Title: In His Eyes

Author: Karina

Rating: PG

Pairing: Duo

Notes: Challenge 198. Baby Series 4 #50. Takes place following Fairytale Monster.

Spoilers: None

Warnings:

Many thanks to ShenLong Deb for her work betaing this set of fics.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the Characters from the series but the baby is mine.

Title: In His Eyes

"If it is worth doing, it is worth doing well."

Duo grunted softly, Not really listening to the conversation, his eyes on the Elder standing before Milliardo trying not to appear intimidated. It was quite amusing really, he decided, watching the interaction between the two. The Elder, while not a short man, was head and shoulders plus shorter than the blonde god who ruled Sanc. Milliardo was silver and light to the Elder's shadow. The contrast was almost painful, particularly when you factored in the weathered years on the Elder's face and the uncommon beauty of the King.

Undoubtedly the Elder had seen many things in his long life, good, bad and terrible. He was experienced with all that life could throw at a body, but despite the discrepancy in their ages Duo knew that the current King of Sanc stacked up to him. The light, the depth and the shadows in those crystal blue eyes spoke of uncommon 'living' in one so young, and it was not just the King who wore that wisdom in his eyes.

Sanc was full of people like that.

People who had looked into, and visited, hell and returned. Survivors. They were the one's who had survived, who had watched family and friends and country fall to the ravages of massacre. They had survived the invasion, the fires, the massacre of innocents, and they had survived through the Occupation. Those who had been forced to flee had survived the exile, and it was not easy to survive in a foreign place on the charity of others, longing to return to a home that no longer existed.

They had survived life's trials and through those trials they had grown strong. Strong enough to return to Sanc and look about them at the ruin of their past lives, and in the face of it... They had rolled up their sleeves, drawn deep breaths and bent their backs to the heavy labour of rebuilding the country to rival what it had formerly been.

There would be nothing easy about this reconstruction of a people and their homes. It would be a labour of love. A labour to test the mettle of the character of the people. It would be a long labour; there was so much to rebuild and restore. No one who lived in Sanc thought they could return to what they had lost. There was no bringing back the old days; they all knew that. What they strove for was not to return the past, but to birth a new future.

They knew what they wanted to keep of their past, the very best that was Sanc, and they laboured to improve what had needed improving and they welcomed those who were of a like mind and inclination. There was a home here to be had, not just for those born here, not just for the Clan Chang. There was a home here, too, for him.

And he wanted it.

End

Karina Robertson 2012