Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Rituals ❯ Part 6 ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing o any of its characters. Eventual OCs, mainly OZ-officers and a couple of civilians in the side story to Rituals, however, are mine. The rest of the guys; Duo, Heero etc. belong to Sunrise, Bandai and those names I can't spell properly. Now, this has to be the most unorganized disclaimer I've ever written so I'll end it here. I'm sure you all got what I meant anyway.

Notes: Someone (sorry, I can't remember your name) complimented my grammar in this story. ^_^ I just had to say that without my beta-reader, sailor c. ryoko, there would be a lot of errors. So the honour is not mine.

Hmm, I used another conversation between Duo and Heero doing the dishes because it was a good opportunity to make a little more understanding between them. I didn't want to use the dish-thing again because I already used it, but indulge with me like you always do, okay?

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Rituals - Part 6 by Maaya

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As a couple of days went by, I thankfully noted that Duo didn't have anymore nightmares, even though he still kept himself curled into a small ball under the covers when he slept. I did it too sometimes, in the habit of trying to keep as warm as possible, so that didn't really surprise me. Something that did surprise me though, was that it was *Duo* curling into a ball like that.

I did it, like already stated, to keep as warm as possible. It was a habit, something I had been forced to do in order to survive with Odin and then Dr. J. That didn't explain why *Duo* was doing it.

Not that it was needed in the safe-house anymore, because the heating system seemed to work better and better the longer it was kept on and going, but I guess that some habits die hard. Maybe Duo had somewhat the same habits as I did?

It had become apparent that the only one who had any kind of knowledge in cooking was Trowa, something that surprised me almost as much as it surprised Duo. He had, because of that, been offered a place in the kitchen. He accepted it without question but I don't think he was very happy about it. Quatre and Wufei did the cleaning in the public parts of the house, though I didn't think that it was needed since no one ever thought about doing anything that could untidy the rooms.. Duo and I did the dishes, just like he had offered to do the first day. I had no idea that domestic chores forced you talk that much though.

I don't really like to talk. There's a reason for it: the sudden, uncomfortable questions that can come in the middle of the conversation. Not that the questions themselves have to be uncomfortable, but having to answer them might be. That's maybe why talking with Duo is easier than talking with someone else. For some reason, his questions rarely feel as uncomfortable as others and even if they were, it doesn't bother me as much.

"Anything interesting?"

I looked up from the laptop bemusedly and looked at Duo. He was lying on his back on the bed and had been staring up at the ceiling for the past ten minutes during which I had checked my mails and found none of interest.

"No." I replied flatly and went back to my laptop again. "Do something useful instead of lying there." The boring days of doing practically nothing made me feel rather short-tempered.

He sat up and glared at me. "Hey, that wasn't very nice!"

I shrugged. "No one has ever called me nice."

He got quiet again and I wondered if I had said anything wrong.

A knock on the door disturbed the awkward silence and at Duo's mumbled "come in", Quatre peeked inside.

"Dinner's ready." He said to the room in general, then turned to Duo. "We decided to let you try the juice today."

Duo perked up at the words, having a strange mix of embarrassment and excitement written in his face. "Great!"

Quatre must have seen, or felt my confusion because he spoke again, this time nodding towards Duo. "He has never had orange juice."

I looked at him blankly but he just shrugged.

Duo stood up swiftly, and turned with a weird jerk on his heels. The braid swung, like a late shadow of his back. He walked over to the door where Quatre was standing, then stopped and looked at me. "You coming, Heero?"

"Yes." I shut down the computer and followed him out of the door.

Trowa had made some kind of stew out of rice, vegetables and meat; I assumed he had the wholesomeness in thought when he made it, not only the taste. Not that it mattered for me; it was just a statement, not a complaint mind you. . . and I think Duo is rubbing of on me with his speech-pattern.

Quatre filled a glass with orange liquid and handed it to Duo, who took it and studied it suspiciously in his hand. The he looked up and saw mine and Quatre's attention on him and grimaced. "Hey, what's the fuss?"

It served to make Quatre look down, cheeks suspiciously pink, and Trowa and Wufei to look up, questioningly. They watched rather curiously as Duo drew a deep breath before suddenly lifting the glass to his lips . . . and swallowing its contents in one go.

When he was done, he grimaced again. "That was sour."

Quatre couldn't repress a chuckle. "Oranges are rather sour Duo."

"Whatever." He stood up from the chair he had sunk down into and walked over to the faucet to fill the emptied glass with water. Taking a large swallow, he filled it again and returned to the table, meeting Wufei's curious glance. "What?"

The Chinese man to the left of me looked like he would dismiss it, but changed his mind in the last second. "Have you never eaten an orange before?" He wondered.

"Umm . . . no?" Duo made it sound like a humorous question but the redness tinting his cheeks betrayed his embarrassment and stopped everyone from asking any further questions. A moment of silence passed before Duo's hesitant voice spoke again.

"Uhh - Wufei?"

The answer came in form of a nod that seemed to encourage him because Duo continued.

"I was wondering . . . could I borrow your book? The Shakespeare one?" He made an attempt at explaining himself. "It would be nice to read something in English once in a while."

Something seemed to pass between the two of them, a silent eye contact that for some reason annoyed me.

It broke. "I'll give it to you later."

The words made Duo smile.

We set to eat before the food got all too cold and the only sound that could be heard was Duo's and Quatre's conversations at the end of the table. They murmured lowly, as if trying not to disturb the heavy blanked of silence between Trowa, Wufei, and me, and the small sound weaved into it well enough to become relaxing.

"I have a mission."

It surprised me that it was Wufei who spoke - not because of what he was saying but because he spoke at all. He met our eyes and continued.

"I'll leave tomorrow and will stay at a motel until things calm down and I will be able to easier leave the city. Nataku isn't necessary for the mission."

His sentences were short and informative and I grunted in approval partly to show I had heard. The words contained all information necessary minus . . .

"When will you arrive back?" Someone, I think it was Quatre, asked.

"In a week, approximately Thursday."

Wufei stood up and took his empty plate to the sink before retreating up to his room again and after that did also Trowa and eventually Quatre disappear from the table, leaving the dishes for Duo and me to take care of.

Duo always preferred to dry and it left me to do the actual washing, but after a couple of days of doing it, I had gotten used to it. I actually liked to feel the warmth against my hands - it was comforting.

We used to talk sometimes, Duo obviously liked to talk, but today he was quieter than usual. I spared him several side-glances and waited for him to explain himself. If he did, I would listen, and if he preferred to keep it to himself then it was none of my business.

Finally, he sighed and looked at me. "When do you think we'll get to leave this place?"

I didn't look at him. "When they tell us we're allowed to."

"Do you always follow the rules, Heero?"

"When they are logical, I do."

"Don't you ever question them?" He sounded flustered, almost desperate?

I didn't answer him. Rules are made to be followed, right? Otherwise they wouldn't be there; anyone would be smart enough to understand that. I frowned and left the thoughts for the moment.

When we were done in the kitchen, we went back to our room in lack of other things to do and I went to put on the laptop.

"Can I borrow that to check my mail and stuff? I left mine in Deathscythe and don't want to go all the way there now." Duo nodded pointedly towards the window and I followed his gaze. It was almost dark already and the light that was still left held a dark blue tint to it.

"I . . ."

A monotone beep from my laptop broke me off in mid-speak and I turned my full attention towards it, ignoring Duo's strangely . . . indignant look and fractious frown. With some rapid movements with my fingers on the keys, I opened the incoming mail and read it through from top to bottom.

Duo put a hesitant hand on my shoulder and looked over it to read too and when I didn't say anything about the contact, the hand seemed to settle down a little, resting more heavily on my upper arm.

The mail was short and informative about a mission, like expected and somewhere behind me I dimly heard Duo sigh softly. "When are you going to leave?"

"Four hours."

"Who's your backup?" He queried, surprising me enough to blink once. When I didn't answer, he waved a hand in front of my face. "Hellooo - I asked you a question, you know." He studied my face and suddenly stopped waving and settled for just . . . staring at me, odd grin in place.

I looked back, meeting his wide eyes with my own. "What?"

"You --" He sounded disbelieving though I couldn't figure out why. "You . . . didn't react."

I continued to look at him blankly and repeatedly grunt. "What?"

He reached out towards my face again, quickly, and without thinking, I suddenly had his wrist in a firm . . .very hard grip. Without stopping to further note his pained expression, my hands twisted his arm around and suddenly I was standing there, holding his arm up against his back in a hard grip. I let go off him, muttering a low. "Sorry."

"Hey, it's okay." He grinned, a pained little grin that made me feel a little guilty and rubbed his lower arm, wincing while doing so. "I deserved it. Still, you didn't do it the first time." He somehow managed to look extremely pleased with himself at the discovery at the same time as he tried not to wince in front of me.

I frowned a little at the knowledge that I had let my guard down enough to let him gesture swiftly near to me. "It won't happen again." I promised him.

It seemed to please him even more. "Is that a challenge?"

"No." I replied honestly and suddenly remembered his earlier question. "I won't bring any backup."

"Eh? You're kiddin' me??"

"No."

"Are you ever positive?"

I thought for a while. "Yes."

He gave me that strange stare again before breaking out in another pained grin. "Hey, I didn't know you had a sense of humor. Rather dry, I guess, but humor nonetheless --"

He was babbling again. I took time to study his face as he did and realized his face looked unusually tight. A small frown scarred his forehead and his jaw was clenched, having to be forced into movement - I could see how his muscles strained in his face. Nothing of this was obvious, but when you looked very closely, it was there. How hard, exactly, had I gripped his arm? The white marks began to turn into a dark shade of red. The small touch of guilt grew in my chest but I pushed it down again.

"Hey, Heero?"

I looked up at his face. "Yes." It was not a question, just a small statement to make him continue.

"Are you afraid of death?" He tilted his head slightly to the left as he said those words and his eyes spoke of a deeper . . . meaning in those words. A meaning I didn't know about nor understood, so I answered the . . . un-deep question.

"No."

He thought about that for a while and then tilted his head to the other side, eyes beginning to play a strange melody I couldn't quite fathom. "In a way, I am, but in a way, I'm not." He said at length.

I decided it was my turn to ask now. "Am I a friend?"

It wasn't what I had planned to ask, and I think I shocked myself even more than I shocked him. I refused to meet his eyes and I am almost sure I felt myself flush as my cheeks grew hotter and hotter. I snapped my mouth closed as he opened it to gape at me. His entire jester was gone now as he stared at me in honest surprise, small frown evident in his face. "What did you say?"

"Nothing." I mumbled and turned around to walk out of the door. Behind me, I heard Duo mutter a quiet `asshole' but his voice was strangely. . . affectionate. Then.

"Hey, I'm coming with you!"

I stopped. "What?"

"On your mission. I read the information - there's no way for you to do that yourself. Not even you can make it alone."

I frowned at him and the last remains of my blush disappeared. I decided it was . . . strange to blush. I couldn't remember any time when I had done that before but as I said . . . it felt strange. When I didn't answer, he elaborated.

"It says you're going to break into the base, find the data-centre and steal information. That's the easy part, you can do that yourself." He waited for me to nod. "The hard part is where you have to blow that centre into pieces. There's no way for you to carry explosives enough into the base, steal info and then place it all out before more than one person a time can find you."

I frowned again. "The doctors must have thought about that."

"You sure?" He shrugged with a grin. "I've always thought Prof. G was a little crazy."

I couldn't argue with that.

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TBC

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