Title: Ill Effects part 1
Rating: R
Pairings: 2xDorothy (more friends than anything), 3x4 (implied)
Warnings: Angst, probably some citrus, language
Spoilers: Not that I know if yet
Disclaimers: I don't own them, and I don't make any money off of them. I owe about the next ten years of my life to about three different banks...so please don't sue me!
A/N: This story was actually going to be called "A Sickening Deal," but I find that "Ill Effects" sounds so much better than that. This is the second installment of the trilogy I've been working on, the first part being "The Broken Flower Pot." For those of you that have been anxiously waiting for me to continue, I am so sorry it took so long! This story will take me a long time to write, partly because this one is actually the hardest to write and then I have absolutely no time to write! So forgive the slowness, but hopefully it's worth it! On with the fic! (And please, R&R!)
"So what are you doing here, Dorothy?" Duo's voice held a lack of emotion, its tone dry and bored. Dorothy sighed melodramatically, as if she had actually been miffed by Duo's poor attitude, and she wandered over until she was standing directly in front of him.
"Must I have a specific reason for coming to see you?" Duo frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yes." He wasn't about to fall into her little mind games. She was here for a purpose, and he was going to find out what it was. She seemed to see the way his jaw was set stubbornly, the way his posture told her that he wasn't going anywhere until she spoke her piece, and she smiled a truly cold smile. She was never one for being polite, anyway.
"To be truly and bluntly honest with you, Mr. Maxwell, I have come to ask a favor of you." Duo's eyes widened minimally, although inside his mental jaw dropped and he was gaping at her as if she'd grown another head and it was singing Frank Sinatra. "You see, after Wufei's...death...I have come to find myself without a partner." Well, that's stating the obvious, he thought to himself.
"And so you came here to..." He motioned with his hand for her to continue when it looked as if she wanted him to just assume what she was going to say. She frowned at him and set her hands on her hips.
"On most of my missions, I am all right going solo. It is just on some missions, I require a partner who at least knows which way to point a gun if I happen to say 'aim.' The rookies that are still coming in have me cringing at their soft-spoken techniques." She visually cringed, and Duo could agree with her on this. The new peace was all about no weaponry and 'talking.' In an all out battle between people, there was no such thing. The new recruits into Preventer's didn't understand this.
"So you have come here to proposition me, I assume? You want me to become the partner Wufei was in order for you to complete your mission." Duo's voice was still dry, but he could see she was actually anxious about his answer.
"Yes, Duo, I am propositioning an agreement, of sorts." In a heartbeat, Dorothy's mask had fallen, and underneath was a tired twenty-year old who wanted someone she could trust at her back. In another instant, however, her masks were back in place and Duo was stuck wondering whether what he'd witnessed had been real or just a figment of his imagination. "I need to be able to count on you to be there if I need you."
Duo pondered this for several moments. On the plus side, he would be going on missions to help occupy his mind away from what he had lost. On the other hand, he'd be, in essence, replacing Wufei, and that thought did not appeal to Duo in the least. Dorothy could see his indecision, and she spoke fast to ease Duo's mind.
"He would want you to do this, you know. He would want you to move on, and let him go. You are allowed to move on, Duo. He wouldn't want it any other way." Her face was impassive, but her voice was lighter than normal. For Dorothy, it could even pass as soft-spoken, although Duo doubted she had ever kept her voice quiet enough to come even close to that term.
"How long do I have to think about this?" Duo asked, raising an eyebrow. Dorothy seemed to mentally lose her balance, shocked that he was even going to consider it. She must really be desperate, he thought. She had never been this ruffled before, and it was making him almost feel sorry for her. Almost. There was something about running a friend through with a sword that kind of stopped the pity before it became something big.
"How long do you need?"
-----
Quatre sat next to the hospital bed, his hand clasped tightly in the patient's as Quatre tried to mentally wake up his lover. Trowa, however, remained as he was, unconscious and unmoving except for the gentle rise and fall of his chest as a ventilator breathed for him.
"Mr. Winner?" A young woman, probably just starting her nursing rotation, stepped into the room with a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. "How are you holding up?" She was probably older than him, he thought. But the years in the war, and the way he acted made him seem older, and she appeared nervous because of it.
"I am fine, thank you." He put on his best innocent smile, trying to make the girl appear at ease. "Did you hear anything from the tests?" She frowned and looked at the clipboard, her lips pursing.
"His vitals are all okay, and his brain waves are completely normal. We still have to wait on the drug tests, but as soon as I get them, I will let you know," She handed him the clipboard. "I need you to sign this, sir. It is an agreement that allows you to make decisions for him should the need arise." She glanced over her shoulder, as if she had been doing something illegal. "I'm not really supposed to be doing this, but I thought that he would rather have you make the decisions, instead of the hospital." Quatre smiled sweetly, kissing her cheek lightly.
"You're an Angel, sweetheart." He signed the paper, both in his signature and in Trowa's so there would be no argument over who made the decision. "Thank you." He handed the clipboard back to the girl and she left the room with a conspiratorial wink. Quatre let out a sigh of relief when she was gone, and he went back to watching Trowa breath. Hopefully, it wouldn't be long until he awoke.
-----
Duo handed the pen back to Dorothy, glaring at the stack of paperwork as if it were the devil himself. He'd just signed his life away to Preventer's, not something he had truly wanted, but something he knew would take his mind off of other things.
"I am so glad you have done this, Mr. Maxwell." Dorothy's voice had changed into that of a schoolgirl with a crush, and Duo shuddered. It was really scary seeing her like that, he thought. How did Relena put up with it during the first war?
"Let's get one thing straight, Dorothy. Under no circumstances, none whatsoever, are you to ever refer to me as 'Mr.' Maxwell. Simply Maxwell, or Duo, is just fine, thanks." Duo said, throwing his braid over his shoulder. "You make me sound older than what I am." He sniffed, and she raised an eyebrow.
"For most twenty-year olds that's a good thing." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You shouldn't even be allowed in Preventer's at age 20."
"But you make exceptions because it's me." He said, pride seeping into his voice. And, for the first time in three months, he smiled a real smile. "You have no other choice," He poked a finger at her shoulder, and Dorothy was momentarily taken aback. Was he cracking a joke? When she didn't say anything, he raised an eyebrow and blinked several times. "You know, when somebody pulls your tail like I just did, most people just shrug it off and laugh. They don't stare at you with a glare to match death."
After a few moments, Dorothy lightened up a little bit, although she still didn't laugh. It would take some time to get used to Maxwell's joking, she was sure about that. That was the difference between him and Wufei, if she remembered correctly. Where Wufei's sense of humor was rather dry, Duo was open and frank with his humor.
Yes, a long time to get used to a whole new partner, she thought. But this time...yes, this time she would have a little help. Help in the form of another pilot just waiting for the right moment...
-----
Heero watched the whole transaction between Duo and Dorothy from behind a building, his excellent hearing picking up on some phrases. A smirk crossed his features and he mentally ticked off another part of his list. A new game had begun, and the first move had been set. How long would it be this time, he thought, until he got his results?
'Not long,' his mind spoke, 'not long...'
-----
-TBC...
-I hoped you all enjoyed it...sorry it took me so long to get it out. I am suffering through severe writer's block for this story, and I've actually steered it away from the synopsis I wrote for it...so if you decide to send feedback, any ideas on some events that can take place would be wonderful. I am floundering, and I'm not even sure I can continue with it (unless my writer's block suddenly crumbles...which is possible, but highly unlikely at the moment). Anyway, again, feedback adored and loved! Thank you!
SilentOne
