"St. Valentine’s Day"
(Fic 2 in the Holiday Arc)

Written By: Vega-Lume

Disclaimer: I do not own the G-Boys they belong to some other very lucky people, I do however like to play with them and I do promise to put them back when I am done. Not for profit, just for fun.

Warnings for the entire Arc: Yaoi, OOC-nes, sap, a smidge of angst and mention of citrus (if you look really, really hard)

Beta: Shenlong (thank you!)

Pairing: 1+2x1 (or however you want to put it)

For Shenlong (Deb)

Summary:Heero and Duo’s first Valentine’s Day together doesn’t go quite as planned.

Note: You may need to read the Christmas story (part 1) to understand some of what is going on in this story.

Archive: Deb's, AO3, FF.Net

Fic 3 in the Holiday Arc

"St. Valentine’s Day"

Thump!

“Heero, I want a bigger bed,” Duo whined as he lay on the floor next to the bed, this was getting really old, really fast. With a groan he sat up and looked into the bed. Heero lay on his side completely oblivious to the fact that his dog had just pushed Duo out of the bed, again. Sighing Duo lay back on the floor contemplating whether to squeeze in next to the dog or just go sleep in the guest room again.

Thump!

“Fuck,” Heero groaned from the other side, “Bear!”

Getting to his feet Duo glared down at Bear who was now taking up two thirds of the bed, her back on Heero’s side and her legs stretched out into Duo’s side. Heero was lying on his back tangled in the blankets, one foot still on the bed while the rest of him was sprawled on the area rug.

“You okay?” he asked as he untangled his fiancé and helped him stand.

“I’ll live,” he grumbled as he moved to sit in his chair, “I don’t know what has gotten in to her.”

“I don’t think she liked it that we sent her out of the room last night,” Duo replied, picking up the blankets and comforter and handing them to Heero.

“This just isn’t going to work,” Heero said as he accepted the bedding, “We have to get a bigger bed.”

“If only she would stay in her own bed,” Duo replied, “then there would be plenty of room.”

“It was her bed before it was yours,” Heero pointed out, “she doesn’t mind sharing, most of the time.”

“She just gets pissy when we make her stay in the living room,” Duo concluded and Heero nodded.

“We could try letting her stay, she stayed in the chair the first time,” Heero said tentatively.

“Not on your life,” Duo replied with a shudder, “no way. No pets in the room when we make love. That’s not happening again.”

Their first time had been a bit 'spur of the moment,' and by the time they tumbled into bed, neither one thought to close the door. It had been memorable, but not in a good way. Bear had sat in Heero’s reading chair, staring at them the whole time giving Duo the creeps. He had tried to ignore her, tried to pull the blankets up so he couldn’t see her and all that did was entice the cat who pounced him, just as Duo found his completion. He screamed, and fell off the bed with a dozen tiny holes piercing his lower back and butt cheeks.

“You’re right,” Heero relented and stood up, dumping the bedding in Duo’s chair. It had been the blue chair from the living room, the one that matched the sofa but they had moved it to the bedroom weeks ago so they could sit together and read or watch TV.

“Move over you bed hog,” Duo grumbled, pushing the dog towards the edge of the bed, trying to encourage her to get down and sleep in her own bed, “Go on, move.”

She wagged her tail but made no effort to move.

“I’ll do it,” Heero said taking Bear’s collar in his hand he tugged once. “Down, now,” he said firmly and the dog rolled to her feet hopping down. Heero pointed to the dog bed near the fireplace and she lay down giving the pair of unhappy humans her best cow eyes.

They ignored her and spread the blankets back on the bed then crawled in; they kissed once then tried to get some more sleep before having to get up and start the day. A few hours later Duo woke alone in the bed, his alarm beeping loudly.

“Ugh.” His back was killing him; he lay there for several minutes longer before finally getting up to take a shower. He shuffled into the bathroom and made sure Akuma was not there before shutting the door. Actually she had started showing signs of affection, ever since he returned from his trip to L2. Heero said she missed him, Duo still felt like she was just biding her time. She hadn’t pounced on him since the Christmas tree incident on New Year’s Eve, but it still paid to stay cautious.

Heero had been gone for a while but the coffee was still warm so Duo poured himself a cup and wandered into the living room to start up his computer. He still worked for Hilde but now did so online, arranging new clients and salvage jobs from home.

Bear lay on the sofa watching him as she squeaked her loofa dog.

“I’m not happy with you, Missy,” he said to her as he set his coffee cup down, “You kicked me out of bed because we made you stay in the living room while we made love, didn’t you?”

She wagged her tail harder.

“It’s Valentine’s Day, I’m exhausted and we have plans this evening,” he whined as he dropped into his chair, turning his back to the dog then clicked open several files.

“You know,” Duo said continuing his one sided conversation with the dog, “We really are going to have to buy a bigger bed if you keep this up.”

He got a squeak in reply.

Duo gave a jaw popping yawn and rubbed his eyes. He and Heero had a date tonight, a trip out to the city for dinner and a movie after Heero got home from work. How was he going to manage to stay awake for another ten hours?

Drinking deeply from his cooling mug of coffee he turned back to his work.

He focused on it for a while but the idea of a new bed kept distracting him, by lunch he had secured three very lucrative accounts for Hilde and then searched in earnest for a new bed. He found the perfect one, one big enough that no matter how far the dog stretched, she wasn’t going to kick him out again.

A glance at the clock showed that Heero still had another 4 hours until the end of his shift, and now that Heero was back on a regular work schedule, he was also back in the car pool and it was Lindy’s day so Duo had the car today.

With a grin Duo grabbed his coat, wallet and keys and was out the door a moment later.

An hour later he walked out of the furniture store with a receipt and promise that the new bed would be delivered and set up before Heero got home from work. A stop at a department store for new bedding and he was home before the delivery truck arrived.

He hurried to strip the old bed and hide anything that the delivery men didn’t need to see and was just stuffing the sheets in the washer when the doorbell rang.

“I know, I heard it,” Duo said to Bear as she barked at the door, “Go lay down.” He shooed her away from the door so he could let the delivery men in.

“Duo Maxwell?” one of them asked, reading the name on the tablet.

“Yep,” Duo said showing him the receipt and stepping aside so they could come in and take the old bed out. “This way please.”

It only took them about ten minutes to take out the old bed and put it in the guest room before setting up the new bed.

Duo stood in the doorway and admired the new bed, it fit well in the space but looked huge, even though he had only gone up one size from a full to a queen.

“Sign here please,” the delivery man with the tablet said, Duo read it quickly then signed the delivery confirmation.

“Thank you,” he said as he bid them goodbye and shut the door. He then went into the bedroom to dress the bed in the new bedding and pillows, smoothing on the new sage green sheets and a copper colored comforter that went well with the deep red items already in the room. He had also purchased a second set of sheets in the same blue as the old comforter.

Bear wandered in, sniffing around the new bed and Duo chased her away, “No you don’t,” he said as he followed her into the hall and shut the door. “No one gets to sleep in it until Heero gets home.”

Bear barked once and if to say “Okay,” then wandered back into the living room to find her squeaky toy.

Heero was due home within the next hour so Duo went back into the bedroom to get the outfit he had planned to wear for their date. The restaurant was a nice one and they'd had to make the reservations in January in order to get one for Valentine’s Day.

He took a shower, washing his hair with the Sandalwood shampoo Heero had given him for Christmas. After blow drying it, he shaved and splashed on a little English Leather.

All that was left to do now was wait for Heero to get home and change, then they would be off. 5 pm rolled around but Heero didn’t show. Duo began to worry as the clock ticked closer to 5:30, then the phone rang.

“Hello, Heero?” he asked after he snatched up his cell phone.

“No, this is Lindy,” the voice replied and Duo’s worry deepened. Why was Lindy calling him from Heero’s cell?

“What’s wrong?” Duo asked, his stomach beginning to churn.

“First off I want to say that Heero is okay but he had a little accident while on a call out today,” she said in a rush, hoping to explain before Duo began to panic, “A heap of wet snow slid off a roof and landed right on him while he was setting a cat trap in a back yard. He fell under the weight of the snow and the breath was knocked out of him. Our regulations require that he see a doctor for the incident report so I ran him to the clinic.”

“Are you still there?”

“Yes,” she replied, “We just got here and he’s still waiting to be seen so if you hurry you can probably get here before they take him back.”

“Thanks Lindy, tell him I’m on my way.”

“I will, and it would probably be a good idea if you bring him a change of clothes, he’s soaked to the skin,” she said then disconnected the call.

Shoving his phone in his pocket he hurried to the bedroom and pulled out a pair of sweats and a sweater from Heero’s wardrobe and a thick pair of socks from the dresser drawer. Clothing in hand he grabbed his coat and keys then hurried to the car, not even bothering to put the coat on before going out. Throwing the clothing on the passenger seat, he started the car and drove as quickly as he was able; pulling into the clinic’s parking area fifteen minutes later.

Gathering up the clothing again he rushed inside. “Heero Yuy?” he asked of the nurse behind the Emergency window, “He’s an animal control officer and was brought in about twenty minutes ago.”

The woman typed on her computer for a moment then looked up at him, “If you give me your name I’ll let him know you are here, but I’m sorry, only immediate family is allowed to go back.”

Duo smiled, “My name is Duo Maxwell and I’m his fiancé,” he said showing her his engagement ring.

The woman glanced at the ring but didn’t show any sign of surprise or disgust. “Just give me a moment to confirm that with the patient then you can go back.”

“Thank you,” Duo replied and the woman disappeared down the hallway.

She returned a few moments later with a few sheets of paper, “I need you to fill these out and I need to make of copy of your ID or driver’s license.”

Taking the papers Duo scanned them and noted that they were just a basic form stating that Heero and Duo were a couple and that Heero was allowing Duo access to his medical records. The other man had already signed them and all they needed was Duo’s signature so they could be placed in Heero’s medical file.

He passed his ID to the nurse who copied it and stapled the copy to the forms that Duo had just signed.

“All set,” she said after everything was filed away and Duo had his ID back, “I’ll take you back now.”

“Thank you,” he said again then went through the ER door after the nurse buzzed him in. He followed her down the brightly lit hallway to observation room 6 where Heero was waiting.

“Hi,” Lindy greeted after the nurse left. Duo was surprised to see her after the whole ‘family only’ thing, but Lindy cleared it up right away. “I’m waiting for the doctor to sign the incident report so I can take it back to the office. Instead of sitting out in the waiting room they let me wait here.”

Duo nodded in understanding then moved over to the side of the bed and crouched down. Though Heero was covered head to toe with blankets he was still trembling under the air conditioning in the room. Why hospitals and clinics kept things so cold Duo would never know.

“Hey babe,” Duo said gently laying his warm hand on Heero’s icy cheek “Did you get hurt?” His hair was dry and there were a few streaks of dirt on his forehead and cheek.

“I can’t tell,” he replied, the chattering of his teeth making it nearly impossible to speak, “I’m too cold.”

“Has the doctor been in to see him at all yet?” Duo asked, turning to Lindy.

“Not yet, just the nurse that took his vitals. They’re trying to warm him up with the blankets before they examine him.”

“Turing off the air conditioner would help,” Duo replied and Lindy nodded.

“It’s kind of hard to warm someone up when it feels like an ice box in here,” she agreed.

“I’m Doctor Monroe,” a new voice suddenly said as the curtain around Heero's bed opened revealing a rather short, plump man with graying hair, “I heard you had a little accident involving some snow?” he said, moving right to the head of the bed and ignoring the other people in the room.

Heero nodded and the doctor frowned when he saw that Heero was still shivering. He tutted under his breath and turned to the nurse who was standing off to the side. “Please bring the man some fresh, warmed blankets.”

“Yes doctor,” she replied and hurried off to complete her task.

While she was gone the doctor studied Heero’s chart then pulled back the blanket to examine him.

“Why are you still wearing these wet things?” the doctor asked sounding genuinely surprised, “I want you out of them into a gown now,” he said firmly turning to a cupboard to fetch a clean gown and plastic bag to put his clothes in, “I’ll give you some privacy.”

As the doctor moved to leave the room Lindy hopped up and followed him, “Doctor, have you had a moment to look over the incident report?” her voiced floated in from the hall as the door closed behind the pair.

“I’ll help you into the gown,” Duo said pulling the curtain shut so they couldn’t be seen through the window in the door.

Heero nodded and Duo helped him sit up. The blanket was set aside and Duo quickly unbuttoned Heero’s work shirt, stuffing it into the bag. After the shirt came the Under Amour and Duo whistled at the impressive bruise already blooming across Heero’s right shoulder and upper back. It was no wonder he had gone down under the weight of it if it had been heavy enough to leave that sort of bruising, he was damn lucky the snow had hit his shoulder and not his head.

He helped Heero into the gown before tackling the clothes on his lower body. The boots fought him as the knots in the laces were wet, but after several minutes of picking at them Duo managed to get them untied. The soggy socks and pants soon followed then Heero was wrapped up in the blanket again waiting the doctor’s return.

“Are you decent?” Lindy asked as she poked her head in the door.

“Yeah, you can come back in,” Duo replied as he finished stuffing Heero’s wet clothing in the bag.

“The doctor just needs to do the mandatory drug test for my report then I’m off.” She told them as she came around the curtain to sit down again.

“Drug test?”

“We work for the county so a drug test is mandatory for all accidents; I had to do the same when I slipped last winter and twisted my ankle. They just rub a Q-Tip inside your cheek and you’re done.”

“All dressed?” the nurse asked as she peeked around the curtain.

“Yes,” Duo replied and the woman smiled, pushing the curtain aside she lay the warmed blankets over Heero.

After she was done smoothing out the blankets, she walked over to the drug locker and entered her code, when the door unlocked she rummaged around for a moment, setting things on the counter as she found them. Once she had all she needed she closed the locker again making sure it was secure. Then she pulled out what looked like a hand held check stand scanner and scanned the labels on each item before scanning the barcode on the medical bracelet on Heero’s wrist.

“I’m just going to swab your mouth,” she said after she had everything the way she wanted it. Peeling open the sterile wrapper of two long wooden sticks with cotton on the ends, she instructed Heero to open his mouth. She then swabbed the inside of his cheek quickly and stuck the swabs in a plastic tube, breaking off the ends so they fit. After she capped the tube she sealed it with a sticker bearing Heero’s name. After she was done she gathered everything up then said before leaving the room, “The doctor will be back in a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” Duo replied.

They sat in silence for nearly fifteen minutes before the doctor and the nurse returned.

“Okay young man, let’s take a look at you,” the doctor said as he pulled Heero’s blanket aside again. Lindy politely looked away.

“He has some bruising on his shoulder and back,” Duo said as the doctor began his examination.

The doctor frowned and untied the top tie of Heero’s gown to take a look. “It doesn’t look too bad,” he said a moment later, “but I’d like to get a scan of that shoulder just to be safe.”

Doing the tie back up, he moved to examine Heero’s neck, feeling his spine and turning his head and checking for any signs of pain or abnormalities. Finding nothing to be concerned about he then checked his head, feeing his scalp to see if there were any bumps or tender places, again finding nothing. After shinning a light in his eyes he had Heero follow his finger then checked his reflexes. Heero passed with flying colors.

“Well, I don’t see any signs of a concussion,” Doctor Monroe said to Heero, “However I will include your head and neck when we scan your shoulder. Are you feeling pain anywhere in your arms, legs, or back?”

“No,” Heero replied.

“Anywhere else?”

“My fingers and toes hurt,” he said honestly “but that’s just because they’re still cold.”

The doctor checked them, just to be sure and found no damage. “I’ll send the nurse in with more blankets and I’ll put the order in for your scan.” Then he left the room again.

Several minutes later a nurse arrived taking away the cold blankets and replacing them with warm ones.

“So far so good,” Lindy said after the other woman left. “I was so scared when I saw that snow slide off, one moment he was kneeling to set a trap then ‘bam’ he was gone. We couldn’t even see him there was so much snow. Fortunately the home owner was there to help me and we got him out really fast. I don’t think he was even under for a full minute.”

“I didn’t even know what had happened until Lindy told me,” Heero added, finally feeling warm enough to speak without his teeth chattering, “But it felt like someone had hit me in the back with a bat, one moment I could breathe then suddenly I couldn’t. I didn’t even feel the cold until I was in the truck on the way to the clinic. Did I even finish setting the trap?”

“I’m not sure; I was so concerned about you that I didn’t even think to check. But don’t worry about it, I called Drake when you were changing into the gown and he’s going to the house to talk to the homeowner, I’m sure he’ll check the traps while he’s there.”

“That’s good,” Heero said then shuddered again as a chill coursed through him. “I want to go home and take a shower.”

“Hopefully they’ll let you go soon,” Lindy said, ever the optimist.

Heero and Duo, who had both been in the hospital many times expected to be there for some time yet.

The better part of a half an hour passed before an orderly arrived to take Heero to get his scan, which only took about ten minutes then another forty-five minutes passed before the doctor returned with the results.

“Your scans look very good,” the doctor said as he studied them on the computer monitor. “I see no breaks, nor is there any sign of a concussion. There is no tearing of the tendons or muscles and no sign of damage to your neck or your spine. The bruising on your back and shoulder is mostly on the surface and should fade quickly. However, your muscles will most likely be sore for the next week or so, so I’ve written you a note for work, I want you to take at least three days off then no heavy lifting and nothing strenuous for another two weeks, give those stressed muscles a rest.”

He clicked print on the computer then waited for the printer to give him the papers; he signed a few of them then handed the stack to Duo.

“I’m also prescribing you a muscle relaxer and some topical gel that will help ease the pain of the bruising, it should help the bruises to fade more quickly, if you need more pain relief then over the counter acetaminophen or ibuprofen should be enough. If it’s not and the pain worsens, you start getting dizzy, feel faint or start vomiting I want you to come back right way.”

Heero nodded so the doctor continued.

“Your drug test also came back as a negative so I’ll just complete your report for work. A nurse will be in in a few minutes with the completed report and your release papers, she’ll also take your vitals again and if everything is okay you can get dressed and go home.” He slipped his glasses in his coat pocket and shook everyone’s hands before leaving the room.

“Thank you, doctor,” Heero and Duo said in unison.

True to the doctor’s word a nurse arrived just a few minutes later. She gave the report to Lindy then checked Heero’s vitals again, finding everything stable and normal. She had him sign a few papers that she kept for their records, then gave them the all clear to leave.

“I’m going to take this back to the office so Supervisor Hansen can go over it tonight, he’ll probably authorize a few days off right away.” Lindy said as she carefully tucked the report away, “Would you like me to take your doctor’s note with me?”

“Yes, please,” Heero replied and Duo shuffled through the stack of papers in his hand until he found it then he passed it to the young woman.

“I’ll see you in a few days,” she said to Heero then turned to Duo and passed him Heero’s phone, “You take care of him, okay?”

Duo nodded then she was gone, leaving them alone so Heero could dress. Duo hadn’t thought about grabbing shoes for Heero so he silently gave thanks that the clinic had covered parking. The ground would still be cold through the socks but at least they wouldn’t get wet.

He helped Heero dress then made sure he had all of Heero’s personal belongings and paperwork before leaving the room. They stopped at the nurse’s counter to confirm that they were leaving then they were in the car on their way home.

Heero shivered in the passenger seat, despite the fact that the heater was up full blast and he was wrapped up in Duo’s coat.

“We’ll be home soon love, then you can get into the shower, then wrap up in front of the fireplace.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Heero said with a sigh suddenly feeling very tired.

They arrived home a few minutes later and Duo hurried into the bathroom to turn on the heater and the tap to warm up the room while Heero sat in the bedroom near the fireplace. After the bathroom was warm enough Duo helped Heero strip then left the man standing under the spray while he tossed Heero’s bathrobe, a towel, and a set of pajamas in the dryer to warm up.

He checked on him several minutes later and found him standing there almost asleep as the warm water sluiced over his bruised back and shoulder.

“I’ll be right back, don’t fall asleep in there,” Duo said and Heero nodded. He pulled the warm towel and bathrobe from the dryer then helped Heero from the shower. He patted him dry; being careful around the bruises then wrapped him in the bathrobe before leading him back to the bedroom.

Heero seemed too tired to deal with the pajamas so Duo just turned back the new sheets and tucked him in. Heero was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Duo’s stomach grumbled and he glanced at the clock, surprised to find that it was after 9pm; their dinner reservations had been for 7. He frowned deeply, Heero had been so looking forward to spending the evening with Duo and enjoying their first Valentine’s Day as a couple, doing something that couples did.

He was going to be so disappointed when he woke up.

Duo wandered into the living room and picked up the bag with Heero’s wet clothes, taking it through to the laundry room to wash them. That done he pulled out the clinic paperwork and read through it, keeping in mind to watch out for warning signs the doctor mentioned. Finding the prescriptions he decided to run out and pick them up so Heero would have them.

He scribbled a note, just in case Heero woke before he returned.

Duo was smiling when he returned some time later and he went right to the bedroom to check on his fiancé. Heero was still sleeping and Bear was curled up beside him, her head resting on his legs. She wagged when she saw Duo but made no effort to move.

He set Heero’s prescriptions on the bedside table and carefully pulled the blanket down so he could check Heero’s back. The bathrobe he was wrapped in made it difficult but after Duo untied the belt he was able to get enough slack in the fabric to move it aside.

In the dim light of the fireplace it was hard to tell if the bruising looked any worse than it had before so Duo made a mental note to check it again first thing in the morning. Turning to the side table he picked up the analgesic gel and uncapped the tube and broke the seal before squeezing a small amount in his hand.

Heero flinched and mumbled something at the first touch of Duo’s hand on his shoulder but after a moment he sighed as the gel began relieving the discomfort and he relaxed, sinking deeply into the plush pillow top of the new mattress.

Once Duo had thoroughly coated the bruise he recovered Heero with the robe and blanket then left him to sleep as he went to set his plan into motion. A half an hour later he was kneeling at Heero’s bedside again, this time gently urging him to wake.

“Come on love, time to get up.”

Heero stretched, his back popping loudly as he fought the sleep that was trying to reclaim him.

“What time is it?” he asked as he forced his eyes open.

“Almost eleven,” Duo replied and instantly saw the shock and regret on Heero face.

“The reservations, Duo, I’m so sorry...”

“It’s okay, babe, really,” Duo assured him as he helped Heero sit up. “Everything is all taken care of.” He stood up pulling Heero with him and heard Heero gasp softly, “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said.

Duo had taken the two tall end tables that had bracketed the sofa and placed them right next to each other in front of the fireplace, the chairs from the dining room table sat at each end. He'd covered the tables with a towel before setting out their dinner of grocery store rotisserie chicken and service deli sides. Their dessert of gooey chocolate brownies had also come from the grocery store’s bakery. A single, red pillar candle on a dessert plate sat between their dinner plates and music playing in the back ground completed the romantic set up.

“When did you plan this?” Heero asked in surprise as Duo guided him to one of the chairs, pushing Akuma off as she had setting in Heero’s chair to groom herself.

“When you were sleeping,” Duo replied as he sat across the table, “I ran to the pharmacy to fill your prescriptions but they were already closed so I used the one at the grocery store instead. I picked up all this while I was there. It isn’t much,” he added, feeling a bit uncertain, “but I was hungry and this was already cooked.”

“It’s perfect,” Heero told him with a smile, “The bed too, I didn’t even notice it until I got up.”

Duo laughed, “You think it’s big enough?”

“Want to find out?” Heero asked and Duo felt his body warm, suddenly acutely aware that all Heero was wearing was a bathrobe, an untied bathrobe that was slipping off his shoulder.

“After dinner,” Duo replied though he wasn’t hungry for food anymore.

Heero nodded and took a bite of his meal; he was very much looking forward to having dessert and maybe the brownies too.

Owari <3

a/n the work injury mouth swab thing happened to me when I dislocated my right ring finger way back in 2000, though my supervisor did the swab, not a doctor.

Part 4 of the Holiday Arc

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