"Uh, Heero," Duo wanted to say he wasn't a child, that he could take care
of himself, that he'd done that just about all his life, but he leaned into
Heero's touch, his fingers leaving glittery sensation across his cheek.
"I'll take care of you too, Heero. We'll take care of each other."
Hilde sighed and Duo's eyes snapped open. She stood there smiling like she'd never seen anyone in love before until Duo glared at her and then she scratched her head and studied the ceiling for a moment. "I'm just happy to see you happy, Duo-kun. You do so much, Duo and it's time you...."
"Hilde!" he interrupted her. He wasn't ready for Heero to know about some things. He wanted tell him himself, when they were alone and after they'd dealt with his hand. He knew from Heero's tone that he wouldn't be happy until he'd set those fingers. "So, like get some lunch for yourself, uh?"
Heero didn't get what was going on between Duo and Hilde, obviously there were things going on that he wasn't aware of- but that was natural since these two had been living together for so long, and Heero had only just arrived. What he did know was that his heart lurched in his chest when Duo leaned into his fingers, and he wanted to take that face between his hands and kiss Duo until both of them were gasping for breath.
He refrained because of Hilde's presence, but he filed it away as something to do later. He let his hand fall down to Duo's other knee. Food didn't seem to provide the kind of nourishment that being near Duo did.
He considered asking about what Duo had stopped Hilde from saying- but Duo would tell him in time if it was important...maybe he wouldn't at that...he loved Duo with all his heart- but sometimes the boy didn't always know when to speak his heart.
"Time you what?"
A Heero hand on his other knee, Duo spent a whole breath just smiling. It didn't seem real. Heero loved him. Wanted him. And wasn't gonna kill him for wanting him back. Duo grinned and wiggled his knee under Heero's hand, up and into the hand.
"I was going to say that he works too much." Hilde said, taking out a can of soup. She sighed and turned her back to them, paying complete attention to her own lunch. "I brought in the mail, Duo. There were some things in there for you." She clipped the end of that sentence. There were things Hilde didn't know either, things Duo went to pretty solid lengths to keep her from finding out.
She had a lot of respect for him though. Whatever he was up to was well intended and would probably work just fine, but she wanted to know! She wanted to help. It had something to do with the orphanage, she was sure, but she just didn't know what it was. "So, Heero, you're going to stay, right? We could always use more help, even after Duo's arm's better. He's got lots of big projects, don't you, Duo?"
Duo groaned and took a bite of his soup. It was a good thing it was his favorite or he might not wanted to have eaten it. He could tell Heero what he was doing, and he would. He'd even Hilde, just not till he was ready. "I work hard because I'm industrious," Duo said, setting his spoon down to pick up his bowl of soup, then realizing he couldn't do that, picked it back up. "Heero, Hilde's right. I should have asked you to come sooner."
"Maybe, but I'm here now- that's all that's important." He rubbed Duo's knee as the boy pushed up against his hand. It felt good to play like this. Of course he would stay, he would stay by Duo's side forever and ever- he would help him with anything. He wanted to make Duo's life perfect. "I'll stay as long as Duo wants me to." Taking note of Duo's difficulties, a clever idea formed in Heero's mind. If he was going to be Duo's partner in life- he would have to assist him in a variety of ways right? So quite casually he leaned over and lifted Duo's bowl with his hand, tilting it up for the former pilot. "Should be easier now." He said levelly.
Duo tapped the edge of his spoon against the table for a moment. He didn't get helped like this. It was... odd. He just knew that Hilde was watching from behind. But having Heero in his life, loving him, helping him, it was new. It was something he wanted. He lifted the spoon, smiled at Heero. "Thanks."
Then finished the last few bites of his soup quickly. Would Heero let him do that for him too? That would be very nice. Also, Heero had to finish his, which left Duo with a free hand, which promptly laid on Heero's knee. There were some strong muscles under that cloth. Duo loved the feel of his hand on Heero's knee. It was real! He could touch Heero and not get killed!
Suddenly he had too much energy and had to bounce up out of his chair. He ran his fingers over Heero's hair, almost had another problem of interest, even after the first one had faded. Gods, he might need to keep his fingers bruised. The pain of hitting them got rid of erections quite well!
Totally hyper, he put his bowl in the sink and started pacing. "Heero's gonna help with the salvage operation Hilde!"
She smiled at him. "With the three of us, it should get done pretty fast."
Heero sat up in his chair smiling. He didn't finish the last bits of soup- he wasn't hungry for them. What he was hungry for was more of Duo's touches, more of his breath and his eyes. He wanted to take Duo into his arms and never let him go. All these thoughts caused a lot of trouble for Heero. He hadn't had many of these thoughts before, and he wasn't about to act on them in front of Hilde- no matter how close she and Duo were. He watched Duo move, admiring the energy and the good nature that accompanied everything he did. Duo was someone who just couldn't be kept down- and Heero wouldn't have him be any other way. "Aa, with your help Hilde we'll be done in no time. Do you have other projects we can start on Duo?" He didn't know what Duo's exact financial situation was- the pilots all had bits of money left from false accounts created during the wars, but those were mostly emergency money. Duo didn't have as much money as Quatre- that was certain. It was Heero's duty to make sure that Duo was getting along all right...and now they were dependant on one another. Heero's own funds were ample for a single person with no fixed expenses to live a long time, he hoped they'd prove useful to Duo.
"He's always got a new project! I told him I'd take a smaller cut, but he wouldn't listen," she said a she leaned her back against the counter and started eating her own soup.
"Hilde," he whined, opening up the freezer. Abruptly changing the subject, he asked, "Want some ice cream, Heero?"
He wanted to tell Heero about the orphanage about his other big project, but he wanted to do it in his own time! Not that Heero would ever run away, but he didn't want him to feel burdened either. And just what a young man wanted with his new lover was say two hundred step kids.
Heero shook his head. He was full and more than full. Ice cream would just sour his stomach. "I want to bandage your fingers now- they've been out of the wrap too long." He held out his hands to Duo. "Come here." He said it gently, it was a kind of test. Would Duo be willing to put himself in Heero's hands? How much did he actually trust him? It was a small thing, but the small things were important to Heero. He didn't want there to be any uneasiness between them- that's why he fully intended to demand Duo's records this afternoon. If he was going to move in and join Duo's venture, he was going to have to have equal knowledge of the business.
Duo grimaced and sighed, but if Heero wanted his fingers re taped, well, that's what they'd do. He closed the freezer door and moved towards #1. It would be cool if Heero would just wrap him in his arms and promise him it wouldn't hurt, but then Heero didn't lie either really.
Duo felt very small as Heero looked at his fingers. He supposed they looked pretty bad, kind of swollen and purple. A little black down the middle finger, which made an ironic kinda sense. "Uh, Heero, they're not broken or anything," Duo said even as he relaxed his hand and arm, giving himself over to Heero.
He really needed a moment to consider the meaning, the changes. Heero embraced him in front Hilde and he was going to fix up his fingers and he'd touched his knee. One thought piled on another and Duo got increasingly elated with each thought. It was as if he only now realized how much he'd been waiting for this, caring about all kinds of things outside of himself, but not thinking about his heart because what he wanted could never be. Heero really loved him!
Hilde laid a hand on Duo's shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'll get you some tape, Heero. Maybe some pain killer. Maybe I'll turn on some music, drown out the yelling."
"Hilde!" Duo snapped, "What do you think? I'm gonna cry like a baby?"
She suppressed a laugh. "Babies don't cuss like you do. Maybe you should drink a beer before he works on your fingers?"
"No thank you! I'm just fine. I can take it," Duo made a face, and hoped no one saw him swallow. "Heero knows what he's doing about this stuff."
"I'm sure he does," Hilde said, suddenly feeling less comfortable with this. Heero was good at a lot of things, she expected, feeling like her own position was less secure. What was Duo going to need her around for now?
Since the end of the war, after the Marimaya incident, they'd been partners, best friends, and she'd never thought of Duo in a romantic way. It wasn't that he wasn't fine to look, he was. With his shirt off, sweating and moving things in the yard, she loved the way his muscles moved under his skin. She'd wondered sometimes if his hips would be that strong, what his thrust would be like. Okay, maybe not romantic, but defiantly sexual sometimes. Blush flared over her cheeks.
Duo grimaced, his eyebrows drawing down. "Just what ARE you thinking about, Hilde-chan?"
"That you'd probably make a lot of noise! Heero, take him into the living room, uh? I'll get the supplies out of the bathroom."
"Make a lot of noise? Hilde," Duo growled, feeling more playful than angry. He knew Hilde sometimes fancied him, but there'd never been anything even slightly romantic between them. A lot of innuendo flew around. Maybe that was part of why Hilde had known about his feelings for Heero, as Heero never been a subject Duo was ever willing to make innuendo about. "I don't make a lot of noise! Unless I want to!"
"Just you wait till Heero touches your fingers and we'll see," she threw back as she left the kitchen.
Duo looked back at Heero apologetically. "It's like she's a guy, you know? A good friend to tease with. And cuz we're alone," Duo leaned forward and brushed his lips over Heero's. It was still so new, so daring. How many years had he spend being afraid that Heero would do him bodily harm for doing just this. It was just a light brush of his lips to Heero's but it excited him, made his blood run too fast. "When I have trouble sleeping, sometimes I think about doing that, or touching your face, running my fingers through your hair, and then I can fall asleep for a while. I'm glad you came, Heero."
Duo held his lip between his teeth. This was gonna hurt, and he couldn't let it show cuz he didn't want Heero to think he was a baby. He pulled his arm back through the sling and pointed towards the living room. The tension made him vibrate though. Duo didn't like pain, but he really didn't think Heero was gonna be cool with him having a couple beers first. Duo had a lot of bad habits that he didn't think Heero would have anything to do with.
At least his bedroom was clean, but only because Hilde had bitched him around so much about it. Now he knew why. Something else to thank her for later.
In the bathroom, Hilde picked all the supplies she thought Heero would need and organized them neatly in a chrome basket. A little nervous, she also took a white paper bag out of her shoulder bag. Duo liked to think of himself as a drinker, and he'd even boasted once about doing some street drugs when he was younger, but she'd never seen him do drugs, never seen him drink more than one beer at a time, and he hadn't picked up his prescription for painkillers.
There were times when she thought Duo was all bluster, all noise to cover something up, probably his vulnerable self. Hilde had been taking a couple classes at the local college. One of them was psychology. Her childhood had been very nice, father a little rough around the edges, but both her parents loved her. She assumed Duo's life was like hers mostly until she took this class. Then started wondering.
He was obsessed with providing for the orphanage, with making sure those kids were okay. Other things, like how he was either in a completely cheerful mood, loud and boisterous, or he was just missing. There was no middle ground with him. Until his arm got hurt and she'd brought up Heero. Such clouds had passed over Duo's face, and she knew he was in love with the odd Japanese boy.
She also knew that he'd try to let Heero work on his fingers and that he'd pretend it didn't hurt. She was pretty sure, even if she offered him his prescription that she'd picked up for him, he wouldn't take it. Maybe he had had a problem with drugs, she wasn't sure, but he sure did avoid them. Causing Duo pain was something that would bother Heero, she was sure and their relationship didn't need this stress right now.
The prescription came in two forms, a bottle of pills, to be taken every four hours, and hypo spray she'd gone back to the clinic to ask for. The doctor at the clinic in the orphanage knew Duo Maxwell very well. Maybe better than Hilde did, and prescribed the hypo spray when Hilde had explained that Duo was going to have a guest who'd likely be able to get him to rewrap his fingers. Now, she just had to figure out how to get Duo to accept the painkiller. She set the spray for the maximum dose and set it down in the basket with the tape and antibiotic salve.
On the way back out of the bathroom, a devious plan occurred to her. She just needed one little yes, so Duo didn't kill her later. She picked up a ball from the hall way floor on her way. Duo seemed to like balls since he'd come back after Mariemaya. She bounced it in her palm and wondered if he were trying to have some kind of childhood now. It was probably healthier than what she was about to do.
Heero and Duo stood by each other in the living room, sharing personal bubble space. It had just happened so fast! Hilde smiled. She did love Duo, he was a precious friend and she wanted him to be happy so very much. So she felt guilty already when she threw the rubber ball at his hand. "Catch!"
Duo spun, eyes hard, immediately warily. Instinctively he reached with both hands. He caught the ball with his good hand, but brushed it over the fingers of his sore hand and howled. "GOD damn it, Hilde! Whad'ya do that for?!"
She palmed the hypo spray, refused to look at Heero for a moment and stepped close. "Let me make it all better?"
"How the hell are you going to do that?" Duo snapped at her, "Baka! You just make it all better, right!"
Her hand up swiftly and pressed the hypo spray to his throat. "I picked up your prescription, Duo-sama. Hope you don't mind."
There was a hiss from the spray and Duo's eyes went wide. The ball dropped from his fingers as the fast acting drug hit his system. "Fucking lucky I didn't have a beer," he said, "Hilde, you just drugged me!"
"Yeah, Dr. Mary says to tell you hello and that it'll wear off in a couple hours, but you shouldn't be feeling any pain really quick."
"What pain? Shinigami doesn't feel pain," Duo said with a giggle, before turning to look at Heero. Such beautiful blue eyes! "I love your eyes, Heero. They're so pretty." Then he collapsed forward, eyes wide and adoring.
Heero stood unmoving while Hilde played out her devious trap. He didn't know what was going on, but he trusted her with Duo- she was one of the few people he felt to be safe, Duo trusted her. When she pressed the medicine to Duo's throat, Heero understood what she had done. Clever girl, outfoxing the fox.
Heero caught Duo gently in his arms, holding him close. He looked down into the boy's angelic face, his eye's full of love and adoration. Duo- he was such a marvel, but he needed his rest like any other human being, and now was the perfect time to set the fingers right.
Heero carried Duo to the couch and set him down, sliding to the floor so that he knelt at Duo's side.
"Hilde, I need a bandage- is there a cream for the swelling?"
Hilde held out the little basket of supplies she'd taken from the bathroom. "Everything you should need is there. You're brave. I might drug him, but wouldn't touch that hand. Nasty swelling."
Duo smiled at Heero, rolled his eyes in a very suggestive manner then licked the very corner of his lip. "Some swelling can be very nice." Duo looked at Heero's fingers near his and moved like he could hold Heero's hand with his injured hand. It didn't hurt now after all. "Oh, Heero, wait till you see the new colony. It's gonna be so pretty. You are gonna kiss me again, right?"
Hilde blushed at that. Smiling nervously, she said, "I suddenly feel the need for some ice cream. Call me if I can do anything, okay?"
"Hilde," Duo said, one eye more open than the other, but his whole body relaxed on the couch, "You set me up, didn't you?"
"Yeah, Duo-chan, I did. You got a problem with that?"
Which eye was open switched and Duo tilted his head back for a moment, staring at some fascinating thing on the ceiling. "No, Hilde, but I get to set you up some time. You like Wu fei?"
"Not really," she said, then slipped a way really quick like.
Duo lifted his head and forced both eyes open. "Do you think she's hiding something? Kami-sama, you're cute!"
Hilde sighed and Duo's eyes snapped open. She stood there smiling like she'd never seen anyone in love before until Duo glared at her and then she scratched her head and studied the ceiling for a moment. "I'm just happy to see you happy, Duo-kun. You do so much, Duo and it's time you...."
"Hilde!" he interrupted her. He wasn't ready for Heero to know about some things. He wanted tell him himself, when they were alone and after they'd dealt with his hand. He knew from Heero's tone that he wouldn't be happy until he'd set those fingers. "So, like get some lunch for yourself, uh?"
Heero didn't get what was going on between Duo and Hilde, obviously there were things going on that he wasn't aware of- but that was natural since these two had been living together for so long, and Heero had only just arrived. What he did know was that his heart lurched in his chest when Duo leaned into his fingers, and he wanted to take that face between his hands and kiss Duo until both of them were gasping for breath.
He refrained because of Hilde's presence, but he filed it away as something to do later. He let his hand fall down to Duo's other knee. Food didn't seem to provide the kind of nourishment that being near Duo did.
He considered asking about what Duo had stopped Hilde from saying- but Duo would tell him in time if it was important...maybe he wouldn't at that...he loved Duo with all his heart- but sometimes the boy didn't always know when to speak his heart.
"Time you what?"
A Heero hand on his other knee, Duo spent a whole breath just smiling. It didn't seem real. Heero loved him. Wanted him. And wasn't gonna kill him for wanting him back. Duo grinned and wiggled his knee under Heero's hand, up and into the hand.
"I was going to say that he works too much." Hilde said, taking out a can of soup. She sighed and turned her back to them, paying complete attention to her own lunch. "I brought in the mail, Duo. There were some things in there for you." She clipped the end of that sentence. There were things Hilde didn't know either, things Duo went to pretty solid lengths to keep her from finding out.
She had a lot of respect for him though. Whatever he was up to was well intended and would probably work just fine, but she wanted to know! She wanted to help. It had something to do with the orphanage, she was sure, but she just didn't know what it was. "So, Heero, you're going to stay, right? We could always use more help, even after Duo's arm's better. He's got lots of big projects, don't you, Duo?"
Duo groaned and took a bite of his soup. It was a good thing it was his favorite or he might not wanted to have eaten it. He could tell Heero what he was doing, and he would. He'd even Hilde, just not till he was ready. "I work hard because I'm industrious," Duo said, setting his spoon down to pick up his bowl of soup, then realizing he couldn't do that, picked it back up. "Heero, Hilde's right. I should have asked you to come sooner."
"Maybe, but I'm here now- that's all that's important." He rubbed Duo's knee as the boy pushed up against his hand. It felt good to play like this. Of course he would stay, he would stay by Duo's side forever and ever- he would help him with anything. He wanted to make Duo's life perfect. "I'll stay as long as Duo wants me to." Taking note of Duo's difficulties, a clever idea formed in Heero's mind. If he was going to be Duo's partner in life- he would have to assist him in a variety of ways right? So quite casually he leaned over and lifted Duo's bowl with his hand, tilting it up for the former pilot. "Should be easier now." He said levelly.
Duo tapped the edge of his spoon against the table for a moment. He didn't get helped like this. It was... odd. He just knew that Hilde was watching from behind. But having Heero in his life, loving him, helping him, it was new. It was something he wanted. He lifted the spoon, smiled at Heero. "Thanks."
Then finished the last few bites of his soup quickly. Would Heero let him do that for him too? That would be very nice. Also, Heero had to finish his, which left Duo with a free hand, which promptly laid on Heero's knee. There were some strong muscles under that cloth. Duo loved the feel of his hand on Heero's knee. It was real! He could touch Heero and not get killed!
Suddenly he had too much energy and had to bounce up out of his chair. He ran his fingers over Heero's hair, almost had another problem of interest, even after the first one had faded. Gods, he might need to keep his fingers bruised. The pain of hitting them got rid of erections quite well!
Totally hyper, he put his bowl in the sink and started pacing. "Heero's gonna help with the salvage operation Hilde!"
She smiled at him. "With the three of us, it should get done pretty fast."
Heero sat up in his chair smiling. He didn't finish the last bits of soup- he wasn't hungry for them. What he was hungry for was more of Duo's touches, more of his breath and his eyes. He wanted to take Duo into his arms and never let him go. All these thoughts caused a lot of trouble for Heero. He hadn't had many of these thoughts before, and he wasn't about to act on them in front of Hilde- no matter how close she and Duo were. He watched Duo move, admiring the energy and the good nature that accompanied everything he did. Duo was someone who just couldn't be kept down- and Heero wouldn't have him be any other way. "Aa, with your help Hilde we'll be done in no time. Do you have other projects we can start on Duo?" He didn't know what Duo's exact financial situation was- the pilots all had bits of money left from false accounts created during the wars, but those were mostly emergency money. Duo didn't have as much money as Quatre- that was certain. It was Heero's duty to make sure that Duo was getting along all right...and now they were dependant on one another. Heero's own funds were ample for a single person with no fixed expenses to live a long time, he hoped they'd prove useful to Duo.
"He's always got a new project! I told him I'd take a smaller cut, but he wouldn't listen," she said a she leaned her back against the counter and started eating her own soup.
"Hilde," he whined, opening up the freezer. Abruptly changing the subject, he asked, "Want some ice cream, Heero?"
He wanted to tell Heero about the orphanage about his other big project, but he wanted to do it in his own time! Not that Heero would ever run away, but he didn't want him to feel burdened either. And just what a young man wanted with his new lover was say two hundred step kids.
Heero shook his head. He was full and more than full. Ice cream would just sour his stomach. "I want to bandage your fingers now- they've been out of the wrap too long." He held out his hands to Duo. "Come here." He said it gently, it was a kind of test. Would Duo be willing to put himself in Heero's hands? How much did he actually trust him? It was a small thing, but the small things were important to Heero. He didn't want there to be any uneasiness between them- that's why he fully intended to demand Duo's records this afternoon. If he was going to move in and join Duo's venture, he was going to have to have equal knowledge of the business.
Duo grimaced and sighed, but if Heero wanted his fingers re taped, well, that's what they'd do. He closed the freezer door and moved towards #1. It would be cool if Heero would just wrap him in his arms and promise him it wouldn't hurt, but then Heero didn't lie either really.
Duo felt very small as Heero looked at his fingers. He supposed they looked pretty bad, kind of swollen and purple. A little black down the middle finger, which made an ironic kinda sense. "Uh, Heero, they're not broken or anything," Duo said even as he relaxed his hand and arm, giving himself over to Heero.
He really needed a moment to consider the meaning, the changes. Heero embraced him in front Hilde and he was going to fix up his fingers and he'd touched his knee. One thought piled on another and Duo got increasingly elated with each thought. It was as if he only now realized how much he'd been waiting for this, caring about all kinds of things outside of himself, but not thinking about his heart because what he wanted could never be. Heero really loved him!
Hilde laid a hand on Duo's shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'll get you some tape, Heero. Maybe some pain killer. Maybe I'll turn on some music, drown out the yelling."
"Hilde!" Duo snapped, "What do you think? I'm gonna cry like a baby?"
She suppressed a laugh. "Babies don't cuss like you do. Maybe you should drink a beer before he works on your fingers?"
"No thank you! I'm just fine. I can take it," Duo made a face, and hoped no one saw him swallow. "Heero knows what he's doing about this stuff."
"I'm sure he does," Hilde said, suddenly feeling less comfortable with this. Heero was good at a lot of things, she expected, feeling like her own position was less secure. What was Duo going to need her around for now?
Since the end of the war, after the Marimaya incident, they'd been partners, best friends, and she'd never thought of Duo in a romantic way. It wasn't that he wasn't fine to look, he was. With his shirt off, sweating and moving things in the yard, she loved the way his muscles moved under his skin. She'd wondered sometimes if his hips would be that strong, what his thrust would be like. Okay, maybe not romantic, but defiantly sexual sometimes. Blush flared over her cheeks.
Duo grimaced, his eyebrows drawing down. "Just what ARE you thinking about, Hilde-chan?"
"That you'd probably make a lot of noise! Heero, take him into the living room, uh? I'll get the supplies out of the bathroom."
"Make a lot of noise? Hilde," Duo growled, feeling more playful than angry. He knew Hilde sometimes fancied him, but there'd never been anything even slightly romantic between them. A lot of innuendo flew around. Maybe that was part of why Hilde had known about his feelings for Heero, as Heero never been a subject Duo was ever willing to make innuendo about. "I don't make a lot of noise! Unless I want to!"
"Just you wait till Heero touches your fingers and we'll see," she threw back as she left the kitchen.
Duo looked back at Heero apologetically. "It's like she's a guy, you know? A good friend to tease with. And cuz we're alone," Duo leaned forward and brushed his lips over Heero's. It was still so new, so daring. How many years had he spend being afraid that Heero would do him bodily harm for doing just this. It was just a light brush of his lips to Heero's but it excited him, made his blood run too fast. "When I have trouble sleeping, sometimes I think about doing that, or touching your face, running my fingers through your hair, and then I can fall asleep for a while. I'm glad you came, Heero."
Duo held his lip between his teeth. This was gonna hurt, and he couldn't let it show cuz he didn't want Heero to think he was a baby. He pulled his arm back through the sling and pointed towards the living room. The tension made him vibrate though. Duo didn't like pain, but he really didn't think Heero was gonna be cool with him having a couple beers first. Duo had a lot of bad habits that he didn't think Heero would have anything to do with.
At least his bedroom was clean, but only because Hilde had bitched him around so much about it. Now he knew why. Something else to thank her for later.
In the bathroom, Hilde picked all the supplies she thought Heero would need and organized them neatly in a chrome basket. A little nervous, she also took a white paper bag out of her shoulder bag. Duo liked to think of himself as a drinker, and he'd even boasted once about doing some street drugs when he was younger, but she'd never seen him do drugs, never seen him drink more than one beer at a time, and he hadn't picked up his prescription for painkillers.
There were times when she thought Duo was all bluster, all noise to cover something up, probably his vulnerable self. Hilde had been taking a couple classes at the local college. One of them was psychology. Her childhood had been very nice, father a little rough around the edges, but both her parents loved her. She assumed Duo's life was like hers mostly until she took this class. Then started wondering.
He was obsessed with providing for the orphanage, with making sure those kids were okay. Other things, like how he was either in a completely cheerful mood, loud and boisterous, or he was just missing. There was no middle ground with him. Until his arm got hurt and she'd brought up Heero. Such clouds had passed over Duo's face, and she knew he was in love with the odd Japanese boy.
She also knew that he'd try to let Heero work on his fingers and that he'd pretend it didn't hurt. She was pretty sure, even if she offered him his prescription that she'd picked up for him, he wouldn't take it. Maybe he had had a problem with drugs, she wasn't sure, but he sure did avoid them. Causing Duo pain was something that would bother Heero, she was sure and their relationship didn't need this stress right now.
The prescription came in two forms, a bottle of pills, to be taken every four hours, and hypo spray she'd gone back to the clinic to ask for. The doctor at the clinic in the orphanage knew Duo Maxwell very well. Maybe better than Hilde did, and prescribed the hypo spray when Hilde had explained that Duo was going to have a guest who'd likely be able to get him to rewrap his fingers. Now, she just had to figure out how to get Duo to accept the painkiller. She set the spray for the maximum dose and set it down in the basket with the tape and antibiotic salve.
On the way back out of the bathroom, a devious plan occurred to her. She just needed one little yes, so Duo didn't kill her later. She picked up a ball from the hall way floor on her way. Duo seemed to like balls since he'd come back after Mariemaya. She bounced it in her palm and wondered if he were trying to have some kind of childhood now. It was probably healthier than what she was about to do.
Heero and Duo stood by each other in the living room, sharing personal bubble space. It had just happened so fast! Hilde smiled. She did love Duo, he was a precious friend and she wanted him to be happy so very much. So she felt guilty already when she threw the rubber ball at his hand. "Catch!"
Duo spun, eyes hard, immediately warily. Instinctively he reached with both hands. He caught the ball with his good hand, but brushed it over the fingers of his sore hand and howled. "GOD damn it, Hilde! Whad'ya do that for?!"
She palmed the hypo spray, refused to look at Heero for a moment and stepped close. "Let me make it all better?"
"How the hell are you going to do that?" Duo snapped at her, "Baka! You just make it all better, right!"
Her hand up swiftly and pressed the hypo spray to his throat. "I picked up your prescription, Duo-sama. Hope you don't mind."
There was a hiss from the spray and Duo's eyes went wide. The ball dropped from his fingers as the fast acting drug hit his system. "Fucking lucky I didn't have a beer," he said, "Hilde, you just drugged me!"
"Yeah, Dr. Mary says to tell you hello and that it'll wear off in a couple hours, but you shouldn't be feeling any pain really quick."
"What pain? Shinigami doesn't feel pain," Duo said with a giggle, before turning to look at Heero. Such beautiful blue eyes! "I love your eyes, Heero. They're so pretty." Then he collapsed forward, eyes wide and adoring.
Heero stood unmoving while Hilde played out her devious trap. He didn't know what was going on, but he trusted her with Duo- she was one of the few people he felt to be safe, Duo trusted her. When she pressed the medicine to Duo's throat, Heero understood what she had done. Clever girl, outfoxing the fox.
Heero caught Duo gently in his arms, holding him close. He looked down into the boy's angelic face, his eye's full of love and adoration. Duo- he was such a marvel, but he needed his rest like any other human being, and now was the perfect time to set the fingers right.
Heero carried Duo to the couch and set him down, sliding to the floor so that he knelt at Duo's side.
"Hilde, I need a bandage- is there a cream for the swelling?"
Hilde held out the little basket of supplies she'd taken from the bathroom. "Everything you should need is there. You're brave. I might drug him, but wouldn't touch that hand. Nasty swelling."
Duo smiled at Heero, rolled his eyes in a very suggestive manner then licked the very corner of his lip. "Some swelling can be very nice." Duo looked at Heero's fingers near his and moved like he could hold Heero's hand with his injured hand. It didn't hurt now after all. "Oh, Heero, wait till you see the new colony. It's gonna be so pretty. You are gonna kiss me again, right?"
Hilde blushed at that. Smiling nervously, she said, "I suddenly feel the need for some ice cream. Call me if I can do anything, okay?"
"Hilde," Duo said, one eye more open than the other, but his whole body relaxed on the couch, "You set me up, didn't you?"
"Yeah, Duo-chan, I did. You got a problem with that?"
Which eye was open switched and Duo tilted his head back for a moment, staring at some fascinating thing on the ceiling. "No, Hilde, but I get to set you up some time. You like Wu fei?"
"Not really," she said, then slipped a way really quick like.
Duo lifted his head and forced both eyes open. "Do you think she's hiding something? Kami-sama, you're cute!"