Well, it's week 3 of the quarter, which means it's open season on students.
In other words, midterms have started. And seeing as how my first big one
is tomorrow, I might have known I'd be up late writing this...
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is owned by people far more rich and powerful than I am (for whatever that's saying). Warnings: AU, shounen ai (1+2) Author's Ramblings: Okay, when I went off to college, I started writing these "everyday life" stories. This is sort of the culmination of them, since it depicts what I think would happen if the guys lived "normal" lives and met in college. I know that this idea is far from new, but hey, you know what they say; you write what you know.
Welcome Distractions
By Rapunzel
Chapter 18: Possible Solutions
Heero found that Dorothy's proposition perturbed him more than he wanted to admit. While his first instinct had been to yell "No!" in Dorothy's face and see how she would take it, several more days of fruitless apartment searching had him thinking that maybe, just maybe, he should consider it.
He still had some trouble taking the offer seriously sometimes. Often, he wondered what in the world Dorothy was playing at. Was she trying to make Relena happy or just make him miserable? So far all she had succeeded in doing was filling him with indecision. The rational part of his brain told him that a place to live was a place to live, and that pretending to date Relena wouldn't be so hard. His conscience, on the other hand, screamed at him that even if he could have done such a thing before, now that was Duo in the picture, it was out of the question.
Duo. There was another problem. Did he tell Duo about Dorothy's wild proposition? Heero was almost certain he knew what the reaction would be if he did. Duo would sputter and get indignant, asking how in the world Dorothy could even think that he would take her up on the offer. Which, of course, made Heero feel like a cad every time he did think about it.
After several days had passed, and Heero had still said nothing, Duo seemed to notice that something was off. "Are you okay?" he asked suddenly one day as they were sitting in a corner of the library together.
"I'm fine," Heero answered, without much conviction.
"You seem... distressed about something," Duo hedged, picking his words carefully. "Is it the whole apartment thing?"
Heero nodded, but still didn't elaborate.
"I'm sure you'll find something," Duo said consolingly, repeating his message of the past several days. Heero gave him a slightly disbelieving look, but chose not to comment.
"Maybe you're going about it the wrong way," Duo went on. "I know you'd probably prefer to live alone, but maybe you should ask around among people you know and see if there's anyone who's looking for a roommate."
Heero considered telling him that he'd tried that already, but then realized that he hadn't really. After all, the only other people he had talked to on the subject were Wufei and Dorothy, neither of whom had been especially helpful. There were still plenty of other people left in the dorm who might be able to help him. He perked up a little.
"Yeah, I'll try that," he said.
With that prospect in mind, Heero went back to his chemistry reading with renewed enthusiasm. Duo was right; there had to be other people he knew, even slightly, who would be looking for a roommate, and they wouldn't attach such ridiculous conditions. The problem was starting to look manageable again.
Just as he was thinking that, the unexpected happened.
"Heero!"
Heero looked up, and instantly wished that he was somewhere else as he saw Relena coming towards him.
"Hi," he greeted weakly. /Please,/ he wished desperately, /please go away. Don't mention anything about the apartment./
"I'm glad I found you," Relena said cheerfully, unaware of his thoughts. "Dorothy and I are going to go sign the lease tomorrow, and we were wondering what time would be good so you could come with us."
"Now hold on a minute," Heero said, holding up a hand to forestall whatever else she might say. "I haven't agreed to anything yet."
"You haven't?" Relena looked confused. "But Dorothy said..."
"Well, Dorothy was mistaken," Heero growled.
"Oh." She was looking so disappointed that Heero felt briefly guilty. Then he pushed that aside. After all, Dorothy was the one who had deluded her about her chances, not him.
"What's all this about?" Duo asked curiously, and Heero suddenly felt the need to slap his hand over someone's mouth; Duo's or Relena's, he wasn't sure.
"Well," Relena said, mastering her disappointment, "Dorothy and I -Dorothy's my roommate, by the way- we were looking for a third roommate for our apartment next year. And Dorothy asked Heero, and she told me she was pretty sure he was in, but I guess not."
"I don't think it's a suitable living arrangement," Heero muttered, hoping that it would be left at that.
"You aren't worried about Dorothy's grandfather, are you? I know he doesn't think it's suitable, but he would if you were dating me."
Out of the corner of his eye, Heero noticed Duo go very still, but he didn't dare turn to face him. "That's why it wouldn't be suitable," he said. Inwardly, he cursed Relena as creatively as he could. A small part of his conscience nagged him, telling him it wasn't really her fault, but he was still extremely irritated with her for putting him in the hot water, however inadvertently.
Relena frowned at him. "That's not a very nice thing to say," she said. "You make it sound like such a bad thing."
"I thought we've been over this already," Heero growled. "I thought you understood my reasons." After all, he thought, she had been the one who had first brought up the possibility of him being gay.
Relena's lip quivered, and for a moment, Heero feared that she was going to start crying. Crying women always made him uncomfortable. But she didn't cry, thankfully. Instead, with as much dignity as she could muster, she said, "I guess I thought that maybe there was still hope for you. I was wrong." Then, spinning on her heel, she almost ran towards the exit.
"A woman scorned..." Duo murmured quietly, and Heero dared to look at him fro the first time since Relena's revelation. Duo didn't look especially angry or hurt, just quietly thoughtful.
"Well, you wouldn't have wanted me to actually date her, would you?" Heero asked, a little surprised by how well Duo was taking this.
"No, of course not," Duo said. "But it doesn't seem like there was much danger of that. Was that really one of the requirements to get the apartment?"
"Oh yes. Dorothy thinks up some crazy things."
"Well, we already knew that," Duo answered, smiling slightly. "I take it this was what you spent so much time agonizing about?"
Heero nodded sheepishly. "You're not mad, are you?"
"Mad?" Duo sounded surprised. "Why should I be mad just because a couple of girls thought up a crazy way to proposition you?"
As Heero went back again to work on his chemistry, he felt as if a great load had been lifted from him.
~*~*~
Feeling like a fool, Heero moved on to the next door and knocked. As he stood waiting for an answer, he glanced around the rest of the second floor. He was making the rounds, asking his dorm mates if any of them would have a room to spare next year. So far he had had no luck on the first floor, so he had moved up to the second, where he was pointedly ignoring room 210.
The door before him opened to reveal a vaguely familiar girl with short hair and blue eyes. "Yes?" she asked.
Hero stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out where he had seen her before, before launching into his speech. "You see, I'm looking for a place to live next year..."
By the time he was finished, Heero was certain of two things. The first was that this was indeed one of the girls who had come rushing down in an attempt to see Wufei strapped to the door. The second was that he had finally hit a possible success. The girl's eyes had brightened the minute he mentioned apartment hunting.
She waited politely until he had finished his little explanation, then said, "Well, my roommate and I did sign the lease on an apartment last month, and we've been looking for a third roommate. We can show you the place, if you're interested, and you'd have your own room, of course."
Heero nodded and dutifully took down her email address and other contact info, telling her he'd survey the options and get back to her. He wasn't really all that eager to live in an apartment with only female roommates, but these two seemed better than the alternatives.
~*~*~
It was several days later that Duo walked into his apartment to discover that Quatre was not in his accustomed spot at the table, but sitting curled into a rather dejected ball on the couch. Recognizing the pose as one he often used when he was upset, Duo moved over to sit beside his roommate.
"Hey, Quatre," he said. "You look pretty down. What's going on?"
Quatre listlessly raised one hand, holding out a sheet of paper.
"What's this?" Duo said.
"A letter from my father," Quatre answered glumly. "Read it."
Taking the letter, Duo glanced through it quickly, then went back and read it again, eyebrows raised. Then he whistled.
"Damn Serrin!" Quatre said with feeling. "She just had to open her mouth and blab to Father."
"I thought he found out about you and Trowa sometime last year," Duo said, confused.
"He did," Quatre muttered. "And believe me, I heard about it then too. But I don't live with him anymore; he can't micromanage my life now."
"Does he know you're still seeing Trowa even though he told you not to?"
"I think he suspected," Quatre said wearily. "But he didn't really know for sure until recently."
"Ah," Duo said. "So what exactly sparked all this off?"
"Trowa's roommate announced his intention of moving out this year," Quatre said. "Trowa told me about it a few weeks ago. He wanted me to move in with him, and I wanted to as well. But I made the mistake of telling one of my sisters, and of course, you can't tell one without all of them knowing, and then Father found out..."
"And now everything is a mess," Duo concluded.
"He's threatening to disinherit me!" Quatre cried.
"Doesn't he threaten you with that once a year? I think it's just time for the annual renewal."
"I think he means it this time," Quatre said dismally. "At the very least, he's threatened to cut off my college funding if I move in with Trowa."
"Well," Duo said, "that leaves you with two options, then. You can either not move in with Trowa, in which case things stay much as they are now, or you can damn your father to hell, apply for financial aid, get a job, and do whatever you want to."
"They won't let me apply for financial aid," Quatre pointed out miserably. "My family makes too much money. And I don't think a part time job would be enough to cover tuition plus living expenses."
"No, probably not," Duo agreed.
"I just need to get through college," Quatre said. "Once I'm out and I can get a job of my own, I won't have to rely on my father any more, and I can do whatever I please. But until then..."
"I'm sure Trowa will understand," Duo said comfortingly.
"I know he does. I already talked to him about it. It's just... I was really looking forward to it..."
"Aw, hell," Duo muttered, and pulled his roommate into a hug. "You'll get to someday; you just gotta look towards the future."
"Yeah," Quatre muttered. "I still feel bad, though. Now Trowa's going to have to advertise for another roommate, because I had to back out."
"Another roommate..." Duo said, eyes widening as he grasped the implications. "So the spot's still open?"
"Yes."
"Quatre, I love you!"
"What?" Quatre eyed his roommate warily.
"Totally platonic, of course," Duo added. "This is just too perfect. Quatre, I'm really sorry for your misfortune, but it might just mean the end of mine. Or, rather, the end of Heero's."
"Oh," Quatre said, catching on. "Of course. Heero's still looking for a place, isn't he? I should have thought of that."
"I think you can be excused for not thinking of it. But let's give Trowa a call, and see if he's interested..."
~*~*~
The next day, as Heero was coming back from lunch in the dinning hall, he was surprised to see Duo, Quatre, and Trowa all standing outside his building, evidently waiting for him. After all the appropriate greetings had been exchanged, Trowa got straight to the point.
"I hear you're looking for a place to live next year."
Heero nodded, looking back and forth between the three of them, trying to figure out what was going on. Duo looked hopeful and excited, Quatre seemed slightly disappointed, and Trowa's face was neutral.
"I'll have a vacancy at my apartment, and rather than advertising for a roommate, Duo suggested I try you first."
Heero frowned. There was something slightly wrong with this picture. Why would Trowa ask him first, instead of Quatre? He looked between the two of them, noticing only that they weren't looking at each other. But when he opened his mouth to ask Trowa why he was coming to him, Duo caught his eye and shook his head.
Heero closed his mouth, paused a moment, then said, "I'd have to see the place first. And know how much the rent is."
Trowa smiled slightly. "Of course. Why don't we go inside and discuss the details?"
Heero let them into the building, and the four of them trailed down the hall of the first floor. Heero was strongly reminded of the last time Trowa and Quatre had come into the building with him, but fortunately, when he reached his room, Wufei was nowhere to be seen.
Trowa had evidently been thinking along the same lines, for he remarked, "No roommates strapped to the door this time? That's always a good start." And smiling slightly, he reached for the doorknob, twisting it and letting the door swing open.
It was Heero's quick reflexes that saved him. Jumping back quickly, he was able to avoid the missile that came hurtling through the air towards him. Trowa, however, had been standing right in the line of fire, and was not so fortunate. A pie tin fell to the floor, revealing the whipped-cream covered mess that was Trowa. His face and hair had suffered the worst, but both his shirt and the wall behind him had been heavily spattered.
For a moment, all of them just stood there staring at him. Quatre looked shocked, but Duo looked as though he were trying very hard not to laugh. And Trowa... It was impossible to tell what his face looked like underneath the mass of white foam.
"I should remember, next time, that no roommate strapped to the door doesn't necessarily mean it's safe," Trowa remarked at last.
"Who did that?" Quatre asked, his voice quavering slightly.
Heero turned to look at him, having noted the change. Quatre was standing ramrod straight, face pale, eyes fixed on Trowa. There was a gleam entering those eyes that Heero did not like at all, but he answered anyway. "Dorothy, of course. Who else?"
"Doesn't she have any compassion for innocent bystanders?" Quatre demanded.
"Now that you mention it, no."
"I see," Quatre answered calmly. The quavering note had left his voice, but the gleam in his eyes was more pronounced than ever. Even Duo was eyeing his roommate warily. "Well, Trowa, I believe the men's bathroom is on the second floor; you'd better go clean off as best you can."
Trowa might have nodded, but it was hard to tell under all that whipped cream. Turning around, the tall young man headed off for the stairs.
"Quatre," Duo said warily, "what are you thinking?"
"Why Duo," Quatre answered, his voice still perfectly calm, "such an action cannot go unanswered. She's stepped out of line this time. If it had been me, I might have been able to forgive her, but attacking Trowa is unacceptable."
"Look, she didn't 'attack' Trowa, he just happened to get caught in the line of fire," Duo pointed out.
"That just makes it worse," Quatre said.
"Quatre, you're starting to creep me out, man. Just don't do anything stupid, okay?"
"Oh, don't worry," Quatre replied. "There won't be anything stupid about what I'm going to do to her."
Tbc
Author's Notes: Well, only one more chapter to go! Yes! I'm almost done! I'm getting caught up! I might actually finish something!
Muse: And then you can start on something new!
Rapunzel: I think someone just totally missed the point...
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is owned by people far more rich and powerful than I am (for whatever that's saying). Warnings: AU, shounen ai (1+2) Author's Ramblings: Okay, when I went off to college, I started writing these "everyday life" stories. This is sort of the culmination of them, since it depicts what I think would happen if the guys lived "normal" lives and met in college. I know that this idea is far from new, but hey, you know what they say; you write what you know.
Welcome Distractions
By Rapunzel
Chapter 18: Possible Solutions
Heero found that Dorothy's proposition perturbed him more than he wanted to admit. While his first instinct had been to yell "No!" in Dorothy's face and see how she would take it, several more days of fruitless apartment searching had him thinking that maybe, just maybe, he should consider it.
He still had some trouble taking the offer seriously sometimes. Often, he wondered what in the world Dorothy was playing at. Was she trying to make Relena happy or just make him miserable? So far all she had succeeded in doing was filling him with indecision. The rational part of his brain told him that a place to live was a place to live, and that pretending to date Relena wouldn't be so hard. His conscience, on the other hand, screamed at him that even if he could have done such a thing before, now that was Duo in the picture, it was out of the question.
Duo. There was another problem. Did he tell Duo about Dorothy's wild proposition? Heero was almost certain he knew what the reaction would be if he did. Duo would sputter and get indignant, asking how in the world Dorothy could even think that he would take her up on the offer. Which, of course, made Heero feel like a cad every time he did think about it.
After several days had passed, and Heero had still said nothing, Duo seemed to notice that something was off. "Are you okay?" he asked suddenly one day as they were sitting in a corner of the library together.
"I'm fine," Heero answered, without much conviction.
"You seem... distressed about something," Duo hedged, picking his words carefully. "Is it the whole apartment thing?"
Heero nodded, but still didn't elaborate.
"I'm sure you'll find something," Duo said consolingly, repeating his message of the past several days. Heero gave him a slightly disbelieving look, but chose not to comment.
"Maybe you're going about it the wrong way," Duo went on. "I know you'd probably prefer to live alone, but maybe you should ask around among people you know and see if there's anyone who's looking for a roommate."
Heero considered telling him that he'd tried that already, but then realized that he hadn't really. After all, the only other people he had talked to on the subject were Wufei and Dorothy, neither of whom had been especially helpful. There were still plenty of other people left in the dorm who might be able to help him. He perked up a little.
"Yeah, I'll try that," he said.
With that prospect in mind, Heero went back to his chemistry reading with renewed enthusiasm. Duo was right; there had to be other people he knew, even slightly, who would be looking for a roommate, and they wouldn't attach such ridiculous conditions. The problem was starting to look manageable again.
Just as he was thinking that, the unexpected happened.
"Heero!"
Heero looked up, and instantly wished that he was somewhere else as he saw Relena coming towards him.
"Hi," he greeted weakly. /Please,/ he wished desperately, /please go away. Don't mention anything about the apartment./
"I'm glad I found you," Relena said cheerfully, unaware of his thoughts. "Dorothy and I are going to go sign the lease tomorrow, and we were wondering what time would be good so you could come with us."
"Now hold on a minute," Heero said, holding up a hand to forestall whatever else she might say. "I haven't agreed to anything yet."
"You haven't?" Relena looked confused. "But Dorothy said..."
"Well, Dorothy was mistaken," Heero growled.
"Oh." She was looking so disappointed that Heero felt briefly guilty. Then he pushed that aside. After all, Dorothy was the one who had deluded her about her chances, not him.
"What's all this about?" Duo asked curiously, and Heero suddenly felt the need to slap his hand over someone's mouth; Duo's or Relena's, he wasn't sure.
"Well," Relena said, mastering her disappointment, "Dorothy and I -Dorothy's my roommate, by the way- we were looking for a third roommate for our apartment next year. And Dorothy asked Heero, and she told me she was pretty sure he was in, but I guess not."
"I don't think it's a suitable living arrangement," Heero muttered, hoping that it would be left at that.
"You aren't worried about Dorothy's grandfather, are you? I know he doesn't think it's suitable, but he would if you were dating me."
Out of the corner of his eye, Heero noticed Duo go very still, but he didn't dare turn to face him. "That's why it wouldn't be suitable," he said. Inwardly, he cursed Relena as creatively as he could. A small part of his conscience nagged him, telling him it wasn't really her fault, but he was still extremely irritated with her for putting him in the hot water, however inadvertently.
Relena frowned at him. "That's not a very nice thing to say," she said. "You make it sound like such a bad thing."
"I thought we've been over this already," Heero growled. "I thought you understood my reasons." After all, he thought, she had been the one who had first brought up the possibility of him being gay.
Relena's lip quivered, and for a moment, Heero feared that she was going to start crying. Crying women always made him uncomfortable. But she didn't cry, thankfully. Instead, with as much dignity as she could muster, she said, "I guess I thought that maybe there was still hope for you. I was wrong." Then, spinning on her heel, she almost ran towards the exit.
"A woman scorned..." Duo murmured quietly, and Heero dared to look at him fro the first time since Relena's revelation. Duo didn't look especially angry or hurt, just quietly thoughtful.
"Well, you wouldn't have wanted me to actually date her, would you?" Heero asked, a little surprised by how well Duo was taking this.
"No, of course not," Duo said. "But it doesn't seem like there was much danger of that. Was that really one of the requirements to get the apartment?"
"Oh yes. Dorothy thinks up some crazy things."
"Well, we already knew that," Duo answered, smiling slightly. "I take it this was what you spent so much time agonizing about?"
Heero nodded sheepishly. "You're not mad, are you?"
"Mad?" Duo sounded surprised. "Why should I be mad just because a couple of girls thought up a crazy way to proposition you?"
As Heero went back again to work on his chemistry, he felt as if a great load had been lifted from him.
~*~*~
Feeling like a fool, Heero moved on to the next door and knocked. As he stood waiting for an answer, he glanced around the rest of the second floor. He was making the rounds, asking his dorm mates if any of them would have a room to spare next year. So far he had had no luck on the first floor, so he had moved up to the second, where he was pointedly ignoring room 210.
The door before him opened to reveal a vaguely familiar girl with short hair and blue eyes. "Yes?" she asked.
Hero stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out where he had seen her before, before launching into his speech. "You see, I'm looking for a place to live next year..."
By the time he was finished, Heero was certain of two things. The first was that this was indeed one of the girls who had come rushing down in an attempt to see Wufei strapped to the door. The second was that he had finally hit a possible success. The girl's eyes had brightened the minute he mentioned apartment hunting.
She waited politely until he had finished his little explanation, then said, "Well, my roommate and I did sign the lease on an apartment last month, and we've been looking for a third roommate. We can show you the place, if you're interested, and you'd have your own room, of course."
Heero nodded and dutifully took down her email address and other contact info, telling her he'd survey the options and get back to her. He wasn't really all that eager to live in an apartment with only female roommates, but these two seemed better than the alternatives.
~*~*~
It was several days later that Duo walked into his apartment to discover that Quatre was not in his accustomed spot at the table, but sitting curled into a rather dejected ball on the couch. Recognizing the pose as one he often used when he was upset, Duo moved over to sit beside his roommate.
"Hey, Quatre," he said. "You look pretty down. What's going on?"
Quatre listlessly raised one hand, holding out a sheet of paper.
"What's this?" Duo said.
"A letter from my father," Quatre answered glumly. "Read it."
Taking the letter, Duo glanced through it quickly, then went back and read it again, eyebrows raised. Then he whistled.
"Damn Serrin!" Quatre said with feeling. "She just had to open her mouth and blab to Father."
"I thought he found out about you and Trowa sometime last year," Duo said, confused.
"He did," Quatre muttered. "And believe me, I heard about it then too. But I don't live with him anymore; he can't micromanage my life now."
"Does he know you're still seeing Trowa even though he told you not to?"
"I think he suspected," Quatre said wearily. "But he didn't really know for sure until recently."
"Ah," Duo said. "So what exactly sparked all this off?"
"Trowa's roommate announced his intention of moving out this year," Quatre said. "Trowa told me about it a few weeks ago. He wanted me to move in with him, and I wanted to as well. But I made the mistake of telling one of my sisters, and of course, you can't tell one without all of them knowing, and then Father found out..."
"And now everything is a mess," Duo concluded.
"He's threatening to disinherit me!" Quatre cried.
"Doesn't he threaten you with that once a year? I think it's just time for the annual renewal."
"I think he means it this time," Quatre said dismally. "At the very least, he's threatened to cut off my college funding if I move in with Trowa."
"Well," Duo said, "that leaves you with two options, then. You can either not move in with Trowa, in which case things stay much as they are now, or you can damn your father to hell, apply for financial aid, get a job, and do whatever you want to."
"They won't let me apply for financial aid," Quatre pointed out miserably. "My family makes too much money. And I don't think a part time job would be enough to cover tuition plus living expenses."
"No, probably not," Duo agreed.
"I just need to get through college," Quatre said. "Once I'm out and I can get a job of my own, I won't have to rely on my father any more, and I can do whatever I please. But until then..."
"I'm sure Trowa will understand," Duo said comfortingly.
"I know he does. I already talked to him about it. It's just... I was really looking forward to it..."
"Aw, hell," Duo muttered, and pulled his roommate into a hug. "You'll get to someday; you just gotta look towards the future."
"Yeah," Quatre muttered. "I still feel bad, though. Now Trowa's going to have to advertise for another roommate, because I had to back out."
"Another roommate..." Duo said, eyes widening as he grasped the implications. "So the spot's still open?"
"Yes."
"Quatre, I love you!"
"What?" Quatre eyed his roommate warily.
"Totally platonic, of course," Duo added. "This is just too perfect. Quatre, I'm really sorry for your misfortune, but it might just mean the end of mine. Or, rather, the end of Heero's."
"Oh," Quatre said, catching on. "Of course. Heero's still looking for a place, isn't he? I should have thought of that."
"I think you can be excused for not thinking of it. But let's give Trowa a call, and see if he's interested..."
~*~*~
The next day, as Heero was coming back from lunch in the dinning hall, he was surprised to see Duo, Quatre, and Trowa all standing outside his building, evidently waiting for him. After all the appropriate greetings had been exchanged, Trowa got straight to the point.
"I hear you're looking for a place to live next year."
Heero nodded, looking back and forth between the three of them, trying to figure out what was going on. Duo looked hopeful and excited, Quatre seemed slightly disappointed, and Trowa's face was neutral.
"I'll have a vacancy at my apartment, and rather than advertising for a roommate, Duo suggested I try you first."
Heero frowned. There was something slightly wrong with this picture. Why would Trowa ask him first, instead of Quatre? He looked between the two of them, noticing only that they weren't looking at each other. But when he opened his mouth to ask Trowa why he was coming to him, Duo caught his eye and shook his head.
Heero closed his mouth, paused a moment, then said, "I'd have to see the place first. And know how much the rent is."
Trowa smiled slightly. "Of course. Why don't we go inside and discuss the details?"
Heero let them into the building, and the four of them trailed down the hall of the first floor. Heero was strongly reminded of the last time Trowa and Quatre had come into the building with him, but fortunately, when he reached his room, Wufei was nowhere to be seen.
Trowa had evidently been thinking along the same lines, for he remarked, "No roommates strapped to the door this time? That's always a good start." And smiling slightly, he reached for the doorknob, twisting it and letting the door swing open.
It was Heero's quick reflexes that saved him. Jumping back quickly, he was able to avoid the missile that came hurtling through the air towards him. Trowa, however, had been standing right in the line of fire, and was not so fortunate. A pie tin fell to the floor, revealing the whipped-cream covered mess that was Trowa. His face and hair had suffered the worst, but both his shirt and the wall behind him had been heavily spattered.
For a moment, all of them just stood there staring at him. Quatre looked shocked, but Duo looked as though he were trying very hard not to laugh. And Trowa... It was impossible to tell what his face looked like underneath the mass of white foam.
"I should remember, next time, that no roommate strapped to the door doesn't necessarily mean it's safe," Trowa remarked at last.
"Who did that?" Quatre asked, his voice quavering slightly.
Heero turned to look at him, having noted the change. Quatre was standing ramrod straight, face pale, eyes fixed on Trowa. There was a gleam entering those eyes that Heero did not like at all, but he answered anyway. "Dorothy, of course. Who else?"
"Doesn't she have any compassion for innocent bystanders?" Quatre demanded.
"Now that you mention it, no."
"I see," Quatre answered calmly. The quavering note had left his voice, but the gleam in his eyes was more pronounced than ever. Even Duo was eyeing his roommate warily. "Well, Trowa, I believe the men's bathroom is on the second floor; you'd better go clean off as best you can."
Trowa might have nodded, but it was hard to tell under all that whipped cream. Turning around, the tall young man headed off for the stairs.
"Quatre," Duo said warily, "what are you thinking?"
"Why Duo," Quatre answered, his voice still perfectly calm, "such an action cannot go unanswered. She's stepped out of line this time. If it had been me, I might have been able to forgive her, but attacking Trowa is unacceptable."
"Look, she didn't 'attack' Trowa, he just happened to get caught in the line of fire," Duo pointed out.
"That just makes it worse," Quatre said.
"Quatre, you're starting to creep me out, man. Just don't do anything stupid, okay?"
"Oh, don't worry," Quatre replied. "There won't be anything stupid about what I'm going to do to her."
Tbc
Author's Notes: Well, only one more chapter to go! Yes! I'm almost done! I'm getting caught up! I might actually finish something!
Muse: And then you can start on something new!
Rapunzel: I think someone just totally missed the point...