Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Night of the New Moon ❯ The First Meeting ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all it's drop dead gorgeous bishounen don't belong to me. -.- Sigh.
Warnings: Shounen ai, AU, 1+2, a tiny little blood, angst, violence, & Death? ^.^;
Authors note: This story is going to be mostly plot developement up 'till part 4 but considering
these parts are pretty short I don't think it'll take long to get to the action. Just something
I thought I'd mention.

Night of the New Moon
Part 2 'The First Meeting'

Heero ran down the stairs and down the first hall he saw. The end of the hallway opened
up to the lounge just as the Inn keeper had said. Heero looked about frantically for the bar
and spotted the keys immediately. Grabbing them, he ran to the patio door, unlocked it,
swung it open and ran outside.

Passing a small pool, Heero ran down the porch and onto the rich green grass, hastily
leaving the Inn behind him. He ran towards the slope on the side of the cliff that would
lead down to the cove and quickly but carefully slid down, so's not to break his neck.
Cursing under his breath when he nearly slipped and getting impatient, Heero jumped the
last five feet to the ground.

Landing on his feet in the sand he looked up. The boy was stretched out over the boulder
watching the dolphins as they played in the deceptively deep water. He was wearing
tight-fitting brown leather pants and a white long-sleeved shirt. The sleeves fanned out
over his hands, almost completely covering them, and the collar was wide enough that it
exposed a portion of his chest despite being loosely laced together. The whole outfit alone
told of a time-period long since gone.

"It took you long enough." he said without looking up, even his voice smiling. Heero
hesitated, surprised. "You knew I was... who are you?" The boy did look at him then.
"Aw, don't tell me Kenji didn't tell ya about me." He said grinning from ear to ear. Then...
he really was..? Heero frowned, "You're the ghost." The boy's smile faltered slightly, "I
prefer spirit but yeah." He slid off the rock and walked over to him. Heero noted when
moonlight glinted briefly against a crucifix hanging on a golden chain around his neck.
Ghosts wear jewelry..?

The thought was interrupted when the ghost stopped only two feet away. Heero fought
the urge to take a step back. "I'd offer my hand but..." he glanced at his slightly
transparent hand, then back to Heero and grinned sheepishly, "I guess it wouldn't do
much good..." But Heero wasn't listening, instead his mind seemed to have wandered off
somewhere else while struggling to make sense of this very real... or unreal vision before
him.

How in the hell was this possible? He'd never believed in ghosts, in fact he'd always
thought the very idea was absurd and yet here was one, standing right in front of him. He
was seeing him with his own two eyes and still couldn't believe it. "... well, anyway, my
name's Duo. Whats yours?"

Heero refocused on the spirit and swallowed hard, forcing all of his conflicting thoughts
into the back of his mind to sort through later. "Heero." Duo raised an eyebrow, "Not
very social, are you?" He crossed his arms in a mock-pouting gesture. "That'll have to
change if you're gonna stick around this place... and here I was thinking you came down
to at least talk with me.

"It won't be fair if you make me carry the weight of the conversation. Besides, I don't get
visitors down here everyday, ya know. It'd be nice to finally get to know someone other
than the local aquatic life. I mean, they're fun and everything but they don't exactly talk
back... what?" Duo raised an eyebrow at the face Heero was making. After a moment
Heero finally couldn't hold it back anymore and laughed.

Duo smiled, the guy may be a bit weird but he was real cute when he laughed... "C'mon,
lets go over there. I'm not gonna spend the whole night on my feet." ...and without really
thinking about it, Duo grabbed Heero's hand and began pulling him onto the smooth rocks
toward the boulder. Heero's laughter died away when he felt Duo's cool hand in his and
stopped.

Duo turned around when he noticed, "Something wrong?" Heero looked down at Duo's
very real hand, "You're solid. You weren't just a minute ago." Duo looked down at his
hand, "Oh, I never notice when that happens anymore." Heero frowned, not
comprehending, "how?" Duo let go of him and bit his lip guiltily, "I uh, can't really
control it but... you see, you're kinda... giving me energy."

Heero's eye's flew wide, "what??" Duo nearly cursed when he saw Heero's reaction. "If I
could stop it I would but... it happens whenever anyone comes into the cove. This is my
one safe place, I'm bound to it and it helps sustain me. Thats just one of the ways..."

He shut his eyes and shook his head, "You're gonna run from me now, aren't you?" he
turned around, "It's alright, happens all the time..." but before he could walk off Heero
took hold of his arm. Duo glanced at him over his shoulder questioningly but when Heero
opened his mouth, nothing came out.

So he tried again, "I've never seen a gh... spirit before and I don't know what it means to
be giving you energy but I know I feel fine." Heero struggled to find the right words, "but
you're right, I guess I did come down here to talk with you". Duo faced him, a smile
slowly creeping onto his pale face when he realized Heero wasn't going to leave after all.

"I think I also came down here to see for myself whether you were real or... if I was just
imagining things." Duo grinned, "I've been around for a pretty long time, Heero. Over the
years the range of my senses has spread beyond just the cove. I knew it when you got
here. You saw me 'cause I wanted you to see me," Heero raised an eyebrow but Duo
didn't really notice, "and you just felt so... so... *different* from all the other people that
come around here! I couldn't resist."

Heero frowned, "resist what?" Duo gave him his most innocent look, only succeeding in
getting Heero more suspicious. "I *really* wanted to meet you, Heero. I'll just say it's no
coincidence that Kenji put you in a room facing the cove." Duo noted the surprise that
briefly crossed Heero's features but before he could let himself enjoy it another thought
came to him and he crossed his arms while looking back up at the Inn. "Though I've also
been trying for days to get the attention of some DEADBEAT up there but all he does is
ignore me! He doesn't believe in 'ghosts' and doesn't even bother looking out a window."

Heero's lips quirked up again at the last statement. Duo was like no one he'd ever met...
well, besides being a little dead. Still, unlike so many people he'd come across in the past,
with the acceptation of the other Gundam pilots, Heero felt this was definitely someone
worth getting to know. He took the unsuspecting Duo's hand and walked passed him
toward the boulder.

Duo followed with a broad smile. "Say, Heero. If you meet the deadbeat up there, you
think you can send him down my way? I swear I've tried everything I could think of short
of going up there and dragging him down here myself." Heero glanced behind him, "If you
wanted to meet him that much then why don't you?" Duo blinked, and frowned. "I can't. I
told you, I'm bound to the cove. I can never leave."

Heero pulled himself onto the boulder and sat on the edge, feet dangling off the side.
"Why not?" Heero asked as he reached down to give him a hand. Duo smiled slightly, he
didn't need the help but he also remembered how easy it was for the people he came
across in the past to forget he was a spirit, once he became solid, and could do things they
couldn't. Duo accepted Heero's help nonetheless and sat down next to him.

"I don't really know why to tell ya the truth. I've tried to figure it out for years but I just
don't know *why* I can't leave." Duo shook his head and smiled, giving Heero a
sideways glance, "Enough about me, what about you? I've been dying to know more
about you from the second you got here." Heero's face slipped into a slightly defensive
neutral when he heard that. "Nothing to tell." Duo frowned, he should've guessed his new
friend wouldn't be very open...

------------
Kenji Okada closed the patio door as he stepped outside. The keys were missing and the
door had been left open. He didn't have to guess why but he was surprised at how easy it
had been make a believer out of one his age when it had been so hard to convince others
just like him. Oh, and he was sure that if that kid was still down there, he believed whole
heartily now.

Okada took a deep breath and slowly sat down on one of the lounge chairs, being careful
of his bad leg. Hours had passed since sunset and it was pitch black, save for the pool's
underwater illumination that bathed the patio in watery blue light. His gaze traveled up to
the stars and stopped when he encountered the moon. He frowned, the moon was in it's
last quarter. It had been foolish of him to think that young visitors were a good thing.

She hadn't killed in months and she hadn't killed any male's in years. Okada sighed
heavily, neither one had told him when they expected to be leaving but he hoped for soon.
It was only a few days until the next New Moon and even though there was no real
guarantee that she would show up on *this* one... there was no assurance that she
wouldn't either.

Okada leaned back in his chair and glanced at the edge of the cliff just a few yards away.
The place where it was said she had fallen from, hundreds of years ago. He would have to
tell them all. Mostly he only told vague stories, like the one he'd told his new guest, but
he'd soon have to tell all his guests exactly what was going on. He glanced up
again and decided on tomorrow. The moon was disappearing rapidly and that didn't leave
him with very much time.

--------
Heero looked at him out of the corner of his eye. They'd both eventually laid back on the
boulder after a while. Heero had been looking up at the stars while listening to Duo talk
about any number of different things and joining in occasionally. He had his arms crossed
over his chest while Duo had tucked both arms under his head and was also gazing
skyward.

Duo had begun asking about the times and the things happening in the rest of the world,
deliberately avoiding anything personal but he had at least succeeded in establishing
Heero's ethnic background and place or origin. Telling Duo about the colonies had been
interesting. The amazement had been expected but he'd had several hours worth of
questions.

Eventually though, the two of them had fallen silent, just enjoying each others company.
But inexplicably, over the last few minutes Heero had begun to feel *very* drained. Duo's
face slowly formed itself into a frown, "You were already tired when you came down here
weren't you?" The question surprised him and he turned to face Duo directly, "why?" he
sighed, "I can tell that you're worn out. It isn't good to come down here if you're already
tired. If you do, you'll really start to feel the energy I take from you."

Duo sat up and looked at him, "You should probably go now, before you're too tired to
climb the slope." Heero sat up and nodded, he was right but.... but he was surprised to
realize that he didn't *want* to go. He was about to tell him when Duo slid off the
boulder and began walking backwards, toward the slope. "Well? You just gonna sit there
all night?" he teased, grinning.

Heero rolled his eyes and slid off the boulder, finding it surprisingly awkward to find his
footing. He steadied himself against the boulder and Duo stopped and ran back toward
him, "hey, you OK?" he asked, reaching out to help him. Heero glared, "I'm fine." Duo
ignored him and pulled an arm around his shoulders, "Yeah, I know but I wouldn't want
you to slip or something and fall flat on your..."

"Duo!" Duo looked at him with wide innocent eyes and Heero shook his head. "Nothing,
nevermind." Duo grinned, "Good, cause if you keep complaining I'll *carry* you the rest
of the way." He groaned but let Duo help him. At the foot of the slope, Heero leaned
against the side looking at Duo and was suddenly at a loss for words. He'd kept his
good-bye's to the other pilots very brief and he'd really never bothered to say it to anyone
else before. Ever.

Duo however, wasn't tongue tied. "Hey, Heero, could you do me a favor?" "Hm?"
"Could you come back an' see me one more time before you leave? I... uh, I'd love it if
we could talk again." He looked at him hopefully but Heero didn't have to think about it,
"sure." Duo smiled brightly, "great! Then I guess I'll see ya later." Heero surprised himself
by smiling back but nodded and turned around to start his climb.

---------
Okada saw the boy from his seat as he climbed back up and waved down at the cove.
He'd had no doubt that the boy had seen the ghost but if he had, this would've confirmed
his suspicions. Okada was waiting patiently as he walked back toward the Inn. When
Heero got to the porch he immediately noticed the I-told-you-so grin on the Inn keepers
face and sighed.

"Did you enjoy your midnight stroll, Yuy-san?" Heero gave him a look and the Inn keeper
laughed, "Actually, I'm glad you decided to go down there. I've tried convincing others
and had no luck at all." He leaned forward, the humor falling from his face, "That poor
boy hasn't seen or talked to anyone in ages. I'd visit him myself but," he glanced at his leg,
"With this bad knee, I'd never make it down there." Heero nodded and pulled the keys out
of his pocket, offering them to him.

"If you're staying outside then here are the keys. I'm going back in." The Inn keeper
shook his head but he took the keys anyway, "It's very late, I think I'll be heading in
myself." But as Heero was at the door, heading back inside Okada slid to the edge of his
chair and called out, "Uh, Yuy-san?" Heero glanced at him over his shoulder, eyebrows
raised. Okada smiled and held out a hand, "Do you think you could give an old man a little
help out of this chair?"
--------------

End of Part 2

Short, I know. Don't worry, they get longer ^.^;.