Prelude to Madness

[windandwater]

Yuy sighed as he placed the cloth in his hand into the bowl of water on the bedside table. He soaked the cloth throughly, squeezed the excess out, then replaced the compress on the sleeping Duo's forehead. After the braided boy had passed out in his arms, Yuy had sat for a while on the cold computer lab floor thoroughly shocked. He'd seen Duo through most of the crazy moods and mode!shifts that occurred in this crazy Castle. But he had never seen Duo totally *lose* it. The American was the Primary Muse; while he could be just as nuts as everyone else, Duo had always been more-or-less in control of the actions in Castle Anthrax. That was his job, after all.

Finally snapping out of his daze, Yuy had physically carried the unconscious boy back to the GW Wing. And during the long walk through twisting hallway, Yuy had wondered why, exactly, Duo felt so comfortable in his arms. It couldn't just be that he was physically of smaller stature than Max. While Duo was shorter than his counterpart, they both had the same vitality of spirit that made them seem to fill any room they walked into. No, it wasn't that.

He reached the GW Common Room and was bum-rushed by the Muses gathered there. To say they were disturbed at Duo's condition was putting it mildly. Furious-as-all-Hell was a better term to use. Duo had immediately been put to bed to rest from his ordeal. Yuy had volunteered to watch over the unconscious boy, leaving the others free to try to track down Heero and Max.

Yuy placed one hand against Duo's pale cheek, stroking it lightly. Why was he feeling so protective over this boy? He had been sure a few hours ago that he *hated* Duo. But now, after seeing the depth of the pain Duo was enduring (pain so deep that not even multiple muse!shifts could contain it), Yuy couldn't bring himself to hate the braided boy. He would probably be much the same if Max ever left him like that. No, not really. He'd probably hunt down his braided lover and put a bullet between his eyes. Or other important body parts. Was he... attracted to Duo? Well, who wouldn't be? Duo *did* look like a carbon copy of his lover. But Duo prefered to bottom. And so did Yuy. But whenever Yuy looked at Duo, the thoughts in his head weren't of *him* being under the braided boy. It was the opposite. Yuy cut off those thoughts right there and refused to think about it.

"When are you going to wake up, Duo?" Yuy asked, reaching out to hold a limp hand in his own. At the sound of his voice echoing through the quiet room, Duo's fingers twitched and Yuy restrained his gasp of surprise.

"Duo?"

The boy moaned, his free hand raising up to rub his head. "Wha...?"

"Duo? Are you okay?"

Violet eyes blinked open and stared at Yuy. "He-Heero?" Duo choked out, covering his mouth with his hand. He realized that Yuy was holding his hand and stared at the clasped fingers in shock.

"Yuy."

"What?"

"I'm not Heero. I'm Yuy. Do you remember?"

Duo frowned. "... I can't say that I do. I don't remember much of anything. Except..." Duo broke off, turning his face away and struggling to contain his emotions. Yuy sat frozen, unsure of what to do. He would have left the room to give Duo time to compose himself but Duo was clenching his hand tightly, as if he was afraid to let go.

"Why are you here?" Duo finally asked, his voice wavering slightly.

"Someone had to watch you. The other Boyz were worried."

Duo gave a dry, mirthless laugh. "Yeah. Right. Wouldn't want to lose their favorite fucktoy."

Yuy frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Duo shrugged. "Isn't it obvious. It's all I'm good for anyway."

"You stupid bastard! Don't you know that your boyfriends are outside, ready to rip my counterpart into little shreds because of what he's done to you? And Barton's so worried that's he's been hacking non-stop ever since he got here! And *your* counterpart is so far gone that NO ONE has seen him in AGES! All for you! So if you say you're worthless again, I'm gonna have to beat your ass in!"

Duo blinked in shock as Yuy railed at him, finally giving a small, rueful smile when the diatribe ended. "So why are you here then. I thought you didn't like me."

Yuy squeezed Duo's hand and leaned forward so that his face was scant inches away from the other boy's. "I changed my mind."

Duo's eyes widened as Yuy invaded his personal space, his mouth actually dropping open in shock. And Yuy couldn't resist the temptation; he pressed a quick kiss against Duo's lips then pulled away before Duo could react.

"Wh-why?" Duo stammered.

Yuy blushed and tried to avoid eye contact but it was impossible. "I... I don't really know."

"It was nice."

The Japanese boy huffed, his Prussian eyes snapping with amusement and mild affront. "I would hope that it was more that just 'nice'!"

Duo grinned. "I dunno. It was too short for me to tell properly."

"You're incorrigible."

"Yeah."

"You should rest some more."

"It's cold alone in this bed."

"Want some company?"

"Sure."

And so Yuy slid carefully beneath the covers. He was glomped by Duo, who decided to snuggle up against him as tightly as possible. Yuy didn't complain though as he wrapped his arms around the chestnut-haired boy. There was a little more kissing, some consentual groping, but not much else as the two boys wrapped themselves around each other.

They were both asleep in minutes.