Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations I put them in. Everything else belongs to somebody else and that's just the way it has to be whether you like it or not heh. Thanks very much for reading and please review because I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Valentines Day!

A Matching Pair

It was the day of the party and Quatre was pacing in his room, more nervous than he could ever recall being in his entire life. Not even battles and impending death had ever rattled him this much before. Absently looking over at his bed where his costume was all laid out he grimaced and continued pacing, trying his best to block out that mental image. It wasn't that his costume was that bad. Considering the fact that Asia had picked it out for him he figured he'd gotten off lucky. No, it wasn't his costume that had him worried but hers. Since they were apparently going as a pair he had a pretty good idea just what she'd be wearing and it was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat. Tonight was going to be nerve wracking enough as it was without having her kill his brain cells every time he looked at her. Smart as he was he still didn't have all that many to spare as of late since she kept finding ways to decimate his brain's ability to function properly. Which she seemed to enjoy doing, Quatre thought with a grimace, absently yanking on the tie he had yet to remove. He was supposed to be getting ready but how was he supposed to think about that when he had one hell of a night to get through. First he had to go to a party where his evil bitch stalker was quite possibly lurking, intending to do lord only knows what to himself and Asia. Than he had to fight off all the men who would try to descend upon them like starving wolves without getting into any fist fights that could result in him spending the rest of the night in jail rather than at home. With Asia. Yes, he had plans for this evening and they were driving him bonkers.

The grandfather clock in the hallway beginning to chime out the hour Quatre cursed under his breath and paused, his mind registering the fact that he was running out of time to change before Asia came in to find out why he wasn't. If she came bursting in while he was in the middle of getting changed he doubted very much that they'd be leaving his room any time soon. Which would be better than good up until the point where the guys started frantically calling to make sure they were both all right. Quatre had had quite enough of distractions where his love life or lack there of was concerned. No, that was going to end tonight. Straightening his shoulders and taking a deep breath he turned and practically marched over to the bed, a man on a mission. He'd get changed, make sure everything was in order for later on and than drag Asia off to the party so that they could get there early and leave the same way.

Popping her head into Quatre's room twenty minutes later Asia was rather disappointed when she found the room empty. There went her plan to start the night out with a bang so that he'd want to leave the party as early as politely possible. Every time she tried to corner him there had always been someone around and the others had driven them both nuts keeping watch over them and preparing the security for the party. But that wasn't going to be the case tonight if she had to drag him out of there by his hair. Well..not his hair since there just wasn't enough of it to get a good enough grip. She'd come up with something anyway, even if she had to fall back on the well used headache excuse to leave. She was getting Quatre in a bed with her tonight if it killed them both. Provided of course that they died afterwards and not some time in the middle. If they died in the middle she was personally going to see to it that Sue Ling assassinated God upon arrival once her friend joined her in the afterlife. If anyone could pull off the assassination of God it was Sue Ling.

Closing the door behind her Asia headed down the hallway towards the stairs, not surprised to hear his low voice as she approached. Standing at the top of the stairs she was disappointed to see that he'd already bundled himself up in his nearly floor length trench coat which hid his costume from view. Her eyes on the back of his head she saw the instant he sensed her presence, the slight tightening of his shoulders as he slowly turned around to face her, saying an absent good bye to whoever he'd been talking to on his cell phone.

Stuffing the cell phone into his pocket Quatre couldn't take his eyes off her, her early prediction coming true. He really did want to throw her over his shoulder and head straight to his bedroom, neither to be seen again for at the very least the rest of the weekend. "Wow."

"You better be wearing your costume under that, Winner or I'm going to be very, very displeased with you." Asia teased, a pleased and sexy smile on her lips as she watched him watch her. Oh yes, getting him to leave early was not going to be a problem tonight.

Screw the party was all Quatre could think, trying not to notice just how inviting her midriff was looking, especially when there was a sparkling blue gem of some kind in her naval that was currently holding all his attention.

Amused and charmed by his sudden fascination with her stomach Asia reached the bottom of the stairs and putting plenty of swing in her stride walked over to him, sliding her bare arms around his waist as she smiled up at him. "Careful or you're going to walk into something. We can't have much fun if you're in a body cast."

"You look beautiful." Wrapping his own arms around her waist Quatre concentrated on getting his thoughts in order so that he really didn't end up in a body cast. Having thoroughly surveyed her costume and body on her way down the stairs an idea occurred to Quatre that gave him an idea as to how to start the evening off on the right foot. "I just have to grab one more thing and than I'm ready to go."

"What did you forget?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

Leaving her in the hallway Quatre headed to his study, going straight to his safe where he quickly punched in the numbers since he didn't want to keep her waiting. Locating the item he was looking for he quickly stuffed it in his pocket along with the cell phone before closing the safe behind him. Heading back out he found her waiting with her own coat on, doing some last minute primping. Calling out for her to close her eyes he waited until she'd done so before he pulled the present out of his pocket, moving behind her as he gently slide the delicate piece of jewelry around her neck. Attaching the clasp he hugged her against him as he turned her to face the mirror once more, whispering in her ear that she could open her eyes.

Having been waiting to do precisely that since he told her to close them Asia opened her eyes in a flash, her eyes going huge as she saw what he'd placed around her neck. It was a delicate gold choker made up of about twenty delicate gold chains woven together with a large, blue diamond tear drop hanging in the middle. It was the color of Quatre's eyes and the sheer beauty of it took her breath away. Clasping a hand against it she turned in his embrace, gapping up at him. "I can't believe...it's so beautiful..I..."

"It was my mother's. My father said it was the exact shade of her eyes." Quatre said softly, lifting a hand to cup her cheek. "It suits you."

Beaming up at him Asia couldn't find the words to thank him so she simply wrapped her arms around him again and held him close, her face pressed against the hollow of his neck as she held on as if she'd never let him go.

Standing there for minutes they only got moving when Edwards came in and politely reminded them that they did have somewhere they were supposed to be. More amused than embarrassed the two wished Edwards good night and headed out, Asia unaware that Quatre had left Edwards with a few extra duties to perform before he settled in for the evening.

Arriving at the party Quatre wasn't overly thrilled to hand over either of their coats but compensated by taking her hand as soon as they were both on their way into the ballroom where the party was to take place. He was not letting her go anywhere without him and he was prepared to physically beat the hell out of anyone who thought otherwise. The two made quite a stir as they walked down the overly elegant stairs and into the room, several people stopping in mid sentence to turn and stare. The two really were a pair, their costumes matching in that hers was black, accented with blue while his was the same blue with black accents. They were a sultan and his harem girl, his one and only in this case. Thankfully he'd forgone the turban Asia had offered but he'd agreed to the hoop in his ear which made up for it by giving him a more rakish look. His sleeveless blue vest was held together in front by five gold chains which thrilled all the women as they gazed at his undeniably pretty chest, visible thanks to the deep V neck and the skin visible through the chains. His pants were a little too poofy in his opinion but they weren't practically see through like Asia's which was a definite plus to his way of thinking. His accessories beside the earring where thick gold bracelets at his wrists and thankfully very comfortable sandals. Asia, on the other hand, was showing a lot more skin thanks to the fact that her short sleeved top ended just below her breasts with blue fringe along the hem doing little to hide the skin beneath. Her pants rode low on her tanned hips and the material was made of several layers of sheer black material with gold threaded through, giving sexy glimpses of her truly superior legs. She was wearing sandals as well, accented by gold chain ankle bracelets that went perfectly with the choker Quatre had given her as well as the gold bracelets she wore on her upper arms. The look was completed by hoop earrings of her own and the saucy smile she wore on her face as she let go of Quatre's hand to slide her arm into his instead. They looked good and damn if they both couldn't wait to get out of there.

Dressed aptly as the Grim Reaper Duo grinned as he waved them over to their group, whistling in appreciation of Asia's costume once they were close enough to hear him. "Nice outfit, Asia. Where's the rest of it?" He joked with a rakish wink, twirling the bottom of rubber scythe against the floor.

"I couldn't find it." Winking in return she had to admit he did make a cute Reaper even if the costume was a bit obvious. She wasn't at all surprised to see that Trowa was simply wearing his uniform in the place of a costume but she was surprised at the sight of Sue Ling dressed up as a fairy with a wannabe Zorro, aka Julian sipping punch beside her. "I can't believe you actually got her to dress up, Julian."

"It definitely wasn't easy." Julian agreed with a grin, raising his glass slightly in a salute. "And you do indeed look absolutely stunning, the both of you. Should I bow for the sultan?" He teased with a wider grin in Quatre's direction.

"I'd rather you not." Was Quatre's off handed response as he continued to scan the crowds around them, hoping to spot something that would tip him off. He just knew she was here but finding her would be next to impossible, especially with everyone dressed up the way they were. He probably knew most of the people in the room but he could only recognize maybe a quarter of them unless he spoke to them. In other words, his only options were to try and speak with every woman in the room and hope that he not only knew her but somehow magically realized she was his psycho or hope she pulled some sort of stunt that tipped them all off. Since the stunt would likely involve bloodshed and possible death neither appealed to him.

"At least this party is invitation only." Trowa stated, reading his friend easily as he too gave the crowd a brief scan before turning his gaze back to his friends. "If something does happen we'll at least have a list to go by and eliminate."

"Unless she comes in disguised as staff."

"I don't think so." Was Rome's opinion as she stepped over to join them in time to hear Sue Ling's statement, dressed up as Morticia Addams. "If she wants to impress Quatre than dressing up as the hired help is out of the question. Besides, given the arrogance and ego of those letters can you really see her even thinking of stooping to that level?"

"Good point." Asia agreed, doing some scanning of her own, though not being as obvious about it as Quatre. How he thought he'd see anything in this crowd was beyond her but she'd promised him in the car to be on her guard and she was indeed a woman of her word.

Adjusting the straps that held her wings up Sue Ling cursed the fact that she'd allowed Julian to bribe her into wearing the damn things and the costume in general. If there was trouble tonight it would be unbelievably humiliating to try and help while dressed up as a mystical creature with butterfly wings. Who ever heard of an Asian fairy anyway? Though Paris had said earlier that she looked very nice and Trowa had nodded in agreement. Looking up at the pilot Sue Ling was surprised to see him looking down at her, the two unexpectedly caught looking at each other for no apparent reason. Quickly adverting her eyes Sue Ling didn't appreciate the knowing look Asia gave her at all.

Holding back a smile for her friend's sake Asia's eyes narrowed as she spotted three women making their way towards them, one that she didn't know and one that she disliked with a gusto. Sylvia Noventa, she didn't have an opinion either way.

"Well, well, how very daring of you, Quatre." Dorothy called over with a purr, aptly dressed in red with horns and a saucy tail. Yeah, a devil costume definitely suited her well, Asia thought with a faint smirk as she watched the blond glide towards them in very high, red heels. The better to twist an ankle, my dear, Asia thought wickedly..

"Hello Dorothy, Sylvia, Katerina." Quatre answered with a pleasant smile, shrugging off his edgy mood to concentrate on the three ladies looking at him expectantly. Clueing in to what he'd forgotten he gave a small bow in their direction. "And may I say, all three of you look absolutely stunning tonight."

"But you still knew who we were." The girl Asia didn't know, Katerina, reminded him with a shake of her finger, a small smile on her face for Quatre as she looked over the rest of party. "And I recognize Mr. Barton but I don't believe I know either of these ladies or your Zorro."

"Ah, this is Julian McMaster, his personal assistant Sue Ling and my Asia." Quatre explained, draping a casual arm around Asia's waist while he gestured to the others with his other hand. "This is Katerina Koge, her father's a senator as well."

Everyone greeting each other now that they were all introduced Katerina focused in on Asia with curiosity "Ah yes, I believe I saw you with Quatre at Senator Roth's wife's funeral. Such a terrible tragedy. I understand that they haven't found out who's responsible yet? "

"No, they haven't." Trowa replied calmly, his green eyes sharp and aware. At the mentioning of Roth Trowa and Sue Ling had both given the woman their complete and total attention. That this stranger, that they both didn't know well, would bring her up at a party of all places was interesting. It wasn't unusual for a killer to talk about their victim, wanting the feedback about what others thought of their crime. Posing as mourners or simply curious bystanders they fed off the discussion and craved it as much as the kill. In a way, it was that which distinguished themselves from the killers they'd read about and met. Both Sue Ling and Trowa had blood on their hands but neither of them wanted to relive of speak of the acts they'd committed. They understood the value of all life while a killer only valued their own.

"They probably haven't gotten through the list of all her boyfriends yet." Was Dorothy's opinion as she sipped her champagne, a slight smirk on her face. "I wouldn't be surprised if she gave one of the poor bastards something and he killed her out of revenge."

"Dorothy." With that one word Sylvia conveyed a speech's worth of disapproval as she gave the older woman a hard look. "Whatever else she was she didn't deserve to die the way she did. Show some respect for the dead."

"Well it's not like anyone other than her husband mourned her passing. Everyone that came, came because they had to." Dorothy muttered, displeased to be put down in front of an audience. Especially by Little Miss Goody Two Shoes. If it weren't for the fact that Paris would give her hell for it later she'd put the little madonna in her place.

Wishing she could point out that Dorothy probably wouldn't even have that one person Asia bit her tongue only because getting into a pissing match with Dorothy would only lead to trouble and they had enough of that at the moment. "Speaking of political obligations..Quatre and I should really make the rounds. We've both had a long day and who knows how long we're going to last before we fall asleep in some corner."

"Good idea." Quatre agreed with a curt nod. Since they'd done nothing more strenuous than catching up on paperwork all day Quatre could only take that to mean that she was as eager to go home as he was. A slow, almost wicked smile crossing his lips he issued a quick good bye. "Well then, I hope you ladies have a good evening. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some mingling to do before we head home."

Watching Quatre leave it took all she had not to reach out and latch onto Quatre's arm, to pull him away from that bitch whore who clung to him like she had the right. How dare she, dressing Quatre up in such an undignified disguise. He would never pick something so tacky for himself of course, no, not her Quatre. She'd forced him to wear it, that vile temptress. Seducing all the men in the room with her harlot's costume, acting like she was somebody of importance when she was little better then some filthy street rat. She'd bewitched her darling Quatre, he'd barely spoken a handful of words to her before turning back to his bitch like he didn't dare show anyone else attention. Well that was going to change very, very soon. He'd have eyes only for her soon and that whore would be nothing more than a terrible memory.