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"An Inexplicable Thread"Written By: ELLE Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Gundam
Wing (unfortunately) and they were used without permission, but all
the words are my own. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU in modern day, language, extensive
drug use, my poor understanding of the military, CIA, and Yakuza,
likely it'll get pretty smutty at times but I'm not certain how long
it'll take to get there. Pairings: 1x2 Summary: For years now, Duo has been plagued with visions of a mysterious man he is forced to paint. Meanwhile, Heero is returning from undercover field work to a life of nothingness. But they will soon learn they are more entwined then they know... Notes: I'm trying something a little different with the POVs in this. I normally stick to third person POV but only follow one character's thoughts. In this story, some chapters are going to be half Duo's POV and half Heero's POV. Then others, when they're together, are going to be a mixture. We'll see how it works out. I'm a bit nervous about it because I frankly despise mixed POVs as I find them contrived and unrealistic, BUT I can't see any way around it so here goes nothing.
"An Inexplicable Thread"
Duo's entire body hurt. His eyesight was blurry. He felt around the bed desperately, reaching out for Heero before his memories caught up with him and he realized with a sickening twist of his stomach that Heero wasn't there. They had spent a lovely week in bed, rolling around, kissing, making passionate love, wrapped up in each other. They even ate their meals in bed, swapping stories about their lives, laughing and crying, divulging everything that made them who they were. Duo ran out to get groceries once and they ran down to the gallery together twice to check on the exhibit and schmooze with anyone that happened to be there viewing his work. But mostly they spent their days enjoying their time together, soaking in every moment they had before Heero had to check back in with his handler. And then, Saturday morning Heero ran down to the corner store to pick up a few supplies and he didn't come back. The ache in Duo's heart threatened to rip him apart remembering that gentle kiss and those kind eyes promising he'd return quickly. How could he lie to him like that? What kind of man promises something like that then disappears, running back to his job without a second thought? He wanted to be angry. He wanted to scream. He wanted to burn his whole apartment to the ground in his rage. But all he could feel was sorrow. Sorrow and regret at what could've been. Abject humiliation that he was so naïve and infatuated to think that there could've been anything at all. His stomach churned and he sat up quickly, the whole world pitching wildly around him and before he even realized what he was doing he found himself retching painfully into the sheets, his abs aching and tears rimming his pained eyes. His body shook as he dry heaved, willing his rebelling stomach to stop. He let himself cry for a moment, wishing he'd just died instead of being forced to experience this kind of pain. He could've just taken a bit more heroin, overdosed, fallen asleep forev... Then last night hit him like a steamroller and he threw the disgusting sheets off himself and tried to leap off the bed, falling to his knees and crashing hard on the ground. The world around him spun and he forced himself to lie there until his nausea subsided and the world stood still. He remembered getting hammered, again. He'd spent the past three days in a drunken haze once he'd given up on the idea that Heero was coming back. He remembered the overwhelming craving he had for heroin and how he hit Dobbins up for some. He remembered praying over the needle last night, begging for the chance to see Heero one last time. In that moment, curled up on his knees, his forehead pressed to the floor, he prayed again, sick, and scared, and afraid that there would be nothing on the canvas when he made to his studio. Cautiously he stood, walking slowly as he gained his balance. He let his shoulder lean against the wall of the hallway as he made his way down to the studio, throwing the door open and staring at an easel in the corner. Quickly he lurched across the large room, staring at the painting there with disbelieving eyes. How could he not remember?! It was dark, and in the middle of it was Heero. Duo touched his figure with gentle fingers as tears leaked down his cheeks. He looked so alone. He was shirtless, his body battered and bleeding, his arms twisted cruelly over his head, roped together and attached to the wall by a giant hook so his feet dangled off the ground. Duo found himself trembling as he stared at his lover, being tortured and abused before his eyes. A cold vise wrapped round his heart as he realized Heero might already be dead. But what could he do? He wasn't able to choose what he saw in these visions - he couldn't ask for a location or any other specific information that might help him find the other man. His mind raced and he tried to clear it and think straight. Why did he have to be so fucked up? Why couldn't he have tried to be sober for half a minute? Of course Heero didn't leave him of his own free will. He wouldn't have left him without saying goodbye. His phone! The idea came to him in a stroke of genius and he rushed back to the living area, noting the phone was where he'd left it, sitting on his dresser. Why didn't he think of it before? Heero never left his phone if he was going to be gone for more than thirty minutes. It was his duty to remain in contact with HQ if needed. With shaking hands he looked at it, drawing up the list of incoming calls. There was only one number. It wasn't listed in the address book, but he knew immediately who it was. Heero had only ever received one call and Duo had overheard it and put two and two together last week and realized it had to be his handler. Duo took a deep breath and hit call. Chang Wufei glared at his phone with reservation. If he had to take one more call from Director Une he was surely going to - But he noted the number and his brows stitched together in concern. Heero only called him a handful of times, and typically only when a situation was nearly impossible to fix. He considered taking back his negativity over Une. Surely she would've been easier to deal with. "Agent?" he answered cautiously. "Is this Heero Yuy's handler?" The voice on the other end sounded equally cautious. Wufei was already pulling up the people search databases for court records, felony charges, and arrests. "Who is this?" he asked, hoping the man on the other end had a unique name that he would be willing to divulge. "Duo Maxwell." He typed the name into the three different databases quickly and to keep him talking asked, "And how do you know Heero?" "We're... I..." there was a long pause and Wufei was almost scared he lost him, but apparently he was just attempting to define their relationship because he finally replied, "I'm his lover." Wufei blinked, surprised at that statement. Heero had never listed himself as a homosexual in any of their documentation and many of his mission reports had notations where he'd engaged in sexual intercourse with women. There was no reason Heero had to hide his preference and the fact that the typically overly honest agent would've done so was disconcerting and unlikely. "He's never mentioned you before," Wufei stalled as the databases returned information. Duo had a fine for a class A misdemeanor - marijuana possession. He also had two restraining orders filed against older men, but nothing else incriminating on his record. Duo seemed frustrated. "I didn't call to be interrogated! Now are you responsible for him or not?" "Yes," Wufei finally answered straight. "He's my agent." "He's not there, then?" he sounded unsure of himself. Wufei sighed and rubbed his forehead. He really didn't have time for this. "I'm not here to answer to jilted lovers," he snapped. He thought he heard Duo physically bristle on the other end. "You don't understand - I think he's in trouble!" Wufei straightened in his chair. "What?" "He disappeared five days ago and he left everything here. His phone, his keys, everything. I thought maybe... maybe he went back without saying goodbye but it doesn't make any sense. Why would he leave everything here?" Wufei thought this over for a minute. It was very unlike Heero to simply vanish like that. And he certainly would've checked in if he was leaving the city. "Okay. I'm going to need your contact information. And you must keep this phone on you at all times. I will contact you through it if I have any further questions. You will not be allowed to leave the city until I give you permission in case we need to bring you in for interrogation. Do you understand?" The harsh tone of Wufei's voice left no room for argument. "Of course," Duo agreed readily, rattling off his address, phone number, full name, and assuring Wufei that he would be available night or day if they needed him. That willingness added a great amount of credibility to Duo's story in Wufei's eyes. He asked him when the last time he saw Heero was, what he had been doing the previous week, how they met, and a few other details. Taking down Hideaki was a dangerous assignment. Surely he had men working for him to find Heero. They tried to pull him out carefully but it obviously didn't take them very long to figure out who the plant was. Wufei should've never have agreed to let him return to civilian life without a security detail. Wufei ended the call after getting all the pertinent information he could out of Duo. Shit. He slid open his top drawer and pulled out some aspirin. The next few days were going to be difficult... tbc... ~ * ~ |
