Duo's Rat: The Trap 4

By Nix Winter

Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did own it, I wouldn't have nearly as much fun writing it.

And I am having fun writing it! So much more fun to write this than work on promotion for my others. Wicked me.

Notes: Anyway, I have to get to work here in a few minutes, so I'm going to post this, and hopefully have another part by lunch! I'm sorry this is short, but being able to post it was the most cheerful and hopeful thing today and means I might make it through another work day.

Visit me at my blog, ne www(dot)darkfedora(dot)com

I took the bullet out. The inside of Duo's shoulder is just like any other person's. Red and wet, and I know where all the parts are supposed to go. I could feel his heart beating when I touched him, and the heart monitor translated information to me, so that the beating of his heart felt like mine. I saved his life.

That was their first real mistake.

Maybe I'd always been there under the Heero that I had to be for them, for my captors. These new people who held us hostage, these were just small time players, trying to learn what my original trainers had done. In their reverse engineering efforts, they were undoing what my trainers had done. I hoped this was going to work in my favor. I feared what would happen if I failed. Hope and fear were not emotions that I had much familiarity with.

It was easier to hold his hand, to feel his pulse under my fingers where my other hand held his wrist. I don't even care if he doesn't like my company. It's just enough to be near him.

I love when he laughs and his eyes will roll. I love when he's plotting something and thinks no one is looking. Dark eyebrows will draw down and the mysteries of the universe will mix around in those violet eyes. Now that I remember, I have felt fear for him when he is in battle, when he is Shinigami. It's not that I ever thought anyone would cause him too much damage in that demon of a gundam of his, but that, I feared Duo would slip away under Shinigami as I have under Heero Yuy.

He's beautiful in battle though, graceful black and green death, too fast for normal men to fight back against. His lips tremble now and I reach out to touch them, to feel the living breath against my fingers, like a blessing. I have saved a life.

Somewhere in that moment, as dark eye lashes flutter, promising the opening of his eyes, making me so aware of the bruising around both his eyes, somewhere in that moment, I promise myself that I will become a doctor. I will heal, not kill. I will learn to laugh with him. I love his laughter so much.

When those eyes did open, I found another emotion. Joy.

"Who're you and where's Heero?" he groaned, voice hoarse.

"Are you in pain? I have a plan."

One eye closed, and then half his mouth listed in a smile, crooked daring, wickedly beautiful beyond anything I could imagine. "I'm down with a plan."