It was still raining. It had been for days now. Cold, harsh sheets of it dumped out of the dark sky, slashing through the night, only seen by the dim light of the streetlights outside the window of the room. Duo loved thunderstorms, especially when there's lightning, but there hadn' t been any today. It would have been better to hear thunder, or to see streaks of lightning flash across the sky, lighting up his face, instead of the endless sheets of cold rain. He sat in front of the window watching the gray streaks of water as they wormed their way down the window' s glass of their dorm room on the second floor. Duo stared out the window, eyes vacant and unseeing, arms hung loosely around knees that were drawn up to his chest, his feet crossed at the ankles, sitting like a statue. His cup of coffee had long ago cooled and sat untouched next to him.
Heero paused in his reading to look at him. It was... disturbing. They'd grown in companionable silence in the weeks that followed the news he had given. He had slept in Heero' s room every night since the day that he had told them the details of the treatments he'd be receiving for his cancer like symptoms. He kept up the act of cheerful, chatty, boisterous God of Death and Lord of Destruction, but as flawless as his performance was, Heero knew far better. Today, it was if the cold rain had chilled his spirit, smothering it and leaving him still. He went about his daily routine of classes, recon, and espionage in the University they were hiding out in. It was Heero's suggestion not only to gather important back round on Oz' s top officials through their children, but also to keep Duo close to the Medical Center that was currently reviewing his case under Howard's discreet involvement.
Duo's eyes flashed in the reflection in the window to meet Heero's unyielding stare. "Why are you staring at me?" His quiet voice floated in the air, mixed with the soft pangs of water hitting glass.
Heero shrugged. Duo was depressed again, and it made Heero restless and uncomfortable. Duo had abandoned the prescription for his mood swings and depression to concentrate on meds for his other spreading symptoms. Heero much preferred Duo' s walls, his masks, his jokes, anything but his pain. It was too real, too close, too frightening. "What are you doing?" He asked him.
"I finished my preliminary paperwork and was just taking a break before moving onto some old mission files. Oz is starting to gear up again. It'll be time to start moving soon." Duo smirked and shrugged back. " I just realized that I never really took the time to watch the rain before."
Heero's head hummed as his blood rushed from his thumping heart, flooded his body, and screamed through his veins. There was only one thing in this Universe he knew couldn' t survive, and that was Duo Maxwell's pain. He cursed his own heart, soul, and any god that existed that Duo should have to endure anymore than he had already had in his short years of existence. It was breaking him bit by bit the longer they went without answers. Heero had gone around and around on how to find ways to help him. But had very little to go on. It had been weeks without word from the University Medical Center or the experts Sally Po had look into Duo' s charts, about his condition. Quatre had returned to L4, Winner Enterprises home base, but also secretly sent his best medical personnel and scientists to aid in finding Duo some answers. In the meantime, Duo reluctantly agreed reducing his involvement in their missions. Duo outwardly seemed to take it in stride.
Hearing the detached sound of the rain as it hit the windowpane, Heero turned his gaze from his reports to Duo's unfinished lunch. Then in a sudden rush, he watched as Duo bolted from his spot at the window and made a dash for the door. Heero was up and out of his chair the moment he detected movement.
Racing down the hallway Heero nearly plowed into Wufei, as he emerged from another room. Seeing Heero' s look, he followed close after. They reached the mensroom door in time to hear Duo retching violently in a stall to the far end of the row. Neither of them made any move to go inside, but waited outside for him to finish. They had already seen Duo's temper when they tried to coddle, so this time gave him some privacy. Once they heard the toilet flush, and the faucet stop running, Heero began to breathe again. Duo came out of the bathroom, pale, and staggered a bit as he leaned into the doorframe. Wufei attempted to help him back to their room, but was met with an angry glare and a shove for his thought. "I got it." Duo grumbled between clenched teeth.
"I am only trying to assist you, Maxwell. We can't bring unnecessary attention to ourselves even in this environment." Wufei snapped impatient at Duo' s lack of appreciation at his concern.
The next thing they knew Duo had gone flying past Heero, grabbing Wufei by the collar and shoved him into the opposite wall. They hit with enough force to bounce Wufei' s head off it, momentarily stunning him. "I said, I got it. And I wouldn't jeprodize the goddamn parameters." He growled.
Wufei stared at Duo with wide eyes and was about to speak when he saw the trickle of blood start from Duo's right nostril, silencing him. Then Duo began to shake. Slowly at first, but it began to build in the next few moments. His grip on Wufei's collar lessened and he let out a small whimper as his eyes rolled backwards in his head and he sagged against him. Wufei slid against the wall, his arms supporting Duo, until they hit the floor. Heero grabbed Duo' s wrists and pulled him off Wufei, turning him to face him intent on checking out where the blood was coming from when Duo erupted into a full-blown seizure. Heero now found he had an armful of flailing, thrashing, shaking Shinigami who was bleeding from his nose in a steady stream. He heard someone in the hallway yell for an ambulance as he held on to Duo as tightly as possible without harming him.
Heero wasn't surprised that the built up frustration finally gave way to this. The new meds made Duo violently sick to his stomach and more irritable than on his very worst day during the wars. He was either completely exhausted, or wired on caffeine pills and Red Bull he took to get him through his missions. Which once discovered, Trowa had immediately confiscated. The guilt of Wufei, Trowa and Heero taking on his more dangerous missions was eating at him, plus the stresses of having everyone tiptoe around him in attempts to comfort and help. He wasn't eating, or sleeping well and was jittery and nervous. A few of the professors and students had asked him if was ill recently putting him in high paranoia mode of blowing their cover. He was coming apart, and fast.
Then like a passing storm, he stilled in Heero's hold, breathing harshly; face flushed and eyes shut. He rested his forehead on Heero's chest and Heero kissed the top of Duo's silky hair. He didn't give a damn who was watching them from out of their rooms or from down the hallway. "Please, Duo, no more. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... " Heero spoke in a tone that didn' t sound like it could come from him.
Duo shifted in his hold and slowly opened his vast oceans of blue from under the shield of shaggy bangs. He smiled sadly and began whispering in a harsh voice strained from gasping for air: "Make it stop... " over and over. Wufei leaned back against the wall and sat silent on the floor, his head in his hands. Thankfully Quatre wasn't there or they would have had another emotionally drained pilot to deal with.
Trowa came racing around the corner, obviously told of the Duo's outburst and seizure and tried to gain some control over the whole situation. Finding Wufei sitting on the floor in an almost shocked-like state told him that he had better do it soon, before Lady Une herself found out and sent them to hell in a handbasket. Seeing Duo somewhat awake in Heero' s arms on the floor, he opted for discretion and told the kid who called the ambulance to cancel it, telling him that his friend just had too much to drink the night before and was hungover. He certainly didn' t give a damn for appearances either, but wanted to try to keep their cover from being completely destroyed. It would certainly make the newscasts that a student had an episode in a University funded by Oz; especially if said person was a Gundam pilot.
Wufei felt he was powerless to help when Duo's seizure began. But once Duo settled down he seemed to regain his senses. Letting Trowa haul him to his feet, they escorted the remaining pair back into Heero and Duo's shared dorm room. Not wanting to attract more attention, they quickly closed the door.
Duo finally came around and opened his eyes completely. He seemed dazed, but none the worse for the episode he had. Trowa got him a glass of water and helped him swallow it while Heero kept a firm hold of him on his lap. Within a more few minutes, things seemed to resume their daily flow. In a shaky, raspy voice Duo turned to Wufei and spoke. "I'm sorry, Wufei. I guess I got myself all worked up, huh?" He ran a shaky hand through his hair, and wiped some of the blood from his nose and face on his left sleeve.
Wufei said nothing but dug around in Duo's desk drawer. After a minute or so he produced a small pack of tissues and handed one to the despondent boy. He didn' t dare ask if he was okay, and after straightening his uniform, nodded and left the room. Trowa looked from Duo to Heero and back again before making his way to the door as well. "Duo should see Sally. I'll take him myself. When you're ready, I'm down the hall."
"Thanks, Tro."
Heero was at a loss. He was on a roller coaster without breaks. When he tried to console Duo he met with icy glares or nasty outbursts, when he proceeded with plans as usual, Duo got depressed and distant. And now he needed to be concerned about seizures or worse. Looking at the slow trickle of blood coming from Duo' s nose he handed Duo a second tissue. "How long has that been happening?"
"The nose bleeds? A few days." Duo didn't meet his eyes.
After several long minutes Heero spoke again. "No. The seizures."
"Haven't had one since before I started my meds. Right before I went to see Howard." The knot that was forming in Heero's stomach all day twisted a bit tighter. "Look, I'm useless here. I' ll contact G and ask him what he wants me to do."
"You stay. We still need to download the files on the students financial funding. It may tell us where we can find some of Oz' s higher-ups. You leaving on short notice could attract attention to the rest of us."
Duo flashed him a small grin. "You can take care of that. Besides you have Trowa and Wufei here for a bit longer too. I would leave for medical reasons and no one would be the wiser. I could go and stay with Howard."
"Duo, you just had a seizure, what if you have another?"
"Hey, I'm a big boy. Don't worry. Besides, it's because I let my emotions get out of control. I had a tantrum that triggered it. I feel okay now, really."
"Duo, I am worried. We all are. I understand you want to do things your way, but we are trying to help." He immediately regretted showing how weak he felt at seeing Duo' s downcast appearance.
"I know. And I'm sorry. I just... I wish I could do more." He got up off of Heero's lap and changed his bloodied shirt. " I better go see Sally. Tell Trowa not to worry, I'll grab a cab or something discreet." Seeing Heero's scowl gave him pause. "I mean it, Heero, don't worry." He threw his coat on, tossed the bloody tissues into the trashcan and went to the door. He stopped at the doorframe and gave Heero the warmest smile he'd given in weeks. "Thanks love."
By the time the words registered, Duo was already out the door. Heero collapsed in his own chair, his eyes drawn to the trash where the tissues sat on top, saturated with the crimson color of Duo' s blood. It was getting worse, and for the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do. He was torn between his objectives and mission plans from Dr. J and Duo' s well being. He was beginning to become a liability. The sound of the rain drew his eyes to the window where he saw his own haggard reflection. "I wish it would stop raining."
End Part 7
(:./ebony/death7)
