Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Song of the Phoenix ❯ 'O' Is For the Only One I See ( Chapter 12 )

Disclaimer: I do not have the pleasure of owning Gundam Wing or any of its characters. *pout* I'm just not special enough.

'O' Is For the Only One I See

The braided officer whistled cheerily as he walked down the corridor, his black shoes clicking softly against the linoleum. He spared a glance to his right, where Heero was walking beside him, hands shoved in his pockets. The fluorescent lighting offered a strange, artificial glow to the hallway. The pair of officers had gotten a call to come interrogate the murderer in the Sprague case. This miffed the young officer…he thought that Sally and Wufei were working on the interrogation.

Regarding the situation that Sally and Wufei were placed in just last night…well…Duo was definitely split on the matter. It was wonderful that they were able to capture this guy, who was a potential danger if he was set loose.

But, from what Duo had learned of him from the two investigators…well…the guy was a nutcase. If he got out by pleading insanity, then there was a good chance his mental conditions could be 'cured', and then what? He would be allowed to run free while his victims remained dead. It just didn't seem fair.

Shrugging mentally, Duo rounded a corner sharply…without looking, and…

WHAM!

"Whoa!" Duo exclaimed, catching Sally as she barreled into him from around the corner. "Pardonez moi, mademoiselle!" On closer inspection of the woman he caught, he discovered her cheeks were flushed. He placed a hand to her forehead after his perusal of her face. Silence followed slightly, broken only by Sally's jarred breathing.

"You look flushed. Do you have a fever, Sally?" he questioned, frowning lightly as she shoved his hand away, dropping her gaze immediately to the floor.

"I-…I'm fine," she assured him, pulling away. "I just…need some fresh air, that's all." Suspicious violet eyes narrowed ready to call her bluff. Heero cleared his throat noisily to regain his partner's attention. Duo turned once more to his fellow officer with a frown, and Sally shot the stoic officer a grateful glance, continuing down the corridor as Duo and Heero resumed walking silently.

As the duo came to the end of the corridor, they discovered Wufei standing outside a door. His black eyes seemed opaque, and he was staring at the far wall vacantly; his arms were crossed tightly, and his hands gripped the material of his jacket so hard it turned his bronze knuckles a pasty white. Duo and Heero shared a strange look. Just what had come over those two?

'It must be from interrogating the murderer,' Duo decided, but he didn't quite believe his easy excuse.

Surprisingly, it was Heero who spoke up. "What's wrong with Sally, Chang?" His stern, Prussian blue eyes stared at the Chinese officer accusingly. It had been easy to see that Sally and Heero had always shared some sort of companionship…especially back when Sally didn't talk. Duo's violet eyes widened. It seemed like so long ago…but it really wasn't…his lip tipped up in a slight smirk, amused over his own reminiscence.

The black-haired officer turned to them slowly, keeping his anger in check. In fact, he still looked preoccupied. But with what? "I…I don't know what's wrong with her…" His countenance took on an angry look, and his fists clenched even tighter.

Wufei took off down the corridor in the same direction his partner had gone, muttering a sharp, "Damnit!" Heero followed him with narrowed eyes, glancing up only when Duo opened the door to the examination room. The braided officer gestured widely with his hands for Heero to enter before him.

"She'll be fine," Duo assured him as Heero walked past him into the interrogation room, unable to repress the urge to grin.

"Hn."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Trowa reached into his pocket, pulling out the key to his apartment, the number '12' staring at him almost ominously. He stuck the key in the keyhole and twisted; the key turned easily in the lock, and he swung the wooden door open. The familiar, homey smell of the apartment kissed his face as he entered. With a frown, he realized the lights were still on. His sharp, bottle green eyes darted around the apartment quickly.

'Catherine said she was going out to eat with some friends,' he thought to himself. 'And she knows not to waste electricity on our income.' That had to mean that someone else had turned on the lights. And that someone could very well be in the apartment still. Coming into the living quarters, he discovered a sight he had not expected to see.

"Midii?" he questioned, dropping his careful demeanor at the sight of his lawyer.

"Your sister let me in before she left," the blonde woman explained from her position on the couch. "She told me to tell you not to worry, that she'd be home before eleven." Trowa nodded, watching as her gaze fell to the floor, where she chewed on her lip uneasily. Her teeth bit into the soft flesh; it was a wonder the skin didn't break.

"If this is about payment-"

"No!" Midii exclaimed, and then softer, "No, that's not it at all." She tried her best to smile, but her nervousness betrayed her in the half-smile, half-grimace she produced. Trowa looked at her closely, watching as she visibly squirmed under his intense stare.

"Something to drink?" he offered, walking towards the refrigerator and grabbing a cola for himself. He closed the fridge when he heard the lawyer decline his offer. The cola can snapped and fizzed slightly as he popped the tab. He rested his lean body against the couch's armrest, opposite from where Midii was seated.

"Trowa…um…" Midii began haltingly, turning away when words failed her. Trowa waited expectantly, watching from his perch on the couch.

'Why can't I just tell him?' she thought to herself desperately, struggling for words. Everything she had thought she wanted to tell him…it just…failed her. She was at a loss for what to say, at a loss of what to do; she could feel him looking at her, and that wasn't helping matters. On the contrary, it was making them much more difficult. Full to the brim with frustration and sadness, Midii did the only thing she could do. She snapped.

"Do you even realize how good you have it?" she questioned, her voice coming out as a shrill cry. The suddenness of her statement shocked Trowa, and the look on his face was one of utter bewilderment. It would have been comical, if she weren't so hysterical.

"Midii, what are you talking about?" the mechanic queried after a pause, his voice carefully devoid of emotion, and his tone was quiet, and would have been soothing, had it contained any sentiment.

"Sometimes, I wish I were you," the blonde woman said softly, ignoring Trowa's soft sounds of disagreement. "You have this kind of…bond with your sister. And you have goals…and dreams." Her voice wavered dangerously, and the man across from her was shocked once more to find tears glistening, poised dangerously on the tips of her eyelashes.

"I have nothing," he told her slowly, choosing his words after much consideration. "You have a thriving career…so much so that you needn't wait for payment from broke bums like me." His obvious bitter attitude toward his poverty became even more prominent, and Midii felt a surge of sympathy…but her viewpoint remained immovable.

His words of praise towards the lawyer didn't even faze her. "My family is dead!" She said this statement with utmost loathing and anger. The tears were now leaking from the corners of her dove-gray eyes. "My mother died in child birth…bringing my baby brother into this world. And you know how he repays her? He dies! My father died too, everyone died!" A choked sob escaped her lips. "They were so sick…I knew it would happen even before…no matter what I did I knew-I knew everyone would die."

"Except you."

"Except me," she echoed, her voice dangerously soft. "And I am nothing…I am pathetic!"

Trowa still appeared calm, gazing at her steadily and unwaveringly. "You are not pathetic." She stood up suddenly, pacing back and forth across the living room section, before turning back to the man sitting impassively on the armrest.

"I am pathetic," Midii reiterated. "I'm so pathetic, I can't even tell the person I love how I feel!" With these last words her voice rose once more, and the tears spilt down her cheeks once more. Her face was flushed, and raw emotion practically burned throughout her expression. Trowa could feel her body singing with confined energy, and he found himself drawn to her, like a moth to a flame.

Uncaring whether or not it was him she loved, uncaring if she didn't want his comfort, uncaring if she left and he never saw her again…Trowa reached out with his strong arms and pulled her into a tight, warm embrace. Rather then break down into more sobs (like he had expected her to do), Midii clutched on tightly to him in return, lifting her lips up and pressing them against his.

For a second he stood stock still, not responding.

But only for a second.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Duo shook his head, feeling his thick chestnut braid smack back and forth against his back in the process. He heard Heero shut the interrogation door behind them, and couldn't help but grind his teeth in anger. They had been done questioning the murderer long ago, but Heero and Duo had stayed behind to discuss all that they had discovered. It was helpful, but more than a little bit aggravating. Lester was cocky, not to mention loony.

'He won't get out of it,' the braided man reminded himself for about the hundredth time. 'Sure, he has mental disabilities, but he still knew exactly what he was doing, and also the consequences of his actions.'

His violet eyes rose as he heard the rhythmic sound of high heels against the linoleum floor. He saw a flash of honey blonde hair and recognized Relena Darlian, the intern who had been hired a week or two ago. He flashed her a grin, and she smiled back slightly, but Duo wasn't born yesterday. He could tell by the way her eyes kept flickering towards his partner. Wanting to tease Heero-but wisely deciding against it-Duo left the two standing in the middle of the hallway as he began his stroll towards the door.

"I'd better get going!" he called over his shoulder, throwing up his arm in a sloppy wave. "I'll catch ya later Heero…Relena!" Heero nodded in reply, while Relena spared the man a friendly wave. Duo smirked as he opened the door and stepped out into the late afternoon breeze. Heero owed him one.

Duo whistled tunelessly as he walked, paying no attention to the people who passed him by, or the busy cars zooming by. Surprisingly, his thoughts weren't on the murder case, either. He kept seeing a smiling, feminine face in his mind, and large, cornflower blue eyes smiling up at him. He was thinking about Hilde. Last time he had seen her was when he had wanted to ask her out…for real this time, not under the pretense of some interrogation. But he had been interrupted.

Somehow, his feet led him to the park, where couples holding hands, men with dogs on leashes, and sweating joggers passed by him; once again, he barely even registered their movements, which was unusual, given his keen senses. A wooden bench was off to the side of the sidewalk pavement, and Duo made his way towards it, sliding onto one end unceremoniously.

"I miss her," he realized with a start, stating the phrase out loud and under his breath. He buried his head in his hands, his sharp ears noting absently that the sound of a jogger was fast approaching. He only looked up when he heard the jogger stop in front of him.

Clad in a pair of black jogging shorts and a gray tank top, Hilde Schbeiker peered at him with a slight smile on her face, one hand resting on her hip.

"If I hadn't seen that braid, I'd have never known it was you!" she exclaimed cheerfully, wiping small beads of perspiration from her forehead. "You're not the type to mope on park benches, ya know."

Duo ignored her comments. "Hilde! Great to see ya!" He forced a grin on his face, but his insides were squirming. He had broken off with her so abruptly the last time he saw her. What did she think of what he'd been about to tell her? She must've figured it out!

"Actually, I'm glad I ran into you," she told him conversationally.

"You are?" Hope, inevitably, rose.

"Yeah, I kinda wanted to ask you something." Her confidence seemed to waver for a moment, but she forced herself to continue. "Since the case has been solved, and all."

"Sure Hilde, what's up?" he queried. As an afterthought, he added with a wink, "You know I'd do anything for my favourite girl." Hilde's demeanor grew less apprehensive, and she smiled in response to his friendly flirtation. She leaned forward, placing her hands on Duo's shoulders and resting their foreheads together, which wasn't hard, considering he was seated and she was still standing.

"Duo," she began, and then paused. She continued after licking her lips nervously. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out to eat with me somewhere." At his shocked look, she added, "If you're to busy of course, I'll understand." She made a move to pull away, but Duo resisted, instead pulling her closer until she landed on his lap in an undignified heap, blushing furiously.

Duo buried his head in the crook of her neck. "Babe, you read my mind."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Trowa, I'm back!" called a cheerful, feminine voice as Catherine opened the apartment door, placing her purse on a small table that rested off to one side. "Is Midii still here? I hope you don't mind that I let her in…she wanted to talk to you." She came towards the living quarters, where Trowa was sitting on the couch silently, gazing off into space. "She seemed like such a nice…Trowa? What's the matter?" Seeing her brother so unresponsive, she approached him quickly, grabbing onto his shoulders.

"She said she loved me." His quiet, unreadable voice broke through Catherine's fussing, and she turned to him in surprise, her light purple eyes widened. Her jaw went slack, and then began working like mad once more.

"She did? Well, that's sure strange! I mean, you've only known her for a couple of weeks, right? Why would she say something like that, I mean…I mean…only a couple weeks! Don't these things take time?" She paused suddenly. "And what did you say, Trowa? You didn't break the poor thing's heart, did you? You should learn to be gentle, and-"

"I asked her to marry me," Trowa interjected, his voice still remaining quiet. Catherine's babbled stopped, and she stared in unabashed surprise at her little brother.

"And…" she prodded after a moment. "What did she say?"

Trowa glanced up, and his sister caught the sincerity and hopeful glint in his normally cool green eyes. His lips tilted up as he said, "She accepted."

A/N: How's this so far? I was having trouble with some of the other relationships, and I know they all came on so suddenly in these past few chapters, but before it was all about the murder. Now that it's been taken care of, the characters have more time to find themselves, and discover their not-so-covert feelings towards one another.

Please, please review!!