Duo's Rat: The Trap 3?
By Nix Winter
Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing. Alas. But maybe that's good, cuz if I did, I'd never play with my own.
Warnings: This was written at home and on the bus, and mostly cuz I was having fun with it. I hope it doesn't bug anyone with it's lameness. And Duo was affected my feeling profane as well. Youji: "Read that as... lots of swearing."
Notes: Speaking of my own, Venus Press is releasing Sarah's Hawk this Wednesday. The excerpt is already up. Venus is a really awesome company. The next story of mine that they are releasing is a yaoi story, and they have another yaoi of mine planned for early next year too. So anyway, they're an awesome company.
www(dot)venuspress(dot)com
Three
Duo felt boneless in Heero's arms, but he was the most beautiful and precious hope Heero had ever had. From deep within him, an older self fought with the perfect solder created by Heero's childhood programmers, clinging to the hope that Duo represented being human again.
His older, truer self had skimmed the life and experiences of his soldier self and now the two selves had very different goals. Heero Yuy wanted to break the neck of the shivering man he held in his arms. Just the trust the man gave him made him a risk, the attachment and sweet sentiment his inner hidden self felt made the man in his arms a terrible liability. The boy under Heero Yuy's ruthless control wanted to hold his friend, comfort him, and find a way to sooth the pain and shock. The boy hiding under all of Heero Yuy's training and experiences wanted to hold onto Duo as if Duo were the last hope of ever being just himself again.
It was not the first conflict between the two systems of personality within Heero. The last had involved a little girl and a dog and cost him a month long re-training that had left scars in mind and body. Though it was that very training that was now causing a more complete split between Heero Yuy and the boy he'd once been. "It's alright, Duo," he whispered, "I wouldn't let anyone hurt you."
His fingers sought under the helmet for a release for the helmetn and when he found it, he threw the evil black thing across the room. Duo seemed to relax in his arms then. The most amazing flutter of joy blossomed in the boy hiding behind Heero Yuy as violet eyes opened and even crinkled up in a small smile. "Christ, Heero, what did you do?"
Heero bent to the boy's will, supplying medical knowledge and strong calm fingers. Quick pressure points pressed on Duo quieted the trembling in Duo's legs, eased the tension line between Duo's eyes. He simply wanted to know what to fix on Duo's body. The split between the boy and Heero soothed as Heero accepted the boy's need to help Duo as his new mission."Why were you screaming?"
Duo's expression fell in on itself after Heero's question, making Heero wan to chase after him, to hold Duo with him. Mission endangered warnings went off in Heero's head as Duo's eyes glazed over as he remembered what ever he'd been experiencing in the helmet. "Duo, don't leave me."
That plea brought a little light back to Duo's eyes, a little movement to his usually fidgeting self. "Heero," duo asked, voice full of question, "Heero, what's wrong?"
"I fear for you," Heero said, dead pan, normal Heero voice as if it were no more than information on which fuse had blown in a training run.
"I'm not dying yet," Duo complained, irritated by the fear coming from Heero. "That thing just gave me bad memories, made me feel like I was reliving stuff, but then you were there and it didn't have as much power over me."
"I'll kill anyone who hurt you," Heero said, resolutely, voice tinged with emotion uncommon to Heero.
Duo wasn't sure that he wasn't still dreaming, except that if he were dreaming such a sweet Heero, his own body wouldn't feel like such utter crap. He really wanted this moment with Heero, didn't want his own past coming back on him, very much didn't want the future he feared was being served up to them. "Don't kill anyone for me. I'm the fucking God of Death, not you."
Heero's eyes widened and he whispered in a very child like voice, "Are you really Shinigami? Did you come to take me?"
Duo worked his way around so he was on his knees, looking at Heero, eyes never leaving Heero's. There's just no gentle back of the cereal box read when the eyes of your best friend, of the man you have indulged in various fantasies about suddenly are looking at you with the kind of lost innocence of a little kid. It wasn't like Duo hadn't known enough fucked up people in his life, and he could even understand being divided inside. Sometimes it's the only way to deal with things that a person just couldn't face. He smiled at this new face of Heero's, wondering about the protest of pain around his own eyes, noting the pain to remember that he was likely going to have a pair of black eyes. "I would never hurt you. I will protect you with all that I am, but who are you?"
The word was said so softly that Duo only picked it up because lipreading is a very useful skill. He didn't repeat the name, just nodded. Heero Yuy couldn't have been his Heero's birth name anyway. "Don't be afraid. We're going to figure our way out of this. Heero and I always do."
The smile lifted the corners of Heero's mouth, genuine and full of faith, and truth be told, it scared the complete crap out of Duo. He might not want Heero to kill anyone who'd hurt him, but he was mulling over the idea of killing Heero's programmers. "Okay, Shinigami."
Duo smiled, but inside his new mantra was, 'Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.'
Gentle fingers touched Duo's face, skimming very likely along the edge of bruised skin. "The mean people will come and make me go away soon, but I always hide. I'll come back to see you."
"I'm pretty good at hiding too," Duo said. Yup. Have to kill Heero's programers.
Then suddenly there was a door and brand new bad people let themselves in. Heero was Heero again before Duo could even blink. The perfect soldier was on his feet almost before Duo even knew they had guests.
"Comply," the woman commanded, her voice harsh, clipped.
It hurt Duo's ears just to hear it. Something in it grated on his nerves. And when Heero dropped to his knees, fingers lacing over the top of his head. "I comply," he said in a mechanical voice, brainwashed, programmed, Duo's 'oh shit' manta became a full on stadium sized chorus.
"No!" Duo screamed voice deep and edged with a ragged animal sounding rage. "He does not comply!" Duo's fist hit the woman's jaw, staggering her back. "What did you fucking do to him?"
The pistol was in her hand before he knew it and the bullet through his shoulder even faster. Rage and fear had him in it's full on grip though and he staggered back, dropping even deeper into his Shinigami face. He felt himself pull upright like a puppet on a string barely feeling the new hole in his shoulder. He'd never been professionally programmed as Heero had been, but war herself had done the job on him and it was survive or die. Blood running down his bare chest, he jumped their captor again, both hands aiming for her throat.
She screamed, "Comply!"
And Duo never made it to her. Heero pinned him, pulling his body close, almost protectively, while still having both arms neatly pinned behind Duo's back. "I comply! Don't hurt him!"
"We wouldn't hurt your little pet, Heero. Not as long as you do everything we say."
"Heero!" Duo half screamed, half whined. "Don't do this! We can take her together! We can go down fighting if we have to, but don't do what she says! You don't have to!"
"Oh, but he does, Mr. Maxwell. We have been researching him for years, and his master's work. I know his triggers and I could make him do anything. This is why he's the most valuable project. You did know that a soldier was only valuable as long as he is obedient, didn't you. Do you realize how much people will pay to have other people neatly programmed and packaged?"
"You fucking idiot! How can you think about hurting people like that? Money's worth what? Money's not crap compared to..."
"To what Mr. Maxwell? To love and freedom and starvation and being a whore on the street? That's what he was, Heero dear. Your little friend here was a whore. Doesn't that just make you feel all warm and happy inside?"
"I wasn't!" Duo screamed, struggling against Heero's undefeatable arms. "I was raped! I wasn't a whore! You're a liar!"
"You ate because of what happened. You're a whore. I've seen your memories, little rat. Our system is built on a modification of the zero system. Only instead of letting the pilot see out, it lets the controller see into the 'pilot's' mind. I know what you think about Heero Yuy when no one's looking."
Duo's cheeks turned to exploding defenses red, embarrassment billowing out like the flames of destruction.
"Don't worry, Mr. Maxwell," she said, slender fingers tracing through the blood on his chest. "If Heero does as we ask, we'll let both you and he go. You can go start a little life some where. There wouldn't be any more war. We'll just sell victory to the highest bidder."
"I guess that makes you a whore too, then doesn't it?"
"I never said there was anything wrong with being a whore," she replied, giving a little more attention to his actual wound. "I like money. You're the one that felt you were too good to be what you are. Heero, you can remove a small little bullet, can't you?"
"I can comply," Heero said again, sounding very miserable.
Understanding crept up through the dungeons of Duo's mind. Heero was really in the body holding him pinned so gently. He just had to figure out how to also know the trigger words, or whatever the hell it was, and help Heero be free of them. Any system that could be made, could be broke and if Duo believed in anything it was the power of the human spirit. Heero was a survivor.
"Bring Mr. Maxwell to the guest room with me, Heero. And then you can tend his wound. Pick him up and don't let him hurt himself anymore on the way."
Duo didn't fight against Heero as he was swept up into strong arms. Their friendship was deeper than this damn programming. He would get through to Heero. He would.
