Part Five: One Week

The front door opened with barely a sound and he stepped in with heavy steps. His emotions were in a twist, unable to be untangled. He just couldn't figure out what was happening, what he was feeling. Perhaps he ought to figure it out fast, he realized. Something was not feeling right. He slipped his shoes off and paused. It was so silent in the house and it let an eerie feel creep around him in a suffocating thickness.

Frowning, he moved down the hallway silently and finally heard soft voices. Coming into the living room and facing the back of the couch, he was surprised to find Trowa sitting there with his back to him. Quatre and Wufei sat on other chairs, facing the taller boy with distressed expressions.

Blinking in surprise, the blonde turned his attention to the newcomer. "Heero! We didn't hear you come in. Are you okay? We couldn't figure out why you were out alone!"

"Right here," Trowa told him, turning his head back to spare a sidelong look to Heero. The Japanese boy moved to come to the front of the couch and looked down at the longhaired boy with his head pillowed by Trowa's lap.

"He was crying?" Heero asked, squatting down to get a better look at the tear-stained face. His frown deepened when he saw cuts all over the boy's face. "What happened to him?"

Heero stood up again and looked around. Wufei met his eyes. "He came back in a hysterical state and locked himself in his room for hours. He didn't come out until an hour or so ago. He broke the mirror with his fist and was cut. Just as soon as we got the last of the glass out of him he'd fallen asleep. We haven't dared move him."

"Heero," Quatre's voice caught the other boy's attention. The blonde took a deep breath and then spoke. "Sally cannot promise longer than three weeks. It could be even sooner, Heero…"

Stunned, Heero controlled himself and slid down into an empty seat. "Three weeks…" he repeated. No one answered. His cobalt eyes focused on the tear-stained face and his mind flashed back to the event on the roof.

/You weren't joking…/ Heero turned away and closed his eyes in thought. What was he supposed to do? It was obvious Duo wanted something more… his actions were proving that and they were pretty obvious, but even so his mind refused to accept them. /Why not…?/ he asked himself.

"Heero, Wufei had gotten up and was standing before the other Asian boy. "You're going to lose him too soon. Don't you think you ought to make that short time worth it? Or will you live with all the regrets and pains of `what if…?'? You decide, Yuy. I just wouldn't recommend taking the `what if…' choice." He turned and moved to the hallway. "It's about time I got a walk." A few minutes later the door closed.

Quatre threw his hands up in exasperation and frustration, at the end of his emotional rope for the day. "Heero, get a clue! There's no time left. If you want him, if you care for him enough… take the little time that you have left! Don't leave him like this. Do this for both of you. You know you need it! Wufei's right, you won't be able to deal with a `what if…' I know you. We know you." He sighed and turned his head away. "I'm sorry. I don't even know what happened."

There was silence for a long time and Quatre was afraid he'd angered Heero. He was surprised when a confused voice answered, "He… ki-kissed me…"

"I didn't understand… I don't understand what he's getting at… I don't know what I want." He looked up at Quatre and shook his head. "Quatre, I don't think I can give him what he wants. I'm not capable of it and I can't be lying to him if I'm not sure…" he sighed noisily and ran his hand through his hair.

The blonde continued to gape at the uncharacteristic display of emotion. His features softened and he looked over at Trowa who was silently staring down at Duo and trailing his fingertips across Duo's hair. "Heero," Trowa finally said, not looking up, "don't do it if you don't know. Just let him know. That will be the best relief he can get. He needs support. From what Wufei and Quatre have told me, Duo seems to have hidden everything for the good of the rest of us. He can't handle that, you must have realized. He just needs support. Let's at least be that for him." Trowa finally looked up, emerald eyes with an unnatural sheen to them. Quatre bit his lip as he realized his lover was hiding his tears.

It was then that Duo suddenly moaned in his sleep and curled up tight into himself as he began to twist and turn, as if in pain. Trowa reacted quickly and brought the boy into wakefulness by sitting him up and calling. "Duo, c'mon… wake up now… Duo…?"

The reaction was obviously not from a nightmare for as soon as Duo's eyes half-opened he continued his uncomfortable twisting. "I think I'm gonna be sick…" he whispered hoarsely, holding back and covering his mouth with a hand. The other three stood up quickly and Quatre and Heero flanked Trowa as the tall boy half-carried Duo quickly to the bathroom.

Holding the American's braid out of the way and rubbing a hand along his back, Trowa knelt beside Duo on the tiled floor of the bathroom. Heero moved in a bit to keep the boy steady as he was sick into the porcelain base of the toilet. After long minutes, the retching stopped and Duo sagged back. Trowa quickly flushed the toilet and had Heero run a washcloth under running water before he offered it to Duo.

Weakly, the American boy took it and wiped at his mouth and face. Eyes red and puffy from a bit more panicked crying, Duo blinked steadily in surprise when he noted Heero. "G-gomen nasai…" he muttered softly and looked away. He brought his shoulders up to attempt and hide his face. "Arigatou, minna…"

Duo faintly smiled to him and nodded. "Hai…" With the help of both Trowa and Heero he stood and was moved to his bedroom. /Can I not even walk by myself, now?/ he wondered. He just prayed it was a passing moment. The bit of weakness after being sick and using so much energy on baffling emotions.

He did try desperately hard to keep his eyes open, there was much he needed to talk to Heero about, but… his mind was shutting down. He opened his mouth to speak but then he felt his body go unresponsive and he let himself slump down onto the sheets. A soft sigh escaped his lips just as his head settled firmly into the pillow.

"I… I'm so worried," Quatre whispered, tears coming. "I don't feel so well… Duo… his emotions are so confused." The blonde scrunched his face up and looked desperate.

Trowa rested a hand on his shoulder. "All we can do is be here for him. It hurts to say that, but it's true." Quatre just nodded. "Let's let him rest." Trowa nodded to Heero and the three left the room.

"He's in a lot of pain, though he refuses to complain about it to us!" Quatre wailed to Sally over the vid phone. "Gods, Sally, he's dying and still can't ask us for help!" The blonde began to cry in short gasps of sobs.

Sally bit her lip to see the state the younger boy was in. "Quatre… I wish I could say it's alright…" She sighed and turned to her computer and began typing. "I can see if I can grant him some pain medication. I don't know what to say about getting him to take them though…" She frowned a bit and scrolled down the information that hopped onto her screen.

Nodding, Sally hit the affirmation key and a prescription was sent down to the lab. "Just sent the request in. An hour and it'll be ready, okay? Want to pick it up?" The blonde boy nodded while wiping at his flushed face. "Quatre-kun, what other symptoms have come up?"

Swallowing to try and keep calm, Quatre looked at Sally with clouded eyes. "He's getting so tired too easily. He's not usually standing or walking, always supporting himself some way. He hates to admit it and still hasn't. But he's getting really weak… it's like everything is speeding up suddenly." Sally nodded sadly and motioned for him to go on. "He eats but can't keep most of it down too easily… he's already apparently getting very thin… even within these past few days. There's just so much tension in the house… it's as if one thing goes wrong and everything will collapse." He sighed and pressed his hand to his face. "I'm sorry, I need to go. Trowa will drop by and pick up the medication."

"Of course. Keep strong, Quatre," she gave a weak smile and signed off. The screen went blank and she leaned back. It was time to begin informing the other friends of the gundam pilots. It was unfair to keep them in the dark as it was. She nibbled on her lip and then began searching over the network for addresses and calling numbers from many of the people from the war.

Quatre stood up and walked out of the study into the hallway. There was a clash of sounds and then loud cursing coming from the kitchen so his pace sped up and soon he was skidding into the kitchen and kneeling next to a bleeding Duo. The American continued to swear profusely as he pressed his arm against his chest.

The blonde quickly assessed the situation by taking note of the partially cut vegetables on the counter and the sharp kitchen knife a few feet away. Duo was bent over weakly on the floor with his bloody arm and seemed to be breathing hard. Worrying, Quatre moved closer and carefully pulled Duo's arm away from his chest. The American hissed in pain and the blonde looked over the deep cut that ran diagonally across the middle of Duo's forearm.

/This is more damage than normal… it shouldn't be this deep…/ For the first time Quatre realized Duo wasn't wearing long-sleeves. He'd been wearing them for a long time since Quatre and Heero were around and rarely did he wear anything to reveal his arms. Often he hadn't worn shorts either, but then again his skinny, smooth legs could just be taken as a natural beauty on him.

"Duo…" Quatre began, pulling a towel from the counter and wrapping about Duo's arm to hold the bleeding. "When did you loose so much weight…?" /Why didn't Sally notice or mention it before?/

Duo looked away and clutched his fists. "What's it matter…?" he whispered hoarsely. "What does it matter?" he asked louder, turning back to face Quatre with tears in his eyes. He calmed and smiled, blinking away the tears. "It's okay, Q-chan. We'll just get this nasty accident bandaged…" He began to stand but collapsed. "Shit…" he muttered as Quatre came under his good arm to give him support.

Later in the day Trowa came back with the pain medication. Heero and Wufei had gone out earlier to look around the colony, hoping to find something to keep their minds occupied. Trowa and Quatre reclined in the living room, as Duo was napping once again. They began to talk about how they would convince Duo to take the pills.

"He has to, he's just holding too much in and it's worsening him," Quatre said. He looked at the bottle in his hands and shook it. Sally had done her best, he just hope it would work.

Trowa nodded to the other and looked to the bottle too. "He's scared, Quatre. I'm sure you know it. He's a wreak on the inside even though he's keeping up the smile for us. Heero is near on his wit's end since seeing him practically back to normal."

Silence spread throughout the room. In a voice not even a whisper, Quatre spoke. "We're down to perhaps a week and a half." Trowa gave no answer, knowing that Quatre just needing to get his thoughts out. The blonde stared at the floor with unseeing eyes that were beginning to overflow. "What if we don't get to say goodbye, Trowa…? What…. I… I don't know…" He began to sob, hands covering his face. Trowa got up and embraced his lover tightly while whispering anything that came to mind into Quatre's ear.

"Oh Trowa, why can't we stop this?" He clung tightly to the other boy and sobbed on his shoulder. "It's just so unfair… how can they do this?"

They stayed in a tight embrace for a long time, neither able to let go of a comfort they found in one another. Salty tears stained their clothing and tracked their faces. The tears just wouldn't stop. Quatre couldn't even imagine how it would be by the time their beloved friend was truly gone.

Duo was angry. No, too lenient. He was damn pissed off with having his meal drugged once again. Since Trowa had returned a few days back with a bottle of pain relievers from Sally, they'd show up in his meal without him realizing it. At first he'd took them at will. But they made him even more tired than he already was and then was confined to bed. By now he could hardly walk. Only for a minute and even that was not an easy task.

His skin on his face was showing the bones beneath. His arms were even thinner than before and so were his legs. Sally had come by the day before and force him to take the pain medicine even though he'd tried to fight the whole time.

Now he was sitting in the living room and glaring angrily at his friends. "Why the hell did you go and do something like that?!" he screamed at them. "I told you to quit it!! What? You think I want to stay in the fucking bed?!" His emotions were always amplified with the meds. and it was another thing he loathed about it. "Damnit you guys!" He rubbed furiously at his tearing eyes.

"Duo," Wufei cut in, "calm down. You know you can't handle it by yourself. If you won't relieve yourself verbally by talking to us, then at least take this to let the physical pain go down."

Wufei sighed and leaned back, "Are you going to keep it all inside…? Leaving us all to wonder if it would have helped had we forced you to talk?" Are you going to keep all those emotions pent up inside?"

He was still quite stubborn and Duo crossed his arms and turned his head up. "What I feel should be none of your concern. Gods…" he sagged against the back of the couch and felt his eyes dropping. "I hate you when you guys pull this trick…" he muttered. His eyelids were barely open and he could just see a slit of light. He felt warm hands, which he recognized to be Heero's, situating him more comfortably on the couch.

Being in the not-quite-conscious state that he was in, Duo reached blindly with his hand to grip Heero's wrist in a weak grasp and muttered quietly, "Mm… `love ya'… Heero… nnn…" he fell again into darkness and dreams embraced him.

Heero stared at Duo's sleeping form numbly while the others averted their gaze. The once perfect-soldier had his mouth partly open in surprise and just blinked, trying to come up with what to do and say.

"Nani…?" Heero questioned, sinking weakly into a cushioned chair. Quatre repeated his question without looking up. "I… can't understand it, I don't think I do on the same level he does."

Sad, crystal eyes turned their gaze to Heero. "You are best friends then, ne? You love him at some degree, then." The blonde sighed and leaned heavily against Trowa.

Wufei: The last day is near. We don't know when it'll be or how it'll happen. For someone who bonded us together, how can it be the same one who seems to tear us apart? Part Six, the final chapter, is next.


	Lionna's Corner of Anime Fanfiction \| home Part Five: One Week ~~~~~ Series: Zetsumei no Yochimu Part: Five of Six Part Title: One Week [unedited] By: Shinigami Goddess (Lionna) E-mail: shinigami_goddess@netzero.com Rating: PG-13ish Pairings: 3x4/4x3 (implied and hinted), 1+2 mildly, 1x2/2x1 eventually Warnings: EW has not and will not happen for this story, MAJOR Relena bashing, some language, MAJOR angst. Shonen-ai hints. Background song: Track 14 of "Evita" CD Song: You Must Love Me. Ask me and I'll send you an MP3 of the song! :) Started: September 5, 2000 Completed: September 12, 2000 ~~~~~ The front door opened with barely a sound and he stepped in with heavy steps. His emotions were in a twist, unable to be untangled. He just couldn't figure out what was happening, what he was feeling. Perhaps he ought to figure it out fast, he realized. Something was not feeling right. He slipped his shoes off and paused. It was so silent in the house and it let an eerie feel creep around him in a suffocating thickness. Frowning, he moved down the hallway silently and finally heard soft voices. Coming into the living room and facing the back of the couch, he was surprised to find Trowa sitting there with his back to him. Quatre and Wufei sat on other chairs, facing the taller boy with distressed expressions. Blinking in surprise, the blonde turned his attention to the newcomer. "Heero! We didn't hear you come in. Are you okay? We couldn't figure out why you were out alone!" The phrase clicked in his mind right away and Heero strode forward, asking, "Duo came back? Is he still here?" "Right here," Trowa told him, turning his head back to spare a sidelong look to Heero. The Japanese boy moved to come to the front of the couch and looked down at the longhaired boy with his head pillowed by Trowa's lap. "He was crying?" Heero asked, squatting down to get a better look at the tear-stained face. His frown deepened when he saw cuts all over the boy's face. "What happened to him?" Heero stood up again and looked around. Wufei met his eyes. "He came back in a hysterical state and locked himself in his room for hours. He didn't come out until an hour or so ago. He broke the mirror with his fist and was cut. Just as soon as we got the last of the glass out of him he'd fallen asleep. We haven't dared move him." "Heero," Quatre's voice caught the other boy's attention. The blonde took a deep breath and then spoke. "Sally cannot promise longer than three weeks. It could be even sooner, Heero…" Stunned, Heero controlled himself and slid down into an empty seat. "Three weeks…" he repeated. No one answered. His cobalt eyes focused on the tear-stained face and his mind flashed back to the event on the roof. "Y-you're just j-joking… r-right…?" "Of course I'm just joking!" /You weren't joking…/ Heero turned away and closed his eyes in thought. What was he supposed to do? It was obvious Duo wanted something more… his actions were proving that and they were pretty obvious, but even so his mind refused to accept them. /Why not…?/ he asked himself. /It'll just be more painful when he goes. You'll have lost him too soon…/ /But if I don't do anything… he'll just be gone… there would have been nothing…/ /Better that than be hurt./ /Demo…/ "Heero, Wufei had gotten up and was standing before the other Asian boy. "You're going to lose him too soon. Don't you think you ought to make that short time worth it? Or will you live with all the regrets and pains of `what if…?'? You decide, Yuy. I just wouldn't recommend taking the `what if…' choice." He turned and moved to the hallway. "It's about time I got a walk." A few minutes later the door closed. Heero rubbed his forehead. "Nani…" he muttered. "What's he saying…" Quatre threw his hands up in exasperation and frustration, at the end of his emotional rope for the day. "Heero, get a clue! There's no time left. If you want him, if you care for him enough… take the little time that you have left! Don't leave him like this. Do this for both of you. You know you need it! Wufei's right, you won't be able to deal with a `what if…' I know you. We know you." He sighed and turned his head away. "I'm sorry. I don't even know what happened." There was silence for a long time and Quatre was afraid he'd angered Heero. He was surprised when a confused voice answered, "He… ki-kissed me…" "Nani-o?" Quatre asked, a bit startled. He turned quickly and saw Heero with his face tense as he stared intently at his hands. "I didn't understand… I don't understand what he's getting at… I don't know what I want." He looked up at Quatre and shook his head. "Quatre, I don't think I can give him what he wants. I'm not capable of it and I can't be lying to him if I'm not sure…" he sighed noisily and ran his hand through his hair. The blonde continued to gape at the uncharacteristic display of emotion. His features softened and he looked over at Trowa who was silently staring down at Duo and trailing his fingertips across Duo's hair. "Heero," Trowa finally said, not looking up, "don't do it if you don't know. Just let him know. That will be the best relief he can get. He needs support. From what Wufei and Quatre have told me, Duo seems to have hidden everything for the good of the rest of us. He can't handle that, you must have realized. He just needs support. Let's at least be that for him." Trowa finally looked up, emerald eyes with an unnatural sheen to them. Quatre bit his lip as he realized his lover was hiding his tears. /Trowa… what would I do if you were the one dying…?/ The blonde looked down and didn't know what to do. Heero just nodded in reply to Trowa, too tired to do anything else. It was then that Duo suddenly moaned in his sleep and curled up tight into himself as he began to twist and turn, as if in pain. Trowa reacted quickly and brought the boy into wakefulness by sitting him up and calling. "Duo, c'mon… wake up now… Duo…?" The reaction was obviously not from a nightmare for as soon as Duo's eyes half-opened he continued his uncomfortable twisting. "I think I'm gonna be sick…" he whispered hoarsely, holding back and covering his mouth with a hand. The other three stood up quickly and Quatre and Heero flanked Trowa as the tall boy half-carried Duo quickly to the bathroom. Holding the American's braid out of the way and rubbing a hand along his back, Trowa knelt beside Duo on the tiled floor of the bathroom. Heero moved in a bit to keep the boy steady as he was sick into the porcelain base of the toilet. After long minutes, the retching stopped and Duo sagged back. Trowa quickly flushed the toilet and had Heero run a washcloth under running water before he offered it to Duo. Weakly, the American boy took it and wiped at his mouth and face. Eyes red and puffy from a bit more panicked crying, Duo blinked steadily in surprise when he noted Heero. "G-gomen nasai…" he muttered softly and looked away. He brought his shoulders up to attempt and hide his face. "Arigatou, minna…" "Daijoubu desu ka?" Quatre asked from the doorway, tilting his head with worry. Duo faintly smiled to him and nodded. "Hai…" With the help of both Trowa and Heero he stood and was moved to his bedroom. /Can I not even walk by myself, now?/ he wondered. He just prayed it was a passing moment. The bit of weakness after being sick and using so much energy on baffling emotions. He did try desperately hard to keep his eyes open, there was much he needed to talk to Heero about, but… his mind was shutting down. He opened his mouth to speak but then he felt his body go unresponsive and he let himself slump down onto the sheets. A soft sigh escaped his lips just as his head settled firmly into the pillow. "I… I'm so worried," Quatre whispered, tears coming. "I don't feel so well… Duo… his emotions are so confused." The blonde scrunched his face up and looked desperate. Trowa rested a hand on his shoulder. "All we can do is be here for him. It hurts to say that, but it's true." Quatre just nodded. "Let's let him rest." Trowa nodded to Heero and the three left the room. ~~~ "He's in a lot of pain, though he refuses to complain about it to us!" Quatre wailed to Sally over the vid phone. "Gods, Sally, he's dying and still can't ask us for help!" The blonde began to cry in short gasps of sobs. Sally bit her lip to see the state the younger boy was in. "Quatre… I wish I could say it's alright…" She sighed and turned to her computer and began typing. "I can see if I can grant him some pain medication. I don't know what to say about getting him to take them though…" She frowned a bit and scrolled down the information that hopped onto her screen. "Please… we'll figure out something. Just… just please let us give him this chance." Nodding, Sally hit the affirmation key and a prescription was sent down to the lab. "Just sent the request in. An hour and it'll be ready, okay? Want to pick it up?" The blonde boy nodded while wiping at his flushed face. "Quatre-kun, what other symptoms have come up?" Swallowing to try and keep calm, Quatre looked at Sally with clouded eyes. "He's getting so tired too easily. He's not usually standing or walking, always supporting himself some way. He hates to admit it and still hasn't. But he's getting really weak… it's like everything is speeding up suddenly." Sally nodded sadly and motioned for him to go on. "He eats but can't keep most of it down too easily… he's already apparently getting very thin… even within these past few days. There's just so much tension in the house… it's as if one thing goes wrong and everything will collapse." He sighed and pressed his hand to his face. "I'm sorry, I need to go. Trowa will drop by and pick up the medication." "Of course. Keep strong, Quatre," she gave a weak smile and signed off. The screen went blank and she leaned back. It was time to begin informing the other friends of the gundam pilots. It was unfair to keep them in the dark as it was. She nibbled on her lip and then began searching over the network for addresses and calling numbers from many of the people from the war. Quatre stood up and walked out of the study into the hallway. There was a clash of sounds and then loud cursing coming from the kitchen so his pace sped up and soon he was skidding into the kitchen and kneeling next to a bleeding Duo. The American continued to swear profusely as he pressed his arm against his chest. The blonde quickly assessed the situation by taking note of the partially cut vegetables on the counter and the sharp kitchen knife a few feet away. Duo was bent over weakly on the floor with his bloody arm and seemed to be breathing hard. Worrying, Quatre moved closer and carefully pulled Duo's arm away from his chest. The American hissed in pain and the blonde looked over the deep cut that ran diagonally across the middle of Duo's forearm. /This is more damage than normal… it shouldn't be this deep…/ For the first time Quatre realized Duo wasn't wearing long-sleeves. He'd been wearing them for a long time since Quatre and Heero were around and rarely did he wear anything to reveal his arms. Often he hadn't worn shorts either, but then again his skinny, smooth legs could just be taken as a natural beauty on him. "Duo…" Quatre began, pulling a towel from the counter and wrapping about Duo's arm to hold the bleeding. "When did you loose so much weight…?" /Why didn't Sally notice or mention it before?/ Duo looked away and clutched his fists. "What's it matter…?" he whispered hoarsely. "What does it matter?" he asked louder, turning back to face Quatre with tears in his eyes. He calmed and smiled, blinking away the tears. "It's okay, Q-chan. We'll just get this nasty accident bandaged…" He began to stand but collapsed. "Shit…" he muttered as Quatre came under his good arm to give him support. "Let's go, I'll get that wrapped up." The American nodded as the two headed for the bathroom. Later in the day Trowa came back with the pain medication. Heero and Wufei had gone out earlier to look around the colony, hoping to find something to keep their minds occupied. Trowa and Quatre reclined in the living room, as Duo was napping once again. They began to talk about how they would convince Duo to take the pills. "He has to, he's just holding too much in and it's worsening him," Quatre said. He looked at the bottle in his hands and shook it. Sally had done her best, he just hope it would work. Trowa nodded to the other and looked to the bottle too. "He's scared, Quatre. I'm sure you know it. He's a wreak on the inside even though he's keeping up the smile for us. Heero is near on his wit's end since seeing him practically back to normal." Silence spread throughout the room. In a voice not even a whisper, Quatre spoke. "We're down to perhaps a week and a half." Trowa gave no answer, knowing that Quatre just needing to get his thoughts out. The blonde stared at the floor with unseeing eyes that were beginning to overflow. "What if we don't get to say goodbye, Trowa…? What…. I… I don't know…" He began to sob, hands covering his face. Trowa got up and embraced his lover tightly while whispering anything that came to mind into Quatre's ear. "Oh Trowa, why can't we stop this?" He clung tightly to the other boy and sobbed on his shoulder. "It's just so unfair… how can they do this?" They stayed in a tight embrace for a long time, neither able to let go of a comfort they found in one another. Salty tears stained their clothing and tracked their faces. The tears just wouldn't stop. Quatre couldn't even imagine how it would be by the time their beloved friend was truly gone. "Hardly two weeks…" he whispered. ~~~ Duo was angry. No, too lenient. He was damn pissed off with having his meal drugged once again. Since Trowa had returned a few days back with a bottle of pain relievers from Sally, they'd show up in his meal without him realizing it. At first he'd took them at will. But they made him even more tired than he already was and then was confined to bed. By now he could hardly walk. Only for a minute and even that was not an easy task. His skin on his face was showing the bones beneath. His arms were even thinner than before and so were his legs. Sally had come by the day before and force him to take the pain medicine even though he'd tried to fight the whole time. Now he was sitting in the living room and glaring angrily at his friends. "Why the hell did you go and do something like that?!" he screamed at them. "I told you to quit it!! What? You think I want to stay in the fucking bed?!" His emotions were always amplified with the meds. and it was another thing he loathed about it. "Damnit you guys!" He rubbed furiously at his tearing eyes. "Duo," Wufei cut in, "calm down. You know you can't handle it by yourself. If you won't relieve yourself verbally by talking to us, then at least take this to let the physical pain go down." Already turning groggy, Duo screwed up his face and peered through blurry eyes at the Chinese boy. "Nani-o…?" Wufei sighed and leaned back, "Are you going to keep it all inside…? Leaving us all to wonder if it would have helped had we forced you to talk?" Are you going to keep all those emotions pent up inside?" He was still quite stubborn and Duo crossed his arms and turned his head up. "What I feel should be none of your concern. Gods…" he sagged against the back of the couch and felt his eyes dropping. "I hate you when you guys pull this trick…" he muttered. His eyelids were barely open and he could just see a slit of light. He felt warm hands, which he recognized to be Heero's, situating him more comfortably on the couch. Being in the not-quite-conscious state that he was in, Duo reached blindly with his hand to grip Heero's wrist in a weak grasp and muttered quietly, "Mm… `love ya'… Heero… nnn…" he fell again into darkness and dreams embraced him. Heero stared at Duo's sleeping form numbly while the others averted their gaze. The once perfect-soldier had his mouth partly open in surprise and just blinked, trying to come up with what to do and say. "Do you love him, Heero?" Quatre asked suddenly in an odd, detached and monotone voice. "Nani…?" Heero questioned, sinking weakly into a cushioned chair. Quatre repeated his question without looking up. "I… can't understand it, I don't think I do on the same level he does." Sad, crystal eyes turned their gaze to Heero. "You are best friends then, ne? You love him at some degree, then." The blonde sighed and leaned heavily against Trowa. For the first time, it was Wufei who announced the countdown. "One week." /One week./ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ Wufei: The last day is near. We don't know when it'll be or how it'll happen. For someone who bonded us together, how can it be the same one who seems to tear us apart? Part Six, the final chapter, is next. Lionna: Await patiently Part Six: Final Day Zetsumei no Yochimu Duo: Yeah! Drag my life out a little bit longer! Lionna: ::covers Duo's mouth:: Duo no baka! Duo: :;sweatdrop;: mmi mn't manna mmie... Lionna: Shush! Duo: ::sniffles::