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"Telling Tales"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: R Warnings: Post War Cannon, Angst, sap, WAFF ^_^ Pairings: 1x2 Summary: Duo works desperately to give Hiiro a reason to live when a rescue mission goes wrong. "Telling Tales"
“…’for the winds of November blow harshly. ‘Sparrow, why are you so sad?’ the ice fairy asked. ‘I don’t want to leave you,” he replied snuggling his head in her tiny arms one last time. ‘But, why must you leave?” she sniffed while crystalline tears formed and fell from her snow-white eyes.” Cough! “What the hell’re you reading?” “Hiiro!?” Duo hissed scurrying closer to his fallen partner. “Hey,” he smiled and Hiiro found strength in the light of relief in his eyes. “Geez, man. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever planning on waking up.” “St…status?” Hiiro croaked through a wet cough that brought a painful grimace to his face and careworn lines to Duo’s. “In a world of shit,” he chuckled as he checked under the field dressing on his partner’s chest. “The building collapsed.” “Casual…ties?” Duo paused for a long moment before answering quietly, “Unknown, but I got the girl out.” Hiiro acknowledge with a shallow nod as he closed his eyes against the pain. “Can you get out?” “Not unless you know how I can dig through three stories of debris with my bare hands,” Duo sighed then reached behind him. “Here, drink,” he told him holding what appeared to be the tubing off a toy to his lips. Hiiro sucked weakly but greedily and Duo smiled. “We got lucky,” he told him cheekily. “The kid had a collection of water balloons in the closet.” “Tastes like jet fuel,” Hiiro grimaced distastefully. “Careful,” Duo chuckled. “You’ll hurt Fido’s feelings.” “Fido?” Duo’s brow knit worriedly at the distant sound of Hiiro’s voice as he displayed one of the decorated balloons to his partner. “See?” he smiled shoving a pink bauble into his line of sight. “She drew bunny ears on this one. I was gonna call him Harry but… Hiiro?!” His chest constricted, his arms automatically reaching out to grip his injured friend and shake him impulsively when Hiiro’s eyes rolled back in his head. “Hey! Stay with me, man! They’re coming,” he assured him with a sigh of relief when Hiiro’s eyes refocused. “Did he leave her?” “What?” Duo asked shaking off the chill that had settled over his shoulders. “The sparrow.” Duo blinked at him for a moment as the knowledge of just how hard his partner was trying seated in his brain then smiled and retrieved the book. “I dunno,” he shrugged curling up beside his fallen partner. “Let’s find out.” ’But, why must you leave?” she sniffed while crystalline tears formed and fell from her snow-white eyes. ‘It is our way,’ the sparrow replied sadly. ‘This world is much to cold for me to remain here.’ ‘Then I shall come with you,’ the little ice fairy declared. ‘No,’ the sparrow sighed, ‘you would melt in the southern heat.’ “Poor fellow,” Duo commented holding up the book so Hiiro could see the picture. “If he really loved her,” Hiiro rasped coughing moistly before he continued, “he would find a way.” “He does,” Duo smiled turning the page to reveal a startling transformation as the sparrow stretched his tiny wings and became a brilliantly white snowbird. “True love prevails,” “Let’s hope so.” “What?…….. Hiiro? Hey, man? You ok?” “What else is in that book?” Hiiro inquired managing to move his left arm to a more comfortable position. “It’s full of bedtime stories,” Duo informed him flipping through the pages. “Oh, hey,” he grinned holding it up again. “Check out this serpent. It barely fits in the bedroom.” “Spirit,” Hiiro whispered tiredly, “of the spring.” “Hiiro?” Duo called sitting up to check his partners dressing again. He kept his face from revealing just how bad he thought it was but his stomach turned over at the sight of all the blood. They had gone into the disaster relief business with full knowledge of the dangers but he never thought they would end up buried under a building in a tornado zone reading fairy tales. Hiiro’s eyes blinked dazedly calling Duo close to him and he could feel the enormous effort in the Japanese boy when his vision cleared. “Beautiful,” Hiiro breathed softly. “W…what?” Duo gaped uncertain if he were actually seeing him or perhaps some heavenly body meant only for his eyes. “The princess… her vanity caused her grief…” “Princess?” For a moment he wasn’t sure what Hiiro was talking about then remembered the book. “There is a princess,” he smiled flipping the page. “And a spring. You know this story?” “She bathed in the spring,” Hiiro rasped weakly. “Yeah,” Duo grinned lying by his side again. “Because she thought she was too good for a regular tub... But on this night, when the princess went to bathe in the clear water of the spring she came upon a child. ‘Fair Princess, won’t you take me to your home and care for me?’ ‘Of course not,’ she replied for the child was ugly. ‘I shall give you this comb,’ the child promised offering it to her and she smiled at the delicate enchantment contained in the lovely pearls inlaid in the handle. “Oh man,” Duo shook his head. “Never take presents from strangers. This gal wasn’t to swift was she?” Hiiro chuckled and motioned for him to continue. ’Won’t you let me sleep in your bed?’ the child beseeched. ‘NO!’ the princess refused. ‘But I have given you all that you desire.’ ‘Oh, very well.’ The princess ignored the ugly child allowing him to curl up on the foot of her bed as she drew the resplendent comb through her long, dark hair until she finally fell asleep. She was still clutching it in her hand when she awoke to a frightening sight. The child had gone and in its place there coiled a huge snake. Its body was so big her father could not open the door to aid her when she screamed. “It’s gonna eat her?!” Duo gasped in dismay and Hiiro laughed hard enough to make him cough up blood. “Just… read.” Duo waited until he was settled again and the fear that had gripped his chest subsided before he complied. ’Please! Please do not eat my daughter!’ the king begged. ‘She is vain and spoiled,’ the snake hissed hovering over the girls shivering body. ‘But she is still my child!’ the king cried. ‘I will give you anything, but please, spare her!’ ‘She has poisoned my spring with her human form,’ the snake hissed tightening its coils. ‘However, I can see you are a man of honor and humility. I will spare her life on one condition.’
“………………” “What?” Hiiro coughed. “Did you hear something?” Duo asked scrambling to his feet. Hiiro let his head loll so that he could watch as his partner placed his head close to a fallen beam and listened. “It’s Quatre!” Duo crowed suddenly. “He’s hitting the beam somewhere above us,” he explained scrounging around for something to reply with and Hiiro grimaced when the ringing of a steel pipe on the iron beam resounded in the small room. Duo acknowledged their position conveyed their status using old military codes to inform their rescuers of Hiiro’s dire condition before turning a bright grin on his teammate then instantly paled when he got a look at the distant glaze in Hiiro’s eyes. “Hiiro!” he barked falling to his knees beside him, “Come on, man! Don’t go there, they’re coming. You don’t think Quatre would give up do you?” he laughed brushing sweat soaked bangs from Hiiro’s eyes but they remained unfocused and glassy as he pulled him to his chest and begged, “Please… don’t leave me here alone.” COUGH! “Hiiro!?” “Hurts.” “Oh, shit!” Duo gasped laying him back on the floor. “Sorry, I just… I thought…” “Read,” Hiiro groaned and Duo sighed heavily understanding how much he was depending on the sound of his voice. ’She will become my servant.’ ‘Anything!’ the king sobbed. ‘Just spare her life!’ Duo took a moment to lay his hand on Hiiro’s damp brow and say a silent pray to the snake god himself. The following morning the princesses bedroom was filled to the ceiling with pearls and precious stones from the sea. A gift from the snake god in appreciation for the love of a father for his daughter but the king’s pleas that he reconsider the sentence went unheeded. ‘Fair Princess,’ the snake spoke along the road to his home. ‘Have you the comb I gave you?’ ‘I do,’ she replied. ‘Is that the only treasure you brought?’ ‘What treasure does a servant girl require?’ she asked sadly. ‘I grow weary,’ the snake hissed softly. ‘May I rest my head on your shoulder?’ ‘If it pleases you,’ she agreed. The journey was long and hard and the snake’s head resting upon her shoulder weighed her down with fatigue and misery but she refused to stop for she knew in her heart it was her fault her fathers heart had been broken, it was her sin that had poisoned the snake gods spring and it would be her own atonement that brought peace about again. “Maybe she’s not such a ditz after all,” Duo shrugged cocking his head when he looked at the picture. “Hey, Hiiro?” “Hn?” his partner grunted distantly. “Check it out, that snakes got eyes just like yours.” Hiiro chuckled painfully and replied in the smuggest voice he could manage, “He’s Japanese.” “Cheeky bastard,” Duo laughed. Soon she began to smell the sea and heard the harsh cry of ocean birds that fly like kites on the wind and forgot her weariness as her heart lightened and her steps quickened. She had almost forgotten the heavy weight of the snakes head on her shoulder as her toes sank in the warm sand until she felt the grip of a hand, a human hand, and turned to discover the snake had become a handsome young man who smiled at her adoringly. ‘But why?’ ‘Every night you would come to my spring and bathe your beauty,’ the snake god explained. ‘But I could not bring myself to harm you for my heart had chosen to love you instead’ “Awwww,” Duo cooed holding up the book. “Look, he took her to his palace under the sea and made her his queen. He was just a big old softy after all!” “He was in love,” Hiiro commented quietly and Duo turned to gaze at him as his eyes slipped closed. He had never considered his partner an authority on the subject. “Drink,” he instructed holding the makeshift straw to Hiiro’s lips but he merely grimaced and turned away. “Come on,” Duo coaxed. “Don’t make me shove this thing up your ass.” Hiiro chuckled painfully again but acquiesced though Duo wasn’t entirely happy with the amount he managed to ingest. “Time?” Hiiro breathed. “Not sure,” Duo replied. “Quatre said at least a couple of hours. They have to dig through the rubble without collapsing it on us,” he explained feeling his gut tighten as Hiiro’s frame relaxed unnaturally and his mouth fell open. “Hiiro?” he called gaining no response. “Hiiro! No way, man! You are not leaving me on the rock alone!” he growled shaking his partner. “Wake up! Wake up, damn it!” “S…stop,” Hiiro hissed. “Don’t you ever do that again!” Duo snapped dropping him on the floor. “You scared the shit out of me!” he growled roughly checking Hiiro’s bandage and packing it with more clothe. “Ah! D…damn!” Hiiro grimaced. “Suck it up!” Duo snapped. “I’ve seen you shake off worse than this and dive into a battle field so if you think I’m gonna sit around down here and baby your ass you’ve got a nut loose and what the hell are you smiling at?!” “Tell me a story,” Hiiro grinned relishing the confounded expression the comment put on Duo’s face. “You want a story,” Duo repeated. “Fine, you want a story, I’ll read you a story. You just keep your damn eyes open and listen or I’m gonna shove this book right up your ass.” The Cock and the Periwinkle Rose. On a tall, ramshackle trellis on the north side of a broken gate, dry and cracked with age grew a solitary Periwinkle Rose. The spring sun was warm and April rains brought with them their cool nourishment but the elegant blossom grew only mildly among its twining vines. What reason was there to exert the energy to fully blossom when this small bloom was all that was needed? The days and nights passed unheeded, neither the sky nor the Earth seeming to notice the presence of the flowering vine until one day a handsome cock strolled through the garden gate. He was unlike any of the twittering songbirds that often visited the garden hunting for their worms and twigs. The rose was fascinated by his brilliant plumage, bright reds and greens swirling in a sea of deep purple and violet…” Duo glanced at Hiiro and though he wasn’t sure why his partner’s gaze demanded it, blushed softly before continuing. The rose watched him day to day laughing at his arrogance when the songbirds declared their love and affection only to be rejected by the proud cock. ‘Why do you hide behind the leaves?’ he asked one day sticking his nose in among the branches. ‘I am not hidden,’ the rose replied. ‘This is simply where I grew.’ ‘But, you are so small.’ ‘So?’ the rose sniffed disdainfully. ‘I see no reason to puff up and have the winds tear at my petals.’ ‘I suppose that is a very practical way of thinking,’ the cock agreed. ‘Still, it would be nice if there were more of you to see.’ ‘Why would you want to look at me?’ the rose inquired shying away when the cock poked his beak deeper into its home. ‘I should think you would be most beautiful,’ the cock smiled, ‘if only there were enough of you to look at.’ And with that he retreated back into the garden to scratch for his dinner…………………………… “Duo?” “Hm?” Duo hummed reading silently over that last part again. “Oh, sorry. It’s just kind of weird how much truth they hide in these silly little stories. So many beautiful things are missed simply because no one takes the time to look at them.” In the days that followed the rose began to change and grow. Within a week not the birds nor the Earth or the sky could easily miss its resplendency as it opened its petals to the heavens and embraced the richness of its life. ‘I see you have decided to fully blossom,’ the cock smiled as the rose drank in the morning dew. ‘Am I pleasing to look upon now?’ the rose asked. ‘Most beautiful,’ the cock nodded happily. ‘Not as pretty as you,’ the rose laughed softly. ‘Me?’ the cock grinned strutting about to show off his brilliant plumage. ‘I suppose I am rather splendid,’ he sang and the rose blushed softly watching his dance. ‘But not even I can compare to the simplistic beauty of the periwinkle rose,’ he smiled coming to nuzzle the blossom adoringly. ‘Will you stay then?’ the rose asked. “Forever,” Hiiro whispered softly and Duo raised his head to see that he had mostly dozed off. “That’s right,” Duo smiled laying his hand on Hiiro’s flushed brow. “Stay forever.” “Duo!” “Quatre!” Hiiro’s eyes blinked open at the sound of the blond boys name as Duo jumped up and moved about trying to decide where the sound of his voice was coming from. “Down here!” “Duo! Are you alright?” came the miraculous reply. “Yes! NO!” he amended. “Hiiro’s hurt pretty bad! How long before you can get us out?” “We’re not sure,” came Trowa’s even tone. “We heard you talking through the pipe but we still can’t be sure how deep you are.” “We’re going to drop a rope down the pipe to measure,” Quatre informed him. “Tell us when it comes out your side.” “Lower away!” Duo crowed and Hiiro laughed hard enough to send him into a coughing fit again. “What in the hell is your problem?” the longhaired boy grumbled but his partner was in no condition to explain. “You better hurry!” he called back up the pipe grinning at his ailing companion. “I think Hiiro’s gone loopy.” “I think the pipe is blocked!” Quatre called a couple of minutes later. “There’s no way you’re that deep.” “Can you send down some first aide?” Duo asked hopefully. “It’s too small,” Trowa interjected. “If we drop anything down there and it gets stuck it could cut off your air supply,” Wufei’s smooth voice added. “All right guys,” Duo sighed nodding sagely as he glanced at Hiiro’s prone form. “Just hurry.” “Duo?” Hiiro asked a short time later as his longhaired partner sat by his side. “Yeah?” “I have no regrets,” Hiiro whispered softly letting his eyes slowly droop as Duo’s brow knit crossly. “You will if you die on me.” Hiiro coughed and sputtered but laughed through it just the same. “You’re going to punish me after I die?” “You’re not going to die,” Duo stated firmly. “Dying wouldn’t be so bad.” “’Cept I’d chase your ass straight to hell.” “Might even be worth it,” Hiiro grinned dazedly as Duo’s brow knit curiously. “Duo?” The way Hiiro reached out to him as if he were having trouble seeing caused a pain in the longhaired boys chest he hadn’t been wholly prepared for and he clung to the appendage without a second thought. “Hey, man,” he laughed nervously. “I saw this freaky picture of a planet with a face in that book. You wanna hear about it?” “…………” “Talk to me, Hiiro.” “Does it have violet eyes?” Duo blinked at him for a long moment before a smile he didn’t fully comprehend spread over his lips. “Sure, big, violet eyes. There was a shooting star too but I’m sure its eyes were blue.” Terra and the Temple of the Moon. In a galaxy of milky stars in the farthest sector of the universe dwelled a small, blue and green planet called Terra. It was a happy little sphere teaming with life and lush greenery that changed and shifted over the eons but Terra looked forward to one moment more than any other. Every forty years, when the temple of the moon came into view and the sun shown brightly among the chocolate brown crystals, the comet Celeste would slowly rocket nearby shedding her brilliance on all that stood in her path. “Are they all love stories?” Duo grumbled. “Is there any other kind?” Hiiro smiled from behind closed eyes and Duo swallowed when his hand firmly gripped his fingers. For seven glorious days Terra was the happiest planet in the solar system as Celeste told him all about her travels. His favorite was the story of a huge planet a thousand times his size that had to endure storms and toxic clouds. He was a grumpy sort but she spoke fondly of him all the same. It was quite a surprise when he realized as she approached that her path had been altered. Never before had she come so close and he felt wondrously excited by the event until she came close enough to speak and he realized her dismay. ‘Why are you sad?’ he asked. ‘Because this will be the last time I get to see you,’ she replied. ‘What?’ Terra gasped. ‘What happened? Isn’t there anything we can do?’ ‘I collided with a small asteroid,’ she explained. ‘I don’t know how to change my path and at this rate, I’ll surely run into a planet soon.’ ‘No!’ Terra declared settling in to think but three days later, when she had come as close as she would and her light shown more brilliantly than ever, neither had come up with a solution.’ ‘I will join with you,’ the moon offered its sacrifice. ‘How can that be?’ Celeste asked. ‘In the temple of the moon reside the dark crystals. Give them your light and you can stay here with us.’ ‘But what will become of her?’ Terra asked fearfully. ‘The stone that has carried me all these years can make its final flight alone,’ Celeste smiled. ‘My travels are over, I want to make this my home and stay with… “Quatre?” Duo suddenly gasped dropping the book to go inspect the ceiling where he heard the noise of digging. “Quatre!” “Duo!” the blonde’s excited tone replied. “We’re coming! Just hold on! We’ll have you out in a few minutes!” “Did you hear that Hi…!” but his voice froze when his eyes fell on the silent form lying deathly still on the floor. “Hiiro?” He ignored the rubbery feeling in his legs and forced them to take him to his partners side, his chest barely able to breath as he kneeled down and laid a hand to Hiiro’s face, his sight dimming when he felt the clammy skin, his head spinning with the lack of breath, tears falling with the absence of a pulse as his soul slowly wilted under the black veil of morning as he leaned down to gently kiss pale, blue lips goodbye. His heart slammed into his throat when Hiiro’s mouth supply responded, his breath suddenly hissing inward and Duo found he could not retreat because whatever strength Hiiro had left was being used to grip his shirt and hold him fast. “Hiiro?” he gasped grinning down into sparkling azure eyes as the ceiling on the far side of the room collapsed and Quatre poked his head down through the debris. Trowa, Wufei and Sally Po soon followed and Hiiro underwent a field operation to stop the bleeding in his chest before he was air lifted to a nearby hospital. Duo refused to leave his side going so far as to threaten to fly him there himself if they didn’t allow it and remaining in sight while his partner was properly stitched up and tucked into a hospital bed. Sally insisted on checking him over and informed him that they had saved all the occupants of the building that had not been killed by the tornado before their arrival but all Duo could think about was Hiiro so she finally relented and left him to return to his vigil. “You should get some sleep.” “Hey!” Duo grinned snapping out of his half doze to hover over his fallen partner. “You did it,” he smiled feeling very much like he might float away when Hiiro gripped his hand. “Are you ok?” Hiiro asked and Duo beamed a brilliant grin at him. “You’re alive,” he laughed. “I’m freaking fantastic!” Hiiro winced as he chuckled and inquired, “What happened to Celeste?” “Hm? Oh, the comet,” Duo grinned leaning over to pick the book up off the table beside the bed. “You stole it?” Hiiro snickered. “I figure it’s a perk,” Duo smiled opening the pages. “Check it out,” he laughed sitting next to Hiiro on the bed to show him the picture. “Looks like they moved her into the temple after all. I guess all she needed was a home.” “Kiss me again and I’ll build you a palace,” Hiiro smiled and Duo blushed deep down in the roots of his hair. “You remember that, huh?” “It’s the only reason I came back,” Hiiro smirked pulling him down to gently kiss his lips. “Do you have any idea what that does to me?” Duo giggled shifting his weight to accommodate the swelling in his jeans. Hiiro smiled and kissed more deeply before he softly replied, “I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot of fun finding out.” owari :)
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