Disclaimer:We do not own or profit from Gundam Wing. For who could love Dorothy's eyebrows?

Authors:Foxy Mcgee and Cltcmistress

"He's going to get himself killed if he keeps at it like that." Heero sipped at his mug of coffee, under the cover of the pop-up canopy, and watched Duo's frantic efforts from the rest area. He'd seen the braided pilot push off help from any other rescue workers, insisting that they would only slow him down.

"You try telling him that. He wont listen." Wufei snorted before glancing up at the darkening sky. Word had spread through the workers that a storm was coming and the rain had started falling two hours ago. That would slow down rescue efforts. Anyone who could be spared was currently throwing their efforts into clearing the rubble and searching for bodies before the weather got worse

Duo had been part of the early morning efforts when another worker called out that he had uncovered something. The pilot had scrambled over the debris and helped, further uncovering a head of blonde hair. He'd been frantic in his efforts to free the body trapped, but it wasn't who he thought. Another businessman; another dead victim of the blast. Duo had begun frantically digging, harder than before, when they cleared the body. Nothing could stop him. Heero and Wufei had both tried to get him to rest, but had only been successful in getting him to down a mug of coffee in one gulp before continuing. They both were taking a 10 minute break before starting work again. Having three ex-gundam pilots injured would do nothing to help the rescue efforts. So they took their breaks and did what they could to get Duo to follow suit.

Duo paused in his digging momentarily and swayed before he turned, scanning the workers and various vehicles until his eyes found the other two pilots sitting. He was drenched and knew he should rest, but he couldn't. He had only slept 3 hours before his mind pulled him back to the rescue effort again by showing him images of their dead comrades. Duo studied the other two pilots a long time, as if he was debating resting with them, but he clenched his jaw and turned back to the rubble and started digging. He was hungry, but he'd eat when his friends did.

Wufei watched Duo pause in his efforts, looking around as though he missed something, then resume his frantic digging. "That's the first I've seen him lift his head from the rubble in hours. Time to make him rest." Finishing off his coffee, he placed the mug on the table next to Heero and went to retrieve Duo. Carefully he wound his way up the pile of debris and to the pilot's huddled figure still frantically moving cement and metal. "Duo."

He paused, glancing up into Wufei's eyes. "Help me or go away."

"I am helping." He knelt so he could look face to face with Duo and took the rubble from his scraped and bruised hands. "Since you refuse to take care of yourself, I'm doing it for you. You're going to make yourself a liability. Go get something to eat and drink."

"I'm not hungry." He moved back into the debris. "I'll eat when they eat."

"I will carry you again if you don't stop and take care of yourself. Both Heero and I have told you, working yourself beyond exhaustion will only make you a risk for the rest of the workers." Wufei swept an arm around to encompass the members of the rescue crew digging and sifting through the remains of the explosion with them. "Do you want to hurt them? Because right now you're lack of good judgement puts them at risk. What if you cause a collapse because you are too tired to think straight and see what the repercussions of your actions could be? That's not going to help Quatre and Trowa. That will only make finding them more difficult. Now you go get some rest and food or I swear I will haul your ass down there and tie you to a chair."

Duo flinched away from Wufei as if the words had slapped him and he looked down at his hands. "I feel guilty when I stop." He grabbed the arm Wufei had been gesturing with and pulled himself up and to the other pilot. "Help me... please?" Duo looked him in the eyes, silently pleading with the pilot. He wasn't sure if he wanted help with the building or help resting, he was too tired to make that decision, he just wanted to fix everything.

"You know Quatre would tell you to stop feeling guilty. And then yell at you himself for your lack of self-preservation." Wufei helped him up and gently started to guide him down, back to the canopies that covered the rest area. The site was slick from the rain and he caught the braided pilot's tired body twice before he crashed to the ground. Finally he got him into a seat with a sandwich and some pop in front of him. Hopefully the sugar would help. "Eat."

Duo eyed both for a minute before sipping on the drink, but he pushed the sandwich away. "I'm not hungry." He caught the look Heero was giving him as he pushed the plate back in front of Duo.

"Eat anyway. You're no good to us if you collapse from lack of food. So you can eat the sandwich or Wufei can take you home. We lose time and two valuable people. So choose." Heero glanced at Wufei. "If he doesn't eat it, take him home. I won't have him endangering everyone here with this." Heero stood and pulled back on his safety gear as he headed back towards the building.

Duo shot Wufei with a helpless look before taking a bite from the sandwich and setting it back down.

"That doesn't count. Finish it." Wufei sat across from Duo and watched him. He'd been sure to put Duo's back to the rubble so he couldn't just stare at the remains of the building. His eyes followed Heero up to the site then back to Duo's tired violet eyes staring at the sandwich on the paper plate. "I wont sit and argue with you all day. Either you finish that and whatever else I put in front of your face, or I take you home and they lose two workers. I'm not above doing it if it keeps you from hurting yourself and potentially others."

Duo sighed before picking up the sandwich again, willing the tears in his eyes to go away - boys don't cry after all - and started to eat the sandwich in big bites and gulping the drink down. The faster he finished the sooner he was back to work.

"Better." Wufei watched as Duo inhaled the food and quickly placed another sandwich and pop in front of him. He shook his head at the first sign of protest. "No arguments. Eat."

"Fine. But gimmie water this time." He ate the next sandwich a bit slower than the first, managing to give Wufei hateful looks between bites.

Accepting the looks without word he retrieved a bottle of water and put it in front of the braided pilot. "I know I wont be able to get you to sleep, but you have to take a break more often to get something to eat or drink. You're going to run yourself into the ground if you keep up your current pace."

"I know, but every minute is a minute against them." He downed the water and finished his sandwich. "Please let me go back now."

"Only if you agree to break at lunch. Or when the storm makes work impossible." He knew it was probably asking too much, but if Duo wasn't going to look after himself, then Wufei would take it on himself to do it for him. "There are others who need our help, too. It's not just Trowa and Quatre trapped in there."

Duo looked away and bit his lip. He watched Heero working in the distance for a moment and sighed. "I know. But until I can see them, there will be no closure for me, good or bad. Of all the people we've found only 3 have been alive and they were all critical. Every time I find a body I'm so thankful it's not them. Pretty selfish, huh?"

"I'm not the one to make that judgement. Heero and I are both just as grateful that it's not them. But that doesn't me we can simply ignore the others. They would be disappointed to find us worrying about them more than the others who need our help. They know now to care for themselves. They're strong and in excellent health. If anyone could come out of this, they could." Wufei forced a small smirk to his face. "You can always give Trowa a hard time about this being the second time Quatre's put him through an explosion."

Duo laughed and turned back to the chinese pilot. "Quatre does have a knack for almost killing Trowa, doesn't he?" He opened the second drink he'd refused earlier and drank it down, before looking Wufei in the face. "Thank you, I lost myself for a while."

"I know." Wufei felt the smirk spread as he watched the color return to Duo's face. A small roll of thunder rumbled above and he looked up as the rain started to a fall a little harder. "I'm going back to work more. Take another few minutes to breath. Then we'll see what we can do before the storm kicks up full force."

"Naw, I'm done resting. The storm is going to be here soon, I'd rather be useful." He stood up and followed Wufei back towards the site.

Trowa woke to something wet and cold dripping down his forehead and he jerked awake, wincing in pain. "Quatre?" he spied the blonde with his hands cupped before him.

"Sorry. It's raining. I was trying to catch some of it as it drips down here." He gave the injured pilot a small smile and reached for where his jacket was sitting wadded up under the slow trickle of water. Readjusting it so more water could be absorbed by the fabric, he nodded then cupped a hand to catch the water again. "It's not much, but it's better than nothing. It will help." Quatre held his hand up to Trowa's lips and used the other to help him hold his head up.

Trowa drank what was offered, ignoring the bad taste, even if it was only enough to wet his mouth, it was the best water he'd had in a long time. "Thanks, but you should use it on yourself, you need it more."

"I'll be ok. I've had some. You're the one impaled with a piece of rebar." His hand caught more water and again he offered it to Trowa. "My jacket should absorb some. That should help last us for a little while." Quatre's eyes were dark as he continued to catch as much water as he could, occasionally drinking some himself.

"Right." Trowa watched him for a long time before he declined water. "I'm starting to feel a bit sick." He'd been starving when Quatre's meeting let out, now it felt like his stomach was inside out. The water was making him remember his hunger, and his shoulder ached more than it had before. He moved the fabric away from the bar in his shoulder, studying it for a moment, then closed his eyes. Infection. If they did make it out of here, how badly damaged would his arm be? There was only one solution for gangrene, a solution he couldn't live with.

Quatre had a few more sips of water then looked back at Trowa. His skin tone looked sickly and exhaustion was really starting to show on his face. "Do you want to lay back down?" He'd helped keep the pilot propped up for a bit when the metal was too much to take lying down. But now Trowa looked ready to pass out again.

Trowa smiled at the blonde. "No. That's not neccessary." He frowned suddenly and looked away. "I'm not going to make it through this, Quatre." He listened as the distant sound of thunder rocked the debris around them. If the storm got too bad, it would collapse their shelter. Trowa growled, even nature was against them.

Quatre winced at his words and the sound of the storm overhead. Pressing the button his watch lit up and told him it was now 8:36 PM. The little light that had filtered through the rubble was gone thanks to the clouds above. Surprising as it may seem, he was grateful for it. He didn't have to see the pain it Trowa's face, or the jagged and broken edges of their small prison. He knew he should say something, tell his companion that he was wrong and the others would find them as soon as the storm let up, but he just didn't have the drive anymore.

There had been little sound from above since the end of the initial search. Only the sound of debris settling and the occasional sound of something like a machine. He'd given up using metal to bang around when he only succeeded in bringing a cloud of dust and rubble down on his head. Neither of them had the voice to shout any more. Quatre frowned at the darkness in front of him and listened to the sound of the storm above.

Trowa watched the blonde for a moment then grabbed his arm, pulling him closer. He rested Quatre's head on his chest and wrapped his good arm around the blonde's shoulders. "A daffodil is the sign of unrequited love. It means that you are the only one, and when you around, the sun is always shining. I thought it was an appropriate flower for you."

Quatre let Trowa pull him in, his head resting against the pilot's chest. The words turned over in his mind as he tried to grasp the full meaning of what Trowa was telling him. Cautiously he looked up at those sad green eyes. "I'm sorry I hurt you Trowa. That you had to deal with me complaining and talking about Duo. And the whole time I missed what you were telling me when we talked."

"I just want you to be happy, even if it's with Duo." He shifted a bit, pulling Quatre closer. "Even now, in this place... you're still sunshine." He ran a hand through the blonde hair.

He gave him a small smile. "You always were too kind. Quiet when you should have yelled. Supportive when you should have just told me to stop being stupid." His cheek pressed against Trowa's chest and he felt heat radiate from his body.

"I could say the same about you." He continued to rub his hand through the golden hair. "I seem to have a way of following you into danger. I think you attract it."

"I think you're right." He chuckled to himself at the memory of all the close encounters he remembered between the war and after. "Sorry about that."

Trowa laughed a bit and winced. "Don't apologize. I chase you down every time. I knew better in the war. This time was a surprise." He placed his hand under Quatre's chin and turned his face upwards. "I'd follow you any where."

He looked up into Trowa's eyes and found himself feeling lost in the depth of the emerald green pools. Their space felt suddenly much smaller and he felt the beating of his heart speed up and match the shallow rapid tempo of Trowa's own heartbeat. Searching for what to say, he drew a blank and opened his mouth helplessly; his lips and throat suddenly dry despite the cool water he'd just been sipping.

"I know it's not my place, but I don't have a lot of time left. I'm sorry." Trowa pulled the blonde's face to his, kissing him gently on the lips.

At first Quatre was shocked by Trowa's sudden kiss. There was something gently pleading about it. For a moment he hesitated, contemplating telling Trowa to stop. He was with Duo after all. But he wasn't with Duo. He was trapped in the bottom of the destroyed building with Trowa confessing his feelings. Slowly he wrapped his arm around Trowa and pressed his lips into the kiss.

Trowa pulled back slowly and rested his head on the debris behind him, sighing. "You should rest, Quatre."

"Said the pot to the kettle." He left his arms wrapped around the taller pilot and placed his head against Trowa's chest once more.

"I've been out more than awake since we've been here. Your turn now. Rest, Quatre."

Quatre shifted. He was too hot and something warm was draped over his shoulders. His mind clawed itself to consciousness and he opened his eyes to see Trowa's head tipped to the side. Carefully he pushed the arm from around his shoulders and sat up. The rain had stopped and things were quiet. He frowned as he looked at Trowa's pale face. The blonde placed a hand and felt the pilot's skin burning beneath his touch. "Allah, Trowa! You're on fire!" He reached for the jacked and wrung some of the cool water onto his forehead. That's when he noticed it. Trowa was no longer wearing his suit jacket and the rebar was lying beside them on ground. "Fucking idiot."

Somehow the pilot had managed to pull the bent metal through and out of his shoulder. The jacket had been wrapped around under his arm and around his neck in an effort to bind off the wound. "I told you don't. Of course you didn't listen." Carefully Quatre undid the bandage job to take a look at the damage Trowa probably did to himself. It took all he had to hold back the bile that rose when he saw the puss-filled, red and swollen wound. It reeked and he had to take a minute before he could look again. Using the rain soaked jacket he wrung water out over the wound, hoping to wash some of the dirt and puss away, before rebinding the jacket around Trowa's shoulder again. He tore the remaining sleeve from his jacket and draped the soaked fabric across Trowa's forehead. All that was left was to watch the pilot sleep, willing his breathing to continue and the fever to break soon.

"You're mad." The voice was a strained whisper as Trowa lifted his head up from the awkward angle it rested in.

Quatre looked up at the sound of Trowa's voice, thankful that he was awake. "You took it out. And your shoulder is infected."

"I could hear you... like you were calling me. I always can." Trowa licked his lips, tasting the dried blood. He'd bit down on his lower lip when removing the bar, he didn't want to wake the blonde. "It's been infected. I can rest easier now."

He tried, but he couldn't stay angry at him. Scooting back he pressed his back against the edge of their shelter and looked at Trowa's legs, still trapped under the debris from the fall. He hugged his knees to his chest and let his head rest against a piece of cement. "Keep that fabric on your forehead. We need to keep your fever down."

Trowa managed a weak nod before his head dropped again.