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"Taking Form "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 lemon, mention of
past, attempted NCS/violence Pairings: 1x2, 3x4 Summary: When his father’s comrade takes a new apprentice Master Hiiro discovers a level of emotion he had long ago left in the past. unbeta'ed "Taking Form " Ch 3
“What makes you so sure Duo will ever talk to him again?” J snorted sipping his morning coffee. “Are you joking?” G chuckled. “You saw the way he lit up the moment he stepped out of that coach. Hiiro never stood a chance,” he laughed dusting his toast with the thick, bushy mustache that adorned his upper lip. “Oh, I do not doubt that Hiiro’s heart is his for the taking,” J nodded. “However, the ball is in Duo’s court at the moment.” “A regrettable meeting,” G sighed in agreement. “But I believe my ward is as susceptible to your son as he is to Duo,” he sniggered allowing William to refill his cup. “What do you mean?” the boy asked curiously. “You’ll understand when you’re older,” J smiled. “But I want to understand now,” William argued. “There are some things the heart must grow into,” G interjected. “Is Master Hiiro’s heart going to grow into Duo’s chest?” the boy asked but before the two men could wind up to a full bellied laugh over the child’s adorable ignorance the door suddenly burst open admitting what appeared to be one extremely irate young man. Hiiro wore a riding cloak and carried a canvas haphazardly in one hand as he strode powerfully across the room with death in his eyes. “Who is he!?” he demanded of his stunned audience. “Hiiro? Wha…?” J began but was silenced by the horrific image of Duo being brutally raped that was suddenly thrust in his face. “Who did this to him!?” Hiiro demanded again as his hand trembled and his body shook with rage. “Oh my,” G sighed clearly shocked by the painting as well. “A name!” the boy insisted. “Hiiro, that is not what happened,” the Professor tried to explain. “You said he was arrested,” Hiiro retorted tossing the canvas on the floor as if it were something vile in his hand. “Where was he imprisoned?” “You must understand,” G persisted. “That,” he grimaced tossing a distasteful glance at the painting, “is only a reflection of Duo’s depression. The man never got that far.” “GIVE ME A NAME!” Hiiro roared causing the two men to retract as William scrambled for the nearest exit. “No punishment they could inflict on him could possible atone for such a thing!” he growled. “He did not rape him!” J snapped and it was only the gleam in his metal eyes that stayed Hiiro’s hand. They paused a moment to stare at one another, each evaluating the others position as well as their own options as any good soldier would do before J finally continued. “What do you intend to do?” he asked in a firm, even tone. “Murder him in his cell?” “Even if he didn’t,” Hiiro replied smoothly. “This,” he sneered waving a hand at the revolting image, “was his intention. He deserves no less.” “That is a reflection of Duo’s fears,” G interjected. “He always paints the most horrible things when he’s upset,” he sighed. “What could possibly have disturbed him so badly he would need to paint that!?” Neither man chose to answer the question openly but the expressions on their faces brought the answer to Hiiro’s mind unbidden. “But… why?” he asked nobody in particular. “Perhaps your acceptance of him is more important than you realize,” the Professor softly intoned. “Me?” Hiiro wondered aloud. “But… we had only just met. I didn’t even know him when I gave that order.” “And yet you are ready to kill a man for his sake?” J mused. “I,” the boy began but stopped to ponder his thoughts for a moment. “Father,” he said gently kneeling before his sire’s eyes. “I believe that I am in love with him,” he confessed unable to look at him directly. “I don’t understand the things I suddenly want. Or the way he makes me feel but… I know I never want him to leave my side.” “He is very beautiful,” J nodded. “That’s not it!” Hiiro snapped to look at him clearly astounded by the comment but J only cocked a knowing brow at him. “Well, yes… he is, of course,” the boy stammered. “But that’s not the reason why,” he explained running a hand through his messy fall of bangs. “It’s just... he seems to… complete me,” he said once again turning his gaze to gauge his fathers reaction. J sat for a moment before a gentle smile spread over his face. “That is the first thing you have said since your mother’s death that I believe would make her truly happy,” he told him affectionately. “Then you don’t mind?” Hiiro grinned in relief. “How could I deny you anything that makes your eyes shine so bright?” the man smiled. “But what are Duo’s thoughts on the matter?” “We’re going on a picnic,” the boy replied regaining his feet. “You made up?” G grinned widely. “I apologized last night,” Hiiro informed them. “And he accepted?” G wondered glancing again at the painting. “Mostly,” Hiiro nodded. “Extraordinary.” “What of your studies?” J inquired thoughtfully. “We’re going tomorrow,” the boy informed him. “He’s gone into town today to lecture at the school.” “What?” G raised a brow then softened as he chuckled warmly. “Typical Duo.” “If you’ll excuse me?” Hiiro suddenly bowed gently. “Wufei’s temperament sours considerably when he is made to wait.” “Of course,” J smiled knowing full well his son was in need of some serious venting and his favorite sparing partner was in for one hell of a workout. ** SLAM! “Uff!” Wufei groaned finding himself once again with his back on the floor. “What are you grinning at?” he groused rolling to sit up. “Your in bad form today,” Hiiro smirked. “My form is fine,” the Chinese boy grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet. “But your entire technique has changed,” he observed through narrowing eyes. “What happened?” “Nothing,” Hiiro shrugged but he couldn’t entirely wipe what he knew to be a stupid smile from his face. “Nothing,” Wufei repeated skeptically. “Were you accepted into the academy early?” “No,” his sparing partner chuckled. “Are you pregnant?” “What?!” Hiiro laughed tossing a towel in his friends face. “Well there must be some explanation,” Wufei snickered. “You’re positively glowing.” “Can’t a guy be happy once in awhile?” Hiiro smiled. “Not you,” his companion chided. “I didn’t even know you knew how to smile.” “I smile,” Hiiro countered. “Once,” Wufei bargained. “At Christmas. When J gave you your first hand gun.” Where it not for the smart-ass grin on the Chinese boy’s lips Hiiro might have thrown more than another towel in his face. However, Wufei had been his closest friend since they started training together as children. They understood each other on a level only a lifetime of companionship can achieve. Or at least, he had thought so until he met Duo. “Why don’t you come up to the house this weekend for dinner?” he suggested feeling very covert all of a sudden. “Isn’t General Barton arriving this weekend?” Wufei inquired. “He’ll be here Friday evening,” Hiiro confirmed. “It would be a great opportunity for you to introduce yourself before the trials.” “It would indeed,” Wufei smiled. “We’ll expect you Saturday night then,” Hiiro returned before going to clean up. ** “Wow,” Duo sighed dancing up to the crest of the lush, green hill he and Hiiro were walking over. This was the time of year when the grass was so green and thick you sank up to your ankles in it. Every manor of insect from butterfly to gnat to dragonfly flitted above the taller tips of dozens of different kinds of wildflowers, their wings glinting in the sun making the entire scene seem as if a day in the life of a fairy dream. Duo looked around taking a deep breath of the sweet scented breeze that tugged gently at his hair before turning a sun warmed smile on his companion. “It’s so beautiful.” “…………” “Hiiro?” “Hm?” “Is it like this every year?” the braided boy asked gazing around again. “I suppose,” Hiiro smiled getting them moving again. “Your very lucky,” Duo grinned. “I am now,” Hiiro replied delighting in the soft blush the comment drew from his companions cheeks. It was so odd. He’d spent most of his life roaming these hills yet there seemed to be a wealth of beauty and wonder right at his feet that he’d never noticed before. There was no doubt in his mind that it was Duo’s presence that had awakened his senses. He seemed to see beauty in everything his eyes lighted upon. Several times on their journey they had stopped so he could sketch some oddly formed stand of flowers or the wings of a great lunar moth that had died while clinging to the bark of an ancient oak. Things that until that day, Hiiro had considered irrelevant in the extreme. Now however, he could easily see the great wealth and value of each and every blade of grass beneath his feet. It was quite a revelation. “What?” “Hm?” “You keep staring at me,” Duo chuckled. “Sorry,” Hiiro snickered at himself as well. “It’s just… it’s a bit like looking through a prism when I see the world through your eyes.” “…………” “Ahem… It’s just over here,” Hiiro urged realizing he had said something terribly significant but unable to retract it. The last thing he wanted to do was make Duo uncomfortable with misspoken prose or squishy declarations of love. Any fear that the violet-eyed boy might dwell on the comment was washed away when he gasped at the sight of the waterfall down in the valley before them. “Oh, Hiiro. It’s beautiful,” Duo breathed already reaching for his sketch pad. Hiiro merely chuckled softly and unloaded his pack to begin setting up the picnic he’d brought along. The blanket was lain, the food unpacked and half a bottle of tea drank as he sat silently watching Duo work before the longhaired boy suddenly came back to himself. “Oh geez,” Duo chuckled blushing warmly in the afternoon sun. “How long?” “An hour,” Hiiro smiled. “Sorry.” “For what?” Hiiro shrugged kicking back more comfortably in the soft grass. “I found it most enjoyable,” he smiled before offering Duo one of the tea’s as well. “I get a little distracted sometimes,” Duo explained. “Were you distracted when you did the painting of that man?” It wasn’t something he had planned to ask about but the hideous scene weighed heavily on his mind forcing the words from his mouth before he had a chance to consider them. The subject obviously wasn’t a comfortable one for Duo but he chose to answer just the same. “I was hurt,” he replied gazing once again at the softly singing waterfall below them. Hiiro suddenly found it difficult to look at him as well but he needed to know more about this than G was willing to tell him. “I’m sorry,” he offered again. “It’s not really all your fault,” Duo sighed sitting down beside him on the blanket. “I suppose its just human nature to base judgments on what you know.” “A mistake I regret with all my heart,” Hiiro softly intoned as if to no one in particular. The gentle smile Duo offered him in return served to take a good deal of the sting out of it until his brow knit and he replied, “I’m not so sure I trust you.” Hiiro might have been cut to the bone by the comment save for the smile widening on Duo’s lips. “You’re making it much to easy to forgive you,” the longhaired boy informed him infecting Hiiro with the affectionate smile as well. For a moment there seemed to be nothing more to the world than that meadow and the siren call of the falls until Hiiro’s mind once again came around to the darkened memory of that canvas. “G said the painting was a lie,” he commented hoping to keep his tone casual but from Duo’s falling expression he knew he hadn’t managed it. “I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I just can’t stand the idea of him hurting you.” “Oh he hurt me alright,” Duo snorted causing Hiiro’s brow to crease angrily. “Stuck a five inch kitchen knife in my thigh.” Ouch. He’d almost forgotten about that part in his concern for Duo’s virtue. “I survived though. Just like I always do,” Duo shrugged. “It’s happened before?” Hiiro heard himself ask once again before he could weigh the question. “Street rats are good for two things,” Duo informed him evenly. “Hard labor and whore houses.” “You’re no street rat!” Hiiro snapped. “Is anyone?” Duo replied once again staring down at the falls. Hiiro had no idea how to respond to that for a time. His first reaction was only to once again claim that Duo was no such thing but in all honesty he knew he had grown up on the street just like so many other urchins and misbegotten souls. Were there more like him down there in the shadows of his own town? Where there men treating other young boy’s the way Duo had been treated? “No one’s ever succeeded,” Duo commented bringing him back with shocked relief from the dark thoughts that were slowing boiling inside him. “You looked like you might need to kill something there for a minute,” he chuckled lying back on the ground so he could gaze up at the fluffy white clouds drifting by. “Duo,” Hiiro breathed moving to look down on him. “I’m sorry but I need to know. That man…” “The painting is a lie,” Duo smiled gently. “Just like G said. I slit his throat before he could even touch me.” “Oh, thank Heaven.” It was at that particular moment of release that Hiiro suddenly realized he was hovering mere inches over the beautiful, chestnut haired boy and found he suddenly couldn’t breathe. Why did sunlight turn to gold when it touched his hair? How come the breeze seemed to linger about him almost as if it longed to hold him in its embrace? Even the clouds above had taken up residence in his eyes, eyes as deep as a violet sea rolling within the confines of Heaven. Skin as fine as polished stone and lips so supple in their sensual perfection. “Shall we eat?” DAMN! It took a great deal of will power and several silent curses for Hiiro to pull away from that moment unfulfilled but he wanted much more from this boy than just a kiss. Forcing the issue was not going to win him what he really wanted and he knew nothing short of Duo’s heart was going to do. The afternoon was spent in blissful companionship. Duo appeared as curious about Hiiro’s militaristic life as he was about Duo’s shaded past. It was so odd listening to him spin tales about gang raids on food stores and hiding in crates at night. There had been a certain time in Duo’s youth when an abandoned building had become his home and a band of rag tag orphans his family but he had lost them one by one until he was all that remained. Another bright spot he spoke of involved an old priest and nun that took him in for a while but they two had come to an untimely end. The more they spoke and got to know each other the more Hiiro felt his heart slipping away. He sat quietly for a time just watching him paint the canvas he had brought along, his mind attempting to piece together how a simple stroke of the brush brought life and spirit to the emptiness before him. What had once been a simple white plain now bore the image of the falls below only in Duo’s vision the colors were brighter, the forms somehow connected on a deeper level and Hiiro found himself hopelessly mesmerized by the sight of Duo and his creation. He was sorely disappointed when it came time to leave but his afternoon meeting couldn’t be rescheduled. “We should be getting back,” he informed him. “Oh… umm. Why don’t you go ahead?” Duo suggested wiping his brush on his paint-splattered towel. “I really want to finish this while I have the same light.” “Alright,” Hiiro agreed. “You’ll find your way back ok?” he asked packing up the rest of the picnic supplies. “Hiiro,” Duo chuckle wryly. “All you have to do it go `up`. Your house is on the top of the highest hill.” “Mount Olympus,” Hiiro teased. “That would explain a few things,” Duo mumbled. “What was that?” It would seem this would be one of those afternoons when smiles could simply not be warded off. “I’ll see you later tonight,” Duo grinned dismissively. Hiiro couldn’t stop smiling all the way back to the house. Everything just seemed so much crisper now. Why had he never laughed at the scurrying rabbits before or seen the blue jay battling the crow? Duo was the key. He was the doorway to life and love and all the things that really mattered in this world. His steps were light and quick so he found his feet on the last trail to home before something suddenly washed warmly across his mind and stilled his progress. Gentle hands and a softly sung melody in a voice so sweet echoed through his mind. His pathway turned automatically toward a small stand of trees where a garden, lush with fragrant flowers and carefully tended ivy grew thick. The large marble stone marking his mother’s grave still shone brightly but then J spent a good deal of time and energy taking care of this place. Hiiro had always felt it a terrible waist of time to devote so much of life to the dead. He hadn’t visited the site himself for some years but suddenly he understood just a little why his father came here so much. He must miss her terribly. Just the thought of looking upon Duo’s gravestone like this brought with it such pain that he felt tears stinging the back of his eyes. “I wish I could remember you better,” he voiced before plucking a delicate yellow flower from a bush to lie upon the stone. “I’ve found him Mother,” he told her. “I really think you would have loved him too.”
~ * ~ tbc... |
