Rub Me the Right Way
Written By: HellQuat
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any GW characters. I am but a simple GW addict with a passion for writing fictional stories. Please don't sue me. I cannot afford to be broke. Thank you.
Pairing: 3x4 eventually
Chapter Rating: PG
Chapter Eleven
Reconciliation
After the long walk back to the house, Quatre headed straight for the attic. The doctors would most likely release Andy once they were sure his condition was stable enough; that could be anytime now. The blonde genie curled up on his afghan pulling his knees to his chest and set his head on them. He had done a lot of thinking during his exiled stroll but he still had no idea how he would patch things up with Trowa. He knew from his earlier conversation with Andy that the boy was not angry with him. Trowa on the other hand was much less forgiving. He had every reason to be mad though. It was because of Quatre's incompetence that Andy fainted so it was natural for Trowa to be upset with him.
Quatre sobbed. He hated feeling inadequate. He tried so hard to please that he hated himself when he couldn't perform at a high enough standard.
"I'm sorry Master Trowa… I'm sorry Master Andy. I'm so useless," he whimpered.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Trowa was sitting in a chair next to the bed where Andy was resting. He looked at his watch. It was already twelve in the afternoon and the doctor hadn't come back to check on Andy. Trowa wanted to just carry Andy back to the car and leave but felt it would be in his best interest to wait for the doctor's approval. Trowa sighed and looked over at his cousin. The boy was snoring softly so Trowa knew he wasn't going to wake up immediately. He wouldn't mind if he left the room for five minutes to stretch his legs.
Trowa stood up and walked out of the curtained area. He walked out of the room and stood for a moment outside the door. He watched nurses and doctors pass by but none of them looked like the doctor that examined Andy. Trowa groaned in frustration. Where could he be? He wanted to go already; he'd been there since the afternoon of the day before.
Suddenly down at the other end of the hall Trowa saw a familiar face. It wasn't clear at first. Why did he get the feeling he had seen this person before? Trowa suddenly left his spot next to the doorway to get a closer look at the man in the white lab coat. He was speaking to a nurse at the other end of the hall. Suddenly the man turned slightly in Trowa's direction and it became obvious. This was the doctor who saw him when he came in for his vomiting problem. This was the same doctor who gave him a physical when Trowa suddenly freaked out and stormed off. Trowa stopped for a moment when the other man caught sight of him. The man handed the nurse a clip board, said something, and then she walked away. Trowa stood still while the doctor approached him.
"Have I met you before? You look familiar to me," he said to Trowa.
"Um, yes. I think you gave me a check up last month. You're Doctor Martin right?"
"Yes. Oh I think I remember now. You slapped my hand and ran out of the exam room in the middle of the physical. Were you not feeling well?"
Trowa blushed somewhat embarrassed. He had acted like a skittish mouse in the presence of the doctor and made a complete fool of himself.
"Yeah. I'm really sorry. I feel kinda stupid about that."
"Did I make you uncomfortable?" asked the doctor.
"Well… Kinda. I um… I'm sorry. It's nothing personal. I know you had to feel my stomach to make a proper diagnosis, I just freaked out and I wanted to apologize for that."
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable."
"No, don't worry about it," Trowa reassured.
"Has your condition improved since then?"
"Um… A little. It is getting better."
"Well if I may make a suggestion; from what I gathered during our last visit, you have gastritis and you can buy antacids over the counter to make it better. And most likely, your condition is made worse by stress so try to relax more, that will also help."
Trowa smiled at the man. "Thank you, I will."
The doctor smiled in return. "Good luck Mister Barton. I hope your condition clears up soon," he said before turning to leave.
As soon as the man had left, Trowa smiled in contentment. It felt good to be relieved of that burden. After that day, Trowa had felt so foolish but now that he had explained himself and realized the other man wasn't upset, he felt relieved. He walked back to the recovery room feeling much lighter.
His cousin was still snoozing when he returned, which was good. It might have been upsetting for the boy if he were to wake up to find that Trowa had gone off someplace. Trowa sat back down next to the bed and groaned. Where was the doctor? He looked back at his watch to find that he had only managed to kill ten minutes while stretching his legs and chatting with Doctor Martin. He wanted so badly just to wake the boy and escape before anyone noticed they were gone.
"Hmmph. You lucky brat. Wish I could sleep through the day and avoid this boredom too," Trowa mumbled.
Finally there were footsteps and a man in a white lab coat appeared from behind the curtain and smiled.
"Sorry to keep you waiting Mister Barton. One of my appointments ran late," Andy's doctor said in a quiet voice. He didn't want to wake the sick boy.
Trowa stood to face the man, asking in an equally quiet tone, "Will he be released today?"
The doctor nodded and smiled again. He held out a small brown bottle of pills. "These are the antibiotic. He should take one every twelve hours for the next two weeks. They work best if taken on an empty stomach but if they make him nauseous then he can take them after eating instead. His condition should start to improve within three days and symptoms usually go away completely after a week or so. However, I recommend that he keep taking them until the bottle is empty only because we want to make absolutely sure the whole infection is gone before he stops taking his medication. This will prevent it from flaring up again."
"Okay," Trowa said as he took the pills from the doctor's hand.
"He shouldn't have a problem but in case he has an unexpected reaction to the medication, bring him back in immediately so we can assess the situation."
"Sure," Trowa nodded.
"Well then you two are free to go. By the way, where is the other young man that was here with you?"
"Other young man? Oh the blonde one. He left last night to go home and get some rest."
"Oh, well, good luck then. I hope Andy starts feeling better. Oh, but one more thing; please make sure Andy has something to eat as soon as possible. We don't want him fainting again," said the doctor in a cautioning tone.
"I'll make sure he eats as soon as we get home," Trowa assured him.
"Enjoy the rest of your day," The doctor smiled before disappearing behind the curtain.
"Andy," the boy heard as he felt himself being shaken slightly.
"Mmmah… Wha-what?" he mumbled.
"Andy. Wake up. We're going home now."
"Hm… Oh. Okay," he yawned.
Trowa kneeled on the bed and took his cousin in his arms and carried him all the way out of the hospital. The boy was undoubtedly weaker now than when he fainted; he hadn't eaten anything in over twenty four hours. Trowa glared remembering how angry he was with Quatre for being so negligent. The reason he had sent the genie away wasbecause he wasn't sure how he was going to reprimand him. He had no freedoms or privileges to be restricted except leaving the house and somehow Trowa knew that taking that away from him wouldn't do any good. Quatre was too humble and losing the freedom to roam would be nothing. He'd simple nod his head and agree that he deserved the punishment. Then again, what ever Trowa did, the outcome would always be the same. He could kick him in the stomach and Quatre still wouldn't protest. There was nothing the man could take from him that would irritate him in the least. That made Trowa even more frustrated. He had to find some way to upset Quatre for upsetting him.
Andy fell asleep in the car on the way home and Trowa tried hard to stay awake himself. Sleeping leaned over a hospital bed and worrying about his cousin had taken a toll on his nerves and he was now exhausted. As the two pulled up the driveway, the sad face of the blonde entity looked down upon them from the attic window. Quatre ducked away as he began to feel sick to his stomach. He wrapped both arms around his waist but they did little to comfort him. He still felt absolutely terrible. He paced the attic a couple of times then settled back in his little corner, lifting the afghan over his head in hopes of hiding from his misery. It didn't work but he stayed like that, shrouded in darkness.
When Trowa entered the house went straight for Andy's room to put the frail preteen back in bed. He looked at the boy for a moment. He was pale and sweaty.
"Andy? He asked softly.
"Hm…"
"What would you like for lunch?"
"Uh… I don't feel much like eating Cuz."
Trowa sighed. "Well you have to. Now tell me what you want."
"What? Why do I have to, it'll taste gross anyway 'cause I'm sick."
"Andy, this is exactly why you fainted yesterday, because you didn't eat."
"I told Quatre that I wasn't hungry. I didn't feel like eating."
Trowa paused for a moment. "Wait, you told Quatre you weren't hungry?"
"Yeah, he tried to get me to eat my breakfast but when I looked at it, my stomach churned. I couldn't eat it. Then at lunch, he offered me lunch but I still wasn't hungry. I didn't have any appetite."
Trowa groaned. "Andy, you have got to eat. Medicine isn't going to help on its own you know. You need food to maintain energy. You can't go a full day without eating in you condition. Now I'm going to go make you some soup and I want you to down every drop. No arguments, got it?"
Andy scrunched his face. "Fine," he mumbled.
Trowa walked away with a scowl. Now he realized what Quatre was trying to tell him.
"Master, I tried to…"
"What do you mean you tried? He's sick Quatre, he has pneumonia. Do you realize he could die from that alone? What were you thinking!"
"I'm so sorry."
His words had no doubt bruised poor Quatre and he hadn't done anything to deserve it. Trowa felt like such a louse. How could he have been so cruel and callous? The guilt rising within him would surely kill him if he were to let it fester. He had blamed Quatre, causing him to believe that he was the reason Andy fainted. Before just now, the man had been scheming possible ways to punish the genie but he failed to realize that he had already dealt him the harshest punishment of all. Basically he had told Quatre that he had failed in his duties as a servant. Extremely harsh considering the only thing Quatre ever wanted was to please him and Andy. Trowa didn't just hurt his feelings, he shattered his whole world.
Trowa hated moments like this. He had never been good at making apologies. He always ended up blushing and stuttering every time. It wasn't easy admitting he was wrong.
"Shit!" Trowa cursed as boiling soup splashed his hand. He whipped it away and shook it off rapidly.
He turned off the burner and moved the pot of soup to a cool area of the stove. He sighed running his fingers through his long pointed bangs. He shook his hand a couple more times before resorting to sucking on the affected area to soothe the pain. Eventually, he poured the soup in a bowl and set it on a breakfast tray with a spoon and a can of 7-UP. He took it all up the stairs into Andy's room and watched as the boy grimaced slightly.
"Yeah well it doesn't matter what you think of my cooking. You still have to eat it all," was Trowa's reply to the boy's scowl.
Andy groaned in annoyance but took the tray and began to dip his spoon into the broth. Trowa left the room and proceeded toward his own. He knew exactly where Quatre was hiding but he couldn't just float through the ceiling the way the blonde male did and there were no stairs to take either. He would have to climb up into the crawlspace located in his closet. He shoved his coats and work clothes to the other end of the hanger rod then took down some boxes and junk from the top shelf. After that he grabbed the chair from his desk and positioned it beneath the square hole in the ceiling. Trowa stood on the chair and pushed the cover of the crawlspace to the side. It was a tiny hole, and for a moment, Trowa was afraid he would get stuck if he dared to lift himself through it. He had to though. He had to apologize to Quatre. He grabbed the sides of the crawlspace opening and then jumped up and lifted himself into the attic.
Quatre looked out from under the blanket when he heard shuffling movements but then ducked back in immediately once he realized it was Trowa making the noise. Trowa sat at the edge of the crawl space and peered across the attic to see the other male wrapped in the afghan. A hand peeked out to pull the edge of the afghan further down to hide his tear soaked face. Trowa frowned looking at the weeping genie. He hesitated for a moment then stood up and approached the blanketed figure. The genie made no noise and no attempt to move but did not remove the afghan. He didn't dare looked into his master's eyes. He was still far too ashamed. After a long time Trowa knelt down before Quatre and reached out to uncover him. The shrouded male twitched as he felt a hand being placed in his head and then the afghan was slowly pulled away revealing a blonde head resting on thin arms, his face hidden from view.
Trowa sighed and frowned. "Quatre?" he whispered. "Quatre, I'm sorry."
The genie raised his head but an inch and looked up at Trowa. "W-why?"
"I made a mistake. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that; it wasn't you fault."
"…Of course it was my fault. Master Andy fainted because I neglected to feed him. Master Trowa, I know you feel bad about yelling at me but you shouldn't. You have every right to be angry. I made a huge mistake and I deserve to be punished," Quatre sobbed.
"No, that's not true. It wasn't your fault. Andy was being stubborn and wouldn't eat. He told me what happened… That's what you were trying to tell me at the hospital but I wouldn't listen." Trowa's voice began to trail off at the last part. He felt like such an ass. It was true, Quatre had tried to explain himself but Trowa simply thought he was trying to make excuses.
Trowa looked down into those large tear filled eyes that stared up at him. Trowa's frown remained; his face full of regret. He scooted closer and took the end of his sleeve, using it to dry Quatre's tears.
"Please forgive me Quatre. I'm so sorry," Trowa whispered as he wrapped his arms around the smaller male. Quatre was stunned for a moment. Trowa set his head on the genie's shoulder and hugged him tighter. Quatre smiled warmly and returned the embrace.
"You don't need to ask me for forgiveness Master," Quatre spoke softly.
"Well, I'm asking anyway. Forgive me?"
"If you must ask then I forgive you but I never held any hostility against you to begin with."
"That's because you're a genie. If you were a regular person, you'd hate me."
"If I were a regular person this wouldn't have happened because I could just force Master Andy to eat his food."
"That's why I'm apologizing. There was nothing you could have done about it."
Quatre sighed and rested his head on Trowa's shoulder. "Thank you for understanding Master."
"Mm-hm…" was Trowa's reply. "Oh!" he said as he lifted his head from Quatre's shoulder, "Guess what."
"W-what?" Quatre asked slightly shocked.
"I saw Dr. Martin today at the hospital. You know the one that examined me last month?" Trowa said while still holding onto Quatre's shoulders.
"Oh… Yeah?"
"Yeah. I was freaked out at first because our visit didn't go so well but when we started talking, I found out that he's actually a really respectable person. I mean, of course I had no reason to think he wasn't. I made the mistake of judging him before I really knew him very well and I acted totally paranoid. He was really understanding about the whole situation though."
Quatre smiled warmly. "I'm glad you two were able to make amends. You know, it really does take a lot of courage to stand up and face your fears head on like that. I'm so proud of you Master."
Trowa smiled back taking Quatre's face in his hands. He looked into his eyes and said, "I have you to thank for that."
Quatre blanched slightly. "Me?"
"Don't you remember?" Trowa caressed Quatre's cheeks softly. "I was a total wreck that day. All those horrible memories plagued my mentality; I was going out of my mind. It was all I could think about even though I tried so hard to forget. Then you came to my rescue and gave me the strength to stop running and start facing up to my fears."
Quatre bashfully averted his gaze. He was blushing. Trowa leaned forward slightly. "I owe you one," he whispered before embracing the genie once more. Quatre became overwhelmed by a warm, comforting sensation as he leaned into Trowa. He didn't know what to say, so he remained silent. He wanted so much to tell Trowa it was no big deal but he was afraid he might sound impolite.
Trowa smiled softly, his arms holding the slighter male firmly. He did indeed owe Quatre a great deal of gratitude because he knew he would never have the strength to confront his fears otherwise. He just wanted to hold Quatre forever, and he might have if not for the noise that interrupted them.
"Trowa! I finished my soup!" Andy hollered.
Trowa groaned. "I swear he's even more of a brat when he's sick."
Quatre giggled then got up. "I'll take care of his dishes Master," he said before sinking through the floor.
Trowa sat for a moment longer just smiling. He looked down at the spot where Quatre had been sitting; at the wrinkled afghan. It was filthy from sitting on the dusty attic floor for so long. He made up his mind to wash it but as he was lifting it up, something fell to the floor with a thud. Trowa looked down slightly shocked to see a framed photograph of Quatre standing next to none other than his late uncle, Antonio Santiago.
