08-Apr-2002
Title: The Crocodile Pool
Author: Ebonydove
Pairings: 1+2/3+4 later
Warnings: OOC, language, slight gore, mention of rape, some sci-fi.
Disclaimer: More money being made. If it were, I'd be sending it to charity anyway.
Heero and Trowa finally found where the screams were coming from after racing through the gardens and down a dark path, to find themselves at the Crocodile Pool. The ruins of an old, dilapidated chapel shadowed it. At the water's edge they found their two missing lovers. Quatre was hovering over Duo, who was on the ground, soaking wet, and unconscious.
Trowa raced up to Quatre and practically slid to a stop next to him, dropping to his knees and taking Quatre's face in his hands. Quatre's mouth was moving but no sound came out and he was staring at the still surface of the water.
Heero was torn between panic and anger when he arrived at the pool to see the state that Duo was in. He glared harshly at Quatre who looked dazed and confused in Trowa's arms. "What the Hell happened here?! Why are you both soaking wet?!"
Quatre was shaking and pale white as he stared into the pool and then back to Heero. He opened his mouth to speak but still nothing came out. Then he threw his arms around Trowa's neck and buried his head in his shoulder. "D-Duo and I decided to talk a walk, and w-wound up here. H-He saw something in the water... he tried to find it... I couldn't stop him... s-something pushed me and held me down... all I could see were bubbles... then... then... "
Quatre was a lot more unnerved than Heero first realized. He had gathered Duo up into his arms and was checking his pulse and breathing while listening to Quatre choke out what had happened.
"Quatre slow down." Trowa soothed.
Quatre took a deep breath and slid away from Trowa and crawled over to Heero and Duo and picked up Duo's hand. "Something was in the water with him... it pulled him up... it d-dragged him to the bank and then left. As soon as it was gone I could move again, and I yanked him up the bank and onto the grass here. He was breathing and seemed okay... "
Heero had to take a breath himself before speaking and tried to make his voice sound as calm as possible for Quatre's sake. "What did you see?"
"I didn't see anything, Heero. But Duo... he must have seen something that scared him t-to death. He had been thrashing under the water."
Heero glanced from Duo to Quatre and then to Trowa. "I've had just about enough of this. Tomorrow I'm taking Duo home." He growled softly as he wrapped an arm around Duo's waist and started to walk back to the estate.
Quatre stepped in front of him; his eyes snapped up to meet Heero's that were blazing with fury and began to shout at him. "No! You can't!"
"Yes, I can Quatre. This has gone on long enough. You both could have drowned. This is crazy. When we get back I'm taking Duo back to see the psychiatrist."
"Then maybe you should take me too! What happened was real Heero! I didn't make up getting knocked to the ground and being held there!" Quatre had also risen and was shaking with anger as Trowa tried to calm him down.
"This is crazy." Heero said again as he continued to walk.
Trowa turned Quatre around to face him and put his hands on top of his shoulders. "Quatre, yelling at Heero isn't going to make him listen. He's scared. Let's go back to the estate get you both dried off and talk this all out."
"You believe me don't you Trowa?" He asked with wide eyes and a grim expression.
"Yes, love. Come on."
By the time they had caught up to Heero, they had reached the gardens and Duo had woken up. He was standing on shaky legs and yelling in Heero's face as tears rolled down his cheeks. Heero cupped Duo's face with his hands; brushing away the tears with his thumbs and kissed his frowning mouth. "I just want you to be well, Duo."
Duo shoved Heero away and squared his shoulders. "I'm not going back there! I'm not fucking crazy! This isn't some kind of stress disorder or delusion!" He glanced to Trowa and Quatre who stood there unmoving and unspeaking. "And I'm not leaving here until I figure this out. She's called me here for a reason, Heero. Something's very wrong here and I may be the only one who can find out what it is!" He took a shuttering breath to try to reign in his raging emotions. "Don't you dare tell me what I am, or am not, doing. Ever. I'm not some damned pet dog that just goes along with whatever command you make. I'm not fuckin' Relena!" He shouted and took off running for the estate before Heero could open his mouth to say anything.
"Heero, I'm sorry. I should have brought him back to the house and never came to see the pool. I just thought... I thought it would help us figure out what was going here." Quatre whispered quietly. Heero just glared at him and started to walk back to the estate.
Duo ran up the stairs to the room he shared with Heero and slammed the door. He was winded from the run and his emotions were riding high. Heero thought he was crazy. After all this time and everything they had been through together, Heero didn't trust him.
He slumped down to the floor and leaned heavily against the closed door, wrapped his arms around his head and begun to cry. All the things he had been through in his life, all the things he had seen and the horrors he had witnessed, nothing scared him like the image of Heero's still, pale white form floating under the water had.
And the one person who meant more to him than anything thought he was losing his mind. God, it hurt.
Wiping the snot and tears from his face with his wet sleeve he got up from the door and made his way to the four-post bed. Falling face forward on the soft mattress he buried his face in the pillows and sniffled some more. He didn't give a damn that he was still soaking wet. He flopped onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. The way he had been screaming no wonder Heero looked so panic stricken and then so angry. He probably scared the shit outta him, just like he had himself.
When he spared a glance to the clock on the small table nearby, he huffed and almost rolled his eyes. It was well into the early morning hours, no wonder Heero had come looking for him. How long had they been out there anyway? It only seemed like minutes, but it had been hours.
He heard the soft knock on the door and did roll his eyes. No doubt it would be Quatre coming back with Trowa. He knew better than to think that Heero would come running after him the way he had yelled at him.
He dragged himself up and over to the door. He unlocked it, but didn't open it. Scrubbing the last traces of tears from his face he huffed and flopped back onto the bed. "Come in Quatre." When the door opened and Trowa eased into the room he was surprised. "Come to drag me to the loony bin?" He grinned his lazy, arrogant smile but Trowa didn't buy the false humor.
"No. I told you before I believed you and I meant it. Quatre's putting on some dry clothes and you should probably do the same." Trowa crossed over to the bed and sat down. He spent a few minutes admiring the room before turning back to Duo. He was waiting patiently for Duo to say something and when Duo rolled back over to stare at the ceiling again, he leaned back on his elbows and gave him an expectant look.
"You want to know what I saw."
Trowa nodded once and waited.
Duo glanced up at him and puffed a bit of air up through his bangs. "I saw the girl again. She was very dead. A-and then I saw... " He paused and huffed hotly. Trowa sat up and scooted closer nudging him with his elbow to get him to roll over onto his stomach. Then he pressed his hands on the small of Duo's back and slowly began kneading the tense muscles of Duo's lower back and worked his way up along his spine to his shoulders and neck. Duo put his head down on the pillow and took a few deep breaths and allowed himself to relax under Trowa's strong hands. "I saw Heero. In the water. He was dead too. He looked like he had been torn apart. The water was full of blood and I couldn't figure out what direction was up or down."
"No wonder you screamed like the sky was falling at Heero in the garden. You were just as scared as he was."
"Yeah." Duo rolled onto his side and fiddled with a bit of the downy comforter. "Heero's pissed, huh?"
"He's very worried."
"That I've finally lost the last screw that was keeping my head on right." Duo looked up through his long bangs. "So now what?"
Trowa shrugged and got up off the bed. "I don't know what you say to him. I think he understands you were upset. But he loves you." Trowa shrugged again and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I got him to agree to stay a few more days, though."
"You did? So I don't have to go home? Trowa... thanks." Duo smiled a genuine smile and sat up. "Some vacation, huh?" He added as he ran a hand through his hair. His braid was a mess, with pieces sticking out all over and slightly frizzy from the damp, warm water.
"Tomorrow we're going to the Mardi Gras parade. There's going to be all kinds of food, and music, and costumes. I think a distraction from all this ghost stuff would be good for everyone. Quatre's a little hyper too and I need him to step back and catch his breath."
"I know, and I'm sorry man. For getting him all wound up."
"Doesn't really take that much to get Quatre wound up, Duo. You know that." Trowa opened the door to the hall to see Heero leaning against the opposite wall. "He cares about you too. Just be thankful that Wufei isn't here or he'd be hauling your ass to a shrink faster than you could cry injustice." With a nod to Heero he left the two alone.
End Part 9
(:./ebony/pool9)
