*laughs* I think I scared away some people... Guys, please review when you're done! I don't want to beg...
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!
Okay, I think I'm over it. Standard disclaimers apply. And on with the fic!
* * * * *
Past, Present, Future
by Grace Musica
Chapter Two
...To the Present...
* * * * *
Trowa finally looked up when Quatre sat next to him on the step. "Something you want to talk about?"
Trowa sighed. "Have you ever heard the expression 'the one that got away'?"
"Old girlfriend, then?"
"More like someone I was in love with a long time ago and never told them."
"Why not?"
Trowa smiled a bit at Quatre. "And you're one to talk, Winner? You waited six years to tell Liz that you loved her."
Quatre laughed. "True!"
"Besides, I was only ten at the time."
"Oh... Your robot days."
Trowa nodded.
Quatre jumped to his feet and held his hands out to Trowa. "Well, come on!" He sighed at Trowa's look of confusion. "You've changed, maybe so has she. But you'll never know if you don't go and talk to her."
"Oh! Um..." Trowa shook his head violently. "I'll pass."
"Trowa Barton, you'd better not be chickening out on me!" the blonde replied, using his 'father voice'. "Don't you remember the advice you gave me?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Flashback: Eight years prior
~*~*~*~*~*~
Trowa watched curiously from the doorway as Quatre stood by the open window, staring outside. The look on the Winner heir's face was one of intense longing; from the sounds of laughter drifting from down in the yard, Trowa assumed that he was watching Lizzy and her siblings playing.
Crossing the room to stand by his friend, he looked out as well to find the four of them having a water war: the twins were throwing water balloons at Lizzy, who was 'protecting' her youngest sister--who, in turn was throwing buckets of water at everyone--while squirting the other two with the water hose. All four were soaking wet and laughing and shrieking. As the two of them watched, the female Maxwell fell to the ground in hysterical laughter and the kids jumping her like a pack of wolves, attacking mercilessly with waterballoons (courtesy of Thomas), buckets of water (from Audrey), and even the water hose (with love from Natalie). This made Lizzy laugh even harder, fighting back weakly against the three, and finally resolving herself to her fate and taking the torture.
"She's exquisite," Quatre breathed to himself.
"She's a big kid, just like her brother," Trowa replied, chuckling inward at Quatre's jump of suprise. Apparently the blonde hadn't noticed his presence. "And you love her for it."
Quatre grinned weakly. "I'm that transparent, huh?"
"Only when you think you're by yourself. Word of advice: lock your doors from here on out."
That earned him a laugh. "Yeah... I'm in love with her," Quatre confided. He looked back out the window. "Madly, totally, absolutely. And I'm too scared to tell her."
Trowa sighed. "Quatre, let me give you a little bit of advice I got from Heero once: Do as your heart tells you. That way you'll have no regrets."
Quatre raised an eyebrow. "Heero told you that? Heero Yuy, the person who Lizzy calls 'Mr. Roboto'?"
"The one and only. Of course, he also told me that death hurts like Hell, so..."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Trowa sighed. "I know I said that, but... it's just been such a shock..."
"Agh... come on, come on..." Quatre stood, hauled Trowa to his feet and started up the stairs.
"You are turning into your wife, Winner."
"I know. And I rather like it, thank you."
* * * * *
"Quatre! Trowa! I'm glad you could make it. She fell asleep quick then, huh?"
"She's dead to the world, dear," Quatre replied, giving Trowa a nudge in the small of the back. The brunette moved a bit more inside the room, and started to study his shoes.
Next thing you know, he'll start blushing, Lizzy told her husband mentally. Aloud, she said, "Oh... so you killed her..."
Quatre gave Lizzy a look and answered both of her comments out loud. "Very funny."
Lizzy looked at Midii and snickered, leaned over and started pouring two more cups of tea. "Quatre has no sense of humor."
Quatre rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the Preventer. "Excuse my wife. She likes to complain about me to people I don't know."
Midii laughed at that. "I'm Midii Une, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Winner. It might not sound like it, but Liz has been speaking highly of you."
I'm so sure. Quatre shook hands with the woman. "Wait... Une... would you happen to be related to Lady Une?"
Midii laughed again. "She's my aunt. Hence the outfit," she guestured to the uniform. "I called in a favor once, and actually liked the job."
Lizzy laughed as well. "Well, you always were an oddity, that you were. Oh, and this is Trowa Barton. Trowa, Midii Une."
"We've met," Midii smiled at Trowa, who weakly returned it.
"Hmn?" Lizzy's curiosity was instantly perked. "What do you--"
But her question was cut short by the twin's rude interruption, followed shortly by a small, curly-haired brunette child of about five in tears. All three were covered head-to-toe in chocolate milk, and the twins were talking animatedly to their uncle, trying to get their side out first.
Lizzy groaned. "You two tried to make chocolate shakes again, didn't you?"
Thomas looked at his uncle, his face red. Natalie looked right at her sister. "Not exactally... Have you ever heard of a 'smoothie'?"
"You didn't..." Quatre stated, disbelieving.
"Um... we didn't?" Thomas asked innocently.
In the fifteen-second pause that ensued, the five-year-old looked over at Trowa, held out her arms, wailed "Daddy!", and ran over to him. Trowa hit his knees and put his arms around the child, mumurring to her and stroking her hair.
Quatre looked at his nephew. "Nice try, young man."
"Darn it!"
Lizzy stood and took Natalie's hand. "We're going to have a long talk. NOW."
"But-!"
"No protests. You too, Tom."
"Aw, man..."
Quatre gave a small bow as his wife and two eldest children left, arguing the whole time. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by dialog between the siblings.
"Hey, Liz... you know, peanut butter can really screw up a blender?"
"THOMAS!"
Quatre laughed out loud at that. "Excuse us for a second," he said, chuckling to himself, closing the double doors behind him.
Midii looked at Trowa. "Well... it's been a long time, No-name. I mean, Trowa Barton, now."
Trowa met her eyes steadily. "That it has."
"You're a father now."
"By adoption. This is my sister's little girl." Trowa sat on the floor and gave the still-crying girl a reassuring hug and a kiss on the forehead, rocking her back and forth a bit to soothe her. "My sister and brother-in-law died when Alex here was six months old. So she calls me 'Daddy'."
Alex looked over her shoulder at Midii and sniffled. Trowa soothed her hair. "Calmer now, little one?"
Alex looked up and nodded furiously.
Trowa looked up at Midii. "She doesn't talk much."
"Hmn... well, you've rubbed off on her, I see."
Trowa gave Midii a look, but said nothing. Instead, he turned to Alex and introduced the child to Midii. Alex waved a bit, but then turned into her uncle's protective embrace. Trowa laughed a bit at his niece's shyness and tightened his arms around the youth.
The three of them sat in relative silence, punctuated by small hiccups, bi-products of Alex's cry and yells from downstairs. Finally, it was little Alex who broke the silence. "Daddy? How do you know Ms. Midii?"
"Um... Well... We knew each other when we were younger."
"A really long time ago?"
"Uh-huh."
"... Back before the space colonies?!"
Trowa laughed. "I'm not THAT old."
"But! You're REALLY old!"
"Hey! I'm barely 30!"
Alex looked at him steadily. "That's really old, Daddy."
Midii burst out laughing at the last comment. The girl was so SERIOUS. It was quite funny.
...Until Trowa looked at her. "She's talking about you, too, Midii."
That sobered her up immediately. And Trowa couldn't help but laugh at her. Midii glowered at him, which made him laugh even harder.
Alex looked at her uncle, confused. Finally, she leaned up and asked Trowa in a wisper if they could go home so she could get a change of clothes.
Trowa kissed her forehead again. "Of course, sweetheart. You're proably tired, too, huh."
Alex nodded, rubbing her eyes.
"Okay, okay." He stood, still holding Alex and the little girl put her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Trowa walked over to Midii and shook her hand. "It was nice to see you again, Midii Une."
"And you, N--Trowa Barton." She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. For all these years, I've thought of you as No-name."
"It's all right. That was my name, at the time."
He paused for a second, then leaned over and kissed her cheek. His lips were there for the briefest second, but Midii's entire body felt like it was on fire. As he pulled back, her hand flew up to her cheek, touching the spot he had kissed.
"Good-bye, Midii."
She couldn't say anything, as he walked out the double doors and disappeared around the corner.
* * * * *
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!
Okay, I think I'm over it. Standard disclaimers apply. And on with the fic!
* * * * *
Past, Present, Future
by Grace Musica
Chapter Two
...To the Present...
* * * * *
Trowa finally looked up when Quatre sat next to him on the step. "Something you want to talk about?"
Trowa sighed. "Have you ever heard the expression 'the one that got away'?"
"Old girlfriend, then?"
"More like someone I was in love with a long time ago and never told them."
"Why not?"
Trowa smiled a bit at Quatre. "And you're one to talk, Winner? You waited six years to tell Liz that you loved her."
Quatre laughed. "True!"
"Besides, I was only ten at the time."
"Oh... Your robot days."
Trowa nodded.
Quatre jumped to his feet and held his hands out to Trowa. "Well, come on!" He sighed at Trowa's look of confusion. "You've changed, maybe so has she. But you'll never know if you don't go and talk to her."
"Oh! Um..." Trowa shook his head violently. "I'll pass."
"Trowa Barton, you'd better not be chickening out on me!" the blonde replied, using his 'father voice'. "Don't you remember the advice you gave me?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Flashback: Eight years prior
~*~*~*~*~*~
Trowa watched curiously from the doorway as Quatre stood by the open window, staring outside. The look on the Winner heir's face was one of intense longing; from the sounds of laughter drifting from down in the yard, Trowa assumed that he was watching Lizzy and her siblings playing.
Crossing the room to stand by his friend, he looked out as well to find the four of them having a water war: the twins were throwing water balloons at Lizzy, who was 'protecting' her youngest sister--who, in turn was throwing buckets of water at everyone--while squirting the other two with the water hose. All four were soaking wet and laughing and shrieking. As the two of them watched, the female Maxwell fell to the ground in hysterical laughter and the kids jumping her like a pack of wolves, attacking mercilessly with waterballoons (courtesy of Thomas), buckets of water (from Audrey), and even the water hose (with love from Natalie). This made Lizzy laugh even harder, fighting back weakly against the three, and finally resolving herself to her fate and taking the torture.
"She's exquisite," Quatre breathed to himself.
"She's a big kid, just like her brother," Trowa replied, chuckling inward at Quatre's jump of suprise. Apparently the blonde hadn't noticed his presence. "And you love her for it."
Quatre grinned weakly. "I'm that transparent, huh?"
"Only when you think you're by yourself. Word of advice: lock your doors from here on out."
That earned him a laugh. "Yeah... I'm in love with her," Quatre confided. He looked back out the window. "Madly, totally, absolutely. And I'm too scared to tell her."
Trowa sighed. "Quatre, let me give you a little bit of advice I got from Heero once: Do as your heart tells you. That way you'll have no regrets."
Quatre raised an eyebrow. "Heero told you that? Heero Yuy, the person who Lizzy calls 'Mr. Roboto'?"
"The one and only. Of course, he also told me that death hurts like Hell, so..."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Trowa sighed. "I know I said that, but... it's just been such a shock..."
"Agh... come on, come on..." Quatre stood, hauled Trowa to his feet and started up the stairs.
"You are turning into your wife, Winner."
"I know. And I rather like it, thank you."
* * * * *
"Quatre! Trowa! I'm glad you could make it. She fell asleep quick then, huh?"
"She's dead to the world, dear," Quatre replied, giving Trowa a nudge in the small of the back. The brunette moved a bit more inside the room, and started to study his shoes.
Next thing you know, he'll start blushing, Lizzy told her husband mentally. Aloud, she said, "Oh... so you killed her..."
Quatre gave Lizzy a look and answered both of her comments out loud. "Very funny."
Lizzy looked at Midii and snickered, leaned over and started pouring two more cups of tea. "Quatre has no sense of humor."
Quatre rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the Preventer. "Excuse my wife. She likes to complain about me to people I don't know."
Midii laughed at that. "I'm Midii Une, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Winner. It might not sound like it, but Liz has been speaking highly of you."
I'm so sure. Quatre shook hands with the woman. "Wait... Une... would you happen to be related to Lady Une?"
Midii laughed again. "She's my aunt. Hence the outfit," she guestured to the uniform. "I called in a favor once, and actually liked the job."
Lizzy laughed as well. "Well, you always were an oddity, that you were. Oh, and this is Trowa Barton. Trowa, Midii Une."
"We've met," Midii smiled at Trowa, who weakly returned it.
"Hmn?" Lizzy's curiosity was instantly perked. "What do you--"
But her question was cut short by the twin's rude interruption, followed shortly by a small, curly-haired brunette child of about five in tears. All three were covered head-to-toe in chocolate milk, and the twins were talking animatedly to their uncle, trying to get their side out first.
Lizzy groaned. "You two tried to make chocolate shakes again, didn't you?"
Thomas looked at his uncle, his face red. Natalie looked right at her sister. "Not exactally... Have you ever heard of a 'smoothie'?"
"You didn't..." Quatre stated, disbelieving.
"Um... we didn't?" Thomas asked innocently.
In the fifteen-second pause that ensued, the five-year-old looked over at Trowa, held out her arms, wailed "Daddy!", and ran over to him. Trowa hit his knees and put his arms around the child, mumurring to her and stroking her hair.
Quatre looked at his nephew. "Nice try, young man."
"Darn it!"
Lizzy stood and took Natalie's hand. "We're going to have a long talk. NOW."
"But-!"
"No protests. You too, Tom."
"Aw, man..."
Quatre gave a small bow as his wife and two eldest children left, arguing the whole time. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by dialog between the siblings.
"Hey, Liz... you know, peanut butter can really screw up a blender?"
"THOMAS!"
Quatre laughed out loud at that. "Excuse us for a second," he said, chuckling to himself, closing the double doors behind him.
Midii looked at Trowa. "Well... it's been a long time, No-name. I mean, Trowa Barton, now."
Trowa met her eyes steadily. "That it has."
"You're a father now."
"By adoption. This is my sister's little girl." Trowa sat on the floor and gave the still-crying girl a reassuring hug and a kiss on the forehead, rocking her back and forth a bit to soothe her. "My sister and brother-in-law died when Alex here was six months old. So she calls me 'Daddy'."
Alex looked over her shoulder at Midii and sniffled. Trowa soothed her hair. "Calmer now, little one?"
Alex looked up and nodded furiously.
Trowa looked up at Midii. "She doesn't talk much."
"Hmn... well, you've rubbed off on her, I see."
Trowa gave Midii a look, but said nothing. Instead, he turned to Alex and introduced the child to Midii. Alex waved a bit, but then turned into her uncle's protective embrace. Trowa laughed a bit at his niece's shyness and tightened his arms around the youth.
The three of them sat in relative silence, punctuated by small hiccups, bi-products of Alex's cry and yells from downstairs. Finally, it was little Alex who broke the silence. "Daddy? How do you know Ms. Midii?"
"Um... Well... We knew each other when we were younger."
"A really long time ago?"
"Uh-huh."
"... Back before the space colonies?!"
Trowa laughed. "I'm not THAT old."
"But! You're REALLY old!"
"Hey! I'm barely 30!"
Alex looked at him steadily. "That's really old, Daddy."
Midii burst out laughing at the last comment. The girl was so SERIOUS. It was quite funny.
...Until Trowa looked at her. "She's talking about you, too, Midii."
That sobered her up immediately. And Trowa couldn't help but laugh at her. Midii glowered at him, which made him laugh even harder.
Alex looked at her uncle, confused. Finally, she leaned up and asked Trowa in a wisper if they could go home so she could get a change of clothes.
Trowa kissed her forehead again. "Of course, sweetheart. You're proably tired, too, huh."
Alex nodded, rubbing her eyes.
"Okay, okay." He stood, still holding Alex and the little girl put her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Trowa walked over to Midii and shook her hand. "It was nice to see you again, Midii Une."
"And you, N--Trowa Barton." She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. For all these years, I've thought of you as No-name."
"It's all right. That was my name, at the time."
He paused for a second, then leaned over and kissed her cheek. His lips were there for the briefest second, but Midii's entire body felt like it was on fire. As he pulled back, her hand flew up to her cheek, touching the spot he had kissed.
"Good-bye, Midii."
She couldn't say anything, as he walked out the double doors and disappeared around the corner.
* * * * *