Quatre poked his head out of his door. He saw Trowa slipping into his room, so he ran out of his room and into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and let the bathroom fill with steam. As he slipped out of his clothes he began humming, then singing. End Chapter 3 (1)Sarah McLachlan, “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy”
All the fear has left me now
I’m not frightened anymore
It’s my heart that pounds beneath my flesh
It’s my mouth that pushed out this breath and if I shed a tear I won’t
cage it
I won’t fear love and if I feel a rage I won’t deny it
I won’t fear love
Companion to our demons they will dance and we will play
With chairs, candles and clothes making darkness in the day
It will be easy to look in or out upstream or down
without a thought and if I shed a tear I won’t cage it
I won’t fear love and if I feel a rage I won’t deny it
I won’t fear love
Peace in the struggle to find peace
Comfort on the way to comfort and if I shed a tear I won’t cage it
I won’t fear love and if I feel a rage I won’t deny it
I won’t fear love
I won’t fear love
I won’t fear love(1)
Trowa walked out of his room and headed towards the bathroom. He found the door closed and he figured it was just Duo brushing his hair again, so he waited outside. A moment later the door opened and steam rolled out into the hallway. Trowa turned to go in and almost ran into an angel. Or, rather, what looked like an angel. Quatre’s pale hair was sticking out at odd angles, looking rather like a halo. His deep blue eyes were framed with eyelashes sparkling with drops of water. His cheeks were slightly red from the warm shower. This, and all he was wearing a towel. Both boys blushed and Trowa averted his eyes.
“Excuse me.” Quatre mumbled and all but ran to his room. Trowa entered the bathroom and closed the door, still blushing. When he got out of the shower he realized that he had no idea what kind of restaurant they were going to and what he should wear. On the way to his room he knocked on Quatre’s door to ask him about it. He heard shuffling inside and Quatre opened the door wearing only a pair of jeans.
“Yes, Trowa?” he asked, leaning against the doorjamb.
“I just wanted to know what I should wear tonight.”
“Oh, anything casual’s fine.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
“No problem.” The door closed and Trowa walked to his room, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
“Duo, you in there?” the female voice accompanied the loud knocking on the door.
He looked with loathing at the door as he slowly made his way to the door.
“Year, I’m here. What is it Sally?” he asked as he opened his door.
“I need your help in the kitchen. It’s just me, you, and Wufei tonight, Quatre and Trowa are going out to dinner.”
“Wait, why is it just them, is it a date or something?”
“Who knows. I’m thinking of making soup and I thought you might be bored. Wanna help?”
“Sure,” Duo replied and the two went down to the kitchen.
“Now let’s see what we have,” Sally mumbled to herself as she looked through the shelves.
“Not much, huh? Usually Kat goes shopping after a mission, but he hasn’t been feeling well and no one else ever goes. Lazy.”
Sally nodded at Duo and they continued to search. Eventually they found noodles, chicken broth, and chicken. They began making the soup, with Duo trying to add things when Sally wasn’t looking.
“Nimnu ryokai,” Heero mumbled to himself as Wing left the now destroyed base for the safe house and his braided lover.
“Duo, why haven’t you answered me, are you still mad,” Heero looked around the cockpit and set his gundam on autopilot. Then he noticed the amount of blood and bruises on him.
“I’ll deal with it later,” he thought as the world turned black and he fell into a dreamless sleep.
Quatre walked out of his room dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved black silk shirt. He glanced at Trowa’s door and saw that it was closed. He leaned against the wall. His heart was already beating fast just thinking about telling Trowa. He just wasn’t sure if tonight was the right time. He jumped as Trowa’s door opened. Trowa walked out wearing khakis and a deep green polo shirt that made his eyes stand out. He stood outside his room and stared at Quatre.
“Should we leave now?” he asked after a moment. Quatre shrugged.
“Our reservation isn’t for another hour. We have a few more minutes before we need to leave.” Trowa nodded.
“Then I’ll be in my room. Come and get me when we need to leave.” Quatre nodded and he went back into his room. Quatre stared at the closed door, then walked down the hall towards the kitchen. Maybe speaking with Sally would help him calm down.
The only problem with that was that Sally herself wasn’t calm.
“Duo! What the hell is that?” Sally asked the braided pilot.
“I don’t know, but it smells good,” he answered back as he added some more… something to the pot.
Sally sighed and tasted the soup. ‘Hey, not bad,’ she thought to herself. A slight cough brought her away from the pot to the figure in the doorway.
“Hi Quatre. You look nice,” Sally said as Duo whistled at the blonde.
“Um, thanks. What are you two making?” he asked.
“Some soupie for Wuffie.” Duo answered.
“And ourselves.” Sally added.
“Oh, sounds good. Well, we’re getting ready to leave so I guess, um, I’ll see you guys later. Oh, and could one of you check if I get a message, I feel like a mission should be coming soon.”
“Sure. Have fun.” Sally said while Duo waved as he ate some soup. ‘I really hope they have fun,’ Sally thought.
Quatre smiled slightly as he looked over into the driver’s seat. Trowa had insisted on driving despite the fact that he had no idea where the restaurant they were going to was.
“Turn here.” Quatre said motioning towards the road. They reached the small Italian restaurant quickly and were given a secluded table by a window. Trowa looked around as they sat.
“How did we get in so fast? He asked. “There were others waiting in line.”
Quatre waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “I’m a friend of the owner. I adore this table because of the view.” He motioned towards the window, which overlooked a river and the sun just beginning to set. Trowa admired the view for a moment before turning back to Quatre and their untouched menus.
“Do you recommend anything?” he asked quietly.
Quatre nodded. “I always get the lasagna. You can have anything you want. Remember, cost is no object, so knock yourself out.”
“I’ll just have the lasagna too.” Trowa said. Quatre nodded and ordered for them when the waiter came. They got glasses of water and Quatre played with his ice in the uncomfortable silence that followed.
“So…” he said after a moment, “When do you think Heero will get back home?”
Trowa shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably pretty soon, he’s been gone for a while.” Then after a pause he added, “Duo will be happy when he does.”
Quatre got a far away look. “Yeah… it’ll be nice to have our hyper Duo back again. It’s so sad to see him depressed.”
Trowa nodded and looked out the window. “Yes, but Heero’s just going to leave again. It’ll be a never ending cycle.”
Quatre sighed. “I know, but Duo loves him and he’ll follow after Heero until he’s dead or Heero’s broken his heart. Sometimes I wonder if his live is even worth it. He’s going to be broken beyond repair unless Heero becomes able to express his love.”
Trowa turned his head to Quatre. “I’ve often wondered about the validity of better to have loved and lost, but I’ve decided that love is a sacred thing and is worth whatever happens.”
Quatre looked back at him. “Maybe so, but hardly anything is worth having your heart broken.”
Trowa leaned forward. “Some things are.”
Quatre blushed and looked down at the table. The waiter came with their food and they ate in silence.
“This is good lasagna.” Trowa said after a while.
“Do you think whores just don’t care about love?” Quatre blurted out. When he realized what he said he blushed deep red. Trowa chuckled quietly.
“Where did that question come from?” he asked.
Quatre looked down. “I was just wondering what kind of reasons you would have for becoming a whore. Maybe they’re starved for money… or maybe they’re starved for love.”
“Or maybe they just really like sex.” Trowa said smiling slightly. Quatre looked at him in surprise. Trowa’s face softened and he spoke in a lower voice. “I think most of them just don’t know what love is. They think that what they have is the best they can get.”
“But how could you ever tell them what love is? What could you say?”
An amused smirk touched Trowa’s lips.
Love is a many splendered thing.
He sang.
Love lifts us up where we belong.
All you need is love
Quatre smiled and blinked his eyes very fast and pretended he was chewing gum, making a very convincing whore.
Please, don’t start that again.
He said in a bored voice.
All you need is love.
Trowa sang.
A girl has got to eat.
Quatre said, taking a bite of his lasagna.
All you need is love.
Trowa sang again.
She’ll end up on the streets.
Quatre said, looked confused, then smiled.
All you need is love.
Trowa sang, laughing slightly.
Love is just a game.
Quatre sang quietly.
I was made for loving you baby, you were made for loving me.
Trowa sang, wiggling his eyebrows.
Quatre shook his finger at him.
The only way of loving me baby is to pay a lovely fee.
Just one night, jut one night…
Trowa sang, looking overly emotional.
There’s no way ‘cause you can’t pay.
Quatre said, turning his head in fake indignity.
In the name of love, one night in the name of love.
Trowa said.
Quatre turned his head and smiled.
You crazy fool, I won’t give in to you.
Trowa suddenly turned serious.
Don’t leave me this way.
O can’t survive without your sweet love,
oh baby, don’t leave me this way.
Quatre’s smile faded.
You’d think that people would’ve had enough of silly love songs.
Trowa locked eyes with him.
I look around me and I see it isn’t so… oh no.
Quatre met his gaze.
Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs.
Well what’s wrong with that, I’d like to know, ‘cause here I go
Trowa pushed away from his chair and stood up.
Love lifts us up where we belong, where eagles fly on a mountain high
Quatre smiled again.
Love makes us act like we are fools,
throw our lives away for one happy day
We could be heroes!
Trowa sang loudly.
Just for one day
Quatre looked down at the table and sang quietly.
You-you will be mean
Trowa laughed.
No, no I won’t!
Quatre didn’t look up.
And I, I’ll drink all the time!
Trowa extended his hand towards Quatre and loudly sang,
We should be lovers!
Quatre looked up at him.
We can’t do that.
Trowa stayed in his position.
We should be lovers, and that’s a fact,
He sang.
Quatre stood up and touched his hand.
Though nothing could keep us together…
Trowa grasped his hand and began to sing with him.
We could steal time just for one day.
We could be heroes, forever and ever, we could be heroes.
Trowa put his other hand on Quatre’s mouth, quieting him.
Just because I will always love you, I
Quatre pulled down his hand and sang with him.
Can’t help loving
Quatre stopped singing and Trowa sang
you
by himself.
How wonderful life is,
Quatre sang, pulling Trowa close to him.
Now
Trowa joined him,
You’re in the world. (2)
As they finished singing Trowa leaned Quatre back and kissed him deeply. Quatre eagerly kissed him back and when they finally moved away from each other, both boys blushed and sat back in their seats in an awkward silence that would last the rest of the night.
Wufei, for one, would’ve loved silence. He’d first woken up to Sally asking if he was hungry and if he thought he could eat. He was and could and looked forward to a quiet meal with her. She’d left the room and returned with two bowls of soup and Duo with three spoons and a bowl of his own, thus his current predicament.
“Here, Wufei,” Sally said as she fed him soup. She sat on the bed beside him alternating between feeding him and herself. He was too weak and besides, it’s not like he minded being babied by her.
“Don’t worry, Wu-man,” Duo piped up, “We all get sick sometime.” Wufei had to surpress the evil thoughts he had towards his braided comrade.
“Shh, Duo, have you heard from Heero?” Sally asked, changing the subject.
“No. I don’t know why he hasn’t called cause I’ve stayed off the computer in case he did and still nothing. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, do you think he’s till mad. I hope not,” Duo replied bitterly.
“Baka,” Wufei said weakly. “You’re forgetting Yuy’s favorite pastime, aside from you.”
At this, Duo had the modesty to blush, but his face showed confusion. “What do you mean by that?” He asked.
“His laptop,” Sally said gently.
Duo’s face went through an array of emotions till it almost got stuck on shock as he very ungracefully leapt from his seat and ran out of the room.
“I never knew a person’s face could do that,” Sally said with a hint of laughter as Wufei nodded. “It looks like we’re done with supper. Do you need anything else before I go, like an extra blanket?”
“Yes,” Wufei weakly answered as Sally cleaned up their meal. She went and got another blanket and tucked the Chinese boy in for the night.
“Good night, Wufei,” She said leaving the room, not bothering to close the door.
“I wish she had stayed, but she’d never do that, she has a boyfriend,” He thought, continuing these self-destructive thoughts until he heard singing.
I looked into your eyes they told me plenty I already knew
You never felt a thing so soon forgotten all that you do
In more than words I tried to tell you
The more I tried I failed
I would not let myself believe that you might stray
And I would stand by you no matter what they’d say
I thought I’d be with you until my dying day
Until my dying day
I used to think my life was often empty
A lonely space to fill
You made my world stand still
And in that stillness there was a freedom I never felt before
I would not let myself believe that you might stray
And I would stand by you no matter what they’d say
I thought I’d be with you until my dying day
Until my dying day… (3)
“I wonder what she was singing about,” He thought to himself.
Sally, meanwhile, had decided to drop her depression and cleaned the dishes from dinner; afterwards she checked Quatre’s email.
“Hmm, a mission for 03 and 04 tomorrow morning. I hope they get back soon,” She said quietly to herself. As if a sign, at that moment the aforementioned pilots came in.
“Trowa, Quatre, hi,” Sally said, smiling at the two pilots. “How was dinner?”
“It was nice, thank for asking,” Quatre replied as Trowa gave her a half smile and continued to his room.
“Wait,” Sally called. “A mission came in for you two, tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, okay, well we better get to sleep then. Thanks for telling us,” Quatre answered.
“Good-night,” Sally smiled.
“Good night, Sally,” Quatre said as Trowa nodded. The pilots went to their rooms, leaving Sally alone with her thoughts.
“I wonder what happened at dinner;” She thought to herself as she heard a low whimper from Wufei’s room. She briskly walked to his room, wondering what the noise was.
“Wufei,” She cautiously called into his room.
“Sally,” he answered back. Now she knew something was wrong. She walked to the head of the bed and lay her hand on his forehead. He was shivering, but still burning up.
“What’s wrong?” She asked.
“I’m so cold,” He chattered.
“Shh, I’ll look for more blankets.”
“No, I don’t want to be alone,” He meekly called. “Please stay.”
Sally’s eyes got large at the shock of hearing and seeing Wufei so childlike.
“It’s alright, I’ll stay.”
His only response was to move over in the bed.
“You want me to sleep here?” Sally asked, astonished.
“You’re warm,” He answered simply.
She shrugged her shoulders at that and climbed in next to him. He immediately latched onto her and pretty soon she could hear gentle snores coming from him.
“What have I gotten myself into,” She thought to herself as she joined him in sleep.
(2) “Elephant Love Melody”, from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack
(3)Sarah McLachlan, “Plenty”