OUT OF TUNE
Chapter Two: Match One; Swords Up & FIGHT!!
Disclaimer: Chapter 2 up, and I still don't own Gundam Wing! Shucks.
"Such predictability in a man can be a very delectable quality yet it's highly un-exciting," the she-devil drawled. Slowly, yet with grace and sophistication, she raised herself from her laying position to sitting. Her gray eyes fell to the book lying forgotten on the floor. "And judging by your reaction, a smidgen of unpredictability is not an attractive feature in a woman. Forgive me, I'll try harder."
Finally being able to give his mind something to focus on other than his shock, Trowa scrambled within to recover and shoot back.
"A smidgen, Dorothy? Hate to offend by compliment, but you are the reigning Queen of Surprise."
It wasn't really a shot at her, but it was enough to stir up some interesting conversation. In his search for solitude, he hadn't realized how much he missed human interaction. Plus, he was interested to see why Dorothy, of all people, would be in his hiding place when he hadn't seen her in two years.
The blonde's sharp features were highlighted as she grinned like Cheshire cat. Despite not knowing her well, Trowa knew well enough that Ms. Catalonia grinning was not a usual occurrence.
"Not an offence at all, Mr. Barton. I'm quite flattered that you'd think that little predictable me would be deserving of such a title!" she gushed. She swung her legs off the couch and crossed them, before stretching her arms out along the top edges of the couch. She fit the part of a modern day queen.
Trowa had become increasingly uncomfortable standing, as if it made him vulnerable. So he sat down in the armchair across from Dorothy, matching her looks glare for glare.
"So Dorothy, why do you think of me as predictable?" He'd been surprised again when she called him so; it was as if she'd expected him to be there. But that was impossible; he stressed in his mind the fact that they hadn't seen each other in two years!
"Your usually sharp mind has either been dulled over time or you've finally descended into a mortal state of being and temporally forgot that this room is equipped with these darling security TV's." She was right, he had forgotten about them. However, he rarely paid them any mind.
"Of course, how silly of me," he replied. It was then that he realized that he'd also forgotten to pick up his book from where he had left it. And it was also then that Dorothy decided to make a comment on it.
"Your book, Mr. Barton, is still lying on the floor. Oh, stupid me, of course. You must have meant to leave it there! Never mind then, I'll just go on reading my own book. Leave it to me to make a silly comment on such a trivial thing!" She was a genius at verbal fighting, she knew just what buttons to press and how hard to press them. But he was a skilled fighter himself, that much he prided himself in, and wasn't about to back down.
"Well of course I meant to leave it there. That's where books belong don't they? On the floor?" Inside he was grinning like the Mad-Hatter. "That's where women belong too, isn't it?" He finished offhandedly. 'One point to me,' he mused.
Her face was priceless. But her body language came first. She drew herself up to her fullest height while still sitting and her legs uncrossed then crossed again and her chin flew up. But her face, if only he'd had a camera. Her eyes followed a straight line down her face towards him, her lips were drawn together like a purse, her nose was up in the air, and her brows knitted together, showing off for only a moment her dissatisfaction. However, like the true fighter she was, she pulled herself back together and parried with aggression.
"My, Mr. Barton, what a vulgar thing to say to such a delicate creature like myself. But then again, I suppose you're right. Women do belong on the floor, don't they?" And without warning she'd slid from the couch to the floor and like a tiger, was now crawling towards him. She stopped just a few feet in front of him, smiled seductively, and turned away towards the book. Her own book sat closed neatly on the couch.
Inside, Trowa sighed a sigh of relief. If she'd carried through with the attack he thought she was going to do, he didn't think he'd be able to fight her off. His gaze traveled back to where Dorothy had now picked up his book and begun reading it intently. 'Damn her, but she's good!'
She knew better than anyone what a rush it was to dive into a fight and how the mental adrenaline river flooded everything else until all you wanted to do was fight. Being silent was her attack. But he knew just how to turn it against her.
He stood up and walked out of the room, leaving the sliding door open. His own personal invitation.
'Two points for her and two points for me. Let's see what happens next…' his thoughts trailed off as he exited the book store, nodding again at the young girl behind the counter with a uncharacteristic grin.
***
Time wise, Trowa didn't have to wait long for Dorothy to come and find him. However, she held out much longer than he'd expected; a whole two and a half hours he'd had to wait alone in the coffee shop across from the bookstore until she cam out of there. And it wasn't by chance that she came into the coffee shop either.
She came because she knew that it'd be a place that he would go. Trowa grinned as he took a sip of his Jamaican coffee; she most definitely was the Queen of Surprise. But she knew just how to disguise it.
The smell of coffees blended together filled Dorothy's senses as she approached her quarry. He was tough. Most men would have given up waiting an hour ago. But she knew he'd hang on. He wouldn't let her win without a fight. 'How adorable,' she thought wryly. She nodded curtly at the waitress as she filed by and took a seat across from Trowa as if it had been reserved for her.
"You came," Trowa commented dryly as he continued reading the paper he'd picked up from the news stand next to the book store. Dorothy nodded.
"I had to return your book of course," she replied with an equal air of nonchalance.
"Glad to see you've dropped the fancy airs," he continued, trying not to pay attention to her comment. From behind his mess of hair he could see her eyes narrow as she placed the book in front of the article he was reading.
"Would you like something, m'am?" The airy voice of the waitress broke their bantering.
"Yes, a French vanilla cappuccino please, thank you," Dorothy replied quickly. The distraction dealt with, she returned to her hunt. Trowa saw the determined look in her eyes and decided that enough had been enough. It was time to end this game and get right down to the issue he'd wanted to discuss with the woman before one of them gained the upper hand.
"I think I'll follow the waitress's lead and ask the same; Dorothy, is there something I can do for you?" Trowa had folded his paper around his book and stored it away in the large pockets of his coat. Dorothy's eyes lost a little shimmer and he knew that he'd disappointed her. However, she did reply.
"Yes, actually there is. Mr. Winner had-"
"Quatre."
"Excuse me?" Dorothy seemed dumbfounded and, dare he think it, surprised.
"His name is Quatre and mine is Trowa. I thought you had dropped those fancy titles," he explained.
"All right then, fine, Quatre told me that you were in a bit of a financial jam and that, well, you were being kicked out of your apartment building," she said in a bit of an uncharacteristic rush. Trowa however, nodded in agreement with what she said.
"Yes, I have had some trouble with money, but that's really none of your concern, now is it?"
"No need to get testy Mr.-er, Trowa. I'm not here to patronize or to sympathize. I'm here to strike a deal," she whispered. She was no longer meeting his gaze but staring at the surface of the table.
"Here you are ma'm." The waitress returned with Dorothy's cappuccino. Dorothy looked up and smiled sweetly.
"Thank you." Her voice sounded slightly strained and even a little on the shaky side.
"Is something wrong Dorothy?" Trowa asked with concern lacing his words. It'd been so long since he'd fought like that with anyone. Wufei had been his only competitor but time as a Preventor had made him too busy to debate. Yet come to think of it, he had had fought someone else. The person sitting in front of him now. He'd been quite entertained with their verbal match up until this point but it occurred to him that, just like on the White Fang ship, Dorothy would put up a strong face, but her endurance just wasn't as good as his.
"I'm fine," she hissed, looking away from him and at the floor. He nodded, knowing that she wasn't fine and that whatever deal she wanted to strike was a burden to her.
"You mentioned you wanted to strike a deal?"
"Yes, you see, I too am having a bit of-well, that is to say I am…I…" she faltered.
"You're broke?" Dorothy looked up from her cappuccino and into the emerald eye that wasn't covered by hair.
"In a matter of speaking, yes."
"So what kind of deal do you want to strike? I can't borrow you any money, I have none my-"
"I want you to help me buy an apartment," she announced, cutting him off.
"Ugh, I just told you Dorothy, I have very little money myself," he replied, slightly exasperated.
"I know, that's why I've come to you. If you put our money together, we can get this apartment that I've picked out on 13th street," her pace had increased as she realized that she didn't need to be ashamed of the fact that she had little money.
"Why should I give you my money for an apartment for you? You forget, I'm getting kicked out of my own." Dorothy was now starting to wear on his nerves. However, the blonde just shook her head, causing her long hair to swirl intoxicatingly over her shoulders.
"That's the thing Trowa, the apartment wouldn't just be for me. I want you to live with me!" she exclaimed.
If Trowa had a dollar for every time he'd been surprised by this woman in just 24 hours, he'd probably have had enough to pay off his rent. Too bad there was no divine being handing out such cash.
Ok, that's it for Chapter 2. Hope you liked it. I know Trowa and Dorothy is an odd pairing, but I've seen worse, trust me!
Please R/R!! Flames are great too, nice clean sources of energy!! Great to cook up new ideas on!
MadameHotaru.of.87
Chapter Two: Match One; Swords Up & FIGHT!!
Disclaimer: Chapter 2 up, and I still don't own Gundam Wing! Shucks.
"Such predictability in a man can be a very delectable quality yet it's highly un-exciting," the she-devil drawled. Slowly, yet with grace and sophistication, she raised herself from her laying position to sitting. Her gray eyes fell to the book lying forgotten on the floor. "And judging by your reaction, a smidgen of unpredictability is not an attractive feature in a woman. Forgive me, I'll try harder."
Finally being able to give his mind something to focus on other than his shock, Trowa scrambled within to recover and shoot back.
"A smidgen, Dorothy? Hate to offend by compliment, but you are the reigning Queen of Surprise."
It wasn't really a shot at her, but it was enough to stir up some interesting conversation. In his search for solitude, he hadn't realized how much he missed human interaction. Plus, he was interested to see why Dorothy, of all people, would be in his hiding place when he hadn't seen her in two years.
The blonde's sharp features were highlighted as she grinned like Cheshire cat. Despite not knowing her well, Trowa knew well enough that Ms. Catalonia grinning was not a usual occurrence.
"Not an offence at all, Mr. Barton. I'm quite flattered that you'd think that little predictable me would be deserving of such a title!" she gushed. She swung her legs off the couch and crossed them, before stretching her arms out along the top edges of the couch. She fit the part of a modern day queen.
Trowa had become increasingly uncomfortable standing, as if it made him vulnerable. So he sat down in the armchair across from Dorothy, matching her looks glare for glare.
"So Dorothy, why do you think of me as predictable?" He'd been surprised again when she called him so; it was as if she'd expected him to be there. But that was impossible; he stressed in his mind the fact that they hadn't seen each other in two years!
"Your usually sharp mind has either been dulled over time or you've finally descended into a mortal state of being and temporally forgot that this room is equipped with these darling security TV's." She was right, he had forgotten about them. However, he rarely paid them any mind.
"Of course, how silly of me," he replied. It was then that he realized that he'd also forgotten to pick up his book from where he had left it. And it was also then that Dorothy decided to make a comment on it.
"Your book, Mr. Barton, is still lying on the floor. Oh, stupid me, of course. You must have meant to leave it there! Never mind then, I'll just go on reading my own book. Leave it to me to make a silly comment on such a trivial thing!" She was a genius at verbal fighting, she knew just what buttons to press and how hard to press them. But he was a skilled fighter himself, that much he prided himself in, and wasn't about to back down.
"Well of course I meant to leave it there. That's where books belong don't they? On the floor?" Inside he was grinning like the Mad-Hatter. "That's where women belong too, isn't it?" He finished offhandedly. 'One point to me,' he mused.
Her face was priceless. But her body language came first. She drew herself up to her fullest height while still sitting and her legs uncrossed then crossed again and her chin flew up. But her face, if only he'd had a camera. Her eyes followed a straight line down her face towards him, her lips were drawn together like a purse, her nose was up in the air, and her brows knitted together, showing off for only a moment her dissatisfaction. However, like the true fighter she was, she pulled herself back together and parried with aggression.
"My, Mr. Barton, what a vulgar thing to say to such a delicate creature like myself. But then again, I suppose you're right. Women do belong on the floor, don't they?" And without warning she'd slid from the couch to the floor and like a tiger, was now crawling towards him. She stopped just a few feet in front of him, smiled seductively, and turned away towards the book. Her own book sat closed neatly on the couch.
Inside, Trowa sighed a sigh of relief. If she'd carried through with the attack he thought she was going to do, he didn't think he'd be able to fight her off. His gaze traveled back to where Dorothy had now picked up his book and begun reading it intently. 'Damn her, but she's good!'
She knew better than anyone what a rush it was to dive into a fight and how the mental adrenaline river flooded everything else until all you wanted to do was fight. Being silent was her attack. But he knew just how to turn it against her.
He stood up and walked out of the room, leaving the sliding door open. His own personal invitation.
'Two points for her and two points for me. Let's see what happens next…' his thoughts trailed off as he exited the book store, nodding again at the young girl behind the counter with a uncharacteristic grin.
***
Time wise, Trowa didn't have to wait long for Dorothy to come and find him. However, she held out much longer than he'd expected; a whole two and a half hours he'd had to wait alone in the coffee shop across from the bookstore until she cam out of there. And it wasn't by chance that she came into the coffee shop either.
She came because she knew that it'd be a place that he would go. Trowa grinned as he took a sip of his Jamaican coffee; she most definitely was the Queen of Surprise. But she knew just how to disguise it.
The smell of coffees blended together filled Dorothy's senses as she approached her quarry. He was tough. Most men would have given up waiting an hour ago. But she knew he'd hang on. He wouldn't let her win without a fight. 'How adorable,' she thought wryly. She nodded curtly at the waitress as she filed by and took a seat across from Trowa as if it had been reserved for her.
"You came," Trowa commented dryly as he continued reading the paper he'd picked up from the news stand next to the book store. Dorothy nodded.
"I had to return your book of course," she replied with an equal air of nonchalance.
"Glad to see you've dropped the fancy airs," he continued, trying not to pay attention to her comment. From behind his mess of hair he could see her eyes narrow as she placed the book in front of the article he was reading.
"Would you like something, m'am?" The airy voice of the waitress broke their bantering.
"Yes, a French vanilla cappuccino please, thank you," Dorothy replied quickly. The distraction dealt with, she returned to her hunt. Trowa saw the determined look in her eyes and decided that enough had been enough. It was time to end this game and get right down to the issue he'd wanted to discuss with the woman before one of them gained the upper hand.
"I think I'll follow the waitress's lead and ask the same; Dorothy, is there something I can do for you?" Trowa had folded his paper around his book and stored it away in the large pockets of his coat. Dorothy's eyes lost a little shimmer and he knew that he'd disappointed her. However, she did reply.
"Yes, actually there is. Mr. Winner had-"
"Quatre."
"Excuse me?" Dorothy seemed dumbfounded and, dare he think it, surprised.
"His name is Quatre and mine is Trowa. I thought you had dropped those fancy titles," he explained.
"All right then, fine, Quatre told me that you were in a bit of a financial jam and that, well, you were being kicked out of your apartment building," she said in a bit of an uncharacteristic rush. Trowa however, nodded in agreement with what she said.
"Yes, I have had some trouble with money, but that's really none of your concern, now is it?"
"No need to get testy Mr.-er, Trowa. I'm not here to patronize or to sympathize. I'm here to strike a deal," she whispered. She was no longer meeting his gaze but staring at the surface of the table.
"Here you are ma'm." The waitress returned with Dorothy's cappuccino. Dorothy looked up and smiled sweetly.
"Thank you." Her voice sounded slightly strained and even a little on the shaky side.
"Is something wrong Dorothy?" Trowa asked with concern lacing his words. It'd been so long since he'd fought like that with anyone. Wufei had been his only competitor but time as a Preventor had made him too busy to debate. Yet come to think of it, he had had fought someone else. The person sitting in front of him now. He'd been quite entertained with their verbal match up until this point but it occurred to him that, just like on the White Fang ship, Dorothy would put up a strong face, but her endurance just wasn't as good as his.
"I'm fine," she hissed, looking away from him and at the floor. He nodded, knowing that she wasn't fine and that whatever deal she wanted to strike was a burden to her.
"You mentioned you wanted to strike a deal?"
"Yes, you see, I too am having a bit of-well, that is to say I am…I…" she faltered.
"You're broke?" Dorothy looked up from her cappuccino and into the emerald eye that wasn't covered by hair.
"In a matter of speaking, yes."
"So what kind of deal do you want to strike? I can't borrow you any money, I have none my-"
"I want you to help me buy an apartment," she announced, cutting him off.
"Ugh, I just told you Dorothy, I have very little money myself," he replied, slightly exasperated.
"I know, that's why I've come to you. If you put our money together, we can get this apartment that I've picked out on 13th street," her pace had increased as she realized that she didn't need to be ashamed of the fact that she had little money.
"Why should I give you my money for an apartment for you? You forget, I'm getting kicked out of my own." Dorothy was now starting to wear on his nerves. However, the blonde just shook her head, causing her long hair to swirl intoxicatingly over her shoulders.
"That's the thing Trowa, the apartment wouldn't just be for me. I want you to live with me!" she exclaimed.
If Trowa had a dollar for every time he'd been surprised by this woman in just 24 hours, he'd probably have had enough to pay off his rent. Too bad there was no divine being handing out such cash.
Ok, that's it for Chapter 2. Hope you liked it. I know Trowa and Dorothy is an odd pairing, but I've seen worse, trust me!
Please R/R!! Flames are great too, nice clean sources of energy!! Great to cook up new ideas on!
MadameHotaru.of.87
