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"Moon Dance"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/Five pretty boys save
the world! … again ^-^ Fluff, Sap, Light angst, mention of lemon,
moderate language Beta’ed by Mechante Fille *hugs* Pairings: 1x2, 3x4 Summary: Hiiro finds his feelings for Duo are
deeper than he had realized during a mission to correct a shift in
the moon's orbit. "Moon Dance " Ch 4 The trip to city hall was wet and miserable but Duo couldn’t seem to wipe the smile from his face. After a time Hiiro’s curiosity got the better of him and he had to ask. “What?” “What?” Duo echoed, gazing around them, his eyes darting down alleys and reading the names over the storefronts. “You look unreasonably happy,” his partner chuckled, finding himself infected with good cheer. “I dunno,” Duo shrugged, looking around again. “See that corner?” he pointed out an intersection where a neighborhood grocer and flower shop did business side by side. “That building used to be a cat house. On decent nights when the guys were being friendly and charitable you could always count on a hand out from the gals.” The thought of Duo as an eight year old child begging for handouts from a pack of drunken hookers and their Johns quickly stole Hiiro’s smile away but Duo was undaunted. “There was a leg plate off a Leo down there,” he said, slowing beside an alley way. “Guess it’s gone now,” he sighed almost sadly, moving on down the street. “Did you play there?” Hiiro asked. “Lived there for awhile.” Lived there? Hiiro’s eyes shot back toward the alley but he refrained from speaking. “Just look at it,” Duo smiled and Hiiro found himself complying. “Who would’ve thought the battles we fought would have actually brought this place back to life?” And suddenly Hiiro understood the smile on his partners face as he watched some kids dart across the street laughing merrily, an older couple bought a snack from a street vender dressed in bright red stripes and a paper hat and a young boy courted his girl in the shadow of an entryway. “Looks like you saved them after all,” he smiled, soaking it all in. “We did,” Duo amended. “All of us,” he smiled, noticing a young girl and her dog walking down the sidewalk. Hiiro tensed, having his own ghosts chase him for a moment but as the child’s face came into view, her smile as happy as her laughter, he knew exactly what Duo was feeling and why. At least he thought he had until he noticed the light had drained from his eyes. “Duo?” The longhaired boy did not reply, his gaze settled on an empty lot they were slowly driving past. Hiiro held his questions, seeing the demons playing in the depths of his friend’s eyes. There was a history here he didn’t dare ask about but it appeared Duo was in need of more than a quick look. “We’ll be late,” Hiiro reminded him as he stopped the car and got out. “I’ll just be a minute,” Duo assured him, dancing through traffic to stand before the lot on the other side of the street. As much as he wished otherwise, the Japanese boy went to join him. This place reeked of dark shadows and painful memories but he didn’t really comprehend the magnitude of his observation until he stepped up to a fragment of wall that appeared to be all that remained of the Maxwell Church. ”Ever had home made rock candy?” Duo asked, closing his eyes as if he could smell it cooking. “No,” Hiiro replied uncertain of how to act in this place. He knew of the tragedy and that Duo had been the sole survivor but knowing of something and actually living through it were entirely different things. “Just boil sugar.” Hiiro’s heart hurt just thinking about it but Duo’s smile suddenly turned it around. “Sister would even put in a little vanilla sometimes,” he grinned. “That was her kitchen.” Hirro gazed at the empty space, visualizing a stove and table. “And father preached his Sunday sermon from a high pulpit right there.” “Were there windows?” the Japanese boy asked, smiling when Duo rounded on him, his eyes as bright as any child’s and began to pour out all the wonders he had taken in during his time here. “Oh, hell yeah! There was one behind the alter, big as the moon! Had this scene of some guy putting a crown on Jesus but it never made sense to me. The little ones went around the top of the walls,” he revealed, dancing in a circle as he gazed at where his memory placed them and Hiiro felt his chest swell with excitement. “They had these weird white blobs in them that I think were supposed to be doves. Looked more like marshmallows,” he laughed. “Is this where you went to school?” Hiiro prodded, hoping to see more of that bright light in those beautiful violet eyes. “Naw.” Perhaps it had been the wrong question. “There was a public school down the block, where that building and loan was. They must’ve torn it down. Was a rat hole anyway. Man,” he sighed, gazing up into the artificial sky. “If they could see this place now.” “We can see it,” Hiiro reminded him, calling his attention back to him. “And so can they,” he added, nodding at a pair of boys riding by on their bikes. “Yeah,” Duo smiled agreeably, coming to stand before him. “And it’s all ‘cause you have no sense of survival.” For a moment Hiiro stood staring at him, uncertain of exactly what he meant but the jovial light flickering in Duo’s eyes gave him away and they both burst out laughing at the same time. “Come on,” Duo laughed wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “We’re late.” Hiiro didn’t bother to remind him he had already pointed that fact out, finding himself once again utterly amazed by his American friend’s fortitude. He wondered as they pulled away, if he would have been able to stand in that lot and laugh if their roles had been reversed. ** “Mr. Maxwell.” “Governor Chauncy,” Duo smiled, shaking the larger man’s hand. Hiiro got the feeling his partner liked the guy if only for his strange resemblance to a shaven Santa Claus. “Sorry we’re late.” “Quite alright,” the man smiled, offering them a chair in his over sized office. “Would you care for coffee? Tea?” “Tea would be great,” Duo smiled, winking at a grateful Hiiro. “If you would please?” the Governor instructed his secretary who nodded and went off to fill the request. “Now,” he smiled, grunting in that jovial Santa Clause way as he settled in his big chair behind his desk. “I understand we may be of some service to you.” “As Vice Minister Darlian has informed you,” Duo began, “We require the use of the colony’s isoelectric boosters to aide in an effort to correct the orbit of the moon.” “You don’t say,” the man breathed wondrously. “Miss Relena explained, of course, but I find it so preposterous to even consider. Are you certain this new orbit will even cause problems to the Earth?” “Within the year the tides will have shifted to a point most of the land will have disappeared beneath the ocean’s surface,” Hiiro explained. “Storms will plague any land masses still available, making life on the planet hostile if possible at all,” Duo went on. “I see,” the Governor nodded wisely. “Then there is no other recourse. However, I’m afraid we can offer you little hope.” “What do you mean?” Hiiro asked offensively. “I’m afraid the engines you speak of haven’t been operational on this colony in over a decade,” the man sighed heavily. “Let us worry about the repairs,” Duo smiled. “You just warn your people things might get a little hairy when we fire.” “Forgive me if I choose to wait until you’ve managed that miracle,” the man laughed, shaking all over just as any good Santa should. “Governor?” The conversation paused long enough for the tea to be served and Duo to be on a first name basis with the lady serving it, who just happened to be a personal friend of one Chelsea Witum, currently in the employ of Vice Minister Darlian. Hiiro was, once again, impressed with his partner’s intuition. “We’ve had teams of technicians working on those engines for years,” Governor Chauncy commented. “I’ll give you full security clearance of course, but I don’t see that there’s much you can do.” “We fire Thursday morning at nine a.m. precisely,” Duo informed him, standing to leave. “Inform the people so no one has a heart attack when we rattle the walls,” he grinned as Hiiro fell into step behind him. “You seem very confident we’ll be able to repair the engines,” Hiiro commented in the elevator on the way out. “Piece of cake,” his partner smiled but it was the way he smiled that narrowed Hiiro’s eyes. “Why?’ the Japanese boy asked suspiciously, knowing he was onto something the moment Duo grinned. “Cause I’m the one that shut’em down.” “Why in the hell would you shut down an entire colony’s mobility?” Hiiro was still questioning when they arrived at their destination. “Cause they were gonna use em to fry half the population,” Duo replied, effectively stalling that line of questioning. “Ok,” Hiiro conceded. “But how?” He simply could not comprehend that a seven year old could have accomplished such a task. “Trade secret,” the longhaired boy chuckled, turning to greet Wallace Mier, head technician and lead mechanic in charge of overseeing the massive, albeit inoperable, engines of L2. Hiiro knew he was in trouble the moment the man lifted an arm and cried…. “Duo! Baaaaby! Where the hell ya been, boy!?” He was tall, young with big brown eyes and arms that were quick to jerk Duo into a colossal hug and Hiiro did not like him. Not one bit. “Wally, babe,” Duo grunted. “Must breathe.” If Hiiro broke the guys arm he’d be able to breathe. “Ahhhha ha ha ha! S’been too long, boy,” the man laughed, dropping his armful on his feet. “And who’s this?” he added smiling at Hiiro, however, the promise of a quick death in the Japanese boy’s eyes changed his mind about another hug. “Wally Mier,” Duo smiled. “Meet Hiiro Yui.” “Think you could’a done better, boy,” Wally whispered way too loud. “Don’t seem like the friendly type, that one.” “He’s a lot fuzzier on the inside,” Duo grinned, ignoring the hearted glare Hiiro sent his way. “Well, come on in,” the man insisted, tossing an arm around Duo’s shoulders Hiiro would just as soon have removed. “Is Cason still with you?” Duo asked. “Naw, lost him last winter.” “You’re kidding, right?” the braided boy gasped. “He didn’t drift did he?” “In a way,” Wally nodded sagely, unable to hide the smirk as he added, “Right into the arms of an Irish lass down at the pub!” Hiiro rolled his eyes secretly while Duo roared with laugher with his friend. “Cason has a kid!?” It had been the longest two hours of his life. All he could do was sit and watch while Wally and Duo laughed and caught up with each other. As it turned out, Wally was an ex-Sweeper as well, or as ex as any Sweeper ever gets. He still had regular dealings with the original crew, something Duo was enormously interested in, so Hiiro didn’t mind allowing him the time. It was Wally’s incessant need to constantly be touching his friend that rankled his nerve. “And a girl at that,” Wally laughed, gripping Duo’s shoulder. “Well,” Duo chuckled. “They say what comes around…” “Will get’cha in the end!” Hiiro steeled his nerve while the two laughed heartily again but Duo’s mirth seemed to have a much shorter fuse than when they had first arrived. “Sooo,” the longhaired boy sang, eyeing his partner’s sour face. “When can we get this show on the road?” “Ahh, come on,” Wally entreated. “You can take the night off to show an old friend some love cant’cha?” he smiled, flinching under Hiiro’s intense gaze. “Gotta get those engines warmed up,” Duo sighed. “Still think ya can make ‘em purr with nothing but a soft touch, eh?” Wally grinned, moving in to brush his shoulder against Duo’s and for the first time Hiiro honestly thought of smacking him because Duo suddenly looked disquieted by the touch, glancing nervously at Hiiro before asking… “Are the seven/ten access tunnels still clear?” “Far as I know,” Wally nodded, sniffing in his disappointment. “Don’t know what you’ll find down there though, no one’s been in there for years. All that’s there are the cooling fans but you should be all right since they don’t work either,” he laughed but this time Duo only joined him in a smile. “Thanks, Wally,” the longhaired boy offered and Hiiro was at the door before his butt had fully left the chair. “I’ll fix ya a bunk,” the man called after them. “You can hole up here and we’ll break out the good wine!” “Better have something besides channel rat for the grill!” Duo called back. “Have that boy of yours grab one on your way back! Looks to me he could use the chance to blow off some steam! Ya might get through the night with your ass intact!” Duo waved him off, choosing not to look back or at Hiiro as they descended into the first tunnel but it wasn’t until they had reached the third level that he finally spoke. “Sorry about Wally,” he sighed, jumping down the last five feet of the ladder to splash in the shallow water collected in the long stagnant airshaft. “I doubt he even realizes he’s being rude,” Hiiro brushed it away. “No,” Duo said, shaking his head, the odd way he didn’t seem to want to look at his partner catching Hiiro’s eye. “I mean what he said… about us.” But there was no comprehension in Hiiro’s eyes. “He thinks we’re together,” Duo explained, huffing when Hiiro still didn’t snap. “You know? Like a couple? That crack about my ass?” “OH!” Of course! How in the hell had he missed it? “Uh… right… Really?” Was that why he seemed so unfriendly? “Yeah,” Duo sighed. “I’ll straighten him out later,” he promised, turning down another, smaller tunnel where they were forced to use their lamps because the lights had blown in the area. “Why would he think that?” Hiiro wondered, worried that he may have let on about how he felt toward his beauteous partner. “Cause he’s jealous I would think.” “OW!” Hiiro growled, having hit his head when he stood up. “You ok?” Duo asked worriedly. “Jealous?” Duo nodded and moved them down the tunnel. “You mean he likes you?” he asked, both fearing the answer and needing to know. “Used to tell me we’d get married when I came of age,” Duo laughed. “Guess he still thinks it could happen.” “You’re of age now,” Hiiro pointed out feeling a little ill. “Yeap,” Duo sighed, taking them down another, even smaller tunnel. “But I ain’t the little wife he thought I’d grow up to be,” he laughed, then stopped and stood so still Hiiro drew his gun. In an instant the creature pounced, its huge head spurting blood when Duo’s knife sank into its eye and Hiiro pumped two bullets in its brain. Duo was panting and soaked to the bone by the time he wrenched his knife free of the huge rat’s skull, blood staining both his hand and his face as he glared down at it with lightening dancing in his eyes. “One more for the grill,” he growled low, spitting the foul stench into the water as he cleaned up his blade and returned it to its sheath. “You really used to eat those?” Hiiro questioned feeling the bile rise in his throat as they left the carcass behind. “No,” Duo replied. “But they used to try and eat us. This way.” A seven year old boy, trudging through this muck with those beasts waiting around every corner in the middle of a plague infested war zone. It was all Hiiro could think about. How in the hell had he survived? “How deep do we have to go?” Hiiro asked, tiring of the backbreaking journey. “If memory serves… just around that bend are the cooling fans.” “If memory serves?” Hiiro groaned. “You mean you’re not sure?!” “I was six years old!” Six. Gods in Heaven. Any reply he might have had to the comment died in his throat when they rounded the corner and the tiny tunnel suddenly opened up onto a cavernous maze of huge fans, each easily as wide as a man is tall, but it appeared to be the twenty foot wide one in the middle they were after. “Duo, what are you doing?” Hiiro sighed, leaning his aching back against the wall while Duo dug down under the water at the base of the largest fan. “Fixing the… stupid engines,” Duo grunted pulling at something, “So we can get… the hell.. outta this… stinky… rat infested… air shaft!” he blurted, falling back into Hiiro’s arms as whatever he had been jerking on came free. It was as if time started to move as the great fan began to turn, the smaller fans surrounding it gradually building momentum until the wind whipped at their hair and left them laughing with delight. “What did you do?” Hiiro demanded. “What any little kid would do in my situation,” Duo smiled, holding up the head of a plastic doll, “Threw my baby doll at it!” Hiiro burst into laughter, completely loosing control and snatching Duo into his arms to hug him in an emotional overload. “You’re incredible!” he smiled, shouting over the noise of the fans. “Just lucky!” Duo countered, creasing his brow when Hiiro suddenly stopped laughing. “Duo?” “Yeah?” “How are we supposed to get back out?” Hiiro asked, gazing at the fans turning quickly all around them. “Well,” Duo cocked his head, stuffing the doll’s head into his belt. “That’s the tricky part.” “The tricky part?!” “Come on! It’ll be like hop scotch!” “It’s a rotating guillotine!” Hiiro shouted but Duo was already in position to make the first jump, his eyes carefully timing the movement of the blades until he suddenly darted through. “Come on, man! You’re an agile guy!” he laughed, preparing to make the next leap. “You better hope so,” Hiiro groused, preparing for the first jump. “Cause if I leave anything behind I’m going to kill you when we get out,” he promised darting through the first of the blades.
~ * ~ tbc... |
