Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chimaera ❯ Chapter 22 ( Chapter 22 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the G'boys, I just borrow them from time to time to play with and return them a whole lot happier, ne?

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Yaoi, Lemon, sap, angst, Male Pregnancy, medical themes

Pairings: 1x2x1

Archive: http://gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com

http://sweetlysour.net.

http://adultfanfiction.net

http://www.theforsakenwk.com

Many thanks to DBZVelena, Ryouga and Yami_Tai for the beta. Also thanks to Yami_Tai for the title of this fic.

Notes: Set partially during the series but main bulk after the war. EW didn't take place. The Eve wars are finished and the peace retained. The pilots have all gone their own ways, Heero and Duo have made a life together both working for Preventer when Duo's world is turned upside down as his unknown past comes back to haunt him.

Dedication: To Velena who gave me the plot bunny for this little gem.

Status: In progress.

~ Indicates flashbacks ~

/ thoughts /

"Chimaera"

October. 2003 ShenLong

Chapter 22

Heero awoke the next morning and immediately missed the warmth of his partner's body. He reached out a hand behind him, patting over the mattress, trying to locate Duo's presence. Usually Duo was spooned up behind him but this morning there was no sign of his presence and the space behind him felt cool. Confused, he rolled over. No Duo. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He was about to call out for his lover when his ears alerted him to sounds coming from the bathroom. He strained to hear more clearly and wished he hadn't, as the sounds of vomiting assaulted his aural sense.

With a concerned sigh he tossed the blankets back and swung his legs to the side, rising and stretching before padding out of the bedroom and heading for the bathroom. He paused at the door; Duo was once again leaning over the toilet, the sounds of dry retching piercing the still, morning air. He walked up behind the long haired man and placed a soothing hand upon his shoulder. "You okay?"

Duo gave another heave and then nodded. He leaned back on his heels a little, as his stomach settled. Heero handed him a wet cloth and he gratefully took it, wiping his mouth and face. He closed his eyes momentarily, blinking them open again as he heard the flush.

"Here." Heero handed him a glass of water, a hand slipping under an arm and assisting the American to his feet.

Duo took the water and allowed himself to be eased up. He swilled his mouth out, spitting the water down the sink. "Shit!"

"Duo, I want you to see Sally." Heero's tone was strong. "There has to be something wrong, you don't just start throwing up for no apparent reason."

Duo shook his head. "No, Heero. I don't feel ill in myself. I don't want to see Sally, I'll be fine."

"Duo... You are not fine!"

"Look, Heero. This assignment, I have an important meeting to attend today with them. If I don't show up then they're gonna get suspicious. Fuck, one of them has already started to ask questions. I tell you, I don't feel ill in myself, just a bit of nausea but it will pass."

Heero narrowed his eyes. He wasn't convinced.

"It's vital to the mission that I keep going. The nausea yesterday was gone by mid morning and you saw how much I ate last night; and I wasn't sick at all, then, or during the day."

Heero had to concede that point. "I don't know, Duo. You feel a little hot and look flushed to me."

"You would too, Yuy, if you'd just been puking your guts up," Duo growled.

Heero lowered his eyes. "Why, Duo? Why do you feel nauseous and yet say there's nothing wrong?"

Duo looked a little puzzled at that question. He scratched his head. "I dunno, Heero. It's kinda hard to explain." He looked at his concerned lover. "I guess... well... I just kinda feel sick and then once I've thrown up, I feel okay. The rest of me feels fine, I mean, I don't feel washed out or have a headache or anything like you normally have when you contract a virus or something. Maybe it's these iron tablets that Sally's prescribed. I've been on them for a while and I know she's lowered the dose rate again so maybe it's just my body's reaction to the medication."

"Hn. I would have thought you'd have been sick long before this though, after all, you have been taking them for a few months, it seems strange that the reactions should only begin now and not when you first started taking them."

"Who knows, Heero. It could be that my body is getting enough of the iron without needing the supplements anymore and this is its way of getting rid of the excess."

Heero still didn't look convinced.

"Fuck, Heero, I'm not a medic! I didn't study medicine other than basic first aid for patching myself and others up during the war, somehow the medical degree got shelved, I couldn't spare the seven odd years at the time." The sarcasm was clearly evident.

"That's not what I meant, Duo, and you know it. I can't help but be concerned about you, I love you and I hate to see you suffering through anything that you shouldn't. Are you sure I can't get you to see Sally today?"

Duo shook his head. "No, Heero. Look, I promise you that I will see Sally after this assignment is over, providing the problem is still there of course." Duo caught the look in Heero's eye and sighed. "I don't lie, Heero. I thought you knew that."

Heero enveloped his partner in a warm hug, softly stroking one hand down the braid of hair. "I know you don't lie. I'm sorry for doubting your reasons, Duo, but please... try to see it from my side as well. Put yourself in my position and tell me that wouldn't be doing the same thing if the roles were reversed."

Duo chewed on that for a moment, his mind comprehending the thought. He kissed Heero's neck in apology. "I guess when you put it that way..."

Heero lifted Duo's chin and pressed his lips to his lover's, kissing him deeply. "Please, be careful and look after yourself... for me."

Duo nodded. "You be careful too, Heero."

"I'm not the one that's surrounded by the bad guys."

"Point taken."

~ * ~

1300 hours found Duo once more in a meeting with the terrorist group. The firearms had arrived and the *boss* was busy going through the inventory. Duo watched with bored attention as the guns were inspected and checked, he'd seen it all before and already knew which gun he preferred. The boss turned to look at him and Duo gave him a small grin, noting that the boss expected some kind of input from him, after all everyone else was having their say on the small range of fire power.

"Got any scopes with them? Infra red sights?"

The boss frowned. "Shouldn't need 'em, the bust is gonna be close range."

Duo cocked his head. "What if we can't get close enough?"

"The plan is in place, there isn't any reason we shouldn't be able to get close."

"Just a thought," Duo replied and then let the subject drop. He'd placed the seed of doubt into the boss' mind, now to let it take root.

The boss went back to the crates of guns and finished his inspection. Satisfied that everything was there, he announced that they would leave and head to the old dump site on the outskirts of town and familiarize themselves with their weapons. The meeting broke up, the boss taking control of the arsenal while everyone else disappeared off to make their way to the dump via several different routes across town. Duo slipped away by himself, checking no one was following him.

Half way to the proposed site Duo called in at a cafe and picked up a sandwich. He'd only nibbled at half a slice of toast that morning, reducing most of it to crumbs and only ingesting a small amount. Now he was ravenous again. While he waited for the sandwich to be made, he perused the counter top and found his eyes straying to the chocolate bar section. Idly he glanced over it, pausing at a long, golden wrapper. His stomach growled and his mouth began to water. A 'Crunchie' bar... / I haven't had one of those in ages. / Duo shifted down the counter to ogle the treat a bit better. The more he stared at it, the more the bar beckoned to him. The rich golden honeycomb covered in a thick, sweet chocolate begged him to buy it. He licked his lips. Funny though, he'd never really been one for chocolate... or sweets of any nature for that matter. Guess the years spent on the streets and in the orphanage had put paid to any chance of a sweet tooth developing.

He continued to eye the bar, confused as to why he should be wanting chocolate now.

"Anything else, sir?"

The voice of the counterhand jolted him from his staring. "Umm... Yeah. I'll take one of these as well." Duo grabbed the chocolate bar from its place of beckoning and added it to the drink and sandwich that sat upon the counter top.

"That will be six dollars, sir."

Duo reached for his wallet and counted out the bills, passing them to the counterhand he picked up his purchases and exited the cafe, unwrapping the sandwich and biting into it.

Half an hour later, he was approaching the dump site. He checked around, noting in his head the various structures, landmarks and areas to be of any concern. Satisfied with his evaluation he made his way into the area, staying under the cover of the sparse vegetation until he located the point where the group was slowly beginning to form. Slipping from the shadows, he joined them.

Moran jumped ten foot into the air when Duo suddenly appeared behind him and breathed a greeting. "Fuck, Kid! You trying to give me a heart attack?!"

Duo grinned. "You should be more alert," he stated calmly. / How the fuck did this idiot ever survive as a soldier in the war? /

"I didn't know it was a stealth and alert test," Moran replied sourly.

"A good terrorist is never asleep." Duo continued to antagonize the sleazy man, enjoying the reactions he was provoking.

Moran glared at him, Duo dismissed the glare. He'd seen better ones from Quatre during the war... and anyone that knew Quatre, knew the gentle blonde couldn't glare to save his life.

"Where's the boss?"

"Over there." Moran pointed towards a sort of dug out hole in the ground that upon closer inspection revealed it was actually some sort of *bunker*.

Ignoring the fuming man, Duo strolled towards the hole and the rats that were nesting inside.

Boss looked up as Duo's shadow fell across the entryway. "Ready to try out your weapon?"

Duo nodded and entered the bunker, strolling casually to where the arsenal lay. He reached out and selected a hand gun from the mix. The weight felt familiar in his hand, the curves and dips of the handle caressing his palm, his finger rested like an old friend against the trigger. He smiled.

~ * ~

The group set up various targets, scattering them around the rear area of the dump. Some were distant, some were close, but they were all set up so as to give them enough practice at varying distances and angles. It was the perfect place to check the sights and make any necessary adjustments.

Duo slipped the clip into the gun and cocked it. He stared down the sight, lining up with his target and then squeezed the trigger. The recoil was minimum, another reason for Duo's selection of this particular gun. The one he had used during the wars had been a slightly older model and had served him well through those times. Seeing this one brought back memories and there was no better hand gun for Duo than this one. When the shooting ceased, they all proceeded to approach their targets and check where their bullets had lodged. Duo frowned at his target, the neat hole sitting several centimeters to the left of the bullseye.

"Not bad for a kid."

Duo turned to look into the sneering face of Moran. "That was just the sighter shot," he replied.

"Maybe next time you could actually get the bullet to pierce somewhere inside the outer ring of the target." He held up his own target that showed a hole just to the right of the bullseye. "I'll give you lessons if you like." A hand came up and rested upon his shoulder.

Duo resisted the urge to punch the other man's lights out, instead he plucked the hand from where it sat and dropped it as if the touch burnt him. "If I wanted lessons I would go to someone who *can* shoot, not someone who is delusional."

"Why, you little prick..."

"Is there a problem here?" The boss stood before the pair, noting the annoyed look on Duo's face and the pissed off one that graced Moran's features.

"Nope, no problem, Boss," Moran replied, all the while keeping his gaze fixed firmly on Duo. The message was clear... Don't fuck with me.

"How's the practice going?" The boss reached for Duo's target and tisked. "You're gonna have to do much better than that if you want to be a part of this operation."

"As I was trying to explain to Moron, err… Moran, here, that was my first shot and my sighter shot." That little slip earned him a stare of pure hatred from the sleazy man. "Now that I know which way the gun fires I can allow for that and make the necessary adjustments to my aim." Duo turned and walked back to where his target had originally stood. He replaced it and walked back to the two men.

"Let's see how good you are." Moran stated in a cold voice.

Duo lifted the gun again and cocked it. Staring along the short barrel, he lined the sights up again, adjusting them to compensate for the misdirection of earlier. / A little more to the right and that should be pretty much spot on., / he thought as he fiddled with the tiny contraption. Finally satisfied that he had aligned the sights in accordance with the degree he had been off target, he took aim once again and fired off five shots in rapid succession. The smell of the discharge hit his nostrils and his lip curled appreciatively. He'd missed the smell of gun smoke.

With the smile still in place, he walked cockily up to the target and removed it, passing it to Moran in the process. "What was that you were saying about taking lessons?" Duo gave an evil laugh and left Moran holding the target, his face red with anger.

The boss took the target and held it out to look at it. There in the center of the bullseye were five neat holes, but not just scattered around the black dot, no. Two sat a little apart with the remaining three underneath joining slightly and curving to form a smiley face. The boss' face quirked and he laughed. "I think he has the gun figured out."

Moran cursed under his breath. Ever since the youth had joined their group he'd held a fascination for him, to the point where it was rapidly becoming an obsession. He wanted the man, wanted him badly and Moran was used to getting what he wanted. This time though, he was left feeling frustrated. He hadn't managed to get anywhere with the long haired youth, he'd checked out the background and it had all cleared, but that was where the information ran out. He hadn't a clue as to where the youth lived, who he associated with, where he went after the meetings and that annoyed him even more. His suspicions began to grow and that was not a good thing. The fact that the kid, as they all called him, had rejected his advances didn't sit too well either. The pain of rejection can do strange things to a wounded ego... and Moran was about to make the kid regret rejecting him.

"Hey boss, got a minute?"

The boss looked up. "What is it, Moran?"

"It's about the kid...."

~ * ~

A small placenta had now formed and was firmly latched to the wall of the uterus, the blood flowing rapidly through the vessels. A small sac had formed and begun to fill with fluid; floating in this protective bubble, the cells continued to grow and multiply.

Cells divided and changed according to the *blueprint* in their nucleus, some separating off to begin the formation of the skeleton while others were designated to form the various body organs, skin, hair and muscles.

The fertilized egg was slowly taking on the shape of a tiny human as it progressed into the next stages of its development.

~ * ~

tbc.........