| This actually should have come out yesterday or was that the day before�.? Stupid RL is absolutely RUINING my online life. Not to mention screwing with my already fragile sense of reality�� Warning: stupid holiday fic alert! I�ll be honest, I didn�t know this one even existed till some strange guy came up to me and offered a carnation in the hallway. After a little research to be sure I didn�t have a potential stalker on my hands, I discovered this was indeed a real celebration. And thus the fic was born�.. This one is dedicated to a bunch of people. Too many to name but they know who they are. Or at least they should. But most of all, to the wonderful Lady Tomanaiya. I missed Secretary�s Day so this will just have to do! Actually, I do owe her a bit so this will even up the deal. This fic is unworthy but what do you want from a time-starved psycho like me? Enjoy! Title: Sweets for the Sweet Author: Lady DarkAngel Archive: Lady DarkAngel's Gundam Wing Fanfiction Library http://ladydarkangel_1.homestead.com/Main.html, Darkflame's (if she'll take it...) and anywhere else is fine, just ask me first Category: Friendship, Sap, OOC Pairing(s): None Disclaimers: Gundam Wing or Shinkidousenki Gundam Wing is copyrighted and trademarked by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency and associated parties with all rights and privileges. The characters were used without permission for the purposes of entertainment only. This is not meant for sale of profit. Any characters not created by those listed above are mine and hereby considered the sole property and copyright of the author. Anyway, I'm just a poor college student. So can I play with them? I promise I won't break them...much. Rating: PG or less Warnings: Sap, minor angst (not really enough to mention), friends being insensitive jerks, I may have bastardized a couple of them but it was all for the greater good Feedback: Kami-sama, YES!!! [email protected]; any and all comments are welcome like the sweet ego-sustainers they are. �Oh, look! Carnations! We *have* to get some!� Duo�s abrupt halt caused Heero and the others to slam into him. They went down in a messy heap. After untangling themselves and brushing off the dirt and various leaves, Heero growled at the braided boy. He snapped out, �Nani? What the hell for?� �Because it�s Sweetest Day, duh!� The blank stares he received only exasperated him further. �Sweetest Day! It�s a holiday from way back when. It�s to celebrate loved ones and those who bring sweetness and joy into your life! It�s an appreciation thing. Ya know, saying thanks and junk? Come on, let�s go! If we don�t hurry, all the good flowers will be taken!� He started to run to the vendor but stopped when he realized he was alone. Turning back to the four boys he left behind in a cloud of dust, he scowled. �Nani? Why are you just standing there?� �Duo�� Why carnations? Are they the official ones or something? I mean, aren�t there any better flowers to choose from? Not that they aren�t pretty, but it�s just that��they�re kinda cheap.� Quatre looked skeptical and faintly offended by the flower choice. He had grown up with only the best; the thought of simple carnation was vaguely upsetting. Surely there *must* be a better selection! �Dunno. It just is. Like roses for Valentine�s Day. Something wrong?� �Actually��� Before Quatre could put his foot down his throat by saying something unintentionally elitist, Wufei cut in. �Maxwell, I refuse to participate in this ridiculous and meaningless celebration of weakness and stupidity! What does a warrior need with �sweetness�?!� Duo scowled deeper. �Well, *Chang*, a *warrior* need nothing as you and Heero are so fond of stating. But a *normal* person needs something or someone in their life that shows them what life is and that it�s worth living. It�s what friends do for each other! Hell, it�s what any decent person would do for anyone else!� ���..What if it�s not?� The American whipped his head around to where Trowa stood. Jaw dropped, he spluttered, �W�..what?!� �What if there is no such thing as �sweetness� in your life? Then why should you celebrate it? What if life really isn�t worth living after all?� �I can�t believe I�m hearing this! Damnit, kitto it is! If it wasn�t worth it, then why are we alive, genius? How can you think differently?� �Because of who we are and what we do. We�re soldiers. We are different. And just being alive is not proof. Soldiers must be ready to die at any moment. Life is for the innocent. We are anything but. There is no �sweetness� for us, baka. Yamero, Duo or omae o korosu. This foolishness has gone on long enough.� The last bit came from Heero, surprisingly. Duo had the feeling of being desperately outnumbered that he usually associated with Deathscythe versus OZ. He looked at each of his comrades slowly as he turned in an arc. With each face, his hopes sank lower. He had to fight back tears as he understood their meaning. It was useless, worthless, pointless. And so was he for trying. He just wanted to make their lives a little brighter, if only for a few minutes. But they not only didn�t notice but actively didn�t care. They didn�t want anything to do with this. With him���� ******************* Suddenly the braided boy stood up straighter and his face went blank. He gave them all an unreadable glare. �You�re right. Just forget I mentioned it.� With that, he turned around and marched off without a backwards glance. The other pilots just kind of stood there. Silence reigned for a minute or so before Quatre�s timid voice broke the stillness. �Do�.. Do you think we mad him mad?� �Aa. But the question is why?� Wufei sounded puzzled. �Was it something we said?� �Does it matter?� Heero gave them all a glare. �This is pointless. The previous discussion was pointless. Why should we be bothered? Or for that matter, why should he?� Silence again, this time to be broken by Trowa. �It matters. To Duo, anyway. Otherwise he would have never argued with us or even brought it up in the first place. It�s not pointless to him at all.� �Perhaps. His concerns are not warrior-like. But that does not make them less valid. They are simply different.� Here the Shenlong pilot paused as if saying the next piece was difficult for him. �It is honorable to consider another�s point of view. It is an even greater honor to accept it even if you don�t believe or particularly wish to. Duo lets us do as we please and never forces us to see things his way. He merely shows us options and tries to persuade us. But the choice is still ours.� �He cares��� Quatre said softly. �He cares about us. Not just whether we�re healthy and safe, but happy too. Everything he does is for someone else�s benefit. He gives so much, even when it hurts. A light in the darkness, not caring if he�s burned by his own flame. He wants to make life better��� �But why?� Heero�s look of incomprehension spoke for all of them. �He hurts as badly as we do. His jokes don�t hide that as well as he�d like. Why give when it will mar you and you�re already damaged to begin with? Why try? Why care? Why bother?� They all stared at where the figure had disappeared and for a while, they were lost in thought. Then suddenly, a collective light bulb went off. As a chorus, they chimed out, �Because he�s Duo.� And that was answer enough. The four exchanged glances as an idea began to form. It was most unlike them but suiting to the need and occasion. They had an epiphany and had to communicate it to the one responsible. Credit must be given where it is due�� ******************* Sucky day. Majorly sucky day. Duo was bone-tired as he trudged back to the safehouse. The others all had a mission or something so he would be the only one there tonight. Good, all alone for a change. No company meant he could stop with the ever-cheery bit and let the weariness out. He tried so hard for them, damnit, to do *something* nice. But it never seemed to work out right. They never seemed to notice or care. They saw his actions as a burden, annoyance, liability or worse. Maybe he should just give up and cut his looses. Less painful that way�.. Up the stairs and sleep would be his. Goodbye Sweetest Day and all it stood for. He didn�t care anymore. They were right; it was a dumb idea. He shouldn�t have even bothered them about it�.. He drearily opened the door to the room he shared with Heero, ready to drop dead the second he reached the bad and sleep the whole remainder of today away. But when he finally reached it, he was shocked to find something waiting there for him. There on the pillow were five long-stemmed carnations along with what looked like a card. Each bore ebony and ivory ribbons twirled around together to form a protective cocoon. They were arraigned in a semi-circle and was so artfully done that it was more then picture perfect. Someone obviously went to a lot of trouble��no, several someones. Each ribbon was tied differently, whether it was with a fancy triple bow or a simple military knot. With trembling fingers, he reached for the note and picked it up. He closed his eyes for a second before gathering the courage to look. Only one phrase was inside and it was written with an unfamiliar flourish. Almost calligraphy-like, the script looked archaic but was perfectly legible. The silver ink shimmered in the light on the midnight black background. He then read the words aloud as if to reassure himself of their presence. �Sweets for the sweet.� (1) He paused and stared wondering at the mini-bouquet. �They�� Why�� I��� After spluttering for a little bit, he finally gave up and simply smiled. He sank down on the bed and admired his gift. The symbolism of it wasn�t lost on him. He gently fingered the soft petals, pleased with the beautiful colors. He smirked when he recognized that they were as close as could be gotten to their respective pilot�s eyeshade. Emerald, sky-blue, deep brown/black and cobalt buds that seemed ready to explode into a conglomeration of color. Their potential was all set to be released; it only needed a little encouragement. They were magnificent, these simple statements from hearts that were learning to speak and live. But the most beautiful of all was the large violet carnation that was in full bloom. He had a feeling that it was intended to be as it was the masterpiece of this bizarre but ultimately perfect collection. ~ ~ Owari ~ ~ So, what did ya think? (1) From Hamlet. Don�t remember the act or line number but it was the funeral scene. Very few people know that this famous line was original meant flowers for a person, not candy. I was Hamlet in English class so I would know. Appropriate, ne? ^_^ Lady DarkAngel ---------- Chibi Duo's Babysitter Moderator of Duo's Sugar Intake Keeper of Duo's Nice Rear-end Co-Keeper of Shinigami's Wings (with Meela) Keeper of Heero's Homicidal Intentions Keeper of Quatre's Teacup Keeper of Trowa's Mask Keeper of Wufei's Sense of Honor Co-Keeper of Duo's Chatter (with Tomanaiya) Co-Keeper of Heero's "Hn" (with Tomanaiya) Co-Writer of Wufei's Rants (with Tomanaiya) Leader of the Inspirationally-challenged Muses: Alisande, Rynvi, and Kiagara Co-Keeper of a real-life hamster named Heero Yuy (Hee-chan)(with Tomanaiya) Keeper of the Hit List Acting GOD in Charge of The Anime Muse Adopiton Center and WSCT of the AMAC Proud member of SDDI, the Society of Defending Duo's Intelligence Member of the Society Against the Complete Bastardization of Heero Yuy Occupant of the Happy Hentai House Master Hacker of the Shinigami Organization Assistant Mob Psychologist for the Shinigami Organization Founding Member of Saa-EEP!!! Happy to be a member of the DuoML Member of 1x2, 2x1 Fan Club and ML Many more MLs but you don't want to know... Lady DarkAngel's Gundam Wing Fanfiction Library http://ladydarkangel_1.homestead.com/Main.html |