Disclaimer: I do not own GW.
Sorry for the delay! I was sick and wasn't allowed out of bed...and believe me when I saw desktops do not make comfortable laptops! .
ON WITH DA STORY!
"Where is he?" Heero gritted out as he paced along the living room floor. The carpet was definitely wearing out. Quatre and Wufei were on the couch, also worried about the return of Trowa. And Duo for that matter.
"Heero. We're all worried." Quatre said, trying to pour oil on the raging waters. "It's not going to make Trowa or Duo come back any sooner just because you decided that you didn't like the carpet."
"Who cares about Duo?!? It's Trowa that I'm worried about." Heero said explosively. Then he stopped and realized what he had said. Turning towards the other two on the couch, Quatre's pain-filled eyes and Wufei's steely orbs met his own horrified ones.
"Shit! I didn't-I didn't mean that, Quatre! It's just-I'm really worried!" Heero said desperately hoping to make them understand.
"You did mean that, Yuy." Wufei glared at the Japanese pilot. If looks could kill, Heero would be a puddle of goo on the floor. "You're so upset that Trowa is not taking it well that you are starting to blame Duo for it."
"I am not!" Heero replied hotly.
"Yes, you are. You think it's his fault, don't you?" Wufei sneered at him, onyx orbs blazing.
And then Heero lost it. "Yes! I think its his fault! If it weren't for him, Trowa wouldn't have been distracted when he went on that mission. Now who knows what might have happened? Or didn't you check, Duo's mission and Trowa's were on the same base! I swear to god, if that bastard did anything to compromise Trowa, I'll-"
His words were cut off as Wufei suddenly lunged at him and punched him in the gut. The Japanese pilot stumbled back with a grunt, holding his stomach protectively. But Wufei was too far-gone to care. Somewhere in the background, he heard Quatre yelling, "Wufei, no!" but for now all he could hear was the blood rushing past his ears. He grabbed Heero by the collar and pulled him close.
"Now you listen and listen carefully." Wufei hissed out, menacingly. "I don't give a damn about who you are screwing. But after all that shit that you put Duo through, he very least he deserves is your respect. You didn't see him that night. I did."
"The look in his eyes was so haunted. No smiles, no laughs. The jester's mask was gone and you know what I saw? A helpless kid. Who was trying to cope with his broken heart and the only way for him to do so was to shut everything out. This war has made all of us orphans, but I believe that together we have found a family, who helped each other out. And for the first time, I felt as though I wasn't doing my job. No one should have to be alone but in that moment, HE was. And there wasn't a damn thing that I could do to help him."
"Understand this, Yuy. Duo was the one thing that held together this family. His laughter, his laid-back attitude and his constant effort to get us to communicate with each other was the base of our relationship. But now it is gone. You may not give a damn that it is happening, but I do. And I want to bring that back. And I will not have you treat him like a worthless piece of shit. He thinks that of himself already. If you don't make an effort to at least be civil to him, or if you insult him any way again without reason, I will personally break every bone in your body and then some. Not even your Trowa could stop me then. Got that?"
Heero was speechless. He simply stared back at Wufei, finally aware of how dangerously close he had come to getting killed by the Chinese pilot. Just then, a knock sounded at the front door. Wufei stepped back, letting Heero go, but not taking his eyes off of him and he addressed his own lover. "Quatre?"
"I'll get it." The Arabian pilot assured as he got up and scampered down the hall. Opening the door carefully, he sighed with relief as he caught sight of Duo's amethyst eyes and opened the door fully. It revealed the American pilot, who happened to be carrying Trowa. "Lord! What happened?!?" He cried out.
Hearing Quatre, both Wufei and Heero rushed down the hall to see the same sight as Quatre.
"Trowa!" Heero cried, moving forward to take his lover from the other's arms. The Latin pilot seemed unconscious, his head lolling back and forth. His faces had bruises and after running his fingers over it, Heero could tell that his right cheekbone was shattered. Meeting Quatre's eyes, he turned and made his way upstairs, Quatre following Heero and Wufei going to the bathroom to get the med kit.
After the other pilots disappeared, Duo made his way upstairs and on to what he thought was Wufei's and Quatre's room since Heero had disappeared into the other. He knew the layout of the safehouse and their room had a queen bed and a single. Hence the only place he could stay. Quietly he made his way over to the bed and sat sullenly.
Meanwhile Heero and Quatre were trying to see what was wrong with Trowa. They had stripped him down and had been shocked to see the numerous amounts of bruises that marked his body. But except for a badly sprained wrist, nothing was all that serious.
Trowa groaned slowly coming to awareness. Opening his eyes, he saw Heero's worried face hovering over his. Trying to bring up a hand to touch that face, he croaked out. "Heero?" as though he couldn't quite believe that he was here.
The Japanese pilot grasped the hand and brought it to rest upon his cheek. "I'm here, love. What happened? Who did this to you?"
At that question, Trowa's eyes widened as he frantically looked around. Clutching at Heero, he gasped out. "Where...is Duo?"
Heero frowned. "Why, he's in the other..." He trailed off, his own cobalt eyes widening. Fury blazed in them as he pulled away from Trowa. "That bastard!" He strode out of the room while Trowa made a futile attempt to stop him. Turning he looked at Quatre.
"Quatre, please...stop him." He rasped out. "He...thinks...Duo did...this to me...Not true...stop...him."
By then, Heero had reached Duo's room and had flung the door open, striding in and taking the American by surprise.
"Hee-" was all Duo was able to get out before the Japanese pilot grabbed Duo but the front of his shirt and hauled him up and against a wall, pulling a sharp cry from Duo. In the back of his mind, he vaguely noticed that something was off with Duo's appearance but right now he wanted revenge.
"What the hell did you do to Trowa? Tell me! What did you do to him?!?" He shook the frail body and slammed it against the wall repeatedly, wringing harsh cries from Duo. Heero was so enraged that without thinking, he pulled his arm back and slapped Duo hard across his face.
Crack!
At the very same moment, Wufei came into the room and grabbed Heero but the shoulders, pulling him off of Duo. Quatre came a second behind him, just in time to see Duo slump down the wall leaving a trail of blood. His eyes widened in horror and he rushed forward to catch the body and lowered it to the floor.
"What the hell did you think you were doing, Yuy?" Wufei shouted, getting in Heero's face.
"Damnit, Chang! He hurt Trowa!"
"No!" That was from Quatre, who was holding Duo's weak body on his lap. "You rushed out before you could listen fully to Trowa. Duo did not do that to him."
"Then why-"Heero turned towards the blond, ready to retaliate when he caught sight of Duo and the words died on his lips. The reason as to why Duo looked different became clear. There was no braid.
Apparently the others hadn't noticed it either. Quatre frowned at the sudden change in Heero. "What's wrong?" He asked
Heero looked horrified as a broken whisper left his lips. "His braid..."
Wufei and Quatre looked back Duo and realized it too. Instead of the braid, shoulder length chestnut hair floated freely around Duo. When he came in, he must have hidden the hair beneath his shirt so that the others could take care of Trowa before him.
"Oh lords!" Quatre whispered horrified. On his lap, Duo had curled up into a tight ball and had started muttering.
"Don't let him hurt me...please...I'll be good...don't..." His voice was that of a six year old, trembling with fear.
Wufei noticed the trail of blood on the wall and came up beside Quatre, who was trying to calm Duo down. Heero simply looked shell-shocked.
"Shh, Duo. No one is going to hurt you. Calm down, its okay..."
Wufei touched the back of Duo's black shirt gently and his hand came away, stained with blood. Looking up at Quatre's desperate eyes, he said more calmly than he felt. "We need to get his clothes off of him."
Quatre nodded in understanding and leaned down to talk to the frail pilot. "Duo, you're injured. We need to remove your clothes, okay? We just want to make sure that you aren't too badly hurt."
Frightened amethyst eyes came to meet blue aquamarine ones. "You...you won't...hurt me?"
"No, no. We won't." Quatre immediately soothed. "You need to relax. You have my word that nothing will happen to you."
"O...okay." Somehow the six-year-old Duo trusted the blond, letting him and his partner move him to the bed, unbuttoning his shirt and pulling off his pants. All the while Quatre whispered softly to him, to keep him calm.
But once the clothes were removed, all the three pilots were in shock. It looked like someone had carved up Duo's back rather deeply, with something hot, as there was charred flesh in places. Even his thighs were marked with deep cuts.
Duo whimpered as it grew quiet. "Hurts..."
"It's okay, Duo. Why don't you take a nap? I'll give you something to help you sleep." Quatre moved quickly, taking out a bottle of morphine and a syringe and giving Duo a shot. Duo's body quickly went limp.
Once that was done, Quatre moved back and went into his lover's arms. The tears he had been holding back ever since he saw Duo on the ground spilled from his eyes, trailing down pale cheeks. As Quatre sobbed into Wufei's neck, the Chinese pilot wrapped his arms tight around the small pilot and buried his face into the soft blond hair. He felt his own tears pricking the back of his eyes but he forced them down.
"Oh Wufei!" Quatre's body shook with each sob, leaving him clutching at the other for support. "This is horrible! Who would do such a thing? I don't think this has to do with the OZ. Even they would have no reason to do this!"
"Shh, Quat. I understand. You're right. But who would have something against Duo?"
"They don't."
The three pilots turned to look at Trowa who had come into the room.
"Trowa! What are you doing?" Heero rushed to his side and helped the other pilot further into the room, coaxing him to sit down in one of the chairs.
Trowa sighed as he sank into the chair. Coming from one room to the other had taken a lot out of him. "Thanks, love." He said warmly to Heero and then turned to look at the other entwined couple. "That wasn't supposed to happen to him. It was supposed to me be."
Harsh gasps met his words but he continued ignoring them. "I was captured on the mission. My tormentor was someone from my past. A man known as Cain. He was a mercenary in one of the camps I was in. He...was one of the people who...r-raped me."
The stutter over the word 'rape' did not go unnoticed by the others. Heero, who was sitting in the other chair beside Trowa, pulled his lover into his arms, offering simple comfort.
"He recognized me and was planning to torment me again. At some point in time, I lost consciousness and when I came back to I saw Cain torturing Duo."
"I pleaded him to stop, but he didn't. He thought Duo was my lover and therefore I would feel greater pain to see someone that I loved tortured. I tried to tell him that He wasn't my lover, but he didn't believe me. And even Duo didn't say so otherwise." His voice cracked and he buried his face into Heero's shirt. "I think...Duo only did that so that...I wouldn't get raped again."
"No..." Quatre whispered horrified. He turned to look at the sleeping figure on the bed, so innocent, but if he looked close enough he could see the weariness, the dark circles under the eyes and the slight crease on his forehead that told him that the other was cautious even in his sleep.
Trowa paused to recompose himself and then continued his voice tight. "and...and then, when we escaped, Duo had stole a jeep and the only thing I remember him saying before I passed out was 'Heero will be glad to get you home. He'll take care of you. Don't worry.' Even though...Duo had meant it as a comfort, I felt like a bastard...because I knew that Duo felt that no one would be waiting for him to come home and to take care of him. It was as though...it didn't matter if he was hurt or not...because he was beyond caring. All he wanted to do was take me back to Heero." And then, his body started shaking with sobs, as Heero tried to comfort him in vain.
Quatre was shaking his head in denial as Wufei murmured softly to him. Time stood still for a while as four young men grieved and one slept with nightmares threatening on the edge of his dreamless sleep.
The part on how they escaped will come soon. I really wanted to write this chapter for a long time, Duo angst and all that. But do let me know if I missed something.
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