Te Amo Part 12
Knock... Knock
"I can bath myself, Duo."
"Not without reopening your injuries." Duo stroked Heero's hair gently. "You can bath yourself when you have recovered. For now, let me take care of you."
"But..."
"No but's." Duo leaned forward and bestowed a kiss on Heero's forehead; he then unbuttoned Heero's hospital type gown ignoring the weak protest from the Japanese boy. A week of watching the nurse taking care of the unconscious Heero gave Duo enough hints of what to do. After removing the gown, Duo worked on the bandages on Heero's stomach, thighs, and arm, gently removing them one by one. Heero had stopped protesting by then and let Duo do the job. The older man couldn't help but feeling angry every time he saw Heero's wounds, cursing whoever dared to hurt his Heero.
"How bad are my wounds?"
The question snapped Duo from his anger. He took the damp clothes from the bowl on the nightstand and proceeded to clean Heero while he answered the question. "You'll have to wait until the wounds on your thighs heal before you can walk. The Doc also said that it would take a month to heal your stomach, so you may not move too much during that time."
"A month without walking..."
"Don't worry about that. If you want to go somewhere, I'll carry you. You also can learn about the present during this month after I get a laptop for you."
Heero looked at Duo. ".....Thank you.... I'll find a way to repay you later ..."
Duo stopped rubbing the damp clothes against Heero's skin. He cupped Heero's cheek with his free hand and looked at the Japanese boy seriously. "I don't want you to pay me back, Heero. I do all of these freely for you."
"But..."
Duo put one finger on Heero's lips. "No but's. All I want is for you to get well soon so I can start making up to you." The older man bent down so close that only his finger separated his lips from Heero's ones. "I've missed you so much, Heero." Duo watched as the Prussian blue eyes before him widened and then softened.
"I missed you too, Duo." Heero murmured against Duo's finger, which Duo quickly removed, allowing their lips to meet for the first time in fifteen years for Duo. The older man could feel electricity course through his veins as his lips touched Heero's. It had been so long since he tasted Heero and Duo found he couldn't stop. He sat down as he devoured Heero's mouth thoroughly. Both were breathless when Duo pulled away, still kissing Heero here and there as if not able to stop.
"Duo..." Heero panted.
"Hmm?" Duo nipped at the Japanese boy's neck, putting his marks on the delicate flesh.
"What about..... your wife?"
That question surely ruined Duo's mood. He lifted his head and looked at Heero sourly. "I haven't touched her for years and never will. She is my wife on the paper only. If not for Solo, I would have divorced her long ago."
"For Solo?"
"I don't want to separate Solo from his mother."
"Oh....." Heero was silent after that.
Duo decided to continue bathing Heero with the damp cloth. Both of them were busy with their own thoughts. The older man worked in silence till the end and only spoke up after he finished putting the gown back on the Japanese boy. "I won't make the same mistake I did fifteen years ago. I won't let Hilde come between us anymore, Heero."
Heero looked at him and Duo could see that his eyes were full of mixed emotions. Heero's eyes were the windows to his feelings. Hope, fear, longing, and desperation danced in the Prussian blue orbs. Duo entwined their hands and clenched Heero's hand to emphasize his silent promise. He could feel Heero tighten his hand in his as the reply. He lifted their entwined hands and kissed them gently. "We'll be together from now on, Heero. I won't let you go."
"Aa.." Heero closed his eyes and relaxed. The Japanese boy was not rich with words and Duo found he was perfectly fine with it. What he couldn't see fifteen years ago, now he could see them well. Heero's body language told him more than the words could. The surrender and the acceptance; Duo could see them now.
"I won't disappoint you this time, Heero." Duo whispered and kissed the Japanese boy passionately. He could feel the Japanese boy melt straight away into his kiss and that flared his passion more. Duo growled and pressed down further, resting his upper body on Heero's chest while his tongue roamed inside Heero's mouth. A muffled cry and the sudden tensing of Heero's body alarmed Duo. He quickly pulled away and realized his hand had pressed on the wounds at Heero's arm accidentally. "Gomen ne. I shouldn't act too fast." Duo caressed the wound and bent down to kiss it as an apology.
"It's okay." Heero murmured.
Duo sat up straight and put fresh bandages on Heero's wounds. "Who injured you like this, Heero?"
Heero tensed.
"Heero..."
"I don't ... want to talk ...about it."
"Okay." Duo said calmly and proceeded to bandage Heero's thighs, feeling Heero relax. "But someday we'll discuss it again." Heero tensed back at the sentence. Duo put the last bandage on Heero before cupping the Japanese boy's cheek again. "I know you're traumatized by the event, but I can't let anyone who hurt you like this go away easily. Those bastards have lived peacefully for fifteen years, I can let them live peacefully for a little longer till you're ready to tell me who they are. And when the time comes, they'll pay for what they have done to you."
"But Duo..."
Knock... knock
Their conversation was stopped by the knocking sound at the door. Duo stood up and opened the door, revealing Sara with two trays on her hands. "Dinner time, Mister Maxwell; I brought yours too."
"Thank you, Sarah." Duo smiled and took the trays from the nurse, closing the door with his foot. He put the trays on the night stand and helped Heero into a sitting position, leaning the Japanese boy against the mound of pillows behind him. He then took the bowl from the tray and held up a spoon full of creamy soup in front of Heero.
Heero glared at him but Duo just smiled. "C'mon, open your mouth."
"I can feed....hmphh."
Duo shoved the spoon in Heero's mouth, effectively silencing the Japanese boy. "I know you can feed yourself. But it will make you tire quickly and I prefer to feed you so I can talk to you a little longer." He held up another spoonful soup and this time Heero opened his mouth, apparently also wanting to talk to Duo longer.
"Your dinner?" Heero spoke up before Duo managed to shove another spoonful soup into his mouth.
"I'll eat it after you finish your soup." Duo smiled and proceeded to feed Heero in comfortable silence. Soon the bowl of soup was emptied and Duo gave Heero a glass of water while he ate his own dinner quickly.
"How did you find me?" Heero asked him once he finished his dinner.
"Solo found a secret room in the lab you used to live and we hacked the computers in there to stop your frozen state." Duo answered.
"We?"
"Solo is a hacker too." Duo smiled proudly as he leaned against his seat. "He is really like you, you know. He likes fencing and programming."
"You sound proud..."
"I am. He is my son after all." Duo put his hand over Heero's, caressing it lightly. "He's also the only reason I was able to bear these fifteen years without you, Heero." The older man then frowned slightly. "That reminds me, why did you cry when you saw Solo this afternoon?" Duo could feel Heero tense at his question. "Heero?"
Heero closed his eyes slowly. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Heero, does Solo have anything to do with your injuries?" Duo was alarmed.
Heero just looked away. "Just drop it, Duo."
"Heero, he's my son. I have a right to know whether he's involved or not and how."
Heero shook his head. "just... drop it..."
"Hee..."
"Please..."
Duo was stunned. Heero rarely pleaded and he knew the Japanese boy must be very distressed to have pleaded like this. Not wanting to add to Heero's distress, Duo sighed and tightened his hold on the Japanese boy's hand. "Fine, I'll drop it for today."
"........arigatou.." Heero opened his eyes. He looked long at Duo as if contemplating whether to ask Duo or not. In the end, he finally opened his mouth. "What does your wife think about you bringing me home?"
Duo snorted. "She doesn't know yet. She's gone to check the branch companies and won't be back for a month. I'll deal with her once she comes back. Don't worry about her, Heero. Just focus in getting well soon."
"How about Solo?"
"Solo knows about Hilde and I. He loves both of us, but he also understands that I'm not in intimate relationship with her." Duo sighed. "I just wish Hilde wasn't so harsh to Solo. The boy misses his mother's love."
"Harsh...?"
"Hilde often becomes angry with Solo's slightest mistakes. She is very stern with him."
"................ "
"Well, I guess everybody expresses their love in different ways." Duo looked down at the Japanese boy. "You don't have to worry about Solo. He adores you, you know."
"Huh?"
"I told him so many stories about you as a bedtime story. You've become a hero for him. He thought you and I were best friends. When he is older, I will tell him the truth about us."
"My life isn't suitable for a bedtime story, Duo." Heero frowned. "You shouldn't feed him with stories about wars."
"Hey, hey, of course I modified the stories into fairytale mode." Duo grinned. "You're more protective than his mother, you know."
"........... What was Solo like when he was a child?"
"Oh, you have no idea." Duo grinned. "He's smart and a troublemaker, always making Hilde frustrated with all his antics."
"I bet you supported him..." Heero wiggled slightly, inching closer to Duo.
Duo grinned wider. "Well, there's no harm in what he was doing. He liked to play hide and seek with the other M-five in this house. Sometimes they made the floor dirty with their little feet."
"M-five?"
"Meiran, Milliard, Midii, Mariemeia, and Maxwell." Duo smiled. "Maxwell is Solo. Chang Meiran is Wufei and Sally's daughter. Milliard Marquise is Zechs and Noin's son. Midii Winner is the adopted daughter of Quatre and Trowa. Those three are on the same age, one year younger than Solo. Mariemeia often plays with them and plays the big sister role. It's a coincidence their names all begin with 'M'. I call them M-five when I'm tired of calling them one by one."
"Meiran, Milliard, Middii.... so the others have their own child also...."
"Children, Heero. They have a lot of children." Duo grinned at Heero's widening eyes. "Wufei and Sally have five daughters and Wufei is still trying to get a son, much to his wife's protest. Zechs and Noin have one son and one daughter. Quatre and Trowa adopted a girl and two boys. As the oldest boy, the children thought of Solo as their leader and follow him everywhere much to their respective parents' irritation." Duo stopped and chuckled. "Especially Wufei, he chewed me for hours because every child followed Solo's lead, calling him uncle Wufie." He looked down and was happy to see a slight smile on the Japanese boy's face.
"Solo must be happy with so many friends...." Heero murmured.
"Ah yes." Duo stroke Heero's hair unconsciously. "I wished you were there to see the little rascals."
Heero tightened his hand on Duo's. "......... I really wished too.... I wanted to see little Shinigami grow up...."
"Little Shinigami?" Duo chuckled. "Yup, I think that's the best description for Solo."
".....can I see his photo albums?"
"Sure. Wait a sec." Duo kissed Heero's forehead and left the room to fetch the albums in his library.
Heero just lay there, looking at the ceiling. His eyes were looking far away, as if trying to make an important decision. A knock on the door distracted him though. He turned to the door and saw Solo enter the room. "Hi... uh..." Solo fidgeted. "I thought my father was here."
"He was. He went to fetch your photo albums." Heero spoke up.
"My photos?" Solo sat down in the chair Duo just occupied before.
"I asked him for your photos."
"Why do you want to see my photos, uhmm... uncle... uh..." Solo grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I just feel strange calling you uncle. You look no older than me."
"Uncle..." Pain flashed on the Prussian blue eyes before they became normal once again. "You don't have to call me uncle."
"Uhm... then.. .what should I call you?"
"..... Heero will be fine."
"Heero..." Solo tested the name and smiled. "I can't believe I can talk with you and call you by your name. This is great."
"Why so?"
"From the way Dad described you, you seem so perfect."
"I'm not perfect." Heero tried to sit up.
"Hey, you shouldn't move yet." Solo helped him to lean against the pillowed head board. "The other M-five also like hearing Dad telling about you. I can imagine the others' faces when they see you. Oh wait, maybe I can make them believe I have a twin first, before telling them who you are. That would be a double hit for them."
"You seem to enjoy tricking them." Heero smiled slightly.
Solo just grinned. "They're fun to trick. Back to my early question, why do you want to see my photos?"
"I want to see how you and the other children were while you were children. Duo said you were a troublemaker."
"That's right." Duo entered the room, bringing a stack of albums. "You can see his crimes since he was a baby in here." Duo put the albums on the bed next to Heero and flipped open an old album. "Here, this is the first time he stumbled into the pond. The frog seemed happy to sit on his head."
"Dad! Give that back." Solo reached for the album but Duo quickly gave it to Heero.
"Well, he is cute." Heero commented.
Solo blushed and glared at his laughing father. He didn't know that it was the very same glare Heero used to give his father long ago. "Don't laugh first, old man. Here Heero, see this." Solo took another album and flipped it open.
"Hey who gives you the right to call him by his name only." Duo stopped laughing.
"Heero did." Solo stuck his tongue out before turning to Heero. "This is my first successful trick. My father looked good with his curly hair, don't you think?"
"Hey, hey, don't show that to him!" Duo reached for the album but Solo already gave it to Heero who widened his eyes and stared incredulously at the picture.
"Duo... you aren't good in imitating Catherine."
Duo flushed red while his son laughed loudly. "You haven't won yet." Duo smirked and tackled his son, tickling him mercilessly. Solo fought back and soon father and son were wrestling on the floor while Heero watched them pensively. They were too busy wrestling each other to see the Japanese boy gaze down at the photos and run his fingers slowly over the pictures. A tear rolled down from his eyes but was quickly wiped away as the Prussian blue eyes settled back on the wrestling match, watching the scene he could have seen numerous times hadn't his stomach been cruelly opened fifteen years ago.
~*~
"I give up. I give up." Solo panted from where he lay on the floor.
Duo stood up and smirked, "I win. Heero, see ....." Duo turned and stopped his words when he saw the Japanese boy was fast asleep.
"Dad, what happened to Heero?" Solo stood up.
"He is asleep." Duo smiled and gently laid the Japanese boy back on the bed, putting the albums from his lap on the night stand.
"Heero must be tired." Solo stretched out and yawned. "Guess it's time to retire. Doh, I still have to write paper for tomorrow's class.... good night, Dad."
"Night." Duo waited till his son left the room and then turned his attention back to the sleeping boy. He smiled as he saw the serene expression on Heero's face and bent down to kiss the Japanese boy's forehead. "Oyasuminasai, Heero."
TBC...
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