Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Restless Peace ❯ Anywhere But Here ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: See previous parts. The song and lyrics are not mine; Hilary Duff et al own them.

Pairings: 3xMU

Period: March 25, 197

 

 

Restless Peace: Anywhere But Here

 

“It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girl dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.”—The Naked Gun

“Eternal peace only lasts until the next war.”—Russian Proverb

 

25 March AC 197—abandoned apartment building, Colony Y-4833, L-2 Colony Cluster

“What happened to your hair?” Trowa asked; a mild expression of surprise graced his face.

“Remember those body crayons you gave to my little brothers?” Midii inquired.

“Yeah”

“This,” she pointed to her multicolored head, “is the result of that.” She made a face of slight annoyance as he laughed.

“Oh you love it,” he smirked, bringing her in closer.

“I don't love how you totally spoil my brothers and encourage their pranks,” she clarified, “but I love you, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere but with you.”

“Mm, you've been all over the world,” he kissed her neck a bit, “I have, too, and even I would rather be somewhere else than here in this dump.” He gestured to the dumpy, abandoned apartment complex in which they were hiding.

 

When I'm in a crowd
Or on an island by myself
Silent or too loud
Wishing I was somewhere else
And I can't believe
You hit me fast and hard
When you turn to me and say
Never change the way you are

 

“I've been to a ton of places, not as many as you, though,” Midii corrected, “but I still love this place a lot more than even Paris on Christmas night without you.” She smiled.

“Boo!” screamed Amato as he jumped from behind a couch.

Midii shrieked.

“Midii, why did you say that?” he asked, ignoring his sister's glare. “You said nothing could compare to being in Paris on Christmas night. You said you'd rather be there alone than with anyone, and that was just last week.”

Trowa laughed as Midii shot her littlest brother another scathing glower.

“Mid, you're great,” Trowa said grinning as he struggled to control his laughter.

“What?”

“I love you so much, just like this,” he said, “Never change the way you are.”

“Oh surely you won't want me to be like this in ten years,” she mused. Her brother looked between the two.

“What? What is it?” he asked.

“It's nothing, Am,” Midii told him, patting his head. “Why don't you go see how the other two are?” He groaned but obeyed.

“We should start working,” Trowa said slowly wiping the grin off his face.

She sighed, “Yes, I suppose we should.” She crouched down next to a window and began taking the distance of the surrounding buildings.

“It'll be fine,” he assured her, setting up his own equipment.

After a few minutes, Midii's attention started to wane. Her concentration began to rest on her boyfriend. Determined that he should be as distracted as she, she undid the top two buttons of her shirt. When this failed to capture his notice, she began to walk around the world, practicing different struts. He looked up a few times, but he never gave her more than a quick glance. Becoming frustrated, she sat down under her window and started rolling bits of paper into balls then flinging them at Trowa. He quickly became irritated.

“What?” he asked loudly, “What is it?”

 

Trying to catch your eye
Things will never look the same
Now I can't deny
You're the moth and I'm the flame
There I go again
I should walk before I run
How can I explain
I can't stop what you've begun

 

She giggled, “I'm sorry.” His expression caused her to giggle more, which also caused him to become more aggravated.

“I've never been sidetracked on any mission before,” she informed, “Until now. If you're going to distract me, I'm going to distract you.”

“I never distracted you on purpose,” he pointed out. She shrugged this point off. He sighed and kept working, making sure no one came near his girlfriend and her brothers. With any luck, her parents would soon be safe and out of occupied territory. The Preventers will have taken control of France and Italy. With more luck, he would be able to get Midii to join her brothers in safety.

 

I'm falling through the door
Flying 'cross the floor
When you look at me suddenly it's clear

You're burning up my dreams
Crazy as it seems
I don't wanna be anywhere but here
Anywhere but here

 

However, as he viewed Midii out of the corner of his eye, he could not help but smile inside. The years of war and spying had caused her to retreat into a shell. She was not very willing to open to the shell to her family much less him when he first found her again. Nevertheless, she was more carefree now. She laughed more, and she caused him to laugh more as well. She found a strange satisfaction from catching his attention by unbuttoning her shirts and hiking up her skirts when she became bored and wanted some attention. It never failed to catch his interest, but he learned not to let her catch him looking. It would just encourage her more.

Still, as Duo pointed out many times, that may not be such a bad thing.

 

What goes on inside
Is a mystery no doubt
A roller coaster ride
I may never work it out
Here's the brand new me
Skates around and floats on air
I'm a sight to see
Rainbow colors in my hair
You have set me free
The one who gets me there

 

As her playful mood faded, Midii buttoned up her shirt, and her concentration returned to deciding what weapons could be used, where, and by whom. She jotted down notes in her traveling notebook. So far, it did not look like her brothers could spend much more time here. It was too risky; of course, everywhere seemed to be risky now. Nonetheless, her brothers were safer here than at their family mansion for the time being, not with all those protestors. Amato would most likely find a way to blab about Trowa's involvement as a Gundam pilot, and there was no telling how badly they would torture her family for the information. France was receiving heavy bombing, or so she could understand from the bits of news they obtained in this forgotten colony. She could not believe that the Earth Sphere government permitted the bombing, but apparently they did if the news they obtained was to be trusted.

“Midii! Midii!” yelled her two youngest brothers as they ran in the room. Both teenagers turned to face the little boys.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Luc is gone!” Amato exclaimed.

“He ran out to see what the noise was,” Thayer explained further.

“And he never came back!” Amato was nearly in tears. “We stayed in the yard like you said, Midii. We did.”

“We heard some soldiers and a couple officers,” Thayer informed them.

“Are you sure they were soldiers and not just men?” questioned Trowa.

“I was in a refugee camp for six years. I know what soldiers sound like,” Thayer replied indignantly.

 

I'm falling through the door
Flying 'cross the floor
When you look at me suddenly it's clear

You're burning up my dreams
Crazy as it seems
I don't wanna be anywhere but here
Anywhere but here

 

Trowa and Midii bolted out of the door immediately. She shouted back instructions for her brothers to stay in the room, to hide, and not to touch any of the equipment. Her heart raced and not from the fast pace she raced down the hallway and stairwell. She stayed on Trowa's heels the entire time. The old complex had not been used in decades. When they moved in it, they had discovered that some doors were permanently stuck closed. At the time, this had not mattered. Now, Midii and Trowa struggled to find one that would open. They pulled and pushed many doors. They banged and ran into what seemed like dozens in their frenzy. At one point, Trowa considered breaking a window and climbing out it, even if it would cause too much noise for a surprise attack. However, they found a door that would open before he had to resort to that option. As soon as there was enough room, Midii dashed through the door, and Trowa soon followed.

 

Here is the place where
My head is spinning
Time is beginning
To race away
You come to throw me
Knock me off my feet
You give me wings to fly
The world goes crashing by again

 

He knew that she would not be thinking clearly with her little brother missing, possibly in the hands of the enemy. As a result, he looked for signs of where Luc could be or where the soldiers could be. He crept slowly along the outer wall looking over the edge.

“Do you see him?” she questioned.

He shook his head. She tried not to let the disappointment and desperation show in her face. She had to keep up her strength until they found him and he was safe with her. She could have killed herself for endangering her brothers on this stupid last mission. The past was in the past. Why did she have to insist on tagging along? It was not worth the risk she knew now.

“Focus on the task at hand,” he advised softly, “You don't have to second guess yourself or to beat yourself up. You did the right thing.”

Words failing her, she nodded. They slipped to the other side. Then they slinked to a neighboring yard behind a pile of dirt. Incoherent voices soon came to their ears. She strained to understand the words, and she could see by his expression that Trowa also did not know what language they were speaking much less the words. All she could see was a rainbow as her hair suddenly swept into her eyes.

 

I'm falling through the door
Flying 'cross the floor
When you look at me suddenly it's clear

You're burning up my dreams
Crazy as it seems
I don't wanna be anywhere but here
Anywhere but here

 

“This is not good,” she told him quietly. “My brother could be anywhere. We don't even know if those people have him.”

“I understand your frustration,” he said, “but we'll find him.” He added after a thought, “And, he'll be perfectly fine.” If it came out he knew someone from the wars, especially a Gundam pilot, his life could be forfeit.

“I hope so.”

They sat down and waited some more. He took her in his arms.

“I wish you and your family could be at Paris on Christmas night right now,” he murmured into her ear.

 

I'm falling through the door
Flying 'cross the floor
When you look at me suddenly it's clear

You're burning up my dreams
Crazy as it seems
I don't wanna be anywhere but here
Anywhere but here

 

“I still don't want to be anywhere except with you,” she declared almost inaudibly, “Anywhere but here.”