Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Long Time To Cry ❯ Twenty-Six Thousand, Two Hundred Eighty Hours ( Chapter 4 )

Hey, folks. ^^ This one's for `blah blah' ^^;; Nice nickname ;D Innyhoo, I'm glad you like my review=chapter policy. ^_^ Cos this chappy's for you! ^___^ Have a nice day! And, since this is… my fourth chapter or something (I dun remember ^^;;) Then I am going to make the AN as long as I like. Simply because the number four is cool. So… um… yeah. Adema is very cool :D I like their music. I heard this particular song (the one this fic is for) while watching a very good samurai-x music video for it. If you wanna download it and watch it ^^ then just E me, or ask for it in the reviews, and I'll post the link fer evverybuddy. ^.^ That said, read on!

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Duo almost couldn't believe it. Almost. It was like something out of a story: the jealous princess, out for revenge.

He would have to think more about that later. For now, he had to hide.

"How did she say she'd kill me?" Duo asked, trying to calmly take this all in… calmly, quietly… God, it's moments like these that will give me gray hairs early…

"Gunmen. There are three gunmen positioned at certain places. To be honest, I'm not sure where…" Heero seemed to be slipping back into the soldier he once was, working with Duo against a common threat. He rattled off the report, trying to keep it to relevant facts… Just as he had been trained, as a small child. He could use his training, now, to save them, and for perhaps the first time in his life was grateful for it.

"Right. Okay… We'll separate. You get on the plane. Act like nothing happened." Duo rolled off of Heero and several feet to one side, startling a few people. Aside from a few angry exclamations, nothing worse happened. Duo bit his lip, searching the area for any threat he might have brought upon himself by the minor commotion, but saw nothing.

He stood slowly, and a glance towards Heero showed him that the Zero Pilot had done the same. Heero's normal mask slipped into place, no longer showing the fear for Duo… With careful deliberance, he walked towards the boarding desk, pulling the boarding pass from his pocket. When he reached the entrance, the uniformed woman there smiled sweetly and detached his ticket, ushering him inside.

Duo had almost relaxed when he saw the woman turn around, discreetly reaching for a transmission-radio. From where he stood in the noisy crowd of people, he couldn't hear what she said, but like Heero, he had been trained… although he had more trained himself than anything else… He focused intently on the movement of her mouth, his mind working to translate the little movements into words.

"He's boarded; the boy isn't with him. He was late, but there's a large crowd. You're dismissed."

She tucked the transmission device back into her waist-belt, smiling brightly at the next passenger. Duo shuddered - how on earth had Releena's influence extended to this airport? The Sanq kingdom was nowhere near here.

A thought struck him, and Duo grinned. He had promised, he realized, to allow Heero to return to Releena, but it wasn't entirely dishonest… if he came with him.

To most people, this would lead the problem of getting past the woman, but Duo, of course, was not most people. He agilely slipped by, smirking somewhat at the ease of it. Whoever the woman was that Releena had bribed, it wasn't a very bright one.

Though the airport was crowded, no one was going to Sanq. It was too expensive. Because of this, there were always at least a few empty seats on every flight. To Duo's delight, there appeared to be one next to Heero…

He plopped down in that seat, waiting for Heero to notice him. Heero's eyes were riveted on the airport, gaze unmoving. The flight's complementary headphones rested on either of Heero's ears, but he didn't appear to be listening.

Duo tapped his shoulder, and Heero whirled. Duo grinned. Heero stared. Duo grinned some more. He decided it was fun to surprise Heero, and resolved to do so more often. Heero looked, in his opinion, rather like a goldfish, his mouth opening and closing, opening and closing, until he finally settled on something to say and ruined the illusion.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm on a flight to Sanq. Visiting a friend." Duo replied innocently, "And so are you. I promised to let you return."

He watched Heero rapidly piece this information together. "Duo! You can't be here; it isn't safe! Don't you understand?"

Duo flinched slightly. Didn't Heero think he could handle himself? He had hidden so many times before. What was Heero so afraid of?

"Duo! BAKA! Why do you think I spent these last three years with Her?" Heero's voice was furious hiss, but not a yell; he knew better than to attract attention, though he very much wanted to shout.

Duo blinked. "Because you were… um… protecting her?" That seemed the obvious answer.

"NO! She… god. She kept tabs on you, Duo. Everything you've done, she's had someone watching. If I left, she'd kill you without a thought… I was only allowed this one meeting, because she said it would make you give up…"

Duo didn't know what to say. What do you say to that? When you had spent three years crying over someone you thought lost to you, only to find out that they, too, had been tormented, enduring the same pain, but for your sake…?

With a start, Duo realized it might have been even harder on Heero, though he doubted that Heero had found lost his nerve and cried… But at least friends had surrounded Duo… Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei had stayed with him throughout his trials. Heero had been left alone, with only fear for Duo and a psychotic woman as his companions. (Dear god. Three years with her? Duo's respect for Heero's endurance increased dramatically.)

The sounds of someone approaching kicked Duo into action - he may have been onboard, away from those who wanted to kill him for the time being (hopefully, at least) but he was a stowaway. He had no desire to be caught, as he was sure the news would reach Releena, who would doubtless find something wonderful to do with the information of his imprisonment… such as exert her worldly powers to make sure that he never left his cell. He shuddered at the thought, and dived under the seat, pulling one of the blankets atop him. It was meant for sleeping passengers, but was the same dark blue color as the floor. Maybe if he stood very still, the flight attendant wouldn't notice him…

Peeking out of the blanket, he saw a pair of well-kept shoes, and ankles encased in nylons.

"Hello sir," The woman said, assumedly to Heero, "We're going to be serving an in-flight dinner. Is there something in particular you would like? Miss Releena said that we could have a special menu created for you, if you so desired. She said to make sure you were comfortable, and had anything you asked fo-"

"Thank you," Duo heard Heero's smooth monotone take over, "But that won't be necessary. I am tired, actually. Do you think you could arrange for this section of the plane to remain off limits? I would like to be undisturbed."

There was no comment from the woman, so she probably nodded, as the next thing Duo knew, he was watching those shoes step out of sight. Once the sound of steps faded, he untangled himself from the blanket (which, being flannel, was so static-y that it clung to him and hindered his efforts) and sat properly in the seat.

"Your braid is a bit mussed," Was all Heero had to say about the matter… not `you owe me', or `that was close', or `go home, Duo'… And now, no one would dare enter and disturb what they thought was Releena's pet-soldier napping, and Duo could relax his guard somewhat.

"Ne, Heero…" Duo began, a slow grin spreading across his face, "Do you think you could help me with a problem?"

"Hn. What is it?"

"I have no desire to die in the near future. However, that would mean that I would have to stay hidden away when I'm near you, or Releena just might feel tempted to eradicate me."

Heero said nothing, waiting for Duo to elaborate. No one needed to prompt the braided boy to keep talking… He did it just fine on his own.

"And, you see…" Duo twisted the tip of his braid between his fingers, trying to find the best way to put it, "I don't want to hide. I lived hidden for too many years of my life. I don't like it… but if it's all right with you, I'd like to stay by your side… but…" His violet eyes pleaded with Heero, begging him to say the treasonous sentence he didn't quite dare to.

"Mission accepted," Heero said softly. "For you, I think I can kill Her."

** I've gone insane **