For mechante fille- the next part of the birthday fic... maybe one more bit of it after this to wrap it up?

Make it Back Part 2

Quatre cursed. "I'll be right back," he said and took off after Duo.

Fuck. There wasn't anything else to do but try and go after them- but when he tried to sit up, a wave of dizziness and pain swept over him and he had to lean back against the pillows to try and make the spinning go away.

"Yuy?" Chang was suddenly there, leaning over him. Heero sighed in relief.

"Wufei," he rasped out. "Help me up?"

"No way in hell. You aren't fit to get up yet." Wufei put a hand in the center of Heero's chest. "Winner caught Maxwell in the hallway. He and Barton won't let him run away, trust me."

"But-"

"I'm not helping you up. You nearly died out there, you know." He thrust a cup of water at Heero. "Drink this and stay still."

Heero sipped at the water until the dryness left his throat. Handing the cup back to Wufei, he collapsed back into his pillows and let his attention turn towards the door. There wasn't a sign of Duo or Quatre or even Trowa.

"Wufei- can you- go see?" He pleaded and Wufei sighed.

"Only if you swear not to try and get up again."

"I won't. I promise."

"See that you don't. I have no desire to find you bleeding on the floor again," Wufei set the cup down and headed out the door.

Heero waited, watching the door, counting the minutes in his head. Ten minutes- he'd give them ten- and then after that, promise or no promise, dizzy or not, he was going to go and find Duo.

Eight minutes passed before the door swung open and Heero was disappointed to see a nurse step in. She greeted him with brisk efficiency, but he noticed the way her eyes studied him and then glanced back at the hallway. What sort of discussion was going on out there?

He was so busy worrying about the discussion and wishing the nurse would leave so he could go see- his ten minutes were long over- that he missed the syringe she pulled out.

The quick sting of the needle made him look at her and she gave him a professional smile. "Pain medication and a mild sedative," she said. "You need to rest."

Before he could protest that he didn't want it, she was already finished and stepping away. As she slipped through the door, Heero caught a glimpse of Trowa standing in the hallway, one hand tangled in his bangs, frustration written all over him.

They were right there... all he had to do was slip out of bed and get the door open. It wouldn't be that hard...

Ignoring the dizziness, he forced himself up again and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Pain shot through him, and he had to hold onto the bed frame for a moment and just breathe.

The dizziness was getting worse, his eyesight was blurring and Heero realized that the sedative she'd given him hadn't been mild.

Not that it mattered. Duo was right outside the door. He only had to get to him and then hang on...

Sliding off the bed, he stood for just a moment, triumphant.

The next moment, he hit the floor, out cold.

~*~

It was later, much later judging from the lack of light in the room, when he awoke. There was a faint night light glowing above his head, but the rest of the room was dark and shadowed.

Heero stared at the ceiling for a moment. What had happened? He'd gotten out of the bed to find Duo-

He sat up quickly only to fall back a moment later, wincing. Damn, that hurt more than it had earlier...

"Heero! What are you doing?" Duo was leaning over him, frowning. "Stay still!"

Relief flooded Heero. Duo was here. He reached up and carefully wrapped the end of Duo's braid around his fingers. "What-?" He started and coughed.

"Don't talk, not yet." Duo turned slightly and then a straw touched Heero's lips. "Drink this. You've been out for a while."

Heero drank obediently. Maybe... maybe this was the first time he'd woken up? Maybe he'd dreamed that Duo had... that he'd...

The cup moved away and Duo ran his fingers gently down the side of Heero's face. "How are you feeling?"

"Awful," Heero admitted and Duo's expression changed. He looked... guilty.

"You shouldn't have tried to get up," he said and Heero tightened his grip on Duo's braid.

He hadn't dreamed anything. Damn it all.

"You left- I was worried- I wanted to find you-"

"I'm sorry. I- panicked- I shouldn't have run- I just-" Duo made a helpless gesture and his face crumpled. "I don't know what to do..."

"Tell me what happened?" Heero tried. "I heard a little- but- I'm... confused."

For just a moment Duo's lips twitched into a smile. "Me too. I didn't... I never meant for things to go as far as they did. I thought she and I were just friends- you know? She'd email me and bitch about stuff, I'd email her back and vent. It was Zaina. You know- Quatre's sister who was on that trip with me? The one you missed because of work?"

"I remember. You'd read me her emails sometimes. She had the rude boyfriend."

"That's the one." Duo sighed. "Well, you know- she'd be upset because he'd say something mean to her, so I'd try and cheer her up- at least it started that way. Give her compliments, flirt a little- that sort of thing."

"And you liked being able to do that with someone." Heero said carefully. Duo flinched as if Heero had struck him. "I heard you say that to Quatre," he added.

"Yes," Duo's voice was soft. "I did. It... made me feel good, to make her happy, and she'd say things to me-"

"And it would make you happy."

"Yes."

Heero took a deep breath. Duo wasn't the only one who didn't know what to do. He had a dozen things he wanted to ask- more that he wanted to say- and he wasn't sure he could find the words to do any of them without hurting Duo.

And he didn't want to do that. Duo was already hurting...

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Duo visibly shook himself. "Two weeks ago, her boyfriend moved out- and she was... well, I expected her to be upset. But she wasn't- she kept telling me that it was meant to be and talking about how we could finally be together- and I just.... I couldn't outright tell her that it wasn't going to happen- she already hurt so much. I kept trying to hint that I wasn't interested in her that way but things kept going... and I finally told her that you had one more mission and I couldn't do anything until it was finished- I planned on telling her afterwards that you and I had talked and I couldn't talk to her again- but then... you didn't come back..."

"What did you tell her then?"

"I didn't tell her anything. I haven't talked to her since the night you left." Duo leaned forward, resting his head beside Heero's on the pillow. "I couldn't- after what you said on the way out- did you know?"

"I saw her text message on your phone that night." Heero admitted.

"You didn't ask me about it."

"I... I wasn't sure. I didn't know if I was just- seeing things that weren't there. I thought if I came back, I could ask then."

"If you came back," Duo echoed softly, tilting his head just enough to touch his forehead to Heero's. "I'm glad you did."

"Me too."

They were both silent for a while and Heero could feel the tug of exhaustion on his senses. His body needed to sleep- but he didn't dare- what if Duo ran again? What should he do? He wished he knew...

"You need to rest," Duo said, breaking the silence. "Your eyes are practically closing all on their own. Why don't you go back to sleep? We can- talk more in the morning."

"You'll be here? In the morning?"

"I will," Duo promised. "Sleep now."

Heero made sure Duo's braid was still firmly wrapped around his fingers before he let himself fall. Just in case...

TBC...

 

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