Library Part 9
Heero was glad that the medic Wufei had brought was gentle. She had carefully numbed each cut before either stitching it closed or just bandaging it. She didn't ask why he had so many, and Heero was grateful that he didn't have to explain anything.
Chang stood beside Duo, his gaze making Heero cringe a little inside. He looked so angry- and so did Duo, even if Duo was obviously trying to cover it.
"Okay," the medic said softly after a bit. "Let me work on those bruises. Close your eyes for a moment?"
Heero was more than happy to comply. He closed his eyes and felt her hands rest lightly on his shoulders.
"You're going to feel warm for a moment," she told him. "Ever had a healer work on you?"
"No."
"It won't hurt, you just need to stay relaxed. I can't mend everything- I'm not very powerful- but I can ease some of the pain, okay?"
"Okay."
The warmth from her hands began to spread through his aching body, soothing away the worst of the hurts and making his muscles relax.
"There," she said after a few minutes and he opened his eyes as she lifted her hands away. The bruises on his arms were no longer a dark, angry purple, but a lighter yellower color. He looked up and she smiled at him. "I'll come tomorrow and give you another healing, all right? Then we can take some of the stitches out and see how you're feeling."
"Thank you," he said, thankful that it no longer hurt to talk, and she patted his shoulder.
"Go and lie down- you need to rest. Don't try to do too much- I'll let your boss know you're on med leave."
Duo moved then, reaching out his hands to Heero to help him up. Heero got to his feet and with Duo's help, made it to the bed. He stretched out carefully and Duo tossed a blanket over him before going to the door to see Chang and the medic out.
They stood there talking for a few minutes, but Heero couldn't catch all of the words.
"...only cuts and bruises.... beaten- but nothing else..."
"... isn't that enough? He thinks..."
"...look into it..."
"... talk to him- don't push..."
He was feeling very sleepy- only he didn't really want to sleep. When he closed his eyes all he could see were those monstrous things... Shivering, he pulled the blanket tighter around himself.
The voices ceased, the door closed with a quiet click, and then the bed moved a little as Duo sat down beside him. "Better, love?"
"Much. Thank you." Heero turned his face into the pillow. He didn't want to look at Duo. He had to be strong- to send him away- "You can go now."
"I could," Duo agreed softly. "But I don't want to."
"Duo, I told you- this isn't going to work-"
"Yes it is," Duo countered, still in that soft tone. "Of course it is."
Why was he arguing? Heero knew why. Duo didn't see it yet, he didn't know... "But I'm-"
"Heero." The bed shifted again as Duo cast himself across it, curling a gentle arm around his lover. "You're Heero. You aren't a monster. Does my mutation make me a monster?"
"No! But-"
"Then yours doesn't either." Duo cuddled a little closer. "My mutation came from yours, remember? If I'm not a monster, then you aren't either."
Heero pushed himself away. It wasn't the same. "You don't have-"
"I wish I did." Duo ran a gentle hand down Heero's arm. "Because then I would strangle the Ruler with them. As it is, I'm tempted to go see him-"
"No!" Fear shot through him. Heero could hear the anger lurking in Duo's voice- if he went to the palace- "It's not safe to talk like that." He turned over and faced Duo, wincing a little as he jarred one of the cuts. "You know it's not-"
"I think I have a right to be angry that he tried to kill you."
Heero shook his head. "He wasn't trying to kill me. He's looking for a good mutation for his guard. He wanted something..." he paused and took a deep breath. "He wanted something like his pets. Something... like me."
"So that's why they took you?"
Heero nodded. "He wanted to see if I could stand against them- if something like them could help drive them off- just in case the Rift opens again..."
"That bastard- I'm going to-"
"No." Heero wanted to wrap his arms around Duo, to hold him close and not let him get anywhere near the Palace. But he couldn't. Duo had to know the truth. "You can't. Not because of me."
"Heero-"
Looking up, Heero locked his eyes onto Duo's face. He knew what his lover's reaction was going to be, knew that he had to make himself watch it. "Duo, listen to me. When he first put me into the room with them- they didn't do anything. I walked around, poked at them, all the things he told me to do- and they didn't even make a move towards me."
"Maybe they aren't as violent as he thought-"
"No. They thought... they thought I was one of them."
"What? You can't know that-"
"I do know that." Heero pushed himself up, leaning against the wall, as far away from Duo as he could get. "He made me stab one of them, just a little bit, with a spear- and it... it spoke to me. Asked me why I was attacking my own kind... I told him the Ruler was making me fight and so... they attacked me."
"And nearly killed you-"
"No, they thought they were being gentle. They didn't understand but they knew that the Ruler would force the issue more if they didn't cooperate. So they did the best they knew how."
"How horrible for them." Duo's braid slid across the bed, winding itself around Heero's wrist. "But love, even if they did think you were one of them- they don't sound like monsters to me." Heero blinked in surprise- he hadn't thought of it that way.
"I guess... they aren't, but... you-"
"I'm not leaving you, Heero. Not ever." Duo had managed to slide closer again. "You promised to marry me- I'm holding you to that."
"Only because we thought it would keep me out of the Ruler's hands, but now we don't need-"
"I need you- I didn't ask you to marry me just because of the Ruler-"
"Duo, think about it. I can barely leave this building- and now the Ruler knows about me. It was wonderful while it lasted, but- we- we don't make sense. It's not going to work."
"I have thought about it- and I think we will."
Heero closed his eyes, trying to gather his strength back- he'd never convince Duo at this rate-
"Shh," Duo brushed gentle fingers over his lips. "Heero, love, you need to rest- and you need someone to stay with you. May I stay?"
"I can't get you to go," Heero sighed, giving up the fight. Maybe after he slept...?
"I'll take that as a yes. Sleep- we'll talk again when you wake up, all right?"
"All right," he murmured, hoping he'd be able to make Duo see sense soon...
~*~
Duo watched as Heero fell into a doze, a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. So close, so very close to making Heero his- and it was all in pieces now. If only he'd acted sooner... hell, if only he'd never asked Heero to meet him for lunch- was it only yesterday?
At least he'd managed to get Heero off the monster issue- bad enough that he'd spent years hiding in the library after the Rift- but then to have the creatures think he was one of them?
If only he could toss the Ruler in with those things- make him see for himself just-
Ah. Now there was a thought. How to pull it off....?
Sliding off the bed, he went and fetched his phone. He stepped into the bathroom and dialed a number.
The conversation was brief, but the answer he got made him smile with feral satisfaction.
Payback was going to be such a bitch.
He went back to the bed and curled up with Heero, careful of his lover's healing injuries. He wanted more than anything to wrap himself around the other- it was all he could do to keep his hair confined- but he knew that anything that felt like those others would no doubt disturb Heero.
So he contented himself with simply cuddling as close as he could, watching Heero's face in the dim light.
A few hours later, his phone buzzed. He slid out of bed and headed for the bathroom to answer it.
"It's all set up. He'll see you in an hour. Are you sure....?"
Duo looked at the bloodstained washcloth sitting on the edge of the sink, the one he'd used on Heero to try and stop the worst of the bleeding.
"Very sure. I'm on my way."
TBC...
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