Mirage

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . .

The soft sound of raindrops hitting the windowpane resounded in her mind as she stared up at the dark ceiling. The soft bed beneath her back, the smell of recently cleaned sheets and the sound of the rain falling on the streets outside none of it seemed real. Ami sighed as she pushed herself upright and looked around at her surroundings. The room was not small, but rather medium sized, it was plain colored with a bed, a side table, and a computer desk pushed into the corner, a single window peered out into the dark streets. All in all, it was an average guest room, the kind she would expect whenever she was made to stay at another's home. Except for the occasional noise of baby Jade, the house was relatively quiet during all hours of the night. She missed the sound of constant noise, the sound of her dad's fingers tapping furiously against the keyboard, the occasional sound of his voice, the comforting look in his eyes whenever he turned his gaze in her direction. She knew that her very existence was painful to him, a constant reminder of the one person he failed to protect, but he had never done anything but love her for who she was not who she reminded him of.

Daddy . . . come home soon . . . .

Moon Colony

"You left my daughter with Wufei?!" Duo balked as she dropped the plate in her hands and turned to stare in Heero's direction.

For all intents and purposes, Jennifer had decided that they would have dinner first and questions later. Not that it mattered much to Duo what happened first, in truth she just wanted this nightmare to be over. It felt more as if the world had collapsed beneath her from the moment she had spotted Heero standing beside the older woman. The look on Heero's face when he had come face to face with Calypso, the infamous Calypso had been priceless and she did not doubt that the former soldier was curious to know why they were together. She wondered if perhaps he was suspicious that maybe they were plotting to kill once more? A slight smile spread across her face at the thought but she would not put it past the man to think of every possibility. Too bad he doesn't know the truth. She sighed as she finished cleaning off the last of the dishes leaving them in the drainer to dry.

The best part, she had to admit, was when she had introduced the fourth child to Heero. Certainly the blue-eyed man had not expected to meet Kira, an albino woman of medium build with a pair of cobalt – almost purple colored eyes and pale white hair. Duo chuckled at the memory; she supposed that for most people meeting Kira for the first time was always a surprise after all the last albino born in human history had been over fifty years ago. Since then many things had long since been breed out of the Human race, the hair color red for instance was rarer now then it had been a thousand years ago. The fact that all four of the experimental children were unique in more ways then the color of their skin, hair, or eyes, was a little known fact to anyone outside of the former organization and only one member remained alive to this day who could possibly identify them for what they really were. Only one . . . Duo sighed, the smile disappearing from her face as she thought about all that had happened in recent years.

"Is something wrong?" Heero's voice snapped her back to the present. As she turned her gaze towards him a sharp stabbing pain in her chest erupted and she had to look away rather then answer his tender question. A hand brushed against the side of her face and she tried hard not to flinch at the feel of such a tender caress.

"Don't touch me!" Duo snapped taking a step back from him, her eyes blazing angrily as she glared up at him. "Don't touch me . . . ." She repeated slowly as she turned and walked away. She could stand the reality that Heero was there with them, but she did not have to tolerate anything other then that.

"Ahh . . . a lover's spat." The sound of Calypso's voice jerked Duo back as she spotted the red-haired woman standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Mind your own business." Duo whispered through clinched teeth as she pushed past the other woman.

Calypso reached out and gently touched Duo's arm, but it was enough to compel her to stop and look back at the woman who smiled just ever so slightly as she leaned in to whisper something into Duo's ear. Duo sneered as she jerked her arm from Calypso's grip and continued on her way out of the kitchen mumbling under her breath. Calypso turned to regard Heero, who stood with his hands practically strapped to his sides, those deep blue eyes of his burning in rage as he stared back at her. The smile never left Calypso's face as she moved closer, her body swaying slightly as she approached.

"For someone who's entire life has revolved around finding that particular woman . . . you sure seem eager to let her walk out of your life." Calypso replied in a silky voice.

"That isn't true." Heero replied through clenched teeth.

"Really? Was that not Duo I just watched walking out of the kitchen?" Calypso mocked as she moved past Heero, "I must have been mistaken then . . . ."

Heero grunted as he turned to watch Calypso, the woman smiled up at him as she laced her arm around her back, leaning back on one leg as she looked back at him. From the moment the two had met, it seemed as if they had started to butt heads. It was obvious that Duo wasn't the only person not at all pleased by Heero's appearance. The look in Calypso's eyes turned frosty as she leaned closer to him and placed one finger against his chest.

"I suggest youleave, none of us need you here! We've done just fine on our own, we don't need you or anyone else butting in on our lives!" Calypso replied in an icy tone that seemed to freeze the very air in the room. For a split second, Heero felt the urge to suddenly leave, to walk out without looking back, but the second quickly passed as he straightened and glared down at Calypso.

"I'm not leaving without Duo." Heero replied in an icy tone that put Calypso's tone to shame. A look of shock spread across Calypso's face as she shrank backwards pulling her hand away as if it had been burned.

"Calypso!" The sound of Karen's voice broke the tension between the two as the other woman stepped between them her eyes glaring up at Heero the way a mother stared down someone bullying their child.

"Karen!" Calypso whined as she grabbed hold of the other woman the way a drowning person grabbed onto a float.

"I think that you two have had enough fun . . . ." A third voice dropped the room temperature even further if possible, and Heero turned to see Kira, the albino woman, standing in the open doorway her eyes trained on the two woman huddling together behind Heero. "Go back to bed; we will talk about this later." The look in Kira's eyes promised more then a talk in Heero's opinion but the two women complied without putting up a single protest. Sulking past Heero, Calypso cast one last glance over her shoulder before the two disappeared from the room.

Heero stared at Kira, his gaze calmer now that they were the only two in the room. For some reason, after he had gotten over the shock of seeing an Albino, Heero felt that Kira and he were very much alike.

"Sorry." Heero whispered his head hanging slightly as he rubbed his forehead tiredly, "I don't know what came over me."

"I do." Kira replied calmly as she folded her arms across her chest, "Love is a very tragic thing . . . I don't know why humans bother to pursue it."

Heero smiled slightly at the words, they seemed to be referring to him in particular but perhaps . . . he just couldn't help but be foolish just this once. "I guess you're right . . . ." He chuckled as he spoke, "Love does make people miserable sometimes . . . but then there are times when . . . when it just feels right."

Kira frowned, tilting her head to the side as she looked at Heero, "Then why bother?"

"Because . . . because sometimes . . . humans just don't want to be lonely . . . they want someone there for them. Someone who knows, who understands what they're going through. Being alone is rather . . . final when you think about it."

"But even lovers lie to each other." Kira responded.

"Yes . . . but being in love means looking past all that . . . when you're in love . . . it's just hard to explain sometimes. I trust Duo."

"But if you trust her, then why did you pursue her so harshly?" Kira asked calmly. Heero blinked as he looked up at her; for once . . . Heero found that he had no answer. For so long he had pursued Duo without question, without even thinking about it . . . he had just gone after her with every fiber of his being. Never, never had the idea that maybe Duo didn't want him occur to him . . . for so long he had pursued her but was he right to do so? Was what he was doing wrong?

It's all a mirage . . . none of it's real. Heero felt the world tilt as the words struck him hard in the face, reality slipping from his grip as he found himself floating in darkness. None of this is real . . . it's nothing but a mirage . . . . Heero felt a bitter cold settle over his chest as he stared around at the darkness.

Suddenly the sound of sweet laughter faded in and out of existence, echoing from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I know that voice . . . . He moved – or did he? – towards the sound searching for the source with a desperation that was unlike any he had ever experienced before. Slowly, the darkness began to recede the further in he moved until the world around him became so bright it was almost surreal.

He blinked as the sunlight blazed down on him; he could feel the force of it pressing down around him almost tangible. The sound of laughter continued and he turned to follow the sound of it. A small child stared back at him from beneath a wreath of long deep brown hair, the world felt tilted at that point as he stared into that sweet face. Only then did he realize that he was lying on the ground staring up at the little girl.

"Hello . . . who are you?" A soft familiar voice danced in his head as he stared up at the girl. A memory of this person flickered into view but quickly faded away as swiftly as it had come as he looked up at this odd little child. A frown appeared on the small face and the girl straightened placing her hands on her hips, "Well?! You know it's rude to stare at people!"

He blinked as he pushed himself upright, the world felt somewhat bigger now that he looked around him. He recognized the buildings around them and knew that he was somewhere in one of the colonies, but he could not remember where. The artificial sky stretching out above him, the artificial sunlight . . . everything looked so familiar but he could not recall where he was.

"Hello!!!" The girl's voice brought him back and he turned his head to stare at her. She wore a bright yellow sundress, her long brown hair pinned back but stray strands of it fell to form a dark wreath around her round face. A pair of cobalt blue eyes stared back at him as she knelt at his side and placed her hand against his forehead. "Are you sick?"

"No . . . ." He replied, unable to take his eyes from hers.

"Then can't you tell me what your name is?" A smile spread across her face as she asked and he felt his heart skip a beat.

"My name . . . ?" He frowned picking at his mixed up memories searching for his name, "My name is Heero . . . Heero Yuy." He finally answered.

"Really? That's a funny name." She giggled hiding her smile behind her hands, "My name is Duo . . . Duo Maxwell, and it's nice to meet you Heero Yuy."

"Hello . . . Duo." Heero answered allowing a smile to spread across his face. For one moment he felt as if he should know this girl, as if something wasn't right but the moment quickly faded away.

"Wanna play with me?" Duo asked reaching out to grab hold of his hand.

"Sure!" Heero answered.

It's not real . . . none of this is real! The voice echoed in the back of his mind and he jerked slightly from the sound of it clamping his hands over his ears as if the sound were tangible.

"Does your head hurt?" Duo's voice broke through the pain as she placed a hand over his head again.

"Sort of . . . but it's all better now . . . let's go play!" Heero answered taking hold of her hand as he got to his feet.

Duo smiled as she stared back at the little boy and the two of them started away together, hand in hand.

It's not real . . . none of this is real! She pushed aside the voice easily. She knew that none of it was real . . . she knew that this was all a mirage, that this was Kira's world and nothing inside of it was truly real, but right now . . . right now that didn't matter. She wanted nothing more then to live in this world . . . if only for a few moments longer. Maybe . . . eventually the two of them would walk out of this world together. Isn't that what you want . . . Kira? She looked up at the artificial sky and smiled slightly.

Sorry I was reading over it and thought up something even better . . . hope you like the reposted story! Please send R+R I greatly appreciate it!