Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Making Heero Human ❯ Chapter 9

Cherry Blossom: Why is it always one in the morning when I write these things?

Duo: Lack of sleep helps your creativity?

Heero: You have no life?

Cherry Blossom: It's probably more along the lines of "my muse is a pain in the ass who won't let me sleep and write the damn story tomorrow".

Mateo: ::whistling innocently:: Who me?

Cherry Blossom: ::glare:: Yes you. Buttmunch.

Matteo: Hey, if I let you sleep you'd forget all about this tomorrow. And you need to get this series done before they pack you up and send you to Europe.

Cherry Blossom: ::pales:: Omigod! Europe! ::faints::

Duo: …what just happened?

Heero: Excitement overload combined with lack of sleep.

Matteo: Um…Cherry?

Cherry Blossom: ……

Duo: Maybe we should just continue without her.

Matteo: Sure. Read on Macduff!

Heero: Ugh. No bad misquotes. Please.

Matteo: ::shrugs::

Disclaimer: If I owned Gundam Wing I would have enough money to buy a decent word processor. Since I am presently typing this on the word processor from HELL this scenario is very improbable.

Warnings: Shounen ai!! Shounen ai shounen ai shounen ai shounen ai shounen aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!! Have I made it clear to you people yet? MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS!!!! HOMOSEXUALS!!!! Got it? Good. So don't flame me because of it. Making Heero Human - Part 9

Duo woke up warm, which was the first indication that something was different. Usually he would awaken in the early morning hours cold and shivering, having kicked his bed sheets to the ground at some time during the night. Giving his body time to adjust to the new sensation, Duo kept his eyes closed and concentrated on the warmth. The heat was evident but not unpleasant and there was a slight weight on his chest, roughly the size of an arm…

Duo's eyes winked open and he stared directly into the softly sleeping face of Heero Yuy. The events of last night came rushing back to Duo and his face went through a number of different expressions before settling on a gentle smile. Heero looked so innocent when he slept, the stern scowl that he always appeared to have on his face in the daytime smoothed away into a childish pout, the lips parted ever so slightly. He looked nothing like a dangerous assassin now. Now he was just a boy. A handsome boy, mind you. A gorgeous boy, actually.

Duo licked his suddenly dry lips and tried to control his breathing. He remembered the particularly interesting dream he'd had last night. Heero had featured greatly in it.

'Oh boy. I am so not going there now.'

Duo sighed and then proceeded to wriggle, very carefully, out of Heero's embrace. As much as he would have liked to stay there, he had to find out why Heero had almost gotten himself killed for practically no reason at all yesterday, and he had a feeling that Heero wasn't going to give up the information voluntarily.

'That's all right,' Duo thought to himself. 'I'm sure Wing will be more than happy to tell me what I want to know.'

Since he had slept in his clothes, Duo only paused long enough to tighten the end of his braid before creeping quietly out the door and down to the hanger where the gundams were presently being kept. Heero shifted his embrace to a nearby pillow, griping it tightly as he slept on, oblivious.

"Come on, Benxi! Let's go," the boy called, laughing as he raced through the halls, shoes slapping against the cool cement floor with each hurried step. The dog followed behind, keeping close to the boy's heels, tongue flopping down the side of its jaw as it ran. Finally reaching his destination, the boy yanked open the door to the compound and dashed outside, flinging himself down on the soft green grass and laughing with the joy of one who is young and still innocent. The dog padded up to the boy, placing its front paws on his chest and giving him a few sloppy kisses before the child pushed it away saying, "That's enough boy, you're going to drown me!"

The dog huffed a bit and lay down, burying its nose in the grass, sulking. The boy, sensing that he had perhaps hurt the dog's feelings, grabbed a stick and held it out on front of the dog's face in a conciliatory gesture.

"Wanna play fetch Benxi? Huh? Do ya?"

Petulance forgotten, the dog leaped to its feet with an almost rhapsodic energy, muscles tensed in preparation for the run, eyes glued to the branch that the boy held out so enticingly in front of it. The boy laughed and hurled the stick away from him shouting, "Go get it boy!"

Quicker than lightning, the dog bounded after the stick, almost tripping over it's own feet in excitement. The boy smiled as the dog located the stick with a triumphant bark and pranced over to hand it back to the boy in the hopes that he might be persuaded to throw it again.

"Good boy," the child announced as he took the stick from the dog's mouth and prepared for another toss.

"Heero!"

The boy stopped in mid-throw and turned to look at the speaker, an inquisitive expression on his face.

"Dr. J?"

"Come here boy. I have another training lesson for you to complete. A test, if you will."

Heero nodded and then patted the dog on the head before turning to enter the compound once again.

"Stay here Benxi. I won't be long."

"Actually," the scientist interrupted. "You can bring the dog with you. He's part of the test."

Puzzled but not wanting to question an order, Heero shrugged and made a small signal with his hands. The dog positioned itself at Heero's heels and stayed beside him when he walked. Dr. J led them through the halls to a room used primarily for target practice. Heero's puzzlement grew and he began to feel a bit uneasy.

"What is this test?"

Dr. J didn't reply, but moved over to one of the weapon's holders and selected a revolver that would suit the boy's small hands. He gave the gun to the boy and said calmly, "Shoot the dog. Now."

Heero's eyes grew wide and he felt slightly sick to his stomach.

"Y-you want me to…what?"

Dr. J's voice turned unbearably cold. "You heard me. Shoot the dog."

Heero looked stricken; his skin went two shades paler as he glanced from the dog to Dr. J's unsmiling face. He didn't understand what was happening.

"But…why? What purpose does this serve?"

Dr. J glared at Heero. "You don't need to know that. All you need to do is follow orders."

Heero swallowed painfully and looked down at the dog, who was presently nuzzling his knee in a comforting gesture, somehow sensing his master's pain. Heero's hand trembled slightly as he raised the gun to the dog's head. Uncomprehendingly, the dog stared up at Heero, complete trust and devotion shining in its eyes. Unable to bear that adoring gaze, Heero's eyes squeezed shut.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and pulled the trigger.

A loud bang, a short yelp, and then silence filled the room.

Heero opened his eyes and looked down at the bloody matted mass of fur that had once been his companion. He fell to his knees, retching.

Dr. J walked calmly over to where the boy was kneeling and pried the gun from his fingers.

"You see? It's a weakness to get attached to anything Heero. It's a weakness to care. A weakness to feel. What if that had been a target you needed to assassinate? You can't allow your emotions to get in the way of your mission. You can't afford to let yourself care for someone you may eventually have to kill. Love will only hinder you. You are no ordinary person, Heero Yuy. You are the Perfect Soldier. And you must remember that."

With that statement, Dr. J slid open the door and exited the room, leaving Heero alone on the floor, tears already drying on his cheeks.

"No!"

Heero awoke gasping, images of a darkness he couldn't quite remember still flitting across his thoughts. Turning over on his side, he encountered an empty space where a warm body was supposed to have been.

'Duo…'

Frowning, Heero remembered how he had made a fool of himself last night, breaking down in front of Duo and allowing the braided pilot to comfort him, to touch him. A slight blush crossed Heero's cheeks as he recalled the sensation of Duo's hands on his bare skin, the safety that the circle of his arms had offered. Heero growled and shook his head.

'I can't afford to think of Duo that way,' he admonished himself. 'He's just a friend, not even a friend…an acquaintance.'

But somewhere in the back of Heero's mind he acknowledged that Duo was more than that to him. Much more. And from the way that Duo touched him he could tell that he meant something to the braided pilot too.

Heero sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed, stretching a bit before getting up. His muscles were a bit sore, but not nearly as bad as they would have been had Duo not given him that massage last night. The soft musky scent of sandalwood still clung to Heero's skin and with the smell came memories, the delicious sensation of being caressed by soft, gentle hands. Heero indulged himself for a moment, letting the feelings wash over him before brushing the dangerous thoughts and emotions about Duo aside.

'Where is that baka anyway?'

Heero could see by the pale sunlight just beginning to creep into the room that it wasn't as early as it usually was when he woke up, but it was still way to early for Mr.-I'll-sleep-until-noon-if-you-let-me to be up and about. Heero pulled on a clean tank top over his slept-in spandex and headed downstairs to find either the braided baka or breakfast, whichever came first.

Duo pushed open the door to the hanger and stepped inside, debating on whether to turn on the lights and risk being discovered or use a flashlight and probably trip over his own feet in the darkness. Deciding that a few bruises were preferable to getting caught, Duo opted for the flashlight, letting its pale glow wander around the room until it rested on the battered form of the gundam 01. Duo silently walked over to get a closer look at the much abused machine, eyes growing wide at the sheer damage that was apparent on the gundam's surface.

'Shit Heero, you really wrecked this thing up.'

Duo climbed up onto the chest area and quickly overwrote the security codes that were blocking his access to the cockpit. A few seconds later and the cockpit entrance swung open with a groan. Duo made his way inside cautiously, feeling a bit guilty about breaking into Heero's gundam like that.

'It's for his own good,' he told himself. 'I need to find out exactly what happened during that last battle.'

Duo searched around the cockpit until he found what he was looking for, the video recording of the cockpit during the battle. Mostly they were just used for training drills and Heero probably wiped the tapes as soon as the missions were completed, but he hadn't gotten enough time to erase the last mission and the recording was Duo's best chance to find out what was going on with Heero.

'Heero would probably kill me if he knew what I was doing. But then again, Heero's threatened to kill me for a lot of things and he hasn't followed through yet. Not that that's any comfort…'

Duo fiddled with the controls and finally got a clear picture. Heero appeared on the screen; hands clutching the controls tightly, his eyes focused on the battle that raged around him. Several blasts sounded nearby and Wing suddenly rocked violently as one of the missals hit. Heero was flung up against the side of the cockpit, his harness barely keeping him in place. He cried out sharply and watching him, Duo felt a twinge of pain, as if it were himself that had taken the hit.

On the screen, several alarms wailed, warning of the impending systems failure. Heero's eyes narrowed and he growled through clenched teeth,

"Just…hold on…a little longer…"

Then something changed. Heero's eyes lost that determined look and widened, his whole body stiffening at once. He seemed to be listening for something…

Duo frowned and peered at the screen.

Heero drew in a sharp breath and his eyes squeezed shut. His hands started to shake and he lost his grip on the controls.

Duo's eyes widened. He had never seen Heero look so…frightened. Except…last night when Duo had threatened to leave…

'Heero said something about the dark…' he mused. 'I wonder if it has anything to do with this?'

"No!"

The sharp exclamation drew Duo's attention back to the screen. Heero's hands were now clenched tightly into fists and his shoulders were shaking violently. Then, all at once, he seemed to calm. His head lifted and Duo gasped.

"My God…his eyes…"

Heero's normally intense cobalt blue stare was glassy. His eyes held nothing. They were dead.

"No…pain…"

The words were whispered, almost lost against the loud blast of missal explosions and clash of metal on metal.

Duo heard his own voice come on over the radio.

"Heero! C'mon, get up! We need to get outta here! Heero!"

The blinking lights on Wing's counsel went out and the entire system shut down. Heero didn't seem to notice. His eyes were still staring straight ahead at the incoming beam cannon blast.

"Sweet…"

"Heero for God's sake MOVE! You're gonna get fried if you don't move NOW! HEERO!"

Duo heard the panic in his own voice and felt a lump form in his throat. He was so close to losing Heero. So close…

The cannon was fired.

"NO!"

There was a loud crunching noise and then the video feed winked out, leaving only snow in its wake. Duo sat, staring at the white screen, still trying to figure it all out.

'Something happened to Heero back there. Something scared him pretty badly and I don't think it was that beam cannon. But how the hell do I get him to talk to me? It's obvious that whatever's bothering him has been doing it for a while. I mean those dreams, that little incident with my stereo…and the dark. What does this have to do with the dark? Heero can't be afraid of such a mundane thing as that…can he?'

So lost in thought was Duo, that he didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind him. However he did hear it when an incredibly cold voice behind him said, "Just what do you think you're doing?"

Duo whirled around and stared straight into the face of one exceptionally pissed off Perfect Soldier.

'Oh shit. I'm dead.'

To Be Continued…

Heero: Yes, yes you are.

Duo: Hey, I was only concerned about your well-being.

Heero: Suuuure.

Duo: What the hell is with all this angst?

Matteo: ::shrug:: Plot development.

Duo: YOU MADE HIM KILL A FRIKKEN DOG!!!!

Cherry Blossom: ::wakes up:: That was a nice nap. ::yawn:: What'd I miss?

Heero: I killed a dog and now I'm going to kill Duo.

Cherry Blossom: O.o WHAT?!

Duo: ::points to Matteo:: It's all his fault!

Matteo: I know what I'm doing. Heero's already got some messed up childhood traumas. What's one more?

Heero: ::twitches::

Cherry Blossom: Yeah but…a dog? Greenpeace is going to be on your ass in a couple of minutes ya know.

Mad Animal Rights Activists: ::chase after Matteo:: DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Matteo: Cherry! Help!

Cherry Blossom: Uh, no animals were harmed in the making of this fic.

Mad Animal Rights Activists: ::stop chasing Matteo::

Matteo: Phew.

Cherry Blossom: Review! And I'll try to stay awake for the next chapter ^__^