See first part for warnings.
BATTERED – PART 4
After the shower, Trowa helped Duo get dressed, forcing his hands not to linger as he pulled the sweatpants up Duo’s legs, careful of the wounds. Without asking permission, he picked the smaller man up and carried him to the kitchen, setting him up on the counter. When he risked a glance at Duo, he found wide blueviolet eyes watching him intently.
Terrified he had pushed Duo farther than the other man had been ready for, he debated on bringing up the subject or letting Duo talk first. Finally the quiet got to be too much, making him ask as he was rewrapping Duo’s wrist, “Do you hate me?”
The shock on Duo’s face was immediate and obvious. “Why would I hate you? Trowa, you just made me feel better than I have in a very long time, and not just from the…uh…favor you did.”
Keeping his voice calm was harder than he had ever expected. Not wanting to show his shock at the admission, Trowa lingered over the bandages on Duo’s chest, wishing it wasn’t so easy to linger, “Will you explain that? I’m sure you and Heero have…” he trailed off, not wanting to think about the couple in bed.
Duo’s skin got hot under his fingers and he glanced up to see that the American’s face had turned red, contrasting greatly with the white towel wrapped around the long hair. “I haven’t been able to…um…enjoy anything that Heero and I did for over a year. It was never about me.”
“You mean he forced you even if you didn’t want to?” Trowa was unable to keep the disgust out of his voice.
Obviously uncomfortable, Duo shrugged, “It was easier if I didn’t fight him, and a great deal less painful.”
Sorting through the wash of emotions, Trowa remained quiet until after he had gotten all of Duo’s wounds bandaged. The braided man squeaked in surprise as he was suddenly picked up and moved to one of the chairs that were arranged around the kitchen table. Trowa carefully unwrapped the towel, allowing Duo’s hair to fall around the other man. “Can you do this, or do you want some help?” he asked, holding up a brush and a piece of ribbon.
Raising his eyebrows, Duo smiled wickedly, “I never figured you for the ribbon type, Tro.”
He knew his face was red but kept his eyes level. “It matches your eyes,” he commented off-handedly, not wanting to admit that that was why he had bought the spool of satin ribbon in the first place. “I’ve had it for some time. Just one of those things you pick up on a whim.”
Instead of answering the original question or asking any of the ones Trowa could see in his eyes, Duo turned his head decisively, allowing Trowa to brush it his hair. Trowa took up the brush and started at the bottom, working out the tangles that had formed during the day. At some point, Duo must have lost his own ponytail holder, for when Trowa had found him in the garage the long hair was unraveled halfway up from the bottom.
For a while, there was no sound in the room other than their breathing and the rasp of the brush as it ran through the long locks. It was a comfortable silence, one that Trowa felt no need to interrupt with idle chatter. The way Duo relaxed under his hands was enough to keep him quiet, not wanting to say or do anything to upset the other man. It was, obviously, much too early to ask Duo about the abusive relationship that he had just escaped from.
He had managed to get all the tangles out and was just running the brush through when Duo gave a strange half-laugh, half-sob. Concerned, Trowa set the brush down and pulled Duo close, holding him loosely enough so Duo could escape if he felt the need. “Want to talk about it?”
“My hair was one of the things that Heero hated and the only thing I ever defied him about. He told me to cut it so many times, not liking the attention it got, or the attention that I paid to it to keep it in good shape.”
It was something Trowa had wondered about more than once. Duo’s hair was beautiful, getting attention from both male and female while braided. At first it appeared to be an even chestnut, but when the light hit it, you could find streaks of red, gold, blonde, and even some black that made it as different and original as the man it was attached to. “How did you keep him from cutting it?”
Duo jerked in his arms, telling him that Heero had attempted to do such a thing at least once, and probably more than that. “I told him that if he cut my hair, I’d go to the media and tell them exactly what he’d been doing. It wouldn’t do for Relena Dorlian’s head of security to be mixed-up in a scandal.”
“I have to say that was brilliant. I never would have thought of that,” Trowa smiled when Duo spun his head to stare. “It was a good threat.”
Some of the wariness that had lurked in Duo’s eyes faded with the compliment and the honesty with which it was given. After offering a small but pleased smile, Duo resumed his former position, letting Trowa pick the brush up once again. Since Duo had been the first to break the silence, Trowa asked, “Do you know what you’re going to do now?”
“I haven’t really given it a lot of thought yet. I guess I need to start looking for an apartment or somewhere to live.”
“You can stay here as long as you like. There’s no rush, Duo.” Needing a better argument than he wanted Duo to stay, he added, “You can stay until we’re sure that Heero won’t bother you. You can’t work for a while with your arm, and I plan on going to work with you for at least a week or so once you return. If there are any problems I can stay longer.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask, I offered. The store can run without me. It might run better than it does if I’m there, honestly,” Trowa added ruefully, getting a small laugh. “Well, it might. Cathy knows what she’s doing and tells me all the time that I need to stay away more. Of course when I get back, the entire store might be totally rearranged to her specifications, but it’ll probably work better.”
As he was separating the hair into three parts to begin braiding, Duo commented, “I don’t think I ever got a chance to tell you how much I liked the store, Trowa. I always thought it was a really good idea.”
Extremely pleased by the compliment, Trowa smiled. “It was your idea, Duo, don’t you remember?” He laughed at the confused noise from the other man. “During the war we once got stationed near a town that had a large amount of people that couldn’t afford things they needed to live. You had made a comment that it would be nice if there was a place that they could get things they needed by trading in things they found that could be recycled.”
Since the braiding was completed and tied off with the ribbon, Duo turned to blink at him. “So you thought of a way to do that, just from something that I said? Trowa, that’s amazing, but you deserve all the credit for that, not me. You managed to take something that I said and figured out a way for it to work, and work very well.”
Trowa’s store, named Second Chances, had been a success that not even Trowa had anticipated. While he had a number of customers that bought his new items, he also had a large amount of people that would bring in items that they had found that could be refurbished or recycled and traded them for food or clothing. Several articles had been written up in the local and national papers, and Trowa had gotten praise as being a humanitarian. All the while, he had wanted to tell Duo that it had all come about because of an observation he had made years ago.
Now it seemed that Duo didn’t want any of the credit, and it was not the time to confess that part of the proceeds went to the orphanages and schools in the area because Trowa had thought that Duo would approve of the move. “Did you know that we’re getting ready to open two more stores? One on the other side of town and one about an hour away.”
“That’s great, Trowa,” Duo enthused as the tall man moved around the bar to get out the hamburger. “I knew it would be a success when you opened up, but I never could have imagined that it would do so well.”
Shrugging off the compliment, Trowa put the patties into the pan, and then slid some fries into the deep-fryer. “Maybe now you can work with me sometime. I’d like for you to see everything we do there.”
“I’d really like that. Are you sure Cathy wouldn’t mind me being in the way?”
For a moment, Trowa let himself recall the red-haired woman’s reaction when she had convinced Trowa to tell her of Duo and Heero’s relationship. The woman had a deep affection for the braided man, and had always been aware of Trowa’s feelings for him. With a smile, he nodded, “I think she would be thrilled to have you around. She’s always thought of you as a brother. We can call her tomorrow, if you like. I need to tell her that I’ll be taking some time off, anyways.”
Expertly flipping the burgers, Trowa was very aware of the silence from the man behind him. Hoping he didn’t say the wrong thing – right now a conversation with Duo was like walking on egg shells that were already cracked – he turned around to regard the man, feeling like a jerk when he saw the tears on Duo’s face.
Setting the pan off the burner, he quickly rounded the island and encircled Duo with his arms. “I don’t mean to push you, Duo. You have to tell me when I’m being an ass.”
“It’s not that. I’ve missed you so much. I’ve really missed getting to talk to you, Trowa. You’ve never pushed me to do anything that I didn’t want to.” Taking a deep breath, Duo looked up at him with a smile, “I really, really missed you.”
To keep from doing something stupid, like kissing the other man, Trowa gave him a quick hug then retreated back to the stove. He kept his back turned when he started to speak, “I missed you, too, Duo. I just wish there had been something that I could do to help you.” Shaking his head, he checked the fries to see if they were done. “The important thing now is that you’re here, and safe.”
“I’m not safe, yet. You know once he figures out where I am, he’ll come for me. Nothing will stop him, Trowa. I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”
Flicking a glance at the clock, Trowa was somewhat surprised to find that it was already after midnight. Crossing to the refrigerator, he took out ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, and anything else he could think of that Duo might want, as well as several pieces of cheese. “We’ll talk about that tomorrow. For now, let’s eat.”