Ifrits & Angels 5
When two- well, whatever the hell they were- beings were angry, the worst possible thing to do was put them both in a car together, Heero thought and hoped they'd make it to the hotel in one piece.
Barton had tried, bless him, he truly had. He'd made Chang drive the car, which put him out of range. He'd put himself and Winner in the seat that faced backwards, sticking Winner against the far window so that Heero and Duo could take the opposite seats- and Heero made sure he was the one across from Winner. Barton had reintroduced himself, asked Heero about the translation, the weather, his work at the university. Heero had done his best to answer, but it was hard to ignore what was happening beside him.
Duo was glaring at Winner- and Heero would swear that the air around him had dropped several degrees since they'd gotten in the car- you could almost see the frost forming on the seats.
Winner was studiously ignoring Duo, his gaze focused outside the window- but Heero noticed that his clothing was moving- almost as if Winner was sitting in a strong breeze- and the air around him was warm- you could see the heat shimmer around him.
Being stuck between them was very like standing in a hot kitchen in front of an open freezer- and getting worse by the moment.
Heero was worried. Duo was clearly furious and Heero hoped that he'd be able to stay in control. For all the talk about him obeying Heero's orders- Heero wasn't quite sure he would if things got out of hand. Even if they didn't- he couldn't guarantee Duo's good behavior forever- he was only human after all. At some point in the future, he'd die- and what would happen then?
Of course- considering how Duo and Winner were acting... that point might be closer than he thought.
"We're nearly there," said Barton and the corner of his mouth curved. "Then we can just go have a drink and let them fight it out."
Heero bit down on his lip, Winner shot Barton a glare and Duo growled.
"Thank all the gods," returned Heero. "I think between the two of them I'm getting a sunburn and frostbite at the same time."
Much to his surprise, Winner turned faintly pink- and the heat suddenly let up. A moment later, the cold faded too and Duo murmured a faint 'sorry', turning his attention to his window.
Barton's smile widened and he winked at Heero. Heero wasn't feeling nearly so cheerful- sure, they'd stopped fighting now- but once they got out of the car?
A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of a hotel. Heero let Barton and Winner get out first before following with Duo. "This way," Barton led them towards the stairs. "We have a suite here- and there's plenty of room."
Heero wasn't sure it was a wise idea to stay with them, but for the moment it would do.
Once they reached the suite, Barton ushered them inside. He gave Chang a look and much to Heero's surprise, Chang excused himself to go and catch up on some paperwork.
Winner walked over to stand by the window, the sunlight streaking through the glass lit him up as if he was on fire. "I truly didn't know you were down there," he said, his voice barely louder than a whisper. "I swear it- I didn't know."
"You could have come and looked-" Duo retorted.
"No. It was sealed against my kind- you have to know that- we wouldn't have left you there-"
"Did you even notice I was gone?"
"Of course we did." Winner sounded tired. "But- so many went missing- we thought- I thought- you had gone back-"
"I never would have." Duo's voice sharpened. "Never."
Winner turned to look at him. Heero didn't quite understand what he said next- it was fast and the syllables were slurred- before he quite got it, Duo had replied- and Heero knew they were in trouble.
The cold was back, swirling around Duo, making Heero shiver where he stood. And was it getting darker in that corner? Winner growled something back- and this time Heero could swear that the heat shimmer around him looked like wings- what the hell were they? Why hadn't he asked that question when he'd had the chance?
That thought fled his mind when he turned his attention back to- no, it wasn't Duo that stood there now.
Oh, this wasn't good-
The two of them were snapping back and forth at each other and Heero looked towards Barton- did he know what to do?
Barton looked as worried as Heero felt. Okay, no help from that quarter- at least not yet. Not Duo snarled something at Winner and Winner lifted his hand up- oh no- they weren't-
Stupid, he told himself when the ringing finally faded from his ears. Why had he thought it was a good idea to step between them? Something blurry was waving in front of his face- Heero blinked, but his vision wouldn't clear- Damn, he felt as if he'd been beaten- his whole body felt bruised-
"Master? Master? Can you hear me?"
Heero blinked again. The blurriness eased a little and he realized that it was Duo- was it? Yes- the eyes were sane- it was Duo- leaning over him.
"Master? Please- can you hear me?"
"I thought I told you not to call me that." He grated out.
"Are you all right?" Winner was leaning over him too. "I am so sorry- I didn't think you'd step between us- I didn't mean to-"
"It's all right," Heero tried to ease himself into a sitting position and fell over again.
"Just stay still," Duo told him. "Quatre's healing the damage." The sanity faded from his eyes and now the other one looked out at him for a moment. "You are still alive?"
"I hope so. I don't think being dead should hurt this much."
"Hurry," Duo growled at Winner.
"I can't go that fast, it would just hurt him more," Winner snapped. "I would think after all this time, you would have learned a little patience, Shinigami."
Heero frowned at the last word- he knew that one- but why-?
"If we put him to sleep-?" Barton suggested.
"I could go faster, yes."
Duo reached out and ran his fingers over Heero's forehead. "Please sleep now, my master. Let us heal you."
Damn, Heero thought as sleep claimed him, Duo did it again. That wasn't asking permission....
TBC...
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