Author's note:

Hello all,

Chapter Eight makes an appearance. This chapter is dedicated to Yilun, who has been brilliant for my ego and I forgot to mention last time….I feel really bad about that by the way, and yes, Trowa has a 'Best Solid Rock to Lean On' award. As for Quatre…. shrug ever the tactician.

On another side note, Solitaire pointed out that I seem to have found the pilot's sweeter side….she's right. I got bored of reading fics where Heero was a human brick wall and all Wufei was capable of saying was 'injustice and 'kisama'. Had this been a real war, the pilots would hav gotten very close, and treated each other like family. Deep relationships are formed and though when in the company of others they might seem aloof to the point of rudeness, alone together, they would act as any other family would, no matter how dysfunctional. I realise this makes them seem OOC but it also makes them human. Duo's character has been muted also for this purpose. His outrageousness is only used in social situations, something akin to Hypomania with a social interaction disorder.

Thank you to all those who review/added me to their alerts. Sorry, there isn't enough room to mention anyone today. I will next time.

Anyway, before I get caught up, on with the story.

Acting On Instinct

By Hikishi

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, but I'm sure as hell going to use it!

Pairings: 1x5x1, 3x4, 1 2, 5 2, 1x5x2

Warnings: Angst, Violence, Implied NCS, Language, Shounen Ai, Abuse.

Genres: Romance, Action, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Angst


CHAPTER EIGHT

I couldn't tell you what happened for two weeks after that. I'd sunk far inside myself in shock. 'Fei says I scared myself badly enough to send me into a catatonic state during that time. Everything was on automatic. I swallowed when something was put in my mouth. I closed my eyes when I went to sleep. I wet their bed no less than three times, but I can't recall it. Every time I try to my mind goes blank.

My first clear memory is of what Heero now calls 'coming out'. I suddenly found myself staring into Wu's face as he rambled brightly about the weather that day as he spoon-fed me. When I reached shakily for the spoon he gave a yell, and toppled off the bed in fright.

"Holy shit!" he cried as Heero came sprinting in.

"What is it?!" he demanded urgently, taking in the scene, Wufei backed up against the wall in fright, the bowl of soup slowly soaking into the quilt and me, sitting there with the spoon clutched in my fingers, looking confused as hell.

"He's lucid!" Wufei exclaimed as he found his way to his feet. Heero stared hard at us each in turn.

"Are you sure?" he asked slowly, not sure whether to believe the claim. I turned my head to look between them, frowning. Heero caught the movement and a happy expression spread across his face. "Thank the kami!"

"What's going on?" I asked in a hoarse voice. "Where am I?"

"You're at our house." Heero said, somewhat gently as he took the spoon from me and rested it on the bedside cupboard. "You've been really sick."

"Yeah." Wufei got onto the bed and enveloped me in a hug. "But you're okay now. You're getting better." He dropped a kiss on to my hair and pulled away a bit to look at me. "Heero and I have been watching over you."

"Don't remember anything…"

"And you probably never will." Heero finished off for me calmly squeezing my hand. "You've had a big shock."

"How long…" I worked up the courage to ask. "How long have I been here?"

"Two weeks."

"…Unconscious?"

"No."

"And you've been here the whole time?"

"Yes."

"I think I'm going to be sick!" I clapped a hand over my mouth and tried to get out of bed.

Wufei caught me as my legs folded beneath me and whisked me into the bathroom where I threw up everything I'd eaten, and then some. He crouched beside me and held my hair out of the way as I heaved. When I was done he sat me on the closed lid and fetched a glass of water to wash away the taste. I swallowed it gratefully, holding the glass with both hands as I shook uncontrollably.

Wufei said nothing, content to lean against the sink and watch me. I offered him the now empty glass and he took it away, giving me a few minutes to gather my wits. Heero popped his head around the bathroom door to have a look at me.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so."

"Want to come downstairs?"

I nodded and let him pick me up to take me downstairs where he sat me carefully on the couch. I'd lost more weight since waking up in hospital, and looked thin and waiflike. He got up and looked through his movie collection before settling on one and popping it into the reader.

"Heero, what…"

"Shh." He raised a finger to his lips. "You need to calm down and stop thinking for a bit."

He was right, I came to the conclusion as he settled beside me and looped an arm around me to pull me onto his shoulder. It felt weird sitting like that, and Wufei did not help matters when he sat down and pulled my legs into his lap. After while I got used to it though and let my worries drain away for a while.

The film was some old Japanese cartoon about a girl and her talking cat that was actually a magical demon sent to tell her that she was a princess from another dimension. I lay there and watched in silence until near the end of the movie the phone rang and Wufei got up to answer it.

"Wei?" he always answered the phone in Chinese, just like I answered in slang and Heero in Japanese. It's just something we'd always done. "Trowa, hi. He's back with us. Just came out of it a couple of hours ago. Mm hm. Disoriented, couldn't think straight. Do you want to talk to him?"

Heero turned the volume down on the TV. As Wufei leaned over the back of the couch to hand me the phone.

"Hello?" I said tentatively. I relaxed when I heard Trowa's voice.

"Hey Duo. Are feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I think. I'm a bit…I don't know" He chuckled quietly down the line at my hesitant explanation.

"You're going to be fine." He reassured me. "Don't panic. Just take things slow okay? If you can't do something then it's not the end of the world."

"Okay."

"I've got to go now, Quatre wants a quick word. Remember what I said."

"Yes Tro." The phone was passed over. "Hello?"

"Oh Duo, thank Allah you're okay! Are you being looked after?"

"Yes. I'm…" He had to stop speaking as Quatre began to sob loudly down the phone. After a minute Trowa came back on the line.

"I'm sorry Duo. He's just very relieved to hear your voice. We've been visiting you every day and it really upset him to see you like that…" I pushed the phone away and buried my face in Heero's shoulder, unable to deal with my latest escapade just yet.

"Trowa, it's Wufei again. No, he's just tired. I think Quatre was just a bit too much for him. Yeah. Okay. Friday? See you then." I watched him hang up and come to sit back down before speaking.

"Are they okay?"

"Just tired and emotional, like the rest of us." A timer beeped somewhere and Heero immediately got to his feet. He held his hands out to me and I spread my arms for him to lift me almost unconsciously. When he held me in his arms it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

"Time for you to go."

"Go where?" I asked as he moved for the stairs.

"You need to pee."

"I do?"

"Trust me on this." He said as we climbed the stairs. Once on the toilet I shooed him off into the hall and sat there, feeling more than a little stupid. I waited for a minute, before calling out to him.

"This is silly Heero, I don't need to-" I stopped in disbelief as I suddenly heard a whizzing sound. "You have got to be kidding." I muttered under my breath.

As soon as I was finished he took me back down to the lounge. We stayed down there until Heero fell asleep. Wufei shook him awake and chivvied him off to bed, with us only seconds behind. The uncomfortable feeling came back as I was laid down between them. "I shouldn't sleep in the middle." I mumbled with embarrassment as they both embraced me.

"Why not?" Heero demanded around a yawn. "I like you where you are." Wufei placed a sweet kiss on my lips and I stared at him in shock.

"Don't even think of moving." he growled tiredly as he pulled the tie out of his hair. "You're exactly where I want you to be."

Had they gone mad?

"Just before you shoved me out of danger you told me you loved us both. I think you lost that part of your memory. Well I remember it very clearly, and I heard how you gave up your heart so we could be together. So now we want you. With us. I love you Duo."

"We love you." Heero corrected, stealing my breath with a kiss of his own. "Now go to sleep."


Footnote: there will be more to this story, It is by far not over yet.

End Chapter Eight