Disclaimer: I lay claim only to my family, cat, house and car.
Author's confession: I smiled as I posted the last chapter, knowing someone, somewhere, would have the desired reaction (yay luc!). I thank you all for your continued support and I hope this story keeps living up to your expectations.
Blind
Chapter 11
Heero heard Wufei yelling from upstairs and took that as his queue to investigate. He'd sensed the uneasiness in Wufei ever since he and Duo came back from playing around and he had a sick feeling in his stomach. And when he heard Wufei yell, it wasn't his normal admonishing tone. He was upset.
So as he made his way downstairs he listened as much as he could, but the pair had since lowered their voices. Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs he heard the front door close. He made his way slowly towards the kitchen and stopped when he reached the doorway. But he didn't hear any noise at all and wondered if it wasn't Wufei and Duo leaving out the front door. Maybe Wufei decided to take the argument outside. If that's the case, things are really bad.
"Hee…ro?" Wufei slowly stood up and looked at Heero suspiciously. Oh gods. How much did he hear?
"So you are here. Thought you might have left with Duo."
"Why would I do that?"
Heero didn't like the defensiveness in Wufei's tone and immediately knew something big had happened.
"I heard you yell. Thought you two might be fighting. What happened?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Duo was just……" Wufei took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "…..being Duo, I guess."
Wufei began to unpack the basket and put things away and turned when he heard the chair scrape across the floor.
"You don't need to stay up. Go to bed. Rest."
"I'm not an old man. Besides, you sound more worn out than I do."
Wufei didn't say anything; he just continued to unpack the basket. After a few quiet moments with the only sounds being cabinets opening and closing, Heero tried a different tactic.
"Not being able to see, I've had to rediscover a lot of things. And today I discovered that wrestling sounds a lot like people having sex."
Wufei gasped and dropped the container he was holding, spilling pieces of fruit across the floor.
"Wha--? Why--? Heero…..you're becoming as uncouth as Duo."
With an exasperated sigh Wufei started cleaning up his mess and desperately wished for Heero to leave him alone.
"If you're going to be up for awhile, why don't you go watch TV?"
"Trying to get rid of me?"
"No."
"Then I'll stay."
"Alright, fine. I'm trying to get rid of you. I'm sorry, Heero, I just need some time to think----"
"What did he do to you?"
Wufei started at the dark, demanding tone of Heero's voice and he looked up to see Heero still facing forward, on the table his hands were clasped tightly to the point of shaking.
"He didn't---"
"Do not insult me. Tell me."
Wufei wasn't sure he could talk his way out of this. Heero seemed very determined and upset and as much as he didn't want that anger turned on him, he didn't want to keep secrets from Heero either. But if he really does have a thing for Duo…..
"He…..kissed me." Wufei watched as Heero's body went rigid and he waited for a response, but none ever came. "I-I'm sure he was just teasing me. But it was inappropriate and…..I'm just a bit angry with him right now."
Heero tried to maintain his sense of calm as he listened to Wufei. He sounds sincere. He's telling the truth. And I did hear him yell at Duo. But still…..what would prompt Duo to kiss Wufei? That's not his style. He doesn't make passes at people as a joke.
"Do you really think he was teasing you, Wufei?"
Wufei slammed the cabinet shut and hung his head as he braced his hands on the kitchen counter and tried to calm his upset mind. I don't know if he was teasing me. He seemed serious at one point but then that smirk and his cavalier attitude….. There's no way that meant anything to him.
"Of course, what other reason could that idiot have?"
Heero heard the quiet, confused voice and he wondered if Wufei realized he spoke the question aloud. It almost sounded like an echoed thought.
"It's possible Duo is attracted to you."
Wufei whirled around and stared at Heero's back, wide-eyed, his cheeks burning.
"That's ridiculous!"
"I don't think so. Duo may do a lot of stupid things, but he's not the type to kiss someone for no good reason."
Wufei contemplated Heero's words and he knew Heero was right. He joked around a lot and he craved physical contact, but he never just kissed someone as a lark. But he still shouldn't have kissed me, whatever his reasons were.
"But…..I'm not interested in Duo like that."
Heero's entire body sagged under the relief of hearing Wufei's words and he exhaled as he lowered his head to the kitchen table, his hands clasped behind his neck.
"Heero? Are you alright?"
Wufei was by his side in one step, a hand gently squeezing Heero's shoulder. Heero let his hand slide down from his neck to come to rest on Wufei's hand. He ran his fingertips over the back of Wufei's hands, a gesture that was soothing to both of them, unbeknownst to Heero.
"I'm fine. It's just been a long day."
Wufei flipped his hand that was covered by Heero's and grasped Heero's hand within his own, tugging lightly.
"C'mon. I'll help you back to bed."
"What about you?"
"I'm almost done here, don't worry about me."
"What a foolish thing to say."
And with that Heero stood up and allowed Wufei to guide him back to the stairs where he made his way back up and into his bedroom. Wufei waited until he heard the bedroom door close before returning to the kitchen where he tried to figure out the meaning of Heero's last statement.
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Realizing that Duo was attracted to Wufei had stirred something within Heero. Something desperate that burned within him. He admitted he isn't attracted to Duo, but….what about me? I know he's into guys because of that guy he dated a year or so ago. Why didn't it bother me then? Why now?
Heero rolled over and lay on his side with a groan. He'd been laying in bed for what had to be at least two hours by now and knew he wouldn't be getting to sleep anytime soon.
Is it possible I've only developed a crush on him because he's been taking care of me? Like a patient who falls for their doctor? If that's the case, what do I do? Just ride it out until the infatuation fades? How long will that take? And what if it's not some misplaced crush? How am I supposed to know?
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Wufei waited patiently in his designated corner of the small examination room, his eyes never leaving Heero's face. He had been tense all morning, dreading this examination. If he doesn't see anything today, the doctor says his chances of ever seeing again are practically nil. Please, Heero. Please see something.
Heero sat upon the examination table, shoulders slumped and hands clasping his knees to keep his body from shaking as the doctor removed his bandages. He could feel Wufei's eyes on him. All morning he sensed that there was something wrong with Wufei but he was too worried about his appointment to be much help. After the appointment I'll----
Heero suddenly jerked backwards, his back straight and rigid as he stared ahead to see…..light. He blinked several times, the action suddenly fascinating to him. Light. Dark. Light. Dark.
"Well, Mr. Yuy?"
"Light." Heero cleared his throat in the hopes of making his voice sound more normal. "I see light."
"And?"
He turned his head around, scanning his surroundings.
"Color. But everything's really blurry."
"Excellent progress, Mr. Yuy."
"So he's going to be ok?"
The doctor turned toward the quiet, inquiring voice behind him and smiled at Wufei.
"I have great confidence that he'll be just fine."
Wufei's body lost its tension and he slumped back into the corner with a sigh of relief. He's going to see again. Thank the gods.
"Now, Mr. Chang, I'm going to change the medicine and schedule and bandaging. I'll have the nurse print out new paperwork for you and you can watch me rewrap his eyes now so you'll know what to do."
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"Why do I still need the bandages? I can see now. Sort of."
"Mr. Yuy, you must protect your eyes until they are fully healed. But don't worry, the wrapping will be light."
Unobserved by the doctor as he turned to gather the bandages, both Heero and Wufei rolled their eyes.
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"Here, I'll help you down."
Wufei offered his hands to Heero and they were accepted, but instead of following Wufei's gentle tug to slide him off the examination table and onto his feet, Heero pulled Wufei towards him just enough to get the man's attention.
"Something wrong, Heero?"
"You tell me."
"I don't understand."
"All morning you've been quiet and tense. Something's bothering you, I can tell. Is it Duo?"
Wufei just stared at Heero, amazed that he could pick up on his mood without his eyesight. But then again, it was his understanding that the other senses became highly sensitized when one was lost. But what sense did he use to pick up my worry?
"I….I was worried about your appointment." Wufei sighed and hung his head. "That damn doctor is infuriating. All he could say up until today was that he was 'hopeful' and it felt like he was just stringing us along until he couldn't avoid telling us the bad news."
Heero was very aware of many things at that moment. One was Wufei's overwhelming presence and the fact that he was standing between Heero's legs, mere inches from him. The other was that Wufei was using the word 'us' when referring to Heero's condition which gave him a strange sensation in his stomach. And lastly, he was aware of Wufei's hands which he had guided to rest on his thighs while covering them with his own.
"You don't need to worry. I'll be looking into your eyes real soon."
Wufei's head slowly rose to look at Heero. Even though his eyes were covered Wufei felt as if those cerulean eyes were already looking into his. How does he do that? And what does that mean, 'looking into my eyes'? Did he mean 'looking me in the eye'?
"C'mon. Let's get out of here. I'm hungry."
Wufei nodded without thinking and backed up to let Heero off the table and that's when he realized their position and his whole body flushed. When did I put my hands on his thighs? Oh gods he must think I'm some kind of pervert!
As Wufei led them out of the examination room he felt Heero entwine his fingers with his own so that they were holding hands instead of Heero holding onto his bicep. Wufei didn't question the move. He found it actually felt nice holding hands, even if it was just because Heero couldn't see. I forgot how good this feels. Just being with someone, walking along, holding hands.
To be continued….