Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ True North ❯ True North, Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

True North

Chapter 1

Pairings: 2x1

Category: AU

Warnings: OC daughter, sap.

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is copyright Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu Agency. "The Eternal Rhapsody" is copyright Ringo Zaidan and Midori Saiha.

Many thanks to Rich and Diamroyal for being my betas and sound boards.

Duo hadn't considered this a possibility. Even for him, and he usually kept an open mind. After all, he wouldn't have gotten into this situation if he didn't. One had to have a really open mind to go into a time machine to meet someone.

It had all started when he left L2 for Earth to work in one of the best known laboratories. He was sixteen then, an incredibly gifted scientist, and had jumped at the opportunity, even though he'd be leaving L2 for the first time. Upon his arrival, Duo had been taken to see who the founder of the labs was.

That was when he'd seen Heero Yuy for the first time. Of course, since the labs had been here for fifty years at the time, all he'd seen was Heero's picture. When Duo asked where Heero was now, his guide-an old man in his sixties-shook his head sadly and said that Heero had died when he was seventeen; a year after that picture was taken.

It should have ended right there. Instead, what happened was that Duo received a disk from two of his coworkers-Dr. J and Professor G-that Heero had recorded. He tried to give it back to the two old men, since there was no possible way anyone could have known him thirty-three to thirty-four years before he was born.

But they insisted, and the next thing he knew, Duo was looking at a hologram of a dying Heero, speaking to him like they'd been close, known each other intimately. And just before the message ended, Duo had heard the words, "I want to see you one more time."

There had been very little information on Heero Yuy's life when Duo went to research him; his birth, winning the Nobel Prize, establishing the labs and then his death. And then, when he'd told Dr. J and Professor G, they'd let slip that they had a time machine.

Duo found himself in AC 196, fifty years from his own time, face-to-face with Heero. He hadn't been easy to get along with at first; the accusation that Duo would probably rape him if he'd gotten the chance hadn't gone across too well. Then he'd met Relena, Heero's cousin, and that was when he'd learned about Heero being terminally ill. Relena said that it'd been in the Yuys for generations, only passed down through the males and killing them while they were young. She'd also casually mentioned her clairvoyant powers, telling Duo that Heero would fall in love with someone with long hair.

He didn't get what she'd said completely until the photo session. He hadn't known that it'd been taking place; he just wanted to let Heero know that he was getting ready for some experiments. But then Heero looked up, said his name, and /smiled/. That was when Duo realized that that smile had been in the photograph he'd seen upon coming to the labs.

Shortly after that, the two of them fell in love. It was that simple, really. Or it should have been. Heero was growing weaker, and time was quickly running out. He'd always told Duo that he didn't have much time left, and now Duo was seeing it for himself. They needed to find a cure.

That was where their daughter, Moira, came in. Duo wanted to develop a serum that would supply good copies of a gene to replace the defective ones causing the disease. For that, they needed the blood of someone who was a carrier. Unfortunately, Heero didn't have any siblings, and Relena was related to him maternally.

They'd been young. They'd been foolish and desperate. And yet they'd managed to pull off genetically engineering a baby in an artificial womb in the labs. Granted, Duo and Heero weren't so selfish as to just want her for her blood; if Duo failed and Heero died, at least Duo wouldn't be completely alone.

In any case, once Moira was born, they knew they'd made the right decision. She was, Duo declared, perfect: ten fingers, ten toes, with blue-gray eyes that would eventually darken in time. He didn't think it'd been possible to fall in love again. Heero hadn't either, and despite the trials that came along with having a newborn, they never regretted it.

But it was only six months later that Heero collapsed in the labs, and this time, it didn't look like he'd leave the hospital again. Duo left for AC 246, baby in tow, to find a cure.

The plan had been to work hard to develop a cure for Heero's disease. Then, Duo would go back to AC 196 in the time machine and use it. Of course, this hadn't worked as Duo thought it would already; first, it took longer to get a cure. He'd anticipated getting to Heero around AC 250 at the latest, and now it was AC 261.

But he hadn't thought about Dr. J and Professor G putting Heero in coldsleep and waiting for Duo all this time. And now, here he was, napping in the hospital after the revival process. Professor G warned him that it took a while for someone to recover from coldsleep, so the drugs couldn't be administered until then. Duo didn't want to press things anyway; he needed to get over the shock of finding Heero in his own time, sixty-five years later, and for God's sake, he wasn't in any shape to do any doctoring work until then.

At least the press conferences and interviews were over. It'd only been for two weeks, but it felt like it'd never end. Duo knew the online magazines wanted a crack at him, but that could wait. He had more important things to do, and the most important one was right beside him, resting from the coldsleep revival process.

Duo rose from the chair next to Heero's bed. He needed to call Relena and get her over here. Hell, with her clairvoyance, she might be expecting /this/ anyway. Relena first, then Moira. She'd need Relena to soothe her after he told her the news; after all, like Duo, she'd been thinking about going back in time to see her papa. He glanced at his watch. Moira would definitely be home from the labs now, wondering where he was as dinner cooled on the table.

Closing the door behind him, Duo took out his cell phone, unfolded it, and muttered Relena's name, activating the speed-dial function.

"Hi, Relena. It's me...no, I'm okay, just really tired and shocked...you don't know what it is? Huh. I thought you would, but anyway, get to the hospital, and when you get here, I'll sit you down because believe me, you need to sit down for this..."

***

"Where are you!? It's almost eight! I had to eat first because I skipped lunch today! I thought you got run over or something!" Moira shook a fist at the videophone, even though it was useless; after all, Dad couldn't see her. It made her more agitated to be yelling at a screen reading "Sound Only".

"Calm down, hon," Dad said. "Sheesh, I get an earful as soon as you know it's me. Yes, I'm fine. I'm not in the hospital because I'm hurt. But I need /you/ to get to the hospital. I'm on the third floor."

"Why do I need to be in the hospital?" she asked. Dad had cured the disease that killed Papa so long ago, and eventually, they'd be preparing for the time trip back sixty-five years to use it, right after she graduated within a few weeks. "I thought the time machine was in the labs where you worked."

"For one thing," Dad said, laughing strangely (Moira thought it sounded like he was in shock), "we're not going back in time anymore. So you're not going to lose your friends or anything."

"What?" As she'd grown older, Moira hadn't wanted to go back in time. AC 196 was so...well, old, for lack of a better word, and even though Dad always said she was conceived in AC 196 (the official birthdate on any ID she had read June 3rd, AC 246), she'd only known the world that was at least fifty years later. She'd gotten people like Audrey, Amy, and Gwen to hang out with in school, and leaving them behind was unthinkable.

"I'll explain everything at the hospital. Just get here. And remember to wear your helmet. I don't want to hear about your brains splattered all over the road."

"All right, all right," Moira groaned. She'd worn her helmet since she'd gotten her scooter, and it wasn't like that was going to change anytime soon. Especially since Nana Relena caught her without it last year when she was riding only a block down and told her that protecting her head was much more important that worrying about how a helmet flattened her ponytail.

"Cool beans, sweetie. See you in a bit."

***

Again, Moira's collar was twisted. One end was up, the corner sticking out behind her ear, and the other lay flat against her shirt. Duo sighed, reaching out and pulling the wayward half down.

"You're gonna ruin your clothes if you keep doing this." He flicked one of her braids behind her shoulder as she stepped out of the elevator.

"Hello to you too, Dad. I'd have gotten here faster but the parking structure sucks. Took me forever to find a spot. Oh, hey, Nana," Moira said, looking behind Duo. He turned to see Relena getting up from her seat and walking slowly towards them. Now in her eighties, Duo wondered how she didn't break.

{Amazing to see how time can pass,} he thought. When he saw her in Heero's time, she'd been his age, with honey blonde hair reaching to her waist. Now Relena's hair had turned white, and was kept up in a sensible knot at the nape of her neck. Liver spots dotted her wrinkled hands, and she moved stiffly now. Otherwise, she was the same Relena he'd met back then; still ladylike, and still able to live on her own after her husband had died.

"I'm so glad to see you, Moira," Relena said. "Was it difficult getting to the hospital? I was about to tell Duo to have you take the bus..."

Moira shook her head. "No, it was okay, thanks. Dad, what's this about? Did something happen? Why aren't we going back in time?" she whispered, tugging Duo's sleeve.

Duo took her hand and started walking down the hall. "Well," he began, looking over his shoulder to make sure Relena was able to keep up, "it turns out that Papa's been here with us all along."

"Duo!" Relena chided. "Shouldn't you sit her down before telling all of this?"

His daughter's eyes widened. "You mean he's..."

"No, not dead. Very alive, actually." Duo didn't slow his pace, even though the other two had to run to keep up, Moira's sneakers slapping the linoleum tiles as they went. "They put him in coldsleep, so actually, he's been waiting here. Come on." He tightened his hold on Moira's wrist to get her to move faster.

"Who's `they'?" Moira stopped in the middle of the hallway. "And what's the big rush? Are we going to his room or something?" Her eyes narrowed at Duo through thick bangs as she crossed her arms. "You should explain /everything/ before we start running again," she said, her lips pressing together. Duo groaned inwardly, recognizing the familiar expression; it meant that they weren't going anywhere until she clearly knew why they had to go.

"In order," Duo said, making a short slash in the air with both hands towards Moira and Relena, "Dr. J and Professor G, whom you've known since you were born, because Papa's disoriented and I snuck out while he was napping to get both you and Relena before he wakes up, and finally, yes, we're running to his room." Moira didn't budge, but her eyes lightened to a smoky blue-gray in surprise.

"H-he's been...revived already?" she asked. "How long has he been awake? Did he age or anything? Does he /remember/ me?"

Duo nodded. "Yes, a few hours, no, and I should think so." He took Moira's wrist. "Let's go, kid," he said, tugging.

Moira still didn't move, but she swayed from side to side. "I think I need to sit down," she said weakly, and pitched forward into Duo's arms.

"I /knew/ you should have done that," Relena said reproachfully, clutching her purse. "Will she be all right?"

Duo hefted Moira up, placing her head on his shoulder. Fifteen years old, and she still weighed like she was ten. And yet the amount of food she ate at dinner sometimes was downright frightening.

"Yeah, I think she'll be fine," he replied. "Heero's room isn't too far off, so when we get there we'll just put her on a chair until she comes to. Man, I didn't think she'd react this way..." Tightening his lips worriedly, Duo started to walk, but Relena stopped him.

"I think it would be best if you put her on a cot instead. If you'd like, I'll ask for one," she said.

"I don't think she's staying the night, but..." Duo's sentence hung in mid-air when he saw the look on Relena's face, with the ghost of a smile on her lipsticked mouth that meant she knew something he didn't. "Yeah, sure. One cot for room 1120? The room's a double, so Moira and I can flip a coin for the empty bed."

The old woman nodded graciously. "Certainly, Duo."

***

When Heero opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Duo sitting on his bed, which was what he'd seen when he went to take a nap in the first place.

"I can't believe you haven't moved already," he muttered.

"Oh, I did." Duo grinned. "I had to get the others."

"...the others?" He saw an old woman come into his field of vision. He didn't think he'd seen her before, but there was something familiar about her, the way she carried herself. She reached out, touching his arm with a cool hand.

"It's me, Relena," she said, stroking his arm. "It's so good to see you again." The touching felt...well, nice, for lack of a better word. With her touch, Heero knew that at least he was awake.

"You're so...so /old/," he croaked. Now that he knew that it was Relena, he could see the resemblance, only now she'd aged. Liver spots dotted her wrinkled face, and her hair had gone white, but as she laughed, it was clear that this was Relena Darlian in front of him right now.

"I should hope so, Heero. After all, I am eighty-one years old." She shook her head, still chuckling. Heero wanted to shake his head too, but in disbelief and maybe a little shock. Duo had /told/ him that things /were/ different, but it was one thing to have Duo tell him it was now AC 261, but it completely another to have the evidence in front of him in the shape of /Relena/, now in her eighties. At least Duo still looked like Duo, even though he'd aged about fifteen years.

Even though his hair was shorter, he still wore it tied back, if not braided. He was the only constant that Heero could really grip onto because the change hadn't been that drastic. He hadn't seen the baby yet, but she wasn't a baby anymore. All Heero knew about her so far was that she allegedly looked a lot like him.

"She ages pretty well, though," Duo said, winking at Relena as she dissolved into giggles. "Not bad, not bad. Moira's here too, but," here Duo sucked in his breath, steepling his hands together nervously, "she fainted when I told her the news."

"Where is she?" Heero asked. Duo nodded to the right, sliding an arm under Heero's shoulders and propping him up onto the pillows so that he could look over the edge of the bed. A girl lay sideways on a cot, halfway curled up under the blankets, dark braids trailing after her head on the pillow. Thick, messy bangs had fallen over her forehead, revealing a long white scar on her temple that just missed an arched eyebrow.

"She just turned fifteen," Duo whispered, pulling Heero closer to his chest. "What do you think?"

"I think she's small. And thin."

Duo laughed. "Yeah, well, nothing we can really do about that. Whatever she eats goes through her. But don't you think she takes after you?"

Duo was right; she did take after him. She had his facial features, though with longer lashes, and the face shape was definitely from Duo.

"Yeah, she does, but I knew she would already," Heero said. He hadn't doubted that since he'd held her in his arms as a baby after she'd been lifted from the artificial womb. The dark, soft hair and the long fingers uncurling from her fists had been clear signs that she was definitely his.

"She would have been awake if Duo sat her down." Relena went over to the cot, taking the chair beside it and sitting down. "The poor thing; as soon as Duo told her, she fell forward." She looked reproachfully at Duo.

"I'm sorry, Relena, but I was in such a hurry. I thought Moira would take it all right," he said, laughing. "She'll be fine, anyway, as soon as she comes around. School and work have been hard for her, especially around this time of year, so she was pretty tired when I got to her."

As Relena pulled the blankets more snugly around Moira's shoulders, the girl stirred, curling more into herself on the cot. That Heero also recognized; when he went to check on her during naps, she'd always been in that position inside of her crib, curled like a newly growing leaf.

"Does she know about me, Duo?"

The older man's eyes softened into a deep indigo, and he looked fondly at the cot. "Yeah, she knows. Relena and I told her some stories about you, and Relena has a disk with some pictures and some albums. You know what? Remember that picture that they took of you? The one that was supposed to be for the labs you established?" Duo's voice was that of a child holding something behind his back, like a bouquet of flowers and asking someone to take a guess.

"What about it?" Heero asked. He couldn't understand the fuss over that; all right, so he was smiling in it, something that he normally didn't do, but that was because Duo had just appeared behind the photographer at that moment. Later, there were other pictures that also had him smiling, though maybe not as openly as that one. Frankly, he thought those looked better.

"Well, when Moira was two, I caught her sleeping with it like it was a baby blanket, so I had it framed. It's been on her desk ever since; she used to kiss it goodnight when she was little. Even now she says that's her favorite picture," Duo said.

Heero snorted. "There were better ones than that. Why didn't you give her one of those?"

"We showed her others," Relena said, smiling indulgently, "but she liked that one the best because you were smiling. You really should do that more often."

Heero snorted again, still staring at the cot and its occupant. If only Moira had been awake and conscious right now, then he could really see what she'd turned into while he spent all these years asleep. Right now, he didn't have much to go on.

"Duo? Relena? What is she like?"

Relena smoothed out her skirts before reaching over and rewrapping one of the hair ties at the end of Moira's braids. "That's a broad question, Heero. Well, she's going to graduate in a few weeks, is that right, Duo? Yes...she's attending a science charter school right now. Then she'll be going to the Catherine Blair Institute of Applied Physics for a degree while working at the laboratories." She finished winding the bright purple elastic with a snap, gently replacing Moira's braid on the pillow.

"The labs were established about thirty years ago," Duo said. "Moira's in physics, and Blair is pretty damn good for that, in my opinion."

"Why physics...?" Heero had always thought about her going into biology, the same field that he and Duo were in. Duo grinned.

"I guess you could say it had to do with how /she/ was in the first place. You know how physics is the how and why of everything in the universe? She's always been curious about everything since she was little. There was this one time..."

***

The inside of Moira's mouth tasted bitter and cottony. That was the first thing she realized when she woke up. She lifted her head and saw Nana Relena sitting next to her.

"Oh, you're awake. Good," Nana whispered, getting up from her chair and slightly bending down. "How are you feeling, dear?"

Moira nodded. "Okay, I guess. Maybe thirsty. Nana, where are we?"

"I'll get you some water," Nana replied, rising out of her chair. "We're in the hospital, in your papa's room."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Duo, she's awake now," Nana said, louder this time while Moira lifted her head to see where she was. She'd been on a cot all along, in this small hospital room. Funny, she'd forgotten how bright and ugly the lights in hospital rooms were; it'd been a long time since she'd been in one, visiting a friend. She saw Nana motioning to Dad before stepping out of the room.

"Hey, hey, rise and shine, sweetie." Dad's voice was bright and a little too cheery for someone who'd been just as shocked as she was. "We've been waiting forever for you to wake up."

"What time is it?" Moira asked. The window outside displayed a dark night sky; that wasn't new, because of course, the sun had just set when she'd rolled her scooter out of the driveway.

"It's about nine," Dad said, looking down over the edge of the bed he was sitting on. "You were out for a while." He'd taken off his lab coat, and was now sitting cross-legged in his black turtleneck and khakis. Moira heard the sound of blankets being tossed to the side, and Dad reached over, saying, "Hold on. Let me help you up, okay?"

{Oh, that's right,} she thought. {Papa's here, isn't he?}

"I can get up by myself." Moira blinked twice. That was weird; she'd imagined Papa's voice to be kind and soft, although quiet. The quiet was there, but it didn't sound nice, but cranky and bored. She'd also expected his voice to be full and rich, and well...it was nasal. Not all that nasal, but she could tell that it was there. She slowly sat up to see Dad gently pulling someone onto his shoulder with a head of messy dark brown hair and wearing a hospital gown so loose it looked like it'd fall right off if the strings in the back weren't tied tightly enough. She pointed at him and raised an eyebrow at Dad, while mouthing the word "Papa" in a question.

Dad nodded.

Moira felt light-headed again, this time accompanied by the sensation of her heart pounding so hard and fast that she thought it'd jump out of her chest if it could. That was one way out of her current nervousness, have her heart burst forth from her chest and leave her twitching on the cot in a growing puddle of blood.

Not that she /didn't/ want to meet Papa. But there wasn't any way to get rid of the tension and suspense that still hadn't gone after passing out.

Then Papa lifted his head and looked Moira straight in the eye. She gasped; the action had been so sudden that it felt like someone dumped her headfirst into a bucket of ice without warning.

For a few moments she couldn't do anything but sit there with her mouth wide open. There was a comforting familiarity with looking at his photo, but seeing him in front of her in the first time was such an overload that she couldn't even figure out what to say, with the exception of an inane observation of his eyes being a hell of a lot bluer than hers.

"Hi," she squeaked. That was it, just "hi." Not really much, but something. This was terrific; she'd rehearsed over and over in her head in daydreams about what she'd say to Papa if she met him, and all she managed was one lousy word.

Papa frowned, turning to Dad. "She doesn't always gape like that, right?"

Dad chuckled. "No, Heero, she doesn't." Moira felt her face growing hot. She felt like bashing her head against the wall, but that probably wouldn't have helped.

"Good," Papa said. His voice was so monotonous; it was going to take a lot of time to get used to, because it was so different from what Moira thought it was originally. Then, turning to Moira again: "You look like you're retarded."

"Hey!" Moira snapped. "I just found out a few hours ago! I mean, about you and being in coldsleep. It's been a long day, but just because I have temporarily delayed reactions doesn't mean I'm frickin' retarded," she grumbled.

The only response she got was a disdainful snort. Fortunately, Nana appeared before Moira could blurt out an angry, "what was that supposed to mean?" and handed her a paper cup of water, murmuring, "Here you are."

"I...I...thanks, Nana," she said, taking the cup in both hands and drinking. Seeing the old woman still standing near the door, she asked, "How come you're not sitting back down?"

Nana smiled. "It's getting late, and I should be going now. I need to go shopping tomorrow for groceries."

"I could drive you back if you wanted," Dad said, beginning to get off the bed, but Nana held up a hand.

"That won't be necessary, Duo. I'll be perfectly fine taking the bus." She bent down, gently hugging Moira. "See you tomorrow. Hopefully I can bring something for Heero then. The food here must be terrible."

"Safe trip back, Relena." Dad waved. Moira smiled slightly, also waving.

"See you later, Nana."

***

"You should rest." Duo ruffled Heero's hair, marveling at the softness of the dark strands between his fingers. Professor G had been right about the coldsleep revival process; even though Duo had worried that there would be some irreversible effects, it was, as the good professor said, "basically like defrosting a chicken. Except the chicken is a person. Nothing should go wrong."

"Get off the bed first," Heero grumbled, weakly trying to shove Duo off. "There's not enough space for both of us."

Duo smiled, pulling Heero over and pecking him on the cheek. "I know, but I don't think I /can/ get off right now. That means I'd have to leave you."

"Don't be an idiot. We're still in the same room. You're not leaving me," Heero said, still in that irritable tone, though he shifted closer to Duo.

"I know," Duo said, wrapping an arm around Heero's waist, letting his fingertips rest on the younger man's hip. God, had he always been this skinny? He could feel the bone nearly jutting out from the thin cloth of the hospital gown Heero was wearing. Now that he was here in Duo's arms, Duo knew he wasn't dreaming. Heero might still be thin and weak, but he was, as Duo saw from the chest's rhythmic rise and fall, here and /alive/.

/Alive/. Thinking about the word alone made his eyes prickle with tears. He'd been slowly losing hope on ever getting to see Heero after ten years had gone by with no developments toward a cure in sight.

"How long will the therapy for this be?" Heero asked, bringing Duo back.

"A month, no more than that. You'll spend the first two weeks here, so we can monitor your condition. The remaining two will be trips to the hospital three times a week for your IV treatments."

"IV treatments?"

"That's right. IV treatments and pills. Side effects aren't going to be nice: fatigue, nausea, lack of appetite, and in some of the worst test cases, delirium. Some days you won't feel like getting out of bed at all," Duo said, running a fingertip up and down Heero's hip. "But once it's over, it's over."

Silence passed between them for a long time, as they lay together on the bed. He could see another dark head peeping out from behind the pillows; Moira, still fast asleep on her cot. The poor girl was exhausted-so far, she'd been sleeping like a rock.

Heero turned to look at the cot too. "I don't think she likes me," he said, voice quiet, but now without its disgruntled edge.

Duo chuckled. "Oh, come on. She loves you. Maybe telling her that she looked retarded wasn't a good start."

"Will she get used to me?" Heero asked. "We've only just met, and who knows if there's time..."

"There /will/ be time." Duo's voice came out thick and harsh, and he felt tears stinging his eyes this time. "There /will/ be time," he said, in a firmer tone, "because you're staying."

Heero looked up at him, a faint smile playing on his lips. Reaching up to stroke Duo's hair, he said, "I told you I'd wait for you, didn't I?"

"...Yeah, you did."

"Duo?"

"Yeah?"

"I'd like to sleep now. Could you get off my bed?"

"Okay, I'll get off," Duo said, leaning over and briefly kissing Heero on the lips. "You can tuck yourself in, right?"

"Go to bed, Duo," Heero muttered. Duo walked stiffly over to turn off the lights, stepping around the IV pole, and then went over to the waiting empty bed that was three feet away from Heero's. He lay down, not bothering to pull the blankets over himself, and closed his eyes.

It had been an exhausting, draining, but /very/ good day.