Duo stared at the closed door to Howard's office for a long moment, looking rather as if he was in shock. Zechs wasn't sure whether to laugh, or sigh at the knowledge that the old man was right. They were burning out.
"Come on." He tugged on Duo's shoulder. "Let's go."
"But..." Dazed blue eyes looked up at him. "He kicked us out? I can't believe he kicked us out."
"He did." Zechs finally got the younger man on his feet. "Doro... come on."
"But..." She echoed Duo, glancing from them to the laptop in obvious indecision. "What about... Epyon?"
"Let's take a break, get some dinner, and then maybe try to think about this again then," Zechs pushed quietly. After a moment, she nodded and pulled her hand away from the laptop. But she didn't move to get up, just stared at the computer for a moment. "Doro... go ahead and bring it if you'd feel better..."
"I..." Her eyes met Duo's startled ones. "It's not that I don't... trust your friend not to... to hurt it...."
"It's not like he can talk to Epyon without you anyway... so what good would leaving it behind do?" Duo reassured her with a faint grin. "Bring it. Maybe Epyon wants to spend a day at the beach too, and this was all just some ploy so we'd bring it to Jamaica...."
Zechs just rolled his eyes. Looking more than a little relieved, Dorothy tucked the computer back into its carry case and threw the strap over one shoulder.
"So... now where too...?"
"I don't know. There's this thing called sunlight that I haven't seen in a while." Zechs smiled at his partners. "And it's been a long time since I walked on a beach."
"Last beach I was on..." Duo smiled lopsidedly. "I tried to rescue your sister from Heero. Boy was that a stupid plan on my part. And I'd never even seen the ocean before...."
"Well... I appreciate the sentiment, even if neither of them do," Zechs sighed, and led the way out of the hanger.
Dorothy glanced at her companions as they walked. Zechs was looking up over the green hills towards Blue Peak, while Duo gazed in fascinated delight at the waves to their left. Now that they had taken a moment to pause, she realized just how exhausted she was. And it was all to plain now, why Duo had simply shut down and let them take him home that first night.
It felt good to just let go of the stress of the job, and the worry about what would happen if Lady Une found out about Epyon and what the guys could do. And it was a relief to be able to talk to someone else about what they were doing. Even if he was mostly just humoring us... She sighed. "Your friend isn't going to be calling someone to take us to the local asylum, is he?"
Duo blinked, then looked at her. "Nah... He's cool. And he actually started to believe us once you showed him Epyon."
"That's good..." she muttered. They followed the curve of the beach, until the town of Montego Bay was out of sight behind the hills. There were boats on the water, but none close enough to shore to see people. No one else was on this stretch of beach.
She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the weight of guilt and responsibility slip away for the first time in nearly a year. You can't bring the people back that were on Hawaii, she told herself. All you can do is protect the peace now, find atonement for those you can... and see that war never touches this place.
A hand touched her shoulder, then arms slipped around her from behind in a gentle hug. "You okay?"
"Just thinking too much..."
"It's not Hawaii," he said quietly.
"How...?" She turned her head, but Zechs was looking over her shoulder into the distant horizon. Duo stood at the edge of the water, his back to them as he watched the waves lap over the toes of his boots.
"Did you think you were the one that bore that guilt?" His voice was raw. "You fired on my command... it was my madness that killed those people. Not yours."
"I should have... refused...."
"Could you have?" He asked quietly. She hesitated, then shook her head with a shiver.
"What happened- happened. Nothing we do now will ever change that." He sighed. "But if we prevent it from ever happening again... then maybe they didn't die in vain." His words echoed her thoughts, and she realized that he truly did understand the pain she felt; understood and shared the guilt. More weight slipped from her shoulders, and she let herself relax slightly and feel the warm breeze against her face. Dorothy closed her eyes with a sigh.
Duo stared out at the water, remembering all too well the vertigo he'd felt at first seeing the ocean. It had been almost three years since he came to Earth. In two weeks, it would be Christmas again... and there will have been peace for a whole year. The thought made him smile a little. It's so quiet here... so peaceful. It's hard to believe that there even was a war...
Hearing soft murmurs behind him, he glanced back to see Zechs standing with his arms around Dorothy. Her eyes were closed, but her face was relaxed for the first time in weeks. They looked good together. Zechs was staring out at the sea again, but even his face looked more peaceful then Duo had seen it in weeks. No ghosts here, except maybe ours.
Turning away to give his partners a little privacy, Duo crouched down and ran his fingers through the warm, white sand of the beach. There was nothing like this on L2, and he found himself marveling as the fine grains slipped through his fingers; blowing out in a thin spray in the breeze. Feeling the warmth of the sun on his back, Duo peeled off the too warm jacket.
"Someone's got the right idea," Zechs muttered behind him. When he glanced back, his partners were no longer standing together. Zechs shrugged out of his own jacket, then reached for Epyon's case strap so that Dorothy could do the same. Jackets were tossed in a heap well out of the reach of the water, half covering Epyon.
"Hard to believe it's almost Christmas again," Dorothy said as she stretched in the sunlight. "It's hot out here."
"Feels good," Duo shrugged. "L2 was always cold, even in the summer."
"Hmm." Dorothy frowned, then sighed and kicked off her shoes. "I haven't been to a beach since I was a child. Before I went to live with my grandparents."
"L2 doesn't have beaches." Duo smiled a little. "Solo told me about them once- when he was telling fairy tales to the little kids. Said we'd see one someday." To his surprise, Zechs laughed. "What...?"
"He was right." Zechs glanced at the empty space to Duo's left. "I think the experience is a little more than he was expecting though."
Duo smiled; relieved that Solo was there, even if he couldn't see him. Dorothy stripped off her socks, rolling the faded jeans up a little.
"What are you doing?" Duo asked curiously. Zechs grinned at him and started to follow her example.
"Take your shoes off," Zechs ordered with a mock glare. "And your socks."
"Why?" Duo stared back at him in bewilderment.
"You've never been to a beach before," Dorothy answered.
"Attempting to save my sister from herself doesn't count. And that was at night anyway," Zechs added. "Come on... or do we have to pin you down and take them off for you?"
Duo felt his eyes widening, even as Dorothy's grin turned almost feral. "What does being barefoot have to do with never being on a beach before- I'm taking them off already, jeez..." He hastily bent to untie the heavy combat boots he still wore.
"Good." Dorothy grinned. "And it's good to know at least one threat works against you."
"Oh, God, now I've done it..." Duo muttered as he kicked the boots into a pile with Zechs' and Dorothy's. "Why are we doing this again?"
"Because it's a beautiful day, we're off duty, out of uniform and standing on a beach." Zechs shrugged. "Is that enough reasons?" He eyed Duo with a smirk. "You might want to roll your pants legs up too."
Duo looked suspiciously from Zechs to Dorothy, but did as the older man suggested. "I though swimming suits were normal attire for a beach..."
"If you own one, sure," Dorothy shrugged. "But none of us thought to bring one."
"Hmm. True," Duo frowned, then looked down at his feet. "This feels really weird."
Dorothy just smiled, before grabbing his arm and dragging him out into the water.
Zechs grinned at the expression on Duo's face as Dorothy coaxed him into the cool water. His face went from puzzled to appreciative almost instantly. Yeah. He's been on a beach before, but there's a difference between standing in the water, fully dressed at night, and standing barefoot in the water with the sun shining down on you. And no mission.
"Like it?" Zechs asked as he moved to stand beside them and look out at the waves.
"Yeah," Duo grinned. "A little weird, but cool. I'd always wondered what the attraction was before."
"That's the idea," Dorothy smiled, the last of the stress from Epyon's nightmares leaving her face. "Too bad we don't have suits though. It would be fun to go deeper."
"You think?" Zechs tried to resist the impulse... for all of a minute. Dorothy yelped as he caught her around the waist and they plunged farther into the water. She came up spitting, glaring at him despite the grin on her face.
"Alright, this means war," she warned, as he prudently moved back towards where Duo stood watching.
"Um... aren't we supposed to be peacekeepers?" Duo asked, as he tried to keep Zechs from hiding behind him while Dorothy stalked them through knee deep water.
Her clothes were molded to her body now, and she shoved a mass of dripping gold hair out of her way as her eyes narrowed. "Or... something... hey, I didn't have anything to do...with..." He broke off as she sent a wave of water towards him, then waded deeper to retaliate in kind.
Howard looked up as Melvin walked into the office, a grin on his face.
"Did you see them?"
"Oh, yeah. I saw them," Melvin snickered.
"What are they doing?" Howard asked suspiciously. "I swear if they're moping around the hotel..."
"They're about a mile down the beach, outside of town." Melvin shook his head.
"What is so damn funny, Melvin?" Howard glared at his right hand man. "Oh, don't tell me they're having sex on the beach or something..."
"Not quite..." Melvin gave up on snickering and just started laughing instead.
"Not quite?" Howard raised one eyebrow in warning. "Spill, man."
"I think they're having a water fight." Melvin threw him an angelic look. "I didn't get really close, like you said, but they were all out in the water, splashing around like they were about five."
Howard tried to process that image, and suddenly regretted having sent Melvin out to make sure the three agents had managed to find a place to stay. I knew I should have gone myself... "Well, it's about damn time." He finally muttered. "I swear I have never met three people that had less of a childhood, and that includes Heero Yuy."
Melvin snickered again. "I think they've made up for lost time, boss."
Howard just sighed and waved the man out. When he was alone, he sat staring at the vid-phone for a long moment before reaching out to dial. When it was finally answered, it still took him a few seconds to decide what to say.
"Hey. We've got a problem."
Treize glanced around the beach, then settled down near the pile of computer and jackets; a spot where he could watch the three playing in the water, and also watch Solo. The younger ghost was standing at the edge of the water, watching their living companions wistfully. The pain and longing in Solo's eyes was heartbreaking.
'Solo...' Treize called, then broke off. He wasn't sure there was anything he could say that would ease the younger man's pain. Solo sighed, then turned to glance at him sullenly.
'What?'
'Are you alright?' He regretted the words almost as soon as they were out of his mouth. Solo's gray eyes narrowed as he glared at Treize.
'What kinda stupid question is that?' Solo grumbled, turning his back on the three in the water. 'I'm fuckin' dead...'
'Yes.' Treize sighed. 'But I would think you would be used to that by now. I am, and you've been dead a lot longer.'
Solo scowled, his anger fading back into longing as he kicked at one of the rippling waves. His foot passed though the water without disturbing it. With a last longing look at the waves, Solo turned and moved across the beach to where Treize sat; dropping weightlessly onto the sand beside him.
'You'd think so, wouldn't ya?' Now he sounded more wistful than angry. 'It's just that... we never had...beaches, and sunlight like this...water as far as you could see...' He shrugged. 'I woulda given anythin' to be here with Duo while I was alive. One of the guys... he had a picture he lifted from some guy's house... of a beach. He gave it to me when I was nine... I used ta take it out and look at it, when things got really bad. And I'd tell the little ones about beaches. I always wanted to see sand... and real sunlight. I thought that'd be enough, to just see it for real someday.' His voice dropped to a whisper, as he looked down at the beach beneath them. 'But it's not...I can see it now... and I would still give anythin'... to touch it... feel the water...'
'We always want what we can't have...' Treize muttered, looking at Zechs as he spoke.
'Ya miss being able to touch him, don't ya?' Solo threw him a curious look.
'Yes,' Treize said quietly. 'But then, I missed that when I was still alive.'
'Yeah.' Solo frowned. 'Bein' dead... it's good for nothing but showing ya all the things ya never had... or cain't have again.'
'Perhaps.' Treize shrugged. 'Though our being dead has helped them out a few times, so it's not a complete waste.'
Solo just sighed, and ran phantom fingers across the white sand.
TBC