Young Hearts - Part 14 by Keara
Standard disclaimers apply
Heero opened his eyes. Glancing at his watch, he saw
that indeed it had been two hours since he had allowed himself to
fall asleep. A slight movement from Duo caught his attention. While
Duo’s skin was no longer chill, the young American felt just
a little too warm to Heero as he placed the back of his hand first
to Duo’s forehead, then to Duo’s cheek.
Then Heero heard something from outside, the sound of the front door
opening and closing. He slipped from the bed, taking care not to awaken
Duo, and quickly got dressed in the clothes that he had been wearing
earlier. Gently, he tucked the blankets in around Duo’s body,
ensuring that he’d be warm. Then he turned and left the room,
quietly closing the door behind himself before he headed downstairs
to see who had arrived.
Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Heero saw that it was Wufei
and Quatre, along with their respective clones and the clones of Milliardo
and Treize. All of the children looked tired, except for Raberba .
. . Heero was almost certain that was the name that had been given
to Quatre’s clone . . . who was fast asleep in Quatre’s
arms. Actually, upon further observation, Heero found that Raberba’s
face was marred with tear tracks and his body jerked every once and
again, letting a few weak sniffles out as he clung to Quatre’s
body.
“What happened to him?” Heero asked, gesturing toward
Raberba.
Quatre sighed, setting down the few bags he had been carrying. “I
. . . well, I had to tell him about Father.” Quatre said, lowering
his gaze. “He deserved to know.”
Heero nodded minutely. To learn that his father was dead was probably
what had contributed to Raberba’s current emotional state. Heero
considered telling Quatre about the pool. He didn’t know if
now was the right time to bring this up, but he felt that he should
warn Quatre in case the young man didn’t know. Plus, Wufei should
be warned to ensure the safety of all the children. “Quatre,
you should be informed that your pool controls are malfunctioning.”
Quatre gasped, his free hand flying to his mouth. “Allah, I
forgot. I meant to call you when I got here. I didn’t expect
any of you to get back before me. Was anyone hurt . . . the children
. . . are they okay?”
Heero held up his hand. “We are all fine. Chibi-Duo apparently
slipped and fell in. Odin jumped in to save him but was not strong
enough to pull the other boy to the edge. Duo jumped in to get them
both. All of them are resting now.” He looked around at the
other boys. “Which I believe your clones should be doing as
well.”
“Yes.” Quatre nodded. “I believe we all could do
with a good night’s rest.” He picked up the bags he had
set down earlier. “Come along, Treize . . . let’s find
you and Raberba a room.” He said. He paused as he was passing
by Heero and looked to him, quite a serious expression on his face.
“Forgive me for failing to notify you. I did mean to call.”
“There’s been no harm. Neither the children nor Duo seem
dangerously ill. Duo has a slight fever, but no other symptoms. With
rest he should be fine.” Heero said.
Quatre smiled, but only barely. Then he continued on up the stairs,
Treize following close behind him. Treize was obviously fighting sleep.
Heero watched them until they were out of sight, then turned back
to Wufei.
“Do you need help bringing in any parcels?” Heero asked.
Wufei shook his head. “No, most of the things we bought can
stay in the car for the time being. I have already brought in what
they will wear tonight and tomorrow, as well as necessary toiletries.”
He replied. “If you will excuse me, I will take these two and
also seek out a room.”
“I don’t wanna go to bed. I wanna see my sister.”
Zechs’s clone argued, tiredly rubbing his eyes.
“I am sure that she is well, Milliardo.” Wufei sighed.
“You can see her in the morning.”
Milliardo shook his head, clinging to a stuffed monkey that was hanging
around his neck. “No, I wanna see her now.” He stated.
“I’ll take him to see Lena.” Heero said. “I
know which room they are in and can guide him there.”
“Thank you, Yuy.” Wufei said, stepping past Heero and
walking up the stairs. His clone followed behind him, carrying a single
small bag.
Heero stepped over to the pile of stuff that he and Duo had purchased
earlier. He picked up Duo’s duffle bag, which had been packed
during the short stop they had made at Duo’s small apartment.
They had made a similar stop at Heero’s residence, where he
had packed his belongings. He picked up his own bag as well.
He shouldered the bags, then returned to the stairs and held out
his hand. “Come along, Milliardo. But please be quiet . . .
there’s no need to awaken the girls.”
Milliardo nodded, quickly taking hold of Heero’s hand and allowing
himself to be led up the stairs and to the room where Lena and Une’s
clone were currently sleeping. Heero waited by the door, while Milliardo
ran in, looked Lena over to make sure she was well, quietly kissed
his sister on the forehead then ran back out. “Thank you, sir.”
He said politely, yawning.
“Come, it is time for you to get some sleep.” Heero said,
once again guiding the boy away. This time however, he found the child
a place to sleep. Wufei was waiting by a door.
“I put Milliardo’s things in here.” Wufei said,
then turned and walked away, eventually turning into another room
and closing the door behind himself.
Heero glanced into the room, seeing that Treize occupied the other
twin-sized bed in the room. On the bed, in a small pile, were a few
garments as well as a toothbrush and toothpaste. Heero showed Milliardo
where the bathroom was. He waited until both boys were in bed before
turning off the light and closing the door.
Heero returned to the room where Duo was resting. He opened Duo’s
bag, pulling out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Carefully, he garbed
Duo’s sleeping body. Then he changed out of his own clothes
and into a pair of sweat pants. They would do for now . . . there
was no need to wear anything more, especially since he would be sharing
warmth with Duo.
Quietly, Heero climbed into bed, positioning himself behind the slumbering
American, hesitantly draping his arms around Duo’s form. He
hoped that the braided youth wouldn’t despise him for taking
such liberties when ensuring his health. Heero gasped, surprised when
Duo turned in his light embrace. Duo snuggled closer to Heero, pressing
his feverish face up against Heero’s chest, while one of his
legs curled over and around Heero’s body, pulling the two of
them flush against each other.
“Heero.” Duo murmured lightly in his sleep, a gentle
smile crossing his attractive features.
Heero blushed slightly, a faint smirk curling his lips as he set
his head down on the pillow. The whispered sound of his name passing
through Duo’s tempting lips gave Heero some amount of hope.
Perhaps Duo wasn’t so averse to the idea of them being together
. . . maybe there was a chance, even a slim one for them to be more
than just friends. Heero sure hoped so. With a strange warmth in his
heart, Heero closed his eyes and settled himself down to sleep. He
pressed his cheek against the top of Duo’s head and took a long
deep breath, inhaling Duo’s scent before sleep claimed him for
the second time that night.
*****
Quatre sighed, taking a seat on one of the twin beds in the room.
In his arms, Raberba stirred, moaning as his small hands clutched
tightly around Quatre’s body. The boy sniffled, burying his
face deeper against Quatre, the feeling of dampness spreading through
Quatre’s shirt as the child wept on him.
“Sshh.” Quatre hushed, running his hands along Raberba’s
back soothingly. He set his head down on the boy’s head, gently
rocking the youth back and forth in the hopes of calming his disrupted
feelings. Quatre could feel the hurt and pain in the child, knew that
he was suffering, and he wanted to help.
Across from them, sitting quietly on the other bed, Wufei’s
clone simply watched them. He was tiredly wiping at his eyes, but
did nothing in preparation for bed, as if waiting for Wufei to tell
him what he should do. He was quite obedient, probably from a strict
upbringing.
“Tian Bao . . . go and get ready for bed.” Wufei instructed,
stepping into the bedroom. He took a quick glance in Quatre’s
direction, but said nothing.
“Yes, sir.” The child replied, taking his pajamas and
heading into the bathroom. A few moments later, he came back out,
his hair loose from the tight ponytail he had been sporting earlier.
Wufei picked up Tian Bao and set him down on the bed, covering him
with the blankets. Then he took his turn in the bathroom, changing
into his own bedclothes. However, he did not go back over to his bed.
Instead, Wufei knelt in front of Quatre. “Go and get yourself
ready for bed, Quatre . . . I will keep an eye on Raberba until you
return.” Wufei said, setting his hands on Raberba’s back.
Quatre nodded, gently pulling Raberba away from himself. Wufei took
the boy, whispering something in Chinese quietly. Raberba sniffled,
but latched onto Wufei, hooking his legs around Wufei’s waist
as he buried his face once again. Quatre reluctantly left the room,
taking with him a set of his pajamas which he changed into. Once he
was ready for bed, he returned to the bedroom.
“Thank you, Wufei.” Quatre said, taking Raberba when
the child was handed over to him.
Wufei nodded, saying nothing in reply. The Chinese youth walked over
to the other bed, climbing under the covers to lie beside his clone.
Quatre carried Raberba to the bathroom, as well as bedclothes for
him to wear.
Quatre set Raberba down on the edge of the bathtub. Gently, he tugged
off the sweatshirt that the boy was wearing, tossing it into a nearby
hamper. He smiled at the boy, nimbly swiping his fingers along the
child’s cheeks to brush away his tears. His eyes were red, his
nose runny . . . and every now and then he would hiccup.
Quatre got up, grabbing a few squares of toilet tissue. He held them
to Raberba’s nose. A moment later, the child blew his nose.
Quatre tenderly wiped his face off, keeping a kind smile curling his
lips as he tended to the saddened boy. With gentle urgings, Quatre
got Raberba dressed in his bedclothes, tossing the jeans he had been
wearing into the hamper along with his socks. He left the boy’s
shoes in a corner, then picked Raberba up again, deciding that his
teeth wouldn’t all fall out if they missed just one brushing.
Besides, Raberba needed to sleep. It was plainly obvious that the
child was exhausted.
On his way to the bed, Quatre turned off the light. Then he climbed
into bed, setting his clone down first. When they were both in bed,
Raberba curled close, setting his head down on Quatre’s chest
while Quatre covered the both of them with blankets. Quatre hugged
his clone close, weaving his fingers through the boy’s hair,
humming a tune gently while his cheek lay atop the child’s head.
Quatre forced himself to remain awake, wanting to be sure that Raberba
was resting peacefully before he gave into slumber himself. Eventually,
Raberba’s breathing evened out, his sniffles subsiding. He whimpered
in his sleep off and on, but Quatre knew there was nothing he could
do to stop that. The child was grieving the loss of his father. Even
if he was a clone, he did have memories of the elder Mr. Winner as
his father . . . so to the boy Quatre’s father was his own father
as well. Quatre only hoped that the boy wouldn’t grieve for
too long . . . children should be happy. Raberba deserved happiness,
just as much as any other child.
Okay, a lot of people have been asking me how old the clones
are. So I’m going to tell you. Roughly, their ages are as follows:
Treize, Milliardo and the clones of Une and Noin are about ten
years of age.
Triton is about eight.
Odin, Chibi-Duo, Lena, Raberba, and Tian Bao are seven.
The ages correspond with their time in the pods and cannot be
altered so please don’t ask me to make them younger. I hope
this answers your questions.
*******
TBC
*******
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