Sorry about the late update. My own laptop's monitor stopped working, so I had to move all of my important files onto a jump drive, which I promptly lost for three weeks. But I found it today, and I'm editing it on my new, shiny laptop. With wireless internet! w00t!

Chapter Three

Three weeks had passed, and though, Quatre seemed to have recovered physically, emotionally he didn't seem to be getting any better. He panicked if Wufei so much as tried to leave his side to go to the bathroom. Wufei had become his full-time carer: feeding him his three meals a day, helping him bathe, sleeping with him at night, and keeping him entertained. Wufei had become surprisingly adept at finding things to amuse Quatre with, and most of his time was spent playing games with Quatre, reading to him, or sitting in front of the TV holding him while they watched cartoons together.

None of the pilots could understand why Quatre was so afraid. The doctor had mentioned psychological trauma, but though they racked their brains for days, none of the pilots could think of any psychological trauma that might have had such a severe impact on Quatre and his behaviour.

"You're his lover," Wufei remarked in some frustration to Trowa one day. "Surely you know something!"

But Trowa had shaken his head miserably. Thinking the situation, he suddenly realised that he didn't actually know all that much about Quatre. Quatre never spoke much about himself, about his past. He seemed to always be concentrated on other people. It was with some guilt and shame that Trowa became conscious of how much his lover had focused on him and his needs, while he hadn't seemed to return the attention.

Perhaps the biggest surprise for everyone was Wufei's patience. In the first week when the pilots had discovered that Quatre was amnesic and he'd attached himself quite demandingly to Wufei, Trowa kept expecting Wufei to lose his temper. Yet, it had been three weeks now, and Wufei still hadn't lost his temper. Not once had Wufei raised his voice to Quatre or even begun ranting. It was true that occasionally he was stern when Quatre was being difficult, but he'd never yelled at Quatre. In fact, it appeared as though he had a never-ending well of patience.

//And a good thing that there was this unexpected side to Wufei; he certainly needs to have patience to deal with Quatre lately.// Trowa thought, because Wufei had to hand–feed Quatre three meals a day, help him brush his teeth, help him bathe, entertain him, and generally put up with Quatre's constant clinginess and occasional bouts of fear when loud noises startled him. Heero now had to put a silencer on his gun whenever he went outside for target practice.

Sitting in the lounge room with a moment to think, Trowa painfully asked himself the one question that had been niggling at the back of his mind for days. //Would I have been able to do all that Wufei has done?// Indeed, would Trowa have been able to clean Quatre, feed him, play with him, and comfort him? As much as Trowa wanted to stand up and shout 'yes!' at the top of his lungs, he couldn't because he wasn't so sure. He wasn't sure if he possessed the patience which Wufei was showing so admirably these days. There had been times when Quatre's clinginess had grated on his own nerves, and he'd found himself clenching his fists. And the ironic thing was, he wasn't even the one Quatre was clinging to. //Surely, it must be worse for Wufei.// There were times when Trowa just wished Quatre could eat by himself without needing Wufei to feed him. There were times Trowa wished that they didn't have to keep such careful vigil over Quatre. He was used to his self-sufficient lover. Where had that person gone?

//Perhaps it's for the best that the first person Quatre saw when he woke up was Wufei after all.// Trowa sighed sadly.

He felt Duo start in surprise beside him.

//Did I say that aloud?// He wondered, a bit abashed at himself. Turning to look at Duo who was now looking rather pensive himself, he realised that he must have.

Duo, for his part, did not say anything in reply to Trowa's quiet whispered comment. In a way, he felt that he could understand what Trowa was saying. He'd been thinking the same thing for a while now.

Not once had Wufei lost his temper with Quatre even though there had been many times Duo himself had wanted to. He realised that it was the amnesia making Quatre clingy, but at times remembering this fact had not stopped him from getting annoyed with Quatre. Sometimes Duo had just wanted to pick Quatre up and shake him. He wanted his friend back, the guy who smiled sweetly and showed such concern over the welfare of his friends. He wanted his friend who tried to mother them, encouraged them, helped keep them together. Where had the old Quatre gone? Was he gone forever? Duo'd even seen Trowa clenching his fists a few times. Not that shaking him would have done Quatre any good other than hurting him and perhaps frightening him further, but it didn't stop him from shamefully wanting to do so from time to time.

Perhaps Trowa was right; perhaps it was best that Quatre had woken up to Wufei's presence. //Who knew that Wufei had such limitless patience?// Duo knew that Trowa felt guilty. He could see it written all over Trowa's usually impassive face. He knew that Trowa probably had a hard time accepting that he didn't have the same patience that Wufei did for his own lover. It hurt Duo to see Trowa so pained. He put a comforting hand on Trowa's shoulder, hoping that it would convey empathetic understanding of the situation. Trowa's eyes locked with his, and the other pilot gave a grateful nod of acknowledgement.

Together they turned back to watch as Wufei read to Quatre from a children's book filled with bright pictures. They watched as Quatre giggled at Wufei's big, bad wolf voice.

"And I'll huff, and I'll puff…" Wufei and Quatre chorused together before Quatre once again dissolved into helpless giggles, and Wufei gave him a gentle smile at this innocent joy.

Looking up from the colourful book for a brief moment, Wufei saw Trowa staring at Quatre with sorrowful eyes. The smile faded from Wufei's lips. He'd thought that perhaps Trowa was beginning to recover, but no, who could ever recover from discovering that their lover had forgotten them.

Looking thoughtfully at Quatre, Wufei resolved to do something about it. Quatre was strong enough now; it was time he spent more of his time with his lover. With his lips firmed into a grim line, Wufei nodded his head in determination. He knew what he had to do.

Trowa continued to stare at Quatre with mournful eyes. //Surely if I loved him I wouldn't feel impatient with him. Is that it? Do I not love him as much as I think I do?//

XXX

That night as Quatre lay curled up beside him in bed, Wufei turned around to look at the sleeping boy. Stroking Quatre's baby soft blonde hair away from his face, Wufei leaned forward. "I'm sorry." He whispered achingly. "I know this will hurt, little one, but it's for your own good. It'll all be better soon, you'll see." Then he dropped a light kiss on Quatre's forehead.

XXX

At breakfast the next morning Quatre waited patiently for Wufei to begin feeding him. He swung his legs cheerfully as he sat in his usual chair. Wufei placed his breakfast in front of him and sat down at the table.

Quatre watched, confused when Wufei picked up a banana and took a bite out of it.

"Breakfast?" Quatre asked softly, puzzlement obvious in his voice.

"No." Wufei said calmly.

The other three pilots lifted their heads at this change in routine.

"We're not eating?" Quatre inquired, looking even more puzzled at the bowl of cereal in front of him.

"Not that we're not eating." Wufei explained calmly. "I'm not going to feed you."

He ignored the stunned expressions being directed at him.

"Why?" Quatre questioned somewhat plaintively.

"Good question." Wufei growled darkly, shifting so that his cold dark eyes bore into Quatre's clear blue eyes. "And the answer is simply that I've had enough. I'm sick of your clinginess. You can feed yourself, or you can starve. I don't care." And then ignoring the shocked expression on everyone's face, and in Heero's case, the thoughtful expression, Wufei pushed his chair back from the table.

Quatre blinked in shock. "Wufei?" He called shakily, pushing back his chair and running after the figure striding from the room.

Wufei turned around. "Enough!" He hissed. "I've had enough! I've had enough of you, of this! Trowa is your lover. If you're hungry, go to him!" And he stormed out.

There was a pregnant silence as Quatre stared in bewildered pain after Wufei, and then he gave a choked sob and fled to the bedroom he shared with Wufei.

//I don't understand! What did I do wrong? I'm too clingy? That's not him. That's not Wufei! Wufei would never yell at me!// And finally making it to his bedroom, he threw himself down onto the bed and began to cry huge sobs that shook his whole frame.

In the kitchen, Trowa, Duo, and Heero stared at each other and suddenly Trowa pushed his chair back, eyes blazing with anger. He intended to confront Wufei. //What the hell was he thinking, yelling at Quatre like that?!//

"Don't!" Heero barked.

"Why the hell not?! You saw what he did." Trowa growled menacingly, green eyes flashing, hands clenched into fists.

Heero stared back at him. "Your emotions have clouded your mind; you know Chang as well as I do. Think for a moment!" Heero snapped.

Green eyes clashed with blue ones, and then Trowa's eyes widened in comprehension. Deflating, he sank back down into his chair.

Duo watched them both for a moment before finally voicing incredulously. "It was an act?"

"Hn." Heero grunted.

There was another long moment of silence, and then Trowa quietly stood up and left the room to seek out Wufei. He only had to search a few rooms before he eventually found Wufei sitting in the lounge room staring at a colourful book in his hands.

"Wufei." Trowa murmured.

Wufei didn't look at him.

"He'll hate you." Trowa noted quietly.

"It's better this way." Wufei eventually replied after a few moments of silence. "This might hurt Winner in the short run, but eventually it'll be better for him. You know that as well as I. It would be best if you went and comforted him."

Trowa knew that Wufei was right. Unable to think of anything to say, Trowa instead dropped a hand on Wufei's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze before leaving to follow Wufei's advice.

XXX

Entering Quatre's bedroom, Trowa found him lying face down on the bed sobbing his eyes out. He was clutching a pillow tightly to his chest. Looking at the head of the bed and seeing that the pillow was missing from the right side, Trowa realised that Quatre was most likely holding Wufei's pillow.

"Quatre." He murmured, moving forward and attempting to put his arms around his lover.

"Go away!" Quatre cried, pushing Trowa away.

Trowa pulled him forcibly into a hug. "I won't." He murmured. "I love you. I won't go."

"Go away!" Quatre screamed, struggling in earnest. "Let go of me!" And with superhuman strength, he pushed Trowa so hard he fell off the bed himself.

"Quatre!" Trowa exclaimed worriedly, clambering off the bed and moving towards Quatre, but Quatre hurriedly backed away into a corner of the bedroom.

Trowa sighed and ran a hand distractedly through his hair. "Very well, I'll just stay here then, and I'll be here until you're ready to accept me." And he sat back down on the bed and watched Quatre.

XXX

Quatre stayed curled up in his corner for the rest of the day. When Trowa tried to put a blanket on him, Quatre only pushed it away angrily and actually clawed at Trowa, managing to leave four deep scratch marks on Trowa's right arm.

Ignoring Trowa who'd moved back to the bed, Quatre kept repeated to himself, almost like a mantra//That's not Wufei. Wufei would never get angry at me.//

Something flashed through his mind. //Honour.// His head lifted with a start. //Honour?// He didn't know why that word had come to mind and didn't bother worrying over it; instead he went back to his ceaseless chant. //That's not Wufei. Wufei would never get angry at me.//

When Duo brought dinner that night, Quatre refused to eat. No amount of coaxing on Duo or Trowa's part would get him to eat. Instead he continued to sit curled up beside the wall. Eventually Duo sadly left Trowa sitting with Quatre and went down to have his own dinner.

At the dinner table, all was quiet. Wufei didn't speak much, and Heero never spoke anyway. Duo kept looking at Wufei but didn't say anything either. He could understand why Wufei had done what he did.

"I'm done." Wufei finally announced, picking up his untouched dinner plate and dumping its contents in the trash. Then he left, disappearing back up the stairs.

Duo looked curiously at Heero. "What do you think 'Ro?"

Heero swallowed his mouthful before answering. "There's nothing to worry about."

Duo stared at him incredulously and opened his mouth to retort, but Heero cut him off.

"I said, don't worry." Heero snapped and went back to eating his dinner.

Duo stared at Heero, confused at these cryptic remarks, and finally following Heero's lead, continued eating his dinner.

XXX

The next morning Trowa reappeared at the table with Quatre's untouched breakfast.

"Still not eating?" Duo murmured worriedly.

"No." Trowa replied tiredly. "He just keeps sitting curled up in a ball in the corner of the room."

Wufei ignored them and continued to sip his tea.

Heero stood up silently. "Chang, target practice."

Wufei lifted his head. "Nothing better to do." He murmured absently, following Heero from the room.

Trowa and Duo looked at each other.

"What do we do now?" Duo whispered, at a complete loss.

Trowa just shook his head. He didn't know either.

XXX

Quatre refused to eat lunch that day, too.

Trowa was beginning to worry. It had only been three weeks since Quatre had woken up from his coma, and Trowa was sure he wasn't yet healthy enough to be skipping so many meals. Duo had tried every trick in the book to get Quatre to eat, but all that had resulted in was Quatre's tossing the food at his head. It had taken Trowa the better part of an hour to clean the food up from the floor, and it had taken Duo even longer to clean it from his hair.

Trowa found himself clenching his fists. //Why can't Quatre just eat!// He quickly shook his head and took a deep breath to calm down. He didn't have the right to get upset; Quatre was ill and not acting like himself. He had to remain calm. He took a few more deep breaths before tentatively approaching Quatre again.

"You need to eat." He murmured gently.

Quatre turned away and buried his face into the pillow he was still clutching to his chest. Trowa absently wondered whether the pillow still smelled like Wufei. He supposed it must if Quatre was still burying his face into it.

"Please eat." Trowa resorted to begging, but Quatre didn't even look at him. Trowa tried to blink back the tears of hurt and anger, but they fell anyway.

XXX

When Quatre left his dinner untouched for the second night in a row, Trowa went to find Wufei. He found Wufei back in his own bedroom dusting off his shelves.

"I've neglected my room for so long it's gone dusty." Wufei murmured distractedly when Trowa stepped into the room.

"Go see him." Trowa pleaded.

Wufei walked to the window and looked out. "You know as well as I do, Barton, that it's for the best this way."

Trowa stayed silent for a long time before he finally spoke. "How do you know it's for the best?"

Wufei turned around, confused. "What?"

Trowa repeated his question. "How do you know it's for the best?"

Wufei stared at him as though he'd suddenly sprouted horns. "You don't think your spending time with your lover is for the best?"

Trowa moved to stand beside Wufei to look out of the window.

"I was doing some reflective thinking the other day." He began softly.

Wufei remained silent.

"I won't lie to myself, and I won't lie to you either, Wufei." Trowa gave a sigh full of pained self-understanding. "Do you know what I asked myself?"

Wufei shook his head, staring at Trowa mutely.

Trowa gave him a sad smile. "I asked myself whether I'd have had the patience if I'd been in your position. Do you know what answer I finally gave myself?"

Wufei stared at him in growing shock, already anticipating the unexpected answer.

Trowa nodded his head solemly. "That's right, Wufei. Truthfully? I wouldn't have had the patience to put up with Quatre's clinginess." Ignoring Wufei's shock, Trowa continued to speak. "There have been times when I've just wanted to shake him. To hurt him. To wake him up from whatever it is he's stuck in. You've never done that once. Now tell me, Wufei, what do you think is best for Quatre right now?"

Wufei remained silent. "Barton." He finally began.

Trowa shook his head. "Nothing you say can change that fact, Wufei. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder whether I love him as much as I'd previously believed." He heard Wufei swallow, it was loud in the sudden silence of the room. "Go to him, Wufei. He needs you."

There was another minute of silence, and then Wufei turned to leave the room. Pausing at the door Wufei spoke. "Whatever else happens, Barton, when Winner regains his memories, he'll still need your love." And then he turned and walked out.

"Will he?" Trowa murmured softly to himself. "Or will he need yours?"

XXX

Pausing outside Quatre's bedroom door, Wufei took a deep breath for fortitude; finally he turned the knob and took a cautious step into the bedroom.

"Quatre?" He asked tentatively, peering into the gloom. Immediately a barrage of objects came flying in his direction. "Get out!" Quatre screeched.

A few of the objects managed to make contact with Wufei before he had the good sense to begin ducking. Dodging several marble statues that were aimed at his head and which instead shattered against the plaster walls, Wufei managed to reach the corner Quatre had hidden himself in.

"Get out!" Quatre continued to screech wildly.

Ignoring the screams, Wufei pulled him into his arms, holding him immobile but not hurting him.

"Quatre, calm down!" He ordered.

"No! No! Get away from me! Let me go!" Quatre cried.

Wufei just held onto him tighter. "I'm sorry." He breathed sorrowfully into the silky blonde hair.

Immediately Quatre stopped struggling in his arms.

"Why?" He whispered plaintively. "Why?"

Wufei shook his head sadly, stroking Quatre's back. "I'm sorry. There are no excuses for what I did."

"You said you were sick of me." Quatre whispered tearfully.

Wufei shook his head again. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want Barton to be hurt. He loves you. I'm not sick of you. I'll never get sick of you."

Quatre just began to howl in his arms and buried his face into Wufei's collarbone. "Promise you'll never do that again! Promise you'll never leave me!"

Wufei rocked Quatre in his arms. "I promise. I won't ever do that again, I'll never leave you." And he held Quatre tightly as he cried.

"I love you." Quatre whispered yearningly.

Wufei pulled back, shocked and stared at Quatre. "You don't understand everything." He said in a fierce but soft tone to Quatre. "You don't know what you're saying. I don't want to hear it anymore."

Quatre cried even louder. "I love you! I don't care what you say. I love you!"

A gasp came from the doorway. Turning his head, Wufei saw Heero, Trowa, and Duo standing there. Trowa was whiter than a ghost. Then he turned to bolt.

"Dammit!" Wufei barked. "Don't you dare leave, Barton!"

Trowa paused mid–step.

"Come in here." Wufei growled.

After a tensed moment of obvious indecision, Trowa finally entered the room.

Wufei pulled Quatre away from him and looked at him firmly. "Look at him." He growled, pointing at Trowa. Quatre ignored him.

"Look at him!" Wufei snapped. Reluctantly Quatre turned his head and looked at Trowa.

"You do not love me." Wufei refuted. "He is the one you love. He is your lover."

Quatre glared at Wufei. "He's not my lover." He denied stubbornly. "I love you!"

Trowa gave a choked cry and fled the room.

"Shit." Wufei swore. "Barton!" Wufei roared after the rapidly disappearing figure.

"'Fei." Wufei looked at Duo who'd just spoken.

"I'll go after him. You take care of Quat." Duo murmured, gesturing to Quatre who was now sobbing incoherently in Wufei's arms.

Looking down, Wufei realised that his loud swearing had frightened Quatre again. "Damn." He muttered as he stroked Quatre's back while whispering comforting words to him. Looking up again, he saw that Duo was gone but that Heero was watching him. They stared at each other.

Heero suddenly moved. "Take care of him." Then he was gone.

Wufei let out a sigh and went back to stroking Quatre's trembling frame.

Things had just gone to hell.