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Part 3 Duo was again rudely awakened by the sound of the door sliding open. He cracked his eye open and watched the two guards enter, their guns pointed straight at the General. Treize, to his credit, gained immense coolness points in Duo's mind with his behaviour. He rose to his feet, gazing at them impassively. "Shall we go, gentlemen?" he said with the air of inviting a group of politicians to the sitting room for a cigar and shot of brandy. Duo struck. With all the speed he could squeeze out of his lithe body, he leapt at one of the guards, trying to tackle him. As his shoulder connected with the guard's chest, he saw Treize out of the corner of his eye as he grabbed the guard's gun and began grappling with him. The guard Duo had hit staggered back a few steps, but the beefy man, unfortunately, didn't fall. He growled and lunged at Duo, grabbing for him. The pilot eeped and tried to duck past him towards the door. He felt fingers grab at his clothing, and then he was free. He took a few more steps towards the door, then he heard a shout of warning from Treize. "Duo!" An instant later, there was an explosion of light and pain and Duo fell heavily to the ground, paralyzed. Just as he lost consciousness, he could hear the guard laughing. "Don't worry, you'll get your chance, little boy." And he fell into darkness.
Duo came awake again to a pounding headache. :Treize!: He looked up - an incredibly bad idea. The pain exploded at full force across the back of his skull. He dropped his head back down to the cold, hard floor with a heartfelt groan; however, he'd seen enough to determine that Treize was nowhere in sight. :Damn, that was *really* stupid, Maxwell.: When the pounding in his head had dulled to a low grumble, he got up - slowly - and started pacing. An hour later, when he'd nearly worn a track in the floor, he was startled out of his worried reverie by the door opening again. Treize was tossed to the ground, obviously only semiconscious. Blood was flowing slowly from his wrists and bare feet. The guards joked and laughed as Duo gasped and leapt to Treize's side. The door slid closed again on their mocking laughter. Treize clutched at Duo's arm as the pilot knelt beside him. "Duo?" he asked plaintively. "Yeah, it's me," Duo replied. He maneuvered Treize so the other man was resting more in his lap than on the floor. Treize buried his head in Duo's chest. He was trembling. Duo wrapped his arms around the older man and whispered reassurances into his ear. "They *crucified* me," Treize said brokenly. "Duo, why do they hate me so much?" "Shhh, it's all right now." Treize shook his head. "I have to get out of here. Now." Duo smirked ironically. :Yeah, General, I know the feeling.: "Why don't we just go lie down on the bed instead, all right, Treize?" He sighed. "You're humouring me, but that sounds nice." They crawled over to the 'bed', Treize biting his lip against the pain. When he was comfortably ensconced under the blankets, Duo tried to get up, but Treize held on with more than a little desperation. "Where are you going?" Without thinking, Duo pressed a soft kiss to Treize's forehead. "It's okay," he said softly. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm just gonna get something to deal with your wounds. I'll be right back." Treize let go, muttering an apology, which Duo pointedly ignored. :Hmm, he thinks he's being weak. Baka, he's doing better than anyone one have expected.: He wet four lengths of toilet paper, then returned to the bed and gently wrapped Treize's wrists and ankles. They didn't seem to have broken anything important, but when the blood clotted and paper dried, it was going to hurt like a bitch to take off. :Not much I can do about that, though.: He laid back down on the bed, pulling Treize into his arms. Part of his mind was trying to berate him for being so nice to his enemy, but he sharply ordered it to shut up and defiantly began stroking Treize's unruly ginger hair. The General was trembling again. "Just try to calm down, Treize. You're doing great." Treize tilted his head back. Agonized, glimmering sapphire met calm amethyst. "If you were in my position, you would not be almost in tears." Duo gave him a lopsided grin. "That's because in my short life, I've been raped and abused, lost my parents and all my friends in fires, plagues, and OZ attacks, and am fighting a war against the whole universe with four strangers as my only allies. Things can't get much worse for me." He kissed the wide-eyed Treize on the nose, playfully belying the import of his words. "Nothing bad has ever happened to you, so you're allowed to cry." Treize let out a horrified, choked sound. "Duo... my god... I'm so sorry. To think how small and pathetic what I'm going through is in comparison-" Duo placed his hand over his mouth and glared at him. "Didn't I tell you it's okay to feel bad?" Treize nodded humbly, but Duo could feel the smallest bit of a smile against his hand. "So stop apologizing for it, all right?" Treize waited for Duo to remove his hand before replying. Duo glared at him for a moment, as if to ensure that his words had sunk in entirely this time, then removed the hand. The moment he removed it, Treize caught it in his free hand. He kissed the back of Duo's hand once, then looked back at Duo. "For you, Duo Maxwell, I will do anything you ask. Including continuing to live." Duo's jaw would have hit the floor, if he hadn't been lying on said floor, and if his head hadn't been oriented horizontally. As it was, he stared at Treize in shock, his mouth working, though nothing would come out. :He did *not* just say that!: :Yes he did!: :Yeah, well he's just saying that because I've been nice to him, he doesn't actually *mean* *that*.: Treize smiled at Duo's discomfiture and released the pilot's hand. Instead, he gently grasped Duo by the back of the neck and drew his head down into a soft kiss. Duo gasped as their lips met, but then he closed his eyes and leaned into it. All thought flew from his head at their velvet touch, but Treize did not move his hands, nor did a questing tongue touch Duo's lips. When they parted again, Duo was trembling slightly. "T-Treize...?" The General smiled gently. "Arigatou, Duo. I cannot express what your kindness means to me." Duo, for once, didn't know what to say. He shut off the questioning, frightened part of his brain and wrapped his arms around Treize, burrowing into his bare chest. He lay there in silence, numb, while Treize's fingers played absently with his back. A few minutes later, the moment was shattered by the door opening again. Duo looked up, prepared to fight them off Treize, but they kept their distance, their fingers on their triggers. "All right, it's the kid's turn now. Come along nice, now," said the guard Duo had tried to tackle earlier. Duo tensed, and started to get up. Treize wrapped his arms more tightly around Duo, who barely repressed a squawk of surprise. "Do what you like to me, but leave the boy alone," he said authoritatively. Duo and the guards all blinked simultaneously. :Wow, he really sounds like a General when he talks like that. Guess I shouldn't really be surprised, though,: Duo thought. The guards' faces twisted with anger. "You want another dose, you only gotta ask," said the second one, started forward. "No!" Duo exclaimed, halting him in his tracks. Duo forcibly extricated himself from Treize's grip and stood, glaring at the General. "You baka, you need a break!" he said. "If you try anything that stupid again, I'll make you regret it, got it?" Treize looked taken aback at his manner. "Duo..." he said softly, in a confused, hurt tone of voice. Duo ignored him, walking over to the guards and smiling at them impishly. "So, what is it today, boys? Arts and crafts? Basket weaving?" The first guard struck him sharply on the back of his neck, where he already had a sizeable bruise from the pistol-whipping he'd received earlier. Duo gasped and went to his knees, his vision graying out again. "Shut the fuck up!" the guard yelled. "If you think cooperating despite what your boyfriend tried to do got you any points with us, you'd better think again." They dragged Duo from the room by the collar. | |
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