It was late when Duo returned to the safehouse from his mission -- very late. The rest of the pilots were asleep, even Heero -- at his laptop -- but asleep all the same. As Duo staggered into their shared room, he could see Heero's lean frame draped over the keyboard.
He stiffly made his way to the bathroom that branched off from their room. He needed a shower, he was dirty, smelly, and hurt like hell, from when.....//No! Don't think about that.....//
He walked into the bathroom and stripped off his ripped and blood stained clothes, throwing them on the floor without a thought. Turning on the water and waiting for it to heat up, he took in his appearance in the vanity mirror. His face was bruised, his lip split and still bleeding sluggishly. His customary braid was half undone, and was matted with blood. Bruises, scratches, and various other abrasions were scattered over his body, and there was a long stitched up gash on his stomach that he didn't remember getting. //God, I look like shit. Aw man, this hair is going to be a bitch in the morning.//
Turning away from the mirror, and stepping into the shower stall, he sighed as the hot water pummeled his body and washed away the grit. After just standing there for a few minutes, he finally started the painstaking task of washing his hair. The blood made it difficult to unbind the rest of the braid, and turned the water to a rusty colour, but he managed it eventually and started to run his fingers through it, untangling the worst of the snags. Finished with this task, he grabbed his shampoo and started to scrub handfuls of it into his hair.
After finishing with his hair, Duo turned his attention to the rest of his body. Grabbing a washcloth and the bar of soap, he lathered up and started to scrub the dried blood from his skin. Running the soapy cloth over the many cuts caused them to sting slightly, but he ignored the irritation and continued.
Finally, after about 30 minutes, the water began to run cold, and he washed off the soap and stepped onto the floor. Grabbing two towels, one for his hair, and the other wrapped around his waist, he sat down on the edge of the tub to check himself for any serious cuts. Finding nothing that need anything more than time to heal, and puzzling over that gash for a moment, before dismissing it, he grabbed a wide toothed comb and brushed out his hair only enough so that he could plait it without causing himself pain.
Walking back out into the room quietly, as to not wake Heero, he searched out his favourite oversized black nightshirt, and climbed into bed. Arranging himself as to not aggravate any of his sores, he pulled the comforter up around him, and was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. //How am I going to explain this to Heero.....?//
========================================
Heero woke later that night to strange, strangled whimpers coming from Duo's bed //Hn. Musta fell asleep.......Duo?// The American had gone off on a solo mission about a week ago, but wasn't due to return for several more days. He was supposed to infiltrate a laboratory base, collect all the experiment data, and then blow the base up.
As he straightened in his chair he could see Duo thrashing on his bed across the room, only partially covered up, after having kicked off his covers with his movement. The moonlight coming in through the window was reflected off Duo's sweat covered body as his limbs twitched. Then suddenly, the noise stopped, and Duo curled up into a ball on the bed and started to shiver.
Heero moved slowly from his seat at his computer until he was standing beside Duo's bed. Being this close, he could still hear a slight whimper escape from Duo's lips. Heero realized that Duo was in fact trembling, not shivering as he had thought.
Slowly, he reached out a hand to lightly rest on Duo's exposed shoulder, "Duo--"
His query was cut short as Duo suddenly lashed out violently and struck him in the cheek -- hard, sending him back a step. He raised his hand instinctively to his cheek, and looked back to the bed where Duo was staring at him with wide eyes that were filled with surprise and......fear? //Fear........?//
Heero just looked at him with something close to shock, Duo's eyes flew shut and with a despairing wail, he curled up on himself, facing away from Heero, trembling violently with suppressed sobs. Something was definitely wrong......what the hell had happened on that mission anyway?
"Duo?" he asked softly, "Duo, what's wrong?" waiting for an answer from the braided pilot for several moments, and receiving none, Heero tried again, "Duo.....what happened?"
After he had spoken, Duo's trembling was reduced to slight tremors across his frame, and he un-curled ever so slightly. At this silent sign, Heero moved forward again, speaking in low tones, "Duo, its me. Heero. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." //God, what happened to him? He looks like he's afraid I'm going to beat him//.
Again, he laid his hand on Duo's shoulder, feeling him tense beneath his touch. Slowly, Heero climbed onto the bed behind Duo, and pulled the shaking boy into his arms, massaging his tense neck and shoulders with one hand, and smoothing the still damp hair with the other. Almost immediately, Duo turned towards him and clung to him tightly, as he finally allowed his tears to fall.
After a while, when it seemed to him that Duo had calmed down enough, Heero quietly inquired again, "Duo, what happened to you? What's wrong?" He didn't ask if Duo was okay, he was no fool, obviously the braided boy was not okay.
"I'm sorry........" Duo whispered faintly, "oh God, I'm sorry....I ...they .........they caught me ........and .......and.........." he choked on a sob as he tried to continue.
"Shhh, Duo, it's okay, you can tell me. Take a deep breath," Heero comforted the boy, rubbing a hand over his back, silently fearing what Duo would say.
Nodding, and taking the suggested deep breath, Duo pulled away slightly, to face Heero, and started again, "The first night I went to the base, I thought something was up, it was way too easy to gain access, it was almost like they were waiting for me to come. Turns out they were," taking another deep breath, he continued, "After rigging up the C-4, I went to the lab to find the documents I was after, but when I walked into the room, a group of soldiers jumped me from behind. Before I knew what was happening, they had me pinned on the floor, and .....and a doctor injected me with something," he stopped there, taking a couple more deep breaths to calm himself.
"I ....I don't know what he gave me, but it put me out cold. When I woke up, I was groggy, and sore," here he touched his abdomen lightly, "the same doctor with the needle was there, with others. They all crowded around me when I woke up, writing stuff down and reading the monitors that were attached to me. Then that same doc injected something into the IV, and I was out again," another breath, and he looked away from Heero as he continued, "The next time I woke up, I wasn't in a bed any more, I was in a cell, on my stomach, chained in place. I tried to get free, but .....but, they injected me with a tranquilizer .....and .....and then .......then they .......they .......raped me......" the last was whispered so faintly that Heero had to strain to catch the words.
He wished he hadn't though, he looked at Duo in shock. Duo wouldn't meet his eyes, and after a moment he tried to pull away, but Heero wasn't ready to let go quite yet. He pulled Duo back towards him, and encircled the American in his strong arms, and, after a second, Duo buried his face in Heero's shoulder and clung to him tightly.
"Oh Duo, I'm so sorry," he mumbled into the braided pilot's hair.
"A ...after, they untied me and put me into some sort of ....of, observation room, then left. I guess they didn't think I could do anything doped up as I was, but they don't know me," here Duo offered a weak laugh, "the drugs wore off, and I escaped, then blew them all sky high!"
Heero pushed Duo away from him slightly so that he could look him in the face, then asked, "Duo, are you alright? Did ....did they hurt you .......physically?" Heero could not bear the thought of this boy, whom he cared about so deeply, being in any sort of pain as a result of this.
Duo shook his head in response, "No, I'm not hurt, but ......but I can't get it out of my head, could .....could you stay with me tonight? Please Heero?"
"Hai Duo, I'll stay. Just try to sleep now," he responded as he shifted into a more comfortable sleeping position for both of them, with Duo's head cushioned on his chest. Wrapping an arm around Duo's waist, he said softly, "I won't let anyone hurt you again," his vow fell on deaf ears though, for Duo was already fast asleep, curled up on his chest.
============End Part One============
He stiffly made his way to the bathroom that branched off from their room. He needed a shower, he was dirty, smelly, and hurt like hell, from when.....//No! Don't think about that.....//
He walked into the bathroom and stripped off his ripped and blood stained clothes, throwing them on the floor without a thought. Turning on the water and waiting for it to heat up, he took in his appearance in the vanity mirror. His face was bruised, his lip split and still bleeding sluggishly. His customary braid was half undone, and was matted with blood. Bruises, scratches, and various other abrasions were scattered over his body, and there was a long stitched up gash on his stomach that he didn't remember getting. //God, I look like shit. Aw man, this hair is going to be a bitch in the morning.//
Turning away from the mirror, and stepping into the shower stall, he sighed as the hot water pummeled his body and washed away the grit. After just standing there for a few minutes, he finally started the painstaking task of washing his hair. The blood made it difficult to unbind the rest of the braid, and turned the water to a rusty colour, but he managed it eventually and started to run his fingers through it, untangling the worst of the snags. Finished with this task, he grabbed his shampoo and started to scrub handfuls of it into his hair.
After finishing with his hair, Duo turned his attention to the rest of his body. Grabbing a washcloth and the bar of soap, he lathered up and started to scrub the dried blood from his skin. Running the soapy cloth over the many cuts caused them to sting slightly, but he ignored the irritation and continued.
Finally, after about 30 minutes, the water began to run cold, and he washed off the soap and stepped onto the floor. Grabbing two towels, one for his hair, and the other wrapped around his waist, he sat down on the edge of the tub to check himself for any serious cuts. Finding nothing that need anything more than time to heal, and puzzling over that gash for a moment, before dismissing it, he grabbed a wide toothed comb and brushed out his hair only enough so that he could plait it without causing himself pain.
Walking back out into the room quietly, as to not wake Heero, he searched out his favourite oversized black nightshirt, and climbed into bed. Arranging himself as to not aggravate any of his sores, he pulled the comforter up around him, and was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. //How am I going to explain this to Heero.....?//
========================================
Heero woke later that night to strange, strangled whimpers coming from Duo's bed //Hn. Musta fell asleep.......Duo?// The American had gone off on a solo mission about a week ago, but wasn't due to return for several more days. He was supposed to infiltrate a laboratory base, collect all the experiment data, and then blow the base up.
As he straightened in his chair he could see Duo thrashing on his bed across the room, only partially covered up, after having kicked off his covers with his movement. The moonlight coming in through the window was reflected off Duo's sweat covered body as his limbs twitched. Then suddenly, the noise stopped, and Duo curled up into a ball on the bed and started to shiver.
Heero moved slowly from his seat at his computer until he was standing beside Duo's bed. Being this close, he could still hear a slight whimper escape from Duo's lips. Heero realized that Duo was in fact trembling, not shivering as he had thought.
Slowly, he reached out a hand to lightly rest on Duo's exposed shoulder, "Duo--"
His query was cut short as Duo suddenly lashed out violently and struck him in the cheek -- hard, sending him back a step. He raised his hand instinctively to his cheek, and looked back to the bed where Duo was staring at him with wide eyes that were filled with surprise and......fear? //Fear........?//
Heero just looked at him with something close to shock, Duo's eyes flew shut and with a despairing wail, he curled up on himself, facing away from Heero, trembling violently with suppressed sobs. Something was definitely wrong......what the hell had happened on that mission anyway?
"Duo?" he asked softly, "Duo, what's wrong?" waiting for an answer from the braided pilot for several moments, and receiving none, Heero tried again, "Duo.....what happened?"
After he had spoken, Duo's trembling was reduced to slight tremors across his frame, and he un-curled ever so slightly. At this silent sign, Heero moved forward again, speaking in low tones, "Duo, its me. Heero. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." //God, what happened to him? He looks like he's afraid I'm going to beat him//.
Again, he laid his hand on Duo's shoulder, feeling him tense beneath his touch. Slowly, Heero climbed onto the bed behind Duo, and pulled the shaking boy into his arms, massaging his tense neck and shoulders with one hand, and smoothing the still damp hair with the other. Almost immediately, Duo turned towards him and clung to him tightly, as he finally allowed his tears to fall.
After a while, when it seemed to him that Duo had calmed down enough, Heero quietly inquired again, "Duo, what happened to you? What's wrong?" He didn't ask if Duo was okay, he was no fool, obviously the braided boy was not okay.
"I'm sorry........" Duo whispered faintly, "oh God, I'm sorry....I ...they .........they caught me ........and .......and.........." he choked on a sob as he tried to continue.
"Shhh, Duo, it's okay, you can tell me. Take a deep breath," Heero comforted the boy, rubbing a hand over his back, silently fearing what Duo would say.
Nodding, and taking the suggested deep breath, Duo pulled away slightly, to face Heero, and started again, "The first night I went to the base, I thought something was up, it was way too easy to gain access, it was almost like they were waiting for me to come. Turns out they were," taking another deep breath, he continued, "After rigging up the C-4, I went to the lab to find the documents I was after, but when I walked into the room, a group of soldiers jumped me from behind. Before I knew what was happening, they had me pinned on the floor, and .....and a doctor injected me with something," he stopped there, taking a couple more deep breaths to calm himself.
"I ....I don't know what he gave me, but it put me out cold. When I woke up, I was groggy, and sore," here he touched his abdomen lightly, "the same doctor with the needle was there, with others. They all crowded around me when I woke up, writing stuff down and reading the monitors that were attached to me. Then that same doc injected something into the IV, and I was out again," another breath, and he looked away from Heero as he continued, "The next time I woke up, I wasn't in a bed any more, I was in a cell, on my stomach, chained in place. I tried to get free, but .....but, they injected me with a tranquilizer .....and .....and then .......then they .......they .......raped me......" the last was whispered so faintly that Heero had to strain to catch the words.
He wished he hadn't though, he looked at Duo in shock. Duo wouldn't meet his eyes, and after a moment he tried to pull away, but Heero wasn't ready to let go quite yet. He pulled Duo back towards him, and encircled the American in his strong arms, and, after a second, Duo buried his face in Heero's shoulder and clung to him tightly.
"Oh Duo, I'm so sorry," he mumbled into the braided pilot's hair.
"A ...after, they untied me and put me into some sort of ....of, observation room, then left. I guess they didn't think I could do anything doped up as I was, but they don't know me," here Duo offered a weak laugh, "the drugs wore off, and I escaped, then blew them all sky high!"
Heero pushed Duo away from him slightly so that he could look him in the face, then asked, "Duo, are you alright? Did ....did they hurt you .......physically?" Heero could not bear the thought of this boy, whom he cared about so deeply, being in any sort of pain as a result of this.
Duo shook his head in response, "No, I'm not hurt, but ......but I can't get it out of my head, could .....could you stay with me tonight? Please Heero?"
"Hai Duo, I'll stay. Just try to sleep now," he responded as he shifted into a more comfortable sleeping position for both of them, with Duo's head cushioned on his chest. Wrapping an arm around Duo's waist, he said softly, "I won't let anyone hurt you again," his vow fell on deaf ears though, for Duo was already fast asleep, curled up on his chest.
============End Part One============
