Warnings: Length, Excessive cuddling and 3x4, Lack of Wufei Even Though He’s Always In The Scene (sorry ‘Fei fans), WAY Too Much Sleeping, and afore mentioned 1x2! YAAY!!

 

Prodigy

 

Chapter 8

 

Thicken

 

x---x

 

As soon as Quatre had gotten out his extra key to Duo’s apartment (which Trowa was very proud of himself for not overreacting to) and opened the door, a single outburst summed up the way the couple found the…other couple.

 

“Awwwwww!”

 

A cuter, cuddlier sound couldn’t exist in the world, and Trowa was so busy thinking about what other sounds he could have Quatre making that it took a quick punch on the arm for him to look inside the rented room.

 

Wufei was tied up to a chair with what looked like duct tape, and that duct taped chair was also duct taped to the refrigerator door (which had a suspiciously shaped hole next to Wufei’s head). Nothing particularly warm and fuzzy about that, especially considering the very unhealthy bruises forming on his face. Hopefully the llama tranquilizer pills he’d brought would solve that problem.

 

But, when his gaze shifted to the decrepit wrought-iron double bed, Trowa smiled. Heero was unconscious on the bed, mouth parted slightly and eyebrows twitching as his feet randomly twitched under the sheets. On top of the sheets, Duo was curled around Heero’s gray-covered form protectively, muttering silently to himself as he slept.

 

“You’d never guess they hate each other,” Trowa muttered quietly (just in case one of the others woke up), and Quatre grinned at him, shaking his head.

 

“That’s just how Duo works,” he said just as quietly, pulling one of the two mismatched chairs from the foldout table that served as Duo’s dining area. His own was a faded yellow with big green flowers on the frayed cushions, and when Trowa pulled out a chair the thing was the same design, except Duo had apparently gotten around to painting it entirely black, just like Wufei’s chair.

 

“You mean it’s all an act,” Trowa asked, and Quatre shook his head again, trying unsuccessfully to get comfortable.

 

“No. Duo doesn’t even really realize he does it,” Quatre explained. “There’s a reason nobody tried to turn him into their bitch or something when he was in jail. Well, more than one, but the central one is that he’s dangerous. That, and he has to feel like his friends are safe.” Trowa frowned.

 

“Who’s safe? Duo, or his friends?”

 

Quatre smiled. “Both. If they can fight him, he figures they can defend themselves.” The smile drooped a little. “But…I haven’t seen him ever like this, I’ll admit.”

 

Trowa shook his head, looking first at the two on the bed, then at Wufei. After another look at the two on the bed, he smiled at Quatre. “He’s just as twisted as Heero, then.” Quatre leaned in to hear the story. “First time I met him was on a tour of the labs last year. I took a wrong turn and stumbled into his lab. Before I knew it I was running for my life. I ended up locked in his vacuum chamber for three hours while he interrogated me.” He chuckled. “Ever since he let me out, he’s been my best friend.”

 

Quatre beamed at him. “That’s great. Well, a little unorthodox, but a great way to…argh! You know what I mean,” he said, settling back into the chair, which suddenly yelped at him. Quatre jumped to his feet with a yelp, back pressed against the wall.

 

Trowa was too busy laughing to notice when Duo’s eyes slit open. He yawned, and then went back to sleep, deciding he was far too comfy to move just yet.

 

Laughing at himself, Quatre slid from the wall and plopped down on the decrepit couch.

 

“I hope you don’t think any less of me,” he said good-naturedly, and Trowa sat down right next to him, still smiling brightly. “And it’s not just me, you know. That chair eats people.” Trowa nodded, as serious-looking as he could muster.

 

“I promise I’ll protect you from the Quatre-Eating Chair,” he said gravely, and Quatre broke out into chuckles. An arm slid out to pull Quatre closer. “Does the TV work?” The blonde shrugged.

 

“Probably not,” he said, and it suddenly turned to a yawn. “Besides, he doesn’t have a remote, so you’d have to get up and switch the channel.”

 

Trowa nodded. “Not worth the effort, then.” Quatre yawned again, and glanced down at his watch. It was only about six, and he was dead tired all of a sudden. Maybe it was the now-all-out cuddling. “Go ahead and take a nap. I’ll watch them.”

 

Quatre’s aqua eyes smiled up at him. “You’re so good to me.”

 

Trowa smiled, and kissed him softly on the forehead. “You deserve better. Go to sleep.” Quatre did just that, his breath slowing into the comforting beat of a living metronome while Trowa ended up with him practically in his lap…which he wasn’t about to complain about.

 

x---x

 

After what seemed like far too short a time, Duo woke to the warmth of someone else in his bed. A lazy smile on his face quickly disappeared when he saw it was Heero Yuy. Profanity flew through his brain right along with the memory of the fire.

 

Duo lurched away, landing with a thunk on his floor.

 

A soft chuckle made his head twist to see Trowa and Quatre cuddled up on his loveseat, Quatre smiling in his sleep and Trowa inaudibly laughing. Duo glared, standing with all the dignity he could muster while half-asleep and disheveled.

 

But, before Duo could snap that silent smile off his face, Trowa spoke.

 

“He followed you.”

 

Duo blinked. His brain was always so fuzzy in the morning. “Huh?” he garbled out, sounding more like “Hmunngh?”

 

“Heero. He chased after you. That’s the only thing that could have gotten him safely out of the lab before the explosion.” Trowa’s green eyes pierced his morning grogginess, making sure the next sentence would echo in his thoughts. “Heero went after you, and it saved his life.”

 

Duo’s mouth dropped open, speechless.

 

“…Think about it when you’re more awake.” Duo nodded, not really registering the fact he was crawling into the bed now, and too tired to really even notice that he was curled back up around the scientist before he was asleep again.

 

x---x

 

The next morning, sunlight burned his eyelids open, only to groan, throwing his free arm over his eyes. “Ungggh…”

 

“Good morning, Duo,” Quatre said, annoyingly chipper in the morning. “Did you sleep well?” Duo rolled over, to find himself lying rather comfortably on top of Heero. He blinked as his brain told him what had happened yesterday. He hopped out of bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

 

Trowa and Quatre sat at the rickety patio table with a paper they’d bought earlier, just watching him expectantly. Duo frowned. “What?”

 

Quatre just smiled, shaking his head. “You sure looked comfy,” he said, grabbing a creased page of the newspaper and perusing it coyly.

 

Duo sighed. “That’s the best sleep I’ve had since…” he stopped and yawned. “Since I solved that stupid equation. If I have to cuddle up with someone to get a decent night’s sleep, I’m gonna.” Duo plopped down on the loveseat, stretching out only to end up nearly curled into a ball.

 

Trowa held out the paper Quatre had been looking at. “Looks like your bed friend is dead.” A devilish twinkle lit up his green eyes as Duo, confused, grabbed the paper and began to read.

 

            The body of acclaimed scientist and prodigy Dr. Heero Yuy, 17, was found in the remains of Saparta University Laboratories. Identifiable solely by dental records, the explosion and fire originated in his Destruction Experimentation Lab, the investigation team said.

 

            Dr. Yuy will be best remembered for his amazing contributions to the field of Science, especially at such a young age, along with his provocative, moving artwork, which may be found in many of the most illustrious libraries and museums. Also well known for his philanthropic work with mentally disabled teenagers, Yuy leaves behind a legacy that will not be soon forgotten, even for one so young.

 

Duo stopped reading, staring at the words. Astonished purple eyes rose up to meet those of Trowa and Quatre. “There was an identical set of teeth in a body in his lab?” Trowa nodded, looking a bit uneasy.

 

“Apparently he’d gone through the trouble of finding an exact double…or, making one at least,” he said, and unbidden every open pair of eyes drifted to the peaceful-looking grave robber sleeping in Duo’s bed.

 

“I knew he was paranoid, but this…this is a little creepy,” Duo grumbled, shuffling back over to the bed. He still looked like Heero…and he was breathing, so Heero was alive. He shrugged.

 

“Duo! What are you doing,” Quatre snapped, shocked at Duo climbing back into bed with another yawn. “We have school!”

 

He glared at the couple at his rickety table. “My apartment, my bed, my decision,” he said, and yawned again, curling back up to the warmth that was Creepy Comatose Heero. His head fell back down onto his pillow. “Take notes for me?”

 

Quatre sighed. “You could sleep through the apocalypse,” he muttered, making Trowa chuckle, and finally nodded. “I’ll take notes for you, but you’d better actually use them this time!”

 

“Then don’t take notes,” Duo’s muffled voice came out. Laughing, Quatre just walked out the door.

 

“I gave Wufei a sedative. It’ll probably last until about…” Trowa checked his watch. “Two PM. The pills are next to the refrigerator, and the injection’s next to the kitchen sink.”

 

“Thanks, Tro,” Duo sighed, close to dead yet again, and Trowa left the three sleeping figures alone in the tiny apartment.

 

x---x

 

The nightmares faded as his eyelids crawled open, revealing what could only be a dream.

 

He looked almost soft like this, lips slightly parted and breathing deeply. His chest rose and fell like the ocean rolling in and out, the same peaceful rhythm, the same soothing tone. That lovely braid was coming apart at the black band, barely restraining all that gorgeous russet hair.

 

He allowed himself a content smile as Duo sighed and snuggled closer. He was so peaceful looking it hurt. Heero hadn’t been this comfortable since…ever, he realized with a bit of a shock. Even though the bed was a bit lumpy from where Duo usually slept and the sheets were a bit rough than he liked and the pillow was beyond pathetic, he was comfortable.

 

And it was all from the boy he should hate, curling around him.

 

Heero couldn’t stop his hand. It glided across the sheets to Duo’s bare neck, right where his skin looked most like a fine piece of beige silk. His thumb ran along the soft, perfect skin.

 

Duo’s head shot up from the pillow, giggling madly and rubbing where Heero had touched him. Heero jerked back in shock, and the giggling turned to chuckles. The chuckles slowly faded into quiet shivers of laughter, and finally Duo’s eyes opened to see a startled Heero-an AWAKE Heero.

 

He grinned. “Heero! You’re alive!” Duo was leaning over him, checking his eyes for any hint of brain trauma.

 

Heero smirked. “You’re ticklish,” he stated. Duo frowned.

 

“There’s nothing wrong with being ticklish,” he said, mock offended, and his smile slid back on. “You feeling okay?”

 

Heero nodded curtly. “I’m fine. Duo, I need to talk to-”

 

“Are you sure,” Duo asked, and frowned again. “I better go get the-” He tried to roll out of the bed, but Heero’s hand snapped out and grabbed his wrist. With a quick yank, Duo was back in the bed.

 

“I’m FINE, Duo,” he said, getting more annoyed by the moment. Duo rolled his eyes.

 

“You were in a two-day coma, Heero,” he snapped. “I think that constitutes a bit of worrying.” Heero glared- a bad habit.

 

“I’m. Fine.”

 

“Oh, yeah, and the fact you inhaled more crap than a chain-smoker on meth doesn’t give us any reason to worry,” Duo snorted, untangling himself from the now-rumpled sheets. “You may not give a shit about what happens to you, but I’m not letting you die by some crappy assassination attempt.” Before he could even try to get out of the bed, though, Heero had him pinned to the mattress, glaring.

 

“My health is satisfactory. I don’t need medical attention. I. Am. Fine.” Duo rolled his eyes again melodramatically.

 

“And they call you a doctor.”

 

Heero smirked. “They also call me paranoid.”

 

Duo grinned. “That’s cuz you are, you crazy bastard.”

 

“Hn.” Heero rolled back to his side of the bed. “With reason.”

 

A hard silence fell between them, the two not even recognizing the fact their hands linked together, fingers curled around the other’s.

 

“You saved me,” Heero finally said, almost as silent as the small apartment. There was another rustle of the sheets, and Duo smiled down at him again, looking a bit uncomfortable.

 

“You followed me.”

 

And the silence came back, staring into each other’s eyes. He’d never seen how profound and lost those violet eyes looked when the lights were out. Surprised, Heero realized he’d be more than happy to find out what made those amethyst eyes so old.

 

Duo shifted, breaking the spell, and tried to scoot off the bed. But Heero pulled him back, this time with a hard jerk on his braid. Duo flung back onto the bed…and more specifically, onto Heero, who still had a firm grip on the braid. “OWWW! FUCK, Heero, what do you have against me getting out of the damn b-”

 

His brain melted as the scientist kissed him almost agonizingly slowly. At the first touch of their lips, Duo’s eyes slammed shut, his dissolved mind just picking up on the little, excruciatingly perfect movements of their lips, how Heero took his sweet, luscious time, dragging his head further down with him into the pillow.

 

Duo’s leg swung over to let him straddle the blue-eyed boy mindlessly, whimpering when Heero’s spare hand ran along his chest. By now, he was so lost in just the nibbling, pressing, intimate, heavenly occupation of his lips that he didn’t even notice.

 

But someone else sure as hell did.

 

“YUY?!” Wufei’s startled bark had Duo leaping out of the bed and locking himself in the bathroom. “What the FUCK is going on?!”

 

Heero’s smoldering glare made Wufei physically flinch. “Chang, shut up or die.” His mouth slammed shut, and Heero did his best to stand up when out of the bed. After three trials and falling back onto the bed, he admitted to himself that Duo had probably been right.

 

But, being the obstinate idiot he was, Heero let himself fall onto the floor, and managed to crawl-creep over to the bathroom door. “Duo?”

 

There was no response. Heero glared at the door. “Duo.” Still, there was an uneasy silence on the other side of the door. “You’re going to have to come out of there eventually.” All he got back was more quiet, so he sat himself down in the doorframe, ready to wait out quite possibly the longest siege of his life- that of Duo Maxwell.

 

x---x