Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Love and Football ❯ Pt. 9 ( Chapter 9 )

Title: Love and Football pt. 9/10

Author: DamnVespa

Pairings: 2X1, 3X4, some others

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Archived: mediaminer.org, 1X2 ml, DHML,

http://www.geocities.com/etherealin_sanity/index.html

Warnings: Heero will be OOCish. ANGST

Heero had been searching the city the entire day. He asked everyone who knew Duo where he could have possibly gone. But neither hide nor hair of him could be found. Heero stayed with Sister Helen and Father Maxwell in hopes that Duo would call or come back. Trowa and Wufei were still on the streets searching for Duo.

Trowa and Wufei were walking down the streets, looking at all the people walking around hurriedly. They both walked down the street with their hands near the weapons concealed in their coat's pocket. Duo had taught them to never walk around these parts of the city without being armed. They stayed away from the gangs that littered the streets another thing Duo taught them. They tried to blend in a little so they could be ignored. It seemed to be working for a little while.

"Hey!"

Trowa and Wufei turned around to see a kid standing there with a gun pointed at them. People moved out of the way and hid, not wanting to get caught in a gang war. The kid looked to be about 10 years old. He had scraggly hair and dark brown eyes. He wore a red bandana around his waist. Trowa and Wufei waited for him to start talking.

"Not from around here, are ya?"

They shook their heads no.

"So, what're doin' in these parts? Rich kids like ya, don' need ta be down here. Are ya slummin'?"

"No, we are looking for someone."

"Yeah well tha street walkers don' come out til nine."

"We aren't looking for a street walker. We're looking for our friend. His name is Duo Maxwell."

"Aw Shit. Hey Slim," A small kid around 7 years old came from out of the alley. He held a gun on them as well, but looked to the older kid for directions.

"Slim, I want ya ta go get da boss."

Slim ran off into the alley. The 10 year old was paying more attention to the boy so Trowa and Wufei started to inch away.

"Don't move or I shoot ya."

Trowa and Wufei stopped moving. They subtly moved their hands to their concealed weapons, hoping it wouldn't come down to it. They watched as Slim came back, followed by an older boy. He looked to be about 19 years old. He looked at both of them and smirked.

"I hear ya lookin' for kid. What do ya want him for?"

Wufei and Trowa looked at each other and decided Trowa should do the speaking for them.

"He ran away from us. We need to find him so we can tell him we don't blame him or anything."

"What did he do wrong?"

"I'm not sure I can tell you. It's kind of a private thing."

"Well then I'll show ya, but if you do anythin' to harm him. We hurt you. Ya understand?"

Trowa and Wufei nodded their heads.

"Good, by the way my name is Quick. You know Slim, the other boy is Fingers."

Quick then whistled and four other boys joined them. In total there were seven boys surrounding Trowa and Wufei. Wufei didn't seem pleased at this concept. Quick took the lead and they followed. Quick with two boys in front, two boys beside Trowa and Wufei and two boys behind them walked down the street. Wufei leaned over to Trowa.

"I don't think this is a good idea. We don't know if we can trust them." Wufei hissed into Trowa's ear.

"We have no choice."

Then they stopped talking. They were led through a park and to a tree. Quick made some movements with his hand and four of the boys started to scout around. Quick then turned to Trowa and Wufei.

"We figure he's got ta be somewhere in here. This tree here was their favorite spot."

"Whose favorite spot?"

"Kid nevah told ya? Well kid's older brother Solo was tha leader of this gang. Kid was nevah in it but we protected him from trouble. He was like a little brother to us all. He was shot and killed when someone tried ta take ovah."

The four boys came back from their scouting to report they hadn't found him. The sun was going down and night was quickly setting in. Quick decided to send out all the boys he had with him. They looked everywhere but still couldn't find him. They met back at the tree. It was pitch dark outside, showing how late they were out there for.

"Sorry, I couldn' help ya more. I was sure he'd be here."

Just as he said that they heard a noise. They all tensed and put their hands on their weapons. Then they heard it again, Wufei pinpointed it to be in the tree. Slim was elected to climb his way up there to see what was making the noise.

"Hey boss, I found him. He's sleeping, but doesn't look like it's nice."

Trowa, Wufei, and Quick hurried up into the tree while Slim climbed down. They found Duo leaning against the tree with his legs straddling a branch. Quick reached over and shook Duo awake.

Duo had been sitting in the tree the whole day not moving. He couldn't stop thinking of those blue eyes crying at him to stop. He soon fell asleep in the tree and then his nightmares started. He could only watch as he raped Heero over and over again. He couldn't stop himself. He started to cry out stop but nothing came out. He woke up when some one shook his shoulder. Duo woke up with a start. He looked around him and found Trowa and Wufei staring at him with concern. He looked toward the person who woke him and dropped his jaw in shock.

"Q-quick?"

"Yeah, kid, whatcha doin' in this tree? We've been lookin' for ya."

"I did something bad. Horrible."

"Well, ya tell Quick about it, and I'll see what I can do."

Trowa and Wufei climbed down from the tree to give them some privacy. They milled around the base of the tree waiting for them to climb down as well. They heard an occasional sob from the tree but nothing else.

A little while later Duo and Quick both climbed down the tree. Duo wouldn't look at anyone and Quick looked like he wanted to kill someone. He walked over to Trowa and handed him scrap of paper with a number on it.

"If ya need my help, give me a ring. Here's my cell number."

"Thank you."

With that the seven boys walked away and vanished into the night. Duo, Trowa and Wufei were standing in the park. Duo still hadn't looked at anyone. Trowa just sighed and started to walk back to the orphanage. Wufei and Duo followed.

"We were worried about you."

No reply was given.

"No one blames you."

Still no reply.

"Look…"

"Could we please not talk about this. I just want to go home and sleep in my bed."

With that Trowa and Wufei shut up. They walked silently with Duo all the way back to the orphanage.

When they got inside the orphanage, they saw that Heero was there waiting for them.

"DUO!"

He came rushing up to Duo but stopped when Duo put his hand out. Duo just walked around Heero and moved to the stairs. Heero reached out to touch him, but he just backed up even more and avoided the touch altogether. He then ran up the stairs to his room and shut the door.

Heero looked forlornly at his hand. Tears started to well up in his eyes. He choked back a cry and wiped his eyes of tears. He looked sadly at Trowa.

"Trowa, please take me home."

Trowa nodded his head. Wufei followed them out to the car and they all went home. Duo stayed in his room, laying on his bed. Crying because of his decision to stay away from Heero, in order to protect him from Hilde. Thinking about Hilde jump-started him on planning his revenge against Hilde.

Heero was sitting in the car looking out the window. All he could do was ask himself what he done wrong. There was no answer for him.

The next week, Duo avoided Heero as much as he could. He didn't sit with his friends for lunch nor did he even look at Heero. Heero was getting more depressed as the week dragged on. He tried everything to get close to Duo but nothing worked.

It was the night of the championship game, Duo had been depressed all week. He wanted to sit next to Heero and be with him but with Hilde around he couldn't. He didn't want to hurt Heero more than he already had. His emotional distress showed through even at practice. He didn't have the heart behind it. His teammates looked at him in concern. They didn't know if they would win this game or not. Mueller found Trowa and talked to him.

"We need to fix this. He's been getting worse all week. Is there anything we can do for him?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I think we should do this…"

Mueller related his plan to Trowa. With each word Trowa's eyes lit up. He nodded his head in compliance. Trowa suited up and left to get what he needed for the plan to work.

Soon everyone was out on the field and the game started. Duo wasn't playing well, he would either under throw the ball or overthrow it. The coach was getting madder by the minute. The defense was holding their own and the other team didn't score often.

Duo was snapped the ball again and he ran a few feet back. He didn't see a hulking player from the other team coming towards him until he hit him. The player dove at him with all his strength and his helmet collided with Duo's knee.

Duo shrieked in pain, and dropped the ball. The other team recovered the ball and the whistles ran through the air as the play ended. Duo still didn't get up and clutched his knee. The other player got up and smirked. He would get his payment now. Duo saw the smirk and growled in anger. He gritted his teeth and stood on his two feet. The other player frowned and glared in anger at Duo before retreating off the field. Duo smiled and limped off the field. The coach came over with a look of angered concern.

"What the hell were you thinking out there Maxwell?"

"Sorry sir."

"Damn it! You better not be hurt."

The assistant coach checked his knee and found nothing wrong with it. Just that Duo would have huge bruise on it. Duo grimaced but didn't say anything. Soon the first half was over with the other team leading 20 points to zero. They all slumped into the locker room downtrodden about the score. The coach was too angry to say anything and retreated to his office with the other coaches. Duo sat down wearily from the game. He didn't look up at anyone until he saw some yellow tennis shoes enter his line of vision.

He looked up and saw Heero standing in front of him with a nervous smile on his face.

"Can we talk?"

Duo nodded and stood dragging Heero into the alley that led to the football field. They could have some privacy here. When they got there, Heero started to cry.

"I'm s-sorry Duo. I d-didn't mean to d-do anything w-wrong. I'm s-s-sorry."

Duo was stunned at this and pulled Heero to him. Heero flinched a little but still laid his head down on Duo's chest.

"Oh baby, it wasn't your fault. I'm sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. I just needed to sort things out. I was scared that I hurt you beyond repair and I was scared of what Hilde would do to you. I failed to protect you and I'm sorry about that."

"You didn't fail. You are still protecting me. I love you Duo. Please don't avoid me anymore. I love you, love you, love you…"

Heero hid his face in the crook of Duo's neck. He repeated those two words over and over until Duo pulled him back a little. Duo put his finger under Heero's chin and grimaced when Heero yet again flinched. He lifted the head until Heero was looking at him in the eyes.

"I love you too Heero. You shouldn't love me but I know you do. I won't ever leave you again. I'm sorry baby. I love you Heero, my Heero."

"Yes, yours and you're mine."

"Of course baby."

They heard clapping and realized that the whole team was there watching them. They were all grinning. Duo and Heero both blushed.

"He's mine!" Duo growled.

"Yes, he is. Don't worry about us. We're behind you 100% Duo." Said Mueller.

The whole team clapped Duo on the back and left for the field. Trowa and Mueller came up to Duo and Heero. Trowa was holding Duo's gear that he still needed to put on. Heero kissed Duo on the lips and put the helmet on Duo's head. Duo smiled and stroked Heero's hand.

"You should get going, the half is almost over and I have a game to win." Duo said to Heero.

Heero smiled and walked back out to the stands. When he turned back to Trowa, Trowa was wearing a serious expression.

"Listen Duo, Hilde has something else planned and but we don't know what. It has something to do with you and not walking off the field."

"Yeah, I figured as much when one of the tackles about rammed his head into my knee cap. I think that is what Hilde means about not walking off the field."

"Don't worry Duo, tell me his number and I'll make sure he doesn't step a foot near you."

"Thanks Mueller, his number is 63. Alright let's go out there and win this game."

They raced back onto the field just in time for the game to start again. Duo ran out onto the field and got ready for the play. Duo was snapped the ball and ran a few feet back. He saw number 63 running towards him at full speed. Duo took his eyes away from him, found a receiver and threw it to him. When he looked back the player was almost on him. He prepared for him to get hit but another player came out of nowhere and collided with 63. 63 flew threw the air and landed on his back a few feet away from them. Mueller turned and smiled at Duo then gave him a thumbs up. Duo smiled and returned the thumbs up and went on with the game.

The crowds were shouting and yelling when their team started to win. Duo was playing better than he had all game. He made his passes and they were now winning the game. Mueller was doing his job and 63 never got within a foot of Duo. Hilde was on the sidelines fuming with anger. It seemed as if her plan had worked in the beginning but now it was in shambles. She would have to think of something else.

They finally won the game, 24 to 23. Duo was paraded around the field on the shoulders of Mueller and Trowa. Then Heero was hoisted up onto shoulders and paraded around with Duo. Heero smiled and laughed with Duo, they linked hands and never let go.

Hilde watched all of this from the ground. Everyone was cheering all around her. She was furious, and showed it. She stalked off the field and ran into the player she had hired to help her.

"Listen, I'll still pay you if you make sure Duo doesn't leave this school walking. I don't care how you do it. I do want him alive though so don't get too enthusiastic and make sure you get his lover boy too. Got me?"

"Yes."

Trowa saw Hilde leave the field and motioned for Quatre, Relena, and Dorothy to follow her. They easily followed her and gasped in shock about what he heard. Hilde and the other player immediately turned towards them.

"Run!" Quatre yelled.

The two girls ran back to Trowa while Quatre went forward to keep Hilde and the other guy from following. The other guy quickly punched Quatre in the jaw, which knocked him unconscious. But Quatre had bought the time needed for Relena and Dorothy to get back to Trowa.

Trowa was milling around with Duo, Heero, Jason and Mueller on the field. Some of the school reporters were talking to Duo about the game. Relena and Dorothy ran up to them gasping for breath. Duo got rid of the school reporter and turned to Dorothy and Relena.

"Trowa, they are going to do something horrible to Duo. There was this guy and she told him to make sure Duo and Heero didn't walk away from here. Then they heard us and Quatre told us to run but he didn't run with us. He ran towards them and…and…I don't know what happened."

Relena was crying at this point and Dorothy was holding her on one side while Jason was on the other. Trowa, Mueller, Duo and Heero rushed off to find out what happened. When they got there they found Wufei and Sally sitting there trying to wake up Quatre.

"I was in the bathroom when this happened. This big guy with the number 63 on his back punched Quatre in the jaw. Then Hilde and him tried to run after the girls but they were too far ahead. Hilde left and the guy said something about making sure Duo never left the parking lot."

Trowa immediately knelt next to Quatre and cradled his head in his lap. He took out his cell phone and called a number.

"Trowa who are you calling?" Duo asked.

Trowa ignored him and waited patiently for the person on the other side to pick up. Sally was wiping Quatre's bruised jaw with a cold paper towel. Dorothy went to a food stand and got them ice for the bruise.

"Hello, Quick, this is Trowa. Duo's in trouble."

Later that night, when everyone else left Duo along with his friends walked out into the silent parking lot. They were heading to Trowa's car when 63 and his friends surrounded them. They were still in their football Jerseys and they didn't look happy.

"Lookie what we have here. Our fight isn't with the rest of you but if you don't move away from the quarterback it will be."

No one moved. Trowa, Wufei, Mueller and Heero formed a protective ring around Duo. The girls were still inside the building attending to Quatre.

"Well, I guess our fight is with you. It's been nice knowin' ya."

They started to move in when a loud yell boomed through the parking lot.

"HEY!"

The players all stopped and turned to see who shouted. The players faces quickly lost all color when they seen 10 kids aiming guns at them with red sashes around their waist.

"The Red Dragons." Whispered one of the players.

"I see ya heard of us. Now let me say something. This kid here is our protectee, that means nobody messes with him. Ya get me?"

The other players nodded their head. Quick smirked.

"Now if ya want to keep ya lives I suggest ya book it and leave them alone. Or we'll find ya and it won't be pretty."

All of them beat a hasty retreat, even number 63. He didn't care about Hilde or her payment. It wasn't enough to get him to cross the Red Dragons.

"Okay kid?"

"Yeah, thanks Quick."

"No prob. Now we must be goin'. All this fancy stuff not sittin' with me well."

"Bye Quick."

"Bye Kid, and be good."

With that the members of Quick's gang left as quickly as they came. When the only thing they heard was the chirping of crickets. Duo let out a sigh of relief.

"Well that was fun." Duo said sarcastically.

The others nodded in agreement. They heard some clicking of shoes and turned to see the girls and Quatre walk over to them. Dorothy and Sally walk out with Quatre in between them. He was awake but still a little dizzy and needed the support. Trowa ran to his side and relieved Dorothy and Sally of their burden. Relena went up to Jason and hugged him tightly and Jason held her just as strongly. Sally went up and hugged Wufei then stood by his side. Wufei put his hand around her waist. Dorothy stood beside Mueller and they shook hands. Heero wrapped his hands around Duo's waist and laid his head on Duo's shoulder. Duo stood with his fist clenched. This had gone on too long for him.

"This has gone to far. Hilde needs to be stopped and I have just the plan. Here's what we do…"

Duo then outlined the plan that he had been thinking of all week. The others quickly agreed. Tomorrow Hilde was going to get what she deserved.

TBC