Author: Merula
Pairings: 1+2 Friendship
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is not mine.
Family Part 2
I grabbed my keys off the counter and headed for the door. I had twenty minutes to get to Duo's place, easy enough if I moved at a fast pace.
I locked the door behind me, and hurried down the stairs. Not that it matters if I'm a little late, but I know Duo will tease me about it. He says that it amazes him that someone once so bent on being perfect has managed to relax so much.
I told him that I discovered there was more to life than being perfect, and that got me one of those genuine warm Duo Maxwell smiles- not his usual grin- but his real smile. The one I never saw during the war.
I hit the pavement and turned towards Duo's, carefully dodging people as I moved down the street, a part of me always somewhat alert for danger- I haven't managed to relax that part of me much, but living in a big city actually strengthens those skills, if you ask me.
I still can't believe that Duo and I were in the same city, blocks from each other and didn't know it. I had thought he was still on L2 with Hilde working in her salvage yard, maybe planning on getting married.
It had been the shock of my life to look up and see him on that balcony six months ago as I trudged home from work, not really looking forward to spending the night in my empty apartment while everyone around me was celebrating.
Duo would laugh if I told him, but it was almost like a divine visitation, seeing him on that balcony, grinning- looking like he was going to fall off and split his head open.
For a moment, I had been upset. He wasn't supposed to be here, he was supposed to be on L2 with Hilde, having his happy ever after... then I wondered if the two of them had moved down to Earth.
But no, Duo was living alone, except for that obnoxious cat of his, just as lonely as I was. I think I surprised him that night when I had asked him back to my apartment for dinner. We had been friends, sure, but it had been years since we'd seen each other. Not that I cared. Duo was someone who knew me, who had done what I had done, and I didn't have to answer any questions while I was with him. I could just be myself.
I reached Duo's apartment building with a minute left to spare.
"Hey Yuy!" A voice from on high greeted me. I looked up. Sure enough, Duo was hanging out on the railing again. Of all the habits! I knew it wasn't very high, but the railing looked old, and a fall was a fall... He grinned at me, braid swinging over his shoulder as he peered down at me.
"Get down from there!" I called up to him. "Are you ready to go?"
"Of course!" He flipped backwards and vanished into his apartment. A few moments more and he was pounding down the stairs, grin still in place as he joined me. "You were almost late!"
"Almost," I told him, returning his grin. The damn thing is infectious, though I like his smiles better. "Are you sure you want to do this with me today?"
"Of course," Duo rolled his eyes at me. "I wouldn't have said yes otherwise. So let's go." He grabbed my arm and tugged on it.
"Okay," I laughed at him and we started off. "I was just making sure."
"I know it will be kinda difficult," Duo met my eyes, grin gone for a moment, "but really, can't be much worse than some of the things I've seen at the shelter, can it?"
"I don't know what you've seen at the shelter," I said, honestly. "I know I had a difficult time at first."
"But you still go."
"Oh yes," I nodded. "I have to. I couldn't stop."
Duo nodded too. "Know that feeling. Did I tell you the city closed the hotline down?"
"What?" I blinked at him. "What the hell for?"
"I guess they feel people can call the national line or something. They said they couldn't afford to keep it going."
"But it was staffed with volunteers."
"I know- but still- they needed to train us and all of that stuff. That costs money."
"They trained you?" I'm not sure why that surprised me.
"Oh sure. We gotta know the right way to handle those calls." He grinned. "They train you for this one?"
"There's not much training involved. You'll see."
Duo grinned. "So if I get stuck today, it will be because I'm an idiot who can't figure simple things out."
"First off, you aren't an idiot. Secondly you'll be with me and I'll make sure you don't screw up."
"Cover my back in other words?"
"Always." For some reason that got me a flash of Duo's smile. I wondered why. He then switched topics and proceeded to tell me all about Howard's latest email.
He got quiet once we got to the hospital though. I walked up to the receptionist and grabbed my volunteer badge, snagging one for Duo too.
"Good morning Heero!" Zoe greeted me as I signed in. "You brought someone new today?"
"Yes. Zoe, this is Duo, my best friend." I got a flash of that smile again. "Duo, this is Zoe, the lady that keeps the whole hospital running smoothly."
"That's a big job," Duo said as he took her hand.
"We're a small hospital," Zoe answered with a smile. "We're charity based and get a lot of funding, but we can only take a limited amount of children at a time- we're hoping to expand soon."
"That's what Heero said."
Zoe smiled wider. "Heero is one of our best volunteers. The staff and patients adore him."
"I'm not surprised. Thanks for letting me tag along with him today."
"Oh, we're hoping he assimilates you!" Zoe laughed. "Get going you two. The kids are probably getting hungry."
Duo followed me down the hallways towards the cafeteria. "I usually deliver the food to the kids who aren't contagious or in the ICU. Afterwards I just go around and make sure they don't need anything else and that's it."
The cafeteria lady greeted me with a smile and pointed towards the carts. "Floor Two is ready, I'll have Floor Four when you get back."
"Thanks Gwen," I told her as I grabbed a cart. Duo took hold of the other one. "I can tell this is already going to be easier with you here. All you have to do is look at the room numbers on the side here." I tapped the numbers that were engraved on the cart. "Some kids have allergies and stuff, so they can only have certain things. Just don't mix the numbers up and you'll be fine."
Duo followed me onto the elevator. "That doesn't sound hard."
"It's not. Floor Four is harder because the kids are in wards and the trays go according to bed number. But..." I took a breath, "here on two you're going to see some sad things. Just kind of prepare yourself for it, okay? We'll do this together."
Duo nodded.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Duo followed me out into the hallway. I waved at the nurse on duty and she grinned back. "Brought some help today Heero?"
"You know these trays get heavy, Jeanne!" I called back and she laughed. I stopped by her desk. "Any to watch out for?"
"210. Arnie's having a relapse. He's still eating and up and all that, but..." she lifted a shoulder. I knew that signal. I ignored the familiar sinking-heart feeling. I couldn't look upset when I visited the kids.
"Got it." I told her and headed for 200.
At the door I stopped and pulled out a tray. "When we go in, if the table thing isn't over the bed, can you put it there please?"
Duo nodded and followed me in.
200 was a little dark haired girl, her right eye swathed in bandages. She smiled when she saw us. "Hey Heero! Is it lunch time already?"
"Hey Angel, you know it is." I looked at the clock and smiled for her. Duo pulled her tray over to the bed.
"Hi!" She chirped at him. "Who are you?"
"I'm Duo, Heero's friend," he told her.
"Why is your hair so long? It's pretty. Can I touch it? Do you braid it yourself? How do you reach all that?" Duo tried to answer her questions as I put the tray in front of her and pulled off the lid. "Ew!" She stopped questioning Duo, which made him look amused.
"I know, but you need it. Al will be coming through to pick it up in an hour or so, make sure it's empty for him, okay?"
"Okay!" She picked up her fork and waved it at us as we left.
"She's a cutie." Duo said to me once we were in the hallway.
"Yeah," I sighed as I pulled the next tray out.
"I'm going to be depressed if I ask what's wrong with her, aren't I?"
I nodded. "There's not a lot of happiness and hope on this floor." I told him.
"Know how that goes." Duo answered and followed me into the next room.
Anyone new was a source of interest for these kids, and Duo got pelted with questions in every room he visited. Duo, for his part, smiled and joked with the kids, never once showing a sign of discomfort or disgust at the sight of any of them. I knew he wouldn't. Duo has a soft spot when it comes to kids.
When we pushed the empty carts onto the elevator though, the look he gave me when the doors closed made me put an arm around his shoulders.
"God, that was hard," he said, leaning into me, sliding his arm around my waist, accepting the comfort I offered.
"I know." I told him.
"Is Fourth that bad?"
"Not exactly. Fourth has mostly injury kind of stuff. The hard thing there is how some of the kids got them."
Duo's arm squeezed my waist. "My admiration for you just went up a few notches for volunteering here, Yuy, you know that right?"
"I don't do much."
"Bull," Duo let me go when the elevator doors slid open. "Every one of those kids was happy to see you- and you knew every single one." He pushed his cart down the hallway and I followed.
"It's hard not to get attached."
"I can see that."
Gwen greeted us with a wave. We put the empty carts against the wall and grabbed the three carts for the fourth floor.
"One per ward," I explained as we went back down the hallway. "We'll drop off the trays, help a few who will need some help, and hang out for a bit."
"We didn't do that on Second."
"No," I smiled. "They have Al. He does all that there and picks up the trays."
"Another good Samaritan?"
"Yeah, a war vet. He's a good guy. The kids love him."
We did the rounds on the floor, handed out the trays, and then went back through to hang out and talk to the kids. Duo and I split up, figuring we could cover more ground that way. He was doing fine, so I wasn't worried about him.
I helped one of the kids write a letter to his dad, helped another one with a puzzle, just talked with a few. Collected the trays when the kids were done with them. All the things I normally did.
At the end of the time I grabbed the carts and went looking for Duo. I found him sitting on the end of a bed, telling a story to an entire ward of children who listened to him with big eyes and open mouths.
I think he was telling the Three Little Pigs, but it didn't sound like the version I knew. I leaned on the doorframe, waiting until he finished.
Duo's fingers were crooked into claws and he was baring his teeth as he talked about the wolf prowling around the house... Duo's voice was a low growl, and all the kids that could were leaning forward to listen to him.
I felt a presence behind me and glanced over my shoulder to see Al standing there. He usually came up to fourth to help me bring all the carts down. He joined me in the doorway and smiled at the sight of Duo now pretending to huff and puff.
"Friend of yours?" He murmured.
"Yes." We watched as Duo finished up the story to rapturous applause. He, ham that he is, actually gave the kids a sweeping bow.
"All finished?" I called to him. He grinned back.
"I think so." His eyes swept over Al appraisingly. He made his way over to the doorway.
"Duo! Can't you do another one! Please! You'll come back! Tell us more!" The kids clamored. He deflected all of it with a grin.
"I'll be back," he waved goodbye at the room. "Promise."
He joined us in the hallway and took a deep breath. "Tiring, aren't they?" Al said and stuck out his hand. "I'm Al."
"Duo."
"New volunteer here?"
Duo laughed. "It looks like it."
"Yeah, the kids just kinda get to you." Al pushed his blond bangs out of his face.
"Yeah," Duo agreed and a shadow passed over his expression. Then he smiled and it was gone. "So, the carts go downstairs now?"
We each grabbed a cart and headed for the elevators. The carts were safely returned to Gwen, we signed out and then waved goodbye to Al as he set off in an opposite direction.
Duo was very quiet on the way back to his apartment. I knew visiting the kids was emotionally draining for me- the first few times had been the worst. I still wouldn't say that I was used to it now- but I dealt with it better.
So I let Duo walk in silence.
It wasn't until we got to the bottom of the steps that led up to his apartment that he looked up at me.
The expression on his face made me reach out for him.
"Duo?"
He shook his head at me, unable to answer, which frightened me. I grabbed his arm and pulled him up the stairs, digging out my keys, finding his spare one on my ring.
Once inside the apartment, I put him down on the sofa and knelt in front of him. "Duo- what is it?"
His eyes were beginning to water. "That brought up a lot of things I've been trying to forget..." he managed, and I was surprised when he threw his arms around my neck and started to cry.
I held him tight, unsure of what to do. Make him talk about it? Or just hold on to him?
Duo's grip was tight and I could feel a wet spot growing on the shoulder of my t-shirt. I moved up onto the sofa next to him, shifting my grip a little.
Duo's shoulders hitched, but he made no noise. His tears were silent as if he was used to hiding them. I just held on to him, cradling him against me, feeling helpless, wanting to help him.
If only one of the others were here. They would be much better at this than I was- they'd know what to do.
All I could do was hold him. "I'm sorry Duo. I shouldn't have taken you with me..."
He shook his head. "No, no it's okay. I wanted to go. I want to go back." He lifted his head and looked at me. "If you don't mind me hanging out with you every weekend..."
"Duo," I laughed at him. "Don't look now, but for the most part, we're already hanging out together every weekend."
He smiled. "You don't mind?"
"I don't mind."
We sat silently for a bit.
"Are... are you going to ask me about it?" He said quietly. Somehow I knew what to say.
"No. You'll tell me when you're ready." He sighed, relieved, I think that I wasn't insisting.
"You're a good friend."
"Not half as good as you are." I told him and was rewarded with his smile.
OWARI
Back to Merula's Fanfictions Page