Ok, so this is my first ever completed Gundam Wing fic. I am actually nervous about it! ^_^ Comments would be greatly loved! Oh, and Gundam Wing doesn't belong to me, but you all know that, right?
You can expect sap, romance, and OOC Trowa and Wufei! Yay! Also expect some 3x2, since that is such a delicious pairing! Please give me some feedback. ^_^
~~ Forgiveness, Please ~~
There was nothing for Trowa to do beside sit there and nervously clench his hands in his lap as he watched the others argue over the TV remote. They would glance over at him, occasionally, but none of them knew that he was feeling anything other than his normal nothingness.
It had been two weeks since all the pilots had managed to free themselves from OZ, and it had been two weeks since Trowa had last seen Duo. Their last meeting had been, unfortunately, an unpleasant one, as Trowa had been forced to play out his role as an OZ soldier, delivering a painful punch to Duo's gut. True, it had also been an effective cover to pass along the new specs for Duo and Wufei's Gundam, but he had still hit Duo.
But that wasn't what was bothering Trowa the most. Trowa knew that his braided lover would forgive him for the punch and insults, but there was no way that Duo would ever forgive him for destroying the Deathscythe. He knew he could try and beg Duo for forgiveness, but there wasn't too much of a chance that he would be forgiven. That was what was really bothering Trowa.
And now, all he could do was wait for Duo to finally catch up with him and the rest. And he was sure that he wouldn't have to wait long.
Trowa glanced again at his friends. Heero had his arms wrapped around Quatre, who had curled up against him. Trowa found it amazing at how quickly the blond had gotten Heero to open up. But, Quatre did have a way with people, and you also have to consider that Heero did have emotions, he just always repressed them. Trowa, on the other hand, sometimes wondered if he went beyond simply suppressing his emotions. Perhaps he didn't have any at all, and that was why Duo always seemed to be frustrated with him.
Wufei was yelling at Heero for making him watch whatever stupid show that was on. Heero replied by telling his that is was what Quatre wanted to watch, as if that would shut him up. Trowa couldn't help but smirk at the little fit Wufei was throwing. Sometimes, the Chinese pilot was just too much.
A door slamming open quickly shut everyone up, though. Trowa closed his eyes and turned his head to face the front door of the little cabin that they were staying in. When he opened his eyes he was rewarded with the sight of a dripping wet Duo standing in the doorway.
Trowa stood up, hoping that Duo would talk to him, give him the chance to explain the events of the last month. But Duo apparently had other things in mind. He walked past his lover without a glance in his direction as he headed towards the stairs. The only sign that Duo gave of even knowing Trowa was there was when he paused momentarily to peel off his soaking wet coat and flung it at Trowa.
Trowa's natural instincts kicked in and he caught the coat before it hit him in the face. His grip on the fabric caused him to squeeze some of the water out, and he could only stare at the wet bundle in his arms in shock as little rivulets of water ran down his hands and soaked into his shirt. So that was how it is? Trowa slumped back down in the chair he had been siting in, his eyes going out of focus as they stared unblinking at Duo's coat.
Quatre bit his lip as he watched the exchange between his friends. He knew Duo was going to be angry with Trowa, but this wasn't what he had expected. This had to be worse. Normally Duo would scream and rant when he was angry, but just now, Duo didn't say a word. Glancing up at Heero, Quatre saw that his lover was thinking the exact same thing.
Heero gave a small grunt and looked over at Wufei with a meaningful glance. "Wufei…I believe this is your department."
Wufei's eyes widened slightly, realizing what Heero intended for him to do. "Yuy, Maxwell can deal with his own problems. I am not-"
"Please Wufei?" Quatre interrupted, "You are Duo's best friend, even if you don't want to admit it."
Wufei's eyes narrowed as he glared at the two boys sitting on the couch. He didn't want to admit it. He didn't know why, he just didn't. He supposed it was because he always acted as if the braided boy was an annoyance, and if he admitted to being Duo's closet friend, he would be admitting that he was unjustified in his actions. True, Duo could be annoying sometimes, but usually Wufei enjoyed Duo's company. It was such a difference from the normal somber attitude that surrounded him in his wartime situation.
Grumbling to himself, Wufei reluctantly gave up his comfortable chair to go comfort the Deathscythe pilot, glaring at Trowa as he went past.
Trowa felt himself wince under Wufei's glare as the other boy passed by, heading up the steps that Duo had pounded up only minutes before. Of course Wufei would be made at him, he had upset his best friend.
Wufei paused for a moment at Duo's door before knocking. "Duo?" he called softly as he finally knocked. A loud crash from inside the room was the only reply. "Duo?" Wufei called again, this time a tinge of worry creeping into his voice.
"What is it?" Came the gruff reply. A second later, a shattering sound came from inside.
Wufei frowned. Without a second thought, he threw himself on the door, which opened without one ounce of resistant. Obviously Duo hadn't locked the door. Wufei stumbled into the room. When he regained his balance, he frantically glanced around, trying to see what had happened and if Duo was ok.
He frowned when he saw his friend. Duo was lying down on the bed, unhurt. The mirror across the room was now just a few glass shards stuck in the frame, the rest lay on the ground and on Duo's pack, which had been the cause of the mess.
"Maxwell, talk to me. Tell me what is wrong." Wufei commanded, trying to take some of the sharp edge out of his voice. Duo need someone who wouldn't snap at him right now, and as hard as it was, Wufei wanted to be that person. He sat down on the bed on the opposite wall in the small room; Trowa's bed.
"Oh, as if you don't know!" Duo cried, slamming his hands down on the bed if frustration.
"So, I take it that this about Trowa…and perhaps his treatment of you when you were captured. You know he had no choice Duo. We needed him in OZ, he had to do it, otherwise they would have found him out. Then all of us would have been captured and the war would have been over. We lost." Wufei informed him as an adult would to a child.
Duo scowled at sat up, turning to face the Chinese boy. "No Wufei, it is not that. Ok, so maybe that really pissed me off, but I understand that he had to do that."
"So what is it Max…Duo?" Wufei asked again.
"Deathscythe. Trowa destroyed the Deathscythe. My Deathscythe! The one friend that I could always count on no matter what! And Trowa destroyed that without a second thought! He didn't care."
"Duo…you are going to get a new Gundam…and once again, Trowa had to do that, otherwise OZ would have found out that he was one of us."
"Sure sure, it is easy for you to say, but hard for me to deal with. You of all people should know what I am going through, with your love for Nataku and all." Duo muttered as he glared at Wufei, who sat with his arms folded across his chest, and a look on his face of complete patience.
"So what are you going to do, Duo? Just ignore him? Make his life miserable? Are you really willing to give up what you two have over a machine?"
"That machine was my friend, Wufei. Even if it isn't living a breathing, it was still a friend!"
"And Trowa is your lover, Duo. Even if he made some mistakes, he is still your lover."
Duo didn't reply to that, he just sat there glaring as Wufei sighed. Duo could be so hard to deal with, sometimes. He reminded Wufei so much of…no, don't go there, Wufei mentally scolded himself. Thinking of his late wife at this point in time would not be helpful.
Wufei's mouth opened slightly, intending to continue on in his speech, when he was interrupted by a soft knock on the door, which was still open. Both of the room's occupants turned, and Duo scowled when he saw Trowa standing there.
"Duo? Can I…can I speak to you?" Trowa asked, his voice scarcely more than a whisper.
Inside the room, Wufei was in shock. It was amazing how much Trowa changed when it came to Duo. It wasn't until Trowa found out that Duo would be soon joining up with them did Wufei ever seen the other pilot show any kind of emotion. But now…now he was clearly nervous, and Wufei even sensed a bit of fear and regret in the other pilot.
"I don't want to talk to you. There is nothing you can say that I want to hear, and I have nothing to say to you," yelled Duo as he picked up pillow from the bed and flung it at Trowa. The Heavyarms pilot said nothing as he let it hit him in the face.
Wufei turned his attention away from the man at the door, focusing instead on Duo, who looked like he was going to explode at the mere sight of Trowa.
"Duo," he murmured softly, only allowing the braided boy to hear what he was saying, "You should talk to him. You have to talk to him. I know that despite what has happened, you still love him, and he still loves you. You can't let an unfortunate past get in the way of a joyous future."
Duo grumbled something, but Wufei wasn't able to make it out. Duo knew what the Shenlong pilot was saying was true, but that didn't make it any easier. He did love Trowa…more than he would care to admit. But he was still sore over the loss of a friend. A friend that had been there even longer than Trowa had. Duo's pride wouldn't let him simply forgive and forget, even if there was nothing else to be done.
Duo was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice when Wufei got up and left and Trowa took the vacated spot across from Duo.
"Duo…?"
Trowa's voice snapped Duo out of his self-pity. Duo glanced up and jumped slightly when he saw Trowa sitting where he had been expecting Wufei.
"Duo, I really need to-"
"I don't want to talk to you right now, Trowa." Duo said, his voice calm, but his eyes flashing as he looked away, finding the wall paneling more worthy of his time than Trowa.
"Duo…please…"
Duo returned his gaze to the other boy when he heard the pain in his voice. Trowa was staring at Duo, his eyes filled with anguish. The braided boy softened a bit. He did still love Trowa…
"Say it, Trowa."
"Duo…I am so, so sorry for what I had to do. I understand that you are upset with me, and you have every reason to be…I guess…I guess I just don't want you to be mad at me forever. I-I've missed you Duo."
Trowa paused and watched Duo, seeing if what he was saying was having any effect on him. Duo had a strange look on his face. When Duo didn't say anything, Trowa took that as a sign to continue.
"I know that you considered Deathscythe as a friend, and I know that I caused you a lot of pain by…destroying it. And I know it probably didn't help things much when we had to continue to play our roles in prison…"
This time when Trowa paused, Duo did speak. "Just say it Trowa. Don't tell me why, just say it."
"I…Duo…I want you to forgive me. I want you to smile at me. I want you to laugh with me, even if I don't laugh out loud. I want you to get angry with me-"
"I am angry with you," Duo pointed out.
"-when I pretend like I don't care, but really we both know I do," Trowa continued on as if Duo hadn't said a thing. "I want you to be there when I go to sleep, and when I wake up. I want to be the one you run to for protection when Wufei and Heero are about to kill you…"
Trowa trailed off again…decided that he had said enough, and that it was now up to Duo to make the next move. He waited, and looked at Duo expectantly, knowing that this is when he would find out if he was going to loose the one he loved more than anything, or if their relationship could be salvaged.
Duo was silent. Lowering his head, he studied his hand, which he was surprised to find he had been wringing nervously. Trowa always knew exactly what to say to get to Duo's heart. And right now, Duo wanted nothing else but to do all those things. But, at the same time it hurt.
"I love you, Duo."
Why couldn't they just go back a few weeks and start over. Why couldn't…Whoa. Duo's train of thought slammed to a halt and backtracked slowly. Did Trowa just say what he think he did? No he couldn't have just said-
"I love you."
"WHAT???" Duo exclaimed, his outburst startling Trowa, who actually fell off the bed.
The two were quiet, then. They just stared at the other in slight shock. The silence was shattered, however, when Duo let out a loud bark of laughter. And it wasn't long after that until Duo was rolling around on the bed, laughing so hard that tears seeped out of the corners of his pinched shut eyes and rolled down his cheeks.
Trowa lifted himself up from the hard wood floor and stood awkwardly, not knowing if Duo was laughing at his declaration or his fall. He hoped that if there was a god that the other boy wasn't laughing because of his words. He had meant them.
Finally Duo sat up, just as Trowa was thinking that perhaps it was time to leave. Duo's almost insane laughter settled down into a few chuckles as he wiped his eyes of the wetness. Smiling, he looked up at Trowa and held out his arms.
Trowa only had to take three steps forward until he was standing toe to toe with Duo. He looked down at Duo, unsure of what to do. Duo caught him by surprise when he pushed himself up from the bed and launched himself at Trowa. The momentum caused Trowa to stumble backwards and fall on the other bed when it hit the back of his knees. Duo landed on top of him.
Duo smiled down at Trowa for a moment before lowering his head. Duo's lips brushed lightly over his lover's, enough to be felt, but not enough to be considered a kiss. He pulled back and laughed softly.
"Tell me again, Trowa," Duo commanded gently, his breath warm as it brushed across Trowa's cheek.
"I love you, Duo," Came the soft reply as Trowa leaned up, pressing his lips to Duo's as he deftly switched their positions, so he was now pinning Duo to the bed. The warmth that filled Trowa's heart was undeniable. He truly was in love with his braided wonder.
"So I take it you forgive me?" He asked, nibbling gently at Duo's neck, grinning against the skin when he heard Duo's breath hitch a bit.
"Oh, completely. And Trowa?"
"Hmmm?"
"I love you too."
Trowa pulled away just enough to meet his lover's eyes. "I'm glad you're back."
"I've missed you too, more than my pride will let me admit," Duo replied, "So since I can't tell you, I guess I will have to show you exactly how much I have missed you."
Trowa smiled the rare smile that only Duo got to see. He leaned down to kiss his love again, telling Duo again again, just how much he loved him.
~ End ~
9:49 PM, Central Time, July 22, 2001