Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Lost Souls ❯ Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the G boys, I just borrow them to play with from time to time and return them relatively undamaged... honest... :)

Rating: NC 17, Angst, Yaoi, Sap, masturbation, sad in parts, LEMON.

Pairings: 3x4, 2xH, 5+S, OCx2, eventual 1x2x1

Notes: Set 2 years after Endless Waltz. The pilots have all gone their separate ways but still keep in touch. Duo is with Hilde on L2 but cannot forget Heero.

" Lost Souls "

May 2002 ShenLong

Chapter 5

Wufei stared at the screen of the computer, eyes seeing but not registering. His mind was still full of what Heero had called for. His brow furrowed and he ran his fingers in circles over his temples. He couldn't see how Heero would be able to find Duo when all other attempts by them had failed. But then again we are talking about Heero here reminded his conscience. All attempts so far had turned up complete blanks. Even the extensive network of the Preventers had failed to shed any light on the former DeathScythe pilots current whereabouts. He gave a small sigh and went to continue with his work when he sensed anothers presence. He looked up to meet the gentle stare of Sally.

"Trust in fate Wufei. Duo will be found. He can't hide forever." she said softly.

Wufei gave a snort. "You don't know Duo. If he doesn't want to be found then it's going to be pretty much dammed near impossible to locate him."

"I'm sure you are underestimating Heero."

Wufei growled, the true warrior in him shining through. That was one of the first things he had learnt... never to underestimate the enemy. But Duo and Heero weren't the enemy, could he be letting his skills wane? He shook himself. No..... He knew Duo's motto well enough. I run.. I hide but I never lie.... And Duo was certainly good at hiding. His skill in that department had helped him on numerous occasions during the wars.

"If anyone can find Duo... Heero can." said Sally as she laid a comforting hand on Wufei's shoulder.

'Wufei slumped. "I guess your right."

"Come on then. Lets go home."

Wufei looked at the woman and realized for the first time just how important she was to him... to all of them. With never ending patience she had stood by them all and assisted them whenever possible in their attempt to bring an end to the wars. He gave her one of his rare smiles.

"That's better. Now if you are really lucky I will even cook dinner for you." she said.

"Thank you Sally. I am proud to have you as one of my friends."

Sally turned at this rare admission from the Chinese man and nodded. No words were needed, they understood each other through actions alone.

Turning off the computer Wufei followed Sally out of the office and to the elevator.

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The shuttled landed and Heero made his way along with countless others to through the space port. Collecting his bag he exited the building and looked up and down the dirty street. His mind registered once more just how depressing the L2 colony was. Living on the earth had caused him to forget about Duo's home. For some reason the L2 colony hadn't prospered as well as the other colonies and this fact was abruptly brought home to Heero now as he walked along dirty streets and observed the many shabbily dressed people and the odd street rat. "Duo." he thought to himself as he passed a small gang of young boys.

His feet made their own path heading in the direction of the salvage yard... to Hilde... to hopefully some answers. Although why the girl should talk to him when she refused to speak with any of the others hadn't crossed his mind. She was the last person to be with Duo, to speak with Duo, and he knew there was more to this than she was letting on. Somehow he would get her to talk. He had to. In his heart he sensed that both his and Duo's futures depended on what he could learn from Hilde.

A short while later Heero found himself entering the street where the salvage yard was located. Staring up and down he noted that at least this area of the colony was a bit cleaner than the rest. Standing at the entrance to the yard he scanned around. No sign of Duo. Well he hadn't been expecting the youth to jump out and greet him now had he? He walked under the archway and headed for the office.

Hilde was busy on the computer when an insistent knock came at the door. Raising her head in annoyance she called out. "Come in"

Heero, hearing the invitation turned the door handle and stepped inside. A sharp intake of breath indicated that Hilde had recognized him.

Lifting her eyes from the screen Hilde turned to see who had interrupted her work and took in a breath as she stared into intense cobalt eyes.

"Hello Hilde"

She gulped. "Heero."

"I guess you know why I am here?"

Hilde's heart began to pound in her chest, sure she was scared but she was also angry. Standing here in her office was the cause of all her problems, the sheer audacity of the teen made her tremble with rage. "Get out!" she hissed in rage.

"No. I will not leave until I have some answers."

"I have nothing to say to you Heero, now get out."

Heero watched as the differing emotions played in the girls eyes. "I believe you do Hilde. You see we can't find Duo and I know that you are tied up in his disappearance somehow. I'm not leaving here until I get some answers." As if to accentuate his point Heero folded his arms and leaned up against the door.

Hilde stared at the boy who's face was completely devoid of emotion. "Duo hasn't contacted any of you yet?" she said with a tremble to the voice.

"Iie he hasn't. I will be honest with you Hilde. We are worried about him."

Suddenly all the fight went out of the girl and she slumped forward onto the desk. Cradling her head in her hands she began to sob.

Heero waited patiently letting her cry herself out before pushing further. Hilde had cracked and he knew he would get his answers shortly.

Unable to bear the guilt any longer Hilde succumbed to her inner feelings and let forth the flood of emotion she had held in check for the last two months. She had been sure that Duo would have contacted the other pilots by now. The fact that he hadn't made her blood run cold. And knowing that she was the cause of it did nothing to improve that.

As the sobs subsided so Heero moved closer. He laid a hand on Hilde's arm and gave a gentle squeeze. "Tell me what happened."

The command was simple and in a gentle tone but it demanded a response. Tired of keeping the sorry story to herself Hilde relented and told Heero the whole sad tale.

"I thought that he had finally come to his senses as he made love to me but then as he reached his climax it was your name that he called... not mine. I was deluding myself, I thought he had gotten over his infatuation for you but I was wrong. He loves you Heero, always has and he always will. I was just a substitute... something to fill in the gap, and when he called your name I realized that I could never hope to win his heart. I can't compete with you, and that hurt. Oh god it hurt so much. I don't know what happened then. I guess I just lost it." She stared out of unseeing eyes, reliving the moment in her mind. "I told him to get out... that I couldn't stand to see him anymore, that I couldn't work with him even. He was gone by day break and I haven't seen or heard from him since. Then when you guys kept on contacting me I got scared. I thought he would have headed for the earth or at least been in touch with one of you."

Heero's eyes clouded over, his mind and heart trying to grasp what Hilde had said. Duo loved him? After all this time the feelings he had felt for the violet eyed American were returned? How could he have been so blind? Now Duo was missing and Heero knew he had to find him; had to find him and let him know that the feeling was reciprocated.

Hilde stared at the former Wing Zero pilot, the tears still fresh on her face. "I'm sorry Heero. I really am. I thought he would lay low for a few days and then contact one of you. I had no idea he would just disappear like this." Then covering her mouth she added "You don't think anything bad has happened to him do you?"

"Hn." replied Heero deep in thought. He was overjoyed that the other should feel the same for him as he did for them but he needed to put his new found joy on hold. What was the point of knowing someone loved you if you couldn't tell them you felt the same? "I know Quatre and Trowa have searched all his usual haunts and turned up nothing." Seeing the distress in Hilde's face he softened a little. "I don't think he has done anything stupid Hilde. I have been in touch with all the hospitals and no one matching his description has been admitted or treated in the last two months."

Hilde looked a little relieved and then her face clouded again. "You don't think..."

"No Hilde. I have checked the morgues as well. Nothing."

She sighed. "I suppose that's good then, at least we know he is still alive."

Heero pushed off the desk and ran his hand through his messy brown hair thinking deeply. "I wonder?" he mused out loud.

Hilde looked up at his voice, the question in her eyes.

"Knowing Duo he would be feeling ashamed at his actions so he would run and hide. At least for a little while. The money he had wouldn't last all that long so he would need to get more." Heero began to dredge up memories. Memories from the past when Duo had spoken sometimes of his life on the streets. He was a deft pickpocket and it wouldn't take much for him to get back into that habit. Heero had a hunch.

"How far is the Maxwell Church from here Hilde?"

Hilde thought for a moment. "Its about a two hour drive. It's on the other side of the colony, but why Heero? The church was demolished years ago, Duo was the only survivor I thought you knew that."

"Hn... I do but when you are threatened where do you go?"

"To a safe place?" responded Hilde.

"Exactly! The one place that Duo really felt safe when young was that church. Can I borrow your vid phone? I need to contact the others."

"Sure ." said Hilde. After all that had happened she felt it was the least she could do.

Heero placed a call to the Winner estate. Trowa answered.

"Winner residence. Trowa speaking. Oh hi Heero, any news?"

"Yes Trowa, I have a hunch as to where he might be." he replied.

"That's great Heero, hang on a sec while I get Quatre and Wufei."

"Wufei?"

"Yes Heero, Wufei and Sally are here, they called in to see if there was any news ."

Heero smiled. It was good to have friends he thought.

Trowa returned with the blonde and Wufei in tow.

"So have you found him yet? What's happening? Does Hilde know where he is? " The questions tumbled from Quatre's lips.

"Hold on a sec Quatre and I will tell you what I have found out and what I propose to do."

The three pilots on earth listened eagerly as Heero gave them the story of Hilde and Duo's fight and the youths disappearance. He skipped over the part of Duo's admission to Hilde of his love for Heero. They didn't need to know all the details he figured. Then he told them of his hunch.

"But Trowa and I checked out all around the Maxwell church ruins and didn't find a thing." said Quatre.

"Yes I know that but I still think he is somewhere around there. It was the one place he knew love and felt safe." replied Heero

"I can see your logic." butted in Wufei. "It makes sense to me that Maxwell would go to ground. After all it helped him several times during the war."

"I'm sure that after sharing so much together during the war that you would know him and his traits much better than the rest of us Heero." Trowa added.

Heero thought on this. "I'm sure he is around there somewhere. I'm heading off to see what I can find. I will report in as soon as I have anything."

"Good luck Heero. Our thoughts are with you." Quatre said.

"Find him Heero, find him and tell him what he needs to hear, then bring him back home safe." Trowa said in a low voice. His eyes locked with the cobalt blue of Heero's.

Heero read the unspoken message in the Latin's green depths. "I will Trowa... I will." and then he terminated the call.

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

Shane was getting really worried. Duo, while not having gotten any worse had certainly not got any better either. The antibiotics had managed to halt the spread of the disease but it was now in a stale mate. Shane had used up all the spare cash from their meager supply and the rest of the group couldn't work any more customers than they were already doing. They were exhausted. He had managed to pick a few pockets but wasn't all that good at it and had nearly been caught last time. He racked his brain for what else he could possibly do for his friend.

During one of his few lucid awake moments Duo watched the young boy. "Shane?" he said weakly.

"Yes Duo. I'm here."

"Let me die."

Shane was shocked. No way was he going to hear this from Duo! "No Duo. I wont let you die. You are too important to us all."

"Please.... let me die. I can't fight anymore. I have fought for too long and I'm tired. Too much bloodshed... I can't bear to live anymore... not with my memories. I have nothing left to live for." Duo's voice came out as a harsh whisper.

"Duo, listen to me. I don't care what you have done in the past and I don't want to know but stop talking like this. You are important, you do have something to live for. What will happen to the rest of us if you give up now?" Shane knew the words were strong and selfish but he needed to get through to Duo somehow.

Duo sighed and a lone tear made its way down a gaunt pale cheek. "So tired..." he mumbled as he began to drift into unconsciousness again.

"Rest Duo. I will be here when you wake up." said Shane as he pulled the blanket around the thin form. He was really worried now. Duo's illness had taken the spark of life from his friend and Shane was torn in two. He wanted the happy Duo back and the only way to get that was to take him to the hospital but Duo had refused to go. When it had been suggested Duo had gotten himself into such a state over the idea that Shane had been forced to back down or risk his friends health even more. He desperately needed the help of a doctor but Duo wouldn't go and they couldn't bring one here. They didn't have the money to start with and if their hiding place was discovered than the authorities would move in and god knows what would happen to them all.

Dragging himself wearily to his feet Shane made up his mind and after leaving one of the younger ones to watch over Duo he headed out into the night.

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