Due to the unusual nature of chapter 20, I thought in order to make sure
everyone is on the same page, here is a summary of what happened in the
previous chapter...... I hope this helps.. and that my perception of the
story is the same as yours.......
Summary of Chapter 20 --Chaos-- (this is basically a copy of my outlines...)
1. Heero Yuy's drowning. Insert his thought every other scene
2. Zechs was bathed in his misery that he never had the chance or capability to save the only one he loves, namely Heero. He felt useless. He DID NOT save Heero, again.
3. Relena was still wondering why Zechs hates her.
4. Treize wanted to save Heero because he loves Zechs and wanted to do this for him.
5. Duo finally got to the scene but was prevented by Sally to jump off the cliff with Heero because he has a weak heart. From earlier chapter, I have hinted that he cannot dive. I believe most of you thought that he was afraid of height.... this is not true, and is there to throw you off.....originally, I was going to make this a big deal in chapter 20.. but I got lazy....anyhow... Duo DID NOT save Heero.
6. Odin and Koichi (Heero's father) showdown. Koichi cannot recall Odin. Odin questioned the truth behind Dr. J's death and Koichi's motive of alienating the Yuys and Maxwells.
7. Odin's perspective: PAST TIMELINE:
Koichi and Odin both went to MIT for undergraduate. Koichi graduated first and went to another school for Ph.D. Odin went to work for Dr. J and met Solo when Solo came over one time to look for Dr. J.
Odin and Solo became closer (since Koichi was never around) and when finally Koichi did not show up at Solo and Hilde's wedding, Solo was fed up and decided to forget about Koichi. (when Solo and Hilde got married, Koichi was still finishing up his Ph.D).
Being his assistant, Odin also found out that Dr. J was not happy about Koichi neglecting his family and suspected that the reason behind Dr. J's heartattack was not because of Dr. G but because of Koichi.
8. Koichi's perspective: PAST TIMELINE
Koichi realized that his feeling for Solo would not be returned. He decided to alienate himself from Solo. He got married with some girl he hardly know and even had a child.
The day Dr. J died, he had a bad confrontation with Koichi, asking why he never came home for his child. Koichi hung up the phone and did not answer the phone. This is why when Heero tried to call his father, Koichi never picked up his cell phone, thinking it was Dr. J bugging him again. (Back track to chapter 6, Forgotten Memory). Koichi knew that it was his fault that his father died.
9. Treize pulled Heero out of water.
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Title: Rivals 21/21 woohoo! last chapter!!!
Author: Canisa
Pairing: various , including 1+2 Warning : shounen-ai, AU (no gundam!!!) angst.
Gundam Wing is not mine. I am writing this for my own enjoyment. No profit is being made
Chapter 21 ---The national swimming competition ---
--- ONE YEAR LATER ----
Dorothy had never met a man as handsome as he was. Though there were many swimmers in the pool, warming up for the National competition, her eyes only glued to the gorgeous swimmer. She watched him, standing by the pool side, his hair neatly braided and tugged behind his head. She unconsciously licked her lips as she followed his few strands of chestnut hair carelessly caressing his water glistering body. She secretly wished that they were her fingers....
"You are drooling. Onna."
Dorothy arched her forked eyebrow at the rude remark. Her haughty composure regained as she turned toward the speaker. However, instead of reprimanding, she responded in an equally rude tone. "Who is that man?" Her eyes uncontrallabily returned to the gorgeous sight of the swimmer.
"Someone you can never have, Onna." The Chinese replied coldly.
"Chang Wufei. You have underestimated me." Dorothy ran her finger through her long golden hair. A seductive but purposeful smile lingered at her lips.
"His heart is already taken." The Chinese man turned. "Come'on Onna. Meiran should be here by now. We need to meet up with her at the front gate."
Dorothy let her eyes lingered at the young swimmer just slightly long enough for her to mesmerize his toned body before she turned her heel and followed the Chinese. The tall girl looked to the side, her eyes betrayed none of the disgust as she saw a spot of dirtiness on the wall. When her eyes fell back to the chinese man in front of her, the disgust did not go away.
"Chang Wufei. I simply don't understand how Meiran would have fallen for you." Dorothy smiled but the malicious intention was not at all concealed.
"Onna. It is I who simply cannot see how you can be related to Meiran."
"My dear Wufei." Dorothy leaned dangerously closed to the Chinese, her words in whispers. "Unlike the man back there by the pool. Can't you see that you are just a worthless worm that my cousin will soon recognize and put it aside?"
"Onna." Wufei smoothly stepped aside, his body no longer being a support for the tall girl. He smirked, enjoying the way the girl lost her balance slightly. "A worm regenerates its body and cannot be defeated so easily. But a butterfly like you, can be so easily destroyed by the mere oil on my finger."
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"I am sorry." The doctor said quietly as he lighted up a cigarette, his eyes looked out to the river. "This was a mistake. It should have never happened."
"Treize.... "
"I cannot forget about him." The doctor inhaled and exhaled the white smoke. "I am sorry that I have used you." He turned around, his eyes showed a hint of remorse. "This is nothing I could say to alleviate your pain is it, Une?"
"Treize...." The nurse stood rigidly, her fingers intertwined behind her back. "Please don't say that."
Treize exhaled another white smoke, not looking back at the woman. But, all of the sudden, as if he remembered something, he paused and looked down on his cigarette. He suddenly chuckled. He took out the cigarette out of his mouth and stumped the end against the metal railing before he threw it into the river.
"Treize.... You said you love me....." The woman persisted.
"I cannot lie to myself any longer." Treize turned around. His eyes firm and resolute. "Une, I am sorry. I truly hope you will find happiness in the end." He smiled, with a hint of sorrow. "Because I know I won't."
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"Does he have a girlfriend?" Sitting comfortably on the bench, with her legs properly crossed, Dorothy asked, pointing at the swimmer who was doing his 10th lap in the Olympic sized pool.
"No." Unlike her cousin, Meiran carelessly leaned back, her two elbows rested on the bench a step above. "Duo does not have a girlfriend."
"So he is the guy you bumped into when you were a freshman?" Dorothy curved up her lip. "The guy you claimed that stole your ***innocence***?"
Meiran blushed. "Oh, Come'on. I knew I shouldn't have told you the story. It was an accident. Long time ago."
Dorothy shook her head. "I don't understand why you ending up with that scum. This man here is more.... tasty."
"Tasty?" Meiran laughed. "Dorothy, I should have expected that from you. What happened to Quinze [1]?"
"That loser." Dorothy ran her fingers through her silky hair, her eyes proud. "I dumped him long ago."
Meiran sighed. "You can't just go through guys like that forever........"
"Now.. didn't you say this cutie here is single? Since you don't want it......"
Meiran looked to where Dorothy was pointing. Her eyes locked on the swimmer who was doing, perhaps his 15th lap in the pool. She watched him focused only to the water surrounded him. She could see that there was only one purpose on his mind. "I don't think you are going to get that one."
"And why is that?" Dorothy raised her eyebrow, a slight dent of pride was visible in her pale blue eyes.
"Oh Dorothy, not that I am implying you are not pretty..." Meiran quickly explained herself. "It just that.....his heart is already fallen for someone...."
"But he IS single, right?"
"Well...." Meiran lowered her eyes. "I guess......."
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The afternoon sunshine generously poured in through the large bay window, dancing off the cool water surface.
Dressed in his casual tanktop and short pants, Heero Yuy stood patiently at the pool side. Holding a timer in one hand, the grown japanese youth watched the swimmer vigorously parted the water with his slim but muscular body.
Heero took his eyes off the swimmer just enough time to glance at the timer before he looked up again and focused his attention back to the pool. He carefully noted the streamline motion of the swimmer. He concentrated on the way the swimmer's arm reached out and deepened into the water to push his body forward. He observed how the swimmer efficiently kicked in the water without wasting a single splash.
As soon as the swimmer touched the end of the other side of the pool. His head immediately emerged out of the water. "Heero! Time!" His blue eyes full of eagerness.
Heero stopped the timer and looked down. His eyes back to the swimmer, who was now getting out of the pool, his once perfect body was now littered with scars but Heero did not turned away from the sight.
"You broke the record, Milliardo."
The swimmer smiled in satisfaction. "Then it's time......" His fingers run through his damped short blonde hair. "Heero.. there is something I want to ask you...."
Heero said nothing but looked back at Milliardo calmly.
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Odin Lowell threw his arm behind his head and pulled his legs up on the desk as he leaned back on his chair. Papers fell everywhere on the desk and floor. But he did not really care. He was tired. It had been a long excruciating morning.
Suddenly he missed the days when he was coaching swimming team. But then a firm knock on the door suddenly woke him from the past. Odin sighed. He noted the clock and sadly realized that he did have this appointment to keep. "Come in." He reluctantly put his feet down from the desk.
"Prof Lowell." A young man walked into the office. He greeted Odin with an air of mixed confidence and suppressed excitement.
Odin smiled inwardly. The young man had reminded him of himself many years ago. "Come in, Come in and sit here. Just call me Odin. Prof. Lowell made me sound too old."
"Yes, Prof... I mean, Odin." The student did as he was told and sat on the comfy sofa in the middle of a paper cramped office..
"So you are interviewing for the assistant's position?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do you have any robotic experience?"
"Yes I do! Prof. Lowell. I am taking couple robotic class this semester!!." The young man replied eagerly. "I am an admirer of Dr. J's work. And I am so excited to hear that you are back from your sabatical and decided to pick up Dr. J's project again!"
Odin smiled, half listening to the young man's rambling about Dr. J's project and was amazed that the old scientist was still legendary.
"What really impressed me was that once you decided to take up the project, you immediately receive the funding for it! I wonder how you did it! I mean.. other professors had advised me not to go onto this road because the government is cutting the funding." The young man looked eagerly at the professor. "I assume the funding did not come from the governement then?" [2]
Odin leaned back on his chair, his fingers crossed on his lap. "No, Uncle Sam did not put any dime in this project. An anonymous donor did."
"Heh?" The young man's eyes were now wild. "Really? But I heard there is an 100 million dollars budget for the project! I wonder who did it?"
Odin smiled. "Well...." Odin's eyes traveled to an old picture hung up on the wall. His eyes locked onto the young version of Dr. J and his young son in the picture. "I wonder about that too sometimes......."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Duo Maxwell. The star of the swimming team." Dorothy offered the swimmer a towel as he was getting out of the pool. She smiled at him as sweetly as she could be at the young man.
But the swimmer did not take the towel. He simply walked past her with other swimmers, not even recognizing her presence.
Embarrassement clearly shown her face as Dorothy swirled around. "Good luck later today on the Competition." Dorothy offered her compliment sweetly while trying hard to suppressed the desperation in her tone. "For a man like you who held the National Gold metalist title, you need not fear." Dorothy smiled as she noted that the swimmer stopped.
But the swimmer said nothing.
Thinking that she still had some chance, she flattered the swimmer once more. "Many people are saying that the reason you won the previous year was because Milliardo Peacecraft was not in it. I think that was a complete B.S." Dorothy said sweetly. "You won the competition fair and square and they....."
"No." The swimmer interrupted, but still did not even turn around to spare a look. " They are right." The swimmer replied coldly, his tone revealed none of the liveliness and cheerfulness he once possessed. "I have not won because I have not beat **him** yet."
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"That onna is not giving up, is she?" Wufei watched the scene from the bench. His narrowed eyes did not hide any of the disgust. "How many times do I have to tell her that she has no chance with Maxwell."
Quatre Winner sighed. "Poor Duo...."
"Yeah I would say." Wufei said coldly. "That woman is like an insect. You can't get rid of her just by flapping her away from your sight. You need to squash her dead."
"No...." Quatre was slightly taken back by Wufei's graphic analogy. "That's not what I mean... It just that... Duo does not smile anymore......" Quatre lowered his eyes. "He does not laugh like he used to be anymore...If he were his usual self.. he would have flirted with her....."
Trowa moved in closer to Quatre, lending him his broad chest as he wrapped his arm around Quatre to comfort him.
Quatre sighed. "I really don't understand why it turns out this way... I thought Heero likes Duo too.... I just don't understand why he said yes when that man asked him if he would go to Australia with him....It doesn't make sense...."
"That Heero Yuy is just bad news." Wufei said with a suppressed anger. He opened the pamphlet violently, reading through the list of competitors for the Nationals.
Quatre shook his head. "It doesn't make sense... he was mumbling Duo's name over and over again on the way to the hospital... even when he opened his eyes, the first thing that come out of his mouth was 'Duo'... He care for him..... I know he....."
"Yet he choose that man who was like crying all over in the hospital....."Wufei looked up from the pamphlet and interrupted his friend's sentence with a snort. "What a weakling...."
Anchoring himself safely in the arms of Trowa, Quatre looked back to the pool and focused on his longhaired friend. "Maybe that was the reason...." The blonde haired youth looked back to his boyfriend for consultation.
"SHIT!" Wufei suddenly exclaimed uncharacteristically.
Quatre jumped and stared at Wufei in surprise. He had never seen the Chinese man this distraught before.
Wufei looked up, unnerved. "He.... he is here." He pointed at a familiar name on the pamphlet.
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Duo slammed the his locker closed loudly, irritated by the forked eyebrow woman earlier. He could not believe girls these days were becoming bolder and bolder. The past year, numerous girls and gorgeous guys, had approached him but Duo had no interest what so ever.
He did not know why. He always found himself so full of anger. Every little thing set him off. He would wake up finding himself screaming in the midst of the night for no reason. It was as if something was buried in his chest and no matter what he did he just could not get it out of his system.
And Duo knew damn well what it was.
He knew too well.
Duo slumped against the locker, his eyes half closed.
One year past and he still remembered that day vividly.
The way Heero looked back at him when Milliardo hugged him and asked him to go to Australia with him.
The way Heero kept their eyes locked as he said yes to Milliardo.
Duo curled up his fist and bang against the locker.
That day, Heero did not offer any reason. Duo did not have a chance to find out either because the next day, Heero left.
He left without telling him anything. He left as if there was nothing between them........
"Duo Maxwell."
The longhaired swimmer looked up and his eyes went wild.
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Hilde sighed. She just simply does not understand how men could be so messy! She had told her son numerous of time to keep his room clean but the young man never listened.
Like father like son.
Hilde sighed loudly this time as she picked up another T-shirt from the floor. Armed with her precious battle partner, her ever faithful vaccum cleaner, she started to conquer her son's messiness.
Though as much as Hilde complained internally, she never exploded in front of her son.
Even if Duo never told her anything, Hilde knew there was something wrong. But Hilde painfully bit down her curiosity and worries as she watched her son sought comfort in swimming like it was his second life.
Hilde could only guessed that the transfer of a certain Japanese young man had caused the drastic change in her son's behavior.
But what can a mother said to her son when he clearly did not want to talk about it?
Hilde stopped the vacuum cleaner, opening the machine and taking out the bag. Seeing that the bag was at its limit. Hilde took the vacuum cleaner and the bag down the stairs and into the kitchen.
But just as she threw the bag into the trash can, she heard a faint noise of a paper sliding under the door.
Driven by curiosity, still with her vacuum cleaner in one hand, Hilde bent and picked up the paper, discovering that it was in fact a postcard instead.
Hilde narrowed her eyes in confusion as she noted that the postcard was not exactly a scenery one she usually received. Instead, it was a New Year's greeting postcard.
Feeling silly, the mother gave a quick glance at the calendar hung by the phone and confirmed that the New Year was at least 4 months away. Shaking her head, thinking that it was someone's mistake, she turned the postcard and read the content.
And Hilde's eyes went wild as soon as she read the brief but neat handwriting on the back of the postcard.
"Oh.. my....."
Dropping the vacuum cleaner on the floor, Hilde ran out of the door. The postcard tightly held between her fingers as she waved down a taxi.
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"I see you have advanced quit a bit the last time I have seen you."
Duo hardened his eyes. "Why are you here?"
Miliardo said nothing as he pointed at the number on his jacket. "Something good about a defending champion, even if it was a year ago, is that I can enter the competition anytime I want."
Duo looked away. "Do what you want. That's none of my concern."
"Really." Miliardo stood up straight. "I thought the reason you have practiced so hard was to get a chance to compete with me."
Duo said nothing as he picked up his towel from the bench and walked past Milliardo.
"Right before I came here... " Milliardo's voice stayed calm, not bothered by Duo's hostile attitude. "I have asked Heero that if I win this competition, would he spend the rest of his life with me...."
Duo tensed. His hand froze above the doorknob.
"Do you want to know what his answer was?"
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Sally impatiently tapped on the steering wheel. She constantly looked out the window and cursed at the traffic which hasn't moved for the last 10 minutes.
She was going to be late to see the National competition if this damn traffic continued like this!
Sally sighed deeply. Her eyes wandered out to the side street again and was almost jealous of the pedastians on the sidewalk.
At least they were moving.....
But then a figure immediately caught her eye. The youth was slightly taller than what she had remembered but the unruly brown hair and slender body was too familiar.
"Heero?"
She immediately rolled down the car window called out, uncertain but firm. "Heero?"
The said figure turned around. His cobalt eyes showed acknowledgement.
"You are back? From Australia?" Sally suddenly found herself hard to control her excitement.
Heero nodded. He stood where he was, showing no intention of coming closer to the car.
Sally was too surprised to see him and suddenly found herself at loss of words. "Heero.. you know today's the national competition for swimming?" Finally, which seemed to be a long eternity, she spoke again. "Duo is in it today..." She tentatively added.
"I know."
Sally relaxed. The fact that Heero seemed to follow the current event seemed to comfort her a bit. "You wanna hop in the car to go to the competition?" She smiled for things seemed to be heading to a good direction. " I am on my way........"
"No." Heero shook his head.
Sally felt her chest tightened. "But Heero....."
"Sally." Heero nodded 'goodbye' as he turned, continuing his path. "The traffic is clear now."
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"You sure you don't want to know?"
"No. Don't even try to use that to shake my confidence." Duo Maxwell anchored his feet on the platform. "Your appearance alone is already making me nervous." The longhaired swimmer admitted.
Milliardo Peacecraft said nothing anymore but adjusted his goggle for the last time and returned his focus back on the water.
The two rivals, like the other competitors, arched their bodies slightly toward the water. Their arms straight and reached out.
Thousands of eyes watched them from the benches above and through the camera that was directing at them.
It was a silence before the storm. Tension filled in the room. This was the last round of the competition and the audience were eagerly waiting to see who would come out as the winner.
"Duo."
"What." Duo replied with a hint of hostility.
"Remember that day when Heero almost drowned?"
Duo spared a quick odd look at his rival next to him.
"Let's forget about the competition and swim like we are going out there to save him." Milliardo smiled. "Let's swim like what we should have done on that cliff."
Duo let the words sank in. His eyes back toward the water.
The day Heero almost drowned, he couldn't do anything. He stood there, watching Treize resuscitate his love, and couldn't do anything but froze in fear and pain.
The fear of Heero might have slipped through his hand.
The pain of the fact that there was nothing he could do to prevent that from happening.
Having heard Milliardo spilling out the hidden burden that Duo did not even know exist in his heart unnerved the longhaired swimmer a bit. But Duo was surprised to feel that a mysterious weight on his heart was slowly disappearing.
"Yes." Duo said with resolution. "We are going out there to save Heero." His eyes cleared as he focused his energy to the water in front of him.
Milliardo smiled but brought back his concentration on swimming immediately.
The stadium was still silent with anticipation. But the hearts on the stages had changed.
The loud horn sounded, echoing in the overly crowded stadium, signaling the start of the race.
Responding to the sound, Duo Maxwell and Milliardo Peacecraft automatically bent and kicked off from the platform. Their bodies projected out flawlessly before they both entered the water at the same time.
They let their bodies glide briefly before they both dug their arms into the water while kicking their legs ferociously.
They swam with the same goal in their mind. [3]
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Solo Maxwell was thrilled. He grinned proudly at the motorcycle that was reborn underneath his skilled handiwork.
Another satisfactory work always made another sunny day in his life.
Being a mechanic, earning a lot less than what his brain really capable of, never did bother him, nor did it bother or shame his wife and son. The fact he never went to college did not discount his reputation as the best mechanic in the town. He never really needed to go, for he knew exactly what he truly wanted.
Solo cranked up the volume of the radio. Grabbing a piece of clothe, dipped with wax, he started to polish up the motorcycle, shining it back to its original beautiful bright red.
Half hour later, he spared a quick glance at the clock and noted that he had exactly 10 minutes to finish up cleaning before the customer came to reclaim the bike.
He had plenty of time.
"Is it ready?"
Solo threw the clothe into the sink as he washed his hands. "Yup." Without looking back at the customer, he cheerfully replied. He busy tried to wash off the machine oil stuck in his nails. His head tilted to the side slightly, his back still toward the customer. "The key is over there on the counter. You have already paid Hilde didn't ya?" Finally getting out the dirt, Solo turned around. "So why don't you give this baby a try.. You should hear the engine hum. Wonderful sound I tell ya. And it was an easy fix too. Just one of the tappet.... was loosen and....." Solo's smile slowly froze as he recognized the identity of his customer. The sentence trailed off into oblivion.
Even after these years, Solo could still remember what he looked like. Even though he had claimed that he had forgotten about him, his memory still betrayed him.
"Koichi....." Solo let the word slipped out of his mouth before he recomposed himself and smirked. "So... the famous business man has finally come back to town. Dr. Yuy." Solo emphasized the title. A mockery smile hung unnaturally on his face.
But Koichi Yuy did not back down nor did he show any displeasure of the mockery. With a stoic expression fixed on his face, he simply turned, walking over to the counter and picked up the key. He then turned his attention back to the mechanic. His blue eyes locked with the violet and then, without saying a word, he suddenly threw the key toward the mechanic.
Though surprised, Solo caught the key easily in reflex. His face did not hide the confusion.
"Congratulation." Koichi let the word rolled out of his tongue before he turned and walked out of the shop. He never gave the shop owner a chance to reply for he smoothly got into his Mercedes and left as swiftly as he came.
Still puzzled, Solo looked down at the key and then back at the shinning red motorcycle. But being a motorcycle lover, it finally hit him. Though it took a while, he eventually noted the make and year of the bike he had been working on for the past few hours.
And then he smiled.
Harley Davidson. 1984.
That was the year he married Hilde. [4]
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Heero Yuy sat on the cliff where he once almost lost his life. His blue eyes closed, feeling the gentle wind caressing his skin. The waves concocted a beautiful melody into his ears, whispering a different kind of song than the one last year.
"If you jump again. I will follow. And there will be no Sally to hold me back this time. And then when I do find you in hell, I will beat the crap out of you to show how moronic you are."
Heero opened his eyes slowly and turned to the source of voice. He locked his eyes with a pair of violet. "Duo....."
The swimmer bent slightly, resting his palms on his knees. He breathed heavily, evidently from the running that he had been doing. "No more postcards with 'Omae o Korosu' written on them ? " Duo flashed the postcard, still breathing heavily but a cocky smile on his face.
"You forgive me?"
Ignoring Heero's question, Duo spoke in a low suppressed tone. "Do you believe.." His long chestnut hair, once shinning, were now damped and cascaded down his shoulder chaotically. ".... that my mother spent over hundred dollars on Taxi to deliver this damn postcard to me right after the competition?" He stepped closer. A strong wind swirled up to him, causing the jacket he wore open, revealing his smooth chest. "And do you believe.. that I spent another hundred bucks just so that I could get here to kick your butt for what you did to me?"
Still sitting on the cliff with his head turned toward the approaching longhaired youth, Heero nodded. He believed Duo. The swimmer looked like he just got out of the competition and ran out here without even changing.
"You...." Duo reached out his hand, holding Heero's chin. "How am I going to make you pay for what you make me go through this past two years......."
Heero locked his aqua blue eyes with the violet, fearlessly.
"How am I going to make you suffer, the pain you put me through..thinking that you have chosen him... over me....." He bent and leaned close to the Japanese.
Heero stayed silent, only watching Duo, surrendering himself.
"You.... god damn.....idiotic, moronic, hopelessly stupid jerk....." Duo leaned so closed to Heero's face that his forehead touched the other youth's.
Heero did not back away. He did not have to. He felt the hot breathe coming from the longhaired youth blown on his cheek. "I was only coaching him......." Heero whispered.
Letting out a small sigh, Duo immediately crushed his lips against Heero. At the same time, he collapsed on the ground, his arms wrapped around the Japanese youth.
Heero closed his eyes, feeling Duo's eager tongue exploring his.
Duo parted his lips. His violet eyes looked deeply into the aqua blue. "Was it a test for me? Were you trying to see how fucking long I would wait for you?"
Heero shook his head. "I was needed to help Milliardo recover. To repay the debt I owed to his sister."
Duo narrowed his eyes. "What debt?"
"She saved my life."
"Well then." Duo shrugged. "I guess I will take that as a good reason for LEAVING ME, and LET ME HANGING!" Having said that, Duo roughly pressed his lips against Heero's, as if he was punishing the Japanese youth for ever leaving him like that.
Heero did not object as he willingly parted his lips and allowed Duo to enter the warm cavern, feeling Duo's tongue battled against his.
But the longhaired youth soon gave up and concluded the sweat punishment with a soft gentle kiss. "But if you ever jump off like that again," Duo pulled away, seriousness gathered on his face. "I will kill you. I will end your miserable life first just so that I don't have to see you jump. Just so that you won't trample over my heart like that ever again"
"I am a diver, Duo."
"Holy shit. No kidding...." Duo pulled Heero close. "Then fucking act like a diver and not a suicidal jerk!"
"I could not ask you to wait for me that day when Milliardo needed me. It would not be fair. I did not know how long it would take for Milliardo to recover." Heero said evenly. "Forgive me?"
"What do you think?" Duo placed a butterfly kiss on Heero's forehead. "I am such a generous man that I am willing to let this go. But only just this once."
"Arigato......"
Duo smiled for the first time since last year.
The two sat side by side, watching the sun settling down on the ocean. There were no words exchanged. Both bathed in the comfort of each other.
Suddenly, giving in to his temptation, Duo turned and kissed Heero again. He whispered as he felt Heero's smooth skin against his. "So....you wanna know who won the competition?" His finger lingered at the base of Heer's T- shirt.
Heero shook his head. "It doesn't matter." He leaned even closer to Duo. "You have already won this competition a long time ago......" He sealed his lips against the longhaired youth. He placed his palms against Duo's bare chest.
Duo sighed. He gave in into the kiss, enjoying the attention Heero was giving to his lips and feeling the warmth traveled from Heero's fingers. Duo relaxed, the crumbled postcard slipped out of his hand and fell on the ground.
The wind blew across the cliff softly.
As if having the wings of a dove, the postcard was soon carried by the current. It swirled up into the air gently. It circled above the two lovers as one pushed down the other. It lingered briefly just enough for it to give blesses to the lovers before the wind pick up and sent it away, leaving the two their privacy. The sun settled down to the ocean line. But a few remaining rays of sunshine caught and reflected the small writing of the postcard as it headed toward the far end of the sea.
~~~~
Duo, Ai shiteru
Signed,
Heero Yuy
~~~~~
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
OWARI
Note: [1] can you tell I am running out of character names? ^_^;;;
[2] Thank you Kristie for supplying that piece of information ^_^
[3] To be honest, I was going to end the fic right here and add a little scene of the postcard, and hint at the "Duo, Ai shiteru" part... ^_^;;; but I finally decide against...because I can just imagine you guys killing me for it....
[4] So Koichi is the version of Heero I imagined if Duo did not reciprocate the feeling... and I just thought that I added this little part to contrast with Heero and Duo.. and guess what.. suprisingly, I kind of like Koichi and Solo's final scene better... ^_^;;; hum...... I wonder what does that say.. maybe next time I should go for the not so happily ever after ending?
*duck*
okay, never mind, Duo is over there throwing food at me now.... I guess I will just scratch that thought.. ^_^;;;;
NOTE:
This fic costed me EIGHT MONTHS to finish. It was first posted on 1x2ML on september 1st, 2001 and was completed on April 27th....
Looking back.. I know for sure that I will never EVER write another story this long now..... unless I know I have time to finish it up quickly... because I hate loosing readers.. and God knows how many did I loose when I spent this freaking long time to complete this.. The fact that I took two breaks in the middle of this fic probably didn't help either...
anyhow, thank you for those who stayed until the end since the beginning.. I sincerely hope the ending is not too anti-dramatic... though I love those dramas and cliffhangers, I usually prefer the ending to be quiet and suggestive.... also...since there is a huge time gap (in the story) between chapter 20 and 21 ^_^;;;; and the styles are completely different... I hope the flow is okay.....but please let me know..
And.. I know there are people out there just dying to see lemons....^__^;;; i want to too... but... I am not very good at writing it... maybe someone would want to pick it up or help me with it?
anyhow, I guess this is the last chapter but I still would like to see some C&C or reviews if possible.........maybe that will make me crank up the epilogue? *hint hint.*
Canisa
p.s.
Just in case people were wondering why I wrote chapter 20 the way I ddi .....
I am sorry about the unusal nature of chapter 20. I have received the feedbacks... I am glad that some people found it amusing. I also understand that it's confusing and hard to read at the same time....I guess I was fed up with RL(real life)'s rigid structure and wanted a change so I took a rebellious step in my fic. It just that I wanted to break out of this tiny little box that seems to always tells me what is supposed to be right and wrong. I guess I just want to explore all kinds of possibilities and not limit myself to what people usually do....... so I boldly, if not recklessly, wrote chapter 20 composed of entirely diaglogues....
and I am really grateful of your understanding, tolerance and acceptance. I am not sure if I will really fix up that chapter...at this present time, I want it that way, in my own stubborn way........ guess I want to prove something... don't know if I really did... maybe some day when I am older and wiser and I will be able to see things more clearer.......
Summary of Chapter 20 --Chaos-- (this is basically a copy of my outlines...)
1. Heero Yuy's drowning. Insert his thought every other scene
2. Zechs was bathed in his misery that he never had the chance or capability to save the only one he loves, namely Heero. He felt useless. He DID NOT save Heero, again.
3. Relena was still wondering why Zechs hates her.
4. Treize wanted to save Heero because he loves Zechs and wanted to do this for him.
5. Duo finally got to the scene but was prevented by Sally to jump off the cliff with Heero because he has a weak heart. From earlier chapter, I have hinted that he cannot dive. I believe most of you thought that he was afraid of height.... this is not true, and is there to throw you off.....originally, I was going to make this a big deal in chapter 20.. but I got lazy....anyhow... Duo DID NOT save Heero.
6. Odin and Koichi (Heero's father) showdown. Koichi cannot recall Odin. Odin questioned the truth behind Dr. J's death and Koichi's motive of alienating the Yuys and Maxwells.
7. Odin's perspective: PAST TIMELINE:
Koichi and Odin both went to MIT for undergraduate. Koichi graduated first and went to another school for Ph.D. Odin went to work for Dr. J and met Solo when Solo came over one time to look for Dr. J.
Odin and Solo became closer (since Koichi was never around) and when finally Koichi did not show up at Solo and Hilde's wedding, Solo was fed up and decided to forget about Koichi. (when Solo and Hilde got married, Koichi was still finishing up his Ph.D).
Being his assistant, Odin also found out that Dr. J was not happy about Koichi neglecting his family and suspected that the reason behind Dr. J's heartattack was not because of Dr. G but because of Koichi.
8. Koichi's perspective: PAST TIMELINE
Koichi realized that his feeling for Solo would not be returned. He decided to alienate himself from Solo. He got married with some girl he hardly know and even had a child.
The day Dr. J died, he had a bad confrontation with Koichi, asking why he never came home for his child. Koichi hung up the phone and did not answer the phone. This is why when Heero tried to call his father, Koichi never picked up his cell phone, thinking it was Dr. J bugging him again. (Back track to chapter 6, Forgotten Memory). Koichi knew that it was his fault that his father died.
9. Treize pulled Heero out of water.
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Title: Rivals 21/21 woohoo! last chapter!!!
Author: Canisa
Pairing: various , including 1+2 Warning : shounen-ai, AU (no gundam!!!) angst.
Gundam Wing is not mine. I am writing this for my own enjoyment. No profit is being made
Chapter 21 ---The national swimming competition ---
--- ONE YEAR LATER ----
Dorothy had never met a man as handsome as he was. Though there were many swimmers in the pool, warming up for the National competition, her eyes only glued to the gorgeous swimmer. She watched him, standing by the pool side, his hair neatly braided and tugged behind his head. She unconsciously licked her lips as she followed his few strands of chestnut hair carelessly caressing his water glistering body. She secretly wished that they were her fingers....
"You are drooling. Onna."
Dorothy arched her forked eyebrow at the rude remark. Her haughty composure regained as she turned toward the speaker. However, instead of reprimanding, she responded in an equally rude tone. "Who is that man?" Her eyes uncontrallabily returned to the gorgeous sight of the swimmer.
"Someone you can never have, Onna." The Chinese replied coldly.
"Chang Wufei. You have underestimated me." Dorothy ran her finger through her long golden hair. A seductive but purposeful smile lingered at her lips.
"His heart is already taken." The Chinese man turned. "Come'on Onna. Meiran should be here by now. We need to meet up with her at the front gate."
Dorothy let her eyes lingered at the young swimmer just slightly long enough for her to mesmerize his toned body before she turned her heel and followed the Chinese. The tall girl looked to the side, her eyes betrayed none of the disgust as she saw a spot of dirtiness on the wall. When her eyes fell back to the chinese man in front of her, the disgust did not go away.
"Chang Wufei. I simply don't understand how Meiran would have fallen for you." Dorothy smiled but the malicious intention was not at all concealed.
"Onna. It is I who simply cannot see how you can be related to Meiran."
"My dear Wufei." Dorothy leaned dangerously closed to the Chinese, her words in whispers. "Unlike the man back there by the pool. Can't you see that you are just a worthless worm that my cousin will soon recognize and put it aside?"
"Onna." Wufei smoothly stepped aside, his body no longer being a support for the tall girl. He smirked, enjoying the way the girl lost her balance slightly. "A worm regenerates its body and cannot be defeated so easily. But a butterfly like you, can be so easily destroyed by the mere oil on my finger."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"I am sorry." The doctor said quietly as he lighted up a cigarette, his eyes looked out to the river. "This was a mistake. It should have never happened."
"Treize.... "
"I cannot forget about him." The doctor inhaled and exhaled the white smoke. "I am sorry that I have used you." He turned around, his eyes showed a hint of remorse. "This is nothing I could say to alleviate your pain is it, Une?"
"Treize...." The nurse stood rigidly, her fingers intertwined behind her back. "Please don't say that."
Treize exhaled another white smoke, not looking back at the woman. But, all of the sudden, as if he remembered something, he paused and looked down on his cigarette. He suddenly chuckled. He took out the cigarette out of his mouth and stumped the end against the metal railing before he threw it into the river.
"Treize.... You said you love me....." The woman persisted.
"I cannot lie to myself any longer." Treize turned around. His eyes firm and resolute. "Une, I am sorry. I truly hope you will find happiness in the end." He smiled, with a hint of sorrow. "Because I know I won't."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Does he have a girlfriend?" Sitting comfortably on the bench, with her legs properly crossed, Dorothy asked, pointing at the swimmer who was doing his 10th lap in the Olympic sized pool.
"No." Unlike her cousin, Meiran carelessly leaned back, her two elbows rested on the bench a step above. "Duo does not have a girlfriend."
"So he is the guy you bumped into when you were a freshman?" Dorothy curved up her lip. "The guy you claimed that stole your ***innocence***?"
Meiran blushed. "Oh, Come'on. I knew I shouldn't have told you the story. It was an accident. Long time ago."
Dorothy shook her head. "I don't understand why you ending up with that scum. This man here is more.... tasty."
"Tasty?" Meiran laughed. "Dorothy, I should have expected that from you. What happened to Quinze [1]?"
"That loser." Dorothy ran her fingers through her silky hair, her eyes proud. "I dumped him long ago."
Meiran sighed. "You can't just go through guys like that forever........"
"Now.. didn't you say this cutie here is single? Since you don't want it......"
Meiran looked to where Dorothy was pointing. Her eyes locked on the swimmer who was doing, perhaps his 15th lap in the pool. She watched him focused only to the water surrounded him. She could see that there was only one purpose on his mind. "I don't think you are going to get that one."
"And why is that?" Dorothy raised her eyebrow, a slight dent of pride was visible in her pale blue eyes.
"Oh Dorothy, not that I am implying you are not pretty..." Meiran quickly explained herself. "It just that.....his heart is already fallen for someone...."
"But he IS single, right?"
"Well...." Meiran lowered her eyes. "I guess......."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
The afternoon sunshine generously poured in through the large bay window, dancing off the cool water surface.
Dressed in his casual tanktop and short pants, Heero Yuy stood patiently at the pool side. Holding a timer in one hand, the grown japanese youth watched the swimmer vigorously parted the water with his slim but muscular body.
Heero took his eyes off the swimmer just enough time to glance at the timer before he looked up again and focused his attention back to the pool. He carefully noted the streamline motion of the swimmer. He concentrated on the way the swimmer's arm reached out and deepened into the water to push his body forward. He observed how the swimmer efficiently kicked in the water without wasting a single splash.
As soon as the swimmer touched the end of the other side of the pool. His head immediately emerged out of the water. "Heero! Time!" His blue eyes full of eagerness.
Heero stopped the timer and looked down. His eyes back to the swimmer, who was now getting out of the pool, his once perfect body was now littered with scars but Heero did not turned away from the sight.
"You broke the record, Milliardo."
The swimmer smiled in satisfaction. "Then it's time......" His fingers run through his damped short blonde hair. "Heero.. there is something I want to ask you...."
Heero said nothing but looked back at Milliardo calmly.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Odin Lowell threw his arm behind his head and pulled his legs up on the desk as he leaned back on his chair. Papers fell everywhere on the desk and floor. But he did not really care. He was tired. It had been a long excruciating morning.
Suddenly he missed the days when he was coaching swimming team. But then a firm knock on the door suddenly woke him from the past. Odin sighed. He noted the clock and sadly realized that he did have this appointment to keep. "Come in." He reluctantly put his feet down from the desk.
"Prof Lowell." A young man walked into the office. He greeted Odin with an air of mixed confidence and suppressed excitement.
Odin smiled inwardly. The young man had reminded him of himself many years ago. "Come in, Come in and sit here. Just call me Odin. Prof. Lowell made me sound too old."
"Yes, Prof... I mean, Odin." The student did as he was told and sat on the comfy sofa in the middle of a paper cramped office..
"So you are interviewing for the assistant's position?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do you have any robotic experience?"
"Yes I do! Prof. Lowell. I am taking couple robotic class this semester!!." The young man replied eagerly. "I am an admirer of Dr. J's work. And I am so excited to hear that you are back from your sabatical and decided to pick up Dr. J's project again!"
Odin smiled, half listening to the young man's rambling about Dr. J's project and was amazed that the old scientist was still legendary.
"What really impressed me was that once you decided to take up the project, you immediately receive the funding for it! I wonder how you did it! I mean.. other professors had advised me not to go onto this road because the government is cutting the funding." The young man looked eagerly at the professor. "I assume the funding did not come from the governement then?" [2]
Odin leaned back on his chair, his fingers crossed on his lap. "No, Uncle Sam did not put any dime in this project. An anonymous donor did."
"Heh?" The young man's eyes were now wild. "Really? But I heard there is an 100 million dollars budget for the project! I wonder who did it?"
Odin smiled. "Well...." Odin's eyes traveled to an old picture hung up on the wall. His eyes locked onto the young version of Dr. J and his young son in the picture. "I wonder about that too sometimes......."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Duo Maxwell. The star of the swimming team." Dorothy offered the swimmer a towel as he was getting out of the pool. She smiled at him as sweetly as she could be at the young man.
But the swimmer did not take the towel. He simply walked past her with other swimmers, not even recognizing her presence.
Embarrassement clearly shown her face as Dorothy swirled around. "Good luck later today on the Competition." Dorothy offered her compliment sweetly while trying hard to suppressed the desperation in her tone. "For a man like you who held the National Gold metalist title, you need not fear." Dorothy smiled as she noted that the swimmer stopped.
But the swimmer said nothing.
Thinking that she still had some chance, she flattered the swimmer once more. "Many people are saying that the reason you won the previous year was because Milliardo Peacecraft was not in it. I think that was a complete B.S." Dorothy said sweetly. "You won the competition fair and square and they....."
"No." The swimmer interrupted, but still did not even turn around to spare a look. " They are right." The swimmer replied coldly, his tone revealed none of the liveliness and cheerfulness he once possessed. "I have not won because I have not beat **him** yet."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"That onna is not giving up, is she?" Wufei watched the scene from the bench. His narrowed eyes did not hide any of the disgust. "How many times do I have to tell her that she has no chance with Maxwell."
Quatre Winner sighed. "Poor Duo...."
"Yeah I would say." Wufei said coldly. "That woman is like an insect. You can't get rid of her just by flapping her away from your sight. You need to squash her dead."
"No...." Quatre was slightly taken back by Wufei's graphic analogy. "That's not what I mean... It just that... Duo does not smile anymore......" Quatre lowered his eyes. "He does not laugh like he used to be anymore...If he were his usual self.. he would have flirted with her....."
Trowa moved in closer to Quatre, lending him his broad chest as he wrapped his arm around Quatre to comfort him.
Quatre sighed. "I really don't understand why it turns out this way... I thought Heero likes Duo too.... I just don't understand why he said yes when that man asked him if he would go to Australia with him....It doesn't make sense...."
"That Heero Yuy is just bad news." Wufei said with a suppressed anger. He opened the pamphlet violently, reading through the list of competitors for the Nationals.
Quatre shook his head. "It doesn't make sense... he was mumbling Duo's name over and over again on the way to the hospital... even when he opened his eyes, the first thing that come out of his mouth was 'Duo'... He care for him..... I know he....."
"Yet he choose that man who was like crying all over in the hospital....."Wufei looked up from the pamphlet and interrupted his friend's sentence with a snort. "What a weakling...."
Anchoring himself safely in the arms of Trowa, Quatre looked back to the pool and focused on his longhaired friend. "Maybe that was the reason...." The blonde haired youth looked back to his boyfriend for consultation.
"SHIT!" Wufei suddenly exclaimed uncharacteristically.
Quatre jumped and stared at Wufei in surprise. He had never seen the Chinese man this distraught before.
Wufei looked up, unnerved. "He.... he is here." He pointed at a familiar name on the pamphlet.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Duo slammed the his locker closed loudly, irritated by the forked eyebrow woman earlier. He could not believe girls these days were becoming bolder and bolder. The past year, numerous girls and gorgeous guys, had approached him but Duo had no interest what so ever.
He did not know why. He always found himself so full of anger. Every little thing set him off. He would wake up finding himself screaming in the midst of the night for no reason. It was as if something was buried in his chest and no matter what he did he just could not get it out of his system.
And Duo knew damn well what it was.
He knew too well.
Duo slumped against the locker, his eyes half closed.
One year past and he still remembered that day vividly.
The way Heero looked back at him when Milliardo hugged him and asked him to go to Australia with him.
The way Heero kept their eyes locked as he said yes to Milliardo.
Duo curled up his fist and bang against the locker.
That day, Heero did not offer any reason. Duo did not have a chance to find out either because the next day, Heero left.
He left without telling him anything. He left as if there was nothing between them........
"Duo Maxwell."
The longhaired swimmer looked up and his eyes went wild.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Hilde sighed. She just simply does not understand how men could be so messy! She had told her son numerous of time to keep his room clean but the young man never listened.
Like father like son.
Hilde sighed loudly this time as she picked up another T-shirt from the floor. Armed with her precious battle partner, her ever faithful vaccum cleaner, she started to conquer her son's messiness.
Though as much as Hilde complained internally, she never exploded in front of her son.
Even if Duo never told her anything, Hilde knew there was something wrong. But Hilde painfully bit down her curiosity and worries as she watched her son sought comfort in swimming like it was his second life.
Hilde could only guessed that the transfer of a certain Japanese young man had caused the drastic change in her son's behavior.
But what can a mother said to her son when he clearly did not want to talk about it?
Hilde stopped the vacuum cleaner, opening the machine and taking out the bag. Seeing that the bag was at its limit. Hilde took the vacuum cleaner and the bag down the stairs and into the kitchen.
But just as she threw the bag into the trash can, she heard a faint noise of a paper sliding under the door.
Driven by curiosity, still with her vacuum cleaner in one hand, Hilde bent and picked up the paper, discovering that it was in fact a postcard instead.
Hilde narrowed her eyes in confusion as she noted that the postcard was not exactly a scenery one she usually received. Instead, it was a New Year's greeting postcard.
Feeling silly, the mother gave a quick glance at the calendar hung by the phone and confirmed that the New Year was at least 4 months away. Shaking her head, thinking that it was someone's mistake, she turned the postcard and read the content.
And Hilde's eyes went wild as soon as she read the brief but neat handwriting on the back of the postcard.
"Oh.. my....."
Dropping the vacuum cleaner on the floor, Hilde ran out of the door. The postcard tightly held between her fingers as she waved down a taxi.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"I see you have advanced quit a bit the last time I have seen you."
Duo hardened his eyes. "Why are you here?"
Miliardo said nothing as he pointed at the number on his jacket. "Something good about a defending champion, even if it was a year ago, is that I can enter the competition anytime I want."
Duo looked away. "Do what you want. That's none of my concern."
"Really." Miliardo stood up straight. "I thought the reason you have practiced so hard was to get a chance to compete with me."
Duo said nothing as he picked up his towel from the bench and walked past Milliardo.
"Right before I came here... " Milliardo's voice stayed calm, not bothered by Duo's hostile attitude. "I have asked Heero that if I win this competition, would he spend the rest of his life with me...."
Duo tensed. His hand froze above the doorknob.
"Do you want to know what his answer was?"
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Sally impatiently tapped on the steering wheel. She constantly looked out the window and cursed at the traffic which hasn't moved for the last 10 minutes.
She was going to be late to see the National competition if this damn traffic continued like this!
Sally sighed deeply. Her eyes wandered out to the side street again and was almost jealous of the pedastians on the sidewalk.
At least they were moving.....
But then a figure immediately caught her eye. The youth was slightly taller than what she had remembered but the unruly brown hair and slender body was too familiar.
"Heero?"
She immediately rolled down the car window called out, uncertain but firm. "Heero?"
The said figure turned around. His cobalt eyes showed acknowledgement.
"You are back? From Australia?" Sally suddenly found herself hard to control her excitement.
Heero nodded. He stood where he was, showing no intention of coming closer to the car.
Sally was too surprised to see him and suddenly found herself at loss of words. "Heero.. you know today's the national competition for swimming?" Finally, which seemed to be a long eternity, she spoke again. "Duo is in it today..." She tentatively added.
"I know."
Sally relaxed. The fact that Heero seemed to follow the current event seemed to comfort her a bit. "You wanna hop in the car to go to the competition?" She smiled for things seemed to be heading to a good direction. " I am on my way........"
"No." Heero shook his head.
Sally felt her chest tightened. "But Heero....."
"Sally." Heero nodded 'goodbye' as he turned, continuing his path. "The traffic is clear now."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"You sure you don't want to know?"
"No. Don't even try to use that to shake my confidence." Duo Maxwell anchored his feet on the platform. "Your appearance alone is already making me nervous." The longhaired swimmer admitted.
Milliardo Peacecraft said nothing anymore but adjusted his goggle for the last time and returned his focus back on the water.
The two rivals, like the other competitors, arched their bodies slightly toward the water. Their arms straight and reached out.
Thousands of eyes watched them from the benches above and through the camera that was directing at them.
It was a silence before the storm. Tension filled in the room. This was the last round of the competition and the audience were eagerly waiting to see who would come out as the winner.
"Duo."
"What." Duo replied with a hint of hostility.
"Remember that day when Heero almost drowned?"
Duo spared a quick odd look at his rival next to him.
"Let's forget about the competition and swim like we are going out there to save him." Milliardo smiled. "Let's swim like what we should have done on that cliff."
Duo let the words sank in. His eyes back toward the water.
The day Heero almost drowned, he couldn't do anything. He stood there, watching Treize resuscitate his love, and couldn't do anything but froze in fear and pain.
The fear of Heero might have slipped through his hand.
The pain of the fact that there was nothing he could do to prevent that from happening.
Having heard Milliardo spilling out the hidden burden that Duo did not even know exist in his heart unnerved the longhaired swimmer a bit. But Duo was surprised to feel that a mysterious weight on his heart was slowly disappearing.
"Yes." Duo said with resolution. "We are going out there to save Heero." His eyes cleared as he focused his energy to the water in front of him.
Milliardo smiled but brought back his concentration on swimming immediately.
The stadium was still silent with anticipation. But the hearts on the stages had changed.
The loud horn sounded, echoing in the overly crowded stadium, signaling the start of the race.
Responding to the sound, Duo Maxwell and Milliardo Peacecraft automatically bent and kicked off from the platform. Their bodies projected out flawlessly before they both entered the water at the same time.
They let their bodies glide briefly before they both dug their arms into the water while kicking their legs ferociously.
They swam with the same goal in their mind. [3]
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Solo Maxwell was thrilled. He grinned proudly at the motorcycle that was reborn underneath his skilled handiwork.
Another satisfactory work always made another sunny day in his life.
Being a mechanic, earning a lot less than what his brain really capable of, never did bother him, nor did it bother or shame his wife and son. The fact he never went to college did not discount his reputation as the best mechanic in the town. He never really needed to go, for he knew exactly what he truly wanted.
Solo cranked up the volume of the radio. Grabbing a piece of clothe, dipped with wax, he started to polish up the motorcycle, shining it back to its original beautiful bright red.
Half hour later, he spared a quick glance at the clock and noted that he had exactly 10 minutes to finish up cleaning before the customer came to reclaim the bike.
He had plenty of time.
"Is it ready?"
Solo threw the clothe into the sink as he washed his hands. "Yup." Without looking back at the customer, he cheerfully replied. He busy tried to wash off the machine oil stuck in his nails. His head tilted to the side slightly, his back still toward the customer. "The key is over there on the counter. You have already paid Hilde didn't ya?" Finally getting out the dirt, Solo turned around. "So why don't you give this baby a try.. You should hear the engine hum. Wonderful sound I tell ya. And it was an easy fix too. Just one of the tappet.... was loosen and....." Solo's smile slowly froze as he recognized the identity of his customer. The sentence trailed off into oblivion.
Even after these years, Solo could still remember what he looked like. Even though he had claimed that he had forgotten about him, his memory still betrayed him.
"Koichi....." Solo let the word slipped out of his mouth before he recomposed himself and smirked. "So... the famous business man has finally come back to town. Dr. Yuy." Solo emphasized the title. A mockery smile hung unnaturally on his face.
But Koichi Yuy did not back down nor did he show any displeasure of the mockery. With a stoic expression fixed on his face, he simply turned, walking over to the counter and picked up the key. He then turned his attention back to the mechanic. His blue eyes locked with the violet and then, without saying a word, he suddenly threw the key toward the mechanic.
Though surprised, Solo caught the key easily in reflex. His face did not hide the confusion.
"Congratulation." Koichi let the word rolled out of his tongue before he turned and walked out of the shop. He never gave the shop owner a chance to reply for he smoothly got into his Mercedes and left as swiftly as he came.
Still puzzled, Solo looked down at the key and then back at the shinning red motorcycle. But being a motorcycle lover, it finally hit him. Though it took a while, he eventually noted the make and year of the bike he had been working on for the past few hours.
And then he smiled.
Harley Davidson. 1984.
That was the year he married Hilde. [4]
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Heero Yuy sat on the cliff where he once almost lost his life. His blue eyes closed, feeling the gentle wind caressing his skin. The waves concocted a beautiful melody into his ears, whispering a different kind of song than the one last year.
"If you jump again. I will follow. And there will be no Sally to hold me back this time. And then when I do find you in hell, I will beat the crap out of you to show how moronic you are."
Heero opened his eyes slowly and turned to the source of voice. He locked his eyes with a pair of violet. "Duo....."
The swimmer bent slightly, resting his palms on his knees. He breathed heavily, evidently from the running that he had been doing. "No more postcards with 'Omae o Korosu' written on them ? " Duo flashed the postcard, still breathing heavily but a cocky smile on his face.
"You forgive me?"
Ignoring Heero's question, Duo spoke in a low suppressed tone. "Do you believe.." His long chestnut hair, once shinning, were now damped and cascaded down his shoulder chaotically. ".... that my mother spent over hundred dollars on Taxi to deliver this damn postcard to me right after the competition?" He stepped closer. A strong wind swirled up to him, causing the jacket he wore open, revealing his smooth chest. "And do you believe.. that I spent another hundred bucks just so that I could get here to kick your butt for what you did to me?"
Still sitting on the cliff with his head turned toward the approaching longhaired youth, Heero nodded. He believed Duo. The swimmer looked like he just got out of the competition and ran out here without even changing.
"You...." Duo reached out his hand, holding Heero's chin. "How am I going to make you pay for what you make me go through this past two years......."
Heero locked his aqua blue eyes with the violet, fearlessly.
"How am I going to make you suffer, the pain you put me through..thinking that you have chosen him... over me....." He bent and leaned close to the Japanese.
Heero stayed silent, only watching Duo, surrendering himself.
"You.... god damn.....idiotic, moronic, hopelessly stupid jerk....." Duo leaned so closed to Heero's face that his forehead touched the other youth's.
Heero did not back away. He did not have to. He felt the hot breathe coming from the longhaired youth blown on his cheek. "I was only coaching him......." Heero whispered.
Letting out a small sigh, Duo immediately crushed his lips against Heero. At the same time, he collapsed on the ground, his arms wrapped around the Japanese youth.
Heero closed his eyes, feeling Duo's eager tongue exploring his.
Duo parted his lips. His violet eyes looked deeply into the aqua blue. "Was it a test for me? Were you trying to see how fucking long I would wait for you?"
Heero shook his head. "I was needed to help Milliardo recover. To repay the debt I owed to his sister."
Duo narrowed his eyes. "What debt?"
"She saved my life."
"Well then." Duo shrugged. "I guess I will take that as a good reason for LEAVING ME, and LET ME HANGING!" Having said that, Duo roughly pressed his lips against Heero's, as if he was punishing the Japanese youth for ever leaving him like that.
Heero did not object as he willingly parted his lips and allowed Duo to enter the warm cavern, feeling Duo's tongue battled against his.
But the longhaired youth soon gave up and concluded the sweat punishment with a soft gentle kiss. "But if you ever jump off like that again," Duo pulled away, seriousness gathered on his face. "I will kill you. I will end your miserable life first just so that I don't have to see you jump. Just so that you won't trample over my heart like that ever again"
"I am a diver, Duo."
"Holy shit. No kidding...." Duo pulled Heero close. "Then fucking act like a diver and not a suicidal jerk!"
"I could not ask you to wait for me that day when Milliardo needed me. It would not be fair. I did not know how long it would take for Milliardo to recover." Heero said evenly. "Forgive me?"
"What do you think?" Duo placed a butterfly kiss on Heero's forehead. "I am such a generous man that I am willing to let this go. But only just this once."
"Arigato......"
Duo smiled for the first time since last year.
The two sat side by side, watching the sun settling down on the ocean. There were no words exchanged. Both bathed in the comfort of each other.
Suddenly, giving in to his temptation, Duo turned and kissed Heero again. He whispered as he felt Heero's smooth skin against his. "So....you wanna know who won the competition?" His finger lingered at the base of Heer's T- shirt.
Heero shook his head. "It doesn't matter." He leaned even closer to Duo. "You have already won this competition a long time ago......" He sealed his lips against the longhaired youth. He placed his palms against Duo's bare chest.
Duo sighed. He gave in into the kiss, enjoying the attention Heero was giving to his lips and feeling the warmth traveled from Heero's fingers. Duo relaxed, the crumbled postcard slipped out of his hand and fell on the ground.
The wind blew across the cliff softly.
As if having the wings of a dove, the postcard was soon carried by the current. It swirled up into the air gently. It circled above the two lovers as one pushed down the other. It lingered briefly just enough for it to give blesses to the lovers before the wind pick up and sent it away, leaving the two their privacy. The sun settled down to the ocean line. But a few remaining rays of sunshine caught and reflected the small writing of the postcard as it headed toward the far end of the sea.
~~~~
Duo, Ai shiteru
Signed,
Heero Yuy
~~~~~
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
OWARI
Note: [1] can you tell I am running out of character names? ^_^;;;
[2] Thank you Kristie for supplying that piece of information ^_^
[3] To be honest, I was going to end the fic right here and add a little scene of the postcard, and hint at the "Duo, Ai shiteru" part... ^_^;;; but I finally decide against...because I can just imagine you guys killing me for it....
[4] So Koichi is the version of Heero I imagined if Duo did not reciprocate the feeling... and I just thought that I added this little part to contrast with Heero and Duo.. and guess what.. suprisingly, I kind of like Koichi and Solo's final scene better... ^_^;;; hum...... I wonder what does that say.. maybe next time I should go for the not so happily ever after ending?
*duck*
okay, never mind, Duo is over there throwing food at me now.... I guess I will just scratch that thought.. ^_^;;;;
NOTE:
This fic costed me EIGHT MONTHS to finish. It was first posted on 1x2ML on september 1st, 2001 and was completed on April 27th....
Looking back.. I know for sure that I will never EVER write another story this long now..... unless I know I have time to finish it up quickly... because I hate loosing readers.. and God knows how many did I loose when I spent this freaking long time to complete this.. The fact that I took two breaks in the middle of this fic probably didn't help either...
anyhow, thank you for those who stayed until the end since the beginning.. I sincerely hope the ending is not too anti-dramatic... though I love those dramas and cliffhangers, I usually prefer the ending to be quiet and suggestive.... also...since there is a huge time gap (in the story) between chapter 20 and 21 ^_^;;;; and the styles are completely different... I hope the flow is okay.....but please let me know..
And.. I know there are people out there just dying to see lemons....^__^;;; i want to too... but... I am not very good at writing it... maybe someone would want to pick it up or help me with it?
anyhow, I guess this is the last chapter but I still would like to see some C&C or reviews if possible.........maybe that will make me crank up the epilogue? *hint hint.*
Canisa
p.s.
Just in case people were wondering why I wrote chapter 20 the way I ddi .....
I am sorry about the unusal nature of chapter 20. I have received the feedbacks... I am glad that some people found it amusing. I also understand that it's confusing and hard to read at the same time....I guess I was fed up with RL(real life)'s rigid structure and wanted a change so I took a rebellious step in my fic. It just that I wanted to break out of this tiny little box that seems to always tells me what is supposed to be right and wrong. I guess I just want to explore all kinds of possibilities and not limit myself to what people usually do....... so I boldly, if not recklessly, wrote chapter 20 composed of entirely diaglogues....
and I am really grateful of your understanding, tolerance and acceptance. I am not sure if I will really fix up that chapter...at this present time, I want it that way, in my own stubborn way........ guess I want to prove something... don't know if I really did... maybe some day when I am older and wiser and I will be able to see things more clearer.......