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Trowa lay in bed, reading an ancient copy of Les Miserables. He frowned at the closed bathroom door. "Come to bed, Quatre," he called.
"Mmm mrrshn mm mneehm," came the muffled reply. Trowa interpreted this as "I'm brushing my teeth" and returned to his reading; Quatre liked his privacy in the bathroom.
As Javert was discovering Valjean's true identity, the blond boy emerged from the bathroom, freshly bathed and brushed, but minus the shy smile he habitually wore before bed.
Trowa opened his arms to Quatre. "Come here, angel."
Quatre settled into his embrace. The brunet boy nuzzled his neck and quietly asked, "Are you still worried about Heero?"
"Of course I am," sighed Quatre. "I just can't believe he would do this. This is extreme, even for him."
Trowa squeezed him protectively. "Some men just don't deserve the angels they're given."
Quatre blushed prettily and relaxed into Trowa's strong embrace. He could still feel Heero's shame and anguish, however, and the frown still marred his countenance. "What bothers me is that...I couldn't..."
Trowa sat up and tilted the blond boy's face upward. "You shouldn't worry about that. It's been a long time since you've had to use that skill. No one will hold you at fault for having fallen out of practice."
"But perhaps I could have--"
"Shh," whispered Trowa, bestowing a gentle kiss on his lover's forehead. "I forbid you to think any more about it tonight. Go to sleep."
They settled back into the pillows, Quatre sending a silent prayer to Allah, asking him to forgive Heero and ease his pain as well as Relena's.
The sound of squealing tires on pavement jolted the couple from their reverie. They jerked upright, searching each other's faces.
"Duo," Trowa wondered.
"Allah, why can't I see?" Quatre swore. "Something must have happened with Dorothy. I'd better get down there."
But before he could even cinch his robe, there came a pounding on the bedroom door. Quatre opened the door a sliver, to be greeted by a silver-streaked apparition, panting with exertion. The smaller boy fell back, blinking at the sight of Duo in the remains of his rave finery.
"Where's Relena?" Duo asked hurriedly.
Quatre stared at him in puzzlement. "Wha--how did you know--"
"Know?" Duo interrupted. "Know what? Where is she? Is she okay?"
Quatre was thoroughly flustered. "Duo...she--Heero--"
Trowa appeared in the doorway, reaching for Duo's shoulder. "You'd better come inside," he said.
~just a reflection~
The braided boy brought his bike to yet another screeching halt in front of another large beachfront mansion, wincing at the thought of expensive new tires. He swung off the seat, hair still dimly sparkling in the moonlight. As he rushed up the walk, he absently rubbed his right arm; Trowa had had to forcibly restrain him from storming downstairs and reminding Heero what it felt like to fly without a mobile suit. The braided boy was still shaking with rage.
~just a glimpse
just a little reminder~
Something white in an upstairs window caught his attention. He looked to see what it was, but it quickly disappeared in a flurry of gauzy curtains.
~of all the what abouts
and all the might have beens~
So she is here, he thought. But will she see me?
He stopped at the door and pressed the intercom button. Pargan's voice, unusually frosty, greeted him. "Good night, Mr. Maxwell. May I help you?"
"I need to see Relena," Duo answered. "It's really urgent."
"Miss Relena will see no one tonight," said Pargan.
"Please, Pargan, just tell her I'm here--"
"Miss Relena will see no one tonight," Pargan repeated, emphasizing each word as one would for a slow child. "She is indisposed."
"I just want to know that she's okay. Please, Pargan."
There was silence from indoors for a moment.
As soon as the door opened, Duo wished he were back home.
~another day
some other way
but not another reason to continue~
What stood before him in the dimly lit doorway in no way resembled the bubbly girl he had taken to lunch earlier that day. What stood before him in the doorway looked more like some refugee from the wars Duo had tried so hard to put behind him.
Relena's face, marked only by a few fading bruises when Duo had left for The Downfall, was now a mass of swelled purplish-blue tissue, her nose slightly bent out of shape. She stood as if she'd fallen down hard on her backside, somewhat bentlegged, somewhat hunched over. She was still wearing the now-ragged dress she had worn all day. Her hands shook. She refused to meet his eyes. Even Relena's lovely hair had somehow lost its shine; it seemed to be hanging in strings around her maimed face.
~and now you're one of us
the wretched~
Duo's rage surfaced. His fists clenched, leaving bloody half-moons in his palms, and something dangerous flashed in his eyes. Relena sensed his anger and flinched away; her fear of him only intensified his anger at Heero. He stepped toward her, meaning to caress her face. She stepped backward into the house, tripped over the threshold, and fell onto the expensive rug.
~the hopes and prays
the better days
the far aways
forget it~
"Are you here to take me back?" Relena whispered hoarsely. "Or just to admire his work?"
Duo could only stare at her, openmouthed, unable even to help her up. She staggered to her feet by herself. "Did a good job, didn't he?" she muttered. "Well? You gonna say I told you so?"
The braided boy shook himself out of his trance. "Relena," he whispered. "I had no idea..."
"Yeah. Right." Relena gave a cynical snort. "It's all my fault. You warned me. I knew you were right. I didn't listen. I thought I could change him."
~it didn't turn out the way you wanted it to
it didn't turn out the way you wanted it, did it?
it didn't turn out the way you wanted it to
it didn't turn out the way you wanted it, did it?~
Duo stood before her, head bowed. "It's my fault. I suspected something like this was going on, and I didn't do anything."
Relena gave another snort. "Do you think I'd have let you do something? I'd have stood and protected him, just like I did the day you and I met. I'd sooner have died myself than let you hurt him."
"But surely that doesn't still stand," Duo said stonily. "You said that if it happened again, I could--"
"No," whispered Relena. A single tear fell down her mangled cheek. "No."
~now you know
this is what it feels like
now you know
this is what it feels like~
The braided boy's silver lips were agape. "Surely you're not going back to him after this," he whispered in shock.
"I don't think so," said Relena. She put a hand to her forehead. "But we'll resolve our problems alone. Any intervention on your part will only disrupt the team."
"I've worked alone before and I can do it again," hissed Duo. "I can't work with a guy who would do this to you."
"What do you care, anyway?" she flared. "Where's your supermodel?"
~the clouds will part and the sky cracks open
and god himself will reach his fucking arm through
just to push you down
just to hold you down~
Duo lowered his head again, running a hand over his hair. It came away shiny. He stared at it, reminded of Jase's facial piercings.
He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and looked up into deep blue eyes. The damage was even worse up close; the determined sparkle had gone out of those eyes. They reminded Duo too much of Heero's eyes. "I left her in the club," he mumbled. "She was with some guy...I left her there."
~stuck in this hole with the shit and the piss
and it's hard to believe it could come down to this
back at the beginning
sinking, spinning ~
The eyes softened minutely, and Relena drew the boy closer for a hug. When she pulled away, Duo could see that she was crying.
"We're a fine pair, aren't we?" she asked, laughing. "Just a couple of crybabies."
Duo caressed her honey-blonde locks. "That's okay. I think we both have something to cry about."
~and in the end
we still pretend
the time we spend
not knowing when~
Relena gave a tired sigh. "Well...what now?"
"What do you mean?" asked Duo.
"What are you going to do now?"
~you're finally free
and you could be~
Duo looked into those beautiful eyes. God, I could fall in. "I think...I think I'm going to kiss you."
~but it didn't turn out the way you wanted it to
it didn't turn out quite the way that you wanted it~
Relena wrenched away, nearly falling again. She stared at Duo with uncomprehending eyes. Duo smacked himself in the forehead. What the hell did I just do? Am I really that stupid?
"I think you should go home," the blonde girl said quietly.
"Relena, wait-"
"I think you should go," Relena said, louder this time. "I don't know what you're doing here anyway."
She turned to go inside. Duo reached for her shoulder; Relena shook his hand off. "You're just lonely because Dorothy left. Go home."
"Relena. Look at me."
She wheeled around angrily. "No, Duo-you look at me. This is what comes of loving somebody--you get hurt. Whether it's physically or emotionally doesn't matter." The tears were coming again, more forcefully this time. "Now you look me in the eye and tell me what guarantee I have that you'll never do something like this. Or that I won't do what Dorothy did."
Duo did look into her eyes--and found that he could say nothing at all.
~now you know
this is what it feels like
now you know
this is what it feels like~
Relena stood staring at him for a moment longer. Then she shook her head, turned around, and went inside, closing the door gently behind her. Duo heard the quiet snick! of the door being locked.
The braided boy delivered a savage kick to the brick wall before turning around himself and storming back to his bike.
I'll be back, Relena...you're not going to shut me out now.
But first I have some business to take care of.
~you can try to stop it but it keeps on coming
you can try to stop it but~