Duo knocked on the door of the safe house awkwardly.
Quatre came to the door and answered it, looking at Duo curiously, knowing that Duo had a key. When he realized just what it was that Duo was carrying in his arms, he threw the door wide open and helped Duo inside quickly.
“By Allah! What happened, Duo?” Quatre demanded worriedly. “Were you discovered and attacked?”
“No, it wasn’t Oz or the Romafeller Foundation,” Duo replied sheepishly.
“Then what on Earth happened?”
“Iaccidentallyhithimintheheadwithabaseball,” Duo blurted out quickly.
“What?” Quatre asked, not having caught a single word that Duo had said.
“I accidentally hit him in the head with a baseball,” Duo repeated at a much slower pace. “I found a ball and bat at the park and decided to amuse myself with it. Heero didn’t want to play with me so I went off away from Heero so I wouldn’t hit him. Well, I wasn’t paying attention to where the ball was going and well,” Duo paused I accidentally pegged him in the head.”
“I see, well, let’s check him and make sure that he’ll be alright,” Quatre said with a sigh. “I’m sure he’ll forgive you.”
“Do you really think so?” Duo asked hopefully.
“Yes, but let’s get him looked at and comfortable,” Quatre replied hesitantly. The two of them carefully carried Heero to the room he shared with Duo.
“Hm, his pulse is fine,” Quatre said as he checked Heero’s pulse. He then pulled a powerfully penlight out of the medical kit and shone it into Heero’s eyes, watching for pupil dilation. “This isn’t good,” Quatre hummed disapprovingly.
“What’s not?” Duo demanded worriedly.
“You’ve given him a concussion,” Quatre sighed as he continued checking Heero thoroughly to make sure that nothing else was wrong with the Wing Zero pilot.
“Is that all?” Duo asked worriedly.
“Thankfully, yes,” Quatre replied, Duo breathed a tiny sigh of relief. “You’re going to have to wake him up every hour to make sure that he hasn’t suffered any brain damage from your abuse.”
“No problem, it’s the least I can do for him,” Duo replied. “I just feel really bad about hitting him. I should have been paying more attention.”
“It’s alright, Duo,” Quatre soothed, placing a hand on Duo’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I cam down on you so hard. I know you didn’t mean to, and I’m sure Heero will forgive you when he wakes up. Okay?”
“Alright,” Duo replied, perking up a bit.
“Great, I’ve got some work I have to do on Sandrock. Call me if you need me,” Quatre said as he got up to leave.
“No worries, Q! I’ll look after him,” Duo replied with a salute.
Quatre chuckled to himself and left Duo to watch over their teammate, knowing that Duo would take good care of the Wing Zero.
Meanwhile . . .
Duo straightened up his side of the room from the slight mess he had made earlier. He readjusted Heero’s pillows carefully, making sure that his friend was comfortable.
He then went ahead and picked a random book off the shelf and started reading aloud, sitting in a chair next to Heero’s bed.
Finally, at the one hour mark, Duo placed a marker in his book and gently shook Heero awake.
“Heero, you’ve gotta wake up buddy,” Duo crooned softly. “Come on, Heero.”
Heero groaned softly and rolled away from Duo’s insistent prodding. Duo raised an eyebrow and gently shook Heero’s shoulder. “Go ‘way,” Heero mumbled as he pulled the covers over his head.
“Heero Yuy, get out of that bed!” Duo ordered in his most commanding tone of voice.
Heero rolled over and sat up blinking sleepily. He looked startled as though this sort of thing never happened to him.
“Good, you’re awake,” Duo sighed in relief. “How ya feeling buddy?”
“Who are you?” Heero asked looking at Duo in honest confusion. “Koko wa doko da?”
“Heero, it’s not nice to tease like that,” Duo reprimanded gently. “You know who I am.”
“No, I don’t,” Heero replied looking at Duo as though he were crazy.
“Okay,” Duo said slowly, mind working quickly to figure out what was wrong with his best friend. “Oh crap, you’ve got amnesia!” he groaned.
“What makes you say that? You do look a little familiar but I’ve probably seen you somewhere before.”
“Do you remember YOUR name?” Duo asked, hoping that maybe this wasn’t a total disaster.
Heero opened his mouth to retort and got a cutely confused look on his face. He closed his mouth with an audible click. “I-I can’t remember,” Heero replied, voice heart broken.
“It’s alright,” Duo said soothingly, immediately moving to comfort his friend. “I’m sure it’s only temporary.”
“What happened to me to make me lose my memories?” Heero asked.
“We went out to a park to relax,” Duo began. “You sat by some of the trees while I went off and played with a baseball and bat that I found.”
“And you accidentally nailed me in the head,” Heero finished. “At least I remember something.”
“Don’t worry, Heero! At least I’m here and I promise to help you regain your memories,” Duo promised.
“Do you really mean that?” Heero asked, looking lost.
“I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie,” Duo said with a slightly sad smile. “I’m Duo Maxwell, and that’s me in a nutshell.”
“It’s nice to meet you Duo,” Heero replied. “Would you tell me what my name is, please Duo?”
“I’m not sure what you were given at birth, but the one I know you by is Heero, Heero Yuy. You’re Gundam Pilot 01,” Duo said. “What do you remember?”
“Not much of anything,” Heero replied. “I remember being raised by a man named Odin Lowe, but nothing else.”
“Hm, that’s not good, but at least it’s a start. Let’s see if your Gundam will jog some memories. Alright?”
“Alright,” Heero replied. Then paused, “I have a Gundam?”
TBC . . .