Title: Rainbow Sherbet (5/P+11)
Author: Bronze Tigress
Genre: yaoi lemon lemon with plot plot

For this Part:
Pairings: 5x2, 3+D permanent
Rating: PG13
Warnings: het lime, mention of yaoi, reference to past uglinesses
Spoilers: for Trowa's Episode Zero and Blind Target

For overall rating, full range of pairings, full warnings, full spoiler
notices, author notes, and disclaimer see Prologue.

~*~*~*~*~
Part 5: Thursday
Dinner With Dorothy

Trowa spends most of Thursday morning wrapped up in the same sort of
self-absorbed puzzlement he'd been subject to for most of Wednesday, and
Zechs begins to wonder if perhaps he should request a new partner. He
drops by Duo's office, hoping for some more insight into the matter
since he had seemed somewhat knowledgeable the previous day. However, he
finds only Wufei at his desk. "Oh," he says, seeming rather
disappointed. "You wouldn't happen to know when Shade there will be back?"(1)

"Let me guess, Triton is brooding again?"

"Er, yes, how did you know?"

"Oh, I... know a little about it. He has... received a large amount
of information to think about lately; if anything, he should be better
off than before, once it gets absorbed. As long as you two are not
doing anything terribly important, he does need to process. It might do
him some good to let him know you are concerned for him, however; he
needs to know he has a support structure right at the moment."

Zechs nods thoughtfully as he wanders back into his office. He raps on
Trowa's desk to get his attention, having learned very early on that it
is not wise to put a hand on the ex-Merc's shoulder unexpectedly, and
at the moment, it seems that the precaution is not unwarranted. When
Trowa blinks and focuses on him, he says, "You know, if you want to talk,
my desk is right over there, okay? And you owe me a coffee..."

Trowa blinks at that last, then looks at the dregs in the cup he is
holding, and appears to notice for the first time just what is in there.
"Eeeww... Uh, yeah. Just a lot on my mind lately. Sorry, you want
that now?"

"The coffee? Don't worry about it - it's easy enough to add cream and
sugar to yours," is the smiling reply. "But I'm your partner, right?
You being this distracted isn't good - and if I can help..."

"Thanks. I appreciate that. And I may take you up on it, once I have
a better idea what I need to talk about. Which reminds me - how well
did you get to know Dorothy when she was on Libra with you?"

Zechs is clearly startled by the change in topic, but answers
truthfully, "She was my Second in Command, and she's brilliant with tactics -
it's why I set up the Mobile Doll ZERO system with her in mind. But you
knew that already. We really didn't have anything else between us, if
that's what you're worried about..."

"No. That never crossed my mind, actually. I was just wondering if
you had any idea of something she was especially fond of that I might
not. I've got a dinner date with her tonight, and somehow, I don't think
she'd really like a spare ammo clip as a present..."

Zechs has to laugh at that suggestion, and sitting down and swivelling
his desk chair to face his partner's, begins by listing several of the
usual stand-by suggestions, and then goes on to pull out his memories
of Dorothy's appearances at formal events to compare with Trowa's more
prosaic experience with her. Eventually they settle on a few options,
and when Trowa leaves the office a little early in search of just the
right sort of flowers, Zechs is quite happy to have been able to solve at
least one of the world's problems that day.

~*~*~*~*~

Dorothy is, to put it mildly, quite pleased to receive the flowers, and
surprised that Trowa has managed, on the first try, to pick one of her
favourite varieties rather than simply making the easy choice of red
roses. Trowa is similarly delighted, if more quietly so, at having
chosen well. After Dorothy has taken a moment to put her freesias in a
vase, they are off for dinner at a little cafe they have been to before;
Trowa has picked it because it is likely to be fairly empty at this hour
since it mainly caters to the lunch crowd and late theatre-goers, and
the quiet and relatively private ambience is definitely what he wants
for the conversation he has planned.

Shortly after arrival, they are seated in a private booth on the back
wall, well away from any other guests, the hostess having been quite
happy to seat them at the table of their choosing. Trowa quickly places
orders for their drinks, and they are ready to order by the time those
and a basket of bread arrives.

Never one to beat around the bush when direct action would be more
productive, Trowa comes straight to the point once the waiter bustles off
to the kitchen with their food orders.

"You were speaking to Wufei on Tuesday about us?" His tone is soft,
but even for Dorothy, rather unreadable; the question is more a statement
for confirmation.

"Ah..." Dorothy has the grace to blush. "Yes, I was. I..."

Trowa cuts her off quickly with a "Thank you. I'm glad you did."

"Oh." She pauses, briefly, somewhat thrown, since she is well aware
that such a conversation with an outsider is not the sort of thing that
is usually appreciated. "Well, then, you're welcome..."

"Although I was rather surprised to hear about it from Duo over dinner
at their place that evening," he continues, in a somewhat wry tone.
"And I rather wish you had said something to me about your concerns
first, but I suspect, thinking about it now, that it probably wouldn't have
done you as much good anyway. Although it *would* have spared me a bit
of shock..."

Dorothy appears confused by something, so Trowa pauses to allow her to
ask, "You... heard about it from *Duo*? Why would Wufei be saying
anything to that chatterbox? Mein Gott, I only went to him because I
thought he'd be the last person to spread the news all over the
department..."

Trowa chuckles lightly at her uncomfortable expression. "Apparently,
Wufei isn't the type to keep secrets from his lover. And I wouldn't
worry about Duo; he does know how to keep a secret, especially when it
isn't his. Besides, it's a good thing Wufei *did* talk to Duo about it,
seeing as.. Doro? Are you alright? Here, drink..."

Dorothy accepts the offered glass of soda, taking a sip, coughing, and
wiping her face with her napkin before managing to choke out, "Lover?!"
in an incredulous tone.

"Ah. Yes. For some time now, evidently..."

"Triton Bloom, that is *not* funny. We *are* talking about Chang
Wufei, the man who is barely sociable and hasn't been out of mourning for
his *wife* for a full year yet? And Duo Maxwell, terror of the steno
pool, biggest flirt of the century? The same Chang and Maxwell that can
barely keep from *killing* each other on a daily basis? How many times
this past *week* have they gone tearing down the hallways with Chang
threatening to lop Duo's braid off at the neck? I shudder to think how
they manage to share... an apartment..." She trails off and her eyes
widen as the implications of that last fact suddenly sink in, in their
full glory.

"Nope, not funny at all. They do a remarkable cover-up at work, don't
they?" Dorothy simply stares and sputters at that. "You know I
wouldn't make something like that up, Doro. Although, in deference, they'd
probably prefer you kept that little fact quiet. Ah, yes, you see it
now?" he asks as her face begins to register realization. "It was news
to me as well, although I am *quite* sure it's no joke. I have to give
them credit for their acting skills; even Quatre doesn't realize
they've actually got a spare bedroom."

"Well. That's certainly an interesting bit of news..." She shakes her
head slightly as if to loosen cobwebs, then says, "Well, given that.
You were saying it was a good thing Wufei did talk to Duo, because..."

Trowa picks up the tale again. "Because Duo actually has a solution."

"A solution? How so?"

"Well, perhaps I should start at the beginning? Ah, here comes
dinner..." Conversation stops for the delivery of their meals, and only
resumes when the waiter is once again heading away from their table. "You
knew I grew up in a Merc Company, of course."

She nods, before asking, "Although I don't see what that has to do with
Wufei and Duo being gay..."

"I, ah, don't think they are. They're just - with each other, for
reasons that have more to do with understanding each other than that either
was looking for a man. And this doesn't have much to do with their
being together, either, although that does come into the equation. This
gets at why you were speaking to Wufei in the first place."

"Because I wondered what your problem with kissing me was. Okay..."
She is clearly puzzled by how the explanation is proceeding but, having
been subjected to Trowa's story-telling style before, she has learned
to wait for the background details before the conclusions.

"Yes, exactly that. You see, I grew up in a camp full of men who
really weren't the nicest or friendliest people around. They were kind
enough to me, I guess, but, let's say, they didn't manage to teach me that
much about being with a person you love? If there was anything those
guys loved, it was their suits and their weapons, but if any of them
loved anybody else, I never found out about it.

"After I got up to space, I was with a circus for a while - about a
year and a half, enough to learn a little tumbling and to find out I was
good at the high wire - before I found another Merc Company and hired on
with them. Well. That troop took me along on some of their victory
celebrations - guess they figured I was old enough to handle it. I
learned a few things about being together with another person, there - none
of it much more than physical, and none of it very pleasant for whoever
was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of their
attentions."(2)

"Oh..." Dorothy obviously hadn't expected this blunt a discussion.
Just as obviously, these are some of the aspects of Trowa's early life
that really hadn't occurred to her earlier.

"Anyway," Trowa continues after a few bites of his dinner, "you don't
really need - or want - to know the details. The point is that what I
learned about being with someone, physically, was that it only causes
pain - and that's not something I wanted to cause you. So I've been
trying to avoid the issue with you." He stabs an innocent vegetable rather
more forcefully than necessary before lifting it to his mouth.

"I see..." And she does, now. It makes perfect sense that he wouldn't
want to start something he didn't want to finish.

"Except, obviously," Trowa continues, "it wasn't working." She shakes
her head negatively. "It makes sense, *now*, but I couldn't figure out
why you would *want* me to hurt you, before."

There is silence for a while as both chew and contemplate, before
Dorothy ventures, "I didn't know you thought that, Triton. I guess there's
a lot I still don't know about you, and I'm beginning to realize that I
can't just fill it in on assumptions, can I? But, you said 'now' -
what's different now?"

"What's different now is you spoke to Wufei, who spoke to Duo, who
understood where the problem was, and most of *what* it was for that
matter, and who spoke to me. And in the last couple of days, I've come to
realize that everything - well, almost everything - I had assumed to be
true was pretty much wrong. I'd mentioned dinner at their place? When
Wufei called, I had no idea what it was about. I certainly wasn't
prepared for Duo to sit there over juice and cookies and tell me point
blank why I was afraid to get too close to you - or for the way they kept
using 'we' so casually...

"To make what could be a long story short - they've shown me just how
far wrong my knowledge on the subject is - did you want dessert, or
shall we head out?" She shakes her head, and Trowa raises his arm to
signal the waiter, waits until he approaches, and asks him for the check
before continuing. "And they've offered me some retraining on the
subject."

"What sort of 'retraining' are we talking about here, Triton?"

"Detailed verbal information, some hands-on experience. Ah, thank
you," he adds, as the waiter appears with the check. "Here, keep the
change, thank you. Shall we, Doro?" He offers his lady her coat, and then
his arm before walking her out of the small cafe.

It is beginning to be dark out by the time they begin walking back
towards Dorothy's home, which helps disguise the startlement on her face
when Trowa, rather than just walking beside her and taking her hand as
usual, slips his arm loosely around her waist. It isn't a very close
hold, but he makes no protest when she leans in a little closer and loops
her own arm around him, tucking her shoulder under his.

Trowa steers them off the sidewalk and into the little park they passed
on their way to dinner, leading Dorothy towards a bench near the
playground area that is usually used by parents watching their children
during the daytime. With the sun now down, the area is deserted. Once they
are seated, Trowa begins speaking again. "After dinner on Tuesday,
ah... they taught me a few things about loving someone, instead of just
fucking them. Mostly we've been just talking, telling stories. They
got some of the details you didn't, and won't, for instance. And I ended
up staying in their guest room that night - I saw you'd tried to call
on Tuesday and got the machine."

"And you didn't call me back the next morning because...?"

"Didn't check for messages 'till I got home from more talking with them
last night; by then, it was pretty late and I didn't want to wake you.
I'm guessing it wasn't anything urgent or you would have said something
when I called from their place yesterday evening, right?"

"True..."

"I know it doesn't seem like it when they're at work, Doro, but those
two - they really love each other. Seeing them together without their
public faces... I think it made me realize just what it is I feel for
you. I... I think I really need to take them up on the offer they've
made. There's so much I don't know, and... I don't want to hurt you,
even by accident, because I don't know something that's common
knowledge."

Dorothy has by this point turned to watch Trowa's profile as he looks,
rather distantly, in the direction of the swing set. "And you
think...?"

Trowa shakes his head. "Don't think. I *know* they can teach me what
I'm missing. Duo knew *exactly* why without my ever telling him a
word. They *know*, Dorothy, know parts of me *I* don't even know, know
what's going to freak me out before it happens. I love you, and that's
*why* I can't ask you to be the one who sits through all the mistakes
I'll make unless I *do* do this. Can you understand that?" He turns to
look at her, meeting her eyes, an almost pleading expression on his
face, as he asks this.

"I'm not sure, Triton, but... it's important, isn't it? That you do
this? Even if I told you I really hadn't wanted to do much more than
kiss you?"

"Even so, Doro. You're not going to tell me you're never going to want
more, are you?"

"Um. No, I'm not going to tell you 'never', Tri; probably not soon,
but eventually..." she breaks off, cheeks darkening in the dim light of
distant street lamps.

He smiles, then, very softly, and shifts around, reaching his free hand
across to land lightly on her shoulder, turning her towards him
slightly before ghosting it in, up her throat to cup her cheek. His hand is
warm against her face, and his voice almost a purr as he says, "Then,
for now, I have no more reasons not to do... this..." His lips on hers
are soft, pliant, at once asking her permission and offering her
everything he is.

A startled instant later, Dorothy's arms have come up, one around his
back, and the other moving to cup the back of his head, joyfully
accepting, seeking to draw him even closer. When he parts his lips she is
quick to do so as well, then flicks her tongue lightly against his lower
lip. He opens further in response, welcoming the invasion and greeting
it with his own tongue, gently encouraging her explorations, then
following it back to return the favour. When she reluctantly pulls away to
breathe, he leans towards her again, laying a slow trail of smaller
kisses along her jaw to her ear, where he leaves a last, careful kiss on
the hinge of her jaw before murmuring, "Hmm?" in her ear.

"Hmm," she agrees. "And this is because...?"

"Because eventually..." is his reply, the implications hanging heavy in
his voice. He places a few more careful kisses down her throat towards
the hollow between her collarbones before continuing to speak. "When
'eventually' comes, it will be alright. Well, hopefully better than
just alright," he laughs a little, "but I don't need to be afraid, any
more, that it will get to that stage, you see?"

He kisses, then licks gently at, that tempting little patch of skin,
drawing an appreciative little moan from Dorothy's lips. Encouraged, he
sets about trying to make her repeat that sound, until he is
interrupted by her hands, one still worked into his hair and the other now
resting under his chin, as she pulls his face up to kiss him again.

It is perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes later that reality reasserts
itself. Somewhere in that time, Dorothy has moved to kneel astride
Trowa's lap, her knees hanging over the back edge of the bench and both arms
wrapped around his neck and shoulders. Trowa still has his hands
resting lightly at her waist where he'd helped her into their current
position, although his fingers now brush lower over her hips. It is at about
this time that the wrong combination of change of grip and head
movement results in Dorothy breaking their kiss with a startled yelp.

"Wha... Doro? What is it?"

"You got my hair. Ow."

"Oops. Sorry, love..." He kisses her cheek in apology. Suddenly a
thought strikes him, and a chuckle escapes before he squelches it.

"What?" Dorothy sounds rather miffed that he would find the situation
funny.

"Oh, just that I was, rather obliquely, warned about that..." Another
chuckle escapes him, before he comments, "And now we know why Duo keeps
his hair braided at nights... Hey!" He mock-cowers at the glare she
gives him for that. "You should've seen Wufei's face though - it looked
like *he* had been the one being chased through the office with threats
of mayhem upon his person..."

Dorothy blinks at the unlikely image of reversed roles, and joins him
in laughing, before wincing as her knees make themselves felt. "Ooh.
Okay, I think we'd better move now... before my knees fall off. Come
on, help me up?"

He nods, and steadies her as they both stand up. "Perhaps we should
get you home now?" Trowa's voice is still faintly tinged with the husky
tones of his desire as he tells her, "I don't think 'eventually' means
'later this evening' - and I have to admit that sounds very tempting
right about now. So..."

"Mmmm. Yeah, it does, doesn't it? But you're right, it is getting
kind of late. And I have some thinking to do myself. I guess I don't get
to be your first, now, do I?"

"Hm? Of course you do; I've never had a girlfriend before you, you
know that."

"You never... that's not what I meant." He shrugs in response. "Let
me guess," she asks, "one of those details I really don't want to know
about, right?" Trowa nods. "Well, then... I guess I really don't
have anything to lose by this, do I?"

This time he shakes his head, "No, not really. My company this
weekend, but..."

"So soon? Well..." She walks on silently a little further before
asking, "They know what they're doing, obviously, but... I'm not... I
mean..."

"Don't forget, Doro, Wufei *was* married; it's why you spoke to him in
the first place, right? I've been promised a few lectures on
comparative anatomy. Although you'll have to suffer the practice runs there..."
There's the barest hint of a tease in his voice at that.

"Ah. True..."

"They'll take good care of me, Dorothy. You can trust in that."

"Okay, then..."

"Doro." He stops and turns her in the circle of his arm to face him as
he says, "I love you. Don't forget that." He punctuates the statement
by leaning in and stealing her breath away with another kiss - one of
the sort that might, under other circumstances, have led to the
immediate acquirement of a room and far fewer clothes than the chilly October
air dictated. As it is, Trowa laces it with all the passion and need at
his command. When he finally releases her lips, Dorothy is practically
quivering with the strength of her own response, and he wraps her
closely in his arms. Acting half on instinct and half on the jumbled
memories from two nights previous, Trowa finds himself stroking her back and
whispering his love for her into her hair as she regains her
equilibrium.

When she is able to answer him back, in much the same words, he loosens
his hold enough to set her back on her own feet, and they begin walking
again. It is less than another block to her building, and once she is
safely at her own doorstep, Trowa releases her, dips her a bow, and
backs up preparatory to turning away. "What, no kiss goodnight?" Dorothy
teases.

"I don't think I'd better, Dorothy." He smiles at her then, and bids
her, "Pleasant dreams," before turning to stride briskly down the hall,
and soon he is out of sight.

"No, I suppose not," she whispers, as she lets herself into her
apartment and kicks her shoes off. "I suppose not..." The scent of freesias
fills the air as she gets ready for bed, snuggling up under her covers
with hazy, half-formed fantasies of the promises that were hidden in
that last kiss for company.

Trowa, meanwhile, spends the rest of his walk home replaying the
evening and wishing he hadn't worn *this* pair of jeans - which happens to be
getting just a little tight on him, now that he's actually eating on a
regular basis and not spending most of every day in tumbling runs and
mucking cages, or muscling around the controls of an eight-ton suit.
Ah, well, he thinks as he lets himself into his own small apartment,
locks the door behind him reflexively, and begins stripping down for a
shower as he walks towards the bathroom. The jeans are probably the worst
part of the day, and that, really, is not a bad thing after all!

Not more than fifteen minutes later, clean, dry, and significantly less
tense, Trowa is slipping between his own sheets, contemplating the
possibility that he might not be waking up alone in the now-foreseeable
future.

~*~*~*~*~

(1) Of course they have codenames... ;)

(2) The first circus isn't canon, but it's a good guess; he had to
have learned his stuff someplace! The existence of the second Merc
company *is* canon, if you believe Blind Target, but what happened to/with
Trowa while he was there is only a guess.

Next ---> Rainbow Sherbert 6

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