momentary lapse of reason
part 31
At precisely 5:30, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei returned home from work. It was Quatre and Wufei's turn to prepare dinner and Trowa entered the den to relax before their evening meal. He was quite surprised to find the two asleep on the couch and a small smile formed as he looked down at them, but soon disappeared as Quatre made his way into the room.
"What is he doing here?" he asked, shocked by Heero's presence.
"No idea. Let's go inside and leave them be." Trowa replied, taking his lover by the arm.
Quatre allowed himself to be pulled from the room, taking one last look at Duo wrapped in Heero's arms. He had mixed emotions about what he saw, frowning at what should have been a heartwarming sight.
++++++++
The two remained silent about Heero's return until they entered the kitchen, immediately relating the news to Wufei. "Heero is back." the blonde stated as he stood beside the raven haired young man.
Wufei was taken back by the news as well. "Did Duo invite him or did he just show up?" he asked.
"No idea." Trowa replied. "They are asleep in the den."
"We should have been informed he was coming. He should have told us.. or Duo should have." Quatre noted, his voice reflecting his annoyance at the situation.
Trowa nodded in agreement as did Wufei.
"This isn't just about the two of them. I think that one of the two of them would have realized that by now." Trowa added.
Wufei lowered his head. As much as part of him was pleased by the sudden turn of events, there was a great deal of anger that still remained. There were issues that needed to be resolved amongst the five. He had come to learn of Duo's strong feelings for Heero while he cared for their braided friend after Heero left. "Duo is well aware of that, Trowa. He more than any of us has been hurt by what Heero did. I'm certain he won't let him off the hook that easy."
"From the looks of things, I'd say Duo has already forgiven him." the blonde returned sharply.
++++++++
Heero woke with his arms still wound around his braided friend. While he was thrilled at what had taken place so far between them; he knew there was a long way to go. Smiling as he glanced down at the sleeping young man, Heero couldn't help but notice how beautiful Duo looked; he sensed that he was far more troubled than he had let on. He looked so serene and peaceful in sleep; he deserved to be. Heero decided not to wake him.
+++++++++
It wasn't long before Quatre checked in on the two to find Heero awake. The blonde entered the den and Heero followed his stride across the room; his demeanor letting Heero know that he was not happy to see him there.
"Heero." the blonde nodded as he stood before him.
"It's been a long time, Quatre." He told him softly.
"What are you doing here?" he asked sharply, eyeing the still sleeping form in Heero's arms.
Heero looked down at the young man he held. "Duo asked me to come. I didn't see any reason to refuse him."
"And what about the rest of us, Heero?" Quatre asked loudly. "Did it ever cross your mind that any of us may have objections to your showing up here unannounced like this?"
Heero's eyes narrowed as the blonde spoke. "Please keep your voice down, Quatre. Duo is still asleep." He ordered. Ignoring Quatre's scowl at his command, he continued, answering his question. "And no, it didn't cross my mind."
"Well it should have." he snapped back. "Do you have any idea of what the three of us went through with Duo after you left?" he asked harshly.
Heero lowered his head.
"He was a mess, Heero, and it was all because of you and your stupidity. He wouldn't allow any of us to get close enough to him to help him through it. He didn't trust us." Quatre went on, his voice growing louder as he continued.
"I'm sorry. I had no idea." Heero replied softly, looking up at the small blonde.
"Of course you didn't, Heero, you left dammit!" the blonde screamed. "You just fucking left!"
Duo stirred in Heero's arms at sound of Quatre's voice. "What is going on?" he asked.
Moving to allow Duo to come to a seated position sit beside him, Heero shook his head from side to side. "Nothing, Duo. Quatre was just filling me in on what happened after I left.
"Is that what that was, Heero? Nothing?" he returned, looking up at Quatre. "I heard the way he was talking to you.." Duo paused, his eyes narrowing at the small blonde."....and in that tone of voice."
"It's fine, Duo.... really.." Heero told him, gently rubbing Duo's upper arm in an effort to calm him down. "I had it coming. We need to work all of this out." Heero replied calmly.
"It is NOT fine." Duo yelled, rising to his feet to face Heero. "This is between you and me, Heero. If you've got it coming then it's up to *me* to decide that.." he yelled, emphasising the word 'me' with one finger pressed against his chest. "....and *me* to give you hell, not him." he shouted toward Quatre.
Heero sat motionless as Duo continued, now adressing the small blonde. "I invited Heero here because I want us to work things out... all five of us. I can understand your anger, Quatre, but don't go off half-cocked before you have all the facts."
"I am *not* going off 'half-cocked', Duo." the blonde returned. "And I am not the only one who is pissed off that *he* is here." he finished, arm outstretched and index finger pointed at Heero.
Duo was livid. "You have no right to be pissed off that Heero is here, nor does anybody else. *I* invited him here, it's *my* house and it's *my* Goddamn life." he shouted. "You have no business interferring in this. Haven't you already done enough damage, Quatre?"
Heero saddened as the two fought and rose quietly, heading for the room's exit in an attempt to slip out of the den unnoticed.
Duo turned to see Heero leaving the room and instead of stopping him, turned once again to face Quatre. The look in Duo's eyes was one Heero had not seen in years, it was one the braided young man had reserved for battle... it was the darkened violet stare of Shinigami and it was directed at the small Arabian.
Heero continued up the stairs to his room, watching as Trowa and Wufei ran toward the den at the sound of the two escalating voices.
Lunging toward him, Duo grabbed Quartre by the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer. "Answer me, Goddamit, Quatre!! Haven't you caused enough fucking damage already?" he spat, shaking the small blonde.
Entering the room, Trowa quickly made his way to stand behind his irate friend. "Let him go, Duo." he warned, taking both of Duo's wrists into his hands. "Now." he added sternly, applying more pressure to them.
Duo stared down at the blonde in digust and released his hold on him, pushing him back as he let go of his shirt.
Quatre took several steps backward and adjusted the collar of his shirt. "I want him out of the house." he warned.
"This is my house and I invited him here. We talked all morning and most of the afternoon today trying to work things out between the two of us." Duo started, his voice holding less anger than it had before. "He is not leaving, Quatre. I won't allow you to force him out."
++++++
Heero sat on the very edge of the bed in his room, listening to his friends argue loudly in the den below. He was unable to make out what was being said, but easily recognized the four distinct voices. He was distraught that his presence was causing such trouble between them.
// i knew this was too good to be true //
Picking up the phone, Heero called a cab and waited several minutes before rising to retrieve his laptop and overnight bag. Exiting his room, he quietly made his way down the stairs and into the foyer.
Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Duo turned toward Heero. "Were you going to tell me you were leaving or were you just going to go?" he asked, his tone somewhere between anger and hurt.
"I was going to call you later. I think it's best if I go..... I'll call you tonight, okay?" He asked softly.
Duo looked at the sadness in Heero's eyes and nodded once. "I'm sorry, Heero... I didn't mean to.."
"It's okay, Duo." he smiled weakly.
Duo followed Heero outside and stood in front of the doorway as he watched Heero get into the cab.
:: he just got here and he is leaving already ::
Lowering his head after the cab had driven out of sight, Duo bit his lower lip and turned to enter the house. Closing the door, he bounded the steps two by two, heading straight for his bedroom.
+++++++++
Once inside the kitchen, Wufei and Trowa both turned toward Quatre. "What happened in there, Quatre?" Wufei began.
"At first, Duo was sleeping, so I asked Heero what he was doing here. He said that Duo invited him. I told him a little about what happened after he left..... I guess my voice got a little loud, cause.... I woke Duo up." he told them, hesitantly.
"And what did you say to Maxwell to make him so angry?" Wufei asked.
"He was upset at the way I was talking to Heero. He said that the two had been talking.... and that they were trying to work things out." Quatre paused and looked up at the two. "Then I told him that Heero should leave..... that we weren't happy about him being here." the blonde replied.
Trowa looked down at where Quatre had seated himself. "Don't you think you should have waited until Duo was awake to begin the discussion? You should have given him a chance to explain why Heero was here."
"Maybe, but..." Quatre began.
Trowa interrupted him. "I think you should also keep in mind that you never finished your little conversation with Duo, Quatre. I'm guessing that by now they have figured out that it was *you* who cut off their communication."
Wufei turned sharply at the words and looked over at Quatre. "You what?" he asked.
"It's a long story, Wufei. I made a mistake. I never got a chance to finish talking with Duo about it last night." he frowned. "I guess that could have contributed to Heero's attitude.... certainly would explain Duo's." he concluded.
Trowa looked toward his two friends. "I cannot deny that Heero owes us some sort of an explanation for his actions. He has apparently already started to work things out with Duo. It's a step in the right direction."
"Right.... but until that happens, Trowa, he is not welcome here. I cannot forgive him for what he did to Duo and how it affected the four of us." Quatre told them. "He hasn't even offered an apology."
Wufei and Trowa solemnly nodded in agreement.
"In the meantime, Quatre.." Trowa began, "You need to be a little more sensitive when you are dealing with Duo.... especially now."
Quatre acknowledged his lovers reprimand with downcast eyes and a small nod.
+++++++
Throwing himself down onto his bed, Duo folded his arms and placed them behind his head; sighing heavily. "This is *not* the way this was supposed to work out." he spoke aloud.
:: heero just got here....... and he's gone already ::
His eyes closed as he recalled the intense pain he felt as he watched the cab pull away, taking Heero with it. He acknowledged that Heero's leaving was the best way to diffuse the mounting tension amongst the five; removing the cause in an effort to contain the potentially explosive situation.
"Geezus... I understand that they think they are trying to protect me, but it's gotten *WAY* out of hand. It's AC201 for godssake... I'm friggen 21 years old!! Don't they have *any* confidence in my decisions? And why should I even care what the hell they think?" Shaking his head from side to side, Duo came to a seated position in the center of his bed. He had no intention of letting any of them stand in the way of healing his relationship with Heero; not at any cost.
Noting it was only 6:15, Duo rose and made his way downstairs to join the others for their evening meal.
++++++++
The three were suprised as Duo entered the room and Quatre waited until he had served himself dinner before offering the braided young man a pseudo-apology.
"Duo..." Quatre started once he had his attention, "I'm sorry if anything I said earlier hurt you in any way. I can assure you that it wasn't my intention." Pausing to see if Duo would respond, Quatre noted the lack of emotion on Duo's face, continuing nonetheless. "It doesn't change the fact that Heero is not welcome here."
"If you are trying to provoke me again, Quatre, it's not going to work." Duo replied sharply, refocusing his attention on his meal. "What I decide to do regarding Heero is nobody's damn business but mine and I'd appreciate it if this is the last time any of you bring this up in my presence. Understood?" he asked, looking up at each one of them.
"Good." he snapped.
Dinner continued in silence.
|