An Untitled GW Fic 

Heero, Wufei, Quatre, and Wufei trudged into kitchen on the morning after the 
Battle. It wasn't anything grand in the great scheme of things, but to them it 
held great and terrible significance.

It was the battle in which they'd lost Duo.

Now the four of them could barely bring themselves to the breakfast table. The 
light that had once brightened their dim, war-torn universe was now gone, taken 
from them in a moment of noise and sound that had shattered their souls.

"Trowa?" Wufei asked, looking around.

"I'll get him." Quatre said, getting up and walking out of the kitchen.


"I'm sorry, Duo." Trowa wept as he knelt before Duo's picture, which now rested 
upon his kamidana. "I'm so sorry. It was my fault you died. I wasn't fast enough."

Quatre waited, respectfully, while Trowa finished speaking.

Trowa noticed he was being watched and stood up. "Its not nice to spy on someone 
who's praying." he scolded, trying to cover his tears.

"Its okay to be sad, Trowa." Quatre told him. "We all feel the same way. And it 
wasn't your fault. You can't be everywhere at once."

"He was counting on me to protect him, and I let him down."

Quatre took Trowa's hand. "You did all you could."

Trowa pulled his hand back. "It wasn't enough."


*****

"Owwwwww....." 

The pained moan of the wounded Gundam pilot was not something most of the local 
forest denizens were used to hearing.

Duo frowned at the splintered bone sticking out of his right leg.

"Damn it all!" he cursed "Damn this rotten luck of mine! Damn it! Damn it ! Damn 
it!" he went on and on as he dragged his broken body toward what he hoped with 
the edge of the forest.

He felt a jab of pain as the exposed bone hit a rock and was jarred to one side.

"FUCK!" he screamed. "DAMN IT!" Tears of pain rolled down his face. 

*****

"Where are you going, Trowa?" Quatre asked, as Trowa pulled on his jacket.

"Just out for a walk." Trowa replied as he left.

Quatre started to follow, but Heero held him back.

"He'll be okay." Heero told him. "He just needs to grieve in his own way.

"What if he...?"

Heero realized Quatre was right. "We'd better go after him."

By the time they got outside, Trowa was nowhere to be seen.

*****

By this time, Duo was in too much pain to move. He lie there, sobbing. His world 
was nothing more than a blinding white sheet of agony.

He had been unable to find his hair-tie the morning of the battle, and had used 
his necklace in its stead.

That's what saved his life.


Trowa saw the glint of silver off in the distance. He didn't know what it was, 
but he hoped it would be something he could salvage from the wreckage of 
Deathscythe. If he could just have some small memento of Duo...

He ran towards the flicker. Then skidded to a halt when he saw what was there. 
It was Duo's body. Tears flowed down his face, unhindered, as he ran to the 
still form before him.

He reached out to pick up the corpse. As his hand touched the exposed bone, Duo's 
eyes flew open and he shrieked in pain.

"DAMN IT ALL!"

Trowa was so startled, he felt backwards, landing on his ass. "Duo?!"

Duo's expression was an odd mixture of pain and relief.

Trowa's heart was leaping with joy. Duo was alive! He was hurt and he would be 
out of commission for a while, but none of that mattered.

He kissed Duo over and over and held him.


"Trowa!" Quatre called from nearby.

"Over here!" Trowa called back, his voice filled with joy. "Come quick!"

Quatre raced to join his friend. "What is..." he stopped short when he saw Duo.

"Oh thank Kami-sama!" he said, tears springing to his face. "Don't worry, Duo. 
We'll get you home. I'm going to get a stretcher and some help. Trowa, stay with 
him."

"You bet I will." Trowa nodded. 

-----TBC-----