Reclamation Part 7
Duo Maxwell.
The addition of a surname carried the connotation of a duality that was in total disagreement with Duo's solitary existence, but in an odd way Heero thought it fit.
Duo was certainly a contradiction. On the surface he seemed so vulnerable but his an underlying strength had allowed him to survive on the streets. And if the tiger tattoo was any indication of his deceptive hardness then maybe he didn't need the Cluster leader to be his savoir after all.
A smile lit up Heero's face as he repeated the complete name. "Duo Maxwell."
Dual parts making up a whole.
A twosome.
Perhaps he and Heero.
Duo returned the smile, momentarily forgetting their captive condition. Without hesitation he settled down beside his newly pledged comrade.
"Thank you." Heero whispered stroking his thumb over Duo's bruised knuckles.
Duo studied the thumb's movement and for a moment Heero was afraid he would revert back to his self-imposed isolation. "Thank you for what?" came the soft question that echoed over the room's bare white walls.
"For forgiving me yet again." Heero answered, truly sorry for their shaky beginning, "We didn't start out very well did we?"
Duo shook his head. "Can we can start over?"
"Of course."
"Hello I'm Duo Maxwell."
"Heero Yuy. Pleased to meet you."
Heero paused then pressed a bit further. "I don't want to be pushy but I have one more question."
"I'll answer the question if I can." Duo set the rules of conversation.
"The soldiers said your tattoo meant you were a member of the Red Tiger Gang. Are you?"
The reference to the gang sent Duo into a keen case of trembling. His already impaired breathing came in catching gulps, color drained from his face and he showed all the signs of immediate collapse.
Heero reached out wrapping the hyperventilating man in a supportive embrace. "Easy."
Rubbing Duo's back to hopefully help regulate his breathing, Heero was stuck with his own fearful response. "You don't have to answer." he stated wanting nothing more than to have Duo calm down.
"It's all right." came the winded reply as Duo struggled to take in one good breath. "I want to tell you. I need to." he wheezed, resting his clammy head on Heero's chest.
Heero eased back against the wall pulling Duo with him. Gently he mopped back damp hair from Duo's eyes. "Take you time and you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."
Duo slid his arm around Heero's waist clutching onto him like a lifeline as an overpowering flood of dread crashed over him.
All the trepidation, the night terrors that plagued his sleep now swirled about him in a sucking vortex. He knew the only way to free himself from the dark dreams was to meet them head on. For his sanity, for Heero's sake, Duo had to exorcise the demons.
Finally exhaustion won out over the emotional tide. The panting gave way to halting hiccups and soft sobbing. Heero rocked the Duo's limp frame aware for the first time just how fragile he was.
"It's a miracle," Heero thought to himself, "that Duo is functioning at all."
*********
"Wufei." Heero whispered his brother's name.
Wufei needed to come--had to come before the OZ interrogators decided to ask questions that, for the Cluster's security, Heero couldn't answer. He'd promised Duo he wouldn't leave him but he could not give into OZ or give up any information.
At the moment Heero was certain Commander Merquise didn't know his true identity, not being shackled in a more secure cell was proof of that.
Nonetheless the Alliance's merciless mercenaries had their informational sources. It was only a matter of time before his temporary anonymity would run out and they would discover he was a renegade Cluster leader with a bounty on his head.
Heero wasn't worried about the interrogation or the persuasive art of torture employed by OZ. Perhaps the physical brutality was yet another penance he had to endure on his journey to an eternal reunion with his mother.
What did burden Heero was breaking his promise that he would faithfully remain with Duo because he knew Duo could not survive another abandonment.
Heero hadn't heard his comrade's whole story but he sensed in his soul the horrid detail even before Duo began to put his personal narrative into word.
Wufei where are you? Heero willed his brother to rescue him and Duo before it was too late.
*********
Duo wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. A trembling breath was sucked in then forced out to quiet the shudders then centered his bloodshot eyes on Heero.
His friend would hear the entire terrifying story. Once and for all Duo was going to face his fears, purge the painful memories and put the awful encounter behind him. Translating his feelings into words then voicing those words aloud was the only way Duo could be free. Yes, the time for silence was over!
Duo was certain that like most citizens trapped by the cruel circumstances of Lagrange 2. Heero Yuy would not judge or think himself superior to a deserted street rat. Heero would listen and he would understand because the young Cluster leader had experienced the same lost in his life.
"I don't know where to start." Duo admitted as the deluge of memories all vied for verbal attention at once.
Heero nodded his encouragement. "Start at the beginning." he advised.
Fighting another onslaught of panic, Duo took solace in Heero's reassuring touch and began the tale of his past.
"I have the tattoo," he explained, "but I am NOT a member of the Red Tigers. The consent."
"About a month after OZ invaded L2, my father, mother and I, in fear of our safety, left home and traveled to the Outlands and settled in a makeshift encampment with other people who had also been displaced by the destruction. Among the refugees were men and women who worked for an underground network supplying information and stolen contraband to the Resistance Fighters.
A few weeks later around midnight local officials circulated through the camp, asking questions and searching for traitorous insurrectionists.
My father woke me and told me to get dressed quickly and quietly then led my mother and I towards the surrounding forest just as an OZ Ground Unit supported by two Leo Suits arrived.
From a distance, I could hear soldiers shouting and the whine of Mobile Suit engines. There was an eerie silence then gun shots echoed through the camp.
A faltering shiver caught in Duo's voice as the horrible remembrances were replayed in his mind. "I can still hear the screams amidst the rifle blasts. I'll never forget the sizzling as bright flashes of blue-green energy beams flared over the tree line."
Heero drew Duo closer. He might not be able to quiet the ruinous recollections but he sure as hell could help Duo traverse the nightmarish maze. "I'm here, go on." he urged the retelling to continue.
Duo settled more of his weight on his protector, he was so tired. "Right before we reached the forest my father yelled for us to run then turned to face the pursuing soldiers surging from the forest like a swarm of anger hornets.
My mother and I raced into the woods being whipped by branches and tripped by exposed roots. Once I stopped and looked back but I couldn't see my father, only a sea of blue uniforms flowing out in all directions."
Duo paused and wiped his runny nose on his shirtsleeve. The method was primitive but effective. Also helpful was the steadying sigh that replenished much need oxygen.
"I was held spellbound by the unimaginable carnage, but my mother tugged me away. As we ran as hard as we could, I prayed we'd lose the soldiers in the thick underbrush. There was a concrete runoff reservoir on the wood's far side and my mother believed if we could make it passed the stagnate pool we might have a chance to escape."
Now Duo's words spilled through an opened floodgate. Even if his life had depended on it he couldn't have stopped as the verbalizing took over and he was powerless to stem the raging currents.
"We skirted around the algae choked water staying as close to the rim as possible. There was a shout from behind but I couldn't understand the words, all I knew was that we absolutely could not stop.
Suddenly my mother turned me around to face her. "My precious son." She whispered, stroking my sweat damp cheek, "Don't ever forget how much I love you."
In that single second that stretched on for an eternity I saw in my mother's eyes all the hopes and dreams she had for me and the sorrow of never seeing them fulfilled.
A shot rang out. Her hand slipped from my cheek. The sorrow faded away replaced by a vacant stare. She pitched forward catching me in her arms as we both plunged into the murky water."
Duo quivered, fought with what little strength he had left to keep the devil at bay. "I couldn't move---couldn't breathe as I was pinned under my mother's shielding body. The soldiers must have thought that I was-"
Pure pain lanced Duo's heart as this was the first time he'd willed himself to remember. Not once in five months had he lowered his barrier. Not when he wandered the cold, cruel streets. Not when hunger pangs hurt so hard he couldn't sleep or when he was too sick and exhausted to do anything but sleep.
Only when his dark dreaming unleashed the hellish demons did he vaguely recall the trauma and how he'd been baptized in bloody water. That fateful night Duo's soul was not saved but lost forever in the twilight realm between living and dying.
"Mother." he whispered as an acute ache threatened to halt his heartbeat. "Merciful saints. WHY?"
Hot tears pooled behind Heero's long eyelashes. His memories of death, his separation from his mother, cut with the same sharp pain that threatened to sever his threadbare hold on his own guarded emotions.
At that moment of shared loss a bond was formed between the Cluster leader and the orphaned street foundling who had so suddenly become the center of his world.
"I know." Heero sighed as the freely offered an empathetic connection to the brave man with the sad lavender eyes.
Duo gazed up into the Japanese rebel's misty sight and watched as tears tempered their cold blue steel and sorrow melted his hardened heart.
Heero let his finger lightly trace over the tattletale bruise along Duo's jaw regretting the angry strike. Duo was alluring in a chaste way. In his simple naiveté he didn't realize he was beautiful nor did he know how his quivering lips begged to be kissed.
Never breaking the visual connection, Heero leaned closer. The knowledge that at any moment guards burst in and tear him away from his newly discovered soul mate pressed Heero show Duo how he'd completely captured his heart.
Duo tensed as the gap narrowed, his body reacting, not from desire but increasing alarm. His mind told him that he could trust Heero but his physical scarring had not healed where thin, transparent skin had just begun to cover the wounds nor had his mind mended where raw memories festered in his brain.
"No. Please. I can't." Duo pleaded even though he longed to be loved by his savior. "Please." he repeated. How could he explain that his refusal was not a rejection but a form of self-preservation?
Heero immediately felt Duo's fear then cursed under his breath as he recalled what Duo said about the gang forcing the tattoo on him. What else had he been forced to do?
Damn you Yuy. Dredging up the past is the last thing the Duo needs now. Heero's inner voice scolded his failure to see beyond his bodily urges.
"I can not ask your forgiveness this time." Heero stated soberly knowing his ignorance might have cost him Duo's trust.
"It's not your fault." Duo declared not wanting Heero to believe there was no hope for them in the future. "It's just that I---" A disheartened sigh cut off his words.
Heero bowed his head as he berated his callous attitude. "We don't have to talk about the past anymore."
Duo put his hand under Heero's chin and with gentle pressure coaxed him to look up. "I need to finish." he whispered.
Heero nodded then gave Duo his full attention.
"I'm not sure how long I lived on the streets, after awhile the days and nights blended into a dim mass of distorted time. One night during a rare rainstorm I had huddled in a doorway trying to stay dry. I hadn't eaten in two days and had a bone-deep chill that refused to leave. I was so tired but I fought off sleep afraid that if I gave into the drowsiness I might not wake up again. I must have lost the battle and dozed off then, without warning, jarred awake as a bolt of lightning speared the weeping sky.
In that nightmarish moment, as blue brilliance flashed overhead, the memory of energy beams exploding in the camp were replayed with frightening clarity. All I wanted to do was run, to flee the gut-wrenching terror.
I raced into the street, into the pelting downpour laced with lightning but my weakness could not handle the stress. My legs gave way, I hit the pavement hard and I couldn't catch my breath. My empty stomach seized and dry heaves tried to retch up something that was not there.
Then I heard a voice shouting above the storm's angry wailing, asking if I was all right. A tall man hovered over me. A long black trench coat whipped around his legs and shaggy wet hair curtained his face.
I should've been cautious of this stranger but failing physical fortitude and mental feebleness muddled my instincts. When he offered me food and shelter I agreed without giving any thought as to where I might end up. All I could think of as I shivered in the rain was a full stomach and a dry warm bed.
I think I remember the man carrying me but I was so seriously ill that even now I can't separate what really happened and what was a product of my high fever.
Days later I recovered enough to realize the Red Tigers had taken me in. I knew the gang's ruthless reputation, they didn't need much reason to steal or rape, maim or murder. I also knew once someone was integrated, the gang was very reluctant to let them go and that I was trapped and in trouble.
The leader was Treize Khushrenada. He once held the rank of Commander with OZ but was court-martialed for disobeying orders and killing surrendering soldiers instead of taking them prisoner.
He was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to a life term in a Military Prison on L4. Less than a year later he led a prison revolt, broke out and disappeared. He then showed up on L2 and formed the Red Tigers.
Khushrenada ran the gang like an army demanding blind obedience and absolute loyalty. He viewed himself as a brilliant leader but he was nothing more than a deranged psychopath.
If he had even a notion someone was disloyal he would fly into fits of rage then chain them up in what he called his "play room" where he'd engaged in sadomasochistic bondage. His favor toy was a whip he used with enthusiasm, often to his victim's death. His fetish was pleasure and pain. Violence and fear were his persuasive tools and no one dared to oppose him."
Duo had gone pale and a sheen of sweat glistened on his face. "I tried to run away." he whispered so lowly that Heero could barely hear.
Duo didn't have to paint a picture, didn't have to explain the scars that had been clearly seen during his bath.
"Duo I am so sorry." Heero offered the completely inadequate words. Feeling helpless to ease Duo's pain, all the Cluster leader could do was keep his comrade as close as he could.
"You know I can be a stubborn bastard." Duo reaffirmed Heero's previous assertion of his underlying strength.
"The first time I was caught they took me to Khurshrenada's private quarters and he just beat me. The second time I spent two days in his play room. After that whenever the crazy bastard descended into a dark mood he chose me for his whipping boy, but by then I didn't care anymore. I gave up my quest for freedom because I believed I had no reason to hope for anything better."
"But you survived and there's hope in that." Heero proclaimed.
"Yes I survived but only because I agreed to trade sex for the beatings. That was when Khurshrenada marked me with the tattoo and claimed me as his personal whore.
I was a good student. I learned silence was the best defense against Khurshrenada's volatile temper. Each time that son of a bitch took me, as he roughly rutted and grunted and growled, I'd close my mouth and my heart. I shut away my feelings and became numb. You are correct I did survive but at what cost?"
Heero couldn't give an answer to Duo. He could not begin to calculate the high price that the abandonment and abuse had expected him to pay.
The light bulb's harsh glare accented the stark reality of war and shed light on the Cluster detestation for the Colonial Alliance and their hatred of OZ.
A tense silence so much like Duo's defensive refusal to utter a sound hung in the air, but Duo craved closure. He needed to finish the woeful tale for his sanity's sake.
"One night after an extended sex session, when I was sure my master was sound asleep, I decided dying in an escape attempt was kinder than losing my will to live.
With only tattered rags on my back I snuck out a window, evaded the guards and disappeared into the solitary darkness. Since then I've spent every day hiding and every night doing what I had to do to keep one step ahead of death."
Heero tucked silky chestnut stands behind Duo's ear. "I'll do all I can to help you." he pledged. "Khurshrenada will pay with his life for what he did to you."
"Now I need to ask you a question?" Duo made the turnabout request.
Heero nodded.
"Are you a virgin?"
"I am." Heero answered, a bit embarrassed that at sixteen he was inexperienced in the matters of the flesh.
A faraway gaze drifted across Duo's somber sight as if his mind was focused somewhere other than the bare room that served as their cage.
Heero remained quiet not wanting to disturb Duo's distant thoughts.
"That's good." Duo whispered his sight and mind still centered on whatever invisible agents held his attention. "I wish I was still a virgin." he stated with a forlorn sigh that tore at Heero's heart.
"You will always be pure to me." Heero proclaimed. "I will judge the purity of your soul and not the rape of your body. Let me hold you." he encouraged Duo to lie back in his arms. "I want to protect you. I want to offer love not lust. I'll have to earn your devotion but I'm willing to do what I must to win your trust" he promised.
Duo snuggled in his guardian's embrace. He wasn't sure how long he and Heero had shared their imprisonment or how much longer they would be allowed to be together.
Time stopped. Minutes came to a standstill. Seconds refused to tick off fractured calculations. Every moment was precious for the two lost souls seeking peace and protection in each other's arms.
"If they come for me-" Heero began.
"Shhhh." Duo whispered placing a finger on Heero's lips.
Heero closed his eyes, listened to Duo's steady breathing, became mesmerized in his heartbeat thumping against his chest and basked in their shared warmth that defied the room's clammy atmosphere.
Everything was right, as it should be. Even in their desolate situation there was hope. But if the oftentimes fickle fates would not permit them to share that optimism in life then their souls would share it in death.
The entwined pair did not hear the key inserted into the lock. They didn't hear the soft snap as the latch bolt slid back or sensed the shift of light shimmering from the hall.
A lengthy shadow cast a cold silhouette over the contented pair. Ice blue eyes observed the tender scene then a voice desecrated the soul mates sanctuary.
"Well isn't this cozy!" Commander Merquise boomed as the door slammed shut behind him.
TBC...
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