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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: He was largely silent on the drive home, commenting on whatever I said, but never once volunteering anything. When we pulled up outside his house, neither of us spoke for a few moments, waiting for the engine noise to die down. 'I'm not sure if - if you'd like to come in for a coffee?' 'I'd would like to,' I said sincerely. God, it would be so good to be alone with him for once, but I wasn't sure if he was just being polite, or whether he really wanted me in his house, 'but it's getting late and I know you have work tomorrow.' 'Actually, I don't have a class until eleven,' he assured me, with one of those bright little smiles. 'Unless maybe you'd rather not come inside when it's late? You've probably got a lot on tomorrow too.' 'Quartre,' I leaned over, and unbuckled his seat belt. 'I would love to come inside more than anything I can imagine right now.' Oooooh-Kay. Maybe not the best choice of words. Coming…inside… Down, Trowa. 'Oh,' he laughed at my slightly over-the-top response. 'Well, if you're sure I'm not twisting your arm.' 'You can twist my arm any time you like,' I promised. Or any other part of me. No. bad. Quatre paused in the act of opening his door to give me an impish little grin and a wink. 'I'll remember that.' Getting inside his house was probably harder than getting inside the Royal Palace. I stood in the porch while he disabled a variety of alarm systems, muttering about lasers, and then taking my hand to lead me inside the hallway. Alone at last. He didn't seem to be in any hurry to let go my hand, so I pulled him close and pressed my lips to his, in a polite, 'please may I?' way, ready to pull away if he wasn't OK with that. Except he was; quite wonderfully OK, actually, pressing closer as his mouth opened hungrily under mine, and sliding one leg between mine. 'God, I've been wanting to do that all week. Ever since last Sunday.' 'So have I.' 'You, Mr. Winner, are putting a hell of a strain on my self-control, you know that?' 'Should I apologise?' He grinned up at me, eyes sparkling, lips pursed together in the most adorable little pout. I couldn't work out whether he was staring to trust me not to jump on him, or whether he just felt more comfortable in his own home. I shook my head. 'I'm starting to like it, in a totally weird, masochistic sort of way.' The odd thing was, it was true. All my other relationships had started out with sex; Elliott had let me drag him into bed two hours after we'd met each other; it had taken me two years to realise that he'd also given plenty of other people that privilege. Since we'd broken up, there'd been a few one night stands; fun at the time, but never really going beyond that. Quatre was totally hot, but he was also fun to be with and clever and warm, the sort of guy I'd maybe want to keep as a friend, even without the sex. Who knew; maybe his way would actually work out better? 'So.. would you prefer tea or coffee?' I'd prefer you. But if you're not on the menu, then….. 'Coffee. if you've got de-caff. Otherwise, tea is fine.' 'I'll just be a minute. Please, make yourself comfortable.' I hesitated after he'd walked out, unsure as to whether I should follow him or not. I didn't want him feeling that I expected him to wait on me, but maybe he'd wanted to have a few minutes alone. I'd assumed when I 'd collected him that the house, a large Victorian building in one of Sanque City's most upmarket areas, was divided into flats, or that he shared with other people, but it seemed to be all one living area, and all very much his. The room he left me in was vast, probably taking up most of the ground floor, and easily as big as my new apartment. The sort of room I'd always wanted. There was actually a gleaming grand piano in one corner, with a violin case on the stool and a bundle of sheet music on the floor. It was all too easy to imagine Quatre here, curled up on the window-seat or stretched out one of the enormous, squishy leather couches. Naked. All that pale skin and golden hair gleaming against the chocolate-brown fabric. Damn. Down, boy. Roll over and play dead…. When, I'd told him he was testing my poor, unfortunate self-control, I hadn't lied. It was too used to instant gratification. I'd almost lost it in the restaurant earlier; the inevitable result of having the dreamy blond I'd been fantasising for days nestled against my legs. I'd been able to feel his breath on my thigh; if he'd turned his face just a little, he could have…. No. I managed to kill off that thought and stood, wandering around the room. He had a sound system that looked like it could compose symphonies if you programmed it properly, lots of books, the world's largest CD collection, and a nicely eclectic assortment of DVDs. Casablanca, Amélie, ca Jurassic Park, a boxed set of Alfred Hitchcock classics, The English Patient, Hero, all the Mummy and Pirates of the Caribbean movies; some old British comedies… No Tarantino, but maybe I could corrupt him. Bad thought. 'Well?' He was standing in the doorway, holding a tray in one hand and a squirming, whining Maggie in the other. 'My taste in films hasn't sent you running away, I hope?' His eyes sparkled. 'I even hid all my musicals upstairs.' 'No, I'm not planning on running anywhere yet. Hello, gorgeous,' I took Maggie from him and let her smother my face with licks. Maybe she'd be able to give her master a few tips. 'I am wondering how you watch them without a TV.' He laughed, putting the tray down carefully and sitting on the couch. 'Duo had a huge plasma television; he took it with him when he went to live with Heero and I haven't got around to buying a new one yet. I've just been watching movies on my laptop in bed. I'm starting to enjoy it, actually.' He was smiling as he handed me a cup, but it seemed sad somehow, that this beautiful, amazing guy was apparently quite content to spend his evenings alone, apart from his computer and his dog. 'I made peppermint tea. I hope that's all right? I promise, I'll have decaffeinated coffee for the next time you visit.' 'Oh?' I took a sip. 'There's going to be a next time then, is there?' 'I hope so. I mean, only if you want to…' 'Of course, I want to see you again. Very much.' Not taking my eyes off him, I reached over to put my cup on the small table beside the couch. Didn't want to get tea all over his nice couch, after all. The problem with not looking was that I managed to knock over a silver photograph frame. 'Sorry,' I reached for the frame to set it upright. 'Don't be,' he shrugged. 'They're my parents, they wouldn't want to see what we're doing anyway.' I looked at the picture properly, seeing a stern-looking, bearded man, and a tall, elegantly dressed woman with Quatre's fair colouring, but an icily superior expression. 'They're not happy with you being gay, then?' As soon as I 'd asked the question, I regretted it. My sister had mentioned just how unhappy and it probably wasn't a subject he wanted to discuss. Especially with someone he'd just meant. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. Honestly.' He gave a tight, little nod. 'It's all right. Most of Sanque knows what happened; it's not like it's a secret. We don't get on, we never did, really; but they threw me out of the house when I was seventeen. It was all very melodramatic.' 'What? Because you were gay?' I breathed, appalled. 'That was part of it,' he took Maggie on to his lap, and she licked his hand, curling against him. 'I'd always wanted to study music; my father wanted me to go to Harvard, like he had, and take over the business one day. They just took it for granted I'd do what they wanted. I didn't have any money of my own, so they assumed I'd have to toe the line eventually. Then I won a school scholarship to study music at Sanque University and…' 'But that's incredible,' I broke in. 'They must have been impressed by that.' 'Actually, no. They were furious. They'd thought music was just a phase for me, that I'd grow out of it. Anyway, we had - words, and my father said that I could either get out of the house and not come back, or else accede to his wishes - to study Business, like he had, marry a suitable girl, and produce lots of suitable grandsons who would do the exact same thing when they grew up.' His mouth twisted, and I put one arm around him, touched when he rested his head on my shoulder. 'That was when I told them I was gay, which was not exactly received terribly well, and then I left.' 'Just like that?' It was hard to believe anyone could be that heartless. Sure, I had friends whose parents had taken their coming out particularly well, but never like that. My Dad hadn't exactly been over the moon, but he'd accepted it. 'They seriously threw you out? What did you do?' He nibbled at his lower lip. 'I just walked for hours; I was going to call a friend but I was so embarrassed about what had happened. I didn't even know Sanque City all that well; I'd been away at school most of the time, and I'd never been out after dark by myself.' 'What did you do?' God, I hated the thought of him wandering around alone, with nowhere to go. Sanque City is a fairly safe place but there are still bad areas. Especially for a cute teenage boy with no survival instincts. 'I wish I'd known you back then. I could have helped.' 'Thank you,' he breathed. 'I'd forgotten my wallet so I couldn't go a hotel. The only thing I had was my violin; I'd had a music lesson scheduled for later that day so it was in the hallway when I left. I ended up staying that night in a homeless shelter. It was ironic, really. The only reason I knew the place existed was because Father had been complaining about it. He wanted to build a luxury hotel a block away, and he was trying to have the shelter closed down. I recognised the street name and they gave me a bed.' 'Oh, Quatre. That's terrible,' I tightened my arm around me and he snuggled closer. 'It wasn't that bad, actually,' he said positively. 'The priest and nun in charge were wonderful, and they let me stay for a few days. I helped out and played music for their church services and thought about what I wanted to do. Then, I called my friend Relena and she and her brother Zechs came to collect me. He was in his final year at Sanque University and he let me have the spare room in his apartment. My scholarship covered all the tuition fees, and I did all sorts of jobs to make money.' 'But - you've never spoken to your parents since then?' I stroked his blond hair, loving the silky feel of it. 'Oh, yes. I've tried calling them lots of times, but they refuse to talk to me unless I give up my 'perverted lifestyle', as they insist on calling it. I still see my grandmother sometimes; she lives in France now but we talk on the 'phone all the time. She gave me this house, actually, for my twenty-first birthday; she said I'd get it in her will anyway, so I might as well have it now. And my two younger sisters email me, and we sometimes meet up when they can slip out of the house.' He sighed. 'I'm sorry; you must be bored listening to me. You can't possibly want to hear all of this.' 'Actually, I do,' I kissed the top of his head. 'I want
to know everything about you. And your parents are the ones who should
be sorry, for treating you like that, and for never realising what
an amazing person you are.' ~ * ~ |
