The Problem:
The Gundam Wing couple known as Heero/Duo or 1x2 is often the biggest controversy in the fandom along with Heero/Relena (1xR). Many either hate it or love it. The problem here is the point argued until death do it part.
Something known as 'evidence'.
*sighs* Yes, I know in Atsui I made it clear I just don't. like. arguing. with. evidence. In GW anyway, since everything is only IMPLIED, therefore, when you say "Heero and Relena are so obviously in love; I mean, it was intended, hello." I shall be forced to go "Nuh-uh, not so. That is a mere opinion." Well, either that or tear my hair out.
This may sound...weird or brutal coming from a 1x2x1 nutcase, but I don't think Heero and Duo were ever together. In the series and EW anyway. Sure, there're (I'm serious here) lots of scenes which can be interpreted into a love/sexual relationship, but none of them are blantant enough to really form a solid *proof*. ALL of them are ambiguous, with the possible exception of the Quivery Eyed Look Heero gave Duo near the beginning of the series. But then again, he gave one to Relena too.
I was fully intending to just make this section into a repeat of the Evidence section in Atsui, but I noticed a surprisingly big number of demand for evidence in the fandom. So much for that idea. We will be going through a few of the main points in the possible HD-including episodes. Give me a break, I'm trying to sound like my Geometry teacher here, ok?
The equation here? 1+2= ?
Choice A: Was never there
Choice B: There's definately something there
Choice C: Love
Notes:
1. There will be a poll on the subject somewhere in this document.
2. I toyed with the idea of making an "Anti 1xR Evidence" page after viewing a 1xR site with an anti-1x2 evidence (and worse, anti-1x2 FANS) page, but now that I'm over getting angry, I don't think I will. ^_^ Must. Not. Sink. To. Their. Level...
3. None of the following are SOLID, just scenes and stuff that could be INTERPRETED into love. *fuzzy feeling*
So, now that I've made my point, let's move on.
The Procedure:
Step 1~Episode 3:
OK, let's recap the previous episodes here. Relena follows Heero to the military base and nearly gets herself killed. But before he could do so, Duo hops out of nowhere and threatens to shoot him to Kingdom Come (oh yeah, did I mention he wasn't aiming to KILL Heero? It's my humble theory that Duo found him too cute to kill XD). After Heero faints, Duo makes a quiet comment about his "knowing Gundanium inpact tolerance".
Yet, in the next episode, what do we see? Duo marches over to the big white hospital Relena stuffed Heero into and explodes their way out. May I ask, why? I mean, he was curious about Heero, true, but when your first meeting with a guy is a bullet in the arm, most don't expect you to rescue him the next day. Duo obviously doesn't trust Heero and knows he's dangerous, but then why in the world would he do what he did? When you don't trust someone whose skills are like Heero's, you just don't break them out of captivity and welcome them with open arms like Duo did Heero.
And let us remember one particular scene that I found rather interesting: Duo helps Heero stand and asks him to trust him. Well, does he? Yes! He DID trust Duo and let him help, something he never allowed Relena to do.
So, what is it? O_O Fate, or...*dramatic pause* destiny...?
Step 2~Episode 4:
Here is where we see that no, they probably don't like each other. Well, Heero doesn't seem to like anybody, so that's not surprising. But Duo calls him "anti-social, unpredictable...". However, Duo STILL came to check up on him during the night.
Step 3~Episode 5:
In Ep. 4, Heero hi-jacked parts from Deathscythe for Wing. But does Duo hold a grudge against him? No! Now, you just don't dream (yes, that WAS a dreamy look he had on his face) about a guy who stole parts from your baby and wonder if he's looking at the moon like you are. You just don't; it's in the rules. But Duo did. What does that tell me? He no longer disliked Heero. *beams* ^^; If he ever did, that is. But my point is, Duo seems to feel SOMETHING toward Heero that made him forgive his actions. Also, notice that as soon as he mentions "him", Howard immediately knows who he's talking about. *smile* That leads me to believe that SOMETHING happened during that night. *starts getting kinky ideas* Howard you wiley ol' thing... I swear, he reminds me of Mukuro when she said to Hiei about Kurama "So he's just a friend?".
Step 4~Episode 7:
Duo mentions going back home, and *beams* did you notice the look Heero gave him?!?!? If the Perfect Soldier were ever to go gooey-eyed, this is about as close as you'll get. Complete with lots of quivering! I know this probably didn't happen, but if I were to suspect their 'first time together', it would be just before that point. This may seem confusing, but I kind of interpreted Heero's glare afterwards as anger, which could very well come from a feeling of betrayl. I mean, IF they DID do SOMETHING together and Duo wants to go home -- leave him -- isn't it expected that Heero'd be pissed off? And no, I really don't see any other way to describe that look.
After that, one of them commented "more than we'd anticipated", which definately underlines the fact that they were obviously working together, despite Heero's initial protests. What does that mean? He became adapted to Duo much quicker than he did any other character. And he's much more detached at this point than later, which leads me to believe that Duo was something of a break-through for him.
Step 5~Episode 9:
Duo laid his hand on Heero' shoulder. No, there's no significance in that by itself, but how often does someone else do that? At this point, they seem to have become quite comfortable with each other to the point of physical contact, which is about three times further than his progress with any other character. And notice Duo's sweet look when Heero left. His expression was one of understanding, showing that he's at least starting to see past the soldier's mask and takes no offense to Heero shaking off his hand.
Step 6~Episode 10:
After shutting off his laptop, Heero notices Duo standing in the doorway and turns to him. Definate improvement there. Before, he would've probably just ignored him, but no, he LISTENS to Duo as the American talks, which is more than he did for anyone else, going as far as to continue staring at the doorway even after Duo leaves. *sparkles* Duo MEANS something to him! :D
Step 7~Episode 11:
Heero self-destructed. ;_; Duo shows depression in this episode unrivaled by any other time in the entire show. He feels guilt (probably because he couldn't stop Heero), frustration, and heaven knows what else. Heero's 'death' seemed to hit him harder than anyone else, though he accepts it albeit with difficulty.
Step 8~Episode 17:
Is it just me, or was Duo un-shocked to see Wing in action? *hint hint* Which could mean one or both of two things: one, Heero'd contacted him (which I consider to be wishful thinking) and/or two, he never lost faith in Heero and knew that he'd finish the war, even if it means coming back to life or something that nutso.
Step 9~Episode 18:
...
...
!!!!!!!! Heero enrolled in that Random School(tm) under the name "Duo Maxwell"!!! *giggles* Wow, DUO MAXWELL of all names! :) This is part of the reason that I think Duo is about as close to Heero as anyone'll ever get. He hasn't forgotten Duo despite their complain-inspiring short time together, and the American is of obvious significance to him. And don't give me that "they look alike" thing, because there's simply no way that Heero suddenly sprouts a braid and walks around with a "Ohayo!" hanging on his lips.
Step 10~Episode 19:
Heero marches off to Barge with the full intention of 'eliminating all obsticles'. Duo is not surprised to see him standing at the door of prison cell; infact, he almost looks glad. But when he invites Heero to shoot him and says "I was destined to be kill by you" (which, by the way, reminds me of lovers when they say "We're gonna kill each other one of these days"), it's obvious he was terrified. Then Heero starts to hesitate, but Duo doesn't see that and sorta yelps "Oi, you're really gonna kill me?!" which indicates that no, he did not expect Heero to do so. *fluffs* He trusted Heero enough that he was shocked stiff when he thought Heero was going to put a bullet in his head. ^_^ But Heero ends up doing just the opposite and rescues Duo instead. If you notice, they touch more often than any other couple in GW and seem much more comfortable doing it.
Step 11~Episode 20:
Back in the dorm room, Duo is sitting on the bed (where, pray tell, did Heero sleep the previous night...?), in MUCH better condition than he was previously in. He is offended when Heero tells him to stay behind and protests. But Heero is adamant that he stay and recover before trying any stunts. Duo is surprised, though not displeased, when he learns that Heero actually used his name in the enrollment. *whistles innocently* Hmm, maybe Spandex boy DID anticipate rescuing him from that prison cell...?
Step 12~Episode 31-35:
No, this isn't 1x2-related, but did anyone notice that Heero didn't seem to want to stay in Sank? He seemed MOST anxious to leave, easily breaking his promise to Relena, but tells Quatre to stay and continue searching for Trowa (which I find sweet! *fluff*).
Step 13~Episode 36:
Upon finding Trowa in the circus, Duo nearly shakes his head off when demanding "Where's Heero? How is he?". -_-' Poor Tro-chan...
Step 14~Episode ?:
On Peacemillion, the boys are about to go out onto the battlefield and Duo floats up to Heero to lay a hand on his shoulder. *grins* Nope, Heero doesn't seem to mind at all...
Step 15~Episode ?:
On Peacemission, Duo is seen on a moving escalator after which he immediately asks the whereabouts of Heero. *sighs* He seems to always want to be with him, ne?
Step 16~Episode 49:
Of all the characters shown, Duo is the only one who seems truly happy that HEERO made it through the explosion while everyone else was either awed or relieved.
Duo: He made it! *looks happier than I remember*
Wufei: He is admirable.
Quatre: Heero ga Uchuu no Kokoro! (I'm just guessing at his dialogue in Japanese, OK?)
Trowa: He's quite the guy.
Step 17~EW Episode 1:
OK, I am CONVINCED they somehow met up before EW, because not only does neither seem surprised by the other's presense, but act as comfortably as ever around each other. If you ask me, I think they might've been living together for a short while or something.
Step 18~EW Episode ?:
Duo puts his hand on Heero's shoulder yet again, proving for the third time that he is not afraid to touch Heero and is comfortable doing so. Compatibility? Of course! Friendship? Well, that's clear. Something more? ...Perhaps... :)
Step 19~EW Episode 3:
Heero may or may not have kissed Relena in Blind Target, but at the end of Endless Waltz, he leaves her, which assures many that there probably wasn't any earth-shattering emotions flowing between the two. Not to mention he didn't seem to care she was in the building he was about to blow up... But that's not my point. My point is that he may be going to someone else. :D No, there isn't any base for that, but it's a possibility, ne?
*stretches* Aaaaaaaah, 12:00 AM now. *yawns* Again, I don't think any of the above are solid enough to really form a decent 'proof', but they are things that could easily be translated into signs of love. *grins* So no, don't E-mail me with *wiggles fingers* unbreakable counterevidence. Wanna discuss compatibility of pairings? Go ahead and E-mail me. ^_^
The Conclusion
So, in conclusion, there's really nothing more than SUGGESTIONS of any GBoy pairings, whether it's boy/girl or boy/boy. But I still would like to know your answer to the original equation 1+2= ? I vote for 1+2=love, of course. And you can do so too with the poll below.