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"Place To Hide"Written By: Gypsie 1201 Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its character, just borrowing for a while so please don't sue. Pairings: 1x2x1 Warnings: Angst, Post EW, POV, Sap Rating: PG Feedback: All is welcome and very much appreciated. Beta work by Chelle. A/N: This fic was inspired by the song “Safest Place to Hide” off the Backstreet Boys newest album, “Never Gone”. Summary: Sometimes, when it all goes wrong, being with the one you love is all that matters.
"Place To Hide"
As I speed down the highway, my mind flashes back on the phone conversation I’d had with Sally not ten minutes ago. /”Hello.” “Thank god you’re home.” the braided woman breathed and my instincts instantly went on alert. You see, my lover and husband had been on a mission to the L3 cluster and was due back that evening. As it was, I was just about ready to put the finishing touches on the special dinner I prepared for his return. Now though, the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end since Sally would have no reason to call me unless…. “What happened?” I asked even as I turned off the stove and set the pan I was using aside. “Bad intelligence, bad luck, bad timing; take your pick.” she snarled, letting me know more than anything just how bad it was by her clear agitation. “Where is he?” I asked, knowing as I did that her calling meant he was unable to. “He’s alright, just a few scratches and a bullet burn; nothing serious.” she told me in a calm voice, but the tone was anything but soothing. “But they lost a few on the way out.” At those words, my blood ran cold. I knew that cuts, scrapes, hell even major wounds would never affect him as bad as losing someone on his watch. Rushing through the house, I made sure the candles I’d lit were out and everything was locked up. Then grabbing my jacket and car keys, I told Sally I was on my way and hung the phone up before heading out the front door of our apartment./ Ten minutes, such a short time, but for me at that moment, it felt like an eternity. As I push the speed limit, and at times quite a bit over, on my way down the rather deserted freeway, I wish not for the last time I still had Wing. The hour drive to Preventer’s headquarters wouldn’t take but a few minutes in my gundam and I would’ve had him in my arms by now. But instead, I simply push the pedal down a little further as my thumb unconsciously rubs at the gold band on my left hand. It’s been two years since the day he and I pledged our lives to each other and still that day is by far the most important and beautiful of my life; that he would grant me the honor of eternity leaves me breathless every time I think about it. My nervous habit started only about a month later when, during a surveillance assignment, he’d been shot and spent nearly three hours in surgery. Relegated to the waiting room, my thumb had instantly strayed to the one thing that spoke plainly of our love for each other, my gold wedding band, without me even realizing it. As it was, if it hadn’t been for Quatre mentioning it to me, I would’ve never realized what I was doing. Of course, he thought it was sweet and after I thought about it for a moment, I had to agree. Of course, he pulled through and I proudly returned his band, which had been brought to me along with his cross not long after the surgery started, to his finger just as soon as I was allowed to see him, earning me a smile I’d just about sell my soul to see everyday. That wasn’t the last chance I got to exercise my new bad habit and this one probably won’t be the last, but at the moment, I feel I need it more than anything. Pushing down on the pedal once again, I fly down the road, arriving at headquarters in a record forty minutes. Not really stopping, or caring for that matter, I park the car on the street outside and just barely remember to lock the doors before running for the entrance. As soon as I clear the doors, I head directly for the infirmary thinking about the plans I’d had for the night. You see, tonight is our two year anniversary. He’d promised when he’d left for the assignment that he’d be back in time ‘come hell or high water’. I remember the smile and wink he’d given me as he said it and it makes me smile even now. Then he’d pulled me into his arms and kissed me breathless before grabbing his bags on the way out the door. “I expect dinner when I return.” he’d laughed as the door swung shut and then he was gone. Of course, I’d already planned the dinner as well as the night following nearly a week prior, but I didn’t tell him that; I wanted it to be a surprise. Now as I quickly scan the rooms, I can’t help but think of the ruined sauce still sitting on the stove that I’d not had time to finish. “Heero?” I hear a small, strained voice call from directly behind me after I’d been looking for a few minutes, and I instantly spin around; the sight that greets me, causing my heart to wrench violently in my chest. He stands there with his arms wrapped so tightly around himself; I know he’ll have bruises. The knuckles of his hands where they gripped his upper arms are white under the strain. But it’s the look on his face and the haunted shadow in his eyes that are the worst. Quickly, my eyes catalogued the injuries I can see; bandaged cut over his right eye, another running along his neck from ear to shoulder. His clothes are a mess, ripped and torn in several places, and through the gaps, I can see more bandages, including the one wrapping his upper right arm, letting me know where the bullet burn is. Looking at him closely, I can also see the tremors that he’s fighting with everything he has. How he’s still standing, I can’t even guess. Finally, giving my ring one last brush, I raise my arms and he’s there before I can even blink. As soon as my arms close around him, he allows the shakes to take over and I can feel his legs give out almost immediately. Lifting him as if he were a child, I cradle him to my chest as I speak softly in his ear, “Shhh love, it’s alright.” “No it’s not.” he whispers brokenly, his voice choked by the tears he won’t let fall. “Rogers and Mitchell, they’re gone and I should’ve--“ “No, Duo. I know you, and I know you did everything you could.” “But what if I didn’t, what if I could’ve saved them. God, it hurts ‘Ro.” “I know love, I know.” I whisper as I find an empty room where I can sit down with him on my lap. Then rocking gently, I wait for the crash I know is imminent. The adrenaline he’d made it thus far on was beginning to drop off and I know what will happen once it’s gone, which is why I’d rushed to get there in the first place. Not five minutes after finding him in the hall, the fall I knew was coming arrives and when I looked down, he’s out cold in my arms. I don’t stop rocking though since I know that, even in his sleep, he needs it. How long I sit there like that I’m not sure, once he’s out I stop counting so when Sally finally finds us, I’m shocked to learn that nearly two hours has passed. “How many traffic laws did you break?” she smirks as she takes the seat beside me, quickly checking the bandage in his head and arm. “Doesn’t matter, I didn’t get caught.” Laughing softly, she sits back and rests her head against the wall with a sigh. “It was close Heero. Whatever you had to do, I’m glad you did it; I don’t think he would’ve lasted much longer.” “He knew I’d be here.” Smiling softly, Sally looks over at me, searching my eyes for what I don’t know and at the moment, I’m too tired to care. Finally though, she nods and stands to leave. “You two are really something.” “How do you mean?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me. “While I was patching him up, he told me the same thing, that he knew you’d be here.” she states as she walks toward the door, then just as she reaches for the knob, she turns back to me with the strangest look on her face. “Then he said that no matter what happens, he always knows you’ll be there to give him a place to hide. Still don’t know what he meant by that.” With another shake of her head, she slips out the door, pulling it closed behind her. Her parting words though leave me feeling shocked. Then looking down at the so very precious bundle in my arms, I can’t help but smile as I remember another time, the meaning of those words finally registering. /I heard the front door open and shut from where I’m still sitting at the kitchen table, regret and sorrow etched firmly on my face. When he walked around the corner though, his hands buried deep in his pants pockets, looking lost and miserable, I find myself standing to meet him. The fight we’d had started over something stupid, like most of them do. This one though, combined with his worry over my next assignment and my own over it as well, quickly escalated into an all out shouting match. In the end, a lot of things were said that I wished desperately to take back and he had run, staying true to his motto. “Hey.” he said softly, still not looking me in the eye. “Hey.” I returned, and then cocked my head to the side even as my thumb brushed cool metal. “I figured you’d be half way to L2 by now.” “Yeah well, I didn’t see any use in it.” he muttered as he took a step toward me. “Oh, and why is that?” I asked and mirrored his movements. Finally, he raised his beautiful violet eyes to meet mine and the shimmer of tears I saw there caused my heart to twist; Duo didn’t cry. But here he was, chewing on his lower lip to keep the drops from falling as his whole body began to tremble. When he spoke a moment later, his voice was barely above a whisper, “Because no matter where I go, you’re my safest place to hide.” Feeling my own heart break at his words even as it soared, I opened my arms and held him as we both cried softly. The memory of that night so many long months ago, causes my eyes to blur again and I stoically ignore the salty trickle that trails down my cheeks a moment later. Just the thought though, that he still feels that way, is too much for my over taxed mind and I simply bury my face in his hair, letting my tears fall as I hold him tightly. “Just as you are mine.” I whisper, knowing it’s the truth.
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