Anne: Awh, gomen, this is such a short chapter! GOMEN! But I have a really cool plan!!!!! Really, I do! ^_^ Thanks to all you people who reviewed! ^_^
"Meet Me Half Way"
Part 5 Intuition is a dreadful thing to worry about OR Don't leave home without me!
"Quatre! Take off your shirt!" I heard my voice saying as I watched his eyes widen and his face flush. He stuttered out some embarrassed response, but I didn't hear it.
Trowa silently stepped between us as I moved to personally rip the shirt off myself. I stopped and stared in shock.
Did he honestly think I was going to push myself on Quatre now? With Heero freaking out – losing his mind! – right behind me? The boor boy was literally ripping out his own hair at the sight of Quatre. Heck he was clawing himself to death! Some friend I'd be!
In all honesty I wanted to run to Heero and hold him close, try to sooth him, but I felt fear when I looked back at him. The savage look in his eyes… What would he do to me? I… I didn't say he'd mean it but – just look at him! This state he was in… he seemed capable of killing someone to get away.
Stomping my foot, I glared at them. "Stop it! Just take off the shirt! I know it sounds weird! But do it – or he'll…" My gaze turned back to Heero and I felt concern rushing over me, like a tidal wave, before I turned back to the trio. "I'll explain later!"
Quatre nodded slowly, unbuttoning the dress shirt as quickly as his fingers would allow.
"Now what?" His voice was softer than usual as though he too felt fear when his aqua colored ayes rested on the boy on the hospital bed. With his face turned to me I could easily read the concern on it.
"I don't know – anywhere! Somewhere where he can't see it." I looked around the room, finding that only place to hide the article of clothing was beneath a seat cushion in the soul comfortable chair. "Here!"
It was amazing how, once the shirt was removed from his sight, he calmed down immediately. Almost scary! His hands stopped scoring his skin and his eyes lost the crazed-lost look they had previously held. Even his breathing took very little time to return to normal from the raspy gasps that it had been.
With wide eyes, he looked at me, reminding me very much of what I must have looked like when I had awoken from the nightmares that had continuously plagued me as a child. "Duo?" His voice was haunting – I could hear the trembling fear in it.
Was it so easy to tell that he had no idea what had just happened? That he was just as scared of himself as the rest of us? It seemed so to me, as he sat there curling up against himself, fighting against tears.
For a long moment there was silence; no one moved; no one spoke. We stared aghast at Heero. Our very gazes most have hurt him, for he curling up tightly, falling to his side, into a fetal position.
I found myself, again, next to him, pulling him up to me and cradling him. Soft words slipping from my tongue, past my lips, and soothingly into his ear.
"What's wrong with him?" Trowa's voice seemed dangerous and demanding to me, at the same time deadpanned. I wonder if Quatre felt so too…
For a minute I said nothing, watching both of them for the corner of my eye. The words raced around in my head, and I tried to sort them out in the best possible way to explain it.
With Heero's head tucked under my chin I sighed.
"Pink – it has something to do with the color pink," I said slowly.
Only on the second time I uttered the word did I feel the body pressed against me shutter in my arms. With a probing glance, I turned my face downward to examine the dark haired boy.
No, he seemed fine now. What was it then? Just sometimes that it bothered him? Or… what?
So, while avoiding the word P-I-N-K, I explained the resent events that led me to believe this. As I finished I looked up at them expectantly.
"That's serious, Duo! I mean he's going to have real problems if this keeps up. Do you suppose we should get a psychologist or something?" Quatre asked turning to Trowa.
I laughed, bitterness filled the air. "What for, we all ready know what's wrong with him. I hardly think we need some hotshot telling us with all those big words, that no one in their right mind would be able to understand, what's wrong with him."
"Well, I was thinking – maybe they'd have a way to fix it."
I let out a rather indifferent snort. I really didn't care either way just as long as Heero was okay – and I'd like it if we'd get the old Heero back in the end, but it seemed to me too much to ask for right now.
"Have any of you thought as to why he has a – phobia – with the color?" Wufei said suddenly, seemingly coming from the shadows of the room, thought I knew he had been there the whole time. No, he had just been analyzing the whole time.
"The accident, I suppose… maybe he was trying to avoid a pin – a P-I-N-K bunny." I smiled cheesily – glad I had stopped myself from saying the word.
Wufei glared at me before speaking again. "I doubt that, Maxwell." He paused, perhaps waiting for us to yell at him to spit it out since the curiosity was killing us – we didn't; he continued. "Relena." He muttered the one word that we all had in mind – somewhere far back there… I mean I don't just want to accuse her right off the bat just cause Heero's afraid of pink and that seems to be her favorite color. But… it was all on our minds.
At the very moment that the name was spoken I felt every muscle in Heero's body tense up and he gasped; the sound muffled into my chest.
The others didn't take notice as they seemed engaged in a rather heated debate about Little Miss Millionaire. Well – it was more like Quatre and Wufei talking and Trowa staring off into another world – but, hey, no one would notice that Trowa wasn't actually talking…
How could Trowa do that? I mean if I hadn't been paying attention, sheesh, they'd have had my head! Honestly, how does he do it?
What the hell am I talking about anyway? Giving a heavy sigh, I shook my head. It seemed that perhaps Wufei was right. I mean the girl did seemed to like the color, but it could hardly seem likely. Hadn't they said the only person near the accident had been the man who brought Heero to the hospital? And Heero had been immensely lucky for that…
"Whadda ya mean – mission?" I felt the words spit like venom from my mouth. "What if he sees something pink!? He's liable to go into shock or worse tear the room apart! He can't even walk two feet across this freaking room!" I stomped my foot hard against the tiled floor. "What?! Is he gonna sneak into some base in a wheelchair with a nurse pushing him?!" The sarcasm in my voice even made me cringe. "You have to tell them – it's just not possible!"
Trowa nodded in silent agreement, or perhaps he was just trying to et me to shut up – I really don't know which. It worked though – that is, if it was the latter.
I sighed roughly, looking over at the hospital bed. Heero slept there, innocently through all of my screaming. I blushed embarrassed at myself, looking, next, out of the window. The world seemed so much brighter on the other side of the sheet of glass; the sun shined happily down on everything – but appeared to avoid our room. Looking back at Heero, I thought I'd rather be here though… with him.
It surprised me how angelic he looked in his slumber.
"I…do…n't…want," Heero's voice struggled to get the words out but the seriousness of it was that of a stubborn child refusing to eat vegetables, which was exactly what he was doing – not that I blamed him. They did look pretty bad… The glare that accompanied it caused me to rethink any remarks I was thinking of saying.
"Well, how about I go out – into the real world – and get ya something to eat?" Was I just itching to get out of the hospital? The sudden question dawned on me, like when you've been having a great day but, then, suddenly remember a math test you have next period. Honestly I don't know where the thought came from but I suddenly felt disgusted at myself.
Shifting my eyes to look at Heero's reaction to my question, I tried to pretend the thought never came to my mind. He didn't seem to notice, thankfully.
In fact the thought of real food seemed to be an exciting conception to him. He nodded eagerly at me, pushing away his hospital food to prove his point.
I smiled, was this how a baby Heero acted? It really was endearing!
"Okay, then," I said slowly, standing up. "What do you want?"
He stared at me, countless numbers of things for him to reply, and he didn't seem able to come up with one. Whether this was from the fact that he was starving for his old life back or that he had no recollection of how to say the words, I didn't know.
"Well, I'll just get a little of everything then," I smiled as I headed to the door.
"No!" The voice was rasped. As I turned back I found him, hand raised to the door, with an uneasy expression upon his face.
"Heero, don't worry! I'll be back so fast you won't even know I'm gone! Honest!" I smiled back at him. "In the mean time, you can -" I paused; what could he do? The doctors, for some odd reason, had not allowed him the use of his lap-top, possible because they didn't want to pay for the power it used up. There really wasn't anything else – Heero's never been a huge fan of TVs and since last time… wait, I had some… "You can look at my mangas – if you want; they're right there in that bag." Mangas! Ah yes, something Quatre had taken to getting me every time he stopped by – he already knew from the piles of them in my room at home that I was quite a fan of them.
Heero's face lit up at the idea and just as quickly forgot where I was going in the time that it took for him to jump, awkwardly, from his bed and crotch in front of the bag.
With a sigh and a shake of my head – not upset, mind you – I closed the door softly, waiting for the familiar click before turning away.
It was like a great weight had been lifted off me as I passed through the swinging doors of the hospital. This had been the first time in months I'd been outside the dreary building. And the sun seemed to greet me with its happy rays of light, causing me to squint unbearably.
Briskly I walked down the street, hands shoved in my pockets, looking for nothing and something at the same time. Idly I glanced around me; the shops were open and people milled around here and there.
With a sudden eagerness that came from being cooped up in the plain, horribly terrifying hospital room, I ran into the nearest store.
Oh, my gosh – there was chocolate! Chocolate, I hadn't seen any of that in years! (Okay so maybe I was exaggerating… a little.) And, oh, the mangas! There were shelves full of them and all kinds! I must have grown an extra head, or started drooling, by the looks the other customers were giving me.
Grabbing at things wildly I made the largest pile of junk food, mangas, and anything else I felt like Heero (or myself) might fancy. Grinning madly at the cashier, I held out the exact amount for the bill.
With a nervous smile, the boy hurriedly placed the items in the bag, mumbling only after he was halfway done, "Plastic okay, sirr… ma'am."
"MmmHmm," I nodded calmly as he handed me the bags, somehow not quite as happy as I once was. It must have been something he said.
It was, suddenly, as if time stood still. Looking wide-eyed at nothing in particular, I knew almost immediately that I had to get back. Don't ask me why… I don't even really know myself. It was just a fleeting bit of knowledge, something in the boy's voice. I couldn't – can't – put my finger on it, not even now. I just felt – no… knew I had to get back right then.
And back I did get, though – I'm not quite sure how… (Actually that's hardly true… it's blurry, like a dream, but I do know how. The minute I realize I had to get back I dropped everything in my hands and ran for the door. I do believe the store's manager was a little peeved…eheh….)
The minute I ran through the hospital's swinging doors I knew something was wrong. The air around me felt wrong. There's no other way to put it.
Oddly the lobby was filled with police and other such people. I gave a probing look to the nurse behind the window. She shrugged; "Mr. Maxwell, we're so glad to see you're back! We've been kinda worried! Heero's…"
I stepped through the doorway, towards the room Heero was in, still listening aptly to the lady.
"114's doing just fine." The answer came from the doctor that I was really beginning to get annoyed with. He never called Heero by his name, always by his room number or "the patient."
I felt my eyes narrow. 'Yeah, and I'll eat my shoes before I believe that!'
You know how mad you get when everyone around you tries to hide stuff from you and lie – perhaps thinking it'll make you better (or act calmer in the doctor's sense); well that's what I felt like right then. So I being me – I pushed right by him, quickening my pace until I got to room 114 and…
The door was opened – just a crack, but I could have sworn I had shut it. Cautiously I lifted my hand to the doorknob, swallowing hard. Hey, wait a second! What was I afraid of anyway?
