Impossible

A Gundam Wing Fan Fiction

Rambled Off by The Manwell

Book Three: PARTNERS

Heero Yuy

Search and seizure warrants. Forensics. The procurement of secure transportation. Reports. Debriefing. The standard post-assignment health check-up. All of it seems to happen at once. And contrary to popular belief, none of it is remotely interesting or exciting. It is, in fact, utterly draining.

Even though the days following a major break or a promising arrest in a case can be pretty crazy, it's never seemed quite this overwhelming before... but then I'm pretty sure that God hates me.

I blindly grope for the light switch on my way out of my office. I really couldn't care less if I leave the light on over the weekend, but after two years the motion is one hundred per cent pure habit.

I pass my hand over my face as I let the Preventer HQ hallways funnel me down toward Duo's office. This is the part of my day I've been looking forward to since Duo and I had disembarked from our shuttle with suspect in tow this morning.

I allow my expression to soften as I recall Duo's presence over the last three days. During those seventy-two plus hours, I'd alternated between dealing with all the tedious and nit-picky details required for wrapping up an assignment and leaning against Duo's shoulder on strange couches. And I know that Une seems to believe I live to defy the old "no man is an island" saying, but nothing could be further from the truth. If someone must be an island, then that person is Duo. And I'm the silent jungle that sinks its roots into the soil. He holds me safe above the waves. And I hold him together against the occasional storm.

At those somewhat poetic thoughts, I shake my head and wonder if I'm still under the influence of those damned suggestions. But I know I'm not. In fact, the effects of the drug itself wouldn't have lasted more than an hour. And the only thing required to successfully counter the suggestions themselves is the conscious awareness and acceptance of them. Which explains the virus and my purposeful non-communication with Duo. And it answers for my destruction of the only plant I'd ever owned and my having left the vidphone off the hook. Hell, it probably even explains why I'd confessed the depth of my attachment to him while Duo and I had argued in the HQ elevator the week before.

You know, it's not often things in life get wrapped up so neatly.

I know I ought to be happy now. Duo's fine. I'm fine. And we got the guy we'd gone after. Mission complete... more or less, anyway. Still, the ache in my chest hasn't gone away. Maybe I need one more night beside Duo on my couch.

I turn the corner and see Duo's office door standing open. As I cross the remaining distance, I notice the fact the Duo isn't alone. I slow my approach and wait for a clue as to the identity of his guest. I don't want to interrupt him if it's an important conversation.

"... thanks, man. I owe you one."

"It was a small thing to take care of this for you in your absence, Maxwell," I hear Wufei reply. "And you can thank me by convincing Heero to let me make you both dinner tonight at my place."

"You're taking it upon yourself to save us from calling out for delivery?"

"Someone has to."

"And here I didn't think you'd been paying attention whenever I'd mentioned what Heero and I'd been living off of. You know, no matter what the secretaries call you, you're just a big teddy bear with warm, squishy filling, Wuf."

Wufei snorts and I smile.

"So," Duo continues accompanied by the squeaking of two chairs being relieved of their burdens, "let's go find Heero and convince him, then."

At this moment, I step into the doorway and lean against the frame. I watch Duo zip up his travel bag and I catch a glimpse of some kind of small-ish cardboard box before it's concealed completely. "No need," I inform them with a friendly – if tired – smirk. "Convince me now."

"Yuy. Excellent timing. You're going to let Maxwell give you a ride home and you're going to relax before the two of you will arrive at my apartment at nineteen hundred hours."

I meet Duo's gaze and we mutely share a look of amused surprise. After a moment, I transfer my attention to Wufei. "If you're waiting for us to object, we're going to be here for awhile."

"Excellent," Wufei replies. He nods with satisfaction and gathers his jacket up from the back of Duo's guest chair. He and I wait for Duo to turn off the lights and lock his office then all three of us meander down to the elevators. We don't talk about work. Mostly, I listen to Duo trying to get Wufei to tell us what's on tonight's menu. The sound of his voice is the balm my unsettled soul needs tonight and I soak it up unrepentantly.

We part ways in the parking garage and I collapse into the passenger side of Duo's car. He doesn't turn on the radio, but we both roll the windows down as we emerge onto the street. It's a nice evening and the wind scrubbing over my face and through my hair is cleansing.

"You know," Duo muses as he slows for a red light. "I think Wufei missed us. That was a classic display of withdraw."

"Withdraw from what, exactly?" I inquire.

"Bossing us around? Mediating between us? Who knows. The guy's a total head case."

I laugh and Duo grins back at me, sharing the joke. "Pot, meet kettle," I reply when I have the breath.

"Hey. If you're going to compare me to kitchenware, at least liken me to something cool."

I offer up a few off-hand suggestions and we end up debating the coolness-factor of various utensils and appliances. Duo's witty commentary keeps the smile on my face during the entire ride to my apartment. By the time we're in the elevator, we've moved on to discussing "manly" window treatments. Apparently floral and/or pastel valances don't qualify.

Duo waits patiently for me to unlock the door and deactivate the security system. I kick off my shoes and wander into the living room. Behind me, I can hear Duo following my example. I sweep my gaze over the room, part of me checking for anything out of place and part of me just glad to be looking at familiar surroundings again. But then my attention is snagged by the empty window sill beside the couch.

Damn. Just... damn.

I'm not quite sure how to articulate the disappointment I feel. Am I angry with myself for having killed Duo's present? With having let it slip my mind that I had? With still expecting to see it there? With not being able to watch it bloom next year? All of the above?

"Hm..." Duo muses from directly behind me. If I'd still possessed the feeling in the skin along my back and neck, I probably would have been able to feel his body heat through my shirt. Yet another thing to wish for...

Into my silence, Duo comments lightly, "This place looks like it needs something..." And with that, one hand arcs around me, holding up the box I'd seen him zip up inside his bag back at HQ.

With a slight frown, I take the parcel from him. I may not be able to feel his heat, but I can feel the pressure of his weight against my muscles. He lowers his chin to my shoulder and wraps his arms around my waist. His silence is as comforting as his unexpected embrace and I feel myself relaxing into him.

I pry the lid off the box and what I see inside steals the breath from my throat. "You..." I hear myself say on an exhalation.

His arms tighten around me. "Your window sill seemed kinda empty without it."

I stare down at the tiny cactus carefully packed in the box. I can see that the pot is new and slightly different from the original. A little bigger. But the plant itself... I can see on one side where quite a few of the spines had been broken off by impact. The barrel is also slightly lopsided, but otherwise, it looks fine.

"I... I don't understand. When I threw it..."

Duo gives me another reassuring squeeze. "It looked a lot worse than it really was. The spines actually absorbed and dispersed a lot of the impact. Mostly what you saw was the roots all tangled up. I just had to repot it and ask Wufei to babysit it for me while we were gone."

Still stunned and unable to comprehend what I'm holding in my hands, I lean away far enough to look into his eyes. "But, how...?"

I both watch and feel Duo shrug behind me. "I like fixing things, Heero. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

I don't know what to say. I just stare down at the cactus I never thought I'd have another chance to watch bloom. I'm tied up in all the words I could say but just aren't heavy enough to convey the sincerity of my meaning. How is it Duo Maxwell always manages to give me the impossible?

Drawing in a shaky breath, I murmur the only thing I can think of to tell him, "I don't know what to say."

"Well... a 'thank you, Duo' would be nice," he teases me gently.

I feel a smile coming over me and I dutifully parrot his words back to him: "Thank you, Duo."

"You're welcome, man." Our gazes remain locked for a long moment before his grin brightens and his eyes narrow in a warm smile. "That wasn't half bad for a first attempt," he congratulates me. "Maybe next time you could try giving me a kiss, too."

My breath freezes in my lungs even as my heart starts beating double time at the thought. I don't try to hide my reaction. Duo's wrapped around me so completely I know he can feel it with his entire body. The moment stretches between us but Duo doesn't release his hold on me, doesn't twitch, barely breathes.

And eventually, I find enough of my voice to answer him. "Maybe I will."

His answering smile is so brilliant it makes my chest ache. I'm tempted to lean forward and try giving him that kiss now, but he briefly tightens his arms around me one last time before stepping away and collecting his bag.

"Is it all right if I use your bathroom to change out of my uniform? Then we'll hang out on the couch and watch your cactus grow for a while?"

A soft chuckle vibrates past my lips. "Yeah. Go for it."

I watch him walk away but not until the bathroom door closes behind him do I move. Striding into my own room and quickly changing into a comfortable pair of jeans and a T-shirt, I can't help but marvel at the sight of the little cactus currently sitting on my dresser, patiently waiting to be restored to its rightful spot on the window sill in the other room. How many things that I'd thought I'd never get a chance to experience has Duo made possible in the last hour? And, thinking further back, how many things I'd once believed to be impossible has he offered me since we'd first met?

I can't even begin to count them.

But I can allow myself to experience them.

And, I decide, right now is the perfect time to start.

End of PARTNERS