By: De Mouse

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DISCLAIMER: All the characters used in this fanfic are the sole property of Sunrise and Bandai. The characters are used without permission. The fanfic below does not receive any profit of any kind and made only for personal entertainment. Original portion of the fiction included here is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author.

WARNING: There is also one very obvious yaoi coupling here. (1X2) Those who do not like yaoi feel free to press your 'backspace' buttons.

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"Baka na" Duo muttered under his breath.

He glared at the machine in front of him. Security was tight and hard to get around. The purplish blue eyes narrowed as his fingers tapped on the table thoughtfully.

The Shinigami pilot swiftly typed on the keyboard. He held his breath after he pressed the last button. Lines and lines of data fleeted through the glowing computer screen. A wide grin of triumph spread itself on his lips. Slipping a disk into the computer, Duo leaned back into his chair and folded his arms behind his head. The screen flickered as the information stored itself into the disk.

After a while, the computer fell silent indicating that the process was completed. Duo quickly retrieved his disk and carefully placed it into his bag. With an expert hand, the longhaired youth erased all the evidence that the computer had been used and shut it down. He slung his bag securely over his shoulder. Blinking his blue eyes, he made his way to an open window. Like a cat, Duo slipped through the wooden frame and got onto the roof.

The place was silent. The Shinigami pilot could see a handful of guards patrolling the area. He tsked at the fact that they had not noticed his intrusion. Not even hesitating, Duo leaped down from the roof. A slight sound escaped his lips as he hit the ground. Rolling a few feet away from the building, he leaped up to his feet and was racing towards the shelter of the trees.

Duo pushed away the leaves that hid his motorcycle. He glanced over his shoulder wondering if he was spotted. The quiet of the night ensured his entrance went unnoticed. Quietly, he wheeled his ride several meters away before hopping on it. In a flash, the Shinigami pilot was on his way back to the hideout. His long braid whisked in the breeze. Disk safely stored in his bag, Duo grinned. The mission went extremely well.

A few hours later, he stopped at the small building tucked away behind a rundown restaurant. Parking his bike at a corner, Duo shifted his bag to his other shoulder.

"Home sweet home" he chuckled softly looking up at the dark building. From afar it looked like an abandoned building. It some ways it was but for the time being, it was home to five boys. A sanctuary, hidden away from the war. He could smell the salt in the air and the gentle lull of the sea that lay just a few meters away from the building. The Shinigami pilot glanced at his watch. Perhaps he was still in time to catch the break of dawn before he lay down to sleep. He had always wanted to sea the sun rise from its watery bed.

"About time you got back"

Duo jumped up in surprise. Spinning around, he pointed his gun at the direction where the voice came from. There was a pause before he smiled sheepishly and dropped his gun. "Oi, Heero. Don't sneak up on me like that! Might give me a heart attack ne?"

The other boy shrugged in response; there was no emotion in his cobalt blue eyes.

"Why are you here anyway? Waiting for me?" Duo teased, batting his eyelashes. Although he knew fully well that the Wing pilot was keeping watch for the night, he couldn't resist poking fun at the other boy.

Heero snorted at the longhaired youth's antics but made no comment. Together they entered the building. It was quiet since the rest of the Gundam pilots were sound asleep. Duo dumped the bag he was carrying onto the table. Flicking his braid over his shoulder, he sighed at the peaceful atmosphere. It was rare that the pilots were allowed the sleep they required.

"The whole thing went perfectly well" the Shinigami pilot rambled. "Although it would have been nice to be able to stop by for some ice-cream. But nooo, all the stores just -have- to be close leaving this poor pilot hungry. Is there anything edible? I am starving!"

The Wing pilot took no notice as Duo opened the fridge and took out an insanely large amount of food. Not a single glance was cast upon Duo as the long haired pilot dug deeper into the 'seventh heaven'. Heero turned on his laptop and inserted the disk he took from the Shinigami pilot's bag. The cobalt eyes narrowed slightly while he read the information that was filling his screen.

"Mou, someone forgot to do today's shopping" Duo complained kicking the fridge close with his foot since his arms were laden with food. "There is no peanut butter with chocolate"

Heero raised an eyebrow at the other pilot.

"I am a growing boy. Gotta eat to stay healthy." The Shinigami pilot waggled his finger at him. Duo leaned against the fridge happily munching on the eye-boggling sandwich he made.

"Sometimes I wonder how on earth can you stay thin with the amount of food you eat" Heero replied. His fingers busily worked to unfold the data his companion had just stolen from the OZ system.

"I exercise" was the prompt answer. Duo draped one arm on Heero's shoulder. The grin on his face was nothing short of mischievous. He turned his head slightly so his lips were just a fraction away from the Wing pilot's ear. Purposely Duo whispered making his skin prickle. "Plenty of exercise, ne"

The sound of buttons being pressed did not even stop for a second. Heero continued typing as though he was used to having someone breathing into his ear. Without pausing, the Wing pilot reached out and gave the long braid a tug. Duo yelped at the sudden jerk that was applied to his hair.

"Heero! You are no fun to tease" the longhaired youth exclaimed remorsefully while holding the well loved braid out of his friend's grasp. He held the long braid protectively. "You didn't have to pull that hard"

"Baka" Heero commented without the slightest change of expression.

"You aren't going to work on that for the whole night, are you?" Duo questioned, eyeing the laptop. When he did not get any response, the Shinigami pilot sighed. "Eto, Heero. Sometimes I think that you are a workaholic. You know, working all day and no rest is not good for health. You got to take a break sometimes. We are not machines, you know. We can work and work and work but that's rather insane. There are other things to do and….."

"Duo.."

"And..eh? Nani ka?" the boy in questioned jerked out from his rambling.

"What do you want?" Heero turned off his laptop. It was obvious the longhaired pilot was not going to leave him alone.

"What I want?" big purple tinted blue eyes blinked in confusion.

"You are lecturing. When you lecture, it usually means you want something. So I am asking you and spare us all the trouble, what do you want?" His voice monotone almost hinting the barest bit of irritation but if someone had been working with him long enough could tell that he wasn't irritated, just mildly amused.

"Mou, I don't lecture!"

"Duo.."

"I don’t!!"

"Duo…"

"I don't!!!"

"Duo…….." The wing pilot's eyes reflected nothing. "What do you want?"

"Saa, Heero. You are no fun" The long haired boy sighed explosively, his hands clasped behind his head.

"So I have been told a hundred times a day. Answer the question or just go to bed."

"Okay, okay~!…….. Watch the sunrise with me?" Duo smiled hopefully. He tilted his head towards the Wing pilot, watching for anything that could give away a positive answer. Unfortunately, Heero just stared at him like a figure craved out of stone. Duo's heart was trying to force its way out of his ribcage.

There was a long pause.

"Eto, it's stupid anyway ne. I mean we see the sun everyday. Hey even sometimes I curse the sun for waking me up in the morning. Why bother to stay up to see the sun come up? It's just a waste of time. Better to sleep and get some rest….." the Shinigami pilot laughed nervously, backing towards the room where the bunks were. His rapidly beating pulse stilled as though someone just quenched the blood flow in his veins.

"There is two more minutes to sunrise"

"….so that we can get up for the mission.-- what?" the long speech halted.

"Two minutes to sunrise." Heero repeated. He got up and went through the door.

Duo blinked once then a wide grin entered his surprised expression when he digested what the other pilot had just said. Life immediately sprang back into the lithe body as the Shinigami pilot hurried towards the door his patner just exited. "Oi Heero!! Chotto matte!!"

Wet salt water sprayed into the air as they rushed towards land. Flakes of white foam cease to hide in the darkness as the black skies gradually unveil its numerous shades of black. Pale sand stood out in relief while the stones lay awash with inky blue. Waves splashed playfully over them, trying to move them from the deep ground. There were no birds soaring in the horizon yet for it was too early.

Minutes passed and a glimmer of color stained the dark ocean waters. Faint crimson clouded with mists of yellow bloomed over the hues of blue. Slowly but steadily, they grew like flowers in spring. Gently the tips of gold peeked from the line where the liquid ended and air began. The bright light was astonishing in the midst of pale colors of the morning. Clouds borrowed the gold allowing their whiteness to burn with arrays of pink and orange. It was the one moment where morning was not morning. Yet it was not night.

The air was still cool with the fading traces of night. It felt oddly right against the subtle warmth of the rising sun.

"Why did you want to see this?" Heero asked, turning to his unusually quiet companion.

"I am not sure if it can be explained in words" Duo murmured, his eyes still tracing out the faint patterns of colored light in the brightening sky. He frowned searching for the correct way to say what he felt. Mindless words that were used to fight away the pain were discarded in his struggle to explained something that held true meaning.

"……it's a beginning of a new day. A new hope. Gentle, quiet and calm yet it arrives everyday unfailingly. Like the skies are telling us not to give up…." Duo faltered, his voice washed over by the sound of waves.

"Hope runs against you sometimes"

"But sometimes it give you something to look forward to"

"To hope is useless" Heero quietly stated, bitterness in his voice.

"But we hope and wish everyday for the same thing." The long haired youth replied. "The war to end, the long awaited peace to arrive…to return to being the teenagers that we never could be or back to the childhood lives that we never knew…"

The wing pilot gazed up at the rising sun. The light was giving color to everything it touched. Trees that were once shield within the folds of night emerged with a rustling sigh. Little by little the sky turned a lighter blue. The sun was still clothed in its gold mists high up in the unreachable sky.

"I wish.." Heero whispered under his breath.

"We never know what waits in the future" Duo turned to him and smiled.

A hand reached out and touched another. Fingers clasped tightly, both unwilling to let go. Cobalt eyes met purplish blue ones. Each unsaid word was precious in this tiny space of stolen time. A new emotion that was unnamed since they were not sure if the lives they lead would allow such a delicate thing to grow. Yet it grew without them noticing.

Growing on stolen time.

Fleeting seconds of conversation.

Touching hidden hearts.

Ice shields melted away slowly in the warm embrace.

"Duo, I….."

"Don't tell me"

"Duo?"

"Don't tell me…..because I already know"

Far above the rushing of waves, the sun settled in its throne. And a new day started.

~OWARI~

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