Title: Catching Colds - sequel to Catching Duo
Author: Mistress Tsunami Archive: caveofbats. Anyone else, please ask first. I won't turn ya down, promise.
Rating: R
Pairings: 1+2, 3x4, 1x5, 5xMeiran, 1x5xOCxOCxMeiran (many combinations thereof I dun feel like writin' 'em all out)
Warnings: AU, OOC, school-fic, angst, drug-use, Duo-torture (no NCS or BDSM, though), yaoi, shonen-ai, het, get-together fic (is that a warning?), and anything else I forgot, since I just copy/pasted from the first fic.
Many thanks to my beta: TabiWolf (if you're reading this...email me! Let me know you haven't died yet!)

Somebody is hoping you aren't in trouble.
Fortune Cookie

Duo smiled happily as he made his way down the school hallway. His face was the very picture of contentment as he absently picked up bits and pieces of conversation that floated towards him during his free time. It had been almost week since he had finally gotten up the nerve and told Heero that he would try dating him. Things had gone well so far, so today was a relatively pleasant Monday, at least to him. Now, don't get the wrong idea, Mondays weren't good in any light, that was a simple fact of life, but somehow, this Monday just didn't feel quite as bad as every other had.

Spending the weekend at Heero's apartment had been quite an unusual experience, to put it mildly, but it had been fun. Sister Helen had been pleased that he was making new friends, and Father Maxwell had been genuinely happy for him. They had let him stay over and had even offered to let him spend the weekends and a few weekdays at the apartment if things turned out well.

Sleeping in a bed someone else was in, especially since that 'someone else' was Heero, had required some adjustment, particularly at first. Heero had offered to take the couch and let Duo have the bed to himself, or go sleep with the twins, or even with Wufei and Meiran. Despite these suggestions, Duo had declined, knowing that he would feel awkward kicking Heero out of his own bed. He had offered to take the couch himself, but Heero wouldn't hear of it.

And so they had spent their first night together in awkward, fitful, dozes, not allowing themselves to even casually touch each other within the confines of Heero's bed. Resigning himself on the second night, too tired to even think about the awkwardness anymore, Heero had simply curled up next to Duo, allowing their skin to touch in a purely friendly manner, and fell asleep. Just like that, one moment awake, the next out like a light. Duo had been startled at first, and afraid to close his eyes, afraid of disturbing Heero's sleep, but eventually exhaustion had taken over and he had fallen asleep as well.

He had been ashamed the next morning to wake up finding himself using Heero as a body pillow. Heero hadn't woken up yet, though, so he quickly left, going into the bathroom to wake himself up and dispel the feelings that the position had stirred. He wasn't aroused by it, it had simply felt...nice, and right, cuddling with Heero.

Other than that, though, everything had gone well. They had all spent some time together doing their homework - he had found out then that Heero ALWAYS made everyone do their homework, whether they turned it in or not, which was something he was grateful for - and had played some non-contact games like scrabble and monopoly. They had played cards for a while, and then did a few ad-libs, and then played some games that helped them get to know each other, winner deciding the topic and the losers relaying stories.

It was odd; when Duo had agreed to see Heero and get to know the other boy, he hadn't expected it to be a group effort. But here he was, getting to know everyone who was close to the Asian beauty, and he liked it.

It had been the most fun he had had in a long time, and as Duo made his way to class, he couldn't help but be happy about it.

"Hey, look, it's Duo," one of the girls in the hallway sneered as he passed. Duo had somehow focused in on her conversation - hearing his name above all the other chatter in the hallway was a feat in and of itself - but he didn't know who she was. "He's a fag-boy; Heero's new toy."

Duo nearly dropped his books in shock. He had NOT just heard that. No, he would keep walking and everything would be all right. Just walk to the library...

"Hey fag," a boy snickered as Duo passed him. "Wanna be fucked by a real man? With all that hair, I'd bet you'd LOOK like a woman, especially having sex. I bet you're loud too. Does it hurt to be a woman?"

Duo walked faster, but the voices were growing louder, each and every one accusing him of something dirty and vile. Something wrong. He couldn't tell if the voices were real or not anymore, could only hear Quatre telling him that it had been a lie, that he had never liked Trowa that way, could only hear Heero accusing him of being a gullible fool, could hear the the gang laughing, the laughter of every student in the school. It was accusing, and condescending, and Duo knew that some of it simply had to be his imagination.

But it still hurt.

He couldn't take it anymore, and sought escape through the nearest set of doors. They led to the gym equipment room, which was, for the moment, empty. Hoping to GOD that no one would come in anytime soon to see him in such a state, Duo collapsed into a fit of silent tears, hiding himself as far back as he could in a darkened corner.

Life had been bad before, but it had been livable; yes, he had been rejected, outcast, even ignored. He had become used to the looks others gave him; but never, NEVER had Duo Maxwell ever been laughed at or made fun of. NEVER.

And it hurt. Really bad.

It wasn't until much later that Trowa found him in that storage room; Trowa had been putting the gym equipment away when he noticed the huddled figure in the dark corner, and had recognized the braid that trailed along the floor.

"Duo?" he called.

"Go away, Trowa."

"Duo what happened? You disappeared after first-"

"I said GO AWAY!" and Duo was once more crying, hiccuping softly, the minimal light reflecting off the tears that streamed down his face as he shouted at one of his best friends.

But Trowa, while not completely understanding, was considerate, and let him be alone. Trowa ran to find Quatre, and found the short blonde in the hallway talking to Heero. Heero was the only other person Duo talked to beside the blonde, and Trowa's little love wouldn't have hurt Duo, so Trowa jumped to the obvious conclusion. "I'm sorry, Heero," Quatre was saying as Trowa stormed up. "I haven't seen - "

"What happened?" Trowa demanded, stepping between the two and glaring death at Heero.

"What do you mean? I haven't been at school at all today, I overslept this morning and Meiran was sick, so I stayed home with her," Heero answered, immediately providing his excuses. "I came here to look for Duo and to tell him that I probably wouldn't be at school tomorrow either. I wanted to see if he wanted me to walk him home. Have you seen him?"

Trowa watched the other closely, and then sighed as he realized that what Heero had said had been true, the Asian hadn't been in classes today either. He lost the glare in an instant, but didn't stop seeking answers. "It wasn't you then?"

"What wasn't me?" Heero asked, a slight edge of anger and worry in his voice as he tried to figure out just what Trowa was hinting at.

"I hadn't seen Duo since first period this morning. I thought maybe you two had had a fight or something...he's in the gym equipment room. Heero, he's crying, and I think he's been in there all day," Trowa answered sadly.

"Oh gods," Heero whispered, turning to run in the direction Trowa had just come from. Trowa turned towards the small blonde, seeing tears in the clear blue eyes that refused to fall, and a glint of anger that promised grievous bodily harm to anyone who would have hurt his friend, and near brother. Nodding in agreement, the two left at a brisk walk to follow Heero and consul their friend.

They arrived shortly after Heero had, and found him rocking a softly sobbing Duo in his arms. Heero was whispering quietly to the distraught boy, and rubbing the tense back in small circles. He saw the other two enter and moved over slightly so that they could sit on either side of him, adding their own comfort to their friend.

"Duo, what happened?" Quatre asked quietly, allowing for the other to not hear, and not answer.

"I-I wasn't expecting THAT, Quatre. They've always ignored me, or at least tolerated me before, but...but..."

"Shh," Heero whispered soothingly. "It's all right now. I'm here. No one's going to hurt you."

"But they DIDN'T. Not physically, anyway. They - They called me a f-fag. And the one boy offered to...to..." Duo buried his face in Heero's shirt, hiding, but it was enough; they got the idea, they knew what had been said. "He said it wouldn't be bad 'cause I looked like a woman..."

"Shh...it's ok, now. I'll come to school with you from now on, okay?" Duo slowly nodded his acceptance of the meager protection. Or was it so meager? He didn't know, but he knew that he didn't want to face the school without it. "You ready to go home?"

"You're home?" Duo asked, hope in his voice.

"Our home," Heero corrected.

"Yeah. Quatre, could you call Sis Helen for me?"

"Of course, Duo," Quatre promised.

"Thank you," he whispered. Heero easily picked him up and carried him away. The only way out was through the main hall, and Heero glared daggers at anyone who even looked at the pair the wrong way, or made a move to laugh at the fallen boy. He vowed to find the one who started this, and make them pay. Oh yes, someone was going to pay DEARLY.

Back in the equipment room, Quatre found comfort in Trowa's arms, sharing a hug that they both desperately needed. Afterwards they shared a angry look, but both knew that the look was not directed at the other; it was a promise to meet later. Right then, they had some hunting to do.