True North
By
Miyabi
Chapter
1
Pairings:
2x1
Warnings:
AU, OC daughter, sap, yadda yadda, angst.
Disclaimer:
Gundam Wing is copyright Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu
Agency.
"The Eternal Rhapsody" is copyright Ringo Zaidan and
Midori
Saiha.
Many
thanks to Rich and Diamroyal for being my betas and
sound
boards.
Duo
hadn't considered this a possibility. Even for him, and
he
usually kept an open mind. After all, he wouldn't have gotten
into
this
situation if he didn't. One had to have a really open mind to go
into
a time machine to meet someone.
It
had all started when he left L2 for Earth to work in one
of
the best known laboratories. He was sixteen then, an
incredibly
gifted
scientist, and had jumped at the opportunity, even though he'd
be
leaving L2 for the first time. Upon his arrival, Duo had been
taken
to see who the founder of the labs was.
That
was when he'd seen Heero Yuy for the first time. Of
course,
since the labs had been here for fifty years at the time, all
he'd
seen was Heero's picture. When Duo asked where Heero was now,
his
guide—an old man in his sixties—shook his head sadly and
said
that
Heero had died when he was seventeen; a year after that picture
was
taken.
It
should have ended right there. Instead, what happened was
that
Duo received a disk from two of his coworkers—Dr. J and
Professor
G—that Heero had recorded. He tried to give it back to the
two
old men, since there was no possible way anyone could have known
him
thirty-three to thirty-four years before he was born.
But
they insisted, and the next thing he knew, Duo was
looking
at a hologram of a dying Heero, speaking to him like they'd
been
close, known each other intimately. And just before the
message
ended,
Duo had heard the words, "I want to see you one more
time."
There
had been very little information on Heero Yuy's life
when
Duo went to research him; his birth, winning the Nobel
Prize,
establishing
the labs and then his death. And then, when he'd told
Dr.
J and Professor G, they'd let slip that they had a time machine.
Duo
found himself in AC 196, fifty years from his own time,
face-to-face
with Heero. He hadn't been easy to get along with at
first;
the accusation that Duo would probably rape him if he'd gotten
the
chance hadn't gone across too well. Then he'd met Relena,
Heero's
cousin,
and that was when he'd learned about Heero being terminally
ill.
Relena said that it'd been in the Yuys for generations, only
passed
down through the males and killing them while they were young.
She'd
also casually mentioned her clairvoyant powers, telling Duo
that
Heero would fall in love with someone with long hair.
He
didn't get what she'd said completely until the photosession.
He hadn't known that it'd been taking place; he just wanted
to
let Heero know that he was getting ready for some experiments.
But
then
Heero looked up, said his name, and smiled. That was when
Duo
realized
that that smile had been in the photograph he'd seen upon
coming
to the labs.
Shortly
after that, the two of them fell in love. It was that
simple,
really. Or it should have been. Heero was growing weaker, and
time
was quickly running out. He'd always told Duo that he didn't
have
much time left, and now Duo was seeing it for himself. They
needed
to find a cure.
That
was where their daughter, Moira, came in. Duo wanted to
develop
a serum that would supply good copies of a gene to replace
the
defective ones causing the disease. For that, they needed the
blood
of someone who was a carrier. Unfortunately, Heero didn't have
any
siblings, and Relena was related to him maternally.
They'd
been young. They'd been foolish and desperate. And yet
they'd
managed to pull off genetically engineering a baby in an
artificial
womb in the labs. Granted, Duo and Heero weren't so
selfish
as to just want her for her blood; if Duo failed and Heero
died,
at least Duo wouldn't be completely alone.
In
any case, once Moira was born, they knew they'd made the
right
decision. She was, Duo declared, perfect: ten fingers, ten
toes,
with blue-gray eyes that would eventually darken in time. He
didn't
think it'd been possible to fall in love again. Heero hadn't
either,
and despite the trials that came along with having a newborn,
they
never regretted it.
But
it was only six months later that Heero collapsed in the
labs,
and this time, it didn't look like he'd leave the hospital
again.
Duo left for AC 246, baby in tow, to find a cure.
The
plan had been to work hard to develop a cure for Heero's
disease.
Then, Duo would go back to AC 196 in the time machine and
use
it. Of course, this hadn't worked as Duo thought it would
already;
first, it took longer to get a cure. He'd anticipated
getting
to Heero around AC 250 at the latest, and now it was AC 261.
But
he hadn't thought about Dr. J and Professor G putting
Heero
in coldsleep and waiting for Duo all this time. And now, here
he
was, napping in the hospital after the revival process. Professor
G
warned him that it took a while for someone to recover
from
coldsleep,
so the drugs couldn't be administered until then. Duo
didn't
want to press things anyway; he needed to get over the shock
of
finding Heero in his own time, sixty-five years later, and for
God's
sake, he wasn't in any shape to do any doctoring work until
then.
At
least the press conferences and interviews were over. It'd
only
been for two weeks, but it felt like it'd never end. Duo knew
the
online magazines wanted a crack at him, but that could wait. He
had
more important things to do, and the most important one was
right
beside
him, resting from the coldsleep revival process.
Duo
rose from the chair next to Heero's bed. He needed tocall
Relena and get her over here. Hell, with her clairvoyance, she
might
be expecting this anyway. Relena first, then Moira. She'd
need
Relena to soothe her after he told her the news; after all, like
Duo,
she'd been thinking about going back in time to see her papa.
He
glanced
at his watch. Moira would definitely be home from the labs
now,
wondering where he was as dinner cooled on the table.
Closing
the door behind him, Duo took out his cell phone,
unfolded
it, and muttered Relena's name, activating the
speed-dial
function.
"Hi,
Relena. It's me...no, I'm okay, just really tired and
shocked...you
don't know what it is? Huh. I thought you would, but
anyway,
get to the hospital, and when you get here, I'll sit you down
because
believe me, you need to sit down for this..."
"Where
are you? It's almost eight! I had to eat first because
I skipped lunch today!
I thought you got run over or something!"
Moira shook a fist at the videophone, even though it was
useless;
after all, Dad couldn't see her. It made her more agitated
to
be yelling at a screen reading "Sound Only".
as you know it's me. Yes, I'm fine. I'm not in the hospital because
I'm hurt. But I need you to get to the hospital. I'm on the third
floor."
"Why
do I need to be in the hospital?" she asked. Dad had
cured
the disease that killed Papa so long ago, and eventually,
they'd
be preparing for the time trip back sixty-five years to use
it,
right after she graduated within a few weeks. "I thought the
time
machine
was in the labs where you worked."
"For
one thing," Dad said, laughing strangely (Moira thought
it
sounded like he was in shock), "we're not going back in
time
anymore.
So you're not going to lose your friends or anything."
"What?"
As she'd grown older, Moira hadn't wanted to go back
in
time. AC 196 was so...well, old, for lack of a better word, and
even
though Dad always said she was conceived in AC 196 (the
official
birthdate
on any ID she had read June 3rd, AC 246), she'd only known
the
world that was at least fifty years later. She'd gotten people
like
Audrey, Amy, and Gwen to hang out with in school, and leaving
them
behind was unthinkable.
"I'll
explain everything at the hospital. Just get here. And
remember
to wear your helmet. I don't want to hear about your
brains
splattered
all over the road."
"All
right, all right," Moira groaned. She'd worn her helmet
since
she'd gotten her scooter, and it wasn't like that was going to
change
anytime soon. Especially since Nana Relena caught her without
it
last year when she was riding only a block down and told her
that
protecting
her head was much more important that worrying about how a
helmet
flattened her ponytail.
"Cool beans, sweetie. See you in a bit."
Again, Moira's collar was twisted. One end was up, the corner sticking out behind her ear,and the other lay flat against her polo shirt. Duo sighed, reaching out and pulling the wayward half down.
"You're
gonna ruin your clothes if you keep doing this." He
flicked
one of her braids behind her shoulder as she stepped out of
the
elevator.
"Hello
to you too, Dad. I'd have gotten here faster but the
parking
structure sucks. Took me forever to find a spot. Oh, hey,
Nana,"
Moira said, looking behind Duo. He turned to see Relena
getting
up from her seat and walking slowly towards them. Now in
her
eighties,
Duo wondered how she didn't break.
Amazing
to see how time can pass, he thought. When he saw her in
Heero's
time, she'd been his age, with honey blonde hair reaching to
her
waist. Now Relena's hair had turned white, and was kept up in
a
sensible
knot at the nape of her neck. Liver spots dotted her
wrinkled
hands, and she moved stiffly now. Otherwise, she was the
same
Relena he'd met back then; still ladylike, and still able to
live
on her own after her husband had died.
"I'm
so glad to see you, Moira," Relena said. "Was it
difficult
getting to the hospital? I was about to tell Duo to have
you
take the bus..."
Moira
shook her head. "No, it was okay, thanks. Dad, what's
this
about? Did something happen? Why aren't we going back in time?"
she
whispered, tugging Duo's sleeve.
Duo
took her hand and started walking down the hall. "Well,"
he
began, looking over his shoulder to make sure Relena was able to
keep
up, "it turns out that Papa's been here with us all
along."
"Duo!"
Relena chided. "Shouldn't you sit her down before
telling
all of this?"
His daughter's eyes widened. "You mean he's..."
"No,
not dead. Very alive, actually." Duo didn't slow his
pace,
even though the other two had to run to keep up, Moira's
sneakers
slapping the linoleum tiles as they went. "They put him
in
coldsleep,
so actually, he's been waiting here. Come on." He
tightened
his hold on Moira's wrist to get her to move faster.
Are we going to his room or something?" Her eyes narrowed at Duo through thick bangs as she
crossed her arms. "You should explain everything before we start
running again," she said, her lips pressing together. Duo groaned
inwardly, recognizing the familiar expression; it meant that they
weren't going anywhere until she clearly knew why they had to go.
"In
order," Duo said, making a short slash in the air with
both
hands towards Moira and Relena, "Dr. J and Professor G,
whom
you've
known since you were born, because Papa's disoriented and I
snuck
out while he was napping to get both you and Relena before he
wakes
up, and finally, yes, we're running to his room." Moira
didn't
budge,
but her eyes lightened to a smoky blue-gray in surprise.
"H-he's been...revived already?" she asked. "How long has he been awake? Did he age or anything? Does he remember me?"
Duo
nodded. "Yes, a few hours, no, and I should think so."
He
took
Moira's wrist. "Let's go, kid," he said, tugging.
Moira
still didn't move, but she swayed from side to side. "I
think
I need to sit down," she said weakly, and pitched forward
into
Duo's
arms.
"I knew you should have done that," Relena said reproachfully, clutching her purse. "Will she be all right?"
Duo
hefted Moira up, placing her head on his shoulder.
Fifteen
years old, and she still weighed like she was ten. And yet
the
amount of food she ate at dinner sometimes was
downright
frightening.
"Yeah,
I think she'll be fine," he replied. "Heero's room
isn't
too far off, so when we get there we'll just put her on a chair
until
she comes to. Man, I didn't think she'd react this way..."
Tightening
his lips worriedly, Duo started to walk, but Relena
stopped
him.
"I
think it would be best if you put her on a cot instead. If
you'd
like, I'll ask for one," she said.
"I
don't think she's staying the night, but..." Duo's
sentence
hung in mid-air when he saw the look on Relena's face, with
the
ghost of a smile on her lipsticked mouth that meant she
knew
something
he didn't. "Yeah, sure. One cot for room 1120? The room's
a
double,
so Moira and I can flip a coin for the empty bed."
The old woman nodded graciously. "Certainly, Duo."
When
Heero opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Duo
sitting
on his bed, which was what he'd seen when he went to take a
nap
in the first place.
"I can't believe you haven't moved already," he muttered.
"Oh, I did." Duo grinned. "I had to get the others."
"...the
others?" He saw an old woman come into his field of
vision.
He didn't think he'd seen her before, but there was
something
familiar
about her, the way she carried herself. She reached out,
touching
his arm with a cool hand.
"It's
me, Relena," she said, stroking his arm. "It's so good
to
see you again." The touching felt...well, nice, for lack of
a
better
word. With her touch, Heero knew that at least he was awake.
"You're
so...so old," he croaked. Now that he knew that itwas
Relena, he could see the resemblance, only now she'd aged.
Liver spots
dotted her wrinkled face, and her hair had gone white, but as
she
laughed, it was clear that this was Relena Darlian in front of
him
right now.
"I should hope so, Heero. After all, I am eighty-two years old." She shook her head, still chuckling.
Heero wanted to shake his head
too, but in disbelief and maybe a little shock. Duo had told
him
that things were different, but it was one thing to have Duo
tell
him it was now AC 261, but it completely another to have the
evidence
in front of him in the shape of Relena, now in her
eighties.
At least Duo still looked like Duo, even though he'd aged
about
fifteen years.
Even
though his hair was shorter, he still wore it tied back, if
not
braided.
He was the only constant that Heero could really grip onto
because
the change hadn't been that drastic. He hadn't seen the baby
yet,
but she wasn't a baby anymore. All Heero knew about her so far
was
that she allegedly looked a lot like him.
"She
ages pretty well, though," Duo said, winking at Relena
as
she dissolved into giggles. "Not bad, not bad. Moira's here
too,
but,"
here Duo sucked in his breath, steepling his hands
together
nervously,
"she fainted when I told her the news."
"Where
is she?" Heero asked. Duo nodded to the right, sliding
an
arm under Heero's shoulders and propping him up onto the pillows
so
that he could look over the edge of the bed. A girl lay sideways
on
a cot, halfway curled up under the blankets, dark braids
trailing
after
her head on the pillow. Thick, messy bangs had fallen over
her
forehead,
revealing a long white scar on her temple that just missed
an
arched eyebrow.
"She
just turned fifteen," Duo whispered, pulling Heero
closer
to his chest. "What do you think?"
"I think she's small. And thin."
Duo
laughed. "Yeah, well, nothing we can really do about
that.
Whatever she eats goes through her. But don't you think she
takes
after you?"
Duo
was right; she did take after him. She had his facial
features,
though with longer lashes, and the face shape was
definitely
from Duo.
"Yeah,
she does, but I knew she would already," Heero said.
He
hadn't doubted that since he'd held her in his arms as a baby
after
she'd been lifted from the artificial womb. The dark, soft hair
and
the long fingers uncurling from her fists had been clear signs
that
she was definitely his.
"She
would have been awake if Duo sat her down." Relena went
over
to the cot, taking the chair beside it and sitting down. "The
poor
thing; as soon as Duo told her, she fell forward." She
looked
reproachfully
at Duo.
"I'm
sorry, Relena, but I was in such a hurry. I thought
Moira
would take it all right," he said, laughing. "She'll be
fine,
anyway,
as soon as she comes around. School and work have been hard
for
her, especially around this time of year, so she was pretty
tired
when
I got to her."
As
Relena pulled the blankets more snugly around Moira's
shoulders,
the girl stirred, curling more into herself on the cot.
That
Heero also recognized; when he went to check on her during
naps,
she'd
always been in that position inside of her crib, curled like a
newly
growing leaf.
"Does she know about me, Duo?"
The
older man's eyes softened into a deep indigo blue, and he looked
fondly
at the cot. "Yeah, she knows. Relena and I told her some
stories
about you, and Relena has a disk with some pictures and some
albums.
You know what? Remember that picture that they took of you?
The
one that was supposed to be for the labs you established?"
Duo's
voice
was that of a child holding something behind his back, like a
bouquet
of flowers and asking someone to take a guess.
"What
about it?" Heero asked. He couldn't understand the fuss
over
that;
all right, so he was smiling in it, something that he normally
didn't
do, but that was because Duo had just appeared behind
the
photographer
at that moment. Later, there were other pictures that
also
had him smiling, though maybe not as openly as that one.
Frankly,
he thought those looked better.
"Well,
when Moira was two, I caught her sleeping with it like it was
a
baby blanket, so I had it framed. It's been on her desk ever
since;
she
used to kiss it goodnight when she was little. Even now she
says
that's
her favorite picture," Duo said.
Heero
snorted. "There were better ones than that. Why didn't you
give
her
one of those?"
"We
showed her others," Relena said, smiling indulgently, "but
she
liked
that one the best because you were smiling. You really should
do
that more often."
Heero
snorted again, still staring at the cot and its occupant. If
only
Moira had been awake and conscious right now, then he could
really
see what she'd turned into while he spent all these years
asleep.
Right now, he didn't have much to go on.
"Duo? Relena? What is she like?"
Relena
smoothed out her skirts before reaching over and rewrapping
one
of the hair ties at the end of Moira's braids. "That's a
broad
question,
Heero. Well, she's going to graduate in a few weeks, is
that
right, Duo? Yes...she's attending a science charter school right
now.
Then she'll be going to the Catherine Blair Institute of
Applied
Physics
for a degree while working at the laboratories." She
finished
winding
the bright purple elastic with a snap, gently replacing
Moira's
braid on the pillow.
"The
labs were established about thirty years ago," Duo
said.
"Moira's in physics, and Blair is pretty damn good for that,
in
my
opinion."
"Why
physics...?" Heero had always thought about her going
into
biology,
the same field that he and Duo were in. Duo grinned.
"I guess you could say it had to do with how she was in the first place. You know how physics is the how and why of everything in the universe? She's always been curious about everything since she was little. There was this one time..."
The
inside of Moira's mouth tasted bitter and cottony. That
was
the first thing she realized when she woke up. She lifted her
head
and saw Nana Relena sitting next to her.
"Oh,
you're awake. Good," Nana whispered, getting up from her
chair
and slightly bending down. "How are you feeling, dear?"
Moira
nodded. "Okay, I guess. Maybe thirsty. Nana, where
are
we?"
"I'll
get you some water," Nana replied, rising out of her
chair.
"We're in the hospital, in your papa's room."
"Really?"
"Yes,
really. Duo, she's awake now," Nana said, louder this
time
while Moira lifted her head to see where she was. She'd been on
a
cot all along, in this small hospital room. Funny, she'd
forgotten
how
bright and ugly the lights in hospital rooms were; it'd been a
long
time since she'd been in one, visiting a friend. She saw
Nana
motioning
to Dad before stepping out of the room.
"Hey,
hey, rise and shine, sweetie." Dad's voice was bright
and
a little too cheery for someone who'd been just as shocked as
she
was.
"We've been waiting forever for you to wake up."
"What
time is it?" Moira asked. The window outside displayed
a
dark night sky; that wasn't new, because of course, the sun had
just
set when she'd rolled her scooter out of the driveway.
"It's
about nine," Dad said, looking down over the edge of
the
bed he was sitting on. "You were out for a while." He'd
taken off
his
lab coat, and was now sitting cross-legged in his black
turtleneck
and khakis. Moira heard the sound of blankets being tossed
to
the side, and Dad reached over, saying, "Hold on. Let me help
you
up,
okay?"
Oh, that's right, she thought. Papa's here, isn't he?
"I
can get up by myself." Moira blinked twice. That was
weird;
she'd imagined Papa's voice to be kind and soft, although
quiet.
The quiet was there, but it didn't sound nice, but cranky and
bored.
She'd also expected his voice to be full and rich, and
well...it
was nasal. Not all that nasal, but she could tell that it
was
there. She slowly sat up to see Dad gently pulling someone onto
his
shoulder with a head of messy dark brown hair and wearing a
hospital
gown so loose it looked like it'd fall right off if the
strings
in the back weren't tied tightly enough. She pointed at him
and
raised an eyebrow at Dad, while mouthing the word "Papa" in
a
question.
Dad nodded.
Moira
felt light-headed again, this time accompanied by the
sensation
of her heart pounding so hard and fast that she thought
it'd
jump out of her chest if it could. That was one way out of
her
current
nervousness, have her heart burst forth from her chest and
leave
her twitching on the cot in a growing puddle of blood.
Not that she didn't want to meet Papa. But there wasn't anyway to get rid of the tension and suspense that still hadn't goneafter passing out.
Then
Papa lifted his head and looked Moira straight in the
eye.
She gasped; the action had been so sudden that it felt like
someone
dumped her headfirst into a bucket of ice without warning.
For
a few moments she couldn't do anything but sit there with
her
mouth wide open. There was a comforting familiarity with looking
at
his photo, but seeing him in front of her in the first time was
such
an overload that she couldn't even figure out what to say, with
the
exception of an inane observation of his eyes being a hell of a
lot
bluer than hers.
"Hi,"
she squeaked. That was it, just "hi." Not really much,
but
something. This was terrific; she'd rehearsed over and over in
her
head in daydreams about what she'd say to Papa if she met him,
and
all she managed was one lousy word.
Papa
frowned, turning to Dad. "She doesn't always gape like
that,
right?"
Dad
chuckled. "No, Heero, she doesn't." Moira felt her
face
growing
hot. She felt like bashing her head against the wall, but
that
probably wouldn't have helped.
"Good,"
Papa said. His voice was so monotonous; it was going
to
take a lot of time to get used to, because it was so different
from
what Moira thought it was originally. Then, turning to Moira
again:
"You look like you're retarded."
"Hey!"
Moira snapped. "I just found out a few hours ago! I
mean,
about you and being in coldsleep. It's been a long day, but
just
because I have temporarily delayed reactions doesn't mean
I'm
frickin'
retarded," she grumbled.
The
only response she got was a disdainful snort.
Fortunately,
Nana appeared before Moira could blurt out an
angry,
"what was that supposed to mean?" and handed her a paper
cup
of
water, murmuring, "Here you are."
"I...I...thanks,
Nana," she said, taking the cup in both
hands
and drinking. Seeing the old woman still standing near the
door,
she asked, "How come you're not sitting back down?"
Nana
smiled. "It's getting late, and I should be going now. I
need
to go shopping tomorrow for groceries."
"I
could drive you back if you wanted," Dad said, beginning
to
get off the bed, but Nana held up a hand.
"That
won't be necessary, Duo. I'll be perfectly fine taking
the
bus." She bent down, gently hugging Moira. "See you
tomorrow.
Hopefully
I can bring something for Heero then. The food here must
be
terrible."
"Safe
trip back, Relena." Dad waved. Moira smiled slightly,
also
waving.
"See you later, Nana."
"You
should rest." Duo ruffled Heero's hair, marveling at
the
softness
of the dark strands between his fingers. Professor G had
been
right about the coldsleep revival process; even though Duo
had
worried
that there would be some irreversible effects, it was, as the
good
professor said, "basically like defrosting a chicken. Except
the
chicken
is a person. Nothing should go wrong."
"Get
off the bed first," Heero grumbled, weakly trying to
shove
Duo off. "There's not enough space for both of us."
Duo smiled, pulling Heero over and pecking him on the cheek. "I know, but I don't think I can get off right now. That means I'd have to leave you."
"Don't
be an idiot. We're still in the same room. You're not
leaving
me," Heero said, still in that irritable tone, though he
shifted
closer to Duo.
"I
know," Duo said, wrapping an arm around Heero's waist, letting
his fingertips rest on the younger man's hip. God, had he
always
been this skinny? He could feel the bone nearly jutting out
from
the thin cloth of the hospital gown Heero was wearing. Now that
he
was here in Duo's arms, Duo knew he wasn't dreaming. Heero
might
still
be thin and weak, but he was, as Duo saw from the chest's
rhythmic
rise and fall, here and alive.
Alive.
Thinking about the word alone made his eyes prickle with
tears. He'd been slowly losing hope on ever getting to see
Heero after
ten years had gone by with no developments toward a cure
in
sight.
"How
long will the therapy for this be?" Heero asked,
bringing
Duo back.
"A
month, no more than that. You'll spend the first two weeks
here,
so we can monitor your condition. The remaining two will be
trips
to the hospital three times a week for your IV treatments."
"IV treatments?"
"That's
right. IV treatments and pills. Side effects aren't
going
to be nice: fatigue, nausea, lack of appetite, and in some of
the
worst test cases, delirium. Some days you won't feel like getting
out
of bed at all," Duo said, running a fingertip up and down
Heero's
hip.
"But once it's over, it's over."
Silence
passed between them for a long time, as they lay
together
on the bed. He could see another dark head peeping out from
behind
the pillows; Moira, still fast asleep on her cot. The poor
girl
was exhausted—so far, she'd been sleeping like a rock.
Heero
turned to look at the cot too. "I don't think she likes
me,"
he said, voice quiet, but now without its disgruntled edge.
Duo
chuckled. "Oh, come on. She loves you. Maybe telling her
that
she looked retarded wasn't a good start."
"Will
she get used to me?" Heero asked. "We've only just met,
and
who knows if there's time..."
"There will be time." Duo's voice came out thick and harsh,and he felt tears stinging his eyes this time. "There will be time," he said, in a firmer tone, "because you're staying."
Heero
looked up at him, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Reaching
up to stroke Duo's hair, he said, "I told you I'd wait for
you,
didn't I?"
"...Yeah, you did."
"Duo?"
"Yeah?"
"I'd like to sleep now. Could you get off my bed?"
"Okay,
I'll get off," Duo said, leaning over and briefly
kissing
Heero on the lips. "You can tuck yourself in, right?"
"Go
to bed, Duo," Heero muttered. Duo walked stiffly over to
turn
off the lights, stepping around the IV pole, and then went over
to
the waiting empty bed that was three feet away from Heero's. He
lay
down, not bothering to pull the blankets over himself, and closed
his
eyes.
It had been an exhausting, draining, but very good day.