People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in,
their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
-Elizabeth Kübler-Ross
Stained Glass Windows- Part One
‘Just a few more miles…’ he thought to himself. With a brief hint of a
self-gratified smile, he commended himself for actually making it this far. Realizing with
every second he pushed on he was getting a little closer to his destination, the smile
broadened into a rich grin of teeth. The precious load he was carrying on the back of the
semi slightly jolted as he mindlessly skimmed over a pothole. As though to ease his tired
mind, Duo glanced into the rear view mirror to ensure his precious Deathscythe was still
safely covered and strapped to the bed.
‘Relax, Duo...’ he forced himself to think, ‘not like it’s going to
fall off on the curb without you noticing.’
While still staring unconsciously into the mirror at his heavy burden rocking with every
move of the vehicle, he let out a sigh of pure relief. Ok, maybe there was a little
fatigue tinged with that short release, but he just filed the tiny fact into some drawer
in the back of his mind with other miscellaneous facts such as the one about an average
human being eating 5 spiders while sleeping in their entire life span. Duo’s posture
reflexively cringed at the disgusting thought. Spiders, oh how he despised that one in
particular miscellaneous fact. Another shudder followed the previous.
“Death… afraid of spiders?” he said to no one while looking into the mirror
again only to see his own bruised and bloodied face scolding and mocking him for the
thought.
The sheer thought was all together a little humorous, almost laughable… no, very
laughable. And Duo did just that. He let a small chuckle escape from the bottom of his
throat and flow across his lips, eventually curling into a tight smile.
He could only imagine how the other pilots would ridicule him for such a phobia. But then
again, who really does like spiders? Duo shook his head a little to rattle out the hated
thought, and looked back down to the road he was traveling.
Another pothole caused the whole cabin to vault from the outside to the in. Duo
instinctively clutched his lower left side of his abdomen. He had almost forgotten about
the profuse bleeding and drilling pain until he bounced in his seat due to that damn
pothole.
‘Who made these damned roads so… so shitty anyway? Yeah, that’s the
word.’ Duo thought as he nodded his head in utter agreement with is choice of
phrasing.
With a loud sigh and a slight cough of pain, Duo brought his hand back up to the wheel to
grasp it tightly. His foot became a little heavier on the gas as he realized he needed to
get to the safehouse with the other pilots, and fast. He wiped a sheen of sweat from his
forehead, realizing how hot he was becoming. Great, a fever, like what he really wanted
now was more pain.
Looking at the wheel before replacing his hand, he saw that his blood was dripping and
mingling off his left hand, the one he had stuck to his lower half, onto the black
leather. The slow crimson transformation of the wheel made him a little sick to look at.
The sheer simplicity that it was blood, and his blood, and a damned lot of it too, gave
him a queasy feeling he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Or maybe it was the fever, at this
point he didn’t really know, nor care.
“Don’t stress it, Duo, just a few more minutes and you will be able to finally
get a little rest.”
Duo thought about the comfort of the small squeaky beds that resided in the inside of the
safehouse he was traveling to. Ok, so it wasn’t the best one they had ever chosen,
but a bed was a bed. And Duo was in dire need of sleep and relaxation. His mind lingered
at the thought of how utterly cluttered his room was and he realized there was one more
battle he would have to fight before going to bed… reaching the bed. The obstacle
course of clothes and possessions he knew no doubt would still be waiting carelessly on
the floor when he returned to his shared room. Shared.
Vaguely Duo knew he wouldn’t be the only one occupying the room. And vaguely, Duo
knew he would likely be in there when Duo returned. Yes, only vaguely. His mind was
becoming a clutter of pain from his wounds, and he decided at this certain point in time,
now was not a good time to think about the other occupant, the other battle, complete with
self defense mechanisms and invisible shields, until he reached the comfort of the
safehouse.
And vaguely, Duo knew the blood was spewing faster as the safehouse began to come into
view before his pain set violet eyes.
* * *
/click click click/
The sounds of typing penetrated the otherwise completely quiet room. Old mission reports
and retrieved data ran across the screen in bright green type. With nothing better to do,
nor did he want to venture to find if such a thing existed, Heero took it upon himself to
indulge in his ever present addiction to his laptop.
All the work he had been busying himself with was being completed with ease without the
usual present distractions. No new missions to plan, no Relena tugging at his arm, and
absolutely no abuse of the English language by that loud mouthed baka. He had never
realized before meeting Duo that the expanse of the human dictionary could be so…
vast. He thought at times that it was quite possible for Duo to perhaps talk in his sleep.
But having been partners with Duo for quite a long time now, and having to share room
after room with the braided enigma, quickly eliminated that pondering thought. While
struggling to fall asleep in his own listlessness many a night, Heero had observed from
his bed that during sleep… that was the only time he was quite. Heero rolled memory
over memory of the sleeping boy. While studying the hazy vision in his mind, he became
aware that even though Duo’s mouth actually stayed shut in sleep, that ever-present
smile always remained.
That smile. There was something so… intriguing… about that persistent smile. Oh
sure, when considered it was Duo’s smile, and that it was always attached to that
loud mouth’s face, he found it quit annoying. But then again, he also found it quite
overpowering. Why was it, that when Duo smiled, a real genuine honest smile, Heero tended
to forget about, well… whatever it was he may be doing at the time. Heero realized
that the room was now even quieter. He looked down to his stilled fingers, no longer
typing away at the keys. Inwardly, Heero cursed himself in his head. He had done it again.
Even thinking about that smile caused him to stop all his functions. He bit his bottom
lip, causing the image to be removed from his head, and attempted to resume his rapid
typing. But the more he tried to ignore the memories, the stronger they flowed.
All these accidents That happen
Follow the dot
Heero knew some where inside, that what he was doing was… wrong. That thinking about
Duo was just an easily corrected accident, mistake even, that he could fix whenever he
wanted. He didn’t have to think about Duo if he didn’t want to. Besides, he
should be occupied with more urgent matters. Yes, that was it, more urgent matters. Like
OZ’s newest mobile suits, Zech’s new blood thirst, or even why Relena had some
kind of psychotic death wish to be eliminated by Heero. So much so that sometimes Heero
had heard a little voice in the back of his head screaming “screw peace, kill the
bitch!”.. Of course, he had never listened to it. Not yet, anyway.
Yes, more urgent matters. Extremely pressing issues to think about. Why was Wufei sneaking
out night after night? As if Heero-the perfect soldier-Yuy would not notice. Why does
Quatre blush so often? Does he really think that we’re all oblivious to his relations
with Trowa? How does Trowa’s hair stay like that anyway? Yes, trivial, but anything
rather than the alternative thoughts. When would the war end? Did he want it to end? Where
was Duo- shouldn’t he be back by now?
At realization of his last thought, Heero smacked himself on the forehead. Something he
had seen Duo do a million times, but never mimed it before. He scolded himself with fowl
language and an evil glare at the reflection in the laptop staring back at him. Then
Heero’s brow flattened into a straight line…
Why hadn’t that baka got back yet?
* * *
Wufei walked out of the kitchen, or what would possibly
resemble a kitchen in a real house, with his steaming cup of tea. Every night he had seen
Quatre drink it. Always with the damned tea. What could possibly be so comforting about a
cup of mouth burning hot liquid? After much persuasion on Quatre’s part, he had
actually gotten the Chinese pilot to have a cup the night before. Wufie, realizing it
wasn’t that bad, and maybe a little good, decided that tonight he would have another
cup.
When he found himself walking into the presumed living room, he quietly sat himself down
on the musty old couch and sat his steaming cup on the coffee table beside him. Taking
into consideration his surroundings, he found Quatre relaxing in the remains of what would
be a recliner, and skimming through the channels on the TV. Trowa, on the other hand, was
sitting cross-legged and straight backed in a whicker-backed chair, reading some type of
magazine. Wufei, thinking reading wasn’t that bad of an idea, picked up the newspaper
and began scanning it for interesting articles.
“It’s awful late, do you think he’s all right?”
Wufei looked up from his article about a new commanding OZ officer being mutilated on some
outpost near the Atlantic coast to see Quatre’s worried face staring blankly out
through the window in the dark abyss of night.
“I’m sure Duo’s fine, probably got a little caught up in the heat of things
and decided to set explosives to more things than needed.” Trowa, always
comforting… well, when it came to Quatre’s worries, that is.
Wufei let out a snort hearing this. “You know Maxwell, never knows when to
quit.”
Quatre sighed.“Yeah… I guess you’re right.”
Trowa finally looked up from his article to look the blonde boy in the eyes. “I bet
Duo---“
But Before Trowa could finish whatever he was going to say, there came a loud screeching
from outside, the sound of squealing tires and worn down brakes interrupting whatever
train of thought all three pilots had previously had. Wufei rose from the couch abruptly,
knocking the coffee table and spilling his hot tea onto the floor. All three boys looked
hard into each other’s eyes, only Wufei spoke.
“…Duo…”
* * *
Heero heard the loud vehicle vaulting to a stop just as
the others did. His typing froze in midair just as his mind had done. The sounds of rubber
against pavement, unmistakable. Heero could tell by the racket that whoever it was,
obviously had been going fast, very fast, and had stopped very suddenly as well. Obviously
the person driving hadn’t had much control over the vehicle to let it course so close
to the safehouse before slamming on the brakes. That’s when it hit him…
“Duo..?”
* * *
Duo’s head rocked back and forth from the sheer
jolt of the forced stop. Although he had managed to get control of the truck during the
last minutes of fading in and out of consciousness, he now realized that throwing on the
brakes hadn’t worked as well as he had planned. Where there had been a glossy glass
windshield, there now hung parts of tree limbs projecting through the broken frame.
Looking to his lap, shards of sharp glass were scattered about his black clothing. He had
seen the tree just as he was slipping back into reality, a lot of good that had done. And
it just happened to have been the biggest tree on the lot that he had slammed into. Just
great.
Duo’s open wounds ached for attention as he slowly climbed out of the cabin, letting
the chunks of glass slip to the soft ground. Oh, and how soft it felt. And he was so
tired, so very, very tired. As his vision began to blur, he could swear he saw three
figures running out of the door, he could almost hear Quatre’s voice calling out his
name, voice full of panic. He could vaguely feel the ground seem to swallow up his limp
blood soaked body… yes, vaguely. Now not only were his thoughts vague, everything was
vague. He wasn’t sure if he thought it, or said it, but a voice seeming to be his
own, softly called out as the black took over.
“Too late… so… tired……”
* * *
Quatre’s voice rang out in panic as he saw the
form of his friend promptly falling to the ground.
Without thinking, the three boys were running to Duo’s aid. Wufei’s ears picked
up the silent murmur of Duo as his body went completely limp to the ground.
“Too late… so… tired……”
Wufei’s pace quickened, and he instantly passed the other two pilots, reaching Duo
first. Relying on pure instinct, he sought for Duo’s pulse. He checked the wrist
first. ‘Damn it, where is it!’
His hand moved up to Duo’s neck, searching, struggling to find some signs of life.
Behind Wufei’s back, he could hear Quatre whispering through gritted teeth, praying
out loud. “Please God… oh please God…”
Wufei started as he found that twitch of life he looked so vigilantly for. His eyes darted
up to his fellow pilots.
“I’ve got a pulse!”
“Oh Wufei, the blood…”
Wufei glared down to the crimson streaks Quatre referred to. Duo was bleeding so much,
that much of it had already managed to soak into Wufei’s clothing. Trowa leaned down
to Duo, having been silent the whole time. His hand sought over Duo’s chest lightly.
“Broken ribs…”
His hand moved to Duo’s stomach, then abdomen.
“Bullet wound in the lower body, left side.”
Quatre watched as Trowa analyzed the situation with precision and determination. His hands
sought over Duo’s legs, and stopped when they found a spot in the hip where the
clothing was ripped. Trowa took a deep breath and his eyes seemed to show strain, though
his face didn’t, as he gripped something lodged in Duo’s leg.
Wufei was dumbstruck as he saw Trowa jerk out a large wedge of glass from Duo’s left
hip. The usually clear glass was crimson with Duo’s fluid. Wufei looked up into the
twinge of sickness spreading across Quatre’s face. Wufei felt like the same on the
inside, but managed to maintain his cool and calm demeanor, much like Trowa, on the
outside.
Trowa discarded the wedge somewhere into the grass and lifted Duo’s neck to feel the
back of it.
“There’s no head or neck injuries besides minor nicks and bruises.”
Quatre sighed in relief.
“We need to get him inside without too much movement. He’s bleeding a lot.”
‘Yes,’ Wufei thought, ‘he is bleeding a lot. A damned lot. Trowa
‘Master Detective’ Barton, stater of the apparent and obvious.’ Wufei
silently reminded himself for strict discipline later for that crude remark.
Wufei’s train of thought was thrown away as he heard rapid footsteps approaching.
From his view he could see a stone-faced Heero Yuy walking quickly towards the three
pilots. Wufei arose from his squatting position over Duo.
Heero froze in his tracks.
Was that Duo he saw the other pilots surrounding? That couldn’t be Duo sprawled
lifeless on the damp grass. That face, that ever-present smile, was wiped clean. No smile,
no laughing eyes, only dark. Only blood. He looked to Wufei. Blood on him as well. Not
Duo, Duo wouldn’t be hurt. He looked at the truck behind the forms. There, smashed
through the hull of the truck, was a large Oak tree. Before Heero could register what he
was doing, he was running. Running faster than he believed his feet could carry him.
Wufei turned back to the bleeding boy before him. He reached down to brush Duo’s hair
away from his face. Warm… Duo was warm.
“He has a fever. Let’s get him inside.”
“Move aside.”
All three pilots turned to see a glaring Heero Yuy. But not glaring with anger, more
like… worry? Anguish?
Wufei mentally asked what the Hell the world was coming to. Taking the hint as the other
two did, he moved to let Heero in. Heero carefully swept the fallen body into his arms.
Picking Duo up and resting Duo’s head on his shoulder so as not to jar his head.
“What happened?” Heero inquired.
“You’re guess is as good as ours, Heero.” Wufei’s mouth felt dry,
sour. “Obviously he hit the tree, but the wounds on him must have been caused from
the mission. As reckless as Duo is, he would never run into a tree like that.” Wufei
shifted his weight. He realized that the way he phrased that, it could have easily been
taken as sarcasm. Looking at Heero’s face, he saw no change in movement or advances
on what Wufei said. Wufei sighed, he didn’t notice… either that or he’s too
preoccupied with his fallen comrade. Why was he so possessive with Duo right now for that
matter?
Heero looked back to the smashed up vehicle. “Hn.”
“I guess we won’t know until he wakes up then…” Quatre said more to
the air than to anyone specific. Then his eyes feigned a slight hint of joy.
“Don’t sorry guys, you can’t kill death.” A brief smile.
“Duo’s been through worse, you know. He’s just a lucky guy.”
“Let’s get him patched up.” Trowa motioned towards the safehouse.
Heero scanned the fragile form in his arms. His gaze finally rested on Duo’s tightly
shut eyes. He wanted to open them. See those bright lights that only aid in the power of
his wonderfully powerful smile. Heero could almost hear his heart hitting the ground.
“Hn. Luck…”
Coincidence
Makes sense
Only with you
* * *
Heero watched his friend take in rugged breaths. Not a
word echoed from that full mouth. The one with chatter that Heero had grown to use. Yes,
use. Use to fill the quiet that would cloud his mind with awful thoughts, use to keep his
thoughts off a failed mission or a dead innocent. He could admit it, to himself at least;
sometimes he really did need to hear the American sputter incoherent words. But right now,
this wasn’t one of those times. Duo’s voice wasn’t concerning him as much
as his condition was.
You don’t have to speak
I feel
Emotional landscapes
They puzzle me
Then the riddle gets solved
And you push me up to…
The bleeding had stopped a little while ago, the pained expression on Duo’s troubled
face remained. No, not a face, a mask. Being cooped up with Duo mission after mission led
Heero to notice little things about the braided American. Those eyes, the eyes never lie.
But that smile, no matter how well trained Duo was at feigning it, Heero could always see
right through it. He knew the genuine smiles from the reflexive ones, the nervous from the
joyous, the sad from the evil. Duo typically possessed a different smile for every single
emotion he was capable of possessing. But those eyes, those eyes never once failed in
revealing to Heero what Duo was actually feeling on the inside. But now that was the
problem, wasn’t it? Duo’s eyes were shut; they had been for a very long time.
Who knows how much longer Heero would have to withstand not knowing what was going on
inside that swirling head.
This state of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
Sometimes Heero wondered if Duo could see inside his void just as he could Duo’s.
Past the trained soldier that everyone else saw… cold as ice. But wasn’t he
really cold as ice? If Heero didn’t know what he was feeling, if he had feelings, how
could he possibly expect Duo to?
All that no one sees
You see
What’s inside of me
Heero sighed inward and shrugged his shoulder to himself. No, it wouldn’t be that
simple. ‘It’s never that simple.’ He corrected himself.
Heero took the damp cloth off of Duo’s head to feel his temperature. If it had went
down, it wasn’t enough to even be noticed by touch. The rag itself was as warm as
blood.
Heero cringed.
The idea that he could precisely remember the warmth of fresh, running blood made him
tremble. What kind of monster was he?
He placed the rag back into the bowl of ice water, letting it absorb the frigid liquid and
then raising it out to squeeze the access water back into the bowl. He neatly folded it
long ways and moved Duo’s bangs out of the way to place it on his forehead. Heero
looked down at the sleeping boy with intrigue. His mind was running wild but he
couldn’t understand a word it was saying. So instead, he blocked the voices out, just
as he was trained to do. He knew he would regret it later, but the beautiful creature he
was staring at below was more important right now.
Did he just say “beautiful”?
Processing, replaying, Lord, he did! Since when did Heero Yuy find anything, other than
his Gundam, beautiful? Heero threw that thought down deep with the other stray ones,
promising himself he’d deal with it later.
Duo let out a pained breath and his nose scrunched up a little. Heero looked down and
realized his hand was still lingering on Duo’s skin. Letting it set in that he was
acting like a fool, he quickly removed his hand and replaced it with the damp rag.
Duo stirred.
* * *
Ah, that felt good. That cooling comfort gave him all
the pleasure he could take right then. Duo stirred a little, attempting to merely roll
over. But oh, the pain! Movement was definitely out of the question. He felt his face
twinge in disgust.
“Duo?”
Duo was familiar with that voice, but as of this moment, his head hurt. Scratch that,
everything about him hurt. He didn’t really feel like sorting the data and processing
who was talking to him. So, he just spoke, or attempted to.
“H… hai?”
“How are you feeling?”
Now what kind of damnfool question was that? He felt like a tree had fallen on him.
Realizing the irony in that thought, Duo gave a quick smirk of his lips.
Heero saw the smile, one of amusement. Had he said something funny to Duo? No, of course
not. Maybe Duo had hit his head pretty hard.
“What’s so funny?”
“Hmm? Oh… nothin’… just thinkin’..”
Heero almost felt compelled to smile. In fact, he realized he was smiling. What was he
smiling at? He didn’t know either. Maybe that smile was getting contagious. Or maybe
he was getting a fever, too. Heero absently raised his hand to his head… nope, fine.
“Can you move, Duo?” Heero didn’t realize until after he said it just how
unfeeling that question had sounded. He didn’t mean it that way, he knew that, but
Duo wouldn’t.
Duo frowned. Yep, that voice is familiar. He couldn’t miss that cold pitch anywhere.
Well, as long as the other pilots were there watching after him as well, it was no bother
of his.
“I think I can move my fingers… there… see?”
Duo promptly raised his middle finger on his right hand, obviously flipping Heero off in
an attempt to act like his old self again. Instead of a death threat, Duo heard nothing in
return. Maybe someone like Wufei was holding Heero back, keeping him from strangling him,
or he could vision Trowa taking a gun out of Heero’s hand, or Quatre scolding him
for---
“Can you open your eyes, Duo?”
Well, whatever he was going to say about Quatre, it was of no use now, might as well try.
“I… I think so.”
Duo slowly opened his eyes and then quickly shut them tight. The strain of the light was
too much on them. A deep frown spread over him.
“Easy, Duo, try it again.”
What the Hell was that? Was that a hint of compassion and encouragement he just heard in
Heero Yuy’s voice? Wait- Duo had been the one to hit his head, right? Maybe it was
all a dream. Yeah, that was it, any minute he was going to wake up to the cold blue eyes
of some uncaring bastar---
“Duo?”
“Huh? Oh yeah… sure, Heero.”
He opened the right eye first, very slowly. Then the left. Every so slightly, the world
started to come into focus. It was then he found himself a little dumbstruck. Looking
right up into cobalt eyes that seemed to be staring right into his very soul. Duo winced a
little, and he didn’t think it was from the pain. How… odd… to say the
least. He could swear he actually sensed some type of emotion emitting from those oceans
of blue. Emotion? From Heero? What kind of medication did they give him? Still, Duo
couldn’t bring himself to take his eyes out of the hold Heero’s had on his. He
was expecting at any moment now for Heero to call him an idiot and punch him in the
stomach for getting so beat up. But instead, he was still looking straight into his eyes.
The silence was wrong. The silence was morbid. Can’t have that, can we?
“So… how bad is it?”
Heero unlocked his gaze and rocked back into his chair. Good, Duo thought he was going to
crack under that stare.
“You’ll live.”
“Ah, how unfortunate, eh? I bet you thought you’d finally gotten rid of ol’
Duo Maxwell. Well, no one gets off that easy, not even Heero Yuy. I’m sure I’ll
be around to annoy you for a pretty long time.”
Duo stopped. He was rambling of course, he knew it. But why hadn’t Heero stopped him
like he always does?
“Oi, Heero, I’m rambling again.”
“Hai.”
“Well?”
Heero raised an eyebrow. He was confused to say the least. What did he mean
“well”?
“Hai?”
“Aren’t you going to stop me? Call me an idiot or something?”
Heero couldn’t resist the temptation to smile, and he did.
“Duo no baka. Why would I do that?”
“Oi! What is this? Did the Great Heero Yuy actually develop something resembling a
sense of humor while I was away? You’re an OZ imposter, right? What have you done
with the real Heero, you cur?! Why if I wasn’t injured I’d get up and---”
Heero silenced Duo by placing his index finger over Duo’s lips. Duo’s eyes went
wide with utter amazement at the sensation. Maybe this was an imposter.
“I’ll get you some pain killers.”
Heero removed his finger and Duo felt a shudder and longing. He felt a tingling mixing
with his body’s pain. His lips felt strangely alone without that finger on his mouth.
It had felt so right; it had been so scary. What was going on inside of him?
“A… arigatou, Heero.”
Heero slowly rose from the chair and quietly exited the room for a brief moment. Duo was
tired. All these strange things we’re really getting to him. Duo closed his eyes. He
could feel the heavy hands of sleep pushing him down. Then suddenly, an unbearable shot of
pain ran up through his left side and extended up to his chest. Such pain!
“Arrgh! Shit!!!” Duo’s body convulsed once from the shoot of feeling, and
he immediately sat up and grabbed his lower abdomen. Apparently Heero had heard the scream
because he came dashing into the room with water and pills in hand. He sat the items down
on a table and ran to Duo’s side.
“What? What is it?”
“My bullet wound…”
Heero handed Duo the pills and water while holding his back up slightly.
“Here, take these. It will ease the pain.”
Duo’s shaky hand reached out for the pills and gulped them down with a rush of water.
Heero slowly lowered his body back down to the bed. Feeling like Hell, Duo couldn’t
stand to keep his eyes open anymore and shut them.
“Where does it hurt?”
Without opening his eyes, Duo pointed to a spot on the left side of his body down near his
pelvis. Duo felt light fingertips barely touching his side.
“Here?”
Duo nodded in agreement. Suddenly he felt Heero’s hands massaging a place across from
the pain. Duo’s muscles tensed at first with this contact, but as the pain slowly
resided he began to relax a little. What was going on? Why was Heero being so damned kind
to him? Not that he was complaining right now.
“Oi, Heero… that feels good.”
‘Did I just say that?! Damn, Duo! He’s going to think you’re some kind of
pervert or something.’ Duo mentally scolded himself. ‘But it does feel so
good… and I’m so tired.”
Heero’s hands slipped a little further downwards.
Duo let out a short gasp. This was close. Very close. Do he dare let Heero continue?
Slowly, the pain embedded there began to disappear as well. Oh yes, he dare. Duo smiled
and let out a long exasperated sigh.
Every nerve that hurts
You heal deep inside of me
The corner’s of Heero’s mouth slightly smirked at the sight before him. He was
helping Duo, and in turn it made Heero feel good as well. An equal trade off in his mind.
Then a little realization hit Duo.
“Oi, Heero…”
“Hai?”
“Where’s everyone else?”
“They went to bed. They were exhausted.”
“You… waited for me to wake up?”
“Someone had to.”
“Arigatou, Heero.”
“Hn.”
Duo sighed again. This was exquisite bedside manner for anyone, much less Heero. Somewhere
in his head he heard himself say something about getting shot at more often for this
treatment. But the more Heero’s hands worked, the farther his thoughts ran. And he
was getting sleepier by the moment.
“H… Heero… I’m getting slee---“
“It’s ok, Duo, go to sleep.”
You don’t have to speak
I feel
Emotional landscapes
They puzzle me
Confuse
Then the riddle gets solved
And you push me up to…
Duo somewhat expected Heero’s hands to stop working their magic. But instead, Heero
tenderly kept kneading the flesh of his body until Duo drifted off to sweet sleep.
Once Duo’s gruff breathing evened out into the signs of sleep, Heero reluctantly
removed his hands from Duo’s torso. With the absence of Heero’s hands on him,
Duo subconsciously wrinkled his nose in disapproval while asleep. Heero’s features
worked their way into another brief smile and he moved to sit against the headrest of
Duo’s bed. Heero gently undid Duo’s loose braid and ran his fingers slightly
through his hair. Eventually, Duo’s face of discomfort eluded him.
Heero knew what he was doing was not the mark of a pure bred soldier. No man of war in his
right mind would even consider the… emotions?… Heero was attempting to feel
right now. He looked down at his sleeping problem. This wonderful creature that had put
him on his guard. This beautiful masterpiece that had caused him to touch another human
being in a way he never had before. What was it about this mystery named Duo Maxwell that
made him want to explore him deeper, methodically?
This state of emergency
How beautiful to be
This state of emergency
It’s where I want to be
Heero sighed in deep regret and confusion. He decided it would probably be best to go to
his bed and get some sleep. Hesitating, he softly crept of Duo’s bed and prepared for
bed.
The piles of clothing and other Duo-like objects were scattered all about their room.
Heero made his way to the window that stood open, brushing a cool breeze across his face
and shifting his hair about. While looking at the moon, Heero stripped himself of his tank
top.
Duo’s eyes opened briefly in his trial of attempting slumber. When he found that he
was alone, he was about to frown in displeasure. Duo noticed he wasn’t alone though,
and that Heero was admiring the moon in front of the window with eyes half lidded and a
clever smile upon his face. Heero’s body glistened like glitter in the reflection of
pale light, and Duo noted to his satisfaction, that Heero was beginning to strip himself
of those ominous spandex pants.
Satisfaction?!
Duo pondered what he had thought for a moment before looking at the vision before him
again. Duo’s eyes sparkled. Yes, satisfaction. Duo didn’t know why, but seeing
Heero in nothing but boxers made his wounds a feel a little less pained and his heart a
little more free.
This state of emergency
How beautiful to be
This state of emergency
It’s where I want to be
Duo closed his eyes again, trying to drift off into a would be happy dream. Could it be
possible he was starting to have feelings for his stone faced partner?
* * *