The Claim – part 6

 

by KatiKat

 

 

I´m sorry that this part is so short but as some of you know my school started this week and I´m really really busy now. I wanted to post at least something so that you wouldn´t think I abandoned this fic ;)

 

 

 

The breath caught in Heero's throat and his eyes widened. Duo was sitting half-naked on the floor, among the shards of a broken cup. A knife raised in the long-haired boy's hands. Heero froze. He feared that the slightest move could break the serene picture, and let the knife slide into the soft, white skin on the lifebearer´s neck.

 

But then the muscles on Duo´s arms flexed and Heero moved. He threw himself across the room in an attempt to stop the downward arc of the gleaming knife. Reaching out, he caught the naked blade with one of his bare hands and Duo´s joined hands with his other.

 

For a fraction of a second everything was still. The sharp point of the knife touched the pale curve of the long neck, and one red droplet fell from the small nick in the skin.

 

Shinigami had scrambled out of Heero´s way to sit nearby. Now the dog watched his two humans with sorrowful eyes, whining quietly.

 

Then Duo´s eyes popped open, an expression of utter horror spreading over his face. He started to fight frantically, trying to pull his hands out of Heero´s strong grasp, to move away from the Enforcer and hide in a place where nobody would find him.  He had failed again.

 

Heero didn´t even blink. His face remained completely emotionless as the blade buried itself deeper into his palm. The hot wetness dripping down on Duo´s naked knee alerted the distraught lifebearer to the fact that something was wrong. The struggle ceased as his violet eyes fell on Heero´s hand, still holding the dangerous weapon tightly. Duo´s eyes widened in shock. He... he did that?

 

The Enforcer felt Duo´s grip on the knife slacken, and so he quickly pulled the weapon out of the lifebearer´s grasp. Turning it around in his hand, the dark-haired man gripped it by the point and threw it across the room. It buried itself into the wall next to the fireplace, safely out of Duo´s reach. He let go of Duo´s hands, which fell limply into the lifebearer´s lap.

 

This seemed to pull Duo out of his frozen state. Tearing his eyes away from Heero´s bloodied hand, the lifebearer tried to scramble backwards, away from the Enforcer. His legs were twisted in the white sheets, which hindered his movement, but it only took a second to untangle himself. It was still enough though for Heero to catch Duo´s naked shoulders tightly in his hands, smearing the lifebearer´s skin with crimson blood. Panic gripped Duo, and he started to fight again, kicking, screaming, and thrashing, trying to get out of Heero´s reach.

 

"Stop it," Heero hissed. When Duo didn´t seem to have heard him, he shook the long-haired man like a ragdoll. "I said *stop it*!" he ordered, raising his voice for the first time since he took Duo in roughly five days ago.

 

Something in the cold voice prompted Duo to cease fighting. He raised his head, watching Heero through his tangled locks. His eyes held the haunted look of a cornered animal.

 

Heero stayed kneeling on the floor, watching the long-haired man intently. "What do you think you are *doing*, huh?" he shouted at Duo, shaking the lifebearer violently a second time. "What are you *doing*?!"

 

Duo didn´t respond. His teeth rattled from the shaking and the deep ache he felt since he fell from the bed turned into a sharp pain. He moaned.

 

Hearing the sound Heero stopped shaking the other man. He looked at Duo for a moment as if finally realizing whom he was holding in his arms. The grip he had on Duo´s shoulders gentled, but was still firm.

 

They looked each other in the eyes for a long moment. Heero´s eyes were icy, while Duo´s were desperate.

 

Heero lowered his head. "I have had enough," he said quietly, his voice cool. "I have had enough of tiptoeing around you. Enough of pampering you and playing to your moods!" Heero lifted his head and looked Duo directly in the eyes. The expression on the Enforcer´s face made Duo flinch. "This can´t go on," Heero continued. "I can´t stand guard over you the whole day and I don´t want to come home from the watch to find you here in a pool of blood!" His voice was frosty. "Your baby is dead! Accept it and move on!"

 

Duo flinched again and closed his eyes. Hearing the truth, said out loud, hurt too much. He shook his head violently.

 

"The baby is dead!" Heero repeated with more force. "It´s dead but you are not! You didn´t die!"

 

"But I should have," Duo whispered.

 

Heero froze hearing the desperate tone. He reacted in the only way he knew.

 

The smack of the slap echoed through the hut.

 

Duo´s head was thrown to the side. His eyes popped open with shock. Slowly he turned his head back to Heero and gasped, seeing the cold fury blaze in the Enforcer´s eyes.

 

"Don´t you ever EVER say something like that again. Never! Nothing is worth of killing yourself for! Not even this!"

 

The last words tore through Duo´s mind and he felt something break inside him. It was the dam holding his emotions. All the feelings of anger, hate, grief and desperation poured out and overflowed his mind.

 

"Nothing? You call my baby nothing?" he screamed pushing Heero in the chest and overbalancing him. "How dare you!" Duo shouted, his eyes flashing. "You don´t know how it is to carry another life within you, to cherish it, love it more than anything and then have it ripped away from you! You don´t know how it is to survive your own child! I´ve failed!"

 

Heero sat on the floor facing Duo, his wounded hand lying palm up on his thigh. He had a guarded expression on his face as he watched the enraged lifebearer, but something in his eyes made it obvious that he really didn´t know. Duo´s hands folded into fists on his thighs, his face pale and drawn, eyes glistening.

 

"I´m a failure! A total failure!" Duo screamed, tears streaming down his face and self-loathing filling his voice. "I can´t do anything right." The lifebearer closed his eyes and shook his head. "My father was right. I am worthless,“ he whispered and hung his head. 

 

"That´s not true," Heero answered quietly.

 

Duo´s head shot up. "Isn´t it? I killed my baby! Don´t you understand? I killed it!" he shouted.

 

Slowly as if not to spook the distraught lifebearer Heero got up on his knees, then moved closer. "No, you didn´t."

 

Duo shook his head, his hair flying wildly around him. "You don´t understand! It´s dead! My baby is dead and I killed it!"

 

Cautiously, Heero stretched out his arms and wrapped them around Duo. For once, he decided, he would follow his feelings. "But you didn´t kill it..."

 

"I did!" The long-haired man struggled in the Enforcer´s arms for a moment before giving up and catching the flaps of Heero´s jacket in his hands. "I did..." he sobbed. "My baby is dead, Heero. It´s dead. Please, give me my baby back. Please. I want my baby back, Heero. It can´t be dead. Please, Heero." Duo pressed his face into Heero´s chest and let the tears fall.

 

Heero held the weeping lifebearer in his arms as the deep sobs wracked the slight body. To his surprise, he found himself rocking back and forth slightly, caressing the curve of Duo´s naked back in a soothing gesture.

 

He never knew it felt so warm to care.

 

TBC