Choosing Fate
Chapter 9
By Lady Saffir

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Gundam Wing characters. I just enjoy causing them angst. ^_~

AN - At the moment, I'm kinda poor (the lament of a college student) so I can't really shell out the money to receive support services. However, I can email you to inform you when I update at FF.N. If you would like me to do this, either 1:email me privately, or 2: state so in your review. All I need is an email addy.

"If I am pressed to say why I loved him, I feel it can only be explained by replying: 'Because it was he: because it was me.'" - Montaigne

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I love Heero Yuy.

Really, it's as simple as that. And how did I come to realize this?

He kissed me.

And it wasn't just any old 'press your lips together' kiss. In fact, it wasn't really the kiss that made me realize this; it was the way he looked at me afterwards.

We were saying good-bye on his back deck, when he pulled me to him firmly. When I went to look up at him, Heero cupped my face in his hands and lowered his lips to mine. The kiss lasted for only a brief time, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

And when I opened my eyes, Heero was gazing at me with such a tender look on his face that my breath caught. Then slowly, oh so slowly, he lowered his head again, and kissed me in such a way that I felt like I was a princess.

"I love you," he whispered against my hair as we hugged.

"And I love you," I said, and found that I meant it.

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Friday came, and with it our third football game, and first away game...and our very first band bus trip.

Ah, the band bus. How do I even begin to describe that insanity?

We had signed up for buses early that week, and I, along with Cathy, Marie, Wufei, Trowa, Quatre and Sally were on bus two. The 'fun' bus, as it was called. Quatre and Sally had managed to save seats for everyone in the back, and we each sat with our bus buddy.

Cathy and Quatre got the large backseat, of course, with Wufei and Sally (and let me tell you, it took us FOREVER to get Wufei to talk to her) in the seat in front of them. Marie was given the smallest backseat, and Trowa and I sat in front of her.

Our opposing team, the Greenbank Warriors, were located almost three hours away from us, so it promised to be an interesting trip. We sang, we played truth or dare (extremely hard to do, with our limited resources), but the best came after we stopped for dinner.

Now, anytime that adolescents have to sit still for long periods of time, their energy level is bound to go up, right? Well, ours certainly did.

Of course, having three glasses of soda with our dinner didn't help things, I'm sure.

At any rate, someone came up with the idea of 'singing' our field show. We nominated Sally to inform everyone, and she did so, in a loud voice that caught everyone's attention.

"All right, everybody listen up! We," she waved her hand to include us, "are extremely bored. So we're going to sing our field show. Feel free to join in, and make sure you only sing your part!"

With that we were off and running. We led ourselves, laughing as a few drummers beat out their part on the seat in front of them, and had a blast when our lead trumpet player stood up to sing his solo. The band parents chaperoning gawked and put it down to 'those weird people in the back' and our bus driver yelled for an encore when we finished.

Crazy? You betcha, but it was a blast.

Our band director, Mr. Gilson, didn't think it was funny when we asked if we could just leave the instruments on the band trailer, and march the show singing.

Hmph. The man had no sense of humor.

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Heero had a game the next day and I rode with his parents and him to the game. It was a glorious September day, the warm sunlight taking away the slight chill the wind brought. Gloria and I chatted aimlessly, but I always had Heero in my sights. The team they were up against had a reputation for being both rough and unsportsmanlike, and there was no way I was going to let anything bad slip by me.

Heero and Quatre both played forward, and since they had been playing together since they were little, they had an uncanny knack for being able to read each other well.

Their coach loved it.

Anyway, the referee signaled the beginning of the game, and like a shot Quatre was down the field, Heero pacing slightly ahead and to his left. They ducked and weaved through the defenders, till finally Quatre had a shot at the goal. I saw him risk a glance around him, look ahead, then he lowered his head, focused on the ball, and gave a mighty kick.

The goalie blocked it.

Our cheering section in the stands gave a little sigh, then settled in to wait for a goal.

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There were three minutes left in the game when disaster struck. We were ahead, three to two, and the other team wasn't happy about it. They had been taking cheap shots all day and the refs hadn't really done anything to them, and our side was boiling mad.

It had also begun to drizzle right after half time, and the field had quickly turned into a muddy mess, leaving both sides to slip and slide in every direction.

Heero had fared pretty well though, and had possession of the ball. He was rapidly approaching goal range, with Quatre right along side him, when a player from the defending team came barreling at Heero. Knowing he couldn't make the shot, Heero passed to Quatre, and Quatre scored another goal.

The player though, quite mad by this time, bent low and ran into Heero, twisting his body to ram a shoulder into Heero's stomach. Heero went down, but the player wasn't finished. In an attempt to make it look like he was trying to jump over Heero, he purposely stepped on Heero's shin - wearing metal studs and bearing down with his full weight.

Heero screamed then, such a sound as I never hoped to hear again. After that initial scream though, he never let out another sound, save the small whimpers that escaped unconsciously from his throat.

I was out of the bleachers and running across the field in a heartbeat, determined to reach Heero's side. Players were crowding around, forming such a tightly knit circle that I had to shove my way through the crowd. The team trainer was already there, assessing the wound, barking out orders to various people.

"Heero? Heero!" I fell to my knees by his head, helping to keep him out of the mud and water puddles that were forming everywhere. I smoothed his wet hair out of his eyes, desperately wishing he would respond.

"He's blacked out," Michelle, the trainer, told me. "And it's for the best, because this looks like it's a nasty compound fracture."

Gloria and Hitori had reached us by now, tears slipping down Gloria's cheeks to mingle with the rain that fell.

Then the paramedics came, and in a blur of actions took Heero away, loading him into the ambulance and rushing him to the hospital.

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Three hours later I was seated in the surgery waiting area, trying to focus on the show playing quietly on the TV.

It wasn't working.

I had called both my parents and Duo when we got to the hospital, and Duo had shown up with my dad about twenty minutes later, bringing with them a change of clothes for me.

Hitori and Gloria were with the surgeon at that moment, listening to the prognosis. All he would tell the waiting group was that the surgery went well, and then he asked to speak with Heero's parents in private.

That didn't sound good.

It looked even worse when they came out, Hitori supporting a crying Gloria at his side. I was out of my chair and at her side in a heartbeat, wrapping my arms about her slender waist, trying to give some measure of comfort.

I could feel the tears prickling at the edges of my eyes, but I managed to keep my voice level as I turned to regard Hitori.

"What's wrong?"

He sighed, pulling both Gloria and I into a half hug.

"The doctor said the surgery went well, but...."

"But?" I prodded, a knot of dread forming in my stomach.

"They had to insert three pins into his leg, one at each break. There are small bone chips floating around as well, that they couldn't reach because it would cause more harm than good. Heero's going to have to take physical therapy for a long time, in order to make sure he has full use of the leg," Hitori recited, rubbing tiredly at his face.

"And what does that mean for his soccer career?" Duo asked suddenly.

Hitori spared nothing.

"The chance of him ever playing again is so slim the doctors are saying zero chance."

My tears began to fall in earnest. Soccer was Heero's life - much like band and music was to me. And for him not to be able to do that anymore....

I put that thought off, determined to focus on helping Heero, and being positive. After all, Heero had pulled off the impossible before, so I wouldn't tell him he couldn't.

Duo and I looked at each other, understanding what needed to be done.

"Can we see him?" Duo asked.

"Not tonight, but tomorrow you can stop by sometime in the afternoon," Hitori replied, then wished us a goodnight as he and Gloria walked back through the surgery doors.

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"Is that why Heero has so much trouble with his left leg?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, that's why. He can hardly walk when the weather suddenly changes, or it's too cold."

"I don't know how I would feel if I didn't have complete use of my body."

"Heero still does have 'complete use of his body' - he just has to be careful at times. Besides, I'm sure that you would do what every other person has done."

"And what is that?"

"Adapt."

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**********************

The next day Duo and I crept into Heero's hospital room, mindful of the nurse's warnings that he might seem a bit out of it from the pain medication. He seemed to be alert and orientated though, giving us a small smile.

"Hey."

"Hey," Duo and I chorused back together.

I was suddenly feeling awkward, so to remind myself that this was simply Heero in a new situation, I walked over to his bedside and planted a kiss on his nose.

"Hey!" He said again, this time sounding indignant that I had performed a 'fluffy moment' in front of someone else.

That sounded more like the Heero I knew though, and I became more at ease, mindful of the tubing running over the bed railing.

Duo touched the cast gently, raising his eyes to smirk at his friend.

"Do I get to be the first one to sign the cast?" He teased, mischief flaring across his face.

Heero and I both knew that look well enough; it said 'run for your life.'

"It depends," Heero answered cautiously, "on what you plan on saying or drawing."

Duo pouted, sending me into a fit of giggles and making even Heero smile.

"Jeez...play a few jokes on someone, and they go all suspicious on you," he groused, but settled on promising not to say anything lewd.

***********************

Heero was allowed to come home three days later, since the doctors were now satisfied that the bones were healing, and no infection had set in. He was confined to bedrest for at least another week, and without asking his parents, I knew that Heero would not be an ideal patient.

He had been discharged early that morning, and I waited until the afternoon to come visit. Heero hadn't been home eight hours and he was already pouting by the time I walked into his bedroom.

Heero glared at me, but I only looked back, trying to force a serene look on my face. Several minutes of simply staring at each other passed, then Heero looked away, huffing to himself.

I didn't know if either one of us would survive his recovery, if he was going to act like this.

I settled on the edge of his bed, mindful of the leg that was propped up on several pillows.

"Everyone wants to know if they can come visit," I started off, trying to draw him into talking.

"Why? So they can stare at the invalid?" Heero snarled, crossing his arms over his chest, and refusing to look at me.

"Heero Yuy, I'm shocked at you. Our friends do not want to come over to 'stare at the invalid'; they want to talk to you, help you get better - anything you need," I retorted, feeling my anger beginning to rise. Lord, but the boy could tick me off sometimes!

Heero mumbled something, and my tone was sharper than I meant for it to be.

"What did you say?"

"I said," and here Heero turned to look at me from the corner of his eye, "that I was sorry, I didn't mean it. I'm just...frustrated."

"Frustrated?" I echoed, at a complete loss. "Why in the world are you frustrated? You just got out of the hospital; it isn't like you've had time to grow tired of staying in bed," I reasoned, trying to draw his feelings out more.

Oh, I drew them out all right, and Heero did something that he immediately regretted.

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Mwahahahahaha....eep! *takes off running from the Lovereflection ML Mob*
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