Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Fly on Broken Wings ❯ Blue and Gold ( Chapter 17 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

LSE // 9-7-06

(Fly on Broken Wings: Chapter Seventeen - Blue and Gold)

rated: R - language, content, violence

shounen-ai/yaoi

Blue and Gold

"He's been like that all week."

"Well what do you expect, with Maxwell as a roommate..."

Quatre sent a furtive glance in the direction of the two nurses as they passed, mentally bristling. He lowered head, staring down at the red marks across his arms. They'd turn into faint scars across even fainter skin, and then melt away altogether. Despite the amount of blood Wufei claimed had been everywhere, both Quatre and Duo had emerged relatively unscathed. Well, except for Duo's hands. He'd beat them pretty badly, but those scars, too, would fade.

"Miss Une told me that Trowa's doing fine," Meiran piped up, looking up from the slim paperback she was reading.

Quatre glanced over at her, hands impulsively clutching Sandy closer.

"Catherine spoke with Doctor S, and he told Miss Une," she said in the same overly-casual tone, ignoring the fierce emotions swirling in the young blonde's eyes.

They sat in silence for a while longer, until she spoke again, not bothering to look up from her book. "And Duo wants to know when you'll talk to him again. Well, actually he said, 'I wonder if he's afraid of me' but I took that to mean the same thing."

"I'm not scared of him," Quatre said quietly, studying Sandy's ribbon very intently. It was true, even though he was having the occasional nightmare haunted by that slow melody of Duo's. Sometimes, he thought he heard Duo humming it, and that's when he was scared. But he wasn't afraid of his roommate. "I like Duo."

"That's what I said," Meiran flipped another page, Wufei's glasses on the tip of her nose. "But you know Duo."

Quatre sighed, sinking lower in his chair in an undeniable sulk. "I miss Trowa. Why didn't he tell us he was leaving?"

Meiran shrugged, "He never does."

With all the languid motion of a slinky, Duo flopped backwards over the couch, head sprawled near Quatre's lap. "He'll be back. He loves us all too much to stay away for long. We should place bets on what he'll go with this time."

"That's utterly morbid, Duo."

Still upside-down, Duo merely grinned at her, a hard gleam in his amethyst eyes. "I read somewhere that men are more likely to try more violent methods, like guns and ropes. Then again he's gay, so does that make a difference? I mean, I'm bi and I can't imagine blowing my brains out, but pills seem --"

Meiran playfully swatted Duo on the shoulder, "Don't even finish that sentence, asshole. You're disturbing Quatre."

Even though it was true, the blond flushed crimson and muttered a denial. His blush only deepened when Duo glanced his way, ashamed, before tumbling the rest of the way over the couch. "Well he's nearly eighteen, so maybe he's planning on just lying low until that sweet freedom arrives. Long as you don't do anything too crazy, they have a tough time committing you to the adult funny farms."

Meiran rolled her eyes, "Says the epitome of sanity himself. And besides, Duo, if you're a danger to yourself or society, they can send you away even if you are of age."

"Says the--" Duo stopped his retort in mid sentence, mouth hanging open.

Quatre frowned, uncurling from around his bear as he leaned forward. "Duo? What is it?" he asked softly. Golden brows furrowed inward with concern before he looked to Meiran for an explanation, but she wasn't even looking at Duo.

He turned, looking around the common area for what had caught Duo's attention so thoroughly. It didn't take long to find. All the way over by the nurse's station stood a tense young man with tousled brown hair, dressed in simple jeans and a plain green shirt. A nurse was speaking to him while gesturing emphatically toward the one of the hallways. Duo was watching the pair so intently, Quatre thought maybe he was trying to read the nurse's lips. The nurse threw her hands up in defeat and pointed directly to where Quatre and his friends were sitting.

The young man turned, and even from across the room Quatre could feel the heat of that intense gaze. "Me-Meiran," he whispered urgently, finally getting her to look up from her book.

She took Wufei's glasses off her nose, looking first from Quatre to Duo, and then tracing Duo's stare across the room. Her eyes widened, "I don't believe it."

"Heero!" Duo shrieked, breaking out of his shock. He bounced up from his chair looking panicked. "They took all my stuff, I--" he looked frantically at his friends, but they just merely gaped back at him.

Heero's eyes were focused solely on Duo's face, and now that Heero was within earshot he just stood like a deer in headlights. Quatre shrunk back into his chair clutching Sandy. Heero's bangs swung low, nearly obscuring intense cobalt eyes, and his tanned skin stood out in sharp contrast to Duo's pallor. Machine oil stained the base of his nails, but for that and his messy hair, Heero gave a very clean appearance.

"Heero," Duo whispered when the other boy drew even. "I..."

"Let me see your hands," Heero said sharply. His voice was softer than Quatre would have guessed, but with a hard edge and very little emotion.

Duo held out both hands without protest. They were heavily scratched and a bandage still covered his right palm and wrist. He lowered his eyes, looking ashamed. It was the first time Quatre had even seen Duo care about his wounds. "Heero, I..." Duo tried again, voice small and very hesitant.

Quatre flinched back at the sharp crack, eyes wincing shut. When he opened them again, Duo had one hand to his cheek, eyes wide as he stared at Heero. Meiran was on her feet -- no, it was Wufei! -- and had Heero's raised hand firmly clenched in his own, a murderous look on his face.

That seemed to galvanize Duo into action. "Wufei, sit down! Heero, what are you thinking?" he cried

Heero opened his mouth to reply, then shifted his glare over to Wufei. "Let go. This doesn't concern you."

"Like hell it doesn't," Wufei growled out.

"The - the nurses!" Quatre bit down on Sandy's ear so his voice came out slightly muffled.

"Wufei, please! They'll kick Heero out," Duo implored, setting one hand on the young man's shoulder. "They're going to see..."

Wufei release his hand with a snarl before snatching up Meiran's book. "Fine! I don't care! Deal with him yourself!" his voice scaled up into hysteria for a moment. Wufei turned sharply and stalked off, the bounce of Meiran's pigtails nearly ruining his indignation.

Fierce cobalt eyes followed Wufei out before flicking down to Quatre. Duo glanced between his lover and roommate swiftly before snagging Heero's hand, only to immediately drop it once Heero's glare refocused on him. "Heero... Maybe we should go talk somewhere else?"

Heero made a noncommittal reply, but followed when Duo started to lead him away. Quatre watched them go, releasing a breath he hadn't been aware of holding. That was the infamous Heero Yuy...

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It's not like I'm eavesdropping, Quatre reassured himself. I live here, too. But even with that thought, he couldn't move further down the hall from the open door. Ever since his accident, Duo had nurses checking on him every hour and was sleeping in a special room separate from Quatre. It was only on Quatre's insistence (or, more accurately, his father's wallet) they be allowed to stay roommates, but he kept that from Duo and the others. He didn't want them knowing.

The click-clack alerted him to the nurse, but he just hung back and let her pass without saying anything. She gave him a slight smile before rapping on the doorframe. "Everything all right in here, Duo? Yes? Well, be sure to leave the door open," she instructed, earning a sarcastic response from Duo.

"How are you, Quatre?" she asked kindly, stopping to smile at him.

Quatre froze, pressing himself firmly into the wall. Go away! he thought frantically, staring down at the floor. An ant scuttled from one tile to another as he watched, and Quatre scooted his foot out of its way. He heard the nurse sigh before she took off, writing something in her clipboard. Feeling somewhat brave, he edged closer to the doorway, still flat against the wall.

Now he could hear them, faintly, and that encouraged him to scoot a little closer. Duo seemed to be doing all the talking, which wasn't that surprising. Duo always did all the talking.

"...where are you going?"

"Stay here," Heero ordered.

Quatre looked around quickly but couldn't see any escape. Heero barely glanced his way, however, striding out into the hallway with both hands buried in his jean pockets. Quatre stared down at his feet in relief. That relief was short-lived, however, as he slowly became aware of eyes burning into the back of his head. He turned, cautiously, to find Heero a little ways down the hallway watching him.

Heero shifted his weight. "Come here."

Too terrified to ignore him, Quatre crept forward.

"You're his roommate."

It wasn't a question, but Quatre nodded anyway.

"I'm sorry he hurt you."

It was said in the same flat, low tone, but the words made Quatre's eyes lift the last few inches to actually meet Heero's. "Did Duo...?"

"Tell me? No," Heero answered cryptically. He nodded down the length of the hallway. "Show me where the nurse's station is."

"O-okay," Quatre whispered, casting a terrified glance toward his room. So close, but it might as well be across the ocean for all the good it did him. Heero was treating him kindly, so kind that Quatre wondered desperately if it wasn't a trap. No, calm down! I've just been listening to Wufei's stories too much, he told himself.

He started walking, and Heero followed dutifully. Odd, since the nurse's station wasn't very hard to find. Or very far away. He hung back as Heero talked with one of the nurses, giving her the exact same flat tone. She conferred with an orderly, then handed Heero a slightly-crumbled bouquet.

"I'm sorry but the other package you brought is unacceptable. We'll return it to you once you leave."

Heero clenched the flowers in a fist at his side. They were yellow, with the ends jagged and uneven, like they'd just been torn out from the ground in one go. "Why is it unacceptable?" he asked, glaring down the nurse with surprising force.

She leaned back, clearly surprised by his question. "I'm sorry, but I really can't say, but it just isn't acceptable right now for the patient."

A couple of petals fell to the ground as Heero tightened his grip. "It hasn't been unacceptable in the past. Check his records again."

The nurse lifted her chin. "I'm sorry, but those are the rules!" Her face softened slightly and she leaned forward, voice lowering. "This isn't permanent. If you want, we can keep the package here and give it to Duo in a few weeks once the restrictions lift."

Brows tightly drawn together in a glare, Heero finally shook his head. "No good," he muttered, turning away without so much as another word to the nurse. Upon a beckoning glance, Quatre hurried after him.

"You know who I am."

Quatre nodded, bear tucked firmly under his arm.

Heero stopped walking and faced him, cobalt eyes searching over the blonde's face. "Are you going to keep listening outside the door?"

Quatre stared down at the floor and clutched Sandy tighter. He shook his head slowly, pale hair brushing across his forehead. His cheeks burned red with shame.

A hand settled on Quatre's shoulder, making the boy flinched. Heero said nothing, however, and released his grip after a moment. Quatre stood there long after the other boy had gone back into the room, and he heard Duo exclaim over the flowers. He was still standing there, frozen in place, when the next nurse passed by her rounds.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: ...I'm a bad author. I'm so sorry!! Forgive me, everyone, I've been so mean to you! What was I thinking, dropping off the face of the planet like that?! Sigh! Amazing how time passes. I can't believe it's been an 14 months since the last chapter! I don't want to think about it...

I'm taking 19 hours this semester, plus my part-time job and my boyfriend. Please forgive me for being so slow! I'm so excited about getting back out there and writing again, but I realize I am very rusty. Eep. Erm, you might have also noticed I started a new story. That's just how my muses work because they hate me. I'm going to try and work on both simultaneously...

Thank you, everyone, for your encouragement! There's too many of you to thank all at once, but THANK YOU! It means so much to me! Everyone who's been with me since the beginning, and those of you just joining, thank you so much!

Feedback/reviews are very much appreciated!

LSE - Violet Nyte (manzokubiscuit@aol.com)

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