Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Sky Arc ❯ Eclipse - 01 ( Chapter 6 )

Eclipse - 01

Pairings : 1x2, OCx5, 1+5
Rating : R overall
Warnings : Yaoi, angst, citrus, romance
Disclaimer : Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu. Not me.

Summary : Against the backdrop of growing violence threatening the world, the human drama of Heero, Duo, Wufei and Anders continue to play out.

A/N : This series has a different mood from [Holding the Light]. The scope is larger, there're more people involved and the various troubles between the characters are now matched up against the bigger picture of the world around them. However, there will be continued exploration of the two different relationships - 1x2 and OCx5. I'd say the mood will be darker too, since these are turbulent times.

Almost every ranked official of the pacifist organisations supporting the cause of Relena Peacecraft was present. Many of these men and women, he had seen and met before in past and present dalliances as a top Preventers agent. Others, he was careful to scrutinise as discreetly as possible without looking like a hawk. These were the ones he didn't recognise, and he etched them into the annals of his mind, starting from general points of appearances, then progressing to little behavioural idiosyncrasies, the gait and footfall, the voice and tone.

It was an exercise he indulged in habitually, and something he never managed to rid himself of. There...had been a time when he wouldn't be alone in this exercise. He would stay half-hidden in the shadows of the background of a social function, hanging at the boundaries of the bustle of people, blending in, yet always watching. He would draw comfort from the extra presence right by him, and a quiet, barely-inflected voice speaking in a tone that was completely flat, yet underlined by caustic humour.

Playing bodyguard has its perks, Chang Wufei.

Sometimes memories like these made him smile.

Lifting his head, he adjusted his stance, easing the setting cramp in his limbs. He cast his gaze across the expanse of the ballroom.

The convention had lasted for a week. It was the last day today. With the tedious meetings and talks finally dealt with, and new policies drawn up, these pacifist o fficials finally had the allowance of time to indulge in the high-brow closing ball. There was general good cheer around. Old friends, old foes, meeting once again. The Preventers had to be there naturally. At least, the upper echelons of the HQ rank, and that included him. The world was enjoying unprecedented peace, the Preventers were doing their job with aplomb. Yes, the usual sugarcoated accolades for the wonderful state that the world was in.

He watched the young woman who was the core of the attention. She was dressed in shimmering resplendence and stood near the centre of the ballroom, chatting amiably with several representatives from an organisation whose name was inexplicably lost to him at the moment.

Relena Peacecraft.

Involuntarily, his hands twitched and he had to still them with some effort. She was single-handedly one of the shrewdest women he had ever crossed paths with. She might not be schooled in the art of war, but if it were possible, he was sure she could have held a degree in human resource management. It was obvious she had with minimal efforts, all these officials eating out of her hand. There was also another reason for his grudging, wary admiration for her resourcefulness.

The way she had handled the open secret that was Heero and Duo's relationship. Bowing out gracefully, yet managing to maintain a working relationship with both men that tilted in her favour.

His hands twitched again. He noted with some weariness it was getting to be a conditioned response. His eyes, errant and working at total odds with his logic, reflexively searched out for the trigger that was responsible for it.

He found them instantly. And like a stalker, he watched them intently.

The tall, compact Japanese man with the striking blue eyes stood just several feet away from Relena Peacecraft. By sheer practice and skill, he had managed to blend into the background yet keeping himself close enough to safeguard her life. The man's face was half hidden by heavy bangs, but even then, his posture radiated alertness and caution. And circling him the same way he was circling Relena, was another man. The hair was always the most noticeable of the second man. Long, russet and slung over one shoulder in a thick braid, it accentuated the bright personality that came with it. The one binding thread between the two men was the way they were attuned to each other.

They looked so right together it was painful to watch.

Rather unfortunately perhaps, he had the occasional masochistic tendencies and he watched anyway.

"Agent Chang."

He heard the teasing inflections in the tone even before it registered in his mind whom belonged to that voice. It was a voice that his brain was still unused to hearing on a regular basis. Turning, he nodded at the man who now joined him on the balustrade.

Ray Anders was on duty as well, although whether or not it was by cunning planning or just coincidence that he happened to be on *this* assignment, Wufei would prefer not to guess. And he certainly looked right for the occasion if nothing else. His longish bangs were flipped back from his eyes, bringing the angular beauty of his face into sharp focus. Cobalt eyes caught his own, before the Eurasian man smiled disarmingly at him.

Wufei blinked, wondering whether or not to return such an enthusiastic greeting. In that time-span he spent trying to decide on an appropriate response, Anders laughed softly.

"Do you always think so much, Agent Chang?"

He looked away, hoping his discomfort wouldn't be as obvious as it felt. He was just...unused to such greetings from not-so-familiar people.

He didn't realise there were fingers at his face until his body jerked instinctively and he looked up just in time for the touch to close in. He bore it as well as he could, those tanned fingers brushing the stray lock of hair behind his ears, just skimming his skin.

"There." Anders nodded his head like he had just accomplished something great. "Now I can see you."

Wufei was sure his face was burning and he berated himself inwardly for reacting like a schoolboy. It was also starting to vex him how he was getting worse and worse at anticipating the other man. He tried not to flinch when Anders began brushing at his shirt, as if there was lint on it, imaginary or not. And as usual, his negative reactions barely deterred Anders as he continued his little mundane task anyway.

Absently, Wufei turned his head towards the ground floor again, where the ball was in full swing whether or not his mind was in it.

He froze.

Heero was staring straight at him.

++++++++++

"No...ah, Hilde, you're a menace! You're trying to get me drunk, I know it!"

"Damn, there goes my secret plan of getting Duo Maxwell drunk and bringing him home."

"And then...?"

"And then...Tying him to the bed and then...hot wax on sensitive areas."

Duo Maxwell threw back his head and laughed. "God, that's evil!" He shook his head, animated violet eyes still dancing. "But I like it."

"Like what? The hot wax? Or me?"

Generous lips curved into a warm smile. "You."

Equally animated eyes, their colour just a shade lighter than Duo's own, shone as Hilde Schbeiker chuckled in response. She had stayed on L2, but returned now and then. Mostly it was for work-related stuff, but times like these, it was just to make sure Duo was okay. The both of them had remained fast friends even after the wars, maybe even growing closer as Hilde made it her duty to play surrogate nanny to Duo. Some part of him realised that that role hadn't come easy for her, but she had taken it simply because that was the closest they could get as...friends. He couldn't love her the way she might have hoped for, and she would never risk their friendship by asking.

At the present however, he chose not to dwell on such potentially unhappy memories, not when they were buried in the past, and here they were, meeting up again after several months of individual commitments. A Relena Peacecraft ball was hardly the best opportunity to catch up on old times, but it sufficed in other ways. It was a treat watching Hilde Schbeiker straightjacketed into a gown and all lady-like when Duo knew she was dying to get her legs out of that constricting satin and into denim.

"If you like me so much, bastard," she said succinctly, noticing his valiant efforts at containing his mirth while eyeing her dress. "Stop laughing at me!"

Both of them laughed then, at the silliness of themselves and the unspoken agreement of the redundancy of the ball. Neither of them believed in pretty politics, although they were both exposed to it on a livelihood basis.

"You're looking good, Duo Maxwell."

He grinned at her compliment, uttered in that brusque manner that was supposed to look offhand. He was certainly no stranger to compliments, particularly where the appearance was concerned. In actuality, he cared less about his looks than his demeanour suggested, but he was aware of where his aesthetic values lay, and that they were concentrated on his built, his long hair and naturally, the unusual colour of his eyes. But, compliments coming from Hilde were few and far between, and he wasn't about to let it slide that easily.

"Don't make me fall in love with you, Hilde," he joked.

"You can't. I don't have a dick."

His hand stilled in mid-motion of raising his glass to his lips.

As if realising how serious she had just sounded, Hilde smiled, shaking her head in apology. "What I mean is, I'm not Heero Yuy."

"Ah," Duo managed a chuckle.

"How are...things, Duo."

"Fine."

"You know, some things - "

"I don't know." Duo interjected gently, but firmly. "Some things, I don't need to know."

Hilde refused to budge, though. Her lips pursing into a familiar expression of stubbornness, she frowned. "That sounds very unlike you."

It was only because it was Hilde that Duo was willing to continue the conversation. He was the master of conversational change and technique; he didn't need to do this. Sighing, Duo smiled again. "Believe me, I've tried. Trying to find out about everything. Wanting to know. It hurts." He shrugged, but that casual movement was belied by a leadening of his tone. "I've hurt people too."

"What - and it's better to not know anything at all?"

"Been there. Done that." He didn't add that at least, by not knowing, he had been happy. Ignorance was truly a bliss, if only he had realised it sooner.

Hilde had turned her head and was staring at someone near the centre of the ballroom. Duo followed her line of vision, and wasn't surprised to find that it was Heero that was the object of her critical gaze. He turned to her quickly.

"Hilde...it's not all his fault..." He faltered, suddenly aware of how weak he sounded, the way he fished for excuses for everything, even Heero. Christ, maybe Hilde was right about how much he had changed.

"I know." She looked away from Heero, back at him. There was a wry, reprimanding expression on her face that reminded him of a schoolteacher. "Heero's an ass sometimes. But so are you."

"I feel your love." Duo said dryly.

"Besides...there's no right or wrong in love. Only forgiveness."

Maybe it was the way Hilde said that, like she herself wanted to believe it and it was something she had been telling everyone even if she wasn't all that convinced by it yet. It made a laugh form in Duo's throat, and suspicious moisture well up behind his eyelids. "That's terrifyingly sappy, Schbeiker."

"I hear you, Maxwell," Hilde gave a mock grimace, then smiled, more for Duo's benefit than anything else. "I'm working on it."

They didn't really talk much after that. Hilde drifted off to converse with a group of old friends, and Duo found himself hovering near the centre of the ballroom, not quite sure what to do himself. He didn't have any real business here, in reality. It wasn't a mission or assignment either. But Relena Peacecraft was the main event at this ball, and that counted for a lot. Every time she appeared at a public function like this, she would need the best personal bodyguard there was.

And if Heero were going to be present as a bodyguard, then Duo would have to be there as well. He didn't doubt Heero's abilities, but he did doubt Heero's self-disregard whenever and wherever Relena was concerned. Over the years, Duo had learnt to take Heero's devotion to Relena's cause in his stride. If there was no way around it, then Duo was certainly going to make sure he went *through* with it.

He felt his heart skip a beat as his eyes fell discreetly on his lover. As expected, Heero was circling Relena just several feet away, but so skilfully nobody did take real notice to his presence. The Japanese man was wearing a semi-formal suit that Duo had picked personally. It lent an air of intensity to Heero that had Duo's heart skipping like a fangirl's even with the status of their relationship.

Status...Duo snorted wryly to himself. Exactly *what* status they were still remained debatable.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Heero move suddenly. It was a deliberately-inconspicuous motion but no one would be surprised that Duo picked it up anyway. Vaguely perturbed, Duo was about to head towards his lover, when he realised that Heero had raised his head and was staring intently towards the upper floor.

Duo looked up before he could stop himself.

It was like an intangible but undeniably present bridge of silent communication between the two men.

Weary non-surprise registered in violet eyes as Duo watched the man at the other end of Heero's scrutiny. Chang Wufei, who had just managed to rein in his recent haggard countenance under a staid Mandarin suit and his now-trademark hair tail. Chang Wufei, also the shadow that haunted his and Heero's consciousness at every turn, and even now at an opulent ball with too many people.

Duo did wonder what communication was transpiring so silently between the two men; what could have caused those grim lines fettering Wufei's face as he met Heero's gaze with admirable steadfastness. Duo could only read Heero; the way the man's shoulders drew back so stiffly when another figure appeared behind Wufei.

Ray Anders. The latest addition to their happy love triangle.

It was really cosy, the setting right now. Heero and Wufei unable to tear their eyes away from each other; Anders' smile over Wufei's shoulder that was directed at Heero.

Whatever it was, it was none of Duo's business. He had been through a year with Heero not knowing anything about Wufei. He had been through months with Wufei knowing everything. At the end of it all, it seemed he was still trapped in this whole black hole of murky connections. That was all there were. The possibilities of resolution and reconciliation were present but they were still too elusive and all Duo could see were just the suffocating webs binding all of them.

He turned away, towards the ball. Hey, stuffy people or not, it was still a party, right? Parties were Duo Maxwell's forte.

He stepped towards the nearest familiar face -

And a deafening explosion rocked the entire ballroom.

++++++++++

Tens of pairs of eyes watched the screens as the scenes of the blasts were replayed right before them. Except when viewed on a screen, the effect was diluted, like they were watching the horror through lenses. It only underlined the very real devastation that many of them had been swept up into not more than twenty-four hours ago.

"...at around 2000 hours earlier in the evening, leaving at least thirty dead, most of whom are decorated war veterans and government officials. The representatives from the Colonies were not spared either. General Antony Grasler, who has been acting leader of Colony FIR23-01 for the past five years, is still reportedly missing in the explosions. The Preventers have declined to comm - "

The broadcast was abruptly muted. Commander Midii Une regarded her ranks of Preventers officers with ill-disguised gravity. "Will I be stating the obvious," she said quietly, heavily. "If I tell you that the reputation of the Preventers has been severely damaged because of this event?"

Silence greeted her, and she wasn't surprised. Usually, her Preventers were more than competent in their work. Most of them had been through the Wars and were more than equipped to deal with the post-War struggles. This time, to put it bluntly, they had screwed up. Yes, the damage-control and reconnaissance had been carried out with as much efficiency as possible. Many of her officers had been injured in the blasts and the rescue work.

Yet all these didn't change the fact that the disaster could have been averted. Starting right from the top of the ladder with Une herself unable to prevent the disaster and right down to the intelligence department for the leak of information and the breach in security, nobody was spared from responsibility. Their long-standing detractors would have a field day with this latest blow to the Preventers' credibility.

Raising her head, the lines of worry on her face became apparent. "I want everything," she finally said. "Every little detail, every possible explanation. And a name. Nobody leaves this building until I get it. Dismissed."

One handing finding the table-top for support, Une watched wearily as her men and women filed out of the conference hall in the same tensed silence. They had been working tirelessly since the bombings, but all of them also knew their efforts weren't quite enough yet. Amongst the ranks of officers, Une's gaze rested on Heero Yuy. The Japanese man had reported back to the HQ as soon as he had escorted Relena to certain safety.

"Yuy," Une said quietly, calling him back.

As if some tacit understanding passed between them, Heero turned and headed towards her. Une stared at the screens relentlessly blaring a barrage of news and live footage of the blasts. She had yet to address the main concern and the anxiety ate at her.

"Heero." Une said without turning her head. "I expect Noin had spoken to you about your mission?"

"Yes."

"Grasler's death - "

"He's not necessarily dead."

"He's presumed dead until we find him." Une corrected. She was not up to playing word games at the moment. "His death will affect your mission to some extent or another."

"There is that possibility."

"Colony FIR23-01 is not going to yield easily with their leader dead from his only visit to Earth in five years." Une closed her eyes briefly, resisting the urge to rub her temples.

The blasts were the most recent wrench thrown into the Preventers agenda. The plans to start mediating with the most remote, renegade colonies were already underway, and Colony FIR23-01 would have been the first target. At the rate things had taken a turn, it was unlikely the peace pacts would proceed at all.

"I am still on the mission. We'd take off for Colony FIR23-01 in exactly a month and three days as planned."

"I'm not doubting you, Heero." Une said, managing even a smile at one of her most fearless men. "But your partner...I'm not sure I understand the wisdom behind your decision."

Heero remained silent for a moment, looking like he was pondering his own decision as well. At length, he raised cool deep-blue eyes and matched her gaze unwaveringly. "I've reviewed all the candidates' work profiles and backgrounds. I chose him based on his necessary arsenal and connections that would aid the mission, rather than hamper it."

Une nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Duo and Wufei are *both* good choices." Then she eased. "But I trust your decision."

Heero Yuy turned and left the conference hall.

++++++++++

Sally Po stepped out of the operation theatre, together with the medical staff who had just operated on Hilde Schbeiker. She was immediately accosted by a harried face and demanding hands that clamped too hard on her arms.

"How is she? Tell me!"

The field doctor kept from grimacing. Slowing down her steps, she nodded to the team and they hurried ahead. There was little time for perfunctory niceties when there were still so many lives hanging in the balance. But she had her own duties yet.

"Duo." She turned towards the young man, hard gaze softening when she saw how haggard he looked. For a moment, she let herself slip out of her professional mode. "Come."

For a moment Duo looked like he was ready to protest, but eventually he did let himself be led to the row of seats by the corridor. He sank into one, and Sally settled herself into the one next to him. Sally turned sympathetic eyes onto him, quietly taking in the splotches of dried blood that crusted the white fabric of his clothes. She wasn't sure if the blood was from Hilde. She was at the HQ during the explosions and all she knew of the tragedy was from the media reports and neverending stream of the wounded into the hospital.

"Sally."

The doctor laid a hand on Duo's shoulder and squeezed. "Internal haemorrhage. But she'd live. Hilde's a strong woman, Duo."

Duo's lips trembled as he struggled to digest her words. Eventually, he nodded, so rapidly he looked like he was shaking. "Yeah..." He tried to grin but had to turn his face before the silvery drops of saltwater spattered onto his shirt. "She's strong...she'd get through this like she gets through everything, you know...Sally..."

She looked away when he sank his face into his hands in silent sobs, but kept her hand on him. They stayed like this for moments. She only took away her hand when his quivering had stopped and he looked up with a quick dash of hand across his eyes.

Without looking at him, she spoke, "You can't see her yet, Duo. She's still in intensive. But we think she'd be transferred to a regular ward soon enough."

Duo nodded and this time, his grin managed to come through. "Thanks, doc."

"Would you like me to call him?"

They both knew what she was talking about.

"No."

She was genuinely surprised and it showed. When she turned her head, Duo was running a hand through his tangled waves of hair. It was a gesture of weariness, but resolution as well.

"You know," Duo stared ahead at the wall. He gave a hoarse chuckle. "Right now...everyone is about everyone else...Don't call him, Sally."

"I see," Sally nodded.

In times of turbulence and chaos, when the backdrop of the world loomed large, each person belonged to several other persons. Sally had been deathly worried about her colleagues at the HQ but she also had her patients. Heero would have been here if Duo would but give the signal, but Heero had Relena's safety on his agenda, and others that Sally might or might not know. Duo himself was in two minds between Heero and Hilde while he paced the corridor outside the operation theatre, as Hilde fought for her life inside.

Sally nodded again, knowing she had just spoken to the ex-Gundam pilot Duo Maxwell. It was not often she had the chance to do so with the Wars having ended. It brought her a curious sense of fresh understanding, just as well as she had been told of how Heero had used his body as a human shield around Relena, how Wufei had been rushing to and from blast site to the HQ despite his injury, how Trowa and Quatre were far away from Earth but had been constantly in touch with the Preventers to help in any way they could.

With no small sense of regret, Sally stood up slowly. Even after the Wars had ended, the lives of the five ex-pilots she knew remained eclipsed by the world around them.

"I need to go, Duo," she said.

The young man looked up at her, his face serious at first before he offered her a Duo smile. "Might wanna catch some sleep, Doc. You look like hell."

"Well, you look like shit. So we're even."

Sally turned before she caught the shock on Duo's face at her language. She knew that shock will later turn into a smile on his lips; she just didn't have the luxury of waiting to find out. Leaving the brief moment of respite behind, she strode down the corridor, where she knew there were more patients waiting for her.

++++++++++

"You're very good at this," Wufei remarked, his rather critical gaze riveted on the hands deftly bandaging his arm.

"Comes with practice." The other man grinned wryly. "I was top of the first-aid class, you know."

The Chinese man snorted softly. Bantering was good. It almost made him forget about the bloody and charred ruins of the ballroom and the screams of the guests ravaged by the fire. There had been no time to think, to wonder how the security had been breached when they had been so careful. He didn't remember much after that. It was like his body went into auto-pilot, rallying with the other security personnel around the surviving civilians, getting them out of the chaos. He just knew he had to keep moving, keep working so the noises around him were kept to a dull buzz and he couldn't hear the sharp agony above it. There was so much screaming...

The mass meeting he had attended earlier despite being ordered to rest in the infirmary had been a harsh reminder to every single officer that what they were doing still wasn't enough.

An arm curled around his shoulder, and Wufei blinked, suddenly brought back to earth. He remembered this touch.

"It happened too fast," Anders' voice was saying.

Wufei didn't quite hear Anders. He was still remembering the details. The details. He had to recall them right for his report. The touch...the solid pressure cradling him during the blast. He had been thrown to the ground during the explosion, ears ringing from the deafening blast. Ray Anders had been right there with him, his arms thrown around Wufei as the shockwaves reverberated around them.

"Hey..."

Wufei looked up.

"You okay?"

He nodded. He couldn't really shake off that strange feeling. It was surreal yet too real, knowing that he might have died in the explosion and yet surviving. It wasn't relief at finding himself still alive, yet he didn't regret that he survived. He did feel the horror of the number of deaths and the manner of death of the civilians, yet it was a tragedy he was used to. It was like hitting the replay button of a scene of disaster. The horror was real every time but then it got diluted every time, and still the replay wouldn't stop...

He didn't actually feel Anders' lips until they had already left his temple. Wufei stared at the Eurasian man in muted surprise.

There was no forthright answer in Anders' eyes as usual. The surface expressions were easy to pick. Business-like efficiency tempered with the kind of empathy that could have only come from another treading the same path. It was the murky emotion that lay beneath the readable ones that was elusive. People used one another, taking and giving, but there was always something to be given and something to be taken. Wufei still hadn't found out what Anders wanted from him.

Wufei let himself be drawn into the embrace. It felt good in the way that it *shouldn't* feel as good as this. There were firm hands at his shoulders, fingers meeting the knots of tension in his body and digging deep to work out the kinks.

"Agent Chang."

Wufei raised his head, struggling with the sluggishness setting into his limbs and even his eyelids. Was it the loss of blood? Had he lost that much? It was really just a flesh wound, but he was so tired...He looked up into deep-blue eyes that were slightly crinkled as if they were smiling.

Anders' wavy, dark-brown head tilted towards him. "May I?" An unassuming request tendered in an equally unassuming, mellifluous tone.

The breaths against his face were so warm they felt like a caress.

"Wufei."

The Chinese man jerked back sharply. Obsidian eyes, previously hazed but now clearing quickly, darted to the entrance of the infirmary where his name had been said by a voice he'd recognise in his sleep.

Heero Yuy.

fin
August 2004