Diversion #33 - Ii Kibarashi - Maze
Smoke and fire.
Screams.
Paralysis.
Hands, claws, tentacles; all reaching, holding, pinning him down.
Tearing at him. Hurting him. Doing unspeakable things...
Helpless. Ineffectual.
Useless.
...the screams...
Heero's eyes snapped open to the darkness of his bedroom. Automatically, he turned his head to find Duo sleeping peacefully beside him, his regular, even breaths fluttering a wild strand of hair.
Carefully, he reached out to lay his hand on the Banshee's chest, reassured by the steady beat of his heart.
He sighed soundlessly.
He turned over slowly, careful not to wake his lover, and eased off the bed. He made his way to the chair and sank into it.
Only guilt, once again. Nothing real, nothing true, except his failure. He ran his fingers through his hair in silent agitation, tangling briefly to tug hard. None of it was real, just... Just the knowledge of failure.
His Banshee was right there; safe in bed, sleeping peacefully once more.
He wanted so badly to *fix* it. To make it better. To make it gone. To make it nothing more than a soon-lost nightmare.
With a groan, he scrubbed his hands over his face. "How do I do that?" he whispered to himself. "How do I make it never happen?"
Warm arms encircled his chest and lips brushed his cheek.
"You can't, Heero," Duo whispered in his ear. "There's no going back. All we can do is go forward."
He clasped his hands over those strong arms, failing to stifle the sob that escaped him. "I should have-!"
"What, Heero?" sighed Duo softly, allowing Heero to pull him around and onto his lap. "What should you have done differently? Locked me in my room? Chained me to your belt? Followed me like a bad shadow? What, Heero?"
"Something... " he persisted brokenly. "I should have done *something*!"
"You found me."
"That's-!"
"Everything," Duo finished quietly. "You looked for me, you came for me, you found me. No one has ever looked for me before... " He brushed his lips lightly over the Wyvern's. "Please come back to bed. It's cold without you... "
He stood up, the Banshee in his arms. He opened his mouth and Duo laid his fingers across his lips. "Don't want to hear it tonight, Yuy. Just want to go back to bed with my Wyvern. Your alleged character failings can wait till morning."
"I love you... "
"Yeah... "
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