Cross My Heart
Part 12
It was almost the middle of the night, but Duo Maxwell found himself still wide awake in his bed. He couldn't sleep. He felt he had done something wrong...... Maybe he shouldn't have followed Anne's suggestion to tell Heero and Mario about them. When he saw Mario kissing Heero, all he wanted to do was to rip the other boy into pieces, but the way Heero opened his mouth willingly and let Mario's tongue snake inside hit him straight to his heart. Heero seemed to enjoy the kiss and didn't leave Mario's lap to welcome him. Duo couldn't help but feel hurt. He quickly announced his relationship with Anne and left. Although his mind said he had done the right thing, his heart shouted that he had done something wrong.
Duo sighed and stood up. He walked toward the window, noticing the gentle rain had turned into a harsh storm. The weather seemed to agree with his mood. Duo watched the hectic weather for a while, not really looking into it since his mind flew back to when he was having happy times with Heero. A time when Heero was giving him a slight smile, just for him. A time when Heero melt in his arms and leant his head on his shoulder. A time when he kissed Heero's soft lips.....
"Damn!" Duo hit the side of the window, fending his anger on the wood. Memories couldn't bring Heero back to him, it only reminded him of his losing Heero instead. Duo rested his forehead on the window's glass and looked to the darkness outside. How stupid he was to think Anne would be able to replace Heero. He had been at the girl's side for the rest of the day but he felt nothing. He felt so empty and knew only one person could fill the void inside him.
"Heero...." Duo murmured longingly and felt the throbbing pain in his heart as he remembered that Heero wasn't his girlfriend anymore. Heero was Mario's now.... Duo gritted his teeth and clenched his hand. No.... he didn't want to see Heero with Mario any longer than necessary. Tomorrow he would ask Anne to give him the microchip and then they could leave the school....
Suddenly a light caught his eyes. Duo frowned and leaned closer to the window. He could see a figure, holding a flash light, walking in the rain, heading toward the forest behind the dorm. There wasn't a sane person who would walk in the middle of a heavy rain like this, not to mention it was also in the middle of the night. Duo's eyes narrowed as a suspicion formed in his mind. Could that be the spy Anne had mentioned to him this morning?
Without thinking further, Duo opened the window and jumped out. He followed the flashlight, not caring about the heavy rain that was hitting his body and made him wet within seconds. Duo narrowed his eyes and followed the figure, careful not to make his presence known. The figure brought him deeper into the forest and toward a small cabin he never knew existed before.
The figure entered the cabin while Duo crouched silently outside and pasted himself to the outer wall. The rain was so heavy that he couldn't hear anything from inside the cabin. He approached the window and peeped inside. A lightning bolt blinded the sky, followed by thunder and illuminated the room inside the cabin.
There, Heero was lying on the wet floor on his side, bound and gagged. His uniform was torn here and there while Mario knelt next to the Japanese boy, grinning while holding the flashlight. The scene made Duo's blood run cold but his eyes burned with rage. He ran toward the door and flung it open.
The surprised Mario never had a chance as Duo's fist cracked against his face and a kick was delivered to his groin. Duo didn't think. He moved on automatic pilot. Mario wobbled and shouted in pain while his hands reached down to protect his abused crotch. Duo used the chance to deliver two more punches to Mario's stomach, knocking out the boy instantly.
After delivering two more kicks to the unconscious Mario, Duo turned away and knelt down next to the bound figure. "Heero...." Duo choked in disbelief. He had seen Heero this afternoon and he was just fine. And now.... Now.... Heero was anything but fine. His heart ached as he checked his partner's condition. The Japanese boy's body was soaked. His eyes were closed, his sleeves were ripped and his mouth was stuffed with a large gag, causing his lips to be torn and bleeding.
Trembling with rage and also worry, Duo rolled Heero to avoid the leaks and then untied his arms and legs. The welts on Heero's wrists and ankles, the proof of Mario's too tight binding, increased Duo's anger.
Mario would pay for this.
Dearly.
But it should be done later. For now, Heero's condition was the most important thing. Duo set from around the Japanese boy's lips. Duo could feel Heero trembling from the cold and knew he had to warm him up as fast as he could.
Duo stripped Heero from his wet clothes. He wrung the clothes and dried Heero as best as he could with the already damp fabric. Duo also stripped his own wet clothing, not wanting to make Heero wet again and wrung his braid out as well. After that, he lifted Heero up and was surprised to find how light his Japanese partner was. He knew Heero wasn't usually this light. How much weight had Heero lost? What had that bastard Mario done to Heero ? He had been wondering how could Mario subdue Heero while the Japanese boy was much stronger than the big boy, but now he knew the cause. Heero was very sick and weak. God, he was so blind not to notice Heero's condition right away.
Duo gently put Heero on the bed where there were no leaks on the ceiling above. He really wanted to settle matters with Mario right now, but Duo knew he had no time for that. He had to ensure Heero's safety first. The heavy rain made his plan to carry Heero out of the cabin and to the dorm was out of question. He didn't want to take a chance of getting Heero sicker so Duo settled for tying Mario up and dumping him out of the cabin, letting the heavy rain hit the big boy.
After locking the door, Duo retrieved the flashlight from the floor and put it on the table, pointing it to the ceiling to enlighten the whole cabin. He then lay next to Heero on the bed and gathered the trembling boy into his arms before pulling the cover over their naked bodies. Duo winced when Heero's cold body touched his and hugged the Japanese boy tighter, sharing his body heat with him.
"Kuma..?"
Duo was startled when he heard the weak whisper. He looked down as he felt Heero snuggle into him, eyes still closed. Was Heero dreaming or delusional?
"Miss you, Kuma...."
Again the weak whisper. Duo had to think for a minute before he remembered where he ever heard about this Kuma person. Kuma... Kuma... Right! It was the name of the bear he gave to Heero. He had been laughing when Heero named the bear Kuma, the Japanese name for a bear. Okay, it wasn't important right now. The question now was why Heero thought him as Kuma.
"I'm not Kuma, Heero." Duo spoke slowly.
Heero frowned as he heard his Kuma speak to him. This might be a dream. His Kuma never spoke to him, no matter how often he spoke to it so this had to be a dream. But his Kuma said it wasn't Kuma...... "Who...?" Heero croaked weakly. His throat was still burning, making it difficult for him to speak and his headache was also still pounding, making it hard to think. Heero felt like he was walking in the fog; he felt like he was floating.
"I'm Duo."
Heero wanted to chuckle but his sore throat didn't allow him to. His Kuma was really kind to pretend to be Duo. But Heero knew Duo wouldn't ever hold him like this again. "Not Duo, Kuma.... " He snuggled deeper. "He doesn't want ...... to be near me.... "
"Why not?" Kuma asked him.
"He's angry...." Heero hid his face against his Kuma's chest. Hm, strange... in this dream his Kuma wasn't so furry....
Duo was surprised at Heero's answer. The Japanese boy seemed to be delirious and thought he was the bear. He wondered why Heero thought he was angry and decided to use this chance to get more answers from Heero, feeling Heero wouldn't tell him if the boy was his normal self. "Why is Duo angry?"
"......... I let... Mario ....... " Heero whimpered. "I didn't want....... you know that, Kuma....."
Duo's heart ached as he heard the heart broken voice. He understood what Heero was saying and it gave him more questions. "Why did you let him if you didn't want him to?"
".... Told you... before..."
"I seem to forget." Duo kissed Heero's head, wondering what Heero was feeling when he told the bear. "Tell me again?"
A weak nod on his chest, before Heero's breath brushed against his chest. "For Duo...."
"For me?" Duo was startled.
"..Duo... not you ...Kuma...."
"For Duo, okay." Duo was confused. Every time Heero answered one question, it produced another ten questions inside Duo's head. "Why did you do it for Duo?"
"...give Duo.... antidote...."
Duo really frowned this time. Antidote..... Heero did it to get an antidote for him.... Something wasn't quite right here.... Anne had said she had the antidote, not Mario. "Didn't Anne have the antidote?"
A weak nod from Heero.
"Then why did you have to accompany Mario when Anne had the antidote?" Duo was really confused now.
"Her conditions..... have to leave Duo ... in her care.... and accompany Mario...... till Duo is awake.....or Duo ...dies."
Duo was shocked. Totally shocked. Heero's last answer had supplied his mind with enough information to guess what had truly happened since he'd fallen unconscious. Duo gritted his teeth and asked the last question that would complete the puzzle. "Was Anne the one who poisoned Duo?"
A nod from Heero was all he needed to start cursing and swearing. He did it silently though, not wanting to disturb Heero. That bitch.... Duo seethed with anger. Mario was horrible enough but Anne was completely appalling. She had dared to use her spy position to gain advantage of him. Duo bet she never told Heero anything about what she told him this afternoon. And she probably made up the OZ spy story. This was completely unacceptable. Anne had failed as a spy and she would know the punishment once Duo saw her.
"Kuma... " Heero's voice drew Duo from his murderous thought.
"Yes, Heero?"
"I miss Duo....."
Heero's words made Duo realize another thing. Heero had done so many things for him while he was unconscious. Heero's actions had passed the line of a partner he used to be. Right now, it seemed Heero treated him like a lover, not like a partner. Added with the fact Heero honestly admitted that he missed Duo made the braided boy glow in happiness despite his worry over Heero's condition. "Do you love Duo?"
"'course, Kuma...." Heero nuzzled Duo's chest. "I love him so much."
Heero loved him!!! Duo felt like shouting and jumping around, bursting with happiness. He never thought Heero would easily confess his feelings. In his happiness, Duo couldn't help but to lean down and kiss the Japanese boy. Heero loved him!! The thought only made Duo intensify the kiss. He could feel Heero's bruised lips and made a note to add more punches for Mario. Suddenly he heard a distressed whimper from Heero. Alarmed, he broke the kiss and checked his beloved. "Heero?"
"Don't kiss me...." Heero whimpered. His hands were on Duo's chest, wanting to push Duo away but he was too weak to do it. Duo was shocked at Heero's refusal, but before he could do something, Heero whimpered again. "Stop it, Mario. .......... don't touch me...... stop marking me.... I don't belong to you....... no...... not true....... Duo.... "
"Heero?" Duo choked out the question.
"I belong to Duo.......... Duo marked me first...... claimed me.... stop it...... stop touching me........ stop kissing me..... I'm not a slut........ Duo.... help..... please wake up......"
Duo was shocked. He was so shocked that he froze while Heero whimpered the words again and again. He almost didn't believe what he heard. The broken whimper, the suffered plea..... Was this what Heero was doing every night since he fell unconscious?
"Heero..." Duo choked out the name... Heero had pleaded with him to wake up. He did wake up but then what did he do? He turned to Anne instead of saving Heero from Mario. He even encouraged Heero with Mario....... Duo gritted his teeth as his hands curled into fists. He felt so many emotions welled up inside him. Anger, helplessness, shock, surprise, disbelief, confusion, guilt, and sadness, all mixed inside him, making him unsure of what he was feeling at the moment. He reached for Heero, wanting to comfort him and at the same time to comfort himself, but the boy recoiled and curled into a ball.
"Don't....." Heero whimpered as he tried to distance himself as much as he could.
Duo's heart broke at the broken plea. The way Heero uttered the single word could describe how much the boy was suffering. A past image flashed before him. The scene of Heero snorting with bleeding lips.
//He's disgusting.//
Stupid! How stupid he was. Heero had told him that he didn't like Mario's kiss and he had forgotten about that.
//So you better not let anyone else kiss you.//
//I won't.//
Heero's eyes were full of determination at that time. He should have known Heero would never want Mario again. How stupid he was to believe Anne's bullshit and forget all Heero's words. Duo swallowed the sudden lump in his throat before speaking softly. "I'm not Mario, Heero."
No answer.
Duo then realized Heero had stopped whimpering when he was having the flashback. "Heero?" He tentatively put his hand on Heero's shoulder. The Japanese boy was still trembling but he didn't recoil from the touch. Duo did a quick check and found out Heero had fallen asleep. It looked like Heero was really tired and so weak that his body couldn't produce enough heat to warm himself. Duo quickly gathered the Japanese boy into his arms again and hugged him tightly, sharing his warmth with the trembling boy.
As the rain kept hammering outside the cabin, Duo found himself dwelling on his thought while his hand stroked Heero's silky hair idly. Although the main puzzle had been solved, a few tiny puzzles still remained unsolved. Why did Heero think he would be angry with him? When did Heero realize he loved him? How did Heero get the feeling that he belonged to Duo? And why did Heero say he had marked Heero while all they did was kiss?
Why?
Why did Heero say he claimed him?
He never claimed Heero....... right?
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