Quatre hurried into the room to find Trowa waiting patiently in a chair by the window of the large room. When he had closed the door behind him Trowa rose from his seat and approached slowly with his face devoid of expression causing Quatre's palms to begin to sweat. He resisted the urge to wipe them on his freshly pressed trousers and gave Trowa a hesitant hug that was awkward and rigid before backing off and smiling wearily. "Thank you for coming early to speak with me." He lowered his head and looked up through the fringe of his blonde bangs. "I... I'm glad to see you."
Trowa tried not to show how very displeased he was at the way Quatre looked. He was thinner than he ever had been and there were deep hollows under his eyes that were colored with dark smudges from obvious lack of sleep. His shirt and pants were pressed and clean, but his hair was almost as disheveled as Heero's usually was and obviously unwashed. Even his voice had a hollowed out sound to it and was softer than he had ever used around him, especially when they were in private. He also noticed how Quatre changed the weight on his feet back and forth before settling himself, a nervous gesture he never had before. It was upsetting and something in his heart twisted at the sight of him so distressed.
"The tone of your message sounded urgent."
"It is... for many reasons." He let out an explosive sigh and paced for a few moments before slumping heavily in a nearby chair and running his fingers through his haggard hair. "Because for some reason you all have decided I should be the primary contact for the higher ups; I was the first one to meet the new pilot of Deathscythe. Only... " He hesitated while he seemed to gather his thoughts. "O-only h-he isn't new." Quatre twisted the edge of his shirt with his thumb and index finger and closed his eyes for a moment.
"What do you mean isn't new? It's someone we know or have met before?" Trowa pushed all his rising concerns back down and ignored the sick feeling that was growing in the pit of his stomach. He was hoping that Quatre had finally reconsidered his decision to distance himself from the rest of them, but from the body language and the way Quatre had stiffened at their terse embrace he guessed that their relationship wasn't the reason he had been asked to come early. Something was nagging at the back of Trowa's mind and the sick feeling in his gut only intensified from the growing tension that was rolling off Quatre in waves.
Quatre opened his eyes and fixed Trowa with a steady, but haunted gaze that made Trowa want to kneel on the floor in front of Quatre's chair; wrap his arms around him and protect him from whatever it was that had him so unnerved. Instead he waited patiently for Quatre to say whatever he was struggling to say.
"D-Duo is alive."
Trowa felt like the room had suddenly tilted.
"He's not dead. He's very much here... o-only he doesn't remember us... exactly."
"Alive?" Trowa felt the urge to get sick but fought against the bile rising in his throat to speak. "It isn't possible. There's no way he could have survived." Trowa looked at Quatre's face and realized the implications if what Quatre was saying was true. "But how?"
"It's an incredible story, one you may want to sit for. You look a little wobbly" Quatre had risen and crossed to where Trowa was standing shakily on his feet and gently took his left hand in his to lead him to the overstuffed chair he had vacated all without him noticing the movement. "Well you took the news better than I did. Apparently I was out cold for twenty minutes when Master O told me. You still seem to be able to find the ability to speak."
Sitting down with Quatre's hand still firmly clutched in his he felt a bit more grounded. Duo was alive? Oh God, Heero. His mind finally caught up with the rest of what Quatre had said and he stared at him dumbfounded. "What do you mean he doesn't remember us?"
Quatre took a deep breath and looked away from the piercing stare of Trowa's green eyes. "He doesn't remember anything before his first visit to the University Medical Center. When he disappeared from the hospital apparently he had gone to find Professor G to execute him for his part in the L2 plague and for betraying the colonies by siding with the Romefeller Foundation. But once he had found him somehow G convinced him that he had never abandoned the colonies and was just some sort of puppet in the whole L2 disaster." Quatre absentmindedly brushed his thumb against the top of Trowa's hand and his voice became distant. He looked out the window at the generated summer sky and heaved another gusty sigh. "G then treated Duo somehow... I'm not clear on all the details of that and kept Duo at a secret location while he... recovered."
Trowa snorted in contempt and saw Quatre's eyes flash to meet his before dropping to their entwined fingers. He immediately released his hold on Trowa's hand and slid to a seat on the floor wrapping his arms around his knees and resting his head on them. "Then what they sent him back to active duty, only now he doesn't even remember why?"
Quatre got up explosively and paced around the small office again lacing his fingers together behind his back and staring at the ornate carpeting in the office. "That's the thing Trowa. He does remember things! Ask him about any of the missions we completed and he can recite them better than the damn reports can or about his life on L2 before joining the cause. He remembers the Sweepers and Howard, but ask him about any of us, or about his relationship with Heero, and he gets this blank far away look and then shrugs. He remembers everything but us!" Trowa watched his pacing; struggling to keep himself from snatching Quatre's wrist and pulling him into his lap to calm him somehow. Quatre's pace quickened for a few short strides then he stopped in front of Trowa. "It's like the memories of us have been strategically eliminated from his mind." He paused and shook his head before rubbing at his eyes that held barely contained exhaustion and worry. "During his 'treatment'... I think... I think they did something to erase his memories of us."
"G always said he was too valuable a weapon against Oz to destroy outright. I don't want to think that they did or could, but I wouldn't be surprised either." Trowa looked past Quatre to the clock that hung on the wall behind him. The clock was ticking. What were they going to say to Heero? "So then I take it you've spoken with him and G?"
Quatre nodded. "He's Duo, but he's just not the same Duo that left the hospital that day. And as for the higher ups... " Quatre raised his hands in disgust and frustration. "They say he'll recover his memory fully in time, but the process by which they had treated him was severe and that we are all lucky to have him back at all. They talk about him like he's some damned lab rat."
Trowa turned back from watching the second hand on the clock tick away the time they were to meet with Duo. They still hadn't talked about Heero and was about to say something to that effect when he heard the sniffle from Quatre. The knot in his gut twisted tighter as he watched Quatre scrub at his eyes again with the sleeve of his shirt. This time he gave in to the impulse and moved over to where Quatre stood shaking slightly and wrapped his arms around his slight frame.
He felt Quatre stiffen then all at once all the tension and frustration rushed out of him and he clung to Trowa like he was his only chance to stay on his own two feet. "There's more Trowa." Trowa gave him a little squeeze and let him take a few deep breaths before he started again. "He and I are to go on assignment together in Africa. Heero is to stay with you and Wufei and are going to provide backup in case we need it."
Trowa frowned again. It would make more sense for him to go along with Quatre or Wufei but Duo was still recovering from his ordeal. "Why send him with you instead of me or Wufei or Heero?"
"I asked the same thing." He looked up from where he had been resting his cheek on Trowa's collarbone. "It's a test. I'm not to interfere, only contact you guys if we run into trouble. They need to make sure he hasn't lost his edge."
"That's absurd."
"Not really. He's been through a lot of shit, Trowa. There's no way to tell how of these treatments G gave him over the past weeks has really affected him."
"And your part in the test?"
"Stand by, pick up if necessary. I'm supposed to be the level headed one in our group, apparently."
"Quatre you are the level headed one of us and if anyone should back up Duo it's you. You are the logical choice the rest of us would be too emotional."
Quatre huffed and let out a small laugh that held no mirth at all. "I feel like my skin is the only thing that is keeping me from going every which way but loose. I can't help feeling this whole thing is wrong. I don't know, maybe this is just too much for me. Maybe I should... I don't know."
"Run away?" He hadn't meant it to come out so bitter but the damage was done and Quatre pushed back and broke their embrace stiffly.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Quatre snapped softly.
"I don't know, Quatre." Watching Quatre hug himself and frown fiercely took all the heat out of his rising argument. "All I meant is that you look like this all has been taking a toll on you. Dealing with the fact that Duo is alive and you are the one who was told to reintroduce him to us and break the news of his... memory loss must be a hugely taxing ordeal for you to go through." Trowa frowned at the belligerent look on Quatre's face. "I want you to understand that you aren't alone in this. I'm here for you just as much as I am for Heero, or Duo, or Wufei."
The anger that had been building in Quatre also disappeared as quickly as it came. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I'm just not myself these days."
"We have a little time before the meeting. I think we should warn Wufei as soon as he gets here. I may need his help with Heero and I don't think you are up to the task right now. I want you to sit here and try to relax while I find you something to eat. You look like you could blow away in a strong gust of wind." Trowa graced him with a rare smile and tried to sound stern as he settled Quatre back into the chair. "Stay put. I'll be back shortly."
"Trowa... I... "
"No arguments, Quatre. Not this time. I know you said you didn't want to get attached to anyone and that you needed time to sort things out, but... " Trowa shrugged and spoke in a much quieter voice laced with emotion. "I've missed you and I am worried about you."
Quatre smiled softly and nodded again before resting his head back against the back of the chair and stared up at the ceiling. It was the right thing calling Trowa. He was running on empty and after seeing Duo the day before and trying to convince him of things he knew in his heart Duo should never be able to forget had taxed all his strength and most of his willpower to stay awake at the moment. Trowa was here and would help him think of something. There had to be some way to get their Duo back.
(:./ebony/red3)
