Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Wild Wings ❯ Chapter 13

Princess—Glad to hear you're addicted, me too! I won't answer your first two questions cuz I don't want to give it away, you'll just have to read. About the title, however: I had trouble titling the story and eventually settled on what I thought was the slightly cliché but still tolerable Wild Wings. I do have the soundtrack, but I didn't realize the connection until you pointed it out XD My subconscious tends to do that without warning.

 

Pheonix- Rambling is perfectly acceptable :D Yeah, things are screwy from New Edwards... but the boys can handle it... right? ;)

 

 

 

Chapter 13

 

"Hey, Duo?"

 

"Yeah, Quatre?"

 

"Why are you wearing diving goggles?"

 

Duo grunted and looked up at the small square displaying Four's curious face. "Oh yeah..." He pulled the mask off his forehead and felt some of the tension in his muscles ease. He tossed them behind the seat with the flippers. "Funny story actually..."

 

And he recited it during the long flight from New Edwards to a small blip on the map that Duo couldn't identify. This den was Quatre's, or one of his guys'. He had no misgivings at all taking the blonde up on his offer for a place to lie low for a while- it was probably best for all of them. After the Alliance... no OZ's declaration of war emotions were running high not only between all the pilots, but likely between the current world powers as well.

 

By tomorrow the entire Earth Sphere would be up in a riot and who knew what could happen after that.

 

Heero was off... doing whatever it was Heero did when he blamed himself and got melancholy over it. Packmale Trowa followed him, but if Heero didn't want to be found he wouldn't be. Duo just hoped neither of them were driven to do anything foolish.

 

Five... who knew where Five went. They hadn't heard a word from him before this fiasco and Duo was sure they wouldn't hear word from him now. He'd continue following whatever orders he was given (and why didn't he have a mission against New Edwards, anyway?) without the help of the other four. Duo didn't even have the man's com frequency. Their exchange at the base had been over a mutual line between the four Gundams. A line Five apparently had access to as well.

 

"We're here."

 

"What?" Duo checked his screens, confused. The map agreed but all he could see was sand, the occasional small rock and, off in the distance, a few scattered palms. "Umm, Q? Are you seeing something I'm not seeing? It's all sand out there."

 

"Yup!" The kid answered and giggled.

 

Duo fought going crosseyed.

 

"Just wait a second... ah!"

 

Duo started, then zoomed the view on his main screen. A hatch slowly lifted from under the sand, spilling grains to either side. Sandrock lead the way.

 

"Whoah..." Duo couldn't say much more than that. He directed Deathscythe under the ground and let the darkness swallow them both.

 

"Quatre," he said, belaying gingerly down to the floor of the hanger, "This is some nice digs. How in the world did you—"

 

"Master Quatre!"

 

"Eep!" Duo plastered himself against Deathscythe's leg as no less than forty men rushed by. His shins smarted.

 

"Master Quatre we're so glad you're ok. We heard the news-"

 

Duo gaped. These were Four's 'guys'? The kid had his own personal army. The braided pilot turned away and nearly suffered a heart attack. "Hey, whoa!" He stumbled back against Scythe a second time. His legs gave up the fight and he ended up on his ass hissing curses. "Don't sneak up on a guy, huh?!" His feet smeared red on the concrete. Oooh, that was not good.

 

The Arab was massive, twice Duo's height at least and several times wide with a severe expression the likes of which the pilot had never seen.

 

"Hey Rashid! Don't worry, he's with me!" Quatre raced to Duo's side. "Are you alright?"

 

Duo pushed the blonde's hand away, irritated. "Fine." He muttered. He pushed himself to his feet despite the screaming agony of the movement. He swayed and nearly passed out.

 

"Oh! You're not fine! Rashid! Help me out here!"

 

Duo went abruptly from vertical to horizontal in the giant's arms and groaned with vertigo. The black of unconsciousness was a welcome relief.

 

--//--

 

Shinigami woke in pain, a strange environment, and angry. Duo was half way out of a bed and struggling against firm hands when Quatre's distressed voice got through to him.

 

"Duo, Duo! Listen to me! You're safe, it's me Quatre! You're safe here!"

 

"Q?" He blinked through double vision and finally focused on wide blue eyes. The sheets were tangled around one of his legs. Both were throbbing with pain. "Where am I?"

 

"You're safe." Quatre repeated. "We came to an ey—a safehouse in the desert, remember? We're under the sand. This is an infirmary. You passed out in the hanger and Rashid had to carry you here." The blonde coaxed the sheets to let him go. "Lie back, you've lost a lot of blood."

 

Duo resettled himself in the bed but put his back against the wall at the head. He spotted his shirt and cap on a table to his left.

 

"Why didn't you tell me you'd pulled your stitches out?"

 

"Wha--? ... oh." Duo looked down at his newly wrapped shins. "I had to get Deathscythe in Niger... and fight at New Edwards. I guess it wasn't that important."

 

"Not that important?!" The blonde put a hand to his face, "Allah help me." He looked up and pointed, eyes sharp like a hawk. "You are on bed rest until further notice."

 

"I beg your pardon?!" Indignant.

 

"No buts!"

 

That look was actually quite intimidating. Duo snatched his cap from the table and pulled it low over his eyes. "Fine."

 

Someone knocked on a doorway. "Master Quatre? How is our patient?"

 

Duo looked up. The giant was back and with a tray of food! That was more like it!

 

"As well as can be expected. Thank you, Rashid. Duo, this is Rashid. Leader of the Maguanacs."

 

Duo reached out to shake the offered hand, large though it was. "Magnawho?"

 

"Maguanacs." Rashid enunciated. "We're an elite troop of desert guerilla fighters devoted to Master Quatre."

 

"Here, eat up."

 

"Gladly." Duo settled the tray on his knees and attacked whatever was on it. He couldn't identify it but it didn't stay in his mouth long enough to matter. He drained a water bottle when it was pressed into his hand and only surfaced from the frenzy a few minutes later when there was nothing else on the tray that was eatable.

 

Rashid had his lip curled and looked mildly surprised. Quatre contained himself to a raised eyebrow.

 

"What?" The tray was empt—oh. Utensils. Right. Damn.

 

Quatre took the tray and handed it back to Rashid. "Thank you again. Tell everyone I'll be downstairs to see them in a few minutes."

 

With a last glance for Duo the soldier inclined his head in Quatre's direction and bid a hasty retreat.

 

"Damn. I'm sorry Qua—"

 

The blonde dismissed it with a graceful gesture. "I imagine you're tired. Why don't you get some rest? I'll come down to visit you in the morning."

 

"What time is it anyway?" He twisted his watch around but had trouble focusing on the small numbers.

 

"Around half four in the morning."

 

"Dang, my internal clock's all messed up now."

 

Quatre pumped a pillow, "You've also traveled through a few time-zones today. That's bound to mess you up."

 

"Yeah..." Duo cracked a huge yawn and clutched the pillow. "Thanks Q-man..." He felt the pilot pull another blanket over him

 

--//--

 

Waking in crisp white sheets in a crisp off-white room made Duo feel positively grime encrusted. When was the last time he'd had a decent shower? Duo rolled and sniffed the air. He probably stank to high heaven, too. His baseball cap slipped from the pillow to the floor. Duo peered over the edge of the bed somewhat irritated. "Oh well, I'll get it later."

 

His legs were stiff but that was no surprise. He took a moment to massage the muscles back to irritated throbbing life before making his very unsteady way to the bathroom. As soon as he was vertical his bladder made itself known. Well at least he was headed in the right direction.

 

Duo braced himself at the door for a breather and sat himself down on the toilet with a grimace. Sitting down to take a piss, how mortifying could you get? A shower was definitely out of the question, then, but a bath was not. Duo let the water fill the tub as scalding hot as he could stand it and bent to undo the careful wraps around his legs. He tossed the bandages in the waste basket and eased himself into the water with a guttural sigh.

 

His injuries were red and swollen but by some miracle didn't seem to be infected. "Probably because I keep trying to bleed out every few days." Duo muttered, settling back against the tub.

 

"Duo?"

 

The pilot jerked awake and the water sloshed. Oops. "In here, Quatre!"

 

"Oh Duo, why didn't you wait for some help?"

 

"Don't need any help." He muttered petulantly. "Got in here just fine, fell asleep is all."

 

The blonde twisted his hands together. Duo thought he was repressing the urge to do the washing himself. "Is there anything you need?"

 

The pilot's stomach growled on cue. Duo tried to look sheepish.

 

"Right. Breakfast will be ready by the time you get out, then."

 

"Thanks a million, Quatre!"

 

Duo emptied and refilled the tub with fresh hot water and got down to business making himself presentable. Since the opportunity was there he took the time to lather up and thoroughly rinse all of his hair several times. It would be an absolute chore to brush out but the feeling of being clean was well worth it.

 

He didn't have any clean clothes to change into but then... he hadn't slept in any either. Maybe that was Quatre's way of making him stay in bed. Duo peaked his head out the bathroom before making the mad dash (at turtle speed) back to the bed. Someone had changed the sheets.

 

Easing himself between them was a slow process. Luckily no one interrupted it. The bath had done a world of good. He was sure food and a decent grooming would make it all the better.

 

Oh it was grooming now, was it?

 

"Aaaaahhhrr, what is going on!" He slapped his hands on the bed and grabbed fistfuls of sheets, suddenly fighting tears. What happened to normal? What happened to little beneath-notice Duo the gutter snipe in the L2 sector, the one Solo looked after? Duo sucked a wet breath.

 

What was this creature living just under his skin? Where did it come from and why did it show itself now? What did he ever do to deserve this kind of fate? Yeah, he committed some terrible crimes in L2 in the name of survival but hadn't he been punished enough for that? So many lives lost in that plague; so many children left behind that he couldn't care for.

 

 

Duo swiped at the tears on his face and abruptly found Quatre in his arms squeezing the life out of him. He struggled briefly, ineffectually. The kid smelled like sunshine and sand. Duo turned his face toward wind-soft blonde hair and wept.

 

Quatre held him through it. No rocking, no soft murmuring, just a rock-like steady presence. Duo cried, he sniffled, he shook as he sobbed and when it was all over he was no closer to answers but he felt a little better about it.

 

Four was there with a damp flannel to wipe his face and without a word set a tray of food in Duo's lap.

 

The pilot tucked in, subdued, confused, mostly thankful. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself and made sure to pick up the utensils before he started.

 

The bed dipped a bit but the hand on Duo's hair startled him. Quatre pulled the mass to the side and began the long process of grooming (yes, fine, grooming) it out without so much as a by-your-leave.

 

Duo ate his meal, Quatre brushed the long chestnut hair and slowly the braided pilot's heart settled into something like calm. He didn't protest the slim fingers through his hair or the light scratching massage over his scalp until a satisfied groan popped out of his mouth. Then, before he could pull away or be embarrassed over it the braid was woven together and a band snapped onto the end. Duo reached back and touched the French pleats, surprised.

 

"I have several sisters." Quatre murmured in explanation. The blonde replaced his tray of food with the worn baseball cap from the floor. "I'll be right back."

 

Duo leaned against the wall and worried the cap between his fingers. He was worn out mentally and quite tired of being tired physically. If G's transmission was to be believed there were no answers to be had through that avenue. Duo didn't intend to give up without fighting that decree but...

 

These strange ways of thinking were the only thing keeping him off balance. Without them he could pass that transformation off as a strange (ok, very, very strange) dream, maybe an active hallucination. It had been so long since he'd felt grass under his paws and wind under his wings that it was closer to a dream than a memory.

 

Quatre returned with gauze. Duo blushed. "Um, Quatre? What happened to my pants?"

 

The blonde made a brief, amusing face. "They've been trashed by now I imagine. I'll bring you something." He pulled the corner of the blanket and sheet with a flick of his wrist that expertly preserved Duo's sudden modesty.

 

Duo sat through a thorough inspection of his various lacerations, swallowing pained hisses where appropriate.

 

"Good. As long as you stay in bed for the next few days you should be as good as new."

 

Duo groaned, "As much as I appreciate this Quat, I can't sit for a week."

 

"I guessed as much." The blonde smiled, "I have a trip to the city planned at the end of it if you behave yourself. Is there anything in your Gundam you have to pass the time?"

 

Flippers, diving mask, duffle bag of food... "No, not really. Music?"

 

Quatre chuckled. "I might have a boom box around here somewhere..."

 

"Boom box...?"

 

The pilot returned with a speaker machine that plugged into the wall and a stack of round CD's. Duo spun one on his finger. "How positively archaic..."