Pull the Trigger and the Nightmare Stops�

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the Gundam boys or their world, I just like to imagine them in my own little world (which is totally of my making). No profits (as in no money of any kind) are made from this story, just gratuitous pleasure.
Summary: They were thrust together at the age of 14, members of an assassins guild, then rudely ripped apart at the age of 21. Now, three years later, Duo walks back into Heero's life. The rollercoaster ride has just begun as they must learn to live together once more and to love each other again. Life isn’t always easy, living with Duo, and Heero has to fight hard to remember that.

Rating: NC-17

Warning Codes: Anal,Angst,AR,H/C,Lang,M/M,OC,Oral,Violence,WAFF,WIP,Yaoi

Pairings: 1x2


Feedback is appreciated. I enjoy hearing from all of my readers. That you take the time to read is great, that you take the time to write is awesome. You are what makes writing worth while. I hope that you enjoy reading it and I look forward to your comments.

My sincere thanks to the following:

Memorietrail: Thank you for your support. I try to get up dates out as soon as I can, but sometimes I’m a slow typist. Glad you are enjoying the story.

Takumi Fujiwara: I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises. I’m getting forgetful in my old age. Thanks for taking the time to review. Hope you keep reading.


~*~

Pull the Trigger and the Nightmare Stops…

“dear my friends in the time we've spent forever after beyond this when will our nightmare ever end?
pull the trigger and the nightmare stops...”

Part 27


“Heero!” Quatre screamed. “You need to get in here now!”

“Babe, I’m coming in,” Heero said, but Duo had lost too much blood to care, let alone lift a gun. Then Heero was on the bed, pulling Duo away from Quatre, trying to access the wound.

“Trowa, get Quatre out of here,” Heero snapped. “Simon, I need Sally and the medical unit. She needs to be ready to transfuse Duo. He’s lost a lot of blood, but I think he’s stable for now.”

Everyone jumped to quickly follow Heero's commands.

“Hold on, babe,” Heero whispered as he cradled the love of his life to himself. “Don’t you leave me, Duo Maxwell.”

A small smile on the pale face was his answer. He knew that Duo had heard him and he felt a moment of relief before reality set in again. If he was to lose Duo again, his life would be over. He would have nothing left to live for. Heero was not a praying man, but he suddenly found himself praying to what ever god that cared to listen to spare the life of this fey creature that he held in his arms.

Then Sally was there with the medical team and he gave his precious burden over to their professional care.

“Heero, he really needs a hospital,” Sally told him as she cleaned around the wound. “The bullet’s still in there and I can’t get it out with what I have here. He needs blood, too.”

“NO!” said Heero sharply. “No hospitals.”

“But Heero…” she started, only to have the cold eyed assassin cut her off.

“He can’t go to a hospital,” replied Heero, a bit more softly. “You know what he was, what he is, what he just did. He’s a criminal in the eyes of the law. They’ve never had anything on either of us, we were too good for that, but you can’t hide this. Not with him coming in with a gunshot wound. It would raise too many questions. They’d try to take him away from me and I can’t let that happen. You can stop the bleeding for now and we both have the same blood type. It will be enough to stabilize him so that we can move him to a more secure location.”

“But it was self defense,” Sally protested, all the while working to stop the steady oozing of blood from Duo and then to get a flow of blood starting from Heero to replace some of what he’d lost. She quickly slipped a needle into Duo's arm and then a matching one in Heero's, preparing to directly transfuse the much needed blood to the faltering Duo. Heero sat watching as she worked. The life giving blood started to flow, first into a bag, then into Duo and some of the color came back into Duo's pale face.

“Even if it was, they might just decide to jail him until they decided that, and that would be a disaster,” Heero said, continuing to explain his objection. “Locked up in a cell like that? Look at him. Someone would make a play for him and he’d go berserk. There’d be dead bodies all over the place, including his. I won’t allow that. No hospitals.”

“So, what do we do?” asked Simon as he looked on. “We need to leave here quickly.”

“I’ll stabilize him so that we cam move him, I guess,” said Sally, still doubtful of the decision. “Then I can have a team waiting at a safe point where I can do what needs to be done.”

“That’s acceptable,” replied Heero as she removed the needle from his arm.

“Alright, then,” responded Simon. “Let’s do this. How long, Sally?”

“Give me about 20 minutes. That’s the best I can do under the circumstances,” Sally replied, returning her attention to Duo.

“Heero, we’re going to fire this place, so if there’s anything you really want, best get it now,” Simon told Heero as he turned to leave the room and set his plans into motion. “I have cars waiting out front. Master Quatre and Trowa have already been sent off to a secured location. We’re just waiting for you and Duo now.”

“Got it,” said Heero, going into immediate action. It effectively took his mind away from the gnawing worry over Duo.

His mind clicking into motion, Heero knew exactly what he needed to grab. First stop was his dresser, where he grabbed the collar that nestled under the socks in his top drawer. That was something he would never voluntarily part with. He also grabbed the framed marriage certificate that Duo so proudly displayed on the bedside table. With a quick glance at his lover, still in Sally's capable hands, Heero quickly left their room.

Next stop was Quatre and Trowa's room. Behind the door was the poster of Shinigami that Quatre had asked Duo to sign after his startling confession at the party just a short week or so ago. He knew that Quatre treasured it more than anything. Carefully, he removed it and rolled it up, wrapping the collar around it to hold it in it’s roll. Then he went to WuFei's room.

Reverently, he lifted down the katana from the wall, a relic from WuFei's past, his only link with his now almost extinct clan. A quick glance towards the bed and Heero made one more pick up. The black mink blanket that held WuFei’s dragon crest on it. He knew that it was also something the young Chinese man valued. Folding it haphazardly, and grabbing the other treasures, Heero hurried back to his own room.

~*~

Sally was just finishing up with the temporary bandage on Duo's wounded shoulder when Heero came back into the room.

“Good, you have a warm blanket,” she said, seeing WuFei's blanket in Heero's hands. “He needs to stay warm to combat shock. We’re as ready as we can be, under the circumstances.”

“I’ll take him,” said Heero, sitting down the items he held and shaking out the blanket. Sally pulled the bloody sheets away from the inert body, not wanting to get any on the clean blanket. Heero wrapped Duo carefully and picked him up gently, cradling his lover to his chest. The he headed for the door.

“Can someone grab those things that I brought in?” he asked, hands too full to reclaim the items.

“I’ll get them,” said Simon, coming back into the room to see if he could heard everyone out. “Let’s get out of here. The cars are out front waiting.”

“Just let me wash up,” Sally told him, heading for the bathroom, wanting to be rid of the blood on her hands.

~*~

They regrouped in the front driveway, where Simon was issuing orders. Quatre and Trowa had left earlier. All that was left now was to get Sally going and then Heero and Duo. Simon would follow after plans for the destruction of the house had been set in motion.

“Sally, take the first car. Call who ever you need and have them standing by at the safe house. The driver will give you the address once you’re on the road. Spare no expense,” Simon directed her.

“Got it, boss,” she answered, complying readily with the order.

“Heero, you and Duo will be in the second car. The driver will handle everything and I’ll put this stuff in the trunk for you,” Simon told him, pointing to the next car.

“The driver?” Heero asked, a note of apprehension in his voice.

“Only someone you’d trust, Yuy,” came a familiar voice from the driver’s seat.

Heero climbed into the back of the car after gently depositing Duo inside.

“Thanks, Chang,” he said as he collapsed tiredly against the back of the seat. With a relieved sigh, he belted himself in and then gathered Duo back into his arms.

“Told you I’d always be here for you,” said WuFei, quietly, “no matter what.”

Heero only grunted softly. There were really no words that he could say to express the deep and loving friendship he had for the slim Chinese man. But then he knew that WuFei didn’t need reassuring words from him. Just the fact that they were in the car with him spoke volumes of the trust and faith that Heero had for the other and WuFei knew that.

No other words were spoken from Simon and in a matter of minutes, they were on the highway, heading for sanctuary. They drove for what seemed like hours before WuFei turned up a track towards an isolated farm house. There were no lights showing, but as soon as he stopped the car, the front door opened and Quatre came flying out, followed closely by Trowa and Sally.

~*~

Heero felt exhausted, but he knew that he had to get Duo taken care of before he could relax. Climbing out of the car with his precious burden, he gently fended Quatre off, knowing that the blonde meant well and was genuinely concerned about Duo.

“Heero, how… how is he? Is he going to be alright?” asked Quatre. He bit his lip while waiting for reassurance.

“He’s stable. Sally has to still get the bullet out,” Heero answered, heading for the house.

“Oh… “ said Quatre. “Heero, I’m so sorry. I...”

“It’s not your fault,” said Heero, cutting off the recriminations that he knew were coming. “We knew the risks before going in and they were ones we chose to take. Don’t blame yourself.”

The Sally and Trowa were there, Sally by Heero's side, pulling back the blanket to check Duo's vitals and Trowa to close his arms around the distraught Quatre.

“His vitals look good,” said Sally reassuringly. “Let’s get him inside. I have a team ready and waiting.”

Heero nodded and followed her into the house, Quatre, Trowa and WuFei trailing along after them. Sally stopped them at the kitchen door, where a gurney stood waiting for Duo. Heero gently lay him down, pulling the plush blanket off and covering him with the sheet provided.

Then Sally laid a hand on his wrist.

“This is as far as you can go, Heero,” she said gently. “The room is as sterile as we can get it. You understand.”

“I know,” Heero whispered. He hugged the still body to himself and kissed the unresponsive lips, a tear training down to fall on Duo's still face. “I love you, Duo Maxwell. You’d better not leave me. I won’t live like that again.”

Heero squeezed the limp hand and he could almost swear that Duo had squeezed back, then his long-haired lover was whisked away.

Heero sobbed once and collapsed to his knees in front of the closed door, a lost, bewildered look on his pale face. Then WuFei was there, arms around him, pulling him back to his feet. Heero hugged the blanket he was still clutching to his chest and buried his face in it to hide the tears that threatened. WuFei gently led him into the darkened sitting room and sat him on the couch. Warm, comforting arms surrounded him, and gentle lips murmured softly against his temple. Gratefully, he let himself sink into the comfort that WuFei was offering, allowing the tears to start falling freely.

Time was meaningless as the pair sat together, separated from the rest of the world. Wisely, Trowa understood that Heero would not want anyone else to witness his weakness and guarded his right to privacy like a lioness guarding her cubs. Not even Quatre was allowed to intrude on Heero's grief.

Finally, Heero began to pull himself together. Duo was going to need him soon and he was going to be there for him. Sitting up and wiping his eyes, Heero took a couple of deep, healing breaths.

“Thanks,” he said softly, reaching out to caress WuFei's cheek. “You’re the best friend that I’ve ever had. If things had been different…”

“Don’t say it,” said WuFei, not wanting Heero to voice something that they both knew would never even be thinkable.

Heero smiled and kissed his best friend once, a gentle, regretful kiss that spoke volumes to both men. Thiers’s was a love that could never be, but a deep and abiding love, none the less.

“Thanks,” Heero whispered.

“Let’s go see how it’s going,” said WuFei, standing. “And I’m sure Quatre is about to bust a gut right about now.”

“I bet,” said Heero with a laugh as he held out a hand. WuFei pulled him up, then accepted the blanket Heero proffered.

“Thanks for saving this for me. I know that there’s nothing left now, but at least I have this,” WuFei told him, a sad smile on his handsome face.

“I have something else for you,” Heero told him, remembering the other things that he’d rescued.

~*~

They emerged from the living room, only to be pounced upon by Quatre. Heero spent several moments reassuring the blonde that he was going to be alright and that he forgave Quatre for what happened, even though it was in no way the blonde’s fault.

Only then was Heero allowed to lead them back to the car that WuFei had driven. They were baffled by the sudden change of events, but waited as Heero got WuFei to open the trunk. When he handed Quatre his poster and WuFei his katana, the response was overwhelming, to say the least.

“I know it’s not much, but it’s all the time I had, and I know that these things were precious to the two of you,” said Heero with a shy smile. “Sorry, Trowa, but I didn’t now of anything that you valued above all else.”

“I’ve got what’s most precious to me right here. You and Duo have already seen to that,” Trowa replied, putting an arm around Quatre. “So don’t worry. There was nothing else in that house that I can’t live without.”

Heero smiled, glad to know that Trowa felt that way. But that was Trowa for you, so low keyed that hardly anything fazed him. Quatre, on the other hand, was ecstatic.

“You saved my poster. I wanted to cry when Simon said they fired the house and didn’t take anything out of it. Thank you so much, Heero. You don’t know how much this means to me,” Quatre gushed.

“Yes, my friend. That you could think of such things for us at such a time of turmoil is remarkable. I can never thank you enough for saving this only reminder of what was once a proud clan. This means the world to me,” said WuFei, a tear standing in his eye as he looked reverently down at the katana that lay across his out stretched palms.

Heero could only blush, not realizing how much the small gesture on his part meant to these dear friends. Quatre launched himself at the self conscious man and hugged him tightly.

Trowa came to Heero's rescue and peeled Quatre away, then suggested that they return to see if there was any word on Duo yet. The four trooped back into the dark house, where they found Simon waiting in the formal dining room.

“We can’t cook, the kitchen being occupied, so I took the liberty of sending one of the drivers out for some Chinese takeaway. I hope that suits,” said Simon, a smile on his face as the group just now seemed to realize that it had been quite sometime since any of them had eaten. The food was set out on a large sideboard and everyone helped themselves before sitting down to eat.

Heero are sparingly, worry for Duo overriding every other thought. It had been about two or three hours, he wasn’t sure, because he’d lost track of time somewhere along the way, but it seemed as if it had been way too long for it being such a simple operation. What could have gone wrong? He was just starting to feel apprehension tighten down on his guts when the kitchen door opened.

He almost flew out of his seat in his haste to reach Sally and hear what she had to say. She looked tired, and there didn’t seem to be a look of reassurance on her face. Had something gone wrong? Was Duo… was he…?

“Heero,” Sally finally said, reaching out to take his hands and head back to his chair. He sat down numbly at her urging, not sure if he wanted to hear her words or not. Then she smiled tiredly, and all of the weight of the world seemed to fall off of his shoulders.

~*~

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