Okay, this is another one of those random-inspiration things. It's silly, doesn't have a very profound point... Hey, it fits the Alphabet Series perfectly! Now for the reason this started: I’ve read a couple of stories for different series where… oh, but you’ll find that out soon enough. (grins) I’m not being mean; I’m just trying not to spoil the story for you. Besides, aren’t you happy I’ve returned to the Alphabet Series? Enjoy!

I do not own Gundam Wing.

Q is for Quiet

Agony.

It had only been two days, and already Duo was in complete agony.

Being sick generally sucked, but normally he had the small comfort of complaining incessantly about his illness. Not this time.

This time, Duo had… laryngitis.

His fellow Gundam pilots were delighted by the irony of the situation. Well, Wufei didn’t show it, and Trowa and Heero rarely showed any emotion. So mostly Quatre was delighted. Duo was mostly pissed off.

They were all sitting at the breakfast table. That almost never happened, so Quatre and Trowa had made an especially large and excellent-tasting breakfast in honor of the occasion. Duo loved the food. He practically worshiped the food. It was the lack of conversation that was driving him nuts. How could the other four eat in silence? For that matter, how did Trowa and Heero live like this? How could they go for days at a time without uttering a single word? Duo wanted to talk so badly, and he couldn’t. Everyone else could talk, and they didn’t. What was wrong with these people?

Heero shifted slightly in his chair. Two days of Duo not talking was starting to get to him. Normally he found the self-proclaimed Shinigami’s endless chatter annoying, but after discovering what life was like with a mute Duo, he was beginning to miss it. He had a sneaking suspicion that the others did too; even Wufei kept glancing at Duo as though he expected some horrendous nickname to spout from the American’s mouth, giving them the opportunity to argue and end the oppressive silence that had settled over the breakfast table. But that was something the Chinese pilot would never, ever admit to anyone, least of all himself. Heero surprised himself by releasing a tiny little sigh.

Duo was tired of it, and he wasn’t going to take this for one more second. He backhanded his full glass of milk, sending it and its contents flying. The glass hit the wall several feet away, but the milk went into Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei’s faces as well as all over the food. Duo smirked in sadistic self-satisfaction. Quatre stared at him in shock. Trowa blinked through his hair, since his wet bangs were now plastered to his face. Wufei’s face started to turn red as he resisted the urge to leap across the table and kill Duo. And then something truly amazing happened.

Heero laughed.

It wasn’t anything like Duo’s long, maniacal “mwahaha”s or Quatre’s gentle chuckles. Like everything else he did, Heero’s laugh was unique to him. But it once more threw the gathering into silence. So Duo did the only thing he felt he could do.

He reached for Heero’s glass of milk and tossed it into the face of pilot Zero-One.

Without hesitation Heero tackled Duo, knocking over both of their chairs. Quatre started to laugh hysterically. Trowa began to snicker, and after a moment even Wufei cracked a smile that soon became a huge grin. On the floor, it was a somewhat different story.

Duo found out at that moment that Heero’s death glare was far more intimidating from a very close distance. Considering that their faces were mere inches apart, Duo was just a little bit scared. Heero leaned even closer. “Just because you can’t talk, Duo, doesn’t mean I can’t kill you. The loss of your most frequently used ability does not equal the loss of mine.”

Duo thought of something. Go right ahead and shoot me, he mouthed.

Heero sat up, though he didn’t get off of Duo. “I don’t think so.” He stood and helped Duo to his feet. Duo cocked his head in confusion, his eyes clearly asking “Why not?”

Heero smiled. “The house would be too quiet.”

--Owari--

The shortest of the series yet, but I just had to do it. Like I was saying at the top, I’ve read a few fics where one of the main characters was mute. Naturally, I wondered what would happen if Duo couldn’t talk. This was the result of that ponderment and about thirty minutes of typing. Thanks for reading, and please review!