| Why you cheap, lousy, no-good, rotten�.. ::notices audience:: Oh, gomen minna-san! I�m mega-pissed off at this point. Real life is out gunning for me and it looks like it�s winning. I�m about ready to be banned from the Internet because I�m kinda doing poorly in college�.. Alisande: Pardon me, M�Lady, but since when does near-F count as �kinda�? Are you getting sarcastic with me?! You of all muses?! Rynvi: Hell yes, she is! You should be studying, doing you�re homework or, Kami-sama forbid, ACTUALLY BEING IN *CLASS*!!!!!! You�re just damn lucky we�re being generous and letting you send this out! You�re not the boss of me! You�re just figments of my over-active imagination! Kiagara: Cut the psyche crap! You�ve got just *15* minutes Baka-sama to send this before we come get you! But�..but�.. Alisande: No buts! Enjoy minna-san and comments are always welcome! P.S. WAI!! Nobody commented on Part 3! ABSOLUTLY NOBODY!!! Don�t you people love me anymore? Did it really suck so bad? Should I stop with this fic? TALK TO ME, WILL YA?! You�re giving me a complex over here�.. Title: A Gesture of Kindness 4/? Author: Lady DarkAngel [email protected] Archive: Lady DarkAngel's Gundam Wing Fanfiction Library http://ladydarkangel_1.homestead.com/Main.html, Darkflame�s (if she�ll take it�.) and anywhere else is fine, just ask me first Category: Yaoi, angst, mild humor (mostly snickers) Pairing(s): 1+2 eventually (I�ma getting� there, don�t rush me!) Disclaimers: Gundam Wing or Shinkidousenki Gundam Wing is copyrighted and trademarked by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency and associated parties with all rights and privileges. The characters were used without permission for the purposes of entertainment only. This is not meant for sale of profit. Any characters not created by those listed above are mine and hereby considered the sole property and copyright of the author. Anyway, I�m just a poor college student. So can I play with them? I promise I won�t break them�..much. Rating: PG Warnings: Angst, severe illness, minor gross factor, sap? Feedback: Kami-sama, YES!!! [email protected]; any and all comments are welcome like the sweet ego-sustainers they are. Heero�s head whipped up and his body jerked like he�d been shot. He was so startled, he nearly dropped Duo into the ice bath. Scrambling for a hold so he wouldn�t go under, the Wing Zero pilot ended up drawing the braided boy close to his chest in a fierce grip. The damp body was sending a chill through his already wet tanktop where they touched. For a brief second, Heero simply froze and listened to the new sensations and thoughts racing though him. For one thing, he was never startled. A solider should be on guard at all times. The Perfect Solider should therefore never even be in a position to have the stuffing scared out of him. And yet here he was. Trying to control his frantic heartbeat and barely managing to stop himself from gasping. <Useless biological reflexes! Why am I so upset, anyway?> A glance downward revealed the answer. Duo. The American had spoken. Or had he? The whisper was so soft, like the kiss of a summer breeze on a warm day. Too insubstantial for one touch to be proof. It could easily have been his own admittedly neglected imagination trying to fill the unnatural void surrounding him. <Aa. It�s too damn quiet. That must be what�s been bothering me. Silence in Duo Maxwell�s presence is unheard of. Whether is be inane chatter, pointless noises or just plain laughter, quiet isn�t in his vocabulary. So to hear such silence with him here is��> There was only one word for such a feeling. Unnerving. Yes, the silence was wrong and had been putting him on edge since this began. Even the occasional cough or moan did nothing to relive the unconscious tension he felt building inside of him. So some part of his mind must have decided to deal with that. Creating the illusion of the missed voice, enough to satisfy the need to assuage the sheer wrongness of the quiet. It was all simple deductive logic, really. <So why don�t I believe it?> After a few more seconds, he decided to risk appearing like a fool to confirm this hypothesis. It was worth it. Besides, it wasn�t like Duo would remember this later or mock him for it now�.. Hesitantly, he opened his mouth and forced the word past suddenly dry lips and frozen larynx. �Duo?� He waited for an answer. A sign. Something, anything, to indicated he had been heard. After an apparent eternity but in actuality a minute, he released the death grip he had on the braided boy. It would not do to worsen his condition by interfering with his already erratic breathing. He searched the face beneath him. <So still. Too still. He looks so strange without that smile of his��.> The visage didn�t change under his gaze. So, not awake then. <Of course not, baka!> he berated himself. <He�s ill, unconscious. In the unlikely event he was awake, he�d be out of his mind with the fever! He wouldn�t be able to talk to you��..> With a jolt, he realized that was what he wanted. Badly. To see him smile and hear the baka babble on at him about nothing of value at all in a vain attempt to provoke a reaction out of him. Preferably, laughter or annoyance, which ever came first. <Why in Kami-sama�s name do I want him to annoy again?> He pondered this as he lowered the boy back into the water/alcohol mix. Why, indeed? What could possibly prompt him to desire that which he almost constantly wished away? Why would he hope that that voice that never shut up would echo again in his ears? Why was he staring at his partner, waiting for that damned ever-present smirk to resurface? What kind of masochist was he to anticipate the teasing and tormenting that was Duo�s standard fare? Why? The answer came not from the usual place, but from a spot deep inside his mind. Its quiet assurance and air of absolute truthfulness was like the normal Soldier�s thoughts. But this one was colored with a sense of ancient knowledge, like it had known all along but had never needed to speak before. And there was something else, too. Something he couldn�t even being to identify but felt right. A warmth that he somehow learned to associate with Duo�.. The answer was simple. For the same reason caring for him now is as vital as any mission. Why sacrificing time and convenience and suffering hardships, no matter large or small, is more then acceptable. Why you no longer hesitate before doing something beneficial for him even if you would not normally choose to. It is an assurance that he is still here. That he will be well��.. <I want him to be well?> The sheer stupidity of the question struck him. <Kitto I do. He�s needed. The mission, our purpose for being here. As a Gundam pilot, he�s important to our operations. Valuable and irreplaceable. We can�t afford to lose him, particularly to something like this.> Again came the unbidden thoughts from the strange new voice that spoke things he didn�t really understand. That he is important. In more was then one. He must be protected. He is valuable. Irreplaceable. To you�� Heero mentally sneered at that. The lack of food and sleep and the slight stress of caring for Duo must be affecting his mindset. Best not to follow such unproductive and distracting idiocies when they occur. He�d learned to deal with worse, much worse. Checking Duo�s temperature, he was pleased to see it went down some more. Soon he�d be able to remove the American from the bath and put him to bed. <And then I will be able to tend to myself. Not before.> As he removed his hand from Duo�s forehead, he thought he caught a glimpse of movement. Did his eyelids just flutter? Probably not. More of his imagination gone wild and shamelessly flaunting itself for him to see. �And that will be enough of that.� Heero stated in a firm voice to no one in particular. Actually that was untrue. They were there, just unseen. Rather childish to speak aloud to the voices and feelings inside. Even more so to expect obedience. But if there was a chance of success, then why should he complain? �Good���� �m cold�������� Heero�s eyes widened as he looked at his charge. Didn�t he just say stop? Was his body and mind so set on defying him? Or�.. �Duo? Are�..are you awake?� �So cold���.� The voice was thick and barely distinguishable as Duo�s. The congestion in his throat and lungs was evident in the unnatural cloudiness in a usually light and airy tone. The words were nearly lost in the sound. The sheer tiredness and apathy in them indicated that he didn�t care or was too exhausted to. Heero found he wasn�t sure which to hope for. Under his astonished gaze, violet eyes slid open slowly. The pupils were much too big and the iris was barely visible. But they were open. With slightly trembling hands, the Wing Zero pilot gently turned Duo�s head so he could fully see those eyes. As he looked deep into the amethyst pools, Heero saw nothing. Absolute lack of awareness or recognition. The blank and unfocused stare showed that nobody was home upstairs. The fever still had him. (TBC�.) Aggghhhhh, damnit! I�ve got to leave it there for now but I don�t want to! Must study though or will fail miserably�.. Rynvi: Damn right, you�re gonna leave it there! You�ve got work to do! NOW!! But�but�.. They�ll hurt me if I stop�.. ::points to ML:: Kiagara: SO?! Nobody�s gonna do anything! If anyone�s got a problem, tell �em to write ya and I�ll take care of it. Now open those books and get cracking before I crack you!!! ::blows raspberry:: Bpeeta! You don�t scare me! Hey, whose in charge here anyway?! Me or you guys?! Alisande, Kiagara and Rynvi: US, BAKA!!!! Now move it!!! ::advances with impressive looking weaponry:: Eep! Gotta go, minna-san! Ja ne and write me, onegai! Lady DarkAngel ---------- Chibi Duo's Babysitter Moderator of Duo's Sugar Intake Keeper of Duo's Nice Rear-end Co-Keeper of Shinigami's Wings (with Meela) Keeper of Heero's Homicidal Intentions Keeper of Quatre's Teacup Keeper of Trowa's Mask Keeper of Wufei's Sense of Honor Co-Keeper of Duo's Chatter (with Tomanaiya) Co-Keeper of Heero's "Hn" (with Tomanaiya) Co-Writer of Wufei's Rants (with Tomanaiya) Leader of the Inspirationally-challenged Muses: Alisande, Rynvi, and Kiagara Co-Keeper of a real-life hamster named Heero Yuy (Hee-chan)(with Tomanaiya) Keeper of the Hit List Acting GOD in Charge of The Anime Muse Adopiton Center and WSCT of the AMAC Proud member of SDDI, the Society of Defending Duo's Intelligence Member of the Society Against the Complete Bastardization of Heero Yuy Occupant of the Happy Hentai House Master Hacker of the Shinigami Organization Assistant Mob Psychologist for the Shinigami Organization Founding Member of Saa-EEP!!! Happy to be a member of the DuoML Member of 1x2, 2x1 Fan Club and ML Many more MLs but you don't want to know... Lady DarkAngel's Gundam Wing Fanfiction Library http://ladydarkangel_1.homestead.com/Main.html |