They found Trowa's body in the back loading area of the building, lying on his side on top of the filthy cement. A pool of blood spread out under him and he looked like a broken doll. Noin rushed up to the body and knelt down to inspect the damage, but wouldn't touch him until the medic got there.
"Did you find him? Is he dead?" Quatre asked through the earpiece.
"No, he has a pulse. He's losing a lot of blood," Noin sad hurriedly. She could hear the helicopter they had on standby chopping the air as it approached. Sally, a doctor herself, rushed over and grabbed Trowa's head and gently held it firm. She directed Noin to assist her in straightening his body and gently rolling Trowa's shattered form onto its back in preparation for the medevac team.
Sally knew what she was looking at, and it was bad, but she didn't want to get everyone worked up. She didn't have answers. She could tell he sustained broken bones from the fall and she spotted his stab wound immediately. She yanked her own jacket off, pulled her black undershirt off and folded it square, pressing it firmly against his wound to slow the bleeding.
"Trowa?" Noin asked hesitantly as she peered into his face. The helicopter landed in a nearby field and the team were running across the grass with a flatbed clutched between them ready to airlift.
Duo tumbled down the stairs and frantically dug around under his now unstrapped Kevlar vest to try to get his phone out. He managed to yank it free and dialed Heero with a trembling finger as he exited the building. He saw Trowa's prone form lying on the cement, surrounded by a crimson blossom of blood and the entire team hovered hopefully over him, attempting to help.
"Come on, Heero. Answer the damn phone..." Duo hissed as he listened to the call ring five times before going to his partner's voicemail.
Quatre paced the control room, pushing Wufei's hand off his shoulder as the other tried to console him. This was bad. Something was seriously wrong with Trowa. The empathic connection they shared was closed and he wasn't reading anything off his ex boyfriend. Noin said he had a pulse, but to Quatre it felt like Trowa was dead. "Where are you taking him?" His voice sounded more frantic than he would have liked.
"Antigua Regional," Noin finally replied. The sound of the helicopter lifting off filled the connection. "Quatre... he doesn't look good."
"I'm on my way." Quatre took the earpiece out and turned to Wufei. "I'm going to the hospital." He grabbed his Preventer jacket off the back of his chair and rushed out of the room and down the hall, the Chinese man chasing after him. "I'll drive you." He wasn't letting his distraught friend do this alone.
They climbed into one of the rental vehicles and Wufei punched the hospital name into the GPS on the dash. He put the car in reverse and pulled out of the parking space then sped off into the city streets.
The drive was quiet. Quatre refused to talk and Wufei didn't press him. The blond leaned his head against the cool glass of the car window and closed his eyes, trying once again to reach out and connect with Trowa.
Nothing. No sense of feelings. It was like the time he'd blown 03 out of his mobile suit and into outer space.
What was he going to do if Trowa didn't pull through? What would they say to Heero? There was a time once when Quatre had to imagine life without the handsome auburn haired man in it, and now he was reliving that horrible feeling again. Gentle, sweet, talented Trowa. He still had so much life to live… Tears formed at the corner of his eyes and Quatre brought his sleeve up to wipe at them before Wufei noticed.
Heero jumped the security fence that surrounded the spaceport easily. He stalked across the grass and tarmac, feeling completely numb. He didn't think he would have to do this, but he had this planned out ever since Trowa had left. If he had to get to Manila quickly he had a way of doing it. Preventer had a small hangar at the Copenhagen spaceport/airport with a few shuttles and small prop planes they often used for surveillance and recon. He approached the door and saw the civilian guard sleeping in his guard station. A radio broadcast of a baseball game drowned out the man's snores. Heero frowned. He made a mental note to write this man up at a later date, but now he would use his negligence to his advantage. He slipped undetected into the hangar, grabbed a flight suit out of a gear locker and pulled it on over his casual grey track pants and t-shirt. He hadn't even bothered getting properly dressed before he left the house.
He didn't feel anything. He knew he should be upset, or beside himself with worry, but there was no time for that. Not now. He couldn't waste his energy on fretting for his lover, not until he knew for sure what the situation was. He zipped the front of his flight suit all the way up and tugged at the neck before he crossed the hangar to one of the trans-atmospheric space shuttles. The small orbitals were often used for business runs to the Lunar Base operations center. He knew that the fastest way to get to the other side of the planet was to leave it's surface and gravity entirely. He would launch into space, use the orbital pull to sling him to the Pacific Ocean and then drop to the planet once again.
Heero knew he would have no problem getting clearance from the runway, he knew all of the protocols. Technically he was a Preventer still, even if he was on administrative leave. He wasn't breaking any laws, merely disobeying orders. He climbed inside the shuttle, slid into the flight deck and began strapping himself down with the five-point restraints. He felt empty and hollow, the same way he had felt so many years before on his descent to the planet for the first time.
He snapped the controls that opened the massive double hangar doors. Lights beside the doors began to flash as the huge doors slide aside to make way for the shuttle's exit. He saw the guard from the outpost running out onto the tarmac with his arms waving wildly in protest. He sighed, narrowed his eyes and punched in his clearance codes for launch.
Quatre and Wufei got to the hospital an hour after the medevac had delivered Trowa. Traffic had been horrible, and the blond man was on edge with anxiety. Experiencing Wufei's traffic induced road rage on the way over might have heightened that.
They rushed to the emergency wing and looked around for any familiar faces. Sally flagged them down from the waiting area. She stood up and rushed over to greet them. She set a hand encouragingly on Wufei's arm and smiled hopefully at Quatre. "There you are. We were getting worried about you."
Duo was pacing up and down the hallway glaring down at his now dying phone. He couldn't believe Heero wasn't answering his damn phone. After blowing him up for hours during the mission NOW he decided to take a nap or something? He snarled as his phone died in his hand and threw it angrily against the floor. It shattered and skipped across the hall and vanished under the desk at the nurse's station.
They had been there for what felt like forever and nobody had told him anything. He knew that once Heero found out what happened he was going to show up there. He shuddered at the thought. What if Trowa fucking dies? What the hell am I going to say to him? He hadn't seen his partner get this attached to anyone ever since Relena, and they all saw what happened the last time SHE was in trouble. The psycho motherfucker blew himself and everyone else up boring a hole in Mariemaia's bunker. "Shit... shit shit shit!" Duo growled under his breath as he stalked the hall beside the waiting area.
Heero looked out the Preventer shuttle's front viewport and took in the sight of the Planet swirling and drifting in the eerie silence of space below him. He glanced at his projected trajectory. The path was glowing and blinking red. There was a high pressure area and storm over the Philippines which made his window for descent dangerous. Normally he would wait it out but he didn't have the time. Open window or not, he was dropping this thing. He gripped the shuttle's yoke and began to tip it's nose down into the atmosphere, despite the control panel's alarms that blared at him in protest.
"Any news?" Quatre asked, having no patience for casual conversation. "Sally, please, tell me what's going on. He fell out the window, didn't he?" Quatre had heard the sound of glass breaking, and the whoosh of air through his earpiece earlier. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw a familiar braided man throw his phone at the ground. "Has no one contacted Heero? Is Trowa still alive?" The questions wouldn't stop flying from his lips.
Wufei left Quatre alone to interrogate Sally. The blond man was capable of taking care of himself. He walked down the hallway to where Duo stood. "Heero is going to kill me." His tone was serious as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Eh? Why is he gonna kill you? Shit, if Trowa dies, he may kill everyone..." Duo grumbled irritably. He knew he was being a little overdramatic, but he was stressed out. They had completed their mission, and the rest of the team had hung back to secure the area for the pick-up team to come in and start clearing the weapons and mobile armor and evidence. However, all of that progress was overshadowed by the fact that their friend could be dying in the next room. Duo would have traded every gun in the world to the bad guys if it meant keeping Trowa alive.
Wufei sighed and shook his head before he crossed his arms and stared at his feet. "Yuy tried to stop Bloom from going on this mission. The airport, the day he left, Heero was acting ... well... insane. I thought he was just acting like some lovesick schoolgirl. He didn't have a good reason why he was holding him back."
Duo blinked and sighed. "Oh great. Yep. Yeah. We're all dead."
One of the surgeons stepped out of the surgery unit and scanned the room. He spotted Sally and approached before she could answer Quatre's questions.
"Miss Po," the fair-haired, older man said softly. His demeanor was serious. He cast a curious look at Quatre. Sally nodded and placed a hand gently on the blond agent's shoulder to signal to the surgeon that Quatre was with her. The man nodded. "Your agent is in critical condition. We are in the process of putting a few pins in his left elbow, which sustained a severe compound comminuted fracture. He sustained an impact fracture to his right humerus. He has a dislocated arm, fractures in various places on his spine and his left scapula. He also has some severe bleeding in his brain and so to alleviate the pressure we are placing a stent to drain the bleeding and access fluid..." he looked down at Quatre and sighed. "He also received a stab wound to the stomach, which pierced his intestines. We are removing the damaged length of small intestine as well."
Sally nodded. She knew Trowa was lucky to be alive.
The surgeon forced a smile. "It will be another hour before he is out of surgery, and then we will move him to the critical care unit. I'll have my nurse come get you when it is over," he bowed his head and vanished back through the surgery door. Sally glanced over at Quatre and raised an eyebrow. She didn't know what else to say.
All of the medical terms the doctor was spewing went right over the young blond's head. He was just relieved to hear that Trowa was alive and on the mend. "Thank you."
The front viewport of the Preventer shuttle glowed red the atmosphere ripped at the orbital's tile surface. The entire shuttle shook violently and every screen on the control panel blinked with warning messages as Heero descended through the stratosphere and entered the mesosphere. He gripped the yoke tightly with his gloved hands, closed his eyes and hung his head. If he was going to die, he was going to leave this world trying to reach the person who made his.
It was an hour and a half before the surgery was done and anyone was allowed to go back and see the patient. Quatre was selected to go first. Apparently Trowa still had him listed as his 'in case of emergency' contact.
He followed a nurse out of the waiting room and into critical care. Quatre's tired eyes barely focused as he followed, the overly bright lights and sterile atmosphere of the hospital blurred while he walked by. The overpowering smell that came with hospitals stung his nostrils. It smelt like cleaning supplies and medicine.
They walked up to room number 103 and the nurse carefully opened the door for Quatre. He slipped in and stood there for a moment, looking over at the fragile figure lying in the hospital bed. "Trowa…" The door closed behind him and the nurse left him in privacy.
The blond quickly walked to the side of the bed to survey the scene. His ex's left hand was lying on top of the bed sheets, palm facing up. Quatre reached out and trailed his fingers along that familiar hand, ever so gently. "Trowa." He said again, voice breaking. It killed him to see the man he still loved like this.
To say that the shuttle crash was spectacular was an understatement. It was fucking spectacular. The shuttle slammed hard onto the runway on it's singed belly, tipped and to the right, caught its wing in the dirt, lurched around into a semi-circle and ground to a stop with it's nose deep in the ground. Heero had just climbed out of the smoking rubble when the Manila airport authority security forces descended upon him with rifles drawn and helicopter spotlight illuminating him from overhead. He raised his gloved hands casually to his helmet, slid it from his head and dropped it to the grass before he held his hands up in surrender.
Wufei gawked as he held his phone against his head. "He what?!" His face began to turn bright red and his sleek eyebrows tilted down with anger. A vein in his forehead was definitely throbbing. Duo blinked at him from across the waiting area, his violet eyes wide in surprise. Wufei jumped up from his seat and began pacing the room while he listened to someone on the other end of his call. "Yes. YES. Yes, he is an agent. NO. I didn't give him clearance to ... no. Yes, we will handle the damages. I apologize."
Duo stood up and hovered behind Wufei hopefully as he finished his call and shoved his phone angrily into his pocket. "Damn him!"
Three hours later and Quatre was sound asleep in the chair next to the hospital bed. The wounded agent's fingers started to twitch as he slowly regained consciousness. He rubbed them against something warm… someone's hand? Someone was holding his hand. Trowa opened his eyes halfway and saw a white ceiling above him, dim lights casting shadows across it.
Where was he? He turned his head slightly to the left and saw with his blurry vision what looked like a blond angel asleep in a chair next to him. Was he in heaven? Oh shit, did that mean god was real?
"Heero. You're aggro as fuck, you know that, right?" Duo said with amusement as he stepped lightly through the hospital entry doors and into the first floor lobby with his friend in tow. The scattered patrons in the waiting area all stared wide-eyed and shocked as Heero followed close behind Duo, flanked by two armed Manila PD officers. Duo grinned at their reaction. They should be fucking scared, this wack-o just stole a space shuttle and crash-landed at the airport.
He was honestly surprised that they let him out at all. Wufei had managed to convince them that Heero was HIS problem, so the local PD were delivering him to Wufei personally. Duo had gone to basically escort the process. When he had arrived at the jail Heero was sleeping. SLEEPING! He was wearing a white t-shirt and pajamas and they had given him a pair of black flops instead of the flight boots he had been wearing when they had first arrested him.
Duo knew Heero was fucked. The dark, glowering look on Wufei's face as they approached only verified that suspicion. The Chinese man stalked across the waiting room at him, came within a centimeter of his face and growled. "Are you out of your fucking mind, Yuy?"
Heero's eyes narrowed but he didn't say anything. Duo stepped back and watched as Wufei exchanged a few words with the police, who handed him some paperwork, exchanged some words and started taking off Heero's handcuffs.
"No. Leave those on," Wufei said coldly. He glared at Heero, who surprisingly didn't return the look. The police, confused, simply nodded and left. Duo kept out of the way, he didn't want to be in the line of fire between those two. He watched as Heero shifted his weight, rested his cuffed hands against his own stomach and sighed.
"Where is he?"
"Recovering."
Heero's eyes narrowed slightly. "Let me see him."
Wufei's jaw tightened. "You steal a shuttle, CRASH land it here, and have to be brought in here like a wild dog. Who the hell do you think you are to be making requests of me?"
Heero frowned, his face placid. "I love him, Wufei. I did what I had to do."
Duo's eyes widened and his jaw slackened at his partner's statement. What the...
Wufei's eyebrow twitched. They stared at each other for a solid minute before the Chinese man threw his hands up in frustration. "Fine! But the cuffs stay on."
Heero nodded, cast a sideways glance at Duo and followed Wufei to the critical care unit.
Quatre jolted out of his sleep at the sound of a loud voice coming down the hospital hallway. It sounded like Duo. He rubbed his eyes and looked down at Trowa, and jumped yet again. His ex was awake and looking up at him with a confused expression on his face, his green eyes questioning. "Trowa? You're awake!"
The auburn haired man had been staring up at the sleeping blond for the last 30 minutes. The angel was talking to him now. This was weird.
"Huh? One at a time?" Duo blurted as he stared at the nurse, who was bodily blocking their path. The woman, an older African-American lady in bright pink and purple floral scrubs, was taking no shit from anyone. Least of all Duo. Heero stepped back as she gave him a once-over.
"What's with the cuffs? This guy a criminal? No way. He's not going in to see my patient. Mister Bloom doesn't need any more stress right now," the nurse insisted sternly. She put her hands on her hips and seemed to grow five times larger as she filled the doorway and refused to let them pass. Heero frowned and looked down at his handcuffs. He knew he must have looked insane with his hair a mess, wearing night clothes and plastic disposable sandals, handcuffed and escorted by people dressed like law enforcement. He watched Wufei bristle with annoyance and Duo just stare on incredulously before he slipped between them and the nurse and held his hands away from himself, palms turned upward.
"I appreciate you taking such good care of him. You're right. He doesn't need this stress. Please..." he was speaking in earnest, his voice calm and expression sincere. "Forgive my friends. They're just looking out for me. For us. I haven't seen my lover in over a month. I stole a space shuttle, crashed it into the airport and was dropped off here by the police. I thought... nothing could stop me from getting to him. Yet, here you are." He dropped his arms limply in front of him and hung his head, his eyes cast down to the floor. "I know this looks bad, and I know your job is to make sure he gets the best care and recovers well. You're doing your job to the best of your ability. Thank you. Just knowing that makes me feel better."
He turned to leave back the way they had come. Duo's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and Wufei just stood beside him gawking at Heero's retreating back. The nurse watched him go, her expression conflicted.
"Honey? Honey, wait. Come here. Lord, have mercy," the woman said in exasperation. She hurried over and grabbed Heero's shoulder and turned him around. "I didn't know about you, I thought that pretty blond boy was his significant other. Unless of course you're both..." She made a face, though it didn't appear judgmental.
Heero sighed. "It's complicated," he breathed. The woman shrugged.
"Well, apparently. Listen, it is against the rules... but... I like your face. You better promise not to get him all riled up, you hear me?" She said in a threatening tone. Heero stared her in the eyes and slowly nodded an affirmative. The nurse appeared satisfied with his answer and stepped aside to let him in. He cast a quick glance at thoroughly stunned Wufei and his grinning American partner before ducking into room 103.
Heero slipped into the room and immediately spotted Quatre seated on the right side of Trowa's hospital bed. He had his hand resting on his lover's upturned palm and appeared to have been facing away from the door before he had entered. The blond turned around in surprise as he came through the threshold and immediately cast a questioning look at him once he spotted the handcuffs. Heero frowned. The emptiness he had felt up until now began to fill with anxiety and pain at the sight of Trowa laid out in traction, covered in tubes and wires looking particularly confused, weak and feeble on the hospital bed. He didn't know what happened. He hadn't asked anyone. It didn't honestly matter now. What mattered most was that Trowa was alive, and relatively okay.
He crossed the room without addressing Quatre and approached the opposite side of the bed. He saw Trowa's eyes following him, his gaze reflecting lack of recognition. Heero glanced up at the I.V. pole above his bed and saw that he was receiving a steady morphine supply through it. He sighed and carefully stepped over the cords and bundles of tubes that littered the left side of the bed. Trowa's right arm was suspended up in traction, bent at the elbow with his fingers flat and pointed to the ceiling. There wasn't a lot of room for Heero to maneuver, but he didn't have the heart to force Quatre to move for his sake. He dropped the lower side rail of the bed and leaned on the edge just beside the traction and locked gazes with Trowa's tired, bleary-looking green eyes.
"You hadn't come back to me like you promised," Heero said slowly, his voice even despite the rush of emotion he was feeling. "So I came to you."
Quatre sat back in the chair, sensing that he should leave to give Heero some private time with his boyfriend. But it was so hard to let go of Trowa's hand, and his ex's cold fingers were currently entwined with his own warm ones. He remained seated for the time being, averting Heero's gaze. Had anyone told the other what had happened? And how the hell had Heero gotten there so fast?
Trowa's attention was affixed on the handsome brunette peering around his suspended arm. He watched the other's lips move, but was having trouble comprehending what was being said. The morphine was dulling his senses and making him sleepy, and he still had no idea what was going on or what had happened. Trowa closed his eyes momentarily, trying his hardest to recall. He remembered the sensation of falling, the cool breeze of air rushing along his skin as gravity pulled him down at an accelerated rate. So he was in the hospital after sustaining injuries from a fall. But what came before that? His mind was too hazy right now to remember.
Heero had a feeling that Trowa was still in shock. He had been the same after his near-death experience with Wing, when Trowa and Catherine had taken care of him. He hadn't had the morphine, but he had suffered a pretty bad concussion that forced his brain to say some pretty ridiculous things. (Dying hurts like hell... ) The open, confused expressions on Trowa's face were enough to signal him that he wasn't ready to talk, which was fine by him. The nurse's statement about not overwhelming and stressing him echoed in his head. As Trowa closed his eyes and appeared to struggle with his own thoughts Heero stood, turned to face him, propped a knee onto the mattress and leaned over to press his palms against the mattress over the other man's head, being careful not to apply any of his weight against him or to jostle any of his various medical attachments. He kissed him softly on the corner of his mouth while his eyes were still closed.
It was all he could think to do. He had come all this way, and if words weren't going to get his message across then he hoped his actions would.
Trowa noticed the beds weight shift, felt someone hover over him and press soft lips to his own chapped ones. He opened his green eyes in time to see the brunette pull back slightly to gaze down at him in concern. Now that he was getting a closer look at the other, he was starting to recognize him. Heero.
Trowa carefully untangled his fingers from Quatre's and slowly moved his left hand up to the soft fluffy hair at the back of Heero's neck. This felt familiar. He continued to gaze up at his lover, familiarizing himself again with the features of his face.
Quatre stood up and slid out of the room unnoticed, wanting to give them time alone. That and it was tugging at his heart to see his ex respond to someone else.
Heero heard Quatre leave the room behind him. He felt a slight twinge of guilt for kissing Trowa in front of him, but he hadn't really considered Quatre's feelings until now. He paused and saw the familiar recognition return to Trowa's eyes and felt his fingers slip through the hair at the nape of his neck. He was glad Trowa was alive, and that feeling suppressed his anger and frustration with Preventer for the moment. He would deal with Wufei and Une later. Now all that mattered was his lover. His eyes narrowed with determination and he bent his elbows to close the distance between them again only this time he covered Trowa's bruised, dry mouth completely with his own.
Trowa's body started to respond to the kiss, despite the influence of the morphine. Heero was here. He had no idea how that was even possible, but his boyfriend was here with him in Asia, in this cold hospital room. He wasn't able to move most of his body, but his left hand was still functioning. His fingers played in the soft hair and moved lower to trail over the skin at Heero's neck before sliding down to his defined jaw where Trowa's knuckles grazed over the smooth expanse.
Heero's body was satisfied with Trowa's recognition of him. He reluctantly broke off their kiss once he heard the beeping of Trowa's heart monitor beside the bed quicken its pace. He would have kissed him forever, but he didn't want to get him worked up. Especially after he promised that nurse he wouldn't cause him anymore stress. He pulled away and walked around to the right side of the bed and took the seat Quatre had previously occupied, grabbed Trowa's free hand and lifted the back of it to his mouth to press a reassuring kiss on it before speaking low and serious against it, "I hope you killed whoever did this." Because if not, I will, he thought darkly.
"I think I did…" Trowa found his voice, but it sounded strained and foreign. He wished he could sit up in the bed, but wasn't going to attempt that feat right now. At least his mind was starting to clear, his short-term memory coming back. Yes, he had killed Mendoza. Shot the bastard right in the head before his feet left the floor and his body had flown backwards into the open air. Trowa remembered seeing the blood explode from the NBR leader's skull. Lips spread into a satisfied smile as Trowa remembered his sweet victory.
Heero nodded at Trowa's statement. He frowned as Trowa inexplicably smiled. "... what?" He asked for clarification.
"Just remembering that I shot Mendoza in the head before I fell out the window…" Trowa murmured.
Heero raised an eyebrow at the statement. It was a blatant reminder of something he had always suspected: Trowa's inner soldier and ruthless killing instinct was alive and well. Heero's personal feelings on killing were convoluted. He had always felt hesitant about taking lives, but it was after being with Relena that he had come to truly loathe the thought. Duo had been right about one thing: Heero was a bleeding heart now. He was glad that Trowa had gotten his own revenge on the man who had harmed him. Heero would have dispatched him had he still lived, but he knew after the fact it would have haunted him. It was clear that Trowa wasn't as conflicted about this aspect of their lives as Heero was. He cradled his lover's chilled hand within both of his own, pressing both of his palms against the other man's fingers in attempt to warm them. It wasn't working. He shifted his arms to try to make himself more comfortable, but the sharp edges of the handcuffs were digging into his wrists.
"I'm glad you killed him," he admitted honestly. "I don't know the details of what your mission was... " He sounded irritated. "They wouldn't tell me anything. All I know is you finished your mission. I am proud of you."
"I was supposed to arrest him…but clearly that didn't happen." Trowa let his head roll to the side gently and glanced over at his lover's hands, just now noticing the cuffs around his wrists. "Why are those on you?" His voice was starting to sound less strained the more he used it.
Heero blinked and looked down at his wrists and sighed. "I stole the Preventer shuttle Allegiant and crashed it at the Manila airport," he explained plainly. "Wufei's not very happy about it."
Trowa's eyes widened as he imagined Heero doing such a thing. "…Seriously?" Wait, why was he questioning this? Of course that sounded like something Heero would do. That explained how the other had gotten here so fast. "Heero…" He looked down at those handcuffs again and wanted them off his boyfriend's wrists. Dammit Wufei...
Heero raised an eyebrow before he narrowed his dark blue gaze. "I needed to get here quickly. I wouldn't have had to resort to such methods had they simply allowed me to stay on the case." He was a little bitter about it. Not because of the fact he felt something about the location, but because he had spent months tracking down this organization personally. To be ripped off of it because of a small outburst at the airport was ridiculous. He squeezed Trowa's hand reassuringly. "It's alright. It's not my first time being under arrest..." he grit his teeth as he traced the heart line of Trowa's palm with an index finger. "I would do it again if I had to."
Trowa knew this to be true. Even in his drugged up state, he could recognize how much his boyfriend cared for him. "Thank you…" He closed his eyes to rest for a moment, focusing on the feeling of Heero's finger running along his palm. The morphine was starting to kick in again and he knew he'd be losing consciousness soon. "You'll stay?"
Heero nodded and shifted the chair closer to the bed and made himself comfortable. "I'm staying," he said as he gently stroked his finger across his palm and up to his wrist, across the bandages and around the IV catheter taped to the inside of his arm. "Sleep." They would have to kill him before he moved from that spot.
"Kay…" Came the barely audible response from Trowa's lips. It only took a few minutes for sleep to overtake him once again.
Duo blinked and looked up from studying his bootlaces as Quatre ducked out of the room and down the hallway without addressing any of them. He cast a worried glance at Wufei, who only shrugged and turned his face back down to a tablet he had been working on. The Chinese man was working remotely with Director Une, who had stayed at the operation site to manage the stockpile and evidence collection. Sally had noticed Quatre duck out as well, and gave Duo a questioning look as if to say 'should we go see if he is okay?' Duo shook his head. He knew Quatre probably needed space, but if anyone was going to see if he was okay it should be him.
He hopped up to his feet, tugged his uniform jacket closed, zipped it and stuffed his hands into his pockets before sauntering casually off in the direction the blond had fled.
Duo found Quatre in an abandoned hallway just outside of the E.R. ward, leaning against the wall, looking particularly glum. He leaned against the wall next to him, fished out a piece of gum and began chomping on it noisily before speaking. "Had to go to the jail and pick up Heero earlier. Wufei's pretty pissed. The guy hijacked the Allegiant and crash-landed it at the airport..."
Duo couldn't help but chuckle. Heero Yuy may have grown up since Operation Meteor, but not much had changed about the guy. He was a fucking lunatic. "I wouldn't be surprised if he gets fired for this one. Seriously... who does that? If it were me, I woulda flown first class with one of those Preventer vouchers. That German airline. The one that gives you a beer every hour... man, I love that airline..."
Quatre's sweaty palms were flat against the cool wall as he stood there. He looked over at Duo and gave him a soft smile. "Heero's crazy…" But the man was obviously dedicated to Trowa, and that was a good thing.
"Yeah he is, isn't he..." Duo frowned and jingled his apartment key in the right pocket of his jacket. He loved Heero, probably more than he would have liked to admit. He always admired him, ever since Operation Meteor. At some point while they were messing around during their work at Preventer Duo found himself getting a little more attached than he would have liked to admit. He was pretty happy that Heero and Trowa had hooked up. Heero needed someone to focus on, and Duo was kind of glad it wasn't him. The guy was overbearing and needy as fuck, and Duo just didn't have time for that. Trowa, however, seemed okay with it. Hell, he hadn't seen that guy look that happy at work since he and Quatre had broken it off. Duo recalled the look on Trowa's face as he came around the corner on them at the firing range at Preventer. The former Heavyarms pilot was fuckin' blushing. There was no doubt Heero was responsible for that.
The corner of his mouth perked at the thought. He knew that Heero could be emotionally aggressive. The guy didn't hold anything back. It had been a problem for them as partners once Duo had opened that door of casual sex with him. Heero didn't casually DO anything. He was all or nothing.
That was evident by his psychotic entrance here at the hospital. He was almost envious that Trowa had someone who loved him that much. He grinned and sighed loudly before looking over at Quatre. He nudged him gently with his shoulder to get his attention. "You gonna be okay? You did good out there today, commanding. You should do that kind of stuff for us more often, seriously. You're fuckin' amazing."
"Thanks, Duo." Quatre ran a hand through his light blond locks and let out a soft sigh. "I help out Preventer when I can… But you know how busy I am." He looked off into the distance, as if distracted. His mind kept going back to the scene just a few minutes ago, of Heero crawling over Trowa and giving him a kiss. His fingers curled into loose fists; surprised he was so affected by this.
Quatre and Trowa broke up years ago, and yet the blond hadn't completely gotten over it, even though the breakup had been his doing. He'd willingly broken the taller man's heart, thinking it was what was best at the time. Now Quatre felt foolish, and he wouldn't be able to get his ex lover back now that Heero was in the picture. He'd felt the connection the two ex gundam pilots had, and it was rather intense. What hurt most of all was that Trowa and Heero actually looked amazing together, both seeming so happy with their relationship. It was like they were meant for each other, and there was confusion as to why they hadn't hooked up in the first place all those years ago.
"Ya know... " Duo reached up to rub the side of his head casually and tilted his face up to study the bright red EXIT sign across the hall from them in thought. "I know you're busy... but do you ever wonder... why? Like..." Duo wasn't the best at expressing deeper thoughts. Sure, he had plenty, but he normally didn't share these kinds of sentiments with people. It was easier to just smile and joke about things. It made things more comfortable for everyone in the long run. Now he wanted to ask him a question, but he wasn't sure how to phrase it without hurting Quatre. However, he felt like it needed to be said. "You work too hard for other people. You sacrifice too much for other people. Don't you think it is time you started ... I dunno, doin' you?"
"I have too much responsibility." Quatre started, but stopped himself as he thought about it. Duo had put it so simply. Why wasn't he doing things for himself?
"Yeah, I guess you do. But... I mean, I dunno..." Duo stifled a yawn with the back of his hand and shrugged his shoulder as he leaned heavily into the wall. "I guess I couldn't understand. I wasn't born with any responsibilities other than to try and stay alive. I guess... I guess, what I mean is, why burden yourself with the world, when you're free to move around in it? Make your own path? Some people don't have that option." He looked down at the scuffed toes of his black combat boots and sighed loudly. That was thing that Heero had taught him after spending some time alone with him during Operation Meteor. When Duo had first descended he thought he had to be the God of Death and seek revenge for the people who had died on L2, specifically the people he had once known on Maxwell Church. It was that linear way of thought that kept him from enjoying anything else. Heero had pointed that out to him once. Reminded him he was alive, and that he only had this one chance at life and he should make the most of it.
He glanced over at Quatre and forced a smile. It was a heavy topic, perhaps for another day. "You wanna go get something to eat, or... are you gonna stick around here? I'm gonna bounce soon. I hate these places, gives me the creeps."
"I'm game to get some food. I need a break from this place, and Heero is here now to watch over Trowa." Quatre pushed off the wall and straightened himself up. He ran a hand down his shirt to smooth out the wrinkles from sleeping in the chair.
Duo grinned and wrapped his arm around Quatre's shoulder. "Awesome! C'mon, I got the rental car outside. We can go get some ... shit, what do people eat around here. Ooh, JollyBee! Have you ever eaten there? They have spaghetti with little hot dogs cut up in it... so good..." he said cheerfully as he led the blond down the hallway and to the parking lot.
"Sure, sounds better than hospital food." Quatre thought it would do him some good to hang out with his bubbly best friend for a while. Maybe it would take his mind off of his ex.
Once they were in the car Duo hauled ass to the nearest Jollibee and insisted that he order Quatre the "best thing on the menu" which consisted of a mysterious plate of noodles with red sauce, a burger and a piece of fried chicken. He managed to get a lychee boba tea for himself, and a coffee milk tea for his friend before he ushered Quatre into a booth at the fast food restaurant. They stuck out like sore thumbs in their dark uniforms, surrounded by children and brightly colored garbed locals. Duo didn't seem to notice. He shoved a forkful of noodles into his mouth and moaned with happiness before smiling brightly at Quatre. "You ever been here before? To Manila I mean? I came here once with the Sweepers, they've got the best nightlife."
"I've never been here." Quatre glanced down at his odd looking food, picking at it with a fork. "What are these noodles?" The burger and chicken he understood, but not these noodles.
"Yeah, weird, right? They're delicious though, try 'em!" Duo said as he finished off his own noodles and began munching on his chicken. He licked his greasy fingers and took a sip of his boba tea, chewed on the squishy tapioca balls and rubbed his chin thoughtfully with a finger. "I wonder if we should bring some back for the other guys. You goin' back to the hospital, or... ?"
Quatre had just put some noodles into his mouth and was chewing them thoughtfully. They weren't bad, just strange looking. He looked down at all the food on his plate and wasn't sure he could eat it all. "I don't know… Now that Heero is here there really isn't a need for me to hover over Trowa…" Duo's words from earlier that night filtered back into his head. Start doing things for myself, huh?
"I'll see if the nurse is ok with sticking another chair in the room. Then I might stay. Just incase…" He knew he'd sleep better tonight if he were close to his ex.
Duo nodded. "Yeah, I mean, couldn't hurt. You guys could take turns, ya know?" He finished off his burger and dabbed at the corner of his mouth thoughtfully before balling the napkin in his hand. "I don't think Heero'll mind. He's pretty laid back. Besides, I am sure Tro will be happy to see you tomorrow."
The American agent was just talking without really thinking now. He ran his fingers through his own bangs and yawned loudly. "I don't wanna go back, but I kinda wanna see what Wufei is going to say to Heero..." He grinned mischievously.
"Hopefully he'll go easy on him? Can you really blame Heero for doing something crazy after finding out his boyfriend was injured during a mission?" Quatre set his fork down when he was done eating. He offered the leftover stuff to Duo. "You'll need to drop me off at the hospital. Maybe we should bring some food back to the others."
"Hey yeah, good idea." Duo casually finished off Quatre's food and hopped up to order some to go. Once he acquired two huge bags of noms he handed one to Quatre and made their way back to the hospital.
Wufei looked up from the inventory Une had sent in to see Duo loping along beside Quatre. The lobby immediately smelled of fried chicken. His stomach growled irritably as they approached. Duo thrust a Styrofoam box and a fork into his hand. He opened the box, glanced up questioningly at the American and decided he was too hungry to question it.
"So, Heero still in there?" Duo asked casually as he fell into the seat beside him. Wufei saw Quatre drop gently into the chair across from them. Sally had left to their hotel for the night, and Wufei had plans to follow her with Heero. Technically Yuy was in custody of Preventer for stealing a space shuttle and breaking orders, causing property damage to the airport and general offense. He nodded as he took a bite of his food, chewed and swallowed before speaking.
"Yes. It's going to be a chore getting him out," he said darkly. He wasn't looking forward to this. It had been one of the reasons why he kept the cuffs on Yuy in the first place. He hoped it would give them an advantage if he decided to resist. He looked up at Quatre with a frown. "When we drag him out, will you stay in there with Bloom? Or do we need to assign another agent to monitor him?" Wufei had no intentions of sleeping in a hospital.
"I was planning on staying." Quatre offered. It was getting late and everyone was exhausted from the long day. "We should get this settled if any of use wants a decent nights sleep." He watched as Wufei stuck the food and his tablet on the chair before standing up. "Let's go take care of this."
Duo frowned and watched Wufei walk back into the critical care unit. He shadowed both Wufei and Quatre, though kept back a few paces. He didn't necessarily agree with any of this, but he wasn't going to not go just in case either party needed him. He watched as Wufei paused outside Trowa's door to talk to the nurse. She frowned at him, cast a glance at Quatre and then shook her head before saying something quietly to the Chinese man. They were arguing. Duo shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and shifted uncomfortably. Eventually Wufei looked like he won her over. He pressed his hand against Trowa's door and stepped inside.
Heero heard people talking behind him. He straightened in his chair but didn't move. He continued to watch Trowa lying peacefully in front of him, his lips slightly parted and face relaxed in sleep. He knew they were going to try and take him out, but he wasn't leaving. He promised Trowa he would stay. He wasn't going to break that promise. As Wufei entered the room he ignored him.
Wufei approached Heero from behind and put his hands on his hips. "Okay, time to go. You can come back in the morning."
Heero straightened. "You really think I came all this way just to leave him here?"
The Chinese man sighed. "Yuy, this isn't personal, okay? This is protocol. You did what you did, knowing there are consequences for your actions. It's time that you act like an adult and stop abusing the fact that we're friends by making me make you a special exception all the ti-"
Heero jumped from his chair so fast that it startled the shit out of the nurse, who jumped and yelled "OH LORD!" as she watched the stoic, handsome man jump on the Chinese man. Before she could register what was happening the loverboy had the bossman pressed against the wall at the foot of her patient's bed with his forearm pressed against his throat to pin him there. She heard the kid with the long hair mutter "fucking shit..." behind her.
"Guys, come on!" Quatre hated it when his friends fought. "Heero, put Wufei down." How they'd all managed to fit in that tiny hospital room was beyond him, and the blond was afraid they'd wake Trowa with all the commotion.
Wufei gripped Heero's forearm and dug his nails in, eyes narrowing into a murderous glare. "Yuy." He hissed, his patience gone. "Step. Down. Now." He gritted his teeth and held Heero's gaze with his own.
Trowa started to stir, frowning in his sleep and turned his head away from all the commotion. His fingers gripped the sheets but his eyes didn't open. He was on the verge of waking up. Quatre noticed this and went over to the side of the bed, to the chair Heero had just leapt out of.
Heero was seething. He was exhausted. He hadn't slept in days, and what little sleep he had gotten was pretty shitty considering. He had fallen to the atmosphere, almost died in a fiery crash, gotten the shit kicked out of him by the police, and now he had finally made it here they were going to just drag him away? Not without a fight. He pressed his arm firmly into Wufei and narrowed his eyes menacingly at him.
"Had you stepped down in the airport... he wouldn't be lying here right now." His voice was icy, and his expression murderous. Duo cleared his throat and inched past the stunned nurse to approach Heero carefully with his hands raised and palms up.
"Hey, buddy. Come on, you're lookin' insane.. well... more insane than usual. Stop choking out Wufei, he's your boss, remember? He's just tryin' to do his job. You don't wanna wake up poor Tro, do ya? Quatre'll watch him tonight, he'll be fine, you can come get him in the-"
"Duo," Heero said flatly. "Shut up."
The nurse stood back in the entrance of the room, surveying all the crazy that was going on. She put her hands on her hips, about to kick them all out if they didn't hush and simmer down.
"Let go of me!" Wufei snarled. It was an order and he was done fucking around. The sharp command sliced through the air and Trowa was once again disturbed from his sleep. Green eyes opened and focus on all the blurry figures around his room. What the hell was going on? He looked across from the bed and saw his boyfriend pinning their boss to the wall. "Heero?" Trowa called out softly, confusion and exhaustion written all over his face. He ignored Quatre when the other tried taking hold of his left hand, untangling it from it's grip on the sheets.
Heero blinked at Trowa's voice and dropped his guard for a moment. It was just long enough for Wufei to gather himself up against the wall, lean hard against his back and kick both feet against Yuy's stomach. Heero was tossed backwards, hit his back against the foot of the bed and slumped to the ground. Wufei was beyond pissed. He was livid. Heero was out of control and he blamed himself for allowing him so much leniency all these years. He respected Heero for what he did saving the Colonies and Earth, but he could only give the man so much. He was being walked all over, and he clearly had no authority over him. Enough was enough. Wufei tackled him on the floor, and luckily Heero was tired and at a disadvantage with his hands shackled together by the cuffs.
"Maxwell, now!" Wufei barked at Duo, who was standing over them gawking, clearly stunned. Wufei had managed to get Heero rolled over onto his face, pinned down against his arms with his knee pressed into his shoulders to keep him from lifting himself. The other agent was struggling desperately beneath him. Duo had stumbled over and was trying to help, but managed only to get a swift kick in the chest from Yuy, who wasn't going down easily.
"Stop resisting," Wufei said coldly. "You're already in enough trouble as it is."
Heero finally stopped. It was no use. Wufei was bigger and stronger than him, he had a disadvantage of being in handcuffs and he was running on empty. He hadn't eaten in 48 hours, he hadn't slept in days. He was done. He went limp on the floor and closed his eyes as Wufei and Duo hauled him up by each arm to his feet.
"Please… Let him stay?" Trowa's voice was barely audible over all the commotion. In his morphine-induced haze, he made the mistake of trying to sit up so he better could see what the hell was going on, but it caused sharp pains to shoot down his body and he fell back against the bed with a hiss, teeth gritting in misery. "Ahh!"
Quatre was starting to lose his patience, tired and emotionally drained. When he saw Trowa struggling like this it set him off. "Guys! Either get him out of here quickly or leave him be." His voice was firm and full of authority.
Over by the door the nurse was also starting to get annoyed. She had told them to cut it out with the drama so that they didn't disturb her patient. Trowa was clearly being disturbed right now.
Heero was pissed, but there was honestly not much he could do. Quatre was right, and the fact that Trowa moaned in anguish aloud only verified that he was really bad off. He sighed and just went limp in Duo and Wufei's grasp. He wouldn't fight it anymore, as much as the thought of leaving this room sickened him. He had traveled over six thousand miles to be here, and if all he had was an hour with Trowa then he supposed that was all he really deserved.
Duo was pissed. This wasn't right. Heero was Trowa's fucking lover. There had to be another way. He glanced around desperately before it came to him. "Fei, you're worried about the rules. He has to be in custody until he gets a hearing at Preventer, right?"
Wufei growled under his breath and nodded. Duo grinned.
"Quatre is still an agent. Leave him with Quatre. He's gonna be in here anyway." He motioned with his free hand to the opposite side of the bed where Trowa's intricate traction system was. "Handcuff him to that. He's not going anywhere. You can come pick him up in the morning."
Wufei blinked before he glared reflexively at Duo. That was the stupidest idea... but then he sighed. Trowa's voice had sounded desperate, and even he wasn't completely heartless.
"Fine," he said quickly. With Duo's help they dropped Heero into a spare chair on the opposite side of the bed and using a second pair of cuffs they snapped him to the siderail.
These boys be crazy, the nurse thought as she watched the agents cuff their friend to the bed. Whatever, as long as Mister Bloom got some peace and quiet and they stopped beating on each other she didn't care. She ducked out of the room, grabbed some spare pillows and blankets and handed the blond one set before she rounded the bed and carefully approached the angry looking one. He was slumped over awkwardly against the railing, his cheek resting against the top rail, staring silently at her patient. He was the most pathetic looking thing she had ever seen. She draped a blanket over his shoulders before turning to the other two. "ALRIGHT, OUT!" She said as she herded them from the room.
Once Wufei and Duo had left the room and there was more space to move around, the nurse went over to fuss with her patient. "Don't try sitting up again." She pulled back the covers and gently pushed the bed gown aside so she could check the knife wound on Trowa's left side, making sure he hadn't pulled a stitch. Trowa's exposed skin was bruised, causing Quatre to look away for a second. In his emotional state he didn't trust himself not to get upset at the site of his ex lovers bruised and broken body.
Trowa hissed while the nurse checked on him. He hated having so many people fussing over him, hated being immobilized in a damn hospital bed, unable to move anything really besides his left arm. This sucked. "When can I get out of here?" He asked, earning a chuckle from the nurse. "Honey, have you seen your injuries?" The kid would be crazy to think he could leave anytime soon. Trowa mentally rolled his eyes, irritated. "No one has gone over the list of injuries with me yet..." He pointed out.
The nurse nodded and gestured to his right arm in traction. "Well for one thing you fractured your scapula on this arm, dislocated it and cracked your humerus all up. You got a six inch deep stab wound, we had to take our pieces of your intestines they were all cut up. You got pins in your other elbow there, and your spine has a few hairline fractures. Your poor brain is swollen. You're just not going anywhere."
Heero's eyebrow twitched at the laundry list of injury. He clenched his hands under the blanket and felt his chest tighten as he realized just how extensive his lover's injuries were. All he wanted to do was hold him. He tugged irritably at his restraints and continued to sulk at the foot of the bed.
"Great. So I'll be out of here in 3 days?" Trowa said flatly, although he was teasing. The morphine was kicking in for the third time that evening and he was fighting back sleep. The nurse shook her head. "Nice try." She covered his side back up and checked on everything else before leaving the room and 'the three boyfriends' some privacy.
"Don't tell Cathy…" Trowa looked up at the ceiling realizing the mess he'd gotten his body into. Hopefully there wouldn't be any outstanding issues that would keep him from work after recovery. Dammit, why did this have to happen on his first case after accepting full time? Trowa had a feeling Heero was going to put up a fight once he tried going back to work after this.