|
"The Hearts Content"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: Post war cannon/Romance, Mention of
lemon, Fluff bunnies abound! bound ..-``-.. bound ..-``-.. ^-^ Pairings: 1x2, mention of 3x4 Summary: Duo joins Hiiro on a seaward journey of enlightenment. View art work for 'The Hearts Content' : http://usera.imagecave.com/t-shirt/t-shirt2/d_heartscontent_cg.jpg " The Hearts Content" Ch 1 I have never known peace. It seems strange that I spent my entire life fighting for something I could not truly understand. The world was settling into a unity that spread throughout the nations but I felt no kinship with the rest of humankind so I took the funds provided to me for my service during the war, bought a trimaran* that I christened the `Heart’s Content` and set sail on a journey that I hoped would end somewhere I could call home. I wondered why I had asked Duo to come along as he waved at me from the bow with that silly grin on his face. The whole idea had been to get away from it all and find the sort of inner peace that seemed to come so easily to everyone else. Quatre and Trowa had discovered serenity in each other and even Wufei had finally laid his demons to rest but I had been on the road of a warrior for so long… Then there was Duo. He is as fierce a fighter as I have ever seen but there is a compassion in his heart that seems to wash his soul clean the moment it is tainted. He called himself Shinigami; an arrogant name I thought at first, but the longer I knew him the more I realized how suited he was to the title. It’s almost as if no evil that touches him can remain. I see this in his easy manner, his giving nature and the happiness that still remains in his smile. He’s not really the best of sailors however, and I stifled a laugh when he slipped as he reached for a stay line and ended up sitting in a swab bucket with a mop on his head. “Yuck it up, flyboy,” he groused, tumbling over the deck as he tried to free himself and we both ended up laughing our asses off. “There might be some dry clothes down below,” I chuckled. We weren’t even out of sight of land yet and I already felt the salty sea air draining me of my anxiety. “Great,” he grumbled, shaking the suds from his hands. “Hope there’s a belt ‘cause your pants are going to fall right off me.” “Look around,” I grinned, shifting our course to optimize the wind. “Maybe the Summerlins left something aboard.” I had bought the boat sight unseen from a couple that was expecting their first child. Apparently, they were in need of the money because they took the cash and handed over the title so fast it made me a little wary. I have inspected the Heart’s Content thoroughly and found no flaw in her that would constitute the need for a quick sale but under the circumstances there was a good possibility that they had left goods aboard. “Yeah,” he grumbled sarcastically, backing down the steps to the hold, “That’ll be better. Maternity clothes.” It felt really good to laugh and be able to breathe in the clean, crisp air. Not to have to think about the next step, the next mission or whose father I might be laying to rest tonight. There is a gentle calm that penetrates the soul sleeping in the ocean waves, a simplicity in the winds caress that can strip a man’s soul bare given time. It’s what I wanted; what I hoped for and feared all at once because, quite honestly, I was a little frightened of who I might really be. However, sombre thoughts are quite difficult to maintain when Duo pops up dressed in a yellow and red, polka dot bikini top and cut off blue jean shorts. I lost control of the wheel and had a stitch in my side before I could stop laughing. “Mrs. Summerlin was a busty little thing,” he laughed, sauntering around with one hand on his hip and the other behind his ear while he batted his eyes at me. “What the hell have you got in there?” I chortled, getting us back on course. “Grapefruits,” he chirped, popping one out for my inspection. “You are certifiable,” I chuckled. “I’m also hungry,” he replied. “Got a knife?” “Where are yours?” “Down below,” he informed me, adding as I stared in shock at the fact that he was unarmed, “They didn’t go with the outfit.” At that point it was official: peace had truly been achieved when Duo went about without a weapon. At least his peace had so I handed him my knife and tried not to think too hard about my need to be armed while in the middle of the ocean with no one but Duo. He popped his other boob out and tossed it to me so I locked us on course and kicked back to enjoy our snack. The irony of the situation didn’t really hit me until he suddenly asked… “So, where’re we headed?” I chuckled at the raw tenacity he so often displayed and answered him with a question of my own. “Why in the hell did you even agree to come along?” I laughed, tossing bits of peel at him. “Are you kidding?” he smiled and I was gratified that he crawled out of the bikini top and tossed it away before stretching out and lying back on the deck with this huge grin on his face. “Just look at that sky,” he sighed, tucking one arm beneath his head but I was more inclined to watch the expression in his eyes. “Who’d want to be anywhere else but here?” I was suddenly acutely aware of just how blue the sky really was in its infinite expanse, the supple roll of the sea beneath us, how the wind danced in the air and that Duo looks disturbingly feminine in cut off blue jeans. “I’m gonna take a swim.” “What?!” There was nowhere to anchor and we were under full sail! “See if you can find some decent music in that pitiful collection of CDs you brought along,” he smiled then grabbed the end of the aft dock line and dove off the back of the boat. I watched in mild shock as the coils of rope were quickly sucked into the sea, his head popping up some distance away until the line suddenly went taut and he rose above the waves howling at the top of his lungs while displaying a graceful talent at barefoot skiing. What else could I do? I dropped some Nittle Grasper in the stereo, cranked it up till I could feel it in the deck and got out the vid cam. We spent the rest of the afternoon pretty much full throttle. The wind was high, the sun warm and our thirst for adventure had us trying everything from Duo’s impromptu skiing to parasailing with the sheets off my bunk. That didn’t work out so well but watching Duo roll around laughing when they ripped and dropped me in the water was worth it. We were both exhausted by the time the air began to cool and our stomachs forced us to settle down to eat. “What the hell is this?” he asked, pulling out a package of dried fish snacks. “Chinmi,” I chuckled, because his nose had curled up when he sniffed them. “Didn’t you bring any real food?” “There’s beef strips and rice in the freezer.” There is absolutely no trace of the fearsome Shinigami in him when he smiles like that. I had stocked a number of prepared meals to minimize the need for mundane chores but it never occurred to me that my efforts would utterly delight my unexpected second mate. He went below to heat it up while I nibbled on chinmi, sipped an ice-cold beer and watched the sun slowly sinking into the sea. The majestic beauty of the sky when the sun lights it on fire is something no colony bound human could possibly understand. I could have stayed right there until the stars had reclaimed the sky if my nose hadn’t told me Duo had returned. I balked when I turned around to find he had chosen to cover his bare chest with one of Mrs. Summerlin’s silky pajama tops. “You’re welcome to wear my clothes,” I chortled, accepting my plate. “What?” he replied, checking himself over critically. “It’s pretty neutral isn’t it? It was, “Except that it’s made of lavender silk,” I laughed. “You’re just jealous cause I’m prettier that you,” he sniffed and I almost dropped my plate laughing at the indignant pout on his face. “Make sure you don’t wear that when we’re in port,” I warned, turning my attention back to my meal. “Why are we going to the Philippines?” “Who said we were?” I smirked. “Don’t fuck with me, Hiiro,” he chuckled. “I’m on a first name basis with the stars, too and they say we’ll be in Narra in less three days with this wind.” “We’ll need supplies,” I replied, cleaning my plate. He was quiet for a time; finishing his dinner and setting his plate aside before lying back in the netting and smiling up into the darkening sky. “Just look at it,” he breathed so softly my eyes turned to obey without a thought to command them. “It’s almost as if this were all created just for this one moment in time.” It was easier to forget the colonies that lie between the sparkling lights above, to move past the fear and uncertainty that dwells in the hearts of humans and see the pristine beauty that surrounded me when looking through his eyes. When I had finally gotten my fill of gazing into infinity I turned back to find he had curled up and dozed off, his face seeming so young in the soft glow still clinging to the horizon and I realized as I listened to the gentle rhythm of his breathing that none of it would seem half as rich without his presence. I had fought his desire for companionhsip during the war; there had been no time for bonding with others, no room for a weak link but somehow he had found his way into my heart anyway. He and the others, each in their own way, had become important to me but contrary to my training I no could no longer see this as unnecessary. It made me wonder if perhaps the reason I felt no tranquillity in my heart was because it still believed autonomy was the only way to survive. He groaned softly with this happy little smile on his lips when I covered him with my coat and I accepted the fact that it was ok that I was glad he was with me. I woke early the next morning to the sound of his crowing voice and found him hanging off the port bow with a straining fishing pole in his hand as he fought to keep his catch from tangling the line under the pontoons. “Get the…gaff!” he wailed looking comical as hell as he leaned out over the water and skittered along the deck. What in the hell did he have on the…Holy shit! is what my mind supplied when I saw a four foot amberjack cut through the water under the net. “Geez, Duo! That rigging is way too small for a fish that size!” I stumbled in my early morning haze, scrambling to free the gaff. “Don’t you think I know that!?” he growled, skipping ungracefully onto the starboard pontoon so he could wrap the pole around a stay line before it got tangled. “Bring him over here!” “Who do you think’s leading who!?!” I had to dodge when he went careening by as the fish swam hard under my feet but I couldn’t get to him through the net. “Damn it, Hiiro! Shoot the damn thing!” “I’m not going to shoot it!” Was he insane? “Well, do s…ssssomethiiiiing!!!” I tried to get out of the way but he mis-stepped when the fish did a sudden turn around and headed back my way and Duo crashed into me, knocking me head over heals on my ass, the fish easily snapping the line the moment it was taut and Duo lay panting on top of me as he watched it disappear into the depths. “It got away,” he breathed over my shoulder as I pondered the wisdom of asking him along after all. “You’re heavy,” I complained though it seemed like much too much effort to attempt to remove him. “I can’t believe I was bested by a fish,” he groaned, going limp and I chuckled under the dead weight of his body. “You were ill equipped,” I consoled, letting the early morning sky rob me of my sight until all that remained was the gentle rocking of the sea and Duo’s solid presence. “You should have shot it.” “It would have sunk.” “Dead fish don’t sink.” “Then it would have drawn sharks.” My eyes had slipped closed against the brightness, the warmth of the sun aiding Duo’s body heat until I felt captured in a simmering bubble not entirely of this world. “Sharks are good eating, too,” he countered softly and something wrapped around my spine and washed up through my shoulders when he sighed and curled into me. I honestly believe that was the first time in my life I had ever experienced what it was like to hug another human being. My mind fought it, tried to tell me to move away, to ignore the warm feeling his presence was giving me, but I had long since overcome the need to shy away from Duo. He had worked so hard to break through my barriers, insisting on touching me, draping an arm over my shoulder, leaning on me or sitting too close that I had become accustomed to his touch. If it was him, I could allow it; if it was him, I could let myself enjoy it and we ended up lying there until I fell back to sleep. I woke to the smell of food and we enjoyed the egg sandwiches he had made. The day seemed to slip by much more slowly than the first, as our activities weren’t as physically demanding. He challenged me to some target practice and ended up having to change the oil and grease the engines when he lost. Good thing he did though, because he discovered a belt that could use changing and a bad seal we would need to fix when we docked. It felt like we had been drifting for days by the time evening rolled around and I got a feeling of what it must have been like for sailors long ago and why they marked the passage of time on the walls of their ships. “You still can’t see them all,” he commented, tossing the rind of his orange into the black waves. “But they don’t sparkle in space,” I replied, gazing into the black, star speckled velveteen above us. “I wonder what the full moon will look like out here,” he pondered. “Guess we’ll find out.” I understood he had been fishing for some sort of time frame for our trip when he smiled and let a quiet, “Cool,” slip from between his lips. “Was Quatre disappointed when you told him you wouldn’t be returning?” He had been helping Quatre and Trowa get a handle on the situation on L2 but he shook his head at my concern. “They’ve got it under control.” “You don’t feel you should be there?” “Naw,” he sighed, kicking back. “This is more important right now.” I would have thought the statement a selfish one if I hadn’t suddenly understood he was there for my sake. “Check it out,” he smiled, indicating a slow moving light in the sky. “A shuttle,” I surmised, watching as it glowed and shimmered as it broke free and headed out into space. “Do you miss it?” Space. “Not really,” I confessed. “Not even a little?” he grinned, eyeing me sideways and I felt the tug of longing stir in my mind as I returned the expression. “Maybe a little.” “Look,” he smiled, pointing upward. “There’s Deathscythe.” “That’s Andromeda,” I chuckled, lying down beside him so I could see better. “Naw,” he insisted. “See the blade?” “Her bow?” “Blade.” “Ok, if that’s Deathscythe, where’s Wing?” I grinned. “There he is.” “Apollo?” I snorted. We spent the next few hours quietly mapping out our own version of the constellations and I found myself regretting the need to dock in Narra the next day. The thought that he might find some reason to leave me left me uneasy, not only because I knew I would miss him but it was an unfamiliar feeling to not want to be alone. I woke to the sound of sea birds, the gentle caress of the ocean breeze and the oddly pungent scent of his warm hair filling my nostrils. We had fallen asleep curled in the port net, gravity drawing us closer together during the night until our shoulders were pressed together and I somehow had gotten my face buried in his hair. It was a husky aroma I found quite pleasing and prompted my lungs to draw deeply of the scent as we lay together under the brightening sky. “Mornin’,” he sighed softly but appeared no more eager to move than I so I forced the urge to retreat away and allowed myself the indulgence of human contact. I had not expected him to roll over and snuggle into my chest. There are times when I wonder just how deep the wounds of his youth could be, how long he had lived without knowing even the security of an adult’s presence in his life. Times when his thirst for companionship makes me want to stay with him and protect him so I shook off the shock, forced my body to relax and let my arms hold him for a very long time. It was his stomach, once again, that signalled our time was up. “Breakfast or lunch?” he chuckled. I sighed in my reluctance to move and peeked at the sun’s position in the sky. “Lunch.” “You need a shower.” I snorted and pulled him tight and understood for the first time that it was really ok to let myself need him but our jovial amusement was suddenly interrupted when a cold spray of water shot up from beneath us and we both jumped up screaming in shock, each of us laughing heartily as we stared down at a dolphin cutting playfully through the waves. “Wow! Look!” he beamed excitedly and my eyes skimmed the water where dozens of jumping dolphins were to be seen all around us. Lunch was forgotten as he raced for the bow and hung out over the water trying his best to touch the bobbing heads of the playful dolphins while I ginned like a lunatic and went to check our position. We were right on course, ahead of schedule, actually and I took great pleasure in watching his face light up when I dropped sail. We had barely slowed down when he dashed across the deck, let loose a howl and did a cannonball off the back of the boat. I have never known anyone so full of life and said a silent thank you to whatever forces had granted me his friendship as I stripped off my shirt, grabbed a couple of dock lines and dove in after him. Dolphins are very curious creatures apparently, because I suddenly felt like a stray dog that had wandered into a school full of children. Duo was diving deep below the surface turning and paddling as best he could while the sleek youngsters darted around him. It took me a minute to get his attention but he managed to snag one of them by the dorsal and ride it toward me when it came to investigate me. “They’re incredible!” he gasped, clinging to my hand so we could stay together as the boat gently pulled us along. “They appear to think the same of you,” I chuckled and had to hold him still to tie the rope around his waist while they schooled in a thick vortex below us. “This is so cool,” he grinned and I felt my mind go completely blank for the first time in my life when he kissed me on the cheek and said, “Thanks,” before sinking beneath the waves. I did not understand the rising jubilation inside me nor did I care to analyze it as I was overwhelmed with welling emotion and took great pleasure in simply revelling in the moment as I followed him into the welcoming arms of the sea. He had chosen well when he called them incredible, I never would have imagined these creatures could possess such high intelligence but there was one point when a huge male circled close, his black eyes considering me from toes to hair before they settled and he gazed directly into my eyes. My resolve to protect and maintain the peace on this planet doubled as my heart understood there are more races on Earth that are worthy of life than humans alone and I swear, when Duo let one of the young push him by his feet until they both broke the surface and fell laughing back into the sea he rolled his eyes at me before he swam away. It was well into the afternoon before the school finally drifted off and we headed topside in search of the lunch we had been denied. I was thankful that I had stocked the prepared food because neither of us were willing to wait for something to be cooked. “Why does everything have rice in it?” he grumbled but quickly devoured his food regardless. “I… don’t know,” I chuckled because I had never really thought about it before. “First thing we’re gonna do when we dock is get a big, juicy hamburger.” “Are the engines ready?” I inquired, preferring to drop sail before we entered the inlet. “Number two might need oil,” he replied as he set his empty plate aside and went to get a quart. I suppose it was partially my fault since it was me who began to raise the sails but any sailor knows to always be aware of the boom. I believe I mentioned Duo is not the best sailor around so he didn’t even consider the danger and my face screwed up in sympathy when the boom slammed into him, knocking him head over heals, scattering plates and cups and general debris all over the place and ending with him in a tumbled mess in the swab bucket while the broken bottle of oil chugged all over the deck. I thought I would die laughing. “Warn a guy would’ya!” he grumbled. “S…sorry,” I stammered, holding the stitch in my side. He was good enough to offer to clean it up while I radioed Narra that we would be coming in a little late and set our new course. We had drifted some distance during our frolic with the dolphins but I figured we could still make land before nightfall. The sun was warm and the sky so crisp and clear I could hardly believe it had only been three days. It seemed almost as if it had always been this way and I breathed deeply of the salty air while Duo crawled around scrubbing the upper deck and I concluded that I could very easily get used to this and that those shorts should definitely be outlawed. “You should change before we dock,” I reminded him, adjusting our course as Narra rose on the horizon. “Why?” he grinned over his shoulder as he shook his rear. “Afraid someone else might wanna stare at my ass?” “You look like a woman,” I teased. “Why Mr. Yui,” he drawled in a horrible southern accent and I laughed when he stood and sauntered toward the hatch. “I do declare, if you don’t say the sweetest of things. I shall follow your advice as your wisdom is certainly in the best interest of protecting my youthful virtue…” I was able to maintain the laugh until his voice faded as he disappeared into the hold but it faltered once he had gone because I was a little bit confused by the fact that the conversation had left me well on my way to a full erection. Well, this was… new. I am a seventeen-year-old male so the arrival of an erection was not uncommon. It happened from time to time whether I wanted it to or not but things of that nature are as easily controllable as one’s heart rate or respiration. However, I could not recall a time when it had happened in direct response to another human being and for the first time, wondered about the necessity of suppressing it. Fortunately, he emerged wearing the red and white striped shirt and men’s cut offs he had originally boarded with and the odd, unfamiliar feelings eased.
~ * ~ tbc... |
