See first part for warnings.
Less than half an hour later, Quatre and Wufei stormed the house, laden with bags and boxes. Trowa took one look at Duo’s horrified expression and burst out laughing. As the couple went back to Wufei’s truck to get another load, Trowa hurriedly went to Duo. “All of this is for me?” the long-haired man asked, apparently overwhelmed.
“There would have been more, but Wufei talked Quatre out of going to the toy store.” Seeing the humiliation that began to creep into Duo’s eyes, he sat down on the couch and took Duo’s hand, pressing his lips to Duo’s temple, “Quatre wanted to do something to help you. This was the only thing that he could do and he went a little overboard. Let him do this. He’s felt helpless since we found you.”
Duo nodded once and rested his head on Trowa’s shoulder. Trowa, in turn, leaned his head on top of Duo’s for a moment, not missing the approving glances Quatre and Wufei sent them when they came back in. It didn’t take long for Quatre to have Duo sitting in the floor on an oversized cushion. Duo, like everyone else, was swept along with the blonde’s enthusiasm, digging into bags to see what was inside. Once he looked up at Trowa and grinned, “I guess this is what a normal kid feels like at Christmas.”
Realizing Heero had neglected even the holidays as well as mistreating Duo had Trowa’s throat closing up. In order to escape for a moment, he fled to the kitchen with the excuse of getting some refreshments, as it appeared it would be some time before Quatre was finished with Duo. As he was preparing tea for Wufei and Quatre, Wufei entered the room behind him but remained silent.
Knowing that the caramel-skinned man had something to say, he tried to delay the inevitable. “Did Heero call you this morning?”
“Saying that Duo had left while he was at work?” Wufei replied without humor. “You realize that he was establishing that Duo ran away so if his body showed up there would be no way to blame him. I suppose after not being able to find Duo for two weeks he figures that someone finished the job he started.”
“It had occurred to me. He even cleaned out their bank account to make it look like Duo had done it.”
“We’ll get the money back if Duo needs it.”
“Apparently, he doesn’t.” Trowa related what Duo had told him of the separate accounts, earning a chuckle from the other man.
“Heero’s not going to be happy when he realizes Duo deceived him.”
“That occurred to me, as well, Wufei,” he stated, trying to keep the irritation from his tone. “He’s going to stay with me until I’m a hundred percent positive that he’s safe.”
“Why don’t you just tell him you want him to stay permanently?”
“He’s not ready, Wufei. Not for what I want. It’s only been a few weeks since he managed to get away from Heero. I’m not going to pressure him just because I need him.”
“It’s not wise to keep the decision from him, Trowa. There has been someone controlling his life long enough already. That’s exactly what you’re doing, just in a different way. It doesn’t make it any better that you’re doing it for his sake and not your own.”
Fuming at the unsolicited advice, Trowa carefully poured juice into a glass for himself and retrieved a soda for Duo. He didn’t appreciate being compared to Heero in any way, and it was only made worse that he had already had the same thoughts. Shoving his anger down, he took a tray with their drinks and began to move into the living room, stopping when Wufei took his arm. After the other man studied his face for a moment, he nodded, “You already recognized that you are being unfair to him.”
“It doesn’t make things any easier, Wufei. I already planned to talk to him, but I wanted to wait a while. I know I can’t wait any longer.” Moving into the living room, he put his frustration aside, knowing that Duo would be able to see it.
For over an hour he took part in the conversation, smiling easily as Duo tried on several outfits at Quatre’s insistence, with the excuse that he wanted to make sure everything fit. At first Trowa was stiff and formal with Wufei, but that soon passed due to years of friendship. By the time the couple left, he and Wufei were at ease with each other again.
After saying their goodbyes and closing the door behind the pair, Trowa turned to look at Duo, still sitting in the middle of a pile of clothing and accessories. The long-haired man stared at the items for several long seconds before turning to Trowa, “What am I supposed to do with all of this?”
“The useful thing is wear them in some combination,” Trowa teased, “though you can always stay in my things if you want. I like you wearing them.” Leaning over he peeked in one of the undisturbed bags, “Is there anything else that you need?”
“I don’t think so. They got shoes, socks, pants, shirts, shorts, boxers, and there are bags that I haven’t even looked in yet. Where’re we gonna put all of this?”
“You decide what you want to wear today and I’ll start putting this stuff up. I can easily make some room in our- your room.” Trowa winced at the slip. His hope that Duo wouldn’t notice the mistake was dashed by the other man’s sudden stillness. “I’ll take some of these back now,” he grabbed a few bags and left the room without looking back.
In the room Duo had been using, Trowa berated himself harshly as he shoved things around in the dresser, then the closet. “Idiot. He doesn’t need to deal with this right now and you go and say something like that. I bet he thinks I want to use him or something.”
“If you were going to, you would have already.”
Jerking up at the sudden voice, Trowa banged his head on the shelf and sat on the floor, dizzy. After a second he cautiously looked at the doorway where Duo leaned on the frame so he could keep weight off his ankle, which still pained him. Cursing himself mentally, Trowa rose slowly and moved across the room to pick Duo up and set him on the bed. Without a word, he returned to the closet, rubbing the knot forming on his head.
He was shoving hangars to one side when Duo’s voice, soft and pleading, reached him. “Please talk to me, Trowa.”
“You aren’t ready for this.”
There was more than a hint of anger in Duo’s tone when he spoke, “I’ve let someone else make all the decisions for me for a long time. I don’t intend to do it anymore. I can’t make a decision unless I have all the information. So talk.”
With a sigh of resignation, Trowa moved out of the closet and leaned his hip on the dresser. There were numerous things he could have said, but what came out was a very frustrated, “Dammit, I’m in love with you!”
As soon as he said the words he slammed his mouth shut. It was impossible to say which of them was more shocked by his admission and he quickly backpedaled. “That didn’t come out right,” he groaned, rubbing his face.
“You mean you aren’t in love with me?”
The soft query had him taking a careful look at the other man. There was shock present on Duo’s face, yes, but there was also curiosity. If Trowa had seen anything else he would have lied and not felt a qualm about it. Instead, he sat beside Duo and took his hand, smiling as their fingers twined together. “I don’t like touching casually, or being touched,” he noted, staring at their hands, “but with you I crave it. I’m in love with you, Duo. I have been for a long time, but this wasn’t how I planned to tell you.”
“That’s what you meant in the shower,” Duo spoke carefully, as if measuring his words and trying to decide how he felt about it.
“Yeah, that’s what I meant. I don’t want anything from you. It’s too soon and I know that. Just give it some thought, okay?”
He tried to stand, stopping when Duo’s fingers retained their grip. Seeing the pain on Duo’s face, he hastened to reassure, “What I feel is free and comes with no obligation, so stop worrying.”
Shaking his head, Duo met his eyes, “I care about you, Trowa, a lot. I trust you more than anyone else. I thought I knew what love was once, but I didn’t. I need to figure out how I feel, really feel, before I can tell you more than that.”
“For now that’s more than enough, and it’s more than I ever expected. You get dressed and I’ll go get some more bags,” he forced a smile as he moved away.
He was in the hallway when he heard Duo speak again, “I promise I’ll think about it.”
Ruthlessly, he squashed the hope that tried to form and went about his self-designated task. For now that was enough, and he had to accept that it might be all he ever got.