Title: Death & the Phoenix
Author: Ebonydove
Pairings: 1+2/2+1, 3+4/4+3
Warnings: Possible episode spoilers, liberal use of GW characters,
OOC, yaoi, angst, violence, language, fluff... the usual.
Author's Notes: Hold on folks, more gouda on the way...
Disclaimer: The characters are owned by those with higher earning
potential than me, so follow the money baby! Lord knows, none is being made here.
"Duo? Are you alright?" Heero knelt next to his friend and rubbed his back for a few minutes. Then he reached up and ran the faucet. Grabbing a cloth from the rack, he ran it under the cool water and began to wipe Duo's face and mouth with it.
Duo opened his eyes and took a shaky breath. With a brilliant smile he turned and looked into Heero's blue eyes. Eyes that were full of concern and even a hint of that elusive emotion, love. "No Heero, I'm not alright." Not wanting to see the pain in those blue depths he quickly closed his eyes again. "I'm dying."
Heero's mind reeled. Sick he could deal with. Even betrayal he would find a solution for. But death? It was impossible. He was immortal. He had to be. Duo couldn't die. Heero felt the panic surge through him, the next thing he realized he had grabbed Duo away from the bowl and was holding him in his lap as tightly as he could. "No. No you aren't."
Duo shivered in his arms trying to fight the tears stinging his eyes and refusing to look up at Heero. He rested his head against Heero's chest and took deep breaths to calm himself, but the shaking wouldn't stop. He slowly wrapped his arms around Heero's neck and relaxed into Heero's hard embrace. He smiled despite the pain of the moment and sighed into Heero's shirt. "Heero, even you can't stop what's happening to me. You may be able to defy the laws of nature, jump from thirty stories and survive, but even Superman can't keep Death from taking what he wants. I wish you could, but you can't, no one can."
"No, Duo... you are not dying." Heero helped Duo up off the floor and out of the bathroom. Once down the hall and into the living room, they sat down on the sofa. Duo put some space between them as the two sat in the dark room.
After what seemed to be an eternity, Duo stopped shaking and with a deep breath, began to talk. "Heero, I don't want this. I don't want you to get involved. Not know."
"I told you before, it's too late. I am involved. We all are. And we're all angry that you shut us out."
Duo looked up at Heero; his eyes full of unshed tears and smiled a halfhearted smile at him. "I didn't want you guys to know. I didn't want to put you all through any more pain than you've had already. I wanted to do this on my own. If you don't get attached then it won't hurt so much when you lose someone." Duo took another deep breath.
"I've never had anyone to lose before Duo. I'd rather have all the pain that goes with having someone to lose, than never having anyone in the first place." Heero watched as Duo frowned and looked down to the floor again. A flash of anger rose in him. "Besides, I already told you. You are not going to die. If I have to walk through the fiery depths of hell naked, to fight the devil himself, I won't let you be taken from me."
Duo blinked and then started to chuckle, which then turned into a fit of giggles, before erupting into full-blown laughter. Wiping tears from his eyes he met Heero's curious glare. "I gotta live to see that! You naked, fighting the devil, in hell. Besides, Quatre would partner you up with someone else, just as good as me." He only had a second before Heero assaulted him with a flurry of kisses on his mouth, cheeks and neck.
Duo broke away from the attack and smiled up at Heero. "Damn Yuy, I don't think that's the kind of partner she'd have in mind. The least you could do is let me at least brush my teeth, k?" Duo got up off the sofa, pulling Heero with him.
"What are you doing?" Heero followed Duo back into the kitchen where Duo proceeded to get two more pills from the previously hidden stash. Swallowing the bitter tablets, he finished Heero's milk and grabbed his wrist as they walked down the hallway to Heero's room.
"Before I puked, I told you I would tell you everything, but I have to ask you some things first." Duo leaned against the doorframe of Heero's room and gave the Wing pilot a stern look.
"I don't usually negotiate." Heero fixed him with his own look.
Duo frowned. "Even though you may the universe's Perfect Soldier, and are as close to Superman as anyone can get, there are going to be some things that you can't keep from happening. I'm gonna get a lot worse before I get better. A lot of what I have to go through I have to do on my own. Support is fine, but I gotta fight this thing my own way, you understand?" Heero nodded, but looked irritated beyond words. "K. I don't want pity or for any of you guys to hover, especially you or Quatre. We still have a job to do and we have to keep up with our objectives." Heero nodded again and went to speak when Duo put a finger to his lips silencing him. Heero looked completely surprised and Duo almost laughed at his expression before he remembered the other thing he wanted to say. "Finally... I love you more than anything in this entire Universe or beyond, but I need you to promise me... that this affection you're showing... isn't coming from some twisted sense of duty, or responsibility, or something. And... " Duo looked away from the eyes that held his soul and tears welled up again in his own.
"Go on." Heero swallowed hard and whispered softly to Duo who was struggling to keep control over his emotions. Heero was having enough difficulty just with the subject matter, so when Duo looked like he was going to break, he almost lost it himself.
"Promise me you won't say the words... don't tell me... that you, you know... just in case... things don't quite work out."
Heero felt his anger swelling again, but seeing the vulernable look in those violet eyes melted away all that anger until all that was left was the overwhelming fear that he would lose Duo if he didn't agree to the promise. Heero nodded again, and pulled Duo against his chest. "I just wish it didn't take this to bring us together."
"Don't ever be sorry, Heero. You are the most amazing thing I have ever known in my life." Duo pulled away from Heero and kissed him lightly on the cheek and turned towards his own room.
Heero watched him for an instant before coming up behind and embracing him tightly. "Promise that you won't give up, that you'll fight it."
Duo swallowed a few times before leaning against Heero's chest. He could feel Heero's warm breath in his ear as he spoke the soft words. They sent shivers up his spine and made his mind numb to everything else but the scent of him, how the strength of his arms felt as they wrapped around his chest. He turned to look into the clear blue eyes and smiled warmly. Duo only wished he knew exactly what he was fighting against. "I promise."
End Part 4
(:./ebony/death4)
