Title – He Understood
Author – Kat-lady04
Pairings – mentions of 3x4
Warnings – none really, slight shounen ai mentions, fluff
Summary – Trowa gets cancer and the guys show their support as only they can. Implied 3x4, fluffy with an angsty theme. Oneshot.
The worst part about the whole thing wasn't the treatment. It wasn't the weight loss, loss of appetite, the decreased immune system or even the disease itself. No, for Trowa Barton the worst part of having cancer and the following treatments was losing his hair. For as long as he could remember he'd had his bang to hide behind, it was one of the constant things in his often chaotic life, Quatre and the rest of the guys being another. They had been true friends through it all, staying by his side the whole time, each in their own special way.
Quatre was there from the first doctors' appointment on, he stayed close by as a friend, lover and general mother hen, making sure Trowa made it to each appointment and chemo treatment, was there to hold his hair back when he got sick and later when the hair was no longer an obstacle he would be there with a wet washcloth and a warm pair of arms to fall into. He made sure that Trowa never thought himself unattractive at any time during his ordeal, and coincidentally, that he never lacked for exercise. He understood what it was like, feeling inadequate since he was the weakest physically of the five, not to mention that whole mess with his father and his over-inflated pacifistic ideals.
Heero was there when he needed someone to be quiet with. He was supportive in ways that only Heero could be, having gone through his own long slow healing process after his self destruction and another after the end of the Eve Wars, he knew when a simple human presence was enough of a comfort. He understood, without having to be told that Trowa was extremely uncomfortable with direct eye contact, for the great chameleon to be so exposed was unnerving, so when Heero was there eyes usually never rose above lips.
Wufei was there when he needed someone to rant and rave to about the unfairness of it all. They had saved the world, several times, why couldn't life give them any breaks? He understood the need to be mad at the injustices dealt by the fates and he was also the best one for understanding that sometimes life didn't make sense but that together, with friends and their own version of family they could overcome anything. He was always there, Trowa's rock when he needed to lean for a bit.
Duo was there in a way that only he could have been. He was there, standing on the doorstep the day after the last of Trowa's hair had fallen out with a very special gift, and a foot and a half missing from his braid. After straightening out the specially made wig, only a slightly different brown than what Trowa was used to, he wiped away the tears falling from Trowa's one visible emerald eye and smiled. He understood that during a traumatic time, it was nice to have something familiar to keep a hold of, he was also probably the only one to understand just how important hair can be to someone that uses it as one of their defining characteristics. He was there to help keep Trowa's spirits up throughout the treatments and to help balance the others out when they all got together.
The day Trowa's doctors deemed him in the clear all of the guys, and Catherine, where there with him. they knew that they would never take each other for granted, as only those who almost lose someone dear to them can and reacted to the good news as was preordained by their personalities; Catherine burst into happy tears and hugged him to her while Quatre's smile lit up the room and he hugged them both, kissing any and every part of Trowa's face he could reach. Duo whooped and punched the air before joining the group hug while Heero and Wufei stood back with smiles on their faces waiting for the group to break up. Heero and Trowa clasped forearms in a comrades embrace and Wufei firmly grasped Trowa's shoulder. They didn't worry about Trowa thinking their reactions where over the top or that they didn't care; they knew that he would understand what they were trying to say.
He understood them.
-End-
A/N: Another one of those stories that popped into my head at two-thirty in the morning that wouldn't leave until I wrote it. I hope it came out the way it sounded to me, please review andlet me know what you think.