STORM'S CLAM
"What the hell did he think he was doing? He could have been killed! BAKA!!"
Heero paid no attention to Wufei's ranting. He carried his precious burdon through the living room and into their shared bedroom with the others following close behind.
"Heero we need to get him dried and warm fast." Quatre was in 'mother mood' the moment they realized Duo was outside in this horrid weather. The blonde pilot of Sandrock felt a shiver run down his spin at the thought of Duo being outside for that long and no one noticed. Guilt hung heavy on his heart. 'Duo why did you do it?' He looked over at the very pale and shaking version that was once Duo Maxwell and felt tears sting his eyes. At this point he felt a firm arm wrap around him from behind. He instinctively leaned back into the warmth.
"Don't worry koi. He will be fine. Heero will take care of him." Trowa soothed his lover. He too was thinking of the sickly pilot and what could have possibly made him want to chance this type of weather. He closed his eyes for a moment to suppress a shiver and began to think of earlier events.
################### Earlier
It was Trowa's turn to cook for the day and he was preparing lunch in the small kitchen that the five pilots were currently forced into. Breakfast had been unusually quite but no one questioned it. It had been a while since they all had a quite moment, but there was still something uneasy in the atmosphere. Everyone felt it but ignored it.
When Trowa was making lunch, he noticed that Duo was not glued to his side. 'That's strange I wonder where Duo is? Not that I miss him or anything.' Of course no one was in the kitchen at the time so they could not see the rare, soft smile that graced his lips as he thought this. None of them could deny that they were all fond of Duo. He was the glue of the group, but none would voice that fact out loud. Even Wufei could not truly relax when Maxwell was not around. 'No wonder everyone is edgy today.'
He walked out of the kitchen and into the living room to find Duo and the others and tell them that lunch was ready. When he entered the living room, he saw Quatre sitting on the small couch drinking a cup of tea with a slight frown on his face. He would look around the room every few minutes as if he knew something was missing but could not figure out what.
Quatre saw his tall lover standing in the doorway and smiled up at him. He was answered with a small smile in return. He saw the smile fade when Trowa looked around the room.
"Is something wrong Trowa?" he asked when he saw the frown on his loves' faces as he looked around for something in the room. Others that did not know him so well would not have seen the frown but being lovers for some time had taught him how to read his tall partner.
"Have any of you seen Duo? Lunch is ready and I have not seen any sign of him." was Trowa's soft reply.
At this point, Wufei looked up from the book he had been reading. "Now that I think about it, I have not been pestered by Maxwell all day. No wonder it has been so quite." 'And I so restless' he added to himself.
"Except for the storm outside, it has been very quite. It seems to be getting worse too." stated Quatre from his seat while looking out the window.
Heero, meanwhile, was typing away at his laptop and listening to the other's conversation with peck interest about his fellow pilot. "Did you check the bedroom? He might be sleeping. He was acting a little off early this morning." he offered in his monotone voice without the slightest pause in his typing.
The unibanged pilot offered a slight nod of his head in reply and turned to check it out. As he walked down the hall, he could hear the storm louder and felt a cold wind cover his skin sending a chill down his spin. 'Where is the wind coming from?'
He reached up to turn the doorknob when bright bolts of lighten struck the earth rendering the pilots in darkness. "Damnit! Just what we need right now." Trowa sighed and opened the door but instead of seeing his hyper friend sleeping peacefully on the bed, all he saw a dark empty room in- between the flashes of lighten. The window was open and water covered the floor and one of the small beds. Outside looked like hell had come to earth for a visit. 'Damn! Where the hell is he?!' The pilot of Heavyarms was getting more concerned by the minute. As fast as his long strides would take him, he made his way back to the others.
Back in another room, Heero was using a flashlight to light some candles they had ready in case the lights went out. Wufei had put up his book being as there was not enough light to read anymore and was helping Heero with the candles.
"Guys I'm a little worried. Someone should have heard or seen something of Duo by now. Something is really wrong here. I can fell it. He is in trouble."
The others stopped what they were doing to look at the blonde pilot of Sandrock. "Winner, stop reading too much into this. I think it is justice to finally get some peace and quite for a change. I do not care where Maxwell is as long as he is not bothering me. I am sure he is in that room of his planning something to make my life hell." With that said, Wufei got up and walked into the kitchen with a few candles to place around for some light.
Not feeling the slightest bit better and knowing that Wufei did not either, Quatre put his cup on the table next to him and frowned. Something was not right. His space heart was never wrong. He looked to Wing's pilot for help.
"Heero, don't you think that this is not very Duo like? When was the last time you seen or hear from him?"
Heero stood up and walked to the side of the window with a candle after turning off the flashlight to save batteries. Quatre watched him for a second before joining him at the window. He turned to his friend waiting for his answer. Heero would not look at him when he answered in his emotionless voice.
"This morning after breakfast was the last time." 'after I hit him.' If one could see those cobalt eyes at that moment, they would have been able to see shame, regret, and guilt in them. He had not meant to hit him so hard. He did not mean to hit Duo at all but he just cannot control his actions when around the violet eyed pilot. He just loses all since of control and restraint. This morning's episode had been one like many others. He was hacking into some OZ database when his cheerful roommate came bouncing over to his side.
#################### Flashback
"Heya Heero! Whatcha doing?" Deathscythe's pilot asked over his shoulder.
Trying not to shiver at having the sexy pilot breath down his neck, the wing pilot reacted the way he was taught, with coldness.
"Duo, leave me alone and get away from me." When his command went unfilled, he turned around and punched the spunky youth across the check sending him flying across the room and into the wall where he hit head first. He turned back to his laptop and continued working.
On the other side of the room, Duo stood on shaky legs and left the emotionless bastard to his precise laptop. He could fell the tears build in his eyes once again but would not let them fall. 'Boys don't cry. Boys don't cry.' was all he could think as he walked down the hall to their shared bedroom with a hand to his bruised cheek.
Having had his back turned to Heero, Heero did not see the last bit of hope fade from the other's eyes. He just watched the braided youth's back as he walked away from him from the computer screen.
End of flashback
Guilt still hung heavy on his heart that he is not suppose to have. 'I am the perfect soldier. I am not supposed to feel. I am not supposed to care. So why is it that that braided baka can make me feel so easily. There are times when all I want to do is shove that braid of his in his mouth to shut him up and other times it's not his braid I want to use to shut him up.'
Slightly surprised at what he just thought, he continued his silent monolog. 'I knew that he makes me feel, but do I feel for him? NO, it is just a fleeing thought. He is a GUY! Ok so he is a beautiful guy with the most exotic eyes I have ever seen and a mouth that anyone would love to see scream their name in ecstasy.' That thought stopped him dead in his thoughts.
'Did I just think what I thought I did? Yes, I did.' A smirk formed upon his lips. Yes! He could defiantly seen kissing those lips until they were bruised and swollen and begging for more. He shifted slightly to relieve some of the pressure in his to tight spandex shorts.
Letting out a small sigh of despair, he once again turned back to his thoughts. 'Okay, so I know what I feel for him. If only he felt the same way about me?' He knew that Duo at least wanted to be his friend from all of the times he tried to involve him in normal day things but there was no way a person like Duo would ever fall for him. After all, he was only a machine made for killing. Someone as beautiful, both inside and out, as Duo could have anyone he wanted male or female. Why would he want someone like me? After all, look what he did to him this morning like many other times. There was not a chance in hell for him.
A hand on his shoulder snapped him back to reality. He turned to look into the concerned filled eyes of Quatre. The hand on his shoulder gave a small squeeze before letting go. Quatre was about to say something when Trowa erupted into the living room looking slightly panicked.
"I can't find Duo anywhere in the entire house!" His one visible eye was looking between the two pilots hoping that they knew where he was.
"Of course you could not find Maxwell. The lights are out and you do not have a light. How do you expect to see him? Hope he glows in the dark? Maxwell might be unusual but even he is not that strange."
"For your information Wufei, I have a flashlight that I got out of the hall closet." He proved his point by shining it in the Chinaman's face.
"That is not possible Trowa. He has got to be here somewhere. Are you sure that you looked everywhere in the house? Should we look again?"
Trowa just shook his head and stepped toward his love and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sorry petite, but I looked everywhere. I want to find him as much as you do."
Heero turned to gather Wufei back from the kitchen. 'Where is my little baka? My little baka? When did I start thinking of Duo has being mine?' A soft smile, not big enough to be seen by others, formed on his lips at the idea of Duo being his. A sharp intake of breath coming from the living room caught his attention.
"OH ALLAH! NO!" Quatre cried out with one hand over his chest. The other three pilots were at his side in seconds. He was shaking and looking out the window with a look of horror and pain on his face.
"Quatre, what is it? What's wrong?" a very concerned Trowa asked. Without taking his eyes away from the window, Quatre pointed outside and with a shaky voice said, "He's outside! He's outside in this! Duo's out there!"
The response was immediate. Wufei start ranting baka while moving to put down his candle. Trowa's emerald eye widened and looked outside. Heero wasted no time to run and grab a jacket to go outside to get His little baka back safely. Just as he was about to go out the door, a hand on his arm stopped him. He turned around to give whoever it was a piece of his mind when his saw the concerned eye of Trowa behind him.
"Let me go Trowa. I have to go get him." A look of understanding passed between them. After all, if that was Quatre out there, Trowa knew that he would do the same thing.
Trowa gave his arm a squeeze. "Look at that weather Heero. Even you cannot see much out there. You will need some help to bring him back in when you find him. Wufei and I will be ready. Just call out when you have him." With that said, he let go of the arm he was holding.
Heero nodded in understanding and acceptance and rushed out into the storm to find Duo. He quickly discovered how true Trowa was. He could barely walk from the rain and wind. The cold was already seeping through his jacket. He had to find Duo and fast. Failure was not an option.
About 40 or so feet from the house, he spotted Duo. He was kneeling on the ground in nothing but his black boxers and his hair, having been freed from his customary braid, was blowing this way and that as if trying to escape from something. Under different circumstances, this site would have come straight from one of his wet dreams.
The closer he got to Duo the more worried he got. He could see him visible shaking from the combination of cold rain and wind. His skin was deathly pale and blue from exposure. Heero tried to call out to him, but his cry fell upon death ears. Just as he reached Duo's side, he collapsed completely. Heero caught him before he hit the ground.
The storm seemed to be getting worse, but Heero was not going to give up. He was not going to let some storm beat him. Not when someone's life he cared for was on the line. He stopped pretending that Duo was nothing to him. He knew that he would not be able to function if something were to happen to Duo. 'I will not let anything happen to you Duo.'
With a newfound determination, he cradled the unconscious Duo to his chest and started back to the house. "Duo, what the fuck were you doing out here? How long have you been out here?" Of course, his questions went unanswered.
He looked down at the treasure in his arms and frowned. Duo looked positively ill. His skin was pale and almost frozen to the touch and his lips were a dark blue and trembling. His face looked as if he was in some kind of pain. The bruise on his cheek was clearly visible. 'Gomen Duo- kun. I will make it better I promise.' He knew what he had to do.
"I have him but I can not make it back alone." he screamed towards his waiting companions.
Without giving a reply, Trowa and Wufei started out towards them. If it had been anyone else, Heero would not have trusted them to keep their word but he knew that his fellow pilots would not betray him as he would not betray them. He crouched down to minimize the wind and the flying debris and looked at Duo again. As gently as he could, he removed the hair plastered to his face. His fingers lingered upon the ugly looking bruise then moved to his lips were he could fell how cold and trembling they were. The appearance of his comrades caused him to jerk back his hand.
Silently, with one on each side of Heero, they made their way back to the safe house where Quatre was waiting at the door. All of them noticed that the storm intensified even more if it were possible. It seemed as if it were trying to pull them away from the house and back into the heart of the storm. Several pieces of tree bark and branches pummeled them causing small cuts and bruising.
Finally, they made it to the door were Quatre was holding it open for them. Once they were inside, Quatre had to use all of his strength plus the help of Wufei to shut the door. As soon as the door shut, the storm outside erupted. The walls began to shake so hard that for a few tense moments the young occupants thought that they would collapse. The windows rattled enough to shatter and some did.
Quatre moved closer to Trowa for comfort. He wrapped his arms around his shorter companion. Heero pulled Duo closer to his chest protectively, while Wufei placed a hand on both Trowa's and Heero's shoulder.
Just as suddenly as the storm increased, it diminished to nothing more than a small shower. Two thoughts were on everyone's mind, 'Will Duo be all right and what is with this storm?'
#####################
"What the hell did he think he was doing? He could have been killed! BAKA!!"
Heero paid no attention to Wufei's ranting. He carried his precious burdon through the living room and into their shared bedroom with the others following close behind.
"Heero we need to get him dried and warm fast." Quatre was in 'mother mood' the moment they realized Duo was outside in this horrid weather. The blonde pilot of Sandrock felt a shiver run down his spin at the thought of Duo being outside for that long and no one noticed. Guilt hung heavy on his heart. 'Duo why did you do it?' He looked over at the very pale and shaking version that was once Duo Maxwell and felt tears sting his eyes. At this point he felt a firm arm wrap around him from behind. He instinctively leaned back into the warmth.
"Don't worry koi. He will be fine. Heero will take care of him." Trowa soothed his lover. He too was thinking of the sickly pilot and what could have possibly made him want to chance this type of weather. He closed his eyes for a moment to suppress a shiver and began to think of earlier events.
################### Earlier
It was Trowa's turn to cook for the day and he was preparing lunch in the small kitchen that the five pilots were currently forced into. Breakfast had been unusually quite but no one questioned it. It had been a while since they all had a quite moment, but there was still something uneasy in the atmosphere. Everyone felt it but ignored it.
When Trowa was making lunch, he noticed that Duo was not glued to his side. 'That's strange I wonder where Duo is? Not that I miss him or anything.' Of course no one was in the kitchen at the time so they could not see the rare, soft smile that graced his lips as he thought this. None of them could deny that they were all fond of Duo. He was the glue of the group, but none would voice that fact out loud. Even Wufei could not truly relax when Maxwell was not around. 'No wonder everyone is edgy today.'
He walked out of the kitchen and into the living room to find Duo and the others and tell them that lunch was ready. When he entered the living room, he saw Quatre sitting on the small couch drinking a cup of tea with a slight frown on his face. He would look around the room every few minutes as if he knew something was missing but could not figure out what.
Quatre saw his tall lover standing in the doorway and smiled up at him. He was answered with a small smile in return. He saw the smile fade when Trowa looked around the room.
"Is something wrong Trowa?" he asked when he saw the frown on his loves' faces as he looked around for something in the room. Others that did not know him so well would not have seen the frown but being lovers for some time had taught him how to read his tall partner.
"Have any of you seen Duo? Lunch is ready and I have not seen any sign of him." was Trowa's soft reply.
At this point, Wufei looked up from the book he had been reading. "Now that I think about it, I have not been pestered by Maxwell all day. No wonder it has been so quite." 'And I so restless' he added to himself.
"Except for the storm outside, it has been very quite. It seems to be getting worse too." stated Quatre from his seat while looking out the window.
Heero, meanwhile, was typing away at his laptop and listening to the other's conversation with peck interest about his fellow pilot. "Did you check the bedroom? He might be sleeping. He was acting a little off early this morning." he offered in his monotone voice without the slightest pause in his typing.
The unibanged pilot offered a slight nod of his head in reply and turned to check it out. As he walked down the hall, he could hear the storm louder and felt a cold wind cover his skin sending a chill down his spin. 'Where is the wind coming from?'
He reached up to turn the doorknob when bright bolts of lighten struck the earth rendering the pilots in darkness. "Damnit! Just what we need right now." Trowa sighed and opened the door but instead of seeing his hyper friend sleeping peacefully on the bed, all he saw a dark empty room in- between the flashes of lighten. The window was open and water covered the floor and one of the small beds. Outside looked like hell had come to earth for a visit. 'Damn! Where the hell is he?!' The pilot of Heavyarms was getting more concerned by the minute. As fast as his long strides would take him, he made his way back to the others.
Back in another room, Heero was using a flashlight to light some candles they had ready in case the lights went out. Wufei had put up his book being as there was not enough light to read anymore and was helping Heero with the candles.
"Guys I'm a little worried. Someone should have heard or seen something of Duo by now. Something is really wrong here. I can fell it. He is in trouble."
The others stopped what they were doing to look at the blonde pilot of Sandrock. "Winner, stop reading too much into this. I think it is justice to finally get some peace and quite for a change. I do not care where Maxwell is as long as he is not bothering me. I am sure he is in that room of his planning something to make my life hell." With that said, Wufei got up and walked into the kitchen with a few candles to place around for some light.
Not feeling the slightest bit better and knowing that Wufei did not either, Quatre put his cup on the table next to him and frowned. Something was not right. His space heart was never wrong. He looked to Wing's pilot for help.
"Heero, don't you think that this is not very Duo like? When was the last time you seen or hear from him?"
Heero stood up and walked to the side of the window with a candle after turning off the flashlight to save batteries. Quatre watched him for a second before joining him at the window. He turned to his friend waiting for his answer. Heero would not look at him when he answered in his emotionless voice.
"This morning after breakfast was the last time." 'after I hit him.' If one could see those cobalt eyes at that moment, they would have been able to see shame, regret, and guilt in them. He had not meant to hit him so hard. He did not mean to hit Duo at all but he just cannot control his actions when around the violet eyed pilot. He just loses all since of control and restraint. This morning's episode had been one like many others. He was hacking into some OZ database when his cheerful roommate came bouncing over to his side.
#################### Flashback
"Heya Heero! Whatcha doing?" Deathscythe's pilot asked over his shoulder.
Trying not to shiver at having the sexy pilot breath down his neck, the wing pilot reacted the way he was taught, with coldness.
"Duo, leave me alone and get away from me." When his command went unfilled, he turned around and punched the spunky youth across the check sending him flying across the room and into the wall where he hit head first. He turned back to his laptop and continued working.
On the other side of the room, Duo stood on shaky legs and left the emotionless bastard to his precise laptop. He could fell the tears build in his eyes once again but would not let them fall. 'Boys don't cry. Boys don't cry.' was all he could think as he walked down the hall to their shared bedroom with a hand to his bruised cheek.
Having had his back turned to Heero, Heero did not see the last bit of hope fade from the other's eyes. He just watched the braided youth's back as he walked away from him from the computer screen.
End of flashback
Guilt still hung heavy on his heart that he is not suppose to have. 'I am the perfect soldier. I am not supposed to feel. I am not supposed to care. So why is it that that braided baka can make me feel so easily. There are times when all I want to do is shove that braid of his in his mouth to shut him up and other times it's not his braid I want to use to shut him up.'
Slightly surprised at what he just thought, he continued his silent monolog. 'I knew that he makes me feel, but do I feel for him? NO, it is just a fleeing thought. He is a GUY! Ok so he is a beautiful guy with the most exotic eyes I have ever seen and a mouth that anyone would love to see scream their name in ecstasy.' That thought stopped him dead in his thoughts.
'Did I just think what I thought I did? Yes, I did.' A smirk formed upon his lips. Yes! He could defiantly seen kissing those lips until they were bruised and swollen and begging for more. He shifted slightly to relieve some of the pressure in his to tight spandex shorts.
Letting out a small sigh of despair, he once again turned back to his thoughts. 'Okay, so I know what I feel for him. If only he felt the same way about me?' He knew that Duo at least wanted to be his friend from all of the times he tried to involve him in normal day things but there was no way a person like Duo would ever fall for him. After all, he was only a machine made for killing. Someone as beautiful, both inside and out, as Duo could have anyone he wanted male or female. Why would he want someone like me? After all, look what he did to him this morning like many other times. There was not a chance in hell for him.
A hand on his shoulder snapped him back to reality. He turned to look into the concerned filled eyes of Quatre. The hand on his shoulder gave a small squeeze before letting go. Quatre was about to say something when Trowa erupted into the living room looking slightly panicked.
"I can't find Duo anywhere in the entire house!" His one visible eye was looking between the two pilots hoping that they knew where he was.
"Of course you could not find Maxwell. The lights are out and you do not have a light. How do you expect to see him? Hope he glows in the dark? Maxwell might be unusual but even he is not that strange."
"For your information Wufei, I have a flashlight that I got out of the hall closet." He proved his point by shining it in the Chinaman's face.
"That is not possible Trowa. He has got to be here somewhere. Are you sure that you looked everywhere in the house? Should we look again?"
Trowa just shook his head and stepped toward his love and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sorry petite, but I looked everywhere. I want to find him as much as you do."
Heero turned to gather Wufei back from the kitchen. 'Where is my little baka? My little baka? When did I start thinking of Duo has being mine?' A soft smile, not big enough to be seen by others, formed on his lips at the idea of Duo being his. A sharp intake of breath coming from the living room caught his attention.
"OH ALLAH! NO!" Quatre cried out with one hand over his chest. The other three pilots were at his side in seconds. He was shaking and looking out the window with a look of horror and pain on his face.
"Quatre, what is it? What's wrong?" a very concerned Trowa asked. Without taking his eyes away from the window, Quatre pointed outside and with a shaky voice said, "He's outside! He's outside in this! Duo's out there!"
The response was immediate. Wufei start ranting baka while moving to put down his candle. Trowa's emerald eye widened and looked outside. Heero wasted no time to run and grab a jacket to go outside to get His little baka back safely. Just as he was about to go out the door, a hand on his arm stopped him. He turned around to give whoever it was a piece of his mind when his saw the concerned eye of Trowa behind him.
"Let me go Trowa. I have to go get him." A look of understanding passed between them. After all, if that was Quatre out there, Trowa knew that he would do the same thing.
Trowa gave his arm a squeeze. "Look at that weather Heero. Even you cannot see much out there. You will need some help to bring him back in when you find him. Wufei and I will be ready. Just call out when you have him." With that said, he let go of the arm he was holding.
Heero nodded in understanding and acceptance and rushed out into the storm to find Duo. He quickly discovered how true Trowa was. He could barely walk from the rain and wind. The cold was already seeping through his jacket. He had to find Duo and fast. Failure was not an option.
About 40 or so feet from the house, he spotted Duo. He was kneeling on the ground in nothing but his black boxers and his hair, having been freed from his customary braid, was blowing this way and that as if trying to escape from something. Under different circumstances, this site would have come straight from one of his wet dreams.
The closer he got to Duo the more worried he got. He could see him visible shaking from the combination of cold rain and wind. His skin was deathly pale and blue from exposure. Heero tried to call out to him, but his cry fell upon death ears. Just as he reached Duo's side, he collapsed completely. Heero caught him before he hit the ground.
The storm seemed to be getting worse, but Heero was not going to give up. He was not going to let some storm beat him. Not when someone's life he cared for was on the line. He stopped pretending that Duo was nothing to him. He knew that he would not be able to function if something were to happen to Duo. 'I will not let anything happen to you Duo.'
With a newfound determination, he cradled the unconscious Duo to his chest and started back to the house. "Duo, what the fuck were you doing out here? How long have you been out here?" Of course, his questions went unanswered.
He looked down at the treasure in his arms and frowned. Duo looked positively ill. His skin was pale and almost frozen to the touch and his lips were a dark blue and trembling. His face looked as if he was in some kind of pain. The bruise on his cheek was clearly visible. 'Gomen Duo- kun. I will make it better I promise.' He knew what he had to do.
"I have him but I can not make it back alone." he screamed towards his waiting companions.
Without giving a reply, Trowa and Wufei started out towards them. If it had been anyone else, Heero would not have trusted them to keep their word but he knew that his fellow pilots would not betray him as he would not betray them. He crouched down to minimize the wind and the flying debris and looked at Duo again. As gently as he could, he removed the hair plastered to his face. His fingers lingered upon the ugly looking bruise then moved to his lips were he could fell how cold and trembling they were. The appearance of his comrades caused him to jerk back his hand.
Silently, with one on each side of Heero, they made their way back to the safe house where Quatre was waiting at the door. All of them noticed that the storm intensified even more if it were possible. It seemed as if it were trying to pull them away from the house and back into the heart of the storm. Several pieces of tree bark and branches pummeled them causing small cuts and bruising.
Finally, they made it to the door were Quatre was holding it open for them. Once they were inside, Quatre had to use all of his strength plus the help of Wufei to shut the door. As soon as the door shut, the storm outside erupted. The walls began to shake so hard that for a few tense moments the young occupants thought that they would collapse. The windows rattled enough to shatter and some did.
Quatre moved closer to Trowa for comfort. He wrapped his arms around his shorter companion. Heero pulled Duo closer to his chest protectively, while Wufei placed a hand on both Trowa's and Heero's shoulder.
Just as suddenly as the storm increased, it diminished to nothing more than a small shower. Two thoughts were on everyone's mind, 'Will Duo be all right and what is with this storm?'
#####################
