'I think he's waking,' Treize said, stepping through the shower curtain and nearly giving Zechs a heart attack. 'Damn I hate not having a body....'
"So do I..." Zechs growled. "If you had a body, I could hit you for scaring the crap out of me." Turning off the hot water with a sigh, he reached for a towel. "What time is it?"
'Time is irrelevant to the dead....'
"Treize..."
'You know, you take all the fun out of being dead,' Treize grumbled. 'Scaring the crap out of people and being cryptic are part of the job description, you know.'
His only answer was a glare. Quickly toweling his long hair until it was only damp, not dripping, Zechs dragged on the clean jeans and tee shirt he had set out.
'It's almost noon,' Treize finally grumbled.
"Thank you." Zechs sighed, glancing out into the bedroom quickly before reaching for the brush. Despite Treize's warning, there was no sign of movement from the lump under the covers. Duo hadn't had another nightmare since dawn and Zechs had finally decided it was safe to leave him alone long enough to grab a shower. He had briefly thought about waiting until Dorothy returned with lunch to take a shower, but Treize had promised to keep an eye on the young ex-pilot for him. "Hey, aren't you supposed to vanish during the day too?"
'Merely a stereotype.' Treize shrugged. 'We're just harder to see in daylight, so most don't bother, I would imagine. But since you keep it like a cave in here.... I saw no reason to leave.'
"Privacy issues, of course, have never meant anything to you either."
'Oh... are you planning to do something you don't want me to see?'
"Would it matter if I was?"
'Hmm. Probably not....'
Shaking his head, Zechs stepped back into the bedroom, only to meet wary blue eyes staring at him from the nest of blankets. "Good morning... or afternoon, rather."
"Zechs...?" Some of the panic left the younger man's eyes as Duo shoved the covers back awkwardly and looked around. "Where...?"
"My apartment." Zechs managed a smile. "You were too far gone to tell me where you lived, so we came here instead."
"Oh," Duo blinked, still looking rather disoriented. "I... guess... that makes sense...."
"How do you feel?" Zechs sat down on the edge of the bed, carefully making no moves to touch the younger man. It was obvious that Duo remembered nothing of the night before, including snuggling his way into Zechs' arms after the first nightmare.
"Like I got hit by a truck..." Duo shrugged. "And... it's a little disconcerting to wake up with no idea where you are and why."
"Ah," Zechs smiled. "I can see that."
"So...uh..." Duo flushed in embarrassment. "What um...did happen last night?"
"What do you remember?" Zechs countered, leaning back against the headboard and starting to brush the tangles out of the mass of blond hair.
"I... did I actually argue with Lady Une?" Duo winced. "I... had some really weird dreams last night, I think."
"You did. She's kicked you out of the office for two days, by the way."
"I thought she was going to fire me..." Duo sighed. "Ok... and then you and Doro... took me prisoner and dragged me to some four star restaurant with food that tastes like cardboard?"
"That happened too." Zechs sighed. "Though I disagree with the food tasting like cardboard. You'll have to try it again sometime when you're actually conscious. It's really a very good restaurant.'
"Uh, right," Duo shook his head. "And...that's it. Everything else... had to be some kind of funky dream." Zechs wasn't quite sure what to make of the half embarrassed, half-guilty looks Duo was throwing in his direction while carefully not meeting his eyes.
"Since nothing... funky... happened, I suppose I will agree with that too." Zechs smiled faintly. "You fell asleep at the table, Dorothy and I brought you here. You managed to stay asleep, more or less, for about fourteen hours."
"I did...?" Duo looked almost stunned. "I...Damn. I haven't managed to sleep that long without a nightmare in... weeks."
"You did have nightmares," Zechs amended. "You just didn't wake up."
"Oh." Duo blushed. "Sorry if I woke you up...or kept you up..." He suddenly threw Zechs a guilty look. "I... you didn't stay awake that whole time, did you? Shit... I took your bed...."
"No." Zechs smiled. "Despite what you think, I do have to sleep too. And we shared the bed actually." The smiled turned to a grin at the startled look on the younger man's face. "Dorothy had the couch, so I was rather short on alternative options."
"Oh..." Duo sighed, and rubbed one hand across his face.
"Are you hungry?" Zechs asked, changing the subject slightly when Duo didn't look inclined to either speak again or look at him. "Dorothy... is bringing lunch back. I'm actually expecting her any minute."
"Um..." Duo blinked, and then winced when his stomach answered Zechs' question by growling loudly. "Yeah."
"Good." Zechs smiled, and stood up. "Then if you want, you are welcome to the shower. I'm afraid that the only clothes I have that might fit you though are the sweats and tee shirt that you're already wearing."
"That would be great." Duo smiled, and glanced at him quickly, then blushed again.
"Is there something wrong?" Zechs asked, curious in spite of himself. "You and I have been sharing an office for months. I didn't think that spending the night at my apartment would be this... disconcerting for you."
"I... it's not that... I" Duo looked around the room, carefully avoiding Zechs eyes. "I just had some...really odd dreams. Probably just the exhaustion messing with my mind."
"What kind of odd dreams?" Zechs asked casually.
"I... never mind." Duo blinked, then scrambled awkwardly out of the bed. "I... can I take that shower now? I'm still kind of skanky from the field....and sleeping in my clothes." Zechs decided it was probably not the time to point out that Duo hadn't slept in his own clothes.
"The bathroom's through there, and extra towels are on the counter," Zechs sighed, and stood up. "Make yourself at home."
"Thanks." Duo practically ran into the bathroom.
God... could that have been any more pathetic? Duo scrubbed angrily at his long hair, even as he reveled in the fact that Zechs apparently used the expensive conditioner that Duo had always eyed rather longingly. Well, yes. I suppose I could have actually blurted out that I dreamed about him, having sex with.... God... I'm losing my mind. I have to be. He stepped back under the steaming hot water and started rinsing out the long mane of chestnut hair. He and Treize Khushrenada could not have been lovers.
"Duo...?" Zechs called in through the closed bathroom door, and Duo jumped guiltily.
"Yeah?"
"Dorothy's here with lunch, whenever you're done in the shower."
"O-okay," Duo managed to call back. "Be out in a second."
"Take your time."
And I could not have found it really... hot. Duo sighed and turned off the water. Oh hell...who am I kidding? Damn. Wonder if Zechs really looks like that naked?
Groaning softly, he grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower stall.
When he emerged from the bathroom, re-dressed in a rolled up pair of Zechs' sweat pants and a tee shirt that reached halfway to his knees, Duo had managed to force the dream from his head. Mostly.
"Well, you look better this afternoon," Dorothy grinned at him as he found his way to the living room. She and Zechs were setting out containers of Chinese takeout on the large glass coffee table. "Much less like an extra from Nightmare on Elm Street."
"Thanks. I think." He curled up in the corner of the couch, trying not to let his thoughts focus on the images of Zechs and Treize having sex on it that suddenly popped into his head. Okay... I have now really gone over the bend. And they said I was hallucinating in the field.... "Though I feel like a little kid in these clothes. I hate being short."
"It could be worse..." Zechs grinned at him. "You could have spent the night at Dorothy's last night. I doubt any of her clothes would fit you much better."
"Hmm." Dorothy eyed him thoughtfully. "I don't know. I'd say we could wear about the same size... except in shoes, perhaps."
Duo felt his face flame again. "I...have to agree with Zechs there. I could not wear your clothes."
"In that case, you'd better remember to pack a bag when it's my turn," Dorothy shrugged, looking rather nonchalant.
"Your turn?" Duo asked, feeling suddenly lost.
"I'm afraid he doesn't remember that conversation." Zechs handed Duo a glass of soda and sat down in the armchair across from the couch that they were sitting on. "We were talking last night, about whether you would sleep better if someone was nearby. It was...decided that you would go home with one or the other of us for a while, to see if it helped."
"Oh." Duo blinked, then looked from one to the other. "I..."
"You didn't seem to mind the idea last night." Dorothy smirked at the stunned look on his face. "And we don't mind."
"I... um." Duo looked from one to the other of his new friends. "You guys do realize how much I appreciate you going out on a limb for me here?"
"Yes," Dorothy grinned openly at him. "So don't forget you owe us now, too."
"Dorothy." Zechs scowled at her in mock anger then smiled himself.
"Men. No sense of humor," She sighed, digging into the cardboard container in her hands with a fork. Duo smiled a little, and dug into his own food with more of an appetite than he had had for months.
Zechs glanced at his guests, seeing the same reluctance to break the oddly comfortable silence that he was feeling. Duo had set his empty container aside, and was curled up on the couch, an odd expression on his face. Dorothy was poking at the congealed sauce in her box with a fork and frowning.
"So... I suppose we should... talk about how we're going to work this out," he finally offered quietly.
Duo flushed, and ducked his head. "I... didn't mean for you guys to have to rearrange your lives to babysit me...."
"It's not babysitting." Dorothy glanced up at him. "You are not allowed to bring any babies into my house. You can just stay at Zechs' place...."
He blinked at her. Zechs just rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Duo, we don't mind." He smiled sadly at both of them. "It was nice to have...someone else here."
"Yeah...but I made you miss work, and woke you up...."
"If I ever mind, I'll tell you." Zechs shrugged. "Besides, if you go by the number of hours I've been putting in at work, I probably have several weeks worth of sick days saved. It obviously hasn't killed me to take one. It's kind of nice, actually."
"Yeah...but..."
"Maxwell..." Dorothy interrupted quietly. "Let us help you. We want to. And you aren't the only one benefiting here anyway. At least, I'm feeling that way." Zechs just nodded solemnly. "We want to do this. So you might as well sit back and stop fighting."
"Yes ma'am." Duo rolled his eyes.
"Good. Now that that's out of the way, are we staying here tonight too? Or am I taking you guys home with me?"
Zechs looked at Duo. "What would you prefer? I don't mind if you want to stay here again, and I don't mind if you want to go to Dorothy's. Or we can go to your place and stay there tonight."
Duo just blinked at them, a little startled. "We...?"
"This has become a group effort, Duo." Dorothy shrugged. "Zechs and I... decided we'd spent long enough alone. And we both think you have. So..."
"God..." Duo shook his head. "This is like some warped version of the three musketeers."
"And that's a bad thing? I rather like being warped." Dorothy smirked at them. "It beats being a sheep and following the flock."
"Besides..." Zechs added thoughtfully. "This is rather your fault."
"My fault?" Duo frowned. "How is this my fault?"
"You are the one that insisted on dragging us out of our self imposed isolation. Deal with it."
"Beware, for ye shall reap what you sow..." Duo muttered. "I... it doesn't matter to me where we spend the night... I guess."
"Good. Though actually, we should probably stay here," Dorothy shrugged. "I imagine this is the only place of the three that actually has food in it at the moment."
"There is that." Zechs sighed.