Disclaimer -- I do not own Gundam Wing or any of it's characters.
Warning -- Language, Male/Male, crossdressing. The characters are OOC. I will post any other warnings as they come.
Pairings -- Zechs x Trowa, other pairings possible or changes in pairings stated.
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The birth of a girl...
"Wow. I knew the Peacecrafts were rich, but this...." Cathy trailed off as she continued to stare in shock.
With a name like Peacecraft Manor, she expected a large house or a mansion, not a freaking palace. She quickly glanced at Trowa, who was standing next to her. As usual, his face was expressionless.
"Ms. Bloom."
Cathy turned her attention to the woman who had just walked up behind them.
"I'm Mrs. Thomas. I'm in charge of the household staff."
Trowa stood a little bit away from Mrs. Thomas and Cathy as they talked. He glanced around despite not really being interested in the house or its surroundings. This wasn't their house. They were just going to work there. Well, Cathy was. He was just the tag along who was going to act as her assistant. Although, at a place this size, they should have a pretty big stable. Maybe they'd let him help with the animals. Trowa returned his gaze to the two women and noticed that Cathy was frowning slightly. He moved closer so that he could hear what they were saying.
"Someone should have told you that we no longer accept male employees." Mrs. Thomas said. "If you could get a female assistant then maybe...."
Trowa heard enough so he stopped listening. He couldn't believe he heard that. They didn't allow male workers here. What kind of weird stipulation is that? Weren't there rules against things like this? Then again, rich people did whatever they wanted. Unfortunately that meant that Cathy was going to be denied the job because of him. He couldn't let that happen.
"I am not a boy." he suddenly said in a girlish voice. "I worked with the animals so it was easier to dress like this."
This consisted of large jeans, ill-fitting turtleneck, old black jacket and work boots. Mrs. Thomas focused on him and looked him over. From her expression, it wasn't hard to tell that she didn't think he looked like a girl. But he didn't look like a boy either. It was that lack of distinction that let him create room for doubt. He could either be a feminine boy or a masculine girl. And Mrs. Thomas seemed the type to be too well brought up to ask which he was . He noticed that she lingered on his hair for a second. Trowa nervously ran his hand through his hair and then "unconsciously" began twisting a lock of it.
"Not everyone appreciated a girl doing the things I did." he said sighing deeply. "And sometimes they couldn't help but to let it be known."
He mumbled the last part, but made sure it was loud and clear enough to be heard. It took a few seconds but Mrs. Thomas' eyes widened slightly as the implied reasons behind "her" boyish haircut sunk in.
"I'm very sorry for the confusion. Let me show you to the rooms you'll be using." she said after clearing her throat.
For her part, Cathy stood back and hoped that the shock she felt wasn't showing on her face. Truthfully, she didn't know what was more shocking. Trowa's convincing portrayal of a girl. If she didn't know any better, she'd be questioning his gender too. His mannerisms and body language just screamed girl. Or seeing and hearing so much emotion, even if it was fake, coming from the usually stoic boy. As they started to follow Mrs. Thomas, Cathy moved closer to him.
"Thank you Trowa." she whispered.
He just shrugged his shoulders as a way of saying she was welcome. Honestly, it was the least he could do for her. She had taken him in and cared for him when no one else would. And once she had gotten the job here, it had never even crossed her mind to leave him. In fact, he was all set to be left behind when she came in and questioned why he wasn't packing already. So if he had to act like a girl to help her then he would.
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The birth of a supermodel...
"Seventeen." Trowa mumbled absently as he was stuck with another pin.
"Sorry." Cathy replied.
They both knew she wasn't. Her barely concealed smile told him otherwise.
"If you would stop fidgeting then I wouldn't stick you."
"If you wouldn't stick me then I wouldn't fidget."
"This is the last one for today."
"Aw, and just when I was getting used to him looking so pretty too." Duo said.
Trowa playfully glared at his friend who was sitting on the couch playing with his camera.
"This coming from a guy with a long braid."
"No talking about the braid."
"Anyway, thanks for helping me with this." Cathy said.
This was modeling the dresses she made so she could either finish them up or see how they looked on someone. It had bothered him at first. What boy would want to be told that he had a perfect figure for wearing dresses? But he quickly got over it. It wasn't the first time he had worn women's clothing and knowing Cathy, it wouldn't be the first. Hell, he had lived as a girl for a few years at Peacecraft Manor so playing human mannequin honestly didn't faze him. He was about to say something to her when a flash of light went off behind him followed by Duo laughing. Trowa tilted his to tell him to stop only to be blinded by the flash going off a few more times.
"Duo, I'm going to kill you."
Anticipating his next move, Cathy grabbed Trowa before he could lunge for the camera.
"Oh no you don't. This dress is made of white silk. I am not about to let you mess it up." she said and then turned to Duo. "And you, I will not feel guilty about chopping off that braid."
Cathy chose that moment to stick Trowa with another pin.
"Eighteen." he said still watching Duo.
And another one.
"Nineteen."
And another.
"Twenty."
Can't forget one for good luck.
"Twenty-one. Damn it Cathy."
Just like she wanted, Trowa forgot about Duo and turned his attention to her.
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Weeks later...
Trowa stepped off the shuttle and sighed. This was the part of his return trip that he hated, the two hour layover. After a two day trip, he was cold, tired, and just wanted to get home. Since he had time, he might as well go find some place to get a snack. His phone began ringing just as he walked out of the station. From the ring tone, he knew that it was Duo. Trowa reached in his pocket to answer it otherwise Duo would just keep calling.
"Hello Duo."
"You sound like hell. You okay?"
"Yes, just tired from the trip."
"Maybe you should think about not going."
"Don't start. I already know how you feel about it."
"Something happened didn't it?"
"Not now Duo. If that's all, then I'm going to hang up and find somewhere to eat."
"Don't hang up." Duo yelled. "I've done something that you need to know about. I want to tell you before you find out for yourself."
"What did you do?"
"You promise you won't be mad."
"I promise. Now tell me what you've...." Trowa trailed off as his phone fell from his hand.
He vaguely heard Duo calling his name but he was too busy looking up at a huge billboard with his picture on it. Not just any picture, but the one Duo had taken while he was helping Cathy a few weeks before. The one with him in a dress. To the side was a small perfume bottle and across the bottom was the caption, "Do you Dare? She does." After another minute of staring, he bent down and picked up his phone.
"Duo, why is my face on an ad for women's perfume?"
"There was a contest for fresh faces and Cathy and I entered yours as a joke. It didn't help that we had drunk a little too much alcohol that night either. Imagine our surprise when we got a call saying you won."
"I didn't give my consent for my picture to be used."
"By entering the contest you give your consent."
"You do realize that we're both going to be arrested for fraud since I'm male."
"They never specified a gender."
"Fine, what's done is done. A few weeks and this particular campaign will be over. No harm done."
"Well.... You see.... Don't kill me Trowa."
"God Duo, what else have you done?"
"You've seen the ad right? You look good in it. I mean really good."
"And what does that have to do with anything?"
Trowa said a silent prayer that this wasn't going where he thought it was.
"They want to hire you to model for them."
It did go where he thought it was.
"You didn't tell them yes did you?"
"No. I said you'd think about it."
"Duo, must I once again remind you that I'm male. I doubt I'll be able to hide that particular secret."
"They're willing to pay a lot for you."
Trowa paused. He really could use the money.
"Look, just think about it on your way here. You take a few pics and they pay you a lot of money. How hard could it be?"