"Shoulda just walked away that first time," Duo said softly, his face leaning a little into Trowa's touch.
"We didn't."
"No, ship sailed an' all." Duo's hand went to Trowa's chest, his palm across roughly where his heart was, and they were paused there on the brink of a relationship that they could never have. "I have fuckin' feelings for you, fuck knows why."
"My outgoing personality?"
Duo chuckled. "Naw – because you had the same shitty start and instead of becoming the goddamn worst like me, you made a better choice. You made a family and you raised that kid like your own. I chose death cos' it was easy for me. You chose something better."
Trowa didn't think he made a better decision – just after Quatre there was nowhere better for him to go than the circus and Catherine. And he needed no awards for raising Eli – he'd automatically loved him from the moment he was thrust into his arms as tiny hands wrapped around his fingers.
There was no time to think of what they might've had – a different lifetime where they weren't standing in this situation. Fuck. Trowa had feelings as well, complicated ones, ones that a guy with a braid had created by walking into his life when he needed him. Who'd helped him when no one else could, who'd kissed him hard, who he'd fucked in a cheap hotel room, who'd fucked him in a shower and now stood in front of him, alone, one last time.
When Trowa's nephew is threatened by the ruthless father who abandoned him, Trowa needs help in order to fight back and protect both Catherine and the little boy. Things get complicated when both Shinigami and the Perfect Soldier come to his aid as the three men must discover where they stand with each other while they work out a way to protect Trowa's family. Primary pairing - 2x3x2
My notes: The pilots have grown up and fragmented, finding homes where they can, caught in the cycles of violence. Duo, Heero and Trowa are broken in different ways, and the sharp edges grind against each other. It's glorious.