From Far Away
Part 21
Catherine and Dorothy stood in front of the bar. "Where are they?"
Catherine looked impatiently at the street but no signs of the boys.
Suddenly two figures appeared right before them. The girls blinked in
surprise as they saw Duo and Heero standing in front of them.
Catherine did a double take at Heero, who was standing next to Duo and
had the violet eyed boy's braid in his hand. He looked so different in
his warrior robe and his face betrayed none of his feelings, nothing
like the frightened boy she saw clinging onto Duo an hour ago.
"Right on time, ne?" Duo grinned. "Are we ready to go?"
"Hm, yeah. The caravan is behind the bar." Catherine gestured to the
back, staring wide-eyed at the boys.
"Okay, we'll put our stuff there." Duo grinned and disappeared, taking
Heero with him. He didn't hesitate to use his new Power openly. As
Heero had pointed out from the beginning, it wasn't unusual for a few
people in this world to possess different kinds of Power and feel free
to use it in front of the others.
After the boys disappeared, silence fell between the girls until
Dorothy finally spoke. "Cathy, I think we have hired one hell of a
team of bodyguards."
Catherine could only nod.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Capital of OZ
In the palace garden, a tall blond man stood in front of a rock that
was twice his height while a ginger haired man looked at him from the
second floor window of the palace.
"Our spy said the Perfect Soldier would arrive here within a week,
Lord Treize." A woman standing behind the ginger haired man spoke up.
"Thank you, Une." Treize smiled, still watching the blond man as he
unsheathed his sword and cut the big rock into small pieces easily.
Une followed Treize's gaze. "Do you think he can beat the Perfect
Soldier?"
"Not a chance."
Une gasped in surprise. "Excuse me my Lord, but why did you give him
additional Power to make him stronger then?"
Treize smirked. "I intend for Zechs to simply stall the Perfect
Soldier while I steal the Shinigami."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Duo watched as Heero put their stuff in the last wagon of the caravan,
all the while holding onto Duo's braid like a lifeline. There were
three wagons they had to guard and they occupied the last wagon,
together with Dekim, the cook Catherine had found after asking them to
be the caravan's bodyguards.
When Heero finished unpacking, Duo touched the messy haired boy and
teleported them onto the roof of the bar to finish the conversation
they had been putting off
<<Duo?>> Heero looked at the braided boy as Duo sat down, pulling him
down as well and sitting him on his lap.
<<Ne Heero, I have promised not to leave you, haven't I?>> Duo looked
straight into Heero's Prussian eyes, putting his arms around the short
haired boy's waist.
<<Hai.>>
<< Have I ever broken any of my promises before?>>
<<Iie>>
<<Then have faith in me, koi.>> Duo kissed his lover gently. << I
don't have any place to call home, in this world or my own, except for
with you, koi. You are my home, Heero.>>
Heero looked for a long time at Duo before nodding and hugging the
braided boy. "I trust you." Feeling the need to say it out loud, Heero
was glad to notice how calm his own voice was. Duo would not leave
him. He was sure of that. "I trust you not to leave me, koi."
"Damn right! I can't live without you." Duo hugged back and rested his
chin on Heero's shoulder. <<Not even death can separate us, koi.>>
<<Aa...>>
They stayed in silence, feeling contented being in each other's arms
until they heard Catherine calling for them. "Heero, Duo, where are
you? We will depart in a minute!"
Both of the boys let out a muffled sigh and broke their embrace.
<<Time to work, I guess.>>
Heero nodded and stood up, forcing Duo to stand up also since his
braid was still held captive by his lover. <<Hey, you know you can let
go of my braid now, Hee-chan?>>
<<I know.>>
Duo waited, but Heero made no move to release his braid. He looked at
Heero and caught the teasing glint in the blue orbs. <<You know,
Heero? I think you have fallen in love with my braid rather than me.>> Duo faked a sigh.
His only answer was a telepathic snort. Duo chuckled and teleported
them back onto the ground, right in front of Catherine, causing the
poor girl to almost have a heart attack.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The caravan departed and went through the first day without trouble,
except for a small group of bandits who were wiped out easily by
Heero. Catherine and Dorothy stared dumbfoundedly as the boy treated
the bandits like mere toys and felt somehow lucky that the boy didn't
do anything more to them than burned their hair in the past.
Night came and they camped in a rather secluded area, making a circle
around the bonfire while waiting for Dekim, the cook, to prepare their
dinner.
"Man, that old man is sure slow in making dinner." Duo mumbled and
heard his stomach growl for the fifth time.
"You're the one with an insatiable stomach." Heero, who sat next to
him, snorted and stood up. "I'm going to take a walk."
<<Where are you going, Hee-chan?>> Duo looked at Heero as he walked
away from the circle into the near forest.
<<Checking the surrounding area and looking for your additional food.
I know you'll still be hungry after dinner.>> Heero replied and
disappeared into the forest before Duo had a chance to make a face.
"So Duo, how can you teleport without Sagittarius?" Dorothy asked the
braided boy curiously.
Duo looked at the blond girl in surprise. "What?"
"Teleportation. The Power to move to a different place in a blink is
called teleportation." Catherine answered.
"I know that. I'm just surprised that you know the name of my Power
since Heero doesn't know about it. And what is it about Sagittarius?"
Duo asked in bewilderment
"Oh, the word is taken from our tribe's ancient language. Only a few
people know about the word." Dorothy explained. "As for Sagittarius,
it's a name of an animal which gives the teleportation Power to its
owner."
"Sagittarius......." Duo was somehow reminded about the first day he
came to this world. He remembered Heero had beaten a man who can
teleport and had a rat like animal on his shoulder. He described the
animal to the two girls.
"Yes, that's how Sagittarius looks." Catherine nodded. "How did you
know about it?"
"I once saw a man using it." Duo answered and mused over Dorothy's
earlier answer. "So the word teleportation came from your ancient
language ..... is there any of you who can speak this ancient
language?"
Dorothy shook her head. "It has been centuries, Duo. We only know some
words of it."
Duo wanted to ask more, but was distracted by Dekim who announced the
dinner was ready. It seemed his hunger was stronger than his
curiosity. <<Hee-chan, you better come back now or there won't be any
dinner left for you.>>
<<Do it and you sleep with the horses.>>
<< Well, I don't have any problems with that. I can't screw you in the
wagon since that old man Dekim is sleeping with us.>>
<<Is sex all you think of?>>
<<Uh huh.... Sex with a virgin lover, to be honest.>>
<<Omae o korosu.>>
<<Love you....too..... Hee.....>>
<<Duo?....... Duo? What happened? ..........>> Heero got a bad feeling
when he heard no replies from his braided lover. He ran as fast as he
could while he kept calling for Duo. <<Duo! Answer me!>>
The scene that greeted Heero when he arrived at the camping area only
made him more worried. He saw everyone sprawled unconscious on the
ground and ran his eyes worriedly over them to find his braided lover.
"You're looking for him?" Heero turned to the right where the voice
came from and saw an unconscious Duo tied to a wagon wheel with Dekim
holding a knife to his throat. "Don't move."
Heero hissed, not moving from where he was standing. "What did you do
to them all?"
"I put some sleeping herbs in the dinner." Dekim grinned. "You better
obey me if you want this boy to remain alive." The old man pressed the
knife a little deeper to make his point.
"Don't hurt him." Heero growled angrily, wanting to tear the old man
into pieces.
"Take the rope in the caravan and tie up the rest of them." Dekim
gestured to the other unconscious figures.
Heero gritted his teeth and did as Dekim ordered, not wanting to risk
Duo's safety. After he finished tying the last person, he turned back
to face Dekim. "Why did you do this?"
Dekim laughed. "To get their money of course silly boy, what else? I
had planned to put all of you to sleep with the dinner, but you left
before it was ready. It's okay anyway since I had changed my plan once
I saw how you have beaten those thieves easily."
"......."
"Not interested in my change of plans? Well, I doubt you will be since
I decided you are too strong to be left to live." Dekim saw the boy's
face hardened at his words.
~*~*~*~*~
Duo stirred and heard someone talking near him.
"Retrieve the black bottle near the bonfire, boy."
Whose voice was that? Duo tried to move and realized something held
him immobile.
"Drink it, boy."
The braided boy found it was hard to think and his eyes felt too heavy
to open. He tried to remember what happened. They were having dinner
and then he'd felt sleepy and saw the others slump onto the ground.
"Drink it now or this boy will die!"
Something cold pressed against his throat at the same time as Duo
recognized the voice and understood what had happened. Dekim had put
something in their dinner!! His eyes flew opened at the realization
and saw Heero drink from the black bottle. His lover then dropped the
bottle onto the ground and wobbled. "Heero!"
Duo watched as Heero's head snapped up at his shout and for a second
their eyes met before Heero hit the ground loudly and became as still
as a rock. "HEERO!"
"Don't bother to call him, boy."
Duo turned to his right and saw Dekim smirking at him. "What did you
tell him to drink?" He snapped at the old man.
" A strong poison that can kill a person within seconds. Your lover is
dead, boy." Dekim smirked as he watched the braided boy widened his
eyes in shock. "It looks like he really loved you, he was willing to
drink the poison even though he knew it would kill him."
The old man waited for the boy to curse, shout, or cry, but the boy
only looked at his dead lover blankly. However the silence was broken
a few seconds later as Duo roared furiously. Dekim jumped back from
Duo at the furious roar the boy made.
Duo didn't think. He had stopped thinking once he'd heard Heero was
dead. His mind was numbed and his body acted on automatic. Roaring in
despair and anger, he teleported to free himself from the rope and
reappeared in front of Dekim, throwing punches at the old man. Dekim
had no time to dodge the punches because he was caught off guard by
Duo's Power. The braided boy was so in rage and drowning in sadness
that he forgot to try contacting his sprawling lover telepathically to
confirm Dekim's words
Duo kept punching, not aware of his surrounding. The only thing he
heard was the sound of his fist meeting with random parts of Dekim's
body. He didn't notice the movement behind him. The only thing his
mind and body agreed to do was punch and punch.
Then a pair of arms came from behind him, hugging him and pulling him
from the battered Dekim. Duo was ready to struggle when he heard a
familiar voice murmur near his ear.
"I'm not dead yet, koi."
Duo froze. That voice... it was ....
<<I'm still alive, Duo.>>The arms tightened around his waist.
Heero! Duo turned around and saw his short haired lover smiling
reassuringly at him. <<Heero! how... I thought ....you were..... >>
<<Poisons have no effect on me, koi. I just pretended to be dead and
waited for a chance to beat Dekim, but you got to him first>>
Duo blinked and remembered about Meiran and Libra. <<I remember now. I
once dreamt about that bastard J forcing poisons upon poisons on you
and letting you suffer....... >>
<<Don't think about it, Duo. I'm okay now. We still have work to do.>>
Suddenly, Duo realized where he was. He looked around to see the
others were still out cold and then turned to Dekim only to find the
battered old man unconscious, which was no wonder considering the
force and number of punches he'd given to him. Duo went to awaken and
free the others while Heero tied Dekim up.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that night, Duo flung his tired body inside his wagon. Once
Catherine and the others had been freed, he had told them what had
happened, skipping the part where Dekim forced Heero to drink poison,
of course. He left them silently when they decided what to do with
Dekim and went into his wagon, wanting to be alone for a moment.
He let his mind wander to the past, thinking about the first time he
met Heero and the days they traveled together. Drowning in his
memories, Duo didn't realize someone has entered the wagon, until he
felt the person sit next to him. He didn't need to look up to know who
the person was. The way he caressed his hair had been too familiar for
him. <<Finished with the discussion, koi?>>
<<Aa, they decided to dump Dekim into jail at the first town they will
pass by tomorrow.>>
<<Good idea.>> Duo sat up and found himself being offered a plate of
roasted meat.
<<Delayed dinner>> Heero answered Duo's unspoken question.
<<Who cooked it?>> Duo eyed the dinner Heero held suspiciously and
heard a muffled chuckle from his lover.
<<It's okay. No poison in there. I made it.>>
<<Oh?>> Duo took one piece of the meat and looked at his short haired
lover. <<I take it that you made it for the others too?>>
<<Of course not. They'd all lost their appetite and decided to go
straight to bed.>> Heero watched as Duo chewed the meat.
<<How about you?>>
<<Huh?>> Heero looked at his braided lover in confusion.
<<Have you had dinner?>>
Heero shook his head. <<Not hungry.>> And he soon found a piece of
meat being shoved in front of his face.
<<Eat.>>
<<Huh?>> Heero looked at Duo and noticed the seriousness in those
violet eyes.
"Eat it, Heero." Duo's voice was deadly serious, stunning Heero. He
opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, only to have the meat shoved
into his mouth. "Eat, Heero."
With a piece of meat in his mouth, Heero could do nothing but comply.
He chewed the meat and swallowed it, only to find another piece being
held up in front of him. "Du...hmmph." The meat was shoved into his
mouth, leaving Heero to chew and swallow that piece as well. It was
the same when he tried to speak again, so Heero resigned himself to
his fate, chewing and swallowing the offered meat. He tried to take
the offered meat with his hand, only to have it shoved away by Duo.
"Just eat it, Heero." Duo's voice held no argument in it so Heero sat
there and ate the meat Duo shoved into his mouth piece by piece,
looking questioningly at the violet eyes before him the whole time.
But Duo gave no answer and kept feeding his lover, making sure another
piece was ready to be shoved in once Heero swallowed the previous one.
Heero noticed he had eaten half of the pieces on the plate and tried
to snap his lover out of his strange behavior. <<Duo, I made the
dinner for you....>>
Duo didn't answer, but he took a piece and shoved it in his own mouth,
while still feeding Heero. They shared the rest of the pieces of the
meat together in silence. Heero didn't understand why Duo did this,
but he had a feeling he would know once they finished the meal.
Finally the plate was empty. Heero watched as Duo set aside the plate
and looked at him for a long time. Heero looked back in confusion, not
knowing what was wrong with his braided lover. He watched as Duo
reached up and caressed his cheek. "Duo?" His question came in a
whisper as he registered how careful and gentle Duo's fingers ran over
his cheek as if caressing something that could break at any moment.
Still not answering, Duo pushed his short haired lover to lie back and
crawled over him. Heero just lay still and watched as Duo bent down,
closing his eyes as he felt Duo's lips on him. He noted that the kiss
was different from the usual ones Duo had given him. This kiss felt
like Duo wanted reassurance and proof of something he couldn't place
his finger on. Heero felt his braided lover rest all his weight on him
as if keeping him from escaping or flying away.
He was left panting when Duo finally pulled away from the kiss. He
felt Duo straddled him and looked up to see the braided boy pulling
off his clothes quickly. Once naked, Duo proceeded to strip Heero as
fast as he could, batting away Heero's hands every time the boy tried
to help him. Finally naked, Heero found himself being kissed from head
to toes and moaned loudly in pleasure. Duo kissed and worshipped every
part of him as if wanting to ensure every part of him was okay.
The braided boy gazed at Heero's face as he slowly caressed Heero's
cheek with the back of his fingers, grazing the short haired boy's
cheekbone and barely touching his temple with the tips of his fingers
as he stared into Heero's blue eyes, searching and asking.
During the ministrations Duo did on him, Heero finally began to
understand why Duo did this and thus submitted completely to Duo,
letting Duo do what he wanted to do. Staring straight into the
searching violet eyes, Heero reached up and touched Duo's hand,
entwining their fingers together. He watched as Duo licked his
suddenly dried lips and watched as those delicate lips murmured his
name. He kissed their entwined hands, then released his hand from the
intimate grasp and held it by his side, offering himself to Duo. No
word was needed, as his action had spoken louder than words of his
trust and of his answering permission to Duo's silent request for
control, Duo kissed him gratefully and resumed his ministrations on
him.
It felt like hours had passed as Duo caressed and kissed the short
haired boy repeatedly. He knew he was torturing his lover with the
ministrations he did but he couldn't help it. He needed to touch and
kiss every part of Heero to ensure himself. Finally satisfied, Duo
prepared Heero slowly and patiently before sliding inside the
welcoming warmth only he had ever been in. Once buried to the hilt,
Duo stilled and dropped his weight completely onto Heero, feeling the
boy's chest rise up and down beneath him. He could also feel Heero's
heartbeat racing together with his own, a clear sign that they're both
alive.
Heero tried to lie as still as he could. It was difficult to do since
all he wanted was for Duo to move. But he knew how it was important to
let Duo do whatever he wanted this time, so Heero held still and
closed his eyes, concentrating on how good being filled by Duo was.
Time passed, then he felt his legs being grabbed and placed around
Duo's waist, so he held them there, hugging his lover tightly.
Duo buried his head next to Heero's, inhaling his lover's scent and
caressing the delicate earlobe with his tongue. He could feel Heero's
inner muscles clamping him almost painfully as the boy's healing
ability started to work. He rose a little and let himself feel the
slight pain before doing a few small thrusts to loosen Heero again
before resting his weight on Heero once more. His short haired lover
was panting in need to be taken and Duo was fully aware of the trapped
flesh between them digging into his belly, but Duo made no move.
Instead, he murmured, "Please... let me stay like this a little
longer, koi."
Heero's answer was the tightening of his legs around Duo's waist. He
would let Duo stay still in him as long as he wanted. The braided boy
only moved when his healing ability started working, making small
thrusts into him to loosen him again before stilling deep inside him.
The braided boy repeated this for some time, and Heero let him.
Finally feeling reassured, Duo started rocking, sliding in and out of
his lover's warmth. He did it slowly and gently, savoring everything,
each time he slid inside and withdrew from his lover. Heero's moan
made him thrust faster into the boy. When he felt Heero tense, Duo
pulled away completely from his lover and took his lover's need into
his mouth.
Heero cried out in pleasure at the sudden warmth enveloping him. He
lost control and came straight into Duo's waiting mouth. The braided
boy swallowed all his come and dried his lover before releasing the
softened flesh. Without giving time for Heero to take a breath, Duo
slammed back into his lover, causing the short haired boy to gasp in
surprise at the sudden penetration.
Duo slammed wildly into his sated lover, wanting to be deeper inside
him. Harder. Deeper. Faster. He thrust and slammed into Heero's warmth
over and over, not wanting it to end. "Duo..." The soft gentle voice
made Duo look at the speaker and found a reassuring smile on his
lover's face.
<<Let it go, Duo.>> Heero tightened his inner muscles around Duo.
<<Let it go.>>
<<Heero!>> Duo let out a hoarse cry and slammed into his lover,
filling him with his passions. He kept thrusting while emptying
himself, feeling drained and also contented. Finally spent, Duo
plopped down onto Heero and smiled as Heero hugged him, welcoming him
back.
Heero caressed Duo's hair, which had come undone from the braid, while
waiting for Duo to breathe normally, feeling Duo soften inside him.
<<Feeling better?>>
Duo didn't move but Heero could feel soft kisses on his shoulder. <<I
thought I lost you back then......>>
<<Gomen, koi..... >>
<<I can't live without you, Heero. I knew I would have killed myself
after I killed that old man if you haven't stopped me.>>
<<Duo........ >>
<<For once, I am grateful you're the Perfect Soldier. If you weren't,
you would have died by the poison.>> Duo yawned, feeling his eyes
heavy but he didn't want to sleep.
<<.......... Sleep Duo. I won't die.>>
<<........>>
<<You have to trust me like I trust you to not disappear.>>
<<yeah... I trust you.>> Duo yawned again. <<Oyasumi..., Heero>>
<<Oyasumi.>>
It only took a matter of seconds for Heero to hear the steady snore
from his lover. Feeling his passage contracting and returning to
normal, he slowly pulled his braided lover out of him and covered him
with the blanket. He stood up and noticed Duo's seed didn't leak out
from him. It seemed his muscles had healed completely and became tight
once again, keeping Duo's release inside him. Heero let out a small
smile while putting his clothes back on, feeling happy to have a part
of Duo inside him.
"Ne Duo..." Fully clothed, Heero knelt and murmured at his slumbering
lover. "Even if I die you won't lose me. I love you too much to leave
you. Like you said once to me.... No matter what will happen, I'll
always be at your side. Dead or live." After placing a kiss on Duo's
forehead, Heero walked out of the wagon, intending to guard the
caravan till morning.
<<Aishiteru.>>
Heero stopped dead in his tracks as he heard the telepathic whisper,
then he smiled and resumed walking. <<Aishiteru, Duo. Now go to sleep.
Real sleep.>>
<<Aa...oyasumi for real this time.>>
<<Oyasumi, koi>>
Heero sat near the bonfire and looked into it, lost in his thoughts.
He contemplated about the words Duo said to him about being the
Perfect Soldier. Duo felt grateful..... Did he feel grateful too for
having the ultimate Power? It was because of it that his mother hated
him, J trained him cruelly, and the villagers looked at him in fear.
But then, why didn't the others, who had seen his Power, treat him
like the people did in his past? Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, Relena, Hilde,
Sally, and Noin were surprised and shocked with his true identity, but
then he didn't see fear or anger, or even hatred in their eyes. They
still thought of him as a friend. Alex Mueller knew about them, but he
wasn't afraid and even thanked them. Dorothy and Catherine knew about
his Power, but they didn't stay away from him. They still hired him
and smiled at him.
And most of all was Duo. Duo saw him in his monster form, but he
didn't show any disgusts. Duo even kissed him while he was in his
monster form. Heero traced his memories of his past. The past he
always refused to remember. But then again, if he weren't the Perfect
Soldier, would he even be born? If he was an ordinary child back then,
would he grow up happily, playing with the other children?
Heero thought of how much his Power had helped the others. He was so
deep in his thoughts that he didn't realize his body was glowing and
then returned to normal at the time Heero heard a groan that pulled
him away from his thoughts. He turned to see Dekim opened his eyes and
walked toward the old man. "Finally awake?"
Dekim groaned again and widened his eyes as he saw a boy standing in
front of him. The boy who should have been dead! "You're dead!"
The boy just snorted. "Too bad, you're wrong."
"No, it can't be. I saw you drank the poison!" Dekim stared in horror.
"You couldn't be alive after drinking that deadly poison!"
"I am alive." The boy spoke up calmly and took the black bottle, which
was left on the ground after he dropped it back then. To Dekim's
surprise, the boy emptied the black bottle. He waited for the boy to
collapse and die, but nothing happened. The boy stood still in front
of him and smirked. "Poison can't kill the Perfect Soldier."
Dekim gone pale at the boy's statement, and then stared in horror as
the boy held up the black bottle and burned it into ashes before his
eyes. He was so shocked by the sudden events that he blacked out once
again. He never awakened again until he was thrown into prison, where
he later would rant about the Perfect Soldier being a boy, which no
one believed.
Heero left the unconscious old man and looked at the wagon where Duo
was sleeping, murmuring to the darkness of the night. "Someday,
Duo....... Maybe I will be grateful for my Power....."
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