| *Snickers* Be very, very quite; I�m tormenting G-Boys. Once again, I skip schoolwork to write. But hell, it think this one was worth it. *grumbles* Better be worth it��. Anyways, I�m working on multiple fics right now. A Way to Heal is almost done and the sequel to that and this one is in the works. I am a busy little writer. Oh, and a special thanks to Keonia and Joi, who gave me some ideas for the food. Arigato. And to my darling Ryn, WE DID IT!!! So have a fic on me. Title: Our Tree 2/4 (part of Yaritori- The Letter Series) Author: Lady DarkAngel [email protected] 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: Yaoi, sap Pairing(s): 1x2 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-13 for now Notes: I am screwing with time here. Literally. Abuse of time zones, international date line (YES it still exists!) and other units of time. I did honest to God research on this and was up for three nights running. I will try to get it all correct but then again, you�re talking to someone who has trouble with analog clocks. Any and all mistakes��.. are relative and subsequently don�t matter. This *IS* is time were talking about here��. Warnings: Ummmmm, none right now other then the guys acting dumb and clock abuse. Oh, and minor language Feedback: Kami-sama, YES!!! [email protected]; any and all comments are welcome like the sweet ego-sustainers they are. Heero was in full-blown panic mode. Where the hell was Duo?! Why wasn�t he here yet?! Did something happen on the mission?! Was he delayed? Lost? Could Deathscythe have been more damaged then Duo thought? Beyond repair? Was he hurt? Bleeding? Broken? Suffering? *Dying*?! <Oh Kami-sama, I have to go find him *NOW*!!> The sudden urge this train of thought gave him nearly won, but Heero ruthlessly pushed down on the panicked flight response. He pushed himself up from the ground and paced a little. He checked his watch yet again and discovered that only two minutes had passed since he last looked. 10:14 PM. Where was his koi?! He was past his ETA by hours! Way too much time. Even if Duo�s clock was faulty, his WASN�T!!! His worried mind offered plenty of reasons why his koi was late. And as the list went on, they became more and more unpleasant. What was worse was all of them were frighteningly possible. While he was about the last person in the universe to be accused of being superstitious,, Heero suspected that Fate was having a laughfest at their expense. It would have made perverted sense out of the soap-opera-like mess that they called their lives. First, all that time they wasted, when they had mooned over each other desperately loving in silence only to snap heads off to cover it. Then there was the struggle to love in the middle of the war that was determined to kill at least one of them and conspired to separate them. And now this shit. The best laid plans do indeed go to hell on a road paved with good intentions and hopes. All he wanted to do was gift his soulmate a wonderful night and if he was lucky, maybe with his hand as well. Instead, he was glaring into the darkness and pacing against the breeze. He had been waiting all day�� all week�� hell, all his misbegotten life for this night and his lover just had to be AWOL. <Not AWOL, bakayaro> he growled to himself, <Just late. This is not the first time this has happened. Shimatta, how many times have *I* held up a date because my mission ran over for one reason or another. And he *is* half a world away so it will take time to get back�� Calm down. He will get home when he gets home.> He leaned back and forced himself to take a deep breath. <Duo�s always complaining that I don�t trust enough, that I feel like I need to be in charge and in control at all times or else something bad will happen. He�s kinda right about that. But I do trust him. I *do*. I trust him with my heart and soul. I just�� worry about him so much. If anything where to happen to him�� I nearly lost him once. Not again. Never again. I need to have him by my side at all times or else I feel so empty and frightened�� I finally found what I need to complete me. I will do whatever it takes to protect him, to keep him with me. Even if it means spending all night out here, freezing my ass off until he decides to show up.> His eyes darted towards the safehouse in the distance. <I will wait for him. I will be here when he comes. I *will* wait forever for him right here if I have to. But still�� Better to see if he *did* come home and just didn�t come out *here* for some reason. I think I�ll do that. I can be there and back in twenty flat.> his mind made up, Heero began to run back to the safehouse. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Duo wandered down into the kitchen, humming an old tune softly to himself. He was hungry; hell, he was practically starving to death! Living off cheap rations and the junk food he�d had stored in Deathscythe for just such an emergency was enough to keep him going but not nearly enough to satisfy him in the slightest. Since he lacked food on a regular basis as a child, he�d learned to tolerate hunger fairly well, despite the other�s beliefs. But the empty feeling in your stomach can�t be wished away and will only be appeased by large offerings of a wide variety of delectable culinary trinkets. Many were the nights when one of the other pilots discovered him performing the sacred ritual that was midnight snacking. He was an equal opportunity muncher, giving both junk food and healthy meals equality in his eyes. It was really a matter of what he noticed first when he opened the fired and the mood he was in. Midnight Twinkie runs were just as common as munching on carrot sticks. His stomach growled loudly and he tried to silence it. It wouldn�t do to wake the others up with the unseemly noises of his hunger. Trying in vain to shoosh a part of himself, he stepped into the kitchen. He wandered directly towards the gleaming white behemoth that kept all the delectables so delectable. His hand paused before reaching the handle. Something�� was off here. Some little detail had caught his mind�s attention and was trying to bring itself to the forefront. <Maybe �Fei set up another booby-trap? I swear, he gets so possessive of the fried rice and Vernors it isn�t funny! That guy REALLY needs to learn to share! There�s absolutely NO reason to rig the fridge to shock me like that, especially that bad! Hee-chan had a spaz fit when he found me passed out! He thought I was epileptic or something for a week till Sally told him off!> He warily checked his surroundings and noticed a small burnt-out candle in a glass holder on the dining table in the center of the room. Among the rivers of dried faded green wax that ran down its melted sides and looked uncomfortable like snot, Duo caught a quick flash of white. It almost looked like a greeting card. Walking over, he puzzled over what this meant. Leaving messages behind for each other was nothing new. In this business, when you may have to literally run for your life at any second, you learn to appreciate notes on where the hell your friends ran off to and if you have to follow them. But they wereusually hastily scribbled and barely legible, scrawled on whatever was closest and in whatever was handy as soon as possible. One of the more interesting methods was almost missed at the time when Trowa had spelled out this message in anchovies on a stale pizza. Since no one actually *ate* anchovies if given a choice in the matter, he felt that it was safe and rather clever. He hadn�t counted on Quatre deciding that food was food and starving Gundam pilots save no one, baking the pizza for dinner. No one had wanted to eat it but it wasn�t until Wufei ranted about �disgusting excuses for fish that are not food in the slightest and are visually and odorously offensive as well� (to which Duo chimed �Yeah, and the ugly mothers smell too!�) that something registered as odd. Heero calmly collected all the untouched pieces to reassemble the pizza. There, written in terrible toppings, was a note that Trowa had gone off on a minor mission and a rather personal message for Quatre as well. The Arabian had turned beet red and was forced to endure commentary on his �anchovy love letter� for weeks afterwards. Needless to say, it was swiftly agreed that messages should try to be a bit more obvious from now on. <Still,> Duo reflected, <It really was a cool idea Tro had.> He carefully extracted the paper. It was indeed a card, well more of a fancy note, really�� Very odd. It was almost like someone had actually taken the time and effort to put some thought into this and do it right. <But why?> Since he was not of the feline persuasion, he felt it was safe to be curious. Carefully brushing away the wax and gently opening the brittle card, he glanced at the words inside. He recognized the elegant scrawl as his Hee-chan�s. <He left me a note! A real honest-to-God note, not some half-assed excuse for a message. And in a Hallmark card to boot! Oh lover, you are just too sweet sometimes��.> It was a plain and unassuming write-it-yourself card, straight to the point with no frills. The content was worded along the same lines. -- Duo. Meet me one the hill near our tree. Don�t bother with dinner. It�s taken care of. I have a surprise for you. -- <What the hell?> He blinked slowly. <Surprise? For me? But�� no dinner? Oh, you are so lucky I love you, boy. That�s heresy you speak! No food! Gimme one damn good reason why I should haul myself out to some tree in the middle of the night just because you said you��> Realization hit him like a thrusterless Gundam. <Surprise�� dinner�� me�� him�� outside��stars�� anniversary yesterday�� waiting�� surprise��Heero�� HOLY SHIT, WHERE?!> Frantically checking out the kitchen for any other clues, his eyes hit the clock. 10:16. And then they rushed back to the melted candle sitting serenely on the table. Back to the clock, then finally resting on the damned candle. <That�s why he�s not here. He must still be waiting for me. He�s been waiting since yesterday�� I�ve kept my lover *waiting*! What the hell�s WRONG with me?!> With a hoarse cry of, �I�ma coming, Heero!� he raced out the door as fast as he could. He only slowed down to tuck the precious harbinger note safely away in a cupboard so it could be saved before taking off. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Heero burst through the safehouse door and didn�t even pause for breathe before launching into a physical search of the premises. He swiftly poked his head into each room to check for a beloved presence. But all the rooms were empty and not a single light in the place was shining. It was clear that his lover hadn�t returned yet. He returned to the kitchen and slumped dejectedly into the chair. 10:25 and no Duo. And it was time to face reality; there would be no Duo tonight. He had failed. His attempt to offer Duo his world had blown up in his miserable face. He was a failure who couldn�t do *anything* right. Why in the hell would his koi want to spend eternity with a loser like him who couldn�t even get a simple date to work right? He sank his head down into his folded arms on the tabletop and fought the urge to sob like a baby. Tonight was supposed to be perfect! And instead�� <K�so! How could I have screwed up so badly?! I thought that I could make this all work out�� I should have known that he wouldn�t be able to make it back in time, no matter how hard he tried. I assumed too much. I deluded myself into thinking that he could�� that I could do this tonight�� and I ruined this for him and for myself. When he gets back and finds out, he�ll be so pissed��.> He sighed deeply. <It�s all my fault for getting my hopes up. He�s gonna hate me for that.> He stared gloomily at the candle in front of him. The molten mess mocked his ambitions and dreams, offering him a glimpse of reality in all its viridian solidified sogginess. <That�s probably the state Duo and I will be in when he finds out just how badly I screwed this up.> He pondered morosely. The rivers of green wax looked too much like dried tear tracks for his tastes. He contemplated the ruin of the candle as a symbol for the ruin of his plans and possibly his relationship. It looked terrible now, not at all like the lovely tall candle he�d lit hours ago and carefully placed the precious note underneath it so his love would have a delightful way of discovering their rendezvous. <The note��> He reached for it, vaguely hoping to snatch it and hide the evidence of his screwed-up night-out from his lover for as long as possible. The note was gone. He frowned and searched around in the soft wax for it. His fingers encountered an empty space near the base of the candleholder that was just big enough and shaped just right to be what he sought. But where in the hell did it go? It couldn�t have just walked away on its own�� A faint flare of hope flashed in his heart. Could Duo have come home already? But�� if he had, then where *was* he? Heero got up and searched the safehouse again, this time going slower and looking at everything much more closely. He nearly smacked himself when he noticed the wet walls in the shower that he had missed the first time around. Besides him, no one had been home in hours. It was highly unlikely that one of the other pilots had snuck in for a quick shower while he was out. Therefore, his Duo was home. Heero was both thrilled and terrified. Judging from the mist still hanging in the bathroom like fog, Duo had been here less then an hour ago. But where could his braided love have gone? He tried to think about this from Duo�s point of view. <It�s late. I�m tired and most likely cranky as all hell. I�m majorly hungry. I come home after a long mission to an empty safehouse and missing friends. This will anger/alarm me. But there are no warnings or obvious danger so it is Ok. Now I�m really pissed off. I decide to take a shower to calm down and wash my hair since I know that my lover gets upset when it�s not squeaky clean to play with.> He just had to snicker at that. He�d tried to be subtle about that but it must have been pretty damn obvious since his koi picked up on it real fast. <I can�t find my lover. This disturbs me.> *There�s* an understatement. *He* knew what was going on and was most likely distraught. Poor Duo-koi! <I look but still find no one. I feel dejected/depressed/rejected, especially since it�s my anniversary today, and decide food is the answer for I am a baka and chocolate is the answer to everything.> He snorted at his mental conjecture for being too accurate in predicting his koibito�s thoughts. <I notice a mess on the table. I investigate. I find a note and figure it out. I�m excited and not thinking straight. I run out into the night in a blind panic and get lost in the darkness.> He groaned. <Kami-sama, I hope not.> Now that he had a plausible sequence of events to follow, he could think clearly. <He can�t get lost. This place is flatlands all around. There�s only one hill nearby. You can�t miss it. Which means that he�s found it by now and found the picnic and he�s waiting for me and goddamnit, now I�m keeping HIM waiting! Shimatta!!> Heero took off out the door like Relena was on his heels to find his love. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Duo raced across the fields. <Must find tree. Must find Heero. Must find tree. Must find HEERO!!!> His watch said only ten minutes had past. Damn watch lied. Eternity had come and gone and Hee-chan was gonna kick his ass if he didn�t find that place NOW!! But there was almost nothing but vast fields of plain old grass surrounding the safehouse. There *was* a forest in the distance, but that was over 3 miles away by his estimate and there was no WAY Heero would had chosen it for a location. Or in the unlikely event that he had, there would have been transportation left behind. Therefore, since there was no ride, he was nearby. <Ok, think. Think, Duo you stupid braided bastard, *think*! He said �hill�. This place is as flat as hell. A �hill�, especially by Heero�s definitions, will be totally noticeable. Even in the dark.> He forced himself to stop and search the area visually. He thanked the heavens that the stars and moon were out in full force tonight, bathing the area in a silvery glow. The safehouse was a dark silhouette on the horizon behind him, thrown into relief by the full moon to his left. Unbroken flats up ahead and to his left, or at the very best, little swells that could hardly be called hills. He turned right, praying for help. And there it was. Standing tall and proud on top of the hill under a brilliant canopy of stars stood a massive oak, a hundred feet tall or more. Its trunk has to be at least 20 feet wide. It�s branches spread out for almost fifty feet and that was just a guess. The smaller branches and foliage were swallowed up by the night, as the tree seemed to blend in along the edges. The leaves covered the top third or more, completely blocking out the starlight in a ring around the base of the trunk that stretched for dozens of feet outwards. It was old, impressive and sturdy. Best of all, it was on a hill. This *had* to be it. Duo ran up the hill and stopped a foot away from the trunk. Ok, he was here. Now what? He didn�t see Heero anywhere. To be honest, he didn�t see much of anything. Encased in the tree�s shadow, pure darkness surrounded him and cloaked everything in black. He began ambling around the base in the hopes that he could find his koi. He rounded the curve of the trunk, wishing for his lover�� And stopped dead in his tracks. Soft candlelight caressed his awed gaze as he took in the sight. Large candelabra stands, each bearing twenty or more candles, formed a bright semi-circular ring. In the center of the ring was a large fluffy blanket, spread out all across the grass and was held in place by even heavier-looking modified bookstands bearing even more flickers of light. The blanket was more then big enough for five to stretch out on comfortably and appeared to be as soft as a cloud. Artfully arranged on the blanket were covered dishes, plates and glasses. And in the place of honor was an enormous old-fashioned picnic basket. Completing the picture were strategically placed bouquets of flowers. <A moonlight picnic. With hundreds of candles.> He closed his eyes and deeply inhaled the wonderful scents. <This is perfect. He put so much time and effort into this�� How *long* has he been planning this?> He had to blink back tears of joy. Heero loved him. What had he ever done to deserve such a wonderful lover? How could he have earned such dedication and care? Violet eyes feasted on the gorgeous sight. Everything was all shiny and new; Heero must have hacked a hell of a lot of money to pay for all this. The silverware gleamed in the gentle light and the delicate design on the plate�s rim was brought out. He gingerly stepped forward to finger it. Just the thought of *Heero* china-shopping and picking out patterns made him want to laugh out loud delightedly or curl up and savor the warm feeling in provoked inside him. <Well, I�ll say this. That boy has damn good taste. This is real gold and silver trim. And the jewel-tone dyes just may have come from real jewels! Just one of these plates woulda fed the gang for a week; it woulda been a pinch Solo woulda been proud of! The whole set musta cost a fortune! Just how much am I *worth*, anyways?!> Investigating the candelabras also revealed them to be the right mix of fancy and modest, and fairly screamed expensive. Heero Yuy had been a busy boy. Delicately fingering the still-hot plates, he idly wondered which he should open first. They all smelled so heavenly, it was a hard choice. One by one, he uncovered them and peeked inside. Duo saw all (or almost all) of his favorite dishes and some new stuff that he�d never tried before, all meticulously organized by type. Among the myriad of dishes, he discovered Heero had made some Lo Mein with some House special chicken. There was large amounts of fried rice in all its golden brown glory. Shrimp in lobster sauce and beef and broccoli were laid down to the right of that. Another group of plates held the Italian foods. Seafood linguini, meat-filled raviolis mushroom sauce, caeser salad and even a small taco pizza was visible. Long sticks of garlic bread framed the dishes. In the back were the assorted dishes. Polish sausage, sweet corn, peas and onions, and other dishes gleamed in the soft light. A large jar of assorted Pocky flavors rested next to a surprisingly well-chosen selection of wine, beer, soda pop, fruit juice and designer water. The smell of garlic, onions and other sweet spices permeated the air and floated on the wafting breeze. The lighter scent of chicken, shrimp and other meats could be smelled underneath it. <Damn�� He�s really gone to a lot of trouble for me. This is more food then the five of us could scarf in a week! How long did this take him? I guess he just wanted me to have choices, though. That is so damn sweet! That�s why I fell in love with the man in the first place. Heero Yuy, yer gonna get lucky tonight!> Duo�s eyes lazily followed the arc of light the candles formed, completely at ease and relaxed. He noticed a strange break near the center, right in front of the tree trunk. He frowned slightly; it wasn�t like Heero to leave such an obvious error in what was an otherwise perfect setup. A mistake like that just didn�t happen. It would have definitely been noticed and corrected immediately. Curious as to the nature of this aberration, Duo got up and ambled over. The flickering light reflected off something lightly shaded on the shadowed tree trunk. <That does it. What the hell is that?> Grabbing a nearby candle, he lifted it up and walked closer for a better view. Part of the bark had been stripped away in an oval-shaped area approximately one foot across and a half-foot high. The white wood beneath it gleamed with an almost unnatural shine; it was clear that whoever did this treated the wood with something so that the bark wouldn�t grow back over it. Words and kanji were meticulously cut deeply into the wood, a good half-inch at least. The large characters were boldly colored a deep black, with decorative ribbon-like scroll carvings of amethyst and cobalt circling it. They were inked thoroughly, with not an inch missed. There could be no mistaking the effort put into this, just like there could be no mistaking the message. -- Heero and Duo. Now and Forever. Here Death and Destruction exchanged souls. -- Duo had to fight to breathe. <That is so�� beautiful��> His mind replayed the beautifully sculpted and heartfelt words before him over and over again. The Japanese and the English overlapped and intertwined in his thoughts, until they were a single powerful message clothed in purple and blue ribbons that held him enthralled. The concept filled his soul to overflowing, leaving him speechless in the face of such an incredible gesture, such devotion, such love. Unbidden, a soft sigh rose to his lips to express all the turbulent emotions he was feeling. The words that carried all his soul�s feelings and hopes with it. �Oh Heero��� (TBC��) Stopping there because my mind shut down around this point and I think my muses may need oxygen from working so damn hard. Up next: the proposal. Just�� gimme a few weeks, Ok. Collage is on my case. Write me! *wanders off to finish A Way to Heal* 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 real-life hamsters named Heero Yuy (Hee-chan) and Shinigami Eagle Vision (Shini Eagle)(with Tomanaiya) Keeper of the Hit List Proud Owner of two sets of chibis: Chibi Angel Duo and Heero in leather (twins of Tomanaiya's) and Chibi Angel Duo and Heero in black flight gear with stripes from the final GW episodes 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 |