Red Skies Clearing
By: BadMomma
Note: This is a sequel to Red Skies at Morning and Red Skies at Night; though not necessary, this might make more sense if you read them first (in that order).
Please (feedback) let me know (feedback) what you think about it (feedback).
~~~ change of scene or POV
*** *** flashback/memory
"You gonna be alright?"
"Yeah I'm fine, would you stop mothering me." He slapped at the other's fussing hands.
"Hn."
"I'm not an invalid you know."
"I know but you need to rest. I left you food, the meds, water, the remote. Want anything else?"
"No, I'm FINE. If I need anything I'll use these things I have – they're called legs – and I'll go get it, alright. Now go or you'll be late." The indignity of this was too much.
"I won't be late, I'm not even supposed to be in today. I should only be a couple of hours, and Duo should be back in" he checked his watch "a little over an hour, he usually gets home around nine-thirty. Here's the phone, you can call me on the cell if you need anything."
"Would you please just go. I. AM. FINE." Had he behaved this ridiculously back then, when the tables were turned?
"Fine huh? You call a broken collar bone, two cracked ribs, a sprained wrist and a badly bruised shoulder FINE?"
"I'm a big boy, I think I can take care of myself for a little while, you can go now MOM!"
"Honeys, I'm ho~ome!!!"
"Oh great, now dad's home." He'd really wanted a few minutes alone before the next session of smothering began.
"Hey Tro? Heero? Where are you guys?"
"We're in the den, Duo. And mama-Yuy was just leaving!"
"Hn."
Duo skidded to a halt at the doorway and observed the scene before him. Trowa was stretched out on the couch in the den in a pair of cut-off sweat pants and a loose tank top, propped up with pillows, a dark green chenille throw bundled at his bare feet. On the coffee table were Trowa's meds, a pitcher of water, a glass, the television remote, some magazines, the cordless phone, a list with his and Heero's contact numbers, some fruit and a couple of bags of trail mix. Heero was nervously fussing around the end of the couch, keys in hand, cell phone clipped at his waist, obviously delaying his need to leave.
With a nod Heero acknowledged him, "you're home early, how come?"
"Oh, John came in early. When he and Aeryn called last night I happened to mention Tro's little mishap and that he'd been staying with us, they felt bad about him being alone while you were at work, so he decided to come in a little earlier so I could go. That was nice of them, huh?"
Duo was grinning. It wasn't just because his coworker had been kind enough to relieve him from house duty early, but that here was his roommate, Heero, someone who not so long ago he thought he'd lost, and Trowa, his other best friend a little worse for wear as the result of a recent accident, but for all intents and purposes sharing the house with them too. Even if it was just temporary.
Heero moved to the door stopping just in front of Duo and gave him a look that clearly said 'are you up for this'. Duo nodded and gave him an encouraging smile. "Go. We'll be fine, and don't hurry. I'm gonna unwind for a bit and we'll have plenty of time before the others get here, alright. Take your time."
Heero nodded muttering "later then" and was on his way.
Duo looked after him with a sad but content smile on his face, remembering a much different young man just over a year ago.
*** ***
"No Duo. Thank you."
"Huh, what for, almost giving you a headache?"
"No. For… for finding me."
"Hey, no problem man, what are friends for, right?"
"Yeah, I guess… I guess I must have forgotten, huh?"
"Hey, don't sweat it Heero, it'll be OK, everything'll be OK. Here take the aspirin, drink your shake and then maybe we can both get a little shut-eye. We'll worry about the rest of it in the morning."
"Sure, thanks, I'll… I'll be here… I promise." Then he smiled, a placid, relieved looking smile that tore at his friend's heart again.
Duo delivered on what he'd offered, aspirin and a protein shake, then they'd both settled down on the futon for the rest of the night. At some point during the night his braid had gotten tangled up in Heero's arm but rather than wake his tired and emotionally drained friend Duo endured the discomfort, glad that it looked like Heero would be returning to them. And maybe, they could help him heal.
*** ***
"I see where he's getting it from." Trowa's words brought Duo out of his musings.
"Huh, what?" He turned back to his friend on the couch.
"I said I see where he's getting it from, you need to stop doing that. He's a big boy Duo, and he'll be fine. We're all here to help you keep him grounded, and I don't think he'll be running away again. So you can stop worrying." Trowa shifted from his position on the couch and got up. "Have you had breakfast yet? I think I can manage some one-handed pancakes" he made a flipping motion with his one good hand "and I could really use a stretch. Come on." He flicked his head in the direction of the kitchen and tugged on the braided man's sleeve as he passed.
"Uh, yeah I guess. Um one-handed…? Hey! No cooking for you! You can come and keep me company, I don't expect you to lie around all day but no way are you cooking. You need to heal and making pancakes is not gonna help you do that."
They both laughed and made their way to the kitchen where Duo set about making himself some breakfast and Trowa just milled around. In no time at all the coffee was brewing and Duo was settled in with a huge bowl of cereal, toast and some juice. "So, how's it been, he driving you nuts with the mothering?"
"Yeah, a bit, it's mostly just been yesterday and this morning. I was really out of it when he picked me up at the hospital on Monday and I slept the rest of the day. Tuesday and Wednesday he came round at lunch time, made me eat something, popped me my pills and then took off again for the afternoon."
"But he's off on Wednesday afternoons."
"Yeah, I know, apparently he switched off with one of the other guys so he could be off yesterday afternoon. I guess he figured that I wouldn't be taking as much of the pain meds by then and he didn't want to leave me alone by myself too much. He's wrapped and rewrapped me like twenty times in the last two days, he won't let me go up and down the stairs without hovering at my elbow, he even checked my pupil dilations Wednesday night." They both laughed. "By the way, he's been sleeping in your room cause he decided that I should have his room for the duration of my stay and once you got back he'd take the couch in the den. I told him I'd slept there a million times before but he absolutely refused to budge on the issue."
"Why am I not shocked?"
Trowa shook his head again and let out a bark of laughter. "He must have been up before dawn this morning because by the time I woke up he was taking your sheets out of the dryer, he was dressed and ready to go, he'd made breakfast, and had set up my rest area in the den."
Duo cocked his head and raised both eyebrows to indicate how impressed he was with Heero's domesticity. "Good thing we don't have a tub then, huh, or he would've run a bath for you, too?"
"Bite your tongue Maxwell." Trowa shot him a sideways glance as he rose from the table. "Coffee's ready, I'll get it."
Duo laughed so hard he almost choked on his cereal, "He actually tried to bathe you?"
"No, not exactly. He, uh, helped out with what I couldn't get to, he washed my hair and my back, you know." Burying his face in the fridge to hide a slight flush he asked, "Got any real cream?"
"Yeah, top shelf towards the back of the fridge. So… how'd he manage that, the shower stall is not exactly one of the largest spaces in this place. As a matter of fact we've talked about knocking out the hall closet to expand the bathroom. It's by far the worst feature in this house."
"Here", returning to the table he handed Duo his mug. "Well, he was actually very ingenious about it. You know that little step stool you have to reach the light bulb at the top of the stairs." His friend nodded. "He had me sit on that while he stood outside the stall. It worked out just fine and took care of the uh, height differential too."
While they had all grown since the wars, Trowa was still the tallest, now standing a good 6'1". Duo and Quatre were next in line having reached 5'9½" and 5'10", respectively – the half inch being a humorous bone of contention between the two. But, unfortunately for them, Heero and Wufei had both topped off somewhere around 5'6".
As their snickering died down, Duo got up to put his dishes in the sink and remembered he'd been meaning to ask Trowa something. "Did you guys get a chance to talk?" he asked looking over his shoulder.
"Some, but not about that."
"Cause you couldn't get the conversation around to it or he shut it down."
"He still doing that, shutting off that topic?"
"Most times, yeah, I try not to bring it up but… There are some things about her or that time period that he'll tolerate talking about, but mostly it's a no-go. You know him, 'Duo, drop it' and that's it. Sometimes if I try to bring it up again too soon he shuts himself in his room and won't even come out to eat til the next day. It worries me, I mean, I know he's talking to somebody about it, so that's a good sign, right? Moya set him up with somebody she knows at the University and he's been going once a week, but… he's gotta realize we all know her and we know she's a pain in the ass. It's not like we're gonna run to the media with any dirty secrets or that we're gonna take her side on whatever it was that happened. And why would he want to protect her anyway? I just wish he'd trust us."
"You mean you. You wish he'd trust YOU. What are you really worried about Duo, is it just that he won't talk to you for the night or is there something else?" Trowa looked up at his friend worriedly.
The braided man hung his head and let out a small huff of air. There was something else he was worried about, that's why he'd continued to insist to Heero that he get some counseling. "I'm… I'm afraid that he'll lock himself up in his room and shut down again." He turned to look at his green-eyed friend with something akin to fear in his eyes. "You didn't see him Tro. That day I found him. He looked so lost, so tired, so beaten down. And then, then… I've never been more scared in my life. He just… it was like he powered down abruptly. You know how when the power goes and you hear all the mechanical stuff whirring down til it stops. Just like that." He was gripping the edge of the counter so tightly his knuckles were turning white. "I can't let that happen again, Tro. I'm afraid… I… I have nightmares about it." He closed his eyes and hung his head, tears were threatening to fall.
In an instant his friend was at his side, embracing him with his one good arm. "I'm sorry Duo, sorry I wasn't there to help you. I shouldn't have let you go alone."
"No. No! He might've run if we'd both been there. He was spooked enough as it was when it was only me. I was so afraid that I'd get back with the Chinese food and he'd have cleared out. I hadn't realized at the time how easy that would've been for him to do. He had nothing in that apartment that he couldn't have just left behind." He gruffly rubbed his hand over his face and turned to look at his taller friend. "Do you know that the day I went to 'help him move' he hadn't packed a thing when I got there and in less than an hour we were downstairs at his jeep with all his worldly possessions packed in that nappy little duffle bag of his." He stopped and took a deep breath, "and anyway, doesn't Zechs want…"
"To hell with Zechs, he can wait!" The taller man abruptly pushed away from the counter and stood stiffly by the small table. "We've solved their problems enough times before. If he and Lady want to resolve this one more quickly they can find other means. We're not putting Heero's mental or emotional health at risk because they think Relena's unstable or something and want more ammunition to make her step down quietly." He stopped to calm himself, Relena was not their problem anymore. With Wufei's recent resignation from the Preventers the only one of them that ever had any contact with her anymore was Quatre, and he could take care of himself just fine, he'd proven that on more than one occasion already. "And anyway, Zechs promised that he wouldn't approach Heero directly, he knows from Relena's ex-secretary that things were not good between them, he knows she was harassing him and that's why he left. He doesn't blame Heero in the least. That's why he approached Wufei and not Heero directly."
"I know, it's just, if Heero doesn't…"
"Duo, give him time. He's only been here nine months, at least he's not walking around like the living dead anymore. He's put on some weight, he's going out some – he went out with you on Moya's birthday didn't he, and his sense of humor is coming back. Shit, just yesterday he made a crack about my tan lines while he was washing my hair, if it had been the old Heero he would have efficiently completed his task, catalogued the information and not even commented on my tan. Oh and you missed one better than that. We were watching this movie last night and he made a joke about how Wufei would go ballistic on this one female character, then he did a short - but quite convincing - imitation of one of Wufei's old justice rants."
"He imitated Wu?" Duo was staring at Trowa, mouth hanging open and brows pushed together with unabashed shock, as the other came back for his neglected coffee.
"'Imitated' is not quite strong enough, he was all but channeling Chang Wufei at the height of injustice."
That had been enough to break the somber mood and both men were laughing at the image of Heero imitating Wufei. Trowa patted Duo on the back and picked up his coffee. "Why don't you go catch some sleep for a while, I'll wake you when he gets home. I'm gonna go watch some TV and maybe check my emails. Gotta make sure I'm in the correct spot in case 'mom' decides to come home early. I don't wanna miss the fun this weekend cause I'm grounded, you know."
Duo laughed and followed his tall friend out of the kitchen, before heading upstairs he briefly popped his head in the den. "Actually I not tired, there were no late night incidents so I've been sleeping like a babe all week. I'm just gonna go grab a shower and I'll be back in a few, OK?" The other nodded and dismissed him with a wave. "You stay out of trouble now, young man, or I'll have to speak to your mother about it when he gets home."
Trowa just quirked a grin before responding "yes dad!" But Duo had already bolted up the stairs. Trowa found himself alone in the den reflecting on the previous conversation. Had it been anyone but them, the conversation could have been dismissed as a humorous reenactment of their youths.
But they had never had that. There'd been no one to tell them to behave when they'd been unruly teenagers. There'd never been a mom or dad to fear a lecture from, nor had there been anything close to the kind of 'grounding' they'd been referring to, much less had they had a home to be grounded to. He wondered, and not for the first time in what amounted to his adult life, how they'd all managed to turn out so relatively normal. Well. Most of them, but their lost sheep was finally back with the flock and he was on the road to normal once again.
He physically shook that line of thinking from his being, deciding to try and get a little work done before 'mom' got home. He picked up the phone and decided to check in at work.
"Good morning Weiss-Barton Investigations, Ralph Weiss speaking".
"And good morning to you too Mr. Weiss."
"Trowa! Hey, how's my favorite partner holding up?"
"Your ONLY partner has seen better days, my friend, but I've seen worse too. You miss me yet? Has anything exciting happened since I've been gone?" He put his feet up on the coffee table and leaned back against the couch.
Yes. All things considered, despite his current injuries, they'd definitely all seen worse days.
~~~
Heero arrived home well before noon to find Duo and Trowa playing video games in the den. They were both dressed and ready to make a final run for acquisitions for the weekend's festivities. Wufei and Quatre would be arriving at their home in just over three hours. It would be the first pilots reunion in more two years where they'd all be in attendance. When their schedules had finally lined up and it was possible for Quatre and Wufei to both come to the states, Duo has seized the opportunity to have everyone over.
They hadn't managed to all get together since recovering Heero and their need for the five of them to be together again had been growing. It'd be a tight fit for the weekend, but it would be fun. Duo's "house" was no more than a glorified townhouse, but unlike some of the houses across the street it stood independent of the neighboring buildings. It was a cute, 2 story walk-up in a quiet residential neighborhood. There were two nice-sized bedrooms and a full bathroom on the second story with access to a small attic crawl space; a kitchen/dining room, den/living room and half bath made up the first floor. The kitchen had a door that led out onto a deck just big enough for a few chairs and steps leading down to a small garden in the back. Heero had discovered he had a green-thumb and the garden had flourished since his arrival. They'd managed a small area for herbs and spices in the corner by the steps, a few flowering plants in another and a healthy dose of grass everywhere else. Tucked next to the deck were a barbeque and picnic table.
The plan for the weekend was simple. Quatre and Wufei would show up around three, they would hang out, barbeque for dinner that evening and hang out some more. The next day Duo and Quatre were scheduled to tour the LaGrange House in the morning, Quatre had expressed some interest in adding Duo's place of employment to the list of organizations his corporation made contributions to, it was questionable if the others would join them. Their original plan for Saturday had also included going to a nearby lake for some leisurely afternoon recreation – boating, fishing, swimming, things like that – but with Trowa's recent injuries that was now being reconsidered. The day was to end with a small private dinner at an authentic Japanese restaurant Heero had found. Sunday would find Quatre and Wufei on their way home, but not until late afternoon, so the plan had been to play it by ear and just spend some more time together.
The approaching three o'clock hour found Duo and Heero upstairs preparing for their guests and Trowa in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on their evening meal. Heero had been hard pressed to leave his tall friend alone to attend the kitchen but had capitulated when it was made clear to him that the other two were not going to allow him treat Trowa like an invalid. The green-eyed man, being the best cook of the three, had instructed the others on how and what to do to prepare the meats for cooking, and supervised their prep work on the side dishes. Once everything was either marinating in a bowl, simmering in a pot or mashed, diced and sautéed, he'd been left alone to season and stir.
The sleeping arrangements were resolved by picking up a camping cot that afternoon at a local sporting goods store. The plan was to put the cot in Heero's room where there was more space. While both bedrooms were equal in size, Heero's had more available floor space because he'd insisted on buying a full-sized bed – another futon actually – and Duo had opted for a queen sized bed when he first bought the place, only because a king would not have fit well. Duo and Heero were currently shifting the furniture in Heero's room to comfortably make way for the cot. The housemates would share Duo's room for the weekend, and the other three were to sort their sleeping arrangements on their own, though they figured Quatre would bunk with Trowa since they'd done so during the wars and Wufei would likely end up in the den.
The doorbell rang as the two men upstairs were finishing off so it was Trowa who made it to the door first. When Duo reached the bottom of the stairs he was surprised to see both his guests there.
"Heeey! Fancy both of you arriving at the same. Cool! Come on in guys, how you doing?" Duo grabbed at Wufei's hand with a vengeance and soundly clapped him on the back in greeting.
"Maxwell, nice to see you, too." He returned the greeting and moved out of the doorway, "where's Yuy?"
"Right here Wufei" Heero called out as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Good to see you."
They exchanged nods and handshakes, and Heero relieved Wufei of his bag, setting it down just inside the den while Quatre made his way through the greetings. He'd given Trowa a gentle hug, wary of his injuries and was currently returning Duo's bone crushing hug. They were laughing and slapping each other on the back when Heero returned from the den.
Quatre looked up to find Heero staring at him. "Heero!" he cried out, "Allah, it's been so long!" He immediately pulled the blue-eyed man into a bone crushing hug and was rewarded with a pat on the back, albeit a little stiffly.
Heero pulled back after a moment and smiled shakily, "yes, too long, it's good to see you again Quatre". He smiled at the blonde and motioned for his bag, once it was in his possession he nodded again rather stiffly and took the stairs to put it away.
The four remaining pilots stood sharing a moment of silent communication in Heero's absence, they were all very glad to be back together again.
Trowa was the first to break the silence, "Well, I've got to check on the food, or my two masters will beat me again for not earning my keep. Y'wanna help Wufei?"
"Certainly, lead the way. Anything for a fallen comrade. It is unjust of these two to expect so much out of you still. Do you think we will need to scrub toilets to pay for our room and board? I had hoped to avoid it this time." He was exaggeratedly shaking his head in mock disbelief.
Duo took the offered bait and continued the banter. "Well, somebody's got to do the dirty work. Had to get rid of the house staff, you know, not everyone can have Q-man's life." He threw an arm around blonde's shoulder and led him into the kitchen, calling over his shoulder, "c'mon Heero, Wuffers is gonna play chef for a while, it should be interesting!" He pulled open the fridge door and began pulling out drinks, "Iced tea for Quatre. Beer, Wuff?"
"- ei – Wu – fei! For god's sake Maxwell, learn how to speak. We've known each other for almost ten years now and you still can't say my name correctly?" He stood shoulder to shoulder with Trowa in front of the stove, assessing the cooking situation and assisting where he could.
"What about you Tro, can I getcha a beer."
"No, thanks Duo, a soda will do." He replied over his shoulder, nodding in thanks when it was handed to him. "Still taking those drugs and I shouldn't drink yet."
"Are you in pain?" Quatre asked, as if suddenly remembering Trowa's injuries. "How are you doing, it's been almost a week since your accident right? Should you be cooking Trowa, maybe one of us should really do that."
"No, I'm fine Quatre, really. And don't worry, mama-Yuy won't let me go overboard, as a matter of fact we practically had to threaten bodily harm so he'd let me do this even." He smirked and turned back to his pots.
Duo had finished handing out beverages to everyone assembled and realized that Heero hadn't returned yet. "Hey, Yuy, what's keeping ya'?"
No reply.
Duo tensed and glanced towards the stairs. Trowa picked up on it and turned to look at his friend, he nodded once to indicate himself and then towards the door, asking if he should go get the other.
Duo shook his head minutely, he glanced at the others and quirked a fake smile. "I'll go check on him, he's probably just looking for a place to put your stuff, huh?" He moved to the door.
"Is he…" Wufei let the question linger, unsure exactly of what he was asking.
Quatre looked around the room, concern clouding his face. "Maybe it's… too soon?"
"Naw, don't even think it" Duo tried to lighten the mood, "I'll be right back." He nodded at the others and dashed up the stairs.
When he arrived at the door of Heero's room he found his quiet friend facing the window. Stand stock still and taking even breaths. He entered the room cautiously. "Y'alright dude?" he asked quietly.
Heero let out one last long measured breath and replied without turning, "yes." He finally turned around after another minute and repeated himself more firmly. "Yes. Fine."
Duo relaxed the tension in his back and shoulders. He nodded, not exactly sure at what, but he felt the need to make an outward sign of acceptance or understanding.
Heero quirked him a lopsided grin, "Sorry, I know you worry. I just… needed a minute." He huffed out a breath before continuing. "The doc says that when I feel a little tense I should just take a step back and breath; remember who I am and what I want, I hadn't expected to react so strongly to seeing them again." He shook his head and let out a self-deprecating huff, "You'd think they were here to arrest me or something? Sorry. I just haven't had to handle so many people all at one time, you know, people that know me… it's been mostly you and sometimes Trowa lately and it was just a bit much for a minute. I'm alright, let's go down before I embarrass myself further." He made to go past Duo toward the door, but his friend's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
He just smiled, "It's OK man, and there's nothing to be embarrassed about. You needed a moment to yourself, we all do sometimes."
"But Duo, you don't…"
"No Heero. No." He lowered saddened eyes for a moment and tried to say what had been on his mind for a while. "You're right, Heero, I do worry about you. You're my best friend and I wasn't there for you when I should have been. That weighs heavy on me. On all of us. We know we failed you." Heero opened his mouth to retort, but a hand in his face stopped him. "Let me finish. I don't know exactly what happened and if you decide never to tell me I'll have to live with that. But I want you to know one thing for damned certain; I KNOW who you are." He stared hard at his friend to make sure that the other could see the seriousness of what he was saying. "You are my best friend. You are a good and decent man. You are kind and loyal and trustworthy and a whole slew of other good things. We've all done things we're not proud of, but we did what – at the time - we thought time we had to do. We've also ALL made mistakes. Give yourself a break, Heero, and stop thinking less of yourself because of it. We don't. There isn't a single person in this house that wouldn't, to this day, risk life or limb for you. Believe in us, Heero, please. We won't ever let you down like that again." He squeezed the shoulder he was holding onto in hopes that his message had gotten through clearly.
Heero took another deep breath and patted Duo's back in a friendly manner. "I know. In my head - I know you do. It just takes a moment sometimes for me to remember." He laughed, remembering something the other had said to him when he'd been confronted outside his old apartment. "So much for my steel trap, huh? Think I can get a refund?" He quirked a grin and it was rewarded in kind. "Let's go before they send out a search party." He tugged on Duo's shirt sleeve and they both headed to the kitchen and their waiting friends.
Owari