Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Secrets ❯ Hidden Secrets 2 ( Chapter 2 )

A/N: I would like to thank everyone for the awesome reviews. I'm so happy that ya'll are enjoying this story.

The knob turned less than a centimeter. Locked! He locked the door?! Heero pounded on the door a few times before calling out. "Duo? Are you in there?" Heero's voice was again monotonous, altered slightly by worry. Still no answer.

Heero went back to his room, to his bag where the master key was, then back to unlock the door. All the while he was thinking. Why didn't he answer? He's a light sleeper. Even if my knocking didn't wake him up, calling out to him should have.

You know exhaustion can force one's body unconscious and keep one there whether it's wanted or not. I have no doubt that he's just in a deep sleep as a result of everything. He wasn't sleeping much before now…. A calm, elegant and noble voice soothed him.

Wu Fei…. You're right, but I can't keep from worrying. They could both hear his slight bewilderment at this fact.

Just don't touch him or get to close. You're bloodied and bruised enough as it is.

Right.

Heero kept as quiet as possible once he opened the door and walked in. He pulled the door to but didn't close it. The hall light peeped through the cracked door, lighting the middle of the bed. The door was about one-third off the middle of the wall, towards the left, and opened into the room. Heero noticed that the room was, like the other two, sparsely furnished. A large, double door closet was in the wall on Heero's left, a chest of drawers next to that. There was a big window on the next wall, taking up almost half of it; it started about two feet from the left corner and ended almost a foot from the king size bed located against the next wall. The window had thick, heavy curtains that effectively blocked out all light from outside; it was after four in the afternoon, yet the only illumination in the room came from the hallway. The bed was in the middle of the wall to Heero's right, with a small table and lamp in the corner of walls on the left and a nightstand to the right of the bed, near the bathroom door. Heero walked further into the room and noticed that the bathroom door, not five feet from the room's entrance, was opened. Duo must have just flung his bag into the bathroom, Heero thought, since Duo's bag was in the bathroom, resting right in front of the door.

Heero went over to the bed, hoping to get a good look at Duo, to evaluate his condition of course. He kept his eye on the lump of blankets and quilts not quit in the middle of the bed, but still stopped a foot away. He remembered the first, and only, time that Trowa and Quatre had gotten too close to a sleeping Duo; Trowa had actually managed to touch his shoulder before Duo woke up; unfortunately Quatre was standing behind him, looking at the papers and things on the nightstand. I'll never forget the disbelief and wonderment in Trowa's voice as he told us how he got a broken jaw, and Quatre bruised ribs, when they weren't even on a mission. Trowa made sure to let Wu Fei and me both know that it was a bad idea to wake Duo up, even if you're not within reach. Something about flying lamps….

Heero looked at the bed, but could not see any trace of it's occupant. He's buried himself, Heero thought in amusement. But his breathing is even, and he seems to be sleeping peacefully enough. Heero moved to back away, when the sparse light landing on the bed lit the tail end of a chestnut colored braid. Heero chuckled lightly in his mind, careful to stay silent so as to risk waking the braided youth. When Heero reached the door, slight rustling caught his attention. Worried that he had been caught, Heero slowly turned around to face the bed again. Duo had only sifted in his sleep, and part of his arm was sticking out of the blankets, near the braid. Heero turned back to the door, which he had already opened enough to slip out through, when a glint of something drew his eyes back to the bed. It had looked like something on the bed was reflecting the light, but he could find nothing metallic or otherwise that could have done so. The light was resting on the mound of blankets, made of cloth, Duo's arm and braid. The rubber bands that Duo used didn't have any metal on them, and his arm was still clothed in his black garb. He didn't even bother to get undressed, Heero thought as he exited the room, chuckling in his mind. He dismissed the glint to a trick of his eye, caused by his exhaustion.

Heero went back downstairs to the kitchen, knowing Wu Fei kept some of the water warm for him. He passed Trowa and Quatre in the living room, the both of them on their way to bed. Quatre paused a moment, "Heero, where's Duo?"

"He's already asleep and seems to be in good condition, though I couldn't see his body. He is sleeping deeply, and had buried himself completely under the blankets. I did not wish to attempt to move them." Heero said, his relief clear, and a light trace of amusement present. He had stopped just outside of the kitchen when Quatre questioned him, and turned around to face him as he answered.

"Aa. A good idea. Sleep well Heero." Quatre said before he and Trowa continued on their way.

Heero nodded his acknowledgement, then turned to enter the kitchen.

After finishing the tea, Heero and Wu Fei turned in as well. They decided not to bother with pushing the twin beds together, opting to just share the cramped space offered by the one farthest from the door; the other bed became storage space for bags and clothing. The cramped space was worth it for the comfort and safety offered by sleeping in each other's arms. Any injuries were wrapped, and those that needed it were cleaned before the two slept.

Though everyone had gone to bed before what most considered evening, the house saw no activity come morning. Quatre awoke shortly after noon and decided to get up instead of laying in bed with his koibito like he wanted to. Instead he got up as silently as he could, grabbed his bag, and went to take a shower.

None of the pilots had suffered any broken bones or anything truly major, an absolute miracle considering how the mission had gone. Quatre suffered from a sprained wrist on his left hand, and his left shoulder had been dislocated; nothing permanent, the bone had easily gone back into the shoulder socket, though it had been a bit unnerving to see his arm hanging half a foot from his shoulder. He had three bruised ribs, and cuts, scrapes, and bruises all over his body. He even had a small cut on his right ear where the first bullet had grazed him. That's when all the trouble had started. Quatre shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts, wanting to enjoy his shower, even if he had only one hand to wash with. The water was pleasantly warm, working magic on his sore back muscles. I should leave some hot water for the others, though there is no telling when they will wake up. Quatre decided to indulge himself for only a little while before finishing up and going downstairs.

Everybody's still asleep, but then it's been almost a full day's rest. He headed to the kitchen, intent on seeing what there was to eat, if there was anything to cook with. Quatre's cooking skills had slowly started to develop after Trowa started teaching him. He has not learned many complicated meals, but Quatre did have most of the simple things, like bacon, eggs, toast, white rice, honey cakes…. Quatre looked around the living room and down the hallway. He was about to enter the kitchen when he heard rumbling of some kind, machine made. He followed the sound down the hall and into the garage.

The garage was actually clean and organized, with a mini-van that Heero had purchased prior to the mission. A Preventer agent had been waiting at a rendezvous point a few miles from this house with the van, and was to take care of the car that the pilots had used to get away. There was also the water heater, a work bench and tool rack, crates of miscellaneous junk, and the source of the rumbling noise, the washer and dryer. The dryer was running, almost done too by the looks of the timer. Why didn't I hear it sooner? And who started it? I thought everyone was asleep. Quatre stared at the dryer for a few more minutes before shrugging and going back to the kitchen to see what they had in ways of food supplies.

When Quatre entered the kitchen, he immediately smelt coffee. He went over to the pot and saw that whoever was up had started both pots, one with coffee, the other with plain water, presumably for the tea that Quatre and Wu Fei enjoyed, the others only drank tea occasionally. Must be Wu Fei then. He does make a habit of getting up early. Quatre went about making himself some orange spice tea, a new favorite. He also decided that cooking wasn't a good idea because one, he had no idea when everyone was going to wake up, and two, he only had one good hand. So he just made himself some toast and buttered it before taking it to the bar where his tea rest. Quatre finished his first slice of toast when he heard a door open in the hall, and the buzzer on the dryer go off. The basement. That's why I didn't see him. Quatre heard soft footsteps go from the hall to the garage and back, then through the living room to the stairs and to one of the bedrooms. Quatre gone back to eating after he heard the garage door open. He was half way done with his second piece when he heard the footsteps coming from the living room to the kitchen.

Quatre looked up when the spring door that was the kitchen entrance opened, momentary surprise reflected in his eyes before he smiles and happiness replaces it.

"Duo! How are you feeling?"

Duo grins at Quatre as he makes his way to the coffee machine, cup already in hand. He had already had a cup earlier, while he was getting his wash started. "Great Q-man! Shin no Kami just needed some rest to recuperate, and is just fine. How 'bout you, how's the arm and hand doing?"

"Better now that they're wrapped, though it was interesting showering with one hand." Quatre and Duo both chuckled at that. Quatre noticed that Duo was not wearing his usual priest's garb, but an ebony long-sleeved sweater, black jean pants, and pair of dark blue ankle socks.

Duo pored himself a cup of coffee before leaning against the counter to sip at it. "The other's are still asleep, though they'll probably be waking up soon. Do we have any plans for today other than r and r?"

"Other then sending in a report to headquarters, no. But by the looks of it we'll be lucky to have our reports written by evening." Quatre sighed, not really looking forward to writing this particular mission report.

Duo chuckled and grinned even more before re-filling his cup and making to leave the kitchen. "Have fun with that Q, I'm sure Trowa'll help ya!" And he walked out the door to the backyard. "I'm going for a walk Q-man, I'll see ya later!" he hollered back before the door was completely closed.

Quatre just shook his head and sighed, a small smile playing on his lips as he finished his toast. He's going to put off writing his report until the minute. I suppose either Heero or Wu Fei will try and force him to do it sooner, if he doesn't stay out until then. Quatre frowned. Why is he going out for a walk? It could aggravate his…injuries…. He didn't look injured just now though, and I couldn't see anything last night. Heero and Wu Fei obviously didn't either, otherwise they would have done something about it. Quatre just shrugged and started cleaning his plate and the knife he had used. Why am I worrying? Duo wouldn't be up and around if his legs were injured badly. He'd be asking us for the things he would need, and would whine if he had to get up. And he certainly wouldn't have been climbing the stairs as well as the basement ladder. Come to think of it, he was holding his right arm close to him in the car last night…but he could have just been cold. It didn't look like he had wrapped it. Quatre shakes his head to clear it. Duo said he's fine, and he never lies. I'll just go start on the mission report. I hope Trowa wakes up soon.

To be continued….

For those who were wondering or thought I made a mistake, Heero and Wu Fei are using telepathy; mind speaking. This will be explained later on, possibly chapter four.