Chapter 34

The next morning, Heero was silent as he got ready for school. Quatre had had another nightmare and was, for the moment, sleeping peacefully in Heero's bed. Heero wanted Quatre to be able to rest so he could return to school.

Heero gave the blonde a soft kiss on the forehead and slipped down the stairs to find Hisa in the kitchen.

"Morning, Mom."

"Good morning, Heero. Is Quatre still asleep?"

"Yeah. He had another nightmare so he's in my room."

Hisa nodded. She trusted Heero to keep his word to Odin but was worried that Quatre was having so many nightmares. She understood that he'd been through a traumatic experience but if he couldn't sleep it could harm his health further. She was taking him to his appointment with Dr. J later that morning so she made a mental note to ask the psychiatrist if there was anything they could do to help the dreams stop.

Heero ate a quick breakfast and, hearing Trowa's honk, pecked his mom on the cheek and dashed out the door. They picked up Duo and Wufei and Heero wondered how Quatre would feel about seeing Tony's house when they picked up Wufei in the mornings.

They pulled up to the school, aware of Quatre's absence. The four friends were somber as they parted ways for class. Heero was stopped by Miss Une as he walked into homeroom. She gave him an envelope to give to Quatre. He was curious about the envelope, knowing that Quatre had basically been excused from math until graduation.

At lunch, their table was subdued, each boy lost in his thoughts.

"Hey, Yuy…where's Quatre? He didn't show up today."

Heero looked up. "He…isn't feeling well, Treize. I don't know when he'll be back," Heero answered vaguely.

Treize was surprised at that. He could remember back to the beginning of the year when Quatre started tutoring him. The blonde had looked like death warmed over and insisted on staying at school. For him to miss meant he must be really sick.

"Hm…well…if you see him…tell him I hope he feels better."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

Treize nodded and went back to his own table where he fell into a quiet discussion with Dorothy.

"Since when does he care?" Trowa asked with a frown.

"Believe it or not, Tro', he and Quat are friends," Duo told him.

Trowa raised an eyebrow.

"It's true," Heero affirmed, not going into detail.

Trowa shrugged. Quatre could be friends with whoever he wanted. As long as Treize didn't make any trouble for Quatre, Trowa wouldn't make any trouble for Treize.

The day dragged on and the bell finally rang to signal the end of the day. Heero wandered to Quatre's classes to speak to the two teachers they didn't share about his assignments. Dr. S gave him a few pieces of music that the orchestra was going to learn for the next concert and asked Heero to pass on his best wishes.

Mr. Darlian, however, was a completely different story. He sneered at Heero's request for Quatre's assignments.

"If Mr. Winner wants to pass this class, he will show up like everyone else."

Heero frowned. "Principal Po gave him clearance."

"Principal Po doesn't teach this class. My decision is final. If he wishes to pass, he will show up. Good day."

Heero left the classroom with a dark expression. He didn't understand why Mr. Darlian was being so difficult. Principal Po had said that Quatre was to be given his assignments. Heero decided that he would speak with the principal the next time he saw her. Right now, he wanted to get home and check on Quatre.

Trowa dropped Heero off with a reminder to call if Quatre wanted to hang out later. The friends had agreed that Quatre needed to have time to get his assignments done so he wouldn't get behind or stressed over them. They also wanted Quatre to know they were there for him, but didn't want to smother the blonde.

Heero got home and heard violin music. His mother was in the kitchen and she put a finger to her lips to tell him not to talk. She gestured with her head for him to peek into the living room. Quatre was standing next to the window playing his violin. His eyes were shut as he played, immersing himself in the music. Heero smiled to himself. He and his friends had gone to one of the school orchestra concerts and watched Quatre play, but they hadn't heard him play alone before. The song he was playing was beautiful, but melancholy.

Heero stepped back into the kitchen. "How did things go today?" he asked Hisa quietly.

She gave him a small smile. "I think it went okay, all things considered."

Heero raised an eyebrow but didn't ask because at that moment Quatre stopped playing and came into the kitchen.

"Oh! Heero, I didn't know you were home."

Heero smiled at his boyfriend. "I just walked through the door. How are you feeling today?"

Quatre shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

Heero didn't miss the fact that Quatre didn't look directly at him. "Did something happen today?" he asked carefully.

"Just…" Quatre took a deep breath. "When we went to my appointment with Dr. J, Marshal Noventa was there. He…he said that…the court date would be soon."

"How soon?"

"N-next week."

Heero's eyebrows furrowed as he frowned. "How did they manage that?"

"Apparently the Marshal called in a favor with the judge," Hisa supplied. "So we also met with Quatre's lawyer today…and Tony's."

Heero looked at Quatre, who suddenly looked absolutely miserable. He stepped closer and wrapped the blonde in his arms. "What's wrong, Angel?" he asked quietly.

"T-Tony's lawyer thinks he's innocent…that I'm making it up…and…and if he…if he gets off…" Quatre couldn't say anymore. He burst into tears.

"Shhh…it's okay," Heero soothed quietly. "It's okay. I don't think Tony will get off, no matter how good his lawyer is. But on the off chance that he does, you can stay here…or with Duo if you want. We won't let him hurt you ever again."

"W-what i-if th-they m-make m-me g-go b-back t-to T-Tony?"

Heero held Quatre tighter. "I don't think Dr. Noin and the Marshal will let that happen. But if it does…I promise to do something. I'll kidnap you and hide you in the cellar if I have to."

Hisa sighed. As much as she wanted to help Quatre, if the judge ordered him returned to Tony, there would be little they could do. She made a mental note to speak to Odin about it. Perhaps he could offer Tony money to leave the blonde and never come back. She'd gotten quite attached to him already. Quatre was polite and eager to please. It made her wonder what he ever did to deserve such treatment from his father. She shook her head. Paying Tony off would be a last-ditch course of action. She was certain that no court of law would ever let Tony near Quatre again. Especially with photographic evidence of what had befallen the sweet boy.

"I don't want you boys to worry about what might or might not happen," she said gently. "I do want you to trust me when I tell you that Odin and I will do everything in our power to keep you both safe."

Heero gave his mom a grateful smile as Quatre nodded in Heero's embrace.

"Why don't you boys get started on your homework? It will get your mind off of this for a bit and I'll bring you up a snack."

The boys agreed and went up to Heero's room, where Heero gave Quatre his assignments.

"Wait a minute…don't I have any Business Ethics homework?" Quatre was frowning. They always had an assignment in Mr. Darlian's class.

"I asked him…but he wouldn't give it to me. I'm going to talk to Principal Po about it tomorrow when I see her."

Quatre sighed. "Thanks…but I don't want you to have to go out of your way—"

"Quatre. I told Principal Po I'd bring you your assignments and I will. Darlian is just being a jerk. The principal will set him straight."

"What's this?" Quatre pulled out the envelope Miss Une had given to Heero during Homeroom.

"Miss Une sent it."

Quatre opened it and pulled out a letter.

Dear Quatre,
I hope this letter finds you making progress in your recovery. I wanted to let you know that your grade in this class is assured and there will be no make-up assignments from me. Treize has shown remarkable improvement and I wanted to thank you for doing such a wonderful job tutoring him. Please use the time you would have spent on an assignment doing something that makes you happy. And please know that I am here for you if you need anything.
Best Wishes,
Miss Une

"That was nice of her," Quatre remarked, letting Heero read the letter.

"Teacher's Pet," Heero teased, ruffling Quatre's hair.

"Am not!"

Heero laughed at his boyfriend's indignant expression. "I know. But you're just so easy to tease."

Quatre stuck his tongue out.

Heero chuckled. "Come on, let's get our homework done. Then, if you're up for it, we can call the guys and hang out."

Hisa came up with a plate of snacks for them and asked how things were going. Heero told her that everything was fine and Quatre thanked her for the snacks. She smiled and left them to their work.

After eating a few snacks, Quatre sat on Heero's bed, picked an assignment and got to work. He would practice his violin while Heero was at school tomorrow. He really only had Physics, History and English homework. He read over the notes Heero had taken on the History lecture and then looked at the assignment.

"Hey, Heero, did you do the History homework yet?"

"Uh…no. Howard told me that he was only giving you assignments because you weren't there to take notes and he wanted to make sure you understood the material for the midterm. Why?"

"These notes are on the French Revolution but he wants me to write an essay on the Industrial Revolution."

Heero frowned and took the assignment from Quatre. "I'll ask him about it tomorrow. He may have just given me the wrong paper. Work on something else for now, okay?"

Quatre worked on the Physics homework, but it seemed to take longer than it should have. At least his assignment in English was to read a book off the list and write an essay on it and it wasn't due until he returned to school. Since Heero was still doing his own homework, Quatre found a book on Heero's bookshelf and started to read.

After finishing his homework, Heero turned to look at Quatre, who was sitting in his bean bag chair on the floor. He frowned. Quatre had a book open in front of him, but he seemed to be staring off into space.

"Quatre? Angel, are you okay?"

"What if he sends someone after me?" Quatre whispered.

"He doesn't know where you are."

"But his lawyer does. He met your mom, Heero. He could tell Tony."

Heero crossed over to the blonde and knelt in front of him. "Quatre, I want you to listen very carefully to me. You are safe here. I won't let anyone hurt you and neither will my parents or the guys. Once the trial happens next week you won't have anything to worry about ever again. I'm positive that there's no way Tony will get away with what he's done."

Quatre threw his arms around Heero's neck and held tight. "You're right, I'm sorry," he whispered.

Heero held his boyfriend for a minute. "It's okay, Angel. I understand."

"I'm sorry, Heero. I feel bad that I keep worrying about things that might not happen."

Heero made Quatre look at him. "I want you to tell me when something bothers you, even if it turns out to be nothing. I won't make that mistake again."

Quatre was confused. "Heero?"

Heero sighed. "You told me before that you thought Tony was up to something. I should have hidden you away then."

Quatre snuggled into Heero. "It's okay, 'Ro. Tony would have just come after you and taken me away and then I wouldn't have had anyone to help me."

Heero held Quatre close. "I…I never thought of it that way. I just wish we could have stopped it from ever happening," he said quietly.

"There are a lot of things I wish I could change. But…if things had turned out differently, I might never have met you."

Heero couldn't help but smile at that. "I guess you're right." They stayed silent for a few minutes and Quatre shifted so he could peck Heero on the cheek.

"Thanks Heero."

"You're welcome, Quatre." Heero looked at the clock. It was almost dinnertime. "I guess we'll have to try and hang out with the guys tomorrow. I don't think mom will let us go out after dinner."

"That's okay. I'm kind of tired anyway." Quatre gave Heero a worried look. "They…they won't be mad, will they?"

Heero gave Quatre a peck on the forehead. "Don't let us make you feel like you have to go out. We all want you to get better and the guys understand if you don't feel up to going."

Quatre smiled. "Okay."

Heero moved to sit with Quatre on the bean bag chair. "So, what book were you reading?"