Warnings: 4x2, yaoi,

TEARS OF THE BLUE ROSE

Quatre sighed and turned off the bathroom light. Walking through the dim hallway, which was only lit by a few scattered nightlights, he made his way back to his room. His button down pj top slipped down yet again, and Quatre cursed his slim shoulders. Some may have found the occurrence adorable, but it became agonizingly frustrating when it was one o'clock in the morning, their current safety house just happened to have a heater that barely worked, he was tired and freezing and, after emptying his aching bladder and wishing he hadn't drunk so much tea, all he wanted to do was crawl back in bed and snuggle under the covers. Quatre pulled on the baby blue silk top, which accented his pale ivory skin, petite build, soft, fluffy light blonde hair, and made brought out the touch of blue in his gentle aqua eyes. He snorted in annoyance when, as soon as his hand released the fabric, it fell slipped right back down, mocking him.

He yawned as he passed Duo's ajar door, and almost missed the soft sobs coming from within. He paused, weariness and frustration forgotten, immediately replaced by concern. Was Duo crying! Masaka! Quietly, he peeked in and thanked Allah when the door didn't squeak. As the door was pushed back, a slim streak of faint nightlight light cut through the extremely dark interior, just landing on the slight, gently curved figure barely visible under the mound of covers. And said covers were shaking slightly.

Delicate brows arched in concern, biting his lower lip, Quatre made his way into Duo's room. The blinds had been drawn, blocking the moon and stars light; no wonder it was so dark in here. But why? Hesitantly, slowly, he sat down on the edge of the bed. He didn't feel, but sensed Duo stiffening. "Duo?" he queried softly.

A muffled sniffle and the covers stirred. "Duo? Are you alright."

"Just peachy. No worries, Quat. Bad dream is all. Go back to bed." Quatre, however, heard the pain in the tone and saw through the shield.

He leaned over and placed gentle, light hands on the mound that was Duo. "I'm not like the others; you can't brush me off so easy." Not that the other pilots, who were all currently away on missions, didn't care; each was just very introverted, and didn't pry into others affairs.

He was met with silence. Quatre waited for a response; when he got none, he pulled aside blanket after blanked, until Duo's head appeared, face turned away from him. He leaned over even more, one soft, finely boned finger brushing away stray wisps of golden honey brown hair that had escaped from the thick braid to curl about his face. Duo's creamy, lightly freckled cheek was warm and slightly flushed. His soft pad of his finger traced the fresh tear tracks.

"Duo, please don't shut me out. I care about you; you're my friend. We're friends, ne? "

Duo didn't respond to the soft plea; he just stared at the wall, violet eyes glazed over and full pink lips in a tight line.

Quatre felt his eyes burn with tears. "We're friends, ne? Remember the pact we made last summer, at the beach? You and me, we promised to be friends forever. Best friends forever. We still are, ne?"

"Friends forever." Duo repeated dully. He turned his head and met Quatre's concerned gaze. "Friends forever." He said, smiling slightly, and his eyes shot with a hint of warmth.

"Yes, Duo. Friends forever." Seeing the relieved tears spring to the aqua eyes, Duo gingerly reached up and wiped them away. Quatre caught his soft porcelain hand in his own and placed it on his heart. He bowed his head. "And friends tell each other, don't they? You'll let me help, ne? I'm your friend, right?"

Duo's wide purple eyes stared up at his friend. Did his pain really matter that much to Quatre? He cursed himself for his stupidity; he should've known how much his pain would hurt the sensitive blonde. He should've hidden it better. But it was too late now. And a part of him was glad that Quatre was here with him. He didn't feel so alone; now that his secret was found, he didn't feel the need to hide it anymore, to run from the closeness offered by the little one.

"Duo, will you tell me? Let me help." Quatre's tears fell onto his hand, and the worried, soft aqua eyes met his own surprised violet ones. He wanted to tell him, to open up and share, but the words were stuck in his throat. He could only look at Quatre, putting his pain and sorrow into his eyes.

Feeling Duo wanting to communicate, but unable to open up, Quatre smiled gently. "Is it from the OZ guards? Before Hiro freed you?"

Duo slowly shook his head.

"Hm." Quatre paused to ponder; he seemed to have touched a nerve, so he kept probing.

"Does it have something to do with Hiro?"

Duo reluctantly nodded, lowering his gaze as shame overcame them. Shame and memories. He shuddered, fighting back the demons that plagued him nightly since his rescue.

Seeing and feeling the intense flash of pain, Quatre watched as Duo looked away, but didn't break their emotional closeness. Probbing gently, a sudden conclusion dawned on him. A conclusion as to why, ever since Hiro'd brought him back, Duo had been so withdrawn, closed off, silent and solemn; not his usual self. "What happened between you two? Did you say something to Hiro?"

Duo's violet eyes filled with tears; he blinked, but the poured out anyway. Quatre's first instinct was to wipe them away, but Duo needed to shed his pain and tell him before he could comfort him. "I-I told him...I t-told him...that..I l-loved him." Duo's heart shaped, sweet featured face contorted with pain and he rolled over onto his stomach, face buried in his arms, and sobbed.

Quatre was shocked; he certainly hadn't expected this! He laid his hands on Duo's soft shoulders. "Hiro.he...he pushed me away..he didn't say anything, but, oh God, Quatre, you should've seen the look on his face!" Duo's body shook harder now, his sobs becoming audible.

Quatre was at a loss for words; all he was able to do was stroke Duo's disheveled braid and softly shaking shoulders, offering his silent support and comfort. A few seconds later, and he was taken by surprise when Duo flopped over, sat up, and flung himself into Quatre's arms in one fluid, swift motion, burying his face against his slim chest and soaking the soft blue silk with his tears. Quatre wrapped his arms around the shaking boy and rubbed his slender, softly curved back. Tears of sympathy shed from his own eyes as he remembered a similar ordeal between him and Trowa a while back. He also remembered the comfort and companionship he'd received from Duo, although he'd never told him why he cried himself to sleep every night during those long summer months when they'd made that pact. He really should thank Trowa for that.

Quatre's tears landed onto Duo's back, dotting his black flannel pjs, which had yellow stars and moons on them. Feeling Duo still shaking fairly hard, he hugged him tighter and dried his tears. He held Duo tightly until his tears ran dry and he could cry no more. Then Duo lay limp with his head in Quatre's lap. One of Quatre's hands gently rubbed Duo's clothed, concave stomach. His hand hit a sharp lump, causing him to jump and jerk his hand away while Duo flinched. "What was that?"

Duo flushed and exposed his flat, pale stomach to reveal a belly button ring in the shape of a black onyx star. "Did that hurt?" Quatre asked, curious. He wasn't allowed to get any piercings; being one of the youngest children, he'd been forbidden to do so. Not because he was a boy; that didn't matter. He was, however, the youngest, and was therefore severely overprotected and sheltered.

Duo nodded, then grinned up at him. "Not at all."

Quatre giggled, glad that he was feeling better. "I'm in the mood for some cocoa. How about some hot chocolate?" Duo closed his eyes and nodded while the little blonde got up and went to the kitchen. He really shouldn't be calling Quat little; the blonde was only ½ an inch shorter than him. He chuckled; it really did suck, being so small.

Quatre soon came back with 2 steaming mugs almost overflowing with whipped cream and marshmallows. He set them down on the bedside table and drew the blinds back to reveal a dark blue winter sky. The round moon glowed brightly, and a few stars twinkled above while fresh white snow glistened in its glow beneath.

Quatre curled up, resting against the head board while Duo sat 1/2 way up, leaning his head on Quatre's shoulder. Both clasped their mugs tightly, enjoying the tingling warmth that spread through their bodies from the drink. It was amazing, the soothing properties of hot chocolate. "I love nights like this; everything is so calm and peaceful."

Duo nodded and snuggled against Quatre some more. They two lay very quiet and still, admiring the beautiful and silent winter night, drinking their hot cocoa, and sharing this silent, private moment with each other. Soon, their empty mugs were set on the table, and one of Quatre's arms found its way around Duo's slim waist, playing with his piercing before falling slack as the two eventually fell asleep.

Pilots 01 and 03 returned just as the sun was beginning to rise, chasing away the moon and painting the sky a rosy, distant pink. They walked silently through the safe house, on the way to their respective rooms, when they passed Duo's and saw the two pilots curled up in eachother's arms. They paused and smiled softly, remorsefully at the scene.

"I'm glad that Duo's found someone to love him the way he deserves." Hiro simply stated in his usual monotone, as if he was making a casual comment about the weather. But Hiro Yuy never casually commented on the weather, or on anything else. His heart ached for his loss, but he knew Duo would be much better off. Quatre could care for him much better than a cold hearted killing machine ever could.

Trowa nodded, silent as ever, sharing Hiro's opinion, but it was about Quatre instead. He still hated himself for breaking the little one's heart, but what kind of love could a silent mercenary ever give such a sweet angel?

Sharing a private glance, eyes cold and frozen as always, the two parted ways to ready for the next mission.

Owari.

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yeah, kind of sucky ending there..couldn't think of a good way to end this!! But it only took me 1 ½ hours to write!!!!! I'm glad my soc got cancelled today, or this wouldn't have been finished!!!!! And, I know, it was supposed to be more limey, but, well, I just couldn't get in the mood for that right now! My muse wanted angst and mushiness, so this is shounen- ai instead! And I didn't wanna wait and see if I got in the mood; if I waited, the odds are pretty high that it would never have gotten finished, like most of my fics!!!!