The Truth
"HOLD HIS ARMS! BE CAREFUL WITH HIS LEGS!"
"WHERE DO WE PUT HIM!"
"FOLLOW ME!"
It took five men to hold him and take him away. Duo wanted to help, he had to do something, but his body wouldn't listen, and his legs hadn't moved. He couldn't even prevent him from falling…
"Duo!"
"Wha-?"
"Come on"
He was laid inside a cold chamber, tightly strapped to a lab workbench. It strongly reminded him of the first time he'd ever set eyes on him. There had laid Heero Yuy, the perfect soldier, captured by the enemy. He could perfectly regulate his body's activity to feign unconsciousness. But now…
Now brought tears to Duo's eyes. His brain had taken a while to process what had just happened. Seeing Heero lying there made his mind go fast forward. He was now at the doorframe, looking as Wufei finished strapping Heero's left arm. A deafening scream escaped the perfect soldier's mouth.
"DUO!"
Quatre was the first one to notice his friend was there. The rest turned in time to see him run towards his lover.
"Heero!" he called out to the boy.
Heero's eyes were rolling uncontrollably, his front was streaked with sweat drops and he was gasping for air. Another yell left his mouth, full of pain.
"Can't you do something!" Duo yelled at Sen. "Give him something to stop the pain!" His last words were almost drowned by a third scream.
"I can't give him anything. Every single medicine we've got has so far proved to be useless at this stage" answered Dr. Sen. "We should go outside"
Sen and his other companion that had helped them carry Heero began to exit the room. None of the pilots moved, however. Duo was now desperately crying, feeling ever so helpless as Heero began to squirm about the table, foam coming out of his mouth. His back arched off the table and dropped back with tremendous force. Duo threw himself over Heero to prevent him from harming himself again in such manner.
"Heero, please stop. Listen to me, I'm right here!" yelled Duo knowing beforehand that nothing he said would help.
Heero's limbs were stiff and he was crying, screaming atop of his lungs, his eyes sliding out of focus. Suddenly he tried freeing himself of his straps and his right wrist began to bleed. The rest of the pilots rushed to his aid, trying with all their might to hold Heero down. Heero's nails were digging into his palms and soon not only were his wrists bleeding, but his hands as well. Duo forced Heero to open his left palm and held his hand, entwining their fingers.
"Please Heero…" moaned Duo, his tears falling on Heero's chest. Heero was out of reach. His hand clutched tightly in Duo's raised the pressure on it, until he made even Duo bleed.
"Duo!"
"NO! I DON'T CARE, I DON'T WANT HIM TO GET HURT!"
Dr. Sen came back with Lady Une. They both stared trough the thick glass walls at the pilots' attempts to help their friend.
"Please Lady Une, ask them to leave. We still don't know how the Disease is transmitted and if we can prevent further damage, then we must…"
"Nothing I say will make them leave Heero's side" answered back Lady Une calmly. "I'm sure they are fully aware of the danger, but they don't give a damn."
"But they can't go on like that for a whole hour!"
"Never underestimate them Dr. Sen!" exclaimed Lady Une rather harshly. "They're not just soldiers, they're friends, and their past has brought them together forming a tighter bond many could only dream of"
XXX XXX XXX
After a whole hour of pain and suffering, Heero had finally fallen asleep. The other pilots were sweaty and tired. Heero was really strong and it had taken nearly all their strength to hold him down. Some chairs were brought to them and Quatre collapsed on one leaning on Trowa's side. He was standing, leaning against the wall, and Wufei was sitting on the other side of the room, intently looking at Duo.
Duo was beyond tears now. His face had never been so lifeless. He had asked for a wet towel and once he got it he began to wipe the sweat and blood off Heero. Just as Lady Une had predicted, the four of them had remained next to Heero, never once hesitating to help.
Lady Une came back once more to inform them Heero's room was ready. They all knew from past experience that he would not wake up in at least four hours, so Duo had asked for a room where Heero could rest on a bed. Ignoring the rest of his friends, he took Heero in his arms, lovingly carrying him, like he were holding a baby, and let Lady Une lead him. The room was plain and strongly reminded them of a hospital room. There was a large window next to the bed and several chairs for the visitors to sit in.
Duo carefully laid Heero on the bed and proceeded to fix the sheets to cover his lover's slim body. Quatre's hand surprised Duo when the Arabian pilot began to extend the covers as well. Their eyes met for a brief second, Quatre flashed Duo with a sad, sympathetic smile and finally finished with his side of the bed. Duo pursed his lips when he looked down at Heero's slumbering face.
So many times before had he looked upon this calm face. Duo used to wake up before Heero just to see him sleep, never letting his lover know about it… never letting him know how much he loved to be next to him…
Duo now realized he had taken everything for granted. He knew he loved Heero, and he knew he was corresponded, but only now he discovered that wasn't enough. He should have told Heero every single moment how happy he made him, the way he felt so alive whenever they were together. He shouldn't have let a single second go by without letting Heero know how lost would he be without him.
And now… well, now might be too late.
'No. I refuse to let him go'
Duo held Heero's hand firmly and fought hard against the tears that once again threatened to return. A dry sob escaped his lips.
"Maybe you should rest for a while" spoke Quatre timidly approaching Duo. "Heero will be asleep for a while now, and you must be exhausted"
"I'm fine" muttered Duo in a cutting way. Quatre looked around towards Trowa, hoping he would find some support to convince Duo, but the silent pilot shook his head, signaling for Quatre to leave him alone. Quatre sighed in defeat and merely conformed with placing a hand on Duo's shoulder and squeezing lightly in a comforting way.
"We're all here" he whispered.
"I know" answered Duo in a faint, broken voice. He was about to cry again.
XXX XXX XXX
"Lady Une!"
"Yes?"
"Dr. Sen wishes to talk to you."
"I'll be there in a moment"
"No need for that Lady"
At the door was Dr. Sen. His assistant left the room surprised, clearly not expecting him to be right behind her. She had been asked to summon Lady Une, but in the end, it turned out that doctor Sen had gone there personally.
"What is it doctor?"
"I believe I have some good new for you…"
Lady Une remained silent.
"The diary Heero Yuy brought us has proved to be most enlightening. We have been able to insert new data in the main computer and its operations are running smoothly so far. The recent information has led us to be able to fix most of the network and I believe that in a day we may as well be on our way to get rid on quarantine for good"
"Those are good news indeed" said Lady Une, not really showing any emotion.
"Is… something wrong?"
"Heero hasn't woken up"
"I know… we are trying our best Lady…"
"But he's beyond any help, isn't he? He's way past the tenth hour now, cryogenic freezing is no good anymore"
Silence.
And then…
"Hope should die last."
XXX XXX XXX
"Duo…"
The braided man rose his head from the sheets. Unconsciously he had given in to tiredness. For just a moment he had decided to rest his eyes, which were red and puffy from crying. He laid his head next to Heero, his hand never leaving his lover's, and then, sleep had overwhelmed him until he was lost in dark dreams.
Four whole hours had gone by. Now Heero was awake.
"Heero" whispered Duo, hoping it had all just been a dream. For a brief second, he felt like it had all been unreal, that nothing had ever happened and that he was safely sleeping next to Heero just like every other morning.
"What happened Duo?" asked Heero slowly rising from the bed.
Duo jerked up and his wishes were thrown out the large window next to him. He was in the hospital-looking room, and behind were the others, waiting for Heero to wake up.
"Don't you remember anything?" asked Wufei from his chair next to the door.
"Remember…?"
Heero couldn't, and he didn't understand why was he in there, or why were the other pilots looking so glum. He was shocked to see that Duo had been crying.
"What happened?" he asked, looking around, feeling his chest very heavy with dread.
Duo looked at him sadly. How was he going to explain Heero what had just happened? How was he going to let him know such terrible truth?
XXX XXX XXX
A/N: Hello everybody! I'm happy to report so soon, sooner even than what I had expected. I'm a university girl now! Well… no, I'm not really that happy, but writing makes me happy, so I'm in a good mood anyways. Besides, I read a review that really encouraged me to keep on writing this story, thanks a bunch Lost-Remembrance! Thanks to all of you guys who reviewed for last chapter, I don't believe this story has had this much reviews for a chapter before. That's why, in thanks, I'm updating sooner that before. I hope you like it!
