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"Puppy Love"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: NC 17 Warnings: sap, angst, fluff, Alternating Trowa/Quatre
POV, AU Pairings: 3x4 get together, Background 1x2, 5x6
Summary: Quatre gets a new puppy and has to take
it to the vet. "Puppy Love" Trowa's POV: Chapter Three: I didn't think he was actually going to show up at first. Maybe I shouldn't have kissed him so soon, but he'd just looked so damn appealing with those blue eyes smiling into mine, and his pale skin all flushed and that mouth curving into a smile. Great. I'd met the most heart-breakingly gorgeous guy on the entire planet and I'd ruined everything by rushing things. I took another sip of coffee, feeling pretty stupid sitting by myself at a table laid for two. I'd been there early enough to get one of the best tables, overlooking the water. I'd told the waiter a friend would be joining me, so there was even a menu and a glass of water beside his place setting. I couldn't have been more obviously stood up if I'd had a sign over my head. I'd been waiting nearly thirty minutes and he'd left the clinic before me. Even if he'd taken the scenic route, or stopped to run an errand, or to let Maggie out of the car, he'd still had more than enough time to get there first. Unless he'd had an accident or got lost or gone to the wrong place or just decided I was a psycho serial killer who'd chop him up into little pieces. I should have given him my cellphone number. 'Trowa? Hi.' God, I hadn't even noticed him coming up, and there he was, with the sunlight turning his blonde hair into a nimbus of shining light, and his eyes a perfect match for the water. Stunning. 'Hey there!' 'I'm so sorry I'm late. I had to stop to make a 'phone call, and then I thought I should give Maggie a little run so she'd be tired and I didn't have your cellphone number. You must have thought I wasn't coming.' Oh, don't mention the 'c' word. Please. Way too much for my imagination to have to deal with right now. 'It's OK,' I lied. 'I only just got here.' 'Oh, good,' he sat down, looking relieved, and Maggie frisked about my legs until I scooped her up into my lap. One day, I'll have your master right where you are, and he'll be squirming around just like that, and trying to stick his tongue up my nose. OK, maybe not that last bit. The waiter, who'd been totally ignoring me when I was by my pathetic, friendless self, immediately sashayed over, and there was a lot of flourishing of napkins, and reciting of the daily specials. 'My sister Cathy was telling me about this place; apparently they do really good French toast with fresh berries and ice-cream.' I hadn't though that was a particularly inflammatory comment; I mean, food's always a safe conversation topic, isn't it? But Quatre blushed the brightest shade of scarlet and dived behind his menu. 'Quatre? Are you OK back there?' 'I'm fine,' he emerged, spluttering slightly. 'And yes, that's delicious. I come here sometimes myself at weekends if the weather's fine and it's one of my favourite dishes.' Oh, God, not that 'c' word, again. Too many, too-vivid images were jumping up and down, every one clamouring for attention and zooming straight from my head to all points south. 'Really? So what do you recommend?' 'Like your sister says, the French toast is really good, if you have a sweet tooth.' He gave me the most adorable, mischievous grin ever, and I had to shift discreetly in my chair, glad of the puppy and the giant menu and the table between us….. The damn waiter was suddenly back, wanting our orders. Right. No tip for him. Although I'd have to give him something or Quatre would think I was really mean. 'I was actually wondering if I could ask your advice on something?' 'Sure.' Anything. Please. Just ask. I can advise. Maybe even give practical demonstrations. If that would be at all helpful. 'The thing is, I'm not quite sure how to go about training Maggie. She had a couple of little accidents last night.' Housetraining? OK, anything but that. Is that why he came to meet me? Does he think this is some extra service the clinic offers? Oh, God, maybe it is. 'Sure,' I said again. Not the most romantic subject, possibly, but he needed my help. He was asking me to help him. That had to be good. 'I'd be happy to help if I can. Where did she sleep last night? In your kitchen?' 'Um, in my bedroom, actually.' Oh, please don't talk about your bedroom. 'I did have some training tips from the dog breeder and it said you shouldn't take a puppy into bed with you but she's so tiny and I felt terribly sorry for her being taken away from the rest of her family. I did try leaving her in the kitchen; I even looked up some sites on the internet for help and I gave her a hot water bottle like one of them said and she still wouldn't stop crying.' Well, if it were me, a hot water bottle wouldn't be any substitute either. 'So it just seemed easier to take her into bed with me.' Where in the bed, exactly? On the pillow, next to your head? Or curled up in your arms? Or cuddled against your back? Stop this now! Giving Quatre puppy-housetraining hints kept us talking until the waiter arrived back with our drinks; not the most romantic subject obviously, but it broke the ice nicely. God, but he was adorable, hanging on to every single word I was saying. He actually produced a little notebook and a pen and made notes on what I was saying about newspapers and litter trays and letting Maggie out last thing at night. 'I know this I'm being over the top about this,' he apologised, 'but I really want to do this properly.' 'You're doing great. It's a shame all pet-owners aren't as conscientious as you are. Maggie's a very lucky girl. To have you.' And damn, it's pretty pathetic for a grown man to be feeling jealous of something that would fit in the palm of his hand. Quatre glowed at the few words of praise, looking pleased and surprised and embarrassed all at once. How the hell could someone like him not be blasé about receiving compliments? If you were mine, I'd shower you with compliments. I'd never stop telling you how perfect you are. 'I saw a poster in the surgery advertisisng dog-training classes. Do you think it would be a good idea to sign up for those?' 'I think that would be a great idea,' I said emphatically, looking down at Maggie who was curled up on my knee, tired after her walk.. 'But maybe wait until she's a little bit older. I can help you a bit first if you want; she's a clever little dog and it shouldn't be too hard to teach her basic obedience. She'll need to learn to sit and stay when she's told and walk properly on the lead. ' And I could even teach you a few of the more basic commands while I'm at it. Just simple things like how to lie down on command, and roll over and beg and come when I call your name. And to stay with me. OK, focus, Barton. If you say this out loud, he'll run and you'll never see him again. Never. Take it slowly. 'Did you know you were getting a puppy yesterday or was it a total surprise?' Quatre took a sip of his tea. 'Duo's been hinting all week that I wouldn't be living alone for much longer.' Another adorable blush. 'I thought he was trying to set me up with someone, though. We used to share a house until he moved out a few weeks ago; I'm still not really used to having the place to myself. I think he got tired of me complaining about being lonely without him.' Really? Would you like a roommate? 'He seemed like a nice guy when he came into the clinic. And his dog's quite a character.' 'Duo's my best friend.' He paused while the waiter laid down our plates; toast for me; pancakes with syrup and a side order of whipped cream for him. 'He's only had Shinnie for a few months; he was a rescue dog and he needs huge amounts of attention.' He grinned. 'He hated Duo's new boyfriend at first, but now he's starting to get used to having two people to look after him.' 'That's Heero, right? Duo was talking about him in the surgery last week. Is he as perfect as Duo says?' 'Almost. He and Duo are definitely perfect together.' 'Ah. The whole soul mate thing?' 'Well, more like the attraction of opposites!' Quatre laughed, starting to cut up his pancakes and I just totally lost track of whatever else he was saying. Watching him eat his pancakes was - mesmerising. He dipped each little piece in syrup, making sure it was carefully coated, and then added a dab of cream. And he had the cutest habit of flicking his tongue around each corner of his mouth, to lap up any stray syrup, and at one point he dipped his little finger into the dish of cream and sucked it. I could just imagine kissing him after he'd eaten all that. All sweet and sticky and syrupy. 'Would you like a taste?' Oh, sweet Heaven, yes. I'd want to taste you even if you were eating garlic-flavoured anchovies. I managed to answer something vaguely coherent, and he proffered me a nice little piece on his fork, all carefully covered with syrup and cream.' I was probably meant to the fork for myself; instead I leaned over the table, and opened my mouth for him to feed me. It was delicious, almost as good as watching his eyes widen at what I'd done. 'You do have a sweet tooth, don't you?' OK, he wasn't embarrassed; in fact, he was giving me an impish little grin. 'May I taste yours now?' ……….. 'Absolutely.' I carefully selected the biggest, reddest strawberry, and added it to a square of toast and topped it with enough cream that he'd have to open his mouth really wide for the whole spoonful to fit. 'That good?' I asked, watching him lick his lips. 'Oh, yes,' he breathed softly. Damn, I wanted to kiss him so badly. We had a table at one corner of the terrace; all the adjoining tables were empty still and the waiter was busy down at the far end. No one to see if we stole a moment to ourselves. 'May I kiss you again? Please, Quatre?' His only answer was to bend forwards toward me, head
tilted slightly. I shifted the sleeping puppy slightly, holding her
in place with one hand, so I could reach out and slide one arm around
his neck and bring him closer. His mouth opened under mine, tasting
of hot tea and syrup, strawberries and sunlight, and then he was kissing
me back, and all thought just stopped.
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