Disclaimers: Don't own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters. Merely borrowing them for a little torture.

Warnings: Shounen-ai (because I suck at yaoi), major A.U, some OOC I think, deathfic

Finding Heaven

Part Fifteen: Chiropractors are a pain in the back

"When the hell are you going to see a doctor about this?" Heero scolded; his tone harsh with concern.

Duo was curled up on his side, fisting the covers and gritting his teeth in pain. The back pain was getting worse. He had put off going to the doctors for some time now but if it got any worse, Heero was going to throw him over his shoulder and manhandle him there. So far the chiropractors didn't do squat for his slip disc. At least he thought it was a slip disc, it freaking hurt like one.

"I'm fine," Duo groaned out as the pain slowly faded. It came and went in waves. Once it was over, he felt fine. It was when they came that was the problem. He felt his back was being cleaved in half. Sometimes it got so bad sleeping was problem. "See? All better." He smiled up at Heero who continued to look worried.

"What did the chiropractor say?" Heero massaged his boyfriend's back, eliciting small sounds of pleasure from the man beneath his fingers.

"That too much sex makes the mind go fuzzy," Duo muttered into the pillow and was whacked none too lightly on the back of the head.

"I'm serious, baka."

Duo smiled. Over the past few months, Heero had taken to calling him baka like it was some kind of endearment and coming from him it did sound like one. Duo remembered a website he found teaching a person the flexibility of the word fuck and the word baka seemed as flexible as that word when used by Heero.

"We are working on the slip disc. It should help in a few more sessions." Duo hid his own look of concern. His chiropractor had warned him that it may be more than a slip disc but he didn't want Heero to worry. The Japanese had enough on his plate.

Over the past few months, Heero had made their relationship as public as possible, attending business functions with Duo proudly on his arm. The night after Relena's little party; Heero had done two things, called the newspaper with the notice of cancellation of his engagement and sent his ex-fiancée a thank-you note along with a huge basket of fresh fruit. Duo had applauded Heero for his 'insult with taste' touch.

Hey, he had used tropical fruit.

Business at Max's Studios had gone alarmingly quiet for a while, and Duo knew he had Relena Peacecraft to blame but there was nothing he could do about it. Now all he could say was 'Thank God for little blond angels and over protective partners'. Duo hadn't wanted to get Heero involved and had been spared that when Quatre had noticed Duo hanging more and more around his office. A quick interrogation from the mild mannered blond had turned him into the Incredible Hulk, only with creamy skin and blond hair. But with the temperament Quatre had on, Duo thought the two could have been twins. A few short but highly effective calls later, Duo was back in business.

Apparently, Ms Peacecraft had used her influence to stop the flow of business to Max and Duo could imagine the frustrated scream that had echoed all over her pink apartment when Mr Quatre Winner's more influential reputation asserted itself. Duo had wondered idly how to thank the blond and purchase some pretty kinky equipment for Trowa that got him thrown out of his office. Quatre was very grateful the next day though.

Now they both worry about Heero's father, Odin Lowe. That man scared the freaking hell out of Duo. He was an imposing man where Heero inherited his deep blue eyes from and little else. So far, the man had been indulgent to let Heero carry on however he wished, but sooner or later things would come to a head. Duo had jokingly told Heero the sooner the better because blood stains were so hard to get out.

"You are in no way lying to me are you?" Heero pressed.

Duo put on a look of mock hurt. "I may run, I may hide, but…"

"You never lie…" Heero finished shaking his head. "But you never said anything about not telling the whole truth."

"We are not in court, Heero," Duo smiled unabashedly. "I promise, if there's anything wrong with my back, I'll tell you."

The next day Duo decided to keep the appointment with the chiropractor and left Hilde in charge with a stern warning that if any structural changes had taken place in the few hours he would be away, there would be hell to pay. Okay, so that wasn't really all that witty, but Duo had been having problems thought process ever since the pain started. The chiropractor was a nice man who insisted Duo called him Bob. He was a rather 'Bob looking' man with a slightly balding pate and conservative dress.

You can't just label a guy's name by how he look, Brian reproved. If that's the case, you would be a Doofus.

Go back to the hole you crawled up from!

You mean the black hole called your mind?

Why did Duo even bother?

He continued to lie there while Bob did his magic on him. After he got dressed, Bob took him into his office and sat him down.

"Okay, Bob," Duo smiled to cover up the sudden pang of fear that assailed him. He didn't like that look. That look did weird things to his heart. "Spill it."

"Mr Maxwell…"

"Bob, I'm neither fifty nor your principal. My name is Duo."

Bob smiled. "Duo, then. We had done this for how long now? A month?"

Duo nodded.

"You back muscles haven't loosen all this time, so I don't really think it is a back problem." Bob had the expression when someone wanted to impart bad news.

"And?" Duo prodded.

"I think you should see a doctor about this."

Doctor, he meant, specialist. Duo could feel his pulse speeding up. "What do you think it is?"

"I am in no position to…" Bob trailed of seeing the look Duo had on. "I suggest a couple of test to rule out a few things."

"Cancer?"

"I'm not a specialist."

"But you mean cancer." Duo head was spinning. This can't be happening, not now, he can't have cancer now. Not when everything was going so well.

Bob avoided Duo's eyes and wrote down a phone number and a name. "This man's a personal friend and a good doctor."

The braided man was ushered out of the door with his mind still in a blur and clutching at that little piece of paper. He managed to get back to the studio without hitting anything or getting hit and flopped into a chair. He stared at the little numbers with a sinking heart.

Cancer, he couldn't have cancer. He was just too young. Everything was going on perfectly in his life now.

Duo crushed small piece of paper and tossed it into the wastepaper basket.

Lunch time rolled by and Duo was still lost in thought, telling Hilde to put all calls on hold. Some time during the day he had calmed some what. It couldn't be anything really serious. After all he had been having problems with his back for ages and they were never serious. It was probably nothing; after all, Bob just wanted to rule out some things. It was probably nothing. Probably nothing.

Just before lunch hour was up, Heero came thundering into the studio with an absolutely wild look in his eyes.

"Hey, love," Duo smiled, happy to get his mind of more disturbing thoughts. He got up and gave Heero a kiss. Before he could move away, his partner grabbed him harder and more tightly into his embrace. "Heero?" He queried, fearful at the fervour which Heero was holding onto him. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Heero breathed, nuzzling Duo's shoulder. "I missed you."

It was more than that. Duo could sense it well enough but didn't press. He learnt that Heero was someone that shouldn't be pressured into anything or will end up more reluctant to divulge anything.

"I missed you, too," Duo returned with feeling. It felt good, just standing there in Heero's reassuring embrace, not speaking, but just being there. A small voice in the back of his head, probably Brian mocked him, asking him how long this would last. He had no answer.

His stomach grumbled embarrassingly at Duo for having abused it by missing breakfast, then lunch.

"You didn't eat." Heero looked displeased about it.

Duo shrugged laughing softly. "Yeah, I've been kind of distracted."

Heero tapped a tapered finger at the tip of Duo's nose. "We are going for lunch," he told his smaller partner before pulling him out of the studio and headed towards a sandwich bar down the road.

Duo hated that place. His idea of a good meal included grease and sugar, the two fundamental blocks of life. And these blocks had been missing from his regular meals at home with Heero around. The Japanese man thrived on anything he deemed healthful and fresh while a whining Duo was left to eat whatever was prepared. He rue the day he didn't learn to cook better. He sat down at a table while Heero went to get them some sandwiches. The last time they came here, Heero had gotten him some weird looking pita crap that was completely unpalatable.

"Here," Heero set the tray down in front of them. It consisted of two bottles of water and two wrapped sandwiches.

Duo stared steadily at Heero, a look that said 'Where's my soda?'

Heero stared right back, saying 'You are not getting any'.

"Eat," Heero ordered and proceed to unwrap his own sandwich.

Duo groaned when he peeked under a slice of bread. It was a vegetarian sandwich with minimal salt and minimal mayonnaise. Totally healthy and completely tasteless. "Yuy, I'm not a goat. I do need some protein some of the time," he complained, sounding petulant.

"You get enough when I'm not looking," Heero scolded around a bite of his sandwich.

This sparked off a pout but the braided man ate his sandwich sullenly. During the course of lunch, he stared at Heero and noticed a few things about him. His boyfriend was tense, almost nervous and cobalt eyes kept flicking all over the place. If Duo wasn't mistaken, Heero was completely wary and it was that wariness that sparked something in Duo. Like an old and forgotten memory, Shinigami swam slowly to the surface.

"Where's the threat?" Shinigami asked, his voice lower than Duo's.

Heero froze under that cold, cold glare. Something written on his face showed that he knew this wasn't Duo any longer. "There's none," he soothed, making an attempt to relax his body.

Shinigami leaned over. "Don't lie."

Taking a deep breath, Heero reached up and pulled Duo's head down, melding their lips in a kiss. "I'm not," he murmured against the other man's lips. When he pulled away, he realised it was Duo again, firmly under control of his alter ego that came out when a threat presented itself.

"Sorry," Duo said, embarrassed. "I didn't mean to…"

Heero smiled warmly at him. "I wonder why that side of you don't come out around Relena?" He joked.

"What makes you think he hasn't?" Duo deadpanned and went back to his tasteless lunch, having smoothed over an uncomfortable situation. He turned serious. "Heero, you would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn't you?" He reached over the table to cover Heero's hand.

At length, Heero met Duo's violet gaze. "I will never hurt you, I promised right?" With that, he technically closed the discussion.

Duo realised after a while that was all an answer Heero was going to give him.  And it was not a very comforting one.

After lunch, Heero solicitously escorted Duo back to his office. The braided man thought Heero was acting really weird about the whole thing. His boyfriend had one arm clamped tightly on Duo's arm as they walked and kept steering him away from cars and such. Duo continued to frown at him but was blatantly ignored.

"What the hell is wrong, Yuy?" Duo dug in his heels. "Tell me or I'm not moving one inch!"

Heero stared at Duo guiltily, like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He seemed to ponder his next words and clearing his throat he began. "I think Relena is stalking me," he whispered, his eyes darting in all directions.

Duo laughed, understanding Heero's fear. After all, Miss Ice Queen had stalked him before. They made it to his studio without any sign of Relena and both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Love, I have something to do tonight. I will be staying over at my apartment. Is that okay with you?" Heero asked hesitantly.

Quashing the vague sense of uneasiness, Duo nodded, "Sure."

"I may not be back tomorrow as well," he added, once again looking as if he had just kicked puppies.

"Heero," Duo sighed heavily. "I'm fine with it. You do have your commitments to your family and I'm not going to stand in the way of that."

If anything, it made the look of guilt in Heero's cobalt eyes worse. "I'm sorry, love."

Duo stretched up to kiss him lightly on the cheek. "I don't mind. Really." He entered the door and turned once more to wave goodbye to Heero.

The lunch had relaxed him and banished his own worries. Worrying about Heero and his rather odd behaviour, Duo was able to redirect his energy into completing his previously outstanding work. Since he didn't have anything else to keep him occupied for the evening, he went to check his equipment for a shoot tomorrow. It was going to be about fifteen miles out of town and he needed to make sure he didn't leave anything out. A memory card slipped out of his bag and fell next to his chair. Cursing softly at his clumsiness, Duo bent over to pick it up.

The pain came swift and unexpected, tearing up his back and stiffening his entire body. An agonised scream got stuck in his throat as he fell over. Unable to move, he lay there, gasping for breath. He bit his lip in pain, trying to get control of his body once again. Long minutes passed as the wave dissipated slowly and Duo managed to raise himself up on his elbow.

"Damn," he muttered softly. Giving in, he reached over to rummage through his wastepaper basket and finally finding the paper he discarded so carelessly. Still, he stared at the neat numbers written there and sighed, resigned.

He dropped into his chair and picked up the phone. Taking a deep breath, he dialled the number.

tbc…