Gundam Wing is property of Sotsu Agency, Bandai
Studios, and TV Asahi. Sainan no Kekka and all
original characters and plot copyright 2000 by
Quicksilver and Gerald Tarrant. Please ask permission
before reposting.
Special thanks to Lyra Stormrider, co-writer of this
sidestory with Quicksilver.

 
SHIN KIDOU SENKI GUNDAM WING

SAINAN NO KEKKA
Reunion: Heero and Duo
Part III: Commilito

 


"I believe I have seen you...
In this white wave
You are silent
You are breathing
In this white wave...
I am free"
--Sarah McLachlan, Silence
 
After Duo paid for their food, the two wandered back
outside, looking around the area. Heero watched to see
where Duo wanted to go first.

"What do you want to do, Heero?" Duo asked, sighing as
he watched the shorter boy shrug expressionlessly. Not
again. �If I get my way, we�ll be going over the fence
and to the nearest strip joint,� he said, ignoring the
fact that there was no way off base since he�d
promised Hilde he�d stay on.

Heero didn�t smile, and there was a stillness to him
that suggested that he had a definite opinion. �I want
to see the Gundams again,� he said finally, in a soft
voice. �I didn�t get to say hello properly last time.�

Duo looked at his friend before nodding. �Yeah, you
should. I�m sure Zero missed you� and you need to talk
some sense into it. It almost drove Hilde nuts on the
way back from L2. Not very good manners towards a
lady.�

For the first time in Duo�s acquaintance with him,
Heero almost tripped over his own feet. �You let Hilde
fly Zero?� he said in sheer shock.

�It wasn�t by choice!�

Heero stared at Duo with cobalt eyes wide. "You mean
she tricked you into it?"

Duo flushed, rubbing sheepishly at the back of his
head. "Something like that. Hil is devious when she
wants to be," he admitted quietly.

Heero finally looked away, glancing up at the stars.
"She's a good match for you then. You need someone
with a devious mind looking after you."

"Hey! Not nice, Heero!" Duo exclaimed.

�No one ever accused me of being nice.�

The two walked in silence towards the hangar, enjoying
the night air. It was a clear out, and the air was a
little bit too warm for comfort, but both of them knew
it would soon be cooling down. Around them were the
sounds of the occasional vehicle passing by, along
with the pounding of footsteps of soldiers on patrol.
The walk was lengthy, but Heero had been confined to
rehab, and Duo had been in the hangar he was about to
return to.

Actually, maybe going back wasn�t such a good idea. If
Hilde found out, she would kill him.

Heero glanced over at Duo, surprised at how silent he
was all of a sudden. "Having second thoughts?" he
asked quietly.

"Nah, just pondering how badly Hilde is going to
mangle me if she finds out I've gone back to the
hangar." Duo chuckled a little, looking at Heero. "Ah,
well, I won't tell if you won't."

Heero shrugged a little. "I doubt she'd listen to me."

"Maybe not." Duo admitted. "Anyhow...you haven't
finished telling me about what's been going on in your
life. What about that Atsuki you mentioned, hmm?"

�She�s dead,� Heero said briefly. He remembered
promising to tell Duo about Atsuki, but he wasn�t
ready to talk about Atsuki� at least not yet.

�We�ll talk about it inside of the hangar, with the
Gundams, then. Maybe you�ll feel more comfortable
after seeing Zero again.�

Duo nodded and raced ahead to the hangar, going by the
guards after giving the appropriate passwords, and
entering his pass code into the lock. The metallic
door rose in front of them, and they entered together,
once again standing before the great machines that had
shaped their lives.

Heero followed Duo a bit more sedately, hands once
again shoved into his pockets. It seemed to him that
everything in his life revolved around the giant
machine he was about to see again. It always had, and
probably always would.

It was as thought the Gundam had been waiting for him.
The unpowered eyes reflected the dim lightening in the
hangar, but Heero could feel the life within the
machine. "Hello, Zero..." he whispered. "I'm sorry
I've ignored you for so long..." He reached out at
caressed the gundium leg, and wondered why he had ever
left.

It was his life; he was Heero Yuy, and he had finally
accepted it.

Duo leaned back against Deathsycthe's leg, arms folded
behind his head as he watched Heero interact with his
Gundam. He knew what it was like, returning after so
long, and he knew that he should give Heero a little
time by himself.

When Heero finally turned to look at him, Duo grinned
and stretched. "Feel better now that you've seen him?"

"It's like a part of myself is back." Heero's eyes
grew distant.

Duo tugged on his braid as he thought of something
that wouldn't incite his friend. "You wanna go up? Run
a systems check? I have everything in pretty good
order, but there's some personal tweaks you'll have to
make. When Hil went in, she shut some systems down
cause of the damage Zero got during the Eve Wars, and
you'll need to personalize him again."

Heero looked thoughtful before shaking his head
sharply. "I'll...do that in a little while." he
replied, looking up at Zero once more. He wanted to be
alone when he did the repairs and 'tweaks' that Duo
spoke of.

The long-haired boy nodded, not surprised by Heero's
response. After he watched him for a few minutes
longer, he gestured to the scar on Heero's face. "You
ever going to tell me where you got that?"

�I... it was a gift. I thought I wanted it, so I
didn't get medical attention..." Heero replied. His
hand crept up to the scar and touched the puckered
skin, wondering why he had believed that.

"You said it was from a friend," Duo returned, eyes
flashing with barely concealed anger. "You wouldn't
have let just anyone take a swing at you... was it
Darkflight? Because if it was, I'm giving him a
matching one..."

"No, it wasn't Darkflight. I had this long before I
ever met him." Heero murmured, dropping his hand from
his face. He was unsure how Duo would react when he
told him who it was, especially considering how
volatile the other boy was when angered. "It
was...Zechs." He watched Duo carefully to see his
reaction, in case he had to stop him from doing
something rash.

Duo's list of explanatives would have been cherished
by most delinquents. He ranted for a full minute on
Heero's stupidity before taking a deep breath,
shutting his eyes, and counting backwards from ten to
one. After he finished, he looked at his friend with a
bloodthirsty smile. "So much for Zen. I'm still ready
to smash you into a wall for being such a fucking
idiot," he said. "What the HELL were you doing with
Zechs, and why would you consider a scar like that a
gift?"

�It was chance... we ran into each other after the
war. We both were pretending to be no one, or just
refugees. He saw that I was trapped by all the
expectations of the world before I could... and he did
me a favor. He killed me... or so I thought." Heero
climbed on top of Zero's right foot, offering a hand
to help Duo up as well. 

Duo took it without hesitation. "I think you're nuts,"
he said, settling himself back. "Then again, insanity
does seem to be a job requirement for piloting."

Heero gave a lithe shrug, glancing at Duo from the
corner of his eye. "You're probably right about that."
he replied. "We all have our moments, don't we?" He
sighed a little. "I thought being dead was what I
wanted."

"There's enough people who die around us, Heero. We
carry death wherever we go- none of us are gonna die
of old age in bed- but don't go seeking the reaper.
Cause if you do, I'll maim you."

�Your Ilene... Atsuki... maybe it'd be better if we'd
die," Heero said, starting to become even more
melancholy.

"Heero?"

�Huh?" Heero was taken aback by the utter seriousness
in Duo's voice.

"Shut the fuck up about dying. Concentrate on living
now. And remember those who died... what happened to
your Atsuki?"

"I...killed her." Heero's eyes became more shadowed as
he spoke, looking away from Duo.

"Huh?"

"She died in the attack on the base. It was my
fault...if...if I hadn't called her name, she would
still be alive." A slim hand came up to massage his
temple. "I called her name, and she stopped to look at
me...and they shot her. I watched her fall." Heero
gave a very quiet sigh. "Another person who died
because of me."

"You didn't kill her... everyone makes their own
choices in life. She chose to be here, chose to take
that chance. She was Quatre's sister; chances are even
without you, she would have been involved." Duo paused
and looked at the mourning Zero pilot. "You need to
remember her, but don't carry any guilt for her. If
she loved you, and I think she did, she wouldn't want
you to. We have enough guilt for things that are
really our fault."

Heero was quiet for several long moments before he
turned to look at the other pilot again. "When did you
get to be so smart, Duo?" he finally asked, with a
very small hint of a smile drifting across his lips.
"Sometimes...it seems like you're the only one that
knows the correct thing to say. When I need to hear
something...it almost always comes from you." Heero
watched Duo, his tone that of wistful musing.

That's because I talk so often that occasionally the
right words are bound to come out," Duo said, smiling
sadly. "Truth is, I've grown up. We all have... or I
assume the others have. I've only seen Trowa, since
the war. Quatre was tied up with his legal battle, and
Wufei was in the hospital... not where I wanted to
meet him again. And then there was the attack..."

"Wufei brought us, Darkflight and I, to the base."
Heero replied, glancing away again. "We...we were
hired to kill him...actually." The Japanese boy stared
at the far wall, not wanting to see the expression on
Duo's face at this revelation. "I haven't seen the
others yet."

"Kill him?" Duo said. "Why?"

"There was a contract out on him, from L1..." Heero
answered.

"I wonder if anyone else took it... but I'm even more
curious who had the contacts to pay to have assassins
from L1 shipped in... and why Wufei," Duo mused.

Heero shrugged, a slight tension still in his posture.
"I don't know. Assassins aren't hired to ask questions
of their employers. All I know is someone on L1 wanted
Wufei dead." He took another deep breath. "Even if
someone else took the contract, they'll have a
difficult time getting on base right now. What about
those legal troubles you mentioned Quatre was dealing
with? What's going on? I'm still...out of the loop
with everything."

Duo accepted the subject changed, grating his teeth.
"The world's hosting a Gundam Pilot Roast, and trying
to serve everyone. Quatre's the first up, and if he
fails, we're all heading to the frying pan. The
trial... it's in three days, and..."

�Three days? I thought the attack had postponed it..."
Heero said.

"They did. What day do you think is it?" Duo asked
curiously.

Heero sighed, running his fingers along Zero's new
paint job. It seemed odd that the Gundam looked so
perfect; he was used to seeing his friend battle
scarred. "I lost track of time... mid-July, I guess."

"That's about right."

Heero gently ran his fingers over his scar, mind far
away as he thought over the implications of what Duo
had told him. They, all of the pilots, were in for a
rough time now that their identities were out. It was
just Quatre's luck that he was the first one they
decided to sacrifice. "It never ends, does it?"

Duo watched him. "It's odd, seeing you with that..."

Heero smiled at his friend. "It really bugs you that
Zechs was the one who gave it to me, doesn't it?"

"Damn right!" Duo agreed.

Heero chuckled lightly, running his hand through his
hair. "It's not like I could have tracked you down and
asked for a scar, now is it?" He knew that Duo was
still trying to understand why he had kept such a
scar, instead of getting it tended to.

Duo smiled wickedly. "Have that knife still?"

Heero felt a sensation he'd almost forgotten; it was
the feeling that Duo was about to suggest something
really crazy that he's get dragged into. "Yes... and
no, I don't need the other side of my face slashed
open or you to reopen my scar, thank you," he said
drolly. He'd forgotten that he could have fun teasing
Duo.

It was about being human- that was the key to his
friendship with Duo. Duo didn�t treat him like an idol
or a weapon, but a person with feelings and opinions. 

"You really think I'd do that?" Duo asked, giving his
best puppy eyes.

I never know with you." Heero remarked, blinking at
Duo. "Why do you want the knife anyhow? Suddenly
decide that you do want to chop off your braid after
all?" The cobalt-eyed pilot smiled again.

"No way!" Duo exclaimed, clapping his hand over his
braid and staring at Heero with wide eyes. "I would
never cut my braid off!"

"I was teasing," Heero said.

"I wasn't!"

Heero smiled at him, starting to feel alive for the
first time in eighteen months. "Then what do you want
it for?" he asked.

Duo lost his smile, and he became intense. Heero had
forgotten how volatile Duo's moods could be. "I... I
remember something from the street." His voice was low
and level, but the intensity warned Heero that this
was of paramount importance to the Deathscythe pilot.

Heero arched his eyebrow and waited for Duo to
continue. If he was bringing up something from his
time living in the streets, Heero was fairly sure that
it was a serious matter. Especially considering how
solemn and serious the typically genki boy was acting.
"Oh?"

"None of us had family... so occasionally people who
were very close would take family... blood brother.
Mingle your blood with someone else's, and leave the
scar." Duo seemed to grow almost shy. "I never had a
brother before, and you're the closest thing I have."

Eyes widening, Heero took in the implications of what
Duo was saying. �You- want to be brothers with me?�

�You�re the person who knows me best, except for
Hilde. And frankly, I can think of other things to do
with her!� Duo said, but there was a caution in his
eyes, a fear that he was opening himself up to a world
of hurt and rejection.

�Isn�t it unsanitary? Can�t you catch diseases from
it?� Heero asked. The Breaks had other oaths, but he�d
never heard of a blood oath being one of brotherhood.

�Sure,� Duo said. �But it�s about trust. I have a
clean bill of health� you won�t catch anything from
me.�

�I think you should be more worried about me� I�ve
been an IV drug used for about a year.�

�I�ll take that chance� will you take that chance on
me?

It was an interesting thought- you�d have to trust the
other person utterly to take such a chance with your
health. "Aa." he muttered, pulling his knife out and
flipping it to offer the handle to the other pilot. "I
trust you." He gave Duo a shy, hesitant smile full of
sincerity and understanding.

Duo seemed like a little kid as he held the knife out.
"Ever see one of these done?"

Heero mutely shook his head.

"I cut the pad of your thumb, then you cut mine. We
let out blood mix and swear and oath of fraternity-
and make sure you cut deep enough to leave a scar!"
Duo warned.

"What happens if I don't?" Heero asked.

"You mean no scar? It means the ritual isn't binding,
and you only get one chance to do it right."

Heero made a soft sound in the back of his throat,
then nodded his head. "All right." He held his hand
out to Duo, to show that he trusted the other boy.

The Wing pilot gave no indication of discomfort as Duo
sliced deeply into his thumb, just took the knife from
him and did the same to Duo's thumb.

Friends and brothers, to the very end of life," Duo
said, pressing the wounds together, as the deep cuts
bled together, commingling their blood.

"And beyond," Heero added.

"Definitely beyond," Duo agreed.

Heero looked down at his thumb, and noted that it was
still bleeding. "We need to bandage these before they
get infected." he said, glancing over at Duo.

"Yeah. We bandage each other, as a way of closing the
ritual." Duo responded, fishing in his pocket for the
bandages he always carried with him. More often than
not, he managed to hurt himself while working with
mechanics, so it had become habit.

They applied the medical supplies with the ease of
much practice, and Duo looked at Heero�s thumb in
satisfaction. �This time, you�ll have a scar you can
be proud of, ototochan!�

Heero blinked. �Ototochan?� 

�Well, neither of us knows our real birthdays, so I
claim niisan!�

Heero leveled a look. �You�re kidding.�

"Am not!" Duo teased.

"I celebrated my birthday as September 14, AC 179.
What about you?"

Duo pouted and muttered. 

"Couldn't hear you," Heero said levelly. 

"February 29, AC 180. But I could be a lot older- I
just wanted a leap year birthday!" Duo insisted.

"And you call me weird."

Duo stuck his tongue out at Heero, still grinning
madly. "I still think I should be niisan."

Heero laughed softly, shaking his head. Standing, he
reached over and hesitantly ruffled Duo's hair. "Go
back to Hilde, Duo."

"Eh?"

"Go spend some time with Hilde. I want to work on
Zero, re-bond with him, so to speak. I'll see you
tomorrow, I promise."

Duo looked at him before touching his wounded thumb.
�Ah� gonna have to explain this one to her.�

�It was your idea, remember!� Heero said, staring at
the hoist that would help him ascend to Zero again.

�It was.� Duo prepared to jump off the Gundam, but
hesitated. �Heero?�

�Yes?�

�I�m glad you�re back.�

Heero quietly shocked himself when he answered
honestly, �You know what, Duo? I am, too.�
 


=====
Crazy world - full of crazy contradictions like a child
You're cold and you're cruel
And I, like a fool, try to cope
Try to hang on, to hope
But I've got my pride, I won't give in
Even though I know I'll never win
Oh, how I love this crazy world

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