Disclaimers: I still don’t own anything.

Author’s notes: Since you all know that Duo was Lily, guess you’re now wondering why he did it. Well, here’s where you find out. Enjoy.



Desires and Deceptions
Part 2



Chapter One


Duo ran through the streets, not knowing where to go, or what to do. The cold rain poured down on him, but he didn’t care. What did it matter if he got sick? Actually, if the cold he had gotten a few days ago got worse? It really didn’t matter. He couldn’t go back to the base now that Heero hated him. Duo couldn’t face that gorgeous pilot and know that he felt disgusted because of that stunt he had pulled tonight.

Duo knew that it was all his own fault. He shouldn’t have stayed at the party so long. He should have just done what had been planned. Why had he ruined everything by going to that fountain? It had taken too much time. He should have just kissed Heero and then left.

Now everything was ruined. Heero was never supposed to know that it was him. Duo had only wanted to know what it was like to be held by Heero, to be kissed by him.

Duo tripped and fell to his knees. “Damn heels.” He muttered, as tears fell from his eyes.

Heero must hate him so much now, must be so disgusted with him. Duo would never be able to face him again. He couldn’t bear to see the hate in those perfect eyes of his. Besides, Heero would probably kill him for what he had done.

He should have never done it in the first place. How had he let Relena talk him into this mess? It was all her idea, the costumes, the lies about the mission. Everything had been her idea. Duo hated lying, in fact it broke his only rule, but he had been so desperate for Heero’s attention.

If only Duo had done what he had wanted to do in the first place and just told Heero how he felt, none of this would have happened. Sure, Heero didn’t love him, and probably never would have. But at least if Duo had done it his way, Heero wouldn’t hate him for lying, wouldn’t feel disgusted because he had kissed him.

Duo stood and started running again. He didn’t want to stop. If he stopped, Heero would find him. He knew Heero would look for him, wanting to yell at him for how stupid he was, for how disgusting he was. Duo didn’t want to hear it, didn’t want to be reminded of how stupid he had been.

Finally, after who knew how long, he came across a park. He was tired, his body freezing. He couldn’t stop shivering, couldn’t stop his teeth from chattering.

He sat on a park bench, wishing that none of this had ever happened. Why had he fallen in love with Heero? Why couldn’t he have fallen for someone that could feel, that could express emotions other than hate?

Duo just sat there, letting the rain wash away his hair dye. His tears came forward, and he wrapped his arms around his body, as he wished for all the pain in his heart to stop. He didn’t care who saw him now, didn’t care if anyone thought he was weak.


Chapter Two


For hours, Heero searched for Duo, with no luck. The rain was pouring down and had been ever since he had left the hotel. Heero pulled the collar of his coat tighter around his neck, as a cold breeze chilled him, blowing the rain in his face. It was freezing, Heero could only hope that Duo had found someplace warm. Or at least someplace out of the icy rain.

Heero glanced up at the sky. It was almost dawn. He could tell by the color of the sky that the sun would be rising in less than an hour. But still, Heero walked along the streets, looking for any sign of Duo. He wouldn’t give up, not until he found him. Even if it took him the rest of the night and the next day, he wouldn’t stop looking. He had to tell Duo that he wasn’t angry at him, or at the very least tell him something.

Heero walked into a park, one of the few places he hadn’t already searched. In the distance, Heero could hear something that sounded like coughing. He followed the sound, hoping it would lead him to Duo. As he turned a corner, he saw a figure sitting on a park bench. It was obviously Duo.

From behind, Heero could see that Duo had dyed his hair to appear black, and now all that dye was washing away with the rain. It looked strange to see those dark streaks in the chestnut waterfall that cascaded over Duo’s shoulders.

Heero walked around the bench to stand in front of Duo. The sight before him, pained him. This was not the happy, carefree Duo that he knew. The sad person in front of him, was a pale copy of the man Heero loved. He didn’t like seeing Duo like this, not one little bit.

Duo’s body was shivering violently, his arms wrapped around himself in an attempt to keep warm. Obviously, it wasn’t working. The makeup he had been wearing was mostly gone. Black streaks lined the edges of his face. More dark lines ran from his eyes which were now puffy and red from crying.

“Duo?” Heero said, tentatively reaching out a hand. But before he had even touched him, Duo recoiled away from him, as if he were afraid that Heero would hurt him.

“I only wanted to have a little fun.” Duo whispered, his voice still sounding feminine. “You weren’t supposed to know it was me.”

“But why?” Heero asked, wanting to understand, wanting to know why Duo would deceive him like that.

Duo kept staring at the ground. “I just wanted to know what it would be like to kiss you once.”

Heero sat beside him on the bench. “Me? You like me?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Duo actually had feelings for him. This was a dream come true, although this wasn’t the way he had imagined this moment. In Heero’s mind, in his dreams, Duo was not dressed in drag, nor was he crying or unhappy.

“Don’t sound so surprised. You’re a great looking guy.” Duo replied, a smile appearing on his face for a moment, but the smile quickly vanished. “I didn’t think you liked guys. I thought that doing it this way, would be my only chance to get you to kiss me.”

“This wasn’t a very good plan, Duo. Didn’t you think I would want to know who kissed me?”

“I was supposed to leave before midnight, before the unmasking.”

Hearing Duo speaking in a different voice was strange. “How are you doing that with your voice?” Heero asked.

With shaking hands, Duo reached up and took the collar from around his neck. “Voice synthesizer.” Duo replied, holding the collar out to Heero, his voice back to normal.

Heero could see the small electronic device sewn into the leather. He laid the collar on the bench beside him, turning his attention back to Duo. “And your eyes?”

“Contact lenses.” Duo said, as he removed the lenses and dropped them on the ground.

Heero stood. “You should have told me how you felt.” Heero stated.

Duo coughed once, then spoke. “I didn’t want to risk it. Relena convinced me that you would hate me if I told you. She came up with the plan. I didn’t want you to hate me.” He bowed his head, still avoiding eye contact with Heero.

Heero took in a deep breath, knowing that he had to do this. He had wanted to say this for so long, and now he had a chance. He had never tried to express his emotions before. Now was as good a time as any to start. Still, the prospect of releasing his emotions frightened him. He had never wanted them before, never saw them as anything but a needless distraction. What if he was rejected? He didn’t know if he could handle that. However, he also knew that he had to do this. Duo needed to know that he didn’t hate him, he needed to hear the entire truth.

“I could never hate you, Duo.” The words didn’t come out as easily as he thought they would. And he took his time with the next words, making sure he said them right. “I love you.”

Duo finally looked up at him, his eyes wide with shock. “What did you say?”

Heero closed his eyes, wishing he could express his feelings properly. He didn’t have any experience with emotions, it was all too new for him. “You know it’s hard for me to say something like this. But I mean every word.” He opened his eyes, looking directly into Duo’s. “I love you.”

Tears welled up in Duo’s eyes, and Heero feared that he had made a mistake telling Duo how he felt. But those fears were allayed when Duo jumped up and threw his arms around Heero, laying his head against his shoulder.

Heero was surprised, but happy, although the expression on his face remained the same. He slowly wrapped his one free arm around Duo, holding the long-haired pilot close to him, the other hand still holding the umbrella.

Then that happiness turned to worry, as he felt how violently Duo’s body was shivering. He gently pushed Duo away from him, letting him sit on the bench once again. He crouched down so that he could see the other pilot better. Duo began coughing as Heero laid his hand against his cheek.

“You’re burning up, Duo.” Heero commented, feeling the heat coming from Duo’s face.

“Guess I stayed out in the rain too long.” Duo replied.

Heero tossed his umbrella away, then took off his coat and draped it around Duo’s shoulders. He lifted Duo into his arms, cradling him against his chest. “We have to get you someplace warm.”

“I rented a motel room, not too far from here. The Sunrise Motel. Room 28.” He reached down the front of his shirt and pulled out a key.

As Heero carried Duo to the motel, he talked, trying to keep Duo awake. “Why did you need a motel room?”

“I needed a place to get ready for the party.” Duo replied, as he began coughing again.

“And the mission?”

“There was no mission. I made it up. But not everything I said to you was a lie. Relena did pick out your costume. In fact, she helped me with mine.” Duo said, sounding tired.

Heero’s brow furrowed. “Relena did that? Why?”

“I know, a real shock isn’t it? It was all Relena’s idea, really.” Duo replied.

“Why’d she help you?”

“I really don’t know. You’d have to ask her, I guess.”

“I’ll do that.” Heero said.

After not hearing anything from Duo for a few seconds, Heero looked down, and saw that Duo had fallen asleep. He wasn’t surprised, but he was worried. Duo was obviously sick, very sick.


Chapter Three


With some difficulty, Heero managed to unlock and open the door to Duo’s motel room, without having to put Duo down. He took a quick look around. It was small. There was a bed, a night stand, a reclining chair in one corner by the window with a small table beside it, and a door on the opposite end of the room, obviously the bathroom. A TV sat across from the bed. Beside the TV, was another door, most likely a closet.

Heero walked over to the chair and gently put Duo down on it. Duo looked horrible, his makeup running. He had to get cleaned up.

Heero shut the door of the motel room, then crossed the room to the other door and opened it. Just as he thought, it was a bathroom. He turned on the water in the bathtub, feeling it to make sure it was warm before he plugged the drain and let the tub fill up. He grabbed some towels from a nearby rack, a washcloth, shampoo, and some soap, getting everything within easy reach.

While he waited for the tub to fill, he took off his boots and socks, tossing them into a corner. Then he took off his vest, pants, and the rest of his leather garments and accessories, leaving him only in his boxer shorts. He was soaked from the rain, he had to get out of the wet clothes before he got sick too. Besides, wet leather wasn’t very comfortable to wear. When the bathtub was filled to his satisfaction, he turned the water off, and went back out into the other room.

He gently shook Duo’s shoulder, “Come on Duo. I need you to wake up.” He said.

Duo’s eyes slowly opened, as his body continued to shiver. “What?” He asked, quietly, before another coughing fit struck him.

He lifted Duo from the chair and carried him into the bathroom, letting the coat fall from around him. With his foot Heero closed the lid of the toilet, then he set Duo down on it. He knelt down in front of Duo and unzipped one of his knee high boots. He pulled it off, then did the same with the other boot. Then he took off Duo’s gloves, and began to carefully pull off the cheap, fake nails.

“What are you doing?” Duo asked, once his coughing had stopped.

“We’ve got to get you cleaned up. You’re a mess.” Heero answered. He glanced up at Duo’s face, and saw that he still wore his jewelry. “Why don’t you take that nose ring out?”

Heero already knew that Duo was incredibly sick, but he wanted to know just how much strength Duo had left. From the slow way Duo moved when he pulled off the clip-on nose ring, Heero could tell that he would probably have to clean Duo up himself. Duo then pulled off each of the hoop earrings, then his rings. He just dropped them to the floor. Each one clinked as it hit the tiles.

Once Duo was done with the jewelry, Heero grabbed the zipper on the front of Duo’s shirt. But Duo pushed his hands away. “No, I don’t need your help.” He said, trying to move away from Heero.

Heero grabbed his shoulders. “Yes you do. And you know it.”

Duo closed his eyes and sighed. “Okay.” He replied, after a few seconds.

Heero once again grabbed the zipper, and this time was able to pull it down. Underneath the shirt, Heero could see a padded bra. Duo had definitely gone all out for last night. He pushed the shirt off Duo’s shoulders, then quickly removed the bra. He tossed both garments to the side, not really caring where they ended up.

He took hold of the zipper on the side of the miniskirt, and noticed that once again Duo was trying to back away from him. Heero looked up. “This is no time to be shy, Duo. You know you need my help. So stop fidgeting and sit still.”

Duo didn’t reply, but he did stop moving.

Without any more of Duo’s interference, Heero was able to quickly rid Duo of the rest of his clothes, although there hadn’t been too much left anyway. Now that Duo was completely nude, Heero picked him up and carried him over to the bathtub.

Even though he had other things on his mind, like Duo’s health, he couldn’t help but notice Duo’s great body, his sleek muscles. If the situation had been different, he would have taken a longer look, but he knew he had to get Duo cleaned up and into a warm bed.

Duo didn’t look like he would be able to stay sitting up, let alone wash himself. So Heero did the only thing he could think of. He stripped off his boxers and climbed into the tub behind Duo. He saw as Duo looked away, his cheeks turning a bright shade of crimson, but Heero didn’t comment on his reaction. Heero had never been shy about his own body before. So why should he start now? Besides, Duo needed his help.

Heero reached over and grabbed a washcloth and the soap from where he had left them earlier. He moved Duo’s hair aside, pushing the thick mass over his shoulder. Heero could see the tension in the other pilot’s shoulders, and knew how difficult it must be for Duo to let someone see him as vulnerable as he was at the moment. Slowly, he began to wash the dark streaks off Duo’s back and shoulders. All that hair dye had made quite a mess after it had begun running.

“Lean back.” Heero said, after he had finished with his back.

For a moment, Duo didn’t move. But then, hesitantly, he leaned back, resting his still shivering body against Heero’s chest. He began coughing again, and Heero held him close until the fit passed.

Then once again, Heero began to clean the body of the American. He removed all traces of makeup, all the black lines caused by the dye. When he finished with Duo’s body, he washed the remainder of the dye out of his hair. Then he rinsed it thoroughly.

Satisfied that Duo was now sufficiently cleaned up, Heero helped Duo to sit up again. Then he climbed out of the tub. He grabbed a towel and wiped it over himself quickly, drying himself somewhat, before he wrapped the towel around his waist.

He grabbed two more towels, then helped Duo to get out of the tub. He wrapped the first towel around Duo’s body. Then he took Duo out of the room, letting him walk on his own with just a little help from him. He didn’t want Duo to feel completely helpless.

“Did you bring any other clothes?” Heero asked, as Duo sat on the bed.

“There’s a bag in the closet.” Duo replied.

Heero handed him the other towel, and let him dry himself off. He walked over to the closet and opened it. Then he crouched down and opened the small bag that was on the floor. Inside, he found just what he was looking for, clothes for Duo. He knew that Duo usually didn’t wear much to bed, being roommates it was kind of hard not to notice. Most of the time he just wore a pair of shorts and a tank top. So that was what Heero took out of the bag, boxer shorts and a gray tank top, along with Duo’s hairbrush and an elastic hair band.

He walked back over to Duo and set the clothes down on the bed. Heero could see that Duo was exhausted, barely able to sit there, running the towel over his body to dry himself.

Heero got on the bed behind Duo and took hold of his exquisite long hair. Carefully, he ran the brush through it, hoping he wasn’t being too rough. He had never handled another person’s hair before, it was a strange experience for him.

After brushing all the knots out, the hair dripping water onto Heero’s towel, he separated it into plaits. Then he braided it, trying not to pull too hard, not wanting to hurt him, and secured the band at the end.

Heero sighed, noticing that Duo wasn’t as talkative as usual. He must really be sick to be so quiet. But Heero didn’t say anything. He really didn’t know what else to do, other than getting Duo dressed and into bed.

Heero got off the bed, and walked around to face Duo. Duo’s eyes were half closed, as he struggled to keep himself awake.

“You okay?” Heero asked, although he already knew the answer to that question.

“I’m fine.” Duo said, as he grabbed his shorts and slowly put them on, letting the towels drop to the floor in front of him.

“You’re lying.” Heero replied. Heero took the tank top and helped him put it on. Duo didn’t object to his help, but he also didn’t look too appreciative.

Once again, he helped Duo to stand, then pulled back the sheets and blankets on the bed. “Get in.” He said, his voice never wavering.

“Yeah, yeah.” Duo replied, tiredly, as he climbed into bed. As Heero pulled the blankets up around him, Duo looked up at him. “Thanks.” He said, his tired eyes nearly closed.

Heero didn’t know what to say, how to react. It wasn’t every day that someone thanked him for something. But as he watched Duo’s eyes close, he was overcome with worry. Duo looked positively awful, his skin pale, his breathing erratic.

Heero knew he would need some help. It looked as if Duo would require medical attention, and possibly some medication. He walked over to the phone that sat on the table beside the recliner, and dialed the only number he could think of, Sally Po’s.


Chapter Four


Duo awakened, finding it difficult to breathe. His chest ached with every breath he took. He felt so awful, not just because of his illness, but because Heero had seen him in a moment of weakness. He was ashamed of himself, ashamed that he was vulnerable. He had never been sick before, so why was he now?

Duo looked around the motel room, wondering how long he had slept. He saw Heero sitting in the reclining chair, asleep. He was still wearing only a towel, and boy did he look great in it. As Duo gazed at him, Heero opened his eyes.

“You’re awake.” Heero commented.

But before Duo could reply, there came a knock at the door. Heero stood and quickly walked over to the door. He opened it, keeping one hand on the towel around his waist to keep it from falling off.

Duo tried to sit up, wanting to know who was at the door. However, before he could, the room started spinning and he fell back onto the bed, feeling incredibly dizzy.

“It doesn’t look like you should be getting up.” Sally said, as she walked into the room, carrying a small black medical bag in one hand and a backpack in the other.

Heero shut the door behind her. “It’s about time you got here. I called you hours ago.” He snatched the backpack from her.

“Sorry.” She replied, sarcastically. “But the other guys wouldn’t let me leave until I told them where I was going. Wufei saw me leaving your room with that bag and stopped me, asking all sorts of questions. After how much he drank last night, I was surprised he could even walk today. And he got up before dawn, simply amazing.”

“What’s she doing here?” Duo asked, glaring at Sally. He never had liked doctors, the way they poked and prodded. Being around doctors brought up old memories, bad memories that he didn’t like to remember.

“You’re sick. She’s a doctor. Figure it out.” Heero replied, as he walked into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him, leaving Duo alone with Sally.

Sally walked around and sat on the edge of the bed, placing her bag between her and Duo. She reached out her hand, and Duo instinctively shrank away, not wanting her to touch him. He really didn’t like doctors, even though he knew Sally as a friend and ally.

“Don’t touch me.” He whispered.

She pulled her hand back, and said, “Duo, it’s going to be kind of hard for me to see how you’re doing, if you don’t let me touch you.”

“I’m fine.” Duo replied. Then immediately he began coughing, his chest aching with each rasping hack.

“You don’t look fine.” Sally said, as she opened her bag. “And you don’t sound fine either.”

Sally pulled a thermometer and her stethoscope out of her bag. She placed the earpieces of her stethoscope in her ears, and reached out to Duo again. He slapped her hand away, moving away from her as his coughs subsided. “Leave me alone.” He sneered.

“Let Sally do her job.” Heero said, as he walked out of the bathroom, wearing clean clothes. Jeans and a plain green T-shirt.

“I’m fine.” Duo objected, trying to get up.

Heero rushed to the side of the bed, and grabbed his shoulder. He pulled him back down, without much difficulty. Duo gave up, knowing he probably wouldn’t have enough strength to attempt that again. He was already out of breath, from just trying to sit up.

Heero let go of Duo’s shoulder, and walked around to the other side of the bed, getting out of Sally’s way. Duo watched as Heero moved. Heero just stood by the edge of the bed, glaring at him while he folded his arms over his chest, as if he were daring Duo to try that again.

“Let Sally do her job.” Heero repeated, this time making it sound more like an order, than a request.

Duo sighed and closed his eyes. “Fine.” He said as he opened his eyes again, knowing that the faster he got this over with the happier he would be.

He grabbed his braid and fiddled with the ends of his hair, while Sally stuck the thermometer in his mouth. He hated this, but he kept his opinions to himself. After a short time, Sally took the thermometer out again, and sighed as she looked at it. Then she lifted his tank top and pressed that cold stethoscope against his chest.

“Couldn’t you have warmed that thing up?” Duo hissed, as he reflexively backed away.

“Sorry. Now stop moving and take in a deep breath.” Sally replied.

Duo tried to do what she said, but he started coughing soon after he tried to take in a breath. As the fit subsided, he glared at Sally once again.

“Okay.” She said. “Let’s try that again, but this time, not so fast. And hold it in as long as you can.”

Again he tried to take in a deep breath, but this time he was able to exhale before he began coughing. He saw Sally take her stethoscope away, as he struggled to suppress his coughs.

She quickly grabbed a tongue depressor and held it in front of Duo. “Open up and say ah.” She said.

Duo frowned, feeling so very stupid. How had he gotten sick? He had never been sick before. But he did open his mouth, doing whatever Sally told him if only to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Sally looked around in his mouth for a moment, then dropped the tongue depressor on the night stand. She then placed both the stethoscope and the thermometer back into her bag. Soon after that, she started rummaging around for something. She pulled out a bottle and looked at the label. Obviously, it wasn’t the right one since she tossed it back into her bag and kept looking around. She pulled out another bottle and placed it on the table beside the bed. Then she pulled out another bottle and a few, still packaged, syringes along with it.

She reached into her bag yet again, this time pulling out a different type of syringe. Duo recognized this as the kind that extracted blood, and once again tried to move away.

“Oh, no. You are not going to stick any needles in me.” Duo exclaimed, pushing himself away from her. He hated needles, always had.

Heero sat on the bed beside him and grabbed his shoulders, effectively stopping his movements. Duo turned to him, feeling embarrassed by his silly phobia. A Gundam pilot afraid of needles, it was absurd. He lowered his gaze to the sheets and blankets covering him, ashamed by how foolish he was being.

“I need a blood sample. So sit still.” Sally ordered.

Heero still held Duo’s shoulders, holding him in place. Duo clenched his eyes shut as Sally stuck the needle into his arm. It didn’t hurt too much, it was just that he didn’t want to see the needle sticking out of his arm, or the blood filling the tube.

“There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Sally asked, smiling.

Duo only glared at her, not bothering to dignify that statement with an answer. She had no idea how bad that phobia was, how much he hated needles and doctors. And if he had anything to say about it, no one would ever find out. It was just so embarrassing to be afraid of something so small, and of the people that could help him when he was ill.

“So what’s wrong with him?” Heero asked, taking his hands away from Duo’s shoulders.

Duo sighed as Heero let go, wishing he would have kept his arms around him right now. But he knew Heero wouldn’t want to show his emotions in front of others just yet. He was still so unused to feeling anything. It would take time before he let others see the kindness he had already shown Duo, by staying by his side, helping him even if he hadn’t wanted the help.

“Pneumonia.” Sally stated. “I believe he has pneumonia. But I want to run a few tests to be sure. That’s why I took that blood sample.”

He saw as Sally reached over to the night stand and picked up one of the other syringes. Once again he tried to move away, the fear seeping into him no matter how hard he fought against it. Not again, he thought to himself. This brought up too many memories, so many bad memories that he didn’t want to remember.

Sally grabbed his wrist before he could get too far. “Come on Duo, stop acting like a baby and let me do my job.” She said.

Heero once again grabbed Duo’s shoulders, as Sally prepared the other syringe. She stripped off the wrapper from around it, and filled it with the liquid from the bottle she had placed on the table. Then finally, she pushed the plunger up to get rid of any air bubbles. She wiped a damp piece of cotton over a spot on his arm. Duo looked away when she stuck that needle into his arm, not wanting to watch as it penetrated his skin. His heart pounded in his chest. He was so overcome with fear that he had to struggle to keep his breath to appear normal until she pulled the needle out again.

“What was that?” Duo asked, rubbing his now sore arm.

Sally smiled slightly as she dropped all her stuff back into her bag. “Just something to help you sleep. It’ll start working in about a minute or two.” She replied as she stood.

“You’re leaving?” Heero asked.

“Well, I can’t run the blood tests here. Until I get the results, I don’t want to give him any medication. And I don’t want to risk his health by taking him out in that cold weather. It might just make him worse.” Sally replied.

“You will be coming back though?” Heero inquired.

Sally nodded. “I’ll come back once I get the results of the tests.” She turned to Duo. “And I want you to stay in bed. And you are positively not to go outside for any reason whatsoever.”

“I’ll make sure he stays there.” Heero stated. He opened the door for Sally, closing it behind her once she was gone.

Duo yawned as he started feeling the effects of the drugs Sally had given him. He didn’t want to fall asleep. What if he didn’t wake up? Lord, how he hated doctors. This always happened. Now that she was gone, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she had done something terrible to him.

Duo sat up, not stopping even after a wave of dizziness washed over him. He pushed the blankets away, wanting to go into the bathroom and splash some water on his face. He would do anything if only he could stay awake. He really did not want to fall asleep.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Heero asked, walking around the bed to stand in front of Duo.

Duo stood, and looked at Heero, whose face was getting quite blurry. “Nowhere.” Duo replied.

He took a single step forward, and stumbled. Heero caught him in his strong arms, holding him gently. “That’s right. Now get back into bed.”

“No. I don’t want to go to sleep.” Duo replied, getting back to his feet and pushing Heero away from him, weakly.

The room was spinning again, the floor beneath him rippling like waves. He tried to take another step, and once again fell only to be caught again by Heero.

“Let me go.” Duo demanded, a tear falling from his eye. Another coughing fit struck him and he clung to Heero’s body, trying to control the hacking coughs. After a few moments they stopped, but he was left with an aching chest.

Heero lifted him from the floor, placing him back into bed and covering him with the blankets. He sat beside him on the bed. “Stop fighting the drugs and go to sleep.” Heero said.

Duo looked away from him, trying to hide his fear. He didn’t want Heero to know of his stupid phobia. It was just too silly. “I don’t want to go to sleep.” He replied, quietly.

“But you need to rest.” Heero stated.

Duo could feel it as Heero began to move away. Fear enveloped him and he lashed out, grabbing Heero’s arm as he was moving away from the bed. “Don’t go.” He gasped, his fear so clear in his voice. He was too scared to try and hide it now. He just didn’t want Heero to leave him alone.

“What are you afraid of?” Heero asked, a puzzled expression crossing his face.

Duo let go of Heero’s arm. He looked up at him, and could feel the stinging of tears at the corners of his eyes. “Just don’t leave me. Please, stay here with me.” He whispered.

Heero didn’t say a word. He sat beside Duo again. Duo threw his arms around him, wanting to feel safe in the Perfect Soldier’s arms. He was glad when Heero slowly returned the embrace, laying back on the bed so that he could be comfortable too. As his eyes slowly closed Duo hoped Heero didn’t think he was weak, for acting so foolish.



To Be Continued . . .



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