A Hard Day's Night

by Darthanne

When men make plans, the gods laugh. As one thing after another goes horribly wrong, Quatre finds himself wishing that the day he'd had such high hopes for would just end. (4x5, Quatre POV )

A Hard Day's Night. (1/1)

by Anne Olsen

Ratings/warnings: OK (Oz/Kiwi spelling/grammar etc) – PG13 – Humour, angst, romance, post canon timeline. Quatre POV.

Author's notes: This ficlet is Misanagi's fault. I was whining about the fact that I can't write short fics, and that all my one shots seem to breed into arcs. She challenged me to write something short – with a limit of 5 pages; this is just over that - so I asked her to choose the topic and the POV. Surprisingly she chose Quatre :P

Pairing: 4x5

Summary: When men make plans, the gods laugh. As one thing after another goes horribly wrong, Quatre finds himself wishing that the day he'd had such high hopes for would just end.

Archive:

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu Agency. I promise to return the characters in one piece, more or less, when I'm finished, but hold no liability for any broken bones or psychological trauma sustained by them in my fiction.

Thanks to the beta reading team: haraamis, Bast, Misanagi and Shadow.

Comments to: anneo

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"And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I suggest that we break for lunch." Glancing around the room, I hid my sigh of relief as the other members of the board nodded in agreement and began filing out of the room.

"Meeting that nice boyfriend of yours for lunch, Quatre?"

"That's my business." I ignored the twinkle in Vivianne's eye and the grin that she exchanged with Marianne. My sisters still love to tease me about my relationship with Wufei, even though we've been together for six months now.

"Just make sure that you're back in time to re-adjourn the meeting," Marianne said. "If you're not, we'll send out a search party, and I'd hate to have to interrupt something…personal."

I snorted. "Right. I'm sure you'd be very upset." Throwing my papers into my briefcase, I gave them both a smug smile. "Be good while I'm gone," I murmured just loud enough to be heard as I passed them. "I'm not planning to be."

Once I was out of sight, I allowed my shoulders to slump. It had been one hell of a day so far. I'd come into the office at seven; Wufei had had an early start, and he'd given me a ride into work. The theory was that if I started when he did, I could get a head start on the paper work that I needed to complete after today's meeting and still be home at a reasonable hour. I was looking forward to spending an evening together at home for a change. Continuously working late, often getting home too tired to eat properly or to even hold a decent conversation, was not a good foundation upon which to build a relationship.

Today was going to be different. After our last argument - tiredness and frayed tempers were not a good mix, and both of us had a tendency to be rather stubborn and pig headed - I had vowed to start making some changes. Wufei had raised one eyebrow, looked almost amused by my declaration and muttered something under his breath about well-laid plans of mice and men.

"Are you calling me a mouse?" I'd asked indignantly, and he'd chuckled.

"Oh, you're definitely not a mouse, Quatre." Wufei had brushed my hair from my eyes, and smiled. I loved that smile. "And very much a man," he'd added, giving me a leer and a kiss. "Although there is that noise that you make during sex that could be…"

"That's not fair!" I'd protested. "And I don't make that much noise." I'd remembered the night before and had the decency to blush. "Really."

"Not /that/ much, no." Wufei hadn't sounded convinced. "And I suspect that you could stay as quiet as a mouse if you really wanted to…except why would you want to?"

"Exactly." I'd grinned at him, running my fingers through his hair, and loosening his hair tie. It felt wonderfully soft and silky; I had a thing for hair, even though I'd never admit to it. "Unless I had good reason to." I could never resist a challenge. "How is your day looking tomorrow? Maybe we could meet for lunch and spend some quality time in my office, and you could test my…resolve."

"I have an early meeting," Wufei had replied, making a half-hearted grab for his hair tie. "But I should be free for lunch. I'll meet you in your office at twelve and we can go from there."

"Go or come?" I had asked, smirking, unable to resist the bad joke. I had waved the hair tie just out of reach, until Wufei had weakened my resolve with a kiss and retrieved it while I was distracted. He knows how to play dirty when he sets his mind to it.

I quickened my step as I approached my office. It was a few minutes past twelve; hopefully I hadn't kept him waiting too long. Wufei always made a point of being on time, where I tended to be either early or fashionably late, depending on the impression that I had decided to create. Today I had planned to be early, but the meeting had conspired against me.

Reaching the door of my office, I was met not by Wufei, but by the sound of the phone ringing. I paused for a moment then dived for my desk when I remembered that I'd told my secretary to take an early lunch. Missing my footing, I lurched forward, catching the phone as it nose-dived off the desk. "Quatre Winner," I barked into it. My thigh collided with the sharp corner of the desk, and I muttered a curse under my breath.

"I hope that wasn't meant for me." I could hear the mixture of amusement tinged with guilt in Wufei's voice, and I fought the urge to swear again.

"Of course not." I coughed to cover my reaction to the tone in his voice. "Something's come up, hasn't it?" I kicked myself for the choice of words. Way to go with the Freudian slip, Winner.

The slight pause before Wufei replied answered my question, but I waited to hear his explanation anyway. "Unfortunately, yes. I'm sorry, Quatre, I know you were looking forward to our lunch together. So was I…" I could imagine the shrug and his hand brushing his hair back, even though it was kept off his face by his customary ponytail.

"It's okay, love." I forced a brightness into my voice that I didn't feel and hoped that he believed it. "Things happen, and I'm sure Une wouldn't be impressed if you shirked your duties in order to have lunch with me."

"I'm not going to be home for dinner either," Wufei continued. "The paperwork I've had dumped on my desk is going to take half the night. I'll see you at home later, okay?"

"Okay," I stared at the phone after he'd cut the connection and realised that in my rush to answer, I hadn't engaged the vid function. Part of me was pleased that I hadn't; Wufei could read my face like a book, and it had been easier to hide my disappointment, but I wished that I had seen him, even at this distance, for that short amount of time.

My stomach rumbling brought my attention to the fact that I'd been sitting staring at the phone for god knew how long, and I sighed. Maybe if I worked through lunch I could at least be home first tonight. It would be nice for Wufei not to come home to a cold, empty house for a change. Reaching a decision, I picked up the phone and ordered some takeout for lunch. This way too, I wouldn't have to worry about a late dinner. I didn't fancy eating alone tonight, and it made more sense to skip that meal rather than this one.

Feeling quite pleased with my strategy, I opened the first file and settled down to read.

"Mr.Winner? I have your lunch order, Sir."

"Thank you," I smiled at the teenager in the doorway and gestured for him to place the food on my desk while I took out my wallet and gave him what I owed, plus a generous tip. The boy couldn't have been any younger than I was, but I already felt twice his age. I wasn't even twenty, yet I'd fought in two wars and had the responsibility of a company to run. I envied him.

He stared at money in his hands, his eyes going wide when he realised just how much I'd tipped him.

"Go have some fun," I told him, unable to keep the sudden weariness out of my voice. Go have the fun that I can't. Enjoy being the teenager that I never had the privilege to be.

"Thank you, Sir." After he'd left the room, I couldn't help but grin. Life would be so much simpler if it was that easy to brighten everyone's day. I sighed, wishing not for the first time that /my/ life wasn't so bloody complicated.

It wasn't fair. Obviously wanting to share my lunch break with the man I loved had been considered an unreasonable request by whoever had taken control of my day.

Reaching for the paper bag, my elbow connected with the mochachino. "Fuck!" I grabbed it, but the lid came away in my fingers, milky foam, coffee and chocolate syrup spreading to cover my paperwork in a gooey brown mess.

I stared at the desk in shock. No, I couldn't have just done this. I was a Gundam pilot. I was /supposed/ to have at least some degree of co-ordination.

Forcing myself into action, I picked up the cup, intent on preventing any more mess, but my shirt sleeve trailed through the combination of chocolate and coffee, and I wrinkled my nose as I felt a disgusting wetness begin to soak into my cuffs. As much as I loved coffee, I did not want to smell like the inside of a café for the rest of the day. I shook my sleeve, and several drops of coffee splattered to make a not so artistic display across the front of my trousers.

Knowing that I needed to clean up before it spread further, I searched the office for something suitable to use as a makeshift towel. Logically, I knew that I could have asked for help, but I wasn't in the mood to draw attention to my stupidity.

An almost fruitless search resulted in the discovery of a clean shirt, but nothing else. I sighed and stripped off the one I was wearing. I couldn't go to the meeting with chocolate covered sleeves, so it seemed a sensible idea to use it to mop up the mess, and then change into the clean one. Hopefully, no one would be any the wiser.

Feeling pleased with myself after Operation Clean-up, I threw the shirt into the wastepaper bin. It wasn't as though I was lacking in shirts, and getting it laundered would only lead to embarrassing questions, especially if any of my sisters were to learn of the incident. The desk was fairly clean; the papers were pale brown rather than the white that they had been, but at least they were still readable. I sniffed one of them cautiously and sighed. The fun part would be explaining the smell, but I was a strategist. Surely I could design a realistic sounding scenario and if not, I could always admit to spilling the coffee without mentioning just how much of a klutz I'd been.

Tugging on the clean shirt, I glared at the bottom of the sleeves and attempted to pull them down to cover my wrists. They refused to budge. Also, although I could fasten the buttons, the shirt was a very tight fit. I groaned aloud, suddenly remembering the reason for the shirt being in my office.

It wasn't my shirt; it was Wufei's. He'd brought it with him to change into the last time we'd gone out to dinner straight from work, but because we'd been running late, he'd decided just to remove his Preventer jacket and remain dressed as he was. No wonder it was tight. We'd both grown since the war, but my chest was slightly broader and I was two inches taller. Obviously, that difference was more pronounced than I'd thought.

Examining myself in the mirror behind my office door, I decided that with the meeting fast approaching, it would have to do. My suit jacket would just have to camouflage my appearance, and hopefully no one would notice.

Grabbing my briefcase and shoving my uneaten lunch into the bin with my ruined shirt, I left my office and walked swiftly to the boardroom, trying not to pull at my collar. In the finish, I undid the top button of the shirt and arranged my tie over it. I couldn't chair a meeting if I couldn't breath.

I knew that I was screwed as soon as my sisters met me at the door to the boardroom. They sniffed the air and exchanged a grin, before standing aside to allow me to enter the room first.

"Chocolate and coffee," Marianne whispered as I passed her. "Why, Cat, dear, I didn't realise that the two of you were so kinky."

I glared at her.

"You look rather ruffled, brother dear," Vivianne continued. She glanced at my attire, and the grin grew broader. "Next time, at least remember which shirt is yours, hmm?"

I didn't waste my time on another glare but instead continued to my position at the head of the table and made a point of arranging my papers in front of me. Clearing my throat, and giving my sisters a meaningful look, I began addressing the board. "I hope that you all had an enjoyable lunch. For this afternoon's session I'd like to begin with the issues concerned with the…"

Finally, hours later, I pulled into the driveway of the house that Wufei and I currently shared. The day had steadily gone downhill. Several of the board members had worn barely hidden smirks, but, unlike my sisters, had been too polite to say anything, at least to my face.

Under the circumstances, I thought I'd controlled myself extremely well for the remainder of the day. Several times I had entered a room, only to find the conversation suddenly stopping, and people turning away. I was certain that my presumed lunch time activities would be the talk of the building for quite some time to come.

I hadn't bothered with any protestations of innocence. I doubted anyone would believe what had happened, even though, ironically, it was the truth. Wufei would be highly amused by the incident, I was sure, but I wasn't in the mood for that at the moment. All I wanted was to be held in his arms while he told me that he loved me.

Call it stubborn pride, but I didn't enjoy being the brunt of office rumours, especially unfounded ones. Now, if Wufei and I actually had done what my sisters suspected, it would be different, but after the day I'd had, all it did was add insult to injury.

At least the lights were still on. Parking the car, I let myself in the front door and headed for the living room, groaning at the smell of perked coffee from the kitchen. After today, I didn't want to smell either coffee or chocolate for a very long time.

The house was unusually quiet. Instead of the familiar sight of Wufei reading in his favourite chair as I'd expected, there was a note on the coffee table.

/Gone to bed. Sorry, I tried to wait up, but couldn't.

Love you,

Wufei/

Muttering under my breath, I told myself that I didn't blame him, and that he couldn't have known. Deciding to forgo my shower until morning, I climbed the stairs to our bedroom and slipped into the room quietly. Wufei lay on his side, his hair loose over the pillow, his chest bare, the moonlight illuminating him in the darkness. I couldn't help but smile. Coming home to this made the day I'd had suddenly seem not so bad after all.

Stripping myself down to my boxers, I crawled into bed next to him and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Sorry," I whispered.

He didn't respond in words but instead shifted in his sleep, his arms moving to embrace me. I moved closer, his breath catching my hair and blowing it out of my eyes. He smiled in his sleep, and I closed my eyes, allowing myself to relax against him.

Today had been bad. But tomorrow would be better.

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Fin

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