Life... Really Part 11

He was running again. Panting heavily, he looked over his shoulder to be certain that they lost his track. Pushing away at the low branches, he continued he fevered pace through the park. Suddenly, something caught up under his foot, causing him to collapse to the ground roughly with a startled cry.

*   *   *   *   *   *

At the small whimper that came from the sleeping teenager, Heero frowned deeply in concern. Duo tossed his bruised face to the side as he whimpered again, struggling with something in his sleep. Quickly, the Japanese youth sat on the edge of the bed as he gently lifted his friend to lean against him.

Humming softly, Heero carefully rocked the braided boy in his arms and closed his eyes. He continued the tune that he recalled hearing Noin hum one afternoon as she was cleaning. It seemed to serve its purpose as the cat-eared boy eased against him with a small sigh.

Slowly returning to the world around him, Duo blinked his violet eyes open. As he continued to lean against his friend, he raised his arms up to tenderly wrap them around the other teenager's torso. Heero's humming stopped as he pulled his head back enough to meet the gaze watching him. He smiled at the cat-eared face and whispered, "Are you all right?"

With his head still on Heero's shoulder, Duo smiled back tiredly as he nodded, "Yea. Thank you." For a moment, the two boys just sat there in each other's arms. Even Heero was surprised by his sudden hesitation to break the embrace.

Finally, reluctantly, Duo sat up taller and rubbing his eyes as he asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

"A couple hours now," Heero replied as he gently brushed back his friend's long bangs from his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

Chucking quietly, the braided teenager answered, "Like four guys tried to beat me into the ground." His cat tail straightened as he attempted to stretch his body with a wide yawn. When he stretched to his limit before the pain came back, he sighed deeply.

Heero gave him another frown of concern. "'We should wrap that shoulder and ice it," he suggested as he rose from the bed to get the fabric wrapping.

When he returned to the bed, Heero carefully aided Duo in removing his long black T-shirt, favoring the shoulder that had been separated. He winced at the sight of the dark bruises that marked the lithe body. Along with the angry mark that nearly covered the left side of Duo's face, the boy looked as if he had been drug behind a vehicle for several miles.

Silently cursing Muller and his friends for what they did, Heero began to unravel the fabric wrapping that Sally had given him. Despite the pain that he knew Duo was going through, violet-eyed boy just watched him with all the trust in the world. The realization that someone trusted him so unconditionally was still overwhelming to the Japanese youth.

Biting his lip, Heero moved as carefully as he could in wrapping the tender shoulder and upper arm. A couple times, he heard the injured boy gasp sharply at the searing pain shooting through his body. Trying not to wince or cause any further movement that might cause pain, Heero whispered, "I'm sorry." A whispered back, 'S'ok' was spoken in reassurance.

With a relieved sigh, Heero cut the remaining wrappings free and secured the ends with butterfly clasps. Smiling at his handiwork, he announced, "That should do it." Opening his eyes, that had been squeezed tightly shut during the procedures, Duo looked over at his arm. His tail swished lazily behind him as a small smile tugged at his lips.

Heero rose from the mattress and announced, "I'm going to head downstairs to get an icepack. I'll let Noin and Zechs know that you're awake. They were both pretty worried about you." With a sad smile, he gently ran a hand over his friend's braided head, adding quietly, "We all were."

Purring deeply at the touch, Duo smiled and closed his eyes. "I wasn't worried," he said softly when he opened his eyes. "I knew you would get to me in time."

At those sincere words, Heero felt a small lump fill his throat. Clearing it away, he changed the subject in asking, "Can we get you anything?"

"I am kind of thirsty," the braided teenager replied with a small nod. As soon as he said the words, he stomach growled loudly. Blushing slightly, Duo wrapped his bruised arms around his waist and smiled, "And hungry."

With a deep chuckle, Heero winked and replied, "I'll be back with something for that." Grinning over his shoulder, he stepped from the room.

The moment he was downstairs, Heero was ambushed by Zechs and Noin, who ran up to him with an onslaught of questions about Duo's condition. Laughing quietly, the boy raised his hands and told them, "He's awake and he's okay. I was just coming down to get an ice gel pack for his shoulder."

Noin quickly spoke up, "I'll go and make something for him to eat. The poor thing must be starving."

Shaking his head, Heero reassured her, "I'll take care of that. You two just go upstairs and visit." With their own grateful smiles, the young couple quickly went along with the suggestion and climbed up the stairs. Chuckling deeply, the unruly-haired teenager shook his head in amusement as he headed towards the kitchen.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Having purposely taking his time with preparing Duo's food and icepack, trying to give his friend some time with his 'parents,' Heero stepped into the room with a tray in each of his hands. He smiled at the sight of his guardians sitting on other side of the braided youth on the bed as they talked amongst themselves. At the sight of the Japanese boy, Noin and Zechs rose from the bed.

Once the trays were set down on the table beside the bed, Zechs announced, "We received a call from Officer Gracin less than an hour ago."

Recognizing the name of the policeman who interviewed Relena at the scene of the crime, both Heero and Duo stiffened before slowly turning to the tall man. Zechs answered their unspoken questions stating, "He and his team tracked down Muller and his friends. They're going to be spending the night in the local jail before their parents will be able to bail them out."

With a snort, Heero smirked, "That'll be the least of their concerns by the time Lady Une gets a hold of them. As upset as she was, I'd be surprised if they're still enrolled at the school by the time the weekend is out."

Frowning deeply, Duo's cat ears drooped as he said quietly, "They're in trouble because I got involved. I didn't want any of this to happen to anyone."

Noin smiled reassuringly as she ran a hand over his braided head, speaking softly, "Duo, there was no telling what they would have done to Relena if you didn't get involved. They brought this trouble on themselves, not you."

With a firm nod, Zechs spoke up to speak encouragingly, "She's right, Duo. Those boys deserve whatever happens to them. You shouldn't feel the least bit responsible for any of this."

At the warm smile and wink Heero gave him, Duo smiled back as his ears perked up a bit again. Whenever Heero smiled at him, somehow everything seemed right in the world. Turning to the two adults, he said quietly, "Okay... Thanks, mom and dad."

"We'll come back up in a little while so you can enjoy your dinner," Noin commented. Leaning down, she placed a soft kiss on the injured boy's head.

Following in suit, Zech straightened himself after kissing Duo's head and asked, "Should we call your friends to tell them they can stop over to visit?"

Instantly brightening at the idea, the braided youth nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, please." The young couple smiled and waved to him as they stepped out. With a small grin, Heero picked up one of the trays of milk, grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup.

Eagerly, Duo picked up one of the glasses of milk and drank it down. Sighing deeply in relief, he began to work on one of the grilled cheese sandwiches with his good arm. With a low hum of appreciation at having something to fill his stomach, he moved to the soup.

Heero chuckled deeply as he used medical tape to secure the ice gel pack to the bandages on his friend's shoulder. Only when he was sure the pack was secure did Heero go to the small table to have his own meal.

*   *   *   *   *   *

It wasn't long after dinner was cleared away when the doorbell rang. With a smile on her face, Noin opened the door expecting to find Heero and Duo's friends. At the sight of the person on the other side of the door, she froze with a startled gasp. Her eyes wide, she sputtered, "F-Foreign Minister Darlian."

The tall man before her smiled warmly and bowed at the waist as he greeted, "You must be Miss Noin, I presume. I do apologize for coming unannounced."

Forcing herself from her state of shock, Noin smiled widely as she shook her head and replied, "No, not at all." Quickly stepping aside, she extended an arm into the house as she said, "Please come in."

Zechs blinked in amazement as the dark-haired man stepped into the room. Straightening, he extended a hand as he grinned nervously, "Foreign Minister. This is a pleasant surprise." As Noin all but ran behind her lover, she smiled to the politician over the chauffeur's shoulder.

With a kind smile on his face, their guest shook Zechs's hand firmly and nodded, "The pleasure is mine, Zechs. As I already told Miss Noin, I am sorry for arriving without any notice. "My daughter, Relena, has told me a great deal about her friends and their guardians over the last couple years. It is very nice to meet the two of you in person at last."

While everyone knew that the kind-hearted Foreign Minister was only Relena's step-father, they only referred to each other simply as father and daughter. When the now teenage girl's birth father had passed away years prior, Minister Darlian fell in love with her widowed senator mother. For Relena's part, she came to love and respect him a great deal. They dropped the 'step' titles from their relationships as a show of how much they cared for each other.

Folding his hands at his waist, Darlian explained, "I came to personally thank the young man who saved my daughter today."

Noin and Zechs shared a surprised look before turning back to the tall man. Smiling brightly, the young woman told him, "I'll go let him know he has a guest. He'd going to be bedridden for the remainder of today through tomorrow, so I'll see that he's presentable." Disappearing from behind Zechs, she rushed upstairs.

After entertaining the Foreign Minister for a time, Zechs smiled as he heard Noin returned downstairs. Hiding her panting breath after her efforts, the young maid grinned to their guest, "I'll be happy to take you to his room." With a nod of appreciation, the much-loved politician followed Noin upstairs.

Heero's cobalt eyes widened as he quickly rose from his seat beside the bed in his room when the door opened. Noin had told them that they had an unexpected guest, but she never prepared them for this. "M-Minister Darlian," he greeted unsteadily.

Recognizing the name and face of the man in the doorway from the television and Relena's description, Duo's own eyes widened. Since there was not a cap to be found upstairs, Heero and Noin quickly wrapped the remainder of the medical cloth wrapping around his head around his head to cover his cat ears. Behind him, the pillows had been piled close to cover his tail beneath them.

Slowly, a smile tugged the Minister's face as he stepped into the room. Nodding to the Japanese youth, he greeted, "Heero, nice to meet you at last." He exchanged a firm handshake with the young man as he stated, "Relena speaks the world of you and the other boys. I am glad that she has such fine young men to befriend her."

Returning the smile, Heero replied, "Thank you, sir." He stepped aside so that his best friend was in plain sight.

When his gaze turned to the injured boy on the bed, Darlian frowned in concern at the sight. "And Duo," he nodded.

Blinking his wide violet eyes in shock, the braided teenager watched as the tall man knelt beside the bed and said quietly, "I am in your debt. Relena told me what you did to protect her this afternoon. And I did not see if fit to thank you for your actions over the phone."

Duo's shock soon turned to concern as he asked quickly, "How is Relena? Is she all right? She seemed really shaken up the last time I saw her." Yet another lump filled Heero's throat. Despite all of his pain and how close he came to being hospitalized if not worse, Duo's only concern was for the friend he had been trying to protect.

It seemed that the braided youth's words had the same impact on Darlian as he cleared his throat. Smiling sadly, he reassured the boy quietly, his voice cracking, "She's just fine. Thanks to you, young man. I wanted to thank you, myself, for your actions before she came in to see you."

With a deep sigh of relief, Duo grinned, "I'm glad she's okay. I've been worried about her."

Chuckling deeply, the tall man replied, "Well she's been worried sick over you for the last few hours, and with good reason." As he reached inside his business suit's jacket, the Foreign Minister stated, "I have something that I would like to give you."

After removing a velvet-covered box, he handed it towards the injured teenager. With care, Duo accepted the box, his eyes wide focused on the item, as he slowly opened it. His eyes grew all the more as he gasped sharply at the sight of the shimmering badge inside. A small plaque beneath the badge read in bold letters 'DUO MAXWELL' engraved into the gold.

"It's a Purple Heart," Darlian explained with a warm smile. "I give this award to soldiers wounded while serving their fellow men. For those men and women injured in the line of duty, this badge is one of great honor.

"This metal speaks of their courage and selflessness while protecting another in the face of danger. I am now giving you your own Purple Heart for displaying such morals in defending my daughter."

Swallowing hard, Duo lifted his shimmering eyes from the metal to the man kneeling before him. "Thank you, sir," he whispered breathlessly. Heero smiled in pride of his friend as he turned to face Noin and Zechs in the doorway. With his hand on his lover's shoulder, Zechs chuckled quietly as she wiped at her eyes.

The Minister's smile grew a bit, his moustache rising with the sides of his face. "Thank you for keeping my daughter safe." As he rose to his feet, he said, "As I said, I am in your debt. Should you ever be in need a favor in which I have any pull," he finished with a smirk, "you have but to ask and I will see to it."

As he shook the extended hand offered to him, Duo smiled brightly, "Thank you, Minister Darlian." With a firm nod to the brave teenager, the tall man turned to Heero shook his hand again. Noin and Zechs led the politician out into the hallway as they closed the door behind them.

Heero turned to his braided friend, still swelling with pride that Duo's actions were recognized in such a fashion. Sitting beside his stunned partner, the Japanese youth carefully untied the bandages that were wrapped around his head. Duo just continued to stare at the shining badge displayed in the case in his hand.

When he finished unwrapping his friend's head to allow his cat ears their freedom again, Heero moved some of the pillows to retrieve the long cat tail. He turned to look down at the metal with a proud smile. "This award is certainly well-deserved," he commented quietly.

Looking into his friend's shimmering violet eyes, he whispered, "I've never met anyone more selfless or courageous than you, Duo."

Unable to say anything, Duo sniffed and leaned against his friend as he trembled, sobbing against the other boy's shoulder. As he held the braided teenager, Heero closed his eyes as he whispered reassurances. As Duo slowly regained his composure, he pulled back enough that the Japanese youth was able to gently dry the eyes from his cheeks.

The close proximity of their faces startled the two boys as they stared at each other with wide eyes. Just when it seemed to Heero that their faces were drawing closer, the doorbell rang again. At the sudden sound, they both jumped apart a few inches. Blinking away their shock, they laughed quietly at their startle.

Clearing his throat, Heero asked, "Are you all right?" Duo gave a small smile as he nodded, taking his tail in his hands like a security blanket. Gently rubbing the top of his friend's head, the Japanese boy rose from the bed at the sound of the soft knock on the door. Taking up the closed velvet box, Heero secured it in the top drawer of the desk that he and Duo shared until he found a more fitting place to put it.

Just as a precaution, Heero cracked the door open to look out to the person on the other side. Smiling, he opened the door the rest of the way and stepped aside as their friends piled into the room.

Relena was the first to walk in, carrying a large stuffed bear and a crystal vase filled with beautiful roses of many colors. Quatre and the others followed behind, Heero closing the door behind them.

At the sight of the braided teenager's bandaged and bruised figure, the group froze with wide eyes. Tears quickly filled Relena's eyes, and if on practiced cue, Quatre took up her gifts to allow her to spring to the bed. Carefully throwing her arms around the injured boy as she sat on the edge of the bed, the girl sobbed, "I'm so sorry, Duo."

Chuckling deeply, Duo closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder as he embraced her in reassurance. "It's okay, Lena," he whispered to her.

Heero took up the vase of flowers from his Arab friend and set it on the desk by the bed. Where its current perch before the window on Duo's side of the bed, he could admire them easily. Leave it to Relena to remember how much Duo always loved flowers.

Drying her eyes as she pulled back, Relena looked up to the vase and gave a watery smile as she dried her eyes. She looked over to the vase and said, "I thought that you might want some flowers for the room, since you'll be indoors for a few days."

Quatre smiled and handed her the large, brown teddy bear with a bright red bow around its neck. "And I got you this," she chuckled nervously. As she handed him the bear, she quickly explained, "I know, I'm a girl, and I don't know what to get as appropriate gifts for guys, yet but I really tried and-"

With a reassuring smile and his arms hugging the bear to his bear chest, Duo cut her off, saying sincerely, "These are perfect, Lena, thank you. But you didn't have to get me anything." His cat tail swayed excitedly as he looked down to the bear in his arms and over to the flowers.

Relena wiped the last of her tears as she smiled warmly, "Always so humble." Leaning forward, she placed a soft kiss on the braided boy's forehead.

As he stepped forward, Quatre placed a gentle hand on his friend's good shoulder as he spoke quietly, "Thanks you for keeping her safe for me while I was gone, Duo." With a bright smile, the braided teenager nodded.

Trowa moved ahead and decided to lighten the mood as he smirked, "You look like something the cat drug in." The irreverence of the statement and the sheer irony of the situation broke everyone into hysterical fits of laughter. As he continued to laugh, Duo shook his hand in silent thanks for breaking the sad mood.

Once everyone began to calm down again, Wufei carefully patted his injured friend's back as he stated, "We brought containers of some of your favorite ice cream and bars from the shop. It's down stairs in the freezer, for whenever you want it."

His violet eyes brightening, Duo's ears perked up as he exclaimed, "Really!? Thanks, guys!"

Looking over to Heero, Trowa asked, "Any word on what happened to Muller and the others?" All attention turned to the Japanese boy as the anxious guests look forward to an update of the boys responsible for their friend's injuries.

With a nod, Heero answered, "Officer Gracin and his team tracked them. They're going to be spending the night in prison before bail can be set."

"Good," Quatre snapped, his eyes narrowed in disgust. "I just wish that we could have had another shot at them before they ran off." Wufei and Trowa both nodded their agreement to the sentiment.

With a smug grin, Relena commented, "I can't wait to see what Lady Une has in store for when she gets a hold of them."

Heero made sure that his best friend did not give any signs of blaming himself, as he had earlier, for whatever happened to the young men that hurt him. Instead of finding guilt on Duo's face, however, Heero smiled to himself at the sight of his braided partner's nodding at Relena's words. It seemed that Noin and Zechs certainly managed to clear any confusion of blame.

Still clinging to the bear that Relena gave him, Duo asked, "Do you guys really have to go home tonight?" When everyone turned to him in confusion, he added, "I thought it might be fun to have everyone crash here for a change."

At the suggestion, Heero, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei all looked to each other, asking at the same time, "Sleep here?"

Sighing deeply, Relena turned to her braided friend, frowning, "You forget who you're talking to. These guys don't know the first thing about staying at someone else's house, or doing anything else that's remotely fun." She turned to the other boys and told them, "It's a Friday night. And our parents know Noin and Zechs are here to make sure nothing happens that shouldn't."

With a shrug, Wufei commented, "I just don't see what is so exciting about spending the night at someone else's house." Duo and Relena shared a mischievous smirk.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Noin chuckled deeply as she watched Relena walked towards the bedroom that they were going to share. It was late that evening, or rather quite early in the morning when their guests were finally filing into the spare rooms. Beside her Zechs was smiling warmly as he kissed his lover's forehead. "I'm just glad that all of their parents allowed them to stay over. Even if they only allowed it for this one time, this was a nice change of pace."

With a nod, the tall man yawned, "I suppose it'll be all right to sleep in separate bedrooms for one evening. Between the pillow fights, ice cream, board games, movies and other events tonight, I'm exhausted."

A wistful smile lit Noin's face as she said, "I don't think I've ever heard Heero laugh so much in one night, nor the others for that matter."

Shaking his head, Zechs added, "Having everyone over tonight and tomorrow will certainly do wonders for Duo as well. He certainly will need this while he's recovering." Noin nodded against his shoulder as she hugged him.

With a wide yawn, the young maid grinned, "Well, I better get some rest before making breakfast for this little army when they get up." The young couple exchanged a tender kiss before parting ways.

*   *   *   *   *   *

After carrying his sleeping friend into the bedroom that they had shared for the last few months, Heero carefully lied Duo onto their bed. Even in his sleep, there was still a small smile on the braided boy's face. Brushing back his friend's long bangs, the Japanese boy smiled warmly to himself.

Life certainly had taken quite a change over the last few months. The things that Duo helped Heero and their friends experience had been more than they ever saw, or done, in their entire lives.

Carefully slipping into the bed an under the covers, Heero gently took the sleeping boy into his arms. Placing a soft kiss on Duo's forehead, he smiled and whispered, "Sleep well, little one."

As he drifted off to sleep, Heero could only imagine what the next day would hold. Suddenly, he always seemed to have something to look forward to now.

TBC...

 

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