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"Birds Of A Feather" Written By: Stone Angel
Disclaimer: I WISH I was making money off this.
And I wish I owned the characters. But, sadly, they're just my playthings
and other people who are richer and happier than I can claim otherwise. Rating: R Warnings: TWT, shounen ai, sap, fluff, occaisional silliness, humor, angst, blood, violence, language, kinda super natural. Archive: Steal it or any parts of it and I WILL
kill you. I’m not kidding, I’ve seen me do it Pairings: 1x2 Authors Notes: It's Super Natural in a really wierd way(that isn't even a good way to describe it), *NOT* SCI-FI, *NOT* DARK in the least, and it's something that I'm sure many of us have thought of at one time or another but I've never read anything about it so I'm changing that. Hmph. I hope you like it. ^_^ Spoilers: Yeah, a few. Unfortunately, they are from several episodes from all over the the series(including the Episode Zero manga) so listing them all would be pointless. And they are things that I think everyone knows already. But, to cover my own ass, if you have not seen the show, don't read. Also, why would you be here? 0_o Feedback: I will love you forever if you let me know what you think. Good comments adored, CC welcomed, flames laughed at. THANKS TO... KOHAKU!!! (glomps!), who helped me
work out a few things with the fic. You rock!
"Birds Of A Feather"
CHAPTER 9: Duo was nervous the entire flight back. Every ten minutes during the first hour, he would check on Heero, asking if he was all right over the com until Heero had yelled at him and turned it off. Duo took that as a good sign. If Heero HADN’T become annoyed, then he would have been worried. In that event, he would have probably forced him to land and go to a hospital. He would have sustained many broken bones doing so and had to ALSO check into said hospital, but it would be worth it to make sure Heero was okay. When they landed, it was day again. Slightly unsettling. Duo immediately opened his cockpit and stepped out onto the door. Heero opened the door of the hangar and made to put his Gundam away but Duo called out to him. “Heero! Let me do that, will ya?! You go in! I’ll put them down and bring our bags in afterwards!” Heero’s Gundam immediately shut down and the cockpit opened and he slid quickly down his rope and hit the ground running. His eyes turned to Duo for half a second and Duo saw the silent gratitude there. He pulled his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door so fast he barely had to slow down before he disappeared inside. Duo knew that if Heero was the type to say ‘thank you’s out loud, he would have screamed it. Chuckling to himself, he re-entered Deathscythe and moved it into the hangar before getting out to do the same for Wing. ‘I can’t believe he let me help him. That’s one for the books.’ He thought as he worked quickly. * Heero ran into his room and shut the door, falling to the floor and Unfolding his wings as soon as he did, tearing his shirt into many pieces for them to fall to the carpet as more feathers than the usual amount floated down to join him on the floor. Heero barely noticed. He gasped and panted for breath as he was finally able to let them go, dropping his head to the carpet to rest his cheek against the rough material. He knew he had to change the bandage on his head, but he couldn’t move from his place on the floor just yet. While he had subdued the more violent muscle spasms in Rome, it didn’t mean that it had been easy to keep his wings collapsed afterwards and Wing’s cockpit had neither the room, nor the kind of chair for him to do it during the flight. He guessed that the double impacts that had rocked his Gundam had somehow tweaked his back, injuring his muscles and making it harder for him to keep his wings collapsed. As a result, the flight had been very painful and seemingly endless. ‘I made it.’ He thought with a small smile. ‘Thank you, Duo. I don’t know if I could have waited even the two minutes it would take to get Wing into the hangar. Thank you.’ He wished Duo could hear him because he knew that he would have trouble saying it later. Moving his head slightly, he rolled his eyes up as far as he could and saw his bed. ‘I have to get there...’ He thought. He tried to push himself up and at least crawl towards it, but he simply had no energy left. Collapsing back to the floor, he rested his wings on either side of himself and closed his eyes. ‘I guess I should just rest for a minute or two before I get up...’ He thought as he fell to sleep on the carpet. * Duo hauled the two duffel bags into the house and closed the door. He set his down on the couch and carried Heero’s up the stairs. He reached the other pilot’s door and raised a hand to knock but stopped himself as he heard steady breathing on the other side. He blinked. ‘Did he pass out?’ He whispered Heero’s name to test his theory and met no reply. The breathing remained the same. ‘He’s out cold.’ Rather than open the door, he leaned the duffel against it so Heero would get it as soon as he opened it and went downstairs to fetch his own effects. * * * Heero awoke as someone knocked on his door. He groaned and tried to bury his head in his pillow but met with floor instead. ‘What the fuck?’ He recalled falling asleep on the floor and grunted as things made sense. “Heero?” Duo’s voice. “Ah?” He said into carpet. “You okay? You’ve been out for six hours.” Heero heard that and lifted his head to squint at the clock on his wall. It read 10:13. “So I have.” He pushed himself to his feet with great difficulty as his back complained and he leaned on the wall for a moment as the room spun a little before making his way to his bed and sitting down. He evaluated the condition of the muscles in his back with some movement. It was still very sore, but it was already getting better. That done, he returned his attention to the matter at hand. “What do you want?” “To make sure you don’t have a concussion and for you to get your ass down stairs and have dinner so I can go to bed.” Heero aimed a glare at the door for a moment before dropping it, realizing Duo couldn’t see him and feeling like an idiot. “I don’t have a concussion and I’m not hungry. Go to bed.” “Nice try.” Replied Duo. “Look, either come out or I’m coming in.” Heero glared again for a second before catching himself. “You do that and I will give you a new black eye to match your first one.” “Accepted.” Duo called his bluff. He growled. “I REALLY don’t want to put up with you right now, Duo.” “Then give me a few minutes of your precious time and I’ll get out of your hair.” Heero scrubbed his face with his fingers and sighed. “A few minutes.” “That’s all.” Duo agreed. Closing his eyes, he collapsed his wings and stood from the bed, wincing as his back protested. Adjusting to the different balance, he walked towards the door, opened it, and leaned against the jamb to glare at Duo. “See? I’m fine.” Duo was holding his duffel upright on the floor in one hand and a new med kit in the other. He looked to the bandage on his head. “Let me change that.” Heero shook his head. “I can do it myself.” “Yeah, but if you need stitches, it will be easier if *I* do them.” Duo glared back. He was obviously pissed about something but Heero couldn’t figure out what. “I don’t need stitches. It’s already closed.” He didn’t have to check it to know that. Duo took a breath and let it out. “Let me see. You said I could have a few minutes.” His voice was patient, but unwavering. Heero closed his eyes in annoyance but walked back into his room. Duo followed, dragging his duffel and setting it against the wall by the door. “Into the bathroom with you.” He said as he gestured to the door. Heero glared at him with renewed vigor but Duo was unfazed. “Go on.” Doing his best to keep his anger in check, Heero walked into the bathroom and sat on the small counter by the sink. Duo stepped in front of him and set the kit to Heero’s side. He then carefully began to unroll the gauze from around Heero’s head. Heero wanted to stay angry, but he was a little touched by how gentle Duo was being. ‘Just a little.’ He thought and crossed his arms over his chest, suddenly realizing that his shirt was in tatters on the floor. Duo didn’t seem to have noticed the shreds or the feathers when he had walked in and Heero had been completely oblivious. ‘I guess we both had our minds on other things.’ He thought as Duo removed the bandage completely. For some reason, he was very conscious of it now. He watched as the braided pilot leaned nearer and inspected the wound closely. Strangely, the proximity made him uncomfortable. That in itself was not so strange, but the fact was that he was uncomfortably COMFORTABLE with Duo so close. His heart began to race, but he was neither afraid nor angry and he became puzzled. He scowled as he noticed these things and watched as Duo wet a sterile square of gauze with rubbing alcohol. ‘Is this supposed to happen? It never has before. It’s... New.’ He thought. ‘What’s wrong with me?’ Duo placed the gauze on his wound and Heero’s eyes narrowed as it stung a little. “Sorry.” Duo apologized. “It’s fine.” Heero answered. Duo met his eyes for the first time then and he sighed. Heero just looked back at him and waited for him to speak. He knew very well that Duo never needed encouragement to say what was on his mind. Duo continued to hold the gauze where it was. “You scared me, you know?” Heero dropped his gaze and looked to his side. “When I saw you after the explosion, you were so...frightening.” Heero returned his eyes to Duo at that and glared again, but it was empty of feeling. “I mean, you were bloody and shaking and I thought you were going to die.” Duo continued, seeing through Heero’s glare. “And then you came up here and didn’t come down for so long...” He looked upset. “It scared me.” Heero let out a breath. “I’m a Gundam Pilot. It’ll take more than this to stop me.” Duo nodded as he took the gauze away and wiped at the wound a little. Heero resisted the urge to wince and settled for grabbing onto the edges of the counter instead, squeezing them tightly. Duo took the gauze away completely then and examined the wound once more. “You’re right. It’s closed almost completely. But to make sure you don’t have a scar, I’m gonna slap a butterfly bandage on it before I rewrap it to keep it from reopening. Incase you scowl too hard or something.” It was a weak joke and it was evidence of how shaken the braided pilot was. Heero shrugged and spoke in a softer tone to try to soothe him. “Whatever.” Duo grabbed a bandage that consisted of two rounded-off rectangles connected by a more narrow strip and peeled the wrapper away before carefully putting it on the wound, dosing it so the sides of the cut were pressed together. It should have hurt. But Heero felt nothing but a mild discomfort as Duo tended to him. The strange uncomfortable comfort came back and he kept his heart rate down by force. The last thing he needed was a surge of adrenaline. Duo wrapped it in a fresh cloth bandage and sighed as he regarded him. “I guess it would be stupid of me to tell you not to make me worry again, huh?” Heero nodded and smirked just slightly. “Very.” Duo nodded and threw the used bandage material into the trash, washed his hands, and packed everything else back into the med kit, leaving it by the sink for Heero. “Now if you can just manage a little something for dinner, I can sleep MUCH easier.” Heero shook his head. The very idea of food made him a little nauseous. “’A few minutes’ is up.” He said as he jumped down off the counter and went to his duffel. He quickly threw on another tee-shirt before unpacking his things and putting them away. He left the Gundanium box where it was, hidden away in the bag. He didn’t want any questions asked about it. Duo followed him and began to say something but stopped. Heero turned to him and saw that he was staring at the floor in front of the doorway to the room. He closed his eyes and groaned too quietly for Duo to hear. ‘Oh, boy. Here it comes.’ “Heero, is that normal?” Duo’s voice sounded worried again and Heero felt a small pang located near his heart. “The shirt made me lose a few more than usual. I’m fine.” He said and threw most of his clothes into his bottom drawer. He said nothing of Duo’s interesting choice in words. “O-Okay.” Duo said uncertainly. He stepped forward and Heero watched as he crouched and picked up a shred of what had once been Heero’s shirt. “Jeez.” Duo whispered quietly. He looked like he couldn’t believe what he was looking at. His hand then reached for the nearest feather before he stopped himself and looked back at Heero silently. True to his word, he didn’t ask. Heero immediately returned to his duffel and took out his laptop, not wanting it to look like he had been watching Duo’s every move. He carried the case to the bed and opened it, removing the computer and its cord. “Keep them if you want, Duo. I’m just going to burn them.” He said as he plugged the cord into the power socket in the wall. Duo nodded and began to pick up the feathers off the floor. He gathered every last one of them. Heero blinked. ‘At this point, I think it’s safe to say he has a problem.’ Duo noticed his surprise and smiled. “I don’t know which one I want to keep but I’ll take all of them for now and think about it.” He did the same thing he had last time, holding the feathers to his chest over his heart and smiling. That damned comfortable feeling returned with a vengeance and a strange warmth began in Heero’s heart as it sped a little despite his attempts to stop it. “Whatever.” He meant it to sound nonchalant, but it didn’t come out that way. It sounded... Softer. Duo then walked to the door and into the hall and his eyes landed on something in said hall that Heero could not see. “Oh. One more thing.” He picked whatever it was up and threw it into the room. Heero caught it and looked down at it. It was an un-opened loaf of angel food cake. “Eat something.” Heero glared at him. “Goodnight, Duo.” He said as he threw it back to him and closed the door. He turned and walked towards his computer to type a report to J when the door was opened and the loaf came sailing back into the room, straight for his head. He didn’t turn to see to catch it in time and it hit the back of his head and bounced off to the floor. He looked behind himself with a powerful glare. Duo stood in the doorway and glared back at him. “Goodnight, Heero.” He returned, his tone angry. Heero realized that Duo was just worried and that the emotion had translated itself into anger and looked him in the eye. “I will let this slide, but if that door opens again tonight by anyone’s doing other than my own, I will kill you in many a nasty way.” Duo nodded, but didn’t drop the glare, and closed the door. Sighing heavily, Heero picked up the loaf and threw it onto the bed. He might get hungry later. Opening his laptop, he started it up and typed a report to J about his successful mission, “forgetting” to mention the braided pilot’s new knowledge. * * *
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