Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Prisoner of War ❯ Deciding Factors ( Chapter 7 )

Note: I don't own Gundam Wing and 1+2+1! The rest of my note was in chapter six.

Chapter Seven

Heero remained there, unblinkingly staring at the young, violet-eyed boy. When sleep had claimed his consciousness, an innocent, almost angelic look graced his heart-shaped face. He seemed so normal, not just when he slept but in every situation that did not require seriousness. He wasn't what he seemed at first glance; there was so much more yet to be discovered by another person.

`I want to know everything…' In the perfect soldier's mind, it examined further into every interaction the braided one and him shared, seeking for any signs that may indicate his true identity. `He said that if he told me who he was, he would have to kill me. Perhaps that should signify how secret the operation he works for is. Why would anyone beat someone like him to that extent of physical injuries? Unless it was for only personal reasons, there must be something he has done to anger a large group. Who would hate him so much? He seems to be the type that would be an acquaintance with everyone, always cheerful and friendly.'

`He claims the title of "Death" for himself. He mentions that everyone he cares for someone winds up getting hurt. It doesn't stop him from caring however, and he's still himself. I hypothesize that he has experienced a painful past, one of which he does not wish to discuss with anyone. How could he call himself the god of Death when he seems to be the exact opposite? He's full of energy, brimming with life. It's like he seizes every opportunity to enjoy something despite the consequences attached. All these traits of his personality I have seen through the hours I have known him. Somehow, it almost seems as if I have known him my entire life, yet I still have no idea who he really is.'

Observant, Prussian blue eyes noticed the braided boy roll over to his side, curling up into a relaxed sphere of human flesh and hair. There was an allurement about the youthful soldier that was purely Duo.

The hours ticked by at a steady pace as Duo's expressions varied with different dream sequences that played vividly in his mind. Sometimes a stricken, momentary ostentation would flash on the elfin features. Startled, the soldier that stayed awake had instinctively reached out to touch his prisoner, fingers rasping against his skin. And Duo's expression would become serene once more, a sanguine sigh escaping past the doors of breath. From henceforth, the action was continuously reproduced.

With the lively character before him, it was difficult, if not impossible, to think of any other topic but Duo. There was something about the pilot that tugged at Heero's curiosity unrelentingly. It was more than simply whom he worked for and the risk he posed but the essence of the amethyst eyed joker. `I want to know everything…' The same phrase echoed in his mind at regular intervals. `This soldier was most certainly not the idiot he had pretended to be. If not that, who was he? I want to know everything…'

The rising sun trekking through the clear, blue skies was unnoticed by the two young soldiers, locked in a world that was purely their own. The first flutter of dark eyelashes immediately alerted the perfect soldier. Heero cursed himself for the slightest hint of relaxation. `He may not be an enemy, but he still presents a great risk. Somehow Duo has crawled beneath my defenses without ever knowing it or my knowing it. He creates reactions out of me somehow. That is dangerous.'

Hazy, cobalt orbs were revealed to the world, drinking in his surroundings and the mysterious, spiky-haired rebel before him. A genuine smile lit his expression. "Hey Heero," Duo murmured between yawns.

"Hn," the stoic pilot conducted little acknowledgement to the greeting he had received.

"Same, old Heero-kun," Duo laughed, teasing him playfully.

"I'm not old compared to the rest of the population," he remarked to the awakening boy.

Duo shot him a sour look, "Just an expression," he sighed. "Anyway… Man, I was soooooo tired this morning!" the pilot groaned over dramatically. "I can't believe I didn't eat! Aha!" Greedily, slender hands grabbed the cookies he had made last night that now rested on the nightstand. Duo practically inhaled the heavenly dessert in a matter of seconds.

"You haven't eaten in a while," he pronounced the quiet observation.

"What? How did you know?" the violet eyed creature frowned suspiciously.

"Well, you just confirmed it," Heero pointed out. "And I could tell from how thin you are."

"How could you tell under my clothes?" he questioned his captor further.

"I checked the extent of your injuries after you fell asleep," the fighter stated matter-of-factly.

Duo's eyes widened considerably at the blunt confession. "You did what?!"

"I think you know what I did," Heero shot back.

"You didn't have the right to do that to me!" Duo growled.

"You have no rights as of the present moment. You are still a risk," the soldier reminded him coldly.

`He hasn't mentioned my injuries, but I'm sure a guy as observant as he is would have noticed. Hell! Anyone would have!' "I don't care!" he argued. "Why can't you just ask me about these things?"

"I know not if you speak the truth even now," explained Heero with remarkable patience.

"Your explanation isn't relevant," Duo finally sighed. "I don't excuse your actions, but I guess there isn't anything I can about it."

"You cannot change the subject that easily," Heero warned. "Why were you injured? I am more certain than ever that you were a prisoner in that facility."

`Damn! He caught me.' "Ok, fine, Heero. I was a prisoner," Duo glared at his captor. "Are you happy now?"

"Emotions such as happiness are a liability," the soldier spoke in monotone.

"Argh!" Duo flailed his arms about in frustration. "That's not true."

"You let anger control your words and actions while I remain collected. I believe a clearer mind is an asset in making important decisions," the pilot used the current situation as an example.

"You know what?" Duo laughed. "Just shut the fuck up! First you-you go and analyze my injuries without permission while I was asleep, and now here you acting like you're the one that deserves the explanation."

"Would you have told me otherwise?" suddenly, Heero interrupted him in his normal, quiet way.

"Well, maybe," the violet-eyed boy looked away. "God, I don't know how you do it."

"Do what?" asked the impassive soldier.

"Calm me down just like that," Duo laughed bitterly. "Look, I might as well tell you the whole truth."

"Will you?" Heero asked, doubting his word.

"A little at a time, yes," the braided one admitted.

"Start now," dark blue eyes commanded.

"Oz hates me. Romerfeller hates me. Practically the whole world hates me," he sighed. "I'm what they would call an extremist. That's why I was beaten. They wanted information, and I wasn't gonna give it to them."

"Go on," the brown-haired boy urged.

"I'm more like you than you would think," Duo hinted towards the man.

`Like me? He couldn't mean-he can't be a gundam pilot… Can he?' His mind in a jumble of confusion, Heero hid it perfectly in his icy mask.

Guarded amethyst betrayed no conveyance of emotion, not even the barest association. "I suppose now you want to contact your leader," he spoke slowly.

"Yes, I suppose so."

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J opened the message he had received from the boy he had trained to be the perfect soldier. Reading its contents rapidly, his eyes grew in enormity at the sight of the words of description, depicting his captive. "Masaka…" he murmured. Memories flooded the old scientist's brain of the smiling joker that his fellow colleague had raised. The description matched the one he had gotten from G months ago almost to the exact detail. "Seems like Heero has saved a fellow comrade," he mused. "I have to inform him of this immediately."

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"Something has happened," Heero grimaced. "The message can't be sent."

"What?" Duo crawled over to Heero's laptop in curiosity.

"Someone has hacked into the system. I can't risk sending this." Heero had no idea of why he had revealed such pertinent information to Duo. `I feel too comfortable in his company. Now I can't even kill him as I have so promised because he may very well be an ally.'

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Hope you liked! Next comes eight and nine.