Genre: Sci-fi, crossover, AU

Pairings: 1x2, other

Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words

Warnings: Yaoi, lemon, language, violence, torture, abuse, character death (sort of), misuse of electricity, telepathy, politics

Special note: Dedicated to Nalamacleod and Hikishi, because this was your request to me. I hope you enjoy it

A/N: It's been way too long since this one got an update. Since I updated anything, actually . . . sorry.

Compassion, Mercy, and Forgiveness

Heero opened his eyes. For a split second disorientation ruled. He'd woken up? He ached all over? It was the physical sensation of warm weight on his chest that recalled him to the present. He'd grown accustomed to not having a body. It wouldn't, he thought as his arms came up, be an unpleasant task to get used to it again.

Duo stirred the instant Heero's arms settled around him. Indigo eyes fluttered open, and when they landed on Heero they filled with tears. But the brilliant smile he remembered followed hot on their heels.

"G'morning," he whispered.

'It is a good morning,' Heero responded silently - just because he could. Reaching out much hurt, his psionic senses feeling extremely raw and sensitive. But it was a good pain. It was a sensation he could feel, and even though it was pain he embraced it.

Mirth, love, and blinding happiness flowed from Duo to Heero. 'Best we've had in almost a year,' Duo agreed, nuzzling Heero's throat.

It was painful, letting his psionic senses remain open so he and Duo could sift through each others' minds. But it was a much-needed reaffirmation for them both, a sort of "getting-to-know-you" again. It wasn't long before Duo picked up on his pain, though, and he sat up. His eyes were dark and glossy.

"Being in that stasis tank really weakened you," he said quietly. He bit his lower lip. "Much more than their torture." He placed his hand lightly on Heero's cheek.

He realized what Duo planned a split second before his love did it - too late to stop it. Even though he himself was far too weak to do something so tremendous, Duo still sent his healing energy down into Heero's body. Every muscle in Heero's body went rigidly to attention, mind whiting out. He could remember his mother telling him, a long time ago, that Duo's potential for healing was phenomenal. Most N'saian had a weak propensity . . . One by one he felt the weak parts of his body flooding with strength. The aches vanished as though they never were. Like balm on an open wound his psionic channels cleansed and healed, all his shields floating back into place. Hands capable of bending steel flexed in the sheets -

- and it was over. Strength poured over him in a wave, and his senses returned. He was too thin, still - Duo couldn't magically make him gain weight. But he was strong. That tremendous strength of his was back, a thousand times faster and cleaner than any drug could ever have managed. Duo sagged back down on Heero's chest with little more than a sigh, eyes slipping shut.

Heero shoved the annoying wires off his body and gathered Duo close, rocking him slightly. "Little idiot," he whispered in Duo's ear. "Why'd you do that? You're not strong enough to be healing right now."

Duo took a shaky breath, hands clutching at Heero's arms. "I wanted you to . . . hold me again. Like that." Just like that.

Heero drew Duo into his mind, soothing and calming and gentle, psionic fingers massaging through the boy's ravaged channels, drawing barriers into place to shut out the rest of the base. Few telepaths were strong enough to create barriers for others, but Heero was stronger than any N'saian ever born. In fact, all five of them were stronger than any N'saian before.

"That feels good," Duo mumbled.

Sensing he was close to sleep, Heero increased his gentle pressure to push him back down into it. Almost as soon as he descended into its soft black embrace, Dr. Fraiser entered the infirmary. She gave him a smile, and he could sense she was surprised.

"Good morning," she said, moving to the bedside to check her equipment. "You look much better today than last night. How do you feel?"

"Fine," Heero replied. "Duo healed me."

Her dark, startled eyes came to his face. "What?"

"He caught me off guard," Heero explained, "otherwise I wouldn't have let him do that. Other than a serious need for real food, I'm fine now."

"I'll need to run some tests to ascertain that for myself," she said, and he could sense slight caution.

He simply nodded. With his full telepathy restored, he'd lost that last bit of distrust for these people. They were good men and women, and they genuinely wished to keep him and his four friends safe. They wouldn't hurt them.

o8o o8o

While she waited for the results of her tests, Dr. Fraiser gave Duo his antivirus injection. She also had breakfast brought up for Heero while he got up and dressed in BDUs. The military green pants and black tee shirt looked good on him, and she promised herself she would do everything in her power to restore him to full health. He was probably a good forty pounds underweight right now. How would he look in his prime? That wiry frame screamed strength, and he was thin right now.

Heero finished his breakfast, and she moved to his side. She held up a syringe.

"This is a vitamin shot. You're deficient in just about everything, and it'll help boost your metabolism."

Heero succumbed with a nod, watching with disinterest as she injected him. Then he met her eyes. "Thank you, Doctor."

She blinked. "For what?"

"Everything you've done for us. We sort of . . . stumbled into very good hands." The faintest smile quirked up one corner of his mouth.

She smiled. "You don't need to thank me. It's my job. But you're very welcome all the same."

Rising off the bed, Heero looked down at her. "Am I cleared to leave? Wufei told me Zechs Marquise is here, and I need to see him."

She hesitated, glancing down at Duo. "You should be here when he wakes."

Heero nodded. "Yes. Don't worry. I imprinted myself on his mind again, so the instant he starts waking I'll know."

Professional curiosity sent into overdrive with that simple sentence, Janet raised an eyebrow. "Imprinted yourself . . . ?"

That lip-quirk again. "I don't really know how to describe it. I could demonstrate if you want."

Blink. "What does it entail?"

"I can make it temporary, semi-permanent, or permanent," he told her. "With Duo, the imprint is permanent. This way I can tell in an instant when he needs me."

She nodded. "I'd like to know more about it before you demonstrate." She smiled a little.

"That's fine. Most humans are wary of our abilities." He paused then added, "Especially mine."

Reaching over, she patted his bare arm. "Only because they're narrow-minded. I don't fear what I don't understand, I simply want to learn more about it. So when you five are free, I definitely want to learn more."

It gleamed briefly in his eyes, how much her words meant to him. He gave a quick nod. "We're your new allies, so we're happy to help."

She beamed at him. "Now go find your friend."

He ducked his head just the tiniest bit, reminding her suddenly and sharply that he was just a kid. A sixteen-year-old kid who had been through more than most adults would ever. Her heart ached for him, and she was so grateful he was back in his physical body where he belonged. The terrible heartache he and his angel-faced lover had been through could now begin to heal.

o8o o8o

Zechs, sitting cross-legged on the bed in his cell, looked up when he heard the card-key swipe the lock. A moment later the door opened, and the Earth military man pushed it open to allow in his visitor. It was Wufei, and to his immense shock and relief, Heero. The slightly younger N'saian looked thin, but he looked far better than Zechs could believe. He'd expected it would take weeks for the youth to be back on his feet after months of cryo-sleep. He rose to his feet to bow deeply.

"I'm pleased to see you looking so well," he said, radiating sincerity and knowing Heero would be able to pick up on it.

Cobalt and ebony eyes observed him, both sets bright and cold. Wufei's expression was both cold and hateful, but Heero's gave him hope. His eyes were just this side of glacial, but he still looked more neutral than Wufei.

"You are pleased," he said matter-of-factly. "Wufei told me what you told him, but I want to hear it from you. With my psychic imprint on your mind so I'll know if you lie even the slightest bit."

Zechs forced himself to meet that cold stare. "Of course," he submitted, sitting back on the edge of the bed. "I won't resist your imprint."

"No," Heero said, voice going even colder, "you won't." He moved until he was right in front of the man, holding out one hand.

Zechs closed his eyes and felt the cool tips of the boy's fingers at his left temple. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to relax and open his mind. Not that anyone on Desaine had any way of protecting against the N'saian abilities . . .

He felt the first touch like the icy kiss of a winter breeze. Gentle and harsh at the same time. His first instinct was to tense and flinch away, but the man's innate self-discipline stilled the reaction before it came to fruition. That was just Heero reaching for him . . .

It happened fast. As if the first touch was merely Heero finding him, the next instant the imprint was there. It didn't settle over his mind like a net or a blanket - it was just there. It felt similar to being in someone's grapple, only far more intense. Perhaps like being grappled by a giant in arctic waters after having all the air knocked from one's lungs by a tree falling on you. All that aside, it didn't hurt. It was too foreign a sensation to be described as pain.

'Tell me what happened.'

The mental command rang across his mind loud and inescapably clear. He could no more deny it than cut off his own right hand. He found himself pouring out the exact truth, and it never occurred to him to lie. The orders he received to transport the two promising young N'saian to a relatively new base. The shock at their treatment upon arrival. And the horror that they were imprisoned and tortured by the very people they'd already sworn to defend. He narrated right up until the moment he stepped through the Stargate to bring Heero's body to the SGC.

When he was done, he felt a strange sense of relief. Looking up, he tried to gauge Heero's reaction. The boy was observing him, but his eyes were now merely pensive rather than cold or hostile.

"Not a hint of lie," he remarked.

Wufei, who was watching Heero, didn't react as Zechs had been hoping. The anger didn't leave his eyes. If anything, it deepened. He looked like someone who had been denied a chance at vengeance. His ebony gaze snapped to Zechs.

"This doesn't abdicate you," he growled.

Zechs' heart sank. "What else can I offer?" he asked quietly. "Had I known, I would have done everything to protect Heero and Duo, I swear it. Heero, can you not sense my sincerity?"

"I can," Heero answered tonelessly.

Zechs looked back to Wufei.

Who merely sneered at him. "But like any mindless fool you didn't think to look into the situation? Why would two boys be sent to a top-secret research facility?"

"I thought perhaps they were looking into new ways to put your abilities to good use -"

"I believe the correct assessment is you didn't think at all," Wufei cut in, voice laden with scorn.

"It's not a good soldier's place to question his commanding officer -"

"Tool!" Wufei spat. "You didn't consider it might be a trap, that those monsters were looking for the chance to sink their claws into two boys with untapped potential? And it never occurred to you to look into the research at that facility? That they were researching ways to suppress our telepathic abilities?"

"I did look into it, but all the documents I read were programming-related," Zechs said. "I was led to believe that Heero's background in it would play a part in developing viruses to use against the Nationals."

"So was I," Heero commented blandly.

Grasping the lifeline he'd been thrown, Zechs nodded. "In fact, Duo and Heero were specifically chosen because they would best fit into that program. I'm almost positive that most of the men and women doing work in that facility had no idea what was secretly planned for them."

"If it was all so top-secret as you claim," Wufei growled, "how did you even learn of it?"

"I did some digging after they vanished," Zechs replied, desperately hoping he could hear the boy relenting. "With careful probing I uncovered the plot. It took a great deal of political maneuvering to get myself into the program. I thought perhaps I could smuggle them out if I was on the inside. I created the hole in the guard that allowed Duo to escape Desaine, and I'm the one who gave him that data recording and storing device so he could take Heero with him. I began planning immediately after that how I might get Heero's body back to him, and it took me some time to figure out where he'd gone after he escaped."

"Why did you care so much?" Heero inquired.

His tone made it sound like he didn't really care. "Because I blamed myself," Zechs replied after a slow, deep breath, "and because you two were so young. You're just kids. All five of you."

"Wufei wants to punish you," Heero said abruptly. "An injustice was done to us, and you're the only route left."

Well aware of what these boys could do to him, Zechs nodded without hesitation. "Whatever you deem necessary."

A slow, frigid smile crossed Wufei's lips. "You may not think so, when you hear what I have in mind."