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"Lasting Impressions"Written By: Dragonmistress_7 Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Boys.
Lasting Impressions Chapter 1
On the far side of a room that looked big enough to house a pair of small shuttles, two figures stood, waiting. One was an old Nachi, his wide jaw set and a circular swirl of color around part of his nose and face gleaming. Beside him, a much shorter person in a black cloak, hood pulled forward, stood demurely with his head down, eyes on the floor. As Heero approached, the boy’s head came up somewhat, his eyes raised, and a smirk flitted across his features. He shot a glance at the man beside him, then brought a hand up quickly to pull his hood back. Perhaps only a minute before, he would have pushed back the bangs that were falling into his face, but now he just peered around them at the approaching man. There was something different about this human, something he wanted… that nobody had ever wanted before. The mind that had been dulled by the Protector’s presence was suddenly working at a mile a minute. He felt amused by something, and he wasn’t even sure yet what it was. The only time he had ever felt remotely like this was when he was alone, and even that couldn’t compare to this. He just wished he could put his finger on what it was. His racing thoughts ground to a halt as the Protector spoke. He was, again, the dominant presence, because the human was only halfway across the room. Heero saw the boy lower his hood and almost frowned involuntarily at him. He looked like his picture, but not. The skin that had been nearly pure white was stained a shade of brown that reminded Heero forcefully of mud. The new color didn’t showcase his eyes nearly as well as the old one had, and his hair now seemed downright strange. When the man beside him spoke, Heero saw Duo’s head drop again and his face become disinterested. The allateleion’s hands twitched like he was fighting the urge to pull the hood back up over his head. Heero stopped moving forward so as to prevent the boy further confusion and distress. Obviously, his ideal for the young man and the other Nachi’s were in opposition. Heero blinked, and turned his attention to what the older man was saying. “Welcome, Heero Yuy. I am called the Protector. We do not use names with allateleions, except their own. It is a measure designed to make Impressing them simpler, when the time comes. Your job is to take this young man to his Impression. You were chosen based on several factors, including your piloting skills, references, and most importantly, personality profile. Men such as you are rare, Mr. Yuy.” He didn’t wait for Heero to respond to the compliment, but pressed on. “I cannot express how important it is to keep this secret. There are those who would have Duo at any price. Your safety hinges on the fact that no one knows where this shuttle is going, or when.” Heero nodded his acknowledgement, suppressing his annoyance at being told his job. Satisfied, the Protector turned to Duo. “This is Mr. Yuy, Duo. He is taking you to your future wife. He will keep you safe until you get there.” Duo’s eyes were wide. “He – he has a name?” “And you may use it. The time of your Impression is near, so you must get used to these things. People will be less cautious around you, once you are Impressed. Now, I must speak with Mr. Yuy. You are to wait for him on the shuttle.” Duo nodded and gave a slight bow, then turned and exited through a door behind him, opposite the one Heero had entered through. When he was gone, the Protector turned back to Heero. “There are a few things you need to know, Mr. Yuy. One is that Duo is entirely innocent. We had scheduled someone he was unfamiliar with to come in and tell him what to expect on his wedding night, but he was unavoidably detained. We cannot do it ourselves, the Nurturer, the Provider, and I, because the risk is too great. He is too familiar with us.” “What risk?” Heero asked, “I thought a sexual act was required for Impression.” “That is the other thing I must tell you. For the past several hundred years, we have managed to make it that way, but only through great care on our parts. We’ve long since lost the secret of what causes bonding, but it is more volatile than we would have people believe. Do not allow anyone to touch him, Mr. Yuy.” The Protector’s frown lessened. “The last thing I have to say is entirely a voluntary thing. There was some protest from within the government, but I read your file, Mr. Yuy. I think you are capable of doing this for us, if you will. I, on behalf of my government, would like to formally ask you to explain sexuality to Duo. If you will not, then please simply inform his bride, upon landing, of the gap in his education. From the moment I leave this room, Duo is not my problem, nor that of my government. Are there any questions?” “Would it be better to give him the talk before he spends much time with me? Safer?” Heero asked. “Yes, just to be cautious, if you are going to do it. However, we feel that he is not likely to be in much danger of Impressing himself to you.” Heero nodded, though he could feel that his lips were pressing together, betraying his distaste for the situation. “I suppose that’s all, then. I’m sure any further questions I can direct to Duo.” The look on the Protector’s face said he obviously hadn’t thought of such a thing before. “I would be careful, if I were you, about treating him too much like a person, at least until he is Impressed. Otherwise, you may be a greater danger than we had thought.” He turned to go, but Heero had thought of one more question. “What is he like when he is alone?” It was out before he could consider the wisdom in asking. “Alone, he is intelligent, curious, witty, mischievous, and good-hearted. Left to his own devices, if he was never Impressed, he would be a hell of a man.” Thankfully, the Protector didn’t ask why he wanted to know, and Heero wasn’t sure what he would have said if he had. He just nodded stiffly and headed for the door. The Protector followed him out, but headed in the other direction. Heero’s shuttle was a relatively small craft, one that might comfortably hold six people and enough supplies for that number for a week. Duo was the only person on board, his bag tossed negligently down in the middle of the floor, black traveling cloak wadded into a ball nearby. Duo himself was in the co-pilot’s seat, trying to discern what all of the buttons did. “I didn’t put my bag anywhere because I didn’t know which room was mine. I’d like to share with you, if you don’t mind, because I’ve never shared a room with anybody, and I really should know what it’s like before I get married, don’t you think?” That made Heero pause for a moment. After all, Duo was a very attractive boy, not as devastating as he would be with his skin its proper color, but appealing nonetheless. But it would be okay. Duo was young, innocent, and defenseless. That kind of thing didn’t really appeal to Heero. He was sure he wouldn’t be tempted to take advantage to the boy’s naivety. “Makes sense to me. First door on the right. Go stow your things,” Heero replied. Duo nodded and jumped up, full of energy, to do as he was bid. The swiftness of his return told Heero he had simply thrown the bag into the room. “Will you show me how to fly the shuttle?” he asked. “Why?” Heero said, eyeing him. Duo shrugged. “I’ve just always wanted to learn. Well, not always, but always when I’m by myself. Never when I was with somebody else, before, though. Why do you want me to learn, Mr. Yuy?” The question was asked with the innocence of a much younger child, and Heero cursed to himself. He’d somehow managed to convince himself that his own wants concerning Duo would be a taboo subject. It just wasn’t polite to tell someone what they wanted to see in another person, right? “First of all, my name is Heero. Mr. Yuy is what people call my grandfather. As for why you still want to learn to fly the shuttle, I guess it’s because I enjoy flying, and I want my friends to like the same things I do.” He didn’t comment farther, but showed Duo the start-up sequence, occasionally breaking the silence to point out an important step, or say what various buttons and switches did. Duo watched in rapt attention, eyes taking in everything, until they were in space. Then Heero showed him how to set the auto-pilot, and stood up. “I’m hungry. You want anything?” The Nachi gave him a strange look, but nodded. “Whatever you’re having. That’s one good thing about being somebody new every time a different person walks into the room. You’ll learn to eat anything.” Suddenly, Heero was curious. “Are there any other benefits? Things that you really like about changing all the time?” Duo smiled. “Oh, sure. I know all about people and what they want because of it. I know what’s important to people, and I always say exactly the right thing in an awkward situation. I can even kind of read minds.” Heero experienced a moment’s alarm. Nobody had told him that. “What do you mean?” he asked. “Oh, not literally pick your thoughts out of your head, but I know what you’re feeling, and I know when people lie. That’s why I don’t do it. Every time somebody lies, it makes them feel really bad.” Heero wondered, not for the first time, just who Duo had spent his life around. He could not think of anyone he knew who would have the slightest qualm about lying. In most non-human cultures, it wasn’t even considered morally wrong. Come to that, in most human cultures it wasn’t even considered morally wrong. Then he thought of something else. “You never lie? No matter who you’re around?” Duo shook his head. “There are some things that don’t change, and that’s one of them. It is like…not knowing how to fly the shuttle. Just because you want me to, doesn’t mean I can automatically do it. My knowledge doesn’t change, even though I might be more likely to remember it when I do learn it.” Heero shook his head. This was all too much to take in at once. “Let’s see about that food, shall we?”
Duo thought about that for a moment. “No. What kind of gap?” “The gap of what to expect, what your bride will expect, on your wedding night. I don’t suppose you have any idea what I’m talking about?” Heero knew it was a long shot, but part of him did hope that Duo had secretly snuck in a skin mag or something while his watch dogs were licking their asses, or whatever the Nachi equivalent of that was. “Well, no, not really,” Duo said after a moment. “I- I know it has something to do with the differences in men and women.” Heero smiled to himself at the boy’s naivety. “Well, yes and no, but we’ll start there, to avoid confusion.” There was a considering pause as Heero searched for words that were not crude, clinical, or embarrassing. “You know what? I’ll pick you up a trashy novel when we stop for fuel. I’d hate to hand you over unprepared.” “You don’t have any trashy novels?” Duo asked innocently. Heero choked. “Not like you need,” he managed to say. Seeing Duo’s confusion, he elaborated, “You’re marrying a girl. I don’t like girls.” Duo just looked at him, nothing discernable in his eyes. Finally, Heero opened a cabinet and tossed the Nachi a book. “Here. The basic principle is the same.” With a raised eyebrow for the picture on the front, Duo flipped the book open. He scanned the first page quickly. “Should I be concerned that this isn’t that well-written?” “It’s written well enough in the parts that
should concern you,” Heero returned, lying down again in his
bunk. He turned closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. It briefly
flashed through his mind to make the kid go to sleep, because he knew
that Duo’s bedtime was supposed to be strictly enforced, but
he rather thought that if the kid was old enough to get married, he
was old enough to pick his own bedtime. And after all, he was a bodyguard,
not a babysitter.
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