Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing...yadda...yadda. Anything else to keep you Sunrise people from suing me? Okay, that's good. On another note: I'm not sure when this takes place so don't bug me about it. There's a funky dream sequence as a bonus, too. This part, like the last, contains YAOI, so no complaints. I'm going to say it again:
THIS HAS YAOI, SHOUNEN-AI, AND HINTS OF YURI, IF YOU DO NOT LIKE, TURN BACK NOW! IF YOU COMPLAIN ON THESE GROUNDS THE ZOOGAMI WILL LAUGH AT YOU.
Well, that being said, read on! Hope you enjoy.
Matchmaker, Part 2: A Lover's Dream
By Zoogami
Summary: Part 2 of my little saga! Quatre feels guilty, Heero's haunted by dreams. Wufei finally has had enough of Duo barricading himself in his room, and goes to find a certain Wing pilot. *YAOI* (and hints of Yuri) So no flames about that. If you're lost, then read part 1!
The door opened a crack, light spilling across the otherwise black floor in a line. Quatre slipped in, shutting the light behind him. He was determined to try, one last time. If this didn't work...He blamed himself for it all. If he had just told Duo and Heero in the first place, if he just hadn't honored that stupid promise he had made to Duo, if he hadn't taken that drink from Abdul...oh, so many things. Then Heero wouldn't have run out into the night, and braided boy who loved him wouldn't have locked himself in his room for the past two and a half days.
" This is all my fault...I need to fix this." And he would attempt to, the small blond thought inwardly. But if the dozens of other times they had tried had failed, then why would this make any difference?
" D-Duo?" He called out cautiously, gently.
" Go away." Came the response, cold, full of tears.
Quatre wished he could see where the other boy was, but his eyes wouldn't adjust to the abysmal darkness as fast as he liked. " It's Quatre. I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk." Something came whizzing out of the blackness at him, barely missing his head.
The American's voice rang through the room, sounding waiver-like and angry.
" H-hurt me??? You won't hurt me Quatre??? You already have hurt me!!!" Another object- Quatre realized it was a folder full of papers- came at him
from where ever Duo was hiding.
" Duo..." Quatre thought he saw a figure huddled in the farthest corner, but he wasn't sure.
" Don't come near me!!!" The Arabian could have sworn he sounded....
...afraid. " Don't touch me!!! I am the Shinigami...everything I touch turns to dust!!!! I destroy everything!!"
" No, that's n - DUO!"
" LEAVE. ME. ALONE!!!! A whirlwind of papers attacked Quatre and he stumbled to the door. By the time he had opened it and moved to the other side all hope had escaped from his heart.
" So." Zechs Marquise/ Milliardo Peacecraft sat slumped against the facing wall, hands in his lap, knees brought up. " I'm assuming you had no luck, either." It wasn't a question.
Trowa, who had been waiting as well, felt like smacking the shit out of him; Relena's brother, or not. He had never been that violent, personally, despite his occupation as a Gundam pilot, but he was about to snap. He understood that this situation was making everyone VERY tense, but that was no reason for Zech
s, or Milliardo, or whatever the hell he called himself, to be so curt. It was especially not a reason.
Quatre noticed the maddening expression on Trowa's usually calm face and decided to sooth the volcano before it exploded.
" No. Come on, Trowa. You look like you need a break."
" Yeah, I guess I could." He mumbled angrily under his breath, taking a final pissed-off glance at Zechs as he walked away with Quatre.
" How about some tea?"
The part-time acrobat could only groan.
***
Night fell as the fiery sun sunk beneath the hills, the sky growing a velvety black as the white specks that were stars stood out beyond heavy clouds.
Hilde sat in one of the Winner mansion's numerous sitting rooms, cradling a mug of cocoa in her hands, her thumb tracing the rim over and over again. She wasn't in the mood to drink it. Instead she pressed a hand to the cold surface of the window, watching as a fog spread over the glass where she touched it. She could only think about how she had once thought she was in love with Duo Maxwell.
" But I wasn't." She mused. " I was just in awe of him." And then she had met Relena, by chance. Relena had represented something Hilde had never known, a sense of peace. Everything about her was warm and wonderful, she had become the first real friend Hilde had ever had.
" Well, that's gone to the dogs now!" She couldn't blame Quatre, really, as much as she wanted to. " If everyone had told me their secrets and then made me promise not to tell a soul I'd probably have gone a bit out there, too." She'd felt the effects of alcohol before, and she, like Quatre, didn't like how they impaired her. Some people weren't really effected by drinking- take Duo, or even Howard, as an example- but to Hilde, who wasn't used to it, it made her lacking in judgment.
But in some ways it had made things more clear. One night, a month or two ago, there had been a party for Trowa's 17th birthday at one of the more clean bars in L2. Hilde was already tense when she go there, but seeing Quatre and Trowa toge
ther had upset her for some reason.....because they had love and she didn't. And so, overloaded with emotion, she had apparently drunk more than she had intended; which had been none at all.
Then, next thing she knew, she had awoken up next to the still clothed (thank goodness) body of...Relena. They hadn't really talked about it that much, but now they were closer then ever. And both now knew what true, if unconventional, love could be like.
Hilde stared at the ceiling as if it would tell her answers. Love could be many things. And it could kill you. Hilde understood - thanks to a certain Arabian's adventure - how embarrassing it was to have that kind of secret revealed, but she couldn't imagine how horrible it must be to not have a loving response to it. It was killing Duo.
" Please just hang in there." But only the ceiling heard her.
***
Heero was dreaming:
Across a golden sea of sand there was
an island. He was sailing to it on a boat made of silver crosses etched into glass, so breathless it was floating. Everything was quiet, so quiet.
He wandered out of the boat and onto the island. There were colored flowers everywhere, and lying in their shade was Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, Zechs, Catherine.....they were all there, everyone who'd been at the party, with the exception of a certain braided someone....They were covered in a glittery film, and Heero couldn't break it no matter how hard he tried. No! He couldn't let them die like that! False smiles emitted from the filmy stuff, haunting images-suddenly they all disappeared.
A scream sounded from the other end of the island. Wait, it wasn't a scream....it was Duo's voice, crying for help. Heero found he held Wufei's katana in his hand, and, not wasting a moment, cut through the underbrush of poison-colored plants. He went on and on, mindlessly, only thinking; Duo. I have to save Duo.
Eve
ntually he reached a clearing. It was beautiful, with moss and a blue waterfall cascading over rocks into a shimmering pool below. But Heero barely noticed all that. The one thing he was focused on was the naked figure laying on a bed of the poison-petals, obviously hurt in some way.
Heero ran up to Duo and kneeled down beside him, lifting his head up. Duo looked gorgeous, his sleek athletic body covered with dew drops and spray from the waterfall, lips crimson, his eyelashes glowing violet. Deep purple eyes opened and regarded Heero....but then the expression changed to fear.
" No! Don't touch me! Sta-" Dream Duo's shouts were brought to a halt as Heero leaned down to kiss him. But as soon as their lips touched the sky of the dream world clouded over, became dark, and Heero could feel something wrong in the air. A flock of birds fled from the trees, screeching.
Something moved beneath his hands. It took Heero a second to realize that Duo was being pulled from him, being suffocated by thick v
ines. He had to do something. A strong wind picked up and Heero realized he held Wufei's sword in his hand once again.
Standing, and raising the blade over his head, he brought it down and struck. The vines released Duo and Heero was relieved...until he saw that he had stabbed Duo, not the deadly foliage surrounding him. Black blood seeped from the wound in Duo's chest and a trickle of it ran from his mouth. Heero stepped back in horror.
" NOOOO!!!!" He cradled the body to him, the blood soaking through to his skin. " NOOOO!!!!!!!!! NOOO-"
"-OOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" Heero sat bolt upright in bed, screaming. He put a hand on the mattress to steady himself, his breath coming out in ragged gasps. Sweaty strands of hair hung in his eyes, but he didn't brush them away. Duo wasn't dead, he hadn't killed him; Duo was back at Quatre's house, and Heero was still in the motel room.
" No. No." He whispered. " No....it was only a dream....Duo's not dead....it just feels that way." He finished the thought in his head.
***
The Winner mansion was finally still, everyone was in their rooms sleeping, getting rest at last. Or, at least, trying to. Loud sobs echoed through the house, from rafter to floorboard, going on forever as if they were the cries of a ghost, a lost soul.
Trowa was awake, as everyone was, listening uneasily. Quatre lay awake as well, his head on Trowa's chest.
" Oh, Allah, what are we going to do?"
Trowa stroked Quatre's hair behind his ears absentmindedly, still staring at the opposite wall. " There's nothing we can do, koi." He responded quietly. " Do you want one of us to knock on the door and say we're all very sympathetic to what you're going through, but could you please keep your sorrow down'?"
At this the blond raised his head and turned to look into the green eyes of his tall lover. " You know that is not what I meant, Trowa."
" I know,..but there's really nothing we can....do?" There was a knock at their door. " Who-?" The knocks continued, growing more a
nd more fierce.
" Barton! Winner! Open up!"
Trowa had gotten up and opened the door by then. " Wufei?"
If the black-haired pilot was uncomfortable looking at Trowa clad only in a sheet, he made no show of it. Trowa, however, was not as understanding.
" What is it?"
" This...!" The Chinese boy gestured at the wall to Duo's room.
" And what do you suggest we do about it, huh?"
Wufei shook his head. " I've had enough, I'm going to find Heero."
Trowa's eyes widened. The reason not one of them had suggested this sooner was that, knowing Heero, if he didn't want to be found, no one could find him. They knew he had left in a hurry, but still, he might be impossible to track.
" What makes you so sure you'll be able to find him?" Another sob came through the thin plaster.
Icy dark eyes regarded him. " Anything is better than listening to him go on." He turned to go, but a voice stopped him.
" Wufei!" Quatre practically jogged over to them and him something. Trowa didn't get a good look at it, but Wufei took a glance, before nodding and putting it in his pocket thoughtfully. " I hope you find him."
" So do I." Relena had appeared at the door, dressed in a nightgown and clutching her robe around her. Wufei nodded again, then pivoted on his heel and strode towards the garage.
***
He lay on the floor, his hands bruised and bleeding from hitting the wall so many times, limbs exhausted.
" And I thought only the Perfect Soldier took out his aggravation that way." This brought forth yet more tears, though he barely felt them anymore. They slid down his face in the familiar grooves of their predecessors, wet and salty. But the sting he felt was inside.
He hadn't moved for God knew how long, and he had no reason to. He couldn't....his body felt so weak...broken down by the wailing that wracked his thin frame. He barely blinked, his breathing felt shallow to him. The floor felt like hours, but then again, time had always been his enemy. Everyone he fell in love with, everything he cared about, destroyed by knowing him, over time. It was a curse, his curse, the curse of the Great Destroyer, the self-proclaimed God of Death.
" How is it that you didn't stand up to the curse, my immortal lover? How did it destroy even you? Missiles couldn't kill you, bullets wouldn't wound you, but somehow.......you're gone just by my touch...."
Duo felt a fresh burst of crying welding up, and he didn't hold back. He hadn't the strength.
" I've destroyed even myself.....I'm dying....look I'm dying.....not even the Angel of Death is here to save me....."
***
A searcher drove along the highway, cursing as drops of water hit the front window. He'd been driving for hours, spurred on by the image he had, the object of his search, burning a hole through
the cloth of his pocket.
He, Chang Wufei, swore he would find Heero if it was the last damn thing he ever did. He and Duo always seemed to have a tense acquaintance with each other, but they had still been friends. He had thought often that Duo was too easy going, and the braided American had felt he was too uptight, in return. But in many ways he was sorry of all the undeserving insults he had delt out to the other over the last two years or so, and had resolved to make it up to Duo.
Now he glanced at the clouding sky with growing worry.
" That's all I need now...a storm."
End of Part 2
Sorry it wasn't longer, but I felt I needed to give you all another piece soon. More to come, so keep watching for Part 3!
Arigato,
-The Zoogami