Miri shook his head a little. "And he was taking a nap when I got here. I don't think he realizes he's about to show off those stripes that are covering him shoulder to ankle and wrist, do you?" He then started his own climb down, ignoring the pain it caused him.

Heero followed the pair out of the tree, amused as he bent to pick up Duo's other shoe before following the longhaired pair, studying the dark blue stripes that patterned over Duo's back like tiger stripes, they were nearly black.

"Hey! Duo's back! He--" Auda paused as he saw that Duo was barely dressed, but that wasn't what shocked him most. They other few Maguanacs in the base stared at Duo but kept their distance and their voices quiet after the earlier episode.

"Did Duo get a tattoo?"

"I didn't know he had tattoos."

"Why is he dressed like that?"

"What happened?"

"Let's ask in the morning." They called the rest of the Maguanacs via radio that Duo was okay, and had been located. They also warned them that he was acting strange still and had strange markings.

Duo shook his head in amusement, pausing to snatch his tight vest from Heero and slide it on. "They're commenting too much." Then he moved back to the room, the other two following closely behind. Trowa was the only one awake when Duo finally opened the door and came in.

Zechs followed Duo, lips twitching. "You could have put the vest on before entering the building you know. You might have been spared some commentary."

Duo shook his head with a bemused sigh. "It didn't occur to me, I was still relaxed. Do I really look like I have a tattoo?" Duo looked none the worse for wear.

"Yes you do, now move out of the doorway so I can close the door already." Heero waited for Duo to move before shutting the door and dropping Duo's clothes in a heap. Trowa just remained silent, looking to the two other pilots sleeping on the bed, hoping the others didn't wake them.

Duo moved over to the bed, expression softening as he ran his fingers feather light over Wufei's hair before drawing his hand back and turning to move to the computers. Zechs watched Duo's actions then picked up the phone and moved into the bathroom, closing the door and tucking himself into a corner so he could make his last call.

Trowa just watched silently. Wufei seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Quatre wasn't. *I'm not surprised after what he just told us!* Trowa moved closer, cuddling Quatre to him. Wufei's hands were linked with Quatre's as he slept.

Heero watched the two animal altered boys split up before Duo leapt up and went into the bathroom, seeming to have remembered something, though he closed the door behind him. Heero took the moment to get started on his next set of programs.

Duo made sure nobody outside the bathroom could hear them before he settled down next to Zechs. "Can I be here for your last call? I know you didn't have many left otherwise you would've gone back inside."

Zechs laughed a bit. "It isn't such a big deal for the last call, I think you're familiar with this person. The name Howard known to you?"

Duo grinned. "You bet! He'd get a kick out of these stripes!" Duo curled up next to Zechs so they could both be seen in the screen and they made their call.

Heero panned through the programs, head tilting slightly. "Have you been avoiding me Trowa?"

"No." Trowa lied, snuggling Quatre a little more.

"Then why haven't I seen you around me when you weren't out of your mind?" Heero's voice was mellow, indifferent.

Trowa shrugged, deciding to just be quiet and hoping that Quatre would wake up so he wouldn't have to deal with this. But he was trapped now.

"You know you can't do anyone any good if you continue with the odd substances. They are causing more problems than help." Heero never turned around, fingers continuing to fly as he skittered from board to board and screen to screen.

"I don't need your advice Heero." Trowa intoned, harsher than he meant to.

"You certainly need someone's. Am I the person that caused this sudden problem?" Trowa remained silent. "So that's a yes. What part of what happened caused that?" Heero flicked a glance over his shoulders, mystified by Trowa's reaction to him.

"I don't want to talk about this." Trowa tried to pull away from Quatre, but he couldn't. Quatre moaned and stirred, before reaching out for Wufei in his sleep, pulling Wufei to his chest and resting his chin on top of Wufei's hair. Trowa sighed loudly. Now they both had his arm trapped.

"No, you don't. That might very well get us all killed right now. I have to understand what your problem with me is now." Heero tapped on Duo's laptop, switching programs before going back to the other system.

"I will be the one who is killed if I'm stoned Heero. Not you." Trowa sighed.

"No, I'm not easy to kill. If you have to go into battle stoned, you could very well be deadlier than an enemy." Heero clicked a few more keys then paused, studying his code, looking from one screen to the other.

Trowa just sighed in frustration again. *At the very least you could pay attention to me when you chew me out!*

"You have something against me now, I would very much like to understand what I did to upset you so badly." Heero finally spun around, finding the code satisfactory.

"I have nothing against you." Trowa yell-whispered. "Damn it!"

Heero looked at the other two figures in the bed then back to Trowa. "I don't believe you."

"Why not?" Trowa scowled at him.

"Because you won't tell me." Heero shrugged one shoulder, maintaining that maddening indifferent tone.

"There's nothing to tell alright? It was my fault." Trowa's voice was strained by still quiet as if he was fighting hard to keep from yelling.

"What was your fault?" This seems to be the biggest problem from Heero's perspective. He didn't understand what Trowa was blaming himself for.

Trowa closed his eyes. He didn't want to tell Heero. "I made you do it." He whispered a few minutes later, very quietly.

Heero gained a very confused look then. "Just what is it you think you *made* me do?"

"Oh come on Heero. Don't act so dense! I very nearly raped you! *Twice*!" Trowa yell-whispered again, his eyes open to glare at Heero.

"You didn't." Heero said this firmly, tilting his head to show some of the healing bite marks. "If I protested that, why would I choose this?" Heero raised a hand, fingering the bites. "I was confused, not against the idea. Stop making problems over something that did not happen. You have not the strength to rape me, if I wanted you gone, you would have been." Heero rolled his shoulders, clearly dismissing it, before turning his chair back around to start a new program. Trowa shrugged deciding the conversation was over and let himself relax into the bed. He still didn't feel very good about it. "Are you going to let me redo your laptop later for the firewalls and hacker protections?" Heero tapped on the keyboard, working out the logistics for his last program of the day.

"Sure. Do what you want."

"You don't believe me either." Heero's voice was thoughtful then he shrugged again. "I'll deal with your system later. I'll not need to add anything to Duo's system since I'm using his programming as a template. Hmm." Heero tapered into silence, becoming involved in his work.

Quatre sat up roughly, knocking Trowa to the side and taking Wufei with him as he gasped and his eyes flew open. Heero spun around immediately, halting his typing. "Are you alright?"

Quatre was taking loud gasps of gulping air as he clung to Wufei, who was, oddly enough, still sleeping in sitting position, curled around Quatre. "Quatre?" Trowa sat up and put a hand on Quatre's back. Quatre flinched a little.

Duo peeked his head around the bathroom doorframe, then opened it further as he came forward, Zechs with the phone in his hands as the pair entered the room. "Q?"

"I'm okay." Quatre said. "I'm okay." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm alright," he whispered.

Zechs settled the phone on the table, then sank into a chair. "That's becoming a popular mantra."

Duo gave Miri a solid whack on the back of the head. "Be nice, just because you've been slumming all day doesn't mean you need to be insensitive." Duo then moved to Quatre, studying his face. "You breathing okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine. Really... just..." Quatre shook his head trailing off. "Wufei... wake up." Quatre cooed gently as he shook Wufei.

Miri was rubbing the back of his head. "You didn't have to hit so hard, I would have listened."

Duo cast a sly glance to Miri then looked back, expression sobering. "He's sleeping well for once."

Quatre shivered and shook Wufei gently again. "Yeah..." he whispered.

Duo moved until he was kneeling, and he ran a finger down Wufei's cheek. He then stood, backing to a chair by Zechs and sitting down. He didn't say anymore, just watching.

Wufei woke a moment later his neck shifting and tilting as his eyes focused on Quatre. "Hi." he said softly.

"Hi." Quatre felt a final shiver laced through him and he smiled at Wufei, running his hands over Wufei's back.

Miri looked from the pair on the bed to Duo, seeing the slightly pained, but oddly pleased look Duo had. He lifted his hand to play with the end of Duo's braid. Duo finally lowered his gaze as he felt the touch; well aware Miri was trying to distract him from the melancholy that was trying to swallow him up.

Heero let out a breath on a sigh. *He was the only one that wasn't depressed over something now wasn't he?*

Wufei tilted his body, wanting to lie back down on the bed and dragged Quatre back down with him. Quatre sighed and cuddled Wufei close to him, wondering what was up with Duo. *Why hasn't he threatened me??* He asked himself, completely baffled. "You wanna go back to sleep?" he whispered to Wufei. He felt Trowa re-settle behind him.

Wufei shook his head. "No." he whispered back, but he did close his eyes. He just wanted to relax, but not sleep.

Duo barely stifled a growl. *Wufei is mine, but if I can't help him and Wufei doesn't want me near...* Quatre looked up at Duo nervously, he tried to squirm away but Wufei held him close.

Zechs heard the aborted noise. "Don't get mad, Duo, you've taken up your allotted growling time." He said it loud enough for the others to hear. Wufei's back was to Duo and didn't even realize that he was in the same room.

Duo just took a deep breath, casting Zechs an annoyed look. "I have not. I can growl if I feel like it. As long as I don't attack anyone." Wufei flinched upon hearing Duo's voice.

"Why did I allow you and Heero to convince me to come back inside? I was content in the tree, and anyone who wanted my company came to me. I've never tried to go where I'm not wanted if I could avoid it." Duo glared at Zechs, then sighed, letting go of his anger as hurt over the fact that he was indeed *not* wanted around by Wufei came back to him.

"Wufei wants you around." Quatre spoke softly speaking up for Wufei who was too afraid to speak at the moment. Quatre looked back down at Wufei. "He doesn't want you to scold him."

"He agreed when I said he didn't want me there. If he disagreed, he would have denied it." Duo peered at his hands, allowing Miri's hand petting his hair dull his anger a bit.

"He wanted you there, just not that close." Quatre clarified as Wufei clung to him.

"I can stand the touch of very few right now. He doesn't want to be part of that." Duo gazed down at his hands and sighed a bit.

"Yes he does. He wants nothing more than for you to hold him Duo." Quatre relied on the memories that Wufei had given him. Wufei remained silent, not looking at anyone.

"No he doesn't. He pushed me away." Duo sighed a little; lifting his head again with his eyes half closed to enjoy the petting a little better. It was helping him keep logical rather than running on hurt like he had earlier.

"You scared him." Quatre looked down at Wufei, wondering if what he was saying was alright to say in front of all the others. Wufei just blinked at him then looked away again.

"I didn't try to... I'm just reverting a bit is all... You've never been to L2, you have no idea what it's like there... I'm a natural fighter for a *reason.* It's getting harder to hold my temper is all. Besides, I wouldn't hurt him." Duo closed his eyes fully, relaxed. Quatre sighed and decided it was probably in his best interests to keep his mouth shut for now.

Zechs continued his actions. "He can't hold onto his temper when you treat him like a housecat."

*He certainly acts like one!* Trowa's thoughts were the same as Quatre's. *We're going to be keeping a lot of things unsaid around Duo now...*

"No, not a housecat. A housecat cozies up to anyone. I'm pickier than that. Besides, I just was pointing out something that wasn't getting through. Scythe is the only mecha with the possibility to being totally invisible. Quatre made Wufei think he could get that, and it ticked me off a bit since I'd already said it couldn't happen. I didn't get violent of anything though. I still wasn't feeling so good at that point." Duo took off the little electronic device at his belt. "Lot of good that did, never even got used like it was supposed to."

*I hope so.* Wufei sighed loudly. *But... he said I wasn't enough for him...* Wufei closed his eyes and gave out a soft sigh of pain.

"What's that?" Quatre asked, nodding his head towards the device.

Duo flipped the device at Quatre. "A sort of pager Wufei was supposed to use if he wanted to see me once he hit the hanger. He didn't use it, so I guess he liked you better." Duo says the last with a low undertone of annoyance, then shrugged. "Enough Miri. I'm going to hole up in the bathroom for a while people." Duo got up, moving into the bathroom and closing the door behind him with an almost slam.