*peers out from her hiding spot warily* Please don't kill me! I'm sorry
it's taken so long to update, I haven't had computer access for the past
almost 2 weeks, so I had no way to get this posted! Damn holidays and evil
relatives...*mutters curses* But here it is! ^_^; And I do believe that
'Imaginary' is coming to its end soon, at least 2 more chapters, maybe 3,
but one can never be sure about that sort of thing.
Anywho, all the rest of my jabbering is at the end of the chapter, so enjoy!
***
"I'm afraid I have bad news..."
Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei were instantly on their feet and though diminutive in physical stature, the room seemed to fill with their presence as if they were giants.
Doctor Woods broke into a smile at the defiant poses before continuing, "The bad news being, of course, that I have no grounds to hold Mister Maxwell under my jurisdiction any more," he tossed a thick manila folder onto Wufei's vacated seat on the bed as the tension deflated. "The results are negative. Somehow, you managed to do it with sheer willpower alone, because we certainly haven't given you any treatment other than allowing your friends visitation. It's going to be rather dull here now without you all."
Duo was utterly dumbfounded. "That's it? I can just leave? Like right now?"
"Well, you do have to sign the release forms and retrieve your belongings. I'm sure you don't want to go out in public in hospital clothes. But those things aside, then yes, you can leave," he replied amusedly. "And all your records are in that folder, so don't bother with trying to break into my office to get rid of them." The psychiatrist looked pointedly at Heero and Wufei, though the latter was too preoccupied to notice because a certain other longhaired teen was hugging him to death.
Quatre, ever the diplomat, took Doctor Woods' hand warmly. "Thank you so much for everything you've done, you don't know how much this means to us," he paused. "Well, maybe you -do- know, but regardless of how many times a day you must hear that, thank you."
"I think that the fact that we're leaving his institution in one piece is thanks enough," Trowa said phlegmatically, though his eyes gleamed.
"Trowa!"
"It's true though."
"Yes, and the lab technicians should be thanking their God that the results were negative," Wufei added calmly, seeming quite content to let Duo stay wrapped around his torso.
"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear the potential threat to my staff," the psychiatrist said blandly.
"Threat? I don't know what you're talking about," he replied innocently.
"C'mon 'Fei, stop playing around so I can get out the hell of here!" Duo grinned, reluctantly detaching himself. "I wanna get a nice, long, hot shower and some clean clothes and lots of food..."
"All right, all right, we'll go," Wufei returned his smile. "We'll see you back at the hotel room, okay Quatre?" He nodded obligingly to Doctor Woods before Duo dragged him out into the corridor.
The woman behind the counter in the main office watched them, obviously in what she thought was in a furtive way but they were fully aware of it, as Duo signed his paperwork and rifled through the box of his things that had been brought in with him.
"Looks like they thoroughly ransacked my apartment and got everything," he remarked, rummaging down a little further. "Uh, Wu? Please tell me you have a spare hair tie at the hotel room, 'cause I'm not finding any in here."
"I'm sure I have one, so don't worry about it," Wufei narrowed his eyes at the nosy attendant, who was no longer trying to conceal her interest, making her go slightly pale as Duo scooped up the box and they walked away.
"Good, my hair's getting on my nerves. I haven't left it unbraided for longer than a day since I was like eight and Sister Helen showed me how to pull it out of my face," his grin dimmed wistfully.
"Sister Helen?"
Duo bit his lower lip. "She was a nun at the church, she was like a mom to me when they took us in from the streets," he adjusted his grip uneasily. "When everyone else got adopted and no one wanted me, her and Father Maxwell took care of me for a while. Until the war came to L2...and the church was destroyed."
"Duo...you don't have to tell me all this," Wufei said gently, stopping at the bottom of the stairs to the parking lot.
"I know that I don't -have- to, it just...-feels- better to finally get some of it off my chest, yanno? And it's easy to talk to you..." Duo suddenly smirked. "Especially when you're not being your usual uptight self."
"And here I thought we were actually having a serious conversation," Wufei replied teasingly, continuing their trek to the rental car.
"Psh. Me? Serious? Surely you jest," he pretended to look offended, tossing his things in the backseat after Wufei had unlocked the door. "Honestly though, it is a lot easier to talk to you. You've been so nice to me and...and when you came into the room the other day, this is going to sound crazy, but when you came in...you made the voices stop. I mean- it's crazy, and I know I'm babbling and all- but, that's what happened and it's why I didn't want you to leave until I went to sleep and I don't even know why I'm saying this because I'm probably freaking you out..." Duo trailed off as Wufei's arms came around him in a gentle embrace, completely throwing him for a loop.
"You're not," he said simply, slowly pulling away. "Now let's head on to the hotel, shall we?"
Duo only nodded in acknowledgment, still dazed by the open display of warmth from the last person he expected it to come from.
***
The other three were already waiting in the room when they arrived, Duo making a beeline straight to bedroom to take a shower as Wufei sat in the living room with Quatre, Trowa, and Heero.
"This is going to be quite the interesting sleeping arrangement tonight," Trowa remarked dryly.
"We'll figure something out, it's not like we haven't had it worse," Quatre shrugged. "Besides, what's more important now is what we're going to do next. I was hoping you all would welcome a stay at our house on L4, since there would definitely be room for everyone."
"When Duo gets out of the shower, he can tell us what he wants," Wufei demurred firmly, rising up from his chair. "That's all I care about."
He walked into his bedroom and was blasted with the overwhelming scent of lavender vanilla. It billowed out in clouds of steam from the half-open door to the adjacent bathroom. The large box Duo's things were in was on its side, its contents spread all over the bed and a good portion of the floor.
Wufei shook his head amusedly, treading carefully over to his overnight suitcase on the dresser to fish out his bag of toiletries and get a spare rubber band. He made his way over to the bathroom and knocked politely. Thankfully the water was still running. "Er- Duo, I'm just going to put the hair tie on the counter for you, okay?"
"Gotcha, my brush should be there too, so just put it there," Duo poked his head around the shower curtain, water falling onto the linoleum as he watched Wufei slip in cautiously, his onyx gaze modestly focused on the sink. He snickered. "Yeesh, don't act like such a prude and be all shy, you're embarrassing me!" Duo joked appreciatively.
Wufei felt his face get even warmer in the steamy room. "It would have been disrespectful of me to just barge in here without warning," he said uneasily, still not looking at him.
"Like you haven't seen a nude person before, honestly," Duo smirked.
"I- well, that's besides the point."
"Mhmm..." He leaned out a little further. "And what is the point?"
"I came in here and gave you your hair tie, now I'm going to leave and give you your privacy," Wufei backed up to the door and started to head out.
"Psh, if you say so 'Fei."
He stopped. "And what else do you think I came in here for?"
"It's beside the point, isn't it? So don't get your feathers ruffled over it," Duo answered slyly. Wufei turned and narrowed his eyes at the dripping wet ex-pilot, who only grinned and waggled his eyebrows suggestively before retreating behind the shower curtain once more.
***
Wasn't too bad, ne? *sweatdrop* At least I didn't leave it at an awful cliffhanger...which I was tempted to do...
Anywho, I don't have much time to get replies to all the awesome reviews you guys left me, but I'd like you all for reviewing and most especially: Nelia, Makoto Sagara, In Darkness, my lovely Shella-chan (gotta love Confuscious), Rain Tenshi, Little Shadow, Kyoki, Talia Maxwell, Rena Lupin, Hikaru Kosuzaku, severed scythe, Shru, Pixie Smith, and Dark Ice!
I think you all know the drill from here...Feed a starving authoress' ego a bit and leave a review! ^_^;
Anywho, all the rest of my jabbering is at the end of the chapter, so enjoy!
***
"I'm afraid I have bad news..."
Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei were instantly on their feet and though diminutive in physical stature, the room seemed to fill with their presence as if they were giants.
Doctor Woods broke into a smile at the defiant poses before continuing, "The bad news being, of course, that I have no grounds to hold Mister Maxwell under my jurisdiction any more," he tossed a thick manila folder onto Wufei's vacated seat on the bed as the tension deflated. "The results are negative. Somehow, you managed to do it with sheer willpower alone, because we certainly haven't given you any treatment other than allowing your friends visitation. It's going to be rather dull here now without you all."
Duo was utterly dumbfounded. "That's it? I can just leave? Like right now?"
"Well, you do have to sign the release forms and retrieve your belongings. I'm sure you don't want to go out in public in hospital clothes. But those things aside, then yes, you can leave," he replied amusedly. "And all your records are in that folder, so don't bother with trying to break into my office to get rid of them." The psychiatrist looked pointedly at Heero and Wufei, though the latter was too preoccupied to notice because a certain other longhaired teen was hugging him to death.
Quatre, ever the diplomat, took Doctor Woods' hand warmly. "Thank you so much for everything you've done, you don't know how much this means to us," he paused. "Well, maybe you -do- know, but regardless of how many times a day you must hear that, thank you."
"I think that the fact that we're leaving his institution in one piece is thanks enough," Trowa said phlegmatically, though his eyes gleamed.
"Trowa!"
"It's true though."
"Yes, and the lab technicians should be thanking their God that the results were negative," Wufei added calmly, seeming quite content to let Duo stay wrapped around his torso.
"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear the potential threat to my staff," the psychiatrist said blandly.
"Threat? I don't know what you're talking about," he replied innocently.
"C'mon 'Fei, stop playing around so I can get out the hell of here!" Duo grinned, reluctantly detaching himself. "I wanna get a nice, long, hot shower and some clean clothes and lots of food..."
"All right, all right, we'll go," Wufei returned his smile. "We'll see you back at the hotel room, okay Quatre?" He nodded obligingly to Doctor Woods before Duo dragged him out into the corridor.
The woman behind the counter in the main office watched them, obviously in what she thought was in a furtive way but they were fully aware of it, as Duo signed his paperwork and rifled through the box of his things that had been brought in with him.
"Looks like they thoroughly ransacked my apartment and got everything," he remarked, rummaging down a little further. "Uh, Wu? Please tell me you have a spare hair tie at the hotel room, 'cause I'm not finding any in here."
"I'm sure I have one, so don't worry about it," Wufei narrowed his eyes at the nosy attendant, who was no longer trying to conceal her interest, making her go slightly pale as Duo scooped up the box and they walked away.
"Good, my hair's getting on my nerves. I haven't left it unbraided for longer than a day since I was like eight and Sister Helen showed me how to pull it out of my face," his grin dimmed wistfully.
"Sister Helen?"
Duo bit his lower lip. "She was a nun at the church, she was like a mom to me when they took us in from the streets," he adjusted his grip uneasily. "When everyone else got adopted and no one wanted me, her and Father Maxwell took care of me for a while. Until the war came to L2...and the church was destroyed."
"Duo...you don't have to tell me all this," Wufei said gently, stopping at the bottom of the stairs to the parking lot.
"I know that I don't -have- to, it just...-feels- better to finally get some of it off my chest, yanno? And it's easy to talk to you..." Duo suddenly smirked. "Especially when you're not being your usual uptight self."
"And here I thought we were actually having a serious conversation," Wufei replied teasingly, continuing their trek to the rental car.
"Psh. Me? Serious? Surely you jest," he pretended to look offended, tossing his things in the backseat after Wufei had unlocked the door. "Honestly though, it is a lot easier to talk to you. You've been so nice to me and...and when you came into the room the other day, this is going to sound crazy, but when you came in...you made the voices stop. I mean- it's crazy, and I know I'm babbling and all- but, that's what happened and it's why I didn't want you to leave until I went to sleep and I don't even know why I'm saying this because I'm probably freaking you out..." Duo trailed off as Wufei's arms came around him in a gentle embrace, completely throwing him for a loop.
"You're not," he said simply, slowly pulling away. "Now let's head on to the hotel, shall we?"
Duo only nodded in acknowledgment, still dazed by the open display of warmth from the last person he expected it to come from.
***
The other three were already waiting in the room when they arrived, Duo making a beeline straight to bedroom to take a shower as Wufei sat in the living room with Quatre, Trowa, and Heero.
"This is going to be quite the interesting sleeping arrangement tonight," Trowa remarked dryly.
"We'll figure something out, it's not like we haven't had it worse," Quatre shrugged. "Besides, what's more important now is what we're going to do next. I was hoping you all would welcome a stay at our house on L4, since there would definitely be room for everyone."
"When Duo gets out of the shower, he can tell us what he wants," Wufei demurred firmly, rising up from his chair. "That's all I care about."
He walked into his bedroom and was blasted with the overwhelming scent of lavender vanilla. It billowed out in clouds of steam from the half-open door to the adjacent bathroom. The large box Duo's things were in was on its side, its contents spread all over the bed and a good portion of the floor.
Wufei shook his head amusedly, treading carefully over to his overnight suitcase on the dresser to fish out his bag of toiletries and get a spare rubber band. He made his way over to the bathroom and knocked politely. Thankfully the water was still running. "Er- Duo, I'm just going to put the hair tie on the counter for you, okay?"
"Gotcha, my brush should be there too, so just put it there," Duo poked his head around the shower curtain, water falling onto the linoleum as he watched Wufei slip in cautiously, his onyx gaze modestly focused on the sink. He snickered. "Yeesh, don't act like such a prude and be all shy, you're embarrassing me!" Duo joked appreciatively.
Wufei felt his face get even warmer in the steamy room. "It would have been disrespectful of me to just barge in here without warning," he said uneasily, still not looking at him.
"Like you haven't seen a nude person before, honestly," Duo smirked.
"I- well, that's besides the point."
"Mhmm..." He leaned out a little further. "And what is the point?"
"I came in here and gave you your hair tie, now I'm going to leave and give you your privacy," Wufei backed up to the door and started to head out.
"Psh, if you say so 'Fei."
He stopped. "And what else do you think I came in here for?"
"It's beside the point, isn't it? So don't get your feathers ruffled over it," Duo answered slyly. Wufei turned and narrowed his eyes at the dripping wet ex-pilot, who only grinned and waggled his eyebrows suggestively before retreating behind the shower curtain once more.
***
Wasn't too bad, ne? *sweatdrop* At least I didn't leave it at an awful cliffhanger...which I was tempted to do...
Anywho, I don't have much time to get replies to all the awesome reviews you guys left me, but I'd like you all for reviewing and most especially: Nelia, Makoto Sagara, In Darkness, my lovely Shella-chan (gotta love Confuscious), Rain Tenshi, Little Shadow, Kyoki, Talia Maxwell, Rena Lupin, Hikaru Kosuzaku, severed scythe, Shru, Pixie Smith, and Dark Ice!
I think you all know the drill from here...Feed a starving authoress' ego a bit and leave a review! ^_^;