Petra: Can't talk.
Kati: Must run.
Petra: Love you all.
Kati: R&R.
DEDICATED: For the gundam pilots; I would set them free of their memories and guilt if I could.
WARNING: Angst and more Duo-torture (what can I say? I think more stories need this!)
DISCLAIMER: If everyone would just send me about fifteen dollars each I will proablaly have enough to buy Gundam Wing and then... *thoroughly evil smile*
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If You Could: Smiles that Never Reach the Eyes
"He always understood a little too much, felt a little too deeply, tried a little too hard, smiled one too many times without feeling." -Lauren; Good-Bye (GW)
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"There are a lot of issues to be solved between them, isn't there?" Aphrodite asked, looking between the door to the apartment and the bedroom door, before looking back at the door to the apartment that Heero had just walked out of.
Artemis smiled sadly. "Yes, there is. But their love is strong, they will pull through… even I can feel their love, it is so strong…"
Aphrodite nodded, remembering the way she hadn't been able to move, much less help, when Artemis had tackled Heero. The feeling of love and tension between the two had been so strong that, for a minute, she wasn't even sure if she could breath. After Heero had put Duo to bed, Artemis had introduced Aphrodite and Heero before, bossily and curtly, telling Heero he needed to go buy food so that Aphrodite and she could cook them all a nice brunch. Though he hadn't wanted to go, in fact Artemis had to literally push him out the door, he went in the end.
"There's something about both boys, even when Odin-kun was acting unemotional, that just seems to draw people to them," Artemis said, sitting down on the couch gracefully before crossing her long legs.
"That's why they're the only ones who can save this world, sadly," Aphrodite said, "Which is why I really don't like interfering with their lives. We're not just messing with two people here, we're messing with an entire world, maybe more." Upon seeing the peeved look on the other's face, Aphrodite went and sat next to Artemis on the couch, continuing before the other girl could interrupt, "I do agree with you that we should become more active in the humans' lives again, but now, and with these specific ones... I don't think this is not the right time."
"You don't understand," Artemis said, leaning back and looking at the ceiling, her eyes unfocused and Aphrodite knew that she was remembering tears and laughter. "*Because* of the fact that it deals with more than one world we should be more involved than ever before. No matter what two people in love, no matter what time, no matter if they are *only* two people, we will still end up messing with the world. *You*, of all people, should know how important one person is to the entire world. More importantly, though, he's family… from a time and place that the world has forgotten and that, in the process, has also forgotten us; from a dimension where we no longer exist. Odin-kun is one of my descendants and the only one, besides my daughter, that I've actually been able to get to know. He's the only reminder I have left of… of… *him*." Her eyes clouded, memories of dear face and an even dearer soul filling memories… of eyes the color of the midnight sky… the same color as Heero's. She turned to Aphrodite suddenly. "And don't tell me you don't realize who Duo-kun is!"
Aphrodite looked down suddenly, pain flickering in her eyes. "Yes… I know…" Memories of eyes the light shade of lilac, almost gray, filled her own memory, of sweet kisses, and whispered promises.
Then Artemis laughed and Aphrodite looked at her in surprise. "Well," Artemis replied to her inquiring gaze, "We should take advantage of having grandchildren because, at this rate, these are the only grandchildren we're going to get unless males can suddenly have children…" At this they both started laughing, their laughter filling the air and sounding like the rustle leaves of trees on a moonlit night and the beat of wings on a fresh spring breeze.
"Poor Duo-kun! He doesn't know what he's getting into if Odin-kun's anything like you!" Aphrodite giggled slightly and then laughed out loud as she saw Artemis's face which slightly resembled a fish. "Ah, I guess Duo-kun and I are alike in more ways than one…" With a shriek of indignation Artemis launched herself at Aphrodite and both fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs, laughter following quickly. Laughter and shrieks filled the air as first Artemis, then Aphrodite, then Artemis again got the upper hand as they tickled each other.
"Um… excuse me…" the timid voice said a few moment later, as they lay on the floor next to each other, giggles escaping every few moments as they breathed heavily.
Artemis and Aphrodite both turned at the same time to look at a sleepy-eyed Duo. His usual black outfit was rumpled and he shuffled his feet back and forth, the socks half hanging off. Hair was falling out of the braid so messily that it almost didn't look like it was even in the braid and his eyes had that sleepy look to them, barely covering the eyes that were bloodshot from tears that he was trying carefully to hide. Artemis couldn't keep back the cry that erupted from her throat, "KAWAII!!!" She leaped up and 'glomped' on the younger boy. "Duo no kawaii!"
Duo stared with wide eyes at the other girl in the room who had collapsed back on the floor, laughter shaking her entire body. Artemis pulled back and said, "Duo-kun, you are so cute! I'm so glad I finally have a chance to meet you in person." She tapped a finger against the tip of his nose, causing pink to slightly brush across his cheekbones. "I can see what he sees in you."
Duo almost stopped breathing for a moment as the possibilities raced through his head. "He…?" Artemis stared at him in surprise for a moment before turning her head to look Aphrodite and then looking back at him. Her arms tightened slightly in something that felt like an extremely reassuring hug.
"I'm not going to tell you; it wouldn't be right to tell you now and, when it is right to tell you, you'll already know," she said, before looking at him intently and Duo couldn't help but get the feeling that she was stripping away all his defenses and looking at the real him. "Duo, even though Odin-kun has become extremely expressive, there are still some things that he doesn't know how to do or express. You have to help him and be patient, he's trying very hard to do what he thinks is right but…" she shrugged. "It's like he's been blind his entire life and only just now got his sight and, of course, he's able to do everything he wanted to do, and he has an idea of what he wants to do, but he's going to make mistakes no matter how hard he tries."
"Odin…?" Duo asked, though he was pretty sure he knew who she was talking about.
"Heero, I mean. Odin-kun's rather my special nickname for him," she smiled a motherly smile and Duo was suddenly stricken with a longing for Sister Helen so intense that he felt tears restrict his throat. As though she knew exactly what he was thinking about, she wrapped him another hug and whispered, "I know you've been hurt a lot… but everything worth having involves risks. The war might demand your life but, in the end, you will get peace. Love will always demand your heart, though, and in the end, you have as much chance as getting something incredible as you do something horrible." She kissed him on the forehead, smiling sweetly, and Duo felt as though his strength had been zapped out of him and then completely replaced by someone other's than his own.
"Who're you…?" Duo asked, realizing for the first time that he didn't even know who was holding him in a motherly hug.
She laughed and stepped back, going to stand next to Aphrodite who Duo had completely forgotten about.
"I'm Artemis and this is my friend, Aphrodite," Artemis said, motioning to the darker woman standing beside her. "Odin-kun's gone right now to get groceries so that we can cook brunch."
"Um… Hi… I guess you already know that I'm Duo Maxwell…" Duo said a little hesitantly, there was something different about these women, something down to earth, but almost unearthly at the same time. "So… um… 'Ro didn't know-"
He was suddenly interrupted as Artemis let out a shriek and then a soft sigh of 'Kawaii' again before staring at him with starry eyes. He raised his eyebrows and, to the unspoken question she replied, "That nickname is just so cute! How kawaii!"
"What does 'kawaii' mean?" he asked Aphrodite as Artemis was still staring at him with a dazed, starry expression.
She laughed and then sighed before saying, "It means cute in Japanese. Just ignore her, we've tried to see if a mental hospital will work but, sadly it doesn't… now, what were you going to ask?"
"Um… Heero… didn't know, so I figured I'd ask; what's with your names?" Aphrodite and Artemis both looked at each other and then turned to look Duo.
"You know… Odin-kun must not as smart as he's supposed to be because he never asked that question and he was with us for quite a long time," Artemis laughed and then motioned to Aphrodite to continue.
"Our names are from Greek mythology," Aphrodite answered.
"Well, um, yeah, I kinda knew that… like you're named after the goddess of love and Artemis is named after the goddess of the hunt but… why?"
Artemis and Aphrodite shared another look and this time Artemis answered, "Why what?"
"Okay," Duo said, beginning to get frustrated, "Now you're just avoidin' the question. Why are you all named after the Greek goddesses? I mean… Hestia, Artemis, Athena, and Aphrodite. Those aren't names you normally call people, there's got to be a story behind them.
The two women shared another look before Aphrodite answered, "They aren't our real names but, out of all the names we've been given over the years, we rather like these. So, in truth, they're really our nicknames."
Duo didn't really know exactly why it still seemed like they weren't really answering him but, seeing as it didn't seem he would ever get a straight answer he decided that, for now, he would accept their half answers. Then, without even meaning to, a question that had just popped into his head slipped out of his mouth, "What do you see when you look at Heero?"
Aphrodite and Artemis stared at each other before Aphrodite sighed and said, "Gangly limbs. I see a teenage boy, like any other teenage boy, whose body hasn't grown into his limbs but yet, his limbs are too thin to have grown into his body. I see a boy who sometimes moves with the grace of a panther but, at other times, is as awkward as any other boy at his age…"
Artemis picked up, "I see a boy with unruly hair, the kind of boy who doesn't care what he looks like. He likely just runs a brush through it in the morning and then frankly doesn't care what it does and, at the most, pulls it back in a loose might-as-well-not-be-there ponytail. I see a young man who is just now becoming conscious of what he looks like in other's eyes but doesn't give a shit. I see a regular teenage boy… until I look in his eyes."
Aphrodite smiled a sad smile before continuing where Artemis had left off, "When I look in his eyes it's like I'm seeing a bitter seventy-year-old man who knows he doesn't belong but can't do anything about it. I see ice and broken dreams, pain and veils, life and death."
Artemis looked up and Duo was surprised to see that tears were brimming in her eyes as she said, in barely a whisper, "I see a boy who doesn't know who he is or remember his past, but can still sense his own broken dreams and feel pain from events he doesn't even remember. I see a teenage boy, who looks like a teenager, has a heart like a child, the mind adult but the eyes of an immortal." Then, so low he barely caught it, "I never thought humans would become so deprived as to do this to children… if only I had known sooner…" Then, continuing in a choked voice, "He reminds me of my lover from long ago. They never seem to have a chance to be children. Blue eyes… so full of pain…" She wrapped her arms around herself.
Duo could only stare at her, at the pain that was visible in her eyes, for herself, for her lover, for Heero… for him? "What about me?" the women looked up in surprise, "What do you see… when you look at me?"
Aphrodite started this one too with, "I see a boy who looks as though he's about to become extremely tall, but who won't because of his past. I see a young man whose limbs are just starting to fit his body. Who wears black that contradicts a smile which never reaches his eyes."
Artemis, looking at him but not seeing him, continued, "I see a boy whose hair has so much meaning and yet so little. Who, when the darkness and the killing become to much, clutches his hair, smiles, and remembers a promise made to himself. I see a heart-shaped face that will always remain just a tad too thin and hands that will always remain steady and true, though the will and heart might stumble and fall. Feet that, while sure of where they want to go, trip so often and so much that they're not sure they know the way anymore."
"And violet eyes," Aphrodite continued as Duo looked down, "Violet eyes that, no matter what the lips say, won't smile. Violet eyes that reflect a little too much pain, a little too much experience, and far too many dreams that have died. Violet eyes that refuse to cry and that have lost much of the passion they used to have."
Artemis let out a short sad laugh before saying, in an almost hysterical voice, "Violet eyes that have seen what no one should see. Eyes that belong to a young boy who shall never be what he could have been and, in the process, forgot how to really smile and hates himself for it…" Again in a whisper, "A boy who hurts so much that his pain hits me like a physical blow."
Aphrodite suddenly turned toward him and asked, "And what do you see, when you look at us, child?"
Duo looked at them a long while before replying, "Two grown women who are more than what they want people to believe. Two women who feel a little too much, see a little more than most, and touch less than they want to."
Artemis looked up, light blue-green eyes almost completely blue with unshed tears and she nodded, only once, but for some reason it was as if it were the greatest praise she could have given him. Artemis blinked rapidly, dispelling the tears before getting up and, walking over to Duo, put both hands on his shoulders and stared deep into his eyes, reaching farther and farther until Duo wanted to scream at the intrusion. "Duo," her voice broke the daze he had fallen in. "The war will never end." His heart froze. "Oh yes, this war in particular will end one day but… hate, fear, the hurting of other people, it will never stop, not in this world… but, I promise you, upon the grave of my father's father, you will see another world where it will happen and, though the cost will be great and the toll will be harder than you can imagine, in the end, it will be worth it to see a world truly, once and for all, at peace." With that she stepped back and turned toward the door right as Heero opened it, exclaiming, "Odin-kun! Good! You have the food! Here, let me take one of those bags and you can tell me where all the food goes while Di-chan fixes up Duo-kun's hair.
Duo was shocked at the change. One minute she had been serious, tears shimmering in eyes that he realized did not belong of this earth, the next minute she was laughing and smiling at Heero while grabbing one of the bags out his arms and walking with him toward the kitchen. It seemed he wasn't the only one whose smile never quite reached his eyes.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: For those of you that wish it, DUE TO MY SPORADIC postings, I am offering you, the readers, A MAILING LIST to sign up to. When I finally UPDATE, I will SEND OUT AN EMAIL informing those of you that are on the list that I have finally updated. I need you to EMAIL me, telling that you wish to sign up, and whether it's for ORIGINAL FICTION or FANFICTION. I WILL NOT accept those people that ask to be up on it in a review because I can't be sure that email is real. The mailing list will ALSO OFFER the TITLES of those works that I am posting, the COUPLES (if any) that are in it, which FANDOM it is from, and whether it is a SEQUEL to anything.
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Petra: Like it?
Kati: Love it?
Petra: Hate it?
Kati: Love me?
Petra: Please, please, please R&R!!
Kati: And thanks to all those who reviewed:
LB: Duo-kun's fun to mess with, ne? *giggles* And Hee-kun no kawaii. *sigh* *goes into Lala Land*
KAJETH: Um... Arte-chan is anti-male. Very anti-male... just not the one in my story... becuase then certain things wouldn't work and... well... *sighs* What can I say?
ASAMI: Duo-kun as a god, Heero-kun as a mortal will porbably never get finished so don't sit around waiting for it. Sorry. I'm currently writing two Gundam fics and a Sailor Moon fic plus about one little short a week. I don't have time to start that one but, I promise, if I ever finish one of the ones I've started I will write that one! ^_-
LB: Don't you wish you were in Duo-kun's place? I do. *sigh* I do think OZ made that elevator. *giggle* I'm sorry, I'm silly, but I just love that line! -_-; About the grammar... well... I do it read it but I don't have a beta (nor do I want one, I actually enjoying correcting it) so there are bound to be mistakes. Also, sometimes I read them before hand but most of the time I'm just trying to get it out before I go away for two days and I figured the readers would rather have a few mistakes then have to wait two weeks, instead of one, for the next chapter to come out. ^_^ I try, though!
"I dream of a day when I can open my eyes, and my dreams won't disappear."
-Rose Marie Ledam
~Petra Megami Assari~
*The Gentle Tiger Goddess*
Kati: Must run.
Petra: Love you all.
Kati: R&R.
DEDICATED: For the gundam pilots; I would set them free of their memories and guilt if I could.
WARNING: Angst and more Duo-torture (what can I say? I think more stories need this!)
DISCLAIMER: If everyone would just send me about fifteen dollars each I will proablaly have enough to buy Gundam Wing and then... *thoroughly evil smile*
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If You Could: Smiles that Never Reach the Eyes
"He always understood a little too much, felt a little too deeply, tried a little too hard, smiled one too many times without feeling." -Lauren; Good-Bye (GW)
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"There are a lot of issues to be solved between them, isn't there?" Aphrodite asked, looking between the door to the apartment and the bedroom door, before looking back at the door to the apartment that Heero had just walked out of.
Artemis smiled sadly. "Yes, there is. But their love is strong, they will pull through… even I can feel their love, it is so strong…"
Aphrodite nodded, remembering the way she hadn't been able to move, much less help, when Artemis had tackled Heero. The feeling of love and tension between the two had been so strong that, for a minute, she wasn't even sure if she could breath. After Heero had put Duo to bed, Artemis had introduced Aphrodite and Heero before, bossily and curtly, telling Heero he needed to go buy food so that Aphrodite and she could cook them all a nice brunch. Though he hadn't wanted to go, in fact Artemis had to literally push him out the door, he went in the end.
"There's something about both boys, even when Odin-kun was acting unemotional, that just seems to draw people to them," Artemis said, sitting down on the couch gracefully before crossing her long legs.
"That's why they're the only ones who can save this world, sadly," Aphrodite said, "Which is why I really don't like interfering with their lives. We're not just messing with two people here, we're messing with an entire world, maybe more." Upon seeing the peeved look on the other's face, Aphrodite went and sat next to Artemis on the couch, continuing before the other girl could interrupt, "I do agree with you that we should become more active in the humans' lives again, but now, and with these specific ones... I don't think this is not the right time."
"You don't understand," Artemis said, leaning back and looking at the ceiling, her eyes unfocused and Aphrodite knew that she was remembering tears and laughter. "*Because* of the fact that it deals with more than one world we should be more involved than ever before. No matter what two people in love, no matter what time, no matter if they are *only* two people, we will still end up messing with the world. *You*, of all people, should know how important one person is to the entire world. More importantly, though, he's family… from a time and place that the world has forgotten and that, in the process, has also forgotten us; from a dimension where we no longer exist. Odin-kun is one of my descendants and the only one, besides my daughter, that I've actually been able to get to know. He's the only reminder I have left of… of… *him*." Her eyes clouded, memories of dear face and an even dearer soul filling memories… of eyes the color of the midnight sky… the same color as Heero's. She turned to Aphrodite suddenly. "And don't tell me you don't realize who Duo-kun is!"
Aphrodite looked down suddenly, pain flickering in her eyes. "Yes… I know…" Memories of eyes the light shade of lilac, almost gray, filled her own memory, of sweet kisses, and whispered promises.
Then Artemis laughed and Aphrodite looked at her in surprise. "Well," Artemis replied to her inquiring gaze, "We should take advantage of having grandchildren because, at this rate, these are the only grandchildren we're going to get unless males can suddenly have children…" At this they both started laughing, their laughter filling the air and sounding like the rustle leaves of trees on a moonlit night and the beat of wings on a fresh spring breeze.
"Poor Duo-kun! He doesn't know what he's getting into if Odin-kun's anything like you!" Aphrodite giggled slightly and then laughed out loud as she saw Artemis's face which slightly resembled a fish. "Ah, I guess Duo-kun and I are alike in more ways than one…" With a shriek of indignation Artemis launched herself at Aphrodite and both fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs, laughter following quickly. Laughter and shrieks filled the air as first Artemis, then Aphrodite, then Artemis again got the upper hand as they tickled each other.
"Um… excuse me…" the timid voice said a few moment later, as they lay on the floor next to each other, giggles escaping every few moments as they breathed heavily.
Artemis and Aphrodite both turned at the same time to look at a sleepy-eyed Duo. His usual black outfit was rumpled and he shuffled his feet back and forth, the socks half hanging off. Hair was falling out of the braid so messily that it almost didn't look like it was even in the braid and his eyes had that sleepy look to them, barely covering the eyes that were bloodshot from tears that he was trying carefully to hide. Artemis couldn't keep back the cry that erupted from her throat, "KAWAII!!!" She leaped up and 'glomped' on the younger boy. "Duo no kawaii!"
Duo stared with wide eyes at the other girl in the room who had collapsed back on the floor, laughter shaking her entire body. Artemis pulled back and said, "Duo-kun, you are so cute! I'm so glad I finally have a chance to meet you in person." She tapped a finger against the tip of his nose, causing pink to slightly brush across his cheekbones. "I can see what he sees in you."
Duo almost stopped breathing for a moment as the possibilities raced through his head. "He…?" Artemis stared at him in surprise for a moment before turning her head to look Aphrodite and then looking back at him. Her arms tightened slightly in something that felt like an extremely reassuring hug.
"I'm not going to tell you; it wouldn't be right to tell you now and, when it is right to tell you, you'll already know," she said, before looking at him intently and Duo couldn't help but get the feeling that she was stripping away all his defenses and looking at the real him. "Duo, even though Odin-kun has become extremely expressive, there are still some things that he doesn't know how to do or express. You have to help him and be patient, he's trying very hard to do what he thinks is right but…" she shrugged. "It's like he's been blind his entire life and only just now got his sight and, of course, he's able to do everything he wanted to do, and he has an idea of what he wants to do, but he's going to make mistakes no matter how hard he tries."
"Odin…?" Duo asked, though he was pretty sure he knew who she was talking about.
"Heero, I mean. Odin-kun's rather my special nickname for him," she smiled a motherly smile and Duo was suddenly stricken with a longing for Sister Helen so intense that he felt tears restrict his throat. As though she knew exactly what he was thinking about, she wrapped him another hug and whispered, "I know you've been hurt a lot… but everything worth having involves risks. The war might demand your life but, in the end, you will get peace. Love will always demand your heart, though, and in the end, you have as much chance as getting something incredible as you do something horrible." She kissed him on the forehead, smiling sweetly, and Duo felt as though his strength had been zapped out of him and then completely replaced by someone other's than his own.
"Who're you…?" Duo asked, realizing for the first time that he didn't even know who was holding him in a motherly hug.
She laughed and stepped back, going to stand next to Aphrodite who Duo had completely forgotten about.
"I'm Artemis and this is my friend, Aphrodite," Artemis said, motioning to the darker woman standing beside her. "Odin-kun's gone right now to get groceries so that we can cook brunch."
"Um… Hi… I guess you already know that I'm Duo Maxwell…" Duo said a little hesitantly, there was something different about these women, something down to earth, but almost unearthly at the same time. "So… um… 'Ro didn't know-"
He was suddenly interrupted as Artemis let out a shriek and then a soft sigh of 'Kawaii' again before staring at him with starry eyes. He raised his eyebrows and, to the unspoken question she replied, "That nickname is just so cute! How kawaii!"
"What does 'kawaii' mean?" he asked Aphrodite as Artemis was still staring at him with a dazed, starry expression.
She laughed and then sighed before saying, "It means cute in Japanese. Just ignore her, we've tried to see if a mental hospital will work but, sadly it doesn't… now, what were you going to ask?"
"Um… Heero… didn't know, so I figured I'd ask; what's with your names?" Aphrodite and Artemis both looked at each other and then turned to look Duo.
"You know… Odin-kun must not as smart as he's supposed to be because he never asked that question and he was with us for quite a long time," Artemis laughed and then motioned to Aphrodite to continue.
"Our names are from Greek mythology," Aphrodite answered.
"Well, um, yeah, I kinda knew that… like you're named after the goddess of love and Artemis is named after the goddess of the hunt but… why?"
Artemis and Aphrodite shared another look and this time Artemis answered, "Why what?"
"Okay," Duo said, beginning to get frustrated, "Now you're just avoidin' the question. Why are you all named after the Greek goddesses? I mean… Hestia, Artemis, Athena, and Aphrodite. Those aren't names you normally call people, there's got to be a story behind them.
The two women shared another look before Aphrodite answered, "They aren't our real names but, out of all the names we've been given over the years, we rather like these. So, in truth, they're really our nicknames."
Duo didn't really know exactly why it still seemed like they weren't really answering him but, seeing as it didn't seem he would ever get a straight answer he decided that, for now, he would accept their half answers. Then, without even meaning to, a question that had just popped into his head slipped out of his mouth, "What do you see when you look at Heero?"
Aphrodite and Artemis stared at each other before Aphrodite sighed and said, "Gangly limbs. I see a teenage boy, like any other teenage boy, whose body hasn't grown into his limbs but yet, his limbs are too thin to have grown into his body. I see a boy who sometimes moves with the grace of a panther but, at other times, is as awkward as any other boy at his age…"
Artemis picked up, "I see a boy with unruly hair, the kind of boy who doesn't care what he looks like. He likely just runs a brush through it in the morning and then frankly doesn't care what it does and, at the most, pulls it back in a loose might-as-well-not-be-there ponytail. I see a young man who is just now becoming conscious of what he looks like in other's eyes but doesn't give a shit. I see a regular teenage boy… until I look in his eyes."
Aphrodite smiled a sad smile before continuing where Artemis had left off, "When I look in his eyes it's like I'm seeing a bitter seventy-year-old man who knows he doesn't belong but can't do anything about it. I see ice and broken dreams, pain and veils, life and death."
Artemis looked up and Duo was surprised to see that tears were brimming in her eyes as she said, in barely a whisper, "I see a boy who doesn't know who he is or remember his past, but can still sense his own broken dreams and feel pain from events he doesn't even remember. I see a teenage boy, who looks like a teenager, has a heart like a child, the mind adult but the eyes of an immortal." Then, so low he barely caught it, "I never thought humans would become so deprived as to do this to children… if only I had known sooner…" Then, continuing in a choked voice, "He reminds me of my lover from long ago. They never seem to have a chance to be children. Blue eyes… so full of pain…" She wrapped her arms around herself.
Duo could only stare at her, at the pain that was visible in her eyes, for herself, for her lover, for Heero… for him? "What about me?" the women looked up in surprise, "What do you see… when you look at me?"
Aphrodite started this one too with, "I see a boy who looks as though he's about to become extremely tall, but who won't because of his past. I see a young man whose limbs are just starting to fit his body. Who wears black that contradicts a smile which never reaches his eyes."
Artemis, looking at him but not seeing him, continued, "I see a boy whose hair has so much meaning and yet so little. Who, when the darkness and the killing become to much, clutches his hair, smiles, and remembers a promise made to himself. I see a heart-shaped face that will always remain just a tad too thin and hands that will always remain steady and true, though the will and heart might stumble and fall. Feet that, while sure of where they want to go, trip so often and so much that they're not sure they know the way anymore."
"And violet eyes," Aphrodite continued as Duo looked down, "Violet eyes that, no matter what the lips say, won't smile. Violet eyes that reflect a little too much pain, a little too much experience, and far too many dreams that have died. Violet eyes that refuse to cry and that have lost much of the passion they used to have."
Artemis let out a short sad laugh before saying, in an almost hysterical voice, "Violet eyes that have seen what no one should see. Eyes that belong to a young boy who shall never be what he could have been and, in the process, forgot how to really smile and hates himself for it…" Again in a whisper, "A boy who hurts so much that his pain hits me like a physical blow."
Aphrodite suddenly turned toward him and asked, "And what do you see, when you look at us, child?"
Duo looked at them a long while before replying, "Two grown women who are more than what they want people to believe. Two women who feel a little too much, see a little more than most, and touch less than they want to."
Artemis looked up, light blue-green eyes almost completely blue with unshed tears and she nodded, only once, but for some reason it was as if it were the greatest praise she could have given him. Artemis blinked rapidly, dispelling the tears before getting up and, walking over to Duo, put both hands on his shoulders and stared deep into his eyes, reaching farther and farther until Duo wanted to scream at the intrusion. "Duo," her voice broke the daze he had fallen in. "The war will never end." His heart froze. "Oh yes, this war in particular will end one day but… hate, fear, the hurting of other people, it will never stop, not in this world… but, I promise you, upon the grave of my father's father, you will see another world where it will happen and, though the cost will be great and the toll will be harder than you can imagine, in the end, it will be worth it to see a world truly, once and for all, at peace." With that she stepped back and turned toward the door right as Heero opened it, exclaiming, "Odin-kun! Good! You have the food! Here, let me take one of those bags and you can tell me where all the food goes while Di-chan fixes up Duo-kun's hair.
Duo was shocked at the change. One minute she had been serious, tears shimmering in eyes that he realized did not belong of this earth, the next minute she was laughing and smiling at Heero while grabbing one of the bags out his arms and walking with him toward the kitchen. It seemed he wasn't the only one whose smile never quite reached his eyes.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: For those of you that wish it, DUE TO MY SPORADIC postings, I am offering you, the readers, A MAILING LIST to sign up to. When I finally UPDATE, I will SEND OUT AN EMAIL informing those of you that are on the list that I have finally updated. I need you to EMAIL me, telling that you wish to sign up, and whether it's for ORIGINAL FICTION or FANFICTION. I WILL NOT accept those people that ask to be up on it in a review because I can't be sure that email is real. The mailing list will ALSO OFFER the TITLES of those works that I am posting, the COUPLES (if any) that are in it, which FANDOM it is from, and whether it is a SEQUEL to anything.
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Petra: Like it?
Kati: Love it?
Petra: Hate it?
Kati: Love me?
Petra: Please, please, please R&R!!
Kati: And thanks to all those who reviewed:
LB: Duo-kun's fun to mess with, ne? *giggles* And Hee-kun no kawaii. *sigh* *goes into Lala Land*
KAJETH: Um... Arte-chan is anti-male. Very anti-male... just not the one in my story... becuase then certain things wouldn't work and... well... *sighs* What can I say?
ASAMI: Duo-kun as a god, Heero-kun as a mortal will porbably never get finished so don't sit around waiting for it. Sorry. I'm currently writing two Gundam fics and a Sailor Moon fic plus about one little short a week. I don't have time to start that one but, I promise, if I ever finish one of the ones I've started I will write that one! ^_-
LB: Don't you wish you were in Duo-kun's place? I do. *sigh* I do think OZ made that elevator. *giggle* I'm sorry, I'm silly, but I just love that line! -_-; About the grammar... well... I do it read it but I don't have a beta (nor do I want one, I actually enjoying correcting it) so there are bound to be mistakes. Also, sometimes I read them before hand but most of the time I'm just trying to get it out before I go away for two days and I figured the readers would rather have a few mistakes then have to wait two weeks, instead of one, for the next chapter to come out. ^_^ I try, though!
"I dream of a day when I can open my eyes, and my dreams won't disappear."
-Rose Marie Ledam
~Petra Megami Assari~
*The Gentle Tiger Goddess*
