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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 "
"Ne, Hee-ro." Only Duo ever said his name like that. Not a short bark like Wufei, nor high and whiny like Relena, nor even the soft and almost hesitant murmur of Trowa. Cobalt eyes raised to meet indigo-violet. The deep color was more tumultuous than usual. Duo had something serious on his mind for a change. "Hn." To let Duo know he was listening. For once, the braided baka didn't comment on the barely-word. "The war is over." Sounding almost bemused. "And we're alive." He didn't blame him. He could hardly believe it himself. "Aa." Some of the turmoil cleared, replaced by the typical good-humor. Heero could tell Duo was about to deliver a smart-ass remark. "Seriously. That's all you have to say?" Hm. Not quite as smart-ass, then. But definitely amused at his expense. In all honesty, Heero didn't exactly know what to say. He was astounded, really. He'd always accepted that he would give his life for a galaxy that had no use for it. But he was still alive. He'd survived the war. Now what? "I'm not sure what to say," he said. Those amazing eyes softened. "I know. You thought you would die. Did . . . did you want to die?" Damn, that was a loaded question if ever he heard one. Once, Heero knew so little of human emotion he would not have thought twice about the answer. But he could hear the fear, the hesitancy in Duo's voice. His partner and best friend was afraid Heero would answer yes. "Yes . . . at one time," Heero admitted more candidly than ever before. Only with Duo could he bare his emotions. He was learning, slowly but surely, how to feel them. "Before I met you, maybe. I just thought . . . it was a given. I knew I would die in the war. I had accepted it." "So . . . now?" Duo queried. Voice not quite trembling. "Now . . ." Heero repeated. Now, indeed. Now, armed with emotion, victory, friendship, and the halting confession of love from his best friend. "Now, I don't think so. No." As long as you are alive, Duo, I want to live. Before he consciously registered the idea, Heero lifted his hand and lightly brushed his fingers over Duo's pale cheek. "Not anymore." Duo blushed. The hint of color splashing over his cheeks was so enticing, so alluring, so pretty. Heero was mesmerized as Duo turned his head to press a light kiss to his fingers. The softness, the warmth of his lips made Heero suck in a quick breath. These feelings, they were relatively new. But he didn't try to suppress them or deny them. Not anymore. He wanted to feel them, wanted to explore them, because only Duo made him feel so bold, so sure, so alive. "Why not?" Duo whispered. His eyes begging. Wanting an answer. Shameless. Heero ran his thumb over Duo's lip, distracted by the ever-so-slightly moist texture. Duo's tongue darted out to lick his lips, and the brush of wet muscle against his thumb made Heero's temperature unexpectedly jump. "There's more to life than war," the once-Perfect Soldier replied. "You made me want to discover it." All of it. With you. "Because you love me." Tears sprang up in Duo's eyes, though they did not fall. "And . . . what about you? Do you . . . love me, Heero?" Probably, Heero thought as he gazed into those endless eyes. Because when I look at you, I'm drowning. I'm lost. I'm hopeless. Want, need, desire, they are all the same now. Whatever this is, I'm sure it's love. "I don't know," he replied honestly, because he didn't know what love really was. He'd never been shown nor taught. "But . . . I think so." Yes. That felt right. Duo's eyes flickered shut in acceptance. He probably knew what Heero was thinking. Understood that Heero was unsure. When he opened them, they were shining. "It's okay," he said with a smile. "I can show you." That was his last memory of Duo. After that quiet, wonderful day, he disappeared. "God damn it," Heero hissed, the considerable force behind his blow shattering the wooden table like cheap glass. "Heero!" Relena yelped, coming up out of her plush chair with a start, rushing to his side. She grabbed his arm and clasped his hand. "Oh, don't do things like that! You'll hurt yourself!" She cradled his hand against her breast, though there was no blood. Indeed, Heero didn't even feel the pain. His eyes flickered, almost closing before he caught himself. Staring into her sky-blue eyes, he tried to drag his mind back into the present. Two days. Two days ago Duo had disappeared without a trace. None of his things were gone, so he hadn't left. He'd been taken. Taken where? By whom? For what reason? It was enough to drive him mad, because there wasn't a clue anywhere. His newly-discovered love had vanished without a trace. Demonstrating that slightly disturbing ability of women to peer into the hearts of men, Relena shook her head. "You're thinking about him," she said. "Don't. I'm sure that whore from L2 ran off with someone else, Heero. You deserve much better than him." Using her hold on him as leverage, Heero thrust her back toward the couch. Just hard enough to deliver his message. "Don't ever talk about him like that again," he growled. "Duo is not a whore. And he would not leave without a word." He wouldn't. He said he loved me, and he never lies. Her eyes widened at the display of force, but she calmed at once. "I'm sorry. It's just that I hate seeing you hurt because of him." Her computer beeped an incoming message. She glanced at it before regaining eye-contact. "You're very important to me." Pinching the bridge of his nose, Heero nodded. "I know. I'll let you take that." He left her office. Two weeks ago, shortly after the war ended, Heero accepted a job as her bodyguard. Because she was important to peace, he would keep her safe. He was tired of wars, because he wanted a quiet life. With Duo. "I'm only doing this until things settle down," he'd promised his best friend. Because Duo didn't want anything monopolizing Heero's time except himself. Neither had Heero. Where are you? he thought, pacing down the hall. He was mad with fear and anger. Anger that had no outlet as long as he didn't know who had taken his love. Was Duo hurt? Alone? Dead? The mere thought of that sent dread stinging down Heero's spine like fire and ice. Dead. Before their lives could even begin. He had to physically restrain himself from breaking every object in the lavishly-furnished hall. Duo was not dead. He would find him. There was no other option. And he would kill whoever had taken him. Very, very painfully. When Duo opened his eyes, he had no idea where he was. Never a good thing. It was completely dark, causing a split second of panic. In a few seconds his memory caught up. No, he was not blind. There were just no lights, though he could see the thinnest sliver of light from beneath a door about forty feet away. His hands were bound very tightly behind his back, and his ankles were tied together. He had one of the worst headaches he'd ever had. He remembered walking home. He had gone to the store to pick up a few things for dinner. Heero was a bit stressed from being Relena's bodyguard, because he didn't particularly like the blonde. He just felt protecting her was the right thing to do, so Duo was supportive. Personally, she gave him the creeps. She always looked at him with such intense loathing, as if he was absolute scum, worth nothing. And was that jealousy behind the hate? Most likely. But why? What reason could the former Queen of the World have for being jealous of him? She had everything, and he had practically nothing. Walking. Then pain blossoming in his skull as he toppled forward, barely a grunt of surprise escaping him. Looking up through swimming vision to see a dark, indistinct blur in front of him raising something to strike him once more. His body would not cooperate to raise an arm to fend off the blow. Then darkness. Annoying, to wake to more darkness. But he could hear footsteps, and the murmur of voices. Good. He wanted to know what the fuck was going on. The door banged open, and sudden light flooded in. It was so bright it send arcs of pain stabbing through Duo's eyes to his brain. Groaning, his eyes snapped shut and he jerked his head down. Shit. The next moment he was being jerked upright with callous disregard for his comfort. The hands grabbing his arms wrenched them because of the bindings, nearly making him cry out in pain. Biting his lip, he finally managed to open his eyes. Two men on either side of him carried him. Both were wearing plain gray uniforms with no insignia or markings. And they were following a tall man with a thick head of black hair graying at the temples. He was wearing a long white lab coat, and for some reason that sent a thrill of dread through Duo. Where was he? And why was he here? The building looked like a concrete bunker. No furnishing of any kind in the halls, and heavy doors. The place was a maze of hallways, and Duo felt thoroughly turned around when they finally entered a room littered with equipment and machinery. Computers, wires, cables, screens, cabinets of various books, tools, and vials of liquid. All of it made Duo's skin crawl, especially the single table in the center of the room surrounded by monitoring equipment and god knew what else. "Put the subject on the table," the man in the white coat ordered the two uniformed men. The words, the tone, and the insinuation all riled Duo instantly. The moment they cut the cords on his ankles he lashed out, striking the first buffoon in the face. He fell backward with a surprised grunt, lip split open. A second later he was shoved, face-first, onto the table. Growling, he tried to squirm free. He might have succeeded were it not for the cords on his wrists. Then there was another set of hands on him, wrestling him down. Then a third and fourth. Where had the other two come from? He fought for all he was worth, especially when his wrists were abruptly freed. He bruised and bloodied every one of them, though they were extremely careful not to hurt him. It only made him fight harder. All the while the man in the white coat watched, an amused smile hovering on his lips. The four men finally managed to restrain him, all panting and sweating. "I do believe if there had been one less of you," White-coat said, "he would have slipped from your grasp. Aren't you ashamed of yourselves? A thin little boy almost outsmarted and outmaneuvered you." He chuckled. "You will be an interesting research subject, 02." He hit a panel on the wall, and all the screens around the room came alive with Duo's image as he continued to strain against the four men. Duo's blood ran cold. What was this place? Was this being recorded? And what, exactly, was this? The man unbuttoned Duo's red shirt and pushed it open to expose his chest. It made him shiver uncontrollably, prompting his tormentor to make low, soothing sounds. He applied something cold to Duo's chest with a swab and stuck to his skin two electrodes. That only heightened the fear, and he redoubled his efforts. His position was too vulnerable, and a moment later the electrodes delivered a strange pulse. In about five seconds his body went limp, muscles turning to jelly. The men relaxed their holds, now merely keeping him in position rather than holding him down. Duo's heart felt fit to break out of his chest it beat so hard. The man in the white coat now stuck two electrodes to his temples. Shit, shit, this is bad. What's he doing? Shit- "Subject 02," the man said abruptly. "Male specimen, sixteen years of age, five feet and four inches, approximately one-hundred and seven pounds. I have received permission from Miss Peacecraft to begin experiments and research." Another pulse. Duo's last thought before he was pulled
down into darkness was, So it was Relena who did this to me.
tbc |
