Disclaimer - I make no claims to own GW and this is purely for fun.

Many thanks to KS for editing.

Trowa's POV

Chapter 21:

'She's fine, Trowa,' my sister assured me. 'She regained consciousness nearly an hour ago, and she's already sitting up. We'll run some tests in the morning but it looks like she's going to be all right. You go and enjoy your party.'

'Everything all right?' Heero materialised at my elbow, just as I switched off my 'phone.

'Fine. I was just calling work. I operated on a Labrador this morning and I wanted to check on her progress.'

He nodded. 'Quatre was wondering where you were. I said I'd come and find you.'

'Oh, yeah, I didn't mean to spend so long in the showers. I was trying to scrub blue paint out of my hair. Wow!' That comment had nothing to do with my hair, which was still lightly flecked with blue, but we'd walked around a corner of the shower block, and I saw what had been set up for our dinner arrangements.

'When Quatre said we were having a barbeque after the game, I thought it would just be burnt sausages and lukewarm beers. I never imagined all this.' Not an actual marquee with professional catering staff. There was a cold seafood buffet, and waitresses circling with trays of elegant canapés.

Heero laughed. 'Oh, Zechs likes to do things on a lavish scale. And he missed Quatre's actual birthday so this is really a belated celebration. As you can see, he's invited a lot of other people along for dinner.'

'Lavish is pretty much the right word.'

Heero pressed a bottle of beer - ice cold - into my hand, and gestured to a small table off to one side. It seemed rude to refuse.

'Did you win your duel?'

'We had to call it off. It was getting too dark and Relena kept trying to stop us. One of us was going to end up shooting her if we'd kept on.'

'So which team won the game?'

'Who knows? Quatre and Zechs are probably going to spend the whole evening fighting over it.' He took a good swig of beer, and grinned over at the others.

Wufei and Relena were sitting at one end of the long table, deep in discussion, and everyone else was involved in heated discussion over the score.

Seeing my boyfriend, my shy, sensitive Quatre, in a circle of his closest friends was something of a revelation.

'I captured your fort!' He was saying heatedly. Sneaky little brat. I still couldn't believe he'd tried to pull that bondage stunt. I was actually sort of regretting that I hadn't just gone along with it. He'd been having fun, and I'd probably pushed him a bit too far with my teasing.

Damn, it was so hard to get it right, knowing when he'd go along with the joke, or when I'd scare him off. I should have just let him keep that little bit of control if it made him happy.

He'd left me alone for about fifteen minutes, before he'd come dashing back, green flag in hand, but he'd obviously been a little uncomfortable until the others turned up. On the walk back, he'd kept Duo by his side, and he must have showered and changed at lightning speed.

'You didn't 'capture' it,' Zechs retorted. 'You just strolled in and planted a flag. It doesn't count if there was no opposition.'

'If there was no opposition, that's your fault. You're the one who didn't think of posting a guard. Tough. And your team took far more hits than ours.'

'Not true! Dorothy and Duo were both covered in paint.'

'Friendly fire,' Quatre said smoothly, 'while they were getting the hang of using their guns. Considering neither of them has ever done this before, they needed to practise a little. So, let's see, we took your base, we didn't get hit nearly so often, and we took two prisoners. We're quite clearly the winners.'

'This is going to get interesting,' Heero told me. 'Zechs is far too used to getting his own way.'

'Well, he is a prince, isn't he? You know, I hadn't realised that Quatre's friend Zechs and his sister would turn out to be royalty.'

Heero laughed. 'They're not anymore; now that Sanque is a democracy, they don't have any real power.'

'Yeah, but they still have the titles, the palace, all that stuff.'

And, at the moment, Prince Milliardo Peacecraft, aka Zechs, also had far too much of my boyfriend's attention.

'I shouldn't worry,' Heero told me unexpectedly. 'Think of it as a form of sibling rivalry. Zechs has always treated Quatre like a younger brother; I think this is Quatre's way of proving he's grown up.'

Hmm. That sort of made sense. Although I could think of other ways for Quatre to prove he was all mature now. With me, not with Zechs. The man was just too handsome for his own good.

I nodded. 'I see. I'm not usually the insecure type but, well, you have to admit Zechs is pretty amazing.'

'You think so?' Heero set down his glass and stared at the tall blond. 'Everyone tells me he's attractive, and I can never see it. Perhaps if I hadn't met Duo first...'

I decided that telling Heero - even this new, mellow version - that his boyfriend was gorgeous might not be terribly safe. Instead, I settled for a safer topic. 'How long have you two been together?'

'A few months.' His stern expression lightened marginally as he glanced over at his boyfriend, who was apparently arm-wresting with Dorothy, but he obviously wasn't prepared to expand.

'I'd better go and split those two up before they kill each other. No, it's safe, Relena's just stepped in. Poor girl. They'll probably both gang up on her now.'

'She - Dorothy, not Relena - seems a strange friend for Quatre to have.'

Heero shrugged. 'They've known each other since they were three or four years old. To be honest, I'm not sure if they have much in common now, but Quatre is incredibly loyal to the people he considers his friends. And he persists in believing the best of people.'

'You don't like her, do you? Duo seems to have a problem with her.'

He surprised me by shaking his head. 'I can't imagine we'll ever be close, but I do feel rather sorry for her. I don't think she has many friends; a lot of people don't want to know her since her uncle's trial last year. Even though he was found innocent, the family name was tarnished. And she and Duo tend to be jealous of each other; Dorothy was Quatre's closest friend until he met Duo and she feels left out.'

'Prisoners? Right!' Zechs drawled. 'Odd how one of them happened to be your boyfriend, wasn't it? I can't imagine he put up any significant opposition to being captured.'

Quatre had just started to object, when Wufei suddenly jumped into the breach. 'That is an unjust and unfounded accusation. Neither of them would behave so dishonourably and saying so insults them both.'

'Oh, of course,' Zechs said hurriedly. 'I was only joking. Quatre's team is clearly the winner. Winner's winners… heh heh.. Wufei, perhaps you could help me bring out the prizes? If you wouldn't mind? They're in my car.'

'I think you really don't need to worry about Zechs and Quatre,' Heero grinned at me. 'Our handsome prince seems to have fallen for your friend.'

I grimaced. ' I'm not sure if Wufei is interested, actually. He's happy being single.'

Or so he claimed, anyway. I thought a little attention from the attractive blond might do him a world of good.

'So was I, until I met Duo.' He looked at my near empty bottle. 'Can I get you another beer?'

'I'd better check with Quatre first.' I was rather enjoying sitting on the sidelines, just watching him flit around and greet the new arrivals. I hadn't thought of him as a social butterfly, but he seemed to be enjoying himself enormously. 'He drove me here, but he might want to have a few drinks to celebrate winning.'

'Oh, you needn't worry about that. He rarely has more than a glass of wine, and Duo doesn't drink. We can always drop you both home if you need a ride.'

His expression was carefully bland as he made that last comment, but there was a definite glint lurking somewhere in those dark blue eyes.

If you need a ride…

Oh God.

'You probably want to go and talk to him anyway.'

'In a minute.' I took tilted back my bottle and swallowed the last dregs of beer. 'I sort of like watching him. He's a lot more … sociable than I'd imagined.'

'I think he feels he can relax when he's with people he knows and trusts.'

'As opposed to being tense and nervous when he's with me?'

'Is he?' Heero asked intently.

'Sometimes. A little.' Although, in all fairness, I couldn't really blame him for being a little nervous on our first couple of dates, not when he hadn't been with anyone for a while. And I liked feeling that I could relax him a little, coax him into letting his guard down, and talk to me.

'It's weird,' I confessed suddenly. 'Sometimes, I feel like I've known him forever, and sometimes it's like I'm walking on broken glass, trying to say or do the right thing.'

Heero fetched us a couple of beers, and I took a long swallow, wondering why I was confiding all of this to a virtual stranger, and one who would probably kill me if I hurt Quatre. Maybe he'd put something in my beer? I hadn't had nearly enough to be drunk.

'Relationships are always a little.. uncertain, at the beginning, I think. I know he likes you, but it's a long time since he's been with anyone. You just need to give it some time.'

'I know. Did you ever meet the ex?'

'Simon? No. I only met Duo and Quatre last September; after he and Simon had broken up.'

'So.. you've known Quatre for about six months?' He nodded. 'Anything special I should know? If you don't mind me asking.'

He looked surprised at the question. 'Of course not. Research is a good thing in any situation. You should probably ask Duo, but I'll try to help. He has a phenomenally high IQ; I gather he'd been accepted to a fast track programme at Harvard while he was still at school. I think that was one of the things that infuriated his parents so much; that he threw a potentially brilliant career away, just to study music.'

'I thought it was because he was gay?'

Heero shrugged. 'A combination, I imagine. Anyway, at seventeen, he gave up his family and a fortune so he could choose his own way in life. That might give you some idea of what he's like.'

'It makes him sound very…all or nothing.'

'I'm not sure that's what I meant. He has tremendous integrity. He could probably have toed the family line, and kept his private life a secret, but he refused to do that. He still tries to keep in touch with his family, but they won't acknowledge him. Of course, it probably doesn't help that he ended up choosing an obscure teaching job, rather than becoming a celebrated violinist. As a matter of interest, has he played for you yet?'

Played for me…

A little movie clip played across my brain, Quatre naked and sprawled on my futon as he sucked me off.

'His violin?' Heero prompted, poker faced.

'No, not yet. He's offered but we haven't really had much time, yet. Is he good?'

'I'm no expert, but Relena assures me he's brilliant. What else? He's one of the few people who can beat my stepfather at chess; he has a rather wide competitive streak, which he manages to keep under wraps most of the time. He's incredibly generous and compassionate, and people tend to take advantage of that.'

I held his gaze. 'I don't plan on hurting him.'

I wouldn't mind taking advantage at some point though…and I'll make damn sure he enjoys every second of it.

In fact, the more I got to know about Quatre, the more I wanted him. Not just the sex, although that was bound to be mind-blowing.

OK, Barton, don't think about blowing….

God, though, there'd been a very interesting glint in those blue eyes as he'd tied me up. It seemed like my boyfriend was hiding a somewhat adventurous streak, and one that enjoyed dominance, under his rather reserved exterior. Very interesting.

'Ow! What the hell was that?' I snapped, as Heero suddenly reached over and slapped my neck.

'Mosquito,' he informed me blandly, withdrawing his hand. Damn, he was fast when he wanted to be; I hadn't seen that coming for a second. 'On your collarbone. They must be out early this year.' He stood up suddenly. 'Hello, Quatre. I'm going over to Duo now.'

'Hi Trowa.' He stood in front of me, his usually bright smile a little tentative, as if he wasn't quite sure of his welcome.

'Hi yourself.' I grinned up at him. 'Congratulations.'

'Thank you. I'm sorry I didn't come over before, but I had to mingle a little bit. I have friends who live outside Sanque and it's been a while since I've seen some of them.'

'That's fine,' I assured him, wondering why he looked worried. Surely he didn't think I'd be pissed off at him for spending time with his friends? 'Mingling all done now? Why don't you sit down for a minute?'

'OK.' He sat beside me on the bench, close enough for me to smell the toiletries he'd used in the shower. A light, vaguely citrus fragrance. 'Trowa, did you know you've got a little cut on your neck?'

'Oh, that must have been the mosquito. Heero slapped it away, but it must have bitten me before he got it.'

'Did he now?' His eyes narrowed slightly as he reached over to pat my skin with a handkerchief. Odd. He couldn't be jealous of me spending time with Heero, could he?

Maybe I was just imagining it. He'd never struck me as the jealous type, but maybe he just wanted a little bit of attention from me. Well, I could do that. 'Enjoying your party, honey?'

'Very much. It's wonderful how many people came.' He dropped his head onto my shoulder, leaning into me. 'I'm starting to wilt a little bit now, though.'

'I'm not surprised.' I slid an arm around his waist, pulling him even closer.

'I'm sorry if I got a little carried away earlier,' he confided softly. 'You know, with the rope and everything.'

'It was very sexy actually.' With him wrapped in my arms, and apparently quite happy to be there, I felt I could tease a little bit. 'You really are the perfect boyfriend, you know. A dreamy blond who carries rope in his pocket, just in case of emergencies.'

'Oh!' He blushed, but there was a cute little grin hovering around the corners of his mouth, just begging to be kissed. Kissing him in public made him blush even more.

'God, you're totally gorgeous, you know that?'

He muttered something, hiding his face in my shoulder. Hmm. I was really going to have to get him more used to accepting compliments.

'I was a bit worried that I'd, I don't know, scared you off a little bit.'

'You'll have to go for something way more extreme than ropes if you want to scare me off, Quatre.' I lifted an eyebrow at him. 'Tell me you're not into whips and chains.'

'Of course not!' He laughed. 'At least, I've never tried anything like that, but I can't imagine I'd like it.'

'Glad to hear it,' I told him companionably, and felt him relax against me. Well, maybe one day I'd manage to figure him out.

'Dinner's about to be served,' he murmured after a few minutes, and I let him lead me over to find a table.

Almost immediately, he jumped up to meet some late arrivals, and I turned to Dorothy. Quatre had introduced us all briefly before the game, but we hadn't had much opportunity to talk. Still, she was one of Quatre 's close friends, and any girl who could terrify Wufei by a mere eyebrow-wiggle had to have something going for her.

'How's your little dog?'

'Oh, he's fine,' she said dismissively. 'He eats bones all the time. Quatre totally over-reacted the other night; he's such a dramatist sometimes.'

'Actually, Taco almost died. He had a sharp splinter of bone lodged between his back teeth, cutting off his air supply. There's no way that he could have removed it by himself. He would have choked to death if Quatre hadn't found him.'

She blushed to the roots of her fair hair, not nearly so attractively as Quatre did. 'How dare you? It's absolutely none of your business.' She jumped up, glaring at me. 'And you needn't think Quatre will like you talking to me like that.'

'Oh, I somehow don't think Quatre will mind his boyfriend defending his honour,' a deep voice drawled behind us. 'Bravo, Trowa,' Zechs grinned at me as Dorothy stalked off. 'I hear you're a friend of Wufei's. I wonder, what do you think would be the best way to attract his attention. Or does he just like playing hard to get?'

'I think you should leave the poor man alone for a few minutes,' Quatre told him, sliding back into his seat. 'You don't even know if he's got a partner already.'

'Don't be ridiculous, Quat. If he had a partner, he wouldn't be here by himself. Am I right, Trowa?'

'Well, he is single,' I admitted, rather distracted by the sight of Quatre neatly dissecting a crab claw and licking garlic butter off his fingers. I'd never met anyone so sexy who was so totally unaware of it. 'But he's very focused on his career right now.'

'Excellent.' Zechs stood. 'That means he needs someone to show him that there's far more to life than work. Excuse me, please.'

'Good luck,' my boyfriend laughed up at him. 'And, Zechs, thank you for organising all this. You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble but it's a wonderful party.'

'Don't go all sentimental on me, Winner.' Zechs winked at me before heading off in Wufei's direction. 'Save it for Trowa.'

I winked at my laughing boyfriend. 'There you go, honey. I think that's your cue.'

He surprised me by reaching over to clink his glass against mine. 'Thank you for being here with me. I know you don't really know anyone here, but thank you for putting up with us all.'

'You don't have to thank me, Quatre. I'm having a great time.' I lifted my glass to toast him. 'Happy birthday, sweetheart.'