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Widening Gyre
A Gundam Wing FanFic by shärl-tn
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AN: Thank you to anyone who reviewed.
And I'd like to apologize for the quality of the last chapter, I was rushing, and I think the ending and overall content suffered because of it. I just changed the last couple paragraphs, so you might want to read them quickly before you read this. I found that Heero was distastefully OOC to the point of annoying me with his behaviour, and Duo was just a little to far on the "bipolar" end of his spectrum for my liking. I'm going to try to write longer, better-formed chapters from here on out… Maybe I'll switch PoVs within chapters instead of alternating to save face…
Anyways, on with the show, Comments are appreciated!
Part 5
Duo closed his eyes, letting the cool evening air wash around his body. He liked the night; he liked the darkness, the beautiful temperature that seemed to awaken his senses, and the abundance of places to hide. He slipped silently away from the school into a small grove of trees on the edge of the property. Tall, stately willows and maples thickened the blackness as he walked deeper into their mist till he reached the riverbank.
He smiled softly; the moon was out, gleaming round and bright in the evening sky above the water. He turned to a nearby willow and jumped to catch the lowest branch, deftly pulling himself upwards to rest on the arm of the tree, legs dangling over the water, kicking slowly at the rippling reflection of the moon.
He sighed, long and drawn and slow, basking in the peace that surrounded him here, hidden in the trees with only the light of the moon to interrupt his thoughts.
He pulled his knees up to his chest, making himself smaller, and brought his head to rest on the tops of his arms. Closing his eyes he forced himself to remember. It was better if he got it over with, here, alone, then have it interfere with his normal life, or a mission.
It had been an easy mission for the self-proclaimed master of stealth. In and out, steal a few new devices from OZ and retreat. No alarms, no bombs, no gundam, just in and out. He had completed all objectives within an hour; he hadn't tripped a single alarm, or even seen another soul till the soldier at the end.
Duo groaned plaintively to the darkness, why was the guard even there? According to the surveillance the shift wasn't due in that position for minutes, plenty of time to make an exit. He could still see the look of shocked surprise on the soldier's young face, probably thinking he was just another comrade and then quickly remembering the descriptions of the famed pilots, "pilot 02, short stature, thin, presumed age 17, trademark braid hanging to mid-thigh or tucked into jacket, rarely seen, expert at stealth." Duo shook his head, the soldier had definitely paled when he'd seen his braid, but by then it was way too late to run.
Duo reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his knife, still stained from the night before, dried blood sticking to its handle. He stared at it, reflecting the moonlight slightly and remembered the soldier's face. Young, dark eyes, the edges of a thin moustache, he'd probably just started shaving… Duo ran a hand over his own chin, still soft, childlike. Short brown hair beneath the OZ cap that had fallen off his head when he'd hit the ground, hands twisting painfully in the dark grass, mouth open in shock, slowly filling with blood…
With a straggled cry Duo threw the knife into the river with all the force he could muster, anger, frustration and aching sadness coursing through his lithe frame. He brought a hand up to brush away the warm tears now once again falling from his eyes, "Goddammit," he whispered bitterly, "…why me?"
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-------
Heero had showered efficiently and changed into clean clothes before venturing outside to find out what had become of Duo. He had reached the decision that if he kept waiting for Duo to explain what had happened the night before, he'd never get an answer.
Heero Yuy was not an extremely patient boy, and having never had to live with anyone who wasn't a power-hungry scientist had left him at a loss when it came to sympathy or empathy of any fashion. He knew something was wrong, he knew he had to do something, and he wasn't going to wait around until something happened before taking action.
Of course, he had no idea where Duo was, and had little or no idea what he was going to do once he found him, but he was completely positive that sitting in the room staring at the walls would accomplish little.
So he found himself walking aimlessly around the grounds of the school, looking for the self-proclaimed "friend" of his that he knew so little about. They had only known each other a short time; it had only been a few months since their first introduction on the deck of a large loading rig when Duo had greeted him so courteously with a shot in the leg. Somewhere between a pissing contest of debts paid, a hospital rescue here, stolen parts there, small wagers on who could complete a demolition mission first, they had ended up sharing a room in a boarding school, spending most of their time together becoming comrades and more recently, friends.
Heero emitted an audible sound, not unlike a chuckle, as he remembered that incident: he had returned from a mission late in the afternoon and was typing up his report on the laptop in his room when Duo burst in the door with two trays of dinner and a smile a mile wide.
"You're back!" He had greeted him, setting the food on the floor, arranging their places carefully on the space between the beds, "I was beginning to wonder if we were still friends."
Heero had stopped typing at the new title, "What was that?"
"I said I was beginning to think you'd left me for brighter prospects," Duo responded quickly with a wink.
"No, that's not what you said," Heero shook his head, "you said we were friends, didn't you?"
Duo had stopped, slowly turning his gaze to meet Heero's, "Yeah, I suppose I did." His eyes narrowed, "we ARE friends, right?"
Heero had considered that for a long moment, having never had any 'friends' per se he didn't know exactly what to base this new criteria on, but finally he answered, "I suppose we are."
And then Duo had done the most amazing thing. He had dropped the fork he was setting down, and in one swift movement rushed over to Heero, hugged him gratefully from behind the chair then pulled back, crossing his arms over his chest, "Good." He stated with a curt nod, ignoring Heero's shock, "Now come have some dinner."
So it was because of some sense of responsibility towards this new title Duo had bestowed upon him that Heero was now expanding his search farther away from the school and into the treed-in areas towards the river, hoping to find some clue as to his friend's whereabouts.
He was steps away from the riverbank, glimpses of the moon beginning to peak from between branches when he heard the pained cry and splash of water. He quickened his pace, turning towards the sound.
At the edge of the river, he stood watching the moon reflect in the waters, waiting for another clue. He did not have to wait long and soon heard a soft sound like muffled coughing followed by a very audible sob, and a pained intake of breath. On the last sound Heero's head jerked upwards into the branches of the tree he was standing beside, squinting to try and see through the dark.
He saw a nearby branch first, and jumped upwards, grabbing at the rough bark, pulling himself upwards towards the sound. His jeans scraped against the branch as he pulled himself onto the top, and the sound before him abruptly silenced, an air of apprehension settling over the space.
A sniff, then a cough as someone cleared their throat and then an emotionally choked voice, "Heero?" Another sniff, "what are you doing here, Heero?"
As Heero's eyes adjusted, he could see the small form of his roommate sitting against the trunk of the tree. He moved slowly towards him, stopping a few feet away on the branch. "Duo…" He whispered, relief sounding clear in his tone, "I was… worried. I came looking for my friend."
TBC
AN: I hope that was a little better quality than part 4. Please Review, I will update in a day or two.
Widening Gyre
A Gundam Wing FanFic by shärl-tn
-----
AN: Thank you to anyone who reviewed.
And I'd like to apologize for the quality of the last chapter, I was rushing, and I think the ending and overall content suffered because of it. I just changed the last couple paragraphs, so you might want to read them quickly before you read this. I found that Heero was distastefully OOC to the point of annoying me with his behaviour, and Duo was just a little to far on the "bipolar" end of his spectrum for my liking. I'm going to try to write longer, better-formed chapters from here on out… Maybe I'll switch PoVs within chapters instead of alternating to save face…
Anyways, on with the show, Comments are appreciated!
Part 5
Duo closed his eyes, letting the cool evening air wash around his body. He liked the night; he liked the darkness, the beautiful temperature that seemed to awaken his senses, and the abundance of places to hide. He slipped silently away from the school into a small grove of trees on the edge of the property. Tall, stately willows and maples thickened the blackness as he walked deeper into their mist till he reached the riverbank.
He smiled softly; the moon was out, gleaming round and bright in the evening sky above the water. He turned to a nearby willow and jumped to catch the lowest branch, deftly pulling himself upwards to rest on the arm of the tree, legs dangling over the water, kicking slowly at the rippling reflection of the moon.
He sighed, long and drawn and slow, basking in the peace that surrounded him here, hidden in the trees with only the light of the moon to interrupt his thoughts.
He pulled his knees up to his chest, making himself smaller, and brought his head to rest on the tops of his arms. Closing his eyes he forced himself to remember. It was better if he got it over with, here, alone, then have it interfere with his normal life, or a mission.
It had been an easy mission for the self-proclaimed master of stealth. In and out, steal a few new devices from OZ and retreat. No alarms, no bombs, no gundam, just in and out. He had completed all objectives within an hour; he hadn't tripped a single alarm, or even seen another soul till the soldier at the end.
Duo groaned plaintively to the darkness, why was the guard even there? According to the surveillance the shift wasn't due in that position for minutes, plenty of time to make an exit. He could still see the look of shocked surprise on the soldier's young face, probably thinking he was just another comrade and then quickly remembering the descriptions of the famed pilots, "pilot 02, short stature, thin, presumed age 17, trademark braid hanging to mid-thigh or tucked into jacket, rarely seen, expert at stealth." Duo shook his head, the soldier had definitely paled when he'd seen his braid, but by then it was way too late to run.
Duo reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his knife, still stained from the night before, dried blood sticking to its handle. He stared at it, reflecting the moonlight slightly and remembered the soldier's face. Young, dark eyes, the edges of a thin moustache, he'd probably just started shaving… Duo ran a hand over his own chin, still soft, childlike. Short brown hair beneath the OZ cap that had fallen off his head when he'd hit the ground, hands twisting painfully in the dark grass, mouth open in shock, slowly filling with blood…
With a straggled cry Duo threw the knife into the river with all the force he could muster, anger, frustration and aching sadness coursing through his lithe frame. He brought a hand up to brush away the warm tears now once again falling from his eyes, "Goddammit," he whispered bitterly, "…why me?"
-------
-------
Heero had showered efficiently and changed into clean clothes before venturing outside to find out what had become of Duo. He had reached the decision that if he kept waiting for Duo to explain what had happened the night before, he'd never get an answer.
Heero Yuy was not an extremely patient boy, and having never had to live with anyone who wasn't a power-hungry scientist had left him at a loss when it came to sympathy or empathy of any fashion. He knew something was wrong, he knew he had to do something, and he wasn't going to wait around until something happened before taking action.
Of course, he had no idea where Duo was, and had little or no idea what he was going to do once he found him, but he was completely positive that sitting in the room staring at the walls would accomplish little.
So he found himself walking aimlessly around the grounds of the school, looking for the self-proclaimed "friend" of his that he knew so little about. They had only known each other a short time; it had only been a few months since their first introduction on the deck of a large loading rig when Duo had greeted him so courteously with a shot in the leg. Somewhere between a pissing contest of debts paid, a hospital rescue here, stolen parts there, small wagers on who could complete a demolition mission first, they had ended up sharing a room in a boarding school, spending most of their time together becoming comrades and more recently, friends.
Heero emitted an audible sound, not unlike a chuckle, as he remembered that incident: he had returned from a mission late in the afternoon and was typing up his report on the laptop in his room when Duo burst in the door with two trays of dinner and a smile a mile wide.
"You're back!" He had greeted him, setting the food on the floor, arranging their places carefully on the space between the beds, "I was beginning to wonder if we were still friends."
Heero had stopped typing at the new title, "What was that?"
"I said I was beginning to think you'd left me for brighter prospects," Duo responded quickly with a wink.
"No, that's not what you said," Heero shook his head, "you said we were friends, didn't you?"
Duo had stopped, slowly turning his gaze to meet Heero's, "Yeah, I suppose I did." His eyes narrowed, "we ARE friends, right?"
Heero had considered that for a long moment, having never had any 'friends' per se he didn't know exactly what to base this new criteria on, but finally he answered, "I suppose we are."
And then Duo had done the most amazing thing. He had dropped the fork he was setting down, and in one swift movement rushed over to Heero, hugged him gratefully from behind the chair then pulled back, crossing his arms over his chest, "Good." He stated with a curt nod, ignoring Heero's shock, "Now come have some dinner."
So it was because of some sense of responsibility towards this new title Duo had bestowed upon him that Heero was now expanding his search farther away from the school and into the treed-in areas towards the river, hoping to find some clue as to his friend's whereabouts.
He was steps away from the riverbank, glimpses of the moon beginning to peak from between branches when he heard the pained cry and splash of water. He quickened his pace, turning towards the sound.
At the edge of the river, he stood watching the moon reflect in the waters, waiting for another clue. He did not have to wait long and soon heard a soft sound like muffled coughing followed by a very audible sob, and a pained intake of breath. On the last sound Heero's head jerked upwards into the branches of the tree he was standing beside, squinting to try and see through the dark.
He saw a nearby branch first, and jumped upwards, grabbing at the rough bark, pulling himself upwards towards the sound. His jeans scraped against the branch as he pulled himself onto the top, and the sound before him abruptly silenced, an air of apprehension settling over the space.
A sniff, then a cough as someone cleared their throat and then an emotionally choked voice, "Heero?" Another sniff, "what are you doing here, Heero?"
As Heero's eyes adjusted, he could see the small form of his roommate sitting against the trunk of the tree. He moved slowly towards him, stopping a few feet away on the branch. "Duo…" He whispered, relief sounding clear in his tone, "I was… worried. I came looking for my friend."
TBC
AN: I hope that was a little better quality than part 4. Please Review, I will update in a day or two.