Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Of Men and Myth ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter 8

 

Wufei's escape out of the castle and into the woods was met without any resistance. He wasn't too surprised by this, only a complete moron would challenge an angry dragon. And boy was Wufei angry, angry at one very annoying fox, that is. It seemed Inu was planning on setting up a permanent residence on the dragon's back. He had nestled himself in between Wufei's wings where he was out of reach. The sure-footed fox would not be shaken and showed no intention of moving. Along side Wufei ran Quatre and Prince Trowa. The two were out of breath but otherwise fine. Wufei wasn't concerned with them, however. The dragon snorted trying once again to shake off the fox. The only good it did, however, was to cause Inu to give a small yip.

 

Having had enough, Wufei did the only thing that he hadn't tried, he transformed back into a human. This proved to only worsen the situation. Not only did he still have a silver fox on his back, now he was small enough that the creature could pin him to the ground. “Get off of me Inu.”

 

The fox gave Wufei a small lick on the cheek before jumping off him and turning back to human form. Wufei stood and glared at the fox. His front side was now completely covered with mud and leaves and it took every ounce of his self-control not to kill the creature right then and there. “What the hell do you think you were doing you retched creature? I should destroy you here and now for this insult!”

 

The fox grinned not at all fazed by the dragon's outburst. “Temper, temper my dear Fei boy. I was only following orders. I was told to `get the dragon,' and indeed it seems I succeeded.”

 

Wufei's hand flew to his sword's hilt in warning and he wondered, not for the first time, why he did not just kill this foul creature outright.

 

“Inu? Is that you?”

 

Wufei blinked and turned to Quatre. It had not taken a great deal of convincing to get the nymph to come with him when Wufei had first freed him. The creature was intelligent, but far too open and friendly. The trust he showed was sure to get him into a world of trouble, especially concerning this fox. “Hey Quatre, Prince Trowa, it's good to see you both safe again.” Inu had a grin on his face, like he was meeting up with old friends. Trowa gave a small nod while Quatre beamed at the fox. “I didn't think I'd see you again. That was pretty clever, getting a ride out of here with Wufei. I'm glade you made it.”

 

Wufei growled, `clever' was not the word he would use to describe the fox's actions.

 

“Yeah well, I'm not sure it will do me much good. Unless Duo or Prince Heero find some way to kill my bonded then I'll have to return to the castle. I haven't been called back yet, so I guess I'll stay with you until then or until I can't feel the kings life force anymore."

 

”And what makes you think you are a welcome guest here fox?”

 

“Wufei!” Quatre was glaring daggers at the dragon.

 

“What? He is not a guest here, he is an enemy, and an intolerably rude one at that.”

 

“Oh and so what about me and Trowa, are we your enemies too?”

 

“You no longer serve the King, he still does. He could easily turn on us.”

 

“It isn't his fault! He's a slave Wufei, he doesn't have a choice. You're a bonded too. You should understand that!”

 

That hit a tender spot for Wufei, his slavery to that human was the thing he hated the most. He turned to Inu and was surprised to find the creature's gaze was downcast and held none of its normal irritating humor. “Listen Wufei, I'm not asking to stay for any other reason but that I still require you to fulfill your promise to me. If you will recall you said that in return for my help you would either kill the king, or, if you were unable to, you would kill me. The king is still alive, I can feel him through my bond. I will wait until I am summoned back to him. When that happens I want you to fulfill your promise to me and stop me from going back. However if you must, you may kill me now.”

 

“What? Wufei, no you can't kill him!” For once Wufei agreed with the little nymph. He had made a promise to Inu, but he had believed that if he had to kill the fox, it would be in battle and fighting for his life. To kill him in this manner would be dishonorable, but to brake his promise would also hurt his honor.

 

“This is my choice little one. I can not remain a slave to Barton and do his biding. Especially since it would now mean having to fight against you and Trowa.”

 

“But-”

 

“No buts, little one, I refuse to be used as a tool in the destruction of innocent people.”

 

Wufei blinked in surprise. He would never have expected such a noble statement from the cocky, self-centered, life steeling fox. He had assumed that the creature was asking for death in order to escape enslavement. He had not, however, suspected that Inu was also sacrificing himself in order to save others. It surprised the dragon, and perhaps caused him to respect the fox ever so slightly.

 

“You can stay with us for now then. I intend to set up camp and then tomorrow morning I will go and find out if Prince Heero or Duo have been captured. For now, we will rest. Duo and I left our supplies a little ways away from here. Lets go there and wait to see if we can meet them.”

 

~~~

 

A soft rain feel as Heero and Duo finally reached the edge of the woods. Their pace slowed slightly once they gained the cover of the trees. Something that Duo was infinitely thankful for. He hurt like hell from the beating Barton had given him and the rain was starting to chill him. “Let's find shelter, it's late and you look like you need the rest. We'll see if we can meet up with the others in the morning.”

 

Duo nodded too exhausted to do much else. The pair was lucky enough to find a very small cave, if it could even be called that. The tiny hole they found barely had room for them and a small fire. Duo just plopped down the moment they arrived while Heero went to find wood that wasn't to wet to use. A small part of Duo felt quite bad. He was not used to needing others to care for him. And besides, wasn't he supposed to be taking care of Heero, and not the other way around? The demon was simply too drained, however, and too hurt to do anything. Heero did not take long to find wood and then get a small fire going. It seemed that the prince did indeed know how to take care of himself. `Then why am I here again? He sure hasn't needed my help yet. I'm sure he could have escaped on his own.

 

Duo decided to speak up. The silence was getting to him. It was making him think about things he would rather not. “Well I'm impressed, I wasn't expecting human royalty to know anything about building a fire from scratch.”

 

Heero grunted as he settled down next to Duo. The space was tiny and the demon could feel heat radiating off the human. Heat he desperately wanted to wrap himself in.

 

“I put my trust only in myself. Because of that I need to have basic woodsman skills.”

 

Heero moved in even closer bring his hand up to Duo's chest. “Eep, what are you-“

 

“I'm checking for broken ribs. From the way you were slouching I would guess that they are bothering you.”

 

Duo turned his head blushing a bright red. Oh course that's what he was doing. No the handsomest man in the world couldn't be coming on to Duo. He wasn't that lucky. `Lucky? Where did that come from? Okay so Heero is just about the most exquisite guy on the planet. That doesn't mean I'm still not trying to get away from him. I want nothing to do with him, right?

 

Duo winced as Heero fingered a particularly sore spot. The human's hand pulled away at the sound as if he had been burned. `He's being so gentle. Why the hell is he being so gentle?'

 

“Your ribs are bruised but not broken. You will need rest. We will stay here through tomorrow. I will go out and look for the others while you recover.”

 

“Me, rest? I don't know the meaning of the word. Don't worry Heero, I'll be fine.”

 

The human glared at him, “you will rest. That is an order.”

 

Duo grumbled angrily. What was he supposed to do trapped in this tiny cave? It was going to bore him to death. Heero seemed intent on ignoring Duo's pouting and was instead removing his shirt. The demon's eyes widened at the beautiful body that was unveiled to him and panic sprung up in him as he felt lower parts reacting. `Ah shit no, down, boy, down that's the last thing I want him to see.'

 

“Ah Heero, what are you doing?” The human was tearing his shirt into shreds and then he came in close to wrap the cloth around Duo's ribs. “They will heal faster if cared for.” Heero's hands were ice cold and Duo noticed the human was also shivering. He frowned wondering why Heero had not voiced his discomfort. After the human was done Duo grabbed Heero's arms and pulled him closer. “Look we're both freezing and this rain's only going to get worse. I say we do whatever we can to get warm.”

 

Heero sat as stiff as a board, shying away from Duo. “You okay Heero?”

 

The human nodded slightly, “I am just unfamiliar with this kind of contact.”

 

Duo nodded, he could definitely understand that, “I know what you mean. I grew up completely alone. Demons are kinda that way. We like a lot of space.”

 

“Then captivity must be like torture to you.”

 

Duo nodded, “Yes, the idea of losing my freedom and having to live in that dark airless castle does scare the shit out of me. It's not like I have a choice though, so I'll try to make the best out of it. At least you're not like Barton or someone.”

 

`Or at least I hope you're not like Barton. You don't seem to be, but hell I barely know you. That's a scary thought. Seeing how much I'm beginning to like you.'

 

“I, apologize, for taking your freedom. I never did agree with the bonding, nor do I like the idea of having to depend on another.”

 

Duo sighed, he had never liked that either. With Heero it was different, though. He didn't mind the human's company, not anymore, at least. The young demon curled up against his bonded, his wings coming up to cover them both. “I don't really mind it. Not anymore. At least I don't mind you. I still don't like being a pet or a slave or whatever you want to call it. Just promise me we'll go out sometimes, so that I can still see the stars.”

 

Heero nodded against him. “Don't worry, we wouldn't be spending too much time in that castle. I prefer it out in the open as well.” Duo nodded his eyes drifting closed from sleepiness. The prince was relaxing as well, he seemed to be more at ease now He didn't even react when Duo pulled his wings over them, just

 

held the demon closer. Duo was feeling something rivaling shook. He never would have expected this kind of thing to be happening, never dreamed that he would except or want this of close contact. Lying there in the arms of his bonded, Duo found he could not have been more content.