Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Liberation ❯ Chapter 4

Title: Liberation Part 3

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: H+2, 3x4, and eventual 1+2

Warnings: AU, OC, some OOC-ness

Archives: Lev's Lair

Fanfiction.net

MediaMiner

Disclaimers: That day I went to the store counter in wherever Santa shops and asked for the GW boys. But when the clerk came back after searching their stocks, she told me that the GW boys had already been bought up. So, sadly, I do not own any of the GW boys or the anime. I do, however, own Vespera.

Green. An endless waltz of meadow. Cool zephyr blew across the vast expanse, and the long blades of grass danced in the wind.

A young boy ran across the field, unfazed by the bright sunshine or the continuous gust of wind. He couldn't have been any older than ten, and he had a childish air around him. Stopping, he let out an excited smile, and breathed in the fresh air. The boy sighed comfortably. He closed his eyes, and held out his arms. Leaning back, he fell into a flurry of grass.

"Ahh! Even the sun feels good!" he exclaimed, stretching his body. Finally comfy, he put his hands behind his head. "The sky looks great today. How can anyone not like this…?" After being cooped up for days, he reveled in the relaxing place. Yawning, he decided to catch a few Zs. He didn't know how long he slept, but he woke up suddenly when he felt the place darkening.

He opened his eyes, and found someone towering over him. Surprised, he sat up quickly and whizzed around. "Ves?"

The girl giggled. "I knew I'd find you snoozing down here. Stop sleeping, Eden! You're such a lazy bum!"

Eden swept his chestnut braid behind him. "C'mon! This is the first in days I've seen the sun like this!"

"And you would sleep it away?" She mimicked the boy, and swept her chestnut hair behind her as well.

"Well no. I was just about to wake up," Eden protested indignantly, ignoring Vespera when she gave him a knowing smirk. He turned away. "This place is beautiful. How can anyone not like this?" he repeated his earlier question wistfully.

She sat down beside him. "A person with a dark soul would most probably dread nature's beauty, I guess. They aren't able to appreciate beautiful things. It's just not in their systems."

"What about us? We have dark souls."

"Our souls… are just… tainted. We don't have dark souls. We appreciate beauty, don't we?"

Eden looked at her critically. "Well, you're beautiful. I'm beautiful. Of course we appreciate beauty," he commented offhandedly.

"Someday that ego of yours is going to be more than enough to feed the entire African continent!" she said teasingly.

He grinned. But it was the truth, to him at least. Both of them had long, flowing chestnut hair that shone like silk, much to the envy of their female friends. Perk noses, cherry lips, smooth complexion… but the killer was their violet pools. Lively and bright, their eyes aroused admiration from various people. After all, few had the correct genes to produce the purple irises.

Their excellent fashion sense was an added plus. Black looked fabulous on them.

He smiled at the thought. However, another thought also came unbidden to his mind.

"Hey, Ves."

"What?"

"Will we ever get out of here?"

"Out?" she frowned. "To where?"

"Anywhere. I wanna go out and see the world. I'll go on a real adventure, trekking beyond the ends of the world and sailing to the edge of the ocean! I don't know how, but I will. I'll see new faces, new places, and new things… Things we'll never see here…" He gazed at the blue sky longingly.

"We'll go together. Get out of here…" She glanced up. "…and see the world. You and me. Together."

He nodded. "Maybe, we'll meet our other half on our travels! We'd be walking around in a crowd… and suddenly, we turn around, and see the person we're meant to be with!"

"Yes! They would come up to us, with a bouquet of flowers, and say, "Let me take you away to my place!""

"And we would get married with their traditional rituals!" Eden laughed.

"But how would we know if they're the ones?"

"Well, I heard the older ones say that love is when your heart hammers a million times a second when they're with the one they like. And that they would rather get a whiff of their scent, a chance to hold their hand, a kiss from the other person than an eternity without it."

"Oh~!" Vespera sighed dreamily. "I wonder when would that happen?"

"…I don't know. But I'm sure it won't be long." He gathered the young girl in his arms. "I'll make sure of it."

"Aa. Duo…"

Eden sucked in a sharp breath, and pulled back. His eyes widened when he saw a familiar Japanese boy staring back at him in the eye.

"Heero!?"

*****

Duo bolted upright in his bed, right hand clasping his chest as he heaved heavily. Gradually, his eyes focused and he looked up. He was in his bedroom. Not a thing was of out place.

'Was that a dream? It felt so real…' he mused. Sighing, he fell back onto the soft comforts, fully intending to go to sleep again. However, a spark of gold squelched that thought. Sitting up again, he touched the little bright spot with his fingertips. Scrutinizing it, he groaned as he recognized the stardust.

"Not again…" he grimaced. "Ves, I hate it when you mess with my dreams with this dream inducing thingamabob!"

Groaning louder, he dropped back into his bed. Frustration didn't even to describe what he felt! Seeing Vespera in his dreams was no big deal. He had even expected it, since their childhood days together had been in his mind after their reunion a while ago. However, whatever that psychopathic pilot was doing his in dreams, he had absolutely no idea.

Worse still, he knew that his dream wasn't a normal one. With the dream powder that had no doubt been sprinkled all over him, the dream he just had reflected his innermost thoughts.

What did that imply about him and Heero? They were good friends -best friends even- but nothing pass that. Although Duo had an intense feeling that that was about to change.

With the beginnings of a headache coming, Duo gave up with a sigh. Before falling asleep, he murmured to himself, "What can happen between us? We're just friends… just… friends…"

Slowly, he went back into blissful oblivion.

*****

Morning.

Heero had never been more relieved when it arrived. He supposed that he could safely assume that last night was the longest one in his fifteen years of life. Of course, there was the matter of his near kiss with Duo. He could ignore that temporarily though, for no one but himself knew about that. As long as nobody had an idea of what had transpired last night, nobody would say anything to embarrass him, and he could wallow in his misery without interruption. The other thing that bothered him was more vexing, however.

Shoving the blanket aside, he got out of bed with a grunt and trudged over to the bathroom. While he brushed his teeth, his mind replayed the irksome dream he had last night.

It had started out simple enough. Duo was eating lunch with him, conversing with him the way he had always liked, when suddenly, the scene shifted. The American boy wasn't with him anymore. The music blared over the crowd, disco lights flashing everywhere. Duo was in a nightclub with that Hirde girl, their bodies grinding together in an erotic dance that would have driven any man insane. Their dance drew several whistles, egging them on. Of course Duo didn't refuse, and anything Duo would do, that Hirde wouldn't be far behind. Their dance became more and more sensual, until they gave up completely and started to, mildly put, make out in the middle of the dance floor.

Heero saw himself then. He was in some small apartment eating dinner, all alone. Alone, while Duo was having fun surrounded by crowds of people.

Splashing water onto his face, he felt much more refreshed.

'Why did I have that dream? It doesn't make any sense. Duo can't be with Hirde,' he thought, even though he was unconvinced by his last statement.

As he left his room, still deep in thoughts, a pair of violet orbs glowed in the corner. Slowly, a black clad figure materialized, and landed on the ground. Arms akimbo, she sighed, and swept her bangs in a careless swipe. "Guys… can't they ever get a clue without any help?"

With another sigh, she disappeared, all the while muttering under her breath. "And him, of all people… Can things get any worse?"

*****

When Heero entered the kitchen, the table was already made. He wasn't surprised, since it was Wufei's turn to make breakfast that morning. Breakfast was a simple fare, with only a bowl of gruel the Chinese boy called porridge. The two acknowledged the other with merely a nod, and Heero slid into his seat.

It wasn't long before Quatre and Trowa came as well.

Duo was the last to arrive, when others were already midway through the meal. He sauntered into the kitchen with his normal bright smile. "Hey guys! Morning! What's for breakfast?"

"Breakfast? I thought this would be your brunch."

Duo shrugged. "Porridge again?" He winced. "Honestly Fei, is this the only thing you can cook?"

"It's nutritious," Wufei defended himself. "And easy to make."

"And just how nutritious is this… watery goo?"

Their banter drew a chuckle from Quatre and Trowa. It was the same every morning, and no one felt the need to change it. Especially for the Wing pilot. This was the perfect time for his hobby. Everyone else was too engrossed by the teasing between Duo and Wufei, no one paid much attention to him. He quickly looked up from his nearly empty bowl and stared at Duo. However, his eyes immediately homed in to his lips and Heero a faint blush stole onto his face as he recalled last night. He tightened his grip on his spoon, and continued to feed himself mechanically.

Alas, luck was not on his side, and Duo noticed his friend's strange behavior. With one last witty remark that made Wufei admit defeat, again, he whispered in Heero's ear, "Heero, you alright?"

A voice inside the Japanese pilot cooed, 'How can I be when you're blowing in my ear?' But he composed himself enough to say, "Hn."

"How many times do I have to remind you that 'Hn' isn't a multi-purpose phrase?"

It had to be reflexes that made him turn to face Duo, because reflexes don't have brains and most definitely, no good memory. If it weren't reflexes, he would have remembered that Duo's face was just beside his own. If it weren't reflexes, he wouldn't have turned, and wouldn't have kissed Duo's cheek. Actually, it wasn't exactly Duo's cheek. Just an inch more to the right, they would have kissed each other right smack on the lips.

An unsettling silence reigned, and all five pilots blushed. The three uninvolved quickly looked away, each giving lame excuses and left the kitchen. Their sniggers could be heard all the way to their respective rooms, though.

The other two, just stared at the other. Duo was the first to regain his composure first. He was about to apologize when the telephone rang.

Heero had never been so relieved to hear the shrill cry of the phone. As Duo rushed off, nearly stumbling over the chair in his haste and perhaps even embarrassment, Heero let out an inaudible sigh.

However, that relief was washed away pretty quickly when he heard Duo calling Hirde's name into the receiver.

"Ah! Hir… Hirde!"

Heero heard the muffled voice of the no doubt perky girl, and he frowned. Not alerting his companion, he left the kitchen and headed for his own room. He switched on his laptop, and waited. He wasn't disappointed.

Minutes later, he heard hurried footsteps thundering down the corridor, and then back.

"I'm going out with Hirde, guys! Don't hold dinner for me!" The braided hurricane shouted, and shot off to god knows where.

He sighed. It was going to be a long day.

*****

Duo took a quick once over at the various posters. And again. And again.

"Duo, have you decided?" she asked, looking at the advertisements as well.

"Gimme a minute more, Hirde," he replied, and his eyes fell on a particular interesting one. "Hmm? 'Loveless' starring Christina Redknox? No, no comedies." He contemplated some more. "Ok! That one!" Duo snapped his fingers, and pointed one.

"That one?" She looked towards the direction Duo pointed. "Aliens Episode 101 [1]? Are you sure?"

"Yup! I've heard the critics say that it's good. But I must admit, it feels weird to watch movies about aliens when you've practically flew across the entire solar system!"

"Alright then… Let's go get the tickets!"

*****

Hirde cringed at the sight of a red alien - red because of all the blood over it - biting off the right limb of its poor victim. The man could only scream at the loss of his hand, and it looked like it was more for fear rather than pain.

'The critics' opinions have never been on the same frequency as mine. So why did have to be the same this time!?' She mused, nearly turning green when the alien tore the man apart and started to eat the no longer internal organs. 'If I had an inch of an idea this movie's this disgusting, I'd have asked Duo to choose another one!'

Curiously, she snuck a glance at the boy. He seemed totally at ease, popping popcorn after popcorn into his mouth as if he were watching an action flick instead of a horror movie.

When she reluctantly turned her eyes back to the screen, she grimaced. The alien had surely given the word 'sadist' a new definition. Feeling rather revolted, she turned to her side and faced Duo, trying to bury her face in his shoulder.

The braided boy frowned. "Hey, Hirde. You okay?"

"Yeah… just a little… disgusted…"

He stroked her back in comforting pats. 'Never though that she'd be afraid of a horror flick. Guess she's still a girl after all.' Smiling down at her, Duo suddenly felt protective. Almost hesitantly, he wrapped an arm around her trembling form and held her close.

*****

Meanwhile, back in the safe house, Heero's laptop was having one of the worst times possible. It swore, that its master was such a jerk sometimes. Firstly, it hadn't had a rest ever since that braided pilot whizzed off. Secondly, it was definitely mind-boggling (or was it motherboard boggling?) when it had to surf the Internet at such a frenzied pace.

The mouse wasn't any better off. For once, it had an urge to be eaten by a cat if that was what it would take for it to take a rest. And who cares if the cat would choke on the chunk of plastic.

Of course, Heero couldn't understand their language, so he continued his search. When he had typed in 'meaning of dreams' into the search box, he had been taken aback by the search results. He was provided with hundreds of links, which in turn, proved to be even more links. By the time he read a few of those, he was already feeling the comings of a headache.

Shaking his head, he clicked on another of those blue links. A soft click told him that the page had finished loading, and he quickly skimmed through. "Sigmund Freud [2]?" he blinked, whispering the name. "Dreams are fulfillment of wishes, usually in disguised form…"

"Impossible!" he shouted, and his mouse would have squeaked in protest of the sudden tightening of his fist if it could. "Why would I want that to happen!?"

"Heero? Are you alright?" Quatre worried voice drifted into his room, and he quickly replied.

With the blonde boy away, Heero turned back to his laptop. "It's not possible…! I don't *want* them together!" he grumbled, almost like a child pouting because he was refused candies. Vaguely, he wondered what was Duo doing with Hirde.

*****

With Duo, dinner could become one of the most interesting things in the world. Without him, it was just what it was. Dinner, and nothing more.

So Heero excused himself from the table quickly that night, after making sure he had eaten enough.

He retreated to his room, mind still meshed full of thoughts, mostly in revelation at his discovery that morning. It was hard to comprehend that he'd want Duo and Hirde to be together. In fact, it wasn't hard to comprehend. It was totally incomprehensible. There was no way he'd want that to happen when he wanted Duo for himself!

Heero walked towards his laptop, determined to find out more. Either that, or he could continue reading his new book aptly named 'The Dummy's Guide To Professing your Feelings'. However, before he could decide on his next course of action, a cheerful voice rang through the house, followed by a braided bundle of energy bouncing into his room, and threw a brown paper bag on the floor. He flopped onto his bed almost immediately, diving into the blankets.

"Oooh~! Nothing like a bed after a day of fun!" Said bundle snuggled deeper into the covers.

"Get out of my bed, Duo! You're getting it dirty!" The wing pilot walked up to his bed, and pulled the blanket away.

Duo sulked. "Can't you take pity on your best friend who's as tired as hell?"

"Where's your shirt?"

"On me."

"Why are you wearing this?" Heero nearly winced when he pointed to the large Mickey Mouse print on Duo's shirt. "Where's the black tee shirt you wore this morning?"

"My black tee is in the paper bag. I dirtied it earlier, when I was out." The braided boy sighed. "This," he gestured to the white shirt he was wearing with a slight grimace, "is Hirde's. She made, no, *forced* me to wear it. I tell ya, the girl's too insistent for her own good."

"Just be glad Relena isn't the one loaning you or you'd be wearing Barbie in pink."

Duo stared at him for a moment, then he smirked. "You've been through her closet before?"

"Baka."

"Hey! I resent that remark! What can I do if Hirde decided to spill her juice on me when I asked her to try out a relationship with me!?"

Heero froze. "What?"

The temperature in the room suddenly dipped, but Duo seemed oblivious. "Hirde's a good girl. I… just wanna protect her."

"…Aa…"

[1]: Imagine the GW boys watching 'Aliens'. *chortles*

[2]: He's an Austrian psychologist who suggested this well-known theory of dreams in the 1980s.