Title: The Gundam Subtitle: One of A-chan’s ¿o.O? Ideas Author: A-chan (venusyuy@yahoo.com) Pairings: 1+2 Poem: The Highway Man Author: Alfred Noyes Disclaimer: The bishis are not mine; The Highway Man is not mine. But this version of it is. ^_^ The Gundam Boy~ PART ONE The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees, The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, The ocean was a mirror for the moonlight, And the GundamBoy came flying, Flying, flying The GundamBoy came flying, up to the old MS base. He’d on a tight pair of Spandex shorts, a loose tanktop draped over his chest, A glare of the coldest blue, and a generous amount of exposed skin; His clothing covered nearly nil! And he flew his Gundam with a jeweled twinkle, His pistol butts a-twinkle, Wing Zero’s eyes a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky. Over the concrete floor his sneakers squeaked in the darkened base, And he tapped with his knuckles on the doors, but all was locked and barred; He grunted a "Hn" to the window, and who should be waiting there But Howard’s violet-eyed son, Duo, the mechanic’s son, Plaiting into a braid his long brown hair. And dark in the dark MS base an Aries hummed, Where Tim the low-worker listened, his face was white and peaked; His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like moldy hay, But he loved the mechanic’s son, Howard’s beautiful son, Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the pilot say: "One kiss, ore no koi, I’m on an important mission tonight, But I shall be back with the data disc before the morning light, Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day, Then look for me by moonlight, Watch for me by moonlight, I’ll come to thee by moonlight, though OZ should bar the way." He stood upright near Zero’s form; he scarce could reach Duo’s hand, But he loosened his hair i’ the casement! His face burnt like a brand As the chestnut cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast; And he kissed its waves in the moonlight, (Oh, sweet, sweet waves in the moonlight!) There he leaped into Wing Zero in the moonlight, and flew off to Japan. PART TWO He did not come in the dawning: he did not come at noon; And out o’ the tawny sunset, before the rise o’ the moon, When the ocean was a mirror of the moon, A blue-coat troop came flying, Flying, flying, Zechs Merquise and his men came flying, up to the old MS base. They said no word to the mechanic, they took his tools instead, But they gagged his son and bound him to the foot of his narrow bed; Two of them knelt at his casement, with pistols at their side! There was death at every window; And hell at one dark window; For Duo could see, through his casement, the route that *he* would fly. They had handcuffed him up to attention, with many a sniggering jest; They had bound a pistol beside him, with the barrel at his chest! "Now keep good watch!" and they kissed him. He heard the dead boy say-- Look for me by moonlight; Watch for me by moonlight; I’ll come to thee by moonlight, though OZ should bar the way! He twisted his hands behind him; but the manacles were strong, He writhed his hands till his fingers were wet with sweat or blood, They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years, Till now, on the stroke of midnight, Cold, on the stroke of midnight, The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was his! The tip of one finger touched it; he strove no more for the rest! Up, he stood up to attention, with the barrel at his chest, He would not risk their hearing! He would not strive again; For the ocean lay bare in the moonlight, Twinkling and shimmering in the moonlight; And the blood of his veins in the moonlight throbbed to his love’s refrain. Hum! Had they heard it? The Gundam’s engine ringing clear; Hum, hum, hum, in the distance? Were they deaf that they did not hear? Down the ribbon of moonlight, The GundamBoy came flying, Flying, flying The blue-coats looked to their priming! He stood up, straight and still! Hum, in the frosty silence! Humming in the echoing night! Nearer he came and nearer! Duo’s face was like a light! His eyes grew wide for a moment, he drew one last deep breath, Then his finger moved in the moonlight, His pistol shattered the moonlight, Shattered his heart in the moonlight and warned the GundamBoy--with his death. He stopped; he veered to the West; he did not know his koi stood Bowed, with his hair o’er the gun, drenched with his own red blood, Not till the dawn he heard it; his face grew gray to hear How Duo, Howard’s son, The mechanic’s violet-eyed son, Had watched for his love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there. Back he flew in panic, shrieking a "Shimatta!" to the sky, With the dark ocean behind him and his beam cannon brandished high! Strained white were his knuckles i’ the golden noon; When they shot him down in his Gundam, Down like a dog in the Gundam, And he thought of his itooshi in the Gundam, and closed his eyes. *~*~* Heero sat up in bed, drenched in cold sweat and mind whirling. Duo yawned next to him and rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Heeee-AIYAH!" Heero ignored the surprised yelp as he ripped the sheets from Duo’s naked body and checked him over for bullet-wounds. Finding none, he allowed himself a sigh of relief and lied back down, taking the violet-eyed boy in his arms. Duo chuckled, snuggling in his embrace. "Whatsa matter, Hee-chan?" "Nothing. But this is the last time I help you with your literature homework." Heero breathed in the scent of his lover’s thick hair, and fell asleep once more to the sound of Duo’s heartbeat. *~*~* And still of a winter’s night, they say, when the wind is in the trees, When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, When the ocean is a mirror of the moonlight, The GundamBoy comes flying, Flying, flying, A GundamBoy comes flying, up to the old MS base. Over the pavement his sneakers squeak; He taps with his knuckles on the doors, but all is locked and barred; He grunts a "Hn" to the window, and who should be waiting there But Howard’s violet-eyed son, Duo, the mechanic’s son, Plaiting into a braid his long brown hair. ~Owari See? I told you it was O.o. I don’t think anyone’s done something like this. If so, GOMEN! GOMEN NASAI!!! It’s a coincidence, I swear! The fic probably didn’t make sense, but that’s alright. Because there are places in the original poem that I don’t understand. It didn’t turn out anything like what I had in mind, but I think I like this better. I tried to make it really dark and gory and spooky at first, but let’s face it. It’s just impossible to put Spandex and squeaky sneakers into a fic and make it scary.