About twelve hours late, but I managed to leave the flash drive at home on my coffee table. So I sighed and did some homework instead. Go figure. Hugely busy week; three tests (A's on both physics and chemistry, second high score in World Cultures with an 86. Sad.) I celebrated my friend's birthday with her yesterday I made her a brownie cake. Much fun with twenty candles. She blew them out on her first try! Anyway, enjoy and what not.

Dedication: RavenShay Yay addictions

Mailing list: It's there, ask to be put on if you want.
Disclaimer: By chapter 37 I'd think it'd be obvious that these guys aren't mine, y'know? That's a lotta disclaimers. They're STILL not mine, I still can't afford a new computer (Though, my dentistry bills could pay for one… I have teeth from hell. My dental hygienist says: "You take AMAZING care of your teeth." Then she has the doctor come in and I find out I get another cap.. greeeeeeeeat) Long disclaimer. Yeah.

Chapter 37: Two Weeks Later

:Entry 1261: These past couple of weeks have really not been fun. Wufei came four times since he told me about Him. I wouldn't talk to him once, but he kept coming and talking. The L2 Cougars finally won a game, but I wouldn't even smile, because Wufei had to be lying about Him. But I figured something out; Wufei wasn't lying about Him. I still remember talking to Amary and how He reacted when he saw my place; how much bleach he went through at his apartment. I guess I really fucked up. Wufei told me He probably would like to see me. Why would He want to see me if He won't even talk to Wufei, Trowa, or even Quatre? But what if, just maybe, I could help Him? He tried really hard to help me, but I ended up messing him up instead. Maybe he was right; maybe... Ugh. (end entry)

Wufei just before sighed he walked into the room he always met Duo in. He was not much of a conversationalist, yet he had talked near constantly for an hour during each of the four visits Duo had ignored him during; the therapy Duo did not acknowledge he had attended. Yet he had to keep trying. He refused to give up and believe it was the end for the perfect soldier and Shinigami. Wufei closed the white door with the window that never gave Duo privacy and set Demon on the floor. He sat on the edge of the opposite edge, giving himself a moment before he began the arduous task of talking.

Instead, bright violet eyes, shining with unshed tears, met Wufei's cool black eyes. "If I eat like they want me to… will they let me leave? Can you swear on your ancestors and integrity and honour that I can leave then?" Duo was visibly shaking across the room from his own words. Food was his obsession and his fear.

"You'll have to eat normally, Duo…" Wufei was hesitant to promise; eating just to get out of the hospital and returning to his old habits would be dangerous.

"I know!" Duo snapped nastily, but he repeated himself more quietly. "I know… But I can't visit him…unless I get out, can I?"

"You want to help Heero?" Wufei questioned, a small feeling of hope beginning to grow; dangerous hope that scared Wufei, but he could not help but cling to it as if it was a lifeline keeping him from drowning.

Duo nodded quickly. "I'll… I'll do whatever they say…"

Wufei nodded. "If you do what you promise, well, I can't promise all those things, because I'm not the doctor, but to the best of my knowledge, you will get out then. I believe you can get out of here, Duo." He refrained from mentioning or alluding to Duo's eating disorder at the same time. Right now, he did not want Duo to change his mind suddenly when told he had a problem, as he had in the past.

Wufei knew Duo was beginning his journey back for all the wrong reasons, but he could not help but be thankful that something was causing him to even consider eating somewhat willingly. But in the back of his mind, Wufei also realized something darker; if Duo depended on Heero as his medium to begin to get past the eating disorder, Heero's state could drastically affect Duo. There was a chance that Duo would end up far worse than he was now, and Wufei knew that would mean death. Already that began to haunt the dark-haired man, but he said nothing. He wanted Duo to eat more pizza than he did so badly sometimes that it hurt, and right now it hurt him deeply.

Duo nodded, suddenly quiet, staring down at his slippered feet. "Be nice not to have to wear these grey sweats and pink slippers…" He murmured. That outfit was the standard uniform of the institution for men and women, though Duo was in the minority as a man.

"You could wear black again then, and get everyone wet with cannon balls during the summer. You always managed to get any girls sun tanning with their hair done and make-up perfected soaked." Wufei reminisced, ignoring the times he had been doused liberally with water when he had no intention of swimming. Or perhaps now he was fond of those same memories.

Duo curled up in the corner of his bed, a small frown creasing his skeletal brow. Demon came up to Duo, nuzzling his hand until the American finally consented and began petting the soft fur. Quickly, the kitten that was quickly becoming an adult coerced the ex-Death Scythe pilot into playing with her. Duo's hand wiggled under the protection of a folded blanket, and Demon pounced and growled at the wiggling blanket with kitten ferocity.

Wufei gave a half smile and leaned against the wall from his spot on the vacant bed. As horrible as it was, he was almost used to seeing Duo's too thin form in grey sweats and pink slippers; that thinned braid. Near the end, it was almost ridiculously thing and straggly. But Duo was still there. "So are you really trying to get out of here to help Heero, or is it because you know that the L2 Cougars are coming to earth, in a city only about an hour here to play the American Tigers?"

Duo looked up, eyes widening. "You never said they were coming here!"

"In two months. The place I work at is offering me a couple of free tickets." Wufei was excited; Duo was rarely this enthusiastic about anything. "This means I'll have an extra ticket just laying around for a Cougars fan."

The American grinned; a shadow of his old grin. He wanted to sit on the Cougar's side. "Could I get an autograph…?" But the hesitancy was still there, and Wufei wondered if it always would be.

"I bet you could get a bunch of autographs." Wufei would have to go get tickets. His office was offering them, but he wanted good seats so Duo could be close to the field; the players.

A bit later, the nurse came to remind the two they had a private family session with Dr. Fitzgerald. Obediently, they left the room and down the familiar white-wash hall to the doctor's office.

Ooooooo

"I see." Dr. Fitzgerald murmured thoughtfully after listening to Duo's announcement. "It'll be hard work, Duo, but I believe you can do it."

Duo fidgeted in his chair, poking at the leather seat. He had never gotten comfortable with Dr. Fitzgerald; he was always the guy who was against him in his mind.

"If you work with us, and try hard enough, I'm sure we could let you go back to living in your apartment with daily sessions up here a couple of weeks before that soccer game you mentioned." Dr. Fitzgerald gave Duo a fatherly smile.

Eventually, the doctor dismissed Duo, who hurried off to spend a few more scant moments in the company of demon while Wufei stayed to talk with the doctor. "You and I both know that getting better for someone else is not what we're aiming for."

Wufei nodded, encouraging the doctor to continue. "However, it is very encouraging to see Duo motivated about something, and especially exciting to see him excited about the soccer game. I am glad you mentioned that, Mr. Chang." The difference in how the doctor addressed Wufei and Duo still bothered the dark-haired man; he had never decided whether or not the doctor meant to use Duo's first name with familiarity or as a child.

Wufei shrugged. "It's his favourite team." Then he met Dr. Fitzgerald's eyes and asked another question. "So you really think Duo will be able to go? Even though he wants to get out of here to help someone else?"

The doctor nodded. "He'll still have daily treatment, so he should be all right, especially since you've been receiving additional training along with your therapy sessions." Wufei masked a grimace with a cough. He hated that he also had private therapy sessions. It made him feel weak, but he still went because it might help Duo. "I feel that if he does, and he most likely will, have a rebound, you will be able to give him a great deal of support; hopefully enough so that we don't have to bring him back here."

Wufei nodded and stood up; he still had to get Demon and head back home. "It'll be good to see Duo out of the pink slippers."

Dr. Fitzgerald chuckled. "Indeed. I want to thank you for the support you've shown Duo even though he isn't truly family. You've been one of the most supportive 'family' members we have, and I know Duo has benefited from that a great deal."

Wufei was surprised to learn that; if anything, he would have thought he was mediocre. He may come regularly and go to all the therapy sessions the doctors requested him to, but that did not mean he looked forward to even visiting Duo. At times, he could hardly stand it and a sort of self-loathing would creep across his mind as he sat across from an emaciated, thin man who hated himself. It was more taxing mentally than the wars had been, and they had left deep scars within Wufei. He supposed the therapy he received on account of Duo also helped put him more at ease with himself than simply understanding some of what Duo was going through and why.

Wufei gave the doctor a vague wave over his shoulder as he left the office and travelled down the corridor once more. He knocked on Duo's door, more out of politeness than anything, before he entered. "Well, it's time for me to get going."

Duo nodded and picked Demon up and set her in her carrying case. She was well-used to the contraption now and rarely fought it. The association with Duo had long since caused her initial crying to cease. Although she lived with Wufei, she was still very much Duo's cat. Sometimes, although Wufei refused to admit it, he was jealous of Duo. He had reached a middle ground with Demon and had since become quite fond of the beast. "Thanks."

"Eh?" Wufei blinked as he picked up the cat carrier.

"For telling me about… Heero…" Duo's voice faded rapidly as he spoke.

"Yeah." Wufei shrugged. "I'll be back about the same time next week, and for the sessions and what not." He always made it a point to tell Duo he would be back, rather than assume the routine was enough to tell Duo that the Chinese man would come out to the institution to see the American. These days, Duo needed a lot of reassurance and support.

Wufei waved and left for the apartment. Once home, he let Demon roam and watered the plants and passed a mirror. He glanced at it briefly. Some days, he woke up and wondered when he would see a white hair. Suddenly, Wufei leaned forward, inches away from the mirror, staring. He fingered a strand of hair, examining it critically. He turned away from the sleek surface abruptly. It had been nothing more than a reflection. That time.

Wufei arched his back and stretched his arms above his head and yawned. He was happy today, and hopeful. It had taken Wufei a long time to realise just how powerful hope was, and to realise it was one of the things that Duo had lost during his battle with depression and eating disorders. He knew that Duo had found a bit during his ruminations about Heero.

Wufei chuckled suddenly as his thoughts turned inwards. Hope. That was about all he was clinging to as far as dating was concerned. During the years following the war and working with Sally Po, he had come to realise women were not always weak, and that they could be quite interesting. However, his office had a policy against dating co-workers, he scowled a lot, and rarely went out. Wufei glanced at the time. It was early afternoon on a Saturday.

He grabbed his keys and left with a "see you later" to Demon. He went to a nearby botanical garden that had a well known Zen garden within its gates. He knew most guys went for bars and friends to find girls, but he disliked the bar atmosphere and was too independent to ask his friends. He also loved the atmosphere of Zen gardens. He doubted he would meet anyone, but he also knew he would enjoy himself and feel calm and relaxed when he returned home. He would bring Demon back some catnip to appease her since he left her suddenly. She had quite an attitude and had no qualms about demonstrating her opinion of anything.

Wee, the line is working again! for the longest time, it refused to... Anyway, how'd you guys like that?