Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. I do not own Lord of the Rings.
Warnings: Yaoi couplings.
Chapter Two:
They had hit the eye of the storm. The initial anger had struck and passed, all they waited for was for Trowa and Heero to return from their mission and make the final confrontation, one that would either make or break the relationships within the house.
Heero and Trowa were due at ten o'clock the next morning and when 9:45 hit the digital clock on the living room wall, three pilots sat there waiting. Wufei had decided it would be best to be here for this. He might be the only thing preventing bloodshed at this point, for Duo seemed to be containing violent tendencies. Quatre was rather quiet and seemed to have resided himself to failure.
Ten minutes later, the door creaked open and a shuffle of feet was heard. The two unaware pilots gave the living room only the briefest of glances before heading up the stairs to put their things away.
"Why those insensitive, no good-- They don't even have the decency to say hello!" Duo said, rising to his feet and preparing to march after them. Only Wufei's well-placed foot prevented that however, and Duo found himself with a mouth full of carpet fuzz.
"Wait for them to come back down. You waited twenty-four hours already; what is fifteen minutes?"
Duo stubbornly returned to his seat, muttering at stupid Chinese logic and then fell silent as a new noise filled the room. Wufei and Duo turned their heads to note that the blonde Arabian was slumped over his knees, which he had pulled up toward his chest. The boy was rocking back and forth and it was obvious that he was crying.
"Quat-" Duo started.
But Quatre interrupted with a loud and un-kept sob, "It's over!"
Wufei blinked, "but I thought you agreed to wait until he explained himself before deciding that."
"I didn't have to wait! That was the first time Trowa didn't seek me out after he returned from a mission. He always came to tell me he was home and greeted me with a kiss."
Quatre's small body shook, "He doesn't want me anymore!"
"Who doesn't want you anymore?"
The three of them snapped their heads up to see Trowa standing in the door gazing softly at Quatre. "What's the matter, Little One?"
Quatre bit back a sob as Trowa walked over and knelt in front of him. Trowa smoothed back Quatre's hair and placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder. Quatre looked upon him with wide eyes before falling out of his chair and landing in Trowa's lap, embracing him with a tight hug.
"Oh, I forgive you, Trowa!"
Duo sighed, "Yeah, he sure lasted long. Forgave him before he even brought up the letter."
Wufei just smiled faintly as Trowa gave a bewildered look.
"What's going on?" Trowa asked. "What did you forgive me for?"
"Cheating on me with Heero."
A long pause occurred and Trowa's thoughts were hidden from them as his eyes were behind his bangs. They all waited for Trowa to respond, wanting to know if he would admit the deed or not.
"I'm sorry, Quatre," Trowa said softly, "I was going to tell you. How did you find out?"
"Heero left you a letter in your pillow," Quatre said, not releasing his grip on Trowa. "I found it and read it."
"Oh Quatre, if only you hadn't. I was going to tell you about it when I got back."
"How long has it been going on?" Quatre asked, voice muffled by Trowa's shirt.
"About a month," Trowa replied honestly, "I never expected to last that long."
During their discussion, Duo had risen back to his feet and made to lunge for Trowa when Wufei once again prevented disaster by face-planting him into the carpet. Wufei then sat on his back and waited calmly for the interlude to finish.
"Quatre, I love you. This thing with Heero is-"
"WAS!" Duo shouted from his position buried on the floor, "Past tense! Whatever happened between you and Heero is OVER!"
Trowa and Quatre seemed startled to hear Duo's voice, having forgotten that anyone else had been in the room. Duo's menacing look didn't have the much an effect since Wufei's bum was resting on his back, and Wufei had occupied himself with playing with Duo's braid. This left a rather amusing site.
"Where IS Heero?" Quatre asked.
Wufei mumbled absently, not looking up from the braid, "Probably upstairs, dead due to over-pink-exposure."
Quatre giggled, as Trowa looked confused. Duo however got a maniacal grin upon his face and flipped Wufei off him so he could run upstairs to see what Heero thought about his redecoration. Wufei uprooted himself from the carpet and watched him go sadly.
"Somehow, I don't think this will go too well."
Quatre and Trowa exchanged worried glances and made to go upstairs. Wufei raised his hand to stop them however.
"You guys settled this without them, let them do the same."
Quatre protested, "but they could get-"
"Maybe they won't, Quatre," Wufei said. "But then, maybe they will."
~*~*~*~
Duo walked through the open door to see Heero staring at a pair of his shorts with his expressionless mask firmly in place. Duo stood silently as Heero let them fall to the ground. Heero turned to cast a glance sideways toward Duo.
"What have you done to my clothes?"
Duo crossed his arms smugly, "Don't you know pink spray paint when you see it?"
Heero glanced down at the words "Rented to Trowa Barton" before looking up at Duo. "You found out."
"Damn right, I found out," Duo said, letting the smug look fall to reveal the angry one hidden beneath. "How could you, Heero?! I thought you loved me! I thought you'd never do something like this!"
"You thought wrong."
Silence fell with Duo's face. Duo could feel his heart land by his feet with a heavy and resounding thud. Heero had just said he didn't love him.
Silence fell as Heero's eyes widened, realizing far too late the difference between what he meant and what Duo understood. He was trying to state the Duo had misplaced his trust when he thought Heero to have fidelity toward him. Duo however, didn't see it that way.
"How. . ." Duo stuttered. "How. . .why . . . what happened?"
Duo's eyes fell to the ground as if he was looking for the pieces of his broken heart upon the carpet. Heero felt a pang in his chest at the sight. Duo's head slowly rose up however with the lost look . . . lost.
"Well, I guess that's for the best. You were nothing more than a good lay while it lasted," Duo said, letting the words fall off his tongue as he turned toward the door, closing it behind him and leaving Heero behind, relationship at its end.
~*~
The three in the living room sat silently gazing at the quiet ceiling. There were no longer the sounds of Duo's stomping feet. They all wondered what had occurred.
"You don't think they killed each other, do you?" Quatre asked. "It has gotten awfully quiet."
"Maybe we should check now," Trowa said, trying to reassure Quatre.
Wufei rose from his seat and made his way up the stairs, "Wait here. I'll shout if we need a medic."
Wufei reached the top of the stairs and glanced down the hallway. All the doors were closed except for Heero and Duo's room, the bathroom, and . . . his own. He could have sworn that he closed it before he left it that morning. Wufei walked carefully past the shared bedroom to see Heero sitting on the bed staring at the wall. Wufei passed him and looked in the bathroom, which was as empty as the hallway had been. Wufei arrived at his own door . . . to find Duo curled up on his bed with the pillow firmly planted over his head.
Wufei cautiously stepped inside and pulled the door to. He calmly walked over to his bed and sat on the edge. He rested his hand on Duo's back.
"Are you okay, Duo?"
A muffled 'no' was his only response. Wufei ran his hand up and down Duo's back in what he hoped was a comforting matter. Wufei wasn't his best friend for nothing. This was a job requirement.
"Will you be?"
There was a long pause before Duo's sobs leaked out beneath the pillow and to Wufei's ears. Wufei removed the pillow and pulled Duo into an upright position. He then wrapped his arms around him and Duo returned the embrace, sobbing softly onto his shoulder. After a few moments time, Duo regained control and sighed, not pulling away from Wufei.
"What happened?"
"He said he didn't love me," Duo said. "Then I told him he was just a good lay."
"You lied," Wufei stated, "I thought you never did that."
"I hadn't before, and now I know why. I feel empty inside."
"That's because of a broken heart, not a false tale."
Duo tightened his grip on Wufei, "I don't understand. How. . . how could he. . . lie to me?"
"You think he didn't mean what he said either?"
"No, I mean he's been lying to me . . . sorta. He mislead me anyway."
"Sometimes that happens, Duo," Wufei said, tightening his own grip. "People don't realize they're doing it."
"You now, Wufei, you've become quite the emotional anchor all of a sudden."
"You know, Duo, this is the second black shirt you've soaked in two days."
A brief pause as Duo took that in and let out a chuckle, "What are friends for, huh?"
Wufei laughed softly, "Not what I meant, but true."
Duo sighed, "Promise that you won't mislead me, Wufei."
There was a long pause before Wufei answered, "I won't mislead you, Duo. I promise. And I won't let others do it anymore either."
Duo retightened his hug before pulling Wufei back onto the bed to lie beside him.
"I wanna take a nap. Wanna join me?"
"Sure, Duo."
-------
Author's note: Well, that was chapter two. I hope it flowed well. I've been pondering whether or not to let Duo and Wufei spark a relationship or to form something more platonic. I have a strong feeling that Trowa and Quatre will remain as they are. I DID just give them a good excuse to break up and they didn't. I'm just to biased toward them I guess. :) Please tell me what you think.
