Disclaimers and warnings in first part
ADVANCED RESERVATIONS – PART 16
Two days later, Trowa sat beside the hospital bed that Duo had been confined to since his rescue. They had spent long hours talking, about everything from their pasts to the future that they wanted to share with each other. Trowa had only left his lover’s side for a matter of minutes, and only when he was forced by the staff to leave.
There had been many visitors that had come to see the American, but one person had been conspicuously absent. Duo had not said anything about it, but Trowa could see the disappointment on the heart shaped face he loved so much when a certain Chinese had not shown up. Thinking he knew the reason that Wufei hadn’t visited yet, Trowa made a phone call when he was shoved out of the room by a nurse.
When the phone had been answered, he hadn’t wasted time with pleasantries, “Why haven’t you come to see Duo?”
There was a short pause before the Chinese spoke. “I have been assisting in the interrogation of Jacob Winter. And…I don’t know what to say to him, Trowa. First, I didn’t believe that he was in trouble, then I thought that it was just a stunt, then I…”
“Developed feelings for one of his best friends, on top of everything else,” Trowa supplied for him, trying not to roll his eyes. It was as he suspected, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t frustrating to hear. “And if you decide to continue seeing Car are you going to keep hiding the fact from him, or are you just going to hide from him?”
“I don’t know what to say about it to him. I don’t want to keep anything from him, but after the things I said about him it would be a miracle if he still wanted to be my friend.” Wufei’s tone was defeated and slightly depressed.
“So are you going to come and talk to him, or are you going to make Car lie to one of her oldest friends? They’ve known each other since they were kids, Wufei. You aren’t being fair to either one of them. Stop thinking about yourself, suck it up, and tell him,” Trowa was tired of the pity party, and had every intention of stopping it now.
“What if he hates me?”
He couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out at the thought of his lover hating anyone without a very good reason, let alone the possibility that he could hate a comrade that fought alongside him in some of the worst conditions imaginable. “This is Duo Maxwell we’re talking about, right? The guy that had us followed after the war to make sure we were happy, remember? Do you really think that he could ever hate you, or any of us?”
There was a long pause that Trowa allowed, hoping Wufei was thinking carefully about what he had just said. Eventually there was a deep sigh that sounded resigned. “Very well, I will be there in about an hour.”
“I’ll let Duo know that you’re going to be here. He’ll be glad to see you, Wufei, no matter what you have to say to him. You are a friend and that means a lot to him,” reassured Trowa, knowing that the Chinese man needed to hear the words.
“It means a lot to me as well,” Wufei said softly, “perhaps more than I had realized.”
Almost an hour later, Trowa was sitting on the edge of Duo’s bed holding his hand when the door opened slowly. Wufei hesitantly stuck his head inside, wearing a smile that was obviously forced, making it look like more of a grimace. “Feel up to having some company?”
Trowa stood, leaning over to give Duo a lingering kiss. “I’m going to go get some real food. I’ll bring you something, love. Any preferences?”
The braided man grinned widely, wincing when it pulled on his split and chapped lips, still healing from his ordeal. While Duo hadn’t been hurt fatally, he had been beaten pretty badly, making the American more sore and stiff than anything else. The worst of his injuries were his broken wrist and the cuts that had been made by the restraints he had worn for almost six days, and the emotional anguish he had suffered while worrying for Trowa. “Anything is better than hospital food, Trowa. I would love to have a milkshake, though,” he offered hopefully.
The tall man grinned in response, his visible green eye shining in humor. “I’ll see what I can do.” With one last quick kiss and a reassuring pat on Wufei’s back he left the room, exiting the hospital.
He forced himself to stay away for over an hour, trying to give time for the two men to settle any problems. He was just passing through the waiting area on his way back to Duo’s room when he heard a very familiar and very unwanted voice behind him, calling his name.
Turning slowly, his eyes fell on his former lover and one of the last people he wanted to see right now. The blond was at the other side of the room, his blue eyes pleading and a contrite expression on his face. “What do you want, Quatre?” his tone was cold, making the Arabian wince slightly.
“I wanted to apologize to you, Trowa.”
“For what exactly did you want to apologize for? Lying to me, cheating on me, going behind my back to rearrange my career, or for treating me like an idiot? I’m all ears, really.” Quatre’s head fell and Trowa felt guilty for a moment, pushing it aside when he recalled all of the things that this man had done to him. “If you didn’t want to be with me, you should have said something, Quatre. It hurt to learn that you had manipulated my life for so long. When did you lose all respect for me?”
The blonde’s head shot up at the last sentence, his face confused. “I never lost respect for you, Trowa. You just …changed. You weren’t the person you had been during the war. You were so independent and strong back then.”
Trowa stepped forward, obviously angry at the explanation, quickly setting the food bag and drink that he carried down so he wouldn’t crush them. “You were the one that changed me. Nothing I did was right, or good enough for your expectations. You wanted me to obey the rules of your family, not even letting me choose my own food, stating I wasn’t able to take care of myself. You forced me to be something I didn’t want to be, and then got rid of me because I finally gave up trying to be myself.”
“Do you think there will ever be another chance for us to be friends?” Quatre asked after a long pause.
Trowa thought about it for several minutes before he nodded slowly. “Possibly. If I know Duo, he’ll encourage it. I might forgive you in time, but I will never be able to forget how you treated me like a possession instead of a person.”
With a sigh, Quatre perched on the edge of a chair, looking closely at the former Heavyarms pilot. “Is he good to you?”
He couldn’t stop the smile that formed on his face as he took a seat, thoughts of his lover flitting through his mind. It would be good to get this entire issue out in the open now, hopefully beginning the healing process for both of them. He knew Duo would be happy with his effort, and that pushed him forward. “He is good to me, and for me. I enjoy being with him more than I can express.”
“You still love him.”
While it wasn’t a question, he nodded, “More now than ever. In the last few days I realized how much he really means to me. I won’t lose him, not ever again. It was too close for comfort this time. We found a journal in the house. Winter had planned to kill Duo the night we rescued him. He was going to send me a picture of Duo after he had killed him.” The knowledge of that intended act still sent a shiver of horror through him.
“I am happy for you, Trowa. And I am sorrier than I could ever express for the things that I did. Looking back, I can see what I did was wrong, but I placed all the blame on you.” Trowa remained silent, agreeing with what the blond said whole-heartedly. “Can I …could I…do you think…can I see Duo for a few minutes? I want to apologize to him for the way I acted about this whole thing.”
“I’m sure he would like that,” Trowa rose; grabbing the food and drink he had bought while he was out. Duo’s milkshake was more than likely melted by now, but it would still be enjoyed.
Knocking before entering the room, Trowa had to smile at the scene that met his eyes. Wufei was sitting on the edge of the bed, much as Trowa had been earlier, and the two men were watching him enter the room with amused expressions. When they realized who was following Trowa, Wufei frowned while Duo sent Trowa a questioning look. “Someone came to see how you were doing,” he stated, nodding to let his love know that everything was okay. “How is everything between the two of you?” Trowa noticed both men had red eyes, but didn’t comment on it.
“We’re good,” Duo enthused. “Wufei promised to let me be the best man at his wedding.”
“I promised no such thing,” the Chinese snorted with mock disdain, ebony orbs glittering with pleasure.
“So can Trowa be the best man? I’ll be the maid of honor,” the suggestion sent Duo into peals of laughter when Wufei turned a bright crimson.
Trowa couldn’t stop his amusement at Duo’s antics. He pulled the tray over to the side of the bed, setting out the food he had brought for the braided man. “I don’t think you have the right equipment to be the maid of honor, love. You might be overqualified for such a position.”
“Then what position would you suggest?”
His faced turned bright red at the words, his mind automatically supplying several positions he wanted Duo to be in. Wufei took one look at him and burst out laughing, throwing his head back. Even Quatre was smiling at his embarrassment. With a smirk, he leaned close to Duo’s ear, “I’ll pay you back for that one once we get home, several times, in many different positions,” he whispered for his lover’s ears only.
Looking down Duo’s body, he could see the reaction his words had and quickly moved the tray to cover the growing lump in the sheets. His movement wasn’t missed, though, bringing on a fresh round of humor.
It was over an hour later that Quatre and Wufei took their leave. The four had spent the time joking around and talking over plans for the near future. Wufei was much more relaxed than he had been before, the talk he had had with Duo obviously helping him work through the issues he had. Quatre had made a concentrated attempt to mend the rift he had placed between them all, telling the others he would try harder to stay in touch.
Duo had worked his way through the two hamburgers, fries, and milkshake Trowa had brought him, and was yawning widely by the time the other men left. The medicine in his IV and recovering from the ordeal conspired to make him more easily tired than before. He argued briefly with Trowa about resting, finally giving in when the taller man agreed to lay down with him.
After several minutes of shifting around to get comfortable, they finally settled with Trowa lying flat on his back, Duo practically draped over him. Inhaling deeply, Trowa closed his eyes and wrapped his arm around the American to hold him as close as possible. He was almost asleep when Duo spoke. “Did you and Quatre work things out?”
“Not completely, but I think he finally understands that the things he did were wrong,” Trowa had explained everything to Duo the day before, wanting his lover to know what had occurred between him and his former lover. “It will take time, Duo.”
“As long as you spend that time with me, I’m okay with it.”
Smiling, Trowa placed a kiss on the top of Duo’s head. “I’m not going anywhere, not for a long time.”