Disclaimer: Not mine : (
AN-Yes! Chapter two rewritten as well. Again, fixed typos and reworded sentences. No major plot changes.
Date: 23 Nov. 2003
Chapter 2
Duo woke slowly, as he did every morning. He felt himself waking up, but kept his eyes firmly shut, hoping to catch a few more, ahem, hours of sleep. However, all thoughts of sleep left his mind as the smell of food soon reached his nostrils.
"Food!" he cried, opening his eyes.
No difference.
Everything was pitch black.
Duo blinked a couple of times. He couldn't believe this was happening. His sight was what made everything on earth and on the colonies so beautiful...the green leaves of the trees, the sparkling blue waters of the ocean, fire burning brightly...It couldn't just be gone!
Well...after a moment of thought he supposed it could. After all, things had been overly blurry yesterday. He nibbled his bottom lip worriedly, running a hand through his sleep tangled hair. He gave a frustrated sigh as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, blinking a few more times to try to fix whatever was wrong with his eyes. "Focus, Maxwell!" he growled angrily. "This can't be happening! I can't pilot without sight!"
As he stood, a wave of hopelessness washed over him. "This has got to be temporary." He stated loudly to himself, nodding as he set his lips in a firm line. Duo Maxwell was a believer...and he wasn't about to let temporary blindness run him down. After all...it was temporary.
He felt his way over to his cabinet, where he kept his clothes. His hands searched for his usual outfit, and he determinedly headed for the bathroom which was across the hall. "Everything will be fine when I get out of the shower." He told himself, nodding once again.
However, when Duo emerged from his shower, he still couldn't see anything. Everything was a blackness that was beginning to engulf him. Duo stood in the middle of the hall, fumbling with his soggy chestnut locks, trying to braid them into the usual `do'. Succeeding at last (albeit rather messily), Duo grabbed the railing and started his slow descent down the stairs.
When he reached the bottom, he felt his way over to the kitchen, still seeing nothing. Using his nose, he sensed the smell of pancakes...
"Mmmm..." Duo muttered as he entered the room. He paused at the doorway. His memory wasn't that great, but he did know that the table where he had to go was on the other side of the room, and there were many obstacles in the way. He thought despairingly. And from the sounds of it, all four pilots were in the kitchen. Apparently Heero had returned from his mission during the night.
"Morning Duo." Quatre said from the stove, or what Duo thought was the direction of the stove. "Did you sleep well?"
Duo hesitated. He would have to tell his friends eventually that he couldn't see anything, and he wasn't sure how they were going to take it. He grumbled to himself. Without his sight, Duo would have to abandon Deathscythe. No question about it. He was gonna have to give up his buddy. Even Heero wouldn't be capable of piloting a Gundam without being able to see anything.
With this thought in mind, Duo headed over to the table, with a slight "sorta" directed to Quatre. He stubbed his toe on a stool and cursed loudly, gaining a sigh from WuFei, or what he thought was WuFei.
"You should watch where you're going Maxwell." Yeah, it was definitely Wu- man.
Judging by the direction of his voice, Duo figured that the table was a little more to the left. Changing the degree of his course slightly, Duo headed for the table. He bumped into something else, and not knowing what it was, he simply turned and headed more to the right.
"Hn."
Duo cursed to himself. That thing he'd bumped into had been a certain stoic soldier. "Sorry Heero." He mumbled, bumping into the edge of the table. Finding an empty chair, he sat down, feeling mildly pleased with himself. He'd made it so far...
"Maxwell..." WuFei's voice again. "Is it in style to wear your shirt inside out, or were you just too much of a baka to put it on properly this morning?"
Duo froze.
"Is there something you aren't telling us Duo?" It was Quatre's voice, and he sounded concerned.
Duo sighed, defeated. "I can't see anything." He muttered. "Heero, you might as well just shoot me now. Try not to miss, I don't want it to hurt too bad."
"Hn." Duo heard the safety being pulled, and he braced himself for the impact.
However, a startled squawk from Quatre had the braided pilot confused. "What do you think you are doing Heero? You know he can't see you..."
Duo's jaw dropped. "What do you mean, Q?"
Quatre smiled, a brightness which Duo couldn't detect, and replied, "He's not pointing his gun at you Duo, he pulled the safety as a, um, joke...I guess"
Duo shook his head, sighing softly. "Right Quatre. Now you're the one who's lost it."
Duo heard a rustling beside him, indicating the presence of a person. "Why would I shoot you, Duo?" It was Heero.
"Because I know everything about you guys, and if I can't see anything, I can't pilot Deathscythe so I can't help you, and I'll just get in the way and if Oz captures me, they can use me against you." Duo took a breath, and waited again for the sound of Heero's gun.
Instead, Heero chuckled slightly. Duo's unseeing eyes widened in surprise.
"There's still a chance that you're going to get your sight back." Heero stated logically, accepting a plate of pancakes from Quatre and placing it in front of Duo.
Duo shook his head. "I don't know..."
"There's always hope." That was Quatre.
"Shoulda shot him Yuy." WuFei.
"WuFei!" Quatre again.
Duo put his hands over his ears. Everything had suddenly gone up in volume. And the smell of the pancakes was becoming overwhelming...Duo shook his head, trying to rid himself of the oversensitive senses. Quatre and WuFei were still arguing. Apparently the argument had caused Quatre to forget about the pancakes, and one started to burn. More obscenities from WuFei, and the usually calm Quatre was cursing in his Arabian tongue. Smell, Noise, Noise, Smell...Then the fire alarm went off.
This was apparently too much for Duo, and with a cry, he pushed his chair back, knocking it to the ground with a defining crash. He spun around and forced his way out of the kitchen, feeling Heero beside him, guiding him.
When Duo reached the living room, he felt his way over to the couch, and plopped down on it, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. His eyes were stinging with unshed tears, but he kept them firmly closed. He would not cry. He was strong. Hell, he'd survived a plague and half of a war...temporary blindness would not bring him down.
And it WAS temporary.
Heero sat down beside him. Duo could practically feel the waves of calmness radiating off the other pilot.
"Duo..."
Heero's tone was neither cold, nor menacing, nor threatening. It was comforting, in a way.
"What?" Duo flinched inwardly at the iciness of his voice, but it seemed he had no control over that at this moment. He was too high strung, too tense. It seemed he didn't have control over *anything* for that matter...
"What happened in there?"
Duo hesitated. He didn't want Heero to think he was crazy. Heck no. Duo didn't want to die. But then again, Heero hadn't killed Relena...
"Everything got really loud." He finally stated, his voice uncertain. He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, trying to block out the blackness...it wasn't working very well, but at least it seemed to help holding back the tears.
"Your senses are probably adjusting to the loss of your sight. They'll probably return to normal when you regain your vision." Heero's logic cut through Duo's thoughts...and the braided pilot found it oddly...comforting. The Japanese youth was keeping him grounded, making him think things through. This was not the end of the world. He himself had jumped to conclusions, expecting the worst...but Heero, as Heero always did, had things figured out and was looking at it in a logical sense.
Surprisingly, this seemed to help.
A lot.
But there was still a flicker of doubt in the back of Duo's mind...and against his better judgment, he voiced it softly:
"And what happens if I don't get it back?"
"You will. You haven't done anything to your eyes to lose it, have you?"
"No..." Duo thought about this concept for a minute. Why had he lost this essential sense in the first place? "I didn't, but...I think somebody else did..."
After a moment's pause in which Duo thought back to the events of the day before, he proceeded to tell Heero of the stab in his arm he had felt while dealing with the soldier in the storage cabinet.
"Probably a shot." Heero concluded. "Where was the prick?"
Duo rolled up his sleeve. Heero took Duo's hand in his and pulled the pale, thin arm onto his lap, running his fingers over the scarred skin. Upon examination, he found a small red mark that looked suspiciously like the mark a medical syringe would leave behind. He grunted softly, eyes narrowing slightly in thought. "Hn..."
"This changes things." Quatre's voice.
"How so?" Duo asked uncertainly.
"Well, they might have done something to your blood to have caused this lack of sight." Quatre's voice got closer as he was talking.
"Hm..."
"How are you feeling Duo? I'm sorry if we were too loud..." Concern could be heard once again in the blonde's voice.
"Ah, don't worry about it Q-man. No harm done. Though I am little dizzy to tell you the truth." Duo replied with his trademark grin. Inside, however, he was in a turmoil of confusion. So then his blood was being messed with...this could be serious. And why the hell was Heero still brushing his fingers over his arm? "Stop it, man." He muttered softly with a playful grin. "It tickles." He said, gently pulling his arm out of Heero's grasp. Heero grunted softly, and Duo could picture the short haired brunette rolling his eyes.
"You should go lie down. I'll get you something to drink." Quatre offered quietly. Duo nodded in agreement, and with Heero's help, headed up to his room. When he got there, he paused in the doorway, catching the Japanese pilot's arm as Heero turned to leave him. "Hey man...thanks." he muttered softly before releasing the arm.
Heero raised an eyebrow even though he knew Duo wouldn't be able to see it.
"For what?" He grunted, his voice back to its usual monotone. It wasn't particularly cold, but it certainly wasn't the comforting tone he'd used earlier.
"For bringing me back to reality. I was bein' kinda pessimistic for a while there." Duo replied, forcing out another grin. He was about to continue when Quatre interrupted them, coughing slightly to alert Duo of his presence.
"I brought you some pancakes and water." He offered. Duo could picture his gentle smile.
"Thanks Q-man, but I think I'm just gonna sleep on this for now. The water would be appreciated though."
"Oh, ok..."
Duo grinned again, accepting the water that was placed into his hand as he finally let go of Heero's arm, hearing pilot 01 head towards the stairs. Quatre helped Duo into his room, leading him over to the bed. "Get some rest, Duo. I'll wake you up later for lunch...I don't want you to go for too long without eating."
Duo grinned as he sat down on the edge of the bed, sipping at his water before he felt around to place it on the bedside table. "Thanks, Q." He
Quatre gave Duo a quick hug before he got to his feet and headed for the door. "I'm sure things are going to work out, Duo...don't worry too much about it, ok?"
Duo nodded, offering the blonde another toothy grin. "I know, Q...We've got nothing to be afraid of. OZ couldn't make a proper 'blinding' solution if they tried, anyhow. It'll wear off eventually."
Quatre gave a soft laugh at the braided boy's sense of humor as he stepped into the hall. "Just get some sleep, Duo." He said kindly before he shut the door softly behind him and headed back down to the kitchen.
Duo sank back onto the bed, groaning softly as he let his mask slip. His lips slanted downwards in a slight frown as he ran his fingers through his drying bangs. "Damnit...I only hope that I'm right." He said softly, willing himself to just sleep. He would think about things when he woke up...and as soon as he got his sight back, OZ was going to get some serious ass kicking.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN-Yes! Chapter two rewritten as well. Again, fixed typos and reworded sentences. No major plot changes.
Date: 23 Nov. 2003
Chapter 2
Duo woke slowly, as he did every morning. He felt himself waking up, but kept his eyes firmly shut, hoping to catch a few more, ahem, hours of sleep. However, all thoughts of sleep left his mind as the smell of food soon reached his nostrils.
"Food!" he cried, opening his eyes.
No difference.
Everything was pitch black.
Duo blinked a couple of times. He couldn't believe this was happening. His sight was what made everything on earth and on the colonies so beautiful...the green leaves of the trees, the sparkling blue waters of the ocean, fire burning brightly...It couldn't just be gone!
Well...after a moment of thought he supposed it could. After all, things had been overly blurry yesterday. He nibbled his bottom lip worriedly, running a hand through his sleep tangled hair. He gave a frustrated sigh as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, blinking a few more times to try to fix whatever was wrong with his eyes. "Focus, Maxwell!" he growled angrily. "This can't be happening! I can't pilot without sight!"
As he stood, a wave of hopelessness washed over him. "This has got to be temporary." He stated loudly to himself, nodding as he set his lips in a firm line. Duo Maxwell was a believer...and he wasn't about to let temporary blindness run him down. After all...it was temporary.
He felt his way over to his cabinet, where he kept his clothes. His hands searched for his usual outfit, and he determinedly headed for the bathroom which was across the hall. "Everything will be fine when I get out of the shower." He told himself, nodding once again.
However, when Duo emerged from his shower, he still couldn't see anything. Everything was a blackness that was beginning to engulf him. Duo stood in the middle of the hall, fumbling with his soggy chestnut locks, trying to braid them into the usual `do'. Succeeding at last (albeit rather messily), Duo grabbed the railing and started his slow descent down the stairs.
When he reached the bottom, he felt his way over to the kitchen, still seeing nothing. Using his nose, he sensed the smell of pancakes...
"Mmmm..." Duo muttered as he entered the room. He paused at the doorway. His memory wasn't that great, but he did know that the table where he had to go was on the other side of the room, and there were many obstacles in the way. He thought despairingly. And from the sounds of it, all four pilots were in the kitchen. Apparently Heero had returned from his mission during the night.
"Morning Duo." Quatre said from the stove, or what Duo thought was the direction of the stove. "Did you sleep well?"
Duo hesitated. He would have to tell his friends eventually that he couldn't see anything, and he wasn't sure how they were going to take it. He grumbled to himself. Without his sight, Duo would have to abandon Deathscythe. No question about it. He was gonna have to give up his buddy. Even Heero wouldn't be capable of piloting a Gundam without being able to see anything.
With this thought in mind, Duo headed over to the table, with a slight "sorta" directed to Quatre. He stubbed his toe on a stool and cursed loudly, gaining a sigh from WuFei, or what he thought was WuFei.
"You should watch where you're going Maxwell." Yeah, it was definitely Wu- man.
Judging by the direction of his voice, Duo figured that the table was a little more to the left. Changing the degree of his course slightly, Duo headed for the table. He bumped into something else, and not knowing what it was, he simply turned and headed more to the right.
"Hn."
Duo cursed to himself. That thing he'd bumped into had been a certain stoic soldier. "Sorry Heero." He mumbled, bumping into the edge of the table. Finding an empty chair, he sat down, feeling mildly pleased with himself. He'd made it so far...
"Maxwell..." WuFei's voice again. "Is it in style to wear your shirt inside out, or were you just too much of a baka to put it on properly this morning?"
Duo froze.
"Is there something you aren't telling us Duo?" It was Quatre's voice, and he sounded concerned.
Duo sighed, defeated. "I can't see anything." He muttered. "Heero, you might as well just shoot me now. Try not to miss, I don't want it to hurt too bad."
"Hn." Duo heard the safety being pulled, and he braced himself for the impact.
However, a startled squawk from Quatre had the braided pilot confused. "What do you think you are doing Heero? You know he can't see you..."
Duo's jaw dropped. "What do you mean, Q?"
Quatre smiled, a brightness which Duo couldn't detect, and replied, "He's not pointing his gun at you Duo, he pulled the safety as a, um, joke...I guess"
Duo shook his head, sighing softly. "Right Quatre. Now you're the one who's lost it."
Duo heard a rustling beside him, indicating the presence of a person. "Why would I shoot you, Duo?" It was Heero.
"Because I know everything about you guys, and if I can't see anything, I can't pilot Deathscythe so I can't help you, and I'll just get in the way and if Oz captures me, they can use me against you." Duo took a breath, and waited again for the sound of Heero's gun.
Instead, Heero chuckled slightly. Duo's unseeing eyes widened in surprise.
"There's still a chance that you're going to get your sight back." Heero stated logically, accepting a plate of pancakes from Quatre and placing it in front of Duo.
Duo shook his head. "I don't know..."
"There's always hope." That was Quatre.
"Shoulda shot him Yuy." WuFei.
"WuFei!" Quatre again.
Duo put his hands over his ears. Everything had suddenly gone up in volume. And the smell of the pancakes was becoming overwhelming...Duo shook his head, trying to rid himself of the oversensitive senses. Quatre and WuFei were still arguing. Apparently the argument had caused Quatre to forget about the pancakes, and one started to burn. More obscenities from WuFei, and the usually calm Quatre was cursing in his Arabian tongue. Smell, Noise, Noise, Smell...Then the fire alarm went off.
This was apparently too much for Duo, and with a cry, he pushed his chair back, knocking it to the ground with a defining crash. He spun around and forced his way out of the kitchen, feeling Heero beside him, guiding him.
When Duo reached the living room, he felt his way over to the couch, and plopped down on it, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. His eyes were stinging with unshed tears, but he kept them firmly closed. He would not cry. He was strong. Hell, he'd survived a plague and half of a war...temporary blindness would not bring him down.
And it WAS temporary.
Heero sat down beside him. Duo could practically feel the waves of calmness radiating off the other pilot.
"Duo..."
Heero's tone was neither cold, nor menacing, nor threatening. It was comforting, in a way.
"What?" Duo flinched inwardly at the iciness of his voice, but it seemed he had no control over that at this moment. He was too high strung, too tense. It seemed he didn't have control over *anything* for that matter...
"What happened in there?"
Duo hesitated. He didn't want Heero to think he was crazy. Heck no. Duo didn't want to die. But then again, Heero hadn't killed Relena...
"Everything got really loud." He finally stated, his voice uncertain. He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, trying to block out the blackness...it wasn't working very well, but at least it seemed to help holding back the tears.
"Your senses are probably adjusting to the loss of your sight. They'll probably return to normal when you regain your vision." Heero's logic cut through Duo's thoughts...and the braided pilot found it oddly...comforting. The Japanese youth was keeping him grounded, making him think things through. This was not the end of the world. He himself had jumped to conclusions, expecting the worst...but Heero, as Heero always did, had things figured out and was looking at it in a logical sense.
Surprisingly, this seemed to help.
A lot.
But there was still a flicker of doubt in the back of Duo's mind...and against his better judgment, he voiced it softly:
"And what happens if I don't get it back?"
"You will. You haven't done anything to your eyes to lose it, have you?"
"No..." Duo thought about this concept for a minute. Why had he lost this essential sense in the first place? "I didn't, but...I think somebody else did..."
After a moment's pause in which Duo thought back to the events of the day before, he proceeded to tell Heero of the stab in his arm he had felt while dealing with the soldier in the storage cabinet.
"Probably a shot." Heero concluded. "Where was the prick?"
Duo rolled up his sleeve. Heero took Duo's hand in his and pulled the pale, thin arm onto his lap, running his fingers over the scarred skin. Upon examination, he found a small red mark that looked suspiciously like the mark a medical syringe would leave behind. He grunted softly, eyes narrowing slightly in thought. "Hn..."
"This changes things." Quatre's voice.
"How so?" Duo asked uncertainly.
"Well, they might have done something to your blood to have caused this lack of sight." Quatre's voice got closer as he was talking.
"Hm..."
"How are you feeling Duo? I'm sorry if we were too loud..." Concern could be heard once again in the blonde's voice.
"Ah, don't worry about it Q-man. No harm done. Though I am little dizzy to tell you the truth." Duo replied with his trademark grin. Inside, however, he was in a turmoil of confusion. So then his blood was being messed with...this could be serious. And why the hell was Heero still brushing his fingers over his arm? "Stop it, man." He muttered softly with a playful grin. "It tickles." He said, gently pulling his arm out of Heero's grasp. Heero grunted softly, and Duo could picture the short haired brunette rolling his eyes.
"You should go lie down. I'll get you something to drink." Quatre offered quietly. Duo nodded in agreement, and with Heero's help, headed up to his room. When he got there, he paused in the doorway, catching the Japanese pilot's arm as Heero turned to leave him. "Hey man...thanks." he muttered softly before releasing the arm.
Heero raised an eyebrow even though he knew Duo wouldn't be able to see it.
"For what?" He grunted, his voice back to its usual monotone. It wasn't particularly cold, but it certainly wasn't the comforting tone he'd used earlier.
"For bringing me back to reality. I was bein' kinda pessimistic for a while there." Duo replied, forcing out another grin. He was about to continue when Quatre interrupted them, coughing slightly to alert Duo of his presence.
"I brought you some pancakes and water." He offered. Duo could picture his gentle smile.
"Thanks Q-man, but I think I'm just gonna sleep on this for now. The water would be appreciated though."
"Oh, ok..."
Duo grinned again, accepting the water that was placed into his hand as he finally let go of Heero's arm, hearing pilot 01 head towards the stairs. Quatre helped Duo into his room, leading him over to the bed. "Get some rest, Duo. I'll wake you up later for lunch...I don't want you to go for too long without eating."
Duo grinned as he sat down on the edge of the bed, sipping at his water before he felt around to place it on the bedside table. "Thanks, Q." He
Quatre gave Duo a quick hug before he got to his feet and headed for the door. "I'm sure things are going to work out, Duo...don't worry too much about it, ok?"
Duo nodded, offering the blonde another toothy grin. "I know, Q...We've got nothing to be afraid of. OZ couldn't make a proper 'blinding' solution if they tried, anyhow. It'll wear off eventually."
Quatre gave a soft laugh at the braided boy's sense of humor as he stepped into the hall. "Just get some sleep, Duo." He said kindly before he shut the door softly behind him and headed back down to the kitchen.
Duo sank back onto the bed, groaning softly as he let his mask slip. His lips slanted downwards in a slight frown as he ran his fingers through his drying bangs. "Damnit...I only hope that I'm right." He said softly, willing himself to just sleep. He would think about things when he woke up...and as soon as he got his sight back, OZ was going to get some serious ass kicking.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*