Heero frowned as he looked over at Quatre and Trowa, talking loudly near their lockers. Quatre was talking very fast, as per usual, while Trowa laughed at something that was apparently very funny. It wasn't that they didn't do this everyday, or even that it didn't usually bother him. It's just that today he didn't have the patience to deal with it. It had been a long week, and it was only Wednesday. They'd just finished some training and Heero had a migraine. What was worse, they were experiencing a heat wave. He furrowed his eyebrows further as someone slammed a locker door closed somewhere to his right. He stood up and went to the showers.

Under the cold water, he let heat seep slowly from his head, as drops beat down on his face. He turned it off quickly and grabbed his towel. Stepping out onto the tiled floor he heard the water in the next stall being turned off. He looked over to see Duo coming out with a towel around his waist.

"Hey Heero," said the brunette.
"Hey."
"You feeling all right? Your face is red."
"Fine, just hot."
"You sure?"

Heero nodded and went to leave, but Duo grabbed his arm and immediately let go.

"Dude, you're burning up!"

Heero's forehead creased yet again as his frown returned to grace his features once more. He wasn't one to get sick. He figured he'd just go home, put a fan on by his bed and sleep it off. But Duo seemed to have other plans. He grabbed his thin friend by the wrist and pulled him out of the bathroom.

"Let's get you home and into bed, I'm taking care of you tonight."

His ears were ringing at this point and his head throbbed with pain. He could tell his face was flushed. It felt warm and congested. He changed sluggishly, still hot and now achy. Duo was hopping around, having finished getting dressed, and was now collecting both of their belongings. Heero finished and tried grabbing his bag from his friend, but held it out of his reach.

"Maxwell, I'm fine," he protested.

"No, you're not. Come on."

Grabbing his hand this time, the braided young man pulled him to the door and Heero was too preoccupied with his head that now felt like it was going to explode to say anything more.

"Here."

They had arrived at Heero's place and Duo was turning down the covers on his bed. Heero was boiling up and stripped down to his boxers, deliriously collapsing into bed. He was glad his friend had left the lights off. Under half-lidded eyes, he saw the other man arranging things around him. He picked up the clothes Heero had stripped off and folded them into a neat pile. He left the room momentarily and returned with a glass of water, and what seemed like a wet towel. Pulling up a chair next to the bed, Duo sat beside him and felt his face. His hands were cool, and Heero closed his eyes as the respite from the heat soothed him. Next thing he knew, the hand was gone, and he scrunched his face into a grimace.

"No, leave them there."

He blindly reached up for his friend's hands and pulled them down on his face again. He left them there for a few moments. Then they were gone again as Duo placed aspirin in to his parted lips and lifted the glass of water to his mouth. Heero sipped from it and it felt refreshing. Sighing, he closed his eyes again. He felt the cold rag on his face but found he preferred Duo's cold hands. He reached once more for the hands and pushed the rag out of the way, replacing it. Like this he fell asleep.

3:04. His migraine was gone, but the heat wasn't. It wasn't unpleasant though. He realized it was coming from a body that was lying next to him. Duo was sleeping soundly, one of his cool hands still lay on Heero's face. The dark-haired man left it there, but shifted closer to the owner of the hand. He closed his eyes and smiled, drifting off to sleep once more.