Disclaimers: Don't own any part of Gundam Wing nor it's characters. Merely borrowing them for a little torture.

Warnings: Shounen-ai (because I suck at yaoi) , major A.U, some OOC I think, probably future mpreg

Fates and Choices

Part 12: Of Pasts and Tellings

Heero was truly disappointed that Duo's 'phase' had ended abruptly with the impending arrival of his father Treize Khusreneda. For some reason, Duo had followed his mother's last name of Maxwell, instead of his father's. He didn't want to explain and Heero didn't want to push. It appeared to be a sensitive subject with his mate and he learned that it should not be brought up under any circumstances. The tribe chief just hoped to the Ancient that Mr Crazed Evil Twin wasn't all that far away. Duo wasn't interested in anything of late and was more often than not jumpy and nervous.

He studied Duo across the table, toying with his half eaten dinner. He frowned, taking in the pale, gaunt features of his mate where just weeks ago he was a picture of health, having the glow of midterm pregnancy.

"Duo, don't play with your food, eat it," Heero admonished softly, spearing a small piece of meat and bringing it up to Duo's lips, coaxing the other Shifter to eat.

"I'm not hungry," Duo muttered, turning away.

Heero sighed, wishing all their problems, wrapped up in a nice package of Treize Khusreneda would just go away and leave them in delightful domestic bliss. "Love, this is not good for you. Please, you have to eat something." He got up and walked around the table, squatting next to Duo, who continued to look as if the world was coming to an end. Heero knew in his mate's perspective, it probably was.

"I am not hungry," Duo stressed, pouting petulantly. "Why can't you people just leave me alone?" He curled in on himself, wrapping slender arms around himself.

Heero brush back chestnut bangs, stroking his mate's soft cheek for an instant before Duo flinched away. "Because we are worried for you, love. You're not yourself lately." Cobalt blue eyes were filled with pain. The tribe chief felt completely helpless to correct the situation. It was as if Duo didn't want anyone to care for him, as if he didn't deserve any of it and Heero hurt for his mate.

"I'm fine," Duo almost snarled. He pushed away from the table, lunging to his feet, prepared to run away, but his body had other plans. His world swam dizzily for a moment before his knees buckled, and he was thankful that Heero caught him before he hit the ground.

"For the love of…" Heero bit off the rest and swung his mate into his arms, carrying him to their bed. Since Duo wasn't that much smaller than the tribe chief, added with the extra weight of being seven months along, Heero expected the braided Shifter to be more of a burden. Worry gnawed endlessly when he realised how light his love was. He carefully placed his precious burden in the middle of their vast bed, pulling warm covers of the slightly shivering Duo. "You have lost so much weight. Why are you not eating? You are not taking care of yourself," Heero accused, a harsh tone that belied the tender hand stroking his mate's jaw line.

Duo didn't answer but sat up abruptly, one hand clapped over his mouth, eyes wide with panic. Heero managed to get a wooden bucket over to his mate before he was violently sick. The blue eyed Shifter sat beside his mate, feeling frustratingly helpless at the whole situation. He was someone who reacted, who did his best to get to the source of the problem and eradicate it, but Duo was making it almost impossible with his silence. He watched carefully as his made shuddered one last time and raised teary eyes to meet his.

"I. Am. Fine," his stubborn love still insisted.

And that was the straw that laid the camel's back flat. "Stop saying that," Heero yelled at him, jumping to his feet and turning away. "You are not well and you won't let me help. Why the hell are you doing this? Don't you love me anymore? Can't you see how you are hurting me? Hurting all of us?" The last nearly came out in a scream. Heero half expected Duo to retaliate with his own bout of ranting, which he had always done in the past, and it helped to ease the tension between them but was stunned when met with utter silence. He turned to the bed and his breath caught. Duo was curled into a ball, shivering violently, his hand clasped over his head, violet eyes impossibly wide with fright and shining with suppressed tears. He flew to his mate's side and was even more stunned when Duo cringed away from him.

"Please.. stop… no more, don't… don't hurt Solo anymore," Duo whispered achingly, gasping wildly for air. "Not his fault… not… mine… all mine.. stop father…. Please," he moaned softly, rocking himself, lost in his memories.

Heero's gut twisted at the thought of someone laying his hand on his beautiful mate or causing him such unreasonable fear. Something had caused this attack and Heero realised it was his yelling. Instantly contrite, he tried to calm his mate down, before his feelings were transmitted to Quatre who would disembowel him.

"Duo?" Heero stretched out his hand slowly, offering it to his distraught mate. "Duo, it's me, Heero. There's no one here that will hurt you," he spoke calmly. He reached out a tentatively touched his mate's tousled hair, but pulled back abruptly when Duo flinched.

"No.. no… no…" Duo continued his litany, withdrawing deep into himself.

"Duo!" Quatre yelled, barrelling into the room, followed closely by Trowa and Wufei.

Frightened by the noise, Duo tightened his grip on his head and rocked faster. "NO…NO… NO…." He was becoming more frantic, delving deeper into a memory only he was able to see.

"Don't approach him," Heero warned, stopping the blond before he flew to the braided Shifter's side.

Quatre's eyes were wide, taking in the scene before turning on Heero. "What in all that's holy did you do to him?" He asked in a soft, harsh tone, knowing that loud voices would probably spook his friend more. He rubbed his chest which was tightening painfully from the intense fear he was reading from Duo.

Heero quickly explained in soft tones the events that led up to current situation. Wufei's dark eyes narrowed in concentration as he pushed past Heero and squatted next to the bed.

"Duo," Wufei said in a firm tone. "Your father isn't here. You are far, far away from him. There is no one here to hurt you." As he spoke, it appears some of what he was saying leaked into the braided Healer's subconscious and was on the process of calming him down. "Heero's here, remember your mate? He loves you and I think you scared a year's worth of growth out of him." The rocking stopped, breathing slowed as the words began to register. A small smile appeared on Duo's lips, but his eyes were still horrifyingly blank. "We are all here, you are not alone. You won't be alone anymore." He noticed the evening out of Duo's breathing and his eyes grew less wild. "That's right, Duo, you are safe now, we're here now. Your friends are here," Wufei reached out slowly and touched his friend, braced to pull back if Duo flinched but was stunned into immobility when Duo lunged into his arms, his smile dissolved into helpless tears.

They wracked his slender body while Wufei, edging onto the bed, held him tight, stroking his hair and back, murmuring soothingly. A collective sigh of relief passed those in the room as Heero stepped forward, taking his mate from Wufei, who immediately latched onto a source of comfort that was instantly recognised. The tribe chief sat there and let his mate cry his heart out.

Moments later, a very exhausted Duo was tucked into bed, after Quatre failed to coax the long haired Shifter to put some food into him. Heero was stretched out next to his mate, who had his shirt fisted in slim hands, unwilling to let go his only source of comfort even in slumber, strong bronzed arms hugging Duo tightly.

"This is bad, Heero," Quatre said, worriedly, his eyes trained on his friend's pale form. "He's not eating, is he? Not sleeping well?" He sighed when Heero nodded an affirmative. "I don't like the fact that his father, who quite evidently caused all this, is coming here in a few days. He's in enough stress as it is already."

Wufei sat stock still on a bench, his obsidian eyes stormy with emotion. "He's hurting. He has been hurting all along."

"Is his cheerfulness a mask all along?" Trowa asked, clearly disturbed. The Duo he saw tonight was nothing like the lively, though sometimes annoying Healer. He seemed a frighten child, not the self sufficient Healer that he normally portrayed. Trowa knew it hurt them all to see Duo like this, as he had become an important person in their lives for the past year.

Heero was his normal stoic self, his eyes cold, contemplating doing harm on the person that caused his love such distress. "Please leave," he bit out in a controlled tone. "I want to be alone with him, now."

The other three in the room nodded, leaving the couple alone.

"I know you are still awake, Duo," Heero rumbled softly, feeling the body next to him tense. "We have to talk about this, you have to talk about this. It's tearing you apart."

"I'm fi…" Duo began.

Heero was quick to cut him off. "If you say you are fine just one more time, I will strangle you with your own braid." His tone turned pleading, and he stared deeply into Duo's violet orbs. "Please, I'm losing you and I don't know to stop it."

Duo frowned slightly, confused. "I'm right here."

"No, you're not," Heero shook his head. "Physically you are here, but I can see it in your eyes, you are miles away. You're leaving me behind, Duo." Tears, long suppressed, pooled in his eyes and flow silently out, attesting to Heero's upset.

The braided Healer reached out and captured the moisture with his finger tips, staring at it in awestruck wonder. For as long as Duo had known his mate, Heero had never showed his weakness this way, even when he had taken a spear through the heart from the werebeast. Duo felt his heart breaking, knowing that he was the cause of his mate's hurt. "Oh, Heero." He buried his face into Heero's shirt, feeling the slow steady heartbeat beneath his ear. "I am so scared."

Heero cupped Duo's cheek tenderly, turning the braided Shifter up to face him. "I love you, very much. I will do anything to protect you. From the world is need be, but you must know, I will never let anyone hurt you. Duo," he sighed. "I can't protect you from something I know nothing about. You won't send me to face an unknown enemy in the dark without the benefit of weapons and a light, would you?"

Duo smiled at the choice of terms used. Snuggled safely in the one place he knew nothing could hurt him, he finally relaxed and the couple shared a moment of companionable silence.

"Do you know why I'm called Maxwell instead of Khusreneda?" Duo spoke softly after a while.

Heero held his breath, afraid that one wrong word would send his mate back into silence again. "I would like to know," he said carefully, trying to calm his excitement at the realisation his mate was finally going to open up to him.

"My mother's name was Maxwell, and he died when I was very young. He never really got over having me, I guess I killed him," Duo's breath hitched but he forged on. "My brother told me my father couldn't stand the sight of me because of that, and could stand less me taking him name, so he named me after my mother's family. It was unheard of, a tribe chief denying a child the use of his name, even though the child is normally follow the bearer's name. I can't say much of my childhood I guess. I hardly saw much of my father, he was always so busy with tribe matters and pretty much left my brother and me alone." Duo smiled softly, thinking about his brother and the fond times they shared. "Solo took care of me, was always there for me. I guess he was more my father than Treize was. And Howard too, the human who assisted at my birth. My father was against my training as a Healer, despite being the Ancient's choice. My brother told me of how he overheard my father speaking to some of his warriors, saying that a son that doesn't kill is useless to him. Solo actually defended me and he came back to our room that night with twenty lashes decorating his back." Duo shuddered and Heero's arms tightened around him. He let out a soul cleansing breath before he continued. "Anyway, I started my training but I knew my father kept close tabs on me during that time. There was this time, I was on my way after a battle but I ran into a rut, breaking my leg. I managed to get there late, and many Shifters died that time. I thought my father was going to kill me, he was so angry as he stared at my leg when I explained. Solo came back with twenty lashes on his back again that night."

Heero felt his anger boiling over. He thought of a dozen ways to torture Duo's father while keeping him alive for days on end.

"I guess I was a pretty clumsy person as well, I ended up getting hurt trying to reached nearly every Healing, sometimes injured pretty badly, other times more scratches than anything serious. Very much like what happened here earlier during my patrols. I was just so nervous I didn't usually look where I was going and every time my father would stand there with his hands on his hips, staring at me straggling in." He gave a short bark of laughter. "I began to think after a while he was trying to kill me. Thank the Ancient there were no lives lost after that but some how, whenever I am late, Solo gets punished. I can hear them yelling at each other each time before Solo collapses at my dwelling for me to Heal. I…." Duo's voice broke, unable to continue and he lay on Heero's chest, breathing softly. "Don't make me go on," he spoke in an agonised whisper.

"You don't have to anymore," Heero sighed, tracing random patterns on Duo's back. He didn't want to hear anymore. He was just extremely glad there was someone in Duo's life that protected him when Heero wasn't there to. "I'm here for you now."

With another little sigh, Duo finally felt a huge burden lift from his heart. It felt good to have someone to lean on, and not need to go on his own. Heero would be here for him forever, he promised and by the Ancient, Duo would be holding him to that promise, even if he had to grab his mate kicking and screaming from the Dark Lands, if ever the occasion arose. At the bleak thought of losing Heero, Duo couldn't suppress a shudder that tore through his body.

"What's wrong?" Heero asked, knowing instantly that something was amiss.

Duo tilted his head and stretched the short distance to mould their lips together, desperate for the assurance that Heero was here forever. "I love you, Heero." He told his mate when they broke for air. Duo decided that the part of him Heero affectionately called Mr Crazed Evil Twin wanted to make an appearance and was about to let him when a loud rumble came from the vicinity of his stomach.

Heero burst out laughing, no small amount of regret in his dark blue eyes. "Hungry?" He rubbed the top of his mate's swollen stomach affectionately. He felt an answering kick from his son within, a distinct heaving of the skin on Duo's distended belly. "I guess that's a yes."

"Sorry," Duo blushed adorably, winning him a quick kiss before Heero disentangle them and help him up in search of some food.

tbc…