Behind Closed Doors
Vastulja Sata Menton
Part 1
A distant pounding pulled Duo from the dream he was having; a very nice dream one might add. The pounding continued and Duo realized that it was knocking on the front door. He groaned and dragged himself out of bed. He ignored the clock as he pulled a pair of jeans on, but noticed that Heero hadn't stirred from his sleep. It never ceased to amaze him. Once the war was over, Heero turned out to be a heavy sleeper. Duo figure that he probably hadn't actually slept much during that time. He sighed and made his way to the front door of their apartment. The knocking continued and Duo promptly opened the door. What he found before him was a very soaked Quatre. Sad eyes looked up at him, and if it hadn't been for the rain dripping down his face, Duo could have sworn he saw a tear fall.
"Quatre! Come in out of the rain." Duo ushered his friend in, closing the door behind him.
"Thanks, Duo."
"Stay right there. I'll get you a towel." Duo rushed into the bathroom to grab a clean towel, not caring that the bright light sown into the bedroom. He quickly too the towel to Quatre and wrapped it around the shivering boy. "Come on." He pulled him over to the couch and sat him down. As Duo wrapped a blanket around him, Heero came out, clad in a pair of green boxers. His eyes fell on Duo and Quatre and they looked up at him. He instantly turned around and left, to put on a pair of pants no doubt. Duo turned back to Quatre. "Do you want something to drink? A hot cup of tea maybe?"
Quatre pulled the towel and blanket around himself. "That would be nice, if it's not too much trouble."
"Not at all." Duo went to the kitchen and put some water on the stove. He looked at the time while he was at it, noticing that it was three in the morning. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before going back to the living room. He sat down beside Quatre and pulled him into an embrace. As Duo worked at drying Quatre off as best he could, Heero came out dressed in a pair of jeans and a tank top and went to the kitchen. Duo could hear the sound of mugs clanking together and a cupboard being opened and quickly closed. "How you doin', Quat? Are you okay?"
Quatre took a deep shivery breath. "I think…I'll be okay for the time being."
The teakettle whistled and soon Heero came out of the kitchen with three mugs of hot tea. Duo accepted his with a small smile to his partner, and Quatre took his with a 'thanks'. There was a small silence as they all sipped their tea. Finally, Duo set his mug down and turned to the blond man. "Quatre, what's going on? Duo you want to talk about it?"
Quatre sighed and put his drink down on the coffee table. "I don't even know where to begin." He sighed again. "Things…have been rough lately between Trowa and I."
"What do you mean? We just saw you two together last week. Everything looked fine," Duo pointed out.
"Looks can be deceiving, Duo. I don't know. We're still together but – we talk less than we used to. We don't even sleep in the same bed anymore for god's sake. I feel like I hardly know him anymore." Quatre looked to Duo, tears threatening to break the damn that he was holding up. "We got into a fight. Not the first, far from. But, the worst by far."
Duo placed a reassuring hand on Quatre's shoulder. "What do you mean 'worst'?" Quatre looked away, almost unwilling to let someone know the secrets that went on behind closed doors. "Quatre?"
Quatre sobbed and tears began to fall. Duo's heart broke a little at the sight of one of his best friends crying. Quatre shrugged the blanket and towel off, despite Duo's protest. He stood, avoiding making eye contact with Heero, and moved around the coffee table so that his back was facing them. Slowly, he lifted the back of his short up to show the marks. There were older scars, which could have been form the war, though Duo doubted it, and newer more prominent welts covered his back. It looked quite painful. Duo saw fire and his blood boiled. Had this been happening all this time and no one had known? Why hadn't Quatre told anyone until now? Quatre let his shirt fall back over his back; he turned and sat back down on the couch, pulling the blanket around himself.
"Oh god Quatre." Duo couldn't think, couldn't figure it out. "W-why?"
"Why what Duo? Why does he do it? Why do I let him? Why haven't I said anything?" He sighed. "I'm honestly not sure." Duo frowned and pulled Quatre into a light embrace. "I thought that things would change. He said he loved me, that it wouldn't happen again. It was always an accident. But this time-" Quatre pulled away and looked Duo in the eyes. "He lost it Duo, and I-I can't do it anymore. I don't want this."
Duo caught Heero's gaze before looking back to Quatre. "It's okay Quatre. He wont hurt you anymore, we wont let him." Duo hugged Quatre. He wasn't going to let his friend be hurt anymore.
XXX
Quatre had stayed with Heero and Duo for a few days so that things could cool down. They had all agreed that it was best if Quatre broke if off with Trowa, and Duo and Heero would be there for moral support as well as protection, just in case. On the third day, Quatre was ready to get back home. He felt rested and, though he was scared, confident with Heero and Duo by his side.
Quatre was sitting on the couch when Duo and Heero came out of the bedroom. Duo was pulling on a hoddie and Heero was carrying a suitcase. It was actually Duo's suitcase; he had agreed to stay with Quatre until Trowa moved out, just to be safe. Heero was reluctant but gave in when Duo gave him the sad puppy look.
"Ready to go?" Duo smiled. Quatre nodded, letting a small smile creep onto his face. Duo grabbed his hand and led Quatre out the door before Heero locked it. The drive was short and silent. Quatre was too nervous to talk, trying to figure out what to say to Trowa. They were at his mansion, in too quick of time, and getting out. Quatre stood, looking at the house as if it were the object of his fears, and not someone inside. "Come on buddy." Duo clapped him on the shoulder, urging him on. The Arab man sighed and nodded, making his way to the front door. He let himself in and held the door open for Duo and Heero.
As they stepped in, they noted that there was the normal bustle of any other regular day. The maids were cleaning, and Quatre saw that the signs of his and Trowa's fight had been cleaned up. The blood Arab took a deep breath and went to one of the maids dusting. "Good morning, Sarah."
"Oh, good morning Master Quatre."
"Um, do you know where Trowa is, Sarah?"
"I believe he is in the library sir." The young maid pointed down the hallway. "Is there anything else, sir?"
"Yes. Could you take Duo's things up to the room next to mine please? Thank you." Quatre gave the girl a small smile.
"Certainly sir." She smiled and put down the dusting cloth she had been using. She went and took Duo's things from him and headed upstairs.
"Well, here goes," Quatre muttered to himself. He motioned for Duo and Heero to follow him and he made his way down the hallway towards the library. He stopped at the closed library doors, staring at them as if he were questioning what he was about to do. Duo placed a hand on his shoulder, telling him that they were there for him. Quatre nodded and opened the doors. Trowa was reading a book on one of the couches facing away from the large window over looking the garden. A smile came to his face when he looked up and saw Quatre, but it was immediately replaced with a look of confusion when his eyes fell upon Duo and Heero. Quatre sat down in a chair across from Trowa; Duo sat down on the arm of the chair and Heero stood cross-armed on the other side of the blond man. Quatre wished that the coffee table was still between the two furniture items to separate them, but it had been broken the week before during a fight. "Trowa, we need to talk." Quatre's voice sounded stronger than he felt.
"Ok, what do you want to talk about?" Trowa set his book down, leaning forward a little bit. "And why are they here?"
"I asked them to be, that's why." Quatre bit. "And I want to talk about our relationship.
"Okay, what about it?" Trowa's voice rose a notch and Heero's eyes narrowed. Tension in the room was starting to grow thick.
"I think it would be best if we started seeing other people." Quatre kicked himself on the inside. It was such a lame lime, but he couldn't think of anything else at the moment. (Or maybe the author couldn't 4.4 )
"So you're breaking up with me?" There was anger in Trowa's voice and an evil look in his eyes.
"Yes." Quatre nodded curtly.
Trowa jumped up from his seat and began to shout. "So you're just going to throw two years down the drain?!"
Quatre leapt to his feet, courage welling up inside of him. "Yes I am!"
"Why?"
"Because I don't have to take this! One and a half years of hell isn't worth it! I should have broke n up with you a long time ago!" Quatre shouted.
Something ignited in Trowa and his hand rose to strike Quatre across the face. Heero acted faster though, catching Trowa's arm and grabbing the collar of his shirt. He lifted the other man up and gave him a death glare. "Lay another hand on him, Barton, and you'll wish you had been killed during the war," Heero spat.
"What are you going to do, kill me?" Trowa sneered.
Heero drew the other man closer, whispering, "There are worse things than death, Trowa. Much worse." Trowa glared back, pulling himself loose and stumbling back.
"Fine!" He yelled. "But hear me now Quatre Winner. You'll come crawling back! I bet my life on it!"
"Get the hell out of my house Trowa Barton! Get out right now!" Quatre shouted. "You can get your stuff later."
Trowa stomped out, brushing past Heero on his way. Quatre sighed and fell back into the chair. He had done it. It hadn't been easy, but he had done it. A small smile formed on his lips. He was finally free.
End Part 1AN: Yeah, OOC Trowa a bit. I've always found Trowa hard to write. Um, not much else to say.
