Reputations

Chapter 7

When Duo woke up, he noticed he was in an unfamiliar room. There were beeps and an unsettling quietness. At first, he tried to sit up, his eyes darting all around as two thoughts went through his head. The first was that he thought he'd died. He thought Solo had killed him when he knocked him out. With that thought came the second; that if he had died, Heero had probably died, too. That was the thought that had him frantically looking around. He didn't get very far, though.

Very quickly, Duo realized that the reason for his restraint was due to tubes and bedsheets. Blinking, his senses began to come back to him.

He was in a room. A very bland, unadorned room. Most of the surrounding colors consisted of white. A plug was shoved into his nose and his elbow had been punctured with a needle. It wasn't just his elbow either. His finger had been pricked and all the connected places had a machine at the other end. He recognized a heart monitor and an IV station.

Making the obvious connection, he decided he hadn't died, but was recovering from the ordeal with Solo in a hospital.

But what about Heero? Where was he? Was he alright?

He was in a single room without other patients to ask anything of. He looked around for one of those nurse-call buttons. He couldn't see one but, he didn't really know what to look for. He spotted a person walking pass the room. He wanted to call out but his mouth was so dry.

Looking over at the table next to his bed, he found a glass that held water that must have been there for forever. It was probably unpleasant, but he really wanted to speak and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to with his throat a desert.

He carefully reached out his punctured arm and winced a little as the needles moved uncomfortably in their openings against the strain. He grasped the glass with as little pressure as he could manage—any excess muscle pull on the obstructions would surely make him drop the glass.

He brought the glass to his lips, using his other, prefect arm to help support the glass. After parting his lips from their self-encasement, he tilted the glass and merely let the water flow slowly onto his arid tongue. He was right; the water did taste stale. Whether it was because of his recently rarely used taste buds, or due to the fact that the water had, in any case, been there a while, he was still unsure. Nevertheless, the water did rejuvenate his will to call for aid.

He licked his lips in preparation, deciding to wait for another passerby. He had thought, briefly, of pulling out the obstructions in his arm and nose and setting off some kind of alarm to get the attention he needed, but he figured that they would only think something more was wrong. They might decide to keep him here longer; prevent him from seeing Heero. Or at least know what had happened.

The last thing he could recall about yesterday's incident—if it had, indeed, been merely yesterday—was running from Kobayashi and Heero's fight as Heero had instructed him to do, and running right into Solo.

--

There had been nothing but the trees of the school's courtyard blocking his path to the entrance. He knew exactly where he was to go: the police, a phone booth, a passing person with a cell phone—anyone or thing that would be able to help the situation. And as he finally passed the gates of the school, luck was on his side.

Or so he thought.

"Please!" he said to the person in the distance, running still with as much strength as he had had left, "Please help! Call the police! There's a boy with a knife trying to kill my friend and I!"

And yet, as he neared and the man did nothing, he tried to clear his vision from the moisture filling them with underwater vision. The man was tall, dressed nicely, walking away from Mercedes, and had his jaw set.

"Ahh..." he begin.

"S-Solo..." Duo barely managed.

He now backed up. Why in the world was Solo here? How could he've found them—him—so quickly? There was no way, right? This wasn't happening?

He turned around and ran. He'd rather take his chances with Kobayashi than Solo. And he needed Heero.

He didn't get very far. Solo was a lot taller and had longer legs than him. He had made it back to the front of the school's entrance, but he would never enter it again, he felt. Solo gripped his arm painfully and he fell to his knees from the bruise it was sure to leave.

"You unloyal dog!" Solo yelled, "I took you in when your parents asked. I gave you a roof. I sent you to school. I gave you the scraps off my table and clothes for your body. And what have you done?!"

He turned the boy to face him and slapped him across his face.

"You run away! You caused trouble for the police officers and the school. And ME! How dare you!"

"What are you doing?!" a woman's voice yelled. Solo abruptly stopped his bashing and looked up with fury in his eyes.

"None of your business, woman!" he scoffed.

She looked mad, from Duo's perspective. "You put that boy down right now!" she had said in a tone that confirmed it.

Duo hadn't even realized that Solo had lifted him up off the ground until the woman had said it. Now, Duo suddenly realized that the woman must be a teacher at his school.

"What will you do, huh? You're too weak to stand up to me, woman."

"I won't have to do anything! The police are on their way right now. I know you're Solo, Duo's uncle. I've seen your face and heard first-hand what you've said. If you try to leave, I'll memorize your license plate number and have the police track you down! Now you put Duo down RIGHT NOW!"

Not since Heero had first saved him had Duo ever been as happy as right now. More tears welled up and over his eyelids and a small, bitter smile etched itself onto his face. When had he gained so much love?

Solo shook him up violently and spoke to the woman. "Look here," he said, "I don't give a damn about this kid, and don't care if I get 'caught' because if he dies, I get all the money owned to him and I'll pay off the son-of-bitch who tries to take me away."

Duo felt Solo move forward. "And if some little bitch like you wants to try and stop me, go ahead."

The woman was now only a few feet away from Solo. Duo could see her look uneasy with him so close. Solo continued to advance on the woman and Duo suddenly figured that he would try to harm her. With as much strength as he could muster, he flung his arms at Solo and tried to distract him from her. If she could get away, than she might be able to go through with those threats she had spouted off.

"Run away!" he yelled. "He's going to hurt you if you don't! Go! Just go!"

"Shut up you little piece of shit!" Solo backhanded him again.

And all was lost.

--

Slowly, Duo raised his head. He had drifted off in his remembrance but something—it might have been the end—had awoken him. As his eyelashes parted, he perceived a movement. He gasped and tried to get up, his eyes opening wide. Quickly, the movement came to him and he realized nothing was wrong and it wasn't Heero or Solo. It was a nurse.

"Shh... dear. Everything's alright. You're in a hospital. Do you remember what happened?"

"Yes, but where's Heero?" Then recalling that Heero might not be allowed in, "Odin? are they okay? What happened to them?"

"It's alright dear. Calm down. I'll go get a doctor. All your questions can be answered then, okay?"

Sighing once more, Duo plopped his back onto the pillow.

--

A doctor came in nearly twenty minutes later.

"Sorry for the wait..." he took a look at his chart, "Duo Maxwell. You know how hospitals are."

Duo just nodded. "Can you tell me what happened to Heero Yui? Is he here? And what about his uncle, Odin?"

"Yes, Heero is here. He was released yesterday and—,"

"Released?" Duo's voice broke. "He was injured?"

The doctor gave a sad, pitiful smile. "Yes... I'm afraid that the incident with the other student didn't go as he had planned. He was badly injured. Just a cut..."

Duo had lowered his eyes to his blanket. It had all been his fault. How could he possibly make it up? And Odin... he must be mad.

"Umm... but like I said before..." the doctor continued, "Heero is here right now."

Duo raised his eyes to the door immediately. "Where? Can I see him?"

The doctor smiled with an air of giving in. "You still need your check-up and after that, we can remove the needles and monitors. Once you've been checked out and everything is known to be fine, you can see Heero. You'll have to be patient but, I'll send in a nurse right away to get started, okay?"

Duo nodded a little reluctantly but, he didn't want Heero to see him like this anymore than he wanted to be this way.

The doctor left and in no time at all, two nurses were administering to him. They did just what the doctor said: removed all the obstructions. After he had been throughly checked and okayed, they left to get Heero.

--

Heero was sitting beside Odin in the waiting room. He had a bandage over his right eye and his arm was wrapped in gauze. It was lightly stained pink. He was waiting for visitor hours to start so he could go and see how Duo was doing. Odin was reading a book. They had been there waiting for nearly ten minutes when a nurse approached them and announced that Duo was up, recovered, and waiting to see them.

Heero was out of his seat in less than a second and, not even waiting for the nurse, briskly walking to Duo's room.

He stood outside the door. Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and pushed it in. A movement on the bed quickly captured his attention and, leaving the door open he moved to the bedside.

"Duo..." he breathed.

Duo's expression changed to a "caught in the act" one. He had only been trying to sit himself up on the stiff bed after his body had been stuck in the same position for two days now. When he heard Heero, he was so shocked that he stopped everything he was doing in accordance to his heart.

"H-Heero..."

--

"Heero!" Duo giggled as Heero carried him from the car, "I can walk, you know!"

Heero chuckled in response. "Of course. I wanted to do this."

"But doesn't your arm still hurt?"

"That was a whole week ago, Duo!"

Odin opened the door and rolled his eyes at the two. Heero carefully avoided the door jam and took Duo inside the new house to explore.

"Wow... Heero, let me down so I can look around properly."

"No, not yet. I want to show you our bedroom."

"Heero..." Odin warned, "You're still only 17. And Duo only officially got the all-green a few days ago."

"Odin! I wasn't thinking that! Geez!"

Duo could see the color had rose in Heero's cheeks and he giggled quietly.

"What are you laughing at, huh?" Heero turned his head to glare at his passenger. He was still moving through the house though. He was moving up the stairs now.

Odin had decided that too much had happened where they had been staying so a change of scenery would be a good idea. Duo was now under his care, legally, and Solo had been charged and sentenced to life in prison. Kobayashi, too, had been expelled and sent to a juvenile correction facility where he still got schooling. So Odin bought a new house in a new city and enrolled Duo and Heero in a new school for their Senior Year.

Heero came to a stop outside another new door and shifted Duo in his arms so he could open it. The new house had already been furnished and painted and made ready for this day—official move-in day. This room—their room—had been painted in a mirage to look like something akin to the Aurora Borealis. As Duo stared at their colors, he thought they might just move or sway like the real lights did. He hugged Heero close as he took in the rest of the room.

There were two medium-sized desks that had computers on them and two twin beds opposite them already covered in matching bedsheets. There was a lamp in between the beds on a nightstand and a shag rug on the ground. There was a huge window adorned with curtains that were parted to reveal the backyard. All the colors accentuated the Aurora.

"Wow, Heero... this is practically the only room I've ever had so I may be a bit biased, but I love it!"

Heero gently set Duo on his feet and drew him to the window. "Check this out."

Outside in their backyard, was a newly blooming cherry tree. Duo put his forehead to the glass.

"Wow! It's so pretty..."

"Heero! Duo! Come on! There are still boxes waiting and I'm sure it can't take that long to check out a room!" Odin called.

Heero's eyebrow twitched as Duo chuckled.

--

Heero stuffed his nose further into Duo's neck and sighed softly. Duo was still enjoying his sleep. Probably the first real sleep he'd ever had since he'd come to this Colony. It was not to be enjoyed long, however, since the alarm went off.

Groaning, Heero reached over Duo's body to shut off the evil thing. Duo was already awake.

Heero sighed in annoyance but smiled at Duo and said, "Morning."

Duo smiled softly back as he rubbed his cheek further into the pillow and replied happily, "Morning"

Heero leaned down and kissed him on his cheek. Duo put on a cat-like smile but not for long. A sudden, evil, knocking came to the door and Odin was heard yelling.

"It's the first day! You guys had better not go back to bed!"

"Okay Odin! We're getting up! Really..."

The two rose out of Duo's bed and made their way to the kitchen, passing a satisfied Odin. They ate breakfast then went back upstairs, one in the bathroom while the other got dressed, and then switching. Just as Duo was about to leave the bathroom and join Heero in getting their bags and going, Heero walked in and shut the door.

"What are you doing?"

"We didn't get our good morning."

"What do you mean?"

Heero spun them around so that Duo was against the door and kissed him full on the mouth.

"But, Heero! We'll be late!"

"So?" he breathed in his ear.

"Heero! Duo! You'd better get down here now or you're walking!"

"Urgh..."

--The End--

Author's Notes: It's done. Oo; Wow. I'm kind of proud of myself. I hope everyone enjoyed it! And to those who have stuck with me ALL this time throughout my HUGE hiatus, thank you SO much for continuing to keep up with me. TT You guys are awesome. With this conclusion, I must admit to pretty much ending my fanfiction writing days. ;; I really don't have much patience for them. I will still probably do somethings but it will be very rare. If you really liked my writing and would like to read something more from me, I suggest going to the sister site of FanFiction: FictionPress(dot)com. My user name is the same. (Pretty much anywhere you go, it will be.) I suggest reading Fukai Ai Ichinen (otherwise known as Deep Love First Year) first. It is really popular. (I'd hope...)

Once more, thank you all who have stuck with me and looked forward to this final update. You guys compelled me forward and helped me write this to the end. It's dedicated to you! -Shizumi v 3