Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Last Chance ❯ ...And Yet So Far ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
LSE // 7-24-03
(Last Chance - Chapter Seven: ...And Yet So Far)
rated: PG13 - language, content
shounen-ai/yaoi

...And Yet So Far

-

"...keep your voices down. You're going to wake him."

"Him? Who--"

"Shhhh!"

"C'mon. Wake up. You're missing all the good stuff!"

"...Shinigami?" Heero muttered, opening his eyes and finding himself
staring at a vaguely familiar ceiling. It took him several minutes to
register the ceiling belong to Duo's apartment and that something was
jabbing him in the back. Most likely a shoe, by the feel of it.
Sitting up, he noticed a distinct lack of the God of Death (maybe
he'd just dreamed the voice...) and of Duo. Twisting his head around,
Heero blinked to clear sleep from his eyes and confirmed Duo was not
in the small apartment.

His momentary panic faded, however, when he heard the soft, muffled
voices from the hallway.

"...last night!"

"I TOLD you already, they busted me!"

That was Duo.

"I don't CARE!"

Heero didn't know who that was.

"Shh!"

"Don't you--"

"SH!"

Smack.

Scrambling to his feet and somehow avoiding being tripped on the
debris, Heero reached the partially-opened door and all but tumbled
out into the hallway. Quickly, his eyes fell on Duo and, seeing the
red, vaguely hand-shaped mark on his face, whirled to the other man
in the hallway in a fury. The man cocked an eyebrow, looking to Duo
and then back to Heero, with smug arrogance.

Before Heero could pound the man's face in for hitting Duo, the
braided boy in question was trying to shove him back into the
apartment. "Heero! You're awake! Here, here, sorry we woke you, why
don't you order take-out? The phone should be somewhere."

"He paying?"

"Shut up, Ys," Duo muttered, a hot blush rising to his cheeks.
Gently, but forcefully, Heero moved around the boy, determined to
knock the man who had hit Duo around.

"No, Heero!"

"Let me go, Duo."

The man laughed, watching Heero with a mixture of amusement and
curiosity. "Is this your way of saying you don't need me no more,
Dee? I suppose you could always go back to--"

"Shut UP, Ys!" Duo made the mistake of whirling to face the man,
releasing Heero's arm. "HEERO!"

With a satisfying THUNK, his fist connected solidly with the man's
nose, bone crunching. The man let out a howled profanity, kicking
Heero off and tossing his head, sending blood streaking across the
wall and ceiling. Just as he lunged out to retaliate, Duo interjected
himself between the two, trying to avoid further blows but, instead,
caught the punch meant for Heero.

"Duo!" he caught the boy and, shooting glares to the man, edged back.
The American hung almost limp in his arms, head tilted back to expose
a bruise and a cut on the crest of one pale cheek. The man, Ys,
laughed harshly, and Heero only barely resisted the urge to tackle
him... barely. The sight of the man's bloodied and broken nose
appeased Heero enough.

"Let that be a lesson, eh? Tell Dee I'll be back soon. He better be
ready," the man threatened, turning and stalking off down the hall.
Heero glared heatedly at the man's retreating back before scooping
Duo into his arms and carrying him back into the apartment.

"C'mon, Duo, wake up," Heero murmured, setting the boy down on the
couch gently and patting the unbruised cheek cautiously. Fortunately,
Duo moaned slightly and opened his eyes, brushing away Heero's
concern as he sat up, tendering touching the swelling, bruised cheek.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Heero reluctantly sat back on his heels,
waiting for Duo to explain.

"You shouldn't have done that. Now Ys'll be pissy," Duo sighed,
running a hand through his bangs and casting a sideways look to
Heero. "He doesn't mean it when he acts this way..."

For a moment, it felt as if Heero's heart stopped. Somehow, he
managed to keep a straight face as he asked, "Is he your...
boyfriend?"

Duo looked away, "No. Not really. I mean, no, he's just... Ys is...
Damn you, Heero. Everything was so much simpler before you showed up!
Ys and I run the same street. We watch out for each other, you know?
It's rough out there. You can't work alone. He watches my back and I
watch his. He's tough, and has the connections. No one'll mess with
you if they know Ys'll be the one paying a visit after."

"I'm going to kill him."

"Heero!"

"He hits you," Heero said bitterly, lifting a hand to gently touch
the side of Duo's face. He traced over the fresh cut, and then the
older, fading bruises that marked the other eye. "No one should ever
hit you, Duo. No one."

"I need him. I can't run the streets alone," he answered softly, but
without real conviction. Heero's hand remained against his cheek, and
Duo leaned softly into it with a sigh.

"Simple. Don't work that way anymore."

The soft gaze was broken suddenly by Duo's sharp laugh, "What else
am I going to do, Heero? Didn't you hear, I'm a whore. Besides,
that's all there is on L2. You're either somebody or a nobody, and
nobodies either steal or fuck for a living. Stealing is a bigger
crime than prostitution around here, and I don't want to be in jail."

"Then leave L2."

"And go where? This is my home, Heero. It might be the shit of the
universe, but it's mine."

"You deserve better, Duo," he said softly, lowering his hand from
Duo's cheek and moving to sit next to him on the sofa. Eyes intent on
the other boy's face, he took up Duo's hand and clutched it to him.
"You deserve so much better. You are better than this," he whispered,
kissing the back of Duo's fingers.

"Hee...Heero?"

Drawing Duo toward him by the hand, Heero trailed light kisses up the
length of the boy's arm. His other hand went around Duo's waist,
pulling Duo close as he rested his chin on the other's shoulder with
a sigh. "I just want to give you what you deserve, Duo."

"...Heero," Duo murmured softly, parting enough to stare into the
Japanese youth's serious cobalt gaze.

The sudden crashing open of the door shattered the moment, Duo
jumping around to stare at the other end of the apartment while Heero
sagged with a sigh. So close! Slowly, he shifted his gaze away from
Duo, and felt his blood boil seeing who stood in the doorway.

"Ys," Duo said, questioningly, standing and moving away from Heero
and the couch.

The man's dark eyebrows rose in silent reaction to how the two had
been positioned, but Ys held his tongue from comment. "Ready, Dee?
Or, is it Duo? Your friend there..."

"To you it's Dee," the American snapped, a slight flush rising to his
cheeks. Cautiously, Heero stood and eyed Ys with suspicion, ready to
get rid of the man... for good, this time. Duo and Ys stared at each
other for a long time before Duo sighed and turned to Heero, "I've
got to go."

"What? No, stay here," Heero protested, lowering his voice. "You don't
need him, Duo."

"You got money for food and rent?" Duo shot back. "I don't get you.
You suddenly want to play savior and take care of me and get me to
drop everything I'm doing? I have plans, Heero, and a life, and I was
doing just fine without you! I don't need you. You can't just expect
to walk into my life again have everything go back to how it was."

Before Heero could respond, he turned on a heel and walked over to Ys,
glaring up at the taller man. "And you! Don't command me like I'm your
whipped-puppy bitch. We have an agreement. As equals, got it?"

Ys nodded, "Right, Dee. Sorry I lost my temper, eh? Let's go."

Duo paused in the doorway, shooting a suddenly doubtful look towards
Heero, but Ys called from the elevator and he ducked out without a
word. Unable to do anything more than stand there stupidly, Heero
stared for a long time at the empty doorway. He didn't get it. One
minute Duo seemed responsive, the next he was being yelled at. He
had a sinking feeling he was going to need all the time he had left...

Time. Oh, shit, the time.

Without even bothering to check his watch, Heero ran out of the
apartment, skidding down the steps two, three, four at a time. He
couldn't let Duo go off on a night of... of... The full implications
hit Heero hard, making him nearly trip over the steps. Strangers.
Perfect strangers. With Duo. His Duo.

Unfortunately, Ys and Duo were long gone from the lobby by the time
Heero reached it. The elevator might have been faster... no time for
that! He nearly ran into the doors before remembering to pull, not
push. Bursting out to the sidewalk, Heero looked wildly around...

To see a car driving off, and just Ys standing there.

"What? You?" the other man glanced towards the retreating car, then
back at Heero. "What do you want?"

"Where is he?"

Almost nervously, Ys glanced out to the street before reluctantly
looking to Heero without saying anything. Brushing a hand over his
spiky blonde hair, the man smirked at Heero and finally replied,
"Where's who?"

Closing the distance between them with only a few strides, Heero
grabbed the other man by the shirt and slammed him up against a
street light. "Where. Is. Duo?"

"Ah-h!"

Heero ducked the thrown punch and released the man's shirt, but
shoved him back against the pole when he tried to move away. Ys pushed
back, and they dissolved down into an all-out brawl, Heero eventually
pinning the other man to the sidewalk. Ignoring the throb of his eye,
which was no doubt bruising up rapidly, thanks to a lucky swing from
Ys, Heero growled out his question once more.

"Alright, alright! I gave him away."

"You WHAT?!" Heero let Ys's head fall to the cement and sat back on
his heels, staring at the man in disbelief. "You gave him away?"

"Yeah, yeah. I owed these guys some money, right? Dee got busted with
a full night's run on him... they were gonna break my knees! So, yeah,
I gave 'em Dee. Why do you call him Duo, anyway?"

"..."

Ys got to his feet warily, eyes intent on the murderous rage creeping
over Heero's face. "Look, man, it's just a few days... I mean, I
think so, I asked for him back 'ventually. Damn, I should have..."
the sentence broke off as Ys edged further back, glancing helplessly
up and down the abandoned street.

Slowly, Heero stood.

"Hey. Calm down. It's just a few days!"

"Omae o korosu."

Ys didn't have to understand Japanese to read the glittering malice
in the enraged Heero's eyes. One, two, three steps backwards, then
the man turned and took off running. Without hesitation Heero sprung
into action, sneakers pounding off the cement as he gave chase,
rapidly closing the distance. Suddenly, a car pulled around the
corner and stopped at the end of the street, one of the doors popping
open as Ys reached it.

"...bastard!" Heero swore, slowing to a stop as the door closed and
the car started to pull away. "Dammit! God DAMMIT!"

"No, but I could try."

Spinning around so hard he nearly fell over, Heero found himself
staring at a smirking Shinigami, leaning up against the street light.
"Hey there, Heero. How's it going?"

"..."

"Woah, woah, watch it with that glare. Geesh, I'm just being
conversational."

With a sigh, Heero hung his head in defeat and turned away, starting
to trudge his way back to the apartment. He had no idea where Duo
could be, or even if... Ys, that bastard! I'll kill him, Heero swore,
I will kill him.

"Aw, don't look so down." Shinigami pushed off from the post and
hurried after the retreating Japanese youth. Hands behind his head,
Shinigami crossed in front of Heero and turned around to walk
backwards, dark eyes serious for once. "I can promise you I had
nothing to do with this. Except for the car. I couldn't have you
committing murder, Heero, not with a police car just around the
block."

"Don't talk," Heero grumbled.

"Fine. Then I guess I won't help you find Duo," the God of Death
retorted in a wounded tone, turning around to face the proper way
and walking quickly away from Heero.

"Wait!" Heero lunged forward, grabbing at Shinigami's sleeve, "You
know where Duo is?"

"Maybe. Maybe not," he said in a sing-song voice, favoring Heero with
a devious grin. When Heero merely glared in response, the God sighed,
"Okay, okay, fine."

----------------------------------------------------------- -----------

Staring down at the address carefully printed on his hand with a pen,
Heero hardly registered the other passengers in the crowded train car
as he took an empty seat. Just his luck the place Shinigami swore up
and down held Duo had to be a two hour train ride away. With a sigh,
Heero rested his head back against the chair and looked out the
window as the train slowly started to pull away from the station.

35:02:14:27

For the first time, Heero felt a tremor of nerves looking at the
rapidly changing numbers counting away the seconds and he suddenly
found himself wondering... what if he failed?

What if...

No, he couldn't fail. "I will save you Duo," he whispered, watching
the buildings of the city race by, "because I love you."

-

-

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Auth or's Notes: ARGH! THIS WAS SO HARD TO WRITE!! *breathe breathe*
I'm soooo sorry for the huge delay. My muses completely died on me.
I really am going to work super hard on finishing this before the
month's up. It all depends on the muses. Please, feed the muses with
lots of feedback!
Thanks out to: Katie, Holly, Meg, Sara, D, Kate, Tia, Lisha, Cat and
all the other girls for yelling at me to get off my butt and work on
Last Chance... and then from keeping me from just giving up and
deleting everything. ^_^

Feedback/reviews are very much appreciated!
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