Author: Aja-Golde
For summary, disclaimers and mild warnings see chapters one and two
Author's Notes: Uhhh…sorry it took so long for this chapter. Life gets in the way ^_^;
Chapter 9
Day 3 11:00 AM
He choked up a spew of water, feeling the warm stream dribble over his near frozen chin. He gasped and briefly struggled in the arms of his rescuer, still feeling the harsh waves churn around him.
"Get me out of here," he croaked, his throat rough and sore, his eyes burning and his limbs numb and heavy.
He felt his rescuer begin to powerfully swim towards the shallow end, grunting, "Help me out a bit."
Quatre tried to push with his arms and kick with his feet, but sleepiness was beginning to engulf him.
"Shit, Watson, don't black out."
He then felt another pair of arms guide him, and a water-logged braid brushed up against his back. He grew calmer as he felt the familiar form of his friend grab his other side.
"Call a life guard," Quatre said wearily.
Other participants in the water were turning to look at him, but the life guards hadn't taken any action. In general, the atmosphere in the pool felt the same as it had before Quatre went under. The concept boggled Quatre's mind; it felt as if he had been under the water for hours. Had no one really noticed?
Eventually Quatre could touch the bottom with his toes and he stumbled to the edge of the pool. Quatre collapsed on the ground, bringing his rescuers with him. Duo laid by his side, his arm crushed under Quatre's weight. Quatre felt another brawny limb and realized his leg was tangled with Heero's. His head fell to the side and he regarded Heero, only inches away from him.
"Thanks," he whispered.
"You need medical attention."
Quatre shook his head, "I just want to find a nice place to sleep for a while."
"You could be seriously hurt," Heero argued, "I saw blood near you."
"I wasn't hurt," Quatre said, and then looked over to the wave pool where several screams were issuing. Apparently someone had finally noticed the blood.
Heero frowned as the lifeguards shut off the waves, "It wasn't your blood?"
"No," Quatre said, and then he sat up suddenly, making his head spin, "We need to get out of here."
He struggled to his feet and Duo was immediately by his side, "Clam down, would you? You can't just walk away after nearly drowning."
Quatre was quickly surveying the people around him, searching for the blond man Trowa had mentioned before. It was a slim chance that he knew they were going to be here, but Quatre was sure he had something to do with all the trouble they had run into lately. There were many men with blond hair, though, so he couldn't be sure which one was responsible.
"Let's go," he said as Duo placed several towels around his shoulders, "I don't feel so safe here."
"They didn't see you drowning," Heero said, staring at the lifeguards, "They didn't see. Or they chose not to."
"Deaths happen often in wave pools, don't they?" Duo asked, wrapping an arm around Quatre, rubbing his shoulders, "I mean – look at this place. It's so fucking crowded; I can barely see any of the water in the pool."
"I saw Watson from Summit Plummet," Heero pointed out.
"Let's go," Quatre said again as the lifeguards cleared the pool, "we're going to be crushed by all the people coming out of the pool, anyway."
They moved towards the exit as the lifeguards inspected the emptied pool. There wouldn't be a body. Quatre was sure the person he had scratched was long gone.
They piled into a bus, Quatre wrapped up in the towels they had brought, Duo attending to his ribs, wrapping them meticulously with the bandages they had packed in the backpack. Heero was glaring at the other passengers on the bus who were sending concerned looks their way.
"Does he need help?" the bus driver asked.
"No," Quatre answered, "my friend is taking care of me; I've just got a bad bruise, nothing to worry about."
They were left alone after that, and Quatre became aware of Duo's fingers shaking. Quatre grabbed his friend's fingers and held them tightly in his grip.
Duo just shook his head sharply and gave Quatre a look that said 'We will discuss this later, now fuck off so I can take care of you'. So Quatre let Duo busy himself with wrapping his ribs, rubbing his shoulders and drying off his hair. Heero remained moodily silent.
But when the bus pulled up at Animal Kingdom, Quatre sent an accusing glare Heero's way.
Heero shrugged, "This was the first bus I thought to go on. I mean, I do work here. Besides, Trowa has the afternoon off, we might as well go visit."
Quatre mentally groaned. This was the last thing he needed. Wasn't nearly-drowning enough? Now he had to be near Trowa, and after their awkward moment last night, Quatre wasn't sure what he should do next, if anything. Quatre wondered if he had the worst luck on the entire planet.
Duo helped him up and they followed Heero into the park and to the nearest restrooms. Heero stood outside, looking like a disgruntled guard dog as he texted Trowa. Inside Duo and Quatre began to clean themselves up a bit, and Duo made him sit under the hand-dryer for a few minutes.
"Honestly Duo, have you not noticed how hot it is outside? It's over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, I don't need to sit under-"
"Do it to make me feel better."
So Quatre sat on the floor underneath the hand-dryer, the blast of warm air hitting his skull and making his eyes dry out. The continuous hum of it made him sleepy, but he was shaken awake by Duo. His friend was kneeling in front of him, hair re-braided. Quatre picked up the braid and began to wrap it around his wrist. Duo gave him a bemused look.
"You're completely out of it," he sighed, "Are you okay?"
Quatre nodded, "I'm tired, my side is killing me and my throat is sore, but I'll live."
"That doesn't sound like 'okay' to me."
Quatre rubbed his eyes, "How did you guys know to save me? I thought I was a goner."
"Yeah, me too," Duo's voice cracked, but he quickly pulled himself together, "well we trying to spot you from on top of Summit Plummet, as something to do while waiting in line. Heero found you in the wave pool – he must have like 20/10 vision or something – and said it looked like you were headed towards the deep end. So, after the ride we headed over to join you, and Heero was watching you as we began to swim – then he said you suddenly went under."
Duo stopped and Quatre held out his arms. Duo hesitated only a moment before leaning forward and giving him a hug. As far as hugs went, it certainly wasn't the most comfortable. They both smelled of chlorine, they were sitting on the hard floor of a bathroom and dry heat was hitting their faces from a noisy hand-dryer, but they were sniffling like idiots and clinging to each other like the silly women on those melodramatic TV shows. Quatre wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
"So Heero suddenly went into, like, warp drive or something. That guy just cut through the waves and I couldn't keep up. That's what I hated most, you know? The fact that I couldn't go down there and get you myself. But I saw Heero dive under and I tried to calling to the lifeguards, but it was hard, you know? I think I must have swallowed a gallon of water and maybe Heero's right, the guards didn't seem to be watching the pool."
Duo dragged in a breath, "But then Heero got you, and you were unresponsive and I thought: shit, my friend is dead or has brain damage, and we're in Disneyworld for fuck's sake. But then you began to move and I finally reached you guys and…."
Quatre squeezed Duo's shoulders, feeling his thick braid beneath his arms.
"You must have been under for like three minutes," Duo shuddered.
"Usually three minutes doesn't feel so long," Quatre said, his face still buried in the crook of Duo's shoulder, "But three minutes under water – every second counts when you're stuck down there. It felt like forever."
"Well good thing it wasn't," Duo sat back, "now tell me the truth: do you or do you not need medical attention?"
"Not."
"Okay," Duo said skeptically, "now tell me why the hell you basically towed us out of Blizzard Beach? We could have at least contacted a life guard."
"I just – wanted to get out of there. Duo, I don't think it was an accident."
Duo stared at him, watching him carefully, no expression visible on his face. After a few long seconds, Duo licked his lips nervously, "You're saying someone tried to drown you on purpose."
Quatre nodded, "Someone was down there with me; someone grabbed onto me and held me under. I scratched him pretty bad, though, that's where the blood came from."
Duo was silent for another few seconds, "That certainly makes things more…complicated."
"Remember that blond man I mentioned? I think it could've been him."
"But how would he know we were in Blizzard Beach?"
Quatre shrugged, "Trowa said a blond man has been watching me. Well, actually he only mentioned it once, but it could be a lead."
Duo shook his head, "It just doesn't make sense. A ride malfunctions, a harmless snake is found in your backpack, and you nearly drown in a pool. They don't really have that much of a connection, besides the fact that they revolve around you."
"So someone probably knows who I am," Quatre answered.
"Or this could be a horrible case of bad luck."
"Or it could not be."
"So you wanted to leave Blizzard Beach because you were afraid your would-be-killer was still in the area-"
"-and Heero mentioned the life guards were acting funky."
Duo rubbed his forehead, "I always thought they took their duty super seriously. They're supposed to go through rigorous training."
Quatre laid a hand on Duo's arm, "I didn't trust the lifeguards, but they could have just not noticed. It was loud and crowded, and sometimes things slip through the cracks."
Duo snorted, "A person is not a 'thing' that just slips through a 'crack'. Your life was on the line."
"Can we go find somewhere to rest, besides on a bathroom floor?" Quatre asked as his head was pounding and his lungs were feeling rather damp and swollen.
"Yeah, then we can go ask Trowa about this blond man of yours."
Just then an elderly man walked into the bathroom; he was soaking wet and grumbling to himself. He stopped when he saw them sitting on the floor beneath a humming hand-dryer and said, "Well by golly, isn't that the most ingenious idea? You mind if I try that?"
Duo and Quatre vacated their spot, and the tiny old man sat on the floor, drying himself off after having been splashed by those 'darn waves on that spinning water devil ride'.
Day 3 12:00 PM
They found a park bench under the large shady trees in the Oasis and Quatre curled up, using Duo's lap as a pillow, and Heero stood next to them, arms crossed, watching the people pass by them. Quatre hadn't known Heero for long, but already he was getting the impression that Heero was the silent, protective type.
"Maybe I'll get a private tour after all," Duo mused to Quatre.
Heero turned to them, blinking, "You want the long, boring version or the quick, personalized version?"
"The latter please," Duo smiled.
Heero spread his arms wide, "Welcome to the Oasis. Here you'll find anteater, boar, Hyacinth macaw and other such species you haven't heard of, with names you won't remember and won't be able to pronounce. No, no," Heero held up a finger to an invisible tourist, "don't even try. Now, as you walk through here, really only wanting to get to the rides, you might notice that you won't see many of the animals I just mentioned. That could be because you don't know much about wildlife and couldn't identify an animal even if it walked up and bit you in the ass-"
Duo chortled, probably because he considered himself a part of that group.
"-or it could be because all the animals are hiding. You see, animals are very shy; they're not really fond of humans ogling them. So yes, a tour through here is quite pointless-" Heero stopped, and bent down as if to glare at a crying child, "yes, I know you want to go on the rides, I don't know why your parents won't let you. Personally, I think this tour is a waste of time too. Yes, ma'am? You have a question?"
Heero looked behind him, "Oh, that? That's our Tree of Life," Heero waved a hand towards it carelessly, "it stands over fourteen stories and is carved with three hundred and twenty five animals. As far as I know, I am the only person who can spot them all."
"Well, that sure beats your thirty eight," Duo poked Quatre in the shoulder.
Heero looked like he was going to continue on in his fake speech when his cell phone buzzed. He quickly looked at the text message and said, "Trowa's on his way."
"Good," Duo said, "we've got a few questions for him-"
Heero raised an eyebrow.
"-but meanwhile, do you guys have a ride here that could be described as a 'spinning water devil ride'?"
"The Kali River Rapids?"
Duo grinned, "Sounds like fun."
Heero raised another eyebrow, "Too much fun for two injured guests. I cannot, in good conscience as a Disney employee, allow you or Watson to go on a rough water ride."
"Yeah," Duo pouted, "and I guess Watson doesn't need any more water today, anyway."
"I'll go on it," Quatre said, even though his eyes were dropping shut.
"Over my dead body, maybe," Duo scoffed.
"Oh don't say things like that," Quatre groaned.
"As soon as you stop having these near death experiences. What am I going to tell your family if I let you die in Disneyworld? I don't think 'oops' will cover it."
Quatre snorted, but didn't hear if Duo said anything else because he drifted asleep.
Day 3 12:30
He was awoken abruptly when Duo's legs shifted beneath him. The world swam before him and when his vision finally righted he noticed that a man was standing before him, giving Quatre a pretty good view of his kneecaps, but he could not label him as Heero or Trowa.
"The water is excellent this season; quite choppy if I must say so myself. But of course, I've tested it enough times to know," there was a silky laugh, "but don't let Zechs know. He doesn't approve of my routine 'tests'. He says I'm doing nothing but playing around."
"I don't think I'd be able to work at Disneyworld," Duo said, "I'd probably get too distracted by all the things to do."
"Watson's awake," he heard Heero say.
"Ah, then I won't keep you any longer, you probably have lots planned. But do say hello to Sally for me, will you? I've heard that you've become well acquainted. She'll be on duty all day tomorrow and I'm sure she'll appreciate you coming back to see her."
"She's a great driver."
The man only laughed before walking off.
Quatre sat up, rubbing his eyes, "Who was that?"
"Trieze Kushrenanda," Heero answered.
"Oh, the man Zechs was talking to before."
"I wonder why he knows so much about every employee and every ride," another voice said and Quatre turned to see Trowa leaning against a fence by the bench. He couldn't help but blush when he saw him, and quickly looked away.
Duo shrugged, "Who knows? He seems really friendly, and him and Zechs seem to be pretty good friends."
Duo then turned to him, "How are you feeling? You just passed out on my lap; I can't feel my thighs anymore."
"Sorry," Quatre said sheepishly while Duo stretched out his cramped legs, "did I miss anything important?"
"Nah, Trieze was just giving us his own review of the Kali River Rapids and I talked about how great all the Disney employees have been to us," Duo paused to send a wink Trowa and Heero's way, "especially those two over there."
Quatre nodded; he still felt awfully sore and he wasn't quite sure he wanted to move anywhere.
Duo placed a hand against his forehead, "Do you want to sleep some more?"
"No, I'll be fine. Did you want to go somewhere?"
Duo looked at him incredulously, "Maybe to the hospital and arrange for a doctor to see you."
"I told you, I'm fine."
"If you want to go somewhere Duo," Trowa said, "I can stay with Watson. I'll be sure to take care of him."
"I don't need a baby sitter!"
"I have no intention of babysitting you," Trowa flashed him a glare, "I was merely suggesting that you and I take the day slowly while Duo enjoys the rides."
Quatre looked to Duo, and felt a pang of guilt. He didn't want to slow Duo down; Duo should be able to enjoy the park. Looking to Heero, Quatre decided upon a brilliant idea, even if it meant he'd be stuck with Trowa and might have to talk about some very uncomfortable things.
"Look Duo, why don't you let Heero give you that private tour while Trowa and I walk around the shops?"
Duo nibbled his lip, "I don't know about that. I think I'd better stay with you to make sure you're all right. What kind of friend would I be if I left you alone after you nearly drowned?"
Quatre huffed, "I am perfectly fine, just a little tired still. And besides, Trowa will be excellent company."
Duo caught his eye and grinned. Quatre internally sighed. Of course Duo would think that he wanted some 'alone time' with Trowa. Fine, let him think that, Quatre thought, maybe now he'll go with Heero and start that summer fling.
"How about you Heero?" Quatre asked, "Are you okay with that?"
Heero nodded, "Sure, if Duo doesn't mind me continuing on with the short, personalized tour."
Duo leapt off the bench, "Personalized sounds good."
Heero simply cocked an eyebrow.
"So you'll text me when you're tired and wanting to back to the hotel?" Duo asked.
Quatre smiled, "Of course Duo."
"And you're not going to push yourself or go on any rides?"
"I'll be careful."
"Promise me you won't do anything reckless and that you'll let me know the minute you start feeling sick or dizzy?"
"I'll be sure he takes it easy," Trowa placed a hand on his shoulder.
Duo hesitated for about two more seconds, before grabbing Heero's arm and leading him out of the Oasis, Heero beginning to drone on about pointless facts with a dry, sarcastic humor.
Trowa and Quatre sat awkwardly by each other for a few seconds before Quatre heard Trowa chuckle.
"I was just thinking….you have the worst of luck," he said, a small grin in place on his face. He tucked a slightly damp strand of Quatre's hair behind his ear.
No, Quatre decided as his heart began to hammer in his chest, not the worst.