Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ A Lovely Mess ❯ 6 long years ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Title: A Lovely Mess

Author: Supurrkitty

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam wing, nor it's characters. On the other hand, I do own Haruki, Akira, Umeko, and Hoshi.

A/N: Well, this actually started out as a Doujinshi I drew, hell knows how long ago, and now I've decided that it would be better just to write it out, instead. Being the lazy ass I am.

Description: A what if fiction that is actually an AU from my other sets of fiction.

Note: Haruki is not from earth, the war she spoke of was at her home planet.

Chapter one: 6 long years

Haruki stepped forward to the front of the estate; smile spread across her face from ear to ear. She had a carry-bag over her shoulder and her hair was up in a ponytail. She had returned from the end of a long war and was looking forward to seeing all of her friends, especially Duo.

She told him not to expect to see her again. She even believed that she wouldn't make it back, whether she died or not. But, she was there and she didn't plan to leave ever again, not even for her family.

Haruki knocked on the front door as she thought about the look that would be on Duo's face.

Haruki giggled, then the door was opened. Her Lavender eyes met with a set of clear blue eyes.

" Hello, Quatre." Haruki smiled as she looked up at him.

" H-Haruki…?" Quatre looked down at the small woman.

Haruki nodded and hugged Quatre.

" Haruki… I…we really missed you…" Quatre hugged her back.

" Is everyone here? It is Saturday, isn't it? I wanted to come back now, because I thought it'd be better to come back with everyone here." Haruki looked past Quatre to the front room.

" Well…uh…yeah…but, Haruki…" Quatre moved out of the doorway and Haruki walked past to the room, where she saw her friends. She went and hugged all of the boys just like she did before she left.

" Akira, glad to see that you decided to stay." Haruki smiled as she gave her friend a big hug.

Then, Haruki looked around. Something was wrong; someone was missing from the room. Haruki's smile still didn't fade.

" Where's Duo?" Haruki asked and looked some more.

The smile on everyone's faces faded, except for Haruki's.

" Umm, Haruki…" Quatre walked up behind her, Haruki turned around.

" Wh-what's wrong…?" Haruki stuttered out.

" Duo is…not here…" Quatre looked at her sympathetically.

" Where is he?" Haruki started to look real worried.

" Perhaps you should sit down for this." Quatre said to her and motioned for the others to leave them alone.

Quatre sat her down and explained to her that Duo had waited for a while for her return, but then went missing. They thought that he had gone out to outer space, but no one was sure. For all they knew, he could be dead.

" I shouldn't have counted on him being here…" Haruki sobbed, " … It was too much to ask that he would hold on… We didn't think I'd come back…"

Quatre held Haruki as she cried on and on.

Haruki had searched for well over a year, until she could no longer go on with it. Quatre had convinced her to stop searching and she decided to get on with her life…

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Her hands swept over the canvas, leaving a trail of color that formed into beautiful landscapes. She sat in front of a Garden littered with colorful wild flowers and a fountain growing out of the center. She dotted areas of the paper with her colored brush. Hard as she tried, her paintings were never good enough. Vibrant with color, it lacked a certain presence that she could not pinpoint. But, nothing seemed quite right. Her heart was not settled, but it was not set free. Things were right, but not the way they were supposed to be. Destiny still had a hand to play on the poker table of life.

As she mixed some purple with the blue on her canvas her wrist twitched to make sure just enough was added. She held the brush delicately in her fingers, one of which had a beautiful diamond, engagement ring on it. She brought the brush up to the canvas and made a few marks on the already full page. She leaned back and looked at her art. It still was not finished, but she could see nothing wrong with it.

She groaned loudly as she took the canvas down and folded up the easel. She fallowed the same ritual every single time. She had already had a room full of unfinished paintings. Quatre had told her they were beautiful and they looked finished, but she never accepted them.

Haruki put her oils into the box and grabbed her pallet to wash it. She stood up from the stool and slowly turned around.

" Auntie Haki!" A little girl yelled from below Haruki shrieked, making her jump. She looked down and her eyes met with a black haired, Cobalt blue eyed five year old.

" Hoshi, what are you doing here? Are your parents here?" Haruki set her pallet down on the stool behind her and picked up the little girl.

" Only Mommy!" The little girl hugged Haruki.

" Oh?" Haruki hugged her back.

" Mommy and Daddy got into a fight again and Daddy went away and he didn't come back. Mommy says he has an important mission, just like when my Daddy fought in the big robots!" Hoshi threw her arms out to explain the tremendous mass of the 'robots'.

Haruki nodded her head and smiled at the little girl, but became increasingly worried as she went through the back door and into the house. She walked into the front room, where she saw Akira sitting and speaking with Quatre.

" Hey, I was painting in the Garden, when all of a sudden a little sprout popped up, I thought you might like it." Haruki said and set Hoshi down.

The little girl giggled and ran to her mother, hugging her legs.

" Hey, Haruki." Akira smiled at the still short, brown haired, lavender eyed woman.

" How's it going, Akira?" Haruki took her hair down from a bun. It slid down her back and stopped halfway. She had cut it a few times in the last years.

" Oh…" Akira looked down at her daughter. " You know…"

Haruki motioned to Quatre who took the cue.

" Okay squirt," Quatre picked up the little girl " Wanna have some fun with your Uncle Quatre?"

" I'm not a squirt! I'm a Kitty!" Hoshi exclaimed.

" Oh really, what kind of Kitty?" Quatre asked as they started to walk out.

" A tiger!" Hoshi smiled, widely.

" That's some kitty! Let me hear you, kitty." Quatre smiled back.

" Yaaargh!" Hoshi put her finger to her mouth to represent fangs. Quatre laughed.

Haruki and Akira watched as the two headed out of the room. Akira giggled.

" Ah, you're lucky to have him…" Akira smiled at Haruki, who smiled back.

" So, why'd you come here?" Haruki sat down next to Akira

" Me and Heero…had another fight, but this time he left… He's been gone for a few days, now." Akira said, looking down at her feet.

" Any idea where he went?" Haruki asked.

" Well, he did call us. He was in space when he called." Akira looked up again.

" What did he say?" Haruki asked.

" Well…uh…he was…uh…just making sure we knew where he was and knew that he was okay…but…" Akira pulled at her pants.

" But what, Akira?" Haruki looked at her worriedly.

" We're gonna file for divorce when he returns. You know, it's just been too much. We fight all the time, it's not good for anyone. I really thought I loved him before, but now…I dunno, it's been six long years together and we have a child. I'm really worried about Hoshi and how she'll react to this. But, I don't want her to have parents that hate each other. Which is what I think will happen if we keep going on like this. It's better to end it sooner than later…"

" It's probably for the best, anyhow. It'll be sad and different to see you two apart, but it'd be worse to see you two hate each other. Don't worry about Hoshi. She's a big girl and very intelligent, she'd love you two no matter what." Haruki smiled.

" Yeah, you're probably right. It'll be a relief to get this off my back…" Akira looked down. " what about custody?"

" What do you think, Akira? No judge would entrust an Ex-Gundam pilot with a child by himself," Haruki said.

" But, I don't want to tear her away from him. They love each other so much…" Akira thought back to her daughter.

" You won't, don't worry. They'll see each other all the time. You're one of them, a Gundam pilot, just, no one knows it other than us. You're part of this group, too." Haruki smiled.

" Haruki… haven't you noticed what's happening to everyone…?"

Haruki's smile faded.

" Haruki, everyone's drifting away. All the pilots have gone their own ways and it's just gonna be all the more weird with me and Heero separated." Akira shook her head.

" I know, that's why me and Quatre are still having the spring reunion. I want us to give it one more shot." Haruki winked and stood up. " So, you gonna come to it?"

" Yeah, I'll come, I'll make sure Heero does, too." Akira sighed.

" Great! Well, let's go find Hoshi, maybe we can go out for lunch." Haruki suggested.

" That'd be nice." Akira stood up and smiled.

Haruki and Akira walked down the hall and to an opened door, where the sounds of a little girl playing with a grown man rang out. They stood in the doorway to watch.

"…and then daddy said that mommy couldn't cook, so she put stuff in a pot and blew it up! It went BOOM!" The little girl jumped up as she threw her arms in the air.

" Just like that, huh?" Quatre laughed, then looked over at the door. Akira was blushing, slightly.

" That's enough Hoshi." Akira smiled as she scolded.

" Mommy! Mommy! Uncle Quatre says there's gonna be a ball and I can come and I can wear a pretty dress!" Hoshi hugged Akira's legs. " Can I, mommy?"

" Of course." Akira picked her up and smiled.

" Oh, I have to go put my paints away." Haruki walked out.

" I'll help." Quatre fallowed.

" Where you going, Uncle Quatre?" Hoshi swung her head towards him.

" I'll only be a few minutes." Quatre said and went after Haruki.

Haruki picked up the pallet and walked over to the sink, turning it on and started to rinse it off. Quatre started to pick up the tubes of oil paint and place them in the box.

" Akira…had another reason for coming over." Quatre said and stopped picking up paints.

" What other reason could she have?" Haruki asked as she scrubbed some of the remaining paint off under the sink.

" It was about the call that Heero gave her from space…" Quatre walked up to about two yards behind her.

" Yeah, she told me he wanted to make sure everything was okay." Haruki scrubbed some more.

" He delivered a bit of information that…she thought would be better if I told you…"

" What are you talking about, Quatre." She started to rinse the pallet off.

" Haruki…Heero…he…he found Duo…" Quatre finally got it out.

Haruki stopped her movements, but the water still ran into the pallet and slid down to the drain. A million questions ran through her head all at once.

" He was working on a sweeper ship and made a stop at L1. That's where Heero found him." Quatre walked a little closer.

Haruki felt her breathing harden and her knees became week. She leaned all her weight onto her hands, which she rested on the sink.

" I-Is he…sure it was him…" Haruki closed her eyes and could feel them water.

" Yes, he's sure." Quatre said, gently.

" Does he…know about me…?" Haruki asked, slowly.

" No. He doesn't know that you came back or even if you're alive."

" I knew there was no way he could have died! I should have kept searching!" Haruki screamed to herself.

" Haruki…it's not your fault. It was his choice to leave…"

" Because he thought I was dead! And then I gave up my search! I gave up on him! But I loved him!" Haruki swung around, dropping the pallet. " Why did you stop me from searching!? Was it the same reason you didn't stop him from leaving!?"

Haruki ran off into the garden, leaving Quatre dumbfounded, standing alone.

" Did I…?" Quatre felt water in his eyes, then shook them off and walked back inside to see Akira holding Hoshi.

Akira set Hoshi down and told her to go play. She ran off and Akira looked at Quatre seriously.

" Quatre, you can't hide her from Duo forever." Akira said, sternly.

" I know." Quatre said, as he started to walk away. " You can stay here tonight, if you wish."

Akira shook her head.

" You two have enough to deal with already. Hoshi and I have a hotel room reserved. We'll see you two Saturday, I hope. I'll walk myself out." Akira nodded to Quatre before she walked away. " Good luck."

Quatre nodded to her, then went to his office.

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She walked cautiously to make sure she would not disturb anything. As she neared the room, which was her destination, she noticed that the door was hanging open. She rounded the corner into the doorway and saw Quatre working hard at his desk. It was long past dark and she supposed Quatre had been working hard since she had yelled at him. That's the sort of person he was. She knew he worked when he was frustrated, but it never took his mind off of what was bugging him.

" Quatre…"

Quatre jerked his head up to the doorway, surprised at the sudden sound.

" Quatre, I'm sorry…I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. This has nothing to do with you." Haruki looked to the side of the doorway.

" Haruki." Quatre got up and walked to Haruki, hugging her " If it has anything to do with you, of course it has something to do with me."

" But…this was…from before…you and me…" Haruki spoke into his shoulder.

" You've helped me with things from before I knew you…I'll help you with this." Quatre hugged her tighter.

" I don't know what to do…" Haruki started to cry.

" We'll wait it out first." Quatre said " I'm sure he has a lot to catch up on with the others…"

" I…I'm confused… It was so long ago, but…I still feel for him, but I'm not sure until I meet him again…" Haruki sobbed.

" You will, you will…" Quatre pulled her away and looked down at her. He wiped away a few tears. " Don't worry, I'll be here for you no matter what. I love you. I want to always be with you. I want to marry you. You'll stay, right?" Quatre hugged her again.

" Yeah, Quatre, I'll stay." Haruki rested her head on his shoulder.

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Before now, I only loved Duo. I thought nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with my love. But then he disapeared from my life, and I thought I could live without ever seeing his face or hearing his voice or feeling his touch, ever again.

But I dreamt of seeing him, hearing him, feeling him again. I could feel that he was alive, but I always shook it off as regret for not saving him. I didn't love him anymore and he wasn't alive.

But now that I find out that he is still alive...I'm not sure what I feel anymore. I just want, at least, to see him again. Maybe then I'll know...

A/N: So, whadya think? Me thinks I should write another chapter. And so it shall be done…