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"Learning to Feel"Written By: Ashkara Disclaimer: I sadly enough do not own them. Sigh. Rating: PG 13 Warnings: Angst Pairings: 1+2 //BLAH// indicates character thoughts. Summary: When Duo gets captured during a routine
mission, it's up to his fellow pilots to rescue him and Heero begins
to realize that Pilot 02 means more to him than he thought... "Learning to Feel " Duo’s world blazed in white hot agony and he collapsed with a hollow yelp. “Shit! This is way uncool! Trowa, GO! Get the hell outta here!” Trowa turned in horror as his friend went down, two bullets to the left leg and one to his right upper arm. //Even Heero wouldn’t be able to keep running like that!// He turned and began to sprint back towards the braided pilot. “No way, Maxwell! Come on!” Their eyes locked- green glistened against the hardened violet stare of Shinigami, and Duo brought his weapon around. He fired twice with alarming accuracy at Trowa’s racing body, barely managing to miss. Trowa skidded to a halt, chilled by his friend’s look. “Duo, please…” Trowa felt something clutching in his chest as he forced himself to meet Duo’s smiling eyes. He nodded once. The American was already planning an ambush for their pursuers as Trowa turned and ran and didn’t look back. He heard violent explosions behind him as he shot down the guards in his way and vaulted over the base wall into the heavy bushes below. Trowa allowed himself to look back at the base and felt a tear slip down his cheek. “Duo…” he whispered. //I hope to God he’s alive in there! Damn- he had the radio!// Trowa wasted no more time thinking as he dashed to the waiting motorcycles and jumped onto one of them. He sped out into the night. //I’ve got to reach them in time! If not… Himmel! What will Heero say… or do?// He and Duo had infiltrated the OZ base and stolen the locations of three sites where OZ was using captives as guinea pigs for chemical and biological weapons testing, and Heero and Wufei had been tasked with blowing the base to Hell afterwards. Trowa prayed that they hadn’t left yet. *** “Target is in my sights.” “Roger that, 01. I’m waiting for your signal,” Wufei replied. He was nervous and uneasy- but he never would have let it show. Something about this assignment was bothering him, but orders were orders. Wing Zero levelled its rifle at the base, and Heero noted Nataku falling into position on his flank. “On my mark- 5-4-3-2…” “ABORT MISSION! SAY AGAIN, ABORT MISSION, FOR THE LOVE OF ALLAH! ACKNOWLEDGE!” Both pilots blinked in surprise as Quatre’s face flashed on their vid screens, pale, his aquamarine eyes glittering in urgent worry. “Kuso!” Heero thumbed the comm. switch. “You’d better have a damned good reason for breaking radio silence, base…” Trowa shoved Quatre out of the way, a wild look in his normally serene green eyes. “Just shut up and listen! 02 is in there! They’ve got pilot 02!” Even Wufei went pale. Several seconds later, a blazing-eyed Heero quietly asked, “Condition?” Trowa gulped. “He went down hard- two bullets to the legs and one on the arm when I left him, and then he was playing with some explosives…” Heero exploded angrily, “You left him there?! Trowa o korosu…” “Look, do you think I wanted to?!” Wufei interrupted, “Now is a terrifically bad time to discuss this, people…” Without another word, Wing Zero turned and blasted into the sky, heading back towards the safe house. Wufei followed with a sigh. *** Trowa was more than relieved that Quatre and Wufei were there when Heero stalked in, eyes flashing with a promise of painful death for whoever was behind this. The green-eyed boy stood to face the Japanese pilot, steeling himself to whatever was to happen. Heero’s voice was low and menacing. “Talk to me.” Trowa was surprised by how calm he sounded as he began to debrief on the mission. It had gone beautifully- the infiltration, Duo’s hacking job, the information on the CDs he brought out with him, and then the snag- three soldiers who shouldn’t have been where they were. His voice trembled ever so slightly as he described how Duo went down. “… He wouldn’t have missed again, and he would have killed both of us, rather than let the enemy get two pilots and fail the mission. I just hope he’s still alive…” “It’s damned hard to kill Death.” They all turned to the source of the quiet voice- Wufei. He met Heero’s eyes calmly. “That’s what Maxwell always says.” His face falling into hard lines that would always look alien on him, Quatre replied, “Let’s hope so. It seems we have a new mission.” *** Duo winced as he collapsed to the floor, every muscle crying out in agony. //I guess the good news is that that wussy guy won’t have the chance to shoot anyone else. Score one more for Shinigami!// Two guards dragged their comrade’s body out, clearly marvelling at how the small, broken- looking boy crumbled on the floor in front of them could have killed a soldier. Duo wondered at it, himself. It was all he could do to turn his head as another person entered the interrogation room and a new voice spoke- a woman’s voice- “So he’s much tougher than he seems, little surprise there.” A booted foot connected with his aching chest, shooting fingers of fire through him. Duo curled into a ball. Colonel Une felt a strange twitch in the back of her mind as she bent and pulled the prisoner’s head back by its long braid. “Do you truly want to die like this, 02? So dishonourably?” The strength and fire in the blue-violet eyes that met hers shocked her. Duo’s laugh racked pain through his head as he struggled to speak through broken lips. “Dishonourably? Hell, lady, I’ve never had any honour and my life has no value. Who cares?” the eyes rolled up as pain mercifully rendered him senseless. Une released the boy with a gentleness that surprised her. //Pilot 02- the scythe suit pilot. Deadly, merciless, crafty… young… smart, dedicated, fearless… but still so human…// He was all that- and damned good even without the terror-inspiring suit, as well. As much as she hated it, Une felt a deep respect for this boy- and suddenly aching pity, as well. Colonel Une stood and gave the limp form of the Gundam pilot a prod with her booted foot. “Get a doctor down here to clean him up, and try not to provoke him anymore- he won’t break to physical torture, and I don’t want to lose any more men down here. Is that clear?” //I don’t want to see him suffer any more, either. What the hell is wrong with me?!// She shook her head and walked out. *** “Excuse me, but I’m looking for the prison block. I’m supposed to interrogate a… troublesome new prisoner.” Wufei fought hard not to growl at this man- it had taken them four days of hacking to find that Duo was still indeed alive and kicking. The guard laughed. “That little shit of a Gundam pilot? Tough little bastard- he killed off four of us before the Colonel called him off limits, and we thought we had him beat senseless!” “You survived.” //You stupid piece of shit…// The man snorted. “Sure, by getting out of there. Hope you have more luck breaking him! Third hallway on the left, fifth cell on the right.” “Thanks, buddy.” Wufei waited until the guard had half turned away before striking, breaking his neck quickly and silently. Heero emerged from the shadows, and they quickly disposed of the body. Walking quickly, they made it to Duo’s cell without any problems. The door opened with the dead guard’s pass card- “Merciful Nataku!” Wufei exclaimed in a hiss as they saw the limp, battered figure on the floor. They both reached for Duo’s still form. As Heero’s hand touched his shoulder, Duo unwound with the speed of a striking snake, one fist connecting with the Japanese boy’s chest hard enough to knock him backwards onto the floor, lungs gasping for air. Duo was still moving, his good hand flying at the other assailant’s throat blindly, his eyes still on the first man- //small for an Ozzie, and those eyes are so familiar, so blue, just like Heero’s… Heero?!// Wufei caught the hand as it slowed in confusion and the braided pilot collapsed again with a dry, rasping laugh. “Now I’m hallucinating, too. Did y’all drug me, or something?” Wufei’s steady hands shook as he looked down at his friend. Though someone had obviously made the effort to clean him up and treat his injuries, it was equally obvious that he had been severely beaten- almost to death. Bruises and cuts disfigured the normally cheerful face, bloodied bandages showing where his priest’s over shirt was torn over both his chest and arms. About the only good news looked to be that the bullets from his gunshot wounds hadn’t broken any bones. Heero had wanted to kill, seeing Duo as he was and even still fighting. His eyes met Duo’s and he felt relief wash over him- blue-violet orbs glinted back at him with the beginnings of recognition and trust. “Calm down, Duo! It’s us, Heero and Wufei!” “Heero? Wufei? Why are you here…” Duo breathed deeply and grimaced as his chest convulsed. All the same, his eyes cleared and faced down the other two, pain and exhaustion clearly showing there. “You shouldn’t have come here.” “Shut up, Duo. Can you stand?” Heero forced his anger down as he gently lifted the American to his feet. Duo swayed a little but forced his legs to work, ignoring the pain. He smiled to cover his wince. “I can’t walk well, I don’t think.” Wufei was immediately at his side to hold him up as Heero picked up his discarded gun and stood by the door, listening intently. A few seconds later, he turned and gave the other two a steady nod. Leaning heavily on Wufei, Duo mumbled, “Let’s go.” Heero in the lead, the three pilots vanished into the hallway. *** BLIP. BLIP. BEEEEP! BLIP. BLIP. Both Quatre and Trowa jumped as the signal came through, but recovered quickly. Trowa’s hands were tight on his controls as he tried to fight down the feelings warring inside of him. //They’ve got him! Thank goodness- now time to toast this place…// Carefully avoiding the other pilots’ escape path, the two Gundams descended from the sky and open fired. *** “What the hell is going on?!” Colonel Une yelled as an explosion rocked the building and several alert sensors went wild. “Enemy attack from the West! I think it’s Gundams 03 and 04!” She darted towards the monitors. “Impossible! They wouldn’t attack when we’ve got one of their own…” But the boy’s words came back to her- I’ve never had any honour and my life has no value. Who cares?- He hadn’t expected to live. He was almost counting on it. “Get me the prison block! NOW!” She turned, eyes blazing, on the young lieutenant at the comm station. He gulped furiously. “There is no response, Ma’am. Communications with the prison block have gone dead.” “Dammit!” She balled her fists in frustration. “Everyone, out of here! They will destroy this base and there’s nothing we can do about it anymore! COME ON! MOVE!” A minute later, the command centre was empty and silent as it was blown down to atomic particles. *** The doctor approached the four waiting boys warily. Despite the immense trust and respect he bore for young Quatre Winner, the intense-looking Japanese boy had worn the same look since the four arrived with their injured friend, and that look plainly said ‘if you let him die, bad things will happen to you.’ Heero felt a bizarre tightness in his chest as the doctor approached. Duo’s strength had miraculously held up through the escape- he had even taken out several soldiers as they moved, using Heero’s gun. But he collapsed in the van, and Heero Yuy had come as close to crying as he had in years as he did a check on the American- his already slender frame had suffered cruelly, not only from the beatings, but from starvation and severe dehydration, due to four days imprisonment. Heero couldn’t understand it, but the violet-eyed American was… special. He was somehow different- capable, it seemed, of breaking down Heero’s barriers and reaching to the human soul buried deep beneath the Perfect Soldier’s stern, emotionless exterior. Duo was the only person who had ever been brave enough to piss the Japanese boy off for long enough to find the real Heero and draw him out. He had somehow managed to become his friend. And now his first and only real best friend was close to death. Time seemed to slow down as the doctor approached- the air was oppressively dense and suffocating. Heero knew that he was wearing his evillest glare and was glad of it- no one would see how upset and worried the Perfect Soldier was for the absurd American. All the same, he could feel his heart pounding wildly, hear his own heartbeat throbbing through his body… The doctor smiled wearily and tried to ignore the blood on his white coat. “Your young friend will be fine.” Smiles. On every face- even, for a split second, on Heero’s. Quatre sank back into Trowa’s arms in relief, even as the Austrian held the blonde closer and buried his face in the boy’s hair to hide his own relieved smile. Wufei silently thanked the Gods he had been praying to, thoughts dancing in his mind as he watched Heero closely. Neither the slight sag of Heero’s rigid shoulders nor the deep, shuddering intakes of air that revealed that the Japanese boy had been subconsciously holding his breath went unnoticed by the Chinese pilot. More telling still, Wufei had caught the momentary gleam in Heero’s eyes. Smiling his own satisfaction briefly, he knew that Duo would have been happy to see that hero cared- the American had somehow developed a deep friendship for the Perfect Soldier, and all too often was left thinking that Heero couldn’t care less. “When can we see him?” Quatre asked. The doctor shook his head. “He’s not awake yet, but you could go in now, if you wish... Mind!” he said, as four bodies moved as one towards the room door, “he’s weak right now and won’t be able to take much. And he won’t be truly mission ready, no matter what he says, for another two weeks.” As Heero attempted to brush past him, the doctor grabbed hold of his arm. “I mean it, young man! His life could depend on it!” Heero simply nodded. He had not been back in his own room, the room he shared with Duo, since the abortive raid four days before. It had been too quiet, too serene without Duo’s annoyingly cheerful smile and sparkling eyes. Not to mention that voice, or those shocking moments when the American’s mask would slip and he would say something incredibly insightful, proving even more about his inherent intelligence than either his piloting or engineering skills. The room was still quiet. Duo was in a deep sleep, his long hair loose around him and his face serene and deceivingly angelic. They could all see it quite clearly now- the many cuts and bruises, the frightening pallor of his skin. Quatre had always thought the American to be slender; he now realised that the boy was positively thin to an alarming point. Heero felt a stab of jealousy as the blonde Arabian reached over and gently took hold of the hand to which no IVs were attached. He, too, had been shocked by the extent of Duo’s injuries, and like the others had been terribly worried that the lively pilot would not make it- it had been extremely close. Yet something else struck the Perfect Soldier as he stared down at the bed’s occupant, leaving him completely speechless. Heero Yuy looked at the sleeping boy and felt Duo’s sensual beauty hitting him like a bludgeon, the rough beauty of his features, the glossy silk of his hair, the unconscious grace of him, apparent despite all the bandages and bruises. He was so beautiful that it actually hurt. Heero leaned forward, drawn towards the other boy- he gently ran his fingers through Duo’s bangs, fascinated by the feeling of the hair running through his fingers like strands of silk. //How did I miss how beautiful he is?// He couldn’t pull his eyes away as his fingertips grazed over a pale cheek… A reassuring hand came down on his shoulder. “He will be fine, Heero. Duo is tougher than he seems, even to us.” Trowa’s voice was reassuring, but loaded with his deep personal guilt. Heero’s hand jerked away, though, as the words registered and he felt a deep, ugly anger welling up inside and directed at the very person trying to reassure him. He turned on the green-eyed teen with a warning snapping in the depths of his eyes. “He’d better be,” he replied coldly in a soldier’s dispassionate voice, “or else the mission could be jeopardised.” He turned and walked out. The remaining three stared at each other blankly. Quatre had known about Duo’s attraction to Heero for quite a long time, and he was now certain, after what he had just seen, that Heero’s feelings for the American were none too platonic, either. He turned back to the bedside as Duo’s head thrashed about in his sleep. Wufei was there as well, and placed a cool hand on Duo’s forehead to try and calm him. The Chinese teen looked seriously pissed. “Of all the times for Yuy to get one of his ‘Perfect Soldier’ fits, this is the worst! He can be such a bastard- Maxwell’s his best friend, dammit!” His voice was soft, but his eyes flashed menacingly. Quatre bit back his response, knowing that Duo wouldn’t want him to blurt his secret out. “Heero has to deal with his feelings in his own way, and Duo would understand that better than anyone else.” He felt the warmth of a body next to his and turned to see Trowa next to him, frowning in shame. “This all happened so that I could get out. It’s my fault.” “No,” Wufei cut in, “you shouldn’t think like that. Maxwell might have made it out, but it would have slowed you down and you probably would both have gotten caught. As childish as he can be and often is, Maxwell is as dedicated a soldier as you are. You both did the right thing.” Quatre frowned darkly. “Now Heero’s just gotta
see it. I guess I should talk to him.” Quatre nodded, and the two walked out. Silence. Wufei took the empty seat next to the sleeping boy and stared at his sleeping face. Duo slept on. *** “Heero, can I talk to you?” “Go away, Quatre. I’m busy.” The blond stepped in front of Heero unexpectedly, almost running into him. Hard, cold eyes looked utterly foreign in his normally sweet face. “I won’t permit you to run away from this, Heero Yuy!” The Japanese pilot shouldered past him. “I don’t feel like talking. Go away.” “Oh, come on! I know you care more about Duo than that! There’s a real person behind the soldier in you!” They had reached the hangar where the Gundams were stored, and Heero walked right up to Wing, grabbing his tool kit as he moved in a smooth motion. “The baka will recover. What else is there to say?” Quatre’s aquamarine eyes flashed dangerously. “A whole hell of a lot more! He’s your friend, he’s in pain, and you’re running out on him because you can’t handle your own feelings!” “I have nothing to run from, so I don’t see where this discussion is going. Leave.” Quatre retreated a step from the growling warning of Heero’s tone, but he forced his mind to disobey its survival instincts. Hiding his nervousness behind a calm façade, Quatre reached over and took the tuning instrument Heero had picked up right out of his hands. //I can kick myself for saying all this to him later! It’ll be worth it… I hope…// “You’re scared enough that you’re ready to abandon Duo when he needs you and threaten me? If you’re that out of control then maybe you are as pathetic as you like to berate yourself for being.” “Shut up and leave, Winner.” A warning. Quatre slipped into a defensive posture, continuing. “Or what? I always thought you were being too hard on yourself, but I guess I was wrong…” “Winner…” “So screw him- no, fuck all of us!” He could see the surprise on Heero’s face as he continued, letting the words pour out of him much as Duo would have. //I hope this works!// “You don’t have to be human! You’re the Perfect Soldier! And if someone who cares about you as obviously as Duo does thinks you might actually have feelings, well, it’s his fault if he gets hurt…” Heero shook with the effort of controlling himself as the words assaulted his barriers- he could feel both rage and an appalling sense of helplessness in the face of these accusations. And coming from Quatre… “Stop! Just go away…” “Because the Perfect Soldier doesn’t need friends and doesn’t give a damn if he’s hurting anyone, as long as the mission is completed!” “I SAID SHUT UP!” Heero’s control snapped and, with a bloodthirsty growl, he launched himself at the smaller pilot, the screwdriver in his left hand aimed for the precise spot on the other boy’s head that would… //IT’S QUATRE! STOP IT! YOU CAN’T… I CAN’T DO THIS! QUATRE…// The movement stopped bare centimetres from his friend’s temple, and Heero dropped the screwdriver in shock. He stared into the calm face of Quatre Winner- the boy hadn’t moved at all and was now smiling at him gently. “There’s a person in you, Heero, that we all care about, Duo more than anyone else on Earth or in Space.” He turned and began to walk away, silently counting in his mind. //One, two, three, four, fiv…// “That’s what scares me.” The soft voice stopped him, and Quatre allowed himself a small victory smile before he turned back to Heero, all seriousness. “What scares you?” The Japanese boy stared resolutely at the ground. “You’re right- I do care about him- a lot. But… I’m no good at these feelings and I could lash out at him as I just did at you. I could hurt him even worse…” Quatre walked back and took hold of Heero’s shoulders, forcing the other to meet his eyes. “You’ve just got to learn to accept how you feel and express it. I promise you,” he added, with a small smile, “it will only get easier. Just look at Trowa!” “I can’t promise anything,” Heero murmured. “Promise to try, at least?” Heero nodded, feeling strangely relieved. “Hai, I can do that.” *** ~! Two Days Later ~! The room was pitch dark as a shadow detached itself from the doorway and darted in and over to the window. The curtain was drawn back- Heero slunk to Duo’s bedside, still as a statue, watching. The IVs were gone now and the American teen was well along the path to recovery- his pale skin was no longer waxy-looking and his breathing was deep and even. To Heero’s mind, Duo Maxwell looked like an angel. He sat on the bed softly and took Duo’s hand- the sleeping boy stirred, but did not wake. Heero took a deep breath. It was easier for him, knowing that Duo wasn’t truly listening to his stumbling words. “I bitch at you a lot, tell you to shut up, pull on your braid… you seem to understand, though. If I didn’t care, you’d either have died a long time ago, or you could annoy me until Hell freezes and I would ignore it, and you, completely. No one’s ever really cared about me before- I’ve certainly never given a damn for anyone… until I met you.” Duo slept on calmly, smiling in his sleep as though he was soothed by the deep, musical tones of Heero’s voice. The slender fingers tightened minutely around Heero’s. “I’ve never told you how important you are to me, Duo- I’m not sure I could have. Every time we go on a mission, I’m afraid that you’ll get hurt or die… and then I feel so good when it’s over and you smile at me. I have to growl at you- if I didn’t, you’d see how relieved I am and you’d know that I’m not Perfect.” He let out a low laugh. “Quatre seems to think that he knows how I feel about you. Kinda hard, though, considering that I don’t even know what all this is…” He hung his head. “It feels like I’m losing control whenever you’re around, and that should be a bad thing, but it feels good- it feels right, and it scares me terribly.” He froze as Duo stirred again, but the long-haired teen only murmured something unintelligible and rolled towards Heero. The blanket fell down from his shoulders, and Heero could see the slash cut on Duo’s chest, surrounded by a hideous bruise. He felt his heart freezing up inside him again, just as it had when he’d first found the untreated injury, after rescuing Duo from that base… The cut had nearly killed the American. His eyes pooled with tears, and Heero let them fall for once without recrimination. His voice sank to a bare whisper. “I… need you, Duo. I need how you make me feel. I need you…” He settled Duo back gently, pulling the blanket back up and watching in fascination as he touched silky hair and felt it running over his hands. Unable to stop himself, Heero leaned in and kissed Duo’s lips softly, the lingering contact sending thrills all through him and tightening his groin. He whimpered involuntarily at the soft warmth of the American, breaking the contact reluctantly, his eyes wide in shock and awe. He heard a low purring sound from Duo’s throat and smiled to himself, seeing a dreamy smile on the other’s face. “Mmmm… Heero…” The whisper broke from Duo’s lips and made Heero’s whole body thrum with excitement until he noticed with no little shock that he was trembling! One hand reached back over, fingers trailing over Duo’s cheek- the boy turned his face into the fingers and brushed them with his lips before settling back into a deep sleep. Heero retreated back to his own bed, hardly daring to believe what had just happened. His senses were still filled with Duo- the feel of him, that utterly impractical but amazing hair, the warmth of his lips… And his voice. Calling Heero’s name- Heero… Heero Yuy drifted to sleep with a delicious vision of laughing violet eyes and long chestnut brown hair. And a soft, purring voice- ‘Heero…’ *** Cobalt blue eyes opened warily, feeling someone else’s eyes on him like a siren blaring, jarring him from a peaceful dream. Violet pools of shadow were sparkling at him from across the room, a blush stealing across Duo’s cheeks as he realised that he’d been caught. It made Heero feel like… giggling? //Since when does the Perfect Soldier giggle?// //Don’t blow it, Yuy. Remember last night…// Heero gave a smile, completely shocking his roommate. “Good morning, Duo.” The return smile was well worth it- Duo’s eyes shone and glinted joyfully as his blush deepened. “Don’t take this wrong, but I had a wonderful dream, and now that I’m awake I feel like shit.” Heero snorted, amused. “Now you know what it feels like to self-destruct!” Duo made a wry face. “Yeah- remind me never to do it. Oh, man!” He groaned loudly. Heero had to know. “So what were you dreaming about?” //I dreamt about you, Duo. Strange dream… but nice.// He found his heart racing madly as the long-haired teen blushed even deeper, finding it hard to meet his eyes. Duo’s mind was racing- //How on Earth could I tell the Perfect Soldier that I dreamed of sleeping in his arms and waking to find him smiling at me like that?! Friend or no friend, I’d be dead meat!// He grinned to cover his lapse, determined to get out of this. “Why so many questions, Heero? Why d’you wanna know?” Another enigmatic half-smile that made Duo’s heart flutter almost as bad as the answer itself. “Just curious. I was worried about you, you know.” Heero watched, fascinated, as the violet-eyed creature before him first blushed and then smiled, a real, genuine smile completely unlike his usual cocky grin. “I was kinda worried about me, too.” Duo looked up, laughing eyes locking with those of the other pilot. “I fully expected to die in that place. Thanks for not letting that happen.” “Hn. Whatever.” Both boys grinned as they turned away. Though the response was pure Heero- even delivered with the characteristic cynicism- Duo sensed something else beneath it, a something he only dared to hope for in his dreams. As for Heero- he saw that Duo had once again understood him perfectly. //Good.// *** Quatre frowned when he looked up to see Heero stalling on the staircase, slowly descending to join the lowly humans at breakfast. //Probably still hasn’t talked to Duo yet, either.// He turned back to his blueberry muffin. “Duo! You’re up!” His head came back up in time to see Trowa jumping up from his place and rushing to the stairs to support Duo on his other side- Heero had practically been carrying the American down from their room! Wufei’s deep frown was tempered by smiling eyes. “You shouldn’t have gotten up so soon. What’s with letting him up, Yuy?” Heero’s glare was almost as eloquent as Duo’s reply- “I’ve never felt more refreshed in my life! Besides, I know how to be convincing…” he said, his sparkling eyes concealed beneath coquettishly fluttering eyelashes. It felt so good to hear his voice- everyone except Heero laughed- Heero smiled, if barely. Quatre watched with ill concealed glee as Heero made sure Duo was comfortable before seating himself, noticing how both stole glances at each other when they thought the other wasn’t looking. Duo talked- between bites- for a long time about his capture, the beatings, Colonel Une- none of the others wanted to believe that she had helped the braided teen, but they knew that Duo didn’t lie. It was intriguing. It was only then that Quatre noticed- Duo’s hip-length hair was not in its normal braid, just pulled back into a loose ponytail at the base of his neck. And it had obviously been washed and cared for… //How’d he manage that, with his arm…// “Change of hairstyle, Duo?” He watched in no small amusement as Heero and Duo looked at each other and promptly blushed. Duo answered quietly, “The doc told Heero that any real pulling on it could cause major headaches for about another week and recommended that I leave it alone. I figured that this would do, but Heero had to help me wash and brush it out- my arm still hurts like hell!” The blond Arabian shared a smile with his American friend, a knowing little grin based on more than just Duo’s secret. //The doctor said no such thing! Good for you, Heero!// His eyes strayed to the Japanese pilot, wide and bright. Heero winked back. ~ * ~ |
