None of this went unnoticed by the rest of the people on the ship. Duo's death could hardly be kept a secret, and within a day rumors began to fly among the crew. The people who just days ago had treated Heero with a certain awed respect began to avoid his eyes, break off conversations when he entered the room, then start them again once he left. Some didn't even bother to do that, continuing their conversations in low voices, unaware of his superior hearing. The worst were the ones who didn't even bother to look away, but stared at him in a sort of repelled fascination as though he were some mutant specimen of human being.
In the end, having endured as much as he was willing to, he headed for the docking bay to work on his Gundam in solitude. It was pressurized at the moment, so he didn't bother to fetch his spacesuit before opening the doors to the bay and stepping in.
He came to an abrupt halt, nearly getting caught in the doors as they slid shut behind him. Twenty-four pairs of eyes turned to him, and Heero cursed silently as he realized that over half of the Maguanac corps was here... and all of them looking cold and hostile.
He did his best to ignore them as he stepped further into the bay, heading for his Gundam. He had gone no more than ten feet before one of the seated Maguanacs pushed to his feet and stood blocking Heero's path. Heero stopped and turned to glare at him, but the older man glared right back down at him. Heero sense movement at the periphery of his vision, and realized that some of the other men were gathering around.
"Is there something you want?" he said in a detached tone.
"Yeah, I think so," the man replied readily. "You were supposed to be Duo's partner in the last fight, weren't you?"
The answer was self-evident, so Heero didn't bother to answer it, just waiting. One of the other Maguanacs spoke up. "Well, it looks to me like you did a pretty pissing bad job of being his partner, boy."
"So?" Heero said in a monotone.
"Duo was our friend," a third one put in, stepping into Heero's immediate field of vision. "More than that, when we first took him and his Gundam off of Earth, he ignored his own safety in order to watch our backs, and helped us get out of there. And it looks like when his back needed watching, you fucking fell down on the job."
"That sounds like just the stupid, insubordinate prank that Maxwell would pull," Heero remarked dispassionately. "The only surprise is that he lasted as long as he did."
Re: Pocketful of Ashes
Date: 2006-02-21 08:08 am (UTC)None of this went unnoticed by the rest of the people on the ship. Duo's death could hardly be kept a secret, and within a day rumors began to fly among the crew. The people who just days ago had treated Heero with a certain awed respect began to avoid his eyes, break off conversations when he entered the room, then start them again once he left. Some didn't even bother to do that, continuing their conversations in low voices, unaware of his superior hearing. The worst were the ones who didn't even bother to look away, but stared at him in a sort of repelled fascination as though he were some mutant specimen of human being.
In the end, having endured as much as he was willing to, he headed for the docking bay to work on his Gundam in solitude. It was pressurized at the moment, so he didn't bother to fetch his spacesuit before opening the doors to the bay and stepping in.
He came to an abrupt halt, nearly getting caught in the doors as they slid shut behind him. Twenty-four pairs of eyes turned to him, and Heero cursed silently as he realized that over half of the Maguanac corps was here... and all of them looking cold and hostile.
He did his best to ignore them as he stepped further into the bay, heading for his Gundam. He had gone no more than ten feet before one of the seated Maguanacs pushed to his feet and stood blocking Heero's path. Heero stopped and turned to glare at him, but the older man glared right back down at him. Heero sense movement at the periphery of his vision, and realized that some of the other men were gathering around.
"Is there something you want?" he said in a detached tone.
"Yeah, I think so," the man replied readily. "You were supposed to be Duo's partner in the last fight, weren't you?"
The answer was self-evident, so Heero didn't bother to answer it, just waiting. One of the other Maguanacs spoke up. "Well, it looks to me like you did a pretty pissing bad job of being his partner, boy."
"So?" Heero said in a monotone.
"Duo was our friend," a third one put in, stepping into Heero's immediate field of vision. "More than that, when we first took him and his Gundam off of Earth, he ignored his own safety in order to watch our backs, and helped us get out of there. And it looks like when his back needed watching, you fucking fell down on the job."
"That sounds like just the stupid, insubordinate prank that Maxwell would pull," Heero remarked dispassionately. "The only surprise is that he lasted as long as he did."