Title: Ghosts
Warnings: 1x2, bad language, possible grammar mistakes -_-;;, lemon in later chapters.
SI/Martina: Neeeeeext chapter ^.^ Duo, over to you.
Duo: *Clears throat, sits in his favourite chair with his feet on the table, and grabs microphone*
SI/Martina: And you're on in five…four…three…two…*BLEEEEEEEP*
"Shit…"
That was all I could say. Shit. S-H-I-T. The 'thing' disappeared around a curb in the fading path, and left an eerie silence suspended in the air. It seemed that the very ground it walked on had just died, right there and then. I would have broken out in a cold sweat if it weren't for the temperature around me freezing water to ice in less than a second. Heero's nails were still digging painfully into my arm and showing very little signs of relaxing. But I didn't care. It somehow felt comforting, to know that even if it WAS by acting as a scratching post, I was of use to someone. I helped, in some tiny way.
"School…now…go…" Quatre's stiff mumblings could be heard behind me. I nodded, with my eyes still transfixed on the place where the 'thing' had disappeared. I felt Heero's grip on my arm ease slightly, but he still held on to me. One glance at his face showed a Heero scared stiff.
He was mortally afraid of ghosts. Of all the things there is to have a phobia of, his was the spectral image of a ghost.
"Heero?" My tone was as monotonous as his as I shook his shoulder lightly, only to get no response from the blank face. I could swear he was shaking, and I don't know whether it was the cold or fear, but he was pale as snow. Entranced, that's what he was. He was still staring down the overgrown forest path for any sign of the gory child returning. I wanted to keep him like that. Digging his fingernails into my arm, I liked the pain for some strange reason. But this was out of fear…
"Heero!" I shook him more harshly, and he snapped out of the spell and looked at me with wide eyes for a second. Wide, fearful eyes. Tear glazed but clear as glass. No shadows. No fog. Nothing.
"Hn."
I've always been amazed at how he could revert to 'Mr. Perfect Soldier' in less than a nanosecond. This had to be a new record. One second he was in front of me, the next, turned around at superhero speed and marching off down the path at what could be the pace of a power walk. I glanced at Quatre, who gave Trowa a fearful look. Wufei simply shook his head and sighed, muttering something that sounded oddly like 'coward' and broke into a run to catch up. Hey, it seemed the wisest thing to do. We all broke into a run, past the remaining gathering of trees that looked more ghastly now than any other time I'd looked at the things. Man it was creepy out there, in the snow tinged world of Northern Europe. And with bloody little children running about? It doesn't paint a very pretty picture.
"Slow down, man!" I was more than willing to try and shake off the chilled feeling that little incident had given me. Obviously, Heero was too. In his own special way : Ignoring Maxwell totally and completely, in all ways known to mankind. Yeah, that's about it.
"Heero! Hey! Slow the pace down a bit, I'm freezin'!" I yelled from about three meters behind the leader of the marching band. Since this was ignore Duo time, I of course, duh, received no response and instead had to speed up to catch him. I think the others were somewhere behind us…keeping their own nice comfortable pace.
"Come on, slow down a bit? Talk about it, at least!?" Pftz, I wish. Nevertheless, I'm persistent. So there.
"Come on, me, Duo. You can talk to me!" I grabbed hold of his shoulder and was dragged along behind him in some way or another. Yes, that's it, *talk* to me.
"No."
Oh the joys of the one word responses. I was starting to develop a skill for those by now. I knew most of them by heart. It wasn't so hard seeing there was only two, 'hn' and 'no', and the occasional sentence but those usually varied slightly.
"Fine, but you really did look freaked over there with…with that thing and all." I guess I should have kept my mouth shut. I really should have. But I couldn't help it, I'd been as freaked out as he had. I just had a different way of coping with it from him.
He whirled around, quite suddenly, and grabbed me by the neck in an iron grip. His hand was cold and damp with sweat, despite the sub-zero levels of atmospheric temperature, as he wrapped his fingers around my throat in a choking way. He glared the most heated death glare I'd ever received at me, and hissed quietly straight in my face.
"Drop it."
Just that simple. Drop it. Drop it, let sleeping dogs lie. And he gave me that hint in such an obvious way that I just followed after him like some damn lapdog after that, watching his back for him, keeping both my eyes out for him…and not feeling at all burdened by it. More at ease, knowing he was safe with me. He needed me. He just didn't know it yet. He did need me, didn't he?
"Eh…Sorry." Ok, so it was lame. But what else was I to say to him? Just shut up and follow? That's not my style.
"Doesn't matter." I wanted to believe him on that point. But I don't think I ever would be able to. I'm not blind to everything, as I might make myself appear to be. Believe it or not, I see everything that goes on in their lives. I see all the pain he feels. It's a skill I've developed. And what do I do? Hide behind a curtain of 'happy', making me seem like an immature two year old.
But someone's got to be cheerful. Might just as well be me, eh?
"So what's our mis-" I got a hand clamped over my mouth, and almost toppled over when I was dragged into a bush and practically smashed down against the ground. Heero was holding a finger to his own lips, signalling me to shut the hell up. Being immersed in my deep though, I hadn't noticed that I was five meters away from colliding with a solid brick wall. And even less obvious to me was the large window in that brick wall, which would expose me to whoever was inside. Thank Shinigami for Heero.
A quick survey around the area and he noted that the rest of the gang were gone. It took me a while to remember that our plan was usually this way, to separate and enter the building from two sides in case we got intercepted. But I had an excuse. Or just not.
"We have to climb up the wall." Heero voiced quietly, eyes fixed on a pitch- black window in the fourth or fifth story of the gigantic castle-resembling structure. It really was in the middle of nowhere, the school compound bordered the forest in its ghastly appearance. I felt like an idiot. Climbing right into Draculas lair.
"Go ahead and climb, I ain't moving." I couldn't help but think of the last time I'd had to climb up a wall… tree branches, and falling on them, causes a lot of pain. Heero fixed me with a glare, but I persistently shook my head.
"I ain't gonna climb it!!" I retorted, folding my arms firmly over my chest. Heero narrowed his eyes and seemed to be giving me a last chance…but I wasn't going to change my mind.
"You will." He snapped quietly at me, turning his back and surveying the wall quickly, before hoisting himself up on the bricks jutting out from the wall and escalating it as if he was Spiderman. Both had masks, so it was a good fit.
"Hey…you…you're not leaving me down here are you?" I couldn't believe he would do that…and at the same time it was the obvious thing for him to do. When annoyed, leave whatever it is that annoys you somewhere on the ground 20 feet below you.
"Heero!?" Ok, so I panicked, but I had good reason to. I *HAD* seen the ghost thing, and I did *NOT* want to be alone with that thing out in some remote forest. He glanced down at me, still in the process of climbing with speedy progress up the wall. I gave him my best 'Cute Little Duo' look. It worked sometimes. No idea why. His glares had the same effect on me on a larger scale, even though they were intended for something different…
It took quite a bit of mental coaxing.
/=/ Pleeeeeease?/=/
/=/Hn./=/
/=/Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese?/=/
But being a master at the game, I got my wish in the end. I watched with a grin as Heero dropped to the ground again, swift and agile as a cat, and stalked towards me with a blank expression on his face as usual.
"You will pay for this." He hissed at me, and I couldn't help but smiling and nodding quietly in return. Then a question formed in my mind. What…exactly, was he going to do? I was about to ask when…
"Heero how exactly are you go-hmph!"
I was grabbed around the waist and found myself hoisted over his right shoulder as if I had passed out. In no time at all, he had grabbed hold of the rough surface of the bricks once again and was climbing at a slightly slower pace with me across his shoulder. And the view, was scary. Especially since I felt like falling.
"Eeek! Heero!" I flailed and thrashed, but soon found that it gave more of an unwanted result than anything else and took firm hold of Heeros thin shirt, gritting my teeth and trying my best not to pass out for real.
"Hn. Keep still."
"Keep still!? I could fall at any moment and you want me to ke-aaaaah!" And that, is when he slipped. Heero Yuy, slipped. Goddamnit, he slipped!
"Shit!" I heard myself say, burying my face in his shoulder and squeezing my eyes shut. I did NOT want to see him dangling off the edge of the window with one hand, and I did NOT want to realize that I was completely and utterly dependant on him for survival through this ordeal. This, was crappy.
A low grunt and the sharp movement of muscles brought us up on the window ledge. Somewhere in my mind I heard the window latch click open and a draft of old-smelling air wash over me with its musty stench.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit…" I still thought I was in mortal danger, with 20 feet between the ground and me. I've never liked heights, even if it isn't very much of a height.
Gravity took hold of my body and I tumbled roughly to the floor, landing in a heap. My eyes were still shut tightly and I wouldn't have noticed that I was shivering violently from cold if my mind had been functioning properly. I was freezing cold…nauseous…I felt shitty. It was all too much for one night. The temperatures at sub-zero, unidentified ghosts, heights, almost falling twenty feet into solid ground. After a long and tiring trip in a cramped Gundam, anyone would have been exhausted. I wanted, and needed, to sleep. Sleep…
Surprisingly, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist and pulled me up against a lightly clad chest, cradling me lightly and warming my frozen body through the body contact. Heero rested his weight against the window, panting slightly with exhaustion from having just climbed up a wall with twice the weight he was used to. His arms held me tightly up against himself, in a bundle much like an infant. Soothing and warm, so tender for a soldier. Tender for Heero.
"Nn…" I tried to thank him feebly, but a huge dose of sleep was taking over my system. A thin hand brushed a wisp of hair away from my face and I could swear I heard a 'no problem' voiced from somewhere above me.
And the exhausting feeling of sleep enveloped me completely, and my eyelids slid shut. I was dimly aware of being carried, the rhythmic movements of a walk lulling me further into my dream state for every step.
And choking sobs. Sobs inspired by delayed fear that he tried to quench.
But I heard them, with my head so close to his chest.
I heard Heero crying.
TBC…
A/N: Eeek..gotta go to bed now ^^ Review, puh-lease-ness!
Warnings: 1x2, bad language, possible grammar mistakes -_-;;, lemon in later chapters.
SI/Martina: Neeeeeext chapter ^.^ Duo, over to you.
Duo: *Clears throat, sits in his favourite chair with his feet on the table, and grabs microphone*
SI/Martina: And you're on in five…four…three…two…*BLEEEEEEEP*
"Shit…"
That was all I could say. Shit. S-H-I-T. The 'thing' disappeared around a curb in the fading path, and left an eerie silence suspended in the air. It seemed that the very ground it walked on had just died, right there and then. I would have broken out in a cold sweat if it weren't for the temperature around me freezing water to ice in less than a second. Heero's nails were still digging painfully into my arm and showing very little signs of relaxing. But I didn't care. It somehow felt comforting, to know that even if it WAS by acting as a scratching post, I was of use to someone. I helped, in some tiny way.
"School…now…go…" Quatre's stiff mumblings could be heard behind me. I nodded, with my eyes still transfixed on the place where the 'thing' had disappeared. I felt Heero's grip on my arm ease slightly, but he still held on to me. One glance at his face showed a Heero scared stiff.
He was mortally afraid of ghosts. Of all the things there is to have a phobia of, his was the spectral image of a ghost.
"Heero?" My tone was as monotonous as his as I shook his shoulder lightly, only to get no response from the blank face. I could swear he was shaking, and I don't know whether it was the cold or fear, but he was pale as snow. Entranced, that's what he was. He was still staring down the overgrown forest path for any sign of the gory child returning. I wanted to keep him like that. Digging his fingernails into my arm, I liked the pain for some strange reason. But this was out of fear…
"Heero!" I shook him more harshly, and he snapped out of the spell and looked at me with wide eyes for a second. Wide, fearful eyes. Tear glazed but clear as glass. No shadows. No fog. Nothing.
"Hn."
I've always been amazed at how he could revert to 'Mr. Perfect Soldier' in less than a nanosecond. This had to be a new record. One second he was in front of me, the next, turned around at superhero speed and marching off down the path at what could be the pace of a power walk. I glanced at Quatre, who gave Trowa a fearful look. Wufei simply shook his head and sighed, muttering something that sounded oddly like 'coward' and broke into a run to catch up. Hey, it seemed the wisest thing to do. We all broke into a run, past the remaining gathering of trees that looked more ghastly now than any other time I'd looked at the things. Man it was creepy out there, in the snow tinged world of Northern Europe. And with bloody little children running about? It doesn't paint a very pretty picture.
"Slow down, man!" I was more than willing to try and shake off the chilled feeling that little incident had given me. Obviously, Heero was too. In his own special way : Ignoring Maxwell totally and completely, in all ways known to mankind. Yeah, that's about it.
"Heero! Hey! Slow the pace down a bit, I'm freezin'!" I yelled from about three meters behind the leader of the marching band. Since this was ignore Duo time, I of course, duh, received no response and instead had to speed up to catch him. I think the others were somewhere behind us…keeping their own nice comfortable pace.
"Come on, slow down a bit? Talk about it, at least!?" Pftz, I wish. Nevertheless, I'm persistent. So there.
"Come on, me, Duo. You can talk to me!" I grabbed hold of his shoulder and was dragged along behind him in some way or another. Yes, that's it, *talk* to me.
"No."
Oh the joys of the one word responses. I was starting to develop a skill for those by now. I knew most of them by heart. It wasn't so hard seeing there was only two, 'hn' and 'no', and the occasional sentence but those usually varied slightly.
"Fine, but you really did look freaked over there with…with that thing and all." I guess I should have kept my mouth shut. I really should have. But I couldn't help it, I'd been as freaked out as he had. I just had a different way of coping with it from him.
He whirled around, quite suddenly, and grabbed me by the neck in an iron grip. His hand was cold and damp with sweat, despite the sub-zero levels of atmospheric temperature, as he wrapped his fingers around my throat in a choking way. He glared the most heated death glare I'd ever received at me, and hissed quietly straight in my face.
"Drop it."
Just that simple. Drop it. Drop it, let sleeping dogs lie. And he gave me that hint in such an obvious way that I just followed after him like some damn lapdog after that, watching his back for him, keeping both my eyes out for him…and not feeling at all burdened by it. More at ease, knowing he was safe with me. He needed me. He just didn't know it yet. He did need me, didn't he?
"Eh…Sorry." Ok, so it was lame. But what else was I to say to him? Just shut up and follow? That's not my style.
"Doesn't matter." I wanted to believe him on that point. But I don't think I ever would be able to. I'm not blind to everything, as I might make myself appear to be. Believe it or not, I see everything that goes on in their lives. I see all the pain he feels. It's a skill I've developed. And what do I do? Hide behind a curtain of 'happy', making me seem like an immature two year old.
But someone's got to be cheerful. Might just as well be me, eh?
"So what's our mis-" I got a hand clamped over my mouth, and almost toppled over when I was dragged into a bush and practically smashed down against the ground. Heero was holding a finger to his own lips, signalling me to shut the hell up. Being immersed in my deep though, I hadn't noticed that I was five meters away from colliding with a solid brick wall. And even less obvious to me was the large window in that brick wall, which would expose me to whoever was inside. Thank Shinigami for Heero.
A quick survey around the area and he noted that the rest of the gang were gone. It took me a while to remember that our plan was usually this way, to separate and enter the building from two sides in case we got intercepted. But I had an excuse. Or just not.
"We have to climb up the wall." Heero voiced quietly, eyes fixed on a pitch- black window in the fourth or fifth story of the gigantic castle-resembling structure. It really was in the middle of nowhere, the school compound bordered the forest in its ghastly appearance. I felt like an idiot. Climbing right into Draculas lair.
"Go ahead and climb, I ain't moving." I couldn't help but think of the last time I'd had to climb up a wall… tree branches, and falling on them, causes a lot of pain. Heero fixed me with a glare, but I persistently shook my head.
"I ain't gonna climb it!!" I retorted, folding my arms firmly over my chest. Heero narrowed his eyes and seemed to be giving me a last chance…but I wasn't going to change my mind.
"You will." He snapped quietly at me, turning his back and surveying the wall quickly, before hoisting himself up on the bricks jutting out from the wall and escalating it as if he was Spiderman. Both had masks, so it was a good fit.
"Hey…you…you're not leaving me down here are you?" I couldn't believe he would do that…and at the same time it was the obvious thing for him to do. When annoyed, leave whatever it is that annoys you somewhere on the ground 20 feet below you.
"Heero!?" Ok, so I panicked, but I had good reason to. I *HAD* seen the ghost thing, and I did *NOT* want to be alone with that thing out in some remote forest. He glanced down at me, still in the process of climbing with speedy progress up the wall. I gave him my best 'Cute Little Duo' look. It worked sometimes. No idea why. His glares had the same effect on me on a larger scale, even though they were intended for something different…
It took quite a bit of mental coaxing.
/=/ Pleeeeeease?/=/
/=/Hn./=/
/=/Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese?/=/
But being a master at the game, I got my wish in the end. I watched with a grin as Heero dropped to the ground again, swift and agile as a cat, and stalked towards me with a blank expression on his face as usual.
"You will pay for this." He hissed at me, and I couldn't help but smiling and nodding quietly in return. Then a question formed in my mind. What…exactly, was he going to do? I was about to ask when…
"Heero how exactly are you go-hmph!"
I was grabbed around the waist and found myself hoisted over his right shoulder as if I had passed out. In no time at all, he had grabbed hold of the rough surface of the bricks once again and was climbing at a slightly slower pace with me across his shoulder. And the view, was scary. Especially since I felt like falling.
"Eeek! Heero!" I flailed and thrashed, but soon found that it gave more of an unwanted result than anything else and took firm hold of Heeros thin shirt, gritting my teeth and trying my best not to pass out for real.
"Hn. Keep still."
"Keep still!? I could fall at any moment and you want me to ke-aaaaah!" And that, is when he slipped. Heero Yuy, slipped. Goddamnit, he slipped!
"Shit!" I heard myself say, burying my face in his shoulder and squeezing my eyes shut. I did NOT want to see him dangling off the edge of the window with one hand, and I did NOT want to realize that I was completely and utterly dependant on him for survival through this ordeal. This, was crappy.
A low grunt and the sharp movement of muscles brought us up on the window ledge. Somewhere in my mind I heard the window latch click open and a draft of old-smelling air wash over me with its musty stench.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit…" I still thought I was in mortal danger, with 20 feet between the ground and me. I've never liked heights, even if it isn't very much of a height.
Gravity took hold of my body and I tumbled roughly to the floor, landing in a heap. My eyes were still shut tightly and I wouldn't have noticed that I was shivering violently from cold if my mind had been functioning properly. I was freezing cold…nauseous…I felt shitty. It was all too much for one night. The temperatures at sub-zero, unidentified ghosts, heights, almost falling twenty feet into solid ground. After a long and tiring trip in a cramped Gundam, anyone would have been exhausted. I wanted, and needed, to sleep. Sleep…
Surprisingly, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist and pulled me up against a lightly clad chest, cradling me lightly and warming my frozen body through the body contact. Heero rested his weight against the window, panting slightly with exhaustion from having just climbed up a wall with twice the weight he was used to. His arms held me tightly up against himself, in a bundle much like an infant. Soothing and warm, so tender for a soldier. Tender for Heero.
"Nn…" I tried to thank him feebly, but a huge dose of sleep was taking over my system. A thin hand brushed a wisp of hair away from my face and I could swear I heard a 'no problem' voiced from somewhere above me.
And the exhausting feeling of sleep enveloped me completely, and my eyelids slid shut. I was dimly aware of being carried, the rhythmic movements of a walk lulling me further into my dream state for every step.
And choking sobs. Sobs inspired by delayed fear that he tried to quench.
But I heard them, with my head so close to his chest.
I heard Heero crying.
TBC…
A/N: Eeek..gotta go to bed now ^^ Review, puh-lease-ness!