The Game of Hide and Seek (Part Twenty-Six)
"Oh get over yourself."
"No, you get over yourself."
Trowa sighed as he continued to listen to the banter. After enduring the suffering of listening to Quatre's former lovers, he supposed that he deserved a reward, something along the lines of having Quatre all to himself for a whole day. However, it didn't look like it was going to be happening anytime soon. It seemed that once Heero decided to do something, he became so set on doing it that he would forget all else just to fulfill it. Too bad Heero decided to help him get a hold of Quatre.
"Stop fighting! You two sound like children."
On the video phone was someone he'd just met only a few minutes ago. Wufei Chang, apparently another once stunted lover of Quatre's, was decidedly irate. Not only did he seem very much in conflict with Duo, he also was gaining a new enemy by getting on Heero's nerves.
"You call this fighting?" Heero responded. "What do you call your little quarrel session with this guy over here just five minutes ago?"
"If you haven't already noticed, trash photographer, I do not get along well with Maxwell," Wufei said with his head held high. It looked almost impossible for Quatre to have been with a guy like him. Trowa could only wonder what other kind of people Quatre associated himself with.
"Trash photographer? I'll have you know I take magnificent shots. I make common people look like stars."
"Really," Duo chimed in. "Heero, maybe you should show me a couple of them sometime."
"Stop acting like a love-struck idiot Maxwell. It's making me sick."
"Hey, who do you think you are?" Duo responded heatedly, to which Heero looked at them with disgust.
Trowa could only sit at his corner and continue to watch the war between the three men. None of them were getting along long enough to come up with a plan. They were supposed to be helping him and instead, they were helping their own causes.
"Uh, could we get back to what we were talking about earlier?' Trowa interrupted. His meek voice had somehow gotten through the thick ambiance of anger and resentment and it only took ten minutes for it to happen.
"Ah, yes, that's right." Wufei was the first to respond. "You wanted to meet with Quatre, was that right?"
Trowa thought he sounded a little condescending for some reason, but it wasn't his primary concern at the moment.
"Wait, didn't I just say I wasn't helping with this nonsense?" Duo said before Trowa was able to respond. "Give it up Tro. Quatre doesn't want you. You're just an added burden."
Despite having heard it from Duo before, Trowa was still hurt. He didn't think his co-worker would so mercilessly dig it in when it was already so apparent. Nevertheless, he still wanted Quatre. He'd never been obsessed with anyone as much as he'd been obsessed with the busy businessman and part-time thief. Thankfully, he had at least one ally.
"Huh, I see that statement was coming from someone who hadn't had any luck getting Quatre to love him back," Wufei said with a smirk.
"Shut up!"
"The nerve of that guy," Heero muttered, referring to Quatre. "I figured he really was a selfish brat, always disregarding others."
Trowa dearly wanted to get a word in, but all three of them wanted to keep on talking about themselves. Fine, so Quatre was all that to them, but he was someone entirely different in Trowa's eyes. He was a lost cutie waiting to be delivered to his oh-so-loving arms.
"Heero, was it? Could it be that you are also one of the rejected?" Wufei questioned, which Trowa thought was a bad idea only because it would start another argument.
"At least I didn't escape the relationship halfway through."
The three way battle continued while Trowa counted the minutes. After two hours, it was getting tiring. His lovely Quatre was moving farther and farther away from his grasp. If he knew exactly when his favorite thief would strike, he would have waited at the appropriate labs, but as it was, Duo was being stubborn. The computer technician was refusing to give him any information. Trowa supposed that despite being so infatuated with Heero, Duo still had a sweet spot in his heart for Quatre and it was that possessiveness that made him stubborn.
"Quatre wants him. He's just being obstinate," Wufei declared after a rather lengthy discussion of what and who Quatre really wanted.
"Thank you, Wufei," Trowa said out loud without realizing it. It earned him looks of surprise from both Duo and Heero who had taken refuge on his couch.
"Err, I mean..."
"That's right. Stand up for yourself," Wufei encouraged him. Even when it was only his image that came forth from the video phone, his presence seemed very tangible.
Trowa looked down at his hands. If he had a choice, he would have kicked his two guests out of his apartment long ago and shut the phone. All he wanted now was time to himself. Still, there was work to be done. It wasn't everyday that he got an opportunity to talk with Quatre's former lovers. It was his chance to learn from their mistakes. However, he wouldn't dare voice the thought out loud. There was no telling how many enemies he would gain by doing so.
"I'd... I'd at least like to hear what each one of you has to say about him," Trowa said. "Please. No interrupting. Duo, you first."
"Fine," Duo said with a huff. It was obvious that he was still a little annoyed. "Quatre was my first. I was deeply in love with him."
Heero made a gagging sound.
"I said no interruptions," Trowa said more forcefully than he thought himself possible.
"Like I was saying," Duo continued. "He was my first. Everything was just fine until he picked up that really freaky masochistic tendency of his. Once Quatre figured out I couldn't handle it, he broke it off with me. It's that simple."
"It's interesting you would say that when he probably picked up the habit from you," Wufei observed. He looked quite the expert as he smirked.
"What are you, a shrink? How dare you blame me for that!" Duo responded with anger. While he didn't take all their earlier disagreements seriously, he seemed to be affected by this one in particular. It made Trowa wonder if what Wufei said was true.
"You were his first," Wufei responded. The two simple words caused Duo to readily admit his fault.
"I was eighteen. I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I don't know how you expect me to know about lube and all that," Duo said in his defense. "How was I to know that he'd get ideas from my mistakes?"
Duo looked embarrassed; something Trowa didn't ever remember seeing. He knew that had it been him in Duo's position, he would have been shamed as well. He'd also blame himself for it just the way Duo was doing. The computer technician didn't admit it, but the look on his face said it all. Little by little, Trowa began to understand Duo's reasons for accommodating all Quatre's out of this world requests - like Bjorn the gorilla for instance.
"Quatre's masochistic? You don't mean hedonistic do you?" Heero said. Trowa could tell that he was merely trying to save the situation by allowing Duo to save face. Thankfully, Wufei got the idea and cooperated.
"I don't know if masochistic is the word I would use, but that is one point I must agree with him on," Wufei said, this time agreeing with rather than antagonizing Duo. "It's rather... frightening when he gets serious about it. His guilt is far too deep. I was ineffectual in trying to convince him otherwise. I found him too difficult to handle, so I left or rather, he told me to leave."
"In other words, he broke it off with both of you," Heero concluded.
Trowa remained silent. It sounded a lot like what had happened to him except that he didn't get the luxury (or horror depending on who evaluated it) of actually being in a relationship with Quatre. It was unfair. Trowa felt cheated. Was he so inadequate that he'd been rejected so easily or was Quatre just too tired to deal with anyone altogether? The three did sound like a handful after all. Just listening to them bicker made his head hurt
"I knew him when we were kids, but we hadn't been acquainted for very long," Heero said when no one else began talking. "I'd always hated him for as long as I can remember. I was there when his father died, taking photographs for the school newspaper. We met at the funeral. He was a cute kid with the attitude of a stuck-up brat."
"People change, you know," Duo murmured although not loud enough to interrupt what Heero was saying. The frown on his face was not hard to miss.
"I suppose you could say that we didn't leave on good terms," Heero continued. He looked almost sorry, but the way he spoke his words said otherwise. Trowa knew that he wasn't going to extrapolate further. With Heero, it was probably as much as anyone could get out of him.
One word came to Trowa's mind when he considered their stories. They may have been dissimilar people, but they did share one aspect, the aspect of being rejected. He couldn't blame Heero or Wufei. In fact, he couldn't even get himself to blame Duo for his possessive streak. Quatre was addictive, unintentionally cruel, and keenly aware of the effect he had on all of them.
"Your family," Wufei said when Heero finished his piece. "You mentioned earlier that you won't be available this weekend because you had a family gathering. Trowa, has he met your family?"
Trowa rubbed his chin. Family? He'd never even thought of it.
"But why?" Trowa questioned. He couldn't understand what showing Quatre the odd bunch he called his family would achieve. If anything, he might be turned off because his family consisted mostly of the weirdoes of society - not that he was ashamed of them or anything. They were just a little different.
"He's a sucker for that kind of thing," Duo chimed in, his mood picking up from earlier. "You know I hate you Wufei, but sometimes you come up with the most ingenious plans."
"Why thank you."
Trowa thought he saw the beginnings of camaraderie, but changed his mind when he noticed Duo stick his tongue out. At least they were becoming a little more agreeable.
"Quatre has a thing with families. He can't turn them down no matter how busy he is - probably because his own family's as messed up as it is."
"Is it escapism?"
"No, more like concern."
"I call it psychosis."
The three were very easy to distract, but Trowa tried to keep it together. Getting the three to agree on anything was very rare and he didn't want to miss that opportunity.
"Can't we just call him right now?" Trowa suggested. He wanted to direct their attention to the more important matter at hand.
"Maxwell should be able to handle that."
"Like hell I will," Duo said. Trowa didn't expect anything less from him.
"Just do it," Heero said with a lot less enthusiasm than Trowa would have wanted. He seemed bored as he sat on the couch picking at his fingernails.
"Why do I have to do it?"
"Quatre doesn't communicate with anybody else."
To that, Duo gave them all a smug look. He crossed his arms in an almost too satisfied way.
"Call him," were Wufei's final words before he cut the connection. Only the static of an empty video screen was left on the monitor.
Heero and Trowa looked at Duo, expecting him to do just that. Duo, however, decided to be difficult as he played with the end of his braid. Trowa could tell that he didn't want to do it and for the first time since Duo started driving him away from Quatre, Trowa felt angry. He felt angry enough to throw his co-worker the nastiest glare he could achieve. He wasn't a very violent person, so Trowa decided to save the punches for more serious confrontations.
"It's not working," Heero said dryly when he noticed Trowa's ineffective look of doom. He rolled his eyes before sighing loud enough for them to hear. Trowa could do nothing but send him the look of despair he always liked to use against his sister. Luckily, Heero easily gave in.
"Look," Heero said as he nudged Duo's leg with his foot. "If you get Quatre to come to the family gathering, I promise to act like your date."
Duo's ears seemed to perk up at the offer.
"Promise?" he said. His large set of eyes seemed to widen with the question.
"Yes, but just at the gathering," Heero replied. He looked at Trowa for confirmation. Trowa easily agreed.
"But wait, you're supposed to be with Trowa," Duo said. He looked confused but not delighted about it either. "Are you two really just pretending to be together? Last time I checked, people don't give away the people they're with... unless... Are you two friends with benefits?"
Trowa chose not to answer and handed Duo the keypad instead. It was easier if Duo stopped coming up with ideas and did what he was told. It saved him and Heero the trouble of explaining what their relationship really was.
"Just call," Heero said and like an obedient puppy to his favorite master, Duo did just that.
Trowa and Heero picked a hiding spot, just in case Quatre suspected that they were scheming. There was no use inviting Quatre when he already knew he was walking into a trap.
"Hey, Quat," Duo said when Quatre picked up his end of the vid-phone. He looked busy as he wrote something down without looking at the video monitor. Even from his awkward angle, Trowa readily stared at the object of his desires. It had been far too long since he'd last seen Quatre and he wanted to allow his eyes a little treat.
"Hmm," Quatre sounded. He was obviously paying attention to something else.
"Quatre, want to meet Trowa's family?" Duo asked. Trowa was surprised when Quatre immediately looked up as if honing in on their secret.
"Hey handsome, I know what you're thinking," Quatre said. Just like that, he'd figured it out. It was obvious that Quatre was referring to Trowa and no one else. "...Might as well expose that gorgeous face of yours so I could get a better view."
Duo seemed insulted as he poked at the video monitor.
"Hey! It's me you're talking to," Duo said with a frown. "Unless I'm the one you're calling handsome," he continued with a wag of his eyebrows.
It was Trowa's turn to frown. He knew that message was meant for him and not Duo. He wanted to protest, but he continued to stay in his hiding place. Heero just continued to look bored.
"When?" Quatre said, effectively dodging the question. "When would you like me to come?"
"How about this Saturday?"
Trowa watched as Quatre closed his eyes, just like the way he'd done a number of times before. He could tell that Quatre was accessing his mental schedule, figuring out just which time slots were empty. Trowa would be so lucky if there was even any space left.
"No," Quatre said still with his eyes closed. "How about Sunday... after lunch?"
Trowa nodded when Duo looked sideways to check with him.
"Yeah, Sunday is fine," Duo responded.
With the meeting confirmed and marked down in his mental schedule, Quatre opened his eyes.
"Trowa, what do you want me to bring?" Quatre said without looking at Duo. Trowa continued to remain persistent in his hiding and did not answer.
"He just wants you to bring yourself," Duo answered for him.
Quatre looked disappointed as he looked toward his hiding spot. He knew exactly where he was. Still, Trowa refused to show himself. He didn't know what possessed him to deny Quatre of his presence. Perhaps he felt like punishing the other for avoiding him for too long.
"Why won't you let me see you?" Quatre asked next.
"Probably because he's mine," Heero answered the question, revealing himself from his hiding spot. He sat next to Duo and put his legs up on the table. If it was Heero's idea of upsetting Quatre then Trowa did not approve.
"When you give away someone," Heero continued. "You're supposed to give them away completely. Otherwise you're just a selfish brat who's keeping his back-up lover close."
Quatre did not respond to the provocation and instead ended the conversation.
"See you Sunday Heero," he said dryly. It was the last Trowa saw of Quatre that day. It made him more excited about spending time with his soon-to-be lover the coming weekend. He only hoped Catherine and the rest of his family would be cooperative and not scare him away.