Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Crimson Nights and Scarlet Dawns ❯ Chapter 6

*this* indicates emphasis

/this/ indicates thoughts

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SIX:

Three days later, Duo was awakened by two short, sharp knocks on his door. Starting up with a muttered curse, he blinked owlishly towards the door for long enough that the person outside felt the need to repeat their knocking.

/There are twenty-four hours in a day,/ a scowling Duo mentally grumbled as he dragged himself from under the covers. /So why does everyone need to see me during the four or so hours when I'm asleep?/

Reaching the door, he took hold of the knob and jerked, intending to treat his unwelcome intruder to as much of a glare as he could manage with his eyes still half-closed. Instead he ended up staring wide-eyed, quite suddenly awake, as he found himself looking into hard blue eyes from no more than a few paces away.

/Heero./

The moment stretched. The Dayhunter stood with his arms crossed and his face closed, and Duo quickly got the impression that the other man was assessing him. That thought was closely followed by a faint flush as Duo imagined his appearance-- long hair pulling out of its braid and fuzzing out around his head, dressed in a rumpled tee-shirt and boxers--

/And probably with pillow lines running across my face, with my luck. Well, screw him. He wakes me up, this is what he gets./ Suppressing his embarrassment, he crossed his arms in half-conscious mimicry of the other's pose, and set about conducting an assessment of his own. /See how you like it, buddy./

The Dayhunter's messy brown hair was just as unruly as it had been the last time Duo had seen it, and he was dressed in unremarkable dark clothing. His face was set in hard lines, his eyebrows pulled down sharply over his eyes, but Duo eventually managed to look past the glare and study the features themselves. /Looks like he has a bit of Asian blood in him somewhere? Just something about the shape of the face--/

With a sudden start, Duo finally noticed that Heero was shorter than him by a good three inches. /And I'm not tall by any stretch of the imagination,/ Duo thought ruefully. /But he doesn't seem *short*, somehow. Hunh. I never went in for any of that crap about force of personality making someone seem taller, but y'know? I think I've just been made a believer. With him, you just don't notice./

/This man,/ Duo concluded, taking in the poised stance-- relaxed, yet still radiating a kind of ready tension that Duo had seen during his short stay with the military, in some of the long-term campaigners. /He is very, very dangerous. This guy coming towards you would be like a sledgehammer swinging at your head-- you can ignore it, but would that really be a good idea?/

Then Duo glanced up and met the other's eyes once more, and there was a moment in which he was stunned by something he saw in that gaze, something he couldn't even begin to identify-- and then the shock of recognition shoved that aside.

"You were in my room when I first woke up here," he said conversationally. "Weren't you? Standing by the door in case things went wrong." Another memory reared up, fuzzy and vague but enough to make Duo's eyes widen. "And you were the one that chased the vamp off me in the first place."

Heero gave a single brief nod.

Duo nodded slowly in return, sorting through the jumbled bits of memory that he could get to come clear. "What happened to the bastard, anyway? You get him?" He interrupted himself with a sudden frown. "Her? It?"

One eyebrow quirked upwards, though the rest of the face remained impassive. "He is dead," came the short reply.

/As if there was really any other possibility,/ Duo added on with a mental snort. "Well then, I guess I owe you one, hmm?"

Heero gave a noncommittal grunt, dismissing the issue.

Duo waited a moment to see if more was forthcoming, but the other remained silent so he gave a little shrug and let it go. "So," he said, giving the Dayhunter a friendly, lopsided grin. "What brings you to my little corner of the world on such a fine, er--" He glanced pointedly around his dark, windowless room. "Non-existent morning? Assuming it's morning, that is."

Heero's gaze flicked away to follow Duo's examination of the room, but otherwise he didn't respond to anything other than the basic question. "The doctor has cleared you," he said tersely. "If you want to join the Dayhunters, I'll take you to our residence now. You'll have a day to adjust, then you'll accompany us on a mission tomorrow afternoon. Reconnaissance and information, mostly; we won't expect you to fight right off." His eyes flicked downwards once in a blunt survey of Duo's self, and the implications of the look combined with the words had Duo bristling in bruised pride.

/I can hold my own, you ass--/ "Wow, field work so soon? No rest for the wicked, hmm?" he quipped, his grin growing a bit brittle at the edges.

Heero ignored him. "If you can work reasonably well with us on this mission, you will be given the chance to prove yourself further. If it becomes apparent that you are incompatible with my team, you will have to find a place elsewhere."

/No pressure. Christ, this guy needs to work on his people skills. But I suppose the logic makes sense, so--/ "Fair enough," was all he said. "Gimme a few seconds to pull my shit together, and we can go. The sooner we get there, the sooner we see if this is going to work, right?" Duo flashed another grin and, with no further warning, shut the door in the other's face.

/And if you think you can scare me off or make me change my mind, you're sorely mistaken./ Quickly, he rooted through his clothes and dug out something he deemed suitable; he grinned unrepentantly as he pulled the shirt over his head. /I can be a stubborn bastard when I want to be, my Dayhunter friend, and you've just made it so that you'll never get rid of me./

He hesitated only briefly before pulling off his hair elastic and hurriedly rebraiding the long mass, heedless of tangles. He then grabbed all of his remaining clothing-- the few items that had been procured for him by Sally and Hilde-- and stuffed them in a bag before heading back to the door. As an afterthought, he detoured long enough to grab a carton of synth from the cupboard.

Duo opened the door just as he was taking a first slurping gulp out of the carton's straw. "You had breakfast yet?" he asked Heero, gesturing with the drink in one hand. "I've got more."

Heero gazed at the carton coldly, then slid his glare downwards to fix on the front of Duo's black tee-shirt, where a white stick figure with its fingers in its ears was blowing a raspberry at him. The Dayhunter's scowl deepened slightly before he gave a disapproving grunt and turned away.

Behind his back, Duo grinned evilly around his mouthful of straw. /I'm obviously going to have to do some wardrobe shopping. You think this is bad, Heero? This is only the beginning./ He took a long draw from the carton, making sure the straw slurped loudly when it got to the bottom. /If you can't beat them, make them mad enough that they kill you quickly./

He fell into step beside Heero and began the walk with a bright-eyed smirk on his face.

The hallways they passed through were familiar for the first few turns, but then passed into areas that Duo hadn't seen before. For a while he glanced around at each new corridor, trying to figure out what their purpose might be, nodding amicably at the people they passed. But his mood slowly dampened. The halls were mostly lined with uninteresting rooms that looked like offices from what he could see of them. And the people--

Duo frowned, turning his head slightly to watch the latest pass him by. The pattern was the same with each, though each person showed it to a different degree. They always started out by meeting his gaze with some form of greeting, until they saw who he was with. Then, their eyes would shift between the two of them, and their smiles would falter a bit. The expression would be gone almost instantly, in most cases, but it was still there.

/I assume that Mr. Personality's sunny disposition has something to do with it, but it's still odd./ His eyebrows drew down as he frowned in thought. /I don't think I'm imagining it./

"They're jealous," a voice said quietly from beside him. Duo turned in surprise to face Heero, who continued to walk in an unhurried yet distance-devouring stride as if he hadn't spoken. But his eyes flicked over once, and Duo knew his reactions had been noted by that sharp gaze.

"Jealous of what?" he challenged.

Heero gave the barest ghost of a sigh, looking for an instant like he regretted starting the conversation, but he still continued. "You're not light sensitive. They're jealous of the fact that you can still see daylight, while they can't. It's the same with all of us."

Duo opened his mouth but closed it again without speaking, thinking things over. He pictured the look in the eyes of those they'd passed that morning and tried to see it in the light of this new information-- and had to stop himself from grimacing as he succeeded only too well. /It could very easily be as he says,/ he thought ruefully. /Now that I think about it, Hilde was acting a bit odd the last few days, when I saw her. I thought she was just anxious over getting back to active duty soon, but there was something else there too./ Another memory surfaced, that he had nearly forgotten. /And Sally-- I know I saw something that day she was checking me over, some reaction to something. Damn, damn, damn./

Another person passed them, and Duo automatically smiled at them and nodded a greeting. They responded in kind for the briefest instant, then went through the same double-take routine as all the rest. Duo felt his own smile wilt at the cold edge that crept into the other's expression as they passed by.

"Is it like this with everyone?"

Heero's shoulders lifted in a brief shrug. "Most are fine to work with. They treat us a bit differently, but don't let it affect them on a professional basis. Some--" A sharper frown passed over his stern features. "Some are bitter, and avoid us altogether. A few hate us on principle, but those have learned to stay out of our way."

Duo shivered, and not entirely from the deadly cold tone that had crept into the other's voice as he spoke those last words. For a moment, Duo could do nothing but remember that one short time when Hilde had taken him to visit her Nighthunter family.

/Family. It really was that,/ he thought somewhat wistfully. /And if I were to go back there right now, would they even let me in the door? Would it have the slightest chance of being the same?/

/Apparently not. And why does that hurt so much?/

Shoving those thoughts aside, Duo let out a heavy sigh. "Do they act like that towards everyone who is light tolerant, or just the Dayhunters?"

"We're the only ones they encounter regularly, the only ones who live in the compound. Non-sensitives that can't be Hunters are placed outside to gather information." Another sidelong glance was darted Duo's way. "We'll be meeting with some of them tomorrow."

"Ah," was all Duo could think to say, still slightly overwhelmed by all that had gone before. /So, five people who can still see the sun out of who-knows-how-many living in this place. Feeling a little bit outnumbered, here./ For a moment, he thought back to the intense feeling of relief he'd experienced when Sally had told him his test results. /I guess I can understand how they feel, though. To have nothing but darkness and fluorescent lights for the rest of a very long existence-- that's got to be incredibly depressing, after a while./

/And every time they see one of us-- hey, wait a minute./

"How do these people know who I am?" he blurted.

Heero actually turned his head towards him as he looked over, and Duo read confusion in the slight pinch between his brows. Duo let out a frustrated sigh and waved his arms in a vague gesture behind him, towards those they had passed. "Those people weren't just reacting to you. They saw you, made some sort of connection and then recognized *me* somehow. But how is that possible?"

Heero snorted, and if Duo hadn't been so distracted he would have gaped at the barest hint of a smirk that appeared on those tight lips. "Everyone knows of you, Duo Maxwell," he said, faintly mocking. "The new shapechanger who was due to join the Dayhunters? With a rare combination like that, you can bet the entire compound knew about you almost before you did yourself. It's enough that you're an unfamiliar face walking with me."

Duo blinked. "Oh," he said faintly. He blinked again, then shook himself and cleared his throat. "Well then, it appears you have the advantage," he continued, trying for the light, mischievous tone he had mastered earlier. "You apparently know me better than I do, and yet I know your first name and that's about it."

There was definitely a spark of amusement in those impassive blue eyes. "Heero Yuy," he said blandly, giving a faint nod by way of introduction.

Duo scowled in exaggerated frustration, though couldn't stop the grin that quirked up its edges. "Thanks, that's so helpful," he drawled. /Heero Yuy, hmm? Definitely Asian ancestry in there somewhere. Japanese?/ "Well, nice to meet you, Heero Yuy." He didn't hold out his hand, knowing it wouldn't be taken, and was given another flicker of blue eyes in his direction as acknowledgement.

They continued walking in a silence that seemed much more comfortable than the one that had stretched earlier. At several points along the trek, Duo couldn't help but glance at his companion sidelong, studying the stern face. With a purely inward sigh, he acknowledged that maybe his earlier plan was not the best. /I suppose it's not generally a good idea to annoy the crap out of the guy who's pretty much going to be your boss,/ he thought ruefully. /No matter how annoying, how condescending, how coldly friggin' arrogant he might be--/

/Oh, bloody hell. This isn't going to be easy, is it?/

An image surfaced in his mind, of those darkly blue eyes staring at him with that harsh and scornful glare-- but then that image was replaced by that of a glinting sidelong glance and an almost-smirk. Duo heaved another mental sigh. /Fine. I'll do my best not to be deliberately pissy. Maybe-- *maybe*-- this will work./

I want it to work, he was finally forced to admit. /I want what Hilde had with the people in that room. And if the only way I'm going to get that is to get along with Mr. Deathglare here and his cronies-- then I'll give it my best./

/But good God in heaven, I hope they aren't all as sour as him. I *really* need to teach this guy to smile./ He dared another quick, assessing sidelong glance. The potential is there, I've seen it--

They had slowly been travelling into less and less populated areas of the compound, and now were walking through wide halls that had rough concrete blocks showing through the paint on the walls. Duo broke off his contemplation of his companion and looked around in interest as they made their way across the cluttered floors of several larger chambers which apparently served at least part of their time as garages. His interest turned into incredulity as they passed next through a hot room filled with hissing and humming machinery.

"Um-- Heero?" He dared a bewildered little smile in the other's direction. "Dare I ask why we're in the boiler room?"

"It's not much farther," came the reluctant reply. "Our suite has its own entrances and exits, so we don't often need to go into the main compound. There are several routes other than this one that would have got us to our destination faster, but they are usually heavily travelled at this time of day." A sliver of blue flashed as yet another glance was sent Duo's way. "I anticipated your reaction to the people we met, and chose the least populated route."

Duo was stunned. /That was actually-- did he really do something considerate? For me? He went out of his way to make me more comfortable?/

/He probably justifies it as avoiding undue mental stress in an ally, keeping the team strong./

/Don't care. He still did it, which means there's definitely something human underneath that layer of ice. Heero my friend, you have just given me hope./

Unable to suppress a grin, Duo followed without complaint as Heero led him up a seemingly endless stairwell and onwards.