Make a Mistake

----------------------------

Warnings: Shounen-ai (1x2), fluff, TWT (just in case), Heero POV, prolly some OOC. Rated PG-13 for language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. Never have, never will. I am not that fortunate. "The Fishing Song" and "Make a Mistake" are wonderful songs written by the country artist Brad Paisley, so he gets credit for those. I get no profit for writing this fic, I only get pleasure an (hopefully) feedback. 3

Many thanks to Jill for getting me un-stuck toward the end.

Also, thanks to Sarah-chan and Pharaoh-sama for their loverly beta-ing skills.

----------------------------

I've always hated hospital visits. To me, they've always seemed like a waste of time. I especially hate coming to this particular hospital. They're understaffed, the rooms are too small, and they're not very friendly. That doesn't really matter, though; here I am, seven in the morning, sitting in the same room as the baka that got himself shot, beaten, and nearly blown to bits with two tons of napalm. And this is all because he couldn't take the Doctors' advice and leave a man behind the night before last.

I would have made it out fine on my own. Honestly. Why did he have to go and risk his ass when he knew damn well that I was perfectly capable of self-detonating, had the worst-case-scenario even come about? Well, whatever. It's all over, at least for now.

But, I digress. Anyway, I'm currently sitting in this less-than-barely-comfortable excuse for an armchair in a rather cramped hospital room that smells heavily of band-aids and medication. Duo's awake, sitting up in his hospital bed and humming some random tune. Only God knows what goes on in his head. It's probably ten times worse right now, considering the injuries he's sustained and the morphine he's no doubt received to numb the pain. His left arm is in a sling, and his right arm is half-covered in bandages. His hair is down and unbraided, and his bangs are slightly singed, no doubt from the explosion. His left leg is in a cast, and his right is still bleeding a little bit below his knee.

Come to think of it, Duo Maxwell has to be the only person I would be willing to sit in a hospital and wait for. Not that I would ever admit it to him, but I trust him. A lot. If I thought I was capable of friendship or something along those lines, I would say he was my friend. But since that may not be the case, I'll leave it at that. Besides, it's not like it would mean anything to him. He's used to it. Everyone loves him; he's the spunky, energetic, happy little boy that keeps everyone's spirits up. Speaking of which, despite all of the insanity of these past few days, he's still humming. He never ceases to amaze me.

"Oi, Hee-buddy!" he calls, cheerfully. I twitch; what kind of nickname is that? "You're quieter than a dead person over there! Speak up, man!" I just roll my eyes. I'm not about to humor him when there's nothing to say. "Agh, you're no fun. No fun at all." He lets out an exasperated sigh, and resumes his humming. After a moment or two, even that ceases. The sudden silence is almost too much, but it's better than incessant nagging about my lack of verbal communication.

It doesn't last long, though. "Heero, my man, people are gonna be inclined to think you're stupid if you just sit there in total silence like that." He nods wisely, and then flashes one of his huge grins.

"I'm not stupid, Duo," I mutter in response, "I just prefer to think more than talk."

"He speaks!" Duo exclaims, and then starts laughing. "Come on, Hee-chan! Say something else!" He puts on a face of mock fascination.

I can't help but grin as I roll my eyes again. "Baka, there is no way we can have an intelligent conversation when you're on heavy pain medication."

"So, let's have a stupid one!" Duo suggests, still grinning like an idiot. "So, how 'bout them Raiders?" He laughs at his own joke. At least, I'm assuming it's a joke. It's one more of those trivial things that I don't get. I shake my head and turn my attention to the ceiling, which isn't very interesting. At least it's better than the floor, which is dirty and covered in stains. It makes me wonder what kind of facility this is.

Have I mentioned I hate this hospital?

The silence is completely broken by a twitch from Duo, along with a slight whine. I look over to find him glaring at his foot. Somehow, I really don't want to know.

"Heeeero, can you do me a favor?" He looks up at me with pleading violet eyes. I'm afraid to ask what he wants, so I simply raise an eyebrow at him. He continues, "Could you scratch my leg for me? I can't move my arms without ripping the IV out of my vein or breaking a bone all over again."

My other eyebrow shoots up. "Duo, there is no way I am going to scratch your leg for you."

"Pleeeeease, Heero? I'll never ask anything of you ever again!"

I snort. That's a lie if I've ever heard one. Oh, what the hell. "Fine." I stand up and walk over to the side of his bed, and proceed to scratch his leg.

"Ah, yay. Much better. .... Wait, now it's my arm. ... Aw, come on, Heero! Please? .... Thaaank you. ... Gah, now it's my nose-... Oh, Heeeero?"

"Forget it, Duo. I draw the line there."

"Well, while you're drawing it, could you possibly use the other hand to scratch my nose?"

Growling, I comply. It's not like it will kill me. Plus, I can relate. The chronic itching has to be the most annoying side-effect of morphine. However, he did look pretty cute wrinkling his nose in his vain attempt to make the itching go away on his own.

After about another minute of scratching, he lets me return to my seat. Things remain silent for a bit, then Duo starts humming again. I close my eyes, content to just listen.

Then, he starts singing.

"...If I hit that fishing hole today, she'd be packing all her things and she'd be gone by noon. ... Well, I'm gonna miss her, when I get home..."

I roll my eyes. "If you must sing, pick something that isn't so..."

"Redneck?" He grins mischievously.

"Southern."

"No way, man. I'm in a Brad Paisley kind of mood!"

"In that case, can you humor me and sing something other than 'The Fishing Song'?" As much as I like Brad Paisley's music, I'm not putting up with that silly, pointless song.

"But Heero, every song has a message!"

"And what would that one be, to leave your wife for a fishing trip?"

"No, he's saying not to leave your wife for a fish, because it will lead to a happier life for the both of you. You have to look past the lyrics to get anything out of the song. Y'know, Heero, you can learn a whole lot from songs! Get with the program, my man!"

I roll my eyes. He has a point, but I'm not about to admit it. At least he has the decency to change songs.

"You over think things, you say what if we're not meant to be?" I watch as he sways with the beat that's no doubt running through his head perfectly. He's such a music freak. "You know what?" He pauses, grinning at me like an idiot.

I sigh. I know he wants a reply. "What, Duo?"

I was right. "So what?!" he laughs, then continues, "Make a mistake with me. Nobody goes through this life and does everything perfectly. I'm telling you, the right thing to do is make a mistake, make a mistake, make a mistake with me!"

On the last line, he flings his right arm into the air for dramatic effect, and the IV pops out. I watch as he winces at the pain of the needle ripping out of his skin, but he quickly resumes grinning. "Whoops, help me out!" He laughs at his own joke, and I actually get this one.

I put on my best look of pure annoyance and pick up the IV. "Duo, you need to be more careful," I mutter as I place it back where it belongs, making sure I sound put-off enough for Duo to take this as a lecture. "I swear, it's sometimes hard to believe how skilled you are at piloting a Gundam considering how clumsy--" Something pushes against the back of my head, cutting me off, and I begin falling towards Duo.

Our lips meet.

My eyes widen to find his closed, and a blissful look on his face. This was no accident. He must have somehow freed is other hand long enough to bring me down, and now he's... kissing me.

After what feels like an eternity, Duo pulls away and leans back into the bed with a troubled look on his face, deliberately looking away from me. "S-sorry, Heero," he whispers, already putting on another fake grin. "This morphine's really screwin' with my head, you know?"

That's another lie if I've ever heard one, and worse than his other one about never asking me for anything else. "That wasn't the morphine, Duo." He flinches quite noticeably; I've apparently caught him. "If you were still under the influence of morphine, you wouldn't have had the energy to sing as loudly as you did, nor would you have felt the pain of the IV ripping out of your arm." He remains silent, looking even more worried than before. I wish I knew what else to say, or at least how to put words to what I want to come out. It's not like I didn't enjoy the kiss, and I hate watching him act happy when I can tell he's clearly upset.

The nurse walks in, breaking my train of thought. "Excuse me, but it's time for Mr. Maxwell to get some rest," she explains with a pleasant smile. "You'll have to come back later tonight."

"Hn." I turn to leave, but stop myself before I reach the door. It just occurred to me that Duo never finished his song. Which means, he never got to the strongest message in that song. Hmph, and he thinks I need to 'get with the program', or whatever? I turn back toward him, only to find him still looking the other way. I take a deep breath; here goes nothing: "Sometimes baby when we take, a chance that has this much at stake..." Duo's head snaps up, and he faces me with a look of complete shock on his face. "We look back and in hindsight, what seemed wrong looks more like right." I can't help but grin as I watch his eyes widen with every word. "So I say worst case, we'll be left with lots of good memories. This chance we have, well it's worth that, so make a mistake with me."

Never in my life did I think I would live to see Shinigami himself at a loss for words. Time for me to take advantage of that; who knows if it will ever happen again. I walk over, cup his chin in my hand, and kiss him gently. "I'll be back tonight, love. Get some rest."

"H-.... Heero-... Y-..."

"Sleep, Duo. That's an order."

"Not fucking fair to leave after that."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Maxwell, but he needs to," the nurse responds. I forgot she was still in the room.

"Then you had better show up tonight, Heero," he growls, "We have a lot to talk about." I nod. "Then... it's a date?"

"Hai." How could I refuse?

And with that, the nurse escorts (more like forces me) out of the room and shuts the door, giving me a rather nasty look in the meanwhile.

Have I mentioned I hate this hospital?