| Dearest readers, I must apologize for my comments about the lack of responses. I have discovered that Egroups hates my guts with a passion. It doesn't send me replies for some reason. I was cruisin' one of the ML's pages, thanks to the hint of a friend, when I found to my utter shock *gasp* C&C!!!!!!!!! It exists, praise be to all things Gundam Wing!! But why in the hell doesn�t it reach me?! Gomen nasai, minna-san, for you *have* been replying to me. Not as much as I would like, but hell, I take what I can get. Now I must kill Egroups for doing this to me......... Also, I think I found the source of my computer problems. It needed to be defragged. **BADLY!!!!!!!!**. It�s been going for over 112 hours now and shows no signs of stopping�. I borrowed a computer at school to type this up! I may need to reinstall Windows on it, too. Damn computer is trying to prevent me from posting fics! It�s a conspiracy, I tells ya!!! So hopefully, there will fewer problems on my end of things. Again, my sincerest apologies for yelling and whining about the C&C. There is no one to blame here but THAT HUNK OF JUNK ON MY DESK AND IT�S ONLINE CRONIES!!!!!! ::pauses:: Oops!! Everyone�s eardrums OK? Gomen, just a little ticked. Ummm, this one is a little longer then usual but I don�t think anyone will complain, ne? I might have to wrap this up soon. Have fun with the fic! P.S. My unusual spellings and frequent grammar mistakes have been pointed out recently. I�m doing kinda poorly in RL. Little things like proper English equitte are lost me. T.S. and we�re out of toilet paper. I do the best I can. The rest is intentional (trust me >_<). Title: A Gesture of Kindness 7/10? Author: Lady DarkAngel [email protected] Archive: Lady DarkAngel's Gundam Wing Fanfiction Library http://ladydarkangel_1.homestead.com/Main.html, Darkflame�s (if she�ll take it�.) and anywhere else is fine, just ask me first Category: Yaoi, angst Pairing(s): 1+2 eventually (I�ma getting� there, don�t rush me!) Disclaimers: Gundam Wing or Shinkidousenki Gundam Wing is copyrighted and trademarked by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency and associated parties with all rights and privileges. The characters were used without permission for the purposes of entertainment only. This is not meant for sale of profit. Any characters not created by those listed above are mine and hereby considered the sole property and copyright of the author. Anyway, I�m just a poor college student. So can I play with them? I promise I won�t break them�..much. Rating: PG Warnings: Angst, severe illness, minor gross factor, sap? Feedback: Kami-sama, YES!!! [email protected]; any and all comments are welcome like the sweet ego-sustainers they are. Heero was vaguely aware of a pounding sound in the background as he panted for air lost in the line of duty. It didn�t really register until the door behind him gave with a tremendous crack. Trowa, Quatre and Wufei came spilling in a tangled heap and barely missed landing on Heero and the boy in his arms. Frantically untangling himself, Quatre shouted, �Heero!! What the hell�s going on in here?! We heard a crash and splashing and you were shouting and KAMI-SAMA, IS DUO ALRIGHT?!?!?� Aqua eyes were enormous as he beheld his friend wet and motionless on the floor. �Iie.� The one-word response froze the trio into place and the combined focus of their concerned glares burned into the back of the Wing Zero pilot�s head. He didn�t notice as he kept a careful eye on Duo�s uneven breathing. In a clipped monotone he used when relaying missions or in debriefing, he relayed the events of the past few hours and in particular, the last twenty minutes or so. He managed to belie the too-real and close-to-the-surface fear that still held him in its inexorable grip. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and turned to see Quatre kneel down beside him. The Arabian boy reached out and laid a hand softly on Duo�s cheek, gently stroking it in a soothing gesture. Whether he was reassuring himself or Duo was anyone�s guess. Heero felt a totally irrational and damn near uncontrollable urge to slap the intruding hand away or worse. What did that blonde twit think he was doing?! Duo was his mission, his partner, his responsibility, *HIS* damnit!!! He brutally repressed the lethal fury coursing through his veins and tried very hard not to hurt the small boy next to him. He began talking to himself in an effort to not snap. <Just relax. Calm down. There is no threat here. Just being overprotective, that�s all. You *did* nearly lose him just now, after all. With the adrenaline still in your system, kitto you�ll get aggressive at any and all offensive acts. But why did I consider his harmless gesture a threat? I don�t understand��> He was snapped out of his musings by a shout that indicated he really should be paying attention to the conversation going on around him. �We need to get him to a hospital, *NOW*!!� �It�s still too dangerous; we�d risk discovery. And we�re still isolated in this area. The nearest hospital is 70 miles away.� Trowa�s voice was the sound of reason to Quatre�s ever-growing panic. But it concealed nothing of the worry that he himself felt as emerald eyes searched for a possible solution. �Discovery be damned! If we don�t act now, Maxwell will die. It is no longer a hypothetical; it is a given. He breathes now, but for how long?� Wufei�s voice was grim and his face a stone mask. �We are no longer capable of caring for him. We never were. We put the mission first and see where it has led. Justice demands action, as does simple human compassion. We have no choice.� Quatre turned wide and hopeful eyes on Heero. He knew that whatever the Japanese boy would decided would be their ultimate course of action. Heero knew; Heero always knew what to do. �Well? What do you think? What should we do?� <What should we do?> It echoed in his mind. On the one hand, to go was to risk the revelation that Gundam pilots were in the area. It was not as likely as it would have been if Duo were suffering from battle injuries but a risk was still a risk. Questions would be asked, innocent enough ones like names and how this all came about. Questions that could not be answered with suspicion; even avoidance would cause a raised eyebrow or two. The mission comes first; nothing that endangers it survives. But taking care of Duo was a mission, too. A very important one. One he couldn�t stand the thought of failing. <Duo can�t die�... we can�t be found�� the mission can�t fail��> �Heero? Heero! Come on, Heero, we need an answer!� An answer was beyond him. There was no correct answer. This was a paradox that had the Perfect Solider stumped. Heero�s mind was frozen by the situation. <There is no right answer. What do I do?! There is no right answer!!!> He mentally shrieked in blind panic, the boy beneath the soldier being left in charge by default. The boy had no experience being in control; technically he wasn�t even supposed to exist. The Perfect Soldier was paralyzed by conflicting demands and whatever wasn't under the soldier�s command was left to decide. All there was were the rudiments of a soul that had recently begun to awaken and were now totally alone and afraid. <Tasukete! Help me!! What do I do?!> �HEERO!!!!!� The Japanese boy startled as Wufei shouted his name. �What should we do? You�re in command here. Do we take Duo and get help?� Eternity ticked by as his cobalt eyes focused on the boy in his arms. <Duo will die without help. OZ is in the area with heavy troop reinforcements. We can�t treat him here. There�s a good chance of being intercepedt and captured on route or at the hospital. No hope if we stay. Little chance of success if we go. We�ll lose him. We�ll be taken. The mission will fail. Duo will die��> �Aa��� The faint sound came from a creaking throat. The whisper was barely audible but made the impact of a ten-megaton bomb. The decision was made. �We go. Now.� --------------------------------------------------- It turned out they couldn�t all go. Someone had to watch the Gundams and secure the safehouse until a suitable replacement site near the hospital could be found. Besides, having everyone in one place like sitting ducks was very bad security. Splitting up was necessary. So Trowa and Wufei stayed behind while Quatre and Heero took on the task of getting to the hospital ASAP. The four would meet up later and plan further based on the situation then. Quatre and Heero hiked to the nearest road, Duo safely ensconced in Heero�s protective arms. The first motorist they saw was persuaded by two still shiny-new but well-used Berettas that lending them the Jeep was not only a good thing, but the best idea he ever had and that cops were not his friend. Strangely, Heero had refused to drive like he normally would. Instead, he carried the American to the back and settled him across his lap, draping the lolling head on his shoulder. Wisely, Quatre said nothing, slid into the driver�s seat and proceed to test the company�s claim that the Jeep could do 0-85 in 6 seconds. The Wing Zero pilot was tired. Or, at least the state he was in resembled exhaustion. The stress of the last day or so, the head injury and the near-mental breakdown he had just suffered all conspired to knock him out. About the only thing keeping him in the waking world was the erratic heaving of the chest beneath his hand. He couldn�t pass out yet. Duo wasn�t safe or well. He could wait; his partner couldn�t. <Better hurry up, Quatre. I think we�re both fading fast back here. Where in the hell *is* this hospital anyway?! Dark side of the moon?! We should have been there by now!> The scenery blew by in a fuzzy high-speed blur as the Sandrock pilot dared the local speed limit and gravity while he was at it. <Good luck there. He panics too easily, that one. He�s freaking out, as Duo might say. But it�s for a good cause. Kami-sama, I�m tired. Can�t even keep a train of thought going��> He was jolted out of his thoughts by the sudden lurching of the Jeep and the terrible screeching of tires. Quatre swung the Jeep around as he braked and tried to kill about 98 m/hr. velocity in a second or so. Heero shielded the boy he was holding as they went crashing into the seats up front. The impact jarred his already protesting head even further. Being airborne did nothing for his condition, either. Quatre muttered an apology as he raced to open the side door. The Arabian tried to catch the two as they practically fell out. Worried about the Japanese boy who seemed to be having problems standing up straight and wasn�t acting normal at all, he offered to relieve Heero of his burden. And nearly got his head ripped off in the process. It was clear that NOBODY was going to take Duo from him till he was damn good and ready to give him up. Sighing, the blonde guided them inside and began screaming in a most undignified manner for a nurse. Subtly could go to hell. And it could take tact and etiquette with it as far as he was concerned. They would deal with potential consequences later. Heero forced his feet to move forward. They felt like 50 lb. weights had been tied to his ankles. Now who would do something so stupidly suicidal as a prank? <Probably Duo��> he pondered as he spaced in and out. Aa, it was something that the baka would do. Him and his moronic sense of humor. Most likely thought this was funny��. Speaking of the braided baka, he looked down in his arms and noted the pale form was still struggling to breathe. <Hang on. Almost there, just a little bit further��> Who he was talking to wasn�t entirely clear to him. Was it to Duo or to himself? Did it really matter at this point? <Head hurts so bad�� Can�t think straight�� Or see straight either�� I�m gonna lose it soon�� Need to get him to help��> He was vaguely aware that people were shouting and racing towards him. Were they the people he needed to find; the help for Duo? He couldn�t tell. He opened his mouth to ask but it refused to obey his commands. He felt fierce tuggings on his arms and tried to shrug them off. Duo needed help; why were they bothering him? But they were persistent and wouldn�t go away. It was a few seconds before his befuddled mind recognized the fact that someone or something was trying to take Duo away from him. *THAT* got his attention! He struggled valiantly against an unknown number of unidentified attackers. Hampered by the very thing he was protecting, all he could do was hold Duo tight and use his body as a shield and pray they couldn�t break his grip. But his arms were weak from the past day�s experiences. He was too weak��.. He couldn�t even protect his partner. He fought and fought but it wasn�t good enough. He felt Duo�s warmth leave his arms and he blindly grabbed to get it back. Hands appeared to restrain him and voices babbled unintelligibly in his ears. One of them was Quatre whispering and trying to calm him. �It�s alright, Heero. They�re just trying to help. No worries. They�re not going to hurt him. Stop fighting kudasai. Let him go; let them take him. Come on, Heero, yamero. Onegai! For Duo!� <For Duo.> He would do anything for the baka, his baka. If resisting would cause Duo harm, then all resistance must halt immediately. The exhaustion and pain he had been experiencing came crashing down as he realized he didn�t have to fight anymore. The blurred room fuzzed out even more and began rotating extremely fast. Titling and whirling, he staggered as he tried to maintain his dubious balance. When it all came to a screeching halt worse then the Jeep�s. his legs gave out. Someone caught him; might have been Quatre, maybe not. Before giving in to the darkness, Heero called out one last time. �Duo����..� (TBC���.) Part 8 is coming. It�s written, honest! Now pray the computer stops so I can type it up! Lady DarkAngel ---------- Chibi Duo's Babysitter Moderator of Duo's Sugar Intake Keeper of Duo's Nice Rear-end Co-Keeper of Shinigami's Wings (with Meela) Keeper of Heero's Homicidal Intentions Keeper of Quatre's Teacup Keeper of Trowa's Mask Keeper of Wufei's Sense of Honor Co-Keeper of Duo's Chatter (with Tomanaiya) Co-Keeper of Heero's "Hn" (with Tomanaiya) Co-Writer of Wufei's Rants (with Tomanaiya) Leader of the Inspirationally-challenged Muses: Alisande, Rynvi, and Kiagara Co-Keeper of a real-life hamster named Heero Yuy (Hee-chan)(with Tomanaiya) Keeper of the Hit List Acting GOD in Charge of The Anime Muse Adopiton Center and WSCT of the AMAC Proud member of SDDI, the Society of Defending Duo's Intelligence Member of the Society Against the Complete Bastardization of Heero Yuy Occupant of the Happy Hentai House Master Hacker of the Shinigami Organization Assistant Mob Psychologist for the Shinigami Organization Founding Member of Saa-EEP!!! Happy to be a member of the DuoML Member of 1x2, 2x1 Fan Club and ML Many more MLs but you don't want to know... Lady DarkAngel's Gundam Wing Fanfiction Library http://ladydarkangel_1.homestead.com/Main.html |