Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 7: Truly?

The next day was Friday, and Trowa woke up with an added spring in his step. Sure, he had a bad run in with Quatre the day before, but he also got a message from Lucrezia. He called her in the morning early before she had to go on shift, and they agreed to have dinner together that night. She didn't sound terribly happy, and mentioned something about Zechs, but the prospect of going out with Trowa that night seemed to lift her spirits. Trowa walked into the bathroom and noticed that the swelling on his face was gone, but the black and yellow bruising was still evident.

"Maybe she will like it," Trowa mused to himself, "maybe she likes a dangerous looking man." Heero and Duo did not have any time off until the weekend, so they were gone yet again. Trowa was really getting to like Duo's cooking, and was afraid that he would really not want to head back to base. He took a shower and read into the afternoon before heading out into town. He and Lucrezia were to meet at five sharp, so he had some time before he needed to be at the restaurant. His cell phone suddenly rang in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a Preventers number plastered across the small screen. He took in a sharp breath and answered it.

"Barton."

"Oh, Trowa!" Came the relieved voice of Andrea, "I am so glad you are there."

"Andrea, what's up?" He asked, his brow furrowing in concern.

"Well I called originally to see what was up, but Gale has news too."

"Is that so? Well, I am doing just fine, tell me what the news is." There was a slight shuffling over the receiver, and suddenly Gale was talking instead.

"I wanted to call to warn you that Zechs is coming to L2 today!"

"When?" Trowa's heart nearly stopped.

"He left sometime this morning, I only found out now after prodding Sally about it for 20 minutes," Gale said quickly, "I guess he is meeting someone there, but I have a feeling that someone is you!"

"Thank you for telling me Gale." There was another shuffle on the other end, and Andrea had managed to get the phone back.

"Trowa you take care of yourself. If I were you, I would stay glued to those friends of yours incase Zechs does come along. I don't know what kind of mood he is in after all."

"Well, I can't really do that," Trowa sighed, "I am meeting Lucrezia in less than 45 minutes."

"Oh," something about the reaction seemed more like a disappointment than a concern, "well still, you need to be extra careful, just incase."

"I know, I know." He sighed in reply.

"Trowa, I know you are not okay right now," Andrea was suddenly serious, "please tell me what is bothering you." Trowa spent the remainder of his free time telling Andrea about what had happened the day before as he walked toward the restaurant. She had a lot of encouraging words for him, and he felt quite a bit better after speaking with her. He noticed that she still would not stay on the subject of Lucrezia for very long. He made a note of it in his head, and a picture was starting to become clearer. It was a picture that he didn't care for very much. He hung up with her, promising to stay safe, before walking into the restaurant five minutes early. He picked a table near the window and stared into nothingness. Lucrezia showed up only a couple minutes after, and was content to study Trowa's form, since he was so absent from reality. She sauntered over casually, hips swaying gently, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and looked up into her smiling face. She looked lovely; some of her shoulder-length hair was curled just slightly, still taking its dip over her eye. She was wearing black again, and it flattered her greatly. She wore a silk halter and a muslin mini-shirt with violet trim. She looked at the bruising on his face for a moment with a shock, but he smiled and her worry dissipated.

"Lucrezia." His greeting came out a little more breathy than he intended. She blushed and chuckled, taking a seat across from him.

"Nice to see you too, Trowa." His eyes darted to the floor for a moment before looking back up with a slight grin. Lucrezia blushed, remembering that grin from only a couple nights earlier. She shook her head and laughed.

"Have you missed me?" She asked, eyes sparkling, as a waiter brought them their menus.

"That depends," Trowa sighed and eyed her, "seeing that I cannot seem to remove your scent from my skin, it has not been so bad."

"I've missed you too." She said with a grin. It was just the answer Trowa wanted to hear, that perhaps there really was something to this little rendezvous. They shared a great meal, and yet another nice night of idle chat about things.

"In seriousness though, Trowa," she suddenly said, "I got a report that you were thrown off base for awhile, what is going on up there?"

"Insubordination was the claim, wasn't it?"

"Well yes, but I would have never suspected it from you."

"Zechs struck me for a personal dispute, and I felt it wasn't right," he stated flatly, "so I called him on it. Unfortunately, nobody saw the attack, so he had leverage enough to throw me off base for a week." Lucrezia's brow suddenly furrowed in anger.

"That son of a bitch does not have the right," she spat, "I could have his rank for this, attacking a fellow officer for domestic cases. It is against code, it is against Preventers law."

"That may be so, but I don't have a leg to stand on for prosecution. There were no witnesses, so all I have to go on is my testimony," Trowa sighed and brushed his hair from his face mindlessly, "everything else would be biased views, my side or his."

"Well, I can't argue with you about the logistics, because you are absolutely right," she nodded, "but there are still ways around it."

"I would rather just let things blow over."

"That is admirable of you," she smiled as the waiter brought their check, "well, why don't we pay this and head back to my place, huh?" Trowa smile returned, and they argued for a moment over who was paying. They finally settled on Trowa picking up the bill and Lucrezia leaving tip. They took a cab back to her apartment, laughing and chatting as usual. Lucrezia put her key in the lock and stopped suddenly.

"That's strange."

"What is?"

"The door is unlocked, I could have sworn I locked it when I left."

"Let me go in first." Lucrezia removed the key from the lock and allowed Trowa to go ahead of her. There were lights on in the living room.

"I didn't leave those on." The two of them walked into the room and found Zechs sitting on the couch, reading a book. A pair of rectangular glasses was perched on his nose, and as he looked up, his eyes narrowed through them. Lucrezia went white, and Trowa's brow furrowed.

"Did you forget about my visit, Lucrezia?" It was more of a demand than a question.

"Oh god, Zechs, I'm sorry, I must have." Trowa stood a little behind Lucrezia so that she would not see the venom that had suddenly filled his features.

"I certainly see that," he looked at the clock on the mantle, which read nine in the evening, "I've been waiting since six, why did you forget about me?"

"Zechs, a lot has been happening this week, I lost track of time. I honestly thought that you would be coming tomorrow, not today." She managed.

"I told you that Friday I had business to attend to on L2, and then had the rest of the day free to spend with you. You told me I could come over in the evening, and we could talk," he fiddled in his pocket for a moment, which put Trowa on edge, but he only withdrew a key, "you even told me that they key was under the mat." He tossed the key onto the coffee table, which made a loud clang against the glass.

"Zechs, you can't blame me for a simple mistake." Lucrezia crossed her arms. Zechs looked over Lucrezia's shoulder, a sneer now across his lips.

"No, I certainly cannot blame you for a mistake," Zechs looked back at Lucrezia, "but two mistakes in one week is pushing it."

"Don't start Zechs." Trowa growled.

"Oh don't be so naïve, Trowa," Zechs spat and then approached Lucrezia, taking her wrists and looking her in the eyes as she struggled slightly, "Lucrezia wanted me to visit her because she was lonely, she just met you along the way." Trowa felt the sting of those words; he looked at Lucrezia.

"Is it true?"

"Well..." She stumbled and then yanked herself away from Zechs, "yes, yes it is true, but Trowa, I thought he was all I had. But then I met you, at the Nightshade, I thought we could have something." Trowa didn't listen to any of the rest; he started to walk out when Lucrezia grabbed his arm. He turned to her and looked into a set of pleading eyes.

"Don't bother trying to lie to yourself, Lucrezia." Zechs snapped. Lucrezia's expression turned to anger.

"Zechs, get out of my house!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Get out of my goddamned house before I call the authorities and have you thrown out!" She pointed to the door. Zechs gave Trowa a dirty look before leaving, slamming the door behind him. Lucrezia sank down onto the couch and sighed. Trowa leaned in the archway of the entry into the living room, not really sure of what to do. He ran a hand through the shorter part of his hair.

"Lucrezia."

"Trowa, I know this is bad." He heard her sigh, "I can't really go back and change things though, can I? Sure, I still do care for him, but can you blame me? We've been together for so long, and now we are apart for good, of course I am going to miss the time we have shared, and things we have done. I am still going to fall weak for that, anyone would. I just thought I would never find anything else, because I am so inexperienced, I thought that he was the only one. But then I saw you at the club the other night, when I was feeling downright hopeless, and I felt a rush in my blood that I have not felt in ages. There was nothing I wanted more right then, in that moment, than you. I still want you, Trowa." He listened to every word carefully, they way that she wove them together. He had gotten extremely good at listening, and he knew that there was something underlying her story. What it was, he did not know, he couldn't actually tell, and though that bothered him, he tried to tell himself not to worry, that he must just be over-analyzing. He chose to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I still want you too." He said with his back still turned to her. She was quiet, but her heard her as she stood up and walked over to him. Her arms slipped around his waist, and she rested some of her weight on his back. He smiled a little at her contented sigh. He suddenly felt her arms slip away, and she tugged off his jacket gently, tossing it to the side. He turned to see an innocent smile on her lips, but something a little more naughty dancing in her eyes. She wanted to have sex already? Trowa didn't have time to think on it more, as he found himself pushed against the hallway wall in a desperate kiss. For a moment, he wanted to stop, but soon realized it would probably prove to be constructive. The little run in with Quatre the day before had left him wanting some physical attention. He hoped that every time he saw Quatre wouldn't send him into the same state, however. They moved from the hallway to the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothing behind them. Trowa noticed that she seemed to be slowing down a little. As he kissed her, he finally broke free and looked at her.

"Trowa?"
"Lucrezia, are you okay?"

"Not really," she sighed, and then looked at him with a slight smile, "I had probably the longest day at headquarters I have ever had, a lovely dinner thankfully, and then my ex-boyfriend shows up on the couch because I was too mixed up to call and cancel on him. I am really, really tired."

"Then sleep." Trowa smiled and kissed her forehead before drawing the blankets over them and lay beside her. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked over at him.

"Are you sure?"

"I am not going to make love to a woman who may drift off half-way through." Trowa gave her a wry smile. She sighed and gave in to a smile, falling back onto the bed and pulling the covers over her bare arms. She felt his arms wrap around her and was able to fall asleep easily. Trowa sighed after noticing her last bit of consciousness slip away. He was still bothered by the scene before, by all she had said. It troubled him that he cared for her this much, because he saw that she may not care for him in the same way. It seemed, yet again, that he may be heading toward pain, but he closed his eyes and dismissed the thought. What is the point in life if you don't put up a fight, after all?

A/N: This chapter was quite short, sorry about that. ; Also, I noticed that the link in the last entry to disappeared. Oo Very weird. Yet again, their music helped me write this chapter pretty quickly.

I want to thank my reviewers very much! And Bramblerose4, your idea for a side-story from Quatre's POV is genious! I may just do that pretty soon, but I think I am going to write a couple more chapters here before I work on that. Quatre still has a part to play, so I would like to see where that goes. Until next time, enjoy! - Lilly