17-Oct-2001
Email: anakerie@cinci.rr.com
Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing boys.
Warnings: Lemon, Angst, OOC, AU
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4
"They can't do that!"
"They're doing it. Most of the water is gone already. Gonna turn the whole darn place into a shopping mall, more'n likely."
"Thank you, Gerald." Heero hung up the phone and grabbed his suitcase, throwing clothing inside at random. "Tell Trowa and my mother I had to leave at once. I'll be back as soon as I can. They're draining Duo's lake!"
"No... "
"I have to get to him." Heero snapped the suitcase closed. "Without the fish, he'll starve to death!"
He raced out the door.
It was nearly midnight when Heero's rental car pulled up to the lake and he got out. The cabins were already flattened, and only about a foot of stagnant water was left in the great pit that used to be the lake. Dead fish were everywhere. Pulling out a flashlight, and hoisting his knapsack, he ran back toward the hill.
It took a while to find the entrance of the tunnel but there it was. This time was a little easier, as he had light (and extra batteries in his pack) but it was uphill. He felt like he'd been walking for hours when the tunnel suddenly ended.
He carefully lowered himself past the opening, and dropped to the earth below.
It was the first time he'd ever seen the chamber in light, but somehow it was the same as he remembered it. Except for the gaping hole in the floor that was once a pool of water. But where was...
He saw him then, in the corner, the ratty blanket pulled around him. His head down, and his shoulders shaking with sobs. In his hands was a filthy, water-damaged toy that had once looked like a bear.
"Duo." Heero said softly. "Hey there, Duo."
Duo raised his head, shielding his eyes from the flashlight. "Heero." His voice was weak. "You came back."
"Yeah." Heero bridged the distance between them and knelt at Duo's side, cupping his face. "I came as soon as I heard they were destroying your lake."
"They killed it!" Duo sobbed. "I failed. I promised my father... I broke my promise. It's all gone."
"Shhh." Heero put an arm around him. "It's okay. It's going to be okay."
"Why did you leave me?" Duo whispered. "I thought you loved me."
"I do. I do, you don't know how much I do." Heero kissed his chilled forehead. "But love has to be given freely. You can't keep someone in a prison and expect them to be happy about it."
"It was so bad... before, I was used to being alone. And then you were here, and then they took you away, and it was worse because I knew. I didn't know before, but I KNEW then it could be better. And... I HATE you."
"That's a shame. Because I love you." Heero pulled him closer. "And I always will." He rocked Duo. "But you can't stay here, Duo. There's no food for you to eat. There's no lake for you to guard. I'm not going to force you to come home with me; that wouldn't be fair, but I'm asking you to. Please. You'll die if you stay here."
"Okay." Duo's voice was muffled by Heero's chest. "As long as you'll be with me. I lied. I don't hate you. I love you. Don't leave me any more."
"I won't. I won't leave. Come on. I brought you something." Heero released him and opened up the pack. "Clothes. You know I don't mind seeing you naked, but your father was right. Other people would. So you need to put these things on first. Here, I'll help you."
A few minutes later, Duo stood awkwardly in sweat pants, a tee shirt, and canvas sneakers. "Do I look human?"
"You look very human." Heero smiled. "You look perfect."
Duo gave him a brave smile. "Okay. Let's go then."
Heero picked up his knapsack and flashlight, and they headed for home. "Wait a minute." Duo said, and Heero felt his bag being opened, and something slipped inside. "Heero bear wants to come with us." He explained. "But I don't think I'll need to sleep with him any more. I have you to cuddle instead."
"For the rest of your life." Heero promised.
End Chapter 8
For the first few months, Duo was literally a fish out of water. The first trouble Heero ran into was that without any ID, it was impossible to get Duo allowed on board a plane. So they were resorted to driving back to Heero's apartment. Fortunately, Duo was enchanted with the car, as well as hotels and fast food. The only trouble had come when Heero had taken him into a Wal-mart for more clothes. Duo had slipped away and eaten half of the goldfish in the pet department before Heero could stop him. "But why else were they just sitting there?" He'd asked, bewildered, as Heero apologized to the manager and paid.
Heero had called Quatre and given him permission to relate his bizarre story to Trowa. Trowa's initial skepticism (he thought that it made more sense Heero had imagined the whole thing when he fell and hit his head) was quickly put on the back burner when Heero entered the apartment several days later, the water man holding tightly to his hand. And it wasn't possible to miss the way Heero was glowing in pure happiness.
And both Quatre and Trowa were crazy about Duo, as Heero had known they would be. To Trowa's surprise, Ruth took an immediate shine to the young man. "He's provincial," she'd sighed. "You'd think he was raised in a cave or something, but he's incredibly bright. And he has excellent tastes; he's just never had a chance to develop them." The result of this was Ruth smuggling Duo away with her, taking him to museums and restaurants and plays, all of which Duo adored. Heero confided in Trowa one night. "Mother is in seventh heaven. She's finally got the son she always wanted." Ruth even surprised all of them by calmly accepting the news that Heero and Duo were more than just roommates. "Heero, please." She sighed. "Maybe I wasn't the most attentive mother in the world, but do you think I was totally in the dark about the fact that you're gay? I probably knew you were gay long before you did, as a matter of fact." And Heero had to admit, she probably had.
The next step was making sure no one decided Duo was an illegal alien and tried to deport him. To that, Heero tapped into his seldom-used funds and with a little finesse and a few calls was able to secure a birth certificate, school records, and an ID card all for one Duo Warning.
Another project Heero kept to himself, working long hours on the computer after Duo was asleep, trying to trace the path of a small boy found wandering the edge of a lake almost twenty five years before. A boy calling himself Solo.
The end result was not what he had hoped for. Solo had been taken in by children's services and placed with a foster family. A year later, his foster father had beaten him to death in a fit of rage. Heero debated for days whether or not to tell Duo, and then decided he had a right to know. Duo had wept, and railed against humans in general, before collapsing in Heero's arms. Afterward he said he felt at peace; it was better to know that his brother was safely sleeping than always worrying about him. And Heero agreed.
And then it was fall again, and the leaves were turning. And Duo, his hair in a neat braid, was tugging at the tie around his neck, making faces. "Just another few hours." Heero promised. "Then you can take it off." He leaned closer. "As well as everything else."
Duo laughed. "Can't wait." Clothing was something of a formality for him, still. And those he lived with had no problem with him going around in the buff, especially Heero.
The double ceremony was not legally binding, but for the two couples pledging themselves to each other, legality could take a flying fuck off a rolling donut. All that mattered was the emotion behind the words.
The minute it was done, Duo, true to form, dragged Heero over to the buffet table. Ruth had insisted on paying for the entire affair herself, and it was done with her usual all-out flair.
Duo picked up a sandwich, glanced at it, and made a face. "Gross."
"What?"
Duo pulled open the bread and pointed at the green and white vegetable inside. "Did I ever tell you I hate cucumbers?"
Owari
(:./lasha/kappa8)
