Author's Note: As per suggestion . . . here be background info, Harharhar! (meep) if this is posted after a long delay I blame it on the fact that I'm trying to be thorough!
Seriously, sorry about the major wait but I wasn't kidding about being an impulse writer. I think up new stories by the week and have a hard time focusing on just one. Hope this turned out alright. Sharys
Disclaimer : If you REALLY want to see it go back to the previously posted chapters. I'm lazy.
Warm Heart, Frozen Memory(The title stuck)
Chap.4
Dinner was a lively affair. Duo had chosen a nearby Italian restaurant, which suited Quatre just fine.
As it turned out, Trowa had met Duo a few months back when his car had broken down. Duo, being a mechanic, had been a passerby and pulled over to help.
Quatre listened as the braided brunette wove a dramatic tale of life and death out of a simple overheated radiator. Trowa rolled his eyes at the exaggeration, while Heero paid attention with a scrutinizing eye.
Surprisingly, Duo was the head mechanic at a local body shop. It was hard for Quatre to believe at first, with all the wild stories that Duo loved to dazzle his audience with, but with the confirmation of both Trowa and Heero, he concluded that there was more to the braided man than what he let on. Throughout dinner, when he wasn't making jokes, he would make short comments that were bizarrely insightful, and (quite frankly) unexpected.
During one particularly over dramatic tale, Heero broke his silence.
"Enough, is enough," he ground out, looking annoyed. "There is only so much crap you can feed a person in one evening."
Duo grinned. "Aww, still bitter are we?"
Heero growled in response, downing the rest of his drink in one gulp.
Quatre turned to Trowa questioningly, but he only smiled slightly and gave a small shrug.
After some polite questioning, Quatre had discovered that Heero was a second year college student majoring in computer programming. "Top of his class too!" Duo informed them. And a dozen steps ahead of his instructors at all times, if Quatre was any judge.
"What about you, Quatre?" Duo asked curiously, before stuffing an enormous amount of lasagna in his mouth.
Quatre jerked at the question. "Me?" He gave a kind smile. "Nothing really interesting. I go to school, and that's a full time job in itself. Business Major."
Duo visibly swallowed. "Really? You don't really seem the type who would be interested in that field."
There were those observation skills again.
Suppressing a sigh, he gave another cheerful smile. "Yes, well, you know what they say about assumptions."
The truth was that he had no other option, really. His family's company was having troubles, and his sisters were ill-equipped to deal with them all. Now with no other dreams or goals in mind, it was only natural to take up the family business if nothing else it was an obligation.
But if things had gone differently . . .
Dislodging the unwelcome thoughts of "if only", Quatre focused back on the current conversation, quite determined to enjoy the rest of the evening in peace.
Shadows of the past be damned.
The group parted ways back at the ice rink, where Quatre had apparently left his car. After brief farewells, Duo and Heero loaded up in Heero's truck and drove off towards home. For the most part, the ride was pretty quiet, except the occasional yelp from Duo when Heero slapped his hand for touching his radio.
Halfway home it was Heero who broke the silence. "So what's your take on Quatre?"
Duo stretched his legs out as far as they could go and folded his hands behind his head. "Nice guy. A bit too polite for me, but a nice guy."
"And?"
Duo gave him a sidelong glance, suppressing his usual grin. "Why Heero, are you implying that you saw something that I did not? It just simply isn't so!"
Heero gave him a hard look.
"All right, all right! I'll cut the jokes." Duo sighed and looked out the passenger window. "He is a nice guy, all right. But I think I hit a tender spot when I asked what he did. He just sort of . . . shut down. All his smiles after that just seemed sort of forced, there was no life to them." He stopped then, and turned to his older brother. "You saw them too." It wasn't a question.
"Yeah," Heero replied quietly.
"We just met the guy. We don't have to get involved."
"You're right." Heero gave a small smirk. "But a little scouting never hurt anybody."
Author's Note: Look! An UPDATE! Aren't you proud of me? No? well, review and tell me off. OR, be nice and give me some constructive input. Happy Holidays!