Fire in the Hole Part 15
Some time later, when Duo's sobs had been reduced to sniffles and the occasional cough, and Quatre had convinced him to drink some water and was satisfied that he wasn't actually hysterical, his phone chirped.
He flipped it open. "Yes?" he answered distractedly.
"Quatre, what's going on up there?" It was Trowa.
Quatre sighed. He should have told Trowa sooner; maybe things wouldn't have taken this path. "A mess, Trowa," he sighed. "And I'm afraid it's my fault."
"Your fault? Why -? Forget that; never mind; that is the least of my concern now. Heero was down here a few minutes ago and beat the shit out of Wufei. The techs and I just finished tending to him. Is Duo all right?"
He glanced at the longhaired boy who stared blankly out the window, seemingly oblivious to Quatre's conversation. "Yes and no. What about on your end?"
"Is Heero with you?! Are you all right?!" Trowa's voice tensed with alarm.
"No, no, I'm fine. Just... just come up here, to Duo's room. And what about... you know..."
"Wufei? He'll be okay. It looked a lot worse than it really is." His voice dropped, as if to avoid being overheard on his end. "The thing is, he barely fought back, according to the tech who saw it. That's not like Wufei."
"No... Just come quickly. And use the front stairs; I think Heero's in the kitchen."
Trowa was at the door three minutes later.
Duo's eyes were closed, but he was crying silently, tears trickling slowly down his cheeks.
Trowa hugged Quatre tightly. "What is going on? Is Duo all right?"
"No..." replied Quatre sadly. He drew Trowa across the room to the balcony and closed the doors behind them.
"I've done an awful thing, Trowa." He looked up into his lover's eyes. Trowa would be upset; he often chided Quatre on his relentless efforts to make things right for everyone around him. He sighed and began, keeping his report concise.
"I thought I could tweak Heero into admitting his love for Duo if it seemed someone else was interested in him. I... um, I sorta talked Wufei into pretending that he was interested. It seemed to be working. Heero was getting more wound up; I was sure he was going to just snatch Duo up and carry him away any moment." He hung his head miserably as Trowa listened silently. "And then last night and again this morning Wufei, um, forced himself on Duo. Duo told me about it; Heero must have been listening at the door."
Trowa let out a long sigh. "A dangerous game..." he muttered to himself.
"I'm so ashamed of myself," Quatre whispered. "I only wanted to help... I never in a million years dreamed that Wufei would do something like that. Oh, I've made a horrible mess! Everyone is angry and frightened. Oh!" he gasped, looking at Trowa. "Oh, I've ruined our team! They'll never trust one another again! And no one will trust me at all..." He wiped at his eyes. "Trowa, do you hate me?"
Trowa blinked, then raised one eyebrow. "Of course not, my little one! You had the best of intentions." He laid his arms around Quatre hugging him close. "But it's dangerous to play games with Heero."
"I know," Quatre sighed against Trowa's chest. "But I thought I could do it."
"How is Duo taking it?"
"He didn't know anything about it. It was just between me and Wufei."
"Oh. Oh, dear..."
"I fucked up, didn't I?"
Trowa squeezed him tighter. "Very possibly... But let's not borrow trouble."
Quatre giggled nervously. "I don't need to borrow any; I've made plenty of my own this time! Oh, they're all going to kill me!"
"Not necessarily," said Trowa thoughtfully, glancing through the doors at Duo curled on the bed, still crying. "We'll do some stagecraft and some sleight of hand and talk to everyone individually, and we may be able to pull off a miracle."
"A miracle? How?" His sapphire eyes were so lovely, filled with hope as they were, that Trowa wanted to scoop him up and ravish him, and forget all about the rest of the team. But that was where discipline came in.
"The only one who knows the plan is Wufei. Wufei assaulted Duo. Heero beat Wufei up. Wufei should have fought back but he didn't. Let's find out why." He paused for a moment as Quatre hugged him in relief. "First we'll give Duo a change of scenery. That turret room on the third floor; it only needs airing and linens on the bed. How do you feel about giving it to Duo, so he won't have to deal with either of them for a day or two?"
Quatre hesitated for only a moment. "It hasn't been used in years, but yes, it's cleaned and aired regularly... Okay, that's a wonderful idea!" he cried in relief. "I knew you'd know how to fix everything."
Trowa turned Quatre in his arms so that he could squeeze his ribs and nibble at the back of his neck. "Let's wait and see how it comes out before you credit me with wisdom. Why don't you fix him something to eat and I'll take care of the room. Then we'll move him up there, and tackle Wufei."
"What about Heero? I had a time getting him out of the room. He's not going to stay away for long."
"I'll take care of him."
~*~
Trowa stood watching from the doorway as Duo turned away from the tray. He had eaten most of the soup Quatre brought and nibbled at the crackers, but his spirit seemed as bleak as a desert. He drew his knees up against his chest and bent his head, huddling in on himself under the blanket. He might have been crying again.
"Duo," he murmured gently, coming to lay a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's time for a scenery change."
"Hmm..?"
Trowa set the tray aside and gathered Duo into his arms. "I hope you won't be angry with Quatre, but he told me what happened with Wufei and with Heero. We've taken it upon ourselves to give you privacy from both of them until you're feeling better." He settled the confused pilot in his arms, the blanket barely covering his naked body.
"But... the bedrooms..."
"A special room for the God of Death," Trowa said with a faint smile. Duo still wasn't tracking well. Not unexpected; he had been quite sick and the emotional upheavals of the past twenty-four hours hadn't helped. "There is a room on the third floor. It's usually closed, but Quatre and I decided that your need is more important. Don't argue."
"...Okay..." Duo turned his head against Trowa's chest, not really caring what was going on, as long as it didn't require thought or effort on his part. He drifted back to sleep as Trowa carried him.
TBC...
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