By Kate-chan
Disclaimer: Standard. You know the drill, so I'm not gonna bother repeating stuff.
Part One
Heero yawned as he got up and stretched. He plodded over to his bedroom door, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. He hadn't gotten much sleep; this was the fourth night in a row that he had lain awake for hours while everyone else was asleep.
His first stop was the bathroom. Heero stared at his reflection in the mirror over the spotless sink. A mop of shaggy, dark brown hair framed a handsome face. Right now, there were wrinkles of exhaustion around the mouth and the cold blue eyes.Those eyes normally were deep, dark, and alive; at the moment, they were dull and had lost their icy beauty.
He splashed some water on his face, looked into the mirror again to see the result, and grunted in brief approval. Now he looked more awake, more alert, more like his normal self. He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.
The other four Gundam pilots sat around a large circular table. Quatre read the Culture Section of the newspaper as he sipped his tea and munched on a blueberry muffin. Wufei drank tea as well, along with an English muffin, as he read his Chinese newspaper. Trowa, his eyes slightly narrowed as he read the main section of the paper, sipped his coffee. An omelet sat on a china plate in front of him. Duo, meanwhile, was chortling as he read the Funnies. Heero's eyes widened as he saw what Duo was eating. A plate of eggs, bacon, and toast sat on the table in front of the braided boy, as well as a corn muffin, two waffles, a plate of pancakes, some sausages, a glass of orange juice, and a large mug of steaming black coffee.
Duo looked up. "Oh, good morning," he said cheerfully.
"How can you eat all that?" Heero asked as he got the cereal out of one of the numerous cabinets.
"I didn't have any dinner yesterday, so I'm making it up today," Heero heard as he opened the refrigerator to get the milk. He snorted.
He sat down after pouring the milk into his cereal bowl. Trowa wordlessly handed him the newspaper. "I'm done," the tall boy said matter-of-factly when Heero raised an eyebrow.
"Thanks," he murmured. He skimmed over the articles. Nothing remotely interesting was occurring today. He finshed eating quickly, put his bowl and spoon in the dishwasher, and wandered off.
"Hmmm." Quatre sipped his tea delicately, a worried look on his face.
"What is it, Q-man?" Duo managed between bites as he wolfed down his breakfast.
Quatre sighed as he put his cup down. "Did any of you notice how wierd Heero seemed just now?"
Wufei snorted. "He's always like that. I don't see why you're worrying."
"Yeah, but ... you can see that he hasn't gotten a whole lot of sleep lately. I think something's bothering him."
Duo laughed. "What're you gonna do, talk to him about it? He's not gonna 'fess up, you know that!"
"You never know," Trowa retorted, coming (as usual) to the blonde's rescue.
Quatre smiled sadly. "I just hope that he'll come to us if he needs help."
***
Heero was tied to a chair, a blinding light shining in his face. The ropes cut cruelly into his skin. He didn't dare to move, knowing that he would just open more wounds in his already scarred and scabbed skin. Three large men were moving towards him; he couldn't see their faces, but he could see that one of them carried a club, and another carried -- something else.
The first man, the one who wasn't holding anything, smacked him across the face. Fresh pain blossomed not only on his cheek, but also on the rest of him -- the cords had sliced into him as he moved from the force of the blow. He blinked rapidly, trying not to cry.
No, he refused to cry. Even though only ten years old, he knew quite well what would happen if he screwed up. Dr. J would punish him again, and as the old man seemed to have plenty of creative and painful ways to hurt Heero, he just couldn't mess up in a serious training exercise like this.
The man hit him again. "Where are they? Don't play dumb -- I know you're hiding them! Where are those bombs you planted?"
Heero didn't answer. He was bleeding in several places now; the pain was almost too much. But he gathered up his remaining strength to prepare for another blow.
The man with the club stepped foward. He only spoke two words, but they had such a cold finality that Heero shuddered. "Tell me." Without waiting for an answer, he swung his weapon back. Heero tried not to close his eyes, tried not to flinch ...
***
"Heero, where'd all the shampoo go?" Duo called in the direction of his friend's room. There was no answer. "Hey -- Heero! I just asked you a question, man!" He ran, still fully clothed -- he would only strip when he knew that the shampoo was in the bathroom (long story) -- down the hall to Heero's bedroom. "Where in the heck did you put the --" He stopped dead in the doorway. The room was empty. "Great. Just great. He hid it ..."
He ran downstairs, calling Heero's name. He suddenly knew that something was really wrong -- other than that his Herbal Essences shampoo was gone. He raced into the kitchen. The other three, still discussing whatever they had been debating when Duo left the table, turned sharply to face the American as he skidded to a halt. "What's wrong, Duo?" Quatre asked, concerned.
"It's Heero -- he's gone!"
Part Two