Blood, Sweat and Tears Part 9
On the last day of his stay home, Duo was able to breathe a sigh of relief when Hope's cold was finally breaking. With no surprise, his other children were more than understanding that he was giving the little redhead most of his attention over the weekend. They all just wanted her well again and so they waited patiently for their guardian to have a moment with each of them.
Laughing, the braided running back had three little hanging onto his back and a child on each leg as he walked about the living room. The kids all joined in on his laughter as they hung on with their little hands and arms. Watching from where they were spread out in the room, Solo, Hilde, Marcus, Flora and Tai smiled warmly and continued on with whatever they were occupied with at the time.
It was always like this when Duo was home. Everybody smiled and laughed all the time and everything bad seemed to just go away as far as the children were concerned.
Finally tiring, the braided running back stopped before one of the plush couches and panted, "Okay, Sun, Hope, Jamie, Omar and Abdul. The ride's over for now." Giggling, the children extracted themselves to carefully land on the sofa. With an excited cheer, they ran to the large toy box at the other end of the long room.
Lowering his handheld videogame, Tai grinned to his guardian, "So, we'll get to see your first official game of the season, right?" Both Marcus and Flora lowered the magazines that they had been reading to look on anxiously.
Duo smiled and nodded, "Of course. Just like always." The three teenagers lit up at the promise. Snapping his fingers, the running back thought aloud, "That reminds me. I can't believe that I forgot..." He slipped from the room with his young charges turning their 'aunt' and 'uncle' for some kind of clue to what was going on.
With a deep chuckle, Solo wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders and shrugged, "Don't look at us. We're usually the last ones to know when he's up to something." Hilde just smirked and nodded in agreement.
Quickly returning, Duo held up a bundle of shining, red fabric. "The new jerseys are out and you're the proud owners of the first ones available," he announced as he tossed each of the teenagers a new shirt.
Gasping, the lot beamed and held up the red jerseys with gild trim and lettering. On the front, the letters spelled out 'Wolverines' with the number 21. On the back, 'Maxwell' was displayed proudly with the same number. Solo and Hilde accepted their own jerseys with as much excitement as the youngsters.
"Cool! Thanks, Duo!" Marcus exclaimed as he was already throwing the shiny top on. Gazing down, he commented, "And you got to keep your old number, too!"
The football player nodded his braided head, "That's right. I've had that same number ever since I was in high school. It's not easy to keep the same one when you've been traded as much as I've been." He finished that last bit with a sheepish grin. "Hopefully after this year, I'll finally be traded to Green Bay for the last trade."
Flora seemed almost relieved as she held up her own jersey for a full appraisal. Satisfied with her findings, she commented, "These colors are definitely you. Not like the deep blue and white that the Cougars had."
Laughing, Duo approached her with a wink. "Oh yea, that's just what I worry about when joining a new team, Flora- whether or not their team colors flatter me." The Hispanic girl giggled as the running back rubbed her head playfully. Looking up, she asked, "So what is Heero Yuy like? That guy is dreamy."
Almost having to fight the urge to gag, the American turned to Marcus as the boy piped in, "Well, I'm not so impressed by that, but he's like one of the best quarterbacks out there. And you've been working with him for a few weeks now."
"He seems like a nice guy whenever he's interviewed," Tai added. "And one of the first quarterbacks that will most likely be inducted into the Hall of Fame with an Asian inheritance, like me." There was a wistful look about the boy. Considering the heritage that they shared, it only made sense that he looked up to the quarterback.
Both Solo and Hilde were biting their lips to fight off the laughter as they watched their 'brother's' face reddening a bit. Quickly hiding his embarrassment, Duo just shrugged, "Oh, he's okay." As much as it pained him to offer, he could never deny his kids anything. Forcing a smile, he told them, "Maybe one of these times, I'll have a chance to introduce you to him."
Practically bouncing in their places at the thought, the trio talked excitedly amongst themselves. Looking to his watch, Duo sighed and frowned deeply, "Well, I better get going, here." He turned to the couple beside him and asked, "Ready, Hil?"
The young woman rose to her feet and replied, "Of course." She and Solo headed from the room to give their friend a moment alone to say goodbye to his charges.
Knowing the drill, the children all lined up for their turn of hugs and kisses from the running back. Quietly promising each that he'd be back soon and be calling them that evening, Duo went down the line with a heavy heart. As often as he said these brief goodbyes, they never got any easier for him.
At the end of the line, Hope looked up with raised arms. Chuckling deeply, Duo bent down to scoop the little redhead up. He kissed her cheek and light pressed the tip of his nose to hers. "You were a brave little girl this weekend, angel" he whispered. "Being sick is never fun, but you handled it like a champ."
Hope beamed, "Really!?" When her soon-to-be-father nodded, she threw her arms around his neck tightly. "You'll be home soon?" she asked softly.
"I promise," he whispered, amazed that he was able to keep his voice from cracking. "You know I run and hide..." he waited until her high little voice said with him, "but I never tell a lie." Smiling lovingly, he said, "That's right. Now you keep being a good little girl for your Uncle Solo and Aunt Hilde while I'm gone."
As they pulled back, she grinned, "Okay, Daddy." Duo almost lost it when she said that title. Only on rare occasions would any of the children call him 'Dad.' It was as if until he actually was named their soul guardian in a few months, it was all too good to be true for them. At Hope's declaration, however, the other kids bit their lips and looked away sadly.
"Thank you, darling," was all Duo could manage after clearing his throat. She gave him a quick peck of a kiss and he carefully lowered her to the ground. Tai, Marcus and Flora moved in to lift the youngest of their family into their arms.
Quickly lowering the sunglasses that were atop his head over his eyes just as they started to water, the running back nodded to the lot, "I'll be in touch as soon as I get in." Knowing that if he stayed another moment that he would never leave, he regretfully turned to head towards the front door.
Hilde was already waiting there with her coat and handed her friend his. Solo walked up with an extended hand. "Have a good flight, bro," he smirked. Duo just nodded and gave him a one-armed hug. With one last round of hugs and kisses for the children that had followed him, Duo took up his luggage and followed his 'sister' out of the house.
Once they were in the car, Hilde looked over to her friend and frowned, "I overheard what Hope said to you. Are you all right?"
Clearing his throat once more, Duo reached up under his shades to wipe a stray tear and replied in a hoarse voice, "Yea. Just looking forward to the day I don't have to keep leaving them all behind like this."
Not wanting to upset him any more than he already was, Hilde just started the car with a firm nod of understanding. There wasn't another word spoken between them for the remainder of the trip to the airport.
Within an hour, the first class passengers were announced to take their places onboard the plane. Bending down, Duo picked up his luggage and went to stand in line. Removing his sunglasses, he placed them in his black shirt's chest pocket. A sudden and very loud sneeze had him reaching up to cover his now running nose. Closing his eyes, he sighed deeply, "Oh shit."
* * * * * *
Lady Une was sipping her third cup of tea, enjoying her company in the dining room later that afternoon. Heero never was a big tea drinker, not the way that she was. He would only have some if his nerves needed to be calmed. While over the last few weeks that had become a more common thing, he never really stuck around long enough for a good talk with her.
Quatre, however, loved tea. And over the course of his first weekend of living at the Yuy household, Lady Une was able to spend quite a bit of time chatting idly with the charming young man. Sitting across from her, the blonde Arab took a long sip from his own cup with a small smile of satisfaction. "It's been a while since I knew someone to have such a lovely variety of herbal teas," he grinned. "I hope that you don't mind my indulging in them like this."
Chuckling deeply, Lady Une shook her head, "Not at all. I'm just glad to have someone to share it with that appreciates it so much. They would just be sitting and collecting dust, either wise." As Quatre went for his teacup once more, she noted, "Duo should be arriving pretty soon, shouldn't he?"
"Yep," the agent answered while lowering his cup from his lips. "He called me on my cell phone not long ago after he landed. Knowing how he drives, the thirty-minute drive will only be about twenty minutes. So, he should only be a few minutes out."
Lady Une laughed and shook her head in amusement. Folding her arms, she smiled, "I think that it's wonderful he spends so much time with his family. You don't hear of most football players taking the time to do such a thing nowadays. They're all so wrapped up in their fame and possessions that they lose touch with their loved ones."
At that, Quatre's lips tugged upward. "Duo can be quite complicated," he stated, "but he values nothing higher than his family and friends. He's always been that way."
Her smile fading, the young woman said softly, "Just like Heero. As much as he loves what he does, he would gladly have given it up if it was what his parents wanted. Of course, all they wanted was to see him happy." Lady Une took up her spoon and stirred it around her tea as if she was searching within the swirling liquid.
The blonde agent bit his lip before commenting quietly, "He must have been pretty devastated after the accident. I know that if anything were to happen to my own parents, I would be beside myself."
Nodding, Lady Une looked up and replied, "He has never really gotten over his parents' deaths. As must of a front as he puts up, I know Heero enough to know that much. They were all very close." She cleared away the lump in her throat as she turned to one of the small pictures of Heero with his parents at his graduation hanging on the wall beside her.
In the image, Heero stood with his father to his left and mother his mother to his right. Dressed in his deep blue cap and gown, the young quarterback held his diploma in one hand and had his other wrapped around his father's shoulders. His mother had her head resting against his shoulder in a proud moment. All three were smiling brightly as they were no doubt looking forward to whatever the future held for them.
If they had known then how little time they had left together...
Looking away from the picture, Lady Une shook her head, "Most successful parents would want to see their children follow in their footsteps, or go on to respected professions. A doctor or a lawyer. A politician, perhaps... But not Heero's parents.
"It's quite rare for a high school student to be brought into the National Football League. However, they cannot overlook talent when they see it. Heero had a gift and a love for the sport that anyone would be a fool to miss," she continued while fighting her own emotional battle in recalling the Yuys.
The young housekeeper took a long sip from her tea and smiled sadly, "When he received a call from an scouting agent [1] that had been following him through his time on the school football team his senior year, he was the most elated I had ever seen him. And his parents supported him all the way, offering any and everything they could to help him. They went to every game that he played, whether here or away at another stadium."
Sitting back in her seat, Lady Une sighed deeply, "I'm just happy that they got to see their son living his dream before they passed."
Quatre shifted in his seat a bit and suggested with a reassuring smirk, "I'm sure that, wherever they are, they're still watching that. I don't believe that our loved ones ever really leave us behind when they pass on."
Lady Une gave him a grateful smile for his words. Biting her lip, she frowned, "Heero has changed quite a bit since the accident. I know that it's to be expected after such a life-changing thing, but I worry about him. He must more cynical than he ever was. And bitter. Even his smile is different. It no longer reaches his eyes to light them up the way that it did before."
As he listened, Quatre tried to imaging such a smile on the quarterback face. He had to agree with his companion that, while he did not smile often, there was something empty in Heero's eyes when he did. And there certainly was a lot to be said about his demeanor towards Duo after the running back crossed a very thin line with his mouth the night of the ill-fated party.
Running a finger along the rim of her cup, the young woman sighed deeply, "I just hate seeing him like this. Hopefully, it'll all pass when the pain isn't so fresh." The sound of the gym door closing a couple rooms away ended any further discussion on the topic.
Heero entered with a towel draped over his shoulders and his grey tank top sticking to his sweat-coated torso like a second skin. The black, mesh shorts that the quarterback was wearing flowed with every movement as he walked past the two joined at the table. Calling into the kitchen after him, Lady Une smirked, "Good workout?"
"Yes, thank you," the Japanese athlete called back. He stepped back into the dining room with a cold bottle of water in hand. Taking a long drink, Heero panted just a bit and grinned to his housekeeper, "It seems as though you've made yourself a new friend over these last couple of days."
Lady Une just chuckled deeply and reached across the table to pat the agent's hands. "Quatre is quite the conversations." Taking up her cup once more, she muttered to herself, "Like someone that I used to know."
Quickly sipping her cooling tea, she suggested, "Now, Duo should be arriving at any minute. I think it would be nice if you cleaned up a bit before he gets here. This would be the first time he would be stepping into his new home."
Rolling his eyes, Heero finished his water and nodded, "All right, all right." After having had a battle of wills with the young woman before, and losing every time, the quarterback knew better than to try and argue now. He easily tossed the bottle into the trash can on the other side of the kitchen before heading off.
Not long later, the doorbell rang and the pair at the table went to answer it. Opening the door, Quatre smiled, "Hey, Duo. How was your trip?" Before his friend could protest, he took up one of the suitcases and stepped aside.
A wide smile on his own face, Duo entered the house and answered, "Wonderful as always. Everyone sends their best." Lowering the suitcase in his possession, he removed the sunglasses from his eyes and grinned to the young woman standing in the entranceway. "You must be the lovely Lady Une that Quat, here, has been telling me about."
Gasping softly when the running back took her right hand to kiss the back of it, the housekeeper blushed. "And you must be the infamous Duo Maxwell, I presume," she giggled.
"In the flesh," he smirked with the wink of a twinkling violet eye. Lady Une just giggled again and fought of the remainder of her blush.
On his way down the stairs, a cleaned and freshly changed Heero appraised braided young man and greeted with a firm nod, "Maxwell."
Meeting the cobalt gaze, Duo nodded back, "Yuy."
There was a long pause as the two young men stared each other down. Clearing her throat, Lady Une suggested to the quarterback, "Heero, why don't you take some time to show Duo to his room and show him around once he's settled in?" Reaching into her pants pocket, she handed a small key to the running back and told him, "Here is the key to your space. It's the master copy, so don't lose it."
Beaming, Duo kissed her cheek and smiled, "You're an angel." With another bright blush, the young woman bowed her head. When Heero didn't move right away, she shot a fierce glare at him.
With a rough swallow of his pride, Heero took up one of the bags and gestured to the stairs with his head. "Let's go," he sighed deeply. Duo's cheshire grin only grew as he followed after with the other bag.
Once they were at the top of the steps, however, that grin was quickly wiped from his face in light of the large portrait of who could only be Heero's parents. With the weight of their eyes looking out at him, the running back bit is lip and lowered his head a bit. Quickening his pace to catch up with his teammate, he refrained from all of the smart comments that had been running through his mind up until then.
TBC...
[1] A scouting agent basically goes from game to game of an amateur level to see if there is any potential in a player to be brought into the professional level. In today's standards, there are no high school students picked up for the professional level, only college level and college grads. However, for this fic taking place in the future, I imagine that the rules would change if a high school grad was talented enough.
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