Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ❯ Part Fifteen ( Chapter 15 )

Part Fifteen

"Hey," Wufei murmured as he walked up behind Heero and Duo.

Duo jumped and turned to face his friend.

"Wufei! I thought you disappeared like Quatre and Trowa! I haven't seen you in three days!"

Wufei coughed lightly. "It was for other reasons."

Both knew what he was talking about and didn't further push him.

Duo thought for a moment before looking at Heero. "Let's show him."

Heero hesitated, knowing exactly what he meant.

He wanted to show Wufei their garden.

No! was Heero's immediate reaction. It was theirs. No one else's. His and Duo's place to be alone.... No one else but them.... He didn't want to show Wufei their secret.

"Aw, come on Heero. Why not?" Bringing his mouth up against Heero's ear he whispered: "he's hurting too."

Heero sighed grandly and pouted.

Wufei tilted his head and looked at them curiously. What were they talking about?

It never crossed Wufei's mind to be polite and try to decline. He wanted to know. He was never taught manners.

No, the Teachers lied and gave him a past, but they couldn't ever give him simple humanity. Respect, manners, feelings.

He was a child, a baby in a young man's body.

"I guess," Heero agreed grudgingly.

Duo smiled and then immediately smacked himself out of it. If you appeared too happy, one didn't know what They might do.

The three of them walked out of the North Courtyard without too much suspicion on their shoulders and made their way to the East Garden.

Duo made Wufei cover his eyes and brought him out into the middle of it before he could open them.

When Wufei did, he almost fainted once more.

Was this what they were talking about? The two men? This beautiful garden spread out before him? The cool, lush grass under his bare feet felt nice. The vibrant, live colors splashed against his eyes and he almost couldn't believe that something could be so...vivacious. It seemed impossible.... All his life inside the stonewalls.... It felt so dead.

And here before his eyes was something real, living, breathing, alive. He almost couldn't believe it was there.

"I think he likes it," Duo whispered to Heero, his chin resting on his shoulder from behind.

Big tears began to roll out of his eyes unbidden and slide down his cheeks. His shoulders began to shake as he lifted his hands to his eyes and covered them with shame.

"Who did this?" he asked, voice wavering even as he tried to stop the tears.

Heero and Duo looked at each other before Duo answered in fear of what Wufei would think.

"We did."

He spun around and pinned them with a look of disbelief.

"Y-y-you?!"

Duo nodded slightly.

He began to back up, his eyes the size of bowls.

Neither Heero nor Duo knew what was going on and chased him to the end of the field until he slammed into the brick wall.

Right where Duo had tried to commit suicide.

Blood surrounded his form as Heero clamped a hand over his mouth. Wufei tried to scream and bite and kick, but Heero kept his hand firm.

"What in the hell's your problem?" he growled, snapping his jaw shut finally. "If you promise not to scream, I'll move my hand and you can tell us calmly what in the hell you're freaking out about."

Wufei nodded sullenly and Heero let his hand fall away, but keeping Wufei against the wall.

Duo was rubbing the top of his useless arm self-consciously and fearfully. Would Wufei tell their secret? Would they get in trouble and be hurt? He didn't want to be hurt....

Maybe Heero was right and they should've just kept it their secret.

"Which one of you is it?" he asked, looking as though he was trying to disappear into the wall.

"Which one of us is what?" Heero replied, frustrated.

"The one that believes in...the Dark Lord...?" Wufei whispered fearfully, his eyes darting from Heero to Duo and back again.

Both Heero and Duo gasped and looked at each other.

"It's not me!" Duo cried.

"What are you talking about?" Heero asked Wufei.

"They said that the only way to take off the Bands is to believe in their Lord and you had to take off your Bands to do this," Wufei explained, hugging himself and trying to get out of Heero's grasp.

Heero let him go and giggled.

Wufei had slid over to join Duo and both of boys glared at him with hurt and confusion in their eyes.

"That's right. The only way to remove the Bands is to believe in the Dark Lord. They were created in Evil and one must be connected with Evil to manipulate it. Shukan's Second Wisdom. This is true."

"Heero--!" Duo cried, his eyes filling up with water.

It wasn't fair!

The boy he loved was Evil like the rest of them?

"Do you really believe that I worship a falsehood, Duo?" Heero asked, a little hurt. "Do you really believe I worship their false Lord?"

Duo couldn't answer.

That's what it looked like to him.

"Remember, Duo, I'm an Incarnate, too. In one of my past lives I was a woman who was rightfully burned for believing in that. Not only did she believe in Darkness, but she was a Witch. Whenever I want to take off the Bands, I tap into that side of myself."

Duo's facial expressions softened a little. He wanted to believe what Heero was saying was true.

Wufei, on the other hand, wanted an explanation that made sense.

"Incarnate?" he spat.

"Yeah, like Duo," Heero replied, jerking a thumb at him.

Wufei turned to Duo and looked at him fearfully too.

He never heard of such a thing before. Were they all--? Was Duo just a creation of the Dark Lord?!

Duo grabbed Wufei's hand and lead him to the middle of the garden, Heero following.

"Let me explain, Wufei. An Incarnate is someone who can tap into their past lives. It's nothing more than that. I'm not evil or anything, I just happen to have an ability that most people don't. It's almost like another Art, persay."

"You can see your past lives?"

"Uh, huh," Duo replied as Heero sat down behind him. "And I guess.... I guess Heero can too."

Heero nodded as Duo fell back into his lap and he gently stroked his bangs.

"Come here, Wufei," Duo teased, trying to grab his clothes and pull him down too from where he was laying in the grass.

"No," Wufei replied coldly, trying to stay away, but Duo had latched onto his shirt and wouldn't let go, pulling him closer and onto the grass.

The three boys lay together, warmed by the sun and the calm of being around people that gave half a rat's ass about them.

And suddenly Wufei just began sobbing.

Heero and Duo shared a look of perplexity and concern.

"Hey Wu.... You kay?" Duo asked, pulling him closer to the circle.

"They lied to me...." he stuttered. "They lied to us all. The Bands mean nothing. You can keep them off and you won't die. They lied to me. They told me I was a simple village boy.... They said I was a prince and they were going to give me to their Lord. I don't want too! I don't want too!"

Duo kept him close as he cried, trying to explain himself. Duo knew Wufei wouldn't admit it, but he was afraid.

"Do you want to know your real past, Wufei?" Duo asked him softly and Heero grabbed his limp hand and clutched it between his own two.

He knew it was going to be hard for Duo to tell Wufei what happened to his parents and sister, and he knew it was going to be hard for Wufei to take, so he held Duo's hand and tried to be supportive.

"You...know?" Wufei asked, almost a little angry that someone other than him knew his past.

Duo nodded. "I had Visions, remember? I found out they were real.... I saw your past...."

"Tell me!" Wufei cried, greedily. It wasn't fair that Duo should know something about himself he didn't know. He always felt a part of him was missing, that something just didn't quite add up, and for Duo to have the answer was almost overwhelming.

So Duo told him everything he knew.

By the end, both boys were crying upon one another and Heero felt a little uncomfortable in the situation. He knew that Duo was just scared and hurt by everything that has happened to him since they met. To Duo, at their introduction, his world had forever changed. Heero knew that this is what he thought, for on occasion he told him and sometimes said he wished they'd never met. Heero had no fear that in an extremely tough spot, Duo would come out on top and everything would be fine.

Wufei, on the other hand.... He never thought he would live to see the day Wufei cried, and yet he had done so a few times since they entered the garden. Duo was correct in his belief that Wufei was also in pain, that was obvious. But he had seemed so sure of himself, so positive....

Maybe that came from the lack of his self-assurance? Maybe the fact that he felt he knew very little about himself made him act more like he was always right? He didn't want to doubt his existence and so he acted as though everything he did and said was right, so that he wouldn't have to mistrust his state of being and himself.

Heero found this an almost amusing state for someone to be in, however he knew that laughing would be inappropriate, and stuck to stroking Duo's long honey-brown hair.

It was really very beautiful.... Duo really wasn't such a bad person.... In fact, quite enjoyable.... Sometimes he acted foolish, but that was kind of cute.... He was smart, there was no doubt about that, and Heero felt him an equal in conversation. Someone to be esteemed on certain points.

Yet.... He didn't want to screw up again.... Trying again meant that you might also screw up again....

How would he be able to survive if he added more blood to the stains on his hands?

~Til Then~