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Quartre's POV:

Chapter Ten:

'Tell me it's not true!'

Oh dear. I really, really hope this is all a dream; that my best friend hasn't called me in what appears to be the middle of the night.

'Duo,' I gasp, fumbling to switch on my bedside lamp. 'It's only six o'clock. It's Saturday! I'm trying to sleep.'

He ignores these minor details. 'You didn't really tell the Evil One that she could live with you, did she? Tell me that 'Lena got it wrong. God, Quat, I don't believe you!'

'You were the one who suggested I should find someone to share the house with me,' I say defensively. 'How did you find out anyway?'

''Lena was talking to Heero yesterday. And yeah, I think you should have someone to share with you. But I meant a nice, normal person who'd be fun for you to have around. Not someone who flies around on a broomstick and sacrifices newborn babies at the full moon.'

'Duo! Stop it. You know Dorothy's my friend. And she was in a terrible state when I talked to her yesterday morning. Those two girls she was living with just told her to get out, without giving her any notice whatsoever.'

'I know about that,' Duo says grimly. 'Relena is friendly with one of them; apparently your darling Dorothy was trying to hit on their boyfriends.'

'There was some sort of misunderstanding, according to Dorothy,' I hedge, pulling another pillow against the headboard and propping myself up. So much for a lie in. Maggie, who had been happily curled at my feet, looks up at this disturbance wondering whatever is to causing her world to shake so much. 'What was I supposed to do; tell her she couldn't stay with me and she could go and live on the streets?'

'Do her good,' Duo mutters, 'although the poor homeless people probably have enough problems already. Why can't she go and stay with that drug lord uncle of hers?'

I sigh. Dorothy's uncle, Duke Dermail, faced criminal charges two years ago, that he'd been allowing his investment bank to launder money for drug cartels. He wasn't convicted, partly due to the investigating detectives having failed to secure a search warrant to the very letter of the law. There were also rumours of jury intimidation, and most people still believe he was guilty.

Still, none of that is Dorothy's fault.

'She stayed with him last night. I told her she could move in here this morning.'

It's Duo's turn to sigh. 'You're way too soft, you know that. I hope you're planning to charge her rent.'

'I'll have to see how long she wants to stay, and how it works out first. If we're both happy sharing, then we'll discuss rent.'

'And until then, she gets a free place to hang the broomstick,' Duo notes sourly. 'I bet your cute vet guy is going to be over the moon when he hears you've got an evil new roomie. Shit, I totally forgot; how did the date go on Thursday? I meant to call you yesterday but work was insane. Howard picked me up at four am, and I didn't get home 'til eleven, and I just crashed.'

Aha, that explains why he hadn't been on the 'phone first thing yesterday morning. I've been wondering when he'll bring up that subject; it's a measure of how strongly he feels about Dorothy that it hasn't come up yet.

'It was fabulous,' I enthuse, feeling a smile stretch across my face. 'We went to Lek's for dinner. His best friend knows the family so he got reservations.'

Duo whistles, impressed. 'Nice one, Trowa. Mrs. Lek didn't try to throw you out, did she?'

'No! Although...oh, Duo, this is so embarrassing. She walked in when we were almost finished and I just panicked.'

He chuckles. 'What did you do? Run out screaming into the night?'

'Worse. I dived under the table and hid.'

He bursts out laughing. 'You didn't! I bet Trowa loved that! Did he think you were going to give him a blow job or what?'

'Um, I think he did, yes,' I mutter, feeling my colour rise. 'He said I was giving him very mixed signals, considering I'd already told him I that I wanted to take things slowly.'

'I'll bet he did,' Duo chuckles. 'He doesn't mind that you're not putting out?'

'He understands. And I did...ah, put out a little.'

'Really? Below the waist action?'

'No! We just - um - snuggled on the couch for a bit.' I carefully cover Maggie's ears. I think she's starting to recognise Trowa's name.

'Oh, you're just so cute.' He laughs, and then his tone goes all serious. 'Listen, Kitty-Quat. I know you got hurt the last time and everything, and it's taken you a long time to get over it, but if you like this guy, you've got to give him a chance to get close. I don't just mean the physical stuff, you know?'

'I know. I told him about my parents last night.'

'You did?' Duo sounds surprised; it's not something I'm normally confident discussing with relative strangers. 'What did he say?'

'He was really nice about it.' I tell him. It's weird; talking about my family usually depresses me, but with Trowa it had been different somehow. He'd so obviously been on my side; some people, my ex-boyfriend among them, think I was insane to throw up the chance to inherit a fortune. Actually, Dorothy feels that way too.

'You really like him, huh? As in like him? Lots of lovely physical attraction?'

'Oh, yes.' Maggie gazes up at me soulfully and gives one finger a thoughtful lick. 'It's - a little scary, you know. I only met him a week ago, and I can't stop thinking about him. He' s got such an amazing smile, and he's got a really cute way of brushing his hair back from his face, and, well,' I can feel myself blushing again, 'and he looked so incredible when he collected me on Thursday.'

'All that stuff is normal when you start to fall for someone,' Duo tells me gently. 'Remember me when I first met Heero?'

'I'm not that bad!' I defend myself. 'And you're still that way about him. Worse possibly.'

'Then it must be love. Listen, Quat, I just want to say one thing, and then I'll let you go. Don't get so focused on all the stuff you don't want to do, that you leave out the stuff you do want, OK?'

'OK.' He's right of course.

'Good. When are you seeing him again? Soon, I hope.'

'Today, actually,' I reach out and tickle Maggie's tummy, sending her into squirming ecstasy. 'He's moving into his new apartment this morning, and he's asked me to lunch. Dorothy's coming here at eleven, so I can get her sorted and then drive over to see Trowa.'

Duo snorts at Dorothy's name. 'Well, good luck with that and have fun with the hot vet. I think it's time for me to give Heero his wake up call.'

'At six thirty? I hope he appreciates it more than I did.'

'Oh, I can guarantee that he'll…..appreciate it.' Duo promises silkily. 'Later, Quat. Have fun with your HVG.'

'He's just being silly, you know,' I assure Maggie after I hang up. 'Dorothy's not a bad person, just a little...high maintenance. You'll probably love her, and she's got a dog for you to play with.' She twists around to swipe a lick across my face and dances to the end of the bed, wide-awake now and ready to play.

Over seven hours later, I'm starting to agree with Duo. Dorothy arrived two hours later than we'd agreed, and by the time I've helped her carry all her many possessions inside, shown her the guestroom, given her a tour of the house, and introduced Maggie to Dorothy and Taco the Chihuahua, I'm running more than an hour late.

To make things worse, there are several cars parked outside Trowa's new building, still packed with cardboard boxes and black plastic sacks. He'd said some friends were helping him to move, but that they'd probably be gone by midday.

It's not that I don't want to meet his friends; it's just been one of those mornings, and I don't really feel like facing a lot of strangers.

'Quatre?' A tap on the window makes me jump, and then Trowa is opening the passenger door and sliding in beside me. 'Are you OK? You've been sitting out there for nearly ten minutes. Is something wrong?'

'Not really. I've just had a miserable day. I'm really sorry I'm late; my friend didn't arrive when she said she would and I tried to call but your 'phone was turned off.'

'My fault,' he says easily. 'I forgot to charge it last night. It's so good to see you.'

The look in his eyes, the feel of his hand gently stroking the back of my neck makes me forget all the petty little irritations of the morning.

'You're really tense,' he murmurs, sliding those talented fingers just below my collar. 'Are you sure there's nothing else wrong?'

'Just lots of stupid little things,' I confess. 'I've been looking forward to seeing you ever since you left on Thursday, and I just got really annoyed when Dorothy didn't bother to be punctual. I'd even told her I was going out. And she's got enough clothes with her to furnish a department store, and I don't think her dog and Maggie are going to be friends and I know it's stupid but I'm not much good at meeting new people and all your friends are in there, and…'

I manage to stop there, probably too late. I'm sure I'm sound utterly pathetic and needy.

'Shhhh,' Trowa soothes. 'Just try to relax, hmmm? It's OK. You've already met Wufei and my sister, and there's just one other girl and her boyfriend, and they'll all be leaving soon anyway, and we can spend the afternoon together. All right?'

I nod. 'Sorry for being such an idiot.'

'You're just having a bad day, that's all. And where's Maggie? I thought you were going to bring her.'

'Well, I was going to, but then I remember you saying your cat doesn't like dogs, and I thought I'd better not. Dorothy said she'd look after her, so she's not there by herself.'

'We'll have to introduce them sooner or later. They should be OK; Maggie's just a puppy and Leo's only about six months old.' Trowa grins. 'After all, it's going to be very awkward if our pets don't get on, isn't it?' The hand resting on the back of my neck stills, and he leans over to kiss me. 'I'm glad you've been looking forward to seeing me since Thursday; I've been feeling exactly the same about you.'