What's Not to Use?

Chapter 7:Out of Order
Pairings: ocx4 flashback
~*~

In the library, facing each other like something out of an old western movie, Rashid and Heero stood quietly, one waiting for the other to say something.

Finally, Rashid spoke. \"What do you need to say, Heero?\" he asked calmly, two minutes away from beating the pilot into the ground.

Looking up nervously, the Japanese boy decided to tell the truth now, rather than be in the giant\'s war path later. \"Rashid... I heard everything you said.... And I came to confess that I... That I was one of the people that forced Quatre into having sex with me....\" Heero trailed off, but quickly spoke again, wanting everything said before the large man responded. \"I had no clue that Quatre was sacrificing so much, and I must admit that I didn\'t really care at the time...\" he looked at Rashid\'s eyes and could see the anger there. \"I swear, Rashid, I had no idea that he was in that much pain. I would have never have done it if I knew.\" Heero told him honestly, expecting the man to practically kill him, and if he did, Heero wouldn\'t stop him. He figured it was what he deserved for contributing to Quatre\'s declining health.

Rashid did have the urge to snap the boy\'s neck, but, knowing that he was the strongest of the five pilots, decided that he should be cautious. Another thing stopped him too...

Heero came out and confessed of his own will. The large man thought that alone must have taken great courage, so kept his anger in check. \"I see.... Before I pass my judgement, I must ask you something.\" he began, the outcome depending on the boy\'s answer.

\"What?\" Heero asked, surprised he wasn\'t already dead.

\"When, and how many times?\" he asked bluntly.

So blunt that Heero blinked at him. \"Just once... It happened a month ago...\" He looked away for a moment. \"I was tempted to go to him again, but I didn\'t feel right about asking him to do it again, so I kept quiet.\" he stated, bowing his head, and waiting for what was coming to him.

Thick brows furrowed in concentration as Rashid considered his answer. ~Hmm... One time wouldn\'t really hurt Quatre this bad..... A month ago.... No, this couldn\'t really harm Quatre that much, unless he was excessively rough on him.....~ He looked the Japanese over, searching for any signs that he may be hiding something. Finding none, Rashid returned to his thoughts. ~I don\'t think Heero would hurt Quatre purposely.... He seems guilt stricken for doing it just the one time..... No, there is no cause for anger here.~ Finishing his self-reasoning, the large man sighed deeply before speaking again. \"Calm down, Heero. I\'m not going to do anything to you.\" he told him plainly.

Again, Heero blinked at him. \"You\'re not?\" he sounded surprised.

Rashid shook his head. \"No, you\'re not the cause of Quatre\'s pain. What he\'s going through now is due to constant abuse. Someone else has been hurting him much more than you alone had done.\" He almost smiled at the obvious confusion on Heero\'s face. \"Now, do you know of anyone that could be abusing Quatre? Anyone that would purposely try to hurt him?\" he asked, hoping of finding some sort of lead.

Heero thought for a moment, trying to recall anything that seemed out of the ordinary that had been going on with Quatre around. ~What has happened lately?..... Quatre seemed a bit wary around Trowa...~ Heero felt a tightness in his chest when he thought of the French boy. ~Trowa... Why would he want to hurt Quatre?....~ Knowing that more than that had happened, the Japanese boy tore his thoughts from Trowa, and concentrated on the blonde Arabian. ~What has Quatre done that would show that something was wrong?....~ Then, all at once, it hit him. ~Wufei! Every time he was around, Quatre would go silent, and his eyes would show fear. Wufei must be the one that\'s hurting Quatre the most.~

Looking up at the dark man, Heero knew his answer. \"I think it might be Wufei.\" Then, with hesitation, he added more. \"And Trowa might have something to do with it too.\" he stated, wondering what Rashid would do.

He seemed satisfied with that answer. \"I see..... Well, Heero, thank you for being honest with me. You confessing on your own alone has bought your forgiveness from me, but you still have to ask Quatre for his. As for the other two... We\'ll have to discuss that matter. You, Duo, and myself shall have to keep an eye out for the other two.\" Rashid then gave Heero a warning glare that rivaled his own. \"I am trusting you that you will help protect Quatre until we have this straightened out.\" he stated, rather than asking.

The boy nodded. \"I\'ll help you.\"

\"Good. I\'m not sure if you should see Quatre any time soon though. In the state he was in when I found him, he might see you as a threat. Let him calm down for now, maybe go to him tomorrow, let him know that you don\'t want to harm him anymore than he has already been.\" Rashid said, trying to form a plan in his mind.

\"Alright.\" Heero agreed. \"What are you going to do about the others?\" he asked curiously, mainly wondering what he would do to Trowa.

Rashid shook his head tiredly. \"I haven\'t a clue yet. Planning and forming a strategy was always a matter left up to Quatre.\" he muttered, wishing he had some of the blonde\'s tactical imagination at the moment.

Heero had to smirk. \"Yeah... Quatre always had a plan or two ready just in case something happened.....\" Then something popped into the boy\'s mind. \"Wait a minute.... What if we took Quatre away from here... Without Wufei or Trowa knowing about it. That way we could confront them, while Quatre would be in a safe place, and he wouldn\'t have to witness it.\" Heero thought aloud, thinking it would be the safest way for the blonde.

\"Hmm... That might work...\" Rashid mumbled to himself, thinking it over. \"But where could we take him that would be safe? He\'s in no condition to travel far....\" he pointed out frowning.

Heero frowned as well. \"Right.... Do you think I should tell Duo the truth?\" he asked suddenly, having just thought about it.

Taken aback by the sudden question, Rashid had to pause for a moment. \"It would probably be best.... The five of you still have to work together in this war. Better for everything to be set in the open now, rather than be found out in the future. You should look for him now since he knows the situation, and it\'s fresh on his mind.\" he stated, hoping Duo will be calm about it.

\"Yeah...\" Heero agreed. \"I just hope he listens for once.\" he mumbled to himself.

The tall man chuckled slightly. \"If Quatre is concerned, I\'m sure he\'ll listen to every word. How he reacts to it is a different question. Be mindful not to get him angry. Who knows what he\'ll do if what you tell him doesn\'t set well with him.\" he pointed out, having seen what Duo does when in desperate situations.

\"I know.\" The Japanese then started for the door. Once he reached the door, he turned back and smirked at Rashid. \"They don\'t call him the God of Death for nothing.\" With that Heero opened the heavy door, and exited the room.

Rashid looked at the door for a moment, the sighed again. Slowly, he walked back to one of the chairs and sat down wearily. \"These boys are going to be the death of me.....\" he grunted loudly.

Then, remembering the days that Quatre and Duo spent in the desert village during the festival, the dark man smiled softly and chuckled. \"But, if they do, it\'ll all be worth it if those two can be happy together.\"

~*~

\"Glory be, Duo! How many onions do you think we need chopped?\" Gladdiss exclaimed once she saw the large pile of onions next to the braided boy.

Looking up from his busy work on the chopping board, eyes red and watering from the fumes, he sniffed loudly. \"What? Oh, sorry, guess I got carried away.\" he chuckled half heartedly.

Mary, who had been out in the garden, stepped in the kitchen entrance, then had to take a step back. \"Good Lord! Mother, are you making that awful onion soup again?\" she gasped out, trying to fan the onion smell away from her with her apron.

Gladdiss glared at her daughter. \"Hardly. Duo\'s bein\' a wee bit too helpful.\" she grumbled, thinking her soup wasn\'t that bad.

She glanced over at Duo, and saw he was staring at the floor blankly, while absently balancing the long knife in his hands. Mary could see that he was thinking hard upon something, and was probably just helping to get his mind off of it. \"Well, Mr. human food processor, there\'s a whole basket of carrots by the door that need cleanin\', and chopped before dinner. If your that eager ta help, get to it.\" Mary instructed, knowing that she would rather have him doing something constructive with that knife.

Nodding faintly, Duo made his way for the basket, while Mary hooked her mother\'s arm in hers, leading her out of the kitchen.

\"What do you think you\'re doing? I\'ve got cooking to do!\" Gladdiss protested gruffly.

Mary raised her free hand for her to be quiet. \"Shush, Mother...\" Looking back she saw that Duo already had the carrots in the sink and was scrubbing away at them. \"I think Duo needs to think by himself for a while... He seems worried about something.\" Mary whispered softly.

Looking at the braided boy before they left out of the kitchen, Gladdiss could see that the playful spark was drained out of the boy\'s violet eyes, so she nodded. \"Alright... I guess I could catch up on the gossip from town with the other maids....\" she mumbled reluctantly.

\"You don\'t need to be doing that either.\" Mary chuckled as they left, leaving the braided boy alone with his thoughts.

Not even noticing that they were gone, Duo was now hacking away at the helpless orange vegetables. ~How many times?.... How many times has he been in pain with no one to help him? How many people have abused him? Raped him? How many times has he had to cry himself to sleep because he was too afraid to close his eyes?~ He then wished that he was chopping the onions again. At least they gave an excuse for the tears that he wanted to let out. ~Huh, it\'s gonna be real obvious if anyone walks in.... Never heard of chopping carrots making someone cry....~ He chided himself, feeling that he had no right to cry when it was Quatre that was in pain.

Then, at that moment, Heero looked in the kitchen from the entrance to the dining room. Having hoped to find Duo alone, Heero stepped in when saw only the braided boy hunched over one of the counters. He was about to approach the American, but hesitated slightly when saw the long sharp knife in his hand. ~Great... Just great. And I was worried about him just wanting to beat me up... Now I have to worry about him slicing my throat...~ He grunted to himself.

Finally, he decided that it should be done now. \"Duo? Duo, I need to talk with you.\"

Freezing at the sound of the voice, Duo quickly scrubbed at his eyes with his free hand before he spun around with a fake grin plastered on his face. \"What? The great Heero Yuy actually wants to talk with someone?! I think I\'m going to pass out!\" he gasped, leaning against the counter for effect.

\"Hn..\" Heero grunted, knowing that Duo was just putting on a show. \"Duo, I\'m serious... It has to do with Quatre.\"

Duo stood straight up at the mention of the blonde boy. \"Q? What do you mean, Heero?\" he asked curiously.

\"Duo, I know what\'s happening with Quatre... I heard you and Rashid talking in the library.\" Heero started, not liking the way Duo was cluthing at the knife in his hand.

His face showed all the shock he was feeling. \"Y-You know?... What do you want then, Heero?\" Duo almost demanded, not wanting the Japanese to hurt Quatre.

Heero could tell what he was thinking, and that added on to his guilt. \"Duo, I came to tell you that I was one of those people Rashid talked about.\" he sated calmly, hoping Duo wouldn\'t do anything drastic.

Duo\'s jaw dropped in disbelief. \"W-what?... You... And Quatre...... Why? Why the hell did you make him do that?!\" he growled/shouted, the knife shaking in his hand.

Knowing that his guard should be up, Heero raised his hands in surrender. \"Duo, I know you\'re mad at me... But..\" he didn\'t have a chance to finish.

\"Mad?! Oh no, Heero... I\'m not mad.\" he laughed forcefully. \"I\'m fucking furious!!\" Before Heero could even blink, Duo threw the knife in his hand with all his strength.

Seeing the knife come at him, Heero\'s cobalt eyes grew wide because it was too fast for him to stop......

*THUNK!*

When Heero regained his senses, he saw that the knife was embedded in the door fame. Reaching up to the side of his head, Heero could feel a wetness, and, bringing his hand down, he could see that it was blood.

Duo had barely nicked him.

As disturbing as it was, Heero was very impressed. \"Good aim.\" he admitted, looking back up to see violet eyes full of a fiery anger.

\"What the hell are you talking about?\" Duo grunted, folding his arms across his chest. \"I missed your head.\" he spat.

Blinking, Heero couldn\'t help but give a small laugh. \"Okay, in that case, you have terrible aim.\" he stated, noticing the corners of Duo\'s mouth twitch. \"Duo, I know that what I just said was the last thing you wanted to hear right now, but I had to tell you. I want to ask you for forgiveness.\" Heero said calmly, hoping he would give it.

The braided boy mumbled a few curses under his breath. \"Why should I?\" he grunted flatly.

\"Because, I have already ask Rashid for his, and he gave it to me. I figured if I could survive him that you would forgive me too.\" Heero stated, frowning when Duo looked away. \"Please, Duo. I feel terrible about what I did, and I know that I need to ask Quatre to forgive me, but I needed to be honest with you. I may not show it, but I do think of you as a friend.\" he admitted honestly, hoping Duo would answer.

At the last sentence, Duo looked back and him in shock. \"I-I\'m your friend?\" he repeated, hardly believing it.

Heero nodded. \"Yes, Duo, you are. You\'re the only one besides Quatre who ever tried to be my friend.... And I know I act like anything but a friend, but I really appreciated that.\" he told him, actual emotion seeping into his voice.

Duo was almost in complete shock. \"This is too much...\" he mumbled, leaning against the counter for support.

\"I know... Listen, I know that this a lot for you to handle, but there\'s more.\" the Japanese pointed out.

\"More? Great.\" Duo grunted sarcastically.

\"Yeah, if you think that was tough, just wait.... I think that it\'s Wufei and Trowa that\'s been hurting Quatre so much.\" he stated, waiting for his reaction.

Shock having no effect on him anymore, Duo\'s anger flared up again. \"Where are they? I\'ll use them to polish Death Scythe\'s feet.\" he growled, gripping the counter tightly.

Knowing that he would go out and do just that, Heero stepped up closer to the American, blocking his way. \"Calm down, Duo. What would Quatre think if he found out that you or the others were hurt, or worse. You know he\'d blame himself. We\'ve got to come up with a plan to confront the others, but keeping Quatre safe at the same time.\" Heero explained, still blocking the braided boy.

Duo paused in his anger and looked at Heero curiously. \"We?\"

\"Yes, we. I told Rashid that I would help look after Quatre. Besides, it is Trowa and Wufei we\'re talking about. Rashid might be able to handle Wufei if the occasion rose, but Trowa would run circles around him.\" he pointed out bluntly, still feeling a pang at the Frenchman\'s name.

Frowning, Duo relaxed his position a little. \"That\'s right....\" Then, sighing in defeat, Duo looked up with a smirk. \"So what\'s this plan you talked about? he asked curiously.

Relaxing himself, Heero retold his idea that he offered Rashid to Duo.

Listening carefully, Duo grinned brightly and snapped his fingers. \"I know where we can take him.\" he stated, hope sparking in his eyes. Then, without waiting for anything else, Duo hook Heero by the arm, much like Mary had before, and started dragging him off. \"Come on, we gotta find Rashid.\"

~*~

~flash~

Not being able to sleep, like most nights, Quatre decided to go out and walk around the town. The desert air was crisp and cool, and made the blonde fall more in love with the earth. The colonies could never reproduce something this pure and simple.

Only a few people were out amongst the old buildings, a change of pace considering the town was at its best with the nightly parties, and happy music playing. Quatre was glad of the silence tonight, wanting to hear the natural sounds of the desert to calm his nerves.

Turning a corner, he accidentally bumped into a man that looked to be in his thirties with short dark hair, and an odd smile on his face.

\"Why hello there, cutie... What are you doing all by yourself on a cold night like tonight?\" he asked in a low tone.

Quatre could smell the alcohol on his breath. \"Just out for a walk. Excuse me.\" He tried to walk passed the man, but an arm shot out and grabbed a hold of him. \"Hey! Let go!\" Quatre yelled out, struggling to get away from the painful grip.

The man just laughed cruelly as something struck the back of the blonde\'s head and everything went black.

Opening his eyes, Quatre could see the man standing in front of him, taking off his clothes. Fear washed over the boy, then horror when he saw that his clothes were already gone. Wanting to bolt up and run for his life, he tried to move, but found that he couldn\'t. It wasn\'t that he was tied down by anything, it was that his body just wouldn\'t move away.

Knowing well what that meant, he looked up, frightened beyond belief, just as the man began touching him. Rough hands rubbed up his thighs, up to his chest, then something sharp and painful began to rake down his body. Yelping in pain, aqua eyes looked down to see a broken bottle slicing open his chest and stomach, blood pooling up and rolling down his sides. He wanted to kick, scream, cry until someone found him and stopped this, but an invisible force stopped him. Almost like something was bounding and gagging him all at once. His body wasn\'t reacting to the pain, but was actually moving toward it.

Encouraged by this, the man continued his sadistic torture of the blonde, raking the bottle down thighs and legs until the pale boy was a bloodied mass. Tossing the blood stained glass aside, the man began to smear the red liquid on the smooth flesh, turning the body beneath him a hideous crimson color.

His skin feeling like it was being burned from his body, Quatre wanted to cry out so badly, but kept quiet.

Soon, the man parted the boy\'s legs roughly, not taking the time to let the blonde figure out what was happening, the man shoved himself inside the boy. Feeling himself being ripped open, Quatre arched his back and choked on a gasp, unable to breathe for a moment from the pain.

When the man began thrusting in and out, the blonde saw in disgust that he was actually responding to the man\'s actions, moving along like it felt good rather than hurting like hell.

The man started to grunt out something as he moved. \"You like this, don\'t you?.... Admit it, you little bitch, you love this!\" he growled, clawing at the still bleeding flesh with his nails.

Quatre want to scream no, but instead found himself yelling out...

\"Yes! Yes I do!!!\"

~flash~

\"NO!!! GO AWAY!!!\" Quatre screamed in his sleep.

The blonde was tossing and turning in his bed, yelling out like he was in complete agony.

\"NO! STOP IT! GO AWAY!!!\"

Kicking and struggling against an unseen enemy, Quatre\'s eyes flew open when he felt someone grab onto his arm. Vision blurred, and a bright light shining in his eyes, the blonde could only make out a figure that looked to have short dark hair....

\"No!! Not again!!! Please, no!!!\" he cried out miserably. Too tired to fight anymore, he slumped against the bed and sobbed uncontrollably. \"Please don\'t hurt me.....\" Quatre whispered brokenly.

But then, a familiar voice called out from the figure. \"Quatre? Quatre, snap out of it! Come on, Quatre! It\'s me, Heero!\"

Now knowing the voice, the blonde struggled to look up and willed his vision to clear. Sure enough, he saw the Japanese boy staring back at him in what looked to be concern.

\"Heero?\" he asked weakly.

Nodding, Heero gave a small smile. \"Yeah, it\'s me. Come on, sit up.\" he said softly, moving his hands from the blonde\'s arms to behind his back. Slowly, he was able to get Quatre to sit up.

Quatre looked on at him dazedly, wondering if he was still dreaming. \"Where am I?\" he asked as he looked around, not remembering anything.

\"You\'re in your room. You\'re still at the mountain estate.\" Heero told him, unable to get the sound of the screams out of his head.

\"I am? How long have I been in bed?\" Quatre asked, feeling stiff as a board.

\"You\'ve been asleep for almost two days.\"

Quatre blinked in shock. \"Two days?! What happened?\" he asked, unable to recall ever going to sleep. ~I remember Wufei and Trowa, but I don\'t remember ever making it back to the mansion.... What\'s happening to me?~

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Heero went slow. \"All I know is that you came back from your mission, you broke down crying, and you passed out in Rashid\'s arms. You\'ve been out ever since.\" he explained, leaving out a few details for the moment.

\"I... I cried? Rashid is here?\" Quatre asked in a whisper.

Heero nodded. \"Yes. He and Duo have been watching over you ever since you passed out.\"

Letting everything sink in, another question popped in his head. \"Heero, why are you here?\" he asked timidly, fearing his nightmare could still come true.

Able to plainly see the blonde\'s fear, Heero felt his guilt gnaw at him again. \"Because... I heard you crying out in your sleep, so I came to check on you.\" he told him softly.

\"Y-you care about me?\" Quatre asked, eyes wide, not knowing what to think.

Smiling softly, Heero nodded again. \"Yes, Quatre, I care about you. Which leads me to a question.... Why didn\'t you tell me that I would be hurting you so much when you let me take you?\" he asked calmly, holding on to the boy\'s pale hand gently.

Having never been brought up before, the blonde didn\'t knowing what to say, so he had to think of an answer. \"Because... You were in so much pain.. I couldn\'t turn you away.\" Quatre answered in a whisper.

\"But, Quatre, the way I heard you screaming tells me that you\'re in much more pain now than even I have been through.\" He reached out and cupped a pale cheek in his hand. \"And I came to apologize for forcing you into having sex with me. I should have had more control over myself.\" Heero admitted, feeling better now that had been said.

Shocked beyond belief, Quatre was expecting to wake up to that dingy room in the desert town again. \"Heero... You didn\'t force me... If anything, I practically seduced you to it.\" he objected, not wanting Heero to blame himself.

Heero shook his head and looked at the blonde seriously. \"No, Quatre. The only reason why I did it was because I saw an easy way out of my pain through you. I was being cowardly by running away from my pain, and I am deeply sorry for any pain or stress I caused you.\" he told him truthfully, wanting the blonde\'s forgiveness.

Eyes tearing up, Quatre pulled the Japanese boy to him and hugged him tight. \"Please don\'t be sorry, Heero. I forgive you. You just coming to me and saying all this means so much to me.\" he cried out, happy for the first time in a long time.

Also happy, Heero hugged the blonde back, glad that he had gotten his forgiveness. After a moment of quietly embracing one another, Heero let go and looked at the boy in his arms.

Then, he just had an urge to tell him what was on his mind. \"Quatre... When I realized how much I could have hurt you, I felt as if I was killing that little girl all over again.... It tore me up inside to think that I could be repeating that same mistake all over again.... I just couldn\'t live with that again...\" he said in a soft tone, a single tear escaping his eye.

\"Oh, Heero.. That wasn\'t your fault! It was an accident! You had no idea that would happen!\" Quatre insisted, hating to see the strongest of them breaking down like this.

Wiping the tear away, Heero nodded solemnly. \"I know you\'re right....\" Looking up, he gave Quatre a knowing glance. \"I guess you know everything about me, don\'t you?\" he asked with a light chuckle.

Quatre smiled and nodded. \"Yes. Everything... Including your feelings for Trowa.\"

Sighing, Heero sat back on the bed, looking at nothing in particular. \"Well... I also know about you and the others... Wufei and Trowa...\" He then looked up again seriously. \"Quatre you can\'t let them keep doing this to you. They\'re killing you.\" he told him plainly, hoping he would listen.

Upset that he knew about that, Quatre looked away in shame. \"I can\'t do anything about that, Heero.... You know that... I can\'t fight back, I can\'t resist.. I can\'t even say no....\" He looked up, a great sadness in his eyes. \"I\'ve tried, Heero. Countless times, with countless people.... I just can\'t do it.\" he stated in a whisper.

\"I\'m not asking you to, Quatre. Rashid and I are going to do something about this.\"

\"What?!\" the blonde exclaimed.

Heero raised a hand for him to listen. \"We\'re going to stop them, tell them that they\'re killing you, and, if we have to, force them to stop. Rashid said himself that you were like a son to him, and I\'m not about to let one of my friends suffer so much.\" he stated strongly.

Quatre blinked. \"I\'m your friend?\"

Heero chuckled, being the second time someone asked him that in the same tone. \"Yes, you are my friend. And I\'m not going to just sit back and watch you waste away to nothing. Rashid is going to handle Wufei, wile I confront Trowa. I\'m going to tell him how I feel, and hope that he feels something in return.\" he explained to the blonde.

The blonde couldn\'t help but smile at him. ~I know Trowa feels the same... I\'ve heard him call out your name before..~ But then an awful thought occurred to him. \"Does Duo know about any of this?\" he asked quickly, praying that he didn\'t.

Quatre almost cried again when he saw Heero nod. \"Yes he does, but he had to know, Quatre. He cares about you too, and it would be unfair to him seeing his best friend dying, but not knowing why. Don\'t worry, as far as I know, he only knows about what\'s happened between the four of us.\" he reassured, leaving out more detail. \"Do you understand?\"

More tears rolled down Quatre\'s cheeks. \"Now he probably thinks I\'m nothing but a slut... he\'ll never want anything to do with me...\" he whimpered, never wanting to leave his bed for the rest of his life.

\"Quatre! Listen to yourself! Do you honestly think Duo could ever hate you? He knows what it\'s like to be abused. He\'ll understand better than anyone!\" Heero insisted strongly, hating to see Quatre so hopelessly depressed.

Sniffing, Quatre nodded pathetically. \"I know... I just never wanted him to know about any of this....\" he mumbled, feeling tried again.

Smiling sadly, Heero brushed back his blonde bangs. \"I know you didn\'t... But you know that you can\'t keep something like this hidden... That\'s why Duo always came to talk to you. He trusted you, and wanted to tell you. The least you can do is be honest with him.\" he pointed out.

Quatre sighed and laid back down on the bed. \"You\'re right... I should tell him.... God, I feel so tired....\" he mumbled, stifling a yawn.

Pulling the covers back around him, Heero reaching over to the bedside table and picked up a tea cup that was sitting there. Bringing it over, he held it up to the blonde. \"Here, sit up and drink this. It will help you sleep.\"

Sitting back up a little, Quatre took the tea cup and sipped at it. \"Hmm.. Chamomile... And something else.... Heero, what else is in.....\" Before the blonde could finish his sentence, Heero took the tea cup away and watched Quatre fall on the pillows, fast asleep.

\"Just something to help you sleep better.\" Heero mused, setting the tea cup aside. Gently, he tucked his friend into bed, and quietly walked to the door. Slipping out the door, and closing it, he looked on down the hall to see that Duo was heading towards him.

When he reached him, Duo looked at Quatre\'s door, then to Heero. \"How is he?\" he asked, hoping for good news.

Heero gave his friend a reassuring smile. \"He\'ll be alright. I explained everything to him, and he understands. I already gave him the tea. He should be out for at least another day.\" he told him, dumping the rest of the tea in a near by plant.

\"I should say so with how much sedative you put in that. That should have been enough to knock Rashid out for a few days.\" Duo commented lightly. \"I still wish we could have found a better way to transport him.\" he said, mainly to himself.

The Japanese boy shook his head. \"No, this is best for him. We can\'t have him hurting himself by moving too much. And plus he\'s still weak. Now is everything ready?\" Heero asked to change the subject.

Duo nodded. \"Yeah, just about. Rashid\'s still out having a few more things done. Should be done in a few hours.\"

\"Good. Wufei and Trowa should be back from their missions tomorrow, if everything went well.\" Heero added, hoping that nothing happened to Trowa.

Grinning at him, Duo threw an arm over his shoulder. \"Don\'t worry about it, Hee-man. I\'ll help Q get better, Rashid will kick Wu\'s ass, and you\'ll get your Tro-bear. All of it will work out tomorrow, trust me.\" he stated brightly, trying to stay optimistic.

Raising a brow at the American, Heero cleared his throat a little. \"Ahem... Duo, we\'re friends, right?\"

Duo blinked. \"Yeah.\"

\"And friends have to be honest with each other, right?\"

\"Ummm... Yeah.\"

\"Alright, then let me be perfectly honest with you, Duo...\" Heero trailed off.

Duo looked at him expectantly. \"Yeah?\"

\"If you ever call me Hee-man again, I\'ll have to break your arm.\" he stated calmly.

Violet eyes blinked again in shock. \"Okay, duly noted.....\" He removed his arm away from Heero and stepped back a few feet. \"Hee-man.\" Duo cackled right before he took off running down the hall.

Growling, Heero chased after him. \"You\'re gonna be a lot of help to Quatre with one arm!!!\"

\"One arm, three arms, I\'ll do with what I got!!\" Duo laughed back.

The two friends then proceeded to chase one another, trading insults, cracking jokes....

You know...

Like friends do.

~*~

TBC