See first part for warnings.
BATTERED - PART 9
His hands tied behind him with several pieces of stiff leather, Duo watched Heero as the other man moved jerkily around the room. He shifted once, only to find himself looking down the business end of the gun. “Do you remember coming here?” Heero asked, obviously finding nothing strange about carrying on a conversation while aiming a gun between Duo’s eyes.
Deciding that Heero was too erratic to move, Duo kept his voice low, his eyes trained on Heero’s, “Last summer.”
“We had fun, didn’t we?” The dreamy quality to Heero’s voice was at odds with the determined and crazy look in his eyes.
“We did not. You did. I cleaned the entire time.”
Heero blinked at the harsh words, lowering the gun slightly. “You’ve changed. I knew if you ever spent much time with him that you would,” he said sadly, shaking his head.
“Who are you talking about?”
“Trowa, who else?” Heero spat the name, his face curling with distaste. “He always wanted you. It’s the main reason I had to make sure you were mine.”
Shocked, Duo stared for a long moment before anger began to well inside of him, overcoming the fear he had started to feel. “You knew how he felt about me? That’s why you wanted to date me?”
“It’s why I got you to move in with me,” explained Heero in a frighteningly rational voice. “I could see the way he looked at you. But I won, didn’t I?”
Hearing the crunch of tires coming up the drive, Duo talked fast in the hopes of distracting Heero. He had no doubts that Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei would be coming for him and knew he would do anything to protect them, even if it meant inviting Heero’s rage. The other three had no idea that the Heero they had known for years was gone, replaced with a creature that was terrifyingly unreasonable. “You didn’t win anything, Heero. I don’t love you. I don’t want you. I want Trowa. I love Trowa,” he finally admitted out loud for the first time. “Did you know that ever since the night I left you that I was with him?”
As Heero began to shake with rage, Duo frantically worked on the straps that were holding his hands tight behind him. If he could just get them loose he could get out of the chair and hopefully stop Heero from hurting anyone. Prussian-blue eyes narrowed on his face, “You’re lying.”
“I don’t lie. Trowa’s the one that came to get me after you left me to die. Every night I’ve slept in the same bed with him, with his arms around me, holding me close. You know the best part, Heero? I’ve even kissed him, and I felt more than I did with you.”
“NO!” Heero shouted, raising the gun up again.
His hands freed, Duo shifted just in time to dodge the first bullet. The second shot caught him in the side even as he propelled himself forward, ramming into Heero before the other man had time to realize his intention. With his feet tied to the chair, his options were limited, but he had no plans to let Heero get up again, no matter what it took. Feeling the muscles flex underneath him, he aimed a blow to Heero’s temple out of desperation, breathing a sigh of relief when his former lover went limp.
Seconds later, the door was shoved open and Trowa ran into the room holding his gun out. When green eyes fell on Duo and Heero, the gun dropped from lifeless fingers and Duo was swept away from the unconscious man and settled into Trowa’s lap. Feeling the fierce grip that Trowa had on him, he sighed and let himself relax, raising his head when he heard a commotion at the door.
Wufei and Quatre were leading a team of people, all of them armed. They all froze when they saw Trowa holding Duo, Quatre stepping forward hesitantly, “Duo?”
“I’m okay, mostly. Do you think you can get this chair off my feet?” he asked as more people rushed through the open door. As Quatre bent to the chair to deal with the straps, Duo smiled weakly at the large man that was standing beside Wufei looking guilty. “Chris, I’m not paying you overtime for this.”
He barely got the words out before he heard the sob, muffled by his own neck. Using his hands he forced Trowa to look at him, stunned by the tears he found tracking down the tall man’s face. “I’m okay, Trowa.”
“I was so scared I had lost you,” Trowa whispered, pressing his lips to Duo’s head as if to reassure himself that he was really there. “I promised I wouldn’t let him hurt you again.”
Making sure he had Trowa’s attention, he shook his head, wishing he hadn’t when it made him feel light headed. “You didn’t let him hurt me. I was counting on him shooting; I just thought he would only fire once. He managed to get a lucky shot, really, but it’s not that bad,” he said, even as he registered the horror on Trowa’s face. “I’ve had worse, Trowa.”
“Good God,” Trowa’s hands were shifting Duo on his lap, pressing to his side and coming away covered with blood, “get the medic, Wufei. Duo’s been shot.” Duo watched through a haze as Trowa yanked his shirt off and pressed it to Duo’s side, “You meant for him to shoot you?”
“No. I wanted him to shoot at me,” Duo stressed the difference, his tongue feeling thick.
“Why in the hell did you want him to do that, Duo?”
Seeing that Trowa was on the verge of hysterics, he tried to explain even as he was lifted onto a gurney, “He was going to shoot someone, Trowa. I had the feeling that you were going to be the first in the door and you wouldn’t have had any warning. I couldn’t let him hurt you.”
Realizing that he was being pushed outside on the gurney, he reached out and grabbed at one of the cops milling about the room, only slightly worried that he had to think about what he wanted to say. “Are you going to arrest him? What he really needs is help.”
“He wasn’t violent before this?” the cop asked doubtfully.
“Not like this. Heero might have had some problems, but he would never do something like this. He just…snapped at some point and we didn’t realize it.” To Trowa, who was standing beside the stretcher, he said, “I think the experiments J did on him finally caught up to him.”
Trowa’s eyes were still red, but he nodded. As Duo was taken to the waiting ambulance, a cop followed them, asking Trowa several questions. “I still have to take his statement, but I can do it at the hospital. From what we’ve found already there shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Do I have to go to the hospital?” Duo turned pleading eyes at Trowa, hoping to get out of what he considered an unnecessary visit.
“Sorry, Duo. This time you have to go. You’re going to need several stitches and you might need some blood.”
Feeling unexpectedly exhausted, Duo nodded. From the corner of his eye he saw Heero being loaded into another ambulance. “Make sure they sedate him, Trowa. He won’t be out long, and he might hurt someone.”
“I’ll see to it, Duo. You just get some rest. I’ll meet you at the hospital since they won’t let me ride with you.”
Blinking his eyes open and wondering when they had closed, he focused on Trowa blearily, “We have to talk Trowa. Soon.”
“As soon as you feel up to it, okay? Just rest now.”
Helpless to do anything else, Duo let his eyes fall closed and let the world around him fade into darkness.
The next day, Duo was straining to get out of the hospital. He hated everything in them, from the white walls and the soft voices the nurses used to the smell of antiseptic that lingered in the air. The nerves he felt from being forced to stay were only compounded by the cops sitting in the room with him. He recognized the older one from the night before, but he couldn’t recall what had been said. “I don’t really know what else I can tell you that will be helpful,” he offered, wishing that Trowa were with him. He hadn’t seen the tall man in several hours and Trowa had been strangely quiet during the brief visit.
The older cop in the room that Duo assumed was the lead detective nodded; making some notes in the small notebook he carried before tucking it into his jacket pocket. “From everything we’ve learned I doubt there will be any problems for you, or for your friends. Mr. Yuy appears to have suffered some sort of mental breakdown.”
The junior partner spoke up from where he lounged near the window, his tone insolent, “Rumor is that Mr. Yuy was once a Gundam pilot. Do you think that has something to do with his mental condition?”
Letting his anger lead, Duo glared at the man, who was a few years older than himself. “Do you think that you would be in danger if you were in a room with a former Gundam pilot?”
“Actually, yes. I heard that they were all unstable and very dangerous,” the younger man replied lazily.
Duo saw that amused expression from the lead detective and decided that a small demonstration would be appropriate about now. His irritation level was already high, and the thinly veiled insults he had endured from the younger cop just made it worse, so he didn’t censor what he said. “Then maybe you should run because I’m already in a pisser of a mood and I don’t need any shit from a snot-nosed cop that thinks he knows everything.” Briefly he let the light of Shinigami shine in his eyes, smiling with cold amusement when the man visibly flinched.
“From the interviews I already conducted, it appears you were also a Gundam pilot, along with several of your friends,” the older detective winked at Duo from his seat while talking, making Duo relax a little. “You have a lot of people that are very fond of you working for the Preventers, and Relena Dorlian also backed up your story, saying that Mr. Yuy had been quite erratic for several months. Looking closer, we also discovered his work has been going steadily downhill for at least a year, and bills that he paid on time before were being paid late, usually by one of Ms. Dorlian’s secretaries.”
Duo couldn’t stop the surprise that showed on his face at this news. Feeling a combination of pity and sorrow, he shook his head, “We never noticed there was anything wrong.”
“Your…friend, Mr. Barton, told us that Mr. Yuy had been violent toward you in the past. Was there anything specific that would set him off?”
“Last night he told me that he wanted me to move in with him so Trowa couldn’t have me,” Duo admitted, feeling his face do a slow burn. “He kept saying he won because I was with him, but I told him that he didn’t. As to before, there wasn’t any one thing that would make him angry. Anything that I did wrong in his eyes was subject to punishment.”
“So one Gundam pilot couldn’t fight another one off? You just let him beat on you? Did you enjoy it?”
Tired of the sneer in the other man’s voice, Duo pushed himself out of bed and stood beside it. “Did you know that each one of the Gundam pilots went through training before we were allowed to get inside the cockpit? Training that consisted of how to withstand drugs and torture? We were also trained on how to torture in case we ever needed to get information. Heero’s training was a bit more intensive, and the guy that trained him also enhanced him with experimental drugs that made him stronger than a normal person. There was no way I could have fought him, but I tried. I guarantee I lasted a lot longer with him that you ever would have.”
“You really think so? I bet I could have stood up to him.”
“Why don’t we go outside and you take off that badge and we’ll see how long you can stand up to me, you sorry son of a bitch.”
“Richard, why don’t you go outside and find some coffee before I let this young man prove to you that he can do what he says, bullet wound or not.”
The younger cop looked at the older one in disbelief, then crossed the room, deliberately bumping into Duo on the way out. Duo sat back on the bed, shaking his head. “His name is Richard? I figured he was a dick, but his parents didn’t need to name him that.”
The remaining policeman chuckled, “He’s a rookie and thinks that the only way to get information is by intimidating someone. One day, he’ll find out that’s not the best way. In the meantime, though, I would appreciate it if you didn’t hurt him, or I’ll have to explain it to the captain. I’m Harper, by the way. Harper Cook.” With a shrug of his shoulders, he shifted in the chair. “You don’t like hospitals much, do you, Mr. Maxwell?”
“You can’t control what’s done to you in a place like this. I don’t like being somewhere where I don’t know the people. They can give you anything and say its medicine when it’s really not. I don’t trust them.”
“Can’t blame you for that, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Your friends have been supervising every aspect of your care, and I don’t think any of the staff is brave enough to argue with Mr. Barton on what you should or should not have. He can be very formidable when he feels strongly about something.”
“I guess he feels strongly about my care,” Duo replied carefully, not sure what the cop was getting at.
“I think he feels strongly about you in general, Mr. Maxwell. That’s a rare thing to find these days, no matter what form it takes. I think we should be able to get you out of here today, if the doctor agrees. If you get Mr. Barton to speak to the doctor I have no doubts you’ll get to go home today.”
At the idea of going home with Trowa, Duo smiled. He had to agree with Harper that finding someone that cared about you the way Trowa cared about him was rare, and he had already decided he had no intentions of letting that go. After a moment his smile faded, “Is there any way that we can see Heero?”
“From what I understand, it’s going to be several days before anyone can see Mr. Yuy. Right now he’s too unstable. I haven’t even been able to speak to him yet, and from what his doctor says, I might never be able to. You can check with his doctor to be sure, but I wouldn’t count on it.” Harper stood slowly, rolling his shoulders as if a great weight had settled on them. “The best thing now is for you to get better. It’s going to be difficult to see your friend in that condition, and you should be stronger before you do, okay? That’s just a piece of advice from an old cop,” he added as he walked to the door and left without saying goodbye.
Within minutes, during which Duo tried to regain the strength he had expended when confronting the disrespectful policeman, Trowa entered the room carrying a bag that he set down on the chair. Looking past the smile that Trowa gave him, Duo saw the strain and utter exhaustion in the green eyes as Trowa came to stand beside the bed. He expected the other man to reach for his hand, as he had been doing for months, and was somewhat stunned when Trowa abruptly turned away from the bed, moving across the room to stare out the window.
The tall body was being held stiff and Duo could see the slight trembling in Trowa’s arms, but had no idea what the cause was. Until that moment he hadn’t realized how much he had needed the comfort he received from Trowa, now that it was being withheld he felt lost and much more worried than he had been before. Leaving the hospital was now far down on his list of things to be concerned about. “Trowa?” he asked, pushing himself from the bed again and swaying on his feet.
“As soon as you’re ready we can go home,” Trowa said, not turning to face Duo and making him more concerned.
“Can you talk to me first?”
“What do you want me to say that I haven’t already said?” Trowa finally turned, letting Duo see the exhaustion without any attempt to cover it up. “You put yourself in danger when I told you I didn’t expect any kind of payment for you. How the hell do you think that made me feel, Duo? You were shot because you didn’t want any of us getting hurt. You shouldn’t have been in danger in the first place.”
“Did you tell Heero to kidnap me?” Duo gripped the edge of the bed, hoping he could make Trowa understand. “I don’t think so. You’ve done everything possible to keep me safe, but you can’t control every aspect of my life. Would you be happy if I stopped working and never left the house again, because I can tell you that’ll never happen.”
“I want you to feel safe, damnit!”
Stunned at the outburst, Duo stared for several seconds before taking shuffling steps to close the space between himself and Trowa. As if realizing how weak and tired Duo was, Trowa leaned down and swept him up, then sat in a chair and settled Duo in his lap. As soon as they were seated, Duo took advantage of the situation and took Trowa’s face in his hands, moving carefully because of his most recent wound. “Don’t you see, Trowa? I feel safe whenever I’m with you. I feel safe knowing you’ll be there when I need you. When I go to sleep at night with your arms around me, I know I’m safe.”
“You were hurt,” Trowa stated, his voice dull.
“By my own choice. I couldn’t let you get hurt.”
Duo waited, watching the dawning comprehension in Trowa’s eyes. He had to smile when green eyes met his, hopeful yet wary. “Why couldn’t you let me get hurt, Duo?”
“Because I need you there for me at night, and in the morning. When I get off work in the evening and when I sit down to dinner I want to be able to see you and talk to you. Because I need you, Trowa, and I hope that you’ll be there. I love you; it just took me a long time to figure it out.” Duo frowned, “Actually, I figured it out a while earlier, but I wanted to face Heero before I talked to you. I needed to make sure that there were no feelings left for him inside me.”
“And are there?”
“Pity, sadness, confusion, but no love. If there ever was any love for Heero, it was lost before he ever hit me the last time.”
Duo was stunned when tears filled Trowa’s eyes, gentle hands framing his face, “Tell me again?”
“I love you, and it requires no payment, but I really hope you still fill the same way. I didn’t make you wait too long, did I?”
“I would have waited for the rest of my life just to hear you say that to me once. I’m very glad that I didn’t have to, though,” Trowa smiled, kissing him so softly that it was almost a whisper of a touch.
Duo’s body strained, wanting more contact yet knowing this was not the time or the place to bring up what he yearned for. Letting himself rest against the other man’s chest, he spoke quietly, “Can we go home now?”