Hiccups Have No Cure…
By: Amythest Tellemand
Disclaimer: Well, you know the usual disclaimers so they won't be sued… "I don't own_______ so don't sue me" kind of stuff. So, why repeat? Because I want to…
I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters.
* * *
It was late at night when the incident happened, not giving much warning. Duo Maxwell, your average 15 year-old terrorist, was about to turn in for the night. It was a Friday, and he was staying at his friend Quatre's mansion, along with his other "friends", Heero, Trowa, and Wufei. So, after listening to music while reading manga and magazines until 1 o'clock in the morning, he decided it was late enough.
Yawning, Duo slipped on a gray tank top before plopping down on the bed face first. For some reason, he was tired. Dead tired. Which startled him at first, because the usual complaints from Heero were how he could stay up all night, blasting heavy metal music from his portable CD stereo. Oh, well, Duo thought, I've stayed up late enough too many times. I can get some sleep for once…
He turned over to look at the white ceiling before yawning again. What puzzled him, though, was how the yawn came out. It wasn't a normal one, it was more of a long hiccup.
"Damn it," Duo cursed, turning over to face the small wooden nightstand and reaching out to find a glass of water. But one wasn't there. His hand moved around the empty space, knocking over his Walkman and several empty Coke cans.
"Ah, h-*hic*-ell." Getting up again, he staggered to the door sleepily and opened it, stepping out and heading down the long hallway. As he traveled to the kitchen, his hiccups echoed throughout the area, amplifying the sound to be louder than it should have been.
The first person to be irritated at this was Heero. He opened the guestroom door abruptly, glancing down the hall. As soon as he recognized who it was, he sighed irritably. "Duo, what are you doing? It's almost two in the morning."
"Getting a--*hic!*--glass of water," Duo replied, stopping for a moment to face him. "By the--*hic*--- way, do you know where Quatre is? I don't know where---*hic*--- the kitchen is…"
Heero pointed him in the direction of the library, then slammed his door shut.
When Duo finally got to the library, the hiccups had grown faster. Duo quietly opened the door to see Quatre sitting at a desk, his face obscured by a book. The door made a creak, though, and Quatre looked up. "Duo? What's wrong? I didn't think you liked reading…"
Duo smiled. "Sorry to---*hic*---bother ya, Quatre, but---*hic*--- I have the--- *hic*---….the---*hic!*---the hic---*hic*…"
Quatre tilted his head and made a face. "That's a bad case of the hiccups. Here, I'll get a glass of water, and then you can tell me later." With that, Quatre got up from his desk and walked out of the library, leaving Duo behind.
While he was gone, Duo looked around the library for a medical book. He knew it would take a lot more than a glass of water to cure his hiccups….
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"Here," Quatre handed Duo the glass of water, which Duo immediately took and gulped down its contents, waiting a moment to hold his breath before swallowing.
There was silence for a minute. "…Well?" Quatre piped up, "did it work?"
"………*hic*…nope," Duo said, "No---*hic*---luck."
Quatre sighed and started mumbling. "Hiccup remedies…hmm…I think I have a few…"
"What?" Duo questioned, getting easily irritated by the hiccups now.
Quatre's lips pursed. "There's holding your breath, sipping a teaspoon of vinegar…ginger tea with honey always works for me."
Duo quietly gagged. Drinking vinegar? What would that do to help?
Behind them, the library door opened, and Heero's head popped up. "Quatre? Can you help find info on…" he then spied Duo. "…oh. It's you again."
Duo ran up to him. "He---*hic*---ero, do you know---*hic*---any cures for the---*hic*---the…---*hic!*---the…"
"The hiccups?" Heero finished.
Duo nodded.
Heero was silent for a minute. "A few, but I don't think you'll like all of them." He walked out the door to the kitchen across the hall, with the two other Gundam pilots following behind.
Heero immediately dove into the fridge and started pulling out drawers, with a curious braided boy looking over his shoulder to see if he was actually getting rat poison.
Finally, he looked up again, and handed Duo a lemon. "Here."
Duo stared at it. "…They're---*hic* lemons…"
Heero nodded. "Exactly. Just take a bite out of one as you would an orange."
Duo hesitantly started to peel off the outer skin. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he thought. He took a bite of the fruit, smashed it in his mouth and….*ACK!!*
…He nearly spat out all of it. Now he was coughing and hacking so hard he could barely see, which was a bad thing because he then knocked into the counter, sending pots and pans hanging overhead down. 'CRASH!!!'
Quatre rushed over to the still sputtering Shinigami. "Are you okay, Duo?"
Duo quickly regained his composure. "…Y-yeah… I'm okay… hey, I think it----*hic*---nope, never mind."
Everyone sighed at once.
***
Authors note: Okay, I know, it's a bad chapter and it starts out slow. But, I'm hoping it will catch on soon and I'll be able to write more. Until then, Ja ne! ^_^