Warnings and disclaimers in first part
Duo’s guess about the road was wrong, but just barely. Although there were still rough spots, someone had obviously taken time to fill in the worst of the holes, making the drive a bit less jarring than Trowa had expected. As soon as the jeep stopped in front of a barn that had seen better days, several men surrounded the vehicle, armed with assault rifles. One look and he knew they were hired goons, no one Quatre would work with more than once unless he was in dire need. Trowa had wondered how Quatre had convinced the Maguanacs to steal horses; the group held equines in high regard and would never harm one.
Lifting his hands to show he wasn’t armed, Trowa slowly got out of the car. “I just want to talk to your employer.”
“He carries a knife in his boot,” a familiar voice said from behind the jeep. Turning, Trowa faced the blonde as one of the men removed the knife. “You weren’t going to use that on me, were you, Trowa?”
“It never crossed my mind. I just came to talk. You told me where you were so I would come, didn’t you?” Lowering his hands, Trowa followed the blonde when one of the goons gestured with the business end of a rifle. “You wanted me here, didn’t you?” he asked when they entered the dilapidated barn, which looked like a leaf landing on the roof would make it collapse. Trowa scanned the area looking for more men, sighing quietly when he saw none other than the ones that took position at the door.
“I suppose I did want you here. That doesn’t explain why you went to Duo’s house.”
“I was trying to convince him not to come. They’re just horses. Where are they, by the way?”
“Back there,” the blonde gestured toward the back of the barn. “They are quite well, I promise. It isn’t their fault who their owner is.”
Moving quickly, Trowa hurried to the back of the barn, where Evie and Shin were in a stall that had had minor repairs done to it. The stall next to it appeared to have been kicked out by a strong force. Reaching out a hand, he let out a sigh when Evie moved forward; sniffing him before nuzzling her nose against his hand so he would pet her. Obviously, she remembered him. “Did you give her tranquilizers, Quatre?”
“I did not. That would have hurt the baby. It might be the spitting image of that black behemoth, but it is a baby.”
“Where’s the big one?” Trowa wasn’t willing to say the father’s name, not entirely sure Scythe wouldn’t come barreling inside.
“He got out. I assumed he would go back to Duo’s.”
“I didn’t see him. Maybe he was so happy to be free, he took off,” Trowa lied, hoping the blonde hadn’t been informed about Scythe’s return to the farm.
“It’s possible,” Quatre said thoughtfully. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re here, Trowa? Do you expect me to believe you want me back after all the offers I’ve made? I’m not stupid.”
Giving Evie one last scratch, Trowa neared the blonde, leaving at least ten feet of space between them so he could watch the other man and the horses at the same time. “I’ve never thought you were stupid. I said I’d talk to you and we’re talking. There are some questions I’d like to ask you.”
Quatre was visibly intrigued at his attitude and gave the men guarding the door a gesture with his head. “Go keep watch outside. Duo should be here soon. After dark, he’ll be stumbling around blind. It shouldn’t be difficult to find him.”
“Do you want us to kill him?”
“No. I want you to bring him to me. He can be wounded, as long as he’s alive.” When they were alone, Quatre sat on an overturned bucket after brushing it off with a look of disgust on his face. “What did you want to ask me, Trowa?”
“Why have you gone through so much effort to draw Duo out? If you wanted him killed why not simply go into his house and kill him in his sleep?”
“An intelligent question. Surprising, coming from you. Duo’s made a number of inquiries about this land and the buildings on it. It’s common knowledge that he’s come here before to look around. If the barn happens to cave in on him, no one will question his cause of death. Killing him in his home could not be made to look like an accident. Everyone that knows Duo is aware he would never commit suicide.”
“You can’t dispose him as easily as you did Calvin.”
With a sniff, the blond straightened the cuffs of his shirt. Trowa had to swallow bile when he thought of this man as his former lover, confused how he had been so blind. “Calvin was not family. He might have shared the same blood, but no member of my family would be so useless. I was doing the world a favor, Trowa. It’s better off without people like Calvin that have disgusting addictions. He never would have been a functioning member of society.”
“You make it sound like having him killed was the humanitarian thing to do. Did you consider how his friends and family would feel?”
“His family has no knowledge of his death. They assume he’s still wandering the universe, looking for the next client so he can whore himself to get his next fix. I was listed as his next of kin, as I am for most family members. Calvin’s friends were people like him, so who cares what they think?”
“Why have you done everything you can to make Duo’s life hell?”
“I’m not ready to answer that, yet.”
Frowning, Trowa narrowed his eyes. “Did you ever love me, or was our entire relationship one big power-trip to you?”
“How can you say that?” Quatre looked at him, blinking several times with wet blue eyes before smiling slyly. “You were the perfect lover, Trowa. You were good in bed, and I could mold you into what I wanted. It was like having a living, breathing doll that obeyed commands. If you liked a place, I would move us just to see if you would object, which you didn’t. Imagine my shock when you suddenly announced you wanted to end our relationship. Even after you moved into another wing I was able to control everything you did. Without a job or an apartment, you couldn’t leave. I was very unhappy when you decided to go to Heero’s, but it was a blessing in disguise. There was no way I could have been able to come up with a better way to punish Duo for not doing what I wanted. It must have been hell for him to have to see you every day, aware he was in love with you but would never have a chance.”
“That’s why you wanted me to stay with Duo? So you could punish him because he wouldn’t stay off Earth?”
“I didn’t plan on you being there for more than a day or two, three at the most. When I saw a picture of you looking at him, I knew it was too late to get you away, but then I realized it was the perfect situation.” Quatre clapped his hands, laughing lightly, “What could be worse than losing you twice?” The amused expression disappeared, altering into anger, “When I saw you in the bedroom with him that night, I knew you’d want to stay. I had hoped my subtle threats would keep Duo in line.”
“What threats?” Trowa asked warily, recalling Duo speaking of risks.
“Duo didn’t tell you? Wonderful! It really was inspired, just some messages left in the mailbox. Duo never lets anyone else check the mail that comes to his house, in case you didn’t know.”
“What did those messages say?” he asked through clenched teeth, hands fisted at his sides.
“Nothing much. I just gave Duo a few simple reminders that he was more vulnerable than he believed. It wouldn’t be hard to hire an assassin on L2 or for a bomb to be rigged on L5. No one would wonder about a hit and run on a busy city street. If he had let you stay, more than his cows would have been harmed. Trowa, it’s a miracle that truck of yours hasn’t caused you to wreck yet. With brakes that old, it wouldn’t take much for them to give out at the wrong time.”
Now that Trowa understood Duo’s reluctance to let him stay it was one less thing to worry about. With that cleared from his mind, he began to get an idea that would change the way they had viewed everything. “You didn’t do all of this because you wanted Duo away from us. You did this to keep us away from him, didn’t you? You wanted him isolated so he would turn to you for help, but it didn’t happen that way. Instead of wanting you, he turned his back on you.”
Standing, Quatre kicked the bucket he had been sitting on in a show of anger before whirling back to glare at Trowa. “No one’s ever turned me down except Duo. I tried to tell him we would be good together, told him I would give him anything, but he said no. He wanted you instead of me, so I made sure he could never have you. I would have taken care of him and he could have had every pleasure he wanted, but that wasn’t enough.”
“You’ve made Duo’s life hell for ten years because he didn’t want to date you?”
“That was his first insult to me. What made it worse was that I knew he wanted you over me. What could you possibly give him I couldn’t? You had nothing, you came from nowhere. What can you give him now? I’ve made certain you would never have anything, or be considered important, but he wants you. It makes no sense.”
“Love,” Trowa answered simply, lifting his eyebrows when Quatre blinked. “That’s what you could never give him. You don’t know how to love, Quatre. You know how to threaten, intimidate, and control, but not love.”
“I know how to love,” insisted the blonde, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly.
“How? You admit you never cared for me and it’s obvious you have no deep feelings for your own family, so what do you love?”
Quatre frowned at him for a long moment before jutting out his chin, “I love Duo.”
“No, you don’t. You want to have power over him, to control him. If you loved him, you never could have hurt him the way you have.”
“How would you know? You don’t know what love is any more than I do. You never loved me.”
“I cared about you, Quatre, but I didn’t love you, not really. I liked being able to say I wasn’t alone, that I had someone waiting for me at home. I was like a child with a shiny new toy. Like every child, I grew up and tired of my toy when it wasn’t as exciting anymore.”
Triumphantly Quatre smirked, “See? You don’t know what love is.”
“I do now. Love is when the thought of being apart from someone makes you physically ache. Love is the willingness to give up everything if they asked. Love is feeling like you were nothing before you discovered that person and that you would be nothing without them. Love is when you want to give everything without asking for anything in return. I know what love is, Quatre.”
“So where did you learn all of this?”
“Duo. There was a reason I looked at him differently than I did you, Quatre. I love Duo and would do anything for him.”
“Does he feel the same way about you?” blue eyes narrowed at him.
More than a little concerned about how calm the blonde was acting, Trowa hesitated. His main concern was Duo and the animals that had been stolen, which he could see being removed from the stall. Apparently Duo and Heero had pried away some of the rotten boards to free Evie and Shin. “I think he does. I hope he does,” he added once the stall was empty.
“You would willingly die to protect Duo, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes,” Trowa whispered, realizing he had walked into the trap Quatre had set.
“That’s what I was hoping to hear,” Quatre stated calmly as he pulled a small revolver from his pants pocket. “The loss of the horses would be painful for Duo, but nothing will hurt him worse than losing the person he cares for the most. That would be you. He’s always wanted you and that has never changed.”
Stunned by his own foolishness, Trowa growled, “It was me you wanted the whole damn time. You used the horses to get me here.”
“Now you’re beginning to understand. I knew you had feelings for him. It was impossible not to see it when you kissed him. I knew you would come here to try and talk to me. Why else would I bother to call you? Since I know Duo so well, it wasn’t hard to figure out what the best bait would be.”
In his desire to protect Duo, the green-eyed man had made one fatal mistake: he had forgotten how analytical Quatre’s mind was. During the war the blonde had been an amazing strategist and years of dealing with ruthless business owners had only honed that mind. The only consolation was that Duo would be safe, hopefully far away with the horses by now. “You don’t want Duo to die.”
“Not yet. Eventually, yes, but I want him to feel the pain of losing you first. I had planned to kill him here tonight, but this is an opportunity I can’t let pass. To know you practically walked right in here and sacrificed yourself for him…it’s too good. Goodbye, Trowa. You were fun to play with for a while.”
There was no way Trowa could move when the gun was fired, and there was no chance Quatre’s aim wasn’t lethal. Trowa regretted he wouldn’t be able to have more time with Duo, but if his death would provide safety for the long-haired man for a time, he was at peace.
His resignation changed to horror when he was roughly pushed to the side, the sound of flesh being ripped by a projectile unmistakable. As soon as Trowa hit the ground he was up again, using his body to shield Duo from another bullet. A horrified shriek had him lifting his head in time to see Scythe leap through the destroyed stall he had been trapped inside previously, turning his head to look at Quatre with his ears flattened against his skull. Head lowered, the horse snorted, digging his hoof into the ground. Trowa had to admit the sight was frightening, but only paid attention for a moment, trying to stem the flow of blood from Duo’s side, where the bullet had penetrated.
“Make him stop, Trowa! Keep that thing away from me,” shouted Quatre, the gun shaking in his hand, not allowing for a clean shot.
“Scared of a horse, Quatre?” mocked Heero as he came through the barn door, dropping a rifle on the ground, clearly taken from one of the guards. “He’s just a horse, after all.”
“That’s a demon,” the blonde hissed, eyes wide as he backed up, dropping the gun. “Keep it away from me. It’s a hellbeast.”
Heero moved forward to pick up the discarded revolver, glancing at Trowa with a worried expression, “How bad is he?”
“He’ll live, but he’s going to need to go to the hospital,” Trowa said with a relieved sigh when Duo looked up at him, pain in the cobalt eyes. “How are you feeling?”
Duo managed a smile, “Surprisingly, like I’ve been shot. What were you going to do? Stand there and let him kill you? You idiot.”
“I was thinking about you, Duo. I wanted to protect you.”
“Next time, don’t protect me by getting shot. I kind of like having you around.” A whimper got Duo’s attention and he turned his head to narrow his eyes at Quatre, who had retreated into a corner of an old stall, his blue eyes fixed on Scythe, who was slowly progressing toward the blonde. “Scythe, keep him there.”
Heero snorted when the horse turned sideways, covering the opening of the stall so Quatre would have to crawl under the beast’s legs to get away. “That’s a damn smart horse, Duo,” he commented, snickering when the animal snorted back at him.
Hearing the unmistakable sound of a helicopter, Trowa glanced at Heero. “When we realized Quatre had a gun, I called for some help. That should be Preventer agents, along with a medic. I assumed it would be you riding to the hospital, though, not Duo.”
“Next time you can be the one that gets shot, you jerk,” muttered Duo as Trowa picked him up. “I can walk, Trowa.”
“Is it so hard to let me take care of you every once in a while?” questioned Trowa as a pair of medics ran in with a stretcher, followed closely by Wufei, surprising Trowa, though he took no time to ask the dark-haired man questions, his attention focused on his lover.
As he was being placed on the stretcher, Duo rolled his eyes, smiling softly when Trowa took his hand. “It’s not so bad, I suppose, as long as you let me take care of you every now and then.”
“We’ll take turns, as long as no one gets shot. I can’t do this kind of thing every day, Duo, but I am willing to learn how to work beside you.”
“You’re going to have to learn how to ride,” the braided man smiled as their hands were pulled apart when the medics began to carry him out of the barn.
“I’m not learning on Scythe. Will Evie let me ride her?”
“Probably. She’s your girl, isn’t she?”
EPILOGUE
Sitting astride Scythe, Duo smiled as Trowa moved alongside him, Evie easily shifting so her body was lined up with the large black horse. “You’re getting better,” he noted as Trowa pulled the reins to make her stop moving.
“I’ve got a good teacher and a good horse,” Trowa smiled back, leaning down to rub Evie’s neck with affection. When Scythe turned his head to nip at Trowa’s legs, he let out a laugh, “And a good riding partner, you big brute.” His amusement turned to concern when Duo shifted in the saddle with a wince. “We should go back to the house. You don’t need to be riding for long. You worked too hard this morning.”
“I worked for a total of three hours before you came and got me. If that wasn’t bad enough, you brought back-up,” Duo groaned, leveling a glare at Trowa that abruptly changed to a grin. “It was funny as hell to see you dragging Heero and Wufei into the barn at seven in the morning.”
It had been more than a little shocking to learn that Wufei was leading the team gathering evidence on Quatre. Everyone had assumed the dark-eyed man had been on L5 helping the colony authorities there as the new colony was populated. Trowa had been stunned when Wufei had shown up at the hospital and shocked when he had seen the way Heero and Wufei watched each other constantly.
“You would have laughed your ass off at the comments made when I told them they were coming with me. To say Wufei wasn’t happy is an understatement,” the tall man could feel his face turning bright red at the memory of what he had interrupted. “The only reason I brought them with me is because I thought you would put up more of an argument.”
Lifting an eyebrow at the blush on Trowa’s face, Duo snickered, “I’m guessing Wufei and Heero are together now? Like really together and not dancing around each other like they have the last two weeks?”
“Let’s just say that you don’t want to walk into their room without knocking ever again. If you do, you might not get a good reception.” When Duo began laughing, Trowa gave him a wry look and then began laughing, as well. “If I didn’t have good reflexes, the glass that Heero threw at my head would have put me in the hospital.”
When the smaller man turned Scythe back toward the barn, Trowa followed, directing Evie with his legs instead of the reins, as his lover had taught him. They rode in silence, each comfortable, dismounting when they reached the barn and letting Mick take Evie’s reins, Scythe following after giving a loud neigh. Trowa shook his head as Shin appeared around the side of the barn, clearly not in his stall where he had been left.
“We’re going to have some problems with that one,” he mused, indicating the colt with his chin.
“Did you expect him to be a complacent child, Trowa?” teased Duo, gasping when he was pulled against Trowa’s chest. “At least he didn’t follow us today.”
“Maybe he’s learning. Come on and I’ll make you some lunch. I guess I need to apologize to our guests, too.”
“How long are they staying?”
“Are you ready for them to leave? I thought you liked having them here.” Trowa framed the heart-shaped face, astounded how lucky he had been. Kissing the other man quickly, he turned them toward the house.
“I don’t mind having company, but I lived alone for a long time, Trowa. Sometimes the house feels a bit…crowded.” Nearing the kitchen door, Duo looked up at him. “We haven’t had a chance to be alone since you came back.”
The memory of their first night together had Trowa shivering in recollection. There hadn’t been any more chances for intimacy since then, the doctor warning Duo not to participate in any strenuous activity for at least a month. “I won’t hurt you,” he said softly, leaning down to kiss Duo’s neck.
“We could just say that we’re starting some physical therapy. I have to build my strength back up somehow, and I can’t think of anything more pleasurable, but it feels weird having Wufei and Heero right down the hall from our room.”
“I’ll kick them out tonight,” the green-eyed man stated soberly, smiling when Duo began to laugh again. “They’re only staying for two more days, Duo. We can try something tonight, if you’re willing. Something that will take less effort but will feel just as good,” he suggested, with a wink.
“I think that sounds like a good idea. I guess we need to spend some time with our guests, don’t we? I was thinking about having a cook-out and inviting some of the other ranchers. Since you’re planning to stick around for a while, it might be a good idea to introduce you to everyone else. I also thought Heero could intimidate McNamara into selling me that damn land.”
“You still want it?”
“Sure. There are other buildings that are in good shape that I can fix up and use for other things, including guest houses if we need them at some point. The barn I plan to burn to the ground.”
Realizing Duo was talking about having guest houses so their friends could come and visit, yet not be inside their house, Trowa smiled, liking the compromise. Finding the kitchen empty, he pulled the smaller man close, speaking against the other man’s lips. “If you buy it, I’ll bring the gasoline and matches.”
THE END
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