19-Apr-2006
Title: The Nightmare Within - Part 10
Author: Ebonydove
Archived: GW Addiction
Date: April 18, 2006
Pairings: 3+4, 1+2
Rating: PG-13
Warnings:language, sap, angst, slight OOC, and struggling plot
bunnies.
Disclaimer: Just borrowing. I promise I will put them back where I
found them and of course no profit is being made here. Cross-posted.
Author's Notes: Thanks Nora for the inspiration. Feedback is always
welcomed!
He let the hot water rush over him soaking his hair and running in rivets down his back. Despite its heat, he was cold and had been shivering for the past several minutes, hoping he wasn't making enough noise to have Heero come running. He'd been staying with him for a full two weeks and after a quick pit stop at his apartment, he hadn't been back there since. It was nice. It was even something akin to normal. And it felt too much like running away and abandoning his promise to Hilde. He let out a sigh and turned the temperature of the water up a little more hoping it would be enough to chase the chill away.
"Duo?"
He heard the small rap on the bathroom door and shut the water off. "Yeah, one sec." He grabbed the towel and wrapped it around himself and quickly opened the door.
"Are you ok? You've been in there for quite a while."
He looked away from the concern in Heero's eyes and quickly set about toweling off and drying his hair that was dripping water all over the floor and trickling down his back. "I'm fine. Just can't seem to get warm today."
"Did you have another vision?" Heero asked; not masking his worry. Duo hadn't been sleeping well and it wasn't the first time he had mentioned being unable to stay warm despite that he had the temperature in the apartment up to 78 degrees.
He paused for a moment and then wrapped the towel around his head, trapping the thick mass of chestnut colored hair underneath it and grabbed the other towel from the rack. "That's just it, Heero. I haven't felt anything in weeks. I haven't even seen anything in my dreams. Everything has just been... blank."
"Maybe it's not a bad thing that you aren't being plagued by those images, Duo. It's bad enough that you already have to live with what you've seen. I hate to see you go through it... "
"I know, I know." He cut him off and slipped past him and out of the bathroom that was suddenly feeling just a bit too confining. "Did Trowa call with the location?"
Heero frowned, but took the change of topic for what it was. "We'll meet them at seven."
"Do I need to dress up?" Duo smiled a slow grin and cocked his head to one side, letting the towel he had around his waist slip to the floor. "Or maybe I should dress down?"
"Are you flirting with me, Duo?"
"Just flirting back. I saw the way you're eyes ate up every inch of me from where you were standing." His smile was slow and easy as he made his way over to where Heero was standing and wrapped his arms around his neck.
Heero gave him a long, thoughtful look out of quiet blue eyes before kissing Duo's teasing mouth and letting the kiss linger there for a few moments before deepening it. He had to admit that he was an interesting armful. "I'd love nothing more than to stay here and teach you a lesson for flirting with me like this, but we'll be late if we don't get moving and Quatre would be very disappointed if we canceled tonight. He was really looking forward in meeting you."
Duo stiffened slightly and put a little space between them, despite that Heero wasn't letting him go. "I bet he is. I can only imagine what supercop told him about crazy, little me."
Heero frowned again and did let Duo slip out and way from him. "That's not fair. Trowa isn't like that. And I thought you and he had gotten over whatever it was that seemed to be between you." Heero picked up the forgotten towel and followed Duo into the bedroom. "Is that not a true statement?"
"Tro and I are just fine. Even though he probably still thinks I'm half a nut case even with our grand adventure down at the docks that one night."
All right, so guilt was going to work. A little. Duo and Trowa hadn't gotten off to the best start and it was mostly because of him. If Duo didn't want to go out to dinner with them, he could make up a good excuse. He would have to as he had run out of apologies. "We can skip it if you want."
Duo spun around and smiled brilliantly. "Ooohh noo. No way I'm going to miss seeing that blonde friend of yours. I have to know what he sees in your partner, right? And the day I back out of a formal social engagement with a bunch of good looking men is the day I eat frozen cherry popsicles in hell." He winked and finished getting dressed, sporting a pair of light tan dress pants and a dark blue button down that complimented his eyes.
Heero laughed lighted and made his way over to him to kiss him lightly. "All right then, I'll get our coats."
Once Heero had left the room he let out a shuttering breath. His mind was only filled with thoughts and feelings of Heero. It was like everything else he had been feeling and seeing about the murders had been smothered by he desire to be with him. He'd have to get some space from him or he'd never be able to get a new lead on Hilde's murderer. And if he couldn't see and feel the killer, then he'd be putting everyone around him in danger.
The night was a little cool and despite that Duo had been so cold before he had wanted to walk to the restaurant instead of taking the car. They could always take a cab back if they needed to and he thought that the fresh air would do them both some good. He had an itchy feeling nagging at him, but just couldn't seem to get a good lock on it. He slipped his hand inside his jacket pocket and felt the reassuring edge of his gun on his hip. Glancing behind them as they walked down the second block he was sure that someone was watching them. "Duo, I've been wanting to ask you about Wufei Chang."
Duo quirked an eyebrow at the odd choice of topics. "Okay."
"I know you said that the two of you were friends." He paused and stared down at his police issued dress shoes. "Were you more than that?" He hated to ask, but it had been on his mind for a few days and it just seemed odd that anyone would be following them unless they were connected to one of his cases, or Duo.
Duo huffed a small sound of aggravation. "Would it really make things any different between you and I if we were?"
"No." Heero looked up and met Duo's solid gaze.
"Good." He smiled and turned to resume walking. It was then that the rush of images flooded into him almost knocking him to the ground with their clarity. "Heero! Get down!" But it was too late.
The shot was high-pitched and shockingly close. Too close was all he had time to register before lunging towards the spot where Duo had crouched down along the side of the nearest building. "Stay down." But Duo had already seen how the blood had stained the sleeve of his jacket from where he had been hit by the bullet and was now up and running towards him, in the open. He swore as he tackled Duo and used his body to cover as much of his as he could as another shot ripped through the night and he dug his gun from its holster.
"Keep down." Heero's face was close to Duo's and his voice was cold and calm as he held him under him. Somewhere a dog was barking like crazy. He scouted the roofline where he figured the shot had come from and saw nothing. Duo was shaking violently now as they blood from the graze on his arm left a dark smudge on his cheek and began to drip onto the pavement. Still covering him he shifted his weight to keep the wounded arm from bleeding all over Duo. "Shhh, it's all right. Whoever it was, his aim was off. I think he got more of the coat than me."
"H-how bad is it?" Duo asked with a shaky sounding voice.
The pain was a bright sting up his arm. "It's okay." He glanced back to where Duo was pressed firmly against the ground under him disturbed to see tears in Duo's eyes and clear shock written on his face. "I'm okay, Duo. I promise."
"Too late. I saw it too late." Duo whispered and looked up to the roofs and windows of the buildings on the other side of the street. "It was deliberate. Someone was shooting at you."
It almost made him laugh. He wasn't so sure that the shooter was aiming for him and not Duo. "I can't see anything and am not too sure about the direction that the shot came from, but we can't stay here. We need to make it into that alley where there's some better cover." The dog was still barking off and on and far away in the distance he could hear the siren. If it wasn't a local on patrol it would have to be Trowa responding being that close by.
He couldn't argue with him. Not when Heero's face was so pale even with all his assurances that he was fine and that the bullet had only just skimmed his arm. He had no doubt that they stood out like deer in an open meadow. "Okay. Let's move."
"On three."
"Right."
"One... Two... Go!" Heero shouted and practically dragged Duo up and off his feet as they scrambled to the alley. Even as the shadow of the building fell over them, he didn't relax. The sniper could be anywhere really and with the siren's getting closer, whoever it was could decide to get serious or bolt. With heaving breaths they leaned back against the brick wall between two dumpsters and listed to the sounds of the night around them. The siren was getting very close and he hoped it would be Trowa who arrived and not some damn rookie wanting to play hero.
He spared a glance to Duo whose color seemed to be returning. He dragged his arm to his chest and pressed the gun into Duo's closest hand. "Here, take this."
"Why?" Duo demanded with an almost accusatory tone. "You're the fuckin' cop here!"
Heero smiled, feeling better than Duo's fear had been replaced by anger. "I'm just getting a little fuzzy."
"Damn it." Duo carefully pulled the coat sleeve up to see the blood had soaked through to his shirt below and was dripping steadily down to his fingertips. Heero was still smiling but was pale and his eyes were looking droopy. "Don't you fucking pass out on me now." He swore again with Heero's blood warm on his hands. "I'll be damned if I'm carrying you to the restaurant."
Heero chuckled. "Well, you got what you wanted after all. If this isn't a good excuse to put off meeting Quatre, I don't know what is." He heard Duo's sharp intake of breath and if he could have would have slapped himself. "Duo... "
"It wasn't that at all... I would never want you to be hurt... I would never... "
"I'm sorry Duo, it was a stupid thing for me to say. I know you'd never want anything bad to happen to me. I'm sorry, forgive me." He reached over with his good hand and placed his palm on his cheek, frowning at the smudge of his own blood there.
Duo was about to speak when loud shouts echoed up the alley from the street. Trowa's voice was clear and loudly barking orders at what he guessed with other police that had responded to the gunshots. "Just stay here, while I go get Trowa. I can hear him. He's close."
Heero grabbed at his arm as Duo began to get up. "He'll find us. Just stay here."
"I haven't been much help at all tonight to you. I'm not going to let you sit here in a damn alley and bleed to death." Duo hissed and stood up.
"Duo... wait." But he was gone and it wasn't until he watched Duo slip out of his sight that he was truly afraid.
End Part 10
(:./ebony/within10)
