Ice

by Kellen

First of "30 Smiles" themes: (#12) Ice Skating

Summary: Duo's escape after a mission is compromised by enemy soldiers, snow and ice.

Rating: K+ (PG) for minor violence

Disclaimer: If I owned Gundam Wing or held stock in any of its affiliates, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

Additional disclaimer: I'm not "officially" doing the 30 Smiles themes. I took up the challenge unofficially, did not join any community and did not make my intentions known to anyone. I've also reworked a couple small themes here and there. I'm doing this merely for my own exercises (and because a friend made an off-hand comment about loving to see me get into the heads of the GW guys). See my profile for additional challenge info.

Author's Notes: I'm not new to fanfic, but I am new to Gundam Wing. Please send your constructive criticism. Thank you.

"I'll have to kill him. Seriously. I can't believe… oof…" The quiet tirade was cut short as the slight young man fell gracelessly backward, wincing as his braid was caught between the ice and his shoulders. Violet eyes closed for a moment before he tried pushing himself to his feet.

It wasn't working.

Duo Maxwell scrambled for some semblance of balance on the ice and finally ended up crab-walking forward, grumbling all the while. His right hand slipped, sliding out from under him and he fell hard, his shoulder cracking against the white ice. His head hit the ground, and for a moment, Duo was sure that the stars in the sky weren't the only stars he was seeing.

He lay there for a minute, cataloging the stars in the bright clear sky. They really were quite pretty. Jewels in the sky and all that.

It wasn't until the gunshots rang out that he remembered something vitally important: He was supposed to be escaping. It wouldn't do for the OZ soldiers to catch him with some of their vital documents on his person.

Duo rolled onto his stomach, cursing Heero and his plan. Send someone in without the gundams. Do it stealthily. Meet in the forest a few clicks from the base. Hand off the disks, and split up. Get deeper into the wilderness, get your transportation off the ground, and head for the safe house.

It sounded so simple when Heero explained it.

He just neglected to mention the base was in Greenland.

And it was December. In the middle of the night.

Above the Arctic Circle.

Heero was going to die.

Shouts echoed behind him. Duo grimaced as he tried to get his feet underneath him. A handful of soldiers crowned the hill behind him as he finally gained his feet and stumbled ungainly forward. A cry went up at the soldiers spotted him. Duo swore he could hear the guns being primed behind him.

The night seemed to explode in deafening noise as bullets rained down, some ricocheting just inches from his feet, some lodging in the ice beside and behind him.

Yeah, Shinigami was going to pay a visit to Heero for this one.

Never mind it was Duo's own clumsiness that sent him tumbling down the slope and onto the iced over pond in the first place.

He was almost to the edge of the pond when he heard a yelp behind him. Duo spun, his own sidearm ready and nearly laughed at the sight that greeted him. Apparently one of the soldiers had the same trouble with the snowy embankment that he had. The soldier tumbled end over end a few more times before landing with a thud and an ominous crack on the ice and sliding forward.

Duo only blinked as the soldier neared him. The passing thought that he could shoot him was dismissed as quickly as it came; somehow even the God of Death couldn't kill someone who was helplessly flailing as they slid across ice.

The soldier crashed into Duo's legs, sending the young man pitching headfirst over him. Duo's forearm hit first, and he yelped as it scraped across the ice. His pistol flew from his grip. Duo watched it fly out of his reach with a sinking heart.

At least the guys on the ridge had stopped shooting for the moment. Duo rolled, landing in a crouch, eyeing the soldiers above him warily. They were being somewhat humane, holding their fire in deference of their comrade

The soldier who'd slid into him turned and, showing what was, in Duo's opinion, entirely too much grace on the slick surface, aimed his weapon directly between the young pilot's eyes.

"Would dropping that be too much to ask?" Duo asked, a nervous smirk playing on his countenance.

The soldier grunted and only seemed to hunker down over his weapon, securing his aim.

Duo's hands slowly lifted.

A crackling sound filled the still air.

The soldier looked up. Duo blinked. They cursed in unison and both dove for the nearest snow-covered bank. The ice cracked split behind them and they hit the bank in a flurry of snow, pieces of ice, water and curses. Duo scrambled up the bank, hoping to use the distraction to disappear into the tree line just twenty short feet in front of him.

He made it two steps before he was tackled.

Heero's life was threatened again as Duo fell face-first into knee-deep snow amid full-throated shouts and whoops.

Duo twisted desperately, dislodging the soldier on his back and shot forward, pointedly not turning to gauge the distance between him and the rest of the men sliding down the hill behind him.

"Stop!" The man gained his feet, bringing the gun to bear on Duo's retreating back.

"Not a chance in hell," Duo muttered, and jigged to the right. A tree branch shattered to his left.

"I'll shoot!"

"Obviously." This time Duo dove for the cover of the trees, his long braid trailing behind him as he zigged and zagged, weaving his way deeper into the forest.

More shots rang out behind him. A searing pain erupted in his calf and he pitched forward, catching himself on his hands and wincing as pain shot through his left leg. He ignored it as best he could and limped forward.

Weaponless and wounded with at least ten soldiers coming after him.

Duo nodded to himself. He'd kill Heero, even if he had to come back from hell to do it.

He'd only managed a few more steps before something rolled underneath his foot. His ankle turned and he fell sideways, once more into the snow. He came up sputtering and slightly panicked; he wasn't making any progress and the damned OZ soldiers were within sight, weapons leveled at him.

Coming to take him prisoner.

Not that he was going to let that happen.

Duo, kneeling in the snow, grit his teeth and watched them come. Seven of them came from in front and beside him. If he remembered right, that meant four more were circling around behind him. He reached for his pistol, only to remember that it had been his back-up weapon he'd lost on the ice when his hand encountered an empty holster. He nearly started pounding his head in frustration against the tree next to him. "What am I gonna do?" he muttered angrily. "Throw snowballs?"

He blinked.

"Well… when all else fails…" He started gathering snow.

"Hands in the air!"

Duo looked up, perusing the soldier that spoke. He grinned. "Sure thing, buddy." With a smirk, he let loose the handfuls of snow.

The men with the guns didn't flinch.

Duo cursed. The man who'd spoken stepped closer, a scowl marring his features. "Can't blame a guy for tryin', right?" Duo said gamely.

The man reached for him, hand clasping around his arm roughly and pulled the younger man to his feet.

There was a roar, and Duo saw the man's eyes widen. A second later, a gun shot echoed and the man dropped. Duo fell with him, wincing as he leg was jarred. Snow flew around him, and someone else's hand closed around Maxwell's arm. Snarling, Duo jerked away from the grip and reached for the dead man's gun just inches from his fingers.

The gun was kicked out of his reach, and someone grabbed the base of his braid and yanked backward hard enough that Duo found himself falling in that direction, his hands instinctively clasping the base of his skull to relieve the pressure.

Gunshots began to echo around him. Duo spun, ignoring the hair-pulling, and lashed out at the person behind him with his good leg. A thud and a small exclamation accompanied the loosened grip on his braid. Duo came out of his crouch, right fist driving into his attacker's solar plexus, felling him with that blow.

A roar drowned out the weapons fire for a moment, and then Duo was showered with flying snow. As the snow settled, the pilot couldn't help but grin. There was Heero, astride a snowmobile, beckoning him with one hand and keeping a weapon trained on his enemies with the other.

Duo didn't hesitate; he limped the few steps needed and jumped aboard behind Heero. Without waiting, Heero gunned the engine and the snowmobile shot forward, leaving a few remaining gunshots and then the only sound became the blessed sound of the engine running.

In less than a minute, another snowmobile caught up to them. Duo turned to see Trowa following the path Heero carved.

Heero shouted something, and Duo faced forward. "What?"

"The disk," Heero said. "Did you get those documents?"

Duo closed his eyes and started muttering.

Heero stopped the snowmobile. Trowa shot ahead of them before turning back and halting near them. "Are you going to answer me, Maxwell?"

Duo looked up, glaring. "Hey, Duo. How you doing? You ok? Bit of a sticky situation you got there. Glad to see you're ok. Oh, is your leg bleeding? And your arm! What happened there?" He paused. "I'm fine, I'm fine really. No need to fuss."

Heero merely raised an eyebrow. "The disk?"

There was silence for a moment before Duo spoke. "Yes, I got the damn disk. Are you happy?"

"Inordinately." Heero started the snowmobile again, leaving Trowa to again take the rear. Duo thumped his head against Heero's shoulders.

Yeah, he'd really kill Heero one of these days.

The End

I hope you enjoyed the ride.

Cheers,