Chapter 10
"Chained to You"

    The sound of the cell door creaking open alerted Wufei instantly. He gave no indication that he was awake, however, cracking his eyes open to watch the half dozen guards that entered, guns out and ready for any foolish escape attempts.
    A quick sideways glance at Yuy didn't help. If the man was awake, he was doing a damn fine job at hiding the fact. If he was still asleep, his instincts weren't what Wufei had been expecting.
    Duo's lazy drawl made several of the guards twitch their guns his way reflexively. "Oiii... can't you see I'm trying to catch some shuteye here?"
    "What about that one?" one of them asked.
    "Leave him," the one in front said dismissively. "He's still too banged up to be any use." He gestured towards Wufei and Heero with his handgun. "Get those two."
    Two of the guards went to get Heero while two others came for Wufei. The remaining two kept their guns trained on the prisoners warningly. Wufei rose to his feet as they approached, staring haughtily at them. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Heero get up, too. Huh. So he'd been awake after all.
    "Bring them," the leader ordered. One of the men reached for Wufei, but hesitated when he was met with a dark glare.
    Heero put up no resistance as his captors seized him by his arms and led him to the door. Wufei walked stiffly after them while the guards stuck close to him, just waiting for him to resist.
    They were marched down the hall at gunpoint in silence until at last they reached one of the many hangars of the base. Wufei immediately glanced around for any means of escape or a suit he might be able to steal, but this was obviously the junk garage. Pieces of suits, tools, equipment, and piles of trash bags littered the floor.
    "Keep that to his head," the leader warned as he came forward with the keys. "If he moves, blow his brains out."
    A guard cocked his gun against Wufei's temple, and the warrior stood rigidly as his bulky restraints were undone and taken off. The same was done to Yuy. One of the guards dug two other sets of cuffs from his belt and came forward. These ones were different than the others, though; they weren't fused together, but rather had foot-long chains between each cuff. Wufei watched as they fastened one to his left leg and wrist, confused when they didn't secure the other sides of the chains. His eyes widened slightly in comprehension when Heero was dragged closer and the remaining two cuffs were clipped around his right leg and wrist. Wufei raised his fist, glaring murderously at the constraints. He gave an experimental jerk. Not steel. Much stronger. He wasn't going to be able to break these without a jackhammer. He looked up and met his fellow prisoner's cold glare.
    They'd chained them together. Of all the degrading-!
    Wufei turned to glower at the captain, who was smirking at him, still aiming between his eyes with his gun. "We're a little short handed as far as janitors go," he said smugly, earning snickers from his companions. "See all this?" he waved an arm to indicate the room in general. "The commander wants this straightened up by the end of the day. That means getting rid of the trash and stacking up all the parts- neatly. And don't try anything stupid. If just one of you so much as thinks of trying to escape, we'll cap you both. And trust me, we'll do it with pleasure. We have Duke Dermail's full permission to take you out if you're perceived as a threat."
    Wufei and Heero exchanged a wary, disgusted look. Wufei gave another twitch of his wrist as if somehow he could will the chains open. Heero's arm tightened, and the chain jerked up short. Wufei scowled in annoyance as he realized the flaw in this plan right away. They were going to have to cooperate and work together in order to do the work. But if they kept resisting each other out of distrust and pride, there was no way they could do this. He lowered his arm and gritted his teeth to keep back a florid curse. He made a mental note to do some heavy duty damage to this side of the base when he recovered his Gundam.
    The captain pushed Wufei foward. "Get to work."
    Wufei couldn't stop himself from spitting a curse when Heero didn't follow fast enough and the sudden tautness to the leg restraints almost tripped him. "Damn it, Yuy," he started to growl.
    "Shut up," the captain snapped, lowering himself into a chair to watch. "You'd better hurry up or you won't get done in time. And if this isn't done by tonight, we're going to try a little interrogation. Trust me, gentlemen, you will not enjoy it." He waved off three of the guards. "Come back at 1300 and relieve us." He dug a pack of smokes from his pocket as the remaining two pulled up chairs and produced a pack of cards, hands still on their guns.
    Heero and Wufei glared at each other mutely for another moment before unwillingly heading towards the nearest stack of broken and spare mobile suit parts.

    Wufei was usually able to adapt to coordination fairly quickly if he had to, though the chains made it difficult. Heero, however, used to doing everything himself- a man that despised asking for help as much as Wufei did -was determined to do things his own way and at his own pace. They managed to drop a few of the parts, or knock something against each other on accident. Several times they came close to tripping, or got their chains entangled in each other's limbs or in whatever they were lifting. This did nothing to improve their tempers, and the crackling tension and animosity between them, betrayed by the stiffness of their body language, gave away their obvious loathing of the task forced upon them. The guards seemed to find it all very amusing, and jeered loudly whenever they fumbled.
    Wufei began to imagine sinking his sword blade into their laughing guts and spraying their lifeblood all over the bulging trash bags in the corner.
    He was bending to retrieve a burned control panel when the chain linking their wrists went tight. He straightened to glare at his partner, who hadn't moved to help. Heero met his glare dead-on, his face as friendly as a wall of granite. "This isn't working," he said bluntly.
    Wufei felt his lip curl in scorn. "I'd noticed that, Yuy," he snarled. "Perhaps if you would attempt to cooperate, we could get this done without the bruises."
    Heero's eyes narrowed in one of the deadliest glares Wufei had ever seen on another human being. The man could melt gundanium with a look like that. Wufei, who had always depended on his own dark scowls to ward off other people, was privately and reluctantly impressed.
    "Look," he said shortly before Heero could speak. "I don't like this anymore than you do, Yuy. But if you don't work with me, we're going to kill each other-- deliberately or accidentally."
    Heero took a step forward, invading his already frayed personal space so their noses were inches apart. Wufei stubbornly held his ground, matching the other boy glare for glare. They stood tensely like that for several moments while the guards watched with interest from the other side of the hangar.
    Something flickered in the backs of Heero's eyes when Wufei neither retreated nor averted his gaze. Slowly he took a step back, giving a brief nod. "Fine," he said simply.
    Wufei blinked, then frowned and nodded back. "All right." He turned, tilting his head towards the busted arm of a mobile suit by their feet. "On three.."
    "Well whaddya know, they can share like good little boys after all," the captain said loudly as the two lifted the arm together in a single surge. His companions laughed, but neither pilot paid them any heed as they carried the arm towards the huge bin they'd designated for suit parts. They almost stumbled once, then Heero abruptly adjusted his steps to fit the restrained stride. Wufei caught sight of the boy's shoulders flexing minutely out of the corner of his eye, and lifted the dead weight as his partner did, hurling the piece into the bin. It landed noisily on top of the other parts, and Wufei felt a momentary flash of satisfaction despite himself. The two of them turned and headed back for the mess against the wall.

    As the day wore on, Wufei found himself immensely grateful that he had not been paired off with Duo for this task. Even if the other boy would have been able to adjust to the syncronization required, no doubt the other boy would have been running off at the mouth to pass the time. Heero, thankfully, seemed as inclined to mindless chatter as Wufei was, and not another word went between them for the remainder of the morning as they worked side by side under the bored eyes of their captors.
    By the time the other three guards arrived to relieve their companions, half the room had been cleaned up. The captain allowed them to take a brief break, tossing over a water bottle as he talked to his men.
    Wufei caught the bottle deftly and took a long gulp before handing it to his partner. At the movement he had a momentary flash of memory-- leaving the circus, turning to catch the water Trowa tossed up to him... He moved a hand across his mouth to wipe away the sweat on his upper lip, watching the guards with hooded eyes. "Why are we doing this?" he wondered out loud, keeping his voice low so their captors wouldn't hear. "They could be trying to torture information out of us, and instead they have us cleaning up their mess."
    Heero lowered the bottle, tongue darting out to catch a drop of water on his lip as his own gaze wandered around the room, assessing the remaining workload. "Une must have told them not to bother. She didn't get anything out of me, and I doubt they got anything out of Duo either."
    Wufei remembered how battered the braided pilot had been and was gruffly impressed- and admittedly a little surprised. Duo didn't strike him as the type able to keep his mouth shut, especially under torture. Mentally he hiked the other boy up a peg; Duo was a stronger soldier than he'd assumed.
    Some of his surprise must have shown on his face, because Heero gave him a long look. "Duo's a fool," he said bluntly. "But he isn't someone you want as an enemy."
    Wufei's eyebrows shot up. Heero did not seem like someone who was used to offering compliments. Deathscythe's sassy pilot must be better than he'd previously thought.
    The captain and his two companions were heading out the door, and their relief turned to regard their captives with mild interest. Wufei gazed back at them balefully. "Looks like they're thinking up more fun things for us to do," he murmured.
    "Hn." Heero set the bottle aside and they resumed working.
    These guards hadn't thought to bring along cards or anything else to do together to pass the time. One of them flipped through a dirty magazine while his companions smoked and watched the two pilots idly, not bothering to lower their voices as they made rude observations. Wufei clenched his teeth in irritation, trying to tune them out.
    "I can't believe these little pipsqueaks are causing such a ruckus. How can brats like them be the Gundam pilots?"
    "Did you hear about what Colonel Une said? She doesn't want us to do any interrogation on them until she gets here. She said there's no point. It's like she doesn't think we're capable of doing our damn job."
    "That tight-lipped bitch? That's because she thinks she's hot shit. The only person she thinks is better than her is Treize-sama. I still say we can get these kids to squeal better than some woman. Gimmie five minutes with that long-haired kid with the big mouth. I'll get him talking so much he'll never shut up." He laughed.
    Wufei noticed Heero's fingers tightening in a death grip around the poles they were carrying.
    "I dunno, man. Those scientists beat him up pretty bad before our guys even got ahold of him and started questioning him, and he wouldn't say shit. Roy says he just kept givin' them this shit-eating grin and telling them to go to hell. He's got a dirtier mouth than that punk over in the ammo department. You know, that greasy-haired jerk who's always muttering to himself..?"
    "They just weren't being hard enough on him. They were prob'ly being too soft because he's a kid. I don't care if he's fuckin' twelve years old; if he's one of them Gundam pilots, he deserves it, damn it. Fuckin' terrorist." The speaker spit in contempt.
    "I still don't see why they won't at least let us take a crack at that Chinese kid," his partner complained, jerking his chin towards Wufei, who was ignoring him imperiously. "The other kid got worked over at Barge, but so far as I hear, no one's questioned his buddy."
    "That's cuz the Colonel keeps jumpin' to conclusions. She thinks if the other two won't sing, none of 'em will. She's so fucking full of herself it makes me sick."
    "She should give us a shot at it," the other grumbled.
    They both glowered in the pilots' direction. After a minute the first speaker rose abruptly and swaggered towards them. His partner hurried after him. The third man glanced up, then returned to his magazine.
    Neither boy bothered to acknowledge their captors' approach as they continued stubbornly with their task. After watching them a few seconds, the first man- his nametag read Reynolds -reached out and grabbed Wufei's right arm as the two prisoners walked by on their way to get another part for the bin.
    Wufei's instinctive reaction was to lash out at the unwanted hold, and he had to strangle the urge quickly. He came to a halt and turned a warning look on the taller man. Heero stopped beside him silently.
    Reynolds sneered down at him, using his superior height in an attempt at subduing the boy in his tight grip. Wufei looked unimpressed to say the least. "Hey, shrimp, how's a brat like you handle one of those Gundams?"
    Wufei continued to stare up at him silently. The man gave his arm a little shake. "Hey, kid, I asked you a question," he snapped. His partner, Becker, glanced back towards their third companion, who was finally looking up to watch with interest, then turned his attention back towards the two pilots. He was holding his gun loosely, but wasn't aiming it at either boy yet.
    Wufei didn't respond to the shake, but he saw Heero tense beside him, shifting his weight slightly as if in preparation for a brawl. Wufei twitched his left arm slightly, tugging the chain in a silent order to stay out of it.
    He jerked his arm free and started to turn away. Reynolds seized his shoulder in a painful grip and wrenched him around to face him again. "Who told you to leave?" he snarled. "Answer my fucking question, you slant-eyed runt!"
    Wufei struggled to control his temper as it flared up in a fury at the grip and the hard words. "Let go of me," he intoned.
    Reynolds drove a fist into his stomach.
    Wufei doubled over, barely managing to bite back a grunt as most of the air was driven from his lungs. Half a second later he was hauled back upright by the tight grip on his shoulder. Reynolds was sneering at him, eyes cold with malice. "Don't talk back to me, you little shit. Hey, Becker, how long you think it'll take to get this one to sing?"
    Becker was grinning. "With you? I give 'im ten minutes."
    Wufei sucked in careful breaths through his clenched teeth, ignoring the dull pain. He shook with the effort to control himself. Do not kill the idiot Ozzie, do not kill the idiot Ozzie, he repeated to himself over and over, even as his left arm twitched with the urge to retaliate.
    "Look, he's scared already," Becker laughed, mistaking Wufei's shaking for fear.
    "Damn well should be," Reynolds grunted, and backhanded Wufei so suddenly and brutally that his head snapped to the side and he staggered back a step. He ran into the solid body of his partner, who was rooted to the ground like an untouchable oak tree, his eyes as cold and deadly as Wing's. Heero's entire body was humming with adrenaline and the strain of keeping himself in check.
    Wufei straightened himself and turned a venomous look on his captors, spitting blood contemptuously to the side. Reynolds reached out and grabbed a double fistful of the front of Wufei's shirt, hauling him forward and forcing the shorter boy onto his tiptoes. "Don't you give me that dirty look, punk," he growled right in Wufei's face. "By the time I'm done with you-"
    Wufei never got to find out what would happen to him when Reynolds was done with him.
    Becker had been watching intently, ignoring their other prisoner completely, his gun hanging forgotten by his side. Heero moved quick as a cat, stepping up beside Wufei to get slack on the chains and driving the heel of his free hand directly into Becker's face, crunching his nose with the blow. Becker staggered back, howling, his gun swinging up unconsciously. Heero kept his right arm relaxed, and Wufei took the opportunity the other boy presented him to yank Reynold's gun from its holster with his manacled hand as Heero used his free left foot to kick Becker's gun from his hand and send it spinning across the room.
    By the time the third guard had leapt from his chair and pulled his own firearm, Wufei had the gun free and the barrel glued to the side of Reynold's head. Everyone froze.
    "What were you saying again?" Wufei asked quietly, his tone dripping with acid.
    Reynold's eyes were wide with a mixture of anger and fear. Becker was kneeling on the ground whimpering and clutching his bloody face.
    "Let go of him," Heero ordered. Reynolds hesitated, then slowly released his hold on Wufei's shirt. Wufei rocked back onto the flats of his feet, never taking eyes or gun from the taller man.
    He was seriously considering shooting the sleazeball when Trowa Barton strode into the room alongside the captain from that morning.
    "They're in h-- What the-" the captain gaped for a moment before drawing his gun hastily. "Freeze! Put the gun down!"
    Trowa had also drawn his gun and was aiming it at Heero, his face expressionless. His eyes flicked towards Wufei, who was staring at him in surprise. Their gaze lingered before Wufei finally released Reynolds- reluctantly -and stepped back. He dropped the gun on the ground as he and his partner lifted their hands in surrender.
    Reynolds snatched up his gun and took a few quick steps back, his face livid as he pointed his gun warningly at Wufei.
    "...Get them back to their cell," Trowa finally said quietly.
    "Hai." The captain retrieved the original cuff sets from by the chairs and hastened over to the two pilots. Wufei and Heero held still and allowed the man to unchain them from each other and clap on the heavier irons as the other men kept their guns trained on them.
    "Move it," the captain growled irritably, shoving them. They headed obediently for the doorway, two sets of eyes flickering for an instant towards the green-eyed boy who gazed back solemnly; then they were walking down the hall towards their cell.
    Behind them, they could hear Trowa questioning the three guards in a cold voice. He'd seen the bruise on Wufei's face.

    Duo was either unconscious or catching his "beauty sleep" when the two pilots were pushed roughly back into their cell. As the door slammed shut behind them, they stood staring at each other in the aftermath of the brief attack.
    Wufei snorted quietly, a smirk tugging at his mouth and aggravating his split lip. "Not bad, Yuy," he said in a mixed tone of arrogance and honest approval.
    Heero continued to stare at him in silence, and after a moment Wufei frowned. The other boy had only been willing to work together for the short time they'd been forced to. But evidently Wing's pilot had decided they were back to hating each other.
    Or maybe not.
    Before he could say anything, Heero was leaning towards him. There was a moment of confusion- hot breath on his open mouth -before a wet tongue darted out to lap the blood off of Wufei's bottom lip. Wufei felt his breath catch, wide eyes locked with Heero's.
    What the...?
    It figured a man like Heero would be turned on by violence. For some reason, Wufei couldn't bring himself to be upset by the fact.
    Heero shifted, hesitated, then took a careful step forward, as if waiting for some form of rejection or retaliation. When Wufei merely continued to stare dumbly at him, he moved his head forward again. This time his tongue moved slower over Wufei's mouth, brushing the edge of the top lip. An involuntary shiver shot up Wufei's spine, and his mouth parted slightly with a quiet intake of breath.
    The tongue retreated and Heero's lips pressed against his-- insistant yet somehow hesitant at the same time, as if waiting for permission.
    Wufei closed his mouth cautiously, the action causing their lips to brush together in a clumsy kiss, and he felt heat creep up his neck, flushing his cheeks. He was nervous, uncertain, embarrassed, and interested all at the same time. And still feeling a little foolhardy and excited after those few minutes of violence back in the hangar..
    Heero kissed him again, still light, still careful, as he sensed the warring emotions in his partner. Their eyes were still open as they stared at each other, watching the other's reaction.
    Wufei's lips were tingling, and he wrestled with his indecision, stubbornly taking half a step forward so that only the bulky manacles kept them apart. This time he was the one to move his mouth awkwardly against Heero's, and was rewarded by more pressure and the tentative touch of a tongue against his upper lip.
    "Do you two mind?" a dryly amused voice drawled.
    They sprang apart like startled cats, turning wild eyes on the boy lying across the room on his side.
    Amethyst eyes sparkling with amusement gazed back at them in the darkness of the cell, and Duo's deep chuckle echoed in the large cell. "Sorry to interrupt, but it's a little rude to get your groove on with someone else right here, ya know? I mean, what if I'm feelin' horny? That's kinda cruel, just makin' me sit here and watch and not be allowed to touch..."
    "Maxwell!!" Wufei snarled in a rush of fury and humiliation.
    "Omae o korosu."
    "Eep!"

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Author's Notes: I have no idea how much time lapsed between the episode where Duo, Wufei, and Heero became prisoners on the Lunar base and the episode right after it with the whole Quatre going nutzoid thing. Could have been hours, or maybe just overnight.
So the whole handcuff thing was me taking liberties. XD kekeke Oh well. Made for an entertaining chapter, yes? ^_^
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 11
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