Sorry for taking so long to update... Let's just say that my life had been a little hectic this past month or so. My sister-in-law who WAS pregnant got sick and had to go into the hospital, which meant that I had to watch my nephew who is still in diapers. Then when she finally got out of the hospital… final exams were happening at my school and so I had to study my butt off. But of course on the day of my last final, she decided to tell me that she was in labor and needed me to drive her to the hospital. Which meant I got my nephew again until she delivered my other nephew. (Who by the way has a shock of blond hair and is the 2nd cutest thing in the world; since my first nephew is the 1st.) Oh and finally... my homophobic computer genius brother decided to move back in with us and so I've had to hide all my stories, files, and everything! So right now I'm typing this at work where I can save it on a thumb drive.
But anywho—I didn't give up... just been a little preoccupied… also... Is anyone interested in being a beta for me?
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Go to work.
Leave work.
Go to Quatre's.
Relieve Duo.
Watch over the blond.
Fall asleep in chair.
Woken up by Duo.
Repeat.
That was Heero's schedule for the past two weeks. Ever since he had found out about the blonde's disease and decided to help care for him, Heero had done little else. He didn't mind at all since for some reason he felt a very unorthodox need to be there for the blond and to offer comfort when needed. Of course after the first couple of days Quatre stopped complaining as much when he realized that there were going to be times that he needed someone here. But there were times when Quatre definitely didn't want anyone around. Right now being one of those times.
Hearing another retching noise, Heero grabbed the quivering shoulders of the person kneeling beside him. Currently the blonde ex-pilot had his face hovering over the white porcelain toilet, and coughing violently. Pale hands come up to grab each side of the bowl tightly. Feeling the blonde's shoulders shift slightly; Heero tightened his grip and started to help the blond stand. He was interrupted as a loud smack sounded through the expansive bathroom.
"I can do it myself!" was the angry whisper that came next.
Heero didn't have to look to know that Quatre had tears of anger and frustration flowing down his cheeks. He didn't have to look to know that the flush on the blonde's cheeks was from embarrassment more than anything. He didn't have to look because he has seen this scene plenty of times. He had it memorized because each time that it happened he felt the same pang in his chest. Heero let go of the small shoulders he was holding, but didn't back up. Today the blonde was having a violent reaction to the medications he was given and if this episode was going to be any indication of what was to come; Quatre was going to be embarrassed and frustrated from now till this was over. A choked sob cut through the silence and Heero allowed his gaze to follow the blonde's movement. Quatre had worked himself to an almost standing position and was reaching for the counter for better leverage. Heero didn't reach out to help. Quatre had made it clear with the smack to Heero's hand that he wasn't going to accept help this time. The blond was now standing, but still holding onto the counter for support. Heero took in the blonde's appearance while he waited. Vomit spotted with blood covered the pajama shirt the blond was wearing. The vomit came from Quatre not making it to the bathroom before passing out and the blood from hitting his head when he fell. Heero hadn't been in the room because of a phone call from Duo and came back inside the room to find a pale Quatre on the floor in a pool of throw up. He had been angry when his eyes fell upon the scene. He had cursed Duo for calling and Quatre for not calling. But he couldn't blame either of them. Duo had called to say that Wufei had wanted to come visit and see if he could be of any help. When questioned about how Wufei found out, Duo had laughed and stated that it was among friends. Quatre hadn't called because of his pride. And as much as Heero had cursed at such a little thing, Heero knew that if he was in Quatre's situation; he would have done the same. Hell, had done the same. How many times had he injured himself and instead of following what Sally had said, did what he wanted? No, Heero couldn't blame Quatre, but he could blame himself. He should have been in the room to help the blond.
Now seeing the blond weakly make his way towards the bathroom door, Heero stood to stop him. He reached out and placed a restraining hand on the blonde's thin arm. When Quatre stopped and turned to face him, Heero was tempted to soften his gaze. The tears were still running down those pale cheeks and the blue eyes were hardened to the point where they almost matched Heero's.
"You need to clean up."
Out of everything he wanted to say that was the only phrase he would allow. How would it look for the perfect soldier to start saying comforting things to his companion? People would believe he had gone soft and may try to come after him again. But yet, he still wanted to say something… anything to Quatre to make those tears go away. The pain in his chest seemed to grow when the hardened eyes turned away and the arm snatched from his grasp.
"Wufei's coming."
There was no answer. Silence followed and Heero was tempted to place a hand on the thin shoulder. He watched the blond until he noticed the slight swaying and the unmistakable signs of the blond blacking out. Jumping forward, Heero caught Quatre just as he fell backwards. Looking down to check the blonde's pupils, his eyes never made it to the blonde's face. His eyes stopped at the patch of skin that was showing from under his tank top and the blond hair that rested against it. The contrast between his skin and the light blond locks had Heero mesmerized. He didn't understand how such a little thing could look so… perfect. Shaking his head, Heero tried to clear his thoughts before they started traveling in forbidden territory. A slight moan helped in sending his thoughts elsewhere. Heero watched as a shaking hand covered the pale face below him and cerulean blue eyes peeked at him.
"I'm… sorry." Even though the words were familiar, they didn't sound right coming from the pink lips. Heero shook his head slightly and grunted softly. He continued to stare into those blue eyes until he saw a tan hand cup the side of the pale face. He froze and he barely noticed that Quatre did as well. His hand had betrayed him again and this time Quatre was able to notice. And now that he was staring into those cerulean eyes, Heero wasn't sure what he was supposed to do next. His dilemma was solved however when the slight blond let out a short giggle and tried to sit up. Heero removed his hand quickly and leaned back so that Quatre would have room to move.
"How romantic…" He heard Quatre whisper and Heero watched the blond look down at himself.
"… All while covered in throw-up" The soft chuckle that came allowed Heero to let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.
"You need to get cleaned up."
"Yes, I know. I just don't think I…" Quatre stopped and looked at Heero, shame evident on his pale face. Heero understood what the blond was asking and nodded in reply. Quatre wouldn't be able to stand for too long in a shower, which meant that he would have to take a bath. All Heero had to do was start the bath and get Quatre in the water and the blond would do the rest. He wouldn't even have to be in the bathroom once the blonde was settled, but the problem was trying not to feel awkward while getting Quatre ready. Getting up from his spot where he was kneeling next to Quatre, Heero made his way to the bathtub. Making sure the water was the right temperature; he looked around for any soap or washrag. There was some soap, but no rag; so Heero walked towards the cabinet under the sink.
"They wouldn't be there. Look in the cabinet above the toilet."
Following the blonde's advice, Heero found the rags and threw one to the side of the tub. Then he looked back towards the blonde on the floor. He watched as Quatre tried to maneuver the pajama shirt off without getting anymore bile on him. When the blond had somewhat successfully removed his shirt, Heero started counting the ribs that were showing. Quatre had always been skinny, but now he looked like a walking skeleton. Heero hadn't seen Quatre shirtless since the beach party the Preventors threw for him and Wufei when they got their promotions over 3 years ago. Since Quatre's illness, Duo had been the one to help the blonde in bathing or anything of that nature, so naturally Heero was shocked at the difference in the Quatre he remembered and the Quatre he saw now. So shocked that he couldn't stop the question from escaping his lips.
"How much have you lost?"
The muscles in the blonde's back tensed and relaxed slowly. Seeing the a pale hand lift and try to reach for the counter, Heero made his way back to the blonde's side. Helping Quatre off the ground was easy and it wasn't until the blond was standing that Heero got an answer to his question.
"Twenty-seven pounds"
The number wouldn't have been so staggering if Quatre had twenty pounds to loose in the first place. Giving a small grunt in disapproval Heero looked over at the tub. He had left the water running and it was at the right height. He glanced at Quatre and saw that the blonde was looking at him already. The Cerulean eyes seemed to be searching his looking for something and Heero suddenly found himself wishing he knew what that something was. Startled by his thoughts, he turned the blond around and started walking towards the tub. They stopped at the tub's side and Heero turned his gaze away when he noticed that Quatre was trying to pull down the pajama pants. Seeing the water starting to run higher than he wanted Heero reached over and turned it off, but as he did so he noticed that the weight on his right arm lessened considerably. Turning sharply, Heero caught Quatre before he fell head first into the water-filled tub.
"Quatre!"
He hadn't meant to say the blonde's name. It fell from his lips just as he caught the slight blonde. Feeling a slight jerk against his chest, Heero felt a hand rest on his shoulder.
"I'm sor..ry… I was…dizzy..all of a sudden."
Sighing inwardly, Heero straightened Quatre in his arms and looked down to see if he had made any progress with his pants. He had, but they were still bunched around the pale ankles. Heero placed his foot on the pants and started to pick Quatre up slowly. Figuring out what Heero was doing, Quatre helped by moving his feet out of the pant-legs. Once the pale feet were free, Heero kicked the clothing across the floor and looked at Quatre expectedly. Quatre nodded his thanks and placed a foot into the tub and then the other. Once both feet were submerged in the hot water, Heero helped the blond lower himself and made sure that he was comfortable. Making sure the blond was situated; Heero stood up and glanced at Quatre before looking away.
"Call when you're ready" and with that Heero walked out the bathroom and stood next to the partially closed door. Standing in silence as he heard the sound of splashing, Heero leveled his death glare at his hand. His entire body was betraying today. First his hand, then his mouth, and now the heat that was rising to his cheeks. He wasn't blushing but embarrassed. He had seem countless men naked, but seeing Quatre had caused him to feel... shy? childish? He didn't know. But whatever the emotion was, he wasn't fond of it. Scowling to himself and trying to will all images about a certain blond from his head, Heero's nose caught the scent of a pungent odor. He glanced down and caught sight of the darkened spot of the floor where Quatre had fallen earlier. Feeling that cleaning would serve as an excellent distraction, Heero set off to find the cleaning supplies.
It was about an hour later from when Duo had called that they had actually shown up. When Duo and Wufei had walked through the door, Duo made a disgusted face and started complaining about the room smelling like a hospital that was cleaned with ammonia. Wufei, on the other hand, walked to where Quatre and Heero were sitting and asked the famous question of 'How have you been, Winner?' Once the small talk was over, Duo had joined them. After demanding an explanation for the small cut to Quatre's forehead, Duo starting blaming Heero for the smell and accusing him of Quatre abuse. Even though it was rather strong, Quatre was glad for the smell. It at least covered up the fact that he had vomited on the floor because he couldn't even walk five feet to the bathroom without passing out. It was almost like the smell was covering up for his pride as well. He would definitely have to thank Heero for cleaning up even though he did go overboard in doing so. It was rather comforting though to see Duo pointing a finger at Heero accusingly and Heero leveling his glare at the braided brunette. It was so ordinary that it help lift Quatre's spirits slightly that his friends were still who they were even after helping him go through everything. He felt the weight of someone's stare and brought his eyes to meet the piercing ones of Wufei. How Wufei found out about his sickness was no surprise. Duo could never keep a secret. But for as to how much he knew, Quatre was unsure. Hopefully Duo hadn't told him everything.
"How long have you been ill?"
Smiling softly, Quatre silently thanked his braided friend for not spilling all of the beans.
"For about two weeks or so now."
He watched the onyx eyes narrow in concentration as Wufei took in this information. It seemed that Wufei was trying to decide the reason why he wasn't informed sooner. His concentration was broken however when Duo pushed past him.
"Hey Quat? I'm gonna open a window since Mr Perfect couldn't clean up prop..." Duo never finished. He was immediately grabbed by the collar and turned toward a very angry Wufei.
"Watch where you're going idiot." An apologetic grin appeared on his braided friend's face almost instantaneously.
Quatre couldn't help but giggle. This was what he remembered. Wufei and Duo arguing and fighting, while Heero stood in the background with his arms crossed glaring at the two to be quiet. All that was missing was Trowa reading a book and himself coming in with sandwiches. Even though his heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vice, Quatre was happy. Happy that nothing had changed and everything was as it was when the wars ended. He had been so afraid that none of the other pilots would talk to each other again, but thankfully that didn't happen. He wouldn't know what to do now if he was facing this whole mess by himself. If Heero and Duo weren't here he would not have survived a week. And it was because of them that almost everyone was with him now and they are who they are. He smiled brightly and started laughing softly. A soft breeze caught his attention and he glanced up to find Duo hanging out of the window precariously. Glancing at Wufei's face, Quatre could just about read the Asian man's thoughts of pushing the braided brunette out the window. Feeling Heero come up to stand beside him, Quatre looked up expectantly. He saw it then. The feelings that he was looking for when they were in the bathroom earlier, he now saw clearly in Heero's eyes. Maybe Heero didn't know what he was feeling and/or thinking, but Quatre could see it plainly in his eyes. It was that comforting… almost loving gaze that kept Quatre from giving up completely and kept the blond man sane. After a minute, Heero seemed to recover and his usual stoic mask fell into place.
"Its time for your IV."
Upon hearing the statement, Quatre felt a cold sweat form. He really didn't want to go through what he had went though earlier again. He glanced at Duo and Wufei seeing if they were planning on staying. His glance didn't go unnoticed and Wufei swiftly grabbed the tail end of his friend's braid.
"Ow! Watch the braid!"
Ignoring the brunette's cries of pain, Wufei stopped long enough next to Quatre and Heero to offer his help whenever they needed it and then proceeded to drag a ranting brunette out the door. When the door shut soundly, Quatre shifted his gaze back to the stoic man next to him.
"Heero. If I start…"
"I called Sally earlier. She sent some liquid for you to drink that will help with your reactions."
Sighing, Quatre muttered thanks and leaned back into the pillows supporting him. He watched absently as Heero readied the IV line and glanced to the door where Wufei and Duo just exited. They were all being supportive and offering their help wherever it was needed. Quatre wouldn't know what to do if he didn't have his friends to help him. He liked to think of himself as independent and self-supportive, but it was times like this when you find out what you truly are. Lifting his eyes to study the Heero's face, Quatre felt a calm wash over him. He settled back into his pillows farther until he was lying down and started to feel his eyes drift shut. Truly he wouldn't know what to do without Heero being here. As he drifted off to sleep his last thought was of the Prussian blues eyes that belonged to the man that he loved.