Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ notice ❯ Pieces ( Chapter 3 )

Title: Pieces

Overall Rating: NC-17 for mature themes. Not for the impressionable.

Chapter Rating: PG-13

DISCLAIMER: The series Gundam Wing and the characters therein do not belong to me. I'm just putting them in different situations to see how they react.

Chapter Summary: Heero discovers more pieces to the puzzle.

* * *

"Hey Heero," Duo's voice came down the hall, "have we got a dictionary?"

I had to think about that one.

"Never mind, I found it.'

I was a bit surprised. I didn't know that we even had a dictionary. I hurried to finish dressing. I'd been running late due to a glitch in a program that I couldn't leave and it had taken me longer than I'd expected to fix it. Now, it was less than half an hour before we were supposed to meet the others for dinner.

Duo was fully dressed and sitting on the couch, what I supposed was the dictionary in his hands.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Huh?" He closed the book and tossed it onto the coffee table. "Yeah, I guess." He stood and came around the couch grinning. "It's gonna be great to see the guys again."

I looked at the dictionary for a moment, wondering what he'd been looking up, then shrugged and followed him out the door.

* * *

The other pilots had already been seated when we arrived. They picked on Duo a bit for our tardiness, which he promptly redirected toward me.

"Don't look at me this time, Heero was the one that made us late." They stared at me in surprise.

"Heero, I'm surprised at you," Quatre chided.

"You should escape while you can," Wufei added with a smirk. "His bad habits are rubbing off on you."

"Hey!" Duo argued, "I'm not always late." He turned towards Trowa. "What about you? Are you gonna get your hooks into me too?"

Trowa just shook his head. "It was probably work related, therefore forgivable."

"Hmmph." Duo said, sliding into a seat. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you didn't like me or something."

Duo's pout didn't last long as the five of us caught up with the current happenings of our lives. Throughout the meal, we talked, joked, laughed, teased, and reminisced just like old soldiers will. Old soldiers. Us. I guess that description fits, even though none of us were any older than our early twenties. It seemed that we had always been older than our years suggested.

After finishing, we continued to a local club Duo and I had found. The DJ played a variety of music which would appeal to all of us. The main attraction, though, was the open-mindedness the club exhibited. It didn't seem to matter if the couples were male/female or same sex. All were welcome, and none were ostracized. This fact was clearly posted at the entranceway where we paid our fee and got our hands stamped. It would obviously be enforced by the rather large men stationed just inside of the inner door. I knew Quatre and Trowa would appreciate this. It would be a welcome change for them to be able to enjoy each other's company without the worry of having to defend their affection.

It was fun. We all danced, switching partners frequently. Even Wufei seemed to enjoy himself after Duo managed to bully him onto the dance floor for a slow dance. Watching them move in time to the music was soothing. They both had such a natural grace to them that they were beautiful to watch.

"Heero," Quatre slid onto the bench then continued around the table to allow room for Trowa to sit also. "What's going on with Duo?"

"Why do you ask?"

"It's just that he was asking me a rather strange question earlier."

"Was he asking for your view on the difference between a slut and a whore?" Trowa inquired. Quatre nodded. "He asked me, also. I wondered at it at the time."

"I'm not sure, but something is going on." I proceeded to tell my friends about my accidental eavesdropping and the behaviors I had observed over the past few days.

"He stiffens when you get close to him?" I nodded at Quatre's question.

Trowa watched where Duo was still dancing with Wufei, to a more upbeat song this time.

"Has anyone tried to abuse him recently?"

I was shocked at the idea. "He hasn't mentioned anything." I mentally reviewed any and all times I'd recently seen any part of Duo unclothed. "I haven't noticed any bruises. Nor has he been favoring anything." I knew Duo well and would have noticed if he'd been injured, no matter how he'd try to hide it.

"Someone's hurt him," Quatre observed, also watching the dancers. "Although it may not be a physical injury and he hides it well."

"I thought as much," I agreed. "I'm working on finding out just what happened."

Trowa brushed my shoulder with his hand as he put his arm around Quatre. "I wish you luck my friend."

We looked up as Wufei and Duo approached, collapsing onto the seat, Duo next to me and Wufei beside Trowa.

"That was fun, Wu-man," Duo said, panting slightly from his exertions. "Those sword thingies you were always doing sure have kept you in shape."

"They are called katas, Maxwell, and it's Wufei, " he growled. "Not Wu-man, or Wu-bear, or any of the many pet names you are always coming up with." He glared over at Duo. "Are you ever going to get my name right?"

"Nope." Duo grinned at him. "Not as long as you keep calling me 'Maxwell'."

Wufei sighed, rolling his eyes. "All right, Duo."

Duo jumped up and threw his arms around the Chinese man, planting a noisy kiss on his cheek. "Oh, Wufei, you do love me!"

We cracked up in laughter while Wufei sputtered. "Stop that!" He pushed Duo away, his face flaming. "I'm not like that and you know it!"

"Aw shucks," Duo chuckled, sliding back into his seat, "and here I was hoping I might be your type after all.

Wufei eyed the American thoughtfully for a moment before his expression turned predator. Slowly he slid off the bench and stalked in Duo's direction. "Maybe I will show you a real kiss after all."

Duo's eyes widened and I thought I saw his face pale as he edged across the bench. It was difficult to tell for sure though in the changing lighting of the club. "Hey, Wufei, I was just kidding," he babbled as Wufei rested a knee on the seat and leaned toward him. "I know I'm not your type. It was a joke is all. You do know that, don't you?" Wufei didn't answer. His smile just widened. "I…I…I have to go to the bathroom!" Duo yelped as he slid under the table. He crawled out and all but ran in the direction of the restrooms.

Wufei collapsed on the seat Duo had vacated in laughter. "That was fun."

"Maybe so, but it wasn't very nice," Quatre chided him, trying to suppress his own chuckles.

"Not to mention the timing may have left a lot to be desired," I added.

"What do you mean?"

I explained to him what I'd told the others while he and Duo were dancing. He frowned at the thought of someone causing pain of any kind to his friend. "He hasn't spoken about it to anyone?" he asked, looking around at the three of us with him. Heads shook negatively. He faced me again. "You're the closest one to him. But if there is anything I can do…"

"I'll let you know. You can be sure of that." I had held a lot inside during the war, not trusting anyone enough to open up to them. With these men, I'd learned to trust…that I could rely on them to back me up. I knew I would do the same for any of them, no matter the situation. None of us would let Duo down. We just had to make sure that Duo remembered that also.

I looked in the direction of the restrooms, realizing that he had been gone a rather long time. I nudged Wufei. "I'm going to check on him." He nodded before going back to his original seat, allowing me to exit the booth.

I found Duo as I turned the corner into the hallway where the restrooms were located. He was backed against a wall, hemmed in by an unfamiliar man. Neither of them noticed me immediately. I could see Duo's eyes widen, that resignation I'd seen earlier clear in the brighter lighting of the hallway, before closing. The stranger was leaning toward him, apparently about to kiss him.

I cleared my throat, feeling a bit of malicious pleasure when the stranger started. "There you are. I've been looking for you."

The stranger never moved. "And you would be…?"

I smirked at him. "Heero Yuy, Duo's date for the evening."

The guy turned to stare at me in shock. "The Heero Yuy? The savior of the world?" he stammered. I cringed internally at the designation as he turned back to Duo.

Duo grinned apologetically at him. "Hey, I tried to tell you."

"If you'll excuse us," I said, moving the unresisting form away from Duo.

I slipped my arm around Duo's waist and guided him toward the dance floor. Duo stiffened faintly as we started to dance, before relaxing against me. A slow song was playing which allowed us to dance close enough to talk with relative ease. "Who was that?"

Duo tensed again. "Just a guy I went out with once."

"He seemed to be rather familiar with you for you to have gone out with him a while ago."

The braided head shook slightly. "Not that long ago.

"Oh? How long ago, then?"

I could barely hear the whispered reply. "Last week."

I didn't press further, just held my best friend close as we swayed to the music. My thoughts, however, were whirling frantically, pulling the various pieces into place. Duo had gone out last week with a guy. Once. He'd said that he probably wouldn't see the guy again. Since then, Duo had been acting differently…depressed, with possible thoughts of suicide. He would tense when in close situations, but resignation to them would show in his eyes. Duo had been forced into something. This was the picture that I could see the pieces forming.

"Duo, was that the guy you went out with last week?" A nod. "Did he…" how to phrase this? "Did he do anything to you?"

Duo had been relaxing with the music, but he tensed again at my question. "Like what?"

There was no way to put it except to simply ask. I leaned down to prevent anyone hearing us over the music. "Duo, were you raped?"

I was surprised when he actually snorted slightly. "Never happen. You can't rape the willing, ya know?"

He tried to say that last bit brightly, but I could hear the underlying pain. Maybe I didn't have the correct picture, but I had a feeling that I was close. I stopped our dance and tilted his head up to look into his eyes. "Let's get out of here. We need to talk."

TBC