Thirty Second Gundam Wing
Peace and Quiet
1x2
"Duo?"
"Ah, busted. How'd you find me?"
"I could see you from our office window."
"I guess, when a guy makes an escape, he should get farther away."
"Coffee?"
"Yeah, thanks." Duo took the steaming mug and cradled it in his freezing hands. The frozen landscape had seemed much more inviting from a warm office. It had also seemed quiet and peaceful. The constant drone of traffic, on the nearby city streets, was the reality. The gnarled, fallen tree had also failed to meet up to it's visual perfection. It was cold and wet, slowly soaking into the pants of Duo's Preventer uniform.
Heero sat beside Duo, despite that wet and cold, his own steaming mug of tea in his hands. He sipped slowly, eyes roving the bit of snow covered woods that had escaped the otherwise perfectly tendered grounds of the organization.
"You see," Duo said, "I was trying to get away from that..."
"What?" Heero asked, looking confused.
"Constantly being on duty, checking for targets, being alert for anything," Duo explained as he slumped and drew up his knees. Huddled in a ball, mug of coffee cradled at his center, he looked like a sad little boy. "I just wanted... to get away... just for a few minutes."
"I wasn't..." Heero looked around them again. "I was admiring the woods. I never noticed them before."
Duo eyed him uncertainly and then admitted, "I did, every day. I've always had this urge... to just... go... sit on this log... get away... Guess it was stupid. It's not that great."
"In the spring, there must be flowers," Heero replied seriously. "Clover. Ferns.Ivy."
"There is," Duo told him. "I don't know why I didn't come here then. Why now? It's kind of stupid."
"No, it isn't." Heero replied. "Maybe you didn't need too, as much, then?"
Duo sighed and made a face. "I was expecting it to be quiet. I needed quiet. I needed..."
"To get away," Heero finished. He stood, tossed out the rest of his tea, and then reached his free hand to Duo. "Let's go."
Duo blinked, looking reluctant. "I guess we should get back."
Heero shook his head, eyes intense. "No, not there. Let's... run away. We'll find somewhere quiet... peaceful."
Duo was startled, eyes wide. "Just like that?"
"Just like that," Heero replied firmly.
Duo shook his head, hunching tighter into himself. "You can't leave everything for that... for me. It's stupid. I just... I'll be fine."
"No," Heero insisted, his hand still held out. "Nothing you need so badly is stupid, Duo, and I... Maybe I need it too and I didn't realize it until now? You came out here for the forest and the quiet. I came out here for you. Let's both have what we want."
Duo unfolded and took Heero's hand. Heero pulled him to his feet and they stood close. Duo looked at the looming building of Preventer headquarters and gave a shiver. "I don't want to go back there. I don't want to fight anymore."
It was the stark truth and, perhaps, he was facing it for the first time. For Heero, it was a little different.
"I will always fight,because that's who I am," he told Duo, "but you don't have to."
Duo looked anxious. "Then why...?"
Heero cupped his cheek and smiled. "I need you, and a little peace, more, right now. Let's go,love."
The ENd