Part 4
The next few days were hell for Duo. He wanted to confront Heero about the program, about why he would implement it, to beg him never to self-destruct again, but if he did, Heero was sure to get angry with him for prying and touching his mobile suit. The fear of what would happen if he told Heero warred with the fear of what would happen if he didn't.
Duo began to avoid Heero, since every time he looked at the other pilot, he felt a surge of fear, confusion, betrayal, and anger. Why he was angry he wasn't exactly sure, but whenever he looked at Heero, the heat crept up to his face, blurring his vision and clouding his thoughts, making him want to scream at the other pilot.
Quatre noticed the tense atmosphere, but was at a loss as to what to do about it. He finally decided to grab the bull by the horns and face the issue head on.
They were all sitting at the table for dinner (Quatre had insisted on dining as a group while they were all together) when he decided to bring up the matter. Duo sat glowering at his plate, staring out the window, looking anywhere but at Heero. "Duo," Quatre hesitantly addressed him. "Are you mad about something?"
Duo glanced up at him. "Why, Quatre, whatever gave you that idea?" he asked bitterly.
Trying hard not to be deflected by the sarcasm, Quatre forged on. "You just seem. . . tense, especially towards Heero."
Duo made no reply. He went back to shoveling food in his mouth and glaring at the table as though it had grievously hurt him.
Seeing that he wasn't going to get an answer that way, Quatre decided to take a stab in the dark. "Are you mad because J's been bothering you about Heero?"
That got not only Duo's attention, but Heero's as well. "J's been contacting you?" Heero asked sharply.
"Well, yes," Quatre said. "I sent him a message after I got here to tell him about your condition, since Duo wasn't in any state to remember to do it. He's been sending me lots of messages asking why you haven't reported for active duty yet, but I told him you still needed to heal."
Surprised, Duo turned to Heero. "You aren't back on active duty yet?" Part of him wanted to jump for joy, while the other part wondered what the catch was. Finally, his thoughts settled on cautious optimism. /Maybe there's some hope for him yet./
Seeing some of Duo's tension leave him, Quatre went on more cheerfully, "I told J that you needed some more time off, that you were finally taking Duo's advice and paying some attention to your health."
Heero's face muscles twitched. "You told him that?"
"Well, yeah." Quatre hesitated, seeing the look on Heero's face.
Trowa jumped swiftly to Quatre's defense. "If you object to the messages being sent to J, you should contact him yourself. Normally, you'd have been in touch with him long ago."
Heero got up abruptly, knocking his chair over. He tried to stride furiously out of the room, but his body rebelled and he ended up walking slowly and painfully, anger still plain in every movement.
After he had left the room, Duo turned to Quatre. "Look, Quatre, I'd appreciate it if you didn't let J contact you anymore."
"But why?" Quatre wanted to know. "If there's a mission one of us needs to go on for Heero. . ."
"One of the other doctors will let us know," Duo said. "But I think something weird is going on between Heero and J right now, so it might be a good idea to just stay out of it."
Quatre nodded uncertainly, and Duo felt like a hypocrite, since he had no intention of taking his own advice.
tbc
AN: Oh man, I think I just made Quatre look like an air head in that part. I didn't mean to! Really!
The next few days were hell for Duo. He wanted to confront Heero about the program, about why he would implement it, to beg him never to self-destruct again, but if he did, Heero was sure to get angry with him for prying and touching his mobile suit. The fear of what would happen if he told Heero warred with the fear of what would happen if he didn't.
Duo began to avoid Heero, since every time he looked at the other pilot, he felt a surge of fear, confusion, betrayal, and anger. Why he was angry he wasn't exactly sure, but whenever he looked at Heero, the heat crept up to his face, blurring his vision and clouding his thoughts, making him want to scream at the other pilot.
Quatre noticed the tense atmosphere, but was at a loss as to what to do about it. He finally decided to grab the bull by the horns and face the issue head on.
They were all sitting at the table for dinner (Quatre had insisted on dining as a group while they were all together) when he decided to bring up the matter. Duo sat glowering at his plate, staring out the window, looking anywhere but at Heero. "Duo," Quatre hesitantly addressed him. "Are you mad about something?"
Duo glanced up at him. "Why, Quatre, whatever gave you that idea?" he asked bitterly.
Trying hard not to be deflected by the sarcasm, Quatre forged on. "You just seem. . . tense, especially towards Heero."
Duo made no reply. He went back to shoveling food in his mouth and glaring at the table as though it had grievously hurt him.
Seeing that he wasn't going to get an answer that way, Quatre decided to take a stab in the dark. "Are you mad because J's been bothering you about Heero?"
That got not only Duo's attention, but Heero's as well. "J's been contacting you?" Heero asked sharply.
"Well, yes," Quatre said. "I sent him a message after I got here to tell him about your condition, since Duo wasn't in any state to remember to do it. He's been sending me lots of messages asking why you haven't reported for active duty yet, but I told him you still needed to heal."
Surprised, Duo turned to Heero. "You aren't back on active duty yet?" Part of him wanted to jump for joy, while the other part wondered what the catch was. Finally, his thoughts settled on cautious optimism. /Maybe there's some hope for him yet./
Seeing some of Duo's tension leave him, Quatre went on more cheerfully, "I told J that you needed some more time off, that you were finally taking Duo's advice and paying some attention to your health."
Heero's face muscles twitched. "You told him that?"
"Well, yeah." Quatre hesitated, seeing the look on Heero's face.
Trowa jumped swiftly to Quatre's defense. "If you object to the messages being sent to J, you should contact him yourself. Normally, you'd have been in touch with him long ago."
Heero got up abruptly, knocking his chair over. He tried to stride furiously out of the room, but his body rebelled and he ended up walking slowly and painfully, anger still plain in every movement.
After he had left the room, Duo turned to Quatre. "Look, Quatre, I'd appreciate it if you didn't let J contact you anymore."
"But why?" Quatre wanted to know. "If there's a mission one of us needs to go on for Heero. . ."
"One of the other doctors will let us know," Duo said. "But I think something weird is going on between Heero and J right now, so it might be a good idea to just stay out of it."
Quatre nodded uncertainly, and Duo felt like a hypocrite, since he had no intention of taking his own advice.
tbc
AN: Oh man, I think I just made Quatre look like an air head in that part. I didn't mean to! Really!