Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Long Time To Cry ❯ Long Time to be Alone ( Chapter 9 )

Sorry, I'm sneaking on the computer to write this… so I don't have time to figure out who I'm dedicating this next chapter to X.X Really, I will get back to dedications soon! In the meantime, however, this is to everyone. I luv you guys :D

Wahhh! Can anyone please, please tell me what the name of the fanfic I described in one of my recent chapters was? Please? I can't find it, and it is driving me absolutely insane! X_x Grrrr

Hmmm…. I noticed that I've been ending on semi-cliffhangers, so I tried to end this chapter happy… but please don't stop reading ^.^ They haven't killed Releena yet :D And Trowa and Quatre, of course, get their own moments in the spotlight.

Okay… standard disclaimers apply. I don't own the series or the G-boys. I'm just toying with them for a while. If I owned them, the serious would not be suitable for children under the age of 18, and would be aired on porn channels. And there would be one more g-boy, named `Suzume'. (hey, it would be my series, I could make myself into a hot sexy boy if I wanted to) so… if that ever happens, I've probably taken over the companies that own GW. But hey, until then, I'm just borrowing them. I swear.

**tries to make off with Heero** MUAHAHAHAHA

**stopped by a mob of angry fangirls** oh damn. Fine. Not even Heero is mine ;.;

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Heero stepped forward, then rocked back again, eyes wide.

Duo was slumped in the back of the cell. His clothes weren't tattered, but they were dirty and worn thin. His limbs were gaunt and his face seemed almost grey, eyes holding deep, long shadows. The outline of each individual rib was visible through the thin shirt, and Duo was shivering uncontrollably, his thin body barely able to handle the force of its own quaking.

"Duo? Duo, what happened?" All thoughts of traitors and recorders and even Releena fled Heero's mind, all falling far short of his first priority: helping Duo.

"They took me on the plane, remember?" Duo looked almost amused, "And I'm here. Wherever that is."

"Releena told me you were a guest. That you didn't want to come down." Her lies came spilling out of Heero's mouth, and he wished he could gather them back up and crush them once he saw the look on Duo's face.

Duo's features twisted and he turned away. "She is very good at making things seem like they aren't. That's why she's a good politician." And that was why, Duo knew, Heero would leave as soon as he remembered the thing that Releena had promised to show him: the evidence of what Duo had `said'.

"Heero… please… let me out. It's cold… It is so fucking cold in here…" Duo shivered again. He had no substantial barrier between himself and the cold, and it was slowly killing him.

Heero paused only for a moment before pulling a gun from his belt.

Duo's eyes widened, and then closed. "That is escape, too, if you prefer that method…" He carefully made his voice distant, and almost didn't hear the gun go off… he just tried to detach himself, prepare himself for -

The lock smoldered on the ground, useless. Heero lowered his gun.

"Can you walk?" He asked simply, opening the door to Duo's cage and stepping inside.

"No." Duo meant it; between exhaustion and malnutrition and cold-cramps, it wasn't possible for him to so much as stand unaided.

"Hn." Heero took a few steps closer and wrinkled his nose - an adorable, if unconscious gesture - and stooped down, unlocking Duo's shackles and picking him up.

"We're getting out of this place." Heero promised.

Duo just shivered, pressing closer to the Heero's warm body. He didn't care if Heero hated him - he needed the warmth. His body wouldn't allow him to do otherwise. He gave a last, shuddering shiver, and pressed his face into Heero's chest.

"She forgot to feed me, Heero. I mean, she did at first - or somebody did - but… then the food stopped coming. And it was so cold. And there was nobody, I swear that was the worst part… Nobody at all, no one, not even one person…" And Duo, who had seen churches burn, and plagues destroy, and children fall dead at the feet of soldiers… Couldn't help but cry. He knew it was childish, and probably therefore irritated Heero, but he couldn't help it. He began with quiet tears, but they soon progressed to hysterical, hiccupping sobs, and he used all his strength to grab fistfuls of Heero's shirt, trying to stop the unwanted display.

Heero, to his credit, said nothing derisive. He simply held Duo close, carefully stepping down the stairs. He knew that there were many, many more to go, and it was more difficult to continue with the added weight of Duo in his arms.

"Heero… what… she said I said… Or at least, I think she did…" Duo's sobs abated somewhat, and now he needed to make sure Heero understood the truth, "I didn't say it. She recorded little pieces of what I said and sort of… put them together, to make it seem like I said something I didn't."

Heero did pause then, right on the middle of the stairwell, and stared down at Duo with what might have been the beginnings of a smile on his face.

"Really?"

Duo's return grin was weak. "Aw, you know the story… I run, and I hide,"

"But I never lie," Heero finished with him.

Both were silent for a while, and Heero began walking again. It was going to be a long time before they reached the bottom….

-

A pair of silhouettes slipped quietly from the Peacecraft estate, unnoticed by any of the security guards. When a car started in the distance, it was dismissed; what was so unusual about that?

A closer look would reveal a sleek black vehicle, uncommon in the areas near Releena's property; most of her neighbors frequented cars much like her own atrocious one: pink cars. That was the first sign that something was odd…

Within the car, Duo had been laid upon the cushions of the passenger's seat. Heero sat in the driver's seat, face calm and emotionless as ever as he turned the key, floored the gas pedal, and made the most wonderful escape he had ever had:

Out of Releena's grasp.

Duo slumbered peacefully in the seat where he had been placed, finally able to sleep now that the cold did not plague him and keep him awake… Heero waited until they were a few hours out of reach before he finally pulled over, shaking his partner gently.

"Duo. Duo love, wake up…" Heero pressed a food-ration bar into his hand from the emergency kit in the back, "You have to eat, love…"

At the mention of food, Duo's limp figure flickered to life, rapidly peeling off the wrapper and devouring the contents of the package. Afterwards, he did not fall immediately back asleep, and instead lay watching Heero as they drove. He was content, for once, to just lie there, not saying anything, watching as the streetlights would highlight the face of his beloved, before leaving him in darkness for a moment, then crossing them again… All the fine bones and perfect structure could still be seen in the harsh yellow light, and Duo had missed the sight.

Heero. Perfect. Beautiful. Heero. His Heero, who Releena had no real power over anymore, was taking them somewhere where they could be safe. That was all that mattered to Duo.

Heero caught a glimpse of Duo's violet eyes in the brief flash of a light they passed, observing his partner in turn. Heero reached one hand, almost tentatively, towards Duo, who clasped the warm hand within his own cold ones.

"I love you, Heero." He murmured drowsily, finally settling back down to sleep…

"I know."

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