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"Can't Have It All "Written By: Dragonmistress_7 Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Boys. Summary: A single night of comfort turns into
Relena's lifetime commitment to the children who came of it, but when
their father's identity comes out, it's hard to see where other important
people in their lives will fit into this strange picture, and if,
somehow, they can all become a family.
Can't Have It All Chapter 12 Trowa stood like a statue, seeming to stare right through the closed door in front of him. He’d hoped to stay out of all of this as much as possible, but between Duo’s pain waking Quatre every night, and the silent way his usually talkative friend had picked at his breakfast that morning, Trowa decided it was time to take action. He lifted a hand and knocked on the door. While he waited for it to be answered, he contemplated what to say. It would take a lot to catch and hold Heero’s attention, but Trowa hadn’t been a performer for nothing. So, when Heero opened the door, he strolled right in without waiting for an invitation or even acknowledging his friend. He went straight to the kitchen and got himself something to drink before moving back to the living room and plopping himself down on the couch. He put his feet on the coffee table, just because he could. “Well, make yourself at home,” Heero said mildly, eyeing his tall friend. Had Trowa gone off the deep end? Trowa took a long sip of his drink and shrugged before answering. “What the hell? Everybody else seems to have caught the bug, so I figure it’s my turn.” “Caught the bug? What bug is that?” Heero asked, hands on his hips. He was sure, somehow, he wasn’t going to like the answer. “The one that turns them into spiteful, selfish, hurtful people. Duo had it, Relena had it, and I’m seeing the symptoms in you. It has to be contagious.” Heero raised an eyebrow. “You want to qualify that statement?” “Are you going to take Duo back or not?” Trowa asked flatly. He stared hard at Heero, who returned the glare. Heero’s gaze dropped first. “What is it to you? Why are you getting involved? My life is none of your business,” he said to the floor. His tone was cold, but almost petulant. “Oh, I just figured your life became my business about the time Quatre started waking up in the middle of the night, every night, rubbing his chest and telling me that Duo was crying. You know what Quatre does? He lies in bed and cries, too, because he knows Duo doesn’t want him to see the tears.” “I looked at Duo this morning at breakfast. Did you know he’s lost ten pounds in the past two weeks? He hardly touched his food and he barely said two words the whole morning. So excuse me, but that is my lover who is staying up all night, and my friend who is wasting away before my very eyes, and THAT is damn well my business.” Heero opened his mouth to respond. He didn’t know what he’d say, but he didn’t get the chance. Trowa had already started again. Despite his words, the tone was emotionless, flat and factual. “I know what’s going on here, and I never expected you to be so petty and selfish. It’s been two weeks and you haven’t said anything one way or the other yet because he hurt you, and you want him to feel some of the pain you feel. Well, congratulations, you’re succeeding brilliantly. I’ll say this once, and then I swear if you don’t take my advice, I’ll take Duo boyfriend-hunting myself.” He paused for emphasis, and this time Heero didn’t even try to speak. He just waited. “Take him back, or cut him loose. Today. Even if you can’t forgive him, do him the courtesy of an absolution. He calls the situation with Relena “the flood.” He can’t keep his head above water long enough to survive it if he doesn’t know where he stands.” Heero was not used to being accused of pettiness, and it was possibly the first time EVER that anyone had dared to call him selfish. Was he not the Perfect Soldier, the man who had dedicated his life to obtaining and keeping peace? Just who the hell did Trowa think he was? Selfish? “Is that all?” Heero asked with a calm he did not feel. “Not by a long shot, but it will do.” A rare bout of self-importance had stolen over Heero as he stood there, Trowa watching him carefully. The acrobat could just about see the wheels turning in his friend’s mind, but knew better than to push. It was something Heero would figure out for himself once he had a few minutes to think. Trowa lowered his feet back to the floor and went to the kitchen to put his glass in the sink. As he came back, he gripped Heero’s shoulder and pulled him into a hug. “I don’t have much in life except my friends, and I will do all I can to help them.” Trowa pulled away as though the embrace and the words that went with it never were. Not so, however, for he added, “Even if the person hurting you is yourself.” With that, he was gone. Heero paced the floor for a while, restless. He started out angry, but couldn’t keep it up for more than a minute. He wanted to feel betrayed, or even just annoyed with Trowa, but found he couldn’t manage it. His mind pointed out supposed flaws in Trowa’s logic, but he quickly realized that it was pointless. Trowa was right. All of his outrage was based on that fact, or more specifically, on the fact that he didn’t want Trowa to be right. With a heavy sigh, he decided to do something about it. He searched his soul for a several minutes, looking for the real answers to questions he had avoided asking himself for days. When he was certain in his own mind what he wanted, and certain in his heart it was right, he went to make a phone call. It was time to have a heart-to-heart with Duo.
Dinner had gone smoothly, though he had finally figured out what the odd look that had crossed her face when he mentioned the restaurant’s name was about. The realization had hit him about the time they’d been shown to their table. There had been perhaps three tables that hadn’t contained a single couple; apparently, they had decided to double date. The mood was unmistakable. This was a place for lovers. With Relena’s gentle teasing and soft laughter, though, they hadn’t seemed out of place at all. She had sparkled, and he couldn’t help but respond. He tried to tell himself that all he felt was the pull of the same charisma that had helped shape the world they lived in, but in the back of his mind, he recalled the times that others with the same gift had left him cold. Relena had never done that, because her belief in what she said always rang through. It was her sincerity that had touched him in the past, and it was reaching him on a much more personal level now. After dinner, they had gone to the theatre. Wufei had wanted to take her in his arms when he saw her face at the end of they play. When he asked her what she was thinking, she had replied, “How could she not have known, all that time, that he loved her? If someone loved me like that, I’d know.” “I don’t know about that,” he’d replied. “Sometimes things can be in front of you so long, you get used to seeing them, and don’t really look at them anymore.” He was thinking that was exactly what had happened to him. How long had it been since he had noticed she was beautiful? She smiled at him. “Yes, I suppose that could be the case, too.” And for a moment, they were connected somehow, in a way that had little to do with what they said. It was one of those brief instances of perfect understanding. The illusions and pretenses were stripped away, and all that was left was what they really, really wanted: to reach out and see if there was something there, to pave the way for more. A nearby voice startled Relena, and she jumped. The spell was broken, but they both held onto the fragments of it, and when his hand found its way to the small of her back to guide her through the crowd, there was no awkwardness, no uncertainty. It was right, and the why didn’t matter. They’d arrived back at Wufei’s home to find everything peaceful. The twins were sleeping soundly, though Aiko had yet to make her nightly bid for freedom. After relating this, Sally smiled at them and quickly made her escape. As she got into her car, the smile that had never quite left Sally’s face grew. She’d left as soon as possible because, if the signals she was getting were right, it would be a shame to spoil the warm mood the two had cultivated between them. Better they retire with that still in place, she decided. Still, she paused a moment before driving away to watch
the silhouettes on the curtains saying goodnight. A little hesitantly,
Relena’s shadow person touched the arm of Wufei’s. His image
responded by leaning forward for a gentle brush of lips with hers.
Sally’s grin as she drove away was positively triumphant. ~ * ~ |
