People! This is NOT the final chapter! I WOULD have written that, but I'm not yet finished with the site and not yet ready to publish this into a book so you all can buy it. I will, however, finish the site soon enough, trust me! I've kept this thing living for about 5-7 years… I'm not about ready to give it up any time soon and to those who have stayed with me throughout it all… you can trust me on that! Heh, but here! Go to: to get the latest crap for this fic! It'll also carry over into the next story—yes, there will STILL be another fic for this. Again, I say, the link to the site is a MUST CLICK ON! Because I wasn't ready to upload (or even write) the final chapter, this is another dream… of what COULD have happened should Sarah Cleaver NOT die and Duo stay put on Earth. I haven't had time to write for MANY reasons… all of which pile down to me not having even the time to read a book. Okay… go read
http: slash slash duoschild dot topcities dot com
You have to read the link out loud to understand how it's typed out because this fanfiction site won't show it elsewise.
If that's still too hard to read, try this:
http duoschild topcities com
Go there please! More will be completed on it, but until then... enjoy the read. Trust me, THAT will be uploaded before this final chapter will be!
Duo's Child
Chapter 31
Duo yawned and stretched his arms out high above his head. The bad taste of salt plastered to the roof of his mouth. He sighed heavily as he took a look at his surroundings then down to the bed where his wife once laid. She must have gotten up earlier; she always does that when she's preparing a surprise.
Grinning with the thought on knowing already what the surprise was, Duo slid off the side of the bed and took a look at the room. It was still messy from the night before, considering they were really thrilled that it was the first night alone since before their daughter was born; she spent the night at a friend's house. When he stepped up to their full length mirror standing besides the dresser, Duo winked at his reflection. Clad in only his satiny, black boxers, Duo's body was entirely bare and refreshed from the night before. His hair, on the other hand, was a different matter. It was matted up, distraught looking, and the braid had let loose half of his front strands to spill around his shoulders. He looked messy—hot, but messy.
Duo shrugged and unwrapped his hair then let the flowing of the braid unravel. He stuck the elastic band around his wrist and walked up to the dresser to get Sarah's brush. It didn't take long to crease out a few tangles and smooth his lovely long hair, but it did take a while to locate his clothes; that woman sure had a knack for laundry. He decided, instead, on his black and red, Asian robe.
-
Sarah was frying a few eggs in the skillet when a pair of arms snaked around her waist. Smiling, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes. Duo's face neared her neck and planted light kisses along her skin causing her to shiver with slight anticipation.
"Emm," she moaned. "Mornin'." Her voice was husky and she cleared it before opening her eyes to look at the clock on the microwave to their left.
"You slept in."
Duo smirked, "Can't a guy get some rest?" He pressed his lips down on the back of her neck forcefully and kissed her harshly. When he released he had to lick his lips moist again.
"Besides… I didn't get enough in the war."
"Well, just don't start pulling me back to bed this later in the day," she smirked and flipped one of the frying eggs, Duo's arms still wrapped firmly around her body. "Unlike you, I've still got a house and child to care for."
"You think I don't care for her?" Duo pouted playfully. "Oh I feel hurt now." He looked away but couldn't resist the grin he felt coming from the woman in his arms.
"Daddy!" Duo spun around at the high pitched voice he heard coming from the hallway. A little identical clone with the same long braid came running up to him with her arms spread apart.
"Hey sugar!" Duo released Sarah to kneel down and wrap his arms around his little girl and hoist her off the ground. She giggled when she felt her father's hands brush against her sides. She hugged his neck as he kissed her cheek in response.
"So, what time did you come home?" He asked, smiling back at her humongous grin.
"At eight this morning..." Sarah's voice trailed to a lower tone, "with a candy bar in her hands."
"Candy this early in the morning?" He eyed Uno. "Who taught you that?"
"Oh gee, let me guess," Sarah paused to turn around and put her fists on her hips. She gave Duo an irritated expression. "Hum… I wonder." Duo stood frozen in spot with a grin on his face, more along the lines of 'I've just been found out!' Sarah rolled her eyes and turned back to the finished eggs sitting on the fire.
"It's okay," Duo whispered to Uno while winking. "Mommy's been a bad girl all last night, too. So she can't get on you that badly." Duo turned to grin at Sarah as she slowly turned back to glare him. Her red hair pulled back into a bun with her tantalizing green eyes turned him on and the fact that she was upset only boiled his blood more.
Duo put Uno down and patted her back. "Go play some Tekken and I'll come in in a few minutes to kick your butt."
"Awight!" Uno ran off towards the living room. Duo opened the fridge and pulled out a beer. When he noticed Sarah rolling her eyes, he pulled back exasperated.
"What? I'm thirsty!"
"This early in the morning?" Sarah stepped up to the table and placed the eggs on an awaiting plate. Duo knew it was for him so he followed behind and sat down to eat. He took another sip, shrugged, and then hoarsely responded, "What can I say? I haven't had a chance for a beer in months."
"Oh… some woman called here earlier looking for you." Sarah returned to the stove to clean up.
"What was her name?" Duo muffled out through a mouth full of food.
"Hildie Something," was her sullen reply. Duo nearly choked down his bite before turning around to stare at his wife with a shocked expression. Sarah didn't look up; she just kept cleaning the mess around the stove.
"She said she was a friend of yours during the war and didn't get a chance to thank you after she got out of the hospital." Duo blinked, noticing Sarah not facing him. Was she jealous?
"How did she get the number?" Duo looked down in thought. "I only called Quatre since I've been here."
"Perhaps she called him looking for you." Sarah trashed the dirty paper towels then turned to face him, an irritated look on her face. She pressed her fist to the counter to her left and her right fist on her hips. Duo swallowed back the wad of spit that was forming in his throat; she always did that when she was getting unhappy about something.
"What kind of friend was she to you?" Duo looked down in thought unable to answer. "Is it someone that matters more than me and your child?"
"Sarah," Duo looked back up at her. "Hildie is a girl that I met while on a mission. It wasn't a friendly friendship at first but—"
"But afterwards you two got pretty close?" She crossed her arms. "How close?"
Duo stood up and brought his hands up into the air to keep the gap between them. "Not that close." He responded while staring into her eyes. "She was a friend I roomed with after she left the military. When she had me in confinement, I put a few thoughts into her head that told her to get out before it was too late."
"And nothing happened?"
"No! Nothing happened!" Duo lowered his arms and looked away to keep his voice low. "Why does this bother you so much?"
"Because I need to know if you're going to stay or not!" Duo looked at her now, wonder filling his eyes. Sarah hardly ever even raised her voice—unless she was angry with someone or something. "I need to know because up until four months before you returned did I notice the appearance of Uno to realize she was your child and not Derricks! Because up until four months before your return did I think Derrick was her real father and told him so! And now, seven months have passed since you've even come back and Derrick called right before your girlfriend from the war called, saying he's got vacation from the military and he's coming home to spend time with his fiancé and 'thought-to-be' child!"
Duo stood still with shock written all over his face. He's never even heard of this 'Derrick' until now and she still thought Hildie was his girlfriend—though he didn't blame her… everyone thought that. But who is this Derrick!
"Who's Derrick?" Duo asked; it was the only thing he could ask at that current moment.
"He's my boyfriend of three years. He was away in training when you and I first met before Oz began. I never mentioned him because I liked you then as I do now—and just like then, I'm afraid if you leave, only this time you have no reason to leave so I need to know if you're planning on it."
Duo blinked in wonder at her, his face really staring off in thought. He licked his lips and said the obvious that was planted into his mind just then.
"He thinks Uno is his kid?" Sarah nodded. "What do you think will happen when he finds out the truth?"
Sarah shrugged. "I don't know… he's a marine." Duo felt the pain soaring through his body just then and he groaned out lout as his head pulled back and his eyes shut. "What?"
"I hate marines… they fight and kill then ask questions later." He hung his head in despair. "He's a bad guy, isn't he?" Duo massaged his temples with one hand.
"Well, what the fuck did you expect of me!" Duo snapped his face up to Sarah's; she just cussed loud enough for Uno to hear. "I thought we just had a one-night-shot! I mean, there were plenty of places to return too; why did you come back here?"
Duo looked down as his tongue lapped at one corner of his mouth. "You really want to know?" He knew it would hurt him and kill her, but it's the truth. She nodded and he stared off to the side.
"Because there wasn't a shuttle to return to L2 just yet, I was hungry, tired, dirty, exhausted—"
"So you came here to use me?"
"And that I also had you on my mind because I was in the neighborhood!" Duo's voice rose to a roar when he finished his statement. He was staring into her eyes and from across the distant he could make out the beautiful green color that was added to them. "The thought of using you didn't even come to mind!"
"So why didn't you call Quatre?" Sarah smirked.
"Because sometimes, friends only last so long. Even though, yeah we were good friends, I don't always like to rely on them." Duo looked away in quick thought before returning to those remarkable eyes. "And besides, as I was exiting, I passed by a lower class shuttle that was traveling to each colony for drop-offs and I decided to come here instead. We didn't ask to be brought back to Earth but the MO2 shuttle did!"
Sarah looked down suddenly, too upset to stare at Duo in the face. She sniffled a little and cleared her throat. Duo looked down and groaned. He had the chance of taking the ship home and was debating against it because he remembered the lovely red head he had met here once before.
"How did you remember me?" Sarah asked with a voice soft. She lifted her face back up to the man across her.
"Honestly… I glanced around to look at my surroundings and this chick with frizzy—and I mean frizzy—red hair walked by. I commented silently on how horrible it had looked then remember the only other person I ever met with that same color hair. Usually, I don't care but that woman reeked of disgust!" Sarah sighed and lowered her head. "Look Babe…" Duo looked down in another quick thought before returning to her again. "When is Derrick coming here?"
"For Christmas." She stared at him. Duo turned off to the side again with a sneer. He cursed softly beneath his breath. "He said he wanted it to be a surprise but he couldn't hold his excitement back."
Duo was staring off to the side of the kitchen, gritting his teeth and seething. "Fuck! And all the goddamned shuttles are booked by this time."
"Where would you go, anyways?" Sarah folded her arms.
Duo shrugged. "Hell, I'd room with another drunk on the streets—I don't care! I don't want to get into a fight with my background." Sarah looked off in thought. "Especially if the guy is a marine!" Sarah blinked up at him.
"What does that matter?"
"I'm a Gundam Pilot—well, was—and I've stolen his woman and his child; you do the math."
"Duo… I'm not exactly your woman. Uno, yes, she is yours—but I'm still considered open."
Duo looked at her hand as she brought it up and wiggled the one finger that locks her to any guy—or girl, in this day and age. He blinked with a sudden awareness that he had forgotten then smirked back up at her.
"What?" She asked with curiosity in her voice.
"I've still got the cash on me that I was going to use to go back to the colony. Let's get hitched right now."
"Duo!" She fumed.
"What!"
"I can't do that!" Her gaze darted around quickly. "It-it's wrong!"
"Well, in a way, not being married to me and having that kid here is wrong, too."
"Duo!" She growled. Duo stood there grinning like an idiot. Sarah sighed, rolled her eyes, and tossed her hands up into the air. "That's not an answer!"
"Then I'll face him." Duo calmed the humor out of his voice. Sarah gave him a questionable face and he just shrugged it off. "I've been in worse situations… don't forget, I was a Gundam Pilot."
"Yeah and you got beat up really bad and probably always had a gun in your face. You probably felt like it was a vacation whenever you were with your friends." Sarah bit her bottom lip and tossed the towel over her shoulder.
Duo's face twisted just then. "My friends weren't always pretty relaxing… there were sometimes they'd put a gun in my face and many of those times they actually looked like they were about to shoot me."
"I sometimes wish they had." She rolled her eyes. Duo strutted himself up towards her, lowering his gaze to check her out.
"Do you?" He grinned. He licked his dry lips. "But that means I wouldn't have been here to please you so much last night." He grinned as he wrapped his arms around her waist and planted light kisses along her neck. Sarah rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around his back, unable to hold back from smirking in response.
"Yeah yeah… all men think alike."
She heard a small chuckle coming from her neck and she cringed as the tickle got stronger. Giggling too much, she hadn't heard the telephone ring at all.
"So…" She pushed Duo back and stared up into his eyes after giving him one soft kiss on his delicate lips. "Christmas is four weeks away… what are we going to do?"
"About Derrick?"
"Yeah." Sarah looked down to the side where she saw Uno walking up to them with the phone in her outstretched arms.
"Mommy… Dewick's on the phone." Uno smiled up at her parents. Sarah felt the blood in her body freeze for a moment. She picked up the phone out of Uno's hands and stepped back from Duo.
"Hello Derrick." Duo turned away and shushed Uno out of the kitchen. His little girl was so adorable but she was so naive to the truth about her parent's hard times. When Duo later returned to the kitchen from shushing her away, he saw the relaxed features on Sarah's face fill her with a smile.
"Alright… yeah, I understand. I'll see you then." She shut her eyes and Duo blinked. "L-love you, too… bye." The phone beeped off.
"Stuttering?" Duo wrapped one of his arms around her back and rubbed her gently.
"It was nervous—yes." She placed the phone on the counter and sighed heavily. She rested her head on his inner shoulder and relaxed.
"So what happened?" Duo asked as his other hand came forward to brush the hair away from her face.
"He had to cancel plans. He wasn't too thrilled, but he said something came up and the military had to stay put."
"Good… we'll be gone by the time he does come here." Sarah blinked up at him.
"Huh?"
"Tell Uno to start packing… we're moving away from here." Duo was serious and turned away to return to his 'now' cold plate of fried eggs. "If that guy's a true marine as you said, well then… with the history I have that's against marines, the fact that I also have you and Uno for myself—that just means that he no longer has anything to return home too and it makes him pissed that the guys who kicked their ass… well, have kicked his ass once again." Duo took a bite of his eggs and swallowed hard. Sarah stood there in shock.
"Where will we go then?"
He guzzled down his beer then handed her the plate unfinished. "Start packing now. We're going to the upper eastern territory."
He turned away to put the bottle in the bin.
"What's there?"
"Quatre."
"Oh… so you do remain friends, after all?" She smirked at him but stilled her humor when he gave her a serious stare back.
"Yes… we do." He looked down in thought. "How did you meet this Derrick anyways?" Duo leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. His knee had stuck out as his foot pressed against the wall. Sarah shrugged and turned around to put the plate in the sink.
"I went to X-00149 a few years back with a few friends and something happened—I honestly can't recall what—and I woke up in the hospital with a few military people around my bed. He was the closest and he explained to me that I had been involved in some sort of terrorist attack and got hit in the process of it all."
"So that's how y'all met?"
Sarah shrugged. "Well… we met there, but he was with me until I was back here and after that… I don't know… I guess we sorta' hung out as much as possible. When he was on vacation, I'd let him stay here."
"What happened to those friends of yours?" His brows creased.
"We parted after a while. They said Derrick was only using me for sex and a place to stay and such… feeding off me, you know? They kept trying to get me to break up with him but he was just too sweet a guy to do that too."
"That… or you felt scared to because he would always hit you if you made him angry." Sarah looked down but still felt Duo's intense gaze on her. Her voice crackled.
"It happened… but he apologized afterwards."
Duo smirked. "Yeah, because he still wanted a place to be welcomed too for the next time he goes on a vacation." Sarah looked away. To change the topic and lighten the mood, Duo brought up something Derrick had stated to her on the phone.
"What's going on that held him back for Christmas with his 'family'?"
Sarah shrugged and removed the towel from her neck so she could fold it in her hands. "I don't know… he's on X-18999 so I don't know what could be going on there; that's too new a colony to have anything with the military to deal with." She slid the towel through the fridge handles. "And besides… he kept insisting that I go there with Uno to stay on the base with him—as a matter of fact, he seemed quite urgent for me to do that." Sarah looked down in deep thought, her brows creasing intensely.
Duo blinked up at him. "What did you say was the reason he stayed put?"
Sarah blinked over at him. "He just said that they were pulling the military back but he didn't say why."
"Who is his leader?" Duo put his leg down as his though pattern grew deeper.
"Why?"
"Sarah," Duo stepped up to her. "I need to know—this could be important. The military had sworn to die down after they found out they totally fucked up with the White Fang War."
Sarah looked off in thought and closed her eyes. She shook her head. "I-uh… um… I think he said… some guy named… Dekim."
Duo blinked. "Huh?"
Sarah looked up at him. "Dekim Barton. Why?"
"Barton?" Duo blinked. "Did you just say Barton?"
Sarah nodded. The look on his face told her something was wrong.
"Why?"
"Barton is Trowa's stolen name." He raced out at her.
"Who?" She blinked in confusion. Duo rolled his eyes.
"One of my partners from the Gundam group had stolen the name of Trowa Barton from some other guy who had died in some misfortunate event—I know this because he told me. Barton is the name of the people who have started Operation Meteor… they were held responsible for it, but that's when we came in and turned it around thanks to our most hated mentors."
Sarah was blinking up at him, total confusion lost in her eyes. She slowly shook her head. "I don't get you, Duo."
Duo's enlarged eyes lifted away from her face and off in space to the distance behind her.
"Oh my God…" he muttered. "He's going to go through with it—Dekim's going to go through with Operation Meteor and we don't have our Gundams to fight back anymore." Realization stung like a bitch just then.
"So…" Sarah's voice trailed off. "Duo?"
"I've got to stop him!"
"How?" She pulled back, her voice high pitched and hitting another level.
He looked down at her and a sheltered memory from the past returned to remind him of the perfect guy for the job. "I've got to call Heero." He spun around to run up to the bedroom.
"What good will that do?" Sarah called out at him.
His shouted response came back at her. "Because he's an assassin!"
