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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 54 "You pull no punches, do you?" Within the shadow of the tent a low grunt was his only response. Duo, seated by the fire, pinched out the occasional spark that settled on the tent. The latest gathering of wood salvaged from the collapsed room seemed determined to burn them out of the cabin, shooting sparks out at regular intervals in miniature explosions, a handy excuse to remain beside the tent. It permitted him to be close to the man who had, unbelievably, made Chang Wu Fei run. He had thought never to see the day when the firecracker that was the Dragon would so obviously run, making no attempt to cover his retreat with excuses. "I've never seen Wu Fei turn tail and run like that before." "It was not my intention to make anyone run." Ah, so Zechs could still speak. He had wondered considering the lengthy silence. Duo ran a hand hesitantly through his bangs, glancing toward the pantry door. Out there in the generally fine day, either a great deal of snow was being moved, or they had each found a solitary place out of the still howling wind to have a serious, and blessedly private, think. He personally wasn't sure what he should do now, and he assumed the others would be no less affected than he had been by that quietly serious, husky voice. "You know they are your friends, Duo. You know that they care for you; about you. No two people show emotion, particularly such personal emotion, in the same manner, but they do care." He knew that, really he did it was just… just that only Quatre had seemed to make the effort to give him the space he needed. Only Quatre had seemed to understand he could not bury himself in a semblance of normality and deny himself the truth-that it was all a sham. He could not do it, but They appeared to be able to. What they did with their lives was really none of his business and they insisted on making it their business to try to drag him into their lies. Was he being too harsh with his judgement? Probably, he admitted, but he was the way he was and they were the way they were… "Maybe." Faint sounds of movement suggested Zechs was shifting his position, trying to gain some small comfort when, despite the miracles of nanobot technology, his body must still ache after the treatment he had received. There was not much in the way of comfortable padding under that large body and he must have an intimate knowledge of every inch of the boards beneath the tent and sleeping bag. "Some people do not show their emotions well, if they show them at all. That does not mean they do not have emotions or that they divorce themselves from such. It merely means they are capable of disguising themselves from the eyes of the world." "Yeah, but… well, yeah. I know that." He knew it. In fact he had his own problems when it came to displaying his emotions. He had a long time ago mastered the art of the smiling face and birthed the persona of the jester to hide his deeper thoughts. He claimed that he did not lie, but that in itself was a lie. It was a different sort of lie to a spoken mistruth, but a lie none the less. "I have no doubt they will be there for you when the time comes." Would there be another time when they needed each other? They had fought side by side together to change things, while others had fought in opposition to them; some to keep things the way they had been, others to change what they saw as injustice. Who was right? He could no longer say, not after living as he had, seeing what he had seen, knowing what he now knew. The world, Earth, the Colonies, the ESUN itself, was not what he had thought it was. Duo sniffed and shrugged, knowing Marquise could not see the action. He was frankly glad of the privacy. Zechs had touched on a few raw points for him, but he was not of a mind to dwell too heavily on that-at least not now. Later, when he had real privacy, when he could think without fear of interruption, would be soon enough for him to consider what he had learned. "You distanced yourself from Noin." The silence was long and grew heavier with each passing second, and Duo wondered if Zechs had determined to ignore him. It was a touchy subject, he knew that, and he was not sure why he brought it up. Maybe to make Zechs as uncomfortable as he was? A petty revenge, if that was the case. The way Noin carried on about Marquise you would think blue murder had been committed instead of the break up of a physical relationship between two consenting adults. Her anger was something he had wondered about. After all, the pair had not been married although she had seemed to expect just that from Zechs. They had lived together on Mars, he knew that for a fact, but not all relationships were meant to last… and Marquise would be high maintenance. He would not have been an easy man to live with. For a simple relationship breakup her rage seemed entirely disproportionate. Obviously Zechs needed lessons in how to break off personal relationships, but then he had meant for the break to be final, indisputable. Had he been deliberately harsh? His silence now was not going to work, Duo decided. He would not allow Zechs to side step a conversation when he had so accurately ripped open not only his own vitals, but that of the others as well. They had limited time, very limited time actually, and he wanted to know as much of the man as he could. Why? He didn't have any idea what it was that fascinated him about Marquise. That he was complex, multi faceted, an intricate Celtic knot Duo knew; but just how many twists and turns made up the character of the man? It would take an entire life time to understand this man who had stepped into history in a terrible way, fully aware and understanding of the fate he made for himself should he survive his own Armageddon. Aware and willing to bear the burden in the interests of earning a peace mankind had been unable to attain since the birth of his civilization. "Zechs. She was your friend. Maybe the only one you could really call a Friend." He would push as hard as he needed to, to get the man to talk to him. "Yes, I distanced myself from Noin. It was necessary." "Because it is safer for her." Not phrased as a question, because he knew the answer. He had similarly distanced himself from others, even the other pilots, because it was safer for them to be apart from him. Safer for them as they attempted to engage in a normal life, when he could have nothing of the life they sought. He was the published face, the known face. The public reminder of atrocities, as Zechs was remembered too. Zechs and Noin had seemed a feature for as long as Duo had known her, starting with onboard the Peacemillion and right through the final days of the war; through the Barton business and then out to Mars. Noin had always been there, always, and Zechs had suddenly wanted her out of the conspiracy he was involved with and to do that he had successfully separated her from his life. Why had it been necessary? Just what had his life become that he took that drastic step? He would eventually have an answer as to exactly what it was that Zechs did and, perhaps more importantly, for whom Zechs did it. Conspiracies attracted his attention as few other things could. "Yes, because she is safer with me out of her life. What she wanted from me I could not, and cannot, give her. Being who and what I am." What she had wanted? A normal life, perhaps? Them being a couple in a normal domestic relationship? Jesus, Marquise did not do normal, the woman would know that. A professional working couple would be more like it; an intimate professional working couple. That much she might have got out of Marquise long term, with careful handling. "And that is… what… exactly?" Again silence from the tent and this time Duo allowed it, poking absently at the fire. The man would need a few minutes to sort out what he thought might be a reasonable answer. He would steer clear of the shadowy domain of Marquise's work, but there was always the chance something might be said that Duo could work with and glean some small clue from in private. He really was going to need to start packing up the equipment he had brought with him and the tents and equipment belonging to the other men. They were determined to leave today and there was obviously nothing he could do about that. He would have preferred to transport Zechs to his destination of choice, quietly and unobtrusively, when the man was a little more physically capable but such options, it appeared, were denied him. "I don't play happy families, Duo." The quiet voice seemed to fill the room, deep and raspy, somehow profound. "I haven't since I was six years old." Few of the people Duo knew could claim to play happy families, in fact, none of them could. Winner was singularly unhappy with his family and he alone of the pilots had anything remotely resembling a family life. Duo knew how unhappy the Winner sisters were to learn their little brother was not `normal' when it came to the personal relationship game; and Quatre constantly ignored their `advice' on how to run the corporation. Their expectations of the baby brother they knew so little about had been dashed early on. Quatre had refused to be ruled by his sisters and his sex life; he had made that clear to them when just who and what Trowa was became apparent, was out of bounds No, Quatre was not exactly the sisters `darling' little brother. "Can't say that I've played the happy families game either. So, with Noin out of the picture, even as a friend since your intention is to keep her safe, who does that leave you with to call your friend?" This time the silence was profound. Duo sighed, closing his eyes against the firelight and the dancing shadows on the walls of the pantry, if only for a moment. Yeah, he'd thought so, but he was not going to allow it. Everyone needed someone to be there for them, to prop them up when the weight of the world was just that little bit too much to stand against. Zechs had said it himself not so long ago. Eloquently telling them exactly why you needed friends and now… now he was silent. Well, no way was Duo Maxwell, who stood on the outside as Marquise did, going to allow that. Whether he was Zechs Merquise, Milliardo Peacecraft, Preventer Wind or the bogyman lurking under the bed, everyone needed someone they could rely on. "I'd like to think I count there." "You… do. Duo, don't get involved in this. Do not go back on your promise to stay out of what is to come. Despite what you think I am not incapable of dealing with it, and the fewer people I need to watch out for the easier it will be to do what I must. Leave me, trust me, and when it is done… I'll find you. I promise you, I will find you… if you want me to." Why did the shadows dance across the wall the way they did? He could almost swear there was a face on the wall opposite him… rudimentary eye holes, a gaping mouth… elongated, almost dragon like; certainly not a human shape, but definitely something there, in the dancing darkness. Shadow puppets anyone? In this firelight one could see all sorts of thing in the flickering light. He snorted, dismissed the thought, and tossed his braid over his shoulder. He would stay out of it if he could, but he would not go out of his way to avoid conflict. If an opportunity presented itself, if someone came seeking him, then he would not run from it. Marquise would have to know him well enough to know that. "So how did you do it?" "How did I…?" Zechs sounded a little startled by the shift. "How did I do what?" "How do you know us so well, when, in truth, we have barely spoken to you over the years?" It was a question the others would be asking themselves, but whether or not they would actually ask it of Marquise was another matter. Duo was getting to know the man, at least a little, and he felt he was justified in asking. There was no real time to get to know him, to ask him a fraction of the questions he wanted to ask, but this was a start. A slow, deep breath from within the tent answered him and he waited. He could be patient. Zechs would know he would not be distracted from this one, he felt he knew the man enough to know that much. An answer would be forthcoming, even if it wasn't the answer he wanted. Marquise was clever enough to give him something without seeming to, he would need to be careful with the answer, probably save it up for another time to consider in all its many fold aspects. "You think my observations are so accurate?" Did he think…? Well, that wasn't going to work, no distractions allowed, thank you very much. "Shit, yeah. You were right on the money with all of us. So how do you know someone, five someones, you haven't spent any appreciable time with?" "I was a trained Commander of men, Duo. Basic psychology is a part of my training." Point, but not good enough. "Yeah, no doubt it is, but that sure as hell wasn't basic psychology. It went a bit deeper than that, Zechs. Don't shit me around, okay? I've been honest with you and I've told you I won't rock the boat, not unless someone comes after me. If they do, then all bets are off. I don't play the prey very well, but I sure as hell enjoy the hunt. So, how do you know us so well when none of us know you?" The dragon shadow on the wall seemed to elongate into something else, spreading in sections, narrowing in others until something that resembled a bird with wings outstretched reared above the flickering flames. The silence stretched, not an uncomfortable silence, but an expectant one. Zechs would not deny him an answer, though what he might make of the answer would be up to him. Here's where the cryptic would enter the dynamic. No one said the man had to spell things out for him letter by letter. He could expect that cryptic response now. How much time would he need to puzzle over its many facets to reach resolution? "There is not a lot you can hide in your dreams." "You've said words to that effect before." Okay, there was something there that Zechs was hiding, possibly in plain sight. The man was cunning enough to hide it in the open and leave it up to Duo to puzzle out. Could he get just a little more out of him? "If you don't mind, I need to pee." Guess not.
Chapter 55 |
