Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Short Circuit ❯ Chapter 1

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: I hate these, and you're a moron if you think I own anything GW related.
Warnings: This is gonna get strange and dark,TWT
Pairings: 1x5, 2x1
Summary: Duo's always been in love with Heero and hoped that one day, perhaps not until after the war, Heero might return his feelings. One day, Duo's dreams come true, or do they?
A/N: Is it just me (and it could be...), or do rated R stories no longer show up in the Just In section of this lovely website?

Short Circuit
by Amyeyl

Chapter One

Wufei sat quietly next to the boy in the bed. The chair he sat in was hard and plastic, prompting him to squirm every so often in search of elusive comfort. Wufei had occupied the chair nearly as long as the boy had occupied the bed. A glance at the watch circling his wrist proved that to have been at least five hours, but perhaps it was seventeen, maybe more? He didn't care. He would continue to sit there until his patient stirred, or until they were discovered. With any luck, it would be the former, but Wufei had never been one to believe in luck.

Glancing at the patient, it was easy to believe that they would be discovered long before he woke. The boy was covered in bandages, and had the situation been less grave Duo would have compared his appearance to that of the mummies of old. With crude stitches Wufei had managed to bind flesh together and stop the worst of the bleeding. In other areas, tightly wrapped bandages sufficed. Adhesive bandages covered numerous smaller scrapes and cuts.

The leg, however, was another matter. Stitched and bandaged, held together in every imaginable way possible, Wufei wasn't sure if the boy would be able to keep it. What its loss would do to him, Wufei was unsure, but he feared what would come.

Shifting again, Wufei let out a low hiss of pain. Stilling his movements, he cursed his own injuries. He'd needed to get them somewhere safer. All the confusion at the base would have allowed it, had he been strong enough to continue. As it was, he'd barely made it this far before his burden proved too much for him. He'd felt the darkness closing in on him and had taken a chance with this abandoned building. Once they were locked inside he'd passed out and stayed that way for some time. It was a miracle he awoke where he'd collapsed and not in a cell.

He'd dragged his unconscious partner into a corner behind a pile of rubble, a makeshift shelter from any immediate danger. Then he'd set off to explore their new surroundings. He'd found it empty of friend or foe, as well as anything resembling food. He had, however, come across the room they occupied now, with the dirty bed and uncomfortable chair. He found numerous drums filled with what he hoped was clean water as well. They were gathered beneath various holes in the ceiling, so he could at least delude himself that it was rainwater with which he'd bathed his patient's wounds.

Soon after he'd moved the boy into this room, and dealt with his wounds to the best of his ability. Only then did he turn to his own. With the both of them bathed and bandaged, he'd settled down to wait.

Wufei had allowed himself to vacate the chair on a few occasions to relieve himself in an nearby room where the smell wouldn't carry. On his excursions he'd noted the passing of two more days, and chanced drinking the collected water.

It couldn't be much longer before Oz found them, could it? He had only managed to travel so far, and they must have sent patrols out by now. However, as the days continued to pass, and the boy in the bed did not stir, Wufei began to allow himself a tiny bit of hope. Perhaps they wouldn't be found. But even that hope was marred. He still wasn't able to carry the other boy out of there, and without food it was unlikely that he would regain the strength to do so. If they weren't found by someone, the boy may never wake up at all.

Wufei limped slowly down the hall, back towards the tiny room, thoughts running in circles. However many times he went over their situation, he always came to the same conclusion. Sooner, not later, he would have to chance leaving the building. He would have to take stock of the area they were hiding in, maybe he'd find a way to contact the other pilots. He would have to risk capture, and not only that of himself.

He reached the room and sank gratefully into the plastic chair. He looked at the boy in the bed. At least he seemed to be resting peacefully. He reached out, fingers brushing lightly against a still hand. The bandages felt coarse and dirty under his fingers. Leaning forward, he placed his hand against one of the few patches of visible skin. It was ashen next to his own coloring. He glanced up at the boy's face. He brushed his hand through the dirty bangs and made up his mind. It would be now or never.

Wufei stood once more and turned to leave the room for the second time that day. If he remembered correctly, the sun had been setting when he'd dragged himself to the water containers earlier. The cover of night was as much as he could hope for.

He sent a silent prayer up to the heavens, begging for continued watchfulness over his fallen companion. That done, and with a glance back over his shoulder, Wufei left the tiny room. He closed the door behind him, hoping that if he were to be followed inside his pursuers would pass over the inconspicuous room.

As he limped along down the hallway, he made note again of the hiding places he had discovered on his first exploration of the building. He may need one or more, and quick access would be of the utmost importance.

Arriving at the front of the building, he bypassed the door and went to one of the grimy windows. Rubbing at it with his sleeve, he produced a circle less dirty than the surrounding glass. Peering through it he couldn't see anything moving in the darkness. It didn't mean that no one was out there, but at least he wouldn't be walking into a poorly laid trap.

He smudged his circle, an attempt to make its relative cleanliness appear to be the result of some more natural phenomenon. Wiping his hand on his pants, he turned away from the glass. He stared for a moment at the door. It was just an unassuming dark gray slab of metal, yet his capture or death may lie just beyond its threshold. Taking in deep breath and releasing it slowly, Wufei made his way to the door.

Curling his fingers around the large sliding bolt, he drew it back and winced as the metal groaned in protest. He stepped away from the door and waited. Nothing happened. Moving back, he latched onto the door itself and slid it open. The air was not immediately filled with the sound of gunfire.

Standing just shy of the opening, he took another deep breath to prepare himself. As ready as he would get, he darted through the opening as fast as his leg would allow and ducked behind the first obstruction he came to. Again, there was no hail of bullets hot on his heels. Perhaps he was safe.

Glancing around, he mapped out the route he would take. The area seemed to have taken heavy damage at some point, and there were numerous places to hide. Overturned vehicles, crumbled walls, buildup of stone next to deep depressions… His path would be the slowest, and least direct, but it afforded him the most cover. He wasn't willing to risk any straight-aways with his current injuries.

As he crouched amongst the debris, readying himself for his next dash, Wufei wasn't aware of the lone figure who even now had him lined up in his crosshairs.

TBC...