Fire Mated Part 8
"I was the one who set off the explosion at Mari's house."
The words were hard and dead sounding. If Quatre had been standing he knew he would have had to sit down. Today just seemed to be the day for unwelcome surprises just slamming into him. He stared at Duo's haunted expression, trying to process the words that had been said. For a second he tried to convince himself he'd heard wrong but no... no he had heard that right. But that just wasn't possible.
"Duo you're not..."
Duo's expression was haunted, guilty and scared.
"You're serious aren't you?" Quatre said softly.
He nodded slowly.
Quatre took a deep breath and composed himself, forcing himself to calm down. He knew he needed to just listen to what Duo had to say. Jumping to conclusions wouldn't help. Right now Duo just needed someone to listen.
"You can tell me Duo. I meant what I said, it won't leave this room, I swear."
"Even if I was the one who did do it?"
"Duo..." Quatre leaned forward and placed his hands over Duo's. "You can trust me."
The braided boy took a deep breath, steadying himself. He met Quatre's eyes and nodded to himself once. "Actually... I'm not too sure what happened. Maybe I'm over reacting from the stress lately but-
"I went for a walk last night, couldn't sleep and stuff. I had to sort some things out in my head, what's going on with Trowa and everything else. And I don't remember most of the walk, I wasn't paying attention. All I know is that the last thing I remember is standing on my front doorstep wearing wet clothes and my jacket was gone."
He paused and stared down at his hands, a helpless gesture. "I found a note on the table after that about Trowa going to the hospital and quickly changed my clothes and ran over. That's when I found out that Mari..."
He shook his head and closed his eyes. "I don't understand it. I've been trying to remember my walk but I can't, I just can't. I don't even remember what direction I headed off in. I swear I'm losing it. All this is happening at once and I can't even keep track of where my feet take me and I may have actually hurt someone!"
"Duo." Quatre placed a comforting hand on Duo's shoulder. "Calm down, you're tired. You say you don't remember your walk then how do you know you were the one who started the explosion?"
"Trowa said... He talked with Mari and she said it wasn't an accident, that she'd seen someone in the house. That... that someone lit a match and that's what ignited the gas. He said she was thrown out the back window into the swimming pool. My clothes were wet! You put the pieces together!" Duo stood to his feet and turned away from Quatre, hugging himself.
"You don't remember it happening, there's still a huge chance it could have been someone else."
"And there's a huge chance it could have been me!"
Quatre sighed.
"I could have killed her Quatre! I could have killed my own cousin! I mean I know I'm not really related to her but she's still family. At least I think she is."
"Do you want her dead?"
Duo's body stiffened and he whirled around, his eyes narrowing dangerously with anger. "Of course not! I would never want something like that!"
Quatre crossed his arms and gave a small smile. "Then it's very silly to think you were the one who did it. Listen to me, Duo. I highly doubt you did it, plus to make a kitchen blow up like you described it would take a lot of gas leaking, especially considering the size of her kitchen. Whoever did this planned it and planned it well in advance. Besides..." Quatre's voice dropped just a little. "Correct me if I'm wrong but you admitted yourself you have a huge fear of fire. When was the last time you used a match?"
He shook his head lightly and dropped back into the chair. "I haven't ever lit one. Was too young to before my parents died and I just haven't needed to use any since then."
"See? Despite the circumstances it doesn't sound like something you'd do. So until we learn more stop blaming yourself. For all you know you walked through someone's sprinkler and left your coat on a park bench somewhere."
Duo swallowed hard and tried to calm down. "You've got a point," he admitted softly after a moment.
"Good, now relax. Don't assume you did it. There's still many other possibilities."
Duo nodded in agreement once more and stifled a yawn.
"I have an idea. Why don't you get some sleep? You look about ready to collapse from exhaustion."
Duo smirked. "Now that idea I can agree with."
"Good, then you can use my bed. Trust me, it's quite comfy, and while you nap I'll go check on Mariemeia."
"You sure?"
"Yes." Quatre stood up. "Running on lack of sleep isn't going to help you Duo, besides you're going to need sleep so you can help me look at the remains of Mariemeia's house to see if we can find out what happened."
The expression on Duo's face said he could have jumped up and tackled Quatre in a massive hug, if he weren't so tired. Instead he settled for a huge grin.
"Thanks, Quatre. Thanks a lot."
Quatre just smiled back. "Think nothing of it, besides, I've need a different mystery to put my mind on for a little while. It'll be a challenge. And Mariemeia is my friend, I'm going to help you find out what happened, I promise."
With those words he left Duo alone in the room, letting him get some sleep. Stepping downstairs to get his own coat a chill went down his spine and he had to stop for a second.
He realized this wasn't a game, not in the least. The smile dropped off his face and his eyes narrowed as he slipped on his jacket and headed out the door toward the hospital. One of his friends had been injured; he didn't let that happen. And he was perfectly willing to call in favors from his rich family if this got any worse. He may seem like a light and happy youth who loved mysteries and mind-boggling searches, but he and his uncle had one major thing in common. No one messed with Quatre's friends without getting their comeuppance.
No one.
~*~
Duo settled down in the unfamiliar bed, not even bothering to change clothes or slip under the covers. He had enough energy to slip off his shoes but other then that his reserves and the leftovers from the adrenaline were gone and he just fell onto the bed, off to sleep before his head hit the pillow.
He expected his sleep to be stressed, filled with images of what happened to Mariemeia and scattered images of himself setting off the flames even though he didn't remember doing it. Still, he wasn't at all surprised when he opened his eyes to find himself once again in the strange cabin. In fact he breathed a small sigh of relief, this place was actually becoming very comforting, no matter how many times it burnt down or how strangely the boy acted.
Duo found himself sitting quietly on the cot in the corner, curled there with his arms wrapped around his knees, shivering just slightly. The dark blue eyed boy sat in the other corner of the cabin working away at another piece of wood. As Duo moved the boy's eyes lifted from the piece of wood and watched Duo silently, but otherwise he did nothing else.
Oddly enough, aside from feeling comforting the scene felt almost familiar. Duo straightened up and looked around the cabin. He registered that it wasn't as hazy as it had been in previous dreams. Before it had always been like there was this light fog, like it wasn't exactly real, but now it was different. The cabin and everything in it looked completely solid, like it was an actual place. Duo's eyes widened as he noticed the thick lines in the log walls, the swirls in the packed dirt floor and the texture of the rough wool blankets below him. "Where am I?" He whispered softly.
The boy stood up and walked over, his fingers wrapped around the piece he was carving. "Far away, and yet very close."
Duo blinked and looked to the boy. "Now you're going all cryptic on me? How come you never spoke to me before in these dreams? I've had them for so long and you never spoke, or even noticed me."
The boy shrugged. "I was not awake then."
Wasn't awake? Duo started at that, the boy was right. Until recently he never remembered the boy being anywhere but sleeping in his cot as the flames licked at the walls. He'd never been carving before nor had he ever even opened his eyes. How strange...
"Why are you awake now? What made you wake up?"
The boy smiled softly, as if laughing at his own private joke. "You did."
"I... did?" Duo stood up, stepping onto the dirt floor. His socks brushed over the small loose pebbles, feeling incredibly real. If he didn't know this was a dream he would have sworn he had been swept off to another world. Timidly he reached forward, his hand pausing for a moment before it reached and touched the boy's bare arm. The boy wore an old shirt, one of those old style button downs that had once been white. Now it was stained and torn, as if it had been used for long days of work, simply worn to keep the sun off someone's back. His pants were a darker brown, in better condition, certainly. His hair was long, combed though messy. The long strands were pulled back into a half-hearted ponytail which hung down his back. Duo blinked, he'd never really noticed what the boy looked like before. But now he did, and the boy certainly looked real enough.
The boy's eyes drifted down to Duo's hand, which still rested on his arm.
Duo pulled his hand away and felt his cheeks grow slightly red. He still couldn't believe it though, the boy's skin was warm, not the icy cold of before. And he noticed the boy's chest move with each breath... there was no mistaking he was a living, breathing, human being. But he was still in a dream!
"You're not cold anymore." He murmured softly, not even realizing he was saying it out loud. "You're warm."
"Am I now?" The boy lifted his own hand and looked at it, turning it before his eyes, examining it. "I suppose so."
"Who are you? Why do you keep appearing in my dreams?"
The boy's shoulders seemed to drop slightly and his face turned sad. "You do not know?"
Duo shook his head.
The boy sighed softly, almost in a defeated manner. "Then I cannot say." At those words his form seemed to fade slightly and the wooden figure fell to the floor, though Duo never saw the boy drop it. The sound reverberated around the cabin, echoing more then it should have. The boy's eyes widened and he took a step back at the sound.
"Wha-?"
"Not so soon!" The boy's eyes flew wildly around the room as things began to happen again.
Voices grew around them, crying, screaming surrounded by the sound of crackling flames. The doors slammed shut as did the windows of the cabin and once again smoke began seeping in the cracks.
The boy grabbed Duo and was going to push him back, sending him out of the dream again, but this time Duo fought his rising fear and panic and clasped hard onto the boy's arm. The dark blue eyes stared at him in shock.
"Answer one more thing! Why do you always have to burn?" Duo asked quickly, the smoke already surrounding them and making his throat and eyes burn.
The boy's eyes turned sad, pained. Duo's jaw dropped slightly as he realized that the flames actually hurt the boy, every time. Every time, every dream the boy burnt to death. Duo now recognized the boy's voice among the screams and voices around them, crying out in pain and sorrow, words so full of agony they were incoherent.
"Why?! Why do you always have to burn?!" Duo cried out. No! He refused to let go! He couldn't let this boy burn again! Not now that he'd heard his screams, not now! He couldn't let him die like his parents had!
The boy shook his head and coughed, the smoke around them thick and burning as flames licked the doors and walls. "It can not be helped. You must leave..."
"I don't want you to keep burning!"
"I have burned a thousand times in your dreams and will burn a thousand more." The boy pulled Duo forward and embraced him tightly, tears slipping down his cheek, soaking Duo's shoulder. "And I would burn a million more, it is worth seeing you once again. Worth every scream."
With those words he grabbed Duo harshly and shoved him backward. Duo stumbled back, the world around him dropping away. He registered calling out to the boy, but the boy only stood there, tears slipping lightly down his face. Flames crawled up around his legs and his body. Burning away his clothes and licking painfully at his skin. Duo shut his eyes, crying out and shutting out the sight. He couldn't watch.
His eyes snapped open and the dream was gone. He found himself sitting up in Quatre's bed, the house around him silent and still. And there was something else...
His shoulder was wet!
Just slightly. As if someone had been holding him and crying and the tears had dropped there. Duo shivered and lay back down in the bed, closing his eyes. That boy... he'd burned again. Why? Why did he have to burn every time?
"And I would burn a million more, it is worth seeing you once again. Worth every scream." The boy's words echoed lightly in his mind, full of feeling, sadness. Duo hugged himself as the words repeated in his mind over and over.
Strangely enough, despite their cryptic nature he took comfort in them. The voice was comforting and he suddenly recognized a soft protective tone within it. The boy had protected him from burning, protected him by pushing him out of the dream, just like last time.
Duo smiled softly and closed his eyes once more, drifting off into a light sleep.
"Thank you," he murmured softly to the boy, even though he couldn't see him.
Somehow though, as strange as it may have sounded, he was sure the boy heard.
~*~
Mariemeia turned her head toward the door as it opened and her eyes lit up.
"Quatre!"
The blond smiled at her and pulled his hand from behind his back, showing a small bouquet of flowers in a small vase with a blue ribbon attached. Mariemeia's eyes lit up even more and she laughed.
"Flowers?"
He nodded and handed them to her, careful of the vase. "From what I hear, you need some cheering up."
She smiled gratefully and breathed deeply of the flowers, basking in the sweet scents for a moment, then placed them carefully on the bedside table. "You didn't have to."
"I know, but I did. I figured you wouldn't mind a change, I know first hand how annoying the smell of hospitals can get."
Mariemeia frowned slightly. "You were in the hospital?"
He shook his head. "Not personally. But I have enough sisters at home to have spent a good time in one. I swear one of those girls is always having a baby, or something. I keep telling them we should just buy one of the hospital rooms and take turns living in it."
That got a laugh out of her and she just shook her head in wonder. "You keep surprising me, you know that? I thought I knew you pretty well from your student profile but you keep surprising me. There's certainly more to you then meets the eye, Quatre Winner." She looked happy but she knew her eyes couldn't hide the fear she had, and she wasn't surprised when he seemed to notice.
Quatre's face turned to a serious smile. "We're going to find out what happened."
Her smile disappeared. "You heard then?"
"Duo told me what happened. No one else knows, don't worry."
She sighed softly and glanced out the window. "I admit to being nearly hysterical when I told Trowa what happened, but can you blame me? I'm still scared, but at least I'm thinking straight now, or at least straighter then I was. I'm remembering more of what happened, things aren't as hazy anymore. I'm betting it's because the drugs have pretty much worn off. But... be serious Quatre, how are we going to find out what happened by ourselves?"
Quatre smirked lightly at that one. "I'm not against researching and legwork."
She laughed softly. "Quatre, you aren't a detective, you're a high school student."
"No, I'm not a detective, never said I was. But you are a close friend and where I come from things like this aren't taken lightly. I know the police and I know the way they tend to work. They may or may not find anything and if they don't find anything they will leave the case alone, writing it off as an accident. They will let it slide. But I'm not going to let this slide. I protect my friends, Mariemeia, be it you or Duo, or Trowa or even Sylvia in the library. I'm going to do my best to find out who did this, I swear it."
"I believe you." Mariemeia sat up slightly in the bed and hugged Quatre close, despite her IV line and bandages.
He smiled and hugged her back, then sat back down in his chair. "Good, trust me, we'll find out. In the meantime, you just get well." Standing up he nodded a farewell to her and headed for the door.
"Quatre," she said softly.
He turned back to look at her in question.
"I told you I started to remember stuff... well I think I remember a face. I mean I'm not sure, but I know I haven't seen him anywhere else before and I'm reasonably sure I know a face or at least a small description now. A boy... with bright blue eyes and messy dark hair. I don't remember the color of the hair or anything else about him, only that he was there. And I think... I think he pushed me through the window when everything exploded." She shrugged and gave a helpless look. "But I'm not sure... it's still kinda fuzzy."
Quatre nodded. "I'll keep an eye out, tell you if I see him."
She nodded and he left the room. Stepping outside of the room he took a place on the bench where Trowa had been sitting. He'd sent Trowa home to get some sleep, promising he would stay at Mariemeia's side until Trowa came back to take his place.
Sitting down on the bench he frowned. He hadn't told Mariemeia but he did remember a boy that fit that description. And it seemed to be too much of a coincidence that they'd seen that boy on the same night Duo had gone running off, at the burnt remains of Duo's house no less.
Quatre sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. Was it all connected? Was the name Heero Yuy connected in to all of this or did he just arrive in town at the wrong time? He couldn't figure it out, needed more information. And now... now was not the best time to ask Duo where he'd come up with the pen name. In fact, now was probably the worst time to bring something like that up.
Still, he couldn't help but feel this was all connected somehow, he just didn't know how. And that was going to drive him up the wall!
~*~
Snapping the suitcase closed he glanced around the room once more. Had he forgotten anything? No, everything was in order. Pulling on his coat and picking up his suit case Treize Kushrenada shut off the lights and headed down the stairs to the waiting airport taxi.
It was about time he went to visit his nephew.
TBC...
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