How does the rich boy handle a hangover? lol

Chapter 7: The Ropes

Quatre felt his day wasn't going to be much better than Duo's. When he left the dorm he had to be brought back to the hall to drop off the glass he unintentionally lifted. He did keep the stir stick as a memento of the evening. It was a memento to never drink like that again. He also recalled what Duo said as they left the dorm: 'We're not letting him do this'. Meaning, Heero wasn't allowed to keep his personal life to himself. Quatre did want to know if Heero and Relena were becoming a couple, but he was content waiting for either of them to come forward with the announcement personally.

After dropping the dish off, he continued on his way to his family's mansion for the extended weekend. The whole trip was long and he was exhausted by the time he reached his bed. Flopping down face first into the plush covers, he started to regret moving into the dorm in the first place. His bed was far nicer and much bigger than the dorm room beds.

There was the matter of his sister, Shauna. Getting to live with his second youngest sister again was quite the eye opener. She had been pampered for far too long and acquired many different habits that were strange to him. She moved in when he got his dorm room a few weeks ago and he'd only be able to tolerate living with her for a few days at a time since. The girl was getting over a break up with a recent boyfriend and needed support, being her only brother, he wanted to be there for her. Even for someone as tolerant as Quatre, he too had his limits. She was intensely spoiled. He assumed his older sister Iria wanted to help her become less intrusive by learning from Quatre's good example. The goal: Become more independent.

It was for that very reason, independence, that he wanted to leave and be on his own too. It was a decision he made before he knew Shauna was moving in, the two didn't cause one another. He felt his own sheltered upbringing was more of a hindrance than a help; and what with his friends plight in adjusting to the real world, Quatre wanted to have a similar experience right along side of them. For the first while he had been retreated back to his mansion each weekend to stock up on food and see how his sister was doing and, above all else, sleep in his goose down bed. Eventually he was hoping to stay in town each weekend after he got used to living alone.

"Good afternoon, Master Quatre," said an unfamiliar voice, "Would you like some tea?" A girl appeared in the doorway holding a tray full of things to eat and drink.

Quatre waved her in, "Thank you. Could you lay it on the table?" He watched the new girl place her tray down and couldn't help but notice something. She wasn't dressed the same exact way as the other workers; there was an alteration made to her uniform that caught his eye. Out of courtesy, he kept the observation it to himself.

"You can call me if you need anything else," she bowed and turned to leave.

Normally their cleaning staff was from their home country, but since Japan was so out of the way, she was hired as an entry level employee. He only knew that she started earlier that week and was from the same school as him; this was actually the first time he'd run into her. "Before you go, what's your name?" he asked, curious about the native girl they hired. He'd never seen her in the halls either.

She blushed, "I-I'm Naibun," she said, embarrassed that she didn't think to introduce herself first. "But my friends call me Bunni." She felt that was a nice save. 'Or was it too personal. Shoot.'

Quatre smiled, "Oh, you switched the characters around," they chuckled. He'd been getting better at noticing puns in Japanese, they were everywhere after all.

She gave an uncertain laugh, "Yes, that's it. People from out of town don't usually get it; my friends thought it was funny." They exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes. "Would you like me to wake you up at a certain time?" she asked Quatre as he went to lay back down.

"Yes, please. About noon, should be fine," he said, still looking kind of rough from the night before with his unruly hair.

She nodded and went to leave but stopped short. "I heard that-" she said and turned, "-when you're feeling hungover, a single drink can perk you up again. We freshly bottled some wine this morning if you're interested." She hoped offering wine wasn't crossing any lines, she didn't even know if Quatre was old enough to drink.

"Thanks, but I'll stick with this for now." He held up his tea cup. "I'll keep you in mind on movie night though," he joked.

"No problem," she said with a relieved smile and left. The keys she used to navigate the house swung around on her index finger. One of them belonged to the liquor cabinet in the den. 'I can't believe I said that! I have to tell Kinsei!' she thought as she left the room.

He wasn't serious about the 'movie night' line, but who knew, maybe he'd find a wine he liked the taste of. He shook the idea from his head, the vision of what would happen if he found drinks he enjoyed drinking at home didn't look pretty. With that in mind, he knew he had to sleep the rest of last night's cocktails off. He sipped his tea and then slipped off to sleep for a couple more hours.

When he awoke fully, he had nothing to do. Shauna was out until the evening, as usual, and their new employee was busy doing her own thing, he couldn't even find her. Soon he would be alone with nothing to do. He decided to spend the day looking around town instead. He'd been living in Japan for a few months and was still putting it off. Today would be the day!

Right after arriving on the main road, he ran into Duo exiting the subway. He was waving to couple of his friends and had a styrofoam tray, nearly empty, in his hand. "I didn't expect you to up and moving so soon." Quatre approached him.

"Yo!" he said, sounding surprised. "Me either," he said with more spirit than when they last spoke. "I'm starving, want to get something to eat?" He tossed his nearly empty food container away in a nearby bin.

Quatre and his newly rejuvenated friend sat at a coffee shop and placed an order for more food. Quatre started off, "When I got home this morning, I found out we have a new housekeeper," he said as the waiter dropped off their drinks.

"Does she call you 'master'?" Duo snickered.

He blushed, "All my staff call me that...and, don't assume it's a girl."

"Is it?" he asked, brightly smiling.

"...yes," Quatre sighed, "She was really helpful and was even willing to get me wine to fight this hangover with."

He had seen a flask on Heero's shelf and didn't think anything else of it. Had he but known a cure was within his reach, he may not have needed to do what he did on the subway. "Does that actually work?" he said with wonder.

He said, "I don't know," with a shrug. "But next time I want to have a drink, she said I could ask her."

Duo shook his head, "I don't think I'll be doing any of that for a while. I'm still tender from last night." Saying he wasn't doing too well would have been more believable if he weren't on his third sandwich. "Maybe I'll try again next weekend."

Quatre blushed again, this time for no reason he could think of. "Is that wise? Do you even remember going home last night?" he asked.

"No. Something happen after I left?" he asked, oblivious to what he had done.

Quatre laughed lightly. Now that they weren't in a room full of people who were going to be intently listening, he might as well be the one to tell him what went down. He motioned for him to lean forward and gave him the 'readers digest' version of what happened in a hushed voice from across the table.

"...No way!" Duo spoke a bit louder than intended.

"Shh," Quatre calmed him, "She had to go to a car wash to spray the side of her car down." He smirked, "We also found out that the bar tender was serving you larger drinks to make you really intoxicated. Will you complain to the manager?" Quatre felt Duo got what he deserved and was in no position to complain.

"Did she?" Duo was outraged. Though, as he thought about it more, he was less angry with the idea of being duped. He laughed, "Nah, I had it comin', I was an ass. I acted like a totally different person last night, if you ask me."

"Totally different? You seemed to be more outgoing and social than ever. How was it different?" Quatre asked.

"Are you kidding? I was so...all over the place. It was sloppy." He felt his usual charming attitude was hindered by the drink, at least that much of it. "I didn't handle last night well at all; poor Relena having to put up with that. Damn," he said and glanced off to the entrance of the café. He perked up in his seat to get a better view of something at the front door.

"Hmm?" Quatre leaned to try and see what Duo was looking at.

His attention came back. "Nothing. I'm all on edge now." He looked at Quatre, he looked worried. Why though? "Last night could have gone a lot worse; what if I tried to walk home? What if I didn't roll that window down?" Irrational fears surfaced as his attention wandered. "You don't think Relena's cross with me? Does Heero know about this?" His fingers nervously drummed the edge of the table.

"He's the one I heard it from, I doubt he's too mad. And none of that other stuff happened, don't stress yourself over it. Besides, Relena seemed content with everything going out of the window, and not on her floor." Quatre sipped his ginger tea, red cheeked. A suggestion by the lovely Naibun was to have something with ginger. It soothed nausea and helped heal. He snickered at his own thoughts, remembering what she was wearing. "The new girl suggested this. It's supposed to calm an upset stomach when you're feeling nauseated." He doubted it would have done Duo any good last night, but it was worth bringing up.

"Come again?" Duo asked.

Quatre raised an eyebrow, his friend still seemed out of sorts. "I was talking about the girl we hired. She's nice, but..." Quatre trailed off.

"She cute?" He slyly narrowed his eyes at the one sitting across the table. His mood seemed to be coming around again.

"It's not that, that's concerning; she wears a corset with her uniform." He didn't want to say anything to her because he didn't want to embarrass the girl. Quatre said he mentioned it to their hiring manager, fearing Naibun would be penalized if someone noticed other than him. Oddly enough, he allowed it, saying it was for medical reasons. "I mean if she has trouble carrying things, shouldn't she have a job that's less strenuous?"

"It's not medical, it's a ploy," Duo began, "She's being erotic."

This made his friend turn a darker shade of red, "Duo! Come on, we're in public." He got quieter, stealthier, "What...do you mean?" Sounding more intrigued, he leaned in closer.

"Think about it," he said and counted on his fingers as he went, "There's no reason she can't wear it under her uniform," one finger, "Then offering you a dirnk," another finger, "Then the tea," third finger, "It all adds up: She's flirting. I'd say make a move," he drummed those three determined fingers on the table.

"Adds up? It's only been a few hours since we even met...are you sure you're alright?" He had a feeling his friend needed to lay down, he was still acting kind of silly.

He caught himself being eccentric and dumbed it down, "I-I mean, see if she's interested. Throw a compliment her way."

"You're assuming I'm interested in her?" he again sipped his drink.

"You brought her up, twice I might add, probably because you're interested in her. And w~hy talk about her clothing? Probably because you wan to-" his explanation was stopped short.

"-I get it..." he dismissed the rest of the sentence. "For starters, I don't have any experience expressing my interest in someone; plus, she's an employee, she'd get fired over something like that. I think it's called a 'conflict of interest'." He wasn't too sure what that entailed though.

"That's why you don't tell anyone. Where do you think the word 'maid' came from? 'Mistress'." He popped the last of the food in his mouth.

"There's no 'd' in that word...or an 'a' for that matter."

"Maybe I'm thinking of a movie."

"Or you're blowing smoke."

He laughed at his own failed language and Quatre's unintentional pun. "Probably that one. I might be mixing my languages too...or I really wanted to say the word 'mistress'. 'Mis~tress~'." He put emphasis on the word the second time, making his friend face-palm. "And on that note Quatre, I'll talk to you later. I need to go buy sexy underwear and clean Wufei's place like a good little 'slave girl'." He chortled as he walked away. He over did it, just right.

"Cut that out," he said loudly. People turned to the noise. "U-uhh..." Now he too had to leave, there were far too many eyes on him.

He escaped and ended up passing a crowded skate park. If he knew even one name there, he'd venture in to socialize. Today wasn't the day for that. There were people at the back of the fenced off area doing various dance moves, another group off to the side was sitting in a circle and silently texting, and many other groups here and there, each doing their own things.

He didn't feel comfortable diving in and talking up a storm all alone. A park full of unfamiliar faces and no buffer? That meant 'no Quatre'. No one drew much attention anyway. He did take the time to make funny parallels with these people and the ones from the party the night before.

Meshing with others was best done at school, where he felt the 'young social hierarchy' wasn't as prominent. For now, he was content absorbing the culture. The remainder of his day was spent getting to know the area better. He took as many pictures from 'look-out' locations and walking tracks as he could.

Japan was a beautiful place, he wanted every chance to admire the scenery. It proved to be a good conversation piece during family reunions. Since everyone in his family, especially the men, loved the food in Japan, Quatre was sure to get pictures of a few good restaurants while he was out too. When the holidays came, bringing around the rest of the extended family, they'd have somewhere to go eat instead of staying at the mansion.

On his way to get the bus's last run of the night, a familiar car drove by. Trowa and Heero were in the front seats, "Need a lift?" Trowa asked from the driver side.

"I actually wanted to ride the bus home. I've never done it before," he said innocently. They mentioned they were heading over to Wufei's to see something, as he called it, 'amazing'. He didn't get the details, they were told to just come and see it. "Text me when you get there, I want to know what it is." Quatre smiled. After a few more passing words, the bus pulled in and his pals puttered off.

The bus generated a low rumble from the back where it's engine was. It constantly buzzed the whole time. It was a far cry from the car he was chauffeured around with most of the time; even the school's transit system was quieter. He took note to a patron in the back, riding with a couple of her friends; she had taken ill in the back of the bus. There was a plastic bag in her hands and no mess, but Quatre couldn't help feel flustered. The first time he rode the bus and that was what he got to see and hear.

Quatre's heart began racing, leaving him short of breath. His face was sweating and his heart skipped every few beats. Why had such a simple act have gotten to him so badly? It wasn't like he hadn't seen anyone ill before. In fact, he heard Duo that very morning and didn't feel the slightest bit of panic. He panted for air, unintentionally alerting the bus driver.

"You okay, kid?" the elderly man asked from behind the wheel and his thick framed glasses.

"I'm fine," he said, controlling his breathing. "This happens all the time, I'll manage." It wasn't the first time it happened, there were many times behind the helm of his gundam he felt those same symptoms. It was the same draining, exasperated breathing and fluttering heart that he felt in the more intense moments of being a pilot.

"You sure you don't need me to pull over?" he asked.

"No...but she may," he pointed at the back of the bus, it's people keeping it discrete. When stopped, the driver tried to ask them to leave, saying they couldn't ride the bus 'like that'. Fortunately Quatre interveaned, saying it was unfair. "No one can control being sick," he said. While 'reason' didn't work on the man, Quatre's face did. When the old guy got up to 'deal' with his patrons, he got a better look at the 'Winner' sitting at the front of his bus. The old guy quickly backed down. The girls thanked Quatre for standing up for them and the rest of the ride went as smoothly as the old tank of a bus could go.

Close to an hour later, he was home. As he climbed the stairs leading to the front door, his phone went off with a text from Trowa saying 'So clean. Hard to believe.' Quatre laughed at the 'amazing' news Wufei had for them. He hadn't seen Wufei's house, he'd only heard the horror stories, so it was good to hear some positive news regarding it.

Naibun was at the front to take his coat right away, "How was your outing, Master Quatre?" She was now on the last half of her 'split-shift', so she'd returned to clean up before bed time.

Doing the same thing he'd been doing a lot that day, he blushed, "Eventful. I ran into a Duo, a friend, and we had coffee. Then-" He proceeded to tell her about the things he saw on his travels and showed her some of the pictures he had shot with his phone.

"You took these with your cell? I wish my mine took such nice pictures, I only get fuzzy ones." Her phone was that of a commoner and not beyond three megapixels; as opposed to Quatre's eye raping fifteen megapixels. "I know so many places to take pictures, I could take you some day-If that's appropriate." She didn't want to make it look like she was only there to ask this boy on a date, she hadn't even been there a week yet.

"Absolutely," he said with a smile, "I have escorts all the time." She blushed. He blushed in return and scrambled to correct his entendre, "I mean, people to escort me through town. I'd like it very much if you showed me around," he said waving his hands in front of himself.

Naibun laughed, "How about Sunday? I'm off."

He smirked, "I thought you had to be working to take me around?" This comment made her stutter and attempt a response. To avoid answering she shoved him off to his quarters for the evening. It looked like this girl might be interested in him after all. If nothing else came of it, it was the perfect setting to learn how to flirt. "Bunni," he said from the other side of his door that was being shut for him. He could still see her swoon through the crack in the door because he used her nick name. "I'm getting a shower, could you do me a favor?"

She turned beet red, "Y-yes, Master Quatre?"

"Could you come in, in a few minutes, and hand me a towel?" he purposefully lengthened his sentences to get a reaction.

The girl was losing oxygen as she spoke, "No problem." Naibun hopped off down the hall to look for the softest towels she could find.

He shut his door and sighed. "Guess it's not that hard," he smirked again, "I can get used to this." Flirting with her was going to be fun. For now, a shower.

Isn't it shiny? o_O