Library Part 7
Wufei pulled hard on Duo's arm. "You can't just go charging in there!"
"Watch me!"
"Duo," Wufei spread his wings, effectively blocking his partner from the gateway. "Let Winner do his thing, okay? He promised to come right back out the minute he knew more."
"Heero's been in there for hours!" Duo glared at his partner. "You think they're going to let Winner just walk back out?"
"Winner isn't here on the express orders of the Ruler. He's just dropping lunch off for his friend. If there is anything to know, he'll find it out all right? Give him time to work. Winner's only been in there fifteen minutes."
"I still say we should've gotten the Head Librarian!"
"The Arch-Chancellor specifically said we weren't to bother the Librarian unless we were sure Heero was going to be mortally injured."
"He's just afraid the Librarian will start ripping people's arms off again. It was only that one time- and he had a good reason!"
"Well let's not give him another unless we have to. Be patient, Duo. We don't know for sure what they're doing with Heero."
Duo's braid twitched. "If Winner isn't back out here in 10 minutes, I'm going in- and if you try and stop me, I will rip your wings off."
"They'll just grow back, you know that right?"
Before Duo could answer, the gate swung open and Winner appeared. Wufei felt a faint rush of relief- he hated regrowing his wings.
Duo felt a rush of relief too, Winner was smiling- he wouldn't be smiling if the news was bad- would he? But then he got a good look at the person behind Winner-
"You!"
"Duo!" Winner grabbed the end of Duo's braid. "Stop! This is Trowa, my friend!"
"Well, he's not one of mine!"
"Sorry!" The man behind Winner also raised his hands. "I am really sorry. My captain has already informed me that I misunderstood his orders."
That made Duo pause. "What do you mean misunderstood?"
"Apparently there wasn't a sarcastic inflection on the 'invite Heero Yuy to the Palace.' Usually there is- which means- well, what happened this morning."
"So it was a mistake?"
Winner wondered if it was safe to let go of Duo's braid. It was twitching in his hands like a rattlesnake.
"Sort of. I mean- The Ruler did want to see him, and he did order one of the private rooms be made ready- and he kept calling it a demonstration..."
"Demonstration?" Duo repeated flatly. "What sort of demonstration?"
"I don't know." Trowa ducked behind Winner again as Duo's hair tie snapped and his strands of hair broke free of Winner's grip. "Truly! No one was allowed to go near- but the Ruler has a scheduled meeting in less than ten minutes- once that starts I can go in and check on him."
"Check on him?" Duo repeated, his hair twisting around him. "Why not free him?"
"Well, if The Ruler went looking for him after and didn't find him..."
Duo's hair shot out, narrowly missing Winner and Trowa, knocking a feather off of Wufei's wing, and grabbed a hooded figure that was trying to slip out of the gate.
"Someone is going to help me!" Duo snapped and dragged the unknown before him. "Who are you and what do you do in there?"
The hooded unknown hadn't struggled once Duo's hair wrapped around him, which Wufei thought showed a healthy sign of self-preservation.
Or maybe it was something else.
The figure twisted a little, pointing its hood in Duo's direction.
"Duo?"
Duo reached out and pulled the hood down. "Heero? What are you...? How did you...?"
"Questions later!" Wufei declared and grabbed Duo's arm. "Conversations can happen once we are someplace safe."
Duo nodded, quickly pulling Heero's hood back up and took off towards the car, still holding tightly on to his lover.
~*~
Heero hurried towards the gate, hoping that no one would stop him. True, the Ruler had let him go, but...
His hood hid most of the street and he was thankful. He couldn't deal with anyone else staring at him. Hopefully he'd be able to get back to the library unseen...
As he slipped out of the gate, hope rose in him. He'd gotten out. He was free- and then something had grabbed him and he thought his heart would stop.
"Someone is going to help me!" A very familiar and welcome voice demanded, and in a rush of relief Heero realized exactly who was holding him.
"Duo?"
"Heero? What are you...? How did you...?"
Heero didn't have time to answer before Duo's partner was rushing them towards a nearby car, calling out instructions as he went.
Duo pulled the back door open and in his rush, pushed Heero into the car door. Heero couldn't help the small noise that fell from his lips as his bruised side came into sharp contact with the door. He slid inside quickly, but his lover was not fooled. Before Heero could stop him, Duo twitched aside the cloak.
Heero grabbed the fabric back as Duo swore, wrapping it tightly around him.
"Hospital," Duo said to Wufei as he slipped in behind the wheel.
"Library," Heero countered, trying to ignore the panic that rose up in his throat at the thought of a hospital. "Please. I'm not hurt. Library."
"Not hurt? You're-"
"Please. Library." Why couldn't they understand? "I can't do it, Duo, please. No more. I want to go home."
"We'll call Po," Wufei suggested and turned the car towards the university.
"All right," Duo agreed and his hair released Heero, twining itself back into his usual braid. His hands smoothed gently over Heero's arms, obviously wanting to touch and yet at the same time, worried about hurting Heero.
Heero wished that he could just lean into Duo's arms...
But he couldn't. Not now. Not anymore.
"Winner said he'd stay with Trowa, just in case something happens," Wufei said, his gaze flickering up towards the rearview mirror and back.
"Good. We'll call the Commander once we get to the Library."
Heero focused on his hands. He had to do this. He had to. He repeated it over and over, losing track of Duo and Wufei's conversation.
"Heero?" Duo's voice finally broke his concentration.
"Hn?" He didn't look up.
"We're nearly there. We'll go in- get you settled and call Wufei's medic friend. Then we're going to fill out the paperwork and get the Commander to perform the ceremony-"
Heero bit his lip hard. "It's too late, Duo."
"Heero-" Duo's voice was so full of guilt that Heero's chest hurt.
The car stopped and Heero glanced out of the window. The back parking lot- right up against the Library's back door. Perfect.
"Don't!" He said as Duo moved to open the door. "Please stay here."
"You're injured- someone needs to tend you," Wufei said quietly when Duo froze.
"No. I can do it. If there's one thing I learned today, it's that the monsters like me need to take care of ourselves."
"Heero! You're not! What did they do to you?"
"I am." Heero bit his lip, focused on the door. "I always was. I... I loved being with you. But it wouldn't work with us. It couldn't last. I knew that at the beginning- and now..." He wanted to say more, assure Duo that it wasn't his fault, that he'd never forget their time together.
But the words caught in his throat.
So, he pushed the car door open and ran for the back door, hoping that Duo would understand.
TBC...
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