Gestalt 6

Incredible! I got another part out in less than a month. I hope you like it. I would like to get some opinions though. There will be lemon in this and I'm wondering what people would like to see. 3x4 or 4x3? If you have an opinion, let me know. I could go either way at this point.

Love you guys!

Enjoy.

Gestalt 6

Trowa hung suspended between the harsh reality of life… and the fearful uncertainty of death. His neck was slowly becoming weak with the attempt of relieving the painful twisting pressure of hanging by his head from the strong and unyielding hands of a compromised sociopath. In essence, his world had focused to a fine and clear point between two methods of relief. The man would either snap his neck, killing him in an instant, or he would release him, thereby relieving the strain.

Who was it that said the prospect of death narrows the mind wonderfully?

Trowa's usually keen senses were now receiving nothing but a blur and flurry of agitated voices and the growling vibrations of his attacker's responses. Eventually though, as his mind regained control of the situation, his senses cleared and he could make out what was going on. He could hear a woman's voice. A young voice.

"Pacify that man immediately!"

Then the voice above him.

"I would stay back if I were you! His neck won't take much more."

Trowa couldn't help agreeing with this as he fought to ignore the pain in his neck enough to think. His ears were ringing and his teeth were clenched tight in an effort too support his twisted jaw.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm taking control."

"You can't just kill him."

"Is that what you think?"

Another jolt of pain and Trowa saw spots.

"Stop stop! Please."

A bit of relief. Trowa tried not to shift in his discomfort for fear of the pressure being reapplied. He was on his knees, but angled forward in such a way that they did little to support him. As lithe as he was, his acrobat's body could do little to relieve his strain.

"You're talking about committing murder. Try to be reasonable."

The man laughed.

"I know exactly what will happen if I do it. You think I care? You think I fucking care! You don't matter. None of you matter! You ruined things! I'm taking back what's mine."

Trowa could hear a frightened and indignant gasp from the woman.

"That's enough Howard."

Trowa shifted as much as he could to find that voice. His young blond patient stood calmly with a schooled expression of worry. Behind the boy's eyes, Trowa could yet see Wufei's calculating gaze. It seemed the orderlies could perhaps sense this too as their attention had now shifted from Howard to him.

"Get back." Howard snarled.

Wufei nodded. He stepped back… looking almost afraid. His eyes met Trowa's for an instant and the pinned boy felt as if a thousand words were passed in that moment. Wufei knew what to do.

"As you say Howard. You're in control here."

"That's right. I'm in control."

Wufei nodded.

"That's right, but what do you want to be in control of Howard? It's up to you."

"What?"

Wufei's eyes met Trowa's.

"You're in control, one way or another Howard. It's up to you how you want all of this to turn out. If you let him go, I'm sure Ms. Dorlian would be willing to work something out to keep things the way you like. Isn't that right?"

The blond turned to look at the woman, who was too far to the side for Trowa to see.

"I." She seemed uncertain. "I'm sure we can work something out."

Wufei turned his eyes back on Howard.

"You see. You're still in control. If you let him go, we can work this out calmly. Believe me Howard, I don't think you'll like the alternative. Not a man like yourself."

Howard considered. He didn't really want to kill this boy, even if it really made no difference whether he did or not. It's true that this alternative was not the world he wanted. He was a good man. Everyone knew that. If he snapped the pliant neck in his hands, things could become difficult. Though the experience was tempting. He was a man who liked simplicity… and he was charming. If anyone could make this bitch see reason, he could.

"I'm a good man."

"That's right." Wufei replied. "Everybody knows it… so what do you say?"

Howard was pleased. Though this was different from the normal routine, the control was delightfully invigorating. He was usually subtler and intricate in the way he worked things, but the ease with which he could control… with the life of one insignificant boy was intriguing. Still Howard didn't fancy the unpredictability of this kind of control. He liked things uncomplicated. He decided to play the blonde's game to his advantage.

"All right." He said. "I'm a fair man. I'm willing to compromise."

Trowa saw Wufei's gaze flash quickly to him, a bit of relief flickering in the wary eyes before the boy looked back up at the woman.

"I'm sure that Miss Dorlian is willing to do the same."

"O…of course." The female voice stuttered. "Please let him go and I do what I can to work with you."

"I'd be happy to let him go." Howard countered, smiling. "After all, I am a generous man."

"Yes you are. You are. Thank you." Relena sighed. "Thank you for seeing it my way."

Howard stiffened, as did his grip on Trowa.

"What do you mean your way?"

Though Trowa could not see clearly, he could tell by the motion of the blond, that something had changed. It was uncanny how adept Trowa was becoming at reading this boy's body language. It was as if he had actually seen the aura of the previous personality falling away to expose the new, like a snake shedding its skin.

Wufei's plan had failed. He was gone. Now it was Heero who stood there, emotionless and intense. Trowa had a feeling the situation had just escalated, and Howard was in a load of trouble.

Trowa could see the solemn boy looking for an entrance… some sort of distraction. If something didn't happen soon, he was going to pass out and break his own neck from the terrible strain his muscles were under to keep still enough to not provoke the furious man.

With no other options, he did the only thing that came to mind. He let his body go entirely limp, letting out a stuttered sigh before pretending to pass out. As he went limp, his neck was torqued even more, but the ploy was successful as his dead weight made the man above him stumble.

What happened next was a blur as Trowa was trying to keep up the act and in doing so, had to keep his eyes shut. He heard a blunted crack above him, followed by a grunt before he and his attacker were thrown backwards, landing in a heap. The hands around his jaw were suddenly slack and his neck muscles knotted painfully at the sudden release. He gathered himself and scrambled away from the limp mass, finally looking back to see that the man lay completely dead to the world. Trowa held his neck and grimaced. He turned to see the boy who had saved him.

The boy looked at him calmly, almost devoid of emotion, but there was a hint of concern and even a little pride in the cold blue eyes as he advanced slowly, his eyes briefly darting to assure that there was no trouble as the two orderlies who now picked up the old man. He seemed frail now. A pale cry from the dangerous maniac that had just tried to kill him. A bruise was beginning to purple on the side of the man's wrinkled neck.

"Jesus, what did you do to him?" One of the orderlies asked as he hefted the man

Trowa stood up, but swayed as his vision decided to take a little spin without him. He groaned as his stomach churned a bit. As his savior's strong arms caught him, he leaned into them thankfully, putting a hand to his head. The all-business voice continued to drone above him.

"He'll live, but he'll wake up with a headache and he'll be pissed off. I suggest you put him in a cell and drug him… for now."

Relena smiled at him a bit awed.

"I don't know how to thank you Mr. Uh…"

"Then don't."

She straightened indignantly.

"I beg your pardon?"

Heero was unmoved. He glared at her through blond bangs.

"You very nearly got him killed. If you don't want a lawsuit on your hands, I suggest you stop initiating changes to the routines of this hospital before you comprehend why they're there to begin with. Anyone of the staff could have told you if you had asked that it's dangerous to fuck with Howard's routine."

"Well then why isn't he kept under lock and key and on proper medication?"

"Again, things you should have discussed with the staff before trying to screw with people's sense of reality."

Relena huffed.

"Well, I certainly intend to find out why things are being run so haphazardly." She turned to Trowa.

"Do you need medical attention?"

Trowa shook his head and smiled. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her to some extent. She seemed very young to be handling so much.

"I think I'm ok."

Relena frowned.

"I would like a doctor to take a look at you to make sure. I'll ask Hilde to bring someone down from the hospital."

"Thank you."

Relena looked about to say something to Heero as well, but his cold stare changed her mind. She turned and walked quickly out of the large room, stopping by Hilde's desk on the way. The dark haired girl listened as Relena gave her orders. Then she nodded her head and hurried out the door. The room was now empty. The sun had almost set and the room was a bit dimmer now that the fluorescents were the key source of light. All of the other patients had been ushered out and to their rooms. Now the only sound was of the kitchen staff as they prepared the evening meal. Heero turned to Trowa.

"Are you Ok?"

Trowa nodded, but allowed Heero to guide him gently into the armchair beside them. The solemn alter knelt in front of him and grabbed his chin, looking into his eyes to examine him, before brushing a gentle finger along Trowa's jaw. Trowa winced.

"Jaw hurts?"

"Like hell." Trowa muttered. Heero stood up and moved around to stand behind the chair. He used gentle fingers to draw Trowa's head back to rest against the cushion. Trowa fought instinctively, but the hands pinched his shoulders and held firm.

"Relax."

Trowa couldn't help but obey as the strong hands began to work his neck and shoulders, squeezing spots in his muscles that made heat flash through his shoulders, loosening them. Though the massage was good, at first Trowa couldn't relax into it because his stomach couldn't decide whether to upset or not. Finally, he was able to suppress the roiling. He sighed and relaxed his body somewhat into the massage.

"You're hands are shaking."

Trowa nodded.

"Adrenaline."

"Hn."

Trowa still felt shaky inside, but he felt his heart beginning to slow and he let his eyes slip closed as the hands on his back continued to work rhythmically. Occasionally, Heero would concentrate on a particular spot that was knotted before moving to a different area. Though the tall boy's muscles were strained from today's ordeal, most of the stress was a build up of school related tension. Growing up as he did, it was not something the green-eyed boy was used to. The tightening of his back and shoulders from hunching over a desk every day was definitely a new and unwelcome experience for the athletic boy. Trowa tensed suddenly though as the hands worked higher and hit the abused tissue around his throat. He grunted in pain. Heero's hands slowed and pressed gently on the offended muscles.

"Just relax and breathe deeply Trowa."

Trowa could feel the deft fingers tickle deliciously up and down his neck before stopping at a certain spot and pressing. A liquid heat seemed to fill his neck and the pain dulled deliciously. He let his breath out in an explosive sigh and relaxed again. The hands resumed massaging his neck and shoulders. Trowa was almost asleep when he realized that those hands had slowed and now traced gently across the muscles of his arms and shoulders, moving lower to trace along his collarbone and even lower still. Trowa's breath hitched. The hands stopped, but Heero's thumbs continued to rub delicately at his collarbone. Trowa was wide-awake now.

"Heero…"

"You're muscular for a psychology student Trowa. Do you play sports?"

"Sort of. I've been in the circus since I was 6."

Trowa went limp again as Heero began to massage his shoulders again as he spoke.

"A circus. Here?"

"Mmm. No. We travel around a lot. They're here in town though, this time of year. I'm going to visit them this weekend."

"What do you do there?"

"I'm an acrobat… among other things. I've done about every job there at one time or another."

"Why did you leave?"

Trowa sighed.

"Because I wanted to get away I guess. I felt like I was in a rut… like I would never be anything more than a simple carnival act. It seemed like so many of the people who came to visit looked down on me as if I wasn't smart enough to do anything else. Nothing more than a simpleton who couldn't find any other way to get by. I think I wanted to prove them wrong. I told my sister that I wanted to go to college and I did."

"It sounds as if you're unhappy about that decision."

Trowa blinked. Did it? He hadn't really thought about it, but he had made it sound that way. He replied, somewhat confused.

"No. That's not it."

"Then what is it?"

Trowa's answer was halted by the undeniable realization that he had no idea.

"I don't know… Heero. Honestly, I'm not sure why I'm not satisfied with what I've done, or if that's even the problem."

He was met with silence so he plunged on, more working out his thoughts orally than knowing what it was he was talking about.

"I've been a student here for a year now and I'm doing well. My grades are almost perfect, but I suppose I feel like I've taken a step back in a way. In the circus, people may have scorned me, but at the same time, I could do things that they could never hope to achieve. Things that I've worked my whole life at. As a student, I feel like I'm in the mainstream… like I'm doing what most guys my age do. Yet I feel out of place. I guess I'm at an impasse. I could get my degree, become a psychologist and go out and help people. I've always wanted to do that… to help people work out their pain and heal the past. Or, I could go back to the circus and do what I'm good at… what I've spent most of my life doing because I'm one of very few people who can do it and I like that too."

Trowa felt empty after working that out as he spoke it to Heero. Saying it definitely helped him identify a problem, though he wondered if he was better off in the dark. Now it was just one more issue he would have to deal with. Marvelous. Just when he thought he had things grounded in his life.

The boy behind him stopped massaging and moved around to face Trowa. He stood looking down at Trowa and the green-eyed boy cursed himself for feeling so vulnerable. What was it about this kid who, no matter what personality was in charge at the moment could make him feel so utterly exposed? Heero looked on him with almost emotionless eyes, but they had a warm glitter to them that helped to take that cold edge off the stoic boy. Heero leaned down and, taking Trowa's chin and forcing it up so that their eyes met directly, he smiled slightly.

"I don't know what to tell you Trowa. I don't know how you feel, so I can't tell you what to do. All I can say is that you need to listen to your emotions. The only way to lead a good life is to follow them."

With that, Heero leaned down and captured Trowa's mouth in a captive kiss, a strong tongue gently forcing entrance to Trowa's partially open lips, caressing his palate and then pulling away. Trowa stared, surprised at the boy above. The face had returned to its emotionless state, but those eyes still glittered with meaningful affection.

Then… suddenly, while Trowa was still trying to make light of what happened, Heero was gone and the gentle and relieved smile of Quatre Winner graced the willowy features once more. The boy dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around Trowa's waist and laying a blond head in his lap.

"Trowa. Thank goodness you're all right."

TBC as usual.

Comments and Critique are pleaded for as usual ^__^.