Oklahoma
By: AKA Anonymous
Disclaimer: Honestly, I don't want the G-boys. Could you imagine what they would do to my house?
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KEY:
"blah"--speech (duh)
*blah*--action and italics
~blah~ --flashback talk
//blah//--lyrics
The Song is Oklahoma by Billy Gillman.
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"Hey, Duo, did you remember your shampoo?" a strong baritone called up the stairs where, in a dark blue room with a four-poster bed, a young man stood staring at a suitcase. Soft sunlight drifted lazily through the sheer window drapes and played along the long chestnut braid as the boy pulled himself back to reality.
//Suitcase packed with all his things//
"Uh, yeah! Thanks Trowa!" Duo's voice called back as he continued to stare at the mid-sized leather bag. Everything he owned in the world fit neatly into its spaces, with room to spare. He could remember all too well the wonderful feeling of unpacking the stiff suitcase for what he thought would be forever. The day after the last battle, when Quatre asked him and the others to stay, and--to his surprise and delight--they had. Now they were all leaving.
//Car pulls up, the doorbell rings//
Through the open window he can hear the sound of the taxi pulling up. The inevitable had come. With quick, well-rehearsed movements he zipped the suitcase up, pulled on his hat and walked out of his room, his heart breaking at every step despite the casual smile on his lips.
//He don't want to go//
Four pairs of eyes--cobalt, aqua, emerald, onyx--four faces--Heero, Quatre, Trowa, Wufei--looked up as he descended the stairs. They were his friends, his family. In his heart he screamed at the injustice of being ripped away from them, but externally he kept up a brave front.
"Hey guys! Guess this is it, huh?" The braided boy said over-loudly.
Three grunts answered quickly. Quatre nodded, "Yeah, this is it. I'll miss you, Duo."
The two boys stared at each for a moment before dropping the bravado pretenses and flinging their arms around each other. "God, Quat, I'll miss you, too."
Duo backed off and held his friend at arms length, giving a bright smile of encouragement as the blue-green eyes filled with tears. Fighting back the sting of tears himself, Duo turned to Trowa, counting on the Stoic-Wonder for a little reprieve in the emotional fireworks. Trowa stared straight back in his usual quiet demeanor before extending a hand, "Good luck, Duo."
Duo accepted the hand, his smile suddenly turning sly as he pulled the taller boy into a hug. "Take care of Cathy and yourself, Tro." The other nodded and smiled quickly as Duo moved on to his next target.
Wufei didn't meet his gaze, the proud warrior only bowed deeply to him and turned to leave. "'Fei?"
The sleek boy paused a moment to look back. Duo could see the pain written in the cat-like eyes and quickly return the bow, smiling his good-byes before the Chinese boy fled. The ache in Duo's heart doubled at the sight and then doubled again as Heero spoke up.
"Don't be upset with him, Maxwell. He's losing his family all over again."
"He's not the only one, Yuy," Duo turned to his best friend with unshed tears brimming in his eyes. "But I'm not upset, just a little disappointed."
Heero nodded and braced his feet against his friend's attack. With a soft whimper Duo threw himself at his comrade. "Heero, I don't want to go."
//He thought he'd found his home//
"I know, Duo, I know," the monotone voice whispered. Duo allowed a few tears to slip as he gripped his friend's shirt and took one last look around. He didn't see the extravagantly carved banisters, the brilliant paintings, or the plush carpets. He saw the memories of his family living together in a wonderfully free and peaceful time. A time that had been far too short and brutally cut, leaving a bitter hole in the five boys' hearts where their plans for the future had once been.
//But with circumstances he can't change
Waves goodbye as they pull away
From the life he's known
For the last seven months or so//
Sniffing slightly the braided boy pulled back from the safe arms and picked up his suitcase once again. His body trembled as he opened the door and handed his bag to the driver. One last glance back at his comrades, a lopsided smile, a quick wave and he was gone.
The taxi driver drove in silence, ignoring his tear-streaked passenger as they pulled onto a heavily trafficked road and started out to the unknown. The silence was fine with the young fighter, he wiped down his face with one arm while pulling out a beaten envelope with other. The envelope Commander Une had given him only two days ago. The greatest shock of his life was neatly printed on the white paper inside. A DNA match to his of approximately 50%.
~We think we've found your father, Duo.~
The memory of her statement had echoed in his mind every waking minute. He secretly doubted the truth that the tests clearly pointed to; he thought Une would call and apologize at the mix up and he'd be back to being an war orphan again. But that hadn't happened.
~Maxwell? The adoption papers are being processed as we speak. Your father is very anxious to meet you, I'm told he cried when they first contacted him with your picture. Apparently there's a strong family resemblance. ~
//She said we found the man who looks like you
Who cried and said he never knew
About he boy in pictures that we showed him//
~Hey, Duo?~
~Yeah, Yuy?~
~I've got that info you wanted...On your father.~
Duo stared from one paper to another. The test results, the background check. His 'father' lived on an estate in the rich country land of Oklahoma. Once upon a time it had been a hick-ville part of the United States, but as the years progressed the land had matured into a peaceful, well-to-do area. His father lived in a small piece of Earth that had been totally untouched by the wars. A perfect place to settle down and raise a family.
//A rambler in his younger days
He knew he made a few mistakes
But he swore he would have been there
Had he known it
Son we think we found your dad in Oklahoma//
~Thanks, Heero. I just...~
~I understand. I would want to know, too.~
//A million thoughts raced through his mind
What's his name, what's he like and will he be
Anything like the man in his dreams//
On the streets Duo hadn't spent a lot of time thinking of his past. He always lived for the present--it was the way to survive on the streets--but when peace times came, even before his life was shattered again, he had wondered...
Who was he, really? What was his name? Where did he belong? The questions weren't that important before because he could answer them. He was a pilot, Duo Maxwell, and he belonged with his friends. Now everything was different. He had lost his sense identity in the matter of moments.
~Duo? Are you okay?~
~Yeah, fine...*Really* Relena!~
~I'm sorry about this.~
~It's not your fault. I know you tried your best for us.~
~If there's anything I can do...~
//She could see the questions in his eyes
Whispered, "Don't be scared my child,
I'll let you know, what we know"//
~His name is Alex, you know.~
~Huh?~
~Alexander Timothy Brighton. Age: 36. Married to one Rebecca Ann Larson, mother of two children from a previous marriage. Children:...Duo?~
~Yeah?~
~You have a half-brother.~
~WHAT?!!~
//About the man we found, he looks like you
And cried and said he never knew
About the boy in pictures that we showed him
A rambler in his younger days,
He knew he'd made a few mistakes
But he swore he would have been there had he known it
You always said that this was something that you wanted//
"A brother?" Duo whispered, pulling himself out of the taxi and into the awaiting Lear jet. "I have a brother."
A secret prayer, a lonely boy's wish fulfilled. It was like Father Maxwell's God had finally rewarded him with his own miracle. A brother. Not a leader, like Solo, or a comrade and friend bonded by death, destruction and determination, like the other Gundam pilots, but a real brother.
"Sir, we're ready for take off to Oklahoma International Airport just as soon as you're ready," the intercom to his left buzzed.
"Thanks, go ahead."
//Son it's time to meet your dad in Oklahoma//
"I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe it's real," Duo repeated the mantra to himself. If everything was true then he was going to meet his family. His blood family. His father and brother and a mother and two other siblings... "I can't believe it..."
The trip from Quatre's home in London to Oklahoma flashed by the Gundam Pilot and he was all too soon sitting in another taxicab speedily inching towards his new home.
//One last turn he held his breath
'Til they reached the fifth house on the left
And all at once the tears came rolling in//
The taxi driver announced they would be insight of the house in seconds, but Duo hardly heard him. He fought back tears once again, not tears of pain and loss of friends, but salty drops of longing and the realization of the time he had lost. Duo was stepping in to a new life at sixteen, a life he had longed for everyday on the streets and in the wars. He had missed so many opportunities.
//And as they pulled into the drive
A man was waiting there outside//
Duo's mind stopped. His heart cut off mid thump. From the tinted taxi window he could see an older version of himself. Sans the long hair and slim body that came from malnutrition and heavy exercise.
Fear rose in his stomach, but he somehow found the courage and strength to face his new destiny. That, and the fact the taxi driver pulled the door open, dragged him out, dropped off the suitcase and climbed back in the yellow vehicle without so much as a 'get lost.'
~'Fei? What if...~
~What if what?~
~What if he doesn't want me?~
~Duo, you baka, he's your FATHER.~
Duo blinked as the taxicab pulled away and he found himself face to face with the familiar looking stranger. "Welcome home, Duo."
//Who wiped the worry from his eyes
Smiled and took his hand//
"Come on inside, we have a room already for you," Alex Brighton spoke cheerfully, waylaying the younger man's fears in a caring and easy-going manner. "The rest of the family is out giving you a bit of time to settle in before they mob you relentlessly!" A strong arm wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him gently towards the large house.
The older man with chestnut hair lifted the leather suitcase onto the green quilted bed as the younger eyed the large room from the doorframe. "I...I want you to know..." the deep voice stumbled for a moment as the man regarded his son, regret and pain clear in his boyish features, "that I would have..."
"It's alright," Duo cut him off quickly. "I'm just glad you would *now*."
"*Now* and always, Duo. You'll never have to be alone again, I swear," the man's blue eyes glinted with new tears as he held out his arms. Duo smiled and stepped into the waiting arms. They were warm, comforting, but not right. They didn't give him the sense of safety his friends did, but maybe, in time they would.
//And he said, I'm the man who looks like you
Who cried because I never knew
About that boy in pictures that they showed me
A rambler in my younger days
I knew I'd made a few mistakes
But I swear I would have been there had I known it
Never again will you ever be alone
Son welcome to your home in Oklahoma//
~Duo--no matter what--you'll always have a family with us, but you have another one, too. It's a blessing, not a curse. We'll never lose each other, so there's nothing wrong with having a new home.~
~*Three affirming grunts*~
"Thank you."
Chapter 3