Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, but I own Miroku, Quatre's abusive
boyfriend.
Authors note: I decided that I needed to stop with the fluff and do something more angsty and all that stuff. Special thanks to Iliyana who helped me with the name of Quatre's boyfriend.
Summary: Quatre is in an abusive relationship with someone already. Can Quatre realise he is stronger then to deal with the abuse, and to realise that the most perfect person for is in front of him before its too late? 4xOCx4, 1x4, and slight 2x3x2. RnR!
Tourniquet
***
The Japanese teen stared blankly at the screen of his computer while waiting for the next page of information to load. Suddenly, a pair of slender, pale, flawless arms snaked themselves around his shoulders.
"Heero . . . ?" a voice whispered from behind him. Heero turned from the computer screen, closing the laptop and standing, twisting his body within the arms around him, staring at the image of perfection now in front of him.
". . . Quatre . . ." Heero replied, placing his hands on Quatre's slim hips. Heero's eyes traced Quatre's body. He was wearing a blood red dress shirt with the top 3 buttons undone and tight, black leather trousers. A very uncharacteristic outfit for the Quatre that most people knew, but since the war ended, the Arabic teen had been changing drastically. Heero stared into the aquamarine eyes which were screaming with seduction before he parted his lips to speak, but was quickly hushed by Quatre.
"Shhh love . . ." he said in a low, sultry voice, which sent a chill down the Perfect Soldier's spine, "Don't use these for talking, unless it happens to be screaming my name." Quatre said with a mischievous smile. He quickly moved forward slightly and captured Heero's lips with his own, engulfing the Japanese ex Gundam pilot in a deep, passionate kiss which took his breath away. Quatre's hands roamed freely across the back of his lover before he pushed him backwards, making Heero land on his desk, almost trampling his laptop computer. He soon found himself staring up at Quatre who had straddled his hips and was running his fingers across Heero's chest. Quatre leant over, leaving small bites across the other teen's smooth neck, when suddenly; a loud beeping in the distance interrupted the two . . .
Heero's cobalt eyes snapped open and a balled fist slammed down hard on a small, black alarm clock until the pleasure ending noise had ended.
"Fuck." He mumbled darkly. It all had been a dream. He sighed heavily and stared up at the white ceiling. Another dream about Quatre. Why? Because he was in love with him, and has been for a while now. And seemingly everyone but the blonde Arab knew it, and he had never told anyone. Oh well . . . he actually didn't care. The only thing he cared about was Quatre. Heero sighed again, his mind now trailing to Quatre's bastard of a boyfriend.
Miroku Souji. Quatre's abusive, alcoholic boyfriend. He's half Japanese, half Korean and four years older then Quatre. He's also much larger then Quatre. He works with the other ex-Gundam pilots as a Preventer.
Heero's face contorted in hate as he thought of Miroku. He hated that he was with Quatre, and hated the way he treated him much more. Heero's room was silent, but that was soon broken when the sounds in the next room. He rolled his eyes, hearing random outcries of the name 'Trowa' from Duo's voice. Heero crawled out of bed and got dressed as quick as he could, not wanting to make his morning even worse by having to listen to those two even longer. Why did the walls have to be so thin and why was Heero cursed to be directly next to Duo's room, and across from Trowa's? He can't get away! Wufei was the lucky one. He was at the end of the hall and there was approximately a 4 metre gap between his room and any other. Heero made his way downstairs, not expecting any of the other pilots to be up yet, but to his surprise there was one awake. Sitting at the kitchen table was Quatre, one eye red and puffy, one black and nearly swollen shut, bruises and scratches up and down his arms and any other area of exposed skin. A coffee cup sat in front of him, but he didn't seem to care as tears slipped down one side of his face.
"Quatre . . . ?"
"Huh? Oh . . . good morning Heero." Quatre sighed, wiping the left side of his face and trying to hide the other, although Heero and the other pilots had already seen it when Quatre had retuned home last night.
"Quatre . . . what's wrong?" As if Heero needed to ask.
"Not . . . nothing." Quatre said, now adorning a false smile.
"Why have you been crying if there is nothing wrong?" Heero asked, an eyebrow raised,
"Oh Heero!" Quatre suddenly sobbed after a few awkward seconds of silence. As the words escaped his lips, Quatre let his head fall onto the kitchen table with a thump, which sounded so painful to Heero and made him wince in sympathetic pain. "I . . . I just can't take this anymore . . . he's going to kill me . . . one of these days . . ." Heero couldn't understand anything else through the choked sobs. Seeing the one person he truly loved in this distraught way was killing Heero inside.
"Quatre . . . you've got to get rid of this guy . . ." Heero stated. He was useless at comforting and understanding the feelings of those around him. Really, he had only recently come to grips with the concept of love. A perfect soldier is not trained in these things, and adapting after the war, to lose the sacred walls he had built to not let in the emotions of himself or others, was proving difficult. But, Heero tried anyway, placing a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder,
"I . . . I can't Heero. He . . . well . . . look what he does to me when he says he loves me . . ." he murmured, looking up at Heero, "Plus, I'd be lost without Miroku. I love him . . . despite the way he treats me . . . I deserve it . . ."
"No you don't! You don't deserve to be beaten within an inch of your life whenever you are with him. And in the rare times he isn't physically abusing you it's mentally!" Heero paused, going for Quatre's hand, taking it within his own, "No one deserves the way you are treated." He added, his voice nearly falling into a whisper. Quatre snatched his hand back and narrowed his eyes, glowering at Heero,
"What do you know? I do deserve it! Miroku says so . . . he . . . says I deserve to be treated this way . . . he's the best I can get . . ." Quatre sighed the last words.
"He's broken you, Quatre." Heero said in a low, sad voice. "What happened to the Quatre I knew? That we all knew? The one who didn't put up with any of this crap? Where'd he go to be replaced by a spineless person?"
"I'm the same person!" Quatre protested, standing up from the table and staring directly into Heero's eyes. Heero blinked; he didn't like the way Quatre was looking at him. "I'm going to work . . . I'll talk to you later, okay?" and with these words, Quatre slipped outside through the back door.
"Heero Yuy, you're an idiot." He murmured to himself, sitting himself down in the seat which once held the blonde Arab.
"Truer words were never spoken!" chirped Duo Maxwell from the doorway.
"How long you been there, baka?" Heero huffed as Duo, closely followed by his lover, Trowa, entered the kitchen.
"Right before Q-man stormed out." Duo replied, sitting down next to Heero. He turned to the standing Trowa, "Egg on toast, and make it snappy!" Duo demanded with a smile. Trowa raised an eyebrow, but said nothing and turned to make Duo's breakfast. "So, what the hell has happened THIS time?"
"He thinks he deserves the way he's treated." Heero sighed.
"That's insane!" Duo replied, "You know, you probably should've told him about your deep rooted passion for him. He probably needs to know he can do SO much better then that creep Miroku."
"Shut up, baka."
"What?! He probably doesn't think he can get any better then that bastard he's with now. Hee-chan, you need to tell him how ya feel. Take my advice, sometimes ya just gotta take the plunge and tell the guy of your dreams ya love 'em. I wouldn't be with my Tro-babe if I didn't!" Duo explained. Trowa turned around and smiled,
"Yeah Heero, listen to Duo." Trowa said. Heero sighed heavily,
"What the hell am I supposed to say? 'Hey Quatre, sorry that your boyfriend is treating you like shit, so lets go upstairs and do the horizontal mambo?!'" Heero asked with anger in his voice.
"Yeah! That will work!" Duo replied happily, throwing a fist into the air, which only barely missed the face of Trowa who was behind him with a plate of food.
"Snappy enough, your all mighty highness?" Trowa asked sarcastically.
"Indeed, my good man."
"Anyways, Heero, ignoring that Duo thinks your obviously over sarcastic statement to Quatre would work, I agree that you should tell him. He needs to know that right now. He thinks Miroku is all he can get and deserves. He can get better . . ."
"Or he can have you . . ." Duo interrupted, mouth full of egg. Trowa and Heero glared at the braided pilot. "What? I couldn't resist!"
"I'm going to cut your braid off, baka." Heero sighed in deadpan. Duo's eyes widened and he reached a protective hand over to his long, chestnut braid. "Anyways Trowa, you were saying . . ."
"Just that you need to tell Quatre. There isn't anything to be afraid of."
"Easier said then done." Heero mumbled, "You know, the war was easy compared to this."
---
Meanwhile
Bruised, battered hands gripped tightly onto the steering wheel as Quatre drove with great expediency down the rain splattered road. Rain crashed heavily onto the windscreen, making the vision of the blonde near adult even more difficult. Heero's words ran in circles in his brain.
"He has broken me . . ." He mumbled to himself as he quickly whipped his car down a familiar street. "This ends now." He parked his metallic blue Honda Civic in front of a house with blood stained carpet. ---
"Where the hell is Quatre? He should've been here by now . . ." Duo trailed off, violet eyes scanning the office.
" . . ." Heero was nervous. Quatre had left way before any of the others, and was also known for his punctuality, so why wasn't he at work?
"I just checked all the bathrooms. Quatre is no where in the building." Trowa said as he joined the group. "Maybe he's gone back home or something." He added quietly. As if a light bulb had just been switched on in the Shinigami's brain, his eyes widened and his lips slightly parted as a thought processed.
"I have an idea! Back in a minute!" And with that, Duo sped off downstairs.
"I have a feeling we should be afraid of whatever Duo's idea is . . ." Trowa said, a small smile on his face, but the worry about Quatre still obvious in his one visible olive green eye.
"What is going on, Yuy?" asked Wufei, who had just sauntered up casually to Heero and Trowa.
"We don't know where Quatre is." Heero replied flatly.
"Hn . . . maybe that boyfriend of his has finally killed off Winner . . ." before another breath could escape Wufei's body, he found himself pinned up against a wall, starring down the barrel of Heero's gun,
"Wufei! That's not fucking funny!" Heero growled.
"I was only kidding, get a grip damnit!"
"I'll get a grip alright!" Trowa replied quickly, clasping a hand around Wufei's neck.
"Guys, put him down." Duo said calmly as he rejoined the group. Despite better judgement, and also curiosity to find where the braided ex-pilot had been, Heero and Trowa released Wufei,
"You two need to calm down." He grumbled as he walked off.
"What'd he do?" Duo asked.
"Said Miroku had killed Quatre." Trowa and Heero said in unison.
"Oh . . ."
"So, where were you? What was your great idea?" Trowa asked, moving closer to his lover and placing an arm around his shoulders,
"Well, why did none of us think of this? Miroku works here, remember? That's how Quatre met the creep! So, I went down to the IT area to see if he was there, and, surprise, he's not at work." Duo explained, annoyance thick in his voice.
"Fuck . . . that means Quatre has gone to Miroku's . . ." Heero sighed heavily.
"Maybe he's going to break it off with him?" Trowa said hopefully.
"Or I'm gunna break something off him!" Duo retorted.
"I'll go get him . . ." Heero said, beginning to move towards the exit.
"Uh . . . Hee-chan . . . maybe that's not the best idea . . . you being the violent, Quatre loving type, you may kill him, and, deserving of that Miroku may be, I think it should wait." Duo paused, "I will go down there in the Shinigami-mobile!"
"Shinigami-mobile?" Heero asked, an eyebrow puckered.
"Batman can have the Bat-mobile, Spiderman can have the Spider-mobile, and the Shinigami can have the Shinigami-mobile!" Duo explained indignantly.
"Uh . . . Duo . . ." Heero began,
"Don't Heero . . . I've already tried to explain how many things are wrong with that statement . . . don't waste your breath . . ." Trowa interjected. Heero sighed,
"Fine, go in your damned Shinigami-mobile." Heero said. Duo smiled,
"I will let you know what happens." Duo called as he ran off.
---
"You can't break up with me . . ." said a very tall, black haired man who towered over the shaking blonde.
"Yes . . . yes Miroku . . . I . . ." Quatre couldn't finish his statement before he found himself punched hard in the stomach, winded and on the floor.
"I love you, Quatre." Miroku said snidely, kneeling down next to Quatre who was trying to catch his breath.
"If . . . you . . . love me . . . why . . . do . . . you treat me . . . this way?" Quatre panted, still catching his breath from his recent injury.
"Because . . . you have to be taught a lesson . . . that you are worthless and you deserve only the worse because you piloted one of those damned Gundams . . . and I teach it the hard way . . . because I love you so . . ." Miroku hissed, a maniacal grin on his face.
"I'm not worthless!" Quatre said sternly, looking into the dark brown eyes of his boyfriend. "And I don't deserve the worst! I can get better then you!"
"No you can't, my love." Miroku said simply, "No one would ever want you. You're lucky I have taken you in this way . . . now, stand up, and tell me you love me and this whole incident will be forgotten . . ."
"No."
"If that's the way you want to do it . . ." Miroku began, grabbing Quatre's forearms and pulling him to his feet. Quatre stared at the ground, the confidence he had built quickly diminishing. Miroku slapped Quatre against the side of his face with a lot of force, so much so, he would've lost his balance if not being held up by Miroku's other hand. "Say it!"
"No." The word rolled off Quatre's tongue with some effort. Miroku narrowed his eyes, slamming a fist into the blonde's fragile ribs and letting him fall to the ground. He moved a swift foot into the same ribs of Quatre, who now was curling up into a protective ball. He began to sob quietly, which just angered his boyfriend/attacker more.
"Stop crying, you fucking baby!" He screamed, kicking Quatre again. "Say it!" He said once more, lifting Quatre to his feet again. Broken in soul and body yet again, Quatre complied,
"I . . . I love you Miroku . . ." He said quietly.
" . . . And . . .?!" Miroku asked, balling a fist, holding it up high, threatening the already distraught teen,
"I . . . I am worthless and you are the only one who would ever want me . . ." Quatre sobbed, but quickly tried to control it. With a quick arm movement, Quatre was punched hard in the jaw,
"Stop crying!"
"I'm sorry, Miroku . . ."
"Hmmm . . . that's better . . ." He hissed, throwing Quatre to the ground. "You think about it before you try to leave me again, because I won't forgive you next time . . . You're mine . . . forever . . ." he said quietly, his mouth next to Quatre's ear. "I'm going to work now, Quatre." He said, standing up straight. "See you there." He added and walked out the door. As the door clicked shut, what little control Quatre had over his emotions flooded out and he was doubled over on the floor, sobbing into the carpet.
"Oh Allah . . . why me . . .? What did I do to do deserve this?" He cried. The door opened once more, and Quatre's breath caught in his chest. Had Miroku heard him cry?
"Quatre . . .?" Called a familiar voice to the shaken teen.
"Duo!" Quatre replied, looking up at his friend.
"Oh my god what happened to you?" Duo asked, quickly going by Quatre's side.
"Oh . . . I . . . I fell . . . I came to see Miroku . . . and . . . well . . . he isn't here . . . and I fell over . . ."
"Quatre, one, you are a diabolical liar and two, I've been outside this house for the last five minutes and I watched that sick bastard you call a boyfriend leave!" Duo explained. Quatre bit his bottom lip, something he always did when his lies were caught out.
"Duo . . . I . . . he . . ."
"Look, just . . . you can't put yourself through this anymore . . ."
"I . . . he said . . . forever . . ."
"Even forever has an end." Duo said quietly.
" . . ."
"I mean, there are other fish in the sea you know . . ." Duo said, "Yeah, Heero's another fish and he fuckin' loves you!" he thought. His own thoughts made him smile.
"How so cliché, but . . . I can't . . . I just . . . can't . . ."
" . . . C'mon, lemme take you back home, okay?"
"Thank you, but . . . what about my car?"
"Don't worry . . . I will take you home, go back to work and get either Hee- chan or Tro-chan to come and pick it up for you, okay?"
"Thank you Duo." Quatre said, feebly attempting to crawl to his feet, but falling from a series of injuries to his ribs. Duo reached down and helped the blonde to his feet,
"Maybe I should take you to a hospital . . ."
"No! I . . . I'm fine . . ." Quatre quickly said, not wanting to explain himself to a doctor.
". . . Okay . . ."
--- Heero paced the floor of the Preventors HQ, waiting for either Duo and Quatre to show up, or the phone to ring.
"Heero, shouldn't you at least look like your doing something? If Lady Une came in . . ."
" . . . I can't even concentrate on pretending I'm doing something, Trowa."
" . . ."
"I hope he's okay . . ." Heero said, wringing his hands together. Trowa watched Heero looking so nervous. So much had changed since the war. Just a few years ago, Heero wouldn't have cared about something that would've been considered a trivial matter to the Perfect Soldier. Now, he's pacing and snapping at anyone who looks at him. Things sure have changed . . .
'RIIIIIIING'
Heero made a dive for the phone at his desk, answering it before the second ring. Trowa quickly joined him at his desk,
"Heero Yuy speaking." Heero automatically said when he answered the Preventors phone.
"Heya Hee-man!" Duo chirped.
"Duo! What's going on with Quatre?" Heero asked in a panic, although Duo's voice told him he needn't do so.
"Q-man is here with me . . . been hurt pretty badly . . . takin' him home . . . don't suppose you could go pick up his car at Miroku's house . . . sure, the keys wont be in there, but, you know how to hotwire a car, right?" Duo asked. Quatre could be heard protesting on the other end, which made Heero smile slightly.
"Yeah, I can do that. Does Quatre want me to bring him anything else?" Heero asked.
"Just a sec . . ." Duo paused, "Q-man, ya want Heero to bring ya anything to the house?" Quatre shook his head. "Nope Hee-chan. Just bring yourself, if ya catch what I'm saying."
"Baka."
"See ya later . . . and don't get up to anything . . ."
"Let me repeat . . . baka . . ."
"Bye Heero." And Duo hung up. "What's going on?" Trowa asked.
"Duo is taking Quatre home, and I have to go pick up his car. Drive me to Miroku's house." Heero demanded. "I have to do something first . . ." Trowa nodded and grabbed his keys.
"What you have to do?" he asked.
"I'm going to be alone with Quatre, unless the baka is still there. I'm getting changed out of my uniform and putting on what I have here . . . I'm going to tell him, Trowa." Heero explained. Trowa smiled as Heero walked off.
---
Quatre stepped out of the car with much difficulty, and Duo helped him into the front room of the safe house.
"Ya gunna be alright until Hee-chan shows up?" Duo asked, flicking his braid off his shoulder.
"Yeah . . . I'll . . . be fine." Quatre said, staring off into the distance. Something in Quatre's voice concerned Duo, but he left the house anyways. Quatre, now in tears, made his way into the kitchen, grabbing three things: the sharpest kitchen knife he could find, paper and a pen and made his way back into the front room. "Forever . . ." He whispered.
---
"Okay, here you are, Heero." Trowa announced to his passenger as they arrived in front of the house.
"Thank you Trowa." Heero got out of the car, and was about to close the door when Trowa stopped him. "Heero?"
"Yes?"
"Good luck . . . with Quatre, I mean . . ."
"Thank you." And Heero closed the door. The Perfect Soldier was now wearing a royal blue dress shirt, the top two buttons undone and black straight leg trousers. Quickly, quietly and flawlessly, Heero made his way into Quatre's car and hotwired it, making it able to drive. The smell inside of the car was familiar . . . Quatre's cologne . . . the scent made Heero smile as he drove, taking a detour from the safe house and to a near by florists. Not having much money with him, he could only afford a singular red rose, but he felt it had the right effect. It wasn't long until he pulled into the drive way of the 5 bedroom house he called home. Stepping out of Quatre's car, he lent against the door. The Perfect Soldier was nervous. He ran through different things to say in his head, but they were all pathetic. He decided not to plan ahead . . . just . . . go with it . . . he walked up the steps, onto the patio, keys in the door, deep breath, open the door . . .
"Quatre . . . oh . . . my . . . god . . ." Heero said aloud, first calling for Quatre, then seeing him. He placed a hand over his mouth and gasped, quickly moving to Quatre, who was lying in a pool of his own blood on the floor. Heero's hands shook as he reached to Quatre's neck, feeling for a pulse. Nothing. There was nothing. Blood was spilt everywhere, too much for the Arab to be alive. For the first time in his life that he remembered, Heero began to cry. "Quatre . . . no . . ." He whispered, noticing a piece of paper. He read it to himself. It read:
"Heero, Duo, Trowa, and Wufei,
I'm sorry for what I have done, and if you're reading this, that means this suicide was successful. I couldn't take forever anymore. I didn't want Miroku anymore and he wouldn't let me go . . . he can't stop me now. This was the only option I had left. I have something to say to all of you,
Duo, thank you. You have been someone who, no matter what can always make me smile. Please, make others smile forever.
Trowa, you were my best friend. You were always there for me, and I thank you. I hope someone else can experience the friendship you gave me someday.
Wufei, you were also a good friend. You showed us all courage that I could no longer muster up to face Miroku.
And finally, Heero. To everyone, you were the perfect soldier, but to me, you were something different. You were just . . . perfect. Heero, I loved you with all my heart. I tried so hard to get away from Miroku . . . but without avail . . . and . . . now I cannot show you how much I truly loved you. Thank you for showing me that not all love is tainted, like the only one I ever experienced.
See you all later.
Quatre Rabarba Winner"
Heero placed the letter down onto the table, not being able to comprehend what he read. "He . . . he loved me?" He asked himself. "And he . . . Quatre never knew I felt the same way . . ." Heero looked over at Quatre's lifeless body, "I love you too, Quatre . . . but . . . I guess you still will never know, angel." Heero mumbled, before going over to call the others.
---Owari---
Well . . . Whatcha think? RnR please!!
Authors note: I decided that I needed to stop with the fluff and do something more angsty and all that stuff. Special thanks to Iliyana who helped me with the name of Quatre's boyfriend.
Summary: Quatre is in an abusive relationship with someone already. Can Quatre realise he is stronger then to deal with the abuse, and to realise that the most perfect person for is in front of him before its too late? 4xOCx4, 1x4, and slight 2x3x2. RnR!
Tourniquet
***
The Japanese teen stared blankly at the screen of his computer while waiting for the next page of information to load. Suddenly, a pair of slender, pale, flawless arms snaked themselves around his shoulders.
"Heero . . . ?" a voice whispered from behind him. Heero turned from the computer screen, closing the laptop and standing, twisting his body within the arms around him, staring at the image of perfection now in front of him.
". . . Quatre . . ." Heero replied, placing his hands on Quatre's slim hips. Heero's eyes traced Quatre's body. He was wearing a blood red dress shirt with the top 3 buttons undone and tight, black leather trousers. A very uncharacteristic outfit for the Quatre that most people knew, but since the war ended, the Arabic teen had been changing drastically. Heero stared into the aquamarine eyes which were screaming with seduction before he parted his lips to speak, but was quickly hushed by Quatre.
"Shhh love . . ." he said in a low, sultry voice, which sent a chill down the Perfect Soldier's spine, "Don't use these for talking, unless it happens to be screaming my name." Quatre said with a mischievous smile. He quickly moved forward slightly and captured Heero's lips with his own, engulfing the Japanese ex Gundam pilot in a deep, passionate kiss which took his breath away. Quatre's hands roamed freely across the back of his lover before he pushed him backwards, making Heero land on his desk, almost trampling his laptop computer. He soon found himself staring up at Quatre who had straddled his hips and was running his fingers across Heero's chest. Quatre leant over, leaving small bites across the other teen's smooth neck, when suddenly; a loud beeping in the distance interrupted the two . . .
Heero's cobalt eyes snapped open and a balled fist slammed down hard on a small, black alarm clock until the pleasure ending noise had ended.
"Fuck." He mumbled darkly. It all had been a dream. He sighed heavily and stared up at the white ceiling. Another dream about Quatre. Why? Because he was in love with him, and has been for a while now. And seemingly everyone but the blonde Arab knew it, and he had never told anyone. Oh well . . . he actually didn't care. The only thing he cared about was Quatre. Heero sighed again, his mind now trailing to Quatre's bastard of a boyfriend.
Miroku Souji. Quatre's abusive, alcoholic boyfriend. He's half Japanese, half Korean and four years older then Quatre. He's also much larger then Quatre. He works with the other ex-Gundam pilots as a Preventer.
Heero's face contorted in hate as he thought of Miroku. He hated that he was with Quatre, and hated the way he treated him much more. Heero's room was silent, but that was soon broken when the sounds in the next room. He rolled his eyes, hearing random outcries of the name 'Trowa' from Duo's voice. Heero crawled out of bed and got dressed as quick as he could, not wanting to make his morning even worse by having to listen to those two even longer. Why did the walls have to be so thin and why was Heero cursed to be directly next to Duo's room, and across from Trowa's? He can't get away! Wufei was the lucky one. He was at the end of the hall and there was approximately a 4 metre gap between his room and any other. Heero made his way downstairs, not expecting any of the other pilots to be up yet, but to his surprise there was one awake. Sitting at the kitchen table was Quatre, one eye red and puffy, one black and nearly swollen shut, bruises and scratches up and down his arms and any other area of exposed skin. A coffee cup sat in front of him, but he didn't seem to care as tears slipped down one side of his face.
"Quatre . . . ?"
"Huh? Oh . . . good morning Heero." Quatre sighed, wiping the left side of his face and trying to hide the other, although Heero and the other pilots had already seen it when Quatre had retuned home last night.
"Quatre . . . what's wrong?" As if Heero needed to ask.
"Not . . . nothing." Quatre said, now adorning a false smile.
"Why have you been crying if there is nothing wrong?" Heero asked, an eyebrow raised,
"Oh Heero!" Quatre suddenly sobbed after a few awkward seconds of silence. As the words escaped his lips, Quatre let his head fall onto the kitchen table with a thump, which sounded so painful to Heero and made him wince in sympathetic pain. "I . . . I just can't take this anymore . . . he's going to kill me . . . one of these days . . ." Heero couldn't understand anything else through the choked sobs. Seeing the one person he truly loved in this distraught way was killing Heero inside.
"Quatre . . . you've got to get rid of this guy . . ." Heero stated. He was useless at comforting and understanding the feelings of those around him. Really, he had only recently come to grips with the concept of love. A perfect soldier is not trained in these things, and adapting after the war, to lose the sacred walls he had built to not let in the emotions of himself or others, was proving difficult. But, Heero tried anyway, placing a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder,
"I . . . I can't Heero. He . . . well . . . look what he does to me when he says he loves me . . ." he murmured, looking up at Heero, "Plus, I'd be lost without Miroku. I love him . . . despite the way he treats me . . . I deserve it . . ."
"No you don't! You don't deserve to be beaten within an inch of your life whenever you are with him. And in the rare times he isn't physically abusing you it's mentally!" Heero paused, going for Quatre's hand, taking it within his own, "No one deserves the way you are treated." He added, his voice nearly falling into a whisper. Quatre snatched his hand back and narrowed his eyes, glowering at Heero,
"What do you know? I do deserve it! Miroku says so . . . he . . . says I deserve to be treated this way . . . he's the best I can get . . ." Quatre sighed the last words.
"He's broken you, Quatre." Heero said in a low, sad voice. "What happened to the Quatre I knew? That we all knew? The one who didn't put up with any of this crap? Where'd he go to be replaced by a spineless person?"
"I'm the same person!" Quatre protested, standing up from the table and staring directly into Heero's eyes. Heero blinked; he didn't like the way Quatre was looking at him. "I'm going to work . . . I'll talk to you later, okay?" and with these words, Quatre slipped outside through the back door.
"Heero Yuy, you're an idiot." He murmured to himself, sitting himself down in the seat which once held the blonde Arab.
"Truer words were never spoken!" chirped Duo Maxwell from the doorway.
"How long you been there, baka?" Heero huffed as Duo, closely followed by his lover, Trowa, entered the kitchen.
"Right before Q-man stormed out." Duo replied, sitting down next to Heero. He turned to the standing Trowa, "Egg on toast, and make it snappy!" Duo demanded with a smile. Trowa raised an eyebrow, but said nothing and turned to make Duo's breakfast. "So, what the hell has happened THIS time?"
"He thinks he deserves the way he's treated." Heero sighed.
"That's insane!" Duo replied, "You know, you probably should've told him about your deep rooted passion for him. He probably needs to know he can do SO much better then that creep Miroku."
"Shut up, baka."
"What?! He probably doesn't think he can get any better then that bastard he's with now. Hee-chan, you need to tell him how ya feel. Take my advice, sometimes ya just gotta take the plunge and tell the guy of your dreams ya love 'em. I wouldn't be with my Tro-babe if I didn't!" Duo explained. Trowa turned around and smiled,
"Yeah Heero, listen to Duo." Trowa said. Heero sighed heavily,
"What the hell am I supposed to say? 'Hey Quatre, sorry that your boyfriend is treating you like shit, so lets go upstairs and do the horizontal mambo?!'" Heero asked with anger in his voice.
"Yeah! That will work!" Duo replied happily, throwing a fist into the air, which only barely missed the face of Trowa who was behind him with a plate of food.
"Snappy enough, your all mighty highness?" Trowa asked sarcastically.
"Indeed, my good man."
"Anyways, Heero, ignoring that Duo thinks your obviously over sarcastic statement to Quatre would work, I agree that you should tell him. He needs to know that right now. He thinks Miroku is all he can get and deserves. He can get better . . ."
"Or he can have you . . ." Duo interrupted, mouth full of egg. Trowa and Heero glared at the braided pilot. "What? I couldn't resist!"
"I'm going to cut your braid off, baka." Heero sighed in deadpan. Duo's eyes widened and he reached a protective hand over to his long, chestnut braid. "Anyways Trowa, you were saying . . ."
"Just that you need to tell Quatre. There isn't anything to be afraid of."
"Easier said then done." Heero mumbled, "You know, the war was easy compared to this."
---
Meanwhile
Bruised, battered hands gripped tightly onto the steering wheel as Quatre drove with great expediency down the rain splattered road. Rain crashed heavily onto the windscreen, making the vision of the blonde near adult even more difficult. Heero's words ran in circles in his brain.
"He has broken me . . ." He mumbled to himself as he quickly whipped his car down a familiar street. "This ends now." He parked his metallic blue Honda Civic in front of a house with blood stained carpet. ---
"Where the hell is Quatre? He should've been here by now . . ." Duo trailed off, violet eyes scanning the office.
" . . ." Heero was nervous. Quatre had left way before any of the others, and was also known for his punctuality, so why wasn't he at work?
"I just checked all the bathrooms. Quatre is no where in the building." Trowa said as he joined the group. "Maybe he's gone back home or something." He added quietly. As if a light bulb had just been switched on in the Shinigami's brain, his eyes widened and his lips slightly parted as a thought processed.
"I have an idea! Back in a minute!" And with that, Duo sped off downstairs.
"I have a feeling we should be afraid of whatever Duo's idea is . . ." Trowa said, a small smile on his face, but the worry about Quatre still obvious in his one visible olive green eye.
"What is going on, Yuy?" asked Wufei, who had just sauntered up casually to Heero and Trowa.
"We don't know where Quatre is." Heero replied flatly.
"Hn . . . maybe that boyfriend of his has finally killed off Winner . . ." before another breath could escape Wufei's body, he found himself pinned up against a wall, starring down the barrel of Heero's gun,
"Wufei! That's not fucking funny!" Heero growled.
"I was only kidding, get a grip damnit!"
"I'll get a grip alright!" Trowa replied quickly, clasping a hand around Wufei's neck.
"Guys, put him down." Duo said calmly as he rejoined the group. Despite better judgement, and also curiosity to find where the braided ex-pilot had been, Heero and Trowa released Wufei,
"You two need to calm down." He grumbled as he walked off.
"What'd he do?" Duo asked.
"Said Miroku had killed Quatre." Trowa and Heero said in unison.
"Oh . . ."
"So, where were you? What was your great idea?" Trowa asked, moving closer to his lover and placing an arm around his shoulders,
"Well, why did none of us think of this? Miroku works here, remember? That's how Quatre met the creep! So, I went down to the IT area to see if he was there, and, surprise, he's not at work." Duo explained, annoyance thick in his voice.
"Fuck . . . that means Quatre has gone to Miroku's . . ." Heero sighed heavily.
"Maybe he's going to break it off with him?" Trowa said hopefully.
"Or I'm gunna break something off him!" Duo retorted.
"I'll go get him . . ." Heero said, beginning to move towards the exit.
"Uh . . . Hee-chan . . . maybe that's not the best idea . . . you being the violent, Quatre loving type, you may kill him, and, deserving of that Miroku may be, I think it should wait." Duo paused, "I will go down there in the Shinigami-mobile!"
"Shinigami-mobile?" Heero asked, an eyebrow puckered.
"Batman can have the Bat-mobile, Spiderman can have the Spider-mobile, and the Shinigami can have the Shinigami-mobile!" Duo explained indignantly.
"Uh . . . Duo . . ." Heero began,
"Don't Heero . . . I've already tried to explain how many things are wrong with that statement . . . don't waste your breath . . ." Trowa interjected. Heero sighed,
"Fine, go in your damned Shinigami-mobile." Heero said. Duo smiled,
"I will let you know what happens." Duo called as he ran off.
---
"You can't break up with me . . ." said a very tall, black haired man who towered over the shaking blonde.
"Yes . . . yes Miroku . . . I . . ." Quatre couldn't finish his statement before he found himself punched hard in the stomach, winded and on the floor.
"I love you, Quatre." Miroku said snidely, kneeling down next to Quatre who was trying to catch his breath.
"If . . . you . . . love me . . . why . . . do . . . you treat me . . . this way?" Quatre panted, still catching his breath from his recent injury.
"Because . . . you have to be taught a lesson . . . that you are worthless and you deserve only the worse because you piloted one of those damned Gundams . . . and I teach it the hard way . . . because I love you so . . ." Miroku hissed, a maniacal grin on his face.
"I'm not worthless!" Quatre said sternly, looking into the dark brown eyes of his boyfriend. "And I don't deserve the worst! I can get better then you!"
"No you can't, my love." Miroku said simply, "No one would ever want you. You're lucky I have taken you in this way . . . now, stand up, and tell me you love me and this whole incident will be forgotten . . ."
"No."
"If that's the way you want to do it . . ." Miroku began, grabbing Quatre's forearms and pulling him to his feet. Quatre stared at the ground, the confidence he had built quickly diminishing. Miroku slapped Quatre against the side of his face with a lot of force, so much so, he would've lost his balance if not being held up by Miroku's other hand. "Say it!"
"No." The word rolled off Quatre's tongue with some effort. Miroku narrowed his eyes, slamming a fist into the blonde's fragile ribs and letting him fall to the ground. He moved a swift foot into the same ribs of Quatre, who now was curling up into a protective ball. He began to sob quietly, which just angered his boyfriend/attacker more.
"Stop crying, you fucking baby!" He screamed, kicking Quatre again. "Say it!" He said once more, lifting Quatre to his feet again. Broken in soul and body yet again, Quatre complied,
"I . . . I love you Miroku . . ." He said quietly.
" . . . And . . .?!" Miroku asked, balling a fist, holding it up high, threatening the already distraught teen,
"I . . . I am worthless and you are the only one who would ever want me . . ." Quatre sobbed, but quickly tried to control it. With a quick arm movement, Quatre was punched hard in the jaw,
"Stop crying!"
"I'm sorry, Miroku . . ."
"Hmmm . . . that's better . . ." He hissed, throwing Quatre to the ground. "You think about it before you try to leave me again, because I won't forgive you next time . . . You're mine . . . forever . . ." he said quietly, his mouth next to Quatre's ear. "I'm going to work now, Quatre." He said, standing up straight. "See you there." He added and walked out the door. As the door clicked shut, what little control Quatre had over his emotions flooded out and he was doubled over on the floor, sobbing into the carpet.
"Oh Allah . . . why me . . .? What did I do to do deserve this?" He cried. The door opened once more, and Quatre's breath caught in his chest. Had Miroku heard him cry?
"Quatre . . .?" Called a familiar voice to the shaken teen.
"Duo!" Quatre replied, looking up at his friend.
"Oh my god what happened to you?" Duo asked, quickly going by Quatre's side.
"Oh . . . I . . . I fell . . . I came to see Miroku . . . and . . . well . . . he isn't here . . . and I fell over . . ."
"Quatre, one, you are a diabolical liar and two, I've been outside this house for the last five minutes and I watched that sick bastard you call a boyfriend leave!" Duo explained. Quatre bit his bottom lip, something he always did when his lies were caught out.
"Duo . . . I . . . he . . ."
"Look, just . . . you can't put yourself through this anymore . . ."
"I . . . he said . . . forever . . ."
"Even forever has an end." Duo said quietly.
" . . ."
"I mean, there are other fish in the sea you know . . ." Duo said, "Yeah, Heero's another fish and he fuckin' loves you!" he thought. His own thoughts made him smile.
"How so cliché, but . . . I can't . . . I just . . . can't . . ."
" . . . C'mon, lemme take you back home, okay?"
"Thank you, but . . . what about my car?"
"Don't worry . . . I will take you home, go back to work and get either Hee- chan or Tro-chan to come and pick it up for you, okay?"
"Thank you Duo." Quatre said, feebly attempting to crawl to his feet, but falling from a series of injuries to his ribs. Duo reached down and helped the blonde to his feet,
"Maybe I should take you to a hospital . . ."
"No! I . . . I'm fine . . ." Quatre quickly said, not wanting to explain himself to a doctor.
". . . Okay . . ."
--- Heero paced the floor of the Preventors HQ, waiting for either Duo and Quatre to show up, or the phone to ring.
"Heero, shouldn't you at least look like your doing something? If Lady Une came in . . ."
" . . . I can't even concentrate on pretending I'm doing something, Trowa."
" . . ."
"I hope he's okay . . ." Heero said, wringing his hands together. Trowa watched Heero looking so nervous. So much had changed since the war. Just a few years ago, Heero wouldn't have cared about something that would've been considered a trivial matter to the Perfect Soldier. Now, he's pacing and snapping at anyone who looks at him. Things sure have changed . . .
'RIIIIIIING'
Heero made a dive for the phone at his desk, answering it before the second ring. Trowa quickly joined him at his desk,
"Heero Yuy speaking." Heero automatically said when he answered the Preventors phone.
"Heya Hee-man!" Duo chirped.
"Duo! What's going on with Quatre?" Heero asked in a panic, although Duo's voice told him he needn't do so.
"Q-man is here with me . . . been hurt pretty badly . . . takin' him home . . . don't suppose you could go pick up his car at Miroku's house . . . sure, the keys wont be in there, but, you know how to hotwire a car, right?" Duo asked. Quatre could be heard protesting on the other end, which made Heero smile slightly.
"Yeah, I can do that. Does Quatre want me to bring him anything else?" Heero asked.
"Just a sec . . ." Duo paused, "Q-man, ya want Heero to bring ya anything to the house?" Quatre shook his head. "Nope Hee-chan. Just bring yourself, if ya catch what I'm saying."
"Baka."
"See ya later . . . and don't get up to anything . . ."
"Let me repeat . . . baka . . ."
"Bye Heero." And Duo hung up. "What's going on?" Trowa asked.
"Duo is taking Quatre home, and I have to go pick up his car. Drive me to Miroku's house." Heero demanded. "I have to do something first . . ." Trowa nodded and grabbed his keys.
"What you have to do?" he asked.
"I'm going to be alone with Quatre, unless the baka is still there. I'm getting changed out of my uniform and putting on what I have here . . . I'm going to tell him, Trowa." Heero explained. Trowa smiled as Heero walked off.
---
Quatre stepped out of the car with much difficulty, and Duo helped him into the front room of the safe house.
"Ya gunna be alright until Hee-chan shows up?" Duo asked, flicking his braid off his shoulder.
"Yeah . . . I'll . . . be fine." Quatre said, staring off into the distance. Something in Quatre's voice concerned Duo, but he left the house anyways. Quatre, now in tears, made his way into the kitchen, grabbing three things: the sharpest kitchen knife he could find, paper and a pen and made his way back into the front room. "Forever . . ." He whispered.
---
"Okay, here you are, Heero." Trowa announced to his passenger as they arrived in front of the house.
"Thank you Trowa." Heero got out of the car, and was about to close the door when Trowa stopped him. "Heero?"
"Yes?"
"Good luck . . . with Quatre, I mean . . ."
"Thank you." And Heero closed the door. The Perfect Soldier was now wearing a royal blue dress shirt, the top two buttons undone and black straight leg trousers. Quickly, quietly and flawlessly, Heero made his way into Quatre's car and hotwired it, making it able to drive. The smell inside of the car was familiar . . . Quatre's cologne . . . the scent made Heero smile as he drove, taking a detour from the safe house and to a near by florists. Not having much money with him, he could only afford a singular red rose, but he felt it had the right effect. It wasn't long until he pulled into the drive way of the 5 bedroom house he called home. Stepping out of Quatre's car, he lent against the door. The Perfect Soldier was nervous. He ran through different things to say in his head, but they were all pathetic. He decided not to plan ahead . . . just . . . go with it . . . he walked up the steps, onto the patio, keys in the door, deep breath, open the door . . .
"Quatre . . . oh . . . my . . . god . . ." Heero said aloud, first calling for Quatre, then seeing him. He placed a hand over his mouth and gasped, quickly moving to Quatre, who was lying in a pool of his own blood on the floor. Heero's hands shook as he reached to Quatre's neck, feeling for a pulse. Nothing. There was nothing. Blood was spilt everywhere, too much for the Arab to be alive. For the first time in his life that he remembered, Heero began to cry. "Quatre . . . no . . ." He whispered, noticing a piece of paper. He read it to himself. It read:
"Heero, Duo, Trowa, and Wufei,
I'm sorry for what I have done, and if you're reading this, that means this suicide was successful. I couldn't take forever anymore. I didn't want Miroku anymore and he wouldn't let me go . . . he can't stop me now. This was the only option I had left. I have something to say to all of you,
Duo, thank you. You have been someone who, no matter what can always make me smile. Please, make others smile forever.
Trowa, you were my best friend. You were always there for me, and I thank you. I hope someone else can experience the friendship you gave me someday.
Wufei, you were also a good friend. You showed us all courage that I could no longer muster up to face Miroku.
And finally, Heero. To everyone, you were the perfect soldier, but to me, you were something different. You were just . . . perfect. Heero, I loved you with all my heart. I tried so hard to get away from Miroku . . . but without avail . . . and . . . now I cannot show you how much I truly loved you. Thank you for showing me that not all love is tainted, like the only one I ever experienced.
See you all later.
Quatre Rabarba Winner"
Heero placed the letter down onto the table, not being able to comprehend what he read. "He . . . he loved me?" He asked himself. "And he . . . Quatre never knew I felt the same way . . ." Heero looked over at Quatre's lifeless body, "I love you too, Quatre . . . but . . . I guess you still will never know, angel." Heero mumbled, before going over to call the others.
---Owari---
Well . . . Whatcha think? RnR please!!