I don’t own Gundam Wing or anything affiliated with the show. I used a big word. Affiliated. It’s fun to say. Try it. Affiliated. It’s fun! I also don’t own the song where I got the idea for this fic. I’m not sure of the title but I think it’s by John Denver and it’s a wedding song. Anyway, I’ve rambled on long enough. On with the fic!

As Sister Helen finished making the Sign of the Cross, she sat back in the pew and glanced at the young boy kneeling next to her. Instead of praying, little Duo had found more interest in discovering the strange noises he could make by squeezing his palms together. The nun sighed and reached out her hand and gently tugged on his long chestnut braid. “Duo,” She whispered in the seven-year old’s ear. “Please behave dear. Mass is almost over.”

Duo sighed and placed his chin in his hands. He felt as if he were about to fall asleep. Were masses getting longer, or was it just him? Father Maxwell just seemed to talk and talk at any time he could for as long as he could. And the songs just went on and on and were impossible to follow. The little boy sighed and looked around the dimly lit church. Communion was over and everyone was either sitting or kneeling silently listening to the old women in the choir finish the long tedious hymn. Father Maxwell was sitting in his large chair next to the altar with his head bowed. Duo watched him idly for a moment, wondering if he was sleeping. Quickly loosing interest in what was going on around him, the braided boy looked at his hands and smiled, wondering what other noises he could make with them. He quickly glanced at Sister Helen to make sure she wasn’t watching, then cupped both hands around his mouth and blew air out against them as hard as he could.

It was the funniest sound he had ever heard. Duo fell back against the pew laughing hysterically. But before he had a chance to enjoy himself too much, a firm hand grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into a straight sitting position. He turned his head reluctantly and came face to face with a very angry Sister Helen. “Duo Maxwell,” She began in a harsh whisper. Duo cringed, knowing full well that he was in trouble. BIG trouble. Sister Helen never used that tone unless she meant serious business. Like the time he turned the hose on in the backyard and went after a group of other children. Or the time when he clogged every stall in the bathrooms in the back of the church with toilet paper. Or when he—

Duo looked back up at the angry nun and sighed. He swallowed hard and looked around. Every set of eyes in the entire church were fixed on him in surprise. He hastily looked to Father Maxwell, who was now standing next to his chair. The old priest simply shook his head, smiled, and began the closing prayer. Duo sighed and looked over at Sister Helen, who was still holding tightly to his arm. He was really going to get it just as soon as the last song ended.

“Duo,”

“I’m sorry,” The boy whined as Sister Helen half dragged, half carried him into the sacristy. “Can I go now?”

“No.”

“But I said I was sorry!”

Sister Helen tapped her foot impatiently and folded her arms, angrily glaring down at Duo who was avoiding eye contact at all costs. “That isn’t the point Duo,” She said, somehow managing not to yell. “You know how you’re supposed to behave in church, but still you goofed off. I’m extremely disappointed in you.”

“Sorry,” Duo murmured as he looked at the floor. He hated being scolded more than anything. He wished he could just run away, but there was only one door and whatever genius built the church had so thoughtfully neglected to put windows in the sacristy. He finally looked back into Sister Helen’s angry blue eyes and frowned. “You’re gonna punish me, aren’t you?”

The nun nodded slightly. “You bet,”

“What’re you…um, gonna do?”

“I’m not sure yet Duo,” She answered with a strong tone of annoyance in her soft voice. “But believe me young man, you’ll be the first to find out when—“

“Well,” An old man’s kind voice interrupted Sister Helen. “What’s going on in here?” Father Maxwell asked as he took off his robes and hung them neatly in a nearby closet.

Sister Helen motioned to the nervous boy standing now with his back pressed firmly against the wall. “Duo was misbehaving during mass.” She stated with an exasperated sigh. “Again.”

“Is that so?” Father Maxwell shut the closet door and walked over to Duo still with a kind smile on his wrinkled face. “What did you do this time Duo?” He asked as he pulled up a chair and sat down near where Duo was standing.

“I…um,” Duo began, twirling his braid in one hand.

“Made disruptive noises…and during mass too.” Sister Helen said as she gave Duo another stern look.

Father Maxwell smiled and looked back to Duo. “Is that true?” He asked.

“Uh, y-yeah,” Duo replied in mild embarrassment.

“What did it sound like?”

Unsure if he should demonstrate, Duo looked nervously at Sister Helen, who only nodded slightly, not taking her eyes away from him. He slowly put both hands to his lips and blew as hard as he could. The same noise came in result, but this time Duo did not laugh. As soon as he finished, he quickly put his hands behind his back and looked uneasily at the priest.

For a moment or two, Father Maxwell showed no response, but then he suddenly began to laugh. Duo blinked in surprise as the priest clapped his hands in applause. “You certainly have a talent there Duo.” He said with a smile.

“Huh?”

“Not just anybody can do that you know,” Father Maxwell patted Duo on the head and laughed again. “I’m impressed.”

“But…But Sister said it was dis-repitive,” Duo said in a tiny voice.

“Well, for church it is. When you’re outside and playing with you’re friends it’s okay. But in church, people who don’t know you may be thinking, ‘who’s that crazy child over there?’”

“Oh…okay,” Duo smiled. “I’m sorry. I promise I’ll never do it again. Can I go now?”

The priest and nun looked at each other and smiled. “Actually Duo,” Father Maxwell said, turning back to the braided boy. “Before you go, Sister and I had a favor to ask of you…”

“This isn’t fair!” Duo shouted to the empty pews as he stuck the tall mop back in the metal bucket filled with water. He looked at the closed sacristy doors and growled. “This is punishment! You two just used a different word!” He kicked the bucket and almost caused it to fall over. “No fair! No fair! No fair!” Little Duo threw the mop to the ground and the sound echoed throughout the church.” He finally plopped into the first pew and sat pouting. “They think they tricked me? Ha! I just won’t do this stupid ‘favor!’ Then we’ll see who’s tricking who.” Duo giggled as he put his feet up and placed his hands behind his head.

After only a moment of peace, however, the loud creaking church door opened and Duo clearly heard footsteps. Someone else had come in. He hopped down from the pew and squinted towards the darkened back of the church, jumping slightly in surprise as the door closed with a loud thud. “Hello?” Duo asked, hearing only his own echo in return. He walked a few steps towards the back and heard a few shuffling footsteps making their way slowly across the floor. “Who’s there?” The braided boy asked with a hint of apprehension in his voice. Still there was no answer. Duo picked up the mop and held it like a baseball bat as he walked towards the door. “Come on out whoever you are,” He said sternly. “This isn’t funny!”

Duo reached the back of the building and looked around. It was really to dark to see any figures except for the outlines of the back pews and doors. He felt his spine tingling in fear as he made his way between the back wall and the last pew. Outside he heard far off gunshots and explosions, no concern of his. Duo had assumed that the occasional squabbles had absolutely nothing to do with him anymore. He didn’t have to worry about being killed off by a careless soldier. Just as he was about to turn back to finish his job and hurry back to the rectory, he heard a gun click and a young boy’s weak voice behind him.

“O…omae o…k-korosu.”

Duo spun around in surprise and dropped the mop as he did so. He was stunned to come face to face with a young boy, no older than he was, wearing a green tank top and black shorts. He was also holding a gun in right hand. But he was shaking so badly that he could barely keep hold of it. His right shoulder and side were covered with blood. The other boy’s dark blue eyes were focused coldly on Duo, making the braided boy a more than a little nervous.

“Wh-wh-whaddijasay?” Duo choked out as he took a step back.

“I said,” The other boy began in an emotionless but weak tone. “I’ll…I’ll…” He didn’t get to finish because the gun fell limply from his fingers and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Part of Duo wanted to run. That other boy had just threatened to kill him for no reason at all! Ignoring the small voice in his head that told him to leave the scene as fast as his little legs could carry him, Duo stepped forward and peered down curiously at the unconscious boy. How in the world could he have gotten hurt like that?! He was bleeding from two wounds. It looked painful, but Duo had seen worse when he was living on the streets. Without taking his violet eyes away from the other boy’s face, he reached down and pulled up his shirt, completely stained with blood. Duo made a disgusted face when he saw it up close. ~~ So much blood! ~~ He thought ~~ Why would somebody wanna hurt him? He’s just a kid like me! ~~

As Duo knelt down next to him, the other boy moaned and opened his eyes slightly, fixing his gaze on Duo. “Are you okay?” The braided boy asked in alarm. “What happened to you?”

The other boy ignored Duo as he sat up and clenched his teeth, trying not to cry out in pain.

“You shouldn’t be movin’ around!” Duo exclaimed. “You’re hurt! Here, I’ll help you. I can get you a bed and some medicine an—“

“Iie,” The other boy said gruffly, ignoring Duo’s attempt to help him up. “I don’t need…help.” He struggled to his feet and some how managed to walk a few steps before collapsing against a pew.

Without another moment’s hesitation, Duo stepped forward and took one of the other boy’s arms across his shoulder and helped him along.

“I said…I didn’t need…help,” He said weakly, giving the braided boy the same cold glare as before.

“Yeah? Well, I think yer lyin’,” Duo replied matter of factly. “How’d you get hurt so bad?”

“I got shot…” The boy responded bluntly. “I…messed up…and some soldiers found me…”

“How come? What were you doing?”

The boy glared again as Duo sat him down in the first pew. “None of your business,” He said flatly.

Duo was slightly taken aback by the rude comment, but he forced a smile anyway. “Okay then,” He said cheerfully. He slowly turned and headed towards the sacristy.

“Where are you going?” The other boy asked suspiciously.

“To get Sister Helen,” Duo turned slightly. “She knows a whole lot about medicine and stuff. She’ll be able to make ya feel better.”

“No!” He said harshly. “I don’t want…anyone else to know…I’m here…”

“But you’re—“

“I’ll live.” He glared at Duo as the braided boy walked back to him. “I’ll probably kill you when I leave here.” He said darkly. “You…saw me and that makes you…a security risk…”

Duo said nothing as he walked to a large cardboard box near the sacristy door and pried the top open. He reached inside and pulled out a blanket and a white sheet, then started back to the wounded boy.

“You’re…not scared,” The other boy choked out. “Why?”

“Not like you’re the first person to ever threaten my life,” Duo said with a shrug. He dropped the blanket next to the other boy and started to rip the sheet to make bandages. “By the way,” He continued. “What’s your name?”

No answer.

“Oh, not talkative, huh? Or do you not have a name?”

Again. No answer.

Duo pulled off another piece of sheet with his teeth and smiled up at the other boy. “I could just call you ‘Hey you,’ but Sister Helen always says ‘hay is for horses and not peoples names,’ so I figured you wouldn’t wanna be called—“

“Odin,” The other boy said softly. “My name’s Odin Lowe.”

*****

“Odin, huh?” Duo glanced at him and smiled as he continued to rip the sheets apart. “That’s a funny name. I’ve never heard it before. Not that I’m makin’ fun of you or anything though. I’ve got a weird name too. I’m Duo. Or at least that’s what everybody calls me including me. I don’t know my real name.”

The braided boy frowned slightly when Odin didn’t respond. He had never met anyone so quiet and it was just about driving him nuts. He studied Odin’s face for a moment, then placed the crudely made bandages in a pile next to him and hurried back to the open box.

Odin weakly turned his head and watched with the limited amount of curiosity his slipping consciousness could hold. “What are you doing?” He asked, only half-aware that he was speaking at all.

“I’m looking for alcohol so I can put it where you’re hurt and you won’t get any infections,” Duo responded bluntly.

Odin was surprised. Maybe this boy wasn’t the idiot he had thought him to be. “How do you know so much about medicine?” He demanded in an unthreatening tone.

“I learned a lot about this kind of stuff when I was living on the streets.” The braided boy replied as he pulled a small brown bottle and a white cloth out of the box. “Sister Helen taught me a lot too. I can fix just about anything ‘cept for broken bones. Those creep me out.”

With the two new items in hand, Duo hurried back to Odin and hopped onto the pew right next to him. He carefully opened the bottle and poured the clear liquid onto the cloth until it was soaked. Then he turned to Odin and lifted his shirt where blood was still seeping through the dark green fabric. Duo slowly lifted the shirt, but the other boy quickly knocked him away. The tow looked at each other for a minute in complete silence, then Duo tried again. And again he was slapped away.

“I have to clean this for you,” Duo said calmly. “If your wound doesn’t get cleaned out it’ll get infected and you’ll get sick and die…And believe me, that is not the way you wanna go.”

Odin glared at him for a moment, then unsurely nodded. “Okay,” He mumbled.

“This will hurt,” The braided boy warned. “You’re not gonna cry are ya?”

“No,” Odin grunted angrily in a determined fashion.

“Good,” Duo said. “Boys ain’t s’posed to cry anyway. But if it hurts too much, just grab my arm and squeeze it and that’ll make it hurt less. At least, that’s what Sister Helen told me. I dunno if it works for real. But that’s what you do if it hurts you.”

Odin nodded again and watched warily as Duo pressed the soaked cloth against his bleeding side. He gasped sharply and clenched his teeth, trying not to cry out as pain seared into his wound. Duo quickly looked up, his violet eyes narrowed in concern. “It’s okay,” He assured the other boy. “It’s s’posed to hurt. That means it’s doing its job.” Odin gasped again and let out a small cry. “You can squeeze my arm if ya need to,” The braided boy offered. “It might help you feel better.”

Duo pressed the cloth a little tighter against Odin’s side and almost instantly a pair of small hands grabbed onto Duo’s right arm and held onto it with an iron grip.

“Owww!” Duo squealed in pain. “Not so tight! You’re gonna break my arm! Stop! Stop! Stop!”

“No! No! No!” Odin replied with a strained whimper. Duo quickly removed the cloth and the other boy momentarily tensed, then released Duo’s arm.

Duo choked out a surprised cry and grasped his arm tightly. “Owww,” He moaned weakly. “Y-you’re a lot stronger than ya look.”

Odin didn’t reply. Duo looked at him curiously for a minute, then set down the alcohol-soaked rag. “I think it’s clean now,” The American stated bluntly.

“How can you tell?”

“My arm was about five seconds from breaking in half.”

Without another word from either boy, Duo went back to work. He picked up one of the bandages and placed it over the gunshot wound. The bandage was long enough that it wrapped around Odin’s body twice. Duo used four of the bandages in all, wrapping each one carefully around the injury, then tying them behind the hurt boy’s back.

Odin’s shoulder wasn’t hurt as badly as Duo had first thought. Something had just grazed it and it was only bleeding a little. The braided boy only had to use one scrap to stop the blood and wrap it up.

Finally finished, Duo gave Odin the blanket he had retrieved from the box and began to clean the mess he had made taking care of him. He scooped everything into his arms at once and went back to the box to dump it all there. If he closed it, there would be no way either Father Maxwell or Sister Helen could blame the mess on him.

“Ne, Duo?” Odin’s tired voice spoke up as Duo dumped the supplies into the box and closed the lid.

“Yeah?”

“A-arigato.”

Duo smiled. “You’re welcome.”

Duo really could have gone back gone into the rectory to go to sleep in his own warm bed, but he felt some strong obligation to stay with Odin until he left. Or at least, until he turned into an ice-icicle.

“Aren’t you cold?” The Japanese boy asked as he looked across the pew at Duo.

“Wh-what?” Duo choked in reply.

“It’s freezing in here but you don’t have a blanket.”

“I-I’m ok-k-kay. Really.”

“You don’t look okay…I think you’re turning blue and I can see you shivering from over here.”

“I’m j-just fine.”

Duo was lying through his chattering teeth. He was absolutely freezing, but he couldn’t show that. He leaned uncomfortably against the back of the pew and curled into a ball, wrapping his arms tightly around his legs and he shivered involuntarily. Why did Father Maxwell insist on keeping the church so cold at night? Sure, no one was there, but in the mind of a beyond cold seven-year old, that was no excuse. He was going to freeze to death! Everyone would be so sad to find a Duo-cicle stuck to the first pew in the morning.

“You’re going to freeze to death sitting there with nothing to keep you warm,” Odin said bluntly.

“No I ain’t,” Duo barely managed to say without his voice shaking.

“Hn.”

Duo let his head droop against his knees and closed his eyes. Why hadn’t there been two blankets in that stupid box? He sat completely still for a few minutes, wallowing in self pity and wondering why had to die this way.

Suddenly Duo felt something warm and soft brush against his arm. He looked up and was surprised to see Odin sitting right next to him, offering half the blanket. “We’ll both be warmer this way,” The Japanese boy said as he placed half the blanket over Duo. “Contact by skin is the simplest way to stay warm.”

Duo had stopped shivering, but he hesitated as he felt Odin’s warm body lean against his. “H-hey,” The braided boy began uneasily. “What…what are you…”

“We’ll stay warmer this way,” Odin said flatly, no emotion in his tone. “You’re already much too cold.”

“N-n-no I’m not.”

“Whatever. Just stay here. We’ll both be warmer.”

Finally Duo nodded in agreement and moved a little closer to Odin, who seemed to be amazingly warm compared to him. He pulled the warm blanket up to his nose and made himself as comfortable as possible by leaning against the pew. After only a few minutes, he slipped and almost fell off. Duo quickly tried lying just laying down on the bench, but it was much too uncomfortable and cold. He tossed and turned for a few moments until a hand grabbed his braid and pulled him into a sitting position. “Owww!” Duo shrieked at the sudden tugging of his hair.

“Baka,” Odin said, rolling his eyes. He pulled Duo close enough to him that they were leaning against each other. Duo squirmed uncomfortably, but the other boy refused to let go of him. “Go to sleep,” Odin said quietly. “It’s late.”

“Okay then…Good night,” Duo smiled slightly to himself as he rested his head against the other boy’s chest. Something about this just seemed right. He felt safe and warm despite the cold temperature. He lay awake, listening to the other boy’s heartbeat in his ear for a little while. Finally he closed his eyes and fell fast asleep. He wasn’t cold anymore.

“Good night,” Something inside Odin stirred as Duo lay against him and fell asleep. His normal, cold-hearted, emotionless self seemed to disappear. He looked down at the sleeping Duo and smiled. This boy had saved his life without a thought as to the morality of actually saving someone who was in training to be a terrorist. Odin had even threatened him, but Duo wasn’t deterred in the least. He smiled for the first time in a long time and closed his eyes. He wasn’t in too much pain anymore.

The colored lights shining through the stained glass windows on the eastern side of the church awakened Duo the next morning. Something was different. He was lying on the pew alone. Odin was gone. The braided boy quickly sat up and looked around. Where was he? Did he leave? He was on his feet ready to look for him when he heard the rectory door open.

“Duo,” He heard Sister Helen’s voice call from the door. Soft footsteps headed towards him and Duo turned and looked up at the nun. “Duo,” She began in surprise. “Did you sleep in this freezing church all night by yourself?”

“Um…yeah,” Duo replied softly, still looking around for the other boy. “I, uh, just lay down to rest and I guess I fell asleep.”

“It certainly seems that way,” Sister Helen said with a proud smile. “Look at what a good job you did cleaning the floor.”

“Huh?!”

He looked at the floor as he slipped back into the front pew and was surprised to see that the job he had neglected to do was done and the mop was leaning against the pew next to him. The floor was perfectly clean and shiny. “I’ve never seen this floor so clean,” The nun commented as she gave Duo a hug. “You deserve a special treat for this. Do you want pancakes for breakfast?”

“Yeah!” Duo cried without hesitation. Sister Helen walked back towards the rectory and Duo smiled as he stood up and followed her. “What did he say to me before?” He mumbled to himself as he neared the open door. “Arigato?” The braided boy smiled and turned towards the exit. “Arigato, Odin.”

From behind a pillar, the dark haired boy peeked out and smiled at Duo. He waved slightly as he opened the door and stepped outside. “Arigato, Duo.”

EPILOGUE

Warning: contains heavy 1+2 shonen ai