Horrible Part 3
Trowa rolled over and squinted at the clock. That late already? Still, he had missed a lot of sleep just to build- With a groan, he covered his eyes. What the hell had he been thinking? A Death Ray?
Not like Golden Dragon didn't deserve some sort of evil... but not death. Killing the bastard wasn't the answer. What had he been thinking?
More like he hadn't been thinking at all.
Forcing himself up and out of bed, he went to go stand under the shower for a bit. Cold water would wake him up and then maybe he'd be able to think rationally about all this.
The shower helped. By the time he was dry and clothed, he'd mentally disassembled the Death Ray in his head. It shouldn't take too long to do it...
He was headed for the kitchen when his doorbell rang.
Who was that? Duo never bothered to ring the doorbell.
It better not be that bastard showing up to harass him...
He flung open the door and blinked at the person standing on his front steps.
"Good morning!" Quatre smiled and held up a brown bag. "I thought you'd be waking up around now and so I brought breakfast!"
"Oh," Trowa said and took a step back. "Thanks. Come in?"
He half expected Quatre to just hand over the bag, but the other man's smile brightened.
"Thanks! I hope you don't mind, but I saw how empty your fridge was yesterday and I was already picking up my own breakfast- so I got some for you too." Quatre stepped past him and headed for the kitchen.
Trowa followed in his wake, wondering if he was still in bed asleep and just having a really good dream.
"You still look tired," Quatre's expression dimmed a little as he studied Trowa. "Did you get some sleep?"
"I did," Trowa assured him. "It just takes a few days for me to catch up."
"Ah," Quatre gently pushed him towards a chair. "Then you sit down and I'll do this."
"I can help- I mean-"
"It's okay. I watched that one friend of yours- Heero?- yesterday. I think I know where everything is." Quatre produced bagels, cream cheese and juice from the bag and set about slicing, toasting and pouring.
Trowa sat down, still wondering if he was asleep. "I'm not going to make you late for work today, am I?"
Quatre shook his head as he put a glass of juice in front of Trowa. "Not at all. I have a late shift today. Duo said you invent and sell things to companies?"
"Sometimes. If I'm lucky."
"What are you working on now?"
Trowa opened his mouth and closed it again. He really shouldn"t say: 'apparently a Death Ray.' That might give Quatre the wrong impression.
"Ah, nothing too exciting." He said instead and then wondered if maybe he should've admitted to the Death Ray. Not that he was proud of it, but it wasn't as if he was ashamed of being a villain.
But then again, the probability that someone like Quatre would want to share bagels with a villain was slim to none.
Quatre brought the now toasted bagels to the table and sat down beside Trowa. "I hope plain cream cheese is okay. I thought about strawberry, but some people are really picky about their cream cheese."
"Plain is fine." Trowa picked up his bagel and took a bite.
They ate in silence and Trowa wished that he had something to say. Why couldn't he be more like Duo? Or even that bastard Golden Dragon? They wouldn't be sitting here tongue-tied.
Quatre's fingers brushed lightly over Trowa's cheek. "You had a crumb," he said with a smile and Trowa felt his blood warm.
"Thanks," he said and picked up a napkin to scrub at his face.
Quatre looked at his watch. "I have to get going," he said and stood up. "Don't move," he continued, putting his hand on Trowa's shoulder. "You still look tired. Get some more rest today, okay?"
Trowa nodded. "I will."
That smile flashed out again. "Mind if I come and check on you later? Maybe bring dinner?"
Blinking in surprise, Trowa looked up at him. He wanted to come back? Why?
"It's peaceful here with you. I'd like to come back. May I?"
"Of course. I-"
"I'll see you later then." Moving quickly, Quatre bent and put his lips to Trowa's cheek. "Take care," he said and headed for the door, leaving Trowa blinking dazedly behind him.
Still dazed, he finished his bagel and got up from the table, pausing for a moment.
Bed or lab?
He wasn't really tired anymore, not with Quatre's kiss burning on his skin, so he headed down to the lab.
The Death Ray lay gleaming on the table. Trowa hefted it in his hand and frowned. He didn't really want to deal with it. Not yet... he put it to one side and looked at his other unfinished project.
That one... that one just needed a few more things...
Fifteen minutes later he was lost to the world.
~*~
Hours later, Trowa looked away from his work, frowning. What was... he tilted his head to the side and listened. Something... someone?... upstairs? Yelling?
Even as he processed it, the door at the top of the stairs was flung open.
"There you are!"
Trowa stood up, suddenly furious. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you think? It's been a week!" Golden Dragon stormed down the stairs. "Do you know what it"s been like? Especially the last 24 hours? Solid Steel decided that since I had nothing to do I could go patrolling with him!"
Trowa's eyes widened. "But he- his arch-nemesis-"
"His nemesis is a menace! That one should be locked up! Or tossed into space! I don't know why Steel just hasn't crushed him to a pulp!"
It was hard not to laugh. Apparently Duo had decided to keep Golden Dragon busy- with the help of his boyfriend, Trowa thought and had to hide his smile.
"But you're busy."
"He's making me look bad." Golden Dragon growled and slammed his hand down onto Trowa's worktable. The wood creaked and snapped, making Trowa wince.
"Stop that."
"Make me."
The Death Ray was right by Golden Dragon's hand. For one mad moment, Trowa contemplated diving for it. If he didn't hit anything vital...
But Golden Dragon saw his glance and picked up the weapon. "What is this?"
"It's nothing," Trowa snapped back and then froze as Golden Dragon pointed it at him.
"For nothing it's sure making you sweat."
"Put it down. It's--- untested."
"Then let's test it on you and see how you do."
Trowa flinched backward, closing his eyes as Golden Dragon started to squeeze down on the trigger...
Nothing happened.
Trowa opened a cautious eye, expecting to find Golden Dragon smirking at him. Instead the other man was standing perfectly still, his eyes wide with horror.
"That will be quite enough of that," said a new voice from the top of the stairs. Trowa looked upward.
Quatre stood in the doorway, framed by the light, one hand pointing at Golden Dragon.
"Put that down."
The Death Ray dropped from Golden Dragon's fingers. He managed to roll his eyes just enough to focus on Quatre. "Mindseye," he managed between his clenched lips. "I didn't recognize you..."
Trowa's jaw dropped. Mindseye? The Head of the Hero's League?
Quatre?
TBC...
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