Young Hearts - Part 18 by Keara
Standard disclaimers apply
Trowa helped the tired blonde and his young clone to
sit on the bed. Quatre had directed Trowa to the bedroom that he and
Raberba were currently using. At the moment, Raberba was sitting across
Quatre’s lap, the two of them looking paler than normal. Their
cheeks were marked by tear tracks, Raberba clinging to his elder self
out of what looked to be desperation.
After the episode in the music room, Trowa felt that it would be
a good idea for Quatre and Raberba to get some rest . . . they were
both obviously weary. Trowa knelt down, slipping off Quatre’s
shoes and untying Raberba’s sneakers, setting both pairs of
footwear to the side.
He glanced over, noting that his own clone was standing in the doorway,
probably wary of entering unfamiliar territory. Trowa sighed, rising
to his feet. He gently pushed Quatre back, arranging it so that Raberba
lay curled up against him. The smaller blonde clutched tightly to
Quatre, sniffling sadly as tears fell in rivers from his eyes.
“But I’m not tired, Trowa.” Quatre complained with
a whine, wiping a delicate hand over his own teary eyes.
Trowa flicked his eyes to Raberba, taking note of the child’s
condition. He shook his head, sighing deeply before speaking. “Quatre
. . . crying wears you out and you know it. Besides, Raberba probably
needs your company right now. The child is clinging to you as it is.”
Quatre smiled sadly, running a hand through Raberba’s golden
hair. “Yes, you’re right. But the Maguanac are on the
way . . . someone has to greet them.”
Trowa pulled the blankets up and over Quatre and Raberba’s
forms. “There are others here that can greet the Maguanac. When
Rasid and his men get here, I will awaken you. But right now you do
need to sleep, if only for a short time.”
Quatre nodded slightly, wordlessly settling down. He continually
ran his hand through Raberba’s hair, silently offering comfort
to the distressed child. Trowa turned, but didn’t get a single
step before he felt a hand clasp his wrist gently. He turned, only
to be lost in shimmering aquamarine gems. “Thank you, Trowa.”
Quatre smiled faintly, releasing his delicate grasp.
Trowa nodded. He turned and continued on his way to the door, taking
hold of Triton’s hand as he reached the doorway. He turned back,
smirking at the sight of Quatre cuddling close to Raberba, finding
the sight to be quite adorable.
Trowa quietly closed the door on the sleeping occupants and headed
down the hallway. He briefly glanced at a door as he was walking by
it when he heard the muted sounds of someone coughing. Since he had
already been informed of Duo’s illness, although not the reason
behind it, he steered clear of the door. The last thing he wanted
was for his young clone to get sick.
He smiled briefly as Triton looked up at him. “No need for
you to get sick, right?” He watched as the child paled a little
as he nodded. Trowa sighed, kneeling before the child. “Don’t
worry, Triton. I won’t leave you if you get ill.” He said,
brushing his fingers through the boy’s hair. “I promise.”
He hated the ‘Survival of the fittest’ rule that he had
been forced to live by. He’d nearly been left behind a few times
when he had been a child when he had been too sick to keep up with
the rest of the mercenaries as they moved. He had only kept around
during that time because even when sick, he was still entertaining.
He shook off those thoughts as he rose to his feet, taking hold of
Triton’s hand as they headed back downstairs. Trowa picked up
their bags from where he had left them earlier, near the front door.
He started up the stairs again, but stopped as he noticed Wufei step
out of a room, closely followed by his clone.
“It is good to see that you have arrived, Barton.” Wufei
greeted, bowing slightly.
Trowa nodded. “We arrived a short while ago.” He said.
“Quatre and Raberba are sleeping and would like us to greet
the Maguanac when they arrive.”
Wufei blinked, his brow furrowing slightly. “Sleeping? At this
hour?”
“Yes. Believe me, both of them needed the rest.” Trowa
stated, not going into detail.
“They were the ones I heard playing a few minutes ago . . .”
He said, although he didn’t pause for a reply. “Grieving
is never easy.” He shook his head. “I’ll await the
Maguanac’s arrival down here. You take your belongings upstairs
and locate a room. We will decide on the room arrangements for the
children and ourselves when Quatre is awake.”
Trowa said nothing. He started on his way up the stairs, knowing
that Triton was, as always, right behind him. However, before he could
take more than two steps, Wufei called out and stopped him.
“Oh! A word of caution. Don’t go near the pool. Duo is
sick because his . . . son fell in and had to be rescued.” Wufei
said, shaking his head.
Trowa paused on the step he was currently on, turning to look at
Wufei. “Son?”
“It was Chibi-Duo’s idea from what I understand. The
rest of us are taking the role of older brothers to our clones.”
Wufei replied.
Trowa nodded. “Yes . . . I am more comfortable at this time
with the idea of Triton being my younger brother rather than my son.
But I can understand Chibi-Duo’s need for a father.”
“Triton?” Wufei queried, looking confused.
“Yes . . .” Trowa gestured to his clone. “Catherine
named him . . . after her long lost younger brother.” He said,
not telling Wufei of the part where Trowa might actually be that younger
brother himself. It was best not to hope for a family . . . it wouldn’t
hurt so much when he was let down if he didn’t let himself hope
for it. “If you’ll excuse me . . . these bags are quite
heavy.”
“Sorry to keep you.” Wufei said. “I’ll leave
you to your task.”
Trowa nodded, then turned back to the stairs, climbing them once
again. Triton followed close behind as they searched out a place to
put their bags for the time being. He sighed, wondering if Quatre
was faring okay or not, hoping the grief wouldn’t weigh too
heavily on the young blonde as he consoled his clone.
*****
Duo pouted, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at Heero. However,
the intimidating effect was completely spoiled by the presence of
a thermometer sticking out of his mouth. Here he sat, propped up in
bed with a number of pillows behind his back, feeling completely miserable
and achy. He did NOT like being sick.
Heero was sitting on the edge of the bed. Having gotten dressed while
Duo had been eating his breakfast, he was now wearing a pair of jeans
and a plain gray T-shirt, along with the new sneakers that he had
bought for himself yesterday. “Glaring at me and at the thermometer
will not make the readout come faster.” Heero stated.
Duo huffed, although said nothing, knowing that Heero would just
begin again if he accidentally dropped the thermometer from his mouth.
He just sneered in Heero’s direction, internally muttering various
curses in his mind.
When the thermometer finally beeped to let them know it was done,
Duo sighed in relief. He was almost happy to see it done. But when
Heero shook his head, sighing at the readout, Duo knew that he had
a fever. “Bad?” Duo asked.
“Quite high.” Heero replied, turning off the thermometer
and setting it on the side of the bedside table. He then reached over
and picked up a package of cold medicine, popping a couple pills out
of the foil backing.
Duo groaned, making a face at the thought of having to take those.
“Do I have to?” He whined, pouting sadly.
“Look . . . take these now, and you’ll probably be better
by tomorrow. We can stop this before it becomes a major problem. Unless
you would rather continue to worsen and then you could be stuck in
bed for days.”
Duo sighed, taking the pills from Heero’s hand. He grabbed
the glass of water from the bedside table, tossing the pills in his
mouth. He downed them easily with a few swallows of water, setting
the glass back down once he had taken them. Heero smirked, apparently
happy that he had taken the medication. “I hate taking stuff
that makes me sleepy.” He grumbled.
“Yeah, I know. But the sooner you’re out and about, the
less time Chibi-Duo has to worry about you.” Heero replied.
Duo glared. “That was a low blow, Heero!”
“No.” Heero shook his head. “I was just stating
a fact. That kid . . . needs you.” He frowned, pausing before
he asked a question. “Were you really like that as a child?”
Duo closed his eyes briefly, taking a breath. “No, I never
had anyone to cling to. I was always returned to the church before
I could get to that point.” A thought occurred to Duo and he
looked up at Heero, biting his lip nervously before finally speaking
his mind. “Hey, Heero . . . would you mind checking on the kids
for me and telling me how they are? I-I can’t help but worry.”
He cast his gaze downward, feeling embarrassed.
“If you want me to do that, I will. I’ll be back in a
few minutes.” Heero replied, rising from his seat. Duo watched
him leave, smiling to himself. He was glad that Heero was being so
nice about it.
*****
Heero quietly closed the door behind himself as he left the bedroom.
If Duo needed the reassurance that his clone was well, then Heero
would oblige him. Duo did need to relax if he was expected to recover
his health.
Heero walked through the hall, searching out the children. He heard
laughter outside, and thought that perhaps they were out there. It
was cold out, but Heero didn’t have his coat . . . no matter,
he wasn’t planning on staying outside for more than just a few
minutes. He walked through the kitchen to the backdoor, thinking it
was more likely for them to be out there. He opened the door and stepped
outside, only to smile as he was met by a pleasing scene.
Chibi-Duo was running around, giggling happily. After a moment he
stopped, slapping Odin on the shoulder. “Tag! You’re it!”
The child announced, then took off running. Odin didn’t move
though . . . Heero had been unfamiliar with this game as a child,
so he knew that Odin knew nothing of it. Chibi-Duo ran back, a confused
expression on his young face. He tapped Odin again. “Tag!”
He said, a little more impatiently. “You’re it! You’re
it!”
The expression on Odin’s face was one of confusion. “It?”
He asked, his brow furrowed.
Chibi-Duo sighed. “I tag, you chase me until you tag me.”
Chibi-Duo said. “Haven’t you ever played tag?”
“Play?” Odin asked, the concept unfamiliar to him. All
he had known as a child was training and nothing more. Playing was
not a part of that training.
“Okay . . . basic rules of tag.” Chibi-Duo said, smirking
a little. “I tap you and run like a bat outta hell. YOU have
to chase me until you tag me, or someone else. Let’s see if
we can get the others to play. The more the merrier. Got it?”
Odin nodded, comprehension visible in his face. Heero saw that the
boy knew what to do now.
“Good. Now, tag!” Chibi-Duo said, an instant before he
slapped Odin’s shoulder and took off running. This time Odin
did chase him, that is until he saw Lena standing nearby, kicking
at the ground in a bored manner. He tagged the young girl, who immediately
chased after him. It wasn’t long before all of the clones outside
were involved in the game, running around quite happily.
It was nice to see Odin participating in games such as this. It left
Heero sure that Odin would adapt to his new surroundings and perhaps
shed his soldier's instincts in favor of acting more like the child
that he was. With a small smirk present on his face, Heero turned
and walked back inside, content in the knowledge that his clone would
be okay in time.
He returned to the bedroom. Duo was barely awake, nodding off as
he waited for Heero. Heero sighed, helping Duo to lie down in bed.
“Huh?” Duo asked, yawning as he repeatedly blinked his
tired eyes. He yawned again, only to end up coughing. When he had
suitably regained control, he smiled up at Heero. “The kids
okay?” He asked.
“Yeah.” Heero said, making sure that Duo was comfortable.
“They’re outside playing. And Chibi-Duo has gotten the
majority of them, including Odin, to play tag.”
Duo let out a laugh. “Good! That kid needs to unwind a little.”
He smiled, his eyes just barely open. “You ever play tag when
you were a kid? You ever PLAY when you were a kid?”
Heero chose not to answer that question. Instead, he changed the
subject. “Hn. Your mouth is going at a mile a minute, so your
condition can’t be too serious.” He brought the blankets
up over Duo’s body, stopping just under his chin. “Get
some rest. I’ll check in on you later.”
Duo nodded slightly, but his eyes were already closed by then. He
fell asleep quickly. Heero nodded to himself, glad that the medicine
had kicked in. Duo did need to rest if he was expected to recover.
With a glance at Duo, Heero grabbed his winter coat and left the bedroom,
knowing that he would need it later . . . it was better to take it
now, than to disturb Duo’s sleep later when it was time to leave,
although he didn’t really know when they would be leaving. He
paused at the door, casting one last, worried glance back at Duo.
He hoped for the American’s health . . . not only for Duo’s
sake, but for Chibi-Duo’s as well. The child needed Duo and
the solace that he could provide to the young clone.
*******
TBC
*******
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