Author's Note: Moffit brought to my attention the fact that Wufei bombs the Victoria Base dormitories, killing most of the young soldiers while they're sleeping. I totally forgot about that. Kind of puts a different spin on things...
"If I died tomorrow, would this song live on forever? And here is my... unopened letter to a world that never shall reply..."
- The Ataris
Bound Part 15
Dancing in Spiderwebs
Duo woke up slowly, feeling like he was rising from the depths of a dark well. But once he realized he was waking up, that he wasn't really dead, he woke quickly, ready to kill from the moment he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a spiderweb constructed in the corner of the ceiling; a shaft of moonlight shone onto it from the window, making it seem to glow.
// Where am I? // He closed his eyes and felt. Bedsheets. There was a pillow beneath his head. He was in a bed. A real one.
He tried to breathe, but his nose was swollen. He took a deep gasp through his mouth and turned on his side.
Well, it wasn't exactly a bed. A cot, to be more exact. The bedsprings creaks as he shifted his weight.
He looked blearily around the room. Wood paneling. He could tell by the warm, dusky tones of the light that it was just after dark. But how had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was being picked up... picked up...
// Oh, shit. //
He closed his eyes again and rubbed his face wearily, wincing when he accidentally brushed his tender swollen cheek and eye socket where one of the guards had hit him. He remembered now. Picked up by none other than the great Milliardo Peacecraft.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Just great.
Duo's eyes finally fell on the bed next to him. This was a real bed, not a cot like the one he was lying on. And in it...
// Heero. //
The Wing pilot was lying sprawled gracelessly in the large bed. His injuries were dressed properly now, there was no makeshift first aid here; his shoulder was wound with gauze and ace bandages, and his opposite arm hung in a soft sling over his bare chest. The dark stains on his face that Duo had first mistaken for bloodstains were actually iodine stains to disinfect his wounds.
"Heero," Duo whispered. He sat up with a groan, pushing the blanket off of him, even though it felt really nice to be in a real bed for a change, a bed with sheets and blankets.
He wasn't prepared for the wave of dizziness that hit him, and he almost toppled before steadying himself against the mattress of the cot. His shorn hair fell in his face again, and he brushed it away irritably, wondering again how Heero could ever stand having his hair in his face all the time.
The Wing pilot didn't answer him. Heero was sleeping hard, his breathing soft and deep. Slowly, trying not to fall down, Duo stood up and walked over to the bed, crawling onto it and curling up next to Heero, putting a hand on Heero's forehead. It was damp with sweat, but cool. His fever had broken. That was something, at least.
When he felt Duo's hand on his forehead, Heero let out an almost soundless sigh, turning his head to face the Deathscythe pilot. Duo drew his hand away quickly, afraid of waking Heero up.
Heero opened his eyes slowly, dazed for a moment, staring through him, before focusing on Duo's face.
The two just looked at each other for almost five minutes, unable to tear their eyes away. The weight of things unsaid made the air heavy, like the windless calm before a thunderstorm.
Finally, Heero spoke, his voice soft and hoarse "We're captured again, aren't we?"
"Yup. Most thoroughly fucked, 'Ro. And that's no lie."
Heero smiled a little, closing his eyes.
"Glad I could brighten your day, sunshine," Duo said cheekily, grinning. It was a weary smile, but it was a real one. "What's so funny, oh perfect one? Find a situation even you couldn't get out of?"
"At least we're here... and we're not there."
They were quiet for a moment, each thinking his own thoughts.
"Hey Heero."
The Wing pilot glanced over at him, silently.
Duo couldn't meet his eyes. The Deathscythe pilot's face looked strangely flushed. "Well... about what you said... you know, when Zechs came..."
Heero suddenly sat up, grimacing in pain, and put his hand over Duo's mouth. Wide violet eyes regarded him over the back of his hand.
"I love you," Heero said, simply. His voice was soft, but firm. Confident. His face was completely and utterly serious. His cobalt eyes practically blazed. "If we're going to be killed, I needed to say it... And that's all you need to know."
Heero drew back and laid against the pillows in exhaustion, closing his eyes again.
Duo couldn't pull his eyes away from Heero's face. Couldn't comprehend what he had just heard. No one... no one had ever said those words to him. Not since Solo, and not even Solo had come out and said it outright.
No one.
Part of him never wanted to hear Heero say those words ever again. They terrified him. A part of him never wanted to stop hearing them.
"I love you too," he whispered into the darkness, pressing his cheek gently against Heero's good shoulder. His hand rested across Heero's chest and he slipped it into Heero's, their fingers intertwining.
But Heero's breathing was soft and even.
He was asleep.
TBC...
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