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"The Rescue"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Drama/Romance Angst Pairings: 1x2, 3x4 Summary: When liberating Duo from a prison camp, Trowa is rescued from brainwashing, and both Quatre and Heero are free to love them. The war may be over but peaceful it is not. A/N: Thanks go to Waterlily for the edits " The Rescue" Chapter 9 Time did pass. And I was living in the here and now again instead of the twilight of incarceration. And if I had been a time-traveler, then it could have happened a lot sooner. I could have gotten here as soon as now! Yeah, well. As good as space travel has been, the engineers never figured out how to do time travel. There were many times that I wished I could go back in time and undo the last year. I wouldn't have allowed Trowa to be drawn into the web of OZ, for one thing, and I would have quit Preventers. So would have my friends. Then I wouldn't have had to go through the pain, the recuperation, and losing the lower third of my braid! And Heero and I would have bonded sooner; at least, he said he'd been ready to tell me how he felt, but then held off when Trowa had been taken and Hilde and I took on that awful mission. Our last one, in fact. And then there was the fallout from that. And then I fell down some stairs... I truly felt bad for me and what I'd had to endure in the prison camp, but I also felt terrible for Quatre. I can't say I wholly understood what he was going through, trying to put back together his relationship with his lover, but I commiserated with him when I could. Trowa had been brainwashed, drugged, and subjected to advanced OZ programing for his role. He hadn't had a choice. That he'd been able to break through all the conditioning and release me had been a miracle and an amazing testament to his character. And the miracle was tied to Quat's "space heart", which he'd used to reach out to him, and, I learned, to me. His message of love had sustained me there at the end and probably guided Trowa's heart and mind and, therefore, his hand, so as to avoid killing me. Only my braid had suffered the indignity of being shortened, not that it's important. At all. And Trowa's friends knew that he hadn't meant to hurt me. I knew it, too, but, damn, if I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye or even talk to him over a phone. He wasn't reaching out either, so it wasn't just me. The experience had caused some profound psychic damage to both of us that intellectual understanding or stupid counseling had yet to completely heal over. Funny, though, how my braid became the center of a problem for a while. Heero, unbeknownst to me, had asked Quatre for the excised piece to be returned. I didn't even want to see it, but he had it in his head that it was a part of me and belonged with me, or, actually, him. I hadn't even known the hank was still around. It wasn't until I got a frantic call from a tearful Quatre pleading his case to preserve the treasure that I learned what really was going on. Quatre had taped the cut end, and someone else with a forgettable name (one of his sisters?) had bound the end tightly in a complicated twine weave, so the hair wouldn't come loose. Quat really liked that there was a little red tassel dangling off the end, too. He also said that Trowa had taken to holding onto it like a teddy bear, or security blanket. Naturally, I told him to keep the damn thing or toss it. Whatever. "Hey, 'Ro? We gotta talk." The crisis had reached its highpoint with Quat's call and then ended satisfactorily a few hours later. Heero was the one who had wanted my bit of hair as a keepsake or something he couldn't exactly explain. So I gave him something else he wanted more, more essential than a hunk of hair. I mean, a nice place with lots of windows and a view of the trees in the park was freedom for me and Heero decided that it was for him as well. Oh, I got us the place indirectly, for sure. I had to become a "problem case" for the Preventers staff first, but it all worked out. (o) Fighting in the war more than being duty-bound Preventers agents prepared the young men and woman for trials of the rescue mission. Adrenalin pumped strength, nearly instinctual survival skills, hair-trigger reaction times all led to a winning performance combination. What it hadn't prepared them for was caring for psychologically damaged friends. They fell naturally into pairs: Wufei tending Hilde, Quatre watching over Trowa, which left an unprepared Heero with a handful of Duo. Heero didn't complain, but he was concerned that he wasn't doing everything right, or to the nth degree, or second-guessing what might be needed. He didn't shirk his duty, but he drove nearly everyone in the medical community to drink with his relentless questions. Duo was content and completely oblivious. Hilde was the least effected and rebounded quickly. She met independently with both Trowa and Duo and engaged them in long conversations, and it did help them to talk to someone involved but not damaged. One piece of confidential information she passed along was the successful closure of the prison where Duo had been held. The men had been freed and treated and returned to their families. The facility had been obliterated. The Resistance was winning territory and OZ was losing it. Who was responsible? Not Preventers. No. Not them. Hilde wouldn't say, couldn't say, directly, but Rashid sent his regards, she said. Trowa and Quatre had a complex relationship before the mission, one that included commitment and love and signatures on closest-of-kin papers. This meant that after Trowa was examined by the Preventers doctors, and cleared of physical injuries, Quatre could sign him out and whisk him away to be cared for privately. Duo had no agreements with anyone, meaning he was under the care of the Preventers hospital until he could return to the barracks and eventually work. Heero entered the office of the doctor in charge. The problem was Duo. "We can't release him to the barracks because he associates it with his incarceration. His mental state requires that he not live entirely alone either." Heero understood perfectly how that could be true. "What can I do?" The good doctor was pleased he'd asked. "The commander has given permission for Mr. Maxwell to be released into the home of one of his close friends. His choice." Heero nodded fractionally. "He chooses you." "I have no place of my own or I would be happy to invite him." "Preventers personnel resources has prepared a list of suitable places, for your convenience." "They want me to secure a residence and move in... and move Duo in, too?" Not that Heero minded at all! He only wanted to make certain that he'd understood the parameters. "If you like. You may look for a place of your own choosing, of course, but Preventers is offering to subsidize part of the rent for one of these. Would you like a day or two to think about it? I can't give you more, I'm afraid. He's very unhappy here and it is my opinion that any improvement from this point forward will only come with a new environment." Heero stood and extended a hand to take the housing list. "Mission accepted." (o) Heero accepted our co-habitation living arrangement far better than he had the shortening of my braid. Like I'd said, it signified freedom at last from being under Preventers ever searching eye. Living with Heero has been interesting. So far, he hasn't told me what he'd had on his mind to tell me before the mission gone wrong. And I haven't asked. Believe me, I'm not opening a can of worms which turns out to be snapping snakes that will bite me in the ass. I spent a lot of time in my bedroom, looking out my window at the park, the moving leaves, and listening to the peaceful sounds of barking dogs and laughing children. Heero and I take turns learning to cook. Enough said about that. We eat takeout every other night. I know he's worried about me. I don't know how to reassure him that I'm okay. He and 'Fei and Quat get together and compare notes, I know. He tells me how everyone is doing. After "the braid" ordeal, Trowa kept his precious security Duo-hair-clump, Quatre was happy, and God knows Heero and I were satisfied with how the conflict turned out seeing as we were living under one roof and I wasn't working. I guess it helped Trowa to believe I forgave him, although I hadn't psychically processed everything that had happened to me, or him, and certainly hadn't cleared him of his egregious errors-not in my book. It wasn't just the hair he cut; he gave me a knock-out pill! Okay, it didn't kill me. It let me miss all the excitement. Made me miss Heero kicking OZ ass! I hate those pills. I could have helped in the escape rather than have been a lump, although Wufei says I was better off the way I was. I could kick 'Fei's ass for that assessment of my abilities! Not really. Only in my dreams. He's gotten far tougher than me. I admit it. I'm becoming humbled by my friends achievements, by their greatness-es. Hey! And I'm not a vindictive person! It's just that Tro and I have got some history. This wasn't the first time I'd encountered the OZ-team Trowa. And if Quatre hadn't been around, not to mention the rest of my buddies who busted me out, who knows what the dude wouldn't done to me? I wondered, but not too much about that. It didn't happen. Don't like to dwell on "what if's?" Several meetings took place at the Preventers building during this time of "healing", the purpose of which was to review what had gone wrong with the missions. Wufei, Heero, Quatre, Hilde, and I were the guests of honor. Not Trowa, since not much had gone right and he was even more... unhinged, lets say, than I was. At one of the earlier, memorable gatherings, Une brought in her anti-terrorist specialist after having examined Trowa. "It's been determined that Trowa Barton was subjected to a very aggressive brainwashing method of drugging in combination with hypnosis-" I don't think she'd gotten any further before Quatre was on his feet screaming. He was upset that Trowa had been impressed into missions where he was impersonating an OZ commander. He'd been promised that that would never happen! He was filing suit! He had the money to pay for it! He'd see Une in court! He was removed from the room and I was nearly as well, because I was cheering, "Sue, sue, sue them for all they're worth!" Heero was convincing in the role of my protector, convincing the powers that be that I was still in recovery and to be treated gently. I was still recuperating, and he hadn't left my side for more than the time it took to take a shower. He pressed a tiny kiss onto my temple following Quat's outburst and I settled down to listen to the psychologist explain how even a man like Trowa could be taken in. "Fighting in a war can be very exciting. It's like 'Dungeons and Dragons,' " he said, speaking of the fantasy role-playing game. "Combine that with a sense of purpose that can take on a religious dimension, and it can be personally redemptive and transforming." "They see that OZ is oppressed by the regime in charge, and they take on a convert's zeal," he said. "It works best when the victim is undergoing cult mind-control indoctrination in concert. These include isolation, hypnosis, sleep deprivation, dietary manipulation and the programming of phobias." "We should be using our knowledge of mind control psychology to undermine the control and power of the people on top of these terrorist organizations," he said. "Agent Barton requires proper counseling, but he will become a tremendous resource in the war against OZ." Good thing Quatre was already out of the room before he heard that one. Wufei and Heero weren't, though, and I got to say the Fei-man can still lose his cool like nobody's business. After exploding with anger, it was Heero who lay down the law. "Trowa will receive the best counseling and care possible in the universe at Preventers' expense and then he will never tread foot inside a Preventers establishment again." "Never!" I added for reinforcement. It was Wufei who presented the lecture to support our position. He utilized the "ask questions" form of instruction, supplying the answers as well so as not to allow the idiots in the room any room for misunderstanding. I liked Wufei more and more the longer I got to know him. As he once said: Eloquence provides only persuasion, but truth buys loyalty. "Gloating-and you are gloating, I recognize gloating- and wallowing over successes even before the success is total is not only premature, but also carries with it the risk of people losing focus on the task at hand. What is this task? Preserving the peace. And who are we? A military peace-keeping organization. Let's not forget that it is still the military that is ruling Earth and the colonies. And a military in power is never a good thing." I think I completely forgave Trowa after that a snappy little speech of Wufei's-talk about a good time. I applauded. So did Heero. The three of us collectively left the room. Next time, if there were to be any next times, we would bring lawyers. For the time being, the only thing we could do was wait and watch. The outcome of the meeting, well, who could know? One thing was that it gave me plenty to think about, mostly that Trowa was not my enemy. He'd been used as much as I had been, even more so. It bears repeating: the upshot was: Trowa was not at fault. We were both victims. And my stupid hair would grow back. Eventually. It wasn't very important. Really. Not even the stupid knock-out pills. (o) One thing that had changed about Duo, which Heero had not expected, was that he preferred the out-of-doors to enclosed rooms. When he revealed this new characteristic to Quatre, he changed the venue and progress began toward getting Trowa and Duo to meet again. "That makes sense!" Quatre said, relieved. "Brunches, dinners, even a poker night-I'd arranged all our previous meetings indoors. I should have picked up on Duo's feelings." "I don't know how you could. He's been jailed before without lasting effect," Heero said. "I know, but I usually have a knack for just knowing." The young man smiled at his friend. "I just know everything will work out." "Eventually." Quatre smiled wider. "Now, let me be optimistic without having to defend myself." "All right. I'm not sure." Duo being "fine" wasn't a definite. He had been damaged this time. He smiled less, but insisted that when he did, it meant something, which was promising. After ending the call, Quatre punched up a friend's number, one who had proposed her home as neutral territory several weeks ago. Catherine Bloom owned a home on the circus' over-wintering property. There would be a tent to sit under should it rain. Horses to ride. Funny toys. A trampoline! And best of all, everyone seemed excited to go there and had accepted the invitation. Even Trowa. Even Duo. When the day arrived for the get together, Heero worried that Duo might duck out at the last minute, so just before sun up he arose to make coffee. "Hey! Just in time." Duo yanked a sweatshirt over his head. He was wearing shorts. "I'm going for a run." "Have you eaten?" Heero asked, trying not to admire the fine looking pair of legs. "Nope!" Heero frowned and looked over the kitchen before resting his bag of groceries by the sink. "I guessed you'd skip breakfast." "I'm going running." "You never go running," Heero reminded him. "I'm starting today." "Okay, but if you aren't back in an hour, I'm going after you." "Fine. I'm going around the park and back." Duo shook out his arms and stretched his Achilles pushing off a wall while his roommate watched. "I have to work off the stress." "I'll be here," Heero told him. "I'm making pancakes with blueberries." He looked up from the basket of berries he was washing. "One hour." "Right!" Duo made it back with enough time to spare to shower before Heero had two tacks of cakes ready, fresh berry topping, coffee, and bacon. They both dug in, grunting with enjoyment, but not talking until their plates were clean. "This is nice." "What is?" Heero wondered. "This!" Duo gestured grandly at the plate of food and then extended it to include the room and Heero. "Including me?" "Yeah, the food, the cook, the company. You especially. It's all good." All good. Yes, Heero felt the warmth spread through his chest, it was all good. "This is a... nice place. The kitchen is large." It was the perfect opening, but he didn't take it. Everything was going so well. To suggest sharing more than a home might not only rock the boat but sink the ship. He wanted Duo to feel he could stand on his own two feet. Maybe get a job and have freedom to choose whether he wanted to live alone or stay. "I like the view, too. Thanks for helping me get it." The corners of Heero's mouth turned up in a small smile. "It was my pleasure. We should go." He paused to gauge Duo's reaction, but Duo only nodded in agreement as he led the way out to the car. (o) Heero and I arrived at the circus camp exactly on time and just as Wufei drove into the lane with Hilde. Quatre and Trowa's car was already parked. When I talk, I use my hands. I like to add highlights, I guess. So, while we approached our meeting place, I "accidentally" let one hand touch Heero's. On my third pass, his hand clasped mine to hold it still. My entire being was centered on that hand. Tingling. When he didn't free it, I looked over to watch him watching me. I smiled to let him know I was happy and squeezed his hand so he'd know I was happy with the contact. "There they are," he pointed out with his free hand. Playing it cool. As if we held hands on strolls all the time. Maybe we would now? I could see them sitting in on benches under the large red and white striped tent. Trowa was shooting one hand through an imaginary ring. I imagined his description of the daredevil act and how Quatre seemed totally caught up in the moment. That's how two people in love should look, I was thinking. And that did it for me. Seeing how Trowa made Quat look at that moment and all healing I'd been going through jelled into complete the compassion and forgiveness. He wasn't the enemy, Trowa was my friend's lover and heart-mate. Heero freed my hand, and I immediately felt the loss of my hand-hug, but I had something important to do. I walked right up to them, ignoring the tentative looks, and gave Trowa a hug. I could feel his arms slowly enclose me and rub up and down my back. "I'm sorry." Trowa's voice was a low whisper and emotion-packed. "Me, too, but it's all behind us, K?" His nod came slowly. "How are the ribs?" he asked, meaning my broken ones from the prison episode, and released his hold on me. "Ribs?" I perked up pretending to misunderstand and stood back, ending our contact. "Hey, Cath? You cooking us ribs for lunch?" And with a few laughs at her indignant "No, I am not!" response, our party picked up where it might have left off had we had this meeting months ago and been paired off as we now appeared to be. "Give him the box, Trowa." Quatre smiled at me. "They're for you," Trowa said, nudging a carton holding a vase of flowers. "Flowers? Oh, man, these yellow ones are my new favs! Thanks, bro'! Hey, 'Ro! Take a look!" "Nice," Heero said but he was sniffing them not looking. "What are these?" Trowa brushed aside his bangs and smiled up at him. "Freesias. You always forget." "I do." Heero shook his head. "But you don't." That caused Trowa to react with a blush. "I make sure my shop always has them in stock." Trowa owning a flower shop struck me as kinda strange, at first. Heero told me it was a creative outlet for a sensitive soul. I hadn't thought of him in that way, but looking at him now, relaxed, at peace...yeah... he'd found his true calling. "And you always have colors I like," I added. Quatre laughed at that. "You like anything bright. You are so easy to please." "You hear that, 'Ro? I'm easy to please." "That's because he doesn't have to live with you," Heero quipped, moving away a couple steps before he had to deal with my denial. I knew he was joking, really. Yeah, Trowa was a little foggy, but he'd always been a quiet man, so maybe without the threat of the call of duty hanging over his head, he was more relaxed. "Have you noticed how...careful Quatre is of Trowa?" I asked Heero, never far from my reach. Hilde and Wufei sauntered over into the conversation circle. We exchanged smiles, nods, and waves. "I was thinking it the other way around," Heero said. "I think they are good for each other." "Quatre's always needed someone to take care of, and Trowa's finally letting him," Hilde said, "That's all." Hilde was awfully smiley and held 'Fei's hand. He didn't even mind the contact. She was working for a consulting firm in a manner similar to Quat, so that she might still have contact with the Preventers organization, but she would have more say in the operations she participated in. And so, I understood him to say, would Wufei. I had known that she was interested in him, but in my estimation, I'd say now that he was in love with her. That was nice. "Would you like a tour of the house?" Catherine asked. "It's very old and we've maintained it just as it was centuries before. This was the manor house overlooking the farm and grazing land. When the circus bought the land for over-wintering the equipment and animals, it came with the stipulation that the house remain intact. I just love it!" "Yeah," I agreed. She led us up the staircase to the top story with turrets projecting out for scenic views. I was gazing out one window with very old, I was told, watery glass, when I felt an arm settle across my shoulders. "How are you feeling?" It was Heero's voice so close that his breath brushed over my ear, sending shivers through me. He must have felt it, too, through his chest pressed against my side, because he let go. That was too bad. I wasn't getting used to his hugs yet, but I craved them. He put so much passion into a simple embrace, so much feeling, that he left me flying high, carried away on a cloud. He said he learned how to do that from Quatre, which made me wonder how that came about, but I didn't ask. That would have made me sound jealous and small. "I'm feeling great!" I danced a little to show him just how great. "Ready to make some changes! I'm more than ready to find a new job. I'll be a new man in no time!" I crowed confidently. As it turned out, it took me hardly more than no time to make that change; in fact, exactly the time it took to miss a step and take a tumble down two flights of stairs. (o) Time mends all things. We get up in the morning just before sunrise and sit comfortably in a place where we can watch the sun rise. I like white flowers and touches of green on the coffee table and in old tin cans on the side tables...oh and of course, heaps of candles and tea lights. Trowa likes blue marbles best. Together, we take deep breaths. Slow and rhythmic. Inhale and exhale. We watch the sun as it rises and feel as if we are one with the most powerful form of energy we know. It doesn't take long until we feel all our negativity flow into the sun and burn up. We let the sunrays give us mental strength. Drawing from it, we formulate new ideas and attain good health. The more we do this, more of the negative energy we rid ourselves of and the more positive we absorb. Our lives are now the best we have known. We are closer to one another than we have ever been. We visualize our future as bright as the sun and are thankful for all the comforts we have. And our friends. We bask in that glory each and every day. - from Trowa and Quatre Winner (o) Once during a recuperative period following my confrontation with Treize Khushrenada, Sally Po, lent me a collection of Chinese proverbs. She meant for me to use it to pass the time, most likely, but I found myself increasingly drawn to the wisdom, simple and useful as guiding principles. I had learned a few of the catchier ones or the father-knows-best truisms as a part of my childhood education on L5, but many contained within this book were new and fresh. On visiting Duo subsequent to his fall, I carried the book with me to share with him. One, I read aloud: "A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials." He laughed until he cried over a re-cracked rib. "I gotta be near perfect by now, don'tcha think?" One saying turned my feet from a path of destructiveness and onto one of wholesome development. I paraphrase it here: "A man should find friends who are better than himself. There are plenty of acquaintances in the world; but very few real friends." I realized that I had found several good friends, and one that stood out as very special. I married my best friend, Hilde, with the onset of spring. My closest friends all attended the short ceremony and wished us well. I had been accepted at the Sanc University of Arts and Letters, and Hilde had found an entirely new job working in the school's audio-visual center, far away from the pressures of the Preventers organization. With a clear vision for our future and a great outlook on life in general, we found perfect happiness and harmony in our lives, now combined into one new one. - from Wufei and Hilde Chang (o) Heero and I, well, we already shared an abode, establishing the groundwork for what was to come. Right after I woke up in the hospital after the staircase-descent gone wrong, a new understanding took hold: we needed one another. And from that realization came the next: we wanted one another. This actually culminated a few minutes later with us concluding that we wanted to spend every waking hour left to us in this lifetime together. Once we got going, we moved fast. When I think back, I can't believe it wasn't a dream. I opened my eyes and Heero was sitting by my bedside. I can remember the smell of chemicals. "Doctor Po treated your hair with lice medicine." "Again? I thought that was over and done with months ago?" Obviously not, Mr. Maxwell! It stank. "When they examined your head for injury, a few new nits were found. She thought it best." "Yeah." I must have looked angry or something because Heero looked really forlorn. "Do you want to leave?" "Yeah," I said, naturally. Who wants to stay in a hospital? "Do I have clothes?" "I brought some." Heero helped me get up with bandaged ribs (again!) and balance on my one good leg, the other having a broken ankle to deal with, and even tried to button my shirt for me. I was about to push him away, when he just leaned into my face and kissed me on the lips. I sat back onto the bed, shocked, and he looked away, as if he was considering making a run for it, but what he'd heard was an orderly bringing in a wheelchair. "I'll take that," Heero told the hospital helper. "You can go." Heero helped me get seated and then he held my head in his hands and kissed me again. I was stunned, believe me, to deeper silence. He released me, picked up a small bag of drugs, and started rolling me out the door. "You are awfully quiet. Aren't you ready to go?" he asked. "To the house?" Yeah, it just occurred to me I didn't know where I was, what country, what planet, even. My head was spinning from the kiss. "Our home," he said. "Oh, yeah, right. That home." "Yes. On earth." He smile was a little crooked like he was teasing me. "So I can take care of you while you recuperate." "Okay, so I'd, like, live with you awhile longer?" "Yes, as long as you'd like." That was a huge relief. I never wanted to just assume he and I would keep going. He wasn't the kind of guy who ever talked about how he felt. Nor was I, actually. We just went with the flow, which had been good of late. But this was a change. Another change. I felt unsure of where we stood and I hadn't started looking for a new job and it certainly wasn't going to happen soon now. That made me cautious now about just assuming Heero wanted things to go on as they were. "I feel like such a bother. It may be awhile before I can afford to get back to L2. I've probably lost my lease, I haven't paid up and this mission took way longer than expected-" His odd expression combining "what the fuck are you talking about?" and "you poor, poor thing" stopped me in my verbal tracks. Then he shook his head and gave me that odd little smile I'd found lurking around his lips a lot lately. "Take your time. Take forever," he added in near-whisper. "For...? You mean-?" You mean have a relationship kind of forever? "Don't you?" I hadn't thought it would happen, especially this way, so easily, but-"I guess. We can do this." "Yes, we can," he stated as if he was absolutely sure without a shred of doubt that we were a perfect fit and were truly committed for life. Something Wufei had read to me suddenly popped to mind: "If we don't change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed." "Okay." I wrapped my arms around my middle, shoring up those sore ribs. He stopped and knelt in front of me. Right in the middle of the hall with people milling about. "It was your laugh that I'd fallen in love with first," he told me. In love. Oh! "Your hands," I told him. "Yep, it had been your hands I'd fallen in love with first, well, I don't know about first, but it was important, giving me scalp massages-in spite of the lice infestation." Love. We were in love and admitted it. I'd been rescued; we all had been in a way, from the enemy, but also from that terrible villain, loneliness. One kiss was followed by another, with many more on the ride home. Oh, and it was some ride! - from Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy
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