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"Lasting Impressions"Written By: Dragonmistress_7 Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Boys.
Lasting Impressions
Lasting Impression 13 Tired and dirty, Duo still sat on the floor of the shuttle. "I'm burning up, and I need a shower," he announced. "You have those sand bugs on you, too," Trowa pointed out. With a muttered curse, Duo stripped off his shirt and wiped down his arms and shoulders to remove the pests. His hair had long since come loose, and he jerked it aside impatiently, trying to brush his back, too. "What the hell?" Quatre exclaimed. From the corner of his eye, Duo saw that his back was giving off a light show. "Oh, shit," he said, eyes widening. Heero walked back in at that exact moment, stopping dead at the scene before him. Well, so much for the human cover. "What are you?" Quatre asked, eyes narrowing. "You said you were all humans. THAT is NOT human." He eyed the swirling iridescence. "It looks more like-" he paused, choking on his own words. He clenched his clawed hand to keep from following his instinct to wrap them around Duo's throat. "Are you- Are- What are you?! Answer me!" Quatre was getting worked up over something, and quickly. Trowa was looking worried, trying to think of what to say to calm his lover down. He feared he'd have to step between the two of them to keep Quatre from doing something he'd probably regret later. Duo, for his part, waged war within himself. Part of him clung to the knowledge that his identity was to remain an absolute secret, but it fought a losing battle against the intense psychological need to do as Quatre bid and answer his question. He looked a moment at Heero, who didn't seem to know what to do either. Wufei and Hilde were beside him, curious but passive in this. They would be of no help. He just had to keep his mouth closed. He couldn't say anything, anything at all. Quatre's emotions beat against him like club, but as long as his mouth didn't open he couldn't give himself away. He felt himself slipping. "I- I am-" the words were whispered but Quatre heard them, and his whole focus was on them. Duo's life depended on his next words. He raised his eyes and they were misty, vacant. "I am nothing. Just a slave." This brought Quatre up short. "You're- you're what?" "Just a slave, trapped in a reflection. A prison with smooth silver walls, mirrored, cracked." "He doesn't know what he's saying," Trowa observed. "Heero?" Trowa's call was needless. Heero was already kneeling beside Duo, looking into those hazy eyes. He looked back up at Quatre. "I think you broke him," he said quietly. Quatre shook his head, lips pressed firmly together. "No. Don't say that. Don't say it like he's one of your instruments and all you have to do is reset him and everything will be fine." Heero looked thoughtful. "You know, that's not a bad idea. Let's try it." He turned to Duo and said gently, "I'm going to try to ground you, Duo." Slowly and carefully, he reached out and wrapped his hands around Duo's forearms. For a moment, it seemed that nothing happened. Then, Duo's eyes cleared and focused. "Heero?" he asked, brow furrowed. "It's okay, Duo. You're okay now," Heero reassured. He let go of Duo's arms, only to have Duo grab his hands in a death grip. "Not yet," he whispered, looking pointedly at the other four people staring at him. "I'm going to drown if you let go right now." "Please step back a little," Heero requested. "Duo is a powerful empath and he's pretty overwhelmed at the moment." "Why did you lie?" Quatre asked. "Why did you say he was human?" "I didn't, and neither did he," Heero replied, keeping his eyes on Duo. "He's right, love," Trowa broke in. "I saw the other two and made the assumption. I told you they were all human. This is my fault." Quatre sank weakly into the nearest seat. "Are you really a slave, Duo?" "Did I say that?" Duo asked, gripping Heero's hands again. Quatre nodded. "If you are, tell me who to pay or kill for your freedom and I'll do it." Duo shook his head. "It's- not like that. I can't be free of what I am. There is a girl, somewhere, who-" "Duo, I think we've had enough show and tell for today," Heero suggested gently. Duo closed his eyes. "You're right, of course." "I'll walk you to the bathroom. You hit the showers, and then get some sleep, okay?" Duo looked directly at Quatre. "I don't know. Is everything okay?" Heero also turned. "You should know best that a person can't be judged by their race or appearance. He's either okay or he's not, based on his own merit only." Quatre hesitated only half a second, arguing with himself. Then he nodded. "Duo is okay. A bit strange sometimes, but okay. I know that." Heero knew beyond doubt that this wasn't the last of it, but it would have to do for the moment. He held onto Duo all the way to the bathroom, then went to get him a change of clothes. Once he'd dropped those off, he went back to where the others were still silently congregated. "I'm only going to say this once. I'll do anything I can to help any of you, but Duo is not only my friend, he's my job. I'm responsible for him. Any harm, physical, mental or emotional, done to him will be taken out of the skin of the accountable party." "I'm sorry, Heero," Quatre repented. "I had no right, just now. There's nobody here that couldn't have had our sorry asses left right where they were." "Forget it. Just, please, try not to upset Duo anymore. He's… fragile at the moment. Things will settle soon, but until then he's volatile." He looked at each of them, but nobody except Wufei looked back. "Oh, yes, Wufei. Welcome to our little family. If you have any secrets, you're welcome to them. Just let us keep ours and we'll all get along. That's how it works in theory anyway. I'm going to make sure we aren't surprised by pirates again then I'm going to hit the showers and catch some sleep. The closest stop was can make for better repairs is Ansirii." "We can't land at Ansirii," Trowa said, looking a little sick at the thought. "We don't have a choice. If we go farther, we'll be sucked into the vacuum of space and we'll die," Heero said shortly. "I don't know what your problem with your homeland is, but you've got about ten hours to work through it." With that, he turned on heel and headed to the cockpit, locking the door behind him. Duo was awake when Heero came in to lie down. He didn't even try to pretend otherwise. "Hey, Heero? What did you tell Dorothy to make her leave me alone?" "The truth," Heero replied wearily. When had he ever been this tired? "I told her that if you had sex with her, you'd be bonded to her forever as the perfect mate." "And that changed her mind?" Duo asked, confused. "I could tell that Dorothy was smart. She didn't want that for several reasons. I'm sure that a nasty war over your loss was not the least of them. Also, Duo, you have to realize that most people are crazy. Nobody knows what they really want. If they do, it's probably the worst thing for them. If it makes them happy, see if they care. A person who wants someone with a tailor-made personality…" Heero yawned. "They're wasting their time, and a hell of a lot of money." "Why?" Duo asked. "Duo, have you ever noticed that while you're on the shuttle, no matter who comes and goes from a room, you're always the same?" "I hadn't, but now that you mention it, yes. That's incredibly weird. It shouldn't even be possible." "Your true friends in life are the people who only want you to be yourself," Heero explained wisely. "They understand that they're responsible for their own happiness." "Whereas my bride-to-be expects me to be responsible for hers?" Duo suggested. "But if that's true, why would anybody do that? Why pay the high price instead of going out and finding it themselves?" Heero was so tired. Why didn't Duo understand any of this? "Because it's too difficult for them to bother with and they've been taught that money will buy them anything. It isn't right, but it's so. Listen, I've really got to get some sleep before Ansirii." "Yeah, I'm beat, too." Duo responded quickly. "Good night." " `Night," Heero replied, already almost asleep. ~ * ~ |
