Heero woke from hibernation with his face pressed firmly into something deliciously warm and smooth. He opened his eyes and realized that he had moved sometime during hibernation. He was pressed deeply into Trowa's embrace. They were now chest to chest, and Heero's nose and mouth were tucked into the side of the larger program's neck.
He blinked and instantly tried to pull away but found that Trowa's left arm was wrapped tightly around his shoulders. The arm, along with the User's knee against his lower back, prevented him from moving away. He tensed within the other program's grasp and closed his eyes tightly. Trowa wasn't moving. Was he still hibernating? Heero bit the inside of his lower lip and tried to calm the turbulent sensation that had erupted in his stomach. It wasn't the fact that he had somehow managed to press his chest into the other program's while they slept. It didn't necessarily bother him that he was literally in 'bed with the enemy', but that he really liked it.
Trowa's embrace gave him a sense of security and comfort that he had never felt before, and despite his logical mind screaming that this was incredibly wrong, he couldn't help but feel like this was the most natural thing he'd ever done. What really got his attention was not only the soothing comfort of being in this position with a stranger, but also the clarity. His processing speed was noticeably quicker, and his memory wasn't as overloaded as it had been earlier when he had first reactivated. Had he reset? He still wasn't operating at full capacity, but he did feel significantly better. He tried to slacken his arms and legs to force his body to relax.
Heero decided that he wouldn't try to get up, and when the other program finally stirred he would feign ignorance and pretend that he had no idea how any of this had happened. In the meantime he let himself take advantage of the radiant warmth against the front of his body. He found himself leaning involuntarily into the larger program's embrace. In doing so his face nestled gently against the curve of Trowa's throat and his lips brushed lightly against the taut skin of the other program's neck.
Destroy the Gate , Heero's mind echoed halfheartedly . I have to destroy the Gate.
A loud, grating sound woke Trowa the next morning. He frowned, reluctantly opened his eyes and searched for the source of the horrible noise. His search didn't last long. Trowa's gaze settled on Duo, who was sprawled out on the bed beside him hogging the covers and taking up two thirds of the mattress. His mouth hung open and the loud noises spilled from his lips. What the hell? He'd never heard that kind of noise before. Did all Users do this while they slept? What was the purpose?
Trowa's attention quickly shifted from the obnoxiously noisy User when he realized there was a warm body pressed firmly against his own. His limbs were tangled with someone else's, and there was a face resting against his neck. Heero. Trowa felt soft brown hair tickle his chin as he glanced down to inspect his bedmate. The other program had wedged his knee in between Trowa's thighs with a hand lying flat against his chest. He wasn't moving. Trowa definitely didn't remember falling asleep like this and he wondered how their bodies had come to form this intimate position.
He didn't pull away from the embrace. If he moved even an inch back, he'd fall off the bed. Trowa's fingers tingled and his toes twitched as his body started to wake. Without thinking he slowly trailed his hand up and down Heero's back, feeling the smooth fabric of the light suit under his fingertips. Trowa had no idea what he was doing. His body moved on it's own as it reveled in the other program's closeness. Strange new feelings ran through his system as his fingers explored, running up to Heero's neck and touching the soft hair at the nape. This felt so… familiar, but Trowa couldn't understand why.
Heero's body tensed as a hand glided up his spine. Trowa was awake, and to his surprise he was caressing him. His palm reflexively pressed hard against the other program's chest. He was preparing to shove Trowa off of him but then froze as thin fingers slid through his hair at the back of his neck. The sensation made his scalp tingle.
What am I doing? His directive and logical thought berated him. You have to stop this. This program is the enemy. You can't let yourself become distracted. Think of your directive…
He couldn't pull away from the other program. It felt as if he had an electromagnet active in his chest, pulling him involuntarily closer to the Runner. He applied pressure to Trowa's chest but couldn't bring himself to force him away. With every soft caress Heero found himself leaning harder into the body in front of him. He felt like he was melting, like his body had become soft like putty as it fused with the other program.
What is he doing to me …
He couldn't stop himself. The hand against his back seemed to have coaxed a reaction out of him and without thinking he slid his leg further between Trowa's so that his upper thigh began to nudge between his legs and he pressed an open-mouthed kiss against the other program's throat.
The User continued to gurgle and wheeze as he hibernated behind him.
Trowa's body reacted wildly to the kiss on his throat. He was turned on and his mind started to race at the sudden overwhelming urge to capture Heero's lips in a passionate embrace. He felt the hand on his chest push against him a few times, and knew that they should stop whatever it was they were starting, but his body ached for the other program in ways he hadn't ached for anyone else. Those soft lips against his flesh set his senses on fire. Trowa tangled his fingers in Heero's hair and gave a soft yank of frustrated longing. His hips pushed forward and he was suddenly mortified when he felt his arousal press against Heero's thigh. Oh no!
At the realization that he could no longer control his body and was about to do some very inappropriate things to Heero, Trowa gently untangled himself from the other program and slid off the bed. "I'm… sorry…" He muttered, unable to look Heero in the face, and took a few steps back from the bed.
As Trowa got up and pulled away from him Heero felt his face explode with electric embarrassment. He had felt the other program react and tug at his hair, and the instant after he had done that Heero had completely forgotten about his directive. He would have followed his target program's lead and done anything he had wanted him to at that point, but then Trowa had retreated from him almost as quickly as Heero had come to that conclusion. He didn't know if the tall, handsome program regretted what had happened. It didn't matter at this point.
Heero was angry, frustrated, and confused. Angry at himself for being so careless and forgetting about his directive, frustrated because what had just happened hadn't been nearly enough for him, and confused at why he was acting so irrational in the first place. He pushed himself up to a sit and ran his hand through his hair, avoiding the other program's gaze, and swung his legs over the side of the bed so he could stare down at the floor between his feet.
"I'm sorry, too…" he didn't know what else to say.
Now that Duo had the entire bed to himself his limbs stretched out and he began to roll around, his processors finally activating. He sat up and rubbed his face with his palm before eyeing the other two closely. "Hey, you guys up already? Shit… " he stretched his arms over his head and yawned. "Man, I slept like the dead. Heh… how did you two sleep?"
Heero didn't answer him.
"Fine." Trowa turned away, retreating to the closet to grab their discs and batons. The light suit was unforgiving and he knew his erection was obvious. He silently berated his body for responding so eagerly towards Heero. How dare you. Trowa focused on pushing the sexual thoughts from his head. Now that they were all up they could get ready to head out.
Duo blinked as he noticed the front of Trowa's light suit appeared fuller than usual. Having seen the guy naked, he knew that at default the guy wasn't hung THAT thick, but he figured maybe it was just like a human's. Maybe programs rocked a woody in the morning too, though he couldn't imagine why any User would code in such an inconvenience. He hopped up off of the bed and took his disc from Trowa once it was offered, snapped it against his back and peered out the window at the darkened city beyond. The Grid was always so dark and dreary, and it was really starting to get to him. At least it had stopped raining.
Heero bit his lower lip as the User bounced happily around the room. He took his disc from Trowa without looking the other program in the face and snapped against his back.
As their guide led them out of the abandoned building and through the decimated city Heero made it a point to keep Duo between them, trailing along at the rear of their group as they trekked through the half-crumbled towers and piles of rubble that had once been Arjia City.
"I read that this place was really somethin' back in the day," Duo said conversationally as he strolled along between the two moody programs. "Hey, Trowa, are you a follower of that chick Radia?"
"Not exactly, but the person I serve is." Trowa said plainly. He'd never been one for any form of religion, but he respected his Master Controller's beliefs. Elios was a strict follower of Radia's teachings, and through him Trowa had learned much about her.
Radia, a soft-spoken, gentle, and empathetic ISO, had been a powerful political figure and the leader of Arjia City's Isomorphic Algorithms. Once mentored by Flynn, she shared her knowledge of the Users among her followers, uniting ISOs and basics under the common goal of one day accessing the real world. She fought for equal treatment of all who lived on the Grid, disregarding impurities by finding beauty in the flaws. This was a belief Trowa could admire.
Trowa had vague memories of Arjia City before it was destroyed, but he couldn't remember the details. He knew that he and Elios were from here, and that this was where Aether was formed. But after the Purge everyone who survived had fled. No one lived in Arjia City anymore.
Duo nodded and reflexively tried to put his hands in his pockets, having forgotten that he had no pockets in his light suit. He frowned, wiggled his arms and decided to prop them up folded behind his head instead. As he loped along he cast a glance behind him at Heero, who was walking with even steps, his eyes downcast to Duo's heels.
"Hey, while you were takin' a nap me and Trowa here did some pretty epic dogfighting, huh Tro?" Duo said brightly. Despite how hectic things had been the night before his anxiety was now gone. Now that he was rested and everything was calm he could really reflect on what had happened. "Except that last jerk who made us crash. Poor Trowa here had to lug your limp ass all the way from the outskirts to the safe house."
Heero looked up at the last statement and cast a surprised look at the back of the taller program.
Trowa said nothing in response. He didn't feel like it was a big deal. His responsibility was to safely guide those in need to the Gate and he wasn't going to leave anyone behind, even if it meant carrying them for hours through a rainstorm, no matter how inconvenient that had been. It wasn't Heero's fault for going into system overload.
Bowing his head, Trowa ruminated on the incident from earlier that morning. He still couldn't understand why his body had acted on its own accord, responding to the intimate closeness with the other program the way it had. It was confusing because he had never responded that intensely with anyone else, not even with Elios. The sensation was new, and it was all his mind could focus on.
"Anyway, who were those guys? The dude that came out of that crashed jet looked crazy," Duo recalled with a frown. "And their jets were all green and weird lookin'. They were fast, too. We couldn't get away from 'em."
Heero crossed his arms over his chest and found himself transfixed by the pendulum swing of the User's long, chestnut-colored braid as he walked. "Sounds like they were Outlanders," he deduced quietly. Duo looked over his shoulder at him and dropped his arms from behind his head to rest his palms against his hips as he strolled.
"Outlanders? Sounds like some sort of B-rated dystopian movie villain," Duo replied. He kicked at a glossy, rectangular obsidian rock with the toe of his boot and watched as it skipped and bounced along the dark ground to vanish in the shadows between two half-decimated buildings. Heero frowned at Duo's back.
"I don't understand any of your references," he replied plainly, "but an Outlander is a formidable opponent. They are self-outcasted criminals who make their living stealing and stripping basic programs of their equipment and code to sell in the underground markets." Heero knew plenty about Outlanders from his association with D-FILE. His organization worked as a special forces unit for the Tron System Security Division, but often they were required to do covert operations that involved direct dealings (and favors from) unsavory groups. When they needed some dirty work done it wasn't unusual for them to call upon the roguish Outlanders to help them accomplish it. Heero had never dealt with an Outlander personally, but during his initial training with D-FILE he had heard reports about some of their activities.
The fact that they were pursuing them was unsettling.
They continued to walk through the shadowy ruins of Arjia City single-file and in relative silence for almost an hour before Duo broke the silence again.
"How can you stand it being so dark here all the time?" he asked. He was rubbing the bridge of his nose with his index finger and a deep frown had glazed over his previously cheerful features. Heero saw Trowa glance over his shoulder but the taller program failed to reply. Heero decided to indulge Duo's questions. It was something to pass the time, and the casual banter from the User made for a decent distraction from the uncomfortable atmosphere that now hung over them.
"What do you mean by 'dark'? As opposed to…" Heero quickened his pace until he matched Duo's stride and casually walked beside him.
"Opposed to light. You know, light and dark? It's always so damn dark in here. Doesn't it ever get brighter out on The Grid? I guess you don't have sunlight, so…"
"Sunlight?" Heero eyed the User curiously. He had never heard of such a thing.
"Jesus, are you serious? You don't know what sunlight is? Man, I feel sorry for you guys." Duo couldn't believe that this program didn't at least KNOW what the Sun was, but the more he thought about it, the more the fact Heero had no frame of reference for such things made sense. Why would a program need to know about the sun, or the stars or planets? They were creations with a singular purpose, and all they needed to know was how to do a specific job. The thought made him feel bad for them. What kind of existence was that, to just live for a singular purpose and never get the chance to explore a new world or to be able to muse about different, fantastical things?
"Tell me about the Sun," Heero requested, his expression serious and contemplative. Duo grinned. Heero's curiosity was kind of cute. He noticed that, unlike before, the shorter program was more expressive and animated. He also hadn't stuttered or glitched out since they had woken up.
"So get this. You guys are just a small part of an enormous universe. Like this place here," Duo gestured with both hands to the dark planes of The Grid that surrounded them, "this is just a smaller universe within a bigger world, that is set within an enormous universe! Like outside of here there is where I am from: Earth. It's a planet, a ball of molten rocks with a thin crust where people like me live. And that rock circles this giant ball of mostly hydrogen gas called the Sun. This thing is fuckin' huge, right? And it has this shit called 'gravity' that forces the rock I live on to rotate around it. The Sun puts off light and that light hits where I live on Earth. We use that light for everything. Energy, food, to calculate time…"
Heero took in the User's words and carefully considered all that he had said. It was a hard thing to accept. He knew that the Users came from a world beyond their own, but in the legends it was described as more of a finite spectral plane. The idea that the User was somehow like them - a mere speck of insignificance within a much larger realm - was difficult to wrap his head around.
Programs struggled with self-worth and purpose all the time. Often when a program aged it found that it no longer had a function or held a significant purpose. Many programs destroyed themselves for that reason.
"Anyway, the point I was tryin' to make is that this place is a bummer. Like, I'm used to the Sun. I crave that light. I live on an island. It's like a chunk of land surrounded by water, right? There's sunlight all the time, and all year long there's nothing but warmth and good times. Heh, who knows, maybe you an' Tro over there can come visit me sometime," Duo said with a faint smile.
Heero pursed his lips and found his gaze drawn back to Trowa, who was dutifully leading them to a destination still unknown. He peeled his eyes away from the finely formed shoulders bound tightly beneath the matte black fabric and tried not to dwell on the events from earlier.
"So, Heero, what's up with that scar on your back," Duo asked. Heero blinked and cast a narrowed gaze at the User.
"You saw my scar? How?" he asked, his body automatically stiffened defensively.
"Yeah, well you were soakin' wet from the rain so me and Tro stripped ya down and that's when we saw it," Duo explained with a smirk. "I mean, I saw ALL of it," he teased with a chuckle. His taunt won him a cold glare from Heero in response.
"I don't remember exactly how I got it," Heero said plainly. "I lost those memories."
"Huh, that sucks," Duo said with a huff. "Whatever did that to you musta been crazy strong. I'm surprised it didn't kill- urm… derez ya. Anyway, I guess it may be a good thing you don't remember shit like that, right? At least now you have a badass battle scar," he added quickly in an attempt to lighten the mood.
The mention of the mysterious scar piqued Trowa's interest. He looked over his shoulder at the two following him, mind vividly remembering the mark across Heero's shoulder. It was obvious that the other program had been struck from behind. It looked like a disc injury, possibly sustained while fighting. Maybe it had to do with Heero's memory loss?
Trowa's own body was littered with small scars here and there, but nothing as intense as Heero's. Duo was right, the other program was lucky he hadn't been derezzed. It was clear Heero couldn't provide any more insight, so Trowa continued to keep quiet.
"Hm…" Heero had seen Trowa look back at him at the mention of his scar. He had never felt uncomfortable about his own body before but the idea that they had seen him unclothed was somewhat unsettling. The fact that Trowa had carried him so far and had gone to such lengths to care for him also forced a stab of guilt to run through him.
Heero knew that he was using the other program to perform his directive. He needed the Runner to lead him to the hidden location of the Gate so he could destroy it. It was nothing personal against Trowa. As time went on Heero was finding himself becoming more impressed with the handsome, quiet program. He fought well, was resourceful, performed his duties according to his own directive admirably and-
Heero's mind snapped to the earlier awkward moment between them in the bed. The flesh over his spine tingled as he recalled those long, slender fingers gliding up the back of his light suit, the firm tug on his hair, and that the warm hardness urgently pressing against his thigh. He bit his lip hard in an attempt to drown those thoughts out with pain. It was becoming an ever-present conflict in his mind. No matter how much he tried not to think about the strange, inexplicable connection he had with the other program it still cropped up frequently in his thoughts. He knew that something had happened during hibernation. He had woken up more alert and clear-headed than he had felt in months. He didn't know what caused the sudden improvement in his condition. Clearly it had something to do with the other program, but what?
"Man, how much more are we gonna have to walk?" Duo griped. He began to fall behind, his pace slow and sluggish. "I know you said we can't use bikes or whatever, but I still don't understand why. How far away is this place gonna be? I mean, seriously… it feels like we've walked a hundred miles today." The User stretched his arms over his head and kicked at a rock as he shuffled slowly behind them. "Can we take a break? I could use a power nap or something."
"Light cycles draw too much attention." How many times had Trowa repeated this? He lost count. "We can stop for a break. We still have about two days worth of travel until we reach the destination. When we get closer we'll use a light runner the rest of the way to get over the rough terrain." It seemed Users didn't have as much energy as programs. Trowa made a mental note of that.
The group walked for a little longer until they found a safe place to stop. Trowa spotted shelter under two giant slabs of obsidian-colored rock. He was hesitant to stay for very long because the odds of more Outlanders roaming around were high. They could let Duo nap while one of them stood guard.
As soon as they had arrived within the naturally formed shelter of the rocks, Duo found a prime spot to lounge on a smooth shelf that jutted from the rock itself. He flopped down onto his back against the cool surface and stretched his entire body out with a yawn. "Gonna walk me to death," he grumbled as he crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. He was starting to feel the effects of not having natural sunlight to fuel him.
Despite his body being digitized and formed into a digital construct, Duo's brain was still completely intact and it's thoughts were unaltered. His physical being may not have needed the Vitamin D that came with sun exposure, but his mind thought that it did. All of the stress and craziness that had happened since his arrival on The Grid, along with the dreary environment of the place was causing him to feel emotionally and physically drained. All he wanted to do was sleep, and within moments he was rasping and snoring loudly.
Heero took a seat on a black boulder with his back to the alcove and looked out over the vast, barren expanse of the Outlands. He was tired, but unlike the User, he wasn't ready to willingly admit it.
"I'll take first watch," he said plainly to Trowa, the first thing he had said directly to him since they had left Arjia City.
"I'm not tired," Trowa stated, taking a seat on the ledge a comfortable distance from Heero. The unusual sounds escaping the User's mouth echoed off the walls around them and added an irritating note to the otherwise quiet, calm ambience of the dark environment. Trowa tried his best to block the noise out while he let his gaze drift out onto the vast landscape of the Outlands. He relaxed his posture, rolled his shoulders and propped himself up with his arms so that he could lounge his long body back into a more comfortable position.
"You seem to be doing better today." Trowa murmured after they had sat there in 'silence' for a long while. The tension between the two programs still lingered, but there really wasn't anything to say about the awkward interaction from earlier that morning, so maybe it was better left unaddressed. Trowa looked cautiously over at Heero, studying the other's serious profile.
"I am better," Heero replied casually. He could feel the other program's gaze settling on him and he resisted the urge to look back in return. Instead he studied the darkened horizon and its flickering ambient arcs of white hot energy that occasionally illuminated the dismal, distant terrain.
"I'm sorry for being such a burden on you. I appreciate your help, and the effort and risk you are taking to lead us to our destination…" Heero added.
Heero didn't like the sound of his own voice just now. It was oddly business-like, and reminded him of the ever-present rift that lie between him and the rest of The Grid and its programs. He knew that he only existed for one purpose, and that he had been directed to avoid developing any attachments to the world around him. Attachments were a liability, and they had the potential to prevent him from accomplishing his directive.
Is this why I feel so empty , Heero wondered with a frown. He narrowed his eyes at the horizon and sighed. He hadn't felt this empty earlier when he had first come out of hibernation.
Perhaps this was why he felt so drawn to the other program? Not only was he experiencing a physical response to Trowa when he was near, but he felt an undeniable, subtle kinship with him. The Runner worked alone, and operated under dangerous conditions. It paralleled his own existence, and he couldn't help but wonder what things would have been like if he hadn't been installed with his limiting directive. Would he be free to mingle with other programs? Would he be able to form friendships and bonds with others?
D-FILE often lamented that Radia was a heretic. The ISO was known as a rabble-rouser, and the cause of many dysfunctions on The Grid. Heero had never given her legends much thought, but now that he knew more about her and her followers before. Now he felt as if he were betraying his former teachings by even considering it. Despite all that he knew about the trouble that the ISOs caused, and all of the conflict Radia and her followers had made, he found himself wondering about her and her teachings.
What would it be like to choose your fate and your own direction in the world, he wondered.
"This is the furthest I've ever been from Tron City," Heero confided as he attempted to divert the topic but still maintain their conversation. He wondered if he could get the other program to divulge any more information to him now that the User was temporarily out of the equation. He sighed and finally glanced over his shoulder at the lounging, lean program beside him and made no attempt to hide that he was watching him. He saw Trowa's casual posture and decided to emulate his position. He shifted his weight back and leaned on his palms as well, his eyes never leaving the Runner's face. "How far do you travel from Tron City while on these runs?"
"Further into the Outlands." Trowa answered. "As far away from the city as we can get." He looked over to finally catch Heero's gaze, holding it steady with his own. Now that he had those deep blue eyes on him, he didn't want to let them go. Both programs were sitting in the same position, bodies parallel. Trowa wondered if that was intentional.
Heero's jaw clenched as the Runner avoided divulging any specifics. He had considered getting the other program to just tell him where the Gate was located rather than continue this ruse of being a broken guard, but it seemed that Trowa guarded his secrets well.
I could seduce him. Heero's eyes widened slightly at the thought. It was a tactic he hadn't fully considered before. His original plan was to just to continue pretending that he was a former Aether guard, infiltrate the location and destroy the Gate (and possibly the Gatekeeper if needed). Why would he need to seduce this other program, other than for self-fulfillment? Despite his infallible logic telling him it wasn't necessary Heero shifted his weight against his hands and in doing so slid one of them closer to Trowa's until their pinky fingers touched. But I could seduce him...
"How long have you been doing this?" Heero asked slowly, his dark eyes practically boring into Trowa's green.
"As long as I can remember. Sometime after the Purge when a lot of programs went into hiding." Trowa carefully slid his hand away, freeing his pinky from the sudden contact. He felt his cheeks tingle with heat as Heero stared him down. Why is he giving me that look? His body was starting to react after just the slightest of touches. Stop betraying me, he mentally berated himself as he tore his gaze away from Heero's.
Heero immediately noticed the other program's aversion to his touch, though from the confused-looking tension on Trowa's face it was clear that his avoidance didn't stem from disgust. His mind raced back to the bed, and how easily the Runner had fallen into familiarity with him. He knew it was unnecessary to try and win him over like this. He didn't need to take it this far. He could just keep his head down and accomplish his directive without any need for personal connections, but something in Heero was inexplicably drawn to Trowa, and he knew that now he was just trying to justify pursuing it. As long as he could justify his actions to himself he could act on them.
This isn't for me. This is for my directive , Heero reasoned resolutely.
"I don't know why, but I feel like I know you." Heero turned his body slightly towards Trowa but made no further moves to touch him. "You feel it too."
"Yes." Trowa looked back at the other program. "There is something going on here that feels familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time." So Heero was feeling it too; that undeniable urge to touch, to explore, to move closer to each other, like two magnets slowly coming together. The urges nagged at his conscious relentlessly and were slowly breaking down his resolve.
"I don't know what you're doing to me. Or why… What do you want?" Trowa's asked softly.
The question caught Heero off guard. What did he want? He wanted to feel normal, and this program -for some inexplicable reason- made him feel that way. He glanced over his shoulder to look at the User, who was now curled up on his side into a tight ball, deep in his hibernation phase.
I could stop this right now, Heero's rational mind nagged at him. And we could just leave it at that. But he didn't want to. His entire existence up until this point was centered around his directive, every waking moment spent finding the guide to the Gate. He had accomplished that much already. Now all he could do was wait, and he was free to do as he pleased until then, wasn't he?
"I want to know why I feel this way about you," he admitted honestly as his eyes drifted back to Trowa's face. "When I came out of hibernation earlier I felt better than I have felt in weeks. I don't know why. It makes no sense," he explained as his hand slowly crept across the top of the rock to Trowa's, only this time he let it glide up and over the other program's to completely cover it. As he did a sharp, powerful tingling sensation erupted beneath his hand.
The sensation caught Trowa completely by surprise. His eyes widened as the jolt rushed from their joined hands and coursed through his system, all the way down to his nether regions. A breathy, low, erotic moan pushed past his lips at the sudden loss of control over his body. What was that? He looked away, embarrassed by his reaction. What is he doing to me?
Once again Trowa removed his hand from Heero's touch, as if he was scared of completely losing control. An unfamiliar sense of vulnerability crept over him and made him close his eyes in shame.
Heero suppressed a smile as he saw the other program's reluctant reaction.
"Why do you deny me," Heero murmured, his eyes never leaving Trowa's face. He shifted his upper body on the rock and began to move in closer to him. "Why do you deny this," he added before he reached out to slide the tip of his index finger at an excruciatingly slow pace up the inside of Trowa's light suit-clad arm.
"I owe you nothing." Trowa wouldn't look at the other as that finger cruelly ran up his overly sensitive arm. Deny the other what? What did he want? Was this just a game to him?
Heero frowned. This program was either playing hard to get, or he wasn't interested and Heero couldn't tell which it was. He was going to have to try harder if this was going to work. Trowa wouldn't look at him, but he wasn't stopping his touch, either. His finger traveled the entire length of the other program's long arm and then slid up to his shoulder where the single digit was replaced by Heero's firm hand.
"You're right," Heero replied quietly so as not to alert the User. "I'm the one who owes you. Let me repay you…"
He didn't get a chance to finish that sentiment. The air around them shook as a bright, neon green laser shot blasted through the air and struck Heero. The energy from the blast spiderwebbed across his body as it sent a disrupting shockwave through his being. Part of the shock burned into Trowa's shoulder before Heero fell over onto his side and started convulsing with a groan.
From the nearby shadows came five dark, shrouded figures with disruption rifles trained on them.
"Surrender now, before we have to hurt you too, Runner," growled a gravely voice from the darkness.
Trowa was standing up with his light sword already drawn the moment Heero's body hit the ground. His eyes narrowed on the five figures moving towards them. Outlanders. "What do you want?" He made no move to put his weapon away and stood over Heero's body in a wide, protective stance.
"We heard there was a User in Tron City," a high-pitched, nasally voice said from beneath a black hooded cloak. The owner of the voice gestured to the cave with the end of his rifle. "And that a few of our buddies in C-Sector got shot down by someone in a light jet. Figured it may have been you…"
The figures were creeping up on them slowly. Heero had reflexively curled into the fetal position and was still twitching uncontrollably as the burning fingers of the active disruption shot continued to crawl up and down his body. He bit back a pained groan and peered through the space between Trowa's wide-set feet at the ominous figures as they continued on their approach.
"Heh, so which one is this, huh?" a third voice asked as it pointed at Heero on the ground. "This must be the User?"
"Naw. motherfuckers." The bold, loud statement came from behind Trowa. Duo emerged from the alcove with his antique disc raised and ready. He stepped up onto the boulder behind Trowa and glared at the enemies menacingly. "I don't know who you assholes are, but ya woke me up from my nap and unfortunately for you guys, I'm a cranky prick when I'm tired."
The third figure took aim and shot his disruptor at Duo.
Trowa sidestepped in front of Duo and swung his sword with lightning speed, its purple beam making contact with the green laser to send it flying back in the direction of the Outlander holding the gun. "There aren't any Users here. You're mistaken." He made sure his taller body was blocking Duo's as he held the sword up again, ready to deflect another shot.
"No one told me the Runner would be such a pretty-boy." The gravely voiced figure smirked from beneath his hood as he put his hands on his hips. "With a purple sword…"
Duo didn't like the guy's tone. He snarled, irritated, and jumped off of the boulder to stand beside Trowa, convinced that he didn't need any saving. His fingers fumbled with his disc as he sought for a better grip.
"Heh, look at that old disc. Stupid, 8-bit program," the nasally voice said with a laugh. Duo tensed and started marching angrily at them but was stopped by a hard grip on his ankle. He stumbled and stared down at Heero. Despite his quivering body Heero managed a weak, discouraging shake of his head.
"Even if there's no User here, we've still got three programs ripe for the harvesting," the gravelly voice said darkly. His companions chuckled and snickered from beneath their own hoods. "So, Runner, you must make a decision. Come quietly, otherwise you'll be derezzed. It's only you and an old-type program versus five of us. If you cooperate, we'll probably just strip you and send you out into the wastes."
"Yeah, then all you'll have to worry about is them gridbugs," a fourth, boyish voice said from the end of their formation.
Trowa wasn't one to surrender, but he also wasn't going to put his travel companions in unnecessary danger. He clenched his jaw and slowly brought the sword down, the beam disappearing back into the base of the baton. He held his hands up in surrender.
"That's what we like to see, someone with smarts," the boyish voice said as the figures came closer with their rifles still drawn. Duo scowled and glanced at Trowa with his eyebrows raised before he reluctantly returned his own disc to his back.
Heero's disruptor attack had finally dissipated, but it left him weakened. He pushed himself with trembling arms and watched as the cloaked figures came upon them with rifles at the ready.
"Don't disrupt unless you have to," the largest of the figures said from beneath his hood. "It still damanges the goods…"
"Heh, yeah, it damages them goods," a rather stupid voice replied with a cackle. "Now turn around, Runner. You too, girly-boy."
"GIRLY BOY ?!" Duo exclaimed angrily as reluctantly put his arms up. "Who the hell are you callin girly, you scrawny ass piece of shit? Stop hidin' behind your fancy toy and I'll show you some of my girly fuckin' moves, asshat!"
"Shut up!" The nasally voice said with agitation. It jammed the end of its gun into Duo's side and forced him to turn around. "Hands behind your back."
Heero could see the muscles of Trowa's legs begin to tense beneath the tight fabric of his light suit. Was he going to fight them? He didn't know the other program well, but he had never seen him just give up to passively before now. Heero waited until the gravely-voiced figure approached Trowa and dug out a pair of red, faintly glowing wrist tethers. When the figure dropped his rifle to rest at his side limply by the strap, Heero saw Trowa's weight shift to one foot. He pushed himself up to a crouch just as the Runner spun his body around into a back kick to slam his heel into the side of the large, cloaked figure's head. As the largest figure reeled from Trowa's strike Heero sprang -albeit weakly- up at him and tackled him to the ground just as he began to raise his rifle to fire at Trowa. He knocked the Outlander's hulking frame backwards against the ground. Heero pulled his disc from his back and swung it down at the large rogue program beneath him, but his strike was blocked by the blunt side of the disruptor rifle. Heero leaned high weight down as hard as he could into their locked weapons and snarled down into the enormous man's exposed bearded face.
"Don't you ever fucking touch him…" he hissed. Where the hell did that come from, he thought with surprise as he struggled to hold the large Outlander down.
Duo watched Heero lunge at the big guy and while his compatriots were staring in surprise and used their distraction to his advantage. He snatched his disc from his back again and threw it at the nearest figure. It struck the enemy's shoulder and dug in deep, but the throw wasn't hard enough to derez him. The guy howled and shot his rifle at him in response, but missed.
Trowa ripped his identity disc off his back and thrust it in the direction of the Outlander who'd just received a blow from Duo. The black and blue blur moved silently through the air, continuing its wide arc even when the edges came in contact with the Outlander's throat, slicing and derezzing him on impact. As the identity disc boomeranged back Trowa grabbed it with ease and deftly returned it to his back.
Duo scrambled up to grab his disc from the ground after Trowa had effectively derezzed the enemy who had shot at him. He grumbled something under his breath along the lines of ' that's what I did…' and ducked a blow from another Outlander.
Heero continued to struggle against the powerful Outlander beneath him but was losing the fight. He was weak from receiving a disruptor blast and the enemy program below him knew it. The massive figure's black, bearded mouth split into a menacing grin and with a strong, aggressive twist he wrenched the rifle out from beneath Heero's disc and slammed it hard into the side of Heero's head, sending him flying off of his body. He chuckled loudly, heaved himself up from the ground, aimed his rifle at Heero and fired. Another massive web of energy enveloped his body and forced him face-first into the black rock at his feet. The large Outlander kept his rifle pointed at Heero and pointed at Trowa with his free hand.
"You. Attack another one of my men and I'll hit him with 'nother round, and I promise you it'll be the one to end him," the man said with amusement. The other three enemies had surrounded Duo with their rifles pointed directly at him. The User was spinning on his heels with his disc raised in defense. He cast a look at Trowa, eyebrow raised, waiting for him to make a decision.
"Leave them and take me." Trowa offered, knowing that he wouldn't get away with another fake surrender this time. He put his hands to his sides and refrained from attacking. Both Heero and Duo were in compromising positions. One wrong move and he could lose both of them. "I'm worth more, anyway, and you know it. I'll go quietly if you let them go."
Heero watched through his blurry vision as the enormous figure laughed a deep belly-laugh and gestured for his companions to take Duo, who was gawking in surprise as they snatched his disc out of his hand and knocked him to his knees to tether his wrists behind his back.
"I always knew you'd make the right decision," the massive rogue said, his voice lilted with pleasure as he dropped his weapon's aim from Heero and let the rifle hang freely over his shoulder. He grabbed Trowa's shoulders and spun him around roughly, pressed a meaty hand into the center of his back and bent him over a nearby boulder.
Heero felt his entire body tense and found himself grinding his teeth angrily as the leader of the Outlanders bound Trowa's wrists against the small of his back. Two of his companions had grabbed Duo by the arms and were dragging him away and into the darkness. The third approached Heero and grabbed him by his shoulders to force him up into a crooked sit.
"Unfortunately, we're not going to let anyone just walk away from here today. Not with such high creds to be made," the Outlander leader snarled into Trowa's ear.
As the shrouded enemy slung Heero over his shoulder he could see the mountain of a program lean the front of his body hard against Trowa's, his scarred and thickly calloused hands grabbing and rubbing at his sides.
"If you didn't have such a high bounty from the system security I would keep you for myself," the giant Outlander said as he plucked Trowa's disc from his back. The sight of Trowa bent over the boulder was putting Heero into a violent fit of rage. Despite the burning sensation still lingering on his skin, and the weakness from the subsequent disruptor attacks, Heero's body shook with loathing.
You're going to regret this. Trowa made a mental promise that he'd personally dereze this heavy bastard the first chance he got. He felt a big, cruel hand on his backside, groping his ass roughly before sliding between his covered thighs. Trowa snarled and lifted a leg up and shoved his boot straight back against the Outlander's shin.
The Outlander took the kick with a grunt.
"Oh, so we're going to have to play THIS little game, huh?" he said in a deep, bellowing voice as he fished under his cloak for another set of tethers. He leaned his left forearm hard against the small of Trowa's back to pin him there while he used his right hand to loop the tether around both of his ankles and strung them together. "You're only turning me on more by fighting back," the program said with a deep, vibrating chuckle as he slung Trowa over his wide shoulder. As he followed behind his companions his hand held firmly against Trowa's upper thigh to steady him, his thick fingers slipping up the back and inside of his thigh to probe into the cleft of his ass through his tight light suit.
Heero couldn't see Trowa or the Outlander leader anymore. He hung his head and stared down at the colorless ground as it passed by while their captors carried them off to a destination unknown.