Warning - YAOI, 1x2, maybe 3x4, maybe 5xS. There will probably be some sort of physical pain later, along with angst. Right now, there is a bit of sap. Ai, my sap muse, was tired of me ignoring her. Here you go, Ai!
Disclaimer - Gundam Wing is not mine. Bandai or Sunrise or whomever owns it. Not me. Never me. I only own my muses and my own little journal, which may have snippets taken out for this story. The snippets from songs I use in this are also not mine, and belong to assorted artists. I am not a songwriter. What I know about writing songs you could flash in Neon in bold 36 print on the rim of a dime. Please do not sue me.
And, again, there is YAOI. Turn back now if you don't want to read. You shouldn't be here!
Footsteps
Chapter 1
Voices tellin' me that I should get some sleep, because tomorrow might be good for somethin'
Heero wasn't exactly in the mood to go around and grab anything that had been left over in the safehouses, but he wouldn't argue. This, too, was necessary to get peace underway. Just another step. Quatre had dispatched all of the gundam pilots out to clean up the safehouses and grab everything that had been left there. So far, Heero had gone to three in the past two days, and had found nothing but an old sock. He could easily guess whom it belonged to.
In honesty, he hadn't seen the braided baka since Marimaia had come through. That had been five months, 23 days, and - he checked his watch - 6.28 hours ago. He shook his head and came upon the first bedroom.
Heero had always claimed the first bedroom, wanting to be the first in attack position if enemies came in pursuit. He never left anything behind. But, the other occupant of the room, unless on a completely separate mission, always seemed to be him... Duo. The guy with the most loose jaw in the universe. The one who would constantly nag and talk and whine and complain and... and always not care about how many times Heero tried to scare him off. He didn't listen to Heero's orders. He was the only one. If Heero told Duo to shut up, his voice would rise to a crescendo. If Heero told Duo to leave him alone, he'd start poking Heero until he finally swiveled around and Duo could talk to the his face.
Heero let himself smile. Duo had shown him all sorts of things. He had made the war somehow bearable. He had made Relena bearable.
He was also a huge slob.
So, Heero cautiously opened the door and stepped silently inside. There were two small beds and a tiny dresser on the far side of the room. The walls were white and the carpet an ugly tan that did nothing to soften the floor's surface. He went over to the dresser that he remembered sharing with Duo and opened the drawer. He never used the thing, but sometimes Duo would place meaningless objects inside.
And, sure enough, there was a black shirt in the second drawer. He picked it up, feeling the smooth texture, smelling the scent of Duo that still lingered. Duo kept saying that Heero wasn't at all human, but whenever the long-haired boy had come close, he had always felt like it. All of him did.
And he reacted now. It was a churning need that almost made him groan. He buried his head into the shirt and breathed deep, allowing himself the luxury that he had never thought to take during the war. Duo. He found himself needing the baka with every day he spent away from him.
His gaze was drawn back to the drawer then, and he gasped despite his training. There was a small diary lying in the drawer, right below where Duo's jacket had been. Why had Duo left it there?
Then he remembered what had made them leave the place. It was one of the times when having the front bedroom had been a good strategic decision. Enemies had barged into the safehouse, and he'd been the first to open fire upon them. They had barely escaped, but they had received minor injuries.
They'd left without packing.
His hand moved of its own accord to pick up the small book. It was definitely some sort of journal. On the front, a single word had been written in Duo's slurred handwriting.
Footsteps'.
He flipped it over, but the other side was clear of words. He scanned it, seeing dates at the top and snippets of sentences.
OZ isn't going easy...'
If only I had...'
The thing was only about halfway full. Heero, dead curious, opened it to the first page. It simply stated that the journal belonged to one Duo Maxwell. He turned the page again, telling himself not to read it. His eyes moved just the same.
A.C. 195, March 6'
This was wrong. He was invading Duo's personal privacy. These were things that Duo had never dared tell anyone, that were his soul's words.
But maybe it would help him understand the beautiful pilot...
He decided to worry about morals after he read the thing and sat down on the floor to begin.
A.C. 195, March 6
I've finally headed out on Deathscythe. You should feel it. The freedom of space, the comfort of the gundam... the power that comes with this strength. I feel like I could do anything. Like I could go out and destroy OZ in one mighty swoop.
But that's impossible. Right now I need to focus on my first mission. I fear to write it down. That would be more than a little reckless.'
Heero silently agreed, then took a double take when he realized that the foolhardy pilot that he'd stayed with wasn't the idiot that Heero'd thought he was. There had been at least a modicum of intelligence behind that ridiculous grin.
Professor G said that I need to focus on staying alive and meeting the mission objectives. No offense to the prof, but I know I need to focus on the damn mission. I just don't see the need to worry about my worthless hide in the process.
Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, happy, bubbly Duo can't possibly be depressed. He can't possibly be feeling anything but goofy happiness, because doesn't he always smile with that dumb expression on his face?'
Heero snapped the diary shut then, unable to read more. What Duo had just written summed up what he'd constantly thought of the pilot. The main reason, other than the war, that he had never pursued any type of alliance with the man. He had thought the guy foolhardy and oblivious to the war, mission, and world in general. Because Duo had ignored proper procedures and had always seemed so damned jovial and light-hearted, Heero had immediately assumed that, like Doctor J had said, he was like the average civilian, innocent to the war and unaware of the devastation clouding the colonies.
How wrong had he been?
A/N: Yes, sap. Ai is very happy now. She may continue to be happy, as this is mainly her fic. But don't worry, those who enjoy angst, Kanashii would be happy to take over sometimes.
I would really really really appreciate it if you e-mailed me about my writing at I would love it. Ai would love it. Kanashii would love it as much as she's capable of loving. And it would feed our inspirations. I have two muses, though, and it takes a lot to keep them sated! HINT HINT Thanx!