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"Going the Distance"Written By: Clara Barton Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. The following
is an intellectual exercise with no intention of profit. That said,
these characterizations, words, and situations are mine. Please ask
before reprinting. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Angst, language, violence, sex, AU Pairings: 1x2x3 Summary: Duo Maxwell has just signed on to join Team Gundam Wing, an upstart League of Legends team looking to win the World Championships. Duo Maxwell, the first openly gay professional gamer. Duo Maxwell, the guy hated by almost all of Reddit. Duo Maxwell, the guy whose own brother hates him. Duo Maxwell, the guy who really just wants to find a team that doesn't hate him. A/N: This fic is an AU that has the boys playing
professional League of Legends. I'm going to try my best to not get
bogged down too much in game terminology or things like that, but,
well, I WILL reference the game and try to explain as much as I can,
as I go. I'm also way too lazy to make up "new" teams for
the league, so I will be using existing teams and players, with the
exceptions of Team Gundam Wing, Zodiac Gaming, and the Valkyries.
So… I will be referencing real people and real teams. "Going the Distance"
Chapter Twenty-Four He was cold. Cold and achy and his throat was dry and it felt like there was a curious breeze against his ass. He opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. The room was bright with sunlight and florescent lights and - And Solo was asleep in a chair beside him. Duo swallowed hard, trying to muster up some saliva, and failing miserably. He was in a hospital room, in a hospital bed, and Solo was scowling in his sleep and curled up in what looked like a ridiculously uncomfortable position, one leg thrown over the side of the chair and his arms wrapped around the back. Duo looked around, and he resisted the urge to tug at the IV in his arm. Instead, he adjusted the sheet so that it actually covered him and his bare ass was no longer exposed to the room. There was an immense pressure in his bladder, and Duo really, really needed to get up and take a piss. He followed the line of the IV and saw that it was connected to a bag on a rolling tree. Gingerly, he sat up and then he winced and grabbed his side. Ow. "Careful." Duo looked up, into Solo's sleepy blue eyes. His brother stretched, scowled, and then stood up. "They had to open you up - your appendix burst and the surgeon couldn't repair the damage laparoscopically so -" "What?" Solo rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot and you almost got yourself killed and now you're going to have a big scar and right now the incision site is tender. So be careful." "Right." Duo tried to scoot towards the edge of the bed, winced again and gasped at the unexpected flair of pain, and Solo muttered something under his breath and crossed to the bed. Duo held up a hand and shook his head. "I'm fine. I can do it myself." "Of course you can. You fucking moron. Just let me -" "Back off, Solo. The last time you wanted to be all brotherly and helpful you punched me in the face. And I'm not in the mood for that right now." Solo's jaw clenched almost as tightly as his hands did, but he stepped away and watched with narrowed eyes as Duo struggled upright and grabbed the IV tree. Duo hobbled towards the bathroom and he couldn't help but sigh in relief as he emptied his bladder. When he came back into the hospital room, Solo was sitting back down in the chair and he was glaring at his cellphone. "It's dead," he muttered and Duo wondered if Solo blamed him for that, too. "Sorry." "I wasn't -" Duo snorted. "Whatever. Why are you even here?" Solo arched an eyebrow. "I'm your next of kin?" Duo frowned, Solo hadn't really seemed to care about that before now. "So?" "There was an emergency surgery and you were unconscious. They needed someone to sign the paperwork." "Well. Surgery is over now." Solo made an angry sound in his throat and he took two steps toward Duo when he faltered on his way back to the bed. Duo stumbled as he tried to move out of his way, and Solo looked at him, face suddenly pale, lips tight, and eyes wide. "I am not going to hurt you." Duo swallowed and he looked away. He knew that. He knew that Solo wasn't going to hit him again. But still - He maneuvered himself back into the bed and he sighed as he laid down. "Just - you can go." "Duo, you passed out onstage during a game. You - you scared the shit out of me." Duo turned, rolled over so that he was facing the window and not Solo's piercing gaze. "Why didn't you - for fuck's sake, Duo, you could have died. I know you hate doctors but you should have gone to see someone or - the surgeon said you've probably been in pain for weeks." "Yeah, well. I didn't... I didn't know it was something I should get looked at." He felt like an idiot, now. He was an idiot. How could he have thought he was getting kicked or elbowed every night? Heero and Trowa - Duo closed his eyes as it suddenly hit him that they weren't here. That none of his team was here. Just Solo, the brother who hated him. "You can go," Duo said again, and he hated how raspy his voice sounded. "Duo." Solo sounded as if he was begging. But Duo didn't know what to say, what to do. How to forget everything that had happened and he didn't - he couldn't let himself need Solo again. Not when he knew his brother would turn his back on him again. Not when it was clear that Duo was going to be alone again. There was silence, and then the sound of Solo moving, of his feet on the floor, the door opening and then closing. And there it was. Duo alone again. -o- When he woke up again, it was at the prodding of a nurse, and the room was dark. Duo rolled over, only half awake as his blood pressure was checked, his pain meds replenished, and he was sure that maybe he wasn't awake at all, because when he looked at the chair by the bed, Solo was still there, looking back at him in the darkness with a haunted expression. -o- "Duo?" "Mm. Five more minutes." Laughter, bright and familiar. Duo blinked his eyes slowly open and realized that, once again, his ass was exposed. Blushing, he reached out for the sheets - but he had kicked them down to the foot of the bed. "Here, let me help you." It was Relena, and she sounded like she was having a blast at Duo's expense. But she pulled the sheets up and, with a little bit of privacy, Duo rolled over and saw that she and Quatre were standing beside his bed. The chair was empty. "Hey, ah... what brings you here?" Quatre arched an eyebrow. "I don't know, something about my friend having an emergency surgery and almost dying?" "I, ah, I'm really sorry about that. I didn't - shit." For the first time, Duo wondered what had happened with the games. "I let you guys down. I - please tell me you didn't have to forfeit or -" Relena hit him, none too gently. "You are not seriously thinking about that right now!" Quatre shared her disapproving expression, and even shook his head to emphasize the point. "All you need to be thinking about is getting better." "Yeah, but -" "No buts!" Relena interrupted. "The team is fine. You didn't let anyone down. Just - just rest and -" "What happened with the games?" Duo had to know. Quatre sighed and crossed his arms. "We had to forfeit." "Both of them?" Quatre nodded. "But - Solo - Solo was here, wasn't he? With me?" "Yes," Relena agreed and then she gave an aggravated sigh. "Yes but?" "But Zechs pointed out that you were already unable to play, and the reason that Solo couldn't play, so he argued that we should have to take the forfeit instead of the game not counting against either team." "That's such bullshit!" And it sounded so very like Zechs. So very like ZG and Duo wondered - he wondered how Solo felt about it. Relena shrugged, but she looked angry as well. "It doesn't matter," Quatre assured both of them. "We're still in second place and there are two weekends left in the season - if we win at least one more game we're going to make the playoffs. And I know we can place top three there. I know we're going to go to Worlds. If," Quatre added with a smirk, "you get better." Duo arched an eyebrow. "Is that an order?" "If it needs to be, yes," Quatre reached out and squeezed his hand. "I was so worried about you. We all were. We all are." "Really?" Duo couldn't help but notice that Heero and Trowa weren't there with them, or Meilin, but then, Duo wasn't engaged in a secret relationship with her. "Of course we are," Relena said. "Meilin is making up some kind of guidebook for 'How Not to Almost Die Without Telling Anyone' and Sally has been... it's weird. She's been cleaning the entire house and insisting everything has to be perfect for when you get back." "And -" Duo couldn't bring himself to ask. He didn't want to give it away - didn't want to sound pathetic. "And of course we've been worried and we miss you and you need to get better so you can come home." Duo swallowed and nodded. He looked away from their bright, sincere faces. He had, after all, been the one to tell Heero and Trowa that he needed space. It seemed that that was exactly what they were giving him. -o- Duo vowed to never, ever need to be in a hospital again. After three days, he felt like he would go crazy. He should be out by now - should be back at the gaming house, miserable but not completely abandoned. But instead, because of how serious his appendicitis had been and because of an unknown allergy to penicillin and elevated enzymes in his pancreas, Duo was still at the hospital and woke up on his third - and hopefully final day - of imprisonment to see Hilde in the chair beside the bed. As soon as his eyes opened, she rushed over to the beg and hugged him. "You stupid, selfish bastard. Do not ever try to die on me again. Of all the ways to try to get out of having me kick your ass in game, this is the - " "Ha! Maybe I was just trying to get out of having to embarrass you in front of an international audience," he retorted but he held her tightly. Seeing her, holding her - it grounded him just enough that he started to feel miserable all over again. "Hey," she pulled back, sensing the change in him, and frowned, "what is it?" "Oh fuck, Hil, I've ruined everything." She arched one eyebrow. "It was two games, Duo. You guys are still in second. You're still -" "No. Not that. Not - it's... it's Heero and Trowa." "What about Heero and Trowa?" She asked, and when he didn't immediately respond, her eyes widened. "Duo. Tell me. Now." And he did, everything. Going back to his very first day in the gaming house, right up to the night before his emergency surgery, leaving out absolutely nothing, except a few details of their naked activities. When he finished, he bowed his head and he waited for her judgement. "Oh Duo." She hugged him again and then pushed him over in the bed and climbed up beside him. "What are you going to do?" He snorted and he hated that he could hear tears in his voice. "What can I do? I fucked it up - again with them. They - they're done with me, Hil. I... it's not like it was going to go anywhere in the first place." "Duo, you are such an idiot." He glared at her and she kissed him on the nose. "Seriously. You are amazing and so, so perfect. If they can't see that, if they don't -" "Look, you're biased, Hil, and I am so far from perfect it's a fucking joke. I've basically ruined their lives and -" "You haven't ruined anything! And if they make you feel that way then you need to get rid of them now." "They don't but... it doesn't matter. I did get rid of them. They haven't come to see me." Hilde scowled, the expression fierce and she laced their fingers together. "Then they are even bigger idiots than you are." ~ * ~ |
