Duo's Rat: The Maxwell-Yuy Peace Accord
By Nix Winter
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.
Notes: This isn't Plates. That's still planned. This one is a little sadder than I'd like, but I have the next chapter nearly half done.
Fear smothers me. Terror like I've been striped of how I was and left standing, naked in the rain as my soul bleeds out from my eyes. I'm going to die if he doesn't talk to me. He's going to die if I beg him any more.
He can't eat. He can't make a sound. No one expects more from me. I briefed the others on what happened. The shell of Heero Yuy functioned on auto-pilot as he had thousands of times. But
I'm not Heero Yuy. I'm Kyo and just thinking that name makes me shake. Heero told everyone that Duo was a stubborn idiot. Heero told them we didn't care if they took Duo to a hospital in America. He was American, wasn't he?
Heero also told Sally Po that there was nothing wrong with my body. Heero Yuy is a liar. So here I stand, watching the rain fall outside of Quatre's house, leaning against a cold window pane.
I know it's childish. It's stupid. I think Duo is extra sick because it's raining. The rain wet his braid, soaked it through. Duo is very small when you hold him close and his clothes are all wet. Heero tells me that Duo is taller and is nearly equal in mass, but he feels fragile to me.
"What are thinking about?" Relena asked.
Her voice caused an echo in my head. I thought she sounded sweet, caring, but Heero thought she sounded like unfinished business and I didn't want to know what kind of business. It was his voice that answered her though. "What do you want, Relena?"
She stiffened and I felt a little bad for her. Heero has a real nice voice, all deep and smooth. I will tell you a secret. I once harassed Heero into talking to Duo once while Duo was sleeping. Duo's maleness got a lot bigger. I think Duo likes Heero's voice. When Duo can talk again, I'll be able to talk to him too. Maybe he'll like my voice.
"Duo has pneumonia, Heero." She said, cautious, gentle.
That made Heero's irritation flare. "Then he is weak. He should go to the hospital so he can heal. The war isn't over yet."
"I will make it over," she promised. "Because of what you and he did, I can bring peace."
I decided that I liked her. She was kind of like Duo! Brave and trust worthy when she smiled. "The information you and Duo brought back is already bringing all parties together. It will be the Maxwell-Yuy Peace Accord."
I felt like floating when I heard those words! The Maxwell-Yuy Peace Accord! That meant when Duo could speak again all of the programming, all of the scary, dark things would go away! It meant all of the bad things could be erased!
Heero's voice was dark when he spoke. I wish I could see his thoughts like he can see mine. "Do not name such a thing after him."
"Heero!" She straightened, blue eyes narrowing, and wow, I was really glad she didn't know about me. "I realize this may not have been part of your mission plan, but Duo is very ill. There may be brain trauma. he might die. He deserves to have this bear his name. He is a hero too."
I'm pretty sure I've never seen Heero's thoughts race around like a ball bearing in a washer. I'm not sure what his face looked like, but Relena's went snow white! I love feeling strong and powerful. Sometimes Heero is so strong it leaks over to me too. "Miss Peacecraft, I will not allow you to put him at risk."
"We will protect him!" She snapped, looking a little rabbit like. "And you!"
"I will protect him," Heero hissed.
"Heero, are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm going to go with him," Heero said, turning back to the rain, sounding a little calmer.
"His fever spiked twenty minutes ago, Heero, up to 107. Quatre went with him when he was flown to Stt Gabriel's. We would have told you, but I wanted to speak with you first. There are some thoughts about a televised funeral should he die and I think it would be helpful if you could speak at his service. I know you weren't very fond off him, but it would help cement the new peace."
And that's when Heero Yuy lost his mind. I'm not sure I miss it all that much.
Duo's Rat: The Maxwell-Yuy Peace Accord 2?
Disclaimer: I'm just writing this story for fun, for personal expression and no harm or disrespect is meant to the original story or its creators.
Notes: Proof that I'm only playing is how very unedited and rough that story I posted yesterday was. Written on my PDA and I was just a little wiggy when I posted it. Had just gotten the edits back on my novella that's coming out in May and was quiet shocked. Now, I know that story chapter I posted yesterday points to I ought to be shocked, cuz it had lots of errors in it face palms But well, shall we say this edit left me saying… oh my god…. For many reasons. Still, will write this chapter, then go over the edits and the book will be out in May. And again… for that chapter posted yesterday with so many errors.. I was just upset. Sorry! bows bows And thank you for the comments on it anyway! Those really helped and I will likely get through my commercial edits this morning.
Two
I shouldn't have given Duo my key. His being so hurt was all my fault. It had been a week since he'd been taken to the hospital. Heero's endless ranting makes it hard for me to think. I thought Duo's silence was painful in the first few days. Each day that it wore on the pain of it doubled because Heero melted down a little more.
You see, Heero and I have different jobs. I stay inside and protect feelings, hope, kindness, and he takes care of killing people and blowing things up. It also seems he's pretty good at telling Duo to shut up. The stupid and useless thing is that he wants to go over each time in some nightmare of regret. Maybe if Duo would just wake up, then Heero would calm down.
And then there are Heero's friends. Don't be so surprised. He does have them. I wish I could talk to them too. The little blond one is really nice. He looks at Heero funny sometimes though, like he can see right through him. And there is a tall one who I imagine has wings sometimes, like a guardian angel. He's always right by the blond one.
Relena comes by everyday too, though she wouldn't look at Heero. Heero wouldn't tell me how long it takes for a black eye to heal. Maybe when it does, she'll talk to him again. She brought Duo a music player, and slipped it on him while the nurses weren't watching. I think Duo breathed easier while he had music.
I really wanted Heero to ask if Duo could keep the music all the time, but in the last few hours, he's not even making sense to me. I wonder if I should be afraid, but I'm not. Heero has always done what he needs to, always taken care of the body and of all the things that really have to be done.
Sally is nice too. She is Duo's doctor. She talks to Duo, telling him what she's doing and how he's doing, and doesn't mind if we listen. She doesn't know what she'd talking about all the time though. Duo didn't have a stroke. Heero explained to me what one of those is, and I know Duo didn't have one of those. Sally said it was the pressure of the drugs in his system for so long, and the stress of remembering so many bad things, and it made part of his brain not work. She's wrong. Duo just needs time to rest a little more. Heero will see too. Duo didn't have a stroke.
I don't know why he wants to fight over that. He was going to break Duo's neck after all! Maybe he doesn't like Duo? Right after I thought that, kind of asking him quietly if he didn't like Duo… he went utterly silent. My head felt like an open stadium, open to the sky and empty of sounds as if it had been abandoned for a hundred years and I couldn't breath!
I'd never been alone, not since I was first given to the doctors to program, and suddenly I was that small again, and the room was so cold. I was just a ghost and no one would ever see or hear me and Heero was gone!
The door opened to Duo's room. The light in from the hall way was dimmer and I suddenly didn't know what time of day it was either! Only Heero kept track of time and he hadn't really been much good at that recently.
Heero's blond friend stood in the door, blue eyes watching me as if I might explode and I wondered how he knew? He was going to expect Heero to respond to him, expect Heero to say something, and I could feel the body just staring off into space, hands in our lap, tears running down our cheeks. And a worse panic set in! He'd find out about me!
Heero had to come back, come back right away! And he didn't. There was just me and the roaring silence in my head.
"Heero?" he nearly whispered, stepping into the room. "What's wrong?"
'Nothing, nothing at all,' I thought, 'Heero just died. You wouldn't miss him, will you?' And then I was licking the body's lips. I was in control of the body! Without Duo's permission!
The blond jumped back against the door as I jumped up out of my chair, butt numb and started to dance in place. "I did it!"
His mouth dropped open and yes, I won there too! I surprised him! So I tilted my head like Duo does sometimes, grinned, pretending I was Duo celebrating. "Hey, Quat! Wanna get me a pop?"
It's too bad Heero wasn't there to tell me how much time passed, but it felt like the little blond guy stood there for hours, mouth open, eyes wide. I finally got tired of waiting for him, planted my hands on my hips like Duo does and smirked. Wow! I could do lots of things! "You okay?"
"Yes," he squeaked, finally shutting the door behind him, and stepping closer. For another little bit it was just him and me and the sound of Duo's heart monitor and rough breathing. Then he said, calm and gentle. "Who are you?"
If there hadn't been such a big loud empty place in my head, I would have run back inside. Instead, I wiped the back of my hand over my face and chewed my lip.
He took a few steps closer and I could see him very clearly. His face was so open and unguarded. It's the kind of look on a person that Heero calls 'mission objective achieved' and usually ends with the person no longer being a threat to the mission. I didn't really have any missions, but I wished I did. Missions always make things so easier for Heero. He held out his hand to me, and before I knew what I was doing I grabbed it, holding tight. "I want you to make Duo wake up," I said, sucking on one edge of my lip.
"I want that too, but we have to wait until Duo does wake up. It looks like you've woken up though," he said, holding my hand with both of his, caressing me nice, and I suddenly wondered if I looked like a little kitty. I like little kitties. Maybe I can get Duo one and he'll wake up. "I will tell you a secret, if you tell me one."
"Does that mean we're friends?"
"I'd like to be," he said. "Heero was a good friend of mine too. I trust him and respect him. "
"Okay."
"I'm an empath. I can feel other people's emotions and sometimes even their thoughts if they're very loud. I've never been able to hear Heero before, almost like he didn't have a lot of feelings. So I know you're not Heero. You feel very different. Will you tell Heero that I want to talk to him?"
"Would if I could." I don't like the taste of blood. I have to not chew Heero's lips so hard.
"Where is Heero?"
"He went over to Duo's body to help find his spirit so he can wake up." It was a lie. But I didn't want to tell my new friend that Heero went away because I was mean to him. If my friend stopped talking to me, maybe I'd go away too. "I'm scared."
"I can understand being scared. A lot of bad things have happened."
"Big men made Duo scream and scream. He was bleeding. They killed him."
"That was one of the memories that Duo was forced to relive, wasn't it? Did you see it happen on a big screen?"
"I saw it. Heero couldn't look."
"The people who were hurting you both knew that would be hard for Heero. They were trying to break down his defenses, to break his control."
"Yah, but then they'd just get me."
"I don't think they knew about you. You and Heero were stronger than they'd imagined."
"I'm not strong." I don't like Heero's shoes. Too old, to plain. I want to get Heero some red shoes! With blue laces! Maybe Heero will forgive me if I can get him new shoes.
"I think you're very strong. What's your name?"
The shift happened so quickly that I didn't even see it coming, and then I was back in the sleeping place, with just a warm bed, and a long braid to hold to. I lay down and took a deep breath. Heero always took care of things, in the end. I really hoped he didn't hurt my friend though. I liked that little blond guy and maybe he would help me get a pop. Maybe when I wake up, Relena's eye wouldn't be black anymore.
Quatre felt the shift was well and it was like vaccum sucking out a garden, emotional flowers suddenly sucked into the void of space. His hands fell away from Heero's much stronger hand as if it had turned to ice. "Heero?"
"You will never, under any circumstances allow me to buy myself red shoes. And," Heero moved closer to Duo's bed, and touched his face, caressing a thumb along one eyebrow. "His name is Kyo, Quatre. You must keep him secret."
"Heero, I will guard him with my life. It is not your fault, how ill Duo has gotten. You and he did everything right and escaped better than anyone else likely could have."
"Quatre, I don't want to feel anymore," Heero's arm lifted, almost as if he were reaching for Quatre.
Quatre took that offer before it faded and held Heero's hand warmly. "Heero, what you're feeling is love. You're in love with Duo."
"I gave him control over my programming, and the last thing he said to me was that I should what felt right. I need him to wake up and tell me how I should be."
