Author: Zazu
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Kids
Pairings: 1+2+1, 5+R
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, nor do I own the characters. I have borrowed them here for some fun and creativity, and this is not for profit. I do, however, own the plot mentioned here, and any instances that you may find similar to real life events are purely a coincidence.
Notes: Not beta-read. This is a part of the babysiting adventures universe, inspired by Sharon's prompt "Babysitting adventures for uncles Heero, Duo, Trowa and Quatre. Wufei and Relena are the parents, of course". I should state now that the little drabbles in this universe will not be chronological at all!
This is a follow up to the fic, Leila's Strength.
Comin To
When he woke up, Heero could tell by the relief in Duo's eyes and his rather haggard features that he'd been out for some time, but not too long.
"Thank God," Duo whispered, leaning down to kiss Heero's forehead before pouring him a glass of water and offering him the straw.
Disorientation lasted a little longer before Heero remembered what had happened.
"Duo?"
"It's been a week," Duo said. "Wufei broke his arm in his fall, but he's otherwise fine."
He knew that Duo wanted to say more, so he tried to reach out to touch his lover, only to realize that Duo was already holding his hand. He settled for squeezing it.
"God, I feel so conflicted," Duo murmured softly. "Half of me wants you to think of others, to think of me before putting yourself into harm's way like that. The other half is so thankful that you're awake now, that Wufei is okay. A part of me can't imagine what would have happened if Wufei...if he...and Leila..." he trailed off, and hit the button to get a nurse's attention.
"I wasn't thinking," Heero admitted. "He was just there, in the way, and I reacted before I could have second thoughts."
"Of course. Otherwise you wouldn't be here." Duo shivered at that thought.
Heero turned his head a little further, finally acknowledging the item that was there. "Is this..."
"Mr. Brown," Duo confirmed. "Leila came to see you a few days ago and brought him along. She insisted that we kept him here because Mr. Brown keeps her safe and she wanted that for us."
"Leila was here?" Heero asked with a frown. "Why did Wufei bring her?"
The nurse bustled in then. "I'll tell you later." Duo squeezed Heero's hand and let go. "Let me call and tell the others that you're awake."
Some time later, Heero had been thoroughly examined and brought back to the hospital room. Duo was waiting, and fussed around settling him comfortably before he eased onto the bed and slid his arm around Heero's shoulder, letting Heero lean on him.
Heero took Mr. Brown from Duo and touched the paws. "Leila?" He asked.
"She didn't cry or anything," Duo said. "I sat here, with her on my lap, and she touched your hair and told you to wake up soon because..."
"Because?"
"Because you were making me cry. Not that I was crying in front of her or Wufei."
"Was she scared?"
"I don't think so," Duo said. "I told her you were sleeping but you knew she was there. She gave me some hugs on your behalf."
Heero nuzzled Duo gently. "I wish she hadn't seen me like that."
"As much as I don't want it to be, I think it's something she would have faced eventually. I didn't think she would be so calm about it. She didn't have questions, at least, none for me."
They lapsed into silence for a while with Heero still holding Mr. Brown. He was about to doze off when Duo spoke again.
"I felt like crap, Heero."
He was tired, but he wasn't drowsy anymore, hearing the tone of Duo's voice. He longed to take Duo into his arms, to feel that he was real, but he knew he couldn't yet, not to mention that Duo was exuding warmth in that simple embrace.
"Why?" he asked when Duo didn't continue.
"When Wufei called and told me you were hurt...Do you remember that I was babysitting Leila? Relena's in space for a conference."
"I remember."
"I couldn't bring Leila, so I found Grace and left her there. I was so scared, so worried, that I dumped here there with hardly a word of reassurance, and assumed that Wufei had called Grace to explain because she was ready, looking just as worried when I arrived. Leila...started crying and screaming for me not to leave her. And all I did was turn around and get into my car. I didn't even look at her when I backed out and drove away." Duo sighed, rubbing Heero's arm. "It didn't even occur to me to call her and reassure her when you were stabilized. I hardly gave her more than a guilty, passing thought until Wufei brought her here."
"I'm sure the first thing you did was apologize to her."
"And she wasn't even angry. Isn't she too young to understand what was really happening, what was really going on? She should only have seen that I dumped her down and left her behind..."
"Leila is more than that. She's young, but far from stupid."
"Still," Duo murmured. "Isn't that expecting too much from her?"
"I wouldn't have expected it," Heero answered after a moment. "But that's what she gave, right?"
"I guess so."
The next thing he knew, Heero was waking up to the sound of some soft knocking and wondering when he'd drifted off.
"Uncle Duo?"
"Sh..." he heard Wufei shush her.
He blinked his eyes open to see Wufei at the door and Leila coming towards him. He shifted and Duo was immediately helping him.
"Easy," he murmured.
"Uncle Heero!" Leila cried. "You're up!"
"Hello, Leila," Heero said. "Wufei." He nodded to the man that was walking closer, and he took note of the cast on Wufei's arm.
Duo extracted himself and reached for Leila. He paused.
"You need to wait a minute, Leila," he said sheepishly. "My arm is asleep and I can't pick you up."
"You should have said something," Heero told him.
Duo raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah right," he scoffed. "Wake you up. You're funny."
"Funny?" Leila asked. She raced around to bed to Heero's side and looked up. "Hi, Uncle Heero. Are you better?"
"Getting there," Heero answered, setting a hand on her head and ruffling her hair. She saw him holding Mr. Brown and smiled happily. He handed the bear to her. "Thank you, Leila. You can take Mr. Brown home now. Uncle Heero is safe."
Her eyes lit up at that, but when she reached for the bear, she hesitated. The three men in the room had no doubt that Leila missed her bear even though she had several at home, most notably her Uncle Heero bear.
"You can keep him until you go home," Leila said, looking up at him. "Baba says Uncle Duo can't stay here now that you're awake so Mr. Brown will stay with you at night."
"Maybe Mr. Brown should go home with Uncle Duo and keep him company."
"No, I'm going home with Uncle Duo," Leila said.
"You are?" Duo asked.
"Can I?" Leila looked at Wufei. "Baba, can I?"
"I'm sure Uncle Duo is tired and needs to go home to rest, Leila." Wufei sat down in the chair, patiently waiting for Leila to quiet down so he could ask about Heero's condition.
"But he needs company!" Leila insisted. "And I didn't bring Uncle Heero for him to hug if he has to be alone."
"Uncle Duo is a big boy," Duo said, walking around the bed. "But thank you for offering, Leila." He lifted her up onto the bed and she immediately moved closer to Heero, leaning in to kiss his cheek.
"Uncle Duo needs you home," she said softly. "When do you go home?"
"In a couple of days," Heero answered, cupping her cheek. "Thank you for looking out for Uncle Duo and me, Leila."
She smiled. "Baba says that's what families do. He said he is thankful that you saved him." For a moment, Leila paused as if she finally understood that concept. Her lower lip quivered. "If Uncle Heero didn't get hurt, would Baba not have come home?" she asked softly.
"Does it matter?" Duo immediately asked, diverting a potential bout of tears. "Everyone is here and safe now, right?"
"Right." Heero immediately said. Leila turned and leaned back against Heero's arm, reaching for Mr. Brown.
"You have to watch Uncle Heero," she said sternly to the bear. "No running off to play at night."
"How are you, Heero?" Wufei asked.
"Pretty much cleared, but under observation for another forty-eight hours."
"What does that mean?" Leila asked.
"Means someone is going to watch me to make sure I'm okay before I go home."
"Oh." Leila said. "You're grounded. Like Chrissy at school, because she wouldn't go to bed. She's grounded for three days."
Duo laughed at that. "Yea, Uncle Heero is grounded here. No leaving for him, either."
"Don't worry," Leila said, petting his thigh. "I'll call Uncle Duo and make sure he isn't having fun without you. That would be mean."
"Yes, it would," Heero said, casting an amused glance at Duo.
"But if I invited you over for fun, would you come?" Duo asked.
Leila hesitated, thinking. "What kind of fun?" she asked cautiously.
"Ice cream and movies, and some finger-painting. I'll lend you an old shirt so you can get as dirty as you want."
"Okay!"
Wufei groaned. "Duo!"
"What?" Duo asked. "Fun is a good thing."
"Leila, you're supposed to keep one opinion, and not be persuaded into another like that," Heero said.
"I'll paint you a welcome home picture," Leila said, offering her pinkie finger. "Pinkie swear."
"Okay," Heero sighed, unable to hide his smile as he offered his pinkie to her. "But make sure Uncle Duo doesn't get too dirty."
"Why?" Leila asked. "I thought you liked it when Uncle Duo got dirty. You like to help him clean up."
Heero flushed and didn't look at Wufei, even though Wufei coughed loudly.
"Time to go, Leila," Wufei said. "We'll visit Uncle Heero at home in a few days."
"I'll call you for our party, Leila," Duo said with a chuckle.
"Okay!" She turned. "Bye, Uncle Heero," she said, leaning in carefully for a hug. To their surprise, Heero held her there.
"Thank you for hugging Uncle Duo when I couldn't, Leila," he whispered. "You made him stop crying." He kissed her cheek and released her. Leila sat back, her hand to her cheek in surprise because Heero rarely offered kisses.
But she smiled after a moment, a brilliant smile that Wufei hadn't seen since before the mission. "It's your job now, and Uncle Duo likes tight hugs, just like me," she whispered softly. "Okay!" she said in a louder voice. "I'll make sure we won't get too dirty without you, Uncle Heero!"
She yelped as Duo pulled her back, tossing her up with a slight turn so that when she landed in his arms they were face to face. He kissed her other cheek with a loud smack before hugging her tightly, turning around in a circle. "I love you, baby," he said. "Thanks for making this hard time a little better."
She kissed him back and threw her arms around his neck for a quick hug. "Love you too," she whispered before squirming to get to the ground. Rounding the bed again, she reached up and took Wufei's hand. "See you at home, Uncle Duo, Uncle Heero."
"Goodbye, Leila," they replied, nodding at Wufei and watching as they left.
Duo sat down, rubbing Mr. Brown's ear with his thumb and forefinger before leaning in to claim Heero's lips in a gentle kiss. He pulled back with a grin.
"I promise not to party too hard when you aren't home," he said cheekily.
"How will I know that you'll keep your promise?" Heero asked.
"My incentive is to wait until you're healthy and at home...so you can help me clean."
Heero grasped Duo's collar and pulled him close. "Then I promise you'll be squeaky clean."
"I'm not sure the squeaky will happen at the same time as the clean," Duo mused. "You must show me."
"In two days. Now go home and get some rest. You'll need energy for...getting clean. Even if I'm going to help."
"Yes, sir!"
OWARI
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