Quaint.
It was the perfect word for that tiny cottage nestled in it's garden and surrounded by flowing willow trees. Cut from faerie tale where unicorns would pass in the twilight, where princes always found their princesses and good prevailed no matter what.
Yet within it's dark stomach, suffering continued in ways that would send those mystical light dwellers fleeing with horrified mouths agape.
Quatre thought he was dying, and really he wasn't too far off. There was still many days he was sure he could tough it out, fight, and yet… His skin felt loose on his body, and moving built waves of queasiness in him that he couldn't always contain. Bugs crawled on the filthy mattress beside him and there was no way to shoo them, not even when they found him and picked at the waste that lay beneath him, pinching his skin as they sought out their disgusting meals. Duo didn't always come any more each day, which was both blessing and curse.
Hunger was constant. A grinding low in his stomach like a furious beast. Thirst was worse. The sound of his tongue running over his cracked lips made his skin crawl. When he mustered the strength to lift his head and look down at himself, he saw the way his stomach sunk in, and witnessed the trembling of his legs.
When Duo did come, he was aware of none of these things, since he would undoubtedly get pumped full of drugs… Quatre loathed to admit it, but when his eyes adjusted to the dark around him and shadows were everywhere and the scurrying of rodents was prominent, even more so then the constant aching stiffness, he craved those drugs and the oblivion they gave. More so than craved, he thought he might be addicted. Once he'd stopped fighting Duo and the needles, they were peaceful and almost dangerously sensible to him.
Morphine. The word would have had him shaking his head and clicking his tongue in disgust just weeks ago, and now it was an angel with wings of mercy.
It made him all too aware of his state, at least when pain was strong enough to clear his mind and before desperation again numbed it. It panicked him. The time for escape was past though… Unless he could convince Duo to undo him, he no longer had the strength, and so far all attempts to ask the redhead about such things had brought about a worrisome blank look, and then Duo leaving sometimes before he gave drugs, or food. Sometimes he wouldn't come back until the next evening, and by then Quatre swore he could feel the teeth in the back of his head singing with pain and need. His stomach felt more than devoid of food those nights, it felt like outer space itself, just one empty vacuum. He would hear Duo upstairs, moving around, and yet he wasn't at the point yet where he would beg the American to come down and tend to him with his needles and strange absent touches. Not since Duo's last black out.
Below the world as most people knew it, Quatre's throat seized up in a gag as he remembered the dead press of Duo's weight on him.
XxXxX
That Duo was still up to his usual 'grin and hide it' games wasn't apparent until the exact moment he opened the front door and stared at the figure who stood beyond.
There was only one second's worth of pause as his violet eyes roved over the tall form there before recognition and delight flooded that face and brought it to life, his cheery voice bursting forth as usual as he stepped out of the house and arms enveloped Trowa's body. "Hey! Tro buddy!"
One second. It was enough to make Trowa doubt himself, before he had an armful of grinning redhead. He stumbled back from it, then chuckled softly and righted Duo before him.
"Hello Duo. I hope this isn't too forward, but…"
"Forward? Not at all! Hell, I woulda invited you before now, but you know how it is trying to get Quatre to take some time off, and the house is still not all unpacked."
The Latin was relieved to hear he wasn't the only one who had issues with that. "It's all right. I more than understand. I just finally thought it was time I saw your new place, and decided I'd at least try to drop in and say hello."
"That fine by me!" Duo flashed him that ever-constant smile, and Trowa found himself happy he'd taken Wufei's blunt suggestion, despite his own holdups. "Just… Uh…"
Duo looked behind him at the partially open front door, tapping his lower lip. "Quatre'd kill me if I let you in without first picking up some of my empty cans and putting that damned stack of dishes away. Think I can convince you to just give me ten minutes to dash in and straighten up before I give you the tour?"
Trowa shook his head, smiling faintly himself though he felt a pang of disappointment. "Not at all. I take it Quatre's not here, then…?"
"Nah. He's probably out to dinner with his coworkers. He's kind of made it a habit…" Duo shrugged a little as he moved back towards the door, giving Trowa a wink over his shoulder. "Not that I mind. He always brings me these little boxes from wherever he goes. Doggy-bags, I guess. Until I'd tried a few, Trowa, I tell you I would have been insulted, now I practically wait by the door each night wagging my tail."
Another soft laugh from the tall brunette, then Duo was vanishing into the cottage after lifting a finger to him to ask for just a minute. Trowa nodded, then moved back over to his vehicle, leaning against the warmed metal as he stared at the scene before him. It wasn't hard to imagine Quatre getting attached to this house. He could almost see the blonde kneeling down besides one of the beds of flowers now, with a big sunhat lop-sided on his head and a satisfied smile on his face. Hard to believe his sensitive little friend didn't even have time to eat with his lover now.
When the door closed, Duo's face dropped, eyes narrowed in suspicion as they moved over the room before him. Cans? Yeah, there were a few of those… And one bigger thing to take care of.
Fucking Trowa. Nosy son of a bitch. Always knew you had it out for my man, you cheap slut. 'Just dropping by', my ass. You missed my boyfriend, didn't cha? Wanted to see if there was any room to slip in now, huh? He stalked away from the door and towards the kitchen, the grin taking over his mouth now cold and sharklike. "Well, there ain't. We're closer than ever, Tro."
His fingers were harsh, jerky, as they pulled open the drawer and withdrew a needle. He almost broke the tip when he yanked off the plastic guard, clenching it between his teeth as the fridge was pulled open and one of his dwindling bottles was selected from the shelf. It wouldn't do to have Quatre making noise while Trowa visited. If he heard any of Quatre's reluctant noises the Latin might feel the need to butt in on the healing the two of them were doing for their relationship.
When he jerked open the trap door, Quatre's turned his face away from the light above with a pained expression, like a mole being exposed to day by a cruel hoe turning the soil. His eyes still weren't adjusted by the time the redhead had gotten down the ladder and was already manhandling him, pulling down his rumpled collar and baring his dirt stained neck.
The sting of the needle sliding into his bruised flesh made him gasp. Then Quatre knew relief again, and time without hunger and pain. It seemed to cool and warm him all at once, and it took the weight from his body. Floating.
Duo thought he looked almost happy when those dazed aqua eyes rolled up to him. He checked Quatre's wrists under the bonds, which were slowly scabbing over the fresh tears the blonde had gotten a few days ago during their struggle - lovemaking -, and found them to be recovering without too much trouble and no infection. It was more than he could say about Quatre's hygienic state. The American frowned as he sniffed the air and caught sight of the stained mattress his lover now laid on, and the dirty clothes. He needed to bathe him again. Maybe tonight, after Trowa'd left. Quatre was already dozing off, so it wouldn't be too hard of a task. After that, food.
There was the smallest flare of alarm as Duo tried to remember the last time he'd propped Quatre up and fed him soup, but he dismissed it quickly. Quatre would get some tonight, so it didn't matter that much any more. He would even put vitamins in the broth.
"It's okay, baby. Bath, dinner, and bed tonight. You're getting spoiled." He brushed sticky bangs from the pasty forehead and laid a soft kiss between the drawn together brows. "I love you, Quatre. I'll always love you."
After adjusting one of the old blankets over the tranquil blonde, Duo stood and dusted himself off before turning back to the ladder. When he'd scaled it and was again kneeling by the floor to close that shaft of light, he called down his goodbyes. "One hour or so, I promise. Just got to take care of something. Be good, okay?"
In dusty cerulean eyes, the square of light from above dimmed, and then vanished, and slowly his pupils dilated from more than the dark.
XxXxX
"This is our living room."
Trowa dodged Duo's wide sweep of his arms as he showed off the room, but really, he didn't blame him his moment of grandeur. It was nice. Better than Quatre'd described in all of his rambling. It was the perfect little home. It would have been warm on it's own, but with some of the familiar furnishings they'd once shared, Trowa already had the mournful thought that this was more home than his own apartment.
"It's beautiful, Duo."
"Oh, you ain't seen nothin yet. Wait'll you see our bedroom, and the backyard! Even the kitchen's amazing. Quatre says it makes him feel like a little housewife, but he really looks cute when he gets the time to putz about in there."
When Trowa followed Duo into the kitchen, he had to admit it was easy to see the blonde standing before the counters with an apron on, stirring at their dinner like he used to. Duo followed Trowa's gaze like he too was seeing it, though Trowa would never know that Quatre hadn't been given the chance to do that; he simply thought that Duo was missing his lover's presence around the house.
The backyard was as promised, and it quickly became Trowa's favorite part of the house. Whatever else Duo would show him, it was that grassy slope and the flowers, then that shaded swing, that really did him in.
"You really lucked out, finding this place."
"I know we did." Duo was grinning, leading the way to the swing as he dropped down there. "Quatre was right. This was the place for us. Flat out. Now I just wish he had the time to enjoy it a little more himself."
"Have you spoken to him about it?"
"Well… Yeah. Kinda." Duo looked down, shrugging, and Trowa felt a small pang of sympathy.
"You should. Quatre would want to know."
"I know he would, Tro, but right now… You know, work's busy too. Important. We'll have time for domestic when life calms down. How about you? How are you doing?"
"I'm… Well."
"That was one of those famous blah-Trowa answers if I ever heard one. I want details, man, not a clinical answer"
Trowa managed another half smile. "I haven't unpacked yet."
"No? Christ, with how anal you were at the house, I'd have thought the place would be damn near sterile by now and arranged like a museum!"
"It was having you and the others around that spurred that urge on." He admitted softly, and watched Duo blink and process it.
"Ya know, I can understand that, Tro. I've noticed a few of my own habits changing since moving here with just Quatre. I'm in the kitchen a lot more, and I don't just leave my laundry around now because I know I'll trip over it all when I'm the one going around to gather it. Sounds bad, I know, but being on my own's honestly made me a little more responsible."
Another small good thing to have come from it, or so Trowa thought as he recalled the numerous times he'd watched Heero stalk around gathering up the garbage Duo often left in his wake like the debris of a tornado, or had heard Quatre muttering choice words to himself while scrubbing off some unnamed weird substance from a days old plate.
"Want a beer, Trowa? I'm pretty parched myself." Duo grinned as he stood up and stretched on the chair. "We can down em while I show you the rest of the house."
"No… I'm driving back, remember? I'll take a soda if you have one though."
"I do. Come on, m'man." Together they walked back into the kitchen of the little cottage, Duo waving him on ahead to the living room as he drifted over to the fridge. "Go ahead, I'll grab ya one. We'll do the upstairs first."
After violet eyes had watched the older teen vanish into the other room, Duo finally opened the refrigerator door. Supplies were getting low, more medicine than food decorating the top two shelves, but he found a couple of the needed cans on the bottom one. He was whistling as he strolled in to join Trowa, holding one out. With those in hand and both lids popped with that cheery noise of freshness, they wandered up the stairs and to the bedroom.
Time to finish off this tour and get back to what really mattered. His love was waiting, and Duo owed him a lot of very special attention tonight.