Chapter 3: I am here.
The next morning was presented to Duo with the smell of bacon, and the sound of fingers typing away on a laptop keyboard.
It took him a minute to think about where he was, just like yesterday morning, only this time, he was sure he wasn't where he was supposed to be. He distinctly remembered being in the bathroom last night, but not returning to bed.
He remembered waking up from a nightmare, and crying in the bathroom, and puking. And he remembered the haunting reflection in the mirror, watching him from behind. The soft smile on his dead friend's face. His eyes, and his hair. But that was impossible.
Duo wasn't one to believe in much, but he liked to think of himself as open minded, so anything was possible really. He believed that Solo had been watching out for him. No matter where life lead him, or what challenging endeavors fate brought for him, he was convinced that his old friend was always right there with him. But still, if Solo had really always been around, then why hadn't he shown himself before?
No. It was probably part of that nightmare. How else would he have ended up back in bed? He knew he didn't put himself there, and Heero most certainly wouldn't do it. So it must have been a dream.
And, somehow, that only made him feel worse.
The stinging of tears building up in his eyes was a reminder of the awful pit in his chest. He felt the insistent, aching need to cry, but knew, without opening his eyes, that Heero was in the room. He was not crying in front of the perfect soldier. Not now, not ever.
"Duo. Are you alright?"
Well fuck...
"Yeah man, I'm good..." Duo brushed off tiredly. He should have known that pretending to sleep wouldn't get him by for very long. Of course Heero noticed he was awake. He noticed everything. "Just trying to wake up... get my brain working right."
He sat up in his bed, and looked over toward the couch. Heero was turned around to look at him, and Duo casually rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes; wiping away the tears before the other could see. He played it off like he was groggily waking himself up by rubbing the sleep from his face. Then he smiled up at his stoic friend, and the other turned back to his laptop, and his breakfast of bacon and eggs.
"Think you can keep down some solid food today?" Heero questioned. Duo's smile broadened into a grin as he processed the question.
"Hell yeah, I can!" He exclaimed, throwing off his blankets and pouncing from his bed. "I'ma go make myself a royal feast! With pancakes, and eggs, and bacon, and sausage, and-"
"No you're not." Heero interrupted sternly. "You're going to sit back down, while I make the food."
"But, Heero, you don't understand! I'm going stir crazy in here!" Duo whined, throwing up his hands in exasperation.
"You've hardly been in here for a full twenty-four hours. I think you can survive another fifteen minutes, for food." Heero pointed out skeptically. He turned his head over towards Duo, and their gazes locked. Each searching closely for a waver in the other's stubborn demeanor. They stared each other down for a few minutes, each too prideful to back out.
"Ugh..." Duo huffed, walking back over to his bed, and climbing up onto the mattress again. He was much too exhausted, and that dream last night had done a number on him. He could feel his facade slipping, and the longer he tried to force it up with his care free grin and happy eyes, the quicker he could feel himself coming undone. He flopped down face first onto the bed, and lay there with a groan.
"Whatever, you win. I'm not losing anything from you cooking for me. Except maybe my life, if you decide I'm suddenly useless, and slip some poison into my breakfast... Promise me you won't do that. That would suck."
Heero saw the drastic switch in mood, and his mind instantly drew back to what happened last night. The sound of hiccuping cries, then the constant calling out for an unknown being in the dark. The memories were fresh, and swirled around in his skull like a tornado around his thoughts. He had to ask.
Duo could hear the click of a laptop being set down, and he assumed Heero had accepted the other's defeat, and was now heading down stairs to make his food. But, instead, he heard the sound of bare feet coming closer towards him, and felt the sinking of the mattress as another body of weight sat down on it.
"What ya want, bud?" Duo inquired, turning his head so his face wasn't buried in the blankets anymore. He looked up at Heero and noted the hint of wondering thought, and a contemplative curiosity sparking in his prussian blue eyes.
"What were you doing last night?"
At this Duo's heart paused momentarily. He could feel his muscles freeze up, and his blood run cold. He didn't want to think about it. About his horrible nightmare. "Sleeping. What do you think I was doing? I'm sick. I'm not gunna be sneakin' out to go party all night in the woods or anythin'."
"Duo, you passed out in the bathroom last night." Heero stated factually. Duo sat upright on the bed, looking at the other at eye level. "If something is bothering you, you should tell me."
Duo looked over at the bathroom door, not being able to take his eyes away from it in fear that the face of his friend would reappear, and he'd miss it. With a sigh, Duo reasoned with himself that it was probably a hallucination brought on by his illness. He smiled, looking at his lap, then let his eyes meet Heero's searching gaze.
"It was nothin'. My fever is just messin' with my head. Nothin' to worry about."
After the short explanation, Heero nodded acceptingly. Then he stood up, and left the room to go make his friend some breakfast, leaving his own, half eaten, on the coffee table in front of the couch.
Duo waited until Heero's footsteps were out of earshot, before standing from his bed, and gathering up some clothes for the day. As he scampered around the room, collecting his choice of clothing, he looked over at the half eaten breakfast, and, strangely enough, the cozy sofa pillows piled up at one end, and a blanket laying disheveled over the arm.
"Did he sleep in here?" Duo mumbled to himself, looking at all of the evidence left behind.
He had the strong urge to get into Heero's laptop, and see what it was the other was so utterly enthralled in. However, he decided against it as the drifting feeling of melancholy still weighed heavy on his chest. He just wasn't in the mood to get into too much mischief. Instead, he snatched a strip of bacon from Heero's plate, and stuck it in his mouth as he walked away from the couch.
He went into the bathroom and locked the door, before stripping himself of his clothes from yesterday. After unwrapping the bandages from around his middle, he turned on the shower head, and stood impatiently, outside the shower, as the water heated up. As he waited his eyes trailed the room until they rested on the spot where he had seen the apparition of his old friend standing.
The smallest of sad smiles tugged at his lips, and he drew his eyes away, stepping into the shower, and closing the glass door.
He just stood there for a while, feeling the water wash over him as he looked down and watched it pool at the shower floor, before it slipped down the drain.
Unbeknownst to his conscious mind, the tune he had been singing in his head turned to humming aloud. Then that turned to singing quietly. "Oooh death... Oh death...~" Once he realized he was voicing the lyrics, he figured no one was around to hear him, so why stop? "Oooh death... Won't you spare me over another year..?~"
His voice echoed off the walls, making the words sound more melodious, and surreal, as he hummed along to the rhythm between the lyrics. "Hmm hmm hmm... But what is this, that I can't see... with ice cold hands taking hold of me..?~ Hmm hmm hmm...~"
As he began to clean himself, he became lost in his own singing. He'd lost track of time, and, unknowingly, he finished singing the short song, and picked it up again from the beginning. He'd finished, and restarted the song multiple times before he deemed himself fit to turn off the water and step out of the shower.
.:(GW):.
Heero returned to the room a good twenty minutes later, plate full of five over easy eggs, and a few strips of bacon. Before opening the door he noted the sound of running water, so he guessed Duo had gotten into the shower. He shut the door behind him as he walked in, setting the plate down on the coffee table beside his own as he got closer to the couch.
Then he heard singing.
His attention snapped up to the bathroom door. From behind the wooden barrier, and over the sound of water raining down onto hard shower flooring, the well known voice of 02 rang out in a vibrant hum. "No wealth, no ruin, no silver, no gold... Nothing satisfies me, but your soul...~ Hmm hmm hmm..."
Heero sat down on the couch. A ding chimed from the speakers of his laptop, trying to alert him of a message, but he wasn't paying attention. Listening intently to the song Duo sang. "...Well, I am death. None can excel... I'll open the door to Heaven or Hell... Oooh death...~" There was a short pause where there were no words, but calm, soothing hums. Heero found himself leaning back into the couch, and relaxing a bit as the voice continued to seep under the door, and into his ears.
It was almost shocking to hear Duo's voice taking on such an uncharacteristic, serious tone. And what an exotic tone it was. It was foreign, and new, and, if he were to be quite honest with himself, it was something he wouldn't mind listening to again. "...Oooh death... My name is death, and the end is here...~"
Then the water was turned off, and the sound of wet feet padding against foggy tiled floor filled the bathroom, along with the quiet humming. Soft shuffling was heard, before the doorknob was jingled, and the door flew open. A, now clean, Duo Maxwell stepped out of the bathroom wearing only a pair of black briefs. A pair of blue jeans and a wad of gauze were tucked under one arm, while the other held a towel, that was being used to dry his hair.
As soon as the door was open, making Heero's quiet presence known to the other, Duo instantly stopped his humming. He walked over to the couch with a wide grin, hoping the water was loud enough to mask his singing voice, but knew that was only wishful thinking. Heero wasn't the kind of guy to laugh at him for anything like that, but it was still embarrassing, in an awkward sort of way.
"Oh, thank you, saint! Food!" Duo shouted, throwing his clothes and towel on the couch beside him. Hastily, he pulled on his jeans before digging in.
Heero stared at the other as he ate, watching as he shoveled the food into his mouth, like he hadn't had a decent meal in weeks. Which could have possibly been the case, if not for the chicken noodle soup last night.
He watched how the other's muscles moved, as he brought the food from the plate to his mouth. He watched the careful way Duo held himself, making sure he didn't bend over too far, or do anything at all to aggravate his injury. He watched as uncaught droplets of water slid down still damp copper hair, and clung to the tips before falling onto the couch below. Taking in the pleased smile on the other's face, and the grateful hum of delight, Heero let his curiosity, once more today, take voice.
"Who's Solo?"
At the unexpected question, Duo choked mid swallow, coughing and spluttering as he reeled back from his surprise.
Once his breath was evened out, and his food was swallowed down, he raised startled violet eyes to look at his friend in shock. "What..?"
"I asked you who Solo is." Heero stated, looking back into wide amethyst eyes with his ever blank, expressionless face. They were both quiet for a moment, simply staring each other down before Duo's eyes grew dark, narrowing down in suspicion.
"How the hell do you know about him?" Duo demanded, almost seething at the other in a defensive tone. "There are no records or files on him, in any known data base. I've checked! So how do you know about him?"
"I don't." Heero replied, trying to simmer the other down. It was like a switch had been flipped and the other had gone feral. "You were calling for him last night, in your sleep."
Another lapse of silence enveloped the room, as Duo slowly turned away, hanging his head to look down at his feet.
"Oh..."
"I apologize if I brought up an unpleasant matter. I only wanted to know who he was. If he's close to you, then he could jeopardize our missions." Heero reasoned, still looking at the American bread teen beside him. "Or he could end up getting killed. You should know better than to keep others close." That made Duo chuckle lightly.
Yeah, he knew better than anyone not to keep someone close to him. No matter who they were -how strong they are, or how bright and invincible they may seem to be- no one can stay close to death and expect to escape it for long. Father Maxwell. Sister Helen. All the sick children, from his orphan-street rat days.
Solo.
He should have known better.
"He uh..." Duo exhaled, sniffling and scratching the back of his head awkwardly. If Heero suspected his mission was at stake, then he wouldn't stop asking about it until he was sure it wasn't a threat. So it was either now, or later. "He... he was a friend. A good friend." He trailed off, thinking back on the days he'd spent at the other's side. "We used to be close."
Duo stood from the couch, and took his towel and gauze with him as he started walking back towards the bathroom. There was still food left on his plate, but his appetite had dissipated.
Heero let his eyes follow him until he stopped in the bathroom doorway, turning back around to let deep amethyst eyes lock onto cobalt blue. "Hey, Heero."
Heero gave a small noise of acknowledgment, and Duo continued. "Don't ask me about him again."
Then he disappeared into the spacious bathroom.
Being completely honest, Heero was a bit stunned. Never had he seen the other act so serious about something before. Whoever this guy was, he must have been important to the braided former pilot. He felt a slight pang of something tugging at his chest. It was probably guilt. He knew the feeling of guilt well. After killing innocence -that life changing little girl and her puppy- a few years back, it was hard to ignore the feeling that gnawed at his stomach like a feral beast.
He thought about how he would feel if someone had directly asked him about Odin. Something like that brought up the harsh times that just about anyone would rather leave in the past. And he had just unknowingly dredged up the murky wreckage of Duo's earlier years. He couldn't possibly empathize with the other's feelings, but he knew he had hurt him. That was enough to make him get up, and follow his friend into the bathroom.
Quietly, Heero walked up behind the other. Duo's fingers gripped at the flat surface of white granite that made up the sink counter. He didn't turn around to look at Heero, only stared down into the drain of the sink, like it had somehow harmed his emotions, instead of the stoic teen behind him.
"What do you want?" Duo asked, violet eyes never leaving the drain, or lowering in their volume of distress.
"To say I'm sorry."
Heero wasn't ever any good with personal talk. The concept of being considerate towards other people's feelings was lost to him. But, right now, he was under the impression that an apology was most likely in order.
"For what? You didn't do anything." Duo said with a dry chuckle. He tilted his head down a little more causing damp coppery brown strands of hair to fall over his shoulders and into his face. "You were just worried about the mission. Making sure I wasn't stupid enough to keep possible liabilities around. You can't be sorry for that."
Heero came to stand by Duo's side, and leaned down to bring himself to the level of Duo's slightly hunched over position. He pulled back the curtain of long brown hair from Duo's face, only taking in the other's morose expression for a small span of seconds. Unique American violets blinked up to glance at him in a cross between false irritation, and slight depression.
"I can be sorry for making you upset." Heero stated blankly, yet the undertone was laced with something akin to gentleness, and slight genuine regret.
Duo sighed and stood up straighter. He brushed his bangs back out of his face, and looked up at his friend again. Cobalt blue stayed locked on his every move, almost tentative in making sure he hadn't said something wrong again.
"Alright." The shorter teen slightly huffed. "I just... I'm serious. We don't talk about it. Ever."
Heero nodded in understanding.
"Good."
There was a string of moments where neither of them said anything, or moved. Then, having released a deep breath and regained his composure, Duo pulled up his hair in one hand, holding it up to keep it out of the way as he bandaged himself up. It was a hell of a lot more complicated to bandage his wounds with only one arm, but he sure wasn't about to ask Heero for help after practically biting his head off for nothing.
Except it wasn't nothing. It was personal, and it hurt, and Heero wasn't supposed to know about it. Nobody was. It was no one else's business what had happened in his past.
He wound his long damp hair around his arm and held it up above his head, then he flicked at the wad of bandages, making them unravel to the floor. He had been doing well on his own, like he had done the day before. The first end of it was held to his chest with his underarm, and he used the other to circle it around himself, wedging the cloth between his torso and underarm so it would stay in place.
He had been doing fine, until the third circle, when the other teen stepped up behind him.
Heero took the bandages from 02, wedging his hand between Duo's side and his arm to let the bandages fall lose.
"Dude, what the hell?" The agitated teen complained. Heero didn't pay his words any attention, only focusing on picking up the fallen end of the bandages and redoing them himself.
"You were wrapping them too tight. If you're not bandaging yourself properly you could end up with bruised ribs." Heero explained, picking up a stray strand of copper brown hair and lifting it up to Duo's hand. He tucked the wayward piece under one of the other's fingers. "Just hold still."
"I could do it fine on my own." Duo huffed, frustrated at seeming so helpless that his friend would force his assistance upon him.
Heero didn't respond. He only continued bandaging the slightly smaller teen, his arms winding around Duo's torso and back again to pass the gauze along.
Once the wound was properly bandaged up Duo dropped his hair, allowing it to fall to his shoulders and along his back. He bit his lip and raised a brow at his reflection, hand raised up to toy with a piece of hair by his ear. He tried to ignore how awkward it was having Heero still standing so close to him while he twisted the strand of hair around his finger a few times.
"Where did I put the brush?" He asked absentmindedly, more to himself then his friend who was still standing uncomfortably close behind him.
A second later Heero was out of the bathroom, and Duo couldn't decide weather he was grateful, or disappointed by the sudden lack of his friend's former closeness. He opened a drawer to see if he'd put the hairbrush back in it after using it last, but there was only a blank space, drawer left empty.
Duo pouted at his reflection briefly before his attention was drawn to Heero's voice, calling him back into the bedroom.
Peeking around the doorway, Duo could see that the other teen had found the previously lost brush, and was sitting on the couch, finishing his breakfast.
"Huh." Duo huffed, walking across the room and back over to the couch. "Where'd ya find it?"
"Dresser."
"Oh yeah." He mumbled, sitting down and picking up the brush from the coffee table.
He raised his arm to stretch over his head, brushing out the knots that had formed in his long brown hair. The stretching of is arms put strain on his injury, making him hiss quietly at the stinging. He kept on, however, not wanting his hair to dry all tangled up like it was.
When the almost completely inconspicuous winces, and slight noises of discomfort happened just a little too often, Heero became fed up quickly. He put his now cleaned plate down, and snatched the brush from the other's hands. Duo growled lightly at the action, turning to lay narrowed violet eyes on him.
"You need to stop doing that."
"If I'd asked for it, you would have said no."
"So what? You can't just go around taking things from people whenever you feel like it. I can do it myself!"
"You were struggling. Now turn around." Heero commanded, voice flat and expression hard, as usual.
Duo was about to argue. Instead, he decided it would be best to let the other do what he wanted. So with an irritated huff, Duo scooted around on the couch, faced his back towards Heero, and brought his legs up to cross on the plush cushions.
Heero grabbed a fist full of the chestnut locks and brought the brush through it, teeth untangling the pieces of hair as it went. Duo found himself hissing once or twice when a particular knot was being stubborn, or Heero decided to pull a little too hard. Each time the more stoic teen would pull his hands back quickly, only to return them seconds later to their work.
The brushing was careful, and also very soothing. It had gone on for a little over half an hour, and weather it be from the plentiful abundance of Duo's hair, or the fact that he was secretly enjoying this a little, Heero couldn't tell you. What he could tell you, though, was that the injured teen in front of him had evened out his breathing and was beginning to nod off to sleep.
Once he was fully asleep, head propped against the back of the couch, Heero found himself wondering how the other could be so careless. Simply falling asleep anywhere -around just anyone- could be fatal, and even though he'd known Duo for quite a while, he still couldn't think about letting his guard down around him like that.
Absentmindedly, he continued brushing the other's hair long after it was dry and knot free. He even ended up dividing it into three separate lengths, twisting them all together until they made up the familiar braid that Duo tended to sport. It didn't really occur to him that he didn't have to put the other's hair up for him, because he was almost lost in his own thoughts as he did it. It was like he was moving on autopilot, not fully realizing what he was doing as he was doing it.
After the braid was firmly held in place at the end, Heero got up from the couch and guided Duo's unconscious body to lie on it's side. He sat at Duo's feet and turned on the T.V., not knowing what else to do with his day.
.:(GW):.
It took a good solid two hours before Duo opened his eyes again. When he did, the first things that registered were the sound of voices from the T.V., and an odd kink in his neck from sleeping at an angle. Drowsily, he sat up, wiping his tired eyes and pulling his feet out from under Heero's leg, where they had dug underneath in search of warmth.
He grumbled loudly at the fact that he was awake, feeling like he should drop back down and close his eyes again, but also feeling like he needed to be up and alert.
Duo noticed his hair wasn't free and all over the place, like it was when he fell asleep, and he grabbed the base of his braid, pulling his hair over his shoulder. What he saw was a black strip of cloth -originally designated to holding the room's curtains back- wrapped tightly around the tail of his braid to tie it in place. He turned to the other teen in the room, who had yet to acknowledge his consciousness, with a sincere inquisitive stare.
"Did you braid my hair?" The younger asked, head tilted slightly in his confusion.
"That's a stupid question. You most certainly didn't do it." Heero stated, not taking his eyes from the T.V.
There was a high pitched trill crying from the surround sound speakers. It was quiet, the volume having been turned down so that Duo's sleep wouldn't be disturbed, but it was there. A shiver ran up Duo's spine at the sound and he turned to the screen to see, what he assumed to be, a woman. All of her flesh had been peeled away and she was left an angry red lump of frayed nerves. Her screams and shrieks were unsettling in the most, unfortunately, familiar way.
Heero Yui was watching Hellraiser.
"Ugh. This is a terrible movie." Duo griped, turning his wounded eyes from the overly gruesome scene.
"I agree. If this is some excuse of torture, it is poorly executed. Ripping a person's flesh away would undoubtedly send them into shock, and make the process quicker, and numb for the victim. They would be brain dead in minutes."
The female on the screen continued to scream, and it was starting to become a bit too much.
"Can you please change the channel? This is agony to my ears!" The younger whined, covering his ears with his hands as he threw himself back down into the couch.
Heero plucked the remote from the surface of the coffee table and punched in a few numbers. The movie went off, and was switched to something else. Duo recovered from his pathetic hiding, and looked over at Heero with a small smirk.
"Thank you."
"Shouldn't you be accustomed to the sounds of torture by now, Death?" Heero asked. Was that a hint of teasing in his voice?
"I'm the fucking Grim Reaper. Of course I'm used to the horrible cries of the dying, but Hellraiser is just too overblown. It's sickening." Duo reasoned, sitting up and crossing his arms over his chest. "A feeling you probably wouldn't know of, Mr. Perfect."
"Hn."
Duo looked over at the back of the couch to see the blankets there again, carelessly draped over the side. His train of thought from earlier came back to the front of his mind and he looked back at Hero with confused, narrowed brows.
"Did you sleep in here last night?"
"Yes."
"Why? Did you forget somethin' in here, and just decide not to go back to your own room or...?" Duo trailed off, not able to think of a reason for Heero to pass up his own bed in his own room, for a couch in Duo's. A comfy ass couch, he might add, but a couch all the same opposed to an even more comfortable bed.
"You were acting up last night. I stayed to be sure you didn't do it again."
"Oh." They were left in a shallow silence. It stretched on for a long moment until Duo's train of thought took another direction. "You said I was passed out in the bathroom earlier?"
"Hn." Heero hummed, not paying the other much attention anymore.
Duo asked slowly, looking down at his lap and twiddling his fingers like they were hypnotizing trinkets. "Did you happen to see anyone else in there with me?"
Then he'd realized what he'd asked, and he clamped his mouth shut, nails digging into his legs.
Heero's attention snapped back up fully towards the braided teen in what almost appeared to be alarm.
"Did someone infiltrate our housing and attack last night? If so, why didn't you notify me of this immediately?" Heero demanded, fixing Duo with a steady, impassive glare.
"No! No. No. No." Duo defended, throwing his hands up to show surrender, half expecting the sociopathic teen to attack. "Nothing like that. It's just..."
He trailed off, hands falling tentatively back to his sides as he looked back down at his lap.
What was he supposed to say? Heero, I'm pretty sure my long deceased best friend is here and was totally creeping on me in my bathroom last night.
Hah! Yeah, that'll definitely persuade him. No, Heero. Really. I'm not crazy. I saw him in my mirror.
"You know what, never mind. Nothing happened. I was just delirious from the fever." Duo waved off, twiddling his fingers again.
"You're sure our position isn't, in any way, compromised?" Heero asked, wanting to know without a shadow of a doubt that the two of them were safe.
"Positive." Duo smiled. But it didn't reach his eyes.
Heero didn't seem to care much, but in reality, he was just about to ask the other why he seemed so defeated. That's when the power gave out. The TV, the lamps, even Heero's laptop shut down. Everything went dark.
A sharp piercing ache struck Duo in the direct center of his head, making him whine in pain as he doubled over on himself, clutching at his head to try and protect himself from the hurt.
A shrill, screeching cry assaulted his ears, making him yelp in pain, and throw himself down to curl up on the cushions. The noise was bone chilling, and nerve wracking, like a vicious dog whistle stabbing into his eardrums like needles.
He covered his ears tightly, feeling like they'd burst and bleed if he were to let go. The sound went on and on for what seemed like a half hour, but was really no more than two minutes. He was almost wishing he'd go deaf soon from the assault to his eardrums, now feeling like his skull was a little too small from his pulsing headache.
He whined and groaned, cowering inward on himself even more to hide from the noise. His elbows and knees held him up shakily, face pressed into the couch with his back fully exposed, like a turtle's protective shell.
The noise only grew louder, and louder; the stinging burn in his head growing unbearable with intensity. He was sure his skull would split open if it continued any longer.
Just as he released another choked whimper, the noise grew so loud that he couldn't even hear it. It was like feeling something so cold that it burned like fire.
Everything was silent. Then a voice spoke up. It was a young voice, yet strong, and determined. It's tone was that of an offended boy who was arguing to defend himself from whatever offensive thing had irked him. Duo knew this voice all too well.
"I am here."
That was Solo's voice.
There was no mistaking it.
Then the noise came back, loud as ever in full force, but it died down after a few seconds. He was left in paralyzed shock. His senses were returning to him slowly, like he'd just passed out and was struggling to keep a foothold on reality. The first thing that registered to him was that the terrible noise was gone, but everything was left deathly quiet and still. He could hear Heero's voice calling to him, but it was bleary and mottled, like he were listening to him underwater.
The next thing that clicked to his attention was the other's hands on his shoulders, pulling him to sit upright again, and shaking him to draw him out of whatever trance like state he'd fallen into.
"Duo. What's wrong? Respond!" His voice was flat as ever, but insistent.
Duo's entire frame was shaking, rattled to the core by whatever had just happened inside his head.
And it had been just in his head. Otherwise Heero would have heard it too.
"N-nothing.." Duo said, slowly moving his hands away from his ears. "I just... I think..." He stammered over his words, the syllables not working well at getting passed his trembling lips.
His eyes flickered up to Heero's, but he would draw them away, having trouble finding something to train his attention on. But one thought remained persistent, and at the forefront of his aching mind.
He felt sick.
"I think I need to lay down." Then his stomach lurched.
Duo ripped free of Heero's arms, and threw himself from the couch to run to the bathroom before his guts spilled all over the floor.
Okay, so this took forever to write. It's not all that great, and every time I wrote something I'd get board of it and rewrite it again. This was a process. Good lord I need to go to bed.
