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"Coffee Shop Encounters"Written By: Ashkara Disclaimer: I sadly enough do not own them. Sigh. Rating: PG 13 Warnings: definitely an AU, Pairings: 1+2, 3+4, 5+SP, 6+IW Summary: Quatre Winner, the young CEO of Winner
Enterprises, meets and befriends four college students at Roberto's
Cafe. They turn out to be exactly what he needs to turn his life around. "Coffee Shop Encounters" CSE-2: Venetian Brew “You got a minute, Duo?” The long-haired boy looked up from his reading. They
had all adjourned from Roberto’s to the orphanage to actually
begin their homework a few hours before. Trowa’s question was
a welcome distraction. “Sure! What’s on your mind?”
The taller boy signalled for his braided friend to follow
him, and Duo complied silently, intrigued by the other’s behaviour.
As the kitchen door closed behind them, he could hold it back no longer.
“Tell me! What’s up?” “How did you meet him?” It took Duo a second to figure out what the other was
talking about, but he smiled when he did. “Quatre? He walked
in one night last week- Roberto got him in there like he got me- and
we started talking. Thought you all would like him, too. Was I right?”
Trowa blushed, and Duo’s grin deepened. He nudged
the quiet boy gently with his elbow. “Out with it, Tro. You can
tell Duo, can’t you?” Trowa pulled out a chair and sat down distractedly.
“I… He’s kinda cute, isn’t he?” Duo gave a quiet laugh. “Yeah, he is.” Trowa drank a long pull of orange juice straight from
the carton. “I’m glad he’s coming with us this weekend.”
Duo rocked back in his own chair. “It’s gonna
be fun, alright! By the way- I approve of him completely.” Trowa shot his friend a dirty look. “Since when
do I need your approval, Duo?!” The braided boy smirked. “You don’t need
it, but I know you wanted it. So it’s yours. He’s
a nice guy in need of a real life. I think you could definitely
help him out there.” Trowa blushed. “Thanks, then.” Duo turned to leave, but stopped at the door. “You
know, Robbie told me that Quatre usually ducks in there for a caffeine
fix around noon.” He smiled and walked out. *** I hate being nervous, damn me! Why am I doing this?
Trowa fidgeted where he sat, his face buried in one of his textbooks
though his mind was anywhere but on cow anatomy. It was 11:57 AM,
according to the large, copper clock over Roberto’s bar. 11:58.
I’m a complete idiot. Duo’s probably laughing at me right
now- this is probably one of his jokes, and I’m falling for it.
He’ll never show- Quatre’s got better things to do than
to hang out with me! Roberto smirked as Trowa ordered a cup of house coffee,
eyeing the tall boy’s spare frame. “With cream and sugar,
boy, or I’m making you a mocha, okay?” Trowa sighed- Roberto never stopped trying to feed him
and fatten him up. He’d been coming to the café for three
years, and that hadn’t changed. He dutifully added cream to his coffee, and even sugar
when the Cajun glared at him evilly. “Dere’s no way bein’
dat thin is healthy, boy! What would you say, Quatre?” Trowa turned, startled. The blond was standing just
inside the doorway, shrugging off his overcoat, and he looked up-
Their eyes met, and both boys smiled. “Hi, Trowa!
I’m sorry, Roberto, what was your question?” The man snorted. “Dis here boy is too thin, don’t
you tink?” It had been a good morning for the young businessman,
and seeing Trowa was only making it better. It felt good to look Trowa
over very slowly and reply, “I don’t know- he looks pretty
good.” Roberto burst out laughing as Trowa blushed a nice shade
of red. Quatre laughed along, shrugging out of his suit jacket
as he took the seat next to his friend. “I normally just grab
my coffee and run, but I guess it won’t hurt to take a few minutes
for, me, right?” Trowa smirked at him. “Well, you are the
boss.” There was an awkward silence before both began to talk
at once. Trowa blushed. “Please- go ahead!” Quatre smiled. “I was just wondering why you’re
here today- I’ve never seen you here before at this time of day.”
Trowa gulped- it was the one question he wasn’t
truly prepared to answer. “Well… you wouldn’t have
seen me here before because I haven’t been here.” He came to see me- to see me. Great! He
could tell how embarrassed the other was, and Quatre felt another
rush straight to his toes. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.”
“I am, too!” Roberto interjected as he poured
them coffee. “Mebbe you can get dis boy to take a breath- stop
working so much!” Trowa raised an eyebrow. “Quatre, do you eat lunch?”
The blond shook his head, drinking down a quarter of
his coffee by rote. “No- unless coffee counts. It takes too long.”
The green-eyed student turned back to Roberto. “We
should really feed him, then.” Quatre took a peek at the heavy-looking book in Trowa’s
lap. “I’m not a lion, Trowa- you don’t just feed me,”
he said with a wry smile. Green eyes swivelled and glinted with amusement. “I
do today- we have to build up your strength for the trip this weekend.”
Roberto chuckled. “Don’ worry- I’ll take
care of it.” He disappeared, whistling. Quatre turned to the other boy, who was wearing a small
smile. “What’s for lunch?” “Hell if I know.” “Right.” He knew that he should feel angry,
but Quatre couldn’t seem to wipe a smile. “So… Anything
I should know before the trip?” Trowa’s eyes glinted. “Yeah- don’t listen
to a word Duo says about the wildlife. His heart’s in the right
place, but he loves his practical jokes a little too much.” Quatre’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? What did
he do?” Trowa laughed at the memory. “It was two years
ago- Wufei had just moved out here- he’s from a rather rich family,
you know, so he’d never done anything as basic as camping and
eating baked beans from a can- and he couldn’t stop teasing Wu.
The worst- we were camped by the riverbed and, before hitting the
sack, Duo told Wufei that there were scorpions that lived there, and
the only way to keep them from biting you in your sleep was to dig
a trench around your sleeping bag! He’s got pictures somewhere-
poor Wufei dug at least a foot deep into the sand all around his bag,
and then wiggled so much that night that the foot of it was hanging
over the edge of the trench, right in scorpion territory! Duo couldn’t
resist- he did one of those crawly-spider things to Wu to wake him
up…” He laughed again. “Heero and I had to pull Wufei
off of him when he found out it was all a joke!” Quatre laughed along with him, mentally filing the information
away. Yes- he would stick close to Trowa… “Chili and rice for de thin boys! Eat, both of
you!” They hadn’t heard Roberto’s approach, and both
of them jumped as he put steaming bowls down in front of them. It smelled really good, and Quatre fought off the impulse
to check his watch. He was the boss, after all. *** The blond’s smile didn’t falter. “If
you could do them without needing me to hold your hand, they’d
already be done. Now, shall we?” Shit! Where did that come from?! I never talked to
people like that before… Oh well. He held his office door
open and politely waved the taller man through. But he stopped before he closed his door. “Hey
Julia, would it be possible to check out if my lunch meetings are
really important?” She cocked her head. “Sure. Any particular reason?”
He shrugged. “Eating lunch is a good thing- I enjoyed
it today. Might want to do it again tomorrow, that’s all.”
She smirked. “Tomorrow, you’re supposed to
meet with Mark Furrows from PR about the new Clean Air campaign…”
Quatre rolled his eyes. “I already approved it,
didn’t I?” He got a nod of assent, and he smiled. “Okay,
then he’s stalling and doesn’t really need to see me. Tell
him that.” “No problem, sir.” Julia smiled as the door
closed. It was nice to see that the Boss was going to take some time-
she had been reading the signs of burnout for quite a while now, and
she hadn’t liked it. It was just the way the Company had been run- old Mr
Winner had been far too happy to run everything and overpay executives
for letting him do the work. Quatre, being as young as he was, was
in no position to change everything from day one. It appeared, though, that some things would finally
be changing. *** Roberto smirked at the blushing student in front of
him as the café door swung shut behind Quatre Winner. “So
what was dat?” Trowa tried to shrug it off- “Nothing- he’s
just a nice guy…” Roberto snorted. “Righ’. Do I look dat stupid?”
Trowa somehow managed to keep a straight face. “Did
I say you did, or are you getting insecure about yourself again?”
Roberto cuffed him on the arm in jest. “You keep
tinking like dat, boy, and EAT!” Trowa dutifully dug into his food again. I’m
grinning like an idiot. Damn! *** “Yo, Sally! Helloooo?!” A woman with curly red-blonde hair appeared around the
corner and tried to glare at Duo Maxwell. The boy grinned back at
her unrepentantly. “Sally, you sure you’re up to this?”
She nodded her head. “No prob- you need a break
sometimes, too, Duo. Get your skinny butt out of here, okay?”
Heero grunted as he came around the doorway. “I
see nothing wrong with his butt…” “I just don’t get the same view that you
normally have, Heero,” Sally quipped back sharply. “Hey!” a blushing Duo yelled at the both of
them, only blushing darker when they smirked at him. “There are
kids here, people!” Sally laughed at him. “Yes, there are, and they’re
gonna start yelling for you soon if you don’t leave already.
I’m a doctor, I can handle it, okay?” “Good luck, onna,” Wufei replied in an amused
voice, grabbing one of Duo’s arms as Heero grabbed the other.
They pulled him out of the building, not releasing him until Trowa
had the door safely closed behind them. Duo shrugged their hands off, glaring at Heero in particular.
“If you think you’re getting any after discussing
my ass with Sal like that, have you got it comin!” Heero smirked at him and turned to the others. “Isn’t
he cute when he’s angry?” “You…” Heero laughed as Duo glomped onto
him, squeezing him so tight that he could barely breathe. “Duo… air… please…” A laugh. “Do you repent?” “…air… dammit, yes… Fine! Sorry…”
Duo released him and gave him a bright smile and a kiss
on the cheek. “Love you, too, Hee-chan!” Wufei rolled his eyes, in his normal response to Duo
and Heero’s flirting. “Will you two just get a room or get
in the car? We’ve got to pick Quatre up, still!” “Um… hi?” They all turned as they heard
a voice addressing them from a small distance away. Quatre stood there,
dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and hiking boots, ready to go. “Quatre! We were going to drop by your place…”
The blond shrugged. “I wanted to come down here,
anyway. This is a cool place,” he said, gesturing around them.
Duo cocked an eyebrow, but said nothing. And Winner
Mansion is quite different, of course. Afraid you’ll scare us
away? “Alrighty, then! Let’s load up!” They piled into Trowa’s SUV, tossing their packs
into the back. “Jesus! You two take the middle seat this
time, and try not to be so… Ugh!” Wufei made a face as Heero
gave Duo a sloppy kiss and turned to grin at him. Quatre slid into the passenger seat and quickly buckled
his seat belt. He turned to smile at Trowa. “Are they always
this bad?” “Only when it involves teasing Wu. Ready?”
Quatre nodded, and Trowa started the car, smiling appreciatively
as it hummed and purred back at him. “Here we go.” “So Quatre, there’s a few things you should
know about the place we’re going…” Duo began. *** “I need to talk to him immediately!” Julia smirked up at the tall man. “I’ve already
told you, Mr. Richards. Mr. Winner is away for the weekend.”
Richards’ was almost shaking with anger. “I
told him that I needed to see him before we initiated plans for the
construction of the new satellite!” She smiled. “Oh! Was that what you wanted to see
him about? He left this for you.” She handed him a small folder,
watching in amusement as he took it and opened it. Richards read, “We’ve already discussed this,
but since you brought it to my attention again, I took the liberty
of going through your specs again. The plan has been approved as it
appears in this folder and now on the mainframe. Don’t ever try
to cheat me again, Richards, or you’ll lose more than just the
money you were skimming from the project. Quatre.” He looked down into the figures- How did that little
bastard find that! His father would never have looked… He
finally noticed that Julia was staring at him and smiling. She cocked her head. “Is everything understood,
then? Mister Quatre will want a full report on the initial stages,
one week from Monday, and he’s requested to see the books, as
well.” Richards growled, “Old Winner would never have
done this…” “Perhaps not,” Julia replied, “But this
is Mister Quatre’s company now. Deal with it, and have a pleasant
weekend.” *** Roberto was surprised when the five boys walked in at
around 7:30 PM on Sunday night, each looking tired, yet relaxed and
healthy, as he had never seen Quatre and had rarely seen Duo. He waved
them up to the bar. “How was de trip?” Quatre’s eyes were bright and shiny. “Oh-
it was great! And so nice- my cell phone didn’t ring once!”
Heero smirked at him. “Wonder why. Here’s
the battery pack.” He opened his hand. Quatre’s jaw flapped comically, no sound coming
out for a few moments as he realised exactly what had happened. “Why
you… you… Something could have happened…” Trowa intervened smoothly, “And ruined the first
break you’ve taken in three years, Quatre. They need a CEO, not
a babysitter.” The blond settled back as he put in the battery pack
and turned his phone back on. No messages. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“I guess it’s alright, then.” Duo threw an arm around his shoulders. “Damn straight
it is! Hey, if I wasn’t allowed to call home about my kids, then
you’ve got to take a total break, too. Think of it this
way- you get to go to meetings, I get to go to class, and then we
both get to clean up all the problems other people couldn’t handle
over the weekend!” “Sally’s probably done a better job than you
would, baka,” Heero teased. The long-haired boy’s head flew around, braid whipping
through the air as he turned to face his lover. “All distractions
are your fault, Yuy!” “And you both enjoy it, so either stop or get a
room, okay?” Wufei interjected, knowing only too well where those
sort of arguments led. Roberto laughed quietly to himself as he headed back
to get the five some food to go with their coffee. “Dat Wufei…
don’ know who he’s more jealous of.” *** “Whoa! This place is really yours?!”
Duo asked, staring up at Winner Mansion with wide eyes. Quatre nodded, trying not to feel nervous. His friends
were either going to feel terribly jealous and never speak to him
again, feel overawed and never speak to him again, or take it in stride.
I didn’t want them to drive me home, but I’ll never try
to shut Duo up ever again… God- this weekend was so much fun-
I hope this won’t drive them away! Trowa stared up at the house in amusement. “D’you
need a roadmap to find your room?” “Master Quatre! So glad you’re home, young
man!” The blond looked up to see his handler, Rashid, rushing
down to meet him. He smiled wearily. “Hi, Rashid! Nice to see you,
too. Nothing catastrophic happen while I was gone?” Rashid smiled. “Richards gave Julia some trouble,
but she handled it- he didn’t like your note too much.”
Quatre sniggered. “Good. He’ll think twice
next time.” He turned back to the others regretfully. “Sorry,
guys. This is Rashid- he’s like an older brother to me. Rashid,
these are Trowa, Wufei, Heero and Duo.” Rashid bowed to them all. “Nice to meet you all.
Would you care to come in for a while?” Duo shook his head regretfully. “I’ve got
a house full of kids to get back to, so as much as I’d love to…
Hey Q- can we take a rain check?” Rashid picked up Quatre’s rucksack and prudently
left them in peace. The others waved as they got back into the car, but
Quatre stopped Trowa with a hand on his arm. “Um, Trowa? Want
to do lunch sometime?” Quatre nodded. “I’ll see you there.”
Trowa grinned. “See you there, Quatre. Good night.”
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