Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Winning Duo ❯ Chapter 24
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Calic0cat 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.16.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.1K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.16.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.1K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Completed
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Title: Winning Duo
Chapter: 24/?
Author: Calic0cat <calic0cat@fastmail.fm>
Story Started: Jan. 2003
Genre: Yaoi, Romance, Humour, Angst
Pairings: Working towards 1x2x5; 3x4; 6x9; others may be implied
Rated: R
Warnings: OOC, Swearing, Shifting POV, Threesome
Archives: At Mediaminer.org under Calic0cat. Anyone with archive permission for my other fics can help themselves; anyone else, please ask.
Disclaimer: Duo and Heero and the rest of the GW gang aren't mine. This story is. Nuff said.
Notes: Starts one year after Endless Waltz. POV changes frequently.
'Thinking'
"Speaking"
*** Time passing or scene change
Author's Notes: I usually write 1x2x1, so a 1x2x5 is a first for me (well, writing one is - I've been reading them for quite a while now, that's the *only* threesome I actually *like*). Feedback is appreciated.
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Sliding off the edge of the bed, Duo asked, "What did Une say, Fei? Do you guys have to do those sessions Friday or are they off?"
"Actually, they are on - but for tomorrow," Wufei answered with a frown.
"Tomorrow? When?" Heero said, not particularly happy with that schedule.
"One in the morning, starting at 9:00, and as it is a good hour's drive from here, we will need to get an early start if we are to have time to set up and do a practice run. The other is for later in the afternoon as the attendees have to drive in from another branch office. I am simply glad that Une chose to make them come to us so that we will only have to do our setup once and we will have a chance to relax between sessions," Wufei answered.
Heero made a noncommittal sound. He did not like this schedule at all. "Duo, we had planned to have you help us out with the demonstrations. We are supposed to demonstrate a few fighting techniques and we had thought that your style would be a good addition to the mix. Plus we could demonstrate how to handle facing multiple opponents. We would have to work around your sore wrist..." Heero let his voice trail off, suddenly reconsidering the rest of what he had been going to say. He was afraid that mentioning that Duo might be too tired after their evening out tonight would probably come across as either critical or patronizing rather than caring. And that would have the exact opposite effect to the one that they had *intended* requesting his assistance to have.
Duo's eyes lit up with delight. "Really? You want me to help?" He could hardly believe it. His fighting style had been one of the things that they had criticized the most heavily in the past, calling it everything from inelegant (true) to ineffective (most definitely *not* true). Sparring seriously limited his options because many of the most effective street fighting moves were simply too nasty to use in a sparring match. But in a staged demonstration, they could work things out in advance, which would let him actually use some of those moves without anyone getting hurt.
About to point out that Duo might be too tired after this evening to take part, Wufei took one look at the delighted excitement on Duo's face and changed his mind. There was no way that he was going to dampen that excitement and see it turn to hurt disappointment. 'And it would hurt him if you came right out and said that an evening out might leave him too tired to take part tomorrow. Ordinarily it wouldn't be an issue; it's only the stressful events of the past few days that make it one. But you've damaged his self-esteem enough times in the past, you most definitely are *not* going to do so again, Chang!' Aloud, he simply said, "Yes, Duo. Of course we do."
Impulsively, Duo flung himself at the other two, knocking them backwards onto the bed they were still perched on. "Thank you!" he said happily, one arm wrapped around each one's neck. He pressed an enthusiastic kiss to Wufei's cheek, then turned his head and kissed Heero's too.
Startled by Duo's "attack", Heero had to consciously repress his conditioned response that urged him to fling away his "attacker". But having done so, he wasted no time in bringing his free arm up to wrap around Duo, happy that Duo was feeling comfortable enough with him - with *both* of them - to indulge in an impulse like this.
With Duo sprawled half on top of Heero and half on top of him, Wufei couldn't help but smile at Duo's enthusiastic reaction. It was a smile tinged with regret, however. He knew that much of Duo's excitement that they would want his assistance was caused by the fact that they had criticized him so much in the past. That their previous unfairly harsh remarks made Duo that much more responsive to a positive one now.
Duo would have pushed himself up and off of Heero and Wufei but when each of them placed an arm around him, Heero in a simple hug and Wufei reaching up to gently stroke the back of his head and partway down his braid, he had no objection to staying put. Wrapped in the security of that closeness, he felt brave enough to give them at least a bit of his past. He offered softly, "You guys probably wondered why I wanted us to share a bed last night. 'Specially since all I wanted to do was *sleep*." He paused, pressing his cheek against Heero's shoulder for a moment, reminding himself again that they both said his past wouldn't change how they felt about him. "On the streets," he began carefully, "you learn early on that alone means dead. Usually, anyway. And nights were cold. The gang would sleep together in one big pile for warmth and security. It's one of the only things I've ever actually missed from that time - that feeling of being safe and secure, waking up to other warm bodies around you, knowing you weren't alone..."
Duo's voice trailed off and he closed his eyes, waiting tensely. Knowing that he'd given them enough to confirm Heero's suspicions about his past. Knowing that there was more to be told, much more, but also pretty sure that he couldn't handle just sitting down and telling them the whole story. That he couldn't just start from the beginning and tell them everything all at once. Not if he wanted to get through it without completely breaking down and humiliating himself. There were just too many painful memories.
Through a tremendous effort, Wufei managed not to let his steady stroking of Duo's hair falter as the words "On the streets" left Duo's mouth, confirming Heero's suspicions. He could feel the tension in Duo's body as he spoke; could hear it in his voice. Knew that the tiniest mistake now would have huge repercussions. And was terrified that he would say or do the wrong thing.
Heero's throat tightened as Duo verified his guess about Duo's background. Duo's explanation left him intensely grateful that he had *not* left the bed prior to Duo's waking earlier. He tightened his hug slightly, searching for a response. Trying to find something to say that would not come across as either dismissive or pitying. Hoping that Wufei with his greater ease of communication would find a response first.
Feeling Duo's growing tension, Wufei forced himself to speak. No response would be almost as bad as the wrong response. "Then we shall have to make sure that you never have to wake up alone again, hmm?" he said gently, hoping that there was nothing in that simple question that could be taken the wrong way. "Won't we, Heero?"
Relieved that Wufei had indeed found a response, one that sounded so much better than anything he had managed to think of, Heero agreed, "Wufei is right, Duo. Surely between the two of us we can manage that."
Duo went limp. His eyes itched with unshed tears of relief. It was only one small piece of his past but if they could accept knowing that he'd been in a street gang, maybe they really wouldn't let his past affect their feelings for him. Maybe everything really *would* work out alright.
***
Wufei lay on his side, curled against Duo's sleeping form. On Duo's other side, Heero mirrored his position. After Duo's initial hesitant offering from his past, they had all shifted further onto the bed, making themselves more comfortable. And slowly and hesitantly over the next hour, Duo had revealed more bits of his past. There were chunks of time missing still, gaping holes that would need to be filled at some future date, but the picture that had slowly taken shape contained more than enough detail to leave Wufei furious at the complete and utter failure of a government to care for those that it was responsible for. It was a fury he had managed to hide; he had been far too worried about giving Duo the wrong impression to let any trace of it escape. Instead of venting his anger, he had turned all of his energy towards reassuring Duo. Holding him, rubbing his back or stroking his hair, murmuring soft words of love. Promising that he need never be alone again.
And Heero had been doing much of the same. They had both done everything in their power to make sure that Duo understood that they loved him. That his past didn't matter. That he could tell them absolutely anything and trust that it would not make them turn away.
Yet some of the most disturbing things, the biggest questions that Wufei had, came not from what Duo had said, but from what he *hadn't*. He had mentioned attending school while in the church's care - but that was the only time the subject had come up. And Wufei was left wondering whether school *had* been part of Duo's life at any other point in time. And if it hadn't - where and when had he become so knowledgeable? If G had only had him for a few years and he had virtually no schooling to start with, how had he managed to learn advanced physics and human biology? To calculate fuel ratios and trajectories, to create explosives from almost anything that he could find, to set broken bones and stitch cuts and the hundreds of other things that he had done as a Gundam pilot? Surely he hadn't managed to cram all that into the brief time that he had been with G?
And what had happened to land him back on the streets after being at the church? It had to have been bad; Duo had struggled with tears and a voice that refused to cooperate for a few minutes before skipping over those mysterious events and picking up his story with simply "After the church, it was tough being back on the streets." Very little detail had been revealed about that time on the streets either. Though based on what little Duo *had* said, Wufei had some guesses that left his heart aching. Duo's statement that he had been too "pretty" to join another gang; that even the more aggressive predators liked their prey best if it wasn't too filthy and smelly; his quiet admission that his skill with knives had been developed then; his even softer confession that he had killed before ever being picked as a Gundam pilot; all those things added up to a picture that left Wufei fighting the urge to draw Duo close and promise to protect him. Fighting the urge because Duo was more than capable of protecting himself and Wufei had no wish to imply otherwise or to make Duo think that he pitied him.
Instead, Wufei had kissed him and repeated again that he loved him. Had curled more closely against him in a silent reminder that he was with him. And he thought - hoped - that perhaps this time, Duo truly believed those assurances.
Across Duo's now-sleeping body, Heero met Wufei's eyes briefly. He had wondered how Wufei was reacting to Duo's story. Seeing eyes burning with a protective urge as great as the one filling himself, he knew the answer to that question. Knew that Wufei's heart was aching as much as his own. That, far from having his love for Duo diminished by learning how difficult his life had been, it had rather been increased. Deepened. That his respect for the gorgeous, good-natured youth lying between them had grown with the knowledge of how much he had been through without allowing it to make him bitter or cruel. Just as his own had.
Not that Heero had really expected anything less from Wufei. His only concern had been that either Wufei's sheltered upbringing or his strong sense of justice might have led him to react in such a way that Duo would misinterpret it and believe Wufei was disgusted by or angry with him. Heero himself was angry with a system that could allow children to be forgotten so easily. Left to fend for themselves on the streets. Left cold and hungry, with neither food nor shelter beyond what they could scavenge or steal.
And Heero was amazed by the things he was guessing from what was left *unsaid*. At a guess, it sounded as if Duo had only had somewhere between a few months and a year of formal schooling prior to G finding him. And yet G had managed to cram everything that Duo needed to know about physics and chemistry and human anatomy and all the other subjects that a Gundam pilot *needed* to know into those few brief years of training after that. Duo's spotty grades and dread of school missions suddenly made a great deal more sense to Heero. There would have been huge gaps left in Duo's knowledge, simply due to lack of time. It was no wonder that he had done so poorly in subjects like pre-colonial history and had struggled with Shakespeare and Chaucer in literature class. G had jealously guarded Duo's files, never letting so much as a hint of his piloting scores or IQ leak out. For Duo to have done as well as he had, Heero wondered just what that IQ must *be*.
There were many questions still to be answered. Many things about Duo's past still untold. And Heero wanted to know more about what Duo had been doing since the war as well. Unless his memory was incorrect, he was pretty sure that Duo's grammar had improved substantially since then. That his tendency to use slang had decreased though not disappeared entirely. That his Japanese, on the few occasions he'd spoken it in the past few days, had improved dramatically as well. All leading Heero to the conclusion that in addition to getting a struggling salvage business back on its feet, Duo had been doing some serious studying. 'Earning his GED perhaps?' he thought. 'It would not surprise me if he has...'
Though the Japanese would not have been required for that. In fact, Duo would have had no real use for Japanese *period*. 'Which could only mean that he studied it because of me... Which means that he has probably been studying Mandarin as well because of Wufei...' Heero's heart swelled at the thought that Duo had continued to learn a language he had no real use for simply because of him.
Heero checked his watch and decided that there was no need to wake Duo just yet. They had an hour or so before they would need to go get some supper before the game. He set his watch alarm as a precaution, then settled down to watch Duo sleep and to enjoy having the right to do so.
***
Duo rinsed the last traces of sleep from his eyes. He couldn't believe he'd fallen asleep after telling Wufei and Heero about his past. Couldn't believe that he hadn't had nightmares after digging up all those memories. It had really only been a short nap, but he was still surprised. He hadn't realized that he was still that tired.
He popped another cough drop in his mouth and frowned. That was the last in the package and his throat was still sore. It had been years since he'd last cried, but he couldn't remember his throat having been so sore afterwards. He hadn't talked all *that* much this afternoon. 'And I shouldn't still be chilled from last night either,' Duo thought. He'd checked the thermostat earlier and the air conditioning was *not* set to keep the room exceptionally cool. So why was he so cold? The only real answer to that question, he admitted reluctantly, was that he was getting sick. That the stress and the exhaustion and the chill last night had done a number on his usually tough immune system and left him open to - something. Some sort of cold or flu, probably.
'Shit,' he thought unhappily. 'Just when everything was going so well...' If Heero and Wufei found out, they would undoubtedly want to cancel whatever surprise Wufei had planned for tonight. And they would probably insist that he stay at the hotel and rest tomorrow instead of helping out with the demonstrations. *If* they found out.
Duo chewed his lip thoughtfully. He didn't really know for *sure* that he was getting sick; the sore throat *could* still just be from the crying and the talking. And he didn't feel all that bad yet; maybe he wouldn't get any worse. They were going out for supper as soon as he finished washing up. If he managed to get to a drugstore... Maybe he could treat the symptoms so that the sore throat and so on wouldn't become an issue, take some echinacea and Vitamin C to try and fight the actual cold, and no one would ever have to know?
Well, it was worth a shot anyway. He'd messed up enough plans; he didn't want to be responsible for wrecking any more. He wasn't about to let a little cold or flu interfere with what was planned. He'd just have to fight it off without anyone finding out, Duo decided firmly. He ignored the little voice reminding him that while he hardly ever got sick, when he *did* he usually got *very* sick. That a cold or flu virus nasty enough to bring him down usually turned into bronchitis before it was through.
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Title: Winning Duo
Chapter: 24/?
Author: Calic0cat <calic0cat@fastmail.fm>
Story Started: Jan. 2003
Genre: Yaoi, Romance, Humour, Angst
Pairings: Working towards 1x2x5; 3x4; 6x9; others may be implied
Rated: R
Warnings: OOC, Swearing, Shifting POV, Threesome
Archives: At Mediaminer.org under Calic0cat. Anyone with archive permission for my other fics can help themselves; anyone else, please ask.
Disclaimer: Duo and Heero and the rest of the GW gang aren't mine. This story is. Nuff said.
Notes: Starts one year after Endless Waltz. POV changes frequently.
'Thinking'
"Speaking"
*** Time passing or scene change
Author's Notes: I usually write 1x2x1, so a 1x2x5 is a first for me (well, writing one is - I've been reading them for quite a while now, that's the *only* threesome I actually *like*). Feedback is appreciated.
#################################################
Sliding off the edge of the bed, Duo asked, "What did Une say, Fei? Do you guys have to do those sessions Friday or are they off?"
"Actually, they are on - but for tomorrow," Wufei answered with a frown.
"Tomorrow? When?" Heero said, not particularly happy with that schedule.
"One in the morning, starting at 9:00, and as it is a good hour's drive from here, we will need to get an early start if we are to have time to set up and do a practice run. The other is for later in the afternoon as the attendees have to drive in from another branch office. I am simply glad that Une chose to make them come to us so that we will only have to do our setup once and we will have a chance to relax between sessions," Wufei answered.
Heero made a noncommittal sound. He did not like this schedule at all. "Duo, we had planned to have you help us out with the demonstrations. We are supposed to demonstrate a few fighting techniques and we had thought that your style would be a good addition to the mix. Plus we could demonstrate how to handle facing multiple opponents. We would have to work around your sore wrist..." Heero let his voice trail off, suddenly reconsidering the rest of what he had been going to say. He was afraid that mentioning that Duo might be too tired after their evening out tonight would probably come across as either critical or patronizing rather than caring. And that would have the exact opposite effect to the one that they had *intended* requesting his assistance to have.
Duo's eyes lit up with delight. "Really? You want me to help?" He could hardly believe it. His fighting style had been one of the things that they had criticized the most heavily in the past, calling it everything from inelegant (true) to ineffective (most definitely *not* true). Sparring seriously limited his options because many of the most effective street fighting moves were simply too nasty to use in a sparring match. But in a staged demonstration, they could work things out in advance, which would let him actually use some of those moves without anyone getting hurt.
About to point out that Duo might be too tired after this evening to take part, Wufei took one look at the delighted excitement on Duo's face and changed his mind. There was no way that he was going to dampen that excitement and see it turn to hurt disappointment. 'And it would hurt him if you came right out and said that an evening out might leave him too tired to take part tomorrow. Ordinarily it wouldn't be an issue; it's only the stressful events of the past few days that make it one. But you've damaged his self-esteem enough times in the past, you most definitely are *not* going to do so again, Chang!' Aloud, he simply said, "Yes, Duo. Of course we do."
Impulsively, Duo flung himself at the other two, knocking them backwards onto the bed they were still perched on. "Thank you!" he said happily, one arm wrapped around each one's neck. He pressed an enthusiastic kiss to Wufei's cheek, then turned his head and kissed Heero's too.
Startled by Duo's "attack", Heero had to consciously repress his conditioned response that urged him to fling away his "attacker". But having done so, he wasted no time in bringing his free arm up to wrap around Duo, happy that Duo was feeling comfortable enough with him - with *both* of them - to indulge in an impulse like this.
With Duo sprawled half on top of Heero and half on top of him, Wufei couldn't help but smile at Duo's enthusiastic reaction. It was a smile tinged with regret, however. He knew that much of Duo's excitement that they would want his assistance was caused by the fact that they had criticized him so much in the past. That their previous unfairly harsh remarks made Duo that much more responsive to a positive one now.
Duo would have pushed himself up and off of Heero and Wufei but when each of them placed an arm around him, Heero in a simple hug and Wufei reaching up to gently stroke the back of his head and partway down his braid, he had no objection to staying put. Wrapped in the security of that closeness, he felt brave enough to give them at least a bit of his past. He offered softly, "You guys probably wondered why I wanted us to share a bed last night. 'Specially since all I wanted to do was *sleep*." He paused, pressing his cheek against Heero's shoulder for a moment, reminding himself again that they both said his past wouldn't change how they felt about him. "On the streets," he began carefully, "you learn early on that alone means dead. Usually, anyway. And nights were cold. The gang would sleep together in one big pile for warmth and security. It's one of the only things I've ever actually missed from that time - that feeling of being safe and secure, waking up to other warm bodies around you, knowing you weren't alone..."
Duo's voice trailed off and he closed his eyes, waiting tensely. Knowing that he'd given them enough to confirm Heero's suspicions about his past. Knowing that there was more to be told, much more, but also pretty sure that he couldn't handle just sitting down and telling them the whole story. That he couldn't just start from the beginning and tell them everything all at once. Not if he wanted to get through it without completely breaking down and humiliating himself. There were just too many painful memories.
Through a tremendous effort, Wufei managed not to let his steady stroking of Duo's hair falter as the words "On the streets" left Duo's mouth, confirming Heero's suspicions. He could feel the tension in Duo's body as he spoke; could hear it in his voice. Knew that the tiniest mistake now would have huge repercussions. And was terrified that he would say or do the wrong thing.
Heero's throat tightened as Duo verified his guess about Duo's background. Duo's explanation left him intensely grateful that he had *not* left the bed prior to Duo's waking earlier. He tightened his hug slightly, searching for a response. Trying to find something to say that would not come across as either dismissive or pitying. Hoping that Wufei with his greater ease of communication would find a response first.
Feeling Duo's growing tension, Wufei forced himself to speak. No response would be almost as bad as the wrong response. "Then we shall have to make sure that you never have to wake up alone again, hmm?" he said gently, hoping that there was nothing in that simple question that could be taken the wrong way. "Won't we, Heero?"
Relieved that Wufei had indeed found a response, one that sounded so much better than anything he had managed to think of, Heero agreed, "Wufei is right, Duo. Surely between the two of us we can manage that."
Duo went limp. His eyes itched with unshed tears of relief. It was only one small piece of his past but if they could accept knowing that he'd been in a street gang, maybe they really wouldn't let his past affect their feelings for him. Maybe everything really *would* work out alright.
***
Wufei lay on his side, curled against Duo's sleeping form. On Duo's other side, Heero mirrored his position. After Duo's initial hesitant offering from his past, they had all shifted further onto the bed, making themselves more comfortable. And slowly and hesitantly over the next hour, Duo had revealed more bits of his past. There were chunks of time missing still, gaping holes that would need to be filled at some future date, but the picture that had slowly taken shape contained more than enough detail to leave Wufei furious at the complete and utter failure of a government to care for those that it was responsible for. It was a fury he had managed to hide; he had been far too worried about giving Duo the wrong impression to let any trace of it escape. Instead of venting his anger, he had turned all of his energy towards reassuring Duo. Holding him, rubbing his back or stroking his hair, murmuring soft words of love. Promising that he need never be alone again.
And Heero had been doing much of the same. They had both done everything in their power to make sure that Duo understood that they loved him. That his past didn't matter. That he could tell them absolutely anything and trust that it would not make them turn away.
Yet some of the most disturbing things, the biggest questions that Wufei had, came not from what Duo had said, but from what he *hadn't*. He had mentioned attending school while in the church's care - but that was the only time the subject had come up. And Wufei was left wondering whether school *had* been part of Duo's life at any other point in time. And if it hadn't - where and when had he become so knowledgeable? If G had only had him for a few years and he had virtually no schooling to start with, how had he managed to learn advanced physics and human biology? To calculate fuel ratios and trajectories, to create explosives from almost anything that he could find, to set broken bones and stitch cuts and the hundreds of other things that he had done as a Gundam pilot? Surely he hadn't managed to cram all that into the brief time that he had been with G?
And what had happened to land him back on the streets after being at the church? It had to have been bad; Duo had struggled with tears and a voice that refused to cooperate for a few minutes before skipping over those mysterious events and picking up his story with simply "After the church, it was tough being back on the streets." Very little detail had been revealed about that time on the streets either. Though based on what little Duo *had* said, Wufei had some guesses that left his heart aching. Duo's statement that he had been too "pretty" to join another gang; that even the more aggressive predators liked their prey best if it wasn't too filthy and smelly; his quiet admission that his skill with knives had been developed then; his even softer confession that he had killed before ever being picked as a Gundam pilot; all those things added up to a picture that left Wufei fighting the urge to draw Duo close and promise to protect him. Fighting the urge because Duo was more than capable of protecting himself and Wufei had no wish to imply otherwise or to make Duo think that he pitied him.
Instead, Wufei had kissed him and repeated again that he loved him. Had curled more closely against him in a silent reminder that he was with him. And he thought - hoped - that perhaps this time, Duo truly believed those assurances.
Across Duo's now-sleeping body, Heero met Wufei's eyes briefly. He had wondered how Wufei was reacting to Duo's story. Seeing eyes burning with a protective urge as great as the one filling himself, he knew the answer to that question. Knew that Wufei's heart was aching as much as his own. That, far from having his love for Duo diminished by learning how difficult his life had been, it had rather been increased. Deepened. That his respect for the gorgeous, good-natured youth lying between them had grown with the knowledge of how much he had been through without allowing it to make him bitter or cruel. Just as his own had.
Not that Heero had really expected anything less from Wufei. His only concern had been that either Wufei's sheltered upbringing or his strong sense of justice might have led him to react in such a way that Duo would misinterpret it and believe Wufei was disgusted by or angry with him. Heero himself was angry with a system that could allow children to be forgotten so easily. Left to fend for themselves on the streets. Left cold and hungry, with neither food nor shelter beyond what they could scavenge or steal.
And Heero was amazed by the things he was guessing from what was left *unsaid*. At a guess, it sounded as if Duo had only had somewhere between a few months and a year of formal schooling prior to G finding him. And yet G had managed to cram everything that Duo needed to know about physics and chemistry and human anatomy and all the other subjects that a Gundam pilot *needed* to know into those few brief years of training after that. Duo's spotty grades and dread of school missions suddenly made a great deal more sense to Heero. There would have been huge gaps left in Duo's knowledge, simply due to lack of time. It was no wonder that he had done so poorly in subjects like pre-colonial history and had struggled with Shakespeare and Chaucer in literature class. G had jealously guarded Duo's files, never letting so much as a hint of his piloting scores or IQ leak out. For Duo to have done as well as he had, Heero wondered just what that IQ must *be*.
There were many questions still to be answered. Many things about Duo's past still untold. And Heero wanted to know more about what Duo had been doing since the war as well. Unless his memory was incorrect, he was pretty sure that Duo's grammar had improved substantially since then. That his tendency to use slang had decreased though not disappeared entirely. That his Japanese, on the few occasions he'd spoken it in the past few days, had improved dramatically as well. All leading Heero to the conclusion that in addition to getting a struggling salvage business back on its feet, Duo had been doing some serious studying. 'Earning his GED perhaps?' he thought. 'It would not surprise me if he has...'
Though the Japanese would not have been required for that. In fact, Duo would have had no real use for Japanese *period*. 'Which could only mean that he studied it because of me... Which means that he has probably been studying Mandarin as well because of Wufei...' Heero's heart swelled at the thought that Duo had continued to learn a language he had no real use for simply because of him.
Heero checked his watch and decided that there was no need to wake Duo just yet. They had an hour or so before they would need to go get some supper before the game. He set his watch alarm as a precaution, then settled down to watch Duo sleep and to enjoy having the right to do so.
***
Duo rinsed the last traces of sleep from his eyes. He couldn't believe he'd fallen asleep after telling Wufei and Heero about his past. Couldn't believe that he hadn't had nightmares after digging up all those memories. It had really only been a short nap, but he was still surprised. He hadn't realized that he was still that tired.
He popped another cough drop in his mouth and frowned. That was the last in the package and his throat was still sore. It had been years since he'd last cried, but he couldn't remember his throat having been so sore afterwards. He hadn't talked all *that* much this afternoon. 'And I shouldn't still be chilled from last night either,' Duo thought. He'd checked the thermostat earlier and the air conditioning was *not* set to keep the room exceptionally cool. So why was he so cold? The only real answer to that question, he admitted reluctantly, was that he was getting sick. That the stress and the exhaustion and the chill last night had done a number on his usually tough immune system and left him open to - something. Some sort of cold or flu, probably.
'Shit,' he thought unhappily. 'Just when everything was going so well...' If Heero and Wufei found out, they would undoubtedly want to cancel whatever surprise Wufei had planned for tonight. And they would probably insist that he stay at the hotel and rest tomorrow instead of helping out with the demonstrations. *If* they found out.
Duo chewed his lip thoughtfully. He didn't really know for *sure* that he was getting sick; the sore throat *could* still just be from the crying and the talking. And he didn't feel all that bad yet; maybe he wouldn't get any worse. They were going out for supper as soon as he finished washing up. If he managed to get to a drugstore... Maybe he could treat the symptoms so that the sore throat and so on wouldn't become an issue, take some echinacea and Vitamin C to try and fight the actual cold, and no one would ever have to know?
Well, it was worth a shot anyway. He'd messed up enough plans; he didn't want to be responsible for wrecking any more. He wasn't about to let a little cold or flu interfere with what was planned. He'd just have to fight it off without anyone finding out, Duo decided firmly. He ignored the little voice reminding him that while he hardly ever got sick, when he *did* he usually got *very* sick. That a cold or flu virus nasty enough to bring him down usually turned into bronchitis before it was through.
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