Author: Rally
E-mail: rallycollins@aol.com
Date: May 4, 2006
Disclaimer: I own... I own... Hmm... Okay, Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu own Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. I own the story text. Huh? I think Bandai, Sunrise & Sotsu have the better end of the bargain. Oh, well! Story inspiration goes to Ladybug Oblivion. Thanks, babe. (to Lady O) And I'm still waiting for the companion story "Tenryu"! Hurry it up will ya!
He supposed that he should be grateful that there was at least one room in the building with all four walls intact. Walls were good for keeping some of the winter's worst out of his sleeping area. Not that they prevented the icy glare Heero had firmly fixed in Duo's direction or the look of determination frozen on his face. Heero would not rest until all his questions had been adequately answered. The only problem with that was that Duo didn't have all the answers and he certainly didn't have answers that would be up to Heero's high expectations.
At the river, when Duo felt someone step into the water behind him the only thing going through his mind was, "Don't let it be Heero. Don't let it be Heero. Dear God, don't let it be Heero." If it had been anyone else, Duo could have dealt efficiently with the situation. The ol' you-saw-me-now-you-have-to-die adage came about to solve exactly that problem. But the other Gundam pilots were exempt from that particular rule and he was reasonably certain that specific people would be a teeny bit miffed if he tried to do in Heero. "Try" being the key word. The boy was a perfect soldier, after all.
Of course, it had to be Heero standing there with his gun drawn, water halfway up to his knees and his bottom jaw somewhere in the vicinity of his ankles. That was, by far, the most Duo had seen Heero express, ever. And then Duo managed to catch the look in Heero's eyes. Fear. Paranoid fear. Of him. What the hell did Heero have to fear from him?
The boy hadn't so much as twitched when he'd blown himself up. That he hadn't given a second thought, but when Duo sprouted a couple of wings, Heero was ready to run screaming into the night. Y'know, if it hadn't been for his trusty firearm. There's nothing like a paranoid with his gun pointed at your vulnerable parts to get the ol' blood flowing. Okay, that was a bad choice of words. There was nothing like a paranoid with his gun pointed at your vulnerable parts to get you thinking, "How in the name of God do I get him to put the pretty little revolver down and make nice?"
For Duo, the only acceptable response was to make a joke. Several of them in fact and he'd come up with the dumbest lines he could think of to ease Heero out of his panic and save his own sorry ass. It wasn't like he meant to scare the shit out of Mr. Nothing-Phases-Me-'Cause-I'm-an-Automaton. Duo didn't realize it was even remotely possible.
"Duo." Oh, good. It was Mr. Automaton. "You've been silent for exactly two minutes. Get on with your explanation."
Right. Explain. "Heero?" Duo took a deep breath and then let it out as slowly as he could manage. "Y'know, how I call myself 'Shinigami?'"
"Does this have a point?" Heero always was an impatient bastard.
"Yes, it does and I think you'll find it quite fascinating."
He grunted. "Then, yes, I do."
"Well, it turns out I really am." That was nice concise answer. It revealed everything Heero could ever want to know. He couldn't possibly have any more questions.
"You am what?"
Then, again... "Shinigami." Heero gave a blank stare. "Y'know, Death? I'm Death."
"What?"
"Okay, I guess, I'm more like an Angel of Death, but same difference, right?"
Out came the cute little pistol. Funny how it didn't seem quite so cute when it was aimed at your brain pan. "I thought I made it perfectly clear that you will die if you don't tell me what I want to know."
Duo slowly splayed his hands over his knees. He didn't want to get shot tonight. He definitely didn't want to get shot tonight over something as stupid as an explanation. And he positively didn't want to get shot tonight by Heero over something as stupid as an explanation. He kept his tone neutral. "Heero, I'm not a spy. I'm not a traitor. I'm not anything you have any reason to fear or distrust. I am an angel. There's nothing else I can tell you."
"Duo." The single word held all flavors of warning.
It was like trying to open a Gundanium-alloy door by repeatedly beating your head against it. Duo held back a huff of frustration. All the physical evidence backed his story. Heero was anything but stupid. There had to be a communication error somewhere, a glitch that affected Heero's ability to comprehend what he was being told. "I don't know any other way of saying it."
"Duo, I know when someone is lying to me."
That was it. Duo sprung to his feet. "Dammit, Heero! You know damn well, I'm not lying! I never lie." He took a step toward Heero but thought better of taking another when Heero raised his aim. Instead, he flailed his arms in an attempt to get his point across without actually threatening the man with the deadly weapon. "Do you think this is easy for me? I'm trying, alright?" He dropped back to the floor, deflated, his head cradled between both palms, gaze fixed firmly on the wooden planks of the floor. He was sick of the image of Heero pointing that thing at him and refused to see it any longer. "I'll answer your questions, just put that thing away. I'm not going anywhere."
"So, you're an angel. What else?"
"Huh?" Without meaning to Duo's eyes flashed up.
Heero was smiling. "You heard me." The bastard grinned like the goddamn Cheshire Cat. What the hell?