The Stand Still
By: SukiNora
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own them, I just like to play with them.
Pairings: 1+2, 3X4, 5x?
Chapter 6
A.N. Sorry about the ending of the last chapter, I know that was horrible. But thanks to everyone who reviewed. Happy reading!
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My sight was fuzzy as I attempted to pry my eyes open. They felt like they'd been glued shut, and I could almost feel the paste separate as I tried to peel my lids apart. The room was dark, too dark to see anything, but I suppose my inability to see could have been due to the fuzziness. I let out a small exhale of air and gave in the weights on my eyes, finally allowing them to close. There didn't seem to be any point in having my eyes open, especially since I couldn't see anything when they open anyway.
I was in a hospital, that much I was sure of. The steady, constant beeps of the machines I was hooked into was a dead give away. There was also the slight pressure of the IV in my arm. If I had the energy, I would have complained that I didn't need one, but I suppose if I had the energy, my eyes would also probably be open.
I'm not sure how long I laid there. I was awake but asleep at the same time. Aware, but not thinking of anything as I lay with my eyes closed, the beep of the machines echoing quietly in my ears, as though I couldn't really hear them. I was drugged. Sedated most likely, and it was probably being pumped into me through the IV. I mumbled a slight curse in my head, wishing I had the energy to reach over and rip the tube out of my arm.
I hate sedatives. It's one of the main things Heero and I have in common. We both hate the feeling of being out of control. It's actually a terrifying thought to be aware, but not be able to move.
It was hard to keep my mind steady, and since all the sounds kept fading in and out, I barely noticed when the slight creak of the door mixed into the beeps.
A hand covered my mouth, and my eyes snapped open. My vision was still fuzzy but I could make out the distinct outline of a man. Slowly, keeping my eyes on the intruder, I spread my palm on the bed, searching for the call button. When it brushed against my finger, I clamped my hand around it my thumb getting ready to depress the button.
"If you're smart you'll drop that, Duo."
My breath quickened. 'Oh my god, he's going to strangle me,' I thought to myself as squinted my eyes in an attempt to see my intruder, even though there really wasn't a need to anymore. I knew that voice. It was Heero, and his tone of voice said I was going to die.
I released the call button slowly, letting it drop right below my hand.
"Good," Heero mumbled, barely loud enough for me to hear. "Now look, I know you probably want out of here."
He paused, and I assumed he was waiting for a response from me, so I gave a little nod.
"I thought so," he breathed out and took his hand away from my mouth. "Can you talk?"
I thought about it, and tried to open my mouth. They must have had me on some weird ass shit. My mouth felt like one of those medicine bottles that have cotton stuffed between the pills and the protective foil. Hard to open, and when you finally do, there's still a bunch of shit between you and what you want. When I finally got my mouth open, I just couldn't reach what I really wanted: to talk.
I shook my head as best I could, which was probably just enough to get the point across.
"I'm not going to kill you," he stated, his outline now in profile. "At least until I can hear your explanation."
I could feel the sweat accumulating on my forehead and my saliva getting hot, just like it did before I was going to ralph. Basically all I heard was "I'm not going to kill you, yet."
Heero leaned over me, gripping my forearm and gave the IV tube a firm tug. I winced a bit, not because it hurt really, but more because I knew he wasn't concerned about whether or not it did. He didn't even bother to clean up the blood that beaded from the prick, just grabbed my arm and flung me over his shoulder.
Heero flung the door open and stepped out into the hall way with no hesitance. I glanced up and saw Wufei standing next to my door, his arms crossed and wearing a grim expression.
"Thanks for looking out, Wufei," Heero said, patting him on the shoulder.
Wufei nodded in response. "No problem," he mumbled, lowering his head to glare at me. He was a man of few words, but as I was carried out of the hospital over Heero's shoulder, his expression bore into me, and I began to feel guilty.
My chest bounced against Heero's back with each progressing step he took, and I realized that I couldn't be mad at him. He had every right to be mad.
"I'm sorry," I said, but the words came out in barely a whisper. It wouldn't matter, I'd already signed my death sentence with that wink.
Goose bumps accumulated on my arms as we exited the hospital. It was night, probably around 2 am. L2 was always trying to save a few bucks and turned down the weather controls at night, unless they were broken that is, to around 50 - 60 degrees.
My ass felt cold in the wind. I hadn't realized until we stepped outside that I was in one of those backless hospital gowns. If I had any pride left, I'm sure I would have been blushing instead of chuckling to myself. I knew it wasn't funny, especially in the situation I was in with Heero. But my mind kept wandering back to imagined tabloid covers that had Heero carrying me over his shoulder with my butt hanging out. It would be a full moon tonight.
We were walking for what felt like a century, but was probably only ten to fifteen minutes. I figured he was taking me back to the hotel I had my troops stationed at, since he was probably staying there too. There weren't very many hotels on L2 that weren't mostly used for a quick fuck, or a drug deal. And with the festival underway we had to book that particular hotel months in advance.
When Heero paused in front of what I assumed to be the door to the lobby of our hotel, he rested his hand against my thigh before sliding me off his shoulder.
"Lean against me," he said, keeping his hands on my shoulders as I tried to steady myself on my wobbly legs.
I cleared my throat, and gave a nod, placing my hand on his shoulder. It was the first time I had gotten a look at my foot.
'Right...' I thought to myself, wondering how much flack I was going to catch for shooting myself in the foot, literally.
Heero placed his hand on my waist and helped me hobble through the door to the hotel. "Easy," he muttered. "It's not like we're in a hurry."
I shook my head. Definitely not in a hurry to die. We headed to the elevators and I watched as Heero lightly clicked the up arrow. His face was blank, and it made my very nervous. My hands began to feel clammy, and I wiped the one not wrapped around Heero on my hospital gown. The sweat soaked into the fabric and made the damp cloth feel cool against my thigh.
I hated when he acted like that. Just completely blank, so you have no idea what he's thinking. I've seen that look before, and when I did he asked me to punch him. He did not say that he was going to punch back.
He helped me hobble into the elevator and pushed the button for level 10. We were not going to my room.
I kept my eyes on the stainless steel doors in front of me, and tried to steady my heart rate. I was sure it was beating so hard that half of L2 could hear it. When the bell finally rang to signal our arrival on the floor, my breath caught in my throat.
Heero's arm tightened around my waist, holding the door open with his forearm so I could take my time getting out of the elevator. It wasn't like him to be so gentlemanly.
"Almost there," he muttered into my ear. I kept my eyes to the ground, for whatever reason I find it easier to walk when I'm injured if I can see my feet. It's almost like if I can't see them, I'm not really sure they are there.
Heero gave me a slight tug, and turned to face his hotel room door. I glanced up at it, and saw that he was taking out his Preventers ID card. He swiped it into the card slot and the door's handle flashed green.
My eye brows rose. I never knew we could assign our ID cards for hotels.
Heero held the door wide, and had me hobble into the room before him. It was a simple room. Light brown walls, a small hallway with a door that I assumed led to the bathroom, and a queen sized bed facing a small TV. Sounds like L2, nothing more than you needed. And yes, I do need television.
As soon as my eyes set sight on the bed I let go of Heero's shoulders and hopped over it, throwing my self down and sighing into one of the pillows. I was so tired. With every exhale I felt like I was going to be dropped into a warm puddle of unconscious. I didn't think that the small walk from the elevator to the room would make me that tired, after all the affects of the drug seemed to be wearing off.
The bed dipped down next to me, and Heero's distinct scent filled my nostrils. It was just how I remembered it in the war. Strange how I've never met someone with such a unique smell. I could be in the middle of the largest room, packed full of thousands of people and I'd be able to pick out that smell.
And then, I thought of something rather odd. It was quiet. I coughed a few times, trying to loosen the phlegm that resided in my throat.
"I'm surprised you aren't yelling," I said, but it came out as something that could barely be classified as a whisper, so I attempted to clear my throat again. It felt better the second time.
The bed shifted again, and Heero let out an audible sigh next to me.
"I am too actually," he mumbled, bringing his hand up to rest against his forehead. "You know you'd deserve it if I was yelling, right?"
I kept my eyes closed but nodded into the pillow. I'd probably deserve getting beaten to a pulp, that's what I'd want to do if I were in his position. You don't ditch your partner. I guess that's just my problem, I always want to push the envelope. I didn't want Heero to think he controlled me or my actions at Preventers. I'm my own man, I just have incredibly bad judgment.
Heero's shoes hit the floor with a decent thump before the bed sunk next to me. The dip was pretty large. I never could figure out how Heero got so much larger than me, after all he's half asian. It actually felt wrong to me that I wasn't bigger. Whatever, it's just one more thing he's got on me.
Heero's arms curled around me and I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my lips.
"Gonna suffocate me?" I mumbled as I felt his arms tighten around me.
His body tensed, and his embrace turned loose.
"What?" I asked, my eye brows furrowing and my eyes opening slightly. He didn't respond. Something help wrong.
"What?" I repeated, my voice cracking. I sat up slightly so I could turn to look down at the larger man. His face was emotionless.
"Heero, what?" I whispered. The worry on my face must have been evident, because his mouth opened slightly like he was going to say something, but nothing came out, his eyes riddled with concern. He took a deep breath and sat up, his eyes never leaving mine.
"Duo," he began, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "Matthews is dead."
"That's not funny," I whispered. I felt my face twisting up in anger. How could he say something like that to me? He knew how much my recruits meant to me. I'd spent every moment with them, training them, preparing them for a world of crime from the second they were assigned to me. He couldn't be dead. I trained him. He was ready.
Heero turned away from me, and folded his hands in his lap. "Do you remember what happened?"
My head was still kind of clouded, but there was definitely something there in the fog. I went to that house. That house that Anderson had the hunch about and... oh my god.
"Heero, what happened to Susan," I blurted out , grabbing onto his arm.
He kept his head down for a while before he looked up at me, his eye brows furrowed and mouth slightly open. Each second that passed felt like an hour of deafening silence.
"What?" I asked, squeezing his arm. "God, what?!" I yelled, my throat constricting my voice box, causing my voice to sound like it did back when I was 13.
"She's dead, Duo," he mumbled, returning his gaze to his lap.
"What?" I whispered. "How?"
"He strangled her, she was dead when we arrived at the scene."
I was speechless. I had promised her that I'd protect her, that she wasn't going to die. And now a little girl was dead because of me.
"Did you get him?" I asked, my eyes starting to well up.
Heero shook his head, and I started to blink back tears.
"He's out there," I whispered, dropping my hand from Heero's arm to clench my fists. I've never dealt with rage well. Usually I jump up and do something rash, like chasing down some poor guy before beating the shit out of him and letting the Preventers take the bad rep. Looking back, I suppose it was a good thing that I couldn't walk.
"We'll get him, Duo," Heero said, resting his hand over mine and giving it a small squeeze.
"No," I growled. "I'm going to get him."