Well of course I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its delectable chracters...
Author's note: Sorry for the serious delay guys! I had (and still have) exams! This chapter's a bit thrown together given I've had no time to work on it and am now dying of the Plague i.e the flu. But I wanted to update because it's been SO long so let me know what you think eh? I heard reviews cure the Plague...(that was very shameless of me I do admit but blame my fever-induced state).
By the by, any italics you see are the thoughts of a character, they're not spoken.
'I need to get out of here.'
Wufei looked round sharply at Duo, his forehead creasing in a frown, 'You know that's not possible right now Duo.' The other boy was breathing fast in long shallow gasps, his large violet eyes moving rapidly around the room
The Deathscythe pilot twisted in the bed, stiff and uncomfortable, his restless eyes settling on Wufei for a moment, 'I hate this place, there's nothing wrong with me.'
Wufei wasn't suprised at the uncharacteristic behaviour he was seeing, Duo's bouyant, charming self giving way to much more nervous and harsh individual, this was to be expected from the PTA, they said he wouldn't be himself one hundred percent of the time- he was lucky to be himself at all. 'You're hurt.' he was decidedly blunt, admittedly tired of repeating the statement again and again.
'Nothing I haven't had before Wufei,' Duo stared at him, incredulous, 'Bruises and a few ribs... it's nothing. I can't stay here.' his hands wandered across the sheets of the bed with no real purpose, his fingers shaking slightly, something beyond his control which he had taken to ignoring lately.
Wufei pointed to his head, 'The damage is up there Maxwell.' he felt tug when he said this, the clueless look on the other boy's face made him regret his 'blunt' approach.
Duo stared at him for a moment, his panic temporarily forgotten; he bit his lip and looked down, for the first time in a long time, lost for words. It was pure incomprehension; what Wufei said made no sense to Duo, it was an unexpected answer - there was no damage ''up there'', no definitely not, and as the pilot's mind worked to reinforce this idea ('we're fine upstairs thanks') already the last seven minutes of conversation he'd had with his Chinese friend was in the process of being deleted by a brain struggling to regain its foothold in the natural order of things.
How could anyone react when they're just informed that they can't trust their own mind which can no longer mark the boundary between what's real and what's not? How could they grasp the idea that their most intimate workings were now declared faulty by others when they found no fault in in themselves? Wufei knew that his fellow pilot was not quite following a path of blissful ignorance with regards to the chaos that was showing on the surface, on some subconscious level he did realise that he could no longer trust his mind as he had previously, but this realisation would continue to hide away under layers of confusion and discarded memories, this confusion came to the fore now as Duo's brow creased as he stared down at the crisp white hospital sheets.
Wufei put a hand on the other boy's arm, 'I'm sorry Duo.'
'For what?'
Wufei closed his eyes for a moment, raking his fingers through his hair, 'For what I said.'
'But you didn't say anything.'
'Okay.'
Wufei now felt a cold, clammy hand enclose his own, he looked up to meet the steady violet gaze of his friend.
'Fei, I really need to get out of here.'
Wufei stood up, frustration showing in his features for the first time, 'You can't Duo,'
'Wh-'
His voice rose a little, 'Because you literally can't Maxwell, look at yourself! You can't even stand up!'
The silence which followed was awkward to say the least. Duo stared at him for a moment, shock evident in his face before he managed to compose himself.
'Wanna bet Chang?' the smile on his face was reminiscient of the old days; lop-sided and challenging.
'Oh Duo n-' Wufei's eyes widened in alarm as the pilot pulled the drips out of his arm with a singular jerk and began edging his way over to the side of the bed, manouvering round the side rails. The station nurse was on a break, trusting Wufei alone with the 'patient' who had so far managed to charm everyone on duty in the last week, multiple times as it seems, given his memory being that of a goldfish.
'Heero!' Wufei yelled this time, knowing Heero was probably sitting in the corridor outside, he hadn't been very good with separating himself from Duo these past few days and whenever he was 'relieved' by one of the others, it was always with great annoyance that he usually took to waiting stubbornly outside.
Duo put his feet on the ground, still leaning against the bed, 'Shit Fei, the floor's cold!' Wufei moved round to take a ginger hold of one of Duo's arms, trying to avoid the bruised and damaged tissue which showed up so starkly with its bluish-purple hue.
On cue, the door opened and Heero poked his head inside, his prussian eyes widening almost comically at the sight, 'What are you- Duo!'
'Heero!' Duo was panting a little, already Wufei noticed how he'd exerted himself.
'What are you doing out of bed?'
'Showing Wufei I can walk. For some reason he thought I couldn't.'
Wufei shot a guilty glance at Heero who returned a full-force death glare.
Duo in the meantime, decided to take a step forward towards the Perfect Soldier. His complete lack of any sense of balance and depth perception resulted in this step turning into a head-long tumble which was interrupted by Heero, who moved forward to catch the unsteady pilot under the arms, wincing inwardly at the protruding ribs he could now feel, Duo had lost a lot of weight in the last two weeks after being on a drip, already skinny, he now bordered on being a very unhealthy type of thin.
'Ribs Heero! Ribs!'
Heero quickly adjusted his grip, pulling Duo upright and being awarded with a hiss of pain and a single colourful swear word from the Deathscythe pilot.
'Thanks Heero.'
Heero looked down into the pained but smiling eyes of his comrade and nodded hs response. Slowly, he moved with the other boy, supporting him as he took a few tentative steps forward. Wufei watched in silence, his arms crossed but a small smile beginning to creep on to his face.
Duo stared intently down at his feet as he moved, concentrating hard to coordinate such a simple motion as to put one foot in front of the other, 'They kept making me go in the wheelchair,' he murmured, 'I hate wheelchairs.'
Heero allowed himself a slight laugh, 'Are you limping or is it just me?'
'My left foot feels like it's asleep. Feels like it's going to go from under me if I lean on it.'
Oblivious to Duo, Heero and Wufei exchanged a glance across the room, the brain injury had weakened the left side of his body quite significantly, while it probably was temporary according to Doctor Bashir, the effects were beginning to show themselves quite strongly. The uncontrolled trembling in his hand and the way he now leaned heavily on his right foot when they moved.
They moved back to the bed, Wufei now expressing concern at the fit the nurse would inevitably throw whenever she came back and saw what happened, drips now lay disconnected, slowly disgorging their contents on the floor while the little oxygen tubes blew their gentle current into the tangle of once crisp, neat hospital sheets. Duo stopped suddenly, Heero keeping a firm grip around his small waist as he moved round to be face to face with the Perfect Soldier. The Deathscythe pilot smiled at his comrade, their faces close, noses almost touching. Heero noticed the tiredness etched in the other boy's face as well as the slight height difference between them- him being the taller.
'I owe you one.'
Heero shook his head, 'Don't be stupid Duo.' looking into the other pilot's face he felt his desire for him burn in his chest, the strong emotions filling him with the urge to protect his now vulnerable friend with everything he had. He pulled the other boy gently into an embrace, the unexplained, long-denied love he felt for his once obnoxious and detestable ally now coming to the fore. More than anything he wanted to say it to Duo - this seemed such a perfect time no matter what the reaction was that he got - but he bit his lip, to make such a declaration -whatever the outcome- and then have Duo forget it ever happened, could possibly be the very thing which would break the Perfect Soldier's heart.
Instead, he felt Duo's braid brush his wrist and grabbed it between his fingers, winding it round his fist with an almost aggressive motion that aptly conveyed to Wufei's eyes, the strength of Heero's feelings.
No, he would be patient until whatever this PTA was wore off, he would help Duo to get back on track, protect him as long as that vulnerability remained.
And then hope, that in end,
The other boy might just feel the same.
'Heero?'
Duo's voice was muffled by Heero's shirt, 'Yea?'
'Can we get out of here? Go home?'
Heero looked up at Wufei, as far as they all knew, the Gundam Pilots did not have a home as such and Howard's ship was not an ideal place for someone with brain damage to reside.
I gave him my word. I told him if he woke up, I'd take him out of here.
'Yea.' Heero ignored Wufei's incredulous look, 'I'll go and figure something out if you'll be patient until then. But no more escapades like that.' he smiled thinly, 'Do we have a deal?'
Duo drew back unsteadily, still in Heero's grip, 'Deal.'
Author: Okay so I'm going to improve on my updates once I finish dying of the Plague, this piece isn't great I know but it'll do for the sake of seeing some action. I want everything to move out of the hospital now - into more domestic surroundings. I always appreciate comments and constructive critisism as you know. The italics just above are Heero's thought, sorry, I should have made that a bit clearer XP