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"Pax Ultima"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: Angst, violence, language, sex Pairings: If you need to know, please email me
and I will be happy to tell you. Summary:They fought for peace, but peace took away what they loved the most. A very grim tale of suspense and betrayal, set post-canon and featuring character death. Thanks as always to the always fabulous Cuzo
for being my beta! "Pax Ultima " Chapter Eighteen It was Wufei who punched him. It was Duo who hauled Wufei off of Trowa and stood between them, blue eyes wide even though his mouth was set in a firm, grim line, one calloused palm pressed against Trowa's chest, another hovering an inch from Wufei's. "I know," Duo repeated, holding Trowa's angry gaze. "I know he did. He fought those bastards the only way he could and I know that was his choice and it's fucking insane that he was able to make it. That he was able to do any of it." Duo swallowed hard. "I wasn't able to do anything for him. Not then." Oh. So that's what this was. The reason Duo had let Trowa catch him. The reason Duo had downloaded the files onto Wufei's computer. The reason Duo had shown up for a tea party with Wufei. Trowa remembered that night, six months after the end of the first war, when he'd come back to his trailer after a performance with the circus and Duo had been sitting there in the dark, playing with one of Catharine's knives. Trowa had always wondered what it would be like, a fight between him and Duo hand to hand, when they were both healthy, both desperate to live. But Duo had surprised him. Had told Trowa he understood. The mission. The war. Trowa had done what he had to do. Couldn't have helped him, not then. Not that day in the cell and maybe Duo hated him, for being there, but maybe Duo had needed him there too, had needed Trowa's bruising grip on his wrists and his green eyes looking back at him because it meant he wasn't alone. But that had been then. Now Trowa could do something, and he would do something. And Trowa had. He'd packed a bag, made a pathetic excuse to Catharine, promised to come back soon, and he'd followed Duo on his quest for vengeance. It had been the opposite of Heero's walkabout during the war. Duo didn't go to his victims and offer them the chance to kill him, didn't ask for forgiveness. No, Duo was in the victim in this, and Trowa helped him track down the seven men who had been there that night, only seven because two had died in the war and Duo had already killed one on his own before coming to Trowa. He wasn't proud of the things he had done as a soldier. He wasn't proud of the lives he had taken or the destruction he had wrought. But he was a soldier, he did what was necessary. He held down a comrade while he was gang raped by the enemy because he had to - because whatever pain Duo experienced was nothing compared to the pain of Alliance control over the colonies. He held down those enemies while Duo castrated them. He did what was necessary and it didn't make the world a better place. Sure as hell didn't make him a hero. But it kept things in balance.
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