untitled 6x2 Fic

-----part 1-----

The five Gundam Pilots raced back to their safehouse from a routine supply run (read: robbing OZ's nearest warehouse) in the ambulance that Heero had stolen. Heero's leg was too badly damaged to use the gas or the brakes, Trowa and Wufei were performing First Aid, and Quatre was using his Space-Heart to lessen Heero's discomfort. That left Duo to do the driving.

As he turned a corner, being careful as hell so as to not injure his beloved Heero further, a truck came from the other direction on the wrong side of the road.

//Everyone I love dies...// went through Duo's mind as he swerved to avoid the truck and sent the ambulance crashing through the guardrail, down the embankment, and into a tree, flipping it once so it landed upside down. As it flipped, Trowa and Wufei who were not wearing seatbelts, were thrown about the cab, and Quatre was thrown through the window. A First Aid Emergency Box came loose and fell upon Heero's head, the combination of its weight and the force of the impact shattering his skull.

Duo Maxwell's mind had barely registered this fact when he blacked out.

*****

Duo woke some time later, he was in a warm, safe, comfortable bed. Still groggy, he tried to sit up. A hand stopped him. "You need your rest." a familiar voice told him.

Duo struggled. "Zechs, damn you." he swore. "Let me up."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Zechs shook his head. "You were badly hurt in a traffic accident.

It all suddenly came back to Duo.

"I killed them." he sobbed. "Oh, God, I killed them. They died because me me. It's all my fault!" 

Zechs drew the distraught Shinigami Pilot into his arms and rocked him, slowly and gently, until Duo finally fell asleep.

"I love you." Zechs whispered. "I've always loved you."

-----part 2-----

Duo woke two days later. He was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, when Zechs walked into the room a few minutes later. "How do you feel?" the pale-haired man asked.

"What do you care?" Duo blurted out. "Your damned enemies are dead! Aren't you happy?!"

"I care." Zechs said, softly. "My baby sister killed herself yesterday because Heero died and Treize had a breakdown."

"Treize? For what?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, Treize was in love with your friend Chang Wufei."

"So, that's why..." Duo recalled all the times Wufei had insisted on a hand-to-hand fight with Treize. It had been their only way to be close. He wondered if they'd ever managed to sneak a kiss during any of their fights.

"If there hadn't been any war... things might have turned out differently for them." He admitted.

"Actually, the war was what brought hem together." Zechs pointed out. "If they hadn't met in battle, it's likely they never would've met."

Duo had to admit Zechs was probably right. "The same is true for me and... and... " Duo broke down. "Oh, God, I killed him! "

Zechs drew him close again, but this time Duo pushed him away.

"No!" Duo warned. "No, don't touch me. Don't hold me. Don't do anything nice for me or to me. If I love you, you'll die! Just like Heero, and Sister Helen, and Father Maxwell, and Solo, and my parents. Everyone I've gotten close to has died! I can't ever get close to anyone again! Please, don't love me! I don't want anyone else to die because of me."

Zechs held Duo anyhow, rocking him again, stroking his hair, holding him, gently.

After some time, Duo finally calmed down.

"I'll be upstairs if you want to talk." Zechs told him. "This isn't a prison, but you might find walking home a little difficult." he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

-----part 3-----

Duo came outside an hour later and stared.

They were on a yacht that was somewhere out at sea. There was no land visible in any direction and he had no idea where they were.

"It's beautiful isn't?" Zechs asked. 

Duo shrugged.

'You're just in time to enjoy the sunset. See?" Zechs pointed at the horizon where the sun was setting, seeming to melt into the far off waters. "I love ocean sunsets, nothing quite like them."

As Duo watched the sunset with Zechs, he felt the older man put an arm around him.

"No!" he pulled away. "I told you, everyone who loves me dies! Weren't you listening?! I can't love anyone! God has decided I should be alone forever. He hates me!" he ran back down into the bedroom he'd woken up in, fell onto the bed, and burst into tears.

Zechs walked in and saw Duo lying on this stomach, sobbing into the pillow. He sat on the bed and stroked Duo's hair. "You're too late to stop me, Duo." he whispered, softly, into the boy's ear. "I fell in love with you the first day I laid eyes on you."

Duo did not respond.

*****

Milliardo Peacecraft watched the courtyard with sad eyes. From the balcony he could see Duo sitting there on the steps leading up to the fountain. Duo had been withdrawing more and more as time went on. Now he hardly spoke. This troubled Milliardo to no end. It didn't make any difference if he was Zechs or Milliardo in this matter. The result was always the same: he loved Duo.

"Duo?" he asked. "Do you feel like talking?" It had been five months since the accident and in all that time Duo had never once tried to escape. But he hadn't given himself to Zechs... or Milliardo... yet, either.

*****

That night, Duo crept quietly out of the mansion. Milliardo had been kind since they'd arrived and he knew if he stayed, they'd fall in love, then he'd be responsible for killing the last member of the Peacecraft family.

*****

Zechs woke the next morning to find Duo long gone. "No." he slammed his fist into the wall. "Damn this war! Damn OZ! Damn you, Heero Yuy, for dying and breaking his heart! Damn it ALL!" He threw on his cloak and went to look for him.

It took several weeks of searching, but finally Zechs located Duo. The young pilot was on Earth. In Rome of all places. At first he thought about the Vatican. A boy dressed as a priest would blend in nicely there if he wanted to hide. But after observing the place for several days, he realized Duo wasn't there.

"Where could he be?" he wondered as he walked through the marketplace, half-listening to the people around him, his mind on the boy he loved.

As he walked he could hear people talking about the state of the world, the war, the economics of peace, some new guardian at some old temple, their opinions of OZ and the Federation and a whole lot about how their families were doing through it all.

"Some new guardian, 'eh?" He wondered if it might be Duo. Curiosity getting the better of him, he tapped the man who'd spoken of it on the shoulder. "Pardon me for asking, but which temple were you speaking of?"

"The Temple of Vesta." the man replied. "It's not far from here. Never thought I'd see the day a boy was guarding Vesta's temple."

It had to be Duo, Zechs realized. He thanked the man and went to find the temple.

-----TBC-----