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"Birds Of A Feather" Written By: Stone Angel
Disclaimer: I WISH I was making money off this.
And I wish I owned the characters. But, sadly, they're just my playthings
and other people who are richer and happier than I can claim otherwise. Rating: R Warnings: TWT, shounen ai, sap, fluff, occaisional silliness, humor, angst, blood, violence, language, kinda super natural. Archive: Steal it or any parts of it and I WILL
kill you. I’m not kidding, I’ve seen me do it Pairings: 1x2 Authors Notes: It's Super Natural in a really wierd way(that isn't even a good way to describe it), *NOT* SCI-FI, *NOT* DARK in the least, and it's something that I'm sure many of us have thought of at one time or another but I've never read anything about it so I'm changing that. Hmph. I hope you like it. ^_^ Spoilers: Yeah, a few. Unfortunately, they are from several episodes from all over the the series(including the Episode Zero manga) so listing them all would be pointless. And they are things that I think everyone knows already. But, to cover my own ass, if you have not seen the show, don't read. Also, why would you be here? 0_o Feedback: I will love you forever if you let me know what you think. Good comments adored, CC welcomed, flames laughed at. THANKS TO... KOHAKU!!! (glomps!), who helped me
work out a few things with the fic. You rock!
"Birds Of A Feather"
Um, this chapter will make you want to strangle me in the beginning, but it gets better. At the end it_ (mysterious hand covers mouth) Bob: (annoyed) If you blather on any longer, you’ll give it all away. (removes hand) Oh yeah. ^_^’ This chapter and the next one have Suggested Listening. For this chapter it is: Hoobastank's "The Reason". It works well after the second * * * . Some Japanese volcabulary you should know: "Ahou" means "Moron", but not as nice as "Baka", depending on where in Japan the person is from. "Sore wa himitsu desu" means "It's a secret". Enjoy! Chapter 12 Having just replaced the halter in his Gundam, Heero sighed as he picked up the paint can in the garage and carried it into the house along with one brush. ‘I hope that Duo is reading his manga so I can get this done by myself.’ He thought as he walked up the stairs as quietly as possible. Setting the can down, he pried it open with the thin end of the metal handle on the brush and dipped the bristles. Carefully, making sure not to drip as he had not wanted to put any covering on the floor for the noise it would make, he brought the brush to the wall and began painting over the entire area that the plaster covered. ‘I should have kept the plaster more localized.’ He thought to himself. ‘This spot is much bigger than it had to be.’ He wondered if, subconsciously, he had made the plaster spread out so he would have more time to paint it with Duo, but crushed the thought shortly after forming it. ‘I need to stop thinking about him. If I don’t, I’m going to go crazy.’ “Hey!” He startled slightly and turned to see Duo peeking out of his room. Duo frowned at him. “I thought you said I could help with that.” He walked towards him, crossing his arms. “Uhh...” Heero said and Duo raised a brow. It wasn’t something he usually said. “There’s another brush in the garage?” “That’s the right answer.” Duo said with a grin and pranced down the stairs. ‘Shit.’ Heero cursed, feeling like kicking his own ass. A moment later, Duo walked back with a brush and dipped it into the paint bucket. “Don’t drip.” Heero said as he watched the brush submerge. “Duh.” Duo returned with a playful grin. He removed the excess paint on it before bringing it to the wall. Heero watched for a moment as he used slow, even strokes to cover the plaster before pulling his gaze away and doing so himself. “So Quatre left.” “Hn.” “Yeah, that’s what I said.” Duo chuckled. “I don’t think he’s coming back for a while.” “Whatever.” Heero said as he dipped his brush again. “But he said some interesting things before he left.” Heero’s breath hitched and he glanced to his side, but said nothing. ‘No kidding.’ “Did he say anything to you?” “Nothing much.” He said. It was kind of true. Quatre had not had to say very much, but what he had said had meant a lot. “Oh.” Duo said quietly. “He said some things to me that didn’t make a lot of sense.” Heero felt his heart speed up. ‘Was it about the same thing he talked to me about?’ He wondered. “Like what?” Duo seemed shocked for a moment at Heero’s interest and at the fact that he had asked him to continue talking, but blinked and continued. “Oh. Um. He talked about the mission.” He said as he dipped his brush. “Hn.” “And about some other things...” Duo’s voice trailed off for a moment before he took a quiet breath. “He asked why I thought you jumped in front of me when that mobile suit was hurtling for Deathscythe.” Heero glanced to him again before returning his gaze to his brush and seeing that it was dry and dipping it. “Hn.” “I said I didn’t know.” Duo said softly. Heero felt a little guilty. He wanted to tell Duo why he did it, even though he had not known why at the time, but he knew he couldn’t. “But I think I’ve figured out why.” Duo stopped painting and turned to Heero. There was only a small patch a few centimeters across that was left unpainted now. Nervous, Heero covered it and did his best not to show what he was feeling, but his hand was shaking. Duo noticed but said nothing. Heero crouched and closed the paint can, pounding it shut before grabbing Duo’s brush from him and heading out to the garage. Duo followed him. “Do you want to hear why I think you did it?” “No.” Heero said quickly as he put the can on the shelf and poured the acetone next to it into the plastic cup resting on the cap, soaking the brushes in it. Leaving the brushes there in favor of going to his room to get away from Duo, Heero walked back into the house. “Why not?” Duo asked behind him. “Come on, Heero. No one likes an anti-social.” “Why do you think anti-socials are anti-social?” He answered coldly. “Hey.” Duo sounded a little hurt and Heero stopped walking right before he got to the stairs and closed his eyes. ‘Why did he have to use that tone? That’s not fair.’ He turned and looked at the other pilot. Duo had a small frown on his brow. He obviously REALLY wanted to talk to Heero, but Heero didn’t want to talk. ‘But I can listen.’ He thought. ‘I don’t have to say anything back.’ “What?” Duo’s eyes wandered up the wall in the living room. “I think that the reason that we both did what we did on the mission is because we’ve become friends during our time here. I think friendship is the reason you jumped in front of me. Just like it’s the reason that I caught you. I think that if you didn’t care about me, then you wouldn’t have given a rat’s ass if I was hurt or not, but you not only tried to keep me from being injured, but you hurt yourself in my place.” He sighed. “I think that we both care about each other enough to do that. That’s what friends do. They help each other.” Heero’s heart was trying to fight its way out through his ribs now. Duo gave him one of his genuine smiles and Heero felt himself snap. ‘No friends, Heero. Never friends.’ He remembered his orders. Turning his head to the side and lowering it so his hair fell over his eyes, he closed them when he felt like they were getting wetter than they should have been, and scowled, his hands becoming fists at his sides. ‘…This has to stop. …I have to stop it. …I have to nip it in the bud before...’ “…No.” Duo was silent. Heero knew that he was hurt, but he couldn’t open his eyes. He couldn’t look Duo in the eyes as he did what he was about to do so he kept his closed. “We are not friends.” He said in the most even tone he had. “We will NEVER be friends, Duo.” “...H... How could you say that?” Duo’s voice sounded like he was extremely upset. Holding on to his determination, Heero continued. “How could you think we could be friends? We are soldiers. We fight for the same cause. That’s all.” He paused for a moment, unsure if he could continue but he knew he had to. ‘Do it. Do it for him.’ He swallowed his emotions as he spoke again. “When this war is over, I won’t even remember your name.” He said in a soft tone. It had almost been a whisper, but despite its quietness, it filled the room. Not even a second passed after he had said that when something that felt like a fist impacted with his cheek and his head snapped back a little. He opened his eyes and looked at Duo. The braided pilot stood there, still in a stance that was that of just having thrown a punch, and he had tears trailing down his cheeks. His beautiful violet eyes were drowning in them. Heero wanted to cry with him, but he knew he couldn’t. He looked away at the floor to their side. “Heero!” Duo yelled at him. “Why are you saying this?! I KNOW it’s a lie! I KNOW it! So do you! Why are you trying so hard to keep me away?! Why do you try SO HARD to not like me?!” He sobbed suddenly and stood straight to wipe at his face with his arm. “You’re trying to hurt me. You’re doing it on purpose to push me away. I won’t let you.” He glared at him. At that, Heero glared back. “Leave me alone, Duo. You’re better off.” “No.” Duo answered. “NO!” “I don’t want to be your friend, Duo!!!” Heero yelled quickly. “I just want to be alone!” “We ARE friends, Heero!” Duo replied. “No matter how much you want to think otherwise, you are wrong!” He sniffled a little. “I had thought that after I found out that you are a... whatever you are, that you might stop trying to keep me away. But it didn’t make a bit of difference, did it? You still want me to think that you hate me.” He wiped at his cheek. “I know you don’t. I’ll never think that.” Heero wanted run out of the house, jump in his Gundam and fly into space. He wanted to remove himself from Duo’s life so he wouldn’t cry anymore. ‘I can’t stand to see him like this. It’s too cruel.’ But he could not relent. ‘As much as I hate this, it’s for his own good.’ “I don’t hate you, Duo.” He said softly. A tearful smile appeared on Duo’s face before Heero could finish speaking. “But that is only because I do not care enough about you to hate you.” Duo dropped the _expression and more tears fell from his wide eyes. “What?” “For one to hate another, they must care about them.” Heero continued. “I feel nothing for you, one way or the other.” He said in a calm and quiet tone, even though his mind was screaming and his heart felt like it was breaking. “After I win this war, I am going to leave. I’m going to go away somewhere where no one will ever find me. ...And I will never miss you because I will never think of you.” He closed his eyes. ‘If he knew how untrue that was…’ “So just forget about me and when the war is over, find something that makes you happy and do it. That’s what I will do.” So saying, he turned and walked up the stairs. “Heero!” Duo called after him. Heero almost broke down at the pain in Duo’s voice. “Leave me alone, Duo.” And he entered his room and closed the door. As soon as he did, he could not hold on any longer and tears rained from his eyes as he covered his face. ‘Oh god...’ He sobbed silently to himself. ‘I hate this. I can’t stand hurting him like this. Why can’t I just tell him? Why does he have to be in danger if he is my friend or more?’ He moved to the bed, wiping at his eyes, and threw himself onto it and immediately muffled himself with the blanket. ‘Why can’t I ever see him smile again?’ * Duo stood in the living room and stared up the stairs with wide eyes. ‘How can he say that? How can he act like this? WHY is he doing it? I’m NOT going to be pushed away that easily.’ He wiped his eyes again. ‘God, I didn’t think words could hurt so much. There has to be a reason he said that. He wouldn’t have done all the nice things he’s done for me while we’ve been here if he didn’t care about me in the least. It makes no sense.’ Sniffling, he walked out of the house. ‘I need to think. Quatre told me not to let him do this. I have to think about what to do to make things better. There has to be a way to break through to him. I’ll go for a walk.’ He let the breeze dry his tears and headed for the town, deep in thought. * * * After a good hour of crying, Heero felt like he couldn’t do it anymore. Raising his head, he looked out his window and saw that it was nearing sunset. He still had an hour before the time he usually went out, but the breeze outside seemed to call his name. ‘I should go out there.’ He thought but dropped his head back into his blanket soon after. ‘I don’t want to fly.’ He thought with anguish. ‘I don’t want to do anything. I don’t want to stay here. I don’t want to send a report to J. I don’t want to fight anymore.’ He squeezed his eyes closed. ‘I want to leave. I want to leave EVERYTHING. I thought I could do this, but I’m not ready. I thought I could fight, but I can’t. I thought I could tell Duo to stay away, but I can’t stand feeling this way. I can’t do anything I’m supposed to. I’m worthless.’ Pushing himself up, he saw his bandage had unraveled and was laying on the blankets. ‘I shouldn’t be wearing it anyway.’ He thought as he took it and threw it into the trash in the bathroom. It was a reminder of Duo’s kindness. Something he had never deserved. Examining his cut in the mirror, he saw that it was little more than a scratch now, and carefully removed the butterfly bandage. He threw it into the trash and looked down to his hand, unwrapping the cloth tape from around his knuckles. They were a little bruised, but the wounds had not been nearly as deep as the one on his head and were almost gone already. He threw those materials into the trash, as well, before stripping off his clothes and stepping into the shower, keeping his wings folded, unwilling to deal with them. ’The wind will dry my hair.’ He thought, trying to want to go outside as he stood under the spray, reaching for his shampoo bottle. Once he was clean, dry, and dressed, he walked to his door to go outside using conventional means, and caught himself after opening it. ‘What if he’s down there?’ He did not want to have to see Duo right then. Sighing, he left the door, opened his window and climbed out onto the sill, closing the window behind himself and jumping down to land in the grass below. With a heavy heart, he headed at a walk towards the cliff with the tree. ‘I need to be by myself. Just for a while...’ He thought and wiped away another tear. ‘I need to just BE. Alone. That’s how I was meant to be. I need it.’ He tilted his head back, trying to believe himself. * * * Duo walked into the house and up the stairs. He saw that Heero’s door was open. ‘He probably packed his stuff and left.’ He thought angrily. As he looked in however, his eyes widened. Heero’s laptop was sitting on the desk as usual. ‘He’s still here?’ “Heero?!” He called out down the hall. No answer. He ran out of the house to the hangar, throwing the door open when he reached it. Wing sat there next to Deathscythe, the both of them almost seeming to be waiting. ‘He left his Gundam!’ He thought with panic. ‘He wasn’t at the town. He’s not here, it’s too early for him to be flying.’ He suddenly had a flash of Heero plummeting headfirst down the cliff after Duo had broken him out of the hospital the second time they had met. ‘Oh, god! No!’ He rocketed out of the hangar and ran at his fastest pace towards the cliff with the tree. ‘If he killed himself, I don’t know what I would do.’ He thought as new tears formed in his eyes. ‘He means too much to me.’ He ran over the hill and could see the tree in the distance. His legs burned and his lungs heaved as he continued to run as fast as he could, but he could not stop. A sick feeling settled in his stomach and his heart raced as he ran. The thought of losing Heero made Duo want to scream and he knew that he would never recover from it. An ache began near his heart at the very thought, threatening to make him start bawling. ‘I can’t let him go...’ He thought. ‘I lo...’ He felt his eyes widen, even as he ran at his fastest pace, as he suddenly realized his true feelings for the other pilot. ‘I love him. I love him!’ It was as if a switch had been thrown for Duo as he suddenly realized it and everything made sense. ‘That’s why I’ve been trying so hard to get near him. That’s why I would be devastated if he died. That’s why I caught him when he fell on the mission.’ His eyes got wider still. ‘And that’s why he jumped in front of me... Oh, my god.’ He felt his heart ache with a new pain. ‘He feels the same way. THAT was the look he had in his eyes earlier. That’s what Quatre meant when he said to figure it out. That’s why he said I had to listen to myself.’ He sent a silent “thank you” upward to his friend as he tore across the grass. ‘Oh, god. Please don’t let me be too late.’ When he reached the cliff with the tree, he slowed down and stopped when he was at the edge of the land. He dropped to his knees, not trusting his legs to hold him up, and looked over the edge. The wind blew and the waves crashed to the shore but there was no sign of Heero. ‘Did he fly away? The way birds do?’ He wondered as he sat back on his heels, pulling in huge droughts of air. He saw something to his right, towards the tree, and turned to look at it as the wind died down to a soft breeze for a moment. It was Heero’s tank top. He stood on shaky legs and walked towards it, bending to pick it up and hold it in his hands. Standing straight, he stared at it and tears formed in his eyes again. ‘He must have taken it off to fly away… …He’s gone…’ Burying his face in it, he cried. ‘I’m too late.’ He thought as the pain in his heart expanded to encompass his entire soul. ‘He’s gone!’ He muffled a sob with the fabric. Nothing had ever been so acutely painful and he sobbed as he realized that he would most likely never get the chance to tell Heero how he felt. Wars were tricky things, and for him to have any time alone with Heero ever again was unlikely at best. One of them could die before that day ever came. He lowered the shirt from his face to look out over the water where Heero had probably flown, and something caught his eye. A white feather floated down right in front of him to land at his feet and he stared at it for a moment before looking up. The sky was empty above him. But to his side, in the tree, he saw through the corner of his eye, something tan in the branches. He looked to his side and his eyes widened. Hidden by leaves from every angle but Duo’s, Heero sat on a high branch, wingless and motionless, staring at him with wide eyes as if he couldn’t believe he was standing there. His heart found a new reason to pound a hard and fast rhythm and Duo grinned as more tears fell from his eyes. “Heero!” He ran a few paces towards the tree. Heero jumped down off the branch and landed in a crouch before standing and walking towards him. Duo stopped heading for him and waited for Heero to reach him. He was so happy suddenly and, in contrast to his despair of only a moment before, the moment felt surreal, his mind unable to think straight and his emotions in a jumble. Part of him wanted to grab Heero and never let go, another part wanted to strangle him for frightening him like that, and a third part just wanted to cry as he was so happy that Heero was still there. Heero was scowling, but his eyes looked tired and it seemed as if he had been crying. “What are you doing here?” An awkward laugh bubbled out of Duo and he gave in to the first part of himself as he ran towards the other pilot and threw himself at him, dropping the shirt and encircling his arms about him, burying his face in Heero’s shoulder. Heero tensed but did not push him away. He stood perfectly still, barely breathing. “I thought you’d jumped off or something.” Duo said as he cried. “Or flown away like the birds you hate. Heero, I was so scared!” He said quickly. A long moment passed as nothing happened and Duo could only hear his heart pounding in his ears. Then, very slowly, Heero’s arms came up around him, holding him carefully, his hands on Duo’s back, not a full embrace, but not pushing him away. His voice was little more than a whisper as he spoke. “...Ahou.” Duo grinned again and cried harder into Heero’s shoulder. Heero rubbed his back carefully, not saying another word, just letting him cry, as the wind picked up once again. After a moment, Duo stepped back and wiped his eyes, even though more tears formed. Heero was watching him closely, but his scowl was almost gone, his eyes unshielded. Duo saw the raw emotion there and spoke. “I understand now. I understand everything. Well, not everything, there are still a lot of things I don’t get, but I know what we feel for each other.” He took a breath. “Heero… I love you. And I think that you love me, too. That’s why you carried me to bed, and made sure I was okay after you punched me in the eye, and that’s why you stepped between me and the mobile suit.” He took another breath as he continued. “And that’s why I kept trying to get close to you, even when you would push me away or hit me, and that’s why I caught you when you fell. I didn’t want you to be hurt because I love you.” Heero’s breathing was a little faster now as he stared into Duo’s eyes. His eyes had the same dazed look they had had earlier that day as they gazed into Duo’s. Feeling like he was going to start crying again if Heero didn’t say something, Duo spoke. “Well? This is a two-sided conversation, Heero. You can’t ‘Hn’ your way out of this one.” Heero didn’t say anything, but he slowly brought his hand up and gently wiped away one of Duo’s tears. Duo smiled to him and Heero looked like he would smile back, his eyes softening, before they shifted to Duo’s side. Looking to his side as well, Duo saw his hair blowing in the wind. The band had apparently fallen out and his hair had come out of the braid during his run, the long chestnut strands whipping in the air. Heero seemed completely taken with it. His deep blue eyes were fixed to it and he studied it intensely as if it was the most beautiful and fascinating thing in the world to him. Duo smiled wryly. “It came undone when I ran here.” He felt a little embarrassed. “...I never let it down in front of people. Other than Professor G, you are the only living person to ever see it out of the braid.” He finished shyly. Heero’s eyes flickered to his and then back to his hair, one hand rising towards it in askance. Duo blinked and nodded. “It’s okay.” Very gently, Heero reached out and gathered the long strands, bringing them forward over Duo’s shoulder, as the wind died down a little once again. Duo watched as Heero held his hair in both hands, stroking it with his fingers. “Segoi.” Duo glanced up. Heero looked amazed by it, his eyes watching it closely. He looked like he was about to smile, his lips just barely curving upwards at the corners. Duo smiled at how happy he seemed. Then Heero’s eyes returned to his, and he released his hair and took a few steps back. He turned his head and looked out to sea as the sun began to set, seeming to think on something for a moment before closing his eyes. With a brief sound of wind, wings appeared behind his back suddenly. They seemed to grow out of him fully-formed, starting with the tops of them where they bent to fold, until they were completely unhidden and they straightened and stretched above him on either side for a moment, as if the tips pointed to the heavens, before folding and resting behind him. They folded to be almost completely behind his back, but they were tall enough that Duo could see a good three feet of them above Heero’s shoulders, broad enough that they framed Heero’s form with six inches on either side, and they were long enough that he could see them brush the grass with the tips at Heero’s feet. The wind picked up again, causing a few loose feathers to blow to their side, away from the ocean, and Duo watched them go for a moment as they danced in the wind before returning his gaze to Heero. Duo had never seen such a pure white anywhere else. He had thought of it as snowy before, but he had seen pictures of snow, and he could swear these wings were whiter. He gazed at them, enthralled. Each individual feather moved a little in the wind as the wings themselves were blown back slightly by it, swaying gently, Heero’s short, untamable hair also whipping in the strong, coastal current. Opening his eyes, Heero turned his head back to face him. His eyes seemed softer and his lips were nearly smiling, but the _expression seemed almost more sad than happy. Gazing into Duo’s eyes with intense cobalt blue, he raised a hand and placed a finger over his lips. “Sore wa... himitsu desu.” Duo nodded as tears again came to his eyes and his hair blew into his face. Heero stepped forward and carefully gathered it again, moving it out of his eyes and holding it in one hand. His other cupped the side of Duo’s jaw, his fingertips on the side of his neck and his thumb on Duo’s cheek. Duo gazed at him as Heero lowered his lips to his. When they met, Duo knew that they were perfect for each other. His heart hammered and tingles ran around inside him. It was electric. His soul seemed to flood with emotion and he shook with it. Heero’s kiss was soft, gentle, before he pressed a little harder, kissing him fully. Duo brought his arms up around Heero’s neck, leaving them there and unwilling to let anyone move them. The cliff could have crumbled under them and he might not have let go. Releasing his hair, Heero cupped his cheek in his palm then, both hands tenderly holding his face. Duo moaned and opened his mouth to deepen the kiss and Heero complied. The moment was perfect. They continued to kiss there, on the cliff over-looking the sunset over the water. The wind whipped Duo’s hair to his side and caused Heero’s wings to sway with it. They stayed that way as the sky grew dark, and neither one of them noticed. * * * ______________________________________ (Goofy grin) I love that mental image. Bob, hats off to your crazy ass. Bob: (bows) Well, I hope you liked it as much as I did. ^_^ Go to the next chapter!
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