Warnings and disclaimers in first part.
Wednesday
Duo wasn’t surprised this time when he opened the door and saw Trowa ready to leave, dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt that had seen better days. Without a word to the tall man, Duo removed his shoes and went straight into the kitchen, aware he was being followed. Several minutes passed in silence as he looked through the fridge for something to eat before he offered, “Have a good time.”
“Would you like to go with me?” Trowa’s tone was far more subdued than it had been the night before, but that didn’t make Duo feel better.
“No, thanks. You’ll have to find someone else to be your verbal punching bag,” was his response as he snagged water instead of a beer.
“You’re still mad about last night and I don’t blame you. We were out of line and I apologize, Duo.”
Twisting open the bottle of water, Duo glanced over his shoulder at the other man, “How many times did you practice that?”
Trowa’s face turned red instantly, “A few, did it work?”
“Not much.” Duo shook his head, “I’m not mad, Trowa, but what you said hurt.”
“Those guys had no right-”
“I meant you, not them. I don’t know them; their opinion of me doesn’t matter. What you said hurt me the most,” he admitted, sighing when he saw the other man frown. “You aren’t supposed to say things like that to your friends.”
“You and Wufei insult each other all the time.”
Beginning to understand, Duo groaned, “I know he’s joking and he knows I am. We never say anything like that if someone else is around, Trowa. It’s just the way Wufei and I get along.”
Green eyes were wide, “God, I didn’t realize the difference. I won’t do anything like that again. I never imagined I could actually hurt you by saying the things I did.”
“You’re forgiven, but I won’t be playing basketball with those guys again. I like games where you don’t have to worry about being elbowed in the nose, anyway.”
“I’m not going to play basketball. There’s a baseball team that gets together and plays occasionally, just for fun. Would you like to come? There’s always room for another good player,” Trowa asked, his eyes pleading.
Duo knew that the next two days at the greenhouse were going to be hectic, but the hopeful expression had him nodding against his best judgment. “Let me change clothes and get my glove, but I don’t want to stay a long time, okay?”
“Just an hour or two and then we’ll leave, if that’s okay’” offered Trowa with a smile.
Questioning his sanity, Duo made his way to his room and changed clothes, wondering if he knew Trowa at all.
Four long hours later, Duo dropped his gear at the door and pulled off his shoes and socks, followed by his shirt and shorts after a moment of deliberation, every article of clothing drenched in a disgusting mixture of mud, sweat, and rainwater. Giving one last sneer at the pile of equipment and clothes, he gave his roommate a terse, “I’m going to bed.”
“Duo, we need to eat supper,” Trowa’s voice was wary, as if realizing anger was simmering under the weary demeanor. “You need to eat.”
“I’m too tired to eat. I’m going to take a long shower, wash off the mud, and go to bed. I’ll eat a good breakfast in the morning.”
“I could fix something. It would only take a minute,” the tall man offered, wincing when Duo whirled around to stare at him.
Knowing the offer had been made to appease him didn’t erase any of Duo’s agitation, which had been steadily growing for the last two hours. “Unfortunately, your sense of timing seems to be off. A minute to you would actually be an hour; by then, I can already be asleep.”
“I know I lost track of time and I’m sorry.”
“How could you lose track of time when it was being called out constantly?” Duo demanded, shaking his head forcefully before the other man could form a response, grimacing when his wet hair stuck to him. “It doesn’t matter. I’m tired, Trowa. I’m going to go to bed. Make yourself something to eat.”
Unsure how he had been so wrong about someone, Duo didn’t look back as he staggered in the direction of his room. “Whatever plans you have for tomorrow, leave me out of them. I won’t be home until late.”
Thursday
It was late by the time Duo parked in front of his house, as he had predicted. It had been a long day and he wanted nothing more than a hot bath to soothe his aching muscles before falling into bed, too weary to even consider cooking.
Much to his dismay, he had come to the conclusion that he and Trowa weren’t as compatible as he had originally hoped. They always seemed to be at odds with each other and the turmoil weighed heavily on him, causing him to lose his appetite and thinking of the situation with sadness far too often to be considered healthy.
Back bent and footsteps heavy, the braided man trudged up the sidewalk, stopping in surprise when he realized there was someone sitting on the steps, watching him closely. “Zechs, what are you doing here and why aren’t you inside?”
The blonde’s face showed clear concern as he stood, absently dusting off his jeans, “It doesn’t feel right to be in there with all of Trowa’s things about, so I didn’t go inside when I realized you weren’t home. Duo, you don’t look very good.”
“I’m fine, just a little tired. Okay, a lot tired,” he amended when Zechs lifted an eyebrow. “It’s nothing a hot bath won’t fix.”
“You fool,” the blonde hissed abruptly, sweeping Duo’s legs out from under him in an instant. “You’re standing up out of sheer will, Duo. When was the last time you ate?”
Duo didn’t bother fighting the embrace, aware he wouldn’t win, so he relaxed in the strong grip, trusting the blonde not to drop him. “Last night…no, I didn’t eat last night because I was too tired after we got home.”
“Home from where?” Zechs questioned as he pushed the unlocked door open, maneuvering carefully so he wouldn’t hit Duo on the frame.
“Um, baseball. We were only supposed to stay for a little while, but I guess Trowa was having fun because we were there for hours.”
“What did you have for breakfast today?” the blonde headed straight for Duo’s bedroom, movements brisk and not happy.
“I planned to get something on the way to work, but three of my crew called in sick this morning and I had to cover for them.”
“Why didn’t you eat lunch?”
Duo frowned as he was placed on the bed, rolling his eyes when Zechs ducked into the bathroom. A minute later he could hear the sound of running water and smiled; Zechs was running a bath for him, a task the blonde had done often while they were dating. “There wasn’t time. Two of my landscapers quit this week. They were a damn good team and I guess they thought so to, because they eloped. I’ve been doing their scheduled landscaping jobs all week.”
“Who ran the greenhouse while you were out?”
Undressing as he moved to the bathroom door, the braided man wore nothing but his boxers by the time he reached the other room, where the blonde was crouched beside the tub, sleeves rolled up and one arm shoved under the flow of water. “I left Melissa in charge. She’s done a pretty good job in the last week, although there have been a few tough moments, like when one of the register drawers went missing.” Laughing, Duo explained, “She left it on my desk and forgot about it.”
Turning to regard the smaller man, Zechs snorted, “She’s a ditz, Duo.”
“She’s smart, she just forgets things sometimes. She is reliable,” the small man defended although he was smiling.
Standing, Zechs wiped his arms off with a towel, “Are we talking about the same Melissa that got stuck in her car door because her jacket got caught and she locked the keys inside it?”
“Same Melissa, but that hasn’t happened in months.”
“All she had to do was take off the jacket,” Zechs muttered before shaking his head. “Why has she been minding the business?”
“There’s a serious case of the funk going around, working its way through the employees. I’ve been filling in on deliveries and landscaping as much as I can while being at the shop as often as possible. I thought it was smarter to keep Melissa in the greenhouse instead of setting her loose with one of my trucks.”
“Let me see if I’ve got this right; last week you were taking deliveries, doing landscaping, and minding the greenhouse. Over the weekend, you spent all of your time helping Trowa move in here. This week, you’ve been running yourself ragged at work and then coming home to cater to your new roommate. Duo, you’re running yourself to death. This thing with Trowa…”
“Isn’t working, I know. I’ve already decided to tell him he needs to find somewhere else to live.”
The L2 native was stunned when Zechs chuckled, hands moving to Duo’s shoulders, “What I was going to suggest isn’t so extreme. Before telling him to move out, you should explain you don’t like going out during the week, that you prefer to stay home and rest. Doing so may help save your friendship and anything else that might be there.”
The suggestion was so simple it proved how tired Duo was for not thinking of it. Looking up at his former lover, he gave a grateful smile, “You’re a really good friend, Zechs.”
“I know,” the blonde winced. “If you ever get tired of chasing Trowa, I’ll be happy to seduce you again. Until then, I’ll have to settle for being a good friend.”
“I’ve been worried about you,” Duo teased. “Apparently, you have quite a reputation at the Preventers.”
“If I had slept with as many people as everyone thinks, I’d have had sex with almost everyone in the agency. Get in the bath and soak while I find you something to eat,” the blonde ordered before sailing out of the room, hair trailing behind him in a platinum waterfall.
Duo soaked in the steaming water for a half-hour before taking a shower to remove the grime of the day. Walking into his bedroom wearing nothing but a towel, he snorted as he saw the room had been tidied, dirty clothes vanishing and random items put where they belonged. Hearing the washing machine, he assumed Zechs had started laundry and got dressed in shorts, gaze focused on the tray sitting on the bed, piled high with various crackers, fruits, and cheeses.
By the time the blonde came back into the room, half of the tray was empty and Duo was sipping the wine left for him, blinking eyes that wanted to fall shut. “I’m glad you decided to eat without arguing about it.”
“I might have argued if it had been something I had to use a fork with,” Duo smiled tiredly. “This made it easy,” he added, picking up a blueberry and popping it into his mouth. “Do I need to tell you how much I appreciate all of this?”
“I’d go to the end of the Universe if you needed me to, Duo. It’s what friends do for each other. Are you finished?”
“I think so.” Duo drained his glass and set it on the tray, lying down when Zechs gestured for him to do so. “I might not need to say it, but thanks for taking care of me.”
“Someone has to. Now shut up, turn over, and relax. I’ll work the worst of the knots out of your back.”
Without argument Duo turned over, sighing in satisfaction when hands kneaded tense and stiff muscles the bath hadn’t eased. Luckily for him, Zechs didn’t speak because he fell asleep quickly, loose and relaxed and wondering what he was going to do about Trowa.