Coming Home Part 2
On my way to the hospital the next morning I wonder again what I've gotten myself into. Sure Duo said that he loved me, but the man was injured and more than likely under the influence. Maybe he just said it to make me feel better, or out of some kind of gratitude for taking him in.
Should I say anything about it this morning? Pretend I never heard it? Wait for him to say something?
I'm tempted to bang my head on the steering wheel. At the very least I need to stop acting like a teenager with a crush.
Then again, when I had first fallen in love with Duo that was what I had been. Not that I wanted to admit it at the time.
What was I going to say to him this morning?
Reaching Duo's room, I find the one person I really would've been happier never seeing again in the chair beside his bed.
"Commander."
Well, at least I won't have to think of something to say to Duo right away.
"Yuy," she says, rising from her seat. Beside her, Duo meets my eyes, gives me an apologetic look.
"Ready to go, Duo?"
"Yes," he says. "Just waiting for the nurse with the chair."
"Yuy," Une says again. "I want to talk to you."
"I'm a bit busy at the moment," I tell her. "I have to get Duo home and settled so I can get my work done today."
"Regardless, I insist you make time for me."
"Or you'll do what? Fire me? Court-martial me? Toss me into prison? Did I cover all your threats from last time? I think there was something about an insane asylum?"
Duo's mouth drops open. I guess he never did hear the whole story. Then again- I can't imagine Une telling everyone exactly what happened.
She sighs. I'm apparently being unreasonable. "I was angry. I only threatened you because you weren't listening to me."
"I listened- and I suggested alternatives- one of which you ended up using, didn't you Commander? But at the time you refused to listen to me."
"You were the obvious choice."
"I didn't think so." At this moment, the door swings open and a nurse appears with a wheelchair. She gives all of us a cheerful smile.
"Here you are Mr. Maxwell! You're all set!"
The process of getting Duo into the chair takes time. The nurse gives me several sheets of paper- Duo's prescriptions and a list of things he can and can't do.
I already foresee a few battles.
"Ready?" I ask him once the last paper has been signed.
"Yes," he says, casting a look at Une. "Commander."
"Maxwell. Make sure you heal all the way before returning to the office this time."
This time? There's another story I'll have to get. Mentally I resolve not to let Duo out of the apartment until the doctor gives the okay. Somehow...
"Yes ma'am."
"Yuy, I fully intend to continue this conversation another day. The Preventers need you."
I have to bite my lip to keep from retorting that I don't need the Preventers. Not after what happened.
"Good day, Commander," I say instead and push Duo out of the room. He's silent until we get to the elevators.
"I'm sorry," he says, looking at his cast. "I didn't know she was going to be there today."
"It's all right. I should've suspected it. At least she didn't turn up at my apartment." I smile for him. "Then again, I could've just shut the door in her face."
"Did she really threaten you with all that? I know she said you were a-" Duo pauses and bites his lip.
"Disgrace to the uniform?" I fill in for him. She said worse than that, but I don't really want to remember it all at the moment. "I know. I would imagine it was hard to miss the way she yelled at me down the hallway like that."
Duo frowns. "I know she was mad, and I wouldn't have agreed to that mission either- but I still wish you'd at least told us where you were headed! It's not like we couldn't keep a secret for you."
I can hear the hurt in his voice. "It's not that. I just didn't want to get anyone else in trouble with me. If Une had known that you were hiding that information from her you would've been in trouble."
"Who says she would've found out?"
"I didn't want to take the risk. She was furious enough with me- I didn't know what she might have done to you or the others if she found out you knew where I was. It was safer to just vanish."
Well, there were a few other reasons that I had chosen to vanish, but I didn't want to get into them right now with Duo. I still wasn't sure he'd really meant what he said about being in love with me.
Duo frowns. "Overprotective jerk."
"Yes. So keep that in mind the next few weeks, all right?"
That startles a laugh out of him. "Are you warning me?"
"Oh yes," I assure him as the elevator stops and I wheel him out into the lobby. "I hope you realize that I have no intention of allowing you to strain yourself in the slightest. So no trying to overdo things, okay? Like going back to work too early."
Duo takes a deep breath as we leave the building, his face tilted up towards the sun. "I don't think I'll have any problem with that. I'm a little mad at my boss at the moment."
"Good." I stop the wheelchair by the car and help him into the backseat where he can keep his leg elevated. "Do we need to stop by your place for your things?"
He shakes his head. "Quatre said he or Trowa would drop them off later." With a grin, he adds: "I think they just want to see your place- make sure you didn't just rent one in a hurry as a blind."
"Damn, I should've thought of that." I roll my eyes for him and close the door. It only takes a minute to put the wheelchair into the trunk.
I side into the driver's seat to find Duo looking at me a little anxiously. "Are you okay?" I ask, hoping that I didn't jar his leg. "Does something hurt?"
"No, no," he says, but it doesn't sound right. I need to get him home as soon as I can.
It doesn't take long to get home- I hadn't been kidding about only being three blocks away- and Duo is quiet the whole way there. I'm hoping that he's not hurting too badly- I'll have to send the prescriptions in to get his pain pills and it might take a bit to get them.
He seems to perk up a little when we get to my building, and his eyes widen when I push him into my apartment. "Wow, Heero! This is huge!"
"It just looks big," I smile for him. "The tenant before me didn't believe in dividing space, so she took out all the walls- except for the bathroom-" I nod towards the corner. "She was a dancer- needed the space for practice, or so they told me."
"The owner of the building didn't mind?"
"I guess not." I close and lock the door behind me. "I don't mind it either."
"Harder for someone to sneak up on you in a place like this."
"Exactly. Where would you like to be? Bed or futon?" Duo looks towards my bed tucked into a corner and then the futon beside my workspace. "The futon please. I don't want to put you out of your bed."
I'm not going to let him spend the night on the futon, but we can have that argument later. It's easy enough to transfer him to the futon and get him some pillows for his leg and back. His ribs aren't broken, but they are bruised, and between that and his leg, it's a challenge to get him comfortable.
Duo doesn't fuss, of course, but I can see the pain lines beside his mouth and I keep arraigning things until they fade a little.
"Do you need another pillow?"
"No, no," he leans back and smiles for me. "This is good. Really- I'm comfortable."
I put an extra pillow on the floor beside him, just in case he changes his mind. "I warned you," I tell him and he chuckles.
"You did. But really- I'm good right now. I'd tell you if I wasn't."
Lifting an eyebrow at him to express my doubt of that statement, I turn to my workstation. Flipping on the computer, I pull up the pharmacy and scan Duo's prescriptions in. They'll take some time to check with the hospital and fill them, but the site promises me an afternoon delivery.
Duo falls asleep as I'm dealing with the pharmacy, so I settle into my chair and pull up my work connection. Might as well get some things done while Duo doesn't need my attention.
When the doorbell rings around noon, I am surprised to find Quatre on the other side.
"Checking in?" I ask him and he smiles, lifting up a duffle bag.
"Damn right, but I'm also here to drop off Duo's stuff." He looks around my apartment and winks at Duo, who is yawning on the sofa. "Okay so far?"
"Course," Duo yawns again. "I was sleeping til someone rang the doorbell. What's up? It's not like you to take a long lunch break."
"I can't check up on my friends?" Quatre sits carefully on the side of the futon. "Truthfully, I came to talk to Heero a little. I guess Une was there this morning?"
I roll my eyes and head for the fridge. "Don't remind me. Want something to drink? Duo?"
"Water please," Duo says and settles back on his pillows.
"Same," As I fill the glasses, Quatre leans forward, his expression serious. Whatever he wants to tell me isn't good. "Trowa says to tell you that she's planning on pulling out all the stops to bring you back."
"That's nice. He can tell her it will be a cold day in hell first." I hand Duo his drink, making sure he has a table in reach to put it on. "There's nothing she can do that will make me change my mind."
"Heero-" Quatre accepts the glass of ice water from me. "Would it really hurt to go back?"
"Et tu Quatre?"
He blinks at the reference and then shakes his head. "I'm not pushing, truly I'm not. I know why you left- I wouldn't have been happy getting an assignment like that- and I wouldn't have liked being called all the things she called you when I refused it. However Une is not the Preventers."
"She is the head of it - that's close enough. I can't work for someone like that, Quatre, I'm sorry."
"I understand she apologized."
"No, she didn't!" Duo snaps. "She told Heero that she said those things to him because he was being unreasonable! You know as well as I do what she wanted him to do-"
"Wufei did it." Quatre points out mildly.
"That's Wufei." Duo rolls his eyes. "And you know the mission was modified for him."
"True," Quatre's tone is still mild. I wonder why in the hell he's pushing this. Why does he want me back at the Preventers? "Still, considering that she went to the hospital and tried to talk to you- that is sort of her way of apologizing." Quatre's lips curve in a faint smile at my expression. Before I can vocally express my disbelief, the doorbell rings again. This time it is the pharmacy with all of Duo's meds.
They are a welcome diversion. Duo doesn't want to take them, of course. I leave Quatre to persuade him while I fix lunch. Most of his meds have to be taken with food.
I have to admire Quatre's methods. By the time he leaves, Duo has eaten, had his bandages changed and taken his meds. He's yawning resentfully as I open the door to let Quatre out.
"No problem," he says in answer to my thanks. "I know what kind of patient Duo is, remember?" He looks over at the futon, and then tilts his head towards the hallway. I step outside with him, half closing the door behind me.
"What is it?" I ask softly. Whatever it is, Quatre doesn't want Duo to hear it.
"Look, Heero, I am sorry if I was pushing you about the Preventers, but I have a really good reason."
"And what would that be?"
"Duo."
"What?"
"Look, he was never this reckless when he had you for a partner. Trowa tries his hardest but Duo just- well, keeps taking risks. We don't know what the hell to do."
I almost open my mouth to tell him why, but I won't betray Duo's confidence. I'm not even sure if it was him or the drugs talking- I need to be sure.
"I can try to talk to him about it," I hedge instead and Quatre sighs.
"We've all tried that." He holds a hand up before I can respond. "I know, I know. He might tell you something he didn't tell us. You've got him stuck in your apartment for weeks- you have a good chance. But if he doesn't tell you- then I'm just asking you to think about it. Une really is sorry- I'm sure she'd concede anything you wanted to ask for- and Relena would back you."
My first response is still 'hell, no', but I owe Quatre more than that. "Let me think about it, okay Quatre? It's not that I don't want to help Duo-"
"I know you do," he touches my arm gently. "Maybe the best thing would be to get Duo out of there, but he always says no when we tell him to find something else. I know he gets something out of it- just like Trowa does- but the way he does the job- I don't know if having you for a partner would stop it. But at this point I'm willing to try anything."
It's hard to say no when Quatre looks like that. "I know. I'll do what I can, okay?"
He nods, realizing that I'm not going to give in so easily. "Okay. I'll see you later, Heero."
I step back inside the apartment and close the door to find Duo fast asleep on the couch. Reaching out, I smooth the blanket around his shoulders. He was lucky this time- and all the times before that I didn't know about- he's still alive. If I thought I could I'd try to persuade him to find something different- but Quatre's right. Duo gets something he needs out of his job.
Damn it. I don't really want to go back to the Preventers.
But if Duo needs me there... then there is no choice at all. I'll have to go back.
TBC...
Back to Merula's Fanfictions Page