"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 ot take it to the vet.

"Puppy Love"

Quatre's POV:

Chapter 30:

Zechs calls just as Maggie and I are settling into bed for the night. She's exhausted from scampering up and down the stairs after her favourite ball; I've had a long day and I'm yawning as I pick up the 'phone.'

'Quatre! It's me. I need you to thank Trowa for me; all of his advice was really useful.'

'Mmmph. That's nice. I'm glad you guys got on. So you talked about politics on the drive home?'

'Not exactly. We obviously have somewhat differing views on the subject, so I took Trowa's other suggestion and we talked about the environment. I told him all about the Sanque Forestry Commission meeting I attended last week. You know, they're trying to increase the percentage of the countryside devoted to hardwood forests, specifically Sanque Red Oaks.'

'Right. Ah, was he interested in that topic at all?'

'I think so,' he sounds a little doubtful. 'He did ask a couple of questions, although, come to think of it, none of them were related to trees. Oh, shit, Quatre. He probably thought I was mad. He's just so…..self-contained. And quiet! I was babbling just to say something. I can't make him out at all. Hell, half the time I think he doesn't remotely like me, and then…..I'm probably just imagining it all.'

'I think he needs to get to know you a little bit,' I suggest gently. 'Just try to make friends with him before you get into anything serious. I could maybe ask you both to dinner some night and see how that goes, if you like?'

'Dinner!' he exclaims. 'I forgot to tell you, he's agreed to have dinner with me on Saturday.'

'Really? But that's super! How did you get him to agree to that?'

'That isn't very flattering, Quatre. He merely realised what a charming, charismatic person I am.'

'Albeit one with a rather disturbing tree fixation? OK, I'm teasing. You see, he must like you even a little bit if he's going out with you.'

There is a pause on the other end of the line, long enough for me to remove my pyjama cord from Maggie's mouth. Ugh. It's disgustingly soggy. 'Well, I did actually offer to do him a small favour.'

'Oh?' Maggie, relieved of her new toy, curls her tongue around my hand instead. 'What sort of favour?'

'He has to go out of town for a couple of days and he needed someone to take care of his dog tomorrow night. Apparently Trowa had offered to help out when he could, but Wufei was still rather worried about leaving the animal by itself, so naturally I volunteered.'

'Oh! He didn't tell you anything about the dog, did he? According to Trowa, she's a total monster that destroys everything in her path.'

'I'm sure he's just exaggerating. He didn't happen to mention what breed it was, did he?'

'I don't think so. I think it's a big dog, though.'

'Damn. Why couldn't he have had a miniature poodle or something? Still, it doesn't really matter. It's not like we can have it inside the palace, since Pagan is allergic to dogs. It can stay out in the stable and one of the grooms can take it for walks. It can't do much damage there.'

'I think it's brilliant that he trusts you enough to take care of his dog,' I say, trying to cheer him up a little. 'I'd never leave Maggie with someone I didn't really like and trust.'

My pet looks up at me with liquid dark eyes, imploring me never to leave her with anyone.

There is silence on the other end of the 'phone. 'I did, ah, possibly intimate that I had some experience with training dogs for the show ring.'

'Oh, Zechs! You didn't! You don't know anything about dogs! You've never even had one.'

'I certainly have! When I was very young, I had a Labrador puppy.' He sighs sentimentally. 'Her name was Flopsy and she was my best friend. I was devastated when Mother said she needed more space to run around and we were sending her to a wonderful home in the country.'

'Oh-kay.' It's probably best to skate over the issue of why any dog could possibly need more space than the extensive Palace grounds; something that's apparently never occurred to him. 'But you can't just lie to him like that! You know nothing about dog training!'

'Perhaps not, but I've been schooling my own horses for years. I'm sure the principle is exactly the same.'

'Mmm. I'm sure Wufei will be thrilled to come back and find his dog can jump over your cross-country course!'

'Very funny. God, Quatre. I know it's stupid, but he mentioned the damn dog and I had to say something. It seemed like a great idea at the time.'

Oh dear. Maggie, perhaps sensing some sort of negative vibrations, abandons her gentle nibbling of my finger and nips it sharply. 'Ouch! That hurt, sweetie. I don't mind you chewing a little bit but you can't use your teeth.'

'Quatre! Is Trowa there? What's the thing he's doing with his teeth? Did it really hurt or was it good in a sort of pain/pleasure way?'

'No, you pervert! It's Maggie. She bit my finger.'

'Oh.' He sounds a bit disappointed that my boyfriend and I aren't indulging in weird, dentally-fixated sex. 'I thought you might have invited him in for a nightcap, no?'

'I did, but he has to go to work early. He just dropped me off.'

'God, he's so committed, isn't he? Didn't you mind?'

'Well, not really. I like that he takes his job so seriously. We're going out to diner tomorrow anyway. And, well, he's asked me to his house on Saturday night. To stay the night.'

'Has he now? And you've accepted?'

'Sort of.'

I haven't been entirely honest with Zechs. Trowa did take me home, and he did say he couldn't come in because of work, but we stayed out in his car for rather a long time before I got out. Just talking at first, about our evening, and our friends, and then there was quite a long period of not talking. Trowa suggested the sleepover at the end of that; I think, by that stage, I would have agreed to anything.

He is rather incredibly good with his mouth. And his hands.

'So you're going to sleep with him? Finally?'

'Not necessarily. And I don't know what finally means. I hardly know him.'

He snorts. 'You know perfectly well what I mean. There's no law that says you have to know someone a certain period of time before you have sex with them. It's pretty damn obvious you like him.'

'Is it?'

I can just imagine him rolling his eyes at that question. 'Good Lord, Winner. I don't know how you dare to say you don't have a need for constant reassurance!'

'I don't! And that isn't what I asked. Is it really obvious how I feel about him?'

'To me, maybe. Because I know you so well. But, no, it's not that obvious. Anyway, what's wrong with letting him know you like him?'

'Nothing, really, I suppose.' I pull my pillows flat on the mattress and flop down.

'You'll be fine, Kitty Quat,' Zechs says gently, borrowing Duo's nickname for me. 'It's pretty damn obvious that he likes you as well. And, seriously, you don't have to rush into anything until you're ready. If he really likes you as much as we think, he'll wait.'

'You like him, don't you?' I scoop Maggie, who's chewing one of my slippers, from the floor and cuddle her, waiting for him to reply. He may joke about my need for constant approval, but the truth is that I do value his opinion.

He and Relena are my oldest friends. Zechs is the first person I ever officially came out to; he's the one who guided me through my first year at university, who sat me down after the first couple of months and gave me a long lecture about how I was carrying on.

He's my honorary big brother, and his opinion means a huge amount.

'I like him, I think,' Zechs says slowly. 'I don't know him that well, but I like the way he's treating you so far, and I know Duo approves of him. He's good at reading people. Ah, what do you think of Wufei?'

'I don't really know him that well. To be totally honest, I'm not sure if you two have a lot in common; he's very reserved, very serious.'

'I know,' Zechs sighs. 'He's not remotely my type, and I can't stop thinking about him. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever.'

'Well, like I said, you should get to know him a little bit better. And it's great that he's agreed to have dinner with you. That's a good sign.'

'I hope so. I'd better go; I have to collect the dog at five in the morning.'

'OK. Good luck.'

The distress call comes thirty minutes before lunch.

Our school secretary, Shelley, knocks at my classroom door and sticks her head in apologetically, motioning me outside.

'I'm really sorry, Quatre, but Zechs is on the 'phone in my office. He insists on talking to you; he says it's some sort of emergency.'

Drat. He's probably found a split end or something.

He is practically raving down the 'phone when I answer. 'Where the hell were you, Winner? Why don't you answer your damn 'phone? It wasn't even switched on when I tried to call you!'

'I'm at work, Zechs. You know that thing that some people have to do to make money? And I keep asking you not to call me at school.'

'Well, you have got to come over here right now! I mean it, Quatre!'

'Zechs, calm down. I can't just walk out; I'm in the middle of a class. What's the matter?'

'Fuck your class! That dog's possessed by a demon or something! It's insane. It's bitten everyone and it's chased Relena's damn cat all over the place. You have to come over and sort this mess out.'

'Me! I don't know anything about it. Can't you call the animal shelter or something? Or I can give you Trowa's number; he knows the dog and he should be able to help.'

'No, I can't bloody well call Trowa! Then he'd tell Wufei and Wufei would think I couldn't even look after his dog for a couple of hours. Get your ass over here; it's your fault anyway.'

'What? How is it my fault all of a sudden! It's nothing to do with me!'

'Oh, you blame yourself for everything! Why can't you accept responsibility for this as well? Seriously, Quatre, I need you to get over here before I kill that brute. Pagan's threatened to resign and he's been with my family for almost fifty years. He's coped with my grandfather's abdication and my parents' death, and the scandal with Uncle Karl, and this devil dog is in the palace a few hours and he wants to walk out on us.'

Twenty minutes later, I'm zooming up the Palace avenue, Shelley having kindly offered to supervise my class while they start their homework assignments. Oh dear.

Pagan, the Peacecrafts' butler who also doubles as Relena's chauffeur, opens the door to me, tears streaming down his face. 'Master Quatre! Thank Heaven you've arrived! Look at this!' He brandishes a piece of frayed, soggy tapestry in my face. 'Queen Marguerite herself, God rest her soul, embroidered this and that animal, that hellhound has ruined it!'

Oh no.

'Don't worry, I'm sure it can be mended. And it's not worth getting so upset over, anyway.'

'I'm not upset,' he snaps. 'I'm furious! And all my allergies are playing up.' He mops one sleeve across his streaming eyes; the first time I've ever seen him without a perfectly laundered linen handkerchief.

'What's going on? Where's the dog?'

I hope Zechs hasn't shot it or something. That won't advance his cause with Wufei. Even if the dog is a total monster, he is probably still attached to it.

'In the library. With Master Zechs.'

'I thought he was going to keep it in the stables.'

'That was the intention, yes. But the animal howled persistently for over two hours - Master Zechs is of the opinion that it may be part werewolf - and upset the horses. The stable girls flatly refused to touch it, so he had to bring it inside.'

'Did it really bite everyone? Is it that dangerous?'

'Not really. It did bite Master Zechs in the car, I believe, but that may have been self defence. He was attempting to reprimand the creature for being sick on the passenger seat.'

'Not his new car?' I gasp. 'The leather upholstery. I'm surprised he didn't throw the dog out the window!'

Pagan coughs as we climb the staircase, wiping his eyes again. Relena is sitting on a stool outside the library, sobbing and cradling her Persian cat in her arms.

'Oh, Quatre. I'm so glad you're here! Has Pagan told you about that awful dog? It chased Mitra all over the palace, and she was terrified! And I really wanted to enter her in the pet show and now I can't!'

'I'm sure she'll have recovered by then,' I suggest kindly, eyeing Mitra who is trying to climb under her owner's blouse. 'The show isn't for a couple of weeks; there's plenty of time for her to calm down.'

'I can't show a cat who's missing half her fur!' Relena lifts the poor animal up so I can see there is a large patch of fluff gone from her other side. Her plume of a tail is also looking terribly bedraggled. 'Quatre, you have to get that dog out of here before it does anything else!'

'It's in the library, right? With Zechs? Everything seems to be quiet now.'

'Only in the last few minutes. The dog was barking and Milli was cursing - I didn't know he could swear like that! - and then everything stopped.' She sobs brokenly. 'Quat, please, go in and see if he's all right. He made me promise to stay out here. He said it was…safer. And he ordered Pagan to stay with me…'

I open the library door very carefully, very quietly, not wanting to disturb the vicious dog. Duo is a devotee of old horror films, and I can't help imaging a Hound of the Baskervilles -type dog, with glowing eyes and blood-stained fangs.

Instead of the scene of carnage I'd half expected, Zechs is sitting by the window, with a diminutive, exquisitely-groomed Pekingese dog at his feet, the perfect image of a faithful dog and its adored master.

'Zechs? Are you OK? That's not the killer dog, is it? Oh, God, have you killed it?'

'No, it's fine. And don't you dare laugh. It looks small and innocent now, but I swear, it seems larger when it's angry. All of its fur must stand on end or something. And its eyes actually glow.'

'But…..it looks perfectly behaved now. Did it really do all that damage you were talking about? It's so tiny!'

'It's behaving itself because I drugged the damn thing with sleeping tablets!'

'You didn't!' Nataku looks up at the sudden loud voice, tongue lolling and waves her magnificent tail. 'Zechs, you've probably half killed it!'

'It half killed me!' He says defensively. 'The animal is insane! Did Pagan tell you what it did in my car? They were only herbal tablets anyway. I can keep it drugged until tomorrow night.'

'And you don't think Wufei won't be a little suspicious as to why his dog is comatose?'

'He'll be grateful if he has any sense! No, I'll just tell him the thing is tired from having so much fun with me.'

'Oh, God. This is crazy. It was bad enough when you pretended to be a dog-trainer; you can't drug his dog as well. Zechs, you have to tell him the truth! He'll probably be flattered that you went to so much trouble for him.'

'I suppose.' He doesn't sound terribly convinced.

'I'm serious. If you don't, he'll go on thinking you're brilliant with dogs, and he might even ask you to dog-sit again.'

Aha, that strikes home; he gasps in horror at the very idea. 'You're perfectly right, Quatre. I'll tell him. Now, I'd better tell Relena I'm safe. Poor girl, she's so upset about her cat. Will you stay and have lunch with us?'

'I'd better not. I have a class at two, and I don't really like getting other people to cover for me.'

'All right. Thank you for coming anyway. And when you see Trowa tonight, tell him what a wonderful time I'm having with Wufei's dear little dog, won't you?'

 

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Chapter 31

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