This is just something pretty short... from Sept, 2001. But if you haven't read it, it's new to you! Please enjoy.
Title: Bridge of Fall
Author: Ileana (babygray)
Pairing: 1+2
Disclaimer: GW is not mine. This is pure jest.
Notes: Plot influenced by Banana Yoshimoto's Moonlight Sonata (printed in Kitchen). A bit rough and un-beta'ed.
Life's not necessarily fair, he thinks as he finishes off the last kilometer of his jog, closing in on the bridge. Above him, the moon begins to rise in the east. In the distance, a church bell rings out 11 pm.
He stumbles slightly in the middle of the bridge, but not enough to make him fall. One hand reaches out for the rail for support as a passerby half-heartedly dives towards him in attempt to catch him.
He looks at the instant Samaritan and gave her a bit of a smile. "Thank you, I'm fine," he's able to apologize as he steadies himself back to his feet.
The young girl, still in her school uniform despite the hour, looks at him, uncertain. She still has her hands on his arms from the moment she reached out to keep him upright.
He winks at her as he becomes too aware of how harsh his breathing sounds to his own ears.
The girl slowly withdraws her hands from him, but the skeptical light in her eyes does not disappear.
"Kanzaki! Let's go! We're late!"
"Hey, is that your boyfriend!"
The sound of the people and cars on the crowded bridge crashes into the moment, causing the two to blush in unison. The schoolgirl, sputtering apologizes, nearly skitters away. It's quite a feat to walk backwards on a crowded bridge in the late evening and still be capable of not tripping over someone.
He smiles as he wipes away some of the sweat from his brow. Perhaps it was too soon to double the number of kilometers.
Underneath him, he could barely hear the splashing and lapping of the waves of the river.
He pulls out the thermos of Earl Grey and slowly opens the top. The scent of tea, milk, and lemon floats up from the container.
How long has it been? It's November now.
Three months has changed Duo's life, for sure. A different job, a changed sleeping pattern. A subconscious need to jog at any other time than the thin, cool hours before sunrise.
He drinks from his thermos. He never uses the cup, especially after...
It is for the best that he jogs at night. It is for the best that he forces himself to increase the kilometers he ran every few weeks. That Heero fellow is not part of his life now.
He takes another sip of the Earl Grey. In the distance, above all the traffic and laughter, Duo can vaguely hear the call of a bird.
Drinking the rest with hurried movements, he closes the thermos and tucks it back inside its pouch. As his body becomes chilled from the weather against his sweat, he begins walking back home.