OUT OF TUNE
Chapter Five: Dinner and A Close Call
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters! And NO!, I did NOT kidnap them!
This chapter sets up the action of this story, so it's going to be long. There won't be a kissing scene but we're getting close people, I promise!!
The rest of that day was pretty much uneventful until dinner. The two had basically avoided each other. Trowa put up the rest of Dorothy's screens while she made the final touches to her room and the living room. Around lunchtime, Dorothy decided to escape the uncomfortable silence and go grocery shopping. While she was gone, Trowa found the time to finish unpacking his things and getting his own room in order.
He was halfway finished filling his dresser with what little clothes he had when the vid-phone, which they'd set up in the kitchenette, rang loudly. He set down one of his turtlenecks and ran to the phone, expecting an emergency at work. Like a flash, he'd pounced on the on button and found himself starring into the face of his fellow Gundam pilot, Duo Maxwell.
"Barton here, what's wrong?" Trowa inquired urgently. Duo grinned his characteristic grin, his long braid swaying behind him as he put up his hands like someone trying to stop a car.
"Whoa, there buddy! No fire, just wanted to call and see how the new apartment was coming along and everything!" his somewhat surfer dude voice chimed across the distance. Duo lived with his fiancée Hilde on L2, the neighboring colony of L3.
"Well, it's coming I suppose," Trowa answered. He was starting to miss work. The sexual tension between Dorothy and himself had only escalated as he remembered his closeness to her while they put out that breakfast fire.
"M-hm, well, Hilde and me was wondering if you and Dorothy'd like to accompany us to dinner tonight? We'll be in the neighborhood, seeing as how there's a part that Hilde needs for her new bike in a store on L3. What do'ya say Trowa my man?" Duo's violet eyes were pleading with him to go so as he wouldn't have to be alone with his very pregnant soon-to-be wife. Hilde tended to get a little moody, particularly when food was involved and Duo was in the premises. Duo also seemed a little more sober than usual. Perhaps something had happened at the office that Trowa had not yet heard about. He hoped that this was not the case.
"Well, I don't know about Dorothy, but I'll be there. The usual place, I presume?" he asked with a wry smile. Duo blew a mushroom cloud of relief then rolled his eyes.
"Of course, Trowa. Hilde never misses an opportunity to go to Pizza Master Arcade…especially with, you know, the P.R.E.G.N.A.N.C.Y!" he finished with a harsh whisper. From off screen came a flying shoe aimed carefully for Duo's head. The thrower was obviously female because she hit him right on target. (Am I right ladies, or am I right?! LOL)
"I HEARD THAT!!!" Hilde's voice screeched from another room. Duo cringed slightly.
"God, I love that woman," he chanted as though it was something that kept him from losing his sanity. 'Which it probably is,' Trowa mused.
"Well, I can see you're busy Duo. I'll see you tonight then." And with that, Trowa logged off, leaving Duo to fend for himself. He chuckled lightly at what he was probably in store for tonight as he headed back to his room.
***
Dorothy had agreed to go with Trowa to the dinner date, seeing as it gave her a chance to dress up. She stood in front of her full-length mirror examining how she looked.
She'd chosen an elegant gray velvet dress that came to a stop just above her knee and was cut off by black velvet lining in the middle of her upper arms. A black floral pattern swirled around her body and contrasted sharply with her near white hair. And instead of her normal black headband holding back her hair, she'd decided to sweep it to the side and hold it with a low centered ponytail.
For the first time in a long time, she actually felt desirable. She knew she'd probably be overdressed, considering they were going to a pizzeria, but she didn't care. Dorothy needed to have a man look at her again and not just pass her by. She needed her dose of attention.
She decided that she'd primped enough and walked out of her room, expecting Trowa to be waiting for her at the door. However, he was still primping himself. She allowed herself a chuckle as she realized that she'd just proved one of the biggest dinner date stereotypes wrong; women don't necessarily take longer than man! Amused, she allowed herself to relax as she waited for Trowa to get done.
Trowa looked back at himself in the mirror of the bathroom. He supposed that this was as good as it was going to get. He'd decided to go for, what else, a green turtleneck. He countered his predictability with a dangerous looking black vest, pants, and shoes. It'd been awhile since he'd worn black, so used to his khaki Preventer uniform. It always made him feel more enigmatic, not that he really needed a boost in that particular field. Giving one last brush through his long, brown locks, he stepped out of the bathroom.
Before him lay a very intoxicating sight. Dorothy was sitting on top of their kitchen table, her legs crossed, and her delicious curves paving him a path towards some very dark thoughts. However, he wasn't the only one guilty of such things. Dorothy too was getting her own piece of eye candy. Again resembling a feline, her eyes traced the outline of Trowa's lean shape unfortunately hidden from her view by that clothing. Not that the clothing was in bad taste. Let's just say they made better doors than windows for the girl.
"Shall we be off then?" Trowa asked, his voice returning to him. He opened the door for her and followed her out. He was so preoccupied with following the dance like movements of her behind that he didn't lock the door behind him.
***
The cab ride to dinner was perhaps the most trying part of her night, both Dorothy and Trowa would think later on down the road. And that was saying something, considering what happened afterwards. They'd decided to take a cab since they were already running late and the place chosen was on the other side of the colony. So they crammed into the back seat, fumbled with seat belts, brushed hands, stole glances, 'accidentally' rubbed legs together, and all of the other happy things that went along with sitting next to someone who had you by the proverbial balls. That heady scent that came with Trowa was now driving Dorothy mad as it washed over like a tsunami wave. Each time he shifted, the tide of aroma would shift and it drove her up the wall as she tried in discreet ways to get closer to that intoxicating scent.
At first, she tried needed to open the windows of the backseat. And instead of 'troubling' Trowa with opening his side window, she reached across him and opened it herself. This not only achieved her goal in getting closer to the source of the smell, but it also wreaked havoc on Trowa's bodily functions. Her silken hair, the hair that he had dreamed about holding fist-fulls of in his dream, was hanging loosely over his lap. It was just daring him to touch it. 'I could just reach out and-' but he cut himself off before he could think about it any further.
After the windows were rolled down, Dorothy realized a slight flaw in her plan. With the windows rolled down, the backseat got cold fast, especially with winter closing in on the colony. However, this opened up a whole new opportunity. Smiling inwardly, she snuggled into Trowa's side, her face lying on his leather jacket. 'Mmm, heaven,' she thought happily. Trowa tried desperately not to look down at her face but he couldn't help himself. He looked down and was astounded at the innocence trapped in one face, a face he usually associated with one that belonged in an erotic film. He smiled a grateful smile and casually draped his arm across her shoulders. Dorothy's eyes shot open at the contact but slowly closed again as she realized this brought another wave of that earthy aroma to her nose and more warmth to snuggle into.
The two's happiness was short lived however, as the cab driver had pulled up to the side of the their preordained destination. Trowa couldn't remember a time that he'd been so disappointed to arrive somewhere in his life. Unwillingly, he pulled his arm away from Dorothy and paid the man. Then he opened his door and helped Dorothy out onto the sidewalk. She gave him a melting smile as she gracefully stepped onto the cement and began walking towards the pizzeria. She too was disappointed that the ride had to end so soon but was glad to be away from the scent. Too much exposure made her mind think very naughty little things.
The dinner was nice, as was the company. Hilde and Duo's antics were the main amusement of the night but the focus of both Trowa and Dorothy's attention was the other. Like the backseat, the two would occasionally rub up against each other, touch beneath the table, and what not. All of this did not go unnoticed by the keen eye of Duo Maxwell; however, the hard hand of Hilde Scheinebecker kept him from commenting.
Hilde was a beautiful woman, Dorothy noted to herself. She'd heard about her from Quatre but had never really met her. Her dark hair and eyes complimented her complexion wonderfully. And her large tummy seemed to be so natural to the short girl's figure, like she was meant to give birth to children. Dorothy knew that just some women weren't fit for it. She considered herself one of them.
Duo she'd met once, in passing in the aftermath of the war. Her initial impression was right on, he was a clown. However, he seemed to be a serious man with a loyal heart underneath the mask. So he fit Hilde perfectly. Inside, Dorothy sighed. 'If only-' however, the thought was never finished, because their pizzas had arrived.
Trowa gazed at Dorothy from across the table, wondering if she was all right. A slightly wistful expression had crossed her face, closely followed by a sad one. She glanced over at him then averted her eyes, as did he. The rest of the dinner was spent eating and talking but the two never made eye contact again. Hilde and Dorothy made fast friends, chatting loudly about clothes, shopping, and the tiresome duties of having a male partner. They giggled about how much easier life would be without them as the boys looked on with mock glares of their own.
Duo and Trowa, meanwhile, talked quietly about the growing situation on Earth. Trowa's vacation and the unexpected arrival of Dorothy had made him blissfully forget of his duties as protector of peace. Duo informed him that while he was gone, a new faction had come to the Preventers attention. Although they did not seem to be too much of a threat as a group, they did pose a threat to the new calm that had settled over the masses of other factions that had been put down by the Preventers. If this new group played their cards right with their own form of diplomacy, they could possibly have an army of other groups united beneath them. However, as of yet, the group had only caused minor terror ripples throughout Earth and the colonies; robberies, a handful of murders, and a few carefully placed kidnappings. All of these had been squashed however by local authorities and the Preventers hadn't been involved until now.
Trowa sighed deeply. He knew before that this dinner would entail something more than just friendly conversation. He looked down at his deluxe pizza and suddenly had lost his appetite. He stole a glance again at Dorothy but she was still gossiping with Hilde. Duo had now gone silently, now staring at his fiancée. Trowa could just imagine what he was thinking. Duo loved the thought of being a father but instead of him using it as an excuse to slack off more, he'd actually become more preoccupied with his job. Trowa supposed it was because Duo couldn't stand the thought of his child growing up in the same war torn world he had.
***
The dinner ended faster than Trowa thought it would have. Hilde started complaining of slight pains and the two decided that they should call it a night before the missed the last ferry to their own home colony. The four of them said goodnight at the entrance of the pizzeria, leaving Trowa and Dorothy alone again.
"Would you like to take a cab home?" Trowa asked with a little more distance than usual. His coldness stung at Dorothy but she shook her head nonetheless.
"No, I'd like to walk home actually. I think I ate too much," she replied with a grin. Trowa rolled his eyes at the thought of her actually eating too much. However, he made no further comment but just started walking. He closed his eyes, thinking deeply on the problem on Earth. Distantly, he heard Dorothy jogging in her heels to catch up with him. He didn't realize how long he'd been walking or how close they'd gotten to their apartment until she spoke.
"When is it supposed to snow?" she asked quietly. Dorothy had overheard the quiet conversation between Duo and Trowa and she knew that it would be a new burden on her roommate.
"The colony scheduled it for…tonight, I think," was the equally quiet reply. He pulled his head up and looked over at her. Her head was hanging down and she was staring at her feet like a child that had been scolded. It was then that he realized that he'd been treating her very rudely, especially after warming up to her in the backseat of the cab. He stopped and put two fingers under her chin, giving it three light taps. She raised her head up and looked up at him.
At that exact moment, the scheduled snow promised by the colony officials began to fall around them. Trowa still hadn't moved his hand, but had gently cupped her chin in his hand. The lovely calluses on his hand scraped against her skin yet it felt like silk. Her eyes had widened at his touch then slowly drooped to a close and a sigh. Trowa took a step closer to her. Dorothy breathed in deep and was rewarded with that same scent she'd slowly come to obsess over. She smiled gently as Trowa lowered his face close to hers. His other hand rose to her cheek and her own hands moved against their will to his wrists, to his upper arms, to his shoulders. Before she knew it, they were wrapped around his neck. His breath smelled like pizza as she was sure hers did but she didn't care. She wanted to be kissed. She wanted him to wrap her in his arms. She wanted to be protected, to feel safe.
Trowa never knew how much he'd really wanted to do this until now. This moment seemed so right, so perfect. There was only an inch of space between his lips and hers. It was so much like his dream-
"Pinch me," he whispered hoarsely. Dorothy's eyes fluttered open, looking up into his from beneath his hair. She'd never fully comprehended how much taller Trowa was than her until she stood here next to him, pressed against him.
"What?" she whispered back.
"Pinch me, tell me I'm not dreaming," he whispered with his eyes closed, as though it would keep him here in this moment just in case he was dreaming. Carefully, Dorothy tugged at the hair at the base of his neck. Trowa smiled and opened his eyes.
"Thank God," he whispered more to himself than to her. Dorothy smiled and closed her eyes again, awaiting her kiss. However, she felt her heart sink when he didn't. When she reopened her eyes for a second time, she saw that his attention was now focused on an object to her far right. Across the street from them was the large expansive park that had initially attracted Dorothy to the area. She looked over her shoulder and noticed that they were only a block from home.
"That man just came from our apartment building," Trowa said quietly. Dorothy felt her blood begin to boil. 'How dare he almost kiss me and then just-' but she didn't finish her thought for the second time that night because Trowa had grabbed her wrist and was now running for their apartment building.
It took everything in Dorothy to try to keep up with the Heavyarms pilot. Yet she still couldn't keep his pace and ended up letting go of his hand and falling in the exact instant. Trowa immediately backpedaled and lifted her from the sidewalk. In his furious pace to get home, he threw the poor girl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and continued running. Now Dorothy was angry. She'd been refused a kiss, forced to run in her expensive heels, had broken one of them and skinned her knee, and was now jiggling atop Trowa's shoulder. Boy, was he gonna get it when they got home.
Thankfully Trowa he could not sense the anger now radiating from his roommate. All he knew was that they were in danger out in the open and that the man he'd spotted from the corner of his eye was following them. With a rush of adrenaline, he opened the door to their building and ran the 3 flights of steps to their apartment with Dorothy still on his shoulder.
As he entered their hallway he mentally kicked himself for forgetting to lock their door. It was hanging open and he knew in that instant that the man he'd seen had been in there.
"Dorothy, I don't want you to panic, but when we enter that apartment, I want you to get on the vid-phone with Lady Une and don't spare a second. I'm going back and see if I can find that man."
And with those words, Trowa picked up Dorothy from her perch and gently set her down in their hallway. With a final caress of her cheek, Trowa was gone again down the stairs. Her final image of him was of him hurriedly pulling out his .9 millimeter.
The anger inside of her had vanished as she ran to their apartment to do as she was told.
I told you we were getting close to a kissing scene! I'm really glad to see the reviews I've gotten so far, considering that this story was just in the Just In section until last night! Thank You Everyone who's read this and reviewed.
MadameHotaru.of.87
Chapter Five: Dinner and A Close Call
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters! And NO!, I did NOT kidnap them!
This chapter sets up the action of this story, so it's going to be long. There won't be a kissing scene but we're getting close people, I promise!!
The rest of that day was pretty much uneventful until dinner. The two had basically avoided each other. Trowa put up the rest of Dorothy's screens while she made the final touches to her room and the living room. Around lunchtime, Dorothy decided to escape the uncomfortable silence and go grocery shopping. While she was gone, Trowa found the time to finish unpacking his things and getting his own room in order.
He was halfway finished filling his dresser with what little clothes he had when the vid-phone, which they'd set up in the kitchenette, rang loudly. He set down one of his turtlenecks and ran to the phone, expecting an emergency at work. Like a flash, he'd pounced on the on button and found himself starring into the face of his fellow Gundam pilot, Duo Maxwell.
"Barton here, what's wrong?" Trowa inquired urgently. Duo grinned his characteristic grin, his long braid swaying behind him as he put up his hands like someone trying to stop a car.
"Whoa, there buddy! No fire, just wanted to call and see how the new apartment was coming along and everything!" his somewhat surfer dude voice chimed across the distance. Duo lived with his fiancée Hilde on L2, the neighboring colony of L3.
"Well, it's coming I suppose," Trowa answered. He was starting to miss work. The sexual tension between Dorothy and himself had only escalated as he remembered his closeness to her while they put out that breakfast fire.
"M-hm, well, Hilde and me was wondering if you and Dorothy'd like to accompany us to dinner tonight? We'll be in the neighborhood, seeing as how there's a part that Hilde needs for her new bike in a store on L3. What do'ya say Trowa my man?" Duo's violet eyes were pleading with him to go so as he wouldn't have to be alone with his very pregnant soon-to-be wife. Hilde tended to get a little moody, particularly when food was involved and Duo was in the premises. Duo also seemed a little more sober than usual. Perhaps something had happened at the office that Trowa had not yet heard about. He hoped that this was not the case.
"Well, I don't know about Dorothy, but I'll be there. The usual place, I presume?" he asked with a wry smile. Duo blew a mushroom cloud of relief then rolled his eyes.
"Of course, Trowa. Hilde never misses an opportunity to go to Pizza Master Arcade…especially with, you know, the P.R.E.G.N.A.N.C.Y!" he finished with a harsh whisper. From off screen came a flying shoe aimed carefully for Duo's head. The thrower was obviously female because she hit him right on target. (Am I right ladies, or am I right?! LOL)
"I HEARD THAT!!!" Hilde's voice screeched from another room. Duo cringed slightly.
"God, I love that woman," he chanted as though it was something that kept him from losing his sanity. 'Which it probably is,' Trowa mused.
"Well, I can see you're busy Duo. I'll see you tonight then." And with that, Trowa logged off, leaving Duo to fend for himself. He chuckled lightly at what he was probably in store for tonight as he headed back to his room.
***
Dorothy had agreed to go with Trowa to the dinner date, seeing as it gave her a chance to dress up. She stood in front of her full-length mirror examining how she looked.
She'd chosen an elegant gray velvet dress that came to a stop just above her knee and was cut off by black velvet lining in the middle of her upper arms. A black floral pattern swirled around her body and contrasted sharply with her near white hair. And instead of her normal black headband holding back her hair, she'd decided to sweep it to the side and hold it with a low centered ponytail.
For the first time in a long time, she actually felt desirable. She knew she'd probably be overdressed, considering they were going to a pizzeria, but she didn't care. Dorothy needed to have a man look at her again and not just pass her by. She needed her dose of attention.
She decided that she'd primped enough and walked out of her room, expecting Trowa to be waiting for her at the door. However, he was still primping himself. She allowed herself a chuckle as she realized that she'd just proved one of the biggest dinner date stereotypes wrong; women don't necessarily take longer than man! Amused, she allowed herself to relax as she waited for Trowa to get done.
Trowa looked back at himself in the mirror of the bathroom. He supposed that this was as good as it was going to get. He'd decided to go for, what else, a green turtleneck. He countered his predictability with a dangerous looking black vest, pants, and shoes. It'd been awhile since he'd worn black, so used to his khaki Preventer uniform. It always made him feel more enigmatic, not that he really needed a boost in that particular field. Giving one last brush through his long, brown locks, he stepped out of the bathroom.
Before him lay a very intoxicating sight. Dorothy was sitting on top of their kitchen table, her legs crossed, and her delicious curves paving him a path towards some very dark thoughts. However, he wasn't the only one guilty of such things. Dorothy too was getting her own piece of eye candy. Again resembling a feline, her eyes traced the outline of Trowa's lean shape unfortunately hidden from her view by that clothing. Not that the clothing was in bad taste. Let's just say they made better doors than windows for the girl.
"Shall we be off then?" Trowa asked, his voice returning to him. He opened the door for her and followed her out. He was so preoccupied with following the dance like movements of her behind that he didn't lock the door behind him.
***
The cab ride to dinner was perhaps the most trying part of her night, both Dorothy and Trowa would think later on down the road. And that was saying something, considering what happened afterwards. They'd decided to take a cab since they were already running late and the place chosen was on the other side of the colony. So they crammed into the back seat, fumbled with seat belts, brushed hands, stole glances, 'accidentally' rubbed legs together, and all of the other happy things that went along with sitting next to someone who had you by the proverbial balls. That heady scent that came with Trowa was now driving Dorothy mad as it washed over like a tsunami wave. Each time he shifted, the tide of aroma would shift and it drove her up the wall as she tried in discreet ways to get closer to that intoxicating scent.
At first, she tried needed to open the windows of the backseat. And instead of 'troubling' Trowa with opening his side window, she reached across him and opened it herself. This not only achieved her goal in getting closer to the source of the smell, but it also wreaked havoc on Trowa's bodily functions. Her silken hair, the hair that he had dreamed about holding fist-fulls of in his dream, was hanging loosely over his lap. It was just daring him to touch it. 'I could just reach out and-' but he cut himself off before he could think about it any further.
After the windows were rolled down, Dorothy realized a slight flaw in her plan. With the windows rolled down, the backseat got cold fast, especially with winter closing in on the colony. However, this opened up a whole new opportunity. Smiling inwardly, she snuggled into Trowa's side, her face lying on his leather jacket. 'Mmm, heaven,' she thought happily. Trowa tried desperately not to look down at her face but he couldn't help himself. He looked down and was astounded at the innocence trapped in one face, a face he usually associated with one that belonged in an erotic film. He smiled a grateful smile and casually draped his arm across her shoulders. Dorothy's eyes shot open at the contact but slowly closed again as she realized this brought another wave of that earthy aroma to her nose and more warmth to snuggle into.
The two's happiness was short lived however, as the cab driver had pulled up to the side of the their preordained destination. Trowa couldn't remember a time that he'd been so disappointed to arrive somewhere in his life. Unwillingly, he pulled his arm away from Dorothy and paid the man. Then he opened his door and helped Dorothy out onto the sidewalk. She gave him a melting smile as she gracefully stepped onto the cement and began walking towards the pizzeria. She too was disappointed that the ride had to end so soon but was glad to be away from the scent. Too much exposure made her mind think very naughty little things.
The dinner was nice, as was the company. Hilde and Duo's antics were the main amusement of the night but the focus of both Trowa and Dorothy's attention was the other. Like the backseat, the two would occasionally rub up against each other, touch beneath the table, and what not. All of this did not go unnoticed by the keen eye of Duo Maxwell; however, the hard hand of Hilde Scheinebecker kept him from commenting.
Hilde was a beautiful woman, Dorothy noted to herself. She'd heard about her from Quatre but had never really met her. Her dark hair and eyes complimented her complexion wonderfully. And her large tummy seemed to be so natural to the short girl's figure, like she was meant to give birth to children. Dorothy knew that just some women weren't fit for it. She considered herself one of them.
Duo she'd met once, in passing in the aftermath of the war. Her initial impression was right on, he was a clown. However, he seemed to be a serious man with a loyal heart underneath the mask. So he fit Hilde perfectly. Inside, Dorothy sighed. 'If only-' however, the thought was never finished, because their pizzas had arrived.
Trowa gazed at Dorothy from across the table, wondering if she was all right. A slightly wistful expression had crossed her face, closely followed by a sad one. She glanced over at him then averted her eyes, as did he. The rest of the dinner was spent eating and talking but the two never made eye contact again. Hilde and Dorothy made fast friends, chatting loudly about clothes, shopping, and the tiresome duties of having a male partner. They giggled about how much easier life would be without them as the boys looked on with mock glares of their own.
Duo and Trowa, meanwhile, talked quietly about the growing situation on Earth. Trowa's vacation and the unexpected arrival of Dorothy had made him blissfully forget of his duties as protector of peace. Duo informed him that while he was gone, a new faction had come to the Preventers attention. Although they did not seem to be too much of a threat as a group, they did pose a threat to the new calm that had settled over the masses of other factions that had been put down by the Preventers. If this new group played their cards right with their own form of diplomacy, they could possibly have an army of other groups united beneath them. However, as of yet, the group had only caused minor terror ripples throughout Earth and the colonies; robberies, a handful of murders, and a few carefully placed kidnappings. All of these had been squashed however by local authorities and the Preventers hadn't been involved until now.
Trowa sighed deeply. He knew before that this dinner would entail something more than just friendly conversation. He looked down at his deluxe pizza and suddenly had lost his appetite. He stole a glance again at Dorothy but she was still gossiping with Hilde. Duo had now gone silently, now staring at his fiancée. Trowa could just imagine what he was thinking. Duo loved the thought of being a father but instead of him using it as an excuse to slack off more, he'd actually become more preoccupied with his job. Trowa supposed it was because Duo couldn't stand the thought of his child growing up in the same war torn world he had.
***
The dinner ended faster than Trowa thought it would have. Hilde started complaining of slight pains and the two decided that they should call it a night before the missed the last ferry to their own home colony. The four of them said goodnight at the entrance of the pizzeria, leaving Trowa and Dorothy alone again.
"Would you like to take a cab home?" Trowa asked with a little more distance than usual. His coldness stung at Dorothy but she shook her head nonetheless.
"No, I'd like to walk home actually. I think I ate too much," she replied with a grin. Trowa rolled his eyes at the thought of her actually eating too much. However, he made no further comment but just started walking. He closed his eyes, thinking deeply on the problem on Earth. Distantly, he heard Dorothy jogging in her heels to catch up with him. He didn't realize how long he'd been walking or how close they'd gotten to their apartment until she spoke.
"When is it supposed to snow?" she asked quietly. Dorothy had overheard the quiet conversation between Duo and Trowa and she knew that it would be a new burden on her roommate.
"The colony scheduled it for…tonight, I think," was the equally quiet reply. He pulled his head up and looked over at her. Her head was hanging down and she was staring at her feet like a child that had been scolded. It was then that he realized that he'd been treating her very rudely, especially after warming up to her in the backseat of the cab. He stopped and put two fingers under her chin, giving it three light taps. She raised her head up and looked up at him.
At that exact moment, the scheduled snow promised by the colony officials began to fall around them. Trowa still hadn't moved his hand, but had gently cupped her chin in his hand. The lovely calluses on his hand scraped against her skin yet it felt like silk. Her eyes had widened at his touch then slowly drooped to a close and a sigh. Trowa took a step closer to her. Dorothy breathed in deep and was rewarded with that same scent she'd slowly come to obsess over. She smiled gently as Trowa lowered his face close to hers. His other hand rose to her cheek and her own hands moved against their will to his wrists, to his upper arms, to his shoulders. Before she knew it, they were wrapped around his neck. His breath smelled like pizza as she was sure hers did but she didn't care. She wanted to be kissed. She wanted him to wrap her in his arms. She wanted to be protected, to feel safe.
Trowa never knew how much he'd really wanted to do this until now. This moment seemed so right, so perfect. There was only an inch of space between his lips and hers. It was so much like his dream-
"Pinch me," he whispered hoarsely. Dorothy's eyes fluttered open, looking up into his from beneath his hair. She'd never fully comprehended how much taller Trowa was than her until she stood here next to him, pressed against him.
"What?" she whispered back.
"Pinch me, tell me I'm not dreaming," he whispered with his eyes closed, as though it would keep him here in this moment just in case he was dreaming. Carefully, Dorothy tugged at the hair at the base of his neck. Trowa smiled and opened his eyes.
"Thank God," he whispered more to himself than to her. Dorothy smiled and closed her eyes again, awaiting her kiss. However, she felt her heart sink when he didn't. When she reopened her eyes for a second time, she saw that his attention was now focused on an object to her far right. Across the street from them was the large expansive park that had initially attracted Dorothy to the area. She looked over her shoulder and noticed that they were only a block from home.
"That man just came from our apartment building," Trowa said quietly. Dorothy felt her blood begin to boil. 'How dare he almost kiss me and then just-' but she didn't finish her thought for the second time that night because Trowa had grabbed her wrist and was now running for their apartment building.
It took everything in Dorothy to try to keep up with the Heavyarms pilot. Yet she still couldn't keep his pace and ended up letting go of his hand and falling in the exact instant. Trowa immediately backpedaled and lifted her from the sidewalk. In his furious pace to get home, he threw the poor girl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and continued running. Now Dorothy was angry. She'd been refused a kiss, forced to run in her expensive heels, had broken one of them and skinned her knee, and was now jiggling atop Trowa's shoulder. Boy, was he gonna get it when they got home.
Thankfully Trowa he could not sense the anger now radiating from his roommate. All he knew was that they were in danger out in the open and that the man he'd spotted from the corner of his eye was following them. With a rush of adrenaline, he opened the door to their building and ran the 3 flights of steps to their apartment with Dorothy still on his shoulder.
As he entered their hallway he mentally kicked himself for forgetting to lock their door. It was hanging open and he knew in that instant that the man he'd seen had been in there.
"Dorothy, I don't want you to panic, but when we enter that apartment, I want you to get on the vid-phone with Lady Une and don't spare a second. I'm going back and see if I can find that man."
And with those words, Trowa picked up Dorothy from her perch and gently set her down in their hallway. With a final caress of her cheek, Trowa was gone again down the stairs. Her final image of him was of him hurriedly pulling out his .9 millimeter.
The anger inside of her had vanished as she ran to their apartment to do as she was told.
I told you we were getting close to a kissing scene! I'm really glad to see the reviews I've gotten so far, considering that this story was just in the Just In section until last night! Thank You Everyone who's read this and reviewed.
MadameHotaru.of.87