This Individual Fic Rating: PG, angst, very sad Banshee, very frightened/concerned Weres, very grumpy Wyvern.
Blue Forest Banshee Part 64
Heero stared at them for a handful of heartbeats, processing that information. Conclusion: if his Banshee was crying, and upset enough to miss meals and ignore his friends, then he, Heero, had to act.
He tried Duo's door; locked. Without hesitation, he went to his own door, opened it and entered. The trio in the hallway made as if to follow, but he quashed that with a single look.
Heero went through the bathroom -- that door was not locked -- into Duo's room. He found the Banshee where he expected to, huddled in his comfort corner, a pillow clutched to his chest and wrapped in his knitted blanket. He wasn't crying, but he had been, Heero could see the redness of his eyes.
He knelt before Duo, giving him a moment to register his presence.
"Duo?" He touched the burnished hair gently, his voice low and soothing. "What's wrong, sweetheart? What's happened? Please let me help.''
Duo sucked in a sharp breath. "Heero? You're home?"
"I'm right here, baby. Hug?"
The words had hardly left his mouth when Duo wrapped himself around the Wyvern with a sob. "Heero, Heero... I don't know- I can't think- I don't understand why!" He was almost crawling into Heero's shirt.
Heero sat down to pull Duo into his lap, holding him tightly and stroking his hair, shoulders and back. Duo wept miserably, not even trying to talk.
Heero gave him some time then began trying to get through to him.
"Talk to me, baby," he whispered. "What's wrong? What's happened?"
Duo tried, wiping at his face, attempting to speak around the shudders that swept through his body. "I- I... mail... She- she... Teal..." He buried his head against Heero's chest with a muffled wail. "She's dead! She's... dead..."
Heero gasped in spite of himself. The baby! Something had happened to the baby? He tilted Duo's face up. "What happened, honey? Do you know?"
Duo couldn't make coherent words come; he scrabbled on the floor for the folded parchment. Heero found it and Duo pushed it at him, still unable to speak.
Heero wrapped him even closer, opening the letter one-handed to read. He'd learned to read the written Banshee language the summers he'd spent with his father's Clan, but that had been years ago and half a world away. He had to dig deep into his memory to find the basics and to guess at some of the less familiar words. It didn't stop him, though it did slow him down. He read slowly through Teal's ragged and halting words and his own heart went out to the Banshee he'd never met.
It was not the baby, as Heero had first feared, but Shar, Duo's aunt, so suddenly gone, for no discernible reason. Teal had obviously tried hard to keep his thoughts clear, his words factual, but Heero saw, as Duo had, the pain, frustration and disbelief underlying those words.
"Oh, baby," he breathed into Duo's ear. "Honey, I'm so sorry."
What a thing to happen, and so soon after the birth of her child... Another child growing up without a mother. Just like Duo. Like him.
Heero sighed heavily and hugged Duo even closer. "I'm so damn sorry, baby. Is there anything I can do? I'll go with you for the memorial, of course."
Duo hiccuped, gasped, and nearly exploded in sobs. "I can't..." he wailed. "I can't go..."
"Honey... Of course, you can. Q would never deny you leave to go. You know he wouldn't."
"No..." he whimpered. "I can't go back! I- I... Heero... I... was banished... I can't go back..."
Heero stared at him. Banished? But Duo had been in the Human world for over six years, since he was twelve. What the hell could a child of twelve do to be banished from his Clan?!
"Baby, I don't understand..." Heero began.
"I didn't either... I still don't... My father... They said I was a danger..." Duo shook his head sharply. "They made me go. Heero, Heero... I don't know what to do!" he cried. "I just... don't know..."
For a few minutes, Heero just held him, trying to put together a plan. First, get the Banshee cleaned up and fed. Both would go a long way toward restoring Duo's spirits. Then get more details on his banishment. Merciful ancestors! Who - or what - would send a child into the world alone? And what did Duo's father have to do with it? Heero was sure that Duo had said his parents were both dead.
~*~
Getting that terrible news out, sharing it with Heero, seemed to give Duo a grounding he sorely needed. He allowed Heero to help him out of his boots and his clothing, but shook his head when Heero asked if he needed assistance in the shower.
"I- I'll be careful," he managed to say, seeming to concentrate on each word. "I'll sit on the ledge."
Only marginally reassured, Heero stepped into the hallway to order his troops. Trowa and Inazuma were detailed to get Duo something to eat. Wufei adamantly refused to leave the vicinity, so he was given the task of tidying Duo's room and changing the bedlinens.
That taken care of, Heero gathered towels and Duo's detangling comb and settled himself on the rim of the tub. The water came on in the shower, and on the vanity, the trio of candles lit up, and the scent of honeysuckle began to fill the room.
::His last direct link with his mother... Ah, Chosen...::
And he thought of his own parents...
When Duo had finished, Heero helped his Banshee from the shower, frowning at the way he shivered, and wrapped him in towels, rubbing his body and hair dry while Duo stood silently and allowed Heero to fuss over him. He even accepted the offer of a pair of Heero's silk lounging pants.
Heero's concern began to gnaw at him; Duo hadn't said a single word since getting out of the shower.
"Duo? Please talk to me?" He stroked the comb gently through the Banshee's ridiculously long hair and began separating it for braiding. The auburn mass smelled of orange blossoms, and he pictured a time when he might be able to stroll through a citrus grove with his Banshee, finding that scent all around them.
But Duo shook his head silently; not in denial of Heero's plea, but in helpless frustration.
"A problem shared," Heero murmured, "is a problem halved."
Duo shrugged slightly.
"My father is Death," he whispered. "There's no solution to that."
Heero blinked. It sounded like Duo had said that his father was Death... Obviously, he had misunderstood.
"Duo...?"
The Banshee turned suddenly, pulling the half-finished braid from Heero's hands.
"My father is Death!" he exploded. "A swirling black cloud with glowing purple eyes! The thing that takes souls! The thing that everyone hates and fears most! That's my father!" His beautiful face twisted in revulsion. "They called me the Deathscythe! The Harbinger! He came to see me, and seventeen people died! So they banished me..." He sniffed and bit hard at his lower lip, drawing a tiny thread of blood.
Heero stared at him. ::But that is absurd! Impossible! What kind of people make up that Clan?!::
His anger ignited and began to grow and crackle; he pushed it aside with difficulty. It wasn't about then anymore; he had to stand with his Banshee in the here and now.
He wrapped his arms around Duo, folding him as close as physically possible. The Banshee sniffed again, and a tear ran down his blotched cheek.
"They hate me," he whispered. "My Clan hates me... They blamed me... But the Humans were the ones who killed... He only collected the souls... But I hid... I just stood there and watched everyone die..."
"No." No more of this. "You did nothing wrong, Duo! You have no control over who your parents are or what they did! None of it is on you!" He gave Duo a gentle shake. "Stop now," he commanded, and Duo looked up at him, wide-eyed.
"Heero..." What he wanted to say, needed to say... It wouldn't come out; couldn't come out. Not now, not like this...
::Hold me... Please, just hold me. Give me somewhere to be safe... Please, Heero...::
"My uncle died..." he whispered instead. "Shar almost died that night... I lost... I lost... everything I thought..."
Duo hugged himself, trembling now in earnest, gasping with the effort of keeping his voice steady.
"I want to belong somewhere... I need... But they don't - didn't want me..."
"You do belong somewhere. You belong here!" Heero wrapped his arms around Duo once again. The Banshee returned the embrace tentatively. "I love you! I want you with me, Duo! I want to keep you safe, I want to be... to be..." He didn't know how to finish, how to convey how much he wanted and needed Duo to be here with him. How pallid his life would be without the Banshee.
"Duo, I need you..." he finished lamely. He brushed Duo's damp bangs back from his forehead and kissed each temple gently. "I'm going with you. Teal needs to have you there, so you're going. Do not argue this with me, Banshee," he growled, embarrassed.
And Duo nodded obediently, chewing his lower lip anxiously. He didn't want to go alone, didn't want to stay away. "You're sure? It's not going to be good, Heero. They're not going to welcome me back," he said faintly.
::He'll do this for me; I don't have to be alone.::
Heero snorted. "Are they going to argue with me?"
Duo snickered almost in spite of himself. "Heero..."
"Baby..." He rocked Duo gently, nuzzling his shining hair. "This is an awful thing to happen, but it's not your fault; not in any way, shape or form! And if your Clan can't see that, well, fuck them! You're not a child; they can't bully you anymore. And I'll see to it that they don't try!"
Duo leaned into the gentle swaying, head resting against Heero's shoulder. "You're right... I'm- I'm an adult. I don't have to put up with that shit."
Heero smiled against Duo's neck and kissed his ear. "That's my Banshee. Come on; you need to get some food in you and then rest for a while. We'll go in the afternoon and be there in time for the memorial. Sound okay?"
"Yeah; that's sounds fine." Duo wiped away a few remaining tears. "Heero... Thank you..."
::I trust you... I- I think maybe... maybe...::
Heero regarded him fondly, stroking the back of his hand over Duo's cheek. "I want you to be happy, Duo. Anything I can do to help, you need only ask." He stepped back, drawing Duo toward his room. "I sent the Weres and Inazuma to get some food and tidy your room."
Duo stopped, staring at Heero.
"Wufei and Trowa? And Inazuma? You- you called them?" he breathed.
"I didn't have to call them, Duo. They've been hunkered down in the hallway since last night, trying to get your attention and to find out what was wrong."
Duo looked toward his room, stunned. "They... All of them?! Oh... Oh, shit..." A blush crept slowly up his torso to suffuse his face with a deep rose glow. "Well... damn..."
~*~
Wufei leaped to his feet from his crouching position on the floor next to Duo's bed. He had picked up the room, dusted all the flat surfaces, stripped and remade the bed with fresh linens, magicked up bouquets of lavender, lilacs, roses and carnations.
If Heero tossed him out after all that, well, so be it, but he was going to see Duo for himself and know that the Banshee was all right before he left. No sir; no Wyvern was going to order him around without giving up something in return!
His indignant growl died when he saw Duo. Every argument he might have had with Heero shriveled away in the face of the Banshee's blotched face and red, tear-swollen eyes.
"Duo! What's wrong? What's happened? How can I help?" he fairly exploded.
Heero growled warningly. "Not right now, Wufei. Later."
Wufei wanted to argue; he tried to argue, but the words just wouldn't come out. Not in the face of Duo's obvious distress.
"But... Oh, Duo," he whispered then. "Whatever it is, we'll help; you know we will," he murmured taking Duo's hand in both of his. The Banshee nodded and returned a one-armed hug.
"Thanks, Wufei," he managed hoarsely. "I'm just really tired right now..."
"Of course, Duo. Whenever you feel up to it." Wufei bowed formally and retreated to the door to watch for Trowa and Inazuma.
Heero held the bedcovers for Duo to crawl into the crisp fresh linens, and arranged the pillows so that he could sit up.
"Heero, I'm not sick," he began in a small voice.
::Just scared and- and confused.::
Heero gave him a low-wattage glare while stroking Duo's silken hair. "Don't start with me, Banshee!" He leaned close and murmured in Duo's ear. "Just let me do this, baby. Let me help. Let me worry, just a tiny bit. Please?"
Again, Duo blushed. "I guess... I guess I can't exactly stop you..."
::I think... I don't want to stop you...::
"No, my angel, you can't."
"Okay, then." Duo looked up smiling wanly; "Do your worst, you big mean Wyvern."
::I think I could... I think I do...::
"Thank you," Heero breathed.
TBC...
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