Ch. 11 Awakened in the Night
Heero laid awake in bed, staring at the stark white ceiling above him as lights flashed across the walls with the occasional passing car; another sleepless night to rack up with all the others. Reaching over to the nightstand, he grabbed the remote and turned on his stereo, drowning out the silence before rolling on his side to face the empty spot Quatre had once occupied. The apartment seemed so cold and empty now that he was the only resident.
With a sigh he rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, willing sleep to come. Instead, he was greeted by some of his worst memories from the year past, the better moments amongst the chaos and misery.
(o)(o)(o)
"Let go!" There were tears steaming down his face.
Quatre had just learned about the death of the two CEOs in charge of Winner Enterprise's sister companies. He'd held him then, while Quatre broke down and fought to escape not only him, but the truth about what was going on. He had called him little one, catching both of them off guard. He could remember the scent of Quatre's hair and how soft it had felt against his skin.
There was the time he had found him asleep in the bath tub. Quatre had asked him not to go and called his name. Those beautiful lips, so soft and sensual, that had enticed a kiss from him, a kiss that to this day, he did not regret. He had wondered what Quatre had been dreaming about that would have him saying his name, even in sleep. That same evening, Quatre had unconsciously backed up into him for warmth as they lay in bed. How perfectly he had fit against him with the soft scent of lavender mixed with a hint of vanilla. That same aroma had put him to sleep many times after that. The first time he had woken up with Quatre comfortably curled up against his body, head resting on his chest. He would never forget that moment.
Then, it seemed as if his whole world had come crashing down on him. During the case he had left Quatre alone in the hotel room for what he had thought would be a short time. He had ended up being delayed and came back in time to hear Quatre scream out as a man raped him. That had been the first time he had completely lost it and killed a man out of pure rage. His Quatre had been hurt, violated, and he had not been there to stop it.
Not long after, his entire world stopped, standing still for all eternity. They had finally figured out where the killer was hiding and he had left Quatre behind to find him. He never could have anticipated the outcome of that day. Even now he still had nightmares about what had happened.
He had tracked the killer to an abandoned building, crumbling from years of abandonment. Their confrontation had taken place up stairs in a room that had been set up to track his movements through the building. A shoot out had started then when he had stupidly thought he had killed the man by mercilessly shooting him, only to find that he wore a bullet proof vest. The firing continued while he questioned the man, trying to get every ounce of information he could before he killed him.
From his carelessness he ended up in a position that guaranteed his death, but fate seemed to have a different agenda for him. Quatre had come out of no where and taken a bullet in the chest, the bullet meant for him. Everything had moved slowly after that. He remembered the sickening sound of a punctured lung followed by the crimson blood that had spread across the front of Quatre's shirt. Quatre had looked up at him then, his skin pale with a mix of shock and pain etched upon his face. Quatre had reached for him, as if he would never see him again and at that moment, Heero feared he never would. Again, fate had intervened and gave him a second chance, keeping Quatre alive in time for the paramedics to take over.
Quatre had almost left his life forever that day and he had done nothing to prove how grateful he was for the fact that he had not. Work, he always buried himself in work to cover up for all his wrong doings, thinking that if he did not acknowledge them, they did not exist. Still, every time Quatre needed him, in the past and present, he had never been around. When he was needed most, he was not there.
Still, he repeated the same mistakes as he had in that past with their most recent venture. He'd had a fight with Quatre and stalked out of the house right to the Preventers headquarters.
The alarm went off by his head telling him that it was now six in the morning. The massive headache that greeted him along with the alarm told him he had drank too much the night before. He deserved it for trying to drown himself in alcohol and self pity. He would consider it a lesson learned and not repeat it.
Somehow, during his reminiscing, he had fallen asleep, but things seemed to be clear to him. In all the times past he had left Quatre, alone, in his most vulnerable moments, when he should have been at his side. Now was no different, he was gone when Quatre still needed him. He had thought that by leaving Quatre he would protect him from the hurt he knew he would cause, but what about the hurt that would happen without him there? By leaving him he had emotionally hurt Quatre and that was not something he would have weighing on his mind.
Sluggishly, he rolled over and slapped the alarm clock off. It was too early for him to be up after what he had done the night before. He slowly climbed out of bed to locate the aspirin and a bottle of water. When that was done he collapsed back into bed deciding to sleep off his hangover, it beat suffering through the rest of the day with it.
(o)(o)(o)
Quatre sat behind his enormous office desk pouring over the list of guests that had already RSVP'd to his party invite. He had been shocked to find WuFei's name on the list, he'd never attended in the past, and he always had work to do. This was worth questioning when he ran into him at the party tonight. There were several other names on the roster, almost everyone he had invited. One name in particular was not on the roster, however, at the same time he had expected it not to be.
Heero had not answered his initiation, as he'd expected him not to. They were over and had not spoken to one another since that day in the hospital. Zeus still kept him company, though even the cat missed Heero's presence in the house. Things were just that much more empty and lonely with just the two of them. At the same time, he couldn't remember the last time it wasn't just the two of them.
Quatre shook his head and shuffled the papers back in order and tucked them into his briefcase. He couldn't dwell on the past anymore, he needed to look ahead. Everything lay to the future and tonight, he would have a good time and enjoy the company of his friends. Who knew, maybe some tall, dark, handsome man would sweep him off his feet tonight.
(o)(o)(o)
Heero rolled over some time later to find that it was four in the afternoon. With his hangover over almost completely gone it was finally time for him to do something constructive with himself. Climbing out of bed he slipped into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before heading to the kitchen for some food, something he desperately needed. After sitting down on the couch with a slice of cold pizza, he let the memories flood over him.
They were horrible memories, ones that never should have happened. The more he thought about them the less he could remember the better times. It was becoming more and more difficult to remember the last time Quatre had smiled or called out his name in the heat of passion. Had there ever been a happy time between them? A time that wasn't tainted with near death experiences or being hunted by crazed men that couldn't adapt? He didn't want to think any more about it, what's done is don't and he couldn't change it.
Not knowing what else to do, he located his shoes by the door and grabbing his keys off the table, he headed down stairs. There was no real goal or destination in mind; he just couldn't stand to be in his apartment any longer. Down in the lobby he checked his mail and found only one letter or at least, that's what he'd thought it was. Locking his mail box and leaving the building, he took a closer look at the letter.
It had familiar handwriting on it, Quatre's to be exact. Looking at the mailing date, it had been mailed four days ago. Heero opened the letter, a little nervous as to what he would find inside. He found an invitation to a formal black and white masquerade ball with instructions for him to wear black with as little white as possible. He skipped down to the bottom requesting him to RSVP by, tonight. The party was tonight at eight and he didn't even have anything to wear.
(o)(o)(o)
Ok, that's all I have for this chapter. I can't think of anything to add some I'm posting it as is. I promise that the next chapter will be awesome! Sorry about the delays on this one. I know I told people it would be posted quickly. I'll try harder with the next chappy. Have tons of ideas for that one.
