Keep in Time

Dentelle_noir

Summary: AU 3x4. A suspicious accident leaves Trowa without a skating partner, sentencing him to a year without competition. Quatre is an injured dancer, trying to find a way to live without his joy. Together, they make new rules and find a new path.

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Chapter 20

Cathy was already long gone with Jeffy-boy to the big merge party. It was the place to be this Saturday night. One of the really rich girls at the private school opened up her home and invited everyone from the local high school and all the people who were staying from the private school (which weren't many students. All the boarding students had moved to another school, so only the local students were actually merging). The party had been the talk of the town for days. Trowa wasn't going, though. July had even called him earlier and tried to convince him to come out, but he said no. He couldn't work up the balls to face Quatre out of the blue and at a place like that. If it went bad, the whole school would know.

Instead, he laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't even playing his music, just staring, thinking… Quatre was at that party. He knew he was, since he had listened to every one of Quatre's messages. He kept thinking that he should get in his jeep and go, ask him to dance, and ask him to forgive him.

He knew he was being infantile about the whole thing. July was right… He was being spoiled. He wasn't used to sharing anymore. It was petty and immature to hate Yuy just because they competed. And now that he knew the truth behind Cathy's so called "accident," he couldn't even think up a reason to be angry at the other skater. Looking back on it… Yuy had never been anything other than professional to him. Yuy had always kept his distance and been semi-respectful. When they were both much younger they would do silly things like stick their tongues out at each other, but that was far in their past. And the past was making Trowa slowly push the only good thing in his life away from him.

He turned over on his bed, looking at the cell phone on the bedside table. Maybe he should call? But how could he even start to apologize?

The clock downstairs chimed 11pm, and still he couldn't sleep. The party was probably in full swing by now… Cathy was probably in a bedroom with Jeff and Quatre was probably hanging out with Duo and Heero and July. He should just go. He could do something romantic like walk up and say "Can I cut in?" and have a flower for him or something.

His cell phone hummed to life, clattering off the nightstand to the floor and opening, noisily jarring him out of his headspace and to the real world.

The loud thump of music, voices, and people filled up the silent room, and Trowa knew that the call was from that party.

"Trowa?" Someone called out over the din of noise. It was Quatre, but his voice was strained and… scared?

Immediately Trowa grabbed that phone, protective instincts flaring inside him as he put it to his ear, "Quatre? What's wrong!?"

"Trowa!" the relief was obvious in his voice and he let out a little near-hysterical chuckle and a muttered "Thank God" under his breath before his voice took on that sense of urgency from before. Something was very, very wrong.

He hopped out of bed and began to look for his shoes and jacket with near-frantic haste. He could tell something was wrong! This wasn't an 'I miss you' sort up upset, this was an 'I'm in trouble' sort of panic in his lover's voice. "Quatre what's wrong? Please? Do you need help?"

There was an audible sob and the sound of movement. Quatre's end went quiet for a moment, muffled in Quatre's shoulder or something. Then he must have moved, because Trowa was able to hear the sounds around Quatre again when he strained his ears. The music was still loud, but wherever Quatre was in that house was muting the worst of it. Then, Trowa heard one voice clearly. And it was Jeff.

"Here, Kitty Kitty!" the voice called, and behind it was drunken laughter. One laugh sounded suspiciously like Cathy's. Another girl's voice teased, "Come out, Come out wherever you are… We know you couldn't have gotten far." Trowa vaguely remembered it as one of Cathy's friends, whom he had never liked at all. He kept listening, but the voices moved away from where the phone was, melting into the din of the party.

The sheer sick delight in those bitches' voices had Trowa storming down the hall stairs with the phone pinned to his ear, looking for his car keys and then moving towards the door.

"Trowa. I'm sorry to call you like this! I don't have anyone else to call…" Quatre sobbed quietly on his side of the phone. He sounded absolutely terrified! Trowa was going to KILL someone!

"What happened to Heero and Duo? They were supposed to be there to protect you!" Trowa hissed, locking the door behind him and jumping into the car.

"Duo left hours ago because he has spring training and Heero's here with me. He couldn't stand me moping around all day and brought me out here. But I don't know what they did to him!"

Uh oh, that sounded bad…

Quatre continued after another little hiccup in his voice, "He's out cold, and he's right here with me. I- I don't know what to do! I can't get a hold of Iria at the hospital! I can't get him out of here on my own and I can't just leave him here and let those girls find him!"

No shit. Trowa didn't know what they were planning, and Quatre probably didn't either, but he seriously doubted it would be good. As much as he hated Heero, he couldn't leave him there! And he certainly couldn't leave Quatre there!

"I'm on my way, Quat. Stay safe. Hide. Are you inside the house?" he asked as he turned on the ignition and flew out of his driveway.

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Trowa pulled up as close as he could to the party, driving right onto the perfectly manicured lawn and parking there. There were people everywhere, teens hanging out all over—outside on the lawn, inside the house, on the deck, hanging from a balcony—swarming every square inch of the property like flies.

He hopped out of his jeep, locking it so it would be there when he came back with Quatre, and marched into the house, pushing through the first throng of people crowding at the door. He was faced with a foyer and a staircase in front of him, a kitchen and TV room to one side and a sitting room with large open patio doors leading to the yard on the other side.

Quatre had said that he and Heero were holed up in the front closet, right off the main stairs, hiding under a mass of coats. It was as close to out the front door that Quatre could get them before Heero completely collapsed. Quatre had said, and as much as he wanted out of there, hitching a ride with ANYONE or calling a cab was out of the question, because he wasn't strong enough to lift of even drag Heero out with him. And if Jeff and company found him with Heero like that, he'd be a sitting duck.

Trowa scanned the hall and found the closet door. It was right in front of him, just a few steps away. He was going to get in there, grab Yuy and get Quatre the hell out of there!

But nothing was ever that easy. He took one step towards the door before he heard the familiar drunken giggle of his sister, and there she was, materializing from the living room area with Jeff on one side and a gaggle of other girls and guys on her other. "You actually came, Trowa? I thought you were too upset over losing your little fag-boyfriend. Or are you going to cry on the floor again over him?" She slurred. She was totally plastered, but that didn't stop her from grinning meanly.

Trowa didn't respond to her comment and just glared at her, then slowly brought his glare to Jeff, promising a beating. His temper was going through the ROOF, but he kept it reigned in. Quatre was just feet away and he needed his help. Getting into a fight here wouldn't get Quatre anywhere; that was the only thing keeping Trowa from flying off the handle and launching himself at Jeff and kicking his fucking ass.

"Guess WHAT, baby brother," Cathy drawled with an evil sort of glint in her glazed-over eyes, "Heero fucking Yuy had the balls to show up here."

Jeff jumped in, "Yeah! That asshole had the balls to come here after what he did to Cathy! We're gonna get even with him!"

"We put a little something into his drink, but the little fucker is hiding somewhere." Cathy quickly jumped in, watching her brother closely. She was worried he was going to spill that Heero had nothing to do with Cathy's leg. But he wouldn't do that. Not here. It wasn't the time or the place.

"It's like tag. And he's IT." Jeff laughed, "Help me find him and maybe I won't kick your queer-ass, Barton."

Seriously? Was he really serious? Did Trowa look like an idiot? He just glared. Jeff laughed, smirking, "We're gonna teach him a lesson. Him and that little bitch of his. Sure you don't wanna help?"

Trowa wasn't sure if Jeff meant Duo or Quatre, but in that split second he didn't care one whit which one he meant. Jeff had gone over the line.

He pulled back and shot his fist straight into Jeff's face with all he had, sending the drunk basketball player flying backwards and landing on his ass, splayed out on the hardwood as he reeled from the force of the punch. Trowa may have been a fag and a skater, but he worked out and he knew how to use his strength, "Fuck YOU Jeff. You're one sick little fuck! You and Cathy are meant for each other. If you ever threaten my boyfriend again, or his friends, I'm going to kick your ass so hard you're going to fucking ENJOY it!" he hissed, turning on his heel and moving past the swarm of girls. After seeing how easily Trowa had laid Jeff flat on his ass, they cleared like the red sea!

He was done playing games. He moved through the growing crowd and went straight to the closet and wrenched the door open. Coats and shoes poured out, but amongst all the crap in there was what he had come to find. Quatre. He was in there, looking scared but strong. He looked ready to take on anyone who came near his cousin, but when he locked eyes on Trowa he let a bright smile of relief wash over him. He tried to stand, putting his arms under Heero.

With only one glance Trowa could tell that Heero was NOT okay. His body was slumped awkwardly, his limbs splayed out loosely, and he didn't so much as twitch when his limp body spilled out into the hallway. Quatre was trying to get him up, but Heero was dead weight. He wasn't moving. At all. Trowa couldn't tell if he was even breathing.

Trowa grabbed Yuy under his arms and dragged him out as best as he could. Then he yanked him up and tossed him over his shoulder, firefighter-style. The other skater felt like a rag doll in his arms! But he could feel his chest moving up and down. He was breathing! And his eyes fluttered open to look at Trowa, and then Quatre, and then the crowd gathering around them.

Quatre picked himself up off the floor, brushing his jeans off as he looked around them. His gaze hardened when he saw Cathy and her little army of friends, and he flipped her off. He wasn't done with her. No one fucked with a Winner.

Pissed off and ready to get the hell out of there, Quatre pushed through the crowd with fury, sending people stumbling out of his way as Quatre cleared a way straight to the door for Trowa and Heero.

They were out the door in seconds and onto the lawn. Quatre made a beeline for Trowa's Jeep and didn't look back. He could hear the people inside the house recovering from the shock and cursing angrily. They had to get out of there, NOW, before the angry people inside managed to retaliate.

Trowa had to put Heero down against the side of his jeep to pull out his keys, hitting the unlock button then tossing the keys into the driver's seat so he'd be ready to drive.

Suddenly, Heero convulsed and pitched forward, dropping to his knees on the grass, nearly going face first all the way down, but Trowa and Quatre were quick enough to grab one of his arms each and stop him from crashing. Quatre looked worried. Shit shit shit… Trowa knew this was BAD.

Heero convulsed again, heaving forward and began to throw up. A thick, almost black bile dropped sickeningly from his uncooperative body, then more, and more, and more as he expelled the poison from his system. It looked bad, but the blackness began to clear from his vomit as he went.

On the fifth time, a hand snaked around to grip Trowa's side as Heero's body wretched again. Heero's eyes fluttered open for a moment, looking at Trowa with a sort of wary thankfulness… Trowa smiled tightly and held onto his side as Heero pitched forward once more, dry heaving this time.

His arms were shaking from the strain, but he was in control of them again. The poison was clearing from him, but they didn't have time to waste outside the party. Heero sensed that they weren't safe and pushed with his arms to try and stand, knowing that the people who did this were still close by. Still a danger.

Trowa and Quatre pulled him to his feet and moved like hell. Trowa supported his body while Quatre wrenched open the backseat, and then Quatre climbed in then opened his arms for Heero. Trowa pushed him in as best as he could and Quatre pulled the rest of the way to get him in. Trowa grabbed Heero's dangling legs and pushed them into the back, then slammed the door closed fast. He climbed into the driver's seat, shoving his key into the ignition and turning it over as fast as he could.

The music in his jeep blared to life, but Trowa put it into reverse and hit the gas, getting the hell out of there as fast as he possibly could.

Once they got out of the maze of cars parked all over for the party and onto main roads, Trowa breathed a sigh of relief and allowed himself to look into the back and see his cargo. Quatre smiled weakly up at Trowa, looking worried and upset as he held Heero against him, making sure he didn't fall or anything on his way to puke again. Thankfully, Quatre had managed to grab Trowa's garbage bag from the front while he had been distracted and put it under the ill skater.

"Thanks," Heero managed to say, looking at Trowa as he heaved even while lying down. He looked like death and was turning green, but he was talking, awake, and was able to move on his own now, and that was a step up from how bad he had been just fifteen minutes ago. Trowa didn't know what to say back. He was angry at Heero for putting Quatre in danger, but at the same time he knew very well that there was no way that Heero could have known what was going to happen. And the house party had been held by someone from Heero's school, so it should have been safe. Trowa thought it was safe. But this all happened anyway!

If he hadn't been so wrapped up in being angry, he would have been there right beside Quatre the whole night, and he would have been able to get Heero out of there before anything became an issue. He wanted to blame Heero, but how could he? Really?

Heero convulsed again, grabbing the garbage bag and heaving into it, coughing and sputtering. This time, though, they were at a red light, and Trowa was able to reach under the passenger seat and grab a bottle of water, cracking it open for him before passing it back to his rival with a tight smile. Thankfully, Heero accepted the peace offering with grace, taking a deep swig and then sitting up just enough to spit it out the window to clear the taste from his mouth, and then he took a nice long drink.

"Can you take him to my place? I can't leave him home alone, and Iria should be home in a few hours and she can look at him," Quatre said, catching Trowa just as he was about to turn the wrong way. It occurred to him then that he had simply been driving as far away from that party as possible without any real destination in mind.

Quatre's house sounded logical enough, so he changed his turn signal and went towards Quatre's place. "You're home by yourself too, though, Quatre…" Trowa stated, flicking his eyes into the rearview mirror to look at Quatre. God he missed him. He felt so far away from him, up in the front of his car by himself with Quatre in the back like that… So close and yet so far. But he planned to change that. "You can't handle him by yourself. Do you… want me to stay too? I don't mind." Trowa offered. He felt an excited little thrill take up residence in his stomach… hope. Hoping Quatre would say yes. Hoping that he'd get the chance to apologize properly.

That hope grew larger when Quatre leveled a relieved, thankful smile at him through the mirror, "Thanks Trowa. I don't know what I would do without you."

Trowa, though, squirmed in his seat. It was pretty clear to him that if he had been there, all of this shit wouldn't have happened.

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AN: Thank you for reading! I know it's a short chapter, but the next one will make up for it, I promise, and it will be up very soon! Please leave a review! I LOVE reviews! It's your way to let me know that you appreciate all the blood, sweat, and tears put into fic writing.