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Never Too Late	By : Ardra Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male > Heero/Duo Views: 911 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own GW or any characters, names or all that jazz. I so wish that I did, though. No profit is made from this story. Not a penny.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
Author's note: Welcome to my redo of 'Decent of an Angel'! I hope that this version will be a little less confusing and speratic for everyone and I hope that more readers stay tuned because what you read of the original version might not be happening in this new one. I'm taking the whole idea and putting it in a new set of clothes before unleashing it onto the world. I hope you all enjoy and, as always, critiques, reviews and cookies are loved!

Never Too Late

By Ardra
Prologue
does this guy ever shut up?
"And so, that is why I believe they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. You agree?"
Boredly, Duo looked back to the man who had been talking to him non-stop for the past he-didn't-know-how-long. He was a nice man, a little confused when it came to certain issues, and his views on the Gundam pilots were completely old school, to the point the American was wondering how the fuck he got invited to this party. He had to have known the Gundam pilots were going to be at this thing. Yet, this fat old man was certain that the pilots were still terrorists and should be treated as such. Never mind he was currently talking to one of thos esaid pilots right now. Duo wanted nothing more than to smack the man or just walk away from him, but he had promised Heero and Quatre that he would be nice to the people that Relena had invited to her party. No matter what they were like. Duo opened his mouth with the intent to respond as politely as his anger would allow but his words and his patients were cut short by the start of the firework's display.
Whiizzz! BANG! SNAP, CRACKLE!
At the sound, violet eyes snapped up to the sky as his body tensed, waiting for a blow or a shot of pain that would never come. All around him, rich nobodies cheered and drank under the light of the fireworkds, almost muting the sound that was produced when the gunpowder exploded. The old man who had been talking at Duo excused himself and excitedly took his date outside to watch the fireworks display better. Duo shook his head, knowing he was doing this so he could boast a little to his date and get a little lucky tonight, the man had lust written all over his face when he left.
It seemed like everyone was so happy now. The war was finally over; no one would have to worry about something like the senseless killing of their family members anymore, at least until the next war that would eventually break out. It was human nature to fight, to kill eachother for the sake of what little land or properties they owned. It's been a practice that has happened since the dawn of time and is even a trait shared by most animals in the Animal Kingdom. Good thing all of them were also considered animals, as their ways would seem barbaric in any other instance.
Everyone was dressed beautifully in clothes whose sleeve cloth was more expensive than some of the C4 that Duo had used during the war. Wonder if that stuff was going to become more expensive now that the war is over. Should he stock up before then? Looking around, he couldn't really recognize more than half of the people at this party. Relena's idea of throwing a party to celebrate the end of the last Eve War did not include people that she didn't know, so most of the people hanging aroun dwere dignitaries and politicans. Peppered into the crowd were old school mates of Relena's and a small cluster of people that Duo did somewhat recognize. All of them were equaly dressed in the before mentioned expensive clothes as they twirled around the dance floor in some waltz that was as nameless as the passing bird to the lithe American. One would think that being spun around like that would make someone dizzy but the people continued to spin, stopping only to cheer when another loud firework lit up the night sky.
Duo allowed a smile to stretch over his face, mostly because he was expected to do so around other people. It was his mask after all. He was suppose to be the one that always brightened up everyone else's day, or just made it something that they would remember for the rest of their lives. Another loud bang made the long haired man tense almost painfully. Despite the fear of the loud noises the entertainment caused, Duo actually liked fireworkds. He loved the way they contrasted to the paleness of the moon and seemed to almost offset it. the man on the moon seemed to have hair when one would go off or he had a mustache, depending on which way the sparks fell. there was nothing like this on the colonies. The moon was so dead looking, like someone had set a bomb off on it and allowed the whole thing to burn to the ground.
It also didn't help that something like fireworkds weren't allowed on the colonies. they were basically just fire in the sku, and with the colonies being enclosed spaces floating above the Earth Sphere, you are liable to set the whole place of fire if you weren't careful. It was amazing what Earth was allowed to do. Honestly, before tonight, Duo had only ever heard of fireworkds. He had never seen them, the cloest thing he could thing to compair them with was how the bombs looked when they exploded out in space, only the bombs weren't as pretty as the little colorful lights that were here now.
Shaking his head, Duo cleared his thoughts of the colonies, and tassled his jagged bangs that framed his face. He turned on his heels, smirking when they made a squeaking noise with the movement, and headed back into the party. He wanted to find the other pilots and 65talk to them. All the people at the party were starting to make him feel a little closed in, not to mention on edge because he was sure, even more so now, there were people here that would love nothing more than to cut down a Gundam pilot.
Upon entering the large room where most of the party was held, his breath caught in his throat painfully when he noticed that almost everyone stood in huge groups talking to each other. If there was one thing the war did to him it was make him a little nervous when it came to large crowds. He closed his eyes a second, steeling his nerves, and started to make his way through the people. He had spotted Trowa on the other side of one of the larger groups and made to take a straight shot to him. He used every trick that he knew of to avoid touching anyone, or drawing any more unwanted attention to himself. He kept his arms close to his chest, side stepped when people casually turned around and almost bumped into him.
One last shift of his body and Duo finally broke out of the last group of people. He turned, looking at what he'd just gone through and allowed himself to breathe a small sight of relief. All these people were clustered together so tightly, it was hard to believe that during the war, none of these people would have been caught dead around the other. truthfully, even thought he smiled on the outside, on the inside he felt a surge of depression when ever he thought about the fact he would never have to fight again. Never again would he be able to just take Deathscythe into battle and use him to do what was needed to survive.
He would have to be a normal person now. Someone who acted their age. What was a normal person anyways, let alone one that acted what his age was, or what he figured his age is. Was it someone who held down a steady job, purchased a nice, big house, car, a dog, married soemone, popped out a couple kids, watch the kids grow up then just fade away? What kind of an existance was that? It seemed like a pretty poor way to leave if you asked him. He didn't like what he just made himself think of one little bit.
Dismissing the thought, he turned and slipped up next to his target. One Trowa Barton, the ex-pilot of the Gundam Heavyarms. Violet eyes looked up to the slightly taller brunette. Trowa was a good head and a half taller than Duo was. Most people would be embarassed or upset that they were shorter, but the long haired male knew that Trowa was a couple years older than the rest of them. He wondered what would happen to this man now that the wars were over. He'd always been a quiet person, never really seemed itnerested in what was going on around him, yet he was so painfully alert to anything and everything around him. He'd never met anyone who could be so in tune with a conversation yet have absolutely no interest in what the people were saying.
The European male could tell you what the people he was listening to were talking about, and even sometimes spout out what they had said, but he couldn't tell you who said it at the time, unless he thought that it was a vital piece of information that he would need later on. He knew that this skill was something that would be rarely used now that the fighting was over. His appearance in itself was odd, but then again, Duo couldn't really point fingers at other people as he reached behind him, taking ahold of his extremely long braid of hair. compaired to him, Trowa's hair was the latest and greatest style. he had it trimmed militaristically in the back of his head while his bangs were allowed to grow out and cover one half of his face. It always seemed to give him an air of mystery.
A flash of blond hair broke Duo out of his thoughts and drug his attention to the crowds, spotting what had caught his eye. It was Quatre, trying to force his way through the crowd that seemed to be compacting around the blond. One wrong move, he stumbled a little and was almost swept away in the current created by the shifting of bodies, but Trowa reached out, grabbed ahold of the smaller's wrist and pulled him close to himself. His hand on his shoulder in what was obviously a protective gesture. Duo didn't even try to suppress the knowing smile that spread over his face. He now knew this was how Trowa was going to be able to blend into society. He would be the one that the famous Winner heir wouldn't let out of his sight. They would be together all the time. No one was going to be able to seperate the two of them now that they have found eachother amungst the fighting and death.
Nah, Trowa wasn't going to have any trouble in society now that he had Quatre watching his back for him. The lithe American watched as Quatre smiled appreciatively at the one who had saved him, their hands lingering on each other a little longer than neccessary before they both parted and turned to Duo. He was grinning at the two of them like the Cheshire Cat with a mouse. Knowing what he was thinking, the heir blushed at his obvious displa of effection towards Trowa, but the ex-Heavyarms pilot didn't look like he understood the meaning behind the look he was being given. Duo knew that he did know what it mean and he was just playing it off so that he wouldn't further embarrass his smaller lover.
Seconds trickled by in silence until Duo couldn't stand it anymore, "You almost got swept away there, Q. You should be more careful. What's up?"
"Yeah. I was listening to someone talking about the new policies of the regions and now that I'm away from those vultures, I can finally breathe without feeling like I'm about to have a panic attack. People are way too touchy. Can you believe that this is all over?" he asked, looking around at the bodies in the room.
"Kind of." Duo murmured softly, smiling as he glanced around the room, his instincts were on fire tonight. He felt on edge all of a sudden and it unnerved him a little.
If Quatre felt as uneasy as he did, he didn't show it as he tilted his head at Duo, "What are your plans?"
"Truthfully, I don't know. I probably should go up to L2 and see if Hilde needs any help with the scrap yard. I might go and do a little spelunking before I settle down. i guess I have to figure out what I want to be when I grow up before I actually go to do it."
"You're going digging to find out what you want to do with your life?" asked a new voice but one that Duo recognized all the same as a wicked smirk stretched over his face.
He turned to see Wufei standing behind them. The Chinese man was wearing a nice, white button down shirt that was complimented by the black pants he wore snugly on his hips. His tanned arms were folded over his chest to avoid touching other people as he looked thoughtfully at 02.
"Not digging. Exploring. Maybe take a few trips around the world, go to the different colonies. Just to see what I can do, and what I want to do for a living before I settle down." Duo said, smiling to Wufei before leaning forward, hands firmly on his hips like a school girl telling another a dirty little secret, "Besides, not all of us want a nice cushy job in Preventers, and a nice girl that we're going to marry."
The former Shenlong pilot balked at the last comment, "Maxwell! No one was supposed to know about that!"
Quatre's eyes lit up and grew to the size of saucers as he turned his attention from Trowa to Wufei, "You proposed to Sally?" he asked giddily, leaning a little closer to the taller male beside him.
"I did nothing of the sort... Yet." Wufei mumbled the last part so that barely anyone heard it but Trowa and Duo did, making the impish grin on the American's face grow even wider but before Wufei could go on a rant about the x-Deathscythe pilot's immaturity, Quatre wisely decided to change the subject.
"What are you going to do, Trowa?"
The clown looked rather emotionlessly around as he rolled one shoulder in a shrug, "I don't know. I will probably catch up with Catherine's circus and rejoin it." he said, his tone was dimissive and stand-offish, a sign that the young man had no idea what he was going to do with his new found freedom.
"Where is Yuy? If that ass skipped out on this thing and left us to deal with the hoopla and shinanigans, I'll skin his ass for a coat."
Quatre made a choking noise, blushing deeply as Duo burst into loud laughs, holding his stomach as his body shook from the heaves of breath he was taking. Wufei seemed to realize what he said and turned a bright shade of pink that normally would be impossible for someone with his complexion. Quick to remedy the situation, the blond heir spoke fast, "He's with Relena. Making sure that nothing happens to her."
Swallowing hard in embarassment, ebony eyes turned to the head of the party. Duo looked, too, and fell into a new fit of supressed laughter. The Japanese boy was trying almost desperately to get the former Queen of the World to sit down but it was all in vain as every time the ex-Wing pilot let her go, thinking she would stay seated, she would just get back onto her feet an dmove to talk to someone else, sloshing around a glass of champagn that was precariously perched between the dainty fingers of her right hand, while having a death grip on Heero's shirt with her left.
"She doesn't seem to be taking the end of the war as well as everyone else." Quatre murmured in a soft voice.
"Or she's taking it too well." was Trowa's curt addition to that sentance.
"Well, so much for being rid of her." Duo muttered to himself, still chuckling but his good mood was cut short when an older, bald man in a black and grey pin-striped jacket stepped before them, a glass of amber brandy and a half smoked, horrid smelling cigar in his right hand, while his left hand was discretely tucked into the pocket of his horribly ugly jacket. His face and eyes gave away his obvious Asian heritage as well as the slight tan coloration in the visible skin of his hands and face.
"Are you the Gundam pilots?" he asked them, sounding only vaguely interested in the answer to his own question.
Quatre gave the man an unsure smile, nodding his blond head. Trowa stepped in front of him protectively and the small blond did nothing to try and stop him. The clown's normally emotionless or bored face was hardened into a look that could only be discribed as a non-verbal threat not to try and harm what he was protecting. Duo almost breathed a sight of relief that he wasn't the only one slightly started by this man's sudden appearance before them. Wufei let his features school themselves into pilote indifference as he nodded to the man in conformation that they were, indeed, the Gundam pilots. Well, most of them. The last of their little group was still a little preoccupied with the pink princess to be bothered witht he four of them.
"I've read a lot about you all in the paper, but... isn't there suppose to be five of you?"
Quatre gave the man a small smile, trying to be polite to one of Relena's guests, "Heero's a little indisposed, but we're here."
"I see. You must be Quatre Winner. I knew your father. Good man. A little bit of a hard head when it came to political views, however."
The small arabic young man's jaw clenched with bit back anger at the insult to his late father, "Pardon me, but I do not recall you in any of my Father's meetings, nor do I know your name." Yeah, Quatre wasn't a happy little blond right now.
"My name is unimportant right now, it's just a formality and we're beyong those by now, aren't we?"
"How are we going to know what to call you if we don't know your name?" Duo asked defensively, shifting his weight just in case. In case of what he had no idea, but it was better to be prepared.
The man chuckled, putting his brandy in his left hand, taking a drag of his rancid smelling cigar. After filling his lungs with the smoke, he let out a piff of it into the hair that lifted up to the ceiling to get lost with the rest of the smoke in the room made by others that were allowed to smoke inside, "My name is Maxwell Yong. I'm sure you don't know anything about me, but I know all of you. So that's beyond the point." he turned to Duo and gave him a crooked smile, "You are Duo Maxwell, are you not?"
Duo plastered his fake smile on his face, the mask of the Joker now etched on his features, "Sure am. You know much about me?"
"I've read a lot about you. Matter of fact, I was just reading an old report on you. To think, boys as young as yourselves were labeled as armed and deadly terroriests throught out most of the war. You all should've been in school, getting educations, chasing women through the halls."
"Some of us are educated enough in our endeavors both as these so called 'terrorists' and life before we became what we are." Wufei said, starting to relax a little when it didn't look like the man was going to attack any of them at any point.
"I mean no offense, really. I'm just a little surprised how young you all are." Maxwell said before he turned to leave their presence, "Excuse me, please. It was nice to meet the four of you."
With that, he disappeared into the crowd of people, leaving the pilots where he'd found them. Duo strethced his arms over his head, curling them at the base of his skull in a rather lazy pose, his violet eyes not leaving the man's bald head until he was far away from them then looked to the other three, "Now I see why Heero hates these things. Pushy crowds and creepy people."
"He was just trying to be friendly." Quatre offered with an unsure tone in his voice.
"I suppose. Well, I'm done with this monkey suit that I've been placed in."
"You're just wearing pants and a shit. how does that add up to a monkey suit?"
"It's WUFEI!"
"I'm going to my place and crash. I've got an early shuttle out to L2 in the morning." Duo said as he pulled Quatre in for a hug.
"Already?" the blond squeaked as he was hugged tightler than he was used to.
"Yeah. Don't want to keep Hilde waiting, no? She'll have my balls for breakfast."
Duo chuckled evily when Wufei choked on whatever beverage he had snagged from a passing waiter with a tray, "Damn it, Maxwell! Can't you ever say anything decent?" the irate Chinese boy frowled as he got a napkin and wiping his face where his drink had decided to return to the surface.
"Regardless, I need to get going."
"When is your flight?" Trowa asked as he rescued the blond from Duo's grasp by prying his hands from around the smaller form and pulled him to his own body instead.
"Around ten. Give me a call before then, will ya? I don't know when you'll have a moment's peace once you start on your Winner duties."
"Sure. "Quatra said with a small but sad smile to his friend, the ex-Deathscythe pilot only received slight nods from both Trowa and Wufei.
Duo turned to leave before he stopped and turned to them, "Oh! Tell Heero to give me a call if he can ever get Relena under control." He said before he waved to them, making his way out of the party by keeping to unoccupied walls until he was outside of the stately mansion.
When he finally got out of the party, he took a deep, happy breath of fresh air, glad to have been finally spat out by that little shindig. He lifted his head, gazing at the stars that were so far away now. He smiled ruefully at them; soon he would be back amongst them, another rat gnawing on the beauty that was those stars, and a few satellites. He shook his head as he began to walk down the street. It felt a little weird to be able to walk down the street and not have to worry about hiding his appearance, hair, his Gundam, his gun, or anything else that could've been used to cause acts of terrorism. It was odd for him to be able to walk so freely now, when just a year, give or take a few days, ago, he wasn't even able to go to the store without causing a scene.
Truthfully, it was nice to be able to do things like this. It sort of makes him feel like a real person. He rolled his shoulders, letting them relax as he settled back into the feeling. The freedom was amazing. He felt like he could do whatever he wanted without having to report in to anyone but, in the same breath, he felt trapped in this new world. He had no idea what he was going to do with his life, and one thing was for sure, he couldn't stay with Hilde forever. The woman already had this crush on him that she believed that he could do no wrong, and as much as it hurt him to do so, he would have to tell her the truth about his sexuality eventually. That sentence even sounded too harsh, he couldn't do that to her.
Despite her love for him, she was a good woman and didn't deserve to have her heart trampled on like he was probably going to do to her. It killed him to have to do it, but he couldn't keep leading her on like he had been doing before. Well, it wasn't really leading her on, but it felt like that was what he was doing to her because he hadn't told her the truth yet, and at this point, he knew it was going to crush her.
As he mused on these thoughts, his body began to tense and his instincts were telling him that something was wrong, or some wrongness was going to happen soon. His instincts have served him well so far in his life so he wasn't going to write off what he was feeling. He straightened up, rolling his shoulders back in preparation of a fight happening and stopped walking in midstep. He hardly even breathed as he listened closely to the night. He could still hear the fireworks being set off and it was messing with his hearing a little bit, as long as the cheers and applause of the diplomats at Relena's party.
The lights from the colorful explosions made his body cast many colored shadows before him, but he didn't see anyone else's shadow. Slowly, he looked over his shoulder, but there was no one there. There was no one on the streets, and it didn't sound like there was anything going on in the alleys he'd just passed. He took a deep breath, trying to relax once more as he dismissed the feeling as something moving when it wasn't supposed to. It could've just been someone opening their door, or their window that set him off. That was bound to happen often until he could squash down his soldier instincts. He smiled to himself before starting to walk again, dismissing the feeling as nothing.
He didn't make it seven steps before the feeling came back again, this time worse than ever. Instead of a little tug telling him that something was wrong, his stomach plummeted a good twelve inches into his gut. The few short hairs he had on the back of his neck stood on ends, screaming in fright. His body tensed, his fingers itched to go for the gun he didn't have, a hot feeling formed in the back of his head, making him want to scratch at it. His heart began to hammer in his chest, making it difficult to not breathe as his ears strained to listen, to figure out what was setting him off. Duo heard nothing. He spun around and gasped loudly, moving to pull away but he was too close already.
Duo twisted his body around; making a strangled lurching sound as the collar of his shirt was snagged, preventing him from being able to run for it. Being drug up by the man who had somehow snuck up on him, he was able to get a better look at the man. He was a big one that was for sure. He'd met Rashid, a friend of Quatra's and leader of the Maganac Corp. once before but this man had to be a little taller than that man, which was saying something as Duo thought Rashid was huge.
This man was wearing a suit and tie that were expertly pressed and tailored to fit his huge body. He had no hair on his shiny head and a pair of glasses shone in the fireworks that hid his whole face from the American. He reached up, trying to get at the man's wrist, but it was even bigger than his hand; he couldn't get a grip on it. He felt the other hand come up and grab a hold of his much smaller wrists and wrench them the wrong way. His back arched in pain, his mouth opened to cry out but he bit down on his tongue to keep from doing so, he knew that screaming or showing any form of pain was probably what this man was looking for and he didn't want to give him the satisfaction of hearing his weakness.
The hold on his collar relaxed, and Duo crumpled to the ground, gasping as pain shot from his shoulder blades down his spine as he was bent forward by the hold the person still had on his wrists. He moved to get to his feet to get to a better stance so he could mule kick the guy in the legs or groin but he misjudged how big the guy was and only got his lower legs, his shins, which only seemed to piss him off even more than he already was.
The free hand grabbed him by his neck and lifted him off the ground, releasing his arms and letting them fall back into place, much like how a rag doll's arms would return to their proper positions after being let go. Duo gasped softly as he felt the muscles pull. They would be bruised in the morning, but they weren't broken, which he was grateful for. He didn't want to have to pull a Heero and pop his arm back into place.
He almost smiled to himself for what he believed was the man's stupidity for letting go of his wrists. He reached up, lacing his fingers around his wrist and pulled his neck backwards and out of the brute's grip but his victory was short lived as the monkey suddenly tightened his thick fingers, clamping down on his airways, making him gag, gasp and loose what momentum that he had gained from his move.
His body fell back straight, his hands reached up to the fingers, trying desperately to pry the fingers away, but they weren't going to budge at all. Instead, like a lizard that was biting on something, every movement made his captor's grip tighten more and more on his bruising throat until his vision started to go black. He barely saw a black car pull up to them and the rear door opened.
His vision darkened more as the person who got out walked over to them, as if sizing the two up. Weakly, Duo tried to ask for the person's help but his voice failed him as well as his vision. The last thing he heard was someone telling him that struggling was pointless and he should just welcome the darkness threatening to consume him. Despite wanting to go against these words, the long haired male found himself in darkness sooner than he expected as he blacked out.
Duo woke much later, or at least he thinks it was much later. He groaned softly as he sat up from the mattress that was just sitting on the floor of his dank little room. He rubbed at his aching head before coughing into his other. A few splatters of blood littered the pale skin before Duo rubbed them away into the cot. He swing his legs over the edge, not surprised to find that he could probably sit on his knees and still be higher up than this mattress, and looked around.
The little room looked like it was made entirely of concrete, even the ceiling seemed to be made out of the heavy shit. There was a small pot in the corner that was held up by a pipe that went down into the floor. The only light in the room came from a small bulb that hung bare from the ceiling above the middle of the room.
Getting to his feet, Duo spotted the door. It was cut out of the concrete and put on hinges so that it would swing. He was only able to see that it was actually the door because there was a tiny dog flap built into the bottom of it. Looking only slightly big enough for a cat to slide under. There was no door handle on his side, nothing that would indicate that he could open the door, or that it was locked in any way. Slim legs carried him to the door and he bent down, reaching through the doggy door slightly, he grabbed the edge of the cut out and tested the door.
There was a metallic thunking noise when he pulled, signaling that the door was, indeed, locked. Duo was about to pull his hand away when a harsh jolt of electricity ran up his arm and made his back arch. He pulled his hand away, gasping slightly as he looked down at the twitched appendage, and the now burnt tips of his fingers. Now angry, he glared at the door before he got to his feet and began to pound on the hard material with both fists.
"Hey! HEY! Yo, ass wipes! HELLO! HEY!" Duo called as he beat his hands on the concrete as hard as he dared to go so he wouldn't hurt his hands too bad, just in case he would need them to make his escape.
The door didn't budge and seemed like nothing was going to happen before there was a loud humming noise. Duo tried to pull away from the door, but it was too late.
"AAAUUUURG!" he screamed before he felt as if he were thrown from the door and landed on the floor with a hard THUD! His muscles twitched, causing his body to almost convulse as he gasped for breath, his eyes wide and staring at the offensive light bulb that shined innocently down on him.
Duo faintly heard the sound of the door unlocking, a few tumblers being tripped then the concrete door sliding, or scraping rather, over the concrete floor. Idly, he knew he should use this opportunity to escape, but his body was still twitching and he knew that he couldn't run from this place, even if he wanted to. Not after being electrocuted like he had been. He blinked a few times, trying to clear the spots from his vision before someone loomed over him, and hands in their pockets, unknown colored hair hung in the face like a curtain.
"You mind? You're blocking my sun." Duo said his voice a little scratchy, even to his own ears as the man tilted his head questioningly at him.
"Welcome, Mr. Maxwell. I trust that you've found the door all right."
"Yeah, I did… It doesn't seem to like being hit." Duo coughed once before he moved his arms, pushing his body into a sitting position as the man in the room walked around him to be facing him.
Now that he could see properly, Duo could see that the man hadn't come alone. There were three large men standing in the door way, one the ex-Deathscythe pilot recognize to be the man who had snatched him but it was hard to tell as they all were dressed the same, had shaved their heads and were wearing sunglasses over their eyes.
"No, it doesn't There's a one hundred volt charge that runs through the door after it feels any vibrations; you pounding on the door or trying to open it via the food flap, for example. Now that the warnings are out of the way, I will get down to business."
Duo sniggered to himself before he rubbed his right eye with his fist like a small child who had just been woken up from their nap as he tried in vain to remove the spots from his vision again, "I have a friend you should meet. He's just as clipped and straight to the point as you are."
"So I've read, Mr. Maxwell. Your stay has been generously provided for by the Lord, and he is a very patient man. He is willing to wait as long as it takes to get the answers that he would like from you."
Duo made a snorting noise through his nose before turning his gaze onto the man in front of him. He was dressed properly for a business man; a black suit, white buttoned up shirt, black tie. Everything was neatly pressed and proper, save for his hair that hung past his ears and looked like it had been greased back at one point, but something had happened to jostle the strands in the front loose, and now they hung in his dark brown eyes and slightly pale skin.
"And what answers would he like from little ol' me?" Duo asked, rubbing his right hand with his left a bit miserably.
"The Lord understands that you have extensive and expert knowledge in computer programming and hacking, is that correct?"
"Yup." Duo grunted as he glanced around the room once again, hoping to spot a way out of there the place was sealed up tighter than Fort Knox.
His gaze rested on the three men at the door as he mulled over a possible escape plan but nothing was coming to mind. He looked to the man who had grabbed him and wondered how the big man had snuck up on him. The man looked like a baby elephant or something or the same stature but he was able to not only sneak up on Duo but take him captive, something not even any of the other pilots had ever been able to do, but then again, he did have his guard down as he was trying to act like a civilian. Guess he will not being doing that any time soon.
"The Lord has also been informed of your extensive knowledge in metal work, building, and construction of large objects like cars, planes, shuttles and mobile suits. Is this correct?"
"Where are you getting your information from?" Duo asked, frowning a little at the man.
"That is information the Lord does not share with me or anyone. His connections are his own. Do you have these skills or don't you?"
Duo snorted before he brought his leg to him, resting his elbow on the knee cap and cradled his head into his palm as he peered up at the man before him, a bored expression on his face, "And what if I do?"
"Mr. Maxwell, please understand that the Lord is a very patient man, and will not hesitate to do anything that is required for his answers."
"Che." Duo scoffed as he looked around the room again.
"The Lord requests for your skills and knowledge to build him a mobile suit similar to the Wing Zero Gundam that you fought beside during the war. He would like it to be similar, if not completely the same as the original. He also requests that blueprints be made to outline what he would need to begin construction his own line of mobile suits and dolls."
Duo froze at his request before he turned wide eyes only him. He stared at him in disbelief before his eyes narrowed into slits, darkening the usually vibrant violet color, "Seriously?"
"That is all he wishes. After you've produced them, you'll be knocked out; your memory of the event erased, and released back into the general population. You can do anything you wish to do after your release."
Duo snarled at him, teeth bore before he folded his arms across his chest, "Over my dead body, bub. There's no way in God's green Earth nor otherwise would I ever tell you assholes how to build a Gundam, nor am I going to give you anything to make your own line of mobile dolls. Forget it. Those prints have been destroyed, and I refuse to divulge what I know of them. So go wrap your dick around your waist and go fuck yourself."
The man didn't seem at all surprised by Duo's outburst, but he did look exasperated. He pinched the bridge of his nose before he sighed softly, "Mr. Maxwell, please come to understand that if you do this the easy way, all will be forgotten. Do this the hard way, well then… I'm going to have to let the boys have at you."
"And?" Duo snarled impatient, glaring at the three men that stepped before forward a step, massaging their knuckles, rolling their shoulders and getting ready for something Duo could only assume would be the beating he was going to endure.
The man in the suit sighed suffering, hoping that Duo would just tell him what he needed to know and walk away without a scratch on him but true to his profile, the ex-Deathscythe pilot wasn't going to be easy to win over, he was going to have to use persuasion.
"I tried. Okay, boys. The Lord says to use whatever means necessary."
"Whatever you say, boss." One of the men grunted stupidly.
The man nodded before he moved to the door, walking out. Duo glared after him before violet eyes scanned the men coming towards him. He leapt to his feet, backing away a few paces, moving his body into the most defensive position that he knew.
When the first man lunged at Duo, the long haired male swept forward, his movements quickly shifting from defensive to the offensive. He swept the side of his hand forward, slamming it into the man's throat, taking only a microsecond to gloat in his head before he moved to the next man. Duo swept his leg, flung his arm, and tried almost desperately to get through the wall of large men, but no matter how many he took down, they just got right back up, blocking his escape.
He stumbled; sweat covering his body, legs shaking, and arms numb. How long had he been doing this dance over and over again with these people? He couldn't tell; all he knew was that he was wiped out, and thick hands were grabbing his arms and shoulders. He took in one last gulp of breath, violet eyes searching out the bulb that hung low from the ceiling, being momentarily blinded by it before his whole world was engulfed in nothing but agonizing pain and unheard screams.
Sunlight poured into the hotel window, shining off the sheets that had been professionally placed on the bed by the cleaning crew the day before but were now hanging oddly off the side of the bed, bunched in certain places but laid flat in others, a sign of either a lot of movement in the night or a lack of need for the sheets and blanket. The occupants in the bed's clothes lay strewn all over the floor starting from the door and ending just before reaching the bed where it was apparent that these two were more than in a hurry to get the offensive garments off of each other. In the morning light, the clothes stretched out to make long, thin shadows that appeared as if mini spirits that were enjoying the new surroundings.
The only sound in the room was the sound of the sheets moving against bare flesh as one of the bed's two occupants started to claw his way out of the comfort of his dream world. Lifting his head, the blond glanced around at the mess on the floor and the bedside table that had a nearly gone bottle of lube just thrown there in the haste of the activities of the night before.
He didn't want to have to move, but the sun in his eyes was bothering him. It was keeping him awake by shining so brightly in his azure eyes, it also didn't help that the direct sunlight of the morning was making the area where the sun was hitting the bed hotter than anywhere else on the bed, so there were places where he was cold, then a few inches south or north, he was burning up. Groaning a little, he pulled the covers over his head, snuggling into his bedmate's warmth as he tried escaping the offending rays by putting his face into the other's side.
He shifted a little, unable to get comfortable with the uneven hot spots on the bed until he finally found that proverbial hole in the bed that one would find and not want to move out of that resided in all the beds. He had his face pressed into another chest, his legs tucked up close to the longer, naked form and strong arms wrapped around his waist and shoulders, holding him close and using their own skin to block out the sun. Quatra smiled softly, and was so close to falling asleep once more in Trowa's arms when a small tickling feeling on the back of his neck made him extremely uncomfortable.
Small growls rumbled from his small chest, making his bedmate shift and tighten his grip around him. As comfortable as he was, and how great it felt to be in Trowa's arms, he felt like there was something missing, or something that he had to do that he hadn't done just yet. It was really starting to bug him as his brain tossed around questions for it like 'am I forgetting something?' and 'did I go somewhere I wasn't supposed to last night?' He opened his eyes again and glanced up at the ex-Heavyarms pilot, a new smile spreading over his face as he looked at the slumbering features before him.
'Nope. That's not it. I meant to go to this hotel room with Trowa, sleep with him, the whole nine yards. Wow, I've been hanging out with Duo for too long.' Quatra thought to himself before his stomach plummeted down in his gut and he pulled roughly out of Trowa's arms as he sat up straight, blanket flying from where it had been resting on top of his head and pooled into his little waist over his legs. Trowa made a noise that sounded oddly like a disturbed cat as he rolled a little onto his back and stretched out his legs, arms over his head. Work toned muscles straining as their owner forced circulation back into them then relaxed back into the bed once they were sufficiently worked.
"Oh, Allah! Duo! What time is it?" he sputtered as he flung his blanket off himself, ignoring the slight noise of protest from his bedmate when not only did he jump out of bed, but the blanket had found a place to settle right over his face and head. Trowa huffed a little as he pushed the sheets off of him and watched as Quatra gathered up his underwear and shorts then shoved them onto his hips rather roughly.
Turning a little, Trowa looked at the clock on his side table before he yawned almost dramatically, "It's twenty after eleven." He replied, not really understanding why Quatra needed to know the time.
"Oh, no! I promised Duo I would call him before his shuttle left! It was suppose to leave an hour and twenty minutes ago! Oh! Maybe he accidently slept in and missed it. He does that sometimes." The distressed blond cried in despair, snatching up the vid-phone and dialed the number to the room that Duo gave them to call.
Quatra listened and watched intently as the other line rang for what felt like forever. He held his breath, praying that he hadn't missed Duo leaving but his prayers went unanswered as his call was redirected to the front desk so he could leave a message.
"Front desk. How can I help you?" the man answered, his face coming onto the screen. He looked a little older than him, his hair a bit graying at the roots, his face looking more king but still slightly asleep.
"Good morning. Can you patch me into Duo Maxwell's room? It's number twelve. Please."
"Absolutely, Mr. Winner." The man responded when he noticed who was on the other line with him, suddenly, he seemed to be wide awake and ready to work. Quatra listened to the line ring several times before the man at the front desk picked back up and told him that Duo wasn't answering or he was no longer there.
"Did you see him leave?"The blond asked, wanting desperately to have said good bye to his fellow Gundam pilots before said male went on with his life.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Winner. I've just arrived here for my shift. I haven't seen anyone all day."
Quatra sighed sadly, eyes moving to the ground, fingers tensing on the receiver in his despair, "Okay. Thank you."
"Anytime, Mr. Winner." The front desk man said as apologetically as he could before they both hung up at the same time.
"He wasn't there?" Trowa called from where he was lazily leaning into the pillows at the head of the bed.
"No… I missed him." Quatra muttered sadly, his hands rubbing at his bare shoulders.
"Quatra, there's no use crying over it now. We'll call and apologize after he lands."
The Winner heir looked over his shoulder at the other male before he gave him a small smile that soon brightened as he nodded, "Yeah. I suppose you're right."
He returned to bed, snuggling into the other's warmth and drifting back to sleep with the resolve to call Hilde's scrap yard later to ask to talk to Duo and apologize for not call him before. The next morning, way after it was time for the American's shuttle to land, Quatra sat down at the chair in front of the vid-screen and dialed the number the ex-Deathscythe pilot had left them for if they had to get a hold of him while he was living with Hilde. He waited until she picked up and smiled to her.
"Hello, Hilde." He said politely.
"Q-Quatra? Why are you calling here? Is Duo okay?" she asked, sounding truly worried.
Raising a blond eyebrow, the millionaire looked at the woman on the screen in confusion, "Duo isn't there?"
"Here? Why would he be here?" Hilde asked, sounding as confused at Quatra felt.
"He said he was going back to L2 to help you with the scrap yard."
Hilde seemed to relax at his words before she chuckled, looking wistfully at the ceiling then lowered her gaze back down to the blonde, "Knowing Duo, he probably found something more fun to do and went to do it."
"He said he was going up there to see if you needed any help and then he was going to go traveling."
"Trust me, Quatra. Duo does this all the time. He makes plans, and then something comes up. He probably just decided to skip over coming up here, you know how much he hates this colony, and just started his traveling. He is a flighty one. One minute he says something, then something else grabs his interest and he's gone." She chuckled, shaking her head, "I'm sure he'll call once he's found somewhere to stay for a bit."
Sighing sadly, Quatra lowered his gaze to the desk and nodded his head, "Yeah, I do suppose that is how Duo functions. I hope he calls."
"He might, he might not. He might just try to sever his ties with the war and try to come up with something new. He probably just needs to get adjusted to civilian life. That's all." Hilde offered, a kind but sad smile on her face.
"I hope not… I've lost quite a few friends and family during the war. I was hoping to at least keep the other pilots close to me."
"He'll call you, Quatra. Don't worry."
"Thank you, Hilde, and I'm sorry to have bothered you. If Duo calls you, can you tell him to give me a call, too?"
"Sure thing, Quatra. Bye."
"Bye." He sighed as she hung up. Sighing again, he heard the sound of Trowa coming into the room behind him.
"Anything?"
Quatra shook his head in a sign of depression, "I guess… he wanted to leave us behind. Maybe it's for the best. He was the one that wanted nothing more than to just forget what he'd done during the war. Maybe that meant us as well."
"I don't think that's it, little one. He might just be lost, looking for his way. He'll find it, and you'll be the first person he'll call. You know that you will be. You are his best friend."
Smiling wistfully, he nodded his head, "I'll keep my phone on for him all the time. I hope he's happy. Where ever he is."
Trowa nodded as he held the small blond from behind as the Arab silently mourned the loss of his best friend and comrade. Over the course of two months, Hilde would be called by Wufei and Heero, and she told them almost the same thing that she told Quatra to reassure them that Duo was doing what Duo did best and they should just be patient. With these words, no one questioned why the American had disappeared from their lives. He'd told them that he was going to travel for a while, to 'grow up' as he put it, and they left it at that. Not wanting to intrude on the other. It didn't seem odd to them that he would just leave randomly, sever all ties with them, and never keep communication.
Life went on for the other four pilots, as it should've been. Some gathered up steady jobs, a couple others started up their own lives, getting into relationships, found they didn't work and moved on to find someone else in hopes to find that person they were going to spend the rest of their lives with.
Meanwhile, the fifth and final pilot laid against the wall of his concrete prison; panting raggedly, most of his exhales coming out as pained wheezing, blood streaking down the corners of his mouth from where he'd bit down on his tongue, cradling his broken wrist to his chest as the electrified concrete door was slammed shut with a horrible, teeth grating scraping noise. It was worse than nails being run across a chalkboard. The light above his head flicked off, plunging the Shinigami into his new world. A world were darkness, pain and fear reigned supreme and he had not a friend in the world anymore.

There it is. The first chapter. More coming! Reviews are loved!
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