Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Duo's Jewel of Peace ❯ three ( Chapter 3 )

Duo's Jewel of Peace 3/5

By Nix Winter

Disclaimers.. alas.. if I owned them, they'd be called Dano and Tokala.. er.. no, I do own Dano and Tokala *wicked grin*. Duo's Jewel was written just for fun.

Warnings: kindness to Relena, unhappy Duo

Notes: 1x2, after Endless Waltz, mentioned 3x4

Mika found him sitting in his room, the baby strapped to his chest again, as he poured over maps and rotation data from the colony . The tip of his braid was again held in a tiny hand and Mika stood there watching him for a minute. They'd meet in class, when L2 still had a university, well over a Earth year ago. He was several years older than she was, though he'd never admitted to his age. She had been in university three years early and acing classes that were giving him the kind of headache that seemed to make his braid stand on end. And so she'd tutored him, taught him things that her little brother was learning in his seventh level math course, but Duo had learned fast, so fast that she'd started to wonder why he hadn't learned it the first time he went through his levels.

That had lead her to a bit of research, a what she'd found out had surprised her. He was a guerilla fighter and she found news footage of him fighting on Earth in a mobile suit that wasn't like anything that she'd seen in her history books. She also found news footage of him standing with Prime Minister Darlian, her hand on his shoulder, smiling as if he were her dearest friend. She knew he had very close ties to Winner Enterprises, enough to get the owner and leader to send supplies to them, illegally. She even found a news story, about a press release from the Vatican, which stated that Mr. Maxwell's service to humanity had saved countless lives and that Cardinal Chavez welcomed him to join them in the Holy City at any time, but that it was regrettable that he would not renounce a sin of the flesh and without so renouncing, he could not enter into the priesthood.

She wanted to know what this sin of the flesh was, to know what sin a man would cling to while nearly starving himself. She wanted to know what would bring a man that was welcome in the Holy City, who could go to the Prime Minister's lavish home and be welcomed unconditionally, she wanted to know what he was doing living in a ruined church, taking care of a hundred unwanted children. She wanted to know this in part because she and her little brother lived here now, taken in by this man after their family's home had been flattened by government reconstruction plans. Their parents were on earth, gone there for medical treatment and now unable to return because of the martial law on L2. "Duo?"

"Mika," he replied, looking at numbers she didn't think he really had the skills to understand, but he looked like he was getting some kind of information from them. "I ate, so don't nag me."

"Good. I fed the new girl. She's just separated from her mother, at least that's what she says. They were sheltering in the Wyne Plaza School, when it caught fire."

Duo looked up and sighed. The world felt too heavy just then, too dark. Fire ate oxygen. Oxygen was very expensive and rather limited on a colony. Fire was fought with foam, which in good times was delivered by fighter controllers in mobile suits and in bad times was by environmental controls in a huge dump, indiscriminate of other uses for oxygen, such as breathing humans. For a just a moment, something that frightened Mika passed over Duo's face, those violet eyes darkening, his already sunken cheeks drawing in more and he looked just like what one news articles had called him, the ancient Japanese god of death, Shinigami. "Let her think what she needs to. We might even find her mother. I let the kids have the stuffed animals. I'm going out in a bit."

"Really? I think there is more fighting. The air quality isn't good, Duo." She was only 16 now, but some days she felt like Wendy watching over Peter Pan. "How long do you think it will until One gets here? Who is One?"

That lifted the weight and she saw him smile, a smile that slowly grew into a grin. "One," he said through that grin, rubbing Jewel's back, giving her his little finger to suckle for a moment. "I'm Two. One is," and he stopped, eyes going dreamy for a bit and Mika tilted her head, watching him, taking in all the information. "One is a solider, but he's," and Duo paused again, sighing and looking at the baby he cuddled against his chest. Mika had never seen anyone take to a baby like that, not even her mom when her little brother was born. "The Prime Minister is in love with One, and don't you ever say that again to no one. He lives on Earth, takes care of her security. They're gonna have great kids, if they don't already. Cuz you see, One is perfect."

Mika blinked, trying to interpret all of that. One was a man. What difference did it make if Relena Darlian loved him? Why would that be the most relevant bit of information? Sin of the flesh. "Does he know you're in love with him?"

"OH hell no!" Duo glared at her, eyebrows drawing down, but it wasn't a scary look he was giving her, not like that Shinigami look he had a few minutes gone. "I told you. He's perfect. He's my friend and I want it to stay that way. Now, pay attention, okay? When he comes, he'll know how to get here and I want you to know what he looks like," Duo said, one hand fishing under Jewel into his jacket and out came a thin folded lather packet, just big enough for a credit stick. From that, he pulled out an old photo, laminated very solidly. He pointed out a man, about the same height as Duo, but with dark chocolate hair and a lanky frame, wearing a uniform of the Preventers. "That's Heero. And don't you never tell anyone one what you thought about how I might feel about him, you understand? Heero's got a great future on Earth, all the things that a hero oughta have and Relena she loves him like she loves breathing. He had it hard, you know? The things they did to him to make him into a perfect solider and I want him to be happy. So," Duo took a deep breath and laid his cheek against Jewel's head. "Mika, sometimes the things we love are the things that dirty hands oughtn't touch. Here, now, I got work to do, take this baby, will you? What do I look like a baby crib?" Quickly he slipped the baby carrier of and gently shoved Jewel into Mika's hands. "She needs her diaper changed, I think."

"Duo?" Mika took Jewel, bouncing her as she started to cry. "How soon will Heero be here? He's coming from Earth? That'll take days."

"I know that. Now, go on," he said, turning his back on her. "This sector is due for dark soon and I have to go out."

"Where are you going?" Jewel howled a bit louder and Mika shifted her around to lay the baby on her shoulder.

"Shopping. Go feed her or something. I need to think a little." Duo shrugged out of his black jacket, letting it drop to his chair.

Mika left him then, backed out, of his room. Duo was going to do something dangerous, she decided and she didn't know how to get him not to.

As soon as she was gone, Duo shut his door and stripped off his white shirt. He was no priest. He shut out the ghostly voices of Father Maxwell and Sister Helen, voices that told him to wait and be patient. It was just like years ago, when fighters had taken over the church and he'd gone to get what he thought would help. He'd just been a small stupid child and the only reason he'd survived was that he hadn't been there. There were lives more valuable than his.

Inside his closet, he moved all the clothes to the side and sought out a keypad build into the sheetrock. No ordinary keypad, it was etched into the fragile sheetrock as if it were not more than just some lines ticked off on the wall, four with a slash, four with a slash, then three. He found it and carefully counted out the right number of lines before running his finger nail down the lines, in the right order. The whole panel of sheetrock swung inward, revealing a backing of gundanium and another small storage area.

Duo put on a fresh suit of concrete and ruins colored fatigues, then a pistol at his ankle, another at his waist, a knife at the small of his back, small med kit in one pocket. His photo of them all, all five pilots, Relena and Sally, this he left sitting in place of the automatic riffle he took down. Heero really was the most beautiful man, and he tried not to think about what it would be like if Heero were to wrap his arms around him, hold the space trash that was Duo against his chest and run his thumb over dry lips, to hear Heero whisper that he loved him. He wanted to explain to Heero that he hadn't meant to bring disaster to Maxwell Church twice, that he was sorry he couldn't have just lied and done the right thing, that he was sorry he was twisted like he was to be longing for the kisses of his best friend and the most powerful warrior.

Quickly he covered up his braid with a gray camo sheath and locked the little chamber again. Whatever food Quatre had sent, it really did belong to Duo more than the government. Only fair to take it back.

He sneaked out, not getting one more look at the baby who'd brought him so much happiness and hope in her five days of life. All the weakness left him once he was out of the church grounds as well, once he was firmly in his Shinigami self.

He moved between the remains of buildings rapidly, staying in the shadows and never casting one. Darkness was ever an ally. The plan was simple, slip into the quarantine area and break the seals on Quatre's ship. On a wild streak he thought about seeing if he could get into the detention center first, look for the crew, but there likely wouldn't be time to get them out, unload the ship, and get them away from the space dock before the government moved against him. He still wasn't sure what grain was anyway, and how much of it he could carry, how much of it he'd need to feed 104 kids for a month.

On Earth

"I think you should listen to reason," Relena said her voice just a bit harsher than she'd meant it to. "L2 is under martial law. There are riots! People are starving and the amount of food you're carrying is hardly more than Duo's likely to need for his orphans."

The small ship that Heero meant to take was ready now. He leaned in he entry way, brown hair laying across his forehead, just like in Duo's photo. He wore jeans, a blue oxford shirt, a small cross like Duo's laying on the shirt, his arms across his chest. "Relena, I am going. I have waited too long already. And you are not coming. You are not taking the Prime Minister's cruiser. If you go, I will be obligated to protect you and I am going because I have neglected Duo for too long."

"Now you listen to me," Relena said, finger pointing at Heero's chest, her eyes narrowed, "Duo Maxwell is my friend as well. More than that, more than my love for you, L2 is part of my political domain and I have an obligation to go so that I can help them negotiate, to settle things peacefully."

Jade, Heero's co-pilot and friend, stepped up behind him. Her jade green eyes summed up the prime minister with a once over, dismissed her. "I was on L2 six months ago," she said in Japanese accented English, "The vice minister of commerce plan to entice the Rexant corporation in setting up a plant fell through because Rexant claimed there were too many cyborgs and uneducated people."

Relena held up a hand. "What has that got to do with ..."

"Genocide," replied another voice, which turned out to belong to a red headed young man. "My mother was vice minister of technology. I helped her install the new air generators that make L2 prime real estate. I think what they're planning is to blow the old generator and put the fire out with an environmental foam storm."

"That's preposterous! There are more than 3 million people on L2 and that could snuff out most of them!"

"Yes," Heero agreed, "But then they would be able to ask for a great deal of help from Earth and Rexant would move in. L2 would become perfect redevelopment."

"Does Duo know?"

Heero shook his head. "My transmission was jammed. You cannot go, even if that would get us there 10 hours quicker. I am going to help Duo, and, Relena, I'm not coming back."

"I don't think anyone has to die over this!" Which she realized sounded quite stupid, as rather a lot of people were likely to die.

Heero didn't reply, only turned and went back into his small ship. Jade hit the code to close the door and the entrance ramp disengaged, pulling back, taking a nearly hysterical Relena with it. "I will go any way. I will get them to be peaceful!"

Heero looked back over his shoulder at Relena and for the first time she really understood that he was not ever coming back, that he didn't really love her and he wasn't going to heal

someday, and that then he would want to hold her, that then he would understand how desperately she loved him. "Duo is in love with you!" She screamed it out, spilling the secret like a dagger ripped from her heart at last. It was a dirty secret and part of her hoped that Heero would be repulsed and turn to her, but his mouth lifted in a tiny smile. That tiny smile set her free. She held to the railing, watching as the little ship was pulled towards its launch strip and the door closed.

As the rockets ignited and Heero's ship left Earth, she thought that he was finally going home because home was where the man who made him smile was.

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