A/N: So, based on the encouraging feedback, I've decided to keep it up. Thank you to my reviewers who took the time to read this :) I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you.
Disclaimer: I don't own GW :(
Chapter 01: What Hurts The Most
Hearing a quiet knock on his door, Quatre slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the door warily. The room was dark. Quatre had drawn all of the curtains close, intending to block out all of the sunshine and the world, wanting to wallow in his own misery. Alone.
"Quatre?"
Ah, Heero. He honestly did not want to be disturbed at the moment, and he certainly did not want pity from his best friend. All he wanted to do was hide under his sheets and sleep.
"I'm coming in, whether you like it or not." True to his word, Heero hastily opened the door and paused in his tracks. He looked around briefly at the dark room before his gaze landed on body huddled up on the bed. Underneath the dark blue comforters, Quatre was curled up on his side facing the door. "It's almost one o'clock." Heero stated. "Have you eaten?"
Quatre let out a small groan and shook his head. "I'm not hungry."
Not bothering to close the door, Heero quietly made his way to the big bed and sat on the edge. "Quatre, it's been a few days, you need to eat something," he sighed.
Indeed, it had almost been three days since that blasted wedding. He didn't want to think about it, and yet, there he was sulking because of it. He had cooped himself up in his bedroom, not having seen much of his friends since that day. They had dropped by to check up on him, but didn't stay long to give the blond his much needed space.
"Are you ready to tell me what really happened? I'm still in the dark here, literally," Heero said, trying to keep his tone light despite the despair that his blond friend must be going through. All Quatre had told him was that he and Trowa had broken up. The blond didn't give him a reason why, just said he'd talk about it when he was ready to.
Where do I even start? Quatre asked himself mentally. After leaving Trowa's waiting room that day, he ran into Duo in the hallway, who joked that it was bad luck to see the "bride" before the wedding. Chuckling bitterly at the thought, Duo couldn't have been more right. He had tried to mask his hurt with a small smile, and quietly told Duo that the wedding was off. If he wasn't so heartbroken at that moment, he would have laughed at the baffled expression on Duo's face. He clapped his hand on his friend's shoulder and stalked away toward the garden area at one of his family's many estates. He and Trowa decided to hold their wedding there, both wishing to have a small, intimate ceremony with just close friends and family.
It wasn't long before Duo got over his shock and caught up with his friend. Duo had asked why, and wanted to know what had happened in the room. Quatre merely shrugged at his friend and told him that it must be just his "bad luck".
Before Duo could get any more questions in, Heero and Wufei showed up to announce that it was time to make their entrance. Quatre waved his hand in the air, and told them casually that there wasn't going to be any wedding. His two friends had protested, like Duo, demanding the reason why it was being called off, asking where Trowa was. He gave them a stern look before politely asking them to tell the staff to clear everything away. Wanting to avoid any more questions, he quickly tried to make his way towards the eager crowd outside before Heero caught Quatre's arm. Quatre glanced at his friend in confusion, but the other man simply told the blond not to worry and that they would take care of the guests. Quatre just nodded appreciatively. Even though he told Trowa that he would take care of everything, he honestly didn't want to deal with it. He didn't want to tell his friends and family that his relationship failed miserably, nor the fact that his fiance left him for someone much better. He just couldn't bear to see their pity, let alone hear their sympathies.
He recalled driving to his and Trowa's house. As soon as he was out of the car, he bolted through the doors and broke into a run toward their bedroom. He was hoping that Trowa would be waiting there, to tell the blond that he had changed his mind, that he was making a big mistake. But the brunette wasn't there, no sign of him. Staggering towards the bed, he kicked his shoes off ungraciously, and shrugged his jacket off, tossing it carelessly on the floor before landing on the bed on his back. He had stared at the ceiling until the tears he felt swelling up in his eyes spilled over, sliding down the sides of his face.
Choking back a sob at the memory, Quatre buried his face deeper into the pillow.
"Quatre?" Heero said patiently. "It's okay, you don't have to say anything right now."
Feeling Heero shift on the bed, he looked up to find that Heero had joined him on the bed, gazing at the ceiling casually. Quatre thanked his best friend mentally for not forcing him to talk... yet. He didn't have the heart to talk to Heero at the moment. Usually his stern friend was adamant about not letting the blond mope around whenever he and Trowa got into fights, pushing the blond to work things out with his partner. However, this time around was different. Much more different.
"Y'know, Quat, if you wanted to break off your wedding for my boyfriend, you should've just said so. I could share."
Quatre pulled away from his thoughts at the sudden interruption and looked up to find Duo grinning at the doorway. He rolled his eyes half-heartedly at his other friend. "I'm not much into threesomes, nor am I a homewrecker," he snapped angrily.
Heero quickly turned to face Quatre in confusion. Duo gaped at Quatre slightly before settling himself on the other side of Quatre on the big bed. "So, what's this really about?" Duo asked quietly.
Quatre sighed to himself. There's no use hiding or running from his friends. They deserved to know what was going on after all the trouble they went for him to get everything cleared up at the estate.
"Trowa felt that we weren't compatible anymore-"
"That's ridiculous," Duo scoffed, cutting Quatre off. "You and Trowa are perfect for each other!"
"Duo, let him finish." Heero said, sending his boyfriend a look.
"..and he said he had fallen in love with someone else." Quatre finished lamely. He winced at the thought of Trowa being with someone else other than him. It still hurt.
"What!" Duo shouted in surprise. "With who? Do you know him? How could that happen? I always thought Trowa was madly in love with you."
Quatre threw the comforters off him and sat up, leaning against the bed's headboard slightly. "It's some guy named Alex," he started, folding his hands on his lap.
"Wait, Alex... Trowa's partner, Alex?" Heero questioned. Quatre nodded. Heero shook his head in disbelief. Trowa had introduced Alex to Quatre once. Quatre was surprised to find that Trowa's new partner at the headquarters was the same man he caught his lover kissing.
"Homewrecker.." Duo mumbled under his breath before hearing Heero shush him.
"I saw them kissing in Trowa's office months ago. I guess you could say it was inevitable. Trowa and I had been falling apart for the past year, maybe even longer than that. We'd both gotten so busy that we rarely saw each other anymore. When we did see each other, all we got out of it were fights. My family and WEI had been expecting more and more from me. I, in turn, expected Trowa to always be there for me, to understand the nature of my job. But, Trowa needed someone to be there for him, too, and I wasn't at home enough to be that person. I guess I can't blame him for seeking... love.. elsewhere."
"Quatre, don't you dare think about taking the blame for Barton's infidelity." Heero said firmly. "Even if you say your relationship wasn't working out, it wasn't right for him to string someone else along while he was still in a relationship with you."
"And, you caught them months ago? Was it before or after you proposed to him?" Duo asked next.
"I proposed that day I caught them." Quatre said as he bowed his head in embarrassment.
"What, why? What were you thinking proposing to him, knowing he was cheating on you? Did you even confront Trowa about it?" Heero pressed frustratedly. He needed to remind himself to deck Trowa if he ever saw him.
Quatre shook his head. "No, I didn't confront him about it. I just... I don't know why I proposed. I was being selfish. I wanted him to myself. Is that so wrong?" Quatre asked Heero desparately. He was on the verge of tears again as he searched his friend's face for reassurance.
"Quatre, he was leading you on. The bastard had the nerve to wait to tell you until your wedding day.." Duo muttered angrily.
"Duo, don't call him that." Quatre turned to look at Duo with a pained expression.
"Why not! Don't defend him, Quat. He deserves to be called a bastard."
"He's still your friend, Duo." Quatre said firmly. True, Duo was Trowa's best friend, just as Heero was to Quatre, and vice versa. But this was the first time the braided man heard about this. He didn't know that his green-eyed friend was having an affair. He knew about Trowa's frustrations over Quatre's frequent absences, but he didn't think anything else of it. He also didn't think Trowa had the balls to pursue someone else while he was still with the blond.
"Where is Trowa anyway? I tried to call his cell after the whole fiasco at the estate. None of us have been able to reach him." Heero interrupted.
"Yeah, where is he? I want to give him a piece of my mind," Duo huffed, crossing his arms.
Quatre stared at Duo hesitantly before dropping his gaze to his hands. "Um, he left the colony with Alex. I don't know where they went to." Right, he had almost forgot about that part. Now all he wanted to do was finish this damned conversation and hide under the comforters again.
Duo sighed defeatedly and rubbed his face. This whole situation was mind boggling. He exchanged a quick glance with his quiet boyfriend before placing his arm around Quatre's slumped shoulders. "I'm sorry, Quat," he said sincerely. Quatre shook his head slightly. "Listen, why don't I prepare you a small snack, and we'll leave you alone to go back to sleep for the rest of the day. Sound good?"
Quatre nodded and quietly mumbled "sure". Duo unwound his arms off Quatre's shoulders, quickly getting off the bed before pausing at the doorway to look at the two men on the bed. "Do you want me to leave my teddy bear of a boyfriend with you? I promise he won't try anything so you don't have to worry about being a homewrecker," Duo grinned. Heero rolled his eyes at Duo and playfully stuck his tongue at him. Duo stuck his tongue back at his own boyfriend childishly.
Watching the lovers before him, Quatre slowly chuckled before falling into a fit of giggles. Duo merely shrugged, mumbling something about "crazy blonds" as he turned to leave the room.
"Well, I'm glad that amused you," Heero said warily. "Feeling better?"
Quatre nodded a bit more enthusiastically and grinned at his best friend. "Yes, a little bit. Thanks, Heero. With you and Duo around, I think I'll be okay."
"Good."
"And, Heero? I'm sorry for not confiding in you about Trowa and Alex. I just wanted to make a decision for myself, without anyone else's opinion influencing it. I hope you understand." Quatre explained apologetically.
"I understand," Heero said quietly. "But, you know I'm here if you ever need anything, right?"
Quatre nodded.
"So, did you really want me as your teddy bear for the rest of the day? Because I'm okay with that. It's part of the 'ever-need-anything' plan," Heero said with a hint of amusement.
Quatre grabbed a pillow next to him and hit his friend across the face with it. "Leave me alone already, you big lug."
"Teddy bear. I'm a teddy bear," Heero said seriously as he stood up and stalked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Quatre shook his head at the closed door. He stretched his arm out toward the small table next to his bed for a controller. Pressing at one of the buttons with a click, the curtains and blinds opened automatically revealing a beautiful sight of artificial sunshine through his large windows. He rested his head against the headboard again and smiled to himself as he looked out the window. Maybe he will be alright after all.
A/N: So, how was it? I know Heero was a little bit OOC, but in my head, he's a little bit of a joker when he's all chilled out, and has Duo for a boyfriend XD. Let me know what you think. *points to the review button* please and thank you! :)
