Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Fallen ❯ Ch 6 ( Chapter 6 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: lissabeth 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.21.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 420 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.21.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 420 | Status: Work In Progress
a/n: this a warning for Heero angst. Well let's just say a lot of angst in the chapter. Okie? Please don't kill me. Plus I just thought I'd mention I don't own the songs in here. But it's one of my favs by travis tritt called anymore. Have fun. Thanks for all the great reviews. me so happy.
Ch. 6
A.C. 198 August
"He hardly ever goes out anymore." Wufei said talking to Duo over dinner.
Looking up he nodded slightly. There was no need to ask who his lover was talking about. Heero had started working more, if that was possible, and getting him to go out with the group any more was difficult to do, more like impossible. He had become a constant in their lives and his absence was painful.
"Well let's try to get him to go out Saturday night with us. Maybe we should ask Relena to ask him. He seems to come out more when she's the one asking." Wufei said, more playing with his dinner than eating it.
"Sounds like a good idea. Why don't we call her after dinner?" Duo said only playing with his food as well. Noticing that neither of them was eating anyway, he stood up and went to the phone. "Hey Relena, I was just wondering if you could try to convince Heero to come out with us this Saturday." He paused for a few minutes. Wufei sat there listening. "Yeah I know. Well, see what you can do and get back to me….. Yeah, thanks. Bye Relena." He sat back down at the table. "She said that she'd try."
"You want to call it an early night." Wufei asked hopefully.
"Yeah that sounds like a good idea."
Getting ready for bed, both had the same thought on their minds. They were both still in love with each other. And both were in love with Heero. How do you explain this to your lover? 'I just don't know.' Was the answer going through both of their minds.
When Saturday night came, Relena had somehow managed to convince Heero to come out with them, even though she couldn't come. The club was slow, so it was decided that they would just head for karaoke early. Duo also noticed that Heero was showing his depression right on his face and in his body language. 'This must have gotten very bad. Wait a minute.' He studied Heero closely and then came to a realization. 'He's drunk. Granted not flat out, fall down drunk. But he definitely has some alcohol in his system.' They had already picked out songs to sing. Duo, Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa got up to sing first.
'Damn I don't think I should of had that many drinks before I came out here.' Heero thought to himself. 'Why the hell did I pick that damn song to sing.' He watched as the four ex-pilots sang a terrible rendition of Bon Jovi's Bad Medicine. 'God Jon would kill them if he heard them trash his song like that.' He sat there and listened to one terribly sung rock song after another. Then it came to his turn.
"Heero, man, get up there." Duo said smiling.
"Oh, yeah." He stood up going to the stage pulling a stool with him. Once there he sat and nodded for the music. Letting the music wash over him he began to sing. Truly sing from deep within his heart.
"I can't hide the way I feel about you. Anymore
I can't hold the hurt inside keep the pain out of my eyes. Anymore."
Closing his eyes he poured his heart out.
"My tears no longer waiting
My resistance ain't that strong
My mind keeps recreating a life with you alone
And I'm tired of pretending I don't love you, Anymore."
Tears were coming to his eyes but he pushed them down. The four at the table were visibly shaken by the pain in their friend's voice. Heero's velvet voice carrying throughout the bar was so beautiful and pain stricken that no one could move.
"Let me make one last appeal
To show you how I feel, about you
Cause there's no one else I swear
Hold's a candle anywhere, next to you."
Heero opened his eyes and was looking upward, right hand on his heart.
"My heart can't take the beating
Not having you to hold
A small voice keeps repeating
Deep inside my soul
It's says I can't keep pretending
I don't love you anymore."
He looked down trying to blink the tears away, but it didn't seem to be working.
"I've got to take the chance
Won't let it pass by
If I expect to get on with my life."
Looking up to his friends, 'Bad idea,' he thought. Belting out the words he continued even though he knew his heart was exposed, tears streaming down his face.
"My tears no longer waiting
Oh my resistance ain't that strong.
But my mind keeps recreating a life with you alone
And I'm tired of pretending I don't love you anymore."
He caught Duo's eyes for a moment.
"Anymore."
Then looked to Wufei and finished the song.
"Anymore."
As the last note died out, the silence was deafening. Heero jerked back to reality. 'What in the hell am I doing.' He jumped up and ran out of the bar. 'Damn it.' he found a cab and went home.
Back at the club the four sat at the table somewhat in a state of shock. Quatre looked to Trowa tears in his eyes. Not saying a word. The silence was broken by Wufei. "Mind if we call it a night guys?"
"No that's understandable." Trowa said.
'Damn it' Heero was sitting on his bed, head in his hands. Picking up his phone he called Relena. "Hey can you come over?" his voice broke. "Ok. Thanks."
Picking up his razor he tore furiously through the skin on his upper arm. Realizing there was no room left on either of his upper arms, he moved to his thighs. There was a knock on his door, then it opened. "In here Rel'." he called. When Trowa walked into the room he flew off the bed, pulling on a baggy pair of sweat pant's over his torn flesh. "What are you doing here Trowa?" he whispered harshly.
"You know Quatre, he was worried." Trowa said acting as if he didn't even notice Heero's quick dressing.
"Well I'm fine. So get out." He growled at the taller teen.
Trowa just looked at him for a minute.
Trying to gather himself together Heeros jaw clenched. "Get out." He said pointing to the door, his body shaking uncontrollably.
Suddenly the door opened and Relena came rushing in. She saw the scene and rushed to Heero's side. He practically threw himself into her arms, tears falling at full force once again. She looked up to Trowa, light blue eyes begging for him to go. He nodded and left.
"Heero, hon, what happened?" she asking gently rubbing his back, soothing him like a child.
"I … I … fucked up Rel'." he said chocking on his sobs. "I … let too much… I let them see… too much … what do I do? They… they'll all hate me." So broken, the mask is too broken to repair now. Relena hugged him tightly. "What happened?" she asked softly. After all was explained she took him into the bathroom to clean him up. Seeing the cuts on his arms, she gasped. "Oh God." Was all she could say as she got them cleaned the best she could. "Is that all?" she asked hoping it was. He shook his head and pealed the sweat pants off the drying blood on his legs, wincing at the pain. Tears were coming down her face by the time she was done. "Heero, this is pretty bad. You remember what I told you?" She said as she finished wrapping his legs. He was shaking too bad to do anything but sit there. "You should take some time off work. I don't think tomorrow will be enough time to recuperate from this." Relena said softly as she got him in bed.
"No. I'll be fine. Thank you Relena." So emotionally exhausted he fell into a deep sleep.
"Be careful Heero. I can't loose my best friend." She said as she got up after making sure he was asleep, then left for home.
Monday at work Duo walked nervously up to Heero's desk. "Umm…. Heero?" Before he could get any more said, a call came for them to go to Une's office.
Heero just stood up and pushed past Duo heading to Une's office. "Come on Duo."
45 minutes later they were getting ready to leave for a mission. "Hey Heero I have to go tell Wufei that we're leaving. I'll be there in 10 minutes ready to go."
"Got it." Heero said walking towards the jet.
"Hey 'Fei, mission's come up, me and Heero are heading out now. We should be back by tomorrow morning. Ok?" he said leaning on Wufei's desk.
"Alright, I'll see you when you get back." Smiling softly Wufei lifted Duo's hand to his lips and kissed it. "Be careful."
"Chang, there's someone here to see you." one of the office agents said at the doorway.
"Ok. Send them in. Bye Duo."
Duo walked out the door passing right by Relena. "Hey, Relena, sorry I can't chat I'm in a rush."
"That's ok. I understand." She said stepping into Wufei's office.
"Hi Relena, please have a seat." Wufei gestured to a chair. "What can I do for you?" he became a little worried at the severe look on her face.
"Thank you." she said sitting down. "This is very serous…" As she told the tale of the pain and the cutting, Wufei sat, tears coming to his eyes as he realized just how much he overlooked.
"How did I not see?" he whispered.
"Don't torture yourself. He didn't want you to know. And if he doesn't want you to see then you won't. But the barriers are breaking. The only reason I'm saying anything to you now is because things are starting to get out of control. And I think he's to the point where his life is in danger." She paused. "Please Wufei, help him." she pleaded.
"Hey Heero lets go." Heero nodded to Duo as they headed towards the jet to take them close to their target. Two hours later they landed 45 minutes out from the base where they were to get hostages to safety and destroy the facility.
"Getting into this place should be easy enough." Duo whispered seeing the poor security system.
"Let's split up. Duo you take the left. I got right. Find anything, radio me." Agreeing they took off.
Heero turned down a long hallway and found three guards posted in front of a door. 'I bet the hostages are in there.' Creeping around, all three guards were down before they knew what was happening. Opening the door, he found a small group of people huddled in the corner of the room. "Is this all of you?" he asked.
"Yes." A man spoke for the group.
"Alright," turning on his comm link he called to Duo. "I've found the hostages. Are the charges set?"
"Yup."
"Let's move out." Heero said turning to the small group.
They met up with Duo and headed out. Once side by side Duo leaned closer to Heero. "Does this really seem like an intense situation to you?" he whispered.
"No. I don't really see how these people are a threat. They're not very capable." Heero said as the exited the building.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Well let's blow this popsicle stand." Duo said as they headed towards the jet. Heero went ahead with the group of scared civilians. Turning back to see how Duo was coming along with the charges he saw men running out of the building with guns. Seeing the others safely being loaded into the jet he ran back just as the shots began to ring out.
"Duo!" he yelled and pushed Duo out of the way as bullets tore through him, collapsing on top of the other teen.
Pulling out the detonation device, Duo pressed the button. "Burn in hell," he yelled as the explosions went off right at the entrance where the gunners were standing. Seeing that they were all killed instantly, he moved slowly to move Heero over.
"Status Heero!" he tried to keep calm.
"Fucked." Came the reply.
"Yuy, don't give me that shit." Turning him over he saw blood staining Heero's back. 'Oh God.' "Heero, why the hell did you do that?" he said as he put as much pressure on the open wound as possible. Grabbing the radio, he called to the agents in the jet for a stretcher to be brought.
As two agents came on to the scene, Duo asked again. "Why?"
Blue pain-filled eyes opened looking straight into violet. "Too important." Taking a deep breath he continued on. "You and Wufei deserve to live. You two have to be happy." A bloodied hand raised up to Duo's cheek. "How could I know it would happen this way?" A bittersweet smile on his face was replaced by a harsh cough, blood coming from his lips.
"Hurry!" Duo yelled to the pilots as they got the jet going. "Heero, I don't know what you're trying to say." He said holding Heero's hand to the side of his face.
Blue eyes closed. "Heero stay with me buddy. Come on man."
Bloodied lips moved barely and whispered so softly Duo had to lean down to hear him. "Foolish. To let myself love not only one… but two… Two I can never have." His eyes opened slightly. "Take care of each other… too precious." With that said he passed out.
Duo sat, stunned. "Oh my God! Can you not move this thing any faster?!"
"We're about to land at the hospital, sir. They're waiting for us on the ground." The pilot yelled back.
The ex-hostages sat soberly watching one of their rescuer's blood spread out over the floor of the jet.
Wufei left work shortly after his meeting with Relena, telling Une he needed the next couple of days off. By the time he had finally gotten to sleep he was woken up shortly by a hysterical Duo, telling him to get to the hospital a.s.a.p.
Wufei walked into the waiting room and saw Duo covered in blood. "What happened? Are you ok?" he said checking his lover over.
"I'm fine. It's not my blood, its Heero's. He's in surgery." He leaned into Wufei, hugging him tightly.
"Did you call the others?" Wufei asked.
"Yeah they should be here soon." Sniffing he sat down. "It was terrible 'Fei."
"How did the mission go so wrong?" he asked sitting down beside Duo.
"It didn't really, until the end…" he updated Wufei on the mission. "The worst part was what he told me before he passed out." Tears streaming down his face. "He was saying how we had to be happy. How we were too precious to lose." Looking into dark eyes his voice broke. "He said that he loved us." His tears started to come and he didn't bother to push them back.
"Relena told me a lot of what has been happening." Duo looked up to Wufei showing he was listening. "I guess they tell each other everything. Oh Duo, we just didn't see. Duo, I…" he was cut off by the doctor coming out and they jumped up. "What's happening?"
"Hi I'm Dr. Hammond. Well he's out of surgery now. We were able to remove all the bullets. He's very lucky that most did not cause any lasting damage."
"Most?" Duo and Wufei asked at the same time.
"I'm afraid one was dangerously close to his spinal cord. We will have to watch him and see how the healing goes. However I must warn you that the time period of recover for this type of wound is long and hard. I'm not sure how long it will take for him to wake. I'm also concerned about the series of cuts on his arms and legs." The doctor paused to see if they knew what he was referring to. Seeing the look of pain cross Wufei's eyes he proceeded. "Do you know how long he has been doing this?"
As Wufei nodded Duo's world seemed to start to slip. He turned worried eyes to his lover and listened as he told the doctor how long it had been going on, the details seemed to blur as the questions drug on. Finally the doctor finished his questions. "Well one of you may see him at a time right now. So if you'll follow me?" He said leading the way towards Heero's room.
"You go first, Duo." Wufei said stepping aside.
"Thanks 'Fei."
While Wufei was waiting, Quatre and Trowa showed up. He was looking at the floor hunched over in his chair and didn't even notice the other two were there until there was a hand on his shoulder. Lifting his tear-stained eyes he looked into worried blue and green eyes.
"It's really bad."
Quatre nodded, they had talked to the doctor before coming to see Wufei. "But we must remember that he is very strong."
Shaking his head Wufei's tears started fresh. "If you have the will to live. Duo said he was saying goodbye. He has to want to live."
Duo came out then and told Wufei he was done so he could go in. Before he opened the door, Duo spoke up. "It's not pretty in there, 'Fei. Just wanted to warn you."
Opening the door he looked in and almost fell over at the sight of Heero hooked up to all the machines. He was very pale and fragile looking. Walking over to the bed he put his hand on Heero's forehead. "Heero I'm sorry. Please come back to us. We have so much to talk about." He stood for what seemed like an eternity, looking at the still form of someone he never thought he would see this way. Sniffing, he gathered himself and left the room. "Duo we have to talk." Duo nodded. "Quatre would you mind watching over Heero for a while?" he asked.
"No, go ahead. We'll call if anything changes." Quatre told them.
"Alright, thanks guys. Let's go get something to eat." Wufei said turning his attention to Duo.
"Ok."
After ordering their food at a diner near the hospital, Duo picked up the conversation. "I don't really know how to say this but I guess you already know anyway, so I'll just spit it out. Somewhere along the way I've fallen in love with Heero. I still love you. It's really messed up I know. But it's the truth. I'm in love with both of you. How insane is that? If you want to hate me for this, I understand. But it's only fair that I tell you." the food arrived and the conversation ceased for a few minutes.
Duo was getting worried at Wufei's silence until finally he spoke. "No, I'm not mad at you." he said with a tiny smile. "How could I be? We seem to be having the same problem." He couldn't miss the sigh of relief that came from the other side of the table. "Now the question is, what are we going to do?"
"Well I would say that we should just concentrate on helping Heero recover right now. He needs us to be there for him just like all those times he's been there for us. We'll see where it goes from there." Duo said finishing his sandwich. "Let's pay the bill and get back to the hospital."
With everything said, they got up and made their way back.
"I don't understand, you say he's stable and is healing, but why won't he wake up, Dr. Hammond?" Duo questioned the doctor a week after Heero was brought in.
"Some things don't have answers, Mr. Maxwell. He has to have a fighting spirit and the will to live. Judging from the scars from his cutting, it had become very frequent and chaotic. But that's not too say that he had lost all hope."
Duo slid down the wall, the words felt like they were beating down on him. The doctor laid a hand on his shoulder. "Look son, just keep talking to him. Bring him back. It is possible. Just keep your hopes up." With that said he walked away.
Relena found Duo still slumped on the floor. Kneeling down beside him she nudged him. "Hey Duo, how are you holding up?"
He looked to her with a lost expression on his face. "Why, Relena?" he said softly. "Why did he hurt himself for so long? I don't understand" his eyes pleading for understanding.
She sighed. "He explained it to me once he said that physical pain was easier to deal with than emotional. And that, while he was cutting he could block the emotional and concentrate on the physical."
"It's all my fault, because he got hurt and now because he won't wake up. The doctor said they don't understand why he won't wake and that he might have lost his will to live." Setting his head back down on his knees he tried to stop the tears.
"I could tell you not to blame yourself, but you would anyway, even though it's not your fault. But if it is your fault, then it's mine as well. I could have come to you sooner, but I didn't. Hind-sights 20/20, you know. Looking back does us no good at this point." With this said she hugged him tightly and pulled him to his feet. "Well come on let's go and try to wake up sleeping beauty." Getting a little laugh out of Duo, they walked into the room.
Wufei had fallen asleep leaning on the bed holding Heero's hand. Hearing the door open he blinked his eyes and sat up. "What did the doctor have to say?"
"To just keep talking to him and try to wake him up." Stopping to collect his thoughts. "They don't see a medical reason as to why he won't wake up."
"Oh." Was the only response he got as Wufei looked back down to the bed. "He looks so peaceful doesn't he?"
"Yeah he does." He walked over to Wufei and hugged him from behind. "I need to go and talk to Une. Do you want anything before I leave?"
"No thanks."
"Ok I'll see you later babe. Bye Relena." He said as he left.
"Bye Duo,…Wufei, why don't you go and get some sleep. You look like you haven't slept since this began. When he wakes up you don't want to pass out from exhaustion, now do you?" before the protest could be voiced she held up her hands. "I won't hear it. Go." She said sternly.
"Fine, but call if anything changes." Wufei said as he got up to leave. Taking one last look at Heero before he walked out.
"Those two." She said shaking her head and taking the seat Wufei had vacated. "Heero, Heero, buddy this just isn't right. I mean Duo is always the one to cheer people up. And Wufei, I think he's about to lose his mind." She ran her fingers through his hair. "We want you back Heero. All of us. What would I do without a best-friend?"
tbc…
Ch. 6
A.C. 198 August
"He hardly ever goes out anymore." Wufei said talking to Duo over dinner.
Looking up he nodded slightly. There was no need to ask who his lover was talking about. Heero had started working more, if that was possible, and getting him to go out with the group any more was difficult to do, more like impossible. He had become a constant in their lives and his absence was painful.
"Well let's try to get him to go out Saturday night with us. Maybe we should ask Relena to ask him. He seems to come out more when she's the one asking." Wufei said, more playing with his dinner than eating it.
"Sounds like a good idea. Why don't we call her after dinner?" Duo said only playing with his food as well. Noticing that neither of them was eating anyway, he stood up and went to the phone. "Hey Relena, I was just wondering if you could try to convince Heero to come out with us this Saturday." He paused for a few minutes. Wufei sat there listening. "Yeah I know. Well, see what you can do and get back to me….. Yeah, thanks. Bye Relena." He sat back down at the table. "She said that she'd try."
"You want to call it an early night." Wufei asked hopefully.
"Yeah that sounds like a good idea."
Getting ready for bed, both had the same thought on their minds. They were both still in love with each other. And both were in love with Heero. How do you explain this to your lover? 'I just don't know.' Was the answer going through both of their minds.
When Saturday night came, Relena had somehow managed to convince Heero to come out with them, even though she couldn't come. The club was slow, so it was decided that they would just head for karaoke early. Duo also noticed that Heero was showing his depression right on his face and in his body language. 'This must have gotten very bad. Wait a minute.' He studied Heero closely and then came to a realization. 'He's drunk. Granted not flat out, fall down drunk. But he definitely has some alcohol in his system.' They had already picked out songs to sing. Duo, Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa got up to sing first.
'Damn I don't think I should of had that many drinks before I came out here.' Heero thought to himself. 'Why the hell did I pick that damn song to sing.' He watched as the four ex-pilots sang a terrible rendition of Bon Jovi's Bad Medicine. 'God Jon would kill them if he heard them trash his song like that.' He sat there and listened to one terribly sung rock song after another. Then it came to his turn.
"Heero, man, get up there." Duo said smiling.
"Oh, yeah." He stood up going to the stage pulling a stool with him. Once there he sat and nodded for the music. Letting the music wash over him he began to sing. Truly sing from deep within his heart.
"I can't hide the way I feel about you. Anymore
I can't hold the hurt inside keep the pain out of my eyes. Anymore."
Closing his eyes he poured his heart out.
"My tears no longer waiting
My resistance ain't that strong
My mind keeps recreating a life with you alone
And I'm tired of pretending I don't love you, Anymore."
Tears were coming to his eyes but he pushed them down. The four at the table were visibly shaken by the pain in their friend's voice. Heero's velvet voice carrying throughout the bar was so beautiful and pain stricken that no one could move.
"Let me make one last appeal
To show you how I feel, about you
Cause there's no one else I swear
Hold's a candle anywhere, next to you."
Heero opened his eyes and was looking upward, right hand on his heart.
"My heart can't take the beating
Not having you to hold
A small voice keeps repeating
Deep inside my soul
It's says I can't keep pretending
I don't love you anymore."
He looked down trying to blink the tears away, but it didn't seem to be working.
"I've got to take the chance
Won't let it pass by
If I expect to get on with my life."
Looking up to his friends, 'Bad idea,' he thought. Belting out the words he continued even though he knew his heart was exposed, tears streaming down his face.
"My tears no longer waiting
Oh my resistance ain't that strong.
But my mind keeps recreating a life with you alone
And I'm tired of pretending I don't love you anymore."
He caught Duo's eyes for a moment.
"Anymore."
Then looked to Wufei and finished the song.
"Anymore."
As the last note died out, the silence was deafening. Heero jerked back to reality. 'What in the hell am I doing.' He jumped up and ran out of the bar. 'Damn it.' he found a cab and went home.
Back at the club the four sat at the table somewhat in a state of shock. Quatre looked to Trowa tears in his eyes. Not saying a word. The silence was broken by Wufei. "Mind if we call it a night guys?"
"No that's understandable." Trowa said.
'Damn it' Heero was sitting on his bed, head in his hands. Picking up his phone he called Relena. "Hey can you come over?" his voice broke. "Ok. Thanks."
Picking up his razor he tore furiously through the skin on his upper arm. Realizing there was no room left on either of his upper arms, he moved to his thighs. There was a knock on his door, then it opened. "In here Rel'." he called. When Trowa walked into the room he flew off the bed, pulling on a baggy pair of sweat pant's over his torn flesh. "What are you doing here Trowa?" he whispered harshly.
"You know Quatre, he was worried." Trowa said acting as if he didn't even notice Heero's quick dressing.
"Well I'm fine. So get out." He growled at the taller teen.
Trowa just looked at him for a minute.
Trying to gather himself together Heeros jaw clenched. "Get out." He said pointing to the door, his body shaking uncontrollably.
Suddenly the door opened and Relena came rushing in. She saw the scene and rushed to Heero's side. He practically threw himself into her arms, tears falling at full force once again. She looked up to Trowa, light blue eyes begging for him to go. He nodded and left.
"Heero, hon, what happened?" she asking gently rubbing his back, soothing him like a child.
"I … I … fucked up Rel'." he said chocking on his sobs. "I … let too much… I let them see… too much … what do I do? They… they'll all hate me." So broken, the mask is too broken to repair now. Relena hugged him tightly. "What happened?" she asked softly. After all was explained she took him into the bathroom to clean him up. Seeing the cuts on his arms, she gasped. "Oh God." Was all she could say as she got them cleaned the best she could. "Is that all?" she asked hoping it was. He shook his head and pealed the sweat pants off the drying blood on his legs, wincing at the pain. Tears were coming down her face by the time she was done. "Heero, this is pretty bad. You remember what I told you?" She said as she finished wrapping his legs. He was shaking too bad to do anything but sit there. "You should take some time off work. I don't think tomorrow will be enough time to recuperate from this." Relena said softly as she got him in bed.
"No. I'll be fine. Thank you Relena." So emotionally exhausted he fell into a deep sleep.
"Be careful Heero. I can't loose my best friend." She said as she got up after making sure he was asleep, then left for home.
Monday at work Duo walked nervously up to Heero's desk. "Umm…. Heero?" Before he could get any more said, a call came for them to go to Une's office.
Heero just stood up and pushed past Duo heading to Une's office. "Come on Duo."
45 minutes later they were getting ready to leave for a mission. "Hey Heero I have to go tell Wufei that we're leaving. I'll be there in 10 minutes ready to go."
"Got it." Heero said walking towards the jet.
"Hey 'Fei, mission's come up, me and Heero are heading out now. We should be back by tomorrow morning. Ok?" he said leaning on Wufei's desk.
"Alright, I'll see you when you get back." Smiling softly Wufei lifted Duo's hand to his lips and kissed it. "Be careful."
"Chang, there's someone here to see you." one of the office agents said at the doorway.
"Ok. Send them in. Bye Duo."
Duo walked out the door passing right by Relena. "Hey, Relena, sorry I can't chat I'm in a rush."
"That's ok. I understand." She said stepping into Wufei's office.
"Hi Relena, please have a seat." Wufei gestured to a chair. "What can I do for you?" he became a little worried at the severe look on her face.
"Thank you." she said sitting down. "This is very serous…" As she told the tale of the pain and the cutting, Wufei sat, tears coming to his eyes as he realized just how much he overlooked.
"How did I not see?" he whispered.
"Don't torture yourself. He didn't want you to know. And if he doesn't want you to see then you won't. But the barriers are breaking. The only reason I'm saying anything to you now is because things are starting to get out of control. And I think he's to the point where his life is in danger." She paused. "Please Wufei, help him." she pleaded.
"Hey Heero lets go." Heero nodded to Duo as they headed towards the jet to take them close to their target. Two hours later they landed 45 minutes out from the base where they were to get hostages to safety and destroy the facility.
"Getting into this place should be easy enough." Duo whispered seeing the poor security system.
"Let's split up. Duo you take the left. I got right. Find anything, radio me." Agreeing they took off.
Heero turned down a long hallway and found three guards posted in front of a door. 'I bet the hostages are in there.' Creeping around, all three guards were down before they knew what was happening. Opening the door, he found a small group of people huddled in the corner of the room. "Is this all of you?" he asked.
"Yes." A man spoke for the group.
"Alright," turning on his comm link he called to Duo. "I've found the hostages. Are the charges set?"
"Yup."
"Let's move out." Heero said turning to the small group.
They met up with Duo and headed out. Once side by side Duo leaned closer to Heero. "Does this really seem like an intense situation to you?" he whispered.
"No. I don't really see how these people are a threat. They're not very capable." Heero said as the exited the building.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Well let's blow this popsicle stand." Duo said as they headed towards the jet. Heero went ahead with the group of scared civilians. Turning back to see how Duo was coming along with the charges he saw men running out of the building with guns. Seeing the others safely being loaded into the jet he ran back just as the shots began to ring out.
"Duo!" he yelled and pushed Duo out of the way as bullets tore through him, collapsing on top of the other teen.
Pulling out the detonation device, Duo pressed the button. "Burn in hell," he yelled as the explosions went off right at the entrance where the gunners were standing. Seeing that they were all killed instantly, he moved slowly to move Heero over.
"Status Heero!" he tried to keep calm.
"Fucked." Came the reply.
"Yuy, don't give me that shit." Turning him over he saw blood staining Heero's back. 'Oh God.' "Heero, why the hell did you do that?" he said as he put as much pressure on the open wound as possible. Grabbing the radio, he called to the agents in the jet for a stretcher to be brought.
As two agents came on to the scene, Duo asked again. "Why?"
Blue pain-filled eyes opened looking straight into violet. "Too important." Taking a deep breath he continued on. "You and Wufei deserve to live. You two have to be happy." A bloodied hand raised up to Duo's cheek. "How could I know it would happen this way?" A bittersweet smile on his face was replaced by a harsh cough, blood coming from his lips.
"Hurry!" Duo yelled to the pilots as they got the jet going. "Heero, I don't know what you're trying to say." He said holding Heero's hand to the side of his face.
Blue eyes closed. "Heero stay with me buddy. Come on man."
Bloodied lips moved barely and whispered so softly Duo had to lean down to hear him. "Foolish. To let myself love not only one… but two… Two I can never have." His eyes opened slightly. "Take care of each other… too precious." With that said he passed out.
Duo sat, stunned. "Oh my God! Can you not move this thing any faster?!"
"We're about to land at the hospital, sir. They're waiting for us on the ground." The pilot yelled back.
The ex-hostages sat soberly watching one of their rescuer's blood spread out over the floor of the jet.
Wufei left work shortly after his meeting with Relena, telling Une he needed the next couple of days off. By the time he had finally gotten to sleep he was woken up shortly by a hysterical Duo, telling him to get to the hospital a.s.a.p.
Wufei walked into the waiting room and saw Duo covered in blood. "What happened? Are you ok?" he said checking his lover over.
"I'm fine. It's not my blood, its Heero's. He's in surgery." He leaned into Wufei, hugging him tightly.
"Did you call the others?" Wufei asked.
"Yeah they should be here soon." Sniffing he sat down. "It was terrible 'Fei."
"How did the mission go so wrong?" he asked sitting down beside Duo.
"It didn't really, until the end…" he updated Wufei on the mission. "The worst part was what he told me before he passed out." Tears streaming down his face. "He was saying how we had to be happy. How we were too precious to lose." Looking into dark eyes his voice broke. "He said that he loved us." His tears started to come and he didn't bother to push them back.
"Relena told me a lot of what has been happening." Duo looked up to Wufei showing he was listening. "I guess they tell each other everything. Oh Duo, we just didn't see. Duo, I…" he was cut off by the doctor coming out and they jumped up. "What's happening?"
"Hi I'm Dr. Hammond. Well he's out of surgery now. We were able to remove all the bullets. He's very lucky that most did not cause any lasting damage."
"Most?" Duo and Wufei asked at the same time.
"I'm afraid one was dangerously close to his spinal cord. We will have to watch him and see how the healing goes. However I must warn you that the time period of recover for this type of wound is long and hard. I'm not sure how long it will take for him to wake. I'm also concerned about the series of cuts on his arms and legs." The doctor paused to see if they knew what he was referring to. Seeing the look of pain cross Wufei's eyes he proceeded. "Do you know how long he has been doing this?"
As Wufei nodded Duo's world seemed to start to slip. He turned worried eyes to his lover and listened as he told the doctor how long it had been going on, the details seemed to blur as the questions drug on. Finally the doctor finished his questions. "Well one of you may see him at a time right now. So if you'll follow me?" He said leading the way towards Heero's room.
"You go first, Duo." Wufei said stepping aside.
"Thanks 'Fei."
While Wufei was waiting, Quatre and Trowa showed up. He was looking at the floor hunched over in his chair and didn't even notice the other two were there until there was a hand on his shoulder. Lifting his tear-stained eyes he looked into worried blue and green eyes.
"It's really bad."
Quatre nodded, they had talked to the doctor before coming to see Wufei. "But we must remember that he is very strong."
Shaking his head Wufei's tears started fresh. "If you have the will to live. Duo said he was saying goodbye. He has to want to live."
Duo came out then and told Wufei he was done so he could go in. Before he opened the door, Duo spoke up. "It's not pretty in there, 'Fei. Just wanted to warn you."
Opening the door he looked in and almost fell over at the sight of Heero hooked up to all the machines. He was very pale and fragile looking. Walking over to the bed he put his hand on Heero's forehead. "Heero I'm sorry. Please come back to us. We have so much to talk about." He stood for what seemed like an eternity, looking at the still form of someone he never thought he would see this way. Sniffing, he gathered himself and left the room. "Duo we have to talk." Duo nodded. "Quatre would you mind watching over Heero for a while?" he asked.
"No, go ahead. We'll call if anything changes." Quatre told them.
"Alright, thanks guys. Let's go get something to eat." Wufei said turning his attention to Duo.
"Ok."
After ordering their food at a diner near the hospital, Duo picked up the conversation. "I don't really know how to say this but I guess you already know anyway, so I'll just spit it out. Somewhere along the way I've fallen in love with Heero. I still love you. It's really messed up I know. But it's the truth. I'm in love with both of you. How insane is that? If you want to hate me for this, I understand. But it's only fair that I tell you." the food arrived and the conversation ceased for a few minutes.
Duo was getting worried at Wufei's silence until finally he spoke. "No, I'm not mad at you." he said with a tiny smile. "How could I be? We seem to be having the same problem." He couldn't miss the sigh of relief that came from the other side of the table. "Now the question is, what are we going to do?"
"Well I would say that we should just concentrate on helping Heero recover right now. He needs us to be there for him just like all those times he's been there for us. We'll see where it goes from there." Duo said finishing his sandwich. "Let's pay the bill and get back to the hospital."
With everything said, they got up and made their way back.
"I don't understand, you say he's stable and is healing, but why won't he wake up, Dr. Hammond?" Duo questioned the doctor a week after Heero was brought in.
"Some things don't have answers, Mr. Maxwell. He has to have a fighting spirit and the will to live. Judging from the scars from his cutting, it had become very frequent and chaotic. But that's not too say that he had lost all hope."
Duo slid down the wall, the words felt like they were beating down on him. The doctor laid a hand on his shoulder. "Look son, just keep talking to him. Bring him back. It is possible. Just keep your hopes up." With that said he walked away.
Relena found Duo still slumped on the floor. Kneeling down beside him she nudged him. "Hey Duo, how are you holding up?"
He looked to her with a lost expression on his face. "Why, Relena?" he said softly. "Why did he hurt himself for so long? I don't understand" his eyes pleading for understanding.
She sighed. "He explained it to me once he said that physical pain was easier to deal with than emotional. And that, while he was cutting he could block the emotional and concentrate on the physical."
"It's all my fault, because he got hurt and now because he won't wake up. The doctor said they don't understand why he won't wake and that he might have lost his will to live." Setting his head back down on his knees he tried to stop the tears.
"I could tell you not to blame yourself, but you would anyway, even though it's not your fault. But if it is your fault, then it's mine as well. I could have come to you sooner, but I didn't. Hind-sights 20/20, you know. Looking back does us no good at this point." With this said she hugged him tightly and pulled him to his feet. "Well come on let's go and try to wake up sleeping beauty." Getting a little laugh out of Duo, they walked into the room.
Wufei had fallen asleep leaning on the bed holding Heero's hand. Hearing the door open he blinked his eyes and sat up. "What did the doctor have to say?"
"To just keep talking to him and try to wake him up." Stopping to collect his thoughts. "They don't see a medical reason as to why he won't wake up."
"Oh." Was the only response he got as Wufei looked back down to the bed. "He looks so peaceful doesn't he?"
"Yeah he does." He walked over to Wufei and hugged him from behind. "I need to go and talk to Une. Do you want anything before I leave?"
"No thanks."
"Ok I'll see you later babe. Bye Relena." He said as he left.
"Bye Duo,…Wufei, why don't you go and get some sleep. You look like you haven't slept since this began. When he wakes up you don't want to pass out from exhaustion, now do you?" before the protest could be voiced she held up her hands. "I won't hear it. Go." She said sternly.
"Fine, but call if anything changes." Wufei said as he got up to leave. Taking one last look at Heero before he walked out.
"Those two." She said shaking her head and taking the seat Wufei had vacated. "Heero, Heero, buddy this just isn't right. I mean Duo is always the one to cheer people up. And Wufei, I think he's about to lose his mind." She ran her fingers through his hair. "We want you back Heero. All of us. What would I do without a best-friend?"
tbc…