Disclaimer: I, rather obviously, do not own the Gundam Characters.

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Quatre's POV:

Chapter 36:

'This is so beautiful,' I skip the last couple of steps down to the beach with Maggie dancing around me delightedly. 'I never even knew that this place existed!'

'Not a lot of people do, really,' Trowa tells me. 'I think the local council tries to keep it quiet; the steps down are pretty rickety and there've been a few accidents. It's great, though. I used to come here all the time when I was a teenager. It was the best place for parties; we used to have barbeques and bonfires and dare each other to dive off the rocks.'

'I've never really done anything like that,' I admit, rather sadly, watching Maggie dart ahead to investigate the rock pools. 'Even when I was home for the holidays, my parents liked me to study all the time. I did sneak out to a couple of Zechs' parties, but his friends were all a couple of years older than me and I was really shy, so I never had a lot of fun at them.'

'Poor Quatre,' he says it softly, and then closes one hand around mine. 'I'm going to make sure you have loads of fun from now on, I promise. Now, come on, I'm starving.'

Before I can respond, he is already moving down the beach, and I am following a little more slowly. Oh dear. I wasn't angling for sympathy; just stating a fact. I'm not sure what I can say that won't make me sound even more pathetic.

Anyway, I rather like the idea of having loads of fun with my boyfriend.

We find the most perfect place for our picnic; a flat rock to sit on with enough small pools close by to keep Maggie fascinated. 'I'm really enjoying this, Trowa. I can't remember the last time I just did something like this on a Saturday afternoon. Thank you so much.'

'What do you normally do on a Saturday then?'

'Lots of different things, really,' I say, thinking about it. 'I sometimes have classes on a Saturday morning, especially coming up to exams, or I give private coaching. And I usually spend the afternoon running around doing laundry or shopping or something like that.'

'Doesn't sound much fun,' he comments, taking a giant bite of his sandwich.

'No, it doesn't,' I agree.

Actually, if I let myself think about it, in the last year, I've been desperately trying to fill in my time with various activities, so I don't have too much time to think.

It sounds pathetic, really. I could, I suppose, blame Simon for my self-imposed seclusion over the past year, for how I'd clung to a fixed routine unless Duo or Zechs or someone forced me out it. But, really, it's my own fault. No one made me shut myself away.

It's been so long since I just did something like this; bought lunch and ate it outside and enjoyed the scenery. 'I do generally go out on Saturday nights, and we all usually meet up on Sundays. I think I need to learn to relax a little bit more, instead of making plans all the time.'

'You do seem to like the planning stuff. Anyway, don't get too relaxed. I'm going to put you to work the minute I get you home; I expect a perfect set of shelves finished by dinner time. And I want you to wear those overalls of yours while you're doing it.'

'Yes, Master,' I sketch him a pantomime bow and he laughs. 'Seriously, I don't understand how overalls are your ultimate fantasy. They're the least sexy item of clothing on the planet!'

'I didn't say they were my ultimate fantasy,' his eyes gleam at me. 'Just one of them.'

'Do I even want to know what the ultimate fantasy is?'

He shakes his head back, so for a moment I get to see both of his eyes at the same time, both sparkling at me. 'That really depends on whether or not you're prepared to fulfil it, honey. How d'you feel about sex on the beach?'

'You want me to make you a cocktail?' I tease.

'Uh huh. Actual sex on an actual beach. Well?'

I shudder theatrically. 'Take me to a nice, sunny tropical island and I might consider it. In Sanque, in April, positively not! I'd freeze to death.'

'Good point.' He grins. 'Apart from anything else, there'd probably be major shrinkage and that could cause problems of its own.'

I can't believe he just said that; I can't believe a guy would make a joke about that!

'How in the world did you get to be so laid back?'

He just shrugs. 'No point getting all het up over every little thing, really. Might as well save your energy for the big things; the things you can maybe do something about.'

I sigh, carefully selecting a little piece of plain turkey for Maggie. 'I suppose. I tend to over-dramatise things a little bit sometimes.'

'No way!' he deadpans and laughs when I lean over to punch his arm. 'I don't know; maybe it's my job. I try not to stress too much over stuff that isn't a matter of life or death.'

'That's a good philosophy. Duo says something like that.'

'Well, if Duo says it, of course it must be true.'

'Are you making fun of my best friend, by any chance?' I demand, holding up my fist again, and he leans back, laughing.

'No way! Duo's my personal dating oracle, remember?'

'Oh, really? So what else did he tell you about me?'

'Stuff,' Trowa grins, taking a massive bite of his sandwich, chewing it infuriatingly slowly. 'Hasn't he told you yet? I thought you guys tell each other everything.'

'Not everything, no.' Duo, in fact, has refused point blank to divulge what he and Trowa talked about that evening; he just laughs and tells me I'll find out eventually.

'I'm actually glad to hear that,' Trowa admits, and I immediately feel a little surge of guilt. He probably wouldn't be too pleased to know the things I told Duo this morning. But he's always told me everything about his romance with Heero; too much probably. I've sometimes had the oddest impression that I'm going out with Heero as well.

Blushing faintly at that thought, I rummage for a quick subject change. 'It's so beautiful here. I love the sound of the waves.'

'Do you remember the first time we were on a beach together?'

'Of course!' I sigh happily. 'The first day we met. Gosh, I was so nervous driving to meet you at that café. I'd never been picked up like that before. I nearly didn't come.'

'I was terrified you weren't going to show,' he admits. 'I thought I'd been way too forward and you'd decided you weren't interested.'

'Well, you were a little forward.' Speaking of forward, Maggie whines gently. More food, please. Please. 'I hope you don't make a habit of kissing all your patients like that.'

'What, the animal ones or their owners?' he jokes, and then gives me a very serious stare. 'I've never done that before, Quatre. Really. I just thought you were cute, and you seemed to like me, and there was this way you just looked at me, and I was totally hooked.'

'Hooked is…good?' I ask tentatively. Oh dear, perhaps Duo and Zechs are right and I do constantly crave reassurance.

'Hooked is good,' Trowa informs me. 'Seriously good.'

'Good,' I echo foolishly and we both laugh. 'I'm hooked too, just for the record.'

'Glad to hear it.' Suddenly he's not joking at all, and I realise that maybe he has doubts too, about my feelings for him. How could he not, really? I'm the one who broke up with him, a week ago; the one who's dancing around the whole intimacy issue. I'm the one who's been getting the constant reassurance.

'I'm hooked,' I repeat, holding his gaze. They're such a unique shade of green, his eyes.

He's smiling. 'So, I've got you hooked, huh? Does that mean it's time to reel you in?'

His kiss leaves me breathless. Reeling, actually.

I'm sprawled all over him, kissing him back, when Maggie starts to bark at something I suddenly remember we're outside, in broad daylight, on a public beach. Anyone could walk past.

'She's just barking at the seagulls, Quatre,' he soothes, leaning back and pulling me against him. 'There's no one else here but us. Now, where were we?'

'You're such a fraud,' I pretend to grumble at him. 'I thought you wanted to come here so we could give Maggie some training.'

'Never said it was the only reason, did I?' He grins widely. 'It's OK, babe. You said you wanted to relax a bit more, remember?'

'I'm not sure if this is entirely relaxing me, to be honest.' I blush faintly, sitting up and pulling my sweater down. It's a while since I've worn these jeans; I've forgotten how constricting they can feel in certain situations.

'It's much more like Nova here, with the cliffs and everything.' I say; a rather obvious attempt to change the subject to something a little less personal. Trowa obligingly plays along, although the glint in his assures me he knows exactly what I'm trying to do.

'Yeah, it's beautiful there, isn't it? Pity it's a bit far to drive in one day, or we could take a trip there. Maybe one weekend we could go up and find a place to stay for a night, if you'd like that?'

'I, ah, was going to ask you about that, actually. I don't know if I told you this, but Zechs and 'Lena have a house up there, well, it's just a cottage, that I've borrowed a couple of times. It might be nice if we could go up there together sometime when we're both free?'

'Sure. That'd be really great. Let's see. I'm working all day next Saturday; I don't think there's any way I could get out of that. But I'm off on Sunday and Monday; how are you fixed for taking time off during the week?'

'I could probably arrange for someone to cover my classes for a day, if I gave them enough notice,' I tell him, a little bit dazedly. I'd meant this possible trip to take place at some nebulous point in the future, not next weekend. 'I will have to check that the cottage is going to be free.'

I suppose this gives me a cop-out clause, if I need one. No, that's ridiculous. I'm not going to start lying to Trowa. I suggested this whole thing. It's not like we haven't been away together. We've shared a bed on two occasions now. We're almost certainly going to have sex tonight.

Going away is not a big deal.

'Ever done it outside?' My boyfriend wonders, harking back to our earlier conversation. Honestly. Trowa is practically perfect, but I do sometimes wonder if he ever thinks about anything but sex.

Although I haven't been much better today. Even looking at the vast bed in Treize Khushrenada's master bedroom, and his whirlpool Jacuzzi, I'd been thinking about Trowa. He has totally corrupted me.

'Just once. That night with you at the hot springs.'

He pulls me against him. 'We have really got to start broadening your horizons, honey.' One arms locks tightly around my waist, holding me against his chest, which actually feels rather wonderful, and his other hand works its way under my sweater and starts a meandering journey upwards.

Oh.

Granted my horizons are probably on the limited side, but I'm fairly happy with them.

'Trowa, I - I'm not sure if I…this is a public place.'

'Not public if there's no one else around to see us,' he points out, reasonably enough. Relax, OK?' he croons gently. 'We've already established that sex on the beach is out, 'til the weather warms up a little bit, anyway. But we've got this whole place to ourselves; might as well take advantage of the privacy, don't you think?'

The tip of his tongue flicks delicately around my ear. 'So, tell me...what's your big fantasy?'

'I don't think I really have one,' I hedge.

'Sure you do,' his teeth nip my lobe, just enough to sting slightly, and then he sucks it gently into his mouth. 'Everyone's got some sort of fantasies. And I've already told you mine.'

Oh dear. I could lie; make up some nonsense about hot chocolate sauce or feather dusters or ice cubes or something.

Instead, I tell him the truth. 'I just want to be in love with the person I'm with.'

He simply doesn't react at first; then, he doesn't speak, just tugs me into his arms and settles me against his chest. I honestly don't think I've ever felt so…cherished in my entire life. Trowa, my boyfriend, is wrapped around me so closely I can feel our bodies moulded together into one, and he is whispering soft kisses across my face.

'My little romantic.'

'Not all that little,' I murmur into his shoulder, when I can finally manage coherent speech.

'A few inches, maybe,' he muses, and yelps when I poke him in the ribs. 'What was that for? I can't help being taller than you.'

'Oh, of course you were talking about our comparative heights.'

He tries, not terribly successfully, for a look of wounded innocence. 'You've got a filthy mind, Winner! What else would I have been talking about?'

'Asshole.'

He bursts out laughing. 'I didn't even know you knew that word. You're normally so polite.'

I pull a face. 'You'd be polite if you'd had your mouth washed out with carbolic soap for swearing when you were seven years old.'

'You're joking!'

'Actually, I'm not. I had a Scottish nanny until I was ten, and she was incredibly strict. I can't even remember now what I'd said; probably something Zechs taught me. He was always a bad example. I know it was years and years ago, but I think I can still remember the taste.'

Trowa chuckles. 'So there won't be any dirty talk in bed tonight then?'

'Um,' I swallow, fixing my gaze on some fluffy clouds drifting in over the sea. I'm not stupid. My boyfriend has asked me to stay the night in his small, one-bedroom apartment. I've accepted. I'm almost sure that I'm ready to sleep with him. It is still something of a shock for him to say it out straight out like that. 'Probably not.'

'Oh, well. I guess I'll have to live with that.' He slides one long finger under my chin, tilting it up so I'm forced to meet his gaze. 'Quatre? This is all OK? Or am I rushing you again? I just got the impression, yesterday morning, that you were maybe ready for a little bit more.'

It is so very, temptingly easy just to say that everything is fine. Instead, I bend forward to kiss him, a slight graze of my mouth against his, demure as a drawing room. 'I think I'm OK with all of this. I'm just, it's been a long time for me, and, and ….'

'What, sweetheart? Tell me what's wrong.'

'I don't know if I'm really any good at it.' I don't think he hears me the first time; probably not, given that my face is buried in the curve of his shoulder. So I repeat it, wondering if he can feel my blush through his jacket.

'Any good at what?' He sounds utterly bemused, but one hand is gently stroking my hair.

'Sex,' I whisper wretchedly, wondering if I've ever felt this embarrassed in my whole life. It doesn't help matters when he starts to laugh.

'It's not funny!' I snap, jerking out of his arms and glaring at him.

'Quatre, it's fucking hilarious!' I just manage to jump to my feet before he catches me. 'Come back here. You are incredible in bed! I swear to God, I can't stop thinking about you. When I was with Wufei this morning, I kept remembering being with you; it was damn hard to concentrate on the stuff he was telling me because all I could think about was getting to see you again.'

'I…I've been thinking about you all morning too,' I confess shyly.

'Good.' He sounds just a little bit smug about that. 'You are gorgeous and sexy and so damned hot that I just want to jump on you whenever we're together. Now, how in hell did you get that stupid idea that you're no good at sex. Shit.' His eyes darken suddenly. 'Is all this about that fucker of an ex-boyfriend?'

'Ah, a little bit.'

'Right. Now, you listen to me,' he orders sternly. 'Whatever that bastard said, I don't want you to give it another thought. Got that? He didn't deserve someone like you, not for one second, and you are far, far too smart to spend your time worrying about a single word he said to you. You're an absolute dream in the sack, and I'm going to prove it to you, when you're ready for that.'