Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Beautiful Dawn ❯ Chapter 19 ( Chapter 19 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Standard disclaimers apply: I don't own Gundam Wing or its bishounen, nor am I making any monetary profit from this fic whatsoever.


Author: Michalyn (darling_162002@yahoo.com)
Pairings: 6x1, 13+5 ( possible 13x5 later), 3+4
General Warnings: AU ( the pilots are 18, Zechs and Treize are 23) yaoi, angst, sap, lemon
Archive: http://angelfire.com/gundam/asanctuary, http://raygunworks.net, http://www.gundam-wing-universe.net/
Rating: NC 17


Warnings for this chapter: Ok, there *is * some minor violence in this chapter. None towards any person - but there * is * emotional abuse/torment. It is nothing too extreme and I don't think it is gratuitous, but it might be quite disturbing to some. I still think this chapter is worth a read though, but i'll totally understand if anyone feels the need to skip it *sweatdrop*.

Author's Notes: Please forgive my attempt at a different accent. It's not supposed to be any recognizable one either. I just hope Simon's speech is not too incomprehensible.
{} indicates flashback
~~~ indicates scene change


Feedback: craved ^_^






Beautiful Dawn 19/?
by: Michalyn






{ "Let's see how you're doing today, Wing," the dark-haired boy murmured, as he carefully surveyed his patient. He cradled the plump bundle in his palm, while deft, childish fingers unwrapped the meticulously prepared splint. His large, blue eyes brightened, transformed by the tiny smile that so seldom lit the solemn child's features. The small bird chirped as if in agreement and flapped its newly healed wings.

"That's a good boy," its young master cooed softly, as he treated his charge to a few grains of the precious birdseed that had been bought with his small allowance. He stroked his chirping patient with loving fingers. "You've healed very well haven't you?" he asked, nodding conspiratorially at his tiny friend. "Now you can really live up to your name. Do you want to go outside? That would be fun ne? And we can finally test out your new wings." He bent close, stroking the downy feathers - pale blue and white like the sky - and Wing cocked his head to one side, staring curiously at the joyful boy before him.

"You know what? I think we should--"

"Heero!" a sharp voice intruded from the hallway, shattering the tender moment. The long shadow of a man stretched out across the tiled floor, spreading like a dark, smoggy stain.

Heero froze, heart hammering in his tiny chest. "Yes sir."

"How many times have I told you to stop bringing in these filthy things?" A sharp, derisive nod towards the bird held lovingly in Heero's hands.

The dark head bowed, blood thrumming nervously as he waited for the retribution he knew he could not escape.

A pause.

"Come along boy. Dinner is ready."

The sharp click of heels as the figure turned, followed by the ringing of footsteps against tiles as he retreated.


Heero let out the breath he had been holding and quickly returned Wing to the safety of his hiding place behind the small bookcase. "I'll be back," whispered hurriedly. "-And then we will fly."

The boy allowed himself one wistful, backward glance as he hurried to claim his seat at the table.




~~~




Heero's hands, safely hidden from J's view by the heavy tablecloth fidgeted nervously in his lap as he waited for the food to appear. He had learned very quickly, that his guardian abhorred any sort of fidgeting at the table, but today he couldn't help it - not when Wing was waiting for him. He allowed himself one surreptitious glance down the table's impressive length, to where J sat at the very head. The man was quiet, calmly reading a newspaper as he waited for his own meal to arrive. Heero's gaze returned to his lap as he thoughtfully studied his fingers. When J had walked in on him and Wing, he had been gripped by dread of what J's punishment would be for his disobedience. And * any * kind of disobedience was usually met with the imposition of some near-torturous task: The thought of polishing all the silverware in the mansion to a spotless gleam for a second time had been enough to make his heart hammer in his chest. The boy's expression softened in relief. J had said nothing since, though. He snuck one more glance across the table. Maybe he was in a good mood today.

The plump form of the cook, followed by a small entourage of servants bustled through the door. As the others began arranging the different dishes around the table, Heero noticed that Cookie seemed to be holding back. He held a small covered dish in one hand, while the other beefy hand, smoothed nervously over his spotless uniform. Heero's blue eyes narrowed in concern. Maybe he wasn't feeling well. The rosy, healthy glow he had come to think of as, as much a part of the jovial man as the tasty dishes he magically created was gone. Instead, he seemed pale, and beads of cold sweat dotted his brow and upper lip. The young boy was just about to relieve the man of his small burden, thinking that it would give him some time to take a short rest, when J called sharply from across the table.

"Simon! Bring that dish over here." He turned to Heero. " I ordered something special for you boy."

Heero stared. Something special? --And for him? J really must be in a good mood today. His dark head turned eagerly towards Simon as the man warily approached. He was sweating more profusely now, and there seemed to be a slight tremble to his hands as well. When he was standing next to Heero, he didn't release the dish however, instead, he seemed to clutch it more tightly. He turned to J with pleading eyes.

"Please, sir - I don't think --"

"Silence!" J bellowed as he shoved the newspaper roughly aside. His gray eyes gleamed dangerously. "Did I ask for your opinion?" he growled. "You will do as you're told --" he intoned, softly - dangerously - and Heero stilled, as the cold feeling of dread began to seep once more into his veins. "Or I will be gladly relieve you of your position."

Simon raised a hand to a sweating brow and bowed once, nervously as he placed the dish before Heero, dropping it as if it scalded. "Yes sir-sorry sir," he stammered as he quickly backed through the door.

J turned to Heero, calm now that Simon had disappeared and the fit of rage had passed. "Now, why don't you see what I've brought you?"

Heero looked unsurely at the metal dome covering the plate. What could it be? Out of the corner of his eye, he could see J staring at him with a strange intensity as he waited for Heero to unveil the surprise. Slowly, Heero reached out and pulled the cover off.


At first, he didn't recognize what it was. Just saw a soft mass of white surrounded by a deep crimson sauce. Then he saw it - the pale blue streak in the midst of red-spattered white. A rushing sound began to fill his ears as nausea overtook him. No - No-It couldn't be-couldn't-
A strangled sob escaped him.

The tiny bird lay lifeless on its side on the ivory plate, blood seeping sullenly out of the fatal slit in its neck. Something was clawing at his throat-he couldn't breathe. The world swam before him and he was suddenly on his knees, doubled over on the carpet as he retched painfully - the fresh, coppery smell of blood sharp in his nostrils.

The shiny, rounded tips of J's shoes appeared in front of him through his haze of pain.

"I hope you've learned your lesson Heero. I did not want to do this - but you forced my hand. Perhaps this time you will remember --I will not tolerate weakness. You are here for one purpose only. There is no room for petty attachments."

He stalked off leaving an anguished Heero huddled at the foot of the table. }








Zechs stared at the burly man sitting in the old wicker chair opposite him, with a mixture of horror and disbelief at the story he had just told. Both his and Quatre's collective efforts had produced only one link to Heero's past - one Simon Davey. The tall blonde had followed the trail here to Whitecross hoping to find a long-lost relative of Heero's. -- Someone willing to emotionally support his overtaxed lover - or simply willing to share the responsibility of J's treatment. He had hoped that assistance coming from a relative would have been easier for Heero to accept, for he desperately wished to abandon the deception he had had to resort to help his young lover - however well-intentioned it was. Instead, he had found the short, jovial man that had once been J's cook.

And the past he had related appalled him beyond anything he could have imagined.

He felt absolutely queasy.

He leaned forward, fists clenched in his lap as he pierced Simon with his azure gaze. "My God," he rasped out hoarsely. "What kind of unfeeling cur is this man?"

Simon shrugged, shaking his head sadly in the same movement as he began rocking again. The old floorboards creaked: gauzy shafts of light, pouring out from the spaces between them illuminating rising motes of dust.

"Whole family is cursed, I tell ya. Every last one of 'em came to a bad end. Sweetest one was Heero's mama. A lovelier girl never walked the face of this earth." His brown eyes met Zechs'. "And I don't mean only in looks neither. She was pure gold - straight through. 'Course, she done run off with that poor Japanese boy and all hell broke loose. Parents disowned her right away.
Could never understand it m'self - how some 'un could just abandon their only daughter for the sake o' money. Said she was shaming the family name." The old man laughed bitterly, the wizened lines of his face twisting into a scowl. "There was a lot o' shame in that family - that's fer sure - but it sure weren't none o' her doing.

When I heard she'd been killed, it damn near broke my heart." He looked at the aristocratic man with pained eyes. "Never had any young 'uns of my own 'see and Lily was like a daughter to me. I tried to help her - but what could an ol' cook like me do for a woman and her baby? Was near' on the streets myself." He shook his head again. "But for her to be killed like that - and in front of the boy too…" His mouth tightened. "It jus' weren't right."

Zechs froze, heart clenching as Simon's words slowly sank in. "What do you mean "right in front of the boy"," he asked slowly, praying that it was not what he was thinking. "What boy? Do you mean Heero?"

Simon frowned, eyes narrowing. "Thought you said you was a friend of the family." He peered more closely at the large man in front of him. "Didn't think nothing o' it ' cause of yer fancy duds and all. - But come to think o' it, I ain't never heard o' no Zechs Merquise before…"

Zechs ran an exasperated hand through his hair, trying not to reveal his annoyance and desperation to the older man. "That was not-- precisely correct," he admitted with a small, placating smile, but at the thought of Heero, his mouth tightened. "I am a … friend of Heero's."

The burly old man regarded Zechs for a long moment before his chest shook with soft laughter. "A * friend * eh?" he asked, and his brown eyes twinkled mischievously. Zechs was amazed to feel an actual blush climbing his cheeks. He cleared his throat. "Ahem… yes…"

Simon shook his head as he kept on rocking away. "Well I'll be damned. Never figured the boy'd grow up to be on o' those." He shrugged. " Still, 't'aint none o' my concern. Lord knows that boy's been through enough wi' out me passin' judgment on 'im." His gaze became serious once more.

"Do you love 'im?"

Zechs looked up - all embarrassment faded.

"Yes," he said quietly. "Yes I do."

Simon stared at him long and hard, his gaze shrewd and assessing. Finally he nodded as though satisfied. "Guess I can't blame ya there," he commented, face relaxing into genial, conspiratorial lines. "Jus' like his mama, that Heero. - Course by the time I came to work for J and seen how he'd adopted 'im, those damn foster homes had already worked a number on the poor kid." He said mournfully. "Never met a solemner child than that 'un. - And he had those big blue eyes - just like his mama. Still stumps me how he got 'em with the daddy bein' eastern an' all." He shrugged. " Just goes to show, you never know what nature'll toss at ya." He sighed, pulling himself out of his reverie.

"Now what was I sayin'?" he prompted Zechs. " -Ah yes…" his voice softened. "Lily's death." He began rocking again as Zechs quietly listened.

"Well seems Heero's daddy done caught some strange sickness, that burned 'im up faster 'an you could blink. -Never knew what it was." He mused softly. " 'Course he was poor -an' sometimes that's worse 'an any sickness, when it comes to getting medicine an' sich" he added, his lips thinning. "Anyhow, Lily fell on some real hard times after that --what with the bills to pay an' all. Plus she had li'l Heero to take care of, so it was real tough - 'specially since she couldn't find work. She held it togeth'r for a year 'til the bill collectors started hounding her. An' before you knew it, they kicked that poor woman out on the street with Heero no more 'an a babe. Four years old he was then…" He sighed. "Next thing I hear was a year later, and Lily'd done been shot dead by some sicko - after he'd used her." He shook his head again sorrowfully. "She was selling her body it seems…"

He pierced Zechs with a fierce look as if daring him to challenge his next statement. "Didn't make her no worse of a person neither--did what she had to do to put food in her baby's mouth." Realizing that Zechs had made no move to protest, he continued:

"When the cops came, they found Heero lying next to 'er, crying 'his little eyes out. Seems he had seen the whole thing - poor kid. I never knew what happened to him after that. --'S only when I'd been working for J for 'bout two years I known what happened to him. An' by then J was makin' all kinds of plans to adopt 'im and turn 'im into some little tycoon." He grimaced painfully.

" He killed that boy I tell you. Sure them orphanages done their work on 'im - but Jeremiah finished it off. Took every l'il pleasure - any good thing away from 'im. Like that l'il birdie. -- I'll always say he killed it out o' spite. --Just plain ol' jealousy. Heero'd look on that thing wi' more love in his eyes than he ever looked at Jeremiah. Galled the shit out o' him I tell ya. -I seen the way he'd look at the boy when he thought nobody was lookin', " he added bitterly.

" But I s'pose he loved 'im in his own way," he said after a moment. "'T'weren't always bad between them you know. Sometimes he was real nice to Heero - taking him out and buying 'im ice cream and sich. But some people's love is like a poison - and Jeremiah's was like that. It'll eat at you 'til everything that's worth living for's dead inside ya." Simon fell into a gloomy introspection, at this, seemingly forgetting that Zechs was in the room.


Zechs' hands clenched reflexively in his lap as he imagined the life of anguish Heero's had been. The cruelty of the boy's own relatives shocked him - made rage fill his vision. That there was no one to be held accountable angered him even more. How could so many have stood by and watched an innocent suffer as Heero had? For the crimes that had been committed against Heero to go unpunished seemed …atrocious.

He sighed, raking his hands angrily through his hair even as he recognized the uselessness of his rage. He all of all people should know that only the naïve believed in justice. And yet the knowledge did nothing to dissipate his anger.

It simply made him want to protect Heero all the more.

He turned to the older man again. "Please," he gritted out. "Tell me there is no more."


Simon shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. "Well if there's more I don' know it. I sure pray there ain't. If anyone deserves a chance at happiness, it's Lily's boy." He looked at Zechs curiously. "Must be all grown-up now," he mused, and Zechs nodded, a small smile lighting his features.

"He going to school?" Simon asked "He sure was a smart kid last I remember," he said with a smile of his own.

Zechs nodded again. " He's going to college right now - and a more brilliant man I've never met," he added earnestly, as he stood to leave. He bent to shake Simon's hand. "Thank you so much for all your help. It is deeply appreciated."

The old cook nodded, enveloping Zechs' elegant fingers in his beefy palm. "My pleasure," he said as he rose to show Zechs to the door. He stopped Zechs with a hand on his shoulder before the tall blonde could return to his car.

"You take good care of that boy y'hear?"

Zechs smiled fiercely at the shorter man. "You have my vow on it."




~~~~~





The sun was just dipping beneath the horizon when Zechs made it to the diner. He met Heero coming out of the employees' exit - head down, backpack slung over one shoulder and hands shoved deep into his pockets - seemingly deep in thought as he headed in the direction of the nearby bus stop. The dark-haired youth barely had time to even register his presence before Zechs was gathering up a startled Heero and crushing him to his chest, with all the desperation inspired by the day's discoveries. He claimed Heero's mouth with a fierce kiss.

"God I've missed you."




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