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"Friends "Written By: Karina
Series: Friends Pairings: 2+6 Ratings: M 15+ [In Australia] Rated in the event of bad language and violence. Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing or the characters. That’s the way it is. Warnings: Not a death fic despite how it starts.
Aussie spelling and unbetaed. Summary: When Milliardo Peacecraft is abducted
and left to die a solitary death Duo Maxwell decides to take a hand
in the proceedings.
Chapter 28 Above the crackle of the fire he could hear the howl of the steadily diminishing wind. Duo fingered the gauze bandage, eyeing the slash crossing the wrist extended to him. He absently worked the used bandage into a messy roll wondering what he dare say. If he had doubted before there was no doubting now. Zechs was involved in something secret, dangerous and shadowy. For a moment his eyes dropped to the bandage occupying his restless fingers and he considered the possible repercussions of commenting. While he could not be one hundred percent certain, he was pretty sure he knew what was happening, at least with the wound. Marquise was a dangerous enigma before, but after seeing the wound… Duo thought he understood and the implications behind this discovery were frightening. Zechs appeared relaxed, but Duo could feel those eyes, blue crystal, assessing his stillness. The weight of that gaze held him in place more firmly than any hand could and he needed to decide how best to react. He had no idea if he wanted to comment. It would be an extremely sensible idea to wrap the wound in a light gauze bandage to keep the dirt and cold out and simply go to bed. No comment from him would equal no threat, no chance of rousing the Shadowed Beast he had glimpsed. That would be the sensible thing to do. The intelligent thing. Why was he so rarely sensible? His curiosity was a curse; it had to be. He wanted to know more and his curiosity could sign his death warrant; if not from this man’s hand, then someone else might-would-seek to clean up the mess. “You heal well.” He had needed to say something, the pressure to speak, to make an observation was intolerable and such a neutral comment was at least safe. Setting the used bandage to one side he reached for the antibiotic cream, applying a generous amount. The crystal eyes remained on him, watching and assessing. His skin prickled with their touch, the intensity judging his every action. He bound the wound efficiently, turning his attention to other bruises and abrasions. He bit his tongue, willing himself to bide his time; Marquise should be next to break the silence. He would know how much trouble he was in if Marquise would just speak. It grated on Duo to avoid an issue as mind boggling as this. That wound, cut so precisely, so deliberately, was intended to kill. A slow death; but guaranteed death had been the intention. Tied as Zechs had been no chance of escape had been allowed. In light of what he had just witnessed Duo was sure he was not mistaken. Zechs should have either bled out or died of the cold, yet he lived. Given this new information he needed to re-evaluate how long the man might have been sitting in the cold. Sitting in that icy room, bleeding slowly to death, the cold numbing his extremities… He needed to judge how Marquise was reacting to what had happened and Duo knew the man had to understand he had recognized another element of the puzzle. Marquise was no idiot and had to have understood every twitch Duo had made since the bandage had come off. Normally the human body could not long tolerate such bitter cold and on discovering Marquise to be alive, Duo had assumed the extreme cold had slowed and then stopped the bleeding. He had assumed the cold had stopped the blood flow and saved a life it was intended to take. Perhaps not. Assumption could be dangerous; it led to underestimations and dangerous ignorance. There was another reason Zechs Marquise was alive when Duo stumbled into the scene, intent on rescuing someone no one believed needed rescuing. He didn’t understand how he had known the warning was not some sick joke. Understanding or not, the itch had driven him to distraction until he had responded. Given the shadowy persona lurking in Marquise, Duo understood he was doing remarkably well to be unharmed. It would be far safer to hold his peace and persevere, waiting for Marquise to make an observation. He could do that. He was not, contrary to popular belief, a chatterbox who never knew when to shut up. He could maintain his peace and wait and… Like hell he could. Curiosity was killing him and safety was overrated anyway. A little adrenaline had never hurt him. “Nanobots?” Damn his unruly tongue and its direct pipeline to his insatiable curiosity. His tongue just could not leave the matter alone and had to be the slave of curiosity. He was in enough trouble now; he should have had better control. Zechs stirred, silver white hair turned gold in the fire’s glow, sliding over his shoulder. Duo could sense the shadow stir, but thankfully it did not appear to be more than merely attentive. That persona was danger personified and even in his weakened state Marquise was dangerous. Perhaps more so than if he had been hale and healthy. Duo did not know him well enough to be certain. “Med series T 350.” Duo, unable to contain himself, whistled softly. Marquise’s voice was quiet but evenly toned, safely neutral. Duo was relieved Zechs seemed to be alright with the question. At least for the moment Duo appeared not to be in danger, but he was not inclined to roll over and play dead. Now that the question had been aired he might as well attempt to gain some additional information. “Damn, that’s a lot of money. Those are the nanobots which replicate, right?” “In a fashion, yes.” The eloquent head dipped slightly. “They are engineered and programmed to use each other to rebuild and repair faulty units and when initially injected a ready supply of ‘building blocks’ are also injected to perpetuate numbers.” Duo nodded slowly, considering whether he dared push for more information. He had survived the shadow and there was enough room between them that he could leap to throw aside the door and put some distance between them if he needed to. Marquise would not be as quick as he normally would be. “T 350’s haven’t been generally released. I read about them on the net and that suggested another five to ten years before they would be put forward for government approval. They are rumoured to be the basis for a series of nanobots which can prolong life, regulating the body so it will not deteriorate as quickly as you age.” He sat back and dared glance up at the taller man who was, as he had thought, watching him intently. He could feel the Shadow persona lurking behind the bright blue eyes, but there was no danger. No immediate danger, he amended. He would need to re-evaluate just how dangerous this man could be, given this new knowledge. Not just that alternate and dark persona, now nanobots were to be taken into consideration. To the general public med series nanobots were experimental, but no longer so to him. He had witnessed the evidence of their work as he had salved the man’s wounds. Had he not already so recently seen the wound, he would have thought it at least a week old and the bruises, if he looked more intently at the man, were not so dark as he would have expected. In the shadows cast by the fire, with only the firelight and camping lantern, he had not noticed the difference before. Within a couple of days the bruises and lighter abrasions would be healed and within a week Duo had little doubt Marquise’s wrist would be marked only by a scar. If the nanobots were half as efficient as the article suggested, the scar would eventually fade to a faint mark. He was not certain how far the nanobots would work on the wound, but he doubted they would be able to perform what equated to plastic surgery and erase all trace. “Are they as efficient as the reports on the net suggest they will be?” Marquise inclined his head slightly, seemingly undisturbed by his curiosity. “It may be they are more efficient than first theorized. This is not the first time I have had need of them.” Duo arched an eyebrow. “How long have you been using them?” Something flickered in the blue eyes and Duo almost tensed, but it was gone as quickly as it came and he was uncertain what it had been. Zechs lightly run a finger over the bandaging. “I was originally injected with the F 120 series when I was sixteen. I have had several updates between then and now.” Duo absently tossed a piece of wood on the fire. “You were… You have been using nanobots since you were sixteen? Then… Libra?” He was uncertain how to phrase what it was he wanted to ask and as usual Marquise seemed to flinch at mention of the space fortress and the reminder of the final days of the war. “By that time I was using the M 830 series.” “You survived Libra because you were using nanobot technology.” Duo whispered. “I always wondered. I mean, it was one spectacular explosion.” “Especially from where I was sitting.” Zechs murmured, crystal eyes gleaming in the firelight. “The nanobots helped.” Duo caught the undertone in his voice, the flicker in his eyes. There was pain there and he wondered how badly the man had been hurt and how long it had taken for him to receive help. Nothing had been said in his hearing of where Zechs had gone, or what he had been doing after Libra. Healing was fairly obvious, he supposed, but there had to be more to his life than that. It was not until Zechs had appeared from out of obscurity to delay and hold Dekim Barton’s forces that Duo had given thought to the Prince of Sanc. He had been content in his life at that point, though he could not say the same thing for his life following that brief incident. He had just been glad the war was over and he was, miraculously, alive. It was later he had found discontent with everything he did. Had Marquise found that same discontent? “Guess there are perks to having friends in high places.” “There are more drawbacks than perks.” The whisper reached Duo and he flicked a glance at Marquise to find him staring into the flames. “Yeah.” Duo whispered. “Guess so.” Someone was out to kill the man, after all. Someone who had access to classified information, meaning there was more than one person behind the attempted murder. Taking a deep breath Duo began to tidy up after his ministrations, packing away the equipment in the med kit and then settled back, listening to the howling of the wind in the trees. “I’ll work on digging the chopper out after breakfast. By mid afternoon we should be back in Sanc.” “What will you do with me?” Like a switch that sense of presence was back, a flicker of awareness, dark and dangerous; waiting. His own sense of urgency was dormant now, calm and controlled and it allowed him to know there was no direct danger to him. Whatever the darkness in Marquise was, it was not dangerous at this time. “Do with you?” Marquise sighed and shifted his weight, easing aches and pains. Even laying claim to nano technology did not mean one was immune to discomfort. “Duo Maxwell, I am dead. For the peace to rest easy, I must remain dead.” Duo scowled, drawing his knees up, circling his arms around his legs and glaring into the fire. “Yeah. That’s right. You are dead and buried… well, not exactly buried, but there is a headstone and everything.” The silence lengthened and Duo did not particularly want to break it. It felt dangerous somehow, not exactly threatening, but certainly not comfortable. Something he was not going to like was in the works, but his perception of danger was not driving him to action. “You may want to consider lying low for a time.” The deep voice whispered; the warning in the low rumble clear enough. “Those who profess to know what is best for the peace, like to keep their secrets.” Duo sighed softly. There it was; he knew it had to come. Not a threat from Marquise, but a warning. It was meant as a thank you for saving his life; the acknowledgement Duo might have sealed his own death warrant. “How long do I need to run and how deep should I bury myself?” “I will endeavour to determine who wants me dead and ensure you have protection with all speed. If you could give me a month or two to establish safeguard; my first priority will be to ensure you are safe from repercussions.” Repercussions. He saved a man’s life and his own might be forfeit for the act. Wonderful. Really, as he had thought, the world had not changed. “It won’t be the first time I need to show my heels to hunters.” “It should not be necessary that you run, but it would be safest. The day is coming when I will find a hole for myself, away from their missions.” Crystal eyes reflected dancing flame, shimmering with more than firelight. “I have died and while it was painful, it is usually the resurrection that requires the most pain and effort. I will ensure you will not be hunted for long.” Duo, without consciously thinking about it, began to strip. “You know, I’ve not really had a home that was one set place. I’ve tried, but I guess I have itchy feet. Just as well, really. I don’t know what I want to do with myself, so how can I decide to set down roots? I might vacation in the colonies for a while, bum around and see what’s changed.” “The idea has merit.” He was not certain what it was that made him do it, but he met the blue eyes with sudden intensity. “A Person can loose one’s self fairly quickly in the colonies, in the back streets and slums of L2. If they know how to blend in, no one would ever find them.” He could see the blue eyes were fierce and bright. They understood each other only too well and he could not understand why. He had spoken to Marquise with easy comradery and too few people he called friend, but Marquise now numbered in their ranks. “You helped me, Duo. I will ensure there is insurance in place to protect your back. Say nothing to anyone of what you have learned. Those who pull my strings have short tolerance and would use any excuse to exercise their will.” Sudden anger sparked in Duo. “Une’s up to her eyeballs in it, isn’t she? Une and Preventers.” Intense blue held him motionless, forcing him to fight against the anger, to contain his rage. “The less you know, the better, my friend.” “They are after me to join Preventers, you know? Chang and Yuy. Barton too. Quatre’s the only one who seems to understand I don’t know what I want to do, but I do know what I don’t want to do, you know? I’ve had my fill of killing and I want something else. Something I don’t even understand.” “Hunt it, Duo Maxwell. Don’t take what your friends want because it will give them peace of mind. You deserve better than that. Give yourself the time to find it.” “You think?” Duo shrugged, bare chest turned gold by the flickering fire light. “Need to pee?” “No.” Duo nodded, turned out the lamp and dropped his trousers and boots. Marquise watched as the younger man flicked the sleeping bag open and slipped in beside him. Did Duo Maxwell even consider what he was lying down beside? Duo had seen the shadow within him. He had felt the danger and still he crawled into the sleeping bag and settled down to sleep. “Night.” Zechs sighed softly and inched himself carefully deeper into the bag, feeling himself being drawn to the source of warmth so close to him. “Good night.”
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