his laptop playing
`Happy Birthday To You`. Growling, he reached over and shut off the speakers,
then rolled over the other way to switch his alarm clock off. Trying to
recall if he had at any point set his computer up to do that, and eventually
concluded that he hadn't and someone had hacked it again, he heaved
himself upright, pulled the moving desk round so he could reach it, and
switched off the laptop before turning it upside-down and unscrewing the
case. His nurse had once commented that Shou's computer was never
the same two days in a row, and to tell the truth he'd been surprised by
the accuracy of her observation; normally the woman was a complete bimbo.
Suddenly the bimbo came bursting in, breaking both
Shou's concentration and the memory chip he had been about to install.
"You've got a present!"
"Another one?" Shou was surprised; he'd thought
that the one - and only - from Dr. J had been big enough in itself.
"Yes! From Heero!"
"Oh." Completely oblivious to the sudden chill in
her patient's voice, the woman dived outside, then came hurrying back in,
staggering slightly under the weight of a large box. Shou looked on impassively
as the thing was dumped in front of him, waited patiently as the card was
shoved under his nose (he knew what it would say anyway - Heero's imagination
when it came to birthday greetings was nonexistent), then finally gave
in to her desperate pleas and resignedly tugged on a piece of ribbon. The
paper all fell off, revealing... a box.
"Well, go on, open it! Oh, isn't this exciting!"
"Not particularly," Shou said dully. Ruth stared.
"Why not?"
"I hacked into Heero's computer last month - he
really needs to upgrade his security, but that's not the point. He had
a mission there; `get Shou a present.` Besides, he hasn't given me what
I asked for." Scowling slightly at Dr J's obvious `diplomatic manipulation`
of their argument, Shou watched in fascination as his nurse tried to work
this out.
"How do you know that?"
"What I asked for can't be put in a box. Oh, joy,
it's a model of... of..." The crippled boy began to whimper quietly, staring
unseeingly as his so-called nurse peered into the box, squealed
in delight and stood the model up, facing him.
"Oh, isn't that sweet? It's Wing!"
The model, yielding to an unevenness in the bedclothes, fell over onto
its front.
Shou screamed.
Cliffie! ^_^ Well, tell me what you think! That means review! Next chapter Heero discovers just how well his present went down... oh, and if you can work out what happened to Shou, I'll give you a cookie! ^_^ If you were told by D. D. Duley, or you are D. D. Duley, it doesn't count. And I'll know, because part of what happened hasn't been revealed yet. But get the closest you can...
I'll stop babbling now. Review please!
