To all those who have left reviews, I e-hug thee. Sorry this chapter took so long to post, but once again, the academic world plagues me. Rating has gone up just to be safe.

"Woo-hoo! I win again! I believe that means you owe me five days of access to your motorcycle keys, Wu."

"I thoroughly believe you are cheating." The Chinese man leaned grumpily on his pool stick, glaring at the three striped balls left on the green felt of the billiards table. "And you better remember to fill her tank up this time."

"Gotcha. Who's next to face the awesome pool skills of the great and talented Shinigami?"

Trowa smiled, laughing silently to himself. The five of them were in the basement of the house, the section formed into Duo's game room. The entire area seemed to him like a bar had mated with a five-year-old's arcade, creating a very ugly but very fun child. Quatre drummed his fingers on Trowa's shoulder where he had been resting his hand during Wufei's and Duo's match.

In the few weeks since Trowa and Quatre had separated, the family had grown stronger again. Trowa freely admitted that it was all Quatre's doing, as the blond had sat them all down one night and stated quite clearly that they all needed bonding time together if the family was going to hold. The business man in him had created a schedule with Wufei's help, designating certain daily times they were all free and activities they would all enjoy for the first week.

The first session had been rocky. Trowa didn't want to be next to Quatre out of guilt. Quatre didn't want to be next to Duo out of jealousy. Duo didn't want to be next to Heero out of awkwardness. Wufei wanted to stay next to Quatre out of brotherly concern, considering the Arabian had a habit of ignoring food and sleep when he was depressed. Heero wanted to stay next to Duo out of desire for renewed friendship. Quatre wanted to stay next to Trowa out of lingering feelings of love. Trowa wanted to stay next to Duo out of obvious reasons.

They had gotten banned from the mall indefinitely.

But after the first week, old bonds started to strengthen. Although no-one had fully healed and awkward moments still popped up, they were learning to work together again as a team. Trowa was happy to have his best friend back, able to talk with Quatre more openly as just a friend than he ever had as a boyfriend. In order to make the transition from lovers to friends, though, he had switched rooms with Heero. The Japanese man and Quatre shared bedroom space peacefully, both liking the ability to work away on their laptops without interruption. Duo liked sharing a bathroom with Trowa because Trowa rarely locked the door.

"We've all been beaten, Trowa. Why don't you try?"

"You three have only lost because you've never played pool before. Duo's really not that good of a player."

"Hey! Put your money where your mouth is, Tro!"

"Sorry, Duo. I don't feel much like playing. Besides, we don't make bets with money, remember?" Trowa didn't want to play since his elbows and wrists were aching with the sudden rainstorms that had been raging outside all day. He wished they had moved to a more climate-controlled colony.

"We'll bet pancakes, then. Come on, Trowa." Duo tugged on his hand, pulling him towards the table. "You can even shoot first. Please?"

"Pancakes, Duo?"

"Yeah, if I win, you make me pancakes."

"If you lose?"

"You make me pancakes."

"Thrilling. No."

"Aw, pretty please?"

Duo's lower lip poke out in a pout and Trowa melted instantly. "Okay. But just one game. And if I win, you have to clean the toilet next time it's my turn."

"Deal!" Duo handed Trowa a stick, its tip already blue with chalk. He deftly gathered up the balls on the table, setting them up for the next round. He placed the cue ball in front of Trowa. "Your go, buddy."

Might as well make this quick. With precision gained from years of hustling pool tables for extra money during his mercenary years, Trowa expertly sent the white ball into the triangle of stripes and solids. He watched with a small smirk as each ball found its way into a pocket, the eight ball rolling in last with a solid clunk. "I win. You're cleaning the toilet."

Duo's mouth was hanging open, as were Quatre's, Heero's, and Wufei's. "How did…that's not…how…"

"Practice. Who wants to play in my place?"

"Oh, no. I want a rematch. And this time I go first. Same bets."

"You're just going to lose again."

"We'll see about that." Energized, Duo repeated the setting up process as Trowa shook his head in amusement. Duo ended up sinking two balls before he missed, making it Trowa's turn again. Methodically, he walked around the table, sinking in a solid. As he went for the second one, pushing the pool stick between his fingers, his elbow shot a blinding pain through his arm. He dropped the stick, clutching at his arm with a wince.

In a flash, Wufei was at his side, flexing Trowa's elbow with gentle but unforgiving force. "You shouldn't still be experiencing this pain."

"Pain's a part of life." He ignored the variety of stares he was being given. "If Duo will settle for a rain-check on the rematch, I'm going to sit in a warm bath for a while."

"Yeah, Tro. No problem."

After a half hour of letting his joints and muscles be soothed in a hot bubble bath, he was unsurprised when Duo walked in and opened his fist in front of Trowa's nose. Resting against his palm were two blue capsules. "Wufei said he got these prescribed to you a week ago. We counted all the pills in the bottle. You haven't taken any."

"I don't want them. I hate taking medicine."

"Why? And don't you dare just shrug at me. You're in pain a lot of the time and I wanna know why you don't do something to stop it."

As Trowa looked down into the bubbles, the heat created from the hot water suddenly seemed oppressive instead of relaxing. His stomach started to ache. Talking about his past was never pleasant. "In the mercenaries, we didn't have much medication to go around. There was a lot of sickness, though. Everyone had some type of sickness since there wasn't enough food or clean water. When the meds came in, they weren't specific to what was needed, just whatever the officials could afford to allocate to us. Not many of the medics could read, so most the soldiers were dosed with random medications."

Duo sat down on the side of the tub, still cupping the pills in his hand. "Sounds bad."

"Yes. I caught a cold once that made everyone cough and have a fever. They gave us some type of clear liquid. A few days later, I went back to read one of the bottles where they had thrown it away, although my own literary skills were poor at the time. It was a laxative."

"Oh. Ouch."

"At least ten people died because they had nothing in them to help fight off the cold. The rest of us weren't in the best shape either, but if you were alive, you had to fight. After that, if I couldn't understand completely what I was taking, I took my chances without it."

"Can you understand these? Wufei wouldn't give you anything dangerous. He's your buddy and too anal about becoming a doctor to screw it up."

"I know. But I still don't want to take them if I don't have to."

Duo leaned over, rubbing Trowa's damp arm with his free hand. "You realize, Mr. Barton-Bloom, that if you ever really do get sick, we will be forcing some type of medicine down your throat whether you like it or not."

Unable to help himself, Trowa laughed. "Alright, alright." He turned around in the water so he could lay his head in Duo's lap. "Guess that means I'm loved."

"You better believe it, Hot Stuff. Now, will you appease Shinigami and trust Wu enough to take these things? You'll feel better."

"That depends. Does Shinigami love me?" Trowa froze the moment the words were out of his mouth. He hadn't meant to ask, just to tease in order to calm his nerves and lurching stomach. The surprise was evident on Duo's face, so Trowa closed his eyes in order not to see. He wished his ears could close just as easily.

Duo voice was soft, as were his fingers sliding through Trowa's wet hair. "Of course I do. If you don't know that by now, I haven't been a good friend."

Trowa eased open his eyes, both relieved and concerned over Duo's words. "You're an amazing friend. The pills just make me uncomfortable. I'll take them if it'll prove that to you."

"Good." Duo carefully placed the medicine in Trowa's mouth, bracing him up as he struggled to swallow even with the help of the soda.

"Do I have to do this every day?"

"Yes, we do. I'll give if you take."

For the second time in his life, Trowa pressed his lips against Duo's cheek in a gesture of gratitude. Duo was tempted to turn the touch into a real kiss, but the memory of Trowa's crush kept him from doing so. He wanted Trowa, in every sense of the word, but he needed to know who the crush was first. If it's someone beneath me, I could compete and win Trowa's affections. If it is me, then I could jump Trowa and never let him go. But if it is someone above me, someone as great as Quatre was, then I have no chance even to compete. But I guess there's no time like the present to find out. Maybe a little flirtation would offer up some clues.

"Do ya mind if I ask you more questions about your mystery guy?"

Trowa sighed, reclining back down into the now-thinning layer of bubbles. "Again? Why?"

Duo gazed into the bubbles, trying to sneakily see what was hidden beneath. "Well, it will get your mind off the pills, won't it?"

"True. Go ahead and ask away, then. But I retain the right to withhold information."

"Is he good in the sack?"

"I've never slept with him, Duo. I was with Quatre, remember? Oh, and can you hand me a towel and turn around? The water is probably going to get cold soon."

"Fine, fine." Duo obliged, thinking of the right question to ask as Trowa covered and walked out into his bedroom. Duo quickly followed, rocking on his feet as he pondered. "Do you think he'd be good in the sack?"

"His ex-boyfriend seemed to enjoy sharing a bed with him."

"Jealous?"

Ignoring the question, Trowa searched in the dresser beside his bed for some clean clothes, sighing when he acknowledged the fact that he needed to do laundry. He hated doing the laundry. Cooking for the household was fine, but laundry was both boring and repetitive.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm out of clothes."

Duo snickered. "Run around naked. Tell Wufei you think it helps with your arthritis."

"Right. And what if the one I'm in love with happened to see?"

"Flaunt."

"Ah, no. I don't think I'm good-looking enough for that."

Duo watched droplets of water wind their way down Trowa's bare back, following the curves made by his well-developed muscles. Reaching out, Duo lightly followed one stray droplet with his fingertips. Underneath his skin, he felt Trowa's breath hitch and a tremble run through the taller man's body as his fingers touched the towel's edge. "You shouldn't be afraid of that. You're gorgeous."

Trowa bit down on his bottom lip, heart thrumming in his chest. "Even if I didn't want to be dominant?"

Fingertips dipped just beneath the towel as Duo laughed. "You're full of surprises, Trowa. You'd bottom for this guy?"

"I…I'd do…both." Trowa gulped down cold air, trying to stay calm and still, but Duo's fingers were wrecking havoc on his control. He stepped closer to his bed, trying to angle away from his crush, but Duo adjusted behind him. "Whatever he wanted."

"He's pretty lucky. You've got a great ass."

"You've never seen my ass."

"We can change that."

"Duo, are you flirting with me?"

Nice deduction, smart one. "Chill, man. You need to be more relaxed with your body if you're going to snag this guy in bed." Thinking for a moment, Duo jumped onto Trowa's back, sending the ex-acrobat sprawling face-forward onto his mattress. "Like this." He leaned down to where Trowa was turning his face out of the comforter. "Isn't this like what you imagined?"

"Actually…" Trowa pressed himself closer against the bed, turning underneath the other man so he was laying on his back, looking up into Duo's eyes. "This position is better. This way, I could have your hair falling around my face as we made love. And I could watch you as you came."

"Sounds cheesy, Tro."

Slightly rebuffed, Trowa shrugged and looked away, reminding himself that Duo was only a friend. I really should stop spending so much time around him. I love being near him, but something's going to slip out. He could imagine the disgust in Duo's face if something did. Or worse, the pity. "Get off of me."

Duo frowned. Dang, we were going good there for a second. "Why? I'm enjoying having you captured and naked."

"I'm in a towel and you could hardly manage to capture me."

"Aw, you mean I haven't captured your heart yet?"

"Shut up! I said to get to get the fuck off!"

Duo pulled back instantly, sitting over Trowa's waist, shocked. Everyone else had told him to shut up before, usually on more than one occasion, but not Trowa. Trowa never spoke to him like that. And it hurt, twisting around in his chest and clenching at his stomach. "Guess if you're telling me that, I really deserve it. I'm sorry."

Before Duo could move away more, Trowa grasped his legs, keeping him in place. "No, I am the one who should be apologizing. I just can't handle being teased about love or sex right now." Especially not being teased by you when you don't mean it.

Duo nodded in understanding, but he wished he could run, melancholy recasting its shade over his mind again for the millionth time in his short existence. Well, that answers that. He's not in love with me. But then who is it? He practically doesn't talk to anyone except for his sister, me, Quatre, Wufei and Heero. Wait—Heero. They spent that month together in the war and Trowa jumped in front of him when Quatre went nuts. Heero's perfect when it comes to being a soldier and he's always been nice to Trowa. Trowa admires Heero, he admits that all the time. He stopped talking to Heero as much as he used to once we started hanging out after the war.

So that's why he helped me get over Heero, why he's been so supportive. He loves Heero.

"Oh. I get it now. It makes sense."

Trowa went ashen, fear making his body cold even after the hot bath. "You know, don't you?"

"Can't believe I didn't figure it out before." Duo wiped at his brimming eyes, unsure if he was hurt more at Trowa not loving him back or at Trowa manipulating him to stay away from Heero.

Trowa nearly cried himself at the tears Duo continued to wipe away, wishing for anything else but his sadness. He could handle Duo mad, pitying, or disgusted. He couldn't handle this. "I'm so sorry Duo. I didn't mean to, I promise. We can pretend it doesn't exist or I can…I can leave if you really want me to. But I do love you. I'd never intentionally hurt you, ever."

"Why did it have to be Heero, though? That's not fair!"

Pausing a moment, Trowa looked confused. "Heero? What does this have to do with Heero?"

"You just admitted it, Trowa! You're in love with him!"

Despite himself, Trowa laughed aloud at the moronic irony and at his own relief, earning him a glare from the troubled Shinigami above him. "No, I didn't. I'm not in love with Heero. What made you think that?"

"Because he's the perfect solider and you two understand each other well. And it would explain why you decided to take care of me out of the blue."

"I decided to care for you because I care about you."

"So it's not Heero? You promise?"

"I promise." Trowa wrinkled his nose, trying to amuse Duo again in order to regain the braided man's earlier mirth. "He's not my type anyway. Too overly masculine. I prefer curves."

Trying to pull himself out of the pit of depression, Duo smirked. "Just not on women, huh?"

"Oh, I don't discriminate."

That did it. Duo's bright laughter filled the room, shaking the bed as well as the lithe form beneath him. "Cute, Tro. Batting for both teams, are we?"

"We are. But I happen to be rather uncovered and all I get is cute? Or is it my backside that you only find attractive?"

Duo realized again their position, the vitally-placed towel being the only piece of cloth keeping Trowa away displaying all his shining glory. It's not Heero. That doesn't mean it's me, either, but it doesn't mean it's not. Besides, he said he loved me when he thought I had figured it out. That's a good sign. That's more than a good sign. He was scared. So either it's me or it's someone really, really bizarre. Hope back, Duo reached and slid a slow hand down Trowa's thigh. "Oh, no, Barton. Your legs do a number on me too."

Blushing greatly, Trowa remembered why he had snapped in the first place, and he frantically sought out a distraction for the rapidly pooling warmth in the regions placed right behind where Duo was sitting. "May I ask you a question?"

Not missing Trowa's reaction to his touch, Duo smiled, encouraged to the point of boldness. "Mmhmm. Ask away, sexy."

"Why are you so concerned about who it is I love?"

"Tro, there's two things you need to know about your mystery person, alright? The first thing is, he better ask you out before he loses the chance forever."

"What's the second thing?"

"He damn well better be me." Duo leaned down again, capturing Trowa's soft, parted lips with his own.

Ah, cliffhangers. Actually, I'm wondering if the fic should end here. So…owari? Do y'all agree, or does it need more closure?