Author: Zazu
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Heero POV
Pairings: 1+2+1, 3+4+3
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 yet beta-read. Yet another P.O.V fic. I thought I'd do Heero for once...but I wonder if it sounds like him...?
Life Without Regrets
Even after surviving a war, a coup, and a couple of nasty missions with the Preventers, I hadn't thought much about death, especially of those around me.
Maybe it was because it took a long time for me to realize that there were people close to me. That they were there almost unconditionally.
That it was okay to have people close to me.
It wasn't until some three hours ago that losing someone close to me suddenly became a very real prospect.
Sitting in the chair next to the hospital bed, watching the sleeping occupant, listening to the monotonous beep of the machines around him, I realized, really, how human we were.
A lot of people die every day, and in a lot of different ways.
I wonder, when he woke, what he'd think of the way he'd almost died.
He was always doing something good, doing something for the world, and yet he almost died in the hands of a careless person.
I looked up at the sound of a quiet tap on the door, feeling relieved to see Duo enter.
"Trowa?" I asked.
"His CT scans were clear," he answered, coming to put a hand on my shoulder. "Although he's still being kept for observation. He'll be here shortly if he has his way, and I'm thinking he will get his way. How about...?" He gestured to the occupant on the bed.
"Concussed and a sprained ankle."
Duo hissed sympathetically, although he looked relieved that the injuries were considerably minor in light of what had happened. Suddenly, without regard for anyone that may enter the room, I pulled him down into my lap. I leaned close to him, inhaling his familiar scent, feeling his arms around my shoulders, fingers in my hair.
"Heero?" he asked softly.
"Is it selfish of me to be thankful it isn't...wasn't you?" I asked softly. "You were about to go with them, hitch a ride with them to go to the build-a-house event. You almost..."
I remembered seeing a picture of the familiar car, split apart, totalled beyond repair. If Duo had been in the backseat...
"I'm right here, love," Duo whispered. "And no, it isn't selfish of you to think that. Or if it is, I'm equally selfish because it was also one of the first thoughts I had, too."
I sighed again, still holding him tight. My communicator gave a single beep, startling the both of us. Duo got up and I turned to Quatre, reaching to tap him on the shoulder.
It took a while, but he awoke, slightly disoriented.
"Quatre?"
"Where?"
"Do you know where you are?"
"...Hospital? Where's Trowa?"
"In the next room."
"Is he?"
"He's fine. Go back to sleep. He'll come see you soon."
"You will?"
"Duo and I will stay here. Wufei is with Trowa."
"Good..."
Duo sighed as we watched Quatre drift off to sleep once more.
"Heero?"
I turned to him, looking down since he was crouching by my chair now.
"I'm too stubborn to leave you any time soon."
"Duo..."
"Really," he said with a small smile. "We've got a long life ahead of us."
"That's exactly it," I said. "It's not in our control."
"Maybe not," he agreed. "But living each and every day the best we can...isn't that the best we can do?"
I looked him in the eye for a long time. Somehow, it is easy to believe in him.
"No regrets, Heero," he said, rising a little to press our lips together. "To live a life with no regrets. That's what we do."
I nodded. Duo knew that I would have wanted to spend every waking moment being wary of every shadow that could snatch him away from me. But he was making me understand that doing that could be the worst way to live.
"They'll be fine," he said. "We're okay, and they will be okay soon, and life will carry on."
"Life will carry on," I repeated.
"Treasured and with no regrets," he whispered.
I nodded, feeling a little at peace now, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear and giving his jaw a light caress. "Treasuring life with you is the best I can live without regrets."
He smiled and nodded, straightening as the door was opened.
I vacated the seat quickly, the both of us stepping back to allow Trowa to come closer.
"Quatre..." he whispered, relief filling his features when he saw blue eyes blink open to look at him.
"Trowa..."
Duo pulled me out of the room where Wufei was standing by the door. I eased it mostly closed behind me to give Trowa and Quatre a little bit of privacy.
"What now?" Duo asked Wufei.
"The drunk driver is in custody," Wufei said. "Andrews is following the case and as many charges as possible will be brought onto him."
"Good," Duo said. "Just pull Andrews from the case for an hour tomorrow. I need a good heart to heart talk with this man."
Wufei nodded. "Consider it done."
I found that I couldn't pity this man who had almost taken two of my closest friends from me. Duo's quiet voice and deadly gaze could make a man twice his size shake in his boots and after he was done speaking to this man, he wasn't likely to ever want to drive again.
"Trowa will want to stay there. If you'll take first shift, I'll be back in a few hours to check on them," Wufei said.
"See you in a bit," I replied, nodding as he waved and walked down the hall.
"Heero?"
I looked at Duo, knowing that we couldn't be too close, standing in the hallway where nurses, patients and visitors were constantly walking by us. I itched to hold him close.
"A coffee date with you can be a part of treasured life," he said softly. "We've never done one before."
I smiled, for his benefit. "Lead the way," I said and walked next to him, bumping shoulders with him if only briefly.
Almost losing someone makes you think twice about your life and the lives of those around you. Suddenly, it felt like my priorities had changed and nothing was more important than being with Duo and being with the people who were unconditionally close to me.
Duo was right; there were many things we hadn't done together before.
Suddenly, I was eager to do it all with him.
OWARI
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