Drabble: Lonesome
Fandom: Gundam Wing
Pairing: 2x5
Rating: PG
He watches me. He thinks I haven't noticed, but from the moment I sit at my desk to the moment I leave, he watches me work. It seems that every mission I've had the last year, he's been assigned as my second. The few skirmishes we've had clearing pirates from the colonies, he's flown at my side, quick with a joke or complaint designed to make me smile. He teases me about my hair now that I'm slowly letting it grow out again, no longer keeping it tightly held back. He invites me to lunch quite often. Asks me questions about my past and allows the few I ask about his. I'm sure the others have told him about my spare apartment, how empty it is and how lonesome I must be. I know he does this only out of pity.
Still, I begin to regret leaving work and returning to my apartment. Life on earth is nice, but it *is* lonesome. All of my kin has returned to the stars, leaving me alone with their memory. When he asks to visit, I hesitate before agreeing. He is so vivacious. My apartment will seem even emptier with him in it, and when he leaves...
When he arrives, he is out of his Preventer's uniform and in his old black jacket. The sight surprises me for a moment, like old memories and feelings come back to life. It has been so long since I remembered we had lives outside of our work, and that we all hoped to achieve something after the war. I briefly wonder what Duo wanted out of life, until he puts his hand on my shoulder to hold me still as he draws close, tilting his head. Perhaps, I think, he did not befriend me out of pity after all.