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"The Chronicler "Written By: t-shirt Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Angst, fluff, mild language, mention
of lemon, briefly annoying Relena Pairings: 1x2, 3x4 Summary: Duo learns a great deal about his perceptions
of the wars when Hiiro returns during his deposition to the chronicler.
"The Chronicler " Ch 1 ‘Ha ha ha ha! You really thought that?’ Quatre laughed tucking one of his slender legs under him as he cuddled up comfortably to Trowa’s side. His lover sat, as always, quietly passive as they visited with their friends but the blond boy understood only too well the kinship he felt when in the presence of the other veteran Gundam pilots. ‘Seriously,’ Hilde giggled refilling their tea cups. ‘I had a crush on him for the longest time after that,’ she confessed. Duo laughed recalling the first time his partner had seen the tall mercenary and the way she’d gone dreamy eyed while he did a one armed handstand on the back of a trotting lion while hiding in the circus during the war. ‘Just my luck though,’ she sighed relaxing back in the corner of the love seat. ‘All the best ones are either taken or gay,’ she chuckled. ‘Or both,’ Trowa smirked slipping his arm around Quatre’s shoulder. ‘Thanks a lot,’ Duo grumbled dejectedly. ‘Oh, please,’ the girl groused tossing a throw pillow at him. ‘There’s no way I could stand having a boyfriend that’s prettier than me,’ she teased. ‘So you’re saying I’m not pretty?’ Trowa asked in an even monotone that made her question whether he was serious or not. ‘Pretty isn’t the word I’d use for you,’ Hilde shrugged. ‘I think you’re pretty,’ Quatre consoled smiling softly. ‘Your bias,’ Trowa told him, his expression slipping into a rare reflection of the honesty he felt toward the slight blond as he leaned over and kissed him gently on the corner of his mouth. ‘How about some snacks?’ Duo said changing the subject and breaking the bubble that had begun to form around the lovers but before he made it through his small living room to the kitchen the door bell rang. ‘Wufei! Hey, man!’ he smiled finding the Chinese boy on the other side. ‘Sally... come on in,’ he said making way for their guests. ‘Hi, Wufei,’ Quatre smiled moving slightly away from Trowa’s side but the taller boy left his arm on the couch behind him. Duo made the introductions between Sally and Hilde since they’d only met briefly once before and soon the group was settled in sipping at their tea and reminiscing over their experiences during the Eve Wars. Wufei and Sally caught them up on news about the Mars Project where Zechs and Noin were making good progress. The Chinese boy was still unable to speak much when it came to questions about his lost clan or the death of Treize so they respectfully avoided those subjects sticking to more amusing things like their imprisonment on the lunar base. The subject of Quatre’s short encounter with Wing Zero was also neatly skirted around. However, leaving the great mecha and Hiiro out of the conversation when discussing the wars was impossible. No one really knew though, just how much it bothered Duo to speak so casually about the missing war hero. ‘I’ll never forget you two jumping out of that hospital like that,’ Sally sighed still seeming amazed. ‘It still confounds me how he didn’t end up a broken pile of glop,’ she said sitting straight backed in her chair as any good soldier would. Duo had always felt a little uneasy around her since she was the type that had not only kept her Preventer’s jacket on but had it buttoned up all the way to the neck. ‘He was defiantly resilient,’ Quatre agreed. ‘Did you ever get to see him work with a Leo? It really wasn’t the suit that made him special,’ he said gaining a general murmur of agreement. ‘It was he who brought the suit to life,’ Wufei interjected sternly. ‘Well, that was true for all of you,’ Hilde agreed. ‘Some more than others,’ Trowa tossed in quietly as he softly rubbed his thumb along the back of Quatre’s neck. ‘I wonder what he decided to do,’ Quatre mused. ‘Hey,’ Hilde cut in. ‘Isn’t it weird how he just disappeared like that?’ ‘Hasn’t Relena heard anything at all?’ Quatre asked Sally and Wufei since they had regular meetings with the Queen of the World. ‘Not a word,’ Sally supplied. ‘That’s so odd,’ the blond boy said absently leaning into Trowa’s side. ‘With the way he felt about her I thought for sure he’d keep in touch with her at least,’ he told them as his lovers arm slowly tightened around his shoulders. Trowa’s emerald eyes flecked between Sally and Wufei’s to gauge their reaction since to their knowledge they were unaware of the nature of their relationship but neither of them appeared bothered by it so he just relaxed and got comfortable. ‘You haven’t heard from him either?’ ‘…………….’ ‘Duo?’ ‘………..’ ‘Duo!’ Hilde called a bit louder in irritation since the longhaired boy had completely detached himself from the conversation and was staring blankly out the window at the evening. ‘No,’ he finally replied unable to hide the pain in his tone. After all they’d been through and everything they’d faced together he just never understood how Hiiro could just up and disappear from their lives without even saying goodbye. ‘Well, I hope he’s happy wherever he landed,’ Quatre smiled sipping his tea. Duo’s mind wandered back to the window and his thoughts of the blue eyed, Japanese boy. He often wondered where he was during the war, what he was thinking and if he was well. Nothing had really changed as he still found himself wondering if he ever stopped and took a moment just to look up at the moon. This was the first time all of the pilots had gotten together since the destruction of the Gundam’s but no one had been able to find Hiiro to invite him. ‘…be a big help to us if you’d consider it.’ ‘What about you, Duo?’ ‘Hm?’ the longhaired boy hummed oblivious once again to what the others were talking about. ‘What’s with you tonight?’ Hilde asked impatiently. ‘Sally just asked everyone to help them out by going to Earth for awhile.’ ‘What? Why?’ Duo asked suddenly wishing he’d been paying attention. It wasn’t something he often spoke of but he’d longed to return to Earth so many times since choosing his life on the colony but he’d never found a good enough reason to make the move and leave Hilde alone. ‘Well,’ Sally said apparently miffed that she was having to repeat herself. ‘The chronicler will only be there for about a month but we could get twice the data recorded if all the pilots were in the same place,’ she explained. ‘Chronicler?’ Duo repeated. ‘They’re going to record the circumstances of the wars?’ he asked needlessly. ‘That’s the idea,’ Wufei confirmed. ‘I, for one, aim to make sure there is truth to their accounts,’ he told them resolutely. ‘What’s the difference?’ Duo sighed. He’d love to see Earth again and this seemed like a very good opportunity to return and free him from his currently responsibilities but he really didn’t see the point in these records. ‘Duo?’ Hilde breathed clearly shocked he hadn’t jumped on the idea. ‘No matter what they put in them the records will never be complete,’ the longhaired boy told them. ‘Not without Hiiro.’ The rest of the evening passed quickly with each of the others agreeing to meet on Earth and make their statements but Duo had decided to stay on L2 and give his via the vid phone. It would be much harder and left everyone feeling a bit let down but when it came right down to it talking about the war was going to be hard enough without having Hiiro’s absence shoved down his throat. * ‘You got an evaporator for a Z9 Teklin?’ ‘Ummm sure… but I’ll have to pull it. Do you want to come back this afternoon?’ Duo asked his anxious customer. ‘How long could it take?’ the guy asked shifting the bulk of his impressive weight to the other chubby foot. ‘At least an hour.’ ‘What? Damn, boy, it’s not brain surgery!’ the guy groused. No, but it was buried under the bulk head of the standard Jack Cruiser in the lower part of the yard and probably had about ten years of rust on the bolts holding it in. ‘Like I said,’ he told him again ‘You can come back this afternoon…’ ‘I don’t have time for this shit,’ the guy grumbled. ‘Ok... guess I’ll just hafta wait then,’ he said giving Duo this look like `hurry up`. ‘Asshole!’ Duo swore as he busted another knuckle trying to break the evaporator free. ‘Like I’ve got nothing else to do but drop everything and shake my ass for him! Ow! Damn it!’ he growled throwing the offending wrench at the stubborn part in frustration. His mind flashed back on other times when he’d found himself working on space ships and mobile suits. Times when the air felt fresher and nothing, not even stubborn bolts and the lack of replacement parts could cut him so deep he’d feel it but that’s when the pain had been buffered. When Hiiro had been there taking the edge off the agony. He felt a little foolish when he saw feet from beneath the bulk head then a hand appear to pick up the abused tool but his heart stopped the moment he realized it wasn’t Hilde’s. Was he seeing things? He knew that hand... slowly his eyes confirmed what his mind refused to believe. ‘Hiiro?’ ‘You’re customer left,’ the Japanese boy told him handing him his wrench back. ‘…………’ ‘………….’ ‘I... what’re you… How did… I mean where….?’ Duo tried on each of the questions that rose in his mind as he extracted himself from the bowels of the ship then fell silent when he finally found himself standing face to face with the perfect soldier. Damn… he looked good. Healthy, strong… um… ‘What’s up?’ ‘Can I stay here?’ ‘……………W…wh… uh... yeah... sure.’ What the hell? * ‘Uh... you can take my bed if you want,’ Duo offered still reeling from shock that his old partner had just materialized but when he thought about it, that was just like Hiiro. ‘How long are you going to stay?’ he asked after the fact. ‘Awhile,” Hiiro replied. ‘Why don’t we share it?’ ‘Share?’ Duo repeated feeling his throat going dry. They had shared a bed or a cot or a patch of earth many times during the war but things had been different then. Still, he saw no good reason to refuse. ‘Alright,’ he said leading him into the small, cozy little room he called his own. He blanched and started picking up the discarded boxers and old t-shirts lying around wondering when he’d become such a slob. ‘Sorry about that,’ he told his friend. ‘Do you have any luggage or anything?’ he asked shoving the dirty clothes in the waste basket beside the little desk. ‘I can clean out the bottom drawer for you if you...’ his words stalled when he opened the drawer and realized it was already devoid of anything but a moth’s wing and a stray push pin. He chuckled when Hiiro dropped the single bag he’d been carrying over his shoulder on the foot of the bed. Some things never changed. Soldiers live light. ‘Hiiro?’ he gaped fighting the urge to turn around as the Japanese boy suddenly pulled his shirt over his head. ‘I’d like to take a shower,’ Hiiro told him laying the shirt on the end of the bed beside his bag. ‘Down the hall….on the left.’ ‘Thanks.’ ‘Son of a bitch,’ Duo breathed the moment he was alone. ‘Duo?’ Hilde said stalling as she walked by the room then glancing down the hall at the sound of the shower running. ‘It’s Hiiro,’ he told her still shaken by the fact. ‘What?’ she gasped softly glancing at the bathroom again skeptically as she joined him. ‘He’s going to stay here for awhile,’ he informed her. She looked at him positively flabbergasted for a minute before her eyes widened and she gushed happily. ‘He’s come to tell his side of the story!’ ‘The records?’ Duo mused. Of course, that had to be it. He’d heard of the task and the chronicles and had come to make his statement. He’d been so floored by his unexpected arrival it hadn’t occurred to him but it made perfect sense. He was relieved when a good deal of the tension he’d been feeling drained away. ‘Yeah... I wonder why he didn’t just go to Earth with the others though.’ ‘Maybe this was more convenient,’ Hilde smiled. ‘Who knows where he’s been keeping himself. The point is he came back! Isn’t that wonderful? Now the records will be complete! Hey! Why don’t you see if he wants to go to Earth too! You could go together then you’d all be in one place!’ ‘Are you going to Earth?’ ‘Hiiro!’ Hilde smiled turning to face the damp Japanese boy while Duo turned his head. He hadn’t thought to give him a robe and the bath towel really was just indecent. ‘It’s so good to see you well,’ she smiled. ‘Hilde!’ Duo exclaimed. ‘What?’ she asked innocently as the braided boy snatched his robe off the back of the door and tossed it at their guest. ‘Show a little shame will’ya!’ he grumbled. ‘Oh, please,’ she chuckled as she waved his comment away. ‘It’s only Hiiro,’ she reasoned brushing past him. ‘I’m going to run to town and pick up something special for dinner.’ ‘You don’t have to trouble yourself over me,’ Hiiro told her laying the unused robe on the foot of the bed. ‘Are you kidding?’ she laughed. ‘This calls for sekihan! Hope you don’t mind take out because I can’t cook! Be back in a bit!’ she called happily dashing out the front door. ‘Sorry,’ Duo smiled sheepishly. ‘She gets a little excited over these things.’ ‘Are you going to Earth?’ Hiiro asked again but all Duo heard was the soft rustle of clothe as the towel hit the floor and suddenly his mind was filled with a thousand forbidden vision of things he’d thought long buried under the bloody crust of the war. ‘Duo?’ ‘No,’ he replied only vaguely aware of what he was saying. ‘We can do the interviews on the remote,’ he told him as he turned and left the room. He spent the rest of the afternoon working in the deepest recesses of the yard trying desperately to forget the things he’d remembered. The most disturbing of which was the sparkle in Relena’s eyes whenever Hiiro was around. He could still feel the pain of the day the Japanese boy rushed off to her rescue in the first hours of the second Eve war. He had realized that day, in that moment that his deepest desires and dreams would forever go unfulfilled. There was nothing he could do however, since they had been impossible from the start but at least before that he had the blessing of false hope to comfort him… but now… ‘Duo?’ CLANG! ‘OW! Shit!’ ‘What in the hell’re you doing in there?’ Hilde asked peering into the depths of the ruined afterburner Duo was trying to extract some platinum circuits from. They were useless for the most part but the platinum would come in handy... some day. ‘Busting my last two knuckles that’s what,’ he grumbled sucking at the injured knot on his hand. ‘What do you want?’ he asked hearing his voice echo in the vastness of the empty fuel shell. ‘We’re having special dinner tonight remember! Or did you forget we have a guest?’ she admonished disapprovingly. ‘Damn it,’ he sighed looking at his watch. How’d it get so late so fast? ‘Alright! I’ll be right in,’ he told her. CRRREEEEAKKKK! CLANG! THUNK! ‘What was that?’ ‘Nothing... I’m coming,’ Duo replied shoving the board he’d just ripped from the console in his pocket. He would’ve spent another hour extracting it the proper way but he really didn’t want to have to climb back down in that hole so he just pulled it out by force before wriggling back up the little access tunnel to spill into the yard. He tensed when he felt strong hands take him around the waist and help him effortlessly to the ground, his mind spinning dumbly when his eyes confirmed that it had been Hiiro who aided him. ‘Where’s Hilde?’ he asked numbly. ‘She went back to the house,’ Hiiro replied. Duo felt his entire body tense as the other boy’s hand slowly rose toward his face, his brow crinkling curiously and his mind slammed the door on a hundred unbidden images of things he didn’t dare hope for until a sudden relief filled him as Hiiro plucked something from his thick bangs. Duo smiled unable to conceal his embarrassment as Hiiro showed him the little bit of spider web or fiberglass that had gotten stuck in his hair before dropping it on the ground. ‘We’d better get back,’ the longhaired boy said. ‘She’s probably decorated the whole house by now.’ he chuckled. ‘Did you get the relay’s?’ Hiiro asked. ‘Uh, yeah,’ Duo replied pulling the little circuit board from his pocket to show him. ‘Interesting extraction method,’ the Japanese boy grinned shaking the dangling wires around a little and Duo’s heart skipped a beat. What the hell? What was going on? Why couldn’t
he even talk to him without loosing control of his emotions anymore?!
Hiiro had always stirred something deep, down inside him to the point
of obsession at times during the war and he’d come to the realization
long ago that his feelings towards him went deeper than mere friendship
but it’d never been so prominent before. Maybe it was all the
talk about the war or Hiiro’s long absence and sudden reappearance
or maybe it was the fact that he chose to appear before Duo that set
him off. Whatever it was it was becoming a problem for the braided
youth. He had to get it back under control before he ended up doing
something that would bring a permanent end to their fragile friendship.
~ * ~ tbc... |
