Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ IV Dark Sight ❯ Like a Dream ( Chapter 2 )

Like a Dream

“Djara! Djara!”

The girls of the village were swarming as they realized it was Duo sliding from the SUV. The men folk, who’d moved forward to protect their people if they had to, settled back to study him warily. He hadn’t made a habit of visiting their village, but most had considered him to be the future husband of the girl he’d left behind.

It was kind of a depressing thought, actually.

Nassaiya moved to her husband, grabbing his hand as Vasu tried to walk around in spite of his tired and sore muscles.

The dark haired girl moved quickly down the dock, climbing down the stairs to stare at Duo.

“Hey,” Duo muttered, smiling at her. “How are you?”

“Oi,” she muttered, moving forward to touch his face.

“He’s not your husband,” another male noted pointedly, moving down the stairs with an angry expression.

“He’s my husband,” Nassaiya noted pointedly to the man.

Djara dropped her hand, giving the man a look, then turned back to Duo again.

“Married?” he asked her curiously, not sure exactly how he was feeling about the development. On the one hand, he absolutely adored Nassaiya and Vasu…and Cam…but on the other, he’d never intended to leave Djara behind.

She nodded, then moved forward to hug him tightly. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry,” he returned, hugging her tightly and kissing her cheek.

The man that was either a brother or her husband tsked.

“Oh try me,” Duo threatened, meeting his eyes. “I’m not here to take her, so get over it.”

The man moved forward and reached for her.

“You want me to kick your ass, don’t you?” Duo demanded, turning slightly so the girl was out of reach. “Where is her village?” he added, indicating Nas.

“What?” the guy asked blankly.

Duo pointed to his old village. “Where did it go?”

The man stared at him.

“Oh,” Djara pulled away to meet his eyes. “Indra and them?”

Duo nodded.

“That way,” Djara explained, pointing toward the thickest part of the jungle. It was the kind of area where the boats would have to float in single-file, and now that it was indicated, Duo could remember Indra saying they’d move the village that way if they had to.

“How are you?” Nassaiya muttered, moving forward to hug the girl. “Are you well?”

“I’m good,” Djara returned, pointing toward the top of the dock where a baby girl was sitting on the stairs. She looked to be older than Camden, but not by much.

“Oh! She’s precious!” Nassaiya cooed, moving forward to look up at the girl better.

“Her name is Iara,” Djara noted as the little girl smiled widely down at her.

“She’s beautiful,” Duo muttered, feeling another sting of sadness.

That could be his daughter…not that he didn’t love Vasu or Cam. It was more a…nostalgic emotion. Something like hearing a song that reminded you of a time you had fun when that person was gone.

“She’s my daughter,” the man informed Duo.

Duo met his eyes, then turned back to the SUV and picked up Camden, who’d been attempting to crawl out of the thing anyway. He carried the little boy back to the group, meeting the man’s eyes. “This is my son.”

“Oh!” Djara’s eyes went wide as she took the boy. Camden was startled, but not bothered as he looked back at his father curiously.

Duo could see something of his own thought process in Djara’s eyes, and that made him feel better.

“We’ve been living in London,” Nassaiya informed Djara, taking Cam from her and setting him down. He looked around with interest, then turned to move around the SUV to find his big brother. “We have an apartment with running water.”

“No!” Djara protested, rising to that bait. “You do not!”

“And sewer!” Nassaiya agreed with a naughty giggle. “And they come pick up our trash!”

“Ah!” Djara allowed some frustration to show, but she and Nassaiya had been friends before. This was more a game for them, while it made Djara’s husband look rather unpleased…which made Duo feel petty, because he was feeling proud.

“And I have money,” Nas added, bouncing where she was standing. “I can walk down the street and buy anything I want.”

“Almost…anything?” Djara asked a bit pointedly.

“No, anything,” Nas giggled wickedly. “He works for the government and had money anyway…so we have this nice huge apartment…kinda makes you wish you’d come, huh?”

Djara wrinkled her nose at that.

“I could have used you there at first,” Nas added a bit petulantly. “It was hard to learn the language, but I speak English now, too.”

Djara smiled at that, hugging the girl again.

“Do you know who he is?” Nas whispered, looking back at Duo a moment. “He’s one of those pilots! The ones from the wars? He flew one of those mobile suits and everyone was scared of him!”

…that was an interesting way to look at it.

Duo allowed his surprise to register as he realized the basin natives wouldn’t have really heard overly much about the wars. Their information would have come from the base, and the soldiers of the base wouldn’t have been worried about his name so much as his machine.

Djara stared at her, then looked back to Duo.

“He saved the world, Djara,” Nas added quietly as the man looked Duo over with a certain amount of respect. “He…he’s a hero…”

“And I could have married him,” Djara noted quietly. Duo almost didn’t hear it, and figured her husband hadn’t. At least Duo hoped he hadn’t, because it was all well and good for him to think it a little bit, but her saying it made her actual marriage seem less.

“You wouldn’t have made it,” Nas returned, looking down. “We were moving so fast at first…and he just told everyone I was his wife…but when we got to London we had a real ceremony…the Christian kind. It was hard at first…and kinda scary…and then okay…but then they showed up,” she looked toward the base. “About six months ago they showed up and…” she looked back to the other woman and shook her head. “You’re much better off here.”

The comment seemed off-hand enough, but Duo’s stomach dropped completely to hear his wife say that.

Wasn’t she happy with him? Didn’t she like London? He always asked her if she wanted to move, but she’d never said more than she wanted to see her family again. They were actually going to try to find her mother after they visited with Indra, because her own husband had died and she’d married into another group.

He cast around quickly, trying to think of something to say as Djara accepted Nassaiya’s words, noticing that the woman’s skirt was ripped and the hem was stained.

“Hey,” Duo muttered, “Djara, come here…”

She gave him a startled look, then turned to follow him as Nas moved to check on the boys.

He led her around the SUV and popped the hatch, digging into a box of skirts he’d ordered. He was taking them to Indra’s family group, but he knew he could spare one. He dug out one that looked like it would fit her and offered it to her.

She smiled, taking it from him as she noticed the rest of the box and met his eyes.

“Here,” he added, digging into baby clothes until he found some toddler sized t-shirts. He grabbed out a couple pink ones…one that would fit Iara now and one that she could grow into, passing those over as well.

“Thank…you,” Djara muttered, studying the things and frowning slightly at him. Considering that he had as much stuff in it as he did, she didn’t understand why he wasn’t giving her more. She didn’t want to be ungrateful, but…

“Dad?”

Duo turned to look at Vasu, who was carefully leading Cam back to the truck. “Can we go now?”

“Yeah, son,” Duo muttered, closing the hatch and turning to scoop up the toddler. “Get back in…I think I know where we need to go now,” he added to the driver, who’d been leaning against the hood of the vehicle. “Come on, Nas,” he added, pulling Djara into another hug. “Indra told me where he wanted to build before, so we can figure it out.”

“Okay,” Nas hugged Djara tightly. “Take care of your baby,” she muttered, then slid into the SUV as Duo sat Cam back in his chair. The toddler started whining at him as the driver got in, and he shut the door quickly.

“Duo,” Nas protested.

“Sorry, I didn’t want him to get out,” Duo muttered, turning to hug Djara again and kiss her eyelids. “Take care, Djara.”

Djara stared at him a long moment before she nodded and stepped back. The thing hadn’t gone as she’d planned it at all. She’d expected more regret from him, and even more from herself. She’d dreamed of him, and daydreamed of him and always wondered if he’d come back for her…and their reunion had…almost seemed uncomfortable.

Duo slid into the car again as his cell phone started ringing. He indicated where the driver needed to head and hit the button. “Hello?”

“Hey, Duo,” Wufei muttered tiredly. “You hear from Trowa lately?”

Duo guffawed at that, waving back at the villagers as they started away. “No…I haven’t. Why?”

“He walked out of the Healing Center earlier…within the last hour or two.”

Duo sniggered evilly. “You’re joking, right?”

“Nope,” Wufei returned happily. “Every fifteen minutes or so I keep getting calls from the people legally responsible for him.”

“What?” Nassaiya asked.

“Trowa decided he didn’t like the rehab center and walked out,” Duo shrugged at her. “The people there seem to think he’ll talk to Wufei.”

“Won’t he?”

“Not hardly,” Duo returned, focusing again. “Check on my apartment sometime tonight, huh? If he’s there make him leave. We’re having fun.”

“Oh, yeah?” Wufei asked curiously. He’d noticed the sarcasm, even though it’d been subtle.

“Yep, your stunt with ordering the villagers shot put some sort of stigma on the place so they left it…well, that and the shit that happened to poor Indra. We get to play tracker.”

“Ooh, fun,” Wufei noted happily. He thought a long moment and sighed. “Can you stop at the base and make sure the song-bird knows what’s going on?”

“Song-bird?” Duo asked blankly, then remembered the story. “Oh, shit…why?”

“Because as far as I know, no one’s contacted her. She’s…kinda his girl, you know? Maybe get her to write him a letter or something.”

“Why should I care about his mental health?” Duo snapped, irritated.

“Because you’re a bigger man than that,” Wufei snapped back. “Sure, it was fucked up…what happened…it was just… Duo, you’re bigger than that.”

Duo looked away.

“How hard will it be, really?”

“I’m not going to that base,” Duo informed his friend sharply, and snapped the phone closed. If Heero’s little girlfriend didn’t know what was happening, he could deal with it. Duo hadn’t liked her anyway, and if the rehab center couldn’t find Trowa, they could deal with it. Trowa was as good as gone. There was no point worrying about him anymore.

Duo was no longer connected to that past.

- -

Heero curled up even more in his window, staring out at the bushes that framed it. He couldn’t quite see the street. As soon as the people had realized Trowa had disappeared, he and Quatre had both been put in their rooms with a guard outside.

Normally, you couldn’t treat a person against their will. Unfortunately, the shit from Nanchang hadn’t been as happy-for-them as Heero had recalled. It had been summed up with the fact that they could be held against their will if their superiors thought it was necessary.

It was barely any better than prison.

It wasn’t fair. Heero had realized that he’d treated Duo badly, but he didn’t think it was bad enough for this. Of course, he hadn’t realized Duo was scared of him, and that thought still upset him…but…

They wouldn’t even let him call Natalie.

The room was cold, but Heero ignored that.

What was Trowa doing? He was the one that made sure Heero agreed to sit through any of this shit…he’d made sure Quatre had gotten in and been seen right quick…but now he left?

It was hard. First he was a tyrant and now he was worthless. Not even Quatre wanted him…so what was the point? Did Natalie want him? Did Natalie love him or was she just scared of him? Was everyone scared of him?

Heero curled tighter where he was sitting, feeling himself shiver slightly. He wanted to go home. He wanted to get back to the base where Natalie was…

Why wouldn’t they let him call Nat? He missed her, he missed hearing her sing. That would be nice…to hear her singing again…he pressed his face against the cool glass, focusing on a bush near him. It was April…by May, the rains would thicken into flooding.

Were the men ready for the boats? Had they checked to make sure the boats were sealed and stable? Had they changed the oil or checked the blades? Cleaned out the gunk and made sure there were no large branches under the base that might get mixed up in the fleet? He hated not being there to confirm everything was ready and that the food stores were stable. He hated that he’d only intended to go for a week and ended up being stuck in London for six months…it wasn’t right. He was supposed to be in charge of that base, not stuck in some “healing center” that was doing nothing for him but making him stress.

They kept telling him that they’d let him go once they thought he was ready, so what did they consider ready? Why did they insist on making him remember things he’d gladly forgotten? His childhood had been fucked up; did they really need the details? They knew he felt bad for what he’d done to Duo. It had taken until he was fighting with the man in a back alley for him to realize he’d done wrong, couldn’t they just let him apologize and leave it alone? He wasn’t going to do it again…

He wanted to talk to Natalie.

The Japanese man slid out of the window and moved onto his bed, curling under the blankets. He was…tired. There was no reason to be awake…and maybe if he was asleep, people would leave him alone.

- -

I couldn’t stop smiling.

I moved out of the bank with my rather large briefcase of cash. The bank people had been very upset that I’d withdrawn it all in cash, but I’d paid them a specialty rate for such services for years. I’d had a special sort of account that was set-up so I could just drag out my cash and move on, so they couldn’t fight me on it.

It had all been so easy. I had some bills in my wallet from before anyway, so after walking from the Healing Center, I’d just wandered down to the bus-stop and got on when the bus showed up a minute or two later. From there I’d visited the bus-central station…a convenience store that happened to have sunglasses. From there to the bank, and now on down to a corner restaurant to get a bite to eat before remaking myself.

I moved into the little corner restaurant happily and set my briefcase down at the end of the bar, taking that stool.

“Hello,” the woman muttered, moving up to me. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Pepsi,” I returned, studying their menu. “…ooh, and a pasty.”

She smiled happily at that and turned up the bar.

It was nice to sit alone somewhere and know that no one was paying me any mind. It was nice to know that I had a large sum of money and no ties. I could do anything, pretty much as soon as I changed my hair color…and shape. Eye color for good measure, and maybe pick a fight so someone broke my nose…

“Here you go, poppet,” the woman muttered, setting a cup down in front of me with a sweet smile.

I smiled back, appreciating the affection, if only because she looked old enough to be my mother. I liked women who had kids that were my age. They were pleasant to deal with.

The pasty…was delicious. It was hot and rich…and very filling. It was the best thing I’d ever tasted with that ice cold Pepsi. It was even nicer that there was a TV in one corner and she kept refilling my glass. She didn’t care that I was savoring the food…she was getting a healthy tip.

The door opened behind me as I finished off my drink. In keeping with my own decision, I pulled out a large wad of bills, setting that down…and felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turned to look at the man curiously.

“Mr. Barton…can you come with me, please?”

…he was kidding, right?

He grabbed me by the arm, starting to pull me, and I bent down to grab my briefcase quickly. He gave me a disbelieving look and pulled me again…so I fell over.

I didn’t know how to react to suddenly being on my ass, and looked around in disbelief before meeting his eyes.

“Mr. Barton,” he hissed, like it was my fault.

Oh, fuck that.

I grabbed the briefcase and jumped to my feet, hitting him with the thing, stepping back as I waited for whatever his return would be. He was startled, and there was an expression of almost fear on his face.

I shoved him onto his ass before he could actually gather his thoughts, turning to the woman who was staring at us in disbelief. “I apologize, ma’am,” I muttered. “I’ve left my payment,” I added…and walked from the building.

It took moments for the man to be after me again, and I turned down an alley irritably.

“Mr. Barton,” he snapped, “you’re not cleared to be out here.”

“Cleared my ass,” I retorted, and kept moving.

He hesitated.

“Get out of here,” I added, turning on him. “I’d rather not get caught and your presence immediately invalidates that aim.”

“You need to come with me,” he persisted, moving closer. He had a sort of wary expression on his face that suggested uncertainty.

If he really thought I’d go with him, that was the wrong approach; contrarily, if he didn’t think I’d go with him, why bother with an exercise of futility?

“You’re needed back at the center,” he hazarded. He obviously had no idea how to deal with me—at the same time, who did?

“Sure I am,” I returned easily, starting to walk again. “Whatever you say.”

He hesitated again, obviously thinking very quickly before catching up. “Please, sir, your superiors have asked it.”

“What?” I demanded, turning to stare at him in disbelief. “You expect me to believe that shit? Get away from me.”

He moved forward…and grabbed my arm.

I turned and decked him.