Pet Peeve
by
Nin Tendo
Chapter 4 - Rusty Buckets
~Disclaimer~ As if Gundam Wing would be so popular if I owned it O_o
There were no words able to console Trowa, this Catherine knew. It wouldn't matter what she said, or how often, because the effects of his fighting in the war would continue on. There would still be war orphans on the streets, widows and widowers living in poverty, and maimed soldiers unable to use their arms and legs, if they had them at all.
Even if she told him everyday, "You've done much more good than bad," his eyes would always see the still dying victims of the war--a war that he'd helped to initiate.
So words were not going to solve the problem.
Because actions would always speak louder than words.
Thus, only action would help him to understand.
She found him watching one of the lions sleeping. It had finished eating the food that Trowa had given it nearly an hour ago, and was now sleeping peacefully.
He had that blank look on his face, the one he had whenever he thought about the destruction he'd caused.
"Trowa," she said.
He abruptly snapped out of it, turning to face and greet his sister, then turned his head away again, as if he was feeling ashamed over his inability to reply through his now dry throat.
"Trowa," Catherine said again, "I found something that might help you to atone for the bad things that you feel you've done. I know that by doing this, you'll feel much better about yourself."
She walked over to his side and held up the newspaper she'd brought for him to see. She'd been shocked by the front page--Heero had gone missing and was now a person of interest regarding Relena's murder--but when she'd flipped through the rest of the paper to see if there was any more information, she'd come across a certain section completely by accident.
"Volunteer service?" Trowa read aloud, gently taking the paper from her.
Catherine smiled slightly. "I skimmed through it a little. There's the soup kitchen, salvation army, and food bank, among others. I think there's even help needed at the local orphanage. A lot of people need help to help all the poor and unfortunate people in this world."
Trowa shut his eyes and sighed, closing and folding the newspaper. "Of course, I won't be able to help anyway. We live in a travelling circus."
Catherine shook her head. "Trowa, we usually stay in a location for a week or more. That's plenty of time to take part."
A barely perceptable smile crept its way onto Trowa's face as he opened his eyes. "You're right, Catherine. And people need help all over the world."
"And there are volunteer services all over the world, too," Catherine replied, feeling a burden being removed from her shoulders. "Maybe we should sit down somewhere and look through that more closely."
"Hm," Trowa hummed in reply, looking down at the paper. Then he did a double take. "What?!" he exclaimed, in a whisper, when a triple check refused to change the headline.
Catherine inhaled sharply. Why hadn't she thought to remove the front page before coming to find him? Now it would be impossible to shelter her little brother from the truth.
"Heero..." Trowa whispered. "He's...missing?"
"Yes," Catherine choked out. "The police are calling him a 'person of interest', but that's just the politically correct term for a suspect lacking incriminating evidence."
"He...he didn't..." Trowa stuttered, the paper shaking in his grip. "He couldn't have....I can't believe it..."
"Trowa," Catherine replied, feeling the strange urge to defend a man she barely knew, "running off doesn't automatically make him the guy that...did it. He probably woke up in the middle of the night in a strange place, and his military instinct took over. Or maybe he was just confused. Maybe he just wanted to be alone for a while."
Trowa perked up as she listed the alternate reasons, daring to hope. "You really...believe those things?"
"I can't accept that Heero killed Relena. I just can't...." Catherine replied. She was unable to believe it, with the secret she protectively guarded with every moral she'd ever learned. A secret that she felt would prove Heero's innocence, were it ever revealed--but a secret that would damage so much more than what it would heal.
She was sworn to secrecy by a person that would never be able to relieve her from it.
Relena Dorlain.
=================================================================================================
Quatre had returned to his mansion at around noon, only to find a note from his secretary, stating that he was to take a month's vacation. She had already cancelled all of his meetings and sceduled events during the time period and had informed everyone concerned, leaving him no choice other than to surrender to the suggestion (or to hire a new secretary, which he did not want to go through all over again. The last time had been much too embarrassing, thank you very much.)
But the thought of a vacation did very little to relax him. In fact, it actually agitated him. With the murder investigation now under the Preventor's jurisdiction, the matter was effectively out of his hands--there would be no evidence within his grasp that the Preventors could not locate first.
Looking ahead into the future, all Quatre could see was himself sitting before the television, waiting for news updates.
The sense of worthlessness would drive him absolutely insane.
So, instead of giving into that helplessness early on, Quatre picked up a book that he'd never been able to begin, and proceeded to crack open the cover.
But he was unable to get past the first sentence. When he reached the first period, he found himself thinking of a women's fertility cycle, remembering that a missed period meant a pregnancy. And thoughts of pregnancy immediately caused Relena's death to resurface in his mind, reintroducing the horror of such a violent act, and the speculation of who had done the unmentionable--how could someone rape and murder the princess of peace, the destroyer of destruction, the bringer of hope for the future?
And the only name that popped into his head, no matter how hard he tried to force away the possibility...was Heero Yuy.
Heero Yuy.
Heero Yuy, who had loved the girl more than he had ever loved at all. Quatre had seen it in his eyes on more than one occassion.
Heero Yuy, who could have easily forced his will upon her--she wouldn't have resisted. Who could have easily triggered his vomit reflex by shoving his finger down his throat, lie down in the gore, and slow down his heart beat and brain activity, giving the impression of innocent unconsciousness.
Heero Yuy, the AWOL prime suspect. Wasn't that how it always was in the movies?
His rapidly deteriorating thoughts were interrupted by the phone.
"Hello?" he asked, perhaps a little too eagerly after throwing the book across the room and sprinting for the phone.
"Quatre, I need to ask you a favor," said Sally.
"What is it?" Quatre inquired. "Is there any news about Heero?"
Sally sighed. "Nothing that the whole world doesn't know already. They're crying out for Heero's blood on channel seven. Nobody cares about 'innocent until proven guilty' anymore. Even with the lack of conclusive evidence, the police had an arrest warrant in less than half an hour."
"It's the way its always been," Quatre replied with a sigh. "What is the favor you'd like me to do?"
Sally sighed in reply. "I need you to keep Hilde company while Wufei and I participate in the investigation."
"What?"
"Une called and asked us if we could--"
"No. Before that. What's wrong with Hilde?"
There was a stunned silence on the other end. "Oh, Jesus, what was I thinking? Of course you wouldn't have known..."
"Known? Known what, Sally?" Quatre asked, the familiar feeling of dread unsettling his stomach.
And so, Sally told Quatre the news about Duo Maxwell's mental breakdown.
=================================================================================================
The ride without a clear destination was a subdued one.
Neither Hilde or Quatre had wanted to impose themselves upon Sally's establishment any longer than necessary, and returning to Hilde's temporary Earth residence was completely out of the question.
"Is there any place you'd like to go?" Quatre finally asked, wondering if maybe he should take her to his mansion instead of wasting a fortune on gasoline.
Hilde, who had been staring out the passenger side window, started at Quatre's sudden words. Taking a moment to register the words of her companion, she hesitantly answered, "Yes, there is...but I don't know if it would be possible..."
"What is it Hilde?" Quatre asked, as gently as he was able. "I might be on vacation, but I still have the ability to make impossible things possible."
"I want to visit Duo," Hilde answered, in a whispered burst of air.
"Duo?" Quatre repeated in surprise, almost forgetting that he was operating a vehicle. "Hilde, are you sure you..." He trailed off, staring at her blackened eye.
"I feel responsible," replied Hilde, gaining confidence quickly. "I know it's not my fault, but I still feel guilty for not doing something a long time ago, when I first noticed his odd behaviour. I just want to see him. I want to find out if he's okay. If they're taking good care of him."
Quatre remained silent for a moment.
"Please," Hilde whispered.
"Okay," Quatre replied.
=================================================================================================
"Have you ever shaken a can of pop and opened it?" asked the chipper old doctor. A strange answer, considering the previous question.
"How does that have anything to do with Duo Maxwell's condition?" Quatre demanded. Hilde had reached for his hand upon stepping into the insitution. She was squeezing it hard, now.
But Quatre's sour mood did nothing to damper the spirit of the abnormally cheerful psychologist. "Everything. Nothing," the doctor shrugged off. "From what information I've gathered, this young man had been awfully shaken up by certain events in his early childhood and teenage years. He had a sustancial amount of pain bottled up inside his soul. He'd held it inside for years--until now, when a recent event dug deep enough to crack the protective shell erected to isolate the sorrow. That crack was enough for the shelter to collapse completely and an abnormal amount of emotion swept through his system all at once, causing his irrational behaviour yesterday afternoon."
"Like a can of soda," Hilde whispered, just loud enough to be heard.
The doctor nodded. "And, like an erupting can of soda, the pain was released from his system exremely quickly, and I feel that his internal turmoil will settle in no time at all. With help from our rapidly improving chemical imbalance research and medication, I am very pleased to announce that Mr. Maxwell is nearly himself again and will be able to be released within a month."
Hilde released a soft, happy gasp.
"A month?" Quatre asked, disbelieving.
"Maybe so," the doctor replied, thoughtfully, "but then, he's made such wonderful progress since this morning that I suspect it may be much sooner than that." He looked over, and noticed the needy look on Hilde's face. "He wouldn't stop talking since he'd woken up this morning, but even so, he was only able to tell us about the horrors he'd witnessed during his early years. He remembers the details with such accurate detail that I have to pity the young man. It was no wonder he reacted so violently. He fainted of emotional exhaustion just after noon, so I'm expecting him to wake up soon, if you would like to see him. From experience, I know that speaking to loved ones is much more theraputic than to someone who met you through government controlled media." He utilized a secretive wink and turned to lead them to their destination.
=================================================================================================
Emotional exhaustion wasn't something Duo was experienced with. He had collapsed from physical exhaustion many a time, but this...being incapable of thinking properly, confusing the simplest of concepts, paranoia, delusions...his mind felt fuzzy, like static on television, and it drained him, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually--much worse than his previous description of the words, "I'm tired".
When he had awoken that morning, a flood of surpressed memories had flooded his brain--the breaking of a dam. The tsunami raged in his mind for the few moments before a doctor entered his room, and the storm left his lips, taking his consciousness with it only hours later--or however long it had been, he hadn't really been able to tell.
Now, as he returned to consciousness once more, the flurry of emotion was safely tucked away in the corner of his mind for the moment. He was grateful. He could have accidently released sensitive information in his desperation to reconcile.
Sensitive information, like what he'd seen that night at the Peacecraft manor. The night after the party. Heero's eighteenth birthday celebration, Duo reminded himself, although the true date would never be known. Relena had felt that accomplishment was significant, and deserved some attention.
Duo wondered if she'd realized that the party had took place exactly three years after the Gundam's decent to Earth. She had been murdered on her birthday--an event that the papers had curiously never thought to add to its sorrowful tale of the martyered princess.
Relena would have been eighteen now. It was funny how she had thrown Heero a birthday party, and completely forgot to plan her own. Not only that, but she'd forgotten the last two years also, being so busy with her job--she had been lucky to get the weekend off. No wonder the papers had forgotten. It wasn't exactly a well-known fact. The public seemed to always forget that she was, in fact, a human being, with feelings and birthdays and limits and death.
But, enough--he could feel the mental restraints weakening with every thought.
=================================================================================================
At the first sign of Duo's awakening, Hilde left the chair forgotten and stood directly beside the bed, staring at Duo's face, and feeling the fear she felt the day before--would the sight of her cause a relapse to hysteria?
It took quite a while, but she eventually gathered the courage to reach out with one hand to touch one delicate cheekbone.
Duo's eyes snapped open at the contact, and he stared at her for a few moments before actually seeing her, but his gaze did focus on her face--more accuratly, her blackened eye.
A terrible sound tore free from Duo's lips, a mixture of scream and moan. He took a few deep, tortured breaths before slowly reaching up to run his fingers across the bruise. When Hilde gasped and flinched away in pain, his eyes teared over, hand dropping to the side.
"Oh, God...oh, God, Hilde, baby...I'm so...I'm so sorry..."
"D-Duo..." Hilde choked out, then leapt forward, tears overflowing, into his arms, and they held each other for a long while, apologizing and forgiving in tears, and reconciliation was the most beautiful relief there was, when two souls met halfway, accepting the past as it was and promising the future as it would be. Everything was alive with hope now.
They were going to be alright.
=================================================================================================
It was nearly an hour later when Hilde left for the bathroom, and Quatre took the chance to step inside.
Duo's red-rimmed gaze rolled over to watch him, glazed--he would need to sleep more soon.
"Quatre, buddy, do I look as terrible as I feel?" Duo inquired, rubbing at his eyes, granting instant relief that would only add to the irritation later.
The Winner heir allowed himself a brief smile. "Actually, since the doctors are very optimistic about your recovery, I would bet money that you're the most attractive person living here at the moment."
"That's not much of a compliment," Duo replied, chuckling softly, and the room plummetted into an awkward silence.
"You want to...know," Duo said, somberly, minutes later, "don't you?"
"Yes," Quatre replied, swallowing against the dread, "I do."
Duo turned his head away, closing his eyes. "I needed to get it off my chest anyway--before I told the wrong person. I...I don't think you're the 'right' person, but...you're better than some reporter, huh?"
He was silent for a few moments, allowing his thoughts to gather. "It was about nine--wasn't it?--when Relena sent us back to our guestrooms for a head start on a good night's sleep. I remember complaining to her about it, but she wouldn't back down. She knew we'd pulled an all-nighter in her absense the night before, at Heero's party. It turned out that she was right. I was out like a light the moment my head hit the pillow. But I didn't stay that way. None of us did.
"I don't know when I woke up, but I remember hearing a wierd noise, like the clanging of metal. I'd gotten up and opened the door to the hall. When I looked out, I saw Heero with his back to me, walking away. I called out to him, but I guess he didn't hear me. He turned the corner without a word.
"At the moment, I thought he was putting the finishing touches on Relena's birthday present--being me, I thought it was something kinky. It was her eighteeth birthday, after all. I went back to bed, but I heard him make a few more trips..." Duo carried off.
"What is it, Duo?" Quatre forced out, then held his breath for the horror that was sure to come.
"So many trips..." Duo whispered. "I wondered what he could have made that would require so much paint, but, it wasn't paint, was it?
"That bucket had been filled with blood. Relena's blood..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Notes:
1. Wahhhh....I missed this story so much... ;_; I wanted to write quicker, and post a whole lot sooner, but....STUPID SCHOOL!
2. I wuv this story.
3. I love confusing people. And scaring them. And disturbing them. And misleading them... (mwahahahahahaha....)
4. I'm going to miss this story so much when I finish it. ;_; There's only one more chapter and the epilogue left! NOOOOOOOO~!!! (Oh, well. The epilogue will be huge, and take a long time to write. It might even be longer than the rest of the story combined. O_o)
5. Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this early Christmas present. Maybe I'll finish it in time for next Christmas! :D But the next chapter should be updated in less than a month--I actually wrote an outline for it already! Happy holidays everyone!
~Nin
by
Nin Tendo
Chapter 4 - Rusty Buckets
~Disclaimer~ As if Gundam Wing would be so popular if I owned it O_o
There were no words able to console Trowa, this Catherine knew. It wouldn't matter what she said, or how often, because the effects of his fighting in the war would continue on. There would still be war orphans on the streets, widows and widowers living in poverty, and maimed soldiers unable to use their arms and legs, if they had them at all.
Even if she told him everyday, "You've done much more good than bad," his eyes would always see the still dying victims of the war--a war that he'd helped to initiate.
So words were not going to solve the problem.
Because actions would always speak louder than words.
Thus, only action would help him to understand.
She found him watching one of the lions sleeping. It had finished eating the food that Trowa had given it nearly an hour ago, and was now sleeping peacefully.
He had that blank look on his face, the one he had whenever he thought about the destruction he'd caused.
"Trowa," she said.
He abruptly snapped out of it, turning to face and greet his sister, then turned his head away again, as if he was feeling ashamed over his inability to reply through his now dry throat.
"Trowa," Catherine said again, "I found something that might help you to atone for the bad things that you feel you've done. I know that by doing this, you'll feel much better about yourself."
She walked over to his side and held up the newspaper she'd brought for him to see. She'd been shocked by the front page--Heero had gone missing and was now a person of interest regarding Relena's murder--but when she'd flipped through the rest of the paper to see if there was any more information, she'd come across a certain section completely by accident.
"Volunteer service?" Trowa read aloud, gently taking the paper from her.
Catherine smiled slightly. "I skimmed through it a little. There's the soup kitchen, salvation army, and food bank, among others. I think there's even help needed at the local orphanage. A lot of people need help to help all the poor and unfortunate people in this world."
Trowa shut his eyes and sighed, closing and folding the newspaper. "Of course, I won't be able to help anyway. We live in a travelling circus."
Catherine shook her head. "Trowa, we usually stay in a location for a week or more. That's plenty of time to take part."
A barely perceptable smile crept its way onto Trowa's face as he opened his eyes. "You're right, Catherine. And people need help all over the world."
"And there are volunteer services all over the world, too," Catherine replied, feeling a burden being removed from her shoulders. "Maybe we should sit down somewhere and look through that more closely."
"Hm," Trowa hummed in reply, looking down at the paper. Then he did a double take. "What?!" he exclaimed, in a whisper, when a triple check refused to change the headline.
Catherine inhaled sharply. Why hadn't she thought to remove the front page before coming to find him? Now it would be impossible to shelter her little brother from the truth.
"Heero..." Trowa whispered. "He's...missing?"
"Yes," Catherine choked out. "The police are calling him a 'person of interest', but that's just the politically correct term for a suspect lacking incriminating evidence."
"He...he didn't..." Trowa stuttered, the paper shaking in his grip. "He couldn't have....I can't believe it..."
"Trowa," Catherine replied, feeling the strange urge to defend a man she barely knew, "running off doesn't automatically make him the guy that...did it. He probably woke up in the middle of the night in a strange place, and his military instinct took over. Or maybe he was just confused. Maybe he just wanted to be alone for a while."
Trowa perked up as she listed the alternate reasons, daring to hope. "You really...believe those things?"
"I can't accept that Heero killed Relena. I just can't...." Catherine replied. She was unable to believe it, with the secret she protectively guarded with every moral she'd ever learned. A secret that she felt would prove Heero's innocence, were it ever revealed--but a secret that would damage so much more than what it would heal.
She was sworn to secrecy by a person that would never be able to relieve her from it.
Relena Dorlain.
=================================================================================================
Quatre had returned to his mansion at around noon, only to find a note from his secretary, stating that he was to take a month's vacation. She had already cancelled all of his meetings and sceduled events during the time period and had informed everyone concerned, leaving him no choice other than to surrender to the suggestion (or to hire a new secretary, which he did not want to go through all over again. The last time had been much too embarrassing, thank you very much.)
But the thought of a vacation did very little to relax him. In fact, it actually agitated him. With the murder investigation now under the Preventor's jurisdiction, the matter was effectively out of his hands--there would be no evidence within his grasp that the Preventors could not locate first.
Looking ahead into the future, all Quatre could see was himself sitting before the television, waiting for news updates.
The sense of worthlessness would drive him absolutely insane.
So, instead of giving into that helplessness early on, Quatre picked up a book that he'd never been able to begin, and proceeded to crack open the cover.
But he was unable to get past the first sentence. When he reached the first period, he found himself thinking of a women's fertility cycle, remembering that a missed period meant a pregnancy. And thoughts of pregnancy immediately caused Relena's death to resurface in his mind, reintroducing the horror of such a violent act, and the speculation of who had done the unmentionable--how could someone rape and murder the princess of peace, the destroyer of destruction, the bringer of hope for the future?
And the only name that popped into his head, no matter how hard he tried to force away the possibility...was Heero Yuy.
Heero Yuy.
Heero Yuy, who had loved the girl more than he had ever loved at all. Quatre had seen it in his eyes on more than one occassion.
Heero Yuy, who could have easily forced his will upon her--she wouldn't have resisted. Who could have easily triggered his vomit reflex by shoving his finger down his throat, lie down in the gore, and slow down his heart beat and brain activity, giving the impression of innocent unconsciousness.
Heero Yuy, the AWOL prime suspect. Wasn't that how it always was in the movies?
His rapidly deteriorating thoughts were interrupted by the phone.
"Hello?" he asked, perhaps a little too eagerly after throwing the book across the room and sprinting for the phone.
"Quatre, I need to ask you a favor," said Sally.
"What is it?" Quatre inquired. "Is there any news about Heero?"
Sally sighed. "Nothing that the whole world doesn't know already. They're crying out for Heero's blood on channel seven. Nobody cares about 'innocent until proven guilty' anymore. Even with the lack of conclusive evidence, the police had an arrest warrant in less than half an hour."
"It's the way its always been," Quatre replied with a sigh. "What is the favor you'd like me to do?"
Sally sighed in reply. "I need you to keep Hilde company while Wufei and I participate in the investigation."
"What?"
"Une called and asked us if we could--"
"No. Before that. What's wrong with Hilde?"
There was a stunned silence on the other end. "Oh, Jesus, what was I thinking? Of course you wouldn't have known..."
"Known? Known what, Sally?" Quatre asked, the familiar feeling of dread unsettling his stomach.
And so, Sally told Quatre the news about Duo Maxwell's mental breakdown.
=================================================================================================
The ride without a clear destination was a subdued one.
Neither Hilde or Quatre had wanted to impose themselves upon Sally's establishment any longer than necessary, and returning to Hilde's temporary Earth residence was completely out of the question.
"Is there any place you'd like to go?" Quatre finally asked, wondering if maybe he should take her to his mansion instead of wasting a fortune on gasoline.
Hilde, who had been staring out the passenger side window, started at Quatre's sudden words. Taking a moment to register the words of her companion, she hesitantly answered, "Yes, there is...but I don't know if it would be possible..."
"What is it Hilde?" Quatre asked, as gently as he was able. "I might be on vacation, but I still have the ability to make impossible things possible."
"I want to visit Duo," Hilde answered, in a whispered burst of air.
"Duo?" Quatre repeated in surprise, almost forgetting that he was operating a vehicle. "Hilde, are you sure you..." He trailed off, staring at her blackened eye.
"I feel responsible," replied Hilde, gaining confidence quickly. "I know it's not my fault, but I still feel guilty for not doing something a long time ago, when I first noticed his odd behaviour. I just want to see him. I want to find out if he's okay. If they're taking good care of him."
Quatre remained silent for a moment.
"Please," Hilde whispered.
"Okay," Quatre replied.
=================================================================================================
"Have you ever shaken a can of pop and opened it?" asked the chipper old doctor. A strange answer, considering the previous question.
"How does that have anything to do with Duo Maxwell's condition?" Quatre demanded. Hilde had reached for his hand upon stepping into the insitution. She was squeezing it hard, now.
But Quatre's sour mood did nothing to damper the spirit of the abnormally cheerful psychologist. "Everything. Nothing," the doctor shrugged off. "From what information I've gathered, this young man had been awfully shaken up by certain events in his early childhood and teenage years. He had a sustancial amount of pain bottled up inside his soul. He'd held it inside for years--until now, when a recent event dug deep enough to crack the protective shell erected to isolate the sorrow. That crack was enough for the shelter to collapse completely and an abnormal amount of emotion swept through his system all at once, causing his irrational behaviour yesterday afternoon."
"Like a can of soda," Hilde whispered, just loud enough to be heard.
The doctor nodded. "And, like an erupting can of soda, the pain was released from his system exremely quickly, and I feel that his internal turmoil will settle in no time at all. With help from our rapidly improving chemical imbalance research and medication, I am very pleased to announce that Mr. Maxwell is nearly himself again and will be able to be released within a month."
Hilde released a soft, happy gasp.
"A month?" Quatre asked, disbelieving.
"Maybe so," the doctor replied, thoughtfully, "but then, he's made such wonderful progress since this morning that I suspect it may be much sooner than that." He looked over, and noticed the needy look on Hilde's face. "He wouldn't stop talking since he'd woken up this morning, but even so, he was only able to tell us about the horrors he'd witnessed during his early years. He remembers the details with such accurate detail that I have to pity the young man. It was no wonder he reacted so violently. He fainted of emotional exhaustion just after noon, so I'm expecting him to wake up soon, if you would like to see him. From experience, I know that speaking to loved ones is much more theraputic than to someone who met you through government controlled media." He utilized a secretive wink and turned to lead them to their destination.
=================================================================================================
Emotional exhaustion wasn't something Duo was experienced with. He had collapsed from physical exhaustion many a time, but this...being incapable of thinking properly, confusing the simplest of concepts, paranoia, delusions...his mind felt fuzzy, like static on television, and it drained him, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually--much worse than his previous description of the words, "I'm tired".
When he had awoken that morning, a flood of surpressed memories had flooded his brain--the breaking of a dam. The tsunami raged in his mind for the few moments before a doctor entered his room, and the storm left his lips, taking his consciousness with it only hours later--or however long it had been, he hadn't really been able to tell.
Now, as he returned to consciousness once more, the flurry of emotion was safely tucked away in the corner of his mind for the moment. He was grateful. He could have accidently released sensitive information in his desperation to reconcile.
Sensitive information, like what he'd seen that night at the Peacecraft manor. The night after the party. Heero's eighteenth birthday celebration, Duo reminded himself, although the true date would never be known. Relena had felt that accomplishment was significant, and deserved some attention.
Duo wondered if she'd realized that the party had took place exactly three years after the Gundam's decent to Earth. She had been murdered on her birthday--an event that the papers had curiously never thought to add to its sorrowful tale of the martyered princess.
Relena would have been eighteen now. It was funny how she had thrown Heero a birthday party, and completely forgot to plan her own. Not only that, but she'd forgotten the last two years also, being so busy with her job--she had been lucky to get the weekend off. No wonder the papers had forgotten. It wasn't exactly a well-known fact. The public seemed to always forget that she was, in fact, a human being, with feelings and birthdays and limits and death.
But, enough--he could feel the mental restraints weakening with every thought.
=================================================================================================
At the first sign of Duo's awakening, Hilde left the chair forgotten and stood directly beside the bed, staring at Duo's face, and feeling the fear she felt the day before--would the sight of her cause a relapse to hysteria?
It took quite a while, but she eventually gathered the courage to reach out with one hand to touch one delicate cheekbone.
Duo's eyes snapped open at the contact, and he stared at her for a few moments before actually seeing her, but his gaze did focus on her face--more accuratly, her blackened eye.
A terrible sound tore free from Duo's lips, a mixture of scream and moan. He took a few deep, tortured breaths before slowly reaching up to run his fingers across the bruise. When Hilde gasped and flinched away in pain, his eyes teared over, hand dropping to the side.
"Oh, God...oh, God, Hilde, baby...I'm so...I'm so sorry..."
"D-Duo..." Hilde choked out, then leapt forward, tears overflowing, into his arms, and they held each other for a long while, apologizing and forgiving in tears, and reconciliation was the most beautiful relief there was, when two souls met halfway, accepting the past as it was and promising the future as it would be. Everything was alive with hope now.
They were going to be alright.
=================================================================================================
It was nearly an hour later when Hilde left for the bathroom, and Quatre took the chance to step inside.
Duo's red-rimmed gaze rolled over to watch him, glazed--he would need to sleep more soon.
"Quatre, buddy, do I look as terrible as I feel?" Duo inquired, rubbing at his eyes, granting instant relief that would only add to the irritation later.
The Winner heir allowed himself a brief smile. "Actually, since the doctors are very optimistic about your recovery, I would bet money that you're the most attractive person living here at the moment."
"That's not much of a compliment," Duo replied, chuckling softly, and the room plummetted into an awkward silence.
"You want to...know," Duo said, somberly, minutes later, "don't you?"
"Yes," Quatre replied, swallowing against the dread, "I do."
Duo turned his head away, closing his eyes. "I needed to get it off my chest anyway--before I told the wrong person. I...I don't think you're the 'right' person, but...you're better than some reporter, huh?"
He was silent for a few moments, allowing his thoughts to gather. "It was about nine--wasn't it?--when Relena sent us back to our guestrooms for a head start on a good night's sleep. I remember complaining to her about it, but she wouldn't back down. She knew we'd pulled an all-nighter in her absense the night before, at Heero's party. It turned out that she was right. I was out like a light the moment my head hit the pillow. But I didn't stay that way. None of us did.
"I don't know when I woke up, but I remember hearing a wierd noise, like the clanging of metal. I'd gotten up and opened the door to the hall. When I looked out, I saw Heero with his back to me, walking away. I called out to him, but I guess he didn't hear me. He turned the corner without a word.
"At the moment, I thought he was putting the finishing touches on Relena's birthday present--being me, I thought it was something kinky. It was her eighteeth birthday, after all. I went back to bed, but I heard him make a few more trips..." Duo carried off.
"What is it, Duo?" Quatre forced out, then held his breath for the horror that was sure to come.
"So many trips..." Duo whispered. "I wondered what he could have made that would require so much paint, but, it wasn't paint, was it?
"That bucket had been filled with blood. Relena's blood..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Notes:
1. Wahhhh....I missed this story so much... ;_; I wanted to write quicker, and post a whole lot sooner, but....STUPID SCHOOL!
2. I wuv this story.
3. I love confusing people. And scaring them. And disturbing them. And misleading them... (mwahahahahahaha....)
4. I'm going to miss this story so much when I finish it. ;_; There's only one more chapter and the epilogue left! NOOOOOOOO~!!! (Oh, well. The epilogue will be huge, and take a long time to write. It might even be longer than the rest of the story combined. O_o)
5. Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this early Christmas present. Maybe I'll finish it in time for next Christmas! :D But the next chapter should be updated in less than a month--I actually wrote an outline for it already! Happy holidays everyone!
~Nin