Starlight
a/n: I do not own Gundam Wing. This is a very short ficlet (a little longer than a drabble), and this is the only one. No sequels, no continuations. I know y'all love your Heero and Duo, but you can read my other GW stories to indulge in those fantasies. Very mild shounen ai.
I am not one to wax poetic. I am not one to declare my undying love. I am not one to stare at the stars and wonder what they hold for me, or for the ones I love. I just have never been like that. Never had the time, nor did I ever have the inclination. But tonight something is different. I don't know what it is. We are stuck here on Earth, in the middle of a forest. Wing and Deathscythe are hidden in the forest near us. The night is totally and completely clear. And I can see the stars.
It's funny, how the bright pinpoints of light have inspired so much. When they fall, people make wishes. It is a tradition, I suppose. They lie down on the ground and point out constellations. I know them because I was trained to know them, most people only know one or two favorite ones. I can point out Orion, Scorpio, and many others. I am curious as to why people find such inspiration in huge balls of gas that only twinkle in the night sky.
And we cannot even see all of them right now, due to the fact that we have a fire going. I can hear Duo coming back from the lake. He told me he had to wash the blood out of his hair. I grunted my customary assent and let him go. He walks like a predator almost all the time, except for when he knows we are truly safe for the moment. Only for a moment, never for longer than that.
"Hey, Heero, any word?" he asks as he sit down on a patch of grass near our fire.
"Negative," I tell him. I continue to use my laptop to type up reports while still giving the skies above flickering glances.
"Why do you keep looking up?" he asks with a touch of anxiety. It occurs to me that he is still on guard.
"Situation is normal. No need to worry. I was just looking at the big balls of gas in the sky," I am shocked that I have said so many words at once, but Duo just shrugs it off.
"What about them?" he asks, while drying out his braid.
"I have to wonder why people are so fascinated by them. They write songs, poetry, stories, books, all about these little balls of light that serve no greater purpose than to flicker in the sky," I explain. Duo pauses and smiles. He has a great smile, and for once it is sincere.
"Ah, the perfect soldier is curious about how people can feel so for the stars in the sky," he sighs and puts his brush down, "Heero, sometimes people have to have faith in something greater than science, greater than whatever god they worship. Sometimes, people just need to believe that wishes can come true. Stars are a constant in their lives. All it takes is a little imagination to believe that those pretty little lights up there are capable of deeds most humans find impossible to do. Sometimes you need an escape, Heero. Don't you ever feel like you just wish something greater than all this would happen to you?" Duo picks up his brush and carries on with his mission to tame tangles and to braid straight.
"Hm," is all I say as I return to my contemplation, Duo, if you only knew how badly I wish I could escape; escape from this all. But since you say that some people only need to believe their wishes can come true I can give it a shot.
"I wish the war was over, and that we could all go back to wishing for simpler things like love," I say out loud, causing Duo to drop his brush and stare at me.
"What did you just say?"
"I just wished upon a star. That was what I was supposed to do, right?" I wonder what I did wrong. Duo came over to me and knelt, approximately two feet away from me.
"Heero, sometimes when I think I have you all figured out you do something to surprise me," Duo says while looking deeply into me. Then he rises and walks away.
"I think that's my point," I mutter as I stare at the stars. Maybe I can see why the poets like them so much after all.