Disclaimer: I lay claim only to my family, cat, house and car.

Blind

Chapter 3

Wufei stood in the half-empty terminal and kept glancing at his watch. The transport was over twenty minutes late. Did something happen? Why didn't someone contact me? Then he saw a familiar khaki uniform emerge from a nearby hallway and he walked towards the older man and exchanged salutes.

"I was beginning to worry. Is everything ok?"

"Yes sir. There was just a, uh, momentary delay due to a conflict in, uh, procedure."

Wufei raised an inquisitive eyebrow and before he could question the Preventor medic further two more medics appeared with Heero in tow. Heero was sitting in a wheelchair and even though his eyes were not visible, Wufei could feel the hostility coming off his friend in waves.

He turned his attention to the young lady approaching him and he could see that she, along with the other two medics was tense and nervous. What did Heero do? This has to be his doing.

"Here are the medications and an extra copy of the instructions just in case you didn't already receive them from Doctor Zhivago."

The young woman offered a strained smile and turned away, walking back the way she came. The other two medics followed quickly but not before Wufei heard one of them mumble "good luck with this one". Wufei only smirked and decided whatever Heero did or said was probably deserved.

Wufei turned his attention back to his friend who had not moved or uttered a word since arriving. He was dressed in a very un-Heero like fashion of light, loose pants and a tunic. The outfit looked like something Wufei would wear.

"Get me the hell home, Chang."

Wufei just smirked and rethought his initial assessment. They probably didn't deserve it.

"As you wish."

Wufei went to stand behind the wheelchair but the instant he started pushing, Heero made to stand up and get out.

"Heero, no!"

Wufei stretched over the wheelchair and grabbed Heero's arm just in time to keep the blind man from falling forwards. But instead of sitting back down in the chair, Heero wrenched his arm free as soon as he regained his balance and stood up, turning slightly in Wufei's direction.

"If you think you're going to wheel me out of here you're crazy. The only reason I was in that wheelchair to begin with was because I couldn't…"

Wufei saw Heero's fists clench tightly and he noticed his body was trembling. The only reason they won is because he couldn't see them. Wufei truly felt sorry for the proud man and so he took a calming breath and kept his voice even.

"And how do you propose to get to the car?"

"My legs are not broken. I can walk."

Wufei considered the situation and the man involved. Heero was a very driven man and once he'd made his mind up to do something, there would be no stopping him. Wufei admired that about him, even if it had almost cost him his life on more than one occasion. He understood the passion behind the actions.

So without another word of protest, Wufei quietly approached Heero and offered his arm by brushing it against Heero's. He felt Heero stiffen at the touch but he calmly waited and eventually the prideful man firmly latched onto his arm, allowing Wufei to guide him out of the airport and to the car.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The walk to the car and the drive back to Heero's apartment had been in silence. Wufei wanted to ask Heero about the living arrangements but seeing his friend just staring forward, jaw clenched and obviously stiff with discomfort, he couldn't bring himself to say anything.

It didn't take long to reach Heero's apartment and Wufei was thankful it was on the ground floor and required no stairs. He'd already narrowly avoided disaster at the airport guiding Heero down a flight of stairs at the parking garage since the elevator was broken. Between Heero's stubbornness and Wufei's uneasiness with the situation, they had almost tumbled down at least three times, which put even more strain on the situation.

Once inside the apartment, Wufei led Heero to the sofa where he sat down and adopted the same posture he had in the car. Wufei sat in the chair caddy corner to the sofa on the right and sighed.

"Where would you like me to store my stuff? I have two suitcases. Very manageable."

Heero was silent for a few moments and when Wufei was about to speak up and repeat his question, Heero mumbled a response.

"You can use Duo's room."

"Duo's room?"

"It's not much. Just a futon and small dresser."

"That sounds fine."

Wufei sat there and stared down at his lap. Why does Duo have a room here? They don't live together. Does he stay here a lot? But…..why? If they were seeing each other, wouldn't they just stay in Heero's room?

Feeling like he was somehow prying into his friends' personal business, Wufei shook his mind clear of questions and headed for the front door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Wufei lay down on the futon with an exhausted groan. But instead of closing his eyes and falling asleep like his body wanted him to, his mind was still working overtime and so he stared at the ceiling, thinking.

He was thankful that Heero didn't want to do anything other than go to bed. After helping him to bed and arguing over Heero wanting to sleep in the clothes he was in and Wufei finally relenting because he felt himself losing his patience and wanting to just yell at his friend as if he were a Drill Instructor, Wufei sat in the living room for a few moments savoring the quiet and regaining control of himself.

How am I going to do this? I don't know how to take care of a blind person. And this isn't just anyone, this is Heero.

Wufei had been to Heero's apartment enough times to know the layout, but he didn't know where Heero kept everything so in the quiet of the early evening Wufei went through the kitchen and familiarized himself with where the utensils and such were and took stock of the food Duo had bought.

After putting the medicine and bandages in their proper places and taking a quick shower, Wufei retired to his room to unpack and organize his own stuff. He was surprised to find the small dresser empty with the exception of a single change of clothes, a toothbrush and a stick of deodorant. Does Duo use Heero's place as some sort of safe house?

The room was bare with the exception of the futon, small dresser and oddly enough a fake ficus decorated with a string of white lights. That has to be Duo's doing.

As Wufei lay in the dark, trying to come up with a plan of attack for tomorrow morning he suddenly chuckled and rolled over, closing his eyes. I'm being ridiculous. This is me and Heero we're talking about. We both think alike. Surely we can figure this out without too much difficulty.

To be continued….