Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Two Is Company ❯ Two Is Company ( Prologue )

"Hey--who let that kid in here?!"

"Watch where you're going!"

"Somebody catch him, he's got--"

The boy dodged around a startled mother and her baby, making a dash for the door with his prize. His hands were clenched into fists, clutching something small protectively to his chest. The main doors to the hospital were automatic, and had he waited for them would have surely been caught, but the sliding panels stood open; a passerby had just set them off. He darted through just as they began to close, but once outside kept up his pace down the street, running as fast as his legs would allow, his breath coming in small gasps from the effort.

A few people spilled out of the doors after him, but none gave chase. A breathless, white-coated woman stumbled out several seconds later, stopped, and straightened her glasses.

"He had the vaccine!" At this, several people looked at her. "That boy stole some of the vaccine!"

"He's gone, it's too late," a dark haired man said, turning to go back inside. "Besides, why should you be concerned if some street kid is trying to escape the virus? I'm more concerned for my own children. You do have more, don't you?"

* * *

The boy hardly stopped to catch his breath, though his chest was beginning to hurt and his legs felt like lead weights were pulling at them. His hands were still wrapped around the hard-earned cylinder, a capped hypodermic needle. He stumbled gratefully into the familiar alleyway, leaving some of the smaller members of the orphan gang scattered in his wake.

"He did it!" a small girl whispered, but she was hushed by an older child. The new arrival made his way to the handful of braver children gathered around their fallen leader. They made room for him, and he extended one hand triumphantly.

"I did it, Solo! I brought you--" but as his eyes fell on the older boy, his elation faded. Solo's face was pale, his eyes shadowed; the disease had reached its later stages. The expressions on the faces of the other children said everything else.

I was too late, he realized, struggling with his emotions. He dropped to his knees, and Solo's fevered gaze focused on his face. The other orphans gave them room, knowing there was nothing to do.

"Hey, buddy." The whisper coming from the older boy sounded as if it took effort. Solo tried to lift his hand, failed. His friend took it in his own: the skin was hot to the touch. "You did it for me, didn't you?"

"I brought you..." the other boy trailed off, his wide violet eyes dimming with despair. "You'll get better, right? You're going to get better. You are."

"It's too late for me." Solo managed a weak smile, then coughed suddenly, bringing a hand to his face. When he dropped it, it was stained with something dark. "But don't worry...once I get to heaven, I'll make sure I watch over you."

"You can't go," the nameless boy pleaded. "You promised..."

_______ ________

"Don't have a name, then?" Solo asked. The kid shook his head and shrugged.

"Nope. Don't have one, didn't really need one."

It wasn't remarkable; with all the fighting, many children had been orphaned before they could walk. That meant, if they had no other family, they knew nothing about themselves.

"I can't exactly call you 'Hey, you' all the time."

The boy shrugged again, tugging distractedly on a strand of his uncut hair. "It's worked for everyone else."

Solo laughed. "Names seem to be things other people give you. Maybe if you stick around long enough I'll give you one."

_______ ________

"...you'd give me a name."

"...don't worry about it...I'll think of...something..."

It was another hour before Solo stopped breathing.

* * *

His friend's eyes were dry, but when he finally stood there was ice in his violet gaze, as if the heart and laughter that it had once been full of had frozen solid. No one moved as he left, his steps slow and heavy, face downcast, all energy drained from his young frame. He wandered alone down the empty street, his small form lost in the enormity of everything. He suddenly felt smaller than ever.

He had lost part of himself.

And now he was alone.

As an orphan, there was no place for him. The group of children sharing the same predicament were family, Solo their leader, the protective older brother. But now Solo was gone, and he wasn't sure what point there was in living anymore. If I get sick, I can join him.

_______ ________

"Once I get to heaven, I'll make sure I watch over you."

_______ ________

He stopped suddenly, touching a hand to his face. Tears. Boys don't cry. He sat down on the sidewalk, with his back to a building. Drawing his knees up to his chest he put his head down.

_______ ________

"I'll watch over you."

_______ ________

"You promised me, Solo," he said out loud, his voice muffled, and waited.

* * *

It's just you and me now, Solo. The two of us, like it used to be. The duo.

Duo.

.....end.....