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"The Road to Hell is Paved With Second Chances "Written By: Jewel of Hell Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, lemon, angst (sort of), abuse, torture, memory loss, mental instability, character death, violence, dark Pairings: 1x2 Summary: The war ended, and Duo disappeared. Heero
never stopped searching. When he found his love, locked in a research
facility with devestated memories, he swore he would destroy the one
responsible. "The Road to Hell is Paved With Second Chances "
Chapter Eight Duo startled out of a dead sleep and tried to figure out what had awakened him. After a moment he realized Heero was holding him, and they weren't in bed. Blinking, he tried to make out where they were. He shifted the slightest bit and Heero slid a hand over his mouth. "Shh, Duo," the other breathed in his ear. "Not a word." Heart instantly pounding, Duo nodded. What was it? It was pitch dark in the room, so it had to be very late or very early. He couldn't hear anything, either. Heero started moving, silent and fluid, not even a rustle of cloth betraying him. He set Duo on the cold, hard floor and slunk away, disappearing into shadow in mere seconds. Duo remained where he was, crowding against the wall, mind spiraling happily into panic and near-terror. What was going on? He heard the faintest rustle of cloth and suddenly, light flared up in the room. Blinking, momentarily blinded against the glare, Duo looked up. And froze in horror. The Doctor. Right there. Barely a few paces away. Looking down at him with an immensely satisfied expression. That was it. He'd somehow gotten to Heero. Hurt him. And now he'd come to take Duo back to that awful place. It was a strange feeling, being utterly frozen. Completely incapable of moving. Too terrified to utter so much as a whimper. The Doctor was getting closer. Walking slowly, looking smug and in no particular hurry. Then he was within touching distance, and he leaned down to grab Duo's arm. "You're a long, long way from home, 02." O2. For a moment, Duo felt like he was drowning. For some reason, a picture flashed through his mind. An explosion. Against a backdrop of darkness with pinpoints of light. Many explosions. The sound almost deafening. And blue, blue eyes gone cold and steely with determination. A strong, acrid smell Duo somehow knew was gunpowder. The Doctor's frigid hand made contact with Duo's bare skin. There was no though. No decision. Just pure, instinctive reaction. Duo easily twisted to wrench his arm free while causing minimal damage to his own skin. His feet were bare, but all his weight was behind it as he kicked up, aiming for the Doctor's slim gut. He drove his heel up and in, sending the Doctor staggering backward to fall with a breathless oomph. In a flash Duo was on his feet, not giving the man the chance to recover and get up. His arm drew back straight and taut, coming down in a hard fist to connect with the man's jaw. The sickening crack could have been from the bones in his own hand or the bones in the Doctor's face-what did it matter? The jarring feel of his blow connecting with flesh swathed Duo's mind in a peculiar red haze. He hated this man. His movements were quick and effortless, telling him he'd been trained to fight and defend himself. This Doctor had stripped that from him. Reduced him to a fearful, trembling wreck who couldn't do anything on his own anymore. I was a fighter! Duo thought with a snarl, raising his fist again. I fought and fought and fought, and I gave up so much! A strong, inexorable grip trapped his raised fist. Heero, his eyes strange and shadowed. "Stop." A single word. Not a command, but Duo found he had to obey. Something made him obey. At Heero's insistence, Duo rose to his feet. The Doctor looked rather pathetic, lying sprawled with blood pouring from his broken nose. "Why is he here?" Duo asked, realizing he was panting. "He followed my cyber trail," Heero replied. Duo looked at him, trying to comprehend. Heero was looking at the Doctor. "I led him here." "Why?" "To kill him." Duo blinked, feeling a chill run through his blood. That was a bitterly cold expression in Heero's eyes. Even the Doctor looked cowed. "Who are you?" the man demanded. Duo finally realized Heero had a gun in his other hand. "Heero Yuy," the youth said in a soft voice. "Gundam pilot." He raised the gun, pointing it at the Doctor's head. Gundam pilot. Duo stared at the floor, wondering why those words sounded so familiar. So right. I fought. I was by Heero's side. I don't remember it, but it feels right. I was a Gundam pilot too. "Pilot 02," Heero murmured, looking right at Duo. Duo Maxwell, pilot 02. Duo stared at him. A trained fighter, labeled terrorist. "I'm sorry, Duo. I let him in because I had to see how you would react. Do you see now how strong you are? You were scared of him, but you still defeated him. You are not my follower, not my subordinate. You are my equal." For the first time, Duo realized what he'd just done. Heero was right. Even if his mind could not remember his training, apparently his body could. His legs felt weak. "I . . . I didn't even think about it," he said. "I just . . ." Heero gave him a gentle smile. "I know." He looked back to the Doctor, who for the first time looked scared. "Ninmu kanryu." Duo placed both his hands over Heero's, stopping him from pulling the trigger. "Let me." Morning crept in almost shyly, a low-lying fog taking its time burning away in the sun. Heero, sitting up in bed and leaning against the headboard, looked down at Duo. The long-haired boy lay curled between Heero's legs, head resting on Heero's thigh. He'd been there all night, not sleeping, staring at the wall with a blank expression. Heero, unsure what exactly was troubling his love (there were several possibilities), had maintained a silent, watchful vigil. Occasionally he stroked Duo's hair, just to let him know he was still awake and still watching over him. Duo's eyes drooped every time, but he never fell back to sleep. Drawing in a deep breath and releasing it slowly, Heero gazed out the window. It looked like a cold morning. A large part of him wished he could simply bundle Duo up in something warm and take him for a walk. He had always enjoyed doing things like that. Looking down, he drew the pad of his thumb up the bridge of Duo's nose. Duo made a faint, cute sound at this, so Heero did it again several times. Finally, Duo grunted and shifted so he could peer up into Heero's eyes. "Sorry. Am I making you worry?" "Aa. A little," Heero admitted. He cupped Duo's cheek in one hand, thumb now stroking just below an indigo eye. "What's bothering you?" Duo sighed and moved so he could wrap his arms around Heero's waist and snuggle close. "I'm . . . not exactly bothered." Heero squeezed gently, waiting for him to go on. "I . . . I feel . . . I don't know," Duo said. "When I saw him, I was scared out of my mind. I just froze. But when he reached for me, I reacted without thinking. I realized I wasn't scared of him. I hated him. And I knew I could hurt him. Heero . . . what was I? Before? I kept seeing this image. A . . . an explosion. It looked like it was in space." Startled, Heero blinked. Explosion? Once again he felt a surge of poisonous satisfaction. Maybe Isenger's procedures would have worked on a normal boy. But Duo was too strong for that. And Duo, recovering so much quicker than even in Heero's wildest dreams, was ready for the truth. "You fought in the war," he began. "You were the pilot of the Gundam Deathscythe, you were called pilot 02." It was over an hour before Heero stopped talking, wanting to include as much detail and as precisely as possible. Duo never once interrupted, not even with questions. He didn't move, either, only his open eyes letting Heero know he was awake and listening. When he finished he fell silent, not asking Duo if he remembered. It was along time before Duo spoke. "I don't remember any of that," he said eventually, "but . . . it all feels familiar. Well, not familiar, not exactly. But it feels right. As if it should feel familiar." Heero accepted that. "According to Isenger's research, you shouldn't remember anything at all, and you shouldn't be seeing flashes and images. You're already much stronger, Duo. It's only a matter of time." Duo finally sat up. He gazed into Heero's face, but his eyes weren't quite focused. "I want to see Deathscythe." Heero blinked. Why hadn't he thought of that? "Okay. But not right away. I don't think you should be traveling around until your body is stronger. It wouldn't take much for you to get sick right now." Duo acquiesced with a bowed head. "Okay. I can't argue with the Perfect Soldier." Once more Duo managed to startle Heero. In his narrative,
he hadn't ever mentioned that. He kept that little tidbit to
himself with an inward smile. All these things, spilling up out of
Duo unconsciously, were only proof that he would recover. Even if
he didn't recover his memories, he would recover himself. And that
was all that mattered.
tbc |
