Flame. Heat. So much smoke. Heero...where's Heero?! Can't see, can't breathe, too hot. Must stay conscious –
Brring.
Oh good, it tripped the alarms. Where's Heero? No, he has to be here!
Brring.
Stay conscious, Duo. Don't give in –
Duo sat straight up in bed, coughing uncontrollably, trying to clear the smoke from his lungs. 'No,' he thought, relief washing over him, and forcibly steadied his breathing. 'Not smoke. There's no fire, no collapsing building, no danger.' He smoothed his braid with one hand to ground himself in the present.
Brring.
'And that's just the damn phone.' Glancing at the clock as he rose from the bed, Duo noticed the ungodly hour: 3:23 AM, and shivered as the cool night air hit his bare skin. Pulling on a pair of black boxers he'd left at the foot of the bed, he stumbled into the next room toward the vidphone, wondering vaguely who was calling him at this time of night. After vainly attempting to arrange his bangs into some semblance of decency, he opened the vidscreen and pushed the button to connect the call.
The screen remained suspiciously black, but slightly labored breathing came through the speakers. "Duo..."
"Heero?" he asked incredulously, barely recognizing the raspy voice as his best friend's.
" 's me," the voice replied, and subsided into a fit of coughing.
Duo frowned with worry; the five ex-Gundam pilots rarely, if ever, caught any kind of sickness, but Heero had obviously come down with something quite nasty, probably from that last mission in the snow. "You don't sound so great, buddy. Are you feelin' okay?"
He heard Heero sniffle as he pulled the coughing under control. "Yeah – I – just keep having these nightmares..."
'You too?' he thought to himself, recalling his own interrupted sleep patterns. Over the past week, Duo himself had woken up at least once per night drenched in sweat or out of breath in the aftermath of a terrifying dream, much like tonight. Turning his attention back to Heero, he frowned even deeper. "D'you have a fever?" Duo waited a moment, and took Heero's hesitation as an affirmative. "How bad?"
This time the answer came promptly. "A hundred and two."
As he heard Heero's breath catch and the coughing resume, Duo sighed heavily, wishing Heero would have called him earlier. 'But we all still think in terms of the war; we wait until we're absolutely sure we need backup before we ask for it. And Heero's own pride probably also has something to do with it...' "Do you want me to come over?"
Once again, Heero hesitated, and Duo took the initiative. "Never mind, I'm coming," he said, in a rather more exasperated tone than he had intended. To lighten the impact of his remark, he joked, "Just don't die on me before I get there, okay?"
Even though he couldn't see Heero's face, he thought he sensed a smirk in the other's congested reply. "Have I ever?"
'Only too true,' Duo thought, mixed emotions of pain, fear and relief churning inside him from the old war memories of close calls and highly risky, often life-threatening maneuvers. 'That life is over,' he told himself firmly. 'Especially around Heero. We may still work on missions, but the stakes now are not nearly as high as he thinks they are.' "Just unlock the door, and go lie down, please; I'll let myself in, all right?"
"Yeah," Heero agreed. "Jya matta."
"See you in fifteen." Duo hung up the call and rubbed at his tired eyes with thumb and forefinger for a moment before returning to his bedroom to throw on some decent clothes, and shove some more into the worn duffel bag he still stored beneath his bed. Slipping easily into his black jacket, he shrugged the bag onto his shoulder, grabbed his keys, and was gone.
Exactly thirteen minutes after hanging up the call with Heero, Duo gently opened the door to his partner's second story apartment, and flicked on the light. The small living room seemed slightly cluttered compared to its usually bare coffee table and couches. A box of tissues sat on the low table within arm's reach of the couch, on which several thick pillows were scattered. A short stack of novels balanced a bit precariously on the end table with a newspaper, a handheld videogame, and the television remote. Duo's lip curled upward at the sight of the deep blue folded blanket draped over the armrest on the opposite end of the couch. 'I swear, that thing is like his comfort object, his own idea of a teddy bear. He used to grip it during nightmares, so hard that his knuckles would turn white. I'm surprised he hasn't ripped it to shreds yet, especially with that iron strength.'
A sharp, hacking cough sounded from the bedroom, and Duo quickly abandoned his musings, picked up the blanket, and made his way through the dark hallway, carefully making enough noise so that Heero would recognize his presence if he was awake, but not so much that he would wake him if he was sleeping.
He paused in the doorway, and, knocking softly on the open door, the braided ex-pilot called in a low voice into the darkness. "Hey, Heero, it's Duo... okiteiru?'
"Un," came the monosyllabic reply, followed by a congested sniffle and the rustling of sheets.
"Denshyao tsukettemo ii?" Duo asked, reaching for the light switch. Navigating the hallway hadn't been bad; he vaguely knew where Heero's room was located, but he had only seen it once, and couldn't remember exactly where the furniture was placed. A vision of himself kicking an unseen object with his shin caused him to wince inwardly.
"Un."
Tipping the switch upward, Duo entered the room, and forced himself not to facially express his disconcert at the image of Heero Yuy wearing an oversize t-shirt and propped up on pillows in bed. He was currently exhibiting one of the most sullen, miserable glares Duo had ever witnessed. 'Just like old times...'
"Don't look so happy to see me," he joked sarcastically to cover his inevitably growing frown with a grin and to lighten the mood. He sat cross-legged on the edge of his best friend's bed and squeezed Heero's shoulder lightly as he received a slightly forced ghost of a smile in return. 'Much better than the icy glare he could have given me,' Duo decided.
Heero coughed a few times, tensing with the effort, and settled back on to the pillows.
"Have you taken anything for that cough?"
"Uun."
"You really should, you know, if only to get some sleep..." Duo let himself trail into silence as a slight wrinkle appeared across Heero's brow. 'Oh shit. The nightmares. Good job, Maxwell, that's like the reason you're here.' "Gomen, Heero, wakatteiru," he apologized honestly. "Wanna talk about it?"
Heero shrugged nonchalantly, but his eyes told a different story that only Duo could read. He was blinking just a tiny bit too fast, and his eyebrows were lowered just enough to form a crease in his forehead. Duo simply waited patiently while Heero stared at his hands, reliving the memories of the nightmares in his mind, and carefully debated whether or not, or how much, to tell his partner. "It - " he began, but his voice cracked, and he had to clear his throat to continue. "It was about a mission that we were on, at an old warehouse, and somehow we were separated." He cleared his throat again as Duo sat, outwardly calm, but suspense squirming in his insides. "The place went up in flames, and I- I couldn't find you. I was calling for you, over and over, but you weren't there-"
'No... that wasn't real, I would have remembered the warehouse, or how it ended, then. Strange, how we both have nearly the same dream... on the same night...' Lost in disbelief momentarily, Duo almost missed the flicker of loss and anguish cross Heero's face.
The braided pilot shifted so that his back rested against the headboard, and wrapped his arm around Heero's shoulders protectively. Surprisingly, he felt Heero's head lean against his shoulder, seeking out comfort in Duo's tangible body. "Hey, 'Ro?"
"Hn?"
"Ima, kokoni iru," Duo assured quietly, hugging Heero even closer.
"Wakatta," Heero replied automatically, and paused for a moment. "Arigatou, Duo."
Duo smiled and pressed a chaste kiss to Heero's damp forehead, feeling the salty heat of fever on his lips. "Nan demo nai, Heero. Nan demo nai."
They sat in silence for a while, reassuring themselves that their nightmares had been just that, and could be chased away by the light of the other's presence. Heero's coughs slowly began again, becoming more frequent and harsh each time, until Duo had to haul him into a sitting position and pat his back to make them stop. "Ano... Heero, are you sure you don't want to take anything for that cough? You sound horrible, and you can't feel much better." He turned his head to look at Heero, whose blank expression quickly turned into a dubious frown. Duo lowered his voice, and continued in a more intimate tone. "Kusurio nomunoga amari sukijyanaito shiteiru; watashimo...demo, bokuwa kokoni. You may feel a little drugged, but nothing's going to happen to you as far as I can help it. You'll be a lot more comfortable, and...you're safe here. Wakaru ne?"
"Un..." The dark-haired ex-pilot shifted in Duo's embrace to look deep into his best friends eyes, as if searching for something. Meeting his gaze evenly, Duo did his best to display every ounce of love, loyalty and friendship he felt for Heero in his expression, while his mind churned with worry.
"Ano... Duo... doshite – why do you still – want me – as a friend, I mean, now that the war is over? Do I – do I still have a purpose, to you?"
Shocked by the deep, emotional question Heero had suddenly posed, the braided pilot leaned back against the pillows, and bit his lip to force himself to think before replying. Frowning slightly, he asked, "This has to do with the dream, doesn't it?" He waited patiently for Heero's conformational nod before continuing.
"Honestly, Heero, I'm honored to have someone like you in my life. You understand me; you're loyal. I can count on you. I don't think you even believe it yourself sometimes, and you may not always know how to show it, but you care and feel more than most people. It may have taken a while to get to this point, but it was worth it, Heero, and I would never trade this for anything. I – I've watched you change so much..."
Duo trailed off as he felt a small drip on his lap, followed by another, and another, and wrapped both arms tightly around Heero's shoulders as he realized the depth of emotion this had reached. His own eyes began to sting, but he forced back the tears as he rocked Heero gently. "Hey...daijyobu yo..."
Heero's sobs abated after a few minutes with a little help from Duo's comforting presence, but gradually receded back to occasional coughs and sniffles. As Heero began rubbing his temples in preparation for an oncoming headache, he immediately felt Duo's hands cover his own. As the magical touch of Duo's fingers eased the ache in his skull, he let his arms fall to his sides in relief and utter exhaustion.
"Feel better?" Duo asked, shifting one hand to massage the back of Heero's neck. He didn't lose sight of the intimacy of this gesture; few people could lay a hand, tender or not, on the back of Heero Yuy's neck and live to remember it.
Heero nodded in response. "Good. So now will you please take some cough syrup so we can both get some rest?"
The Japanese pilot looked up at him and cringed pleadingly. "Duo..."
Duo had to smother a grin at Heero's dramatic whine, and ruffled his hair affectionately as he stood up from the bed. "It's not so bad, is it?" he asked, rummaging through his bag for the bottle of medicine and a spoon.
Heero raised an eyebrow at him, but stolidly accepted the two spoonfuls of thick liquid that Duo handed him. "That should knock you out pretty quickly," the American said as he placed the cough syrup on the nightstand, and stood to face Heero with his hands on his hips. "I'll just be in the next room, so call if you need anything okay?"
Heavy eyelids already starting to droop, Heero glanced at Duo and then at his hands. "Duo... you – could you – stay... with me? Please?"
"Sure," he replied, smiling sympathetically. He knew both of them slept better in the same room, and even better in the same bed, especially after nightmares. This occasion was unlikely to be an exception. Slipping into bed beside Heero, he resumed his previous position and Heero rested his head against Duo's shoulder, eyes already closing. 'He must've had a rough night,' he thought, pulling the covers up to cover Heero's shoulders as he snuggled closer to Duo for warmth. 'Then again,' Duo suppressed a yawn, 'I suppose I've had better nights as well. At least we're together, now.' He closed his eyes and allowed Heero's light, rhythmic snores lull him to sleep.