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"You Can't Sleep Yet"Written By: Fancy Figures Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, wish I did, just
enjoy writing about 'em for free etc Pairing: 1+2 Warnings: yaoi, drama, some angst Rating: PG Summary: A mission gone wrong and Duo's caught
in a life threatening situation. For link_worshiper’s birthday. "You Can't Sleep Yet" “I’m tired.” Duo was pissed. He was sure he’d said it, several times already. He certainly felt it. Why the hell wasn’t anyone paying any attention? “You can’t sleep yet,” came a sharp voice, the speaker hovering somewhere out of sight. The harsh words made Duo wince. Enough, already. “Why not? I gotta rest.” The disembodied voice wavered for a second. “It’s… you’re in the middle of the target area. You need to evacuate.” “That’s crap.” He knew enough about mission protocol to be well clear of the target area before the fuses were even lit. Didn’t he? He’d been fetching the last guys out of the building, helping carry the wounded back to the cover, plenty of time to countdown, everything sweet as molasses … No, he knew the voice was wrong. “You’re wrong.” He was proud of his firm tone. “I’m good.” “No.” The voice was still sharp. “You’re not. I’m ordering you to stay awake. To get the hell out.” “You’re ordering me?” Duo thought he sounded a little petulant, but then what the hell did everyone expect? He was very, very tired. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this exhausted: he felt it in every bone, sinew and nerve. “So are you in charge here?” The voice made a grunt of frustration. Duo would have smiled, if he’d had the energy. “No, I’m not in charge. But I know what you must do.” Duo sighed. “In a minute.” He could care less, to be honest. “I’m good here for a minute, surely.” Why were they still nagging him? “No.” The voice seemed agitated. “Listen to me! You mustn’t sleep. You must keep talking. You must come out of there.” “Out…?” Duo wondered for a moment just exactly where he was. He couldn’t see much through the smoke; couldn’t hear anything beyond the ringing in his ears. “Here’s as good a place as any,” he sighed. “You know me. I can sleep anywhere, if I need to.” “Maxwell, listen to me! Don’t drift off like that! Dammit, you are one insubordinate bastard sometimes -” Duo smiled. His mouth seemed very dry, and slow to move. “Yeah. That’s what Heero says. Often.” The voice gave a gasp. There was a second’s silence. Duo hoped it meant they’d left him in peace at last. No such luck. “What else does Heero say?” said the voice. It wasn’t as strident as before, but – dammit! It was still keeping Duo from his rest. He sighed. “Plenty, for a guy who’s usually the strong and silent type. Like he was on my back all the time about this mission – wanted more time to check the charges – wanted me to keep in the background from the start. Told me to leave it to the experts.” He laughed, softly. “Always the same. Always angry with me; frustrated by me; provoked by me.” The voice was hoarse. “You laugh at that?” Duo shrugged. Well, he felt like he shrugged, though he couldn’t feel any answering tug of muscle. “He needs to loosen up. He needs to trust me. And I need to be there for the team, don’t I? Just in case something goes wrong.” “Yes.” The voice sounded subdued. “But that’s dangerous for you, personally.” Duo sighed. “Sure. Whatever. Doesn’t bother me. If it gets the job done, it shouldn’t bother him, either.” “That’s not right,” said the voice. It sounded bemused, now. “Whatever.” Duo was getting pissed again. He really was extremely tired. “Let me rest, now. Go harass someone else.” “And it does bother… him.” The voice was insistent. Duo was confused: he thought they’d moved on. What the hell had he been talking about, a sentence ago? Something about Heero, he thought. That made him smile, though he wasn’t sure why. “Nah. Guy’s not bothered by anything except the mission. Pity.” “Pity?” Duo sighed again. No-one was giving a damn about him, it seemed, or else they’d have had the decency to get lost. “It’s a pity he’s such a tight-ass. He uses up partners like Kleenex. Drives ‘em all mad. The Commander’s offered me a transfer four times, now.” “Four…?” The voice sounded shocked. “So why haven’t you taken it? If he drives you mad.” Duo groaned. “That’s not what I said.” Didn’t anyone listen? “He drives the rest of ‘em mad, but it’s OK for me, of course.” “Of course.” Funny how the voice agreed with him, but sounded more bemused than ever. “And that’s …why? Because he doesn’t bother you?” Duo laughed again. Didn’t think this guy had much management potential. Not only did he not listen, he seemed a little slow on the uptake, too. “He bothers me, all right. Just in a different way. So I’m happy to be with him.” He felt a slight stab of painful emotion, like a wire was tightening around his chest. “At least while I’m provoking him – making him angry – I get his attention. Who knows? One day I might catch him at a weak moment.” The voice sighed. “What do you want with him?” Duo frowned: what was this, ‘Piss Off Duo’ Day? “What’s with the inquisition?” He needed to rest soon, else he’d be no good for anything else. Anyone with half a brain would be able to see that, surely. “You know what. Don’t have to spell it out.” “Please… do.” Duo yawned. “Nah. Too tired.” Way too tired. “Tell me!” Duo felt a ripple of that emotion inside him again. Like he needed this! It was easier to forget it… easier to go with the flow. Wasn’t it? “OK, OK, no point getting so uptight. He’s cute, right?” The voice coughed. “Right.” “So…?” Duo sighed. He obviously had to drag this along, every step of the way. “So maybe one day he’ll want me. As a partner, but not just at work. You know how that goes?” The voice was very quiet. “Yes. I know how that goes.” Duo was relieved. Damned if he wanted to prolong this education any longer than he had to. “OK. So that’s what I want – and I can wait for him. I’ve had enough practice.” “You’ve been interested in him for a long time?” Duo wasn’t sure if that was a statement or question. “Of course. And he’s worth every minute.” “Because… he’s cute?” Duo could feel a deep lassitude creeping around his body, like a cocoon. He wanted to relax into it – he wanted it to consume him; to saturate him. It would be very quiet, very easy, and there was nothing as irresistibly seductive as that at the moment. He was pissed – again – that someone was keeping him from it. “That’s true. I’d do him. Of course.” “Of course…” The voice was a thin echo, now. “But then there’s everything else.” Duo smiled, though even amusement seemed too tiring now. “Much more important. Maybe I’ll tell him that one day; or maybe it’ll take longer than that. I’ll take my chances. Too sappy for now, anyway, right? The love stuff.” There was silence, now. Hooray, he thought, wryly. The distracting pain in his heart would go away and he could sleep as long as he liked, and everything would be sweet as that dream he once had with a happy, horny Heero covered in chocolate kisses… “Duo?” Duo heard the call as if through several thicknesses of concrete. “Hush,” he said, irritated. “Don’t wanna talk any more. Need to sleep…” “Duo, you can’t sleep now, didn’t you hear me?” Duo yawned again. The words were a blur; the sound was a thread of discord at the back of his mind. He’d soon be away from all this commotion, thank God. “Duo, Heero needs you!” Duo felt as if something paused, deep inside him. “Huh? Nah. Not Heero Yuy.” The voice was still nagging. “Heero made a mistake – he made a hell of a lot of them. He realised it, when he saw you go back in after your men, time after time. When the blast went off too early, nothing like we’d planned – when he thought you mightn’t…” It paused, then started again. “Mightn’t get out alive.” “Crap,” Duo murmured. His eyes were heavy: took way too much energy to open them. “I’m good.” Of course he was… “You must survive, Duo.” The voice had recovered that strident tone again. So unnecessary, Duo thought, wearily. “Don’t sleep – don’t let your body give in to it! Heero wants to tell you a lot of things he’s never said before – important things - the love stuff, just like you said yourself. To tell you about caring for you – wanting you.” Duo smiled. This was a cool dream. He liked dreams, but he wasn’t so stupid as to confuse them with reality. Was he? “Sure.” His voice sounded sleepy and a long way away. “Maybe one day. For now, he’s just pissed with me. Thanks for pretending. But I’m good.” “No!” The voice was shouting. It was far too loud, and it hurt Duo’s ears. “It’s not pretence! I mean it – I wish to God I’d realised it before – told you before. I’ll never forgive myself if I lose you now…” “’S OK,” murmured Duo. It was even more cool, drifting off with the illusion of Heero beside him – Heero talking to him – Heero caring. Best way to go, right? Then something reached him through the smoke; something warmed him, startling him, touching him where he thought his nerves had ceased to feel. There was the smell of gunpowder-charred cloth and the awareness of another body, looming over him – sweaty; strong; shaking. Male. There was a breath on his cheek and then something on his mouth. Felt a lot like a kiss. For the first time, Duo thought that this dream might be preferable to the deep, nameless cocoon that had once seemed so tempting. “Duo? Wake up. Please. Don’t leave me. I need you. I really do.” Duo gave a soft sigh and turned his head towards the voice. It took way too much effort, but he knew he had to do it. For some reason, it was important. Someone cried aloud. It had been Heero’s voice. Of course it was, Duo knew that now, even if he’d never heard such astonishing words from him. There were other noises too. Some tearful voices – the cool blips of medical machinery in the background. Someone else speaking, whose tone was arrogant, as if he thought he was in charge. He’d obviously never met Heero Yuy on a bad day. “He’s coming around. Dear God, I’d never have believed it, caught right in the blast like he was. The shock to his body was severe – we didn’t even know he still had the use of his voice.” “Duo?” Heero didn’t sound like he wanted to talk to Arrogant Guy, but Arrogant Guy was slow on the uptake, too. “You were both lucky to get out alive. To have risked going back into the building to get wounded colleagues out – that was Mr Maxwell’s madness in the first place. He was right next to the faulty charge when it went off. But then, for you to have followed him in as well… ” “He went back in, time and again. I wasn’t about to let him go alone.” That was definitely Heero’s voice. Duo knew the edge to it; the thinly veiled aggression. “I will always follow him into danger, and bring him out from it, too. I needed to let him know that - to know a lot of things, both then and now. I told you I needed to talk to him.” The arrogant voice was irritated. “And I told you the hospital staff would deal with it.” “His vital signs were fading.” Heero was angry in that chilling, barely repressed way of his. Duo knew that tone, too. “I brought him here, but his body wasn’t responding to your treatment. Just exactly when were you going to deal with that?” Arrogant Guy sucked in a breath. “Well, he seems to have responded to you, Mr Yuy, but I can’t say I approve of your unorthodox methods. You’ve harassed him and handled him in direct contravention of our medical recommendation. I’ll have to report it-” Duo coughed. He had the grandmother of all headaches and he knew who was gonna need the medical recommendation if Heero really let rip. “No,” he said, as clearly as he could. Arrogant Guy was a blur in front of him now, as if he were slowly coming back into focus. Duo was aware of being in a room – in a bed – surrounded by reality once again. There were human-shaped shadows; the hum of a hospital. He really wasn’t sure how he felt about this whole damned charade, but he seemed to be in the middle of it now. “No,” he repeated. “You won’t report him. Looks like he saved my fucking life.” One of the background voices sucked in a breath; a second one laughed, though it was quickly cut off. Another of the blurs came in close again. Duo knew the build and aspect of that man – even if he hadn’t recognised the smell and remembered the taste of him. Which he had. “Duo, watch your language. You still need to rest.” Oh yeah, and the voice, too. The strident one. Duo smiled, ridiculously comforted by the harsh tone. “So, now you want me to sleep after all? Sure are one confused guy, Heero.” “Not in the things that matter,” Heero muttered. His mouth was close to Duo’s ear: his hand lay possessively on Duo’s arm. “And you need to shut up until we can discuss this further in private.” “The horror, the horror…” Duo murmured back. He giggled. He sounded like some kind of lunatic, though he guessed that was Arrogant Guy’s diagnosis already. Like he cared. “Still so damned tired, Yuy.” Heero sighed. “It’s OK to sleep now. I’ll be here all the time. I want you to know that.” Duo yawned. It was genuine sleep that was tugging at him, now, and he knew he’d be OK to give in to it. He had Heero to watch out for his safety. And that had been Heero’s kiss, too, hadn’t it? Duo smirked and sank further back into his pillow. Maybe the genuine dream would be less easy than the previous option, less quiet - but it’d be a hell of a lot more rewarding.
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