Happily Ever After by Agent Midnight
Standard disclaimers apply
--Quatre--
He listens carefully to the tapping of his dress shoes on the hardwood
floor of the hallway, stopping himself from looking down and watching
his feet move to the rhythm in his head. A hand reaches out and slides
along the tan-painted walls, gentle fingers running over the smooth
surface.
Clouded eyes clear briefly as he moves his hand from the wall to
the handrail at the stairs. He quietly moves down the staircase, forcing
himself to touch each individual wooden step as he makes the trip
down to the main floor of his home. A creak in one of the stairs causes
him to tense up and pause halfway down.
'Paranoid, Quatre. Move on.'
With a sigh that sounds too loud in the empty stairwell, he pushes
himself foward and manages to reach the bottom. A shudder runs through
his slim frame as he feels the bottom of his shoe touch soft carpet,
the transition feeling rough and uneven. He steps back onto the wooden
step, and stands there.
'It's just carpet, Quatre. It's just carpet.'
He can't manage to calm himself down this time, so he sits back
on the stairs and starts rocking.
"Why is it so rough?"
He craddles his head in his hands and tries to keep himself from
screaming. Voices race through his head, thoughts trying to comfort
and soothe him.
"Help me."
--Trowa--
Black and white images dance across the screen as his intense eyes
try to follow every one of them. The television screen flashes from
frame to frame, pictures rapidly changing from shot to shot. He blinks
slowly, and silently curses himself for missing that split second
photograph that stays on the screen for at least thirty seconds. He
reaches a hand out and pushes the rewind button, shivering as the
dance of colors reverses.
He watches the segment again, then rewinds. He smiles as it plays
for what could be the twentieth time.
"So beautiful."
He pauses the tape and stares at the still-shot, breath speeding
up and filling the empty room with rasping. His eyes slip shut and
he mumbles quietly to himself, nonsense words spilling from chapped
lips.
The image stays paused on the screen for another hour.
--Wufei--
"Damn it, what's wrong with you?"
Darkened eyes shift to the source of sound, taking in the woman
propping up on the bed.
"Are you going to answer me, Wufei?"
He turns back around and fixes his eyes on the wallpaper, his hand
sliding a cloth over his sword, polishing it for the third time that
night. The woman makes a soft sound of disapproval, and climbs out
of the bed.
"Wufei, come back to bed."
A hand slips onto his shoulder, and he stands quickly to get it
off. He steps away from his chair and moves around the woman, storming
into the hallway of their house. She follows, yelling after him. The
loud sound interrupting the peaceful silence causes him to wince,
and his sword tumbles from loose fingers to settle on the red carpet.
Her yelling turns into quiet talking, her voice turning from angry
to soothing in two seconds. She walks over to him and wraps her arms
around his body. They hold each other in the hallway, silence settling
down once again.
-- Heero--
He stares at his reflection in the window, trying to focus on the
outside world and finding out he can't. His hand comes up and rests
on the window, trying to block out his own image. The moon shines
through the window and seeks out his blanket-covered body, highlighting
him as the main star of the nighttime show.
He begins feeling exposed the longer he sits in front of the window,
so he stands abruptly and flicks the curtains closed. The room is
encased in comforting darkness, and yet the eyes still seek him out.
A soft murmur of fear escapes from his throat, and he stumbles back
towards the guest room's door. Out in the hallway, the light immediately
leaps onto him, once again placing him out in the open for anyone
to see.
He stumbles towards his bedroom, his wool blanket clutching at his
feet and tangling around his legs. The blanket is dropped from trembling
fingers as he reaches his room and grasps the doorknob. He groans
in worry, fumbling into his room and shoving the door closed with
a gasp. A quiet, sad voice behind him splits through the darkness
and reaches his ears.
"Heero?"
Calm settles over his system as he turns and moves to the queen-sized
bed.
"Heero... are you okay?"
He climbs into bed and sighs, trying to control the pounding of
his heart.
--Duo--
The shadows reach out and caress his body, pulling and trying to
coax him out of bed. He ignores the dark figures and allows his eyes
to glue themselves to the ceiling. The ceiling fan swishes in time
with his harsh breathing, pushing intoxicating air down towards where
he lay in the large bed. Sucking in a deep breath, he tries to hold
it as long as he can.
Sound in the hallway causes his clean air to rush out, and he stills
himself to try and listen more closely. The doorknob rattles and he
tenses up, wondering if he should find his old gun. A second later,
a figure enters and slams the door. The picture on the wall shudders
with the impact.
He sucks in more clean air, and pushes it out.
"Heero?"
The figure in the doorway stops, and the room is quiet once again.
The figure begins to slowly trudge to the bed and to the person on
it.
"Heero... are you okay?"
He turns quiet as his companion sits on the bed. His eyes trail
up the length of his friend's spine, stopping at the thick mop of
hair caressing the lean neck. Heero pulls his feet up into the bed
and lays on his back, staring at the ceiling.
Duo sucks in clean air.
He pushes it out, and slides his hand over to the left side of the
bed, searching for Heero's hand. He reaches smooth skin and slides
his cold hand across the warm flesh. Pressure on his hand floods through
his senses, and he feels sharp prickling at the back of his eyes.
He sucks air in quickly.
The shadows flock away from him, leaving him alone. The ceiling
fan continues spinning but nothing bad happens. He breathes in the
fresh air, pushing his fear away.
"I'm okay, Duo. Are you?"
He can't stop himself from crying at the simple question, tears
flowing out of his eyes. Heero pulls him into a warm embrace, holding
him tightly.
The room is filled with rough sobs and harsh coughing. The shadows
shy away from the display, retreating into separate corners of the
room, bunching up and leaving the two alone.
His tears continue to stream down his face as he clutches onto his
friend.
When his sobs settle down into gentle sniffles, his friend kisses
his forehead and softly whispers into his hair.
"Maybe one day we'll get to live happily ever after..."
*******
The End
*******
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