Treasure From the Sea Part 2
Heero watched over Duo as the merman slept. While Sally was tending the sores on his legs, Heero frowned. "His face is meant for smiling, Sally, but all I've seen so far were a few weak grins that looked like they were forced."
Sally nodded. "He's scared, Heero. He's scared, hurt and probably not feeling all that well the poor thing. Plus the grief he's been through in his life. I'm sure he'll start smiling soon. To be honest, I'm looking forward to seeing it. I remember the first time Quatre gave me that sweet smile of his."
"Did someone say my name?" Quatre walked in, followed by Trowa. "I told Trowa you had found a merman in town."
Trowa gazed at the pale, shivering creature in bed and frowned. "In a pet shop?"
Heero placed a cold, damp cloth against Duo's head and nodded. "Trowa... I want you to make some inquiries. The owner of the shop lied to me. I want to know how many others have suffered because of him."
Trowa nodded. "It will be done. If someone can neglect a merman, how can he be trusted to care for small animals?" He gave Quatre a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.
Quatre sat on the bed beside Duo. "He looks WORSE than he did yesterday."
"He's ill, Quatre." Sally finished tending to the ugly sores on Duo's legs. "It's an after-affect from the water he was in for two weeks." She pulled the blanket back up and tucked Duo in soundly. "The most we can do for him is take care of him." She gathered her salves and stood. "I'm leaving this brew to soothe him when he wakes up. It'll bring down the fever and help him get the sleep he so desperately needs." She stroked Duo's hair away from his face in a motherly fashion before turning and leaving the room.
*****
Heero lost total track of time as he kept his vigil beside the stricken merman. Which is why he was surprised when Trowa entered carrying a sobbing child... followed closely by the little girl's mother. "What is it?" The girl was poorly dressed, but it was obvious that her mother went through a great deal of effort to make the patches look pretty.
Trowa nodded at the little girl. "Tell Heero what you told me."
The girl sniffled. "Well... a month ago, I got a puppy from the man who is at the pet shop. It had the sweetest little face and it liked me a lot! It-it died a week later." She wailed and turned her face to Trowa's shoulder.
The girl's mother spoke up. "She scrimped for a whole month, milord. She did odd jobs from the crack of day until the sun set. She took good care of that puppy! Fed it, brushed it, loved it with every fiber of her being. She hasn't smiled once since it died. The man at the shop sneered at her when she told him what happened and said that she was a bad little girl for not taking care of the puppy."
Heero frowned and nodded. "Lady." He turned his attention back to Duo.
Trowa smiled and turned away. He bounced the little girl. "Come on. We're going to see Heero's dog. She just had a litter and you get to pick one of the puppies."
"But I'm a bad girl! I'll kill it!"
"No!" Heero looked at the child. "It was not your fault that the puppy was sick. You wanna know a secret?" He dumped the water in the bowl onto Duo's legs and nodded when they merged into a tail. With a wink, he uncovered the merman so that the child could see him. "I found him in the petshop - injured and starved - in a dark corner of the shop." He went to get some dry blankets and covered Duo again. "The shop owner does not take care of what he's in charge of. You are not a bad girl. In fact... you're a very good girl for coming here and telling me. Thanks to you, we can make sure no other little girls get hurt by his... mean nature."
The little girl gazed at Duo. "C'n I come back and visit the merman?"
Heero nodded. "It'll be a few more weeks before the puppies can be weaned from their mother. When you come to bring your puppy home, you can visit Duo again." Heero felt a surge of satisfaction as the child gave him a huge smile before allowing herself to be carried from the room.
"That was a nice thing ya did."
Heero spun to face Duo. "How long have you been awake?"
Duo shrugged. "Since she started wailing. Hard ta sleep through that. My head hurts."
Heero chuckled and brought the flask over to Duo. "You're ill. It's to be expected." He helped the merman to sit up and drink the contents of the flask. "I'm sorry for showing her your tail."
"Whatever for?" Duo sighed as Heero made him more comfortable on the bed. "I'm glad it cheered her up. So... what now?"
Heero made sure Duo was comfortable. "Now you rest and get well. When you're health is back, then we'll see. Would you like to eat something before you nap?"
Duo blinked. "Ummm... why are you waiting on me?"
Heero smirked at the question. "Maybe because you wouldn't get very far on your own."
Duo chuckled softly. "No... I guess I wouldn't. Well... only if you're getting something for yourself as well."
"Agreed." Heero walked to the door and motioned to a servant. "Would you bring some lunch up for Duo and myself please?"
The girl nodded and smiled. "Of course, milord. How is your guest feeling? Sally said that he was ill."
Heero nodded. "He's hungry... that's a good thing. Now... please..." He kept his tone polite, but he made sure the girl knew that he was not too happy with having to ask a second time.
The girl giggled at him. "Oh don't pull that glare with me. You're a big kitten when it comes to us. I'll be back within ten minutes. The cook had a plate made up a while ago for the two of you." With that, she ran off.
Duo chuckled weakly. "A kitten?"
Heero grinned and sat down on the bed. "Well... because the servants are here, there are so many things that I don't have to do. I appreciate that. Normally, I wouldn't mind chatting, but you need to get your strength back as soon as possible." Heero blinked when Duo smiled at him... REALLY smiled. "What did I say?"
"You don't even know me, and you're so concerned about my well-being." Duo shook his head. "That's something I'm not used to. The last person who ever cared at all about me..."
Heero felt like crying when the smile left Duo's face. "I'm sorry."
"You're awake! FINALLY I have someone to talk to when Trowa isn't here!" Quatre plunked down on the other side of Duo and beamed at the merman.
Duo blinked as Quatre started chattering away and glanced at Heero in confused amusement.
When Quatre paused to take a breath, Heero chuckled. "Duo, Quatre is a hamadryad. He lives in the tree that's near the lake you'll be staying in when you get well."
Quatre made a face at Heero before smiling at Duo again. "How are you feeling?"
"To be honest, I've felt better. Still... I feel much better now that I'm out of that filthy water. My back doesn't hurt as much as it did when I first passed out."
Quatre nodded. "You have Sally to thank for that. She's a wiz when it comes to helping us magical creatures." He glanced up as the door opened. "THAT was fast." He stood up and helped the girl with the tray. "Anything good in here?" He frowned at the scant amount of food.
Heero chuckled. "I'll have some brought out to you later, Quatre."
Quatre grabbed a piece and ran off. "Later!"
Duo tilted his head at what looked like several morsels of fish. "What is this?"
Heero picked up his own plate. "Sushi. Raw fish, rice and seaweed. I figured it would be similar to what you would eat."
Duo nodded. "Although the fish never looked this good." He grabbed a piece and popped it in his mouth. "Mmmmmmmm!"
"I'll tell my sushi chef that you send your compliments." He pointed to a small glass vial. "Try it with the sauce. The sauce is a bit salty, but it tastes REALLY good on the sushi!"
Duo took Heero's advice and made a sound of approval. When his tail dried and became a pair of legs, he wiggled his toes like a little kid would.
Heero noticed the movement and grinned. "I bet it feels strange."
Duo shrugged. "Not really. I often came to the surface after my friend..." He bit his lip to keep himself from crying.
Heero did the only thing he could think of, he put his plate down and held Duo close. "Shhhhh! I know..."
Duo blinked at the act of kindness. It was still so alien to him after Solo had been killed. Even after so long, his people still blamed and alienated him. He hadn't had physical contact with anyone until he was roughly thrown into a tank of filthy, too-salty water. He had... he had MISSED the gentle contact. After a few seconds, Duo returned the hug and quickly clung to Heero as he sobbed.
Heero gently rubbed Duo's back and shifted his hold so he was cradling the distraught youth. "It's all right now. I've got you."
Duo rested his head against Heero's shoulder as he sniffled. It wasn't the first time he had cried, but it was the first time he had shed tears. It felt cleansing somehow.
Heero smiled gently at Duo and stroked Duo's arm in a soothing motion. "Better?" He felt a surge of protectiveness well within him. Duo was so emotionally fragile. He suddenly wanted to see Duo smile and laugh. 'Mission accepted!' He continued cradling Duo as the merman's muscles started relaxing. "There there... everything will be all right." He gave into the urge and kissed the top of Duo's head.
Duo sighed one last time before falling asleep. For the first time in a long time... he felt safe.
TBC...
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