Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Duo's Dilemma ❯ Chapter 14

Disclaimer - It’s not mine. Never was. The only characters I own are the ones not seen in the Gundam Wing manga/anime. So don’t sue me! It’s not like I’m making any money off of this stuff.

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Duo’s Dilemma

Chapter 14

Reconciliation

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‘Three days.’ Bella muttered, adjusting her grip on the two bags of groceries in her hands. ‘Three days and not one word from Duo. Where could he have gotten to?’

She began her short trek down the street to her apartment complex. There was no food in her apartment, and she had figured out earlier that morning that if she wanted to have something for dinner, then she had to bite the bullet and go to the grocery store. She hated going grocery shopping. But desperate times call for desperate measures, so she had went.

Bella got to the corner of the street and waited with the rest of the pedestrians until the light turned green and they could get across safely. She passed in front of the electronics store, and paused when the reporter aired the story about the additions to Benelli’s orphanage. A few seconds later, she saw her own face fill the screens, answering the questions the journalist had asked her that day at the orphanage when Duo had went with her.

‘Quit watching yourself on the television and get a move on, girly.’ she told herself. ‘You’ve got work to do, and places to go this evening. And standing around here watching yourself is not going to get it finished!’

She readjusted her hold on the two bags and continued on her way down the street. Unfortunately, she was passing in front of a hardware store when someone stepped through the door and ran smack into her. The groceries on top of the bag fell to the ground, and Bella bent down to pick them up. When she stood back up, who should be there to greet her, but the one woman on the entire colony that she had wanted to avoid.

“Ms. Schbeiker.” she said curtly, nodding at the dark headed girl who was glowering at her. “Excuse me.”

“Where’s he at?” she demanded, looking around the sidewalk as if Duo would pop out of nowhere.

“If you are referring to Mr. Maxwell, then I can’t help you.” she answered, steel in her voice. “I have not seen him since the two of you took off into the night, three days ago. In fact, I’m surprised he’s not with you.”

“He’s not speaking to me at the moment.” Hilde said, biting her lip. “And I haven’t seen him either, let alone talked to him.”

“I see.” Bella said, her eyes narrowed down in aggravation. “Well, if you’ll excuse me then. I have things to accomplish today. Good day.” She held her head up and continued on down the street, not looking back until she was at the entrance to her apartment building.

By the time she got to her floor, and into her apartment, she was thanking the heavens that she’d had her hands full when Hilde had come into view. She was still battling the urge to knock the smaller girl’s head in for acting like such a clingy witch. Thankfully, she was pulled out of her homicidal monologue by the ringing of her cell phone.

“Bella, here.” she answered distractedly.

“Hey, baby.”

“Daddy!” she said, glad to hear her father’s voice. She had not talked to him in a few days. “How are you? Is everything okay there? Where’s Rita?”

“Calm down, pumpkin. Everything is fine. How are you? No problems I hope?”

“No, everything is fine.” she lied, rolling her eyes. Her dad didn’t need to know about her drama with Duo and the Schbeiker girl. He’d probably just laugh at her and then tell her not to worry about everything, that it would work out eventually.

“I saw your interview about Benelli’s a little while ago. You did good, baby girl.”

“It was nothing.” she said, going over to start putting the groceries away. “It was good to see the kids again, though. They asked about you. And Father Benelli said to send you and Rita his regards.”

“That’s good to hear. Tell him Rita and I said hello, will you?”

“Will do, daddy.”

“I do have a question though, pumpkin.”

“Yeah?”

“Was that Preventor Maxwell I saw playing with the kids in the background of your interview?” Bella dropped the can of green bean she had in her hand when her father’s teasing voice came through the phone. “That young man looked awfully familiar. And unless it was his twin brother, I would have sworn it was the same guy that was with Relena.”

“Ummm, maybe?” she asked, not sure of what to say.

“Maybe?” her father asked, obviously not believing her evasive answers. She groaned and sat down on her counter top. Her father knew her track record with relationships, so there was no point in trying to pass it off without him knowing.

“Would you hate me if I said it was?” she asked glumly.

“No. But I would want to know why you sound so upset.” he said.

“Two words.” Bella groaned. “Bitchy ex-girlfriend.”

“Not again?” he asked. “Belladonna, you have the absolute worse luck with men.”

“Thanks, daddy. That really boosted my morale right now.” she said, her sarcasm thick. “Just what I needed to hear.”

“Sorry, baby girl.”

“It’s okay, daddy.” she said, kicking her feet out. “No harm done.”

“It’ll be fine.” her father said. Bella stifled a groan and rolled her eyes. Always the optimist, her father.

“I know, daddy.”

“Well, I hate to cut the conversation short, but I’ve got to go, Bella.”

“That’s fine. I’ve got some things to finish myself.” she said, sliding down off the counter top. “I’ll call you sometime tomorrow. How’s that sound?”

“That’s fine. Take care of yourself, and stay out of trouble.”

“I will. Bye, daddy. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye, baby girl.”

Bella waited until she heard her father hand up the phone before shutting down her phone and slipping it into her pocket. She headed straight for the bags of groceries and began putting them up. She still had one place left to go today, and she didn’t want to be late.

-

Duo Maxwell was usually a fun loving guy who always had a smile on his face. Someone who could see the sunny side of any situation. And the one who was always making someone else crack up laughing at the most inopportune times.

But today was not one of those days.

He had left his apartment earlier that day with every intention of taking a walk around the colony to clear his head. He hadn’t spoken to Belladonna in three days, despite the fact that she had called three or four times, and even come over to his apartment. He just didn’t have the guts to face her for some reason, and he couldn’t figure out why. He’d been walking for a little over an hour before he finally looked up to where his feet had brought him.

‘Benelli’s church.’ he thought glumly. ‘Someone’s trying to tell me something, aren’t they?’ He stuffed his hands down deeper into his pockets and weaved his way through the gravesites, heading for the one place he always seemed to wind up at anytime something was bothering him. Duo looked down at the cold gray of the tombstones in front of him and frowned.

“Yes, I’m back.” he said, kneeling down and picking away a few blades of grass that had been missed by the cutters. “You’re favorite trouble maker is back, and I’ve screwed up good this time.”

He proceeded to tell Sister Helen and Father Maxwell about the incident from three nights before, sitting down halfway through his story.

“So what am I gonna do?” he asked. “I’ve finally gotten rid of Hilde, but I doubt Bella is even going to want to speak to me now. She tried calling me. Hell, she even came by a few times, and I wouldn’t even open the door!” He shook his head and tried to put his feelings into words…not something he was all that good at doing on the best of days.

“I’ve faced down some of the most dangerous people in the Earth and colonies and never flinched. But now I’m scared of one woman’s reaction to what I done years ago? Ridiculous! I’ll never pick on Heero again for being taken down by a little blonde pacifist, that’s for damned sure.”

Almost as if he was getting some sort of answer from the sky, the wind kicked up and he frowned. He noticed a stray piece of paper that was being kicked around by the winds, and followed it as it danced on the invisible currents.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” he muttered, noticing a very familiar woman standing on the other end of the graveyard, halfway concealed by the thick shrubbery. He could tell she was tense. And although he couldn’t tell what she was saying, he could see her lips moving as she talked to no one in particular.

“You’re trying to tell me something here, aren’t you?” he asked, looking towards the sky. His only reply was another short gust of wind. “Might as well find out what she’s ranting about. Although I have a distinct feeling it is probably me.”

Duo gathered up his failing courage and walked closer to where Bella was standing, being as quiet as he possibly could. He hid behind the overhanging branches of a tree, but positioned himself so that he could hear what she was saying.

“…absolutely ridiculous, I tell you!” she was fuming. “And the worse part is, I’m not even angry at him for not telling me earlier! I’m mad because he won’t even pick his phone up! I mean, what in God’s name is the point of having a phone if you’re not gonna use it?”

Yep. She was mad at him. Really mad.

“Well, it really wouldn’t be so bad, but the Schbeiker girl said she hadn’t even talked to him since that night, let alone seen him. Wonder if he hopped a shuttle back to Earth? Be my blasted luck, wouldn’t it, momma? Relena would know…”

‘Oh, man. She ran into Hilde? No wonder she’s mad. God I hope she didn’t kill her.’ he thought glumly. And as for hoping a shuttle back to Earth, he had considered it. But of course, he had backed out, figuring he’d manage to work up the nerve to face Bella and apologize for making such a mess out of her vacation.

“And he has the nerve to call himself a Gundam pilot! I thought they were supposed to be brave! It’s not like I’m gonna attack him or anything! Good God, I could care less if he was Treize’s right hand man…”

‘Say what!’ he thought. ‘Treize? What is she thinking!’ He noticed that she seemed to consider her words for a second, then shake her head.

“On second thought, that’s over doing it a little bit...okay, a lotta bit. Forget I said that.” she corrected herself.

‘That’s better.’

“He already knows what I think about the Gundam pilots. I told him not that long before the house was shot up. Lord, help me! Did he think I was lying to him?”

‘She meant it.’ he thought happily. ‘She honestly doesn’t care that I was a Gundam pilot.’ Even when she had first told him about her mother, and she’d said that she wouldn’t ostracize the pilots for what they’d done, he had been doubtful. But he believed her now…which only made him feel worse for disappearing after Hilde opened her mouth.

“Well, damn it all to hell! If Relena can get Yuy’s attention, then I can at least get Maxwell to talk to me again. I mean, what’d I do, anyway? I even played the nice lady and kept my hands off of Schbeiker. What more does he want? Blood? Just my luck. The only other guy I’ve met that I’ve actually liked since Joseph died, and he runs off.”

‘Where the hell did that come from?’ Duo asked, more than just a little surprised at that last statement. He wasn’t sure what to think, knowing that Bella apparently liked him more than she was letting on when they were together. His own feelings toward her had slowly been changing into something since he'd met up with her on the colony. Given, it was barely more than a week since he'd hoped a plane to his home colony, and even less than three months since he'd even met her, but still. He liked her. A lot. Probably more than he should have, given much time they'd known each other.

“You know, I'm doing something that I know I shouldn't be by getting myself tied up with Maxwell. Talk about a person going against their will!"

Duo just shook his head, not knowing what to make of her comments. He was getting more confused the more she spoke.

"All my grumbling isn’t getting me anywhere, is it momma? Guess I’ve got some calls to make. So, where should I start looking for him? Earth? The colonies? Maybe Mars? Point me in some sorta direction here, will ya’, mom. You always knew where to start looking for things I’d lost. What do you say now? Help me out one more time?” she asked.

Duo watched as she bowed her head and took a deep breath before placing a bouquet of mixed flowers at the head of the tomb. She took a few steps back, easily coming within reaching distance of Duo, who had stepped out from behind the partial concealment of the shrubbery.

“How about starting right behind you?” Duo asked, reaching out to touch her lightly on the shoulder. He felt her tense up automatically, but she didn’t turn around, much to his surprise.

“Mother, if this is some kind of cosmic joke you’re playing on me…I’m here to tell you right now. It’s not funny.” she said, looking skyward with an expression of complete and utter seriousness. Duo chuckled and shook his head, turning her around to face him.

“Nope, it’s me. In the flesh.” he said, giving her a half grin and rubbing his head. Now that he was face to face with her, he wasn’t all that sure what he should say to apologize. And she seemed just as much at a loss for words.

“You okay?” she asked finally, looking him over and taking the initiative to start a conversation. “You kinda had me worried there. It’s like you just…disappeared.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” he said. “I had some things to…sort out, if you know what I mean.”

“It’s okay.” she said, waving it off. “You’re okay now.”

“Yeah, I guess.” he said. There was a few moments of pregnant silence before Bella spoke again.

“So, exactly how long were you listening to me ramble on to my mother?” she asked, a grin on her face.

“I came in about the time you were questioning why I had a phone if I wasn’t gonna pick it up.” he said. He saw slight blush that tinted her cheeks, and figured that he probably shouldn’t have told her that. She seemed a little embarrassed by it, so he tried to put her at ease. “It’s okay, though. But the comment about being Treize’s right hand man had me wondering about your sanity there for a few seconds.”

“What are you doing here, anyway?” Bella asked, redirecting the subject to something that apparently wouldn’t have her turning into a fine example of a tomato.

“Just wandering around. You?”

“Visiting my mom.” she said, nodding to the tomb. “I usually come anytime I visit. Helps me clear my mind, you know?”

“Well aren’t you going to introduce me?” he asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“Where are my manners?” she asked, rolling her eyes and turning to face the tomb once again. “Mom, this is Duo Maxwell. The one I was ready to throttle for ignoring me the past three days.”

“You’re such an attention hog, you know that?” Duo teased, causing Bella to flush red again.

“Anyhow, Duo this is my mom, Cynthia Patrice Saucier.” Bella said, gesturing towards the headstone that gave the woman’s birth date, as well as her death date.

“Pleasure to meet you ma’am.” he said, nodding. There was a few moments of silence until Bella turned to him and looked up.

“You sure you’re okay?” she asked. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble with Hilde the other night. And as far as you being one of the Gundam pilots, it really doesn‘t matter to me, just so you know.”

“Don’t start.” he warned her. “If anyone was causing trouble, it was Hilde. Not you. And I‘m sorry for not telling you about that little jewel of information earlier.”

“It’s okay. I understand why you didn’t say anything.”

“It’s just that….when you told me that your mom had died in the attack on the New Edward’s base…I didn’t know how to deal with the fact that I might have been the one responsible for it.” Duo mumbled. “There were so many innocent people there that day. It's not exactly a day I'm very proud of.”

“It was a mistake, Duo.” she said gently. “And not your mistake. Treize and Romefellar were responsible, not you Gundam pilots.”

“But…your mom…” he said, shaking his head. “How can you be so….okay…with it? I‘d be furious if I were you.”

“Well it’s a good thing you’re not me, because I don’t think you could kick your own ass.” she said with a grin. Duo gave a half hearted grin, and Bella reached up to ruffle his hair. “We all have to die eventually, right? Life is short, Duo. Too short sometimes. You know that better than I do. And the only thing you can do is live it like you want. Momma did that, so I’ve got no regrets. And I don’t think she would either. Yeah, it hurts sometimes without her sometimes, but you can’t live in the past forever. You’ll never get anywhere that way.”

“You make it sound so simple.” he said grumbled. He honestly wished he could rationalize some of the things he'd done as a Gundam pilot. But he still had no regrets, at least not deep down. He'd known then what he was fighting for. And he'd do it again if he had to. That's just the way he was.

“I try.” she said, shrugging. “So, you got plans for the rest of the day?”

“Well, you see, I was supposed to go find someone and apologize profusely to her for being an idiot, but it seems like that has taken care of itself already.” he grinned. “So the rest of my day just opened up.”

“Do tell.” she said, quirking an eyebrow. “Whatever shall we do?”

“Well, there is a circus in town.” Duo said thoughtfully. “And I am in good with one of the clowns there. Could get you a guided tour if you wanted it.”

“Sounds good to me.” she said, taking one last look at the tomb before walking slowly away, but not before she blew a kiss at the stones. “Better than what I was going to do anyways.”

“And what were you going to do?”

“Try to hunt down an annoying man that seemed to keep avoiding me for the past few days.” she teased. “But lucky me, it seems like that little problem took care of itself. How do you like that?”

“I like it a lot.” he said. He was quiet for a few seconds, and Bella would have sworn that she saw something akin to fear passacross his face when hemuttered his next sentence.“So…we’re okay, now?”

“Yeah, we‘re okay now.” she said, placing her arm around his. “So, where’s this circus?”

“It’snot far from here.” Duo said. “Shouldn’t take long to get there.”

“Sounds good.” she said. “I haven’t been to a circus in years.” They walked along the street in companionable silence for a while. Finally, the colorful signs of the circus came into view, and they could see the fifteen story Ferris wheel turning slowly while the music drifted through the streets.

“Come on, Bella!” Duo whined, pulling her through the entrance gates. “The sign said that Trowa’s and Catherine’s show starts in ten minutes.”

“Okay, okay. Lead the way, my over exuberant friend.” she said, shaking her head. Somehow, she had a feeling that this little trip to the circus was exactly what the both of them needed to get past the little incident with Hilde. Duo seemed to be in better spirits now, and she felt better knowing that he hadn’t jumped a shuttle to Earth.

As he pulled her into the big top tent, rambling on about candy apples and pink cotton candy, all she could do was shake her head and smile at his antics.

He reminded her so much of the little children at the orphanage, so innocent and eager to please someone who would just give them a little bit of attention. Of course, Duo was anything but innocent, and she knew that from first hand experience. But it still didn’t diminish the youthfulness of his attitude.

So when the lights in the tent dimmed down, and Duo gave a wolf whistle to the girl that stepped out into the center of the ring with half a dozen very sharp looking knives in her hand, Bella just shook her head even more and let herself be swept away in the lights and sounds of the circus.

Hey, if Maxwell could act like a kid for a few hours, there was no law anywhere that said she couldn't either.

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A/N - Okay, I’m not exactly sure where this chapter came from. But here it is. I had to smooth things over with Bella and Duo, and try to move that relationship a little further down the road. I hope I pulled it off without everything seeming too forced. This chapter has literally given me migraines while trying to write it. But, alas…

Until next time,

A.A.

Oh, and remember to review. I’d like to know what you think.