01-Jan-2001
I'll get the legal stuff out of the way. Gundam Wing property of Bandai, Sunrise and a host of other people I probably don't know about. Used for entertainment purposes and because the voices in my head tell me to write this stuff. Scary thought, eh? Not for profit.
Characters acting OCC, but in an Alternative Universe you should expect that.
#... # Thoughts/Thinking
Heero frowned at his subject. Duo rolled his eyes to the ceiling and resisted the impulse to stick out his tongue at him. He had found out that neither scientist that had been assigned to Quatre and himself seemed to have a sense of humor. And forget the techs, they scurried out of the way whenever either of them showed up. The humans weren't much different from the fallen ones, the powerful threw their weight around and the underlings got out of the way. Not that he saw a lot of the techs, none of them wanted to come near him for some unknown reason. May be because he bit the first one that tried to draw his blood? He wasn't allowed out of his restraints at all after that, they had even tightened them a little even, so all that he could do was shuffle from place to place. He was just happy that they didn't gag him again.
But Quatre was running free because he had cooperated with them. Not that it did him any good, they were still doing things to him that weren't nice. Quatre hadn't said anything, but Duo knew that the other one was hurting from some of the things that they had done to the slight blonde. He had spent enough time just lying with him and hoping that Quatre would stay together while they were here, so that he would be sane when they got rescued. Not that he hadn't had any experience with someone that was falling apart on him, mentally. Not with Une and Zechs as his lieutenants. Both of them were known to have 'personality problems'. Quatre was off someplace else today, while he had to put up with Mister Non-personality by his lonesome.
"You are not cooperating." Heero informed him flatly.
Duo rolled his eyes again. The man made it sound like it was something that he had to do. Cooperating with torture wasn't his idea of a good time. And no matter what they did to him, from the blood tests to the endurance tests to whatever else they thought of, it all hurt. They didn't do it deliberately, but something about their equipment was painful to him.
"You captured me. I didn't fucking ask for this so I'm not acting like I'm going to freakin' enjoy it. Tough merde." Duo informed him, making a rude gesture with his hands.
Heero stared at his subject, astonished. Duo, what an odd name, knew that they could harm him or kill him at any time, but still he fought everything that they had done to him, making them keep him in chains. The chains limited his movement and Heero was starting to see that they were rubbing his wrists and ankles raw, so much that he was starting to worry about it. The open sores must hurt him, but still Duo remained uncooperative. What was wrong with him? Or was it that he was used to pain or did he enjoy pain?
Heero put that thought aside and gestured to his subject to get on the table. They were going to do an MRI to him, the only reason that they waited so long was because the machine was down. They hadn't used it in awhile and no one realized that it was broken until they tried to work it the other day. After a few hours of fooling around, they found the problem and then had to wait for the parts to come in. Finally it was ready and he got to use it. Heero wondered exactly what was going on with their two guests that they could hide wings inside their bodies, that seemed bigger then they were.
Duo laid down on the table, not sure what exactly they were going to do to him. He knew that the table went into the box, but what happened after that was anyone's guess and he wasn't going to ask anyone about it.
"On your stomach." Heero informed him curtly. "And lie still."
Duo shrugged and rolled on his stomach, ignoring the small tendrils of fear that were curling in his belly. There was only one thing that he could think of that had him in this position and he really hoped it wasn't that. He had been used too much in his younger days, before he had taken control of his life, for this position not to be unfamiliar. But no one here had tried something funny before this, so it might no be what he thought. He wiggled around a bit, to get a comfortable spot to place his hands, he ended up with them cupping his balls. The chains didn't really allow him to do anything else. Duo forced himself to lie still when he felt Heero fumbling with his pants, pulling them down around his ankles. Duo waited for what was going to happen next, the pain that getting raped caused in his soul and his body. He was surprised that nothing happened for what seemed to be an endless moment, then Heero moved away from the table and shouted "Start the procedure." Duo was relieved that all that happened was the table that he was lying on went into the box and a faint humming started. He was expecting something a little more unpleasant.
Heero was astonished that he was slightly turned on at the sight of Duo's naked ass. It was thin, Duo seemed to be loosing a little weight in captivity, but nicely muscled. He had resisted the urge to touch it before telling the techs to start things. He hadn't been interested in men before, but then he hadn't been that attracted to women either. So what was it about this subject that got him excited? That he was dangerous? Not human? Completely at his mercy? Heero mused on that with half of his brain while the other half noted that most of the scans had been done on Duo and they just had to do the other series with his wings coming out of his body.
"Open you wings!" He ordered Duo.
"No" was the faint reply.
"Do it." He was not going to argue with this thing. He wanted this over as fast as possible before he did something stupid.
"I don't fancy breaking them, so get me out of this box and I'll pop them for you. But there isn't enough room in this place to pop them in here." Duo explained. There was silence while Heero thought about this. Silently cursing the impulse that he had to pull down this thing's pants in the first place, to get a clearer shot of his pelvic bones.
"I want pictures of them coming out of your body."
"Then put me some place where I won't break them stretching them out!" Duo shouted back. He was mostly naked, nervous and peeved right now. Didn't this idiot understand simple physics. He and Quatre had been popping out their wings for these people all week. Hadn't Heero noticed that they always opened them and snapped them out because it was an involuntary reaction almost? And he was a trained observer? What an idiot! Or was all the blood in his cock and not his brain right now?
Heero thought. "If you pop them out and stretch them out here, could you keep them somewhat furled if you did it a few minutes later in the MRI?"
"What's a MRI?" Duo asked.
"The machine that you are in." Heero implied by his tone that Duo was the idiot now for not knowing that fact.
"Bite me. It's not like I saw this thing before." Duo shouted back. So that's what the box was called. He wondered what it did, must take special pictures, because he and Quatre had been subjected to an endless photo session earlier. That had been the only time that his restraints had come off, because they would ruin the photos. But Heero and Trowa had been there with a gun, in case he decided not to cooperate with them. Duo felt the table that he was on move again and he was out of the box. He felt Heero starting at his ass again. He tried to ignore the feeling of unease that it gave him, then flexed his wings and stretched.
Heero's breath caught in his throat. Duo was magnificent lying there naked, his wings stretched out behind him and lazily waving them back and forth. He wondered if Duo could fly from that position. And did he realize how good he looked like that? And that he really did want to bite him? Heero entertained several X-rated thoughts about this specimen while he waited for him to stretch his wings. He was wondering what Duo's skin tasted like when Duo spoke to him, pulling him out of his musings. Heero was just thankful that he didn't have an erection from the way that his thoughts were going.
"Okay, you can put me back in there." Duo informed Heero, glaring at him over his shoulder. Whatever reassurance that he had about not getting raped went out the window when he saw Heero apparently mesmerized by his ass. #Fuck! I don't have to worry about anything here, but later... he might realize that there are places in that cage that people and the cameras don't see.#
Heero blinked and turned tell the techs to continue. He was angry that he allowed himself to be distracted by Duo's ass. The creature wasn't human, had to be restrained to keep it from harming the techs who would go near him and was about as cooperative as a cat. So why did he like looking at his rear? It wasn't like Duo was something that he should be attracted to. And he knew a lot of humans that looked good naked, they just usually didn't want to get naked with him, he thought. Not that he really asked, after a few fumbling relationships in college, he decided that it was better just to not get involved with people, it wasn't worth the effort.
Duo cooperated for once, he wanted to get his pants back on and out of here. He was not happy at the way that Mister Non-personality was looking at him. Duo wondered if the next experiment would be how good his sexual responses were. He was glad that this was the last test that they were doing to him today and that he would be left alone in his cage. He wondered how well Quatre was doing and suddenly was very worried about what kinds of tests were being run on his cell mate. How much of 'professional' was Trowa? Was he thinking the same thoughts that Heero seemed to be entertaining about him, about Quatre?
Duo was semi-tossed back into their cage by some of the burlier techs and was worried that Quatre was in there before him and just curled up in a ball on the floor, staring at nothing. Duo stumbled to his side, falling to his knees, wondering what exactly had been done to Quatre.
"Quatre?" Duo asked softly, slowly stretching out his hands to touch him. He was worried that banged man had done something awful to Quatre.
Quatre turned around and tried to throw himself into Duo's arms crying. He settled for hugging Duo and putting his head on Duo's lap. He babbled hysterically, finally reduced to crying brokenly as Duo crooned and stroked his hair a little. As Quatre quieted down Duo leaned over asked softly, so that the cameras couldn't hear him, wouldn't know that they were talking in fact. "He didn't do anything weird to you, did he?"
"No."
"He didn't do anything bad other then the usual tests? Something... intimate." Duo asked. It was awkward trying to comfort Quatre like this, maybe he'd start cooperating more. So that he could hold Quatre if this happened again. Or if he needed to defend himself from Heero.
"No... why do you ask? They didn't... ." Quatre looked up in fear. He never even thought of that. Why did Duo?
Duo shook his head, seeing the concern in Quatre's eyes. "Just getting some odd vibes from Mr. Non-Personality."
"I want to see the sky, the sun. I forget what they look like." Quatre said sadly, dismissing Duo's worries.
"The sky is the same beautiful blue as your eyes. The sun glows like your hair." Duo told Quatre. "You bring the outside world with you where ever you go, Quatre."
"I can feel them, the other experiments and it hurts. They are all so sad, so broken."
"Just keep it together long enough to get out of here, Quatre. You are strong, you can hold on. Your people will come for you. " Duo encouraged Quatre. #Fuck! He's empathic, that's all he needs to be subjected to, locked away and being bombarded by every bad or good feeling of the people and animals around him.#
"And if I don't... " Quatre looked up, his eyes red rimmed and terrified. The pure ones wouldn't welcome him back if he was not in his right mind, if he was insane. Insanity was chaotic and abhorrent to them. That chaos would upset their rules and orderly society. And he didn't know if he could hold on much longer. They had been doing tests to another one of their experiments and Quatre had felt everything that they had done to it, up until they finally put it out of its misery. If something like that happened again soon, he had no idea about what he could do about it. How he would cope with all those feelings again, he had had a hard enough time trying to hide it from Trowa that he was feeling something bad or else he would have found out and the next round of tests would be worse.
Duo stroked his hair gently, "You get to stay with me and mine. Not the digs that you are used to, but I like it. A lot of my people, they aren't too sane at times. You'd fit right in if you lost it. In fact, one of the jokes is that it had to be a prime requirement for working with me."
Quatre laughed. Duo always knew the right thing to say, things that he needed to hear to cheer up. They both looked up when Heero walked into the room, with Trowa right behind him. Heero had their dinner and Trowa was armed with the usual tranq gun that they used around them when they were alone with them, in case they attacked them or something. Duo shrugged and went to sit down. Heero usually fed him while Trowa watched both of them, like he expected Quatre to be able to do something with dangerous with a plastic spork. Quatre went into the 'bathroom', the small screened off area with a sink and a toilet that was about the only privacy that they had, to wash his hands and face, Trowa following him, in case a weapon had suddenly appeared in there or Quatre decided to produce one magically out of thin air.
Duo was glad that they left and he leaned over and asked Heero softly, "I'll behave myself... can I get out of the chains? Or at least, loosen them a little?"
Heero snorted and looked at Duo. "Why the change of heart?"
Duo shrugged, "I got my reasons."
"Not good enough." Heero grunted, picking up a spoon.
Duo frowned and before Heero started shoveling things into his mouth, he spoke again. "Can you get Quatre outside and away from this place for a while?"
"So he can escape?" Heero sneered. "Flap his wings and fly away? I don't think so."
"So he can stay sane." Duo said quietly. "He's not doin' too good, between whatever you're doin' to him and to the other 'guests' that you have here, he's losing it. I know the symptoms and he's got them. Getting out for an afternoon would be good for him." Duo smiled sexily and waited a second before adding, "I'd make it worth your while."
Heero froze at the last comment, not sure if he heard it right. But... demons were supposed to tempt you and this one was doing a good job, first with this afternoon and now with this offer. He managed to get out a strangled, "How worth my while?"
Duo shrugged and plastered a bigger smile on his face, "What ever you want... after Quatre gets his outside time. I'm not putting out for nothing."
Heero stared at him. "Maybe you should give me a sample of the goods?" he asked finally, wondering if he was the one the was going insane. He couldn't believe that he asked that!
Duo waited a minute, then leaned over and kissed him gently, slowly forcing his tongue between the other's teeth and hoping that it wasn't going to be bitten off. He was surprised that Heero responded to his kiss. As he tasted his captor, Heero moaned slightly and then shoved him away, breathing heavily. Duo tumbled to the floor and then looked up at Heero, smiling slightly still, not put off by the rejection, he had sort of expected it. He didn't need to be an empath to know that he was confusing the hell out of Heero. "You like? Is it worth it?"
"You're disgusting." Heero told him in a cold tone.
"No... I'm practical." Duo said calmly, getting oddly still. "You aren't going to just let him outside for no apparent reason. I'm just showing you that it could be worth your while to think of one. You seemed attracted to me or at least curious, since you kept staring at my ass this afternoon. I'm just using that information, trading on it so that Quatre gets some time outside this fucking place."
Heero stared at Duo and then walked outside their cage, shaking. Duo wondered if it was from rage or desire. Or a mixture of both. He was just thankful that he left the food. Maybe Quatre could feed him or Trowa might. Or should he hit on Trowa? He might be the one that made the decision whether Quatre went outside or not. Duo sat up and slowly got to his feet, meeting Quatre's horrified gaze with a cynical smile. He hadn't heard them come out of the back area.
"What were you doing?" Quatre asked in astonishment.
All right, it was obvious what had just happened, so that was a stupid question, but why? Duo hadn't shown any interest in Heero before. Duo hadn't shown any interest period in anything, whenever they met. And since they had been in this place together, Duo hadn't done anything more then try to hold him in his arms, which he really couldn't because of the restraints and let him cry. So why was he offering himself to Heero? Especially after the questions that he had asked him earlier.
Duo shrugged and sat down, wondering if he could fold himself enough to feed himself. Not that he was hungry, throwing himself at Heero wiped out any appetite that he had, that had brought back too many memories. Quatre just stared at him, then sat down and grabbed a spoon, to start feeding Duo. He couldn't let the other go hungry, just because he baited one of their captors for some unknown reason.
Duo smiled reassuringly, "You need to get out of here, at least for a while. I was showing Heero something that might convince him to let you out of here for a while."
"Duo... " Quatre said softly, not knowing if he was pleading with the other to stop or warning him about what he was going to do. Why would Duo be willing to do this for him? They weren't really friends, but over the years they had managed to form a working relationship, based on respect for each other's skills. They had only started to now each other better since they had been captured.
"Quatre, spending time with the guy would be worth it. You need to get out and I don't have anything to lose." Duo explained.
"If I'm going outside, shouldn't I be the one bending over for these people to them bribe?" Quatre asked tartly. #You do have something to lose, your self respect. And do you think that it would only happened once? You might end up being passed around to everyone here. It isn't worth it!#
Duo shook his head. "I didn't think of it. I'm sorry. But... I didn't think that you had that much experience in faking it with someone." #I don't think so, your society isn't built on blood and fear, just a bunch of rules that may or may not work, but the illusion is a good one.#
"I'm not as innocent as I look!" Quatre protested, blushing.
Trowa looked at the two of them, and said coldly "English. Now."
Quatre turned and looked at him apologetically. "We're having an argument. I don't want you to understand it, so no."
Duo laughed and shook his head, before sobering up. Quatre was actually saying no to something that these people wanted him to do. "I have used my body to get ahead before. Have you had to?"
Quatre shook his head, "No, I haven't. But that doesn't mean that you have to, this time."
Duo leaned over and put his head on Quatre's shoulder. "I want to see you happy, keep you sane. And smell the sunshine in your hair." #If you're not still sane by the time that you get out of here, they aren't gonna let you back in their little paradise, because you'd be damaged goods to them, because you won't fit in any more. I don't want that to happen, you had no control of being captured, you shouldn't suffer because of it. It's not like you were in that place for your own business, it was an assignment.#
"Duo... " Quatre took him in his arms and started to slowly rub his back. "It's hard for you too. You don't like being the victim. But that isn't going to get you any more control."
Trowa frowned at the soft, comforting tone in Quatre's voice when he talked to Duo. How he was hugging him and trying to console him. And the fact that he actually said no to him about something. He had been wondering if the other had any backbone at all, he was very cooperative about anything that they did to him, no matter how much it hurt. He just found out. And what was the deal with that demon Duo kissing Heero? He wanted to chase after the other to find out what was going on, but if he did, these two would be left alone, with things that could be used as a weapon.
"You should eat Quatre, I don't think that Trowa wants to sit around, wasting his time while we bicker."
"You need to eat too, you're losing weight and... and those chains are draining to you aren't they? You need so much help, because you can't move really in them." Quatre said, letting go reluctantly and starting to try to spoon some of the food into Duo.
The stuff was bad, institutional food at its worst, but they had to eat and keep up their strength to get out of there. After a couple of bites, Duo shook his head, indicating that he had had enough. Quatre frowned and then started to eat his own portion, grimacing at the taste and temperature. It was cold and congealed, he wondered what it had been before the cooks got their hands on it.
Trowa watched the two of them, wondering what they argument had been about. Most likely about the kiss that Duo had given Heero. Heero's and Duo's voices had been low, so whatever had been said, mostly likely hadn't been picked up by the cage's surveillance system. He hadn't heard anything until Heero had shoved Duo on the floor. But why was Quatre upset that Duo was kissing Heero? What was their relationship, Duo's and Quatre's like? How close were they? Trowa knew that they slept together, but no other activity had been observed, maybe they didn't like an audience? Or that they weren't interested was another theory that had been tossed around. He didn't think that they actually knew about sex until he had seen Duo kissing Heero. And what had their discussion be about, Trowa hadn't heard any of it. And he didn't think that it was caught on the surveillance tapes, Duo seemed to have timed his offer so that it wouldn't be caught, like he had figured out the sweep pattern that covered their cell. All they would have seen was Duo sitting on the floor, nothing unusual about that, the thing didn't seem to like sitting in chairs.
When they had stopped eating, Trowa gathered their mostly full plates up. He frowned when he realized how little the two of them had eaten. He tried to remember back to when they had eaten a full meal. It had been a while, if ever.
"Starving yourself isn't going to help." he informed them.
Quatre looked up and him and shrugged. "The food is terrible. I am not asking for anything more then something hot or it can be identified as what it's supposed to be. I have no idea what I just fed Duo or what I choked down."
Trowa frowned. It was a reasonable request. He'd try to get them something better to eat. They weren't going to be any use to them half starved. He asked suddenly, "Why were you crying?"
Quatre froze at that question. "None of your business." he said softly.
Trowa almost smiled at that answer, so the blonde did have a backbone. He would find out eventually why he had been crying, Trowa figured that it was something that had to do with Duo's 'discussion' with Heero.
"You're done for the day, since it's late afternoon." Trowa said quietly. He noticed that there was a tendency to lose track of time down here, since there were no clocks and the lights were always on. He liked to help them try to keep track of the time when he could. He didn't want them too disoriented when he was questioning them. It had a tendency to throw off their answers.
"Yippee!" Duo said sarcastically, he sobered up and asked in concerned tone, "You gonna do the box thing with Quatre tomorrow?"
"The box thing?" Trowa asked in confusion.
Duo frowned, "MRI is what Mr. Warm and Fuzzy called it. Takes weird pictures of you."
"He is scheduled for that," Trowa said, "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious, I want to warn him that it's small and tight. Not that he has a problem with that, just was a little disturbing if you don't know what's going on." Duo said. #Treat him like he has a brain and explain things to him, don't think that because we don't know about a lot of your technology, that we don't understand it. That might keep him together more and I'm not gonna have another houseguest when we get out of here. Because Quatre shouldn't have to join Shinigami's band of happy headcases unless he wants to. Which no Angel in this lifetime or the next would want to do.#
Trowa heard the concern in Duo's voice, he was just trying to figure out where it was coming from. What was going on between their two experiments? He had noted that they had know each other before, from the reports of the survivors, these two had been having a quiet, but intense discussion over breakfast before the bomb had gone off. They had greeted each other with hugs and seemed to be comfortable with each other, as if they had known each other for a while. So what had they been talking about? How did they know each other? What was going on, because Trowa was willing to bet that there was something that was just outside his reach or understanding that these two were involved in that might be important to him and a lot of other people.
He was going to see if he could discuss this with Heero, outside this place, to see what could be done, what they could find out. He took the dishes out, after making sure that neither one of them could escape by rushing out the door. Not that Duo could move more then a shuffle with all those restraints. Was that what he had been talking to Heero about? Or was it something else, something that Trowa didn't want to know about? He was unexpectedly touched by Duo's comment to Quatre as he was leaving
"Another fun night in the lab, Pinky... wanna try and take over the world again and fail?"
Quatre's laughter was strained and as he was turning the corner, the last thing that he saw was Duo's wings around his cell mate, hugging him and crooning to him, comforting him, since he couldn't make him really laugh. Trowa wondered how Duo knew about Pinky and the Brain, and would he tell him if he asked?
Trowa dumped the dishes that he held into the garbage. They were paper and expendable, because anything else could be used as a weapon by their experiments. He then carefully signed the tranq gun back in to the armory and went looking for Heero. He had a couple of questions, but he didn't want to ask them here. May be he could ask the other out for dinner. Anything that would get them out from under the cameras at this place. He knew of Heero's reputation when they started working in this place. Brilliant, cold and very professional. About the same things that had been said about himself. And Trowa wondered if it was for the same reason, that Heero was as shy and clueless about relationships as he was. For a psychologist, he had no idea how to handle a relationship with a fellow human being. He related much better with animals. He found Heero in the surveillance room, looking at video tape from Quatre's and Duo's room, from when he was in there with them. Heero heard him coming up behind him. They had both learned early that sneaking up on each other wasn't the best thing to do. They were both too jumpy and had had some training in martial arts. He wondered why Heero had taken up that hobby, he knew why he had, and he would bet that it wasn't for the same reasons.
"He timed it just right, the camera caught nothing." Heero said numbly. He was surprised he didn't think that they were that knowledgeable about what was going on around them. They both seemed to be so anti-science. Heero snorted, maybe because they were the experiment, not the observer. He wondered briefly about that, maybe they knew a lot more then they were letting on?
"I think," Trowa said quietly, "That we need to go out for a pizza and a few beers. One of the techies mentioned a place in town that was good, we might want to try it."
Heero turned around and stared at Trowa, that was the last thing that he expected out of the other. A question about what he had been doing, what kind of scientist was he, why was he being that stupid? Not an offer for dinner.
"Didn't you always get a lot more done if you took a break and stepped back from what you were doing?" Trowa asked.
Heero nodded slowly, "And discussing it with someone always made me focus better, was it the same with you?"
Trowa nodded his agreement. Heero knew that they were talking about what wasn't past experiments, but what had been going on down in that cage they were watching.
"Just let me get my coat and I'll drive. I hope that you are not one of those weirdoes that insists on a lot of garbage on top of his pizza?" Heero asked, not really expecting an answer.
"A few things, but I like plain too." Trowa said following him out the door. Just getting out of here would be good for them, being able to talk and not worry about who might be listening was good too. And may be he'd get some answers to some of the questions that he had been starting to ask himself, when he woke up in the middle of the night, wondering if he was doing the right thing with those two. Questioning his commitment to this project and the others that he was working on. Things that he didn't really want to think about. But he owed these people and he wasn't going to throw it away for two strangers.
The drive to the pizza joint was quiet, neither man wanting to bring up the topic that was going to be discussed. It wasn't until they ordered their pizza and the pitcher of beer had been delivered, that they even started to talk. Trowa thought that Heero was going to be silent all night, since he had only grunted when asked what he wanted on top of their pizza, so Trowa had ordered a half plain, half pepperoni pizza.
As he poured their beer, he was startled by the one question that he never thought that Heero would ask. "Do you think that they like pizza?"
Trowa put down the pitcher and thought for a second. "I don't know. All I know is that they aren't eating as well as they should. I threw out more then half their dinner."
"Not a waste, I wonder what it was before the cooks got to it. Sometimes I think that it was one of our other experiments that failed." Heero muttered, watching the foam on his beer melt, before taking a gulp from the glass. He frowned at the taste, but it was American beer, it never tasted any good to him.
"Can I ask what went on?" Trowa said, wondering if it was too early to ask that question, may be he should wait until Heero drank some more of his beer. It might make it easier to talk to him. Heero's scowls made one not really want to ask him a lot of personal questions. But drunk... he would be a fountain of information.
"No... but... after a week with them, what's your impression of them. Not what you'd put in a report, but if you met them on the street, what would you think of them?"
Trowa thought for a moment, wondering if this question was some sort of trick. He knew what he had signed up for when he read the fine print, but now he wondered if Heero actually knew who was signing their paycheck. "I'd think that they needed a haircut." Trowa ventured cautiously.
Heero snorted. "I could have told you that, but what kind of person they might be, if we met them socially."
"They are not people." Trowa protested automatically, taking a drink of his beer. He frowned, but since beer always tasted bad to him, he let didn't say anything about it. He was more of a wine person, but that didn't go with pizza. He also didn't think that anyone in this place had even heard of wine.
"I never said that... " Heero protested, then sighed. "I'm starting to think it though."
"Don't get too close. You know that. Its one of the first things that they teach you in grad school, no matter how much it reminds you of your kitty or doggie back home, this animal is going to be used for research, so it doesn't need love or cuddling. Just dissect or vivisect the blasted thing and get on with it." Trowa informed him, coldly.
"They aren't a cat or a dog!" Heero growled, "I wouldn't get propositioned or turned on by one of those."
"That's what they were arguing about." Trowa muttered, half to himself. "And that's why Duo was on the floor once I got out of the wash area, with Quatre."
"He kissed me and offered himself to me so that Quatre could get some time outside. He said that captivity was driving Quatre insane... that he knew the symptoms." Heero explained, wondering why he was blushing.
"The turned on part?" Trowa asked dryly. He'd watch what was going on better from now on. He really didn't need Heero to get attached to this thing or involved in a relationship that would threaten the project. Or his own personal plans.
Heero flushed even hotter. "I was doing an MRI on him. I pulled down the pants that he was wearing to get a clearer shot of his spine and pelvis and I noticed what a nice ass he had, I couldn't stop staring at it. I don't know, if it wasn't for the techs being there... I might have done more then stare," he admitted. He drank more of his beer, finishing off his glass and pouring another one, starting to drink it down almost as fast. He was upset that he could be so unprofessional. He hadn't acted this way in High School, when his hormones were supposedly at their most active. So why was he starting now?
"They had an argument after you left," Trowa told him. "I don't know about what because they refused to speak English. But they were both unhappy. And after I locked them in for the night, Quatre was crying again. He isn't taking captivity well, I thought that we would have problems with Duo, but outside a few instances with the techs, nothing. He's behaving himself."
"It's damn hard to cause trouble when you're restrained like he is. But I agree with him, Quatre does need some time outside that place, he's looking a little trapped, its a little early for that expression in his eyes. May be they'd tell us a bit more about were they are from if we question them, in more relaxed surroundings. Someplace that isn't all metal and disinfectant." Heero mused, wondering why he had this overwhelming urge to take Duo outside that place and see how he looked in real clothing, not those skimpy scrubs. Must be something in the beer he was drinking, not that he wanted to stop, drinking because it sounded like a very good idea right now. Get drunk and forget about his curiosity about a certain demon back at the lab.
"No way are the big boys going to go for that." Trowa replied, frowning a little at the way that Heero was drinking. He shrugged, he'd switch to soft drinks because the way that Heero was drinking the beer he was going to be too drunk to drive by the time they finished dinner. Trowa just hoped that he wasn't a violent drunk. And he really didn't want anymore of that odd water that the management claimed was beer.
He was saved about arguing some more about their test subjects by the arrival of their food. Heero grunted his agreement with Trowa and then got down to the business of eating. He'd think of something to tell their superiors. They only thing that he could think of right now was sun tan lotion testing and even to him that sounded stupid. Heero was desperately trying to think of something to get them both outside, when he absentmindedly ordered another pitcher of beer. He didn't really remember drinking the first one, but it was empty. And he wanted more time to think and that gave him a valid excuse to stay here, one that Trowa wouldn't question, even if he didn't like it.
He was halfway through the second pitcher, when he decided that a pizza would be a good idea for his two jailbirds. He flagged down the waitress to order it, while Trowa was in the bathroom. Heero didn't think that Trowa would approve of his plan to feed them a snack this late at night. He asked the waitress to wrap it to go, to keep it warm for the ride home. She nodded, amused and worried about his attitude. She was certain that he wasn't the driver, or she would have taken his keys away by now. The keys had been confiscated by the guy he was with earlier or she would have worried. The guy with him didn't seem to have had more then one beer, before switching to soft drinks. He looked as sober as he did when he walked in. The waitress didn't think that Heero realized that he was speaking a mixture of Japanese and English to her when he was giving her his take out order. Trowa frowned at Heero when he realized how drunk the other man actually was. Thankfully Heero wasn't combative and was very willing to have the more sober Trowa drive them home, once his other pizza arrived. Heero didn't remember that Trowa had taken his keys away earlier and assumed that he had been the driver, even if it was his car.
The ride back was as quiet as the ride out, even drunk Hero wasn't inclined to chatter. Trowa had nothing to say. He was more worried about how he was going to explain the pizza and a drunken scientist to their bosses, since he really hadn't managed to get any information out of Heero with this move. He figured out from what little Heero had said that the pizza was for Duo and Quatre, he had been mumbling about the 'pizza test' and chuckling a little.
Heero accepted his car keys back, fumbling only a little when he went to put them back in his pocket. Trowa was debating if her could manhandle Heero back into his room when he took the decision out of his hands. Heero calmly started to walk down to the holding area that they were keeping Duo and Quatre in, to wake them up and see if they liked pizza.
"Jailbirds... birdy, birdy, birdy... I got a treat for you." Heero drunkenly crooned, banging on the wall before he walked in, after fumbling endlessly with the lock to open their cage.
Duo woke up and rolled out of the bed, placing himself between Heero and Quatre. He had no idea what was going on and was severely limited about how he could defend himself, but he wasn't going down without a fight. He stared in astonishment as Heero swayed into the room, carrying a flat cardboard box. He nose told him that it was pizza, but he couldn't understand why Heero would be bringing them one in what he thought was the middle of the night.
Heero managed to get inside without too much trouble and placed the pizza down on the table, staring at Duo who was crouched and ready to attack him, even if he was in restraints. Quatre was behind him on the bed, looking confused and half asleep still.
"Not too trusting a birdy?" Heero asked swaying closer to Duo. "What about being friendly? You were really friendly earlier "
"What do you want?" Duo asked quietly, slightly overwhelmed by the smell of beer on Heero's breath. He should have known it was something like this, a drunk looking for some jollies, thankfully Heero was targeting him and not Quatre.
"Hmm... don't know." Heero replied before he abruptly sat down. His balance wasn't doing too well, as he suddenly realized how much beer he had to drink. "You made a nice offer ... but I know that I'm too drunk to take you up on it."
"Then before you pass out on us, drink some water and then you won't have too much of a hangover in the morning." Duo instructed him. "Then get out of here!"
"You aren't nice." Heero pronounced solemnly, as if this was a new fact to him.
"No shit, you idiot! How nice would you be if someone woke you out of a sound sleep?" Duo asked impatiently.
"Don't know. I don't believe that I ever drank this much before." Heero finished thoughtfully, ignoring Duo.
"Then definitely drink the water. Trust me." Duo said.
"Why should I... you're bad." Heero argued. "You got the bad wings."
"Do you trust me?" Quatre asked quietly.
"Hmmm... maybe." Heero muttered. "You got the good wings."
"Then do what Duo said to do." Quatre scolded him. "He knows what he is talking about." # I hope.#
"Do you want some pizza?" Heero suddenly asked. "Me and Trowa went out to eat, so we could talk about things without other people hearing us and I just wondered if you ate pizza, so I brought some back with me. So that I could test that theory on you. Couldn't think of one that would get you outdoors, besides sun tan lotion testing and that sounded dumb to me. Does that sound dumb to you?"
Duo shook his head. If it wasn't so bad, he would laugh. Mr. Non-personality drunk and rambling. You really couldn't tell how drunk he was, unless you noticed how careful he was on his pronunciation of every word and how out of character the topics were. He wondered if he could talk Heero into letting them go. Not that they would get far, not with security that was around this place. But it would be fun to try.
"Does that mean that you don't like pizza?" Heero asked, confused.
Duo laughed at his confused tone and went over to the table, to grab a slice to assure Heero that he liked pizza, even though it would be really awkward eating it. But he didn't know when he would get a chance to eat good food again and he was a sucker for Heero's drunken, puppy eyes. "Depends on the pizza. Quatre, you better get it while it's hot, because I don't think that we're gonna see real food for a while after this."
Quatre got out of bed and skirted around where Heero was sitting on the floor. Heero sighed and made a half hearted lunge towards Duo and caught him off balance. Duo cursed under his breath for getting this close to Heero and then calmed down, he was well and truly caught. He couldn't get up, not with Heero's arms around his waist, Duo was surprised at how strong Heero was, he seemed to have a lot of muscles under that lab coat that he usually wore. Quatre moved to help Duo up, only stopped by the slight shake of his head that Duo made.
Heero was surprised that Duo fell into his lap, forgetting that Duo could barely in those chains, but chuckled happily that he was there and started to nuzzle his neck, purring a little. Even though they hadn't really had a chance to bath while they were here, Duo still smelled good. Duo was wondering if he should be scared. He was locked up, restrained and being fondled by a very drunk human. But Heero seemed harmless, for now and if letting him feel him up was the price that he had to pay for real food or Quatre not going insane, he would let it happen. He had a choice this time, unlike those other times, he could live with these memories. It might even be nice.
"Heero, could you let Duo up so that he can get something to eat?" Quatre asked nervously.
"No." Heero replied crossly. Duo felt nice, he was staying where he was. Heero broke the tie on the end of Duo's braid, then started to unravel the braid that fell down Duo's back, finger combing it a little before just starting to nuzzle him again. He loved all that hair loose around the two of them, he felt protected by that dark curtain.
"Do you mind if I feed him?" Quatre asked cautiously. Heero didn't feel like a threat and in fact looked quite harmless just nuzzling Duo, like he was a big cat with its kitten. In fact this was the best that Heero had 'felt' to him since he met the man.
"I'll feed him" Heero said, but made no move to get up or try to get Duo off his lap. In fact, Quatre was willing to swear that he heard Heero purring, as he continued to nuzzle Duo's neck.
"Then you've got to let Duo get up, if you want to feed him." Quatre explained patiently.
"Don't want to." Heero muttered, tightening his grip around Duo, causing him to squeak when the breath was driven out of his lungs.
"Then I have to feed Duo then, I don't mind, but Duo does have to eat. He didn't eat much of his supper." Quatre said patiently.
"Quatre, just get him some water." Duo told him. "I'll make sure that he drinks it. Then eat. I don't mind cold pizza."
"Duo?" Quatre asked, not willing to voice his fears. Heero could do anything to Duo and neither one of them could stop him. Quatre was under no illusions about his fighting skills, he was a strategist, not a fighter. He could hold his own in a fight, but thought that the Japanese scientist was a better fighter then he was. And Duo was all chained up like he was, meant that he was at the mercy of the other man. Duo looked scared, but he was trying to hide it, trying not to get Quatre worried too. Quatre for a second wondered if this was the first time that this had happened to Duo. He didn't think so, not with the questions that he had asked him earlier.
"Don't worry Quatre, he's just bein' friendly." Duo said, trying to reassure him. "I won't worry about him, he's too drunk to be a threat."
"Now." Was the only comment that Quatre had before getting some water.
Duo sighed, Heero was dangerous, he knew that. But if playing along got them some freedom, he was willing to put up with Heero. And aside from hugging him too hard, he really hadn't done anything that was threatening or hurtful. Maybe this would keep him happy. Or in the morning he might deny that it ever happened.
Quatre returned with the water and handed it to Duo. Duo grimaced, wondering how he was supposed to get Heero to drink this, if all the guy seemed interested in was nuzzling his neck.
"Heero... " he coaxed, "drink some of this, all the beer that you had is going to leave you dehydrated and you're gonna get a hangover."
"You know, I really don't like American beer. Most of it tastes awful. I don't know why I drank it" Heero mumbled.
"Just drink the water, Heero or should I be callin' you Dr. Yuy?" Duo asked, wiggling a bit to try and face Heero. Heero was happy that he had a new area to nibble on and started to give Duo kisses down the side of his neck and onto his shoulder, before gently biting him on the side of his neck.
"Heero. Dr Yuy and I want to start looking for my father. He... was... a doctor too." Heero explained slowly, between kisses, then muttered, "Bastard." After a second, "you taste good, thanks for telling me to bite you."
"That's an expression, like 'have a good day.' Duo explained as he half heartedly tried to wave the cup in front of Heero, to get his attention and maybe get him to drink something. He did not want to deal with a hungover Heero doing his best to poke at him in the morning. Heero noticed the cup finally and gulped down the contents. "Happy?" he asked sarcastically.
"No. I'd like it if you drank about a gallon of that right now." Duo said. "And Heero, its for my own benefit, I am not going to deal with you doing blood tests or anything else on me with a hangover. So if you want me to be sweet tempered in the morning and not bite you back, in front of witnesses, drink more water."
"Hmm... I will once I get rid of some of the beer." Heero explained, reluctantly pushing Duo off his lap. He unsteadily got to his feet and wandered into the bathroom. Duo and Quatre held their breath wondering if they would have a passed out Heero in their toilet area.
"I wonder where the other ray of sunshine is?" Duo asked thoughtfully. "I thought that he would be on Heero's heels by now, to get him out of here."
"Every thing is recorded in here," Quatre said slowly, thinking about the security that he had seen, as he was being dragged from room to room. "I bet that he's trying to get rid of the evidence of this late night visit or at least make sure that not too many people see it."
Heero returned to the main room, swaying a little less and frowning at Duo. "You're always on the floor, how come you don't sit in chairs?"
"More comfortable this way," Duo explained quietly. He was, sitting in a chair was difficult with the chains running from his ankles to a belt at his waist and then to his wrists. Heero frowned and then shrugged. As he went to sit down with Duo, Quatre quickly asked, "Did you drink more water? You have to drink a lot of it because you don't want to feel bad in the morning."
Heero scowled at him and Duo slowly got to his feet, "Com'on, you got to do it, a hangover is no fun."
"You've had hangovers?" Heero asked curiously, leaning a little on Duo when he felt his balance tilt. He could see why they don't like you driving while drunk, not with the way that he was feeling. Everything felt off and he knew that his reflexes were shot.
Duo staggered a little and then found his balance. "I used to... not anymore."
Heero frowned and let Duo guide him back into the toilet area. "Why not?" Heero asked. "I won't drink anything until you tell me," he threatened drunkenly, ruining the threat by nibbling on Duo's ear.
Duo sighed and shook his head, shifting Heero so that he was leaning more on the sink then he was on him. All he needed now was for a drunken Heero to land on top of him. "I afford can't let my guard down that much. So I don't drink, unless I can avoid it, And I do not get drunk, not matter how much I want to." He said quietly, handing a cup of water to Heero.
Heero gulped it down and filled the cup again. "Why not?"
Duo sighed and shook his head. "Drinking and getting drunk ruins your reflexes and leaves you vulnerable in a fight. So I don't drink. It's easier that way all around."
Heero drank some more water and filled it again looking at Duo curiously. "Why?" he asked softly.
Duo smiled sadly and looked Heero straight in the eye. "I got the bad wings."
Heero frowned and drank the water, filling it a few more times and drinking, he didn't think that he wanted to know the rest of it.
Duo watched him silently and put a shoulder underneath Heero's when it looked like he was done. "I'll help you out, but I think that you should be going because you're going to get in trouble for this."
Heero shook his head, "I'm checking to see if you like pizza. I don't know yet, so I should feed you some. I didn't know what to get, so I settled on plain. I should have known that I drank too much then, because I was forgetting my English." Heero unconsciously lapsed in the Japanese of his childhood. He hadn't really spoken it in years, but he remembered it. He was surprised to hear Duo answer him in the same language.
"You don't have to." Duo said quietly. His stomach was churning too much to eat anything.
Heero stared for a second and shook his head, stopping suddenly when he realized how dizzy it was making him. "You smell good, but you're still too skinny. Got to feed up my jailbirdies."
"Why bother!" Duo hissed at him and then continued in a quieter tone, "As soon as you're though with poking and probing us, what are you going to do with us? Or do I have to look forward to a different type of poking and probing? What's going to happen when all the experiments are over?"
Heero stopped short and looked at him. "I don't know." He didn't really, he hadn't thought beyond that. But he had seen the way that Jared and a few others had been looking at the Duo and Quatre, he might not be too far off the mark. Especially the way that he was acting now. Drunk and feeling Duo up, and Heero knew that he had made a fool out of himself by staring at Duo this afternoon, but he didn't think that he would have taken it further then that... he wasn't so sure about the others. Even if Duo hadn't protested his actions, Heero knew that they were way out of line, since Duo couldn't fight back with all those restraints. Or say no because he was trapped here, as an experiment.
Duo must have seen something in his eyes, because all he did was chuckle softly and say, "Do the right thing, just put us down... Quatre shouldn't have to go through that and I don't want to again."
Heero peered down at Duo, wondering if he had heard the right. He frowned and wrapped his arms around Duo, trapping him in his embrace. "What do you mean?" he asked quietly. He thought he knew, but he wanted to hear it from Duo, to satisfy his curiosity or because he actually wanted to know? That he wanted to know Duo better and not as an experiment, but as a person. Even a person that had bat wings.
Duo stood still, knowing that it was useless to fight, even though everything in his body screamed that he should. "Don't ask questions that you might not want the answers to." was all he said.
"I want this one." Heero growled.
Duo looked up at him with a cynical smile and sad eyes. "Ask yourself how many of the other people around here would have reacted favorably to my offer this afternoon. And how or why I got to be so 'practical' about such things. And then ask me that when you're sober"
Heero frowned and looked up as Trowa entered the room. "You have a minute to get out of here and back to your room. I managed to fiddle with the cameras and the tapes so none of this has been recorded, and I spliced tonight into what was taped last night. But I bought you only a little time and now you have to get out of here."
Heero reluctantly let go of Duo and grabbed the pizza box. "I didn't give you any." he said sadly, before leaving. He was still very drunk, but all that water was helping him sober up a bit. He was just wondering how much of this he was going to remember in the morning.
Duo smiled at him and shook his head. "That's okay, I'm not hungry. But I like pizza, for the record."
"Damn it Heero, get out of there and back to your room. You two, get back on the bed and pretend to sleep! You don't do it, I will make your lives more miserable then they are now!" Trowa threatened.
Duo laughed at that threat, but made his way over to the bed. He scooted over to make room for Quatre and they spooned together, trying to fall back to sleep again. Quatre tried to pretend that Duo wasn't silently crying in his arms, too tired to keep up the cheerful front that he had projected earlier. Quatre just wondered what Duo and Heero had been talking about in the other room, it had been something that had made both of them sad.
Heero woke up the next morning, wondering why his mouth tasted awful. He sat up gingerly, thankful that his stomach was only a little upset and he didn't have a headache. Drinking all that water must have been good for something. He vaguely remembered the conversations of the night before, bits of things, he was surprised that Duo spoke Japanese. The accent was off, he sounded like a country hick, but it brought back memories of his grandparents, the rare times that his father let him visit them. Heero was shaken out of his memories, by the pounding on his door. He got up to answer it, somewhat gratified that he was still wearing the clothes that he had on the night before. He wasn't too surprised to see that Trowa was the one that was pounding on his door.
"Damn it Yuy! Whatever possessed you to get that drunk?!" Trowa growled at him.
Heero shrugged. "I have no idea. But I am not going to repeat it anytime soon. But I think that we should think about one thing, what is going to happen once we run out of things to test them for?" His tone was quiet and intense. "And I wasn't the one that thought of that."
Trowa stared at Heero in shock. How much had he gotten out of those two in his little midnight visit? Nonhuman, but intelligent. Pretty too. Pretty, exotic and with no protection. He wondered what they were going to be traded for in the future. They could buy a lot of favors from the money men if they swung that way. Even if they didn't, either one of them were a good bargaining tool for the Center, to a lot of people. Heero looked at him, knowing that Trowa was slowly putting the pieces together.
"Who mentioned it to you?" Trowa asked quietly.
"Duo... he told me that the kindest thing would be to put them both down. And I think that he is right." Heero said, turning to get ready for work. "I'm not really up for breakfast this morning. Just let me take a quick shower and run down the list of things that we are supposed to do today."
Trowa nodded. Duo would be the one that thought of that, he was a little more cynical then Quatre, he would think about those things. He didn't expect Heero to be this coherent this morning, he might not have drunk as much as he thought. "MRI for Quatre, you get to take that. I'm were supposed to do some psych tests on our bad boy."
"Thank you Trowa for making me look at another naked butt this morning. I'm going to have to do the same thing to Quatre or the techs might just think that I am weird."
"Hate to tell you Heero, the techs are more scared of you then they are of anyone else here, except Duo. So you could get away with murder and they aren't going to protest much."
"Great... how do I get such a reputation?" Heero muttered to himself.
Trowa smiled and shrugged. #Because you are a cold hearted bastard. Just something about that little demon is making you attracted to him. I don't know what it is and I don't think that I want to know why. But I might find out this morning. And use it to my advantage.#
Zechs and Une made their way through the restaurant that they were supposed to meet their Angelic contacts in, Dorothy and the one that she picked as her second in this rescue mission. Zechs hoped that it wasn't someone that they were going to have too much trouble working with. Une spotted them first and waved at the table, ignoring the waiter that was walking up to her. Zechs smiled at him and gestured to where Une was waving. "I think that we see who we are supposed to be meeting, thank you very much."
The waiter smiled back and Zechs continued to work his way over to where Une was head. "Une, I would appreciate it if you took charge of the discussion with these two. I think that Dorothy might be a bit nervous around me, I scared her a little when she was younger."
"The little angel that was playing around a while ago, to see what trouble she could find?" Une asked.
"Yes, but you already knew that. Also you know that Duo seems to like her a little, they spent some time together, but nothing serious. I don't think that she knew who she was dealing with."
Une smiled faintly. "That was amusing, I hadn't seem Duo so relaxed in a while, even before he started his climb up the pecking order."
Zechs looked down at the woman at his side. "I had forgotten that you had gone back that far with him."
Une nodded absently, "Duo and I plotted the revolt in that place, I had a lot of freedom, because they bought my charade of innocent and brainless. Duo... well he knew better, because he knew it was just one of my personalities, because he saw them switch me once, when a client wanted someone that was a bit more bloodthirsty and domineering. If it wasn't for him, I would still be in that place, being reprogrammed for whatever they wanted. It took some time be he managed to finally put me back together, with a lot of help from some people that cared, Duo was one of them." Une finished her explanation as soon as they hit the table that Dorothy was sitting at.
Une noticed that the girl paled a little when she saw who she had to deal with. Her companion just scowled and it took Une a moment to place him. Wufei, one of the Angels that patrolled the edges of all the worlds, looking for rebels, his reputation for surliness was unmatched in many quarters. A good one to have called in as her second. No one would question his moves and even if they did, all they would get was his infamous scowl and a muttered 'Kisama' as an answer to anything that they asked him.
Zechs smiled and held out the chair to sit Une down and get her comfortable before he sat himself down. He smiled warmly at Dorothy and Wufei, amused to find two so dissimilar Angels working together on the same project. It just proved that clandestine operations did make the oddest allies.
"Dorothy. Wufei. I'm glad that you could meet us here for our little problem. I'm letting Une take charge of keeping in contact with you two, I am going to have my hands full with trying to keep the others knowing about what has happened."
Dorothy nodded, relieved that she did not have to work closely with the infamous Zechs. After the separation, he rages and his destructive tendencies he had shown during them, had been impressive. After a while he had managed to control himself, but he knew that since he hadn't done it in a long while, it was like a hungry animal that wanted to let loose and forage for what it could find. Zechs knew that Duo and Treize were the only two people that kept him calm and sane, and would not let him give into the rage.
Wufei just scowled, annoyed that he had to work with women. They were silent as the waiter came by and took their orders for drinks and lunch.
After that formality had been taken care of and the waiter was out of earshot, Dorothy spoke. "I want to get Quatre out, his people are frantic and willing to give me almost anything for support, plus he doesn't deserve this. But I don't know why we have to work together to get Shinigami out also?"
"Because they were meeting together to take care of a few problems, namely some of the factions, within the rebels." Une said calmly. "The Powers that Be wanted them to meet for some sort of agreement. Therefore it is joint problem that they got captured by the humans. Not just yours and not just ours. And if we combine resources we can get them out of there faster, before too much damage has been done by the humans."
"Why should I worry about a Warlord of the Fallen Ones?" Wufei spat out.
"Because he keeps the peace in his area. Have you ever had a problem with Shinigami? In fact, hasn't he sent you information that might help you? Offered you hospitality while you were injured or needed some help? He has kept in the good graces of your people as much as he could, so don't fucking turn your back on him now." Zechs growled. Une laid a hand on his arm to calm him. She was worried that he might lose his temper in the restaurant and that was all that they needed a report of a winged creature appearing suddenly, that report might tip off the humans that were holding Duo.
Zechs shook his head and smiled at her. "I'm keeping my temper Une. But Dorothy, don't you remember the time that you returned to our territory and had a wonderful time with a small demon with a long braid?"
Dorothy smiled at the memory. "Little Duo. We had fun. He was a bundle of laughs."
"He is Shinigami." Une announced quietly, enjoying the shock that was on Dorothy's face. Nothing else was said, because the waiter had returned with their drinks and their meals. Zechs pushed the food around on his plate as he watched Une smile at Dorothy's shocked look.
"Enough fun." Une stated. "Here's what we know. They were meeting in a small diner that they had used a few times before, as neutral territory. A bad habit, but it had been years since they met there, they thought it was safe. While they were conducting their business, an explosion ripped through the place, leveling the building and killing thirty humans, with about five survivors. It had been crowded during the breakfast rush, which is why that time was chosen, too many people in there to track their conversation. Survivor reports that we have managed to get our hands on and talk to, say that they were the furthest from the blast center."
Wufei grunted and scowled at that information. He stopped eating to look at everyone at the table. "They were meant to be hurt or captured, but not killed. That is dishonorable, since the humans were used to protect them, by absorbing the blast."
Zechs shrugged. "I don't expect any other kind of attack. That is the way that things work among us. Sneak attacks and backstabbing. But it could have been anyone, Fallen or Angelic or Rebel that set that bomb. Just because its our way of operating, it doesn't mean that someone else couldn't do it."
Une frowned at both of them, taking a small sip of her drink before continuing. She ignored the Caesar Salad that she had ordered, waiting for everyone to absorb the information before continuing with her findings. "The survivors, those reports that I managed to lay my hands on. All seem to agree that both of them seemed to have some sort of wings, which later reports changed to jackets or capes that flapped in the blast. But the police and the ambulance crew that picked them up, did not go to the hospital with the rest of the wounded. Instead, they disappear of the face of the Earth. I am assuming that they are in some sort of hidden lab, within fifty miles of the diner."
"Why do you say that?" Dorothy asked. She was impressed the report that Une had put together. She hadn't thought that anyone of Shinigami's band of psychos would know how to analyze the problem, never mind organize and present a report that outlined everything that they had to do.
"Because that is the furthest that they could have gone, during the time that the ambulance and the police were missing."
"So we should question the drivers and the police to see where they might have dropped someone off on the hush-hush?" Dorothy asked.
Both Une and Wufei shook their heads. Une raised an eyebrow at Wufei and then made a small 'go ahead' gesture, encouraging him to share his thoughts on the matter. She started to eat, wanting to get something into her stomach before continuing their planning session.
"If we start asking questions, that might tip them off to the fact that someone is looking for the two men that they transported away." Wufei started, then frowned. "If that happens, they might decide that it is easier to get rid of the problem, in a permanent manner. Or make then realize that they might be more organized then they really want to know about. Either scenario, would leave too many humans wondering about us."
"The rebels may want that," Dorothy murmured, thinking about the implications. Beside the obvious nasty one that left Duo and Quatre dead, there was all the research that was being done on those two even as they spoke about rescuing them. That had to be recovered also. "They may want us to be the ones that spill to the humans that they are not alone on this planet, never mind the rest of the bloody Universe."
"We also may be over thinking this." Une interjected, when she saw the thoughtful looks on all of the faces of her dinner companions. "But what it comes down to is that we need to take care of this fast, before it ripples out of control. Zechs, you and Wufei start figuring out where they could hide a facility of the size that if going to be needed to pull this off. Something that may have been in place for a long time, because the humans do love to meddle about in things that are the providence of the Creator."
"And some place that might be a private institute that is doing the research. The government is not the only people that you have to worry about." Zechs said, starting to think aloud.
"Dorothy, I want you to start poking around the accident. Something might be left there that can be used as a trace to get us the information that we need, something that can trace down who did it, because this might just be a plot by either some of your people or some of our people." Une said quietly. "I know that you don't want to think about that, but it is something that should be brought up."
"And how can you think like that?" Dorothy cried.
Zechs shrugged. "Because that is how things work for us... you may be rescuing Quatre because you want his favor or you think that it might get you some information that you need about the rebels. We are rescuing Duo because he protected us when things were bad, so we owe him and Une and I are not going to walk away from him, just because the Powers that Be or someone else wants to play with us. Duo is not going to rot away with the monkey boys because of some stupid politics or difference of opinions about what things should be like."
"I understand." Wufei said quietly, "You can trust us to try to the best of our abilities to give you what you need."
"Just so that we all know what is at stake here and where we all stand." Une reminded them. "I think that we have done enough here. And I don't think that we should all meet together again, because it makes us too vulnerable to someone or ones taking out all of us and leaving Duo and Quatre in the hands of those... primates."
Quatre looked at Heero nervously. He seemed fine this morning, drinking all that water must have helped him. Heero gestured for him to jump up on the table.
"I want you to snap out your wings because I also want film of them leaving your body. Duo said that if you did it now, when I asked you to do it a few minutes later, you'd stretch them out slower and avoid breaking them in the MRI."
Quatre nodded, "He's right. Is there anything else that you want me to do?"
"Drop your pants. I want a clear shot of your spine and pelvis."
Quatre blushed. No wonder Duo asked if Trowa was doing anything weird with him. It would be embarrassing to bare himself before everyone.
"Unless you have something really weird, they've all seen it before." Heero assured him, amused that Quatre was embarrassed about something like that.
"That's not reassuring," Quatre muttered. "You're not the one that they are going to be checking out. And getting naked is not on my list of things that I want to do."
"Ashamed of your body?"
Quatre shook his head. "I just don't want to flash everyone."
Heero frowned at Quatre, it was cute that he was shy. "No choice, so stretch the wings and then drop your pants."
Quatre obeyed, afraid to get Heero angry with him. He summoned his wings, stretching the out to their full 8 foot length, glad that he could stretch them out without too much trouble. He ignored the few feathers that fell out and suddenly flapped his wings furiously, nearly hitting Heero on the nose. Quatre blushed and stopped exercising then.
"I'm sorry" he mumbled. "I am usually not this clumsy."
Heero shook his head and frowned. "You just keep forgetting how small the room is. For a creature of flight, you have no depth perception!"
"I'm outdoors more." Quatre argued, his eyes darkening when he thought about longingly the sun and grass. He missed grass and the sky and the ability to be able to leave a place when he wanted to. He folded his wings inside himself and dropped to the floor, hugging his knees. "I want to go home." he mumbled. "I want to see the sun... its so cold in here... it smells so false."
Heero frowned and squatted beside him. "I can't help you, but you still have to cooperate with me. Just five or ten more minutes and you get to... not be in this room at least."
Quatre looked up and sighed. Heero was trying at least. "Okay."
As he dropped his pants and hopped on the table, thought he heard Heero say something about a green house, but he didn't know if that was his own wishful thinking or something that was real. And he didn't care. He was tired and he wondered what was happening with Duo, he wasn't doing well if he was crying into his pillow at night.
Duo stared sullenly at Trowa, wondering what he was trying to do. First Trowa was asking him about his parents. That was a touchy subject to Duo, he didn't remember his parents. And it was because of their actions that he was where he was today, instead of among the peaceful society of the Angelic ones. He didn't know if he would like it up there, but... he didn't want to have had half the crap that happened to him because of their problems with authority. He didn't know if they had thought that they were going to build a better life or what. All he knew was that their idealism had gotten them killed and gave him too much time being under someone else's power. And here he was, powerless again. This sucked.
"They died. I don't remember them." Duo said hostilely. "Is this some weird Jung/Freud crap that you are laying on me or are you just bored and nosy?"
"Bored and nosy? If I was bored, I wouldn't be asking you about your parents. If I was nosy, I would be asking you about the interesting conversation that you were having with Heero last night before you ate."
Duo grinned, feeling surer about himself. "That would imply that the food here is edible. This hotel sucks because the bed's too small, the bathroom is a horror and the food would have to be several grades above what it is to be called slop. You'll get no stars from AAA or the Michelin Guide."
Trowa shook his head, wondering why Duo had to turn everything into a joke. "Then could you tell me how you know about Pink and the Brain?"
"I listen... its been around forever. Sometimes you just pick things up." Duo explained, wondering where this line of questioning was going to go.
"How do you know about popular culture? Have money? Like food? Aren't Demons supposed to sell souls, tempt humans, things like that?" Trowa leaned forward and smiled coolly at Duo, "Like you are tempting Doctor Yuy? And don't worry about anyone else picking that up, I made sure that we have a small window of privacy for this discussion. If anyone bothers, they will be seeing a session that was taped earlier with you."
Duo leaned back, not wanting to be that close to Trowa. "That's his problem. I... I was just... exploiting an opening."
"But... why?" Trowa asked.
Duo looked at him for a moment. "Because it was something that I could do. I don't like being poked and prodded. I don't like wanting a shower or decent food or the ability to walk, not shuffle. And I don't like wondering what you are going to think of to torture me and Quatre with next!" #I don't like being used again. I don't like crying myself to sleep and watching Quatre slowly go insane because he wants to see the sun.#
"How do two people that don't exist, have money? Why do mythical creatures like coffee, bacon and eggs while they discuss something important to them." Trowa leaned back. "I can be asking these questions nicely or someone else can do it. Or... we can get nasty."
Duo looked at Trowa and felt the cold tendrils of fear starting to work their way into his stomach. He had thought that Heero was the one to worry about. He wasn't. For all his gruffness and scowls, the Japanese man was the innocent one here, like Quatre. Trowa was the man to worry about. He was the one that was working for something else besides the 'good' of science. That we spoke volumes and he wondered who else was interested in them.
"I see that you have realized that cooperation with me would go a lot further then with Heero."
"What do you want?" Duo asked quietly, not bothering to play games. Plain speaking would go a lot further, right now.
"Some information. Some cooperation. Maybe... a little of what you were offering to Heero. And don't worry about the cameras. I can take care of them." Trowa said smoothly.
"And if I do?"
"Unlike the other two, you and I know a little bit about what is going on. They are... oblivious to some of the darker forces that are here. At least Heero is. I... he is such an innocent at times." Trowa smiled. It was endearing to see that in someone as intelligent as Heero. He wondered if all driven geniuses were the same way. Ignorant about how things worked outside their chosen field of interest.
"Is what I tell you, the same as talking to the people that are funding this place?" Duo asked.
"Does that matter?" Trowa asked curious, he expected Duo to give him what he wanted, willingly or unwillingly. He just wondered about how much Duo was going to fight the process.
"I might get better treatment by cutting you out as the middleman." Duo grinned at him.
"This isn't a joke." Trowa warned him.
"No it isn't. But you know... I've been in nastier places and faced worse things then you. Just have to tell you that. But you have to figure out... what do you want to know? What do you want others to know?"
"That is an interesting question." Trowa said, wondering what the demon was driving at.
"That's what I am tempting you with. Knowledge." Duo grinned. "And like most humans, you've figured out that knowledge is something that is either good or evil, you know like with the snake and apple fable from that book."
"I'm a PC person myself. Never was tempted by the Apple." Trowa punned at him.
Duo laughed. "I like that. But... give me a little time. And you might want to think about a lot of different things. But enough of this... how about those ink blot things?"
Trowa smiled. Duo knew the score and had offered him something to think about. He should do the same to the other. He leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I do look forward to your cooperation. And if you don't... there is always Quatre, who can be answering my 'questions'.
Duo jerked his head back and looked at him. "You wouldn't!"
Trowa smiled coldly, "I've always been partial to blondes."
Duo stared at him. "I understand. Just... I... there are things that I can't tell you." he said quietly, trying to stall for time. He needed to think, to figure out what he could give this man and whoever was calling the shots. And no way would this slime be doing Quatre, if he could help it.
"Tell me about this ink blot then?" Trowa asked smoothly, gesturing to a piece of paper.
Duo assumed a sullen expression and looked at the paper. "Food, lots of chocolate. But that could be because I'm hungry. And it's the color of a really nice shade of Lindt dark chocolate. Or Godiva ice cream. Mole sauce too... man you guys can't be eating the same crap that we are... but you know, that would explain why you're so skinny."
Trowa shook his head. He was going to get as much as he was going to out of Duo today. But they both had a lot to think about, so it wasn't a wasted session. He asked a few more harmless questions for their audience and then escorted Duo back to his cell.
Duo flopped on the bed and eased the manacles around his wrists and ankles. He really didn't want to deal with Mister 'Surprise! I'm the bad guy', but he couldn't let Quatre deal with him either. He wouldn't stand five minutes of any questioning before cracking because of the stress that he was already under. So it was up to him to stall, while the cavalry came to rescue them. His people would come and get him, they owed him that much. And getting him out would get Quatre out, so Quatre's people would be in on the plan too. He just had to figure out who had gotten them captured in the first place. Duo spent the rest of the afternoon thinking and wondering how he got himself into these problems.
Quatre was quiet as Heero finished up his tests and then escorted him out of the lab. Quatre hadn't been paying too much attention to his surroundings and he was beginning to be alarmed when the corridors that he was being walked down, did not look like the ones that led to his cage. He looked up at Heero and was about to say something, when Heero looked down at him and shook his head. Quatre was worried, given Heero's antics of the night before, but somehow he couldn't feel threatened by him. Heero was close off to him as usual, he must have really repressed his sense of 'self' a long time to be able to do that. He was wondering what was going on when Heero stopped him.
"Close your eyes," he ordered him.
Quatre looked at him and then shrugged, closing his eyes tightly. Heero smiled. Quatre looked like a little kid when he did that, waiting for a treat. "Hold out your hands," was the next thing that he told him. Quatre held out his hands and felt a shock when Heero grabbed them. Heero's hands were warm and slightly rough with calluses. Quatre felt himself being lead forward, stopping once for a door to open.
"Keep them closed." Heero repeated.
"I will." Quatre promised.
"Walk slowly,' Heero counseled him, "I've got you if you trip, but I don't think that you want to stub a toe."
Quatre followed his orders and slowly entered the room. He felt concrete under his feet and smelled plants and moisture in the air.
"You can open your eyes." Heero told him.
Quatre opened his eyes and smiled when he saw that he was in a green house. "Oh... " his voice trailed off as he looked around. It was warm in here and smelled wonderful. And best of all, he could see the sun and the sky! He tilted his head back and just enjoyed the warmth. He breathed deeply, intoxicated by the smell of something alive after all that time in the labs. Quatre stood there for a few minutes before turning around to Heero and giving him a big hug.
"Thank you." he whispered into his chest. "I... I... needed this. It was so bad... ."
Heero awkwardly put his arms around Quatre, what was with these two that they invoked all sorts of strange emotions in him. He was happy that he was able to let Quatre have some time in the sun. And he wondered if Duo would 'make it worth his while', like he promised? Suddenly he was disgusted at that thought. This was something that Quatre needed. He saw that this morning during his MRI. This was just therapeutic, to get more information out of the subject. To have him last longer, so that they could do more tests. Not so that he could see the look of pure joy on Quatre's face when he was shown something that was alive and green.
"Quatre, when you tell Duo about this... tell him it's a freebie. I didn't really get you out of here." Heero said.
Quatre looked up a shook his head. "I... he's not doing well. Could you get him out of those chains? They... it's gonna scar his wrists soon if you don't and that would be bad for him."
"I don't know." Heero said doubtfully. "Maybe we can work something else out. He has behaved himself since he tried to bite the tech doing the draws. And she is one of our best!"
Quatre giggled at Heero's semi-injured tone. "Duo did have a reputation to maintain, as the bad one. Snapping at the technicians, that was in character, as the baddie. He really is gentle and kind."
"I don't believe you!" Heero protested. But he did, if Duo was the bastard that he wanted them to think that he was, he wouldn't have made such a fuss about making sure that he got enough water in him last night. Or he wouldn't treat Quatre so well, offer himself so that Quatre would get some time in the sun.
Quatre smiled and stepped out of his embrace. Seeing a bench in the corner, he led Heero over to it. "Just because Duo looks like a fallen one, does not make him evil." Quatre sighed. "May I say something in confidence?"
Heero frowned. He wondered what Quatre was going to say to him. he supposed that he could keep the information secret for a while. "I'll not tell anyone else right away, but... if my superiors ask, I will tell them."
Quatre shrugged. "The humidity in here is too much for a camera or any type of surveillance system. It's safe for now. So they won't know that we have talked."
"How did you know that?" Heero asked curiously.
"I didn't see any thing that would hold a camera, so they either didn't put one in or it was too wet in here for one. Since everything in this place is watched by a camera, they probably took it out."
"From the way that you've sounded in here, I thought that you were both anti-tech. I didn't think that you would notice that."
Quatre shifted and looked up at the sun, memorizing it so he could think about it later. "Technology has its uses, just we don't really need a lot of it. Unlike you humans, we don't have the endless records for information and the driven lifestyle that compels you to have such devices. I do admit, that I have a CD player and a collection of music, but that is about it. CDs are a wonderful invention. But for music only, all that information that you are so slavishly collecting... will it really be needed?"
"I am not going to debate that with you." Heero muttered. "We were talking about Duo."
"Duo." Quatre smiled again, looking at him. "He's beautiful."
Heero noticed how beautiful Quatre was. What was it about these creatures that made him lose all sense or reason? Duo wasn't the only attractive person in that holding cell. Heero shifted he really did not need to hear this about Duo, not with all the confused feelings that he was invoking in him. That they both were causing him to feel, things that had no place in his life.
"Duo... is very kind and loving. I... I have a friend. She, you might like her, she likes finding out things, like you do. Unfortunately, this led her into a few places that she shouldn't have been, like the territories of the Fallen Ones, those that are controlled by their Warlords. The first time, she was chased out by someone that just wanted to scare her. He did a good job. It wasn't that he hurt her, he just had the reputation of being a dangerous person. Someone that you don't want to anger. So she left. Later, she went back to another territory and had a wonderful time chasing around with Duo. He kept her company while she poked and stirred up mischief. What she didn't know was that the one that had scared her so badly before was working for Duo. They ran across him and scared her by just a raised eyebrow. Duo took pity on her and separated the two of them. Then fed her a huge amount of chocolate before sending her safely on her way. She told me about this later and I was struck by how thoughtful Duo was being to someone that shouldn't have been where she was in the first place. Now that I think of it, I think that he just wanted to have some fun with someone that would treat him normally."
"Who is Duo that he won't get drunk and has some bruiser that scares little girls working for him?" Heero asked curiously.
"No one really," Quatre replied with a small smile. "He... he's very big on responsibility, so he doesn't let himself relax. He trusts... his friends," Quatre fibbed. Une and Zechs were Duo's friends as well as his enforcers. "so he doesn't like them to worry about him."
"So are going to have to worry someone trying to rescue him?" Heero asked, wondering if this was something good or a bad thing. If the rescue attempt failed, they would have more of these people to examine. If it succeeded, he wouldn't be with either one of these men again. Which would be better for him?
Quatre frowned a little. "I don't know. They... they might not be able to help him. But I think that Une, she is his right hand man, would do anything for Duo."
"She loves him." Heero said that in a flat tone. He didn't know why he was upset about that. These two had lives, people that cared about them before showed up here. Why did it bother him to think about either Duo or Quatre with another person?
"She loves him like a brother." Quatre said firmly. He could see where this little line of questions was going. Heero actually liked Duo and was confused about it. Silly human, stuck on what a person looked like, instead of what they were like. "They may have had a physical relationship at one time but... ." he sighed. "I don't know a lot about Duo or his people. And I'm afraid that I might get to know them too well in the future."
Heero shifted uncomfortably. Quatre was too close to him and it was an unnerving feeling. Quatre patted him on the knee and smiled at him. "I like you. Don't be embarrassed by that. Duo is nice and the only reason that we aren't closer then we are, is that Duo can't afford a relationship with me. Or anyone. Or that he hasn't thought of me in that way before now. And you... even though you try to hide it, are a nice person. Incident with drinking too much last night aside, you have been very polite to us."
"So hasn't Trowa." Heero pointed out, trying to be honest and ignore the fluttering in his heart that Quatre's gaze was causing him.
Quatre shivered, "Trowa feels cold. Controlled. You act it, but he... I get some odd feelings off of him."
"Trowa." Heero said thoughtfully, then sighed. "I have to bring you back now. But if you're a good little angel tomorrow, you get another five minutes out here." #What do you mean by odd feelings? And you like Duo a little bit, why are you worried about living with him? I know that you aren't the same species... are you rivals or what? And why do Duo's people have warlords, are they that violent?#
Quatre smiled. "Thank you. And can Duo spent some time out here?"
Heero shook his head. "I don't know... I... a place without cameras?" Heero half joked. "I'm afraid of what he might do to me, more then he has to worry about me doing something to him."
Quatre went still and looked at Heero fiercely , "Heero, you never have to worry about that from him... he spent some time in a place where he wasn't allowed to say no. So he won't hurt you or use you that way."
Heero stared at Quatre. "I didn't know... but that explains a few things." #I should have known... Duo didn't want me, he was just trading himself for Quatre. Does Duo love him? I think he does, if he was willing to do that, but I was never too good at this stuff, even in theory. Quatre thinks that Duo might love him, he should know.#
"So you will be nice to him, get those chains off of him or at least replace them with something that won't hurt him?" Quatre asked, frowning in worry. Heero had the overwhelming urge to promise the small blonde anything, just to set his heart at ease.
"I can't promise you that." Heero replied gruffly.
Quatre hugged him again. "I know, but he... he's so sad, underneath the jokes."
Heero melted a little from that innocent gesture. Did Quatre know what he did to him? "I'll think about it, but its closer to yes than no. And he has been very well behaved, aside from some rude language and ruder gestures."
Quatre smiled his thanks, that was all that he could ask for. And he was finding himself attracted to this very shy scientist, too bad he was only interested in Duo.
End Part 2
Christine
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