Duo lay on his back, head pillowed on his bent arms. Closing his eyes, he luxuriated
in the sensation of the crisp, tickling grass on his skin and the solidness of the Earth
below him. A gentle, contented smile, so different from his usual jocular grin,
flitted across his face as he basked in the golden warmth of the noonday sun. He'd
never been able to enjoy something like this as a child while living amidst the grime and
dilapidation that had been the cold, concrete world of L2. So now, he took
advantage of every quiet moment he could get to simply lie outside and *feel* it all.
A soft, warm breeze whispered across his skin, teasing short wisps of hair around his
face. His eyes popped open as he caught the faintest rustle of movement over the
buzzing of the cicadas and the hiss of the wind in the trees. Looking up, Duo saw
Heero standing above him. "Oi...hey, Heero. What's up? Need me for
somethin'?"
Heero shook his head. "We wondered where you were."
"Ah...just enjoying the beautiful day. This...," Duo made a wide,
sweeping gesture with one arm at everything around and above him. "This is the
sort of thing to turn into memories, you know."
Heero looked around. "Hn," he muttered, his expression and tone seeming to
indicate a lack of enthusiasm or interest in the scene.
"Ehh, come on, Heero! Don't tell me you can't appreciate how neat this all
is." Heero simply looked back at him without making another sound.
"Heero...," Duo grinned up at the Japanese pilot, poking at the other boy's
ankle. "Can't you see it? Can't you feel it?"
Heero glowered down at him. He seemed to be resisting, but finally let himself be
drawn into the conversation. "Feel what? See what?"
"This is why we're fighting." Ah, that had the other's attention.
Cobalt eyes met his, a question flickering within their depths. "It's peace, Heero.
Contentment, quiet, tranquility...peace. It's our reward for putting ourselves
through hell. We fight, and then we and all those we're fighting for can enjoy
moments like these."
Heero was silent, as if pondering Duo's words. Finally he looked around; unlike
before, he seemed this time to be actually taking in the idyllic scene. Duo blinked in
surprise, raising himself on an elbow, as the other boy abruptly sat. Bemused, but
oddly pleased, Duo lay down again as the Japanese boy leaned back on outstretched arms.
He mentally filed away strange singing, laughing sensation that had suddenly
appeared in his stomach to be analyzed later.
They sat together in silence, listening to the symphony of nature sounds. Duo saw
Heero's eyes soon flutter closed, the tense, hard expression on the other's face relaxing
into something that very nearly almost resembled a smile. "Ya know," Duo
whispered, his voice interweaving into the quiet, "they're not out today, but
sometimes there are really neat clouds on a day like this."
Heero opened his eyes, looking over at Duo with a hint of curiosity. "There
are?"
Duo nodded, then looked back at the clear and radiant turquoise sky. "Uh-huh.
Sometimes they're just these wisps, but other times they're these puffy things that seem
to morph into different shapes as they drift. You should check them out
sometime." He shrugged. "It's another one of those memory things, I
guess."
Heero nodded, seeming to understand. Thinking for a moment, he murmured, "When
there's a day with clouds like that...tell me."
"Really?" Duo's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he turned to look at the
boy next to him. "You'd actually want to see it?"
Heero nodded again. "Aa...I would."
"Cool! Okay, I'll be sure to remember that," Duo felt a silly grin spread
over his face, wondering briefly at the warm gratification that settled into his heart.
Oh, well. He'd worry about it some other time. For now, he would
just...be...and allow the memories to be etched onto his mind. He closed his eyes,
eventually dozing. They remained that way, lying side-by-side in the grass and
gazing at the sky, for the rest of the afternoon; for the briefest interlude, there were
no more far-off political games, no more weapons or battles...instead the peace promised
by Duo's dreams became real.
* * *