Fire in the Hole Part 14
Duo insisted that he could shower without help. Quatre wasn't sure about leaving him, so he waited until he was in the shower and seemed all right, and then trotted downstairs to find something that Duo would eat.
A frozen container of chicken soup seemed to be his best choice. He remembered hearing somewhere that chicken soup was good comfort food. He plopped the brick in a dish and stuck it in the microwave to defrost, while he found a pan for the range. In the cupboard he found a box of soup crackers. Maybe if the crackers and soup went down all right, Duo would like some ice cream later.
He transferred the defrosted soup to the pan and set it on medium heat while he set up a tray. It smelled wonderful, he noticed a few minutes later. He might have to save a bit for his own lunch.
The door slammed. A movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned just in time to see Heero charging up the back stairs.
"Heero?" Was that... blood..? He looked at the floor. Footprints, droplets and smears of... something... marked Heero's path. "Oh, shit! Duo!" He started after him, remembered the soup, and retreated to turn the burner off, then plunged up the stairs.
He was almost to the landing when he heard a bloodcurdling scream. He froze for an instant, clutching the front of his shirt, before galloping down the hallway.
He found them in Duo's room. Duo was on his knees, struggling and screaming hysterically; Heero had wrapped him in a bear hug, holding tight to his wrists and murmuring frantically in his ear.
"Oh, my god!" Quatre gasped. "Heero! Let go of him! You're hurting him!" He grabbed Heero's arm, but the Japanese pilot shook him off and shoved him away as if he were nothing. The glare he cast was not completely sane.
"He's mine!" Heero snarled. "He fuckin' belongs to ME! You stay the hell away from him! All of you!"
Quatre stared, open-mouthed, then pulled himself together. Heero didn't intend to hurt Duo; he was just so angry he didn't realise... And Duo was sick and terrified out of his mind.
::Okay. I can do this.:: He swallowed and stepped forward again. ::I just have to get through his anger and touch his good sense.:: He met Heero's enraged eyes. ::I can handle Heero Yuy. Oh, yes I can.::
"Heero... Please let him go. He's sick. He hasn't eaten in two days."
"You're mine," Heero murmured in Duo's ear, ignoring Quatre. "I love you and you're mine!" Duo had stopped screaming, but was now weeping wretchedly, still struggling weakly in Heero's grasp.
"Heero!" Cobalt eyes snapped up. Determined to help his friend, Quatre stepped forward. He could handle Heero; of course he could. "Listen to me, Yuy," he said coldly. "Duo is sick. He hasn't eaten. He's weak and miserable and exhausted. He's anxious and scared. He had to leave a mission because he couldn't deal with the stress." Heero still glared at him, but he thought he saw the beginnings of sanity in the narrow cobalt eyes. He tried an "if-then". "If you love him, then you don't want to hurt him, Heero."
"I love him. No one is ever going to hurt him again. I'll kill anyone who hurts him," he growled.
Quatre blinked as a frightening thought crept into his mind. Heero came into the house when he was in the kitchen. Trowa was in the hanger. Wufei was in the kitchen when Quatre came upstairs. Oh, dear... Where was Wufei now..?
"Heero..." he said softly. "What did you do to Wufei?"
"I never hurt Duo. I was too cowardly to tell him that I love him, but I NEVER did anything to him that he didn't want! NEVER, Quatre!" he yelled.
::Oh, my god... He heard... Wufei... Shit!::
"Heero, you're hurting him right now," he pointed out sternly, all the while praying that Heero hadn't heard Duo's miserable revelation, but fearing that he had.
Heero blinked, and his cold brittle eyes widened as if he'd only just realised what he was doing. He loosened his hold on Duo and let go of his wrists, noticing the red marks he'd left. Duo slumped against the wall, curling into a quivering ball, still crying. Heero touched his face gently, his own hands shaking.
"Duo? My darling, my angel..." he breathed and Quatre sighed in relief. Finally his feelings were in the open! Duo whimpered, pressing himself against the wall. Heero kissed his damp hair and drew him into his arms. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to hurt you... Duo, I love you. It's all my fault; I was a coward, I was afraid. I didn't want you to love me; I didn't want you to be hurt again because of me." He ran his fingers through Duo's long hair. "Shinigami, I love you."
Duo sniffed and began to cough and Heero held him tightly.
"You... you love me..?" he gasped, trying to look at Heero without meeting his eyes.
"I love you," Heero agreed. "I thought... I thought you would be safer if you didn't love me."
Duo began coughing again and Heero lifted him in his arms to lay him on the bed, covering him with the blankets. Quatre sat on the other side of the bed stroking his cheek in defiance of Heero's glare.
"You thought..." Duo sneezed and tried again. "You thought I'd be safer?!" He glared at Wing pilot. "YOU thought! What the hell about ME?! Don't I get to make up my own mind about what I want?!" he cried angrily. "I'm not stupid, Heero! I don't need a nanny!"
Quatre held his breath; no one had ever spoken to Heero that way and lived.
But Heero rested his forehead against Duo's hair while stroking his arm. "I know you're not. I am."
"No shit! You use me, you encourage me, then you push me away and now you say you love me?!" Heero hung his head and Duo struggled to sit up. "You..." He started coughing again, gasping for breath, and Heero embraced him, patting his back.
"Dammit, Duo; why did you let him rape you?" he demanded desperately. "I never did anything to hurt you like that! Why did you let him get away with it?"
Duo pulled away from him, struggling to get the words out cleanly. "Because... because he WANTED me! When did you ever WANT me?" he sobbed. "You treated me like a chore, a damn duty! A... a convenience! A jack-off toy..." He twisted away from Heero and reached for Quatre. Heero stared at him in disbelief.
"But he used you!"
"So did you!"
"But I love you!"
"Then why didn't you ever act like it?!" He broke down then, head in Quatre's lap, choking on his sobs.
Quatre stroked his hair worriedly. "Oh, Duo..." He looked up at Heero. "Go back downstairs."
"I'm not leaving him."
"I didn't give you an option. Go downstairs," ordered Quatre, glaring at Heero.
"He's mine!"
"He's nobody's until he decides to be! Now get out of this room!"
Heero glared back at him. "Quatre..."
"You don't scare me, Heero Yuy; I'm not crazy in love with you. Get out. Don't make me say it again," he instructed darkly.
Incredibly, Heero backed out of the room, closing the door softly behind him. Quatre relaxed and then forgot about the Japanese pilot. Duo needed his attention. With a sigh, he set about making his friend comfortable.
TBC...
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