Chapter 7

Duo's eyes flickered open and he breathed in deeply as he remembered where he was. As his senses woke up, he realised that someone was stroking his hand. He looked down. Heero was lying on his outstretched legs, one of Duo's hands still resting on his head, the other resting on Heero's chest. Heero had it in both hands and was gently circling it, his deep blue eyes staring at what he was doing. Duo smiled a little, his violet eyes warming, and gently stroked the boy's head. Heero stopped and looked up slowly. Duo's smiled became broader.

"Morning." He said, brightly. "Up long?"

"Not really." Heero replied, his voice slightly croaky. "I wasn't expecting to sleep at all."

"Yeah, well, miracles happen, huh?" Duo said, grinning. "Any idea what time it is?"

"Quite early."

"You got a watch?"

"No."

"Than how…oh yeah."

"Sorry."

"For what?"

Heero was silent.

" I don't know. For getting you into this mess."

Duo snorted.

"What the hell? This isn't your fault, how can it be?"

"I don't know." Heero replied, and went back to stroking Duo's hand and staring at it. Duo smiled, enjoying the tingling sensation he got when Heero did that.

They both jumped as a door clanged open. Heero sat up, his eyes wide. "They're coming." He said, and his voice trembled slightly. Duo frowned and put a hand on his shoulder.

"They're not getting anywhere." He said grimly and stood up.

"Duo you can't stop them…"

"Since when has that stopped me."

"Duo…"

"Heero, shut up." Duo said, and glared at where they were going to appear. He didn't actually care. They weren't taking Heero, not now, not ever.

The two guards came into view. They were big men and carried large pistols. They sneered at Duo and opened the gate.

"Out the way, kid." One of them muttered.

"No." Duo said, calmly. They stopped and looked at each other. This was obviously not the answer they were expecting to get. One of them waved a pistol at him.

"Don't make me hurt you, kid."

"Try." Duo said. He heard Heero get up behind him.

"Look, he's not gonna die." The other man said, but Duo saw the uncertain look his colleague gave him.

"Bullshit."

"Get outta the way!" he cried.

"Duo." Heero muttered, but Duo shrugged his restraining hand off roughly.

"They're not getting you, Heero." Duo said, firmly.

"Look, kid." One of them said, and took a step forward. Instantly, Duo slammed his foot into his groin and kneed him in the jaw. He fell backwards with a groan and Duo spun back up. He leapt back in front of Heero and looked up just in time to see the flash of red as the gun went off.

He yelled in pain and clutched his right thigh.

"Duo!" he heard Heero yell and found himself propped up against the back of the cell. He opened his eyes to see Heero's trembling face in front of his. Duo, dealing with the pain quite easily, he had been shot before, put a steady hand on Heero's cheek.

"I'm sorry, man." He said, grimacing.

"Sorry?" Heero asked, unbelievingly.

"I couldn't…"

"Don't even think about apologising." Heero said, though he still shook and Duo felt he would burst from pride. Instead, he cupped Heero's face in his hand and pulled him forward. He placed a firm kiss on Heero's forehead in a sub-conscious repeat of Heero's action in Deathscythe. He felt Heero tense and then fall into him, shaking. Duo clamped his arms around the boy, whose face was buried into his own neck. He felt Heero nuzzle him and his eyes widened a little as tingles shot through his body. He buried his own face in Heero's neck and nuzzled him back, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Heero's neck was smooth and strong and, despite himself, he placed a small peck on the soft skin. He looked up to find the men coming towards him, but just before they dragged Heero off him, he felt a tiny butterfly kiss on his own neck which made him shudder.

As they dragged him over the cell he and Heero kept eye contact, words not needed.

"Live for me, Heero!" Duo yelled as he was taken out of sight.

"Duo!" Heero yelled back, simply, and then the door slammed and Duo flung himself back at the wall, the tears trying force themselves out. He didn't even want to know what was going to happen to the boy but wanted to be with him so badly. He wanted him full stop, his whole body ached for him and his heart longed for him. A thought jolted him to his senses. What if Trowa had been right? He hoped so more than anything in the world, and wished for Heero to be the same. He shook his head and one tear went down his cheek. If Heero lived through this, that is.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Heero grunted as his back hit the cold wall of the room. Cold metal was clamped over his ankles and wrists and his now bare feet were standing on a cold iron ledge. He shivered as he watched the guard leave and slam the dark grey metal door behind him. The room was very square, very large and very white. His shackles were the only things in it apart from a massive mirror the other side of the room. He knew what that was. Not only could he see himself, but the room behind the mirror had the full view of him. He closed his eyes; he had forgotten how exposed it felt to be shackled, his arms and legs out and wide, naked, in the hands of madmen. He had hoped he would never have to remember. His insides warmed a little as he remembered the difference. Duo. Once this was done, he would go back and Duo would be there, Duo would help him. He almost laughed at himself. He had never in his life ever depended on somebody like this before, but this time, he didn't fight it; he couldn't. Duo may die, but he doubted it; the scientists usually wanted the subjects to be alive when they did experiments, but he was terrified of what they may do to him. He was terrified of what they were going to do to his own body, let alone Duo's.

He jumped a little as the door opened and turned his head away from it, fighting the sick feeling in his stomach as he saw who it was. He sensed and heard J get closer and closer until he estimated that he was standing right in front of him.

"Ah, 043." J sighed and Heero shuddered. "How I have missed you."

Heero tried not to shiver and opened his eyes. The doctor was staring at him, looking him up and down and liking what he saw. His face came up to Heero's and he grinned. "Now, this experiment is to test your endurance. You will be left in here with no food or water, and I and my scientists will do whatever we deem is necessary to test it. Now," he started again, and Heero tried to ignore his faster breathing and the fact that J's voice was getting thicker with desire every word he spoke. He jumped violently as the doctor suddenly put his real hand on his own bare chest. "God, I've missed you." He breathed huskily, his other hand making its way down to his trousers. Heero clenched his eyes shut and simply thought of the braided boy that would be waiting for him when he came out. Duo, he thought, don't die. Be there when I get out of this.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Heero sighed shakily, the effort burning his rib muscles. He hung limply in the shackles, to weak to hold himself up anymore. His body looked relatively clear, the healing properties he had been given before kicking in to heal him. But he ached. All over. Inside and out. It hurt. He had been here for…was it a week? He thought so. He had had no food or water since the day they had come and every day the scientists had been let loose on him, to do whatever they wished, which was usually something to do with sleeping with him. They seemed to have forgotten about the part where he agreed to it. He had stopped fighting, though, that just made it worse.

He had just been given a dose of something that would make him stronger. It was basically a whole lot of energy and nourishment injected into his bloodstream, but he wasn't feeling the effects yet. Probably because there had been another injection, another substance injected into him that made him feel so much worse. He was coming out today, able to go back to his cell and recuperate for a night, but that was small compensation for what he knew was coming the next day.

He didn't even look up as the door was opened. He felt himself being hauled out of the chains and a rough woollen blanket was thrown over him. One of the men then swept him up in his arms, carrying him roughly out of the door.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Duo stretched a little painfully. The tests that they had been put through hadn't actually been that painful, yet. There had been the usual running on a running machine, hand to hand combat, co-ordination and that but nothing much else. Even so, the cell floors weren't exactly the most comfortable places to sleep. The other two were in the cell now as well, they didn't know why. He let his thoughts move back to Heero. He hadn't seen him for a week and would have gone crazy if it hadn't been for Trowa. He wondered what they were doing to him and shuddered, then thought about how they had parted and shuddered again, but differently.

All three jumped as they heard the door open and looked up.

"Heero!" Duo cried as he came into view. The man opened the door and threw him to the ground roughly before locking it again. Duo crawled over to the boy, lying face down, the blanket covering his lower body. He was shaking, like he had done before and Duo turned him over onto his back. Heero's eyes were wide and desperate.

"Duo." He breathed before reaching for him. Duo drew the shaking boy into him, his own eyes wide and held on to him so tight he was a little afraid he would hurt him. Heero's arms around his neck were just as tight, however.

"Man, what did they do to you?" he asked after a short while.

"Endurance…no food or water...scientists…" he gasped, his voice cracking. Duo pulled away a little so that he could look in Hero's face but he turned away.

"What? What did they do?"

"They…had missed me…" Heero said, lamely. Duo heard Trowa draw in a breath behind him.

"They're not interested in you as in the character, are they Heero?" he asked, quietly and pointedly. Heero shook his head, still unable to look in Duo's eyes. Duo frowned, what did Trowa mean? If they hadn't missed his character, then that meant that they had missed his body and that meant…

"No!" he croaked and grabbed Heero back into him now both boys shaking. "Oh god," Duo breathed, unable to believe what he had just heard. "Are you?"

"I'm ok."

"No, you're not."

"I will…" Heero faltered and gripped Duo even tighter.

"What?" Duo asked, not wanting any more bad news but when Heero's voice, thick with tears and fear sounded he almost lost it completely.

"They….tomorrow…testing my healing powers."

"Jesus Christ!" Duo yelled and fought his own tears as Heero was overcome by his. Duo's stomach was shaking in rage at what the scientists had done to him but quivering in fear at what was to come.

"What does that mean?" he heard Wufei ask quietly.

"Oh, for fucks sake, what do you think?" he snapped. "They shoot him full of healing crap that makes sure his wounds heal but they need wounds to heal. What did you think I had just seen when you guys came in?"

There was awful silence, broken only by the barely suppressed sobs of the boy in Duo's arms.

"I'm not gonna let them take you, I'm not." Duo whispered. Heero's head shot up, his blue eyes so bright Duo was almost blinded by them.

"You can't." he blurted, "I won't have you getting hurt because of me again!"

"I don't care!"

"I do. Duo, please. They will kill you and then take me and I…I can't…I can't do it again if you're not gonna be there when I get out." He finished, pitifully. Duo nearly cried himself, in fact, he felt the tear going down his cheek. Heero admitting that he couldn't do something was bad enough but Heero admitting that he couldn't do something unless Duo was there…

"God, Heero." He croaked. "What are they doing to us?"

Heero shook his head and collapsed against Duo's chest again, tears not needed now. Duo manoeuvred them so that he was resting against a wall, Heero lying on his chest and between his legs so he was slightly propped up. The blanket covered his lower body and his arms were tightly on Duo's which were encircling him. Very slowly, Duo felt his breathing get more and more steady and then he was asleep. He wished Trowa and Wufei weren't there, he wanted to just let the tears fall down his face but he couldn't, not while they were watching him.

"Oh god." Trowa breathed, suddenly. Duo looked at him and got a sympathetic but impressed look back.

"He really trusts you, Maxwell." Wufei stated and their eyes fell on the sleeping boy in Duo's arms.

"We can have no idea what it's like to wake up in a place like this again." Duo whispered. "But I can have the best idea and I wish I didn't."

He bent down slowly and placed a kiss on Heero's head before resting his own head on the wall behind him. He hadn't the courage to close his eyes, but he found that he did anyway. He was actually scared stiff. Heero was usually the one who took care of things like this and to be the leader, to be the one that everybody was looking to, especially Heero scared him more than he admitted. Heero clinging to him like a life raft made him feel so special it would have been amazing if the situation wasn't so bad. He shuddered as he remembered what had to take place tomorrow and what he had to sit back and let them do. Heero, unfortunately was right. He was more important than Duo and Duo would be killed to get to him. He knew now that he couldn't let him do this alone. However much it took he would stay back and let them do it, just so that he could be there when he came out. That was his purpose in life right now; to be Heero's support, to be there. He had never felt so strongly about anything before in his life, but was almost certain that Trowa was right now, though he still couldn't admit what it meant.