Impossible

A Gundam Wing Fan Fiction

Rambled Off by The Manwell

Book Two: PREVENTERS

Heero Yuy

I'm running out of time here. Soon, all of the equipment will be up to safety inspection standards and my excuse to remain here will be exhausted. And I have yet to find any evidence of illegal activity: it appears the rumors of the employees being brainwashed are just that. Therefore, I have two choices: one, to return with absolutely nothing either confirming or denying our suspicions, or two, to get a little more creative in my interpretation of the law.

Not much of a choice, really. I grin. Duo's going to be pissed as hell that I got to have all the fun this time around.

I pull out my laptop and open a programming window. I don't bother to keep an eye on the clock as I compose the virus I'll need in order to both disable the main power and plant an open gate directly to Duo's computer in his apartment. I'll have an opportunity to upload the virus tomorrow, I'm sure. Then, once the system crashes, a manual reboot will allow for Duo to ghost around through the encrypted and password protected files.

What I'm about to do is very much against Preventer policies, but only Duo will know who has allowed him access into the system. No one will be able to prove it had been me rather than some anonymous employee. But, then again, at the moment I am an anonymous employee.

How ironic.

I smirk to myself as my fingertips type out the necessary commands. But I also have to keep in mind that I need to camouflage the virus's true intent. The system shut down must seem like a side effect of the virus, rather than its main goal. So, all right... what sort of obnoxious mayhem would a twelve-year-old hacker like to cause on this former OZ base?

Several ideas immediately come to me and that fact alone I find highly amusing. Most people wouldn't consider me particularly creative. Except Duo, perhaps. I think he's picked up on my recently expanding appreciation for the weird and deranged. In fact, some of these virus intents I've thought up I'd like to share with him. They'd be good for quite a few laughs, if Duo and I had the kind of relationship where we laughed with each other.

And suddenly my mood tumbles from mild amusement into acute frustration.

Why aren't Duo and I friends? We've seen each other almost every day of the work week for the past two years. We've handled some dangerous and delicate assignments together in perfect unison. Hell, I've even started pouring his fucking coffee for him in the mornings. And isn't it sad that I've made that little extra effort to be sure I make it in to work early enough to have a shot at doing that one little thing for him. Everyone at HQ thinks we're friends. Some have even been deluded into believing we're best friends. But not Wufei.

Oh, no. Wufei knows. I can tell from his subtle sidelong glances in first my direction then Duo's when all three of us are in the same room. I don't know how he'd sensed the distance between us Duo continually affirms when everyone else is oblivious.

That's not to say we don't laugh and joke and talk. But it's all surface. No deep, soul-binding camaraderie here.

But, God, there's nothing I wouldn't give to...

I freeze.

In stunned silence, I blink at my interrupted programming and stare at the imaginary door I'd just slammed on that last thought. I'm not sure what to think of that oh-so-easily contemplated wish. I'd like to forget about it entirely, but I find myself inching open that door again to have a second look.

I suppose I'd been aware of this fact – at least subconsciously – for a very long time. But it's not until this moment, as I sit in front of my laptop in a shadowed and anonymous efficiency apartment, that it really hits me.

I would do anything to be Duo's friend.

Several disjointed bits of information skip through my mind: my habit of ordering his lunch for him and surprising him with take-out when I know he hasn't bothered to pack anything; my habit of taking the moment to notice whether he'd brought his lunch or not; my habit of fixing his coffee without having to be asked; my tendency to arrive at work in time to have the chance to pour him that first two-thirds cup; my persistent re-examination of every moment, every smile, every gift he's ever given me in search of hidden meaning...

Dozens of bits of memories and clues all crash together in my head and I begin to realize why I've bothered learning how he takes his coffee and making sure I request an extra cup of marinara sauce for him from Antionia's...

Christ, I'm an idiot.

It all comes down to the simple, pathetic truth:

I've chosen him to be my best friend. And I want him to fucking wake up and be mine, too.

I can remember a time when I would have rather self-destructed with Wing all over again than admit that to myself. Hm. I suppose people really do change.

The thought gives me hope and the hope makes me angry with myself for even considering it, but I can't not wonder if someday I'll ever manage to traverse the distance that's between us.

I simply don't know how to deal with someone as complex and stubborn as Duo Maxwell. Reluctantly, I admit that I'll need help and resolve to speak with Wufei and Quatre. Perhaps Relena as well. I nod in satisfaction at my decision. It is, after all, my only other logical option aside from a direct confrontation with Duo over the matter, which I'm fairly certain would end badly.

With that temporarily settled, I turn my attention back to the havoc and mayhem I'm about to instigate.