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"Duo's Salvation "Written By: Jewel of Hell Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Gratuitous violence, abuse, torture, language, yaoi, lemon, angels, demons, bigotry, hypocrisy, blasphemy, heresy, sacrilege, and general religion-bashing. THIS IS NOT A STORY FOR THE CLOSE-MINDED. Pairings: 1x2, others Summary: When the Prince of Hell is captured and taken to Heaven, it is up to the Prince of Heaven to save him. But what if he believes Duo is already being saved? "Duo's Salvation "
The smell of blood and vomit hung heavy and thick in the air, enough that Duo nearly gagged. He could see the single, large bone at the top of both wings was broken clean in half. "Oh my god . . . Heero . . ." Those cobalt eyes, normally so bright and clear and keen, were dull and clouded. Duo wanted to run to him and throw his arms around him and cradle him against his chest, hold him tight until the pain left his eyes. Of course, that wasn't possible . . . He didn't remember crossing the room, but he was suddenly by Heero's side, cupping the beloved face in his cold, shaking hands. Blood sluggishly leaked from Heero's mouth, bright and freakishly disturbing against his skin. In seconds it covered Duo's hands, and Heero coughed weakly. Red filmed Duo's vision. In a heartbeat panic and fear changed to rage. Even here in Hell it would take awhile for Heero's wings to heal - it was the worst injury an angel or demon could incur. "What else did they do to you?" the demon Prince growled. "What else?" Heero didn't answer. His eyes slid shut, and his head bowed forward to come to rest on Duo's chest. Belying the murderous fury in his mind, Duo's hands were gentle as they came up and threaded through Heero's hair, slow and soothing. "My turn, guardian angel," he whispered. "My turn." It boiled and churned inside him, growing in strength and violence. He would turn over all of Hell if he had to, to find out who'd done this to his love. A demon in full fury, his eyes turned red as fire, molten pits of burning rage. His wings extended from his back, spreading aggressively. Out into the palace and much further still he sent a wordless pulse of power, though perhaps pulse wasn't an accurate description. Waves upon waves of silent screaming fury poured off him, roiling out into the palace and Hell beyond. Just as he wouldn't have healed quickly in Heaven, Heero would not heal quickly in Hell. Faster than on Candora, though . . . that was something at least. His wings folded around them both, forming a protective shield between Heero and the door. He didn't care of every demon in Hell suddenly turned on him. No one would so much as lay a finger on his lover. At some point Heero's hand had clasped his, fingers squeezing in a grip so tight the bones in his hand ground together. Duo didn't try to loosen his grip, barely noticing the pain. Mother, Father, come NOW, he sent out in his poisonous, wrathful waves. He didn't care of they were the King and Queen of Hell, didn't care if they didn't like Heero, didn't care if him loving an angel went against their delicate sensibilities, didn't fucking care about anything. Except Heero. Just Heero. It only took his parents all of fifteen seconds to respond, and they both appeared in the room. Apparently they sensed this was not the time to stroll through the palace halls. The second Anzuei's hand reached for them, Duo's head snapped up. The surface of his skin burned, he could feel the heat gather in his eyes enough to melt lead. "Don't touch him!" he snarled, the elongated fangs pricking his lower lip. His father actually recoiled a few steps, looking startled and momentarily caught off guard. Tovala lay a hand on her husband's shoulder as though to steady him. "We won't hurt him, Duo," she said in a low, soothing voice, her eyes flicking the briefest of glances over Heero's bent form. "In fact, we should get him out of here. Heero, can you stand?" Her tone calmed some of the seething anger in Duo's head. Heero responded to the question by trying to rise, but the movement jarred his wings. Several glistening white feathers drifted to the ground, their fall made heavy by blood. Heero's skin, normally such a warm golden, blanched the color of sour milk, and Duo could see he clung to consciousness only barely. Fuck, could he ever sympathize. When Oraia had demonstrated her cruelty on him, he'd blacked out several times, unable to tolerate the pain. "Never mind," he whispered, brushing a kiss over Heero's forehead. He looked at his parents. "My room." A doorway of rippling darkness appeared around him to swallow them both. As soon as he got to his huge room, all shades of crimson and black, he was faced with another dilemma. The way Heero crumpled against him, he wasn't sure if he could get his lover to the large bed. He wasn't anywhere near as physically strong as Heero. Just as he was ready to try anyway, Tovala came in through the door. Anzuei was not with her. "I told him to come back later, after I'd helped you take care of Heero," his mother explained, moving to Heero's opposite side and sliding his arm around her shoulder. "Come on, now, Heero. We just need you to take a handful of steps to Duo's bed." For some reason, his mother's soft words soothed Duo as much as they were meant to soothe Heero. Intentional on her part? Probably. Did Duo care? Not at all. It was Tovala's way, to assume control and offer comfort and calm. It was reassuring. Heero let out a ragged groan after a few steps, which tore at Duo's heart, but a few more and he was to the bed. Tovala and Duo supported him so he could lay down on his stomach, and he was white as paper. "Duo, why don't you hold him, sweetheart?" Tovala said gently, touching her son's face. Absurdly relieved she planned to do it herself, Duo just nodded and sat on the bed to cradle Heero in his lap. Heero wrapped his arms around Duo's waist and buried his face in the demon's stomach, and Duo could feel each panting breath he took. Tovala had come prepared - she had a narrow-but-strong splint meant especially for broken wings. "Brace yourself, Heero," she said quietly, grasping his wing beside the break in the bone. It snapped into place with a sickening crack that made Duo nauseous. Heero made a heartbreaking noise and finally blacked out. Duo's fingers combed through his hair continuously, more to soothe himself now as his mother wrapped the wing. When she finished with the second one she used a large sponge to clean away all the blood. "Help me undress him," she said when she finished. "We should check for other wounds." Duo wordlessly obeyed until Heero was completely naked. His glorious golden skin was a washed out yellow-white now, and it was covered in mottled purple and black bruises. But something else made Duo's heart stop. "Mother . . ." he whimpered, staring. Tovala followed his gaze. Blood stained the backs of Heero's thighs. Duo had to breathe hard and deep for fear of vomiting. He watched his mother's long, slim fingers gently probe for a source of the blood while holding his breath. Please, please - Tovala's red eyes met his. "There's no semen," she said, smiling gently. "It looks like your cousin Davrian is responsible for this." Blinking, Duo looked where his mother indicated. There were three deep gashes on Heero's inner thigh, pressed right up against the junction of hip and thigh. They formed a sharp letter 'D', the mark Davrian always left on his enemies. He usually used a special 'cursed' blade that would scar even an angel. The fear and sick feeling were once more swept away by explosive anger. "Davrian," he snarled. "How dare he?" How DARE he touch what's MINE! Tovala's eyes rested on her son with a peculiar expression. "I'll bring some numbing ointment," she said after a moment. "If you use it now, it'll be effective before he wakes." Duo barely heard her. o0o 0o0 Tovala watched her son for a few moments longer before rising and retreating. She didn't think she'd ever seen that dark gleam in his eye. In fact the normal stormy indigo-violet had been replaced with liquid black, a stark and unnerving difference that made his face look cold and . . . deadly. He was ready to kill his cousin, a demon she knew to be quite close to Duo. Davrian was an incredibly rash and impulsive youth, even for a demon, but Duo had always enjoyed spending time with him. Which meant Heero had become more important. Far more. More important to him than friends and family. More important than even herself and Anzuei? Perhaps. That scared her far more than she cared to admit. And yet . . . She also felt the first stirrings of hope for the first time in millennia. Before returning with the ointment, she sought out her husband and bade him find Davrian to confine him somewhere. She didn't want her son doing something now he would regret later. o0o 0o0 Heero woke to conflicting sensations. The first, it was relatively new and yet he knew it anyway. Duo was stroking his face. It was pleasant. The second sensation was also new, and this one he hated. Pain. Overwhelming, it ate at all his senses so strongly he thought he might vomit again. How many times in that small cell had he thrown up? He could still feel the ache in his mucles, and that was new too. Pain consumed all thought. Shit. How had Duo managed to survive having both his wings broken? "I had you," came the soft reply to the question he didn't remember speaking aloud. Heero looked up at his lover. Duo's face was a peculiar mix of worried, scared, tender, loving, and coldly angry. Strange. When had he come to read Duo so well? "I know it was Davrian," Duo said next. He didn't stop stroking Heero's face. His hands were cool - it felt good. "Tell me exactly what he did to you, Heero." Heero's eyes drifted shut. Talking, even so much as one word, seemed like a monumental effort. It was nicer to just lay here and focus on Duo's hand, because even though it could not compete with the pain, it was still nicer to try. "Heero," Duo murmured in his ear. "I have to know." Such a soft plea. Not a command. A sort of desperation laced his voice, and it was something Heero hated to hear. So he levered open sticky eyelids to look at his love. They'd really come full circle. "He and his two friends beat the living shit out of me," he said flatly. For a moment, Duo looked shocked into speechlessness. Then he burst into giggles. "Ahh . . . I never would have expected such strong language from you!" The sweet sounds were just as soothing as Duo's hand, and for some reason it made Heero feel a bit better. Then Duo settled down. "Go on." Heero sighed, eyes sliding shut without permission. "They broke my wings. Davrian used a strange dagger to cut a few slashes on my inner thigh." Which burned like unholy fire, when it should have been little more than an irritation. He was relatively certain Davrian had meant to do more than that when his friends held Heero's legs open. The looks on their faces were full of awful lust. But they'd abruptly left him, and he managed to crawl to the cot about two minutes before Duo appeared. "He also used that knife to slash up my wings," he told Duo tiredly. "It must have been a 'cursed' blade." "It was," Duo confirmed, but his voice sounded very far away. He didn't mind falling back to sleep, but he wished
there were some way he could take his love with him.
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