Disclaimer: Well of course I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its delectable characters.
Heero was horrified. That hardened outer core was shattered for now by the singular stark image of Duo Maxwell collapsing dead away, choking on his own blood.
During the battle, Deathscythe had taken a particularly hard blow, that's all it took really. The harness snapped and he was thrown clear of the controls. The Leos had fallen on the inert gundam like vultures on a carcass, Heero saw in his mind's eye, the small body of Duo Maxwell being thrown round like a ragdoll inside the cockpit at G-forces registering too high to comprehend.When they managed to tow the Deathscythe back into Howard's hangar they hadn't known what to expect when the cockpit finally opened. The four pilots, Howard and Sally all stood around in a silence that could be deafening.
The braided figure emerged and was initially greeted with a sigh of relief, until they saw closer. Heero's stomach did a funny turn as he watched 02 come towards them in that strange shambling gait. The first pricklings of fear came when he saw glazed, wild expression in those violet eyes.
'Duo!' Quatre was the first to speak, almost yelling in his relief. Duo ignored him completely,blood was trickling from his nose and dripping down his chin as he closed up the last few feet between him and the rest of the group. Heero felt dread settle deep in him, something was definitely wrong now. Duo was twitching slightly, all over his body, little convulsing shivers to go with those awful wild eyes that were beginning to go unfocused. Everybody was calling for his attention now, but he ignored all of them; to Heero it seemed more like he was completely oblivious to their presence.
'Duo.' Heero spoke loudly, his rich voice easiy moving above the cacophony of the others. His breath caught as the stricken pilot soundlessly acknowledged his call, turning towards him and swaying there for a minute, the large unfocused violet eyes somehow finding him. Blood began to dribble from the corner of his mouth.
'Shit,' Sally spoke now through a stunned silence. 'he's bleeding from the ears. I'm getting him an ambulance now, Heero, keep him here.'
As she walked away, Heero had one single ironic thought through his newfound panic: keeping him here wouldn't be too hard, he was already facedown in the floor.
'There's something wrong with his brain.' Quatre said it tearfully, hugging himself as Trowa hesitantly put an arm round him. 'He banged his head and now there's something wrong with his brain.'
They stood in the hospital waiting room, Wufei starring fixedly at the floor and Heero watching down the corridor attentively. Only family were allowed to see Duo as he was now, but since he had no living relatives, the pilots were the closest things to it. Quatre had become physically sick at the sight. the others standing in a shocked and helpless silence. He hadn't looked like himself then, all those tubes and machines around him. And the bruising had begun to come up. Before now, his injuries hadn't looked too bad, on the outside that is, but now almost everywhere visible on his body had taken on a mottled yellowish green colour. They had filed out again, reluctant yet not wanting to stay either.
Heero
They said his brain is swelling. They don't know what the damage is. I've seen this before, these people aren't always the same people they used to be when they recover. Brain damage can mean anything, paralysis, deafness, blindness, your memory being wiped, your personality gone for good. Oh god. It can't happen to him.
Because they don't know how bad it is, he's on life support, he's not even breathing by himself anymore. The brain injury has him drifting in and out of a coma-like state, he's not responding as the nurse holds his hand and asks him to squeeze it. He doesn't move at all when she pries open one eye to shine a light in. And there's nothing there when she looks either, just a vacant, glazed stare that tells me that Duo Maxwell is very far away.
When she finishes writing her observations unto her clipboard I ask her if I can have a moment alone with him and very reluctantly she agrees. Just a minute. She leaves the room and the lonely sound of the heart monitor fills it. Gently, not to hurt him, I put my hand over the smaller, cold one. I try to think of something to say to him, she said he can still hear us, but my mind is blank but for one thought. Something that has been growing on me for a long time now, I care about him so much more than I used to, seeing him makes me feel good whatever the situation and strangely, I adore his endless chatter. But it took this moment beside his bed, looking at the small broken figure of Shinigami for me to realise that I love this man.
I want to say it to him but the nurse has returned, so instead, I give his hand a little squeeze and I don't expect him to squeeze back; because I know that the Duo Maxwell I know is somewhere else at the moment.
But don't worry Duo, I'll be here for you when you get back, okay?
Notes from the Author:
This is actually my first time writing yaoi, tell me guys, is it going to be worth it? I love reviews, they always help improve what I'm at.