Title: True Beauty, part two
Author: Lady Snowblossom
Pairings: 1+4, 3+5, various pairings eventually
Rating: PG
Category: Drama
Warnings: Yaoi, Citrus, angst
Archive: Yes, just ask. Email me at mlayfield@yahoo.com
Notes: The fight for Duo's life continues. Feedback welcome
As Duo's words slowly died away and he finally fell into a fitful sleep. Wufei rubbed furiously at his eyes, brushing away the tears that pooled there. He didn't have time for this, damn it!
"'Fei." Trowa lifted his head from his knees and looked bleary eyed at his lover; the tall European was devastated by Duo's angry accusations and fervent apologies. "Where did you go?"
"Went to see Rashid." the Chinese replied, as he got shakily to his feet. He went to the bed and covered Duo with a blanket. The cover only served to accentuate how thin Duo had gotten.
"Why?" Heero said, as he set Quatre up and kissed away his tears. Briefly the Japanese smiled, as he was rewarded with a tiny curl of lip from the smaller boy.
"Because I think I know of a way to save Duo."
They all gaped at him. Silence stretched out like a rubber band, until Heero growled.
"Chang, if you're joking, it's a piss poor one, and if you're telling us the truth, why the hell didn't you say something sooner?" A furious fire burned in the sapphire depths of Heero's eyes, as Wufei walked over to face the others. Quatre and Trowa's expressions were ones of hurt and bewilderment.
"Because I just remembered, Yuy!" Wufei responded hotly, glaring back at the disheveled Japanese. Heero snarled and took a step forward; Quatre quickly interposed his body between the two. He placed a restraining hand on his lover's chest, Heero reluctantly subsided, but his eyes promised dire things for Wufei's silence.
Wu snorted and crossed his arms across his chest. "Do you want to hear my idea, or not?" he demanded.
Trowa quietly stepped to his side, and wrapped his arms around 'Fei's waist and nuzzled the side of his face. "We're listening." He glared at Heero with one eye. Heero glared right back.
Wufei ignored the arms holding him, and sighed, "I told Rashid about how a healer back on L5 lowered a high fever with an ice bath. We have to put Duo in the master bath and pack him in ice. Rashid is willing to give it a try and has sent for some ice blocks. When the ice arrives, he'll have it crushed and then we can use it on Duo."
Heero turned Shenlong's words over in his mind. He wasn't sure he liked the idea, but time was running out, and he was willing to try anything to save Shinigami. He hated the feeling of helplessness and guilt that had engulfed him, ever since Duo had been stabbed during a fight between two patrons in a bar, where they had gone to meet an informant.
Involuntarily, the film frames of that day ran through his mind.
"Come on, Duo! We can drop in at the bookstore, after we get the information we came to get." Heero grabbed his friend's hand and dragged the braided wonder away from the window display.
"But, Heero! They've got original copies of The Mithgar Series' back there! Do you know how hard it is to find those!" Duo wailed, as he was relentlessly towed along. Heero didn't answer, he didn't share Duo's obsession with fantasy books and he knew from past experience that if he let Duo in the door of that store, it would be hours before they emerged.
"Duo, I said, 'Not now!' Dr. J is waiting for that information and your damn books will just have to wait!" Heero growled, as he tightened his grip on the other boy. He forged on ahead, walking rapidly. Duo struggled to keep up, a pained expression on his face.
"Fine!" Duo huffed, "but at least let go of my hand!" Heero snorted, but released the hand he'd been holding. The two boys continued down the sidewalk in silence, pushing their way through the heavy weekend crowd. Heero stopped at a corner and checked the street sign. Looking over at Duo, he jerked his head to the right. Duo nodded. They extracted themselves from the main flow of the crowd and joined the trickle going their way.
It was less noisy down the side street and Duo could see several buildings with bared fangs of busted glass, monsters ready to devour the unwary. On either side of the road, he could make out the dark squares of alley openings, he had counted four before Heero uttered a sound of satisfaction - target in sight.
Duo wrapped his arms around himself and shuddered. The too familiar smells of spilt alcohol, urine and vomit, were wakening old terrors and he just wanted out of there. He was so wrapped up in his memories that he tripped on a piece of broken concrete and fell into Heero, who grabbed him.
"Are you all right?" Heero asked, as he steadied his friend. "Fine." Duo answered, shaking his head to clear it. "I'll just be glad to get out of here. Why couldn't J have picked a better place to make the transfer?" he complained. Heero shrugged, " Didn't say."
"That's J. Just a mine of information." Shinigami groused. "How much further?" Heero reviewed the map in his head. "Three doors down and on the left. Place doesn't have a sign, people just know its there."
"Operates on the cheap." Duo commented, peering through the gloom, seeing if he could spot the door.
"No." Heero said, as he checked for traffic and headed across the street. Duo followed. "Owner has some cops in his pocket. They run a lot of stuff out of here."
"Other words, its a rough crowd."
"Hai."
Duo sighed and reached back to tuck his braid down the back of his shirt. In a place like this, anything could happen and he didn't want to give an opponent any kind of an advantage during a fight.
Heero strolled up to a dilapidated building and mounted the front two chipped concrete steps leading to the door. He knocked on the door and a small panel slid open. Standing at the bottom of the steps, Duo didn't hear what was being said, but apparently Heero's answers satisfied the person on the other side of the door, because the panel closed, and the door opened. He quickly joined Heero and they entered.
Shinigami looked around in surprise, the interior of the building was at odds with its exterior. The bar was neat, well lit and relatively clean. There were four booths along one wall, divided by a jukebox. In addition to the booths, a dozen small Formica tables with four chairs each were scattered around the small dance floor and stage. The dance floor was a dark color, black, brown or a dark green, he couldn't tell. Off to his left was a pool table, and two bikers were already playing. One seemed to be losing and he wasn't very happy about it. The two men had laid down their pool cues and were getting into each other's faces. Towards the back of the room, he spotted the bathroom and exit signs. Duo blinked his way out of his inspection, when Heero tapped him on the shoulder and indicated one of the booths. He nodded, and they crossed the floor to sit. A waitress appeared almost instantly.
"Beer." Heero said. The woman nodded and headed for the bar. A moment later, she was back and placed two dark bottles and a couple of frosty mugs in front of them. Heero tossed a couple of bucks on her tray and she left. Duo reached out and grabbed a bottle, neatly twisted the cap and poured the fruity smelling brew out into his mug. He raised the mug to his lips and grimaced when he saw Heero mouth the words, "Nurse it." But, he obeyed and only took a sip of the brew.
"Well?" Duo leaned in so there was less chance of being overheard. "Do we know what the informant looks like." Heero shook his head. "No. J says, that he's taken care of the arrangements, payment and the like. The guy is just gonna walk past our table, slip one of us an envelope and leave. We'll wait a few minutes, then leave heading in a different direction."
"So, we just wait."
"Hai."
Fifteen minutes pass and Duo drained the last of his beer. Fishing around in his pockets, he came up with eight quarters and headed for the jukebox. Peering inside, he whistled happily, dropped in his quarters and made his selections. For the hand full of silver, he got "Kiss this', 'I wear your love.' by Lisa Angelle 'Lonely and gone' by Montgomery Gentry, and 'Take it like a man' by Suzy Bogguss.
The opening bars of 'Kiss this' filled the air, as he murmured to the jukebox. "Wonder how much luck I'll have in getting Heero to dance." Turning from the jukebox, Duo frowned, Heero wasn't in the booth. He glanced around, before spotting Heero. 'Oh, there he is.' Duo headed towards Zero One, who was at the bar talking to the bartender.
"Blaine! You son of a bitch!"
"Now, Dusty! Keep your shirt on! It's just a game!"
Duo ignored the two men, as he headed for Heero.
"Dusty!"
"Duo! Look out!" Heero shouted, as he pulled his gun and raced to Duo - too late. One of the bikers had grabbed Duo and used him for a shield by flinging the boy into the other man. Heero saw the flash of a blade as it disappeared into Duo's side, and he fired. The second biker had a strange look on his face as he crumpled to the floor, a bullet hole in his forehead. Heero went to his knees and pulled the blade from his friend's body.
"Duo?" Heero begged for reassurance, as he rose to his feet, Shinigami's limp form in his arms. Chaos reigned behind him, people were fleeing in all directions, as he struggled to get Zero two outside. Once there, Heero took the steps in a single leap and disappeared into one of the alleys. The warm, sticky feel of Duo's blood running down his side, sent him sprinting towards the well-lit area he saw at the other end of the alley.
The rest of his memories broke up into fragments. Wufei's arrives with a car to pick them up. Quatre's fussing over him, and weeping over Duo. Sally's loading Duo up with every antibiotic she could, while she tried to find out what had coated the blade, because Duo's wound hadn't been that serious - it had been deep, but not so deep that it had hit anything vital.
Heero jerked out of his memories at a touch on his shoulder. Quatre's gentle eyes were glittering with worry as he stared into Heero's eyes.
"It wasn't your fault, love." He whispered, as he leaned in and kissed Heero's cheek. Heero shook his head, and Q sighed. Sally was right. Heero was just going to have to work this one out on his own.
"Alright, so we pack Dou in ice and keep him there. For how long?" Heero said, gazing intently at the Chinese pilot.
"For as long as it takes. It will probably be several hours before we'll see any change." Wufei replied.
"And what do we tell Sally, if she comes in and catches us." Trowa asked, his hand on his lover's shoulder. Wufei shrugged, " She's already as much as admitted that there is nothing more she can do for him. I don't see how she can object if we try this. Its not like we have a lot of options, here."
"Let's just do it." Quatre whispered - teal eyes clouded with memory. "I don't want Duo's last thoughts of us, to be that we didn't love him. I want to be able to at least tell him that I do, and that I'm sorry I didn't tell him sooner." The little blonde's voice was heavy with suppressed sobs, as he turned to find comfort in Heero's arms.
"So, do we all." Heero murmured into the top of Q's head, as rested his cheek on the soft strands. Wufei and Trowa nodded, their own hands seeking each other, before reaching out to the other two. The knot of worried lovers stood trying to provide each other with strength, when there was a knock on the door, and it opened.
"We're ready." Rashid said, as he entered the room.
Author: Lady Snowblossom
Pairings: 1+4, 3+5, various pairings eventually
Rating: PG
Category: Drama
Warnings: Yaoi, Citrus, angst
Archive: Yes, just ask. Email me at mlayfield@yahoo.com
Notes: The fight for Duo's life continues. Feedback welcome
As Duo's words slowly died away and he finally fell into a fitful sleep. Wufei rubbed furiously at his eyes, brushing away the tears that pooled there. He didn't have time for this, damn it!
"'Fei." Trowa lifted his head from his knees and looked bleary eyed at his lover; the tall European was devastated by Duo's angry accusations and fervent apologies. "Where did you go?"
"Went to see Rashid." the Chinese replied, as he got shakily to his feet. He went to the bed and covered Duo with a blanket. The cover only served to accentuate how thin Duo had gotten.
"Why?" Heero said, as he set Quatre up and kissed away his tears. Briefly the Japanese smiled, as he was rewarded with a tiny curl of lip from the smaller boy.
"Because I think I know of a way to save Duo."
They all gaped at him. Silence stretched out like a rubber band, until Heero growled.
"Chang, if you're joking, it's a piss poor one, and if you're telling us the truth, why the hell didn't you say something sooner?" A furious fire burned in the sapphire depths of Heero's eyes, as Wufei walked over to face the others. Quatre and Trowa's expressions were ones of hurt and bewilderment.
"Because I just remembered, Yuy!" Wufei responded hotly, glaring back at the disheveled Japanese. Heero snarled and took a step forward; Quatre quickly interposed his body between the two. He placed a restraining hand on his lover's chest, Heero reluctantly subsided, but his eyes promised dire things for Wufei's silence.
Wu snorted and crossed his arms across his chest. "Do you want to hear my idea, or not?" he demanded.
Trowa quietly stepped to his side, and wrapped his arms around 'Fei's waist and nuzzled the side of his face. "We're listening." He glared at Heero with one eye. Heero glared right back.
Wufei ignored the arms holding him, and sighed, "I told Rashid about how a healer back on L5 lowered a high fever with an ice bath. We have to put Duo in the master bath and pack him in ice. Rashid is willing to give it a try and has sent for some ice blocks. When the ice arrives, he'll have it crushed and then we can use it on Duo."
Heero turned Shenlong's words over in his mind. He wasn't sure he liked the idea, but time was running out, and he was willing to try anything to save Shinigami. He hated the feeling of helplessness and guilt that had engulfed him, ever since Duo had been stabbed during a fight between two patrons in a bar, where they had gone to meet an informant.
Involuntarily, the film frames of that day ran through his mind.
"Come on, Duo! We can drop in at the bookstore, after we get the information we came to get." Heero grabbed his friend's hand and dragged the braided wonder away from the window display.
"But, Heero! They've got original copies of The Mithgar Series' back there! Do you know how hard it is to find those!" Duo wailed, as he was relentlessly towed along. Heero didn't answer, he didn't share Duo's obsession with fantasy books and he knew from past experience that if he let Duo in the door of that store, it would be hours before they emerged.
"Duo, I said, 'Not now!' Dr. J is waiting for that information and your damn books will just have to wait!" Heero growled, as he tightened his grip on the other boy. He forged on ahead, walking rapidly. Duo struggled to keep up, a pained expression on his face.
"Fine!" Duo huffed, "but at least let go of my hand!" Heero snorted, but released the hand he'd been holding. The two boys continued down the sidewalk in silence, pushing their way through the heavy weekend crowd. Heero stopped at a corner and checked the street sign. Looking over at Duo, he jerked his head to the right. Duo nodded. They extracted themselves from the main flow of the crowd and joined the trickle going their way.
It was less noisy down the side street and Duo could see several buildings with bared fangs of busted glass, monsters ready to devour the unwary. On either side of the road, he could make out the dark squares of alley openings, he had counted four before Heero uttered a sound of satisfaction - target in sight.
Duo wrapped his arms around himself and shuddered. The too familiar smells of spilt alcohol, urine and vomit, were wakening old terrors and he just wanted out of there. He was so wrapped up in his memories that he tripped on a piece of broken concrete and fell into Heero, who grabbed him.
"Are you all right?" Heero asked, as he steadied his friend. "Fine." Duo answered, shaking his head to clear it. "I'll just be glad to get out of here. Why couldn't J have picked a better place to make the transfer?" he complained. Heero shrugged, " Didn't say."
"That's J. Just a mine of information." Shinigami groused. "How much further?" Heero reviewed the map in his head. "Three doors down and on the left. Place doesn't have a sign, people just know its there."
"Operates on the cheap." Duo commented, peering through the gloom, seeing if he could spot the door.
"No." Heero said, as he checked for traffic and headed across the street. Duo followed. "Owner has some cops in his pocket. They run a lot of stuff out of here."
"Other words, its a rough crowd."
"Hai."
Duo sighed and reached back to tuck his braid down the back of his shirt. In a place like this, anything could happen and he didn't want to give an opponent any kind of an advantage during a fight.
Heero strolled up to a dilapidated building and mounted the front two chipped concrete steps leading to the door. He knocked on the door and a small panel slid open. Standing at the bottom of the steps, Duo didn't hear what was being said, but apparently Heero's answers satisfied the person on the other side of the door, because the panel closed, and the door opened. He quickly joined Heero and they entered.
Shinigami looked around in surprise, the interior of the building was at odds with its exterior. The bar was neat, well lit and relatively clean. There were four booths along one wall, divided by a jukebox. In addition to the booths, a dozen small Formica tables with four chairs each were scattered around the small dance floor and stage. The dance floor was a dark color, black, brown or a dark green, he couldn't tell. Off to his left was a pool table, and two bikers were already playing. One seemed to be losing and he wasn't very happy about it. The two men had laid down their pool cues and were getting into each other's faces. Towards the back of the room, he spotted the bathroom and exit signs. Duo blinked his way out of his inspection, when Heero tapped him on the shoulder and indicated one of the booths. He nodded, and they crossed the floor to sit. A waitress appeared almost instantly.
"Beer." Heero said. The woman nodded and headed for the bar. A moment later, she was back and placed two dark bottles and a couple of frosty mugs in front of them. Heero tossed a couple of bucks on her tray and she left. Duo reached out and grabbed a bottle, neatly twisted the cap and poured the fruity smelling brew out into his mug. He raised the mug to his lips and grimaced when he saw Heero mouth the words, "Nurse it." But, he obeyed and only took a sip of the brew.
"Well?" Duo leaned in so there was less chance of being overheard. "Do we know what the informant looks like." Heero shook his head. "No. J says, that he's taken care of the arrangements, payment and the like. The guy is just gonna walk past our table, slip one of us an envelope and leave. We'll wait a few minutes, then leave heading in a different direction."
"So, we just wait."
"Hai."
Fifteen minutes pass and Duo drained the last of his beer. Fishing around in his pockets, he came up with eight quarters and headed for the jukebox. Peering inside, he whistled happily, dropped in his quarters and made his selections. For the hand full of silver, he got "Kiss this', 'I wear your love.' by Lisa Angelle 'Lonely and gone' by Montgomery Gentry, and 'Take it like a man' by Suzy Bogguss.
The opening bars of 'Kiss this' filled the air, as he murmured to the jukebox. "Wonder how much luck I'll have in getting Heero to dance." Turning from the jukebox, Duo frowned, Heero wasn't in the booth. He glanced around, before spotting Heero. 'Oh, there he is.' Duo headed towards Zero One, who was at the bar talking to the bartender.
"Blaine! You son of a bitch!"
"Now, Dusty! Keep your shirt on! It's just a game!"
Duo ignored the two men, as he headed for Heero.
"Dusty!"
"Duo! Look out!" Heero shouted, as he pulled his gun and raced to Duo - too late. One of the bikers had grabbed Duo and used him for a shield by flinging the boy into the other man. Heero saw the flash of a blade as it disappeared into Duo's side, and he fired. The second biker had a strange look on his face as he crumpled to the floor, a bullet hole in his forehead. Heero went to his knees and pulled the blade from his friend's body.
"Duo?" Heero begged for reassurance, as he rose to his feet, Shinigami's limp form in his arms. Chaos reigned behind him, people were fleeing in all directions, as he struggled to get Zero two outside. Once there, Heero took the steps in a single leap and disappeared into one of the alleys. The warm, sticky feel of Duo's blood running down his side, sent him sprinting towards the well-lit area he saw at the other end of the alley.
The rest of his memories broke up into fragments. Wufei's arrives with a car to pick them up. Quatre's fussing over him, and weeping over Duo. Sally's loading Duo up with every antibiotic she could, while she tried to find out what had coated the blade, because Duo's wound hadn't been that serious - it had been deep, but not so deep that it had hit anything vital.
Heero jerked out of his memories at a touch on his shoulder. Quatre's gentle eyes were glittering with worry as he stared into Heero's eyes.
"It wasn't your fault, love." He whispered, as he leaned in and kissed Heero's cheek. Heero shook his head, and Q sighed. Sally was right. Heero was just going to have to work this one out on his own.
"Alright, so we pack Dou in ice and keep him there. For how long?" Heero said, gazing intently at the Chinese pilot.
"For as long as it takes. It will probably be several hours before we'll see any change." Wufei replied.
"And what do we tell Sally, if she comes in and catches us." Trowa asked, his hand on his lover's shoulder. Wufei shrugged, " She's already as much as admitted that there is nothing more she can do for him. I don't see how she can object if we try this. Its not like we have a lot of options, here."
"Let's just do it." Quatre whispered - teal eyes clouded with memory. "I don't want Duo's last thoughts of us, to be that we didn't love him. I want to be able to at least tell him that I do, and that I'm sorry I didn't tell him sooner." The little blonde's voice was heavy with suppressed sobs, as he turned to find comfort in Heero's arms.
"So, do we all." Heero murmured into the top of Q's head, as rested his cheek on the soft strands. Wufei and Trowa nodded, their own hands seeking each other, before reaching out to the other two. The knot of worried lovers stood trying to provide each other with strength, when there was a knock on the door, and it opened.
"We're ready." Rashid said, as he entered the room.