Alone Part 7

It took several weeks until Quatre was feeling well enough to go back into work. Not that being confined to his bed stopped him. Whenever I went over to see him he had papers spread all over his bed and his laptop up and running. But when I came into the room, he would close the laptop and push the papers to the side. I appreciated his efforts to show me that he was as committed to our friendship as I was and tried to reciprocate by telling him all I could about my day and listening to him talk about his.

I half expected that Rashid would try and bar me from visiting Quatre, but two things prevented that from ever happening. One, he was stuck in his own bed for quite a while. Duo, Wufei and Heero do not like having their friendship called into question. Not ever. The second was Quatre himself. I am almost positive he gave Rashid some sort of lecture, and Quatre is used to being obeyed.

Once Quatre was out of bed and back to work, we made a point of having dinner out together at least once a week. I had expected some rough patches as we tried to fix our friendship. Surprisingly it was easier than I expected, but then we were both putting a lot of effort into it.

I don't mean to make it sound like a chore. It wasn't. But I think the two of us were very careful not to take anything for granted and we both tried to be open and honest about everything. That helped.

Six months after the raid I was getting ready to leave the office to meet Quatre for dinner. Wufei was still working on his files, but I no longer felt the urge to stay there as long as he did. Dinner with Quatre was more important.

Wufei looked up from his computer screen. "Going to meet Quatre?" He asked as his eyes swept over me, noting the fact that I had changed out of my Preventers uniform.

"Yes," I replied.

"Have a nice evening." Wufei gave me a small smile. "Tell Quatre hello from me."

"I will." I left the office and went down to the front desk to sign out. The girl there put aside her tabloid newspaper and gave me a warm smile. As I signed out, my eye was caught by the picture on the front of her paper.

The headline was about some starlet, but in the corner was a picture of Quatre talking with some dark-haired young man. 'Corporate Moguls Dating?' The caption read.

I was surprised by the sudden intense feeling of jealousy that swept through me.

I nodded at the girl when she wished me a good evening and headed for my car.

Was Quatre dating someone? He hadn't mentioned anything to me. Not that he was required to of course. I could see where it would be awkward telling your old lover about your new one. But- didn't I deserve that consideration? Weren't we trying to be honest with each other?

If I was honest with myself, I had to admit that I was the one that told him our relationship was damaged beyond fixing.

I hadn't realized how easy it was going to be to fix the friendship that we shared.

I already knew how much I had missed the closeness we had shared.

As I drove to the restaurant it hit me that the thought of Quatre with anyone else disturbed me greatly. I was still thinking of him as 'mine', a thing that I was apparently going to have to stop unless I wanted our friendship damaged beyond repair.

Quatre was at the restaurant when I arrived. He looked up and smiled at me as I walked towards him.

I wondered if his new lover cherished that smile as much as I did.

I sat down and Quatre started asking me questions about my day. I answered as best I could, trying to keep my tone normal. I couldn't fool him however. I saw the concern in his eyes when he looked at me.

When our meals were cleared off the table he leaned towards me, head tilted to the side. "Trowa- is something wrong?"

"Sort of," I replied, deciding to come clean. We had had too many secrets between us already. "One of the girls at work was reading this tabloid..."

To my surprise, Quatre smiled. "That Corporate Moguls Dating thing? Logan was furious about that. The man is straighter than an arrow. We're doing some business together, so we've spent a lot of time at lunch and dinner meetings lately. That's all."

"Really?" I couldn't help asking.

"Oh yes. In fact, Logan called me today right after he saw that article. He was really upset by the whole thing. He told me that he planned to go out and pick up two or three women tonight." Quatre shook his head. "I think his masculinity was threatened. He told me to do the same." He grinned and I had to smile back.

"What did you say?"

"I told him I was having dinner with my ex. He said that was good enough as long as I made sure someone took a picture of me doing it."

I chuckled. "And how are you going to swing that?"

"Already did." Quatre raised his eyebrow and tilted his head towards a table in the corner. "The guy over there works for that gossip rag. I noticed him when we came in. I'm sure he's taken several pictures already." He paused and gave me a faintly worried look. "Do you mind?"

"Not in the slightest," I assured him. Reporters had been a thing we'd had to deal with when we were dating. Give them one good photo and they usually left you alone.

A wicked thought occurred to me, and I acted before I could talk myself out of it.

"In fact," I reached out and picked up his hand. "Let's give him something good." I kissed the inside of his wrist gently.

I looked up and caught the expression that flickered over his face. Thank gods.

He still wanted me.

~*~

Trowa had been upset about something when he joined me in the restaurant. I kept the conversation light and hoped that eventually he'd confide in me. I waited patiently, but he didn't confide in me.

I had to say something. We'd worked so hard at repairing our friendship that I couldn't not address whatever was bothering him.

I laughed in relief when he mentioned the photo. Then I wondered why it had upset him so much. Because he thought that I hadn't told him I was seeing someone else?

I didn't want to see anyone but him. I knew I'd never get him back, that I'd have to settle for his friendship, but I didn't want anyone else. I never had.

I explained about Logan and pointed out the photographer in the corner. I'd seen him several times before- I think those guys thought they were sneaky- but really- like I wouldn't notice the same face always hovering in the background? Idiot.

I was worried about Trowa's reaction though. I wasn't using him on purpose, but the pictures would definitely help stop the rumors.

"Do you mind?" I asked him. If he did, I'd have the man thrown out and his camera confiscated.

"Not in the slightest." Trowa gave me a small smile and his eyes lit up a bit with mischief in a way I hadn't seen for a long time. "In fact, let's give him something good."

He picked up my hand and brushed his lips over the inside of my wrist. Heat shot through me. It was one of the places he used to kiss me to persuade me to go to bed with him.

He met my gaze and gave me a look I remembered all too well.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to have dessert with me at home?" He asked softly, his mouth still on my wrist. I had to take a deep breath.

"I think you could do that very easily," I replied honestly. "The question is- are you sure you want to?"

His fingers tightened slightly. "I want to- very much."

"Then we should go."

He smiled then and I tossed cash on the table- too much probably, but at this point I didn't care. His fingers moved to entwine with mine as we left the restaurant.

"Should we leave a car here?" He asked practically when we got outside.

"My meeting ran late so Abdul dropped me off," I replied.

"Good," he led me to his car.

I don't think he broke any speed limits getting to his apartment, but I wasn't really focused on the drive. He had to let go of my wrist to drive, but I put a hand on his leg as he drove. I wasn't trying to distract him- I wanted to reach his apartment in one piece- but I needed to touch him after having gone so long without.

I had never been to his apartment. I was surprised to find it furnished only with the bare necessities, but then Trowa has never been one for decorating.

He locked the door behind us and turned to look at me. We stood there for a long moment, not touching, just looking.

I couldn't wait.

I reached out and pulled him to me. His arms tightened around me as his mouth opened underneath mine.

I had missed kissing him.

It was easy to move from kissing to- other things. Easy to let him take me to the bedroom, easy to follow him down onto the tiny twin bed, easy to tug off clothes and so very easy to make love with him.

Had I expected it to be awkward? I guess I had. I thought at some point he would pull away from me and ask what the hell we thought we were doing.

He never did though. And afterwards he cuddled close beside me as he used to do and fell asleep.

~*~

I woke up the next morning feeling warm. My pillow was moving under my cheek. I blinked and found myself looking at the smooth expanse of Quatre's chest.

It had been a long time since I had woken up like this and I wasn't inclined to move anytime soon. Then again, I didn't have to work today. But maybe Quatre did?

I lifted my head. Quatre was sleeping soundly, a faint smile curving his lips, and I hated to wake him.

What if he woke up and regretted what had happened?

I touched his cheek gently, calling his name. His eyes blinked opened and his smile widened. Relief swept over me.

"Sorry love, but it's getting late- don't you have meetings today?" The endearment slipped out without me even thinking about it.

"I'll cancel them." Quatre pulled me back down to his chest. "Unless you have to work?"

"Day off." I told him as I put my head back down where it belonged.

We lay there simply enjoying each other's warmth until an irritating buzzing noise intruded.

"Phone," Quatre groaned. I let him up and he nearly fell off the bed. Twin beds are not meant for sharing. He fished his cell out of his discarded pants and opened it.

"Yes?"

I couldn't hear the words, but someone on the other end sounded a bit irate.

"Nope. I'm not working today." Quatre paused to listen to the reply, then snapped: "You're always telling me I need a day off, so I'm taking one." He paused again longer this time, and his voice softened. "Of course, Rashid. I know.... I will." He hung up the phone and curled back up with me.

"Rashid is upset- isn't he?" I asked carefully. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't blame Rashid for what he did- only how he had done it. The man was loyal to Quatre and only wanted what was best for his employer.

"Not as much as you think. He's been feeling guilty over the whole-" Quatre paused, "misunderstanding. He was simply calling to tell me that I might at least do them the favor of letting them know that I wasn't coming into work today."

"So then I have some chance of persuading you to stay here with me?" I asked, half-teasingly, wanting to change the subject. I didn't want to talk about our misunderstanding, or Rashid, or anything really. I just wanted to stay in bed with my lover.

"I was hoping to persuade you to let me stay," he replied, his voice wistful, no trace of humor or teasing hiding his need.

I didn't answer him with words, but I think he understood all the same.

OWARI

 

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