Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Brought Into Focus ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 5

Heero spent the next morning making a mental checklist of what he wanted to do with Duo. He figured that they'd spend most of the day just walking around, like they used to, but there were a few specific places that he was determined to go.

After Duo had fallen asleep, Heero had gone to Sally's to get a wheelchair. She had happened to have a motorized one, so that Heero didn't have to spend the whole day carting Duo around. Not that he minded, of course, but it would make it easier for both of them. Sally let him choose between an electric chair and a faster, gas-powered one. Heero opted for the electric so that Duo wouldn't run himself into a wall.

It was about nine in the morning when Duo wandered into the kitchen, where Heero was eating breakfast.

“There are pancakes on the counter,” said Heero, gesturing behind him.

Duo blinked sleepily, looking from Heero to the kitchen counter and back again. “Huh?”

“Never mind. Sit down.” Duo practically fell into his chair.

“Why am I so tired?” he said with a big yawn.

Heero stood up to get him the pancakes and some maple syrup.

“I'd blame the painkillers, but you weren't really a morning person,” he said as he set a plate in front of Duo. The long-haired pilot let loose another yawn before picking up his fork and digging in.

As soon as Duo was done eating and getting dressed, they set out. It was a nice, warm day, perfect for walking. Heero sighed contentedly as they headed down the street. Duo had figured out how to use the chair quickly, and was a little ahead of Heero, a grin on his face.

They set out in the direction of a big park with a pond that often had ducks swimming in it during this time of the year. They hadn't gone more than two blocks when Duo stopped suddenly outside of a small shop and stared through its windows.

His eyes closed, obscuring the deep violet color as he frowned. Duo looked… frustrated, as if something he wanted was just out his reach.

“I've been here before,” he declared.

Heero looked at it. It was a gift shop, and its shelves were stocked with everything from stuffed animals to coffee mugs. Its yellow walls radiated a cheery atmosphere, and displays could be seen through the large windows. “Do you want to go inside?”

Duo nodded and Heero held the door open for him so that he could roll in.

Ignoring the neat displays that were set up, Duo went straight to a rack that held greeting cards. He looked at them for a long time, but Heero waited patiently at his side. He was curious to see what Duo was looking for.

Heero watched as Duo again adopted that look. His brow furrowed as he looked carefully at each card. Finally, Duo pulled a card out. “This one. We bought this one.”

Heero gently took it from his hands and smiled. Congratulations on your wedding day! it said on the front. They had bought it just last week, together, for Quatre and Trowa. “Yeah, we did. You took forever choosing it.”

“You got tired of looking, and wanted to get that one,” Duo said, pointing at another card, “but I wouldn't leave until I found the perfect one. This one.”

Heero smiled softly as he remembered. Duo had literally read all of the cards before he had decided on one, leaving Heero annoyed. He wasn't very sentimental, and was pretty certain that their friends wouldn't care much about the card anyway. But Duo had insisted on staying, and Heero had to give in. As the years passed and they grew closer, Heero found it harder and harder to say no to him.

Duo coughed lightly and Heero shook himself from his thoughts. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah!”

They headed out again, and the shop owner smiled at them as they left. They reached the park within 15 minutes, and went straight to the pond. Heero had brought some bread, and they took turns scattering it for the ducks.

Heero and Duo spent an hour or so at the park, watching the little kids run around and talking. Duo kept remembering little events, all of them relatively recent. Heero marveled at how he was already starting to adopt his original personality. There were differences, though.

Like how now, every time there was a lull in the conversation, Duo would fade out, as if gazing inside himself, and Heero had to call him back to reality. It made him wonder if, maybe, Duo was remembering darker things from darker times. There was no way to tell. Heero had always known that Duo had experienced as many horrors as the rest of them had, but Shinigami had seemed to have accepted his past and moved on.

They walked (or rolled) through a nearby shopping plaza, looking at the stores. Being outside seemed good for Duo, Heero reflected, and wondered what he would do once he returned to work. Maybe he would let Duo come with him. He could sit in his office with him, at least. That would be better than leaving him alone.

They stopped at a small café for lunch, one that Heero hadn't been to before. As they stepped inside, the man working at the counter looked up and smiled at them.

“Hey there! Take a seat and I'll be right with you,” he said cheerfully as he finished fixing a display of boxes of chocolate.

They settled themselves at a table for two and contemplated what they would order. Heero explained the different foods on the menu since Duo was unsure of what they were. Heero eventually ordered a grilled cheese sandwich for Duo and a salad for himself once the waiter was ready. As the food was being prepared, Heero told Duo about some things that they had done after the war.

He talked about how Trowa had continued to perform with his circus until a few months ago, how Wufei had worked with the Preventers on and off, and discussed the success Quatre had had with Winner Corporation.

They had just finished eating lunch when Heero had finished his story about their search for an apartment. Duo looked ready to walk around some more, so they headed out again. They were going to walk to the mall and look around, but the store next to the café stopped them.

“What's this, Heero?” asked Duo as he peered through the window.

“It looks like a pet store. Let's go in.”

Duo obliged excitedly, looking like a little kid who had just been allowed into a candy shop. He headed for a tank of frogs first, watching them hop around happily. Heero trailed behind him, studying the different creatures.

“Welcome! How may I help you?” asked a man holding a bag of dog food.

“Oh, we're fine. Just looking around,” said Heero, then turned back to Duo, who had gasped excitedly.

“Heero! Look at these! They're so little and nice and soft and warm and…”

Duo continued to add adjectives as Heero walked over. Crouching so that he was at Duo's eye level, he realized that Duo had found a little enclosure that held eight kittens. They looked young, maybe only a month old, but they were running around playfully.

A small beeping sound went off and made Duo jump.

“It's just my cell phone,” said Heero as he pulled it out. Standing up, he walked a little ways away and answered it.

“Moshi moshi.”

“Heero! What is wrong with you, I've been worried sick!” Hilde's voice yelled through the phone.

“I sent you an e-mail,” said Heero defensively.

“Okay, e-mails are not enough in this situation. Why on earth didn't you call?”

“I was a bit busy taking care of the patient in question.”

After a pause, Hilde's voice softened and she said, “How's he doing, anyway?”

“Great. He's looking at a bunch of kittens right now, and regaining memories by the minute. Want to come see him?”

“Of course I want to see him! Do you think I could take him to the movies or something? You can come too, if you want.”

“No, that's alright,” said Heero, looking over at Duo. “I spent the whole day with him. I don't want him to get sick of me too fast.”

Hilde laughed and said, “You know that's not going to happen anytime soon.”

“You can come by in an hour or later. We've still got to get home.”

“Sure. An hour it is. See you guys then.”

Heero ended the call and went back to Duo, who was still avidly staring at the kittens.

“So which one's your favorite?”

“The grey one!” said Duo automatically, pointing at one of the quieter ones.

“Really? Not one of the playful ones?”

“No, they're too hyper.” Heero raised his eyebrows. Can I live with a cat? he wondered. Yes, if it's for Duo. At least he didn't choose a high-maintenance one.

“So, should we take him home with us?” asked Heero. Duo looked up quickly.

“Really? We can do that?”

Laughing, Heero found the guy who was working at the store. They paid for the cat and put the other necessary items that came with it on hold, so that Heero could come back with his car. With the cat in an open box in Duo's lap, they headed home.

^^^^^

Hilde arrived at their apartment twenty minutes after they did. On their way back, Heero had described Hilde to Duo, but he didn't remember her. When he saw her, he smiled politely and let himself be helped out to Hilde's car by Heero. As they drove away, Heero couldn't help but worry a little. To Duo, he had just been put in the care of a complete stranger for three hours. Hopefully the movies would be enough to ease the tension between them.

Sighing, Heero wandered into his kitchen and made some tea for himself. The kitten was asleep in his newly bought bed. He still didn't have a name because Duo wanted to name him but couldn't think of anything to call him.

As Heero sat down to drink his tea, he finally allowed himself to think about what had happened the night of Duo's injury.

“He loves me?” he said out loud to the empty apartment. Duo had said that, but Heero wasn't so sure now.

He doesn't remember anything right now. When he remembers it all, will he still love me? Will he even remember loving me? I'm so different then I was in the war. It's possible - probable - that he'll feel differently.

Heero sighed. Stop thinking about it. Right now. But he couldn't stop. Now that Duo had told him his feelings, it was constantly on his mind. If he had just told Duo how he felt, instead of trying to convince him to move out, this whole tragedy might have been avoided.

Suddenly gripped with a feeling of loneliness, Heero went into Duo's room and fell onto his bed. He breathed in his lingering scent on the blankets, and felt comforted.

You'll come back. You have to.