Author: Lady Nagisa
Rating: NC-17
Category: Yaoi, Angst, Lemon, possibly some Sap, General OOC warning
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4?
Spoilers: Thinly veiled references... some mention of Quatre's doings
Feedback: Ah... yes! Please... I'd so much appreciate it.
Warnings: Some parts of this were written when I was in an extremely down mood. I decided to examine some of my own demons and the writing reflects it! Ah... it's a yaoi... (of course ^_~)... I have to have a yaoi flavor to all my stuff... Could get sappy if the mood hits just right! And as always... a general OOC warning... just in case!
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all of its characters are © Bandai, Sunrise, and Sotsou Agencies, respectively. Extra characters are mine. This is not for profit, it is purely for entertainment only. Don't sue... I don't have anything to give you!
Second Chances Part 1
Quatre sighed and sat back in his chair. He'd finally gotten through all the paperwork needed to go ahead with the opening of the "Winner-Hart Survivors Foundation". He'd come up with the idea for this project in early AC 197, realizing that there were many survivors of the conflicts that desperately needed help. Citizens, to learn to live beyond the horror of what had gone on around them and soldiers, who needed help getting adjusted to living in peace. There had been nothing to aid them.
His other project, which had been to locate the thousands of war orphans and place them in stable, safe homes, had taken off quickly. This one had taken much more time.
His company, although extremely wealthy, couldn't fund a project of this size alone. He'd partnered with Silas Hart, of Hart Industries, and found several financial backers. Once construction was underway, reliable staff had to be located. It was now 3 May 199 and the center would open in one week. It had been a long road but they'd finally made it.
He pulled a list of numbers up on the computer. Most of the invitations to the opening were being handled by his secretary, but he had a few he wanted to do personally. Although, he'd tried to keep track of the other four pilots over the last couple of years, he hadn't seen them since January of 197. He'd made attempts, early on, to get them all together, but they had refused for some reason of another. He was hoping that this time they wouldn't refuse.
The phone on his desk started to beep. Sighing, he reached for it, at this rate he wasn't going to get out of the office at a decent hour, again today. Hitting the intercom button, he spoke. "What is it, Anne?"
"Pardon me, Mr. Winner, but Brenna's on the line for you." His secretary replied to his curt response.
He groaned lightly, and here was another minor problem. "Fine, put her through."
"Quatre?" A bright voice spoke over the phone. "Quatre! What are you still doing there? I though you were leaving early today?"
"I had planned to. If you thought I wouldn't be here then why are you calling? Wouldn't it have made more sense to try the estate?" He replied irritably.
"Yes. And I did. You weren't there. Anyway, father wanted to know if you'd join us for dinner tonight. He wants to go over some last minute details with you. And you and I need to go over some stuff to."
"Well... fine, Brenna." Damn! He wasn't going to get his calls made tonight either. "What time?"
"He said to meet us at Le Fountain Bleu, at seven." She replied.
Quatre glanced down at his watch, 5:30 now. "Yeah. Fine... I might be a few minutes late, though. You didn't exactly give me much time."
She laughed. "Aa, it's all right. I'll let father know."
"All right. Bye!" He said.
"Bye, Quatre."
Hanging up the phone, he hit the intercom button again. "Anne?"
"Yes?"
"Could you call my car for me, please."
"Yes. I'll have it sent right around."
"Thank-you. Oh and Anne, if anyone else calls for me, I've left for the day."
"Yes, Mr. Winner."
Running his fingers through his blonde hair, he wondered just how he'd ended up here anyway. He never wanted control of this company but his sisters had talked him into it. Pointing out to him all the good that Winner Corp. could do to help the war ravaged colonies get back on their feet. So, after much pleading and arguing, on the part of most of his sisters, he had reluctantly taken up the reigns of his father's company. Leaving several of the girls is charge of the business dealing with the Winner's resource satellites, he focused on new business deals and projects dealing with the economy of the colonies. Focusing a lot of energy toward the L2 colony cluster, knowing that it had been the worst hit. That was one of the reasons that L2 was chosen as the site for the center.
Then there was Brenna Hart. He had approached Silas Hart, from the L1 colonies, two years ago, about partnering him on the project and the older man had readily agreed. Not at all put off by the idea of doing business with a seventeen-year-old.
Silas' sixteen-year-old daughter, Brenna, had been immediately taken with the blonde and preceded to appear wherever she thought Quatre might be. Quatre had found her amusing, his sisters had not. By the time he had turned eighteen, they were pressing him to find a wife. He had rebelled full force for a while, not even sure why he was so against the idea. When he did figure out why, he also realized that there wasn't much hope for him. So, he resigned himself to the fact that his sisters were probably right. Brenna was a decent match. She was young, healthy, came from a good family and they got along reasonably well. So, deciding that he'd never have the person he truly cared for, he proposed to Hart's daughter. She had joyously accepted.
"Mr. Winner? Your car is waiting out front." Anne's voice came over the intercom.
"Oh! Thank-you." He answered, picking up his coat and briefcase.
He stopped at his secretary's desk on the way out. "Anne, have you got my flight to L2 booked for Wednesday?"
"Yes. You're to leave from 489-62B at six a.m.. You can pick up your ticket when you get to the shuttle port."
"Thanks, Anne." He smiled, his blue eyes sparkling. "What would I ever do without you?"
She blushed. "Probably sink into a deep pit of chaos from which there'd be no escape."
"Ah... yes!" He laughed. "Good night, Anne."
"Good night, Mr. Winner." She answered. Watching him walk out the door, she shook her head. He was such a handsome man when he smiled, but he so very rarely smiled. She didn't know what had taken away the fire and passion that he'd been so famous for during the war. One thing that she did know was that young Brenna was not the person for him. As nice as the girl was, she didn't ignite any spark in the young man. Anne desperately hoped that he'd realize that before he went ahead and married the girl.
~*~
Quatre smiled to himself as he hung up the phone. This had turned out better than he'd expected. He had decided, this morning, that since he'd be leaving tomorrow, to take the day off. Get his calls made and get things ready for the trip. He'd managed to talk his way out of lunch with Brenna. She'd wanted to work on plans for the wedding. He told her that he wasn't very good at those sorts of things, for her to go ahead and do what she wanted. She'd been unhappy about it but had agreed to proceed without him.
This morning, he'd locked himself in his library, with a carafe of coffee, and started to track down his old acquaintances. Out of everyone he'd contacted: Zechs and Noin, had said they'd try to make it. Lady Une would definitely be there. Although she had worked hard with Mariemeia, she thought that the girl would be a good candidate for treatment at the center. She took her guardianship of Treize's daughter very seriously. Sally and Wufei, was a split camp. Sally was going to come but, no amount of pleading had been able to convince Wufei. He flat out refused. Duo had been very enthusiastic about it, being on the colony where the center had been built. Heero had been a bit of a surprise. He had quickly accepted the invitation. The other surprise had been that Heero was with Duo. Quatre had managed to figure out by Duo's excited babbling that the two of them were an item. Trowa, he hadn't talked to. He'd talked to Catharine. She said that she'd relay the message to Trowa but, she didn't think he'd come. Quatre had impressed upon her how important this event was and how much he'd like to see all of them together, once more. Catharine told him. She'd try.
He finished his coffee and left the library to pack. Then maybe he could spend the rest of the day actually trying to relax a little. Without having to deal with the company, his sisters, the center or the upcoming wedding to Brenna.
~*~
"Quatre! Would you relax a little!" Brenna scolded as she straightened his tie for him. "You've been jumpy all day."
"I can't, Brenna. Your father and I have put too much into this center. This opening is too important." He moved away from her hands. "Plus, I'm going to be seeing people I haven't seen in a couple of years."
She sighed and smoothed her skirt. "It's going to me fine. The hard part, which was getting the center built, is over. You've already had a lot of inquiries about admitting patients, including one from one of your old friends. It's going to be fine. This is the easy part." She smiled reassuringly.
Quatre glanced in the mirror, one more time, before taking her arm and leading her out the door. Easy. That would be her feelings about this. He hated these functions. On top of that, this was going to be his first official appearance with Silas Hart's daughter. After this, there would be no going back on the marriage. Not without disgracing her and her family.
~*~
Duo glanced up and elbowed Heero sharply, in the ribs.
"Son of a...!" The cobalt-eyed pilot swore. "What was that for?" He asked, eyeing the long-haired pilot.
Duo gestured toward the stairs. "Uh... I think our Quatre's grown up a bit." Duo chuckled.
Heero looked to where Duo was pointing. Quatre was standing on the landing at the top of the stairs, talking to an older man. He still had the same sapphire blue eyes and golden blonde hair but, he looked more the man now. Having gained a couple of inches in height and lost some of that boyish roundness that had been so misleading during the war. Heero's didn't understand why Duo was so surprised, Quatre's changes really hadn't been much different that the ones they'd all gone through. He watched as Quatre's eyes briefly flickered out over the gathering of people, before turning his attention back to the man beside him. Heero noted that his eyes were sad. They didn't have that light that they used to and that made him look older than his nineteen years.
Turning to Duo, he raised an eyebrow. "I don't see enough to warrant getting jabbed in the ribs over. He's not changed any more than the rest of us."
"Uh-uh." Duo replied. "Keep watching."
Heero turned back to where the two were talking just in time to see a young woman walk up to them and kiss the older man on the cheek.
"Her." Duo whispered.
The girl smiled at Quatre and he offered his arm to her. Heero studied her intently, wondering who she was. She wore her silver blonde hair cut short and styled with a side-sweeping hairstyle, her eyes a clear royal blue. She was a couple of inches shorter that Quatre and very slender, wearing an off the shoulder black gown with white trim that was a perfect match to Quatre's suit.
They looked so much alike that she could be one of his sisters. God knows, Heero hadn't met all of them. She also looked enough like the older man to be his daughter.
Just then, the older man stepped forward and raised his hand to quiet the group of people. "Ladies and Gentleman, I'd like to say a few words and then you can go on with your celebration." The people in the room quieted and turned their attention to the trio standing on the landing, at the top of the stairs. "I'd like to welcome you all to this wonderful occasion tonight. Of course at this point, you all know why we're here, so I don't feel the need to go into that. My name is Silas Hart, I'm one half of the "Winner-Hart Survivors Foundation". As a lot of you know, I was approached, on L1 by Mr. Winner, a little more than two years ago with this idea. I supported the idea of a center to help the war survivors and a chance to become business partners with Winner Corp. Now, I'd like to announce another merger. A month ago, with my blessing, Quatre Winner asked my daughter, Brenna, to become his wife."
He motioned for the young couple to step forward as the crowd applauded them.
Quatre smiled thinly and waved at the group, taking Brenna's hand in his.
Duo leaned in and whispered to Heero. "He doesn't look very happy about the arrangement, does he?"
Heero started and looked over at his lover. "Uh... no... he doesn't" He looked back up at the blonde couple. I don't understand this, he thought to himself. I though Quatre was in love with... Heero's thoughts were cut off as a female form attached herself to his arm.
"Heero!" She bubbled. "I'm so happy to see you! It's been so long."
Heero groaned inwardly. Not long enough if you asked him. "Hello, Relena." He replied, noting Duo's murderous glare, over the top of her head.
"You must come sit with me. I see that you're here alone. You must tell me what you've been up to. I've missed you!" She chattered, excitedly, starting to drag Heero off.
All right! That was enough, Heero thought. He subtly shook his head at Duo and proceeded to peel the annoying girl off his arm. "No, Relena." He said, brusquely. "I'm not here alone." He nodded his head at the violet-eyed American. "I'm with him. He's what I've been up to. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to spend my evening with him. Quietly." He stressed the last word.
Relena stared, first at him, then at Duo, confused. Suddenly, she flushed red, her hand going over her mouth. "Er... I-I see. W-well you t-two have f-fun." She stammered, turning and rushing off into the crowd.
Heero returned to Duo's side and took his hand. For some reason, he suddenly felt very good.
Duo grinned at him. "Well! There's something I thought I'd never see." His violet eyes sparkled, mischievously. "Relena at a loss for words."
Heero's response was to smile quietly and squeeze his lover's hand.
Quatre left Brenna in her father's company and started down the stairs. Halfway down, he spotted Duo and Heero. Heero was saying something to Relena and Duo looked mad enough to kill. Suddenly, Relena turned red, said something and hurried away. Uh-oh, he thought with a small smile. In his usual blunt, tactless way. Keeping the smile on his face, he approached the hand holding pair. "Heero! Duo! I'm so happy you made it." He said. "I wanted so much for all five of us to be here, but it looks like we're it."
Duo hugged the blonde. "Are you kidding? We wouldn't miss this for anything! I'd ask how you've been but," He nodded toward the landing. "It's pretty obvious."
Heero watched, worried, as Quatre glanced at his fiancée. Something flickered in his eyes, briefly, before he responded. "Ah, yes. Brenna. Well, it seems things have worked out well. I got my center built, a powerful business partner, and a wife, all in one package." He looked back at Duo. "It's been going well."
Heero stepped forward and looked into Quatre's troubled blue eyes. "Is it?" He asked, quietly, as he gave the pilot a quick hug.
Quatre looked surprised. "Yeah. It is." He replied quickly. "It's been just fine."
Duo looked back and forth between the two, confused about the exchange. Did Heero know something, he didn't? He was going to have to interrogate the Japanese pilot later.
"Um... look." Quatre gestured at the roomful of people. "Silas and Brenna can handle all this. They're better at it than I am. What do you two say we steal a couple carafes of coffee and sneak off." He shrugged. "I don't even know most of the people here."
Duo chuckled. "Heero doesn't think much of these type of things either." Thinking a moment, he added. "You know, shark-infested waters, and all that." He blinked innocently at his lover, whose glare promised retribution later. "But... do you have anything stronger than coffee?"
This time, Quatre's smile was genuine as he laughed. "I know exactly what you mean. Yeah. I think I can find you something stronger."
Luckily, the center was large. While the gathering was taking place in the vast lobby, the trio hid themselves in one of the cafeterias, away from the noise. Quatre had located a couple decanters of cognac for the couple. Not being one to drink, he brought along the coffee for himself. Settling themselves at one of the tables, they talked about different things. Mostly what Duo and Heero had been doing for the last couple of years. Duo, unable to contain himself any longer, finally brought the subject around to Brenna.
"So," He said, over the top of his glass, his eyes dancing. "Getting married, huh? She's a pretty girl. What's she like?"
Heero rolled his eyes as he saw Quatre stiffen slightly, in the dim room. Leave it to Duo to bring up the one thing that probably would not be a good topic, right now. Fiancée or not, Quatre didn't seem to really want to talk about her. Which just led more weight to proving Heero's theory. The blonde was not marrying out of any great emotion. He had the feeling it was more like another business deal.
Heero poured himself another drink and set the decanter back on the table. Settling back in his chair, he stretched out his slender legs and took a sip from the glass, watching his friend's face carefully.
Quatre ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "She's all right."
"All right!" Duo exclaimed. "Quatre, this is the girl you just announced your engagement to! She's got to be more than all right!"
Quatre gave him kind of a half smile. "Well, you can see that she's pretty. Ah, she comes from a good family, she's well educated, very capable of dealing with these social situations, and she knows this type of business very well."
Duo raised an eyebrow. "You make her sound like something that's for sale. I mean... what's she like? Her personality. What does she like? Things like that. When are we going to meet her?"
Quatre struggled to find a suitable answer. How did he tell his friends about something that he didn't really know? He didn't know her that well. His sisters brought her to his attention, he decided that there was no other path for him to take. So, he'd done what was expected of him. But, for some reason, he didn't want his friends to know that. He looked up to see Heero studying him. He knows! The blonde realized with a jolt. He knows that something's not right with this. He glanced over at Duo, who was watching him with one eyebrow raised in question. Sighing, he shook his head, struggling with the decision of whether or not to open up to his friends.
Duo started when Heero set his glass on the table, leaned forward and took Quatre's hand in one of his. With his other hand he brushed some of the blonde hair away from the Arabian's face. "Quatre? Are you alright? What is it?" He asked quietly.
Quatre looked back up into those worried cobalt depths, then over to see the puzzled look in Duo's violet ones. He knew the American didn't understand. To tell the truth, neither did he. This tender action was so completely unlike the normally cold, unresponsive Japanese pilot. Looking back at Heero, he wondered how he had known. How much did he know? Just exactly what had he figured out? Pulling his hand away, Quatre ran his fingers through his hair again, and stood up.
Heero and Duo watched their friend walk over to the counter and pour himself another coffee with shaking hands. Duo frowned and glanced at Heero. What the hell was going on here? Before he could convey the silent question to his lover, he was stopped by a crash and Heero bolting out of his chair.
The dark-haired pilot moved swiftly to where Quatre was kneeling, picking up the pieces of the shattered cup. He kneeled in front of the blonde and wrapped his arms around him. Holding the other boy tightly, Heero murmured quietly. "Quatre, what are you doing to yourself?"
The Arabian's slender body trembled violently. What am I doing? He thought wildly, his mind whirling. He laughed inside. Why, Heero... I'm killing myself. Can't you see that? He clenched his hands, oblivious to the pieces of broken glass that he was holding.
Duo swore softly, seeing the bright rivulets of blood start to seep from between Quatre's fingers and run down his hands. How had Heero known? He hadn't realized that anything was amiss. He looked at his lover, he didn't realize that Heero was so perceptive, usually that was his talent.
Heero smoothed his hands along Quatre's back, feeling the blonde tremble under his touch. "Quatre." He whispered. "My friend. Open your hands." He felt the blonde's slender form shudder and relax slightly. He looked up at Duo, his cobalt eyes sending a silent message, but the chestnut-haired pilot was already up and moving.
Duo hurried to the kitchen. Glancing around, he grabbed a couple white towels from beside the sink, pausing to dampen one of them under the faucet. He returned to the cafeteria, where Heero and Quatre were still sitting on the floor.
Quatre was now leaning against the cabinets, under the counter, his head back slightly, staring at the ceiling. Heero was sitting, cross legged, beside him, one of the blonde's slender hands in his lap. His dark head was bent, as he removed pieces of the broken cup from Quatre's hand.
The Japanese man glanced up when Duo knelt beside him and handed him the towels. Cobalt eyes met worried violet ones briefly, before he turned and started to clean the blood from Quatre's hand.
The brief look had spoken multitudes between the couple. Heero was worried and that especially concerned Duo. Actions like this were so not like Quatre. To suddenly fall apart, when he was usually so stable. And over something as normal as a question about his fiancée. Heero knew more about it than he did. How, Duo wasn't sure. But, he did and the fact that he was so concerned was enough to almost scare the American. His normally stand-offish lover's attention tot he situation made Duo's concerns even worse. It was as if Heero were afraid that the Arabian would break.
They'd come to a decision in that brief glance. They would not leave their friend alone. However long it took to help him, they would be there with him.
"Heero." Duo touched Heero's arm lightly. "I'll go see if I can find something to bandage with, alright?"
"Hn." Heero replied, not looking up from his task.
"Duo." Quatre finally spoke. "Second floor is the medical facility. You can get what you need there."
"Thanks." Duo smiled at him and headed out the door.
"Duo." Heero walked out the door behind him.
"Yes?"
"I know that you don't know what's going on, but do me a favor, okay?"
"What is it?"
Heero sighed and walked over to his lover. "Trowa is supposed to be here tonight. I talked to him yesterday. Whatever you do, if you see him, don't tell him where Quatre is. And don't tell Quatre, if you do see him."
"But..."
"Aa, I'll explain what I've figured out later." Heero pulled the American forward and kissed him soundly. Pulling away, he brushed his fingers along Duo's cheek. "Trust me. Now, go."
"Alright." Duo replied as Heero disappeared back into the room. He looked around him and decided to take the direction opposite the lobby. He didn't really want to go through all those people."
Heero crossed the room and sat back down beside Quatre. The Arabian was sitting with his eyes closed, his head leaning against the cabinets. Heero picked up the damp towel and started cleaning the blood off of Quatre's other hand, trying to be careful not to start the cuts bleeding again. Finishing, he set the cloths on the counter above them and looked over to find Quatre watching him. The blonde's sapphire eyes were tired and sad.
"Heero. I'm sorry." He started to speak. "I don't know what came over me."
Heero raised an eyebrow. He didn't know? Like Hell he didn't! He just didn't want them to know. Heero wasn't having any of that. Quatre wouldn't allow this if the situations were reversed. He leaned forward and scowled at the Arabian. "The Hell you don't!" He snorted. "Even I have a good idea. Although, Duo doesn't... yet. And if you seriously don't know," He sat back and crossed his arms. "I'll be happy to tell you!"
At these words, Quatre averted his eyes, refusing to respond. Heero shrugged and growled. "Fine! You don't have to talk. At least not tonight."
Quatre's gaze swung back to the dark-haired pilot. What was that supposed to mean? He opened his mouth to speak, but Heero cut him off.
"I might leave you alone about it, for a while. But, do you honestly think that Duo will?"
"Think Duo will what?"
They both looked up to find the violet-eyed American standing in the doorway, several small packages in his hands.
"Leave this alone." Heero answered gruffly.
Duo walked over and sat down beside Heero. Handing him the antiseptic, bandages and gauze, he smiled. "Nice to have you back, Heero. All that touching emotion from you, had me worried." Heero snorted as the long-haired man's gaze fell on the blonde. "And, nope, you know me! Once my curiosity is up... I don't leave anything alone."
"I really wish you would." Quatre replied. "There's nothing anyone can do. It's better just to let it be."
"Hmpf! We'll see about that!" Duo stood up as Heero finished bandaging Quatre's hands. "Now! Is there a back door to this place?"
"Yes." Quatre replied. "Why?"
"Because," Duo helped him to his feet. "We're going to go home. You need to get out of here."
"No! No! I can't!" Quatre shook his head, stepping back. "I'm required to be here."
Heero stepped forward and took the Arabian by the shoulders. "You can." Scowling, he firmly guided Quatre out of the cafeteria. "You will."
Duo gestured at his hands. "Besides, how are you going to explain those?"
Quatre sighed. They were right. He didn't need to face Brenna and her father right now. The other people here wouldn't ask, out of polite respect, but those two, being almost relatives, would want to know what had happened. He didn't feel up to answering questions right now. "Alright. Fine. I'll call Brenna when I get to the hotel. Tell her something." He led the other two to one of the alternate exits.
As they were getting into Heero and Duo's car, Duo flashed Heero a look over the top of the vehicle. Heero nodded slightly before getting into the car and starting the engine.
~*~
Brenna searched the thinning crowd of people. The party was winding down, people were starting to go home and she was hoping that Quatre would escort her home. They'd had so little time alone together. Sighing in frustration, she spotted a dark-haired woman and a man with long blonde hair talking to a young man. Ah, those two are friends of his. Maybe they've seen him.
"Excuse me." She broke in, not paying much attention to the young man. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but... have you seen Quatre? I've been looking for him for over an hour now."
Noin raised an eyebrow at Zechs. "No. I haven't. Have you?" She replied.
"Uh, yes, about four hours ago." Zechs answered. "Last time I saw him, he was talking to Heero and Duo." He looked at the young man. "Did you see him when you came in?"
"No." He responded, his green eyes studying the silver-blonde girl through the shock of brown hair falling across his face. "I've been looking for him also."
Brenna turned and studied him. He was a couple inches taller than Quatre and almost too slender. He looked to be about the same age as Quatre. "Ah, you must be one of the pilots that Quatre fought with." She stated noting, with some satisfaction, the surprised look that came into his tired green eyes.
"Yeah."
"I see. Well, it's nice to meet you, but I really need to find Quatre. Excuse me."
"Wait." He said. "Maybe I can help."
She brushed off his offer. "No. Thank-you. I can do it myself." The last thing she wanted was help from one of the former Gundam pilots. She didn't like the idea of those pilots being around anyway. They were all riffraff as far as she was concerned. Street trash, not from good influential backgrounds, like Quatre and her. And the last people he'd been seen with, were two of these pilots.
He watched the girl walked off, the turned back to Zechs and Noin, his eyebrows raised in question.
"That," Zechs answered, dryly. "Was Quatre's fiancée. Although, how... I can't tell you."
"I think I'll go look for him also." The young man said suddenly.
Noin had noticed a flash of pain in his eyes at Zech's explanation of who the girl was. He's upset by the news that Quatre's getting married! Her mind flashed back over other things she'd seen and heard in the past. I never put it together, she thought to herself. Why, he's in love with Quatre! "Trowa," She called out softly.
He turned back to them. "Yeah?"
"Good luck."
He blinked in surprise, then nodded slightly. "Thanks." He replied, disappearing into the crowd.
Trowa's searching took him around most of the building, but his mind was too busy to notice. Married. Quatre was getting married.
What did you expect? He asked himself. That's he'd come fall at your feet? It's not like you ever told him. Ever let on.
He stood in the darkened hallway, wincing at his own sharp questions. Idiot! He berated himself. It would've done you no good, if you had told him. He'd never want a nameless, homeless bastard , like you anyway.
Closing his eyes, he clenched his fists in agony, not able to stop his thoughts. I should've told him.
It wouldn't have mattered, his inner voice taunted. Without even a name to claim as your own, you're worthless. He could see that.
"Shut up!" He suddenly yelled at the empty hall, slamming his fist into the wall. "Shut up!" He hit the wall again, this time going through the plaster, hitting the stud underneath.
He stood there with his eyes closed, breathing heavily, his fist still in the wall. As his breathing slowed, he stepped back. Why am I even here? He thought bleakly. I knew I shouldn't have come. I have no right to be here. But, he already knew the answer. He couldn't resist the chance to see the blonde again. He wanted to see him one more time.
A muffled cry from one of the rooms caught his attention. He turned and rushed down the hall.
Bursting into the cafeteria, Trowa saw Brenna, and an older man, standing by a counter. She was holding something in her hands. Turning at the sound of his entry, she cried. "You!"
Advancing towards him, he could see that she was holding a towel covered with blood. Before he had a chance to reply, she ran up to him and placed a resounding slap to his cheek.
"Someone hurt him! Now we can't find him!" She spat, her voice full of venom. "The last people he was seen with was two of you pilots!" She raised her hand to slap him again but the man stepped forward and grabbed her arm.
"Brenna." He warned.
"I knew that nothing good would come of people like you being here. Worthless trash! But, he wouldn't have any of it! He had to have his friends here." She ground out the word, friends, with a sneer.
"Brenna! That's enough!" The man spoke sharply. "You're not doing him any good acting like this."
"But... Papa!"
"No! Come on, I'll bet you'll find that he's gone home." He stated firmly. Pulling her towards the door.
They left, leaving Trowa standing in the middle of the cafeteria, alone. He kneeled and picked up the towel that she had dropped. What had happened here? Did Heero and Duo have anything to do with it? Looking around, he spotted the decanters and half empty glasses on a table. He also saw the pieces of the broken cup on the floor, along with scattered bits of paper.
Walking over to the counter, he nudged one of the pieces of paper with his toe. Flipping it over, he could see writing on it. He bent down and picked it up, they were wrappers from medical supplies.
Someone had been injured here. Was it Quatre? Or one of the others? Something close to fear washed over him and he turned and quickly left the room. He had to locate Heero or Duo. Find out what happened. Then, once he knew that Quatre was alright, he would never see him again. Brenna was right about one thing.
People like him were no good. Trash. Nothing good would ever come from him trying to stay near the Arabian. Quatre had his own life.
There was no room for a nameless bastard, like him.
TBC...
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