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"Raising Expectation"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, Lemon Meringue (you know, the fluff stuff ^-^), mild angst Beta’ed by the beautiful Mechante Fille*hugs* Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5+all Summary: An expedition to raise a sunken ship
brings more than it’s cargo to light when Hiiro realizes the deep
seeded desires in his heart. " Raising Expectation"
Ch 3 The afternoon was spent pouring over the pictures that had been taken. Once assembled, the ship’s network was able to display the image of the ship in its entirety and the crew got their first good look at what lay beneath them. “Z‘ose missiles,” Leon indicated with a flick of his pointed chin. “‘ow dangerous are they?” “Cobra SM32 Longliners,” Hiiro explained. “Aerojet LR87-AJ-5 two chamber liquid propellant rocket thrust fueled by Aerozine-50 that ignites on contact with nitrogen tetroxide...” Captain Jacque held up a hand to halt the stoic Wing pilot’s detailed description to ask, “What is a safe distance should one explode?” “Considering they are underwater about a half mile,” Hiiro replied calmly. However, the Captain and his crew were looking very green around the gills. “No worries,” Duo smiled kicking his chair back on two legs while he crossed both his arms behind his head. “You guys’ll be outside the blast radius should I screw up…” “You?” Quatre cut him off. “I’m the demolitions expert,” Duo shrugged. “But…” “You can’t disarm all three of them by yourself,” Trowa interjected. “I’m going with him,” Hiiro informed them. “You’ll have a five second warning if you fail,” Wufei commented. “Yeah,” Duo snorted. “Just enough time to kiss your ass goodbye.” “No!” Maurice barked heatedly, the ease in which the five pilots spoke of such matters causing him what was easily ascertained as a great deal of stress. “You can’t,” he said, suddenly clinging to Duo’s arm. “What if you get hurt? They don’t have to do it, right Dad?” “Don’t sweat it kid,” Duo smiled, laying a soothing hand over the boy’s white knuckles on his arm. “I was building bombs outta matchsticks and ammonia before those missiles were past the test stage,” he grinned. “Nothing’s gonna happen.” “We can tie off with a tether,” Wufei suggested. “Anchor a safe distance away and extract you in case of detonation.” “You’d have to be inside the danger zone,” Hiiro shook his head. “There are plenty of rocks and rises in the coral here for us to shield ourselves,” Quatre countered. “It wouldn’t matter,” Duo reasoned. “Five seconds wouldn’t get us more than twenty feet from the flash point. We’d be toast anyway.” “Dad?!” Maurice whimpered in a terrified little chirp that made Duo have to hold back an affectionate snicker. “It’ll be ok,” Duo told the boy again. “Me and Hiiro can do anything together,” he smiled, winking at the Japanese boy and Hiiro suddenly felt as if he could fly if only he had a hold of Duo’s hand. “I don’t want you to die,” the boy sniffled pitifully, burying his damp eyes in Duo’s arm. “I don’t have that scheduled till AC 285,” the braided boy laughed, adding in a hushed tone, “Besides, I really don’t like toast.” It took some time and every ounce of Duo’s delightful charm to calm Maurice enough that he finally gave in and went off to bed and the five pilots got down to business. Captain Jacque, Leon and his two head technicians sat and listened even though they didn’t understand half of what the boy’s were saying. It was clear enough that Quatre wasn’t going to back down about the extraction precautions no matter how much Duo argued with him, so by the end of the night it was decided. Quatre, Trowa and Wufei would stand guard, each tethered to the D.U.D.E. device, which, in turn, would be linked to its external exoskeleton probes. The reason the rover had such large, cumbersome arms was that each was a semi detachable, one-man extension that would allow them the high maneuverability that they would need to perform the task without getting crushed by the pressure in the process. Duo knew there was no way in hell either of them were going to survive if one of the missiles detonated, but he finally gave into Quatre’s insistence and agreed to the contingency. Hiiro was feeling unreasonably nervous once the meeting finally wound down and ended up roaming the deck instead of returning to his and Duo’s shared cabin. He wondered for a time where the odd anxiety was coming from, then shook his head and told himself not to be stupid. He’d felt it before, whenever Duo was hurt or in danger. Such a strange feeling, not being capable of working up any real fear over the possibility of his own death but the thought of Duo disappearing turned his insides to water. He just couldn’t see it; a world without Duo was just not a possibility in his mind anymore. It struck him again how blind he had been to think his life was moving along as he wanted it to when everything he had ever wanted lay back in that cabin surrounded by the most beautiful chestnut hair he’d ever seen in his life. Yes, Duo was beautiful; inescapably so. He smiled, recalling the first time he’d ever seen the lunatic American on the docks. Relena still had no idea how close she had come to dying that day. He sighed, remembering her expression the day he had finally explained in no uncertain terms that he was not and never would be romantically interested in her. He shook his head again as he gazed out over the midnight blue ocean, the stars twinkling above and below in the inky blackness, and chuckled at the thought that it had taken him so long to really understand why he had never fallen in love with her. Duo was snoring loudly when he finally returned to their cabin, but he found himself able to do nothing more than smile. The more time he spent around the longhaired American the more intoxicated he felt. It was so strange; his mind was clear, his thoughts comfortably familiar even in their foreign complexity. Was this what it felt like to be ‘high on life’? Or maybe, this was what it felt like to be high on love. That thought sobered him considerably and a warm smile graced his lips as he gazed at the slumbering boy in the top bunk for a moment before climbing into his own. The morning came early though he slept very little during the night, the question weighing on his mind whether or not he should confess his feelings to Duo. They hadn’t faced a danger like this since the war and not knowing whether either of them would see another dawn put him mind to explain things before it was too late. In the end, he chose to keep his secret, in fear that the news would upset him to the point that they might actually not make it out alive. If they didn’t survive it wouldn’t make any difference and if they did, well, he would deal with that when the time came. At the moment, however, there was a more pressing problem. “Duo!” BANG! BANG! BANG! “Duo!” “Yeah, kid! Geez, man! What’s the matter?” Duo growled, wiping the sleep from his eyes even as his feet landed silently on the floor. “They’re here! They came!” Maurice yowled excitedly, bouncing half in/half out of the door when Duo opened it. “I can’t believe it! He said he’d never come back to Earth again but Dad just told him about you using D.U.D.E. to…” “Whoa!” Duo laughed, doing his best to hold the excited boy down before he got pummeled in the close quarters. “Slow down. Who’s here?” “Howard!” the boy barked happily. “He landed last night! We didn’t expect it at all!” Hiiro grinned from his bunk but couldn’t rise with the cabin full of braided pilot and bouncing boy. “Ok,” Duo chuckled, running a soothing hand up and down the boy’s arm. “So Howard came to see the show but what’dya mean by ‘landed’?” “That’s what I’ve been telling you!” Maurice fairly shone. “He’s brought the whole bloody ship!” “He dropped the Outbreak?!” Duo gasped, rushing to pull on his shirt. “Yeah! Landed it right in the middle of the ocean!” the boy grinned. “Wait till you see it! It’s HUGE!” “Yeah, I’ve uh, had a peek,” Duo chuckled, ushering the boy outside where Hiiro could move to join them. They got a running commentary on the events of the early morning hours as they made their way topside. Hiiro felt himself smile almost as wide as Duo was when they stepped into the dawning sunlight and beheld the gargantuan form of Howard’s compensation for having sacrificed the Peacemillion to protect the Earth. Huge didn’t quite cut it. The Constancy looked like a tub toy compared to the multi-atmospheric monstrosity that now loomed off her port bow. Howard had done well for himself and Hiiro knew that Duo had been a regular visitor to the new ship after the war. Like the Peacemillion, the Outbreak was designed for ‘dry dock,’ so to speak, in the ocean, which made it ridiculously easy for Howard to spend six months off planet and the next six on the ground if he so chose. Hiiro slowed his steps, gently urging Maurice to do the same as they headed for where Howard was talking to Captain Jacque. “Hey!” Duo barked, strolling purposefully across the deck. Howard’s face lit up the moment he saw him but the expression was quickly schooled as he peered somberly over his shades. “There’s a whole freaking ocean out here and you’ve gotta park that thing here?” “Heard there was some lunatic endangering my machine,” Howard replied as a broad smile spread over his face, his arms opening wide as Duo gripped one forearm and embraced his old friend. “You know him?!” Maurice squeaked, finally breaking away from Hiiro. “We’ve met,” Duo smiled. “So who’s the damn fool planning to turn my rover into a shipwreck?” Howard asked, but what could be seen of his eyes said he already knew. “Ahm man,” Duo groaned. “You wound me old man. No confidence.” “It ain’t you I’m questioning,” the man replied. “That machines a prototype, ya know?” “We’ve never had any trouble with it,” the Captain interjected. “Yeah!” Maurice chipped in. “Leon’s taken him down hundreds of times.” “Sounds like it’s been pretty well tested,” Duo grinned. “Why not just let me raise the lot with the Outbreak?” Howard suggested. “We can’t take the chance on loosing the cargo if the missiles should detonate,” Hiiro reminded them. “We’ll loose a lot more than the cargo if they go off with you two down there,” Quatre broke in and they turned to see the blond and his ever-present green-eyed companion approaching. “Yeah, but the chances are a hell of a lot better with disarmament than jerking the entire wreck up by electromagnetism,” Duo reasoned. “Have you piloted the probe?” Howard asked. “They’re not meant for delicate work.” “We had planned on getting in some practice this morning,” Duo grinned brightly. “Where’s Wufei?” Trowa asked offhandedly. “He took the Cancer down early this morning,” Captain Jacque informed them. “Said he wanted to scout out some strongholds for the three of you in the rocks.” “Howard!” Duo’s grin blossomed further yet when a dark haired boy poked his head out of the skiff that had brought Howard aboard. Rach was about Maurice’s age and fast proving to be almost as good as Howard at anything mechanical. The aging sweeper had picked him up in the slums of the Rahia Nuud, a drifter colony that had claimed independence from the Earth long before the coming of the wars. The people were deep rooted in their beliefs, choosing to have very little to do with the rest of humanity, but from the look of this boy their origins appeared to lie somewhere between Bulgarian and Egyptian. His skin and hair were dark unlike the fair complexion of the sandy haired sailor boy. He was also much more serious, having spent most of his life hard at work, a somber, gentle spirit that Duo found most agreeable and would have greeted openly if he hadn’t been trying not to grin too much at the fact that the boy had apparently completely forgotten what he was going to say. “What it is!” Howard prompted and Maurice lit up like a super nova when he realized he appeared to be the reason for Rach’s distraction. “What?” Rach inquired and Duo hid his smile as the boy’s dark brown cheeks turned rosy red. “Oh right, shall I return to the ship?” “Ah, let him stay,” Duo smiled, ignoring the sudden excitement in his younger counterpart. Rach was more than happy to remain aboard the Constancy where Maurice insisted on dragging him all over the ship on a private tour. Compared to the Outbreak it was a bit like walking off the sun into a lukewarm bath but Rach didn’t seem to mind. It took very little time for them to prepare and return to the sunken site to begin the morning’s work. Other than the cargo that needed to be raised and secured there were many other artifacts to be gathered as well. Quatre took care of opening the bridge and extracting the control center where the main data storage was hoped to be intact while Trowa scouted the aft section for anything that remained of the crew. Time had aided the inevitable assimilation of any bodies that might have remained but he was able to recover many of the private articles that had survived. Wufei left them early on, having already been down for some time outlining what he believed to be their best plan for the coming task, while Hiiro and Duo used D.U.D.E.’s external pods to delve deeper into the safe areas of the wreck. Their efforts not only proved that the machines would be capable of performing the more delicate task of disarming the missiles, but helped them to recover the Captain’s log. By the time they returned to the surface for lunch Hiiro was feeling as confident as Duo about their chances of success and couldn’t help the quiet chuckle when Maurice stood quietly awaiting them as they disembarked. “Hey,” Duo smiled, shaking the dampness out of his bang as he covertly glanced around for Rach. “Why the long face?” he asked the nervous looking boy who seemed incapable of looking him in the eye all of a sudden. Hiiro caught sight of Rach lurking in the corridor some ten yards away and knew Duo had tagged him as well by the smirk in his eyes. “Um, Duo… I was wondering…” “It’s a nice piece,” Duo smiled unwinding Maurice’s chain and medallion from his wrist. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen one quiet like it before,” he told him holding the shiny golden coin up in the midday sun. Maurice turned a little blue and had a hard time keeping his eyes on the spinning bit of glimmering light. “Be mindful of who you give it to,” Duo smiled handing the small treasure over to the boy as he warned, “They might not want to give it back.” “It’s not really good luck,” Maurice confessed, palming his charm. “I just said that because…” “You wanted to be with me,” Duo smiled affectionately and Hiiro felt his heart skip a beat. Maurice returned the expression clearly grateful that Duo had understood his sacrifice well enough to know what it had taken for him to ask for its return. “You better get,” Duo chuckled, seeing Rach waver between staying put and coming to join them. “I think Rach’s the jealous type.” Hiiro laughed out loud as Maurice’s cheeks pinked brightly and he ran off to join his new friend. His good humor softened but remained steadfast when Duo leaned back into him and sniffled theatrically proclaiming, “They grow up so fast,” in his best pouting tone. “They do indeed,” Hiiro replied feeling the blush rise to his face when Duo turned to regard him curiously at the comment. “Looks like you’ve still got the knack,” Howard interrupted. “You doubted us?” Duo grinned, looking terribly affronted. “Not for a minute,” Howard returned. “But I didn’t think that machine was capable of some of those maneuvers,” he grinned, moving to inspect the dripping tip of one of the pod arms in wonder. “Maybe you just needed a better test pilot,” Duo boasted. “Yeah,” the man agreed distantly, looking deeper into his contraption. “How about Rach?” “What?” Howard asked, jerking his head back out to gape at the cocky American. “He’s a wiry kid,” Duo shrugged. “Why not?” “He’s just a kid,” Howard chuckled. “A damned talented one from what I’ve seen,” the longhaired boy countered. “He’s too young.” “I was piloting Deathscythe at his age,” Duo smirked. “That was war,” Howard argued. “Cut the kid a break.” “Or break his neck,” Wufei cut in, coming to join them. “You’ve never seen that kid on a solar board,” Duo smiled. “You took him outship?!” Howard gasped. “He’s a natural,” Duo grinned and it was all Hiiro could do to keep from snatching him close and kissing him soundly. He wanted to so badly in that moment that it became painstakingly clear just how deep his newly identified feelings went. The banter went on over most of the lunch period, Duo’s easy manor holding the closing gloom at bay until the very last moment and they were forced to face the issue, but even then it seemed as if sorrow and fear were merely a reflection in the face of these five boys. Quatre, Trowa and Wufei set up first, going down early to activate the remote timers on the floats that had been installed that morning before taking their positions. Tethers were secured to both D.U.D.E.’s body and arms as the pods would be almost fully detached for the duration of the operation and the disarming team was activated. Duo seemed abnormally quiet during the preliminary descent and preparation, though Hiiro had to admit he was feeling the tension a little more down here as well. It was good to be focused at this point but the closer they got to the mark the heavier his secret became until finally the time had come and the words had found their way into his throat. “Saddle up, cowboy,” Duo smiled, cutting him off before he could betray his own resolution. “Check the comm.,” Hiiro said instead, shoving his confession back down into the recesses of his heart to be dealt with at a more appropriate time. “Got me?” Duo called into his mic, already moving down the tiny shaft into the pod. “Roger that,” Hiiro replied, slipping once again into the old soldiers routine as he too slid into place. His heart suddenly slammed into double time when he stopped and found that instead of staring out the small, bulbous window he had come face to face with a small crucifix he had seen nowhere on Earth or space other than around the neck of Duo Maxwell. “Duo?” he heard his voice crack on the name, his mind swirling in a thousand different directions at once as he stared in shocked wonder at the glimmering cross. “For luck,” Duo’s soft tone responded. “You two all right over there?” Quatre inquired, but Hiiro was far from all right. He couldn’t stop his heart from interpreting the offering as the one thing he found he wanted more than anything else as his own words came crashing down around his ears. ’That is his heart you hold in your hand’ “Duo.” “We’ve got a job to do,” the braided boy reminded him, his tone such that Hiiro found no will to dispute it, but he took the cross from where it hung and slipped it around his neck, feeling as if he had just claimed the greatest treasure ever known to mankind before he pushed the entire situation out of his mind and they got to work. ** “That was amazing!” “I don’t believe it!” “It’s gotta be a record or something!” “How’d you manage to disarm them so fast?” Captain Jacque laughed, commending them on their success as they all gazed out over the spectacle of the Expectation bobbing in the sea along side of them. “Don’t ask me,” Duo laughed. “Hiiro took care of two of them to my one. He’s the genius.” “Brilliant!” Maurice chimed in, but the affection in his voice had taken on a decidedly different tone since he was now sitting nearly in Rach’s lap. It didn’t escape Hiiro’s attention that the dark haired boy was now wearing the doubloon either. He felt the heat of Duo’s cross around his neck, the metal seeming to burn his flesh as the hope that it meant anything at all what he hoped it did seeded in his heart. “We should celebrate!” Quatre crowed, brandishing two rather expensive looking bottles of champagne. “You guys go ahead,” Duo laughed. “What?” Quatre pouted. “I didn’t sleep much last night,” the longhaired boy explained. “Think I need to lay down for a bit before I hit the sauce.” “Of course,” the blond boy smiled sympathetically. “You must be exhausted after all that.” “Me too,” Hiiro chirped, trying hard to mask his excitement at the unexpected chance to get Duo alone for a minute. It wasn’t all that difficult to slip away in the excitement. They heard the cork of one of the bottles as they entered the narrow hall and Hiiro’s temperature appeared to be connected to the way Duo’s hips swayed in the soft light. By the time they reached their cabin he knew he had to tell him, whatever the consequence. There was just no way to keep this bottled up inside. “Duo,” he said gently as his partner ducked inside. “It was silly, wasn’t it?” Duo replied, sounding more than a little nervous and very, very tired as he sat on Hiiro’s bunk to make room for him in the cabin. “I need to know why you did this,” Hiiro told him, pulling the cross from beneath his shirt. “Getting soft in my old age,” the eighteen year old chuckled. “Do you have feelings for me?” The question was blunt, he knew, but he felt they were out of time. The air needed to be cleared and he desperately needed to know how Duo felt. His answer came on the breath of an angel, so soft he almost didn’t hear it when Duo replied… “Yes.” Shocked silence was the most Hiiro could offer in response. “I know it’s not something you’re probably comfortable with,” Duo began and Hiiro’s mind began to work again. “But I can’t really help it, ya know?” Hiiro felt something move inside him as a blush rose to Duo’s cheeks, something warm and alive rising up to embrace him body and soul. “It’s not like it means anything…” Duo’s words stalled when Hiiro lifted his hand to unclasp the chain that hung around his neck, the pain in his eyes clarified by the sudden presence of unshed tears. “Well, thanks for not making fun of me, anyway,” he went on, his voice sounding gravely and tight as Hiiro moved to fasten the cross back around his neck. “I’m glad you wore it,” he laughed weakly, then gasped when Hiiro held him firm and kissed him softly. Hiiro could not have helped smiling as he took in the most adorable look of confusion on his partner’s face after that kiss. “I don’t want symbols,” he told him. “Yeah, I…I know. I jus…” “I don’t want just a piece of your heart,” Hiiro cut him off, brushing his thumb gently over his cheek and Duo simply shut up. “I want it all,” Hiiro smiled kissing him again. “I love you,” he told him, finding the words incredibly easy to say and loving the astonished look on Duo’s face. “I’m sorry I never realized it before.” “What did you just say?” Duo asked distantly and Hiiro smiled. “I said… I love you,” Hiiro happily repeated. “Really?” An amused nod. “Like, you want to kiss me, love me?” Duo grinned and earned himself a much deeper version of the previous affection that left them both breathless and scrabbling at clothes. “Duo?” Hiiro gasped heatedly as his hands and mouth sought to discover all the things he never thought he’d know about Duo Maxwell. “Hmmmmm,” Duo groaned, pulling him down into the bunk. “What… I mean…” Damn but it was hard to think all of a sudden. “What’s … allowed?” Hiiro finally managed as he discovered Duo was actually a little better endowed than him when fully aroused. “Jesus,” Duo moaned arching back and Hiiro’s breath caught just to look at him. “Anything,” he panted, clinging desperately. “Do anything, just…don’t stop.” Hiiro felt the growl that emanated from his throat long before it actually rumbled free as he bent to fulfill his first desire and find out just how sweet Duo Maxwell really was. Remarkably, they were left to their explorations for the remainder of the day. Or perhaps, not so remarkably, considering the audio capabilities of one longhaired American during climax. Sleep came to them somewhere around evening but lasted only until Hiiro was awakened by the smell of food to find Duo had snuck out and procured them a meal. He grinned, knowing that not even the other pilots were probably aware of the theft and managed to turn Duo into desert before it was half eaten. There was no way he could have even guessed this trip would turn out like it had but he wouldn’t have changed it for anything. Duo had opened his eyes long ago, showing him there was so much more to life than war and the singular purpose. He had never given up over the years in his tireless efforts to help Hiiro achieve a higher plane of happiness in the world he had saved, and now he had opened his heart and given him the ultimate gift of love. Hiiro smiled and pulled his exhausted lover to him, the contented expression on his restful face bringing a peace to his heart he had never truly understood before. He had spent his youth fighting for it. He had offered his life to achieve it but until that moment he had never actually known it in his own heart. “You smell like cheese,” Duo grumbled sleepily. “Your fault,” Hiiro chuckled, nuzzling his ear. “Hiiro?” “Hn?” “What now?” Hiiro pulled back to gaze upon him, the boy that had so stealthy stolen his heart so long ago, and smiled. “I’m living in Japan at the moment,” he informed him. “L2 sucks,” Duo smiled. “Move in with me,” Hiiro suggested. “You sure?” “Positive,” Hiiro grinned, going in for another kiss. “I snore.” “I know.” “I’d have to sponge off of you for awhile,” the longhaired boy smiled, wrapping his arms around Hiiro’s neck as Hiiro nibbled on his own. “Do you have a dishwasher? I hate doing dishes. Can’t say I’m much of a… cook… either… nnn.” Hiiro rolled him over and slipped between his legs curling his body around him in a warm little cocoon as he held him close and let his heart swell to the breaking point as he smiled and replied, “We’ll work it out.” owari :)
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