"Light on the Stage"

Written By: Impish

Rating: R

Pairings: 1x2x1

Category: AU, Drama/Romance (but not in a "hearts and flowers" way)

Warnings: AU, some angst, things teenagers do that they're not supposed to (smoking and drinking), general reckless behavior. Additional warnings will be doled out chapter to chapter.

Summary: Two messed up kids in a small country town are drawn to each other, and together, form a brand of music from the old.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the songs used to inspire this piece. I will give a shout out to any inspirations found within.

Notes: I decided to try something pretty different from the Darkest Reflection. The idea was inspired by Cory Morrow's "The Light on the Stage (Sing With Me)," and a whole bunch of other Texas Country music- all the songs I've used in influence will be acknowledged at the end. The story's a bit of an homage to the rise of that genre of music; a fictional idea of how it could have come to be, and very slightly based on the friendship between singers Pat Green and Cory Morrow. It's not at all accurate in any sense, more like a re-invention of a genre's creation.

"Light on the Stage"

CHAPTER 5: A Falling Star


The sun languorously stretched across the skyline in a slow show of color.

At first, there was only the faint fading of dark-washed blue in the east, like heavy denim worn through, before the clouds began to reflect the same, blushing pink shade of the wild thistles that dotted the grassland below. Then, as though a gash had been split into the seam of the dawning sky, a hot orange glow bled and poured out across the line of the horizon, spilling frothy light through the early morning mist. The night died, the day came alive, and the rousing sun breathed soft over the rippling, silvery-green fields.

There was a lot to think on.

The old wooden porch Duo sat on had been worn a sleek, donkey grey by weather and age. The cool early air was fresh on his face, and distant were the sweetly mixed scents of withering wildflowers, spicy cedar and mesquite. Distant, too, was the piercing cry of a bird— some kind of hawk, he should think. It was a lonely sound.

Christ, that kiss.

A thin shaving fell between the dark brown leather of Duo's boots as his knife stroked over a pale, shapeless chunk of wood. The knife was nothing more than a sharpened slice of flint bound to a handle of polished bone, and the tanned skin of Duo's thumb pressed against it looked comparatively alive. Rhythmically, soothingly, he carved another sliver away.

That kiss…

He was glad Heero had made the move, because Duo wouldn't have been able to. Usually, he didn't have qualms about going after what he wanted. Usually, going after what he wanted was fairly compulsive. But as far as having something good in his life, at the moment, Heero was *it*. Heero meant a lot to Duo, more than he should have, probably, and Duo didn't want to ruin it all by pushing Heero too far.

Heero had pushed, though. Heero could push Duo off a cliff and it wouldn't be too far.

It had felt like falling, that kiss. Only there was no bottom to be crushed against; just Heero and his flint-hard muscles that had seemed so ready to melt into his. Duo had never kissed anyone like that. He'd messed around plenty, but he'd never kissed anyone like he'd kissed Heero. Like he meant it. Fucking hell… he meant it so much. He was into Heero Yuy, way over his head.

There was a soft chinking sound from the heavily rusted wind chimes hanging above as the wind picked up slightly, bringing closer the woody, dewy smell of the morning. A large black snake slid through the grass near a post of the neighbor's barbwire fence where two small birds were chirping and shaking their wings out.

Time was marked by the sun lofting gradually higher in the sky and the mesmerizing sound of rock shearing wood. It must have been hours he spent mentally running that same, wearing path before Duo gave up and admitted that yes, he had gone and pinned his heart to something, and that he was an absolute idiot for it. He knew what heartbreak looked like, and he had gone and taken the dive anyway.

Fuck it. If he was going to fall, better to fall like a star and burn the whole way down.

Sighing, he set aside his knife and half-carved block of wood, stood and brushed away the pile of shavings. The mailman should have come and gone by now. He walked around to the front of the house without hurry, listening to the rustle of grass and trees. In the driveway, the neighbor's cat was hunting a horny toad, stalking delicately over the dusty white gravel.

Duo stopped, scooping up the cat's prey. He lifted his palm to look the small reptile in the eye.

"It's too early in the day for dying." he told it. The early cat would not get the lizard today.

Sticking the horny toad on his shoulder for safe keeping, Duo opened the mailbox and shifted through bills and magazines until he found a plain envelope with his name written on it in neat, rounded handwriting. Not bothering to bring the rest in, he stuffed the mailbox full again and headed inside. Put out, the cat had wandered far enough out of sight that Duo figured it safe enough to release the horny toad to its own devices. It would probably be eaten by that snake in a minute or two, he thought unhopefully.

Inside the house, day was breaking a few hours later than it had outside. Also breaking was the shrill voice of a pre-teen girl, denied access to the shared bathroom. A door slammed, followed by more wailing, this time countered by useless fists on wood and a boy's shouting. In the hallway, a large dog started howling, soon accompanied by the piercing yips of a smaller one. From the kitchen came an indifferent rustle of newspaper and empty clatter of silverware that was somehow more irritating than any of the rest of it.

Idly, Duo leaned against the wall beside the kitchen doorway and ripped his letter open, reading it as he half-listened to the man of the house ignoring his wife's bitching over breakfast. Duo didn't mind the fighting or the noise. It was always a good distraction, and made it easy for him to put aside the letter and slip into AJ's room and steal the money he had hidden in with his porn mags. Duo never felt bad about taking anything from AJ as he had usually stolen it from Ben, who had stolen it from Jenna, who had gotten it from their parents, who had given it to her to try to shut her up.

Not bothering to be quiet, Duo snatched his keys up from the living room table and slid out the front door without any of them so much as turning his way.



Thinking it would be better to see him alone before they met up with Trowa, Duo drove over to Heero's house. He spent some time getting deliberately lost on back roads, but as he and Heero had driven over so much of the area, it didn't take as long as he would have liked to find his way again. When he arrived, another car, a sedan, was parked in the garage beside Heero's truck. It occurred to him he'd never seen either of Heero's parents at home before now.

"Well, you'll have to tell the Grahams that I can't go." A breezy, female voice was saying when Duo walked inside.

Heero's mother seemed to be on the phone. From the hallway, Duo glanced inside the kitchen, only able to see a tall, light-haired woman from the back. Not sure he wanted to make that particular introduction at the moment, he slipped quietly past as her voice continued to ring out.

"I don't care. Tell them Heero has a game I'm going to watch or something." There was a pause, and he heard nails drumming against the counter. "Football, *football*. He's always played football!" Another pause. "I don't see why it matters what season it is, there are always summer leagues."

Duo raised an eyebrow skeptically and snuck up the stairs, her voice fading behind him. Opening Heero's door, Duo found him recently out of the shower, pulling a faded red shirt over his head.

"Hey," Duo greeted, and couldn't resist the half-grin that sprung to his face, almost in relief, at seeing Heero.

"Hey," Heero said back, his mouth softening into a small, returned smile.

"You're mom's downstairs," Duo said blandly, stepping inside and closing the door behind himself.

Heero rolled his eyes. "On the phone?" he guessed, ruffling a hand through his hair.

Duo laughed shortly. "Yeah, I snuck by." he said, and then tilted his head quizzically. "You play football?"

Heero blinked. "I'm Texan, aren't I?"

"Yeah, but on a team or something?" Duo asked, turning lazily and flopping back on the unmade bed.

"Not since I was a freshman." Heero said, lost. "Why?"

Duo shrugged. "Your mom was saying something about it."

Heero's lips flattened into a thin line. "She does that."

"Well, were you any good?" Duo asked, abiding by their code concerning family. Fingers playing with the plaid comforter, he smoothed out the fabric absentmindedly.

"I guess. The coach told me if I worked hard, I would be starting."

God, that husky, half-lit voice, Duo thought. "What'd you have to say to that?"

Heero shrugged a shoulder and took a step forward so that he was standing where Duo's legs hung off at the edge of the bed, the material of their jeans rubbing together. "I told him to start me, and then maybe I'd think about working hard."

Duo laughed, propping himself up on his elbows, his head tilted to the side, eyes bright under his bangs, sight set entirely on Heero. "Bet that went over well."

"There's still some debate over whether I quit or got kicked off." Heero told him, leaning down with a smirk. "Either way, there was a lot of yelling involved."

Duo's hand reached out, snagging a belt loop at Heero's hipbone, and wrenched him down roughly. Somewhere in the back of his head, Duo was wondering that they didn't end up breaking noses, but they met kissing. Heero's solid weight pressed him down into the flung-back covers, mouth parted and crushing against his. Tongues drove into each other, teeth grazing lips, and Duo's hand slid up Heero's snake-like hip and fisted in his shirt.

It was like something beneath their skin was magnetic, Duo thought, sucking them together with a force that was beyond physical attraction or even chemistry. They'd started something he wasn't going to be able to stop, and he really didn't care anymore. Duo twisted his body around, flipping them over almost violently, and, still gripping the shirt, dragged his palm up Heero's side, loving the way even Heero's skin felt firm, loving that he could feel Heero's body breathing, moving, pulsing against his.

He loved Heero's hands, strong and coarse, that ran aggressively over his wiry, chorded back, following the ridge of his spine down and then around to his jagged, narrow hips. Fingers raked over his sides, feeling the bars of his ribs and the lean muscle on top of them that was just as hard as the bone.

Duo pulled back slightly, his hands reaching up to twist themselves in Heero's damp hair. Panting into each other's mouths, Heero's hands slid lightly up to Duo's face. For a long, immeasurable moment, they stared straight through each other's eyes.

Duo's eyes fluttered closed, and he pressed a soft kiss on Heero's mouth. Turning his face slightly, he grazed Heero's cheek with his nose and brushed closed lips against the corner of Heero's. Then they were forehead to forehead, chasing each other's faces… drawing back enough that they only just touched before pulling away again.

"Heero," a brisk voice called from beyond the door.

Heero and Duo froze, eyes to the closed door. Practiced, high-heeled footsteps sounded down the carpeted hall, coming to a stop in front of Heero's room. Duo hastily shifted to get up, but Heero wrenched a hand in the front of his shirt, keeping him still.

"Heero, honey, I'm going to be in Dallas for the rest of the weekend, but I want to talk to you about your college choices before I leave."

Duo fought a snicker as Heero rolled his eyes and sat up, letting Duo go so that he could stand. Putting a finger to his lips, Heero went quietly to the door and said, "Yeah, okay," to cover the sound of the lock clicking. Silently walking back, he opened the window next to the bed and jerked his head to indicate that the situation called for a silent retreat.

Duo smothered more laughter and crawled out the window onto the roof over the garage. Heero was right behind him, stopping only long enough to grab his keys and wallet. Scrambling over the shingles, they made a hasty drop down into the bushes and bolted for Duo's car.

"How long do you think it'll be before she figures out you aren't there?" Duo asked, adrenaline energizing his movements as he started the car up and shifted immediately into second.

"I give it ten to twenty minutes, at least." Heero said, his eyes heated and looking only at Duo. "Our conversations are pretty one-sided."

Duo snickered madly. Snaking a hand out to grab Heero by the back of the neck, he kissed him fiercely and shifted the car to speed them away in a cloud of dust.



Trowa was waiting for them at the diner, drinking Dr Pepper in a booth by the windows. When Duo and Heero joined him, he gave them both an absent nod in greeting.

"The menu's the same." He remarked as they sat down across from him, Duo taking the seat closest to the window.

"Now, did you really expect it to be any different?" Duo asked rhetorically with a grin. "How long are Cathy and Relena going to be?"

"You know girls and horses."

Duo's grin widened. "Yeah… we probably won't see them at all, will we?"

"Howdy, boys." Barb called hoarsely from across the room where she was taking another table's order. Duo waved back, and she stuffed her notepad into her apron and sashayed over to them, beaming and waggling her fingers at another familiar group of customers on the way.

"Duo, you're thinner than a bar of soap after a hard day's washing." She admonished, hands on hips, and looked over the other two, "Not that you boys are any better. What can I get ya'll?"

"Chicken fried stakes, all around." Trowa told her. "A coke without ice for him," he pointed at Duo, "And…" he looked at Heero for a second, "… a water for him."

Barb nodded and headed back to the kitchens, leaving Heero to stare openly at Trowa.

"Trowa, don't do that." Duo chided, though his attention was on the structure he was building out of sugar packets. "It's creepy. What have I told you about being creepy?"

"Being observant is not creepy." Trowa argued calmly.

"It can be," Duo countered, starting on the second layer of his little house, "When a person's as observant as you are."

Trowa shrugged indifferently and a second later, Barb stopped off momentarily with their drinks.

"Did you bring your guitar?" Duo asked, taking a sip of his drink. Trowa shook his head. "What?!" Duo exclaimed, knocking his house of sugar packets over, "You come to visit, and you don't even bring a guitar?!"

Trowa sucked hard on his straw. "Mandolin." He said.

Duo paused. "…Mandolin?"

Trowa nodded.

"…okay."

"Wait, mandolin?" Heero interjected, not following.

"Trowa can play anything with strings." Duo explained vaguely, and started putting away sugar packets neatly.

"People still play *mandolins*?"

"Yup." Duo said, pouting thoughtfully as he looked out the window. "Shit, it's gonna pour later. Hope the girls don't get caught in the rain."

When they had finished their food and paid, they went out to the parking lot and, leaving Duo's car there, all piled into the cab of Trowa's beaten, red pick-up and headed out to Sweetstone.

They made one stop at a gas station to fill a cooler with beer, and then took what was supposed to be a quicker route than following the back roads the whole way. It turned out not to be, due largely to a game Trowa and Duo started playing when they hit the highway, that involved punching the shit out of the other's shoulder whenever a Uhaul truck was spotted, and that Duo spent the drive restlessly changing the radio station so often that Trowa finally hit the power button and twisted the knob until it snapped off, pocketing it so that it couldn't be used at all.

"Oh, you just wait 'till the next Uhaul…" Duo muttered darkly.

But they didn't see any more all the way to their exit. Denied his revenge, Duo began giving directions that were deliberately vague so that Trowa kept missing or taking wrong turns, forcing them to double back and take alternate routes to find their way. Far from being irritated, both Heero and Trowa appeared quietly entertained by Duo's antics and banter, and when they finally got to Sweetstone, they had taken at least twice as long as they should have.

They went inside, Duo carrying the beer, and Trowa a case smaller than a guitar's that Duo supposed belonged to a mandolin. Flipping on the lights as they entered, Duo set down the cooler to go pull the decorative guitar down off the wall. He handed it to Heero, since he hadn't brought his own and figured they could take turns playing.

Duo had meant it when he said Trowa could play anything with strings, and it looked like the mandolin was certainly no exception. It was a beat up looking thing, but pretty, appearing hand-painted, and Duo asked where Trowa had gotten it.

"In a deal with some tack," Trowa told him.

"Not from Old Charlie?" Duo wondered. Trowa nodded, and Duo snorted sardonically.

They fell silent for a while, letting the instruments take over in place of conversation. Heero's playing had really come a long way, Duo thought with admiration. He and Trowa did a little improv and then played snippets of whatever Merle Haggard or Willy Nelson songs they could remember, before Heero passed the guitar off to Duo, then went to get a fresh beer and drag up a chair that had been stacked in a corner by the bar, flipping it around to sit backwards.

"What is that you're playing?" Trowa asked Duo, who was messing around with a tune he'd been working on for some time.

"A song I've been getting around to." Duo replied, fingers still dancing and plucking over the chords. "You remember the last time you were here, and we went out to the Stockyards?"

Trowa nodded.

"Well, it's kinda about that…"

"You wrote a song getting kicked out of five bars in one night?"

"Yeah. Kind of. No, not really. Oh, fuck it… just try and play this…"

He showed Trowa an idea of what he wanted, and as he suspected, the part sounded better on the other instrument. Trowa had an incredible ear and memory for melodies, and picked his part up so quick it was a little scary.

"Why don't you sing it, and we'll se how it goes?" Trowa suggested after they'd worked it out pretty well.

Duo nodded, "All right, let's go."

"You've got the count, Duo." Trowa told him.

"Right… One, two, three…"

The beat was heavy and driving, and something you could stomp a foot to. Held up by Duo's guitar, the tune was rolling, catchy, and made almost frisky by the pluckier sound of the mandolin. Duo's rough, honest voice, when he began to sing, was a warm, flush compliment to the sound.

"Fifty dollars and a flask of Crown
I grab my Stetson and I pull it down
I rope the devil, ride him into town
With fifty dollars and a flask of Crown, hup…

My jeans are faded and my boots are brown
I stand for passion and I stand my ground
Ain't nothing gonna hold me down
With fifty dollars and a flask of Crown

Mommas lock your daughters up and throw away the key
Me and my boys are drinkin', feelin' kinda mean…
We're in the mood to hear some country sounds
With fifty dollars and a flask of Crown… hey."

Trowa took off in a lively solo, and Duo took the moment to wonder that a person who expressed so little vocally could express so much through an instrument.

"Anything can happen on a Texas Friday night
If you don't mind your manners, you don't mind a fight
We're in the mood to rock 'n roll around…"

Heero joined in; starting up a harmony so seamlessly that Duo almost couldn't believe he'd never hear the song before.

"With fifty dollars and a flask of Crown

Mommas lock your daughters up and throw away the key
Me and my boys are drinkin', feelin' kinda mean
We're goin' lookin' for some country sounds
With fifty dollars and a flask of Crown
Got fifty dollars and a flask of Crown…"

The instruments continued on for a few more measures, and then with one last, heavy chord, the song ended.

"That was a good one." Trowa told him, rare enthusiasm in his voice.

"You think?" Duo's lip broke into a hopeful smile and he looked to Heero.

"It was great, Duo." Heero said. "We'll have to come up with another part."

"For sure," Duo said, grinning widely.

There was a loud clatter outside and the sounds of scuffling shoes and feminine laughter, so they all looked to the door, where Catherine and Relena were just coming in out of the rain. They were soaked enough that they looked like they'd just been swimming with their clothes on.

"Duo, your directions suck!" Catherine yelled with laughing vexation, trying to wring out her shirt.

It took some heavy convincing, but she and Relena talked the boys into taking them out to the Stockyards again. They stayed out late, and when Trowa dropped Heero and Duo back off at the diner and they all split up, it had only just stopped raining. The darkness was so complete Duo couldn't see the moon through the clouds, and the parking lot smelled wet and muddy.

They stood next to the car, just watching bugs fly about in the filmy light of a flickering streetlamp, quiet and breathing in the night.

After a while, Heero said, "Duo, are we…?"

"Don't," Duo stopped him quietly, turning into Heero and putting his chin on Heero's shoulder, breathing in the smell of his hair, "Don't give it a name. Just say I'm yours and you're mine and don't make it anything but what it is."

"All right." Heero said, and kissed him.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"$50 and a Flask of Crown" is by Bleu Edmonson

Chapter 6

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