Parallel-Part 3-Final

[t_shirt1x2]

Parallel
AU/Romantic Adventure
1x2, Rx1 (unrequited…mostly)
Mention of lemon, brief romantic interlude with OOC Relena, light angst

Summary: When a young soldier is transported to an alternate universe he discovers the answers to the painful confusion in his heart.

Back to Part 2



Part 3

The guards seemed more than a little relieved when they made it back to Hiiro’s cabin without incident but it was curious that Trowa’s counterpart was not with them. Hiiro thought perhaps they had switched shifts while he was visiting with Duo and tried to put it all out of his mind and get some rest. He’d been up for over thirty hours and welcomed the sweet serenity of sleep but was wakened only a short time later when he heard claxon alarms going off outside.

“What’s going on?” he asked when he opened the door and discovered there was only one guard and he looked haired and scared.

“I don’t know,” he replied revealing his inexperience with his profession.

*INTRUDER* came over the speakers and Hiiro snatched up the first soldier that scurried by his door.

“What’s happened!?” he demanded fearing something had gone wrong with the gate.

“They’ve taken him!” the soldier stammered looking more nervous by the moment while he gazed into his blue eyes.

“Who?” Hiiro growled growing impatient with him.

“The prince,” he chirped then curled into a ball as if afraid of being thrashed.

“Duo?” Hiiro breathed backing away in shock. “Who?”

“Hiiro!” another soldier shouted rushing to a halt nearby. “Come on! They’ve taken Duo!”

“Who has!?” Hiiro demanded moving swiftly that way.

“Rebel spies,” the soldier informed him and Hiiro tried to work it out but there wasn’t enough information.

One thing was sure though, if Duo was in trouble he was going to help so he followed along and discovered many of he people around him were not privy to his alternate standing as they treated him as if he were the Hiiro from their world. This made it much easier to get things done and by the time Treize and the others were aware he was on board a scout ship that was closing in on a shuttle that was moving at a rapid pace toward the gate.

“What are you doing!?” Relena shouted over the com when her image came to life on the screen. “Stop that ship at once! That man isn’t who you think he is!”

“We can’t let them take him through the gate!” Hiiro shouted bouncing a man that had tried to power down the engines out of the way.

“Stop him!” Relena growled. “I’ll get the shuttle!” she insisted ordering her men to open the engines of her patrol ship all the way.

“There isn’t time!” Hiiro countered standing guard over the ships thruster system while he guided them toward the shuttle at top speed.

There was a scuffle that put the fire of determination in Relena’s eyes but her ship wasn’t fast enough to catch up before the shuttle entered the gate and she stood gaping in utter relief when Hiiro’s scout ship rammed into its side and knocked it off course enough that it missed the target.

“Duo!” she shouted into the comm. but there was no reply. A moment later her eyes went wide when a hatch on the scout ship blew off and Hiiro rocketed toward the shuttle with a large jet pack strapped to the back of his pressure suit. She watched in silent terror while he entered the shuttle and didn’t breathe again until Hiiro’s face flickered to life on her screen.

“He’s safe,” he breathed seeming unable to catch his breath while Duo clung to him and cried.

“Bring him home,” she ordered then cut the comm. and Duo wailed even harder.

“Shhh,” Hiiro consoled recalling several times during his career when he’d had to comfort Relena in the same way. “You’re safe.”

“I’m sorry,” Duo choked.

“It’s all right now.”

“They said…they said they would take me to him.”

Hiiro’s mouth thinned when he thought about the stupidity of the men lying unconscious on the floor and pulled his charge tight but it hurt in a way he couldn’t describe to see Trowa’s face among them. “It doesn’t work that way,” he told him pushing him back to wipe his eyes. “It’s an even exchange. If you had gone through the gate it might have destroyed both our worlds.”

Duo’s eyes went wide with horror for a moment before he crumbled in Hiiro’s arms again and cried, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right now,” Hiiro sighed. “You didn’t know.”

“I could have killed us all,” Duo wept and Hiiro longed for the steadfast strength he had come to take for granted from his partner.

He held him a moment while he calmed then started when a sound erupted all around them. A moment later Relena screamed in absolute rage when the stars themselves seemed to ripple and shake as they swallowed them ship and all.

“DUO!!!!”

“What happened?” Hiiro inquired when the sound and motion stilled but something felt horribly wrong.

“I don’t know,” Duo replied looking about fearfully.

“Stay here,” Hiiro instructed having to lay a soothing hand on him to get him to comply while he went to the viewport to see what was going on but what he saw outside brought sheer terror to his heart.

“What is it?” Duo breathed having sensed his anxiety but he appeared unable to answer so he drew himself to his feet and cautiously approached falling ever deeper into despair when he saw the interior landscape of a mammoth ship outside their hull and breathed, “Aquarius.”

“What?” Hiiro gasped looking more than a little alarmed. The ship was a fable in his world but the tales that surrounded it were froth with danger and adventure giving credit to the ghost ship for innumerable disappearances over the ages.

“We have to get out of here,” Duo gasped heading for the hatch.

“Wait! Duo!” Hiiro countered pulling him physically away. “What is this? What’s happened?”

“We have to get out of here!” Duo insisted. “They show no mercy! They’ll take what they want then kills us!”

“Calm down,” Hiiro soothed looking around for another way out but when he glanced out the porthole there were small surface skimmers approaching. “Come on!” he told him taking him by the wrist as he pulled him toward the back of the ship where he set about opening one of the torpedo shoots.

“What’re you doing?” Duo asked fidgeting nervously as sounds echoed outside.

“Get in,” Hiiro instructed and he balked but climbed in when the hatch clanked loudly.

“What about…?” was all he got out before the hatch closed and he held his breath while the sounds of movement filled the ship.

There were people moving about and the muffled sound of them talking over the air waves but from the sound of it they didn’t find what they were looking for and suddenly disappeared in search of their wayward captives. Duo could hear every beat of his heart while he lay in the darkness with his hand cupped to his mouth and felt as if hours had passed by before he jumped hard enough to nearly wet himself when the hatch suddenly opened.

“Hiiro!” he gasped allowing him to pull him free.

“They won’t be fooled for long,” Hiiro explained taking him by the hand. “Stay close and be as quiet as you can,” he told him easing the hatch open until he saw the top of someone’s head and laid his finger to his lips to encourage the instruction as he slipped silently outside. A moment later the guard disappeared and Hiiro motioned for him to follow so he climbed down and fell into step behind him while he led them as far away from the search area as possible.

It was so odd but there seemed to be an entire city of abandoned debris littering the interior walls of the ship which made it easier to stay hidden but didn’t reveal much about their current situation. He didn’t dare speak to Duo about it until they were well away from the ship and buried deep in a ruin where the search lights from the skimmers couldn’t reach them.

“Who are they?” Hiiro wondered while he watched one of the skimmers search a tall pile of old mobile suit housing in the distance.

“Scaves,” Duo sighed then peered up at him from where he sat on the crusty floor. “Aren’t there any in your world?”

“This ship is a fairytale where I come from,” Hiiro explained.

“Lucky you,” Duo grumbled.

“What is their nature?”

“Greedy little scaves is all they are,” Duo scoffed. “They run cloaked so they can sneak up on their prey and take them unaware. Then they take what they want and leave nothing behind.” Hiiro’s eyes shifted to take in the savory clothes he was wearing and he laughed shakily while he informed him, “If they catch us there won’t be enough of me left to carry home in your pocket.”

“You’re the ruler here,” Hiiro reasoned hoping to reassure him. “You’re more valuable to them alive.”

“Oh, they’ll ransom me,” Duo chuckled but it ended in something more of a sob. “They’ll send video of me being gang raped to the high council.” Hiiro’s eyes hardened angrily but it didn’t stop him from elaborating, “And when they get their payment they’ll finish the job and jettison my body into the first star they go by.”

“How do you know this?” Hiiro breathed having difficulty believing such a thing.

“It’s happened before,” Duo groaned dejectedly.

“To who?” Hiiro asked numbly but he was wholly unprepared when Duo revealed…

“Relena’s parents.”

“You saw it?”

“Everyone saw it,” Duo sniffed. “They broadcast it on every feed in the known universe.”

Hiiro made a mental note to investigate the possibility that the Aquarius might be real in his world and tried to change the subject. “What’s with this ship?” he asked looking around at the odd collection of buildings, ship hulls and bits of junk.

“It’s the ruminants of their victims,” Duo explained. “They’ve used a warp device to disrupt the fabric of space and draw us into their lair just like all these poor people.”

Hiiro looked out at the vast expanse of the jagged landscape and felt his heart go cold. “What type of scout ships do they use?”

“They don’t,” Duo laughed unsteadily. “The only way out is the way we came in.”

“You’re sure?” Hiiro asked but was met with a steadfast…

“Yes. Hiiro schooled me on the subject in case I ever…” but he let the thought trail off while tears filled his eyes and he sobbed, “I wish he was here.”

Hiiro was in agreement with him on that one since his lover was familiar with the situation and he was essentially flying blind. All he had was what little information Duo could provide and that wasn’t proving to be very useful. The ship was massive on top of that and there seemed to be nothing in the ruins but rubble which meant they needed to keep moving if they were going to survive. They needed to find a way out but he had no idea how long that might take so they also needed to find a source of water and food.

“Stay here,” he instructed before disappearing into the dark.

Duo watched from the shadows until one of the skimmers drifted their way causing him to hide deeper in the ruin then it suddenly disappeared. A moment later it was back and Duo nearly had a stroke when it sped right at him. He was trying to squeeze through a small crack in the wall when Hiiro called to him and held out his hand.

“You scared me,” Duo informed him while he stepped on the skimmer behind him.

“Sorry,” Hiiro offered. “But we need to keep moving.”

“You’re like him in some ways,” Duo told him as they moved silently along in the shadows.

“How’s that?” Hiiro inquired hoping to distract him from their predicament.

“You’re strong.”

“We’ll be all right,” Hiiro soothed gripping his leg while he eased to a stop behind a piece of wall that offered a safe place to have a look at the enormous sphere that hung in the center of the ship. “Do you know what that is?”

“The hub,” Duo replied. “Hiiro said it’s where the leaders would be.”

“I want to have a look.”

“What?!” Duo gasped trying to cling to him when he set him on the ground. “No! They’ll kill you!”

“I’ll be all right,” Hiiro assured him. “Just stay here. I’ll be back in a little while.”

“Hiiro!”

He was pleased when he looked back and saw his charge hiding himself deep in a shadow then wrapped the tattered scarf he’d taken off the scout around his head and drifted toward the sphere. It was huge in its own right and must have housed a hundred thousand people which made Hiiro wonder what the whole of the population might be. His chest tightened when he came close enough to the windows to see the people inside because they looked like something out of a B movie. Everyone was dressed in the same rags he’d seen on the scout and there was a fight in every other window. It looked like they were nothing more than barbarians feeding off what they could take and giving nothing back. His worse fears were confirmed when he happened upon a level that was dedicated to the pleasures of the flesh and witnessed their practice of keeping slaves. It was nothing more than a hive of debauchery filled with the stench of rotting souls. He had to get Duo out of there as quickly as possible before something…but his heart sank when he turned toward a commotion on one of the circular landing pads and saw a skimmer coming in with Duo dangling like bait from beneath.

“Got one!” the burly man rasped triumphantly letting Duo bounce off the landing pad as he put down. “And he’s a purtty one, too!” he laughed while he jerked Duo up by the hair to show off his face.

“Give us a go!” one of the men standing nearby enthused attempting to snatch him away but the first guy managed to keep his hold on him.

“This ones special,” he growled. “The elites want to ransom his virginity but once they’ve had their fun…!” he laughed shoving Duo’s face in his crotch while he thrust his hips and everyone who could see laughed uproariously until a fast moving skimmer zoomed by and snatched Duo right out of his hands. “Hey!” he yelled giving chase. “That’s mine!”

It wasn’t difficult to lose him in the chaos that surrounded the sphere but Hiiro’s heart was still beating frantically when he put them down behind a tower and removed Duo’s gag while he asked, “How did they find you?”

“You didn’t come back,” Duo panted helping him to remove the ropes that tied his wrists. “I was scared.”

“You came looking for me,” Hiiro sighed wishing again for his battle ready partner. “Don’t do that again,” he told him sternly. “I won’t leave you behind. I promise.”

Duo nodded but couldn’t seem to stop shaking which made Hiiro take a closer look and rage erupted inside him when he saw bruises along Duo’s neck. “Did they hurt you?” he demanded as he jerked his hair up so he could see the grip marks more clearly. It was the embarrassment in Duo’s eyes that set off the fury in his gaze but he was quick to explain.

“He didn’t do anything…permanent.”

“Fucking animals,” Hiiro growled.

“I was barely involved,” Duo sighed dejectedly. “He just,” he made a vulgar motion with is hand, “and got off while I watched.”

“Why is everyone around here obsessed with sex?” Hiiro snipped.

“It’s just an intimidation method,” Duo explained. “They want to scare people so they pick the most terrifying, degrading way to torture them and make sure everyone knows about it.”

“But these animals enjoy it,” Hiiro spat.

Much to his surprise the comment made Duo laugh while he reminded him, “With the right person, so do I.”

“It’s not the same thing,” Hiiro insisted checking to see if it was safe to move yet.

“What’s going on?” Duo wondered when the traffic picked up alarmingly then the entire structure shook when an explosion lit up along the wall. “What’s happening?” he asked fearfully but then Hiiro had a hold of him and they were zooming along.

“They’re under attack,” Hiiro shouted over the growing den as thousands of skimmers took to the air and whizzed this way and that.

“Relena,” Duo breathed reverently. “It’s Relena! She’s come for us!” he cried happily. “Go back!”

“You’re sure?” Hiiro inquired not at all certain he wanted to be anywhere near the place where those fires were erupting.

“Yes!” Duo crowed as Hiiro turned them around. “There!” he exclaimed pointing at a ship that was hanging half in and half out of the hull while missiles exploded all around it.

Hiiro pulled up and watched in awe when Relena appeared wearing full battle armor as she cut through the onslaught with righteous determination. The sword she had once turned on him was in its full glory sending out waves of plasma that sliced through fifty of the enemy at a time and for the first time in his life he felt the heat of desire while he gazed upon her.

“RELENA!” Duo cried and her blue eyes shifted. A moment later she was moving toward them intent on utterly destroying the one who held her quarry captive until Duo waved frantically and jerked Hiiro’s scarf off. “It’s us!” he screamed and she stood down but the glare she leveled on Hiiro nearly set his hair on fire.

“MOVE!” she commanded enforcing it with the business end of her blade and Hiiro took off like a shot for the ship. “Get us out of here!” she ordered the moment they were inside then turned and slapped Hiiro so hard up side the head he bounced off the bulkhead and lay still.

“NO!” Duo gasped diving on him before he could get up. “He saved my life!”

“You could have been killed or worse!” she shouted.

“If it wasn’t for him I would have been!” Duo yelled and the fire in her eyes dimmed enough that she turned her attention to attending their escape.

Hiiro sat for a moment while he rubbed his battered jaw and wondered how things would have turned out if he’d been born in this world instead of his own.

“Sorry,” Duo sighed dropping heavily to the floor. “She can be a little…”

“She’s incredible,” Hiiro interrupted feeling his heart unravel a little bit more.

Duo eyed him suspiciously but seemed too tired to work it out. He fell asleep almost before he laid down once they were clear leaving Hiiro with some very odd feelings and a whole new list of things he never thought to consider.

“He said you protected him,” Relena commented after a time but her eyes never left Duo’s slumbering face while she spoke.

“He’s not much of a fighter,” Hiiro shrugged.

Her gaze fell in a way that spoke of great fatigue while she wiped at her eyes and Hiiro was taken with the idea that she looked so different in this world. “I’ve tried to teach him,” she confessed gazing upon his face again. “But he has no talent for it.”

“He said his Hiiro schooled him in case something should happen,” Hiiro commented but she only scoffed.

“He was more likely trying to scare him into never leaving their bedroom,” she grumbled.

“You don’t seem very fond of him,” Hiiro observed.

Her gaze hardened when she turned it on him and all comfort fled her eyes when she revealed, “He manipulates him with passion and promises of devotion but he’s no better than the rest of them.”

“You don’t believe in his love.”

“Love?” she snorted. “All he cares about is servicing his own needs. Banging the Prince Royal comes with a very long list of perks and he makes sure to take advantage of them all.”

Hiiro wondered again how his people were getting along with such an individual and the face of the Relena he knew swam into his mind. He looked at the girl sitting next to him and knew with certainty if he had been born in this world she would be the one he wanted by his side. His gaze shifted to where Duo lay silently sleeping and he suddenly understood.

“I need to go home.”

“That’s no longer possible,” Relena informed him while she headed forward to the bridge.

“Why?” Hiiro asked in sudden concern while he followed but even as she explained he saw the truth of it in the star spangled sky.

“Because, the gate has vanished.”

“What do you mean it’s gone?!” Duo breathed near to hysteria when they informed him once they were back on the mother ship. “It can’t be gone! Where’s Hiiro!?”

“Calm down,” Une soothed.

“What happened?” Hiiro asked evenly.

“It disappeared right after you did,” Treize explained.

“It just…vanished,” Une breathed reverently.

“We had hoped it would reappear when you returned but…” Treize added letting the thought trail off into the already known.

“Are we any closer to figuring out why it appeared in the first place?” Hiiro wondered.

“Only that it seems to have been a reaction to the synchronized actions of you and your counterpart,” Treize mused.

“Which means that unless our Hiiro decides to behave in exactly the same way at exactly the same time as you there’s no way to open it again,” Relena interjected offering Duo an apologetic glance when he squeaked.

Hiiro thought hard for a moment then cocked his head, stood and offered Relena his hand but she merely stared at it as if he’d lost his mind.

“I think I know what he must be feeling,” Hiiro confessed thinking of how she had affected him. “It isn’t the body I fell in love with,” he told her as she cautiously took his hand. “It’s the spirit,” he smiled tugging her close. “And here,” he breathed allowing himself the indulgence of touching her silken cheek, “His spirit resides in you.”

“Hiiro?” Duo whimpered when he gently kissed her lips but a moment later the air seemed to rip apart and there in the middle of the rift was another Hiiro and Relena staring back at them. “HIIRO!” Duo suddenly crowed rushing forward but Une tackled him before he could dive through. “Hiiro!” he cried desperately until the scene finally settled in his mind. “Wha…?” he breathed taking in the way Hiiro’s arms surrounded the princess and the odd expressions on all four of their faces.

“You finally figured it out,” Duo’s lover grinned at his counterpart.

“It’s been a little crazy here,” Hiiro defended. “But it was only a matter of time.”

“Hiiro?” Duo breathed uncertainly while he approached the rift.

“Hello, Love,” he smiled stepping away from the princess. “I’m sorry,” he offered glancing apologetically at the blushing girl. “But it was the only way to get back to you.”

“Duo,” Hiiro greeted when he saw him standing in the shadows as was his way. “Are you all right?”

“Hiiro?” the princess gasped clearly upset that he hadn’t addressed her.

“I’m sorry,” he told her sincerely. “But I never got a chance to explain.”

“Explain what?” she inquired glancing nervously at Duo.

“I knew it,” Duo’s Hiiro grinned. “You are into him.”

“What?” the princess gasped.

“I wanted to tell you,” Hiiro began but Duo stepped forward and he forgot about her.

“You did?” he asked sounding somewhat off balance though his eyes were as steady as the sunrise.

“Yes,” Hiiro smiled as he confessed, “I love you…and I always have.”

“Hiiro,” the princess breathed unsteadily while she slowly sank into a chair.

“I’m sorry,” Duo’s Hiiro offered kneeling by her feet to take her hand. “This isn’t fair to you but…” he explained glancing back at the worried face of his lover. “I can’t abandon him.”

She looked anything but steady when she glanced at Hiiro but nodded bravely and he felt a great deal of pride in her for the sacrifice.

“So,” Duo’s Hiiro smiled standing to face himself. “How do we do this?”

“It was a mirror image when we arrived,” Hiiro pointed out as he raised his hands.

His twin did the same and they touched the rift at the same moment while each chuckled nervously as their arms slowly disappeared into one another.

“See you on the other side,” Duo’s Hiiro smiled as he moved steadily forward but Hiiro merely replied…

“No… you won’t.”

Their bodies slowly disappeared making everyone involved very nervous for a time before they began to seep from the surface as if they were rising from the skin of a lake. They pulled free at the same time but the moment he was free the rift winked out and he was left staring into the face of his best friend and partner.

“Still love me?” Duo quipped giving him his out but he eeped loudly when Hiiro snatched him into his arms and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. When he dared to look he discovered Relena was gone and silently vowed to help her heal but for the moment he had some deeper sins to make up for.

“I never should have denied you,” he told him while he held him close.

“I’m glad you finally figured it out,” Duo chuckled while he tried to breathe.

“Here,” Hiiro grinned setting him on his feet. “Punch me.”

“What?” Duo laughed uncertainly. “No.”

“Just for fun,” Hiiro grinned.

“I’m not going to…” he began but recoiled when Hiiro playfully popped him in the jaw. He came up spitting fire and nailed him so hard his head spun around but then he was hugging him and laughing joyously and all Duo could do was look cluelessly to their friends and hold on tight.

owari :)