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"What May Come"Written By: Clara Barton Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. The following
is an intellectual exercise with no intention of profit. That said,
these characterizations, words, and situations are mine. Please ask
before reprinting. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Language, angst, violence, sex Pairings: 2x3x2 Summary: Almost two years after the war, Trowa Barton decides to move on and enrolls at Amaris University, located on the former Lunar Base. He quickly learns that the past isn't so easy to run away from, especially not when the past confronts him in the form of Duo Maxwell. A/N: This has been in my head for years. I'm
sorry it isn't an update to any of my WIPs but… it's a challenge
to get back in the heads of characters who I haven't lived with in
a while. For now, all I can do is try to write - but rest assured
that I am looking over my old work and making notes and preparing
to update. Eventually. I'm sorry I can't promise more. "What May Come " Chapter Eight Duo called it a victory lap, but Trowa felt fairly confident that a victory lap wasn't supposed to be an all out race. Still, as he surged through the water, desperately trying to keep the lead he had on the shorter man, he supposed it was a victory lap. Today had been the last of the final exams for the year. They had lasted an entire academic year as civilians - they hadn't killed anyone or themselves; they hadn't been arrested; they hadn't plotted any terrorist attacks. They had survived. By the time he tagged the far edge of the pool he had managed a decent lead, and he was able to position himself against the poolside comfortably, resting his weight on one elbow and adopting a bored pose while he waited for Duo. Duo sent a splash of water his way, thoroughly unimpressed. "You've got longer arms and legs," Duo complained. "Just admit that I'm better than you," Trowa shot back. "Never. No such thing as a ground pounder better than Duo Maxwe -" The end of Duo's name was lost as Trowa shoved his head underwater. Duo fought against him, pulling his hand and eventually succeeding in pulling Trowa under with him. When they surfaced again Duo was smirking. "See? Can't even manage to drown me properly." "I'm going to miss this," Trowa decided. He lay on his back and floated. "What? Trying to drown me? Gee, that's sweet Tro." "I guess I'll sort of miss that part too," Trowa admitted, earning another splash of water from Duo, "but I meant this." "Yeah," Duo agreed after a moment. "As great as the Peacemillion is, the lap pool on board ain't got nothing on this." "You aren't going back to Hilde?" "For the summer? No. Howard's got some work for me and I could use the cash. Plus... Hilde and I didn't part on the absolute best of terms." "She kicked you out because you can't swim faster than me?" Trowa hazarded. "You guessed it," Duo said, forced levity in his voice. "I'm joining back up with the circus," Trowa said into the uneasy silence that followed. "Not shacking up with Quatre?" "I have to visit him for a few weeks," Trowa admitted, already dreading it. "I'm sure he'll be gentle the first time," Duo assured him, earning a splash from Trowa. He wondered what that said about them - was it normal to joke about rape when they had both experienced it, repeatedly? It wasn't normal, Trowa eventually decided, but maybe it was still a decent way to cope - at least they could acknowledge that it had happened. "Have you thought about next year much?" Duo asked after a while. "I registered for classes." "Yeah? Anything good I can stalk you in?" "Not unless you've grown a passionate interest in literature." "Hey, I can read." "Tech manuals don't count." "I look at them for more than just the pictures, yanno." "Keep telling yourself that," Trowa retorted. "You like it? Literature?" Trowa nodded and then choked on the mouthful of water that movement brought his way. "Yes," he said eventually. "I lot more than I thought I would." "Huh. That's cool." "I noticed you're taking a lot of biology and chemistry." "Now who's hacking into someone's personal records?" Duo teased him. "But yeah. I don't know... science - putting things together and taking them apart, calculating stuff - I get that. I can do that." "Duo, you can do anything. You're a genius." "Well of course I'm a genius," Duo deflected the compliment. "But - every time I look at a list of elements, I start arranging them in my head, trying to make them into something explosive or corrosive or - I just need to prove that I can do it differently. That I can do more than murder." Trowa swallowed hard. The raw emotion in Duo's voice had him fighting off the instinct to move away from him, but he also fought off the urge to reach out. Dunking Duo under water after that kind of confession wouldn't help anything - and Trowa didn't know how to offer him more than that. He thought back to that day when some asshole had triggered the alarms on campus, the way Duo had held him and coaxed him back to sanity. This wasn't that moment, but Trowa had to wonder, could he do something like that for Duo? Could he convince him to breathe? Could he save Duo the way that Duo had saved him? "What about living quarters?" Duo asked, interrupting Trowa's train of thought. "What?" "Have you thought about that? For next year?" "No. I entered the housing lottery - I'll go where they put me I guess." "You know they've been renovating dorms on the old campus this past year? They turned a few buildings into these suites - three singles that share a bathroom and a common room. So... pretty much a private head." "And a third roommate," Trowa had to point out, not at all keen on the idea of sharing personal space with one of them. He knew that if he lived like that - with a modicum of privacy - his guard would slip. He also knew that something was bound to happen that would make him regret it. "Well..." That one word was filled with a world of subtext. Trowa stopped floating and turned to look at Duo. There was an inscrutable smirk on his face. He looked like Shinigami again. "Well what?" Trowa prompted. "I mean... I've already hacked into the administrative server a few times, for old time's sake..." "And because you were born a delinquent and will die a delinquent," Trowa muttered. "A genius delinquent," Duo corrected with a smirk. "But it would be pretty easy to just assign us a roommate who didn't necessarily exist." Trowa considered it. He had shared quarters before - for almost his entire life he had had to share a tent, a bunk or a barracks with someone else. The first time he had had a room to himself had been when he was an OZ officer - here on this same base only a few years ago. But before, all of his roommates had been outsiders. Even Catharine, who allowed him to sleep on the couch in her trailer at the circus, was still an outsider to some extent. She knew him, but she couldn't use her knowledge of his weaknesses to hurt him. Duo could. Duo was a murderer - he was just as dangerous as Trowa and he knew how to manipulate and hurt. He knew how to find pressure points and hone in on weakness. I've got you, Tro. I promise. I've got you. He had woken up more than once with those words echoing in his head. It was hard for him to give in to the idea that Duo was there - that Duo would have his back. Trowa had been fighting alone for too damn long. "Yeah," he said eventually. "I've never had a nonexistent roommate before. That could be fun."
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