"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 Three:

'We won't be too late tonight, will we?' Quatre asked; he was carefully gelling his hair in front of the bathroom mirror.

'Shouldn't be.' Wufei was sitting on the edge of the bath, watching him. 'I think it's just dinner. Why?'

'Oh, nothing really. The PR department sent me some more proposals for our new publicity campaign. I wouldn't mind having a look at them if we're home early enough.'

'Quatre. It's Saturday night. Would it hurt to take one evening off?'

Trowa's voice, assured and coaxing, drifted into his head. If he starts arguing, just kiss the hell out of him. It used to work like a charm.

Quatre looked a little startled. 'But I am taking the evening off. It'll only take an hour or so, when we get home.'

'No,' Wufei objected suddenly. 'It's Saturday. You were at the office all day. You're not going to do any more work.' When Quatre opened his mouth to object, he kissed him. Hard.

'You messed up my hair.' He didn't sound all that displeased about it, a little smile hovering around his mouth.

'It looks good like that. You look beautiful.'

'Stop it.' He was blushing, predictably; he never could accept compliments.

'You do,' Wufei said softly, insistent. Maybe it was his fault; maybe he didn't say it often enough. And Quatre was beautiful, utterly. His taste in clothes hadn't changed since he'd been fifteen. He still liked pastel and preppy, and was wearing his favourite lilac shirt, and beautifully cut linen trousers.

'Well, if you insist. And you look very dashing yourself.'

'Thank you.' Wufei bent and kissed him again. 'You know, we could just stay in. Have an evening to ourselves for once.'

Quatre, just for a moment, looked tempted, then shook his head. 'We promised the others we'd go. And I asked Rashid to bring the car around for eight. Actually, we should probably be going. It's five to.'

'OK.' It wouldn't have worked anyway; staying in. Quatre would have ended up on his laptop, and at some point Wufei would have given up waiting for him, and remembered he had a meeting with his tutor on Wednesday and still had a couple of books to finish on his reading list.

It was probably better just to go out.

'Goodness.' Quatre's eyes were wide when Rashid stopped the car half an hour later. 'Did you know it was going to be this busy?'

Wufei shook his head. 'Trowa just said it was a new hotel.' He hadn't mentioned there would be a red carpet, and a phalanx of photographers, and a queue that snaked around the building. He wasn't taking Quatre into that.

'Rashid, can you just drive around the block? I'll call Trowa and see if there's a side entrance or something.' He got off the phone a minute later, wishing they'd never agreed to come. 'We can use the kitchen door at the back; he said just to mention his name and they'd let us in.'

Quatre was laughing as they walked through the kitchens, and up a back staircase, his hand warm in Wufei's. Maybe it hadn't been such a bad idea after all. 'This is fun! And Duo's going to love sneaking in like this too. Where did Trowa say we were to meet him?'

'Top floor, a place called Bait. It sounds like a seafood restaurant. He must've forgotten you don't like fish.'

'I'm sure they'll have salads or something.'

'We don't have to stay if you don't like it.'

'Well, I'm having fun so far.'

'Good.' Wufei suddenly swung them both to a halt, sliding both arms around Quatre's waist. 'There's something I want to do, before we meet the others.'

This time, Quatre didn't complain about having his hair messed. His lips parted at the first dart of Wufei's tongue and he melted into Wufei's arms.

'Still having fun?'

'Oh, yes!' Quatre said enthusiastically. 'Very much.'

Wufei grinned. 'What I said about us not staying too long, I really mean it. Come on. If we don't order starters, we can be heading home in an hour.'

Quatre pouted charmingly, letting Wufei tow him up the next flight of stairs. 'Does that mean I can't have dessert? Or coffee?'

'You drink far too much coffee and you can have dessert at home,' Wufei said firmly, pushing open the door at the door of the stairs. 'Oh!' It wasn't a restaurant or anywhere near it, or at the very least it was a highly unusual one. Trowa had apparently invited them to some sort of orgy.

'Oh, my, I think we're a little overdressed, don't you?' Quatre pressed closer to him, words only just audible over the blaring music.

Wufei put an arm firmly around his waist, glaring at anyone who dared to look at them. 'We probably should have shaved our heads.'

'And worn collars and things.'

Quatre, being Quatre, was looking around inquisitively, like an anthropologist who'd stumbled on a long-lost tribe. Being Quatre, he hadn't noticed he was getting plenty of admiring glances of his own.

Trowa was leaning against a wall, long leather coat swirling almost to his feet. He gave Quatre's outfit a tolerant grin and Wufei a low wolf whistle as they approached.

'Hey, sorry about the circus downstairs; they've got a famous actor coming to do some stupid opening ceremony.' He gave Quatre a quick hug. 'I have really got to take you shopping some day, Quat. 'Fei, you scrub up pretty well. You should wear red more often.'

Wufei, just as bad as his partner at accepting compliments, glared. 'You said dinner. You never said we were going to a club.'

'Or that it was fancy-dress!' Quatre's eyes were out on stalks.

'Oh? Didn't I mention it? Trowa's gaze was limpid, crystalline innocence. 'Don't worry; you'll get fed. The cocktail bar serves food. And they do snacks in the club.' He grinned at Wufei's expression. 'What's wrong? You've been to gay clubs before.'

'Nothing's wrong,' Wufei said stiffly. He had been to clubs, naturally, usually when Duo nagged them all into going out. He'd never enjoyed himself much, and he'd certainly never been anywhere where people were going around almost naked. 'I was just under the impression that we were going for a meal.'

'And we are. A meal, and a few drinks, and a bit of dancing. You very look good, by the way. You just need to do this.' One long arm reached over and flicked Wufei's hair tie away, sending dark hair tumbling over his shoulders. 'There. Better.'

'It is, isn't it?' Quatre said brightly. 'I don't know why he doesn't wear it loose more often.'

'He wants to show off his amazing cheekbones,' Trowa murmured, sliding one hand through Wufei's hair, smoothing it down. 'Quat's right. You shouldn't keep it tied back all the time. Now, what do you guys want to drink?'

'I'll have a Pina Colada,' Quatre said happily. He liked bright, fruity drinks with little umbrellas and pineapple chunks on sticks. He looked toward the doorway, suddenly thronged with people. 'Goodness. What do you think is happening?'

'A fire, or maybe just Duo arriving,' Wufei suggested, grinning.

'Duo, yeah.' Trowa was tall enough to see over both their heads. 'God, we're going to have to slap him in a chastity belt.'

'That's what Heero's for.' It was easy enough to follow Duo's progress across the bar, even if you couldn't see him.

'Don't touch the hair, asshole! It's got razor blades in it!' Duo arrived at their table, slapping away a tall blond who'd apparently got too close. 'Oh, hey, guys!'

He was wearing an outfit he'd got to go undercover as a hooker, a year or so ago, and then decided to keep. Leather and mesh and plenty of exposed skin. Wufei and Quatre had seen him like that before; he'd insisted on wearing it a few times to 'get in character' as he'd put it. Usually when Heero was around. Trowa hadn't. It was quite enjoyable watching his jaw drop.

'No Heero?'

'Nah. Him and Noin got a lead in the case they're working on.' He made a face and Quatre reached out to touch his arm. It was a case about missing children; developments probably weren't good.

'He said he'd try to come along later, but you know how it is. Anyway, I don't think he'd quite got in his daily quota of hours glaring at Zecsh Merquise by the time I left.' He huffed out an exasperated little sigh. 'I don't think either of them is reading Une's daily memos about how we're all one big happy family now. So….you ordered drinks yet?'

'We were just about to.' Wufei handed him a cocktail menu, and raised a hand for one of the waiters.

'I'd like a Blow Job.' Trowa looked directly at the waiter, who looked like he wouldn't mind obliging, and then lifted his eyebrows at Duo.

'Sounds good,' Duo said cheerfully. 'Same for me, followed directly by a Screaming Orgasm, thank you very much. What d'you reckon 'Fei? Blow Jobs all around?'

'Fine.' He didn't like cocktails much, and it was easier just to humour Duo when he got like this.

'This is lovely.' Quatre settled back happily, playing with one of his little umbrellas. 'Trowa, thank you so much for asking us.'

'My pleasure. I probably owe you both a few evenings out. And Wufei was good enough to come house-hunting with me on Wednesday.'

'Yes, he said. Did you find anything you liked?'

'Not really.'

Wufei sniffed; they'd been to seven different places in total and Trowa had found imaginative fault with every one. 'Well, it didn't help that you were determined not to like any of them.'

'Oh, that's not fair,' Quatre chipped in, smiling at Trowa. 'It's a very important decision, finding the perfect place to live. It took us months. It has to feel right, doesn't it, Trowa?'

'Exactly,' Trowa said with far too much enthusiasm, then gave Wufei a quick wink. 'I think I'll probably end up taking a short term lease on one of them, though. I'm sick of staying in a hotel.'

'You could stay with me for a bit,' Duo offered, 'but Heero's on my couch for a few days. His apartment's being redecorated and he hates the smell of paint.'

Quatre looked up from the slice of pineapple he'd been nibbling. 'I thought he was staying with you because he had exterminators in for his cockroach problem.'

'That was last week. Whatever chemicals they used to kill the bugs made his paint peel off, so he's back with me.'

'Poor Heero,' Quat sighed. 'He's had nothing but problems since he bought that apartment. It's been one thing after another, hasn't it? Remember the frogs? He's hardly spent a single night there! And Trowa, you should have stayed with us! Honestly, I don't understand why you booked into a hotel in the first place. You've always stayed with at our house before.'

'That was just for weekends,' Trowa told him.

Quatre laughed. 'Now you're being silly. We have tonnes of space! Honestly, Wufei and I hardly see each other at all some days; we practically have to make appointments to meet! We'd love to have you. Wouldn't we, Fei?'

Wufei swallowed, aware of those green eyes watching him.

'I couldn't intrude,' Trowa said quietly, before he had a chance to reply.

'Hey, Winner,' Duo said cheerfully, slicing through the tension. 'If there are invitations flying around, I wouldn't mind moving back in with you. I'm seriously missing those four-poster beds, and the French chef, and the pool.'

Quatre reached over and hugged him. 'You know perfectly well you have a standing invitation to come and stay anytime you like. It was wonderful when you lived with us.'

Duo was smiling when Quatre let him go. 'Thanks, Q.' He gulped the contents of his drink. 'This isn't bad. I've had better, though, if you guys get what I mean. Oh, hey. I love this song. Quat, dance with me?'

'Is Duo all right?' Trowa asked, eyes following them on to the dance floor.

'I think so.' Wufei took a sip of his drink, feeling an unexpected prickle of warmth towards the other man. He'd managed to deflect all of Quatre's comments about moving in with them anyway. He obviously didn't want that any more than Wufei did. 'It's this case Heero's working on; five children have gone missing in the past month. Duo's not officially supposed to be involved, but he's been helping Heero out a bit, and you know what he's like about kids.'

'Yeah. Listen, 'Fei, I'm sorry about this place. I didn't think it'd be all hardcore. It was way more chilled during the week. How uncomfortable are you?'

'I'll survive,' Wufei said gruffly. He could take Trowa needling him easily enough; it was harder to cope with him being nice. 'I wasn't expecting that horde of paparazzi outside though.'

Trowa's expression darkened. 'I'm sorry about that. It was some stupid PR stunt they didn't bother telling me about. They arranged for some actor to drop by, supposedly by accident, and then leaked the details to the press. Assholes! You don't hire a security consultant and then pull that sort of crap. If it helps at all, I've already chewed off a few people's ears for it.'

'You should have told us what was going on.' He'd been furious in the car, on the point of directing Rashid to take them straight home, except that Quat had been looking forward to going out. They'd had ongoing problems with the press; especially the second year after the war, when Quatre had moved back to Earth, and they'd officially become a couple. Since the Winner legal team had sued a couple of major news groups for invasion of privacy, it wasn't such an issue any more. There was always a press presence at anything to do with WEI, or Quat's charities, but that was work-related and tolerable. These day, they were mostly left alone, otherwise, but the sharks would have gone into a feeding frenzy if they'd been seen entering a gay club.

'I didn't think you'd come if you knew,' Trowa said flatly.

'We probably wouldn't,' Wufei admitted. 'Still. Quat enjoyed being smuggled in through the kitchen.'

'Like the good old days, eh?' They shared an oddly companionable grin. On the tail end of it Trowa said, 'I'm glad you came. Both of you.'

'Quatre's enjoying himself.'

'But not you?' Trowa asked at once.

'Well, dancing in nightclubs isn't exactly my thing.'

'Which is a total shame. Practically a crime against the rest of gay humanity.' Trowa reached out one long finger, brushing a loose wisp of dark hair away from his forehead. 'You really shouldn't keep it tied back all the time, you know.'

The finger had scarcely brushed skin; ridiculous to imagine the sensation of scorching. 'Trowa, what are you doing?'

'Drinking.' Trowa shrugged. 'Having fun.'

Wufei glared at him, which made Trowa grin. 'You know perfectly well what I mean. Why are you…flirting with me?'

Trowa shrugged. 'I'm a man. We're in a gay club. You're easily the hottest guy in the room. Work it out.' He burst out laughing at Wufei's expression. 'You haven't a clue, have you? 'Fei, half the guys here are drooling over you, and the other half are hoping I'll suddenly fall down dead so they can make a move on you.'

'That's ridiculous.'

'What's ridiculous is you not noticing that every guy in this place is eyeing you like prime steak on a butcher's block. Actually, I'm not sure whether it's cute or sad. Does Quat not tell you what a babe you are? 'Cause you are, seriously. Oh, yeah, and you're gorgeous when you do that glaring thing, especially when you're blushing a little bit as well.' His voice dropped a little. 'I bet everyone looking at us thinks we're about to jump each other. They'd probably love to see something like that.'

'Stop it! Just, stop, Barton.' It took an effort, but he forced himself not to look around. Trowa was just being an idiot; of course no one was watching them.

'Hey,' Trowa said, very quietly. Wufei had heard him use that voice before, at the circus, with an angry lion. 'I'm just teasing you. Come on, we both know nothing like that would ever happen.'

'I have a boyfriend,' Wufei said firmly. 'And I thought you wanted to be my friend.'

'I know.' His hand was suddenly on Wufei's arm. 'I know you're taken, 'Fei. And I am your friend. I swear, I'd never do anything that would come between the two of you.'

Wufei took a deep breath. 'Are you still in love with him? Is that why you came back to Sanque?' Trowa had been Quatre's first lover, his first love. Wufei had always known that.

'He's still important to me,' Trowa said carefully. 'You both are. Anything else doesn't matter.'

'That wasn't what I asked.'

'It wasn't, was it?' Trowa gazed into his glass, then swung back to look at him. 'Listen, you guys have everything. You should be the happiest couple in the universe. Instead of having to write memos to see each other.'

'He was joking!'

'Well, it wasn't all that far from the truth, from what I can see,' Trowa said bluntly. 'As a matter of interest, when was the last time you two did something fun? I'm not talking about sex; just doing something together that you both like. And I don't mean you going to all of Quat's damn charity functions or him proofreading whatever essay you're writing.'

'We have a perfectly good relationship.' Wufei bristled. 'And if there were issues, we'd be capable of sorting them out by ourselves.'

'Right.' Trowa shrugged. 'Whatever. Come on. We should check they're not getting into any trouble.' He shed his coat as he stood up, and Wufei's mouth was suddenly dry. Jeans and a shirt sounded casual; innocent even, but Trowa's dark jeans were skin-tight, moulded to every line and curve of his body and the shirt fabric was thin enough to show the little peaks of his nipples.

Duo and Quat weren't in trouble, precisely. They were talking in one corner, with a rather suspicious area of personal space around them.

'So,' Wufei took one of Quatre's hands and led him on to the dance floor. He'd damn well show Barton that he was capable of having fun with his boyfriend. 'How many guys did you two have to beat off?'

Quatre beamed up at him. 'Silly! Everyone's been lovely, so friendly, but we wanted to talk so I think Duo said something to someone.'

'Right.' Wufei said dryly. He could imagine the sort of thing. 'I see what you mean about the locals being friendly.' He gestured across to the bar. Trowa had apparently made a new friend – dark-haired for a change – and they were losing no time in getting better acquainted.

'Goodness.' Quatre's eyes were huge, very blue in the weird strobe lighting. 'That was fast.'

'I suppose that's our lesson in how to pick up a guy in five seconds,' Wufei suggested, making Quatre laugh.

'You know, I'm glad we never had to go through all that, aren't you?'

'Definitely,' Wufei assured him. It was true. There was nothing he would have wanted to change about how and he and Quatre had got together; the gradual progression from friendship to romance, overlaid by the sheer inevitability of it all.

It might have been – interesting, though. He couldn't imagine it; choosing someone in a bar just because they happened to be a certain physical type, and then finding out – or not – what they were really like. It was all shallow and superficial and false.

He and Quatre had done it properly. He tightened his arms around his partner's slim body and Quatre twinkled up at him.

'What are you thinking about with that smile? Me?'

'Of course. I was just remembering us getting together.'

Quatre twirled to the music, then spun back into an embrace and then kissed him gently on the tip of his nose. 'I think about that all the time too,' Quat assured him. 'So dreadfully forward of you, Mr. Chang! You'd hardly spoken a dozen words to me in our lives and you just kissed me out of the blue. And then you didn't touch me for nearly a year afterwards! I was starting to worry that you hadn't liked it very much.'

It was an old tease, but it still made Wufei laugh. The truth was that neither of them had been ready for anything more than friendship, that first year after the war. Quatre had been too bruised by Trowa leaving; too caught up in trying, at sixteen, to run a business. And Wufei had been adjusting to life on Earth, to working at Preventers, to coming to terms with the fact that none of the things he'd done would ever bring his family back.

'Oh, I liked it very much,' Wufei promised. 'I did want to do it again, if you remember correctly?' The music changed again; a slower beat, and he pulled Quat closer. 'You're right; this is fun. Why don't we do this sort of thing this more often?'

Quatre tucked his head into the curve of Wufei's shoulder. 'I thought you didn't like places like this. You always say the music gives you a migraine.'

'I like getting to hold you like this, though. Even if it does end up giving me a headache.'

Quatre glanced up; a flash of sapphire through long lashes. 'I hope you won't have a headache when we get home.'

'I don't think I will.' He bent down to lick the shell of Quatre's ear, and then bit the lobe gently. 'I may have an ache somewhere entirely different though.'

'I like the sound of that,' Quatre laughed, and then stiffened at a shouted curse in Duo's voice, and then the sound of a fist hitting flesh. 'Uh oh.'

'I think it's time for us to leave.' Wufei took Quatre's arm, steering him off the dance floor.

'We got thrown out of a nightclub,' Quatre exclaimed ten minutes later, when they were all standing on the pavement outside, having been hustled through the staff entrance by a couple of bouncers. He was flushed and laughing from the exhilaration of the brief - very brief – scuffle and sounded like he wasn't sure whether he should be embarrassed or proud of the fact. 'I've never been thrown out of anywhere before!'

'Technically, you weren't,' Wufei pointed out. 'Duo was. The rest of us were just innocent bystanders.'

'You were accessories,' Duo said cheerfully. 'Hello, I wasn't the only one throwing punches. And, sorry, but we're not the ones who should have got thrown out. That guy put his damn hand on my ass. It's not like I've got a sign on it saying For Hire or something.'

'You might as well have, in those clothes,' Trowa put in. He didn't seem particularly bothered at being torn away from his new friend.

'Oh, fuck off, you,' Duo flipped him off. 'Man, that guy was lucky Heero wasn't there.'

Wufei winced at the thought. He didn't really mind leaving the club. He'd had a drink, and he'd got to dance with Quatre and it was getting late anyway.

Quatre laughed. 'Goodness, I hope the newspapers don't hear about it. I don't think there were any photographers up there.'

'Why not?' Trowa teased. 'Be good for your image. You come across as way too conservative; you might as well let your shareholders see that you're not always so prim and proper, that you've got a sassy side as well. Probably make WEI shares skyrocket.'

'I'm not prim and proper!' Quat said hotly, making Duo laugh. 'But I'm not sassy either.'

'You can be, given the right circumstances.' Trowa winked at Wufei. 'Can't he?'

'Sure he can,' Duo agreed at once. 'I remember that time during the war when…oh, no, wait,' he broke off abruptly, realising that three pairs of eyes were glaring at him. 'Must have been some other guy. Me, probably. So, are we going to go eat somewhere? I'm starving and you promised us dinner, Barton.'

'Dinner, yeah. Whatever you want. Where would you like to go?' He was looking at Quatre though, and the blond was staring at his highly polished shoes. 'Quat? What d'you want to do?'

'Excuse me?' Quatre glanced up, met Trowa's gaze, flushed, and stumbled over his own feet.

'Dinner.' Trowa, who was closest, reached out and steadied him. 'There's a nice enough Italian place a few blocks down. I've had lunch there a few times. How does that sound?'

'It sounds delicious.'

They were standing in the shadows cast by the tall building; impossible to see their faces but they were staring at each other. Trowa's hand was still on Quat's sleeve; Wufei wasn't sure if Quatre had even noticed. He'd seen them touch before; hugs and handshakes, and hated it. This was worse, somehow, watching the two of them frozen in place. Then Trowa said something else about food, too loud and with a forced laugh. Quatre's reply was too low to hear, but Trowa snatched his hand away and started down the street. Quat didn't even hesitate before going after him.

'Oh, right,' Duo whistled through his teeth. 'Shit. Like, that wasn't awkward at all. Sorry; me and my big fucking mouth. Well done, by the way. I thought you'd rip his arm out of its socket. You would have, a year ago.'

'I know,' Wufei acknowledged. 'Like I keep telling people, I'm trying. I know they've got a history. I've always known it. Of course there are things they remember.'

'Yeah.' Duo bumped his shoulder as they started to walk after the other two. 'It sucks, though. I should know. 'Lena does it with Heero whenever she sees him; dropping these stupid little comments about stuff I don't know about. Bitch! Anyway, you don't need to worry. You're the one he's going home with.'

'I know,' Wufei said softly. Quatre, a few paces ahead, had turned, waiting for him in the glow of a streetlight, golden and smiling. It was almost enough to banish the thought of how right he and Trowa had looked together, the way they always had.

~ * ~

Chapter 4

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