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"Worlds Apart"Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing nor any of
its characters. I only own the original characters. And nobody's paying
me to write this. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Angst, AU, Non consensual Pairings: 1x5, 2x4 (eventually) Summary: Duo meets a stranger and falls head over
heels, but Quatre is hesitant to jump into a relationship with the
braided man for reasons he won't say. "Worlds Apart"
He left his apartment and bypassed his car. He walked down streets he used to terrorize as a child, digging deep inside to pull back the memories of his time there. His gait became more fluid as he moved through the back streets that most people tended to avoid. He found the house easily enough and circled it, checking for areas that he could leave fast through if necessary. He had several options playing through his mind, and decided stealth was the best choice. He listened at a window before raising it up and slipping inside. He pulled out his knife and cut the cord to the blinds and moved to the door. Silently, he slipped around the corner. He heard paper rustling in the next room and peeked around the corner. He smirked as he saw a man sitting and reading the paper with his back to the door. He moved up behind the chair and wrapped the cord around the man's neck, pulling tightly. “Are you Bruce?” He shook his head and tried unsuccessfully to get the cord free. Duo added more pressure until the man passed out and released him. He moved back out of the room and down the hall, pausing outside of a room with the door closed. He listened as the man on the other side finished a conversation on the phone and then pushed the door open. Bruce looked up in surprise and quirked an eyebrow. “What's going on?” “I'm here to discuss Angel and Dragon with you.” Bruce sat up fully and studied Duo. “I have orders that you're to be killed if you set foot on my streets. How exactly did you manage to get in here?” “Secret of the trade,” he said. “You're going to let them go.” He gazed at Duo, amusement filling his eyes. “Is that right? They owe me a debt. Didn't your mother teach you that it's proper to pay someone back when they do something for you?” “The streets were my mother, and she taught me that everything has a price. What's yours?” “Ten thousand.” Duo smirked and reached in the inside pocket of his jacket. He tossed two bundles of hundreds on the desk. “Pleasure doing business with you.” Bruce leaned forward as Duo turned. “For one of them.” Duo looked over his shoulder. “An extra ten thousand for the other?” He shook his head. “No, you can only have one. They bring me good money and I don't have any other male whores as good as they are.” Duo turned fully back to face the man, crossing his arms over his chest. “What will it take?” He leaned his elbows on his desk. “Five thousand more, and you.” He frowned. “Excuse me?” “Give me one good ride and I'll let them go.” Duo raised an eyebrow. “I'm not for sale.” He tapped his fingers on the desk top. “But wasn't it you who just said everything had a price? If you have sex with me, I'll let him go. If you make it believable, I'll even let you keep the last five thousand.” Duo studied the man. “So, does that mean you think I'm good enough to warrant paying me five thousand just to get between my legs?” He stood and circled Duo, eyes greedily raking over him. He stood still and stared straight ahead. “You're quite beautiful. I wouldn't say you are any more beautiful than Angel and Dragon, but the unusual color of your eyes and your hair would bring in more money.” He trailed a hand up Duo's arm. “I'm sure you would have brought a pretty penny on the streets.” His hand shot out quicker than the man could possibly anticipate and caught him in the jugular, pulling him far too close to glittering violet eyes. “You never should have touched him,” he growled and brought his knee into Bruce's gut. The pimp doubled over and Duo grabbed him by his hair, jerking his head back. “You never should have touched either of them.” He spun the man around and slammed his head into his desk several times. Barely contained anger finally exploded in his chest and he shoved the pimp to the ground. He took one second to watch the man moan in pain before slamming his heel as hard as he could into the man's groin. Bruce screamed in pain and grabbed Duo's ankle, trying unsuccessfully to dislodge him. He clenched his teeth and he ground the boot into the flaccid length. “How do you like being toyed with, asshole? How do you like being held at the mercy of others?” “Stop! Please stop!” Duo sneered and leaned down to grab the man's arm and jerk him up. He pinned him chest-down to the desk. Bruce made to scream but abruptly cut off as a knife was place to his neck. “Now,” he growled into the man's ear. “The way I see it, we got some options here. One, I can slit your throat and take my friends and money back. Two, I can pay you five thousand and you let them go.” Bruce struggled, amazed at the hidden strength the brunette possessed. “Three,” he strangled out, “as soon as I pretend to agree and you let me up, I'll have my man hold you down while I take you so hard you'll never be able to take a shit again and I take both Dragon and Angel back. Besides, if you slit my throat, my men will kill you.” The threat gasped out in broken sobs failed to impact in the least. The knife dug in a bit, slicing the tender skin of Bruce's neck. “But then, you'll still be dead, won't ya? So, either way we look at it, it sucks to be you. The second choice works out best for everyone. They get to be free of you and you get some extra cash.” He leaned his weight heavily on the man. “I guess you've failed to notice this, but there's only one other person in this house and he's taking a nap right now. I could kill you and be gone before anyone finds you and they wouldn't have a clue who did it.” Bruce was many things, but stupid was not one of them. He had sorely underestimated the brunette. “Let me up and I'll let them go.” Duo added a little more pressure to the blade. “I'm not so sure I can trust your word.” “I swear. An extra five thousand and I won't bring them back.” Duo couldn't help but smirk at the fear in the man's voice. He released him and Bruce slid to the floor, hands automatically going to his abused length. With the maltreatment the area had suffered, Duo didn't see too much hope in Bruce ever getting it up again. There was a decent amount of blood pooling beneath the pimp's hands. The man took in the dangerous glint in the violet eyes and that told him truer than any of the his words that he really would have killed him. “H-h-have... you ever k-k-killed anyone... before?” Duo stood and looked down at the man. “It was self-defense... I don't want to do it again, but I take care of what's mine. You or any of your goons come for Quatre or Wufei, and I promise you that I won't hesitate, and I'm a hell of a lot faster than any of you. Got it?” Bruce merely nodded, watching as the brunette spun on his heel and left the room. “I'm glad we could come to an agreement,” Duo called over his shoulder. ****** Quatre slowly paced the living room, heart in his throat. “It's been hours. He should be back by now.” Wufei sighed. “Would you please sit down before you fall down.” “I can't. I'm too anxious.” Wufei stood and pushed Quatre to the recliner. He grabbed the towel off the end table and dabbed at the blond's sweat-dampened forehead. Worry gnawed at his gut over Quatre. “You're being a mother hen again.” “You need a mother hen at times. For such a health-conscious person, I'm surprised you let it go on like you have.” “Nothing mattered anymore,” he whispered. “But it does now, right?” He stared up at Wufei. “That depends.” The door opened and Duo came in, looking a little high strung but otherwise all right. Quatre stared at him, breath quickening. “Well?” He nodded. “I'm fine and you're free.” Quatre stood and crossed to him. “How?” “He accepted the money.” “How much?” “Fifteen thousand.” Obsidian and cerulean eyes widened. Quatre took a step back. “Fifteen... Duo, you... shouldn't have done that. I'll never... be able to pay... you back. I'm not...” He struggled to get his breathing under control and the room seemed to tilt. He reached for Duo as his vision faded. Duo caught the blond as he passed out. “Shit! Heero!” The Japanese man was already running for the door as Duo lifted the blond into his arms. Panic tore through him as they raced out of the building to Heero's car. He stretched Quatre's legs out on the seat, cradling him in his arms. He patted Quatre's cheek. “Quatre? Wake up. Please, don't do this to me.” Wufei watched from the passenger seat, brows drawn together. “I should have realized how sick he was.” “Don't beat yourself up over it,” Heero said, driving as fast as he could safely. “He hid it pretty well.” They reached the hospital and Wufei scrambled out to open the door for Duo. The braided man raced into the emergency room. “I need help!” A nurse at the desk came over to them. She took in the blond's pallor and sweat-slicked skin. “This way.” They followed her to a room and Duo laid Quatre on the bed. “What happened?” “He's had a bad cough for weeks and started coughing up blood. He got overly stressed and fainted.” She hissed through her teeth and grabbed a mask, pulling it over her mouth. She took his shirt off and began applying stickers to his chest. Another nurse put the oxygen tube under his nose and put in an IV. Quatre moaned softly and raised a hand to his forehead. “Wha-?” “Lay still for me, sweetie.” He blinked his eyes open and stared at the nurse before frantically searching for the others. Duo took his hand. “It's all right.” “What happened?” “You passed out.” One nurse untangled the wires leading from the monitor and hooked them up to the stickers on his chest while the one who'd spoken to them grabbed a chart. “What's your name, sweetie?” “Quatre... Quatre Winner.” She smiled. “I'm Diana. How long have you been coughing up blood?” He cleared his throat. “A couple of weeks.” She nodded and wrote on the file as the other nurse took his blood pressure and temperature, calling out her findings so Diana could write them on the chart. “Have you been out of the country recently.” He grunted a brief laugh which quickly turned into a cough. He turned his head to the side, gasping as more blood bubbled up his throat. Diana grabbed a towel and wiped his lips as he fought to regain his breath. He closed his eyes. “No... I haven't gone anywhere.” She tilted her head to the side. “What's your profession?” A soft noise escaped the back of his throat. “I... I quit.” “Sweetheart, I need to know what you've been exposed to.” He looked up to her. “I was... a whore.” She nodded slowly and gave him a soft smile. “When was the last time you sold yourself?” “Sunday.” She looked to the other three. “What is your relation to him?” Wufei leaned into Heero. “He and I are roommates. We've... worked the streets for years. These two are helping us get on our feet.” “All right. I want to give all of you TB tests, too.” “TB,” Quatre said in surprise. “I didn't think that was around anymore.” “Oh, it's around, though not as prevalent as it once was. There are other things it could be, but I want to test for that first, and get a chest x-ray. Okay?” He nodded. “If it is TB, how do you treat it?” “We have very effective medications that you'll need to take for at least six months. We'll discuss that more once we have the results.” She glanced from Quatre to Wufei and back again. “Would you two like for us to do STD testing, too?” Quatre glanced to Wufei and the Asian nodded. “Might as well,” Quatre answered. “We've used protection, but there's always a chance.” Several hours later, after many tests that had completely exhausted Quatre, he was settled into a room. Heero and Wufei sat on the sofa under the window while Duo sat on the edge of the bed, holding his hand. Quatre pressed the button to raise the top of the bed so he was sitting. “I'm sorry, guys.” Wufei snorted. “What? You intentionally got sick?” He rubbed his forehead. “How am I gonna pay for this?” “Don't worry about that right now.” Quatre stared at Duo for a long moment. “How is it you have so much money when you grew up on the streets and then went to an orphanage?” He shrugged. “I started working at fifteen and saved every penny. By the time I moved out of the orphanage I had forty thousand dollars.” He looked to each of them pointedly. “Saving money isn't that difficult if you have a little discipline and no one stealing it from you. You'll be on your feet before you know it.” Quatre opened his mouth to respond but fell into another coughing fit. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes as he pressed a towel to his mouth. He fell back to the bed, wheezing. “If I... don't die first,” he gasped. “You're not going to die.” “You... d-don't know... that.” He closed his eyes, swallowing. “Can I... have some water?” Duo grabbed the bottle the PCA had left on the table and handed it to him. Quatre took several long gulps and gave it back. He slit his eyes open and reached for Duo. “I'm scared.” He took his hand and held it tightly. “It's going to be all right, Quatre. I promise.” “You can't promise that,” he whispered. Duo's brows drew together. “I'm sorry. I promise I'll do everything I can to make sure you get well. Okay?” Quatre nodded and closed his eyes. “I'm tired.” He leaned forward and kissed the blond's forehead. “Get some rest. I'll stay here with you.” ****** Two days later, the tests returned with rather expected results. Quatre had tested positive for the tuberculosis disease. Heero's came back negative, Duo's and Wufei's came back with latent TB, which meant they were infected but hadn't developed the disease. Quatre gazed up at the doctor. “So, what now?” “Now we get all of you started on medication.” He looked to Duo and Wufei. “You two will only be taking one pill, but Quatre will have three. You'll need to take them for at least six months.” He looked back to Quatre. “It's very important you take them even after you start feeling better. Taking the medication incorrectly or stopping too soon can cause a relapse, and more often than not a relapse is typically more resistant to the medication.” “How long will it take before I'm feeling better?” He smiled. “Usually patients start feeling better within a few weeks and can start returning to normal activities.” “How long before I can leave?” “A few more days.” Quatre nodded, dropping his eyes to his lap after the doctor left. Duo squeezed his hand. “You all right?” He chewed his lip. “I'm terrified, Duo.” He looked up. “What if they didn't catch it in time? I don't want to die.” Duo pulled him into his arms as tears began to fall. “It's going to be all right. Remember what the nurse said? The medicine for TB is very effective.” He rocked Quatre slowly, murmuring soft assurances until the blond cried himself to sleep. He lowered the bed and laid Quatre down. He sighed and brushed blond bangs from his forehead. “He will be okay,” he whispered, “won't he?” “Yeah,” Heero answered. The next few days passed slowly for Quatre and Duo. Heero had returned to work and Wufei spent most of his time hiding away in Heero's apartment. Quatre looked from his barely touched lunch and glanced to Duo. “Have you talked to Heero today?” “Yeah.” “How's Wufei?” Duo tilted his head to the side. “Why won't he leave the apartment?” Quatre sighed. “He managed to get by on his own for his first six or seven months on the streets without turning tricks. He's actually a pretty good thief, or so he told me. He used to love crowds because they were easy to disappear into.” Duo nodded, fully understanding. “So what happened?” “He robbed the wrong guy and got caught.” “Bruce?” “No, someone Bruce did business with at the time. Wufei was brought to him while they were talking. The man was going to have him killed, but Bruce stalled him and said he'd pay the man if he'd let him have Wufei. “When Bruce told him why he'd helped him, Wufei was pissed. He said he wouldn't do it.” “I imagine that didn't go over well.” He dropped his eyes to his lap. “No. Bruce gave him an ultimatum. Make ten men cum by anal sex in three hours or die.” Violet eyes widened. “What the fuck!” Quatre nodded. “I know, it was cruel, but he did what he had to so he could survive. He was locked in a room with them and couldn't leave until they were satisfied... Ever since then, he can't stand to be around a lot of people.” “No wonder,” Duo breathed. Quatre nodded. “He's strong, but there's something... vulnerable about him. He's a great friend, and I couldn't love him anymore if we actually shared blood.” Duo smiled. “I feel the same way about Heero.” Quatre glanced away, coughing into his ever-present towel. The need to cough came fewer and far between, but he still had the urge from time to time. He calmed and rested back to the bed. “Duo?” “Hm?” “Don't tell him I told you.” He smiled softly. “I won't.” TBC...
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