Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Right By You ❯ Chapter 1

Right By You

by sailor c. ryoko

Pairings: developing 1x2.

Warnings: AU. angst. citrus. blasphemy. OOC. nice Relena. nasty Zechs. Duo POV.

Standard disclaimers apply.

Summary: Side by side with none other than his best friend, Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell thought life couldn't have gotten any better. And he was right. When the new transfer student by the name of Relena Peacecraft had begun attending their school, life wasn't.

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Part One

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I don't think things could be any more bored than how they are right now. Standing by the main entrance on school grounds right beneath the shades, away from the pouring rain at four forty-seven p.m. with nothing to do but occasionally shift a couple of text books from one arm to the other...doesn't quite make the winning cut for the `best thing to do during a pastime' award. Yet that's exactly what I've been doing for the past week and a half.

I blame Yuy. Him and that stupid quarter.

I leaned back, my weight heavily against the wall now, and closed my eyes and sighed. The familiar black headdress I wore shifted slightly with the wind, causing the black linen cloth covering half my face to flutter lightly in the air. As the wind passed within the next few seconds, the cloth stopped its dance to conceal the left side of my face once more.

The next few minutes passed without any changes, only aggravating me further. "This is the last time I do Yuy any favors," I muttered. "Next time, I'm just gonna go home."

Home. I finally have something that I can actually call `home' now, in both the literal and figurative sense. It was one of those `defining moments' we had that gave me this sense of `I'm finally home' I feel right now. The memory is still so strong even after all this time.

Eight years ago, when we both were nine, we had this crazy notion that once Heero turned eighteen (since his lucky butt is older than me by a mere five months), we would immediately sign authorization documents to get out of that shit hole the authorities called an `orphanage'. When the day Heero became eighteen had come, we originally had thought that leaving was going to prove to be a problem, given that I hadn't turned eighteen yet. Heero, though, could have left if he wanted to, but, *nope*! He chose to be stupid! In such a situation, he could've just upped and left, and kissed the horrid place good-bye, but his dumb ass chose not to! I mean, really, it was just simply another five months before I could take my leave and then meet up with him again but he simply wouldn't hear of it! Now tell me, wouldn't you call him an idiot? I would. I *had*. But you know he said? He said exactly this: `Shut up, Maxwell, we're in this crap together. I don't care how much you like this place, I'll drag you out by that braid of yours whether you like it or not. And don't think I won't dare to punch your lights out too if I hear you mouthing any complaints. Then, and *only* then when we're outside, can you think of a better way to get rid of me.'

If he hadn't been so damn...earnest at the time (though I *know* he'd lie like a dog if I ever brought it up) and I hadn't been so touched about the whole episode (which I'd like to add that I wouldn't for the life of mine admit it), I would've whacked him upside the head, kicked him out of the place myself and called him a halfwit jackass.

I still did end up half-heartedly calling him an idiot though. He did need to know that he was one.

It turns out though that our little argument had been completely futile. I suppose it was because the government authorities wanted to get rid of us orphans even faster so it wouldn't have to seem like they actually gave a damn about us, because right then and there, with the perfect opportunity presented to them, they had let us go, complete with documents signed and all that crap without a single hassle or a minute to waste. It was more like as if they were kicking us out, but hey, I'm not complaining. It totally benefits us so that's the only thing I'm concerned about.

That occurred only about two months ago. But right after, we were actually able to find an affordable apartment, no matter that it was so damn tiny. The landlord had been nice, giving us until the end of this month to pay for our rents. Then again, it could be that he was high then and was just in a good mood when we had actually rented the place....

Anyhow, the same day we moved into the place - not that we had much things to move anyway - was also the same day we had decided on how we were going to split our tasks and...when the stupid quarter thing popped up. Heero had been eager to drive; I was just as eager as he. Problem was...we barely had enough credits in our pockets to pay for one person's license. And hence, that's where the stupid quarter comes in, where I chose tails and the dumb quarter came up heads....

Thus rendering the end result to lean heavily in Heero's favor. Not to mention, the loser had to work twice as many hours as the winner for a whole month, but no, even *that* wasn't the worst part of the deal. See, I had to *walk* to work for that whole month (which was nearly ten blocks away!), courtesy of said winner's bargain. Who. Doesn't. Get. To. *Drive*.

This really, really sucks.

So yeah, that leads me back to where I am right now; outside, in the cold, cold rain, waiting for Yuy to hurry the hell up and get his ass out here so we can go home to where it is warm.

Like I said, I blame Yuy.

Damn, but if he doesn't get his butt out here this next instant...!

The main double doors of the school's entryway opened then, almost as if on cue, and out stepped Heero Yuy.

"Man, speak of the devil and here he comes," I muttered. Can't get anymore scarier than that.

Shaking out of my momentary stupor, I hugged the books tighter and pushed myself away from the wall, slowly jogging towards my best friend. "Hey, bud - " My jogging slowed to a stop as another familiar individual emerged from behind the double doors.

Relena Peacecraft.

Apparently it *can* get worse. My life has just become a living nightmare now.

Ah...but I should've known. Really, I should.

For the past three weeks, and might I point out that that was when her royal pain in the heinie transferred to this school, the only thing Heero's been talking about was...yep, Peacecraft. Which always brings me back to the aggravating, unanswered question in mind: what the heck does he see in her? Hell, what the heck does everyone in the whole damn school see in her? Okay, I'll give her some credit that within a month of her attendance here, she's actually been able to become the captain of the volleyball team, head of the graduation committee, running for student body president, and, if truth be told, she does community service. That actually says something since I know that anyone from the upper class has never even heard of the words `volunteer' or `service'. But is that supposed to impress me? That she does community service? I grunted. You wish. Just because you do community service doesn't mean that you have a `good heart', right off the bat. Hell, you need to show some involvement in your community to win the election as student body president, right? Well, there ya go.

And, I suppose, with her hair cascading down like the way she has it, she really is beautiful. `It's almost as if she glides instead when she walks; almost like a goddess...' as Heero puts it. I had spit out the soda I was drinking, then choked and coughed for the next couple of minutes, almost getting a heart attack when he said that. I mean, really, a goddess? Okay, she's rather attractive, I admit, but...a goddess? Yuy has got it baaaad.

To be frank, I guess I can't really blame Heero being all mushy-mushy and whatnot to her like that. I guess if I were another whom didn't have for a particular dislike for the nobility, I think I would've fallen in with the crowd and found myself fantasizing over her as well. Only I am me, who's secretly fantasizing over his best friend instead. Now that always leads me to question myself as to which situation is actually worst.

Things had changed almost unexpectedly since Heero and I have been on our own; they had changed for the worse, in my opinion. And if I really had to pick someone to blame for all of this, I'd hold our history teacher, Ms. Payne (in the ass), responsible. It transpired exactly three weeks prior when Ms. Payne had decided to give a history project on the Cold War. `This assignment will be a partner project that will be due next week,' she says. It was just my luck; first day Peacecraft shows up and we get a project. Whoop. Dee. Doo. I'd ended up getting stuck with Muller; a rich, pompous bastard slash egotistical prep with a half-assed brain (hooray!). But what's even worse is who Relena had gotten paired with. I mean, here she just barely shows up, completely out of the blue, right in the middle of the school year and wham, bam, she got Heero. It was a conspiracy, I swear.

But it was good to know that when Heero had heard of who his partner was, he was just as unhappy as me. Actually, I think he had grumbled about the `selection process' more than I had. He was damn cranky and was glaring at everyone (mainly Ms. Payne, Relena, and Muller) for that whole day, which, oddly, I found...comforting. But later throughout the rest of that week, he seemed to come back home from Relena's house less irritable each day. Next thing I knew, he tells me that he likes her. Yessireebob, Maxwells's Luck strikes again. If I had a marker with me right now, you'd see `PATHETIC FOOL' plastered right across my forehead.

Oh yeah, and I'd forgot to mention one more thing on my list of `why people like the Peacecraft girl'. In Heero's words, `loaded, yes; conceited, wealthy bastard, surprisingly no.'

I'd snorted at that comment. In all of my life, whether I was on the streets till I was nine or at the `orphanage' with Heero, I've never had one good encounter with anyone rich. All they cared about were themselves and their fuckin' money. And they would do whatever it takes to save their pathetic little lives, and would commit any crime whatsoever to get what the hell they want. They would betray, deceive, destroy, and plead so goddamn pathetically if need be just to attain their objective - without a second glance to those they harm. In short? It would take more than one Relena Peacecraft to try to persuade me otherwise.

The door was held open as Relena stepped out, flashing a warm smile at Heero and murmuring a `thank you' at the same time. An umbrella was then unfolded as Heero held it over the two (but mainly her), he returning a small, warm...expression of his own.

Standing not twenty feet away, I was torn between rolling my eyes at the two or gagging; they could not get any more damn sweet than that. It was like as if they were the perfect couple or something - him, the perfect gentleman and her, the perfect lady. If some turnaround incident occurred and Heero suddenly goes all gaga over me like that (which, I'd like to point out, is highly unlikely...), I'm going to zoom out of the house with all my clothes in a record time and move to Antarctica. Or maybe I'd just pass out.

"It's raining pretty hard," Heero commented. I almost wanted to go up to him and smack him on the head and say, `No shit?' Almost, but I didn't. "Would you like a lift home?"

"No, it's all right, thank you. I wouldn't want to be a burden," she replied.

"No," he simply said, but any idiot knowing him would be able to detect the slight `no, that's ridiculous' tone in his voice. And of course, what other idiot would there be but me. You know, I think I should receive an award. A `the world's greatest idiot who falls for his best friend' award. Yeah, that would certainly fit.

He gave her that warm...smile again (yeah, that *is* a smile. I almost didn't recognize it.). It's amazing how he's changed so much over the past...what, two weeks? It's not like as if he was an indifferent, uncaring machine previously but I don't think I've ever seen him this...open before. It seems that Relena has had more affect on him than I ever would have, huh? I am such an idiot....

Heero whispers his next response; it was nearly soft enough that I almost missed it. But if I was one who could read minds or foretell the future, I wish I had.

"I wouldn't mind, Relena."

Of course you wouldn't. You and every other friggin' guy at this school. That's straight, I mean.

Maybe it was because the cold was finally sinking in and my legs were becoming numb or perhaps it was something else entirely, but all I had done was just stand there quietly as my best friend and his crush jogged towards his car. It was almost as if something invisible had just suddenly nailed my feet to the ground and snatched my voice away. But even so, the only thing that lingered in my mind was how Heero's face practically glowed as he was with her....

When I had blinked, I found myself thoroughly alone on the school's front parking lot.

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end part one.

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