Disclaimer: You certainly know the score.

Notes: This is largely a story where I'm hoping to follow the reactions, rather than the expected plot. Thank you for joining me.

Warnings: I mentioned in a previous chapter that I had warnings. It is simply that I am a slash writer; some characters are gay in my view. If you disagree, or perhaps want to have a suitable place to stop: Chapter 9 was your safe stopping place.

Song: Boa – Duvet

::And you don't seem to understand::

::A shame, you seemed an honest man::

::And all the fears you hold so dear::

::Will turn to whisper in your ear::

Fade to Black

By Doctor Megalomania

Chapter 25: Don't feel a thing

::And you know what they say might hurt you::

::And you know that it means so much::

"What does the red string mean?"

Duo traced his finger along the coloured string, following the photos from what he remembered to where he was. "It's Wufei's life," he answered finally and glanced up. Doctor Hobbs was sitting toward the end of the bed, her hands folded in her lap. She smiled faintly.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I can follow from where I remember him, some scrawny, angry guy..." Duo smiled faintly, "You know, if he wasn't shouting he just shut up. He was the one who saw through Trieze's plot first, called us assholes and fools for falling for it." He turned a page, following the string through various other pages, until he hit a double page spread filled with lots of red string splitting in different directions. The little girl was present in many of the pictures and old-man-Wufei overtook his memory. Flashes of orange hair caught his attention. He tapped a picture, tapping the image of the orange haired woman carefully. "She was his wife."

"What can you tell me about her?"

"She was this woman he rescued," He frowned, "they got close when she joined the preventers and got married pretty quick. I always thought it was unlike Wufei to make such a decision so quickly."

"When did you think that?"

He tilted his head and thought carefully, a string of a memory moved just out of his grasp. He wasn't talking to one of the other Gundams, it was...

It flew away and he looked at her with a frown.

"That's ok, it'll come back later." She motioned the book, "Why do you think she chose those colours?"

"I haven't asked."

"I didn't ask what she said," Hobbs tilted her head, "I asked what you thought the colours meant..."

Duo sighed and flicked the book to the second double page, the one that was the first picture of all of them, then and now. He tried to focus on the strings but his thoughts span off in different directions. He was finding it difficult to see the value of Hobbs' discussion based therapy. She didn't seem to take any real direction and it seemed more like a conversation. She just chased down the threads that he suggested, rather than trying to force him in any one direction. His fingers trailed over Trowa's green thread. It was green like his eyes, the shade not exact but a good attempt to match.

"Trowa has green eyes." He said, "That's probably why she chose green for him..."

A flash of a memory came, his stomach clenched and he felt momentarily sick. Wufei had called Trowa a traitor for that punch, but it had really been a method of getting the updated information about their new Gundams to them in the prison cell. The memory made his stomach clench again and that sparked another memory. Heero wasn't shocked by the force of his punch, but he was surprised by how much force Heero had thrown into the punch. Duo blinked and looked down at the book. His fingers trailed over the white string.

Heero's eyes are blue, she didn't pick that colour.

"What colour did she pick?"

"White."

"What's white mean to you, Duo?"

His finger trailed over the string and he closed his eyes briefly. White was pure, white was the colour of the nun's skin as she lay dying. White was the snow on Christmas after the fight and through the snow, Wing was landed awkwardly. Heero's Gundam knelt like a dying angel; its once brilliant white wings were torn to shreds. Heero leant heavily on his arm, his blue eyes almost closed. They were surrounded by people, and one shouted out for them to pose for a picture. The flash had been brilliant and white. Flecks of white snow in Heero's hair. Behind them, the Gundams groaned, heavy metal shifting. Duo had looked back in time to see one of Wing's white wings shift and fall off, sending the snow flying. And in the dark alley, the man had a white eye, scarred and wide open.

His eyes snapped open. "Gundam Wing had white wings."

"What did you see?" Hobbs leant forward, "Something else than Gundam Wing?"

"A man with a scarred white eye."

Hobbs sat back. She looked over to where she put her clipboard, "The man who shot you?"

Duo followed her eyes and looked at the recording device. "I don't know."

She seemed to look down, uncertain if to follow that particular string. He looked down at his book and stared at old-man-Wufei. "Nataku thinks Wufei will find him."

"Does she?"

"She chose red for her father."

"Why do you think she chose red?"

He ran his finger over the red string and made an effort to think about the colour. Red was the light on the wall behind Heero as he bent down, the lights from the preventers' cars. It was a dull red, mixed with white and blue. Like Wufei's Gundam. Almost like Wufei himself, blue shirt, white trousers... face red with rage. Rage was a familiar feeling; he always saw red when he was angry. Red like the blood on his hands when he knelt by Helen. The words 'The Gundams did not save me' were in red on the wall. Red was in the picture of the woman Wufei used to carry around with him, Duo had seen him offer prayers to the woman. Red was the colour that Nataku (or Shenlong or whatever it was that Wufei called his machine) had carried on with when they upgraded it. One late night, months after Heero and Duo had joined the preventers, Wufei had explained it once: Red was the Chinese colour for luck and for joy. It was the colour of happiness. He opened his eyes and followed the thread through to Wufei's page. The thread danced from image to image, it looped and swirled. It circled around images lovingly and he knew what the girl had meant.

He smiled softly. "I think she chose red to let me know that her father was happy at last. That she is happy."

"What purpose does the message serve?"

He blinked, and a shard of memory came to him. How the coffee had turned bitter and he stared at the newspaper. The article was small, but still anything to do with Wufei caught his eye. He wished he hadn't found out about his wife's death this way. On top of everything else, this was another blow. Duo opened his eyes, and looked at the woman with orange hair.

"Bombastic..."

He heard the word in his mind, and closed his eyes to see the memory. Nataku's voice and then Wufei's follow, "She exploded into my life, Duo..."

A memory of a blurred image, a woman and a laughing child. The phone was in front of him and he couldn't reach it. He wanted to speak, but couldn't but was relieved when Heero spoke for him.

"She looks beautiful, Wufei."

Duo didn't cry, not again, not after that first run of tears when the little girl had leaned into his field of vision. Her little face round and beautiful, her voice like a song. He'd cried to see her, to hear Wufei and Heero talking together again.

Doctor Hobbs waited a little longer, but Duo didn't open his eyes again. Exhausted, the man had fallen into another period of sleep. She glanced at her watch and nodded. Duo's periods of lucidity were extending, but it was costing him more. She stood and stopped the recorder, its digital display showing that he'd managed just under two hours of slow and gentle conversation. She had allowed Duo to set the pace, trying to only ask questions to allow him to follow the threads of their conversation. She glanced at her patient and moved to pick up the precious book before it slipped from his grasp. She was astounded by the memory tool it had become, helping Duo to make leaps and bounds between what he remembered and where he was now.

She walked out of his room and returned to the consultation room which had been given to Doctor Po for the treatment of Duo.

Doctor Po was sat at the conference table with Preventer Noin and Preventer Marquise. Captain Chang was stood staring thoughtfully at a whiteboard. Po waved at her as she entered. "How did it go?"

"Better than we predicted." She smiled at Wufei, "Your daughter has been incredibly helpful. Her scrapbook works very well with his mindset."

"Her mother and Duo shared the trait of thinking outside of the box. I can only credit my daughter with the idea." Wufei smiled kindly and took a seat. He motioned Sally, "I hope you don't mind. She needs to be kept informed about Duo's criminal case as well."

Hobbs nodded and held up her recorder, "I may have a little bit to help you with that." She sat down and plugged the device into the desk computer. She typed in a few commands and the computer digitally transcribed the recording. She searched for the words 'white eye', and found the segment she was looking for.

The preventers listened carefully, and Noin nodded, making a note in her tablet computer.

"A man with a scarred white eye?" Zechs Marquise repeated. He sat back and thought carefully, "There wasn't a man of that description in the group I met with."

Noin nodded, "Facial injuries like that were frequent with the pilots." She made a motion toward her face. "Not all of them saw the point of the goggles."

Sally stroked her chin, "I wonder what else he might remember..."

"He doesn't think aloud." Hobbs pointed out, "I doubt we can get anything from him. He thinks a lot, I don't think he has the ability to convert his more image-laden thoughts into description yet." She flicked through the transcript, scrolling and pausing over their conversation. "He seemed fairly distant."

"He doesn't know you." Wufei leant back in his chair, "Probably doesn't trust you." He frowned, and muttered, "Probably doesn't trust any of us yet..."

Hobbs glanced at him, and then looked at the transcript. She considered and dismissed the notion of discussing Duo's comments about the man's happiness. She considered him, and then nodded. "A personality shift is not unexpected in head injuries but it's too early to tell."

Wufei considered her words, and then glanced off to look at the clock. He frowned as if something hadn't happened that he was expecting. The phone began to ring, and the frown disappeared. Hobbs was confused until she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Nurses' station, Mr Yuy is here to see Mr Maxwell."

"Ah," she glanced at Wufei who was looking at her expectantly. "Mr Yuy's here." She repeated, glancing at Doctor Po. Po nodded and rose from her seat. Hobbs returned to the phone, "Doctor Po is on her way."

The Preventers rose as well, and moved around the table to gather their things. Hobbs looked at Po as the woman spoke in quiet tones to Wufei. There had been some concern surrounding the former Gundam Wing Pilot, Hobbs hadn't inquired as he wasn't her patient. Sally Po looked impatiently at Wufei and then finally nodded, acquiescing to his request apparently. Po glanced at her, "I'll be back later. Let's discuss the recording."

"Of course," Hobbs stood from the table, "I'll be on my rounds until one."

"Sounds good."

Wufei walked ahead of her, his expression boarding on stern.

"He has been following the dietary plan." Sally reminded him, "And I've spoken to his therapist. He's back on track."

Wufei frowned and paused for a moment. "He didn't tell us something was wrong."

"Likely from his point of view, nothing was wrong enough to tell you." Sally replied. She raised a hand to touch his shoulder, "He needs support, not your censure. He worked hard to be beside Duo every day for almost a year. You don't know what 'mission' parameters he set for himself, or when he assessed himself as a failure..."

Closing his eyes, Wufei sighed. "I do recognise that I'm angry because I did not think to check on him, to be there for him." Wufei's fists clenched. "Another brother I have failed."

Sally shook her head and motioned them forward. "I think perhaps all of you need to sit down and talk." She stared down the corridor and spotted Heero standing patiently by a wall. He was looking away, his features were gaunt and she was taken back to the wars. A thin boy, all coiled muscle and focus on nothing but the mission. When he turned his head to look toward them, the smile he gave them did not quite reach his eyes. He still looked tired, but it seemed that he was recovering. He was tidy, clean and shaved. He was dressed in a suit, even though he didn't need to dress up. Wufei's raised eyebrow must have asked a silent question.

Heero shrugged and motioned the tie, "One of my well-being exercises is to make an effort with my appearance."

"You look very handsome." Sally put a hand on her hip and smiled, "I'll just go check if Duo's ok for visitors."

Wufei watched her walk away, before turning back to Heero. "You look better. Breakfast?"

Heero's smile reached further this time, "Yes."

"Good. Tomorrow, have breakfast with me and I'll drop you off."

Heero glanced in the direction of Duo's room. "You're assuming he'll want me to visit tomorrow."

"You said it yourself, he will need company. With Barton and Winner working, with me on the case, you're the only one we trust to give him that company."

"We?"

"I discussed it with the others," Wufei raised a hand to clamp it on Heero's shoulder. "We trust you, more than any one of us. Barton and Winner are still too fragile, their argument broke us. They need to find their strength first. I must find justice for Duo before I can rest with him." He squeezed Heero's shoulder, "You, brother, you stood by him. He still trusts you, seeks you out."

He paused and frowned, seeing the doubt in Heero's eyes. He slipped two fingers under Heero's chin and brought the man's eyes up to meet his own.

"He sought you out, remember? He has always ever only looked for you with any seriousness. He never stopped looking for you."

That seemed to bring a spark of life back to Heero's eyes and banished the doubt. Wufei dropped his hands, and Heero nodded. "Yes." He frowned briefly as a dark thought passed over his face. Wufei wondered about it, but didn't get the chance to ask as Heero raised his eyes again. "Can you call the others? We need to meet tonight; I need to talk to you."

"About?"

Heero glanced off in the direction of Duo's room and spotted Sally returning. He lowered his voice, "Unterward gave me the keys to Duo's apartment."

"You found something?"

Heero nodded slowly, "I'm not sure what it means. Six months before he was shot..."

He paused as Sally arrived with them. He glanced at Wufei and shook his head.

Wufei raised a hand and cupped Heero's elbow, he nodded once and they turned to Sally. She smiled faintly, "He's asleep still, but I don't think there is any harm in letting you sit with him for a while."

"I need to get back to the office," Wufei said. He nodded to Heero, "I'll arrange dinner tonight, I'll call you with the details."

"Thanks."

They watched as Wufei walked away. When Heero looked to Sally, he was surprised to see her looking at him. She tilted her head. "You look like you're back on the mission again."

Heero licked nervous lips. He nodded once.

She narrowed her eyes briefly, as if squinting at him. Her expression was sympathetic. "I've seen it before, you know."

"What?"

"Mission failure." She looked at him steadily. "Saw it during the war, Wufei knows it well. He shut down too. Quatre, Trowa and Duo... You've all got your little kill switches, mission failure seems to be one." Her eyes narrowed again, "It frightens me. Knowing that you are all so brilliant, but you've been taught the price of failure and you all fear it so." She raised a hand and touched his shoulder, "I talked to your therapist. Gave him a link into the psych department of the Preventers. He'll use it to develop some behaviour modification exercises."

"He told me. He mentioned you were worried about my 'mission'." He paused and met her eyes, "You don't need to be. Duo isn't the mission..." Heero looked away. She took a step forward.

"What is the mission?"

He looked back at her, his blue eyes almost blank. "I don't know... I think it's to find peace, at last."

She looked at him, concern in her eyes.

He nodded slowly, "But it's going to take all of us." His voice dropped to a whisper. "I need him..."

Sally's expression turned sad, and she looked away down the corridor. "That's not peace you're looking for..."

"I just need him to be okay." Heero said, and swallowed. "I need him to be okay again."

The room wasn't quite right.

This fact itched at Heero's senses and he had to force himself to sit down. The curtains were not quite fully open; the flowers' water needed changing. Duo's hair was brushed, but not braided correctly. Heero sat back in his chair and frowned, the routines he'd set up for Duo had fallen out of sync. His eyes came to rest on the large scrap book. It was Nataku's project of almost a full year. He reached out and carefully looked at the book. The threads took a few moments to understand and he was surprised by her perceptive use of them. His pages were largely empty; Nataku had lost him when he'd disappeared in Paris for four years. The story picked up again after Relena had called him back, and she explained about his new apartment and his 'job' as Duo's carer. It was strange looking at his life, and he was surprised to find a picture of Odin Lowe. The image of the man was old, Odin being a very young man in the image. His OZ uniform made Heero blink in surprise, and he made a mental note to find out how Nataku had gotten the photo. He stared at the gaps in the pages. There was nothing for four years of his life, to explain to Duo where he had been.

Duo had found him.

Had known for six months before he had been shot.

Heero wasn't sure when he had picked up the pen, or how long he had been writing for. He just started writing about where he had gone, how he'd disappeared. He was just running out of space and was considering turning to the inside front cover to write when a noise made him pause. He looked up when the door opened, and the nurse smiled at him. She looked toward the bed expectantly. "What do you need, Mr Maxwell?"

Heero turned his head and was even more surprised when Duo smiled weakly at the nurse, "Some lined paper for him, please."

She nodded and closed the door. Duo's chuckle was awkward. "Could you press the button to help me sit up?" He waved a hand, "They haven't put the remotes within reach." Heero turned in his chair and helped Duo get into a seated position. He took the opportunity to look over the minimal restraints they'd left Duo in. Mostly, it seemed that they wanted to keep him secure in the bed. They had no longer restrained his arms.

"Got bored of having to do them back up." Duo offered by way of explanation when he caught Heero looking. He pointed at the book. "May I?"

" Of course," Heero finally found his voice and moved the book onto Duo's lap. Duo ran his fingers over Heero's words, reading snatches here and there. Where the pages had lacked the photos, Heero had written in small cramped writing where he had been and why he had done those things. Duo traced over the rushed words with a finger. "Gonna take me a while to read this. I'm gonna enjoy reading this again at home."

"Sorry."

"Don't be." There was a small smile on Duo's lips, "I need stuff to do. It's boring being a coma patient..." He looked up, his lip curling in distain. "I mean, I'm awake... I'm not even a coma patient anymore."

"You're currently classed as a coma patient until you hit the upper levels of the scales." Heero said, feeling adrift with Duo's acceptance of his presence so easily. "You've hit the waking levels. This is good."

"Well, good would be going home." Duo looked faintly annoyed and looked away from him. "I'll be fine when I get home, out of this place."

"That's a symptom."

Duo blinked and looked back at him. "What?"

"You don't recognise that the hospital isn't making you sick, you're stuck on the idea that home will mean you will get better."

Duo frowned, "I'm fine. I just need to go home."

Heero looked down for a moment and then looked up at Duo. "What did you ask the nurse for?"

Duo stared at him for a while and then sighed. "I don't know." He looked at the book and stroked the glittery cover. "I remember her coming in, but I don't remember what I asked her."

Heero nodded and offered tentatively. "My research has indicated that is also an expected symptom." He swallowed as Duo stared at him. He carried on. "You'll find it a bit difficult to process and store information until you hit the next waking stage." He blinked at the slow smirk that appeared on Duo's lips. "What?"

Duo blinked, the expression disappearing. "What?"

"You seemed amused."

The frown breezed over Duo's face, and he seemed to glance away. Heero wondered if Duo could remember what he'd been amused about. Duo looked back and smiled, "It was your beard. It's gone now."

Heero reached up automatically. "Yes, I shaved."

"You know, with a beard, you didn't look like ..." Duo glanced at the book, "Uh. Well." He shrugged, "You didn't look like the Heero I knew or the Heero in the book." Duo smiled helplessly. "Thanks for shaving it; it's easier to see you as Heero and not just some beardo."

Heero blinked, "beardo?"

Duo chuckled, "Yeah, well... You didn't look like Heero because you had a beard. That looked weird." Duo lifted his hands, moving them in a wave. "You didn't look like Heero; you looked like a weirdo... with a beard, so therefore you're a beardo." He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and shrugged, "But now you don't have a beard, you don't look weird so now you must be here-oh... ok, so that didn't go as good, but don't worry, buddy, I'm working on—"

Duo was startled when Heero barked a harsh laugh. He looked at the man as Heero covered his mouth, surprise on his face. He was even more startled as the man's blue eyes filled with tears. The next noise that came from the man seemed like a sob, and Duo looked at him with concern. "Hey, it's wasn't that bad."

Heero shook his head, unable to speak. He looked like he couldn't decide whether to cry or laugh. It took long minutes of breathing, but eventually the conflicting emotion seemed to pass. Duo tilted his head, "Are you ok?"

The man swallowed and clenched his hands tightly. It seemed to be a hard effort to raise his head and look up at Duo, but he managed it. "It's just..." he swallowed again, "It's been a long time since I heard you speak like that."

"Really?" Duo was doubtful, and stared at the man. He looked at the open pages of the book, trailing his fingers over the white thread. The photos were few, and the writing was dense. It was hard to doubt the man sitting beside him was Heero, but he was so emotional. A memory skimmed over his mind and the words were out of his mouth before he'd thought about them. "What did your therapist say?"

Heero blinked and Duo stared at him wide eyed with mortification.

"I'm sorry, that..." he looked down at the book. "That was a terribly personal question." A frown gathered on his face, "And I don't think we talked about your therapy today..."

"We haven't." Heero found his voice. He leant forward, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Where did you hear that...?"

Duo's eyes lost focused as the man stared at the end of his bed. Heero watched closely, watching as half formed words appeared on Duo's lips. Duo spent a long time thinking and Heero was on the edge of his seat. He almost jumped out of his skin when the door opened and the nurse came in. "Here you go, Mr Maxwell."

Duo smiled warmly, "Thank you. It's for Mr Yuy." She passed the papers to Heero, and he looked between the paper and Duo. Duo continued smiling, "Nurse Jones?"

"Yes, Mr Maxwell?"

"Have I ever told you a joke?"

She paused by the door and glanced at Heero. They both turned their attention back to Duo. She shrugged, "No, I don't think you have."

"Here's one." Duo's focus on her drifted, "Do you know what an airline pilot's favourite type of crisp is?"

The nurse blinked in confusion as Duo turned his head toward Heero, and Heero's mouth fell open. She wasn't sure what she was seeing, but it meant something to the two men. Duo's eyes were bright as they met Heero's. A warm smile spread over his lips, and he spoke clearly. "Plain."

There was something else here, clearly. The nurse watched as Heero cupped hands over his face and his shoulders began to shudder. She glanced at Duo, staring at Heero with his strange coloured eyes. "Do you need anything else, Mr Maxwell?"

"I think we got what we need." Duo said, without looking at her.

As the door closed, Heero pulled himself back together. Dropping his hands from his face, he turned in his seat to stare into Duo's eyes. The man's head was resting heavily against the pillow, and exhaustion was beginning to set in. Duo's blinks were slowing down. "Hey... tell me something... when did I hear you telling jokes?" His hand flopped on the book. "You never used to..."

"My research indicated that you might remember conversations while you were under..." Heero swallowed, reaching a hand up to brush a lock of hair away from Duo's brow. "What do you remember?"

Duo's eyes closed at the contact, and a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. "Do you always research everything?"

Heero blinked, the words sparking a memory. He smiled faintly, "Yes. Yes, I do."

With some effort, Duo opened his eyes and stared at Heero tiredly. "You're amazing."

Heero swallowed, resting his hand to cup Duo's cheek.

"And so are you."

They whispered the phrase together. Heero closed his eyes and dropped his head. He felt the emotions swirl in his heart at Duo's soft, tired chuckle.

"Hey Heero..."

He raised his head, and Duo seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes opened. Heero shifted to lean his forehead against Duo's carefully. "Rest now."

"I will but..." Duo's voice grew fainter as sleep took him. "You okay...?"

He had to swallow before he spoke, but Heero raised his head to whisper against Duo's forehead. "I'm fine."

"I mean..." Duo struggled, "To wait? You okay to wait?"

"Here?" Heero opened his eyes and stared at Duo's hair, strands of hair spread out over the pillow. He smiled. "I'm okay to wait."

"And tomorrow?"

"I'll be back." He closed his eyes and just breathed in.

"Good... I... wanna read the rest..."

Heero pulled away and looked down at Duo. "Rest?"

Duo's hand flopped on the book again. "You got more to say?"

"Yes."

"Then get writing, soldier." Duo's eyes slipped shut, "I'm out..."

Heero picked up the pen again, and began writing.

It was late when Wufei got home.

Dinner had been a warm affair, warmer than he could ever remember. Duo was missing from their table, but Heero brought such hope with him. He'd come straight from the hospital, and he flown into descriptions of his day with Duo. It had been hard to walk away from Heero and the others after dinner, but Wufei knew that Sally had just as a busy day as he had. She had been kind to take Nataku at such short notice.

"How was it?"

He looked up from removing his shoes and smiled at her. "It was like Heero was alive again." He hung up his coat and stepped further into the apartment.

Sally nodded toward Nataku's room, "She's been pretty good."

"I'd be surprised if she wasn't considering how deep into the dog house she is." Wufei motioned the kitchen. "I'm going to get some tea, would you like some?"

"Funnily enough, I just boiled the kettle." Sally chuckled, and moved with him. They settled at the breakfast bar, and Wufei looked down at the kitchen table. Nataku's craft project over; he'd reclaimed most of it, but for a remaining pile of cuttings and photos which seemed to be slowly being assembled into a poster. "Another one?"

Sally sipped her drink, and looked at him. "You should look at it properly."

Surprised by the serious tone, Wufei looked at the poster. It seemed to be more of a time line. "What is this?"

"I didn't realise it at the time, but she's been doing more than creating a scrap book." Sally sighed, her voice worried. "I think she's also been trying to help you..." she pointed at the end of the timeline poster. It was when Duo had been shot.

"She's investigating?" Wufei looked at Sally with concern, "She—"

"She just wants to help her father." Sally sat down again, taking the poster from Wufei and waited for him to join her.

"Has she been looking—"

Sally held up a hand. "No. Most definitely not." Sally smiled faintly, "You made her promise not to look in the files and folders you brought home so she's been doing it by herself." Sally sipped her drink, "We had a long chat about it tonight when I found it in her room."

He looked concerned but looked at the poster anyway. "She's too clever."

"Nataku is very good at connecting the dots. She's trying to be helpful." Sally said calmly, "And she has been. She doesn't know it, but she's found something we didn't."

He glanced at her.

Sally tapped a space. A photo of Duo standing in front of a podium. It looked like it was a screen capture from a news program. Wufei looked at it, frowning. He'd seen this image before. He glanced at the date, it was six months before Duo had been shot. "That's ..."

"Funny, isn't it? That number of months just keeps cropping up." Sally said, reaching for a tablet computer. She continued as she tapped at it. "Six months before he was shot... Duo's hate mail gets more dangerous, more threatening... Six months before he was shot, Duo makes an unusual announcement despite years of never appearing in front of media outlets if he could help it..."

"Six months, the messages stopped." Wufei said, his voice a whisper. A frown appeared as a thought occurred to him. Sally's cry of triumph startled him, and he lost the thread of his thought. He looked at the woman, as she tilted the device toward him. It was a video from the internet.

"Found the announcement."

They watched it through once.

"Play it again."

Sally frowned but tapped the screen again. Wufei stared at the device in her hands, watching the news broadcast closely again. In it, Duo was smiling brilliantly at the camera. He was surrounded by reporters as he made his announcement on the steps of Second Chance Inc's headquarters. He didn't look nervous as he spoke.

"You know me as Max Basilica." Duo said, the smile on his lips knowing. "But my name is Duo Maxwell." He glanced down for a moment, and took a breath. He reached up to pull dark glasses from his face, and his very recognisable violet eyes were staring steadily at the camera. "I was the second Gundam Pilot."

Wufei took the device from Sally and sank down into his seat.

"And here I am. Right here on L2 to tell you that I'm proud to be a part of this wonderful company. Since peace has come to both the colonies and earth, I have been happy to walk the streets of this great colony alone. That wasn't something you used to be able to do, and I should know. To see what I have done, what we have done for this place, I want to take this chance to say: I'm pleased to be here. As both a Gundam and a resident of this colony. Since the wars ended, I've had a good life." He laughed, carefree. "If I die tomorrow, I'll die knowing that the Gundams saved everyone and brought peace to the world. I'll die happy."

Sally looked between the device and Wufei. "What's he doing?"

"The Gundams did not save me." Wufei's expression darkened, "He knew the phrase."

"He probably read some of the hate-mail. But are you sure he's making reference to that?" Sally shook her head, confused, "He just seems to be talking."

The man pressed play on the announcement and looked at her, as Duo began speaking again.

Wufei's expression was grim. "He was always very good at talking."

::And you know I didn't mean to hurt you::

::And you know that it means so much::

::But you don't even feel a thing::

::I have fallen::

::I have faded::

::I am drowning, help me to breathe::

A/N: Ah, an awkward 'middle of the week' update. My apologies for being rubbish. I had to pause in writing for a while; I was writing utter crap and didn't want to impose that on anyone. This update comes to you before my weekend away, in an attempt to not put it off any longer. I have a policy of not posting a chapter until I'm a decent way into two chapters ahead, but if I stay away much longer I fear I'll lose the nerve. Duo is very hard to write in a non-comedic or non-clichéd way.

Also, this tumblr thing. I'm new to it, but would like to get to know people who are in the fandom and know how to make tumblr spit out the delicious 2x1. Anyone willing to help? I'm darliq.

As ever, I hope for and look forward to your review and thank you in advance for your words. .