Chapter 2
The One Who
Didn't...
"What
do you mean!?"
"Relena,
I...I--we couldn't--umm..."
"We
couldn't find him." Wufei
muttered, putting an end to any tactful attempt Duo was planning. The American boy turned around and glared
angrily at the tactless pilot.
Relena just
stared on blankly. 'We couldn't find
him'. Relena looked around. Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, her brother. They couldn't find him. Who was missing? 5 pilots in all. There
were supposed to be 6.
Heero Yuy was missing.
The young
girl could feel her hands trembling as she dropped to her knees. He was gone. He'd given her everything, and now he was gone.
"No! You're lying! Shut
up...you're---you...lying---"
Duo dropped
beside Relena and wrapped his arms around her waist in an effort to calm
her. "It's okay..." he murmured softly, stroking small circles throughout
her back. The young girl drew in ragged
breaths and pushed herself into Duo's chest. "It's not okay...he's---he's dead!"
Duo sighed,
allowing a small tear to slide down his cheek, and pressed Relena closer to
him. "But...he promised me----last
night...he--he said...he promised he would come back!"
Duo blinked
blankly for some seconds, he had known of that promise, he'd known Relena had
been begging him for it. What he hadn't
known was that his best friend had agreed.
"Relena,
please, stand up. You too, Duo."
It was
Zechs. The girl stood and eyed her
brother icily, but that was before she broke into tears and ran to him for
comfort. "They let him die! You let him die! He promised me, Milliardo! Last night...we were in his room...and he---he promised me. This morning...he promised me ! He broke his promise ! He lied to me---he
broke his word..."
Milliardo
couldn't help but arch an eyebrow when his sister mentioned 'his room'. Nevertheless, he held her close and pressed
her cheek to his chest. "I bet he
tried. He must've tried. Heero Yuy rarely breaks a
promise...especially not to you---he'd know better."
Relena
sniffled against Milliaro, closing her eyes as she tried to push away the
pain. Soon, and without her realizing
it, Relena drifted into a deep sleep. She had fainted.
Duo looked
on, appearing almost immune to the pain that was tearing his heart to
shreds. He closed his eyes and stuffed
his fists into his jean pockets. Turning, he quickly evaded the scene and rushed outside for fresh air.
The young
man bit his lip in an effort to contain the tears that were just about
overflowing from his eyes. Heero had
been his friend. He missed him just as
much as Relena did---maybe more. Duo
had loved Heero, not in the way Relena had, but he had loved him like a friend,
like a partner, and even like a brother.
A bitter
smile came to his lips as he recalled his last words. 'Like a brother'. It was
true, in the last couple of months their trust had seemingly multiplied, and of
course, so had the teasing. Duo teased
Heero just as a brother would, and occasionally, even the grim young man would
join in, uttering sarcastic remarks as a form of insult---Duo didn't mind, he
never had. As a matter of fact, he took Heero's insults as a form of affection.
"Braided
baka." The word still lingered on
his lips. That was Heero's favorite
insult---braided idiot. Duo's smile
faded when he thought of Relena. She
really was battered up about the news---not that he himself wasn't concerned,
it was just that he delt with his grief in a different way. The only way
Relena knew how to deal with her own burderns was by breaking into tears.
Duo thought
for a moment. He knew well Heero had
cared for the young girl, even when Heero himself hadn't realized it. Duo knew well that if Heero had made a
promise, he'd be most likely to keep it---unless something unstoppable had
gotten in the way. Duo sighed. There was just no way...he wished he
could've done something to help Heero...but he hadn't realized he wasn't
responding until it was too late.
They had
all received their orders. They had all
seperated. Heero had headed off to one
of the listings on the citation list. All in all there had been 6 citations. And it hadn't been until they'd gotten back that they'd realized that
they had all been false...all except for the citation on Port 6 DR8. The location Heero had been sent to.
Duo cringed
inwardly and a pain struck him at the heart. It hurt to remember. And yet,
his mind seemed to fly off without his allowing it.
He
remembered well that upon his arrival, Duo had just stood in the shadows,
waiting endlessly for a figure to appear in the dark of the night. Finally, at twelve midnight, he took off. According to the letter the assassin would
only be waiting until 12. No one had
appeared in Duo's location. No one had
appeared in Quatre's location. No one
had appeared in Trowa's location, and no one had appeared in Wufei or Zechs'
location.
Someone had
definitly appeared in Heero's location...
Duo sighed,
he recalled everything perfectly. He'd
rushed back to his shuttle, eager to report that the stranger had not arrived
to the citation. Once he'd settled
himself in, he was already on his way back to Earth, he'd input his entry code
and signed in. Quatre had also, as had
Trowa, Wufei, and Zechs----Heero hadn't.
It wasn't
until then that the five had realized that one member of their clan was
missing...Heero Yuy. At first they
hadn't paid much attention, they figured that Heero had simply forgotten to do
so...it was common, and Heero had probably finished his mission early and was
most likely already at home. Nevertheless, it struck Duo odd. Heero might've finished his mission early,
and he might've forgotten, but all the
time Duo Maxwell had known Heero, the young soldier had NEVEr once done
something to endanger a mission---much less carelessly forgotten to input a
code. Duo let it pass, he wanted to believe what the others were saying.
Later, much
later, when they arrived home, they realize Heero was no where in sight. They scanned endlessly, searching for his
code, but could not find it. What was
more apalling, his shuttle, according to the radar, hadn't been touched. Something had happened.
Duo and the
others soon connected the puzzle. None
had come in contact with the possible assassin. According to each of the pilots, no one had come to their
citation and they had (each) promptly left the area. Apparently, Heero was the only one whose citation had proven
true.
Damn it...Rendezvous
Point...DAMN IT !!!!!!!!!!
Duo fell to
his knees, collapsing on the concrete ground of Headquarters, in complete
despair. **Life is just too tough on
us. Shinigami or not, this is too much
for a human to bear...it just isn't fair anymore...but then again, it was never
fair in the first place.**
"Damn
it, Heero. You promised her...you never
break your promises. Damn it Heero !!
Damn it !"
_______________________________________
::3 Months
Later::
Relena
pushed and tugged anxiously at her hair, hoping it would somehow become a
ponytail. "Relena?" called out a cheerful voice. The young girl turned and strained to smile
into the face of the fellow pilot. "Yes, Duo?"
"Well----I
don't wanna be a pain, but..."
"But
what?"
"Zechsy
said your doc's appointment is today at 2:30 and that I gotta take you."
Relena
sighed tiredly, Milliardo. He seemed
obsessed with the idea that Heero's leave had harmed her emotionally. It had. She would admit that much, but it wasn't so far as to have to attend a
doctor every 2 weeks. This was
beginning to get tiring.
"Well,
tell 'Zechsy' that I won't be going today."
"Tell
who?" boomed a voice from across
the hall. Relena paled and ducked
behind Duo as Zechs entered the bedroom. "Did I hear correctly when you said 'Tell Zechsy that I won't be
going'?"
"Milliardo!
I refuse to attend a doctor every week! It is quite tiring!"
"Relena,
do not exagerate, I send you every I2/I weeks."
Duo stifled
a laugh as he heard the good natured argument. As usual, Relena gave in.
"Duo, when shall we go?"
"Whenever
you want, Miss Relena, I'm your personal chauffeur for the day."
"Shall
we go now? I cannot stand to be in the
same house as that cannibal."
Duo grinned
and held open the door for Relena...it was going to be a long day.
Duo stood
outside the doctor's office, waiting impatiently as Relena was 'examined'. What could possibly take so long?! He didn't have to wait much longer, because only a few minutes
later Relena emerged. She seemed
pale. Duo eyed the doctor
suspiciously---he never did trust doctors.
"Relena,
you okay? Ya seem pale..."
"Fine,
Duo. Take me home, please."
The young
man nodded and watched curiously as Relena walked robotically toward the
car. They had obviously told her
something, he wasn't sure what, though.
The two
arrived home and Relena practically dove for her bedroom. Duo, however, was stopped by Zechs.
"What
did the doctor say?"
"Dunno. She didn't say, all I know is that she came
outta that office lookin' a little pale."
"Are
you saying she went inside alone?"
"Noooo,
I went in with her, but then she kinda fainted and the doctor said she'd like
to examine her.
I said
okay, but she motioned for me to leave. Umm, ya know...she was going to, um...look at her."
"All
Right."
Zechs
sighed deeply and studied Duo sternly, he didn't like what he was hearing. "Go upstairs and talk to her, maybe
she'll tell you something."
Duo nodded,
"Yessir, Zechsy!" the young
man saluted, and dodged Zech's swing. Then, he made his way upstairs.
"Relena..."
"Come
in, Duo."
The young
man pushed the door open hesitantly, when he stepped inside he made sure to
close it behind him. He studied Relena
cautiously, she looked rather teary-eyed. "Are ya gonna tell me what the doc said?"
"Yeah,
sure, sit down, you might fall over when I tell you."
"That
bad, huh?"
Relena
nodded and sat up suddenly. Then,
without further notice, she buried herself within Duo's comforting arms. "God, Duo...it's about Heero! All I've done and he's still here with
me!"
"You
mean he's alive?" Duo asked
incredously. He realized his stupidity
when Relena regarded him oddly. "No. But...God ! How do I say this?!"
The pilot
stood, running a hand through his disheveled hair, and staring confusedly at
Relena. "Sorry, but I really have
no idea what the hell your talkin' about."
"Duo...I'm---I'm,
uh...pregnant."
Duo just
stopped cold. He eyed Relena
blankly. Pregnant. That was what she'd said.
"What
the hell does this have to do with
Heero?"
"What
do you think Duo !? Hello?! I'm Pregnant?!"
"Do
you mean...?"
"Yes!
He's the father! He...he was---he was the fa...ther---"
Duo rushed
to Relena as he caught he faltering stance. She needed comfort. But his mind
was a mess. Heero was supposed to have
been the father. But when? Then he
remembered. Duo recalled that moment,
that moment when Relena had just found out about Heero's possible death. He remembered her words... she'd said
something about his room and a promise. That had to be it.
"Are
you sure...I mean, are you sure he was the father?"
"Idiot! What do you think I am? He was the only person I was ever with, of
course he's the father!"
"When...when was this...?"
"The
night before you left...I asked him to----he didn't want to but, he gave
in. And then he asked me
if I was
sure whether or not I'd be pregnant...I said no. And he asked...God damn it ---he asked since
when did I
gamble in life!! Duo! I..I can't do this---I won't be able to live this
way. Not knowing that
there's
something of his inside me---I...I can't...I won't---"
Duo pulled
Relena into his arms, her tears moistening his blue sweater, but he didn't
mind. This was too serious. He didn't like the way she was talking...she
couldn't say those things. "When
are you going to tell Zechs?" he asked
softly.
"I
won't," the girl murmured quickly. "Relena, whatever you do, he's going to notice sooner or
later."
"I
talked to the doctor. I won't have
it. I...I---can't...please, Duo,
understand...I can't---Heero...I can't
DO THIS anymore. I just want to die
!"
The young
man just stared in disbelief at the young girl's words. She was shaking violently, tears streaming
down her cheeks and her hair shaken out of its ponytail. Duo held onto her wishing madly that she
would stop talking such nonsense. "Relena, you can't, Heero would not have wanted that to
happen."
"Damn
it, Duo ! What the hell does it matter?! Heero's dead remember?! He died three months ago!"
"Relena,
get ahold of yourself !"
Relena
glared at Duo, and tried hard to contain herself, finally though, when she
could no longer take it, she could feel herself falter and Duo gently pull her
up. "Oh, Duo! I loved him...I still love him. But why did he have to leave this within
me? Why did he have to leave me a
constant reminder of who he is?!"
"You're
going to abort?"
The
question came bluntly and without tact. Relena glanced up sullenly. Then, rather vaguely, she nodded. "I...I'm sorry, I know it's wrong, but---God! I just wouldn't be able to live...seeing
that child ever day, reminding me of Heero."
I wrapped
my arms around her, eager at making her change her mind, and quietly listened
as she spoke. "No one will ever
know---that is, except for you...and, Oh Duo ! I don't want to kill it,
but---"
"But
what?"
"He
will remind me of Heero!"
I shrugged
uncertainly, as much as I figured, a constant reminder of Heero wouldn't be
such a bad thing, I mean, at least she'd remember him... then again, the whole
thing could have two side effects. "When are you going to do it?"
"In 2
weeks," she whispered softly, still buried and trembling into Duo's
chest. The young man sighed deeply and
pulled her closer, "Promise me you'll think about it, Relena."
"I
don't believe in promises anymore, but for you my friend...I will."
To Be Continued
More to come, but, do you like it so far?
