Chapter Three

"Quat!" The blond boy turned around to see Duo racing towards him. He suppressed a disappointed sigh and smiled at his friend. Duo grinned. He knew that smile. "Wishing I was your lover boy?"

"Duo!" Quatre blushed and looked around nervously to se if anyone was nearby. "How would you like it if I came up to you and said that loudly?"

Duo shrugged. "I'd deal with it in my usual cool and collected manner. And on the subject of lover boys …" Duo smirked and nodded his head towards something behind Quatre. Quatre turned around curiously to see Trowa approaching.

"Hey Trowa!" Duo would normally be offended by the way Quatre was brushing him off, but this was *Quatre*, so exceptions could be made. Besides, he knew Quatre wouldn't even notice if he started yelling in his face right now, he was too absorbed in the fact that Trowa's presence was so near him. Duo would just have to tease him about it later.

Duo watched Trowa nod a greeting to Quatre then to him. He waved back and talked to Quatre before the blond boy could ignore him completely.

"Hey Kitty-Kat?" Duo grinned as the nickname caused Trowa's eyebrow to rise and Quatre to blush bright red. However, he wasn't expecting his friend to turn and face him with a malicious smirk on his face.

"Hai Duokins?" Duo gasped and stared at the blond demon before him in horror. "I told you not to call me that in public," Quatre warned. "Now you have to suffer the consequences of an evil nickname like I do."

Duo glared his darkest glare. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow." He stuck his tongue out and stalked of, muttering under his breath about 'evil blond devils with angelic faces' and the many imaginative and thoroughly enjoyable ways he would torture Dorothy in revenge for coming up with the name.

Quatre grinned at his triumph over the braided ball of energy but blushed when he noticed Trowa's stare. He coughed nervously. "You didn't just see that."

"Of course not." Quatre could tell that the usually impassive boy was struggling very hard not to laugh.

Quatre sighed. "Go ahead, I know you want to laugh."

"I couldn't be that mean." Trowa smiled and regained his usual composure. "Besides, fight between friends shouldn't be laughed at, no matter how stupid they may appear."

Quatre frowned. "Wait, are you saying you've never had a silly argument with your friends about something completely absurd just so you can joke and laugh about it later?" Trowa shook his head. "Your friends must be pretty serious people."

"I suppose." Trowa shrugged his shoulders. Quatre could tell that he didn't really want to talk any more, so they waited for Iria and Catherine to drag themselves away from their conversations with their friends. As they approached the two boys they whispered together in hushed voices and shot suspicious glances at them, but neither brother noticed.

The aforementioned girls noticed the silence in the car this time. They looked at each other then at the boys in the back seat worriedly. They noticed their sisters' stares. "Nani?" Quatre asked.

"Nothing," Iria protested, turning back to the road. "Just wondering why you're so silent, chibi."

Quatre blushed slightly. /Why does everyone come up with cute nicknames for me?/ "Thinking," Quatre answered her question then resumed staring blankly out the window. Cathy shrugged at Iria. Trowa was usually silent. She started another conversation with Iria and didn't notice her brother's stares at the sunlight framed blond beside him.

/He looks so peaceful and happy, yet he just had a fight with his friend. Did it really mean nothing to them?/ His train of thought was disrupted by a loud repetitive beeping.

"Gomen." Quatre smiled apologetically to everyone and answered his phone. #Duo?#

Trowa could hear the loud reply himself. #Hey Q-man I forgot to ask if you could come with me to the movies on Saturday night cause I've been dying to see this one movie for ages and ages and ages and I only just got un-grounded today and the season for is almost over so I figure 'hey why not kill two birds with one stone' so I'll go see this movie and celebrate my freedom all in one go and since you're my bestest bestest most absolute nicest friend in the world I though that maybe you could come with me? Pretty please?#

Trowa was amazed that someone could say all that so loud and so fast without needing any breath in between words. It appeared, however, that Quatre was used to his friend's babbling. #I take it that Hilde and Relena wouldn't go?#

#Obviously not. I know you really don't like these kind of movies either, but please, please, please, please, PLEASE, can you come with me?# You could almost see the big sad puppy-dog eyes in front of you.

Quatre laughed. #Fine. I'll talk to you about it tomorrow. Sayonara Duo.#

#Thanks Q-man.# They hung up.

"Another complicated and very bloody revenge tragedy?" Iria asked her brother in amusement.

"Hai. Why can't Duo be normal and like action-based, blow-em-up, fast car type movies with simple or no plots like most guys his age?" Quatre sighed. "You wouldn't think that Duo would go for quality movies with the way he is, ne?"

"True. Remember that time we borrowed those movies we thought he might like a while ago? He complained the whole way through the horror movie about the plot, the lame effects and the pathetic acting. He kept saying it wasn't gory enough for a horror movie and had no basis for a story."

"Was that the one I was in the bathroom for, heaving my guts up because of the blood?"

"Hai. And then, when we put the other one on, the one with the huge explosions and the sleek cars that crashed and stuff, he fell asleep, not waking even when we put the television on full blast so that even that neighbours could hear."

"I suppose there is good reason to call him Shinigami. I picked up one of his books one day and read the first page. I had to run to the bathroom. Now I know why he complains about even the goriest movies, they don't compare to what he's used to."

"Duo's a unique person," Catherine interjected as they drove up to the Barton household. "Trying to pin him down to any one label is futile, and I think he likes it that way. Although, he does fit Shinigami." Catherine got out and Trowa followed close behind. "Thanks again for this Iria." She waved.

"No probs." Iria and Quatre called out their good-byes and drove off.

Catherine sighed. "Quatre's such a cutie, don't you think Tro?" She ignored the fact that Trowa was a boy for a second and didn't quite register the unusual look he had on his face. "He's good looking," she continued, "adorable, well-mannered and very friendly. Not to mention the nicest person to be around. I'd try and catch him myself if I didn't know he liked someone else."

/I wonder who it is?/ Trowa thought, thinking about what Catherine was saying despite his reluctance to.

"Boy, the one who snagged him has got to be the luckiest person in the world." Catherine smirked at her brother, who noticed, but didn't quite understand what it was for. She walked into the house.

Trowa stayed and watched where the car had gone to down the street. /Yeah, I suppose he would be. He? Do I think he's gay now? I suppose he and Duo are really close, I wonder if he's the one. Even if he's not, a relationship like theirs would be great to have. I wonder if I'll ever have a close friendship like that with anyone./ Trowa turned to go inside after one final glance down the street.

Quatre could feel the gaze on him, but didn't dare turn around for fear that it was only his imagination and Trowa really wasn't staring at him. /I wish he really would though./ Quatre sat in silence for the rest of the ride home, not noticing when Iria turned the radio on after the silence had become too oppressive for her.

The rest of the day passed as days usually pass — sitting, standing, laying, eating, television, the horror known as homework and the inevitable taking care of basic hygienic bodily needs.

Quatre finally collapsed on his bed after a lethargic afternoon, fully intent on sleeping through to tomorrow night if he could get away with it (which was unlikely). Unfortunately for him, his phone rang.

Quatre groaned and sat up. #Duo, I'm tired, let me sleep,# he answered.

#Don't be a party-pooper Kitty-Kat.#

#Seriously Duo. If you don't hang up soon, all you'll be listening to is my snores. Was there anything extremely important you wanted to talk about?#

#No, but —#

#Then goodnight Duo, it can wait until morning.#

#Fine. Night Quat.# Quatre hung up and Duo stared at his phone before ending the call with a sigh. He laid back on his bed again, still bored.

He'd called Quatre for that reason — he'd been so bored that he was actually contemplating doing homework! He just wanted to talk about something pointless so he could listen to his best friend's voice, however, had he pushed, Duo knew that Quatre wouldn't have gotten much sleep and Quatre could be very nasty in the morning if that happened. Duo had learned that the hard way.

The blond angel in question had probably fallen asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow and was probably out like a rock right now.

Duo lay there, his long braid laying on his bare chest, thinking about nothing in particular. He wrapped his hand protectively around the tip of his braid and turned on his side as he slipped ever so slowly into unconsciousness.

His last thought before succumbing to the blissful temptation of sleep was of Heero. /I wonder what he's thinking of right now?/

The chocolate haired boy in question was tossing in his sleep and groaning until all of a sudden he sat up in bed, eyes wide open and panting heavily. Heero took a few deep breaths before calming slightly and noticing something. He looked down at himself and flushed.

"Fuck."