24-April-2002
Title: Half-Time - Part 2
Series: Games
Authors: DaMoyre and Stephanie
Pairings: Those established in the series.
Rating: R (for language!)
Warnings: angst, language, shonen-ai, hints of yaoi
Disclaimer: We don't own GW. You know the drill.
Feedback: Always welcome!
Duo finished his meal and sighed with satisfaction. The fish Trowa provided had tasted better than anything else he had eaten in weeks. It didn't matter that they had no spices and no salt. Duo wasn't picky, not when it came to food. Over the years, he had learned that after a long day, anything that was warm and edible was good enough.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. It was getting dark, and although it was not exactly a cold night, the evening breeze made him shiver a little. He brought his knees up to his chest and extended his hands towards the dying fire.
Trowa had barely touched his food. After a strenuous day of work and hiking, Duo couldn't understand how someone could still function with so little fuel. Perhaps he was really too tired to eat.
Duo observed Trowa for a few moments. He had not said a single word over dinner and now, he remained motionless, sitting directly across from Duo with his eyes fixed on something, but what, Duo couldn't say. Once again, Trowa seemed peaceful. The flames danced slowly and reflected on Trowa's hair, as well as the visible half of his face. It was interesting to look at Trowa under this light. His strong features looked almost...delicate.
It was at times like this that Duo wished the ice barrier between them would finally melt. Afterall, it wasn't so hard to like Trowa, was it? If it weren't for the fact that he was cold, and arrogant, and standoffish...
Bastard.
Duo clenched his jaw and cursed himself. This was not the time to go soft on Trowa...not if he wanted to win the game.
"Are we camping here for the night?" Duo asked, finally breaking the silence.
Trowa turned his eyes over to him, apparently coming out of whatever trance he had been in for the past forty minutes or so. He nodded.
"Good," Duo said. "We should probably call it a night."
"Yeah," Trowa said quietly. He stood up and proceeded to put out the fire.
Duo took out his handkerchief and wrapped up the remaining fish. It would be enough to provide the next day's meal for both Trowa and himself, and considering how little Trowa ate, perhaps a little more.
As they were setting up their sleeping bags, two mobile suits flew above, making them both stir up immediately. There was a noise in the distance that Duo recognized as gunfire. A single shot, and then silence.
It was possible that the shot had come from a random hunter. Or maybe someone had shot a rabid raccoon...or a snake. Just because someone else was in the forest, and carried a gun, didn't mean that they had been traced. On the other hand, the shot had coincided with the passing of the mobile suits.
They couldn't take any chances.
"Did you hear that?" Duo jumped up, grabbing the gun he carried in his ankle.
"Yeah," Trowa whispered. He brought his index finger over to his lips and motioned for Duo to be quiet. "Whoever it is...they're still far. We need to move fast," he paused for a moment and then pointed to the river. "We'll cross."
"It's kinda chilly to get wet, Trowa. Let's just keep moving along the stream. We'll find a place to hide." Duo looked around, scanning the area to determine if crossing the river was really their only option.
"No," Trowa shook his head. "Crossing will be safer."
"If we keep going up, it will be just as safe, Trowa," Duo said, but Trowa seemed to already have made up his mind. "How come you and I can never agree on anything?" he said, more to himself than to Trowa. He wasn't really expecting an answer.
"This isn't about you, Duo. It simply isn't practical. I know the area. Were we on L2, I would listen to your suggestions, while we are here, you should listen to mine."
"Trowa, listen to me," Duo said. He walked closer to Trowa to make eye contact. "Practical is good while we're fighting, but right now we have a few hours when we can actually *relax* before tomorrow's mission. It doesn't matter what direction we take, we'll still be getting away from whoever is out there...and at least we won't be cold and wet! We could both be dead in the morning."
"I'm trying to keep us alive," Trowa said simply.
"I'm tired of following your orders, and you won't even take my suggestions," Duo snapped. "I've survived for years on my own. I think I can take care of myself."
"What are you fighting so hard against?" Trowa said softly, and his words were barely audible over the sound of the river.
"What are you talking about?" Duo zipped up his backpack after putting away his pocket knife. "I'm not fighting anything," he said. "You're the one who always has a problem..."
"This isn't really about my decisions, Duo," Trowa stated evenly. "This is about something else."
"Something else?" Duo asked, narrowing his eyes in the dimming light of dusk, as he searched the ground to make sure he would leave nothing behind. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"This isn't the time." Trowa slid the backpack over his shoulders and began walking along the riverbank.
Duo let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head. Everything that had been happening for the last few weeks was weighing him down, and he could feel himself slipping away from mission objectives. Trowa was right, this wasn't the time. For the time being, Trowa was his partner and it was in everyone's best interest for them to work as a team, whether he liked it or not.
He gathered his belongings and began a quick pace, following only a few steps behind Trowa. "Where are we going to cross?" he asked.
"A little up ahead. The river will narrow."
"There are logs laying across the river," Duo pointed out. "Why don't we just use those to cross?"
"Logs lying across rivers have a tendency to be rotted on the inside. If you don't know how long the tree has been down, I wouldn't cross it," Trowa said simply, but somehow, he still managed to sound pompous.
Duo rolled his eyes at him. "You know everything about trees, and rivers and forests, but the logs look fine. I *have* crossed over a log before, and nothing happened!"
"You were lucky."
Duo shot Trowa a cursory glance. "And you're so--"
"Duo," Trowa cut him off, "they may look fine on the outside, but if you step on a spot that's rotted on the inside, it will crumble."
"Trowa, we're not crossing with our fucking Gundams! I doubt either one of us weighs more than a hundred pounds."
Trowa stopped on his tracks and looked at Duo for a moment. "Alright," he finally said, "we'll cross here."
Duo looked at Trowa and allowed himself to smile a little. "Good," he said. "I see something over there." He pointed to what seemed to be a wide log, fallen only a few feet away from their location.
Once they approached it, Trowa examined it and kicked it a few times, trying to assess its condition. "Looks fine."
They rolled it and dragged it to the river, pushing the long makeshift bridge across it as far as they could, till the log nearly touched the other side. The river wasn't deep, about only knee high, but it was fast. One could lose their footing easily, were they to fall in it. The log was semi-covered in parts as the river rolled over it, making the moss that clung to it both slimy and slippery. As Duo looked on, he was beginning to have second thoughts about crossing the river here.
Trowa was the first to go, and he did it quickly, walking over the tree as if he were walking on a wide sidewalk. He then jumped over to the other side, landing easily. He slid off his backpack and tossed it down on the ground.
Everything looked so easy, Duo thought. He had seen Trowa cross in a matter of seconds. So then, *why* was he having such a hard time making it across the log? It had only taken two steps on top to discover that the trunk was not nearly as wide as it had looked at first.
Keeping his balance was turning out to be a difficult task, and it was hard to keep going to the other side when his eyes were fixed on the trunk, and on his feet. He gripped his backpack as tight as he could, as if by some miracle it would help him to levitate and take him to the other side.
"Look up, Duo," he heard Trowa's voice. "Look up and give me your hand."
"I'll be all right," Duo muttered. He had suggested that they cross using a log, and he would be damned if he was going to allow Trowa to help him. He was sure that he could cross on his own...if only the log didn't seem so unstable.
His feet felt heavy, and he wished he were barefoot instead of wearing boots. It would probably be easier to keep his balance if he could actually *feel* the trunk with the soles of his feet. He took a few more steps and then looked up at Trowa, flashing him a triumphant grin. "Almost there."
Trowa said nothing, and Duo continued over to the other side. Only a couple more steps...
Just a little more...
But it was all too quick. Duo felt the log move under his feet, throwing him completely out of balance. The splash of the water was muffled by Duo's cursing.
And now he was cold.
And he was wet.
His backpack felt heavier now that it was soaked, and Duo struggled to keep afloat. He looked up, only to see Trowa gracefully jump over to a nearby rock, and stoop over, extending his hand to help him out.
Despite the cold water surrounding him, Duo felt warm. It was the warmth of rage and embarrassment rising up to his head. Once more, Trowa was on top. At this rate, Duo would *never* be able to settle the score.
Reluctantly, he moved towards Trowa and grabbed his hand. "Go ahead," he shouted as he came out of the water, "just laugh! I'm sure you find this fucking hilarious." He threw his backpack on the ground, and began twisting his braid.
Trowa knelt down and picked up Duo's sleeping bag, shaking off the excess water. He then opened the backpack and began emptying its contents. "We need to air everything out so it's dry for tomorrow."
Duo looked down at Trowa and frowned. "Just leave it! I don't care if everything is dry or wet! I'll just throw the stupid bag away. I don't need anything." He jumped from the rock to the other side and sat on the ground to remove his boots. "I'm fucking soaked...that's all I needed right now!"
"It's getting cold," Trowa said. "Get out of those clothes, you can use my sleeping bag."
"Oh, you're *so* generous," Duo muttered. He kicked his boots away and took off his shirt, tossing it aside. "I'll be fine. It's not like I haven't slept in the cold before." He stood up and walked a few steps, cursing under his breath.
"Just use it, Duo," Trowa insisted. "I have an extra blanket in my backpack."
Duo was shivering. He rubbed his arms repeatedly, trying to warm up. It was one thing to sleep outdoors. He could handle that. But sleeping outdoors, with wet hair, and no clothes, was quite a different story. He turned over to Trowa, who was so *kindly* offering his own sleeping bag. "Well," Duo said, "since you insist." He walked over to where Trowa had laid his bag and unzipped it. "I will take your extra blanket."
Duo wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and then unbuckled his belt. He slid out of his wet pants and hung them from a tree branch, hoping that they would be dry in the morning. Otherwise, he would have to pilot his Gundam feeling like he had not made it to the bathroom on time. That is, unless he skipped the pants and went to the mission in his underwear.
But even for Duo, that was just too weird. What if he got captured? He had already been through enough humiliation for one day. He was half-naked and wet in front of Trowa. He really didn't need any Oz soldiers having a ball with the Gundam pilot in cotton boxers...
Unless, he got to moon them.
Hmm...
Duo snorted and sat down on the ground. He curled inside the blanket and looked up at Trowa. "Thanks."
"Take the bag, Duo. I have dry clothing on. I don't need as much protection."
"I don't want you to give up your sleeping bag," Duo said. "It was my fault."
"That hardly matters now," and for once, Trowa's voice didn't sound so cold. It was almost...soothing.
Duo sighed heavily. How had they gotten to this point? A few months earlier, this would have never happened to him on a mission. He had worked with Trowa in the past, and nothing had ever gone so wrong.
"Yup." Duo tucked his feet inside the blanket and looked down. "I screwed up. Whatever. Doesn't matter now..."
Trowa took out the sleeping bag and walked over to Duo. He sat down next to him. "Why do you do that?"
"Do what?" Duo asked, without looking up. He tried to control his body's involuntary shivers as a rush of wind swept by. He was so cold, he could barely keep himself from moving closer to Trowa and curling up next to him.
"Act as though you know what I think, or that I'm laughing at you," Trowa continued.
Duo bit the inside of his lip and looked over at Trowa for a moment. "I don't claim to know what you think," he said, somehow managing to make his voice sound clear. How could he keep his body still, when he could feel the cold penetrating his bones? The water dripping from his braid didn't help either. "I don't know where you got that," he added, clenching his teeth.
Trowa unzipped the sleeping bag and pushed it over to Duo. "Get in."
Duo didn't object this time. Without hesitation, he stood up and removed his boxers, wringing them only a little before tossing them on top of his boots. Then, he slid inside the bag and zipped it up. "Thanks, Trowa," he said quietly.
Trowa gave Duo a single nod in acknowledgment.
End Part 2
DaMoyre and Stephanie