Sweet November
Part 10
Heero sat in the immaculately white waiting room of the hospital, his
body slumped in a hard plastic chair. His hands were stuck in his pockets and
he was toying with the end of his sweater. He studied the seams of his shirt
as Trowa swayed over to him, a cup of coffee in each hand. He was wearing a
pair of worn in jeans that hung diagonally off one him. A gray tee-shirt
clung to his body.
"Here." Trowa shoved a cup in Heero's face, a small drop of brown liquid
splashing to the floor.
"Thanks", Heero quickly took the cup and pressed his hands against the
sides, warming them. He store down into the liquid, his tired eyes meeting
those reflected back at him.
"Don't totally blame yourself for this." Trowa landed in a seat next to
Heero with a loud thud. He kicked one of his legs up onto the chair to the
left of him. His head feel back against the wall with the soft thump. Wispy
pieces of hair partially covered both of his eyes, yet he continued to stare
straight ahead.
"How could he hide that from me?" Heero's head spun with images of pills
as he took a gulp of his coffee.
"Come for a walk with me." Trowa sipped his drink slowly.
"What about Duo?" Heero's eyes widened a bid as he looked at Trowa, who
was now standing.
"Ohh don't worry about him, he'll be out for hours. Come on." Without
waiting for Heero's answer, Trowa strutted down the hallway.
"Ok! Ok!" Heero quickly stood up and chased after Trowa.
Trowa seemed to be in his own little world. His face was contorted into a
imperturbable one, emerald eyes fixed ahead of him. "He's been having these
attacks more often. Every time it's the same thing." Trowa skillfully avoided
Heero's eyes.
"He has them often? What is wrong with him?" Heero concentrated more on
sipping his coffee than he did at walking, so he started to trail behind a
tad.
"Advanced Lymphoma. He's had it for years." Trowa voice was soft, his
witty tone totally drowned out.
Heero blinked his eyes in disbelief. He knew Duo was sick, but he never
thought cancer was the problem. "He never got treatment for it?"
"Well he did, 2 years ago when he found out, but it always came back.
Eventually Duo became tired of all the treatments so he stopped the. He
figured he would rather live 2 happy years, without doctors and hospitals,
than live 5 years of agonizing medical procedures. He still takes pills for
the pain, but they don't help anymore." Trowa walked outside leaning back
against the cool wall. Heero stood in front of him, trying to get Trowa to
look him in the eye.
"No one could help him?" Heero moved around to Trowa's side, and he too
leaned against the wall.
"It's to late now, it spread too far. Besides, he doesn't have the money,
his family doesn't care, and sadly I don't even have enough money for the
amount of treatment he would require now. I've taken care of him the best I
could for the last 5 years."
"How could he lie to me?" Heero's voice was raised, catching Trowa's
attention.
This time Trowa looked Heero right in the eye. His witty voice came back
to him, and he stood straight. "Easy. He doesn't want to be treated like a
sick person. He wants to live his life, he pretends that nothing is wrong.
Heero, don't you notice all his rules and regulations? He makes them all up
so that he feels powerful. He feels like he is in control of his life." Trowa
let out a huff of air as he ran one hand through his hair and pushed it back.
"I never thought of it that way." Heero looked down at the floor and bit
his lip.
"Hate to be blunt, but did you ever take notice to the fact that Duo
always has to be seme when you make love? Isn't he always the more dominant
one?"
At first Heero was surprised that Trowa knew so much, but then he opened
his mouth to talk. "Yea....."
"He does it all to feel like he is in charge. He at least has power when
he is with you. He started helping people like yourself so that he could have
more power, so he could help people before it was to late for them. Do you
realize that he never gets attached to anything for more than a month? He is
afraid of dying, he is afraid of getting too attached to something and then
leaving them."
"So that is why he got rid of Romeo and Juliet. Ohh I feel like an
asshole."
"You should. You really hurt him, he started to open up to you. And what
did you do to him? You screamed at him. He was going to tell you, and he
never tells anyone." Trowa's eyes were furious and glowing with anger.
"I didn't realize, I didn't mean it...." Heero's own eyes grew slightly,
ashamed of the way he acted.
"No, you didn't did you! You destroyed everything that Duo tried to teach
you." Trowa slammed his empty coffee cup into the trashcan and stormed into
the hospital once again. Heero was walking reluctantly after him. "You really
fucked up this time." Trowa stated bluntly as he headed towards Duo's room.
Heero watched the taller man go, his slender legs taking large strides.
He knew he was going towards his lover's room. And he decided to steer clear
of Trowa for a while.
**********
Trowa creaked open the door to Duo's room, being as quite as possible
even though it really wasn't necessary. The braided boy was sunken into the
hospital bed, looking like a small child. His abnormal clothing was stripped
from his body, leaving him in a plain paper gown, making him look sicker. His
body looked abused, and his lips were cold looking. Small monitors were
making blipping sounds, and the I.V. dripped like clockwork. Trowa sat in a
chair next to Duo's bed but then quickly sunk to his knees. "Look what you're
doing to yourself Duo." He let his face fall into the blanket near Duo's hip.
"I yelled at him for you. So don't worry, you won't have to when you wake up.
Trowa's hand snaked up the bed and gently put pressure on one of Duo's knees.
"Look what you're doing."
***********
Trowa had been in Duo's room for several hours, eventually Quatre came by
to pick him up, dragging him by force out of the building, and back to Duo's
apartment. As Quatre passed Heero, who was seated in a chair, he informed him
that Duo was awake. Heero hopped up at the news and crept over to Duo's room.
He opened the door slightly and peeked at Duo's face. He was awake, and
blinking at the door. Heero stepped into the room, closing the door behind
him, and took a seat next to the bed.
"Hey stranger." Duo's soft voice filled the room.
"Hey you." Heero grabbed one of Duo's hands and nuzzled it hand with his
cheek and dropped a small kiss onto his palm. "I'm so sorry."
Duo didn't say anything, he just looked down at Heero. Then he pulled his
hand away from his lover. He placed it over the I.V. needle in his left hand.
"Get me out of here." Duo, with a grimace on his face, yanked the needle out
and tossed it to the ground. He pulled various other devices off his body and
attempted to get up. He looked like an old doll, his limbs long and lanky,
his hair a chestnut mess.
"Hey, take it easy, I got you." Heero slid one arm behind Duo's shoulders
and another around his waist. When he was sure he had a firm grip on the
American man, he lifted him into the air and held him close to his body.
Duo immediately threw his hands around Heero's neck for more support and he
leaned his cheek on Heero's shoulder. His thin legs kicked out gently as he
tried to worm himself higher on Heero's body. "Lets go home Heero, please?"
Heero nodded in response and carried the man out of the hospital.
*********
By the time Heero arrived back at the apartment Duo was in a trance like
state. His arms were still tense around Heero's neck, and his legs constantly
kicking at the air.
Before Heero even got to the door, Trowa and Quatre opened it for him.
"Here let me take him." Trowa moved forward and Heero passed Duo into his
arms. Trowa caught one of Duo's arms around his neck and supported him around
his back. Quatre had Duo's other arm around his own neck, and was holding up
Duo's legs.
"Hey darling." Trowa smiled at Duo, who no leaned his head on Trowa's
shoulder. "Aren't you looking beautiful."
Duo let out an almost inaudible giggle.
"Paper is very becoming on your Duo. And we have a lovely dinner menu for
you tonight. What is on the menu tonight Trowa?" Quatre helped Trowa carry
Duo towards the bathroom where they had a warm bath waiting.
"Well some codeine to start." Trowa tried to keep a happier tone, trying
to raise Duo's spirits.
"And a beautiful dessert platter of pills." The two men made it to the
bathroom and set Duo down on the edge of the tub in order to remove his paper
gown.
Meanwhile Heero just stood in the hallway like a lost puppy. He had no
idea who to do, in fact his brain didn't even seem to be working. He
scampered after Trowa and Quatre.
Duo was now totally nude, and Trowa helped him climb into the warm water.
Quatre poured some of the water over his head and chest. Duo closed his eyes
and shivered a bit but then opened them up. He grabbed Trowa by the collar of
his shirt and tugged at it lightly. "I don't want him here." Duo moved his
eyes over to Heero, who was standing in the bathroom doorframe.
Trowa nodded and went over to the Japanese man. "He wants you to leave."
Trowa stated bluntly, and tried to close the door, however, Heero slipped his
foot in.
"Why? I can't just stand here and do nothing." Heero tried to push the
door open.
"That is exactly why he wants you to leave. He doesn't need you haggling
him about his disease, and he doesn't want you to see him like this. So
please, just leave." Trowa finally slammed the door shut and turned the lock.
"Damn it!" Heero stomped one of his feet on the ground and spun around.
He was about to let out a round of curses when he saw Mariemaya standing in
front of him. Heero let out a small sigh and walked towards the girl. She was
dressed in a small boys dress shirt, with a purple tie, and a black skirt.
"I'm sorry Marie, I can't play today."
"I know, because today is Parent Day, remember?" Mariemaya had a huge
grin on her face.
"Shit." Heero mumbled to the side and then turned back to the child.
"Well Marie, I don't think…" but the child cut him off before he could finish.
"I know you didn't forget, because you promised me you would come and
that you wouldn't forget, no matter what, so I knew I could count on you."
"But Marie I...."
"I can't wait to show you to all my friend! It is going to be so cool!"
Mariemaya bit her lip and curled her hands into little fists.
Heero looked at the excited child and knew he couldn't turn her down. No
matter how upset he was about Duo right now, he couldn't break this little
girls heart. "Of course I didn't forget. We better get going soon though."
"I knew you didn't!" Mariemaya ran up to Heero and grabbed his hand,
leading him towards the door. The two walked down the street quickly,
reaching the small school in no time. Mariemaya skipped in front of Heero,
stopping at the door to her classroom. She turned the knob and harshly swung
the door open. The colorful room inside was split down the middle. There were
children on one side, and adults (who appeared older than Heero) on the other
side. "Ok Heero, you sit over here, and I will be over there, ok? Don't be
nervous or anything" Mariemaya pointed to the two seats and then skipped to
hers.
The class started, and children presented their parents one by one. Most
of the presentations bored Heero. It was either a kid going up and saying "I
love my dad, he is the best" or a kid saying "My mom is so cool!". Heero's
attention snapped back to the front of the room when he heard the teacher
call Mariemaya's name.
Mariemaya, looking smaller than usual, strut up to the front of the room.
She pushed her coral locks behind her ears and smiled at the 'audience'. "Hi.
I came here today with someone really special. He is not my dad or uncle, he
is just a really good friend. His name is Heero. Heero is the best person I
have ever met. He didn't leave me like my dad did, and he is really fun. He
even took me to a sail boat race and then bought me ice cream. And he even
takes care of my good friend Duo. When I first met Heero, he was really
annoying, and I used to hate him. But now he is so nice and funny, and fun to
be with. Sometimes he even takes me to the park or invites me over for dinner
with him and Duo. So Heero is my special person today because he is the
nicest person in the world."
The small room of people clapped as the girl went back to her seat. Heero
couldn't believe what Mariemaya had just said. He had no idea what he did
meant so much to her. He was truly touched, yet felt horrible. He felt
horrible when Mariemaya said that he took care of Duo. But the girls small
speech opened his eyes, it made him realize how much he really cared for
Mariemaya and for Duo. Heero returned to reality as he realized he was the
last person clapping, and had been for some time. Heero blushed slightly and
smiled, and then went back to looking at the front of the class. There was
only one more person to go, and then it was all over. The next girl that
went was brief, and all the 'parents' and 'children' were able to meet up
again. Mariemaya came running towards Heero.
"How did I do?" Mariemaya was still all smiles.
"You did great. You just made a wonderful speech. Thank you so much
Marie." Heero patted the girl on the head and ruffled her hair. He led the
small girl out of the school and onto the sidewalk.
"I told you that you were cool!" Mariemaya kicked a small pebble with her
foot, and watched it roll.
"Do you think I am still annoying." Heero joked.
"Nope." Mariemaya smiled back up at him.
"What about now." Heero poked the girl in the sides, trying to tickle her.
Mariemaya gave out a loud giggle and tried to swat his hands away. "Not
yet."
"Am I annoying now?" Heero tickled the girl under the arms.
Mariemaya laughed louder and squirmed to get away. "Yes!" She still
laughed as she skipped up the sidewalk and stopped at her house.
"Hey Mariemaya, I have to go away for some time." Heero sound sad as he
spoke.
"It is my fault." Mariemaya asked, crestfallen.
"No no! It is not you, I think you're a cool kid. I really like spending
time with you." Heero glanced up towards Duo's window and sighed.
"Are you and Duo having... you know... problems?" Mariemaya made a funny face
as she spoke.
"Yea sort of. But don't worry, I'll be back." Heero ruffled Mariemaya's
head again before backing away.
"Promise?" Marie cocked her head to one side.
"Promise. Thanks for picking me to be your 'parent' today Marie. It was
fun." Heero waved goodbye and took off down the sidewalk.
Mariemaya sat down on the stoop and sighed. "He's weird."
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