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"nakodo shimei"Written By: t-shirt View art work for 'Nakodo Shimei": Click HERE 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, Fluff, sap, WAFF ^-^,
slight angst, mention of lemon Pairings: (eventual 3x4, 1x2), 5+all Beta reader: mechante-fille Summary: Duo’s unease over his fellow pilot’s
lack of happiness in their new world of peace leads to a daring plan
to rectify the problem.
"nakodo shimei "
Quatre and Relena had spared no expense, that’s for sure. The ball was being held at the ritziest place in town, The Belladonna. This is where they held all the awards shows, movie debuts and political dinners, etc. There was the traditional runway we were expected to walk and I found myself wishing I’d opted for the usual tux when the flash bulbs started going off. The others had all been processed through, save Quatre, who stood with Relena at the podium where we were to give a short interview to the press. Trowa hovered nearby, ever the supportive presence for his new lover. I wondered how they would handle the public thing in the days to come. I managed to tag two of the undercover fez heads with the little scythe stickers I’d printed up while we were standing in the queue, then it was our turn to step into the spot light. Of course, it was Heero everyone was dying to talk to. “Mr. Yuy!” the commentator enthused. I recognized
her as one Ms. Sandra Cole, an actress/talk show hostess that was
very popular at the time. “My, but don’t you both look wonderful,”
she smiled. I noticed Relena looked a tad off balance, but she seemed
to be holding up alright. She wasn’t puffy eyed, at least. “Heero,”
she laughed. “May I call you Heero? My dear boy, where in the
world have you been hiding yourself?” “Good evening” she replied. “Hey, Princess,” I smiled but she only offered me a short sniff, and I got the feeling Heero had told her more than he had let on. We were forced to endure what turned out to be two full minutes of fighting to keep our commentator on the subject of the war effort instead of our personal lives before were allowed to enter the ball. It hadn’t crossed my mind until that moment, but that was the first time Heero had ever been interviewed in public and the first time anyone outside of our little group had seen him since the end of the war. However, it came across resoundingly well once we were inside and every eye in the place followed us wherever we went. We caught sight of Wufei dancing with Sally and Hilde had Trowa cornered over by the veranda so we headed that way to try and save him. He was obviously losing his patience with her, so I think we made it just in time. “Perhaps Duo would care to dance?” he said in an obvious attempt to pawn her off on me the moment we were within earshot. “Duo doesn’t know how to dance like this,” she sighed. “You don’t?” Heero smirked. “No, actually,” I retorted petulantly. “It wasn’t a requirement of street rat 101,” I quipped, ignoring the smirk on his face as I stuck my pinky out to sip my champagne. “I’d rather dance with you, Trowa,” Hilde purred, and I flashed Heero a pleading glance. “I would be honored to dance with you, My Lady,” he smiled, bowing slightly to her as he handed me his drink. She huffed but couldn’t possibly turn him down without being rude, so they were soon spinning around with the rest of the dancers. “Thank you,” Trowa breathed. “I’ll have a talk with her,” I chuckled. “Are you going to keep the junk yard?” he asked. Hn. I really hadn’t thought about what happened next. As long as Heero and I were together it didn’t really matter. “I dunno,” I confessed. “What about you? You going back to the circus?” “No,” he replied without hesitation. “Won’t Catherine be upset?” “She threatened to park the caravan in his backyard,” he chortled. “So you told her everything?” I asked, and he nodded and I got to watch his eyes light up as Quatre made his way towards us. “You guys are really good together,” I told him before his little blond lover stole all of his attention away. I got my answer as to how they intended to handle the public thing when Quatre slipped openly into his arms. They were not obvious but it was very clear they didn’t give a shit who saw. It was a bit frightening to think about exposing the inner workings of my heart like that. I didn’t think I could go that far. I spotted Wufei talking to some of the bigger money handlers in the colonies, no doubt hedging benefits for his new job since he was shining like polished brass and talking very fast. Relena was hovering around the main entrance doing her hostess bit, but I noticed Billy was standing nearby keeping a pretty close eye on her. With a little luck, maybe he was the reason her eyes weren’t puffy. I hoped so. He really seemed to have it bad for the girl. Heero danced Hilde around the floor looking as handsome as I have ever seen him and Trowa was inspired to edge Quatre down the hallway beside us and dance him around a little, too. All in all things were looking up for our little group. I smiled to myself and decided to step out onto the veranda and just coast for a minute. A minute was all I got before I heard steps behind me and warm, strong arms enfolded me and I grinned and laid back into Heero’s chest. “I can’t believe you don’t know how to dance,” he chuckled kissing my hair. “It never came up,” I smiled. “Dance with me?” he breathed into my ear, and I think I could have flown if he’d wanted me to. He turned me in his arms slipping his right arm around my waist and taking my hand in his as he gazed into my eyes and whispered softly, “You are the most beautiful soul I have ever encountered,” and suddenly I felt as if the ground had disappeared from beneath our feet as he began to turn us around. It was so wonderful just being with him. All the secrets of his heart were laid bare right there in his eyes. It was as if someone had reached in and lifted a veil and suddenly the shadows had cleared. It wasn’t long before the welling emotions and rhythm of the dance had me dizzy with delight and I heard him chuckle warmly as he pulled me close and bent to nuzzle my ear. “I can hardly believe this is real,” he thrummed, tickling the tender skin on my neck with his lips and I gasped and cringed under the force of the heat that washed through me. His answer to my reaction was to growl throatily and kiss me and what remained of the world simply melted away. There was nothing but Heero, his arms and his lips and those amazing eyes all reaching out for me sent such a thrill through me I found myself strained just to remain on my feet. “Can we leave now?” I whimpered when he’d released my mouth, and he chuckled warmly at me again. “Gods, I love you,” he smiled, holding me close there in the solace of our little retreat, and suddenly he looked very... amused. I know my mouth fell open. I must have looked like a complete idiot standing there staring like a carp but I really had not expected that. It was in me to return the declaration but it just seemed so preteen after his had slipped free with such elegant honesty. “I…I…” I stammered. “I know,” he laughed lightly turning us around. “It shows,” he assured me, but then we were suddenly aware of our audience and stopped. The expression on Relena’s face as she stood just inside the door and watched us dance was pained, but there appeared to be some form of remorseful acceptance in her eyes. Maybe actually having seen for herself that Heero had been telling her the truth would help her move on. I hoped so. She would need all the support she could get in the months to come, but from the way Billy was following her around I didn’t think she’d find herself lacking in that department. She paused for a moment longer then turned and joined her childhood friend, disappearing into the milling crowd. “You think she’ll be ok?” I had to ask. “She’ll be fine,” he reassured, going back to nuzzling my neck and I laughed. “Keep that up, we’re not gonna make it back to the house,” I warned him. “You’re not leaving already?” Quatre said in this even, amused tone as he and Trowa walked out onto the veranda, and I’m afraid I jumped like a stuck pig and blushed all the way down to my toes. “Please,” Trowa added around that damned little smirk of his. “Don’t mind us.” “The party’s great, Quat,” I smiled ignoring the ex-mercenary altogether. “You guys did a great job.” “Yes,” he chuckled. “We hired the best,” and that was the end of that line of praise. “Trowa!” I saw Quatre stall for a moment and Trowa actually squeezed his eyes shut at the sound of Hilde’s bright voice and I felt bad for everyone involved. I should have taken her aside before but I’d been a little … distracted. “Hi, Duo,” she smiled coming to join us. “Hey, you want something to drink?” I asked hoping to get her to follow me, but she just shook her head and took up a spot beside Trowa. Sally meandered by the doorway and, seeing our group, drifted our way. “Hi, Sally,” I grinned. “Where’s Wufei?” “Frightening chubby little men out of their inheritance,” she smirked. “Still?” Quatre chuckled, and once again I found his ability toward open affection for his lover oddly comforting when he absently leaned into Trowa’s chest. However, something flashed through Hilde’s eyes that suddenly set me ill at ease as I realized she was about to be educated. “Trowa?” she smiled. “Would you like to dance with me now?” I saw her suspicions in her eyes, and could tell she just didn’t want to face the facts. “I was just wondering if you’d like something to drink actually,” Trowa replied, only he was talking to Quatre when he said it. Hilde’s face fell and I steadied myself for the blow. “Yes, please,” Quatre smiled ducking his head slightly in a kind attempt not to throw it up in her face too harshly, but it would appear that Trowa had had enough and meant to put an end to the girl’s advances once and for all. “I’ll be right back,” he told his smaller, blond lover as he slipped a hand behind his neck to gently cradle his head while he gave him a short, soft kiss. Quatre was shaken and blushing like a schoolgirl when he pulled back, but that only seemed to delight Trowa even more and he graced us all with a warm, true smile as he asked, “Anyone else?” No one took him up on the offer however, then he was gone and the tension was suddenly just stifling. I could see the turmoil rolling in my roommate’s eyes and felt the overwhelming need to just grab her up and give her a hug, but the situation wouldn’t allow for it and then her bottom lip was trembling as she stared into Quatre’s apologetic eyes. The next thing I knew all that was left of her was the tail end of her sash as she burst into tears and ran away. “Hilde!” I called starting after her but Sally stopped me with a firm hand on my arm. “Let me,” she insisted. “She’s my friend,” I argued. “There are some things a man simply cannot understand,” the woman informed me stepping forward to take the path I had intended for myself. “Relax Duo, I’d like to look after her,” she said softly leaning a bit closer. I’m not exactly sure how I felt about it when she added a quiet, “Not everybody’s het, ya know?” then glided confidently after my despondent roommate. I watched for a moment as she cut purposefully through the crowd and was suddenly reminded of a shark on the hunt. “Let her go,” Heero chuckled. “But…” I countered but I didn’t follow. “She’ll see to her,” he assured me, pulling me back to his side. “Yeah,” I grumbled. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” “I’m sorry, Duo,” Quatre offered. “It’s not your fault,” I sighed. “She’ll get over it. It was just a crush anyway.” Sally and Hilde never resurfaced that night. We spent the remainder of the evening doing the public awareness thing. There was a sort of awards ceremony to honor some of the people who had aided the clean up effort and a speech given by the Mayor of L4. Both Quatre and Relena were asked to speak as well, and I took the opportunity to wander the room and tag a few more fez heads. Information was handed out on where contributions could be made and how everyone could help on a daily basis and, all in all, the gala was very successful. They were starting to wind it down with a summary recap when I felt something in Heero’s manner shift. It was subtle, but the way he felt when he moved in close behind me where I hung back watching the proceedings made me a little dizzy. I knew without a doubt something was up when I felt his hands rest gently on my hips and the heat of his chest against my back, then his mouth was next to my ear and it was all I could do not to fall back into his arms right then and there. “It’s time,” he whispered, and the pure need in his voice washed my skin with prickly heat. He had only to gently guide me and we were on our way out of the hall. I really don’t think anyone noticed us leave, but I can’t say I was paying all that much attention. He led me to a small, black convertible parked in the ally behind The Belladonna, kissed me warmly as he tucked me inside, then took us away from there. It was such a rush to finally have him all to myself. We laughed at each other when we both reached for our ties to take them off at the same time. The earlier tension seemed to have disappeared, leaving nothing but me and my best friend and the clean night air. I didn’t bother asking what it was all about. I knew he wouldn’t tell me so I consoled myself with the knowledge that somehow my life had finally come together. It still felt so surreal when he reached out to take my hand, but I felt the warmth of it and knew the truth of it in my heart. He loved me. I was in awe of that fact but I believed in it. He really loved me and I would cherish that fact until the day I died. “The spaceport?” I deduced when he turned us that way. “Close your eyes,” he teased. “Get a grip,” I retorted. It became obvious we were not returning to the Winner Estate that night when he led me aboard ship. It was just a small galaxy hopper. Nothing fancy, but had the amenities for a good long visit among the stars. My mind was still playing with the possibilities that fact offered while I strapped into the co-pilot’s seat and Heero slid into the captain’s chair beside me. He kept glancing at me with this weird little smile that was about to burst with hidden secrets, but he still hadn’t let on anything more than what I’d been able to deduce myself. We were clear of the colony and enjoying that raw edged freedom that only comes from being this close to free fall before my mind settled enough that I started noticing the little signs that told me this ship was no weekend rental. The grips on the yoke before me were custom, for one. They were fashioned after those only found in the cockpit of a Gundam. There were indications that the systems installed were not the usual regulation code when I got to playing around with the console as well, but it was the weapons array hidden in the arm rests of my chair that clinched the deal. “Heero,” I said, running my fingers lightly over the controls of some very sophisticated weaponry. “This ship..,” “Is my home,” he finished for me reaching over to take my hand in his. “So why the arsenal?” I had to ask. “I am an active Preventer,” he grinned kissing my fingers. “You’re working for Une?” “I work to protect the peace,” he replied. “You plan on shoving a rocket launcher up its ass?” I quipped, and he laughed right out loud. It was a really wonderful sound. Made me kind of tingly all over. “The Lady has taken to calling me the ‘machine,’” he chuckled waggling his eyebrows in such a silly manor I couldn’t help but giggle. “They don’t need me much right now,” he went on as he set the autopilot on what I recognized as an endless orbit around the moon. “I’m only called in when they have no other recourse,” he explained. “In the meantime,” he grinned releasing the lock on our chairs so he could swivel us around to face each other, “there’s plenty of time to catch up on all the things we’ve missed out on.” His smile then was one of hopeful invitation and I felt my chest shudder when he moved closer to me. “We?” I croaked, swallowing the huge lump that had risen in my ever-tightening throat. “Stay with me, Duo,” he breathed softly slipping smoothly into my personal space. “S.. stay?” Gods he was so close. I couldn’t think. “I want you with me,” he intoned, reaching to run his knuckles down my cheek and I leaned into the tantalizing caress. His actions were kindling a fire inside me that was feeding on whatever coherent thoughts that tried to form. I couldn’t get a handle on what the consequences of what he was proposing would be. “I want you to be my partner again,” he went on as he leaned in and kissed me gently, and another tear of the now distant logic for which my mind was grasping crumbled and fell away. “I want you to be my life,” he whispered against my lips and I suddenly understood that the mission was over. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered to me more than knowing he was happy and whole, and the fact that it was me that had made him so was so overwhelming everything else in the universe just fractured and blew away under the searing heat of his kiss. I couldn’t speak just then, and I really don’t think he expected me to answer because he had no intention of releasing my mouth for something as trivial as speech. I had never imagined anything could feel so good. He is the essence of charitable fortitude. Satin over steel. It truly amazes me when I am confronted with the fact that he is as physically powerful as he is righteously determined. Hands that I have seen bend steel bars were slipping under my shirt and I suddenly felt very frail and vulnerable in his arms. I am quick and clever but I am not brawny, and I knew I couldn’t have stopped him if I’d wanted to, but then, I had no desire for it to end. I never wanted it to end. I knew I would accept his offer before he ever picked me up out of that chair, but that knowledge could wait. At that moment, all I cared about was holding him to me. Nurturing the heat of his passion as I finally got to touch the soul of the only person I would ever love. He took me to his… our cabin… and laid me down and loved me until I thought I would lose my mind. There is an intensity inside him, a light so bright it burns, and by the time the veil of desire lifted enough for us to take a deep breath, I could feel his name had been etched forever into my heart. There was no going back, I’d never survive. “What is it?” he asked softly still lying comfortably atop me in our bed. Our bed. Hn. We really needed new sheets. Plain white? “I love you,” I was compelled to tell him. “Really?” he smiled knowingly, reaching up to kiss my nose. “I hadn’t noticed,” he grinned, offering the same to my lips. I chuckled at his joke but was feeling a little too significant to let it lie. “I really do,” I told him again and it got me another smile and kiss. “Then my work here is done,” he grinned. “Finished already?” I teased, raising my hips into his and he groaned because we were still coupled. Then I was the one hissing and arching back because he wasn’t about to let me get away with that and he did have the upper hand after all. The playfulness dissipated fairly quickly, and I once again found myself on the rising tide as he laid little kisses along my neck and rocked us gently. “Heero?” I moaned softy. “Hn?” “You think Hilde will really be alright?” “Sally will look after her,” he assured me, then kissed me and reminded me that there were more pressing issues to think about. It was bugging me that Hilde wasn’t gay but I let it go. Sally would never force herself on anyone, I was sure of that. My mind drifted a little as I ran my hands down the hard, rippled and now familiar plains of his back and I wondered how it had been for Quatre when he and Trowa had finally consummated their love. I thought about Wufei and the possibility that perhaps he would finally find someone now that he was able to pursue a life that was more attuned to his true character. I said a small prayer for Billy, then I forgot anything but the warmth of Heero’s body and the ‘zero’ intensity of the feelings he was pouring into me. Things were starting to heat up between us to that point where we realized it wasn’t going to end with just kissing and I felt the shift in his need when his breathing became erratic. It caused a shiver inside me setting my limbs to trembling again and then suddenly he was kissing me so fiercely it almost frightened me. “Duo?” he ground out suddenly, the sound of it pained and pleading and I knew it for the multitude of questions it was. He wanted to know that I would stay. He wanted to know that I loved him. He needed to know that this was all real. That it wasn’t going to fade away. He wanted me to willingly give myself to him. He wanted forever and I heard it in my own voice, the ultimate surrender to my fate, the unmitigated resolve of my determination to see to it that he got everything he wanted when I instantly replied… “Yes” owari :)
~ * ~ tbc... Chapter 9 |
