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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 "
Heero started in his chair when Duo stirred. For the last many hours, at least ten, he'd watched the demon sleep. He'd lost count of how many times Duo had started crying out in his sleep, thrashing and sweating as he wrestled with his dreams. Heero was fairly certain of what he dreamed, and it took a great deal of care and skill to subdue Duo without worsening his injuries. Especially his wings. It would be very easy for the young demon to jar the bones out of place, in which case he would have to reset them. Causing Duo more pain. But Duo didn't start flailing. In fact he finally woke. His eyes were dulled with pain, and they looked bruised they were rimmed with such dark lines. They inevitably settled on Heero, and he licked his lips. "My throat hurts," he croaked, and immediately started coughing. Grimacing to hear the dry, rough sound, Heero grabbed a waterskin and quickly went to Duo's side. Gingerly lifting him to a semi-upright position, he let Duo drink his fill. Then he gently wiped the blood off the demon's lips. "Do you feel any better?" he asked softly. Duo's eyes slid shut, his head lolling to rest on Heero's shoulder. "Depends," he said, voice sounding a little less raspy. "I traded stabbing agony for a sort of aching pain." For a moment he fell silent. "I guess I feel better." "Then stop talking," Heero admonished. "You don't know me, Heero," Duo said, lips curving into a smile. "That's what I do. I don't like the silence, so I talk to fill it. I don't like emptiness." "Even if it's filled with meaningless sound?" Heero asked quietly. That brought those lovely eyes back up to meet his. They gazed at each other for quite awhile in silence. Finally Duo broke the spell by blinking. "You're different, aren't you?" he mused. "You get right to the heart of something with one question, see right through me. Am I that transparent?" "I get the feeling you're trying to be," Heero said after a moment. Duo shrugged, then winced. "I don't have to try. I'm a demon, remember? Epitome of evil and debauchery and all that shit." For some reason, the harsh language didn't offend Heero. In fact he noticed it hardly at all. "Are you trying to convince me of that?" he asked somewhat pointedly. "Or yourself?" That made Duo look at him. Hard. Then he barked a laugh. "Fuck. What kind of dumbass question is that? Really, Heero. You angels are all crazy. Psychedelic shit like that." Heero slid his arm farther under Duo's shoulders to cover the demon's mouth. "Stop talking. Your throat needs to recover." As if to prove his point, Duo started coughing a little. Heero held him until it past, once more wiping the blood from his lips. "Here, drink some more water." Duo didn't argue. Then he collapsed back against Heero. As if all of his strength was gone at once, he simply fell back to sleep. Heero carefully lowered him back to the bed, rearranging his wings so there would be less chance of them getting jarred. Of all Duo's injuries, his wings concerned the angel the most. It would probably take weeks — if not months — for them to heal. o0o 0o0 At first, Duo developed quite a fever. It broke after three days, and slowly the terrible injuries began to heal. Sometime during the intervening period the pain lessened to the point where Duo could sit up in the bed and actually eat real food — not the nutrient-rich, tasteless liquids Heero had been feeding him. It was nice, and Duo found himself increasingly . . . edgy. He'd never spent so much time around an angel before, and it was weird. Weird in a surprisingly good way. He actually found himself enjoying Heero's company; the angel was sensitive and unfailingly gentle. He also seemed immune to Duo's attempts to convince him he was an evil demon. His reactions were at once amusing and frustrating. A patient sort of patronization. It was a little annoying. "Duo," Heero said, startling the demon as he walked into the room, "I found some watercress and made a soup. Are you hungry?" Nodding, Duo refrained from telling him he always felt hungry. Heero never quite fed him enough, it seemed. Then again, it might be his body trying to catch up. Heero handed him a fat bowl of steaming soup. Sampling it, he found it to be surprisingly flavorful. "What's that spice?" he asked. Heero gave him a funny little smile. "I don't know. I found it, and it smelled sweet so I put it in." Duo blinked. "My, aren't you bold. What if it had been poisonous?" Heero raised an eyebrow. "I guess I would have gotten sick and died. I sampled it a few hours ago." Well. Didn't that just beat all. Duo found himself being constantly surprised by this angel. "You've got something loose in your head, risking your life for a worthless demon. I can't be saved, remember? Not even Oraia could save me." "Oraia wasn't trying to save you," Heero said, something dark entering those luminous eyes. "And why are you so certain you need to be saved in the first place?" Duo raised an eyebrow. What a question. "Why are you so certain I don't?" Heero rose off his chair so suddenly it startled Duo. For a moment, Duo actually felt a thrill of fear course straight down his spine at the look that flickered through those eyes. Then it was gone before Duo could even blink, making him wonder if he'd imagined it. "That you're trying so hard to convince me you're evil," he said in a low voice, "is what convinced me you're not." Duo felt like someone had yanked the entire world out from under his feet. What? It was a strange sensation, feeling like he was no longer standing, falling rapidly toward something that had no foreseeable bottom. How . . . odd. Heero was surely the strangest individual he had ever met, bar none — angel or demon. "So . . ." he began, but he didn't know what to say. "I'm not evil?" "Why don't you tell me?" Heero replied, and his cobalt eyes bored through Duo. Then he turned, opening the bedroom door. "I'm going to clean up the kitchen. Then I'll be back to check on your wings, all right?" That effectively killed . . . whatever it was happening between them. Duo made a sour face. His wings were the only part of his body still in a substantial amount of pain. It hadn't gotten much better, he'd just learned to deal. What else could he do? Short of chopping them off to stop the pain, there weren't any real solutions. And Heero was right; he couldn't return to Hell yet and risk a war that would wound and scar Candora. He didn't want that, either. "You don't have to," he muttered. Heero didn't look at him. "Yes I do," he said over his shoulder. "Else they won't heal properly. I'll be back in about twenty minutes." Settling back into the pillows, wincing when his wings shifted a little, Duo tried to figure out . . . whatever this was. What was it? A faint grin crossed his lips. That was the question, wasn't it? Did he actually like Heero? An angel? The icing on the cake, the Prince of Heaven? Didn't that just beat all. He didn't know if he liked Heero. He did know he trusted him, and that was a start, for sure. Heero came back much sooner than he would have liked. "Shit," he said, "you didn't have to hurry on my account." Heero gave him a strange look that seemed to say he wasn't amused. It almost annoyed Duo that his attempts to get to Heero failed so miserably. At least he wasn't cold as ice like Oraia. One of those warm, strong hands landed on his shoulder. "Lie on your stomach," he instructed in a tone best described as no-nonsense. Duo considered pouting or throwing a fit or just plain refusing, anything to delay having the daily inspection. He knew Heero tried to be gentle, but it wasn't enough. It still hurt. And he was sick, sick of pain. "Can't you come up with a better solution?" he asked, turning to lie down on his stomach. "Short of surgically removing them?" came the somewhat tart reply. Duo held his tongue. He felt Heero push the blanket out of the way and held his breath without any conscious decision to do so. He still wasn't prepared for it when Heero actually touched him. It startled him, but didn't hurt. Those hands lightly gripped the tips rather than the top. Skilled fingers shifted the black feathers, obviously searching through the more superficial injuries. It didn't hurt much, because most of those were healing nicely. It felt kind of unpleasant when Heero's fingers worked against the natural lay of the feathers, but Duo didn't complain. Oh no, that he reserved for when Heero's hands reached the large bone at the top. Heero made a soft sound in his throat that made Duo's entire body tense. "They're not healing like I'd hoped," he said. "If we were in Hell or even Heaven the bones would be knitting back together by now. Duo, I'm going to have to splint them. The pieces are beginning to separate again." Duo actually whimpered. "Ah . . . no other choice?" he said, licking lips gone dry. "No," came the soft response. "I do have some knowledge of herbs, though. There's a specific one that grows in standing water that numbs nerve-endings. I'll try to find some." "Thanks," Duo said faintly. "Any chance of finding one that will knock me out?" "I don't know of one for a demon," Heero said, "only humans." Duo just nodded. It was probably half an hour when Heero returned. "I found some," he said, "and I made a salve." Not trusting himself to speak, Duo just waited. The tightly-woven bandages already around his upper wings came off, and Duo viciously bit back a cry. He could literally feel the bone sliding out of place. "Ahh . . . h-hurry . . ." he gasped. He got no reply, but he hadn't been expecting one. Heero drizzled something warm and sticky over his wings, and that was all the warning he gave. In Heero's defense, he was quick. It didn't make any difference. It still hurt like hell, and Duo was practically sobbing by the time Heero finished with the first one. The only saving grace was that by that time, the numbing quality had kicked in and taken the unbearable edge off. o0o 0o0 Heero coated his fingers with the sticky salve when he finished setting and splinting both wings and massaged it into the silken feathers. Duo was panting and sweating, his eyes glazed with pain. "I shouldn't have to do that again," he soothed, gently rubbing some of the stuff onto Duo's shoulders where they connected with his wings. Duo slowly calmed, his body relaxing. Soon the pain left his countenance, color returning to his cheeks. In fact he started purring at the contact, eyes drifting shut. "Damn you know how to apologize," he mumbled. "Keep that up and I might just sell you my soul." A muscle in Heero's cheek twitched and he removed his hands. "Why do you insist on making references like that?" he demanded, rising. Duo didn't sit up, but he did turn his head to look at Heero. Surprise glittered on the surfaces of his eyes. "Why does it bother you so much?" Heero frowned at him. "You're the one who told me angels and demons were once the same. That it was us who wronged you. And yet you try so hard to live up to the stereotype we've thrust upon you. Why is that, Duo? Is it a defense mechanism? Or is it that you just don't trust me? Afraid I might have had ulterior motives in bringing you here?" Duo raised an eyebrow, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "I can honestly say there's nothing about you that scares me. I've never met such a pushover. Just mindlessly believing whatever you're told. Do you honestly just believe whatever I tell you? Over everything you've known all your life? Ever heard of being too trusting?" Heero could feel his own eyes ice over. "I don't trust you," he said flatly, "and I'll be the first to admit everything I know about your kind says you would lie to me. But while there was a time I thought all demons were lying, self-serving creatures of evil, there was also a time when I thought angels would never lie or cheat or deceive anyone. Circumstances of late have given me reason to believe that neither of these is true. Namely, you falling into my life." There was silence for a time while Duo stared at him. "I didn't mean to offend you," he said quietly. "I guess . . . you were right. It's a little hard to just . . . trust you." Heero sat back on the edge of the bed, reaching up and squeezing the back of Duo's neck. "You should try to get some sleep." He could see the demon appreciated the attention, for
in moments his eyelids drooped. He obediently lowered himself back
to the bed, making himself comfortable. Heero applied a little more
pressure until the Prince of Hell drifted into sleep. Dropping his
hand, Heero sighed. What a strange, strange day.
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