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Chapter Nine
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Duo was crying. Huddled in a darkened corner of a ramshackle one-room hut that looked barely a breath from collapsing, he curled around himself and buried his face in his knees, sobbing.
"Ssh--don't cry, it's all right--" Heero was kneeling next to him on the dirt floor, holding Duo protectively against his chest. "I won't let anyone hurt you."
But Duo knew--though he wasn't certain how--that whatever 'they' wanted, they wanted it from Heero. They weren't after him. They wanted to take his Heero away from him--wasn't that what they had threatened? To separate them forever?
The thick hot stench of smoke was filling his nose and lungs--it was so hard to breathe. Heero coughed, spitting black ash from his throat onto the floor. "I won't leave you," he promised softly.
"I love you," Duo whispered. It was too hard to speak, too hard to breathe, too hard to see. Just feel--so warm, and the air so thick, and Heero holding onto him. "Promise you'll come back for me?"
"I'll find you," Heero pledged softly. "No matter what it takes. I love you too, you know...."
Duo's head was too thick to lift. He couldn't breathe, but that was all right--so warm, and Heero was there, and he was just going to fall asleep.....
There was someone watching him when he awoke.
His head was buried under the airy weight of Eiderdown, his pillow rumpled under his cheek, and even when his eyes peeked out from the folds of duvet it was too dark to see--but he could feel the gaze, heavy, pressing against him.
"Heero?" he asked, wondering, if it was his--was he allowed to call him 'boyfriend' now or not?--who was watching him, as he hoped, why he didn't lie down next to him and cuddle. If it was Hilde, she wouldn't just be watching, she'd have woken him by now.
"He went to bed," a familiar breathy mezzo answered softly. "What were you dreaming about?"
Duo's head emerged from beneath the swath of quilt, his face propped on his arms as he rubbed at his eyes and reached up to flick on the lamp on his bedside table. "Sylvia? What are you doing in my room?"
She smiled gently. "Watching you dream. Answering your questions."
Duo stared at her for the space of several heartbeats before he slumped back into the bed. "Heero," he answered after a moment. "I was dreaming about Heero. We were stuck in a burning building, or something--I'm not sure why we couldn't just leave, but we didn't."
"Because there were people waiting outside," Sylvia inserted softly. "The fire was just to flush you out, like sending a dog into the grass after a bird to frighten it into flying so you can shoot it. But you didn't leave," she finished, her low voice infinitely sad.
Duo blinked. "How are you telling me about things in /my/ dre--wait a minute. No." His body re-adjusted itself in the bed, his dark violet eyes staring at the painter in disbelief. "You're gonna tell me this is some freaky past-life shit or something, aren't you? That Heero and I really died in that fire and I'm just now remembering it, or something."
"They had already gotten ahold of Wufei," Sylvia continued, as if his outburst had never been. "His name wasn't Wufei then--it was Diwu, which is almost the same. It took almost a year, but they finally broke his mind...once they could control him, they made him start the fire that killed you. He killed himself afterward, you know. He swore that the next time, he would never be so weak."
Duo wanted to protest again, to shout until he drowned out her voice, or just force her to admit she was talking nonsense and would just go away. But he couldn't--despite his outburst, he felt the thread of truth insinuating itself through his thoughts, probing his memories. //It feels right. Oh God, what if she's right?//
"Do the others know?" he heard himself asking.
She shook her head, twining a strand of blonde around one finger when it fell from her makeshift chignon. "Only Heero and Wufei. And now you. Sometimes I think Quatre suspects, but pushes the memories back because he no longer wants them."
"Then why are you telling me?" It was hard to keep the bitterness from his voice as he asked, and he wasn't certain he wanted to. "Don't you think I'd be happier not knowing as well?"
Sylvia slipped off the desk where she'd been perched, padding soundlessly to the edge of his bed. "I wish I didn't have to," she whispered, so softly it was hard to tell if she had spoken aloud or in his mind. "You don't know how I wish I didn't. But you're the key to it all. You're the reason any of us came back--Heero came for you, and he called us, even if he doesn't realise it. You are the catalyst, the agent that binds us together."
She let out her breath like a sigh, and Duo just watched her in silence as she twisted her hands before her.
"Here," she said finally, thrusting one of them out toward him. He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed the flower before--just a soft stiff little plant, jutting from her fingers to point at him. "I've been saving this for you. It's to go with the violets."
He took it from her, staring at it, waiting for her to explain.
"It's rosemary."
The explanation was hardly enough for Duo, but no other seemed forthcoming, so he took a closer look at it instead. Its leaves were stiff, its stem rough--it wasn't a pretty plant, so there must be some other reason--but no, he'd held this before. He couldn't quite put his finger on just when, but he knew he had touched it.
"Out in front of the hut was a garden," he said slowly, without even realising he was speaking aloud. "It was an herb garden, and I used to play in it--they told me not to, but everything smelled nice. I remember hearing my mother call me out of it--'Bin, you'll get dirty, go help your sister....' And then--" He broke off, tearing his gaze from the flower to stare up at Sylvia in distraught wonder. "How do I know these things? How do I remember them?"
"They would have come to you in time."
"My name was Bin, then?"
She nodded. "Yes."
Duo let all the questions, thoughts and sensations roll around in his head in silence until they finally settled into some order that could be picked through and dealt with, and Sylvia turned to leave. "Wait," he said, and she paused, half-turned at the door. There was only one other question tickling the tip of his tongue, and he was almost afraid to ask it.
"Sylvia...did they kill you too?"
"Oh no," she said sadly, her voice thick with sudden pain. "Not even at the very end."
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"Dammit, Duo, are you going to sleep like this every day? Get up, get up, get /up/!" Hilde threw the duvet off his bed ruthlessly. "If things keep going like this I'm getting you an alarm clock!"
"Sorry, Hilde, I didn't get a lot of sleep--let go, I'm coming!" He crawled irritably out of bed, fumbling for his clothes.
"I know you didn't," she informed him bluntly. "I saw Heero bring you in here. So did you try out any of the tips in Quatre's book?"
"No!" Duo protested, feeling his face flush red. "I don't even remember getting into bed last night, okay?"
"But you're blushing," Hilde pointed out. "Which at least means you wouldn't mind, right..?"
Duo glared at her. Undaunted, she persisted. "Well, come on--you at least /kissed/ him, right?" She sighed, flopping back onto his bed as he tugged on his jeans. "You two've been staring at each other practically since you got here, so if there's not something going on between you--there should be!"
"There sort of is," Duo admitted gruffly--less because he was irritated with Hilde and more because he was ashamed of himself for being so pleased about it.
Her jaw dropped. "Really? Tell me, Duo, tell me!"
Duo grinned, dragging his brush through the long hair that had gotten hopelessly tangled through the course of the night. "No way. You're mean to me."
"Me? Mean?" she repeated, doing her best to sound hurt and failing utterly. "That's not true! I'm /so/ nice to you! You have no idea what 'mean' is, Duo Maxwell, but if you don't start spilling details RIGHT NOW, I promise you you'll find out!"
"Hmph." Duo spun so his back was to her, though he realised immediately after that might not be the safest position to be in. Too late--by the time he turned back she was already flying at him, a maniacal expression lighting up her pert face.
She tackled him, and they both fell to the ground, the brush skidding off under the dresser out of Duo's reach. He squealed, she giggled, and it wasn't til he gasped out, "Hild--gonna--no breakfast--!" that she let him go and stood up, brushing herself off.
"Just tell me one thing," she said, sounding annoyed although the gleam in her blue eyes didn't match it. "Did you and Heero kiss?"
Duo nodded. Somewhere in the less-dignified parts of him--which Hilde seemed to have a peculiar talent for exploiting--he really wanted to brag about it anyway, scream it to the sky, share it with anyone who would listen. "Yes."
Hilde nodded, satisfied. "Good. Now tell me when you hit the next step," she commanded, and marched out of the room. Duo, forsaking the idea of a braid, retrieved his brush and took it with him as he ran after her.
He had little time, if any, through the rest of the day to ponder any further on Sylvia's revelations. First, he was distracted by breakfast--he realised as he and Hilde reached the dining room that it was the first time he'd be seeing Heero since The Kiss, and he was utterly at a loss for how to act. He usually sat between Hilde and Quatre at meals--was he now supposed to sit by Heero instead? Would it hurt the other boy's feelings if he didn't, or embarrass him if he did? Would he care either way? Up til now they'd done little in public besides look at each other from time to time--would that change? Then again, the other couples weren't exactly obvious about it, except Trowa and Quatre, who were inseparable....
Duo was highly confused.
The first problem, at least, was solved by simple physics. He and Hilde were the last ones to breakfast, and the others had simple assumed their usual places so Duo ended up in the only spot available--his accustomed one. Heero, he realised, looked nervous as well--both of them managed to exchange no more than a few subtle glances while Catherine explained to everyone the merits of each individual marshmallow shape in their Lucky Charms.
"The rainbows weren't in the original!" Wufei complained. "They shouldn't be there at all."
"Wufei, you weren't even born yet when they made the rainbows," Quatre said mildly. "Isn't there some sort of tenure on these things?"
"No," answered Wufei flatly. "And before you ask, let me assure you that should the rabbit ever get ahold of the Trix, I will boycott them forever."
"Oh, that'll hurt," Dorothy muttered dryly. Wufei narrowed his eyes, and the milk in her cereal bowl began to bubble.
"That's enough of that," Quatre said smoothly, trying not to laugh.
"That's right," Cathy agreed wickedly. "It'd be such a shame if all that hot milk fell on your head, now, wouldn't it Wufei?"
The milk ceased its bubbling, and the firestarter chugged the remainder of his cereal and gathered his books. "Good riddance to the lot of you. I'm going to class. Quatre, coming?"
The Siren looked up at him blankly. "Me? I'm not done eating yet. Go on, I'll catch up." Quatre, Duo noticed, hadn't exactly been making an effort to finish in a hurry--unless he was planning on having Cathy feed him, since his spoon was still on the table and his hand was laced into Trowa's.
A soft caress brushed the back of Duo's neck, fingers stroking lightly through his hair. "Walk to class with me?" Heero suggested tentatively, and scrambled hastily to his feet.
"Sure! Um, see you guys later--"
"Oh, we'll come along with you," Hilde said, bouncing up as well. A wicked smile crossed her face as she added, "somebody has to chaperone you two."
"Chaperone?" Catherine repeated dryly, standing as well and gathering her bag. "Or voyeur?" Neither of the boys answered--Heero, as if in defiance, slid his hand into Duo's and led him away, the girls giggling and following close behind.
"Ah, new love," Catherine swooned, ever the performer, clasping her hands melodramatically to her chest. "How sweet."
"Say," Hilde mused, "why don't you ever give me looks like that anymore...?"
There was a loud crash from behind the boys, and instinctively they spun around to determine the cause--it was simple enough, really. All Hilde's books had crashed from her arms onto the floor when Catherine pushed her up against the wall to kiss her hungrily. Duo and Heero took the opportunity to put as much distance between themselves and the girls as they could.
Lady Une was wearing her glasses that morning. Her class went by in a blur, and Duo was relieved he'd managed to catch up enough to have some basic idea of what she was lecturing about. Still, he was too unnerved by her demeanor--and too busy trying to sneak looks at Heero--to follow much of what she said.
"She's worried," Hilde observed as the four of them--herself, Heero, Duo and Relena--made their way toward the garden. "Treize must have told her."
"They must have a plan of action, then." Catherine followed the thought to its next logical point as the pond, and its companion willow, appeared from the mist before them. Quatre and Trowa were already there--the Siren was curled between the willow's roots, his back against its trunk, curled around his tall lover, whose head rested on his chest. Dew from the surrounding mist clung to their hair and clothes, cloaking them in damp fog. Quatre raised a hand in greeting to them as they arrived. "Hi. Have a seat, Zechs is on his way." It was entirely needless communication, and his voice sounded--nervous? Unhappy? They all found places to sit on the ground--Relena curled at the edge of the pond, her fingers tickling the surface as she paid her respects to the fish. Catherine stretched out along one of the benches, her head in Hilde's lap. Heero simply sunk to the grass near Trowa and Quatre and pulled Duo down in front of him, wrapping his arms around him and stroking fingers through his hair.
"You all look cozy," Zechs remarked, coalescing from the mist around them to stand to one side of the tree. There was no admonishment in his tone--if anything, he seemed amused by their displays of affection. "Good, it'll make this all more relaxed. I want to talk to you about something other than plant life, today."
Seven pairs of eyes followed the tall shaman as he settled himself on the grass. "I won't pretend this is a new announcement," he began, "because I know you're a sneaky lot. So I imagine you already know that the Romafeller Foundation has threatened to close down the school." His gaze slid over them, catching their nods of acknowledgement. "Well then. If you have any questions, comments, or observations, this is the time to ask them."
"What's Mr. Treize going to do?" Hilde asked--it was the question on all of their minds, after all.
Zechs let out a long breath. "That remains to be seen. He's going to meet with Dermail--that's Dorothy's grandfather--and the rest of the Committee, and try to negotiate some kind of compromise." Duo couldn't be sure, but he thought Zechs sounded a bit dismayed by this prospect. "Alternately, he's already been in contact with Ms. Winner--she may be able to take control of St. Gabriel's out of Romafeller's hands, at least for a while."
"But it's not too likely, is it?" Quatre said softly. "So what's the backup plan?"
Zechs sighed. "If it comes down to it," he announced sadly, "we'll all vanish. Go into hiding, like the first Newtypes. We'll have to be careful about using any of our abilities, but that's no different than it was before we came here...."
"I think we should fight," said Trowa suddenly. All eyes turned to him, wide and wondering, but he just gave his head an unapologetic toss.
"Don't you know," he all but whispered, "that this has all happened before? Don't any of you remember?" Duo nodded slowly, recalling the memory of the stench of smoke and the watering of his eyes as he drifted to sleep with ash-filled lungs. "They don't have the right to keep us like this--in cages like animals, or drive us into hiding. Romafeller killed our entire family to get us here--Cathy, you remember, don't you?" Pleading, he sought his sister's gaze, and she merely nodded, her lavender-grey eyes glistening wet. "But even if they brought me here, it's home now. I don't want to be chased from place to place. I don't want to be separated from any of you. And they don't have the right to force me to!"
His impassioned plea complete, Trowa turned his face into Quatre's chest. The Siren stroked his lover's hair gently, waiting silently for Zechs' answer.
But it was Heero who spoke up. "You assume," he said simply, "that if we fought them, we could win."
"And that's where the problem lies," Zechs inserted gently. "It's not merely that Treize--and the rest of us--dislike fighting, Trowa. But consider--this isn't the first time they've made demands on us that he's refused to give in to. But always before, they've backed off when faced with the possibility of fighting or losing Treize. This time, they didn't. Which can only mean," he said with a long sigh, "that they've acquired someone, or something, to match or surpass him in power."
Silence fell.
"You know," said Hilde after a moment--who, after all, had a genuinely apt grasp of language at any given time--"That's a really frightening thought."
The others were all forced to agree.
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TBC
