"Breathless"

Written By: Waterliliylf

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. All rights remain with Bandai, Sotsu and associated parties. No profit being made here.

Rating: R

Warnings: sap, angst, fluff

Pairings: 3x4, 13x2

Summary: Quatre finds himself introduced to an annoying young man, one he can't seem to get out of his head.

"Breathless"

Chapter 12:

[In which Quatre weighs up his options, with a little help from his friends….]

'You were on a date with Trowa?' Dorothy Catalonia's voice rose to crystal-shattering levels. 'No way.'

'One date, yes.' Quatre carefully held the 'phone away from his ear. He liked Dorothy; he really did, but he was already running late for his lunch appointment and Treize tended to be rather less tolerant of his punctuality issues than his other friends. 'How did you know?'

'Sylvia Noventa said her parents saw you in The Mermaid with him, but I thought she was just pulling my leg. Duo's Trowa?'

'I suppose so. Anyway, it doesn't matter. We won't be seeing each other again, and I'm trying to tell you about the most amazing man I was out with last night.'

'Trowa with the amazing green eyes and that body?' Dorothy screeched, getting her facts straight. 'Seriously? Wow. Did you sleep with him?'

'Of course I didn't. You know I never sleep with people on the first date.'

'Whatever. You idiot. I can't believe you didn't jump on him. Or let him jump on you. Come on, Quatre, reality check. It's not like you're ever going to get a second chance with him. He's way, way out of your league.'

'Ah, remind me again why we're friends, will you?' Quatre asked, nettled. 'And why exactly is he so out of my league? Not that I care in the least because I've met someone else who's crazy about me.'

She sighed. 'Because you're not his type, not remotely. You've got this cute, blond, innocent thing going on, and he's all brooding and smouldering like Heathcliff. He might have been tempted the one time, but I don't think he'd be interested enough to try again. You're not edgy enough.'

'I can be perfectly edgy if I want!'

'Oh, please. You think taking full-fat milk on your cereal is living on the edge.'

'Just because I'm not a total slut like you are, doesn't mean I'm not edgy.'

She snorted with laughter. 'Sure, Quatre. You're about as edgy as one of your cashmere scarves.'

'Scarves are edgy. You can use them for bondage or for garrotting people or lots of other things,' Quatre retorted. 'Dorothy, can we stop talking about Trowa, please? I want to tell you about Wufei.'

'Yeah, the art guy. He sounds boring. Like someone your parents would love.'

'And what's wrong with that?' It was true, though; they would. Wufei was perfectly suitable in every way; his ideal partner. Far, far better than Trowa, who was infuriating and aggravating and liked to maul people at every opportunity.

Dorothy sighed. 'Never mind. Anyway, it doesn't matter, does it? You had your chance, and that's that. It's such a damn waste that he's gay though. I'd grab him like a shot. Heh, maybe I could try to convert him.'

'Well, he is gay,' Quatre snapped. 'So he certainly wouldn't be interested in you. I may not be edgy but at least I'm the right sex for him.'

'Meow,' she retorted. 'Don't try to be bitchy, Quat. You can't carry it off. And if you're not interested in him, why do you care who he's with? You've got your boring guy who takes you to art shows and stuff.'

'He. Is. Not. Boring. Anyway, I have to go. I'm supposed to be meeting Treize at one.'

She snickered. 'In which case you're already late. OK. Will I see you at Sylvia's party tonight?'

'Probably. My sister Camilla's asked me to dinner first so I'll be late getting there. See you tonight.'

Right, Winner. Move. Stop daydreaming.

Zechs called just as he was pulling into the restaurant car park; a mere, miraculous fifteen minutes late. Even Treize couldn't hassle him over that; after all, he lived with Duo who had no concept of time whatsoever.

Oh, hi Zechs. What's up?'

'I think I should be asking you that. I hear you've bagged the deliciously exotic Chang Wufei. Is that true?'

'How do you know?' Hah. Deliciously exotic. Not boring in the least. And Zechs had to be a better judge of male attractiveness than a stupid straight girl. Even a slutty one like Dorothy.

'I have my sources.' Zechs made an attempt to sound mysterious and then laughed. 'I was at the gallery earlier and Duo mentioned it. Very nice, Quatre. Duo said he's totally smitten with you.'

'Um, Duo talks too much.' Quatre blushed slightly. He'd called his friend at what Duo had called an ungodly early hour that morning and gushed about Wufei's many perfections. After a while, Treize had come on the line and said that Duo had fallen asleep. 'But yes, we had the most amazing time last night.'

'Oh, really? Something you want to share?'

'A sculpture exhibition and dinner,' Quatre said primly.

'Ah, yes. The whole no sex on the first date rule.'

'Precisely.' Not that Wufei had pushed or anything; respectful, chivalrous person that he was. Perfect for Quatre. 'Do you know him?'

'Not personally. I've been to a couple of his lectures, and I know some of his colleagues. You've done quite well for yourself there. Those cheekbones! I'd love to paint him; do you think you could persuade him to model for me?'

'I could ask. But you're not painting my boyfriend in the nude!'

'Spoilsport,' Zechs teased. 'Your boyfriend, is he? After one date? Fast, Winner. Not that I blame you in the least. He's quite the catch, you know. His family must be worth a fortune, not that that matters to you, apart from his personal attractions. He's a master in all sorts of martial arts, you know; he must have the most amazing body.'

'No, I didn't know. He never said anything.' Quatre frowned at the clock on his dashboard. It was a little disconcerting. He'd thought he had Wufei all figured out as scholarly and cultured and rather shy. Then there was the motorbike, and now this black belt stuff.

'Mmm.' Zechs sighed dreamily. 'It's so sexy, isn't it? The whole warrior/scholar mix. You know, like Superman. I can just imagine him taking off those absurdly adorable glasses and letting his hair down and launching into those flying kicks they do.'

'I think you've been watching too many Chinese films. But I'll ask him about the painting. Maybe we could all have dinner during the week? I really have to go now. I'm meeting Treize.'

There. It was all perfect. Wufei would fit perfectly into his life. And Zechs was right, the thought of those flying kicks was rather sexy.

It was one of his and Treize's rituals; lunch on a Saturday if they were both free. Quatre couldn't remember any more how it had first started. It was at one of their lunches that Treize had first told him about Duo, that Quatre had told him he was planning to come out officially to his family. It was on a Saturday afternoon, when he was eighteen, that he'd told Treize he'd failed the entrance examination for the Sanque Conservatory of Music.

They took turns to choose the restaurant; Treize had picked a little Vietnamese place close to the gallery.

'How's Duo?' Quatre asked, once they'd ordered, and he'd taken a few sips of his tea. 'I thought he was coming.'

Treize gave him a shrewd look. 'Duo's fine; Lucrezia had an appointment at the dentist so he's minding the gallery, as I've already told you twice. Laragh is fine; the horses are fine, and my roses are flourishing. Why don't you tell you me what's very obviously on your mind?'

Quatre bit his lip. 'May I ask you a hypothetical question?'

'I rather doubt it will be hypothetical, but yes, of course you may.'

'What would you have done if you'd been seeing someone when you first met Duo?'

'Oh, Quatre.' It was Treize's turn to look away for a minute. 'You know the answer to that without asking. I would have tried not to hurt this hypothetical boyfriend, to let him down as gently as possible, but I would have chosen Duo. Who are these two men you have to choose between? I thought you were happy with Wufei. You certainly sounded happy this morning when you were telling me about him.'

'Um.' Quatre fiddled with his chopsticks. 'Duo had this thing about wanting to fix me up with Trowa.'

'Not any more. I think he realised you'd fallen for someone else after the second hour of you talking about Wufei. I don't think you two would be remotely compatible. Wufei sounds much suitable.'

'I don't see why,' Quatre muttered. 'Why can no one see me with Trowa?'

Treize smiled, sipping at his wine. 'I can't imagine you two would have anything in common.'

'Well, I like him.'

'You called me the day after you went out with him and spent an hour complaining about him,' Treize reminded him. 'Remember? He criticised the food at your favourite restaurant, in which I have to admit he was justified, he argued with you constantly, and then took off in a huff. It's hardly the start of a great romance.'

'It wasn't that bad. Of course, we don't actually have a lot in common; you're right about that. He doesn't even like opera.'

Treize laughed. 'Nor does Duo, really. We don't find it an insurmountable barrier. Now, tell me more about Wufei. Is he interested in you?'

'Oh, yes.' And that, in all honesty, was a balm to the fact that Trowa hadn't been.

'Sensible man. Quatre, I don't really understand why you've got a problem.'

'Trowa.'

Blue eyes rolled. 'What about Trowa? I thought we'd just established he wasn't right for you.'

'We did.' Quatre pushed some noodles around his plate. 'He's not, in so many ways. I mean, he hasn't even called me. And he's totally infuriating, most of the time. I spent hours getting ready for our date, and he never once told me I looked nice. He never even called me to thank me for dinner.'

'I think we've established that he hasn't called you at this stage,' Treize said dryly. 'Quatre, that's probably part of his fascination. You're used to men being highly attentive. You're naturally interested in someone who's a challenge, but I think you should forget about him. You've been dreaming about Chang for weeks now, and you've finally met him. Do you want to mess that up?'

'No. I don't.'

'Well then.'

'You're right,' Quatre said resolutely. 'Of course you're right. Wufei's wonderful. It's just…I like Trowa as well.'

Treize lifted an eyebrow. 'Are you sure about that? I think you're intrigued by someone who's not prepared to roll over and lie at your feet like every other man you've ever dated. And Duo's been trying to get you together, and you didn't want to disappoint him.'

'Is he?' Quatre looked down at his plate, at the tangle of fish and noodles. He couldn't even remember what he'd ordered. This was stupid. 'Disappointed that I'm not with Trowa?'

He didn't even know why he was asking. He'd finally told Duo about Wufei and Duo hadn't even mentioned Trowa. He'd just been thrilled that Quatre was happy.

'Quatre, I would do anything in the world to make Duo happy, but even I wouldn't expect you to be with someone just because he thinks it would be a good idea. Of course he's not disappointed. He's delighted you've met somebody you like so much.'

'Why don't you like him? Trowa?'

'You could ask him the same question. He doesn't like me being a part of Duo's life.'

Quatre twiddled the noodles with his fork. It was no good; there were some questions he couldn't ask even Treize.

Was your boyfriend – fiancé – ever Trowa Barton's lover?

It was odd, really; he'd only started thinking about that in the last day or so. Since he'd been out with Trowa. Treize and Duo were such a perfect equation that it was hard to imagine either of them being with somebody else. But Duo and Trowa had lived together once, they'd been friends for years, and Trowa had quite obviously been furious at the engagement.

'That's stupid,' he said finally. 'You and Duo belong together. Anyone can see that.'

'Not Trowa, apparently.' Treize's tone was very dry. 'Leave it, Quatre. I've made every effort with him, for Duo's sake. You've found a man you like and who sounds perfect for you.'

'You're right.' Quatre made his tone very resolute. Of course his friend was perfectly right. He had Wufei, the man he'd been dreaming about for weeks at this point. He had the perfect man who was apparently smitten with him.

He didn't owe Trowa anything. It was stupid to feel those tiny spikes of guilt that he'd found someone else and moved on.

End of story.

Decision made, his appetite returned, and the food was really very good. His 'phone rang just as Treize was calling for the bill.

'Hey.'

Trowa. Fancy that.

'Hello. This is a surprise. I thought you'd lost my number. Or emigrated or something. Since you never called me.'

'I'm calling you now. So,' Trowa said, as if continuing a conversation they'd been holding, and apparently oblivious to blinding saracasm. 'I was wondering; if you were free tonight, we could maybe do something?'

'Tonight?' Quatre echoed, making a face at Treize. 'Trowa, it's Saturday. It's lunchtime on Saturday.'

'I know what day it is. Oh. Right. You have plans?'

'Well, of course I have plans. You can't just call people at the weekend, totally out of the blue, and expect them to be free when it's convenient for you.'

'Right,' Trowa said again, actually sounding amused. 'Sorry I asked. I'll see you around.'

'That's it?' Quatre demanded. 'You're not even going to suggest an alternative night? You obviously don't want to see me very much.'

'Quatre. I wanted to see you tonight.' He said it very slowly, like he was explaining something to someone who wasn't very bright. 'You're busy. I'll call you some other time. Or should I get in touch with your social secretary first?'

'You're not remotely funny,' Quatre said tartly.

'I bet you have a diary though. One of those electronic ones.'

'Of course I do! Doesn't everybody? God, you're so infuriating. What were you thinking of us doing tonight?'

'Doesn't matter, does it? If you already have plans made.'

Infuriating, exasperating man.

'Before you knew I had plans,' Quatre grated, 'what were you going to suggest?'

'I was going to ask you out to my place and cook you dinner, actually.'

'Oh.' That sounded rather tempting. It wasn't as if he had concrete plans. He'd been invited to a couple of parties and dinner at his sister Camilla's house, and one of his sisters was organising a charity gala, and some friends were planning to see a film he'd been meaning to watch.

He was a popular person with lots of friends. It was practically insulting for Trowa to assume that he'd be sitting at home on a Saturday night. Ready to jump whenever Trowa decided to snap his fingers.

'Well, I do have plans. And I don't see why I should have to cancel them at the last minute.'

'You don't,' Trowa said mildly. 'I'm sorry if asking you to dinner offended you so much. I'm not that bad of a cook.'

'You didn't offend me! What's offensive is you calling me at two o'clock and expecting I'd drop everything to be with you.'

'I don't expect you to. I didn't realise I had to make a reservation to see you, that's all.'

'Well, you do!' Quatre flashed, and then realised how stupid that sounded. And it was rather sad that Trowa was apparently alone on a Saturday night. All alone.

'Actually, I don't have any definite plans. I could cancel my arrangements,' he offered.

'No, I'm sorry, this was a stupid idea. Of course you have stuff to do. I don't want to mess up your night.'

'Trowa! You're not.' OK, he was apparently going to see Trowa again. Not a date or anything. Just dinner. Dinner and conversation and he could mention Wufei and stop feeling guilty, even though he had nothing to feel guilty about; even Duo had said so. 'What's your address?'

'I'll collect you. I need to get some stuff in town this afternoon. About six?'

'Well, I suppose so, but I'd really rather drive myself.'

'You have a four wheel drive? I live out in the sticks, and it's a couple of miles of dirt track.'

'Oh. All right then.' There was no way he was risking his darling little car on a road like that. 'In that case, six would be fine. I'll see you then.'

He snapped his 'phone shut and glared at Treize, who had watched the whole episode with a carefully studied lack of expression.

'Don't say it. Just don't say it, Treize. I'm serious. I'm not doing anything wrong. It's just dinner. And it's an opportunity to tell him about Wufei, so I'll have that off my conscience. Wufei and I aren't officially a couple and even if we were, there's nothing to say I can't meet a friend for a meal.'

'This may be a good point to say that I haven't actually said anything yet,' Treize observed. His tone was very mild, but there was a suspicious glint in those blue eyes.

'You didn't need to! I can tell what you're thinking. I'm very sensitive to people's emotions and I know exactly what you think of all this. I know you think it's a bad idea, and I can see why, but nothing's going to happen. I know Wufei is ideal for me and Trowa would drive me insane in twenty four hours. Wufei calls me all the time and he's romantic and sensitive and I really like him, and you can just stop looking at me like that!'

'My apologies.' Treize averted his eyes to his plate and studied the remains of his dinner. 'I'm actually wondering why you need anyone. You're the only person I've ever met who can conduct a running argument with himself.'

'Well, you're not exactly helping,' Quatre said crossly. 'Just sitting there laughing at me. I don't see why everyone thinks I'm so wrong for Trowa, anyway. I could be edgy if I wanted. I could do kinky bondage things with ping-pong balls and drink shots and drive over the speed limit. I could.'

'Kinky bondage tricks?' Treize's eyes gleamed at him. 'Is there something you need to tell me, Quatre?'

'No!' Quatre backpedalled frantically. 'It was just an example. Dorothy said I wasn't edgy enough for Trowa.'

'Which is immaterial, anyway, since you're not interested in him.' One eyebrow lifted questioningly.

'Huh. I don't know what Duo sees in you.'

'Love is blind,' Treize agreed blandly. 'Now, tell me, what do you see in Trowa? Apart from the obvious physical attraction?'

'I never said I was attracted to him. He has beautiful eyes, though, and he's really intelligent and funny and totally exasperating, and he bosses me around, he's never paid me a single compliment ever, and I suppose there's chemistry, if that's what it's called. Sparks. He makes me feel more alive, like the world is different. Edgier.' He glanced up and blue eyes met blue.

'You told me, once, how you felt when you met Duo. That you'd found the missing piece to complete who you were, who you should be.'

'You feel like that about Barton?'

'No.' Quatre said quietly. 'I feel that way about Wufei.'

That was the crux of it, really. Wufei was perfect for the person Quatre was; the perfect complement to his perfect life.

Trowa, on the other hand; Trowa was more.

 

~ * ~

Chapter 13

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