The problems of Blind Love

AN: Okay...heres the nest chapter. I must say...I AM SO ENTHRALLED By the respone to this story. 23 reviews on the first chapter! Holy smokes. Thanks everyone! I FEEL SO LOVED! It makes me so happy. It's only been up...what?...4 days? SUGOI! I love you all! muah

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

Chapter 2...The library

Duo shifted his books from one arm to the other as he stood in his place, the quiet hum of whispers in the local library much better than the ruckus out on the campus or in the streets. All of the noise and confusion he used to bask in just made him nervous and small now. He tapped his foot impatiently, and fidgeted with the strap of his backpack, rotating the weight of his body on each foot.

He wished he had one of those special watches. At the push of a button, he could hear the time instead of having to look at it. Quatre was probably late.

He wouldn't leave Duo stranded. He wouldn't forget. The little blonde boy couldn't have it burdening on his conscience all day. He took Duo on as a new responsibility now. Like a little brother, though Duo was 3 months older.

And it killed the long-haired boy. He hated feeling like a 5th wheel. He knew Quatre had hobbies and places he wanted to go, but now couldn't because Duo needed help. Quatre was empathic, even though he didn't know exactly what Duo was going through, the violet eyed boy had given him plenty of description.

It was like wanting to open your eyes, but realizing, they're already open. It was like being shoved in a dark room with earphones playing a CD full of everyday sounds. It was like crawling and clawing to get away from the darkness, but it not working. A sensory overload. A frustrating state of mind. There was no definite ways to describe it. It was everything that was wrong with the world and more.

Living in fear that everyone around you is a stranger, and you can't protect yourself because you don't know where they're coming from.

"Duo! There you are! Sorry I'm late!"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Duo flung his arms out, not caring for his books as they clattered to the floor.

"Quatre…where are you? I can hear you….and I'm getting nervous…" He waved his small, pale hands in the air, feeling for the solid of his friend's body.

"Ohmigod! Duo, watch out!" Quatre jumped forward as he saw Duo wander onward, running himself into a cart full of books. Down the cart went with a loud crash, paperbacks and encyclopedias flying all over the place. The long haired boy had also taken the spill, tripping right over it and falling face first into the floor.

"Duo!" Quatre dashed to his side, face strung up with worry as he helped his roommate up. People were staring at them and whispering comments, and Quatre's aqua eyes tried they're best to glare at them. This was the only reason Quatre was glad that Duo was blind. So he couldn't see people sneering at them.

"Come on Duo…lets find a quick table." The blonde pulled his brunette friend through the rows of books to a table at the very back of the library, pulling out Duo's chair for him so he could sit down without hurting himself again.

Duo looked like he was about to cry right there in public and his lip was bleeding severely. Though the boy didn't notice he scrunched up his face, with distaste.

"Oh gawd…I'm so embarrassed." He said dejectedly, leaning on the end of the table with his elbows.

"It….wasn't that bad Duo. I'm sure no one heard."

"Pfft!" Was Duo's reaction. "It sounded like the roof was falling in. I'm such a clumsy old cow!"

Quatre smiled as Duo wiped a stray tear away from his eye.

"Things will start being easier once you get the hang of it Duo." The blonde reassured. "Now…get out your Braille books and we'll start today's lesson."

Duo tilted his head to the side and patted around the surface in front of him. "Aw crap!" He cursed. "I left them back at the entrance! Great!"

"That's okay Duo…I'll go get them for you."

"No…no…if I'm ever going to get over this, I'll do it myself." He did his best to smile cheerily at wherever his friend's voice was coming from before walking off back to where he thought the entrance had been. "I'm not directionally challenged you know!" He called over his shoulder.

Quatre chuckled but kept a stern eye on him as he walked away.

-

Duo walked along the bookcases, his fingers brushing along the shelves as they led him toward the entrance. Before he lost his sight, Duo had taken notice that all of the bookcases were conveniently pointed towards the door. So all he had to do was keep a hand along them, and he would find his books again. It was simple.

When the bookcases stopped, he got down on his hands and knees and started to crawl along the floor, taping the floor with his palm, feeling around for his books. It would be easy to find them if they were in a pile, because regular books didn't have small bumps all over them.

He remembered dropping them while he was looking for Quatre. They had to be close.

"Um…looking for these?" A deep voice answered his frantic patting of the ground. It was coming from above and he struggled to stand up again, when a helping hand grabbed his and pulled him up off the tiles. At the contact, a jolt surged up through his arm all the way to his chest and all along his body. His heart started to pound. The voice was faintly familiar…though Duo couldn't comprehend ever hearing it before. Washes of déjà vu hit him across the face.

The books were pressed back into his arms and Duo nodded.

"Um, yeah….thanks…um…"

"My name is Heero…Heero Yuy. Nice to meet you…"

"Duo…um…Maxwell."

"Well Duo…you …er…look like you need a bit of help."

The voice was almost a whisper…very appropriate for a library, but Duo had a feeling that was how this man's voice usually was.

"Um…I would like to get back to my friend. He's at the back…would you mind?" Duo knew it was stupid, to request a stranger to help him when he was practically asking himself to be kidnapped. But this person, Heero, was just so quiet…he had a feeling that this guy meant really no harm at all. Now that Duo had lost the ability to judge people by the way they looked (which was wrong, but he did it anyways), he relied purely on his gut feelings. And his gut was telling him this man meant no harm.

Heero thought it would be just another boring Saturday. The same routine which he followed on his Saturdays off. He would go out for a coffee and brunch then head to the library until dinner. Then he would go back to his apartment and surf the internet while eating Chinese take-out.

Imagine how surprised he was to see the beautiful boy from the park as he walked in the door. On the floor, patting the ground. The situation looked a little awkward, and, as Heero looked around, people were staring at him.

There were three books on the floor with no visible writing on them; it must have been what the boy had been looking for.

Feeling brave again, Heero went over and picked up the books and asked "Looking for these."

Then the boy had looked up at him, and Heero's face blushed bright red. In whatever light, the boy was stunning. And now he was up closer than he had been ever. His heart skipped a beat as he helped him up and Heero asked him if he needed help.

"Um…I would like to get back to my friend. He's at the back…would you mind?" The boy, who now had a name, Duo, asked.

Do you even need to ask that? Heero said in his head. Out loud, of course, he didn't. The boy would think he was coming on too strong. He mumbled a quick "sure" and stuck out his arm, which Duo had been grappling for.

The boy sure was strange. First, he totally ignores him, and then he's found crawling on the floor looking for his books which were right in front of him. Was the boy blind or something?

Heero shook his head; the rather mean comment was just itching to be asked. And he wouldn't but the beautiful boy on the spot like that.

"Where exactly at the back is your friend?" He asked quietly.

Duo swallowed as he grasped this man, Heero's arm. He could feel the rather strong, but thing muscles through what seemed to be a light weight jacket. The man smelt musky and like cologne that had been worn down throughout the day. Not too strong, but not too weak either.

He found himself clutching his arm tighter. The magnetism he felt to this man was pulling at his heart strings.

Heero pulled the younger boy to the back of the library dutifully, looking around for someone who looked about Duo's age. Maybe he could hang around a little while, get to know Duo a little better.

Pffft…as if. Duo only needed a bit of help…he still wasn't about to lower himself to Heero's sad position.

"DUO!" A little blonde head poked around the corner of a bookcase. He ran up to the longhaired boy and gave him a scrutinizing with his eyes. When he seemed satisfied of Duo's safety, he looked at Heero with intense aqua blue eyes.

"Oh…hello there. Who are you?"

Heero was about to open his mouth when the longhaired boy broke in. "This is Heero…he helped me out a bit. I…um… had some trouble finding my books." He grinned cheekily and patted said boy's arm.

The blonde stared Heero up and down, taking in every inch of his body. He walked around the two like a predator, studying Heero like a choice piece of meat.

"I see." He mumbled. "Well, I'm Quatre, Duo's best friend. Thank you so much for your help." He directed his attention to Duo again. "We better get to work. We're already behind."

Duo nodded and released Heero's arm, immediately regretting the loss of warmth at his side. It had been like a strange force was drawing them together. And when Duo had to break away, he felt like crying. It was an indescribable feeling.

"Um…well…Bye then." Heero said awkwardly. "Maybe I'll see you later."

"Perhaps." Quatre said sharply.

Heero scratched the back of his head before he walked away. It certainly had been an interesting day.

Duo sat back down as Quatre started shuffling through his books. He twiddled his thumbs and bit his lip.

"So..?" He asked.

"So what?"

"How does he look? I want to know."

There was a sound of the book being put down as Quatre reclined in his chair. "Appearance wise?"

Duo nodded.

"Well…if you insist. He's tall…taller than you. He was wearing a black pullover and blue jeans. Nice body from what I could see. Shy eyes…they're pretty too. Cobalt blue or something. And lots of messy brown hair, looks good on him though. He looks Asian…slanted eyes…big eyelashes. He seems tame enough, and he was blushing."

"Blushing? Was he really?" Duo smiled and leaned forward in his seat.

"Yeah." Quatre grabbed one of his hands and squeezed it. "While you were clutching him like that, his face was almost beet red."

Duo giggled.

"Duo…" Quatre said warily. "Don't go losing your head just yet. You have no idea what he's like. People these days can act…"

"Don't worry Q, what are the chances of me seeing him again anyways? New York is one of the largest cities in the world. I'm sure it will be fine."

"At least you're being optimistic."

"At least…I can't help it. I had never encountered someone like that before. Usually the loud people are drawn to me…he seemed nice enough. And I got this weird feeling in my body and heart when I touched him….what do you think it is?"

Quatre shrugged and opened a book. "Okay, enough about that guy. You still need to learn the alphabet."

-

Heero ordered the takeout with a bundle full of energy. He didn't think he could sit at home and tinker around with his laptop with this new invigorating feeling that was surging through his veins.

The lady at the counter handed him his food and he snatched it away, throwing his money on the table and taking off out the door, yelling "Keep the change!" over his shoulder.

TBC

Mistress Shinigami: Okay…short chapter. I'm so sorry. I know I know. But if the chapters are only this long, then I can update more often. Sound good?

RR Pwease?