Chapter 26:

In which Trowa tries to cope with a certain amount of fall out….

'Love you, Tro.'

Duo, having dropped his bombshell, promptly gave Treize an adoring smile and conked out.

Shit.

'He didn't mean it,' Trowa said hastily, as a nurse ushered the pair of them out of Duo's room. Shit. Of course he hadn't meant it. But it would be hell for him to wake up in hospital with Treize pissed at him over something he hadn't even known he'd said. 'He's just groggy from the anaesthetic. He didn't mean anything.'

'No. Of course not.' Khushrenada didn't even have the decency to look at him; his tone as coolly unconcerned as if Duo had recited a shopping list.

Bastard. What the fuck did Duo, his lovely, vibrant Duo, see in him?

There had just been one tiny fraction of a second, after Duo spoke, when Trowa had seen a shadow of something in his blue eyes, and then it was gone, with that inscrutable, arrogant mask firmly slotted in place.

Asshole.

He'd probably never had a moment's self doubt in his privileged existence.

The nurse had taken them to a private waiting room, and Treize instantly took the chair beside the door.

In the old days, Trowa would have patched Duo up in the bathroom, and slapped his face to keep him awake.

Duo would probably have appreciated it more than being dragged here and surrounded by all these doctors and nurses, all kow-towing to his boyfriend, naturally.

His boyfriend, who was calmly leafing through a copy of Time.

You're such a jerk, do you know that?

Trowa imagined, for a brief instant, what it would be like to say that aloud. Would there even be a reaction? Probably not. The slightest elevation of those freaky eyebrows, possibly.

Trowa was Duo's friend, and therefore had to be tolerated, with graciousness and condescension and impeccable good-breeding.

'I'm going to get whatever substance passes for coffee in this place,' Trowa announced. 'Do you want something?'

'Not now, thank you.' He never looked up from his magazine, apparently absorbed. He got two coffees anyway, just for something to do; even if Treize turned his nose up at beverage that didn't come in an antique porcelain cup, Trowa would drink them both.

Duo's doctor was with Treize when he got back; the guy glanced straight over at Treize as if asking what this stranger was doing barging in on them.

'Mr. Barton is a friend of the family.' Treize said it wearily, as if he just couldn't be bothered to object, and that nearly made it worse.

The doctor gave them both a smooth, suave smile. He was wearing a nametag that described him as Head of Surgery; anyone else would have wait for hours before being seen by some overworked student doctor but not Treize Khushrenada's boyfriend. 'Mr. Maxwell apparently possesses an exceedingly thick skull. We've given him a couple of stitches, but he seems to be fine.'

'When I found him, he was unconscious. I was worried. I've seen head injuries.'

'A very mild concussion, only,' the doctor informed him. 'We'll keep him for tonight, but you should be able to take him tomorrow, once we've run a few tests in the morning.'

'When should he be conscious?' Treize's voice sounded oddly stained.

'Perhaps not for a couple of hours. We gave him a fairly strong anaesthetic.'

'Fine. Thank you.' Treize gave the man a brief handshake and buried his nose back in his magazine.

'He'll be OK,' Trowa said quietly. 'It's just a local anaesthetic, and a few stitches. There probably won't even be much of a scar.'

That was probably what he was worrying about; that his pretty little toy had got himself scratched.

They sat in silence for the next hour. At some point, he thought of Quatre, with a little pinprick of guilt, and called him.

'What do you want?' Quatre demanded, every word doused in acid and edged with razor blades. 'Didn't my replacement put out?'

Trowa blinked. 'What?'

'We were supposed to be going out tonight. When you didn't condescend to show up, I naturally assumed that you'd received a better offer. Was he not as accommodating as you'd hoped?'

Oh, shit.

'Quatre, listen. I'm at St. Gabriel's Hospital. Duo had an accident earlier.'

'How is he?' the blond asked in a very different voice.

'He's OK. He fell down a flight of stairs and bashed his head. He needs a couple of stitches but he's all right.'

'I'm on my way.'

He turned up twenty minutes later, and rushed straight into Treize's arms.

Another one.

'How is he? Are you all right? What happened?'

Treize told him, briefly, playing it down. Quatre fussed over him, and found a nurse who brought them tea in proper cups with saucers, and then charmed her into bringing sandwiches as well. Throughout it all, he just ignored Trowa, who eventually gave up and went to stand outside in the corridor, and listen to what was going on with Duo.

They were going to keep him in overnight, just for observation. Trowa would have taken him home, but Treize just nodded, and then told Quatre there was no reason for all of them to have a sleepless night.

'But I can't just go home and leave you here!'

'Of course you can. Quatre, I'd like to be alone for a while. Perhaps Trowa can take you home?'

'No thank you.' Quatre threw Trowa a look that could have been marketed as an offensive weapon. Fuck, what was that all about? God, Trowa couldn't work out what the hell his problem was. 'I'll call a taxi. Or I can contact Rashid or someone to pick me up. Treize, I'll see you in the morning. Call me when he wakes up, please.' He stamped off, the air rippling off him vibrating with his anger...

'I'm sure you have your own strategy worked out, but this might, just possibly, be a good time to go after him.'

Trowa shrugged, not moving a muscle. 'I'll call him tomorrow. When he's calmed down a bit.'

One of those weird eyebrows lifted fractionally. 'I'm not sure if that particular tactic will work, with Quatre.'

'Why do you care?' Trowa asked bluntly. 'It's not like you want me to be with him.'

Treize didn't bother to deny it. 'I prefer not to see my friends unhappy.'

Oh, shit. It wasn't like he was going to get to spend any time with Duo anyway; Treize had every fucking advantage going. He was the one who'd get to stay in the hospital room for Duo; the nurses were already offering to wheel in an extra bed.

The blond was standing outside the main hospital door, 'phone in hand.

'Yes, I'm at St. Gabriel's. Really? That long? OK, I'll wait. I'm just outside the front door.'

'Hey. I'll drive you home.'

'No, thank you.'

'Quatre. It's late. A lot of places in town will be just closing up now. You'll be waiting for hours for a cab. And you'll freeze in the meantime.'

'I'm fine. Please go away.'

'No. You're being an idiot.'

'I said, go away,' Quatre snapped. 'Or I'll call security.'

'And tell them what? That your boyfriend wants to drive you home rather than leave you standing here by yourself for hours in the cold?'

'Perhaps I'll tell them that my ex-boyfriend is harassing me. My parents donate a great deal of money to this hospital; I imagine they'll take whatever I say seriously.'

'Fine.' Trowa stalked off, not bothering to look back.

Stupid, stubborn, spoilt brat. Fine, let him call Wufei or one of million other fancy friends.

When Trowa drove past the entrance, he'd sat down on one of the small benches outside the door, knees drawn up to his chin and arms wrapped around his ankles.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

He couldn't just leave him there.

Trowa swung the truck over and leaned over to open the passenger door; Quatre didn't even bother to look up.

'Either you get in now, or I'm waiting 'til you get a taxi. You can call security or the cops or anyone you damn well want, but I'm not leaving you here by yourself for God knows how long.'

'Fine.' Quatre flung the word in his face, swinging into the passenger seat and immediately turning to look out the window.

Lovely.

Trowa wasn't used to being the one who was frozen out. That wasn't his job.

It hurt.

'What the hell is wrong with you?'

He didn't think Quatre was going to answer at first. When he did speak, every word had icicles hanging off it.

'Oh, I don't know. Possibly the fact that you couldn't be bothered to inform me that one of my best friends had been in an accident.'

'What?' OK, he hadn't expected that. 'Quatre, I did call you.'

'When you eventually got around to thinking of me, yes. You were here for a couple of hours before that occurred to you. Duo and Treize are my friends, Trowa. I should have been here.'

'You couldn't have done anything,' Trowa told him, still unsure what the big problem was. 'Seriously, he they gave him an anaesthetic pretty much as soon as he got here. He was totally out of it.'

'Love you, Tro.'

Hell and damnation. It didn't mean anything. He'd been totally out of it.

'I wasn't talking about Duo.'

Oh. Treize. Of course. 'You don't have to worry about him, you know. He was perfectly calm.'

He'd stood by while his boyfriend had declared his love for another man, and he hadn't twitched one eyebrow.

'You don't know him at all, do you?' Quatre sounded mildly curious.

'No.' Trowa added the subtext mentally; he didn't want to. 'It didn't look like you were chewing him up over not calling you, the way you were snuggling up to him.'

'You're unbelievable, Barton,' Quatre snapped at him. 'You have simply no idea how worried he is about Duo, and you're jealous of him. And no, I'm not angry at him for not calling; I imagine that was the last thing on his mind. You, on the other hand, are supposed to be my boyfriend.'

'It would have taken two seconds to call me.' Quatre spun around to face him. 'You never even thought about me, did you?'

'I called you as soon as I thought of it.'

'Yes, and that took how long? A couple of hours?'

'I've known Duo for fifteen years,' Trowa said heavily. 'I've known you for about that many days. He's pretty much the only person I've got that means anything. I'm sorry, Quatre, but you have to see how important he is.'

'And I'm your boyfriend. Aren't I remotely important?'

'Ex-boyfriend, you said a few minutes ago.' Trowa said it before he could stop himself.

The young man in the passenger seat sounded suspiciously like he was grinding his teeth.

Shit.

'I'm sorry, OK?' Trowa said finally. He wasn't big into apologising for things; the words felt a bit odd. 'It's just…I've known him for most of my life. He's….important to me. the only thing I've got that's remotely family. You know that.'

'I know.' For the first time, Quatre sounded a little more like himself, instead of this coldly distant stranger. 'I know. I understand that. But we're supposed to be a couple, Trowa. I'm supposed to be important too.'

'You are.'

'Am I really? I know how much Duo means to you, but surely I should be a factor in the equation, even if I'm never going to be a priority.'

'It's not like that. Look, I screwed up. I get it. I'm sorry.' He took a deep breath. 'Duo is the only person I've ever had that comes close to actual family. I just freaked out when Treize called. If one of your sisters got hurt, would I be the first person you'd call?'

'No.' Quatre, who was warm and impulsive and loving, could have been an ice sculpture in the seat beside him. 'But then, it's not really the same, is it? Duo's my friend too, even if I don't have this connection with him that you have. I care about him. And you have made it very clear that you're not interested in anything to do with my family.'

'That's not true.'

'How is it not true?' Quatre demanded, and Trowa decided that anger was better than that searing iciness. 'You have refused, very emphatically, to meet any of them. Does it not occur to you that it might be hurtful for me, having a boyfriend who refuses to have anything to do with the most important people in my life?'

'And does it not occur to you that your family is damned intimidating to someone like me?' Trowa didn't realise he was shouting until he was finished. 'Because they are, Quatre. 'I grew up on the streets. I don't fucking know how to act around people like that.'

'You know how to act around me.' Quatre spoke very quietly, one hand resting on Trowa's arm, like a promise.

'Badly, most of the time,' Trowa muttered, and then pulled the truck into a lay-by. 'Listen, if I'm going to apologise properly, I need to concentrate. I'll go to this anniversary party if that's what you want. I don't want to lose you.'

The sudden loud click was Quatre's seatbelt being opened. Then he was almost in Trowa's lap. 'I don't want you to do anything that will make you uncomfortable.'

'I'll survive.' He pulled Quatre properly against him, stroking the blond hair. 'I get that I fucked up. I am sorry. But he means a lot to me. That's not going to change, Quatre. Ever.' He dropped a kiss on the top of the blond's head. 'Hey, he's just one person. You've practically got a whole tribe of your own.'

Quatre gave him a faint smile.

'Hey, I was thinking about the anniversary present. You said their cat died last year. There's a colour in Siamese cats called Red Point. I thought that'd be a cool Fortieth present. They're pretty rare in Sanque, but I did some research on line and there's a breeder in Nova with a litter. I talked to her yesterday and asked if she could hold one of the Reds. We could drive up and take a look if you wanted. They should be ready just in time for the party.'

'Oh. That was very thoughtful of you.' Damn, he actually sounded surprised at that. 'But I went shopping tonight. I already got their present.'

'Yeah? What is it?'

'It's a crystal decanter and a set of glasses. Wufei took it home when he dropped me at the hospital. I didn't want to carry it around with me all night.'

'Wufei? As in Chang?'

'As he's the only Wufei, I know, yes,' Quatre said tartly.

Trowa snorted. 'And you thought I was the one who'd found someone else? Didn't take you long to find a replacement for me tonight, did you? Sorry I messed up your date with my inconvenient phone call.'

'It wasn't a date!' Quatre snapped. 'When I realised you weren't going to come, I went out for dinner. I happened to meet Wufei; that's all. I was upset and he was nice to me. I don't want to be with someone who sees me as second-best, Trowa. I'm not Duo, I'm nothing like him. If Duo and Treize broke up tomorrow, you'd leave me, wouldn't you? If you had even the faintest hope of getting him?'

'We both know they're not going to break up,' Trowa said heavily.

'I said if!'

'How is it any different from you running to Wufei every time I screw up? That's hardly an ideal relationship either.'

'I didn't run to him,' Quatre said acidly. 'We just happened to meet. I didn't go out looking for him.'

'Where does that leave us, then? Both in love with other people?'

'But it's not the same. Yes, I'm attracted to Wufei. I'm sorry, but it's true. I still chose you. You're just with me as a substitute.'

'No. Quatre, it's not like that at all. Like you said, you're you. And you're amazing; you could never just be a substitute. I accepted a long time ago how Duo felt about Treize, but it still hurts, sometimes. I think I'm over him, and then they have one of their fights and he turns up at my place, or…I don't know. It's all pretty messed up.'

'Were you ever lovers?'

'The way we grew up, sex was ….. not a good thing. You wouldn't know. I never wanted Duo to have anyone hurt him like that, and shit, you know what he looks like. I dinned it into him that it hurt, that it was always about pain and control, and how he had to be careful. He was just a kid on L2 anyway; it wasn't like anything would have happened between us. When we got to Earth, it was….things were better. We had our own place, and I thought maybe….'

'And then he met Treize?' Quatre supplied softly.

'And then he met Treize. I told you, Quatre, I'm shit at this stuff. You'd be better off with Chang.'

'You can't possibly know that!'

'Yeah, I can. Listen, you know hardly anything about me. I'm not exactly the sort of guy who'll fit into your lifestyle, I'm definitely not the sort of guy your family would want you to be with.'

'Can you please stop shouting?' Quatre asked suddenly. 'Just for a second.'

'Yeah. Sorry.' He hadn't even realised he'd been doing it.

'I hate fighting,' Quatre confided softly.

Trowa nodded, pressing his lips to the top of the blond head snuggled under his chin. 'D'you think you could live with the way I feel about Duo? I'm never going to stop caring about him.'