Title: He Should Run
Pairing: Mild 2x5 (if you can call kissing mild...)
Warnings: PG-13 for being kind of dark
Dedication: To Smarty Cat. Loves you, Smarty!! :)
He Should Run
The animals were screaming.
No, maybe he was just fooling himself. It was so hot. And the screams sounded human…and so feverish and high-pitched. They rang in his ears and made his head throb, and the heat was unbearable, clogging his throat and nostrils until he couldn't see. He couldn't breathe.
He should run.
Run and warn the others about the animals and the screams and…and the music. It sifted through the breeze, soft and slow, so contrasting with the tortured whispers. So familiar to his ears and so gentle and forgiving. They blended together in a mix of danger. The music: it was dangerous, poisonous, and he could not run, move his legs.
He should run.
"Are you okay, Duo?"
And he recognized the music. It was Wufei, his face swimming above his vision, through the burning fire and the heat and the sweat. Cool fingers touched his face, pushed away his hair and rubbed at his cheeks, soothing…hot…cold…
"Wufei?"
"I'm here."
"Don't go."
He should run.
They were there again.
The music clashed in his ears and made his muscles contract, made his back cramp, and the pain exploded in his chest like a million fireworks. It was so dangerous, so painful, and yet he couldn't run. Couldn't warn…warn Wufei about what was going to happen.
He could see the pile of bones at his feet and they were, somehow, a warning in his eyes, and it killed him over and over… And the animals. Gods, they were screaming again, yelling and beating their paws on the ground, their eyes bulging out from the shadows…and he could see they were all aflame, rolling in terror, and so, so frightened.
He should run.
And the…the plants. They were twining around his legs and scratching at his skin, thorns and roses curling up around him. And it seemed to him that they were talking, laughing, so cruel and cold and lovely. They froze him into ice, the fire creeping into his veins like a snake winding its way through the brambles.
The heat melted him, and he shivered…it was so cold…and so hot at the same time…
He could see his eyes, reflected in mirrors, blue and scared and blank…and he realized…
Wufei.
He was staring at Wufei, and the mirrors were his eyes, so black and dark. So worried.
Run. Run. Run, Wufei. They're going to get you. Please, run…
But Wufei didn't run. He put a vague hand on his cheek, stroking it, rough fingers scraping against his skin. It wasn't comforting: it made him hotter, colder, and more afraid. Afraid of the animals and the silence and the people and… Jesus Christ, they were screaming again, in his ears.
He should run.
Please run. Move. He pleaded silently.
The heat was welling inside him, like a fury boiling over in its pot, made the cold crack around him and the heat whirl through his senses. He was in danger, and still he stayed, staring at him before turning over, and the light flickered off. And he felt himself burst open, shattered into a million pieces, and he could no longer feel…
RUN.
His eyes.
Oh, God, he could see Wufei's eyes again, closed…and he was asleep, dreaming restlessly, hands clenching and unclenching on the sheets… He tried to remember. Tried to keep the ghosts away long enough to remember. There was a mission. And they needed to finish it, to complete it.
And the fever had stopped him. No, it wasn't a fever.
The ghosts had stopped him, the plants and the animals and the howls in the dead of night. And Wufei had stopped with him.
He should run.
And he was running, away, away from the screams, and into the silence, where he fell into a deep dark pool where there was nothing, felt lips against his, nothing but warmth that sunk him into their depths…
And only then did he realize he was drowning, drowning and running and Wufei was kissing him. And he was dying. Dying, all over again, for the last time. RUN. RUN. RUN. The echoes in his head were gone, and he was still running…running…
"Please don't die, Duo, please don't die…" He felt the whisper, the movement of Wufei's lips against his, and he felt the bones sink back into the ground, the animals fade and the plants curl into blackened ashes. And still he ran, away from their remains, and they were no longer there.
And he knew he was safe. Wufei was here. He was safe. He opened his mouth and choked, "The ghosts…they were screaming…"
And a soft whisper. "Hush. Sleep now, Duo. You're safe." And a kiss. A kiss so deep he'd drown in it, safe from the voices, from the screams. Safe in silence.
Yes, he was safe.
And he was home.
The End