Note - advance apologies to all fans of Dorothy Catalonia and/or Chihuahua dogs. No Cairn Terriers were harmed during the writing of this chapter.

Quatre's POV:

Chapter 14:

I did it.

Those three words are reverberating in my brain as I drive home.

I haven't been with anyone since Simon and I broke up. Physically, I haven't really been tempted, despite the fact that Zechs and Duo have been producing a variety of ....enticements over the past few months. I'd thought Simon cared about me. Up until the end, I'd believed that everything he'd done had in some way proven just how much he'd felt about me.

I'd been a stupid, gullible fool and one of the worst things about the whole awful affair was that it had made me doubt my own judgement of people. It had taken months afterwards to get to the point where I even felt comfortable making new friends, let alone start thinking about another relationship.

With Trowa, it had been different from the start. I'd felt at ease around him, right from the moment when I'd met him at the surgery. Maybe that was a part of it; he'd come across as capable and competent and kind from the beginning. He'd been honest about how he felt, but he'd also understood why I wanted to take things a little bit slowly.

I wasn't sure quite where we stood now, what he'd expect the next time we met. I couldn't expect him to go back to the occasional kiss after what we'd done, but I wasn't really sure how much more I was ready for.

In retrospect, maybe I have rushed things just a little. Or a lot.

I hadn't meant to. I seriously hadn't meant to take things remotely that far. But being in his kitchen had felt so right and natural and comfortable...

Anyway, it had felt wonderful. He'd been so understanding and patient that I'd wanted to give him that one thing. That he'd wanted to reciprocate had just been a wonderful surprise. I hadn't expected that he'd want to do that. Simon had liked getting oral sex, but he'd never been too keen on giving it. Trowa, on the other hand, had genuinely seemed to enjoy it...

And I certainly had, both times. Oh, ,very much. I can't stop smiling. I've missed that feeling of after-sex euphoria, where anything is possible.

So maybe it hadn't been a mistake? I want so very badly just to turn the car around and drive back to him. Instead, I keep on the road home, hoping that Dorothy will be in bed. After the first weeks of missing Duo terribly when he moved out, I've come to enjoy having the place to myself.

Now, I just want to take Maggie and go straight to bed, so I can relive every second of the evening.

However, every light in the house is blazing as I walk up the path, and there are still suitcases in the hallway, some spilling clothes.

How in the world can one woman generate so much chaos?

Dorothy is sprawled on the couch, painting her toenails and surrounded by magazines, a half eaten plate of congealed pasta, and the box of truffles that my sister Aliciia had sent me from Belgium for my birthday. Her nasty little dog is lurking under my coffee table, growling as I approach and slobbering all over Maggie's favourite chew toy.

'Oh, there you are,' she greets me, shaking her bottle of nail varnish vigorously enough that some falls on to the couch. 'You never told me that you'd be staying out this late. I hope you're going to be more considerate in future. I made you dinner and everything and it's all ruined.'

What? I'm supposed to be considerate while she is destroying my furniture?

'Please don't do that,' I say before I can stop myself.

'Whatever. I'll get a tissue and clean it off in a minute.' She shrugs. 'Stop being so gay about it, Quatre. It's only a tiny little mark. No one will ever see it. I don't know what you're so worried about; this place was a tip when your friend Duo lived here.'

'Duo may have been untidy,' I control my voice with an effort, 'but he was always respectful of my possessions.'

If the woman gives me another of those shrugs, I may have to strangle her.

'And what happened to your TV? Do you have any idea how bored I've been here by myself all night?'

'The TV belonged to Duo,' I force my voice to stay calm; force myself to remember that she's a friend and a guest in my home. 'I'll buy another one when I can afford it. I have plenty of DVDs if you want to borrow one to watch on your laptop.'

She pulls a face. 'They're all really boring. I thought gay guys liked romantic comedies.'

That's fine; just stereotype me.

Actually nowadays we like gory thrillers about serial killers attacking defenceless young women in their friends' houses…

'Dorothy, do you think you could stop your dog doing that?'

'Doing what?' She peers under the table to where Taco is enthusiastically humping a cushion. 'Oh, isn't it so cute when he does that? You know, I think I should get him a little girlfriend. Puppies would be adorable.'

Not in my house. No way is she raising a dynasty of those monsters in my home.

'Where is Maggie, anyway?' I look around for my puppy; it's weird that she hasn't put in an appearance yet. Normally she comes rushing to meet me as soon as I come home. Of course, it's possible that she's taken refuge upstairs from all the chaos.

'Oh,' Dorothy yawns widely. 'She was being really annoying so I put her in that cage you have in the kitchen.'

'It's not a cage! It's a puppy pen, and I only use it if I'm not here. This is her home and she shouldn't be locked up because you couldn't be bothered to play with her.'

'Well, excuse me,' Dorothy huffs. 'I was only trying to stop her destroying all of your belongings. She was curled on one of your cashmere sweaters earlier. I don't know if you'll ever be able to have it cleaned properly.'

'I've given her that sweater,' I retort. 'She always sleeps on it.'

I'm fuming as I storm into the kitchen to rescue my poor captive dog. This is never going to work out! I can put up with her mess everywhere, and even her ruining my furniture, and opening my birthday presents, and anything else, but she is not going to abuse poor Maggie.

Duo was right, after all.

This is never going to work.

Poor Maggie is curled into one corner of her pen and needs to be coaxed out. Once I've reassured her that she isn't in trouble, she's enchanted to see me, wriggling into my arms and covering my face with kisses.

Actually, Trowa had done pretty much the same thing earlier. Thinking of that banishes the bad mood. I'm being ridiculous; this is my house, after all. If this isn't working out, all I have to do is to ask Dorothy to leave.

I find Maggie a couple of treats to help make up for her terrible night, and cuddle her on my lap while she eats them. I wonder if Trowa's still asleep; after all, I only left his house twenty minutes ago. On a whim, I dial his number.

'Quatre? Is everything OK?' He sounds drowsy but still concerned.

'I'm fine.' It's bizarre; just hearing his voice calms me down. 'Well, apart from the fact that my house has been invaded by the roommate from hell. It's awful; she had Maggie locked in her pen all night and we're skulking in the kitchen now because we don't want to have to see her.'

'Poor baby,' he chuckles. 'Want to come back over? Maggie can snuggle up with Leo, and we can snuggle up on the futon.' There isn't a trace of drowsiness left in his voice as he makes that particular suggestion, oddly enough.

'I'd love to. Really. But I'm scared to leave Dorothy here by herself. She'd probably burn the house down or something. I'm going to have to ask her to leave, although she doesn't really have anywhere else to go, and I promised her she could stay for a few days. The only thing is, I may end up killing her if she keeps on like this. '

That makes him laugh. 'If you do, I can recommend a very good lawyer to help get you off.'

'I hope it won't come to that. Would you mind having a murderer for a boyfriend?'

'If she's upsetting you that much, I'll help you to kill her. And then we could go on the run together. Just us and Maggie and Leo.'

'That might be fun.' We're both silent for a few moments after that. It's oddly comforting to have him on the other end of the line, just listening to his breathing and knowing that he's there. Then he yawns audibly. 'Oh, Trowa, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you, not when you have to get up so early.'

'Don't be silly. I'm really glad you called,' he says around what sounds like a jaw-breaking yawn. 'Look, I'll talk to you in the morning, OK? You go to bed and try not to stress too much. We'll sort it out tomorrow. My shift doesn't finish 'til seven, so if you do commit any murders, you might want to wait 'til I'm free to help.'

'Oh dear. Don't tempt me.'

'I like tempting you,' he laughs. 'I plan to do a lot of it in the future. Now, go to sleep, sweetheart, and don't worry. If your friend is really stuck for somewhere to stay, and you need a bolthole for a while, you know I've got an available futon.'

'You know, I might just take you up on that if I need to escape.'

'You can take me any time.' And from the warmth in his voice, I can tell that this hasn't been a mistake. Granted, maybe I did rush things a little, and maybe we should have waited but….it still felt amazing. It still feels amazing, actually.

Unfortunately, I still have to go and face Dorothy. Abseiling up the back of the house to my bedroom isn't really practical, especially not with Maggie in tow. Anyway, I have to talk to her. She needs to know I can't put up with this.

Scooping Maggie into my arms, I take a deep breath. I've always hated confrontation.

When I go back to the living room, steeling myself for whatever new outrages Dorothy and the monster dog have perpetrated on my possessions, she is crying, and Taco is nowhere in sight.

'Oh, Quatre. I'm sorry I've been such a bitch,' she sobs, throwing herself into my arms. 'I was so scared here all by myself; I didn't know if you were coming home or not, and I kept imagining noises upstairs. Everything's just been so awful this week; I was thrown out of my home, and then Uncle Dermail cut my allowance in half because his bank is doing so badly, because of those stupid rumours about him dealing with the Mafia, and I don't have anywhere else to go.'

'It's all right, Doro.' I soothe, patting her arm awkwardly. 'Don't cry. Please.'

'I promise, things will be better tomorrow. I'll get up early and clean everything up, and then I'll cook us both an amazing lunch.'

'That's really sweet of you.' Well, what else can I say? Maybe I did over-react a little bit; there are bound to be a few teething problems at first. But it'll be fine, once we're both prepared to compromise a little. 'I'm afraid I'm not going to be here, though; I'm going to lunch at Heero and Duo's.

'Oh.' Her face falls, and for a second I'm tempted to say she can come with me. Duo would kill me if I brought Dorothy along, though. And Heero would probably kill her. 'Never mind; I'll have a nice, quiet day by myself cleaning the house for you.'

Wonderful; now she sounds like the maid.

'Don't be silly. You don't need to do that.'

'Oh, but I want to. You're being so kind to me; it's the least I can do.' She hugs me enthusiastically. 'It's going to be so much fun, living together. I promise, I'll try harder to be a good room-mate. You know, I haven't even asked how your date went. I hope you had a lovely time?'

'Yes, thank you.'

She laughs. 'Is that it? Don't I get even a few more details?'

'We just stayed in and Trowa cooked dinner; nothing too exciting.'

Oh dear, that is such a lie.

'That must have been nice,' she says wistfully. 'You really like this Trowa, don't you? You have to tell me all about him. Did you say he was a doctor?'

'He's a vet, actually. And yes, I do like him. I've only known him for a week or so, but I just feel really comfortable with him.'

'Oh?' Her forehead creases. 'I didn't realise you'd only just met him. I assumed you'd known him for ages.'

I shake my head. 'We met last Sunday. I took Maggie to the surgery for her shots and he was there.'

'That's so romantic, Quatre! I'm really happy you've found someone you like! And I think you're so brave, you know. After everything that happened with the evil Simon, you're still willing to take a chance with someone new. Someone you hardly even know! Isn't it scary?'

'Well,' I hedge, 'I don't exactly want to spend the rest of my life alone.'

'Oh, of course not,' she agrees, frowning slightly. 'But I still think it's incredible that you're such a trusting person.' She sighs. 'I really hope it works out for you this time, Quatre. You deserve someone special.'

I take a deep breath. 'Dorothy, Trowa's not Simon. I'm not going to make that mistake again. I promise.'

'I hope not,' she says fervently. 'Don't take this the wrong way, Quatre. You're my friend and I'm concerned about you; that's all. I saw what you were like after you and Simon broke up, remember? I'd hate to see you go through all that again.' She gives me a bright smile. 'Just ignore me, all right? I know you're not going to rush into anything this time; not until you know this Trowa guy is perfect for you.'

I didn't sleep very well; Dorothy played music for a couple of hours after we went to bed; depressingly dreary songs about women who'd been betrayed by their men.

I probably wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway; our little chat downstairs has done a bang-up job of resurrecting every insecurity that I possess. Perhaps she's right.

So far, I do seem to making all the mistakes I made the last time, with a few extra added for luck.