Chapter 4
Quatre and Duo exchanged bewildered stares. They agreed that, while she was rather attractive, the nurse, Claire, was an intriguing character. Quatre explained to Duo about when he first met the nurse and how she seemed changed. After discussing the matter further, in which Duo brought up the theory that she *may* belong to the enemy, they decided that spy or not, she needed to be surveyed carefully.
With exhaustion plainly visible in both sets of eyes, the boys settled to sleep longer while it was still dark, though one could see light pink rays creeping through the window. Awkwardly, Quatre journeyed back into his own bed and the two said swift goodnights as he clicked off the lamp.
----------------------------------------------------
Three days later, the young soldiers remained at the hospital. Quatre was free to return to action when he pleased, but without his fellow pilot, he would never be so. No word had come from Trowa or the others, or even from mission control, so the boys assumed that after such a great battle, both sides were sitting in much needed repose. Also, they had not seen the nurse Claire since, but other nurses that attended Duo confirmed that she was an employee of the hospital.
So, reluctantly leaving Duo to fend for himself if Claire returned, Quatre rented a hotel room close to the hospital and visited his friend daily.
While traversing the five blocks from his temporary home to the hospital, Quatre watched the yellowing leaves sway in the gentle wind of the cool evening. Carefully, he expressed to the gods his thanks for this lucky time of peace, though making it clear that harming his friend was a dubious way of awarding it to him.
Now familiar with the straightest path to Duo's ward, Quatre walked between healing patients, wounded and sick new comers, and busy medical personnel on his way up. Though he new that visiting hours were coming to a close, Quatre was determined never to spend a day without conferencing with his healing friend.
He pushed open the swinging doors to Duo's room, which only he occupied now that Quatre left behind the other bed. He was surprised to see Deathscythe's pilot sitting in the chair across from his bed reading a book.
"Duo!" Quatre teased, startling Duo out of his book. "Are you alright? You . . .you're reading!"
"Ha ha, very funny, Q-man," he sneered, laying the book down. "Don't think this is going to be a common occurrence either: its for my immense boredom syndrome the doctor said I was suffering from." He turned his head away in a matter-of-fact manner.
"Well, you are looking much better though," Quatre noticed. "And you are sitting up on your own." The boys talked lightly for about an hour, the sun slowly sinking behind the city buildings and under the earth. Visiting hours ended, though neither the boys or the hospital staff took notice of Quatre skirting around the rules. After another hour or two of light chit- chat, which had been common when Quatre visited lately, he sagaciously decided to relieve them both of the topic which hung over their heads.
"Duo," he whispered during a long, awkward pause in the conversation, "what happened in the battle?"
Though he was sure that Duo didn't mean for him to see, Quatre glanced at his friend, seeing him jerk at the question.
"I was just careless," he explained, looking away again, this time with a look of uneasiness. "I was . . .distracted."
*It's not easy to distract a Gundam pilot like that,* Quatre thought. "Hmm. I asked you yesterday how your injury was doing, and you brushed my question away, as you often have been doing lately. Duo," he pleaded, kneeing down to Duo's level as his friend avoided his eyes, "if you need . . .well, anything . . .I'm right here."
"Its difficult." Duo said between his teeth, still not meeting Quatre's eyes. "But its also not that big a deal." Hearing his best friend try to convince him that his feeling were 'not a big deal' crushed Quatre's spirit, and he determined to assist his friend in any way needed.
"Duo . . ."
"You've always been so kind to me, Quatre, so kind to everyone." Quatre waited for more; he could feel it about to spill out of Duo in a moment, but his visible anxiety seemed to frighten it back into Duo's stomach. To assert his position as a best friend, Quatre shuffled his knees to place himself right in front of his troubled companion.
"Its okay, Duo," he swore.
"Ugg! You are not making this any easier. This is frickin' nuts!" Duo muttered, though Quatre was close enough to his face that he could hear anything. Examining his friend's slightly discolored skin, Quatre suddenly caught a glimpse of a tapered black bruise peeking over Duo's neck line.
"What is that, Duo?!" Quatre asked, pulling on the collar to his friend's white, buttoned hospital pajamas. Seeing the bruise continue further down his chest, Quatre looked from Duo's face to the mark, and instinctly began unbuttoning the shirt. Duo squirmed upward, trying to escape from the invasion into his clothes, but Quatre worked the buttons too fast. Throwing open the shirt, Quatre gasped as he beheld two almost identical long, black bruises running diagonal from his collar bones to his stomach.
"Deathscythe's harness," Quatre guessed, running his cold fingers down his friend's wounds. He winced in respect to the understandable pain they must have caused.
Quatre could feel the tears gathering in his eyes, and couldn't compel himself to look at Duo any longer. Rarely anymore had Quatre allowed himself to cry in front of his teammates, unwilling to deteriorate their spirits, but now it became uncontrollable, and he released a dry sob.
"No, don't do that," came Duo's soft, yet hurried voice. "I'm fine, Quatre, really. It looks worse than it feels and the doctor said nothing was hurt inside. Well, not too badly." Quatre forced his tears down as Duo's hand raised his head. "I'm fine, . . . as long as I got a friend by me." Duo's smile reassured him that this statement had nothing but truth in it. Quatre waited on his knees, staring into Duo's vivid purple eyes. He knew that his friend could see his thoughts through his expression, and was comforted further as Duo began stroking his blonde hair behind his ears.
"You know, Q-man," Duo said, clearly trying to lighten the mood, "I never understood why you didn't ever have a girlfriend. You're a sexy beast. Who wouldn't want you?"
Quatre laughed. Normally, he would have felt a tad uneasy, but currently, he and Duo were alone: the other pilots, the Maganacs, the Doctors, all of them far off, they did not even have a lap top or anything that someone could try to reach them on.
"Really?" he asked, raising his thin, blonde eyebrows.
"Really."
"Well, I guess that counts as a compliment." Quatre's face flushed a little; he placed his hands on his friend's knees and rested his forehead on his hands. He felt Duo's fingers running gently through his silky hair, smoothing it one way, then another. Abruptly, Duo sighed, sounding resolute, and lifted Quatre's face upward again. Quatre blinked his aqua eyes, unsteady under Duo's brave gaze. Feeling uneasy, because his instincts and long friendship with Duo answered all guesses for him as to what his friend was thinking, Quatre unhitched his chin from Duo's cupped hand. He stared at Duo's white pants, and began studying the wrinkles with his fingers.
"You act so coy," Duo announced through quick smile. Moments passed, but neither boys spoke. Still leaning on his friend's knees, Quatre felt Duo slump slightly in his chair and the mood of the room shift with him.
"You should probably get back to your hotel." (1)
Quatre's heart seemed to contract twice as hard as Duo finished the statement. He knelt in front of his friend, aghast at the idea that Duo wanted him to leave. *What?* his mind reeled, *Why does he think I should go? I was almost getting the feeling that he had been flirting with me! Though, I don't think he himself knows if he was or not. Well, if he won't decide for himself* Quatre thought, a smile glistening on his fair skin, *I'll have to for him.*
"No," he replied quietly, his eyes shaded by the bangs hanging loosely in front of his bent head. "I want to stay."
Not exactly sure why, Quatre began leisurely sliding his hands up Duo's legs, which twitched slightly at the touch. He looked up at his friend, who stared back with a look of surprise and the start of a smile. Quatre smiled wildly, an obnoxiously seductive look usurping his usual passive expression.
As if they moved together, the boys slowly leaned toward each other. Quatre's fingers, snaking from the inside of Duo's thighs and out again, trekked toward the single white button that held his pants in position. As his hands reached the hips and found the top of the white slacks, Quatre shut his eyes, preparing for his first kiss. He cold feel Duo's tantalizing breath close to his mouth, winding between each nerve ending on Quatre's lips.
Frighteningly sudden, the door to the room was flung open, the shock of which threw Quatre backwards onto the cold, tiled floor. A million thoughts rushed through his mind at once. He sat panting as his heart raced, and looked toward the interloper: a young, curly haired woman in a white lab coat taking in the scene she interrupted with a look of disinterest and minor surprise.
"I believe, Winner," Claire said, her red lips curling into a smile, "that visiting hours are over."
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(1)- okay, before I wrote this part, I couldn't think of what to write. I thought "What would *I* do if I had a hot guy's head on my knees with such obvious sexual tension in the room? Yeah, that'd be me alright! I'd tell him to *go home*! Stupid nervousness around boys I like . . .::growl!::
[[[is this getting too long for anyone? Sorry if it is . . . but it's not for me! I love writing fan fics! Gosh I gotta calm down . . .seriously though, I think I have an ending coming up somewhere, in which everyone gets what they deserve and mysteries are uncovered! Yah! ^__^ I need more sleep. . . since I started this fic, I've lost about 1/3 of my usual sleep time! Not really. PLEASE: review and all that jazz and maybe, just maybe, I'll find some time to draw a pic about my story . . .hmm, what scene should it be of? (^__^) ]]]
Quatre and Duo exchanged bewildered stares. They agreed that, while she was rather attractive, the nurse, Claire, was an intriguing character. Quatre explained to Duo about when he first met the nurse and how she seemed changed. After discussing the matter further, in which Duo brought up the theory that she *may* belong to the enemy, they decided that spy or not, she needed to be surveyed carefully.
With exhaustion plainly visible in both sets of eyes, the boys settled to sleep longer while it was still dark, though one could see light pink rays creeping through the window. Awkwardly, Quatre journeyed back into his own bed and the two said swift goodnights as he clicked off the lamp.
----------------------------------------------------
Three days later, the young soldiers remained at the hospital. Quatre was free to return to action when he pleased, but without his fellow pilot, he would never be so. No word had come from Trowa or the others, or even from mission control, so the boys assumed that after such a great battle, both sides were sitting in much needed repose. Also, they had not seen the nurse Claire since, but other nurses that attended Duo confirmed that she was an employee of the hospital.
So, reluctantly leaving Duo to fend for himself if Claire returned, Quatre rented a hotel room close to the hospital and visited his friend daily.
While traversing the five blocks from his temporary home to the hospital, Quatre watched the yellowing leaves sway in the gentle wind of the cool evening. Carefully, he expressed to the gods his thanks for this lucky time of peace, though making it clear that harming his friend was a dubious way of awarding it to him.
Now familiar with the straightest path to Duo's ward, Quatre walked between healing patients, wounded and sick new comers, and busy medical personnel on his way up. Though he new that visiting hours were coming to a close, Quatre was determined never to spend a day without conferencing with his healing friend.
He pushed open the swinging doors to Duo's room, which only he occupied now that Quatre left behind the other bed. He was surprised to see Deathscythe's pilot sitting in the chair across from his bed reading a book.
"Duo!" Quatre teased, startling Duo out of his book. "Are you alright? You . . .you're reading!"
"Ha ha, very funny, Q-man," he sneered, laying the book down. "Don't think this is going to be a common occurrence either: its for my immense boredom syndrome the doctor said I was suffering from." He turned his head away in a matter-of-fact manner.
"Well, you are looking much better though," Quatre noticed. "And you are sitting up on your own." The boys talked lightly for about an hour, the sun slowly sinking behind the city buildings and under the earth. Visiting hours ended, though neither the boys or the hospital staff took notice of Quatre skirting around the rules. After another hour or two of light chit- chat, which had been common when Quatre visited lately, he sagaciously decided to relieve them both of the topic which hung over their heads.
"Duo," he whispered during a long, awkward pause in the conversation, "what happened in the battle?"
Though he was sure that Duo didn't mean for him to see, Quatre glanced at his friend, seeing him jerk at the question.
"I was just careless," he explained, looking away again, this time with a look of uneasiness. "I was . . .distracted."
*It's not easy to distract a Gundam pilot like that,* Quatre thought. "Hmm. I asked you yesterday how your injury was doing, and you brushed my question away, as you often have been doing lately. Duo," he pleaded, kneeing down to Duo's level as his friend avoided his eyes, "if you need . . .well, anything . . .I'm right here."
"Its difficult." Duo said between his teeth, still not meeting Quatre's eyes. "But its also not that big a deal." Hearing his best friend try to convince him that his feeling were 'not a big deal' crushed Quatre's spirit, and he determined to assist his friend in any way needed.
"Duo . . ."
"You've always been so kind to me, Quatre, so kind to everyone." Quatre waited for more; he could feel it about to spill out of Duo in a moment, but his visible anxiety seemed to frighten it back into Duo's stomach. To assert his position as a best friend, Quatre shuffled his knees to place himself right in front of his troubled companion.
"Its okay, Duo," he swore.
"Ugg! You are not making this any easier. This is frickin' nuts!" Duo muttered, though Quatre was close enough to his face that he could hear anything. Examining his friend's slightly discolored skin, Quatre suddenly caught a glimpse of a tapered black bruise peeking over Duo's neck line.
"What is that, Duo?!" Quatre asked, pulling on the collar to his friend's white, buttoned hospital pajamas. Seeing the bruise continue further down his chest, Quatre looked from Duo's face to the mark, and instinctly began unbuttoning the shirt. Duo squirmed upward, trying to escape from the invasion into his clothes, but Quatre worked the buttons too fast. Throwing open the shirt, Quatre gasped as he beheld two almost identical long, black bruises running diagonal from his collar bones to his stomach.
"Deathscythe's harness," Quatre guessed, running his cold fingers down his friend's wounds. He winced in respect to the understandable pain they must have caused.
Quatre could feel the tears gathering in his eyes, and couldn't compel himself to look at Duo any longer. Rarely anymore had Quatre allowed himself to cry in front of his teammates, unwilling to deteriorate their spirits, but now it became uncontrollable, and he released a dry sob.
"No, don't do that," came Duo's soft, yet hurried voice. "I'm fine, Quatre, really. It looks worse than it feels and the doctor said nothing was hurt inside. Well, not too badly." Quatre forced his tears down as Duo's hand raised his head. "I'm fine, . . . as long as I got a friend by me." Duo's smile reassured him that this statement had nothing but truth in it. Quatre waited on his knees, staring into Duo's vivid purple eyes. He knew that his friend could see his thoughts through his expression, and was comforted further as Duo began stroking his blonde hair behind his ears.
"You know, Q-man," Duo said, clearly trying to lighten the mood, "I never understood why you didn't ever have a girlfriend. You're a sexy beast. Who wouldn't want you?"
Quatre laughed. Normally, he would have felt a tad uneasy, but currently, he and Duo were alone: the other pilots, the Maganacs, the Doctors, all of them far off, they did not even have a lap top or anything that someone could try to reach them on.
"Really?" he asked, raising his thin, blonde eyebrows.
"Really."
"Well, I guess that counts as a compliment." Quatre's face flushed a little; he placed his hands on his friend's knees and rested his forehead on his hands. He felt Duo's fingers running gently through his silky hair, smoothing it one way, then another. Abruptly, Duo sighed, sounding resolute, and lifted Quatre's face upward again. Quatre blinked his aqua eyes, unsteady under Duo's brave gaze. Feeling uneasy, because his instincts and long friendship with Duo answered all guesses for him as to what his friend was thinking, Quatre unhitched his chin from Duo's cupped hand. He stared at Duo's white pants, and began studying the wrinkles with his fingers.
"You act so coy," Duo announced through quick smile. Moments passed, but neither boys spoke. Still leaning on his friend's knees, Quatre felt Duo slump slightly in his chair and the mood of the room shift with him.
"You should probably get back to your hotel." (1)
Quatre's heart seemed to contract twice as hard as Duo finished the statement. He knelt in front of his friend, aghast at the idea that Duo wanted him to leave. *What?* his mind reeled, *Why does he think I should go? I was almost getting the feeling that he had been flirting with me! Though, I don't think he himself knows if he was or not. Well, if he won't decide for himself* Quatre thought, a smile glistening on his fair skin, *I'll have to for him.*
"No," he replied quietly, his eyes shaded by the bangs hanging loosely in front of his bent head. "I want to stay."
Not exactly sure why, Quatre began leisurely sliding his hands up Duo's legs, which twitched slightly at the touch. He looked up at his friend, who stared back with a look of surprise and the start of a smile. Quatre smiled wildly, an obnoxiously seductive look usurping his usual passive expression.
As if they moved together, the boys slowly leaned toward each other. Quatre's fingers, snaking from the inside of Duo's thighs and out again, trekked toward the single white button that held his pants in position. As his hands reached the hips and found the top of the white slacks, Quatre shut his eyes, preparing for his first kiss. He cold feel Duo's tantalizing breath close to his mouth, winding between each nerve ending on Quatre's lips.
Frighteningly sudden, the door to the room was flung open, the shock of which threw Quatre backwards onto the cold, tiled floor. A million thoughts rushed through his mind at once. He sat panting as his heart raced, and looked toward the interloper: a young, curly haired woman in a white lab coat taking in the scene she interrupted with a look of disinterest and minor surprise.
"I believe, Winner," Claire said, her red lips curling into a smile, "that visiting hours are over."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(1)- okay, before I wrote this part, I couldn't think of what to write. I thought "What would *I* do if I had a hot guy's head on my knees with such obvious sexual tension in the room? Yeah, that'd be me alright! I'd tell him to *go home*! Stupid nervousness around boys I like . . .::growl!::
[[[is this getting too long for anyone? Sorry if it is . . . but it's not for me! I love writing fan fics! Gosh I gotta calm down . . .seriously though, I think I have an ending coming up somewhere, in which everyone gets what they deserve and mysteries are uncovered! Yah! ^__^ I need more sleep. . . since I started this fic, I've lost about 1/3 of my usual sleep time! Not really. PLEASE: review and all that jazz and maybe, just maybe, I'll find some time to draw a pic about my story . . .hmm, what scene should it be of? (^__^) ]]]
