Disclaimer: Do I really have to say this again?
A/N: Sorry I was slow... I'll try harder to be faster with my updates.
Credit where it's due: betaed by the awesome WCInsane!
Enjoy!
Posted on March 23rd 2008
Heero lay stretched on the shitty couch as I propped his leg up and peeled the bandage off the bullet wound slowly, peeking under to see how the wound was healing. The skin around it was dark and looked dead, peeling and scabbing. I scowled at it. The infection seemed to have receded, the thick yellow pus was gone and although the wound still looked somewhat raw, it was seeping clear fluid instead. The bandage didn’t look like it needed changing so the first aid kit that sat next to me was rather useless.
His fever was gone, his skin the normal colour again. He was also starting to feel cold and I had loaned him some of my clothes. They weren’t all that flattering on him. I am… uh… shorter and uh… thinner than he is. My largest shirt was stretched across his broad chest and too short, exposing his midriff. He looked very uncomfortable but he was willing to take that over being naked. Unfortunately.
The food that the good Agent had bought me lasted us two days. In an attempt to make it last longer I stayed away from it myself, choosing to return to the dollar menu at the local burger joint. Now I was starting to see how taking care of Heero while he recovered might be a bit more than I could handle. I mean… I worked my ass off yesterday picking up garbage from the street side and getting paid fifty cents per bag of garbage recycled. Those bastards hadn’t told me how much money I would get. After four hours of breaking my back I returned home with two dollars fifty cents in my pocket, angry and frustrated. And maybe, just maybe close to tears.
If you had told me just three years ago that I would pick up garbage on the roadside and then get paid two dollars fifty for four hours of work, I would have given you a new face. But life changes, and things happen… and sometimes you end up doing things you thought you would never do in your life… you swore to yourself that no matter how bad things got, some things you would never, ever do. But you do them, when you have no choice. And I’m not talking about garbage picking.
Bruno has been on my case lately. He wants his rent. Can’t blame the guy, but it doesn’t stop me from swearing at him anyway. It also doesn’t stop me from throwing garbage into his kitchen when I pass it in the morning.
Call it cheap revenge. I don’t care. Right now the guy has a steady income and a good home. He has someone who takes care of him and actually waits for him when he leaves. Something I am insanely jealous of. I am so fucking jealous of him, I think I might hate him a bit.
He’s married. His wife’s pregnant. She’s a sweet lady and she always gives me cookies if she sees me. Sometimes I get upset that I’m gay, because that means I’ll never have a wife who will give birth to my babies.
But I try not to think about that. Instead… I try to think about Heero… if I wasn’t gay I’d never appreciate the god-given beauty he has. Is it worth losing the possibility of a wife and kids though? I don’t know. And I don’t think I want to know.
“Did you eat yet?”
My head snapped up from my musings and I stuck the bandage back on his thigh, covering the wound. None of my jeans or pyjamas would fit him so he was fortu—umm… unfortunately forced to walk around in his boxers.
I’m just waiting for laundry day. Oh yes I am.
And I’m going to wash all the sheets too. And the towels. And the blanket. And maybe even the pillow so he has nothing to hide behind.
“Yeah I did.” I answered him, a bit spacey. Damn I’m really spacey today.
“I didn’t see you eat.” He was frowning at me, and was it concern I saw in his eyes? Nah… must be dreaming.
“I did.” I said again, wishing to deviate from the topic. “Does your leg hurt? I’ll get you some painkillers if you’re hurting.”
His frown deepened but he didn’t pursue it.
He had been living in my apartment for two days now and so far we’ve had a couple of incidents.
He nearly killed Mr. Adams. He went in to shower after I had the pleasure of wrapping up his leg in plastic to keep the wound from soaking. Then five minutes later I hear a shocked cry and I run into the bathroom to find him covering himself with the shower curtain – damned lucky curtain, I wish I was that curtain – and trying to smack the spider with a magazine I had left sitting on the toilet tank.
I’m not proud of the way I shrieked at him to ‘leave Mr. Adams alone!’ His expression though… hehe… priceless.
“You named it?” He had asked me, his eyes wide open and surprise etched into every line of his face.
“I shower with the guy every day! Intimacy like that requires the exchange of names.” I explained to him and after a moment of silence he had chuckled.
“Well, I’m not ready to share the same intimacy with it… him. Mind taking him out?” He asked me and I had stepped into the bathtub, inches away from Heero’s naked skin, to take Mr. Adams into my hands and come back out again. I had cooed at him, trying to calm him down after the fright he had gotten. The poor spider’s tiny hairs had been standing on end!
Being smacked to death by a magazine! The guy deserves a better way to go. Like bug-spray.
Not like I want him to die. Hell no. Other than Quatre he had been my constant over the past few bad years.
So that was a scare. I nearly lost my shower buddy. Heero seems to have a general problem with the spiders in my apartment though. He went all pissy when he found spiders in the oven. He started forcing me to clean it out. I told him the oven was their home long before I came here so technically they have more of a right to be there. He had huffed at my explanation and clearly didn’t appreciate my idea of spider rights.
When I came back from garbage picking, I found the oven open, all the spiders gone and the one expired can of bug spray I owned emptied.
I had burst into tears over the death of Logo, Rhea, Sophie, Lisa, Brad and Pitt. Yeah… I’m creative. Shut up.
And not only them, he had destroyed all their little babies yet to be named too! They had only just hatched.
Bastard.
Hot, sexy bastard.
Hot, sexy, spider hating, baby killing bastard.
“My leg’s fine.” He said as he flexed his knee, wincing when the muscle probably pulled on the wound. “Your couch smells.” He added with disgust.
“Yeah it does.” I nodded. I hadn’t forgiven him for the spider babies yet.
“Why?” Great, so now he’ll go on and on about how we need to clean the shitty couch. Hello! It won’t be shitty if it didn’t smell like it!
“How would I know? It smelled like that since the day I pulled it out of the garbage.” I inform him distractedly as I rearrange everything in the first aid kit with meticulous care.
Honestly, I’ve never seen a man jump off a couch that fast. He didn’t even remember his wound until he was halfway across the room limping from the cramp in his leg.
“Tell me you’re joking.” His voice had a pleading tone to it and I wished I could lie to him and tell him that I really am but somewhere deep inside, I was enjoying this.
“Nope.” I said shaking my head. “And you’ve been sleeping on it.” I pointed out oh so helpfully.
“Did you at least try getting it cleaned up?”
“Why bother? It’s fine as it is. Just plug your nose and it’s as good as any other couch.” I shrugged at him. It’s only a little smell! It’s not really such a big deal!
“You’re disgusting.”
“No man, you’re the one who’s been sleeping in it.” I said with a smug look.
Okay I know what you guys are thinking. Heero Yuy, renown supermodel, in my apartment, the subject of my wet dreams… and I’m talking to him like this? Okay, so the guy’s hot but he bitches way too much!
He makes a horrible roommate. So forgive me for being a smartass to him when I’m not gazing upon his godliness. When I am though, all motor functions shut down and sensory overload usually follows.
In response to my remark Heero makes this face… this face that just has me rolling on the hardwood floor laughing my ass off. He looks like he wants to rip his skin off himself.
“Hey look, I’ve been living on that couch for close to two years now and I haven’t gotten anything.” I said, attempting to placate, but the unsaid yet hovered between us and it didn’t make it all that comforting.
“That doesn’t make me feel all that much better.” Heero said looking faintly green and I wondered if he was going to get sick on the floor right there, or if we had enough time to haul his perfect little ass to the bathroom. He rubbed his face tiredly, his hand lingering over his eyes as he seemed to take deep breaths. “I can’t wait till this blows over and I have my place back.” He muttered but I heard every word.
“Buddy, this isn’t so bad. If you really hate it so much here go sleep in the alley okay?” I said affronted, momentarily forgetting that I was talking to the subject of my wet dreams. But don’t worry, the realization came only seconds later and I smacked myself mentally. “Uh… I didn’t mean…”
He looked contrite for a moment and then he held his hands up in a surrender position. “I’m sorry. All I meant was that…” He waved his hand generally over the hitched up shirt, the two day old boxers and the shitty couch. “… just…” He didn’t seem to have words but I understood.
I nodded. I needed to get him clothes. I needed to trade my bed with the couch and I needed to keep getting him proper food. I realised that he was a rich ass; he had million dollars houses and several cars. These living conditions must be driving him insane… but his complaining about the spiders and the grime under the sink and in the bathtub gets on your nerves eventually.
Oh and let’s not forget the shitty smelling shitty couch. Damn good looking spoiled ass.
Maybe… Quatre would be better suited to taking care of him… but he’s such a big shot that Heero Yuy in his house will get arrested immediately.
Fuck I need money.
“Take a shower. I’ll go get you some clothes.” I said to him and he nodded, looking slightly guilty at having been caught complaining. “Don’t worry about it. I understand.” I said to him, flashing him a wide grin and he smiled just a little, fake but better.
By the time he went to the bathroom, I was slipping out of the kitchen window onto the fire escape.
“Hey Melinda, cookie?” I asked when I saw Bruno’s wife, heavy with pregnancy, shuffling about in the kitchen. She jumped a little, surprised, but then she turned and smiled warmly at me.
“Duo… Bruno told me to give you something, in case you dropped by.” She said as she opened a cookie jar sitting on a shelf and handed me a chocolate chip cookie. My favourite!
“Mmmhmmm…” I mumbled around the cookie. My stomach had been quiet so far but as soon as I had the sweet treat in my mouth it reared its ugly head. Shut up stupid organ! “What is it?” I asked her instead.
She nodded, holding up a finger telling me to wait and then she left the kitchen for a minute. When she came back she had an envelope in her hand with ‘Duo’ scrawled on the front. She handed it to me and I smiled at her.
Thanking her for the cookie I said bye and left the alleyway, heading towards the slums. They had all the odd jobs that didn’t ask for a fucking degree. Curiosity gripping me, I tore open the envelope and looked inside.
It was a letter… a notice of eviction.
The cookie turned into lead in my stomach and I felt a cold chill sweep over me.
My apartment… my home… he was going to take it away from me! I had a week to hand in the rent or…
I have Heero to take care of… he’s still healing and he is on the run… I have to get clothes and food and now I have to pay the rent…
A week… one measly week.
I pulled out my wallet and peaked in. I had five dollars. I took a deep breath and closed it again. I can’t… I can’t use those.
I’ll skip lunch… that’s all. It’s just one stupid lunch. Won’t kill me.
I leaned against the brick wall of a building nearby. Clothes… I can’t afford anything better than Goodwill for Heero… even then I’ll need to get him at least two shirts, two pants and something to sleep in. I’ll need to get him boxers and I need to buy another blanket for him. I need to bring him lunch today, there’s only rice leftover and it’s not enough to fill him up.
I need a hundred and fifteen dollars for the rent in a week.
Fuck. I need close to two hundred dollars… stretching it. And I need them quick.
I thought hard. There were only a couple of jobs that could pay like that… and none of them were good. But if I did just one job… maybe…
I shook my head. There’s no point going there. I swore I won’t go back to those ‘jobs’. Suddenly an image of blonde hair and blue eyes flashed in front of my eyes and I shook my head again. Quatre… if I talk to Quatre he’ll fix everything… there will be food and the rent paid and clothes bought…
But… Heero’s my responsibility… and Quatre said he didn’t want to aid a felon any more than necessary. I don’t want to jeopardize his future just because I bit off more than I can chew… But one phone call can’t hurt… can it? Just this time! I swear I’ll get my act together after this!
I swallowed thickly, pushing down on the overwhelming feeling of useless that crept up on me.
I have to try. If by the end of this week I don’t have the money I’ll ask Quatre… just, not yet.
I walked back to my apartment, happy and excited. I had thirty-five – thirty-five – dollars in my pocket right now, which added to the five from earlier made forty! I had forty bucks!
I had gotten a lucky break. A festival was coming to town and they were looking for volunteers to help out. Hell, I don’t have time to be a volunteer so I approached the guy, told him that I’m willing to work my ass off but I can’t do it for free.
He handed me a hundred flyers or so and told me to plaster them all over the city. Then he had me put up decorations, and a dozen other tiny things. He had paid me minimum wage, but more than I get normally. For five hours of work I got thirty-five. If they had let me, I would have worked five more but they said they had to leave now. Work was done. The festival would start in a couple of days.
Filled with glee I looked into my wallet, seeing the twenty there. I haven’t seen a twenty in so long it looked foreign and out of place in my wallet. Smiling widely to myself I turned the corner into the darker streets. I was still quite a bit away from my place but I didn’t care much. The growling in my stomach had faded into a dull ache which I was able to easily ignore.
I hummed slightly to myself, enjoying the cool crisp wind in my face when someone slammed into my side, sending me hurling to the ground.
“Watch it you ass!” I yelled from my position on the ground and saw a tall man, like really tall, looming over me. He was wearing skinny jeans, a dark hoodie and his hair were swept over half his face in a strange unibang. His one exposed eye sparkled in slight amusement even though the rest of his face was expressionless. His face tugged on my memory strings but I was unable to remember where I had seen him before.
He didn’t say a word and before he turned to leave he shot me a smirk and then darted down the street. I shrugged and got up, stuffing my hands into my pockets and resumed walking before I realised –
My wallet was gone.
Cold, sweeping fear mixed with anger swept through me a second time today and I glanced at the rapidly retreating back of the tall guy.
“No, no, no, no.” I chanted, first under my breath and then louder as my panic increased. “Please, please, no, no, no, no, don’t do this to me.” I stood frozen as his back got smaller and smaller. A sudden burst of panic and adrenalin caused me to dash after him, yelling at him to stop and to give it back.
I ran and ran after him, weaving into the narrow alleyways behind him and he started shooting me confused looks over his shoulder. He expected to have lost me by now but I needed my wallet back! I really, really did.
It lasted maybe in total five minutes of chasing but my legs felt like they were on fire and my lungs were ready to explode. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it would hammer itself out of my chest and spots were starting to swim in front of my face.
“Please give it back.” I said again, weakly as I stumbled to a stop. Strangely he did too, although he was too far for me to grab him. Even if he had been near I don’t think I had enough energy to do anything.
Nausea crept up on me so quickly that a moment later I was dry heaving onto the alley dirt, my stomach and throat convulsing, forcing hot acidic bile up and out. When I thought I was done, I straightened up but was hit by a wave of dizziness that had me swaying in place. Just as I wobbled there was a slight touch on the small of my back and another on my arm, guiding me to a pile of cartons stacked on the side I hadn’t seen earlier. I was lifted up onto a carton, sitting with my back against the wall.
Slowly opening my eyes I saw his honey-brown hair swept to the side and the familiar eyes again. “Steve McQueen?” I asked narrowing my eyes as I recognized him. He was the guy from the photo the good Agent had shown me.
The guy smiled when I said his name and then he was gone, dashing out of the alley. My eyes snapped open and I made to jump off the carton to run after him again but as soon as my feet touched the ground the world tilted and I fought to keep myself upright.
I put one hand against my forehead trying to get some semblance of up and down and with the other I leaned against the wall. I have no money again. The bastard stole it all from me. I have no money, no food and no clothes. I felt like puking again but I swallowed several times to keep the feeling down.
Useless.
I stuffed my hands into my pockets, resigned to going home and just curling up on the couch, when my hand brushed against warm fake leather… old and familiar.
Disbelieving, I pulled the wallet out, turning it this way and that. It was my wallet. I opened it, and my money was still in there. Relief, so strong, washed over me that I sagged down to my knees in the dirt, chest heaving. I laughed then, just little chuckles which then turned into full blown laughter.
“Oh thank god…” I whispered, cradling my wallet to my chest. “Thank god.”
Still jittery with relief I went to the nearest convenience store and grabbed a couple of instant noodle cups and then grabbed a pair of cheap sweatpants in what I guessed to be Heero’s size from the clothing store across the street from the convenience store.
When I got home I ignored Heero’s questions about my health – apparently I was pale and twitchy – and made him a steaming cup of instant noodles, handed him the sweatpants, before I fell on the couch in a dead faint.
Heero took the bed that night.
A/N: Hope you liked! Review please? Thank you!!
Until next time,
Persephone