...Enjoy.
CHAPTER SIX: Family (Me and Raliena)
"I'm home!" Duo called as he walked out of the hanger. The mission had been relatively simple, go in, destroy the carrier, get out. There had been no complications, and so Duo was able to return home days earlier than he'd planned. Unfortunately, that also meant that he was going to have to decide what to do with Harry that much sooner.
'DUO!" A small black blur flew out of his room as Harry launched himself towards Duo, an act that would have sent the braided pilot to the floor had he not braced himself, and wrapped his arms tightly around the older boy's neck.
"What's up, little guy?" One look at the small boy's face told Duo that something was wrong, Harry looked like he was about to cry.
"You left and Howard said you don't say goodbye, but you didn't even tell me you were leaving and I thought you didn't want me anymore and you weren't going to come back 'cause you saw me do freaky stuff." After spouting it all out in a single breath, Harry tightened his grip, burying his face in the pilot's hair. Duo looked towards Howard, who was standing in the doorway that Harry had come out of.
'What?' Duo mouthed silently, pointing to Harry with one hand, even as he supported the boy's weight with his other.
Howard mouthed back, 'We need to talk.' before gesturing for Duo to put the boy down.
"Harry, I'm going to put you down now, OK?" Harry stiffened, releasing his grip on Duo's neck.
"Sorry." he whispered as he allowed Duo to lower him to the floor, only to step back a few steps and bow his head, bracing for a blow.
"...Harry?" Duo just stared in confusion at the younger boy, wondering what he had said. "Are you okay?"
"I'm sorry for que- questioning your judgment." Harry said, his voice completely void of emotion, though his eyes shone with unshed tears as he recited a phrase that had been burnt into his memory. He had violated the one of the most important rules his uncle had laid out for him, surely Duo wouldn't let him get away with that. He had ruined everything. Duo wouldn't want him anymore. "Please don't make me leave!" he was unable to stop himself from crying out, "I deserve punishment, but please don't make me leave!"
Duo realized what was wrong in an instant, his eyes blazing as he cursed Harry's relatives. Taking care to keep his voice calm, he knelt on the floor to reassure the shaking boy. "Harry, it's okay." He reached out, lifting Harry's face so that he could look him in the eyes. "You won't be punished for telling us what's on your mind. You have done nothing to deserve a punishment."
"Bu-but I... I showed disrespect." Harry stuttered out, unwilling to meet the other's eyes. "Uncle Vernon says f-freaks must be respectful to their betters. And when they're not, they get hit and sent to the cupboard without food."
Duo sighed heavily, "Harry. You. Are. Not. A. Freak. Understand? You are an adorable little boy who has been mistreated. And you weren't disrespectful. You merely told me what was wrong. And even if you did do something wrong, you don't deserve to be beaten."
Harry stared at him, nodding his head in acknowledgment, despite his clear disbelief. Duo pulled him close, comforting the smaller boy and doing his best to restrain his anger. Harry stiffened at the first contact, before sinking into the embrace, even returning the gesture.
After a few minutes, Howard coughed, and the two boys separated slowly, neither wanting to lose the warmth that was so rare in their lives. "You okay now, Harry?"
Harry nodded, his cheeks reddening as he stared at his feet, not wanting the other to know just how much he had enjoyed being hugged. He had often seen other families, other kids hugging their parents, and wished that he could have that experience. And now that Duo had given him it, not once, but multiple times, he couldn't see himself without his braided savior. Suddenly, he realized that Duo had never said he wouldn't have to leave.
"You're going to send me away, aren't you." It was not a question, but a matter-of-fact statement.
Duo froze, looking towards Howard for help. The old man just shrugged, leaving Duo to respond on his own.
"Let's go sit down." Harry frowned, but allowed himself to be led back into the room he shared with the braided boy.
Duo sat down on the bottom bunk, gesturing for Harry to sit next to him. Howard just continued to stand in the doorway, ready to offer his support if needed.
"Harry..." Duo started, unsure of what to say. Harry just stared at him, resigned to the fact that he was unwanted. "It's not that I don't want to keep you, it's just..." He trailed off, not wanting to say the wrong thing. A pleading glance towards Howard yielded nothing, so he pushed on, doing his best to explain exactly what he was feeling. "... I can't risk your life. I'm a... soldier. I kill people and there are many people who would love to get their hands on me because of that. If I keep you with me, you'll be in danger. The people who are after me, if they find you, they won't care that you're just a kid, they'll take you to get to me. I... I don't think I could live with myself if I got you killed." Not again. I won't let Harry die like Father Maxwell, Sister Helen, Solo... Everyone I love dies and if that's what it takes to keep him alive, I won't let myself love Harry.
Seeing that Duo was too caught up in his memories to continue, Howard looked to see Harry's reaction. The scarred boy was just staring wide-eyed at Duo, he had never ever, in as long as he could remember, had anyone want to keep him safe. In fact, Vernon had complained about how the freak should just die, save him the trouble of taking care of him. The very thought that Duo would be sad if Harry died brought a joyful feeling to his chest, though it was dampened by the thought that he would have to leave. As he studied Duo's face, the older boy's obvious sorrow made up his mind.
"I'm not leaving." Harry knew that should Duo decide to, his words would be enough to deserve an entire week in a cupboard, but they had to be said. He wouldn't let his Duo be sad. "If you want to keep me, then do it. Don't make yourself sad because of me. I want to stay with you. If you don't want me to go, then I won't. If you really do want me to go, then I will." He said, though it was clear that he couldn't believe Duo would ever truly want to keep him.
Duo looked up, Harry was looking at him resignedly, his eyes far more weary than any five-year-old's should be. Suddenly, he burst out laughing, both Harry and Howard looking at him with concern. "You're... you're right." He managed to say, pulling Harry into another embrace, "Can't argue with that logic. Kiddo, looks like you're stuck with us." He looked towards Howard, "We'll just have to make sure he can take care of himself, won't we?"
Howard smiled, nodding. "Welcome to the family, kid."
Harry just smiled, Family. He returned Duo's embrace, ignoring the tears sliding down his cheeks. He had family now, and he wouldn't let anyone take it away from him. Even if he had to use the freakiness to stop them.
Duo watched Harry sleep that night, while he reviewed his last mission.
Okay, so meeting Heero again, even if briefly had been sorta cool. But the Mexican style standoff hadn't been fun. Even though he knew that Heero hadn't known about Harry's past, he was still torn between wanting to pound the guy and wanting him to just smile a little. It would be better if they could team up on missions. Make things easier.
Well, at least Heero had wanted to return the favor. Destroying that Suit had helped. But Duo wasn't sure, when he had yelled "Damn you. I'll get you back!" if he had meant that he would pound Heero for hurting Harry, or whether he actually meant to return the favor and help Heero out.
Duo's laptop flashed up a message. Duo's face fell slightly as he read it.
He quickly checked that Harry was fast asleep, before slipping out of the room to find Howard. Howard was waiting for him in the mess hall.
"You've got another mission." Howard sighed, seeing the boy's face.
"New Edwards." Duo nodded.
"How long ya go?" Howard asked.
"I don't have to move until dawn." Duo replied, "But if this works out… The War should be over before it really begins, Howie."
"Don't get your hopes up, Kid." Howard sighed, "Wars have always had people saying things like 'Over before Christmas'. It never happened that way."
"I know, Howie." Duo shrugged, "But I gotta take that chance. Every day this War goes on… Harry's in danger. And I don't want him to grow up like me. Knowing only War. I want him to know Peace. I remember an old prayer I heard once… 'If there is to be conflict, let it be in my time, so that my children may know Peace'. That's what I want. No more War Orphans. No one else like me."
"Promise me you'll be careful?" Howard asked, "I don't know if that little boy will survive without you."
"I'll be careful." Duo nodded.
"And this time," Howard stated, "Tell the boy you're going. He thought you had abandoned him. You've got a lot of work to do, if you're going to correct what those scum that had him before did to him."
"You mean we have." Duo corrected, "You're family too, Howie. But yeah, I know. I'll tell him."
"You gotta go, again?" Harry sniffled slightly.
"Yeah, munchkin." Duo nodded, "But don't you worry. I'll be back. We're family, now. And I'm not letting my little brother grow up without me."
"Little brother?" Harry stared at the older boy.
"Yeah," Duo agreed, "You're family. That means you're my brother."
"Does that mean I'm Harry Maxwell now?" Harry asked. Duo could see the longing and hope in the emerald eyes.
"If you want to be." Duo shrugged, "You can stick with Potter, if you'd…"
The braided boy got no further than that, as Harry bowled him over with a hug.
"Harry Maxwell, it is then." Duo declared, ruffling the younger boy's hair.
"Come back safe?" Harry insisted.
"You bet." Duo grinned, "See ya later, bro."
Duo had to fight with himself so that he didn't look back as he walked away. He knew that he would see a little boy with tear-filled-eyes. And he doubted that his resolve would manage against that image.
The first step to get to New Edwards was to steal a carrier plane. However when Duo arrived at the nearest base to steal one, he found Heero already in the process of stealing one himself.
"Well," Duo muttered to himself, "I don't see any point in us making the trip separately."
It didn't take much to open the back of the craft and load Deathscythe aboard. And Duo wasn't too surprised when Heero greeted him with the business end of a gun. So he didn't change his attitude at all.
"Hey, you load yours on too, pal." Duo called up, "I'll come and take over in the cockpit."
It was a logical suggestion, so Duo wasn't too shocked when Heero slipped the safety onto the gun.
"Do what you want." Heero said bluntly, before dashing off.
"I must be getting through to him." Duo muttered to himself, as he scrambled into the cockpit, and finished running through the pre-flight checks.
"Oh man!" Duo grinned as they flew through the air, "This is gonna be quite the battle, isn't it?"
"This mission's really big," Heero almost sighed, "I don't think you get it."
"You bet I do," Duo protested, "This is our chance to finally destroy the OZ organization."
"This time is different," Heero stated, "We're going to eliminate every OZ leader."
"Yeah," Duo nodded, "And then I can stop fighting."
"What about the kid?" Heero asked after a long pause.
"Harry?" Duo laughed, "He'll be fine. We'll live together. I'll do what I can to heal what his relatives did to him. He'll know a world of Peace… Did you apologize to him?"
"Not yet." Heero answered bluntly.
"Well," Duo smiled softly, "Time enough later."
"Okay," Duo muttered to himself as he swung his scythe, "We appear to be having a Union Meeting here. All we need is number five."
"The thing I want to know," Duo readied himself to shift into either attack or defense, "Is whether those two guys are on the same side as us… And if they are… Do they know it? Friendly fire, isn't."
Out of the corner of his eye, Duo saw the plane with the leaders of OZ take off, but before he could get a lock Heero was moving. Duo watched as the plane was destroyed.
"Mission Accomplished." Duo heard Heero declare over the radio link. Heero's voice had a sense of pride and satisfaction to it.
The next problem was that the red and white Gundam had slipped into a more aggressive stance, though Duo couldn't exactly tell when. Things always got confused during a battle.
"Thanks for those missiles earlier, buddy," Duo drawled, "Now I'll return the favor."
Duo moved to attack. The adrenaline caused him to ignore the fact that the black and gold Gundam could back up its partner and destroy him. All Duo could see was that the red and white Suit was ready to attack Heero's Suit.
They started to exchange blows at first, but Red-and-White had the advantage with longer range weaponry. Though Duo knew he could absorb the blows for a while, eventually he would be destroyed.
"Cut it out, you guys!" Duo was vaguely aware of a voice over the radio, but he ignored it.
However he could not ignore the jets of fire that cut between him and Red-and-White. Both Suits jumped backwards.
"And here's number five." Duo muttered, staring at the newest Suit: Blue-and-White, "The Union Meeting may commence."
"Haven't you guys gotten tired of these meaningless battles yet?" The Suit's Pilot demanded.
"What do you mean?" Heero asked.
The explanation and proof rocked Duo's world, and he could hear Heero's equal shock and horror. Duo knew that while he was shocked… Heero would be horrified… After all, it was Heero who had done the deed… Not that Duo would have not done it had he had the chance.
"Military Intelligence," Duo swore, "Biggest *^£%(%$ oxymoron in the Sphere!"
Red-and-White and Blue-and-White rushed off to get a carrier plane. Obviously they were going to chase after Trieze. Duo started to follow, but Black-and-Gold's gentle words stopped him.
"Our missions have always focused on attacking when they least expect it. But the enemy clearly has the advantage right now."
"I see what you're saying, kid." Duo breathed.
However there were also other problems. Such as the still fighting Mobile Suits.
"So we didn't get them all." Duo murmured, as he dived out the way. Black-and-Gold mirrored his actions. But Heero stayed still.
"Move, you idiot!" Duo snapped. Heero didn't seem to hear him. Thus Duo was left with only one option… He wasn't going to leave Heero here to be killed, so the other side had to die.
"So how long to you expect us to look after you?" Duo wasn't expecting an answer.
"Your friend has just gone through a little too much it seems." Black-and-Gold commented, but didn't condemn. A fact that Duo was grateful for.
And while he was grateful that someone on the base informed them that the large missiles were set to self-detonate… They were set to self-detonate! A fact that Duo quickly wished wasn't happening. He told the others to split, after Black-and-Gold confirmed the information. But Black-and-Gold pointed out that they would never clear the blast radius.
"I gotta say," Duo sighed as he flew away safely after Heero had dealt with the problem, "You're quite the guy, Heero."
Duo had barely been on Howard's ship for a day and a half, before his next mission arrived.
"Go, go, go." He muttered, "Hey Howie, how's Deathscythe doing?"
"He'll be ready in a couple of hours, Kid." Howard called over to where Duo and Harry were playing hide and seek. Harry was hiding and Duo counting. "You got another mission."
"Yeah," Duo shrugged, "But I won't need Deathscythe to start off with." Duo glanced at the computer screen again, "In fact…"
"In fact what?" Howard frowned.
Internally Duo was weighing the pros and cons of what he was about to do.
'It wouldn't hurt. He wouldn't be in any danger. The school does take kids from about six… And if anything, having him around will make the mission safer… They'd be looking for a single operative… Not one with a kid brother… If they're looking for child operatives at all… I could take him with me.'
"I think Harry can come along as well," Duo grinned at the younger boy, "We'd be going to a school. No danger."
"You sure on that, Kid?" Howard looked over to where Duo had suddenly been bowled over by Harry.
"I swear," Duo replied between laughs, "No harm will come to Harry. All the danger will be away from him. And it'll do him good. Let him see the World off this floating salvage yard of yours. We'll go as brothers."
TBC...