"Three for Joy"

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: Romance, angst, sap, friendship

Pairings: 5x4 and (possible) 1x2. Copious references to past 3x4.

Summary: As far as Wufei is concerned, he and Quatre are a perfect example oftwo's company, so when Trowa moves back to Sanq will three be a crowd, or justpossibly, a joy to embrace?

Author's Note: Writing this story truly has been a joint effort. The original idea came from Standingontherooftops (as compensation for having broken her brain in a previous story) and she also suggested the personalities and pairings and gave huge amounts of positive feedback as it progressed. Kaeru Shisho gave me most of the plot, as well as many, many suggestions, edited many, many times, and then persuaded me it wasn't long enough so the whole process had to start again. All of this wonderful support meant that I was free to get on with the really fun business of actually writing and had massive amounts of fun.

Dedication: This story is affectionately dedicated to both the ladies mentioned above, without whom it would have been finished in half the time.

"Three for Joy"

Chapter 13/13+1:

Trowa eyed him narrowly, and then a slow, glorious smile spread over his face. 'Is that what you're worried about? God, you're utterly adorable when you're clueless. Don't you get that Quat sent us down here to sort this out between us?'

'No.'

It just wasn't possible.

'Actually, yes.

'No.' Wufei backed away from him, bristling. 'What are you saying; that the pair of you planned all of this between you? That you've been manipulating me all along to do whatever you want?'

'No!' Trowa looked horrified. ''Fei, it's nothing like that.'

'How exactly is it then?' Wufei snarled. 'Because it looks to me as if you two have got it all sorted and you just haven't bothered to let me in on whatever is going on. Just where do I fit into all of this scheming? Am I even a part of it? Are you going to keep me around like a charity case because you feel sorry for me? How's that going to work? You get Quat and I get to hang around for whenever you feel like giving me a pity fuck, either of you? Thank you, no. I'd really rather not be some sort of spare part in your relationship.'

It was unbelievable how much it hurt and yet it made perfect sense. He'd always known, deep down, that the other two hadn't stopped loving each other. Of course, they'd wanted to get back together. If it hadn't been for him, it would have happened years ago. Because they both cared for him, they wouldn't just abandon him. They'd try to include him, probably, and it would be hell, living on the few scraps of attention they had left over from each other.

'I can accept that you don't know me all that well, but if you really think Quat would treat you like that, then you don't deserve him.' The words were iced over, furious.

'I know perfectly well I don't deserve him,' Wufei said quietly. 'Thank you for pointing it out though. I certainly don't think you deserve him either, but I hope you manage to make him happier than the last time. Here's a hint; he doesn't like his lover walking out on him without a word of explanation or apology. Do you think you can manage to remember that, this time?'

He wrenched at the kitchen door handle and then Trowa grabbed him by both arms, pinning him against the door.

'You're upset, 'Fei, and you're not thinking straight.' The words were very gentle, but Trowa's hands on him weren't, digging into his skin. 'I totally understand why, but you need to listen to me for a minute. You've got it all wrong.'

'That's because I'm clueless, I imagine, like you said. Now, let me go.'

'Not 'til you listen to me to what I have to say. You are being an idiot,' Trowa informed him. 'You're an idiot if you think we'd ever do anything that would hurt you, and you're even worse if you don't realise how amazing you are and how desperately we both want you.'

'I'm an idiot for ever believing a single word you've said to me,' Wufei snapped, struggling to get loose. 'Let me go, Barton!'

'Nope.' Trowa, did actually release his arms, and then pressed against him. 'Not remotely possible, 'til I convince you of a few things. We need to work on these ridiculously low self-esteem issues for starters.'

'You will let me go this instant!' It was impossible to move, crushed against the wall, with Trowa's taller body practically on top of his. 'Trowa, I mean it!'

'Yeah, I meant what I said too. Now, first things first. This is how I feel about you. And if you ever dare to mention pity fucks around me again, I'll show just how stupid you're being. And I'm talking about tying you to the bed for as long as it takes to get you to see how stupid it is. Of course, if that's what you actually want, I'm more than happy to go along with it. Now, this is just for starters.'

It wasn't just a kiss. It was a full-on invasion; Trowa plundered his mouth, one arm pulling Wufei closer and the other holding his head in place. No one, ever, had touched him like that before, and it was impossible to fight. Not that he didn't try; he was Chang Wufei and nobody treated him with such profound disrespect, but, confusingly, somewhere along the way, he started kissing Trowa back, and then realised that all that squirming and writhing to escape wasn't actually deterring Trowa; much more the opposite, and that it was really rather enjoyable.

'See?' Trowa pulled back finally. 'It's true what they say. A kiss is worth a thousand words.'

'Nobody says that!'

'They do now. Right. Has it finally got into your thick little skull how much I want you?' His eyes glinted, taunting, as he took one of Wufei's hands and guided it down. 'Need further proof? I've got plenty of that.'

Wufei sniffed, fingers curling around the cloth-covered bulge. 'I quite see that you're sexually attracted to me.'

Trowa's eyes gleamed, transluscent-green. 'It's hardly one-sided.'

Pointless to deny it, the way Trowa was moulded against him. 'That's hardly enough to base a relationship on.'

'You said the 'R' word. OK, we are making progress. You know damn well it's more than just sex, not that sex won't be a highly enjoyable part of what we're going to have together.'

'You're taking a hell of a lot for granted, Barton.' Wufei did his best to glare with dignity; he really did. It was just nigh-on impossible, with a nearly-naked man plastered over him, particularly when the man in question had dipped his head and was scattering tiny kisses over his jaw-line. Intoxicating; the feel of it. Trowa's skin was prickly with stubble; a whole new and interesting sensation.

'Not really. You've already admitted it, pretty much. That day at the waterfall, you said you would have liked Quat to be there as well as me. Remember? And last night, I distinctly heard Quatre tell Merquise that I belonged here with you two and you agreed with him.'

'You were supposed to be drunk!'

Trowa shrugged, licking Wufei's collarbone. 'How the hell does Quatre ever get any work done, with you around? He has ridiculous amounts of will-power. If I were him, I'd keep you locked in the bedroom.'

'Would you be there also?' It was out before he could stop it, and then Trowa was laughing down at him.

'That would be the point, love.'

'Stop calling me that! And stop trying to change the subject. We were worried about you when he brought you home! I thought you had alcohol poisoning and Quatre was afraid Zechs had drugged you.'

'I'm sorry about that. I was a bit out of it in the bar; the vodka they make here is fucking lethal and I don't drink much anymore. Then Zechs started coming on to me. He'd had a rough night, getting turned down by Duo and all. I didn't think he couldn't handle any more rejection, so I made out I was really pissed and needed to get home. Then he tried groping me in the taxi, and I threw up on him.' He grinned, presumably at the memory of it. 'It seemed like the easiest way out without making too much of a scene.'

'He tried to take advantage of you! I'll kill him.'

'Ooh, very possessive,' Trowa purred. 'I like it. It's OK; he just kissed me a bit.'

'He will not be doing that again.'

'No,' Trowa agreed meekly. 'Positively not. I think Quat already established that.'

'Good,' Wufei muttered, and then his brain kicked into gear properly. 'You were awake the whole time?'

Green eyes glinted at him. 'Well, now. You two weren't exactly making it easy for me to sleep, were you?'

'We were under the impression that we had some privacy.'

'Yeah, I kind of guessed that,' Trowa shrugged, wholly unrepentant. It's OK. You seemed to be working stuff out, the two you. I thought it was better just to lie low and let you get on with it. No, don't tense up on me.' He bent and kissed Wufei, very gently, on the mouth. 'It's so much better when you're all pliant. I'd never have guessed. Listen now, 'Fei, this is the truth. Quat and I didn't have any sort of conspiracy against you. I swear. I came back to Sanque for all the reasons I've told you. I missed you, the four of you. I thought maybe it'd been long enough that you'd be OK with me moving back plus I was worried about Quat. About both of you. I didn't have some grand plan to seduce you or anything.' He grinned. 'Maybe a long-held fantasy, but I never really dared think it'd happen.'

'What about Quatre?'

'Well, now.' The kiss, this time, was a little less gentle. 'I think you need to talk to him about that. He did arrange for me to stay here while he was away; he was quite insistent about it actually. I'm very glad he did. Aren't you?'

'I don't know. Perhaps. How can you be so confident about this whole thing?'

'Me? Confident?' Trowa echoed, wrapping both arms tightly around Wufei's waist. 'Is that what you think? I'm terrified. You and Quat have this amazing relationship; yeah, you have a few issues but everyone does. Every time I speak to him, all he does is rave about you; how utterly amazing you are, all the things you do for him. I'm the guy who walked out on him and destroyed his life in the process.'

'But, you still think he set all this up?' Wufei curled against him even more closely, heart wrenching at the look of pain in Trowa's eyes.

'Maybe. He definitely set us up to spend more time together. I think you probably figured that out yourself. Anything else, I don't know. He was always the one who came up with the plans.'

'He let you kiss him,' Wufei reminded him, pressing his own lips against one broad shoulder.

'I didn't exactly give him a lot of choice. I don't know, 'Fei. I could be reading this whole situation totally wrong.'

Wufei closed his eyes briefly; visualising the kiss again; the way Quatre had clung to Trowa, the way his body had fitted to the larger man's, remembering. 'I don't think you are. I think he wants this, whether he planned it or not. He still loves you. So we're back to me being the one who's supposed to make the decision, like you said before.'

'I said nothing of the sort,' Trowa objected. 'Yes, we certainly have options to choose from, but that's something we need to sort out, the three of us. One, nothing changes. You and Quat stay as the perfect couple; the only different is that you might consider me a friend.'

'Is that what you want?' Wufei asked, throat dry.

'No. That's not what I want. But you already know that. Is it what you want?'

Wufei's head shook slowly. There was nothing he wouldn't do to make Quatre happy. Nothing at all. And Quatre wanted…this. Whatever it would be. Wanted to have Trowa back in his life. That was one way to justify it. It wasn't entirely honest though. He was attracted to Trowa, yes. He had been since he was fifteen and that had only intensified over the past few days, but it was more than that. He liked the way they sparked off each other; those chess games and political discussions that they both fought like battles. The easy companionship of cooking or watching TV together or discussing a book they'd both read.

'What you're talking about; three people …. together. It's …. unusual. To say the least.'

Trowa grinned. 'Who gives a fuck about what's usual? It does happen. I've seen it with the mercenaries, at the circus a couple of times.'

Wufei closed his eyes. 'That's different. How…does it work, something like that?''

'However you like,' Trowa said promptly. 'That's just details. Glad to see you do get what I'm talking about, though. I'm never quite sure how deep that cluelessness of yours extends sometimes.'

'I am not clueless.'

'A little bit…inexperienced about some things,' Trowa amended. 'Yes?'

'Yes, if it means I've only ever had one partner.'

'OK. You haven't killed me with your bare hands yet, so I'm guessing that means you're even a little bit open to the idea. So, a couple of other options for you. One, you decide you'd like to try having two people to adore you, instead of one. And I'm not saying we all jump straight into bed, much as I'd like to. I don't want to screw up this time 'round. You and Quat did it right, I think, waiting 'til you were both certain.'

'I didn't think you had that much patience,' Wufei teased; suddenly, absurdly light-hearted. Maybe Duo had been right about how lucky he was. It was probably the lack of oxygen to his brain, as a result of all the kissing. 'You don't mind waiting over a year then?'

'No fucking way am I waiting that long! And I don't think you want to either. Actually, I'm pretty sure you don't.'

'It may have been...slightly excessive,' Wufei smiled at him. 'Well. That sounds…rather appealing. Possibly. And the second option?'

'Well, that's not so different. You accept that it's a possibility, but you don't want to rush into any decision. Basically, it's option one but with a somewhat broader time frame. It might be quite enjoyable actually. It means I have to try even harder to convince you that it's what you want. That would really be fun.'

Fun.

Yes.

Wufei reached out one finger, tentative, and touched a ridge of scar tissue, mirroring what Quatre had done. Trowa shivered. 'Does it hurt?'

'Not hurt. More…sensitive. It's sort of nice, you doing that.'

'How did it happen?'

Trowa shrugged. 'I was just a kid.'

Not an answer, really, except it was, a little bit. He'd just been a child, and it must have been unbearable pain. Quatre knew; it had been in his face the night before.

'It was a fire,' Trowa said, so quietly he had to strain to hear the words. He held Trowa, listening. He doubted very much if he'd ever told anyone else but Quat. 'I have nightmares still, sometimes. I don't like being too close to flames. Stupid, huh? So many years later?'

'Not stupid at all.' He reached up, stroked the long swathe of burnt-caramel hair away from Trowa's forehead. 'I have dreams too. My colony. Meiran. Things that happened during the war.'

At least, he'd had a safe childhood. Protected and privileged as the heir to his clan. Trowa hadn't even had that.

'I'm sorry.' He whispered it, leaning against Trowa. It felt so right, the feel of the other man against him, far more than just sexual desire.

'It's OK,' Trowa shrugged the sympathy off. 'Long time ago.'

'I'm still allowed to be sorry.' Gods, this wasn't going to be remotely easy. Trowa was prickly and arrogant and bloody impossible, most of the time. He was going to be throwing a lighted firework into his and Quatre's relationship, and he still didn't know if Quat even wanted this.

No, he amended. That wasn't true at all. He'd seen the longing on Quat's face but he'd never ask for it.

'Quatre! He's probably died of hunger up there! Or absconded out the window and run off to the office.'

Trowa chuckled. 'Oh, I doubt if he's in any shape to abscond after last night. He'll probably throw a major hissy fit when he finds out you called WEI.'

'Well, then, we'll just have to find a way to distract him.'

Quatre was lying back on a heap of pillows, blankets pulled up to his chin, expression impossibly innocent.

Wufei held one hand out. 'I'll take that, thank you.'

Quat didn't pretend not to understand, producing a small mobile phone. 'You won't throw it out, will you? Please?'

'No. I don't even have a job any more. I'd never be able to buy you a new one.' He put it at the back of his sock drawer, though, and climbed into bed.

'I'm sorry! I just had to call a few people.'

'It's all right.' He'd been pretty high-handed about the whole thing, after all, and Quat had taken it pretty well.

'No breakfast?'

'Tro's bringing it up.'

'Oh, he's Tro now, is he?' Quat asked, teasing. 'It took months for you to shorten my name.'

'I like your name.' That was perfectly true, but Quat had always been Trowa's name for him. He said it just for the pleasure of it, 'Quatre,' and then had Quat in his arms, a slight bundle of warm, smooth skin and silken hair.

Quatre curled up on his chest, eyes intently on him. 'You were a long time.'

'Were you worried?'

'Trowa was, at one point. Then he….wasn't.'

'I didn't know you could read him that clearly.'

'Trowa, always,' Quat said quietly. 'Especially when he's so close.'

'Do you ever wish you could do it to me? Feel my emotions?'

'I can just ask you.'

'During sex? I mean, you can do it with Trowa. Does it matter, that you can't tell how I feel?'

'I can see you,' Quatre said simply. ''Fei, my darling, what are you feeling now?'

'I wish you could tell me,' Wufei whispered. 'I'm not sure if I know. What it is that you want. We talked. Is it…what you would like Having Trowa as a part of what we have?' He had to look away from Quatre to get it all out; staring up at the ceiling.

'I'm so sorry,' Quatre breathed, kissing his the bare skin of his shoulder, his throat. 'I've always made you be the strong one, haven't I? It wasn't fair.'

'It's all right.' After the war, Quat had been the one person who'd needed him; someone to protect. It had meant a lot. 'I wanted to be there for you. I still do.'

'I would very much like to be here for you now. Talk to me, love?'

'I don't know,' Wufei said slowly, 'what I want. I just want you to be happy. And..Trowa. And me. All of us. And I don't think we can be, really, if he goes off by himself again. I mean, we two, of course, we are happy. You're all I've ever wanted. Ever. But I …would miss him very much. And I would hate to think of him off by himself somewhere. Does that make any sense?'

Of course, it would, he chided himself. It was how Quatre must have been feeling for years, wrapped in a loving, secure relationship while knowing Trowa was out there, alone. It suddenly made him feel mean and small and petty for resenting the fact that Quat had stayed friends with his first love.

Quatre lowered pale gold lashes. 'I – wanted so much for you two to be friends again. I thought if you were sharing a house for a while, that maybe you'd talk, at least. I've missed him. Honestly, it was never more than that. Except maybe I … did wonder a little bit.'

'Have you remotely thought about what this will mean? For any of us?

Quatre shook his head.

'We have to, Quat.

'Are we really talking about this? As a … possibility?'

'Are we?' Wufei's gaze was very direct. 'Love, listen. Trowa and I did talk, a little. It's not…considered normal. By most people. A threesome.' There. He'd actually said it.'

'What we have, two men together, was not considered normal on L4 until recently. There are still people who think it's wrong. I don't care about what anyone thinks. Do you?'

Duo and Heero, Wufei thought at once. But Duo didn't care, and Heero wouldn't either. He had no family, no ancestors to be shamed by his behaviour. No job, anymore. No one at the university cared about anything that wasn't centuries old. He could do anything he wanted.

'No. I don't,' he said, realising it was perfectly true. It wasn't exactly the same for Quat; he had a family, most of whom hadn't been too enthralled when he and Wufei had officially become a couple, and he had WEI and a board membership composed mainly of conservative older men. 'I think it might be difficult for you though.'

'My private life is my own affair and always has been,' Quatre said stiffly, sounding as if he was giving a press conference.

'I'm well aware of that.' Wufei smiled up at him. 'I'm just saying that you maybe need to think about this a little before…'

'Maybe I don't want to think.' Quatre was suddenly kissing him; passion with an edge of desperation. Of course, he was nervous too about what it all this would mean. He was just very good at hiding it.

'Well, charming,' Trowa's voice commented. 'Is this how it's going to be? I get to run around doing the chores while you two get to do all the snuggling?'

'You did offer,' Wufei said, giving Quat's red, swollen mouth one last kiss, and looking up at Trowa, holding a laden tray. There were definite perks to this whole threesome thing; getting to laze around in bed while someone else prepared breakfast.

'Offer?' Trowa scoffed, placing the tray on Wufei's bedside table. 'I was under the impression that I was under very definite orders.'

Quatre blushed. 'I was starving. I am starving.'

'Breakfast is served then. Can you two sit up, or do I have to feed you?'

'I think we can manage to do that ourselves.' Wufei gently pushed Quat off his chest, and then sat up against the headboard, waiting for Quat to settle back against him.

He kissed the top of Quat's head, and looked over it at Trowa. 'So? Are you just planning to stand there or are you getting in?'

~ * ~

Chapter 14

Back to Waterlilylf's Page

Back to GW Authors Index.